#gentleace

“ why are you smiling? ”

          "Because,” he positively chirps, rocking on his heels at the sudden redirection of his attention.  Not that that concerns him much -----  oh, no.  Rather, there’s someone he can share the excitement with now, someone he can buzz to, someone he can subject to a video ( even among the event bustle around them ).                                      But there’s time here, now, and he’s unsure when the chance would                                      arise again so soon.

she’s not surprised that the word had gotten out after the spring inter high — she knew the boys tended to talk about her sometimes, & hinata would have probably mentioned their brief confrontation with the jouzenji players unconsciously. it’s no secret to her team : she attracts attention from unwanted eyes, without trying. even at the new year’s festival, sawamura & azumane had given GLARES to a couple of older college students watching her ; & when they weren’t there, tanaka & nishinoya were INTENSE enough self - deemed “ protectors ”.

her hands clasp in her lap a bit tighter when she remembers. nothing bad has happened yet, & she feels strongly that she can evade a situation where she’s approached. but she’s still relieved, even calmed, that they make an effort for her when they don’t need to.

kiyoko nods to him — an acknowledgement of the offer — but puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him from standing up with her. ‘ ano, azumane … it might be weird for you to walk me to the restroom … ’

…passionately.

          Energy’s abound around him ; it seeps in, a high he knows too well from competitions his own, and intensified in the glee and pride from a match so hard won ( the basics of professional volleyball’s only just become demystified, and still he tries so much to follow where the game may lead —  its intricacies still just beyond reach ).  The cries and cheers were contagious nonetheless, and they hum still in his being, from fingertips that tap out a message to toe tips that guide him.

          Where?  Where?  The question’s loudest.  There’s not near as many people as there was was as the game had ended, the crowd in the halls thinning more and more, and he’s hardly inconspicuous ( knows they both are ).  There.

he  is  mid-limb-swipe  in  the  process  of  making  a  grass-angel  at  the  first  sign  of  him,  and  as  such  immediately  sits  to  attention,  waving  both  arms  over  head  instead.  as  if  he  feared  this  were  not  enough  to  grab  the  other’s  attention,  nishanoya  lets  out  a  crisp  shout  that  very  easily  carries  well-over  the  distance  between  them  and  with  it  an  unneeded  sense  of  urgency,  “  ASASHI !  ”

raph you’re slackiNG /also its rae lmao