Work Text:
Oikawa hated spring.
Well, he didn’t really hate spring, of course. But currently, if anyone asked, Oikawa hated this dumb season with a passion. All the dumb flowers and the dumb couples and the dumb love and the dumb exams and especially dumb Iwaizumi who didn’t have time to hang out with him because he now had a dumb partner were all making Oikawa very unhappy, so spring was dumb and Oikawa hated it.
It would’ve been easier to stay at home in his pajamas and eat nothing but milk bread as he binge watched the X-Files, as he lamented and complained to whoever would listen about his distress. But Oikawa was never one to do things easily and because he wanted to show the world and Iwaizumi that just because he didn’t have anyone to go see cherry blossoms with, didn’t mean he couldn’t have fun on his own, Oikawa now found himself wandering around the streets, trying to find something to do on a Monday afternoon.
But it was an awful idea and he regretted it immediately.
If hearing and knowing about all the love and couples and flowers and exams was enough to make Oikawa hate spring, one could imagine how much more he hated being surrounded by it. He expected the streets on a Monday afternoon to be close to empty, devoid of all the things he detested right now, but spring seemed to dislike him as much as he did.
His favorite restaurants? Filled with couples eating.
The park? Filled with flowers and even more couples eating.
The bookstore? Cherry blossoms and spring displayed everywhere.
The convenience store? Special cherry blossom foods all over.
The fucking gym? Guess everyone went shopping and got matching cherry blossom gym bags!
The Purrfect Catfé? Cou-wait a minute.
Oikawa paused and looked at the sign again, head tilted to the side. At some point in his angry wandering, he somehow managed to come upon a cat café. He was certain he had never been here before, but the name sounded familiar to him. Probably mentioned by one his exes who had wanted to come here.
Peering in through the window, Oikawa saw that there were no people inside, the only place he had seen so far that was how he had expected it to be. Instead, a few cats milled about, one of them staring at him intently, while one employee was seen disappearing into the back. He turned back to the cat that was still staring at him. The fluffy white cat’s scrunched up face made it look perpetually confused, head tilting as he looked up. It made Oikawa laugh and before he knew it, he found himself opening the door, with the sound of a cat meowing notifying the employees of his arrive. Immediately, the cat that had been staring at him come up, nuzzling his leg and he promptly knelt down, giving them the pets they deserved.
“Hello!” someone called out. “Welcome to-oh! Oikawa-san!”
Oikawa looked up and was surprised by the sight of Karasuno’s setter appearing from the back with a surprised, yet cheerful expression on his face. Oikawa fell back onto his usual smile, giving a small wave.
“Mr. Refreshing! I didn’t expect to see you here!”
The setter chuckled. “Yeah. It certainly has been awhile. Didn’t expect to see you here either.”
The two of them smiled politely at each other before Suga nodded, suddenly remembering his duties.
“So are you here for our hanami specials?”
Oikawa’s face immediately scrunched up and he knew he was frowning the moment he saw Suga’s eyes widen before giving a small bow.
“Sorry,” he said quickly. “I didn’t mean to be rude or anything?”
Oikawa waved a hand dismissively. “It’s not you,” he said. “It’s just...I hate spring.”
Suga gave him a curious look and Oikawa sighed.
“The cherry blossoms are so over-commercialized now and it’s practically an extended Valentine’s day. They only last for a few weeks before dying, so everyone freaks out about seeing them. But they’ll also just come back next year too! We should start appreciating other plants. Like cactuses! Those things last forever! I mean, who would want to go see cherry blossoms anyway? Pft! So boring and typical. I hate it.”
“Really?” Suga hummed. He nodded in understanding before sighing and looking down. “That’s a shame then because I was just about to ask you if you wanted to come with me.”
“Wha-? What? Huh?”
For once, Oikawa was speechless and he was left sputtering for a minute as he tried to process what was going on. Suga’s sad expression transformed into one of amusement and he laughed, clearly enjoying his shock. He then reached down and picked up the cat that Oikawa had been petting earlier, nuzzling the top of her head.
“Guess I’ll just spend time with Sakura-chan by myself then!”
Oikawa frowned and crossed his arms, making Suga laugh even more.
“Ha ha,” Oikawa said dryly. “Very funny.”
“Sorry. Couldn’t resist.” Suga set Sakura down and she ran off to join some of the other cats that were napping in the sun. “But really though, I am sorry. I didn’t know about the spring thing. I can get you a drink or a pastry, if you’d like. On me.”
Suga gestured to one of the tables and Oikawa took his offer, giving his usual café order. He then went behind the counter, leaving Oikawa to look around the café. Aside from the cats and Suga, Oikawa saw no signs of anyone else here. It gave him the chance to take in how well decorated the place looked, clean and open, and painted in soft pastels. It looked like it could’ve been a maid café with the all the pink and cute kitty wall paintings, only with plenty of amenities for the cats. There was a display case with various sweets and pastries inside, along with the counter that were both decorated with extra flower garlands and stickers as well and Oikawa frowned slightly, realizing they were seasonal, but he couldn’t deny that they were pretty.
“And here we go! One milk bread and a catppuccino!”
Oikawa looked up and smiled at Suga as he set down the plate and cup. He found himself smiling even more when he saw the foam cat and the ears that were added to his milk bread. He picked up the bread immediately and took a bite of it, relishing the fluffy texture.
“So how have you been?” Suga asked as he sat down and took a sip from his own cup. “You still playing volleyball?”
“I’m good,” replied Oikawa. “And I still play. Not with the national team or V.League 1 though. Just with Chuo.”
“Oh! You go to Chuo too? I never realized since we’ve never seen each other. What a small world!”
“What a small world indeed.” Oikawa took a sip from his mug. Absolutely perfect. “But that would mean that you didn’t continue playing, right?”
Suga chuckled. “Yeah. I figured it was time for a change,” he said with a nod. “I thought it’d be good to focus on my studies a bit and plus, now that I know you’re on the team, my chances of playing wouldn’t have been high anyway.”
“Psh!” Oikawa waved a hand. “From what I recall, you were a good setter too. I’m sure there’d be no issues with you joining the team.”
“I know.”
Suga’s blunt reply and confident smile startled Oikawa. He seemed amused by Oikawa’s reaction.
“I never said I wasn’t a good setter,” he continued. “I may not have been hurt when Coach Ukai chose Kageyama to be the regular setter and I may have told Coach Ukai to choose Kageyama too, but that didn’t mean that I never stopped working for the position. Kageyama may have been a talented first year setter, but there were still many things he had to learn from me.”
Oikawa sat and stared. Suga took the chance to take another sip from his cup as Oikawa tried to process this side of Karasuno’s former setter. From what he knew and saw, Oikawa assumed Suga was the type to humbly deny praise, never seeking the limelight. He seemed like the type that if someone better came along, he would step aside for them, never revealing how he truly felt.
But with just two simple words, Oikawa now realized that he was completely wrong. No, he now realized that Suga was someone who was well aware of his own abilities and felt no need to show off. He knew what he was capable of and he had no need of other’s opinions, but he also wouldn’t idly sit by and let others look down on him. Unlike Oikawa, Suga didn’t feel threatened by Kageyama’s reputation as a setting prodigy, but rather, he realized that that was just one side of Kageyama that was better than him and accepted it. He realized that there were still areas that Kageyama could improve upon and he knew how to help. Suga knew that he had more to him than just his setting skills. Unlike Oikawa, Suga knew his worth and Oikawa didn’t know how to handle that information.
“But enough about volleyball!” Suga announced, interrupting Oikawa’s thoughts. “Surely, we must have other things to talk about besides that.”
“Like what, Mr. Refreshing?”
Suga smiled and leaned forward, so that his elbow was on the table and his chin rested upon his hand. He seemed to be happy enough, but Oikawa now found himself wary of what Suga was about to say.
“Like the fact that you haven’t referred to me by my name yet.”
“Oh?”
Oikawa stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth and tilted his head to the side cutely. Suga remained smiling, but it seemed to grow a bit wider and a knowing look was added to his eyes.
“It’s starting to make me think you don’t remember what it is.”
“Of course, I remember!” Oikawa huffed. “Of course, I do! It’s!” He paused. “It’s…”
Suga looked at him expectantly with wide eyes. Oikawa looked away and tried not to pout, but Suga had caught it, smirking even more. He leaned in closer, looking around the café before holding up a hand to shield his words from any possible eavesdroppers.
“Here’s a hint,” Suga stage whispered. “I’m wearing a name tag.”
Oikawa glanced his way, catching Suga as he leaned back in his chair. He held up a finger to his lips before taking a sip from his cup. Oikawa’s eyes moved down to the name tag in question.
“Sugawara-san.”
“I’m glad you remember how to read,” Suga chuckled. “And just Suga is fine.”
“Suga.”
This time, when Suga smiled, it was warm and the shift confounded Oikawa. He watched as Suga pick up one of the cats that was trying to get his attention, petting it as it purred contently in his lap. He was starting to wonder if maybe all of the cat hair was getting to him when Suga spoke up again.
“So what are you studying?” he asked. The cat in his arms was starting to fuss and he let it jump from his arms. “We’ve never seen each other on campus, so I’m assuming that you’re not an education major.”
Oikawa wrinkled his nose at this and Suga immediately laughed, the sound of it warm, as it wrapped around the two of them.
“Definitely not an education major then.”
Oikawa shook his head. “Nothing against you, of course, but after coaching at Lil Tykes in high school, I think that’ll be the end of my teaching career. For now, I’m studying sociology.”
“Sociology?” Suga perked up at this. “I actually thought about-”
The sound of meowing to the tune of Fur Elise cut off his words and the two setters turned to see a group of girls walking into the café. Suga stood up immediately, smiling pleasantly as he greeted them.
“Hello and welcome to the Purrfect Catfé!” he said before gesturing to the rest of the place. “Feel free to sit wherever you’d like and I’ll be over in a bit.”
Suga began clearing the table, which made Oikawa realize that he had somehow managed to unconsciously clear his plate and mug. He looked up at Suga, who gave him an apologetic look.
“Sorry to cut our conversation short, but I’ve gotta get back to work.”
Oikawa waved a hand and got up too. “I should be heading out as well. I’ve got practice in about an hour, so I should go get ready.”
Suga nodded and gave him a smile, which he promptly returned.
“Well, it was nice catching up with you today, Oikawa-san.”
“Likewise. Maybe we’ll see more of each other on campus as well.”
“Maybe,” Suga mused. “But if not, you know where to find me.”
With that, Suga turned away, disappearing behind the counter and into the back, leaving Oikawa feeling...odd. While their reunion was brief, he found himself pondering Karasuno’s former setter and his words from earlier. Oikawa had never given him much thought before, too focused on Kageyama to really care about the other members as much, but he was now realizing his mistake once again. His thoughts of Suga distracted him so much that Oikawa soon found himself back home instead of at practice like he said he would be and somehow, hours had already passed, signifying that there was no point to him showing up. He would just have to call and say he was ill or something to cover his absence that day.
Suga was a mystery to Oikawa. Like he had realized earlier, the setter was nothing like he had imagined he was back in high school. Back then, Oikawa did figure that there was something intriguing about the setter, but he never paid much attention to him. In regards to Karasuno, Oikawa had always focused on Kageyama, then on him and Hinata, and then the team as a whole. Never just on Suga though and he now realized his mistake.
Lying in bed now, Oikawa wondered if things would’ve been different if he had been more like Suga. Would Kageyama have turned out differently? Would he have never hurt his knee? Would he hate Ushijima as much as he did now? Oikawa would never know for certain how much he would’ve changed had he gotten to know Suga more, but something in him knew that his chance encounter with Suga had more purpose than he had originally thought.
The next day, Oikawa showed up at the Purrfect Catfé again. He told himself it was simply because he had nothing better to do before his morning classes, but it was clearly a lie. If anything, he would’ve rather been anywhere else that didn’t have all the sickening spring decorations still up. He was once again greeted by Sakura-chan, but sadly, no Suga. Only a small girl with bright eyes that stared at him as if he were the stars themselves.
He showed up again on Wednesday, this time, later at night. Sakura-chan came over to him immediately. But no Suga again. Just another poor boy clearly cramming for an upcoming exam.
Oikawa tried again and again for the rest of the week. He was starting to feel a bit stalker-ish as he did this, but he also figured it would have been creepier if he somehow found Suga’s number through his vast connection of acquaintances. He was hoping that he would maybe run into him on campus, but given that they had never run into each other before, Oikawa knew his chances were slim.
Finally, he showed up on Monday at the exact same time he had met Suga the first week, prepared to be disappointed once again. Like always, Sakura-chan came up to him and he picked her up, letting her climb onto his shoulders. He looked around and saw signs of no one else. Sighing, Oikawa got ready to set Sakura-chan back down, when he heard a familiar voice.
“Oikawa-san,” said Suga as he came out from the back, “I was wondering when I’d see you again.”
“Well, you know, I couldn’t stay away from Sakura-chan for too long.”
Suga smiled and nodded, already well aware of how much the cat liked Oikawa and vice-versa.
“You know, with how popular I knew you were back in high school, I assumed you would’ve used those powers in college to find me sooner.”
“What makes you think I was trying to find you?”
“All of my co-workers have mentioned a “cute and charming model” that kept on showing up everyday at various times and I had to assume that they all meant you.”
“Oh my, Suga,” Oikawa cooed, trying to distract. “I never realized you thought I was cute and charming.”
“And I never said I was blind,” quipped Suga, silencing Oikawa once again. “So what brings you back here? Come to see Sakura-chan again? Or maybe you want to see Luna-chan today?”
Oikawa stood there, surprisingly serious, and Suga picked up on the shift immediately. Rather than answer, he gestured to the same table they were at last time and the two of them sat down. Suga went off to grab them some water, momentarily giving Oikawa a chance to sort through his thoughts.
“Something is on your mind,” stated Suga as he sat down. “Something related to me?”
Oikawa nodded. Suga remained silent, letting him figure out how he wanted to go about this conversation. He studied Oikawa carefully as he stared off into space, eyes glazed over.
“How did you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Not get...weighed down.” Oikawa turned to face Suga, brow furrowed. “You and I are a lot alike, and yet, we’re also so different,” he began. “Both of us worked hard to become setters, to become valuable to our teams, and then all of that disappeared with the appearance of one prodigy setter. I was angry when this happened and, to be honest, I think I still am. I worked hard for years and then all of it went away, practically overnight, all because someone else was lucky enough to be born with all the skills that I spent years trying to perfect.
“And originally, I thought you were completely unlike me. I thought you didn’t care and just let Kageyama take your place. But after we met last time, your words changed that. You’re nothing like I imagined you to be. You are a far better person than I’ll ever be. So how did you do it? How did you handle all of that so gracefully?”
Oikawa stared at Suga, frowning and with eyes pleading. Suga’s mouth twisted uncomfortable and he shifted around in the seat for moment. He then picked up one of the cats that happened to be nearby, petting it as he took in all that Oikawa said, while sorting out his own words. The cat in his lap eventually grew fussy, leaping away, and Suga sighed.
“I think the last time that we met, I mentioned that Kageyama still had a lot to learn,” said Suga, “which is correct. He is, as you said, a prodigy setter, but there were things he needed to learn before he became a great setter.”
He took a sip from his drink.
“You mentioned that you thought I handle losing my position with grace, but I can assure you that I was just as angry as you were. I mean, who wouldn’t be? It’s like you said, you work hard for years and then suddenly...it’s all gone and you’re left frustrated.” Suga paused, a sad smile on his face. “It took time and it didn’t happen overnight, but I’ve learned that while Kageyama was blessed with skills that took us years to learn, he fell short in other aspects. Unlike Kageyama, we understood what it meant to be on a team. Unlike Kageyama, we understood that you can’t force your way to victory. Unlike Kageyama, we already knew what it was like to work hard, only to fail in the end.
“There will always be someone better than you, in some aspect. It is important to learn that that is not a bad thing, but what is also important is learning that there are things that make you great as well. You and I may not be on the same level as Kageyama when it comes to setting, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t great setters too.”
Suga smiled at Oikawa. This time, one that was content, happy, almost proud, and Oikawa felt himself overwhelmed by the genuine praise he was receiving. He suddenly realized that aside from Iwaizumi and a select few from his own team, few had ever recognized that anything else besides his setting skills. People only ever saw the end results of his hard work. They never saw what led up to it, and he was shaken by how Suga had seen through him so easily and given him the words that he needed to hear. Feeling uncomfortable, Oikawa looked away and scoffed, briefly catching sight of a smirking Suga.
“Do you tell that to all of your customers?”
Suga shrugged. “Just the ones that I think are cute and charming.”
Oikawa choked and quickly took a sip of his water. He then reached for his phone, poking at apps before realizing the time. Suga curiously watched as he stood up, but made no move to stop him.
“Looks like it’s time for me to head to practice,” he said. “I suppose I’ll see you around then.”
Suga hummed and gave a small wave before he began clearing the table. Oikawa gave a wave in return and began walking towards the door. He unconsciously walked slower for some reason, when Suga’s voice stopped him and he found himself letting out a small sigh of relief.
“Yes?”
He turned around to see that Suga had stopped his previous task and was now looking at him.
“I work here part time Monday afternoons, Wednesday mornings, and Friday nights, if you ever want to come by and chat again.”
Oikawa blinked causing Suga to chuckle.
“But if you ever want to talk for longer, I’m free on Saturdays.”
“Saturday?”
“Saturday,” Suga repeated. “Maybe we could even go see cactuses together. I hear they practically last forever.”
At this, Oikawa couldn’t help but laugh and he felt a pleasant serenity when Suga joined in as well. When their laughter died down, he found himself smiling at the other setter who was awaiting his reply.
“I’d like that,” said Oikawa. “But I hear that cherry blossoms can be nice as well.”