Day 3
After the match the next day, Atsumu and Sakusa again stayed behind until they were the last in the locker room. Atsumu didn't ask if Kiyoomi was ready, just came over and sat down next to his teammate on the wooden bench. He sat a tiny bit closer than yesterday.
"Wanna hold hands for a few minutes?" Sakusa nodded and put his left hand on his left knee, palm facing upwards. Atsumu smiled and moved his hand to grasp their fingers together. They stayed that was for a few minutes. Atsumu was studying Omi-kun's face for signs of discomfort but didn't seem to read any stress or anxiety coming off the spiker.
Sakusa drew his eyes from their clasped hands to look up at the setter, searching for … he didn't know what. But he was surprised that he didn't feel more nervous right now. That was a good sign, right?
Atsumu stared into Kiyoomi's dark eyes and saw some sort of surprise in them. He hoped that his friend was surprised in a good way, that he could learn to touch and be touched like other people.
"Good job. I knew ya could do it," he said quietly, which brought a blush to his face that wasn't noticeable behind his mask. Sakusa looked down instead of letting Atsumu read his eyes.
"Now that you feel good about holding hands, how about I touch your wrist and arm here?" Atsumu said, pointing to Sakusa's muscled forearm.
"Okay," agreed Kiyoomi.
Atsumu continued, "So if you were datin' somebody, they may want to grab yer wrist or arm to get your attention or to maybe hold onto instead of yer hand. So I'm going to try that, okay?"
"Okay," said Kiyoomi again.
Atsumu moved his hand to gently grasp Sakusa's wrist. He squeezed a little but not too much, letting his teammate get used to the sensation. "Okay?" he asked, searching again for signs of anxiety.
"Yes," whispered Sakusa, who was fighting his feelings of discomfort. After a couple of minutes of holding Omi-kun's wrist, Atsumu slowly moved his hands up and over the muscles of Sakusa's forearm. He stopped just below the spiker's elbow and again squeezed slightly. He kept the pressure just like that, and again waited and gauged his friend's reaction.
Sakusa was a little bit uneasy but managed to keep his breathing steady. He was relieved to see that the longer he was touched, the easier it got. Miya was right.
After a few minutes, Atsumu asked, "Do you want to try touching my wrist or arm?"
The question drew a nod from the ravenhead, so Atsumu removed his hand and offered his arm to the spiker. Kiyoomi gently put his fingers on top of Atsumu's wrist with his thumb underneath. At first, his touch was featherlight but he slowly tightened his grasp and held it there a minute. He looked up to see Atsumu looking at him with … was that pride? Is he proud of me? For some reason, that thought made him feel an unexpected warmth in his chest.
Feeling a tiny bit emboldened now, he loosened his fingers and slowly moved his hands up Atsumu's toned forearms, stopping just below the elbow as the setter had done to him. He again squeezed slightly and held his hand there for a couple of minutes. Again, he chanced a quick glance at the blonde to see his expression. He was smiling slightly and it made Kiyoomi smile as well.
"I told ya it just takes practice, Omi-kun."
Sakusa agreed, "For once, you're right."
Atsumu chuckled and made a face at his teammate. "Enough for today?"
"Yeah," replied Kiyoomi as he removed his hand from the setter's arm. "Tomorrow?" he asked.
"Yep, tomorrow is fine," said Atsumu cheerily. Again, Sakusa took out his sanitizer and this time did both hands and arms up to the elbows. It briefly occurred to him that he was not going to be able to put sanitizer on every part of his body, and the thought was so scary that he pushed it aside, vowing to cross that bridge when he came to it.