Chapter Text
October, First Year
Hinata walked with purpose. The mid-October breeze that blew through his flimsy off-brand windbreaker blanketed his body in a distinct chill one could only feel once the sun set. Zipping up his jacket wouldn’t dissuade the cold, it only looked like a windbreaker after all, so Hinata let the flaps fly about in the wind like dual kites.
On his path the trees fought against the wind, shedding multi-colored leaves in the process. They danced around until settling onto the sidewalk, Hinata stepping on them with a satisfying crunch. He chose his steps carefully, picking out what he thought would be the most delicate and crispy leaves.
He indulged for a few more feet, then continued at his original pace. Not running, but his frazzled hair blowing around him indicated a rush.
After a few minutes of speed walking, Yumenosaki was visible, just a few more blocks away. He couldn’t be certain of the time, but he assumed he would be rolling in right on the dot based on the clock he was keeping in his head. He was not feeling up for digging his phone out to check the exact minute, surely his instincts were tried and true enough to be correct.
He would have to trust them, because he really didn’t want to risk seeing any new messages on his phone.
Guilt squirmed around his gut at the mere thought of what exactly he was avoiding, but the alternative was something he couldn’t bear even more. It was like asking someone if they’d rather walk through coals or jump into a volcano. Both sucked, but equally? Not even close. And there was no contest to which one you’d pick when there’s no secret third option of ‘and they lived happily ever after’.
Hinata derailed that train of thought from his brain, letting his main objective for the night take the wheel. He walked through the school campus, approaching the main auditorium, not a person around in sight.
He was either arriving just in time as intended, or he was horrifically late.
The door handle was icy against his palm as he pulled it open, reminding him that he should start bringing gloves if he kept planning to go out so late. Toes and fingers were the first to go, so you better take care of them.
As he entered he was thankfully greeted with muffled cheering of an audience from the concert hall. Hinata skipped past those doors, going instead for the side door leading to the hallway that would take him backstage. Now with a pathway around the crowd that would ensue like a flood as people left, Hinata walked at a more leisurely pace. He and the others would have to wait for the whole crowd to be gone before they could begin anyways.
“Oh, Hinata-kun! There you are,” Hajime said as Hinata entered the backstage area.
Hinata smiled, ignoring the tinge of exhaustion in his cheeks. “Hey, Hajime-kun. Got everything ready? We should time ourselves and see how quickly we can get this done!”
“I think I’d only slow you down.” Hajime returned his smile cheerily. How was it that someone who surely worked twice as hard as Hinata could still keep his smiles so genuine? “We’re on sweeping duty, but don’t worry, I made sure to get us the working brooms. I may have hid them from last time.”
“I could really make a prankster out of you,” Hinata said. “If only you’d let me turn you to the dark side.”
“Kunugi-sensei is a bit too scary when he’s yelling at you, so I think I’ll have to pass on your lessons.”
Hinata shrugged. “Suit yourself. Now, pass me one of those brooms.”
Hajime handed one over, and Hinata knew he received the lesser one. It didn’t matter to Hinata, a broom’s a broom, but kind, sweet Hajime, selfless in all other acts, was particular about his cleaning supplies.
“Hinata-kun, is it cold outside?” Hajime asked. “I haven’t been out since the live started and the sun went down.” He paused, eyes not leaving Hinata’s. “And your cheeks look a little red.”
Kind, sweet Hajime was interrogating him it seemed. He’d known the guy long enough now to see when his questions were less about what he was asking, and more about what he was implying. Even if Hinata didn’t know that, Hajime looked at him with concern, as if Hinata had trucked through miles of snow to get here and not the slight October breeze.
“Nah, it’s not cold! I was just running a bit to get here since I didn’t want to be late. That first time I got here right on time and I still had to beat the crowd going in. It was a nightmare, like swimming against a huge current.” Hinata tilted the broom in his hands, making a show of examining it before swinging it in a slow, exaggerated motion. “Now, en garde, Hajime-kun! Let’s duel and decide who gets the task of sweeping the front row!”
Hajime jumped back, holding his broom in front of him. “Ah! I’ll take the front row, I don’t mind!”
“Oh, I didn’t mean to coerce you into it, though? We can rock paper scissors if you want.”
“No, it’s okay, Hinata-kun,” Hajime said. “Besides, I’m so slow it really doesn’t matter where I start.”
Hinata would’ve scolded him for his lack of confidence in cleaning, but it was painfully true. He wasn’t sure how his classmate managed to so consistently be the last one to finish cleaning.
Hinata also wasn’t sure when his antics had taken a turn towards dueling jokes rather than exaggerated cons or begging, or whatever else he used to do.
Well, it wasn’t that hard to suss out. The influence’s face entered Hinata’s mind with piercing violet eyes, sending his stomach churning again. Hinata bit on his tongue, drawing his mind back to his present goal. He peeked his head out from the curtain and was delighted to see the audience was all gone.
Time to clean.
His tired body protested as he started to sweep, but Hinata pushed through it easily. That was one of his greatest strengths: his constitution. In times like these, he thought of himself as taffy. Being pushed and pulled, stretched thin, but never once breaking. He would come out of this completely fine, and with some additional money.
Yeah, sure, that’s why I’m doing this, Hinata thought as he sweeped an assortment of trash to the end of the row to pick up later. My real talent is running away. Yuuta-kun’s always said that, and I always prove him right.
The whole point of this busy schedule was to keep his bones and mind too tired to bother thinking about other things, and yet it felt like the longer it went on the more Hinata came back to it with increasing dread. Stretching himself thin wasn’t unusual behavior, it was what kept Yuuta so prickly with him after all, but Hinata had never had it work so ineffectively for him before.
Was he losing his touch? Or maybe there was a more simple answer.
Tsukasa was too earnest in his texts, not understanding they were supposed to be for sending jokes, “lol”, and various emoticons. That was clearly the problem here. It was no fault of Hinata’s that he couldn’t manage to exhaust himself and send all his troublesome thoughts away with fatigue by picking up trash after a busy fine live, no, it wasn’t his fault at all.
Hinata swallowed as he threw the trash away, thinking he wasn’t much different than what others deemed as garbage. Some napkins here, plastic wrap there, a crushed water bottle. Well, maybe he was different from a water bottle. They could at least be recycled, turned into something better.
Poor Tsukasa had put all his affectionate wants and needs onto Hinata, and what a terrible choice that was. Tsukasa should know better, and he should be treating Hinata like the dust on the floor. Something to sweep away, throw outside, and strive to be rid of.
In truth, Hinata knew he was exaggerating, but didn’t they always say heartbreak would feel like the end of the world? Not that he was even currently heartbroken. Nope, the two halves of his heart were perfectly molded together, for now at least. It’d be a different story if he kept ignoring his boyfriend’s texts, sitting unopened on his phone like the second Hinata touched them they’d poison him. At least, that’s what it felt like. Or more like a bomb. A very dedicated ticking time bomb that Hinata carried around with him in his back pocket.
Thinking too hard about it made his stomach start to spin like a washing machine on full rinse, and he didn’t want to bother Hajime by throwing up right now—he was sure the other boy would actually take him home with him to take care of like a stray cat. There was still so much of the auditorium to clean, but at least they wouldn’t have to worry about the stage except for a quick sweep of anything left behind.
So, Hinata threw himself into cleaning, being more thorough than someone paid 500 million yen to clean a single concert hall. His arms ached as he sweeped in a frenzy, his legs protested as he got on his knees to collect trash under the chairs, and his head began to throb in protest at having skipped lunch and now presumably dinner too.
It was fine, he could eat when he got home. A quick snack before going to bed. And maybe a glance at his phone if his heart was worn out enough to bear it.
Maybe.
[Tsukasa]:
10:15 AM
Do you want to try and meet up for lunch? It’s a bit chilly today so the roof may be open.
I’ll wait there, if you are available to join me.
11:40 AM
Yuuta-kun just mentioned that you’re working all day again today. You should at least eat lunch to keep your strength up.
[Hinata]:
12:18 PM
yea sorry!! no roof today. lunch another time!
[Tsukasa]:
12:19 PM
Of course.
I’m assuming you’ll be too busy to do anything after school, but if you’re not then I have a spare half an hour if you would like to have some tea.
5:23 PM
You’re likely at work now. Could you please text me when you’re off then? Or when you get home?
And if you are free tomorrow, I would really like to see you.