Suga sighed as he adjusted the strap of his duffel bag over his shoulder. The trip to the hot springs went by in a blur. It was over before he realized, just like the rest of his high school years. He sighed again. He didn't regret devoting most of his time to the volleyball club and his studies, but there was a small part of him who couldn't help but feel like he missed out on arguably the best years of his youth.
In the past three years, he hasn't so much as gone out on a date with anyone. He hasn't even had the opportunity to either confess to someone, or to be confessed to. All the chocolates he got during Valentine's day would be obligatory, and he would simply return the favor during White Day in a gesture of amity.
Suga stood at the railway level crossing, waiting for the train to pass. The moment it sped right past him, he let out a scream of abandon, not caring how it may have looked like to a random passer-by. It was around eight in the evening and the people who lived in this part of town were usually in bed by that time.
"Trying to scare away the undead?"
Suga flinched at the sudden voice that reached his ears just as the train disappeared from his sight. He held a hand to his heart, glaring at the chuckling woman standing a few paces away.
"Seriously?"
"You looked like you were enacting a scene from a shonen manga. Or a particularly dramatic slice of life anime."
Suga clicked his tongue, feeling his face burn at having been spotted by someone he knew. "Why are you out so late?"
Kiyoko raised the bags of groceries she held in both hands. "Dad's out of town again for work. So I'm stocking up on some food."
"Give it here." Suga stretched out a hand to offer his assistance.
She tried to give him one of the lighter ones, but he insisted on taking the heaviest out of her hands.
He stacked the large bag on top of his duffel for efficiency, looping an arm under the handles for added assurance.
"Thanks." She nodded at him.
"No problem." He shrugged. They were neighbors after all so it was no trouble helping her out. Shimizu and her father moved into the house next door to his just before the start of high school.
Suga eyed the contents of the plastic bag, sending her a look of silent judgement. "Really?"
"What?" She challenged.
"I know you can't cook to save your life, but this is just sad."
Kiyoko rolled her eyes as she moved to cross the railroad. "It's either this or the chance of burning down my house."
He followed her as he continued to peruse the rest of the items in the bag she handed him. "Everything here is instant!" He paused to glance at the other two in her grasp with suspicion. "You're going to die an early death."
"I'd take it over arson." She shrugged.
Suga chuckled to himself, shaking his head at her obvious disdain towards anything culinary. "Just drop by our house. Mom loves having you over anyway."
"I don't want to impose."
He rolled his eyes. "You do know mom always makes a portion for you whenever she cooks right? Especially during dinner."
"Well-"
"So it's decided. Dinner at my place."
She let out a sigh of resignation. He could be really obstinate when he wanted to.
They stayed in silence, matching each other's pace as they walked through the nearly secluded streets.
"So, care to explain to me that prank you guys carried out? Asahi texted me about it."
"Ugh don't remind me!"
Kiyoko couldn't help but laugh at the exasperated expression on his face. "What?"
"Can you believe Kuroo and Iwaizumi are in relationships?! Oikawa was expected, but even Ushiwaka dated several people in the past!"
"And?"
"And?!" He eyed her in disbelief. "I haven't even gone on a single date during my three years in high school!"
"Neither have I." She shrugged, not understanding his frustration towards that fact.
"Doesn't it bother you?"
"No."
"Well it bothers me!" Suga folded his arms on his chest, puffing out a loud exhale through his nose. "I wish I could have at least experienced being confessed to. Even just that… Just that one thing!" He raised a finger up towards the heavens, tilting his head back as he glanced at the star-filled sky wistfully. "My high school life would have been complete."
She rolled her eyes at his dramatic display. She didn't understand why he was suddenly so fixated on the romantic aspect of his life, when he didn't really care for it in the past three years. "So… anyone will do?" Came her sarcastic reply.
"Yes!" Suga stomped a foot on the ground for emphasis, staring right back at her with determined eyes.
She shook her head. "That doesn't make sense."
"As someone who gets confessed to left and right, you wouldn't understand." He folded his arms across his chest once again. Popular people like her should go bald. They just don't understand the struggles of wallflowers who barely even register on other people's radars.
Kiyoko stopped in her tracks, watching him mumble to himself incoherently as he continued to walk through the deserted street.
"I like you."
He paused in his steps, feeling his entire body freeze at the sound of those three words. He couldn't bring himself to look back. "W-What did you say?" He blinked. He probably didn't hear that right. There was no way she actually said–
"I like you."
He swallowed. It sounded much closer now, more resolute than its earlier version. He turned around slowly, glancing at Shimizu with wide eyes. "Are you-"
"Ah, should I have done it with your back against the wall?" Kiyoko tilted her head to one side in contemplation, placing both her hands on Suga's shoulders to maneuver him against the tall wooden fence to their side. She slammed one hand near the side of his head; the other still holding the bags of groceries to her side.
"I like you."
Suga felt his entire face heat up as he tucked his arms closer to his body. One of the canned goods in the grocery bag he was carrying was poking uncomfortably against his sternum. "S-Shizu, are you…"
"Ah, don't people who do this usually carry a love letter around?" She leaned back a bit to push off the fence, fumbling through the plastic bag, pulling out a thin packet of nori. "Here, we can pretend this is an envelope." She raised a brow at the glare he was sending her way. "What?"
Suga grabbed the sachet of seaweed off her hands, slapping it on the top of her head before walking away. "You're messing with me again!" He doubled back, pushing the bag of groceries he offered to carry back into her hands. She could struggle with them for all he cared!
"Oh come on, Su-shi!" She called out jokingly, chuckling as she glanced at the Karasuno setter's fuming back.
Suga lost count of all the times she'd done that in the past three years. Why she even bothered to he had no idea! If only the rest of the team could see her for who she really was. Demure? Angelic? Gentle? He scoffed. They had no idea what kind of demonic creature she was deep down.
Kiyoko allowed herself to smile a little as she maneuvered the groceries in her hands into a comfortable position. She plucked the nearly forgotten packet of nori off the ground, pushing it into her coat's pocket as she followed the incensed silver-haired boy in amusement.
Would she finally tell him she was serious? That none of her confessions was a joke? That she meant every single one of them? She grinned.
Nah.
Maybe tomorrow. After all, she bought a particularly pretty ring candy from the convenience store earlier. Perhaps that would finally get the point across.
End of story!
To those who expected the last chapter to be an ensemble, I apologize! By now I'm sure you realized that Suga is the main character of this story haha and I just wanted to give him a bit of a happy ending so he won't be so bitter about being single.
As for the KiyokoXKoshi pairing, I honestly believe they should have been canon lol mainly because (1) Suga was the only person Shimizu actually worried about (she held his hands O.O and he told her to wait until they could get married), (2) during the training camp, Suga knew where Shimizu lived (which depressed Tanaka and Nishinoya since she won't be staying overnight), (3) whenever the third years get together, there's a companionable air between the two of them that's… comforting, (4) Suga is one of the people Shimizu actually initiates talking to.
Oh, and in this world, Suga calls Kiyoko 'Shizu' when they're alone, which is short for Shimizu. And Kiyoko calls him Su-shi which is a combination of the first syllable of his last name, and the last syllable of his first name (a very common pattern of generating nicknames in Japan) - SUgawara koSHI.
So yeah, that's basically it haha! Thank you to everyone who stayed with this story from start to finish! Until next time and please stay safe guys ^^