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Tobio was bored. And that's not just because right now it's one AM and he's sitting behind a cash register working at his dumb job, a convenience store ('open twenty-four hours!').
But Tobio was also just bored of... everything.
Sure, his new job had its fair share of funny customers. And, anytime anyone showed Tobio the slightest bit of human decency, he felt liberated (people are surprisingly really rude and... rabid, like animals).
But despite the many crazy stories he could list right now, Tobio felt stuck.
Well, he was a twenty two year old college student earning minimum wage and using his spring break to get some extra money by working the late shifts. He probably wasn't the only one who felt this way.
It still sucked.
Sure, he had, like, five friends, and they hung quite out a lot actually, and- wait did Tsukishima count as a friend?
Tobio pondered this for a moment then decided that he had four friends.
But anyways, he just felt no passion for anything. He felt as if he was just going through the motions everyday, and living life as if it was a chore. He drew a little bit, but he'd hardly call it a hobby now that his college classes and job took up most of his time. He’d also just kinda... ran out of inspiration.
Tobio went to a pretty good college on a scholarship, but the scholarship didn't provide room and board.
Tobio's relationship with his parents was rough, so he had no support from them, nor did he expect it. He decided to live in an apartment with his friends from high school, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima (Well, friend and... acquaintance? Tobio had just decided Tsukishima didn't count as a friend) because they had chosen the same college as him.
Or rather, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima chose that one together, and Tobio chose it because it was one of the few he'd gotten a scholarship from. It was also the only one he'd know people at. Going to a college he didn't know anyone at sounded terrifying.
Tobio's parents had never been around when he was younger, and his sister had her own issues, but he didn't mind because his grandfather was all that he needed. He had been Tobio's father figure all throughout his childhood, and Tobio looked up to him. But when his grandfather died, Tobio didn't know what to do.
His family's relationship was the typical 'I won't say anything to you from three months but then out of nowhere I'll scream at you to clean your room' type of thing. A few family vacations every summer, and a silent household that was loud from arguing on occasion.
So, rest of his adolescent years, Tobio had to teach himself how to be independent, and how to support himself. He had barley any friends, so he spent most of him time studying or drawing (at least his constant boredom was the reason he was able to acquire a scholarship).
Tobio could speak his mind if someone annoyed him (which was often), but he froze up anytime someone complimented him and god bless if he tried to compliment someone else.
So, thanks mom and dad, for making him an awkward, grumpy, bitch with anger issues.
Tobio liked having friends now, and having people to talk to, knowing that these people cared about him and liked him enough to stick around. But, in all honesty Tobio felt that he didn't need anyone.
If he needed something, he had himself.
Tobio sighed. That sounded rude.
He doesn't mean to think things like this, the thoughts just pop into his head, unwarranted. And if he said any of this out loud, Yachi would definitely recommend him her therapist. But, no, Yachi, he doesn't need a therapist and no, Oikawa, he is not a stuck up little brat who only cares about himself.
But, in all honesty, Tobio was happy that his friends cared enough to drag him to parties every Saturday, even if being there made him anxious. He was happy his friends stuck around, even on the days when Tobio felt he had no patience left, and would snap at every little thing.
He couldn't really say he was happy that Tsukishima and Yamaguchi made him watch the Twilight movies every other weekend, however. It was mainly Tsukishima's doing, but Yamaguchi was still an enabler.
Tobio's phone vibrated from his back pocket breaking him out of his thoughts. He was going to ignore it, but he reminded himself of earlier this week when Yamaguchi and Tsukishima got lost on their way back to the apartment from a movie at twelve AM.
Tobio was working and had ignored the constant phone calls from Yamaguchi that night but he figured it might be important when Yamaguchi tried to facetime. Tobio answered and saw the concerning sight of Yamaguchi bawling in what looked like an empty alleyway while Tsukishima tried to persuade him to ask someone for directions. Tsukishima's reasoning for not asking someone himself was because Yamaguchi 'looked like the type of person that girls would ask to hold their drinks while they went to the bathroom at a party'.
(Tsukishima apparently did not have the luxury of looking that approachable.)
Countless scenarios of what bad things could be happening snuck their way into Tobio's thoughts and got the best of him. So he pulled his phone out of his back pocket, hastily. He wasn't supposed to be on his phone during his shift, but seriously, who even comes shopping at one AM? He'd only had one customer since twelve, and he doubted a second would show up.
And as if the universe wanted to prove him wrong, the bell by the front door rang, telling Tobio a new customer entered the store.
Tobio didn't look up and started pressing random buttons on his phone, aimlessly, to pretend like he was actually using it. The notification was just from Twitter (not an SOS from Yamaguchi), so Tobio pretended to use his phone, as if he actually had anything going on in there.
Tobio was aware that he'd probably never see this customer beyond this encounter but he felt an urge to look as normal and nonchalant around anyone new he met.
So, he continued to swipe up and down, doing absolutely nothing, on his phone as he heard the customer rummage around near the back isles.
A few minutes passed, and when Tobio was sure the customer wasn't coming out from the isle anytime soon, he saw set his phone down and got a nail file from his pocket and started to file his nails.
Tobio didn't know when he had started to file his nails as often as he does, but it had turned into some kind of ritual that he did when he was nervous.
He used to do it after family dinners, before he had come out, because his dad would say homophobic comments with no shame. He did it all throughout his grandpa's funeral, no matter how much his mom would slap his hand to tell him to stop. Tobio would find a deserted corner at party that his friends would drag him to, and just sit there, filing his nails. He would do it whenever he was embarrassed, or anxious, like right now.
A few more minutes passed and Tobio continued to file his nails when he heard the sound of something hitting the ground, and an 'ow!' that followed.
Tobio raised an eyebrow, for no one in particular, and decided after a few seconds to speak up.
"Are you ok back there?"
The voice spoke up.
"Yeah! Everything's ok!"
The voice was bright and cheery, sounding almost like the feeling you get when you take a sip of lemonade you bought from one of the kids in your neighborhood and it tastes way better than expected (can voices sound like certain feelings and situations?).
This normally would've annoyed Tobio at this hour, because who is this loud at one AM, but the voice was so... happy.
A minute or so passed, and Tobio continued to file his nails. Another loud thud broke him out of his ritual and he looked up to see a fluff of orange lying on the ground, poking out from the medicine and healthcare isle. Boxes of bandaids, rubbing alcohol, and cotton pads laid sprawled out around the fluff.
Tobio stood up to get a better view, and he saw that the crazy, orange color of soft fluff was actually hair connected to a body.
He raised his eyebrow again.
"Are you sure you're ok?"
The head of bright orange hair lifted up hastily, revealing the mystery customers face.
Concern washed over Tobio as he noticed scratches, blood, and scrapes spread all over the strangers face.
Despite the injuries, the customer was also beautiful, and Tobio couldn't look away.
The fluorescent lights illuminated his pale skin, defining slight freckles that Tobio might've missed if the lights weren't so bright. His eyes were opened wide, serving his beautiful chocolate eye-color justice. His pink lips were parted slightly and Tobio allowed himself to think for a second what it would be like to kiss them. His cheeks were flushed a slight pink, and so was his small button nose. His cheekbones were defined, along with his chin and jaw. A dumbfounded look spread over the guys features. Tobio thought he looked like an angel.
The guy nodded with vigor, to tell Tobio he was ok. He sprung up and Tobio realized just how short he was. He was beefy and muscular, but his movements were lithe and graceful. Tobio didn't ignore his thigh muscles that peeked out at the bottom of his shorts.
Tobio also didn't ignore how the scratches and blood seemed to spread to there was well. And all over his arms.
"What the fuck happened?"
Tobio cursed his inability to not be blunt.
The man looked over to Tobio, cheeks flushed from embarrassment.
His eyes didn't linger however (unlike Tobio, who hadn't taken his eyes off the guy since he first saw him) and he started picking up the bandages, rubbing alcohol bottles, and cotton pads that lay around his feet.
"It's nothing! Seriously! Could I buy this?"
Tobio just stared, but eventually nodded, and the man walked over to the cash register.
He set down the items and looked up to Tobio with a smile.
Tobio wanted to stare forever, and at the same time, he didn't. He looked away and started to scan the items.
Out of the corner of his eye, Tobio say the man rocking back and forth on his heels, humming an upbeat tune.
"That'll be... uhm, 2,000 yen." Tobio announced, after he scanned the last item.
The man nodded again, with enthusiasm, and pulled out his wallet. He took out the corresponding amount and handed it to Tobio.
Tobio put the money in the cash register, bagged the items, and was about to hand the bag to the short stranger before he blurted out, "Those scratches look bad. You're bleeding."
The mans eyes widened before he said, "Thanks for letting me me know..." he made a point of looking at Tobio's name tag before continuing. "...Kageyama-kun."
Then he giggled.
Tobio would be ok if this strangers laugh was the only sound he heard for the rest of his life and felt his face heat up at the use of such an endearing honorific. Well, the honorific itself wasn't endearing, it was quite basic actually, but coming out of the redhead's mouth it sounded endearing.
Tobio tried his best to fight down the blush and continued.
"I'm serious. Are you ok?"
The guy made a dismissive gesture and said "Yes, yes, it's no big deal. I-"
Tobio felt bad, but he ignored the rest of what the stranger was saying when a stupidly, idiotic, perfect idea popped into his head.
"You seem stressed. I can help clean the blood and put the bandages on." He interrupted.
Tobio internally kicked himself. He actually hadn't meant to say that out loud.
The man opened his mouth into a small 'o' and just stared, the moonlight coming in from the windows making him look unreal.
"Well, I-" He started.
Tobio was too embarrassed to let himself listen to the strangers rejection, so he stopped him there.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have suggested that. It's just... the bleeding looks pretty bad. And it's really late. But you don't even know me. That was unprofessional of me to ask. I just- sorry."
Tobio had avoided looking at the mans eyes throughout his rant, but when the stranger laughed his beautiful melody of a laugh, Tobio allowed himself to look up.
"No, I was actually going to say yeah!" The man smiled "That would actually help a lot, if you're still ok with it."
"Yes! I mean, sure, I can help." Tobio answered, maybe a little too quickly. "I doubt anyone else will come here this late, anyways, so I have time. Well, I thought that no one would show up at all, until you came. Why are you here exactly?"
Shut your god damn mouth Tobio, you sound like a bitch. A rambling, tired, bitch.
"I came for the bandaids!" The redhead exclaimed, smiling and pointing to the bag Tobio still had in his hand.
Tobio just nodded, too scared to open his mouth. He was afraid he'd say something dumb again, so he just gestured for the man to walk behind the counter.
"Thanks so much for this! I'm Hinata Shouyou by the way!" Hinata (Tobio had a name now) said, skipping around and behind the counter.
The name Hinata Shouyou was perfect for him.
Tobio just nodded again, not offering a name in return, considering Hinata had already seen it on his name tag. As Hinata walked behind the counter, Tobio pushed his chair towards the other far end of the counter, making enough room for the both of them.
Tobio scratched his neck awkwardly and moved his phone and nail file to make room on the counter and said, "You can... Here, you can just sit on the counter and I can just stand, I guess."
Hinata nodded and propped himself up on the space of the counter that Tobio had just cleared, and started swinging his legs back and forth while looking around the store with wide eyes, humming a soft tune.
Tobio just stood there, admiring the endearing sight, but after awhile he realized he couldn't do anything to clean and bandage the wounds if Hinata was kicking the air.
"Uhm, could you..." Tobio trailed off, hoping Hinata would pick up what he was hinting at.
Hinata raised an eyebrow at first, but then stopped swinging his legs abruptly.
"Oh! Yes! Sorry! I can't ever seem to sit still!"
Tobio felt his lips curl up into a soft smile, and Hinata's eyes went wide.
"You have a beautiful smile." He said, with no shame.
Tobio froze, and his mind went blank
How could Hinata just say what he thought about Tobio with no hesitation?
All of Tobio's thoughts were screaming ‘yours is prettier.’ The thoughts were so loud, in fact, that Tobio was surprised Hinata couldn't hear them.
Tobio stood there, just staring at Hinata, hoping Hinata could somehow read his mind and know that Tobio could stare at Hianta's own smile all day.
He wasn't as forward as Hinata seemed to be when it came to compliments, so he hoped his soft expression was enough for Hinata to be able to understand.
They stayed like this for a few minutes, just staring at eachother. A smile played at Hinata's lips even though Tobio's had dropped a while ago, now replaced with just a fond look in his eyes.
The sound of a police car rang through the air as it passed down the street, disturbing the almost intimate moment.
"Well, uhm, I guess I'll clean all the blood that isn't dried first." Tobio managed to say.
Hinata nodded, still smiling, and Tobio wanted to kiss him. Or hug him. Talk to him, forever, or let him talk. Whatever.
Tobio set the bag of supplies down on the counter next to Hinata and grabbed the cotton pads. He opened them hastily, trying to look like he wasn't internally freaking out under Hinata's intense gaze.
He started to dab at a spot on Hinata's leg and looked up to a (still) smiling Hinata.
Tobio frowned.
"Well, uhm, if you don't mind, could you tell me what happened?"
Hinata's smile faltered a little while his cheeks flushed and he just shook his head.
"...Why not?"
Tobio felt bad for prying, but he was worried.
Hinata laughed nervously before looking down and saying, "It's embarrassing."
"Well, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, but if someone is hurting you..." Tobio trailed off, hoping Hinata would get what he was getting at.
Hinata looked back up, surprised.
"Oh, no! It's nothing like that! Not at all!"
Tobio nodded and continued to clean up the blood on Hinata's leg. He didn't want to make Hinata uncomfortable so he left it at that. It made sense, anyways, considering Hinata had scratches and scrapes, not bruises.
It had been a few minutes, and Tobio had moved onto cleaning the blood on the arms, when Hinata spoke up.
"I was attacked by a cat."
Tobio whipped his head up, and he stopped his working abruptly. "You were... attacked by a cat?" He asked, stifling a laugh.
Hinata giggled, and looked into Tobio's eyes.
"I told you it was embarrassing."
Tobio allowed himself to let out a real laugh.
"Did you do anything to, I don't know, provoke it?" He asked, genuinely curious at what Hinata had needed to do to get an animal to attack him.
Hinata was full on cackling now, and so was Tobio.
"No! My dorms laundry machine is broken, so I was just on my way to the stupid laundromat! And now I lost all my dirty clothes!" Hinata exclaimed in his loud, happy, lemonade-y voice.
Tobio had to clutch his stomach because he was doubled over in laughter, and so was Hinata.
A few minutes passed and they just laughed with each other, with not a care in the world, but eventually Tobio went back to cleaning the blood. The two of them fell into a comfortable silence, but one of them still let out a giggle every minute or two.
"My favorite t-shirt was with those clothes." Hinata said, in a more serious tone than necessary, looking down at no particular spot on the ground.
Tobio let out a small, fond laugh.
"It's ok. I don't think animals like me very much, so you're not the only one."
"But that's the thing!" Hinata exclaimed, holding up his pointer finger like Tobio's literature professor did when he was talking about something he was passionate about. "Animals usually love me!"
At this, Tobio cackled, and Hinata joined in.
Tobio stopped to say, "Yeah, you seem like the type of person animals would like."
Hinata sighed. "I thought so too, but that cat seemed pretty 'anti-Hinata.'"
Tobio hummed and looked up in thought. He didn't know Hinata well, but he could tell it would be hard to be anti-Hinata "I don't think so. Maybe he's anti-orange?"
One of Hinata's hands found his hair and his joyful expression flickered. "Yeah, it is an annoying color isn't it?"
Well, that's not at all what Tobio meant.
Tobio shook his head swiftly. "No, no. Not at all. I think it's... I think it's... good."
God damnit Tobio, you're so awkward.
Hinata beamed at this and he started to talk about which three animals he thinks would 'most likely give him a hug if he was sad', while Tobio went back to cleaning the blood on Hinata's arms.
Tobio had known Hinata for like, an hour, at most, but he could already tell Hinata was a very chatty person. Tobio found it intriguing he didn't mind though.
Tobio had usually had a hard time getting to know people, so the only friends he had are people he knew from middle or high school. But, he found himself very comfortable with Hinata. Or, rather, comfortable to let Hinata chat his little mouth off while Tobio listened.
However, right now Tobio was trying very hard not to panic as he moved his hand up to dab at the first bloody spot on Hinata's face. They were so close could feel Hinata's breath on his face.
Tobio cautiously pressed a cotton pad onto a spot on Hinata's cheek as Hinata rambled about whatever came to his mind.
Tobio's heart skipped a beat when his knuckle brushed up against Hinata's cheek and he quickly cleaned the rest of the blood off Hinata's face, trying to ease the tension that was probably only one sided.
Tobio cleared his throat awkwardly as he threw the last cotton pad in the trash and said, "Ok, I got up all the blood. Now I'll clean all the scrapes with the rubbing alcohol. This might burn a little, by the way."
Hinata made a thumbs up with his hand and smiled his blinding smile.
Tobio forced himself to look away and poured some rubbing alcohol on a cotton pad when Hinata spoke up.
"Uh, thanks again, for doing this. You really don't have to continue if you don't want to. I kinda feel bad." He said, then laughed awkwardly.
Tobio's eyes widened in surprise. Did Hinata not know that Tobio would rather do this than anything else right now? Did he not know that Tobio had been so, incredibly bored until Hinata had walked (fell) into the store?
Actually Hinata didn't know any of this, beacsue Tobio was so bad at... feelings and can't tell someone he likes them for the life of him.
"It's ok." Tobio explained starting to clean the first scratch. Hinata winced slightly. "I would've been bored otherwise. Plus, you're a fun person."
Tobio knew he had downplayed his words a little, because what he was thinking was so much more intimate, but he hoped Hinata knew how deep those words really went.
Hinata smiled. It was smaller than his other previous ones, but bright nonetheless. It was more intimate, and fond.
"Thank you." Was all Hinata said in return, but it was more than enough for Tobio, so he left it at that.
Tobio finished cleaning out all the scrapes and scratches on Hinata's legs, and moved up to his arms when his curiosity got the best of him.
"Do you live in the city?"
Hinata nodded.
Tobio internally pumped a fist with excitement and remembered Hinata had mentioned something about a dorm earlier, so he decided to pry a little more.
"Do you go to a school or university nearby?" Tobio asked as nonchalantly as he could manage. He could feel his cheeks burning, though, and he'd basically blurted the question out.
Hinata seemed unfazed, however, and answered after a few seconds.
"Yeah! I got to a university, like, three blocks from here."
Tobio froze.
"Karasuno?"
Hinata nodded, hesitantly.
Well put glasses on Tobio and call him Tsukishima, because this is a total blonde moment.
"I go there too." Tobio deadpanned.
Hinata's expression brightened.
"Oh, really? I can't believe I haven't seen you before!"
Tobio sighed and went back to cleaning a spot on Hinata's arm.
"Me too." He muttered, mostly to himself.
He knew if he had met a person like Hinata, he wouldn't have forgotten. But at least now he knew it was a possibility he could see Hinata after tonight. He could always bite the bullet and ask for Hinata's number, or even invite him out on a date, but Tobio was a spineless coward.
After cleaning out the wounds on Hinata's arm, Tobio got out a new cotton pad and turned his attention back to Hinata.
"Ok, I'm going to clean out the scratches on your face. Sorry if it hurts. But, I know a guy who had cat scratch fever once and it was really bad, so I kinda have to do this."
Tobio thought back to when a stray cat had scratched Iwazumi and he'd gotten sick. Oikawa brought it up almost every day, and Iwazumi threatened to cut up Oikawa's alien hoodie once. When Oikawa didn't let up on the jokes, Iwazumi went through with his promise. Oikawa cried. (Iwazumi bought Oikawa a new hoodie for Valentine's day, however.)
Hinata just gulped and nodded, then took in a small breath.
Tobio cautiously raised the rubbing alcohol doused cotton pad up to Hinata's face before placing it lightly on a scratch and rubbing it up and down gently.
Hinata winced slightly but relaxed after a few seconds, letting Tobio clean the scratches seamlessly.
Tobio continued to do this easily, with a random 'ow!' from Hinata every now and then, but when he got to the last spot on the skin, underneath Hinata's eye, Tobio felt a foot land square in his gut.
Hinata packed a surprisingly powerful kick in that small body of his.
Tobio dropped the cotton pad that was in his hand and bent over, holding his stomach and groaning.
Hinata's hands rushed to cover his mouth in shock. He giggled a little before shaking his head, as if feeling disappointed in himself, and went back to a serious expression.
"I am so sor-" Hinata started, but was quickly interrupted by Tobio.
"Hinata, you idiot!"
Thankfully, Hinata didn't take Tobio's insult seriously and he allowed himself to laugh, not covering up the fact the he thought this was funny.
"God, that hurt!" Tobio said, straightening out of his bent-over position.
"I- I really a-am s-sorry!" Hinata said, breathless and laughing his ass off.
Hinata's laugh was contagious, so Kageyama stifled a laugh of his own, but then continued to yell.
"Why? Why? This is worse than the time in sixth grade when someone gashed my head in with Host Club volume two!"
"W-what?!" Hinata asked, still laughing.
"Yeah, they used the corner part of the spine and it hurt! But this hurts more! Why?"
Hinata wasn't laughing anymore, just wheezing practically as tears formed in his eyes.
"I- I d-didn't mean to! That skin was sensitive!"
Tobio sighed and clutched his stomach again. He looked up to a flushed, smiling Hinata, but then a serious expression washed over his previously amused face while he struggled to stop laughing. They stared at each other with a serious expression, but it was obvious Hinata was trying not to start laughing again.
Tobio slipped out a giggle.
That was the breaking point for the both of them, and they both started to full on cackle.
Tobio's stomach hurt like a bitch, but he couldn't say he minded.
They laughed for a few minutes before Tobio picked up the cotton pad he dropped and managed to control his laughter long enough to count down from three, and quickly swipe at the spot on Hinata's cheek.
Hinata winched and slapped the space on the counter next to him once, twice, then finally relaxed and looked over to Tobio.
Tobio threw the cotton pad in the trash can with a flourish and said, "All done." like they'd both just finished running a marathon.
Hinata nodded stiff and quick, like there was some unspoken bond between them now because Tobio had managed to do that without getting kicked again.
They stood there silently for a few minutes, awkwardly, before Hinata spoke up.
"I love Host Club."
Tobio laughed softly, nodding his head, and said, "Yeah, me too."
Hinata threw his arms up with enthusiasm and exclaimed "Bandaid time!"
Tobio nodded and opened the bandaid box and pulled out the first bandaid. He opened it swiftly and placed it on a scratch on Hinata's leg. Hinata clapped as if Tobio had just saved a dog from drowning.
Tobio continued to put bandaids on various places around Hinata, quickly and efficiently, throwing trash away in the process. In the end, he had placed a total of twenty-one bandaids on Hinata. Nine on his legs, eight on his arms, and four on his face.
"Yay! Yay!" Hinata exclaimed in his lemonade-y voice, over and over again. When Tobio realized Hinata wouldn't be stopping his cheering anytime soon, he joined in and both of them threw in a few 'We did it!'s. Hinata hopped down from the counter and started to jump around. Eventually Tobio joined in with the jumping.
The two of them practically danced around the store, screaming and laughing but when Tobio got sight of the clock that read two-thirty, he stopped and turned to Hinata.
"You idiot, that took forever!"
Hinata froze, with his hands in the air, and turned to look at the clock slowly.
"Oops." He said, his arms still in the air. "Well, thanks for doing that! Seriously! You're fun to talk to."
Tobio stood there awkwardly, but eventually just ‘tsk'd’ and turned his face away from Hinata, hiding the blush that was creeping up onto his face.
"Whatever. You're kinda cool too." Tobio muttered.
Hinata dropped his arms and beamed, and Tobio just stared. Tobio could stare forever if Hinata would let him.
"What do you wanna do now?" Hinata asked after a few seconds.
Tobio thought Hinata would've just left after he helped bandage his scratches, and Tobio would be left alone with this... whatever he was feeling towards the other man. But if Hinata wanted to spend a little more time with Tobio, he didn't mind. He wasn't sure why Hinata would want to, but Tobio was too content to question the smaller boys logic.
Tobio thought for a minute before deciding to ask "Wanna watch Host Club?"
Hinata nodded enthusiastically while jumping up and down.
"Ooh, let's get some candy too!" Hinata exclaimed.
Tobio looked up to the ceiling in thought. Candy did sound good.
"Ok." He said, before smirking and adding in, "None for you though. You're already too hyper."
Hinata stopped jumping and gaped after at Tobio, offended.
"Am not!" Hinata screamed. "That's not fair! What are you, my babysitter?"
Tobio snickered before saying, "No, but you could probably pass as a twelve year old."
Hinata started screaming random obscenities at Tobio, and jumped at him, toppling them both to the ground.
They fought on the ground for awhile, laughing and screaming, but then Tobio heard the bell by the front door ring.
Hinata froze and Tobio sprung up, looking towards the door.
It was just a middle aged man, no one important, and all he did was give them a weird look before walking over to the protein bar isle.
Healthy food? At nearly three AM? Gross.
Tobio shuddered before rushing back over to the counter. He pulled his chair back into the middle of sat down in front of the register, ready to help the customer.
Hinata waved from where he was sitting on the ground, then sprung up and ran over and into the candy isle. Tobio groaned.
Five minutes passed before the middle aged man walked out from his isle, nothing in hand.
The man waved to Tobio before walking out of the store, not having bought anything.
Tobio flipped up his middle finger in the general direction of the door after he was sure the guy wouldn't come back in, and rushed out from behind the counter and into the candy isle.
He found Hinata holding many bags of sugary and sour candy in his arms, and even one bag draped over his unruly hair. Tobio raised an eyebrow and Hinata just smiled.
As much as Tobio hated to admit it, Hinata looked really endearing right now.
Tobio just stared, expecting Hinata to do or say something, but then just grabbed a chocolate bar off one of the shelves and walked out of the isle.
He heard Hinata run up behind him and the rustling of candy bags.
"I'll pay for this!" He exclaimed.
Tobio shook his head and said, "It's ok. I get a discount so I'll just reimburse the store later."
Hinata nodded and the bag of candy fell off his head.
Tobio snickered and continued to walk towards the counter. He got to the front side of it, and propped his phone on the ground where the counter wall and ground met.
"We'll just sit here on the ground, there's no room behind the counter and I only have one chair." Tobio explained.
Hinata nodded and plopped down into a crisscross-applesauce position in front of Tobio’s phone, dropping all the candy in his lap.
Tobio sighed, but smiled, and sat down next to him.
Tobio grabbed his phone and unlocked it, then started pulling up Host Club. He found the first episode, pressed play, and set the phone back down.
Hinata ripped open a bag of candy on his lap, shoved a handful into his mouth, then held the bag out to Tobio, as if offering him some.
Tobio politely declined then opened the bar of chocolate in his hand and took a bite.
As the episode went on, the talked about their favorite scenes, characters, and even other shows they enjoyed besides this one.
Tobio’s favorite character was Haruhi, and Hinata’s was Kyoya. Tobio found the twins scary, and Hinata found them amusing. They disagreed on almost everything, but there were also certain things that they both passionately agreed on.
Tobio found himself talking easily and freely. Maybe his drowsiness was catching up with him.
No, Tobio knew that wasn’t it. Right now, he felt fully awake. He knew Hinata was the cause of this.
He knew Hinata was the reason he felt so content, so comfortable. Hinata had this certain air to him that made Tobio want to tease Hinata, but also made him want to just sit and talk for hours.
If someone who didn’t know them saw them right now, they’d think that Tobio and Hinata had been friends since childhood, and had not just met about two hours ago.
They finished the first episode and Tobio was about to start the next one when Hinata saw the time.
“Dang! It’s almost three! I promised my roommate I’d be back before then!” Hinata said (screamed).
“You ate all your fucking candy. What the fuck.” Tobio deadpanned, and effectively changing the subject, noticing the empty candy bags lying around Hinata.
Honestly, he was just buying time. He wanted to muster up the courage to ask Hinata on a date before he left.
Hinata laughed (what a beautiful sound).
“Uh, yeah, my stomach hurts.”
Tobio smiled. “So does mine.”
Hinata laughed again. “Sorry about that again! I really didn’t mean to! But, I actually do need to get going. Kenma will murder me if I’m injured and late.”
Tobio nodded slightly (he guessed Kenma was the roommate). “Ok. Will you be ok walking back by yourself? It’s really late.”
Hinata opened his eyes wide, and turned to look Tobio in the eye, scared.
“What if I get attacked by a cat again?”
Tobio laughed, and Hinata joined in after a few seconds.
“I mean, I would walk you back, but my shift isn’t over until four.” Tobio explained.
Hinata smiled.
“Yeah, I under- wait, you’d walk me back?” He asked, a teasing tone to his voice.
Tobio flushed.
“W-well I mean, yeah, I guess.”
Hinata nodded to himself.
Tobio was about to say fuck it and just ask Hinata for his number when Hinata spoke up.
His cheeks were flushed. He looked really embarrassed.
“Hey, do you wanna, I don’t know, go-“
“Yes.” Tobio interrupted.
Hinata got more red, if that was even possible.
“H-hey, you don’t know what I was going to say!” He said, sounding as lemonade-y as ever.
Tobio smilied and raised an eyebrow.
“I think I know what you meant.”
Hinata glared at Tobio for a minute before grabbing Tobio’s phone out of his hand, shoving it into Tobio’s face to unlock it, then brought it up close to his own face and started typing away.
Tobio just let him.
He handed it back to Tobio after a few minutes, and it was open to a new contact.
“shouyou (^з^)-☆”
Tobio smiled fondly at his phone before looking back up to a blushing Shouyou.
Shouyou sprung up and started waking towards the door. He was about to open it when he turned back to Tobio.
“See you later ‘Yama!” He exclaimed, then ran off into the cool night air, orange hair bouncing away.
Tobio stared at Shouyou’s retreating figure for a few seconds before looking back down at his phone to start typing a new message.
Today, 2:58
Me: Txt me when u get there
Today, 2:58
Me: Loser
Tobio stood up and walked over to the stationary isle. He grabbed a pencil and a brand new (orange) notebook and took it back with him to the counter. He opened it up and started to draw (he had a new source of inspiration), for what felt like the first time in years. It probably was.
He drew lemonade. And a certain loser.