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Daichi pulled the covers over his head and closed his eyes. Bright moonlight shone through his window as he counted his breathing. Deep and steady. 1, 2, 3, 4. He timed each breath, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to will sleep into his mind. He rolled over onto his side, and then quickly rolled to his other side. His eyes blinked open. No matter what he tried, sleep wasn’t coming to him.
There had always been a nervous excitement the night before big games, but never like this. Daichi couldn’t remember the last time he had tossed and turned like this; maybe it had been the night before the Nationals game. But still, it had never been this bad.
He let out a frustrated sigh, shoving his face into his pillow. It was just a volleyball game. Not even a conference game, he thought to himself. His college was playing their first friendly match against another neighboring college. For someone who had graduated from the great Karasuno, this was supposed to be nothing. And he had played it off as nothing when his new teammates had all patted him on the back and said, “We have high hopes for you, Sawamura!” He had clenched his fists to stop them from shaking, and had forced a smile to stop his teeth from chattering.
Daichi rolled over once again, eyeing the figure sleeping next to him. It was probably impolite to wake him up this late, but… It was an emergency. Daichi repeated that in his head as he gently reached out and nudged the other’s back.
“Hey, Suga?” he voice was soft and hoarse. “Are you awake?”
Suga’s frame shifted and he made a soft grunting noise, signaling that Daichi had probably just woken him out of his sleep. Slowly, Suga pulled the blanket away from him and rolled over to face Daichi. His eyes were full of sleep and his hair was sticking out, but Daichi already felt more relaxed. “I am now.”
“I can’t sleep,” Daichi blurted out in a fit of nervousness.
“I couldn’t tell,” was Suga’s sarcastic reply as he rolled onto his stomach, resting his arms under the pillow that cradled his head. “You’ve been tossing around all night. What’s wrong?” Suga’s voice was soft and slow and sweet, even if he had just been woken up.
“Suga.” Daichi breathed in. “What if I am actually terrible at volleyball?”
There was a long pause. “Goodnight,” Suga whispered, putting his face directly into the pillow. Daichi reached out and shook his shoulder.
“No, come on, I’m being serious.”
“Daichi.” Suga lifted his head. “We both know that you’re not terrible at volleyball.” He took Daichi’s hand from his shoulder, and instead cupped it in his own. “You’re nervous about the game, aren’t you?”
Daichi let out an awkward laugh; Suga had always been able to read him in about five seconds flat. “It’s just… It’s a whole new team that I haven’t worked with yet.” The butterflies were getting to him, building up in his stomach. “And they already expect a lot out of me, and it’s not like…” He paused, searching for the right words. “It’s just not like playing with you guys. What if I mess up, you know?”
Suga had been stroking the inside of Daichi’s palm all throughout the rant, and when Daichi looked over he saw that Suga was smiling. “You probably will mess up.”
“You’re not helping.”
“But-“ Suga propped himself up on his elbow, looking up to the ceiling like he usually did when he was thinking of something to say. “Even if you do, that’s why you have the rest of your team to save you. “And…” he stopped to yawn. “You’re only going to get to know them if you keep working with them and playing with them.” That was Suga, Daichi thought. Always straight to the point and telling the honest truth. It was a small thing, but it was really something that Daichi loved about him. He felt the butterflies slowly dispersing.
“It’s just that—“
Suga cut him off. “Daichi.” He looked him straight in the eyes, with a look that Daichi knew meant that Suga was about to say something important. “You’re a very talented player. You’re a first-year student with a starting position on a nationally ranked college volleyball team.” He squeezed Daichi’s hand. “Don’t forget that. I know you liked playing with all of us,” Suga said with a smile, “but you’re on to way better things.” The warmth of Suga’s words hit Daichi like a wave, and it seemed that instead of his nerves taking the shape of monsters, they were now taking the shapes of small ants. He smiled, and tugged his hand free to wrap it around Suga’s shoulders.
“You’re right, you’re right. I’ve got it in me, I think,” he laughed.
“And besides,” Suga said, shifting closer to him. “I’m going to be cheering you on tomorrow, and I have expectations. So you’d better play a great game.”
They both laughed. Daichi’s shoulders were no longer tense, his mind was no longer clouded and he found himself feeling even more attached to Suga than he could have imagined. “Now that is something to make me nervous.”