Chapter Text
“The season is cancelled?” Hinata and Bokuto gasped in horror simultaneously. It’d have been funny if it weren’t for the fact that the situation was so dire.
“That’s right, and if you’d let me finish,” Meian said, looking at his teammates expectantly. Bokuto and Hinata settled back down, equal looks of consternation on their faces. Meian watched the rest of the Black Jackals, trying hard to keep his worry from his face “This will be the last time we’re meeting as a team-” At the alarmed looks passing over Hinata and Bokuto’s faces, Meian finished hurriedly “-In person. Until the pandemic is over”
Bokuto and Hinata were working themselves up again, it’s why they had been separated in the first place during team meetings, both of them encouraging the others’ tendency to be rowdy. Hinata and Bokuto were positioned on opposite sides of the gathered group of men, and even still they always seemed to have a psychic link when it came to being excitable. It was Atsumu who spoke first this time “But what about practice?”
Everyone froze, staring at Meian, who had been hoping his teammates had seen the news from this morning, but apparently not. It was Sakusa’s voice that cut in, having called in on video chat from Hinata’s phone “All gymnasiums, sport facilities, public recreation centers, community and municipal use buildings, parks, playgrounds, art galleries...” He was obviously reading from a list online “Are all closed until further notice to prevent the spread of covid-19”
Sakusa had not been to practice once since the announcement of the first confirmed case hitting Japan’s shores. Leading up to that moment he had been religiously following news coming out from China, plotting his own infection curve from the numbers provided and updating his team daily. Everyone had thought Sakusa was overreacting, that he was once again taking things too seriously. Now they stood in a circle staring at each other, wishing they had listened to prophet Sakusa when he said this was going to be bad. At the very least they could have stocked up on provisions like Sakusa had, who had a carefully maintained three month supply of food and sundries at his apartment.
Meian sighed, clapping his hands to bring attention back to himself, breaking through the dinn of whispers breaking out amongst his team “That is correct. We will not be having practice for the duration of the pandemic for the safety of each other and our community. Barnes, Tomas and Coach Foster have already boarded flights to go back to their home countries” Meian proceeded to explain the expectations the team had for each player, that they were to follow shelter in place but that their top priority should be the health and well being of themselves and their family. “If you need to travel to find a place to weather out this pandemic I suggest that you leave no later than today, as it is still unclear how the rail system and public transportation are going to be impacted going forward” Voices once again broke out as the team started discussing what they would do, what they still needed doing, and Bokuto, ever the optimist began planning digital hangouts for the team to help them get through this together.
Hinata sucked in a breath, and began to gnaw on his lip. Stay at home, stay at home, stay at home... Dammit. Hinata was still living in the shoebox apartment he’d moved into when he first joined the Black Jackals almost three years ago now. It was a 9ft x 9ft room with space enough for his bed, a set of drawers, a low bedside table that he used as his regular table, his tv, and the tiny little kitchenette in the corner. And the shared bathroom outside his front door and down the hallway. This setup had been fine for the way Hinata lived his life. He was a social person with friends everywhere so he only ever really slept there. Most days if he wasn’t playing or practicing volleyball, he was at the park meeting friends, running errands, training at his local gym with friends he had made there, hitting the public bathhouse, going for food with friends. Honestly Hinata’s life kind of revolved around volleyball and going outside and seeing his people and meeting new people. He wasn’t designed for social isolation without something to stimulate him.
He’d meant to find a new place. Atsumu and Bokuto made fun of him for how tiny the shoebox was, Sakusa refused to even come see it when he learned Hinata’s bathroom was shared with 10 other tenants who lived on his floor. Hinata had even gone so far as to view a couple of places, but found each of them lacking in some way. The problem was, he was a country boy at heart, he was used to wide open spaces. His mother's house in Miyagi had been relatively small in size, but with a decent yard and access to large wooded mountains right outside his front door. And then he’d lived in Rio where he could open his patio door and walk right out onto the beach anytime he wanted. Hinata wasn’t meant for enclosed spaces.
Sure his shoebox was pretty cramped, but it had been all he could afford when he’d returned to Japan. The houses he wanted, like the one Atsumu had inherited from his great uncle, were at a super high price point in Tokyo. Which was agony really. A house with a yard the size Hinata could live with was about eight times more expensive here than it would be in Sendai, let alone in his hometown. So he’d made a promise to himself, he’d continue living in the shitty shoebox until he could afford the down payment on a better house, or some place with like a rooftop patio or something, he didn’t know. It’s not like he spent his days at the shoebox, it was nothing more than a storage closet that had a bed. And a place to store his snacks.
He would not survive a week in the shoebox by himself with nowhere to go, let alone a few months like health officials were predicting. Meian had said that they could travel to go stay somewhere, he could go stay with his Mom and Natsu... But Natsu had called him yesterday enraged because their mom had invited “the boyfriend” to stay with them for the duration of the pandemic. The Hinata siblings wanted to be happy for their mother finally dating again after so many years of working hard to support them, but the boyfriend was a real ‘mans-man’ and was kind of insufferable to be around. He was a bit condescending to Natsu, treating her like she was much younger than she was, but she could easily brush that off. No, she despised the boyfriend out of solidarity with her brother.
At new years when Hinata had been home visiting, the boyfriend had gotten into a conversation with Hinata about what he did. In the span of a few sentences he managed to refer to Hinata’s career and lifelong dream as “a hobby”, said volleyball “wasn’t a real sport” unlike baseball, and that it seemed to be filled with “all those jumping fairies”, the implication being that only queer men played volleyball. Hinata being a professional volleyball player, with lots of professional volleyball player friends, and who he himself happened to be very gay, had been more than a little offended.
He had explained to his mother what had happened, and she’d been embarrassed and apologetic, made the boyfriend apologize, and explained to him that this was a family that accepted and loved each other for who they were. The boyfriend had made a lot of positive sounds at that, but then demonstrated his “support” by pointing at various men in the street, or on TV and asking if Hinata found them hot.
No, going back home would result in Hinata committing homicide, and then he’d never get to play volleyball again. Hinata tilted his head back in despair. He could already see himself becoming a feral, anti-social monster who was so touch starved he would bite the first person who looked at him by the end of this. Maybe he could find someone to bunk up with...? He swept a glance over his team, before looking down at the phone clutched in his hands. Sakusa was still on the call, looking off screen.
Hinata stepped away from the team, shuffling over to the wall, turning away from the group so he’d be less conspicuous “Hey Omi-san?” He called softly, getting Sakusa to look over at him, a slight wrinkle in his brow. He said something, realized he’d muted his mic and he tapped the screen.
“Yes Shouyou-san?” After a second he added “What’s wrong?” Hinata sometimes hated the way his face was an open book, or how he was so consistent the second he didn’t behave as expected people knew something was off.
Hinata gave a grimacing smile “Well...” He glanced over his shoulder, making sure no one could hear “I was wondering if I could maybe move in with you during the pandemic?” Hinata was about to detail all the ways he could help with rent, with cooking, with entertainment, but Sakusa cut him off at the head.
“Absolutely not”
Hinata smiled nervously “Please?” And then Sakusa began listing all the ways in which it would be a terrible idea, concerns about cross contamination, there being only one bathroom, how there was no space for Hinata to quarantine for 14 days before he and Sakusa could interact, concerns about laundry, that his reserves couldn’t also feed someone with Hinata’s appetite, and on and on. And then he started to lecture Hinata about living in his shoebox apartment, hadn’t Sakusa said Hinata would rue the day an emergency hit and he wasn’t able to leave? It was true, Sakusa had actually mentioned that more than once in the last two years, and he was really turning out to be a pandemic prophet all things considered.
“Now do you understand why I don’t want you here?” Sakusa said, not un-empathetically.
Hinata bit his lip, a bit crestfallen and nodded “Yeah-”
Sakusa sighed, feeling maybe, just a little, bad. Of all the Black Jackals he’d have put Hinata at the top of the list of people to move in with him. The Black Jackals were relatively low on his list overall, but Hinata was at the top, maybe top 10 of everyone at least. “Why don’t you try asking-”
“Oh hey, is that Hinata-san?” Komori asked brightly, peaking at the camera over Sakusa’s shoulder. Over Sakusa’s shoulder in Sakusa’s apartment. Which apparently didn’t have enough room for Hinata. But had plenty enough room for Komori. “Hi Hinata-san!” Komori said brightly, waving. Sakusa’s face had gone slack before flushing bright red.
Hinata pressed his lips together in a facsimile of a smile “Hi Komori-san” he said strained.
Sakusa shoved Komori out of the way and looking at Hinata a bit embarrassed he said “Good luck, send the team my best”
“Mhmm” Hinata said, a tight smile still plastered over his face. And then Sakusa hung up.
After a moment Hinata jammed his phone into his pocket and then ruffled his own hair in agitation “So stingy” He whined, not really sore about Sakusa’s choice, Komori had been his friend for longer after all, just frustrated at his continued situation which was looking more dire by the minute.
“Who’s stingy?” Bokuto asked from behind him, making Hinata jump. Hinata’s hair, which was always a bit unruly to begin with, was now sticking out at a dozen odd angles. Bokuto might have said his mentee kind of looked like Kuroo on bad hair days.
Hinata turned, a new strategy forming in his mind lightning quick, there was no way Bokuto or Akaashi would say no to him living at their place for the next few weeks. They loved him. They were kind of like his secret, barely older than him dads. Not that Hinata would ever say that out loud to Bokuto, who would take his new role too seriously and start telling people to be nicer to his ‘son’.
Hinata grinned brightly “Bokuto!” and then lightning quick his brain produced his prior history of living with Akaashi and Bokuto. When he’d first moved to Tokyo after Rio, before tryouts for the Black Jackals, they had been kind enough to give him a couch to crash on. And it had been so nice, the two of them showing Hinata the sights around Tokyo, taking him out to their favorite restaurants. Talking about life’s mysteries and volleyball. It had been great, Hinata made an excellent third wheel to their established relationship.
However the setup had not been without its problems. Their apartment wasn’t very big, just a one bedroom plus small den for Akaashi’s office, so Hinata had constantly felt like he was underfoot. Then there’d been the fighting. They didn’t fight constantly, far from it, but when they did and Hinata was around Akaashi would say things like “You don’t want to disappoint Shouyou-san” or “That’s setting a really bad example for Shouyou-san” and Bokuto would fire back with “I’m sure Shou agrees with me”. Being a prop in their arguments hadn’t been exactly fun, but worst of all had been just how much sex the two of them had. It was constant. In the morning, at night, several times on weekends. And they thought they were being so coy and casual about it, as if their walls weren’t made of paper. Or that it wasn’t extremely obvious what was happening when Bokuto would get up and stretch and disappear into the bedroom, and then Akaashi’s phone would buzz a minute later, and then he’d stretch and disappear into the bedroom too. Akaashi might seem like a calm and reserved guy, but Hinata knew exactly what he sounded like when he orgasmed, and knew that definitely wasn’t the case. He’d had trouble looking Akaashi in the eye for a while even after he moved out. Bokuto was just as noisy as you’d expect him to be.
In the end they’d actually been the reason Hinata had hurriedly found the shoebox apartment, unable to bear living with his two very good friends, who he loved very much, anymore. If he’d just held out another month, or found a couch to surf on, he’d have received his first paycheck after going pro and he could have afforded a bigger place with it’s own bathroom. But alas.
There was no fucking way he was going to live with Akaashi and Bokuto, as much as he loved them, he’d rather go feral. “Omi-san wants to wish us all good luck and that we stay healthy for the course of this pandemic,” Hinata said brightly, giving a little peace sign. He watched as most of the rest of his team started drifting out of the gym, waving their goodbyes, and wishing each other goodluck. All that were left were himself, Bokuto, and Atsumu and Meian talking off to the side.
Bokuto grinned “That’s nice of him. I wish I could have said bye to Omi-Omi before he hung up” He said with a pout, making Hinata’s stomach clench with guilt. Pulling Sakusa off to the side to talk had been kind of rude of him hadn’t it? “So I was talking with Akaashi...” Bokuto started, a grin spreading wide across his face.
“Mmm?”
“Yeah, and we figure it’d be cool if you came to live with us during the pandemic. Like the three amigos again, like when you first moved to Tokyo” Bokuto said with finger guns.
Hinata’s smile was a bit more tense than he intended “Ah, I don’t want to impose” He said, bringing his hands up.
Bokuto grinned “You? Impose? I don’t know the meaning of the word!” He grinned waiting for a laugh, Hinata obliged him with a half hearted chuckle “We’d be happy to have you there, it’d probably help us from getting too stir crazy having you around” Bokuto looked hopeful.
Hinata felt like an ass, and was so close to giving in, but then recalled the time he’d walked into their apartment unexpectedly early, after a dinner date with friends got canceled, and found the two of them going at it on the couch Hinata had been sleeping on for the last two weeks. He’d quietly left and sat at a cafe for an hour in mute horror at what he’d seen, then returned to find the couch made up for him to sleep on as if nothing had happened.
Hinata blinked “It’s very kind of you to offer, but I’ll be alright” He gave his sunniest grin.
Bokuto looked a bit dubious “Are you sure? We were kind of worried about you in that tiny apartment”
Hinata nodded “Mhmm, I’ll be fine. I’m working on a plan!” He said airly, giving what he hoped was a reassuring thumbs up. Bokuto shrugged, gave him an oooookaaaayy, and loudly said his goodbyes to the others, before walking out of the gym.
Hinata gathered his things, fiddling with the zipper on his bag, trying to think of some reason to stay at the gym a little longer. He was going to miss this place, which felt more like his home than any other place on earth. He wasn’t going to cry, Atsumu wouldn’t let him hear the end of it. He sat on the ground tying the laces on his outdoor shoes, peeking at Atsumu and Meian who were still in conversation. He wished he could ask either of them to live at their places. Both men were the only people on the team to own houses with a yard. But Meian had a toddler and a 6 month old baby at home and he and his wife would have their hands full just looking after them. And Atsumu... Well Atsumu was pretty obnoxious about his pronouncement that he loved living by himself, that he’d never get a roommate, living with other people was the worst. He didn’t even like inviting people over if he could avoid it. Hinata told him once that made him look like a serial killer which Atsumu had just given him a vicious smile in response and said “Good”.
He’d once explained it to Hinata after too many beers that he’d had to share everything with Osamu, clothes, books, rooms, sports, everything while they were growing up. Every time they went anywhere there was always the assumption that the Miya twins would just share. We booked team hotel rooms? Well of course Atsumu and Osamu would just share a bed! Osamu wanted this, so obviously so did Atsumu. Going and playing volleyball professionally had been the first time he’d ever had his own space and his own place that was just for him and he kind of over corrected and is now very defensive of his personal space, on the off chance that someone might try to take it away from him.
Hinata thought that was a little nuts, but then Natsu was almost a full decade younger than him, so they hadn’t shared much really when they were kids. He’d asked Osamu about it, and he’d just laughed “Or no one wants to live with him because his personality is bad” Hinata thought maybe Osamu had some insight there. Atsumu was his friend, maybe his best friend on the team, but he was also kind of a jerk most of the time.
Taking a deep breath, he patted the wood floors of the gymnasium fondly, saying a silent goodbye, before putting a skip in his step to leave, pretending like he’d be coming back here tomorrow “Seeya later Atsumu-san! Meian-san! Good luck and stay healthy!” He called over his shoulder. He didn’t wait for their responses. He just kept skipping down the street knowing full well the next time he saw this place he was going to have gone absolutely feral from social isolation.
--
He chickened out halfway to the train station, afraid of going home. He kept imagining the walls were going to suck him up inside and not let him out for four months. Which was effectively true, wasn’t it? He didn’t have anywhere to store food in his apartment, just having a tiny bar fridge to put eggs and cheese and milk, and a cabinet filled with spices and a few canned goods. His rice pot at home was shitty, and the gas burner he used consumed gas too fast so he had to replace it often. He was going to starve before he went mad.
To calm himself down he climbed a nearby jungle gym in an abandoned playground, sitting on the top bar. Sometimes being high helped him clear his thoughts, got his brain juices flowing faster. He’d have gone for a run, but then he’d have trouble scrolling through his contact list, trying to find anybody who could take him in.
Yachi...? No, she had that boyfriend she was living with who was really quite threatened by his and Yachi’s friendship. Tadashi? No, he was working overseas right now. Tanaka and Kiyoko? No they were pregnant, expecting in a few months, he’d just be in the way. Hyakuzawa? No he’d gotten married in December, and Hinata would feel bad inserting himself into their lives. Tsukki- Hinata snorted a laugh before he could finish the thought. They’d kill each other within a week, even if Tsukki lived in a palace and they never had to see each other. Suga? Daichi? Ennoshita? Everyone of his friends had some reason or other they couldn’t help. Or that Hinata didn’t want to ask, because they’d bend over backwards to help him, no matter the inconvenience. He’d have called Kenma in a heartbeat but Kuroo had flown back to Japan because of the pandemic and was staying there, and Hinata did not want to step into whatever the hell was happening there. Part of him worried about an AkaBoku situation, and part of him worried they’d end up in some kinky polyamourous thing that Hinata would only engage in out of intense boredom and ruin his relationship with one of his best friends.
Hinata sighed, his face pressing into his hands, before he ruffled his hair again in frustration “Augh!”
“Y’alright there Shouyou-kun?” Hinata looked down to find Atsumu staring up at him in amused concern.
Hinata sat up, placing his hands on either side of him, gripping the bar he sat on “Yup!” He said, falsely bright.
Atsumu just looked at him skeptically, an amused tilt still sitting on his lips “Uh huh. Anyways,” He stuffed his hands into his pockets, “Y’know it kinda looks to me like yer killin time so you don’t have to go to your shitbox”
Hinata scowled down at him “Don’t say shit. I told you already, it’s a shoebox”
Atsumu ignored that comment “Mhmm, anyways. I wanted to talk to ya” He looked at Hinata expectantly, before squinting his eyes “Ya mind coming down here?”
Hinata gripped the bars extra tight, pursing his lips. If he went down that was the first step back towards his shoebox sized prison, but if he stayed here, he’d be rude to his favorite setter in the world. Sighing dramatically he leapt the near half storey down to the ground, landing in the sand with a dull thud, going into a low squat to absorb the impact, before popping back up. “What’s up?” He asked.
Atsumu was wearing a full grimace “The heck are your knees made of, rubber or somethin’?”
Hinata looked at the height he’d jumped from, shrugging “That’s barely taller than I can already jump. And this is sand, not hard concrete” he said stomping his feet to demonstrate. “What did you want to talk about?”
Atsumu still looked a bit uncomfortable, but he sucked in a breath “I wanted to talk to you about your shitb-” He paused, seeing Hinata’s look “err, shoebox. Look, we both know you’re not gonna be okay in there by yourself” Hinata pressed his lips together, incapable of disagreeing.
“And I’m guessing you don’t have alternate plans, based on you hanging out in a playground like some sort of creep”
Hinata tsked at him, crossing his arms “I’ve had offers to stay places” Place. He’d had an offer to stay in one place. His mom would certainly offer if she knew what his place looked like, so he was counting it as at least two. Therefore, places.
“Yeah, you seem real intent on jumping on them” Atsumu said dryly, Hinata once again found he couldn’t disagree. Stupid obervant Atsumu. “It’d be a real shame if you went crazy by yourself before we got to play some more volleyball, and really I need someone to practice with, keep me honest and shit. Or at least someone to try and compete against, and I figure you’d probably be a good choice as any” Atsumu’s face was getting a little flushed, his hands out as he explained himself. He got embarrassed so easily, Hinata had always thought it was kind of cute. Despite however he thought of himself, Atsumu made for a terrible cool guy.
Hinata was staring up at him blankly “What exactly are you saying?”
Atsumu looked at him like he was kinda dumb, but in like, and endearing way. Hinata scowled at him “Do you wanna come live at my house with me during this shit?” He waved his hand in the air, inferring ‘this shit’ was everywhere.
Hinata stared at Atsumu openly for a few moments too long, the taller man looking like he was regretting the offer already “But you hate living with other people” Hinata observed.
“Sure” Atsumu agreed “but it’s a big house” He shrugged. It wasn’t that big. It was two floors, open concept main floor, with a small yard and an attached garage.
“You told Suna-san that he couldn’t stay over at your house when he visited ‘cause there was no room” Hinata pointed out.
Atsumu quirked his mouth in something almost like annoyance “Yea’ but Rintan makes messes and always steals my best food” he said by way of explaining.
“What if I eat your best food and make messes?” Hinata asked, cautious about being kicked out in the middle of a pandemic.
Atsumu gave him a ‘What the fuck dude’ look, before hunching his shoulders in irritation “I don’t know, clean up after yerself, it’s not like ya have anywhere else to go, and share yer best food with me too?”
Hinata thought about this a moment, which seemed to make Atsumu lose his patience more “Have you ever had a roommate before?” He finally asked.
Atsumu was giving Hinata a flat stare, “Yeah, obviously. ‘Samu-”
“Since you’ve been a grown up? Not family?” Hinata would look down his nose at Atsumu if he could. Here at least he was miles more experienced, thinking of his dear sweet Pedro. He wished he’d stayed on top of the jungle gym.
“No?”
“Because it’s different, and we might get on each other’s nerves, so we need to have a system in place to make sure we don’t kill each other” Hinata told him matter of factly. He and Pedro had few ground rules, but that had worked for them in the end. Both being friendly people once they figured out common grounds. Hinata was a pro at finding common grounds with everyone.
Atsumu was full on irritated now. He threw up his hands “Do ya wanna live in yer shitbox or somethin’?” His accent always came out more heavily when he was pissed.
“No!” Hinata said sharply, lunging forward to grab Atsumu’s wrist, as if to prevent him from removing the offer from the hypothetical table. “I don’t want to live in my shoebox during the quarantine” Hinata finished softly.
Atsumu was staring at where Hinata had grabbed hold of his wrist, a look of surprise on his face, before he used his other hand to extricate himself from Hinata’s grip, rubbing it idly. Hinata hadn’t thought he’d grabbed him that hard “Okay then” Atsumu said, clearing his throat “Why don’t you come live with me then?”
Hinata sucked his lower lip into his mouth, thinking about it. If nothing else, Atsumu had a yard, he could be outside and be safe while he did his morning meditations. Also food storage, sweet merciful food storage. Hinata looked up at Atsumu, who had been watching him intently “Yeah! Okay!” And then remembering himself, he hopped back, moving into a bow “Thank you very much for offering”
When he looked up Atsumu, he was wearing a sly grin “Maybe I should start making you call me Atsumu-sama for saving yer butt, eh?”
Hinata whapped him in the stomach with the back of his hand, making Atsumu oof, before walking past him “C’mon, you can help me pack up my shoebox. There’s some stuff I’ll need to bring over if I’m going to be there for a few months” He stopped to turn after a few steps, realizing his friend wasn’t following him “Atsumu-san?”
Atsumu had a blank expression on his face, staring off into space “A few months...?” He muttered to himself. Hinata called his name again, which made Atsumu seem to come back to himself. He gave a sheepish grin, before trotting after Hinata.
Hinata began outlining what he thought they should consider for splitting costs, and how they could be the best roommates possible for each other. Atsumu just nodded along following his lead.
--
“Do you mind grabbing anything from the kitchen you think we could use at your place?” Hinata threw over his shoulder as he bent down to look under his bed for his old travelling backpack that had come with him to Rio, and the small carry-on suitcase Nice had bought him before he left. He began tossing clothes and shoes and some books and his Switch and the old laptop Kenma had given him haphazardly into the bag, not wanting to make Atsumu wait.
Atsumu was standing in his “kitchen” surveying Hinata’s provisions. They could take the rice, and he had eggs in the fridge, but otherwise the place was sparse. He had no idea how Hinata ate here, given that he’d seen his teammate pack away a ton of food at meals before. Atsumu peeked over at Hinata who was digging through his drawers, pulling out clothes and stuffing them into a bag. “And store them in what? A coin purse?” Atsumu asked dryly, Hinata looked up to give him an amused eye roll, before bending back down to continue his work. Atsumu grinned to himself, pleased. He bent down to examine what was in the low cabinet against the wall.
Seeing Atsumu was distracted, Hinata surreptitiously grabbed the little opaque cloth bag (there were cartoon foxes on it) tucked on the hidden shelf behind his headboard, smoothly stuffing it into his bag. He really hoped that didn’t explode on the way over, there was nothing worse than washing unexpected lube out of a bunch of your clothes.
He’d warred with himself on the walk back from the train to his place about whether or not he should grab his little bag of condoms and lube. One, he didn’t want Atsumu to ask what it was. And two, it felt weird to bring condoms with him, like he had pervy expectations or something, but figured it’d be hard to get the bottle of lube out of the bag without Atsumu seeing. He really really didn’t want to spend the next couple of months jerking off with nothing but his own spit, he invested in high quality water based lube for a reason. Like the grown up that he was. And he really didn’t want to go through what he had with Pedro in Rio, where Pedro had been scandalized when he’d been going through shared receipts for groceries and found the charge for lube. Hinata had gotten a lecture about was and wasn't appropriate for shared expenses on his grocery bills. Really Hinata had been too lazy at the time to take the lube out and ask the clerk to ring up two purchases, but he’d been more careful after that.
Atsumu didn’t seem the type to make an itemized list of what shopping items, comparing costs, and who ate what, especially based on their conversation on the train, but Hinata just wanted to be careful. Lest he be dubbed a sex fiend, and like he avoided staying with Bokuto and Akaashi, people started to avoid him too. It’s not like he’d do it while Atsumu was awake, or while he was in the house. It’d be like living at home with his mom and Natsu again, shameful, sureptitious maturbation. It was an excellent physical release, especially if he was going to just have a constant buildup of nervous energy in the coming months. What Atsumu didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt him. And it’s not like Hinata’s dick was his business.
June 21, 2019
Atsumu is squinting down at him. Hinata sets down his drink “What?” He’s feeling the telltale warmth of alcohol buzzing through his system, putting him in an excellent mood. He was drunk. It was his birthday. And he was surrounded by friends.
Atsumu tips his beer bottle to gesture around the room “How many of these dudes have ya slept with?” There’s a slight slur to his words, signalling that Atsumu is also a bit drunk. Hinata glances around the houseparty from his vantage point on the couch and recognizes at least eight men he’s been with since he returned to Japan last year. He chooses to feign innocence.
Hinata gives him a teasing grin, his face feeling warm “I’ve pretty much slept on everyone’s couch here, at some point Atsumu-san” He gives his friend a wink.
Atsumu rolls his eyes, pressing his hand into Hinata’s hair and giving it a ruffle “Ya know that’s not what I meant”
Hinata laughs, batting his hand away “Well do you mean cuddle in bed, smooched in bed or,” And here he pauses to look up at Atsumu seriously “Banged in bed?”
Atsumu tips his head back to laugh, even though it’s not very funny, but the way he said it was enough to make drunk Atsumu giggle. Hinata allows himself a moment to revel in his friends' laughter. It’s his favorite in the whole world.
Shoving the last of his things he thought he’d need into his bag, he pulled the drawstring, and then buckled it, before tossing it onto his back. Atsumu had found a reusable cotton bag and had stuffed Hinata’s limited pantry items into it “Ready to go?” Atsumu asked.
“Yup” Hinata chirped, his BJ sports bag in one hand, the carry-on in the other, and his travel backpack slung across his back. He moved to pass Atsumu on the way to the door, but a long arm stretched out in front of him, blocking him. Hinata stared blankly at it, and then up at the arm’s owner. “What?”
Atsumu’s outstretched hand made a grabby motion “Wouldn’t be very gentlemanly like fer me to let you carry everything, now would it?”
Hinata snorted, but handed him the lighter of the two bags, and they both exited the apartment. Hinata locked up, patting the door “Bye shoebox, don’t be lonely” And then turned to walk down the hall.
Atsumu was giving him a funny look, which Hinata returned, but Atsumu just shook his head, and called over his shoulder “Later Shitbox, seeya never” And he stuck out his tongue.
Hinata gave a scandalized laugh, hopping up to hip check Atsumu, not factoring his added weight with the bag strapped to his back, he smacked Atsumu hard into the wall. “What th’ fuck Shouyou!?” Hinata meeped and took off down the hall, Atsumu running after him “Ye coulda broken the eggs!” But there was laughter in his voice as he chased down his new roommate.