Chapter Text
If Shouyou thought the Tokyo Training Center was cool, the Olympic Village is a thousand times more exciting. Shops and food trucks line the streets and the athletes are given bags full of swag to represent their home countries. Shouyou has to continuously remind himself to close his mouth as he ogles at the size of the training facilities, bars, cafeterias, and hoards of people. Their rooms are small, with beds the size of cots paired with one other athlete, and it pains Shouyou when he finds out his roommate isn’t Kageyama, but Miya Atsumu instead.
“This is great, Shoukun!” Atsumu exclaims as he tosses his bag onto his cardboard bed. “We can work on our quick attack strategies off and on the court, and this means more late-night gym seshes.”
“I only do the quick attack with Kageyama.”
“You’re joking, right?” Atsumu chuckles. “We’ve done that quick attack a hundred times. I’m like, a way better setter than Tobio-kun.”
Shouyou doesn’t respond. He sits quietly on his bed, cross-legged, as Atsumu starts digging through his swag bag. “This will be good anyway. You’ve been acting weird lately, and I need to keep an eye on you. Is everything alright?”
“Everything is fine.”
“Ever since you came back from Tokyo, you’ve been different.”
“We’re in Tokyo right now.”
“You know what I mean! Did you forget about yer teammates?” Grinning, Atsumu steps forward, his wide hands reaching for Shouyou’s shoulders. “You’ve been avoiding us, but especially me. And now with this Kageyama thing? I thought you hated him.”
Shouyou stirs uncomfortably. He barely knows this guy, and while he knows he’s supposed to be pretending he does know Atsumu well, it’s growing difficult. “We’re playing nice! If we have to work together—”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do with him, you know.” Atsumu closes his eyes, trying to swoop down for a kiss, but Shouyou can’t bring himself to even pretend to be okay with that. He’s never kissed anyone before, and in his haste to get away, Shouyou loses his balance and topples to the floor.
“Woah! What are you doing?”
“Trying to kiss you?”
“What is your problem with Kageyama?” Shouyou scowls as he stands up, still trying to distance himself from his teammate. “What did he do to you?”
“He pissed you off. And also, he’s a brat. I knew that long before we met. He’s the King of the Court, you know. Word travels.”
“He’s not like that anymore! He’s nice, and thoughtful, and, and, actually kind of funny.”
Atsumu knits his eyebrows together. “Are you crushing on him?”
“No! Of course not! That’s silly!”
“Shou.” Those firm hands grab Shouyou’s shoulders to hold him steady. “I know you made a difficult choice to leave your life behind and move to Osaka. I get it. But you know what he did to ya, and you trusted me with that information. I don’t wanna see you get hurt.”
“I know what I’m doing.” He awkwardly shrugs out of Atsumu’s grasp, wanting nothing more but to slip away and never come back. Are he and Atsumu in a relationship? Or is this one of those situational ships where they sleep together and nothing more?
“Just... alright. I don’t wanna piss you off. We have a lot coming up.” He smiles softly, still trying to steal a kiss. Shouyou continues to duck out of his grasp until he gets to the door.
“You’re not! I just want to focus on the Olympics. It’s our first time, and it’s a big deal! I don’t want to lose that focus.”
“But the Olympics are the best time for us to fu—”
“BATHROOM!” Shouyou screams as he slams the door shut and rushes across the hall to the communal restroom. He locks himself in a stall and forces himself to breathe. Jeez. Definitely can’t go back there. Absolutely not.
He stays there for a few more minutes, just to make sure Atsumu doesn’t follow him inside, before sneaking out and down the hall to Kageyama’s bedroom. He pounds at the door wildly and quickly, silently begging his best friend to open the door right freaking now.
“I’m coming, I’m coming! God!” Kageyama yanks the door open with such force that a breeze blows into Shouyou’s face. “Oh. It’s you. What?”
“Are you done unpacking? Can we go for a walk?”
“Is everything okay?”
Shouyou’s eyes glance over at the door down the hall. “I just need to get out of here. Like right now.”
“Sure. Alright. Let’s go.” He shuts the door behind him, one arm cautiously guiding Shouyou down the hallway and out the door. Shouyou’s thumping heart doesn’t slow down until after the elevator doors close.
“Atsumu tried to kiss me.”
“What?” Kageyama looks Shouyou up and down in a panic. “I’ll kick his ass. Are you okay?”
“Don’t do anything. I think... I think there might have been something between us. Something I don’t remember.” Shouyou sighs. “But I don’t want to deal with it. I just... wanted to be with you.”
Kageyama doesn’t relax, but he nods his head in acknowledgment. “Did you tell him to stop?”
“No.”
“Dude.”
“I know, I just panicked, okay? I panicked, and I ran out. Can we just focus on other things right now? Please?”
“Yeah. Of course.”
They walk for what feels like miles, browsing around shops and looking at merchandise. Kageyama buys them churros at a Brazilian food truck, which makes Shouyou blush, and they sneak a peek inside the Olympic Stadium where their first volleyball match against Venezuela will be held. It still feels like this is all a dream, especially because being this close to Kageyama isn’t really even something he did all that much when he was sixteen. They had known each other, what, five, maybe six months?
And as much as he cared about Kageyama as his friend, he never appreciated the setter like this. Shouyou understood now just how much he cared about this person, and how much he wanted Kageyama to stay in his life.
Soon, they leave the Olympic Village and head deeper into Tokyo. After deciding to grab something to eat, they stumble upon a playground with a swing set. Shouyou ignores his phone buzzing in his pocket, knowing it’s most likely just Atsumu bombarding him with texts about running away.
“I bet I can jump off the swing higher than you can.”
Kageyama tuts. “You’re on.”
The two race each other to the swing set, Kageyama tugging on Shouyou’d shirt to try and pull him back, but it doesn’t stop the eager redhead at all. He pushes his feet up, trying to get momentum, as Kageyama lags behind. Push, pull, push, pull, sway... jump!
Shouyou flies, launching himself across the mulch. He lands on his feet, but Kageyama slams into him seconds later, knocking both of them to the ground.
Kageyama is on top of him, nearly crushing Shouyou’s ribcage. They are very close to each other; closer than they've ever been before.
“I guess you win,” Tobio chuckles, a soft blush on his face. Shouyou tilts his head up, his hands cradled against the other man’s chest, and their lips meet.
This, he realizes in all his haze, is his first kiss. He never spent all that much time thinking about what it’d be like to kiss someone, but kissing Kageyama now is nice. It feels good. It’s something he’d like to do a lot more often, actually.
To be this close with someone, this vulnerable with someone— is this how he’d feel if he were to kiss Kageyama at sixteen?
Tobio rolls over with a soft thud, and together they look up at the bright blue sky. He sighs. “I like you a lot, Hinata. Having you come back into my life... it feels like some cruel joke.”
“I’m not joking with you—”
“I don’t mean you, dumbass. I mean... us. The world. The fact that in a month’s time, I’m going to Italy. There was so much time for us to...” He trails off, but Shouyou knows what he means.
“It was my fault.”
“No. No, don’t say that.” Kageyama looks at him. “It’s just... it’s what happened. Can we focus on the game and enjoy what time we have left?”
“Yeah,” Shouyou nods his head even though he doesn’t want to move on from this. He wants to kiss Kageyama again, and again, and again.
But he’s also supposed to be an adult, and being an adult means dealing with the consequences of your actions.
They win their first match against Venezuela, which means their next match will be against Canada the following day. Shouyou takes a long shower in the locker room, rolling his shoulders back to relieve some of the tension. While playing volleyball in front of everyone felt absolutely incredible, all he could think about was stupid Kageyama.
He never realized that these feelings he had about his best friend were romantic. He admired Kageyama, respected him, and in some weird way, kind of wanted to be him. How was he supposed to know that translated into loving someone?
The worst part is realizing all of this now, right when Kageyama is about to move halfway across the world. What are the chances of them actually keeping in touch?
Shouyou wants to go back. He doesn’t want to deal with any of this.
“Alright, everyone line up. Taller players in the back, and find a window so we can see everyone’s faces.”
They are taking a photo for a magazine cover today. Shouyou stands in front of Kageyama, who is secretly holding his hand in between where their back and chest are pressed against each other. Kageyama keeps rubbing his thumb against the back of Shouyou’s hand.
It’s awkward. They haven’t spoken about the kiss since it happened, and Shouyou doesn’t have any experience of what the hell he’s supposed to do next.
Atsumu has given him space, which he’s thankful for, but he expects a conversation to be due any time now. He owes that to his teammate at least.
After their photoshoot, Shouyou races after Kageyama in an attempt to ask him to practice for their upcoming game. Beating Canada means making it to the finals, and they’ll be playing against Argentina, which Shouyou has been informed is the “Great King’s” team. It will be interesting to see what Oikawa Tooru looks like all grown up.
Unfortunately for him, Kageyama disappears, and Shouyou is left to awkwardly wander to his bedroom to change. He shoots the setter a text, asking if he’d be down for dinner instead. That would give them the chance to talk about how... uncomfortable things have been.
“Hey, Shoukun.” The door shuts behind Atsumu, who smiles sympathetically as he sits down on his bed. “Everything alright?”
“I just wanted to apologize for what happened on our first day—”
“You don't need to do that,” Atsumu interrupts by raising his hands. “I realize I was bein’ pushy. I know you’ve been... goin’ through some things. I don’t want to pry, but you know I’m here for you if you need me. I do care about you. We care about you. And if ya don’t want to date, that’s fine too. Just... focus on yerself right now, okay?”
“Were we... together?”
“Ehhh... it’s kinda up in the air. A situationship.” He runs his fingers through his hair. “But we can focus on that later. You said you might be transferring to Brazil, and I didn’t want to start something that might make things more difficult down the line.”
Shouyou blinks. “Transferring to Brazil?”
“Didn’t you apply to the transfer pool? You mentioned trying to get to São Paulo, so I thought—”
“Oh right,” Shouyou quickly interrupts. “You’re so right. Brazil. Right.”
“You played great today.”
“Thanks. And I’m sorry again, for being so weird. I’ll be better. You’re right— a lot is going on.”
“We have yer back. I mean that.” Atsumu gently touches Shouyou’s arm when the redhead reaches for the door. “Of course, I’d like us to continue... what we were doing, but I don’t wanna guilt ya into that.”
“I just want to get through the Olympics,” is Shouyou’s reply, which is honestly not great, but it’s all he has right now. “After that... we can talk about things.”
“Sure,” he agrees sadly. “I really did want to fuck though.”
“Language! You can— I don’t know! Go find someone else to have sex with!”
“Shou? Shou, come on.” Atsumu calls out from behind as Shouyou marches down the hallway to avoid continuing the conversation. Unbeknownst to him, Kageyama comes walking up the opposite hallway looking for Shouyou himself. He stops outside the open door where Atsumu is still sighing.
“Is Hinata here?”
The bleached blond scoffs. “He just left.”
“I’ll just... text him then.”
“He’s not into you, just so you know.” Atsumu glares daggers into Kageyama. “So whatever you have planned, I wouldn’t go through with it.”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“What I’m talking about,” Atsumu pauses to size Kageyama up, despite being a few centimeters shorter, “is that Hinata doesn’t like you. He’s being nice by reconciling with you, but don’t think we don’t know what you said, because we do. Yer an asshole, Kageyama, and I won’t let him get hurt.”
Kageyama doesn’t say anything. In fact, he steps back, shoving his hands into his pockets. It makes Atsumu scoff again.
“He’s requested a transfer, just so you know. Shoukun is perfectly capable of making it on his own in this world. He doesn’t need you.”
“I never said—”
“And he and I have been datin’ for the last six months.”
“You’re such a liar.”
“I ain’t lyin’.” One bitter smirk later, Atsumu slams the door, leaving Kageyama with his jaw clenched outside.
Instead of texting Shouyou that night, he simply goes to his room and locks the door with a pain in his heart.
They win their game against Canada, but Shouyou misses several of Kageyama’s tosses and he can tell something is wrong, something he so desperately wants to fix. It doesn’t seem like it’s worth fixing to Kageyama, though, who is avoiding him every chance he can get. In fact, Shouyou has to corner him in the locker room after the rest of their teammates have changed and left to watch other games. It’s a bit awkward, knowing the only thing between their naked bodies is a towel, but Shouyou pushes the thought away and puffs his chest out.
“Tobio, we need to talk.”
Kageyama’s back stiffens. He slams his locker shut and slowly turns around.
“It was a mistake,” he says, breaking Shouyou’s heart. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you.”
“It was not a mistake. We like each other! What is wrong with that?”
“Because I’m about to move to fucking Italy! And you’re transferring to fucking BRAZIL, Hinata! You didn’t think I wouldn’t fucking find out about that?”
“I didn’t even know!”
“Right, because you don’t remember the last fucking eight years of your life.” Kageyama throws his hands up in frustration. “I bet you didn’t realize you’ve been dating Miya this whole time too?”
“I— what? No, I— I told you he tried to kiss me—”
“Because he’s your fucking boyfriend, Shouyou. I really thought you changed. I went out of my comfort zone to reconnect with you, to remember our youth, but you’re still the biggest fucking asshole I’ve ever met.”
“Shut up! None of that is true! You’re my friend, and I’ve tried to be nice to you, to make up for what I did! I have feelings for you—”
“You let me fucking kiss you, believing you changed, but you’ve done nothing but fucking lie to me. I’m sick of it. I’m fucking sick of it.” Kageyama shoves his finger in Shouyou’s face, which only angers both of them more. He slaps away Kageyama’s hand, who then grabs the redhead by the throat and slams him up against the lockers. Shouyou feels the knot of his towel loosen and the apple of his throat bobs rapidly. He looks at Kageyama with wide eyes as he tries to breathe through the pressure on his windpipe. He wraps both of his hands around Tobio’s.
“It’s you,” he croaks, “it’s always been you.”
Their mouths meet again in heated passion. Tobio’s hand loosens but doesn’t pull away, wanting to keep Shouyou in place as he slots his knee in between the smaller man’s legs and slips his tongue inside Shouyou’s mouth. Shouyou’s towel finally gives way, falling to the floor, but both of them ignore it in lieu of their kiss. Despite the anger and fire rolling through Kageyama’s body, he still wants this, and Shouyou can tell. It’s nearly impossible to pull away.
Nearly.
Because, when Kageyama does pull away and wipe the spit from his mouth, he doesn’t look any happier. He has that look of fury on his face that he always carried around with him in middle school and the days they were banned from joining the Karasuno Volleyball Club until they could make up and play as teammates.
No one says a word. Shouyou reaches for his towel to make himself presentable, but when he looks back up, Tobio is gone.
Tears pool in the corner of his eyes. This isn’t the life he wanted. None of this is what he wanted. Playing volleyball professionally means absolutely nothing if he loses all his closest friends and family. It means nothing if he loses his best friend and the man he had fallen in love with. He’d give it all back in a heartbeat.
“I don’t want this,” he says to an empty room, head tilted toward the ceiling. “Let me be sixteen again, please. I don’t want this.”
Nothing happens. Shouyou quickly wipes away his tears, takes a deep breath, and goes about his day.