An calls you the next day to debrief about the Junior Selection Camp. She tells you about the match between Atobe and Sanada that gets prematurely stopped.

"You can't even imagine the best part!" An continues to gush. You have long-since left the woman on speaker as you continue to do chores around your room. "Do you know what Taiichi said he overheard before the started the match?"

"Nope," you respond mildly distracted by the task of organizing some of the miscellaneous items in your room.

An completely ignores your lack of enthusiasm. "Atobe told Sanada that he wouldn't let anyone else defeat Tezuka. Apparently, he wants a full rematch when Tezuka's shoulder is healed."

You pause. "What?"

An makes a noncommittal noise. "I heard he and Tezuka have been on icy terms since yesterday," she casually mentions. "Someone said they saw them speaking in private in the hallway. I get it – that was a rough tennis match they had at Regionals."

She continues to tell you about the match between Atobe and Sanada but you've tuned the rest out. Tezuka? Meeting with Atobe yesterday? Was this after your meeting with him?

You tune back in when An tells you that neither of the two ended up winning, but rather the match was cut short by Sakaki-sensei, who guarantees them both a spot. She tells you the rest of the spots for the tournament tomorrow will be decided tonight and announced tomorrow.

"You are coming though, right?" she insists. "I got us all tickets!"

"Yeah, of course," you reassure.

"Even though Tezuka isn't playing?" An asks, sounding a little suspicious.

You let out a small laugh. "Yes, An. Believe it or not, I do watch tennis for reasons that don't involve Tezuka."

"Hmmm," An drawls out. "Who are you going to be watching then?"

You roll your eyes. "I'm sure Fuji will be playing. He's my friend too. Besides, we'll be seeing both Rikkaidai and Hyotei at Nationals. It'll be helpful to see both Sanada and Keigo play."

There is a very long pause on the phone. You pull the phone back to make sure you haven't disconnected for a second.

"An?"

"…Did you just call him 'Keigo,'" An asks.

You pause. "I… did."

"… how well do the two of you know each other?" you can't see An but you can imagine she's pacing. "Because someone last night also said they heard Atobe call you 'Lita'. I thought they were just making things up, but now I'm inclined to believe them."

You purse your lips. "This isn't an interrogation, An," you tell her plainly. "We know each other decently well."

You can literally see the gears turning in her brain. "Holy shit," she mutters. "Are you dating Atobe? That explains why he looked at you like that yesterday. I just thought-"

"An," you interrupt. "It's not like that."

"Why would you date an asshole like that, Lita?" she completely ignores you. "You saw him at the tennis courts that day – and he's the reason Tezuka literally cannot play tennis right now! He's never cared about anyone except himself."

"An," you interrupt sternly and this time she does stop. "He helped me find my tennis again."

She stays silent for a second. "Oh," she responds quietly. "I didn't know that."

"Yeah," you swallow. "He's not … he's not all that bad."

An pauses. "I trust you," she responds slowly. You let out a breath you don't realize you're holding. "I'm sorry," she says quietly. "I didn't realize you two were …"

"We're not dating," you tell her. "I … I haven't, um, I mean, we haven't, um, talked about it."

"… And Tezuka?" she asks.

You wince. "It's complicated."

She makes a sympathetic noise. "Okay. You can tell me about it later. I'll see you at the tournament tomorrow."

You smile. An has always been the kind of intuitive friend that's reminded you a lot of Fuji, but without any of the complicated ties to Tezuka. "Of course," you tell her. "I'll text you."

You are waiting for An outside the stadium. It's decently early, but she had volunteered to help with some of the set-up and she did have your ticket. You figured the least you could also do is help out as well if she needed the extra hands. An does come get you in a few seconds and hands you a basket of towels to help her carry. She leads you through some of the complex hallways in the lower levels of the stadium and you're glad that you're following her through the confusing maze. The two of you turn the corner and see Atobe and Oshitari walking towards the two of you.

The two of you greet both of them.

"Arn, this is unexpected," Atobe smirks.

An gives you one look. "Oh shoot," she glances at her watch. "I need refill those towels in the American locker rooms before they get in. Lita, drop those off for me?"

She leaves her basket by you and skirts off. Oshitari gives you two an amused look but also excuses himself.

"Towel girl now, Lita?" Atobe glances at the basket at your feet.

You raise an eyebrow as you reach down to grab the basket. "'Lita'?" you ask him. "I hadn't realized I had agreed to that."

Atobe smirks. "It only seems fair," he shrugs. "It didn't bother that night," his smirk widens.

"Shh," you hiss at him, glancing down the hall. Luckily it is empty. You know you are blushing, and it doesn't help with the smugness on Atobe's face. "Do you mind?"

Atobe chuckles. "I assume that also means I'm not getting a good-luck kiss?"

You roll your eyes. "You're insufferable," you tell him and grab the towel basket. "Go warm up or something."

Atobe chuckles. "I'm already warmed up," you give him a weird look. "I'm playing Doubles 2."

Your jaw drops. "What?"

It makes no sense. Atobe's clearly a singles player and his insight was essentially useless in a doubles game unless the other team is wildly out of formation.

He sees the expression on your face and smirks. "I requested it," he tells you. "I want to prove I can."

"You don't have to prove anything," you frown at him. "They all know you're a good player."

Atobe shakes his head. "I know what they say about me."

You narrow your eyes. "You've never cared about what others say about you before, Keigo. The international stage is not the time to start."

Atobe chuckles. "Not me. You," your eyes widen when he looks directly at you. "I hear what they're saying about you with me."

Your heart races and think back to your earliest conversation with Oshitari, when he tells you Atobe's fatal flaw is that he simply cares too much. You don't know how to respond.

Atobe sees the look of shock on your face and closes his eyes. "Watch me, Lita," he tells you softly and steps past you.

It is a brutal game. You know Atobe and Sanada are good singles players, but that doesn't mean they can carry a top-level doubles game well. It doesn't take long for the American players to tie the games out at 4-4 as the momentum shifts.

It's Atobe's service game again. He heads back towards the service line and you see him and Sanada again briefly exchange words, likely arguing about the last play. Then, you see him toss the ball into the air and your insight catches his swing right before he hits.

The ball soars across the net and barely bounces on the other side for a quick service ace. It's an insane serve – the sheer power to spin the ball straight back to the baseline is evident with the skid marks on the court. What you do see, however, is the strain it puts on his shoulder.

Atobe was good, but there was no way someone could feasibly use that serve consistently.

An sees you tense up. "What's wrong?" she asks.

"The serve," you shake your head. "It's too much. Fuji uses his opponent's power to return his Tsubame Gaeshi. Atobe generates that completely with his arm. He can't sustain that all match."

Sure enough, the next serve that Atobe sends over the net is solidly out. As the service game continues, you see the bounce on his serve get higher and higher – likely in direct proportion to the obvious strain he's placing on his body and arm. He does end up hitting another service fault later, but overall keeps the service game.

"Wow," An mutters. "Can't fault him for his persistence."

"He's being stubborn," you frown. "He's exhausted."

An looks at you and then looks back on the courts, just in time for Atobe to hit his next return shot out of bounds. The American team ties the score at 5-5. It's obvious to everyone that Atobe is exhausted.

The next game starts with a deep wide shot on Atobe's side. It's a good shot – you can tell with your insight on that Atobe can't make it – but it still makes you wince a little to see the ball fly past Atobe's racket. Luckily, Sanada catches up behind him to return the ball and end the rally.

You can't tell what words the two exchange, but clearly it is a turning point for them. They start the next game in a simple doubles formation – the first one they've used the entire game. It's not easy, but they slowly are able to keep Sanada's service game.

It's clear that both of them have reached some sort of agreement. You see Sanada quickly approach the net in the next game and this time, he does successfully win a volley game against the opposing American player. Although other player on the American side is able to lob the ball defensively back, you see Atobe getting in position for his classic smash.

However, instead of hitting the ball, he lets it fly past him. To everyone's surprise, Sanada comes up behind him and is instead able to successfully smash the ball into the opposing court to take the point. You hear a murmur flow through the crowd with that last play. It is the most teamwork you've seen out of Sanada and Atobe all game, and it's working. The two of them get into a clear rhythm that takes them through that last game to narrowly win the set at 7-5.

The crowds go wild. You and An jump up to join the cheering too as the four players shake hands and exit the courts. You all sit down and An turns to you.

"Did … did Atobe tell you why he was playing doubles?" she asks you quietly.

You turn to her, a little surprised. "He did."

She looks at you and then back on the court. "I think I might have been wrong about him," she tells you softly.

You swallow and also watch as the two teams get ready to send out their D1 teams. You're not sure how to respond.

"You should go see him," An tells you.

"I – he's going to be watching the rest of the matches. I'll see him after," you shake your head.

An laughs. "No, trust me. He's going to want to see you," she takes off her backstage pass and hands it to you. "Go."

You give her a hard look but she smiles and nods encouragingly. You bit your lip and take her badge, thanking her quietly as you run off.

The backstage area is still a maze, but at least you find your way back to the players' lounge space with relative ease. The large hallway leads towards an opening up ahead where you see the remaining All-Japan players who haven't played yet watching. Kikumaru and Oishitari have already left for the courts, but the rest are standing and facing away from you.

You pause to catch your breath. The sound alerts Fuji, who turns around quietly to see you. You hesitate, not sure how he will react and his blank face is difficult to read. Without a word, Fuji tilts his head slightly towards a door on the right. You bite your lip and give him a slight bow to thank him before slipping in.

The lounge space is small with a TV screen, some refreshments on the table, and a couple couches. It is just Atobe in there, sitting on the couch with a fresh towel, and he turns when he hears the door open.

"Hi," you greet quietly, closing the door behind you.

He groans and rubs his face with the towel. "I must be thoroughly exhausted if I'm hallucinating now."

You laugh and join him on the couch. "You're not hallucinating," you reassure him. He glances back up at you and you give him a small smile. "You must be exhausted though. That was a rough set. How is your arm?"

He sighs, tentatively lifting it. "It's fine. Just tired." He takes another deep breath and closes his eyes. "It's not the game I wanted to play."

"Hey," you furrow your eyebrows. "Don't say that. You guys played doubles, and you won. You played well."

Atobe purses his lips but does glance back at you. For the first time in your life, you see him unsure of himself. "Was it enough?" he asks quietly.

You feel your heart swell and turn towards him so you can properly wrap your arms around him. He's still tense. "It was for me," you tell him quietly. "And that's all I care about."

He takes a deep breath in and out slowly before you feel his body start to relax. He leans towards you until his forehead is resting on your shoulder. You feel his breathing start to slow until you realize he's fallen asleep. You laugh quietly and gently adjust him until he's lying on your lap as you watch the D1 game on the TV screen.

It is near the end of the D1 game that Sanada enters the room from a side hall. He glances towards you and Atobe, who is asleep in your lap. Just as you're about to get up and apologize for intruding, he shakes his head slightly.

"More people will be coming after the D1 game," he murmurs.

"I see," you take your jacket off and turn it into a makeshift pillow.

You scoot until you're able to slide the pillow under Atobe's head. He shifts slightly but doesn't fully wake up. You get up quickly and give Sanada a small bow.

"Thank you," you tell him. "That was a good game you two played for D2."

Sanada gives you another silent nod and you slip out the room quietly.