Chapter Text
It had been about two weeks since Atsumu and Hinata broke up.
Even if they hadn’t told the rest of the team, it would’ve been obvious. Hinata wasn’t playing as fast, his reflexes weren’t quite there. Atsumu’s sets were off, even a simple toss seemed to be a struggle for him. Meian said to give them time to sort it out, but Bokuto couldn’t sit back and watch his friends suffer if there was something he could do about it. He hated when people gave him space when all he wanted was a friend.
After another rough practice, Bokuto decided to do something about it. He was a lot closer to Hinata, and felt very protective over him, and it hurt his heart to see his bubbly friend look so down.
“Hey, hey, Hinata!” Bokuto called, probably too loudly. Hinata was already heading out, having changed into his casual clothes quickly. He stopped sticking around after practice, clearly avoiding Atsumu as much as possible. Bokuto threw his arm around his shoulder, and Hinata gave him a small smile. “What are you doing tonight? Wanna hang out?”
“Ah, thank you Bokuto, but my friends and I are actually doing a game night,” Hinata replied.
Bokuto felt genuine relief to hear that his friends were taking care of him.
“No worries, next time!” Bokuto smiled brightly at him, hoping that his positivity would have an effect on Hinata. “By the way, how are you doing? Do you need anything?”
Hinata smiled sadly and looked away at the floor.
“I’m ok. I’ll be ok. Thank you, Bokuto.”
Bokuto leaned down and hugged him tight, which Hinata returned gratefully. They stayed like that for a few moments before Hinata initiated to let go.
“Have fun!” Bokuto waved as Hinata walked off. When he went back to the locker room, his eyes searched around before landing on Atsumu.
Atsumu was changing slowly, his shoulders sunken and his face expressionless. Bokuto decided his efforts would be better spent there.
“Tsum-Tsum!” Bokuto greeted him with a big smile. “What are you up to tonight?”
“Nothin’,” Atsumu replied dryly. Truly, he just wanted to go home and curl up in bed with Hazelnut.
“Wanna hang out tonight?” Bokuto asked excitedly.
Atsumu furrowed his brows. They’d never hung out outside of practice before.
“For what?”
“Uhh,” Bokuto had to think fast, which wasn’t always his strong suit, but he didn’t want Atsumu to be alone tonight. “There’s this black light bowling place I’ve been wanting to go to, but no one will go with me!”
Good, make it seem like he’s helping you, rather than the other way around, Bokuto thought to himself. He knew Atsumu would hate a pity party.
Atsumu looked away at the floor. It sounded like something that required a lot more energy than he currently had to give.
“I dunno…”
“Please,” Bokuto begged, pouting and putting his hands together. “It’ll be fun, I promise! My treat!”
Atsumu sighed. Well, it’s not like he had anything better to do. And going back to an apartment without Hinata was just too depressing to face.
“Ok, ok,” he relented.
“Yes!” Bokuto cheered, throwing his arm around Atsumu’s shoulders. “We’re gonna have so much fun!”
Atsumu wasn’t convinced, but he felt compelled to go along with Bokuto’s antics anyway. It felt nice to have someone hanging around him, the weight and warmth of Bokuto’s body was comforting. Not that he’d tell him that.
Bokuto was true to his word, and as soon as they got to the bowling alley, he paid for them to have three games, and ordered some food and beer as well.
As Atsumu put on the tacky rental shoes, Bokuto giggled to himself at the tally machine.
“Whatcha doin’?” Atsumu asked suspiciously.
“Nothing,” Bokuto replied quickly, but it definitely didn’t sound like nothing.
When the scorecard popped up on the screen, it displayed their player names as ‘BOKKUN’ and ‘TSUM-TSUM.’
“Ready to get your ass kicked?” Bokuto smirked confidently.
And as if a switch was flipped, Atsumu’s melancholy was briefly replaced by a much more powerful and familiar emotion to him: competitiveness.
“We’ll see about that,” he shot back.
Bokuto cheered at the challenge, excited to see Atsumu acting like his usual self again.
The only problem was, Bokuto wasn’t actually very good at bowling.
He was alright, not as good as he wished he was, but he wasn’t going to tell Atsumu that. Instead, he was going to strike on his first try.
The ball hurdled into the gutter.
Atsumu snorted behind him, and Bokuto turned around flushed to grab another ball.
“I’m just getting warmed up!” he yelled. The second throw wasn’t much better, and he only knocked over two pins. When he turned around to look at Atsumu, his teammate was looking like he was trying not to laugh. “Well, let’s see if you can do any better, then!”
Atsumu did do better, a lot better, comparably. He was able to knock over nine pins, thus setting the lead.
“What was that you said about kickin’ my ass?” Atsumu asked him arrogantly.
Bokuto growled, and quickly grabbed another ball as the pins lined up again.
Things continued like that for a while, they drank beer and ate junk food in between turns, goading into each other back and forth. As the night went on, and they got more buzzed, Atsumu started to loosen up. After a particularly ridiculous stunt Bokuto tried to pull in an effort to show off, his ball went into the other lane, and he had to apologize profusely to the players next to them. Atsumu was laughing his ass off at the booth, even after Bokuto came back and it was his turn.
Suddenly, Bokuto realized this was the first time he’d seen Atsumu genuinely laugh or smile in weeks, even before he and Hinata broke up. And that made his heart swell. His new tactic, he decided, would not be to win, but to make Atsumu laugh as much as possible.
Every time it was Bokuto’s turn to go, he would promise a new, fool-proof bowling move, that would only knock over a couple pins if he was lucky. He would try to spin the ball on the floor, throw it between his legs, do an exaggerated kick like he was about to throw a baseball. Anything with flair he could think of that would get a rise out of Atsumu.
After a particularly intricate spin move that caused the ball to go into the other side’s lane, Atsumu was keeled over in stitches. Bokuto once again went off to bow and apologize to the family next to them, leaving Atsumu momentarily to laugh himself to tears.
He hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed like this. And it felt good, at first. But now, as his laughter died down, all he could think about was Hinata, and how he wasn’t here laughing with him. And god, he missed him so much. He missed his laughter, his smile, his presence. He was so lonely now, and it hit him like a freight train.
Bokuto returned to see Atsumu crying in their booth. Quickly and wordlessly, he rushed over and pulled Atsumu into his arms.
He didn’t try to tell him, ‘There, there,’ or, ‘It’s alright, don’t cry,’ which Atsumu appreciated. Bokuto just held him and let him cry it out.
“I’m so sad,” Atsumu choked out in between broken sobs.
He was also thankful that they were in a dark and loud place, and that Bokuto was mainly shielding him in his embrace. He’ll probably feel embarrassed later, but right now, he just felt safe.
They sat there for about ten minutes until Atsumu felt calmed down enough to sit up on his own. He started to wipe at his face, but Bokuto moved his hands out of the way, and used the sleeves of his own jacket to wipe his face for him. Atsumu watched his focused face as he did so, his tongue was slightly sticking out, like it sometimes did when he spiked. There was a flutter.
“There,” Bokuto said finally after he’d finished.
“Thanks,” Atsumu said quietly.
Bokuto gave him a small but reassuring smile.
“Want me to take you home?”
Atsumu thought about it for a moment.
“Are we done with all our games?”
“We have half a game left, but we don’t need to finish it—“
“No,” Atsumu interrupted him, shaking his head. “No, let's finish.”
Bokuto squeezed his shoulder comfortingly and offered him another smile. Atsumu wondered to himself how someone could be so good.
“Ok, but I’m definitely gonna win this last one!” Bokuto told him.
Bokuto didn’t win the last one, insisting on playing silly in order to cheer Atsumu up. He wasn’t sure if Atsumu had caught on to his scheme yet, but he also wasn’t sure if it mattered anymore. By the time they left, they were properly buzzed, full of greasy food, and feeling pretty content. Bokuto kept his arm around Atsumu’s shoulder as they walked back to his apartment. Atsumu let him talk and laugh loudly, his own buzz making him feel a little floaty.
When they got to Atsumu’s front door, he hesitated. Now that he was here, he didn’t want to be. Because it meant that once again he’d be alone. Hanging out with Bokuto the entire night reminded him why he hated to isolate himself, and that all it did was make him feel worse. Bokuto could sense his apprehension.
“Hey, want a hug?” Bokuto asked him, his arms stretched out invitingly.
Atsumu chuckled awkwardly and dropped his gaze.
“Uh, that’s ok,” he said. He wasn’t used to physical affection like this, not even with family. Even though his body was already missing Bokuto’s warmth from earlier. He wanted that hug more than anything right now, but he wasn’t quite drunk enough to admit it.
“Are you sure?” Bokuto asked cheekily. “I give the best hugs! My hugs are highly rated, just ask anyone! I’m offering you a certified, professional hug, Tsum-Tsum!”
“Alright, alright,” Atsumu laughed. “I’ll take a famous Bokkun hug!”
Bokuto immediately pulled him into his strong arms, and Atsumu closed his eyes and just let himself enjoy it. He couldn’t deny, it was indeed a very nice hug. It was much nicer than when they were sitting in a booth at the bowling alley as Atsumu cried into his shirt. He felt warm, safe, and sturdy. Bokuto was like a recharge station and he was absorbing his good energy. Bokuto rubbed his back soothingly, and held him tightly enough so that he felt secure, but not so much that he felt crushed.
“Are you gonna be ok gettin’ home?” Atsumu asked when they eventually pulled apart.
“Of course!” Bokuto beamed confidently. “It’s me we’re talking about!”
Atsumu chuckled and shook his head, ready to close the door behind him.
“Can you just…” Bokuto started to ask, looking around. “Remind me where the train station is?”
Atsumu thought about it for only a moment before swinging his door open.
“Why dontcha spend the night,” he offered.
“Whoa, really?!”
“Yeah,” Atsumu said, stepping aside to let Bokuto in. “I don’t mind.” He also hated sleeping in an empty apartment.
A tiny bell rang, and a meow came from the living room.
“What’s this, a beast?” Bokuto asked dramatically, as if he were some sort of medieval knight.
Hazelnut, Atsumu’s cat, meowed again before rolling over on her back at his feet.
“Nope!” Bokuto said happily as he bent down to rub her stomach. “A princess!”
Atsumu watched with curious amusement as Bokuto cooed and pet his cat. She didn’t even let Atsumu touch her belly, but here she was, inviting a total stranger to do so.
Atsumu took a seat on the couch, and Bokuto followed closely behind after him. Immediately, Hazelnut jumped into Bokuto’s lap.
“I’ve been chosen,” Bokuto gasped, petting her affectionately.
“Hey,” Atsumu said, not meeting Bokuto’s eyes. “Thanks for takin’ me out tonight. I really needed it.”
“Of course!” Bokuto smiled, using his free hand to put on Atsumu’s shoulder. “We’re not just teammates, we’re friends, and we gotta look out for each other!”
For some reason, the term ‘friend’ both comforted and bothered him. Atsumu just nodded and muttered a quiet, “Yeah…”
“Don’t think this was all just a pity party,” Bokuto added. “I had fun too, you know. And I demand a rematch!”
Atsumu chuckled, finally looking up at his face.
“Maybe somethin’ other than bowling, so ya actually have a chance at winnin’?”
“Shut up!” Bokuto laughed, shoving his shoulder playfully. “Fine! Next time we’ll do laser tag!”
“Yeah, next time,” Atsumu agreed, feeling relieved and excited that they would be doing this again soon. They fell asleep on Atsumu’s couch, with Hazelnut sprawled out on top of them.