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Atsumu doesn't want to gloat, but if you ask him, he'll tell you that he's good at plenty of things.
At the age of seven, he learns how to knit scarves for his grandma. He figures out how to make handmade gifts for the people he cares about. Come in middle school and he receives the Best Server Award, and believe it or not, but he eventually grows to become a terrific cook. Obviously, those meals aren't at the same level as his brother's—god knows Osamu is a beast when it comes to the kitchen—but he considers himself at least good enough when close friends and family would come asking for another plate.
Yes, he can cook. Eat shit, non-believers.
And of course, there's the athletics department. Volleyball may be his life, but he can do basketball, tennis, and swimming, too. He and Osamu have always been pretty sports-inclined.
So, yeah, going back, he is, in fact, good at plenty of things. He can honestly do a bit of everything. However, when it comes to people, now that's a bit of a different story, because, surprisingly, unlike his twin, Atsumu can't tell you the last time he successfully hit it off with someone else. It's actually so bad that Atsumu reckons, and knows, without Osamu by his side, he would have probably grown up friendless and lonely.
People like to call him a jerk. Arrogant, selfish, and obnoxious. Some worse cases, unfeeling and unsympathetic, which, in Atsumu's humble opinion, is just absurd because he really isn't, but he does see where they are coming from.
More often than not, his words would come out more harshly than intended. Osamu has told him before—once, when they were like thirteen—that he can get pretty blunt, and advised that if Atsumu wanted others to like him, then he would have to choose what he says with care.
Only one person seems to be immune to his quote-unquote jerkiness, and said person is currently the reason as to why he has been busy spending the last three days rehearsing a speech. His confession speech. Because now that he's about to give his heart to a person he so dearly loves, a person he has pined for years, Atsumu can't afford to have his intentions taken the wrong way.
For extra measure, as plan B, should he fail—which Atsumu hopes not to all the gods and heavens above—he even makes something to show his sincerity. He may not be good with words, sure, but his actions are and have always been a good reflection of his feelings. His teammates, his spikers, can all vouch for that.
As he watches what seems to be the last unwanted person in their locker room depart, Atsumu finally decides to slip out the box of chocolates he has taken so long to prepare in his bag.
When he said that he's a terrific cook, it doesn't mean he's any good at making confections or baking sweets. Atsumu takes one look at his bandaged fingers and grimaces.
Baking, he discovers, is apparently his worst enemy. Who would have guessed that getting the measurements right is actually harder than it looks? That cocoa beans, sugar, and milk powder can be this messy?
It was a disaster, really, but for the person he loves, he's ready to brave even the world's greatest challenges.
As soon as he sees Hinata freshly changed into new clothes from the showers, Atsumu resolves to make his approach. He hides the chocolates behind his back and stomps down all urges to hurl. Nope. He isn't going to chicken out. Not when he has made it this far.
Atsumu clears his throat.
"Shouyou-kun," he calls out to the spiker. "Sorry to bother you, but would you mind if I borrowed your time for a bit?" he asks, the words tumbling out the same way he had practiced a hundred times in his empty apartment and head. Thank god he didn't stutter this time around.
Hinata turns to look at him, bright, sunny grin and everything. "Sure! What's up, Atsumu-san?" he questions, bouncing slightly on his feet. "Need me to stay back to help you practice?"
Atsumu shakes his head, cheeks warming. "No, no, it's nothing like that," he says, waving a free hand in the air. "It's just, uh, how should I put this—I wanna tell you something. Is that okay? I promise it's real quick."
"Oh," Hinata exclaims, tilting his head to the side. "Is there something wrong, Atsumu-san? Everything good?"
Atsumu pastes on a small smile. "Yeah, I'm good, Shouyou-kun. I'm good, all good," he says, repeating his words over and over until it sounded true. It honestly feels more like a nod to himself than the spiker. "I told you, I just wanna tell you something."
Hinata looks at him curiously. "Okay. What is it?"
Atsumu curls his fingers over the chocolate box. Here goes nothing.
"Shouyou-kun, I like you," he manages to let out, and god, how Atsumu loathes just how soft, vulnerable, and helpless he sounds. "I have for a very long time now, since high school, actually, and I was wondering," he shuts his eyes as if it would make the last bit less terrifying, "if you could please go on a date with me?"
"Go on a date?" Hinata blinks once, then twice. "Like a romantic date? With you?"
Atsumu decides then to look at him. "Yeah, a romantic date, with me," he says, fiddling with the surface of his bandages. When he sees Hinata's face has yet to move an inch, he scrambles to follow, "I know I'm not exactly the ideal person to go out with. In court and outside, you could say I'm a tyrannical bastard, an asshole, a jerk, but," with a shaky hand, he finally unveils the chocolates. His plan B. "Shouyou-kun, just one date. I promise I'll make it worth it. I'll be the best you'll ever have. What—what do you say?"
At the question, Atsumu expects two things to come out when clarity hits the spiker.
A good one is Hinata blushing prettily and revealing that he returns Atsumu's feelings, while a bad one is Hinata kindly turning him down—rejecting him. Either way, Atsumu has prepared himself for better or worse.
But what he isn't prepared for, though, is having his words, his feelings, treated like they were nothing. Like they were nothing more than a funny jest.
Atsumu can feel the beginning of his first heartbreak when Hinata, sweet and resident sunshine boy, Hinata Shouyou, neither accepts nor rejects his confession, but instead lets out the first few strings of what seems to be a laugh. Not just any laugh, but the kind of laugh that he makes when Atsumu says one of his really stupid jokes.
"Wow, Atsumu-san," Hinata says between giggles, and the gentle clasp Atsumu once had on the chocolate box turns into a full-blown, white-knuckled grip. Atsumu's sure the cardboard is slowly denting. "This one is pretty convincing, and if I didn't know better, you probably would have gotten me."
"Gotten you?" Atsumu swallows the lump that has begun to form in his throat. "What—what are you saying—I'm being serious here, Shouyou-kun. I like you."
Hinata snorts. "Sure you do. You should try saying this to Omi-san next time you see him. I think hearing this would freak him out," he says, walking over to his locker to grab and hook his gym bag over his shoulder. He then flashes Atsumu his usual smile—like he didn't just break his heart—as he brushes past his figure. "Anyway, it's getting late. I still have errands to run. I'll see you around during training tomorrow, Atsumu-san! Bye!"
And just like that, Hinata heads out of the locker room, and Atsumu can only watch the door slam shut before he finally lets himself cry.
Hinata had treated his confession like it was nothing.
He was out here laying his heart bare, confessing feelings he had swallowed for years, letting pieces of himself that he never showed to others slip, and Hinata treated his confession like it was nothing.
Didn't even bother to hear him out.
If Hinata didn't like him back, he could have just said so. He didn't have to laugh in his face or imply that a confession from him would freak people out. Or, if that wasn't awful enough, treat it as a joke. That was just cruel. Hinata could have at least let him down nicely.
Atsumu throws the chocolates into the nearest bin. All that effort and planning had amounted to nothing.
When Hinata first sees it, it's right after their match with the Red Falcons. Bokuto is busy chatting away with Hakuba, Sakusa is exchanging pleasantries with Aran, and Atsumu, Hinata squints, is off in a corner with their new manager, Suzuki-san.
Suzuki-san, whose arms are wrapped around Atsumu's neck. Suzuki-san, who's whispering sweet nothings to Atsumu's ear. Suzuki-san, who's the reason Atsumu is smiling and letting out small peals of breathy laughs.
And Suzuki-san, Hinata thinks, is beautiful. Long auburn hair with tips styled into soft curls, a sweet, lovely, effortless smile, and a pastel yellow sundress that hugs and falls over her figure all at the right places.
It's no wonder people would take a moment to steal a second glance.
Atsumu included.
Hinata thinks that it's a relief, honestly, that he's able to leave the locker room and return to his apartment in one piece. If he didn't know any better, he probably would have bitten the confession and, like an idiot, foolishly believed that Atsumu loves him.
But as if the heavens took pity on him, he knew better, and he's glad that he knew better because imagine if he had taken the joke seriously and said yes? That would have been humiliating, and it would have probably caused a crazy degree of damage to his heart.
No. Scratch that. It would have probably killed him. Like, seriously, what is that joke? And choosing the category of love confession, to him, of all people.
Stupid Atsumu.
Hinata sighs.
It's not like he's furious at the setter by any means. Maybe he's a little annoyed, and a bit hurt—mostly confused, because he didn't think Atsumu was the type to take his gags to this type of level—but never furious.
Hinata doubts he can even be furious when:
- This is Miya Atsumu, (un)fortunately Hinata Shouyou's biggest love, just right next to his friends and family, and volleyball, and
- How could he when he's also partly at fault?
Out of all the Jackals, Hinata has always been the only one, apart from Bokuto, to join and indulge Atsumu when it comes to his whims (to Sakusa's dismay). Laughing at Atsumu's terrible puns, dad jokes, and harmless pranks. It didn't matter whether they were good or bad. Hinata would always be on it.
But now, he realizes just how dangerous it could be, especially when he's on the receiving end of the stick.
A small frown forms on Hinata's face.
He'll have to talk to Atsumu tomorrow.
Talking to Atsumu, Hinata will soon find out, is apparently the most difficult task of tomorrow.
The next morning, after changing in their locker rooms, Hinata immediately heads over to their team gymnasium. He pushes the doors open, scans the court for the sight of their starting setter, and when he does, he immediately calls out, "Atsumu-san!"
At that, Atsumu looks up, his beautiful brown eyes meeting Hinata's own, and as usual, every time he calls out the setter's name, Hinata expects a charming smile to grace Atsumu's face, the sweet greeting of Shouyou-kun leaving from his lips.
So, it's only natural for Hinata to be caught off guard when, instead of charming smiles and sweet callings of his name, Atsumu nastily glares at him.
A glare he didn't know he was capable of doing.
At least to him.
Hinata finds his tracks grinding to a halt.
He has never been subjected to Atsumu's dirty looks, and that's even after serving a ball accidentally to the back of his head and missing a couple of tosses. Heck, even back when he was just starting in high school, Atsumu never looked at him like this despite spewing how much he hated playing against people who suck at the sport.
Weird. Did anything happen?
Hinata opens his mouth, ready to ask the question at the tip of his tongue, only to stop when the scowl on Atsumu's face deepens.
If Atsumu's glare was nasty before, then this one is just downright deadly. Atsumu's eyes were scorching, that if they were situated near the nets, Hinata's sure the steel poles would have melted.
Hinata sucks in a breath.
Okay, he makes a mental note to himself, okay. So, Atsumu's not in the mood today. Atsumu didn't want him meddling in his business.
Okay.
Later then, and hopefully by that time, Atsumu would have already cooled down.
Hinata slowly retreats to a corner.
"Is there anything you need?"
The suddenness nearly makes Hinata jump from his spot in surprise. He turns around, looks up, sees Sakusa wearing a slight frown on his face, and oops—he immediately takes two steps back. He's so engrossed on Atsumu's sudden change in attitude that he hasn't noticed he had wandered into private territory.
Sakusa clicks his tongue. "You've been getting way too comfortable slipping close into my personal space, Hinata."
"Sorry about that, Omi-san!" Hinata squeaks out. "It was an accident! I really didn't mean to. I promise!"
Sakusa gives him a once-over and sighs.
"So?"
Hinata blinks. "So?"
"So, what do you need?" Sakusa repeats.
"Oh." Hinata flinches. "Um…"
"Um, what."
"Um, do you think I can, uh, partner with you for practice? Just this time around?"
Sakusa furrows his brows. "And why not Miya?" he questions, and Hinata has to fight every instinct to shrink from his inquisitive gaze.
"I," Hinata starts, pausing to take a quick glance over to where Atsumu is. He ignores how his heart particularly lurches when he watches an easy smile form across Atsumu's face, all traces of earlier hostility gone as he chats with Bokuto. "I, um, I don't think Atsumu-san wants to work with me today."
"Doesn't want to work with you today?"
"It's a little complicated," Hinata says, biting his lip. "I think."
Sakusa dubiously stares at him.
Hinata wrings his hands. "Um, so," he tilts his head, "Omi-san?"
Sakusa lets out an exasperated breath. "Touch me without my consent, and I'm switching teammates immediately."
Hinata breathes out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Omi-san."
"Hell yeah! Thanks, Tsum-tsum! Didn't think you'd ask to partner up again since you always go to Hinata, but I'm happy! It's been a while!" Bokuto claps him on the back after he extends the invite. "Let's beat Meian and Barnes today! Gimme lots of beautiful tosses!"
"Sure, Bokkun." Atsumu smiles, a phony cheerfulness in his voice. From his peripheral vision, he can see Sakusa busy talking with Hinata, who's looking a little too tense and apprehensive, from far away. "Anything you want," he says, squeezing the ball tighter between his fingertips.
Atsumu knows he's being a jerk. He's aware that he's behaving like this cruel and heartless of a bastard that people like saying he is, but—and this is totally not him being petty, damn it—he's not doing all of it without reason.
He did feel bad seeing Hinata's face crumple after he cruelly shut him away, guilty at seeing the energy of the team's sun dim into something so small, but in his defense, Hinata deserves it. Especially after treating his confession yesterday as nothing but a joke. And, as much as he loathes to say it, for being a dick.
He also knows that the adult way around these types of problems is to communicate. But the wound is still fresh, and he's very much hurting. And whenever he looks at Hinata's face, his mind is dragged back to that moment of Hinata laughing as he rejected him. Doesn't help that he grew up with Osamu either, and old habits die hard. He's used to letting himself sit in his emotions with every fight that happens—being angry, sulking—until eventually his feelings dull enough for him to move on.
That said, when Hinata approaches him during lunch, his resentment is still pretty much there.
"What do you want?" Atsumu asks. He ignores Bokuto, who's sitting right beside him at the table, looking worried as he whispers, "Tsum-tsum, are you okay?"
Hinata stares at him, confused. "I'm going to eat? And I wanted to talk."
Atsumu feels this sick satisfaction twist in his stomach seeing the frustration on Hinata's face. He huffs. "Well, there's nothing to talk about when you've already made yourself clear," he says, and he obnoxiously shovels another spoonful of pudding into his mouth. He knows just how much Hinata despises it when he purposefully leans into this insufferable scumbag image.
Hinata knits his brows. "Made myself clear? What the heck are you going on about, Atsumu-san? We haven't even spoken to each other since morning."
Atsumu eyes him up and down. "Pretty sure we did, but you ran away."
"I—" Hinata opens and closes his mouth. "Tha—that's because you looked like you needed space!"
"Did I really?" Atsumu hums. "Anyway, if you wanted a lunch buddy, there's an empty spot next to capt. and Wan-san."
"But there's literally an—"
"Shouyou-kun, I don't know if you've noticed, but our table is pretty much full. Don't tell me you don't have other friends?" he snaps, ignoring the look that crosses Hinata's face.
Hinata's breath hitches and his grip on the tray tightens. "Okay, Atsumu-san." He swallows. "Okay."
Atsumu makes sure to focus on his food when Hinata walks away.
"I think Tsum-tsum and Hinata are fighting, or at least Tsum-tsum is upset with Hinata," Bokuto says as he and Sakusa join Tomas and Inunaki in their team gym after eating lunch.
"Right," Inunaki hollowly replies, like this is nothing to fret over at all. He reaches for his water bottle on the bench. "And you're sure they aren't doing this to mess around with you, Bokuto? Remember that one time they tricked the entire team when they yelled at each other in the middle of a trip?"
"That was different!" Bokuto protests. "Listen to me when I say this one is real, Wan-san! Tsum-tsum gave Hinata the stink eye, and he doesn't ever give him the stink eye. Never ever. Don't tell me you didn't see that scene during lunch?!"
Inunaki arches a brow. "So? Miya gives everyone the stink eye, especially when he's in a bad mood." He pops the lid off his bottle. "Maybe he's in one of those days. You know, woke up on the wrong side of his bed and Hinata just happened to be his victim?"
Sakusa snorts. "Sure, victim."
Inunaki frowns. "Don't act like I'm wrong."
"It would have been the case if it were with anyone else, but this is Hinata," Sakusa presses. "Miya doesn't do that with Hinata. Hinata could hit the ball out of bounds during Miya's terrible days, could even hit him right at the back of his head, and he still wouldn't give Hinata a look as if his existence was the bane of earth."
"I think you two are reading too much into this," Tomas says, and Inunaki nods in agreement.
Bokuto looks at them like they had grown two heads. "We're definitely not!" he argues back, because how are people not seeing how much of a big deal this is. "If you need more proof that there's something going on, Tsum-tsum partnered with me today, and he doesn't do that!"
"Not since Hinata," Sakusa chimes in support.
"Yeah! Not since Hinata—wait. Now that I think about it, oh my god, he was probably already mad. How could I have not noticed this sooner, Omi-omi?! I feel like I failed both as a best friend and a mentor!"
Inunaki bites back a sigh at Bokuto's despair. Now, they're just overreacting. "Bokuto, you and Miya used to partner all the time when you two first came to the Jackals."
"But Wan-san—"
"Forget it. They are not going to believe it until they properly see it with their own eyes," Sakusa cuts, not one to insist when he knows the situation is a losing battle. Still, he makes sure to fix a hard stare in Tomas and Inunaki's way. "If this ends up in a nasty, long fight, don't say we didn't warn you," he threatens gruffly.
And Inunaki and Tomas will later find out in the next two days that Sakusa and Bokuto really weren't kidding. That Sakusa backing Bokuto up should have been proof enough that solidifies the bizarre claim.
Inunaki can only watch from the back as tension in the court slowly begins to rise. Today, the Jackals have decided to do a 4v4 in their training. Players have been shuffled, and as if the heavens are hell-bent on proving him and Tomas wrong, Foster places them in a team with both Atsumu and Hinata.
At first, everything was relatively fine. You wouldn't even notice the tension already brewing beneath the surface. Everyone was working as usual. Hinata and Tomas are calling for tosses, Atsumu is putting up the ball beautifully, and Inunaki is busy doing bumps and digs. They're playing as they normally would. That is, until after this recent toss in the third set—Inunaki doesn't know what's wrong with it, really—Hinata whirls this upset look at Atsumu after his spike was blocked by Bokuto.
"What did you say?" Hinata asks, and Atsumu mutters something under his breath with a roll of his eyes.
Now, Inunaki understands why Bokuto and Sakusa were insisting that this fight was different. Atsumu? Rolling his eyes at Hinata? That is new.
"I said even a high schooler could hit that better," Atsumu grits out. "What? One sweet trip to play beach in Brazil, and suddenly you forgot the fundamentals of indoor volleyball?"
The mention of Brazil has Hinata perking up, and not in a good way, to say the least, because suddenly everyone has quieted down and Bokuto is walking over to their side of the court with one of his rare instances of seriousness plastered all over his face.
"Okay, let's not go there, Tsum-tsum," Bokuto calls out, holding Atsumu by the arm, playing referee. "That's not cool at all when we all know Hinata—"
Hinata ignores this.
"I'm sorry, maybe I wouldn't have gotten blocked if the ball had been tossed better."
Atsumu shrugs Bokuto's hand off and stalks over to the spiker.
"I'm sorry, but what did you just say? Is this your way of saying that my set was shitty? You got a problem with it, Hinata-kun?"
"I don't know, Miya-san." Hinata glowers, craning his head back so he can meet Atsumu eye-to-eye. "Isn't that what I should be asking you?"
"Alright, back off from each other," Meian interjects, and a wave of relief washes over the court. "Hinata, Miya, what's going on? You two have a problem?"
Atsumu pastes on one of his sickeningly sugary smiles. "Oh, it's nothing, capt. Just giving some sweet and frank advice to Hinata-kun here, y'know, like the good and considerate teammate I am."
"Good and considerate, sure. You could definitely be sweeter and nicer about it, Miya-san," Hinata grumbles. "What is with you, anyway? Did I do something to piss you off? You've been treating me like crap since two days ago."
"Treating me like crap since two days ago," Atsumu mutters. "Yeah, I don't wanna hear that from you."
"What the—"
"Enough," Meian roars, and this time he positions himself in between them. "Look, I don't know what has gotten into you two when you're practically inseparable, but whatever that is, this better be sorted out by next week."
Because next week is their last practice week. Their last training week before they are shipped off to play a game against the Deseo Hornets, and the team would be damned if they remained like this during the match.
However, much to their chagrin, Atsumu and Hinata don't say anything but glare at each other, and something tells them all that they are in for a wild and absolutely exhausting ride.
Next week comes, and exactly as they predicted, nothing is sorted out. Atsumu and Hinata are still fighting to everyone's frustration and annoyance, and it only seems to get worse. These stubborn athletes.
Honestly, it's so petty and stupid, and the tipping point of it all is when they let their feelings actually get in the way of how they play and interact on court.
Once more, they are doing a 4v4, Atsumu and Hinata are on the same team again (honestly, what the hell is their coach Foster thinking), and for some reason—that no one besides Atsumu and Hinata seems to know—Atsumu refuses to toss any ball in Hinata's way.
And Hinata, who of course notices it, just has to call him out during break, and they both well—
Let's just say putting two hungry, passionate, and sunshine athletes on a team also has its hiccups, and if it weren't for Sakusa holding Hinata back, Hinata would have probably already tackled Atsumu to the ground because he is seething.
"I was open!" Hinata screams. "There weren't any blockers on that side of the court!"
Atsumu snarls. "So? If I don't feel like tossing to you, I won't. If I wanna see Barnes wipe Tomas and Bokkun out, then that's what I'm gonna do. Who gives a shit about points. The world doesn't revolve around you, stupid."
"What do you mean you weren't feeling it when you deliberately avoided tossing to me?! And I didn't say anything about stupid points, stupid. I saw the stink eye you gave before you sent that toss to Barnes-san. I'm not blind, you—you dumbass!" Hinata fumes, and everyone flinches at the vulgar insult.
Surprisingly, even Atsumu.
This is the first time they have ever heard Hinata curse—probably the first in his lifetime—and thank fucking god this is just training because if they had shown this behavior in a scrimmage or worse, during the upcoming game with the Deseo Hornets, they would have been suspended.
"This is stupid! I can't take this anymore, Omi-omi!" Bokuto whines after he and Sakusa exit the gym. Sakusa had insisted they both go out to take a breather, especially with Foster busy putting Atsumu and Hinata through a lengthy discussion on teamwork and professionalism. "I feel like my mind is about to explode," Bokuto moans. "What should we even do to make them, well, make up? Nothing seems to be working. I feel like at this point we have no choice but to lock them in a room."
"Yes."
Bokuto looks at him.
"What?"
Sakusa's eyes flash deviously.
"We're locking them up."
"Is there someone practicing here?" Hinata asks as he and Bokuto near one of their training centers. He looks at Bokuto skeptically when he hears a low voice—Sakusa—from the other side of the door. There's also another one, but it's too muffled and warped for him to make out.
"Oh, I forgot to mention, but Omi-omi said he's practicing with us, too!" Bokuto says.
Something feels off, Hinata thinks, as they stand outside. Bokuto's answer feels a little too sheepish for his liking. Feels like something that just came out of a liar's mouth, which is not very Bokuto-like—with how honest and kind he usually is—but because Hinata's so eager to focus on anything else besides this stupid fight, he chooses to ignore it.
These have been the longest days, weeks, or whatever it is—he has stopped counting—he has ever endured in his life. It's almost as bad as the arguments he's had with Kageyama, and that's a thousand and more combined.
But at least with Kageyama, Kageyama tries to talk to him, and they can remain civil. Meanwhile, Atsumu here is acting like the biggest poop in the universe for reasons he doesn't know. Any attempt he makes to converse with the setter would always end up in a screaming match. Atsumu would somehow find a way to make himself utterly unbearable, and Hinata hates it. Despises it with his entire being. Atsumu has never treated him like this, never called him stupid, and because Atsumu has never treated him like this, he's not used to it.
It's then that Bokuto chooses to slide the door to the sub gym open, and when the voices and figures finally become clear, Hinata's stomach almost drops to the floor.
"Rematch!" Atsumu stomps his foot. "I demand a rematch! You were cheating! There's no way you got more serves in than me! Stupid Omi-omi!"
"I told you, I did not cheat," Sakusa deadpans. "I'm just simply better than you and—" His eyes flicker to the side. "Oh, Hinata, you're here."
"Hinata?"
Atsumu turns to look at the doorway, and Hinata can't help the way his eyes widen in panic. His hand searches to grip the nearest shirt.
"Bokuto-san—"
Bokuto immediately steps aside that Hinata only feels air. He feels betrayed.
"Oh, no," Bokuto drawls, looking at the watch on his wrist. He doesn't have a watch. Much less a phone. "Looks like Akaashi is looking for me. Said something came up, and I have to absolutely come back home. Sorry, Hinata," he says, totally not sorry at all, and Hinata feels himself getting spun around.
Hinata feels dizzy. He can feel his balance slipping. He feels like he's about to fall as his footing twists before Atsumu, in time, somehow catches him, his arms already open and waiting on reflex.
What.
"I'll leave you under the care of Tsum-tsum!" Bokuto wriggles his fingers into tiny guns. "Omi-omi, drive me to Akaashi's."
"Sure," Sakusa says. He doesn't drive either.
Atsumu looks at them back and forth, confused. "Huh? Wait, Omi-kun, wha—"
"Hope it's okay to leave Hinata in your hands, Tsum-tsum!" Bokuto cuts cheerfully. "Hinata said he wanted to practice tonight, so I invited him, but plans came up, and now I can't commit. Anyway, see you later or tomorrow! I'll make it up to you both whenever! Bye!"
And just like that, the gymnasium door slides shut.
And by the time what just happened hit them, the door had already been locked.
Jammed.
It doesn't take a minute for hell to break loose.
"Bokkun, what the hell?! Did you guys jam the door?! The fuck is your problem?!" Atsumu screams as he runs and fiddles with the handles.
At the same time, a cold dread washes over Hinata's body when he goes to check their emergency exit doors, only to find all of them—
"Locked! They locked the emergency doors too!" he yells at Atsumu.
Atsumu screams again.
"What the fuck is wrong with you two?!"
"What is wrong with us? What is wrong with you. This thing between you and Hinata has been going on far too long, Miya." This time, the one speaking is Sakusa. "It's not healthy for the team. Everyone's tired of your shit."
"You don't got to take drastic measures just to make Shouyou-kun and I talk! You could have told me, and I would have obliged, you damn scrubs. This is stupid!"
"What Atsumu-san said! But minus the stupid and scrub part!" Hinata wails as he runs back to the main gym door. He's so tired of hearing the word stupid. "Omi-san, I promise we'll sort this out by tomorrow, so please open the door. I'm sorry we caused trouble for the team."
"So, now it's back to Atsumu-san and Shouyou-kun?"
"Oh, fuck off, Omi-omi," Atsumu snarls. "You don't know shit. Just open the damn door, you meddling pricks."
"No," Sakusa says. "We're giving you two approximately three hours to talk and make up—"
"What the hell? That's literally when the janitor comes to clean our shit up—"
"And that's final. If you haven't by then—"
Suddenly, Bokuto smiles through their tiny gymnasium window from below. "You'll be stuck in this center until tomorrow mooooorning," he sing-songs. "We'll make sure to tell Yamada-chan not to inspect the gymnasium because important business is going on!"
Atsumu tries to kick him despite the railings. "I'm telling coach on you both."
Sakusa snorts. "I'd love to see you try."
"The fuck? Did you put him on this, too?"
At that, Sakusa makes a noise at the back of his throat that says he's an idiot, because obviously, there's no way they could have put their coach through this. Bokuto, though, just grins.
"Nope, but our captain! Meian says he'll cover. So even if you tell coach on us, it's a losing battle! Anyway, you'd better be friends before those three hours are up! Wan-san will come in to check on you. Bye again, Hinata! Sorry again, Tsum-tsum! Happy talking!"
"And please have the decency to not stench the court."
"Oh, fuck you, Omi-omi."
"Goodbye."
"Fucking hell," Atsumu curses as soon as Sakusa and Bokuto's footsteps fade away. His cheeks are a little pink. "Those bastards really trapped us in. What if something catches fire in these three hours? How the hell are we supposed to get out? Jump from the windows above? The ladder in the storage room doesn't even reach that far!"
"We could dislocate our shoulders and squeeze ourselves in?" Hinata motions to their tiny ones on the floor, where Bokuto earlier appeared, in an attempt to joke. Miraculously, it gets a small chortle from Atsumu.
"That's real funny, Shouyou-kun." Atsumu shakes his head. "I swear to god I'm gonna spread tiny crumbs of chips in Omi-kun's locker tomorrow, and while I'm at it, you better serve a ball right at Bokkun's skull."
"Atsumu-san, you're so cruel." Hinata huffs.
Atsumu gives a faint smile. "Aren'tcha one to know?"
Hinata frowns.
"You know, Atsumu-san, not that it matters, but I have been trying to talk things out with you for days," Hinata finally says. "You're the one who keeps on being angry and rude. And mean. And calling me stupid. I don't even know what I did to you."
Atsumu scoffs, and his faint smile completely vanishes. "You don't know what you did to me?" He glares. "Are you seriously gonna go down that road and play pretend right now, Shouyou-kun?"
"Pretend?" Hinata sucks in a breath. "What's there to pretend about when I just told you that I don't know—"
"Bullshit," Atsumu hisses. "You know you made a fool out of me when I confessed to you that day."
"Confessed?" Hinata shoots him an incredulous look. Was Atsumu talking about what happened in the locker room that day? That joke? God. Was he actually mad over his joke? Is that what all this fight is about? That joke? "You? You confessed?" he asks, words bordering on sarcasm and disbelief. Now, he's getting angry.
"Yes, I confessed!" Atsumu throws his hands in the air, scowling.
Hinata can't believe his ears. "Are you being for real?" He seethes. "This is why you have been acting so crappy? This is why you have been so crummy?" What? Was his reaction that day not what Atsumu was expecting? Well, he's sorry but, "Listen, here, Atsumu-san—"
"No. You listen to me, Shouyou-kun," Atsumu bristles, "and don'tcha dare come telling me about acting like crap and crummy when you're the one who acted like a dick fucking around with my feelings."
"Your feelings?"
"Yes, my feelings." Atsumu clenches his teeth. "I was bearing my heart and feelings out to you, confessing that I like you, letting myself be vulnerable, and what did you tell me?" He clears his throat. "Atsumu-san, you should try saying this to Omi-san next time you see him. I think hearing this would freak him out." Atsumu sneers, his hands balling into fists. "Oh, please, spare me your angelic and ignorant acting. Some angelface you are," he spits out, shoulders rising and falling with every sharp breath.
And Hinata can only look at Atsumu, abashed, mouth opening and closing like that of a goldfish.
When he finally manages to speak, he exclaims, "Oh my god." His voice is barely above a whisper. "Atsumu-san, you—" His mind reels at the implications. "You meant it?"
Atsumu looks at him, wrecked. "I gave you chocolates, did a whole fucking speech, and cried home, what'd you think it looked like?" he flips. "Of course, I fucking meant it."
"Oh my god." Hinata's entire composure cracks. His knees threaten to give way. Atsumu had actually confessed to him. Atsumu actually likes him. Genuinely likes him. The chocolates, those words in the locker room, all of that were nothing but Atsumu's pure and sincere feelings. Hinata's stomach coils. You've got to be kidding him. "You—you actually, you really—oh my god. I thought, I thought you were just joking."
"Joking?" Atsumu's tone rises. He sounds hurt. Wounded. "Now, why the hell would I joke about something like this?" His words waver in disbelief. "Why the hell would I play with your feelings?"
"I don't know. I just assumed—"
"Assumed?" Atsumu laughs bitterly. "You assumed? Assumed what? That it's impossible because I'm a jerk and surely I was gonna use confessing as a means to fuck around and laugh about this to your face?"
"Um, kind of, yes! But, please. I have a perfectly good reason for this, and it's not because I think you're a jerk—"
"You sure about that? 'Cause that's what this is starting to sound like, Shouyou-kun. That this is impossible because why would it be when Atsumu-san is nothing but a big, foolish, unserious, fucking jerk."
"It's not! I promise—"
"Then tell me what it is," Atsumu demands. His face is devastating. "Shouyou-kun, I—just how do you exactly see me? What the hell do you think of me? What the fuck do you—"
"Amazing!" Hinata rushes to say. "Amazing! I think you're amazing, kind, funny, and sweet! You're wonderfully caring and considerate, and any person would be lucky to be loved by you! Even me. It's just," his breath hitches, he falters, "that day, with the Red Falcons, I saw you with Suzuki-san."
"Suzuki-san?" Atsumu runs a hand through his blond hair, and for the first time, Hinata sees confusion instead of anger in those brown eyes. "What the hell does our manager have to do with this?"
Hinata nibbles his bottom lip. "Right by a corner. I saw you two after the match," he confesses. "Pastel yellow sundress. Hands around your neck. You and Suzuki-san looked very intimate."
"Intimate? What are you—wait." Atsumu freezes. "You saw that?"
Hinata squirms. "I accidentally walked in, or I guess spotted you two?" he says, unsure. "I wanted to ask if you wanted to go home together that day when I saw, um, that. You two looked so close, like you're dating. I mean, you were literally laughing at something she said, and so I thought the only reason you confessed to me that day was to joke around with me."
"Shouyou-kun," Atsumu breathes out, "that was nothing."
"What?"
"Suzuki-san. What you saw that day," Atsumu explains, no longer peeved. "It was nothing."
Hinata stills in surprise.
"Technically, she did confess to me," Atsumu winces, "but I rejected her and ended up breaking her heart. I was only comforting her 'cause she cried and because, contrary to what most people think, I'm not that much of an asshole."
"You mean—"
"It's exactly as you heard. It was nothing."
"Atsumu-san—"
"Sorry." Atsumu sighs. "I, uh—I should have cleared that one out instead of childishly picking a fight with you. Didn't cross my mind that the timing of my confession could've been off and misunderstood."
"No, that's—that's totally reasonable! Completely fine! You wouldn't have been able to do it after I left you, anyway!" Hinata fumbles to say. "If anything, I'm the one here who should be apologizing, Atsumu-san. It was wrong of me to assume in the first place, and I'm so, so sorry for making a fool out of your feelings. I-I should have asked and clarified instead of leaving things like that."
"You really should've." Atsumu's lips curve into a kind smile. "But that makes you and me both."
"God." Hinata presses his back to the nearest wall and slides down to the floor. "We really dragged this out, didn't we?"
"More than we should have, unfortunately, and I'm so fucking sorry," Atsumu murmurs, crouching in front of him. "But, Shouyou-kun."
Hinata tips his head. "Yes?" Oh, how Hinata had missed this. Missed him.
Atsumu wets his lips and coughs. "Uh, anyway, now that's all cleared up, and you know I'm single and not together with anyone, uh, what do you say? Would you go on a date with me this weekend now, please?" Atsumu invites, and he says it so shyly, so earnestly—so cutely—that Hinata nearly forgets how to function with his entire being.
It takes a good whole minute before the words are processed by his mind, and once it sinks in, Hinata wastes no time wrapping his arms around Atsumu's neck, pulling him close.
"Why wait for the weekend when you can take me out as early as tomorrow and become my boyfriend today, Atsumu-san?" Hinata grins, looking at him coyly.
The wide smile that blossoms on Atsumu's face in return is stunning.
"For real?" Atsumu whispers.
Hinata giggles. "Very much real."
"Fuck." Hinata watches as Atsumu surges forward to bury his face right into the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry that I don't have anything with me. If I knew we would have made up tonight, I would have brought you another box of chocolates or something," Atsumu mumbles against his skin.
Hinata giggles once more, and he plays with Atsumu's locks. "It's fine, Atsumu-san. We wouldn't have expected Omi-san and Bokuto-san to do this either anyway. Besides, you can always give me another treat."
"Like what?" Atsumu lifts his head to look at him. His brown eyes are so full of sincerity, genuine affection, and fondness that it makes Hinata's heart warm. "Are you suggesting I steal one of Omi-kun's mint candies?" he asks, glaring at Sakusa's bag that not-so-discreetly rested atop a chair in a corner. Atsumu had always hated those.
Hinata rolls his eyes. This silly man. "If we have a death wish, but I don't want to die at Omi-san's hands when I just got myself a boyfriend, thank you very much."
"Then what are you trying to say?"
Ah, Hinata thinks, I really love him.
"This," Hinata says for the last time before pulling Atsumu into a kiss.
The next day, after Sakusa's loud curse in the locker room, Bokuto subsequently cries. They are both music to Atsumu's ears.
"Hinata?!" Bokuto shifts a betrayed look at the spiker. "What gives?!”
"I'm so sorry, Bokuto-san!" Hinata says, looking distressingly guilty. "I really didn't want to do it, but Atsumu-san pressured me!"
"Tsum-tsum?!"
"Don't act like you don't deserve it! After the shit you pulled last night?! You fucking liars."
"Oh, come on! You're acting as if that didn't score you a boyfriend!"
"True, but you locked us up in the gymnasium with no way out! You locked even the emergency exits. I repeat. The emergency exits! If something happened, we could've died!"