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If you ask him, Atsumu would say he doesn't believe in fate. He laughs at any sort of mysticism, refusing to accept things he can't control with his own hands. So, it was hard to explain how fateful his encounter with Hinata Shoyo felt, how magical it was seeing him after all those years now wearing the same black and gold uniform.
Hinata Shoyo was now his teammate on MSBY Black Jackals and Atsumu felt a shiver run down his spine, he could swear that he felt the planets align at that exact moment.
A self inflicted prophecy that now could finally be fulfilled. A promise that he made during his second year of high school and was never able to forget. He knew this moment would come, he wanted this moment to come. He thought for the first time that maybe the people who talk about manifestation and all that had a point.
When he heard that not so familiar voice call his name, that at the same time was clearly from the same boy he meet in high school, Atsumu felt as if he had been living for this day. Shoyo's smile burned into his eyes and made way into his mind and memories, already trying to memorize every new detail that changed about him.
The Hinata Shoyo that the last time he saw him in person was many springs ago, now finally jumping in front of him, and not in whatever low quality transmission he could find in the middle of the night while he tried to keep up with Brazilian beach volleyball. Now, he would call for him from the same side of the net. Now, he was his wing spiker.
In the middle of the all the congratulations and cheers of the team, Atsumu could barely hear Meian asking Shoyo where would he be living now that he was part of the Jackals. Usually the rookies stayed in the team dorms, which was undergoing some renovations, so Meian seemed to be explaining that Shoyo would need to share a room with others temporarily if he wanted to stay there.
Before Atsumu could really process what he was hearing and think, the words 'I have a spare room in my apartment' had already left his mouth, intruding the conversation. His teammates looked surprised at him, but Shoyo simply smiled at him, saying 'that sounds perfect, Atsumu-san'.
After so many years living alone, Atsumu was used to it, really. He went straight out of high school to playing professionally, living by himself. He was perfectly able to live his own life. He got along with his teammates, still lived close enough to his hometown to go visit Osamu and his family frequently. It was hard to adjust at first, but Atsumu was very proud of all the progress he had made.
He offered to share his apartment with Shoyo out of kindness, despite most people thinking he lacked that. Of course, he didn't even need to hear the stories to imagine that the past two years were hard for Shoyo and that he was very much able to take care of himself. Still, he was away from two years and was new to the indoor volleyball Japanese scene. Even if he was able to handle it all alone, he didn't have to.
They were friends after all, right. They followed each other on social media and Shoyo liked all his photos since high school, so Atsumu counted that as friendship. Considering the guy lived almost on the other side of the country, and then moved to the other side of the world, there wasn't much more friendship they could have, Atsumu thought.
It was a great idea for them to be roommates, despite the worried glances the veterans of the team gave him.
"I had a roommate while I lived in Brazil," Shoyo explained as they brought all of his stuff inside Atsumu's apartment. "He would barely look me in the face at the beginning. Pedro was a bit shy, and of course, there was the language barrier."
"Don'tcha try ta act as if my dialect is a language barrier, Shoyo-kun, 'm warnin' ya," Atsumu said as he put the last box on the ground.
"I'm sure it's gonna be easy to live with you, Atsumu-san! It can't be harder than working as a delivery boy in Rio de Janeiro."
Atsumu had no idea about the struggles a delivery boy had to endure on a daily basis, but he was sure he would hear the stories soon enough. And Shoyo was right, this was gonna be easy. Atsumu shared a room with the most annoying twin in the world for most of his life without killing Osamu, so he also assumed nothing was harder than that too.
Except that it was 6:14 am and Atsumu was awakened by the loud sound of the blender. Again.
He sighed, knowing it was futile to try to go back to sleep now. It was just their third day living together, and Atsumu was forced to realize he made some miscalculations about how easy this whole 'living together' thing was going to be. He got up and dragged himself to the kitchen.
"Shoyo-kun, we need ta talk 'bout ya usin' this fuckin' blender at this ungodly hour."
Atsumu's voice was a bit hoarse and low, but Shoyo heard him. And like a deer caught in the middle of the road, Shoyo's eyes went wide when he looked at the door and saw Atsumu leaning on the door frame. "Ah, sorry Atsumu-san, I'm still getting used to you waking up late."
"Wakin' up at 7 am is a perfectly reasonable time," he sat down and looked at his kitchen — well, their kitchen now —, still a bit surprised by how suddenly there was a lot of stuff around. Atsumu wasn't the type to have elaborate breakfasts, simply because he couldn't be bothered to cook too much, much less in the morning, but Shoyo had already a full meal on the way. "Do ya always wake up at 6 am?"
"I wake up at 5 am," Atsumu looked incredulous at him as Shoyo placed a cup of smoothie in front of him. "It's grape today. I wake up, meditate and do yoga, then I make breakfast and go for a morning run."
Despite his complaints, Atsumu had to admit that the damn smoothie tasted good, but not out loud yet. "Right, so yer insane, but can ya at least use tha blender or whatever makes too much noise fer last?"
If he wasn't so tired or at least made an effort to keep his eyes open, Atsumu would be able to see Shoyo's right eye twitch at that. "Why don't you just wake up earlier and join me in my morning run?"
"Nah, no fuckin' way. Yer goin' ta the park nearby?" Atsumu finally opened his eyes to see Shoyo nodding at him. "Great place, have fun, I will just meet ya at tha gym later."
Despite what everyone in the old Inarizaki team would claim, Atsumu did not have a crush on Shoyo during high school.
He admired him as a player, he saw his passion and potential, and longed for the day they could play again and even more for the day he would be able to set to him, and see him jumping to hit the ball that he, Miya Atsumu himself, tossed.
That was perfectly normal.
Sure, waking up in the middle of the night to try to watch beach volleyball games was probably not 'perfectly normal', but hey, Atsumu was curious to see what the hell he went to do on the other side of the world. And no one had to know he did that.
(Except Inunaki and Bokuto, because drunk Atsumu can't keep his mouth shut, which might mean the rest of the team heard it too. And of course, Osamu, which probably means Kita and Suna know about it too, which means Aran knows, and—)
Atsumu felt as if he knew who Hinata Shoyo was, simply because they played twice against each other, followed him on social media, and he kept up with his games when he could find a transmission for it.
"Atsumu-san, can you explain how your sock ended up under the bathroom rug? Again?"
The Hinata Shoyo Atsumu thought he knew didn't get angry over a single misplaced sock. And yet here they are.
(It was the third 'single misplaced sock' in the past week.)
"Hey Miya, how are things going with Hinata?" Barnes asked.
From where Atsumu was laying down stretching his legs, he could see Shoyo and Bokuto on the other side of the court, watching Sakusa stretch his hands and wrists.
"He fits so well on tha team I almost forget he joined what, a month ago? Sorry ta ya Barnes, but I hope coach Foster puts him in yer place when tha season start."
"I'm not giving up my starter position just for you to live your teenage dream, brat," Barnes said as he sat down to stretch by his side. "But I can see he is a monster on the court, I meant about living with him."
"It's not a teenage dream!" Atsumu answered a bit too loud. He heard what he thought was Inunaki laughing, but he refused to look around to find out, as he felt his cheeks reddening with embarrassment.
"Alright, alright. So? How is your completely platonic relationship with Hinata going?"
Atsumu decided to ignore that he was being made fun of, worried that soon his other teammates would hear and follow, which would bring Shoyo's attention to this side of the court and nope. "Ugh, durin' practice things work so damn well, but when we are home I think we are clashin' a bit too much. Over small things, y'know? The worst is how early Shoyo-kun wakes up. 5 am, can ya believe that!"
Barnes laughed. "Fighting over small things like him waking you up early and who is going to wash the dishes?" Atsumu nodded. "Make a schedule then, and stick to it, kid. Write it down and put it on your fridge or somewhere you know both of you can easily see."
"Thanks fer yer wise words, old man, 'm sticking ta the schedule Shoyo-kun made," he sighed, and decided to keep quiet about the fight they had over Atsumu wanting to leave dinner's dishes to be washed in the morning. "Yesterday he was criticizin' my lack of rugs in tha kitchen."
"That's…" Barnes stopped talking and Atsumu looked over and saw that he was shaking his head in disbelief. "Is this something worth stressing over? You need to figure it out when it's time to give in in certain things."
"Thanks fer more of yer wise advice, old man. I will figure it out."
"Well, I hope you figure it out before you reach the old age of 30 years old, Miya."
Hours later and Atsumu was still thinking about Barne's words. "Giving in" wasn't something he was used to, especially not when it came to his own space. He remembered the fights he used to have with Osamu, and "giving in" would mean losing and enduring hell back then.
However, this was now also Shoyo's space, Atsumu willingly offered it to him. And he wasn't a child anymore. So, perhaps, he should just buy some damn rugs for their kitchen.
"How is your hundred steps skin care routine going?"
Atsumu was sitting in his bed, applying hand lotion, when Shoyo came in into his room and stopped by his side. A smile on his lips that seemed meaner than his usual bright mood, which made Atsumu think the rug issue would be brought up again, or he found something new to complain about.
"Sit here, lemme apply it on ya," Atsumu grabbed Shoyo's arms and pushed him into the bed, too surprised to resist. "Ya need ta take care of yer hands too, y'know?"
He started to massage Shoyo's hands so carefully, with a certain reverence to the act. Those were the strong hands that always sent the balls he set to score, after all. Shoyo was silent the whole time and he didn't dare to look up to see what kind of expression he was making. Atsumu thought this could be a distraction to whatever Shoyo wanted to say, but now he couldn't stop thinking that he would massage his hands every day, if Shoyo allowed him to.
Atsumu caressed all of his fingers, slowly, trying to savor the moment and cherish the hands of his wing spiker. His wing spiker, who always demanded everything from him in court, of course he would be demanding at home too.
"Do ya wanna go buy rugs on our next day off?"
"Hey, Atsumu-san?"
They were walking side by side to the gym, chatting about nothing in particular, like they did on most days. The routine was becoming somewhat familiar, even if they still bickered about all sort of things in the apartment. Arguing was probably one of the things both of them were most used to, anyway, besides playing volleyball.
"Since tomorrow is my birthday, I was thinking—"
He stopped on his tracks. Of course, Atsumu knew that Shoyo's birthday was tomorrow. June 21. But just because he knew, doesn't mean he remembered the day was tomorrow.
"I forgot," he pathetically admitted.
"It's fine, Atsumu-san," Shoyo laughed. "I was just thinking of going out to eat something with the team. Any places you recommend?"
After practice, Atsumu cursed his memory for the fifth time as he left another store without a gift for Shoyo. The birthday boy himself said he was fine not getting any presents, that the team could just cover his bill during dinner, but Atsumu wasn't just a teammate. They were friends, right? Great friends, even.
"Don'tcha argue with him all tha time?"
Atsumu shacked his head as if his brother could see it from the other side of the call. "Can ya just give me an idea fer a present?"
Osamu hummed and they stayed in silence for some time. "Well, yer tha one that has been livin' with the guy, isn't there anythin' he uses a lot that he could need a new one?"
Probably not even if he was dying Atsumu would admit his brother was helpful. If anything, it was just the coincidence that he passed by a store that had something that matched with what Osamu was saying at that moment.
The next day, Atsumu took full advantage that they lived together to be the first one to wish Shoyo a happy birthday (at least in person). He even woke up early for it, but no one needed to know about this. He went with his gift to the kitchen, carefully packed by one of the store employees since Atsumu sucked at gift wrapping (which also, no one needed to know). He could already hear Shoyo singing softly some music he didn't recognize.
"Good mornin' 'n happy birthday, my dearest Shoyo-kun," Atsumu basically shoved the gift into his hands, trying to act nonchalant about it. It's not like he was nervous, he just felt the tiniest bit amount of guilty for forgetting his roommate and great friend birthday.
Shoyo's eyes were shining with amusement as he carefully opened the gift, "You didn't have to! Thank you so much, Atsumu-san," and then he burst out laughing when he finished opening it. "A blender? Seriously, Atsumu-san?"
"The reviews says this model is quite silent."
"This is more of a present for you than it is for me," Shoyo continued to laugh, but there was a certain fondness in his voice.
"What? Shoyo-kun, ya use this damn thin' every day! It's a great present!" Atsumu felt the heat rise to his cheeks and he turned his face to the side, trying to hide that he was blushing (he failed, Shoyo could see even his neck and ears were red).
"It really is, thank you, meu bem," he answered, and Atsumu didn't need to look at his face to see how Shoyo was smiling, he could picture it perfectly in his mind. He always smiled so prettily when he said those portuguese words Atsumu didn't know the meaning. "I will even let you choose today's smoothie flavor."
"Yesterday ya were saying ya need ta go buy groceries 'cause there's only strawberries left, asshole!"
Later, that night, Shoyo had to drag a drunk Atsumu home (because he could actually handle alcohol, unlike his setter).
"Shoyo-kun, we're great friends, right?"
Shoyo stopped walking, making Atsumu fumble his steps a bit but he quickly steadied him. Atsumu could barely keep his eyes open, and it was so amusing to see him in that state, having to rely — literally relying all of his weight — on Shoyo. "Of course we are, dumbass."
"When I said we're great friends ta Samu he said we argue all tha time… but I think we're really great friends, y'know, even when ya put those weird spices on tha food," Atsumu spoke slower and lower than usual, and Shoyo tried to ignore the shiver that ran down his spine hearing his voice so close to his ear like that.
Shoyo laughed and tried to drag him a bit faster, now a bit more desperate to reach their apartment. "Why don't you try to cook some more, if you think my food tastes weird?"
"Nah, 'm thinkin' I kinda like how it tastes now."
It wasn't uncommon for some of Atsumu's teammates, sometimes even the whole team, to tag along to his hometown to visit Onigiri Miya. Everyone loved Osamu's food and the chef himself wouldn't deny hungry athletes as clients, even if they were loud and messy.
However, Atsumu had been trying to avoid bringing Shoyo. He knew it was futile, at some point his roommate and teammate would meet his brother. Shoyo, oblivious to all of Atsumu's inner turmoil, was just really excited to see Osamu's restaurant and to meet an old acquaintance from high school again.
So, when Osamu said he should bring Shoyo for a late birthday celebration (only Shoyo was getting free food, Atsumu still had to pay for his own), he had no way to refuse. His only saving grace was that, despite the (not anymore) birthday boy telling everyone about it, only Bokuto and Sakusa were able to come with them.
Barely thirty minutes in and Atsumu already regretted most of his life choices.
"So, Shoyo-kun, is my food better than whatever my brother is feedin' ya?"
The way Osamu said his name while making eye contact with Atsumu sounded so much like mockery that he was surprised no one else seemed to notice it.
"Well, of course!" Shoyo had the audacity to answer.
Atsumu huffed and crossed his arms over the counter. "Sorry that I didn't open a restaurant and decided ta keep playin' volleyball and I keep givin' ya perfect sets at every practice and 'm the best setter ya ever played with—"
"Can you really say that when he played with Kageyama Tobio during the three years of high school?"
Atsumu turned his murderous glare to Sakusa, who always only opened his mouth to make things worse, but the other man was clearly unbothered by it, and continued to eat his onigiri in a corner more distant than them.
"Don't worry, Atsumu-san! Your sets are super awesome!" Shoyo exclaims, smiling, his eyes shining with sincerity.
Osamu interrupted before he could continue what would for sure be a fantastic string of praises. "Is livin' with this guy awesome, though? He is always complainin' about ya wakin' him up too early, yer cheap shampoo, tha list goes on."
Shoyo smiled in a way that Atsumu had begun to learn was his dangerous smile, the smile he gave before he was going to start being mean. "Does he tell you about what time he goes to sleep and how off-tune he is when he sings in the shower?"
"Shoyo-kun!" Atsumu slammed the counter while everyone laughed. He could swear he even heard Sakusa snicker. "At least 'm not tha one leavin' my wet towels on tha fuckin' couch!"
"This happened like two, maybe three times," he waved his hand and tried to laugh it off.
"I don't even have enough fingers ta count how many times, Shoyo-kun."
Shoyo huffed, embarrassment creeping on his face. "Says the guy who is this tall and gets all scared of insects. You can't even kill a cockroach by yourself!"
"Tsum-tsum, I think it's part of your charm to be scared of insects!" Bokuto chimed in. "Akaashi says it's something called 'gap moe'."
"Bokkun, ya ain't helpin'!"
While the list of problems each of them causes goes on, Atsumu made the mistake of making eye contact with his brother. A small genuine smile, barely there, because of course Osamu would notice the lack of serious heat in the argument.
"'m glad ya two are havin' fun livin' together," Osamu said later, when the others weren't paying attention, getting ready to leave.
The washing machine spins and their clothes merge together and it's not fast enough.
It was Atsumu's turn to wash the clothes, and he forgot.
It's the heat, he would blame later. It's too hot so he got a bit lazy and forgot, it happens. Atsumu was sitting on the floor, not wanting to leave the washing machine spinning alone, because he liked to have company when he was also spinning.
Shoyo didn't even say anything this time, he just sighed and left the house to buy groceries, that was the worst part. It would have been better if he yelled at Atsumu than acted with such indifference. Was he disappointed? Maybe he was getting tired of putting up with Atsumu. He closed his eyes. It's fine, maybe they aren't fit to live together but can still be good friends. That thought made his skin crawl.
Things were mostly good now, they got a lot more used to living together and their habits. They made compromises, schedules, and it was working. Sometimes, thought, one of them would do a small fuck up and they ended up like this. He didn't know how to explain, but it seemed like the small things were what hit them worse.
In the middle of the spinning sounds, Atsumu lost the sound of the door opening, and jumped when Shoyo sat down by his side, too close, too close. Their shoulders and thighs were touching and Atsumu worried Shoyo could feel his body heating by the second the more they touched.
"I'm gonna make tapioca for you today, it's one of the things I learned how to make in Brazil."
"What's that?"
"You'll see," Shoyo said as he rested his head on Atsumu's shoulder. They stayed like that, their clothes and sweat merging.
"Sorry fer forgettin' ta wash tha clothes."
"Sorry for getting angry and leaving like that."
Atsumu relaxed and rested his head on top of Shoyo's head. His hair was smelling like the citrus shampoo Atsumu used. He took a deep breath and nuzzled his nose into it. It felt nice to have Shoyo smelling like him, it was much better than the usual cheap shampoo he used.
"Are we okay?"
Shoyo chuckled. "Of course we are, dumbass. You need to do a lot more than forgetting the chores sometimes to really make me angry."
Relief washed through him like the laundry detergent washed their clothes. "So don'tcha think it's hard ta live with me?"
"Atsumu-san," Shoyo pressed even closed, his fingers carefully wrapping around Atsumu's wrist, making circles on his skin with his thumb. "I also mess up sometimes, but we are both making an effort to make things work, right? I think we can make anything work if we are doing it together."
The air was getting more chill lately, Atsumu realized as he saw Shoyo pull up his jacket.
The team had some great practice matches lately, so Meian wanted everyone to go out and celebrate a little. In a few weeks the next V.League season would start, so they would need to become more careful with what they eat and drink.
"Are ya cold, Shoyo-kun?"
"A bit, the wind is kinda strong lately," he answered and he closed his locker and they went out together. "I don't think I ever got used to Brazil's heat, but I certainly forgot how cold Japan is."
They were a bit behind their teammates, and behind them was only a very grumpy Sakusa, walking a safe distance away from them. Shoyo shrugged his shoulders the moment they stepped outside and were hit with the wind.
The izakaya they usually went wasn't far away, even though they always got cramped in there. And lately, Atsumu also started to get a lot more self conscious of how his body pressed against Shoyo, since they always sat side by side.
Atsumu drank his first bear almost entirely in one go, as if that would justify the blush on his cheeks.
"So, Hinata, your receives have been a lot better than Barnes lately," Adriah asserted. "I vote on you to be a regular when the season starts."
"My spikes are still stronger than his, you know," Barnes said.
"Wanna test it?" Shoyo asked, pushing the sleeves of his right arm up and positioning in the table, which made Barnes immediately get up and get in from of him.
"Can arm wrestling really prove anything?" Sakusa muttered, his voice almost getting lost in the cheers of the team.
(If Shoyo lost, Atsumu swore to never tell a soul about it.)
Everyone continued to talk about the upcoming season, getting more louder as more beers were set on the table. Sometimes Shoyo or Inunaki, who were by his sides, pushed some food in front of Atsumu, reminding him to not drink with an empty stomach.
Atsumu tried to remember about the approaching autumn to calm down the heat he felt melting his muscles where his clothed skin was touching Shoyo's. It was so hot he could almost forget there was two layers of clothes between them. Then, Shoyo's loud laugh blasted in his ears and he felt it enter his body and go all the way to his heart, where it started to beat faster, as if to spread Shoyo's voice to his entire body.
"Tsum-Tsum? Are you alright?"
Bokuto pushed Inunaki aside, making room to sit by Atsumu's side that wasn't occupied by the incarnation of the sun. His head was spinning already. "Ugh, Bokkun, I think I drank too much."
"Maybe we should go home then, Atsumu-san," he heard Shoyo say on his other side. "I told you to eat more, idiot."
His head continued to spin and Atsumu barely registered that between the laugh of his teammates, he was getting up and being dragged by Shoyo. Then, the cold wind hit his face and he felt as if he could finally breath again.
It was almost refreshing, but by his side he noticed Shoyo was shivering. Atsumu opened his bag and tried to not stumble on his feet as he rummaged inside, fighting his blurry vision, until he finally found his jacket and pushed it on Shoyo. "Yer cold."
Shoyo laughed, he laughed so openly, so freely, it was so warm that Atsumu felt he would never need a jacket ever again in his life. "Yes, I'm cold. Thank you, Atsumu-san. Watch your feet now, okay?"
They went back to Shoyo basically dragging Atsumu home.
Ever since Atsumu took Shoyo to Onigiri Miya for the first time, his brother and his roommate seemed to have start to talk regularly over text. Every once in a while when he heard the notification sound and looked at Shoyo's screen, there it was Osamu's name.
Which was, of course, fine. Perfectly normal for one of his friends to become friends with his twin too. That was almost a given, honestly. A two for one deal. And Shoyo managed to be friends even with stray cats and Kageyama Tobio, so Atsumu kept telling himself that it was fine.
Atsumu had just finished his skin care routine (that didn't have a hundred steps like Shoyo liked to say, that was absurd) when he heard Shoyo laughing loudly in his room. The door was opened, so he assumed it was fine to barge in.
"Wha'tcha laughin' at, Shoyo-kun?"
Shoyo was sitting at the edge of the bed, which was close to the door, so before he could hide his phone Atsumu was already there glancing at his screen.
It was a photo from when he was probably around five or six years old, crying with the ugliest face ever, an ice cream dropped on the floor, and a blurry Osamu laughing in the background.
He was going to murder his twin.
"Atsumu-san, wait a minute," Shoyo started to scramble back on the bed to get away from him. "I can explain."
"Shoyo-kun, ya can delete photo that right now!"
Atsumu always liked to deny that Osamu took all the brain cells in the womb. Usually, he would say he is quite smart in general, not just on the court but outside it too. However, for a second, literally jumping on Shoyo's bed didn't seem like a terrible idea, ruining his argument.
Creak.
The sound of wood breaking in half filled the room as the bed went down to the floor and he realized too late how stupid it is to jump on a bed.
He had just broke Shoyo's bed.
Great job, Atsumu, he thought.
They stared at each other in silent for a good minute before Shoyo burst out laughing, and how could Atsumu resist? He started to laugh too.
"How can a bed break like that? This crap is supposed ta handle tha weight of an adult man!" Atsumu yelled.
"Well, I guess it wasn't meant for two men with one of them jumping on it."
"This is Samu's fault, it was him who sent ya that stupid photo, wasn't it?" he huffed, eyeing the phone.
"And I'm not deleting it!" Shoyo held his phone close to his chest with both hands, a mischievous smile on his lips.
"Shoyo-kun," Atsumu sighed in defeat, "this was my fault, so ya can sleep on my bed, really. I can take tha couch."
"You don't even fit on the couch, dumbass," Shoyo said, gently patting him in the shoulder. "There's enough space for both of us in your bed, right? Just one night won't kill us, docinho. Tomorrow we deal with it."
When Atsumu woke up that day, it didn't cross his mind for even a second that he would end the day sleeping on the same bed as his roommate. Or at least trying to sleep, but here they are.
Atsumu could swear he could feel Shoyo's body heat radiating to the entire room, and suddenly everything was too hot. His bed indeed had enough space for both of them, but they were still pretty close. Much closer than how you would be if sleeping on two futons side by side, like he was used to do during training camps since he was a kid.
It had been ages since the last time Atsumu was this close to someone in his bed, so he tried to convince his mind and body that he was just a bit deprived, he was just feeling a little needy, of course he would want to bury his face on Shoyo's—
He is yer teammate, Atsumu tried to reason with himself, ya absolutely can't think about fucking him or cuddling with him or if he likes to be the big or the little spoon.
Shoyo's breathing was steady by his side, he was probably sleeping peacefully with no sort of internal conflict because he wasn't a freak who would think about putting his hands on the guy who broke his bed.
Right, Atsumu broke his bed in a very stupid move and that's why he was in his stupid situation. No other motive for this to be happening. You reap what you sow.
Atsumu tried to remember all of Shoyo's terrible qualities, as if making a mental list of it would help him feel less horny and fall asleep, like counting sheep.
1) Shoyo wakes up Atsumu way too early with all the noise he makes. Well, not really. The silent blender is surprisingly very silent, and maybe Atsumu just got used. He had been waking up at his usual hour on most days for months now.
2) Shoyo leaves wet towels around the house. Sometimes, rarely. Atsumu felt like he couldn't complain because Shoyo wasn't really complaining about his scattered clothes around the house. Has Atsumu been leaving his clothes all around the place, actually? He couldn't remember the last time this happened.
3) Shoyo makes delicious food and there's no way, no matter how much he wants to complain, that he can pick something about that to have a problem with. Next.
4) Shoyo refuses to leave the dirty dishes on the sink. The dinner dishes have to get washed at dinner, and wasn't that quite nice, since they usually ended up washing and drying it together?
5) Shoyo smiles in a way that would make Atsumu try to move a mountain if he asked.
6) Shoyo uses any cheap shampoo he finds and his hair is always looking good and fluffy despite the low quality of his products.
7) Shoyo asks for extra practice and extra tosses every day — okay now this is getting stupid.
Atsumu woke up the next morning to an empty bed and he pushed as deep down as he could whatever disappointment feeling he was having at that moment. This is fine, this is normal, like any other day Shoyo will be in the kitchen making their breakfast and he wondered if they had oranges for an orange smoothie.
He got up and realized he felt quite well for someone who didn't sleep much. Atsumu doesn't remember when he felt asleep, but he was sure his thoughts went on and on for a good while. He considered staying in bed for a bit longer, but it was as if his brain had antennas that synchronized to Shoyo and he could hear him humming in the kitchen.
"Atsumu-san," Shoyo turned around as he heard Atsumu entering the kitchen. "I texted Bokuto-san and he said he can lend me a spare futon he hasn't used in ages, so we don't need to worry too much about the bed for now."
"Great," he yawned, "do ya want ta pick it up together?"
"You don't have to worry about that! I will pick it up after practice while you go buy the groceries, okay?"
The past years, the twins always celebrated their birthday on Onigiri Miya, gathering as many of their friends as they could. Osamu always tried to push back this idea, but still, everyone arrived at closing time with a bunch of food and drinks in hands. He accepted another year of defeat and braced himself to kick out some annoying drunks from his restaurant in a few hours.
What he didn't expect was how much Atsumu was drinking, considering the season was going to start the next month, and how he seemed to make a point to always be sitting far away from Shoyo.
Bokuto challenged Atsumu to see who could take more shots in a row and this was the same thing as opening the gates of hell (and also Suna's phone camera). And Atsumu can't do something stupid without dragging Osamu into it too, so soon all his worries were engulfed by the alcohol.
Shoyo, at some point, drifted to Osamu's side and stayed there chatting with him until people started to leave. Osamu still had enough clarity in his mind to notice how Shoyo's eyes were following Atsumu everywhere. "Did ya have a fight with my brother?"
"Huh?" Shoyo slowly turned to him, tilting his head.
"My brother is always glued ta ya but I haven't seen ya two talk tha whole night."
"Oh that…" Shoyo stopped, and then turned his head again to look for Atsumu. "No, I don't think it's that but… do you think Atsumu-san hates me? Sometimes I feel like he is avoiding me, outside the court I mean."
"Yer fuckin' crazy, tha alcohol is makin' ya stupid just like him," Osamu huffed, but Shoyo looked so genuinely sad he couldn't even bring himself to make fun of him. "Tsumu is crazy about ya, okay? He adores ya, never doubt it."
"Heh, is that so?" Shoyo giggled. "Then it's no problem if I sleep with you guys, right? The only place I know in this city is your restaurant, Osamu-san."
"Lucky fer ya, I live in tha second floor of tha restaurant," he laughed.
Soon the party was over, and a very drunk Osamu dragged an even drunker Atsumu to his couch and lightly tapped his twin in the cheek.
"Ya better not be havin' a fight with Shoyo-kun, 'cause he said he needed a place ta sleep and I said I have a spare futon here."
And then there was light. As if that was the first time Atsumu saw the sun, he looked at the door where Shoyo was coming in, bouncing and almost losing balance, and he felt his eyes burn with the light and the tears he didn't dare to let out.
"Atsumu-san, Atsumu-san," Shoyo happily sang. "I almost forgot your present."
Atsumu's head was spinning and he was barely able to open the box that was shoved in his hands. Shoyo laughed and started to help him untie the ribbon and unpack, and his brain melted a bit more when he saw what was inside. Maybe he cried something between one to ten tears.
"Shoyo-kun, that's like, half of my skin care products," Atsumu held back a sob. He was too drunk for this, he felt like he was gonna pass out.
"I noticed most of those you were running out of it," Shoyo said, avoiding his gaze.
"Ya paid attention ta somethin' like that?" Atsumu felt his knees become jelly and he was never more grateful to be sitting down in his life.
"I'm always paying attention to you, Atsumu-san," Shoyo was still avoiding his gaze, but Atsumu could hear a faint laugh coming from his lips. Was he blushing? Was he embarrassed? It took all of Atsumu's strength to not reach out and hold his hands at that moment.
Which wasn't exactly a lot of strength with how drunk he was, because he did in fact reach for Shoyo's hands, making the other boy finally face him again, his face completely covered in a deep shade of red and suddenly Atsumu felt jealous even of Shoyo's blood, making him look so pretty. It's the alcohol, Atsumu tried to reason with himself, it's not because of me.
"Thanks, I really like," was all he could say before passing out.
When Atsumu woke up the next day, he felt like his head was splitting in the middle and he was going to die. It took him a minute to recognize that he was sleeping in his brother couch, his stuff neatly organized in the table. Including Shoyo's gift. He wanted to scream.
And apparently he did scream because in two seconds his twin was there covering his mouth.
"Shut yer stupid mouth Tsumu, Shoyo-kun is still sleepin'," Osamu whispered.
Atsumu glared at him, trying to make his brain work in the middle of the excruciating pain. "Did he gave ya a present?"
"Yeah, of course. He gave me some spices that I was havin' trouble ta replicate tha taste in tha recipes he sends me. What? Don'tcha look at me like that, we like ta trade recipes."
He turned to his side and buried his face in the couch. It was too early to overthink. "Shit, my head hurts, Samu."
Osamu sighed, but caressed his head a bit before going away. "'m gonna get ya some medicine."
Atsumu tried to orientate himself, knowing his twin would definitely want an explanation to whatever bullshit he was pulling this time, but he still had no idea how to put it into words.
"Samu, 'm screwed, I fucked up."
Things were officially weird between Atsumu and Shoyo.
Probably it has been weird for a while, a few days, a few weeks, months even. Now, however, Atsumu finally decided to recognize it (because Osamu put some sense in his head). Meian always told him that the first step to deal with difficult situations was to acknowledge the problem first, to name it.
Miya Atsumu likes his wing spiker, roommate and great friend, Hinata Shoyo.
So, things were officially weird.
They had finally reached a point of understanding each other habits, found a division for house chores that worked, and played some of the best volleyball Atsumu ever had the chance to play. And he was probably going to ruin it all because he went there and got feelings. Great, fantastic even.
Atsumu forgot what the rest of his captain advice for dealing with difficult situations was, so the first chance he got of Shoyo being out of sight, he went to talk to him. Inunaki was talking to him, but that won't do, there's no way whatever he has to say is more important than Atsumu's crisis.
"Captain, I have an emergency. Yes, Inu-san, this is very important. So, captain, there's a significant chance I like…" Atsumu took a deep breath. "…someone."
"Did you seriously only noticed now that you're in love with Hinata?" Inunaki asked.
Atsumu had no idea how long it took for a person to start blushing, but he felt his entire face heat up even before the libero finished talking. "Wha? 'm not in love with Shoyo-kun!"
"Easy there, Inunaki," Meian said, "Miya is just like a scared animal, you can't be so direct or he will run away."
"'m like a what now?"
"So, you're ready to accept you like Hinata, great," Meian continued as if Atsumu didn't speak.
"I never said it's Shoyo-kun!"
"As your captain, I want to say for you to not do anything stupid, especially with coach Foster seriously considering putting Hinata as a regular for our first official match of the season, but… it's kinda painful to watch you two pining for each other."
"Yeah," Inunaki interrupted, "I think it's going to be worse if you two keep staring at each other like that in front of an audience."
"Starin' how?" Atsumu was losing his mind. This conversation wasn't going the way he expected at all, and he imagined probably a hundred scenarios in his head.
"Be honest with the guy, alright?" Meian continued. "I think Hinata is the type to take those things seriously, he wouldn't neglect your honest feelings or make fun of you for it. He will just get angry if you try to lie. And Hinata can be quite… intimidating when he is angry."
Atsumu knew very well how scary Shoyo could be, the last thing he wanted was making him angry before his first official match.
"Yeah, if he is gonna break your heart, at least he is going to take you seriously first and let you down responsibly," Inunaki so helpfully added. "Especially since this could affect the team dynamics."
Atsumu sighed and covered his face with his hands, he wanted to just drop to the floor. "Are ya forgettin' we live together? How awkward do ya think that will be?"
"Well, the apartment is yours, so Hinata can just go stay with Bokuto for a while," Inunaki said, "he has a spare room at his place too."
"Wait," Atsumu felt his heart skip at least three beats before he could face them again. "Bokuto has a spare room?"
At that, both men laughed at him. Atsumu was feeling like there was some sort of joke going with the entire team that he was the only one not part of. They knew he liked Shoyo? Sure, he said once he used to have a crush in high school but that was old news. And Bokuto? Self proclaimed Hinata's mentor? Atsumu digged in his memories for all the times he went over his place and indeed, now he could remember how there was definitely more space than his apartment for another person to live in.
Why was Shoyo living with him if the person he was closest with in the team had a spare room he could have used from the start?
At that moment, he heard the door of the gym opening and he saw Shoyo coming back, and then look at his direction. Shoyo smiled. Shoyo smiled and waved at Atsumu, calling him.
Shoyo's flustered cheeks. Shoyo's lips curving impossible higher, a smile as big as his heart. Shoyo's stupid orange hair that was all over the place, growing and touching his insides in ways Atsumu would never be able to. Shoyo's strong thighs that were now moving in his direction, his muscles flexing at every step. Shoyo's voice calling his name, a voice so sweet yet so powerful, he could probably open the gates of heaven if he dared to ask.
Oh, Atsumu was really in love with Shoyo.
"Atsumu-san, what do you want for dinner today?"
Miya Atsumu was completely, pathetically, madly, in love with Hinata Shoyo.
Atsumu wasn't a very patient person, but he liked to think that by age 23 he managed to learn two or three things about it and got much better at controlling himself.
So, after he stopped trying to deny his feelings for Shoyo, it was a victory that he didn't confess every time the other boy smiled at him. He would never live it down if he confessed in front of their entire team.
After their birthday, Osamu told him that Shoyo noticed Atsumu was avoiding him and got worried. Of course he didn't want to worry Shoyo, and his brother didn't help much more than that. But not avoiding him made the whole don't-confess-on-impulse-make-it-romantic deal much more complicated.
Being constantly by his side, being pulled into his embrace after they scored a point, washing dishes side by side, buying groceries together, eyes lingering a bit too much as they said good night and went to their separate rooms, the hunger in Shoyo's eyes every time Atsumu tossed the ball to his perfectly sculpted hands as if god crafted his entire being personally—
In short, Atsumu was losing his mind.
They won their first game of the season and Atsumu hugged Shoyo and held him high, spinning around the court. Both of them couldn't stop smiling and laughing and when they looked at each others eyes—
"Put him down, Miya!" Meian yelled. "Come here both of you idiots!"
Right, they had things to do after the game.
After the post-game formalities, they had a celebratory party that somehow turned into a big high school volleyball reunion. There were so many people Atsumu hadn't seen in a while, and especially Shoyo. Everyone wanted a piece of him.
Despite being surrounded by friends and old acquaintances, their eyes kept finding each other the whole night. Every time Atsumu looked over to see how Shoyo was doing, as if sensing him, he found Atsumu's eyes.
It was a fantastic game, Atsumu couldn't be more proud of his wing spiker debut. It was hard to keep up with the conversations around him when all he wanted to do was run over to Shoyo and put an arm over his shoulder and tell everyone how great his wing spiker was.
Seeing him surrounded like that, while made him proud, also started to make some jealously grown in his heart. Atsumu was so sure he could cherish Shoyo more than anyone in that room. If Inunaki and Barnes weren't impeding him from getting completely drunk, he would probably have started to scream that to everyone to hear.
For now, he managed to be satisfied with the way Shoyo looked at him, no matter in which part of the room he was. With the way his smile grew even more when he looked at Atsumu, in the way his lips were shining with beer.
They didn't talk much during the way home. They exchanged glances and giggles, joined some of the conversations his teammates were having, and at some point Shoyo intertwined his pinkie with Atsumu's.
Atsumu, in the end, never managed to plan a great romantic confession, but he was sure he couldn't keep quiet about it anymore. Somehow, it was like a switch flipped between them, and he simply knew he had to do it.
All he needed was one chance and he could prove to Shoyo how happy they could be together. After all, they were already living together for months and Shoyo never left, even if he had the option to leave. This had to mean something. Atsumu was clinging into any small hope he could find as he replayed the past months in his head.
They arrived at home — their home — and went with their usual routine. Washing their uniforms, cleaning, cooking, washing dishes, Atsumu's meticulous skin care routine that Shoyo had started to participate in a few steps. Those moments felt precious, it was something they built together. Atsumu couldn't help but let his mind wander for a bit and think about what else they could built if they continued having a life together.
He took a deep breath.
"Shoyo-kun, can I ask ya somethin'?"
"Of course."
"Why did ya accept livin' with me? Ya had other options, like Bokkun. Ya could've gone ta tha dorms after those renovations were done. Why did ya stay?"
Shoyo smiled sheepishly at him. "You didn't even hesitated to invite me to live here, I was really surprised at that. We hadn't seen each other for so long, we just started to be teammates, and yet you put a lot of effort to live with me. Not everyone would have done all that, you know?"
"Bullshit," he huffed, "'m also a piece of work and gave ya a lot of trouble those first months. Why did ya keep up with me?"
"Oh, come on," Shoyo stomped his foot, stubborn as ever, "I annoyed you plenty of times and you didn't kick me out despite this being your place, I took advantage of you a lot."
"Are ya… are ya serious, Shoyo-kun? Ya weren't takin' advantage of me by staying here, don'tcha talk like that."
That wasn't the direction he planned to take that conversation. Was that how Shoyo felt living with him? Did Atsumu got everything wrong, somehow?
"No!" Shoyo blurted out. "It's not like that, I didn't mean it like that. I mean… I… Atsumu-san, I have to confess something to you."
Atsumu's heart skipped a beat hearing that.
"I lied, that night you broke my bed. I had a futon in my closet, I didn't get one with Bokuto-san. I just… I wanted to sleep close to you, and took advantage of that situation. I know your products are expensive but I used it a bunch of times because I liked smelling like you. You never said anything about one of your hoodies missing, but it was me who stole it. And there's… a bunch of stuff. I just… I really like you, Atsumu-san."
Shoyo's hand reached to hold Atsumu's, his face getting more red by each second. Atsumu had no idea what kind of stupid expression he was making, too stunned at the beauty of Shoyo's eyes looking directly at him. He looked so nervous, and was still keeping his head high. All those months Atsumu tried to keep up with Shoyo, he couldn't back down now.
"'m in love with ya."
Atsumu crashed their lips together. It was messy, barely a proper kiss, he was just desperate to finally close the distance between them. Shoyo let go of his hands and cupped his cheeks, pushing his head to a better angle, getting hold of their rhythm and savoring Atsumu's lips.
"I love ya," Atsumu gasps into Shoyo's mouth when they finally stopped to catch their breaths.
"I love you so much, Atsumu-san."
"I love ya m—"
"Enough! I got it already!"
Shoyo went forward again, kissing him slowly. He started to lick Atsumu's lips until he got the hint and opened his mouth so Shoyo could deeper the kiss. It felt like a dream, Atsumu had no idea how much time had passed, he didn't want to wake up. Eventually they had to stop to breath, but he never let Shoyo go too far, clinging to his waist.
He wanted to keep kissing him for the whole night, for the rest of their lives. No matter how complicated the past months had been, at that moment, when Atsumu looked at Shoyo's eyes and saw the same love looking back at him, everything seemed so simple. He let Shoyo melt away months of worries and complications with his soft lips.
They laughed and stumbled their steps trying to go to Atsumu's room, but they couldn't let go of each other not even for a second.
Atsumu woke up the next day and saw orange.
Shoyo was resting his head on his chest, scrolling on his phone. When Atsumu grunted, he looked up.
"Good morning, Atsumu-san."
"Good mornin', Shoyo-kun," he said as he pushed Shoyo's chin up, kissing him.
They stayed in that peaceful bliss for some long minutes. Atsumu ignored the decent part of his brain that knew Shoyo was neglecting his morning routine to stay in bed with him and allowed himself to snuggle his face on Shoyo's hair. The idea of waking up early seemed tempting now, if he could everyday wake up to the person he loved the most in the world being in his arms.
"Atsumu-san," Shoyo started, "I know you just woke up, but I think we need to decide how we are going to announce to the team that we are dating, I don't want this to become gossip so we should clear it up before anything starts. I wonder if they will be too surprised…"
"They won't be…" Atsumu whined. "Dont'cha worry 'bout that."
And since he could do it now, Atsumu kissed Shoyo again.