Oikawa let go of Hinata’s hand, picked up the knife and stood up. A waiter who had heard the commotion arrived just in time to provide them with a new knife while taking the one that had dropped on the floor. Oikawa returned to his stool. Hinata took a few moments to compose himself and settle the earthquake that had begun inside of him. He got up and clambered back onto his seat. Oikawa watched the spiker out of the corner of his eye while he chopped up the steak. The boy was clearly lost in thought. About what? Oikawa had no clue.

Oikawa placed pieces of the steak on the small plate in front of Hinata.

‘You OK there chibi-chan?’

The concern in the setter’s voice broke Hinata’s reverie. He blinked, looked at Oikawa, and then at the slices of meat in front of him. His face lit up in excitement.

‘Thank you, Oikawa-san! I can’t believe I get to try the beef here!’

‘My pleasure.’

They ate and remarked on the incredible flavour and tenderness of the meat. The rice and vegetables too were all made to perfection. Hinata could not remember the last time he’d had a meal quite like this one. He remembered Tanaka once boasting about the food here when he’d visited  for his sister’s graduation and now Hinata could see why. Both Hinata and Oikawa ate and savoured each mouthful so seriously it was like an act of reverence and when Oikawa pointed this out, Hinata laughed.

After their bellies were full and the plates were cleared, Oikawa rummaged in his bag for his wallet. As Hinata couldn’t help surreptitiously watching and admiring the setter, he noticed when Oikawa turned towards him and lowered the bag back onto the floor, that Oikawa’s tie was strangely darker, patchy, in some areas compared to the top. Hinata was pretty sure Aoba Johsai’s tie was only one colour –

No –

‘Oi-Oikawa-san?’

‘Hmm?’ Oikawa turned to Hinata, clutching his wallet in one hand.

‘Is that – is that -?’

Hinata’s eyes were adequately startled.

‘My blood on your tie?!’

Oikawa looked down at his tie. And smiled.

‘Yes,’ he said, returning his amused gaze to Hinata. ‘It is.’

Hinata gawped at the beautiful upperclassman who for some reason clearly found this entertaining.

‘I did wrap it around your thigh to stop you from bleeding, you know. It’s been through quite a traumatic experience.’

‘But that was… that was two weeks ago. It’s been two weeks! Are you saying that you haven’t washed your tie for two weeks?’

One side of Oikawa’s lips curled upwards but his eyes – his eyes were deadly serious. Oikawa dropped his voice down to barely above a whisper and when he spoke, his tone was as chilling as his eyes.

‘Why would I wash my tie when it has your blood on it?’

His words sent a thrill that was both terrifying and arousing through Hinata. The waiter arrived with the card machine and Hinata was so stupefied he forgot to fight Oikawa over the bill.

‘Now chibi-chan it’s almost nine so I think I should walk you home.’

Hinata was still in a daze when they stopped by the entrance and  Oikawa made final small-talk with the worker who was a family friend. Hinata too could not make sense of himself – why Oikawa’s response, so disturbing if it had come from someone else, but from the setter it was  like a deep pleasurable jolt. It was satisfying and it made Hinata feel humbly flattered.

Back outside in the cool June night, Hinata grabbed his bike and Oikawa accompanied him home. Hinata could not stop thanking Oikawa for the meal and for paying; he stopped at least twice to bow and thank the setter profusely and now he couldn’t believe that Oikawa was walking him to his house.

‘You don’t have to Oikawa senpai – you have school tomorrow too and you don’t live close -’

‘Well that’s what buses and trains are for,’ Oikawa winked and Hinata cursed his heart for swooning.

Hinata was overjoyed however when they got to his house he was upstaged. By his mother.

‘Shoyo! You never said Oikawa-san was coming over! Come in! I’m so sorry – the house isn’t tidy – I wasn’t expecting a guest!’

Oikawa didn’t want to cause a fuss but Hinata’s mom insisted. He took his shoes off and nervously rubbed the back of his head as he entered the house. He caught sight of an even cuter red-haired thing, about half the size of Hinata, peeking at him from the side of the wall.

‘Natsu,’ Hinata called, ‘come say hi to my friend Oikawa-san! The one who helped me during the earthquake!’

‘Hey there cutie -’ Oikawa began but Natsu flushed red at being spoken to by a handsome stranger and dashed upstairs.

‘You should be in bed, Natsu!’ Hinata’s mother warned.

Like sister, like brother Oikawa observed.

Hinata could not believe he’d felt a pang of jealousy at Oikawa calling his nine year old sister “cutie”. His mother and Oikawa spoke a bit about the earthquake and Oikawa showed her his bandaged hands and boasted how well Hinata protected them during the blackout.

‘Hinata’s a great person, you raised him really well, Mrs Hinata.’

Geeze Hinata thought as he watched his mom get flustered by Oikawa’s compliment is anyone in this family immune to him?

‘Shoyo has always been a bright and passionate spirit, haven’t you dear? By the way are you hungry Oikawa-san?’

‘I’m OK, thank you, in fact we just had a bite to eat -’

‘Mom, is it OK if I give him a tour of the house? I want to show him my volleyball posters!’

‘Of course but don’t make so much noise otherwise Natsu will get up again!’

Hinata gave Oikawa a tour of the whole house except Natsu’s room. Lastly was Hinata’s bedroom, which Oikawa had been dying to see and now got to explore. It was a lot barer than Oikawa imagined it to be – no photographs, no momentos from friends but a whole tonne of volleyball  paraphernalia. He surveyed the posters above Hinata’s desk and recognised the Brazilian and Japanese volleyball players.

‘So this is where chibi-chan does his homework huh? I thought there would be more pictures of you when you were younger -’

As Oikawa continued to explore he had no idea that for the past minute or so Hinata had been rooted to the spot by the closed door staring at the setter.

Oikawa. Oikawa is in my room.

This was the space Hinata thought about him every night. That was the bed he jerked off in imagining the feel of Oikawa’s body and lips. This was where he woke with strange disorientation every morning, after some form of Oikawa haunting his dreams, with the pounding feeling like he’d just been kissed. And now, now, the object of his obsession was casually, innocently, inspecting his room. From feeling like Oikawa was slipping through his fingers he now had the setter in his private space. Alone. And for some reason that Hinata primitively understood – with his blood still on that tie.

‘Well I knew I was mad for volleyball,’ Oikawa stood at the side of  Hinata’s bed investigating the posters up against the wall. ‘But I must say, perhaps you -’

Two hands pulled at the back of Oikawa’s shirt. The gentle warmth and weight of what could only be Hinata’s forehead rested in the middle of Oikawa’s back, just below the setter’s shoulder blades. Oikawa froze, his heart shaking. He didn’t move. Hinata didn’t let go. Oikawa waited but still the crow did not release his clutches. Slowly, Oikawa turned –

Those small hands pulled him down so that Oikawa landed, sat on the bed. Without warning, Hinata raised a leg up and knelt a knee on one side of Oikawa on the bed and then the other, so that he was straddling the setter. Hinata felt the tiny gasp that involuntarily escaped Oikawa’s lips against his chest, as he finally, triumphantly, embraced the setter, wrapping his arms around Oikawa’s neck and bringing the captain’s face to his body. Hinata felt a tingle all over from the feel of Oikawa’s cheek against his heart, as the setter had intuitively turned his head. Hinata rested his chin atop the silk threads of Oikawa’s hair as the deep giddy breaths of Oikawa spread across Hinata’s arm.

As Hinata’s heart feasted like a starved wolf, Hinata could not help thinking about all the ways Oikawa had cared for him. He started at the earthquake with Oikawa carrying him across a glass-shattered room and went through everything right up until today with Oikawa walking Hinata home. Sure gratitude was a component of how he felt towards Oikawa but Hinata was starting to realise… it may have been a building block in the foundations but something much grander had been built upon it.

‘I’m so happy,’ Hinata whispered, squeezing Oikawa tighter, ‘to have you here.’

Oikawa couldn’t speak. He could barely breathe he was gulping down air. He hadn’t even let himself fantasise that something like this could happen again; it was locked and chained in a vault in a secret part of Oikawa’s mind that he repressed himself from opening. His heartbeat was uneven, stuttered. Oikawa was in so much shock he hadn’t even raised his arms to hug the spiker back.

Hinata dipped his nose into the fragrant bed of Oikawa’s hair. The smell was just as he remembered. He sighed. ‘Why do you always smell so  good?’

Oikawa didn’t respond.

He then let go of Oikawa and sat back, lowering himself from an upright stance to sitting on Oikawa’s knees. When he looked up at the setter, he stared surprised –

Oikawa’s eyes were shiny. His face was stunned, unblinking, and he stared back at Hinata with a shocked and dazed look on his face.

In a moment of boldness, Hinata sprang up again and kissed the side of Oikawa’s hair, at his temple. Hinata’s heart resonated like an echo in the mountains. He sat back again and observed Oikawa’s stunned wide-eyed silence.

‘Was that OK?’ Hinata asked quietly.

Oikawa could barely move his head to nod. Hardly before he’d done so Hinata attacked again, this time planting a peck on the tip of the captain’s nose, so light and quick, if Oikawa had blinked he would’ve missed it.

‘Was that OK?’

Hinata’s gold-bronze eyes gleamed up at the astounded setter who blinked to tell Hinata that it was OK. The spiker’s eyes fell on Oikawa’s lips. His stomach flipped and his boldness evaporated. Hinata cowardly buried his face in Oikawa’s chest, a blush blooming on his cheeks, as one hand clutched at the collar of the setter’s shirt.

‘You mom,’ Oikawa croaked, ‘might walk in.’

‘Steps two, four and seven creak loudly on the stairs,’ Hinata whispered. ‘Is it OK if you… hold me again?’

Oikawa didn’t need asking twice. The setter instantaneously wrapped his strong arms around the middle blocker and buried his head in Hinata’s shoulder. The spiker wrapped his legs around Oikawa’s upper body and his arms under the setter’s arms.

‘Why does this feel so nice?’ Hinata could not help ponder aloud.

‘I don’t know,’ Oikawa mumbled into Hinata’s shoulder, and the crow couldn’t help shudder from the vibrations of Oikawa’s voice into his body.

‘Hey, what are you doing on Saturday? Maybe we could… hang out some more. If you want to. Only if you want to. We could practice serves because an hour on Monday isn’t really a long time…’

Oikawa sighed happily. Was this a dream because he had to be dreaming right now.

‘An hour on Monday isn’t a long time,’ Oikawa agreed, ‘but my sister is coming up to visit this weekend with my nephew to see how I’m doing after the earthquake -’

‘Ah OK.’ I should’ve known he’s always so in demand.

‘But I can still make time on Saturday morning to teach you for a few hours? And what if… we practice serves this Saturday but next Monday we still meet and do something – do you think your mom will mind?’

‘R-really?’ Hinata un-hugged Oikawa and moved back to check the setter was in earnest. Oikawa’s eyes were radiant. ‘Yes let’s do that! Let’s go ask my mom -’

Hinata was about to leave Oikawa’s grasp but the setter’s grip tightened, bringing Hinata against him again.

‘No.’ Oikawa murmured. ‘Don’t move.’

Oikawa lowered his head, his lips searching for bare skin until he found it; Oikawa gently kissed the top of Hinata’s neck, just below the spiker’s ear. A fountain of emotions erupted inside Hinata. He sharply inhaled, his breath rattling. Oikawa continued to delicately kiss the side of Hinata’s neck sending shiver after shiver down the spiker’s  spine.

‘Oikawa -’ Hinata breathed.

Oikawa froze, electrified. Hinata had never said his name like that before. It was like a moan or a plea said in ecstasy.

Oikawa withdrew and looked at Hinata. The sun burned at him with a heat and zeal like Oikawa had never seen. The spiker was breathing heavily with eyes as dark as coals on fire. Hinata too could see the raving hunger in the setter’s eyes like Oikawa could devour him then and  there.

Suddenly – a creak on the staircase.

Hinata leapt and flew to his desk chair. Oikawa’s school uniform shirt was long enough to cover his crotch area but he still crossed his legs to hide his boner. Hinata too sat away from the door for the same  reason.

Ignorant, Hinata’s mom knocked on the door and entered. She brought a tray of some fruit and tea for them to share. Hinata was about to ask his mom if he could see Oikawa next week Monday when she said –

‘What are you doing next week Oikawa-san? Would you like to come round for dinner?’

It was settled. Saturday morning he would teach Hinata how to serve and Monday next week he would come round for dinner. Oikawa was full to the brim but he ate some fruit and drank the tea out of politeness. Once he felt sure that his hard-on had gone, he knew it was getting late and insisted on letting Hinata go to bed. Hinata’s mom offered to drive Oikawa but he declined. Instead they said goodbye to him on their doorstep and Oikawa left feeling happier than he had done in two weeks.

Saturday was chaotic but Oikawa made it work.

His sister arrived on Friday night with a tonne of edible gifts. When his nephew heard he was teaching volleyball on Saturday morning he asked to join (and his sister practically begged to have a warm bath and some alone time during her pregnancy) and Oikawa couldn’t say no. Bar Iwaizumi his sister was one of the few people he felt understood him. Without going into intimate details, on Friday night while she cooked for him he told her everything about the earthquake including Hinata staying over and how scared he felt. So far she was the only one he’d  told.

On Saturday Hinata was slightly disappointed to not have alone time with Oikawa but it was overridden by intrigue and joy at getting to meet someone from Oikawa’s family. That, and after three hours of Oikawa instructing him, adding to the previous teachings of Oikawa, Hinata was able to throw the ball up and slam it to the centre-back of the opposition’s court.

‘That’s it chibi-chan! Excellent form!’

Although it wasn’t a jump serve, not yet anyway, Hinata’s overhand serve was miles better than it was even a few weeks ago – it was over the net and powerful enough to land towards the back. To Hinata, it was like he was doing a standing spike. What made this tutorial even better was that every so often Oikawa winked or playfully stuck his tongue out at him when Takeru wasn’t looking and this made Hinata chuckle and reassured him that things were still going in the right direction. And when they were leaving, Oikawa gently rapped his plastered fingers across Hinata’s arm as they exited the park.

With the promise of Monday on the horizon both felt happier than they’d done so in weeks.

Unfortunately, they weren’t the only ones who noticed.

On Monday during practice, Hinata threw the ball up and served it directly between Tsukishima and Daichi. Daichi caught it, of course, but cheers and whoops came from the onlookers who shouted praise at Hinata’s exponential improvement.

Had he aimed that? Kageyama wondered. No. He couldn’t have. It was a fluke. He could barely serve a month ago and now he’s –

‘Do it again Hinata!’ Suga called.

Hinata landed the ball in exactly the same spot. Daichi easily got it up, sure, but the serve was accurate, controlled, not like it used to be. There were times Hinata even struggled hitting the ball or he would just sloppily get it over the net.

Different.

Hinata was different. Ever since the earthquake. Kageyama tossed to the little red who hit it perfectly, scoring a point.

‘Ah yeah!’ Hinata shouted.

He was happier since last week Tuesday. Perhaps something had happened… He was so down after the earthquake, he was off in practice, their combos weren’t working, he was clearly distracted by something… Except Mondays. Kageyama thought. He perked up and kept looking at the clock. Like today. But he suddenly became happier since last week Tuesday and after practice he keeps checking his phone and smiling… I thought it was his leg making him sad but that healed up pretty quickly. But for some stupid reason he’s still wearing that knee brace –

That knee brace…

That knee brace looks strangely familiar…

‘Uhhh!’ Hinata served again, just as well.

And suddenly his serves are consistently, drastically better –

NO.

Asahi blasted through their wall and shot the spike straight down.

No it can’t be –

Kageyama felt a shadow, as mighty and heavy as a dragon, loom over him.

No. No way –

‘Kageyama!!’

The ball flew straight past him and Kageyama had made no attempt to stop it.

‘Kageyama get your head in the game!’ Hinata yelled.

‘You’re one to talk moron this is the first time you’ve played this well since the earthquake!’

Hinata paled. ‘It-it badly affected me!’

‘Is that the only reason?’

Hinata’s eyes grew to the size of spaceships.

‘Knock it off you two what did I say? Not during a game!’ Daichi snapped.

Kageyama’s team lost. Kageyama couldn’t concentrate. He had to talk to –

‘Where did Hinata go?’ Kageyama looked around.

‘He said he had to rush, something about meeting a friend,’ Yamaguchi replied. ‘Is everything alright, Kageyama?’

Fuck.

This can’t be happening.

Kageyama couldn’t sleep. All throughout school on Tuesday he couldn’t concentrate. He’d been over it a million times already and he didn’t want the numbers to add it up but they did: That knee brace. The serves. The running off on Mondays. Hinata in Sendai during the earthquake. Next to Aoba Johsai. Kageyama even went as far as considering to follow Hinata on a Monday but because he didn’t have a bike… even if he had a bike, Hinata would realise at some point that he was following him and it would end in a confrontation anyway. There was no other way. And it wasn’t like the spiker was any good at hiding his emotions.

On Tuesday Kageyama observed how Hinata was sky high. He’s so happy and that makes me… kinda angry.

‘Hinata you moron stop goofing around!’

Despite Kageyama’s criticisms at the middle blocker, he himself played terribly. Suga, Daichi and Asahi all asked if he was OK which made him even more mad.

Hinata stared at Kageyama. Their attacks weren’t matching. Several of the sets had flown straight past him. Something was up.

As soon as it hit six and they’d finished practice, Hinata approached the setter.

‘Kageyama, what’s going on?’ Hinata braced himself for verbal abuse but was prepared to beat it all away until he got something out of the setter.

‘Wait for me after we’re done tidying up. I want to talk to you. Alone.’

Hinata waited. Kageyama made sure they left together, without anyone else around. When they were outside the school gates and by a side road, Kageyama stopped walking. A few seconds later, Hinata too stopped, holding up his bicycle, and turned back to Kageyama.

‘Well.’ Hinata said. ‘You said you wanted to talk.’

‘I want to ask you something.’

‘Sure.’

Kageyama watched Hinata’s face carefully. ‘Did you see anyone else you know during the time of the earthquake?’

Hinata’s expression didn’t change but Kageyama felt like he sensed a moment of shock behind that calm exterior.

‘Why… do you ask that?’

‘Just answer the damn question, dummy!’

‘I don’t have to answer anything if you keep talking to me like that!’

‘Where did you get your knee brace from?’

This time – a reaction. Hinata was clearly taken aback. But more worryingly – he didn’t answer. That sickening dread Kageyama had tried so hard to suppress rocked against the walls of his stomach.

‘Answer me!’

Suddenly – a phone started ringing. Hinata’s. It was in his bag but he didn’t seem surprised neither did he make an attempt to pick it up.

‘Answer it,’ Kageyama said.

Hinata didn’t move but he was breathing heavily through his nose.

‘It’s him, isn’t it?’

Still no response from Hinata.

Without any warning Kageyama lunged forward and dived into Hinata’s bag.

‘Kageyama!’

They struggled. Hinata’s new bike toppled to the floor but no matter how much Hinata tried to fight off Kageyama, the setter was bigger and stronger than him –

Kageyama found the phone and as he pulled it out he felt his entire world come crashing down as he read the bright, lit-up screen:

Oikawa-san

The phone stopped ringing.

‘Kageyama, give me my phone back!’

Hinata tried to grab for it but Kageyama raised it high in the air, well above the spiker’s height. Then again –

Hinata jumped and snatched his phone back. Before Kageyama had registered, Hinata was standing three meters away from him, the phone out of sight, probably in Hinata’s pocket, red-blooded anger in the spiker’s eyes.

‘What the hell is wrong with you!’ Hinata shouted.

‘So that’s who you’ve been seeing every Monday? You’ve been secretly meeting with – with Oikawa?!’

San. His phone read ‘Oikawa-san’. Kageyama had a bitter taste in his mouth. What the fuck has that snake in the grass been brainwashing Hinata with?

‘It’s none of your business what I do!’

‘So he’s agreed to teach you how to serve, huh? In exchange for what?’

Hinata turned crimson. ‘What’s that supposed to mean? And how did you – how did you know that?’

‘Are you like Aoba Johsai’s spy now? Feeding back information about Karasuno and me for a new skill?’

‘No! This has nothing to do with -’

‘You can’t trust him Hinata! This is Oikawa we are talking about! He always has a plan, he’s always thinking something – he’s not going to teach you how to serve out the goodness of his heart!’

‘Why do you always talk down at me as if I don’t know what I’m doing? It’s my choice who I spend my time with and if I want to see Oikawa-san then I’m going to see him!’

Fuck. This is bad. This is worse than I thought –

‘Is he the one who told you to keep this a secret? Not to tell anyone?’

Hinata marched forward, grabbed his bike from the floor and continued to walk home.

‘So you’re just going to ignore me now dumbass?!’

After Hinata had created a bit of distance he turned back to Kageyama.

‘For your information the only reason Oikawa is teaching me how to serve is because I’m the one who asked him to. So don’t act like you know everything because you know nothing!’

Hinata clambered onto his bike and cycled away.

Kageyama felt like there was a black hole in his heart slowly sucking the life out of him. He clenched his fists.

Oikawa…

… will pay for this.