Work Text:
“And we’re repeating songs again. I swear they start doing that earlier every day…” Sugawara sighs to himself as he runs his mop across the already fairly clean tiles of his café.
Today is like any other day – slow. The radio’s on full blast, already on its second loop of the DJ’s playlist. Sugawara would change it, but there are so few options out here that it’s not really worth it. Besides, it’s almost like tradition at this point.
He makes it halfway across the floor, dunks his mop into its bucket, and wonders idly if he should change the scent of the cleaning product. Maybe lavender instead of lemon or something. Some kind of change, at least.
It’s hard to feel bored anymore – it’s like the slow, easy days in the desert sun have become so typical that boredom just feels like part of the background. Most days he cleans – when he isn’t entertaining the other locals. Such is the usual when you only get one or two customers a week. Most people who do drive by their little town only stop for gas and a snack. Sugawara’s lucky if he can convince someone to have a full sit-down meal twice a month.
The mop slaps back down onto the floor with a splatter of suds and Sugawara sighs again, shaking his head to rid it of any dreary thoughts. It could be worse. He could have no café at all – even if it does get treacherously close to that sometimes – and, well, Karasuno Springs may be nearly empty these days, but it’s home.
The small bell above the café door tinkles to herald someone stepping in, and Sugawara calls out a slightly lazy “Hey!” over his shoulder. He couldn’t hear an engine rumbling in the background, so it’s just somebody from town – nobody else walks here. It’s quiet behind him, but Sugawara doesn’t think much of it as he shoves his mop back into its bucket and kicks it to the side for now. Could just be Yachi or Shimizu or someone else equally a little quiet.
Muffling a yawn – the afternoon sun really does make him sleepy, especially with the air con on the blink – he turns around, ready to wave out a greeting and shuffle behind his counter when he stops dead.
There’s a stranger in his café.
He’s a young man, early twenties at most, with wild, messy red hair and exhausted looking brown eyes smudged with dark circles. He fidgets a little when Sugawara’s eyes land on him, face twitching into a sheepish half-smile, like he’s lacking the energy to complete the action.
Sugawara feels a frown crumple his forehead immediately. The guy reminds him of his – now very distant – college days, when people could be found in the library looking simultaneously wired and absolutely exhausted. A unique combination from staying awake for far too long.
“Hey there,” Sugawara says, starting his greeting again from the beginning as he walks over, feeling concern start to build in earnest. He’s about to say ‘Welcome to The V8 Café!’ or something with equally false cheer, but by the time that he’s made it in front of his new visitor what pops out instead is: “Dude, are you okay?”
The stranger looks even younger up close, and he blinks up at Sugawara in a sort of stupor for a few moments before he rakes his hand through his ratty hair. “Ummm… yes,” he decides, even if he does phrase it like a question. Sugawara eyes his fingers as they drop from his hairline – they seem to be trembling slightly. “Or… no? I mean, I’m okay, but I think I ran out of gas because I kinda broke down a ways from here and I’m really hoping it is just gas because I don’t think I have the means to fix my car right now and – “
“Woah, woah,” Sugawara interrupts gently, lifting his hands as if to physically halt the stream of sudden babbling. He doesn’t get the vibe that the young man is nervous, per se, more that he’s just a bit of a rambler. He seems too out of it to be nervy, going right back to blinking up at Sugawara with slightly glazed eyes.
“You… ran out of gas?” Sugawara goes on to say, his eyebrows shooting up when the young man nods earnestly. “Did… did you walk here?” he all but demands, as his brain suddenly links up all of the man’s wandering statements. Not only are they in a desert climate, but it’s the middle of the day. It’s hot outside – far too hot to be walking around for any length of distance that isn’t from one air-conditioned building and right into another.
The stranger tilts his head a little. He looks a bit like a bedraggled puppy. “Yeah?”
Sugawara stares down at him, mildly horrified. “Jesus…” he breathes, before flapping a hand towards the nearest booth. “Okay, sit down.”
Another deluge of blinking.
Hoping that he won’t be terribly misconstrued, Sugawara reaches out and grips the young man’s upper arm, gently but firmly steering him towards a seat. Luckily, the man doesn’t shrug off his grip or seem to be offended, tottering over to the bench and sinking into it without too much complaint. Sugawara watches him beadily as the guy sways slightly on the spot before catching his balance as he settles into the booth. Yeah. He’s got heatstroke. Not too bad, hopefully, just at the start where the brain really starts to fry… he should be fine after sitting here in the cool and hydrating for a little bit.
The stranger blinks again when a gigantic glass of water is clunked down on the table in front of him.
Sugawara wonders idly if the kid’s going to strain his eyelids. “Drink that slowly,” he says, injecting some sternness into his tone when the young man reaches for the glass with blown pupils, as though his body has just reacted in instinct.
After reassuring himself that his new guest isn’t going to either drown himself or make himself sick by glugging too quickly, Sugawara slips off to the café’s phone.
“Hey, Daichi…” he says as soon as the line clicks. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Well. Kinda. Got a visitor – some kid, says he broke down up the road? Just walked here. Yeah. Yeah, in the sun. Nah, he’s fine just a bit cooked. Think we’re gonna need that tow truck to fetch his car wherever it broke down, though, don’t want it blocking the road… yeah. Yeah, you got it. See you in a bit.”
By the time that he’s hung up and wandered back over, his new customer has finished half of his water and looking decidedly less woozy. Relieved, Sugawara slips into the booth seat opposite him, wandering what he should say now. The guy doesn’t look to be in any particular rush for anything. In fact, he’s staring up at the air conditioning unit above them with a thoughtful little frown.
“That thing rattles a lot,” he comments out of nowhere.
“Uhh… sure does.” Sugawara leans in a little closer, hoping that it’s not too obvious he’s staring. Maybe the guy is still feeling the sunstroke. Who comments on air conditioning units? Sure, it rattles, but it’s old and it’s not like there’s an abundance of people around here to fix it.
“I can look at it for you?”
Sugawara startles, taken by surprise by what seems to be a genuine offer, judging by the guy’s earnest expression. “Okay, mister,” he sighs when he settles again, “how about we start with a name first?”
“Oh!” The young man rubs the back of his head sheepishly, before sticking his hand out, a far more natural smile gracing his face. “Sorry, my manners… I’m Hinata.”
“Sugawara. Suga’s fine.” Sugawara clasps the offered hand for a firm, short shake. “So, what’s the story, Hinata?”
Hinata wraps both of his hands around his glass of water, taking a long, avoiding sip before answering. “I was driving… no real direction, just wanted to take the long way, you know? I broke down a ways up the road from here. Not too far, I could see the town when I got out, but I guess I wasn’t really expecting the, uhh, sun.” He flaps a hand towards the café window, gesturing to the sky, his smile looking a little more plastered on suddenly.
Ahh, Sugawara thinks to himself sagely. A young guy on a road trip by himself in a cheap car who didn’t prepare properly before tackling old country roads – especially those in the desert. It’s an old and common tale, and Hinata certainly won’t be the last one that Sugawara ever meets.
Hinata’s gaze drops after his short explanation, staring down a little sightlessly into his water, as though he’s been suddenly trapped by his thoughts. Sugawara finds himself frowning again as he regards him – the early heatstroke has clearly worn off by now, so Hinata doesn’t exactly look like he’s going to faint onto the café floor anymore, but he still looks incredibly… stressed.
Sitting down across from Hinata now, those dark circles under his eyes seem all the more prominent, and his hands are starting to shake again slightly where they’re wrapped around his glass. He may not be about to pass out anymore from a fried brain, but he definitely looks like he could sleep for a week.
Sugawara nibbles at his bottom lip, ordering his question in his head carefully. What’s the best way to ask a complete stranger why they’re so strung out? It’s not really his business, but he doesn’t feel like he can just send the guy out on his way either…
But, before he can get his words out, the door to his café opens again.
This time, it’s two people that he knows very well – Daichi, who he’d been expecting, and Tanaka, who seems to have been brought along. Probably to operate the tow truck – Daichi hasn’t been fully trusted with it since he managed to crash it about three years ago.
“Hey, you the guy with the broken-down car?” Daichi greets when he nears, after exchanging a brief nod with Sugawara.
Hinata freezes in his seat, staring up at Daichi with huge eyes. “Yes?” he answers after a moment, his nerves palpable in his voice. Daichi’s uniform must have spooked him.
“No need to look so scared, you little punk!” Tanaka chimes in before Daichi can get another word out, looping around the officer and clapping a hearty hand on Hinata’s shoulder.
Hinata just continues to stare up at them, oddly enough completely unappeased by Tanaka’s ‘reassurance.’
Daichi clears his throat warningly, staring daggers into the back of Tanaka’s head until he retreats with an innocent whistle. “We’re just going to fetch it – there’s really no need to worry,” he says, directing his voice towards Hinata, who relaxes minutely, even if he does still look incredibly wary, flitting his gaze back over to Sugawara intermittently. “We’ve only got one main road leading into town, so it’s in our best interests to get your car out of the way too, you see. Do you remember roughly where you broke down?”
“And what it looks like?” Tanaka pipes up behind him pointedly.
After another fleeting glance at Sugawara, Hinata describes roughly whereabouts his car – yellow, apparently – had broken down, his explanation a little halting and wandering, his complete lack of knowledge of the area palpable. Fortunately, Tanaka gets the gist and salutes before trotting off, the distant sound of the tow truck’s old engine echoing in the background as Daichi turns back to Hinata.
Before Daichi can even say anything though, Hinata explodes into babbling, as though his nerves had finally reached a boiling point. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to – I guess I wasn’t really looking at the fuel gauge properly… am I in trouble? I tried to pull over to the side, so I don’t think I completely blocked the road! I’m really sorry, please don’t arrest me!”
Sugawara exchanges a brief, concerned glance with Daichi. “You’re fine,” he says soothingly to Hinata, stretching across the table to give his forearm a firm pat to ground him. “Daichi just wants to ask a couple of questions, that’s all! Nobody’s getting arrested, don’t look so terrified!”
Hinata still looks like he’s practically vibrating in his seat, that tremor in his hands returning full-force as he clamps his mouth shut again, but he does at least regard Daichi with a little less terror.
Suspicion flickers in the back of Sugawara’s mind as he brings his hand back across the table. But it sputters out as Hinata – with a little bit of a nervous stammer – answers all of Daichi’s routine questions fairly easily and honestly.
Clearly not running from the law, then, or he’d be a lot more evasive. So if he’s not in trouble, then his overall aura of stress is probably due to some personal problems. Still none of Sugawara’s business, but that doesn’t stop that little trickle of worry coming back as he half-listens to Daichi and Hinata’s rather stiff conversation.
The sound of a horn breaks through the monotony, and Sugawara sits up a bit. That’s the tow truck’s horn – Tanaka must be back from retrieving Hinata’s car. A little faster than he had expected, Hinata mustn’t have broken down too far away.
The café’s door swings open before he can get out of his seat. Daichi’s hand comes down on Hinata’s shoulder to stop him from standing too – likely guessing that Hinata is still at least a bit woozy and that getting to his feet too fast is far from the best idea.
“Well,” Tanaka says as he comes through and rejoins them, rubbing the back of his head and giving Hinata a bewildered look, “you sure didn’t have the car I was expecting to you to have. When you said it was yellow…”
Shrugging Daichi’s hand from his shoulder, Hinata stands abruptly, wobbles once, and then he’s scarpering off and out the door before anybody can stop him.
“He’s unexpected,” Tanaka comments mildly as he sticks his hands in his pockets and makes to follow, still looking a little baffled.
Sugawara exchanges what feels like the fifth look with Daichi that hour and gets up from his seat as well, curiosity burning as he follows everyone else out of the café. Yellow cars aren’t exactly common, but they’re not that rare. And considering the designs that Tanaka paints his own car in, Sugawara highly doubts that it was the paintjob that caught his attention.
The afternoon heat blasts him as he makes it outside, and Sugawara pulls his collar away from his neck with a grimace. Today really wasn’t a day to go for a walk, that’s for sure. He nearly barrels straight into Daichi as they cross the café’s parking lot, where he and Tanaka have suddenly stopped dead, both staring at the new vehicle on the tarmac.
Sugawara gapes.
Still attached to the tow truck’s winch is a bright yellow, expensive-looking, and probably very fast Porsche.
“A sportscar?” he says, forgetting his volume in his surprise. That’s not exactly the usual car people go road tripping in. And especially not young guys all on their own who aren’t obviously rich.
“Looks like it’s for racing, specifically,” Daichi comments, cupping his jaw in one hand as he too stares openly at Hinata’s car. “You see some flashy ones for show, but that thing can probably move.”
“Yeah, and what’s a kid like him doing with one?” Tanaka laughs, his shock easing first.
Hinata, meanwhile, seems oblivious to their surprise, scampering around his car with a worried look on his face, running his hands over the metalwork and bending and bouncing as he checks every inch of it.
“It looks okay…” he sighs, mostly to himself, as he rounds it one more time before hovering by its nose. “Hopefully it’s just because I ran out of fuel… I know I wasn’t paying that much attention to the tank, but I didn’t think I’d run out that quickly! I should check the pump later too…” his mutterings taper off as he taps his chin, turning on his heel a little to eye the nearby fuel pumps thoughtfully.
“Okay, well before you fill up and just shoot off...” Sugawara speaks up, his intuition pinging. Many a time did he, as a young man, rocket off into the distance after a quick splash and dash, only for his car to give up the ghost yet again further down the road. He used to do the same thing Hinata’s doing right now – break down, limp to the nearest stop, refuel, and set off again only to kick himself later when his car really packed it in.
Sometimes you need to let people learn that lesson for themselves. But in this case, Sugawara isn’t sure what gave up first – the Porsche or Hinata.
“Maybe you should take a break for a bit?” he suggests, offering a smile when Hinata looks at him curiously. “Have something to eat, at least.”
A flash of temptation passes over Hinata’s face, and he pops open his mouth before he suddenly pauses, visibly hesitating. Again, he gives the fuel pumps another glance.
“I don’t really have the cash on me,” he says at last, rubbing the back of his head and shooting Sugawara a smile that would look embarrassed, if it weren’t for the tightness in the corners. “I’ve got enough for some gas, but not really for a meal out… thank you though! But I’ll be okay, I have some snacks in the car, and…”
Hinata starts devolving into babbling again, and Sugawara tunes him out a little to take a couple of steps forward and look over his shoulder, peering in through the Porsche’s windows. Now that he’s closer, he can see inside easier – well. Kind of.
The inside of the car is rammed full of stuff, leaving only just enough of a gap for Hinata to see through the windows while driving. It’s so tightly packed together that it’s hard to identify anything specifically, but it looks like boxes, bags, blankets, a whole mishmash of various household items and clothes… is Hinata moving or something? There’s way too much stuff for a mere road trip, even a lengthy one. It’s like his whole life is in there.
Sugawara scratches at his temple as he feels a bead of sweat build up there and trickle down from the pounding overhead sun. Well, he thinks as another piece of the puzzle slots into place, this might explain Hinata’s stress.
The urge to grab Hinata by the shoulders and push him back into the café for a meal on the house wells within him, but he bites it down at the last second. Tsukishima’s voice rings in his ears, reminding him how the town’s funds are incredibly tight right now, and that they can’t survive on getting the odd road trip group coming through here forever. Realistically, he really shouldn’t be giving away food for free. But morally, he doesn’t think that he can sell Hinata some gas and just send him on his way either without making sure he’s okay first – the kid looks ready to drop.
“You said my air con rattles?”
“Huh?” Confusion flitters briefly over Hinata’s face at Sugawara’s sudden question. Sugawara smiles back at him evenly. “Oh, yeah. Something’s loose, probably one of the screws in the pumps, those old ones always tend to fall out and – “
Sugawara’s smile stretches into a victorious grin. Got him! “Well, I don’t want it to fail,” he says smoothly, stepping up to Hinata’s side and planting a solid palm at his back to encourage him to start walking back towards the café. “Especially not out here in the desert, can you image being this hot all the time? And it’s a nightmare calling an engineer all the way out here, so how about you fix it for me and in return you can have anything you on the house? I’ll throw in some gas too!”
Hinata’s stomach audibly rumbles before he can even reply.
“So it’s agreed!” Sugawara laughs, taking that as his confirmation. Hinata doesn’t even refute him, he just stands there, looking a little baffled and caught off guard, before he finally starts making some wobbly steps back towards the café. Sugawara hopes that he isn’t getting heatstroke again – he should feed him as soon as possible.
He can feel Daichi’s knowing look piercing his back as they head back inside the café, but he doesn’t look over – can’t ruin the illusion too early. Besides, it’s a fair trade. Food, drink, and some gas for their weary traveller, and in return Sugawara doesn’t have to empty the town savings pot for a new air con unit.
And he’ll be able to sleep easy tonight too.
His menu options are a little more meagre than he would’ve liked to offer, such is the never-ending problem of an unsteady cashflow, but Hinata has no problem happily picking what he’d like for lunch. He certainly has no problem inhaling it either, and Sugawara lets out a small sigh of relief when the colour starts to return to Hinata’s cheeks. That aura of stress hasn’t left, hovering around Hinata like a foreboding thundercloud, but at least Sugawara isn’t worried about him toppling over as he dashes back outside to fetch some things from his car.
Leaning across the bar counter, Sugawara watches curiously as Hinata stands on the booth tabletop (after asking for permission and taking his shoes off) and starts rapidly unscrewing the cover of the air con unit above, stashing his tool in between his teeth as he levers it off. Scattered along the barstools, a little audience of Daichi and Tanaka – who had been too curious to just leave – and Nishinoya – whose nosiness had led him to wander in a little bit ago – also watch with rapt attention. It had been a very long time since any of them had seen someone this fast and efficient.
Whatever is wrong with the air con unit, Hinata must be very familiar with the problem. It seemingly takes him no time at all to stuff his hands inside, rummage around and pull something that looks rotten and broken out, bend to pick up a small gadget he’d brought in earlier along with his screwdriver, and stuff that inside in its place. He must be an engineer of some kind to be this quick and skilful – maybe he works for some air conditioning company? They do send those guys out far and wide to fix things…
Hefting up the cover and screwing it back into place with a little grunt, Hinata stands back a bit to check his handiwork before lifting a fist and giving the unit a solid thump on its side. There’s a short pause, as the tiny audience huddled around the café bar lean forward with bated breath, and then the unit whirs back into life – without that distinct rattling echoing in its guts.
Sugawara claps appreciatively, and Hinata grins a little over his shoulder – doing a little doubletake at his unexpected spectators – before dropping back down to the floor.
The little ‘show’ over, Daichi not-so-subtly urges Tanaka and Nishinoya to leave with him and find something else to do instead of hovering over their new visitor – probably realising that Hinata would likely appreciate some space. There’s a fair amount of loud whispering and confused looks met with pointed stares, but eventually the group shuffles out the door. Hinata doesn’t even seem to notice, distracted once again by the fresh glass of water that Sugawara has placed down in front of him.
Taking the opportunity of the peace and quiet that they have been afforded, Sugawara glances down at Hinata to double check that he’s not exuding ‘leave me alone’ vibes, before slipping into the bench seat opposite. If it were any other customer, he’d leave them to it, only arriving when they needed attending to or maybe just wanting a chat. But most customers aren’t kids barely scraping into adulthood, all on their own and looking like they haven’t slept in two weeks. Even with lunch on board, Hinata doesn’t really look that refreshed.
“So,” Sugawara says slowly, waiting for Hinata to look up at him with a confused hum. “Forgive me for being forward, but are you okay?”
A scatter of emotions flitter across Hinata’s face, like he’s unsure of how to process the question. He’s silent for a long moment, fingers clenching tight around his glass of water, like he’s struggling to come to a decision. Most likely, a young guy like him just wants to fob Sugawara off – reassure the stranger that he’s fine, grab his gas and go, but there’s this slight crack of vulnerability that Sugawara delves forward to press before he can think better of it.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I’m just some guy that owns a café. You just… look like you could use an ear for a little bit, that’s all. Have a vent before you hit the road?”
Perhaps some of Sugawara’s sincerity shows on face because, instead of replying, Hinata’s eyes go very glassy, his bottom lip wobbling dangerously before he bites his teeth into it. Relief rather than alarm crashes into Sugawara as he slips his hand into his pocket to draw out the hankie that he always keeps in there. Whatever this kid has on his chest, Sugawara would rather he relieve some of it before hitting the road again.
His frame shaking with the effort to hold back sobs, Hinata reaches for the offered hankie with a mumbled noise that could have been a ‘thank you.’ He wipes his eyes immediately, but the pressure against his lids seems to activate his tear ducts instead, because fat droplets start falling over, sliding down his cheeks even as he rapidly tries to wipe them away.
“Shit… shit, I’m so sorry – “
“Nothing to apologise for, no-one’s here,” Sugawara says soothingly. His hands itch with the urge to give the kid a pat or maybe even a hug, but he refrains. He’s still a stranger and he’s not sure if Hinata would appreciate it. “Take your time.”
Hinata sniffles miserably as his flow of tears finally start to slow, his breath stuttering in his chest as he scrabbles to hold himself together. He hovers for a few moments, focusing on keeping his breathing steady, his indecision clear on his face. But then he glances over at Sugawara again and simply crumples, words spilling forth in a sudden, unhindered stream.
“Sorry, it’s not even… it’s not even anything devastating, I just… needed to go for a bit? I don’t know, I just had all these jobs – I uhh, do handiwork – and I did so many for years and it was fine, because I thought I was going places, but I wasn’t. I wasn’t getting anywhere, and everything was just kind of mounting and crashing and I got really stuck and I was getting kicked out of my apartment, so I figured hey! Let’s just get in the car and drive because it’s… it’s really the only thing I find relaxing, and I don’t really have a plan so I’ve just been driving and driving and now I’m here and…” Hinata pauses briefly to gasp in a breath and looks around the café again like he’s seeing it for the first time. “Where is here?”
Oh boy. Sugawara gives himself a moment to try and process Hinata’s ramblings. “Karasuno Springs,” he says eventually, giving Hinata a careful look. “So you’re a… handyman, then? Too many jobs?” It’s a fair guess, he’s seen burnout plenty of times from the other side of his café bar.
Hinata reaches up to tug at a strand of hair absentmindedly, the curls catching around his knuckles. “Yeah. Something like that? I mean, I’ve always worked, ever since I was still a kid in school and could pick up a screwdriver. But trying to cram in a dream around working every day was… not the best combination, I guess.” He trails off, eyes going distant as stares at something in his mind’s eye.
Sugawara taps the tabletop between them as he thinks. “How… old are you? If you don’t mind me asking?”
“Huh?” Hinata’s gaze refocuses on him with a startled blink. “Twenty-one?”
Little bit older than Sugawara had ballparked him to be, which just makes the iron ball in his stomach feel that much heavier. “And… when was the last time you had a day off?” he asks gently. “Before you went on your road trip, that is.”
Hinata huffs out a laugh with no humour behind it. He slumps back in his seat, dragging both hands through his hair as he stares down at the table. “I haven’t. Didn’t have time. Too many things to do.”
“Since you were a teenager?”
Hinata doesn’t give that an answer, his face twisting up like he’s caught between a sudden flare of angry frustration and wanting to cry again.
Sugawara lets out a sigh. Jesus. Not a single day off for what? Five, six years? No wonder the kid is so strung out. Part of him wonders why Hinata didn’t sell his most obvious asset – the very expensive car still sitting outside of the café – if money was becoming an issue. Hinata hasn’t said that outright, but he did mention being evicted, so Sugawara can only assume. At the very least, the boost from the car sale would’ve made Hinata’s life a little comfier for a small amount of time. He might’ve even been able to have a day off.
But, then again, that car is likely Hinata’s pride and joy. And Sugawara knows all about clinging onto your pride and joy. He’s been advised many times to sell up his café and move on once Karasuno Springs started seeing a serious drop in visitors, but he’s never once considered it. He ducks his head slightly to hide the small, rueful smile that spreads at the thought. He would never sell his beloved V8 Café, so he really has no right to sit here and wonder why Hinata doesn’t part with something equally as important.
When he raises his head again, Hinata has fallen very quiet, still slumped in his seat and his eyes distant once more. Sugawara feels a deep pang of sympathy echo in his chest at the sight – it’s not quite right to say that Hinata looks sad. That feels too simplistic, too easy of an explanation. Hinata doesn’t look merely upset, he looks drained. Like he might cry again out of sheer exhaustion rather than emotion, like all feeling has been used up, and only fumes remain.
This kid really needs to sleep.
“Okay,” Sugawara sighs, “I’m not going to pry into the hows and whys of your personal business, but it seems to me like you need a break. And I don’t mean the ‘driving around until your head clears’ kind of break.”
Hinata flicks his eyes over to him but he doesn’t move otherwise, a hint of shame starting to creep into his expression.
Sugawara winces internally. He gets it – the kid didn’t have a plan; he just reached his breaking point and ran for the first thing that he could think of to stave off a breakdown. And he still looks like he might have one – in more ways than one.
“Look,” he says, leaning forward a little more and hoping that he isn’t coming across as judgemental as an idea occurs to him, “is there anything that you need to go back for? Like, imminently?”
Hinata snorts. “Nah. I don’t have a place right now and no jobs waiting for me. I know I bolted, but I have enough money for food and stuff and it’ll be pretty easy to pick up a job or three later… so no, there’s nothing that immediately needs my attention. Why?”
“Then stay here.”
Hinata’s eyebrows shoot up. “Uhh…?”
Sugawara spreads out his hands. “It’s just an idea. You need a break, right? And out here is… pretty quiet. Instead of driving around aimlessly, why not take a pitstop here? Just until you feel rested. Honestly, I’m kind of worried that you’re gonna drive off and just break down again down the road.”
The double meaning hangs in the air, and Hinata ducks his head slightly in muted embarrassment.
Sugawara watches him patiently, letting him mull it over. He hopes that he didn’t come across as too pushy – it’s easy to fall into a salesman routine after years of trying to convince the rare tourist to stop for longer than an hour, but this isn’t one of those cases. He isn’t trying to get Hinata to spend money here, he just… he really feels like this kid could use a bit of kindness.
Hinata tugs on his earlobe, a bit of worry creeping into his expression. “That’s very kind of you,” he says slowly with a small, sad smile, “but I don’t really have the cash for a holiday…”
“You’re a handyman, right?” Sugawara replies, barrelling on before Hinata can even answer. “We’ve got so many jobs around here that need doing and we’ve all been putting off getting anyone in for them. I’m sure pretty much everyone would be more than happy to waive their fees in return for getting some of their stuff fixed.”
Hinata’s fingers drop from his ear as he starts to look a little more hopeful. Encouraged, Sugawara presses on. “We have a motel, and a little supermarket, but this is obviously the only real place to eat. I’m cool with it, and I’m sure Yachi and Kiyoko – they own the motel – would be fine with it too. What do you think?”
Hinata’s gaze drops to the tabletop for a few minutes as he visibly thinks it over, teeth gnawing his bottom lip. “Are you sure?” he asks at last, suspicion lacing his voice. “You’re not going to chase me down the road in a couple of days with a huge bill, are you? Because it’s not getting paid.”
Sugawara has to laugh at the sudden challenge in Hinata’s voice. He should’ve known that Hinata wouldn’t be a complete pushover, even if he does seem to be very nice. “I’m sure,” he says with a reassuring hand wave. “I can go with you to check with Yachi and Kiyoko if you want, but when I say we need some stuff fixing we need a lot fixing. Not that I’m expecting you to work all day or anything, but… a few odd jobs in return for food and board? For as long as you need.”
Hinata watches him for a long moment. His face, for the first time, is very carefully blank, like he’s making an effort to keep himself hidden. It makes him look a lot older suddenly, as though he’s aged a decade in the last ten minutes, as he sits there and stares at Sugawara unblinkingly, taking in the offer.
Then, just as Sugawara is starting to feel a little uneasy under that amber gaze, Hinata sags, like all of his remaining energy has left him all at once.
“Sure,” he says finally, a weak smile coming back to his face. “Sure, why not?”
Naturally, Yachi and Shimizu don’t mind at all waiving their usual fees in favour of getting some work done.
It's still only the middle of the afternoon, but after being bestowed a room key, Hinata had simply stared down at it for a long, unblinking moment before declaring that he was going to take a nap. Sugawara, privately very relieved that Hinata was getting some sleep of his own volition, had promised to be at the café when he woke up and left him to it.
Hinata had already spilt enough of his guts out, he would probably appreciate the time to himself right now.
The nap ends up not being quite a nap – Hinata doesn’t emerge from his room for several hours, until the evening is starting to settle in. Clearly, he’d been just as wiped out as Sugawara thought he was. By the time that he cautiously re-enters the café (probably wondering if the place is still open) he looks a lot perkier. There’s still evidence of exhaustion pulling tight around his eyelids, the mark of stress and worn nerves not quite wiped clear by a few hours’ sleep, but it’s definitely an improvement.
Sugawara simply slides him a plate of food for dinner when Hinata heads over to the bar, along with a handwritten list of jobs that he’d complied earlier with everyone that Hinata could maybe complete for them.
“We don’t expect you to do all of them. Or even half of them, actually. Just a few will be fine, we just wrote down a bunch so you had different things to pick from… weren’t really sure of your specialities, you see,” he explains as Hinata scans the list.
“I can do all of this,” Hinata mumbles around a mouthful of food. “I’ll need to check what supplies I have in my car, but I can get started tomorrow – “
“Just a few of them,” Sugawara interrupts firmly, though he keeps his smile kind when Hinata looks up at him. “The idea is for you to rest for a few days, remember, not run yourself into the ground again.”
Hinata swallows slowly and ducks his head, looking abashed for a second, before his face twists slightly and his hands curl into tight fists around his cutlery. “Thank you,” he says to the bar countertop, his voice shaking with the effort to not dissolve into tears all over again. “Earlier, I didn’t… thank you, I – “
Sugawara sinks his hand into Hinata’s bright hair and ruffles the curls roughly enough to halt his shuddering words. “Eat your dinner.”
Hinata heaves in a deep, trembling breath and releases it slowly, before he nods once, shifting Sugawara’s palm against his scalp as he resumes eating in quiet gratitude.
It doesn’t take long for Hinata to settle in. Now that his battery has been recharged a little, he reveals himself to be very easy going and friendly, striking up relationships with the rest of the townspeople as he goes through their job lists as easy as pie. Sugawara’s not sure if it’s a skill borne from years of handiwork or a natural affinity for people, but it’s definitely a welcome breeze in the town.
Most people that stop in Karasuno Springs are polite, but harried. They want their business and then want to leave efficiently. Having someone so vibrant and new around who’s not in a hurry to drive off is as much of a relief as it is refreshing.
The effect seems to have rubbed off on nearly everyone, as most of the townspeople quietly band together to make sure their new visitor is okay. Word in such a small town spreads like wildfire, and it had barely taken any time at all for the residents to become of Hinata’s overall… situation. Perhaps it’s because most of them have around two decades on Hinata, but there’s definitely an air of fond watchfulness and care. Not just because Hinata’s remarkably useful and resourceful in fixing their properties, but because he’s a just really nice kid in need of a helping hand.
With relief, Sugawara starts to see the signs of Hinata looking a little better as the week stretches on. The tension around his eyes starts to ease, the hunched line of his shoulders easing. There’s still an air of weariness, as though Hinata’s troubles run deeper than the simple, surface-level exhaustion from working too hard, but Sugawara can only see it in snatches. In the quiet moments when Hinata is by himself, and a melancholy expression passes across his face as he becomes lost to his thoughts.
Sugawara tries to ask, but for all of his ease in settling in, Hinata doesn’t seem to be willing to open that door to someone yet. Maybe spilling his worries when he first arrived was a result of being so tired that he simply couldn’t hold them back no matter how hard he tried, but now that he’s feeling better, Hinata appears to be resolute in waving off concerns. The temptation to pry is powerful, but Sugawara bites it back as best he can. Hinata’s business is clearly personal. Besides, it’s not like Sugawara will ever not be here, behind his café counter and ready and willing to lend an ear should Hinata ever want to bend it.
One day, Hinata does, but with a question that Sugawara hadn’t quite expected.
“Hey, Suga? Why is it so quiet here anyway? I don’t really get it.”
Sugawara pauses where he’d been idly polishing the glasses and turns to give Hinata - perched on one of the bar stools - a quizzical look. “How do you mean?”
“I mean… it’s so nice here. The surroundings are so beautiful! And the motel is traffic cone themed and Noya’s and Tanaka’s shops are so cool, and it has everything for a stopover but no-one’s… here.” Hinata pauses after his short rant, biting his lip briefly as regret flits over his face. “Sorry. That sounded rude, didn’t it?”
Shock ripples through Sugawara before he places the glass he’d been polishing down on the counter with a sigh and offers Hinata a tired smile. “No, it didn’t. You’re absolutely right.”
Hinata cocks his head, brown eyes following him as Sugawara rounds around his bar to hop onto the neighbouring stool beside Hinata’s.
“We used to be one of the busiest small towns in the area – if you can imagine it – back in our day. Hundreds of tourists a month, road trips passing through and people stopping for the night alike.” Sugawara sighs again and leans back against his bar, resting his elbows on the counter and staring out the windows of the café before him, feeling Hinata’s gaze boring into him as he explains.
“A few years ago… well. More like over a decade ago, they built that highway that cuts through the desert here. People were starting to travel more for work instead of leisure and the government saw an opportunity to cut down on driving time. As a result, we kind of fell off the map. People just became less and less interested in driving the country roads, wanting to get from A to B as fast as possible. Our popularity declined, and so did word of mouth, and eventually people stopped knowing we’re even here. I mean, we still get the odd travelling couple or group who take the scenic route, but it’s nothing like before. Times change, I guess, so now our little town is just a little… sleepy.”
It's more of an explanation than he’d intended to give, a little more insight than he thought he’d be sharing. But he supposes that after wishing that Hinata would allow a more than just a glimpse into his own thoughts, it would be hypocritical of him to hold back now. Even so, feeling Hinata’s gaze still drilling into him, he can’t quite bring himself to turn and look, some selfishness creeping back in.
“It’s been like this for so long…?” Hinata wonders, sounding so aghast and worried that Sugawara’s heart pangs, touched. “Are you guys – “
“Ah, we’re okay,” Sugawara smooths over, cutting off that question before it can be finished. Perhaps it’s sheer stubbornness at this point, but he can’t bear to think about the possibility of Karasuno Springs not being okay any more than he can bear to hear someone question it. So much of their town is held together through sheer will and camaraderie that thinking too deeply about it might fracture what fragile structure they have left.
“Some people, like Daichi and Asahi, even our mayor, they’re all state employees,” he goes on to explain. “Tanaka sells art. Even if people don’t stop, we get enough people buying gas from me and groceries from the store. Noya’s surprisingly good at buying and selling things for a profit. And Tsukki takes on cases remotely when he can. We all band together and share our wealth to keep our town going – this place is our group effort.”
He pauses and takes a deep breath, finding his courage to finally turn and look Hinata in the eye, who is – miraculously, thankfully – gazing back in rapt wonder. “Home is home, you know?”
Hinata’s face is hard to discern as he says this. He looks impossibly young all of a sudden, like a child being told a story that’s too complicated for them to digest too quickly. Sugawara’s heart squeezes in sudden fondness and he leans over to ruffle Hinata’s hair, dislodging the melancholy tension with playful roughness.
The air is clear again, but Hinata still looks a little thoughtful even as he returns to his meal, and Sugawara to his idle chores.
A week after Hinata first arrived in town finds him sitting outside the café in a shady spot while he tucks into lunch.
The sun can be so strong out here that there’s often little shade, and even if there is a shadowy spot it tends to be still too hot to sit outside comfortably. Sugawara keeps a couple of tables and chairs out for the occasional cooler day, but they’re rarely used. Hinata doesn’t seem to mind the heat so much, though, often sitting outside and working through it with relative ease while on a job.
“Don’t you find it too sticky out here?” Sugawara asks as he ambles over to take the other chair, a pitcher of fruit juice, ice cubes bobbing within, clutched in one hand and two glasses pinched between the fingers of the other. He doesn’t have any chores that he could even pretend to be doing right now, might as well seek company if Hinata is willing to give it.
“Nah,” Hinata says, voice muffled around his sandwich. “I like it. It’s the cold I can’t stand – rain, snow… ugh. That’s the worst.”
Sugawara can’t even remember the last time that he saw rain. He doesn’t even think that he’s experienced snow in his life at all.
“The city could be so cold and rainy sometimes,” Hinata continues to say, sipping from the offered juice with a quiet thanks once Sugawara remembers to pour it. “You were indoors a lot, so it was fine, I guess, but I think I like this a lot better.” He sweeps his arm in an arc in a general gesture towards the town and desert as a whole. “Warm. Quiet. It really is… different.”
Leaning back in his chair, Sugawara swirls his drink around in its glass and watches Hinata carefully. He can see the edges of that melancholy, almost gloomy mood beginning to touch in, as Hinata slowly loses himself to his thoughts again. “So… what’s the plan now?” he asks, keeping his tone as casual as possible. After a week in the middle of nowhere it’s perfectly natural for a young guy like Hinata to be getting itchy feet. He’s almost certainly had time to recharge by now. “Head back to the city? Or find somewhere new, maybe? Warmer, at least.”
Hinata snorts, but there’s no humour behind the burst of laughter. “I have no idea,” he says sardonically, and drowns a gulp of juice before Sugawara can even think of a reply.
“So this is where you were!”
Hinata jumps visibly at the unexpected new voice, while Sugawara simply waves cheerily at Mayor Ukai, who’s holding his palm above his eyes to shield them from the sun and giving them a rather wild looking grin.
“Afternoon Ukai, what do you need?” Sugawara says pleasantly, about to get up from his seat to fetch Ukai a glass too.
“Nothing I need from you, thanks though Suga,” Ukai waves off, before pointing right at Hinata. “You though, kid, could I have a word when you’ve finished lunch?”
Hinata doesn’t seem to know whether to be intrigued or terrified. “Okay,” he squeaks out, sounding uncharacteristically meek for someone usually so boisterous.
Ukai – apparently not in the mood to hang around and chat – simply nods firmly, his feral grin stretching a little wider, before spinning on his heel and striding back up Main Street towards the courthouse.
Fingers slip-sliding over his glass and nearly dropping it, Hinata spins in his seat to give Sugawara a wide-eyed, petrified look. “Have I pissed off the mayor? Is he going to kick me out or fine me or get me arrested or – “
“No, no, no!” Sugawara waves his hands rapidly to stop Hinata’s rapid spiral into panic. “Why, have you committed a crime on the sneak while you’ve been here?”
“I don’t think so!” Hinata wails.
“Then what are you panicking for?” Sugawara laughs, fully getting up from his chair to collect their glasses and Hinata’s plate – he doesn’t think that he’s going to finish what’s left on it now. “Just because he’s the mayor doesn’t mean that he’s that scary. He’s very nice, I promise. Don’t know what he wants to talk to you about, but I’m sure it’s nothing bad…”
Hinata looks very unconvinced and very much like he would rather do literally anything else instead of getting up from his chair and going to meet Ukai for a talk, but he nods weakly all the same.
Sugawara bites back a fond sigh. “Do you want me to go with you…?”
“Yes please,” Hinata squeaks in relief, finally getting up from his seat.
Sugawara half wonders whether he’ll hide behind his back on the way there too, but Hinata seems to keep it together enough to walk up Main Street without too much dawdling.
It takes a little bit of nudging, but eventually Hinata slips inside Ukai’s office after they enter the courthouse. Sugawara thinks that he can hear Hinata’s knees knocking together, but at least his expression is impressively brave. Escort mission completed, he could return back to his café now, but he has nothing urgent to get back to and Hinata would probably appreciate him hanging around.
Sugawara starts regretting his choices over an hour later, when he’s still slumped in one of the chairs scattered around the courthouse’s vestibule, leafing through some pamphlet that’s about twenty years out of date. He doesn’t know what they’re talking about in there, but it’s taking a long time. He doesn’t even have Yamaguchi to talk to as a distraction.
After his fifth re-read of the same old town literature, Sugawara’s about to give up on his good deed when the door to Ukai’s office creaks back open and Hinata stumbles out, looking a little shell-shocked.
Sugawara ambles up from his chair and walks over, waving a hand in front of Hinata’s face in mild concern when he doesn’t react to his presence immediately. “Uhh… Hinata? You okay?”
Hinata blinks into thin air. “I think I had a catheter…” he says slowly, before blinking back into the present abruptly. “Is that the right word?”
“’Catharsis’” Sugawara corrects with an amused smile. “What did he say?”
Hinata answers with a question of his own. “Where’s Musubi?”
Sugawara cocks his head. Musubi? “Town not too far away from here, why?” Did Ukai know a job opportunity there or something? He goes to the neighbouring town semi-frequently, but Sugawara didn’t think that he had those kinds of connections…
“Ukai said he’s going to enter me in a dirt race?” Hinata says, his question seemingly more at the universe at large rather than at Sugawara. He scratches his temple, looking equally baffled as he does excited.
Well that’s not what I was expecting, Sugawara thinks to himself as he cups his jaw thoughtfully. Maybe it’s to cheer Hinata up? Sugawara’s been to the dirt track races held in Musubi a few times – just to watch, never to compete – and they are pretty great. He didn’t peg Hinata to want to try that sort of thing, but he does own a sports car. And Ukai is a very perceptive man under his initial gruffness, so maybe he’s onto something.
Hinata’s started babbling again, this time a happy little stream of thought as he goes through what Ukai had told him. Sugawara half-listens, a little caught up in his own thoughts to pay too much attention, but his ear cocks at the sound of the main door to the courthouse swinging open and banging shut again.
He glances up and nods briefly in greeting at Tsukishima, who has just entered. Tsukishima usually lurks in here anyway, so it’s not strange to see him. Sugawara doesn’t think anything of his arrival at all until he’s suddenly standing right next to them, looming over Hinata and giving him a calculated stare.
Sugawara raises an eyebrow. Tsukishima isn’t usually one for chatting.
“Hey. You want to stay here, right? On an ongoing basis?”
Hinata pauses his rambling and meets Tsukishima’s stare and question evenly. “Yeah? And?”
Sugawara hides a grin behind his palm. It’s kind of funny. When it comes to Ukai and Daichi – members of authority – Hinata has a tendency to worry if he’s inadvertently gotten into trouble. But with Tsukishima… no such panic. Even though he’s a lawyer, and holds a fair amount of sway, Hinata doesn’t seem bothered by him in the slightest.
“Come with me, then. I want to talk to you about… accommodation,” Tsukishima says – or rather commands – before spinning on his heel and striding for the little office next to Ukai’s that he sometimes shares with Yamaguchi.
Hinata blinks in his wake and glances over at Sugawara for an explanation – who can only offer a hopeless shrug – before scratching the back of his head and following Tsukishima’s lead at a far more leisurely pace. “Better see what he’s talking about, I guess… I’ll see you later, Suga!”
Effectively dismissed, Sugawara dithers for a moment, feeling a little blindsided by all the events of the last couple of hours, before he shakes his head and turns for home. No doubt Hinata will tell him all about it later.
It’s what Sugawara’s here for, after all.
Later, when Hinata resurfaces at the café around dinner time, he simply slides onto a stool and drapes himself across the counter, offering an unintelligible gurgle as a feeble greeting.
“You look tired,” Sugawara comments lightly as he slides Hinata a drink.
“Tsukki sure is… something,” Hinata groans into the countertop, heaving himself up slightly with an air of great effort to sip slowly at his drink.
Sugawara snorts a laugh. You’d think Hinata had just run a marathon or something. “He sure is,” he says agreeably. “What did he want, anyway?”
Hinata smacks his lips after a long sip, eyes flicking up to the ceiling as he tries to make his struggling brain recall everything that he’d been told. Sugawara can sympathise – Tsukishima has a tendency to drone. “He… made me an offer, I guess? He said I can stay in one of those empty houses on the edge of town if I’m happy to do it up myself. Said something about the bills being way lower than in the city, which is true… And then something about work and getting paid – it’s a low rate compared to back home but I guess I get food and board all bundled up?” His nose scrunches as he thinks harder. “I think that was the gist. I started getting a headache halfway through.”
Sugawara feels a grin stretch across his face as optimism flares in his chest. “You want to stay then?”
Before Hinata can even take a breath to answer, there’s a chorus of “You’re staying?” echoed loudly a few feet away.
Hinata and Sugawara’s heads both swivel as Tanaka and Nishinoya – who had been ‘playing cards’ in their booth and not at all eavesdropping – scramble over, their eyes huge and shiny. Hinata scratches his cheek in mild embarrassment as they crowd around him, a happy pleasant flush spreading over his skin.
“Yeah,” Hinata says. “I do want to. I actually really like it here, and everyone’s so nice… it’s just until I figure stuff out – “
He doesn’t get to finish his sentence, as Tanaka and Nishinoya let out an eardrum bursting synchronised yell and crush Hinata between them in a celebratory hug. Hinata lets out a noise that could indicate he’s choking, but his face looks so happy that Sugawara lets it be, his own cheeks hurting from how hard he’s smiling.
“One of us, huh?” he says when Hinata is released, and Hinata matches his smile with a sunny beam of his own, as Tanaka and Nishnoya chant “one of us, one of us” either side of him.
“Well, it’s a good opportunity. Plus, I really, really want to try out that dirt track…”
It doesn’t take long for Hinata to stop being a guest and instead become a fixture.
Just like everyone came together to prop him up in those first few days, they all help him to move in. Hinata didn’t bring much in the way of worldly possessions – mainly tools, manuals, and the bare necessities. Moving into one of the empty houses on the edge of town takes an afternoon. Doing the place up takes about a month. Painting, rewiring, fixing the old furniture left behind and getting in old hand-me-downs to replace what’s missing from the townspeople and neighbouring sellers.
Hinata always seems to be on the move. Even once he’s done fixing up his little house, he switches out flitting between that and his jobs with the dirt track races held over at Musubi. Then Ukai takes him to Willy’s Butte - the old, rudimentary track just outside of town and Hinata falls deeper in love with the thrill of throwing his car around the dirt. The addiction blooms quickly into skill, and before long his reputation starts to grow.
Hinata’s days of looking wistful and strangely sad seem far away now, replaced by busy work and dirt racing and drinks in the café until sundown.
Sugawara does wonder sometimes, as the weeks become months and the months become years, exactly when Hinata will ‘figure it out.’
But maybe he already has. Maybe he was just looking for change. Maybe all he really needed was the swap from the fast lane in the heart of a cold, busy city to the slow cruise in the middle of a desert town.
Maybe, but even though Sugawara is a romantic, he knows in his gut that something’s not quite right. That Porsche for one is such an extravagant thing, and it’s odd that Hinata plugged so much money into it for reasons known only to himself when he’s not flashy at all in any other way. In fact, he’s more frugal than some of the townsfolk, which is saying something when none of them have bundles of money to spare. And does someone in their mid-twenties really just want to live in the country forever?
There’s a story hidden, in that car and on old city streets, but Hinata does seem far more content than the guy who rocked up on the verge of a breakdown two years ago. So Sugawara doesn’t pry, no matter how much he wants to.
His job is to listen, after all. That’s the role of a café owner, to slide drinks and meals across a bar countertop and lend an ear to whatever woe his customer – friend, stranger, or otherwise – chooses to tell him. Should Hinata ever want to divulge his private business, then Sugawara will be here.
Until then, he supposes, he’ll just have to wait a little longer.
It takes two years of waiting. And even after all that patience, and all the other things that Hinata bends his ear for, it’s not Sugawara in the end who gets to hear what Hinata’s been keeping locked away.
Instead, it’s a stranger – Kageyama Tobio, who crashes into their town in the middle of the night, inexplicably managing to wreck an entire road in the process. A grumbling, low level of frustration bubbles within Sugawara even when the initial anger burns itself off the following morning. It stays in his gut, heated and simmering, until he actually gets a chance to talk to the kid.
Kageyama’s the complete opposite of Hinata at first glance – tall and dark and broody, but when Sugawara gets him in his café and places a meal in front of him it’s like déjà vu. Because for all of the surface differences Kageyama and Hinata are almost exactly the same – just another kid with an expensive car who lost their way.
Sugawara melts in an instant.
So he leans across his counter, and instead of offering his own ear – as he always does – he suggests another.
“You know, I think you and Hinata got off on the wrong foot. Try not to piss him off for five minutes and he’ll more than happy to show you how to drift…”