Chapter Text
“I swear, if you and your stupid fucking friend make lots of noise again tonight I am going to become an only child.” Is the first thing Osamu says at practice.
Atsumu lifts an eyebrow. “It’s too early for you to be contemplating fratricide. What the hell did I do?”
“What did you do?” Osamu asked him, pointing a finger at him accusingly. “You were so loud last night! I couldn’t sleep! I could hear you from downstairs!” Osamu crossed his arms. “Also ‘fratricide’? I’m surprised you even know what that means.”
“Hey, I’m smart!” Atsumu said, scowling at his twin.
“Oh, so we’re telling lies now?” Osamu said, raising his eyebrows in fake surprise. “Next you’re going to tell me our parents like you better.”
“I’m stupid, not delusional.” Atsumu scoffed. “I know they like you better even though they say that all of that bullshit about ‘loving us equally’.”
Osamu frowned, but before he could say anything else, he was interrupted by their other team member.
“What’s the new fight today?” Suna asks as he walks over to them. “I need some fresh drama in my life.”
“Nothing.” Atsumu rolls his eyes. “ ‘Samu is just being annoying as shit, like usual.”
“ ‘Sumu and his stupid friend were so loud last night I couldn’t sleep.” Osamu scowls, glaring at his twin brother. “I went to get up to get food around midnight, and I could hear them from downstairs.”
Suna’s eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything.
Atsumu rolled his eyes again, ignoring Suna’s weird facial expressions in favor of arguing with his twin. “We were not that loud.”
“I could hear the headboard against the wall!” Osamu grabs the volleyball intent on throwing it at his brother, while Suna lets out a sound of surprise. “You’re lucky our parents go on trips a lot, or they definitely wouldn’t have allowed your friend to stay over.”
“Well I’m sorry I have a lousy headboard. My bed is broken, remember?” Atsumu says, throwing his hands up in the air. “I’m waiting for the new one to come in.”
Osamu gives him a look. “Well I for one can’t wait. It’s making me seriously consider becoming an only child.”
Atsumu shrugs. “Too bad you didn’t say that to me a few years ago, could have had your wish.”
Osamu and Suna share a very concerned look, but before that, another person joins their group conversation.
“What are you guys doing? Practice is about to start.” Aran says, walking up to them, pointing to the rest of their team.
“Talking about Atsumu’s broken headboard, apparently.” Suna said, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Apparently, he was very loud last night with his friend when they were in his room, and it kept Osamu up.”
Aran gave him a look, and Atsumu glared at Suna. “It’s not my headboard that’s broken, it’s my bed.”
Suna lifts a brow. “And how did that happen?”
He felt himself flush. He did not want to admit that he, as an almost grown adult, had been jumping on the bed with his best friend and it had broken that way. In his defense though, he was challenged and he wasn’t about to take that lying down. He won, and that’s what mattered.
“Oh…uh, no idea.”
Suna’s face told Atsumu he didn’t believe him. “Right.”
Aran took a look between all of them, and sighed, rubbing his face. “I don’t have time for this. Come on, practice is going to start. We have a game today, so we need that last minute practice.”
And so, the argument was forgotten, and they went to practice.
Well by Atsumu, anyway.
Everyone else, not so much.
i cannot fucking do this anymore, Is the text Atsumu receives during lunch. I’m going to lose it.
sumu: i didn’t realize that you can lose something you never had?
kawa: i will block you.
sumu: you wouldn’t dare.
kawa: try me.
Atsumu laughed at the thought. kawa, if you blocked me, then who would you talk shit about everyone with?
It was a moment before he received a response. fine. you’re right. speaking of, i have new gossip.
sumu: do share.
“Hey there lover boy, you want to participate in this conversation?” Suna’s voice brought his attention from his phone.
“Not really,” Atsumu said, not looking away from his phone. “Why? You usually tell me to shut up anyway. Don’t think it would matter much.”
A silence passed and he received the latest text, which read: that bald guy asked Karasuno's manager again, and she rejected him.
sumu: that is NOT gossip. that is just daily news.
kawa: if you would let me FINISH then it would be gossip. he bought her a ring. a RING.
Atsumu laughed out loud again, shaking his head, “Seriously?” He muttered, typing a response back.
Everyone at the table looked at him. Not noticing the stare down he was currently receiving, he continued to text his best friend.
sumu: are you serious? and PLEASE tell me he did a public proposal.
kawa: of course he did.
sumu: and she rejected him?
kawa: obviously.
sumu: that is hilarious. does it make me a bad person that i’m laughing at him?
kawa: his team laughed at him too, so I wouldn’t feel too bad.
sumu: i mean, i wouldn’t either way tbh
kawa: i know you wouldn’t, you piece of shit. but that’s actually hilarious though. social anxiety who, am i right?
sumu: hey, if im a piece of shit then you’re right there with me pal
“What’s so funny?” Osamu asked him, as Atsumu turned to him.
“What?” he asks him.
“You were laughing at your phone.” Osamu points out. “Must have been real funny.”
“It was.” Atsumu said, grinning. “Actually hilarious.” His team started him down for a long minute. He was getting kind of creeped out, honestly. At the continuing stretch of silence he frowned. “What?”
“You gonna tell us?” Suna asked him, with his eyebrow raised in anticipation,
“No?” he said, confused. “Why do you care?”
“What, we’re not good enough to hear jokes from your girlfriend?” Suna smirks, like he caught Atsumu in a lie.
“Girlfriend?” Atsumu asked incredulously. He made a disgusted face at the idea of dating his best friend, even if they thought it was girl he was talking to. “I don’t have one. I’m not even dating anyone.”
Suna and Aran share a look, but say nothing. “Besides. It’s not anything worth repeating. Just dumb stuff my friend sent me.”
Suna gave him a heavily unimpressed look. “Right.”
He ignored the, “What friend? The invisible one?” From his brother, going back to his texting conversation.
The bell rang, and he sighed, pocketed his phone, and stood up. “Class time, ugh.”
Aran patted his shoulder. “Just think, in a few hours we’ll be at the game and you can relax there.”
Atsumu laughed as he followed him.
“I still can’t believe he did the public proposal.” Atsumu said, on facetime with Oikawa. “Like, I wish I had that inability to care about public embarrassment.”
“Social anxiety is foreign to him, I guess.” Oikawa agreed. “Instead I get crippling anxiety of people perceiving me in a negative light.”
“That’s why you expect everyone to dislike you and find you incredibly annoying.”Atsumu says, giving his best friend a wink and a finger gun. “Works for me so far. Makes only having one friend a lot easier to deal with.”
“I thought people were obsessed with you.” Oikawa asks him, frowning. “Like you get love notes falling out of your locker.”
“Kinda? But not really.” At that, Atsumu has to laugh. “I get notes all right, but definitely not love ones. I just tell the team that because it’s easier to explain. Not that they’d care anyway.”
“Damn,” Oikawa says, after a moment of silence. “We need to work on your self esteem.”
“Hey, at least I’m not cutting myself.” Atsumu says, rolling his eyes. “It could be worse.”
“Instead you just think you’re scum of the earth.”
“No, I’m awesome.” Atsumu corrects him. “I’m just aware of my faults.”
“…Right.” Oikawa nicely says nothing in response to that admission. “You’re visiting my house this weekend right? Since we broke your bed?”
“Who knew the bed wouldn’t be about to take that much movement?” Atsumu muttered. “I guess that’s what I get for having a cheap bed.”
“I thought you had a new bed?”
“Nah, that’s Osamu.” Atsumu said, rolling his eyes once more. “Remember? The one my parents like.”
“I still can’t believe they said that to you.” Oikawa said, shaking his head. “Like who even says that?”
“Well, she was drunk so it makes sense. Not the worst thing she said though, so I guess there’s that?” Atsumu shrugs once more. “And my dad wouldn’t know familial affection if it slapped him across the face. At least he’s paying for college, though. So there’s that.”
He heard Osamu walk up, with Suna in tow. “I gotta go, but I’ll talk to you later. We still have to talk about that thing, remember?”
Oikawa groans. “Ugh, whatever. It’s so embarrassing.”
“At least you have some realm of chance.” Atsumu said, rolling his eyes again. “I don’t.”
“Talk to you later.” Oikawa says, before hanging up.
“Bye.” Atsumu says to the now hung up phone. “Don’t even wait for me to say it back. Rude.”
He hears his brother and a few people walk up next to him.
“Since when do you have so many friends?” Osamu asks, raising his eyebrow at Atsumu on the phone again. “You’re awfully social all of a sudden.”
For what feels like the thousandth time, Atsumu rolls his eyes. “My life doesn’t solely revolve around volleyball.”
“That’s surprising coming from you.” Suna said, laughing. “You ready to see everyone play the games at the carnival? I bet Akagi won’t score on a single thing.”
“Oh sorry.” Atsumu said, as they walked to the bus. “I’m going to be out of town. Visiting a friend.”
Now at this Osamu gives him a look, at the same time Suna snaps his head to Osamu to give him a look.
“Since when?”
“Uh, like yesterday?” Atsumu says, annoyed.
“Seriously?” Suna asks, he almost can’t believe that Atsumu has other friends.
”You just had a friend over yesterday.” Osamu said, crossing his arms.
“I thought you’d be happy.” Atsumu shrugs. “You guys have never invited me before, so I didn’t think it mattered.”
Suna looked like he had been physically slapped. He took a step back, frowning. “Well yeah, because you usually tag along with Osamu anyway. I didn’t think I had to invite you.”
“Well whatever.” Atsumu shrugged. “I’ll talk to you guys later. I have to meet up with him soon. Talk to you later. If mom and dad come back and ask where I am, just tell them what ever you want. I’m sure they’ll believe you.”
Atsumu waved and walked towards the trains, picking up his phone and calling Oikawa back.
“Dude, I totally forgot to tell you something earlier, you will not believe this…”