Chapter Text
Love is a complex concept, often regarded as something enchanting yet elusive, just like poetry, but Hinata and Atsumu have unknowingly always known how to show it to each other over all the years they’ve spent together.
So really, to no one’s surprise, when Atsumu first saw Hinata, his first thought that he accidentally said out loud was: “Samu, do ya also see the angel in front of our house?”
Because even though their first time meeting was just a coincidence, they found each other without looking and loved each other without trying.
Followed by the first words he actually said to Hinata, who were just as romantic: “Would ya like to marry me?”
Because, of course, even at only seven years old, Miya Atsumu knew that the six-year-old Hinata Shouyou crying in front of his house was the one for him.
The setter has always been very decisive and had a hard time picking his favourite anything, but he knew for sure that Hinata was his favourite from the moment he laid his eyes on him.
Osamu and Hinata shared a look, one of many others that they shared in the following days and years to come because of Atsumu's lack of closemouthedness and his overall oafishness persona to act first and think later.
Such freedom allowed him to be himself at a hundred percent, and to know, as he grew up, how to correctly treat the one you love, no matter how many times you screwed up along the way.
For instance, Atsumu thought, at seven years old, that love was holding Hinata bridal style when he was injured, knowing what heaven sounded like from his angelic laughter, to becoming, not even 24 hours after meeting the ginger, inseparable.
For some unfathomable reason, after meeting Hinata, Atsumu no longer felt unlovable, unwanted and always excluded, because with the redhead now around, he was someone's first choice, and no longer merely an option.
He was no longer the worst twin, but simply Atsumu. He was attracting the right people by being himself.
Since Hinata entered his life in the sweetest of summers from childhood, just like the ripest of fruits from his grandma’s garden, everything was better with him.
Everything has been better since they first met.
Ironically enough, his first signs of deep devotion appeared due to envy.
He didn’t realize that it was out of jealousy that he started calling Hinata by his famous nickname, Shou-kun, which only he was able to use to refer to the redhead, instead of the usual polite and less familiar Hina-chan.
He didn’t realize it was for that same reason that he insisted on marrying him when they were younger, that he couldn’t enjoy Hinata being part of a play, because of how close he was dancing with another actor and why he made such a big deal about not having a matching costume with Hinata at Halloween.
It was because he wanted Hinata in his life forever that he didn’t want anyone else to replace him.
Already at that young age, his heart didn’t seem to beat in rhythm when Hinata was showered with compliments from other people, or when acting close towards anyone else out of their friend group.
Every day, he was thankful he was lucky enough to have him in his life and didn’t want to lose him to anyone else.
To truly devote yourself to someone is to take care of them and take pleasure in it.
Because love is not a burden to be held like a chore; to be completed before losing motivation or forgetting it and putting it off for another day, it's a blessing often taken for granted, until its true value is realized once it has been lost.
After all, what a privilege it is to have silly crushes, fall in love, and feel your heart being full of life, and amorousness to give to others and your special someone. This is what Atsumu has always done without even thinking about it.
He fed Hinata his onigiri, listened to his dreams and tried to make them come true for him, because when your thoughts and heart are so full of someone else, you can hardly consider them your own or function properly when that person is not well.
At eight years old, Atsumu thought that being overprotective was the answer, for he would frequently insist on holding Hinata’s hand “for safety reasons” whenever they're at an outing, spending the most quality time side by side by doing everything together, from studying, sleepovers, building pillow forts together or having movie nights.
He declared himself Hinata’s bodyguard with immense pride.
That’s how the famous sentence was born: “Shut up, Suna!”, because of course, he would get teased for it every single time by either Suna or his twin, sometimes both of them, but mostly Suna.
He discovered along the way that he enjoyed having matching costumes with Hinata at Halloween, having Suna always take silly pictures of him, because it allowed the memories to be immortalized forever, giving his tomatoes to Hinata even though he enjoys them too, and becoming Hinata’s pillow whenever the other fell asleep on his shoulder or his thigh.
They would simply wake up and adore each other more every day.
But to truly love someone is also to let yourself be vulnerable in front of them, and talk about how you feel, because you trust them. Just like that one October night where Atsumu woke up from a terrible nightmare.
Hinata was there for him; he always was.
Be it by defending his name behind his back, compliment, thank, and beg him for more sets every day, follow each of Atsumu’s crazy-cringey game ideas, like when they ended up trying to break Sir Swimmy, Hinata's class pet goldfish, out of his tank, volleyball strategies, and bad decisions, because Hinata was reminded every time he woke up what a privilege it is to matter so much to someone as amazing as Atsumu.
For through Hinata’s eyes, Atsumu was the sun that he was constantly chasing after, trying to make him laugh, and be proud of. They were each other’s favourite star. Bright, beautiful, always rotating towards each other, two sunflowers facing each other instead of the sun, because they were each other’s sun.
It wasn’t just the two of them who were obsessed with each other. It was everyone else, too.
The teachers, the lunch ladies, the other kids, teammates, their neighbours, their families and mutual friends.
From the very first time Hinata attended the Miyas’ famous Christmas party, which was exclusive to the family for generations without any exceptions, but no matter how many times, “It's a traditional family dinner, dear.” Atsumu heard, he never gave up.
For they didn’t know how awful it was for him to miss out on such an amazing day as Christmas without Hinata by his side. That’s when his entire family realized just how much the younger redhead truly meant to their older twin. For it seemed no human being had stood so close to his soul as he stood, besides his twin Osamu, with whom he had shared a womb, and since then a face.
When they were nine and eight, they decided they were soulmates.
(“How do you know?” Osamu had asked. Hinata grinned. “Because I just know!” Atsumu nodded.
“Yeah, we’re gonna be together forever.”
Osamu groaned. “Yer both so dumb.”)
And yet in their delusional state, they were ridiculously happy together, and that’s all that mattered. No matter how cringe their wedding might have come off to others, or when they play games of “family pretend” with their other friends.
Sometimes they were even rewarded for caring so much about each other, just like the time Atsumu got to read his poem about his favourite feeling, in front of all the school members in the large cafeteria during lunchtime.
They didn’t perform their love for everyone else to see on purpose, but it ever so happened that they were two idiots, unaware of their mutual attraction since their earliest childhood, and that they were absolutely not discreet about it, which gave their love a theatrical aspect, due to how much they loved each other.
They loved each other loudly yet always acted gently towards each other.
Love is caring about each other even when you fight, just like that one time, in first grade, Hinata got mad at Atsumu. It wasn’t a real fight. Hinata just thought Atsumu was being too bossy during recess.
Love is about recognizing your mistakes, apologizing, and doing everything you can to never repeat them. Just like when Hinata apologized and offered to share his candy with Atsumu on Halloween, so that the setter would stop sulking about their matching costumes issue.
They slept together and yet still dreamed about each other. They would spend their whole days together, and yet it still wouldn’t be enough; they’d appear in each other’s dreams.
They talked like lovers and laughed like best friends. Every single touch in between them is gentle but intimate
Atsumu has always found Hinata perfect.
Especially in the cherry tree at his grandparents’ house, he was pretty in every light, making him look like a Greek god. Atsumu had always enjoyed sunsets; the orangish shades all belonged to Hinata in his mind.
He was divine, and all that Atsumu could do was drink him in all his glory and beauty. He had always looked unreal to the setter.
Perfect even when he forgets his lunch and the setter gets to share his with him.
Perfect even when he forgets to bring his jacket when it’s cold, Atsumu loves sharing his stuff with Hinata. And he knows how scared the latter is of getting sick and missing out on playing more volleyball.
Perfect even when he falls asleep waiting for Atsumu, Osamu and Suna to finish their cleaning class duties, and Atsumu gets to carry him on his back all the way home. Atsumu never minds, of course, if he can let Hinata rest, that’s all that matters to him.
Atsumu’s hands are always playing in Hinata’s hair. He once lied about trying to fix his hair, but how can you fix perfection?
Atsumu loves to comfort Hinata whenever he’s scared due to thunderstorms, even if the ginger isn’t really scared, only that his setter’s presence makes everything better.
*
It almost feels like when they were younger, lying on their back on the grass looking up at the sky. Atsumu turns to the side because the sun is too shiny, only to blink and open them again to look at Hinata. It feels like no time has passed at all.
After all this time, he's still looking at Hinata, even when they're just about to enter the court to play in their final match against Argentina at the Olympics.
“Sometimes I wish I didn't want so much in life,” admits Atsumu from nowhere.
He doesn't know if it's the stress that is making him talk; after all, he is about to go do what he's best at, what's there to be so scared of?
He usually jokes around with Bokuto before a match, but they never played on one this impactful.
“You want your heart to want less?” asks Hinata, and his eyes remind Atsumu of puppies and all the naivety in the world, although they aren't so young anymore, and Hinata has grown so much since coming back from Brazil, but he's glad that some things didn't change.
Like his gorgeous hair, his smile and the light in his eyes.
The fact that he still needs to look up to talk to Atsumu is a bonus, too. The fact that Atsumu is still the one who gets to kiss and set to him, too.
“Ya know what I mean, it all gets too exhausting at times,” confesses Atsumu, visibly in the mood to be sentimental and painfully too honest, just like whenever they close the light and cuddling soon drifts to sleep, but he still feels like talking some more.
“But don't you remember?” asks the redhead. He must have worn a weird expression, because Hinata laughs before he explains.
“We promised the younger version of ourselves the world,” he looks up like all the times they used to rest on the tree at Grandma Miya's house to watch the sky side by side.
“I think we still deserve it.”
They might have grown into adulthood, and some stuff does change for the better. Because now Astumu isn't looking away from the sun anymore, he's staring right back at it.
Hinata was talking about the gold or who knows what at this point, because at the speed he was going, even Atsumu wasn't very sure.
“Ah,” guesses Atsumu, he must be a little nervous too.
Honestly, who wouldn't be in their predicament?
But they had to remember that they had already won the world for their younger selves.
Regardless of the colour of the medal they were going to get, the biggest treasure he could ask for was smiling up at him.
It's with tears in his eyes that Atsumu tells Shouyou, “Let's go win that gold, Shou-kun.”
And they smile at each other, making all their mutual worries vanish away.
(“No longer scared of giraffes, Tsumu?” teases Suna as their team starts walking and hears the cheering of the crowd.
“That’s another story,” laughs Atsumu.)