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"What the fuck are you doing?"
Kyoutani stares at Yahaba, watching as the man viciously chomps through a popsicle.
"What?" Yahaba smiles innocently, as if he didn't just bulldoze through the strawberry flavored treat before Kyoutani could even taste his. Kyoutani makes the most disgusted face he can.
"You're so gross."
Yahaba rolls his eyes.
"It's really not that big of a deal."
He leans back in the chair, gracefully stretching his arms. As he repositions himself, he mischievously glances toward Kyoutani with a sly smile.
"I bet you’re just jealous 'cause you can't handle the cold like me."
Kyotani's eyes narrow. They both knew what was implied. It was a challenge, and Kyoutani was not about to back down. Instead, he glared at Yahaba and began munching through his own dessert, holding eye contact the whole time. Unfortunately for him, Kyoutani could only get through about half of the popsicle before the brain freeze was too much to handle.
"Shit, ow, fuck," Kyoutani grimaces, holding his throbbing head while saying every curse word he knew.
Yahaba, on the other hand, seems to be having the time of his life. He laughs, loud and crude, unlike his usual polite giggles. His eyes crinkle, even water a bit, and his rare dimples make an appearance. His perfectly manicured hands pound on the table while his fluffy, dirty-blonde hair bounces with the movements. All of this is typically very welcome, if it weren't for the reason of his joy. Kyoutani scowls at the boy, hurling what's left of his popsicle at him. Unfortunately, he misses, which only strengthened Yahaba's laughing fit.
Kyoutani can feel the eyes of the other customers watching their squabble; he can only hope they don't get kicked out again .
After Yahaba calms himself down, he looks across the table to find displeased Kyoutani pouting angrily.
"Are-" He chuckles. "Are you ok?"
Kyoutani huffs. He looks around, pretending he didn't hear a thing.
"Aww, come on," Yahaba coos.
He reaches for the arm Kyoutani was resting on the table and runs his fingers on top of his skin. Kyoutani feels his face heat up as he stiffens. This man was going to kill him.
Yahaba pauses for a second before grabbing his hand and cheekily adding, "It's not your fault you're not as talented as me~."
Kyoutani pulls his hand back and scoffs.
"Talented my ass. You're just some fuckin' freak animal."
Yahaba fakes gasps. He's been spending too much time with Oikawa.
"Freak animal? Look who's talking, Mad-Dog chan."
"God, just fuck off already," Kyoutani snarls with no real malice. He can't hide the grin escaping from his lips. Yahaba just laughs before buying Kyoutani a new popsicle.
*
*
*
Kyoutani likes Yahaba. It was an unfortunate truth he's come to accept. The only problem left was what to do next.
First, like any professional, he decided to confirm his feelings are real in an extremely accurate, foolproof way.
"You are 78% gay! Got a secret someone in your heart? Share your 'Buzzfeed-Are You Gay' quiz results and see how you compare to others!" flashed onto his screen.
This unfortunately confirms it. He definitely liked Yahaba. To solve this dilemma, he does the reasonable thing and stays up till 2 am researching for answers on Google. At first, not much. Eventually, he found a promising article containing "3 Sure-Fire Tips to Seduce Your Crush".
The first tip was to take your crush to "light and causal date spots with gifts" to "foster a deeper bond and allow the romance to bloom." However, he already goes to the suggested "date spots" with Yahaba regularly. They go together to some stupid exhibit at a museum Yahaba's been talking about all week, or Kyoutani will set up a picnic in the park to relax as they let their dogs run around. They've even gone to casual dining areas where one of them pays the bill (though they always make sure to pay the other back).
And as much as he loves these hangouts, he feels that spending more time with Yahaba would probably end up more annoying than "bond-deepening" or "romancing-blossoming," but they're the experts.
Tip 2 is to become more touchy. They say to use whatever excuse possible to touch them, whether it be goodbye hugs or congratulatory high-fives—this one's lined with a warning to attempt only if the crush is okay with these touches. Kyoutani only wishes there was a warning on what to do if their the exact opposite of that problem.
Yahaba not only hugs everyone hello and goodbye or high-fives everyone after a good rally. He pats the first years on the back to encourage them and holds on to his friends' shoulders for support during water breaks. He even cups Kyoutani's face, standing way too close for comfort, his face only a few inches away from Kyotani's, only to do some shit like reciting a shitpost he saw online ( Kyoutani may have pushed him to the ground after that one). Kyoutani's not sure he could do any better than that, but he should probably try.
The last tip, and the one the article puts the most pressure on, is to be nice to your crush.
"And this final tip is to be nice to your crush. Though it may seem obvious, everyone loves kind people and being cared for. It may be the easiest to do out of the bunch, but don't underestimate its effectiveness!"
Now Kyoutani wasn't the nicest guy. He certainly wouldn't call himself a bully, but he definitely was not a very pleasant guy to be around. Everyone may like kind people, but that's probably why not many people like him, which was exactly why he was most worried about this one. Additionally, most of his interactions with Yahaba are lighthearted but pretty intense arguments, and he's not quite sure he can change their whole dynamic just like that. But…
Easiest to do out of the bunch? That sounds like a taunt, as if the author saw straight through the screen and decided to say he couldn't do it. That he couldn't possibly be nice to Yahaba and get him to be his boyfriend. And the only thing Kyoutani likes more than volleyball (and Yahaba) is proving someone wrong.
*
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*
Kyoutani is no pussy. He wasn’t about to half-ass this whole being “nice” thing, so he did some extra research on what he was supposed to do. This whole week, he was going to be the nicest person Yahaba would ever know. He was gonna ace this.
*
"Hey.'
"Holy-!" Yahaba stumbles before quickly turning around, eyes wide and face pale. He sees Kyoutani leaning on the side of his house.
"What… what are you doing at my house? Don't you live in the exact opposite direction of me?"
Kyoutani only mutters angrily at this, as he begins searching his bag. Yahaba doesn't seem to notice or care as he continues to speak.
"You know, you could have just rung the doorbell to come in. My mom loves you, for some weird reason. Anyway, how did you-"
Yahaba is forcibly shut up after Kyoutani shoves something into his mouth.
"MHPRM? MMRRMP!"
"It's just some sweet bread," Kyoutani says unconcerned before mumbling at a barely audible volume, "They didn't have the kind you like best, but this better be good enough."
Yahaba freezes. He stares at the boy, and Kyoutani can practically see his brain work. Kyoutani watches him swallow the bread, but before he can say anything, Kyoutani has to implement the next part of his plan.
"Let's go. If you stand there eating all day, we won't be able to reach school on time," Kyoutani says, grabbing Yahaba's wrist and pulling him along. "I know you care way too much about school, and I don't wanna hear your obnoxious worrying."
Kyoutani cringes at his insult. This whole being nice thing was really hard. However, Yahaba seemed to relax slightly at the last statement, which was good. As they walked in relative silence, Kyoutani tried not to stiffen up when he felt Yahaba's arm pull a bit loose from his grip, before feeling the hand slide into his own.
He can't believe this plan is already working. He'd have to thank the author of that article.
*
*
*
Throughout the week, Kyoutani applies what he learned about being nice. He complimented Yahaba's hair ("Your hair looks less shitty today." "Thanks?" ), he bought Yahaba lunch ("Here." " What is this?" " Lunch." "Ok, but why are you giving it to me?" " It's for you, dumbass." " Oh? Uh, thanks, Kyoutani?") , and he refilled Yahaba's water bottle during training ("I got you water." "What?" "I said I got you water." "Did you spit in it or something?" "What the fuck? No, I did not?" " Oh… um ok" ).
He was killing this whole being nice thing. If this was a competition, he'd be winning.
However, Yahaba was staring at him with a bizarre look by the end of practice, the same one he makes when he comes across a complex math problem. It was a cute face, obviously, but Kyoutani hoped it wasn’t a bad sign.
One problem with being nice he did not expect was dealing with his teammates too. It was like after seeing Kyoutani be nice to Yahaba for a day, he was suddenly the equivalent of Mother Theresa. And while he was trying to impress Yahaba, he's not about to do charity work for those other lazy fuckers either. (" What do you think about my hair, Mad-Dog chan? Wonderful, like always, right?" " It somehow looks worse than usual."). ( "Ooo! Could you buy me lunch too, Kyoutani-kun?" "I'm not made of fucking money. Buy your own.) ( "Hey Kyoutani, my water bottle is empty, too." "So?" "Could you fill it up for me?" "No? Why the fuck would I do that?")
Now Kyoutani was walking with Yahaba to an ice cream and popsicle parlor, the same one Kyoutani had brought him to a week earlier. Only this time, he would be nice and make Yahaba fall in love with him.
*
*
*
Kyoutani knows what Yahaba is going to get (he spends a century thinking about what to pick only to choose the same every time) so he orders and pays for both desserts.
"You know I could have paid for myself, right? I brought my wallet."
"Well, I already paid. So it doesn't really matter." Kyoutani rolls his eyes and attempted to look nonchalant.
"Let me pay you back!" Yahaba began to insist, already pulling money from his wallet.
"No!" Kyoutani impulsively smacked the wallet to the ground. Yahaba stared at him before he began to pick it up.
"Ok then…"
An awkward silence fills the table as they eat, and Kyoutani can't help but feel like he messed up. But he was panicking! He couldn't just accept the money; that would ruin the whole plan. However, the tension was suffocating. Luckily, Yahaba seemed to feel the same as he began to change the subject.
"How did you know I was going to pick strawberry?"
Kyoutani scoffs. "You always pick strawberry."
"Well, what if I decided I wanted cookie dough this time?" Yahaba retorts defensively.
"You wouldn't. You're Yahaba, the same annoy-, I mean, the same old Yahaba." Kyoutani tried to look calm, as if he didn't just almost destroy his whole plan by insulting Yahaba.
He glances at Yahaba, seeing the same weird face from before, but intensified.
"Hey, Kyotani?” Yahaba asks softly. “Are you feeling sick?"
"No?" Now, this was weird.
Yahaba's lips tightened into a thin line.
"Are you sure? You've been a little…"
"A little what?"
"A little off?" Yahaba bit his lips and furrowed his brows. "I'm not sure how to explain it."
"Well, I think I'm pretty normal."
"No." Yahaba stopped that ideas in is tracks. "Something was definitely off."
Kyoutani glares at him. "Yeah, right."
"I'm telling the truth though!" Yahaba squints, seemingly thinking hard about what to say next. "You… you haven't been acting like yourself lately."
Kyoutani scoffs. "Care to explain?"
"Well," Yahaba huffs, crossing his arms and looking through the corner of his eye. "All this week, you came to my house to walk with me instead of our usual spot, and you always brought some pastry with you. And only one! That you gave to me? The Kyoutani I know does not share like that! "
Kyoutani glares at him. "Evidently, I DO share like that."
"You know, it's ok to be sick. I don't know if-"
"I'm seriously fine. Don't worry about it."
"No, something is definitely wrong. You've been acting really weird," Yahaba responds.
Kyoutani's brain makes a complete stop.
"Weird?"
"Like," Yahaba says slowly, his eyes squinted with focus. "Like you're not acting like yourself."
He looks up to see the confusion on Kyoutani's face before continuing.
"Okay, let me explain it a little differently. You came to my house to walk with me, bought me sweet bread, and looked genuinely sorry that you couldn't get my favorite. You complimented me, albeit a bit oddly; you bought me lunch and filled my water bottle during practice. You were being… nice?"
"And this means I'm sick? Also, am I not allowed to be nice every once in a while?" Kyoutani angrily retorts.
"Well, when people are sick, they can act peculiar," Yahaba explains. "It could be a neurological- that means brain related- thing. I saw a documentary about it once."
"I know what neurological means, asshat. And you didn't even answer my second question."
"I was getting there!" Yahaba replies, gruffly. " Obviously, you're allowed to be nice, but why only to me? Why now?"
Kyoutani was exactly sure what to say. He didn't want to reveal his plan like this.
"Why does it matter?" He says defensively.
"Because…," Yahaba says, hesitating. "Because it's what makes you, you ! Your straightforward answers, your rude attitude, the way you don't take shit. The way I don't have to care or hold back against you because I know you won't take it personally. The way you hate losing, so we end up in heated arguments all the time! And how even after we yelled at each other for a solid 15 minutes, you still come and hang out with me. It's what I like about you!"
Yahaba stares at the ground as Kyoutani stares at him, trying to process what he just got told. Yahaba likes his shit personality?
"It's… what I love about you."
Kyoutani stares at Yahaba for a good minute. His brain can't comprehend what he just heard. Was… was he confessed to? By Yahaba? While simultaneously getting insulted? He doesn't know which part to focus on, if he should be offended, or if any of this is even real. He's broken out of this trance when he hears whispers, barely audible.
"Fucking hell. Good going, Yahaba!" Yahaba lectures himself. "Just go confess to Kyoutani while insulting the shit out of him. What were you expecting, you fucking idiot?"
"Hey, calling you an idiot is my job," Kyoutani says gruffly, but with a soft smile. He slings his arm around Yahaba, who is glaring intensely at him. "And it's only an insult if you feel insulted, which I do not. You're gonna need a lot more than that."
Kyoutani takes a deep breath before leaning in closer to Yahaba.
"It's also pretty hard to be upset when you find out your crush likes you back."
Yahaba's eyes widen, and a small, lopsided smile forms on his face. His cheeks redden, and Kyoutani can feel his own face heat up.
"What?" Yahaba whispers, barely audible.
They stare at each other, eyes locked, their faces inches away from each other Kyoutani was pretty darn sure they were gonna make-out or something. That is until a pissed look crosses over Yahaba's face.
"Why didn't you just tell me that after I said I like you? Were you trying to crush my heart?"
"No?"
"Then why were you just sitting there, completely silent, blank stare and everything, as if you were totally weirded out by me?"
"Because you have to give a man time to process what you said? God Yahaba! You're a fucking dumbass if you think I can understand your whole goddamn speech in 5 seconds."
Kyoutani returns the pissed look to Yahaba, only to find him laughing.
"What's wrong with you?"
"I'm just really glad you're back to normal," Yahaba says with a smile so wide that his dimples show. "And I'm also really, really glad you like me back."
"Honestly, I'm just glad my plan worked.
"Your plan?"
"Oh, it's nothing."