Chapter Text
Three nights ago, Osamu had a dream he can’t seem to stop thinking about. Like all his dreams these past few weeks, it starts in a field.
Osamu’s eyes are quick to study the area around him. He is quick to place himself. He knows it’s a dream and he knows he has control, but he doesn’t move. He doesn’t want to make decisions, he doesn’t want to use the power over his dream when every dream before finding Yamaguchi never allowed him to do so. He stays still hoping things will end quickly; hoping that the dream will close in on itself before causing Osamu any more problems he can’t handle.
Of course, that’s all pointless since time seems to stretch and Osamu eventually moves.
Like always, it’s when he notices the bird. He is startled at first. The bird appears from above, flying with grace through the sky. The sun always makes it hard to truly get a look at it but he thinks it’s not a small bird. Maybe not something as big as an eagle either but it’s big enough for him to admire the spread of its wings.
He is captivated for a second, just staring at the bird fly over him and then all too quickly the sun vanishes. Osamu jerks his head in different directions to make sense of the darkness and in doing so he loses sight of the bird. He feels his feet moving, tempted to run towards a direction in search of it but then Osamu hears the thunder and in less than a second rain starts pouring over him.
He freezes, his hands extended in front of him to feel the rain since his mind can’t quite believe it. How long has it been since it rained in his dreams?
He thinks about Yamaguchi instantly, triggering his body to seek him out. He turns in circles trying to find him while his eyes frantically explore the area. It doesn’t look like the field anymore. It doesn’t look like anything. All Osamu can see is darkness and rain.
Osamu starts feeling a little desperate. He feels his breathing getting louder, his mouth now parted as he continues to look around for his soulmate. His mouth feels dry but he knows he is close to calling out for him. He hates taking control of his dreams, hates that he can but for Yamaguchi—
There is a splash. Osamu hears a muffled moan coming from behind him and within one quick second he is swallowing back Yamaguchi’s name, body moving to face the direction of the noise while a ray of sunlight seeps through the clouds above; allowing his eyes to catch sight of what’s in front of him.
An injured fox; head downcast as it licks at its paw.
“You poor thing.” Osamu hears himself say and his hand instantly covers his mouth because he doesn’t remember talking. He hadn’t even opened his mouth. The fox lifts its head but it doesn’t face Osamu.
There is someone else here. “Let me help you.” His voice says again but Osamu’s hand is still covering his mouth so it’s not him speaking. ‘How?’ Osamu thinks, his heart pounding against his chest, ‘I’m not…’
“Help me?” A voice echoes around him without warning and Osamu recoils. “You want to help me?”
Once again Osamu finds himself jerking his head around, urgently trying to find the source of the voice he doesn’t recognize. From in front of him, the fox finally seems to be paying Osamu attention, watching him until Osamu’s eyes fall back on it.
“Why help me now? After all this time?” Osamu hears and the fox looks away, head falling one more time to tend to its injured leg.
Osamu feels something churn inside him. His throat starts drying fast and his body begins to shake. The rain gets heavier, soaking Osamu to the point that it feels real, too real. He extends his hands one more time, watching the rain hit his skin with force. More concerning, the raindrops start feeling warm and it doesn’t take long for Osamu to realize they are not raindrops.
‘Fuck.’ He thinks, his eyes feeling heavy. ‘Fuck. What is this… why is this…?’ Why is he crying? Why can’t he stop?
Osamu closes his eyes when his vision blurs and then—
He wakes up.
That was three nights ago. Three nights ago that he woke up gasping for air, a steady drumming in his head while his eyes felt swollen even though a quick inspection in front of the mirror proved he was fine. It was just a dream. Osamu told himself and then proceeded to repeat it to himself over and over again even though it did nothing to calm his beating heart.
“Samu,” Yamaguchi’s voice calls to him and Osamu blinks, his eyes focusing back on his soulmate who is handing him a drink. “You’re really out of it today. Are you sure you don’t want to leave early? Our friends will understand.”
“I should stay,” Osamu says, glancing around the room to bring himself back to reality. “For my brother.”
“You haven’t even gone to see him.” Yamaguchi points out, his smile gentle while his eyes show his concern.
Osamu huffs, not liking the point he has made. He takes the drink handed to him and immediately downs half of it. “He is with his teammates, maybe later.”
Yamaguchi hums, “later,” he echoes, “is that when you’ll tell me what’s bothering you?”
Osamu stops himself from wincing at the sting those words cause. He lifts the glass back to his lips and drinks the rest of its content to buy him some time before managing to utter a response. “Botherin’ me?”
He doesn’t know why he says that. Especially when acting stupid never fooled Yamaguchi. “Yes. Something is bothering you.” Yamaguchi sighs dejectedly, “for days now— and don’t say it's your brother. This is different.”
“Tadashi,” Osamu tries, ready to voice his argument when he takes notice of the people around him and remembers where they are. Yamaguchi must notice as well since he looks around and sighs before smiling once again and waving dismissively.
“Sorry, let’s not do this here.” He says, “later?”
Osamu doesn’t think he will have the courage to talk about it later but he nods anyway, already angry with himself for being the reason behind the sad smile Yamaguchi wears. The last thing his soulmate needs is to be worrying about Osamu, especially during a party.
“Should we find our friends?” Osamu asks, extending his hand for Yamaguchi to grasp so he can lead them through the crowd of people in search of familiar faces.
It’s a bit strange to be walking around so freely in what seems to be a party he has no place in. When Osamu first heard of this party he had mostly envisioned a huge banquet hall, a huge selection of food from a buffet sideboard, and professional athletes with suits standing around with their soulmates and a glass of champagne.
Instead, this feels more like a random social gathering. There are two rooms in this weird like a banquet hall. One of the rooms does have a sideboard with plenty of food and tables for guests to eat and enjoy while the other has a huge bar and cocktail tables spread out for drinking and short conversation. Osamu had originally planned to stay in the food room but at the moment most of the Jackal players were there, as well as other prominent league players from different teams.
It was rowdy and clearly the main event as everyone crowded around them to congratulate them for the season. Osamu had spotted his brother sandwiched between his captain and Hinata and at the sight of a rare smile, decided it would be best to not approach him just yet. Instead, Yamaguchi and he had spent most of their time in the other room, drinking and watching as people he doubted had much to do with the volleyball association crowded the room. Osamu knows that everyone invited had received the option to bring a plus one but now that he thinks about it, it seems like everyone has taken liberties with that option. It would explain why he has seen a few familiar faces from high school that Osamu doubts should have gotten invited. (Also, if he really really thinks about it, he might be here as Atsumu’s plus one and Yamaguchi as his plus one, so really, he can’t exactly fault anyone.)
It’s not like the crowd bothers him. If anything, the number of people make it easy for Osamu to feel comfortable in his casual dress pants and shirt. No one here seems to take themselves too seriously and Osamu has only seen three people with suits so far. It seems like the only people giving this party a professional look are the women in attendance.
Other than that, Osamu feels like something doesn’t make sense about this event.
“I think this was all a ploy,” Tsukishima tells them when they find him eating with a friend by a cocktail table closer to the second room. The friend of his introduces himself as Kindaichi and Osamu vaguely remembers Yamaguchi mentioning him before in passing.
Osamu is a little surprised that Tsukishima isn’t with Suna but before he can voice anything Yamaguchi is making a comment about the party. That’s when Osamu brings up how weird it all feels and Tsukishima later replies with his own opinion.
“Oh no,” Yamaguchi says while stealing some of the appetizers on Tsukishima’s plate, “you don’t think…”
Osamu turns to look at his soulmate with a raised eyebrow, waiting for him to finish his thought even though he doesn’t look like he is going to be saying anything else. Regardless, Tsukishima nods as if Yamaguchi said something he could agree on. “There is no other explanation.”
“But to go to this extreme…”
From the other side of the table, Kindaichi looks at Osamu with a frown, “just so we are clear, you are also confused, right?”
“It’s just a rumour,” Tsukishima says, having heard Kindaichi’s comment.
“Rumour?” Osamu questions, accepting the food Yamaguchi secretly hands him from Tsukishima’s plate.
Tsukishima hums and Osamu knows him well to know he is not going to be sharing any more information on the matter. So he turns to Yamaguchi who looks to be putting his thoughts together, but before his soulmate can even say anything Osamu catches sight of two approaching figures and his mind quickly puts aside the topic as he turns to greet them.
“If it isn’t my favourite customer,” he says, the rest of his group taking notice of the two new individuals.
“Iwaizumi-san! Akaashi-san!” Kindaichi chirps while the rest of them just nod and smile.
“Yuutarou.” The person holding Akaashi’s hand says and Osamu is quick to assume that he is probably Akaashi’s soulmate he has heard so much about. “Tsukishima, you are here too?”
“I couldn’t get out of it,” Tsukishima replies after a polite head tilt in greeting. Then not so politely he adds; “are you here as a plus one or did you get a personal invitation?”
“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi calls out, clearly as surprised with the question as Osamu feels.
Iwaizumi however isn’t fazed. He chuckles while Akaashi watches him with a smile that reminds Osamu too much of his smile every time he looks at Yamaguchi. It’s gross and he can’t wait to make fun of Akaashi for it.
“I got my own.” Iwaizumi says and now that Osamu thinks about it, he seems familiar.
“Wait, Iwaizumi-san, does that mean…?” Kindaichi trails off, seemingly understanding the deeper meaning of this conversation while Osamu trades confused looks with his soulmate.
“I signed the papers this morning but there won’t be an official announcement until training starts.” Iwaizumi explains. “You’re looking at the national team’s new athletic trainer.”
“Congratulations,” Tsukishima says while Osamu quickly remembers from where he knows Iwaizumi. Yamaguchi and he had seen Hinata last week for brunch where he had talked about nothing but the Olympic qualifiers. At some point Hinata had mentioned a friend of Oikawa’s looking to join the tech team or something alike.
Then, upon further thinking, Osamu even remembers hearing Suna mention Iwaizumi.
“I don’t know how he can proudly call himself Oikawa’s best friend.” Suna had said, “there is definitely something wrong with him.”
“Dontja call yerself Oikawa’s friend?”
“That's a bold lie Osamu, how dare you.”
Of course, though he doesn’t think Akaashi ever really mentioned his name, Osamu probably knows the most about Iwaizumi from him. Osamu is still enjoying very much how whipped Akaashi looks while watching his soulmate interact with Kindaichi and Tsukishima.
When Akaashi started to frequently visit Osamu’s restaurant, Yamaguchi was always around for Akaashi to catch Osamu distracted more than a handful of times by the presence of his soulmate— meaning his friendship with Akaashi was built over food sharing and merciless teasing.
Akaashi knew Yamaguchi from high school. They weren’t super close, Yamaguchi once explained how Tsukishima was the one who got to know Akaashi and the other seniors back in the joint training camps while he was busy with personal practice, but Akaashi knew him well enough that he had no problem siding with him over Osamu on any occasion.
This just means that Osamu has a playful grudge against Akaashi and now that he knows Iwaizumi he won’t hesitate to gets his revenge.
Akaashi must sense his sinister thoughts since at some point while Iwaizumi continues to question Kindaichi and Tsukishima on their current lives he pins Osamu down with a threatening glare and a silent warning eyebrow raise. From beside him, Yamaguchi chuckles and Osamu teasingly squeezes his sides as he tries to keep his smirk at bay.
“Hey, speaking of the first division,” Kindaichi suddenly says and Osamu finds himself surprised that he missed so much of the conversation while he is momentarily confused. “We are celebrating the Jackal’s win, right? Have you guys seen any of them? I wanted to talk to Hinata.”
“It will be easier to find Kageyama,” Tsukishima tells him and Osamu silently agrees. Hinata had been surrounded by so many people. That and he doubts he is going to be leaving Atsumu’s side any time soon, “get him to send Hinata those weird brain signals.”
“Thoughts, Tsukki.” Yamaguchi laughs, “they share thoughts.”
Iwaizumi whistles impressed, “I heard about that. That’s an impressive soul bond.”
Tsukishima groans, “impressive? I would die.”
“Ditto,” Osamu agrees, earning a pinch from his soulmate. “Ow— hear me out. Would ye really want to hear all my thoughts? Isn’t it weird if someone else just starts talkin’ in your head- ow!” Osamu moans while everyone else laughs.
Tsukishima looks smug and Osamu is close to reminding Yamaguchi that his best friend most certainly has the same thoughts as him but before he can Iwaizumi is humming along, saying something about Osamu having a point and this time, it’s Akaashi who voices out his disagreement.
“Sharing thoughts seems like a lovely bond. It’s a bond that probably makes it feel like your soulmate is always there.” Osamu wants to snort and call him out for such a lame point. Especially when Akaashi has a bond that is literally always there, even though no one but him and Iwaizumi can see it.
“Akaashi-san, sharing thoughts is all but lovely. It’s a recipe for disaster. Especially if we are talking about those two.”
“I think I agree,” Kindaichi adds after Tsukishima’s statement. “Besides, nothing compares to bonds that are actually always there.”
“He has a point,” Osamu states, turning to wiggles his eyebrows at Akaashi, “must be nice being tied together by a red string.”
“It is nice, thank you.” Akaashi remarks, “I can never lose him at a food festival.”
“Hey!” Osamu whines, “that was one time!”
“You lost Yamaguchi at a food festival?” Tsukishima is quick to question, his eyes wide with amusement while Yamaguchi groans from the side, avoiding all eye contact as Osamu is forced to share the story. It’s not even that much of a story and if he is being honest, Osamu didn’t lose his soulmate— he just got distracted long enough to lose sight of him amidst the crowds.
It's a little unfair that they are all gaining upon him for something so minuscule. This is why once he is done with his story he is quick to bring up that time Akaashi got so tangled with his soulmate string that he nearly cried thinking he was going to have to cut it to free himself.
Akaashi is forced to share that story and that marks the beginning of the endless talk about soulmate bonds and their many disadvantages. They all take turns talking about their bonds and how sometimes they cause more troubles than it’s worth, all in good fun.
Osamu is careful to keep his bond from being mentioned, even though Yamaguchi does share a few stories from his perspective.
By his calculations, apart from Yamaguchi, only Tsukishima knows about Osamu’s resurfaced dreams. He hasn’t had a chance to mention it to Akaashi— or more like, he doesn’t think he wants to mention it to his friend. It’s not like he is proud of his dreams now. Even though he refuses to let them affect his relationship with Yamaguchi, Osamu can’t find it in himself to look at his dreams as anything but something shameful.
No, that’s not true. His dreams… if they are soulmate dreams and if he does have an unbalanced bond— that's fine. He is okay with that. He knows he can make it work. What’s bothering him is that so far his dreams have done nothing but confuse him.
Soulmate dreams are supposed to connect you with your soulmate. They are supposed to teach you about them. They are supposed to guide you to them. Yet so far all Osamu knows from his dreams is that he is quite fond of birds and foxes. His dreams don’t even show his other soulmate, not like they showed Yamaguchi. What is he supposed to do with that?
All that and now three days ago he dreams and finally hears a voice and— for what? What did that accomplish?
So yeah, maybe he does feel a little shame from his resurfaced dreams, but it’s not because of what they mean; not because he might have another soulmate. It’s because he knows nothing. He goes to sleep every day, dreams, wakes up and lives on with nothing.
And then he hates himself for thinking that because he has Yamaguchi by his side, so why? Why is his mind always trying to make it seem like his soulmate bond is incomplete?
“I think I would love to have a dream bond,” Kindaichi says at the same time Osamu makes that mental observation and he nearly chokes on his spit, caught off guard for some reason. No one seems to notice but as Yamaguchi starts singing praises about their bond Osamu feels the steady gaze of someone studying him and knows he has been caught.
Doing what, exactly, he doesn’t know. But when he meets Tsukishima’s eyes he can feel the judgment inside them slowly start to pull at his insecurities. To make matters worse, from the corner of his eyes Iwaizumi has a similar look. Osamu feels like he is being taken apart with their eyes.
So he doesn’t say anything. He lets Yamaguchi boast about their bond while he holds onto his hand tightly to show his support. He smiles because Yamaguchi always makes him smile, but inside Osamu can’t help but think about a flying bird, an injured fox, and a ticking clock demanding answers to the slowly growing gap in his heart.
-o-
Suna didn’t think this party would go quite like this.
Actually, he hadn’t really put much thought into the party other than how annoying it was going to be. Having Tsukishima around was going to be the only upside to all this but his soulmate had left him the moment one of his teammates had found Suna and demanded they go eat with the rest of the team.
With Tsukishima escaping before Suna could cling unto him, he didn’t have much of a choice but to follow his teammate, only to regret everything once they notice the rest of their team had scattered and they no longer even had a table. Suna left quickly after that, hoping to find his soulmate but Washio found him first and that’s really when everything went downhill.
“Komori is drunk.” Was Washio’s greeting words and Suna stood staring at him for a moment trying to decipher if he was joking or not. Unfortunately, Washio’s jokes are always funny and currently, Suna is not laughing. So he sighs, resigned and tells Washio to lead the way.
Washio takes him to the other room with all the alcohol and then to his surprise, walks to the end and pushes past a door that Suna is sure doesn’t lead to a bathroom. “Don’t ask,” Washio says when Suna shoots him a questioning look. He raises his hands in surrender and follows along until Washio opens another door past a long hallway and Suna finds himself outside on a terrace.
There is a table there, occupied by three familiar faces aside from Komori who is laughing loudly with a bottle of beer in his hand. “Oh boy,” Suna says and Washio grunts beside him. Then he moves to sit on one of the unoccupied chairs. Suna goes to follow him and almost stumbles when he notices a figure sitting next to Komori, head bowed down almost touching the table.
“Rin!” Komori calls out and Sakusa jolts beside him. He raises his head, meets Suna’s eyes and quickly looks back down.
Suna swallows. “Toya,” he greets, “everyone.”
“Rin-ta-rou!” Tendou, who sits on the other side of Komori sings, waving at the empty chair by his side. Suna bumps fists with him and takes a seat, nodding to the other greetings he gets from the two other people at the table, sans Sakusa.
“Where’s Tsukki?” Kuroo asks, hands on a bottle of beer though he looks to be perfectly sober.
“Around,” Suna replies with a shrug, “where is Kenma?”
“Around,” he gets the same response with a grin.
Next to Kuroo, Gao snorts, reaching under the table to pull a bottle of beer that he opens with ease using a set of keys. He hands it to Suna who accepts it with a frown and then reaches down again to grab one for himself. “Knowing Kei and Kenma they are probably in hiding, away from the commotion.”
“I saw Tsukishima with Akaashi, actually,” Washio says and Suna turns to glare at him because he would have much rather Washio lead the way to his soulmate than here.
“Is Iwa-kun here too?” Kuroo asks, sitting up with mischief in his eyes.
Tendou hums, bumping his beer bottle with Suna before they both take a sip while Komori leans forward, nearly falling from his chair as he questions Kuroo about Iwa-kun. In response Kuroo jokingly goes on and on about Iwaizumi, claiming him to be a man made in heaven because, god, have you seen those arms?
Suna and Tendou roll their eyes and crackle every time Kuroo says something ridiculous, laughing even more as Komori acts enchanted with every word. Looking at him now, Suna knows he is not as drunk as Washio made him out to be. He is probably just tipsy and in need of burning out his energy.
The same can’t be said about Sakusa.
Sakusa Kiyoomi, against all odds, seems to be completely trashed. At least that would explain why his head is bowed down and he hasn’t reacted to any of the conversations. Though Sakusa tends to never take part in social conversations, he is never rude enough to just ignore the people around him. (There are also two empty bottles of beer in front of him and god knows how many under the table. His cousin alone has three by the feet of his chair.)
Sakusa looks complete unlike himself. Suna is tempted to take a picture and staple it over a dartboard as a gift to Atsumu. He knows he is still very much conscious since he fidgets once in a while, usually when Komori moves and accidentally hits him with his over-excited limbs. Sakusa is also probably aware of his stare since Suna caught him trying to sneak a glance his way when the whole table erupted with laughter due to something Gao said.
Sakusa is wasted. How pathetic.
“Oh, what do we have here?” A new voice breaks through the laughter just as the conversation had drifted to the season and the many matches they played.
“Hey, you made it!” Gao cheers, perking up as he waves the stranger standing by the door over.
“Hirugami-san!” Komori calls, raising his hand in greeting while dropping some of his beer over Sakusa’s lap in the progress. Suna chokes back his laughter and then catches Washio disapproving glance.
He shrugs in return, turning back to focus on the stranger who is definitely not the captain of the Adlers. “I got your text but it took me a while to find this place.” He tells Gao as he pulls the last available chair over next to him and sits. “Still much easier than finding Kourai.”
Ah, that’s right. This guy must be Hoshiumi’s ex-teammate. The younger brother of the Adlers’ captain.
“Wakatoshi-kun is also unreachable,” Tendou adds, “his teammates stole him the moment we arrived.”
“At least he is with Bokuto.” Washio remarks, “or else we wouldn’t hear the end of it.”
Kuroo groans, head banging on the table before looking up and glaring at everyone. “Did everyone know?”
“Know what?” Komori asks, head tilted sideways in confusion.
“About them. Their bond. How they were talking after years of not.”
Suna whistles, raising an eyebrow at Kuroo’s dramatic behaviour. “You didn’t?” Kuroo groans again, downing his beer before handing Gao the empty bottle and taking a new one from him.
Tendou brushes shoulders with Suna while Washio gives him another warning look. “Now, now, I’m sure Bokuto-san had his reasons for keeping it a secret.” Tendou explains with a smile. Suna thinks it’s funny how he manages to sound both sympathetic and sarcastic at the same time. “Wakatoshi-kun didn’t mention anything until just a few weeks ago. I barely got the full story today.”
“I heard something from Kourai,” Gao mentions while he is opening another beer for himself since Hirugami stole the one he had. “Though we all knew to shut up about it. Soulmate talks are always a big no-no in the locker room.”
Komori laughs, snorting a bit of the beer he was drinking while accidentally hitting his cousin when he moves around in his seat. “Please, that’s all we talk about. And I know for a fact that the Adlers gossip more about soulmates than any other team— or maybe the Jackals.”
Suna lets his eyes trail back to Sakusa who shifts at the mention of his team’s name. He realizes then that Sakusa wasn’t supposed to be here. When Suna talked about it with Osamu they had both been convinced he wouldn’t assist this event, simply to avoid Atsumu. Though now that he thinks better of it, Sakusa hasn’t been avoiding Atsumu since the break up, so why should he now?
Though it is weird that he is here and not with his teammates. He is not a fan of crowds but it’s a big day for the Jackals. They took the season and everyone out there is kissing their ass. All of the players were eating and drinking surrounded by players from the other teams. Did no one care that Sakusa wasn’t with them? It’s not like the Jackal’s have picked sides in the break up.
As far as Suna knows, Atsumu and Sakusa are still claiming everything is fine as they continue to work together effortlessly— of course, once they take off their uniforms and leave the gym they go back to ignoring each other, acting like they are not hurt; acting unbothered.
But that's all it is; an act. Suna was sure of that when it came to Atsumu and now that he can watch Sakusa play with an empty bottle of beer in his lap and refuse to lift his head and meet anyone's eyes, he thinks maybe it’s also true for that bastard.
“You guys don’t understand how much paperwork there is when it comes to soulmate couples,” Kuroo is saying when Suna tunes in back to the conversation, “I mean, I don’t deal with it, but I know it’s a hassle.”
“Soulmates are a hassle,” Gao complains as Suna tries to piece together what the conversation is mainly about.
“You’re only saying that because you haven’t found yours.” Kuroo quips.
“Have you?” Gao throws back and Suna watches as the two start an argument on the matter while everyone else around the table goes quiet.
He almost snorts, finding it amusing how they came to the topic about soulmates with the different personalities around the table. Unsurprisingly, Sakusa has gone completely still, more so than before, as he listens to the argument with his head still down. Komori has finally settled on his seat, leaving his bottle on the table while he acts interested in the topic, even though all he is doing is avoiding Washio’s stare.
He wants to say something. Especially once Kuroo and Gao start going at each other about their bonds. Yet he chooses to stay quiet, much like Tendou who is probably the only other person on the table comfortable with the topic.
To be fair he can’t speak for Hirugami. He looks comfortable enough, taking sips from his beer as he follows Kuroo and Gao’s little argument. He probably knows his soulmate or is just happy with whatever bond he has, at least the smile he wears tells Suna as much.
“I think I’ll be fine if I never meet my soulmate.” Or not.
“Oh?” Tendou says from beside him, caught off guard like Suna.
Hirugami shrugs, not bothered with the way he captured the entire table’s attention with just a simple statement. “Besides, sometimes I feel like they are running away from me.”
Gao rolls his eyes. “Is this about your weird dreams?”
“Soulmate dreams,” Hirugami corrects. Gao waves his hand dismissively and says something about Hirugami not being a hundred percent sure and Suna tunes them out as they begin to banter. It reminds him of his banters with Osamu. They talk as if they have had this conversation a million times over, yet neither wants to cave.
“I think it’s nice, meeting your soulmate. Especially at a young age.” Komori decides to speak up, voice not as loud as it was this entire time. Suna quirks an eyebrow and turns to Washio who hums in agreement.
Suna mentally rolls his eyes, fighting back a snort while he hears Tendou’s stifled laugh. He is about to say something when he catches Sakusa finally lift his head up and immediately make eye contact with him.
Sakusa looks caught off guard, his eyes widening a smidge while Suna feels his expression settle to something neutral, though he knows that just means he is probably close to glaring at him. Sakusa blinks after a second and Suna watches as his eyes seem to daze.
“None of us have time for that,” Gao says, pulling Suna’s attention back to the conversation and away from the Sakusa’s pitiful state. “We are still young.”
“I would say a good number of us have the time,” Suna argues, finally taking part in the conversation.
“And I don’t know about the young part,” Komori adds with a bite.
Gao falls for Komori’s taunt and so they begin to argue about age, the topic of soulmates being pushed aside. They drag Kuroo in on the argument, mainly because out of all of them they think he looks the oldest. Kuroo then tries to convince them Washio definitely looks older and so they are all once again lost in conversation while Suna finds himself focused back on Sakusa, his eyes piercing him in place while Sakusa appears to be trying to get a grip on himself.
I hope I’m making you uncomfortable. Suna thinks, not once minding how immature he sounds. He thinks about all his calls with Osamu, hearing his best friend barely keep it together as he tries to understand why Atsumu is acting the way he is. Why isn’t he eating? He keeps ignoring my calls. He doesn’t want to come visit ma, what do I do? He doesn’t want to talk about it. Why?
Why?
Because of you, Suna thinks, hearing loud laughter before the door of the terrace is once again opened.
“There you are!” Hoshiumi exclaims, sticking his head out before turning around, shouting an “I found them,” into the hallway and then turning back to walk out. “Why are you guys hiding here?”
“Hiding?” Gao shouts back, “you are the one who took one look at that shorty who kicked your ass this season and bolted towards him, leaving us behind.”
“Hirugami, did you eat yet? There is so much meat! You have to try some with that green sauce!” Hoshiumi says, ignoring Gao’s comment who looks ready to throw an empty bottle at him.
“Ah, we got sidetracked.” Hirugami stands, Gao following after him as they move towards the door. “It was nice seeing everyone.” He says, letting Hoshiumi open the door as they bid their goodbyes.
Suna barely pays them any mind, he is too busy watching Bokuto and Ushijima walk out into the terrace, laughing about something while they try not to bump into the three that are leaving.
“Woah!” Komori exclaims suddenly and Suna snaps his head to the side to watch him as he moves to catch Sakusa who had stood up abruptly and stumbled forward. “What the hell, Kiyoomi!?”
Sakusa doesn’t say anything. Instead his eyes are drawn to Ushijima with mild horror. It catches Suna off guard, forcing him to turn only to realize it’s not Ushijima Sakusa is gawking at. It’s not Bokuto either.
“Oh boy,” Tendou says from beside him and Suna raises from his seat, his shoulders tensing.
“Why did Gao leave? I wanted to ask him something.” Bokuto complains, stepping forward to make room for Atsumu to follow after him. “Have you guys been here this whole time? Did you eat?”
“Bo-ku-to!” Tendou is the one to stand up next, moving to stand by Ushijima who is not far from his soulmate. “We should have a few drinks!”
“Uh, yeah! We were planning on doing that with everyone, right, Wakatoshi?”
“I think I should take Kiyoomi home,” Ushijima says, eyes on Sakusa while Komori and now Kuroo try to keep him upright.
Suna sees the worry in all of their eyes and has to control the urge to roll his eyes. So the idiot is drunk, who cares? It’s his fault.
“I can take him home,” Komori tries arguing but Kuroo decides to mention how he too has probably had enough to drink and Suna has to witness how they continue arguing over who should take him home. By the looks of it, Ushijima is winning, since Bokuto looks completely fine with the idea, in fact, Suna thinks that if Ushijima hadn’t offered, maybe he would have himself.
Honestly, at this point, Suna doesn’t care who takes him, as long as he is gone.
“Why don’t I take Omi-kun home?” Atsumu says, surprising everyone.
Suna's eyes grow in size as he stares at him dumbfounded. Then his eyes search around the room to catch the mixture of expressions, mostly showcasing disbelief. When his eyes finally land on Sakusa, Suna almost recoils at how stricken he looks. Though there is something like hope and fondness in his expression and Suna— Suna’s blood boils.
“No.” Suna growls, his voice almost cracking, “you will do no such thing.”
He feels the eyes of everyone on the terrace shift towards him but he doesn’t care as he keeps his eyes on Atsumu who stares back with his mouth parted. “Sunarin—”
“If you think—” Suna catches himself, mentally trying to calm down before trying again. “Why would you— no.”
Atsumu doesn’t say anything, still staring at Suna with clear disbelief. It’s Bokuto who makes a move, putting his arm around Atsumu as he speaks. “Come on Tsum-Tsum, let Wakatoshi and Komori handle this.” Suna sees him try to use some force to get him to move but Atsumu won't budge.
“Bokkun you’ve barely spent any time with Ushijima.” Atsumu says, “I was planning on leavin’ soon anyway, so I don’t mind.”
“No,” Suna repeats himself because apparently Atsumu is hard of hearing.
This time Atsumu snaps his gaze towards him, his eyebrows furrowed, expression angry. “What do ya mean no? ‘M not askin’ for permission.”
“I don’t care,” Suna declares, “you’re not getting anywhere near him.”
Atsumu opens and closes his mouth, no words coming out as the tension around him increases. He turns to look at Sakusa only to catch Komori’s similar expression of shock. At least Sakusa has some sense in keeping his head hanging down low in shame.
“Yer bein’ unreasonable!” Atsumu hisses as if that means anything to Suna.
“He doesn’t want your help!” Suna shouts back and Atsumu recoils.
“Rin, that’s enough.” Komori is saying when Sakusa seems to finally find the strength to stand by himself. He shakes the hold Kuroo and Komori have on him before he starts to stumble his way forward; walking towards the door; passing by everyone until it's just Atsumu standing in his way and—
Sakusa brush by him without saying a word and Suna watches Atsumu's expression crumble.
The silence around all of them stretches before Komori finally moves, grabbing his jacket that was resting on his chair, and running after his cousin after excusing himself from the group. Washio leaves right before Ushijima or Bokuto can volunteer, promising to get both Komori and Sakusa home safe.
Suna feels like something is ringing right by his ears. He thinks his hands might be shaking with how much anger he feels. Even with Sakusa gone, Suna thinks he still very much wants to punch someone.
He feels Tendou pat his back lightly. Bokuto and Kuroo have a short talk about the beer they have under the table before someone is suggesting they head back for some food. Suna can feel Ushijima’s eyes on him but he doesn’t care.
Suna only has eyes for Atsumu. Atsumu who isn’t saying anything; who isn’t even looking at Suna with any anger. Atsumu who was probably having a good time up until now; who had walked out with a smile and had selflessly requested to take Sakusa home—
“Atsumu,” Suna calls as he moves to stand in front of him. Atsumu blinks a few times before he meets Suna’s eyes.
“Sorry, Sunarin.” He says and Suna doesn’t know what he is apologizing for. He doesn’t say anything and instead goes to wrap an arm around his shoulders to drag him back towards the party.
Atsumu stops talking to him after the night.