─◌✰್ TANAKA RYŪNOSUKE X READER | 3005
contains - tanaka simping mainly for you rather than kiyoko in this bc you are a lovely second-year manager who is now the centre of his attention, kinda shit writing (i need to start proofreading), tanaka's dumb as shit you both are i'm so sorry, takes a while to get into for no good reason lmao, very unclear time jumps just bear with pls, takes place in s4 so i guess spoilers?, ooc kiyoko + yachi i think, rushed ending asf
summary - it takes a confession from someone else at nationals for tanaka to realise where his feelings truly lie
a/n - bruh i love tanaka so much and i love ignoring responsibilities so i'm just going to write this. also kanoka amanai supremacy <33 i love tall women
just because something wasn't acknowledged didn't mean that it didn't exist. you, of all people, should know this.
sure, it could all be in your head, but you always thought that there was this unspoken tension between you and tanaka. you were uncertain of how or when it had started, but when the boy you had grown closer to during your first year practically begged you to join the volleyball club as a manager. you declined at first, but you quickly realised that having a club wouldn't hurt for college applications and that you did have quite a bit of spare time on your hands. besides, when tanaka decided to include nishinoya in his pleas, they could get very annoying.
you finally caved when they literally got down on their knees in front of you in a school corridor of all places, and it took you yelling at them to get up and promising to become a manager for them to knock it off. you brushed off the slight butterflies in your stomach that came to life when you saw tanaka's grinning face when you agreed. you were just friends. and you were just doing this as an extracurricular. no other reason.
you met the two other managers, kiyoko and yachi, who you instantly hit it off with. though vastly different, you found their presences soothing after having to be around nishinoya and tanaka in a classroom for most of the day. kiyoko taught you and yachi the ropes of being a manager, such as the intricacies of procuring towels for each player and making sure that water bottles stayed filled.
getting to know the players was nice, too. there were some third years who you would have found intimidating in any other setting if it weren't for nishinoya basically climbing onto them, as well as some first years who were... energetic, to say the least. you definitely got a kick out of watching them practice.
and then, of course, the duo which you had the ultimate dissatisfaction of knowing in and out of a classroom. even though they were practically bouncing in their seats all day, tanaka and nishinoya still were some of the most energetic within the team alongside hinata. you don't know how they did it.
and all of this would have been fine and dandy, if it weren't for that tricky underlying unspoken thing that you couldn't shake the feeling of. you were aware of your own feelings, painfully so, and how they would make you seize up in front of the boy who had seemed to stake a claim in your heart.
so yes, maybe it was just wishful thinking when you glanced to the seat next to you to find his eyes already locked onto you, and maybe you missed the slight tint of his cheeks when you accidentally brushed the back of his hand, but surely it didn't hurt to dream a little?
the little cat and mouse game had seemed to turn up a notch with this school year, though you were yet to realise.
it was hard to believe that this was the same team that had once lost to aoba johsei. in the few months that you had been their manager, you had watched as the karasuno volleyball club powered through preliminaries, only gaining momentum with each step forwards.
you found their drive and passion admirable, to say the least. it was so clear to see their dedication to the sport through every spike and receive. just observing them was enough to be blown away by the sheer power, though you found your focus lingering on one particular player more than you wanted it to.
in your defence, it was like tanaka was a completely different person on the court. though he still messed around, you saw a drive in him when he delivered spikes that you had never seen before. then there was the same old tanaka yelling out a string of not-quite words while ripping off his shirt and waving it madly. even especially then, you still just watched him in silent distant awe.
and so, your observations continued. you made sure to be sly about it for reasons that still remained unknown to you. you didn't think that anyone had caught you, so it was surprising when you felt kiyoko walk up to you, a knowing smile on her face.
"you seem to be staring at him whenever you get the chance, y/n," she hummed. straight to the point. you tried to string together some denial, but your senior just laughed, placing a dainty hand on your shoulder. "the blush would say otherwise, y/n."
the pair of you giggling had attracted the attention of nishinoya. he scurried over to tanaka, nudging his side intently.
"it was a good idea that we got y/n to become a manager, huh? look at kiyoko, she's laughing and smiling now." tanaka looked over, feeling his face heat up at the sight of you and kiyoko huddled together and gossiping lightly. "man, she's so beautiful," nishinoya whined. tanaka nodded, though his eyes couldn't seem to focus on the third year with glasses.
stolen glances from either side were all that seemed to happen. by some course of luck, the two of you had never managed to catch the other's eye.
the miyagi prefecture rolled past, with an astounding win against shiratorizawa. you remembered the day clearly. you and yachi had ecstatically clung to each other at the final point, jumping up and down with joy.
you watched the team hug each other, almost melting into tears as reality sunk in. the buzz still remained as you headed to meet the team, eager to congratulate them.
yachi got confronted immediately by hinata, the two of them excitedly yammering on with sound effects and wild arm motions. you looked around, eager to spot one face only.
the answer came to you with a pair of arms that had wrapped around you from behind. you squealed, feeling yourself get lifted off of the ground and spun in a circle.
"y/n!" you turned around as you were set down, already recognising them by their voice.
"tanaka!" you beamed at him, seeing the rosy flush to his cheeks. you'd blame it on the adrenaline later, but your only instinct was to close the gap between you and throw yourself into his arms, wrapping around his shoulders. he responded immediately, and you were too caught up in your own overlapping compliments and praises that you didn't even notice the hesitance in him as he let go. "you played so well, tanaka, i'm so proud of you!" the boy's smile spread wider, and he was about to respond when a blur of limbs and hair jumped onto his back.
nishinoya quickly joined, rambling about the game, and you couldn't help but get sucked in, the moment that you had had with tanaka disappearing as quickly as it arrived. you followed along with nishinoya, joining in with his gushing over the plays.
"and to think that i can brag about my friends going to nationals," you beamed.
though they didn't seem like much of an impact to you, a certain skinhead got very quiet on the way back home. was that really all that you saw in him?
then again, neither you nor tanaka had time for doubts. nationals were looming, and some of the first years were at practice camps. with the absence of hinata, there was a silence to fill in the gym as the players practiced. this ended up being combatted with more gossiping with kiyoko and yachi.
today's topic was your relationship with tanaka. you groaned, digging the heels of your palms into your eyelids out of frustration.
"i don't know what's happening any more," you complained in a hushed tone while kiyoko folded up the towels. yachi nodded sympathetically as you continued. "everything was good at the shiratorizawa match and i thought that something was really there between us, you know?"
"i thought you didn't like him, y/n?" yachi asked you in confusion. you felt yourself blush, shrugging a little.
"so did i, but..." you trailed off, looking over to tanaka. he had just finished delivering a spike, and almost on a whim he looked over to you only to see you already looking at him. he managed a quick smile before lookin away to avoid blushing too profusely.
you only saw the tight-lipped smile sent your way briefly before tanaka turned away from you.
"see, he wants nothing to do with me," you groaned, completely missing the knowing look nishinoya shot tanaka, as well as tanaka's hissed response of "shut up." kiyoko and yachi exchanged a glance of skepticism before returning to you.
"look, y/n, just because you two hugged at the shiratorizawa match doesn't mean that he doesn't want anything to do with you," kiyoko chided you.
"i think that it's the opposite, actually," yachi chimed in. you looked up at them, your doubt clear to see from your facial expression.
"so why's he being so weird and distant?" you countered.
"he's probably trying to figure out his emotions and feelings," yachi suggested.
"from what i've seen, he stares at you a lot." kiyoko was blunt, and you blushed at her observations. "and you do the same back, y/n. i don't think that it's out of coincidence."
the two other managers had you and your feelings cornered. kiyoko wasn't one to sow false hope, and yachi's smile was nothing but supportive.
"so... what am i supposed to do about all of this? my feelings?" you got quiet again, desperate for none of the players to be able to hear you even though they were all practising hard at the moment.
"well, you've got to get them out in the open eventually. you know that you like him, so you can either wait for them to go away or do something about it." you nodded in agreement, though either option sounded unpleasant.
"I think you should go for it, y/n," yachi nudged you, and you nodded slowly.
"i'll try to. i'm not sure how, though," you mumbled.
"ah, y/n, there's no rush," the two girls assured you.
right, you thought to yourself. i've got plenty of time to figure out how to do this.
naturally, nationals came faster than you wanted it to. the few nights leading up to it, a small idea had formed in your head on how to best confront tanaka. but excuses kept popping up to keep your thoughts at bay.
he doesn't like you like that.
you'll just throw him off of his game.
you'd be a bad manager if you did that.
you groaned in frustration, glaring at the good luck charm for tanaka that you had made. its meticulously stitched letters mocked you, and you almost threw it across your room. but you hesitated, instead tucking it into the pocket of your jacket.
you had a plan. you were going to stick to it. the bus for nationals was going to leave tomorrow.
nationals was as enjoyable as it could be. you were definitely busy as one of the managers, and thoughts about your looming confession were pushed to the back of your head.
that was, until you had met with the team back at the inn that you were staying at and heard them gushing over someone and tanaka. you tapped ennoshita, asking him what was going on since tanaka appeared to have blown a fuse.
"oh, he's just realised that he actually has a chance with someone for once," the second year chuckled, and you felt your eyebrows raise.
"with who?" it was an effort to keep your voice neutral, and you weren't sure if your underlying emotions were undetected by him. but he shrugged and answered anyway.
"that tall volleyball girl who noya almost fell into. i think that her name was kanoka?" and with that, you felt your resolve crumble just a little. you overheard some jeers from noya over how red tanaka was, and that was enough to make you turn on your heel and stalk off, clutching at the good luck token in your pocket and your pride.
it looks like kiyoko was wrong after all.
you got ready for bed with a heavy heart, mulling over the events of the past few weeks. you lingered on kiyoko's reminder to get your feelings out in the open regardless of his.
though you didn't want to admit it, you knew that she was right. it would be better to face rejection and just try to move on. you saw that kiyoko had returned from her bath with yachi, and she smiled sympathetically when she saw your face.
"i need you to tell me to do it," you said to her. the third year blinked a few times, before fixing you with a look.
"you only need to tell yourself, y/n. but go. it's not too late yet, he won't be asleep." you nodded, stepping out into the slightly chilly hallway, the charm half-hidden by your hand as you marched towards the boys' dormitories. you couldn't find it in yourself to care that you had goosebumps prickling over your skin from the temperature or that you were wearing shorts that made you look just a little indecent.
you knocked on the door, and to your luck, it was the very guy that you wanted who opened it.
"hey, can we talk?" tanaka nodded in confusion, slipping out into the hallway. his eyes flickered over you and what you were wearing before his eyes shot back up to your face, a blush warming his cheeks. you tucked some hair behind your ear, trying to gather some courage.
"tanaka, i..." you trailed off pitifully, feeling all of your brazen confidence dissipate now that you had him alone. you remembered his face after speaking to kanoka, and you grimaced. you thrust out your hand, and he took the charm from you with delicate fingers. they brushed against your palm for a split second, and you could have sworn that you felt a jolt of electricity run through you. "it's a good luck charm." you wanted to punch yourself.
"shouldn't the rest of the team be here?" tanaka traced the meticulous stitches, trying to fight the urge to just melt into a puddle right now and wrap you in another hug.
"why?" you furrowed your brows, confused.
"well, you'd want to wish all of us luck, right? as a manager?"
"well, yeah, but this one's just for you." you whispered the last part though the silent hallway made it easy for tanaka to hear. he felt his mind go blank at your words, a part of him hoping that you'd say something else.
tanaka, i want to go out with you.
i'm in love with you, ryu.
those unspoken words swirled around both of your heads, though tanaka sucked in a sharp breath and thanked you in a slightly gruff voice before almost dashing away, leaving you stood alone in the hallway.
you walked away, too confused to do anything else. then again, the more you thought about it, the clearer things became. he didn't like you in the same way.
day 2 of nationals was just as gruelling as day 1, if not more. karasuno were up against inarizaki, prospected champions of the entire tournament. you could feel the nervousness of the team, though this was different from how they typically felt pre-game.
there was determination. there was confidence. and you were there to witness it.
the match was, as expected, intense. even if it was just three sets, it seemed like a lifetime. both teams were strong and fighting for the same spot to keep going onto the next stage, but ultimately karasuno were triumphant.
you felt almost lighter than air with excitement and cheering. you were so proud of them all. they had come so far, and there was still a long road ahead of them to keep hiking. you and yachi charged towards the team who were rejoicing, and you felt yourself drawn to tanaka despite everything.
"y/n!" his eyes were wide, head still spinning from the game. his hands gripped yours, almost engulfing them with the size of his own.
"y/n, i've known you for a few years and yesterday made me realise a lot of things," tanaka started rambling to you, and you could only hope from the tone in his voice that this was going the route that you had dreamt of. "i didn't know how i felt for so long, and i'm still confused, but i know that i want you, y/n." the borrowed confidence tanaka had compelled you to look at him, his eyes only holding honesty, with a tinge of desperation for your response.
"i've liked you for so long, y/n, and you giving me that luck charm made me realise that i want you to be mine. and i understand if you don't feel the same way but-"
tanaka didn't get to finish his sentence, not with you launching yourself at him and wrapping your arms around him in the tightest hug that you could manage. the cheers of your teammates almost amplified in your ears, but all that you could focus on was the grinning boy with his arms around you.
"tanaka, i want you." you had to yell to be heard despite being this close together, but the smile on your face said it all.
kiyoko was right. you had it all wrong, and you were glad.
because when you and tanaka closed the gap between your lips, not giving a damn about the rest of the court seeing, you could only smile giddily as you heard the excited yells of the other second years as you felt a long-awaited rush of satisfaction.
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23/04/2021 | please do not repost my work ツ
