It happened on the Saturday, the day after his encounter with Kageyama.
Around 2pm, while he was on the porch, serving cocktails and beers, practicing his English with some friendly American tourists, he noticed a group of men, around seven of them, all in white shirts and turquoise shorts, crossing the beach headed directly for Sunny’s.
Most of them seemed to be carrying something. Boxes. One person was carrying a mass of flowers –
Hinata froze.
The tourists and customers started pointing.
His heart was going to break through his chest –
Hinata ran forward to meet them on the sand –
But Maki, Yahaba, Kunimi, Kindaichi and Matsukawa strode right past him and into the hut, Matsukawa carrying the biggest bouquet of flowers Hinata had ever seen in his life. A sound of awe resonated around the customers outside who caught sight of the bouquet –
Watari was the only one who winked at Hinata as he passed. And then –
The underboss stopped in front of Hinata. They had not seen each other for three months. Not since the shooting. Unemotional, unreadable and, as most would say, angry-looking, these features of Iwaizumi Hajime did nothing to diminish the mountain of warmth and comfort Hinata felt from seeing him.
‘Iwaizumi-san,’ Hinata whispered, staring up at the wolf. ‘What are you -?’
‘We’re on holiday. A weekend away, enjoying the island. And, we came with gifts.’
Hinata wasn’t sure why. After all of his triggering encounters with people from Tokyo, for some bizarre reason, he felt relieved to see The Wolves. A surge of gratitude erupted in Hinata like a gushing fountain –
‘Thank you,’ Hinata said, teary.
‘No. Thank you. For saving our leader. I don’t think I thanked you properly at the hospital.’
Hinata stared up into the ever-stern unmoved face of The Wolves’ underboss and felt more solace in that moment than he had with Kenma, Kuroo and Kageyama’s visits combined.
Gasps of delight made Hinata suddenly turn –
Maki and Kunimi were handing out luxurious-looking cushions to all the customers, and bringing out snacks in small ornate bowls.
Hinata searched past Iwaizumi, his heart and insides squishing around each other like the liquid paraffin wax of a lava lamp, as he scanned the beach eagerly.
‘He’s not here yet.’
Hinata could not hide his disappointment.
‘Well, where -’
‘But,’ Iwaizumi said, ‘you should probably close your bar early today.’
Hinata closed the bar at 3pm.
He even drew the words ‘CLOSED’ in five different languages on the empty cardboard boxes The Wolves had used, using Google Translate and placed them all outside.
He ever so politely, with his classic charm, explained to the customers that these guests carrying the boxes were a form of family, throwing him a surprise party of sort, and managed to get them to leave, not without throwing in a few free bottles of alcohol for good measure, courtesy of The Wolves.
The Wolves had brought everything: boxes of alcohol, fancy glasses, snazzy cocktail shakers, little umbrellas and other decorations to add pizazz to drinks, non-perishable food, cushions, blankets and a bouquet of flowers that took up the whole bar.
Hinata had made sure to serve all of them cocktails with triple shots of alcohol and only Iwaizumi had only one drink.
‘Fuck me,’ Yahaba said to Matsukawa after tasting his espresso martini. He turned to Hinata. ‘Hey crow, is there anything you can’t do?’
But Iwaizumi had had enough. Before it got too rowdy, before the songs and tears and fights would start, he summoned them all to leave, to the moans and groans and reluctance of the group.
Hinata made sure to express his gratitude and told them they were welcome any time and would always receive free drinks. Seeing the uptight, ferocious, intimidating, merciless Wolves, usually prowling Saitama’s wards in black and grey suits, now roaming free, laughing and drinking and chatting shit, in shirts and shorts made Hinata giggly from the contrast. And what a joy it was too, that not a single wolf had mentioned anything about Hinata returning to Tokyo.
Upon Iwaizumi’s second snap at them, The Wolves finally slowly filtered out with thanks and cheers to Hinata.
Iwaizumi’s goodbye: a single respectful nod of acknowledgment.
And then, the nerves began.
Hinata twisted his fingers in his palms. He paced in front of the bar. He then made sure everything was neat, well-positioned, tidy, presentable. And then returned to productive pacing. Did he look OK? He should’ve gotten a haircut. What should he say? What should he be like?
How long was it? Fifteen, thirty, sixty minutes later?
Suddenly.
A weight on the porch. The creak of wood. A heavy step followed by a lighter one. Again. And again. Then –
A three knocks on the door.
Pause.
Hinata’s heart thudded in his ears. His blood pulsated, coursed, in a party, in panic.
‘C-come in -’
The door groaned.
Ducking into the hut, leaning on a bright silver cane before standing up straight –
Their eyes met.
And it was like a truck, a DeLorean with a flux capacitor, had slammed into Hinata sending him back back back –
To that day –
He’d only been Kageyama-free for a week.
Enjoying the trust and support of The Crows, Hinata had wanted to do something even more daring. Make them even more impressed. Prove himself even more. Threefold profit was not enough. And also –
He was bored.
In the space of five months, it was almost as if everything had become too simple. The charm, the swag, the on-off nature of it all, the success rate, the claimed territory and even his pinching of businesses from The Cats had begun to feel as rewarding as taking a piss.
Hinata had wondered… what was beyond that?
Beyond the cramped, stuffed streets of Tokyo, if he ventured along the Arakawa River, around Saitama… what was there?
And after a few enquiries he found out exactly what indeed was there –
Toa Shuzo sake brewery.
A brewery that had been around since 1625, held prestigious awards, belonged to the Shuzo family for generations, and was popular with its domestic and international sales of not just sake but liqueur, shochu and whiskey as well.
In other words, a goldmine.
And by some gumption, by some balls that Hinata had grown too big for his pants, he walked right in there and demanded to speak to the owner.
Yes, somewhere in the back of his brain he knew he should’ve staked it out first. Made more inquiries. Spoke to the team. Blah blah blah. But that could take weeks. And Hinata was right there. And by his current track record, things had gone oh so smoothly…
Except this time it didn’t.
He should’ve known, by the way grandpa kept averting his eyes while Hinata was talking, darting those beady little pupils left and right… by the sound of someone running somewhere in the building…
Before he knew it out of nowhere a fist had collided with his stomach, winding him – he was hoisted up onto someone’s shoulder and carried into a car – blindfolded, hands tied, tape over his mouth –
He heard voices – gruff, gravelly, angry, annoyed – had no idea what the fuck was going on only that he knew, he knew he’d fucked up big time –
‘He matches the description.’
‘Orange hair. That’s what they’d said right?’
‘It has to be him.’
‘You sure? Definitely a crow?’
‘Matsu. No one else in any other syndicate has fucking orange hair -’
He was lifted up, carried, downstairs somewhere, somewhere where the air was kept cold, the room danker, a faint drip from a pipe somewhere. Seated, they tore off the tape and removed the blindfold –
Silence.
Hinata was seated under a single lightbulb surrounded by black. He had no idea – how many people were in the room, who was watching him, if there were cameras in here, where the stairs was, where the door was. There were no windows. And if there were, they’d been boarded up. His hands were tied but he had a knife in his trouser pocket and a gun in the inner pocket of his suit –
‘My. How far you have flown from the nest.’
A chill licked its way up Hinata’s spine.
A voice, both alluring and threatening, had gently floated through the silence, from somewhere right in front of Hinata, about three metres away.
‘I wasn’t expecting to make such a big catch today. Excellent work boys. I’m happy to make your acquaintance, Hinata Shoyo. I must say, you are just as pretty as you are in your pictures.’
Hinata peered at the darkness. Where the fuck was he? And who were these people?
‘Seems like you have caused quite a stir in Tokyo and The Cats aren’t pleased, that’s for sure. Suginami, Nerima, Bunkyo, Minato, Setagaya, Toshima, Kita and Shinigawa… That’s eight more territories than The Crows originally dwelled in, in the last five months alone. Not a single mobster has ever achieved what you have in such small a space of time. I am deeply flattered that you flew right into our lair of Wolves -’
Hinata barely had time to react to the shock of that last word before a figure stepped into the light.
Hinata’s eyes were wide, his mouth agape in terror and surprise –
Standing before him, a man more beautiful than Hinata had ever seen, in a long open black coat, cream trousers and white shirt. Pristine. Expensive.
His eyes glinted like the tips of blades and his smirk was cockier than Hinata’s own. A cold, ruthless, calculating air emanated off the wolf enough to make anyone in the same room freeze in fear. He oozed authority. The kind that could say one word and fifty buildings would burn.
Hinata blinked and swallowed, trying to calm but it was too late. The crow knew that the wolf had clearly read Hinata’s knee-jerk reaction.
‘Do you know who I am?’ that breathtaking face raised a knowing eyebrow.
Hinata had heard whispers about the Big Bad Wolf but mostly hearsay. He lurked in the shadows. He killed without question. He gave no second chances. He bathed in his victim’s blood. Crazy bullshit, Hinata had thought but now that he was before the head wolf, Hinata wasn’t so sure.
‘Oi-Oikawa Toru,’ Hinata whispered.
Oikawa smiled. ‘I’m glad we’re on the same page. Now this is what’s going to happen next -’ Oikawa picked up a chair out of the black and placed it down backwards, sitting down on it with his legs open, his wrists resting on the back of the chair.
Hinata’s eyes automatically swept up the contours of Oikawa’s model-like body. When his eyes met Oikawa’s again, the wolf licked his lips and grinned.
‘Like what you see, crow?’ Oikawa murmured for Hinata’s ears only.
Hinata flushed crimson and looked away. A soft chuckle reached his ears. He lowered his head and dropped his gaze to the floor.
‘Look at me.’
Hinata reluctantly brought his eyes back up to meet scorching brown ones.
‘You are going to work for me. Any businesses you claim in Tokyo from now on, ten percent will go to The Wolves. The families and those we have struggled to do business with in Saitama, you will negotiate for us twenty percent. I have a list of brothels, casinos, talent agencies, bars and factories that we want. You will get them for us. Every Friday you will report back here to me with money and updates. You will not tell The Crows about our arrangement. If you do, I will know. And I will kill you all. Any questions?’
Hinata’s heart thudded in his chest. But it wasn’t from fear…
When was the last time he’d felt like this? In fact, had he ever felt this –
Overpowered.
And in the presence for the first time of someone who was… better than him at what he did…
‘How am I supposed to do my work for The Crows AND you at the same time?’
Oikawa snorted. ‘That is your concern? How about you let some of the other eleven members of your tribe actually do some work? How much are they actually paying you?’
Hinata kept his mouth shut.
‘I bet not as much as we could,’ Oikawa cooed.
‘And if I refuse?’
Oikawa smiled and Hinata felt ice crystallise inside of him. Never had Hinata seen someone so beautiful and terrifying at the same time. The wolf’s smile was completely evil, not a shred of care lived in the expression.
‘You think you can? Do you honestly think you can go back to The Crows and act as if this never happened? As if you didn’t cross a line? I’m not Kuroo Tetsuro; I won’t turn a blind eye. You tried to take our brewery. Be grateful you’re still alive. Or perhaps I should make you take me to Tokyo right now, and I can take The Crows for myself?’
Oikawa raised a challenging eyebrow and Hinata hated all the ways it made him feel.
Oikawa smirked. ‘You see, crow. This is how this works. I always get what I want. Always. And right now, by your track record, I want you to work for me. If you refuse I will take over The Crows, find you and make you work for me. You can choose enforced slavery or the illusion of freedom. Which do you prefer? You think you have a choice? Choice is an illusion.’
Hinata’s heart pounded in his chest. For the first time in his life, he found himself speechless.
‘Anything else?’ Oikawa smiled.
‘What if The Crows accidentally find out that I’m also working for you?’
Oikawa’s eyes went dead. ‘They can’t know,’ Oikawa whispered, ‘do you understand?’
Hinata felt a shiver shoot up his neck.
‘Yes,’ Hinata breathed.
Oikawa suddenly smiled. ‘Good. I’ll see you here next week.’ Oikawa stood up –
‘But -’ Hinata stared imploringly up at the Big Bad Wolf. ‘I don’t know where this is. I don’t have any details of the places you want me to tackle. I don’t know what Saitama is like -’
‘I know. We will get all this information to you. And you will have the full support of The Wolves.’
Oikawa chuckled at the stunned look on Hinata’s face.
‘Listen crow, I may be cruel but I’m not unreasonable.’
It was like magic. A text here. An envelope there. Someone on the street would hand him a USB. And constantly, Hinata knew that he was being watched. He never breathed a word to a single crow. He acted the same as always except now he felt like a double agent.
But a new feeling had bubbled up in Hinata’s chest from his encounter with the head wolf –
He felt challenged.
This was something difficult, something new, something different. He’d have to think, use his brain, find a way to expand both The Crows AND The Wolves territories… And now that he’d met Oikawa, had seen the smooth operation of The Wolves, it made Hinata realise that there was actually more to learn… He could be even better at what he did. Not only could Hinata be charismatic and charming but if he too could drip with intelligence and power like that…
Hinata could rise…
This wasn’t an entrapment… but an opportunity…
And Hinata excelled.
He negotiated not ten percent but fifteen percent for The Wolves in Tokyo wards without sacrificing any income on The Crows part. In Saitama, he attacked the list but also networked with businesses not on the list: he found out what they needed, what they were lacking, to boost their business or well-being, and offered it to them. He started making notes, typing up reports, finding out about individual people and family members. He got as much information as he could.
A week later, in that basement in Bessho, in the Minami ward in Saitama, Hinata watched with escalating pride, as he poured more and more information and deals out of his mouth and briefcase onto an alarmed and impressed Oikawa Toru.
‘Iwaizumi,’ Oikawa handed one of Hinata’s papers to the darkness, ‘create a template. This type of report is now compulsory from every wolf.’
‘Yes sir.’
‘The Crows taught you to do this?’ Oikawa asked Hinata, as the piece of paper vanished.
‘No I – came up with it on my own.’
‘So you do this for them too?’
‘No. Only for you -‘
He hadn’t meant it the way it sounded. Hinata blushed and bit his tongue inside his mouth as Oikawa smirked, amused, those chocolate eyes observing him.
‘What would you like?’
Hinata blinked.
‘As a reward,’ Oikawa clarified.
‘Reward?’ Hinata peered at Oikawa trying to decipher the hidden meaning behind those words.
‘An apartment? A new car? Guys? Girls? What do you need -?’ Oikawa could not help but grin as the dawning realisation of what Oikawa was putting forward transpired into shock on the little crow’s face. ‘Clearly you’ve heard far too many rumours about me. Do you not think I am capable of rewarding hard work when I see it? I take care of those who take care of me. What would you like?’
Hinata thought for a moment. Was the wolf being serious?
‘Help,’ Hinata said, firmly, directly looking into the Big Bad Wolf’s eyes.
‘With?’
‘I don’t know, yet… But, if ever in the future, me or The Crows need help, you’ll help us.’
That cold lop-sided grin and those twinkling eyes for some reason made Hinata feel like jelly.
‘Agreed.’
Hinata snapped his briefcase shut and should’ve turned to go. But the penetrative focused stare of Oikawa on him made him feel like a deer in front of a wolf. He was unable to move, rooted to the spot, his heart firing like a machine gun. Hinata’s cheeks burned as he watched Oikawa survey his hair, eyes, nose, mouth – it was that moment Hinata knew, from experience, from deals, from the millions of people that he’d met, when his beauty would register with the person he was talking to, and they would change in how they addressed him –
But for some strange reason Hinata felt like Oikawa was thinking something else, something different in this moment, different to the others – the head wolf had already acknowledged Hinata’s attractiveness last week. He could sense that whatever the wolf was plotting, was something else entirely.
‘Tell me, crow. When you tackle Saitama do you say you’re a crow or a wolf?’
‘I say I’m a wolf.’
It was as if sparklers descended and nestled into Hinata’s heart. The look Oikawa gave him in that moment: the delight, the approval, the tiniest ghost of a real smile and the smallest hint of warmth in those killer eyes.
What is wrong with me? This was a question Hinata asked himself daily as he met with Crows in cafes they owned to talk about his latest work, or in in-between moments of deals in Saitama, talking with restaurant owners, brothel owners, brewery owners –
He kept replaying the conversation with the Head Wolf over and over again in his mind, reliving that smirk and that smile, those eyes with a tinge of warmth. Interacting with the Head Wolf was like being certain that you would freeze to death at the top of an an ice-capped mountain only to reach the pinnacle and realise – no, wait – there was a bonfire here. There was food. A cabin. Warmth.
Hinata found himself working harder the second week than he did the first. Up later and earlier. His efforts became more focused on Saitama; The Crows were rolling in dough from his efforts, Hinata knew that in a way, he could do what he liked –
That next Friday, he was in Bessho so early he had to loiter for a while. And when he reported his achievements, pride like nothing Hinata had felt before consumed him like flames from the agape mouth and stunned stare of the Big Bad Wolf.
Was he imagining it? He almost felt a prickling sense of unease from the shadows, from the other wolves hiding there.
When Oikawa had regained some composure, he turned his face to the shadows keeping his eyes on Hinata –
‘Leave.’
A chorus of thuds, Hinata counted three people, skirted around in the darkness, up the metal stairs and exited. Were they alone? But the Head Wolf’s eyes were still on the crow.
‘Don’t move,’ Oikawa said. He himself then disappeared into the darkness. ‘Close your eyes.’
Hinata closed his eyes. He heard the flick of a switch and light blossomed behind his eyelids. He opened his eyes again –
There was literally nothing in the room. It was a basement, no windows, dark, dank, musty, with bricked walls painted grey, visible pipes above and a concrete floor below. A few chairs were stacked by the wall. Oikawa returned to the spot in front of Hinata but then –
The wolf took a step forward. Hinata stared up, defiant, into the eyes of that model-like face, refusing to be intimidated. But –
Oikawa suddenly leaned slightly lower, towards him, a hand then gently lifted Hinata’s chin and he felt goosebumps from the touch –
Oikawa’s hand was unexpectedly warm – and those magnificent eyes stared into his soul –
Hinata’s heart pushed violently against his rib cage. He sucked in a shaky breath.
‘You have eye bags,’ Oikawa inspected him. ‘You’re tired. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard.’ Suddenly the physical warmth was gone and Oikawa straightened up. ‘Do fifteen next week not thirty. Even though…’
Oikawa smiled at Hinata, a full, proper, beaming beautiful smile. It lit up the whole room more powerfully than the shoddy single lightbulb or the rectangular ceiling lights. There was no threat, no menace, no undercurrent of ice – suddenly Oikawa Toru was not the Big Bad Wolf, but rather, just a young man in amiable conversation with another person who he did not count as a threat or feel the need to threaten.
His smile was breathtaking and Hinata already knew – now that he had seen it, he would need to see it again. When Oikawa spoke to finish his sentence, this too came with something new: a subtle padded softness in his voice that Hinata had never heard before –
‘You’ve done an exceedingly exceptional job.’
A drive that Hinata never had before swallowed him. In the weeks that followed, Friday started becoming Hinata’s favourite day of the week.
More smiles. More vocal praises. A gentleness in conversation nuzzled into Oikawa’s voice. No more wolves. No more dark edges around the room. Hinata could feel the tension relaxing, he could see the ice melting slowly. Conversations became longer; they drifted or deviated on tangents, comfortable but new, thrilling, unchartered. Their discussions started to feel less like master and slave – more like equals, business partners. A chuckle, a smile, a soft gaze, a murmur – they made Hinata’s heart thud maddeningly, delirious, made him want to provoke more chuckles, more smiles, more gazes and murmurs, more more more –
Ten minutes became twenty minutes, then fifty, then an hour, two hours –
How did you end up… in this business? Oikawa had asked. Where are your family? What do you value in life? What makes you happy? How do you feel in the morning, first thing, as soon as you wake up?
How many people had Hinata communicated with? Yet why was it that… communication had never felt like this? Like he was naked in the ocean with warm waves lapping into his arms?
And Hinata could not help it – talking and blushing and looking into those mesmerising attentive eyes –
The cold, dark room Hinata had thought he might lose his life in started to become the only room Hinata felt truly alive.
Oikawa offered more rewards: property, chauffeurs, vehicles, businesses but Hinata declined them all –
‘You work so hard for me,’ Oikawa whispered staring at the crow, ‘harder than my own men, harder than I did when I was your age yet there is nothing you desire?’
And Hinata had pursed his lips at the question, quivering, swallowed and shook his head.
Hinata could sense the way Oikawa had started to look at him differently, a new curiosity and consideration in the wolf’s eyes. Hinata felt the heat of that gaze, heard the growl in that voice, tasted the thick, sweet moments where unspoken words filled the gaps between them…
Hinata knew that he had to be crazy, knew that he could be making it all up in his head but when the head wolf sent him a personal invitation to dinner, Hinata could not help his fizzy giddy drunken nervous excitement.
Oikawa had booked a private room, at Koko’s, in one of Saitama’s most exclusive sushi restaurants. It was on the top floor, with traditional seating: a low table set on tatami mats.
Hinata’s heart had resounded like a balled padded stick striking a giant gong when he had entered the private space and saw a seated Oikawa –
The head wolf, breathtakingly beautiful in a crisp white shirt tucked into navy trousers with a brown leather belt. So simple and yet it looked so good on him.
Hinata had preened and groomed like he’d never done in his life and he too had opted for a white shirt but with shimmery grey trousers.
Their eyes met and Hinata thought his heart might jump out through his mouth.
After niceties, after Hinata had sat and they’d ordered, after they’d poured each other a drink in sake cups, Hinata practically glowing, shining in joy, Oikawa said –
‘This is all my treat, by the way. I’d like to toast to you. To thank you for your hard work. And to celebrate the end of your duties to me.’
A constriction like a hand wrapped itself around Hinata’s throat. His smile wavered. ‘W-what? What do you mean?’
‘I mean, you have done an astounding job expanding our territory in Saitama, and have been a key player in helping me achieve what I wished to achieve for my prefecture. After tonight you will be relieved of your duties. You can go back to being a crow, and I will hinder you no more.’
‘H-hinder me… no more?’
Hinata stared at Oikawa. Hinata definitely was not smiling now. He stared at the head wolf who remained inscrutable.
‘You will no longer be followed or monitored, you will not be forced to do two jobs instead of one, you can dedicate your time wholly again to Tokyo and The Crows.’
As the weeks had progressed, Hinata had felt like he was approaching something great, like a magnificence castle. A mirage at first, a figment of his imagination, as time had gone by, the path, the door, the castle, the key had felt more and more solid and tangible –
He had the golden key in his hand, he could feel it warmer, harder, certain –
But suddenly now Hinata felt like that key that he’d been holding to tightly, and everything it gave access to, was suddenly slipping through his fingers –
‘You will be free, Hinata,’ Oikawa whispered, ‘is what I’m saying.’
It vanished.
The path. The door. The castle.
Hinata’s lips trembled. He fought against hot sincere tears threatening to accumulate at the back of his eyes and pour out.
The key was gone.
Not even a mirage. There was nothing here. Just… emptiness.
Hinata struggled to remain composure. The wolf was watching him, as observant as ever.
‘W-what about Gunma?’ Hinata asked. ‘Tochigi? We can expand your territory there. Ibaraki – I heard that no clans have claimed parts of that prefecture -’
‘I have no desire,’ Oikawa said, ‘to go further than Saitama or to step on the toes of The Bears or The Monkeys. So if you want to leave -’
‘I don’t. I don’t want to leave.’
Hinata’s heart wobbled wildly in his chest. Oikawa said nothing, waiting for Hinata to talk. If there was a way, to get the key back –
If this was his one and only shot –
‘Working for you – I have learnt so much and have been challenged to think differently, problem-solve in new ways and push myself like I never have before… I’ve learnt more about myself and realised things I wouldn’t have… I’ve been more driven, more alive, more awake in these past three months than I have ever been my whole life, even as a crow… T-to be honest, I was – bored. That’s why I walked into the brewery in Saitama trying to take it without thinking of any consequences. I’d achieved everything I’d been tasked to do and I was bored. Bored of this life, of this field, my successes which you first spoke of… they seemed… too easy somehow… Strangely, Oikawa-san, meeting you at that time, having to try and expand The Wolves motivated me and showed me that I can soar even higher than I did before…
‘These past two months well,’ Hinata could not help blushing and he avoided the wolf’s stare, ‘h-have been amazing working with you. I have enjoyed our conversations and the challenges you have given me… I feel like I – have grown to know you a bit more, and have felt comfort in your support of me even though I’m not a wolf…’ Hinata forced himself to bring his gaze up and look directly at Oikawa. ‘Our time together has felt very important to me. It still does. Every week I look forward to seeing you and engaging with you. And since meeting you I have never felt bored. In fact I – I feel that meeting you was one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.’
Silence.
Silence but Hinata was drowning in the deafening sound of his blood beating in his ears. His cheeks were on fire. Oikawa was considering him, a strange glint in the wolf’s eye. The candle on the table – surely it could not be making the room this hot?
Hinata wondered if he was overstepping it. If he should be more careful –
‘I do hope,’ Oikawa murmured, ‘your boyfriend or girlfriend doesn’t know you feel that way about -’
‘I’m not in a relationship.’
Oikawa’s eyes satisfyingly darkened. The most wolf-like Hinata had ever seen him.
This beating blood brewed boldness in Hinata, boldness like points he’d accumulated from months of being brave in his trade –
‘W-what about you? You must have – s-someone special -’
‘No.’
The pounding in Hinata’s chest, the taut silence during dinner, those ravenous eyes of Oikawa’s that did not seem satisfied by food alone but that instead seemed to look to Hinata to fulfill a much deeper desire…
Sake had never burned so much, sushi had never made Hinata salivate so, his hands had never trembled like there was an earthquake just from using chopsticks…
After dinner, Oikawa offered to take Hinata home, and Hinata accepted. In the back of a black limo, in the space on the leather seat between them, Oikawa slowly, subtly, extended his left hand across the smooth material. And Hinata, ever so slowly, inched his right hand up and along the leather seat until his pinkie grazed Oikawa’s –
Oikawa took his hand.
Hinata was staring straight ahead, into the space of the limo in front of him, the driver, with his eyes on the road –
But that wasn’t where Hinata was –
A constellation had burst into being. Shooting stars and bounding meteorites flew above a picturesque castle that had wide open doors, now that Hinata had turned the golden key in the lock –
How was it possible for his heart to race this rapidly? For his breathing to be this ragged?
He couldn’t look at Oikawa. He just couldn’t.
But he held on tightly to that warmth of the Big Bad Wolf’s hand and did not let go.
When the limo pulled up, Hinata had opened the vehicle door, leading the head wolf with him by the hand. Up to Hinata’s apartment, they hadn’t said a word but Oikawa had not loosened his grip.
Hinata had opened the door and led Oikawa in. He hadn’t even switched the light on yet, hadn’t even turned to close the door when Oikawa yanked him back and let go –
Hinata’s back hit the door as it closed. It was dark. But the enormous windows of his penthouse suite, the night sky and city lights, gave just enough illumination for Hinata to see Oikawa.
Oikawa placed an arm above Hinata, and leaned down, bringing his face closer.
Hinata thought his heart would stop in his chest. He could not look away from Oikawa’s open, searching, brown eyes. Oikawa’s other free hand gently held his cheek. And then, as Hinata’s heart galloped like a stallion, Oikawa closed the gap -
And kissed him.
And it was like no kiss Hinata had ever felt before.
After that, Hinata’s weekends suddenly became electrifying: private jets, spas, skiing in Hakuba, dinner in skyscrapers, a hotel room in Kawaguchiko overlooking Mount Fuji -
But those were not the things that gave Hinata the crackling, popping, high-octane voltage that now coursed through him -
Even weekends at home, at one of Oikawa’s Saitama apartments, lying on top of Oikawa on the sofa as they watched a movie, or lazying around reading or cooking, filled Hinata with more joy than he thought was possible.
Who would’ve guessed?
Gone was the underground room. Instead Hinata became an honorary wolf, privy to most hangouts, accepted by the vicious wolves (and very popular due to putting Oikawa in the best mood he’d ever been in, which in turn made Oikawa more relaxed and less work obsessed, according to Iwaizumi).
And then. That day. In April.
Out of nowhere. Out of the blue.
Hinata had gotten a call from Kageyama.
‘Where are you?!’
‘I’m just in Matsudo.’
‘What the fuck are you doing there?!’
‘Eating soba. Why? What’s up?’
‘The Eagles… They’ve landed in Toyko. They’re on their way for us -!’
The panic in Kageyama’s voice was real. But still… really? It made no sense.
‘But… what are they doing here?’
‘It doesn’t matter what they’re doing here moron just get to your safe house!!’
‘Shouldn’t we fight?’
‘NO! They’re way too strong -’
‘But how do you know they’re here for us? We’ve never even had any contact with them and aren’t they super far away from us -?’
‘The Cats hired them!’ Kageyama practically shrieked in frustration.
Silence.
‘How do you know that Kageyama?’
‘You idiot can’t you understand that this is an emergency?! It doesn’t matter how I know just get to your safe house NOW!’
So he did. He went straight to Oikawa’s.
Hinata could remember it like it was yesterday. The deathly strange silence of the carpeted hallway. The smooth glide of the key card. The door sliding open. And a low rumble of a voice that Hinata had never heard before nor would ever hear again grating his ears.
He had barely stepped in when he saw it -
A distance away, by the part of Oikawa’s apartment that was on a slightly lower level, Oikawa stood, defiant, in shorts and a t-shirt, lounge wear, beautiful and comfortable as Hinata knew him but across from him -
A man. Tall, large, thunderous, in a black suit and purple tie holding a - Hinata felt like his entire body had been impaled by a stalactite - a rifle. And he was aiming it straight at Oikawa.
Hinata could barely think straight.
He was stood in the dark by the door; the lights were only on where Oikawa and the man were.
Before Hinata did anything else, before he took out his own gun, he called Iwaizumi. He heard it ring. He heard Iwaizumi answer -
Hinata then stepped forward and pulled out his gun -
‘Who are you and what are you doing in Toda, in Oikawa’s home?’
The rifle swung over towards him, to the darkness, as Hinata approached, gun in hands, phone in jacket pocket.
And there, on Oikawa’s face, as Hinata stepped into the edge of the circle of light, was fear on the head wolf’s face like Hinata had never seen before.
‘Hello Hinata Shoyo.’
That gruff gravelly voice, that dead-eye stare, the point of the rifle, all now on him. Hinata was glad.
‘And who might you be?’
Both their arms were raised, Hinata’s and the man’s, guns at each other’s chest. And out of the corner of Hinata’s eye, a quivering, nervous Big Bad Wolf. It was perverse but for a split second Hinata felt pleasure in seeing another side to Oikawa that he hadn’t seen before.
‘I’m Ushijima Wakatoshi, also known as Ushiwaka, the leader of The Eagles.’
‘Hinata,’ Oikawa breathed, ‘leave.’
‘No.’ Hinata replied.
‘So you agreed to work with The Crows but not with us?’ Ushiwaka spoke to Oikawa but was still staring, rifle pointing, to Hinata.
‘He works for me,’ Oikawa explained, ‘as a bribe, under threat.’
‘I didn’t know it was common practice for you to give out key cards to people you threaten.’
The smallest hint of a blush graced Oikawa’s cheeks and Hinata could not help lavishing in the reaction regardless of the morbidity of the situation.
‘What he says is true,’ Hinata asserted, ‘he does not work with The Crows and The Crows do not know about our setup.’
‘That may be so,’ Ushiwaka said, ‘but it doesn’t change the status quo -’
SWOOSH.
Click.
The rifle was back on Oikawa who had involuntarily taken a step back. Hinata was sweating. But both his eyes, his hands, his gun, everything was on Ushiwaka like a hawk.
‘Both of you are inconsequential to me. The Cats have teamed up with us to defeat The Crows. The Crows will belong to us or be dead by morning.’
‘If you don’t leave,’ Hinata whispered, ‘I will shoot you.’
Ushiwaka smiled. The creepiest most fucked up smile Hinata had ever seen in his life, still with those gravestone eyes targeted at Oikawa.
‘OIKAWA TORU,’ Ushiwaka’s voice boomed like a judge in a courtroom, ‘you have been asked three times to join The Eagles -’
‘Shoyo,’ Oikawa whispered -
‘Once in May last year -’
‘Go -’
‘Again in September -’
‘Please -’
‘A third and final time this year January. It is by custom of The Eagles that anyone who rejects our offer three times has insulted our value, valour and kindness and is hereby declared fit for one punishment and one punishment only: DEATH -’
It had felt slow but it had happened so fast, Hinata had barely blinked -
That miniscule movement of Ushiwaka’s arm -
A breath -
Hinata had adjusted his gun up -
BANG!
BANG!
A scream.
Two bodies fell.
Only one staggered, trying to grab onto something -
Hinata had rushed to Oikawa as blood gushed out of Ushiwaka’s head and onto the cream floor and from Oikawa too - the bullet had pierced Oikawa’s abdomen and diagonally down through his left leg - Hinata had shot a milisecond before Ushiwaka did, forcing the eagle to shoot as he fell, the trajectory, ruined -
‘You’re going to be OK, you’re going to be OK, you’re going to be OK -’ Hinata repeated, over and over again, as he held Oikawa who moaned in pain into his shoulder, blood spreading all through Oikawa’s t-shirt, and from behind his thigh, spilling out onto the floor - Hinata shaking, bunched the material of the t-shirt, pressed it into the wound to try and stop the bleeding but the wolf howled in pain - Hinata’s hands shook, in blood, in Oikawa’s blood, the bleeding, it wasn’t stopping, red hands tried to take out his own phone and call an ambulance but he had to stop the blood, how, how could he, what did he need and what should he do first -
Suddenly, footsteps - running -
‘Hinata!’
‘IWAIZUMI -!’
What had happened next - Hinata could barely remember and didn’t want to. All he had were fragments: Iwaizumi shouting for duct tape, Oikawa delirious in pain, Hinata’s finger pushing against squishy, hot, liquidy, pierced skin, Iwaizumi dialling 911 then carrying Oikawa in his arms downstairs as Hinata ran with him -
Blue lights. Paramedics. Stretcher. Oxygen. Urgency.
Hinata had wept, holding tightly onto Oikawa’s hand, saying the same thing in the ambulance over and over again -
‘You’re going to be OK. You’re going to be OK. Please be OK.’
Hinata was a wreck but the quiet presence of Iwaizumi was an anchor in the storm.
Hinata had paced, covered in blood and sweat and tears, outside the operating theatre. He caught sight of Iwaizumi watching him and realised that the wolf had asked him a question.
‘Did you say something?’ Hinata sniffed.
‘I said have you spoken to The Crows?’ that was the softest Hinata had ever heard Iwaizumi speak.
Hinata shook his head. Suddenly -
Iwaizumi’s phone started ringing.
‘What?’ Iwaizumi answered. ‘HE WHAT?!’
Hinata stared. Iwaizumi looked shook.
‘For fuck’s sake - no, I’m - get your ass to Toda Hospital NOW and then I’ll go, we’ve got a crow here in a bad way -’
‘You’re obviously needed,’ Hinata sniffed as soon as Iwa got off the phone. ‘You should go -’
‘It’s took risky to leave you and Oikawa here on your own. Not when there may be other Eagles around although -’ Iwaizumi gripped a chunk of his hair, ‘by the looks of it most of them have died -’
Hinata’s eyes grew wide. ‘What do you mean?’
‘It’s Mad Dog, he… went a bit feral.’
Hinata’s face darkened. ‘They deserve it,’ he muttered, ‘every one of them.’
Matsukawa arrived and Iwaizumi left. Matsu was covered in blood and dirt. His shirt was torn at the elbows and parts of his trouser leg was ripped. He wasted no time lighting up in the hospital waiting room and then got an earful from a nurse who wasn’t sure whether to send him out or have him seen to in the state he was in. And only Matsu, given the current circumstances, could hit on a nurse and have her walking away blushing.
‘It’s OK,’ Matsu assured Hinata, blowing out a puff of smoke, ‘we basically own this hospital.’
Hinata couldn’t stop pacing and crying and Matsu sat there, smoking, watching the tiny pretty boy walk in circles, soaked in Oikawa’s blood, like a beautiful nightmare.
‘He’s gonna be OK kid,’ Matsu said to his cigarette but did not look Hinata in the eye. ‘He’s going to be OK.’
Three hours later, Iwaizumi returned looking more dishevelled than before but as unreadable as ever. He had words with Matsu outside and then re-entered Matsu-less. He’d barely taken two steps towards Hinata when a doctor came out and told them that the bleeding had stopped, Oikawa had been treated, he was recovering, and would survive. Hinata had wept again in relief and begged to see him. The doctor agreed but explained that Oikawa was not awake because he was still under anaesthetic.
The hospital was the last place Hinata had seen Oikawa. Eyes closed. Breathing. Resting.
Hinata had kissed his hand with lips and tears.
‘How did they know,’ Hinata had asked out loud in that silent room except for the heart monitor, ‘where Oikawa lived?’
‘There was a rat,’ Iwaizumi replied.
Hinata sharply looked up at the underboss.
‘His location was leaked to The Cats. We don’t know who by and neither do they. An anonymous tip off.’
‘Why… why would anyone do that?’
‘You make enemies in this life.’
Hinata looked to the beautiful, still Oikawa lying in the hospital bed.
‘As soon as you called me, and I heard the voice of Ushiwaka - I knew something wasn’t right. I heard the whole conversation as I rushed to Oikawa’s Toda apartment and I sent the others to Tokyo to save The Crows -’
‘You saved The Crows?’ Hinata’s voice cracked again.
Iwazumi gave a single nod. ‘Of course. Oikawa promised you all help, right? If ever you needed it. That’s what we’d been ordered.’
Hinata could not help but break down in tears again. ‘T-thank you, Iwaizumi-san.’
‘But they didn’t need our help. Turns out The Crows had all fled into hiding. Matsukawa and the others only found Eagles and Cats. We still wanted some answers with what the fuck Ushiwaka was doing in Oikawa’s Toda apartment. You never heard this from me but we have files on every clan. We know more than you think we know. Not to mention, you were monitored after we caught you in the brewery, we knew The Crows’ key locations after that. With the history between Cats vs Crows, we figured Kenma would want to claim territory back or attack your greatest successes. We were right.
‘While you and I were here at the hospital, there was a shootout in Diamond Casino, Shibuya, the one with the diamond flower chandelier. Things got a bit out of hand. Even the cops were scared to get involved. The Cats lost their shit when they saw us, they had no idea what we were doing there and then Mad Dog, well, he, er, he brought a machine gun you see and he started shooting everything with the colour purple and took out Tendo and Goshiki before they had a chance to speak. Kenma and Kuroo were there. I don’t think they were expecting it to turn into a bloodbath. Anyway -
‘They’d been tipped off about Oikawa’s various residencies by an anonymous source. They’d stalked the locations and found the information to be true. Apparently they had no idea though that The Eagles wanted to kill Oikawa; they just thought they’d make him another offer but I mean, why else would The Eagles want to know where Oikawa lived?’
‘But why…’ Hinata said. ‘I still don’t understand - why did The Cats bring The Eagles here in the first place?’
‘The Cats felt threatened by your progress, is what they said. And they needed help in taking back what you took from them.’
‘My progress…’ Hinata repeated into space.
Iwaizumi continued talking. It became a low, distant hum. Over that, the annoying blipping beep, beep, beep of the heart monitor machine. A swirling, groaning, monstrous roar almost split Hinata’s head in two -
He collapsed. Weeping, wailing, clutching the bed covers, holding onto Oikawa’s legs -
Hinata did not see, the shocked, worried panic on Iwaizumi’s face. Iwaizumi, not one experienced in providing comfort -
‘H-Hinata?’
Iwaizumi was at a loss of what to do. Hinata’s reaction - it wasn’t normal. It was as if they’d announced that Oikawa had died, not that he was recovering -
Hinata buried his head in the bed and sobbed, clutching Oikawa’s hand.
‘I’m sorry!!!!’ Iwaizumi heard Hinata cry, muffled by the blanket he spoke into, ‘I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry-’ Hinata started pounding his fists into the mattress.
Iwaizumi slipped out to get a doctor, a nurse, someone who could console him -
But by the time he’d managed to bring back a nurse -
Hinata was gone.
That was 3 months ago.
And now, in Okinawa, miles away from mainland Honshu, in a very different setting to a cold, white hospital ward -
Every dream, every wish, every longing, every desire, every ache, every want was now met -
Oikawa stood before him.
Alive.
Well.
In white shorts and a white shirt, brown belt with a silver buckle that matched the silver cane he lent on. But the wolf had cold-warm eyes and an unreadable expression on his face that Hinata could not identify.
No matter. Hinata’s eyes brimmed over with tears. Oikawa was OK and that was all that mattered.
He wanted to jump up and down in joy and relief, he wanted to jump on the head wolf but didn’t as he was not certain of Oikawa’s current medical condition and also - a slither of tension was in the air: Hinata had disappeared for three months without a single word and he did not blame Oikawa, if the wolf was mad…
‘L-let me get you a chair from outside - so you can sit more comfortably and you can rest your leg on a stool -’
Hinata passed by the Big Bad Wolf as he went to his porch, brought a chair in, then went about stuffing it was cushions before bringing a stool in front of it. Slowly and carefully, Oikawa sat down and propped his left leg up onto the stool. He looked at Hinata. Hinata’s heart was doing a million beats per minute: Oikawa’s breathtaking face was still unreadable.
‘A d-drink? Would you like a drink or is there anything else you n-need?’
‘An explanation,’ Oikawa’s eyes bored into Hinata’s, ‘of why you left me when I needed you most.’
Hinata flinched. Oikawa’s gaze did not waver in intensity and Hinata had deja vu of the first time he had met the head wolf.
‘Of why, not once, in the last three months, have you called me,’ Oikawa conitnued, ‘checked in on how I was doing, texted me or messaged me - emailed, faxed, snail mailed, sent a pigeon or anything, Shoyo, anything at all.’
A tear rolled down Hinata’s cheek.
The tiniest hint of a smirk tugged at the left side of Oikawa’s mouth. ‘Your angel face cries like you mean it but are those merely crocodile tears?’
‘Of course not!’
Oikawa’s words pierced him like a gunshot.
‘Well then?’ Oikawa raised an eyebrow.
Hinata fell to his knees, crying. Guilt, shame, pain and remorse hit him at full force now that he’d been confronted with Oikawa’s point of view. Hinata had been so caught up in an endless cycle within his own way of thinking within the past three months, he had assumed Oikawa would see the situation exactly as he did.
Hinata bowed even lower, touching his head to the floor as he wept. Before Oikawa had a chance to speak, Hinata crept forward - Oikawa was wearing fit flops - and kissed the top of Oikawa’s right foot.
‘I’m sorry -’
‘Shoyo -!’
The remorse in Hinata’s voice along with the subservient behaviour completely ripped Oikawa’s heart in two. The wolf leaned down wrapped a hand around Hinata’s frail wrist, pulling him up between Oikawa’s legs.
‘You see?’ Oikawa whispered, staring into that tear-stained face, ‘I can never win with you.’
Hinata was back on his knees between Oikawa’s open legs, his left hand holding the thigh of Oikawa’s OK leg for support. His lips trembled as he looked up at Oikawa.
Oikawa was dying to kiss him (and do much more than just kiss him) but -
‘Why did you leave me?’
‘So - so you wouldn’t get hurt anymore,’ Hinata whispered, more tears sprouting from his eyes. ‘So that no one would try and hurt you because of me.’
Oikawa surveyed those perfect features.
‘You think I was targeted… because of you?’ Oikawa asked.
‘I know it was because of me.’
‘How?’
Hinata sniffed as his eyes watered afresh and he pursed his lips unsure how to proceed.
‘Shoyo,’ Oikawa murmured, cupping Hinata’s cheek. ‘You are not to blame for what happened to me. One of the older crows, the one who was here, mentioned to me you were thinking something absurd along these lines - The Eagles had it in for me and The Cats had it in for you too - if they targeted us because of your progress, it is not your fault -’
‘That’s not what I mean, Toru! The person who leaked our information - your location, my progress - to The Cats - was a crow!’
Oikawa searched Hinata’s eyes. ‘How do you know that?’
‘B-because I confronted him!’ Hinata explained about the scans on his phone, ‘and when I confronted him he admitted it!’
Hinata could almost see the cogs working in Oikawa’s mind.
‘Why?’ the wolf asked. ‘Jealousy?’
‘No,’ Hinata shook his head into Oikawa’s palm and blushed. ‘He said he was in love with me.’
Hinata saw the ice return to those eyes, felt Oikawa’s hand freeze before the wolf dropped his hand, dead.
‘Who is it?’
‘Toru - please!’ Hinata sprang up and clung to Oikawa. ‘Please don’t -!’
He could see murder in the wolf’s eyes and had seen it before. In the two months that Hinata had dated Oikawa, he had seen the Big Bad Wolf hand out death sentences as if he was dishing out plates.
‘You want someone who wants me dead to live?’ Oikawa whispered.
Hinata clawed, desperate, at Oikawa’s shirt. ‘He - he won’t try it again -’
‘You don’t know that.’
‘I do! H-he came here - to see me - I almost killed him myself I was so mad - he apologised to me - he won’t try and do it again -’
Hinata could hear the doubt in Oikawa’s silence.
‘I can’t kill one of my brothers!’
‘Although one of your brothers tried to kill me?’ Oikawa lifted Hinata’s chin.
‘You would never kill a wolf!’
‘Hmmm… that depends,’ Oikawa surveyed Hinata’s lips. ‘If they tried to harm someone dear to me…’
‘If Iwaizumi tried to kill me - would you kill him?’ Hinata challenged those scorching brown eyes confidently. ‘Well? Would you?’
Oikawa sighed.
‘I know you wouldn’t! Because you love Iwaizumi-san like a brother and I understand that. You may love him differently to the way you love me but I know that you love us both and you wouldn’t want either of us harmed! You would want to resolve it with both of us safe!’
‘Hmm, do I love you, Shoyo?’ Oikawa raised his eyebrows, teasing. ‘Do you love me?’
‘Yes,’ Hinata responded in less than a heartbeat.
Oikawa smirked and could not help wrapping his arms around Hinata’s waist, locking the crow to himself. ‘So then… I believe you still owe me an explanation.’
Hinata blushed. Oikawa’s eyes were like coals of fire as they surveyed Hinata’s face. Hinata felt the desire from Oikawa increase the yearning within him: Hinata too could not help admiring how good-looking his lover was, and how comfortable and right it felt to be back within Oikawa’s embrace and up against this body.
‘I was afraid,’ Hinata explained, fighting the urge to meld his lips with the lips before him. ‘When Iwaizumi-san said The Cats had attacked because of my progress… Deep down I knew, I somehow knew, you were attacked because of me. The Crows were attacked because of me. So I left. And the more I thought about it, the more I realised - you and The Crows would only be safe if I was out of the picture. If we kept meeting, if I was the giveaway to where you are -’ Hinata’s eyes watered afresh. ‘I asked him, Toru, if I was followed, I asked The Crow who betrayed me if that was how your location was found and he said yes! I was the weak link. I was the reason your safety was compromised. Don’t you see? This is still all my fault -’
Oikawa silenced Hinata with his mouth. Their lips met, and Hinata surrendered himself to forgotten bliss. He wrapped his arms around Oikawa’s neck as he melted into the kiss. Oikawa pulled away but Hinata could not help pushing himself forward, kissing Oikawa again. Oikawa made a sound - half-amused, half a moan - but really did have to break away because he was getting too aroused too quickly and did not want to continue without resolving the matter.
Oikawa watched, pleased, as it took Hinata a moment to open his eyes from the kiss and when he did, Oikawa saw the fire in them.
‘The last thing this is,’ Oikawa murmured, warming himself in amber flames, ‘is your fault. Other people made choices to hurt us, that wasn’t you.’
‘But I feel so guilty.’ Suddenly the tears were back and Hinata could not stop them. ‘I put everyone I love unintentionally in danger and I’m - I’m still so afraid, Toru. I can’t bear the thought of you getting hurt because of me which is why I fled - don’t you see? You’re safer without me. If you moved on, if you recovered, if I was out of the picture… you would be OK. That much I knew. The Wolves would look after you. They would protect you. That was why I never got in touch the past three months. I only ever wanted you to be safe.’
Oikawa drew Hinata into an even tighter embrace, slotting his chin onto Hinata’s shoulder and cuddling him.
Oikawa sighed. ‘You silly little bean. You silly, silly bean. How much I’ve missed you.’
‘Toru!’ Hinata cried and continued to cry as relief swept over him. The worries and anxieties he had carried for the past three months were all suddenly gone. He sobbed as he held onto Oikawa, who had begun to tenderly stroke the back of his head. But Hinata moved away from Oikawa’s hand. ‘Don’t comfort me!’
‘And why not?’
Hinata sniffed and pushed himself off from Oikawa and wiped his nose on the back of his hand. ‘Because I should be the one comforting you! I’m the one who wasn’t there for you -’
‘But,’ Oikawa gently wiped Hinata’s tears away with his thumb, ‘you’re here for me now, aren’t you?’
Hinata nodded fervently. ‘I will do anything to make it up to you.’
Oikawa’s eyes darkened and he surveyed Hinata’s pretty face. ‘Hmm…’ Oikawa suddenly grabbed Hinata at the waist and pulled him in so that their lips almost touched. Those long, dark eyelashes flicked down towards Hinata’s mouth. ‘Anything?’
Before Hinata could respond, Oikawa kissed him again and Hinata could not help himself: his hands searched, grabbed and groped, skin, neck but it was not enough - his fingers freed the buttons of Oikawa’s shirt and Hinata knew what would come next and where this was going and how badly he wanted it. He had not had sex for the past three months and had not been in the mood he was so upset. But now that the object of his desire was right here, now that all the loose ends were tied up, well, except one -
Hinata forced himself once again away from Oikawa’s mouth and body even though he didn’t want to. He felt Oikawa grab his arm and waist in wanting, knew that the wolf was ready to devour him then and there, not ready to let go.
‘Except one thing,’ Hinata said even though he wasn’t sure why he was still talking just knew that he had to before things went ahead.
‘And what’s that?’
Oikawa slipped a hand under Hinata’s shirt, dived down the side of his shorts and gripped the skin at his hip. The sensation of that familiar magical touch from Oikawa made Hinata close his eyes and groan.
‘Toru -’ Hinata squished up his face still with his eyes closed. ‘We need to have this conversation -’ but Oikawa moved his palm along until it hit something hard and squeezed. Hinata moaned and bit his lip, trying to steady his heart and his breathing.
‘We are having this conversation -’
Hinata could hear the smirking amusement in Oikawa’s voice even with his eyes closed.
‘I’m just… enjoying touching you seeing as I haven’t been able to for a while,’ Oikawa purred.
But thankfully (and begrudgingly) Oikawa extracted his hand. Hinata opened his eyes. He could see that mischievous glint in the head wolf’s eyes.
‘What were you saying, Sho?’
Hinata knew that Oikawa had done it on purpose, that the head wolf loved getting Hinata aroused and worked up like this.
‘You’re such a tease,’ Hinata whined, and it was meant to sound accusatory but it came out like he was begging.
‘Just one more thing you love about me,’ Oikawa winked and stuck his tongue out, again, making Hinata even weaker at the knees: a playful Big Bad Wolf made Hinata spellbound. ‘Why don’t you finish what you’re saying? And then we can finish where we’ve left off…’
What even was Hinata saying?!
‘I can’t remember what I was saying because you’re too distracting!’
Oikawa chuckled, obviously way too pleased with himself. ‘You were saying there’s an exception for you to do anything for me.’ Oikawa flirtatiously looked down at Hinata’s erection, and then back up at his face.
Hinata deliberately took two steps back. He caught sight of Oikawa’s bulge too. The wolf smirked.
‘I refuse to go back to Tokyo. As in… I don’t want to go back to that lifestyle anymore, Toru.’
The smirk had vanished but Oikawa’s expression was passive.
‘I know I was good at it. I know that’s why everyone liked me so much. And everyone keeps telling me… that I’m a crow. More than that - that I’m a crow for life. But is this where it has taken me? My family, and the person I love the most, harmed, and in danger? Crow, wolf, I don’t care - I cannot live a life where my job sacrifices the safety of those I care about. I won’t do it, Toru! No matter what you say, or Suga or anyone else, no matter how much you try to convince me - I have thought long and hard about it for three months and I’ve made up my mind. So,’ Hinata pursed his lips and fought back the tears behind his eyes, ‘I will understand,’ Hinata’s voice cracked, ‘if you don’t want to be with me anymore. I cannot see another way. Even if I don’t return to The Crows but I returned to Tokyo, I am known by my reputation and our relationship could still put you in danger or I could be used against you. Iwaizumi-san said something in the hospital that I have thought about a lot and he’s right: “you make enemies in this life”. Well I don’t want that life anymore, Toru. And I will be happy to know that I am never a hazard to you ever again.’
Hinata sniffed and watched Oikawa. No matter how long the crow had known the wolf for, he still, to this day, could never tell what the head wolf was thinking.
Oikawa held out his hand. ‘Will you come here?’
Hinata closed the gap and and placed his left hand into Oikawa’s right. Standing, Hinata was taller than a seated Oikawa, and looked down into those eyes that he loved to get lost in.
‘They’re wrong, you know.’
‘Who’s wrong?’ Hinata asked.
‘Everyone. The ones who told you you’re a crow for life.’
Hinata ran his fingers through Oikawa’s fringe, pulling back the silky strands to expose more of Oikawa’s face.
‘Before you’re a crow, before I’m a wolf - we are human beings and we do not belong to one label. No one has the right to tell you who you are. I didn’t come to Okinawa to take you back to Tokyo. I didn’t come here primarily as a wolf. I came here as Oikawa Toru, here to see Hinata Shoyo.’
Oikawa’s words nestled deep into Hinata’s heart to bloom more emotion on the crow’s face.
‘I only wonder how The Wolves will take the news.’
‘What news?’
‘That I won’t be going back either,’ Oikawa said.
Hinata’s wet eyes grew wider. ‘What?’ he breathed, unable to believe what he was hearing.
Oikawa stroked the back of Hinata’s hand with his thumb. ‘You know, you weren’t the only one bored. And quite frankly, I see no point going back to the mainland if you’re not in it.’
‘Toru,’ Hinata choked in a whisper.
‘I’d quite like to start a new life with you,’ Oikawa stared up at Hinata. ‘If you’ll still have me.’
‘T-T-Toru!’
Hinata collapsed into sobs and clung to Oikawa, holding onto the back of his neck and his shirt. Oikawa wrapped his arms around Hinata and breathed in the crow’s scent as he cradled the redhead. Hinata wept for a good few minutes, Oikawa lovingly kissing the top of his head. When Hinata had calmed, he extracted himself the minimal amount to be able to look at Oikawa properly again.
‘You - you really mean it? You’d be happy to… to do something else… with me?’
‘Yes, Shoyo. We’ve made enough money, haven’t we? We could practically do anything else. But how about we go away somewhere first, for a holiday, and then think about it after?’
‘Iwaizumi-san… Maki and the others… they won’t mind?’
‘Of course they’ll mind. But this is my choice to leave The Wolves just as you’ve made your choice to leave The Crows. So they’re going to have to deal with it.’
Hinata kissed Oikawa and Oikawa pulled Hinata’s body closer, tighter, up against Oikawa’s. Oikawa swiped his tongue across Hinata’s lips and Hinata opened his mouth -
They moaned together as their tongues danced. Hinata laced his fingers through Oikawa’s hair - this tongue, this mouth, this body, this hair, this feeling - oh how he missed it so -
Hinata’s hands smoothed their way down, down, down -
Oikawa suddenly broke away, eyes aroused. ‘Listen, Sho. My left leg - it isn’t fully recovered. There was a severed nerve; it’s still healing. The doctor said it will take a few more months. So in terms of positions for sex I’m not sure -’
It was now Oikawa’s eyes that grew wide from the single small finger that pressed against his lips and silenced him.
‘Toru,’ Hinata kissed Oikawa gently on the nose, then on both cheeks, before locking eyes once more. ‘I have three months’ worth of care I owe you -’ Hinata slowly undid the buttons of Oikawa’s shirt before peeling it off his torso. No matter how many times Hinata had had sex with Oikawa, he never could get used to the sight of Oikawa’s perfect abs and toned chest. Hinata’s lips trailed down Oikawa’s body in kisses, starting from the neck, collarbone, chest, ribs down to his belly - Oikawa moaned. Hinata squeezed over the bulge in Oikawa’s shorts before slotting himself against Oikawa again to place his mouth against the wolf’s ear. ‘So please don’t worry about positions,’ Hinata whispered before sliding his hand into Oikawa’s shorts. Oikawa sharply inhaled. Hinata began kissing Oikawa’s chest again before flicking his tongue against Oikawa’s nipple the same time as he wrapped his hand around Oikawa -
Oikawa threw his head back in bliss as Hinata touched Oikawa so perfectly, exactly how Hinata knew how to.
‘Let me take care of you,’ Hinata extracted his hand and started unbuckling Oikawa’s belt, ‘in every way possible.’ The belt slid off and, as if it was the crown of a king, Hinata placed it on the table nearest to them.
‘Shoyo.’
Something in the way Oikawa had said his name.
Hinata turned to see Oikawa with glossy eyes.
‘I love you.’
The words burned a bonfire of embers in Hinata’s heart.
‘I know,’ Hinata smiled, for the first time that evening. ‘I love you too.’
Automatically Hinata returned to Oikawa’s body, pressing into hard muscle, as Oikawa enveloped Hinata in strong arms. They kissed again, long, slow, hard.
‘Tomorrow we’ll tell The Wolves,’ Oikawa breathed.
Hinata hummed in agreement. He then pecked kisses at Oikawa’s neck as his hands went to the button and zip of Oikawa’s shorts.
‘Tomorrow we’ll figure out what we’ll do next.’
‘Yes,’ Hinata breathed, hot, heavy, against Oikawa’s neck.
‘Tomorrow I want to hear about what you’ve been up to the past three months,’ Oikawa spoke but was barely concentrating with the way Hinata’s kisses and hands were going.
‘Of course,’ Hinata nuzzled against Oikawa’s cheek before dipping his hand once again lower. Gently, his teeth found Oikawa’s earlobe and Hinata sucked on it. The crow satisfyingly heard the wolf’s breathing become even more ragged. And to put the cherry on the cake, Hinata put on his seductive voice and uttered the submissive words he knew drove Oikawa wild, ‘Whatever you want, whatever you say, I’ll do.’
Hinata moaned - Oikawa had bit into the juncture of his neck and shoulder.
‘For now,’ Oikawa growled, ‘lock the door.’