the sun and his moon

night sky

the two volleyball players spent pretty much the whole camp teasing each other with snarky comments. some people around them thought they had something going on...

including Sakusa's cousin Komori. on the last night of the camp, the boy decided to ask about the new blonde acquaintance his cousin had made.

"soooo", he started as he shifted next to the black haired guy, "what's the deal with Miya and you? I haven't seen you talk like that with anyone new."

This question made Kiyoomi uncomfortable and he tensed up. It's not that he didn't want to tell his cousin, it's just that he wasn't sure what was happening himself.

the boy had been confused all throughout these past few days. he was usually quite antisocial and disliked talking to anyone new, mostly because he didn't know what to say. it's not like he hated having friends, it's just something he had never gotten used to, thus leading to the anxiety he gets around strangers.

the two sat in silence. Motoya didn't want to push his cousin any further, knowing how hard communicating could be to him.

"Kiyoomi, I-"

the libero was caught off by his teammate standing up and saying he needed fresh air.

Kiyoomi grabbed his headphones and left the room, taking long steady steps to reach the institute's doors as fast as he could without actually running. the last thing he wanted was to catch someone's attention by running in the hallway.

finally he was outside, breathing in the cool night air. the sun had already set and the stars were shining above him like a comforting blanket to wrap oneself in.

he closed his eyes and walked on beat to the music. he had always loved nighttime; it made him feel like the world around him had stopped. soon his mind had been cleared of all the loud thoughts he had to endure.

until...

he saw a boy sitting underneath a tree, curled up with his back against the trunk. the boy's face was buried in his arms, but Kiyoomi recognized that bleached hair.

he slid his headphones down to his neck as he slowly approached Atsumu. that's when he heard it: sobbing.

Kiyoomi had no idea why, but hearing the cries of this setter made his heart sank. did he feel sorry for him? no, he related to him, sympathized with him.

"I don't wanna go home... I don't wanna go home... I don't wanna to go home..." Kiyoomi heard the repeating, shaky mumbles.

he couldn't just stand there and do nothing. without thinking much, the ace pulled his sleeve down to cover his hand with it before brushing it against Atsumu's arm gently.

"hey..." the black haired boy mumbled as the blonde looked up at him teary eyes, "what's wrong..?"

"panic" was the only word the other boy could get out. Atsumu wanted to explain all of it to the cute boy, who had stopped to check up on him, but the words clung to the back of his throat.

a panic attack. all of a sudden it was clear to Kiyoomi, having dealt with plenty of those himself. but he wasn't qualified in comforting others; he could barely calm himself down.

"it's okay, we all experience it at some point. whether it's often or rarely, it's a completely normal thing", he said after remembering, that learning about panic attacks had made them easier to handle.

the blonde nodded and started wiping his tears. he really didn't want this cool, collected guy to see him as the mess he was right now.

"don't try to force anything, it'll only make it worse", Kiyoomi guaranteed, and without thinking, he grabbed the boy's wrist and pressed his hand against his chest, "you can feel my breaths, you're right here with me."

Atsumu smiled at the unexpectedly kind boy weakly, unaware of his breathing starting to match Kiyoomi's.

the two stayed like that for a while, just breathing deeply in unison. Kiyoomi wanted to make sure the setter was completely calm, so that the panic attack wouldn't creep back.

in conflict to his character, Kiyoomi broke the comfortable silence hanging between him and the teary-eyed boy.

"if you want to talk about it, I'm here to listen. if you'd rather not dwell on it, that's completely okay too", he said slowly.

Atsumu felt a mix of sadness and happiness now. he had never experienced this kind of care from someone. this was only his second or third panic attack ever, so he still didn't fully understand what they were.

"I'd rather just think 'bout somethin' else", he replied.

"that's cool. if you ever change your mind, you can tell me anything at anytime", Kiyoomi said with a soft smile.

his smile wasn't big or bright, but it warmed Atsumu's heart up. he felt a new kind of peace he had never felt with anyone before.

he was confused though. he hadn't realized Kiyoomi could be this social or caring. maybe his instincts took over? or maybe he was warming up to Atsumu?

"how did ya know how to calm me down..?" the blonde asked out of curiosity.

"I've experienced a lot of panic attacks myself... but I wasn't sure what would actually work on you, so I just thought back on the research I did when they first started recurring."

the midnight black eyes were looking into Atsumu's, but they had a sad hue to them.

"music helps me personally, if I ever feel the panic creeping up, I put on my headphones to prevent it", the boy spoke softly and looked up to the sky, "but in the middle of a panic attack, I've found the night sky calming. the moonlight and the twinkling stars around it are breathtaking."

Atsumu was admiring the gorgeous guy beside him, while his eyes were glued to the sky.

he didn't know it at that moment, but ever since this conversation they had, his love for Kiyoomi had started developing.

━━━━━━━ •♬• ━━━━━━━

things are starting to happen!! this scene was actually my first idea for this fic, and I'm really proud of how it came out.

I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it c:

see you in the next one, take care of yourself <3

- A.