𝚂𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝙳𝚊𝚢 𝙵𝚘𝚘𝚕 - 𝙺. 𝚂𝚊𝚔𝚞𝚜𝚊 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

Chapter Nine - Don't Overthink It

Chapter Nine

"Hey, Omi. We're all meetin' up at White Rabbit tonight. Ya comin' or what?"

Sakusa continued walking as they trailed down the hallway to the main entrance to leave for the day. "Why do you bother asking anymore? You know I'm not going to go, Miya."

"Oh, I dunno...." Miya hummed. "Maybe 'cause your li'l kryptonite will be there."

"My what?"

"Y'know, kryptonite? Like Batman?"

Feeling his eye twitch, Sakusa replied. "It's Superman."

"Whatever, nerd," Miya shrugged. "Anyway, the li'l lady. Your girlfriend's gonna meet up with us tonight."

Sakusa's head turned slowly toward Miya as if he'd just said the most horrid thing. His expression darkened, and he gripped his duffle bag strap tighter. "You're kidding, right?"

Miya smirked and glanced over, only for it to temporarily falter when he shuddered at the sight before him. "Sho and I went out for lunch, and Saji-chan just happened to be there, so we kept her company."

"You..." Pinching the bridge of his nose, the dark-haired athlete sighed. "You idiot. When are you gonna give this up? Stop dragging Sajima into your web just because you want to mess with me. You don't even know her."

"Well, it's not like we went to Kaiyukan together, but we chatted for a while." Miya pushed back his slightly damp hair with a quiet chuckle. "She's cute."

Sakusa could feel a bubble of anxiety rising to the surface. Why did Miya always have to stick his nose where it didn't belong? "Sajima's not your type."

"If the great Kiyoomi Sakusa fell victim to that pretty smile, I don't see who couldn't," Miya pointed out, purposefully trying to goad him into joining them. Sakusa had been alone for so long that Miya figured it was time for him to have some fun and meet a nice girl. Besides, Sajima was charming in her own way, and he thought she'd be fun to have around more often. "So are ya comin' tonight or what?"

Sakusa was divided. On the one hand, if he went, he would be subjected to a bar with obnoxious drunkards and too many people close together for comfort. On the other hand, if he didn't go...what if something happened? What if Miya told her something that would make her not want to speak with him? What if Hinata and Bokuto were so overbearing that he wouldn't see her at another one of his games? Or worse – what if she hit it off with one of them? Sakusa shook his head. Why do I even care what she thinks of me? I hardly know her.

However, despite the denial that he was beginning to form a crush on the unusual woman, Sakusa knew he wouldn't subject her to his teammates alone, but he wasn't happy about it. He just hoped they'd have enough tact to not bring up the phobias he'd been working hard to keep in check after going through therapy.

"Fine, but only because you are subjecting an innocent person to your idiocy."

A smug smile swept across Miya's lips, and he elbowed his friend's side. "That wasn't so hard now, was it? Now ya just gotta keep your girl from fallin' for the Miya charm."

Sakusa's eyes flickered over to Miya momentarily, trying to keep a stoic facade as if he hadn't just been worrying about such a thing. "Don't be ridiculous. Sajima's not stupid enough to fall for your shit."

"Mhmm," Miya hummed teasingly despite knowing precisely that. She certainly wasn't the type of person he'd expected Sakusa to like, but it was pretty clear to him that it wasn't a one-sided crush. "Guess we'll find out tonight then, huh?"