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The view from outside the train's window changes rapidly, sometimes slowly. Even though the earphones in Oikawa's ears were playing a soft tune of pop music, his mood was the opposite of nice.
It had been 5 hours since Oikawa had gotten on the train from Osaka International Airport ━ Itami Airport, as the locals call it ━ and that wasn't even added to the 21 hours he spent on the plane from Brazil. He pulls out his phone from his pocket, checking the time. 5.16 p.m., he thought while curling himself into a ball in the small seat that he was in. It was an almost impossible attempt to make himself more comfortable, but it worked, somehow. Oikawa shut his eyes, trying to push the annoying headaches away. Suddenly his phone buzzed in his hand.
Where are you now?
Oikawa didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked outside, trying to figure out where he was. He frowns once he decided that he didn't recognize anything outside.
I don't know, but I must be pretty close.
Alright, text me when you get home ^_^ Bye.
Oikawa sighs, shoving his phone back in his pocket. Again, he was forced to look at the tall buildings and marble blue sky as he waits to arrive at his destination. He curls up into himself even more, hugging his knees close to his chest. Oikawa stares outside as another song comes on in his earphones.
"Since you all have played your best, the managers have decided to give you all a three month break!" Their coach declared, his voice booming in the stadium. Oikawa's teammates all shouted happily, all planning to go back to the hometown to spend time with their family and friends. Oikawa was ecstatic too when he heard the news, but that was until he found out that his parents decided to go on a holiday to Hawaii two days before the day he was scheduled to go back.
"What? Then where am I going to stay?" Oikawa says in disbelief. He hears his mother chuckle on the other line.
"You'll stay at home, silly! Although since we're not around, and your sister is on a business trip, you'll stay at home alone. But that's better than nothing, right?" His mother chirped, making Oikawa grumble nonsense to himself.
"But mom..." Oikawa whines, resisting the urge to stomp his foot loudly on the floor.
"Darling, are you saying that my 24 year old son is scared to live alone from three months?" His mother gasped, stressing the word 'scared'. She knew that her second-born would take the bait, and take the bait he did.
"Not true! I am perfectly capable of living alone, so much that I can cook for myself!" Oikawa says, feeling proud because he had clearly won. But that feeling was crumbled when he realized his mother's trick.
"Well, there you have it! You'll have no problem with us going then. Don't worry, we'll leave the house keys underneath the big sunflower pot in the front garden for you when you get home. Ah, I have to go now, your father and I are going to a new restaurant that just opened last week in town. Bye, darling!" His mother kissed him goodbye through the phone and ended the call without giving him a chance to say another word.
Oikawa gets off at the station, feeling ━ and hearing ━ his stomach grumble. He sighs, gripping his bag before walking through the crowd. Oikawa never did like crowds, too noisy and full of people. Luckily, the station wasn't as crowded as it usually was whenever Oikawa came back for the holidays. He sits down at one of benches, pulling out his phone. He thumbed through his contacts, not seeing anyone that lived near enough that he could call to pick him up. Sighing, he stands up abruptly only to bump into another person walking in front of him.
The papers in the person's hands went shooting out in different directions all over the floor. His face flushing instantly red, Oikawa apologized profusely to the person, as he fumbled about awkwardly to try and gather the stray papers. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Sorry. So very, very sorry." He caught a glimpse of the grey-haired guy fumbling around on the floor with him, trying to pick up his papers alongside him. After a moment's grappling on the floor, Oikawa passed the guy a wodge of papers.
"Don't worry about it ━ thank you." he said, taking the pages from Oikawa with a kind-smile. Oikawa, on the other hand, was star-struck. He stared for half a second and grinned excessively at him and stammered, "You're... welcome."
The person hurriedly stood up and walked away, leaving Oikawa alone to stare at his back as he disappear behind a corner. He couldn't help but feel a strong sense of familiarity from the boy, but dismiss it as a trick of his overly tired mind.
❁❁❁
Turning the key in the lock, Suga opens the door to his apartment to silence. He slides off his shoes, arranging them neatly on the shoe rack. Noticing but ignoring the missing pair of volleyball shoes on the bottom rack, Suga shrugs his jacket and scarf and hangs them at the coat rack.
Walking into the living room, he collapses on the couch, a long sigh forcing itself out of his mouth. The kids at the kindergarten was extra energetic today, he thought as he pulls out his phone. He punches in a familiar number, waiting until the person picks up.
"Yo, where are you?" Suga says, stretching his limbs in a star-like formation on the couch. He hears a sigh on the other line, making him grin. "Is this a bad time?"
"What do you mean 'is this a bad time'? Of course it is!" Yaku shrieks, making him laugh. "Are you home already?"
"Yeah, the parents picked up their kids earlier than usual today."
"Lucky! I wanna go home but the volleyballs are too attached to me lately." Yaku says sadly on a sigh. "Practice will probably end late today so that sucks. Plus, tomorrow's a Wednesday."
"When's your next break? You sound tired," Suga rolls over, taking the remote on the table and switching on the television. The news were on, but he never really watch the news anyway, and after a couple more minutes of talking, Suga ends the call, not wanting to disturb his friend's training. He stares at the ceiling for a while, barely listening to the show on the screen.
He broke out of his trance when he hears a loud grumble. Suga sits up, panicking before he realizes that the sound is coming from his own stomach. Sighing, he gets up from the couch and goes to his room to change. Slipping on a dark blue turtleneck, he takes his phone and throws on his scarf before disappearing through the door.
Walking through the neighborhood, Suga shivers slightly. The night air was colder than he expected, making him wish he had put on a jacket before going out. He turns the corner, watching the soft glow of the streetlights. After a few more minutes of walking in the cold, he arrives at the restaurant he usually goes to when he's too tired (or lazy) to cook.
"Sugawara-san! Nice to see you." The owner, Fujiwara, greets him, earning a smile from Suga in return. "It's unusual for you to be out this late."
"I... kind of lost track of time." Suga grins sheepishly, sitting down at one of the tables. Even at this hour of night, the place still had customers. Not as much as in the mornings, but still. "The usual, please." Suga says, seeing the Fujiwara nod.
"Coming right up!"
Suga pulls out his phone, scrolling through Twitter. He breaks into a smile, seeing a post from Schweiden Alders, the members smiling at the camera. Kageyama stands in the middle, with a microscopically small smile on his face. Suga's chest fills up with pride, feeling really proud of his junior for coming so far.
He was about to download the photo when a bowl of beef udon was placed in front of him. His stomach gives an impromptu growl, making the Fujiwara laugh. "Here you go. Enjoy."
"Thank you."
Suga says his prayers, before hungrily digging in. He chews slowly, enjoying the taste of the noodles. It had been a long time since he last this late at night, the last time probably during college. And that had been a year ago. He had forgotten the feeling of eating warm food during cold nights, that warmth slowly spreading through his body. He sighs, glancing at his phone to check the time.
"Hey, Sugawara-san," Fujiwara says, making Suga look up at him. "Did you hear that Oikawa's back?"
"Oikawa? Oikawa Tooru?" He assumed, confused, because no, he had not known that. He tries to think of the boy, his mind pulling up blurry images of Oikawa from his third year practices ages ago. "Yeah. But I think he's staying alone, because from what I know, his parents are going to Hawaii for a couple of months." Fujiwara shrugs, walking back into the kitchen when another person orders.
Suga continues eating, trying to remember if he had ever talked to Oikawa before. Probably not, he grimaces as he unlocks a forgotten memory of Hinata trying to serve like Oikawa one practice, which ended up with a full brawl between the boy and Kageyama as he had served the ball right into Kageyama's head. After finishing, he puts he bowl back on the counter and say his goodnights to Fujiwara before walking out the door.
He walks his way back, taking the long way home. The crickets were out and it sounds like they're having a party in the bushes, considering how loud they were tonight. Suga stops by an ice-cream vending machine, not being able to resist his sweet tooth. He pushes some buttons, buying a vanilla ice-cream before continuing his walk.
Passing by the local playground, he stops when he hears a creaking sound. Suga looks around, noticing a person on one of the swings. His heartbeat picks up, the color draining from his face. Oh my god, is it a ghost? He panics, staying very still in his spot. He gradually calms down when he notices that, no, in fact, it wasn't a ghost and just a regular human being.
Taking a few steps closer, he gasps loudly. "Oikawa?"
Oikawa turns his head to look at him, his eyes widening. "Sugawara? What are you-"
"I didn't expect to see you tonight!" Suga brightens, skipping over to Oikawa with his ice-cream in hand. "I heard you were in town," He sits down at the swing beside Oikawa, not noticing the slight blush on the boy's cheeks. "It's been so long! How are you?"
"Good, you?" Oikawa replied curtly, and Suga sees that the boy's eyes were fixed on his ice-cream. He looked down at it, seeing it melting onto his hand. "You want some?" Suga turns to Oikawa, holding out the ice-cream to him. Oikawa shakes his head, his lips cracking into a smile. "No thanks, I don't like vanilla that much."
"What? Why not?" Suga all but whines, slowly swinging his body back and forth. "Vanilla is the best flavor of ice-cream." He commented simply, making Oikawa gasp dramatically. "No, it's not! Mint is!"
"Nu-uh!"
"Yu-uh!"
They both continue arguing about ice-cream flavors for a while, talking like old friends even though they have never actually talked to each other before. Suga asks about what Oikawa's doing back in town, and Oikawa gladly tells him. Oikawa questions the fact that Suga is out this late, and he sheepishly grins, replying with a short "I was hungry."
"Why are you out this late?" Suga fires back. Oikawa shrugs, pouting his lips slightly. "Couldn't sleep. Probably the jet lag. Or maybe it's because I was just lonely and bored."
"Oh yeah, I heard you were staying alone?" Suga asks.
Oikawa nods, looking down at the ground. "You heard right. Parents are off on a vacation, older sister is overseas because of her job, Iwa-chan is in Tokyo which leaves poor little Tooru on his own," Oikawa explained sadly on a long sigh, making Suga burst into giggles.
"Okay then, 'poor little Tooru', why don't you spend your three months with me? I can accompany you if you'd like, since I'm also lonely by myself." Suga smiles wide, hitting Oikawa softly on his shoulder. Oikawa stares at him with wide eyes, throwing Suga off guard for a second. Did he say something wrong?
"Are you sure? I don't want to bother you or anything..." Oikawa trails off, clearing his throat.
"What? Of course not! We should catch up, it has been a long time since we've seen each other." Suga's smile softens, a little giggle escaping him mouth. He doesn't notice the rosy tints on Oikawa's cheeks since the streetlight was too dim, and he didn't notice how flustered the boy was at his smile.
"O-Okay then."
Suga glances down at his phone, and gasps loudly when he sees the time. "Oh my god! I can't believe it's 2 a.m. already! I have school tomorrow! Well, I'll see you later, Oikawa!" Suga hurries off, almost tripping over his own feet in the process.
"Wait, Sugawara!" Oikawa calls out, making Suga stops for a second. He looks back, seeing Oikawa catching up with him. "Here, put your number in my phone so we could... uh..." Oikawa stutters, holding out his phone. Suga takes it without question and punches in his number gingerly, handing the phone back.
"There you go. See you later!" Suga hurries off, leaving Oikawa to watch his figure disappear behind a corner.
❁❁❁
Oikawa stares at the ceiling, watching the fan turn in circles above him. He couldn't stop thinking of Suga and that smile of his. He turns to his side, trying to close his eyes but they were wide awake. Opening up his phone, Oikawa stares at the number on his screen.
Sugawara Koushi-kun ;9
Oikawa lets out a tired laugh at the emoticon Suga had put. After staring into the darkness for what felt like hours, his eyelids finally drooped and Oikawa drifted off to sleep, dreaming of nothing and simply just floating in a never-ending void.
Seventeen year old Oikawa was walking into the court alongside his Aoba Johsai members. He was playfully bantering around with Mattsun and Makki when he looked at the team they were playing against and Oikawa had glanced at their number 2, then did a double take. He almost tripped on his feet, which would've been the biggest embarrassment of his life and all his friends would've never let him live it down.
He kept glancing at the boy not-so-subtly, accessing him and his features. To say that he was disappointed when he found out that the boy wasn't on the main team was an understatement, and Oikawa was sure that his teammates sensed his bad mood because they all started patting his back really hard, forcing him to return to his normal self. The practice match on smoothly and when it was time to go back, Oikawa had an existential crisis about whether or not he should ask for the boy's name.
"Should I, or should I not?" Oikawa mumbled to himself as he waited for everyone to finish changing. He walked back and forth, trying to come to a decision. "Ah, I know! I should ask Shoyo-kun-" Oikawa was cut off when he crashes into someone coming out the changing room. He falls hard on his bottom, a string of curses leaving his mouth. He looks up to see Iwaizumi staring at him with a smirk, and behind him were Makki and Mattsun trying to holding their laughs.
"You okay?" Iwaizumi asks, pulling him up with one hand. Oikawa pouts and nods, rubbing his bottom. "I'm fine. Why didn't you tell me you were coming out?"
"Why should he? You shouldn't have been gay panicking in front of the door, Kawa." Makki teases, making Oikawa's face grow red.
"What!? I was not gay panicking!" Oikawa stomps his left foot, earning the raised eyebrows of the other third years.
"Sureeeeeeee," Mattsun says, hooking his arm with Oikawa's and pulls him towards the school van. "Kunimi-san, lock up the room and give the key back to Daichi-san!" Iwaizumi shouts into the changing room before following Mattsun and Oikawa.
The blinding sunlight creeping in through the blinds shone directly on Oikawa's eyes, making him groan. Putting a pillow on his face, he almost went back to sleep when he hears a loud ring from the bedside table. Peeking under the pillow, he sees the name of the caller and mentally cries.
"Hello?" Oikawa says slowly after picking up, wincing at the shrill voice of Hinata on the other side. "Oikawa-san! Good morning! How are you- OW!"
Oikawa chuckles when he hears Hinata shouting to Kageyama in the background. "Hey." Iwaizumi's voice greets him through the phone.
"Hi? Why are you calling so early in the morning anyway?" Oikawa says, and his eyes widen when he realizes what he just said. He inwardly groans, and his heart dropped when he glances at the clock on the wall.
"...Do you know what time it is?" Iwaizumi says, and Oikawa remains quiet. He hears the sigh, and the tsk's and he knows what's coming next. "I'm coming."
"Wait! Iwa-chan, it's.. uh.. I was just joking. I'm awake, I'm awake!" Oikawa says, jumping out of bed in haste. According to his calculations, Iwaizumi was probably already at the gym where the National Japan Team was training, and that was almost two hours away, so he has almost an hour to prepare an-
"You think I believe that, Shittykawa? I know you're still in bed and I promised auntie that I would look after you these three months. So, shut it."
"Iwa-chan, you don't really have to do that, I mean I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself-"
"No, you're not. Half an hour, that's all you're gonna get," Iwaizumi hangs up the phone before he could hear Oikawa's shriek of horror. Half an hour?! Oikawa throws his phone on the bed and rushes into the bathroom.
True to his words, Iwaizumi was standing in front of his house with his arms crossed exactly half an hour after. His face was almost unreadable if it wasn't for the fact that Oikawa had seen that exact same face so many times. It's the face that his best friend gives whenever he's late. Which means, after this he's gonna-
"OW OW OW OW, I'M SORRY!" Oikawa screams at the top of his lungs when Iwaizumi pinches his arm. He didn't even pinch that hard, but it was hard enough to make Oikawa fear for his life. He hides behind a wall, seeing Iwaizumi break into a laugh.
"It's been a while, Shittykawa." Iwaizumi smiles, and sits down on a couch.
"And to think that the first thing you do after seeing your best friend for the first time in a while is pinch him? I am offended, Iwa-chan." Oikawa whines, sitting beside him. Iwaizumi laughs, shrugging his shoulders.
"And to think that my best friend still wakes up late on holidays. How disappointing, Oikawa." Iwaizumi imitates Oikawa's tone, sighing heavily. Oikawa glares at him, and Iwaizumi glares back before both of dissolve in giggles.
"Want to go out?"
"I thought you had work today. Did you take leave to see me?" Oikawa teases.
"Don't flatter yourself, Shittykawa. I'm still expected at work, but the guys can handle half an hour without me watching them," Iwaizumi says, getting up on his feet. Oikawa follows him, putting on a thin jacket. Oikawa climbs into the passenger's seat, and Iwaizumi drives them to a local restaurant for breakfast.
"Morning, Fujiwara!" Iwaizumi calls out as they enter. Oikawa sees a familiar raven-haired boy wave to them. He smiles at Fujiwara as they sit down at a table. "Morning, Iwaizumi, Oikawa. What would you like today?" He says, pulling up a notepad and a pen from his pocket.
"A miso shiru please." Iwaizumi says.
"Tamago kake gohan for me." Oikawa adds, and watches Fujiwara disappear behind the counter. He glances at Iwa, wondering how to fill the silence (even though it wasn't even awkward). Iwa was staring at something on his phone, and suddenly Oikawa wonders if he knows Suga from around here.
"Sooooo," Oikawa starts, and Iwa immediately looks up from his phone, his green eyes wide.
"Oh god, what happened?" Iwa asks, and Oikawa holds both his hands up.
"How did you know I was going to tell you that something happened? Maybe I was just about to lead into how nice it is to see you again. Because it is, by the way, really nice to see you again, and-"
Now it was Iwa's turn to hold up both his hands. "Shittykawa." He says. "No. I have been your best friend for your entire life, and whenever you start with the 'soooo' thing, it's usually followed by 'I did something catastrophic.'"
Okay, Oikawa thinks, huffing. That's just offensive, both because Iwa knows his tells so well, and that he thinks Oikawa does catastrophic things. "Listen, catastrophic things happen to me, but it's not like I'm the cause." Oikawa defends himself, getting annoyed at Iwa's deadpan face.
"Uh-uh. Sure." Iwa says flatly, and Oikawa launches into the twisty tale of 'Being Lonely And Meeting Ex-Karasuno Number 2,' hoping that if he told the story quickly enough and with enough of a blasé attitude, Iwa won't make fun of him.
"Anyway," Oikawa sums up, "then he puts his number in my phone and that was all that happened."
Iwa's brow creases. "You asked for his number? Why?"
Sighing, Oikawa leans in the chair, crossing one foot in front of the other. "I don't know, it just seemed like a good idea at the time,"
Iwa looks down for a second, before splitting in a grin. Oikawa stares at him, confused. "What?
"Could it be, that little Oikawa Tooru has a crush?" Iwa's grin widens, making Oikawa's face heat up.
"Hah? That's nonsense, what are you-" He gets cut off when Fujiwara comes back with their food, saving him the embarrassment of answering Iwa's question. Honestly, why would he have a crush on someone he'd never even talked to? How absurd.
❁❁❁
"Now, now, everyone! It's nap time!" Suga claps his hands together, gathering the attention of all the toddlers in the room. All the ruckus dies down, and Suga takes a deep breath of relief. "Come on, gather round."
"Sensei! We want a story!" One of the kids, Mina, yells excitedly. All the toddlers agree with her, tugging at his shirt while making puppy eyes. Letting out a sigh, Suga smile before sitting down on a stool.
"Okay, but everyone must lay down first," Suga says, chuckling when all the toddlers hurry in different directions to their positions. Once everyone was settled down, Suga takes a storybook from a bookshelf and start reading. Halfway through the story, he looks up to see that all the kids have dozed off. He closes the book, staring at their innocent sleeping faces before slowly leaving the room.
Closing the door silently behind him, Suga sits down on one of the chairs. The place was a lot quieter during nap time, and sometimes that was good but other times, it made Suga feel rather lonely. Taking care of kids was an exhausting job, but it had it's own perks. Peeking at the clock, Suga lazily lies down on the couch.
The day passed faster than Suga expected, and after waving goodbye to the last kid, he proceeds to lock up the kindergarten for the day. The walk back to his house was suspiciously short too, and it honestly made Suga wish he'd have taken the long way home.
He plops down on the couch, wondering what to do today. It was still early for dinner, but really late for supper. He stares at the ceiling, and after a couple of minutes, an idea went off in his head. Wonder what Oikawa's doing? He sits up, taking his phone to dial a number then, with a heavy disappointment, realized that he had not asked for Oikawa's number, it was the other way around.
Sighing, he falls back down on the couch. Suddenly, his phone beeps. Suga opens the message and smiles.
Hello, is this Sugawara? It's Oikawa :)
Sugawara replies back, grateful for someone to talk to.
Hiiii!! What are you doing right now?
Suga watches the three dots, casually waiting for a reply. If Yaku saw him acting like this, he'd probably be accused of being desperate.
Nothing really, just trying to find something to watch on TV. How about you?
Suga doesn't answer immediately, trying to decide whether he should lie to seem productive or just tell the truth. In the end, he decides that it's probably better to be honest.
Nothing really :/ How's your stay here? Are you still lonely?
Suga smile while waiting for Oikawa to type, because it seemed like the boy was erasing quite a lot of words.
No, today I wasn't that lonely since Iwa-chan accompanied me for breakfast and took me to see the National Team train today. But I don't want to see them train everyday though.. :(
Suga laughs at Oikawa's messages, making himself more comfortable on the couch. He stops, thinking of what to reply. A lightbulb goes off in his head, and he quickly types out his suggestion.
If that's the case, why don't we go to a café or something? We could go into town ;9
There was no response for a while. His message was seen, but Oikawa wasn't typing anything back. Suga heaves a sigh, resting his in his hand. Did he say something wrong? Or did he put the wrong emoticon?
After four full minutes, a message finally appeared on his phone.
Are you sure? I don't want to bother you..
Suga stares at the message.
Of course you're not bothering me! We can go this Saturday if you want. Of course, that is if you're not busy :)
Oikawa immediately responded.
I'm not busy at all!!!
Suga laughs quietly at the three exclamation marks, a wide smile on his face.
Then it's set! This Saturday, 2 p.m. Wait for me in front of Blueberry restaurant, I'll pick you up! Bye :))
As if on que, his stomach growls as soon as he sends the message to Oikawa. He tosses his phone to the side and enters his bedroom, proceeding to take a warm shower.
❁❁❁
When Saturday finally came around, after two days of excruciating waiting, Oikawa was standing in front of his mirror, staring intensely at his reflection. As he applied another layer of lip gloss, he couldn't decide ━ was he dressing up more than usual because he felt like it? Or was it more because he wanted to look nice for Suga? Which made no sense, because why would he?
He jumps when he hears a cough from behind him, turning to see a familiar face with an unfamiliar smirk.
"Hi! How are you doing?" Suga comes close, wrapping him in a hug. Oikawa awkwardly returns the hug, wrapping his hands lightly on the boy's hips. Suga pulls away sooner that he wanted, smiling brightly at him.
"I'm fine, you're really touchy, huh?" Oikawa teases, acting like his regular self. Suga's face reddens, the boy punching him lightly on the shoulder.
"I'm not, but okay." Suga rolls his eyes, signaling Oikawa to follow him as he walks off. Oikawa follows, seeing Suga jumps into a light blue colored car, so he climbs in the front passenger's seat.
"So, just to make sure you're not kidnapping me, can I know where we're going?"
"Rest assured, Oikawa, I'm not kidnapping you. And we're going to my favorite café, though it's a little far away." Suga chuckles, his shoulders shaking just the slightest bit. The ride to the café was quiet, but it was anything but awkward. Oikawa rests his head against the car seat, liking the smell of cotton candy coming from Suga.
He takes a peek at the boy driving beside him, observing that Suga was wearing a pale yellow dress shirt and black skinny jeans that looked like it was perfectly crafted for him. Oikawa looks away, face hot. What the hell, Tooru?
Parking the car, they both get out in front of a pastel blue café. Very aesthetic, Oikawa muses as he stares at the sign. Wondermilk Café.
"Welcome." A blonde girl bows to them at the entrance, and Oikawa bows politely to her. Suga, on the other hand, just smiles. "Hi, Ami."
The girl glares at him for a split second. "Mr. Suga, please don't call me that. I'm working and therefore, I don't know you." The girl, Ami, smiles professionally (though her tone is teasing), making Suga giggle.
"Alright, Ms. Watanabe." Suga gives a lowkey thumbs up and enters, with Oikawa following close behind him. "Who was that?" Oikawa asks curiously, glancing back at the girl at the door. She was very pretty, her long blonde hair tied up neatly in a ponytail. One look at her and Oikawa knows that she's someone his teammates would fawn over.
"Just a friend from uni, why? Do you like her?" Suga raises an eyebrow, making Oikawa turn bright red.
"Shut up."
They went straight to the counter, with Oikawa admiring how pretty the café was. Chipped white paint on the French doors tell stories of years gone by, adding to the character of the place. The brightly lit interior settled his senses the moment he stepped in, engulfed in the scent of freshly brewed coffee and baked bread.
Playing with his fingers, the brunette toyed with the strap of his shoulder bag. An errant curl came loose from his combed hair and slightly obstructed his view before he absent-mindedly pushed it back. Looking at the menu, he decides that he has a big problem at hand.
Creamy Cheesecake vs. Sinful Tiramisu.
Oikawa's stomach suddenly rumbled in anticipation of whichever he decided to go with, as if prompting him to ‘just select one already.’
"I'll have the Strawberry Shortcake, and for my friend..." Suga glances at him, prompting him to give a quick answer.
The petit barista waited patiently, her face flushing a deep red when she had Oikawa in her sight and finally got around to taking his order.
Oblivious to the girl's reaction, Oikawa finally decided to go with the cheesecake and a cappuccino. Suga leads them to a table beside the window, sitting down.
"This café is really pretty." Oikawa says, gesturing to the place. Suga nods, smiling. They wait for while, making small talk about their weeks. Oikawa bursts into laughter when Suga gets into a story about one of the pranks the kids at the kindergarten pulled on him.
Their cakes arrive and Oikawa tries with all his might not to moan in pleasure at the taste of his cake (a bad habit he picked up during all those years of annoying Iwa). He unintentionally watches Suga eat, and with the way his eyes light up slightly when he chews the strawberries, and the way he was very interested in his cake, it was hard not to look.
"So, Oikawa, what do you want to do next?" Suga looks up, his cheeks full. Oikawa bursts into a smile, thinking about the question.
"Well, I have to do some work at home today but that's all about it for today. Considering the amount, I could probably finish all of it by tonight." He says, scooping a spoonful of cheesecake and feeds it to himself.
"Well, I was thinking about going to this bookstore in town, but.." Suga glances at his watch, managing a cheeky grin, "It's already kind of late."
"Oh, it's okay. It's already nice enough of you to accompany me today. I really don't want to trouble you."
Suga sighs. "God, you always say that. You're not bothering me at all, in fact, I'm grateful that you're willing to spend time with me. Things usually get boring when Yaku's not around."
"Yaku Morisuke? I didn't know you were friends with him."
"Yeah, I don't believe that I'm friends with him either. Little devil he is." Suga laughs, pushing his hair back. So he's friends with other pro volleyball players, Oikawa thinks, sipping his cappuccino.
The day ended after Suga asks him to take a stroll around the neighborhood before going home, and for some reason, Oikawa couldn't find it in his heart to say no.
To his surprise, Suga showed up at his house almost every single day after that, beaming brightly while announcing his plans for the day and wait for Oikawa to agree before dragging him around all day. His only excuse was that "I promised you that I would accompany during these two months, didn't I?"
Not that Oikawa minded.
In fact, he began looking forward towards these little plans, and he began to want to spend time with Suga, to go on little adventures with the boy. He wondered why sometimes, but he never got a definite answer from himself. He would always brush it off, wanting to happily go on in ignorant bliss.
That is until one day, these meetings stopped.
"What? You're not coming today either?" Oikawa whines, hearing Suga's non-apologetic laugh.
"Come on, don't be like that! It's not like I'm disappearing or anything."
"Can you at least tell me why?"
"Yaku's back and he wanted to spend some time with me, and well, I couldn't really say no, y'know? I thought I told you about this!" Suga says, and Oikawa vaguely remembers Suga telling him about that.
"Well, I-"
"Ah, Oikawa, I have to go, Yaku's calling me. I'll see you later!" Suga says before hanging up, and Oikawa sighs. He plops down on the couch and after a minute, he opens up his phone and Google's a name.
"Shoot, he's really handsome..." Oikawa grumbles as he scrolls through the photo's of Yaku on the internet, clicking a link that took him to the boy's Instagram. He scrolls down with a sour face, stopping when he sees a familiar grey haired boy in one of the photos.
Suga was smiling in one of the photos, alongside Yaku, that girl Ami from the café, alongside a model he recognized as Lev. Oikawa groans, pulling a pillow over his head. How is this boy friends with so many popular and good-looking people?
He tries to sleep, but so many thoughts were floating in his head, lowkey forcing him to sort them out before anything else. One by one, he sorted the questions in his head with an answer that he would be satisfied with. That is until he got stuck on one thought.
Do you think Suga likes Yaku?
Oikawa stays silent (in his mind) for a while, not knowing how to answer that question. Maybe? He thought, then another question popped up in his head.
Do you like that Suga like Yaku?
His face scrunches up, not knowing how to answer once again. I don't know, maybe I do?
What if they began dating?
Oikawa stops for a long while, the silence almost deafening. He... wouldn't care about that. Yeah, why would he care? They've only been friends for six weeks now, and they weren't even that close. Yet. Besides, it wasn't any of his business to care about who Suga wanted to date, or hold hands with, or kiss...
He huffs, turning and blocking out every single thought until he falls asleep.
❁❁❁
Suga types away on his computer, ignoring the stare he was getting from his current roommate. Taking a sip of his coffee, he glances at the boy looking at him from the couch. "What?"
"I'm bored."
"Okay, and?"
"Can we go out?"
Suga sighs, messaging his temples. He takes his glasses off, laying his head on the keyboard. "I kind of promised Oikawa that I would go out with him today."
"Then can I come with?" Yaku jumps up expectantly, which makes Suga laugh. He kind of looks like puppy getting excited over a treat when he does that. Taking a deep breath, he finishes the remaining of his coffee.
"I don't know, maybe."
"What do you meeeeeeean?" Yaku says, his arms up in protest. Suga looks at him with a raised eyebrow, putting his glasses back on.
"What I mean is that I don't know if Oikawa would be comfortable with that."
"Oh, come on, Kou! Everyone who sees me would love me!" Yaku announces happily, turning red when he sees Suga's blank stare. "What's with the face, idiot?!" Yaku throws a pillow at him, and Suga dodges it easily. The pillow hits the wall, and Suga was about to get up and mess with Yaku when his phone pinged.
Are you coming today? For real?
A smile creeps up on his face, and he gives a short reply.
Yes, for real. Coming in 5.
Suga sets the phone down and goes to his room. He changes into a blue hoodie and white jeans. Closing his bedroom door, he sees at his roommate dressed up in a turtleneck with a jacket on top with dark blue jeans. He also had his sunglasses!
"That was quick." Suga chuckles, taking his phone and house keys before shoving them in his back pocket.
"Duh! I'm a libero, I have to be fast."
"Yeah, and short." Suga walks out the door, stifling a laugh when Yaku runs to catch up with him and pinches his hand. They fake argues all the way to Oikawa's house, with Suga laughing and Yaku narrating one of his funny stories in third person. He watches his friend with fond eyes, thinking, Oikawa's gonna like him.
They arrive and after making Yaku swear to be on his best behavior, Suga rings the doorbell. Looks like it's gonna be a pretty fun day, after all.
❁❁❁
This day is going terrible.
Oikawa had happily spent an hour (embarrassingly) to pick his outfit today, and when he happily skipped to the door when he heard it ring at last, he was not expecting Yaku Morisuke to tag along with them that day. Suga had pulled him to the side to explain, saying that he couldn't really change Yaku's mind when he settles on something.
He would've protested if if weren't for the fact that he was distracted by how good Suga looked with glasses, but he was, so he didn't.
"That is by far the stupidest thing I have ever heard." Suga chuckles as Yaku tell a story about his teammate trying to do something that Oikawa didn't catch.
"Given that you participated in the Cinnamon Challenge not once, not twice, but three times, that's really saying something." Yaku says, raising an eyebrow. Suga shrugs, his lips pursing. Oikawa just stares at them, sensing how close they were. Yaku says something that he also didn't catch, and Suga breaks into giggles.
Oikawa silently watches from the side, fighting the urge to stamp his foot. It's silly, really, feeling jealous or upstaged or whatever is was currently twisting his stomach. It's just that he'd looked forward to this day of hanging out with Suga, and now it's becoming a Yaku day.
But then he reminds himself that, hey, Suga is having fun, and after the weeks that he's spent with Oikawa and making feel not lonely, he deserves that. Besides, it is kind of nice to spend time with Yaku since he's another pro player. His personality's kind of nice too, though his and Oikawa's humor will never match.
"So Oikawa.." Yaku suddenly hops to Oikawa's side. "How's your stay? Is it as fun as you hoped?" Yaku's eyes were sparkling in a way that reminds him of Suga's eyes. These two are really alike.
"Yeah, it's been really fun." Oikawa says, trying to keep the surprise of how small Yaku was beside him off his face. "Suga's been hanging out with me, and the month's been fun." He tells Yaku about everything Suga's done for him this whole month, not noticing the look on Yaku's face turn from friendly to mischievous. A small smile appears on Yaku's lips, nodding his head.
"So that's how it is..."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing, nothing!" Yaku laughs, skipping over to walk beside Suga. The three of them walk around the neighborhood for a while, only going home when they saw that the sun was setting. Oikawa bids his farewells to Suga and Yaku, slightly not liking the fact that Yaku's been staying with Suga.
On his way back to his house, his mind wanders back to the question that had been on his mind for the last four days.
Does Suga like Yaku?
"What is it to me? Who he likes shouldn't matter to me..." He mumbles to himself, shoving his hands inside his jacket. He finds himself in a bad mood for the rest of the day.
❁❁❁
Suga shuts the front door, locking it in the process. He turns around to see Yaku tiptoeing while staring hard into his face.
"Hi?" Suga says, confused. He tries to walk around the boy but Yaku's footsteps follow his'.
"You like Oikawa."
Suga stills, staring back at the shorter of the two. He raises an eyebrow.
"I do?"
"Yes, but my question is whether you know about it or not." Yaku scrunches his nose, most likely because he's trying to read Suga's eyes. He does that sometimes, and most of the time he's right.
"I don't know why you think that but no, I don't like Oikawa." Suga puts his hands on Yaku's shoulders and walk past him, heading towards the kitchen. He hears Yaku trailing behind him, and he ignores the boy.
"So you're saying that you don't know." Yaku leans his small body at the doorway. Suga glances back at him, grabbing the box milk and pouring it generously into his favorite mug. Suga turns to look at him, leaning against the counter.
"And what I'm saying is that I don't like him. He's just a friend."
"Okay, but you hang out with him. Daily."
"I hang out with you daily." Suga says, sipping his milk slowly.
"And you bake cookies for him."
"I bake cookies for everyone." Suga throws his arms in the air.
"You also make him bracelets." The short boy crosses his arms, giving Suga a look.
"Okay, I admit I don't make bracelets for everyone, but he's become a close friend."
"You actually share your food with him." Yaku raises an eyebrow.
"Hey, I share my food with other people! Sometimes..." Suga trails off, realizing that, no, he does not share with other people.
"You would rather waste your time with him rather than check your e-mails."
"..." Suga stares at a wall, a million thoughts going trough his head. He glances at Yaku and sees his smug expression and realize the truth with a 'click.'
"Oh my god, I do like him."
Yaku bursts into laughter, while Suga's face goes bright red. He looks down at his milk, then up at the still laughing Yaku, and becomes even redder. How did he not notice this?
"God, you are so dense." Yaku breathes out, clutching his stomach.
"How was I supposed to know?! The last time I've liked anyone was in high school!" Suga sets his mug on the kitchen counter and curls into himself on the floor. God, he felt so embarrassed.
"So, what are you gonna do now?" Yaku kneels down beside him, smiling softly. Suga stares at him, a pout on his face, and sighs.
"Nothing."
"What do you mean nothing?" Yaku frowns.
"I mean nothing. I'm just one of his stupid fanboys now."
Yaku cups Suga's face with his hands, tilting it slightly. "Don't be like that. He's gonna love you, if he doesn't already."
"Yeah, right. He's seen so many more good-looking people out there, and like I said, the last time I've like someone was in high school. And you know how that ended." He gives a wan smile.
"Koushi..." Yaku's eyebrows furrow, and he squeezes Suga's cheeks. "Stop thinking like that! Come on, let's go to the living room and watch movies, okay?"
"Fine."
❁❁❁
"Sometimes it physically pains me to hold back my sarcastic remarks."
Suga looks at him with a stare blank, and Oikawa chuckles.
"Is that so?" Suga says, leaning against the sofa with raised eyebrows. Oikawa leans back too, quietly admiring the boy in front of him. Suga was wearing a grey sweater that matched his hair with denim jeans, alongside those glasses. God, he's so pretty.
"Oikawa?" Suga turns to him, fixing those brown eyes at him. Oikawa hums in return, unconsciously playing with his fingers. "Do you want to go to the meteor shower this Friday?"
Oikawa shot up from his seat, eyes sparkling. "Meteor shower?" He gasps loudly.
"Yeah, supposedly the whole town's going to that cliff at the south of town. It's a way's out, but Fujiwara messaged me about it and I wanted to go with you. Together."
Oikawa's breath caught in his throat. Together? As in 'alone with each other under the falling stars' together? That's-
"Of course you can invite Iwaizumi along, because I'm bringing Yaku."
Oh. He means that kind of together. "Oh. Sure, I'll ask Iwa later." He was about to feel dejected when he notices Suga's soft smile, and he smiles too.
The day passes, so does the week, and suddenly Friday already arrived. That night, at 11 p.m., Oikawa and Iwa was waiting in front of Oikawa's house, with Oikawa practically bouncing continuously. Iwa had looked at him then, the most fed up expression on his face.
"You're like this every year..." Iwa sighs slowly, and Oikawa sticks out his tongue at him.
"I'm happy tonight so I'm gonna ignore whatever stupid thing you say, Iwa."
"Excuse me? What makes you think-"
A car stops in front of them, and the windows roll down to reveal Suga and Yaku in it. "Come on, hop in!" Suga says brightly. The four of them make small talk during the ride, and Oikawa was surprised when he sees how well Iwa and Yaku got along. After 20 minutes, they arrive at the bottom of the cliff, and after 5 more minutes of climbing the stairs, the four of them arrive at the top.
There were already a lot of people there, and Oikawa recognized almost all of them. Well, he did live in this neighborhood for all of his life, and it was hard not to remember everyone. He sees Yaku and Suga lay out a thin carpet on the grass, and he sits down beside Suga. Not too close, of course.
The night sky was filled with stars, and Oikawa stares in awe. He'd always been so fascinated with astronomy, and he could recognize the stars making the Orion constellation.
"Hey guys, I'm going to go down to the shops to get some snacks," Yaku says suddenly, getting up and patting his pants. He looks at them for a response, and before anyone could say anything, Iwa stands up too.
"Why didn't you do that before we climbed up here?" Suga rolls his eyes. "Come on then, the meteor's gonna start in a few."
"Actually, I'll accompany you. Come on." Iwa says, and the both stalk off, leaving Suga and Oikawa by themselves while feeling confused. They sit in silence for a while, and Oikawa glances at Suga. The boy was staring at the stars, his eyes full of fondness with his head in his hands. As Oikawa stares at him, he feels a fluttering start up in his chest.
Oikawa turns his gaze away, feeling surprised. He puts a hand over his heart, breath catching in the back of his throat, and he lets out a shaky sigh. What was that? No, Oikawa thinks. I did not just have the heart flutters for Suga. Those were heart palpations caused by the heat and nothing more.
They both stay silent, watching the sky together for a while, before Oikawa plants his hands down on the carpet, leaning back a little. "Do you think they snuck off without us?"
Suga laughs, shaking his head. "I wouldn't put it past them. Yaku's quite the demon when he's pranking people."
"Oh my God, please tell me you have called him a demon to his face."
"I have not, as I enjoy my tongue actually in my mouth and not mounted on his wall."
Crossing his legs, Oikawa turns to face Suga more fully. "I'll give you a million dollars if you do it," Oikawa tells him, and Suga looks over, tilting his head to one side.
"A million dollars?"
"A million dollars or what I have at the house, which is, like, a couple hundred."
"Tell you what," Suga says, putting his hands down on the carpet to lean back a little, "I will call Yaku a demon to his face if you promise to do the Cinnamon Challenge with me."
Oikawa screws up his face, sticking his tongue out. "Blargh."
That makes Suga laugh again, and Oikawa's smiling back when he glances down and realize that their hands are nearly touching on the carpet.
Suga follows his gaze, and his laughter dies.
A roar from the people beside them tells that the meteors have already started, but both of them couldn't care less as they continue to stare at their hands. They're just hands, resting there against the carpet. His long and graceful, Suga's with clear nail polish on them. Oikawa's breathing was a little faster than it was before, and he hears Suga sigh as the two of them keeps looking their hands, the littlest space between them.
Suga's hand edges just a little bit closer, his pinky brushing against his, and that ━ that one tiny touch ━ sends a shiver of sparks racing through him.
Sucking in a breath, he goes to move his hand closer.
A bag of snacks fall down on the space beside them, and Oikawa and Suga leap apart so dramatically some people would think they'd been caught together naked instead of touching pinkies. Yaku and Iwa was standing in front of them, watching the sky in awe. Oikawa snaps his head upwards too, and he see Suga do the same out of the corner of his eyes.
Iwa sits down beside him, handing him a water bottle.
"You came back!" Oikawa tells him, his voice bright, and Iwa's eyes narrow just the littlest bit before smirking.
"Did we come back at the wrong time?" Iwa asks quietly, and Oikawa rolls his eyes, taking a sip of his water. The four continue watching the stars, not one of them saying anything.
And Oikawa and Suga keeps their hands firmly in their laps.
❁❁❁
Oikawa stares at the computer screen, vaguely hearing what Iwa was saying through the call. He kept thinking and thinking about those weird butterflies that appeared during that weird night. It had been a couple of days since that night, and he could not, for the life of him, act normally around Suga anymore. Whenever the boy got too close, those... heart palpations would start up again in his chest, leaving him breathless. He was sure that Suga noticed him being weird, and it's not like he wanted to act weird, but it was just so startling that-
"Okay, what's going on in that big head of yours, Shittykawa?"
His attention snaps back to Iwa, who was staring at him through the computer screen. Oikawa stares back at him with a blank expression. "What do you mean?"
"Come on, I can practically see the gears turning in your head. What is it?" Iwa sighs, resting his chin on his hand. Oikawa becomes silent for a while, trying to think of a conclusion while deliberately leaving Iwa in the dark. He focuses on his thoughts, racking up his brain, then gasps loudly (and dramatically) when his brain gives him an answer.
"Well?" Iwa asks.
"Oh my god. I think I like him."
Iwa's eyebrows shot up at that, and he looks puzzled. "Like who?"
"Oh my god, Iwa. Don't be shocked, but..." Oikawa pauses for dramatic affect, knowing that he was making his childhood friend frustrated. Iwa sighs loudly, holds up a fist, and says, "Look, if you don't tell me right now, I am coming over there and beat it out of y-"
"I think I like Suga." He says finally, then frowns when Iwa just stares at him with a stony expression. "Well? Why are you not surprised?"
"Why would I be? I think it's kind of obvious since you've liked the guy since high school." Iwa says simply. Oikawa blinks at him, surprised at the statement.
"What do you mean I've liked him since high school? Not true!"
Iwa stares at him with an exasperated expression, narrowing his eyes. "Uh, yeah? Do you want me to call up Makki and Mattsun right now for proof because you know I ca-"
"No, no! You don't have to!" Oikawa says, panicked, because he did not need three friends bullying him over a crush that he's supposedly have since high school. He thinks about this possibility, and gasps again. "Oh my god, I have like him since high school! Why didn't you tell me?!"
Iwa gapes at him, before laughing. "You mean to tell me, you just realized? I mean, I knew you were dumb but I didn't think you'd be this dumb!" Oikawa's face flashes red, and he makes a whine of protest. He considers hitting his computer, but refrains from it to avoid ruining it because it was really expensive. How could he not notice? But now that he has noticed, Oikawa feels a almost-giddy wave a relief. Okay, maybe he was leaving in a few weeks, but maybe they can make this work? That's something, at least.
"What are you going to do with your 'new found feelings?'" Iwa asks, making apostrophes with his fingers. Oikawa takes a long look at him, squinting his eyes.
"What do you think?" Oikawa props his head on his hands, elbow resting on a pillow.
Watching him, he sees Iwa lean closer. "Are you going to tell him?" He asks, making weird hand movements.
"Um, obviously? Maybe not now, but I definitely will." Oikawa says, dropping his eyes from Iwa's to fiddle on his blanket, pulling up its edges. "I don't know, what if he rejects me? I don't want to ruin our friendship, because I really like hanging out with him."
"Oh come on! The Oikawa I've known my whole life is brave and loud and have no shame whatsoever," Iwa ticks off on his fingers. "and a little selfish, and a definite weirdo." And then, a little softer, Iwa asks, "What did you do to him, you stranger?"
Outside it's started to rain, a gentle, soft midnight shower. It'll probably be over in a few minutes. Oikawa laughs, feeling better. "Thank you for the compliments, Iwa. I love you too."
"Ew, gross." Iwa makes a face, and Oikawa laughs harder. "You do know I'm going to tell Makki and Mattsun about this, right?"
"Yeah, I figured."
"And you do know that all three of us are going to bully you about it later, right?"
Oikawa smiles, rolling his eyes. "As if you guys don't do that everyday."
They stay in comfortable silence until they continue their conversation about trivial things, like always.
❁❁❁
Suga stares at himself in the mirror, scanning his outfit from top to bottom. He's gotten a lot more self-conscious nowadays, ever since that day. That night.
God, he still couldn't figure out what that night meant. Did Oikawa feel that electric feeling too, or was that just him? Was he the one overthinking it? Maybe it was just accidental, maybe it didn't mean anything at all, but sure did feel like it. He glances at the clock, and gets going to his destination.
He was going to meet Oikawa today at the bookstore. It's been three days since that weird night and he's trying his best to not say or feel anything.
But as soon as he sees Oikawa dressed in a turtleneck in front of the bookstore, a familiar flutter starts up in his chest.
"Hey." Oikawa smiles, and Suga feels breathless.
"Hi." Suga almost stutters, mentally cursing himself. Stop it, stay cool. They both enter the bookstore, and Suga follows Oikawa to the science-fiction section. He wanted to go to the baking section, but decides that he could probably do that later.
"Oh, look at this book!" Oikawa says, pointing to a book with a spaceship on the cover. Suga half hears what Oikawa was saying, but he was distracted by Oikawa's eyes. He was staring, and he knows that he should probably stop. Stop being awkward, his mind reprimands.
After a while of reading back of books, walking around and lowkey jamming to the music playing from the speakers, they both finally purchased a book each. They decided to go buy slushies, and while waiting in line, some girls came up to them.
"Um, Oikawa Tooru?" A redhead says, and beside her was a blonde girl. They both looked excited, and were holding their phones.
"Yes?" Oikawa says, confused. Looking at the boy, Suga knows that he doesn't recognize the two girls either.
"Oh my god! We're such big fans! Can we get a picture?" The girl shriek, sounding a little ditzy. Suga sees Oikawa glance at him, as if asking for permission. he gives a small smile in return, nodding his head slightly. Oikawa goes with the two girls, and Suga watches them take a couple of pictures.
He's so popular, Suga thinks to himself. The people in front of him goes with their slushies, and Suga looks back at Oikawa. He was still talking to the girls, and Suga didn't want to bother him.
"Sir, can I take your order?" The girl at the counter says, and Suga snaps out of his trance.
"Yeah, sure." He says, taking a final glance at Oikawa before ordering. He takes a seat at one of the tables, sipping his strawberry slushy sadly. He probably looked pathetic, but he didn't like to think about that. Oikawa sits down in the seat in front of him, making him jump up slightly.
"Hey, sorry. They were really talkative." Oikawa grins, and Suga nods slowly.
"No, it's okay.." He pushes Oikawa's slushy towards him, and Oikawa takes it happily. They continue drinking in comfortable silence, until Oikawa breaks the silence.
"Let's get going, it going to get late soon."
Suga checks his watch, nodding. "Yeah, sure. I'm going to go to the bathroom for a second." Suga gets up, and heads to the bathroom. He washes his hands, thinking that today was not that bad of a day. He leaves, stopping when he hears the two girls from earlier talking.
"I can't believe we met the Oikawa Tooru today! I feel so lucky!"
Suga feels warm, deciding that he liked hearing people talk good about Oikawa.
"But who was that boy with him earlier?"
"Don't know, maybe it's his friend or something."
"They look pretty close. His boyfriend, maybe? they even had matching bracelets!"
Suga's face goes red. Do they look like a couple?
"I didn't know he swing that way."
"Yeah, maybe professional sports guys are all gay. A shame, though." The both break in giggles.
Suga doesn't know why, but his heart feels heavy. He wasn't supposed to hear that, he shouldn't have. But he did, and he doesn't like it. If this gets around, Oikawa's reputation would be in the dirt! A part of him shrieks.
Oh no, I don't want that, Suga thinks. He walks out of the shop, seeing Oikawa standing by a streetlight. The boy spots him, his eyes brightening up.
"Hey! Are you ready-"
"We can't do this anymore."
Oikawa's face fell, and even Suga was taken aback by his statement, but it was out now and there was no taking it back.
"What? Why? Did I do something-"
"No, it's just, uh..." Suga's brain scrambles to find a solid excuse, and an idea pops up in his mind. "Lev's planning to propose to Yaku soon! And I'm going to be busy, uh, planning with him.." It was true, partly. Lev was planning to propose, but everything was already sorted out by now. The proposal was months away, but it was the only thing Suga could think of.
"Oh.. I mean, you could've just said that you were busy..." Oikawa says slowly, looking away. "I mean I'm not pressuring you, I never wanted to trouble you.."
What? No, that's not... Suga tries to say something but the words weren't coming out.
"You should've just said that I was bothering you.." Oikawa begins to turn away, and Suga grabs his hand.
"That's not... You're not bothering me at all! It's just-"
"You don't have to make excuses. I'm not... I'm okay." Oikawa smiles, though it looks pained.
Wait, no..
"Tell Lev and Yaku I said congrats. Bye." Oikawa stalks away, leaving Suga feeling like the worst person in the world.
They didn't see each other for a while after that. They didn't see each other at all after that. Suga feels pained but he didn't know what to do. He didn't want to ruin Oikawa's reputation, he really didn't. He wasn't worth Oikawa's entire career, he just wasn't. He stares down at his fingers, and he sighs for the millionth time that day. Suddenly, Yaku slams his fist on the table, making him jump.
"Would you stop that?" Yaku says.
Suga looks at him. "Stop what?"
"Stop all this. Wipe the 'if only' look off your face. If you want to do something, go do it, for God's sake!"
Suga leans against the sofa, staring at the fan above him go round and round. He sees Yaku get up and sit next to him, laying his head on Suga's shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, maybe."
"Because I know you're not."
"Yeah, you're right. I'm not. I miss him." Suga sighs.
"He's just a couple blocks away, you know." Yaku takes his hand, drawing random letters and objects on it with his finger. They stay in silence for a while.
"You know, I was pretty freaked out when Lev wanted to go public, too." Yaku says quietly, still drawing on his hand. "I was really freaked out because I thought that people would bash me about it. Bash us about it. But the thing is, people don't really care as long as you continue being good at what you do. Yes, they'll remember you being gay for a long time, but as long as you don't care about the people you hate it, they stop caring too, eventually. And after that, you'll see that the good is more the bad. Do you get it?"
"Kind of. I didn't think you could be this deep, Mori." Suga chuckles, making Yaku laugh too.
"Yeah, I didn't I could be this deep either." Yaku says, then continues. "Do you know what to do now?"
Suga nods slowly, and he sighs.
❁❁❁
Oikawa was on the swings when he saw Suga again. It was in the middle on the night, almost exactly like the first day they spent together. He looks away, not wanting to look at Suga. Much to his surprise, Suga approaches him.
"Hi."
"Hello." Oikawa replies, finally looking at the grey haired boy. His breath caught in the back of his throat. Suga was sporting a new hairstyle, and it look good on him. Pretty.
Suga sits down on the swing beside his, and they sit in silence for while.
"I-"
"I-"
They both talk at the same time, then bursts into laughter. "How are you?"
"Fine, you?" Oikawa tilts his head at him, admiring how cute he looked.
"I kind of have to tell you something." Suga giggles, swinging closer to him. Oikawa stays silent, wanting to hear what Suga wanted to say.
"First, I'm sorry for everything. I didn't mean for you to think that way, because you don't bother me at all." Suga stops, taking a deep breath. Oikawa continues staring, wondering what Suga wanted to say. They enter silence again, and Oikawa becomes impatient.
"Hey, what-"
Suddenly Suga was much, much closer than before. Suga was leaning in from his spot on the swing, pulling Oikawa closer to him. Oikawa's lips were tingling and suddenly his heart was going to burst, too big in his chest. It took Oikawa a full 10 seconds to realize what was happening, but when he did, he tilted his head to the side so their lips slotted together.
Then the kiss was no longer fumbling and messy, it was electric , like two puzzle pieces fitting together perfectly. When Suga's lips moved against his, for a moment, just one moment, Oikawa let himself forget about everything. The world felt so much brighter, he felt inexplicably lighter. Oikawa took in a deep breath of fresh air and smiled against Suga's lips.
The boy cupped his cheek sweetly while Oikawa had a hand on his waist, pulling Suga just a little closer. The grey haired boy's kiss was absolutely magical, and Oikawa had never been happier. It was over far too soon, and when Suga pulled away they were both flushed and breathless. Oikawa decided he liked that look on Suga (if he was the one who put it there).
"Um, I'm sorry.." Suga says, a little breathless. "That was the thing I wanted to tell you about." Suga smiles in that sweet way of his, and Oikawa couldn't help but smile back.
"I'm glad. I like it. A lot." Oikawa smiled back, leaned towards Suga, his eyes misty with affection. He took the boy's hand in his, and the sat holding hands for a while. Suga was the first one to pull away. He lifted his face to look at Oikawa, and tilted his head slightly.
"Oikawa, can I ask you something?"
Oikawa nodded expectantly, curiously.
"Can we ━ not stay here? It's kind of cold."
Oikawa laughed, relieved that the question wasn't somehow more serious.
"That's a really good point." He stared at Suga and thought for a moment. "Why don't we go eat something? I think Fujiwara's is still open.."