“Be honest,” Tendou says, scratching his nails lightly on the wooden floor beneath him. “Aoba Johsai, Karasuno, and, uh, Inarizaki.”
Ushijima collects a volleyball that had scattered across the gym. When he doesn't answer, Tendou repeats himself, louder.
Ushijima looks back at him lying on his side on the floor.
“You are not helping me.”
“I am! I’m giving you emotional support,” Tendou exclaims, propping himself up on an elbow. He flutters his lashes at Ushijima.
Ushijima stares back.
“I do not need emotional support.”
“Tell that to your counsellor.”
“I have. She gave me a feelings wheel to colour in.”
Tendou snorts, a smile stretching across his face.
Ushijima walks across the gym to put the stray volleyball away, his echoing footsteps the only sound. Tendou adds to it by chipping at the wood beneath him as he watches. Ushijima was bringing out two mops.
He grimaces. Time for a last attempt at rescue.
“C’mon. Out of those three, who would you pick?”
Ushijima walks over to him, unbothered by the questioning.
“For your game?”
Tendou rolls his eyes. Ushijima wasn’t even remotely interested in entertaining him. “Yes, for my game.”
Ushijima stops in front of him and shuffles the two mops into one hand before stretching out his free one to Tendou. Tendou pouts a little but grabs it, warmth spreading up his arm as Ushijima pulls him to his feet.
“The captains from each team?” Ushijima asks, passing Tendou a mop.
Tendou pouts further, hoping puppy dog eyes might save him from his fate. Ushijima doesn’t even blink.
Tendou sighs. “Yep.”
Ushijima points to a side of the gym, and Tendou trudges over there, mop in hand but dragging behind him. He turns his head back to see Ushijima make his way to the other side of the gym.
Tendou grumbles to himself as he cleans, lamenting having to do it after practice. He mops harder than he needs to, digging into the floor. He hears Ushijima mopping, too, with no reply yet to his question. Either he was ignoring it or he was thinking deeply about it, Tendou guesses. Either way, Tendou had failed to distract Ushijima enough to keep him from noticing that he wasn’t cleaning.
Tendou hits the floor with the mop again, a little harder.
When the gym gleams under the lights and finally passes Ushijima's inspection, Tendou chucks his mop back into the storeroom, relishing its clash. He considers sticking his tongue out at the mop, too, but footsteps approach behind him.
Tendou quickly presses his face into a wall. He groans extra loudly as Ushijima passes by him into the room.
When no response comes, he turns his head to see what Ushijima is doing.
Both mops in hand, he's focused on balancing them carefully in their usual position against the wall. His face is pinched tightly in concentration, placing them just as he had found them, though Tendou knew it didn’t matter. Everyone else just dashed them in.
But not Ushijima. He cared to get things right.
“Here.”
Tendou takes the troublesome mops and carefully pops them into place, hooked just right on the wall. Ushijima hums, which Tendou knows is positive.
They lock the storeroom before heading out, closing the gym behind them. In the cold air, Tendou’s teeth chatter and he pulls his jacket tighter around him as he waits for Ushijima to lock the door.
His eyes flicker around them, catching the few students milling around the grounds in the last hour before curfew. Tendou sniffles, nose turning red in the cold. As he buries his chin into his jacket, he feels a warm arm wrap around his shoulder and pull him against an even warmer body.
He smiles when Ushijima kisses the side of his head.
“Oh, so I get my doting boyfriend back now that practice is done, huh?” Tendou teases, braving the cold as he moves his hand out of his pocket to jab Ushijima’s abdomen.
Ushijima plays along, letting out a small groan that Tendou laughs at. He kisses his nose next, and Tendou hopes he can blame the redness spreading to his cheeks on winter. He jabs Ushijima again.
“I’m just responding to your game,” Ushijima murmurs, moving his arm to catch Tendou’s offending hand. He intertwines their fingers and pulls Tendou even closer towards him.
Tendou furrows his brows whilst examining Ushijima’s face. “Eh?”
“Your game,” Ushijima says again, as if that's enough of an answer. When Tendou pointedly raises his eyebrows, he continues, “I would kill the others. Though not in reality. Because it is a game.”
Tendou laughs and nods. “Yeah, you’ve got it, bud. But you have to choose who else to kiss and marry. That’s the point, you can’t just kill all three of them.”
“I know,” Ushijima says matter-of-factly. Before Tendou can state Ushijima absolutely didn't know if he chose to kill the three people offered in the game, Ushijima adds, “I chose you.”
Tendou almost crumbles with adoration. He shakes his head.
“That’s sweet, ‘Toshi, but again. Not how the game works.”
To that, Ushijima doesn’t say anything. He kisses Tendou on the forehead and walks off, waiting for the other to catch up with him.
Tendou smiles and rolls his eyes, digging his hands into his pockets. He knew Ushijima wouldn’t care about that game, wouldn’t play it properly, but he thought it would at least distract Ushijima from forcing him to clean. But no. Of course Ushijima would just kill three captains and kiss him instead and -
It clicks.
“Wait, wait, you'd marry me? Wakatoshi! Did you just say you’d marry me?” Tendou calls out to Ushijima’s back, wind whipping his jacket around.
Ushijima doesn’t say anything, doesn’t turn around, but it doesn’t matter. He extends his hand, and it feeds the butterflies in Tendou's stomach.
He laughs despite himself, half in shock, half in love; the sound carried across the cold air. Ushijima glances back once, and it's enough.
Ushiten headcanon: Ushijima counts every time they do something intimate. He counts how many times they've ever kissed. He counts how many times they hold hands. He counts how many times they hug, sleep in the same bed, say I love you, call each other boyfriend or babe and Tendou only finds out when they achieve a goal because Ushijima will say something like "Happy 50th hug, Tendou." Or "Don'l kiss me yet, I want our 100th kiss to be somewhere nice.", or "We've held hands 13 times today. It's a new record."
Tendou looks EVERYWHERE for notes on this but doesn't find anything. He keeps it all in his head.
backlog #2 from my private twt!
post-canon bokuroo; involving a ring ♡
note: this will read like a threadfic but if you want to read the deleted scene only (where they actually have a moment together), see the reblogs, i will paste it in a reblog after this! enjoyyy
struck with the thought and image of pro-volleyball player bokuto; a simple man, flashy and bright in his personality but not in accessories, he never wears accessories except for the occasional bracelet (those thread ones that are simply tied around his wrists) and simple in colour too, and usually only because his stylist asks him to.
that same bokuto who suddenly starts appearing with an obvious chain around his neck, but no one can see what's attached to it because there's just always something that covers it up. the item seems to fall under his shirts and whenever he does ads that doesn't involve a shirt, he doesn't wear it (probably bc those ads involve water). everyone's curious about it, wondering what it is that he brings on his person without fail every time he's seen in public.
journalists try to ask him when he does interviews, but it's hard because it's such a random, in hindsight not so important question as compared to all the other questions that can be asked. but when someone finally remembers to prepare it in their list, bokuto beams bright and says — "it's a ring!!!!"
the interviewer's so stunned bc they for some reason had expected a coy or sneaky response, but bokuto's just grinning and proudly lifting his fingers to rub at the — ring, and yeah okay that is definitely a ring with how the round shape becomes obvious, pressed between bokuto's thumb and forefinger. unfortunately they do not get to follow up with "what kind of ring is it???" so the interview ends and the whole nation starts to speculate where that ring is from and what it represents.
people are torn between it being a marriage ring ("but he's not married!?!?"), an engagement ring ("but he's never been confirmed to be in any relationship!"), a family heirloom ("but he only just started wearing it...") or just. a ring he suddenly wanted to wear just because. more than that though people are soooo curious about what that goddamn ring looks like. maybe then they would have a better idea of what it represents. it's not only until that summer that people finally, finally get a glimpse.
on a particularly hot day, the msby jackals were having a mini-interview on an upcoming match they were having; it's air-conditioned but so stuffy still. halfway through, as meian was answering a question and explaining how much they've trained, bokuto — sitting somewhere to the side with hinata and atsumu — not even in the centre, does a little muffled exhale before he's just. removing his jacket. (because it's so hot and stuffy)
once again the chain he's wearing catches attention with the way it glints in the light and then he's just leaning down from his seat to grab the water bottle by his chair leg and! the ring! it finally slips out from under his shirt and there's a collective gasp from the journalists on the floor.
meian pauses, confused. atsumu holds his breath, already knowing what's coming. bokuto innocently looks up from the sudden tense silence, slowly bringing the bottle to his lips and drinking from it. and the ring is just. there. resting on his chest, simple silver with no visible designs. at least not from what everyone can see, being so far away.
a journalist breaks protocol, crushing the list in their hand and out of their own morbid personal curiosity, directs the next question at an unsuspecting bokuto: "pardon my intrusiveness... but many have been wondering, what does that ring mean to you, bokuto-senshuu?"
everyone slackens their jaws. bokuto's surprised, but he once again brings his hand up to lift the ring between his thumb and forefinger, and it's obviously affectionate the way he holds it. "ohhh, this?" he says. unaware as to how thousands in front of their tvs watching the conference live have stopped breathing. "hmm... it's a promise, i guess?"
the entire room brightens with another bokuto beam as the journalists start tripping over each other with follow-up questions, "what kind of promise, bokuto-senshuu?"; "with who did you make that promise, bokuto-senshuu?" and atsumu's face looks constipated with how hard he's trying not to laugh, hinata looks super excited and like he might bounce off the walls, meian is exasperated but kind enough to let the interview go off script.
bokuto laughs, looking at his captain confused. a little worried that he's derailing the entire thing, but answers readily once meian nods at him in permission. "well— uh. man, we haven't fully discussed me talking about it in public, but... it's a promise for the olympics," he smiles. his eyes shine with a particular brand of fondness that's never been seen before.
"if i win gold for the olympics..." he takes a little breath, but everyone can see he feels psyched up, enthusiastic, exuberant about it.
"tetsu, you'll be with me forever — don't forget!"
and somewhere in tokyo, in a little office within the building housing the JVA, one kuroo tetsurou sneezes.
the public goes crazy, after that. 'tetsu' starts trending on twitter and people are like ??? so it's a promise for marriage ??? arguing what "being together forever" could even mean. some hearts are left heartbroken while others pleasantly anticipate the outcome of this whole fiasco. interviewers start scrambling to question bokuto about this "tetsu" but he keeps surprisingly mum about it, grinning sheepishly, "sorry, tetsu gave me an earful after what i said last time" which only invites more curiosity about who! this tetsu person is!
the only other time it's brought up again is the start of the olympics, during a pre-interview, "do you have any words you want to say to friends and family back home?"
and bokuto gazing into the camera, eyes bright, "tetsu, you better be watching! we'll definitely get the gold and then you'll have to uphold your promise!" blatantly bringing his ring up and pressing a kiss to it. after that, there's hardly any doubt left that this is a lover bokuto's speaking of. again, more hearts shatter across japan haha
and of course for the sake of this little story japan advances steadily and with each win bokuto only gets more fired up. he's racking up the points, people across social media everywhere are saying it's because he's going to bag someone off the shelf for life if the japanese volleyball team really manages the gold.
as they proceed into the quarterfinals, and then the semis, people start to get anxious about what's going to happen, how it's going to go down. there are so many speculations, and yet no one knows for sure still who this "tetsu" is, because it's obviously an abbreviation, and there are so many names that can have "tetsu" in them (some people actually do think it's kuroo bc they've always been close).
and then finally, finally... the finals. it seems like the entire nation of nippon is holding their breath as the first set goes, and then the second set... the third and the fourth and the last— and then. again for the sake of this little story, japan wins. there's pin-drop silence for a long, long second, before ear-shattering cheers and screams start sounding everywhere, the japanese national volleyball team members jumping all over each other, bokuto hugging and spinning hinata, one-arm hugging atsumu.
it's hectic and crazy and a whirlwind rush after that. there are eyes on bokuto everywhere he goes, people half-expecting a sudden proposal, or a declaration, or a hint of anything even, but none of that happens. he's always with his team, being shuffled here and there for the medal ceremony, then photo-taking, though people speculate that his eyes have been searching the crowds of people in the stands from time to time, almost like he was looking for someone.
and the public are so on edge because what now. when is it going to happen. everyone's been waiting and discussing it for months.
unfortunately for them the next time bokuto appears in something other than his uniform, he's back in a jacket and no one can see whether his ring is still there. but assumingly, it is. because he hasn't been anywhere besides the showers and lockers and there are so many curious eyes on him at all times. but time crawls forward and people begin to get increasingly confused because bokuto seems to be happy where he's at, mood obviously in the clouds, he doesn't seem to be rushing anywhere.
twitter explodes again with "i thought he would be hurrying to tetsu to fulfil the promise!", "bokuto-senshuu's not going to tetsu???" everyone's appalled and the heartbroken rise with renewed hope lmaooo
until that evening, when the post-interview is finally held. obviously, the journalists are professional and their questions remain about the match, the win, the team but again. all eyes suddenly bug out when the end of the interview comes. bc bokuto, in his relief that all his obligations for the day are finally over, unzips his jacket and stretches his sore body, arms raised and everything and. the ring.
the ring is not there. his neck is bare and the tabloids are immediately eating it up, making headlines, domino-ing the news everywhere. it's the end of the interview so no one can even ask anything, and collectively, everyone is just ?????? where did the ring go!!!! does he even still have it???? did he give it to "tetsu"?????? when did he even have a chance to??????? wtf????????
but the pieces start slowly falling together because on the opposite side of the venue, the staff of the national team are being asked their own questions. iwaizumi and kuroo are sitting next to each other; iwachan answering questions about the training regimen he put the team through, kuroo answering questions about what he thinks and hopes this will mean for japanese volleyball now that they have a gold.
and it's a normal interview, happy stuff, until.
kuroo who's professionally had his hands on his lap the whole time, reaches for the bottle of water by the leg of his chair (yes it's a parallel bc i'm a sucker for them like that aha) and again there's a sudden collective silence. someone gasps. jaws are once more slackening as light bounces off the metal adorning kuroo's left ring finger. immediately people start to wonder, is that......??????
unfortunately for the journalists it's not professional to ask staff that (not justifiable either, it's not like with the team members themselves) but the public goes wild. people dive into kuroo's social media, kenma's social media, iwaizumi's social media, just for a hint as to whether he's worn a silver ring before, any time before that day— looking for photos, videos, anything that shows his left hand (rare)
kuroo is a low profile kind of guy (at least his public account is) and so are all his friends. ironically, his most high profile friend is bokuto but whenever bokuto posts them hanging out, kuroo's hands are never in frame. BUT STILL. people are like, it's gotta be him. tetsu. it's GOTTA be.
but also... there's no concrete evidence. and for a long while, eyes are on them wherever they go. separate, together, doesn't matter. the people want to know. but the people never get to know for sure.
and history will say that they were two best bros who stayed by each other's sides till the day they died :')
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again, i'm gonna reblog this post and add the deleted scene of how and when the ring got to kuroo (if you wanna read that)!
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