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It starts like this.
Keiji always goes down to Miyagi to visit his brother during the holidays. He doesn’t get to see Hajime much, an unfortunate part of having divorced parents who took each of them to live in different cities, so he always looks forward to whenever school allows him a long enough break to take the train and stay a few days.
The last time Keiji saw Hajime was just before his second year started, and now, a few months later, Keiji’s found himself with a week-long break and train tickets to Miyagi.
And a newly acquired boyfriend practically vibrating out of his seat on the train.
“What if he doesn't like me? I don’t want your brother to not like me, that would be awful, I don’t think I’m terrible but what if he thinks I am?” Bokuto was saying. It was nothing Keiji hadn’t heard at least a hundred times since he asked Bokuto to come with him to meet the other half of his family last week.
“Bokuto. You’re rambling. Again.” Keiji says, and that's enough to get Bokuto to press his lips into a thin line and stare at the scenery passing them by as if it could quell the worries in his mind.
The last time Keiji saw Hajime was just before his second year started, and one important thing had changed in that time.
He’d gotten himself a boyfriend.
The very same person he’d spent the entirety of his first year pining after, and the very same person who was in the process of worrying a hole into his jacket with the way he was picking at the sleeve.
Hajime already knew about it of course. He’d known Keiji was a lovestruck fool, had listened to Keiji rambling over the phone about the ace of his new team who was going to make it big someday, and when he and Bokuto had found themselves stumbling their way through a confession the first thing Keiji did afterwards was call up his brother to scream.
But this would be the first time Hajime was meeting Bokuto in person. The first time he was meeting his boyfriend in person.
And Bokuto was definitely nervous.
Keiji was too, of course. Not because he was worried Hajime would dislike Bokuto persay, but because Hajime could get a tad… over protective.
In other words, Keiji feared Hajime would take the obligatory shovel talk too far and scare Bokuto off.
It was certainly the last thing Keiji needed.
The overhead announcement rang through the train, telling all of the passengers that their train would be arriving in Miyagi shortly.
“Oh gods it's almost time,” Bokuto mumbled, wringing his hands together as he peered out the window at the rapidly approaching station. “He’s going to be at the train station, right?”
“Yes, to pick us up. Oikawa-san will be there too.”
Ah, how could Keiji forget? Not only would Bokuo be meeting his brother for the first time, he would also be meeting his brother’s boyfriend for the first time, at the same time.
What a headache.
But Keiji hoped that having Oikawa there would make this go a bit smoother. Hoped that he could act as a buffer of sorts, against them and whatever attitude Hajime would adopt to meet Bokuto.
The train slid into the station, and while the other riders started to scramble to unboard, Bokuto sat still in his seat.
“It’s really time then,” He said, staring straight ahead as if talking to someone only he could see. “The day of reckoning.”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Keiji rebutted, and started to try and wrestle their bags, packed with enough things for a week-long stay, from the overhead carrier. “There isn't any point in delaying the inevitable, so let's get a move on.”
That got Bokuto to his feet, reaching up to help Keiji with the suitcases while mumbling something about how his heart couldn't handle this kind of stress.
When the two of them stepped out onto the boarding platform, Keiji’s first thought was about how crowded it was. The crowd covered the station like an ever shifting blanket as everyone either stood in front of the train to board, or tried to get to the station's exits.
But there, standing in the back up against the back wall, Keiji spotted familiar spiky black hair and hazelnut waves.
“There they are.” Keiji said, pointing to them and grabbing Bokuto’s hand and to lead the two of them over to the pair standing on the far wall. As they went he was careful to hold his head high, trying to pretend he wasn't as nervous as he really was.
Keiji wasn't even the one who would potentially be getting the shovel talk to end all shovel talks. If Keiji couldn’t hold himself together, how could he expect Bokuto to do the same?
“Way to warn a guy ‘Kaashi.” Bokuto mumbled, and before either of them could say anything else they were stepping out of the worst of the crowd to the less densely populated back portion of the station, where his brother waited.
Keiji could pinpoint the exact moment Hajime spotted them. His gaze immediately landed on Keiji and he perked up, reaching for Oikawa to tap his shoulder and draw him out of whatever video he was watching on his phone.
And then Hajime’s eyes landed on Bokuto, and his expression turned thoughtful. Considering. Contemplative. Like he wasn’t quite yet sure what to make of him.
Keiji could work with that.
Hajime looked Bokuto up and down, like he was a god about to pass divine judgement. He might as well been, Keiji thought; his heart raced as if his brother's approval of his boyfriend was a matter of life and death.
They stopped in front of the two of them, and all was quiet for a moment before Hajime said, “So this is him?”
Bokuto stiffened beside him. “I-it's nice to meet you!”
“Aww you're so nervous!” Oikawa piped up, a sly little grin stretching across his face like he realized just how awkward Bokuto really was and was enjoying every second of it. “Iwa-chan might be gruff but he won’t bite your head off.”
“We’ll see about that.” Hajime muttered.
“Oh stop.” Oikawa smacked his shoulder lightly. “Aka-chi how have you been?”
It was a welcome distraction from the way Hajime was not so subtly eyeing Bokuto carefully. Yes, having Oikawa here was a good idea after all. Still Keiji couldn’t help but think it a little unfair- when Hajime and Oikawa got together last year there was none of this nervous pattering about hoping Keiji would like Oikawa. Hajime had just called him up one day, told him they’d gotten together, and promptly hung up.
Sure it probably helped that he and Oikawa had previously met and gotten along, but still. Hajime was taking this a lot more seriously than Keiji had when their roles were reversed.
“I am doing well, Oikawa-san.”
Oikawa nodded sagely and looped their arms together. “Well we’ve got time to kill don’t you think? Care to walk around town and get acquainted with Bokkun? I can’t have my future brother-in-laws to be not knowing all the best places around here.”
“Brother-in-laws to be?” Bokuto sputtered out the same time as Keiji turned to Hajime, instantly spotting his opportunity to embarrass him.
“Already planning your wedding, Onii-san?”
“Already planning your wedding?”
“As if you’d let me.”
“Damn right! You!” Hajime pointed to Bokuto and it was so sudden that Bokuto jerked and almost dropped the backpack he was carrying. “What’s your favorite food?”
“Uh- Yakiniku?”
Hajime's lips pursed and his eyes narrowed. “Wrong answer.”
“What?!”
“I’m not sure I like this guy Ji.” Iwaizumi muttered under his breath, turning away and beginning to head out of the station so Keiji couldn’t figure out if he was joking or not.
“Oh don’t mind him, he's just over protective.” Oikawa rolled his eyes. “Iwa-chan hold up!”
Bokuto and Keiji stood there for a moment, matching bewildered expressions on their faces.
“Please tell me he’s joking Akaashi.”
“I… honestly don’t know.”
Bokuto’s eyes widened and he stared at Keiji like he’d just told him he’d killed Bokuto’s dog. “What do you mean you don’t know? Are you telling me I might have already ruined having a good first impression?”
Before Keiji could decide if he should give Bokuto false reassurances or face the fact that his brother was being nothing short of a proper pain, Oikawa called to them from where he and Hajime were already at the exit of the train station.
“Hurry up lovebirds! My favorite cafe is having a sale on Milk Bread today!”
“The day is still young.” Keiji said hurriedly, already starting across the platform. “There's still time for you to make a good impression. Hajime is a good egg, I would say. He won't damn you just for existing.”
“He might damn me for dating you! And define good egg.”
“Like… like someone who isn't a punk. I don’t know? It will work out just believe in yourself-”
“Can you flirt later?” Oikawa shouted, and it was enough to get them moving.
They joined them as Hajime and Oikawa stepped out of the busy station, into an equally busy town square. Not nearly as busy and bustling as Tokyo could get, but still enough that Keiji was weary about getting lost.
“Where are you dragging us to?” Hajime asked and Oikawa pointed across the square.
“That cafe on 6th street I always get milk bread from! I can’t let Bokkun leave Miyagi without trying it.”
He didn’t linger much after that, scurrying across the square after grabbing Hajime’s hand to drag him along with.
“So tell me Bokkun,” Oikawa started as they made their way down the streets. Miyagi was nice for wandering around like this- busy enough that the hustle and bustle was infectious but not so crowded it was stifling. “What position do you play?”
Bokuto perked up a bit, as he always did when volleyball was mentioned. “I’m the ace!” He proclaimed, and it sounded like he’d gotten a bit of his confidence back.
All four of them were volleyball nerds, after all. It was convenient. Maybe if they kept the conversation there Keiji could steer it in a good direction.
He wasn't as good at reading his brother as he was with Bokuto, but Keiji still thought he was alright. And knowing Hajime, the best way to appeal to him would be to point out any similarities he and Bokuto had.
So he said, “Just like you, Hajime.” And watched as his brother turned around to survey Bokuto carefully.
“Hmm.” He muttered, but didn’t offer much else. Beside him, Bokuto smiled awkwardly, as if that might make Hajime a little more impressed.
Oikawa chose that moment to turn around. “Then we have two setters and two aces! A perfect match. Maybe it's meant to be, eh Iwa-chan?”
“We’ll have to wait and see about that.” Was all Hajime said, batting OIkawa’s hand away when he tried to nudge his shoulder.
“I don’t think this is going well.” Bokuto muttered, leaning over slightly so that he wouldn’t be overheard. “In fact I think it's going exceptionally bad.”
“Don’t be so negative! He’s not that bad.”
“But he thinks I’m bad!”
“You aren’t as quiet as you think you are.” Oikawa interrupted,and the two of them froze, looking up to see Hajime and Oikawa had stopped to watch them somewhere along the way. “Nervous, are you Bokkun?”
“Uh- yes.”
Hajime was glaring at Bokuto, as impasse as always, but Oikawa was looking at them with a sly grin and a twinkle in his eye that meant he couldn't be up to anything good.
“Obviously that won't do! Can’t be so nervous around your boyfriend's brother after all sooooo,” Oikawa practically danced over, looping his arm with Keiji’s before he could even react. “I’m gonna go show Aka-chi my favorite cafe and you two can get acquainted!”
Bokuto looked like he was on the verge of passing out. Hajime’s face was more or less blank, but there was a small twitch in his eye that made Keiji worried he was two steps away from throwing hands with Oikawa. Out of the two of them Keiji had no idea who was the most alarmed by Oikawa’s idea, but it may as well been Keiji himself.
Leaving Hajime and Bokuto alone? Together? Bokuto was gonna get eaten alive.
And Akaashi did not care to throw a funeral thank you very much.
“Oikawa-san I’m not sure-”
“Shhhhh Akaashi come along.”
And with that Keiji’s words fell on deaf ears as Oikawa started to drag him away.
“The cafe is this way, it really does have the best Milk Bread ever.” Oikawa was saying as Keiji tried to right himself from being dragged away.
“Are you- I’m not sure its the best idea to just abandon Bokuto and Hajime-”
“I know you're worried about them.” Oikawa rolled his eyes, and patted the top of Keiji’s head. “But it will be fine. Just give your brother some time to get used to having Bokkun around.”
“But doesnt it have to be right this minute?”
“No time like the present! But seriously,” Oikawa’s eyes were kind when he glanced at Keiji, like he was taking this far more seriously then he acted like he was. “They’ll be fine. Don’t fuss so much.”
It was like telling an upset child not to smile. No matter how much they resisted, how much they didn’t want to, they would eventually. Oikawa’s words- as comforting as they may be- didn’t do anything to make Keiji any less worried.
But before Keiji could try and turn back the way they came to at least get a glimpse and make sure his brother hadn’t murdered Bokuto, Oikawa was pulling him into one of the many buildings in this part of town.
They entered into a bustling cafe, the air filled with soft chatter from the patrons. Oikawa dragged him over to the counter, but Keiji wasn't paying much attention as he chatted about whatever it was the cafe had to offer, pausing to speak to the cashier.
Things were going south. Very, very south very, very quickly. This was not what Keiji was hoping for when he resolved to take Bokuto to meet Hajime. In fact it was much the opposite. He was hoping to be there every step of the way, try to mediate, hope that Oikawa could act as a buffer of sorts and lighten the mood.
In fact the exact opposite had happened. Now Keiji was standing in a cafe, feeling oddly dazed, while worrying himself sick over everything that could be happening with his brother and boyfriend.
Surely Hajime wouldn’t do more than glare at Bokuto and act icey? Right? Hajime didn’t have access to any bludgeoning weapons, right? He wouldn’t possibly? Right?
“You're thinking so loud everyone in the building can hear it.” Oikawa said suddenly. He had finished talking with the cashier sometime in the middle of Kaiji’s worrying, and he now held in his hands two perfectly cut slices of milk bread. “Don’t you ever get headaches from overthinking all the time?”
He kept one and gave the other to Keiji, starting to walk towards one of the tables by the windows and trusting Keiji to follow. Which he did, albeit slowly.
Oikawa didn’t seem bothered. He plopped himself on the table and patted the other side of it, waiting patiently with that mischievous twinkle in his eye while Keiji sat down.
That sly little smile was still firmly in place. Maybe it had never left in the first place. Oikawa was definitely having too much fun with this.
So he decided to stop beating around the bush. “Do you want to see Bokuto murdered?”
“What?” Oikawa gasped in a terribly over dramatic manner, his eyes widening almost comically. “Of course not, what could you possibly mean?”
“You left him. Alone. With Hajime. You know how he can get.”
“Yeah well,” Oikawa shrugged and flipped his hand dismissively, pausing to take a bite of his milk bread before he spoke again. “I meant what I said about them needing a chance to talk it out. Also well… I thought it would be entertaining.”
“Entertaining?” Keiji repeated incredulously.
“I guess I just wanted to see what state they would be in when they got back. But I have full faith that both of them will be just fine! So it's all alright.” He nodded and settled back in his chair to resume munching on his bread.
Keiji had absolutely no clue where to start processing that. So instead he took his first bite of the milk bread,
It was great. Light and fluffy, a melt in your mouth type of thing. Keiji wasn’t exactly a milk bread fanatic, but he could get behind it if this is what it was like every time. No wonder Oikawa kept singing this place's praises.
But that was beside the point. Keiji still had one big problem on his hands in the form of one over protective brother and a boyfriend who may or may not be dead.
“Even if you are not concerned I certainly am.” He said quietly, continuing the conversation as if it had never dropped.
Oikawa tipped his head to the side, studying him carefully. “You worry a lot. Too much, I’d say.”
“I worry about important things. Such as this.”
“I dunno how many times I’m gonna have to tell you that Bokkun will be fine. He’ll probably impress Iwa-chan with random facts he knows about you. He does know random facts about you, right?”
“Uh- I think so.”
In fact, just this morning when the two of them were about to hop on the train Bokuto had brought an extra pair of earbuds because “You always forget yours ‘Kaashi! Always!” And sure enough, when Keiji checked his pockets his earbuds were suspiciously missing.
Oikawa shrugged. “Then it's fine. But if you are really that worried, we can head back?”
Keiji was already halfway out of his seat.
Luckily for them, Bokuto and Hajime hadn’t moved much from where they left them. Keiji saw the tops of their heads as he got closer, and as far as he could tell Bokuto seemed fine but he didn’t want to take any chances.
Behind him Oikawa was saying something about him “Definitely walking too fast for this time of day” but Keiji didn’t pay him any mind. He didn’t want to give Hajime any more opportunity to decide to terminate Bokuto’s existence then he already had.
When they got closer, Keiji was able to hear the tail end of whatever conversation they were having.
“The trick is you need to wait until the blockers start to fall.” Hajime was saying, his arms halfway held up in the air like he was demonstrating a block. “They move their arms apart sometimes, the gap widens. That's when you smack the ball right between their arms. It's a surefire way to break through any wall.”
Bokuto was nodding along sagely, attention completely transfixed. “But what if you forget to wait to spike?”
“Uh- just… don’t forget.”
“Alright!”
That was… odd. It was almost like they were getting along. Suspicious. A surprise- albeit a pleasant one- but a surprise nonetheless.
“We have returned.” Keiji announced, coming to a stop behind them while Oikawa grumbled as he caught up.
“‘Kaashi!” Bokuto cheered, turning around with a smile on his face. “You're back!”
“I am. What have you two been getting up to?”
“Iwaizumi-san has some really good volleyball advice.” Bokuto glanced at Hajime out of the corner of his eye, almost like he was shy- like the nerves from when they were pulling into the station had returned at full force. “He must be a great ace!”
“Well of course he is!” Oikawa chimed in, throwing an arm over Hajime’s shoulders as he sauntered up. “Only the best from my spikers.”
“Hush up Oikawa.”
“Rude!”
Hajime shook his head, but didn’t raise anymore of a fuss. Instead he turned back to Bokuto and said, “You’ll figure it out kid. You’ve got potential.”
He sounded like an old master passing his wisdom onto a disciple, and Bokuto’s eyes immediately lit up. Keiji didn’t have the heart to point out that Hajime was only a few months older.
He did have the heart to glare at Oikawa when he leaned over to whisper, “See? Told you they’d get along.”
“Yes, you're very wise Oikawa-san.” Keiji drawled, and hoped the sarcasm would be pointed enough.
Oikawa only shrugged.
“Anyway, I’m glad to see you guys getting along.” Keiji continued. “It's about time.”
“Ace’s have to stick together!” Bokuto looked a lot cheerier now, his drooping hair on its way back to normal, like he had taken Hajime's advice like some sort of acceptance. A blessing perhaps, a peace offering between them. Keiji was just grateful that the fear of rejection wasn't quite so omnipresent anymore. “And he has the best advice.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Hajime muttered, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “Guess you're not so bad. You do play the best position after all.”
“Iwa-chan! Rude! I’m right here!”
“Hush up!”
And, well, Keiji supposed he shoulndt have been surprised it was volleyball that ended up bringing them together. What was he expecting, really?
They were a couple of volleyball idiots, but he didn’t think he’d trade them for the world.
“Let's just get home.” Hajime said, cutting off whatever bickering he and Oikawa had been up to. “It's getting late and we need to get you guys set up for the night.”
“It’ll be like a sleepover!” Oikawa threw his arms in the air, already starting off to walk to Hajime’s house. “We can make popcorn and take Buzzfeed quizzes!”
“And watch movies!” Bokuto added, and with that he was grabbing Keiji’s hand and tugging him along to follow, the most at ease he had been since they hopped on the train that morning.
“You guys worked it out huh?” Keiji whispered as Hajime and Oikawa walked a bit ahead, wrapped up in their own conversation.
Bokuto’s smile faded ever so slightly and his gaze fell off to the side. “Well yes… but I had to deal with a pretty intense shovel talk first. It was… a lot.”
Keiji had to press his lips into a tight line to keep from laughing at the haunted expression on his boyfriend's face. “He didn’t give you too much trouble did he?”
“He threatened to hide my ashes in the volleyball they use for games so that everytime he spiked the ball he could also disrupt my ashes so I would never rest in peace. And then he shared his secret trick to smashing through blocks.”
Keiji did laugh at that. Leave it to Hajime.
“Akaashi! It’s not funny! I was being threatened!”
“I know. I’m sorry.” Keiji grinned and looped their arms together. “Let's just get to that sleep over, okay?”
Maybe he had nothing to worry about after all. This was a bunch of volleyball idiots he was dealing with, and Keiji was proud to count himself among them.