Chapter Text
PART ONE
Oikawa Tooru was wearing his sushi rice shirt on the day he saw Hinata Shoyo for the first time in three years. He held onto that shirt for a long time afterward.
Because seeing him now, after all this time? It was different. The way he felt his pulse pick up, a slight heat building in his chest and rising up his neck… none of it made any sense because it was only Hinata.
He’d been walking along the beach, chit-chatting with his teammates, all of them freshened up from the short plane ride and looking for a good place to eat. Rio was bustling, new sounds and sites all around. The sun was sinking, dipping just out of sight as they made their way along the sand. His teammates were still focused on finding food, preferably soon, but Oikawa felt his attention being split, his gaze being tugged toward the sand.
Volleyball nets were set up sporadically along the beach, and Oikawa couldn’t help but stare, couldn’t help but want to join the variety of people laughing as they bumped the ball back and forth. He could feel that familiar itch in his fingers, his eyes trained on the ball, mind strategizing for a game he wasn’t even a part of.
The game was the one constant in his life, the one thing that had always been there, that he had pushed himself to become the best at and had succeeded . And despite all the hard work and even harder times, Oikawa still loved the game. It had become an intrinsic part of him, something he could no longer separate himself from.
And if a net and ball were right there, he couldn’t help but long to play.
That was why, after missing a question about his opinion on dinner and asking for it to be repeated, Oikawa was staring toward one of the games when a familiar crop of orange hair bounced into his line of sight.
Oikawa stopped dead in his tracks.
“Uh,” he said, still not paying any attention to the conversation happening next to him. “You all decide. I’m fine with whatever.”
His teammates both gave him an odd look before going back to their discussion. Oikawa couldn’t seem to pull his gaze away from the game before him.
Hinata Shoyo was here. In Brazil. Oikawa wanted to be amused, what were the odds after all, but he couldn’t get past the fact that Hinata was here, and he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off him.
Oikawa watched as Hinata dove for a ball, crashing hard into the sand but coming away completely unscathed. He looked different now. It had been three years since they’d last interacted. Hinata didn’t look so young anymore.
Every movement the redhead made was lined with surety, with an ability and confidence that Oikawa hadn’t seen when they’d played against each other in high school.
He was still a shortie pie though, much to Oikawa’s amusement.
Oikawa began to feel a little bit like a creep, standing and staring while Hinata was none the wiser to his presence.
“How is this even a thing?” He called out. He watched Hinata perk up at hearing their native language. The redhead whirled around, eyes wide as they scanned his surroundings. Oikawa felt something soft and warm ghost across his skin when those eyes finally landed on him.
“The great king!”
Oikawa stared for a long moment before he burst into laughter.
~
Hinata wouldn’t have minded if the sand opened up and swallowed him whole right then and there. A random, spontaneous occurrence of quicksand, directly beneath his feet.
He had to stop himself from blurting out the silly title a second time.
“Oikawa!” He shouted, running up to the other man. His heart rate was already up from playing, from the exertion he’d had to put forth getting used to the sand, but Hinata was pretty sure it kicked up another notch at seeing a familiar face. He suddenly felt so much less alone.
Oikawa was still laughing when Hinata stopped before him. “Why’re you here?” The brunette clicked his tongue at the question.
“I asked first,” Oikawa said, a smirk playing on his lips.
And so Hinata told him. He couldn’t keep the excitement out of his tone, an excitement made more evident by being able to converse in his native tongue. Hinata told Oikawa about coming to train on the beach, about how he’d spent the last year preparing for this. He was practically vibrating when one of Oikawa’s teammates tapped the brunette on his shoulder.
Hinata held himself back as they asked about him, couldn’t even find annoyance within himself as Oikawa poked fun at his height once again. He was just happy to feel have found something, someone, familiar here.
The last several days… it had been hard to keep his mood up. Hinata liked to show the world his joy, his excitement. It wasn’t a facade, it was just how he was and who he wanted to be seen as. But since arriving in Brazil, since starting a whole new life, he could feel a crack forming. A new place, a new job. No more team. No more Karasuno. He didn’t quite feel like himself in this place, didn’t quite feel like there was a space for him here yet.
But if Oikawa was here, looking as casual and comfortable as he ever had, then maybe that meant Hinata could find a place here.
He watched as Oikawa discussed dinner plans with his friends. Hinata’s gaze landed on Oikawa’s arm, outstretched and pointing toward the beach. He had the sleeves of his shirt cuffed, and every movement had the white fabric tightening and shifting against a toned bicep. Hinata ran his eyes over the rest of Oikawa. He’d always had broad shoulders, had always been in shape and strong. But it was different now. He’d filled out a lot.
“The beach, huh?” The question pulled Hinata’s stare up to the other man’s eyes. He coughed a little.
“Uh, yeah!” He said, smiling wide again. Nice save. Oikawa’s continued smirk confirmed that he had, indeed, noticed Hinata staring. Time for a subject change. “So what are you doing now?”
“I play in the Argentinian League.”
He genuinely could not help himself. Hinata beamed, and he knew the adoration shone on his face, but it was really cool that Oikawa was playing for Argentina. The brunette, true to his nature, ate up the praise, preening as he talked more about it.
Hinata liked that he was making him smile, liked how at home it made him feel.
Pulling out his phone, Hinata tugged Oikawa closer. “I have an idea.” He held the phone up, camera turned toward them. “Make a face!”
Oikawa matched him with zero hesitation.
The picture was ridiculous and absolutely perfect. Hinata smiled as he typed out a text.
“Kageyama is going to hate this,” he said, glee sugar-coating his words. Oikawa laughed at him.
“Poor Tobio, you’re going to make him jealous.”
The thought of that made Hinata laugh. “Yeah, he will be so incredibly jealous that I saw his nemesis.”
“Sure,” Oikawa said, chuckling as he held out a hand. “Give me your phone for a second.”
Hinata handed it over, watched as Oikawa added himself as a contact and sent the picture to his own phone, before turning the camera back on and snapping another photo of himself. Two fingers held up in a V by his cheek, that same charming grin on his face that he’d always had.
“Set that one as my contact photo,” he said as he handed the device back to Hinata.
“That isn’t fair,” Hinata replied, snatching at the other man’s phone in his back pocket. “You’ll need one for my contact.” Oikawa took the phone out and simply held it out of Hinata’s reach.
“Life isn’t fair,” Oikawa said, his voice that familiar sing-song tone that Hinata recognized despite not hearing it for years now.
“I could just jump and reach it,” Hinata countered.
“No,” Oikawa said, pouting as he clutched the device to his chest. “I’ll throw it in the ocean.”
Hinata chuckled. This was so easy, easier than anything had been since he’d arrived in this country. It felt like a reprieve, like a moment of fresh air that his lungs desperately needed.
“Hey!” The word burst out the moment the idea formed in his head. “Let’s play for a bit!” Hinata gestured toward the beach court, now empty. He could see the immediate desire in Oikawa’s eyes, recognized that look, that need to play the game they both loved. It was the same way he had felt just hours earlier when he had been invited to join a game.
Something they both had always had in common. That incessant drive to keep playing, to keep getting better so that they could stay on the court. So that they could always play one more game.
“I-,” Hinata began, only to be interrupted by the sound of his own stomach. He felt his face heat as Oikawa’s gaze fell back on him, a brow quirked and knowing.
“Y’know,” Oikawa said, eyes heavy-lidded and a small smile tugging at his lips. “I was just getting ready to head to dinner. Show me where the good places are around here, yeah?”
“I know one that’s really good!” Hinata purposely didn’t focus on the tone of Oikawa’s question, the slight way that voice tugged at his gut.
“Sounds good, let’s go then. My treat.” He was still looking at Hinata, almost expectantly, and it was keeping the pink tint on Hinata’s cheeks from receding. As soon as his words actually sank in, Hinata gasped.
“What?” A look of alarm colored Oikawa’s face as he stepped closer.
“Um,” Hinata stammered. “During work today I lost my wallet.”
Oikawa burst into laughter once more.
~
Dinner was a shockingly easy affair. Hinata had listened with such rapt attention while Oikawa told him his reasons for going to Argentina, had focused solely on Oikawa while he had talked about Jose Blanco and the advice that had changed the trajectory of his volleyball career.
Oikawa couldn’t help but revel in the attention. It had been the same when they were in high school. Yes, they had been rivals, had played for opposing teams. But Hinata had never let that stop him from admiring or learning from players he deemed worthy. The fact that Oikawa had been one of those players may have been lost on him at the time, but it wasn’t anymore. Not now that he was one of the younger players, playing in a league that was full of amazing athletes and stars. Before he had been great amongst his peers; now all of his peers were great.
And yet, here he was, sitting across from someone he hadn’t even really thought of as a friend before now, soaking up his attention. Letting Hinata’s excitement wash over him, fuel him.
Oikawa leaned back in his seat, full from the dinner they’d just inhaled over easy conversation. He slipped his hands behind his head, not failing to notice Hinata’s eyes flick to his arms before focusing back on his face.
“Makes sense that I would pull a crazy stunt like this,” he said. “But to come all the way to the other side of the world just to play beach volleyball?”
Hinata perked up at the question, and then promptly ignored it.
“Speaking of,” he said, voice rising with excitement. “Let’s go play now! People are out playing on the beach until pretty late around here.”
Oikawa leaned forward, giving it his best shot at appearing menacing. “So you think you can take me on now?”
Hinata scoffed at the question, still smiling in that same infectious way. Oikawa continued.
“You’ve gotten pretty big headed, shortie pie.”
That did the trick. Oikawa wanted to clap his hands together in victory as Hinata’s smiling mouth turned into an O of surprise, his cheeks instantly going red.
Standing up, Oikawa’s patted him on the shoulder. “Let’s go see what you can do.”
~
Oikawa spit out a mouthful of sand.
“This,” he said, pushing himself up from where he’d dove into the ground face first, “is not volleyball.”
Hinata clenched his fists and let out a whoop.
“I feel so superior right now, even the Great King can’t beat me!”
“Well,” Oikawa said, huffing as he rose to his feet and continued to brush sand from… all over himself. It was really everywhere. “Aren’t we blunt today.”
Hinata only grinned as he retrieved their ball. Oikawa watched as he smacked the sand from its surface, his face turning more contemplative.
“Oikawa…” Hinata’s voice had gone soft. “Earlier today, for a minute there, I actually got pretty down.” The redhead spun the ball between his hands, eyes still trained on it. Oikawa couldn’t help but feel a little shocked at the revelation. The Hinata he had known in high school had only gotten down after losing a match, something Oikawa had witnessed firsthand. But he knew what it was like, to leave your entire life behind, to find yourself across the world and all alone, all in the hopes of playing for a while longer.
Oikawa stepped forward, his body moving to comfort the other man before his mind could catch up. He stopped when Hinata looked up. Halted mid-step, frozen to the spot.
Hinata was smiling at him, and it was brilliant .
“Seeing you here,” he said, and Oikawa was glad that he was continuing because all words had been stripped from his mind. “It’s put me in a better mood. It’s helped a lot. So thank you!”
Hinata laughed at himself, and it was so infectious that Oikawa found himself chuckling right along with him.
“Oh?” He said, thawing under Hinata’s cheerful gaze, finally able to move. He stepped closer, closing the distance between them. His mind must have still been frozen, though, because nothing else could explain the next words that came out of his mouth. “Well, then I think you owe me. Treat me to lunch sometime.”
Time stopped as Oikawa realized what he had done. Had he just flirted with Hinata?
The redhead still smiled up at him, but his eyes squinted as his head tilted to the side, seeming to ask a question that Oikawa was sure he didn’t have an answer to yet.
He was saved by two voices, calling out with an offer of a match.
~
Hinata liked these guys.
Gabriel and Gino, the “Buy Me a Drink Brothers,” were not only funny, but they were good at volleyball. They kept Hinata on his toes, kept him focused on the game and pointedly not focused on Oikawa’s words from earlier.
Treat me to lunch sometime.
Hinata didn’t think he had imagined it, the way the words had rolled off Oikawa’s tongue so sweetly.
There was no way. Absolutely no way that Oikawa had been flirting with him. Right?
He watched as Oikawa flubbed a spike. Hinata could see the gears turning in Oikawa’s mind, recognized that laser-focused concentration from when their teams had battled in the past. Watched in awe as the brunette set the ball significantly better than his last attempt.
“Yes!” Hinata yelled as he leaped into the air, amazed at how quickly his team mate was catching on to playing in the sand.
Unfortunately, it was then his turn to flub a spike.
They kept on with the game, and Hinata couldn’t rein in his grin every time Oikawa displayed improvement. All the while, the same words played over and over in his head.
Treat me to lunch sometime.
Hinata’s stare turned from adoration to…something else, something more personal, as he watched Oikawa jump after the ball. He couldn’t help but notice the way the lines of Oikawa’s arms seemed to still completely before unleashing a powerful swipe at the ball. The way his white shirt fit him tighter across his chest and shoulders and would rise up every time he lifted his hands, showing a strip of skin above the waistband of his shorts. The way sweat caused his hair to stick to his forehead, and how every few minutes he would run a hand through the damp strands, pushing them out of his eyes.
Had he meant it? Oikawa had always had a tendency to tease, Hinata remembered it well. But this hadn’t felt like teasing. It had felt different. Sincere. But the way he had said it…
Hinata missed a set. Completely.
“Sorry!” He hollered as he ran after the ball. He shook himself. Focus on the game for now, figure the rest of it out later.
~
Oikawa didn’t miss the way Hinata’s eyes trailed his every movement. They bore into him, burned along his skin.
A small part of him wanted to do what he would usually do in these situations. Preen. Show off. Bask in the adoration. And if he was totally honest with himself, he was still doing those things. Just a little.
But he also couldn’t stop spiraling, his thoughts whirling round and round the fact that he had flirted with Hinata Shoyo .
That had one hundred percent been his flirting voice. His lips had betrayed his mind, running ahead faster than he could keep up. And the worst part?
Hinata knew.
Oikawa was sure of it. The way he had cocked his head to the side, which yes, had been very cute. And now, with the way he couldn’t seem to keep his gaze away from Oikawa for more than a few seconds…
But the truth of the matter was, Oikawa was having a very similar issue. Hinata looked really fucking good. He’d filled out over the last three years, and Oikawa couldn’t keep from noticing all of the changes. He was taller, even if he still was and would always be a shortie pie. His limbs had rounded out, packed with muscle that hadn’t been there when he was a first year. The lines of his face were sharper now, placing an even greater emphasis on those wide, round eyes.
Eyes that now met Oikawa’s.
His mind blanked completely as his body once again took control. Oikawa grinned, just in time to set the ball in a perfect arc. Hinata’s face shone with that utterly devastating smile before he turned his gaze up toward the ball, his body contracting before he sprang into the air.
A loud smack echoed through the air as Hinata’s hand connected with the ball, sending it straight down in a blur between Gabriel and Gino.
“That was perfect!” Hinata yelled as he ran up, hand raised. Oikawa smacked his palm against it, laughing to hide the fact that the contact set off embers under his skin, sent sparks along his arm.
In the end, they lost. Pretty miserably, in fact. Hinata was beaming though, red-faced and sweat-soaked, but he looked so happy as they said goodbye to the brothers after Oikawa bought them their well-deserved beers.
Oikawa pulled out his phone as they walked back toward the net. “Hey. Shortie pie.”
Hinata’s head whipped toward him, smile still wide but eyes going even wider at the nickname. Oikawa snapped a picture.
“Wait, no!” Hinata lunged for the phone. Oikawa cackled as he held him back with one arm, the other hiding his phone behind his back.
“You would wait until I needed a shower to take the picture,” the redhead huffed, but he couldn’t hide the upward twitch of his lips as Oikawa set the photo as his contact picture.
“I wanted a picture of you the way you look most of the time.” Oikawa waved a hand at him. “This is your natural state of being.”
Hinata scoffed. “Thanks. But now you owe me, I think.”
They had reached their discarded shoes. Hinata easily slipped into his flip-flops while Oikawa knelt down to put on his socks and tennis shoes.
Oikawa hummed. “No, I think we’re probably even at this point.”
He could see out of the corner of his eye that his answer had thrown Hinata off. The other man’s face scrunched up as he rubbed at the back of his neck. Oikawa’s hands stilled on his laces.
“Why,” he asked, voice casual. “What did you have in mind to even the score?”
That brought the smile back to Hinata’s face, and Oikawa refused to acknowledge the relief that sent through him.
“Well,” Hinata started, suddenly looking at the sand, then the water, then at his own hand that seemed desperate for something to fiddle with. His fingers tugged at the hem of his shirt before he finally met Oikawa’s stare once again.
“Would you want to get lunch tomorrow?”
“Yes!” The answer was out before Oikawa even had a chance to think about it, before he had the opportunity to second guess himself. “Yes,” he repeated, tempering his excitement a bit this time. “I’d like that.”
Hinata beamed. “Great! There’s a small street fair that I wanted to go to. I won’t be able to get away from my deliveries for long, maybe only an hour, but we could meet there around noon? If that works for you!”
Oikawa was fully taken aback by the excitement the other man showed. He was flattered, yes, of course. But a part of him was surprised that Hinata was this excited to spend time with him.
The anxious, insidious part of his mind that loved to over-think reminded him that Hinata had just confessed, mere hours earlier, to being lonely. To being depressed. That part of his mind insisted that those were the only reasons Hinata wanted to spend time with him, whispered in his brain that Hinata would have reacted the same to anyone from back home.
Still… Oikawa couldn’t help but be charmed, at least a little bit. He decided to let that part of himself win out for now.
“Yeah, sure,” he said, “I’d like that.”
Hinata went on about the street fair, about how they could also play on the beach again the following evening, if Oikawa wanted to, of course. Oikawa was amazed that Hinata could even feel emotions like loneliness or depression, not when he was standing in front of him, chattering on as though no time had passed since they’d known each other before, as though everything was just as it should be.
Oikawa finished lacing up his shoes and leaned forward, pulling a knee to his chest as Hinata finally stopped talking.
“You know,” Oikawa said. Hinata turned his full attention on him, and it was like the sun itself shone a beam of light down just for him. He had to look away lest the other man see the flush building on his cheeks. “You spent so much time working on and building up your skills on the court. Now you’re going to set that all off to the side, just to start all over on the beach.” This thought had been troubling Oikawa all evening, since the moment Hinata had explained his plans for coming here. “Doesn’t it suck to be a beginner again?”
He’d expected Hinata to ponder the question, but should have know the redhead would have an answer ready. Always so sure of himself, in a way Oikawa had envied for years.
“Well,” Hinata said, turning to look out at the rolling tide. “If I’m being honest, I don’t mind it. No matter how hard it is, getting good at something new is always fun.”
Those words stuck with Oikawa for the rest of the night, imprinted on his mind. Latched on and refused to relinquish their hold as he said goodnight to Hinata, as he walked back to his hotel. He couldn’t stop thinking about them as he showered and readied himself for bed. He lay awake for a long while, turning the words over and over in his mind.
Getting good at something new is always fun.
Was it really that simple for Hinata? New things weren’t easy for Oikawa, they never had been. New things caused him to spiral endlessly, they led to sleepless nights staring at screens, countless hours of practicing the same serve again and again and again until his skin felt as though it would split open. Yes, when he worked hard enough to achieve the results he was so desperate for, that success was fun. But the journey? He rarely found fun in that.
Even tonight, whatever this thing was, this… should he call it attraction? Whatever this was that he felt toward Hinata, so sudden and unexpected, a tension he felt tight in his belly and that made his blood sing, he wasn’t ready for it. He hadn’t had time to prepare, to think this through and process. Hadn’t had time to plan for every outcome, to play out every possible scenario in his mind over and over until nothing could take him unawares.
But every time Hinata smiled at him, it was like his brain could shut off for a change. Like he could just let this play out and see where it would go and that would be okay.
Oikawa pulled the heavy blanket up to his chin, sleep so far away it seemed impossible.
Getting good at something new is always fun.
This was something new. Whatever this was that was happening with Hinata, it was definitely something new. Could he let himself just have fun for a change? Could he just enjoy his lunch with the other man tomorrow? Let his week here in Brazil play out as it would, and worry about any consequences later?
Oikawa found himself wanting to try. If it meant he could have that smile turned toward him again, he wanted to try.
~
Oikawa: Attachment
Iwaizumi: Shittykawa, I know what time it is there. Go to sleep.
Iwaizumi:
Iwaizumi: Is that Hinata?
Oikawa: it is
Oikawa: i found him on the beach, he looked like a sad little puppy
Iwaizumi: Why is Hinata in Brazil?
Oikawa: he thinks learning beach volleyball will improve his game
Oikawa: i think beach volleyball only leads to sand in places i’d rather not mention
Iwaizumi: You played?
Oikawa: yes
Iwaizumi: Why are you up this late, Oikawa?
Iwaizumi: Other than the usual reasons.
Oikawa: i’m not sure
Oikawa: mind wont turn off. shocking i know
Iwaizumi: Did something happen?
Oikawa:
Oikawa: shortie pie asked me to lunch tomorrow
Iwaizumi: There it is.
Iwaizumi: Are you going?
Oikawa: yes
Iwaizumi: Is this a good thing?
Oikawa:
Oikawa: i’m not sure
Iwaizumi: Do you want it to be?
Oikawa: i think so
Iwaizumi: But you’re lying awake thinking about how you hadn’t planned on seeing an old ?friend? who suddenly is hot af, somehow you charmed him enough into asking you out, and now you don’t know what to do with that information because this isn’t like a volleyball match where you can stay up all night watching recordings of the other team.
Iwaizumi: Just go to sleep, Oikawa. It’ll all look better in the morning. It always does.
Oikawa: mean iwa-chan
Oikawa: but thank you