𝚂𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝙳𝚊𝚢 𝙵𝚘𝚘𝚕 - 𝙺. 𝚂𝚊𝚔𝚞𝚜𝚊 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

Chapter Twenty-Three - Almost There, Sumire!

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sajima sat at her desk, marker in hand, looking at the time on her phone. Six thirty. Half an hour before Sakusa's game started, she'd already set up a website to stream it off of, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to be there. It felt different from being in the crowd, from having her voice lost in a cacophonous echo bouncing off the walls as everyone cheered for their favourite players, to contribute to the way the stands practically vibrated when the winning point was scored and spectators leapt from their seats...to watch the man she had feelings for do what he loved. Being there felt different, but she respected Sakusa's decision and wished he would be honest about it.

Sajima
I'd wish you luck but I know you don't need it 😘 have fun

The match was going well. Sakusa was at the top of his game, slamming the ball onto their opponent's court repeatedly, service ace after service ace, receive after receive. Everything felt right. Well, almost everything. After scoring the set ending point before their half-time break, Sakusa's eyes travelled through the stands and once he realized why, he looked at his sneakers with a frown.

She isn't here. She isn't here because I chose not to invite her...because I kept avoiding it when I knew she wanted to be here...for me.

Sakusa shook his head and jogged over to the team huddle, snagging his water bottle and small towel on the way. It was only a few minutes before he was sitting on the player's bench, elbows on his knees and staring at the slightly crooked floorboard that drove him nuts every time he saw it. When the bench dipped beside him, Sakusa didn't need to glance over to know who sat down. He knew it was Miya solely from his exhausted sigh. "In the dog house already? I haven't noticed Saji-chan anywhere tonight."

"I didn't want her to come to our games," Sakusa grumbled.

"Really? You seemed kinda happy when she was here the first time," Miya replied. "Are ya just not that into 'er anymore?"

Sakusa finally peered over at Miya, only to give him a stern look. Miya chuckled quietly. "Yeah, figured that wasn't the case but thought it'd be smart to ask. Who knows what she thinks. She'd prob'ly be pretty pissed if you weren't interested after givin' me that lecture the other day." Miya saw Sakusa's hand clench into a fist, and he quickly added context. "I went to clear the air after you told me I'd upset her. Barely got my apology out before she gave me an ear full about wanting you to be happy and for us dumb jocks to stop makin' fun of you for things we don't understand."

Who knows what she thinks...

Sakusa's eyes softened as he focused on the crooked floorboard once again. "She said she wanted to beat me to you after we figured out what happened."

"Makes sense. Saji-chan also told me to get my head outta my ass and let ya enjoy somethin' for once," Miya hummed, clapping a hand on his teammate's shoulder. "I like her; she's got spunk. I'm sure it's no surprise, but I've been rootin' for her since the first time I saw you together. She's a lovable underdog."

"She's certainly tenacious," Sakusa agreed.

"So if everything's goin' good, why didn't ya want her here?"

Sakusa took a sip of water and sat up straight. "I thought she'd be distracting, and it felt selfish to risk it."

Miya snorted. "Well, that's fuckin' dumb. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Wrong with me? Is it that terrible that I want us to win?"

"No. It's fuckin' terrible that you think your team can't handle it. How many people are on the court? Smarten up." Miya stood and smacked the back of Sakusa's head. "You got ten minutes before we warm up again. Call her. You know she'll come runnin'."