Chapter Text
The sun slowly sank behind the mountains, bathing everything in an orange and pink watercolor wash.
The surrounding air felt so charged it seemed to shimmer, as if a thousand stars were hiding at the corners of Hirose’s eyes.
Yet, his gaze was fixed on the boy before him; the boy's radiance outshone everything else.
Hirose clutched a box of chocolates to his chest; it was gold, like a precious treasure, and indeed it was, being a gift from Nakamura.
"Nakamura, the truth is..."
Okuto’s pupils seemed to widen with every word he drank in from Hirose’s lips.
"The truth is, I’ve always liked y..."
Aiki was interrupted by the sound of a siren—so powerful that the ground beneath his feet split open, swallowing the boy whole.
Nakamura tried to reach him:
"Hirose!!!!"
Aiki bolted upright in bed, startled.
He glanced at his bedside clock; it was still 3:40 AM. To his surprise, no alarm was ringing, perhaps he was just losing his mind.
He let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his eyes.
He had been having these dreams for nearly a week now, ever since running into Nakamura again.
The prospect of the aquarium trip with Daichi and Suga made the week drag on, feeling excruciatingly long.
What would he say when they finally met? The truth was, he was so stressed about it that he couldn't think of a thing.
The end of the semester was definitely taking its toll on Hirose. Those final weeks before the break were incredibly stressful, that limbo of being almost finished but not quite there yet. There was a mountain of paperwork and forms to fill out, and looming over all his worries was the image of Nakamura’s face. He turned onto his side and squeezed his eyes shut; if he fell asleep right then, he’d get at least another two hours of rest. He clutched his pillow and slowly drifted off.
A few hours later, Hirose had, of course, overslept.
He dashed out of the house, skipping breakfast and heading straight for the bus stop.
As soon as he rounded the corner, his heart sank; his bus was slowly pulling away from the stop. "Just what I needed." Summoning the last of his strength, he pushed his legs to the limit.
With a tremendous effort, he ran fast enough to catch the driver's attention, and the doors opened for him.
With his heart pounding in his ears, Aiki climbed the steps in utter humiliation.
His appearance certainly reflected his restless mind, he noted, catching the rude stares of other passengers. Hirose studied his reflection in the window, taking in the sight: deep dark circles, a rumpled shirt, messy hair, and a backpack hanging half-open. He sighed heavily; "Well, I can't blame them for staring."
Resigned to the morning's disaster, he sank heavily into a window seat and unraveled his headphones to plug them in. "Won't Be Long" was the first track on his playlist; he rode the rest of the way to work, hoping for a quiet day.
🌸
"Sensei! Kageyama and Hinata are fighting again!" Little Yachi ran up to Hirose, who was crouched between Tanaka and Nishinoya’s desks, helping the boys with some equations.
He stood up, exhausted, as Yachi fretted beside him. Glancing back, his eyes widened in disbelief; he saw the exact moment his two students threw themselves onto the floor, locked in a fierce scuffle, over who knows what, if there was even a reason at all, for the third time that week.
Time seemed to slow as Aiki took in the scene: the two kids on the floor, grappling as if their lives depended on it. Another boy, Tsukishima, sitting right next to them, was laughing wildly at the spectacle, while his friend Yamaguchi looked unsure whether or not to intervene.
Aiki rushed over at lightning speed to pull the two little troublemakers apart. "I turn my back for just a second, and this is what I find?"
He got the boys back on their feet; Hinata’s red hair was sticking up in every direction, and Kageyama’s once-impeccable uniform was now completely rumpled.
The boys stared at the floor, ashamed by the scolding. Hirose led them to his desk to find out what had happened. Aiki continued:
"You two were so eager to do the activities together, what happened this time?"
"The thing is, Kageyama can't admit when he's wrong!" the redhead began.
"I'm not wrong! I said the answer to question 4 was 27, and he wouldn't listen to me!" Kageyama retorted heatedly.
"You don't even know how to count, Baka-yama! The answer was 32!"
"27!"
"32!"
Both answers were wrong; Aiki rubbed his temples, trying to ward off a headache.
"Someone save me."
"Hirose-sensei?" Sugawara's voice came like a symphony to Hirose's ears; he felt like he might cry.
"Suga-sensei!!!" The students crowded around him, as if the classroom weren't in complete chaos.
Suga gave his former students a quick hug and approached his friend.
"You're late," Suga said calmly.
"Late? But we're still in the second period... Oh!"
Sugawara chuckled softly as he pointed to the calendar.
Suddenly, he remembered. The third Friday of the month. The lecture on environmental preservation.
"Oh heavens! Are the other classes already in the courtyard?"
"Yes. I didn't see you there, so I came to get you."
Hirose slapped his own forehead.
Of course he had forgotten. His mind had been so focused on Nakamura that there was no room left for anything else, apparently.
He turned to Hinata and Kageyama, who were still standing in front of him.
"I don't care about the reason for the fight; you two were wrong to resort to violence. Now, both of you need to apologize."
The two boys glared at each other, both still disgruntled. Sugawara stepped forward.
"Did you hear your sensei?" Somehow, Sugawara managed to make his smile both sweet and terrifying at the same time.
The boys, who had been Sugawara's students all through kindergarten, quickly exchanged apologies.
Soon, with Sugawara's help, Aiki's class got organized and headed to the courtyard where the lecture was to take place. The children sat on the mats on the ground, while Hirose and Sugawara moved to the back, to the chairs designated for the teachers. In the center of the courtyard, a woman who introduced herself as Saeko began an animated, engaging talk with the children. Despite his best efforts, Hirose couldn't focus on what she was saying; the woman seemed familiar somehow, yet Aiki couldn't recall where he knew her from, he was simply too tired, his mind clouded by a lack of sleep.
"Hirose!" Sugawara snapped him out of his reverie.
"Huh? Yeah?" he replied a few seconds later.
"That uniform she's wearing, isn't that the name of the aquarium where your Nakamura works?"
Hirose gasped, suddenly wide awake. "Underwater Aquarium" was clearly visible on the back of Saeko's light blue uniform. Aiki shifted in his chair; he hadn't missed the way Koushi had said "your Nakamura," but he decided not to comment on it.
"Suga!! Do you think...?" Hirose couldn't help but scan the crowd of people assisting Saeko with her presentation. But of course, Aiki would have noticed him already if he were there.
Reading his thoughts, Suga replied:
"I don't want to let you down, but you would have seen him by now."
Aiki’s shoulders slumped; he wasn't sure if he felt relieved or frustrated.
Just then, Kageyama’s blue eyes and dark hair appeared in his field of vision.
He was dragging little Hinata along behind him.
"He's sick and won't say anything!" Kageyama shoved Hinata a bit harder than necessary.
"Hirose-sensei, I don't feel well..." Hinata stumbled into Hirose's lap, his voice thick with unshed tears.
Hirose quickly straightened up to scoop the boy into his arms. He placed his hand on the boy's forehead.
"Yeah, you're running a fever. Let's get you to the infirmary."
Hirose stood up with Hinata in his arms and quickly spoke to Suga, asking him to keep an eye on the others while he was away.
Hirose walked down the hallway, leaving the courtyard behind. Soon, he turned around with a sigh.
"Where do you think you're going, Kageyama?"
"Me?! U-um..." The little boy hid his hands behind his back while staring at his shoes, his eyes disappearing behind his dark bangs, as he hadn't expected to be discovered so soon. "I was just..."
Aiki almost smiled; those two were inseparable, after all. Despite everything, Hirose adored them.
"You can't go back alone; since you're already here, let's take Hinata to the infirmary together."
Kageyama seemed relieved not to have been sent back. He stepped closer and held onto the hem of Hirose's jacket. And so, they continued on their way.
As soon as they turned the corner in the hallway, Hirose nearly stumbled backward, coming face-to-face with someone walking in the opposite direction. He adjusted the child in his arms and lifted his head. Then, Aiki’s eyes met a very familiar pair of dark eyes, eyes that had been haunting his dreams for a long time.
He nearly choked on his own breath. At the same moment, the person on the other side dropped a stack of flyers all over the floor.
"Nakamura??"
He looked just as startled as Hirose. Nakamura looked away, but it was already too late to hide.
"G-good afternoon, H-Hirose," he greeted, caught off guard.
"Hirose-sensei, I think I'm going to..." And with that, poor Hinata emptied the entire contents of his stomach onto Nakamura's shoes.
Aiki blinked in disbelief.
🌸
> Hi Hirose, this is Nakamura Okuto we met at the aquarium the other day.
(Delivered and read)
> Actually, Hirose, I was wondering... I found out I'll be helping out with a lecture at the school where you work next week. Would you like to grab a coffee afterwards?
(Delivered and read)
A week had passed, and those messages had haunted Nakamura ever since. That set of words that had been his downfall.
He had crossed the line; Hirose certainly thought he was an even bigger weirdo now. He really thought it was reasonable, but looking back now, who invited an old schoolmate for coffee?
At the same time, he wondered what he had done wrong. A very loud voice screamed in his mind that maybe Hirose just didn't want to see him; he was so offended by Nakamura's audacity that he didn't even bother to reply.
A slightly more rational part of Okuto said that Hirose wasn't like that; maybe something had happened and he hadn't had the opportunity to respond. Unfortunately, that voice was too muffled for Nakamura to pay attention.
The day of the lecture was approaching, and Okuto's heart was racing. How would he show up at Hirose's workplace after being ignored? He really didn't know. It would have been better to have been rejected outright at the beginning. He felt foolish for having built up so much expectation; of course, Hirose's feelings wouldn't have changed. Nakamura probably saw things through a filter when they reunited at the aquarium.
His head spun as he continued the meticulous work of organizing the materials for the school presentation. The whole situation brought back sweet and painful memories.
Nakamura thought he had moved on. But seeing Hirose in front of him was like being 15 again.
Okuto had changed a lot since leaving school; he had become more confident, more self-assured. When he was young, he always felt immense pressure to fit in, to be "normal." The great truth, which he discovered after a long time, is that he didn't need to be like everyone else. The world was big, and Okuto had met many people who made him feel like he belonged somewhere.
Little by little, Nakamura felt free to be who he truly was. He didn't need to hide or confine himself to being a mere extra, disappearing into the sea of people around him. He could be himself, not only in relation to his sexuality, but to everything that made Nakamura who he truly was.
However, when he thought of Hirose, his heart was torn. Torn by a long-held feeling. Okuto had deceived himself for years, telling himself that time would heal his first love, but that wasn't the case.
He never forgot Hirose Aiki.
At the same time, he never forgot what came after.
"Shouldn't his happiness also be mine?"
He ran away.
Trembling, crying.
Knees bent and a bridge.
A deeply and broken heart.
Horrible thoughts crisscrossing his mind.
The fact that no one looked for him that night.
What almost happened, what could have been.
"Nakamura, are you alright? Do you need help?" One of Nakamura's coworkers called out to him, seeing him so stiff, lost in thought.
Nakamura then noticed his palms were clenched into fists, his nails almost digging into his flesh. His eyes stung slightly.
"Ah, no, it's alright! I just need a moment, I'll be right back." Nakamura stood up and went to the bathroom, which thankfully was empty.
He stared at his reflection in the mirror.
Nakamura never even had the courage to say he loved him. That was what hurt the most.
Now, older, with a new opportunity, he promised himself he would do things differently, but he hadn't expected such a quick rejection.
Perhaps it was better this way.
As painful as it was, Nakamura had his answer. Yes, that was it.
He decided that when he met Hirose again, he would apologize for the inconvenience of the messages, and his life would move on.
He forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes, then washed his face again and went back to work.
The next day, at school, Nakamura, assigned to take care of the pamphlets and presentation materials, stayed backstage organizing everything that would be needed for Saeko.
Still with no sign of Hirose, Okuto went back to get some more pamphlets, but as soon as he turned the corner into a dimly lit hallway, he saw him.
Hirose was so close—almost as close as that day at the aquarium. His eyes seemed to sparkle as they met Nakamura's gaze. Nakamura’s mind went blank; his flyers lay forgotten on the floor.
"Nakamura??"
It wasn't a dream, was it?
"G-good afternoon, H-Hirose."
It certainly wasn't. Nakamura had barely noticed the two children clinging to Hirose until one of them made their presence known, by ruining his shoes.
🌸
From inside the infirmary, Okuto could hear Aiki talking to his students.
"Is he going to be okay?"
"Yes, Kageyama, he’s fine now; his parents are coming to pick him up. We can stay here with him until then, don't worry."
Somewhat reassured, Kageyama remained seated beside Hinata.
Nakamura appeared in the doorway, wearing the spare pair of slippers Hirose had found for him. Aiki noticed him and walked over.
"I'm so sorry about your shoes," he began, looking sheepish.
"Oh, it's fine, it's no big deal. Nothing a wash won't fix. Don't worry about it," Nakamura reassured him. "Is your student okay?"
Hirose’s gaze darted back to the boys: Hinata, lying in bed, was teasing and laughing at a deeply worried Kageyama.
"Yes, he’ll be fine."
"I'm glad to hear that. I remember those two from that time at the aquarium, they were so energetic," Nakamura remarked without thinking.
"Oh! Well, yes, they really are. Actually, speaking of the aquarium, I wanted to talk to you..." Hirose seemed a bit awkward, and Nakamura couldn't help himself.
He didn't want Aiki to feel uncomfortable bringing the subject up. He needed to apologize for his own behavior first.
"Actually, Hirose, I wanted to apologize."
Hirose blinked, confused. "Because I let my student throw up on your shoes?"
"Not at all." Nakamura gave a nervous, half-laugh. "I realize I might have crossed the line by asking for your number the way I did that day."
"What?"
"I shouldn't have sent those messages without considering how busy you were."
"Nakam—"
"So, I wanted to apologize for the trouble..."
"Wai—"
"My invitation was inconvenient, and I’d understand if you wanted to block my num..."
"NAKAMURA."
"Y-yes?" Nakamura nearly lost his breath, interrupted in the middle of his rehearsed speech.
"I didn't ignore your messages on purpose! And I'm not going to block your number."
"Huh? You aren't?"
"Of course not." Hirose looked torn between amusement and a flash of guilt. "My phone broke; I haven't been able to reply since then."
"So... that was it?" Nakamura didn't know what to think.
"Pretty silly, right?" Hirose chuckled softly. "Sorry for worrying you."
Then his voice dropped a little. "But Nakamura... I still have a question. What invitation were you talking about?"
Nakamura's face and ears turned bright red.
"I already knew I was coming to your school, so..." He couldn't back out now, could he? "I-I asked if you'd like to grab a coffee with me... You know, after your shift."
Hirose's answer came after an eternity.
"And is that invitation still open?"
Nakamura's heart skipped a beat. A feeling he had kept buried for so long hit him with full force.
Nakamura was still hopelessly in love with Hirose Aiki.