Chapter 2: Day 2
After practice the next day, Sakusa took his time showering and dressing and again, he and Atsumu were the only ones left in the locker room.
Atsumu asked, "Are ya ready Omi-kun?" Sakusa nodded and sat down on a bench. As he had done the day before, Atsumu came over to sit next to Kiyoomi, leaving several inches between them.
"We'll start with what we did yesterday, okay?" Sakusa nodded stiffly again. He was giving himself a pep talk. I can do this. I can do this.
Sakusa's hand was resting on his knee. Atsumu slowly moved his hand again and gently touched his fingertips to the back of Kiyoomi's hand. It took some effort, but Sakusa managed not to pull back. Atsumu kept his fingers there for a minute and examined his friend's face. The spiker looked like he was concentrating.
"Yer doin' great, Omi-kun," Atsumu said encouragingly and he could tell that Kiyoomi smiled a little even though his mask covered the lower part of his face.
"Do ya wanna try to touch my hand now?"
"Okay," Kiyoomi agreed and pulled his hand from his leg. He tentatively reached out with his fingers. His hands were trembling, but he was determined. After several seconds of hovering above Atsumu's hand, Sakusa finally lowered his fingers enough to touch it. He kept them there for several seconds while he told himself that this was fine. When he felt it was enough, he raised his hand from Atsumu's and put it back on his knee. He let out a breath.
"That was good. See, I knew ya could do it." Just more silent nodding from Kiyoomi.
"Do ya want to try holding my hand?" Sakusa's eyes snapped up to meet Atsumu's gaze. He was surprised by the question at first, but then remembered that he wanted to be able to hold someone's hand in the future, so he had to try.
"Okay," he agreed. Atsumu gave him a one-sided smile and again moved his hand slowly toward Kiyoomi's, which was resting on his knee again. Sakusa turned his hand so his palm was facing up and Atsumu gently touched his hand and entwined his fingers with Sakusa's. He didn't grab or clench, but just let them rest there with no pressure. He looked up to gauge Omi-kun's reaction and was pleased that he looked … okay. He did look a bit uncomfortable, but not too much, and he wasn't pulling away but instead intently staring at their joined hands as if to convince himself it was real.
Atsumu smiled a tiny bit and just sat for a few minutes, waiting for his friend to tell him when it was enough. Sakusa managed to hold his hand for almost five minutes.
"Yer doing great, Omi-kun. It's not so bad, is it?" Sakusa looked up into Atsumu's chestnut eyes and was touched at the concern that showed in them. Atsumu was really a very kind soul under all that bluster.
"No. You're right. It's not so bad." Sakusa smiled slightly.
They sat there another moment before Astumu asked, "Do ya think that's enough for today?"
"Yes," agreed Kiyoomi, reluctantly disentangling his hand from his teammates. For some reason, his hand missed the warmth of the setter's palm.
"Good job today. Want to try again tomorrow?" asked Atsumu.
"Yes, please," answered Sakusa. "And thank you again, Miya. You are a good friend."
He took out some hand sanitizer and slathered it over his hands before getting up to leave, causing Atsumu to smirk a little.
"See ya tomorrow, Omi-kun."