Work Text:
May, 2021
As soon as his video popped up on Tobio’s phone, Hinata was talking—as per usual. “Tobio, listen, we need to talk before things get too busy.”
Tobio did not like getting first-named by Hinata in that tone of voice. “Did I do something?” he asked waspishly as he fumbled about his fridge for the milk.
“Uh.” Hinata paused. “It’s more what you don’t do I guess?”
“What?” Tobio demanded, setting his phone on the counter so he could open the bottle. He was pretty sure he hadn’t forgotten about any plans or anything. He propped the phone back up just in time to see Hinata chewing on his lower lip.
“You’re not gonna stay in the Olympic Village, right?”
“It’s not worth it.” It’d save a bit of a commute, but it would be so crowded, and he’d rather come home to his own familiar space if that was an option. “I already said you can stay with me, if that’s what this is about.” Last Olympics he’d gotten to stay at Hinata’s apartment in Rio. It was kinda perfect that it worked out so he’d get to host Hinata this time.
“No yeah, but you’ll still be meeting tons of people from all over, and it’ll be really exciting, and… I dunno, I was thinking maybe I shouldn’t stay with you?”
Kageyama picked up the phone to squint at Hinata’s face. “Huh?”
Hinata was turning bright red. “Listen, all the guys were teasing me about hooking up during the games, ‘cause apparently it’s a thing, and obviously I don’t care about all that, but I got to thinking, you do care, and I just think you should get to enjoy it if that’s something you wanna do! ‘Cause like, it’s a once in a lifetime thing or whatever, except twice in a lifetime for you I guess, but I know you didn't hook up with anyone in Rio, and I just… thought I should say something.”
Tobio scrubbed at his eyes with the heel of his hand, trying to make sense of what Hinata was throwing at him.
“You don’t want to come stay with me during the Olympics. Because you think I should be sleeping with players from the rival teams?”
“I mean, you could sleep with people in different sports. It doesn’t have to be volleyball,” Hinata mumbled. As though that was the thing at issue. “And I’m not trying to tell you what to do or whatever. I’m just saying. It'll be fine.”
“I don’t think I need your permission?” Tobio settled on at last.
“I mean. Good. I don’t think you need my permission. But I know it was super awkward the first time, and it’s been like, what? Five years since you last…? Anyway, it’s been forever, and I just didn’t want to think you were avoiding it because I’d feel it or whatever.” Ah. Suddenly this made sense. “So I’m just saying,” Hinata continued, “if you need privacy, then I can be out of the apartment, and I swear I won’t say a word about it, and I want to make sure you know I don’t care.”
“Hinata,” Tobio interjected, a little amused by Hinata’s ignorance, but too embarrassed to gloat about how dumb he was being. “Do you think I haven’t had sex since 2015?”
“What? You’re saying you have and I didn’t notice?”
“It doesn’t normally hurt, you know,” Tobio said.
Hinata was somehow getting even redder. “Oh.”
The first time Tobio had tried having sex, Hinata had texted him asking if he was sick, apparently under the impression that he was having some sort of medical-emergency-level constipation. Neither of them had ever recovered from the humiliation.
“I was just bad at it as a teenager. And now I know what I’m doing.” And also he'd been crystal clear with partners that any pain, no matter how mild, was off-limits.
“Oh,” Hinata said again, shrinking down in his seat a bit. “Good. Okay, well in that case everything’s fine then. Wow I really wish I hadn’t said anything,” he muttered to himself, glancing up at the ceiling.
“It’s… nice of you to be concerned? I guess? But my sex life is fine. And also I did hook up last Olympics.”
Hinata gave Tobio a sharp look. “With a player from another team?”
“With one of ours.”
“Who?”
“Do you actually want to know? I thought you were regretting bringing this up.”
“Well I don’t need to know about your sex technique, sheesh. But I guess I’m just surprised you’ve been dating-slash-hooking up this whole time, and you’ve never told me! We talk about everything; why was it a secret?”
His relationships always felt like secrets. Even around friends he was out to, it was hard to get past the habit of stealing glances, keeping a straight face when texting, and meeting up in out-of-the-way spots. But that wasn’t the reason he hadn’t brought it up with Hinata.
“You don’t like to talk about that stuff,” Tobio pointed out, frowning. “You always complain about the guys on your team obsessing over girls.”
“Well yeah, but that’s different. I’m not interested in, like, the dating aspect by itself and going on and on about how hot so-and-so is or bragging about how much you get laid or whatever. But it’s your life. That’s different. Of course I want to know what’s going on in your life.”
“Okay, fine. It was Miya.”
Hinata sat up in his seat. “Which one?”
“Atsumu. That’s a stupid question.” Only one of the Miyas was still in the sport, much less on the national team.
“My setter? On my team? Who I play with every day? You slept with my setter, Kageyama?” Hinata’s voice was getting so shrill it was nearly inaudible.
“Stop being dramatic. He wasn’t your setter at the time,” Kageyama pointed out reasonably. “Besides, what do you even have to be all possessive about? It’s not like you were gonna sleep with him.”
“Oh my god, that’s so not the point,” Hinata groaned. “Wait, it’s not going to make things awkward this summer right?”
“I cannot emphasize enough how not a big deal it was. I did beach volleyball with Miya two years back, and everything was normal.”
“Good good good. Wait, but why Miya of all people?”
“Because he’s hot. Duh.” Kageyama picked up his forgotten milk to avoid having to look at Hinata’s face. “And also maybe because I kinda like it when people are mean,” he mumbled hurriedly before taking a swig. Miya’s brand of back-handed compliments and smile-clad condescension had been a whole second sexual awakening for Tobio as a teenager. It was probably a sign of some kind of deep-seated psychological issue, but Tobio always told himself that if you turned it into a sex thing then it didn’t count as an issue anymore. Whatever. He’d figure out what to do with that someday.
“Okay. Well. I'm glad you had fun. We can talk about that… some other time. When I have processed all of this,” Hinata promised. “For now I guess, do you want me staying at your apartment or not?”
“Yeah, of course. Hinata, we get to play on the same team for the first time in seven years. At the Olympics. I’m not ditching you to go meet up with some stranger. I can do that whenever.”
“Okay, well. If something happens, you can tell me, okay? Either because you need some privacy or just, y’know, to tell me. I know I get weird about that stuff, but that doesn't mean you have to avoid it.”
“Yeah okay,” Tobio said with a small smile. “Not that much to tell though.”
“Hm, well maybe what you need is a wingman.”
“Oh yeah, like who?”
“Me!” Hinata said, indignant. “Obviously I was talking about me.”
“Don’t be stupid; gay guys are repelled by you like same-sided magnets.” He wasn’t kidding. Hinata always gave off such confusing I’m not straight but also please don’t hit on me vibes that gaydar just ricocheted off him, and when they were together, the effect seemed to cover Tobio too.
“You’re not repelled by me.”
“What are you talking about? Have you met us?”
Hinata stuck out his tongue, kind of proving Tobio’s point.
“If you want to go get drinks, I’d be down,” Tobio relented. “Just swear you won’t try to set me up, okay?”
“Yeah yeah, I promise,” Hinata laughed.