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Oikawa Tooru had always prided himself in his ability to attract the best of the best.
That was the primary reason why Oikawa chose Seijoh out of all the other fraternities on campus. After spending his freshman orientation perusing the other student organizations and collecting various pamphlets and flyers that he would no doubt dump in the trash the second he was out of view, his eyes had been drawn to the table of impeccably dressed and sophisticated looking gentlemen seated at the end of the walkway.
Each male had that practiced, bored and disinterested look about them that made Oikawa’s eyes widen in admiration—he was pretty sure he could pull that off himself, if he tried—not to mention, their table was clearly garnering a lot of traffic. He watched curiously from afar as several other freshmen milled about eagerly trying to catch the attention of the upperclassmen seated before them. After a moment's consideration, Oikawa had quickly tossed the papers in his hands in the nearest bin and approached the table as casually as he could manage.
"A fraternity, huh?" Oikawa had asked out loud, lifting a brow at the Greek letters displayed on the table. Seijoh. Interesting.
He had bit back a smirk when the older males visibly perked up in interest when they caught sight of him. Compared to the other less than desirable candidates flitting about and looking awkward and lost, Oikawa knew he had a clear advantage. He practically oozed confidence out of his very pores. A particularly handsome blonde leaned over on the table, giving Oikawa an assessing onceover, before nodding to himself in approval.
"Who are you?"
"Oikawa Tooru," the brunette had said, offering his hand in greeting. Oikawa's expression was more self-assured and confident than a freshman had any right to be as he added, "And I'm the guy you want in your organization."
When the blonde had huffed an impressed laugh at his gutsy words, grabbing his hand in a firm shake, Oikawa had already known he made it.
Because if there was one thing Oikawa knew best—it was getting people’s attention.
Later on, that’s what made him the most obvious choice as their fraternity’s president once he was eligible to be in the running his junior year. And in the following year, no one even bothered to run against him—it would have been futile after all. To all intents and purposes, Oikawa was the face of Seijoh, and everyone accepted it as easily as someone stating that the sky was blue or the grass was green.
And let it be known that he took his role very seriously.
When it came to choosing individuals to rush into his fraternity, the current senior made it a point to seek out males who had the most upstanding of character references. There was a balance, you see. Few guys rarely had the whole package. It wasn’t just about being physically appealing anymore. No, potential members of the Seijoh fraternity had to embody the following—clear ambition and drive, a certain level of charm and personality, a prowess in athleticism, and a respectable academic performance to boot.
They had a reputation to uphold, after all.
Which was why when Iwaizumi, his fellow fraternity brother and best friend, strolled into their first rush event at the beginning of fall semester with a strange, shy-looking freshman in toe, Oikawa immediately gave the orange-haired kid a thinly-veiled look of horror, before grabbing the other senior by the arm to lead him off to a secluded corner.
“Please excuse us,” Oikawa managed to mutter under his breath, averting his eyes so as not to make eye contact with the gremlin-like creature.
Oikawa pulled a grumbling Iwaizumi through a small crowd of hopeful, doe-eyed freshmen veering to catch his eye without even sparing them a glance, and once separated from the masses, he promptly whirled around and glared at the dark-haired senior.
“What is that?”
He pointed to the orange-haired student as if he were something offensive—and maybe he was, because as the kid awkwardly meandered through the throngs of posh, well-dressed males, they all proceeded to take one look at him and automatically parted to give him a wide berth to walk through.
“That is a person, Shittykawa,” Iwaizumi responded in a flat tone, crossing his arms. “And his name is Hinata Shouyou. He’s the new Brazilian exchange student.”
"The new what now?”
Oikawa unwittingly felt a spark of interest at that. He tilted his head to the side and regarded the kid in a new light. Hinata Shouyou. Clearly a Japanese name. However, he supposed that his skin did have more of a bronze look to it? And did many Brazilians have orange hair?
As if sensing the impending gossip to be had, Matsukawa and Hanamaki, two fellow seniors and distinguished members of Seijoh, seemed to materialize out of nowhere, holding clear plastic cups of punch and mischievous looks on their faces. Oikawa gave them a quick onceover and narrowed his eyes at the suspicious-looking beverages in their hands.
“That better not be spiked.”
Hanamaki waved a hand dismissively. “‘Course not.”
Matsukawa didn’t even bother lying and took another generous sip out of his cup. “I heard he's actually Japanese, but that his family has been living in Brazil ever since he was a kid.”
Iwaizumi nodded his head. “Yeah, he told me more or less the same thing. Hinata’s a funny kid, but he's really nice. Met him a few days ago when he got lost in the campus parking lot trying to find his 8 AM class.”
“Great. Spectacular. And you brought him here to…” Oikawa trailed off, squinting his eyes at the other senior.
“What do you think?” Iwaizumi shot back gruffly. “I want him to rush Seijoh.”
“Are you crazy?” Oikawa immediately exclaimed back in a harsh whisper. The mental image of the poorly-dressed boy with his wild hair and glasses posing awkwardly in their annual Seijoh beach day photoshoot appeared unbidden in his mind. No. Absolutely not. Not on his watch. He framed those photographs.
“I actually heard that the other frats were interested in rushing him,” Matsukawa added matter-of-factly with a shrug of shoulders, his words causing Oikawa to gape at him in disbelief.
“Nekoma and Date Tech already expressed interest,” Hanamaki supplied, putting his hand underneath his chin in thought, “And I overheard Kuroo talking about him in my stats class this morning. Seems like the kid managed to befriend Kenma or something.”
“I literally stole him away from Karasuno on the way here,” Iwaizumi affirmed with a roll of his eyes. “Those second year crows were all over him. Plus, he mentioned something about the Miya twins earlier, too.”
“Are you serious,” Oikawa responded in a deadpan tone, emphasizing every word as he incredulously gestured back at the ginger-haired student with his thumb. “That guy?”
They all turned to discreetly watch as Hinata approached the table displaying a variety of different snacks and beverages. As the exchange student attempted to help himself to some of the ranch dip, he somehow managed to tip over the large bowl, spilling the white sauce all over his oversized sweater and onto the floor below with a loud, undignified yelp.
Another potential Seijoh rushee who was standing nearby—Kageyama, if Oikawa remembered correctly—immediately jumped back from him, snapping, “Oi, idiot! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
The boy’s indignant squawk was lost on them as the four seniors quickly turned back around to their makeshift huddle. Hanamaki chuckled into his beverage, while Matsukawa snorted, his shoulders also shaking in mirth. Oikawa shot them both a glare before turning back to Iwaizumi with narrowed eyes and a no-nonsense expression.
“There’s absolutely no way we are rushing that—”
Oikawa abruptly stopped mid-sentence when he saw the ridiculous-looking orange-haired figure making a beeline towards them, skidding to a stop when he was a few mere feet away.
“Um, com licença. I mean...excuse me, Hajime?” The kid managed to squeak out, his lightly-accented Japanese was choppy as he nervously shifted from one foot to another in front of them.
Oikawa felt his eye involuntarily twitch at the sound of the other senior’s first name, and he swiveled his head back to the other three, incredulously mouthing ‘Hajime?!’ The others shrugged at him, also clearly confused, and the brunette made a subdued noise at the back of his throat before turning back to the exchange student and giving him a more thorough onceover.
The kid’s overgrown, orange bangs mostly covered his face, making his features almost indistinguishable from where Oikawa was standing. His thick black rectangular frames rested precariously on the bridge of his nose as he attempted to wipe at the ranch on his wool sweater with a damp paper towel, a small pink tongue sticking out from the side of his mouth.
“Desculpa qualquer coisa...um, about causing a mess. If you show me where the cleaning supplies are, I would be happy to clean?” Hinata asked, finally looking up at them with wide eyes, his face flushed with embarrassment.
“Don’t worry about it, Hinata,” Iwaizumi assured with a small smile, waving his hand at him.
“Are you sure?” Hinata asked, his hazel eyes large and imploring. The somewhat adorable puppy-like expression made Oikawa narrow his eyes at him. Because for half a second there, he almost mistook the kid for being...well, cute, which was impossible, given the current state of the other boy. How could he find someone so sloppy and poorly dressed as even remotely appealing? He immediately dismissed the thought.
“Yes, it’s fine,” Iwaizumi insisted. “Do you want something to change into or…?
Hinata frowned, shaking his head. “Actually, I think I’m just going to go. Obrigado! For...inviting me.”
Oikawa tried not to let his inner-glee show as he plastered a sympathetic look on his face. “Oh no, leaving already?”
He ignored Iwaizumi’s glare from over the boy’s shoulder as Hinata turned to look up at him, tugging at the hem of his sweater nervously. “Well, I just don’t really think I belong here, that’s all,” Hinata said with a small huff of laughter, eyes crinkling in a modest smile as he shrugged his shoulders. “Não é realmente minha cena, you know what I mean?”
And there it was again. An unconscious stirring of interest or...doubt, Oikawa wasn't quite sure yet. But something made him stare intently at the smiling, messy-haired ginger, wondering if maybe, just maybe, there was something he was missing.
It could have been the way those striking hazel eyes seemed to catch his own through the tops of those horrendous black frames he wore, making Oikawa's fingers itch with the desire to reach out and pull the offensive plastic off of the boy's face just to see what he looked like without them. Or maybe it was the adorable way the kid wove in bits of Portuguese with his Japanese without even thinking, the words half-tangled and half-flowing together, yet somehow still making perfect sense.
Or maybe it was the simple way Hinata's face seemed to transform when he smiled, showing off rows of pearly white teeth and a sunny disposition that unwittingly made Oikawa want to smile back in turn.
Whatever it was, it made Oikawa pause and purse his lips in thought. Okay, so the kid’s wardrobe and upkeep left much to be desired...
And compared to the other eligible rushee prospects in the room whom Oikawa had personally vetted and invited to the rush event, Hinata had zero credibility and references to back him up…
Not to mention how clumsy the kid was...Oikawa wrinkled his nose at the sad state of Hinata’s sweater, the remnants of ranch dip still evident through the shoddy wool lining.
But the more he thought about it and turned the idea over his head, he began to think that perhaps Hinata wasn’t a complete hopeless case. The kid just...needed a little work is all. And there had to be a reason why the other fraternities would be interested, as it was rare for so many of them to express interest in a single rushee, even if Hinata didn't seem like someone he would ever write home about.
“Why don’t you stick around and hear more about the fraternity?” Oikawa found himself saying against his better judgement, pointedly ignoring the way his heart seemed to skip a beat when the kid’s eyes sparkled in delight as he beamed up at him through his large frames.
“...We could use some new freshmen like yourself.”
He would be doing this kid a favor, really. He could take Hinata under his wing, show him the ropes, introduce him to a better line of department-store sweaters—maybe even get the exchange student laid by the end of the semester—you know, once he introduced the guy to contacts and a sharp pair of scissors.
Oikawa only attracted the best, after all. And he’d be damned if his track record was skewed.
-
“Oh. By the way, I’m actually not a freshman. This is my second year in university.”
“What? But you’re...you’re so…”
“Shittykawa, don’t be rude!”
“But, look at him! He’s so little and cute! A little shorty-pie!”
“Eu não sou fofo! I’m not cute!”
-
While the Seijoh fraternity never resorted to the type of hazing one would see depicted in a raunchy movie, they did have a few choice traditions that were meant to test the willpower and brotherhood of the new class of pledges.
For the most part, they were harmless. Oikawa specifically designed the tasks so as to wheedle out the weak ones in the bunch who couldn't handle the added pressure and required time restraints, consequentially encouraging them to drop out of the process all together. By mid-semester, the large class of males who decided to pledge their fraternity usually dwindled down to about a third. He never felt bad about it. If they couldn't handle it, then they had no business in their fraternity in the first place. The process was meant to produce the best and brightest, after all.
So, no one was more surprised than Oikawa when Hinata Shouyou turned out to be one of the few remaining pledges to make it through to the end.
Throughout the entire process, the kid’s a solid rock. Oikawa was beginning to think that nothing could really phase him. Whether it was the physical, more arduous tasks like being forced to wake up at the break of dawn to do laps around the quad, making food deliveries to different frat brothers at any given point of the day, or having to play the role of designated driver on the nights they all went out—Hinata would be there grinning excitedly as if there was nothing he would rather be doing than making a trip to McDonald’s at one in the morning or dragging drunk juniors twice his size into the backseat of his car, even when he would have to inevitably roll down the windows at the tell-tale sound of puking.
After one regrettable night featuring Shigeru and a bottle of Jameson, Hinata began stocking up his car with bottles of water, plastic bags, and snacks—making him the the primary choice to call over any other ridesharing options.
Oikawa had to wonder if Hinata’s constant positive attitude was a Brazilian thing or if that was just another odd facet of his personality.
Whatever it was, it made Hinata the class favorite. And when it came time for all of the Seijoh upperclassmen to choose their kouhai or ‘little brother’ for the semester, they were all clambering over themselves to claim Hinata as their own.
“Okay, but I am the one who brought him to the rush event, so I should naturally have dibs,” Iwaizumi explained to the others in the room during the latest chapter meeting.
They were gathered in one of the empty lecture halls on campus, which Oikawa regularly reserved for fraternity meetings. On the whiteboard in front of the room, they had taped photographs of all of the new members for them to reference as they made their decisions.
“But I’m the one who has been taking him out on the most lunch dates!” Hanamaki cut in, raising his hand. “He knows me the best!’
“That’s debatable,” Matsukawa interjected from beside him. “Because I was also present at these lunch dates.”
Oikawa cleared his throat loudly, wondering why a small part of him was irritated at the thought of the other seniors taking Hinata out so often without him knowing. “While that's all well and good, you guys also have to consider the other pledges, as well. Who matches up better with who? Which upperclassmen actually needs a new kouhai? I, for one, didn’t get a little bro last semester, so I think I should be the one who gets first pick.”
“That was your own choice, Shittykawa!” Iwaizumi said with a roll of his eyes. “You’re the one who shit on all of the new pledges last semester.”
“Ahem! I did not!” Oikawa gasped, raising his hand to his chest in a scandalized manner. “How dare you say that.”
“It’s okay, Mad Dog-chan isn’t here, and if he was, he wouldn’t be offended,” Shigeru called out, snickering lightly.
“Is he skipping the chapter meeting again?” Oikawa grumbled, glaring at the entrance of the lecture hall as if that would prompt the scary-looking sophomore into appearing.
“When does that guy ever show up?” Watari asked, shaking his head in dismay.
“Anyway,” Oikawa said loudly, grabbing an expo marker from the desk and approaching the whiteboard with a very dignified air. “When you consider all of the personalities at play here, I think the decisions are obvious. Kunimi and Makki match-up pretty well—you guys have that whole calm and collected vibe, and maybe that freshman would actually step up more with you around.”
Hanamaki tilted his head in acknowledgement. “Fine, makes sense.”
“And Mattsun,” Oikawa continued, walking over to the photograph of a freshman with an onion-shaped head and jotting down the other senior’s name below it. “You and Kindaichi get along great. He seems to already look up to you.”
The dark-haired senior hummed in agreement. “That’s true. I do like that kid.”
“And Iwa-chan! You are literally the only person that Tobio-chan deems worthy enough to speak to!” Oikawa said, narrowing his eyes at the scowling raven-haired boy in the next photograph and not able to keep his annoyance out of his tone.
Iwaizumi scoffed, but seemed agreeable to the idea. “Maybe if you stopped trying to get on the kid’s nerves, he would actually try talking to you.”
“No thanks. I’m good,” Oikawa sniped back, sticking his nose up in the air as he walked over to the last photograph in the bunch. “Which leaves…”
They all looked at the shoddy picture taken of Hinata during one of their rush events. The sophomore had a startled look on his face, with his glasses crookedly askew on his nose and his hazel eyes wide and doe-like. The photo looked like it was taken mid-action, because it was mostly unfocused and blurry—making Hinata appear more like a gremlin than normal.
Despite that, the sight of the exchange student's face made a small, reluctant smile curl at the corner of Oikawa’s lips. He supposed Hinata was kind of cute—in that adorkable, sad, awkward way. The kid must have really been growing on him.
“I don’t know, guys. It doesn’t seem fair that Shittykawa gets the best kouhai out of the bunch.”
Oikawa smiled innocently back at them over his shoulder as he circled Hinata’s picture and wrote his own name down beside it. “I don’t know what you mean. I think I’m being a good chapter president and choosing what’s best for everyone.”
“You’re trying to hog Hinata to yourself,” Iwaizumi said in a flat, unimpressed tone, while the other two nodded their heads in agreement.
Oikawa continued jotting down on the whiteboard, purposefully ignoring them in favor of drawing little hearts around his name and Hinata’s. Hmm. Also cute.
“I will be the best senpai to Shou-chan, you’ll see!”
-
With the end of the fall semester came the beginning of midterm anxiety.
Oikawa watched in dismay as their entire fraternity house dissolved into a near-chaotic state of disarray—each member seeming to have his own way of coping with the stress. Iwaizumi was holed up in a coffee shop somewhere and had been pointedly ignoring all of his texts and calls since Tuesday, while Hanamaki and Matsukawa were pretending that their exams did not exist, choosing to partake in the ill-advised Thirsty Thursday college tradition.
“Don’t you guys have exams to—I don’t know—study for?” Oikawa had chided as they pre-gamed in the kitchen, taking shots of cheap tequila that was leftover from their last party.
Hanamaki scoffed as he slammed his glass down on the kitchen island and wiped his mouth. “I can cram that material in a single night. No point in stressing out over it.”
“College is meant to be for fun,” Matsukawa added with a shrug.
Oikawa glared at them with his hands on his hips. “I’m sure failing out of college won’t be very fun, Mattsun.”
But the two merely waved him off, immediately heading out the door the second that their Uber driver alerted them of his arrival.
Standing in the middle of the kitchen, Oikawa pouted to himself and tried not to let the growing amount of unwashed dishes in the sink get to him. He knew what it was like to be stressed—he was a senior, after all. He just didn’t understand why some of his frat brothers were incapable of using a damn dishwasher. They were running out of coffee mugs for goodness sake! And despite all of the coffee being made, no one seemed to know how to even properly clean the coffee machine, other than himself.
Oikawa grumbled under his breath, massaging his temples as he decided that rather than hounding any poor unsuspecting individuals to tidy up the mess he was faced with, he would just stick to sending passive-aggressive text reminders in the fraternity group chat. If anyone dared to mute him, there would be consequences to pay.
Wrinkling his nose one last time at the state of the kitchen, he decided that maybe it was best if he took his own studying elsewhere to clear his head. He didn't think he could stand to stay in the frat house for any longer, knowing all of the clutter that was lurking just outside of his bedroom. Luckily enough, he knew just the person who would help clear his mind and cheer him up. He smiled to himself when he scrolled through the list of contacts on his phone and saw Hinata’s name pop up.
In such very little time, his new kouhai had managed to dismantle all of the negatively constructed assumptions that Oikawa had about him. Even though Hinata's physical appearance had yet to change for the better, somehow Oikawa found himself not minding so much anymore. With Hinata’s easy praise and earnest, sunshine attitude, it was hard not to warm up to him. It was like trying to dislike an adorable, shaggy-haired Brazilian puppy.
And as his senpai, Oikawa took his ‘big brother’ responsibilities very seriously. He took Hinata out to eat almost every other day, making sure that his kouhai was not only well-fed, but also exposed to all of the variety of food options in the area. Since Hinata wasn’t very familiar with much of the Japanese cuisine, Oikawa reveled in the look of pure delight that the exchange student would get on his face when he tried something new.
So, naturally, doting on Hinata easily became one of Oikawa’s favorite things to do.
As the phone began to ring in his hand, Oikawa wondered if he would have time to take his kouhai out to eat tonight if they didn't stay out too late studying. Maybe he'd take Hinata to get some BBQ or yakisoba next. He'd probably really like that. Not a moment later, the call was picked up and a cheery voice answered on the other line.
“Tooru! Hi!”
Oikawa immediately smiled to himself at hearing his name said so familiarly. Out of all of the little quirks that he had grown to love about his adorable kouhai, his favorite by far was that growing up in Brazil meant that Hinata wasn’t quite familiar with many Japanese customs.
Meaning, the sophomore called everyone by their first name.
When Oikawa had discovered this little tidbit of information, he had promptly squealed in delight. He had always loved being addressed by his first name, especially by people he actually liked. And seriously, how cute was that? Hinata seemed to be oblivious to the fact that calling people by their first names was not normal practice by any means, but no one seemed to want to actually correct him on it.
Well, except maybe Kageyama, but the other sophomore had been immediately shut down by Oikawa with a prompt hand against the mouth as soon as he tried to yell at Hinata when the exchange student had most affectionately referred to him as Tobio.
“Don’t you dare,” Oikawa had muttered threateningly in Kageyama’s ear, refusing to move his hand until the dark-haired boy nodded his head in assent.
Kageyama had spun around and given him an incredulous look. “You’re going to let him go around doing that?”
“Yes,” Oikawa had hissed back soundly, “And you’re not going to ruin this for us.”
The sophomore had huffed in annoyance, eyeing the rest of his frat brothers who seemed to be in agreement with the Seijoh president, and conceded.
Now, every time Oikawa heard Hinata say his name, it unwittingly sent a warm rush of affection up his spine. “Hi, Shou-chan! What are you doing?”
“Trying to study,” came Hinata’s mournful response, “But I’m having trouble focusing.”
Oikawa hummed sympathetically under his breath. “Want company?”
“Always!” Hinata chirped back almost immediately.
“Want to meet at our normal place?”
“Library? First floor café?”
“Yep! See you there!”
-
By the time Oikawa arrived at the library, Hinata was already in line for the café. It was easy enough to spot him. The sophomore was clad in another one of his ridiculous oversized sweaters, a green one this time, and his messy sprawl of orange hair was bright and vibrant underneath the fluorescent lights. Oikawa would have called out to him immediately if he hadn’t seen who was next to him, looking like he was doing his best to chat Hinata’s ear off.
Miya Atsumu.
Oikawa wrinkled his nose in distaste at the sight of the familiar blonde.
How did Hinata know that guy anyway?
He remembered Iwaizumi mentioning months ago that Inarizaki had attempted to rush the kid, too, but now that Hinata was officially a member of Seijoh, it was strange that they would still keep in contact.
Oikawa narrowed his eyes at the overly friendly way the blonde placed his arm around the smaller boy’s shoulders.
… Unless?
When he walked over to them, Oikawa tried not to openly display his discontent with the other male on his face, smoothly stepping into place by Hinata's side with a fixed smile.
“Hey, Shou-chan!”
“Tooru! You made it!” Hinata greeted with a smile, his large frames dropping down a few centimeters on his nose as he spun around to face him. Atsumu raised a brow at him, still not removing his arm from where it was placed around Hinata’s shoulder as he gave the brunette a vaguely unimpressed look.
“Oikawa.”
“Miya.”
The smile on Oikawa’s face was forced and polite as he looked from Atsumu, then back to Hinata. “I didn’t realize you two were friends.”
If anything, Atsumu seemed to only tighten his grip around the smaller male, who promptly let out a small ‘eep!’ in response, involuntarily shuffling even closer to him. “I was real disappointed when Shouyou-kun decided to rush Seiijoh instead of Inarizaki,” the blonde shot Oikawa a sharp look at that, “But luckily for me, we happen to be in the same psychology class, so I get to see him pretty often still.”
"Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!" Hinata confirmed, beaming as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “All of my classes are really hard to understand sometimes, so I’m super lucky to have Atsumu help me out! A barreira do idioma é difícil!”
Atsumu grinned down at him in response, dropping his arm from Hinata's shoulder to ruffle his hair fondly. “It’s really no problem, Shouyou-kun!”
“That’s great,” Oikawa managed to say through gritted teeth, ignoring the smug look Atsumu shot his way. “Anyway, my kouhai and I really need to get to studying ourselves, so...”
Atsumu seemed to take the hint and rolled his eyes as he ran a hand through his hair, taking a couple of steps towards the exit. “I should probably get going, actually. Told ‘Samu I would help him with the philanthropy event we have coming up, and he’ll be pissed if I flake out on him again.”
Hinata nodded his head eagerly in understanding. "Um abraço! See you later, Atsumu! Tell everyone I said hi!"
Even as the blonde waved and turned around, his form disappearing around the corner of the building, Oikawa continued to frown, not able to shake the image of Atsumu standing so closely to Hinata, the other guy's arm wrapped around his kouhai like they were close—like they were an item.
But they couldn’t be right? Hinata would have told him so, if that were the case...right?
“Um. Você está bem, Tooru?” Hinata asked, concern evident in his tone as he blinked up at him. “Are you okay?”
The brunette was still frowning when he turned to meet Hinata’s bespectacled gaze. The orange-haired sophomore had a light blush dusting his cheeks as he looked up at him, and an unbidden thought took root in Oikawa’s mind as he considered his kouhai with a tilt of his head.
“Are you like...into Miya?”
“Huh?” Hinata’s eyes grew huge at the question. “What do you mean?”
“Do you like him?” Oikawa asked, his voice deceptively playful and light as he raised his brows suggestively at the younger male. He couldn't stop himself from narrowing his eyes when Hinata reddened further and began waving his hands in front of him wildly in response. “Oh, no, I mean! I guess, that’s not…!”
Oikawa moved forward to pat Hinata on the head in a consoling manner. “It’s okay, Shou-chan. Crushes are completely normal. And I guess he's not the worst person you could have chosen.” Okay, that might have been a lie, but he was trying to be a supportive senpai here. "Have you told him yet?"
“Tooru!” Hinata whined, shaking his head. "That's not—"
Oikawa’s expression turned scandalized as he lifted a hand to his chest. “Shou-chan! Are you joking? Miya doesn't know how you feel?”
"It's really not like that. Você entendeu tudo errado," Hinata said with a pout, shuffling his feet uncomfortably as his hazel eyes looked up at him before quickly flitting away. “And...it’s not like my crushes ever really notice me...not like that anyway.”
At that, Oikawa felt his heart go out for his kouhai, the lingering annoyance he had over Atsumu melted and made way for the overwhelming desire to protect and comfort Hinata. Well, that was just completely unacceptable. He wasn't about to let Hinata become heartbroken over a guy who wouldn't even notice him. Especially someone so undeserving of his affections like Miya. There had to be something he could do to help.
And as he chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully, Oikawa's eyes involuntarily took in the disheveled state of Hinata’s hair and moved downwards to take in the crumpled, unflattering sweater he wore, a secondary collared shirt showing just beneath it. His eyes then fell to the appalling grey cargo pants—who even wore cargo pants anymore?!—before resting on Hinata’s pair of over-worn brown sandals, his white socks embarrassingly visible through the gaps in the leather.
Oikawa's eyes remained fixed on him, squinting shrewdly, as an idea slowly began to form.
Hinata followed his gaze and looked down at himself curiously, still blushing, before lifting his gaze back up to him. “O que? What is it?”
“Shou-chan," Oikawa stated, a devious smile curling on his lips as he placed his hands firmly on Hinata's shoulders, "I’m going to help you get laid.”
-
“Hey, Tooru.”
“Yeah?”
“...What do you mean by ‘laid’?”
-
“Don’t you think you’re a little bit too invested in this?”
Oikawa looked up from where he was sifting through some nicely printed button downs in Hinata’s size to see Iwaizumi on the other side of the clothing rack giving him a flat, unimpressed look.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Iwaizumi tilted his chin to the side to gesture to a certain orange-haired sophomore standing nervously near the dressing rooms as Hanamaki and Matsukawa held up different garments of clothing against his person. “Why are you so keen on setting Hinata up with Miya?”
“I’m not keen,” Oikawa insisted.
“It’s all you’ve been able to talk about,” Iwaizumi responded, lifting a brow at the other male. "You've been planning this ridiculous makeover since we came back from winter break."
“I just think that Shouyou needs a little push, you know?” Oikawa explained, pursing his lips as he pulled a particularly flattering long-sleeve and held it up against the light, imagining what Hinata would like like in it. “I’m just being a good senpai and helping him out.”
“Uh-huh, and that’s all this is?” Iwaizumi asked, his tone clearly indicating his disbelief.
Oikawa placed the shirt back on the rack and turned to face him with a hand on his hip. “Don’t you want to help Shouyou get laid?”
“Not as much as you apparently,” Iwaizumi muttered under his breath, and Oikawa stuck out his tongue at him in response.
“This is a win-win scenario for everyone. Shouyou gets to revamp his look and win over his crush, and this will only help Seijoh's image in the long run,” Oikawa said in a matter-of-fact tone, placing his clothing selections over his arm and walking around Iwaizumi to head back to the dressing rooms.
Rolling his eyes in a resigned manner, Iwaizumi followed suit. “Do you know how shitty that sounds?”
“I’m the president of Seijoh, Iwa-chan, I have to think about these things,” Oikawa responded, lightly shrugging his shoulders. "If we had things your way, everyone would look so dull and sloppy. You wouldn't want that for us, would you? Think about the beach photoshoot."
Iwaizumi groaned at that. "No one else cares about the beach photoshoot other than you, Shittykawa."
Oikawa whirled around, clutching the clothing garments tight to his chest as he shot Iwaizumi a haughty glare. "That photoshoot raises more money for charity than any of our other events combined."
"If anything, that just makes me more concerned about the sad, desperate state of the students at this university," Iwaizumi responded in a deadpan tone, shaking his head in dismay. They proceeded to the dressing room area, and Oikawa plopped the clothes he held onto a nearby chair. Once he caught sight of them, Hinata waved him over, looking restless and unsure.
“Everything okay, Shou-chan?” Oikawa asked, cocking his head to the side as he observed Hinata's nervous expression.
“Desculpe! All the dressing rooms are occupied, and I really want to get this going so I can make it to a study group!” Hinata explained, his eyes darting around to look at the dressing rooms again. There were only two to begin with, and it looked like the people inside them were nowhere near ready to leave, if the stack of clothing hanging outside each door was anything to go by.
Oikawa looked around them thoughtfully. The dressing area was located in the back corner of the department store, slightly hidden from view by racks of clothing and miscellaneous displays. “Why don’t you just change out here? It’s just us anyway.”
Hanamaki immediately snorted at the suggestion, and the brunette turned to look at him in surprise. “What?”
“Nothing,” Matsukawa quickly interjected, a smirk stretching at the corner of his lips as he quirked a brow at the younger male. “Yeah, Shouyou, why don’t you just strip right here in front of us?”
Now that it was spoken out loud in such an insinuating manner, Oikawa couldn't help but gape back at the other senior, but Hinata seemed completely oblivious to the suggestive connotations, visibly brightening up that prospect of getting the whole thing over with. “Certo! What outfit should I try on first?”
Oikawa narrowed his eyes as Matsukawa and Hanamaki settled themselves into two of the armchairs, looking far too interested and comfortable for his liking. Even Iwaizumi casted them a suspicious glance from where he stood off to the side. But seeing Hinata stare back at him expectantly, Oikawa just frowned, turning to sift through the items he had placed in the chair next to him and pulling out a teal slim-fit V-neck shirt and khaki joggers. It was a simple, but modern take on a casual look, and it was miles better than anything he had seen Hinata wear so far. He nodded to himself and held out the articles of clothing over to Hinata.
“Here!”
“Thanks, Tooru!” Hinata accepted the clothing graciously and placed them down next to him. Then, taking a quick, cursory look around to make sure no one else was around, he grabbed the hem of his large sweater and began pulling it over his head.
To Oikawa, it happened in slow-motion.
As Hinata attempted to pull the offensive sweater over his head, Oikawa felt his eyes widen in shock as the tantalizingly smooth, tanned skin and lean muscles hidden underneath were revealed inch by inch. His mouth fell open, slack-jawed, as he attempted to formulate some form of response to what was happening in front of him, but instead, he could only manage a sad, strangled noise at the back of his throat. And to make matters even worse, the sweater got caught somewhere under his chin, and for one hopelessly long moment, Hinata was just stuck there, arms lifted in the air, muscles taught and straining as he struggled to tug the garment off—inadvertently displaying his entire, flawless body for the rest of them to gawk at. Oikawa unconsciously licked his lips at the sight and then promptly froze in realization.
Was he just...checking out his kouhai?
And if that wasn't enough to send him to an early grave, once Hinata finally pulled the ridiculous sweater from over his head, he had somehow managed to lose his glasses along with it, and the sight of Hinata’s bare face, lightly freckled and tanned, with his messy, orange hair swept back made Oikawa's mouth dry and his pulse quicken in response. By the time Hinata was tugging his ridiculous cargo shorts down his legs, showcasing thighs that look muscular and strong, Oikawa found himself unwittingly tracing the cut and compact lines of his body, down to the convergence of narrow hipbones, and fixating where they disappeared into his modest grey underwear.
Oh God. What was happening? Was he dying? Was he dead?
“What the hell, Shouyou?” Hanamaki finally exclaimed, breaking the temporary, tense silence, and voicing the words Oikawa was still too shocked and too speechless to say.
“Huh?” Hinata swiveled his head around in confusion, squinting his eyes to find the source of the voice. His glasses were still lost somewhere in his discarded sweater that now lay on the ground in front of him. “What is it?”
“You’ve been hiding all of that beneath those stupid sweaters this whole time?” Hanamaki continued, shaking his head in disbelief before nudging his boyfriend with his elbow. “Are you seeing this?”
“Oh, I’m seeing it all right,” Matsukawa responded, his voice low and appreciative as he eyed the sophomore up and down.
Hinata’s face turned red at that, the suggestive tone in the other senior's voice was blatantly clear this time, and Oikawa was torn between the overwhelming desire to cover the smaller male up from everyone else's leering gazes and the impulse to continue gawking himself.
Just then, like a blessing from God, one of the dressing room doors finally opened with the previous occupant shuffling out with an armful of clothing, and Iwaizumi was quick to dart forward and usher the oblivious, half-naked sophomore towards the now-empty room. “Why don’t you go ahead and get changed, Shouyou? We’ll wait out here.”
Hinata still had that adorably lost and confused look on his face, scrunching up his nose as he stumbled forward and tried to find his footing. “Okay, but can you find my glasses? Because I really can’t see anything! Eu estou cego!”
“Keep them off!” Matsukawa immediately called out in response, as if they were in some sort of low-class strip club and not in the middle of department store dressing area, causing Hanamaki to snicker helplessly from beside him. This time, Oikawa finally managed to get his wits about him to whirl around and glare at the other two furiously.
But Hinata was already shuffling off into the dressing room, closing the door behind him, and the glare slipped off of Oikawa's face as he turned to stare blankly after him. He was still frozen in the same position when moments later, the dressing room door opened again, revealing Hinata in the outfit he had chosen for him. The V-neck hugged his slim form, showing off the muscular arms that Oikawa had no idea he even had. The joggers were tight on his legs and seemed to elongate them as they tapered off past his ankles. Hinata curled some of the loose strands covering his eyes behind his ear and smiled vaguely in their direction. No one had gone to retrieve his glasses.
“What do you guys think?”
Oikawa’s brain short circuited. There was a smattering of approval from the others, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he noticed Hanamaki handing him another outfit to try on.
By the time Hinata reentered the dressing room and closed the door behind him, Oikawa’s expression was still frozen into one of shock...followed soon by horror.
“What is wrong with you?” Iwaizumi asked, his voice incredulous as he gave him a disgusted look. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”
“I just didn’t expect him to get...so...so hot?!” Oikawa buried his face in his hands, letting out a loud, long-suffering groan. This was Shou-chan, his adorable and dorky kouhai—his 'little bro'. The one he was currently trying to set up with another guy from a rival fraternity.
There was a pause as his statement really sunk in, and then Oikawa looked up from his hands, his eyes growing wide in realization.
“Oh no. What have I done?”