I wanted to draw Qifrey and Olruggio. But at this point in the anime, where Qifrey is a mysterious ethereal magical being, and Olruggio hasn't appeared yet, so it's just my manga impression of him, it turned out like thisâŚ
spoiling shinsuke that he starts malfunctioning.
wc: 1.7k, request
itâs a universally acknowledged truth in the inarizaki boysâ volleyball club that the universe has favorites, and kita is sitting right at the top of the list, wearing a crown made of high-end silicone and hubris.
usually, kita is the human embodiment of a levelâperfectly balanced, terrifyingly stoic, and as predictable as the rising sun. heâs the guy who folds his gym clothes with the precision of a master origami artist and drinks water like itâs a sacred ritual. but the moment the gym doors creak open and you wander in, looking like you havenât slept since the invention of the microchip but smelling like expensive vanilla and success, the stoic captain melts into a puddle of absolute, devastating simpery.
youâre only a few years older than kita. while the twins are struggling to pass basic algebra and aran is just trying to survive the daily chaos, youâre already a cloud architect with a salary that could probably buy the entire school and turn it into a private server farm. youâre a prodigy, a literal genius who escaped the shackles of the education system early, yet you still spend your friday afternoons sitting on a sticky gym floor just to watch a boy with black-tipped hair receive volleyballs.
âshinsuke!â you chirped, swinging a bag that bore a logo so prestigious it made coach norimuneâs eyes water.
kita gravitated towards you. it was as if you had a magnetic pull and he was a mere iron filing, helpless against the laws of physics. his eyes, usually so sharp and observant, softened into something so gooey it was practically syrup.
ây/n. youâre early,â he said, his voice dropping an octave into that low, private register that made the rest of the team feel like they were intruding on a wedding proposal.
âgot the deployment done ahead of schedule,â you explained, reaching into your bag. âand i saw this and thought of you. itâs a smart-fabric compression sleeve. it regulates muscle temperature based on your heart rate. i had to pull a few strings to get the prototype, but... only the best for my favorite captain, right?â
the twins, standing ten feet away, watched in horrified silence.
âis that... is that the tech that was featured in the global sports journal last week?â atsumu whispered, his voice cracking with envy. âthe one that costs more than my entire existence?â
âshh,â osamu hissed, though his eyes were equally glued to the gift. âlook at his face. heâs losing it.â
kita wasnât losing it in a loud way, obviously. he was losing it in a way that was far more intense. he took the sleeve from your hands as if it were a holy relic, his fingers brushing yours with a lingering, desperate contact. he didnât care about the fabric. he cared that you had touched it. he cared that your brilliant, light-speed brain had paused its calculations of global data structures just to think about his bicep.
âthank you,â kita murmured, and the way he looked at you was genuinely frightening. it was a quiet, roaring fire of worship. âiâll treasure it. iâll wash it by hand every night.â
âitâs machine washable, shin!â you laughed, poking his cheek.
he didnât flinch. he leaned into the touch, his eyes fluttering shut for a fraction of a second. he was so far gone he was practically in another dimension. âiâd rather be careful with what you give me.â
the rest of practice was a masterclass in psychological warfare. kita moved with a new, terrifying grace, fueled by the knowledge that his childhood best friendâthe smartest girl in the hemisphereâwas watching him from the sidelines. every time he made a perfect pass, he didnât look at the coach. he looked at you. he was like a sunflower, and you were a high-definition, 4k resolution sun.
when a stray ball headed toward your laptop bag, kita launched himself across the court with the desperation of a man saving a child from a runaway train. he crashed into the floor, skidding on his chest, and caught the ball inches from your feet.
he stayed there for a moment, breathing hard, looking up at you from the ground. âis your work okay?â
âthe laptop is fine, shinsuke! are you okay? that was a huge dive!â
you leaned over him, checking for floor burns, and the expression on kitaâs face was one of pure, blissful martyrdom. he looked like he would gladly break every bone in his body if it meant youâd look at him with that specific brand of worried tenderness for the rest of eternity.
âiâm fine,â he said, his voice slightly breathless. âas long as your things are safe.â
âcapâs actually a simp,â suna muttered, recording the whole thing from the bench. âheâs the captain of the ây/n defense squadâ and the only member is him.â
âshut up, suna,â atsumu groaned. âi want a tech-genius childhood friend who buys me prototypes and treats me like a deity. why is life so unfair?â
after practice, the ritual continued. while the other boys were scrambling to find their missing socks, you were busy spoiling kita in ways that made the atmosphere in the locker room feel heavy with jealousy.
you pulled out a specialized massage gunâanother industry perkâand began working on kitaâs shoulders as he sat on the bench. he looked like he was ascending to a higher plane of existence. his back was straight, his eyes closed, and his face wore a look of such profound devotion that it was almost embarrassing to witness.
âyou work too hard,â you whispered, your thumbs digging into the knots in his traps.
âi have to,â he replied, his voice a low rumble. âi want to be someone you can be proud of. youâve achieved so much... i want to keep up.â
you paused, leaning forward so your chin rested on his shoulder. âshin, iâve been proud of you since you were six and you shared your rice crackers with me. the job, the money... thatâs nothing. i do it so i can give you the world, because you deserve it.â
kitaâs hand came up, covering yours where it rested on his chest. he gripped it with a strength that betrayed his calm exterior. he was drowning in you. he was a man lost at sea, and you were the only lighthouse heâd ever seen.
âyou already give me everything,â he said, and the sincerity in his voice was so sharp it felt like it could cut glass. âmore than i know how to handle.â
as you walked out of the gym together, you handed him a small, chilled container. âhomemade matcha pudding. i used the expensive whisking technique you told me about.â
kita stared at the pudding as if it contained the secrets to the universe. he took a bite, and for a second, the world stopped spinning. âitâs perfect. youâre perfect.â
âitâs just pudding!â
âno,â he insisted, stopping in his tracks under the glow of the streetlamps. he turned to face you, the shadows highlighting the intensity in his gaze. ânothing you do is âjustâ anything. youâre the smartest person iâve ever met, and you spend your time making me pudding and coming to my practices. i donât think you realize... iâd follow you into a burning building just to make sure you didnât singe your hair.â
you blinked, your heart doing a frantic little tap-dance in your chest. âthatâs a bit extreme, donât you think?â
âitâs nothing the truth,â he said, reaching out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear. his touch was lingering, his thumb grazing your temple. âevery day, i wake up and think about how lucky i am that you havenât realized you could do so much better than a volleyball player from hyogo. so i have to make sure iâm the best version of myself. for you.â
the level of devotion was staggering. it was thick, sweet, and slightly terrifying in its purity. he was your most loyal subject, your most ardent protector, and a man who was so thoroughly captivated by you that he probably had a mental spreadsheet of every smile youâd ever given him.
âiâm not going anywhere, shinsuke,â you said, reaching up to wrap your arms around his neck.
he pulled you in, his arms locking around your waist with a finality that suggested he was never letting go. he buried his face in the crook of your neck, inhaling deeply. he smelled like gym floor and effort, and you smelled like the high-tech future he wanted to build with you.
âyou better not,â he murmured into your skin, his voice vibrating through your whole body. âbecause iâve already decided. wherever you go, thatâs where my home is. even if you move to a server in the sky, iâll find a way to get there.â
the walk home was filled with more of the sameâkita holding your bag (which he insisted was too heavy for your âbrilliant shouldersâ), kita making sure you didnât trip over a pebble, and kita looking at you with a gaze so heavy with love it was a wonder he could still walk upright.
when you finally reached your gate, you leaned in and kissed his cheek. âsee you tomorrow, shin. donât stay up too late studying.â
he stood there, frozen, his hand going up to touch the spot your lips had pressed. he watched you walk inside, watched the lights turn on, and stayed there for a full five minutes just to ensure you were safely settled.
inside, you hopped onto your computer to check some data logs, a lingering smile on your face. you were a master of logic, a queen of systems, and a professional at solving complex problems. but there was one variable you could never quite calculateâthe sheer, infinite depth of kita shinsukeâs heart.
outside, kita finally turned to walk toward his own house. he felt like he was floating. he pulled the smart-sleeve out of his bag and pressed it to his face, breathing in the scent of you that lingered on the fabric. he was a simple man, a logical man, a man of routine. and his routine was now, and forever would be, centered entirely around the girl who lived in the clouds but kept him grounded on the earth.
the twins would be jealous for a long, long time, because while they were playing a game with a ball, kita shinsuke was playing for keeps with a genius, and he was winning by a landslide. atsumu take the L.
n: atsumu come here, iâll spoil you instead
Š showhay â donât copy, repost, or translate without my permission. do not use/feed my works to AI.
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