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Hot water was Oikawa Tohru’s new best friend. (Suck it, Iwa-chan.)
Between normal practice games with his team and trying to become accustomed to beach volleyball, his body was absolutely spent. He thanked the heavens that the water pressure in his hotel was exactly how he liked it. His muscles ached and his skin itched from all the damn sand. It was everywhere.
Thankful that he pursued a career in indoor volleyball, he let his mind wander to where it always seemed to go these days, or rather who.
Hinata Shouyo.
He was taller. Not by much, but enough to notice. Like, really notice. His skin was sunkissed from all the outdoor practice and if you looked closely you could see freckles across his nose. It was a good look for him. And of course his legs… Well they spoke for themselves.
But it wasn’t just his looks that were different. His voice was lower, smoother. He was still full of energy of course, but he knew how to channel it into his movements. Every once in a while Oikawa jokingly called him Chibi-chan to rile him up, but the nickname certainly didn’t fit anymore.
He was distracting. More and more Oikawa caught himself checking his teammate out when he should have been paying attention to the opponent’s plays, and he could only blame the sand for a botched pass so many times.
It wasn't just on the court, either. If anything it was harder to look away when he didn’t have something to keep his attention. Just last night they’d hit a bar with a couple guys after a game and maybe it was the alcohol in his system but he swore he caught Hinata stealing glances too.
It made him want to test things.
Move closer, bump legs, touch his arm. Hinata never moved away, but he never showed any signs of understanding. He couldn’t be that dense, could he? Or maybe he just wasn’t interested?
That thought put him in a sour mood. He shut off the water and decided to go to bed.
His team was flying back to Argentina in two days and were given that time to relax and enjoy themselves. He didn’t bother trying to look up tourist hot spots. Why pretend he wasn’t going to use his free time to see Hinata?
He texted him. Make time for me tomorrow.
A reply came immediately. Okay!!
And how about that dinner you owe me? ;)
At times like this, he told himself flirting with Hinata was completely safe because nothing would come out of it. Despite all his close touches and subtle come ons, he knew he was holding himself back, refusing to take it far enough to get an answer to his unasked question. Do you want me?
A rush of texts came in one after another.
Yeah! I’ve been thinking about where to take you!
Oh WAIT do u like steak?
OH
I thought of the perfect place just now
GET READY GRAND KING!!!!
He typed out one last message before turning out the lights and silencing his phone. I’ll be waiting.
When he lost consciousness he was smiling.
xx
“This,” Oikawa deadpanned, “is a food truck.”
Hinata beamed. “Yeah,” he said happily, practically drooling. “It is!”
Okay, maybe it wasn’t exactly what he had in mind but it did smell amazing. And clearly Hinata held the establishment in high regard, considering the glee in his eyes. Who cares that he spent an embarrassing amount of time choosing between the only two outfits he packed that weren’t sportswear. It’s not like this was a date. He wasn’t disappointed. “This better be good.”
“Don’t look so doubtful! I know my meat.”
Oikawa nearly choked.
Hinata had the decency to look flustered. “Obviously I’m talking about the churrascaria !” He waved a hand at the truck. “It’s barbeque! And it’s to die for. Stop giving me that look please.”
“I’m not giving you a look.” He so was.
“You are. It’s ruining your perfect face.”
They were next in line and were being called to order before Oikawa could properly react to that. Maybe that was a good thing. He let Hinata choose for him since he didn’t have a good feel for the menu. “I trust you , Shouyo.”
His name felt rich on his lips and he liked the way it rolled off his tongue. He eyed the man next to him to gauge his reaction at using his first name and was pleased to see his cheeks flushed.
Shouyo bought two orders of picanha and turned to Oikawa with a smile. “Okay, are you ready to go? We have to hurry!” He used his free hand to grab his and pulled him quickly in the opposite direction
“Wait, what?"
Without looking back at him he yelled, "No time to explain! Walk faster!"
"I'm walking as fast as you're pulling me!” He shouted back, shaking his arm in emphasis. “And hey! Be gentle with my hands. Those are my entire career and you're manhandling them."
That made Hinata laugh. "Less whining! More walking!" He said, walking even faster. But swiftly, he loosened his hold just enough to intertwine their fingers together. "There. Better?" He asked, voice wavering just a little.
“Much better,” he answered and was surprised when he felt a squeeze.
Oikawa started at their entwined hands. Hinata’s hands were smaller than his, tan fingers that were surprisingly well kept. He imagined him sitting around giving himself a manicure so his hands were in peak condition at all times for games.
A dangerous thought crossed his mind. What would those hands feel like against his bare skin? It would be so easy to find out, to push him into one of the clearings of trees and get what he wanted, what he was pretty sure they both wanted now. What was stopping him?
“You’re quiet,” Hinata said.
“You too.”
The sky was just starting to change colors when they reached the beach. A few familiar faces were occupying the nets and waved a quick greeting to Hinata, who smiled back. For a second, his hand twitched like he was going to let go and wave back but instead he squeezed Oikawa's hand again and said "Come on. There's a better spot where we don't have to worry about getting hit in the head by a ball."
"I'm surprised you don't want to stay and watch."
"Oh, I do. But I want you to see this sunset more."
He led him to a section of the beach seperated by tall trees. The water stretched out for miles, waves crashing against the rocks below the mountains. The sun sat above right above the water, it’s reflection swaying in the water underneath. It was breathtaking.
His awe must have been evident on his face because Shouyo was grinning up at him from ear to ear. "Isn't it crazy?"
"This is…" Stupidly Romantic. " Not what I was expecting."
As if to say 'you haven't seen anything yet,' Hinata finally let go of his hand and pulled a blanket out of his backpack. Carefully laying it out on the sand, he sang "Tada!"
Honestly Tohru was speechless. When he pictured dinner he assumed it would be a small but well received family owned restaurant, not a beach picnic with a view. From the moment he ran into this guy, it's been surprise after surprise.
No, scratch that. From the moment he met Hinata Shouyo all those years ago and watched him spike a quick set right past him, he’d consistently had the rug pulled right out from under him. Was a life with a boy like him in it just destined to be like that? He laughed at the thought.
"What's so funny?"
"You," he said. "You are something else, Shouyo."
The sky was turning pink and it was hard to tell whether the rosy color on Hinata's cheeks were a blush or the sky's hue shining down on him. "We should hurry and eat."
The picanha was delicious. He had been right to trust him. "You really know how to send a guy off. I almost wish I didn't have to leave. This is nice."
Hinata had a serene look on his face, eyes glued to the sky. "I think it'll be a little lonely once you leave. That's why I brought you here. So everytime I see the sun dipping under the ocean like this, I can remember this week with you and how it helped me."
The words struck a chord in Oikawa, who understood how it felt to be away from everything he knew. "I get homesick too. Sometimes I call Iwa-chan and complain about how terrible it is being a pro just so he can chew me out like old times. Makes me feel like I never left."
Hinata's head swerved to the side to look at him, eyes wide. "You get that way too, Grand King?"
Oikawa frowned. "Of course I do. If I'm a king, I'm a little far from my kingdom, Chibi-chan."
Hinata let out an annoyed huff. "Alright, Alright. I get it. I guess I’m just surprised because you’re so talented and amazing and can get along with so many kinds of people on the court. I figured you’d feel at home anywhere.”
“A misconception. While everything you say about me is true, especially about me being amazing, I find myself feeling lost a lot. Actually, I was kind of feeling that way before I ran into you.” He glanced into Hinata’s brown eyes and was shocked at the serious stillness in them. It was a look he knew from their time on the court and it stole the air from his lungs.
“So you were lost and I was searching,” He declared, smiling softly at him. “It’s like we were meant to run into each other.”
The air around them stilled and Oikawa knew something in him had shifted, let go of whatever boundary he’d built in his mind. Like a leaf getting pushed into the sky by a gust of wind. Finally he understood his hesitation but it was too late. The thing he’d been afraid of had already happened and he didn’t care. He wanted to ask what he meant by searching but before he could, Hinata gasped and pointed towards the edge of the ocean. “Wow! Look! It’s like a fountain of colors.”
His mouth was wide open in a dumb looking grin when he asked if Oikawa was impressed. “Doesn’t it make you feel like everything is going to be okay?”
“Yeah,” he said quietly. But it wasn’t the sunset or the ocean or the cascade of colors in the sky that made Oikawa feel that way.
It was Shouyo.
They didn't say anything else as the sun started to dive into the edge of the ocean and turn the sky dark. Only a few bits of light were left trying to keep the day alive.
"Hey, look at me." Oikawa scooted closer to the man sitting next to him, whose eyes widened when he turned to face him and saw that they were only centimeters apart.
"Yeah?" Hinata breathed out, voice uneven. For just a second, his eyes snuck a glance at the setter's lips. It was barely a moment but it was enough.
Do you want me?
The last of the sun's light disappeared from the sky when he kissed him.
The first thing he thought was that he was completely mad, but then he felt hands on his back pulling him closer and suddenly he wasn't able to think at all. He could only feel.
And he felt everything . The hands he had been fantasizing about less than an hour ago slowly moving up his back until they were tangled in his hair, fingers shaking just slightly as they eased his head up. Oikawa gasped when he felt Hinata’s body shift into his lap, legs wrapping around him.
Oh fuck , he was straddling him.
It took every ounce of strength in him to pull away, breathless. "Shouyo," he breathed out, still close enough that another kiss was just a moment of weakness away. "Let's get out of here."
He didn’t care that there would be no going back. In the morning he would sort together the emotions that he should have recognized days ago.
Maybe he was falling hard for Hinata Shouyo.
xx
Oikawa wasn't awake yet, but the orange haired man lying next to him had been for quite some time, smiling to himself like an idiot.
If he'd been awake, he would have told him to take a picture. It would last longer. He might have pulled him in for a kiss and then told him his breath was atrocious and to brush his teeth or he wasn't allowed back in the bed.
Light creeping in between the curtains danced with the shadows across the room, lighting up his sleeping face. In his sleep, he didn't feel someone move the hair out of his face, fingers lingering on the soft skin for just longer than necessary.
When he eventually woke up, he wanted time to stand still. “You’re staring.”
“Can’t help it. Gotta make sure this isn't a dream.”
He scoffed but didn’t fight the smile. Why bother? "How long?" He asked before he could stop himself. "How long have you wanted to get me in bed?"
A sly smile spread across Shouyo's face and suddenly he had a feeling he didn't want to hear the answer to his question. "Well, I was definitely into you from the moment you surprised me out on the beach but... It was wasn't like I thought I had a chance. But then you started throwing yourself at me after a few drinks and it got harder to ignore."
"Wait!" Oikawa was too shocked to be embarrassed at his own behavior. "You did know I was flirting with you! Why did you pretend you didn't?"
Hinata shrugged. "I kind of didn't want to make a fool of myself and make a move when you weren't sober. I wanted to be sure we both knew exactly what we were doing because..." He opened his mouth to keep going but no words came out. His eyes flickered towards Oikawa's and he covered his mouth with his hand, trying to hide a blush.
"Tell me."
"I kinda was hoping it would be more than a one night stand," he said slowly, before taking a deep breathing and letting the rest of his words flow out quick and jumbled. "but I know that's a lot to expect since you're flying back to Argentina tomorrow so it's fine if we aren't on the same page and I really enjoyed it even if it was just a one time thing and honestly I'm just going to stop talking now and uh-"
Oikawa laughed. He laughed so much that he couldn't breathe and when he looked at Hinata's confused face he laughed even more. To get himself to stop, he had to shove his face into the pillow. "Ah, I wish I had one more day," he mumbled to himself, reaching out and wrapping an arm around Hinata so he could pull him close.
He was so close that his breath tickled his skin when he spoke. "I can't hear you when you're talking into your pillow, you know."
Turning his head to meet his eyes he grinned. "I said kiss me."
Hinata's expression mirrored his while he filled the space between them. It filled Oikawa with the same feeling he felt before he had kissed him on the beach. Light, fearless.
Like a leaf in the wind.