Work Text:
Contrary to popular belief, waiting tables on Valentine’s Day isn’t as awful as one might think it is.
For one, Sakusa surmises, the tips are great. Apparently couples become much more generous with their spending when they intend to get lucky later on in the evening. And while the thought itself is enough to have Sakusa scrunching up his face in disgust, he can’t really complain when he’s earning twice as much as he would on a normal night.
It's not as though he gets tipped well on any other evening, considering his customer service skills are practically nonexistent, and he's unwilling to partake in small talk. He's usually lucky if earns 15% on a regular night. Surprisingly enough, the manager of the restaurant doesn't give him any grief about it. Sakusa suspects that it has something to do with the fact that he's the only one on the waitstaff that can recite the entree specials and wine list from memory and actively volunteers to be on bathroom cleaning duty.
Moreover, working on Valentine's Day also gave him a solid excuse to give to Komori when his cousin predictably decided to badger him about his holiday plans earlier that week.
-
“Come on, Kiyoomi! It’s Valentine’s Day!”
Before Sakusa can protest, Komori has already thrown his dorm room door open and made himself comfortable on his bed. He tries not to wince when he sees the newly made wrinkles created on the sheets he just took out of the dryer that morning. “Would it kill you to go on a date for once?”
“Yes. I think it really would kill me," Sakusa claims in a deadpan voice, scowling when Komori flips over onto his stomach and rests his chin his hands to stare up at him expectantly. "And who would I even date?"
Komori's expression immediately turns smug, and his short, thick eyebrows move up and down suggestively. “I think we both know who..."
Sakusa glares. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"No? 5'4"? Ginger hair? Brown eyes? You stare at him longingly for the entire duration of practice when you think no one is looking? Ring any bells?”
“None,” Sakusa answers in a flat, unimpressed tone.
“If you say so…”
Sakusa promptly ignores his cousin’s knowing expression and turns away, quickly changing the subject before Komori can latch on to his obvious deflection. “Besides, I have plans already.”
From the raised eyebrow Komori directs at him, it's clear that the other boy doesn't believe him.
“Don’t tell me you reserved the gym for extra practice,” Komori begins, pointing his finger at Sakusa accusingly as his eyes narrow in suspicion, “Or wait! Are you planning to reorganize our supply closet again? You did that just last week, you know!”
“No,” Sakusa rolls his eyes at his cousin’s antics, choosing not to admit that both of those choices sound much more appealing than the reality.“I have work actually.”
At his admission, Komori groans and slumps forward onto the bed with a loud thump. Sakusa frowns as he eyes one of his pillows teetering precariously on the edge of the comforter.
“All you do is work and volleyball, Kiyoomi.”
“I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
“And that is half of the problem right there,” Komori responds with a shake of his head, causing the pillow Sakusa was closely watching to finally topple over to the floor. Sakusa is already making a mental note to reserve his space in the dorm laundry room later that day when his cousin lifts himself up from the bed and walks over to him.
“The college experience is wasted on you, dear cousin," the brunette proclaims, hands on his hips, "It would really do you some good to get out more. Live a little. Have some fun. Ask Hinata out—”
Komori is shoved out of his dorm room so quickly that Sakusa never actually hears the rest of his sentence.
-
Honestly. What in the world was his cousin thinking?
Him? Ask Hinata out?
“Oi. Sakusa. Take this order to table five!”
With a nod of acknowledgement, the dark-haired waiter grabs the platter filled with delicious smelling food in front of him, briefly admiring the way everything is artfully arranged on each plate, before effortlessly balancing them in his arms. The kitchen is loud and bustling, which would normally trigger Sakusa's anxiety. However, working part-time at the upscale restaurant for the past six months has him gracefully sidestepping his fellow waitstaff as they barrel through the kitchen, and he breathes easy once he's past the swinging doors and out in the dining area once again.
Immediately, he's greeted with the sound of soft, classical music and light chatter as he makes his way around dining area, navigating himself past the labyrinth of tables and well-dressed couples, before finding the one he's looking for.
Sakusa forces a polite smile on his face as he slows down and carefully places each entree before the seated guests.
“Can I get you two anything else at the moment?” He asks, critically eyeing the level of their water glasses and inspecting their bread basket.
“Actually, we’d like to order another glass of—”
A flash of orange in the entryway of the restaurant has Sakusa instantly tuning out the woman in front of him to turn and stare intently in the direction of the hostess stand, where he spots a familiar head of orange-hair.
It takes him a moment to register that his mind is not playing tricks on him. And that he is in fact staring at Hinata Shouyou, his teammate and sometimes rival and supposed person-of-interest—according to Komori, anyway—chatting animatedly away with the group of hostess at the front of the restaurant.
What was he doing here? Did Komori put him up to this? The dark-haired man narrows his eyes suspiciously at the sight of the other boy, scowling when he sees Hinata throw his head back in laughter at something one of the hostesses said. Maybe this was some sort of Valentine's Day prank?
The sound of someone politely clearing their throat snaps Sakusa out of his train of thought.
“Um. Excuse me, sir?” The woman in front of him asks awkwardly, eyes darting between Sakusa and her husband. “Did you happen to get our drink orders?”
“Yes. I apologize,” Sakusa responds stiffly, acting on autopilot as he collects the empty glasses on the table. “Another glass of merlot and a manhattan, on the rocks with our house rye whiskey, correct? I will be back shortly with your drinks.”
Bowing his head cordially at the couple in front of him, Sakusa whirls around and makes a beeline towards the bar in the hopes that he can pass by the hostess stand without being spotted by his teammate. He even makes the extra effort to turn his face to the side and hasten his steps, when he hears a familiar voice excitedly call out to him.
“Omi-san! Is that you?”
No such luck.
Mentally, Sakusa considers his options. He could easily pretend that he hadn’t heard anything and continue on his way. That would be the most believable option. He’s at work. He’s busy. There’s a perfectly good reason why he didn’t hear his teammate call out to him even though he's only a few feet away.
“...Omi-san?”
Sighing at the growing confusion evident in the other boy's voice, Sakusa decides to face the inevitable and pivots on his heel to glare down at Hinata.
“Hinata-kun—"
Sakusa freezes mid-sentence, realizing instantly that he's woefully unprepared for the sight that greets him.
See, Sakusa likes to think that he’s used to seeing Hinata—that he’s built some sort of tolerance to the other boy’s presence. After all, he sees him almost every day. In his uniform at games, in his normal athletic wear at practice, and on days when Hinata manages to track him down at his favorite coffee shop between classes, Sakusa is welcomed to the sight of the shorter boy in baggy hoodies and well-worn jeans. There’s comfort in knowing that Sakusa’s at least accustomed to the sight of Hinata at this point, no matter how distracting.
But this…?
This was...
Sakusa takes in the crisp, white button-up shirt that seemed to highlight Hinata’s golden bronze skin and the spotless, lint-free, navy blue sports jacket that perfectly framed the shorter boy’s broad shoulders. Dark eyes inadvertently dropped to the freshly pressed black slacks and well-shined dress shoes before slowly traveling up to meet Hinata’s beaming grin.
“I knew it was you! I didn’t know you worked here!”
Sakusa takes a deep, steadying breath, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose to calm himself. What did his therapist tell him to do when he was stressed? Count backwards from twenty?
“Yes, I do on occasion.”
"Wow! You're able to be a full-time student and balance practice and a part-time job?" Hinata wonders aloud, eyes shining with respect and awe. "You're really amazing, Omi-san!"
"...I manage."
“And this place is super nice!" Hinata continues excitedly, eyes darting around the establishment. "Five stars when I looked it up online! But of course, it makes sense that Omi-san would work at such a fancy restaurant. I wouldn’t expect anything less!”
Sakusa wants to die. He would welcome death with open arms right now if it meant immediately removing himself from this situation. He attempts to restart his mental countdown as Hinata maintains his one-sided conversation with ease.
“I’m here on a date, you see. Well, actually a blind date. Some of my friends set me up with someone. You remember Yachi and Yamaguchi? The two I introduced you to at our last game?”
13, 12, 11…
—Wait...Was he joking? A blind date?
“Anyway, they have this mutual friend that they thought I would hit it off with, but I’m actually kind of nervous because I’ve never met this person before and I have no idea what they look like and—”
“Great,” Sakusa interjects loudly enough to interrupt the other boy’s nervous tirade. His eyes unwillingly fall to where Hinata is awkwardly clutching a bouquet of flowers in his hands, and it's the sight of them that becomes the last straw for him.
“I have to go back to work now.”
“R-right. Of course!” Hinata rubs the back of his head in a sheepish manner, cheeks turning pink in embarrassment. His expression becomes almost puppy-dog like, and Sakusa decides that he detests it more than anything.
“Sorry to bother you while you’re working, Omi-san.”
“It’s not a problem.”
“I guess I’ll see you later—?”
Sakusa is already turning away and stalking off when he hears Hinata call out from behind him.
“H-Happy Valentine’s Day, Omi-san!”
Grumbling under his breath, Sakusa decides that for his own mental health, he needs to make absolute sure that he isn’t the waiter responsible for waiting on Hinata and his blind date. Not if he wants to keep this cushy, part-time job, anyway.
-
“I’m telling you, Atsumu-chan! That kid definitely got stood up.”
Atsumu looks up and follows the direction of his boyfriend’s intent stare, brown eyes falling upon the same attractive young man the both of them had checked out earlier when they first arrived at the restaurant.
The ginger had been standing awkwardly in the entryway of the establishment making small talk with the hostess whilst clutching a bouquet of flowers in his hand, looking outright adorable in his tasteful attire. Before Atsumu and Oikawa were led away to their reserved table, the shorter man had beamed up at them in greeting before quickly looking away to the entrance, as if waiting for someone.
It had taken them both a second to tear their gazes away and follow after the hostess, quickening their steps so as not to be left behind.
Atsumu would have been more embarrassed by his reaction if his boyfriend had not behaved in a similar fashion. He had seen the way Oikawa's eyes flashed in interest when they passed by. Atsumu chose not to ponder how dire the situation would have been if that was not, indeed, the case. He's dealt with his partner's possessive side on more than one occasion to know what the aftermath would have been, and vice versa.
"No way!" Atsumu reasons, raising the cocktail glass to his lips as he watches the younger man seated just a few tables away from them. Whoever he was waiting for had yet to make an appearance, and the flowers lay forgotten on the table top as he tapped his fingers rhythmically on the tablecloth in front of him, amber-like eyes flicking towards the entrance of the restaurant periodically.
Atsumu wishes they were seated just a bit closer, just so he could see if he was imagining the freckles scattered about the other man’s tan, sun-kissed skin.
“I'm positive. It's been like thirty minutes now,” Oikawa muses aloud, taking a glance down at his phone to confirm. “And that’s just starting from when we got here. Who knows how long he’s actually been waiting!”
Atsumu frowns, gaze still unmoving from the handsome ginger. Huh. Was that a dimple in his cheek? He squints his eyes. “I don’t believe it. He's too cute.”
At some point, their dark-haired waiter approaches the guy's table for probably the third time since he sat down, only to be politely waved off yet again after a short exchange of words. After his water gets refilled, the smaller man readjusts the placement of the flowers on his table and looks down at his phone with a small frown.
The entire thing is ridiculously adorable—if a bit sad, and Atsumu has to fight the urge to let out an uncharacteristic coo at the sight.
“When was the last time you bought me flowers, babe?” Oikawa suddenly asks, voice teasing as his eyes flit from Atsumu and back to the smaller man seated a few tables down from them.
Atsumu pulls his gaze away to raise a brow at his boyfriend. “Do ya even like flowers, Tooru-kun?”
“We’ve been dating for over five years now. You think you would know the answer to that question already,” Oikawa answers haughtily, crossing his arms over his chest.
Atsumu feels a slow, lazy smirk spread across his lips at the sight of a familiar, tell-tale pout on the brunette's face. “Sorry, babe. Did ya want flowers?”
“No.”
The pout lingers in Oikawa's tone, even after it's replaced by a speculative look on his face. "But I really do feel bad for the kid. Not only is it Valentine's Day, but who would be crazy enough to stand up a cutie like that? He's precious."
“Adorable,” Atsumu readily agrees. “Are we positive it’s a date, though?”
Oikawa scoffs. “Look how nicely he’s dressed! The shoes? The slacks? That button-up? He’s definitely easy on the eyes.” He's tilting his head to the side to get a better look, biting the inside of his lip in appreciation when he catches Atsumu’s amused gaze.
“What?”
“Are ya describing his attire or checking him out…”
“Can’t I admire both?”
“Did ya forget who yer on a date with right now?” Atsumu asks, lips quirking upwards in mirth.
“Did you?” Oikawa’s responding smirk is just as sharp.
There’s a long moment of silence as the two share in each other’s amusement, trading small, knowing grins. Then, Atsumu chuckles in assent, leaning back in his chair with his hands raised as a sign of surrender.
“Okay, ya got me. The kid caught my eye. Can ya blame me?”
Oikawa flashes him a smile that's all teeth as he leans forward to rest his weight on his elbows, chestnut eyes taking on a sly sheen as they stare Atsumu down.
“How about we partake in a little Valentine's Day wager, babe…?”
Atsumu grins, mirroring his position and leaning in conspiratorially, one eyebrow arched upwards in interest.
“I’m listening…”
-
It takes Hinata an embarrassingly long amount of time before he realizes that his date is probably not going to show up tonight.
Which is fine. Totally fine.
Hinata is not upset or completely mortified by this development in the slightest. Nope. Not at all. He tries to muster up a small smile when the handsome blonde from a couple of tables over passes by his table again, meeting Hinata's gaze with a grin of his own and a nod of his head. Just a few minutes before, it had been the attractive brunette winking at Hinata as he made his way to the bar, hand waving at him in greeting.
Huh. Those two sure did leave their table often. That was probably the third time the blonde had passed by since Hinata was seated. But the two seemed super friendly, and well, smoking hot, if Hinata is being honest, so it’s not like he minds the view.
“Are you still waiting for your date, Hinata-kun?”
Hinata startles, almost dropping his glass of water clumsily as he looks up to see Sakusa standing beside his table, staring down at him expectantly.
As if the situation wasn’t embarrassing enough...
“I think I’m being stood up, Omi-san.”
The waiter arches a brow at him, somehow managing to convey a clear 'no shit, Sherlock' in the action alone. Hinata would be more impressed if he wasn't so busy feeling sorry for himself. Of all the restaurants he could have chosen for this ill-conceived date, he just had to choose the one where his extremely attractive, totally off-limits teammate just happened to work. Hinata forces himself not to check Sakusa out in his waiter attire for probably the hundredth time that night.
But Omi-san in that dark server vest and black bow tie? Hnnggg—
“Well, it’s been almost an hour since you’ve been seated, Hinata-kun.”
Letting out a small humph, Hinata purses his lips into a small pout, crossing his arms over his chest. “So you don’t think they’re coming either?”
When he doesn't receive an answer immediately, Hinata looks up to see Sakusa staring down at him with an unreadable, impassive expression, dark eyes fixed low, as if looking at Hinata's mouth, before flicking back upwards to meet his eyes again.
“I really have no opinion on the matter.”
“But I need your advice, Omi-san!”
Sakusa frowns. “I don’t want to be rude.”
“You've never had a problem with that before!" Hinata insists good-naturedly, patting himself in the chest with both hands. "Come on! Just lay it on me."
Sakusa raises his eyes upwards towards the ceiling, staring with narrowed eyes at the chandeliers above them for a good, long moment before letting out a soft sigh and dropping his chin. "Fine."
He places the plate of appetizers that he was carrying in front of Hinata, and the ginger blinks down at the goat cheese and balsamic flatbread and cup of lobster bisque that he definitely did not order before looking back up at Sakusa expectantly.
“Your date is probably not coming," Sakusa finally says, without even a hint of sympathy in his tone. "Sorry."
Hinata almost laughs out loud at the deadpan apology. "Yeah, I figured."
Sakusa blinks down at him curiously. "Then why did you ask for my input?"
"So, you'd stay and chat with me a bit longer,” Hinata responds honestly with a small grin, grabbing a spoonful of the lobster bisque and placing it to his lips. “Mmm. This is delicious.”
“Of course it is," Sakusa says, as if stating the obvious, "Try it with the garlic butter bread.”
Hinata makes grabby hands at the bread basket until Sakusa rolls his eyes and nudges it closer to him. Breaking off a piece of one of the freshly-baked breadsticks, he dips into the thick soup before taking a bite.
“Oh my god. Amazing,” Hinata moans in satisfaction, eyes closing in pleasure as the rich taste fills his mouth.
When he opens his eyes again, Sakusa looks like he’s grimacing in pain at something off in the distance. Hinata follows his gaze and sees nothing.
“So, why would your friends set you up with someone like that, anyway?” Sakusa asks, still not quite meeting Hinata's curious stare. “Seems like they have a poor judge in character on their part.”
Hinata scrunches up his face in thought, swallowing another mouthful of soup. “I’m sure this person has a perfectly good explanation as to why they couldn't make it."
Sakusa clicks his tongue in distaste. “They could have called you.”
“We never exchanged numbers.”
“Or at least let your friends know.”
“That would have been nice," Hinata agrees with a nod of his head, using another piece of bread to wipe the edges of his bowl before tossing it in his mouth. "Especially since I didn't want to go on a blind date in the first place."
"Then why did you agree?"
"I don't know," Hinata says, shrugging, "Something to do I guess. Not like I had other plans."
There is a lull in conversation as Hinata generously helps himself to the rest of the soup, only slightly aware of his dark-haired companion still closely observing him in silence.
“What kind of idiot goes on a blind date on Valentine’s Day?” Sakusa asks dryly.
“This idiot,” Hinata responds mournfully into his now empty bowl of lobster bisque, wondering if he should call it how it is and proceed to order dinner on his own at this point.
When the blonde from earlier comes back from the bathroom and throws Hinata another look—flirtatious lip biting and raised eyebrows and all—Sakusa's glare becomes murderous, and the waiter grumbles something unintelligible under his breath before whirling around and stalking away yet again.
Hinata stares after him curiously, head cocked to the side, before reaching out to take slice of the flatbread next.
-
Atsumu and Oikawa were definitely not groping each other from underneath the table when a certain waiter stopped abruptly in front of them, hackles raised and glaring furiously as if he knew exactly what the two of them had been whispering about in hushed tones just moments before.
“What do you two think you’re doing?”
The two instantly break apart, cheeks flushed with embarrassment and whatever else—Sakusa is really not interested in knowing—and stare at their glaring waiter with matching, startled expressions.
“Excuse us?”
“Don’t act all innocent," the waiter continues, eyes narrowing suspiciously. “You've been making eyes at my friend this entire evening, and I want to know why.”
Oikawa lets out a soft, relieved sigh and slowly retrieves his hand from the front of his boyfriend’s pants.
“Your friend?” Atsumu inquires in a somewhat strained voice.
Sakusa gestures with his chin back towards Hinata’s table, and the three of them look over to see the smaller man playing what appeared to be some sort of game on his phone, his tongue sticking out adorably to the side in concentration.
“You mean the cutie who got stood up on his date? You guys are friends?” Oikawa asks, suddenly much more invested in the conversation.
“Acquaintances,” Sakusa backtracks, wincing at his own wording. "But that's besides the point. What do you guys want with him?"
“Look. We don’t necessarily want anything,” Atsumu contends smoothly, despite lying through his teeth. “Just admiring from afar.”
“It’s not really from afar when you guys have been going out of your way to pass by his table at every given opportunity, when the shorter route to the restroom is clearly the opposite direction.”
Oikawa raises a brow at him. “You’ve been counting?”
“You two are shameless,” Sakusa hisses between clenched teeth.
"Ya sound pretty jealous for someone who's just an acquaintance," Atsumu teases, nudging his boyfriend with his elbow. "Don't ya think, babe?"
"Oh definitely," Oikawa agrees, nodding his head, "Absolutely green with it."
"Why are you two even flirting with him when you're both clearly in a relationship with each other?" Sakusa demands, dark eyes flitting from one man to the other.
“We’ve got room for one more.”
Sakusa feels his eye twitch at the blonde's suggestive response and decides to take a different approach. “Isn’t it in bad taste to go after a guy much younger than yourselves? You two are obviously too old for him.”
“What? Too old?” Oikawa squawks, almost choking on his water.
“We’re college students, you know. You guys are basically predators.”
“P-predators?” Atsumu splutters disbelievingly. “We’re twenty-six!”
“Five years older than us," Sakusa challenges.
“That’s not that bad.”
“When Hinata-kun was in primary school, you guys were in high school," Sakusa counters back sharply, "Predators.”
“Oh come on—”
“Hinata?” Oikawa perks up. “Is that his name? Cute.”
Sakusa focuses his withering stare on the brunette at that. He's about to say something that will probably get him fired when the blonde waves his hands in front of him to try and catch his attention and calm him down.
"Okay, here's the thing. We were just doing a bit of innocent flirting," Atsumu insists, gesturing between himself and the brunette next to him. "We had a bet to see who could get his name first. That's it! Anyway, if yer friend is interested, then what’s the problem?”
The problem is that Sakusa is about to lose his shit. And probably his job. In that very order if this continues to play out like it is. "He just got stood up on his date. On Valentine's Day. He really doesn't need to get in the middle of whatever you two have going on."
Yeah, the waiter definitely knew what they had been doing underneath the table before he got there.
”Aw, come on! It’s all in harmless fun,” Oikawa says reassuringly, “In fact, we could even help cheer up your friend a bit. After all, he seems a bit down, don’t you think?”
They all peer over to where Hinata has slumped forward on the table, head propped up by the palms of his hands as he leans his weight on his elbows. There is an uncharacteristic wrinkle just between his eyebrows as he frowns down at the flowers on the table.
"See?" Atsumu says with a flourish of his hand. “Now, why don’t ya do yer friend a favor and order us a nice bottle of champagne and offer him a glass? On us?”
Sakusa bites back yet another scathing remark and decides to consider it. He looks away from the couple trading smug glances at one another to watch as Hinata started tearing off pieces of leftover bread to throw into the empty glass across the table, where his supposed date would have been sitting, had the guy actually deemed to show up.
It’s with an air of resignation that Sakusa concedes with a loud, overdrawn sigh. "Fine."
Ignoring the smirks thrown his way by the couple in front of him, Sakusa makes his way to the bar with a frown on his face. He tries not to think too hard about what he just agreed to, even as he collects three champagne glasses and begins wiping them down.
And if Sakusa chooses the most expensive bottle of champagne on their menu and adds it to their bill? Well, he elects that he deserves to get something out of this horrible situation. Plus, he knows Hinata will like it—he remembers his teammate mentioning something about liking his wine more on the drier side of things, anyway.
-
“Here.”
Hinata jumps back in alarm when Sakusa slams a glass of something bubbly down in front of him. “Huh? But I didn’t—”
“Courtesy of those two...gentlemen...from that table over there.”
“W-who?”
With a slight tilt of his head, Sakusa directs Hinata’s gaze to the very table where the handsome brunette and blonde from before were seated. And sure enough, the second he looks over at them and catches their eye, he's met with matching smirks as the two raise their own glasses of champagne in greeting.
Hinata feels himself turn red as he looks back at Sakusa in confusion. “I, uh, are you sure, Omi-san?”
“Very sure, unfortunately."
“But why?”
Sakusa has a long-suffering look on his face as he lets out a deep sigh. “They're probably trying to flirt with you.”
“Flirt,” Hinata repeats faintly.
“Yes.”
“With me?”
“Yes.”
“Both of them?”
“Correct.”
Hinata presses the palms of his hands against his blushing cheeks as he stares up with Sakusa with wide eyes. “But...don’t they seem like...they’re...you know...together?” His gaze drifts over to observe how the two men were leaning close to one another, with the blonde's arm hanging loosely across the brunette’s shoulders as they whisper to one another in hushed tones. When they catch him looking again, Hinata quickly downs a generous gulp of champagne before he’s compromised.
“Seems to be the case,” Sakusa confirms dryly, observing the two in distaste.
“Huh.” Hinata ponders for a moment, blinking to himself quietly. “What should I do?”
“You’re asking me?” Sakusa asks incredulously, arching a brow.
“Yeah! Should I go talk to them? What do you think, Omi-san?”
“If that’s what you want…” Sakusa replies slowly, as if measuring each word carefully in his mouth. “I’ll just make note to bring your dinner over there, instead.”
Hinata furrows his brows. “But I didn’t order—”
Sakusa doesn't bother letting him finish as he disappears from the table yet again. Hinata sighs in annoyance. His teammate was getting really good at this disappearing act. It takes him another moment, and a short mental pep talk with himself, before Hinata garners enough courage to grab his glass of champagne and make his way over to the nearby table.
When he shyly approaches, he’s greeted by two unmistakably pleased expressions, and Hinata can't help but grin in turn.
“So, I hear I have you two to thank for the champagne?”
-
Oikawa wonders if he should feel bad for ogling at the younger man who decided to join them at their table. The waiter hadn’t been wrong about the alleged age gap. It was clear by Hinata’s youthful, cherub-like face that the kid really was still in college—which definitely could have been an issue...if not for the fact that Atsumu seemed to still be on board with the idea.
“So, ya play volleyball, huh?” Atsumu is asking, grabbing the almost empty bottle of champagne and pouring the remainder in their younger companions’s glass.
Hinata somehow hasn't noticed that his glass has remained full for the entirety of dinner, and Oikawa and Atsumu have been taking turns filling his glass throughout their meal.
“Yep. And I’m pretty good, if I do say so myself,” Hinata says, eyes alight with laughter. “What do you guys do?”
“We’re lawyers, actually. Also pretty good, if we do say so ourselves,” Atsumu shoots back with a cocksure grin.
“Wow. Really? What’s that like?” Hinata asks with wide eyes, and Oikawa can tell by the way he bounces in his seat that he is practically thrumming with anticipation to ask even more questions. Seriously. The kid is way too cute.
“Hinata-kun.”
Immediately, Oikawa feels a spike of annoyance as their ever-present waiter appears beside their table, not bothering to spare them a passing glance as he fixes his hard stare on Hinata, giving him a brief once-over as though he is inspecting to make sure no damage has been done. Oikawa makes a face at him behind his back that luckily only Atsumu catches, and the blonde hides his snicker behind a loud cough.
“Omi-san!” Hinata greets, hands clasping together, “You were right about the braised pork shoulder! It was amazing. How did you know I would like it?”
Sakusa doesn't meet his eyes as he begins clearing away the empty plates on the table. “I just had a feeling.”
Oikawa looks between the two college students curiously. There's something decidedly off about this interaction, and his lawyer brain is itching to get to the bottom of it.
Luckily, Atsumu seems to quickly catch on as well. “So,” the blonde says, smoothly reaching out to rest his arm behind Hinata’s chair. Oikawa hides his smirk behind his glass when he sees the waiter’s dark gaze following the movement with a half-snarl curling at the corner of his lips, “How do you two know each other?”
Hinata is helping stack the plates in front of him when he seems to pause to consider the question. “Well...we go to school together. And we're both on the volleyball team."
“Is that so?” Oikawa drawls, “No wonder you guys are so familiar with one another.”
Hinata laughs awkwardly at the comment. “Well, we're...”
“Acquaintances,” Sakusa states for the second time that night, pointedly not looking over to Hinata.
“Friends,” Hinata corrects instead, shooting the waiter a confused and almost hurt look.
Oikawa and Atsumu trade a glance.
“Interesting.”
Sakusa clears his throat before Oikawa can continue his line of questioning. “Should I bring the check?”
“I suppose we’re ready to head out, right babe?” Atsumu says, checking the time on his wrist. "It's getting pretty late."
Oikawa hums under his breath lightly and turns to look at Hinata with a slight pout. "But we were just getting to know each other."
Smirking, Atsumu raises his brows. "Well, if Shouyou-kun is interested, he is more than welcome to join us back at our place."
There's a tell-tale blush that reddens Hinata's cheeks instantly at the mere suggestion. "UM. Well. That is..."
"Splendid," Sakusa all but sneers as Hinata struggles to string a coherent sentence together. "I'll get your checks now."
“And we’ll cover the shortie-pie’s check as well," Oikawa calls out.
Hinata, if possible, turns even redder as he begins waving his hands wildly in front of him. “Wait, that’s okay—”
“No need,” Sakusa says in a clipped tone. “His check is already taken care of.”
Oikawa’s brows raise up in surprise as Sakusa departs from their table yet again, but this time, Hinata stands up after him. “Wait! Omi-san!”
But the waiter either doesn’t hear him or is purposely ignores him in his departure. Hinata bites his lip in obvious conflict as he looks back at Oikawa and Atsumu. “He really is acting so weird tonight.”
“Oh,” Atsumu says, “Ya mean he’s not usually like this?”
Hinata pauses, mouth opening in protest before closing again. "Not to me..." he mumbles softly to himself.
"Maybe he's just upset about having to work on the most romantic day of the year," Oikawa reasons consolingly, patting the orange-haired man on the shoulder. "I would be understandably annoyed if I had to watch couples be lovey-dovey all night and not get to partake myself."
"Nah," Hinata shakes his head, "Omi-san doesn't care about stuff like that."
"Oh really?" Atsumu questions disbelievingly.
"Definitely," Hinata insists with a firm nod of his head, "Omi-san has always been more focused on more important things. That's what I admire most about him. He doesn't ever let silly things like crushes and romance distract him from his goals..." He trails off sadly, looking down at his hands.
Now the thing is—Atsumu really doesn't want to have to be the one to say anything. It's none of his business if the rude, uptight waiter is too chicken to make a move on his friend. That's not his problem. The guy has clearly had his fair share of openings, and Atsumu doesn't necessarily feel generous enough to owe anyone any favors.
...But the kid in front of him has this look in his eyes—this shiny and adoring look that's all rainbows and possibilities and Atsumu knows, deep down, that if he and Oikawa get in the middle of it just for a bit of harmless fun, he would never really forgive himself for it.
And besides...it was Valentine's Day.
The least they could do was give these two kids a shot, right?
Judging from the pout on Oikawa's face, the other man seemed to have come to the same conclusion as well. Atsumu sighs and takes one last, long appreciative look at the young man beside them.
"So, about that..."
-
When Sakusa gets off of work, it's already late into the evening and he tries not to think about the sight of Hinata walking out of the restaurant with the two men just half an hour before. The three of them had been laughing and smiling about something as they put on their coats and made their way to the exit. Hinata hadn't even bothered to seek him out to say goodbye...
Roughly loosening the tie around his neck, Sakusa curses aloud. Honestly, he doesn't even know why he feels so upset. He basically encouraged it. Basically, offered Hinata up to those sordid, older men without even much of a fight. What kind of friend did that make him?
Sakusa is about to round the corner of the building to the parking lot when he hears a familiar voice call out to him.
“...Omi-san?”
This time, Sakusa stops in his tracks, and when he turns, he sees Hinata leaning against the side of the building, hands clutching the same bouquet of now wilted flowers.
Sakusa isn't sure what to make of it. “What are you doing here, Hinata-kun? Didn't you leave with those two...?”
Hinata shook his head with a smile. “Nope. Just walked them out.”
Nothing about the situation is still adding up, and Sakusa continues to frown at his teammate in obvious puzzlement. "Then...why are you still here?"
"I was waiting for you to get off," Hinata answers simply, still smiling shyly up at him with bright eyes. "Your coworkers mentioned that your shift ended soon."
Sakusa shakes his head. "But why...?"
“Well," Hinata takes a few steps closer, stopping just a few feet away, "After being stood up myself, I didn’t think it would be in good taste to keep someone else waiting like I did.”
“What do you mean?” Sakusa asks, eyebrows knitting together in confusion.
But instead of explaining, Hinata merely extends the bouquet of flowers out to him. “Thanks for being my date this Valentine’s, Omi-san.”
Sakusa blinks down at the flowers and then back up at Hinata, staring hard at the other boy as though he had just grown a second head right before his very eyes. “I wasn’t your date.”
“Well, you treated me to dinner...” Hinata begins slyly, taking another step forward.
“It was complimentary, really," Sakusa retorts before he can really think about it, wondering why his own heart is beating so fast beneath his server vest.
“...And you provided me with some great dinner conversation. Just like any date should, really," Hinata continues, without missing a beat.
Sakusa shoots him an incredulous look at that. “You’ve got low standards for conversation, then.”
“And I had a lot of fun tonight. Thanks to you. So,” Hinata presses the bouquet into Sakusa’s hands and beams up at him, eyes shining with a mixture of fondness and something more. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Omi-san.”
Sakusa is staring so intently down at the flowers now resting in his hands that he almost misses when Hinata rises up to his tippy toes to press a soft kiss on the side of his cheek.
“See you at practice tomorrow!” The orange-haired boy says with a wave, whirling around on his heel and walking away before Sakusa can even get a word out.
Huh. So, that's what it felt like to be on the receiving end of it.
It takes Sakusa about five seconds before his brain finally catches up to what exactly just occurred. "Hinata-kun! You can't just kiss people without permission!" He calls out to the other boy accusingly. "Think about the germs! It's unsanitary!"
"Then give me permission next time!" Hinata shoots back over his shoulder with a laugh.
And Sakusa finds he has no real counter for that.
...Probably because he no doubt will.