Work Text:
In hindsight, it was the sneezing that tipped Daichi over the edge.
He, Ushijima, and Oikawa were standing at the entrance to Shiratorizawa’s Autumn Festival Farm, waiting for two other volleyball captains from the area to join them, when Oikawa turns his head into his shoulder and sneezes. It’s not anything abnormal—maybe a little louder than some sneezes, but definitely nothing that should capture Daichi’s attention the way it does.
He doesn’t notice that he’s staring at Oikawa until he says, “Allergies.”
Daichi blinks, focusing his gaze on Oikawa’s face. He catches the way Oikawa wrinkles his nose, a little put-out movement that, when matched with his slightly pouted lips, makes him the perfect picture of mild displeasure.
Before Daichi can say anything, Ushijima responds. “Do you have medication?”
Oikawa’s mild displeasure turns quickly to something more long-suffering. “Yes, Ushiwaka-chan, I’m not an idiot. But it doesn’t really matter when I’m surrounded by all this hay.”
He makes a broad, sweeping gesture to encompass the whole farm. Ushijima frowns, concern evident in his voice as he says, “I was unaware of your allergy. You did not have to come if this were not good for your health.”
Oikawa smiles a smile that’s pretty and sharp as a needle. “And miss the information I can get on all of these rival volleyball teams? I think a little sniffle is worth it.”
And with another sneeze from Oikawa, the three of them lapse back into silence.
The farm isn’t on Shiratorizawa school property, but from the research Daichi had done beforehand, he knows that Shiratorizawa has some part in funding it, or vice versa. It didn’t matter though—what Daichi is more impressed with is the fact that Ushijima had convinced five rival volleyball captains that they should meet up outside of their sport responsibilities to . . . bond?
Yes. He is highly impressed.
The other two show up not long after. Moniwa from Date Tech, and Terushima from Johenzi, who Daichi hasn’t met face-to-face yet, but who seems energetic from what he has seen of him.
“Well, hey, everyone,” Terushima drawls. Daichi says hi, glancing over to see Oikawa give a small wave.
“Thank you for coming,” Ushijima says, the same thing he had said when Daichi showed up.
“What is this place?” Moniwa asks, awe evident in his tone as he looks around.
“Shiratorizawa likes to celebrate the autumn season,” Ushijima explains. “For the past few years, they have partnered with this farm to bring about autumn activities from different countries. I once visited a pumpkin farm in America and thought it would be fun to replicate.”
Daichi feels a little envious at the fact that Ushijima goes to a school with that much money, but he doesn’t dwell on it long, because Terushima jumps into the conversation. “I was looking at what you have online, and I say we start at the corn maze.”
“No,” Oikawa says immediately. Four sets of eyes swivel toward him, Daichi’s included. Oikawa shrugs. “Why don’t we . . . I don’t know. Eat? Bob for apples or something?”
Terushima flicks his hand, dismissing the idea. “We can do that any old time. Do you remember the last time you had the opportunity to walk through a maze made of corn?”
“Last year, we had one, although it was smaller,” Ushijima offers. Terushima flicks his hand at that comment as well, his gaze barely leaving Oikawa.
By the set of Oikawa’s jaw, Daichi can tell he plans on staying firm on his opposition to the corn maze. “I can always get food,” Daichi concedes. “And maybe we can start with a few of the games.”
“It could be fun to go through the corn maze once the sun starts setting,” Moniwa agrees.
“Seriously?” Terushima groans, but he doesn’t protest any more as he follows the group toward the booths set up with various food and games.
Daichi finds himself walking with Oikawa behind the rest of the captains. “So, you’re into food?” Oikawa asks, his eyes skimming Daichi’s body quickly. It’s not invasive or lingering, but Daichi still finds his neck growing warm at the sudden look. He opens his mouth to say something—Do you have a problem with that? or What’s it to you?—when Oikawa turns away from him, letting out three sneezes this time, in quick succession.
When he turns back, his brown eyes are wide and glistening. They’re . . . captivating, Daichi realizes with a growing sense of horror, because he’s always thought Oikawa was kind of cute but being this close to him he can actually see how attractive Oikawa is.
“I hate this,” Oikawa declares, rubbing at his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. “I was going to say, there’s this really cute bakery not far from your school that makes really good bread, if you’re into that sort of thing.”
It takes Daichi a full ten seconds to figure out why Oikawa would bring up a bakery, Oikawa’s sneeze distracted him so completely. “Oh. Yeah, that sounds cool.”
Oikawa hums, a pleased smile gracing his features. “I’ll message you the address. What’s your number, Sawamura-kun?”
As they stand in line at the first booth, Daichi’s fingers stutter across Oikawa’s phone screen, trying to determine if he’s dreaming. He hands Oikawa back his phone, and about five seconds later his own phone buzzes with a text from Oikawa, which consists of a flurry of waving emojis, followed by the address he had mentioned.
Their tentative friendship doesn’t end there. Oikawa is quick to call Daichi on his team when they get to the relay race, then claims the seat next to Daichi when they get to the hayride, which takes them around the farm and tells them a brief history of the farm and what they use their produce for. To Daichi’s credit, he holds his end of the conversation very well, even as his subconscious screams at him about how this cute boy is actually talking to him as if he’s interested.
Everything is going great, until the corn maze comes up again.
“We’re going to run out of time,” Terushima points out as Oikawa, once again, says no. “You can’t tell me that a pumpkin walk is going to be more fun than trying to get out of a maze!”
“The volleyball club has a display of pumpkins in the pumpkin walk,” Ushijima says, his tone mildly offended by Terushima’s dismissal of their hard work.
“And we should go support them!” Oikawa says, his voice a little desperate. Daichi notices his eyes roaming restlessly around the corn maze. He looks . . . trapped.
It clicks for Daichi then. If the sneezing hadn’t solidified it, Oikawa’s claustrophobia does—Oikawa is no more or less human than Daichi himself is.
It is an intriguing, slightly terrifying realization. That Oikawa may have been flirting with him this whole time, that he’s actually attainable.
Daichi tells himself this is the reason he does what he does next.
“I think I’ll pass,” he says, the passive aggressive conversation in front of him grinding to a halt at his words. “I’ll stay out here. I don’t think I should go into the corn because, uh, I have . . . allergies.”
Allergies. What an awful excuse. His eyes flit toward Oikawa for just the briefest second, just long enough to see his wide brown eyes change expression from surprised to relieved.
“I’ll stay with Sawamura-kun,” Oikawa answers quickly, sidling closer to him, so close that Daichi can feel the heat of his skin through their long sleeves. “We’ll go to the pumpkin walk.”
A few skeptical looks are exchanged between the remaining three captains before Terushima shrugs. “If you two wanted to take a roll in the hay, all you had to do was say so. No judgement here.”
“It’s not . . . we’re not . . .” Oikawa stutters before a sneeze takes away whatever words he had tried to get out.
Daichi rolls his eyes, but he feels his cheeks heating up at the thought of—well, any sort of physical romp with Oikawa. He hopes the cold masks his embarrassment. “He’s just messing with us. Come on, Oikawa, let’s leave them to it.”
He turns away, taking a few steps before he senses Oikawa catch up to him.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Oikawa says as soon as they get to the entrance of the pumpkin walk.
“What?” Daichi asks, slowing down before they get to the first exhibit. “Oh, that back there with the others? It’s fine.”
“I wasn’t scared,” Oikawa insists.
Daichi hums, glancing over at his companion. Oikawa’s expression is earnest, his eyes sparkling in his eagerness to defend himself. “I never said you were. Maybe I didn’t want to go into the corn maze either.”
Truthfully, it sounded kind of fun. But he couldn’t forget the way panic had swept across Oikawa’s face when he had realized he had no more excuses to offer. He wonders what it was that truly scared him—the tight space, the large group of people, not being able to see the way out?—but not enough to break this reluctant bond that has started to form between them.
At some point, they had stopped walking. Daichi cocks his head, not sure what to say to Oikawa, not sure if he needed to say anything.
Before he can decide, Oikawa sneezes, breaking the tension between them. “Well then,” Daichi says. “Shall we?”
Their stroll through the pumpkin walk is actually fun. Oikawa, Daichi learns, is easily entertained. He coos over almost every display of pumpkins, in awe with their detail, or their creativity, or their dedication. Would you carve your pumpkins or paint them, Sawamura-kun? Would you set up an autumn scene, or go with something completely random? Do you even like decorating pumpkins? He talks with his hands, which Daichi finds incredibly distracting as he follows the motions through the air, captivated by Oikawa’s long, graceful fingers.
Daichi feels his ears turn hot as the undeniable realization settles inside him—he likes Oikawa. It had started with his looks; everyone with eyes could tell Oikawa was objectively pretty. And before, when Daichi had only known him in the context of the volleyball court, he could set his little crush aside. Daichi thought lots of men were good-looking. But now, with this new knowledge of Oikawa in the wild, with his fluttering hands and eager compliments, Daichi’s crush crests like a wave, ready to crash over everything.
“Oh, look! Volleyball! This must be the team’s contribution.”
Oikawa grabs Daichi’s arm, startling him out of his thoughts. “Of course it’s just a volleyball game, they all have one-track minds.”
“You’re one to talk,” Daichi says wryly. “I’m only here to gather intelligence on everyone.” Oikawa turns toward him, sticking his tongue out. The childish motion startles a laugh out of Daichi. Oikawa rolls his eyes, but he’s smirking when he turns back to the volleyball scene in front of them.
“Oh look, they have a little more creativity than I thought. Is that Ushiwaka-chan battling a dragon? They do think highly of themselves, don’t they?”
They stand there for a few more minutes, talking about the scene in front of them. To Daichi, it does look cool. He can tell Oikawa admires it too, but he’s too proud to say anything nice about it. Something so petty shouldn’t endear Oikawa to Daichi more, but it does.
After the volleyball team’s pumpkin display, the pumpkin walk is pretty much over. Oikawa turns to face Daichi, walking slowly backward. His mouth twists into a semi-unpleasant line before he says, “I had fun, Sawamura-kun. Even if I didn’t need saving from the corn maze.”
“Mmhmm,” Daichi chooses to answer, trying to cover up his skeptical look.
Apparently, it doesn’t work. “I’m serious! I had everything under control.”
“If you did, you would have been the one to come up with the allergy excuse,” Daichi says. Then, without thinking, he blurts, “Besides, maybe I just wanted to spend time alone with you.”
Oikawa stares at him. His eyes must always be big, Daichi realizes, because right now they’ve widened with shock and take up a surprising amount of his face. He takes a step back, opening his mouth to say something, when many things happen at once.
Oikawa sneezes. That, in and of itself, isn’t an uncommon thing for the day. But the way Oikawa twists, taking another step, pushes him right into a bale of hay that lines the walkway. Suddenly Oikawa’s hands flail, and he starts falling backward.
Daichi moves without thinking. His hand shoots out, grasping onto Oikawa’s outstretched arm. He hadn’t considered how strong Oikawa is, how desperate, until Oikawa’s hand latches onto him and tugs. Daichi’s center of balance shifts toward Oikawa, as if they are magnets crashing together. Subconsciously, Daichi pulls Oikawa toward him, twisting them so at least Daichi helps take the brunt of the fall.
They land in a heap, Oikawa’s body tangled with Daichi’s, somehow mostly on top of him. Daichi lays there, dazed and breathless, as the world wobbles back into place. His legs are still propped over the bale of hay, making Oikawa’s position on top of him that much closer. His hair tickles Daichi’s nose. It smells nice, Daichi thinks, even with hay sticking out of it.
Oikawa sneezes two times in quick succession right into Daichi’s shirt sleeve, bringing Daichi back to the situation at hand.
“Owww,” Oikawa moans, struggling to sit up.
“Maybe you should learn to watch where you’re going,” Daichi says, then groans as Oikawa’s elbow digs into his stomach. Oikawa doesn’t get far—he sneezes again, sending him right back to where he started.
“Damn allergies,” he hisses. Daichi gives a silent, resigned sigh, trying very hard not to think about how close they are as Oikawa wriggles to try and catch his balance. The next time Oikawa moves he’s more successful. He sits up, straddling Daichi’s waist, hands braced on his chest for balance. Daichi feels his cheeks burn red and hopes his blush isn’t noticeable under the exertion of the fall.
“Wow, you really did take a roll in the hay,” a familiar voice calls from above them.
Oikawa scrambles to his feet, kneeing Daichi in the stomach in the process. He groans, grasping his stomach as he sits up.
The rest of their party stands around then in a semicircle, small, knowing grins on their faces. Terushima waggles his eyebrows.
“We can give you an extra five minutes,” Ushijima says. By the smirk on his face, Daichi realizes he is teasing them. He hadn’t thought Ushijima was capable of it.
“We don’t need five minutes! Nothing happened!” Oikawa hisses, his cheeks red. He dusts off his jeans, then plucks at his shirt fruitlessly.
“You missed a spot,” Terushima says, gesturing to Oikawa’s hair.
Daichi bites his lip as Oikawa lets out a small whine, a distressed look on his face. “You look fine,” Moniwa reassures Oikawa, jabbing Terushima in the stomach with his elbow. Regardless, Oikawa reaches up, running his fingers through his hair to smooth out the knots and straw. Daichi can’t help reaching up, plucking out a few of the pieces Oikawa had missed. Oikawa’s fingers stutter, and when he looks over at Daichi, Daichi realizes very suddenly how close they are standing. And how soft Oikawa’s hair is.
Ushijima’s voice pulls him out of his reverie. “Is there anything else anyone would like to do?”
As if burned, Daichi drops his hand, taking a step away from Oikawa. A chorus of no and thanks for the fun time echoes through the group. Ushijima nods, and just like that, the group disperses, leaving just Daichi and Oikawa standing at the exit to the pumpkin walk which, conveniently, doubles as the exit of the farm.
Daichi doesn’t know what it is—the way the sun is setting behind them or the fact that Tooru is standing there with such an unguarded expression of wonder on his face, maybe—but Daichi can’t help but say the first thing that comes to his mind. “Your eyes are pretty.”
Oikawa blinks, then says, “Oh. Thanks,” as if it’s not a huge revelation or big step on Daichi’s part to compliment him like that.
They stand face-to-face, neither of them quite making eye contact. Oikawa rubs his hand down his arm. “Thanks for, um. You know. Today. The pumpkin walk and . . . catching me. Can I make it up to you? With coffee sometime? Or maybe we can go to the bakery I sent you.”
Butterflies erupt in Daichi’s stomach. He rubs his palms down his jeans because he feels like they should be sweaty from his nervousness. “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good. This weekend?”
Oikawa’s pretty brown eyes finally, finally, meet Daichi’s. He smiles, a small, genuine thing that sets Daichi’s heart racing. “Sure. It’s a date.”
Before he can say anything, Oikawa sneezes, twice. When he looks back at Daichi his eyes are teary, a scowl planted firmly on his face. “Damn allergies.”
Daichi laughs. “Go take something for that. Can’t have you sneezing when we’re trying to get to know each other, can we?”
Oikawa sniffs. “If you can’t take me at my worst, you don’t deserve me at my best. See you later, Sawamura-kun.”
And with that, Oikawa wanders away, probably toward his bus station. Daichi grins as he takes his phone out and opens his message thread with Suga.
You’re never going to believe who I have a date with.