Chapter Text
Considering they had only played a practice match within their team, Hinata was jumping up and down like they’d won a world title. Atsumu wasn’t complaining though. He never got tired of seeing the sheer thrill and exhilaration that danced across Hinata’s animated face each time he came into contact with the ball. And that’s what Hinata was; a master of the ball. Usually, wherever the volleyball was, Hinata wasn’t far behind. Atsumu especially liked it when Hinata scored a point after Atsumu had set the ball to him because then it became their point.
“Omi-san!” Hinata called out, holding his arm up with his hand waiting expectantly.
Sakusa, with a reluctant expression, slowly raised his hand to quickly tap it against Hinata’s, who wasn’t apparently aware of the meaning behind Sakusa’s expression, as he clasped Sakusa’s hand between both his own. Sakusa’s eyes went wide, though he didn’t retreat or tell Hinata to stop.
Atsumu tilted his head, gaze firmly assessing the interaction.
“You scored that last point so fast,” gushed Hinata, literally jumping up and down on the balls of his feet. How he still had energy left, Atsumu couldn’t fathom. “It came by, whoosh right past me. And then…” Hinata paused, spun his head around in a search, then ran to his chosen target. Bokuto.
“And Bokuto!” Hinata exclaimed, rushing over to Bokuto as if he had already been apart of the conversation.
Bokuto’s brows raised as he hung the towel he’d been wiping his face with around his broad shoulders.
“You’re straight caught the other side off guard after playing the middle so much,” he said in a rush, making Bokuto puff his wide chest even further out than it already was.“And then Miya-san did that quick-” again, he stopped mid-sentence.
Atsumu had to calm his excited heart at the prospect that Hinata was about to… yep. He was coming over, hand clasped around Bokuto’s wrist as he speed-walked to Atsumu and dragged a very willing Bokuto with him who was also smiling.
“Right, Miya-san?”
“Shouyou-kun, please,” Atsumu grinned to hide the flutter in his stomach.
“Sorry, sorry,” Hinata laughed, waving his free hand in front of his face. “Atsumu-san, your quick set to Bokuto where you jumped and it looked like you were going to pass to Tomas.”
“Ah,” Atsumu shrugged with a smirk. “I’m pretty amazing.”
Hinata nodded quickly. “You really are! Ah, Omi-san, wait!”
And Hinata was off again, running to catch up with the retreating Sakusa, who hesitated long enough for Hinata to reach him before he arrived at the door.
“Where are you going?” He asked him.
“Uh, to wash my hands,” Sakusa said while avoiding Hinata’s intense gaze.
“Ohh, did you touch something gross again?” Hinata asked, apparently not having realised the last thing Sakusa’s hands came into contact with was Hinata.
“Not… exactly,” Sakusa replied slowly.
Interesting, Atsumu thought. Sakusa didn’t actually appear to be fazed about having touched Hinata.
“Why are you staring at them so much?” Bokuto asked in a loud whisper, right by Atsumu’s ear, causing him to jump slightly. He hadn’t forgotten Bokuto was there, he had simply been more occupied. With Hinata.
“I wasn’t starin’.”
“Looking intently, then?” Bokuto tilted his head with a teasing grin. “Hinata is a whole energy in himself.”
Atsumu squinted at Bokuto, noticing his glance towards the door where Hinata and Sakusa had just gone through.
“You like him,” he said, not asking but stating.
Bokuto was undeterred and not embarrassed at all as he sighed dreamily and said, “I really do.”
“Well, I saw him first,” Atsumu said childishly, which really wasn’t the case.
“You did?” Bokuto asked in confusion, also knowing that Atsumu had indeed not seen Hinata first.
Atsumu was feeling too petty to correct himself, so he strode away to the changing rooms.
Later in the evening, when Atsumu was home and lying in bed, he created a group chat. Titled with an orange emoji, he invited Sakusa and Bokuto into it.
Atsumu: We need to talk…
He thought he would have to wait, but Bokuto’s reply came quickly.
Bokkun: Okay! 😉
Atsumu: Why are you winking?
Bokkun: Oops, wrong one
Bokkun: ...
Bokkun: 😆
Atsumu sighed and ran his hand over his face. A group chat was not the way to go about this.
Bokkun: So what do u need?
[Sakusa has left the chat]
This really wasn’t the best method. At all.
[Sakusa has been added to the chat]
Atsumu: Don’t leave again!
Atsumu: I need to talk to you both tomorrow, before practice, before anyone else is there and be at least 15 minutes early
After seeing that they had both read the message, Atsumu locked his phone and went to sleep, not bothering to see if there was a reply.
Atsumu didn’t want to beat around the bush. So when Sakusa and Bokuto arrived in the changing rooms only ten minutes early (which was very suspicious considering they’d both arrived together), he said what he wanted.
“Both of you need to back off from Shouyou-kun,” he said slowly with a firm gaze.
Sakusa frowned and looked to Bokuto, who shrugged cluelessly in return.
“What are you talking about?” Sakusa asked, not looking as uncomfortable about being there as Atsumu thought he would have been.
“I like Shouyou-kun,” Atsumu answered. “And I know you two like him, too.”
“This is why you wanted us to get here early?”
Atsumu folded his arms across his chest and stood tall. “I won’t let you have him.”
Bokuto half smiled and put his hands on his hips, raising his head to full height even though he was already taller than Atsumu. “I didn’t realise my disciple was something for you to claim.”
Sakusa stuffed his hands further into his pockets. “Shouldn’t it be up to him who he wants to be with?”
“Of course,” Atsumu agreed, smirking in preparation. “That’s why I challenge you both. To see who can win Shouyou-kun’s heart first.”
“Challenge accepted!” Bokuto agreed instantly, never one to back down.
“Fine,” Sakusa agreed also, taking Atsumu by surprise, but also giving him a thrill from knowing he had more competition.
“That’s settled then-” Atsumu started saying, but the locker room door banged open, revealing a fast breathing Hinata with a rosy nose and dishevelled orange hair. He looked very cute.
“You’re here early!” Hinata said to them all with a bright smile. “It’s been a while since I wasn’t first to arrive.”
“Didn’t coach tell you about not overexerting yourself? You shouldn't push your body too hard,” Sakusa said, his slightly softer tone sending a shiver down Atsumu’s spine. He hadn't heard Sakusa speak like that before. Had he started already?
Hinata gave a sheepish smile as he took off his coat.
“Don’t worry,” Bokuto said, wrapping his arm over Hinata’s shoulders. “Hinata used to cycle over a mountain to get to school. This is no sweat!”
Hinata laughed with Bokuto, his eyes crinkling with joy. “I did! And there was also that time when I had to cycle to and from Shiratorizawa for a training camp.”
“The one you weren’t invited to?” Bokuto smirked as he poked at Hinata’s waist teasingly.
They continued to laugh and talk about previous memories they’d shared to each other, reminding Atsumu that Bokuto had known Hinata and been friends with him for much longer.
Atsumu would have to up his game before he’d even started.
“How about this one?” Hinata asked, pointing at the trainers with neon turquoise soles.
Atsumu scrunched his nose up, swiping his phone screen away from those shoes to reveal the next.
“Or those!” Hinata exclaimed again, going wide-eyed at the orange and black design.
“Shouyou-kun,” Atsumu said slowly. “You have awful taste in shoes.”
Hinata sucked in a huge breath, his chest rising as he gaped in horror at Atsumu. “Just because I like the colourful ones and not boring and plain black and white.” He turned his head away with a pout, making Astumu grin widely.
He poked at Hinata’s bulging cheek and jeered, “poor Shouyou-kun. I’ll still let you pick if they aren’t hideous and bright.”
A battle raged over Hinata’s expression as he glanced at Atsumu, to the phone and back again. “And?”
Atsumu’s smile spread wider and he stuck out his tongue playfully. “And I’ll wear them every day, just for you.”
“Pfft,” laughed Hinata, unable to maintain his grumpy pout.
Atsumu already knew Hinata was playing with him, that’s why he enjoyed riling him up so much.
“You can’t wear them every day,” he insisted, though his cheeks were practically glowing. Seeing Hinata’s happy and energetic smile like this, his presence alone, was enough to make him fall even faster. Hinata Shouyou was an easy person to like and get along with, easy to be attracted to, both emotionally and literally. Eyes drew to him naturally on and off the court, with his big energy and bold moves.
“I would if I knew you liked them, too.”
“How about me?” Came Bokuto’s loud voice as his arms flopped over Atsumu and Hinata’s shoulders and his head popped between them.
Atsumu had known the bubble around him and Hinata wouldn’t last long. But somehow, he couldn’t find it in his heart to be mad at Bokuto. Especially when he made Hinata’s expression light up like that.
“We’re looking at shoes for Miy-um, Astumu-san.”
Resting his chin on his palm, Atsumu decided to humour them both. “What d'you think, Bokkun?”
Bokuto’s brows raised at Astumu’s use of his name, as they always did and gave a wink. Even though Atsumu wasn’t sure why Bokuto was winking, the expression didn’t look bad on him. In a playful and sexy kind of way. Not that Bokuto was sexy. Nope. Atsumu was not about to go down that road.
“How about those with the blue sole?” Bokuto asked genuinely, taking a seat on the other side of Hinata. It was bad enough with Hinata having bad taste, was Bokuto the same?
“How ‘bout,” Atsumu started, scrolling well away from the bright colours and landing on some stylish white trainers with slightly platformed bubble soles and gold on flecks on the bottom like small paint splatters.
“I dunno,” Bokuto said unsurely, tilting his head to the side at the same time as Hinata. “Looks like they got ruined by some paint.”
“Yeah,” agreed Atsumu. “But it’s intentional. Like art.”
Hinata shook his head and grinned. “Atsumu-san, do you have bad taste in art?”
A snort of laughter came from a few meters away, leading to Sakusa who was sitting at a table with Tomas and Inunaki.
“Somethin’ to say, Omi-Omi?” Atsumu asked with a raised brow.
Sakusa didn’t bat an eyelid as he shook his head and returned back to whatever conversation he’d been having. As much as Atsumu wanted to demand his attention be on him and giving the question an answer, having one less challenger with Hinata was more preferable.
When he turned back, Hinata and Bokuto were wearing matching smirks, holding back their laughter terribly. With a small sigh, Atsumu gave a half and taunting smile, urging the two to laugh properly and see what would happen. They wouldn’t be receiving nearly as many sets as usual, that was for sure.
“Why do you need-” Bokuto started asking as he attempted to restrain his laughter, and failed. “New trainers anyway? It’s not like-” another laugh, “you can wear them for volleyball.”
Atsumu stretched and rested his hands behind his head. “Do I need a reason? They look almost as good as me, so of course I should wear 'em.”
“Um-hm,” nodded Hinata. “Almost as good as you Atsumu-san.”
Atsumu waited for the following laugh, for the joke to be continued, except it didn’t. Hinata’s kind expression held no humour as he gazed at Atsumu. Was Hinata saying what Atsumu thought he was? Did he think Atsumu was good looking? Or perhaps, he was merely agreeing with Atsumu so as not to bring his ego down.
“Going to have to disagree on this one,” interjected Bokuto, snapping Atsumu’s attention from Hinata. And here was the joke, of course, Bokuto would be the one to deliver. “Those shoes? They can’t even be considered your competition. This gold,” he reached over and flicked at Atsumu’s loose strands of hair, “is way prettier than paint splatters trying to be art.”
Atsumu’s jaw bobbed up and down as he tried to respond to Bokuto. That was a compliment, he was sure. A compliment of his hair? Atsumu hadn’t been aware Bokuto was interested in hairstyles or knew what was considered, as he put it, pretty.
Before Atsumu’s cheeks had time to catch up with the conversation and start to blush, Bokuto’s intense eyes were drawn away, along with everyone else, to leave for the court. Lunch break was over and so was the conversation. Thankfully, Atsumu thought, unconsciously running his hand through his hair.
Bokuto was supposed to be complimenting Hinata, not him.
//
Gaming at Kozume’s had become a monthly thing for Koutarou, usually accompanied by Kuroo and Akaashi - though Akaashi couldn’t always make it because he was busy with his job, and Koutarou sometimes had a match, so needed to rest. And now Hinata was back from Rio, he was a part of that, too.
Koutarou had stayed in touch with Hinata over the years, though not as much as he would have liked. Being a pro volleyball player took up a lot of hours, and time differences got in the way a lot. Now that Hinata was back, Koutarou enjoyed being with him, on and off the court.
Akaashi wasn’t there tonight, much to Koutarou’s dismay, but they were still having fun. Kozume always had the latest games, either because he’d been sent them for free, or wanted to stay on top of the latest releases. Koutarou wasn’t a gamer like Kozume, but he always tried his best in their small battles against each other.
“The food should be here in thirty,” said Kuroo, leaning his head on Kozume’s shoulder, only to immediately be shrugged off. That didn’t deter Kuroo, though, as he shifted to lean his full weight on Kozume and landed on his lap. Kozume rolled his eyes and smothered a cushion over Kuroo’s face.
“Guys,” Hinata tried to scold them as he rolled the dice. The board game was Hinata’s idea, as he had explained he thought it would give him an advantage against Kozume. He was wrong. Kozume was way ahead of all of them and Koutarou still hadn’t figured out the rules.
“My turn?” Koutarou asked hopefully.
Hinata stuck his tongue out in concentration. “Just a sec’.”
Koutarou was fine with watching Hinata think while he waited. He found all of Hinata’s many concentration and confused expressions more entertaining than the actual game, which was too tricky for Koutarou to want to pay attention to. Hinata was much more interesting.
Which gave Koutarou an idea as he sneakily tilted his phone up and took a picture of Hinata’s insanely cute tongue-poked-out face. Kuroo noticed, of course, nothing ever got past him, but Koutarou shrugged him off with a wink.
He sent the picture to the orange group chat that Miya had made, along with multiple heart eyes emoji’s, just to piss him off. Miya was so oblivious most of the time that Koutarou loved to tease him and carelessly flirt to make him flustered and confused. Koutarou hadn’t lied when he said he liked Hinata like Miya was asking, but he also liked Sakusa who had been walking with Hinata at the time, and Miya as well.
Koutarou had so much love to give, that he couldn’t narrow down a single person to receive it. He also had a tendency to fall too fast, but he had no issue with it, as long as he didn’t reveal those feelings and scare anyone off, where was the harm?
His phone buzzed multiple times, and when Koutarou opened the chat, he couldn’t suppress his wide smile.
Miya Atsumu: How!
Miya Atsumu Stop
Miya Atsumu: Don’t stop
Miya Atsumu: Send another
Miya Atsumu: Actually, where are you? I want in! Now!
Bokuto Koutarou: Hehe, we’re at Kozume’s for game night 😜
Miya Atsumu: Invite me 😤
Sakusa Kiyoomi: Why would he? Scared that Bokuto will win your challenge?
Miya Atsumu: …
[ Miya Atsumu Calling ]
Koutarou almost dropped his phone from the sudden continuous vibrations.
“Sorry, gotta take this,” he apologised to the others, bowing his head and quickly jogging to the kitchen.
“Tsum-Tsum!” He greeted Miya, his stomach already squirming in excitement.
“Ask Kozume if I can come over,” Miya demanded, not even surprising Koutarou.
“Hmm,” Koutarou pretended to think about it. “Why should I? Like Omi-kun said-”
“No,” Miya interrupted, though he didn’t sound mad, more rushed. “It will be more fun if I’m there.”
Koutarou hummed, unable to deny that he didn’t also want Miya to be with them. Kozume wouldn’t mind, Hinata definitely wouldn’t mind, however, he wasn’t sure about Kuroo.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Koutarou said, pretending to sound exasperated and unsure.
“You’re shit at actin’, Bokkun,” Miya jeered, the grin clear in his tone.
Koutarou laughed brightly, unable to stop the happiness he felt from hearing Miya say his name. It gave him butterflies every time and he didn’t ever want to stop hearing it.
“I’ll text you what Kenma says.”
Miya hummed and said, “sure, sure.”
With a skip in his step, Koutarou returned to the huge living room and plonked himself down next to Kozume.
“Hey, Kenma?” He asked and fluttered his lashes, not that it would make a difference.
“No,” Kuroo answered instead and stretched his arm across Kozume’s chest in some kind of block.
“Yes,” Kozume said, not even waiting for Koutarou to continue.
“Ha,” Koutarou stuck his tongue out at Kuroo who faked a sob and wiped an invisible tear from his eye. “I was wondering... if one of our teammates could join us?” Koutarou asked anyway, knowing that Kozume had been teasing Kuroo.
“Oh!” Hinata gasped excitedly. “Who? Which one?”
“Miya?”
With a gasp and slight blush to his cheeks, Hinata nodded quickly and grinned at Kozume with pleading eyes.
“Sure,” Kozume nodded. “He has to chip in for the food though. And join in with the games.”
“He won’t mind that,” smiled Koutarou, sending a quick thumbs up text to Miya followed by his location, because he didn’t know Kozume’s address in words.
Koutarou finally took his turn on the board, and just when he thought he’d overtaken Kozume and trapped his player, Kozume whipped out a counter card that sent Koutarou back to square one. Literally.
“Argh,” he groaned and collapsed back onto the pile of cushions. “If Keiji was here, he’d tell me what move to make.”
Hinata joined him, his face propped up on his hands. “If Akaashi was here, he would only help you and himself, and then I would have even less chance of making it to the end.”
Koutarou rolled over until his face was directly below Hinata’s, mere centimetres away as he felt Hinata’s breath catch. “We should team up,” he whispered loudly. “Take on these noobs and show them how a real gamer succeeds.”
Of course, Koutarou was pretty much talking out of his arse at this point. He was the noob here and Kozume and Kuroo knew it.
“You can’t be a noob at board games, Kou,” laughed Kuroo, proving Koutarou’s thoughts.
“Shh, shh,” Koutarou hushed him and held up his palm in dismissal, his eyes never breaking contact from Hinata’s.
With a hum of approval, Hinata nodded and clenched his fist. “Let’s do this.”
Koutarou booped Hinata’s nose with his finger, just because he could, and jumped up, prepared to keep going to the end.
Hinata flailed, his hands coming to his face and covering his nose and rosy cheeks, but not his bright sunshine smile.
Kuroo coughed forcefully, catching Koutarou’s attention, and raised one of his brows, his eyes darting back and too and Hinata. Koutarou waved him off and sat up so he could pay attention to what was happening on the board. He could feel Hinata’s gaze sliding over him every few seconds though decided not to give Hinata away and allowed him to keep searching for whatever it was that he found so suddenly interesting about Koutarou’s head.
As Koutarou was planning his next move in his head, brows furrowed in concentration, Kuroo slammed his piece down on the finishing square.
“I win,” he grinned smugly, the corner of his mouth turned up as he folded his arms across his wide chest.
“Wha…” Koutarou trailed off, glaring at the board like he could demand answers from it.
“Ohh,” Hinata clapped in awe, as he clearly had no idea how Kuroo managed to win either.
Kozume gave a small smile and allowed Kuroo to lean his head on Kozume’s shoulder, his fingers naturally coming up to run through Kuroo’s black hair.
Koutarou, struck with an idea, slowly turned his face towards Hinata, his puppy eyes already in place. “Hinataaa,” he whined, pouting sadly at his loss and hoping Hinata knew what Koutarou wanted.
“Hm?” Hinata raised his brows, anticipation clear in his sparkling caramel eyes.
Taking a leap of faith, Koutarou wriggled over and slumped his forehead on Hinata’s shoulder, releasing his full weight (well, most of it at least), and causing them both to topple.
“Bokuto!” Hinata wailed, mostly laughing, as they crashed down. “Give me some warning!”
As Hinata made numerous attempts to push Koutarou off, Koutarou only proceeded to become a floppy dead weight. Releasing a groan of defeat, Hinata patted Koutarou’s head where it now lay on his chest. Hinata had really filled out over the years and Koutarou’s brain was somehow still trying to catch up with how broad and muscular Hinata had become.
“I’m not a pillow you know,” Hinata tried again, pushing Koutarou’s head up with both hands so their eyes met.
And Koutarou couldn’t help himself, just had to smile at his own ridiculousness, how easy it was to be this way with Hinata without the fear of Hinata finding him annoying or needy.
“Keep patting my head,” he sighed, nuzzling his nose against Hinata’s palm.
An odd choked squeak came from Hinata’s throat as his whole face flooded pink, his hands quickly covering up Koutarou’s face. Koutarou considered if it would be too weird to blow a raspberry on Hinata’s hands, but took too long thinking about it, as the doorbell rang and Hinata jumped up. Koutarou rolled to the side as Hinata stumbled away, heading for the front door.
“Kou?” Kuroo asked, amusement set in his smirk.
Koutarou may have forgotten about Kuroo and Kozume a little, tiny bit.
“Huh? You say something?” Koutarou teased, pretending he didn’t hear.
“Mhm, and that’s Kenma and Kuroo,” Hinata said as he guided Miya in by the… hand? Huh, how did Miya manage that one? Though from where Koutarou was looking, it appeared that Hinata was the one who had taken the lead.
“Excuse me,” Miya said as he bowed his head in greeting. “Nice to meet you. Thank you for allowin’ me to join.”
“Pfft,” Kuroo snorted. “What’s with the formalities?”
“Hey,” Koutarou scolded Kuroo. “He’s a nice guy that’s why. And you haven’t properly met before, anyway.”
“Nice guy,” Kuroo mused, deliberately slow. Koutarou wasn’t sure what was pissing Kuroo off.
“Come sit,” Koutarou said to Miya, holding his hand out and patting the cushion next to him with the other.
Hinata nodded to Miya as he sat in his seat, Miya now securely between him and Koutarou.
Hoping to ease the tension that Kuroo had made, Koutarou put a hand on Miya’s shoulder and leant into him, saying, “y’know, Tetsurou was captain in high school like me. And Kenma was a setter, but he doesn’t play anymore, and Keiji, too! But Keiji’s not here right now. Otherwise I’d be winning.”
Miya hummed, his ear turning pink from Koutarou’s proximity. “I do recognise you a small bit. What school was it?”
“Nekoma,” Kuroo said, his face unreadable.
“Atsumu-san,” Hinata said eagerly. “If we didn’t win against you that time in first year, your second, then you could have played Nekoma.”
“S’that so?” Miya mused, a small grin sneaking its way across his lips.
“I’m glad we didn’t,” Kozume yawned, tucking his chin over his curled up knees. “I liked playing Shouyou, but I wasn’t sad that we didn’t win.”
Miya didn’t appear to know what to say to that, so Koutarou leant over the table towards Kozume and said, “did you like playing against me, too?”
Kozume scrunched up his nose and thought. “Like isn’t the word I’d use,” he said, hiding his smile when Koutarou slumped. “I do like watching you play, though.”
“Yeah?” Koutarou perked up again and grinned.
“Are you kidding?” Chuckled Kuroo, attempting to ruffle Kozume’s hair. “He streams every match he can’t get to. Still insane at reading the court.”
“Oh, he is!” Agreed Hinata with a flurry of nods.
Kozume turned his face against Kuroo’s arm and mumbled, “can we start another game now?”
“Yes!” Koutarou cheered. “Can I pick? Do you want a drink? Wait, can we eat now?”
Kuroo chuckled and shook his head while Hinata laughed with him. “Did your stomach protest, dear Koutarou?”
“I can’t help that I’m hungry,” pouted Koutarou.
“You’re always hungry,” commented Miya, turning to smirk at Koutarou, earning a snort from Kuroo.
Hinata peered over Miya’s shoulder and giggled, actually giggled. Koutarou needed that sound embedded into his brain. Miya must have thought so too, as he turned his head and immediately blushed from Hinata’s face being closer than expected.
“I’ll pick the teams!” Announced Hinata, waving the switch remotes around as Kozume loaded up the game. Nothing hit the spot like some good old Mario cart after eating their fill.
“Do we need teams?” Miya asked, running his fingers through his pretty hair and making Koutarou smile from the sight. He caught Miya’s eye, who looked confused as to why Koutarou was smiling, but Koutarou didn’t miss the tips of Mya’s ears turning red.
“We don’t have even numbers,” Kuroo said as he patted his stomach. The food had been really good, even if Koutarou hadn't been the one to cook it.
“Okay, no teams,” mused Hinata. “But we can’t all play at once, so they’ll have to be rounds.”
“Does he know a lot about gamin’?” Miya whispered to Koutarou, sending a shiver running down Koutarou’s spin, to the tips of his toes. He liked that a lot.
“Not that I know of,” Koutarou whispered back. “It’s cute though. Seeing him take the lead.”
Miya hummed with a nod. “You’ve got that right.”
“You having fun?” Koutarou asked a little quieter, enjoying having Miya’s attention for a moment, even if his eyes were glued to Hinata.
“Yup, super fun.” Miya flashed a grin and wiggled his brows, making Koutarou laugh whilst taking a drink, causing him to choke. How attractive.
“Bokuto!” Hinata exclaimed while Koutarou continued to cough with Miya’s hand patronisingly patting his back most unhelpfully.
“I’m good,” he croaked, giving Hinata a thumbs up and a weak smile.
“So cute,” Miya jeered, clearly trying to tease Koutarou but only making him smile wider from the attention. Miya rolled his eyes, his hand pausing a moment longer on Koutarou’s back before pulling away.
“You two can team up,” Hinata said to them, eyes eager and playful. “And I’ll play a three-way match with Kuroo and Kenma.”
“Sure,” shrugged Koutarou, not really minding who he was with, as long as he won. “I’ll beat you all this time!” He declared, just to be sure they all knew.
“We’ll see ‘bout that,” Miya, smirked and dipped his head, his eyes heavy with a challenge that Koutarou eagerly soaked up.
“Is this going to be a bloodbath?” Kuroo asked, his brows mostly furrowed as he watched their exchange.
Koutarou laughed but didn’t comment either way.
He sat in front of the huge screen that Kozume called a T.V, legs crossed and knee bumping with Miya’s. With his controller in hand, Koutarou watched the numbers count down and waited for the familiar ding, before revving forward.
He only beat Miya by a hair, but he won and was proud of that. Miya didn’t try to make an excuse, simply shrugged and accepted Koutarou’s high five for a good race.
As they sat back and watched the other three compete, Koutarou felt a pang in his chest, like something was missing or not quite right. Was it because Akaashi wasn’t there? But he hadn’t felt this way earlier before Miya had arrived. Or was that it? That Miya was here, with Koutarou and Hinata and… and no Sakusa. Koutarou missed Sakusa. Their small group of four that they often spent time in wasn’t complete. The puzzle left gaping with a stray part wandering around alone. Well, maybe that was a little dramatic. Sakusa was probably at home.
Koutarou pulled his phone out and angled the front camera towards himself. He made a peace sign and tilted his head into Miya’s space, waiting for him to pick up on what Koutarou was doing. Miya humoured him, also made a peace sign and rested his elbow on Koutarou’s shoulder. Koutarou was practically beaming when he pressed the capture button.
He quickly skimmed over the picture and sent it to Sakusa, typing out, ‘miss you', underneath.
“Why are you sayin’ that?” Miya whisper-shouted once he saw.
“Uh, because I miss him?”
Miya appeared dumbfounded. “You what?”
“I miss Omi-kun,” Koutarou said again, hoping he didn’t sound whiny. “It’s not the same without him being with us. Don’t you think?”
Miya opened his mouth to respond, only to stop and close his mouth. He thought for a moment, his eyes casting other to Hinata laughing with Kozume and Kuroo as a blue shell knocked Kuroo from the lead.
With a sigh, Miya ran his hand through his hair. “Maybe a little bit.”
Before Sakusa could reply, Koutarou snapped another picture of the game taking place in front, with Hinata’s beaming smile highlighting the shot.
He sent that, too, captioned, '☀️☀️☀️'
Then Sakusa replied:
Sakusa Kiyoomi: Having fun?
Bokuto Koutarou: Yes! Wish you were here too 😢
Sakusa Kiyoomi: 😳
“Did he just…” Miya trailed off and Koutarou laughed, patting his shoulder.
Bokuto Koutarou: 👉👈
Sakusa Kiyoomi: [image of Sakusa lying down, a hand half in his hair, a blank expression, with a white cat curled up on his chest]
Bokuto Koutarou: Cute, cute! I miss Yuki toooo
“Shit,” cursed Miya, his face invading Koutarou’s space to see at his phone screen. “Do you two always talk like this?”
“Hm?” Koutarou raised his brows in surprise. “Yes? He sends me pictures of his cat all the time. Sometimes he’s in them, too.”
“You talk a lot?”
“Yeah,” Koutarou nodded. “Does that surprise you?”
Miya twisted his lip in thought. “I just didn’t realise.”
“Pretty, right?”
“Wha-uh... w-what?”
“The cat,” Kotarou said, trying to play it cool that he totally wasn’t talking about Sakusa. Which he was.
“The cat…” Miya said slowly. “Right. Yeah. Very pretty.”
His cheeks had blushed and Koutarou was struck with a thought he hadn’t considered before. His eyes wandered to Hinata, then back to Miya who had a battle raging over his face as he peeked up at Koutarou, their gaze meeting briefly and knocking the breath from Koutarou’s chest.
Maybe he wasn’t the only one with a lot of love to give.
//
Kiyoomi sat in the corner of the gym, earbuds in place as he stretched out his limbs. He focussed on his movements, running through them routinely as the light beats played in his ears.
As much as he enjoyed playing as a team, sometimes he liked to sit back and spend a moment to himself. Stretching was a good way to do that, as a lot of others did too, and they knew when he had his headphones in that he didn’t want to be disturbed. Which had worked fine up until Hinata Shouyou had joined the team.
Kiyoomi had recognised him immediately, having seen him play with Kageyama Tobio during high school. He hadn’t thought much of him back then, but now? Now Kiyoomi thought a lot about him. There was something magnetic about Hinata that drew everyone in, made him the sole focus, to attract others attention, to rule the court as he saw fit. And just when you thought he’d blended into the background, he came soaring out again, claiming a point or shocking everyone with his multiple skills.
When Bokuto began speaking of Hinata, praising him and making Kiyoomi see Hinata even more, Kiyoomi started finding it hard to look away. Bokuto was a presence on his own, when matched with Hinata even more so, and with Miya on top of that… it was enough to give Kiyoomi a headache.
He had thought, when he first met Bokuto, properly met Bokuto, that they wouldn’t get on. But he was proven wrong that one time when Kiyoomi had needed to have a moment alone, and Bokuto had found him. Had seen how the pressure had been too much for a moment and he needed to breathe. Slowly, in and out.
Had Bokuto been about to talk his ear off when that was the last thing he wanted? No. He hadn’t. Bokuto surprised him and listened intently, spoke softly to Kiyoomi of how great he was and that it was okay for his emotions to waver. That the rest of the team were there too and he didn’t need to take on such a burden.
And Kiyoomi had needed that. Had needed those gently spoken words and that kind smile to welcome him in, reassure and comfort him. So Kiyoomi talked. It felt like hours with his loosely strung together sentences, but had been mere minutes. Kiyoomi had needed those minutes and Bokuto had given them to him.
After that, he found Bokuto drawing closer to him; careful smiles across the court, a silly wink or toss of a ball. Then suddenly, before Kiyoomi had stopped to think about it, they were friends. Close friends.
“Omi-san,” Hinata sang, crouching down beside Kiyoomi as he stretched out his back. “Will you show me how to do that stretch with the leggy thing?”
Kiyoomi refrained from laughing at Hinata’s word choice, stopped himself from smiling fondly as his bright and hopeful expression. Kiyoomi didn’t know why Hinata was asking. Not when they both knew Kiyoomi would say yes anyway.
So he showed Hinata the ‘ leggy thing ’, stopped his music to do so, and felt impressed when Hinata picked up on the movements so quickly.
“That felt good,” Hinata cheered when he stood, stretching his arms in the air so his shirt rode up and his abs peeked out.
Kiyoomi looked away and cleared his throat, sliding his face mask back over his nose. “Was that all?”
“Nope!” Hinata grinned because they both knew Hinata wanted something else. “How’s your cat?”
Kiyoomi frowned. “My cat?”
Hinata shrugged. “Bokuto showed me a picture of your cat playing with a string. It was so sweet and fluffy and please, please, please-”
“What do you want, Hinata?” Kiyoomi asked, folding his arms across his chest and trying not to focus on the fact that Bokuto was showing off pictures that Kiyoomi had sent him. He supposed he didn’t mind if it was only Hinata. But still.
“Can I meet your cat?” Hinata fluttered his eyelashes, pressed his hands together and looked as if he was trying to look… Kiyoomi wasn’t exactly sure what expression Hinata was going for.
“Sure,” Kiyoomi sighed. Partly because he didn’t mind Hinata meeting his cat and also because he would get one up on Miya from having Hinata come over to his home. Serves him right for inviting himself over to Hinata and Bokuto’s game night with their friends.
“Yes!” Hinata cheered, literally jumping into the air and coming face-to-face with Kiyoomi while he was up there. Kiyoomi felt the air rush around him as time stopped for a second, the only thing in his sight being Hinata’s wide eyes, rosy cheeks and excited smile.
“You havin’ a starin’ contest or what?” Miya asked with a confused but mostly suspicious expression.
Kiyoomi stepped back, averting his gaze from Hinata’s as he began to walk away. Should he humour Miya with an answer, or ignore his blatant interruption of Kiyoomi being alone with Hinata?
“Omi-san has mesmerising eyes, don’t you think?” Hinata said to Miya as a way of answering.
Miya spluttered, his ears turning red as he crossed his arms over his chest. “S’pose,” he mumbled between a pout, catching Kiyoomi by surprise as he paused and properly looked at Miya. “So what’s all this secret talk?” He asked, looking as if he wanted to quickly change the topic now Kiyoomi’s attention had been re-captured.
“Oh,” said Hinata with a casual shrug. “I was asking if I could meet Omi-san's cat.”
Miya frowned, appearing unsurprised as he tilted his head towards Kiyoomi. Before Miya could ask exactly what Kiyoomi knew he would, Kiyoomi properly walked away, creating long steps between them.
Hurried footsteps caught up with him, but instead of Miya as he expected, Bokuto appeared beside Kiyoomi instead.
“Did you say yes?” Bokuto asked, folding his arms behind his head as he carelessly walked backwards.
“You sent Hinata to me?”
Bokuto winked. “Maybe. So, are you letting him?”
“Meet my cat?” Sakusa shoved his hands in his pockets. “Hm.”
“And what does Miya think?” Bokuto was grinning now like he had something much bigger planned than Hinata meeting Kiyoomi’s cat.
“I don’t know, I left before Hinata said anything.”
“Ohoho,” jeered Bokuto, now wiggling his eyebrows as he attempted to get closer into Kiyoomi’s space, only for Kiyoomi to step further away. “Guess he knows now.”
“What?”
“Omi-kun!” Yelled Miya, jogging over to them across the court, Hinata in toe looking sheepishly excited.
“Hm?” Kiyoomi tilted his head, burying his hands further into his pockets.
“You invited Shouyou-kun over and not me?” He asked in disbelief as if he and Hinata were a package deal.
Kiyoomi sighed. “Hinata was the one who asked, not you.”
“Well I’m asking now,” Miya exclaimed, arms opened wide and waiting as his expression changed from desperate to… hoping. Did he really want to come to Kiyoomi’s home, or was he only requesting an invite because of Hinata?
Kiyoomi could easily turn him down, could take this as a chance to get ahead in Miya’s challenge. But something inside his mind didn’t want to leave him out and somehow knew exactly how saying yes would pan out.
So Kiyoomi turned to Bokuto, already knowing how he would answer. “And you?”
Bokuto nodded with a soft smile, his wide eyes dashing over Hinata, Miya and back to Kiyoomi as they did more often recently.
“You better shower first,” Kiyoomi said to them all, trying not to scrunch up his nose as he finally made it out of the court and towards the locker room.
“Put your shoes there,” Bokuto instructed Hinata and Miya as Kiyoomi hung his coat up in the closet. “And hang your coats on these racks.”
“You come here often, Bokkun?” Grinned Miya, attempting to tease.
Bokuto nodded with an eager smile, which didn’t appear to be the answer Miya had expected.
“The cat?” Hinata asked, rubbing his hands together in anticipation as his eyes darted around the hall.
“She’ll be in the living room,” Kiymooi said, making sure all their shoes and coats were stored properly before leading them in. “Don't touch anything you don't need to. Drinks?”
“Please!” Bokuto called out as he joined Hinata in searching, showing him the spots where Kiyoomi’s cat enjoyed vacating.
“It’s so bright in here,” Miya mused as he followed Kiyoomi over to the kitchen, separated from the living space only by the small dining table.
“The balcony doors bring in a lot of light,” Kiyoomi said, flicking on the kettle for himself and getting juice from the fridge for Bokuto. “Tea?” Kiyoomi asked Miya.
“Please,” Miya smiled and leant back against the counter, watching as Hinata and Bokuto played with the now found cat beside the sofa. “A white cat.”
“Yuki,” Kiyoomi said as he made the drinks.
“So cute!” Laughed Hinata loudly as Yuki rolled onto her back and pawed at the toy Hinata was dangling over her.
Kiyoomi couldn’t help but smile.
“Maybe I should get a cat, too,” Miya said dreamily as he also watched Hinata.
Kiyoomi refrained from rolling his eyes. “Bokuto told Hinata I have a cat.”
“Hm.”
Miya accepted the tea and held the warm mug between his hands as steam rose up to his face.
“So,” Miya started slowly, his eyes flicking up to Kiyoomi and back down to his drink. “How often does Bokkun come here?”
Kiyoomi smiled, wondering why that would interest Miya. “It depends on our schedules, how tired or busy we are.”
“It’s been happenin’ for a while?”
“Around half a year. Give or take.”
“I didn’t realise you were so close,” Miya commented with an awkward laugh.
“He mainly comes for Yuki,” Kiyoomi said, hoping… hoping for what exactly? That Miya wouldn’t look so sad? Because that was how he appeared to be. Or what he was trying to hide with laughter that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Why don’t you just ask him?” Miya asked, inclining his head over to what Kiyoomi presumed was Hinata’s direction. “Why’d you agree to my challenge?”
Kiyoomi didn’t have any real reason, so he answered, “why not? If Hinata can be happy with any of us, does it matter who?”
“Well, yeah, but…” Miya blew on his tea and took a tentative sip. “Don’t you want it to be you?”
It was true that Kiyoomi wanted to care for Hinata, make him smile the bright way he did and to be there for him. But if Hinata wasn’t inclined to him romantically, Kiyoomi was fine with that, too. As long as Hinata could keep on being the bouncing ray of sunshine he was, Kiyoomi wouldn’t mind if Hinata would rather be with Miya or Bokuto.
He didn’t flirt as extremely as they did as he prefered more subtleties in small gestures and words, and also wasn’t as confident in affection as they were - that was, without knowing if his feelings were reciprocated. Or bold, as Bokuto was. But that didn’t mean he didn’t like Hinata in the same way.
“Look at him with Bokuto,” Kiyoomi said, watching as Miya looked to where Bokuto and Hinata were lying on the floor, talking animatedly to each other and Yuki as she soaked up their attention. “If he chose him, how would you feel?”
Miya blinked in surprise. “I would-” he paused and took a breath, truly contemplating. “I would accept it. I’d be jealous, but,” he shrugged and sighed, “I wouldn’t take that away from them.”
“Them?” Kiyoomi asked in surprise. “You care for Bokuto as well?”
Miya blushed and quickly shook his head as he gulped. “Not like that,” he stressed in a whisper. “I just mean, y’know, together and stuff.”
Kiyoomi didn’t point out that Miya wasn’t making sense, as he didn’t want to make Miya think any more than he already was.
As quickly and un-awkwardly as Kiyoomi could manage, he nudged his elbow against Miya’s arm and then sipped his tea as if he hadn’t moved.
Miya gave a small and genuine smile as he pushed his golden fringe from his face.
“Help me with those?” Kiyoomi asked, picking up one of the other drinks and nodding his head to the other. Miya nodded and they took the drinks to the coffee table in front of the sofa, placing them on the coasters already spaced out.
Kiyoomi sat on the corner sofa in the spot he usually occupied, which caught Yuki’s attention, as her ears pricked up and she dashed over to him.
“Hey, pretty girl,” cooed Kiyoomi, scratching under her chin as she pressed her face against Kiyoomi’s neck. She was the only one allowed this near to him. At least, that was until the three men occupying the rest of the sofa started becoming so close to him. Kiyoomi didn’t even mind.
“Aww,” Hinata pouted, propping his chin on his knees as he gazed at Yuki snuggling into Kiyoomi’s neck. “She knows who her daddy is, huh?”
Kiyoomi tried to hide the sudden surge of butterflies that danced through his stomach as Hinata grinned widely at him.
He nodded instead of speaking, secretly liking that Hinata was focused on him for once.
“Never thought I’d hear you call Omi-kun daddy, Hinata,” Bokuto teased with a wild sparkle in his eyes.
Kiyoomi glared at Bokuto, but Hinata didn’t seem fazed as he laughed and blushed. When Hinata turned away to scratch his fingers behind Yuki’s ears, Bokuto stuck his tongue out at Kiyoomi and wiggled his brows. Miya glanced at them both suspiciously while sipping his tea, only to be quickly distracted as Bokuto tried to ruffle Miya’s hair.
“Off, off,” he scolded, attempting to lean away but not doing so enough so Bokuto still managed to easily reach him.
“So soft,” cooed Bokuto and he gently ran his fingers through Miya’s waves, causing Miya to blush extremely while hiding his face in his mug of tea.
Kiyoomi couldn’t help but smile at their antics, how Bokuto would always win despite Miya’s complaints, and how Miya never tried to stop him completely, or would try to discreetly move closer when he thought no one would notice. Except Kiyoomi did notice. Noticed how Miya’s eyes would seek Bokuto out just as much as they did Hinata, how his cheeks turned pink when Bokuto saw him looking.
A light snore alerted Kiyoomi to Hinata with his head tilted onto the back of the sofa, eyes closed and mouth parted as he breathed slowly.
“All the excitement must have worn him out,” mused Bokuto, still playing with Miya’s hair.
“How late is it?” Miya suddenly asked, leaning forward so Bokuto’s hand dropped.
“Not that-”
“I should get goin’,” Miya cut Bokuto off in a rush, putting his mug back on the coaster and rising to his feet.
“You can stay for dinner,” offered Kiyoomi, unsure why Miya was now in a rush to leave.
Miya paused then shook his head in dismissal. “Maybe next time.”
Kiyoomi quickly passed Yuki to a wide-eyed Bokuto and followed Miya to the front door.
“Stay,” insisted Kiyoomi, crouching down beside Miya as he tied the laces on his trainers.
Miya looked to Kiyoomi then sighed and whispered, “I can’t do this.”
“Do what? Has something changed?”
With a shrug, Miya stood, now patting his hair down where it had been messed up from Bokuto’s hand. Was that it? Did Miya not like Bokuto’s attention?
“We’re s’posed to be focused on Shouyou,” he said.
“So you’re leaving? Even though Hinata is here?”
“It’s not-” Miya cut himself off and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I can’t explain it.”
“Try,” insisted Kiyoomi, taking a tentative step forward, unsure what more he could do.
Miya waved his hand in the direction of the living room. “I don’t get it,” he said even more quietly. “Is he like that with you? Does he make you feel like that as well?”
“Feel like what?” Kiyoomi whispered in return, tilting his head down to try and read Miya’s expression better.
Miya licked his lips and met Kiyoomi’s eyes. He rubbed his hand over his chest, his mouth opening and closing.
“You know,” Kiyoomi whispered slowly, “Bokuto is only like this with us.”
“He is?” Mused Miya, still rubbing his chest. “I’ve never seen him play with your hair, though.”
Kiyoomi gave a half-smile. “He’s tried. I wouldn’t let him.”
Miya gave a small laugh and nodded in what Kiyoomi hoped was understanding.
“Tell him he’s not why I’m leavin’,” Miya said softly, his head leaning forward before he quickly turned and left through the door.
So Kiyoomi did. He told Bokuto that Miya couldn’t explain his feelings or why he needed to leave, but that it wasn’t Bokuto’s fault.
“I think,” Kiyoomi said. “He needs to wrap his head around how we are.”
“He hasn’t noticed until now?” Bokuto asked.
“Neither has Hinata,” Kiyoomi pointed out, to which Bokuto nodded in agreement. “They can both be very oblivious at times.”
Bokuto gave a small laugh and scratched at his head, letting out a deep breath. “Maybe I shouldn’t-”
“No,” Kiyoomi shook his head. “You didn’t do anything he didn’t want you to. He just thinks our priority should be Hinata and not…” Kiyoomi didn’t finish, never having had the conversation with Bokuto that had lingered in the air with them for a while now, left unsaid but always implied. Kiyoomi kind of liked it that way with Bokuto, never feeling the need to have every detail of their interactions laid bare. They knew how to be around each other and that was enough. That was until Hinata entered the team and they also started getting closer to Miya.
Bokuto tapped the space between their hands from where they sat across from each other, the coffee table between them as they spoke. Hinata was still asleep so they were being quiet so as not to wake him.
“Don’t think about it so hard,” Kiyoomi said, watching as Bokuto furrowed his brows and gnawed on his bottom lip.
“Is it just us?” Bokuto asked, now drawing patterns around Kiyoomi’s hand, close but not touching. “Are we not obvious? I thought… or is that the problem? Am I thinking there’s something there isn’t?”
“Bokuto,” Kiyoomi said firmly, trying to catch Bokuto’s wandering mind before it wandered too far.
He ever so slightly slid the pads of his fingers over the back of Bokuto’s hands, heard how Bokuto gasped in response and looked up at Kiyoomi in awe. Maintaining his gaze on Kiyoomi’s face, Bokuto turned his hand palm up and waited for Kiyoomi’s response. With the sound of his heart pounding through his ears, Kiyoomi slid his hand into Bokuto’s, felt his rough skin against his own along with the heat and strength it radiated.
Then Yuki leapt onto the table, knocking over an empty cup that clanged against the wood of the table, starting Hinata awake who rubbed his eyes and blinked sleepily.
Kiyoomi didn’t give in to the urge to pull away from Bokuto’s hand, didn’t need to in fact, as Bokuto moved first. He quickly squeezed Kiyoomi’s hand and smiled warmly as he collected the empty cups and took them to the kitchen.
“Is it morning yet?” Hinata yawned and stretched his arms above his head.
“No,” Kiyoomi smiled. “It’s time for dinner.”
“Dinner sounds great,” Hinata smiled.