There are two other first years when Kunimi joins the middle school volleyball team. One of them has flat black hair and is slamming the red and green ball against the wall. The other is on the bench, tying his shoes. He has hair that reminds Kunimi of a shallot.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh,\u201d says the other first year, when Kunimi joins him on the bench. \u201cHi.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kunimi mumbles in greeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m Kindaichi Yuutaro,\u201d he says. \u201cThis is my first time joining a volleyball team. You\u2019re a first year too, right?\u201d He squints. \u201cI think the other guy used to play volleyball before. He\u2019s good.”<\/p>\n
\u201cKunimi Akira,\u201d Kunimi says, adjusting his kneepads. \u201cHi.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHi,\u201d Kindaichi says, again. \u201cHave you played volleyball before too?”<\/p>\n
Kunimi lifts a shoulder. \u201cNo,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood,\u201d says Kindaichi, though it\u2019s friendly and he runs his hands over his thighs. \u201cThen I won\u2019t be the only inexperienced first year. We can be inexperienced together.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looks at Kunimi, as if expecting a response. Kunimi watches his palms dig into his skin.<\/p>\n
*<\/p>\n
Kageyama is annoying, but Kindaichi seems to like him so Kunimi puts up with him. Kindaichi had found Kunimi in the courtyard for lunch, and they whinged about their fruit cups together. Then Kageyama had walked by, clutching his bento, and Kindaichi called, \u201cHey, Kageyama!”<\/p>\n
Now Kunimi is pressed between Kageyama and the edge of the bench, because Kageyama has no sense of self-awarenes and is taking up most of the space. Kunimi glares at the ground.<\/p>\n
Kindaichi chuckles and says, \u201cOi, Kageyama, you should move a little and give Kunimi more room.”<\/p>\n
\u201cOh,\u201d says Kageyama, and shifts only a centimeter, maybe two. \u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kindaichi laughs about it later when it\u2019s just the two of them. Kageyama is funny, sometimes, even though it\u2019s hard to pin down his sense of humor. Kunimi adjusts his backpack. Kindaichi laughs at everything, because an idiot, shoulders shaking when Kunimi makes a dry comment about their teacher\u2019s voice. Kageyama isn\u2019t in their class.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe talks about volleyball a lot,\u201d Kindaichi comments. \u201cKageyama. Doesn\u2019t he have a life?”<\/p>\n
Kunimi snorts. \u201cI doubt it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s really good though.”<\/p>\n
Kunimi shrugs.<\/p>\n
Kindaichi elbows him, and Kunimi goes, \u201cOw.\u201d Kindaichi ignores him.<\/p>\n
\u201cC\u2019mon, you know he is. He\u2019s like, really good. He could be the next Oikawa-senpai.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t let Oikawa-senpai catch you saying that.”<\/p>\n
Kindaichi rolls his eyes, nudging Kunimi again. This time it\u2019s less hard, and he\u2019s grinning. \u201cDo I look stupid to you?”<\/p>\n
*<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to get lost in people, though Kunimi\u2019s never really experienced it before. He checks his phone for Kindaichi\u2019s texts, feeling a rush when he does, sending quickfire messages when he gets them. Sometimes he forgets to respond, but Kindaichi never minds.<\/p>\n
Kunimi invites Kindaichi over to his house two months into their friendship.<\/p>\n
They walk back, and Kunimi\u2019s stomach is turning. In a good way, he thinks, careful not to step on the sidewalk cracks. Kindaichi is listening to his mp3 player and muttering the words under his breath. Kunimi pretends not to hear.<\/p>\n
Then Kindaichi takes an earbud out and says, \u201cD\u2019you wanna listen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Loud music is blaring from the earbud, and it looks a little oily. Kindaichi wipes it on his shirt. \u201cWhat are you listening to?\u201d<\/p>\n
Kindaichi shrugs. \u201cMy mom\u2019s music.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it any good?”<\/p>\n
\u201cNot really.”<\/p>\n
Kunimi takes the earbud anyway. The songs are kind of shrilly and nonsensical, but they have good beats and Kindaichi nods along to them. Kunimi doesn\u2019t, but he doesn\u2019t take the earbud out the whole walk to his place.<\/p>\n
At his house, he tells Kindaichi that he can help himself to food either in the fridge or the pantry. Kindaichi does. He comes back to the living room, eating a packet of Kunimi\u2019s favorite candy, and Kunimi watches him. Kindaichi presses the caramel to his tongue, lets it sit in his mouth until it melts. The bulge in his cheek wanes down over time.<\/p>\n
Kunimi steals a piece of his own. Kindaichi smiles. They start their homework.<\/p>\n
*<\/p>\n
Neither of them are regulars, but Kunimi is glad for it. They\u2019re only first years. Kindaichi grovels as Kageyama practices with the second years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not the only<\/em> benched first years,\u201d Kunimi points out, glancing to their side.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, but Kageyama\u2014\u201d Kindaichi huffs.<\/p>\n \u201cHe didn\u2019t ask to practice with them,\u201d says Kunimi.<\/p>\n \u201cThe coach plays favorites, I just know it.”<\/p>\n You\u2019re my favorite<\/em> sits at the tip of Kunimi\u2019s tongue, but he swallows it back. Kindaichi hasn\u2019t stopped glaring, though it\u2019s mostly at nothing. Kunimi puts his left hand on Kindaichi\u2019s right, and twines their fingers together.<\/p>\n Kindaichi\u2019s cheeks redden and he stares at their joined hands.<\/p>\n Kunimi says, \u201cJealousy isn\u2019t attractive on anyone,\u201d and meets Kindaichi\u2019s eyes. Kindaichi is still staring at their hands, before he lifts his eyes up to meet Kunimi\u2019s. Kunimi steadily holds his gaze.<\/p>\n Kindaichi drops his, disentangling their hands. \u201cI\u2019m gonna see if I can practice with the second years, too,\u201d he says, and then stands up. \u201cCoach!”<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n Kunimi\u2019s phone is open on his bed, screen still burned with the words Sorry<\/em>, labeled at 4:52PM. It makes Kunimi\u2019s gut twist even more to see it after the words Kindaichi Yuutaro<\/em> and Kunimi twists to his side, guilty. The clock at the top of his phone now reads somewhere in the eight o\u2019clock hour. Kindaichi is probably eating dinner right now. He has a family and other things. He can\u2019t come to Kunimi\u2019s all the time.<\/p>\n Kunimi shoves his hands into his shorts despite himself. His hand does one job while his mind doees another, summoning up images of Kindaichi, the texture of his fingers against Kunimi\u2019s from all those weeks ago. Kunimi shifts and adjusts the angle, trying not to let his actions and his thoughts connect.<\/p>\n Kindaichi laughing at his jokes. Kunimi\u2019s middle finger runs over the tip. Kindaichi bending his head down, tongue sticking out between his teeth while he\u2019s finishing his exam. Kunimi remembers that day; it\u2019d been bright and sunny and he\u2019d finished his own exam early, like he always does. He\u2019d been resting his head on its side on the desk, and he\u2019d caught sight of Kindaichi and hadn\u2019t been able to look away.<\/p>\n Kindaichi sticking the back end of his pen into his mouth. Kindaichi cheering Kunimi on from the side. Kunimi comes with a shudder into his shorts, feeling stupid and young. He lets it dry stiff under his clothes, before he lifts himself up to head to the washroom.<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n \u201cC\u2019mon,\u201d says Kindaichi. \u201cDon\u2019t you like Yamato-chan?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot particularly,\u201d Kunimi answers, without reacting. He is lying horizontal on Kindaichi\u2019s couch while Kindaichi had been copying his homework. Now Kindaichi is tugging at the fabric around his ankle, trying to get him to sit up.<\/p>\n Kunimi does not give in. Kindaichi sighs and sits on the couch with him. \u201cYou should go out with them,\u201d he says. \u201cKaraoke is fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Kunimi peers down at him. \u201cAren\u2019t you going?\u201d<\/p>\n Kindaichi shrugs. \u201cOnly if you do,\u201d he says, and Kunimi almost smiles. But Kindaichi continues, \u201cI don\u2019t really have anyone else to talk to\u2014well, I do<\/em>, but I\u2019d like it better if you were there, probably.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose I should be touched,\u201d says Kunimi, rolling his eyes. He shifts to his side so he\u2019s facing the back of the couch. It\u2019s terrible: the fabric is scratchy and there are tiny wisps on it that look like cat hairs, even though Kunimi has never seen a cat around here before. It\u2019s all for the better, anyway, since he\u2019s allergic. He doesn\u2019t sneeze when he\u2019s on the couch, but he doesn\u2019t particularly want to know what the wisps are.<\/p>\n Kindaichi puts a hand on Kunimi\u2019s side and wriggles him a little. \u201cKunimi,\u201d he insists. \u201cCome on. Kageyama might even end up being there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWow,\u201d Kunimi says. \u201cWhat a persuasive argument.\u201d<\/p>\n When Kindaichi begins lying parallel to him, Kunimi is so shocked by the extra warmth that he does not react. Kindaichi says against his neck, \u201cDo you just plan on sleeping on my couch all afternoon?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf I can help it,\u201d Kunimi says.<\/p>\n Kindaichi\u2019s breath is hot.<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n They go to karaoke the next time Yamato-chan invites them out, because she smiles and twirls her hair when she asks Kunimi and Kunimi is not stupid. Everyone likes Yamato-chan; Yamato-chan likes Kunimi. So he says yes.<\/p>\n Kindaichi comes with him.<\/p>\n Kunimi does not sing, but Kindaichi tries to, and the rest of them laugh, though good-naturedly. Kindaichi is a terrible singer and Kunimi smiles into his wrist the whole time.<\/p>\n When he\u2019s done, Kindaichi comes over, forehead lined with sweat and grinning. \u201cMy parents hate it whenever I sing in the shower,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cI hate it, too,\u201d says Kunimi. Kindaichi is taking his jacket off and throwing it on the bench. \u201cWarm?\u201d<\/p>\n Kindaichi nods. \u201cSinging takes a lot of energy out of you,\u201d he says, sitting next to Kunimi. \u201cNot that you\u2019d know.\u201d<\/p>\n Kunimi shrugs. Yamato-chan had tried to talk to him earlier, goad him into singing, but Kunimi had declined and has the will of an ox when it comes to dignity. He thinks Yamato-chan might be sulking. Maybe she\u2019d taken it as a rebuff. Good.<\/p>\n He reaches for Kindaichi\u2019s jacket on the bench. He starts slipping his arms through the sleeves and Kindaichi doesn\u2019t react.<\/p>\n \u201cYou made a good choice,\u201d Kindaichi says, \u201cdeciding not to sing. But it\u2019s fun just being out here with other people, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n His cheeks are flushed from the adrenaline and his jacket is kind of smelly and broad around Kunimi\u2019s shoulders.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Kunimi says.<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n Kageyama is annoying, and not in the cute way. After they lose the Spring Finals it\u2019s just school, and then after that is graduation. Kunimi decides to apply to Aoba Johsai for volleyball, and when he mentions it to Kindaichi, Kindaichi does, too.<\/p>\n They both get in.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the natural road for most Kitagawa Daiichi volleyball students. Kindaichi is the one who jumps in his seat at the games, is eager to be a regular. Kunimi finds it\u2019s not so bad, either. Sometimes when he can\u2019t go to sleep at night because his afternoon nap ended up being five hours long, he scrolls through the messages on his phone, rereading Kindaichi\u2019s exclamation points and kaomojis against his pillow. He\u2019s tired when he wakes up, but then Kindaichi is waving to him from the entrance of the school, beaming.<\/p>\n When Kunimi had kissed him for the first time, it\u2019d been on one of those mornings, snaking a hand to the back of Kindaichi\u2019s head and meeting their lips together. Kindaichi had pulled back right away and said, \u201cKunimi<\/em>,\u201d but not in a bad way, sort of exasperated and smiling. Kunimi just kept kissing Kindaichi and Kindaichi made a choked noise in his mouth, but he kissed back until they heard the sound of Oikawa-senpai going, \u201cOoh<\/em>,\u201d and both pulled away at the same time to see their seniors grinning at them.<\/p>\n \u201cYoung love,\u201d said Matsukawa, and Oikawa cackled.<\/p>\n They aren\u2019t different when it\u2019s just the two of them; but, it\u2019s always been the two of them in the first place. On Mondays when they don\u2019t have practice, Kunimi goes to Kindaichi\u2019s place and they study together. Kindaichi tries to gossip, sometimes. Other times they kiss.<\/p>\n Kunimi is tired, because he\u2019d had another five hour nap yesterday. Today he might, too, but Kindaichi\u2019s fingers are playing with the hem of his shirt and that\u2019s distracting. Kindaichi is a heavy breather, between Kunimi\u2019s shoulderblades.<\/p>\n \u201cHey,\u201d Kindaichi says. \u201cYou know, I\u2019ve never heard you say that you liked someone before.\u201d<\/p>\n Kunimi rolls his eyes. \u201cStop fishing for compliments, Kindaichi,\u201d he says, and jabs him in the stomach with his elbow.<\/p>\n \u201cOw,\u201d says Kindaichi; but he just burrows further into Kunimi\u2019s back. \u201cI\u2019m not fishing for compliments. I\u2019m just saying.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay,\u201d says Kunimi.<\/p>\n Kindaichi is quiet again, but not in a waiting way. Kindaichi can be like that, because he can just start talking out of nowhere, or he can wait to conjure up something to talk about. Kunimi likes that. Kindaichi doesn\u2019t expect much from him.<\/p>\n \u201cI like you, Kindaichi,\u201d he says to his pillow.<\/p>\n Kindaichi\u2019s hand runs along the side of Kunimi\u2019s waist, warm and solid. \u201cI know.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You\u2019re my favorite<\/i> sits at the tip of Kunimi\u2019s tongue, but he swallows it back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"fandom":[479],"rating":[676],"ship":[568],"relationship":[606],"minorfandomships":[],"class_list":["post-624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-default","fandom-haikyuu","rating-mature","ship-kinkuni","relationship-slash"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=624"},{"taxonomy":"fandom","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fandom?post=624"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=624"},{"taxonomy":"ship","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ship?post=624"},{"taxonomy":"relationship","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/relationship?post=624"},{"taxonomy":"minorfandomships","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aroceu.com\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/minorfandomships?post=624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}