Archive of Our Own

Ennoshita couldn't explain Kageyama's hostility to Hinata, sometimes. He thought it was just natural rivalry between them, and when it came up with Oikawa, he thought the same thing applied. At a different level between them--less hostility, more wariness--but Iwaizumi was easily provoked by Oikawa, too, so he didn't know what to think about Oikawa.

Oikawa didn't seem like an annoyance or threat off the court. He had an arm around Kageyama's shoulders, but the too-pleased curve of his lips and the quiet grimace from Oikawa undermined the implied friendliness in the gesture.

"And who is this? Tobio, introduce us." Oikawa stepped up to Ennoshita, but Kageyama slipped out from under his arm.

"I'm not sorry," Kageyama said to Ennoshita as he stalked away.

They were still in the middle of cleaning up from a practice match, and progress was slow as people from the teams talked to each other. Kageyama was trying to avoid most of Seijou, but Ennoshita could see Hinata trapping Kageyama in a conversation with Kunimi and Iwaizumi.

"Sorry, did you say something?" Oikawa asked. "I still haven't heard you say your name."

Ennoshita extended his hand. "I'm Ennoshita Chikara."

"Oh, a handshake? That's more than I've ever gotten from someone from Karasuno." Oikawa shook his hand, and Ennoshita thought Oikawa was right, a handshake felt too formal.

"Thank you?" Ennoshita let his arm fall. Oikawa's grip was strong, and his hand felt limp afterward.

Oikawa crossed his arms and looked Ennoshita over. "I didn't see you on the court today."

"I'm an ordinary player."

Oikawa brought his hands to his chest. "So am I." His eyes flickered to Kageyama, but Ennoshita didn't understand why.

Ennoshita raised an eyebrow. "Alright."

"Once you get more experience, I'm sure you'll appear on the court. Karasuno doesn't have very many players. Maybe you'll even become a regular in your second year."

"I'm already a second year." 

"Really?" Oikawa tilted his head and glanced over him again. "Well, at least you're not a third year."

Oikawa had his hand in the air to gesture with his words, but at that, he tucked it to his side. "Oh. Right."

"Do you know who he is?"

"He's #2," Oikawa said with a nod, pleased with his answer. "And Sawamura's your captain. I know everyone's names by now."

Ennoshita pointed at Kinoshita. "Then who is he?"

Oikawa snorted, but his eyebrows knitted when he bent his head for a better look. "Who is he? Who is he? You're just joking. He doesn't go to Karasuno."

"I'm sure you know he doesn't go to Seijou."

"Then who is he? Your brother?"

Ennoshita shifted his weight to his other foot, leaning to the side to emphasize his pointed stare. "He's wearing practice clothes."

Oikawa waved his hand. "I'll just ask him." Oikawa walked away.

He passed Kageyama and Hinata talking with Iwaizumi, and Ennoshita decided to follow. Up close, he could see Kageyma clearly uncomfortable, but Hinata was bright-eyed and bouncing on his feet, his arms flapping a little.

When Ennoshita joined Kinoshita and Oikawa, moving to form a triangle between the three of them, Kinoshita turned. Kinoshita's mouth was twitching, and his eyes were glittering.

"Chikara, why'd you tell him I'm on the team? I'm your brother."

Ennoshita breathed in through his nose. "We don't have the same last name."

Kinoshita nodded to Oikawa. "Step brother," he amended.

Ennoshita's shoulders tightened, and he swiveled around Kinoshita to push him by his back. "I'm not going to use you to make a point ever again."

Kinoshita slid a few inches before Ennoshita decided to shove him. Kinoshita stumbled, but he didn't even look back as he jogged to catch up with Narita and Tanaka.

"He's a second year," Ennoshita said. "Those three are second years. So is Noya."

"It's okay, I understand." Oikawa patted Ennoshita's shoulder. "You don't want me to meet your family. No worries, we've just met."

Ennoshita cleared his throat. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Yes. But how can I trust you? Is Suga really a third year? Is your name even Ennoshita?"

Ennoshita found the conversation pointless now. He tried to walk away, but Oikawa strolled alongside him, his head bending forward to maintain eye contact.

"You look tired. Is that why you got confused? You should get some rest."

Irritating comments slipped out of Oikawa's mouth too easily. Ennoshita didn't know how he could shift the topic from one annoying thing to another, right on its mark, right where Ennoshita told people it wasn't that funny. Ennoshita couldn't sharpen the sleepy curve of his eyes, even if he was grimacing or glaring, and his current gaze wasn't cutting it either.

"I'm wide awake."

"I hope so. Wouldn't want our first meeting to be forgotten by either of us."

"Whatever he did, I'm sorry," Iwaizumi said. "Oikawa gets really annoying with people he likes. And by that, I mean people he thinks are fun to tease."

"Thanks for that. The clarification, I mean." Ennoshita nodded, and Iwaizumi left to return to Oikawa.

Ennoshita weaved until he found Nishinoya and Kinoshita. Narita and Tanaka were helping Daichi with the remaining clean up, but the other two were talking and and laughing. When they saw Ennoshita heading over, Nishinoya moved to skip and pop up in front of him.

"Were you talking with Oikawa?"

Ennoshita gently pushed him to the side to address Kinoshita. "Did you have to do that, Kinoshita? Really?"

Kinoshita grinned. "Come on, it was funny."

"Oikawa's the wrong person to do that with."

"Why? Is he mean?" Kinoshita asked.

 "Not mean, but…"

"He's cool," Nishinoya chimed in. "His serves are the best. They're fun."

"He looks harmless," Kinoshita said.

Ennoshita agreed, he was ultimately harmless, but Kinoshita probably said that to egg him on further.

Ennoshita didn't think about telling the same to the others. Hinata and Kageyama were sitting in front of him on the bus ride home, talking with grumbles and high surprised whispers, and Ennoshita knew the conversation was about Oikawa. Oikawa came up after Hinata described the first time he spiked a ball past Oikawa, and Ennoshita could hear Kageyama shift restlessly in his seat.

Hinata moved, too, and Ennoshita saw his head rise to peer over the seat. "Ennoshita, you were talking with Oikawa earlier, right?"

"I tried. Why?"

Hinata's head dipped down as his hand rummaged around, and when he looked back up, he presented his phone.

"Oikawa told me to give you his number."

Ennoshita's eyes slid past the phone to return to Hinata's face. "Why?" he repeated.

"I didn't ask." Hinata nudged his hand closer. "So?"

Iwaizumi had to be unaware of this. He was the one to interrupt them and force Oikawa to leave. Oikawa probably slipped into Hinata and Kunimi's conversation afterward.

Ennoshita kept staring up. "How'd he give his to you?"

Hinata shrugged. "He just told it to me."

"Hinata, let it go, he doesn't want it." Kageyama tugged on Hinata's arm.

"You know what? Just give it to me." Ennoshita extended his hand. Hinata happily deposited the phone in his palm for him to see the number. 

Ennoshita wasn't planning on actually calling Oikawa. He just took the number to have Hinata technically fulfill Oikawa's request so he could stop prodding him about it. He told Hinata that, and that seemed to appease Kageyama. Kageyama scooted back down and settled against the window.

"Ooh," Hinata said. "I'm telling Oikawa." Hinata slid down, too, and Ennoshita saw Hinata's phone light up.

Ennoshita wasn't concerned about what Hinata was doing, since Hinata didn't have his number. "Did you really I think wanted his number? I was sort of joking."

Hinata got up and leaned over again, closer this time. He offered his phone.

"It's Oikawa," he said while mouthing the words quietly, pointing at the lighted screen.

Ennoshita groaned. It was loud enough for Oikawa to hear, and Oikawa piped up.

"I can hear you."

Ennoshita bent closer. "Goodbye, Oikawa." He pressed the end call button and pushed Hinata back.

"I thought you liked Oikawa," Hinata whined.

"I thought you didn't." Ennoshita's back fell on the seat, and he sighed as his arms slumped.

Nishiniya stood up to whisper to Hinata and Kageyama. Ennoshita didn't bother listening. He turned to the window to stare out in boredom.

A few hours later, Ennoshita's phone started vibrating on the living room table. He reached for it instinctively, but he froze when he realized who was calling.

He scratched his head. "I'm going to really regret this."

Ignoring the call didn't cross his mind until later. He just thought of how rude it'd be to not pick up, since he tried it with Nishinoya once and Nishinoya gave him the cold shoulder for a day. A day was impressive with Nishinoya; he usually caved after a few minutes and wanted to talk right away.

"Hi, Oikawa."

"Finally," Oikawa said. Ennoshita could already hear the teasing slide into Oikawa's tone, and he shifted in his seat warily.

"How did you find my number?"

"Someone gave it to Hinata."

"I hate my entire team," Ennoshita muttered.

"They mean well, I think."

Ennoshita's pencil resumed writing on his homework. "Why are you calling, Oikawa?"

"I'm just interested in talking with you. Unless you want to sleep? I can--"

"I'm doing homework."

"So you're not busy, then."

Ennoshita stabbed his pencil into the paper, and the tip broke off.

"It's a shame that you don't live close by. Then I could do this in person."

Ennoshita reached for another pencil instead of sharpening the one he had. He tried to continue working, but instead of putting the phone down, he held it to his ear. And Oikawa kept talking.

"What are you doing homework for?"

"I'm just going to sit here quietly."

Ennoshita wasn't paying attention to his homework anymore, but mindless scribbling was still feasible. He switched to a different piece of paper, one where he could complete his repetitive homework, the kind where he had to rewrite a word and its definition multiple times.

"Have you ever tried to hit Tobio's tosses? You've probably just spiked vice captain's tosses. Tobio-chan can spike, which is annoying. Shorty told me."

"Do you ever call anyone by their real names? Aside from Kageyama?"

He heard Oikawa hum, and he realized that Oikawa was intentionally provoking him, just so Ennoshita could talk. Even if it was to correct him or question him.

"I thought I just did?"

Ennoshita's phone vibrated against his ear, and he pulled it away to see new messages from Nishinoya.

"Oikawa, as...lovely...as this has been, I think I need to hang up now. I really do have homework, and my phone keeps getting notifications from people."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know I was hogging someone so popular," Oikawa said. His voice was too light for Ennoshita to believe he was annoyed. "I'll give you up, then. Goodnight, Enno."

The call beeped to an end, and Ennoshita lowered his phone in surprise. He didn't expect Oikawa to hang up before he did.

Ennoshita eyed his phone when it was lying on the table or desk. Expecting Oikawa to call again was probably a bad sign, but Oikawa didn't do it the next day. He waited until the weekend, and by then Ennoshita started to assume it was just a one-time fluke.

Ennoshita raised an eyebrow at the name lit on his phone. He picked it up and asked, "Oikawa...?"

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what'? You're the one who called."

"Are all your greetings rhetorical questions?"

"This is only our fourth time talking to each other. How would you even know?" Ennoshita asked. He was walking home from practice, so he didn't have an excuse ready to abandon the call. A distraction from the walk would've been nice, but all he had was Oikawa's voice.

"You've kept track? How cute."

Ennoshita thought a comment tacked on such as I didn't know you could count was forthcoming, but then he remembered that Kageyama and Hinata were the ones who said that to each other. Oikawa wasn't that patronizing.

Ennoshita sighed. "Calling me cute is dangerous territory."

"Hm. Nah."

"Don't say that I'm--"

"You looked sleepy the last time we met. It reminds me of Kunimi."

Ennoshita's eyebrows wrinkled. Kunimi was a strange reference, even if it was true. Kunimi reminded Ennoshita more of Kenma than himself, though.

"I'm curious. Is Iwaizumi near you?" Ennoshita asked.

"No. Why?"

"Do you only call when Iwaizumi's not around?"

"Iwa-chan lets me call whoever I want." The petulance creeping in made Ennoshita think that Iwaizumi would've scolded Oikawa for bothering him again. Except it wasn't really "bothering" anymore at this point, since Ennoshita kept accepting it.

"Actually, where are you? Are you at Seijou?"

"I'm at home."

"Don't you have volleyball practice or homework to do?"

Ennoshita heard rustling from Oikawa's end. "Mm, nope. I'm fine right now. Why? Do you want to do something?"

It was a trap, Ennoshita was sure. Both phone calls were, really, and Oikawa dragged Ennoshita in so effortlessly, Ennoshita could only sigh.

"I have a lot to do today."

Oikawa's tongue clicked. "Oh. That's too bad. Some other time, then," Oikawa reassured, vaguely sealing himself into Ennoshita's social life.

"Some other time," Ennoshita repeated.

Oikawa kept talking for a few more minutes. When a lull in the conversation came up, Oikawa made a cordial, voluntary exit and hung up. Ennoshita was glad he didn't play the no, you hang up game.

He slipped his phone into his pocket and continued walking.

Oikawa didn't text him. He called at sporadic intervals, sometimes with just a day or a few hours in between, and one time it took a week. Ennoshita picked up every time, and he bristled when Tanaka commented on it.

"You look at your phone a lot. Are you expecting a call?"

Nishinoya tilted his head curiosity.

"No real reason. I just wanted to know what time it was."

Kinoshita's hand landed on Ennoshita's phone, and he slid it away. "Then you wouldn't mind if I put it away, would you? You're too distracted."

Nishinoya nodded with a wrinkled nose. "You said you were going to help me with homework."

Ennoshita scooted his chair closer to Nishinoya. "You're right. Sorry, Noya. What did you need help on?"

Nishinoya tapped a page in his school book and gestured with his chin. Ennoshita left his homework to the side to focus on Nishinoya's. After half an hour, Nishinoya was begging for a break.

"I'm hungry," Tanaka said.

Ennoshita stood up. "Hint taken. I'll get some food."

He walked into the kitchen and pulled some chips and cookies out of cupboards. When he returned, he found his phone in Kinoshita's hand.

"Enno, it's for you." Kinoshita leaned to hand it over.

Ennoshita dumped the snacks to grab it. "Who is it?" he asked quickly.

"It's that guy who thinks I'm your brother." Kinoshita said it loudly, and Ennoshita thought it was intentional.

"He's not my brother," Ennoshita said into the receiver.

"And hello to you, too," Oikawa said.

Ennoshita sat down with the phone pressed to his ear. Nishinoya was watching him with bright eyes, but the others were ripping through food packages to eat. Tanaka was the first to successfully tear through the wrapping to get to the sugar cookies inside.

"I'm busy."

Oikawa whined, voice matching the creaking and rustling of whatever he was doing on his end. "You're always busy. Are you sure you're not just trying to avoid me?"

Nishinoya bent his arm on the table, resting his elbow as his mouth opened. "He's not busy right now, Oikawa. We'e taking a break from homework."

"Oh?"

Ennoshita didn't like whatever was coloring Oikawa's voice. He turned in his seat to face away from Nishinoya. "Only for a few minutes."

"Perfect timing, then."

"No, terrible timing. You should have called later."

"It's a real shame. If only there was a way for us to not be interrupted..."

Ennoshita dropped his chin into his palm. "What are you getting at?"

"Want to talk in person?"

Ennoshita sat up. That was the second time Oikawa suggested it, and again, Ennoshita couldn't say yes. He was working with the other second years, and Nishinoya had already twitched and complained to remind him that he wanted Ennoshita's time.

"Not now, Oikawa, I'm busy." Ennoshita could barely finish his sentence before Kinoshita's arms flopped on the table with a groan.

"Just go," Kinoshita said. "Oikawa's just going to distract you more, even after you hang up."

Ennoshita moved the phone to hiss at Kinoshita. "Be quiet."

"I'm a distraction?" Oikawa asked.

The phone shouldn't have been loud enough for them to hear, and Oikawa probably shouldn't have heard Kinoshita either, but they were too loud. In an otherwise quiet room of just them.

"You keep calling, so yes, you're distracting."

Oikawa gave another one of his pleased hums. "Is that so? Then you can simply stop answering, you know."

"Yeah," Narita said.

"Stop eavesdropping." Ennoshita moved his hand to cover the side of his phone, but he didn't think it was a sufficient buffer between them.

Nishinoya pulled his notebook closer. "I can still hear Oikawa," he said as he flipped his notebook open. Instead of writing, though, he reached for a handful of chips, and he turned the pages over absentmindedly.

Ennoshita heard Oikawa, too. Oikawa was cooing remarks into the phone, slinging them as comfortably as if he was slinging his arm on a counter while standing.

"Can't hang up? I didn't know I was so hard to resist."

"I'll hang up." Ennoshita didn't, though.

"I'll save you the trouble, then. Bye, Enno." The call clicked to an end within seconds.

Enoshita lowered his phone with a frown. "He didn't let me hang up."

When he raised his head, he saw the four of them staring. Tanaka's hands were still lying on the pack of cookies, eyebrow arched.

"For someone who's complaining, you don't look it," Nishinoya said.

Ennoshita pressed his lips together, but he was now too aware of the traitorous upward curve of his mouth. He couldn't hide it. He slapped a hand on a piece of paper, the sound startling them.

"Get back to your homework, Noya."

Ennoshita wasn't weak, but the jokes and comments they made about his phone calls with Oikawa made him side-eye them. They couldn't let something like this pass by. "Pretty boy" was only used once, and Ennoshita was glad Tanaka didn't say it more, but throughout the rest of their study session they glanced around and muttered.

Narita slipped a hand to his mouth. "Bok bok bok--"

"Stop it."

Nishinoya flapped his arms, and Ennoshita closed his book. "You know, I think we've worked enough for one day."

Kinoshita shrugged and stuffed his papers into his backpack, nodding in agreement.

"Are you going to call Oikawa now?" Tanaka asked. "Or are you too chicken?"

"Are you guys five?" Ennoshita asked. 

"He's a chicken," Kinoshita whispered.

Ennoshita gathered his belongings and zipped up his backpack. He hooked his arms through the straps. "I'm going now."

"Bye!" Nishinoya called out cheerfully.

They all waved. Kinoshita was heading out, too, but the other three still sat at the table and ate.

"I don't think they got much work done," Kinoshita murmured to Ennoshita when they closed the door.

"I don't think so, either."

Ennoshita hitched his backpack straps up and walked with Kinoshita. They lived close by, but Kinoshita lived closest, and they were already in front of his house within a few minutes.

"See ya, Chikara." Kinoshita waved as he opened the door with his other hand, already turning to enter.

Ennoshita resumed walking, frowning in thought as he glanced at the sky. The sun was still out, but it was low in the sky. It was going to get dark soon.

He sat at home still frowning, tapping his foot against the table leg. He wasn't weak, but he still caved to the wordless nagging in his head that made him check his phone. His fingers swiped to his contacts, and he resigned himself to the ringing that preceded Oikawa's presumably triumphant voice.

"Well, if it isn't Enno. Finally decided to call me yourself? Your brother isn't forcing your hand?"

"As much as Iwaizumi isn't forcing yours."

"You bring Iwaizumi up so much. I think I'm feeling a little jealous of him." Oikawa sighed, with a forced exhale that made Ennoshita think he was trying to sound pitiful. "Care to make it up to me?"

Ennoshita played with the pen in his hand, switching it between his fingers. "I care, but that doesn't mean I'll do anything."

"So you're not free today?"

"No, I am."

"Good! Let's go see a movie, or have lunch, I'm bored."

"It's already starting to get dark. It's way too late for lunch."

"Aww, too bad. That means the only thing left is seeing a movie together."

Ennoshita scratched his neck. He walked right into that one.

"I guess so," he said. He gave in and told Oikawa the name of the theater he usually went to, wanting to say something definitive for once instead of ambiguously agreeing to anything.

"Got it," Oikawa said. "I'll be there. Normally I'd say 'don't chicken out,' but you can't even hang up on me, so I'm not concerned--"

Ennoshita felt a bit smug about hanging up for once, even though he was waiting in front of the theater alone. He didn't have to wait long. Oikawa appeared a few minutes after Ennoshita arrived, walking around the corner onto the street. His head of small light curls was unmistakable, but seeing him in casual clothes was startling when Ennoshita thought about it. This was the first time meeting him off the court, out of his jersey and without other people nearby.

Oikawa spotted him halfway down the street, recognition flashing in his eyes. Ennoshita felt unsure of where to look, and he ended up staring at him the rest of his walk over.

"Enno," he greeted. "You weren't waiting long, were you?"

"No. I just got here a few minutes ago."

Ennoshita's stomach felt tight, and he coughed to clear his throat. He wasn't tongue tied over the phone, but it was easier to talk when he couldn't see Oikawa's face. Oikawa had eyes that still seemed soft when narrowed, narrowed to focus on him under the lights shining from the theater entrance. It felt searing, in a way, and Ennoshita decided to turn away instead of meeting his eyes for long.

"So which movie do you want to see?"

The both of them turned to face the movie selection posted.

"Not action," Ennishita said. "Nishinoya makes me watch action movies all the time, and I'm sick of them."

Oikawa bent closer, hovering near his shoulder. "Then how do you feel about romance?"

Ennoshita bristled from the proximity. "Horror it is, then."

A questioning noise came from Oikawa's throat, but Ennoshita didn't want to explain that the thought of watching a romantic movie with Oikawa made him uncomfortable. Even with a room full of people, he would be too mindful of whatever slow plot was unfolding on screen--not content, just the atmosphere--and too wary of every movement of Oikawa's.

It was the right decision. Ennoshita was too distracted by the movie to be self conscious, and no teasing quips came from Oikawa. Oikawa's hand curled around the armrest, and Ennoshita watched him swallow and stiffen. Ennoshita was mildly scared, but he had seen enough horror films to have built up resistance.

"Why're you so calm?" Oikawa asked in a whisper.

"We're not even halfway through the movie."

Oikawa's eyes dulled from the comment, but he didn't respond. He flinched from a sudden rustling on screen, and he sunk in his seat. His mouth struggled to stay in a thin disinterested line.

Ennoshita was satisfied with seeing Oikawa quietly pale. Oikawa didn't jump in his seat or shriek, but he wasn't grinning at Ennoshita or saying anything questionable. Oikawa scooted to Ennoshita's side and slid his hand to Ennoshita's arm, grabbing hold of his sleeve with innocent intent. Oikawa didn't duck or bury his head to shield his eyes from the movie, though.

Being in dim lighting gave Ennoshita an excuse to glance over Oikawa once in a while. Oikawa's clear voice, even in hush tones, was different from the filtered static of a phone's speaker. Ennoshita could feel and see him breathing now, his arm brushing Ennoshita's with the small momentum.

The hand felt warm through the clothes, but Ennoshita was more aware of Oikawa's face, the way he bit his lip and how his eyes reflected the screen's flickering light. Oikawa rubbed his hand on his face, which was a veiled attempt at covering at his eyes, but he still looked around his fingers and eventually lowering them.

Ennoshita patted his shoulder when the shoulder when the movie ended. "It's over now."

Oikawa swiveled his head. "You weren't scared at all, were you?"

"Nope." Ennoshita stood up and stretched his arms, glad that Oikawa had nothing clever to say. He felt his shirt from lift his waist, and he shot an arm down to tug it back.

Oikawa let go of his arm when he did it, but afterward, he returned his hand to hold Ennoshita's sleeve.

Ennoshita lowered his other arm. "What are you doing?"

"It's your fault I was frightened," Oikawa said. "I'm making you do somehing about it." His mouth pinched into a pout.

Ennoshita noticed the false sincerity creep into his tone. He was used to hearing it in their phone calls, but now he could see the rest of Oikawa's reaction, the tilted head and pout decorating his mouth.

Oikawa pretended to sulk as they walked out, grumbling and readjusting his grip on Ennoshita's arm.

By the time they were outside, Oikawa's terror was completely gone, and he wasn't trying to fake it. His hand moved up Ennoshita's arm, twisting in a different, purposeful angle. Ennoshita glanced down at the movement. He was uncomfortable from it, but the wariness was from not knowing what to do.

"Oikawa?"

"Yes?"

Ennoshita looked at Oikawa's arm again. "Are you going to let go?"  

Ennoshita twitched his mouth in a frown. "Leave it," he finally said.

Oikawa's eyes had that deep gleam from earlier, when Ennoshita wanted to look away and felt somehing burn in his stomach. Oikawa leaned closer, but instead of turning away from his gaze, Ennoshita looked up with wider eyes. Oikawa tilted his head, and he softly nudged his lips against Ennoshita's. The slight angle of Oikawa's head and pressure of his mouth brought a note of intimacy into the kiss.

Ennoshita took a step back. He took another step, Oikawa following him, and he stopped when he bumped into a wall.

The kiss didn't go further than that. Oikawa moved his lips just a little, his hand on Ennoshita's shoulder and the other on his waist. Ennoshita could feel the softness of his lips more than their movements, and he squirmed from the warmth of his mouth. When Oikawa pulled away, he still kept his mouth near Ennoshita's, head bent down to look.

"I'm glad I finally did something," Oikawa said. He backed away more and brushed a hand through his hair.

"'Finally'?" Ennoshita asked.

Oikawa frowned. "Please tell me you knew that something was going on."

Ennoshita rubbes the back of his head. With an uneasy smile. "I did. Or I wanted to, at least."

"Good," Oikawa said. "We're on the same page, then. You wanted to kiss, right?"

Ennoshita thought that was something that should've been asked sooner, but he didn't mention it. He rose on his feet and pressed his mouth against Oikawa's for a small kiss instead.

Oikawa patted Ennoshita's arm afterward with a gentle smile. "As much as I'd love to continue, I should get going. The buses don't run all night."

Ennoshita nodded and cleared his throat. "Right. You live kind of far."

Oikawa leaned down slipped his lips against Ennoshita's forehead. "Goodnight, Chikara."

Returning to calls for conversations with Oikawa was almost painful now. He couldn't see Oikawa, and Oikawa's teasing became worse. Oikawa intentionally made his voice breathier, or lower, and Ennoshita responded to him in a deadpan before hanging up.

"I'm feeling lonely today," Oikawa said. "Why don't you come over for once?"

Ennoshita thought about visiting, but he never found a way to say it without sounding embarrassing. Oikawa could say whatever he wanted, and it ended up casual and perfect.

"Today?"

"It's the weekend," Oikawa said hopefully. "Unless you have something better to do..."

Ennoshita sighed. Oikawa was trying to make him feel sorry with his fake moping. Ennoshita gave in and took a bus to visit, but it wasn't because Oikawa was convincing.

Ennoshita felt his throat strangle itself as he thought about what to do now, since there was nothing clear about just coming over. Oikawa was his boyfriend now, sort of, but they've barely done anything together in person aside from the movie. Ennoshita didn't know what else they could do.

"What's the matter?" Oikawa asked. They were sitting on the couch watching another movie, but they weren't paying much attention to it. Oikawa was sitting straight up, and Ennoshita was leaning against his shoulder.

"Nothing."

Oikawa nodded. "I get it. It's because we're doing nothing, huh? What do you want to do?"

There wasn't anything Ennoshita thought he'd want to do. He shrugged, but he still frowned and wriggled. Oikawa's hand was resting on his arm, moving up and down a little to stroke his skin.

Oikawa turned his head, leaning to talk closer to Ennoshita. "Want to do something else?"

"Something such as...?"

Oikawa dipped his head down further to kiss the corner of Ennoshita's mouth. Ennoshita straightened to return it, and he tensed in surprise when Oikawa's mouth slipped to his bottom lip. Ennoshita still tried to kiss back, but he became slower and more tentative when Oikawa's tongue touched his lip. After a lick, Oikawa lightly sucked, and Ennoshita shivered.

Oikawa paused. "Is this okay?"

Ennoshita nodded and tried doing the same, reaching for Oikawa's mouth to lick, but he closed his mouth and ended up giving another another ordinary kiss.

Oikawa slid to Ennoshita's neck, and when he latched on to the skin, Ennoshita bristled again. Oikawa moved his lips slowly, brushing them and sinking them more into Ennoshita's neck. Ennoshita rested a hand on Oikawa's waist, but he didn't know what else to do with himself. His hand bunched up Oikawa's shirt, and he licked his lips.

When he felt teeth run over his neck and a sharp pinch, Ennoshita flinched.

"Did you just bite me?"

Oikawa hummed in reply, mumbling something but not removing his mouth from Ennoshita. Oikawa kissed and licked again, and a real bite came after. Ennoshita shuddered, ane he brought his hand to his mouth when Oikawa sucked the same area. The next time he used his tongue was rougher, and Ennoshita moaned before they both stiffened.

"I think," Ennoshita said quietly, "you should stop."

Oikawa was grinning, eyeing him with a knowing glint. He sat up with a finger to his mouth. "You like being bitten?"

Ennoshita grimaced, but it was half-hearted. It was true, maybe, if that was anything to go by. Ennoshita ducked and pressed his lips together, attempting a frown. He ended up just hiding his mouth in the crook of his elbow when Oikawa returned to his neck.