Title: When Love is Oblivious
Pairing: Asahi X Nishinoya
Summary: Nishinoya has had a crush on his senpai since the day he joined the Karasuno volleyball team, but Asahi is way too clueless for his own good! What is a libero to do in this situation? Why, declare his love and force Asahi to acknowledge his own feelings, of course!
"Asahi!"
The ruggard-looking giant jumped like a mouse in fright at the sudden loud yell. He turned around, shoulders hunched up, cringing away from the younger man who was barrelling down the school corridor towards him.
"Asahi!" Nishinoya shouted, coming to a stop in front of him.
"N-nani, Nishinoya?" Asahi mumbled, flinching. The other boy may be short, but he had loud volume. Was it really necessary to shout all the time?
"Suki da!"*
The entire hallway froze at the libero's bold announcement.
Asahi gaped at him and as the words settled into his brain, he slowly turned red.
"A-ah, I l-like y-you too. I wo-wouldn't be your f-friend if I d-didn't," he stammered, clearly unsure how to react and was getting self-conscious from all the stares and whispers from the surrounding students.
"No, baka, not like that!" Nishinoya shouted, wringing his hair in frustration.
"N-nishinoya? Are you okay?" Asahi asked slowly before jumping in fright when the shorter boy let out a loud yell of frustration and ran off.
"E-eh?"
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Ohayou, Asahi. I heard about the commotion this morning, you okay?" Sugawara greeted as he slid into the desk next to the wing-spiker.
Asahi started at his name and nodded hesitatingly. "Well, to be honest, I'm not quite sure what happened earlier."
"Oh! Poor Nishinoya," Suga laughed gently.
"I mean, I knew he liked me but for him to say it to my face... There must be something that he's after," the Ace continued to mutter in confusion.
Suga's eyes widened. "Um... Asahi, do you understand why Nishinoya told you he liked you?"
"No! I'm really scared now! What does he want from me?!" the tall man wailed in distress.
"He said it because he meant it. That's all there is to it," Suga explained patiently.
"Huh? But why would he say it? It's so embarrassing! I already knew he liked me, he didn't have to say it," Asahi rambled, covering his face with his hands, the panic leaking into his voice.
Suga blinked. "Wait, you already knew he liked you?"
Asashi looked up from his hands, frowning in confusion. "Well, we wouldn't be friends in the first place if we didn't like each other. I like you too, Suga. And Daichi too, of course."
"Asahi!" Suga moaned, facepalming.
"What's wrong, Suga? And good morning to you two," Daichi greeted as he walked into class.
"Daichi! Talk to him!" Suga announced dramatically, pointing to the startled, terrified giant.
"EHHH? What for?!" Asahi cried.
Before any of them could say anything else, the teacher walked in just as the morning bell rang. "Okay, guys, settle down and I'll take the attendance."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Asahi seemed to be cowering throughout the entire volleyball practice.
"Ne, Tobio, do you think Asahi-san's feeling sick?" Hinata stage-whispered to Kageyama, while watching their Ace hit a serve half-heartedly and Nishinoya yelling at him to put in more effort.
"He does look a little distracted. And don't call me by my first name in school!" the genius setter hissed.
Hinata frowned before a sly smirk crossed his face.
"TOBIO!" he sang and leapt onto his boyfriend's back, happily singing his first name repeatedly.
"Oi! Stop that! Get off me!" Kageyama yelled, blushing furiously but his attempts at pulling Hinata off him were half-hearted.
"Ooh, look. The King is openly flirting with his concubine," Tsukishima sneered loudly, from across the court.
"Tsukishima, you bastard!" Kageyama roared, his actions throwing Hinata, who protested, "I'm NOT his concubine!", to the ground.
"Tsukishima! Stop riling them up! And you two, no flirting on court!" Daichi hollered. "And Asahi! If you're not feeling up to it, get off the court!"
Asahi flinched but nodded resignedly. "Hai..."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Asahi-san!"
The tall man looked up from where he was sitting at the corner or the practice hall. Hinata held out a water bottle and a towel to him.
"Th-thanks, Hinata. Are you sure you won't get scolded for taking a break from practise?" he mumbled.
"Nah, it was Tobio who told me to. He said he didn't want me to overexert myself," Hinata giggled, plopping down next to him and taking a gulp from his own bottle.
"Tobio, huh," the giant man murmured.
"Hey, only I can call him that!" Hinata exclaimed.
"Oh, sorry! I was only repeating after you," Asahi said defensively.
"Are you okay, Asahi-san? You seem more jumpy than usual," the decoy observed.
"I'm okay... It's just that, something happened this morning and I'm not sure what to make of it.." Asahi sighed.
"You can tell me, if you want! I'm a great listener!" Hinata said eagerly.
Asahi's face softened at the over-helpful junior. "Well, it's about Nishinoya.."
"Nishinoya-senpai?"
"Ah, this morning, he told me something pretty random.. And I don't really know how to feel about it. And other people have been hinting at me otherwise all day..."
"What did he tell you? Usually Nishinoya-senpai says really cool things!"
"Um, he said he liked me."
"... I see," the smaller boy murmured.
Asahi's head snapped in the decoy's direction. "You aren't shocked by it? I didn't know what he meant, why he said it or how I should react!" he blabbered, clearly panicking.
"Well, I kinda thought it was obvious that he likes you. He takes really good care of you, after all. Kinda like how Tobio takes care of me!" Hinata smiled sheepishly.
The wing spiker blinked. He hadn't thought of that.
"He... takes care of me?"
"Yeah! He always makes sure you eat and drink right, that you stretch properly before practice, that you diligently attend practice and he encourages you all the time!" Hinata counted off all his points happily.
Asahi was stunned. He remembered flinching everytime Nishinoya yelled at him but he never noticed how his words were always centered around making sure he was okay.
"Asahi! Don't skip practice!"
"Asahi! Pack a proper lunch next time! This tiny thing ain't gonna give you energy!"
"Don't be so discouraged over such a trivial thing! I'm here to help you, arent I?"
"Ne... Hinata... what do you think he meant when he said he liked me?" Asahi asked slowly.
Hinata beamed at him. "He most likely meant the same thing as what I mean when I tell Tobio I like him!"
"Hinata! Rest time's over! Let's go practise some more!" Kageyama called from the court.
The short boy jumped up, dropping his bottle. "Okay!"
He turned to Asahi and smiled. "Senpai, you can't force your feelings but it would be good to tell him exactly how you feel. You'll find out a lot of things if you do that."
"Hinata! What are you taking your own sweet time for?!" Kageyama hollered impatiently.
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Hinata called, running over to his partner.
Asahi smiled softly. "Thanks, Hinata. It seems that you're more mature than I had taken you for."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Asashi! Let's go!" Nishinoya called, grabbing his bag. The senior hastily grabbed his bag and rushed out of the clubroom after him. "W-wait up!"
"Ne, Daichi, do you think Asahi's going to be okay?" Sugawara asked, worriedly.
Daichi slipped his shirt over his head. "He'll find his way and his feelings in time. Don't you worry. Besides, if Kageyama and Hinata can, they surely can too!"
The two seniors looked over the pair who were changing while arguing.
"I guess so!" Sugawara chuckled.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Asahi, grabbed his jacket in his arms, while 'stealthily' taking glances at the shorter boy as they walked in silence. He wanted to bring up the topic but wasn't sure how. Fortunately, Nishinoya made things simpler for him when the shorter boy whirled around to face him.
"Asashi. I like you." This time, he didn't shout. Just stated the words clearly and firmly.
"Umm, I'm really happy..." Asahi said, but stopped when he realised he didn't have any words to express what he was feeling.
"Uh, I... I wasnt really- I do like you, but I- uh," he continued, waving his hands frantically, trying his best to convey his thoughts to his friend.
Nishinoya stood before him, holding his gaze unyielding and patiently waiting for a response.
The ace took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. "Nishinoya. I'm really happy that you feel that way towards me. Umm, I don't know if I like you that way yet... But-But I do know that I want to try and -"
Before he could finish, the libero rushed forward and hugged him tight.
"Nishinoya?!" Asahi gasped in surprise.
"It's fine if you don't like me back. I just want that chance. I'll definitely make you fall for me," Nishinoya said quietly, the conviction in his voice ringing strongly.
The giant man looked down at him. A strange sense of warmth and fondness came over him and he smiled. I have a feeling you will.
A/N: I made the ending a little light. I thought that Asahi being as clueless as he is would e weird if he fell in love with Nishinoya immediately but he's willing to try and fall in love with him so :)
*suki da = I like you