Guarded (Sugawara x OC)

Chapter 19

If it weren't already obvious that Suga and Machi were into each other, it became painfully so over the next few weeks. Despite the heckling from the volleyball peanut gallery, the two practically became inseparable. Lunch together every day was already a common sight, but now the two were waiting for each other by their lockers, and even taking the short time between classes just to chat for a few moments. If it all weren't exactly what they'd been hoping would happen, Suga was sure he would have heard Daichi complain a while ago about how sickening sweet it all seemed. Yet, despite almost being attached at the hip, they were careful not to show too much affection in front of others outside their group of friends. Especially since Reo had connections with the martial arts club, any new rumors always had the possibility of making it back to him somehow. So, instead, Suga and Machi would sneak small moments throughout the day, away from prying eyes and where it felt safe to hold hands or to brush a strand of hair out of the other's face. In between these moments, they kept what appeared to be a more friendly distance, but were always within arms reach of each other.

After school was a different story. Every day like clockwork, as soon as the final bell rang, Suga was somehow already waiting outside her classroom, ready to walk with her to the gym, where he didn't care if anyone saw the soft peck on the forehead he gave her or heard the quiet, "good luck" he whispered before bouncing off to his own practice. Red faced, Machi would join the rest of her team and did her very best to appear as if nothing had changed. Those who only knew her as the vice-captain saw no difference in her behavior; she was the same Machi as always, beating everyone in sparring and yelling at them to work harder. One pair of inquisitive eyes did pick up on the subtle changes, however. It was obvious to Kaido something was new; he'd never seen her smile so much outside of a tournament. And despite always arriving to the gym early, she would burst through the doors as red as if she'd just run a marathon. Never one to spill the beans, he kept his suspicions to himself, or at least until he could find a moment without the thankfully less suspicious captain around so he could get all the juicy details.

Not that Machi was counting the minutes until practice was over, but she seemed to have an uncanny ability to know the exact moment when the hour turned. Like a whirlwind, Machi would breeze through the cleanup, rush to the locker rooms to change, then was out the door with a flurry, leaving her teammates to watch in stunned silence at the speed of her departure. She'd arrive at the volleyball court only a few moments later, where it was her turn to eagerly wait for Suga. Slightly impatient, Machi would spend a few moments catching up with Tadashi and Tsukki while they cleaned the court, and eventually even some of the others on the team too as they slowly became more comfortable around one another. Yet despite a growing appreciation of Tanaka's jokes and Ennoshita's quiet kindness, it was always Suga that stole her attention away. After making sure the supplies were stashed and the first years were mopping the floor, the vice-captain would finally make his way over to where Machi stood in the center of his teammates. Even through the mass of taller boys, Machi could spot his soft gray hair as he approached, and would stop mid-sentence to greet him, the sudden way her eyes lit up not going unnoticed by everyone in the room. It was at this point that there would be a chorus of "oooohhhs" from the team, which Suga responded to by shoving them all aside and offering such a serious glare that they all scattered.

Finally alone, they'd walk hand-in-hand out of the gym, sometimes towards Machi's house, but other times Suga would surprise her with a take-away dinner or a thermos of tea and they'd spend hours walking the empty streets and talking. They weren't fancy, well-planned out dates like some girls might have expected, but that didn't seem matter. In fact, they were some of Machi's favorite moments with Suga; when she could finally rest her head against his shoulder as they walked, and not have to worry about who saw them or overheard their conversations. Equally content, Suga would always pull her closer, placing a gentle hand atop her head to play with her hair. And every night, when he dropped her off at the front door to her house, they'd share a silent moment. It started out as just a time where they'd share a quiet smile and an even quieter "goodnight". Eventually though, the minutes dragged on longer as they spent more time lost in each other's eyes, neither wanting to be anywhere else. The more these moments happened, the heavier the air seemed to grow around them as the thought they had both begun hoping for, but neither wanted to voice aloud, would eventually show on their faces. Of course, Suga had been thinking about it, what it might feel like to give her more than just an innocent kiss on the cheek; to feel her lips pressed against his and to wrap both arms around her in a tight embrace. During those quiet minutes alone together, his eyes would frequently break away from hers and trail down her face, drawn by the way she anxiously bit at her lip. On the most recent of these evenings, when they had spent almost ten minutes in a tense silence, foreheads pressed together, Suga could have sworn he saw her eyes trace the same path. Yet just like every other night, the spell would eventually break and they'd both turn their separate ways, each silently reprimanding themselves for chickening out.