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There are several things about summer that annoy Kei. The first is the heat. Japanese summers feel like the center of hell itself, and the searing heat is relentless even in the middle of the night, long after the sun has set. The second problem is the cicadas, which perch on every single tree trunk in the entire country and chirp for hours on end. They never seem to tire from their obnoxious noises, and Kei wonders how it's possible for bugs so tiny to be so loud. The third, and final, thing is the family vacations that are inevitable during summer. And this year is no exception. His mother has chosen a secluded island off the coast to spend the vacation. She insists it'll be good for them to get away from their busy Miyagi lives and experience something new. Kei disagrees, but he has no choice.
The airport they land at is quite literally located in the middle nowhere. He hardly has time to frown distastefully before he and Akiteru are ushered into the hatchback his mother rented. She takes the wheel after cramming their luggage into the trunk, Akiteru in the passenger seat, and Kei crams into the backseat alone. As they drive off, he turns up the music playing through his headphones. As the drive continues, he presses his forehead against the glass of the window and watches the scenery whiz by. There isn't much to see, anyway—lots of palm trees, mountains, and a vast beach and sparkling ocean stretching to the horizon. Not a single car passes by for the entire ride, and Kei sighs. Based on the aura of this deserted island, he's definitely in for an uneventful summer.
They reach a small town, where he's relieved to see signs of civilization. They pass by a small super market, an elementary school, and there are even telephone poles. Kei silently prays to the gods for the possibility of Internet connection.
His mom pulls the car to a stop in front of a small, traditional-style house surrounded by greenery. "Here it is," she says brightly. "It's gorgeous, isn't it?"
Kei climbs out of the backseat and takes a long look at the house. It looks old, as the wood is wearing away and leaves and dust cover the front porch. He sighs again.
"Kei, come help with the luggage," his mother calls.
He obliges and takes two suitcases, his and Akiteru's, in his arms.
"Be careful with mine," Akiteru jokes, his hands full with the other bags.
Kei rolls his eyes, ignoring him and the remarks his mother makes about what a charming place this is, and hauls the suitcases up the porch steps. They creak and groan under his and the luggage's combined weight, and he fears briefly that they might collapse. However, they hold steady and allow him to make it up to the door in one piece. He sets down the suitcases to slide open the door, only to find that even several hard tugs won't make it budge it.
"Let your big brother give it a try," Akiteru says from behind him in that condescending older sibling way, and Kei steps aside. In one swift movement, the door sweeps open. Akiteru grins.
"I loosened it for you," Kei mumbles, and he grabs the suitcases and moves past his brother. The inside of the house hardly looks better than the outside. It's plain and brown, and he's pretty sure there's a layer of dust that's gathered on every surface. The mats are worn and tattered and there are cracks in the ceiling and the walls.
His mother makes a noise of surprised delight. "How cute! With a little cleaning up, this will be a lovely place to stay."
"More like a lot of cleaning up," Kei says under his breath, sweeping a finger over the kitchen table. His finger turns black with dust.
"What was that, Kei?" his mom says, giving him a look.
"Nothing," he says back as nonchalantly as possible, wiping the dust off.
After all their belongings are inside the house and Kei has claimed the room with both a bunk bed and a desk, his mother sends him and Akiteru out to do errands. Akiteru is in charge of going down to the small home goods store for cleaning supplies. Kei is handed a wad of yen and a list on a Post-It note and is sent to the super market to buy ingredients for the next few days' meals.
On the walk there, he notices little things; the large stag beetles hiding in the branches of the trees, the road in desperate need of re-cementing, the soft breeze that ruffles his hair. He also, strangely enough, hears ukulele music being played. It seems to get louder the farther he walks on, until eventually he attaches the sound with the face of an orange-haired boy sitting on the steps of the grocery store. Kei doesn't think too much of it (maybe it's a local thing to sit in strange places and play musical instruments) and approaches the store.
The boy notices him immediately and looks at him curiously, his strumming slowing. "Who're you? I've never seen you around before."
Kei didn't anticipate a conversation, but out of courtesy he replies. "I'm here on vacation," he says. "My name is Tsukishima."
The boy smiles, and his eyes shine. "That's so cool! I've lived here my entire life and we never see new people." He plucks one of the strings. "I'm Hinata Shouyou. It's nice to meet you."
Kei has to look away from his blinding smile. He disappears into the store and focuses on hunting down the items on the list his mother gave him. When he's found and paid for everything on his mother's list and steps out with his arms weighed down by the grocery bags, he sees that the boy, Hinata, is still outside strumming at his ukulele.
Going against his better judgement and his own subconscious reprimanding him he asks, "Why are you out here?"
Hinata stops playing and looks up at the blond. "My parents own the market, so I'm usually around here, especially now that it's summer and school's out." He grins.
"Oh." Kei realizes that the woman who had checked out his items did have the same hair and friendly smile as Hinata.
"Where are you staying?" the boy asks.
Kei gestures vaguely down the road as best he can with the bags. "A little ways down. It's a small, run-down house."
"How long are you here?" is the next question.
"Six weeks." Six weeks in the middle of nowhere and with no friends to meet up with. He's not even sure if he has WiFi to Skype Yamaguchi. He makes a mental note to check when he gets back to the house.
Hinata looks thoughtfully off in the distance, then back at Kei like he's just been struck by lightning and given a wonderful idea. "Let me show you around the island! It's pretty small, but there's a lot of stuff you might miss if you don't look hard enough." He stands up on the steps and points a thumb at his chest, like he's a cool character in one of those manga Kei reads. "Luckily, I know this place like the back of my hand. So, what d'you say?"
Kei comically lifts up the grocery bags. "I have to be getting back soon. Dinner, and all."
He thinks he sees Hinata's face fall in disappointment, but he's not sure. "Oh."
And for the second time, Kei disobeys his common sense and says, "Do you want to join us?"
Hinata's head snaps up like someone just told him he was about to miss a shooting star streak across the sky. "Really? Like, for dinner? With you?"
Kei should've retracted the offer when he had the chance. Instead he says, "Yes. Make a decision quickly, though."
Hinata bobs his head up and down excitedly, scrambles up the stairs, pushes opens the door to the market, and yells, "Mom! I'm going to have dinner at someone's house!"
Kei wished his hands weren't weighed down with bags so he could hold his temples.
After a few moments, Hinata comes bounding back down the stairs ukulele-less and with a grin on his face. He picks up a bicycle that's leaning on the stairs and yells, "Let's go! I can't wait to hang out with you more!" They begin the walk back, and Hinata continues talking as he pushes his bike by the handlebars. "I've never had someone besides my best friend invite me over before. There aren't many people on the island and my class is small and a lot of the kids think I'm annoying so I mostly hang out with Kenma—he's my best friend, by the way."
The babbling continues and Kei stares, astounded, wondering how someone can say so much so quickly and not run out of words. In fact, Hinata doesn't run out of words all the way to the house.
"Wow, what a cool place to stay!" Hinata exclaims when they reach it. He rests his bike against the banister of the porch steps.
"Not really," Kei mutters. With the grocery bags still weighing him down, he ungracefully tugs the door open and steps aside to let Hinata bound inside. "I'm back," he calls as he slides the door shut. Hinata has already kicked off his sandals and his looking around as if he was in a museum full of ancient artifacts instead of an old, dusty house.
"Welcome home, Kei," his mother says, stepping out from the kitchen. Her eyes widen when she sees Hinata standing next to Kei, vibrating with energy. "Oh, hello! Who are you?" she asks.
"My name is Hinata Shouyou," the orange-haired boy says, and he bows. "Thank you for letting me into your home."
"I met him at the store and invited him to dinner," Kei adds, sighing.
"How lovely; you've already made a friend!" she gushes happily. And then to Hinata, "You know, he's never been one to make friends. People are always turned away by that attitude of his."
"Mom," he says, giving her a look.
"Well, come in, boys," she says, ushering them inside. "And would you put those bags on the kitchen counter and start putting the food away, Kei?"
Kei nods and leads Hinata into the kitchen, who stands restlessly nearby while he places the bags down and begins unpacking their contents. He glances over at Hinata with a can of beans in his hand and says, "You can go to my room and wait for me. I'll be done in a bit. It's the second room down the hall on the right."
"Right," Hinata says, and he looks like he might salute, but he keeps his hands at his sides and scurries out the door.
Kei's mom appears next to him and begins unpacking alongside him. "That Hinata boy sees nice."
"Sure," Kei mumbles. Personally, jacked up on soda are the first words he'd use to describe him.
"He must be different if you invited him over," she continues.
"He was just annoying," Kei says, keeping a neutral face as he places the celery into the refrigerator. "I didn't want him getting all sad over it."
Out of the corner of his eye he can see he small smile playing on his mom's face. She doesn't say anything, and Kei is itching to know what she's thinking. Probably something ridiculous about how he's becoming softer.
"I'll finish up here," his mom says, shooing him away. "I'll call you when dinner's ready. You go have fun with your friend."
He's not my friend, he almost says, but decides against it. As he approaches his room, he's surprised to see Akiteru learning against doorway in the midst of a conversation with Hinata. Well, Hinata is doing most of the talking while Akiteru watches with an amused smile.
"This is my room," Kei says to his brother, frowning.
"I know," he replies, and he pats Kei's head like he used to do when they were younger.
"Tsukishima, you're so lucky you have a bunk bed!" Hinata crows, eyes lit up like Christmas lights. "Your room is so cool!"
"It's boring," Kei says. "I didn't have time to unpack anything—" He peers into his room, past Akiteru, and startles. His bedding is unpacked and the bed is made, the desk has been dusted off, and even his dinosaurs have been displayed on the shelf. He looks over his shoulder at Akiteru, who smiles.
"I did some unpacking for you while you were at the store," he says.
"Thank you," Kei mumbles, and Akiteru thunks his head before straightening up.
"I'll leave you to have fun," he says, sauntering away with a smile. Kei squints at his retreating back.
"Your brother is nice," Hinata comments.
"When he's not being nosy or a jerk," Kei mutters, but he can't keep the fondness out of his voice. "But yeah. He is."
Hinata wanders over to the bookshelf and scrutinizes the dinosaurs. "I like your dinosaur statues! I used to really like them when I was younger, although Jurassic Park gave me nightmares."
Kei snickers despite himself. Then, out of curiosity: "How old are you?"
"Sixteen," Hinata responds.
"We're the same age," Kei muses, mostly to himself. "You're so short, I could've sworn you were at least two years younger than me."
Hinata bristles. "I'm still a growing boy, you know! And you're just unnaturally tall!"
"It helps to be tall when playing volleyball," Kei says.
Hinata's eyes turn into saucers. "You play volleyball? I do, too! Wanna play sometime? The island has a beach volleyball court!"
Kei shifts uncomfortably, unprepared for the prospect of more socialization.
Hinata seems to catch onto this and quickly backtracks. "It's cool, we can just hang out today and if you decide you don't like me, that's okay. I'll understand."
"I don't dislike you," Kei tells him, and he's not even lying that much.
Hinata half-smiles at him. "Isn't that just another way of saying you like me?"
"Don't push it," Kei deadpans back. "Besides, we literally just met. You could be an axe murderer, for all I know."
"Inviting an axe murderer into your home would be unfortunate," Hinata laments. "But, luckily for you, I have no axes nor am I a murderer."
"Yay for us," Kei says without any emotion.
"Boys, dinner's ready!" his mom's voice calls.
"Let's go," Kei says, and glances back at Hinata. "Just—don't talk about axes to my mom."
Dinner is pleasant, although Hinata says his thanks for the food too loudly and chokes on the tonkatsu several times from eating so fast. His mom asks a lot of questions, all of which Hinata replies to energetically. Kei learns that he has a little sister, has only been off the island once when he vacationed in Kyoto, and goes on frequent fishing trips with his friend and his father, who owns the island's fish market. Akiteru also joins the conversation, while Kei finds comfort in listening quietly. It's strange that he feels as if he's known Hinata for years, even though he knows they only met earlier that evening.
After the meal, Hinata checks his small plastic watch (Kei swears he's still a child) and seems thoroughly disappointed when he announces he has to be home soon.
"Thank you for having me," he says earnestly to Kei's mom, bowing deeply.
"It was a pleasure having you, Shouyou-kun," she smiles back. Then she says to Kei, "Show him to the door, will you?"
Kei lets Hinata say goodbye to Akiteru before leading him to the front door. He wiggles his feet back into his flip flops and slips all three steps, grabbing hold of his bike. Kei stands at the top of the porch, and even in the dark he can see Hinata's smile shine through.
"Thanks for inviting me," he says. "I had a lot of fun! I hope you come by the market again."
"I probably will," Kei says, and then quickly adds, "for food and stuff."
Hinata giggles, and Kei should definitely not be this affected. He mounts his bike and turns in the direction of his own house.
"See you later!" Hinata says, waving with one hand, and he peddles off. Kei watches his back disappear in the dim light of the stars. Then he steps inside and slides the door closed with the image of a smile as bright as the sunshine in his mind.
The next morning, after having a light breakfast and confirming that there is indeed WiFi in the house (albeit very slow), he tells his mom that he's going to go for a walk. He conveniently leaves out the bit of information that includes walking past the grocery store again to see if one ginger-haired teenage boy is there. His mom waves him off with a, "Be back for lunch", and he starts off towards the store. As he nears, he hears the familiar strumming of a ukulele that confirms Hinata's presence.
"I knew you'd come back!" he says as soon as he spots Kei. "I already came up with a bunch of fun things for us to do while you're here, if you want!"
"Don't you want to hang out with your other friends?" Kei asks, accidentally letting his words come out harsher than he intended.
Hinata doesn't seem fazed. "I'm really only friends with Kenma, and he just likes to sleep in late and play video games inside. That's why I'm really glad you're here!"
Kei sighs and concedes, moving in to take a seat beside Hinata on the steps. "What've you got in mind?"
Hinata makes a small excited squawking sound and then begins to list off things, one after the other. "The beaches are really pretty here and I won't let you leave without taking a trip down there. My backyard is pretty big and has a fire pit, so we can camp out back there, like with tents and s'mores and everything! And in a few weeks is the annual festival and it has games and really good food and fireworks and it's always really fun so I want to take you!" He heaves in a deep breath, winded from talking so fast for a long period of time. "There's probably a lot more, but those are the big ones I thought of! Plus there's bug catching and a small aquarium!"
"That sounds—" Kei hesitates to find the right word. "—busy."
"Well, you're only here for six weeks!" Hinata exclaims. "We have to fit everything there is to do here within those weeks!"
Kei feels exhausted already.
Hinata makes good on that promise. They go everywhere and see everything. During the second week, Kei meets Hinata's family, including his little sister, Natsu, at the grocery store. Hinata's parents are just as excited about him making a friend as Kei's mother was for the same reason. Natsu, for reasons unknown, takes a liking to him right away and demands she be able to spend time with him when Hinata does. Hinata looks reluctant, but Kei gives her his best smile and tells her he'd be happy to have her around.
("I never would have guessed you were good with kids," Hinata whispers as they help Natsu set up a tea party in Kei's back garden.
"Well I'm friends with you, aren't I," Kei whips back, not missing a beat. Hinata squeaks in protest.)
During their trip to the beach, Natsu collects shells lying in the sand, Hinata bumps a volleyball and plays his ukulele, and Kei reads until Hinata scolds him and steals his book. A page or two ends up getting ripped, and Hinata bows with his head in the sand begging not to be killed.
As they prepare for the trip back up to their homes, Hinata offers Kei a ride on the back of his bicycle.
"That isn't safe," he says, eyeing the small footholds connected to the back wheels. "I'm going to die."
"It's totally safe," Hinata insists. "Kenma's done it before and he was fine. Come on, Tsukishima." He makes this face like his heart might break if he's told no, and Kei groans.
"If I get injured, I'm blaming you," he says, and gets on.
(He doesn't die that day, but he can't stop thinking about how warm Hinata's shoulders were where he held on.)
During the third week, Kei comes over to Hinata's house for the first time. It's a traditional-style Japanese home, like most of the other houses in the neighborhood and on the island. It's Natsu who answers the door a few moments after Kei rings the bell, a large grin on her face.
"Tsukishima!" she says, pointing up at him. "It's Shouyou's boyfriend!"
Kei's eye widen, and Hinata appears quickly at the door, shooing Natsu aside with a shush in her direction. He smiles sheepishly at Kei.
"Kids, amirite?" he says nervously. "So! Come on in!"
"Pardon the intrusion," Kei says, still thinking about being called Hinata's boyfriend as he steps inside.
"My parents are out for the night, so it's just the three of us," Hinata says over his shoulder as he leads Kei through the house to the backyard. "I've got everything we need ready!"
It turns out ready in Hinata's book meant the materials for a camping tent scattered around on the grass and several pieces of wood sitting next to the fire pit.
"Your parents actually trust you with fire?" Kei says, eyeing the wood like it's a potential threat to his life.
"Well, technically they said not to light any fires," Hinata says, and then quickly adds, "but it'll be small. Plus, I'm responsible enough to keep it under control."
Kei snickers.
First they drag out futons and pillows from inside and attempt to set up the tent. However, both his and Hinata's lack of camping knowledge does not help in the least. Neither of them can figure out which parts attach to others.
"You're the worst at this," Kei tells him.
"You're not helping any more than I am!" Hinata shoots back.
Kei struggles to fasten a clip onto one of the bent poles. "Shut up and keep working."
Even though they end up with a barely functional lopsided tent, Kei can't deny he's having fun. Next, Hinata makes several attempts to start a fire with some matches until Kei decides that it is the worst possible idea in history and forbids Hinata from ever coming in contact with fire ever again. Instead, they make their s'mores on the microwave, which tastes just as good.
When it gets late, they climb into the misshapen tent where Natsu had ale easy fallen asleep. The tent is small, so Kei and Hinata share a futon. Which is fine, Kei tells himself. Totally fine.
The cicadas are as loud as ever, and the midday heat still lingers in the air, making Kei's skin stick to the futon. Beside him, Hinata breathes rhythmically. His presence has become second nature to Kei, almost like he's always belonged by his side.
After what seems like an eternity, Hinata speaks. "You have three more weeks, right?"
"Yeah," Kei says back, speaking up at the tent. It's strange to think about. The time he's spent here feels like a lifetime's worth of memories.
"I'll be sad when you leave," Hinata says, but this time in a small voice; one Kei has never heard before. It's such a contrast from his usual liveliness.
"Don't get all sad now," Kei warns. "We've still got time left."
Hinata's hand brushes against his in the dark. Kei lets the warmth tingle his skin, and then he takes the smaller hand in his. His cool hand against Hinata's warm one maintains a comfortable temperature.
Then, Hinata breaks the silence with a, "Your hand is huge."
"Shut up and go to sleep."
"How are you, Tsukki?" Yamaguchi asks, his voice slightly out of synch with the movement of his mouth. "Having fun?" He's gotten a haircut since the last time they saw each other. His image on Kei's laptop is grainy, thanks to the limited lighting of the night. They've been messaging up until now, but this is their first face-to-face talk since Kei left for the island.
"I guess so," Kei says. Every day he spends with Hinata exhausts him, as if watching someone expend that much energy somehow makes him feel like he's lost energy as well. Or perhaps it's Hinata's brightness that's sucking all the energy out of him so he can shine.
"Liar," Yamaguchi says back.
"What?" Kei says defensively, frowning.
"Something's going on that's making you happy," his friend says, smiling mischievously.
He could lie, brush it off and deny it, but it's Yamaguchi, and he'd be able to tell when Kei is hiding something, maybe even before Kei himself knew he was hiding it. "I met this boy, he's our age, and he's like the literal, physical embodiment of the sun. It's painful just watching him."
"Has he given you, like, tours and stuff?"
"Not just a tour," Kei grunts. "The tour. This island has ten times the number of cicadas than back home, I swear. And when Hinata's not talking, he's playing the ukulele. Or doing both at the same time."
Yamaguchi stifles a laugh. "Sounds like you like him."
"I tolerate him," Kei responds dryly, keeping a straight face.
"I'm sure you do," Yamaguchi says in a strange voice. It makes Kei want to sink down in his chair.
"Why does it feel like you're attacking me?" he grumbles.
"Ah, sorry, Tsukki." Yamaguchi grins. "I'm just glad you're having fun with your friend." He quickly glances somewhere off-screen and then says, "I have to go now, since it's pretty late and I have to be up early tomorrow."
"What's the special occassion?"
Yamaguchi gives this secretive kind of look. "I'm meeting with Kageyama for coffee."
If this was a TV drama like the ones his mom watches, Kei would've fallen out of his seat. "Since when are you and the king friends?" He tries not to not sound hysterical.
Yamaguchi shrugs nonchalantly. "It's been a few weeks since you left. You don't know everything I do." Kei thinks he sees him wink, but it might be the light. "I'll talk to you sometime soon, okay?"
"Sure. See you."
Yamaguchi waves and ends the call. Kei exits out of the Skype tab and leans back in his office chair. He knows this vacation is the longest he and Yamaguchi will have gone without seeing each other, and wonders if the two of them are changing. They've been second years since April and playing volleyball since middle school. Besides becoming reluctant friends with Kageyama in their first year of high school, nothing has changed much for him. He didn't realize that maybe Yamaguchi has been wanting to make a few changes to his own life.
Maybe Kei should start to as well.
The night of the festival, Hinata bikes over to his house with Natsu and a bucket of fireworks in his bicycle's basket.
"It's for when they set off the big fireworks!" Hinata explains. "We always light ours just before that!"
"Are you sure it's safe?" Kei asks, eyeing them.
"Absolutely!" Hinata confirms.
The festival is not what Kei expected. Well, if he's being honest, he doesn't exactly know what he expected. There are small stands with games for children, cotton candy and food vendors, and the mythical fish scooping that he's seen in every anime ever but never seen in person.
"Ta-da!" Hinata says, extending an arm out proudly, like he's revealing a project for a science fair.
"You have this every year?" Kei asks.
"Yeah! Isn't it great?"
Kei ruminates the vast differences between his life and Hinata's. It's astounding.
In the beginning he simply follows Hinata, who knows what he's doing more or less. He watches, amused, as the shorter boy loses game after game.
After losing the ring toss, Hinata has lost steam. "Argh! I thought I had a chance this year!"
Kei glances over Hinata's shoulder. "There's something I would like to try."
At the booth, he's given a small handle with a circlular piece of paper. "Whatever you catch you get to keep," the teenager running the booth says, snapping his bubblegum.
Trying his best to ignore Hinata hanging off his shoulder, Kei watches carefully at the way the goldfish swim around and around, almost mesmerizingly. Then he scoops quickly, managing to catch a shimmering poppy-colored fish in the scooper.
Hinata makes load oooh noises as Kei puts the fish into a plastic bag filled with water.
"I've never, ever caught one before!" he squeals. "You're like the goldfish master, Tsukishima!"
"This is my first time," Kei says, shrugging.
Hinata makes more noises, obviously envious of his skills. Kei rolls his eyes and holds the bag out to Hinata.
"Here," he says. "You probably need it more than me."
Hinata's already wide eyes grow impossibly larger. Kei's never seen someone's eyes actually grow the size of saucers until now. "Really? You're letting me keep it?"
"If you take care of it properly," Kei says. "Feed it and clean its tank and everything."
"I will!" Hinata salutes him with the hand not carrying the fish, and then he hugs Kei. "Thank you, Tsukishima!"
Kei looks down at the fluff of orange hair attached to his middle and realizes his face is warm. It stays even after Hinata has let go, but he doesn't notice, luckily, as he's too pre-occupied with choosing a name for the fish.
"I think I'll name him...Flash!" Hinata says.
"No," Kei says back.
"Why not? It's my fish!"
"I caught it."
Hinata makes a face. "But you gave it to me, so I have rights over it now. Therefore, I dub thee Flash the goldfish." He pretends to knight the fish with his finger, and Kei hides his smile with another eye roll.
His mom, Akiteru, and Hinata's family meet them on the beach. Natsu waddles up to them carrying the bucket of fireworks. Hinata takes it from her and sends her back to their parents, saying, "Your big brother will show you how it's done, okay?"
Once Natau is safely back with their parents, Hinata turns back to Kei and holds the bucket out to him.
"I've never done this before," he admits slowly.
Hinata looks at him as if he offended not only Hinata, but all the generations of his family before him. "You've never lit fireworks?" he screeches.
"No," Kei says.
With a determined expression on his face, Hinata takes several fireworks from the bucket and holds them up to Kei's face.
"Tonight we make history!" he announces.
Kei can't help but snort, amused at his enthusiasm. He takes a firework with a striped purple and red pattern from Hinata's hand.
"We can light them and then run around the beach!" Hinata exclaims. "This is what summer really is!"
"You're a bad influence on Natsu," Kei tells him, shaking his head, but he knows there's not a chance of Hinata changing his mind.
"Come on, Tsukishima," Hinata probes, poking him in the arm with a firework. "Lighten up! Smile!"
Unfortunately, he's learned that Hinata's smile is the contagious kind, and Kei finds his mouth twitching.
With the supervision of both their families (including Akiteru, who "didn't want to get in the way"), they light their fireworks together. Hinata starts shouting and waving his high up in the air, while Kei holds his far away from himself and any bodies. The sparks shoot straight out and make a fizzing sound that reminds him of soda being poured.
"Isn't this amazing?" Hinata calls to him, holding the firework up in the air as he dashes around in the sand. The sparks illuminate his bright, laughing face and Kei almost forgets how to breathe.
Hinata raises his firework like it's a wine glass and he's about to make a toast. "To Tsukishima's first fireworks!"
"I've seen fireworks before," Kei points out.
"You know what I mean!" Hinata says back, sticking out his tongue. "To Tsukishima's first time lighting fireworks and staring death in the eye!"
Kei actually laughs aloud.
After they put out their fireworks, they lay out a blanket on the sand far enough away from the water to ensure the waves won't reach them, and they sit together. Kei is careful to keep a few inches of distance between them. The last of the big fireworks are going off in the smoky sky.
"Did you have fun today?" Hinata asks. He's not looking directly at Kei, but rather out at the ocean that's rippling and reflecting the starlight and bursts of fireworks.
"Yes," Kei replies sincerely.
Hinata's mouth curves up. "I'm glad."
Kei scoops a handful of sand and lets the grains fall through his fingers slowly. He speaks slowly, as well. "You're not like anyone else I've ever met. You live here on this island where it almost seems like time is altered. We have such opposite lives."
Hinata laughs quietly. "But it's funny that we get along so well, isn't it? Because we're so different, I mean."
Kei lets the last of the sand in his hand rejoin the beach where it belongs.
"You're nothing like me," Hinata continues, "and I think that's why I like you."
Kei tries not to look embarrassed and nervous but it's not working. He turns his head slightly to look at Hinata out of the corner of his eye, and the other boy is looking back at him with a very faint smile, nothing like his full-charged grins. No, the smile he wears now is one Kei wants to believe is saved just for him in a moment like now.
"I think I like you, too," Kei breathes.
In one swift movement Hinata meets Kei's lips with his own, and it's sweet and innocent in a way that's exactly like an ideal cliché summer love. Kei wants to laugh, but right now he doesn't even know where he ends and Hinata begins. It's everything an awkward, teenage first kiss should be and he thinks he could die at this very moment.
"You don't look like you're sucking on a lemon for once!" Hinata says happily when they part.
"I guess it's your charming presence," Kei says sarcastically, but without much bite. It's not helping that there's a flaming heat on his cheeks. He still feels like he's flying.
"You know, I've been wanting to do that since the day I met you." Hinata grins. "I kinda wish I'd done it earlier, because you've only got less than three weeks left."
"You don't have to bring that up now," Kei says, frowning, but he lets himself be kissed again.
Before they part ways for the night, Hinata pushes himself up on the handlebars of his bicycle to kiss Kei's cheek and says, "Tomorrow, let's go hunting for stag beetles! I know a great place where we can catch really rare ones."
Kei's never been fond of bugs, but he says, "Okay", and watches Hinata peddle away.
As soon as he gets home he collapses onto his bed backwards and studies the wooden framework of the top bunk, trying to figure out its secrets and Hinata's.
He hears a knock and strains his neck to see who it is.
"We need to have a chat," Akiteru says from the doorway. His expression is unreadable. His family and Hinata's must've seen everything.
Kei sits up and rises slowly to his feet, enduring his brothers steely, hawk-like gaze. After what seems like forever, Akiteru grabs him and crushes him in a hug. "I can't believe my little brother is all grown up!" He lets go long enough to wipe away an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye. Kei wants to die.
"Shut up," he grumbles, his cheeks tinged pink.
"This is just such a big moment," Akiteru fogres on, ignoring the daggers Kei is glaring at him with. "And I, your beloved older brother, have to let you know how proud I am of you for reaching this milestone in your life."
"I'm done," Kei says, and tries to make his escape, but Akiteru grabs him in a headlock.
"Oh, little Kei!" he cries dramatically. "We go on vacation and not more than a month later you find yourself a boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend," Kei protests, struggling in his brother's iron grip.
"Whatever you say." Akiteru grins, rubbing his knuckles into Kei's skull.
Kei accepts the sweet embrace of death.
The days pass. Summer can't last forever, says a small voice in the back of Kei's head. He knows, and he's spent long nights awake thinking. Falling in love with a boy on an island in the middle of nowhere wasn't one of his better plans. In fact, it wasn't in his plans at all. But he let it happen, and he doesn't regret it, because Hinata's bright smile and his warm hands and his sweet-as-lemonade kisses feel so much like home.
It's the last week and they're sitting out on the grocery store steps like routine. Hinata is strumming his ukulele as always, and Kei is pretending to fascinated with the worn toes of his sneakers. The few inches of space between them that they used to leave are gone, and now they sit close enough for their shoulders to bump.
"So," Hinata says.
"So," Kei echoes.
"What day do you leave?"
Kei knows he knows, but he answers anyway. "Friday." Five more days.
Hinata picks some peeling rubber off his sandals. "Want to do anything else before you leave?"
Kei can't think of anything. He only wants more time. More time to spend with Hinata. More time to be in love.
"You can sleep over tonight," Kei says. "It'll get messy when we start packing."
Hinata comes. He eats dinner with them and smiles and looks like he's trying to ignore the time ticking away. Kei's trying too, but it must show on his face because afterwards when he and Akiteru are washing the dishes, his brother tells him, "You seem worried."
"I'm fine," he replies, and goes to join Hinata in his room.
Hinata is perched in the top bunk, waiting for him. "So, what's tonight's topic? We've already covered aliens versus dinosaurs, robot and zombie apocalypses, and the possibility of supernatural beings among us."
"Superpowers," Kei says. He lets Hinata talk while he changes into his pajamas.
"Flying, definitely! Actually, super speed seems really cool! Both could help in volleyball."
"New rule: no choosing based on volleyball-related reasons," Kei says, collapsing on the bottom bunk. Hinata's head swings down from above.
"No fair." He frowns.
"It's plenty fair," Kei says.
Hinata drops down from the top bunk and sits cross-legged on Kei's mattress beside him. "Well, what about you?"
He doesn't have to think long. "Mind reading."
"Why?" Hinata looks unimpressed.
"Then you know who's talking shit about you," Kei says. "You always know what people are thinking about you."
Hinata frowns. "What if they're always thinking bad stuff?"
Kei shrugs. "The truth hurts."
Hinata rolls his eyes. "Well, I still think mine were better."
They talk until late, the clock's hands going around and around, until Kei checks the time and says, "We should sleep."
Hinata nods in agreement, but instead of moving back up to the top bunk, he snuggles under Kei's covers with him. Kei raises an eyebrow at him.
"'M lazy," Hinata says.
Kei snorts but doesn't complain. He sighs and closes his eyes. Hinata's body is radiating heat and they'll probably overheat in half an hour, but for now it's comforting. Hinata is so much smaller than Kei, and their bodies fit easily together like they were meant to be this way.
The sounds of Hinata's quiet breathing and the beating of their hearts puts Kei to sleep.
The last day comes, quickly and bittersweet. Their once decorated house is now barren. The contents of his temporary room have been emptied out into boxes that are packed away in the trunk of their rented car. Kei feels a bit empty, too.
Their families meet on the steps in front of the grocery store—ironic, Kei notes, because this is where it all started, so it's only fitting that this is where it ends.
First he thanks Hinata's parents for letting him come over so often, and then he hugs Natsu and tells her send him mail, even though he knows she can't write very well and she hasn't learned how to write any kanji. Kei's mom gives Hinata a hug and Akiteru ruffles his hair. When they face each other, Hinata has a wobbly smile on his face.
"Promise you'll message me," he says.
"I will," Kei says. "Take care of Flash. And you have my Instagram, so you can stalk my normal, boring life."
Hinata giggles and wipes at his eyes with his palms. "Do your best and go to nationals, okay? I want to see you on TV."
They've never even been to the semi-finals, but Kei nods anyway. "I'll try."
Hinata has to stand on his toes to kiss Kei, and he nearly dies of embarrassment when their families collectively aw.
Just as his mom starts the car engine, Hinata comes bounding down the steps and knocks frantically on the window. Kei rolls it down and says, "What are you doing?"
Hinata shoves his ukulele through the opening. "Keep it. To remember me by."
Kei looks a down at the instrument in his hands. "But—"
"I can always get another one," Hinata says. "I can't get another you."
Hinata rejoins his family on the front steps of the store. Kei's mom drives off, and he watches Hinata wave in the side mirror until he's a tiny speck in the distance. He sighs and slumps down in the backseat.
Akiteru meets his eye in the rearview mirror. "Cheer up, little brother. You'll see him again one day."
When he steps into his room (his real room, which he's missed and is glad to find looks exactly the same) he immediately lays backwards onto his bed with his phone on his chest and Hinata's ukulele in his hand. He closes his eyes and takes several deep breaths. Then, he begins to go through his photos. A lot of them are ones he took of scenery while out on adventures with Hinata, including the beach, the aquarium, and the festival. Hinata's in some of them as well, looking as lively as always. There's one picture sandwiched between all the others that's different from the rest—he's in it. He clicks on it.
It's of him and Hinata. Hinata has his ukulele, and Kei is kissing him on the cheek. He remembers the moment when this was taken, but he didn't think anyone was watching. Akiteru must've taken it, because his parents were nowhere near as interested in meddling with his summer romance as his brother was. It's embarrassing, no doubt, but he also thinks it might be one of his favorite pictures from the trip.
He puts a nice filter on it to distract from the blurriness (a by-product of Akiteru's poor photography skills) and uploads it to Instagram.
[Image]
♥ 72 likes
tsukki @shoushouyou messed up the song right after this was taken
View all 15 comments
yamagucci I've been waiting for this
tsukiakiteru where are my photo creds lil bro? ;)
tsukki you don't get any bc it's so blurry @tsukiakiteru
sugakou I'm glad to see you made a (boy)friend and had a fun time over break! Hopefully you're ready to come back and play some volleyball (❁´▽`❁)*✲ﾟ*
BOKUTOWL OHOHOHO
BOKUTOWL TSUKKI U DIDNT TELL ME U GOT A BOYFRIEND
tetsurouuu @BOKUTOWL our son is growing up so fast
akaaashi @BOKUTOWL @tetsurouuu please take your antics elsewhere
akaaashi tsukishima, i'm very happy for you
NOYA_SAN SUMMER LOVIN' HAD ME A BLAST
RYUU_SAN SUMMER LOVIN' HAPPENED SO FAST
tobio.kageyama But is he a good volleyball player?
tendersalami OKAY IM SALTY BUT THIS IS CUTE FUCK YOU
kunimeme ^ we're all jealous tbh
shoushouyou I didn't know someone was watching!! Your brother is so sneaky! Anyway I miss you!!! (◠ ◡ ◠)
There are several things about summer that Kei has learned to love. Watermelon and shaved ice make any day in the sweltering heat more enjoyable, and looking out at a sunset of pinks and reds and oranges is something he never realized could be so beautiful. But what he loves most about summer is the orange-haired boy who plays the ukulele. Kei definitely loves him the most.
epilogue
The airport he lands in is located in the middle of nowhere, but he feels oddly at home. Four summers have passed since he was last here, and he's missed the fresh air and the temperate weather.
He drives himself into town, taking in the memories of the beach and the park and the forest. The ukulele he carried with him on the plane is sitting securely on the passenger's seat.
He parks the car off to the side of a familiar road and wanders down it until he reaches a grocery store at the corner. He stands in front of the store with the wood-carved ukulele clutched tight in his hand. An orange-haired boy steps out from the store. His hair has grown slightly longer, long enough that it can be pulled back into a small ponytail. He's also grown taller; not enough to be considered tall, but he's a good height now. Aside from the older face, his eyes shine the same, and he looks exactly like Kei remembers.
It takes him several moments to notice Kei, and when he does, he slaps a hand over his mouth.
Kei holds out the ukulele, like it's a compensation for all the years he was away. "I thought you might want this back."