The Job - Esselle - Haikyuu!! [Archive of Our Own] (2024)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

THE GRAND HYATT HOTEL

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

In Western Malaysia, near to the coast, there is an estuary comprising two rivers meeting, a mingling of waters running like veins through the beating heart of the city of Kuala Lumpur.

The Gombak and Klang Rivers are so jammed with silt that they take on the color of jade, and the name of the city itself comes from both their position and properties; kuala meaning the point where the two rivers join, and lumpur, meaning mud: "muddy confluence."

It is a thriving city, named one of the New Seven Wonders, cultural center of Malaysia, and one of the fastest growing regions in the world.

Like the rivers for which it is named, it's a city upon which people of all walks of life converge, where chance meetings are always just around the corner—a place for worlds to collide.

SUNDAY, 3:17 PM

The blaring of a car horn made Tobio jump, sending him awkwardly shimmying up the curb onto the sidewalk, suitcase knocking against his shins painfully. He swore, wincing as the throbbing in his legs merged with the pounding in his head, migraine brought on by the horns honking, and the heat and humidity following a long, cramped plane ride.

He paused on the sidewalk, taking a moment to pull his glasses off the bridge of his sweaty nose. The world went blurry around him as he wiped his face on his sleeve, before replacing the glasses, pushing them up. They slipped back down and he sighed. He just wanted to get to his hotel, but was stuck instead, dragging his luggage through the Malaysian city streets after trying unsuccessfully to give directions to his cab driver whilst speaking neither English nor Malay very well—or at all.

He'd gotten close, but close felt distinctly far, in a foreign country, with a heavy backpack on and only his phone GPS for guidance. Now, however, he was rounding the corner, and the towering hotel came into sight, no longer blocked from view by buildings hedging him in.

His spirits picked up a bit. He just needed air conditioning, a glass of water, and a WiFi connection.

The hotel itself was a glittering confection of glass and steel, stretching to the sky like it was confident it could touch the clouds, if only it could reach just a bit higher. The inside was cool as Tobio had hoped it would be, chilled nearly to the point where he might consider stepping back out into the heat for a moment to calm the goosebumps on his arms. It was also visibly luxe and expensive, crystal chandeliers, gleaming marble floors and a sweeping staircase that rose up to the next floor, plush sofas and armchairs adorning the lobby. The city spared no expense for its finer clientele.

This was a group to which Tobio did not belong. His steps lagged as he entered the lobby, taking in his surroundings. It reminded him of something out of a glistening Hollywood film set, in which he was nothing more than a background extra. He'd only seen places like this in movies, but unlike the characters in those, he wasn't there for a glamorous getaway. He was simply there on business—a tech summit, for which he was scheduled to give a small talk on code development on Friday, the last day of the event. But the rest of the week would amount to an all expenses paid vacation for him, and he had nothing but time to kill.

His mother had been delighted when he'd told her, insisting that he go, that it would be a fantastic opportunity for someone in his position—barely nineteen, a new hire already impressing the higher ups at the software development company he'd just started work for. She was probably just excited at the prospect of him actually stepping outside for a few days during the summer months, and in a new country, no less. Tobio had never been outside of Tokyo. New places (and experiences) made him uncomfortable.

He didn't have the heart to tell her that he'd likely be going from being holed up in his room in his parents house, working on his laptop, to being holed up in a fancy hotel room and working on his laptop. It wasn't as though he had any friends at work. So with a growing sense of dread, he'd packed his bags and been on the plane in what felt like far too little time. And now he was here, standing in the frigid lobby of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, waiting in line to check in and get up to his room.

To his surprise, he was first directed to an express elevator, which wooshed him up to the thirty-ninth floor of the hotel where he emerged into the breathtaking sky lobby. Here the walls were entirely made of glass, providing a stunning view of the Petronas Twin Towers and the city below. Even Tobio, who would often much rather have his nose fixed to a computer screen, had to stop for a moment to take in the view, the height, the spectacle.

Checking in was fortunately simple, despite his anxiety over speaking with the front desk. They gave him a small package that contained his room key cards, the guest WiFi password (useful), and a brochure with a city map (useless), and sent him and a porter up to the room with his luggage (unnecessary, he only had a single suitcase and his backpack, which he refused to let go of).

He'd be staying on one of the higher floors, so the awkwardly silent elevator trip back down from the top floor was mercifully brief. A short walk down the hall was his room; the porter dropped off his suitcase and then Tobio finally, to his relief, was left to his own devices.

The first thing he did was take in the room.

It was… quite something. Far more than what he'd been expecting, though given his minimal experience with hotel rooms—that is to say, he had none—it was more accurate perhaps to say that he'd never anticipated something like this.

It wasn't overly luxurious—but it was expansive, with an enormous king bed positioned directly across from a wall of floor to ceiling windows, looking out across the city. He wouldn't even need to go outside—it was almost like the outside was being brought to him.

He wheeled his suitcase over to the window, staring out of it. This must be what people meant when they called something a sight to see. It meant not wanting to look away.

A clattering noise coming from the bathroom he had yet to inspect was what ultimately forced his focus away. He spun, staring at the closed door. What the hell?

The noise came again and he sucked in a breath. Was there someone else in here with him? Maybe they'd given him the wrong keys, and this room was already occupied. But it had been pristine when he'd entered, obviously cleaned. If there was someone in the room, then they'd been hiding.

Slowly, silently, he left his luggage by the window and grabbed a heavy portfolio hotel guidebook off the bedside stand. He was careful to make no noise as he approached the bathroom door, raising the book above his head with one hand, reaching for the handle with his other. But before he had touched it, it began to turn, opening from the other side. Tobio raised the guidebook above his head, poised to strike.

The door opened and he whipped the book downward with such force that he almost dropped it at the end of his swing. The person he was aiming at—small, orange hair—leaned quickly to the side and the book whistled past, missing entirely. With a shout, Tobio brought it up into the air again, but—

"Woah, room service, room service!"

Tobio froze, the guide book still held high, gaping at the figure in front of him.

It was… a boy? Or rather, a young man, maybe about Tobio's age—Tobio wasn't sure, given his height and his boyish face and sparkling eyes. Not that Tobio was looking close enough to notice any sparkle, or whatever—it was just that his eyes were unusually bright, almost golden in the light.

Quickly, Tobio took in his hands, raised placatingly, and his clothes, which looked to be the hotel uniform he'd seen the people behind the desk wearing. He really was part of the staff.

And: "You speak Japanese?" Tobio demanded.

Now that he was calming down, he could see the boy was Asian—but that wasn't so shocking in a city that was predominantly Malay and Chinese. Finding another Japanese speaker so soon (and a native one at that), was still a surprise.

"Uh, yeah." The boy nodded. "I'm from there, originally."

"How did you know I'm from there?" Odd. Did hotel staff usually know so much about the guests staying there?

"Lucky guess!" the boy said, pointing at his luggage. Tobio glanced at it. Right, his backpack and suitcase both had Japanese lettering along the sides. "Can you… put down the book, now?"

Tobio lowered it, no longer fully on guard. "What the hell were you doing in the bathroom?"

"Cleaning," said the boy. "That is what room service does."

"I'm aware," Tobio glared. "They told me the room was already cleaned. What if I'd started changing, or something?"

The boy gave him a blank look. "Well, sir, I think we'd probably both have gotten a bit of a surprise."

Tobio felt himself going red as they held eye contact, before he finally looked away, muttering under his breath.

"Sorry, didn't catch that," the boy said.

"I said, don't call me 'sir'," Tobio huffed. "It's weird."

The boy grinned. "Okay. What should I call you, sir?"

Tobio scowled. "My name is Kageyama Tobio, so I don't know. Whatever."

"Alright, Kageyama-san," the boy nodded. "I'll let you get settled in. Your bathroom, by the way, is very clean." He bent at the waist in a small bow that Tobio felt, somehow, was sarcastic.

"Thanks," he grunted.

"Anytime." The boy waltzed past him toward the door, opening it to leave. He paused, leaning back inside. "Just summon me if you need anything." He winked, and was gone.

Tobio stood at the door, staring at it, entirely unsure of what had just happened. He felt oddly flustered; the whole thing reminded him of some sort of embarrassing meet-cute straight out of a romantic comedy (a film genre of which Tobio was very fond—they helped him better understand the somewhat confusing expectations people had surrounding the whole mystique of relationships, romantic or otherwise). Especially since the boy had said to summon him. Except, Tobio hadn't even caught his name.

He snorted. "Dumbass." He was fairly sure that sort of thing would be looked down on by hotel management anyway, intentional or not. Perhaps the other boy was just new.

Still, as fumbling as the experience had been, Tobio could feel the back of his neck warming. He glanced around, trying to locate the controls for the air temperature.

And then, he thought, he could finally get on the WiFi. It was probably pretty fast.

MONDAY, 11:23 AM

The hotel WiFi was not pretty fast.

Tobio spent much of the rest of Sunday afternoon and evening trying to find places his laptop would pick up a stronger connection. There was a touch and go moment in the men's restroom on the thirty-first floor, but after he'd been huddled in the back corner for over forty minutes with less than acceptable signal strength, hotel security had come around and started asking questions, before guiding him gently out of the bathroom, checking to make sure he had a keycard first. After that, he'd given up and retreated to his room to watch movies until he fell asleep.

The next morning dawned bright and not entirely early, merging into afternoon by the time he had woken, taken a shower, and dressed. He carefully packed his computer into its laptop sleeve before setting out to try his luck with the WiFi again. A night of rest gave clarity to his thoughts—he could try some of the other wings of the building.

As it so happened, he was only into about the eighth minute of his search, eyes glued to his phone, laptop tucked snugly under his arm, when he noticed the wireless signal strength on his cell phone shoot up to nearly max. He raised his eyebrows and stopped dead, glancing around himself.

He was in the middle of the pool area. Quickly, he ran a speed test—yep, the internet speed out here, in the unbearably bright sun, surrounded by the sounds of splashing water and screaming kids, was almost usable, stronger than anything he'd had when he was inside. It made sense. After all, no one was using their computer out here, they were too busy swallowing chlorinated water that hundreds of people had peed in, or roasting in one of the uncomfortable, plastic lounge chairs lining the pool. The hotspot would be less jammed in this area.

Tobio squinted up at the sun battering him from above in displeasure; it was so hot outside that he almost wanted to give up the search, WiFi be damned, making do with his painfully slow internet inside the air conditioned sanctuary of his room. He was still deliberating when he spied a poolside table with a large Tiki umbrella shadowing it. He made a beeline for it, beating out a large family ambling over from the other direction, spreading his things out across the table in the hopes that they wouldn't try and sit there, as well. They moved on, and he sighed in relief, pulling out his laptop.

He set to work as soon as it was on (it took his computer less than four seconds to boot up, he had it optimized to within an inch of its life), pushing his glasses up his already perspiring nose in slight annoyance. He hadn't missed much work in the past day and a half, but there were databases he'd been keeping an eye on that seemed to be taking longer than they should to run, and one that had crashed entirely. He swore under his breath. He wasn't required to work this week, and making headway on getting the database running again would be a pain with the slower internet, but he was always up to a challenge, self-imposed or not.

He was just getting into the groove, fingers flying across the keyboard, when a glass full of some kind of colorful drink was set down on the table next to him. He froze for a second, before looking up slowly, expecting to be greeted by the sight of the large brood from before making themselves at home.

Instead, he saw a familiar face, smiling brown eyes looking down at him from beneath an orange fringe, the same color as the drink.

It was the room service boy from before.

He wasn't… wearing a whole lot, Tobio observed. It wasn't something he would usually notice, except he'd never been in a situation like this—confronted by someone as young and scantily clad and well-built as the boy was. Without the bellboy cap on, Tobio could see his hair was cropped to a close-shaven undercut in the back. And he was shirtless, with a sheen of sweat that gleamed off toned arms and tanned, firm abdominal muscles. His legs were similarly muscled, slim, but with enough definition to throw shadows across the skin. He only wore a pair of white, cotton shorts—another thing Tobio couldn't help but notice was that they were quite small.

He had some odd marks, here and there, faint and pale and hard to make out in the glaring sunlight. Lines across his torso, the side of his waist, raised on his skin. Tobio didn't look at them long enough to see much more, not wanting to be caught staring.

The boy pulled his hand away from the stem of the glass, grinning down at him.

"Hello?" Tobio said, statement turned to a question halfway through the word.

"Hi," the boy replied. "You looked pretty thirsty over here."

Tobio eyed the drink. "You're allowed to give out free drinks when someone looks thirsty?"

"Not… exactly," the boy admitted. "But, considering the mix-up in the room yesterday—startling you and everything. I think my bosses would understand."

"Oh…" Tobio said. "What's your name?"

"Hinata," the boy said, smiling. "Hinata Shouyou." When Tobio continued eyeing him, the boy produced a straw and stuck it into the drink, sipping from it contemplatively. He nodded and slid it closer to Tobio. "Pretty good…"

Tobio squinted at the drink before leaning forward and taking a tiny sip through the straw. It tasted… really good, actually. It was chilled, and fortunately non-alcoholic, with a pleasantly refreshing fruit flavor. He sucked on the straw, cheeks filling, and a sharp, icy pain shot through his forehead. He smacked his hand to it, wincing.

Hinata laughed. "Slow down," he said, sitting down on the bench across from Tobio.

"I don't want it to melt," Tobio said, frowning. He didn't like when icy things got warm and mushy. But he also didn't want to die of a brain freeze.

"I'll finish what melts and get you a fresh one, then," Hinata told him.

Well, that didn't sound too bad. Tobio started to take slower sips, tilting his head. "What are you even doing out here?" He gestured vaguely, indicating Hinata's new outfit. "Shouldn't you be in there, cleaning rooms?"

Hinata laughed heartily. "I'm multi-talented. Who doesn't want an employee who can do anything? Pays better, too." He cracked his knuckles. "I work at the spa, too, if you're tense anywhere."

Tobio put his hand on his chin, worrying the straw between his teeth. "I don't really like other people touching me."

"Fair," Hinata shrugged. "Anyways, the outfit comes with the post. There's just different ones."

They sat in silence for a while, Tobio sipping at his drink, and Hinata lounging at the table, arms crossed behind his head, which made the muscles of his tan stomach shift hypnotically. He seemed content to people watch, taking what appeared to be a very extended break. Eventually, he asked what Tobio was working on.

"A, um—" Tobio frowned at his screen. "A presentation. Or a program, for a presentation."

"Hmm…" Hinata made a noise midway between curiosity and lazy acknowledgment. "Kageyama-san, you work for a big company?"

"I guess." Tobio shrugged. Then he wrinkled his nose.

"What?" Hinata asked, resting his cheek on his hand as he looked at Tobio. He was grinning—always with the grinning, it seemed. That smile was like a thousand-watt searchlight pointed right at Tobio. It made the sunlight seem dim.

Tobio tore his eyes back to his computer screen, fighting the urge to blink spots from his vision. "Kageyama-san is weird, too."

"Kageyama-kun, then?" Hinata proposed. Tobio grunted. "Why are you working out here, anyway? Trying to get some sun?" He cast Tobio a look that made Tobio feel very aware of his own paleness, in comparison to Hinata's honey-warm skin.

"Hardly." Tobio closed his laptop with a sigh. The internet might be better out there, but the glare of the sun on the screen, even with the umbrella overhead, was making his eyes water and his head ache. "It's the only place the internet's fast enough for what I need to do."

"This place is huge," Hinata said. "There has to be somewhere else that'll work. Have you tried over by the conference rooms?"

Tobio stared at him. "What conference rooms?"

"The hotel has a bunch of meeting spaces for conventions and stuff! Aren't you here for the big tech thing?"

Tobio gaped at him, realization dawning. "Do you know where they are?"

"Yep!" Hinata sprung up from the table, gesturing at him to follow. "Trust in me, your senpai."

They were practically the same age, Tobio thought grumpily, but got up nonetheless, tucking his laptop under his arm. He was reaching to grab his drink, leaning for it from the other side of the bench, when one of the screaming kids from the pool area went running past him, slamming into him by accident.

The ground in the pool area was predictably wet; Tobio slipped immediately. He tried to right himself, but his foot caught on the underside of the bench he'd been sitting at. He windmilled his arms, already a lost cause, and the laptop he'd been holding went airborne. As if in slow motion, he watched its trajectory with horror, and realized it was going to go right into the pool.

"Computer!" he yelled.

He saw an orange blur vault over the table, snatching up the large, round platter used for serving poolside drinks. It was like something out of an action movie, Tobio thought, as Hinata threw himself forward, sliding across the smooth surface of the tabletop on his stomach, arms stretching off the table—still holding the serving tray—and the laptop fell onto it with a plunk, instead of into the water.

Tobio sighed in relief as he plunged directly into the pool, clothes and all.

Fortunately, it was the shallow end—he was a poor swimmer. Unfortunately, that ceased to matter as his head impacted the concrete edge with a dull thud.

The bright sunshine that had plagued him went dark.

When he blinked his eyes open, everything was blurry. The sun seemed to be closer than ever, red-orange in front of his eyes. His limbs felt heavy—actually, his whole body did, and he became aware there was a weight pressing down onto his chest, and a soft, warm something on his own mouth.

Then he realized—he was looking up at the pool boy, Hinata, who seemed to be kissing him on the lips.

Tobio gasped, a gurgling noise that devolved into a wet cough. Immediately, nausea overtook him, and he felt something stale and acidic rushing up his esophagus. Steady hands turned him over onto his side as he spat up water and some of that morning's breakfast.

"You're alright, you're okay," said a reassuring voice. A hand rubbed over his back. "Try to breathe, Kageyama-kun."

"What happened?" Tobio spluttered, which was the wrong decision, as the attempt at talking brought on another wave of coughing.

Hinata said something loudly, but Tobio couldn't understand the words at all—in his haze, this made him panic and squirm, but Hinata held him down. Slowly, he realized the other boy was speaking another language.

There was a shuffling noise as the crowd that had gathered around them started to back away and disperse. Hinata turned back to him.

"How many fingers?" he asked, holding up his hand.

It looked like a blob. Tobio squinted. "I can't see."

"sh*t—"

"No, my glasses."

"Oh—hang on."

Tobio blinked, hard, as his glasses were pushed back onto his face. He reached up to adjust them comfortably.

Hinata held up his hand again. He wasn't grinning, currently—he was completely serious.

"Two," Tobio said, as Hinata flashed a victory sign. Then, "Four. One. Zero."

"Can you follow this?" Hinata asked him, holding up a single finger and moving it side to side. Tobio tracked it with his eyes, until Hinata put his hand down, exhaling. "You hit your head when you fell in," he said, and Tobio suddenly registered his throbbing head and sopping clothes. That's right—he remembered falling, but not what had happened after.

"Who—"

"I pulled you out," Hinata said. "You were barely under but you swallowed a ton of water while you were unconscious. Had to try CPR."

He looked very strained. Tobio blinked up at him. He really did hate people touching him. It normally made him feel vaguely queasy—which he was currently feeling, but that just seemed to be residual effects of nearly drowning. Hinata had—had kissed him though… but the thought didn't upset him for some reason. Maybe it was because it wasn't really a kiss, he told himself. It had been to save his life, so Hinata getting so startlingly close didn't bother him as much as it would otherwise.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Hinata sat back. "You nearly drowned in four feet of water. How?"

"I was unconscious!" Tobio struggled to sit up and glare at him. "It doesn't matter how deep it was."

Hinata put a hand over his eyes. His grin started to reappear, though it was slower to show than before. "Yeah. God, this job is already more eventful than I thought it'd be."

Tobio rubbed a hand over his mouth, which felt somewhat tingly. "The pool boy job?"

"Pool boy, lifeguard—kind of the same thing, right?" Hinata shrugged, getting to his feet. "Think you can move? You need to change your clothes." He reached a hand down and Tobio took it. Hinata hauled him up with one hand, the biceps of his toned arm flexing as he lifted Tobio easily. "I'll walk you back to your room."

He started walking, obviously expecting Tobio to follow him, but another situation entirely had presented itself.

Hinata must have jumped into the pool after him to get him out. His little white shorts were entirely soaked through. And now it was clearly apparent that he wasn't wearing anything under them—pale, gold skin was very visible through the material of the thin cotton where it hugged the curve of his ass.

Tobio choked.

"Uh—Hinata—"

"What?" Hinata turned around to face him—and it wasn't intentional, but Tobio couldn't help himself—he glanced down, very briefly, before dragging his eyes back up. "What's wrong?"

Tobio looked away, face hot. Well, then. "Maybe… a towel…"

Hinata looked down and behind himself, and laughed. "Whoops! Yeah, hold on, be right back—"

He raced off, not slipping once on the wet ground Tobio noticed with annoyance. When he returned, he had a towel wrapped around his waist, and another to toss over Tobio's shoulders. Tobio felt slightly like complaining about being coddled, but the warmth and fluff of the towel felt wonderful. His hands were shaking even though he wasn't quite cold. When he picked up his laptop, he nearly dropped it, so Hinata took it from him.

"That'll stop soon," Hinata said. "You just need to rest for a bit."

He helped him back, holding doors open along the way, opening the room for him. Tobio disappeared into the bathroom to get out of his wet clothes as Hinata opened up his suitcase, rifling through it for something else to wear. A knock on the door came a moment later and he cracked it open.

"How many Hawaiian shirts do you own?" Hinata asked him, snickering.

"Shut up," Tobio told him, snatching the clothes out of his hand. "My mom got them for me because I was going on vacation."

"Oh, well, in that case…"

Tobio shut the door in his face.

It was more difficult to get his shirt on than he had anticipated. It had been hard enough to get out of the wet one, and standing shirtless in the cold, air conditioned interior of the room, his fingers had begun to tremble even worse. He couldn't do the buttons up.

"Dammit," he muttered.

"Everything okay?" Hinata's voice asked through the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just can't—" He realized he'd misaligned the buttons in the holes and hissed in irritation. "Come on."

Hinata pushed open the door before Tobio could stop him. He looked concerned, though it faded to vague amusem*nt.

"Move your hands," he said, shooing Tobio away. "Move, move."

Tobio leaned back against the sink, bracing his hands there instead to stop them from shaking as much. He ended up staring at Hinata's bare chest, and the tan lines on his shoulders. His gaze kept catching on Hinata's nipples, for some reason—they had hardened in the cold of the air-conditioned room, and were a dusky pink, pointed.

Tobio couldn't recall if he'd ever seen anybody else's nipples besides his own. Well, maybe he had in movies or something, but it felt strange to think about that in the context he was currently contemplating Hinata's nipples. They were strangely captivating. They looked soft, and the skin around them had goosebumped, and…

"Staring…" Hinata said, under his breath, and Tobio tore his eyes away.

He tried to focus on Hinata's fingers instead, quick and deft as he fastened the buttons of Tobio's shirt, batting Tobio's hands away from the top one when he left it undone.

"You're on vacation, you can leave that one open," he said.

Tobio frowned, fingers itching closer again. Hinata smacked them away once more.

"You need to lie down for a bit or anything?" he asked.

Tobio shook his head. "I need to work some more."

"Work!" Hinata made a face. "Fine, tell you what, we can go check out the meeting spaces on the other side like I told you. I don't think it's good for you to go out in the heat again just yet."

"Okay," Tobio said.

"Then you'll call it a day, and I'll show you around the hotel," Hinata added.

Tobio started to nod. "Okay—wait. What?"

"Awesome," Hinata said, flashing him a thumbs up as he bounced toward the door. "Let's go!"

"Hinata—" Tobio said, hurrying after him. "Oy, Hinata!"

He grabbed his laptop, but it was only an afterthought. It took him even longer to realize that this strange boy appearing out of nowhere had nearly made him forget that he'd even been trying to do some work in the first place.

He decided to chalk it up to the weirdness of new locations and experiences. After all, if the characters in movies never strayed from their routine, those would make for some pretty boring movies.

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

The rest of the day was spent wandering the grounds of the hotel with Hinata. After the other boy changed into more than wet shorts and a towel, they'd visited all the lounges, including the VIP lounge Hinata had access to, where they helped themselves to the leftovers of an impressive brunch spread. Then they lounged about on the plush couches, Hinata talking about every random topic under the sun seemingly as it came to mind, while Tobio tried to tune him out and get some work done. He wasn't very successful.

They explored a bit of the spa, which was overly luxurious, like most other things about the hotel. There was also a gym, where Tobio spent a good deal of time fiddling with the programming of some of the more complex machines on a dare from Hinata, as Hinata watched and laughed at him.

But maybe the best part of the day had come in the evening, as the sun was going down. They'd gone up to the highest levels of the hotel—even switching elevators at one point, from the normal guest elevator to a separate elevator at the end of the hall that Hinata needed to use two special keycards for, one to get it open and another to get it to move. It all felt very mischievous and hush-hush.

The upper floors were reserved for the hotel's most esteemed clientele, and were in a league of their own. The walls were decorated in incomprehensible abstract art, and little alcoves played host to intricate crystal figurines.

Hinata elbowed Tobio in the ribs. "Stop staring so hard, try to look like you're supposed to be here."

"I'm not," Tobio said, craning his neck behind him to look at a statue that looked, to him, very much like a beaver. Or a palm tree. He wasn't sure. "Are we allowed up here?"

"I'm allowed to escort guests here, yeah," Hinata said.

"Any guest?" Tobio asked skeptically.

"Well, no," Hinata admitted. "But they don't know you're not just any guest. You could be like, a super special guest!"

Tobio glanced down at himself in his attire of Hawaiian shirt, loose cotton slacks, and sandals.

"You could pull off eccentric genius," Hinata said, waving a hand at him.

Tobio frowned at him and co*cked his head, adjusting his glasses on his nose.

"Exactly, there you go. And you've got the genius part down already, right?"

Tobio's face reddened. "No. Shut up." He was a genius, technically—he'd been aptitude tested. But he didn't know why Hinata pointing out what so many others had before made him feel so flustered.

In the end, they didn't encounter anyone while they wandered the halls, and eventually they reached a lone door at the end of the hallway. Hinata looked around furtively before opening it.

"Come on, come on," Hinata said, and Tobio slipped through the door.

"Holy…" he breathed, as he took a look around himself.

"Right?" Hinata nodded, grinning at him. He spread his arms wide. "Welcome, to my humble abode. Well, not really mine…"

The presidential suite was the grandest part of the Grand Hyatt, there could be no denying that. The vast array of rooms were enormous, intricately connected—the wood floors gleamed, polished to an almost liquid shine. The walls were floor to ceiling windows, overlooking the city. An actual bar occupied space in the expansive living room, and Hinata wasted no time in gravitating towards it, rubbing his hands together with a gleam in his eye.

"Hinata," Tobio hissed, still whispering. "What are you doing?"

"I looked on your guest form," Hinata told him. "You've got drinks included, so this will just go on that tab…"

"I'm not old enough to drink!" Tobio protested.

"Drinking age is lower here than Tokyo," Hinata said, grinning at him. "Besides, who said you were gonna be the one drinking?"

He snagged a glass from the hanging rack, flipping it into the air and making Tobio's heart fly into his throat—but Hinata caught it easily, barely looking at it. He pulled a mix of bottles from the bar.Tobio watched as he mixed himself a drink—he did it with professional flair, like one of those bartenders in the background of a movie, before looking up questioningly at Tobio, who shook his head.

"Do they, um…" he cleared his throat. "Do they have soda?"

Hinata laughed, but pulled a bottle of some fizzy drink from the bar and popped the cap with flair, pouring it into a glass.

They ended up hanging out in the empty enormous marble bathtub, sitting with their legs stretched out next to each other and their backs at opposite ends, looking out at the city through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

"I don't think I could take a bath in here," Tobio said.

"Why not?" Hinata asked.

"There's too many windows. It feels too exposed."

Hinata turned to look at him. "We're on the thirty-seventh floor."

"Yeah, but still." Tobio shrugged, and Hinata burst out laughing.

Hinata had fully finished two drinks before giving up and bringing the entire bottle over with him. He was now sitting with his head leaned back against the wall of the tub, the tiniest flush high up on his cheeks. They were talking about nothing and everything, anything that came to their minds. Hinata's chatterbox nature was contagious; Tobio found himself growing more talkative, in a way he never was with other people.

They'd started out talking about useful tidbits, things it actually made sense to ask or know. Over the course of the day, Tobio learned that Hinata was a military brat, born in Japan but never having lived there or any other place for very long. Traveling, he said, had become something of a habit. Hinata had settled in Kuala Lumpur for a short stint, but he didn't plan to stay long before moving along to whatever came next.

"Is that why you don't take this job seriously, then?" Tobio had asked.

"Excuse you," Hinata said, a hand over his heart. "I'll have you know I take my job veryseriously!"

Hinata, meanwhile, had excitedly pried into his very different and opposite life. Still lived with his parents, graduated high school and never went to college—Tobio had gotten lucky early on with a string of impressive freelance programming jobs that had landed him a junior level gig at the software company where he was currently working.

They were nothing alike but they got along surprisingly well. There was something of a shared sense of mutual fascination between them, that made it easy to talk, despite their many differences. Or argue; but Hinata seemed not to mind Tobio's awkward bluntness, or his stubborn tendency to fixate on certain topics the way everyone else was always put off by it.

Hinata also seemed to want to listen to him. This was unusual for Tobio. He tended not to talk to other people as a general rule—it was never very enjoyable for either party, and conversations tended to range from casual disinterest in what he was saying to annoyance and irritation.

Hinata, on the other hand, had a tendency to focus on him almost too intently, peering over the edge of his glass as he cradled it in his hands. He'd either listen, or interject with his own thoughts, but he didn't speak over Tobio or try to change the subject like he was bored. Every once in a while, Hinata would stop to ask him questions; but mostly, he just let Tobio talk. And Tobio found himself talking too much, almost—launching into tangents about his past projects, or his managers who could barely keep up with him, or the code he was presenting for the summit.

"It's called CITI," Tobio said, as Hinata lolled his head against the bathtub rim, looking at him with the lip of the bottle permanently pressed against his lips. "That stands for Citywide Infrastructural Technology Integration."

"Wuuuooohhh," Hinata responded. Tobio wasn't sure what this noise meant, but it sounded impressed. "What's it do?"

"Well, uh, in simple terms… it links everything. Emergency response systems, traffic signals, hospital computers, air traffic controls—naturally, there's no public access, but for city and state officials, it would be huge. It could eliminate disaster relief issues, traffic jams, airport delays… whatever. It would help achieve…" He waved his hand in the air. "Maximum efficiency, I guess."

Hinata stared at him. "And you programmed this. All of it."

"Yeah," Tobio said, and shrugged.

Hinata's mouth fell open. "I was sort of joking before but you really are, like, a genius?"

Tobio thunked his head against the side of the tub. "I dunno. It's just something I like. I'm good at it."

Hinata laughed. "You're acting like it's no big deal, come on!"

Tobio found that he very much liked that Hinata thought it was a big deal. "Do you want to, um… do you want to hear more about it?"

"Please!" Hinata said enthusiastically. "But try to explain slowly, Genius-san."

"Shut up, stupid Hinata."

Hours later, past midnight, a hand on his shoulder shook him awake. He blinked, blearily opening his eyes to see Hinata leaning over the edge of the bathtub. He'd somehow gotten out without waking Tobio, who hadn't even realized he was falling asleep.

"We should go," Hinata said, smiling a bit. "We definitely do not want to be found here in the morning."

Tobio yawned and nodded, sleepily dragging himself out of the bathtub.

They only passed one person on their way out, a tall, blond man with a full mustache. Caught in the act, Tobio met Hinata's eyes and then both of them looked away, struggling not to laugh and give away their trespassing. Hinata respectfully uttered a quiet greeting in English, while Tobio stared down at the floor as they walked by. He thought he might like it most that he seemed to be able to make Hinata laugh so much—that was a first for him.

Hinata dropped him off at his door, probably because Tobio looked, and felt, like he was falling asleep on his feet.

"Get some rest," Hinata told him. "See you tomorrow."

Tobio barely had time to wonder about that, as he stumbled to the bed and flopped face down onto it, passing out almost as soon as his head hit the pillows.

TUESDAY, 10:02 AM

Tobio did not remember what time he'd arrived back at his room that night (or morning), but he knew it had been late. The only thing he'd accomplished Monday had been getting distracted by Hinata, almost drowning, and discovering that the conference rooms did, in fact, have faster internet. Tuesday, then, would be the day he got some work done.

Certain members of the hotel staff, however, had other plans.

BANG BANG BANG.

Tobio jerked awake, wrenching his face out of the pillows he'd drooled on. "Huh—what?"

BANGBANGBANGBANG—

Someone was pounding on the door.

"Who—who is it?!" he shouted through a mouth that felt filled with cotton.

"Kaaaageyama-kuuuun!" a voice sang out through the door. "Are you awake?"

Tobio stared at the door. "Now I am!"

"Can I come in?"

"Y-yes?" Tobio replied, bewildered. He was positive he knew who it was, but why this was happening, he had no idea.

The door flew open and Hinata tumbled in. Tobio squinted at him, and could tell that Hinata's trademark smile was on even without his glasses.

"You don't look very awake," Hinata observed.

Tobio groaned and dropped his head back into the pillows. "That's your fault."

He felt the bed indent as Hinata sat down on it. "Probably." He didn't sound at all apologetic. "Come on, it's already past ten. Time to get up!"

"sh*t," Tobio grumbled. Briefly, he wondered if he'd requested a wake up call last night and just didn't remember. Either way, it didn't matter—he was starting out way later than he'd like.

"You're acting like you've got the king of all hangovers," Hinata said, bed jostling as he swung his legs jauntily. "All you had to drink last night was non-alcoholic cider—"

"Okay, okay!"

"Cool," Hinata said, jumping up. "You brought swim trunks, right?" He paused. "Or did your mom pack you any?"

Tobio slung a pillow at him, which Hinata caught without even looking. "…She might have. Why?"

Hinata grinned. "Get showered and meet me at the pool in twenty minutes."

"What?" Tobio asked. "Why?"

Hinata shrugged. "Guess we'll just have to see when you get there."

Tobio fought his way out from under the covers, grabbing his glasses from the nightstand. "I have to get a bunch of work done today—"

"Nah, you don't," Hinata said dismissively. "Besides, you can do it after."

"After what?"

"Nineteen minutes!" Hinata said cheerfully, waving at him from the door before disappearing out of it, closing it with a snap.

Tobio shook his head in disbelief. Whatever Hinata had planned, it would have to wait. He had a lot of other important things to do that day that definitely didn't involve the pool in any way, shape, or form. His eyes drifted over towards the clock on the bedside table.

Eighteen minutes later, Tobio wandered into the pool area, freshly showered and dressed in swim trunks and an overlarge t-shirt.

He was careful to watch his footing and pay close attention to any children zooming past him. He had also left his laptop in the room. He was just beginning to wonder where Hinata was and what the hell had possessed him to actually listen to him when a shout of "Kageyama-kun!" brought his attention over to the pool.

Hinata was already in it, wading in the water. He motioned Tobio over.

"Just in time," Hinata said, paddling over to him and treading water.

"For what?" Tobio asked, crossing his arms as he looked down at the redhead.

Hinata beamed. "Swimming lessons!"

Tobio stared at him. "For who?"

"You, clearly," Hinata said.

Tobio frowned. "Is this about the other day? We went over this, I was unconscious—"

"Tobio," Hinata interrupted.

"What?"

"Can you swim?"

Tobio glared down at him. "So what if I can't?"

"Knew it," Hinata said. "Okay, come on—get in."

"How dumb are you?" Tobio asked, because there was no way Hinata expected him to actually— "This is the deep end."

"Sometimes that's the best way to start!" Hinata said. He reached his hand out to Tobio and smiled. "I'm gonna be right here, I won't let anything happen."

This was stupid, Tobio thought. He didn't come all the way to another country to sip fruit drinks and splash around in pools. "I don't…" he started to say, though what should follow, he wasn't sure. I don't need swim lessons, I don't have time for this, I don't even know you…

"I don't know how to get in," was what he ended up saying.

"You could sit on the edge," Hinata suggested. "Or, jump in! Like ripping off a band-aid!"

Tobio wrinkled his nose. "Why would you ever do that? Just let it soak in warm water."

"Nobody has time for that, Kageyama."

He ended up doing something rather awkwardly in between, shucking off his shirt and sandals and setting them on a nearby table with his glasses, before standing right at the edge of the pool, glaring down at the water.

"It's not going to hurt you," Hinata told him. "Ready?"

Tobio nodded once, stiffly, before stepping straight off and into the pool.

He sank, as was to be expected. He kicked his feet around, eyes and mouth shut tight, when suddenly there were hands guiding him, on his back and arm. He broke through the surface of the water, gasping and blinking at Hinata's face.

"Hey," Hinata said. "Good job."

"Am I swimming?" Tobio asked.

Hinata laughed. "Not quite," he said. He was holding Tobio up in the water. "But look, what you're doing with your feet right now—that's good. I'm gonna let go of you for a bit, here…" He pulled his hands away and Tobio thrashed about a bit—Hinata put a hand under his elbow to steady him. "You float, see? Even if you're not really moving around."

Tobio had never swum in a body of water where his feet didn't touch the ground in his life. In fact, he had only ever been swimming a few times before; that had been a long time ago, before he began preferring to stay indoors poring over computers and code as he grew older. He had no idea what he was doing in the water, but with Hinata's hands adjusting the position of his own arms and legs, resting reassuringly on his bare shoulder or back from time to time, he found that it almost seemed like he did. And moreover, with Hinata floating next to him, being in the water didn't make him automatically nervous.

"Good, that's really good!" Hinata said, as Tobio lay utterly still on his back, buoyed by the water. "You're, like, a pro at floating uselessly."

"This is easy," Tobio said, feeling a little swelling of pride in his chest.

"Exactly," Hinata agreed. "Okay, so now that you know that you can float, you can try swimming to me!"

Tobio splashed and sank. When Hinata pulled him above the surface again, he spluttered, "What? How?"

"Hinata-senpai is going to teach you!" Hinata said, excited.

Tobio wiped water out of his eyes. "I'm not going to call you that."

"You are," Hinata said.

"I'm not."

Hinata let go of him.

"You asshole—" Tobio swore, immediately starting to flounder, "I can't—I'm drowning—Hinata-senpai—"

"You're fine," Hinata said, pulling him back up. "Your feet can almost touch the floor here, anyway."

Tobio looked down, peering beneath the surface of the water, and then back at Hinata. "Is that how you learned to swim? Because everything is the deep end for you?"

Hinata let go of him again.

The rest of the lesson progressed smoothly, with Tobio learning how to float on his stomach as well as his back, tread water well enough to keep his head afloat, see how long he could hold his breath underwater (Hinata outlasted him no matter how hard he tried), and finally, execute a moderately successful doggy paddle.

"Come on, it's not that far," Hinata said, arms outstretched like he was teaching a baby how to walk.

"You keep backing up!" Tobio yelled at him, swallowing a mouthful of pool water, which was horrifying considering the amount of people who'd shed skin particles in it—but he was too determined to give up now.

"Just a little bit!" Hinata insisted.

Tobio grit his teeth and put forth a last burst of effort, propelling himself forward as he paddled furiously toward Hinata, finally grabbing onto his hands. Hinata hauled him forward so he could grab the side of the pool, and they both rested their arms on the edge.

"See? I told you," Hinata said.

Tobio scoffed, and looked away so Hinata couldn't see him smile. "I swam."

"Yeah, you did." Hinata glanced at him. "Well, paddled, but it's a start."

"Shut up," Tobio told him, still fighting a grin.

"We should probably get some food," Hinata said. "It's nearly one o'clock."

"It is?" Tobio asked in surprise, as Hinata hauled himself out of the pool. He hadn't even realized that much time had passed. He climbed out after Hinata, who tossed him a towel.

The afternoon sun felt incredibly hot, now that he was out of the water. He shielded his eyes, blinking against the glare as Hinata talked.

"Where do you wanna go?" he was asking, as he pulled on a shirt. "There's the buffet, that'll just be opening up. Or we could try one of the restaurants nearby…"

"Um…" Tobio said, trying to focus. He felt strange and lightheaded. He picked up his shirt and started to pull it on, but— "Ouch!"

Hinata's head whipped around to face him, lightning quick. "Kageyama?"

"I'm… ow, ow…" He couldn't get his shirt on, his skin felt stretched and burned when he tried to pull the fabric over it. Even raising his arms hurt. He pulled it off and tossed it onto the bench, bewildered and irritated.

Hinata grabbed his arm and pressed two fingers to it. Tobio hissed, but Hinata's grip was too strong for him to pull away. The skin, which was reddening, turned pale white when he pulled it away, the color returning to it slowly.

"Kageyama-kun," Hinata said, voice flat. "Did you put on sunscreen before coming out to the pool?"

"What? No," Tobio said. "I didn't think I'd be out here so long."

Hinata sighed heavily. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"We were in the water!" Tobio said.

"You realize the sun shines through the water?"

Tobio frowned. "I'm sunburned." He'd never been sunburned before. It sucked.

"Yeah, everyone can tell," Hinata said, before he started laughing. "How did this not occur to you? Do you ever leave your house?"

"No, and this is why." Tobio crossed his arms, and then quickly uncrossed them when that proved painful.

"You're hopeless," Hinata gasped, laughing so hard he doubled over.

Tobio was starting to itch, in conjunction with the burning. He tried to glare at Hinata, but that only made him laugh harder. He settled for letting his face fall into an angry pout. "Hinata-senpai," he said, and Hinata looked up at him, amused. "Help."

Hinata nodded, wiping tears from his eyes. "Okay, okay. Come on… back to your room, Lobster-kun."

The air conditioned interior of the room was an instant relief, both to Tobio's overheated skin and sudden lightheadedness. But it wasn't the only thing Hinata was after, it seemed. After bustling about in the bathroom for a few minutes, he emerged triumphant with several tiny plastic bottles filled with lotion.

"What are those for?" Tobio asked.

"Hold out your hand," Hinata said in response. When Tobio obeyed, he squeezed a bit of the lotion onto it.

Tobio wrinkled his nose. "It smells like mango."

"I guarantee that any hotel you go to in a tropical climate, these'll smell like mango," Hinata said. "Or, occasionally, coconut. Rub that on your arm."

Tobio started spreading the fruity smelling substance onto his arm, eyes widening as it cooled his skin instantly, soothing it wherever it touched.

"See, it helps. You're gonna need like, all of these, though." Hinata dumped the bottles into Tobio's hands. "Keep lotioning, I'll be back," he said, heading for the door.

Tobio did as instructed, covering himself from head to toe in the fragrant substance. Next, he eased off his sopping wet swim trunks, wincing as the damp fabric dragged over the sensitive skin on his legs. He was rooting around in his suitcase for his pajama pants when Hinata barged back into the room.

"Oh my god—okay," Hinata said, upon receiving a faceful of Tobio's bare, snow white backside. "At least one part of you was safe. That is blinding."

"Shut up. You didn't knock," Tobio said, face somehow burning even hotter as he yanked his pajama bottoms out of the messy suitcase, sliding them up over his hips. The cotton was cool and light, and he sighed.

"True," Hinata admitted. He was balancing a tray piled with food in each hand, thumping them down on the desk. "It smells like a fruit smoothie in here."

"You're a fruit smoothie," Tobio said distractedly, turning in circles as he attempted to reach his back.

"You look like a dog chasing its tail," Hinata told him. "What are you doing?"

"I can't get my back," Tobio said, irritation mounting. His back was arguably the worst, too, after all the hours he'd spent floating on his stomach, and paddling around.

"Do you need help?" Hinata asked.

Tobio paused in his struggle to look at him. He thought about saying no—help from Hinata would require a lot of touching. But the skin on his back was hot and torturous, and besides, whatever he had against other people touching him didn't seem to apply to Hinata. Tobio hadn't minded while they were in the pool, so it was possible it wouldn't bother him now. He'd just have to… see.

"Okay," he said.

"Alright." Hinata clapped his hands together loud enough that Tobio jumped. "Lie down on the bed."

Tobio flopped down into the cool sheets, sighing as his face hit the pillow. Hinata sat down next to him, grabbing one of the lotion bottles from the dwindling pile.

The next second there was a disgusting squelching noise, and a wet plop as the cold, slimy lotion splattered onto Tobio's back. He jerked his head upright.

"Hinata—!"

Hinata was beside himself. "Sorry," he said, between snorts of laughter. "I just figured—I was going to need—all of it—" He squeezed the bottle a few more times, cackling idiotically as it whistled and squirted a few more gross, pathetic noises.

"What is wrong with you?" Tobio grumbled. He closed his eyes, listening to Hinata's gleeful laughter.

"It sounds," Hinata wheezed, "like farts."

Tobio shoved his face into the pillow to disguise his own smile. Hinata was dumb. "I know what it sounds like, dumbass."

"Okay, okay, I think I got it all," Hinata said. "You should take a moment to prepare yourself."

"Prepare myself for what?"

"The greatest experience of your life," Hinata told him. "Duh."

He smacked his hands down on Tobio's back, covering it entirely in the cool, fruit-scented lotion. This felt great—but it was nothing compared to what came next, as Hinata started gently rubbing his palms over Tobio's back, gliding through the lotion in lazy circles across his skin.

Tobio slumped, effectively going boneless. He'd heard, of course, about people liking massages, but he'd never even considered the possibility of enjoying one himself. This, however, was incredible. He forgot about the hot burn on his skin entirely, forgot that he couldn't stand proximity with other people, was pretty sure he was on track to forgetting his own name.

"Good?" Hinata asked him.

Tobio realized he'd been humming into his pillow for the past five minutes. He stopped. "It's fine."

"Oh, 'fine'," Hinata scoffed. "This is the best damn massage you've ever gotten in your life."

"It's the only one, I think."

"My point still stands," Hinata said airily. "You leave me no choice, though."

"No choice about what?" Tobio asked. Hinata's hands had stilled, and Tobio regretted riling him up, though he wasn't going to admit that.

"I'm not about to let some nerdy kid question my abilities," Hinata said. He cracked his knuckles.

Three minutes later, Tobio had shoved his face into the pillow so hard he could barely breathe. He wasn't sure if it was helping to muffle the sounds he was making—he could only hope.

Hinata had his hands all over him, currently low, rubbing hard circles into the muscles of Tobio's lower back, above the waistband of his shorts. He pressed his thumbs in and slowly dragged his palms up to Tobio's shoulders.

Tobio pulled the pillow even closer to his mouth and moaned. It felt so good.

"Pretty sure I'm winning right now," Hinata said. Tobio shook his head in the pillow. "No?" He began to knead his fingers into Tobio's shoulders, right at the juncture of his neck.

Tobio pulled his face out of the pillow, gasping. "Ah—ah—Hinata—"

Hinata stopped, flicking his burned neck and making him wince. "I'm gonna call that a win."

Tobio turned his head to the side, still breathing in air after nearly suffocating himself. He could see Hinata out of the corner of his eye, so he focused on glaring intently out of that specific corner.

"What's that look for?" Hinata asked, with a laugh. "I have to stop anyway, we are—" he picked up one of the empty bottles on the bed and shook it in front of Tobio's face, "—out of lotion. It'll start hurting again if I keep going. With no lubrication."

Tobio felt his face heat up. "Fine, whatever." Couldn't Hinata just get more lotion, he wondered, if he was so determined to prove himself? "You're a moron if you give up that easily, though."

"Right, I'm the moron." Hinata snorted as he slid his fingers through Tobio's hair, pulling it off his neck to expose the skin to the cool air of the room. "You need to rest, anyway, you got way too much sun earlier."

Tobio wanted to complain, but a nap suddenly felt like an excellent idea. He felt Hinata pulling away from him, and didn't really want that, but he was too sleepy and comfortable to protest. And anyway, what would he say?

He dozed off as Hinata slipped out to the hall, the door shutting behind him quietly.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

When Tobio woke up again, the room and the sky outside had muted, softening into dusk. Blearily, he fumbled for his glasses, hissing at the still lingering pain under his skin. His sunburn felt slightly better, but Hinata had said it would take a few days to go away fully. He no longer felt light-headed, at least, but he was starving.

And no wonder—a glance at the clock told him it was nearly seven p.m. He'd slept away the entire afternoon, and had never had lunch. He sat up, remembering the trays of food Hinata had brought in earlier, but they'd been cleared away. Disappointed, stomach growling, he got out of bed and turned on the lamp—and something sitting on the desk caught his eye.

There was a little card sitting on it, black with silver print, fancy-looking. It was an advertisem*nt of some kind, he realized as he turned it over, for the upscale restaurant on the thirty-eighth floor of the hotel.

Written on the back of the card in a messy scrawl: Do not wear a Hawaiian shirt!!!

Tobio pressed his lips together, stomach fluttering nervously. Then it gave a loud and very insistent grumble.

He pocketed the card and went to rummage through his suitcase.

At half past seven, he was walking hesitantly into the grandiose restaurant, nervously smoothing down one of his starched white button-ups. He'd skipped the jacket, thinking it was too hot, but now he was having second thoughts—the other patrons of the restaurant seemed to be dressed very nicely, and the wait staff were in smart vests and ties.

The maitre d' approached him, asking him something in English. Tobio shook his head, confused, and the man pointed at him.

"How many?" he tried again, in accented Japanese.

"Oh, um," Tobio said, and then, rather lamely, "just one."

He was shown over to a table right next to one of the vast windows that overlooked the city, another magnificent view, so at least he could admire it while sitting there completely alone. But he was only waiting for a short amount of time before someone approached the table.

"Water, sir?" they asked in Japanese, and he turned to see none other than Hinata, this time in a waiter's uniform and grinning cheekily at him. "Look at you, all dressed up!"

Tobio gave him a look, putting the black restaurant card down on the table. "You said no Hawaiian shirts."

"I did. We have a dress code after six o'clock," Hinata informed him, filling two glasses with water and setting them on the table.

"I'm alone," Tobio told him.

"No, you're not," Hinata said, removing the apron from around his waist with a grand flourish and tossing it over the back of the chair as he sat down. He loosened his tie. "My shift finished at seven thirty."

Tobio's mouth fell open. "You're unbelievable. You're just doing this for the free meal."

Hinata couldn't manage to look properly offended at the accusation through his laughter. "Kageyama-kun! Wrong. Your hotel package doesn't cover one of the premier restaurants in Kuala Lumpur—which, I might add, is always overbooked so you're welcome for securing you a reservation."

"How are we supposed to pay for this, then?" Tobio asked.

"We aren't," Hinata said, raising his glass of water in a toast like it was expensive wine. "I am."

"You are?"

"For earlier." Hinata shrugged. "You did good with the swimming thing! And you got all sunburned, which is my fault, kind of. Though mostly yours."

Tobio threw his napkin at Hinata's head. "You didn't even tell me what we were going to do!"

"I told you to wear swim trunks," Hinata squawked, "and yet?"

"I'm going to go back to my room," Tobio said.

"You're not hungry?" Hinata asked.

"I'll order room service."

"Suit yourself," Hinata shrugged, picking up a menu to nonchalantly flip through it. "They have imported Wagyu beef here, but I guess you get that all the time, you can probably just—"

Tobio snatched the menu from his hands. "Let me see that." He opened it angrily and looked through the pages, before closing it and glaring down at it. "It's in English."

He did not end up going back to his room and ordering room service. There was a Japanese version of the menu, but most of the items were so fancy and foreign-sounding that he ended up letting Hinata walk him through it all anyway. When the waiter came to take their order, Hinata glanced at Tobio, who nodded, before ordering for both of them.

While they waited for the food, they stared out the windows. Hinata pointed out landmarks, different city streets, places of interest off the beaten tourist path. Somehow he could make out everything even from the nighttime bird's eye view. He was as excitable as ever as he told Tobio about the city, enthusiasm catching, and Tobio found himself thinking, with his nose pressed almost to the glass, that it might not be that bad. It might not be that bad to get out there and see a little more of what the world had to offer.

Dinner was, as expected, excellent. Hinata watched with an annoyingly sly grin on his face, as Tobio tried hard and failed to keep the expression of sheer amazement off his face every time he tasted something new.Stuffed full, they decided to get dessert anyway. After placing their orders, Hinata asked him what he had planned for Wednesday.

"Ah," Tobio said thoughtfully. "Well, we have a practice run through of the Friday presentation schedule… so I'll have to do that." He made a face. He didn't know why he had to sit around while everyone else practiced. There had been something about team bonding mentioned in the email. Tobio very much doubted he was going to bond with anyone during a series of endless PowerPoints.

"Sounds fun," Hinata said blandly.

"Not really." Tobio frowned. "It'll be an all day thing, so…"

"So don't bug you?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah… I mean, no." Tobio blinked at him before looking down at the tablecloth. "You haven't been—whatever. On Thursday, if you want to, you can. Bug me. I guess. If you wanted to."

"You guess," Hinata said.

Tobio nodded.

"If I want to."

Tobio opened his mouth to tell him to shut up, and the waiter appeared with their dessert at that moment, to his relief.

Hinata was still smiling as he dug into his chocolate cake. "Maybe I'll bug you, then."

They strolled back to Tobio's room a little slower than usual. Tobio had taken the liberty of getting an extra dessert at Hinata's enthusiastic encouragement, which he had since realized was closer to an act of betrayal.

"I can barely move," he complained.

"You just looked like you wanted to try the cheesecake so bad," Hinata said.

"I did," Tobio admitted.

"Was it good?" Hinata asked.

Begrudgingly, Tobio nodded.

"Then that's all that matters!" Hinata smacked him on the back and he groaned in protest. For how short he was, Hinata had an impressive wallop.

They had reached Tobio's room door. He fumbled for his key and realized he'd put the extra in his pocket as well. He pulled them out and stared at them.

He frowned. After all, Hinata had sort of taken him to a nice dinner. This was the part in the movies where Tobio would give him something reciprocal and sentimental in return, right? And, if Tobio was being honest, then yes—yes, he really, really did want Hinata to bug him on Thursday, and Friday, too, when they got a break from work.

"Kageyama…" Hinata said warningly. "If you don't hurry, you'll poop yourself in the hallway."

Tobio held one of the key cards out to him.

Hinata looked down at it, then back up at him. "Do you need me to open your door for you?"

"What?" Tobio shook his head. "No. Take it."

"How come?" Hinata asked blankly.

"I…" Tobio huffed. "I want you. To have it."

Hinata stared at him. "Kageyama, I have a master key."

Tobio willed his face not to go red, but it was a lost cause. "I know that, dumbass! I just—"

Hinata took the key card from him and pocketed it. "Thanks."

This was not going at all like it did in the movies, Tobio thought. He took a deep breath. "You're welcome. And thank you for dinner."

He put his remaining key card in the door slot, heard the little beep and saw the lights go green.

"Good luck, tomorrow," Hinata was saying.

Tobio whirled around to face him and lurched forward, ducking his head. Hinata stood stock still, probably in shock—but somehow Tobio still missed, smacking his glasses into Hinata's cheek as his lips landed awkwardly for a split second on the side of Hinata's chin. Tobio spun back around, face blazing red even underneath his sunburn.

"Goodnight!" he shouted angrily, before jamming his hand against the door handle of his room—it had locked again, sh*t—he jabbed the keycard into it once more, heard it beep, and threw it open. He practically fell inside before slamming the door behind him and deadbolting it.

Heart racing, he peered out through the peephole.

Hinata stood staring at the door, mouth slightly open. After a second, he looked up—right at the peephole. It felt like they were staring directly at one another.

Tobio jerked away from the door and backed into the room. Dumb. Dumb. Why did he do that?

He turned off all the lights in the room and threw himself down onto his bed, swearing angrily into his pillow.

Life, as his mother had often made it a point to tell him, was really not like it looked in the movies, after all.

WEDNESDAY, 9:45 AM

Tobio's cell phone alarm woke him the next morning. He patted his hand over the bed until he located it, hauling it closer to his face to squint at the numbers. Nine forty-five a.m.… He could sneak in five more minutes of sleep…

The email itinerary for his Wednesday prep session resurfaced in his mind.

He inhaled sharply and sat upright, floundering desperately to throw back the covers. Ten a.m., he was supposed to be at the summit meeting room for set up in fifteen minutes—

He grabbed his wrinkled dress shirt from the chair where he'd discarded it in a fit of frustration the night before, tripping over his pants on the ground on his way into the bathroom, slamming his shoulder off the door frame. After a hurried shower, he dashed back out, haphazardly pulling on his pants and combing his wet hair into some semblance of neatness.

With less than five minutes to make it across the grounds of the entire hotel, he grabbed his laptop and key and dashed out the door.

At exactly ten o'clock, he burst into the designated conference room… to find he was one of the first people to arrive. Aside from him and a few older members of the company, and the lone hotel technician helping to set up the projector, the room was completely empty.

Hoping no one had noticed his somewhat overly dramatic and panicked entrance, he slunk toward a table laid out with breakfast in the back, gratefully loading up on pastries and hot tea. As more people began to filter in, he took his plate to a seat at the back of the room, where he slumped and began to quietly stuff some food in his mouth and think about the night before.

He still had no idea what had caused him to try and kiss Hinata. Just that, somewhere in between Sunday afternoon and Tuesday night, it had suddenly become not the worst idea in the world. And then somehow, his stupid brain had decided that meant he should go through with it.

Tobio sank even lower in his seat, his frustration with himself and the world at large growing. He could still see the way Hinata had stared at the door, like he was looking right at Tobio. If he hadn't hated it, or at the very least hadn't minded, wouldn't he have tried to talk to Tobio, to find out what the hell he was doing?

Or maybe he hadn't even realized it was supposed to be a kiss. After all, it wasn't as though Tobio had managed to aim anywhere near his mouth.

Tobio jammed the entire rest of his pastry into his mouth in a fit of frustration. Either way, Hinata definitely, probably thought he was too weird to want to talk to him anymore. It shouldn't bother Tobio—this was what everyone always thought about him, after all. But Hinata had been, if only for a few days, different. And Tobio had liked it.

The day proved to be long and tedious. None of the other Friday presenters were talking about anything Tobio was interested in, or didn't know already. In addition to this, though Tobio was based out of the Japan branch, the company was a multinational conglomerate, and many of the presentations were in English, though translators had been hired to help each speaker interface with the audience. It made it even harder for Tobio to follow, and gave him almost nobody to talk to.

Instead of paying much attention, he sat in the back and fiddled with his phone, where he had started work on trying to get a bare bones app of CITI running. Intermittently, he snuck glances around the room at some of the occupants. He recognized a few people from the Tokyo office, and another face that caught his attention when it stood out to him as familiar—blond mustache and blue eyes that he struggled to place. Someone from the U.S. office, must be. Perhaps they had visited Tokyo at some point.

It seemed like forever before they were finally able to break for lunch, an even more sobering thought when he realized the day wasn't even half over.

After lunch came more rehearsal, a recorded message played over the speakers from the CEO of the company, an overview of their plan for the upcoming fiscal year and then, finally, came Tobio's turn.

He walked to the front of the room and attempted to plug his laptop into the projector, and suddenly found his hands were shaking. He frowned—he usually had very steady hands, but now they were damp and jittery, enough that he couldn't seem to get the cable into the slot. Eventually, the tech had to come over to see what was wrong, as though Tobio didn't know how to use an HDMI cable. Humiliating, but he let himself be shooed away from his own computer.

He introduced himself to the translator, and went to take his place at the podium. He had been given a laser pointer he could use to advance his presentation slides on CITI, and he clicked it at his laptop to begin.He looked up at the room, the sea of mostly empty chairs, occupied here and there by the occasional person, other members of the company who would be giving talks.

The room started to tilt strangely. He blinked and took off his glasses, then put them back on. It wasn't the room—it was just nausea creeping up at the edges of his senses. He could feel his heart beating faster, faster, until it felt like it was pounding within his chest. The occupants of the chairs were staring at him, they were all staring, he had to start speaking.

He opened his mouth to begin, and no sound came out. He swallowed, attempting to speak again, but he couldn't. He couldn't talk.

Everyone was staring expectantly at him, but that wouldn't last. As soon as he started talking, they'd lose interest. All his hard work on CITI would mean nothing. They'd get annoyed by his blunt demeanor and bored of his long, complex explanations. The other speakers had peppered their presentations with the occasional joke or example, but all he had to show was his work, just the facts. He wasn't funny. He wasn't even likable.

And even if he spoke now and made it through this, he'd be able to sense their irritation, how much they just wanted to get on with things. How everyone just wanted him to be done with it. That was how things always went for him. And then he'd have to do it all again, in front of a full room of people on Friday. Why the hell had he agreed to do this, when he'd never so much as presented a project in school before? Why would the company ask him to give a talk, when he was so—

"Kageyama-kun?" the convention coordinator prompted.

"I…" Tobio blinked at her. "I need to—"

"You look unwell," she supplied, and he didn't correct her, because he didn't want to admit that he felt fine.

Aside from the fact that he was scared.

"I've viewed your presentation slides already," she told him. "Why don't you take a seat, I can go over it with you later."

He nodded, red-faced, gathering up his things and retreating back to his seat. No one glanced at him, and he was left to his own devices as they continued on. He stared at the floor and continued to wonder why he'd been volunteered to give a stupid presentation in the first place. He was the only junior programmer in the room, probably at the entire convention. His skill level was high, but he was no public speaker, and he had no experience unlike the other people around him. He'd always relied on his code to speak for itself.

The rehearsal carried on until the sun started to dip low. Dinner was brought in, then the final speaker and a run through of the closing remarks, and they were finally, mercifully, done.

At least, the practice was done. Tobio wasn't out of the woods just yet. The coordinator seemed occupied, but as he started to creep past her towards the exit and freedom, she tapped her pen on her clipboard.

"Kageyama-kun, a word?"

Resigned, he made his way over to her, standing awkwardly to the side as she argued over something with the hotel event staff.

"We didn't book a tech for the rehearsal, we are a tech company. Are we being charged for this?"

"I can check on where the confusion arose—"

"Yes, thank you. See that you do."

Tobio listened nervously. She seemed mad already—he hoped that wouldn't carry over to himself. When she turned to him, he snapped to attention.

"Kageyama-kun—"

"Yes!" he said, voice strained.

She peered at him, face not giving anything away. "Are you alright? You look a little sunburned."

"What?" Tobio said, then, "Oh. Y-yeah." Was she judging him for goofing off, spending so much time playing around instead of working on his code or rehearsing his presentation? "Um… sorry. For earlier. I can go through the presentation now, if—"

"Kageyama-kun, I just wanted to ask you if you think you'll be able to present on Friday."

So, she had covered up for him. He stared at her. "I'll—I'll be fine. I just wasn't feeling…"

She leveled him with a stare and he broke off. "Have you ever spoken at an event like this before?" She looked like she already knew the answer.

"No," Tobio said. "Never."

She didn't look surprised. "This presentation is a very big opportunity, and that can have an effect on some people," she said. "It can be intimidating."

"I'm not," Tobio barked out. "Intimidated, I mean." He frowned as she sighed.

"That may be true," she said. "But this summit is also a very important opportunity for the company. All eyes are on us. And they will be on you. We need everyone to make a good impression."

He swallowed, and nodded.

"If you feel as though it might be wiser to save this presentation for a later date in time…"

"No," Tobio said, even though he should have said yes. "No, I can do it."

She stared at him for a long moment. "Alright. Remember to take your time when you're speaking. Breathe."

"I can't not breathe," he replied blankly.

She didn't look amused, which was fine, because he'd been completely serious. "See you on Friday."

He bowed and escaped quickly. The evening air was cool, a gentle breeze stirring the humidity. He was intent on getting back to his room and checking his code again. If he could just go over it one more time, he was sure he'd be fine on Friday.

But as he crossed the pool area, his footsteps slowed as his eyes fell on the straw hut where all the towels were kept.

There was a figure leaning against it, small and lean, shadowed in the dimming light—but that messy red undercut was unmistakable.

Hinata looked up from his phone and spotted him. It was the first time Tobio had seen him out of some kind of uniform, instead just dressed in a plain jacket and jeans. "Hey," he said, lifting his chin in greeting. "Feel free to ignore me. I know I said I wouldn't bug you today, but I figured, since you're done now…"

"What are you doing here?" Tobio asked.

"I just came to see how it went," Hinata said, smiling. The smile fell away, though, when he saw the look on Tobio's face. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Tobio said. Hinata raised an eyebrow. "I mean, literally, nothing. I… don't think I like giving speeches."

"You're not giving a speech," Hinata said. "You're just talking about your thing, right? Your program? You're good at that."

"How do you know that?" Tobio asked, crossing his arms.

"Because I've heard you talk about it," Hinata said, snorting. "To me. At length."

"No one's going to care," Tobio told him. "Or listen."

Hinata tilted his head. "I listened."

Tobio stared at him. That was true. Hinata had listened to him. And Hinata was here. A day earlier than he said he would be, regardless of Tobio's terrible decision to attempt to kiss him the night before.

So…

He stepped forward, cautiously. "Today was really boring."

"Yeah?" Hinata grinned at him. "You miss me?"

"Not really," Tobio said, taking another step, until Hinata had to lift his chin to look him in the eye. "It was boring, unrelated to you being there or not."

"Completely unrelated," Hinata said.

Tobio nodded stubbornly. "Yes."

Hinata's lips twitched. "I can just go, if I'm unwanted."

"I didn't say that, stupid Hinata," Tobio said. They were close now; close enough that he could hear Hinata's soft breathing, probably count individual eyelashes, light and fine as they were. He leaned in, hesitant—and Hinata didn't pull away. He just kept gazing steadily up at Tobio, and it was doing something funny to Tobio's heart. It made him feel sort of… brave.

In a lot of dramas, sometimes the actor would put their hands against the wall to cage the other person in, maybe he should do that… But before he could get that far, a hand pressed gently against his chest.

"Can't," Hinata murmured, his breath ghosting over Tobio's lips. It startled Tobio. He hadn't realized they were that close.

He pulled back, embarrassed. "If you don't want—"

"My job," Hinata said, cutting him off.

Tobio frowned. "Are you still working right now?"

Hinata leaned his head back against the wall to look at him. "Technically…"

"Technically," Tobio said, pulling back. "You're a pool boy."

"And we are by the pool," Hinata said, gesturing at the water. "Also, hey! I am a massage therapist, bellhop, impromptu lifeguard, room service provider, waiter, and—"

"Shut up already," Tobio groaned.

He wanted to be annoyed, and even managed to glare at Hinata fairly convincingly, but the truth was he wasn't really mad. Hinata had come to find him, and if the only reason he was holding back was because of hisjob…Tobio could live with that, he thought.

"You didn't let me finish!" Hinata scolded, ducking out from under his arm. "Tomorrow, I'm a tour guide."

"A tour guide," Tobio repeated.

"Yep!" Hinata said, flinging his arms out at his sides like he was presenting a grand prize. "You're free, right?"

Tobio sighed, knowing his resolve was about to slip. "I really need to look at my code…"

"You can do that tonight," Hinata said dismissively. "Check your code, get an early night's rest. Tomorrow's going to be busy."

"Busy with what?" Tobio asked skeptically, as the other boy started to hurry him along, pushing at his back.

"Showing you the city," Hinata said. "The Hinata Shouyou special!"

"That sounds like a sandwich," Tobio grumbled, grateful that Hinata was behind him and unable to catch him trying not to smile.

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

THURSDAY, 7:32 AM

Thursday marked the earliest Tobio had woken up on his vacation to date. This time it wasn't a knock on his door, but the incessant ringing of the telephone. Stuffing his head under the pillow did little to muffle it, and after the fourth time trying to ignore it, he finally rolled over to snatch it off the cradle.

"Who is this?!"

"Kageyama-kun!" came the tinny response in his ear. "What are you doing, I called three times already!"

Tobio groaned. "It's not even nine, Hinata, why—"

"Hurry up and get ready!" Hinata cut him off. "I'm waiting for you outside the hotel lobby!"

And he hung up.Tobio stared at the dead receiver in his hand before blearily dropping his face down into the sheets. He allowed himself to stay like this for another minute or so before dragging himself out of bed to get ready.

When he stepped out of the quiet, air-conditioned lobby and into the warming air of Kuala Lumpur's morning, Hinata was there to meet him, as always. This time, he sat astride a bright yellow scooter bike, helmet under his arm. He waved excitedly at Tobio as he approached.

"No," Tobio said flatly.

"What?!" Hinata yelped. "Why not?"

"I am not getting on that."

"I'm a great driver, come on," Hinata wheedled, holding the helmet out to Tobio. Very dubiously, Tobio took it.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I only have one helmet," Hinata said, "so you wear it."

Tobio squinted at him. "Are you really actually a tour guide?"

Hinata grinned. "Get on and let's find out."

Eventually, and with less convincing than it probably should have taken, Tobio found himself wearing the yellow helmet as he climbed onto the back of the bike behind Hinata. He put his hands hesitantly on Hinata's shoulders.

"You're gonna want to hold on a bit tighter than that," Hinata said. The next minute the bike was sputtering to life, and they were shooting forward out of the hotel entry. Tobio's hands flew down to Hinata's waist as he felt himself lurching backwards, and Hinata called over his shoulder, "Told you!"

"Where are we even going?" Tobio asked, raising his voice to be heard over the puttering motor and rushing wind.

Hinata laughed. "Wherever we want, Kageyama-kun."

He seemed to know the city as well on the ground as he did looking down from the thirty-eighth floor of the hotel. Tobio soon gave up on keeping his distance, wrapping his arms around Hinata's waist about the fourth time they cut a sharp angle down a back alley to avoid traffic.

And this was where Hinata seemed to be happiest, cruising parallel to the busy city streets, in the shade of the buildings on either side, avoiding most of the glare and heat as the sun started to rise. They briefly stopped at a tiny street-side stall for a heartier breakfast than Tobio was used to, though delicious all the same; then they were off again, zooming away as morning turned to afternoon.

The puttering of the bike, the noise of the city, the rush of the wind all combined became a lulling noise to Tobio through the helmet—he found his mind idly considering this city and his CITI, the infrastructure here and how his program could benefit it if it was wired in, the lessons he could take from real world applications, now that he was seeing everything up close and personal.

The thought crossed his mind: he ought to do it more.

When he first caught sight of the ocean—about two hours after they'd first started out—Tobio picked his head up at the sight of the endless blue expanse stretching away from the sandy beach.

"Port Dickson!" Hinata called back to him. "I think your convention people are throwing some kind of party out here tomorrow night after everything wraps up but, well… I wanted you to get a chance to see it during the day!"

Tobio stared at the glimmering water, high afternoon sun bouncing brightly off of it, whipping past beside them as Hinata sped down the highway leading into the port town.

"Good idea," he said quietly, belatedly realizing Hinata probably couldn't hear him. But he could see the other boy grinning, even while they weren't facing each other, and figured Hinata probably knew that already.

After Hinata had parked the bike, and made several assurances to Tobio that they were not going to attempt to swim out in the open ocean ("It is shallow for at least fifty meters, though, Kageyama…"), they headed into town. They were still full from breakfast, so rather than stop for lunch right away, Hinata began to take him around to see the sights.

There was a Malaysian military history museum that they spent a lot of time in. The first section was a set of buildings detailing events and exhibits, complete with a tunnel recreating the type used in one of the wars. Tobio stopped to read every single one of the captions, fascinated by the history.

Even more of a highlight was the second section, which housed all the old military hardware, armored cars and helicopters and even an old train. Hinata didn't bother to hide his amusem*nt at the look on Tobio's face when he discovered the museum allowed people to climb on the bigger pieces of equipment. He snapped pictures with his cell phone as Tobio clambered on board the train and into the gunner seat of one of the armored cars.

After the museum, they went on to a farm housing many different types of animals—though by far the biggest attraction were the ostriches, which could be fed and pet. After much coaxing from Hinata, Tobio finally got up close enough to the fences to offer the enormous birds food.

"They're friendly," he said, surprised. The ostrich he was feeding let him pat its head and feathered body as it pecked at the food in his hand with its long bill.

"Lots of things are, if you feed them," Hinata joked, tossing pellets to a growing flock which had gathered near him. One of them managed to catch a pellet in its mouth, at which Hinata whooped loudly in excitement. "Did you see that?! That one is my favorite ostrich."

Try as he might, Tobio could not get his own ostrich to catch any airborne food, and he was forced to declare Hinata the victor of their ostrich feeding excursion. They moved on through the farm, stopping to pet some of the other animals, including an entire crate of chirping baby chicks. Tobio stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he caught sight of the tiny balls of fluff, and they spent nearly half an hour with him sitting quietly, cross legged on the floor as Hinata slowly covered him in loud baby birds.

"Oh," Tobio said, once he had seven of the chicks in his lap, three in his hands, and Hinata gently placing one atop his head, "Oops." One of the birds had relieved itself into his palm.

"Gross," Hinata said, wrinkling his nose.

Tobio looked up at him, face serious. "It's okay. They're just babies."

Hinata blinked at him, laughter fading away into an odd, soft smile. "Right. Okay, come on, Chicken Whisperer," he said, helping put the chicks back into their warmed cage.

Once through the petting zoo, they finally went to seek out some food at the farm cafeteria. Tobio resolutely refused to try the ostrich burger, and shot Hinata such a judgmental look of horror and distress when the redhead considered it that he ended up passing as well.

"You know, cows are nice animals, too," Hinata informed him, as they sat down to eat their normal hamburgers.

"Probably, but I didn't just bond with one," Tobio told him.

"Oh, you bonded with the ostrich? Are you going to ride it into the sunset?"

Tobio dropped a french fry into Hinata's strawberry milkshake, and was disgusted when the other boy popped it right into his mouth without hesitation.

After their late lunch, they finally went to the beach. Up close, the ocean really was like nothing he had ever seen before, even back home on the rare occasion his family had visited. The late afternoon sun bounced off the water, which was warm as they waded into it, only ankle deep. Tobio held his shoes in his hand and Hinata had stripped off his shirt somewhere along the way, throwing it over his shoulder as they walked along the strand. He kept running out into the waves in front of Tobio, feet splashing in the surf, so Tobio followed behind, taking the opportunity to stare while Hinata's back was turned and no one else was around to see how fixated he was.

He'd determined that the pale marks he'd noticed on Hinata's body while they'd been in the pool had to be scars of some sort. He could see them now across the boy's back, as well, none the same size or shape, irregular. He had no idea what might have caused them, and wasn't sure it was alright for him to ask.

He turned his attention instead to the feel of the wet sand giving way beneath and between his toes, wriggling them experimentally as he turned to Hinata, who was grinning at him.

"See?" Hinata said. "It's fine."

Tobio nodded. Beaches were better than pools, he decided. The pool had been too crowded, but here, the long strip of sand meant people could spread out as they pleased. Even though he could still see and hear them, the space between them made him feel more at ease, like it was just Hinata and himself.

"I like the beach," he announced.

Hinata sighed happily, face turned up to the sky, eyes closed. "It's a nice beach."

Tobio stared at him, at the way the sun lit his face, eyes drawn to Hinata's light eyelashes in particular, shining in the glow. He swallowed. "Yeah, it's nice."

As the sun set a little lower, they wandered along the water's edge, coming to a small drink shop on the strand, catching it just before closing. Hinata ordered them a round of drinks (a non-alcoholic drink with an enormous cherry for Tobio, and a piña colada, heavy on the rum, for himself), and they took them out to a grove of palm trees with hammocks strung up from them. Tobio nearly flipped face first into the sand trying to get into his own, and Hinata laughed so hard he spilled half his drink, only to find that the little bar had closed up for the day. So they called it even on the misfortune front as they settled down to enjoy their drinks and watch the sun set into the ocean.

"Hey," Tobio said, eyes trained on the orange sky. "Tomorrow's my last day here."

"Time flies," Hinata said, slumped in his hammock, eyes closed. "Are you glad you'll be getting back to coding?"

"Yeah." Tobio nodded. "Hinata…"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think you might come back to Japan?" he asked. "One day, I mean."

Hinata opened his eyes to look at him. "Maybe. I don't know."

"Oh," Tobio said. "Okay."

They sat in silence until the sun disappeared.

"Ready to go back?" Hinata asked him.

"Yeah," Tobio said.

He wasn't, really. But he knew he couldn't stay forever.

They didn't talk much on the way back to the hotel. Tobio felt tired already, though it wasn't very late in the evening. He wasn't used to all day excursions like this one, all the activities they'd packed into one day, generally preferring a quiet day alone in front of his computer. But he had enjoyed this. He still was enjoying it, he realized, as they zoomed down the quiet evening streets while the shadows grew long, arms around Hinata's waist. If he was holding on tighter than he had during the morning, Hinata either didn't notice, or didn't say anything.

As they cruised to a slowing stop in the circular entryway in front of the hotel, he took off the helmet to hand it to Hinata once they were parked.

"Thanks," he said, as he dismounted. "For today. It was really…"

"Really…?" Hinata prompted, like he knew exactly what Tobio wanted to say.

"Fun," Tobio admitted, and the other boy laughed.

"Tomorrow will be, too," he said. Tobio grimaced, and he added, "You'll do great. Seriously, I know it!"

"That makes one of us," Tobio muttered.

"Kageyama," Hinata said, with a smile. "Trust me, yeah?"

Tobio took a deep breath, letting it out as a sigh. "We'll see."

Hinata was on evening duty that night, so they said their goodbyes there, before Tobio turned and headed back to his room.

He was already inside and changed into his pajama pants and t-shirt before he realized, belatedly, that that was probably the last time he was going to see Hinata, unless he ran into him again at random the next day.

It was strange, the way melancholy seemed to fill up every nook and cranny of him at the thought. He wasn't used to getting attached—to people, to things, to times in his life. Mostly, he was attached to his computer, but everything he had on it could be transferred to a different laptop. Maybe the work he'd done with CITI… but the code for that was his, lived inside him. It was a part of him, and he couldn't get attached to himself.

But this feeling Hinata gave him… he wasn't used to it. He thought he understood it, if only because every movie seemed to have it in some way, shape, or form. But it was foreign to him in his own life. It was only Hinata he'd made this kind of connection with.

He sighed heavily and toppled backwards onto his bed. After a moment, he pulled his laptop toward him, though he'd already given up on the idea of checking his code.

It seemed as though a night of romance movies was in order.

He'd only made it halfway through his first choice (Roman Holiday, a classic—there was just something about the vacation getaway that spoke to him at the moment, or maybe it was all the scenes with the moped) when a knock on the door grabbed his attention. He slammed the spacebar on his laptop, jumping up to answer.

"I thought you were working the night shift…" he started to say even as he was unlocking the door, but trailed off as he pulled it all the way open. "Oh."

It wasn't Hinata, standing there. But it was someone Tobio did recognize, if only vaguely.

"Hello," said the man, tall, blue-eyed, and blond, with a trim mustache—the American from the summit rehearsal. "I hope it isn't too late."

He spoke clear, if accented, Japanese. Tobio stared at him.

"You have quite a nice room," the American continued. "Nicer than my own. I suppose they gave speakers special accommodations."

"Can I help you?" Tobio finally managed to blurt out, before realizing that might be construed as rude. "Sorry, I just mean—I wasn't expecting anyone." Not this man, anyway.

"I'm sorry," the man said, laughing. "Is it too much of a bother? I wanted to talk to you about your code. You must truly be one of the brightest minds at the company."

"Oh," Tobio said, surprised. "Thank you."

"Just stating facts," the man said, moving past him through the doorway. "I wish I could have heard the presentation before tomorrow. CITI is a very impressive program. I'm almost not convinced a junior developer came up with it."

Tobio turned to face him, trying to smash down some of his indignation. "Well, one did—I mean, I did."

"All by yourself, Tobio?" the man asked, and Tobio frowned. He knew the American may not know about honorifics, but that didn't bother him very much. It was the way the man said his name, like he was talking to a child. Tobio was young, he knew that, but his program was his own. He'd built it by himself, and he understood it better than anyone else.

The man sat down on his bed, smiling at him.

"Yes," Tobio said curtly. After a moment's consideration, he shut the door and dropped down to sit next to the man, turning off his movie as he pulled his computer into his lap. As the man watched, he opened the command prompt window, typing rapidly. The code for CITI—its DNA, in a sense—sprung up in the window, scrolling over the screen. "I implemented all of this. By myself. If you'd like, I can show you the database coding—"

The man clapped him on the back, hand heavy on his shoulder. "No, no—I'm sorry, Tobio, I didn't mean to offend."

"I'm not offended," Tobio mumbled. "I just… don't want people to think the work isn't mine."

"That's very fair," the man told him. "But have you ever thought that it might be nice to have a bit of a buffer?"

Tobio looked up at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Tobio, I'm sure you understand better than anyone about the uses CITI could see in the real world…"

"Of course." Tobio nodded. That was why he'd designed it. "It could easily change the face of society. It would make everything easier."

"Everything," the man said encouragingly, squeezing his shoulder tightly. Tobio winced a bit. He had a very strong grip. "And as the number one contributor to CITI, you would be responsible for this. All its successes. But all of its failings, too."

Tobio frowned. "I know that. That's why extensive data collection is required."

"Beta testing, diagnostics, live testing environments—of course. All of these would be required before it could be implemented, I'm sure." The man leaned in. "But the nature of this program invites… though I hate to say it… outside interference."

"Outside interference…" Tobio repeated, swallowing. His neck was prickling uneasily. "You mean… like—"

"Leaks," the man supplied. "Hacks. The wrong guy finds the wrong back door and…" He held up his fingers in front of Tobio's face and snapped, loud. Tobio jerked in surprise.

The wrong back door…

Tobio knew his program. He knew all too well the flip side of the coin, the dangers that came hand in hand with the benefits.

"You could take all the precautions you liked," the American said. "But people still. Get. In." He searched Tobio's face, his gaze appraising. "Don't they? They just find a way…"

"I'd have back ups—" Tobio started to say.

"You can back up everything, but they'd still need to pin the responsibility on someone. And when they do, that would be blamed… well, on you, Tobio, and I'm sure you wouldn't want that." The man leaned forward, staring into his face. "Which is why I'm saying you need a buffer. Some other people working over you, high level, of course. You'd still retain all rights and recognition…"

"I don't care about that," Tobio said. "I just care about my code. I know it better than anyone."

The man smiled. "And that's exactly why I'm coming to you, Tobio. My bosses and I… we just want to let you be the best you can be. Without any boundaries or anything to worry about."

"Your bosses?" Tobio asked, frowning. They had the same higher ups, didn't they? If they were so concerned about the security risks, why not talk to him themselves?

"All you have to do is ask for some help," the man said reassuringly. "What do you say, Tobio?"

"I… I really need to think about it," Tobio said. The man's hand on his shoulder tightened even more. "Ow, hey—"

"I'm really trying to do this in a way that's easiest for both of us," the man said, eyes piercing into Tobio's own.

Tobio felt his breath coming short, and tried to pull away. "Let go of me—"

The man stood, holding Tobio in a sitting position as he loomed over him. "This doesn't have to be difficult—"

BANG.

Their attention flew to the door as it slammed off the opposite wall, and standing there, in a maroon and black bellhop outfit was—

"Hinata!" Tobio said, feeling a mixture of confusion and relief.

Hinata was holding a platter of food in one hand like an afterthought, staring into the room. Tobio blinked, as he caught sight of the other boy's face.

His eyes were wide, at once blank and burning, expression frighteningly unreadable.

"Hinata?" he repeated, but Hinata ignored him.

The American let go of him abruptly, snapping out something in English. Hinata stared for a moment longer before his eyes fell on Tobio.

"Who is this?" he asked, in Japanese.

"I… he works with our company," Tobio said, feeling nervous, without any idea why.

"Why is he here?" Hinata demanded.

The American switched back to Japanese, too. "We were just having a little chat—"

"I asked him, not you," Hinata said tersely.

"Are you—" the man shook his head. "Who the hell are you?"

Hinata blinked once, slowly, at him. "Room service."

There was a very long pause.

"I think," Tobio finally said, after the silence had stretched on for some time, "that we were done talking, anyway."

"Tobio—" the man started to say, but,

"You're done," Hinata barked. "Bye."

The American looked back and forth between them, before sighing. He put a hand on Tobio's shoulder briefly, retracting it when Tobio jerked reflexively away and Hinata moved closer, surveying them like a bird of prey.

"Just think about what I said," the man told Tobio. "It might serve you well, later."

"Okay," Tobio nodded. And then, hoping it would hurry things along, "Thank you for the advice."

The man gave him a polite bow, before casting his gaze over onto Hinata. "Room service," he said, like a farewell.

"Night," Hinata said, waving a sarcastic goodbye as he crossed to the door to throw it shut behind the man. He turned back around, his glare now directed at Tobio.

"What?" Tobio snapped, feeling like he was caught out under a spotlight.

"Why would you let that guy in?" Hinata demanded.

"I—" Tobio stopped himself just short of saying I thought it was you at the door. "I work with him. I didn't know he was going to be so…" He wasn't even sure himself. "Weird."

"That's one word for it," Hinata scoffed.

Tobio glared at him, and a thought struck him. "Why are you here?"

"Told you," Hinata said, dropping the food platter on the dressing table. "Room service."

"I didn't order room service," Tobio said.

"Really?" Hinata said. "Weird. Have you eaten?"

Tobio realized that actually, no, he hadn't. He hadn't thought about dinner since he'd come back to his room to collapse pathetically into bed like a lovesick fool. "Uh, no."

"Lucky you, then," Hinata said, pulling the lid off the platter. Tobio's mouth began to water instantly at the sight and smell of filet mignon, pasta with some kind of cream sauce, mashed potatoes. "You can have it, I don't remember what room it's for," Hinata told him.

"Seriously?" Tobio asked, beelining for it. He noticed that Hinata had started making his way slowly about the room, unbuttoning his uniform shirt as he went. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Hinata shrugged. "What were you up to before he got here?"

"Not much," Tobio said. He made his way carefully to the bed, balancing plates in his hands. Hinata took some from him as he sat down, spreading them out over the covers. "I was just gonna watch a movie and go to bed."

"What movie?" Hinata asked, as Tobio dug into the food. He had pulled off his uniform shirt entirely now, leaving him in a soft cotton t-shirt and his black work pants.

Tobio blinked at him as Hinata settled down onto the bed. "Do you not… have work?"

"Nah, shift's about finished," Hinata said. "Let's watch something."

Tobio restarted Roman Holiday, though he may as well not have bothered. Hinata fell asleep on the movie nearly immediately, at which Tobio wanted to take great offense. But he couldn't. Not when Hinata had shown up again (and with incredibly good timing). Not when he looked like this, eyes closed, orange hair curling against the pillow, t-shirt slightly rucked up under his hand to expose his stomach as he scratched idly at his belly in his sleep.

Tobio made it through two more movies (The Princess Bride, then finally The Notebook) before he finally felt exhausted enough to go to bed. He turned off the movie and powered down his laptop, setting it and his glasses on the bedside table. Then he paused, contemplating waking Hinata. But in the end, he decided on lying beside him, curling up on his side facing the other boy.

Hinata breathed in sleepily, and then mumbled, "Want me to go?" His eyes were still closed.

Tobio shook his head, even though Hinata couldn't see it. "No, it's fine."

"You had a good time today?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah," Tobio nodded. "Did you?"

But he didn't get a response. Hinata had already fallen back asleep.

FRIDAY, 9:25 AM

Tobio woke up the next morning to the sound of running water. His alarm beeped steadily and he shut it off, eyes heavy. It was nearly half past nine, which meant he needed to be up, showering, and getting dressed.

The problem was, there was already someone in his shower.

He rolled sluggishly out of bed, fumbling with the zipper on his suitcase to pull the outfit he planned to wear out of it. Clothes bundled under his arm, he went and knocked on the bathroom door.

"I really hope that's you in there," he said, leaning against the door, sleepily.

"Depends," Hinata's voice called back. "Are you going to try and hit me with a book when I open the door?"

"I will if you make me late," Tobio told him.

He heard the water shut off, the sound of a towel being shaken out, and then the door flew open while he was still slumped against it, nearly sending him face first onto the bathroom floor.

When he gained his footing, he was confronted by the sight of Hinata, dripping wet, towel wrapped around his waist. That, in itself, wasn't a big deal—he'd seen Hinata in a towel before. Except the last time, Hinata had been wearing something under the towel.

"Why would you lean there," Hinata said, flicking his fingers against Tobio's forehead. "You knew I was coming out."

Tobio rubbed at his forehead and blinked stupidly at him before tearing his eyes away with a huff. He knew his face was red, and hoped Hinata hadn't noticed.

"Not right that second," Tobio grumbled. Then he yawned widely, so as to seem as nonchalant as possible.

"Shoulda slept earlier," Hinata told him. "Instead of staying up to watch The Workbook—"

"Notebook," Tobio corrected.

"Whatever," Hinata waved his hand.

"I thought you were sleeping by the time I got to that one," Tobio said.

"Only mostly," Hinata told him, moving out of the way so he could get inside the bathroom. "You woke me up with all the crying over their tragic love story—"

Tobio slammed the door in his face as obnoxious laughter filtered through from the other side, refusing to crack a smile even though Hinata could no longer see him. He had not, at any point, cried during the film. He'd seen it too many times for that to happen anymore. He only teared up a little and that definitely wasn't loud enough to wake anyone up. Unless…

He glared at the door, suspicious. Unless they'd never been asleep in the first place…

Shaking his head, he stepped into the shower. Hinata was so weird.

When Tobio opened the door again to unleash a billowing cloud of steam into the room, he wasn't overly surprised to find Hinata lazing about on the bed, flipping through TV channels.

"Late start today?" Tobio asked him, as he padded over to the mirror over the large dresser in his undershirt and boxers.

"I'm off, actually," Hinata informed him.

"Oh," Tobio said, trying not to sound too surprised—or wistful. He wished he could just skip the conference and hang out with Hinata on his last day. In the mirror, he could see Hinata watching him as he combed his hair (he wouldn't have bothered, normally, but the coordinator's words from the other day were still ringing in his head).

"What are you doing?" the other boy asked, as if reading his mind.

"Brushing my hair," Tobio informed him. "Something you have probably never done."

"You got me there," Hinata said, grinning as he rubbed a hand over the close cropped shave of his undercut.

He lounged about while Tobio, hair now swept off his forehead and neatly to one side, pulled on his dark slacks and button down. He still had about fifteen minutes left, which he figured left him enough time to tackle his next task.

He pulled his (only) tie off a hanger in the closet, opening up a YouTube page once he had it situated around his neck. Tongue between his teeth, he hit play on the video, watching closely as the girl on screen walked through the process of tying it properly.

On the first try, he got his fingers stuck in the knot. The second time, it looked to be tied successfully, only for the entire thing to come undone as soon as he let go of it. The third attempt left the whole tie lopsided and lumpy, and at that point, Hinata had begun to roll around on the bed with laughter.

"Like you could do any better!" Tobio yelled, ripping the tie off his neck. He refused to believe that Hinata, with his tight white shorts and general shirtlessness, knew what to do with the scrap of cloth.

Hinata stood, motioning for Tobio to sit on the bed. "Can't I, Kageyama-kun?" he asked, smirking.

Tobio's face burned. "Then do it already. I'm going to be late."

Hinata picked the tie up from the ground and sifted it through his fingers. Tobio bent his head automatically and Hinata looped it around his neck, still running his hands over it. "You could ask nicely."

Tobio scowled at him. "So you can laugh at me again?"

"Mmmno," Hinata said. "Maybe because you need to be at the meeting room in about eight minutes."

"sh*t," Tobio swore. "Tie the damn thing."

"Hmmm…" Hinata said, tapping his chin contemplatively.

"Tie the damn thing, please."

"Oooh, so close."

"Hinata-senpai," Tobio begged, and Hinata grinned. In seconds, he had tied a perfect knot at Tobio's throat, patting it down with his fingers. He smiled up at Tobio.

Tobio fidgeted. "Well?"

"You look like a total nerd," Hinata said. "And also like someone who is very late."

"Shut up," Tobio told him, followed by, "sh*t, f*ck, alright—thanks—" He paused by the door to pull on his dress shoes, before turning back. "Will you, um…"

"See you later," Hinata said, with a wave.

Tobio blinked at him for a second, wide-eyed, before nodding. "Okay!" he said, voice too loud, and then cleared his throat. "I guess."

Hinata laughed. "Would you just go?"

Tobio spun, bolting out of the room, late once again.

There were a good deal more people than there had been at the rehearsal. Tobio wasn't entirely pleased to catch sight of the American in the crowd, but he inclined his head as the man raised a hand in greeting. This was as far as his politeness extended, however. He edged around to the opposite side of the room, ignoring the seat reserved for him at the front in favor of a space at the very outskirts.

As the lights dimmed and the CEO took his place at the front of the room, Tobio settled in, fingers tapping nervously on the lid of his laptop, not feeling very ready to face the boring slog of the day.

By noon, he was already nodding off, only to be awoken by the sound of chairs shifting as people started to disperse for lunch. He stifled a yawn and started to get up, hoping the food, at least, would be good.

Somebody dropped down in the seat next to him and he jumped, startled. Caught off guard, he awkwardly turned to face the newcomer to find…

Hinata, digging through a plastic bag at his feet to unload a couple styrofoam containers filled with Japanese take-out. He wasn't wearing a uniform this time; he was in a dark, fitted button down and tan slacks, and he looked—really, really good.

"What are you doing here?" Tobio asked, blankly. "How did you get in here, this is for convention attendees only."

"Everyone was busy in the lunch line," Hinata said, grinning at him. "I would have come in with you but that might've been too obvious. Plus I needed to change."

"Put on clothes, you mean," Tobio said, accepting one of the take out boxes. "Why did you—"

"I took a look at the lunch spread," Hinata told him, leaning in conspiratorially. "Lotsof olives."

Tobio grimaced. He had an aversion to olives, which Hinata had discovered Tuesday night at dinner after trying to get him to eat one. Once, as a child, he'd gotten his tongue stuck in the center of one and bitten it horribly trying to free himself. Hinata had cried laughing at the story of his misfortune.

"Thank you," Tobio said, truly grateful as he stuffed a pork bun into his mouth. "Did you sneak in here just to bring this?"

"Yeah, and I got all dressed up for it, too. I'll be on my way, now," Hinata said. Tobio looked at him and he sighed, laughing. "No, I'm staying! I wanted to check it out."

"It's boring," Tobio warned him. "And you probably won't understand a thing." He didn't know why he was telling Hinata that. He didn't actually want him to leave.

But what if Hinata had come to watch his presentation and Tobio disappointedhim?

"I will… take my chances," Hinata said, slurping a long noodle into his mouth and making Tobio wrinkle his nose.

"You're in a business setting," Tobio informed him. "Try to act your age."

This made Hinata snort. "Right, yet here I am bringing food to the kid afraid of olives."

"Oy!" Tobio spluttered, hushing his voice as people began to trail back in with their food and the next speaker stepped up to the podium. "I'm not afraid of olives, I just don't trust them."

Hinata shushed him loudly, and Tobio attempted to elbow him in the side. They both quieted as the next presentation began.

Two more presentations in and Tobio felt a hand tugging on his sleeve. He leaned over, and Hinata whispered into his ear, "Yeah… I'm totally lost."

Tobio covered his mouth to hide his grin.

"Shut up," Hinata muttered, and Tobio could feel him smile, breath tickling his ear.

"You're not missing much," he said out of the corner of his mouth. "This is boring stuff, database migration."

"Not like yours," Hinata said.

"Right."

"That's the one I'm looking forward to." Hinata leaned back into his seat, and Tobio sat up a little straighter, suddenly feeling more confident and more nervous, simultaneously.

In what seemed like no time at all, they were watching the speaker scheduled right before him, and then listening to closing remarks, and questions. Tobio's stomach clenched unpleasantly as the coordinator started announcing his presentation, and Hinata jabbed him sharply in the side.

"We would now like to present our next speaker…"

"Hey," Hinata said, as Tobio rubbed his side and glared at him. "I'll be here."

"An enterprising young man who started with the company only recently, but who has managed…"

Hinata shooed him forward and he walked stiffly up the aisle. There was no tech that day; Tobio reached the podium and set up his laptop without glancing up once. The projection screens to either side of him flickered as he hooked his computer up to the HDMI. He took a breath and looked out over the crowd.

It was dim, but not so dim he couldn't see the sea of faces in front of him, the whispering chatter of their voices growing louder the longer he stood there, not speaking. He gripped the sides of the podium tightly, trying to anchor himself, but it was useless. If he glanced to the side, he could see the coordinator watching him, ready to step in—but she wouldn't make excuses for him this time. Perhaps to the crowd watching, but not to his superiors. The CEO himself sat in the front row, staring expectantly—he had probably never heard of CITI before, and what if he didn't understand it? Or didn't care? What if—

A loud scraping, squealing noise from the back of the room made him snap his gaze in that direction as heads turned to look. The noise had been made by someone dragging their chair across the floor—and there, now scooted out a little bit into the aisle, apart from the rest of the crowd, sat Hinata.

"Sorry," he whispered loudly, and Tobio bit the inside of his cheek so he wouldn't laugh.

Hinata gave him a tiny wave, which he did not return, but the other boy must have understood. He pointed at Tobio once, then back at himself. Like he was saying, I'm here. Look at me.

It was lucky, Tobio thought, that Hinata was so naturally bright. The other faces in the crowd started to blur, and he nodded, shoulders relaxing.

"Good—good evening," he said, clearing his throat as his voice cracked slightly (and Hinata would totally make fun of him for that later, but Tobio could devise a way to get back at him, probably). "My name is Kageyama Tobio…" He took another deep breath, remembering to slow down as the translator echoed him in English.

"I'm here today to talk about my program: CITI."

A startling thing began to happen, as he flipped through his slides, explaining the program, how it worked, what it did. Instead of bored faces, he saw people pick up their heads to watch him, the veneer of tolerance sloughing away to reflect actual interest. People leaned forward in their seats, nodded and murmured to their colleagues, clapped as he presented point after data point. He found his voice getting louder, more sure and deliberate as he answered questions directed at him, even though it had been stated multiple times that questions were to be held until the end. The crowd ignored this. They simply wanted more of the knowledge he had to offer them.

At one point, a pair of older employees, senior developers, began to ask a series of leading questions, trying to trap him into an admittance of a flaw in the program. But CITI, Tobio knew, had no flaws, and it was easy to deflect their questions back at them, turn them around, leave them reaching for justifications themselves. The crowd applauded him and it was impossible to suppress the smile that snuck onto his face, something between a smirk and a grin. He happened to glance at Hinata, caught a reflection of the same expression on the other boy's face, his eyes wide and bright. Tobio looked away quickly, confidence expanding like a balloon in his chest.

He finished his presentation to very loud applause that carried on for what seemed like a long, long time, as he bent his head to murmur a thank you into the mic. He caught a glimpse of the event coordinator—she was clapping, too, and when their eyes met she gave him a smile and nod. Relieved, he gathered up his things and returned to his seat next to Hinata, dropping back into it without looking at his friend.

"So how much of that did you actually get?" Tobio asked him.

"Not a damn word," Hinata admitted freely.

Tobio grinned and glanced at him—and caught his breath when he saw Hinata unashamedly staring back, eyes sparkling, a little secretive smile playing over his face.

"What?" Tobio whispered breathlessly. The excitement of nailing his presentation was one thing. The way Hinata was looking at him currently was an entirely different matter.

"Nothing," Hinata said. "You did good."

And Tobio felt daring, riding the high of achievement. Like now he could do anything. "Good enough for you to forget the job?"

Hinata faced straight ahead and smiled and didn't give him an answer.

*

Tobio's hotel room was dark by the time they returned, the lights still off and bed unmade, Do Not Disturb sign doing its job. Hinata walked in like he belonged, flicking on the lights, unbuttoning his dress shirt to shrug out of it, tossing it onto one of the lounge chairs and leaving him in his white undershirt and slacks.

"I told you," he said, and Tobio could hear the grin in his voice, even with his back to him. He started to fumble with the knot in his tie, grimacing. "I told you," Hinata said again. "You killed it. They loved you!"

"They didn't love me," Tobio said, tugging at the tie, succeeding only in tightening it. "They loved my code."

And that might be true, but the resounding applause was still ringing in his head. The people lining up to ask him more questions after the talks had adjourned had made him swell with pride, and relief. The pats on the back, the introductions, the CEO personally shaking his hand made his footsteps feel light, and his heart feel sure and brave.

"They loved you," Hinata insisted. "They were so into it!" He turned and caught sight of Tobio slowly strangling himself with his own tie. "Don't pull on that part, pull on the knot."

"I am…!" Tobio did as instructed, but the knot snagged, not loosening in the slightest.

Hinata shook his head and walked over to him. "This is basic, Genius-kun," he said, laughing.

He reached up and hooked his finger into the knot, slowly sliding it loose. It came apart easily under his touch, unraveling around Tobio's neck until the two ends of the tie lay separated against his button down shirt.

"Thanks," Tobio said.

"Don't mention it," Hinata told him.

Tobio reached to grab Hinata's wrist as he started to move away. "No, I mean… for all the other stuff."

Hinata smirked, fingers questing lower instead of pulling away, finding the top button where it was fastened at Tobio's throat. "Like how you would have stared uselessly at a crowd of five hundred people without my unending support?"

"Shut up," Tobio told him, sounding completely unconvincing as Hinata undid the button, sliding the collar of the shirt apart, before leaving his hand where it was, thumb right at the pulse of Tobio's throat. Tobio swallowed. He knew Hinata felt it.

"Nerd," Hinata said, softly. "You probably always do the top button, I bet."

"Why's it there if you're not supposed to do it?" Tobio asked, voice sounding thick even to his own ears.

Hinata blinked. Then he trailed his eyes down Tobio's body, and back up again, contemplative. "Great question, Kageyama-kun."

His adrenaline rush, still not subsided, spurred Tobio on as he grabbed one end of the tie and yanked, pulling it off his neck, letting it fall to the floor. "I don't… want to go. To this dumb afterparty." He stepped closer to Hinata, so much taller than him, even as Hinata's gaze leveled him. "Let's stay here."

Hinata trailed his hand a little lower, finding Tobio's second button, undoing that, too. "You can't. Everyone expects you to be there."

"So?" Tobio asked, stepping closer. Now Hinata moved back, matching him step for step.

"They all want to talk to the genius coder," he said, as the third button came undone.

"There will be a lot of coders there," Tobio said, reaching out for Hinata's waist, wanting to hold onto something, hold onto him, while he still could. Hinata's fingers slipped lower, gripping at his shirt. All the while, Tobio backed him up farther, toward the big, soft bed.

"None as smart as you, though." Hinata smiled. "Right?" Fourth button, the one at Tobio's navel, undone.

"Right," Tobio confirmed, nodding, and Hinata laughed at this, as his knees hit the bed, and he sat. His hands roamed lower, thumbs finding the indents of Tobio's hips as he tugged at his shirt, pulling it out from where it was tucked into his slacks. Tobio leaned forward, bracing his hands on the bed, leaning down until Hinata was almost lying against the sheets, grinning up at him, like everything was one big joke. Tobio didn't mind not being in on it—he just liked that Hinata was smiling.

He tilted his head to the side, staring at Hinata's mouth, the way it turned up at the corners, how his mouth was kind of small but his lips were full. He had a barely noticeable, thin white line running down through the edge of the bottom one, over onto his chin. Yet another scar. Tobio wondered how many more he could find, if he looked close enough.

Hinata breathed against his lips and then tilted his head back enough to look Tobio in the eyes.

"Kageyama-kun."

"Mmm."

Hinata deftly rolled out from under him, leaving Tobio to faceplant into the bed gracelessly.

"Take off your shirt and get changed so we don't miss this party."

Chapter 5

Chapter Text

It took less time to make it out to Port Dickson in the evening, traveling in rented company cars after the traffic rush had died down for the day. Tobio thought the ride wasn't as enjoyable as it had been on the back of Hinata's bike, nor as scenic as the route they'd taken through the city then, but at least Hinata was still with him, sitting next to him in the car and chatting surprisingly amicably with the other businessmen they were riding with. They had conspired to say Hinata was his translator for the night, and no one seemed to mind too much—either they wouldn't have cared in the first place, or there was just too much booze flowing through their veins already.

The beach bar was already boisterous by the time they arrived; the long strip of land surrounding it seemed to have been rented out by the company, and the party was in full swing. They managed to fight their way to the front of the crowd surrounding the bar, where Tobio ordered the first (alcoholic) drink off the menu, pointedly ignoring Hinata's round eyes and delighted expression.

"It's my last night," he said grouchily, and Hinata grinned even wider.

They were almost immediately waylaid by more corporate employees, all wanting to speak to Tobio. Hinata fielded questions from some of the non-Japanese speakers, and Tobio clutched his drink in hand, doing his best to answer. After some time he tugged on Hinata's sleeve a bit pleadingly, and the other boy made his excuses for him, much like an overenthusiastic public relations representative. Tobio got the sense he was enjoying himself a little too much, from the way he kept shooting little grins over in Tobio's direction.

They made their way down to a much quieter section of the beach—the farther they got from the bar, the less noisy it was, until they were alone and apart from the rest of the crowd.

"Why do you keep smiling so much?" Tobio asked him. "You better not be translating what I say weird."

"I'm being a hundred percent faithful to what you say!" Hinata protested. "Some people have been asking interesting questions, though."

"Like?"

"Well, that balding guy with the glasses was really pushing to have you go on a date with his daughter…"

Tobio choked. "What?"

"I got her contact info, if you're interested," Hinata told him, very clearly trying not to laugh.

Tobio groaned and contemplated his drink. Figuring he needed it now more than ever, he took a deep swallow of the clear liquid, and immediately spray-spit most of it back out. Next to him, Hinata threw his head back and laughed.

"I can't tell you," he said, between obnoxious snorting chuckles, "how hard it's been not to laugh since I saw you order that."

"Shut up!" Tobio shouted, swiping out a hand. Hinata rolled to the side, dodging him. He was still laughing. "I've never tried it before, I'm not old enough to drink at home."

"Right," Hinata said, wiping tears from his eyes, "and if you were you'd be a fish in water, huh?"

"No! I just—" Tobio huffed. "I just wanted this night to be… different."

Hinata smiled. "I see." Then he snorted again. "So you just get… a straight up… gin on the rocks—" He dissolved back into laughter.

Tobio glared at him, and then at the glass in his hand. "What's funny? This sh*t is disgusting, how was I supposed to know?"

"It's not that bad," Hinata said. "You just have to develop a taste for it."

"Impossible," Tobio scoffed.

Hinata raised an eyebrow. His hand blurred, too quick to stop when he plucked the glass out of Tobio's grasp, ignoring his protests. Any complaints died on Tobio's tongue as Hinata put the glass to his lips and knocked it back. Tobio stared at the way his Adam's apple moved when he swallowed, at the drop that escaped his lips and rolled over his chin and down his throat. Hinata downed it in one go, leaving nothing in the glass but ice.

He grinned. "Not impossible."

Tobio leaned forward and kissed him. Hinata tasted like the awful, awful drink, but somehow it wasn't so awful, like this. Hinata let the hand holding the drink drop to the sand. The kiss was just a press of lips; closed-mouthed, maybe with a little teeth thanks to Hinata's still-lingering smile, but nothing more, before Tobio pulled back.

Hinata tilted his head, expression quizzical. "Why do you keep trying to kiss me?"

He didn't sound upset. Tobio shrugged. "I did kiss you this time. And it's because I want to."

Hinata leaned back in the sand and looked away from him. His profile was shadowed, the lights from the party not quite reaching them, way down the beach. "Why'd you want to?"

"Why are you asking me so many questions?" Tobio asked. Hinata grinned, but didn't look back at him. But Tobio wasn't trying to make a joke. He thought it should be obvious why he did it. "I like you, I guess."

"You guess."

"Yeah, I guess," Tobio reaffirmed.

"Well, consider me swept off my feet," Hinata said. He seemed to remember he had his own drink, something amber and rich. He took a small sip, licking his lips absentmindedly after he swallowed.

Tobio kissed him again. The taste this time was different—maybe not better, but less sharp. A burning sweetness in place of the bitter bite of the gin. He didn't pull back right away this time. Instead, he ran his tongue over Hinata's lips, forming two conclusions.

The first was that not all alcohol was created equal, and some drinks were superior to others. He imagined he could, with time, develop a 'taste' for whatever this smoky, warm flavor was in his mouth.

The second conclusion was that it might take far less time to develop a taste for Hinata, who made his head spin in seconds and his fists clench where he still had his hands in his lap.

The clinking of ice snapped him out of his dazed thoughts. He opened his eyes to see Hinata's were open, too, so he backed away, again.

"Are you going to keep doing that?" Hinata asked.

Tobio looked down at his knees. "Are you going to tell me to stop?"

Hinata seemed to consider this. Finally, he said, "No."

Tobio nodded. "Then, yes. I probably will keep doing it."

Hinata smiled. "You're weird," he said, taking another sip of his drink. When he lowered the glass, Tobio was already leaning in to press their lips together again.

Hinata didn't kiss him back, not quite. Not at first. Tobio wondered if maybe he didn't like it and just didn't want to say anything, but then Hinata tipped his head to the side, and suddenly Tobio's nose and glasses were much less in the way, giving him far better access to Hinata's mouth. He figured Hinata couldn't mind all that much, then.

They kissed, they broke apart, and Hinata sipped his drink, without breaking eye contact. This time, when Tobio leaned in, Hinata met him. Tobio felt a hand curl into the hair at the nape of his neck—his own hands were still kept resolutely in his lap—and Hinata tugged, slightly.

Tobio opened his mouth. He wasn't sure why, or what, caused him to do it, other than it felt good when Hinata pulled on his hair, and it made him want to… open. So he did.

The next thing he knew, there was something wet and soft sliding past his lips, and then the smooth taste of Hinata's drink, spilling into his mouth from where Hinata had been holding it on his tongue. Tobio made a noise, coughed a little, and Hinata pulled back.

"Sorry," he said. He didn't look very sorry.

"I was just surprised," Tobio said. "Do it again."

Hinata did do it again. And again. And many more times. They finished the drink that way, and each time they shared a sip back and forth between them, the kiss got a bit deeper, it took longer for them to come up for air. Hinata moved slower inside of him, tongue stroking and tracing lines and licking deep.

"How does it taste now?" Hinata asked him, when the drink was gone, and Tobio had lost almost all of his capacity to think straight.

Tobio pushed him back against the ground and lay next to him, and the glass rolled out of Hinata's fingers, ice spilling into the cool sand, melting slowly. Tobio only wanted to keep going, keep kissing Hinata, so he did. First on the mouth again, but then other places, Hinata's jaw, his neck, so he tasted salt, now, too. Hinata didn't move under him, but when Tobio, daring, ran his tongue over the sweat on Hinata's skin, he felt fingers thread through his hair.

He liked it. He liked it so much when Hinata touched him. He wasn't used to that, enjoying proximity.

"Hinata… can you touch… can…" His words slurred, and he wasn't sure if it was due to the alcohol, or Hinata.

"Hmm?" Hinata murmured. He traced one finger over the shell of Tobio's ear, and Tobio's whole body jerked against his will, his hips grinding into the grainy sand below.

"Touch me more," he exhaled, face pressed into Hinata's neck, glasses digging hard into the bridge of his nose.

In contrast to his wish, the gentle brushes in his hair stilled. "Ah…" Hinata said. He sounded oddly surprised. "Sorry. No."

Tobio picked his head up to stare at him. "No?"

Hinata pushed himself up onto his elbows. "Yeah, sorry. I can't."

"You just were," Tobio pointed out.

"sh*t happens," Hinata said, and Tobio could tell he was laughing again, inwardly. "Probably not smart for me to be making out with you, either."

"Why? Because of work?" Tobio scoffed.

"Yeah, let's go with that," Hinata nodded.

Tobio glared at him. Then he flopped back down in the sand. "Fine." He reached his hand lower, jerked down the fly of his jeans. "Fine, whatever."

Hinata sat up fully. "What are you about to try?"

"I'm not trying anything, I'm already doing it," Tobio grated out, irritated.

"Do, or do not. There is no try," Hinata joked.

"Don't quote people taller than you," Tobio snapped back.

Hinata's mouth dropped open, probably at the insult, but also because Tobio was now wrapping a hand around himself inside his boxers, biting his lip against a loud gasp.

"Are you serious?" Hinata demanded.

Tobio ignored him, starting to work his hand slow and steady. He was already hard, and having Hinata right next to him, watching him (for better or worse), was only making him feel more pent up.

"You're just gonna ignore me?" Hinata continued. "Is that what's happening now? Is the horny idiot cranky?"

"If you aren't going to touch me, I'll do it myself," Tobio huffed, not as forcefully as he would have liked. His voice was a bit too breathless, a bit too hoarse. "You can leave if you want, just go."

"Oh my god," Hinata said, and then he started laughing. "You are insane," he added, before stretching out on his side in the sand next to Tobio, staying propped up on one elbow. He looked down at him, face totally unreadable.

"What?" Tobio ground out. "I told you to leave."

"No, you said I could, if I wanted to." Hinata grinned. "I'm blocking you from view. Go wild."

Hinata's smile, that stupid, billion-watt thing, did so many things to Tobio. He stared up at it with what he knew was undisguised arousal as he stroked himself from base to tip, imagining it was Hinata's touch, Hinata's hand warm around him. It wasn't difficult, not when Hinata had his gaze locked on him, eyes unblinking. Tobio's thumb caught on the underside of his co*ckhead and he arched his back before going limp in the sand, a soft moan escaping his lips.

And then there was a voice in his ear.

"Sorry. I'd touch you, if I could," Hinata whispered to him, voice low, a little rough. "I'd have my hands all over you faster than you could beg me for it."

Tobio froze, stunned, hand stilling on himself. There was heat, tongues of fire beneath his toes, making them curl as the flames rose.

"Don't stop," Hinata murmured. "Don't stop, because I wouldn't. If I could take you, I wouldn't stop until you came apart."

"Oh, f*ck," Tobio whispered, before he let his hand fly over his co*ck, fast and rough, rougher than he'd normally like it, but—

"Good, that's good." Hinata's breath was warm against his ear, and he was right, it was so good. "Is this how you want it? How you want me? Raw and hard?"

"Ye—yes?" Tobio gasped. "I don't—I've never—" He tried to focus on Hinata's face, but it was difficult, his glasses were fogging up, sea salt grit on them from the motion of him tossing his head in the sand.

"That's okay," Hinata soothed him. "You could get on me, if you wanted to. I'm really f*cking good, Kageyama. I'd give you my co*ck and let you ride me until you forgot your name."

"O-okay, yeah—" That sounded great, Tobio didn't even know what else he'd want, what more he could want. He'd never thought about somebody f*cking him before, hadn't ever experimented with that by himself—but the thought of being filled by Hinata was making him shudder uncontrollably. "Yes, that—that. Are there other… things—?"

There were apparently a lot of other things. Hinata told him how he would touch him, and where, and how Tobio would touch him, too—how many fingers he could use and the kinds of noises Hinata would make at one, two, three—and all the different ways they could f*ck: dirty and hard, or taking their time, slow and deep and into the early hours of the morning. Tobio couldn't close his wide, wide eyes behind his smudged lenses, couldn't do anything but stare up at Hinata leaning over him, silhouetted against the faraway lights of the party, couldn't look away even when his whole body started to shake from the force of his building pleasure.

"Are you close?" Hinata asked. "Gonna come for me?"

"f*ck, yes, I'm—"

Hinata leaned in. He got filthy. "Would you watch? As I took your co*ck inside me? As I sank down and every wet inch of you disappeared into me, until I was sitting on you, until you could rock up into me—sh*t, I'd make you feel so good—"

Tobio had never even dreamed anything this good, never even imagined. He closed his eyes, and he could see it, imagined running his hands over the myriad of faded scars across that lithe, perfectly sculpted body, naked and flushed above him, Hinata's thighs spread wide over his hips, head thrown back at the feeling of Tobio inside him, filling him—

"I'd let you spill inside me," Hinata breathed, "I'd make you come just from feeling me around you."

Tobio shuddered, his co*ck spasmed, and he pumped into his own hand as he org*smed, voice louder than it had any right to be. Hinata touched him then, pressing his palm to Tobio's lips, muffling the sound of his moans.

He didn't lean back right away. Instead, he leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the back of the hand he held over Tobio's mouth. Tobio blinked up at him, dazed, before mirroring him, weakly kissing Hinata's palm. Only after that did Hinata pull away.

"Don't ever say I did nothing for you," he said, sounding infuriatingly smug.

"You did nothing for me," Tobio said immediately, petulantly. "You just spouted bullsh*t."

Hinata laughed. "Sexy bullsh*t, though. You lasted like four minutes."

This was true, and it should be embarrassing, but Tobio had gin and whiskey flowing through his veins, and the memory of Hinata's lips on his, and the image of himself tangled up in Hinata, who apparently would be all for it but for the job. All of which made what just happened less embarrassing, and more inevitable. Tobio's lips quirked. "Shut the f*ck up."

Hinata stood, brushing sand off his pants, and Tobio followed, grimacing. The inside of his boxers were a sticky mess.

"Ugh, I need to go find a bathroom," he complained.

"Now you decide to find somewhere private," Hinata shouted, before taking off down the beach when Tobio attempted to grab him and shove sand down the back of his shorts.

SATURDAY, 8:00 AM

Saturday morning, the morning that Tobio was scheduled to leave, brought with it a pounding headache, an alarm that blared Jimmy Buffet's "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" far too loudly, and regrettably, all of his clothing in its proper place on his body. He didn't remember much after the beach, but he knew nothing else had taken place with Hinata, other than what they'd already done.

Still. It had been a fun night.

With great effort, he turned his head to the side to see Hinata, shirtless and passed out cold on the bed next to him. Slowly, Tobio realized the chainsaw noises issuing from his mouth were snores. He had managed to sleep through this.

"Hinata," he groaned, smacking Hinata on the back ineffectively. "Dumbass, wake up, your snoring is going to make my head explode."

Hinata snorted very loudly and rolled over. "Who's yellin'?"

"No one's yelling," Tobio told him.

"You're yelling," Hinata moaned, pulling the pillow over his head.

"I'm not yelling," Tobio yelled, and then groaned again as his head throbbed. "Share the pillow."

Hinata scooted the pillow over so they were both lying under it in the dark.

"I'm never drinking with you again," Hinata mumbled into the pillow.

"You won't have to," Tobio said, resigned. "I'll probably never see you again."

Hinata turned, squinting at him. "So pessimistic, Kageyama-kun."

"I fly out in two hours," Tobio huffed. "And you're—"

"Wait, what?" Hinata asked, blinking at him. "When is your flight?"

"Two hours," Tobio repeated forlornly. "Ten fifteen, actually."

"Oh, sh*t," Hinata said, sitting upright and throwing the pillow off. "Kageyama!"

"You knew I was leaving today," Tobio complained, dragging himself into a sitting position.

"No, we need to leave now!" Hinata said frantically, throwing the sheets off himself. "The airport is an hour away, and security could take forever!"

Tobio's eyes widened. "sh*t."

Forty-five minutes later, thanks to Hinata's uncannily good bike maneuvering abilities, they were pulling into Departures at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Tobio pulled off the helmet, hair falling into his eyes. "How are we still alive?" he gasped.

"You're being dramatic," Hinata told him with a roll of his eyes. "And you don't have time for that. Hurry up!"

Tobio jumped off the back off the bike, grabbing his suitcase from the luggage basket affixed to the back. He needed to be running, but he couldn't move, standing frozen in front of the bike.

"Hinata—"

"Whatever you're about to say, don't," Hinata said, before his mouth lifted at the corners. "Stop being so sure we're never going to see each other again."

"I'm—" Tobio started to say.

"Go!"

A car horn honked and Tobio broke from his trance, pelting through the doors with his suitcase in tow. He paused briefly, looking back, but Hinata was now being assailed by more blaring horns, waving apologetically as he vacated the loading zone, puttering away on the bike.

As predicted, it took Tobio nearly two hours of restlessly, anxiously waiting in line to just barely make it to his gate. They were already announcing passenger boarding as he ran up, out of breath and desperately needing a bathroom. There was one right across from his gate, and he hauled his suitcase in behind him, grateful that there was no line.

At this point, his thoughts began to wander. It was entirely possible, he realized as he relieved himself, that Hinata had only said what he had in order to get him to start moving. It was much more probable, really, that they never would see each other again. Hinata only had his name—not an address in Tokyo, not an e-mail, not even a phone number.

Hinata probably didn't want to see him again. Cursing himself and Hinata inwardly, he went to wash his hands.

The door opened behind him and he heard footsteps as more people shuffled in. He washed his hands for far too long in a daze, distracted by his thoughts, and was only shaken out of them when the sinks on either side of him became occupied, and someone else lined up behind him.

"Excuse me," he muttered, letting the automated faucet peter out as he turned to go.

The tall figure behind him didn't budge. The two on either side of him were standing close, making it hard for him to maneuver.

"Excuse… me," he repeated, awkwardly.

"Tobio," a pleasant voice said, and he finally looked up to find he was staring into the face of the American. "How good to see you again."

Tobio stared at him for a second, utterly thrown off guard. "Yeah," he finally said, although it really wasn't good at all. "I'm about to be late for my flight, though, so…"

The man laughed. "That's quite alright. Quite alright."

Tobio blinked. "No… it's not. Look, if you want to email me about what we discussed, fine, but I really need to go—"

The man grabbed him. One hand on the back of his neck, strong as a vice, forcing his head down low. Tobio gasped.

"Tobio," the man said, bending low so Tobio could understand him. Dimly, Tobio was aware that his Japanese was no longer accented. It was flawlessly spoken, almost too flawless. Too practiced. "I think it would be best for all of us… you in particular, but it would help my friends and I considerably… if you were to start cooperating now."

"Who are you?" Tobio asked, frightened, a strange, slow-motion panic overtaking him as his glasses started to slip off his nose. "What do you want with me?"

"Tobio, you're smarter than that," the man said genially. "So much smarter… in fact, that's exactly why we want you."

Tobio froze. "You want CITI."

The man chuckled. "Maybe not as smart as we've given you credit for—but you'll learn."

"Then—"

"Tobio," the American said, before he whispered into his ear, his next words sending chills up Tobio's spine. "We've already got CITI."

Tobio went still in his grasp. "What?"

"I think you heard me the first time," the man said. "So you must realize, now, why we're here."

"Because I'm the one that built it," Tobio said, his heart in his throat as he realized what was happening.

This wasn't a negotiation or a coercion.

This was an abduction.

"Exactly," the man said. "And this time, Tobio, there's nobody here to interrupt us—"

The bathroom door was flung open so hard it banged off the opposite wall. The three men spun to face it, and Tobio felt the weight on his neck mercifully lift. He looked up, in time to see—

He blinked, shut his eyes, opened them. Shook his head vaguely, because what he was seeing made even less sense than the situation he currently found himself in.

A small, orange-haired figure, clad all in black—boots, combat pants, plain shirt—hurtled into the bathroom. As the door swung closed, Tobio caught sight of something on the other side of the door, on the ground—a body, lying face down on the floor.

One of the men to Tobio's side yelled something in English, pulled something small and black and metal from his coat—a thing Tobio had only seen before in movies, never in real life. Tobio felt a sharp stab of sheer terror.

"Hinata, NO!" he shouted, as his friend barreled toward them at full tilt, heedless of the gun pointed straight at him.

The gun shots in the enclosed space were the loudest noises Tobio had ever heard in his life, louder than fireworks or cars backfiring or his microwave oven exploding the time he'd left a spoon in his soup as a child. His ears rang, and then a screeching type of deafness followed, a high-pitched tone resounding in his head following in the wake of the ringing.

He fell back against the sink and lost his footing, sitting hard on the damp floor. The world spun, and when he could process it again, he watched what was happening through the gap in the American's widened stance.

Astoundingly, Hinata did not lay dead in front of him. Hinata, in the moment in time between the shouting and the gun going off, had snatched up Tobio's suitcase from where it sat against the wall. The bullets punched through the back of the bag, but not all the way through all his clothes and belongings.

And instead of stopping, instead of raising his hands in surrender, Hinata flung the suitcase with all his might at the man with the gun, nailing him in the stomach and knocking the wind from his lungs.

The second man was reaching into the back waistband of his pants, and Tobio saw the flash of light on metal, opened his mouth to scream a warning, but Hinata surged forward, into range, elbow snapping out as he ducked under the man's wild flailing of arms—his time spent going for his gun had cost him.

He doubled over, and Hinata grabbed him by the shoulder pads of his suit as he staggered forward, momentum aiding him as he slammed the man's head into the paper towel dispenser on the opposite wall so hard the metal dented.

There was more movement to Tobio's side, the first gunman had recovered, and the American was reaching for his own weapon. Hinata yanked the barely conscious man he'd incapacitated in front of him to cover his small frame just in time and—

The man jerked, one, two, three, four times as his body was riddled with bullets from his own companions.

Hinata planted a foot on his backside and kicked forward, sending him sprawling into the other two men. In the second it took them to get their wits about them, Hinata was already moving, landing a sharp kick to the first shooter's wrist, sending his gun flying high into the air, lashing out a second time to kick him in the chest and back into the sink.

The gun he caught as it fell back down, aimed, fired before the man ever had a chance to regain his footing. His head snapped back and blood splattered back against the mirror, a sudden spray of red.

Silently, Hinata whipped the gun forward to aim it at the American.

The entire, shocking display of violence took less than thirty seconds, from start to finish. Through all this, Tobio had sat on the bathroom floor, trembling and motionless, his hearing still stuck on the singular whine in his head, sounds beginning to fade in, muffled and distant. He wanted to cry, but his body wouldn't function properly. All his senses had narrowed down to one question.

Was Hinata there to help him, or…?

Currently, Hinata was speaking to the American. The man now seemed to think much, much better of confronting him directly—he dropped his gun to the floor. Hinata kicked it off to the side.

Tobio couldn't hear them, couldn't make out the words they were saying. He heard the dim echoes of words, but nothing more. Shakily, he reached up, holding onto the sink to drag himself to his feet. He held on, sure he would fall without support.

He became aware of Hinata turning to face him, and he shrank back, terrified. It took him a few tries to understand the words Hinata was saying, to try and read his lips.

Are you hurt?

Tobio shook his head slowly, no. Hinata nodded, but then a blur of movement brought his focus jerking back around, as the American lunged for him.

Hinata sidestepped, hand snapping out, catching the man in the windpipe. Tobio watched the man's eyes bug out, watched him claw at his throat—and then Hinata grabbed the collar of his shirt with one hand, yanked, got his other hand on the back of his head—and smashed his face, vicious and sudden, into the white sink.

Tobio was still watching. He saw as it caved the front of the man's skull in. The faucet, triggered automatically, ran the water. The American's blood swirled red and thick down the drain.

Words came to him, like the shock of what he'd witnessed had returned his powers of hearing.

"—geyama. Kageyama!"

He whirled, heart thundering, to see Hinata staring at him, blood on his hands.

"Is your laptop in there?" he demanded, pointing at Tobio's backpack.

After a moment, Tobio gave a short, sharp nod.

"Good," Hinata said. "Keep up, we're moving. We're out of time."

He brushed past Tobio without another word, headed for the door.

"What—" Tobio croaked. "What are you going to do—with me?"

Hinata turned back to him, eyes searing and deadly.

"I'm going to keep you alive."

Chapter 6

Chapter Text

BORDER CROSSING

Tobio followed Hinata by habit at first, not quite running, in a daze. He hurried out of the bathroom without looking left or right at the three bodies sprawled carelessly on the floor.

He wasn't sure he could comprehend it; the haphazard way their limbs splayed, the sluggish splashes of red slicked across the tiles. Surely the men themselves couldn't be blamed for the mess their deaths had made, as they had no choice in the matter. So that left Hinata… and as Tobio was still having trouble coming to terms with what happened, he decided to let his line of thinking end there.

But then he pushed open the door of the men's restroom and all of those thoughts were shoved to the back of his mind.

If he had paused to wonder (he hadn't) why nobody had immediately come to investigate the bathroom after multiple gunshots had been fired and a body had been left outside the door, he would have had his answer now.

The terminal was dark. Only sunlight from the floor-to-ceiling windows illuminated the interior of the building; all the overhead lights were off.

The place was in chaos. Tobio was nearly knocked over as soon as he stepped outside the bathroom, as people streamed around him, many of them running, yelling. It was pure panic, everywhere he looked.

He caught a glimpse of the terminal screens that displayed flight arrival and departure times. All flights were listed as delayed. But as he watched, steadily, surely, the status for all of them began to flicker and change.

Canceled.

Canceled.

Canceled.

And then all the screens went black and dead at once.

"sh*t," Tobio breathed. "sh*t, sh*t, sh*t—"

He began to run, not in the direction of the sifting crowd, but toward the big windows that looked onto the outside.

"Kageyama!" he heard a voice shout, but he ignored it, running flat out to reach the windows. He slammed into them palms first, staring out past the glass into the sky.

In the air, at least a dozen planes circled. Without any instructions from the ground, they couldn't land. They would have to attempt something eventually, before they ran out of fuel. But disastrously, they wouldn't be able to communicate with each other, wouldn't be able to organize a plan.

Because CITI had been stolen. And much worse, the hackers had managed to go live with the program. Right there, in Malaysia.

They must have control of most of the grid, Tobio thought, if not all of it. The news might have started getting out at this point, but the panic must be from evacuation. There were roughly 5400 tons of metal stuck in the air above the airport, and once they ran out of fuel…

Tobio sucked in air, and found it was useless, he couldn't breathe. And then suddenly, pounding footfalls very near to him, getting nearer, drew his attention, right before something crashed into him at waist height, knocking him clear off his feet.

He gasped, finally able to get air in his lungs, and scrambled around on his hands and knees. A hand grabbed the back of his head and shoved it down.

"Don't get up!" a voice growled at him. "I tell you to stay with me, and you run off?!"

Tobio whipped his head up to find he was looking into Hinata's furious face.

"Who—" he panted, "—who—"

The person in front of him looked the same as before—same brown eyes, orange hair, same upturned nose—but Tobio couldn't see the same person. Not after what had just happened.

And then a sound cracked through the air, deafening, and Hinata grabbed him by the backpack, dragging him around the other side of a row of metal seats. The sound of screaming around them seemed to intensify, and Tobio realized it had been another gunshot.

"They saw you," Hinata said tersely. "That makes this fun."

"There's more of them?" Tobio asked.

"Well, yeah, did you think those assholes in the bathroom were the only people they sent?"

"Who are 'they'?!" Tobio asked wildly.

"We don't exactly know yet," Hinata told him, and Tobio thought, Who's "we"? "But they want to take you, and they want to kill me, and I'm not a fan of either of those options."

The sound of something metal pinged hard off the back of the seats they were hiding behind.

"Why are they shooting at me if they want to kidnap me?" Tobio demanded.

"They're probably shooting at me," Hinata pointed out, "but if they hit you, they'll slow you down. And pain makes people more likely to cooperate. Ready to run?"

"No!"

"Too bad," Hinata told him, something dark and metal in his grip—and Tobio realized he was armed too, wielding a sleek black pistol. "Up, to that pillar!"

He hauled Tobio to his feet and shoved him forward, and Tobio bolted toward the pillar he'd indicated. Instead of following right away, Hinata popped up from behind the row of seats to return fire, before sprinting after him to swing around the side of the pillar, right as their pursuers recovered. Another hail of bullets pinged off the furniture around them.

"How is this happening?" Tobio mumbled, more to himself than to anyone else. "I'm just on vacation. Am I dreaming? This is why I don't drink."

"You're not dreaming. You're not drunk," Hinata informed him, checking the clip in his gun. "And you're definitely not on vacation anymore. For right now, you do as I say, when I say it. Got it?"

Tobio stared at him, speechless. This was all impossible. It was impossible he was getting shot at, it was impossible CITI had been hacked, and it was most incredibly impossible that Hinata, the happy-go-lucky pool boy, was ordering him around and trading gunfire with a bunch of terrorists.

"Kageyama!" Hinata snapped at him. "Can you do that?"

"Yes!" Tobio shouted, louder than he meant. "I got it!"

"Good." Hinata nodded. "Then get ready to run again."

So they moved, in a staggering, terrifying zigzag through the terminal. Complicating matters was the fact that the mass of people were all ahead of them—and Tobio realized that Hinata was purposefully hugging the far side of the room, away from the crowd, drawing bullet rounds away from the fleeing bystanders.

They slid behind the personnel desk at one of the gates and Hinata grimaced.

"Out of ammo," he said, sounding more annoyed than anything else.

"What?" Tobio gasped. His lungs felt like they were burning. "How come they haven't run out?"

"Because they planned for this!" Hinata said. "This wasn't supposed to happen, you were supposed to be—" He cut off.

"Supposed to be what?" Tobio asked.

But Hinata wasn't looking at him. He was looking past him, down the hallway to their left where the room converged.

"sh*t," he said.

Tobio followed his gaze, and saw them. More gunmen, hurrying to cut them off from the side.

And then, screaming erupted from a point up ahead. What now?

Tobio was too focused on the men coming to abduct him to care, but Hinata grabbed his arm and yanked him to his feet.

"Move, move!" Hinata shouted, and Tobio followed him in a blind panic.

The sound of gunfire ripped through the air again. Around them, people shrieked and ducked, but they kept running, dodging obstacles and bodies, Hinata's hand locked on Tobio's arm. In front of them, somehow, people seemed to be ignoring the gunshots, or didn't care. Many were staring and pointing at the windows, maybe having just noticed the planes. Tobio kept looking forward, then back at their pursuers, then forward. They had almost reached the stopped crowd in front of them.

"Don't stop running!" Hinata shouted. "Do not stop!"

Why would I stop, Tobio wondered desperately, and then he heard it. A low, throbbing whine in the distance, to his right. Coming from beyond the windows.

As the mass of people ahead suddenly began to turn and swarm back toward them, he looked, in what seemed like slow motion, out of the windows.

There was a low flying plane, barreling directly for the terminal.

"Hinata—"

"I see it!"

"We can't—"

"KEEP RUNNING!"

Hinata refused to let go of him, and even with the horrifying sight of the giant airliner approaching, bearing down on them like an enormous metal beast of prey, they kept running.

More gunshots behind them, and now they had to fight through the crowd, weaving through the mass of people that were all racing, stampeding away from the impact point.

The men behind them were gaining, and in front of them now a shadow loomed, growing larger, massive.

"We'll make it!" Hinata yelled, but Tobio wasn't so sure, his whole field of view seemed to be dominated by the sight of the plane right outside the window.

Then—sudden, burning pain in his arm, and Tobio staggered under some kind of invisible weight, like something heavy had checked him in the side. It slowed him.

"COME ON!" Hinata screamed at him, and he forced himself to race on—and then the plane hit, and the world seemed to come apart.

The sound alone was enough to make Tobio cry out in terror, a shrieking cacophony of metal on metal, glass, wood. The side of the terminal, the windows, simply exploded under the impact, bursting inward, glass shattering and hailing down at them, shards catching him on his exposed skin. He yelled from the sharp pain of the lacerations, and the flood of fear.

The plane did not stop at the impact but continued to tear straight through the floor on its way into the building, slowing, but not enough—the wide nose punched out into the terminal, the long fuselage looming, stretching into view. If it hit the opposite wall before they did, they were done, escape route cut off.

But if they tried to run past, it might crush them.

Hinata tightened his grip on Tobio's arm and ran faster, half dragging Tobio, who now realized Hinata had been running slower for his benefit.

Ignoring the pain in his arm, he forced himself into a sprint, legs protesting, lungs screaming for mercy. He was screaming, too, an intense, terrified sound that he could not hold back. The sound of the plane scraping across the floor filled his ears, like some animal dragging itself on its belly to devour him. He couldn't even hear his own voice, only feel the strain in his throat. The nose was nearly in front of them now, they were hugging the wall, they weren't going to make it, they'd be crushed and killed—

Hinata yanked forward on his arm, hurling him forward with a last burst of strength and speed and Tobio felt the wind off the onrushing plane ruffle his clothes and hair as he scraped by and slammed into the ground, finally losing his footing. He rolled, saw the plane about to smash into the wall—

—and then Hinata came sliding out from beneath it, feet first, under the narrow space left by the upward slope of the nose, right before it obliterated the wall. The plane smashed straight through and wedged there, finally stopped, blocking the entire other half of the terminal from view.

Tobio sprawled flat out on the floor. His upper arm ached and stung, and he was covered in tiny, bleeding cuts all along his forearms from the glass. Across from him, Hinata sat up and, wincing, felt along his side. As Tobio watched, he closed his hand around something there and wrenched it away.

A jagged piece of glass had embedded itself in his combat suit, the tip of it dripping red with blood.

This finally did it for Tobio. He rolled over, a wave of nausea nearly blinding him as he heaved, retching up the contents of his fortunately mostly empty stomach.

When he was mostly just dry heaving, he sat up shakily, wiping his mouth. Hinata was watching him, sitting with his back against the wall.

"Feel better?" he asked.

Tobio shook his head no.

Hinata nodded. "Yeah, didn't think so." Face set, he got to his feet. "Come on, they'll come around the other way soon. We need to be gone before they do."

Tobio very slowly, gingerly, stood. Hinata put a hand under his elbow to steady him.

"Where—where do we go?"

"First, we need to get the hell out of this airport," Hinata said, motioning for Tobio to follow behind, stay close. "And then," he sighed, "we need to get the hell out of the country. And that is not gonna be easy."

*

Silence reigned supreme in the car they occupied, speeding down the highway outside the city limits. They had fled the airport with no further mishaps, and stolen a vehicle from the underground garage. Tobio had been caught off guard when Hinata had stopped, gravitated towards one particular vehicle of an older make and model, and then smashed the window open using the handle of the pistol he was still carrying.

Unlike the way the heroes always joked in the movies, there hadn't been any comments about "just borrowing" the car. Hinata had grimly unlocked the doors and gestured for Tobio to get in on the passenger side. Hinata himself got behind the wheel, reaching up under the steering column and wrenching apart the plastic with his bare hands to pull out a jumbled mess of wires. By the time Tobio had gotten situated and belted in, the car was running, keyless.

The roads were a nightmare. The traffic light system was down seemingly everywhere—likely all of Kuala Lumpur, if CITI was being utilized properly (or improperly, as the case may be). Hinata maneuvered through it as well as he had on the bike during their Thursday excursion, however—perhaps even better, if more recklessly—finding all the right side roads to get them out of the city jam. Almost like he'd memorized the map.

Tobio wanted to ask him if he had. He wanted to ask Hinata a thousand questions, but he didn't know how to let any of them out, how to put a voice to them. The ability he'd briefly had to speak so naturally and openly to the person in the seat next to him seemed to have evaporated, snatched away by the insanity of the morning. And so he sat silently, staring at his hands, or out the window. He remained quiet for nearly an hour.

It was shocking when the bubbly sound of music suddenly burst through the silence, startling him out of his daze. He winced as he jerked in surprise, and felt pain shooting up his arm once again.

When he looked over, Hinata was fiddling with the volume control, looking somewhat sheepish as he turned down the loud Malaysian pop station.

"Sorry," he said. Tobio stared at him, and he glanced back, before turning his eyes back to the road. "How's your arm?"

Tobio grimaced. "It hurts." The pain had dulled slightly, but it still felt bad, a stretch and burn that gnawed at him. "I think—"

"You got shot, yeah," Hinata said.

Tobio swallowed too suddenly and choked on spit. "What?!"

"What?" Hinata repeated, blankly.

"I got shot?!" Tobio barked out, trying to wrench his arm around to look.

"Yes? What did you think happened?" Hinata demanded.

"I don't know!" Tobio said. "Maybe when the glass shattered or something—I got shot!"

Hinata sighed as Tobio slumped forward until his forehead bumped against the dashboard, distraught.

"You were fine a second ago," Hinata reminded him. "The bullet barely grazed you."

"I've been shot," Tobio bemoaned again, glaring at Hinata out of the corner of his eye. "Am I going to die?"

"No," Hinata said firmly. "It'll probably stop bleeding by the time we get to the safe house. I'll look at it there."

"What safe house?" Tobio asked. "What's a safe house?"

"What does it sound like it is?" Hinata asked him. When Tobio did nothing but peer suspiciously at him, he shook his head. "It's a house. Where we'll be safe."

"Where is it?" Tobio asked. "How far?"

"Thailand. A little under eighteen hours if we don't stop," Hinata said. "We'll need to, though. You can't walk around in those clothes, you look like an action movie reject."

He was right. Hinata's black combat gear had shown less wear and tear, but Tobio's civilian clothing was torn and stained and bloody. All he had in his backpack were his laptop, wallet, and a few other odds and ends. His suitcase had been left behind, but as it had been riddled by bullet holes, he felt it probably wasn't a great loss.

Tobio sat back heavily in his seat. "Yeah."

Hinata glanced at him, but didn't say anything else, and the silence stretched on again. But this time, after a few minutes, the redhead spoke.

"So," he said, without taking his eyes off the road. "I'm guessing you're wondering what the hell just happened, huh?"

"If you tell me, won't you have to—" Tobio let his disgruntled mumbling trail off, feeling suddenly cold.

"Kill you?" Hinata finished for him.

Tobio turned to face him, eyes wide. Hinata was still staring fixedly at the road, but Tobio couldn't help remembering the carnage in the bathroom, and the terrifying expression on Hinata's face as he'd easily dispatched four men in less than sixty seconds.

"I'm not gonna kill you, Kageyama," Hinata said. "I told you, didn't I? The entire reason I'm here is to make sure you stay alive. That wasn't the original goal, but now, well…" He looked at Tobio, their eyes meeting, and he saw in Hinata's a kind of hardness he was sure had never been there before. Again, he found himself wondering: who was this person, really?

"What can you tell me?" Tobio asked. It took an effort to make his voice come out.

"Whatever you want." Hinata shrugged. "You just have to ask. This is all happening because of you, so the more you know, the better."

Tobio shifted, now facing him fully. "Because of me?"

"Yep," Hinata said. "You're the one they're after. You made CITI."

This single fact struck him straight at the heart. Of course. The entirety of Kuala Lumpur—maybe all of Malaysia—was dark right now. No, worse than dark. It had fallen into the wrong hands, and they had used CITI to take over. He didn't know how they could have hacked it, but did it matter how, in the end? It was his program. His fault.

Malaysia had been bright and warm and welcoming to him, and in return, he'd caused this.

He took a deep, shuddering breath. Hinata watched him closely.

"What do you want to know first, Kageyama?" he asked.

Everything, Tobio thought, he had questions about everything. But also nothing; he wanted this to be a dream, he wanted to pretend it wasn't happening. The worst possible outcome had occurred, one he hadn't even considered could happen to him and his program, unknown and inconsequential as he was.Now here he was, in a beaten up car, on his way across the border to Thailand, outrunning men with seemingly limitless guns and power. There were things he needed to know.

But one thing, right now, was overruling all his other uncertainties. He needed that question answered first, if he was going to grasp anything else.

He looked at Hinata and asked, "Who are you?"

Hinata let out a short, surprised laugh. "That's your first question?"

"Yes."

"You already know who I am," Hinata told him.

"No, I—" Tobio swallowed, before continuing, determined. "I don't. I didn't."

Hinata tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "Okay. My name is Hinata Shouyou." He held up a hand as Tobio opened his mouth. "Yes, that's my real name. But no, I'm not a pool attendant or waiter or hotel staff. At least, not full time." He shot Tobio a wry smile.

"Then what are you?" Tobio pressed. "Are you like a… a spy? A secret agent?"

"Sure, if I wanted to explain it in the simplest terms possible," Hinata said. "But I think you deserve a little more than that." He paused for a moment, thinking, before continuing. "I work for Japan's Regionalized Agency for the Protection of Transnational Operations and Relations. But that takes longer to say than it does to bleed out, so everyone just calls it RAPTOR."

"Okay…" Tobio repeated, wide-eyed. "What the hell is that?"

"RAPTOR is a multinational organization with branches based in every major city around the world, and most of the smaller ones, too," Hinata continued. "So it's actually lots and lots of agencies. It's mostly underground, though not really a secret, I guess, the higher up in the government you go. I'm based out of the Tokyo branch, which works most closely with the JSDF and the Naicho."

Tobio stared at him. Some sort of secret special forces commando was slightly different than a pool boy. "So… what exactly do you do…"

"I'm a field agent," Hinata said. "Specializing in protection, extraction…" His eyes flicked to Tobio, then away. "And occasionally extermination."

Tobio sucked in a breath. He'd watched enough movies to know whatthatmeant.

"I know what you're thinking," Hinata started to say, "and no—"

"You mean assassination?" Tobio asked sharply.

"That's not what I said," Hinata grated out.

"But that's basically what that is, isn't it?" Tobio demanded. "You're an assassin!"

"No, I'm a covert operations and counterterrorism agent," Hinata said. "But if I need to kill someone to carry out my mission, then I will."

Another vision flashed in Tobio's mind, Hinata ensuring his safety, checking to make sure he was unhurt, leaving the men who had attacked him broken and dead on the cold restroom floor.

"Next question," Hinata said, snapping him out of his daze.

"What is your current mission?" Tobio asked.

"You know the answer to this one, too," Hinata said. "Keeping you alive."

"And before that?"

"Observation and assessment."

"Of?"

"You," Hinata said, glancing at him again, and then before he could inquire further, "Your skills. Your temperament. What you were like, whether or not you'd be suitable."

"Suitable for what?" Tobio asked.

Hinata smiled, then, a small one, but genuine. "Kageyama, do you like your job?"

Tobio frowned. "It's… alright."

"But it's too easy," Hinata said. "There's no challenge."

Tobio shrugged. "I guess."

Hinata faced ahead, contemplative. "You built CITI for a reason. To make things better. To help people."

Tobio slumped low in his seat, tugging at his messy bangs—the reminders of what he had wanted CITI to be felt painful and terrible, now that he'd seen the immense damage it could cause.

"I know that's what you wanted," Hinata said quietly. "What if you could work somewhere that wanted to help you do that? Some place that could actually put it to use, without all… this happening?"

It finally clicked, what Hinata was suggesting. Tobio straightened, turning to face him. "You mean… work for you?"

"Not for me, specifically, but for RAPTOR."

"That's what…" The taste of bile rose in Tobio's throat and he swallowed heavily. "That's whatheoffered me, too." The American had proposed a similar deal.

"Well, yeah," Hinata said, "but at least we're not trying to, like, kidnap you?"

He had a point, Tobio had to admit.

"You're free to turn it down," Hinata added. "I just think… RAPTOR is made up of loads of different types of people. But everyone there is the best at what they do. And everyone wants to do something good in the world. That's why they wanted someone to meet you. To see if you'd fit in. The background checks get pretty extensive, but there's nothing like getting to know someone in person."

Tobio cleared his throat. "I feel like… we got to know each other pretty well."

Hinata shot him a look out of the corner of his eye, before saying, "We did."

"And?" Tobio asked. There was a lot of weight to that word. There were a lot of things Hinata could reply with.

"And…" Hinata considered. "I was going to recommend you. To my superiors. Of course, that may no longer be necessary."

"What?" Tobio asked, forgetting all the other stuff for a moment. "Why?"

"Because—" Hinata's mouth set in a line. "Plans have changed a bit. If we make it back to Tokyo alive, I think you'll have a shot at getting in, with or without my recommendation. After all… we have proof of CITI functioning well, if… not exactly as intended."

Tobio winced.

"But," Hinata continued, "if either or both of us die, I can't really recommend you anyway!"

He delivered this proclamation with entirely too much cheer. Tobio stared at him. "Oh."

"Just kidding!" Hinata turned for a moment to flash him a grin. "I'm not gonna die, and I won't let you, either. So, you're practically a shoo-in."

He looked so sincere that Tobio almost smiled back, and then had to look out his window again, unsure of what his feelings were doing and how they were expressing themselves upon his face. Whether or not all the new knowledge had changed his perceptions, there was no denying that Hinata's sunny smile and attractive features were the same. His seemingly unwavering confidence in Tobio didn't help matters.

Then a thought struck him and he turned back to Hinata. "Age."

"Huh?" Hinata asked.

"How old are you?" Tobio asked, unable to stop staring at Hinata like the answer might reveal itself that way. All this time, he'd been assuming they were the same age, and Hinata had never said anything to the contrary, but…

Hinata scratched the back of his neck. "Twenty-five."

Tobio's mouth dropped. "Shut up."

"It's the truth."

"Bullsh*t!"

Hinata turned in his seat, leaning forward, only one hand on the wheel. "Look at me and tell me I'm lying."

Tobio almost reared back, caught off guard at suddenly being so close. He stared directly into Hinata's brown eyes, and it wasn't the lack of a lie that convinced him, but the fierceness of his expression, lips pursed and eyebrows drawn down. The hard jaw that didn't quite seem to fit on a boy of eighteen or nineteen, and something in the faint lines at the corners of his eyes, and the set of his mouth.

"Okay, okay, the—" Tobio gestured frantically, "—the road!"

Hinata slipped back into his seat to face forward again, but Tobio stayed staring at him, still reeling.

"If you have something to say, say it," Hinata huffed.

"You look like you're in high school," Tobio blurted.

Hinata looked deeply annoyed. "I don't. You thought we were the same age."

"Because you were working!" Tobio said. This was only partly true. It was strange. Hinata looked young, and was small in stature, but donning his various uniforms, Tobio had just thought they were around the same age. Now, though, with a bleeding cut above his brow, dressed all in black, and—seemingly most importantly—having announced his actual age, Tobio could suddenly see him as several years older than he'd been imagining the entire time.

With the truth came an entire onslaught of realizations. Tobio felt his face and the back of his neck getting hot as he thought about his behavior the entire previous week—his attempts at romantic overtures, and the way Hinata had always seemed surprised, bordering on gently amused.

And even more than that, the way Hinata had seemed so abundantly, overwhelmingly confident; the way he'd not only effortlessly taken control but helped make Tobio feel not quite so awkward, in the very brief moments he had approached anything resembling reciprocation.

"Kageyama?" Hinata said curiously. Tobio realized he had unconsciously covered his mouth with the back of his hand.

"N-nothing," he said.

"Are you…" Hinata paused. "I wanted to say—"

"There's a gap," Tobio cut him off.

"What?"

"There's a… gap. Between us," Tobio explained, ineffectually. When Hinata shot him a confused look, he clarified, "In our ages."

"Yeah," Hinata said. "Look—okay, what, why are you looking at me like that, I'm trying to—"

"I said it's nothing!" Tobio growled, realized his reaction was probably more damning than anything else, and went silent. It didn't help.

"Kageyama…" Hinata said slowly. "Is this like a, um… do you have a thing?"

"What? No!" Tobio scoffed loudly. "What does that even mean, 'do you have a thing'?" Holy sh*t. He had a sneaking suspicion they both knew, and sure enough…

"You're—" Tobio could practically feel Hinata squinting at him. "You're all red!"

"I don't have any kind of thing," Tobio said, because that was stupid, especially now, in the middle of everything.

He hadn'thad a thing—for older guys, or foranyone before Hinata… and his very strong hands, and very firm jaw, and confident maturity. It was stupid to be attracted to him, stupid to be drawn to the fearless way he'd inserted himself into Tobio's life, and how his mouth curled up at the corners when he suspected Tobio wanted to kiss him, touch him, be touched by him…

"sh*t," Tobio whispered.

Hinata stared at him for a moment before he started to laugh. "Okay, that's—that's okay! I will admit that I can't easily hide my wealth of experience." Tobio rolled his eyes to the ceiling and Hinata shot him a sly look. "Too bad it doesn't go both ways…"

Tobio whipped around to face him, a sour glare already forming at the teasing. "Idiot. What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing," Hinata said calmly. "It's just, you know, you're pretty clueless."

Tobio spluttered. "I'm notclueless!"

Hinata cackled. "You're a kid!" he crowed. "And you act like one."

"So do you!" Tobio said, voice raising.

"Who's the one that jacked off on a public beach?" Hinata asked innocently.

Tobio crossed his arms. "You helped."

Hinata opened his mouth, then closed it again. "Shut up."

Tobio smirked. "f*cking kid."

"Asshole," Hinata said, glaring over the wheel. Tobio laughed extra obnoxiously, and Hinata flipped him off. Then he took a deep breath. "Look, about… that. What I was trying to say before was—I'm sorry."

Tobio looked at him curiously. "For what?"

"For… the beach thing," Hinata said. "For, um, letting it go that far. It was—not appropriate."

"I didn't mind," Tobio said.

"No, I—I know you didn't, that's the problem," Hinata said, sounding frustrated. "I took advantage of that."

"No, you didn't," Tobio said, still confused. "I started it."

"Kageyama," Hinata cut him off. "I was leading you on."

Tobio stared at him. "You were… what?"

"I was assigned to get close to you, I knew what you wanted," Hinata said levelly. "We have files on you, and I knew going in it would be hard to get you to open up to me. But I needed to know who you are. I didn't think you'd…" He trailed off. Tobio kept staring at him, and he sighed. "In this line of work, we're taught—we learn to read people, to use everything we can to accomplish the mission. I saw an opportunity, and I took it."

"To accomplish the mission," Tobio repeated, voice sounding far away to his own ears. He was hearing, understanding, the words Hinata was saying, but very slowly. It felt like someone had stuck a pin in him, was deflating him, letting all the air inside him out a little bit at a time.

This somehow felt worse than the scene at the airport, because he hadn't understood what was happening. But this, he understood. This, he was all too used to.

"I was just doing my job, Kageyama," Hinata said.

"Your job," Tobio said. Because of course. Why had he assumed anything different, from the moment people had started shooting at them? Or even before then? Why else would this man—beautiful, bright thing that he was—have ever been interested in him? Alright, maybe international super spy was a stretch to figure out, but Tobio should have realized it was too wild to be true from the start. "That's all it was."

"That's all it is," Hinata said, firmly. "I was only assessing you the week of the summit, and then you were going to return safely home and wait for our job offer. Clearly, plans have changed. We both need to stay focused to make it out of this alive. Okay?"

Tobio shrank back into his seat. He wanted to be out of the car, away from here, away from Hinata.

"Okay, Kageyama-kun?" Hinata prompted.

It was the first time he'd used the honorific since the hotel. The sentiment seemed oddly misplaced.

"Okay," Tobio muttered, nodding vaguely. Softly, he added, "Don't call me that anymore."

He sensed Hinata's eyes flick toward him. But the other man said nothing in response, and they lapsed into silence once more, the only other sounds the muted hum of processed pop on the car stereo, and the wind rushing outside the windows.

Chapter 7

Chapter Text

BUKIT KAYU HITAM, KEDAH, MALAYSIA
[Just outside the Malaysia-Thailand border]

They drove, and they drove, and they drove. Tobio slept for some of the passing hours, and stared out the window the rest. He didn't speak for any of it.

Hinata kept talking regardless, and despite himself, Tobio listened. The road they were on was the Kanjanavanich Road, now winding through Bukit Kayu Hitam. This was the main border town of Malaysia's state of Kedah, and it was where they would hit the Thai immigration checkpoint Sadao, in the town of Dannok.

Tobio felt another burst of nerves as they neared the Malaysian-Thai checkpoint. Hinata, however, seemed unconcerned. He spent some time rooting around in the glove compartment before coming up triumphant with a sheet of paper in his hand, the registration for the car.

"Now I won't have to kill anyone over this junk bucket," he said, patting the dashboard, before flashing a victory sign in Tobio's direction. Tobio stared at him impassively. Hinata blinked at him. "It's a joke. I wasn't really going to!"

Tobio crossed his arms and turned away.

After the brief I.D. check, they were waved through the checkpoint without a hassle, and Tobio gained another new stamp in his passport. Now cleared to enter Thailand, they trundled off again down the highway. Coming up on evening, Tobio dozed off again.

In what seemed like no time, he was jolting awake, roused by someone shaking his shoulder. He couldn't remember what he'd dreamed of, but his palms were sore where he'd been digging his nails into the skin, and his heart was beating fast.

Across the car in the driver's seat, Hinata leaned back with a quiet apology. Tobio spared him only a second's glance, before breathing deeply, calming himself. They were parked, and seemed to be perfectly safe.

It was summer dark outside, the sky red and orange, the shadows of things long and black. They seemed to have stopped at a small outlet mall in the middle of nowhere. The other side of the highway boasted little aside from greenery and open land. On their side, the outlet was an odd mix of high end boutiques and jewelry stores that looked too pricey for anyone passing by to ever consider stopping to browse, and smaller eateries, kitschy tourist shops, and even a temple. All of this was strung through with brightly colored paper lanterns.

"Let's get out for a bit," Hinata said. "I need to stretch my legs."

"Your feet barely reach the pedals," Tobio grumbled, cranky over a lot of things. The situation, the unending drive, being woken from a nap. Small grievances, ignoring the larger issues.

He saw Hinata almost laugh, at first, before catching himself. These were the first actual words they'd exchanged in at least seven hours. But where Hinata might have shouted or fired back with a jab of his own before, now he settled for looking an odd sort of pensive instead.

Finally, he said, "We can get you new clothes here, anyway. That way you don't look so suspicious." Tobio looked down at his ruined, bloody clothing, and the same thought seemed to occur to both of them at the same time. "Okay, well… first I guess we have to figure out how to get them to let you in the store, looking like that."

Five minutes later, Tobio found himself awkwardly shuffling into the dressing room of one of the boutiques, careful to keep the clothes racks in between him and any other customers. Hinata, with a jacket pulled on to hide his ripped shirt, chatted up one of the employees as a distraction. They were conversing in English, but Tobio could make out the words "pretty" and "hair," Hinata laughing brightly as the girl reached out to touch the vibrant orange strands. Hinata's black shirt was tight across his chest, sleeves short enough to expose his toned biceps, and when he turned away briefly to scan the room, Tobio saw the girl do a scan of her own, gaze sweeping down over Hinata's body.

Tobio narrowed his eyes, right as Hinata made eye contact with him. He jerked his head in the direction of the dressing rooms as if to say hurry up. Tobio glared—Hinata, in his opinion, shouldn't be allowed to flirt with anyone—but he continued on his path as Hinata turned back to the sales rep.

Once safely hidden he waited, seated on a small bench inside the changing stall, listening to the distant sound of chatter from beyond the hallway. He'd looked about at his minimal surroundings, skeptical.

He wasn't in the habit of going on shopping trips. Usually he'd been dragged along by his mother on various outings when he started to outgrow his jeans as he grew like a weed throughout his childhood. But the changing rooms in those establishments had been barebones, whereas this was… not.

Along with the glitz of the boutique came fancy dressing rooms, it appeared. Instead of stall doors, there were thick, silvery curtains, tied back with rope, though he'd quickly closed his in order to hide his unsightly appearance from anyone outside. The area beyond his stall was wide and open, with several plush couches and armchairs for people to wait on. The walls were lined with wide mirrors so customers could view themselves from every angle. Tobio wondered why they couldn't have just stopped in one of the tourist trap shops instead. He'd have been fine with another Hawaiian shirt.

After a few minutes, footsteps outside, the clack of someone in high heels, signaled people nearing. But then, Hinata's voice: "Kageyama? Which stall are you…"

"In here," Tobio called back, sticking his hand out of the curtain to wave. He heard Hinata chirp a bright "Thanks!" in English, heard the sales rep respond, before she clacked away on her heels.

The curtain was drawn back somewhat dramatically, and Tobio stared, incredulous, at the sight of Hinata, weighed down under a mountain of outfits, squirming his way into the stall.

"What—" Tobio said. "Why—"

"Why not?" Hinata asked, sounding altogether too cheerful. "We're here, so we might as well."

"We don't have time for this," Tobio said, and then paused. "…Do we have time for this?"

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked, as he started to lay out the clothes, shirts on hangers going up on hooks on the wall, pants folded and laid out on the bench.

"There's—" Tobio glanced around furtively, though he was fairly sure no one could understand him. "There's people after us."

"Oh," Hinata said, laughing. "Yeah, there definitely are."

"Then?!"

"We weren't followed out of the city," Hinata said. "At least, not right away. I made sure of that. Which means they either lost our trail, or they're waiting before they pick it up again. Which they will. But not yet."

Tobio frowned. Despite the fact that it was terrifying, knowing he was being hunted, he couldn't help but be lulled into a sense of calm (false or not) when Hinata sounded so matter of fact.

"Why won't they?"

"Well, my guess is that they don't want to be found, either," Hinata said. He seemed to have finished sorting clothes. Now he leaned against one of the mirrored walls, looking contemplative. "The more guns and men you throw at a problem, the quicker you'll solve it. Usually."

Tobio nodded. "Makes sense."

"But guns and men make a lot of noise," Hinata continued. "They leave pretty obvious tracks that can be followed. And if you don't want to be found, the last thing you want to do is make a lot of noise, right?"

"How do you know they don't want to be found?" Tobio asked.

"I don't know, I suspect," Hinata said. "But being found out would mean not just the Malaysian government cracking down on them, but the whole world. That would be really bad for them, when they're in the early stages."

"What does that mean, the 'early stages'?" Tobio repeated.

Hinata gave him a look, one of concern. "Their plan isn't…" He made an encompassing hand gesture, and shrugged. "This. It's not just to take down Kuala Lumpur, or even Malaysia."

"It's not?" Tobio asked.

"No, no way." Hinata shook his head. "Malaysia was the testing ground, because that's where you would be. Can you imagine what happens now, now that they know CITI actually works?"

Tobio stared at him, uncomprehending. Not wanting to understand. Hinata told him anyway, filled in the blanks he should have already suspected.

"Now they go for the heavy hitters," he said, his voice grim. "Population centers. What happens when they shut down New York? Shanghai? Tokyo?"

A chill crept its way up Tobio's spine, settling cold and prickling at the back of his neck. "f*ck."

"Yeah," Hinata agreed. "But that means right now, they're lying low, planning their next move. And so are we. They know we're running, but not where we're running to. So for now, we breathe, we slow down now that we've got distance and…" He pushed away from the wall, pointing at the clothes he'd brought in. "We shop! Try those on, come out when you think you found something you like."

"Why?" Tobio asked, still reeling from all the realizations. Hinata flashed him a grin.

"I wanna see, duh."

He ducked outside, letting the curtain fall closed behind him. Tobio stared at it for a moment, before turning to stare at the clothes.

The world was going to fall into the hands of terrorists and it was going to be entirely his fault.

f*ck.

Since the airport, he'd been wracking his brain, trying to think of ways CITI could have been hacked—but nothing made sense. There had to be something he wasn't seeing, but in the chaos of the attacks and with his thoughts pulled in so many different directions, the answer wasn't coming to him.

He hung his head, and started to pull off his tattered toucan Hawaiian shirt.

When he stepped out of the changing room, crisp new clothes on skin that felt too grubby with sweat and dried blood, he spied Hinata lounging on one of the nearby couches. The redhead looked over at the rustling of the curtain, and clapped his hands together upon seeing Tobio.

"Yes!" he exclaimed. "This! Wow."

"What's 'wow'?" Tobio asked, self-conscious.

"You!" Hinata said. "You no longer look like your mom dresses you every day before school, congratulations."

"How is letting you dress me any better?" Tobio interjected.

"Because I'm not obsessed with Hawaiian shirts?" Hinata shrugged. "The clueless tourist look every once in a while is fine, but seriously, you had an entire rainbow in your suitcase. So many palm trees. And those sandals have to go."

"People like palm trees," Tobio mumbled.

"Kageyama." Hinata tapped his foot. "Did you look at yourself?"

Yes, Tobio had glanced at his reflection, briefly, out of the corner of his eye. Sort of. It wasn't that he was nervous—alright, he was very nervous. He didn't wear outfits like these, he didn't go shopping in stores like this, he didn't have people like Hinata giving him clothing advice. Tobio wasn't sure he should be letting Hinata give him clothing advice—after all, he'd mostly just seen him in hotel staff uniforms and now his black shirt and pants. It wasn't like fashion design was also part of his varied job expertise.

Or was it?!

Hinata stood and strode over to him, grabbing his arm and pulling him in front of one of the mirrors. "Look, please," he said dryly.

So Tobio looked. Staring back at him out of the mirror was a surprisingly sleek image. The white button down shirt he'd finally picked for its simplicity still somehow managed to fit him better than the generically starchy polos he usually donned, a light, soft material that shaped itself to him. The jeans, similarly, were fitted and snug, but not overly so. They were a much darker wash than any of the pairs he currently owned, and looked nice contrasting with the white of the shirt.

Self-consciously, he straightened his glasses and ran his fingers through his messy hair. He caught Hinata's eye in the mirror.

"It's not—" he said, "—bad."

"It's actually good," Hinata tacked on, smugly. "I've got an eye for this, you know! I have to go undercover a lot."

"Whatever," Tobio said. "My old clothes were fine, and," he said significantly, drawing himself up, "they're affordable. I bet these are all pricey, look—" He patted his body, searching for the price tag on the shirt. "This is…"

He trailed off, staring at the numbers. He'd looked up some of the currency in the area before his trip at the behest of his mother, and he was good enough at math to convert the Thai bhat to yen in his head. He squinted.

"I think the tag is messed up," he said.

"It's not," Hinata responded airily.

"Yes, it is, look." Tobio showed him the tag.

"Yep, I see it," Hinata said. "So, do you like those, or…"

"Hinata," Tobio said, faintly. "We're not actually getting these. We're not, right?"

"I mean, we won't if you like, hate them," Hinata said, scratching his head in perplexity. "But they look good, I think?"

Hinata was serious. Tobio wheezed. "This is—" he said, "This is too—it's a shirt!"

Hinata stared blankly at him. "It's too much of a shirt?"

"No!" Tobio said. "It's too expensive! Why does a white shirt cost this much? How does it cost this much?!"

"It's Tom Ford," Hinata said, patting his arm. "That's how."

"I can't wear this!"

"Do you like the shirt?" Hinata asked him.

"That doesn't matter—"

"Do. You like. The shirt?" Hinata repeated slowly.

"Yeah, but—"

"Then we're getting the shirt," Hinata said, with finality. "Go back in and pick out a couple more."

"A couple… more…" Tobio said vaguely.

"I do kinda owe you."

"I'm not going to be nice to you again because you buy me sh*t."

"I'm not expecting you to be." Hinata pushed him back inside the dressing room. "But I also don't know how much longer it'll be before we can get you home."

That was a grounding statement, at least. Tobio shook his head to clear it, sifting through the rest of the shirts to find one or two more he liked, when his eyes fell on the pile of discarded pants. Another thought occurred to him, and he backed up to one of the mirrors, pulling out the waistband in back of the jeans, where the tag lurked.

"Hinata!" he shouted.

"We're getting the pants, too!" Hinata called back, leaving no room for argument.

Roughly half an hour, three shirts, one pair of jeans, and a cashmere sweater later, Tobio emerged from the boutique with a fancy shopping bag full of fancier clothes and new shoes on his feet ("You can't run in sandals, Kageyama"). Hinata strutted along at his side, looking rather puffed out in a new jacket he had bought for himself on top of everything else, more black, leather, with artistic white stripes racing along the front of it.

"That was fun," he said to Tobio, "and if you can't admit it, then you are lying, and you are lame."

"It was… something," Tobio said, still too shell-shocked to mind being considered lame. "Okay, how?"

"How what?" Hinata asked, pointing further into the shopping center at some sort of little bistro. This, Tobio would not object to—he was starving.

"How can you just buy all of that?" Tobio asked. "Like it's nothing."

"You're the one who thought I was some kind of secret agent." Hinata smiled slyly. "What do you usually think of first when someone says 'spy'?"

"James Bond," Tobio said instantly.

"Exactly," Hinata said, snapping his fingers. "Wealth. And class. Both of which I have just revealed to you."

Tobio rubbed his chin. "I'll give you the rich part. But…"

Hinata turned wide eyes on him. "Is this sass? Are you sassing me?"

"No," Tobio lied.

"That sweater was a bonus," Hinata threatened. "I will take it away, forcibly."

"Thank you for the clothes!" Tobio said quickly. That sweater was the softest thing he'd ever touched in his life and there was no way in hell he was letting Hinata return it, a fact Hinata's laughter seemed to suggest he realized.

The bistro Hinata had chosen was small and quiet. They sat in silence, but this was lighter than the heavy lull that had come upon them in the car, after the sobering conversation and Hinata's revelation of his true intentions. It seemed perpetually difficult for Tobio to hold a grudge against the other man, and it had nothing to do with his expensive new clothes. It might be easier if it had. At least then, his feelings wouldn't come into the equation.

But the truth was that it was just far nicer, more comforting in the face of everything, to be able to laugh with Hinata than ignore him.

And if nothing else, Hinata had thrown himself in front of bullets to protect Tobio. It was difficult to stay angry in light of that. Not half a day earlier, Hinata had actually ended lives, and all because Tobio had been in danger. Tobio had seen the dimmed eyes of the dead men, and stared into the unflinching eyes of the man who had killed them.

He watched Hinata across the table, chin propped in his hands, whining to himself as he tried to decide between entrees. The handle of the shopping bag poked above the tabletop in the booth next to him, the epitome of normalcy. Like they were just out and about the city together again. How to reconcile this Hinata with that other one? Tobio wasn't sure yet.

Tobio had ordered a dish of curried shrimp, looking forward to a hot meal after the entire day's events. When it came, however, something about the dish put him off. It smelled delicious, but the thick, red curry began to remind him too much of blood on bathroom tiles—and suddenly, that seemed to be all he could smell, the cloying, rusty scent filling his nostrils. Normally, he would have enjoyed the food. But the shrimp tasted, at that moment, bland and rubbery on his tongue, the curry was all the bite of spice with no flavor, and his appetite fled.

He eventually pushed it away, nausea roiling in his gut.

"You're done?" Hinata asked, sounding surprised.

Tobio nodded his head, not wanting to open his mouth. Bile crept up his throat, and he reached for his glass of water to force it back down.

"You haven't eaten all day," Hinata said.

"I'm fine," Tobio said haltingly. "Not hungry." He pressed his palms into his eyes. He knew he must look far from fine, and after a moment, Hinata murmured his name quietly. Tobio took in a shuddering breath. "It looks like—"

"Dessert!" Hinata pronounced, suddenly. Tobio took his hands away from his face, confused. "Something sweet," Hinata explained, signaling for the waiter.

"I don't want to eat anything," Tobio told him.

"You don't have to," Hinata said. He didn't order anything special, just vanilla ice cream and an espresso—making the coffee a triple shot as an afterthought, saying with a laugh, "I'll probably need it."

Tobio drank his water slowly, and when the dessert arrived, Hinata relaxed back into the booth, holding the tiny espresso mug in front of his face and… maybe sniffing it? Tobio wasn't sure—he disliked coffee and had never even tried the foreign sounding variations on it—espresso, latte, mocha.

Hinata noticed him watching. "Have you ever had an espresso before?" he asked, with a grin.

Tobio thought about saying yes, so Hinata wouldn't have the satisfaction of being more worldly and mature once again, but then shook his head. He knew his number was mostly up where Hinata was concerned.

Hinata pushed the tiny cup over to the other side of the table. "Try."

Tobio looked at it dubiously before picking it up and imitating him, sniffing it gingerly. The strong, acrid smell made his nose wrinkle, but Hinata was still watching him. Hesitantly, he took a tiny sip.

It was too hot, and far too bitter. He gagged, sticking his tongue out.

"I'm never drinking anything you tell me to ever again," he said. "That's worse than the alcohol, why would anyone drink this?"

"God, I don't know," Hinata said, laughing. "Voluntarily, anyway. I like plenty of cream and sugar, usually, and everyone always judges me. Here—" He slid the bowl of ice cream over to Tobio's side of the table. Tobio could smell the vanilla, rich and smooth. "That'll get rid of the taste."

Tobio plunged the spoon into the ice cream and popped it into his mouth. It tasted even sweeter after the espresso, and he gulped down a second spoonful, then a third. Almost before he had realized it, the ice cream had disappeared. Hinata hadn't had any, seemingly content to drink his coffee while Tobio massacred the dessert. In the end, it left Tobio feeling pleasantly full. The coffee and ice cream had chased away the bad taste in his mouth, the phantom stink of blood in his nose, and the ensuing upset stomach.

After they finished and Hinata had paid for the meal, they headed back outside where it had finally gotten dark.

"Thanks for dinner," Tobio told him, once they were back in the car. "And these dumb clothes."

Hinata jabbed him in his uninjured arm. "Don't mention it," he said. "Hopefully you can sleep after all that. It'll be awhile more before we get anywhere useful."

But as they settled back into the car and Hinata jump started the engine again (with a sigh of relief at his success), Tobio thought he might stay awake a little while longer at least. There was some merit, he thought, in a dark, lonely highway and night sky mirrored above them, stars in place of street lights. Hinata hummed in the seat next to him now that they were so far away from any radio towers, all the stations coming in fuzzy and indistinct.

He had never thought of exploring the world before he'd been tossed into the deep end of it, but perhaps that was the best way to start.

*

Tobio ended up staying awake through most of the night after all, watching the scenery fly by, listening to Hinata's idle chatter. They didn't talk about their current situation, or even any more about Hinata's revealed occupation, and for that, Tobio was grateful. Like this, it was just a particularly exotic roadtrip—another thing Tobio had never experienced.

At around three a.m., running on fumes, they pulled into a tiny gas station to refuel.

"Snacks?" Hinata asked as they both got out, stretching and yawning. Tobio nodded, and Hinata pulled a wad of bills out of his pants pocket, smacking them into Tobio's palm. "Go crazy."

Tobio meandered inside, taking in the extraordinarily dingy interior. Judging by the meager two pumps outside, both of which looked ancient, he wasn't entirely surprised. The station attendant behind the counter didn't even glance up at the tinkling of the bell. Tobio made his way up and down the aisles, grabbing chips, chocolate, packaged cookies—many of the snacks were foreign and new to him, and he found himself wanting to try them all. He stopped by the fridges in the back, grabbing a couple bottles of water and soda.

Laden down with his spoils, he eventually made his way back to the register. Aside from Hinata filling up the car outside, and one other van that had just rolled up to the other free pump, the station was devoid of people.

He dumped all the food on the counter messily, grimacing apologetically as it spread across the surface. The station attendant slowly pushed one of the chocolate bars off the magazine he was reading, before starting to ring Tobio up.

The bell over the door chimed softly as Tobio started to pay, slowly counting out the unfamiliar bills. The attendant had gone back to reading his magazine, and Tobio stood there, hand holding the money awkwardly outstretched before clearing his throat. The man took it from him without looking, still reading, and Tobio fidgeted impatiently. It was far too early in the morning to be dealing with this.

The attendant began to hand Tobio back his change as someone got in line behind him. They must have caught the station attendant's eye more effectively than Tobio and all his candy, because he finally looked away from his magazine.

His eyes widened for just a fraction of a second.

Then his head jerked back on his neck. He dropped like a stone, and Tobio could see the wall behind him, painted red.

Tobio ran. He wrenched his whole body sideways, not daring to look behind him, feet reacting before his thoughts caught up. His movements were unsteady, jerky, and he had no plan as he flung himself headlong between the gas station shelves—he just knew he had to run, run now. One of the flimsy shelves rattled as a body slammed into it from the other side, knocking it askew. A metallic ping that he recognized as a gunshot snapped through the air, and a bullet chipped the floor at his feet.

sh*t sh*t sh*t. It was clear there would be no more attempts to compel him, no more mere threats. It was like Hinata had said, a gunshot would slow him down. Make it so he couldn't run anymore. They wanted to cripple him and capture him by force.

Another shot clipped low along the edge of a shelf as he threw himself behind it, and he scrambled down the aisle to put distance and cover between himself and the gunman. A voice barked something out at him, but he couldn't understand them. The pounding of footsteps came to a stop. From Tobio's position crouched on the floor, he couldn't see them; he couldn't see anything except down that single aisle. He didn't know where Hinata was. He didn't even know if Hinata was still alive.

Cold at his back was the fridge section, the wall lined with colorful cans, soda and beer bottles. Someone yelled something at him again—clearly, they meant to hold off on shooting him if possible. But he would be leaving the store as a prisoner, or dead, unless he did something about it.

"Okay!" he shouted, and then, "Don't shoot!" in English, a phrase he knew from countless action films.

Very, very carefully, he opened the door of the fridge, reaching inside it to pull a heavy beer bottle from the shelf. He pulled his arm out, and the door shut with an unfortunately loud snap.

The glass behind him shattered as it was shot out, raining down on his shoulders as he dove away from it, back down the aisle. He had to run at an awkward half-crouch to avoid being seen over the tops of the low shelves. There were running footsteps what sounded like right next to him, he didn't have much time, they were going to cut him off—

He threw caution to the winds and put his back against the shelf full of assorted snack foods, groaning as he threw all his weight against it—and, slowly, it began to tip over. He nearly lost his balance as it toppled, falling away from him, only managing to regain his footing in time to watch it go.

There was a shout from the other side of the shelf, as his pursuer suddenly found it collapsing right on top of him.

Tobio wasted no time. He tore around the other side of the mess of the shelving to find the man caught and struggling to free himself. The gun lay a few feet away from him. He looked up, right as Tobio bore down on him, and—

SMASH—he swung the beer bottle he'd grabbed earlier as hard as he could manage, cracking the man in the side of the head. The bottle shattered, but it had done its job, leaving the man knocked out cold on the floor.

Tobio dropped the jagged remains of the beer bottle, breathing heavily. He'd never so much as been in a schoolyard fight, let alone knocked someone unconscious before (and very violently, at that). He tried to will his feet to move, realizing he had to get out of the store, had to try to find Hinata.

He turned, right into the heavy impact of a fist, landing against the side of his face.

In all the prior commotion, he hadn't heard the second gunman come in. Tobio staggered, stunned for a half a second, before he fell hard to the ground. Pain exploded through his face and skull. One of the lenses of his glasses was cracked. Dazed, eyes watering, he had the thought that he needed to get to his feet, needed to get away, but only succeeded in crawling unsteadily across the floor.

The new assailant kicked him hard in the side and he cried out. He didn't attempt to move any further; he cowered on the ground, hands raised in a pathetic attempt at shielding himself. But the next blow didn't come. Instead, the man dragged him upright. He yelled something in Tobio's face, spit flying, and Tobio cringed back. He couldn't understand a word the man was saying.

Then he heard a click, and to his horror, felt something cold and metal pressed against his ear, the barrel of a gun. More screaming in his face, and he thought he might be crying. He begged for his life.

"I can't understand you," he sobbed. "Don't shoot me, I'll do whatever you want. Please don't kill me—"

A gunshot sounded, somewhere terrifyingly close, and for a moment, he thought the man had fired.

But he wasn't dead. And the grip on his shirt was released as the man collapsed, dropping his gun. He clutched at his knee. It had been shot out.

There stood Hinata, gun in hand.

"Hinata," Tobio choked. He felt like he might start crying even harder at the sight of the other man.

"Sorry," Hinata said. "They ambushed me outside." He looked around at the destroyed store. "You did this?"

Tobio nodded blearily.

"How many in here?"

"T-two," Tobio said, pointing at the man out cold beneath the shelves. His hand was shaking so hard that he reflexively grabbed it in his other. All of him was shaking, his teeth were even chattering. He felt giddy and light-headed.

"Not bad," Hinata said. "I had four out front, but you're pretty new to this, so I guess you could say you did alright."

"Al-alright?" Tobio asked, faintly. Hinata was calm. He seemed completely calm, like everything was okay. Tobio's jaw ached something fierce but they'd made it through another round. He took a deep breath, felt some of his panic recede, and wiped his wet eyes on his sleeve. "I did—f-f*cking amazing."

Hinata nodded at him. "Don't get too excited," he said, and then raised his gun again. "No."

Tobio was momentarily confused, before he realized Hinata had the weapon trained on the injured man on the floor. He had started to reach for his gun while they had been talking. Tobio kicked it away and Hinata nodded his approval again.

"Your awareness could use some work," Hinata told him. He moved further into the store. "We're being hunted internationally and you didn't get out of sight as soon as you heard someone else walk in?"

"How do you know I didn't?" Tobio asked.

Hinata turned in a slow circle, taking in the store walls pockmarked by bullets, the shattered fridge doors, the collapsed shelves. "This all happened while you were hiding?"

Tobio bristled. "I'll hide faster… next time."

"I bet you will," Hinata said, tossing him a lopsided grin. But the expression froze on his face as he caught sight of the body behind the registers. "Who shot him?"

Tobio jerked his head over to the man he'd knocked out. Hinata swore, making his way over.

"For the record," Tobio said, "you did tell me people wouldn't be coming after us this soon."

"Yeah…" Hinata sighed. "I f*cked that up. They're more desperate than I thought. Though I'm sure they expected to kill me, grab you, and make that—" he pointed over at the dead cashier, "—look like a robbery. Not an international incident."

"So, what happened?" Tobio asked.

Hinata stopped when he reached the unconscious gunman, looking down at him. Then he raised the gun, and fired a single shot through the back of the man's head. Tobio jerked in shock, leaning back heavily against the counter. Hinata looked up at him.

"I happened," he said.

He was still so calm. Tobio swallowed and nodded wordlessly. Hinata moved back toward him, still slowly, but there was something much more dangerous in his gait, now. Something too smooth, too controlled.

Hinata returned to the second man, the one he'd wounded, and then crouched down. He was the picture of nonchalance, head tilted to the side. He looked, Tobio though, a little like a vulture that had finally stopped circling.

And vultures only landed on carrion.

"Hi," Hinata said, in English.

The man turned to look at him, jowls quivering. He must be in a terrible amount of pain, Tobio realized. His long pants hid the worst of the damage to his knee, but it was still bent oddly, and the fabric of his clothing was a shredded mess where the bullet had torn out of it.

"Kageyama," Hinata said, "who hit you?"

Tobio looked down at the injured man. "He did."

Hinata's hand snapped out, clawing vice-like into the man's mangled kneecap. Tobio winced at the sound the man made, a groaning shriek, as Hinata put pressure onto it. Hinata was saying something, English Tobio didn't understand, and the man screamed an agonized reply. Hinata sighed.

"Doesn't look like he's going to be telling us anything," he said. He put the gun in the man's open mouth."Don't look," he told Tobio.

Tobio wrenched his gaze away. He flinched at the loud gunshot. The sudden silence after was somehow worse, the screams abruptly cut off, the soft plop of lifeless limbs hitting the ground.

Hinata stood up, and Tobio stared away at the walls and the door, determinedly not looking down at the body lying by his feet. His attention was redirected as Hinata leaned over the counter, grabbing a couple plastic bags.

"What are those for?" Tobio asked him.

"You," Hinata said. "In case you start puking again. Come on, we need to be far from here."

He pushed the bags into Tobio's arms, but kept one for himself, tossing a couple candy bars from the ruined shelves into it.

"Will the police come after us, too?" Tobio asked, as they made their way back to the car.

Hinata shrugged. "Probably. But they may also be too tied up with Kuala Lumpur and everything else going on."

"Wouldn't it be good to get help from them, though?"

"They'd slow us down," Hinata said, shaking his head. "Besides—we're gonna be long gone."

Chapter 8

Chapter Text

KANCHANABURI, THAILAND

Thailand was, Tobio thought, maybe the greenest place he'd ever seen. He and Hinata ditched their stolen car and took a taxi further out of town, where they caught a bus that brought them to the city of Kanchanaburi, along the banks of the Mae Klong river.It was here that they finally stopped, at a cluster of small wood and straw-thatched houses that were more huts than anything else.

At first, Tobio thought it was his imagination playing tricks on him after the long drive, or maybe a strange reflection caused by the crack in his glasses following the gas station incident—but many of the houses seemed to bob gently up and down before his eyes. He squinted at them, confused.

"You're not imagining it," Hinata said, coming up next to him. He sounded different, and Tobio turned to look at him, curiously. The other man was staring at the bank of houses with something almost like… longing, Tobio realized. And then he realized that the odd note in Hinata's voice was exhaustion—his skin was too pale, and there were rings starting to show under his eyes.

"Are you…" He trailed off. Could he just ask someone like Hinata if he was alright?

"Let's get inside," Hinata told him, leading the way.

They approached one of the houses, the largest of the structures positioned further back from the river on stilts. As they got close, the door flew open wide and several small children came tumbling out of it. Tobio paid them no attention, until it became clear that they were paying him and Hinata a very large amount of attention in return. The whole small mob of them ran screaming straight for Hinata who, instead of joining Tobio in looking bewildered, grinned broadly and dropped his duffel bag to bend down in the dirt.

In seconds, they were crawling all over him. He laughed, and Tobio watched, still baffled, as he began to talk with them easily, in a language Tobio had never heard before. It must have been Thai, all the lilts and dips completely foreign to his ears.

One of the children pointed at Tobio, and Hinata glanced at him before responding. All at once, the kids began to scream and giggle, and one of the little girls hid her face in Hinata's shirt.

"What did you say about me?"

Hinata stood, holding onto the little girl's hand when she grasped for his fingers. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yes," Tobio said.

Hinata stuck his tongue out. "Too bad."

Tobio was about to protest when the door to the house banged open again, and a tall older woman in faded jeans and a yellow shirt leaned out of it to shout something at the rowdy gang. Her eyes fell on Hinata and widened. He waved, calling out to her.

"Who's that?" Tobio asked.

"You can call her Grams, if you want," Hinata said, shrugging. "Don't know her real name, and it's probably better off that way. She's been holding down this safe house for years now. And taking in these monsters." He ruffled the hair of one of the boys as the child ran past. "I don't even think any of them are related to her."

As they got closer, Tobio finally realized the reason behind the odd movement he kept catching out of the corner of his eye. The smaller houses were built on top of rafts, tethered to the shoreline and floating out on the river water. Hinata caught his expression and smiled.

"Welcome home," he told Tobio, "for the next few days, at least."

"What are we staying here for?" Tobio asked. This was not at all what he'd pictured when Hinata had said the words "safe house." He'd pictured walls and gates and security systems—and something that actually qualified as a house.

"We need to get our bearings, gather intel," Hinata said. "And in case you haven't noticed, we do need to stop and rest at some point. So, after you…"

He motioned Tobio in front of him, and Tobio, after a few hesitant seconds, set foot inside the little house on the water.

The size of the house was no illusion from the outside. It was absolutely tiny inside as well, with just a kitchen, a little bedroom, and a smaller bathroom.

"Are we supposed to stay here with…" Tobio surveyed the children scampering about by his knees. "Everyone?"

Hinata laughed. "Wouldn't it be fun if we were?" When Tobio shot him a look, he shook his head. "No, most of the raft houses in this row are owned by Grams. We'll have some space… just not much."

He set his duffel bag on the wooden dining table and rifled through it, pulling out an unusually bulky cell phone. He perched himself on the edge of the table and called out to Grams who nodded. She hollered at the children, making them and Tobio jump, before ushering them out of the house with a very no-nonsense tone. Though they lagged and complained, fluttering around Hinata, they went, until the last of them had cleared out and it was just Hinata and Tobio alone.

"Alright," Hinata said, holding up the phone. "Do you want to be here for this?"

"For what?" Tobio asked.

"I'm going to call HQ," Hinata said. "We need to find out what's going on, what the bigger picture is."

"Is that safe?" Tobio stared at the phone in his hand. It looked like something out of the nineties. "Couldn't it be traced?"

"Why do you think I'm not using an iPhone?" Hinata tapped the phone he was holding. "This won't be traced, trust me. You think you're the only genius we recruited? Though, honestly, I really don't think any of the rest of us were this much of a handful…"

"I want to hear, then," Tobio said. He walked over to sit on the table next to Hinata. "If I'm such a handful, I want to at least know what's going on."

"Good." Hinata nodded. "Just listen, don't talk."

"What if I have questions?"

Hinata shook his head with a laugh. "Please hold them until after the presentation." He turned the phone on and it sputtered and hissed with static. Tobio realized that it wasn't a phone, but some kind of radio, as he tuned the frequency until the static died out and was replaced by someone reading off a string of numbers.

This seemed to be what Hinata was looking for. He held the phone up to his mouth. "Hello? HQ, do you copy? This is agent one zero one zero, over. I have a high priority civilian with me, and we are in need of intel and extraction."

The numbers kept going.

"What is that?" Tobio asked. "The number?" They weren't any pattern or equation he could recognize.

"Nothing. They don't mean anything," Hinata said, before turning his attention back to the radio. "HQ, do you read? This is agent one—zero—one—zero." Still nothing. Hinata scowled. "HQ, do you copy?"

Suddenly, the voice and the numbers cut out, like a music track being paused. Then a new voice spoke.

"We copy, Ten."

Hinata sighed in what seemed like relief. "God, I thought we'd been compromised. Answer a little quicker next time, Tsukishima?"

"You're not the only agent I've got out in the field, you know. Plus, you just made me lose a bet. Keep the stupid to a minimum if you want me to stay on the line."

"What bet?" Hinata asked. "With who?"

"With Kuroo-san. You called in. I lost."

"You bet I wouldn't call in?" Hinata asked, sounding indignant.

"No, I bet you were dead."

Tobio blinked at the phone with the detached voice issuing from it. Hinata glared. "Do you have any useful intel, at all?"

"About the Malaysia situation?"

"No, some other intel, preferably unrelated to the sh*tstorm I'm currently sitting in," Hinata snapped. There was silence on the other end of the line, and Hinata said quickly, "Don't hang up. I've had a rough twenty-four hours."

That was an understatement, Tobio thought. It hardly seemed like it had only been a day since everything had started happening.

"You break it, you bought it," Tsukishima said. "Everyone trying to unf*ck this situation, including myself, is having a rough day, so don't get all pissy about it."

Now Tobio felt irritated. "We're the ones getting shot at," he said loudly, and Hinata turned to him with a pinched expression, bringing a finger to his lips. There was more silence over the line.

Finally, Tsukishima asked, "Is that the civilian?"

"That's him," Hinata said, sounding resigned.

"Delightful," Tsukishima said. "Pleased to meet you, civilian, and the program you created that just collapsed the infrastructure of an entire country in less than forty minutes. While you've been getting shot at, I've spent the past day trying to keep your vanity project from infecting the rest of the world, costing potentially thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars worth of collateral damage. Do you have anything else to say?"

Tobio bristled. "It's not like I—"

"No, he doesn't," Hinata cut him off, teeth grit. "Tsukishima, report on the current situation? Please?"

There was a sigh over the line. "Current report is… nothing to report."

"What?" Hinata asked blankly.

"We have nothing," Tsukishima said. "Intel is minimal, and useless. I don't think you understand how easy CITI makes it for these people to cover their tracks. They're ghosts."

Hinata banged his fist on the table, making Tobio jump. The redhead dragged his palm over his face slowly, taking a deep breath. Again, Tobio noticed how exhausted he looked. "Alright," he said, slowly. "Alright."

"It would be helpful if the civilian could tell us how they hacked CITI."

"I have a name," Tobio muttered.

"Oh sorry, Your Majesty, were you still listening in?"

"Yes, I'm still—"

"Kageyama," Hinata said forcefully, "is there anything you can tell us?"

Tobio frowned in thought. He'd been pondering this exact question all the way from Kuala Lumpur, but he still didn't have any solid answers. "CITI is… it was entirely secure. I know that doesn't count for much now—"

"It does," Tsukishima said, surprising him with the show of confidence, before he added, "I've been working on accessing it myself the past few months. Couldn't get in."

"You tried to hack me?" Tobio yelped.

"Had to see if it could be done. You weren't worth looking into otherwise."

"Oh," Tobio said. "Well… I thought it was impossible, but they did it. I don't know how… I've been working on CITI all week and I run scans daily. Nothing turned up."

Something kept nagging at the back of his mind—a memory he couldn't quite grab onto, some feeling that there was something important he'd overlooked. But he was sure he'd done his due diligence, checked all the nooks and crannies of the program. Still…

"I want to run some more tests," he said, "but it'll be risky."

Hinata nodded. "Do it. Tsukishima?"

"I'll run interference," Tsukishima agreed. "I should be able to mask outbound signals from the safe house… that should help you cover your tracks. Kageyama, you'll need to give me access."

"Fine," Tobio grumbled.

"And my orders?" Hinata asked.

"What do you think, Ten?"

"Extract the civilian. Gain intel on this cell from the field. Eliminate the threat."

"Close, but not quite."

"What'd I miss?"

"Nothing," Tsukishima said. "You added a step. No extraction."

"No—" Hinata stared at the phone. "What does that mean?"

"The civilian stays with you. How are you going to take down CITI without him, unless you picked up hacking since the last time we spoke?"

"The civilian can't—are you kidding me? He can't stay out here with me!" Hinata glanced at Tobio, who was looking back at him, wide-eyed.

Were they implying what he thought they were?

"Why can't he?"

"He's a kid, Kei!" Hinata stood up from the table to pace, looking furious. Dimly, Tobio resented this. He might be young, but he was hardly a kid—no matter how much Hinata seemed to want to baby him.

"I was eighteen the first time I got shot. Weren't you younger? He'll be fine."

"Unless he's dead," Hinata all but shouted into the phone, and Tobio's indignation dried up. "He didn't sign up for any of this, he doesn't work for us yet. I told him I'd get him home!"

"Hey, that's your problem, you deal with it. Contracts are just paper when the world is set to burn."

Hinata stood rooted to the spot for a moment, seeming at a loss for words, before saying, "I want to talk to the captain."

A snort. "Sawamura's not taking calls."

Hinata's fury turned into something of a pout. "…I wanna talk to Tadashi."

Now an outright laugh sounded over the phone, a bit snide. "Nice try. He says hi, though."

"Tsukishima—"

"We'll send over travel documents. Check in with us in a few days. Until then, don't use this line."

"Hang on—"

But Tsukishima was gone, replaced by the never ending string of numbers once more.

Tobio stared at Hinata. After a long while, the smaller man looked back at him, wordlessly.

"Hinata…" Tobio said, "does this mean I can't—can I not go home?"

Hinata looked pained. "I… I could still try. But it'll be more dangerous without help, and…"

"And I'm the only person who can figure this out," Tobio said, realization dawning. "It's my fault in the first place."

Hinata frowned. "It's not your fault, Kageyama."

"My responsibility, then," Tobio said.

"That's not…" Hinata sighed. "You don't have to be the one to fix this."

"I do, though." Tobio looked down at his fists, clenched in his lap. "I do, and I'm going to."

"Kageyama." Hinata came to stand in front of him, and waited until Tobio looked up at him. His brown eyes were focused and intent as he addressed Tobio. "If you're out here with me, you take priority. Before solving this mess, before figuring out who's behind it. Before anything else, I will keep you safe."

Tobio swallowed. "You have to… do your job—"

"You are my job," Hinata said. "I was assigned to protect you first and foremost, and that's what I'm going to do. I want you to understand that. But that also means you need to listen to me. If I tell you to do anything, no matter what it is, then you do it. No questions asked." He leaned in close when Tobio took too long to respond. "Got that? Kageyama!"

"Yes!" Tobio said, hurriedly.

Hinata nodded, satisfied. "Good. There's nothing else we can do today except clean up, and get some rest. You should shower first. I just need to take care of a couple more things."

Surprisingly, the shower helped. The hot water stung the long, tender scratch on his arm from the earlier bullet wound, but the shallow wound had already started to scab over. He'd gotten lucky. The warmth felt much better coursing over the bruises starting to form on his side.

The stall was small enough that he kept banging his elbows against the walls, but it also helped wash away the smell that seemed to have embedded itself in his skin since the previous morning, the one that kept resurfacing and making him feel nauseous and uneasy. He stayed under the spray, contemplating all that had happened.

His fault, this was all his fault.

He emerged feeling somehow even more tired, but also more himself. He sniffed his new shirt and washed the underarms only, hoping that would let it dry faster, bringing it out of the bathroom and laying it on the wooden table. Hinata wasn't in the front room but the door to the bedroom was ajar.

The front door opened, making Tobio spin toward it, but it was only Grams. She saw him and motioned him over, holding out a small black bag to him. When he took it, she nodded her head in the direction of the bedroom.

"Take," she said, in halting Japanese. "He needs." She pushed the bag into Tobio's grasp without any further words of explanation and left the way she'd come, leaving him staring at the item in his hands. Nervous, he wondered if he should open it, then decided against it.

Cautiously, he approached the bedroom. If Hinata wanted to make sure no one came in, surely he would have closed or locked the door… nevertheless, Tobio peered through the gap, first.

The other man was undressing, his back to the door. Tobio turned away from the door quickly, before reminding himself that it was nothing he hadn't seen before. He turned back to enter as Hinata started to remove his shirt.

Tobio paused as Hinata gingerly peeled the black fabric off his torso. The smooth shift of his muscles under his skin made Tobio bite his lip, before he realized Hinata was moving unnaturally slowly. As the shirt came off his ribs, it became clear why—there was a broad, bleeding gash curving from his side to his back. If he kept his arm lowered, it wasn't noticeable, especially with his jacket on. The shirt had stuck to the dried blood, coming away tacky, pulling painfully on the skin. Hinata sucked in a breath as the cloth tugged free, and he yanked it the rest of the way off his head.

"You're staring," he said suddenly, and it took Tobio a moment to realize Hinata was speaking to him.

"You're hurt," Tobio responded.

"So are you," Hinata said. His eyes fell on the bag Tobio was holding. "Grams?"

Tobio nodded. "She said to give it to you."

"She's a lifesaver," Hinata said. "Give it here."

Tobio entered the room hesitantly, depositing the bag next to Hinata on the bed. Hinata unzipped it, rifling through the contents. Inside were medical supplies. He pulled out a bottle of painkillers, tossing them to Tobio, who found himself feeling likewise endeared to Grams. His head and side were throbbing.

"Sit," Hinata said, directing him to the bed. Tobio did as asked and Hinata crouched down to look at him closely. "Definitely nothing broken…"

"How do you know?" Tobio asked.

"Trust me, you'd know," Hinata said. "Have you ever broken a bone before?" Tobio shook his head. "Ah, jeez. You're putting up with this pretty well, then." He reached out, pressing against Tobio's bruised cheek and jaw with his fingers. "This hurt?"

Tobio winced. "A little…" Then, thinking of how little Hinata had complained of his own wounds, hastily added, "Not that bad, though."

Hinata put pressure on the dark, purple mark on his side, frowning. "And here?"

It still didn't bother Tobio, when Hinata touched him. Shouldn't it, though? He'd never liked anybody touching him before, and now here was a man he'd watched kill people in front of him, with his hands on Tobio's body. But he didn't mind this; Hinata's touch was warm and careful over the bruise on his side.

He was so close that Tobio could smell him. He blinked, trying to clear the scent of Hinata from his head, blood and sweat and dirt all mingling together. It wasn't a smell he thought he should want more of.

But he did.

"Kageyama?" Hinata prompted. "Does that hurt?"

"N-not really," Tobio mumbled. Despite the reassurances that he hadn't broken anything, there was still a flicker in Hinata's eyes at his words, a tiny exhale of relief.

Tobio wanted more of that, somehow; less of the impersonal reassurances that he was Hinata's charge, just another day's work. More of those tiny signs that Hinata wanted to keep him, specifically, safe. But Hinata was already pulling away. Tobio cleared his throat.

"What about you?" he asked, eyeing the nasty cut on Hinata's side.

"It's not so bad," Hinata said.

"What happened?"

"Ahh, I didn't see the fourth guy in time," Hinata sighed, running a hand over the short hair at the base of his neck. "At the gas station. He had a knife. I turned into it." He sounded frustrated, like it had all been a mild inconvenience.

Tobio stared up at him. "Was he trying to kill you?"

"Yeah, I bet he was. Wrong move on his part." He laughed. It was still the same laugh he'd had back at the hotel, sitting with Tobio in the bathtub, drinking from a bottle of whiskey and talking about everything and nothing.

Tobio surged to his feet, pushing his hands into Hinata's messy, dirty hair to kiss him. Hinata jerked in surprise, hands flying up to Tobio's face, brushing the bruise on his jaw, and Tobio gasped against his mouth before pressing forward, trying to get closer. Hinata's lips were warm on his, his hands reassuring on Tobio's cheeks. A soft whimper that Tobio couldn't hold back escaped him.

He didn't care. He didn't care that Hinata was a completely different person than Tobio had thought he was. His smile did the same things to Tobio, and his voice—and when he touched Tobio, it still made him feel—

Hinata shoved him away. He was so much stronger than his small stature suggested, and Tobio stumbled, falling back onto the bed. He looked up at Hinata, stunned.

Hinata glared at him. He looked furious, his face red, breathing hard. "What are you—why would you do that?"

"I—I just…" Tobio trailed off, uncertain. He hadn't forgotten what Hinata had told him in the car. But after everything that had happened… "I just needed to."

Hinata stared at him for a long moment, expression shuttered. Then he shook his head. "No, you didn't."

"Yes, I—"

"You're emotional right now. And that's understandable. You're scared, and tired, and you're probably freaking out." Hinata stepped farther away from him. "But you can't let that get the best of you. Not when your life depends on it! I need you to be listening to me, not thinking about kissing me."

"I know that," Tobio said.

"Do you?" Hinata crossed his arms. "Getting distracted by your emotions is the best way to get a bullet through your skull in the field. Whatever you're feeling right now—this crush you have on me, or whatever—that's adrenaline. A savior complex. Whatever. You need to get over it."

"It's not a crush!" Tobio insisted, loudly. "I—I really like you!" His face felt like it was burning. He'd never confessed to anyone before. He'd never liked anyone before.

Hinata's eyes went blank and dangerous. It was the first time he'd directed that look at Tobio. "Then you need to stop."

"I can't just—"

"You can," Hinata said, coldly. "And you will."

"I don't want to!" Tobio burst out, shooting to his feet in frustration.

Hinata was silent for a long time, face still and smooth. Then he shook his head. "I don't care."

"You can't make me—"

Hinata wasn't done. "I don't care how you feel about me," he said. At this, Tobio finally stopped talking. "You need to get that through your head, and you need to stop kissing me just because you feel like it. I don't feel anything like that for you, Kageyama. I never did."

Tobio curled his hands into the sheets, feeling stunned. He tried to search for words, but he had none to say.

"If I tell you to do something, then you do it. No questions asked." Hinata stared him down. "You agreed."

Tobio nodded wordlessly. Hinata turned away from him, pausing at the doorway.

"You learn a lot of things too fast in this line of work," he said, without looking at Tobio. "So trust me when I say that emotional attachment never makes anything easier. Learn that now."

Seemingly satisfied with imparting that knowledge, he walked out, leaving Tobio alone in the room.

*

Nobody woke Tobio early the next morning, for which he was glad. The pounding in his head had eased, to be replaced by a lingering ache where he'd been hit in the jaw and ribs. The sun had already been up quite awhile by the time he'd finally pulled himself upright in bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He put on his glasses and was unsurprised to see that the second small bed in the room was empty.

Hinata had never come back into the room after he'd left to take a shower. Perhaps he'd gone to stay at one of the other little floating houses along the row that Grams owned. Or maybe he'd just slept in the other room. Tobio didn't know, and he didn't care. He was done with that, done caring about Hinata, since Hinata clearly didn't care about him at all.

Gingerly, he got out of bed, moving slowly to keep from feeling the pain in his body quite as much. The living room was, indeed, empty when he came out, and he washed his face and brushed his teeth in the bathroom before deciding to venture out of the house. If it wasn't safe, somebody probably would have told him to stay put. Or maybe Hinata was done even caring that much.

The dusty road that wound its way next to the river and through the little village was quiet, though some of the local children were playing on it, chasing each other through the grass on either side. Along the steep cliffside over the water, a train happily chugged its way across the precarious tracks, as though it weren't inches from toppling into the river below. It was a peaceful place.

Someone shouted behind him, and he turned, startled. Grams was waving at him from the door of one of the houses.

"Come here," she said, and even in broken Japanese her authoritative voice brooked no argument. "Hurry up, boy."

Tobio scuttled quickly after her, through the door as it swung shut in her wake. Stepping inside this new house, he saw it was very similar to the one he'd stayed in, though it was bigger and seemed far more lived in. The kitchen was much roomier and there was a delicious smell in the air already. Grams noticed him sniffing.

"Lunch," she told him. "You help."

He nodded, surprised. "What do you want me to do?"

She pointed at a pile of unpeeled onions on a chopping board by the sink. "Peel. Cut."

Tobio nodded, and took up a position in front of the cutting board. He'd never cut onions before (or cooked), but he thought it couldn't be too difficult, compared to everything else recently.

Five minutes later, he had been proven tragically wrong. The onions had been peeled, with great difficulty, but still had bits of papery skin stuck to them here and there. Tobio had, at some point, nicked himself with the knife and unwittingly touched his face—now his hands stung and his eyes burned and watered. His throat felt tight and his nose was running. He wished he'd never gotten out of bed. It was a horrible start to what was already guaranteed to be a terrible day. Almost as if he was being forced to give in to the awful, pinched feeling in his chest that had taken hold ever since Hinata had told him—

"Onions got you," Grams grunted, from where she was standing over the stove, adding ingredients to the pot.

Tobio sniffled wildly. "I'm—" he said, voice thick. "I'm just—"

"You cry now," Grams said, "nobody would even know."

Tobio blinked down at the onions. Slowly, he set the knife aside, bracing his hands against the countertop.

He had never cried much. When he was very young, yes, but he'd quickly grown out of that. He had few things in his life that could make him cry, past a certain age. Too unassuming for any bullies to notice him, too reluctant to make friends, no clubs joined, no bonds forged to be sad about breaking when he'd finished school. No romantic relationships of any kind, nor any interest in them to begin with, outside his treasured film collection. He'd shut himself away at every opportunity with his computer and his coding, alone, and had liked it that way.

Until one week outside had changed that. One week forced out of isolation had landed him with, it seemed, the one soul in the world who hadn't minded getting to know him. And Tobio had felt for the first time ever like maybe he'd had it wrong before, or maybe this was a good enough reason for him to stop ignoring the world at large.

And then it had turned out Hinata wasn't the person he'd pretended to be. The superspy lifestyle, the secret identity, the blood on his hands—Tobio could have lived with those things easily, he thought. After all, it wasn't like he could base his previous experiences with friendship on knowing people who didn't come packaged up with all these surprises, however extreme they were. And Hinata had done all those violent, startling things to help Tobio, or so he'd thought.

But in the end, Hinata had been paid to get to know him, to flirt with him in an effort to get him to open up. Hinata hadn't been interested in him at all. Hinata was no different from anyone else he'd ever met.

Hinata only ever cared about him because of the job.

He'd started crying before he even fully realized he was. Staring down at the onions with his eyes stinging, fat, salty tears dripping off the end of his nose, shoulders shaking as he sobbed silently.

Grams bustled over near him and he turned away, raising a hand to wipe his face. She grabbed his wrist before he could touch his eyes again, clicking her tongue, running the water in the sink. Roughly, she stuck his hands under the spray, making sure to scrub at the onion residue with her calloused thumb and rinse off the blood from where he'd cut himself. He watched the water rush over his skin for a bit as she took his place in front of the cutting board, picking up the knife.

"Don't waste water," she said, and he turned off the tap.

For a long while they stood in silence, as he stared down at his dripping hands and she took over chopping the onions, far more quickly and expertly than he had managed.

"Start a new job," she said, in her gravelly voice, and he turned to look at her. "Not easy."

Tobio shook his head, silently.

"Won't get easy," she continued. "Only harder."

"I don't… mind that," Tobio said, clearing his throat when his voice cracked. "I like difficult. I like a challenge."

"You like what's happening now?"

"I—" He stopped to consider. He barely understood what was happening now. But if he did, would that make a huge difference? Even if he could sit safely in front of his computer back at home, working away at trying to find an in, trying to find a solution—people could still be dying. "No, I don't. But I still want to do something."

"Then you'll be fine," she said, not looking up from the onions. "He doesn't like it either."

"There's a lot of things he doesn't like," Tobio muttered.

Grams laughed, a sharp, shrewd bark of a sound. "You think that matters? Now?"

"No," Tobio said, reflexively. Then, "I don't know. I don't even know if I can trust him."

"He got sliced," Grams said, pointing to her back, "and you still don't know?"

Tobio scowled. "It's not like he did it because he cares about me."

Grams stopped cutting. "You listen." She pointed the knife at him, and he flinched. "You die? It's because he's already dead. You still want to complain?" Tobio stared at the knife, then at her lined face and hard eyes. He shook his head. Grams nodded, satisfied. "Can't fall in love if you're dead."

"Fall in—" Tobio spluttered. "I'm not falling—Grams!"

"Dumb boy." She snorted. Tobio deflated, but she wasn't done. "Rejection is hard. Loss… harder."

He looked up at her again, inquisitively, but she ignored him, pointing at the pot on the stove, which was starting to bubble over.

"sh*t—" Tobio said, darting over to it.

"Stir that," Grams said, shaking her head. "Can't cut onions, why did they leave him with me…"

By lunchtime, with Tobio's questionable assistance, they had managed to make a hearty curry that tasted even better than it smelled. Grams sent Tobio outside to collect the children. Hinata, as it turned out, was just coming back up the road, one of the little boys at his side. He was carrying a thick rectangular package. Spotting Tobio, he waved, and Tobio nodded back. Grams's advice had made him aspire to be civil—but nothing more.

"Good to see you up and awake," Hinata said. "What've you been doing?" He stopped as he neared Tobio, peering closely at him. Tobio realized Hinata must be looking at his eyes, which were still red and puffy.

"Cutting onions," said Grams's voice from behind them, and Tobio turned to see her standing in the doorway. "Lunch is ready."

Hinata whooped. "I'm gonna eat everything!" he roared, drawing the attention of all the kids, who immediately started to flock to the house, screaming with glee. They disappeared into the house in a whirlwind of chaos, Hinata in the lead, and Tobio shot Grams a look of gratitude. She just jerked her head at him to get inside the house, and he looked down at the ground to hide his smile.

Inside the house was as chaotic as out. The kids ran into and out of the bedroom and bathroom, even under the table, nearly bumping Grams as she started to ladle curry and rice into bowls. But it was, Tobio soon realized, an organized sort of chaos, and before long everyone was seated neatly at the table or on the floor, silent as they enjoyed the meal.

Grams said something in Thai and all the kids paused in their eating, their bubbling chorus of voices directed at Tobio before they all giggled and went back to the food. Tobio frowned in confusion.

"They said 'thanks'," Hinata said, sitting down at the table with his own bowl of piping hot curry. "To you. For the food."

"Oh," Tobio said pointlessly.

"You don't want any?" Hinata gestured to the stove.

Tobio blinked at him, right as Grams put a bowl in front of him.

"Eat," she ordered, and Tobio dug in.

When the kids had finished, two of the eldest stayed behind to help Grams wash the dishes, while the rest tumbled back outdoors. Tobio got up to help as well, but Grams waved him off, nodding in Hinata's direction.

Hinata was still sitting at the table. He was inspecting the contents of the package he'd had in hand when Tobio had seen him approaching. Curiosity got the better of Tobio.

"Where were you?" he asked, approaching the table.

"In the city," Hinata said. "I needed to pick up some mail, but we don't get it delivered here."

"What is it?" Tobio asked, sitting down across from Hinata.

"See for yourself," Hinata told him, sliding the package over.

Tobio peered inside cautiously, before pulling the contents out onto the table. The first thing that caught his eye was a blue plastic case that he opened to reveal…

"Are these for me?" he asked, picking up the pair of glasses inside the case. He tried them on—the world came sharply into focus, and they fit him perfectly.

"You like them?" Hinata asked.

Tobio almost asked why it mattered to Hinata if he liked them. But he swallowed the bitter words down instead, and nodded. "Yeah," he said. He did; they were a more stylish shape than his old ones. And it was already starting to be a pain, squinting through the broken lens in the other pair. "How did you even know my prescription?"

"We have our ways," Hinata said mysteriously, and then, "mainly, Tsukishima."

"Thanks…" Tobio said, before getting distracted by the rest of the contents of the envelope: several small square booklets that he recognized quickly. "Passports?" he asked, picking one up. Sure enough, it was almost identical to his current one, although he caught one large difference right off the bat. "Who's… Sato Yoshiro?"

"You are," Hinata told him, as he opened one up. His picture stared back at him. "For now, at least, while we're traveling. That's not all, keep looking."

Tobio flipped through a few pages, before he landed on another surprise. "This is a… visa. An Indian visa?"

Hinata nodded. "That's right."

"So, then…"

"We'll lay low here for a few more days," Hinata said, looking over at Grams, who nodded to show she'd heard. "Hopefully that helps hide our trail, but we also need to get you tracking who has CITI, as quickly as possible."

Tobio nodded, vaguely. In his head, he was already running simulations—there were any number of things he could do to start chasing down the people who'd stolen his program. He was willing to bet he'd be a sight better at utilizing it than they would.

"After that," Hinata said, "we're moving on. India's our next stop. From there, we can fly out anywhere."

"Why India?" Tobio asked. Hinata smiled, tapping his fingers on the table.

"Lots of people in India, Kageyama," he said. "Easy to get lost. Harder to get found."

Chapter 9

Chapter Text

After the awkward overcrowded feeling of the first few days wore off, Tobio discovered with time that the little floating house on the river was oddly comfortable, and comforting. Shockingly so, considering the cramped quarters, the lack of personal space, the sheer number of small children that were forever underfoot.

But the shrieking brood provided a fair distraction for Tobio, especially once he'd learned how to pacify them all with his comprehensive collection of animated films (via downloads saved to his untraceable online cloud storage). He spent the next few days huddled on an old couch with his new laptop set on a chair in front of them as a makeshift TV stand, with six or seven other pairs of eyes trained on the screen, giggling over the antics of Totoro and his friends in My Neighbor Totoro. To Grams' annoyance, the ratio of fart noises to silence in the kitchen increased tenfold with each successive viewing of Shrek. And one of the little girls had taken to calling Tobio "Violet", like the sullen, shy character in The Incredibles.

"Oy!" Tobio shouted out the door at the rowdy gang as they took off after dinner one night, abandoning him in the midst of washing dishes. He brandished a soapy ladle in the air and continued hollering at them in vain. "Get back here! I made all this, I'm not cleaning it up, too!"

"I'll help," came a voice from behind him, and he tensed up. He turned to see Hinata standing from the table, clearing some of the plates to bring them to the sink. The shorter man ran the water over the dirty dishes.

Tobio glanced around the kitchen. Grams was suspiciously absent, and now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember seeing her leave. The sudden disappearance of the children now seemed suspect. He narrowed his eyes.

"Come on," Hinata said, back still toward Tobio. "I'll wash, you dry."

Seeing no way out, Tobio reluctantly drew nearer to stand next to him at the sink.

A week had gone by since the kiss confrontation. Things had been less awkward between them than Tobio had worried they'd be, but this was due to several reasons. They never discussed what had happened again, and kept up a very civil relationship with each other after the fact.

Hinata seemed to be giving him space, for the most part—he always seemed to be in the midst of an endless number of preparations, or had something to take care of in town, or wanted to perform a perimeter check on the little row of houses Grams and the children called home. On one or two occasions, he'd joined Tobio and the kids to watch a movie, content to let one of the little brats climb into his lap and fall asleep on his chest. This provided him with an easy excuse to leave the room before the movie ended so he could put the sleeping child to bed. Tobio suspected this was because the only options when the movie finished were to sit in silence… or worse, talk.

For his part, Tobio had ceased to mind the new state of things; or at least, this was what he told himself. It wasn't in his nature to mope, after all was said and done. And so he threw himself into the only thing he could do—tracking the terror cell that had gotten hold of CITI.

Once he had a lock on where they might be, they would be able to move out. But even with all his expertise, their enemies weren't stupid, or lax, and his progress had been slow. He had no help aside from Tsukishima, who was so irritable that Tobio often found himself wishing he could do it all himself anyway. But there were no other experts, no authorities to turn to. The mass panic that would spread if news got out about what had really happened in Malaysia would be catastrophic—not to mention the danger that other groups with ill intentions might see their opportunity to go after CITI. The thought made Tobio sick with dread.

"We need to contain it," Hinata had finally decided, after yet another long conference with Tsukishima (that felt like it was ninety percent arguing), "rather than going public."

And so they remained in solitude on the waterfront.

Now the only sound to fill the room was the noise of running water, the scrub of a coarse sponge over the plates, the squeak of the towel wiping them dry. Hinata's help was appreciated, Tobio supposed… even if his company wasn't, exactly. There was a veritable mountain of dishes in the sink.

Hinata ran another handful of silverware under the water before passing them to Tobio, who began to dry them, before he spotted suds on the handful of forks. This kept happening, so "I'll wash, you dry" had become more of Hinata scrubbing and briefly sticking the dishes back under the water, and Tobio having to finish off the job before he dried them fully. The dishes waiting to be dried began to pile up, as did his annoyance levels, until at last he ended up sighing loudly.

"Rinse properly," he barked, unable to keep quiet any longer. "There's still soap on these."

Hinata looked at the plates on his side. "No, there isn't."

Tobio grabbed one and shoved it in his face, as a line of soapy residue made its way down the front of the plate. "What does this look like to you?"

"Oh," Hinata said. "Sorry, moving too fast, I guess."

"I don't need help," Tobio said abruptly. "I'll wash the rest."

"No, no, I'll—"

"I don't need your help," Tobio repeated, barely audible over the trickle of running water. Grams would have yelled at them to turn it off by now. "I can do this on my own."

Hinata shut off the water. "You really can't."

Somehow Tobio knew he wasn't only referring to the dishes.

"Hey, Kageyama," Hinata said, "do you hate me?"

He asked it so offhand that Tobio finally looked at him in surprise. Hinata had his arms crossed as he leaned against the counter, looking pensively at the floor.

"No?" Tobio said, though it came out more questioning and unsure than anything. Hinata snorted softly, and Tobio shook his head. "No, I don't."

Hinata co*cked his head to the side. "Not really sure if I believe that…"

"Why would I hate you?" Tobio asked. "I'd be dead if you hadn't kept me alive."

"Actually," Hinata said, "you probably just would have been captured back in that bathroom at the airport."

"Maybe I would have refused to help them," Tobio said. "They would have killed me."

"Would you have?"

Tobio thought back to the gas station and the man who'd screamed at him—and how he had promised, instantly, that he'd do anything they said as long as they let him live.

When Hinata spoke next, his voice was almost gentle. "Given the choice, most people would rather stay alive. If they can."

"What about people like you?" Tobio challenged. "How come you're so willing to risk your life? You barely know me."

"It's my—"

"Don't," Tobio snapped. "Don't say it's your job."

Hinata fell silent. After a moment, he looked at Tobio again. His eyes seemed hollow, all the shine gone out of them. "I know there are worse things than dying."

Tobio could only return his stare for a little while, before he had to look away.

"Well, I don't hate you." He fidgeted, pushing his glasses up his nose with his wrist to avoid getting dirty dishwater on the lenses. "I don't… know what I feel about you, anymore. Maybe I don't feel anything. That's what you want, right?"

"That's what I asked you to do," Hinata said.

Tobio glanced at him. Even in the low light, he could still make out Hinata's features, pretty face in solid framing, the faded scar on his lip. His stomach twisted painfully, the way it always did when he looked at the other man, or thought about him while he was alone, with no loud kids or movies to distract him.

They were only at the hotel a little while. It was only a kiss. Hinata was only his first real friend.

Well—maybe "real" wasn't the right word for it.

Tobio made a show of lifting his shoulders, like he was shrugging off the heaviness. "Yeah, well," he said, "it's not that hard not to care. I barely know you. Or thought I knew you."

Hinata nodded. Suddenly, he smiled at Tobio, almost like sunshine, even though his eyes still seemed too tired, like they had been ever since they got to the river house. Tobio looked away. He hated when Hinata smiled like that, now. He never knew if it was the truth.

"Good," Hinata told him. "That's good. That's what it takes, to survive at this."

Tobio didn't respond. It wasn't that he didn't know how to do it, after having lived his life caring only for the glow of his computer screen and not much else. But there was no point in talking about his confusing mess of feelings to the only person to ever make him feel so strongly in the first place. The same person who would now prefer he felt nothing at all.

Currently, he just felt like everything sucked. He sighed.

"Your face looks good," Hinata said, after a long silence, and Tobio turned to look at him a little too quickly. Hinata looked equally as surprised for a moment, before he pointed to a spot on his own cheek. "The bruising."

"Oh, yeah—it's better now." He'd almost forgotten about it. It had nearly healed over the course of the week. "What about your side?"

"On the mend," Hinata said. He hiked the bottom of his shirt up to show Tobio, who had to be mindful he didn't clutch the plate in his hands too hard and risk shattering it.

The cut in Hinata's side was mostly closed up, but had been sutured closed with medical thread. It still looked kind of horrifying.

"Did Grams…" Tobio started to ask, but Hinata waved a hand.

"Nah, I did it. Didn't want to bother her more than I already have."

Tobio stared at him. He imagined Hinata leaving after they'd argued, holing up somewhere alone to sew the gash shut without any help.But Hinata caught Tobio's expression before he could say anything, and laughed.

"It's fine, I've done it loads of times."

Tobio scrunched up his nose. "That's f*cking gross."

Hinata shrugged. "Eh, some people like knitting…"

Tobio slowly turned to stare at him. Hinata didn't look at him, but his lips twitched as he kept his gaze fixed on the bowl he was scrubbing.

Tobio whipped him with the towel. "You're f*cking gross."

Hinata yelped indignantly. "You get used to it!"

"I can't stop thinking about knitting… scarves out of people now," Tobio said irritably. "You Hannibal."

"Ooh, big film buff reference."

Tobio worked to keep the glare on his face as the mood around them lightened—something he was aware Hinata was capable of doing easily. It was Tobio's fault for falling for it, every time.

"Look, Hinata—" he started to say, when he was interrupted by a shrill beeping noise, coming at intervals from the kitchen table. He jumped, looking over at it, stunned.

"What is that?" Hinata asked, wincing.

"It's my trace!" Tobio practically shouted, abandoning the dishes. "It worked! sh*t!"

"Your trace?" Hinata asked. "What—"

"I've been tracking them," Tobio said, throwing himself onto the bench in front of his laptop. "I put a bunch of traces out, trying to pick up CITI's transmissions—it's got a distinct signature."

"I bet it does," Hinata said. "But could they—"

"No, I'm undetectable," Tobio said, distracted, fingers flying over the keys. He'd been using his phone app to help pinpoint any usage of its twin, its first real test run—even he hadn't expected it to work so quickly. Now if he could just triangulate as many sources as possible using the IP addresses he'd traced, he should be able to narrow it down to a limited amount of locations CITI could be operating from.

"How do you know you're undetectable?"

"Because I'm smarter than them," Tobio said. One signature popped up—Thailand. That was him. "Come on… come on," he muttered.

A second red blip began to blink on the map he'd pulled up on his monitor.

"Is that…?" Hinata started to say.

"Yeah." Tobio sat back, inhaling deeply. "That's them. I found them."

The marker had popped up in Europe—specifically, Paris.

Warm hands landed on his shoulders briefly. Hinata squeezed, the pressure light and reassuring.

"Good f*cking job, Kageyama-kun," he breathed.

Tobio pressed his lips tightly together as the praise resonated through him. He looked up at Hinata. The other man had leaned in close to stare at the map over Tobio's shoulder, eyes wide, monitor lights reflected off of them.

"We leave for India tomorrow morning," he said, drawing away from Tobio, who nodded silently. "We'll fly straight to France from there, so it's going to be nonstop. Get some rest."

But trying to sleep might be harder, Tobio thought, than actually tracking the terrorists in the first place. Because starting tomorrow, he'd be on his way to face the people who wanted to capture him—and who wanted Hinata dead.

*

They were up and ready to head out while it was still dark out. Tobio had slept fitfully, and yawned enough that his eyes started to water as they gathered their few belongings together, a quick process after they had both packed the night before. He emerged from his small room to find Hinata already sitting at the table with Grams.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Tobio said. Hinata waved him off.

"We've got a little time," he said. "Eat something."

There was already a large pot of thick rice porridge with pork slices for Tobio to ladle into a bowl and crack an egg over, almost like the kind of breakfast he normally ate at home in Tokyo. Hinata seemed to already be polishing off a second bowl. Grams had fried some dough until it was crunchy on the outside, like donuts, but salty instead of sweet. These could be eaten alone or dipped in the rice dish, and Tobio ate until he was past full. He had the thought, suddenly, that he was going to miss these meals.

Grams waved him away when he tried to help clear the table, telling him to finish getting ready to head out. As early as it was, Tobio was surprised to see a couple small, curious faces peering through the door at them as they readied themselves to finally head out.

"Ah, I don't know how they always do that," Hinata said, shaking his head. When Tobio turned to him inquisitively, he said, "They always catch me right before I'm about to leave."

Grams caught them watching and had them help her clear the table before they could scamper away. She stopped Hinata on his way to the door and started to deliver what sounded like a hefty lecture in Thai—even Hinata looked as though he were barely able to follow.

Something tugged at Tobio's sleeve and he looked down, to see one of the little girls watching him, the one who liked The Incredibles.

"Violet," she whispered to him, motioning for him to come closer. He bent down and she cupped her hands to his ear to whisper to him. It was a mix of Thai and English, and he had trouble understanding, until she said, "You'll be okay."

"Me?" Tobio said, equal parts amused and curious.

She nodded, hard. "Hinata. You." She interlaced her fingers together and gave him a very significant look.

Tobio stared at her. "Hinata and me—what? Wait—"

"Boy!" Grams barked, and he shot to his feet again, fumbling for his backpack. "Hurry, you're late!"

Then it really was time to go—Tobio bowed deeply to the children who'd come to see him off, and they giggled, but imitated him, all of them standing in a neat line and bending low at the waist.

He tried to bow to Grams, remembering at the last moment to exchange the typical Japanese bow for the way the kids had taught him, hands pressed together in front of his chest, but Grams stopped him before he'd even begun to incline his head. She gripped his chin in one strong hand, glaring right into his eyes.

"You," she said. "Stand up straight. No more looking down."

Tobio nodded as best he could with his face still trapped in her grip. His eyes felt prickly again. It was a little like he'd just been cutting onions; he felt slightly less afraid of whatever lay ahead of him.

He waved once, as they made their way down the road, and then did not look back again. He had a feeling she'd be disappointed, if he did.

Hinata gave a low whistle once they were out of sight.

"What?" Tobio asked.

"Listen, I have never seen her take to someone that fast," Hinata said. "Actually, I thought she couldn't stand me for about three years, until she saved my life once after a surveillance mission went south."

"She wouldn't have saved you if she didn't like you?" Tobio asked, sure Hinata was exaggerating.

Hinata was quiet a few seconds, before answering. "There were two of us, losing a lot of blood," he finally said. "She had to choose."

Though the morning was already warm, Tobio felt a chill. He nodded, filing the information away. Choices, choices… there never seemed to be a third option. Not in this line of work.

"Hey," Hinata said, before he could sink too far into a melancholy. "What did Mali tell you, right before we left?"

"Oh," Tobio said. Mali was the name of the little girl. "She…" He pursed his lips together, wondering what to say. In the end, he decided on the truth. "I think she thought we were, um…"

Hinata turned wide eyes on him, before starting to laugh. "Crap," he said, "I totally forgot."

"Forgot what?" Tobio demanded.

"That's what I told them," Hinata said. "When we first got here. I might've implied we were together…"

Tobio gaped at him. "What?"

"They're not supposed to know anything! I figured it'd keep them from asking too many questions."

Tobio shook his head, unable to believe Hinata's nerve. Although… it did seem like a better option than telling a bunch of kids he was on the run from international assassins, and on the verge of accidentally getting the entire freaking world hacked. Or his and Hinata's real relationship. Whatever that was.

They walked in the direction of town for a mile or so, until they came across another rundown car sitting on the side of the road, seemingly abandoned there, waiting for no one. Hinata beelined straight for it, and without so much as pausing, popped the trunk to look into it. Tobio could see the smile spreading over his face.

"That's more like it…" Hinata breathed.A quick glance over his shoulder revealed a bag containing a fully outfitted weapons cache, stacks of money in different currencies, a whole host of gadgets Tobio wanted to get his hands on immediately, and even several changes of clothes.

"How…" Tobio started to ask, before shaking his head. "Tsukishima?"

Hinata grinned and slammed the trunk closed.

"Hop in!" he said. "We've got another nice drive."

YANGON, MYANMAR

The Port of Yangon was the kind of place that always seemed just on the side of too busy to be bothered with anyone who didn't know exactly why they were there and what their business was. Long black cargo ships lined the brown-green waters, piled high with their colorful Tetris-block crates, loading up for their next voyage. The shouts of boat crews filled the air.

Tobio stuck close to Hinata as they made their way through the hustle and bustle on the docks. Their thirteen hour drive had deposited them there in the late evening, with the sun about to dip below the horizon. The sky was gold, reflecting off the murky water below, turning it a fiery bronze to match the warm, humid breeze that ruffled Tobio's hair.

"Used to be there was no legal way to get from Myanmar to India," Hinata said conversationally as they walked. Tobio listened carefully nonetheless. He'd started to realize that Hinata didn't tell him all these small facts for nothing. He was meant to be learning. "Technically, it's still not a very passenger approved route."

"Then how do we get to India?" Tobio asked.

Hinata smiled. "Remember this: it's always good to have a friend, who has a friend… who maybe knows a guy…"

He spotted someone up ahead and waved. Tobio looked in that direction, to see a man hurrying down the gangplank of one of the big cargo steamships.

Hinata glanced at Tobio. "He's how we get to India."

True to his word, one of Hinata's fellow agents at the organization knew a guy who knew a crewmate on one of the cargo ships. Hinata nodded to him as he approached them, looking as suspicious of them as Tobio felt of him.

"You're Hinata?" the man asked, and Tobio was surprised to hear him speaking Japanese. "The one who…"

"Knows Ryuu, who knows Bawdi, yeah," Hinata nodded. "This is Yoshiro, he's the only other one who'll be along for the trip."

"You got passports? Visas?" the man asked. "In case they need to I.D. crew, we need to make it look like—"

"We have them," Hinata said, nodding at Tobio. They both pulled out their passports to show. Tobio tried to look as much like Sato Yoshiro as he could, feeling like an obvious imposter, despite it being his actual face in the photos.

The man nodded. "Alright, follow me."

Tobio and Hinata hung back as they trailed behind him up the gangplank.

"You look like you're about to wet yourself," Hinata muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

"If I do, it'll be your fault," Tobio said. "Crew? What the hell are we—"

"Tobio," Hinata said, and Tobio fell silent. "This isn't out of the ordinary, cargo vessels take on extra passengers sometimes for pay—but they're labeled 'crew' because this isn't a passenger ship, right?"

Tobio clutched his documents in his hand uncertainly. "But what if—"

"We just stay quiet, keep our heads down. It's barely two days to Chennai. But if you keep acting like an international fugitive, you're going to make people nervous." Hinata turned a hard stare on him. "I need you to get calm."

"Okay," Tobio said quickly. He tried to focus on the obvious. Hinata knew what he was doing. They were already on the boat. Now they just… needed to get to India. He took a deep breath. "Okay," he said again.

Some of the hardness faded from Hinata's stare. "Good boy," he said, nodded, and then continued onboard the ship without a backwards glance.

Tobio bit his lip, mouth feeling suddenly dry as he willed his face not to heat. That was another thing he clearly needed to calm down about.

His nerves started to fade as he saw the rest of the ship. They called it a ferry, but it was no small riverboat—the cargo ship was massive, stacked high with red and blue and green shipping containers, crew milling all about. No one paid them any mind as their contact led them below deck to the cabins.

Tobio was surprised to see that the cabins were located on the outer ring of the ship. The inside, although very small, had a porthole window looking out onto the water. The bed was sandwiched between the two walls, but there was a small desk he could use for his computer.

"Your rooms are next door to each other," the man told them, and then glanced between them. "Unless you only need the one…?"

"No," Tobio said, quickly. "No, we don't—we're not sleeping together."

By the time he realized this just made it sound like they were, the man had shrugged and taken his leave.

"Not bad, right?" Hinata observed, hopping onto the bed to stare out the porthole. Tobio wasn't sure if he was just choosing to ignore the awkward moment, or if he truly hadn't heard. "We basically get a free cruise!"

Even if Hinata's optimism was a way to keep him calm, Tobio found he appreciated it all the same.

"I've never been on a boat before," he said hesitantly.

Hinata turned to stare at him. "Never?" When Tobio shook his head, the man grinned. "Well, we better make this a real vacation, then!"

Considering how his last vacation had ended, this did not leave Tobio feeling reassured.

Chapter 10

Chapter Text

Hinata wasn't in his room the next morning when Tobio knocked on his door. This left Tobio stranded in a potentially stressful situation. He could just stay in his room, hoping for Hinata to come retrieve him at some point—but he was hungry, and the grumbling in his stomach seemed to be getting louder by the minute. And so, eventually, he mustered himself into leaving the cabin behind to go on a search for his guard, and some food.

He didn't get far before he found himself lost. Everyone else on board the ship must obviously already know where everything was, but even if he could have found someone to follow inconspicuously, it seemed like there wasn't a soul in sight. Just as he was contemplating attempting to ignore the gnawing in his stomach and making his way back to the room, a voice called out to him. Or rather:

"Yoshiro!"

It took Tobio a moment in his already confused state to realize the person was addressing him by his new alias. He jumped and spun, to see their contact on the boat waving him over.

"Hello," Tobio greeted him stiffly.

"Lost?" the man asked. "Are you looking for—"

"Breakfast," Tobio told him.

"Oh," said the man, laughing. "I thought Hinata."

"Him, too," Tobio admitted. "Do you know where…"

"He's using our gym," the man said. "He's… well, let's get you breakfast and then you can see for yourself."

Curious but starving, Tobio nodded, following him to the ship's small cafeteria. He loaded up a plate with a standard continental breakfast, ate quickly and then continued on to the gym, where they would supposedly find Hinata.

As they neared, walking down one of the ship's long hallways, Tobio started to hear voices. Quite a few of them, and boisterous, too—some seemed to be cheering, and every once in a while, a shout would rise up, a group yell all in unison, as though there was some kind of sporting event going on.

Tobio finally spotted the door with an old plastic sign hung up on the wall reading "REC ROOM." He walked inside and found a small area with a couple of treadmills and weights and a punching bag. There seemed to be quite a few crew members in the room, attention focused toward the middle, and Tobio, peering over their shoulders, finally saw the reason for all the staring.

They were gathered around what looked like a fight about to start, except, Tobio figured, a real fight wouldn't be so amicable. Hinata squared off, fists raised, against another man who easily dwarfed the redhead's stature. A third man seemed to be acting as a referee, a hand placed on each of their shoulders. Hinata and his opponent each extended an arm, bumping their fists together respectfully, before pulling back—the ref let go of his hold on them.

The shouting started up almost immediately, the rest of the deckhands urging them on, chatting with each other, appraising the two fighters. At first they circled each other warily, sizing each other up, neither willing to make the first move. Then, like an unspoken signal had sounded, they both moved at once.

The bigger man had the clear advantage in height—his stride was bigger, arms longer, reach superior. But he swung wide and slow, and Hinata's strength was all in his speed.

He ducked under the sweeping arm easily, letting it pass over him before striking out with a vicious jab. Tobio winced reflexively as it caught the man on the bottom of his chin, but the man seemed to shake off the blow easily. Tobio had seen Hinata drop people in one hit and realized they must have been softening the impact of their blows to avoid injury. He countered with a left hook, but Hinata dodged back, letting his opponent's fist fly past, before spinning to land a kick to the man's outer thigh.

The man grunted, stumbled briefly, and Hinata was on him. He came in low, threw his whole weight against the man's legs and caught him off balance, bringing him down. The crowd let out a unanimous yell, but Hinata moved still, swinging his weight up easily to trap the man's head between his powerful legs, locking his opponent's arm under his own elbow, before leaning straight backwards to put the man in an armbar, bending his arm painfully far out of rotation.

The man tapped out immediately. The fight had taken maybe twenty-five seconds in total.

"sh*t!" their contact said. He was still standing beside Kageyama, watching along with the rest of the astonished crowd. "I mean—sh*t! He's been at it all morning, that's like, the seventh time—"

"f*cking show off," Kageyama muttered.

"Show off?" the man asked, staring at him now, astonished. In the center of the room, Hinata was helping the other man to his feet, so they could exchange a round of good-natured pats on the back. "Is he in the military? The… the UFC?" He laughed incredulously.

Tobio made a mental note to look up what the UFC was later. "Something like that," he said, and shrugged.

"Kageyama!"

Hinata had noticed him. Tobio turned to see the smaller man waving exuberantly at him. Somewhat warily, Tobio made his way over.

"You look like you're getting ready to run," Hinata said, raising the bottom of his shirt to wipe his face of sweat, exposing his stomach. Tobio turned away quickly.

"There's a lot of…" He glanced around the gym, before continuing, stiffly, "...physical activity happening."

"So, that's a yes," Hinata confirmed.

"Yes."

The burly man Hinata had just fought addressed Tobio in English. Tobio stared at him blankly. Hinata, however, was shaking his head—the man smacked him jovially on the back with a laughing remark.

"No," Hinata said, and that much Tobio understood.

"What?" he asked immediately. "What's he saying?" He turned to the man. "I don't speak English."

"He's not saying anything important," Hinata said, sounding slightly exasperated. "If he was, I'd tell you."

"I don't care if it's important, I want to know."

"Ten seconds ago, you were looking for an exit. Now, suddenly, you're interested?"

Tobio was interested, if only because Hinata seemed to be trying to keep it a secret. He turned back to the man. "Hello," he tried in English, haltingly. "Ex—excuse me?" Hinata started to sigh loudly, when the man reached for Tobio.

Before he could so much as make contact, Hinata had moved, deflecting the outstretched hand as he came to stand in between Tobio and the man, defensive, expression sharp. The relaxed atmosphere of the room seemed to recede, slightly.

Tobio flushed. Everyone was staring at them—staring back and forth, between him and Hinata. Unthinkingly, he put out his hand and shoved hard at Hinata's shoulder. Hinata barely budged.

"Hinata, what the f*ck," he mumbled. "Knock it off."

But suddenly, the man laughed. He looked around at the others and then raised his hands in the air, like he was giving up on his efforts, before saying something to Tobio that made the group laugh.

Tobio looked at Hinata. "What'd he say?"

Hinata ran a hand through his hair and then turned to look at Tobio. He still seemed annoyed, almost flustered. "Nothing," he said, entirely unconvincingly.

Tobio crossed his arms and then turned to the man who'd helped them on board. "You understand him?"

"Uh, yes…" the man said. Hinata shook his head emphatically.

Tobio rounded on the hapless man, pushing his way in front of Hinata. "What did he say?"

"He said… uh… it's okay." The man looked between them, nervously. "If you don't want to fight. Since you… have your boyfriend to protect you."

Tobio's eyes snapped to Hinata. Hinata looked very resolutely everywhere but at him.

"Oh, okay," Tobio said. "Is that what you didn't want me to know? That's all?"

Now Hinata looked back at him, brow furrowing. "Well. Yeah, I thought you'd—"

Tobio rolled his eyes. "That's f*cking stupid, Hinata."

Hinata opened his mouth to respond, and Tobio turned back towards their would-be challenger.

"Translate," he snapped at their contact. "Tell him I say 'fight me'."

Hinata's eyes went wide. "Kageyama!"

He stepped away from Hinata stubbornly, and pointed at the other man, before barking out, in English, "You… talkin' to me?!" The man pointed at himself, looking amused.

"No," Hinata said, "you are not—"

"Bite me," Tobio told him.

He balled his hands into fists at his sides. He might not have ever been in a fight before, but he was pissed enough at the whole situation not to care. And so he dragged up all the bravado he could muster, and spat, "Who the f*ck do you think you're talking to?"

The last thing he saw before he ended up on the floor was a meaty fist, rushing straight at his face.

He blinked, and realized he was looking at the ceiling. He could hear Hinata saying something in English, and then a loud ship's whistle caused the rec room to clear out. The sound of many shuffling footsteps followed, and then Hinata was leaning into his field of vision.

"Wow," he asked, looking vastly unimpressed. "So how'd that feel?"

"Ugh," Tobio replied.

"Yeah," Hinata agreed. "You're lucky he was nice enough to pull that punch. Didn't even crack your glasses again,Bakageyama."

Tobio frowned at this new nickname. "You're lucky you… aren't down here, where I am…"

"I don't know about that," Hinata said. "Looks pretty comfortable."

Tobio sat up, wincing. He hadn't passed out, only fallen over, but his jaw was a bit sore. It seemed like the gym was mostly empty now.

"That whistle was the call for a shift change," their contact said. "I've got to go, too. You two… you'll be okay, right?" He looked uncertain about this.

Hinata waved him off. "We'll entertain ourselves!" He glanced at Tobio, who was rubbing his jaw tentatively. "Speaking of which—I think I know what we're doing on our little vacation now!"

Unfortunately for Tobio, this bright idea turned out to be the equivalent of hell.

"No—what are you doing?" Hinata asked him, some minutes later, after explaining his plan to Tobio. They were still in the rec room, a gym mat on the ground under their bare feet. Hinata had made Tobio take off his shoes, and likewise removed his own.

Tobio stared at him, standing with his back straight, chin jutted out, eyes narrowed. "You told me to 'take a defensive stance'."

"How is that a defensive stance?" Hinata asked him. "You're just standing there looking at me."

"I'm preparing myself," Tobio said. "I'm observing you. If you approach me, I'll be able to—sh*t, Hinata, wait—!"

He flinched and raised his hands as Hinata surged forward, and the next thing he knew, his feet were being swept out from under him, and he found himself falling backwards to the floor for the second time that day. This time, Hinata slowed his descent, arm wrapped around his shoulders as he let Tobio tumble rather gently to the mat. He stared down at Tobio.

"I wasn't prepared," Tobio said, blinking up at him.

"You have, like, zero survival instincts," Hinata said, folding his body down to sit cross-legged. "None."

"I have survival instincts," Tobio said. "Like, if I were to see a bear, I'd run."

Hinata sighed. "And that is exactly how you get yourself killed by a bear."

"Never mind," Tobio snapped. "Next time a bear is after me, I'll take a defensive stance."

"That depends on the bear," Hinata told him, standing up again and offering Tobio his hand.

"Oh, right," Tobio said, grunting as he let Hinata pull him back up. "Because you've fought so many bears, before—" He stopped, noticing the shifty look Hinata was giving him. "Hinata."

"Yeah?" Hinata asked, voice breezy.

"You haven't ever fought a bear, have you?"

Hinata glanced away. "There was… I mean, I wasn't actively trying to fight the bear." He looked very guilty.

"You—" Tobio's mouth fell open. "Are you sh*tting me?"

"It was just a black bear." Hinata scratched the back of his head. "They're little. They also really don't like being punched in the face."

What the f*ck, Tobio mouthed to no one in particular, because Hinata wasn't meeting his eyes, apparently still shamed by the thought of his scuffle with one of nature's more dangerous mammals. "I can't believe you punched a bear."

"He came after me!" Hinata turned wide eyes onto Tobio imploringly. "I felt really bad about it!"

"Dumbass, that's not—never mind." Tobio shook his head. He considered this new information, and then decided that it might be a good idea to actually listen to what Hinata had to say. "I guess… um, maybe you should show me what you mean by a defensive stance."

Hinata tilted his head at him. "All those movies you watch, you must've picked up something. Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan… Chuck Norris?"

"None of that ever really seemed like anything I could do," Tobio said truthfully.

Hinata rolled his eyes. "I'm not asking you to do a front flip," he said. "I just wanted to see what your instincts are."

Tobio frowned. "Instincts about what?"

He widened his eyes as Hinata suddenly feinted toward him again. This time, instead of allowing the impact to land, he stepped backwards, planting his feet more firmly, and covered his face with his arms. Then he waited, trusting Hinata wouldn't let him fall too hard.

But the blow never landed. After a second or two had passed, he peeked out over his arms, to see Hinata had stopped moving, and was now watching him in what seemed like amusem*nt, arms folded over his chest.

"Better," Hinata said. "Not by much, but better."

"What is?" Tobio asked, lowering his arms. He hadn't actually done anything.

Hinata reached out and shoved at his shoulders—not gently. Tobio swayed a bit, but otherwise didn't budge, not even a slight stumble backwards.

"Good," Hinata said. "See? When you open up your stance like that, it makes it harder to knock you down. So, the next time someone comes at you, don't just stand there. Don't drop your arms by your sides, either—if you don't wanna get hit in the face, protect it. Like you just did."

He mimed throwing a very slow fist up towards Tobio's head again, and Tobio raised his arms to shield himself, as instructed.

Hinata paused. "Why do you keep hugging your whole head?"

"You said to protect it," Tobio repeated, voice muffled from where it was pressed into his forearm.

"Can you see anything right now?" Hinata asked.

"Um… oof—"

He grunted as Hinata very lightly buried a fist in his stomach. Tobio pulled his arms away from his face to push him back, and Hinata grabbed his wrists, firmly moving his hands until they were positioned lower under his chin, held out in front of his body.

"To counter an attack," Hinata told him, "you need to be able to see it." He sounded impatient, which only served to fray Tobio's temper as well. Combat training hadn't been his dumb idea, after all.

"This is a terrible vacation," he grumbled.

"On your last vacation I taught you how to swim!" Hinata pointed out. "Now, this. Which you might somehow be even worse at."

"Shut up," Tobio grumbled.

"You want me to shut up?" Hinata challenged. "Let's see you throw a punch."

Tobio glared at him as Hinata squared up. This was stupid. He clearly wasn't going to be any kind of match for Hinata in a fight. Attempting to hit him seemed like a waste of time.

Hinata beckoned him forward, and when that didn't provoke him, stuck his tongue out, winking at Tobio cheekily. Like a bull seeing red, Tobio charged.

His first punch went wide, sailing clear past Hinata's head—the shorter man barely had to move to dodge it. Tobio flailed with his other arm, striking straight out, and Hinata dodged nimbly backwards, shaking his head tauntingly.

"I'm right in front of you, are you even aiming?" he asked, and Tobio grit his teeth, throwing another wild punch. "Will it help if I stand still?"

"Yes!" Tobio said, throwing himself right at Hinata. For a second, he thought he had him, when Hinata didn't dodge. But then, suddenly, he found himself flying off of his feet—tossed easily through the air, as Hinata took advantage of his mindless running to flip Tobio over his shoulder and onto the mat below. Tobio wheezed as the air was knocked clean out of him, to be replaced by nothing but an incredibly solid weight on his stomach as Hinata sat right on top of him.

"Remember this," Hinata said, as Tobio flailed uselessly underneath him. "Use your opponent's attacks against them. They act, you react."

"Why are we even doing this?!" Tobio shouted in frustration. "This isn't like swimming at the stupid hotel, Hinata. If you want to teach me this sh*t, do it properly, or don't bother!"

"Do you think I can teach you how to fight off a trained attacker in two days?" Hinata snapped at him.

"No, but—"

Hinata shifted on top of him, dropping down to rest his forearms on either side of Tobio's head. He looked furious, suddenly, and Tobio tried to shift away by reflex, but had nowhere to go with the floor at his back. He tried to meet Hinata's eyes, but couldn't—they were too fixed, too wide and burning, like they might tear holes straight through Tobio if he stared into them for too long. He turned his face away to the side so he wouldn't have to see.

"You—are—helpless," Hinata hissed, breath warm against his cheek, and Tobio gasped for air, but couldn't breathe. The weights in the corner of the room, lying on the ground—he focused on those, staring at them unblinkingly until his vision blurred as though he'd taken off his glasses. "You can't swim, you can't shoot, you can't fight, you can't even dodge—you have zero basic training, none. But we're stuck out here, Kageyama, so tell me—what can you do?"

Tobio shook his head frantically, squeezing his eyes shut. Hinata wasn't yelling, or hurting him—but this was worse, somehow, than getting hit and screamed at in the gas station. There, he had been frightened. Now, he felt like nothing but a burden to the only person he could trust.

"What happens if anything happens to you, while I'm not around?" Hinata questioned him. "What happens then?"

"Y-you—" Tobio forced out, "you'll be there—"

"I might not be!" Hinata said, voice rising. "And relying on that could be the difference between life and death."

And this, this was something Tobio was used to. People getting fed up with him, turning their back, walking away from him. He never blamed them, not when he himself was so unwilling to connect or allow anyone else to try. And he couldn't blame Hinata for what he was saying now.

He realized—Hinata was right. Hinata couldn't babysit him forever. Hinata had more important things to do, more important things to care about. Whether it was this mission, or the next, or the one after that—Hinata would leave him, eventually.

And then there'd be no one to protect Tobio.

With that knowledge returned his ability to breathe, painful as it was. He gulped in air, and Hinata said,

"Look at me."

Tobio turned his head obediently, looking up at him. Hinata's eyes were still hard like stones, but he looked less angry. Tobio sucked in another breath.

"You wanna know why we're doing this?" Hinata asked. "It's because this is the one chance we have to catch our breaths, for who knows how long. We have to do something with it. I have to—to try and teach you something—"He broke off, frustrated.

"I get it already," Tobio said, voice dull in an attempt not to betray his feelings. "You're stuck with me."

Hinata shot him a look. "If they manage to catch you," he said, in an even, measured tone, "they won't kill you right away. They will hurt you. Torture you, for information. Or just because they can. Because it'll break you."

He was right, clearly. Tobio had seen evidence of it himself—and as harsh as it was, as much as it hurt him to hear Hinata lay out his deficiencies so plainly, Tobio knew what Hinata was going through, thrown into the sh*t as he had been, with no one but Tobio saddled to him and slowing him at every turn. He knew that Hinata was trying to help him as much as he could, given the limited time they had, and Tobio's questionable capacity to learn.

"What if I just told them what they wanted?" Tobio asked.

Hinata shrugged. "If that's your plan, I'll kill you right now, and save everyone the trouble."

Tobio grimaced. "I'd only do that if I got caught," he said, adding quickly, when Hinata's gaze slid slowly over to him, "which I won't!"

Hinata rubbed at his eyes and muttered, "Yeah, I hope not." He finally got off of Tobio, rolling to the side to sit on the mat. Tobio coughed and pushed himself up onto his elbows.

"Would you really?" he asked.

"Would I really what?" Hinata responded absently. He sounded distant, liked he was already thinking about something else.

"Kill me," Tobio clarified.

"No," Hinata sighed. "Because I don't think you would work with them. Even if they caught you."

That sounded suspiciously like backpedaling. Tobio squinted at him. "Are you sure you're not just saying that because you couldn't? I mean, how would you even do it on this ship, it's not like—"

"We're alone," Hinata interrupted him flatly, and Tobio fell silent. "You can't…" He laughed, briefly, one short, sharp bark of sound that barely qualified for the word. "You can't stop a punch, Kageyama. I could kill you right here, right now. Or I pick the lock on your door at night, smother you in your bed."

Suddenly, Tobio remembered words, called up and echoing in his head as Hinata spoke: I specialize in protection, extraction, and occasionally, extermination.

Extermination, cold and sterile. Not enough emotion in it to even be considered murder.

Tobio stared at Hinata, watched as he pulled his knees up to his chest, tonelessly describing how easy it would be to dispatch Tobio, remove him as a threat, if he presented himself as one.

"I would toss your body over the side of the boat," Hinata continued, "Considering our speed and travel distance, we'd be near enough to shore by then and… there are crocodiles. In the Bay of Bengal."

Tobio didn't say anything. Hinata finally looked up at him. He looked tired again.

"Look, ask a stupid question…" he started to say.

"It wasn't stupid," Tobio said quietly.

Hinata blinked, and then stared down at his knees as he drew his arms around them, hugging them to his chest. "You're right," he said. "It wasn't. But you asked."

"Yeah, I did."

He certainly had. Tobio knew what Hinata was. He knew, and he kept forgetting. How many times would he need to be reminded?

Tobio sighed. He got to his feet, stretching a little as he did so. Then he held out his hand to Hinata on the ground. Hinata looked surprised. "Come on," Tobio said, pushing his hand further into Hinata's field of view. "Show me the defensive stance thing again."

Hinata let Tobio help him to his feet. "For what it's worth," Hinata said, stretching his arms above his head, "I really wouldn't want you to get captured either way."

Tobio snorted. "Yeah, I imagine that'd be a hassle for you."

"That's not why, stupid," Hinata said. "You're—"

Tobio glanced over at him when he fell silent to see Hinata was just standing there, staring at him. "I'm…?"

Hinata looked away. "Important. To the mission."

Tobio scoffed, and said, "Obviously." He knew that himself. In some ways, he still wasn't completely helpless.

"Yeah, yeah." Hinata waved a hand. "Let's knock some of the co*ckiness outta you, huh?"

It wasn't quite what Tobio wanted. He had wanted to connect with Hinata. Had wanted to let Hinata in. But maybe this was the best it was ever going to get between them—Hinata trying his damndest to make sure Tobio survived, and Tobio depending on him every step of the way.

Chapter 11

Chapter Text

CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, INDIA

Compared to the rest of their journey, completing the jump from India to Paris seemed almost too simple. There was no driving nonstop through the night, no stowing away on board carrier vessels, hardly even any looking over their shoulder.

Hinata hustled Tobio off the boat at Chennai port with barely a word to anyone, save the contact who'd helped them. Then they were gone, without glancing back. This struck Tobio as cold at first. Over the course of the voyage, Hinata had struck up a friendship with quite a few of the crew members, even had some of them joining in on Tobio's self defense lessons.

When Tobio asked him about it, Hinata shook his head.

"There's no need to alert anyone to us leaving," Hinata said. "Besides, we're back on land, which means we're back at work. We don't have time for goodbyes."

Tobio frowned, glaring at the ground. It didn't feel right, taking off without a word to anyone. Maybe 'friends' wasn't the right word, but he couldn't help think of the jokes and laughter, the demonstrations, even the teasing—maybe they hadn't been his friends yet, but they hadn't disliked him either. They'd felt honest.

"Maybe it's just you who doesn't want to make time for them," he muttered.

Hinata, who had been both acting colder towards him and more casually friendly than ever, spared him a brief smile. It wasn't reassuring.

"You know," he said softly, "the less they know, the less likely someone is to come after them on account of us."

Tobio jerked away from him, nearly missing his footing. He hadn't even considered the possibility.

"Come on," Hinata said, continuing on without looking back. "We need to make a stop before the airport."

He hailed an auto rickshaw for the two of them—it was a narrow, three-wheeled, mostly open air contraption that Tobio could hardly believe was street legal, though the abundance of them on the roads proved otherwise. He opened his mouth.

"It's safe," Hinata said dryly before he could get a word out. "Just keep your limbs inside it and you'll be fine."

This depended upon one's definition of fine. The rickshaw was, as Hinata had said, perfectly safe; but there was simply so much to see and hear around Tobio that within minutes of leaving the dock his ears were ringing to the tune of the honking of taxis, thoughts heavy with the humid crush all around them. It was different to that long, long ago trip into Port Dickson on the back of Hinata's moped, the out of the way side streets and bike helmet blocking out some of the cacophony of noise. He leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes but that only made him feel less grounded, head starting to spin.

"...get motion sick? No, you don't—you've been fine before now…" he could hear Hinata saying. Tobio couldn't bring himself to open his eyes and see the world rushing by again.

"It's loud…" he mumbled. "It passes eventually." Or it would, once he could get somewhere a bit quieter.

"Sound sensitivity?" Hinata asked, but it sounded more like he was talking to himself, than to Tobio.

After a moment, Tobio felt fingers tapping on the back of his clenched fist. Not to get his attention—just an absent rhythm, a pattern repeating.

"Have you always had that?" Hinata asked.

Tobio nodded. It was one of the reasons he preferred quiet, solitary working environments. The rest of his trip so far had been tolerable, some parts more than others. The cities were always a bit difficult for him, but the only other time they'd been in an open air vehicle had been in Malaysia, and then he'd been distracted by plenty—with his arms around Hinata's waist and a world of possibilities open to him. Things weren't nearly as simple, now, and the added stress was only more pronounced because of it.

"It was worse," Tobio said. "When I was younger. But sometimes things—are still—"

"Too much," Hinata supplied. Tap tap taptap tap went his fingers, over and over. The movement started to feel closer and more noticeable than the meaningless blaring of car horns. "Does it happen with other things? Bright lights?"

Tobio thought about it. "Not as much. Sometimes."

"So just noises. What kind of noises?"

"Loud ones."

He heard a slight smile creep into Hinata's voice. "Right, but, maybe not all loud noises. How were you on the plane ride from Japan? Planes are pretty loud."

Tobio considered that. The droning while they were in the air had made it hard to hear just about anything going on around him—but it hadn't been bad, aside from his nerves about flying for the first time.

"That was okay."

"And when we were on the boat, the motor and the ship's horn seemed okay, too."

"Yeah," Tobio said. "That wasn't bad. It's more… I guess…"

Tap tap taptap tap. Tobio relaxed his hand, uncurled his fingers.

"Sudden noises… or more high pitched."

Hinata hummed. "Vacuum cleaners."

Tobio scrunched up his nose. "They're not so bad now. I hated them as a kid."

"Garbage disposal?"

"Fine," Tobio said. "Why are you asking me all this stuff?"

"Just getting to know you better," Hinata said.

Tobio frowned, opening his eyes to look at Hinata. Hinata was already watching him closely, of course. He didn't know why Hinata would bother with this, not when he was so uninterested in Tobio outside of this job. Then he remembered it was Hinata's job to profile him.

"Hair dryer?" Hinata continued.

Tobio sighed and admitted, "Still won't use one."

Hinata laughed. "Glad I asked you that."

"How come?"

"You'll see soon," Hinata told him. "We're here."

It was a relief to be out of the rickshaw. Something about the pace it had set combined with no barrier to the world outside had worsened Tobio's sensitivity (and nausea); but now, standing on the street, the stimulus seemed a little less. They stood in front of a row of stores of all kinds; food, clothes, electronics, and just to their left, a tiny barber shop that Hinata made a beeline towards. Perplexed, Tobio followed.

The shop was quite busy, all the chairs taken, but when the owner looked over, Hinata raised his hand. They exchanged words briefly in yet another language Tobio didn't recognize, and then the man waved Hinata on, pointing towards a room in the back.

The door had a security lock but Hinata must know the code. After a second of tapping there was a beeping, and he pulled it open to reveal a large storage space, packed with shelves of supplies. Hinata waited for Tobio to go ahead of him and then let the door close once they were both inside.

Tobio turned to face him. "Are we… waiting here until we have to go catch our flight?" It seemed hidden enough.

"Yeah," Hinata said, "there's something I figured we could take care of in the meantime." He strolled along the shelves until he suddenly let out a quiet, "Ah!" and bent down to pull open what appeared to be a literal hidden trapdoor in the floor. "Come on, come on!" he said to Tobio, waving a hand at him. Tobio hurried over to see that there was a very narrow set of stairs descending below into darkness.

"Um…"

"If someone was actively chasing you, you'd be dead at this point," Hinata scolded him. He didn't sound as severe as he had the past few days during all his training. "Go, go."

The steps were precarious to clamber down, steep and hardly wide enough to fit Tobio's entire shoe. He could hear the sounds of Hinata tromping along after him, the latch of the trapdoor above them shutting with an ominous click, leaving them both in darkness. Tobio swallowed hard.

"Hi-Hinata—?"

"Oof—" Hinata said as he ran straight into Tobio's back, nearly sending them both sprawling. "Kage—who just stops at the bottom of a flight of stairs, seriously?"

"Someone who's worried they're about to be murdered."

The lights flickered on as Hinata found the light switch after much slapping at the wall. "Well, that depends on whether or not you can keep still for a haircut."

"A hair… cut…?" Tobio repeated, blinking under the sudden harsh fluorescence.

Now that the lights were on, he could see that the room was sparse, almost like some kind of holding cell. There was a small and uncomfortable looking mattress in one corner, though it seemed at least clean; a workbench with a decent array of tools; a toilet and cracked mirror and sink. Shelves along the wall were lined with canned food and medical supplies.

"Is this a safehouse?" Tobio asked, realization dawning.

"Yep," Hinata said. "Fond memories of this place. I hid down here for three weeks, once."

Tobio looked around the dingy, tiny room, and felt inexplicably sad. "That sucks."

"It's better than being dead," Hinata said cheerfully. He dragged the chair away from the workbench and dragged it in front of the mirror, where he turned it facing away from the sink. "Sit."

"Why…"

"I told you," Hinata said. "Your hair really needs a trim." He went to raid the shelves next. "I'd dye it, but we don't want you to look too different from your fake passport, sadly."

"Sadly?" Tobio did not sit. "What's—what's wrong with my hair?"

Hinata snorted. "You can barely see out from under it. It practically screams 'I don't know how to do my own laundry'."

"I know how to do laundry!" Tobio protested.

"Should you use hot water or cold if you don't want your clothes to shrink?" Hinata asked him.

Tobio crossed his arms. He wrinkled his nose. Finally he sighed and sat heavily in the chair.

"Thank you," Hinata said primly.

"My hair's fine," Tobio huffed.

"Yes, yes." Hinata had him lean back until his head was tipped over the sink, enough that when he turned the water on, it drenched Tobio's hair.

"I know how to wash my hair, at least," Tobio said grumpily.

"I'm sure you do," Hinata said placatingly.

"I could have done it myself."

"It's tricky to do in a sink."

That was probably true. Tobio wouldn't know, he'd never tried it. But he couldn't find it in himself to complain any further. Hinata's hands were quick and not altogether gentle, but not rough either; just efficient, as always, but it was unfiltered bliss to Tobio when Hinata dragged his fingers through the wet strands, blunt nails scratching at his scalp.

He nearly dozed off; too soon, Hinata was telling him to sit up again and scoot his chair forward so he'd be able to get behind it. They didn't have anything in the way of towels, and Tobio's shirt sleeves and the back of his shirt were quickly getting soaked.

"Can I, um…" he said hesitantly, hands hovering at the hem of his shirt. Hinata nodded absentmindedly, sorting through an assortment of combs and scissors. Tobio quickly pulled his shirt off and balled it in his lap. He felt immediately exposed, chilled as the cooling water from his hair dripped onto the back of his neck, and he hunched his shoulders in, waiting for Hinata.

"Sit up straight," Hinata said immediately, and Tobio rearranged himself reluctantly. "I can't cut it right if you're all lopsided."

"Have you ever done this before?" Tobio asked skeptically.

"Plenty of times," Hinata said confidently. "What, you don't trust me?"

"It just doesn't seem like a very useful skill for you."

"That's what you think," Hinata scoffed. He seemed a bit less on edge, despite the fact that their next stop would be their most dangerous. Perhaps that was just it though—it was surely the calm before the storm. Preparation was one thing; panic would only slow them down. "Do you know how many times I've had to do this myself? Which is way harder, by the way. I'm pretty good!"

"Hm…" Tobio said skeptically. "Have you dyed your hair before, too?"

"Yup!" Hinata said proudly. "All kinds of colors. Blond was weird, but also kinda cool. I'd do it again."

Tobio started to twist to look at him, and Hinata pushed his head back to face forward. "Is—so, the red? Is that—"

"No, this is all me," Hinata said with a laugh.

"Good," Tobio said, without thinking about it. He realized instantly. "I mean—"

"Going to start cutting now," Hinata said far too quickly, and Tobio snapped his mouth closed, as though speaking would somehow hinder Hinata from working. His face must be red, judging by how hot it was burning.

They remained silent as Hinata worked. Every now and again, he'd brush some fallen hair off Tobio's bare shoulders with his fingers, or brush the back of Tobio's neck as he cut. He leaned against the back of the chair and his stomach pressed against Tobio's back, at times, shirt soft, warm from the heat of his body. It made it a little hard to breathe.

It's just a haircut, Tobio thought. He really had needed one. He sometimes heard people making comments about it on the rare occasion he had to go into the office. That he must be too scared to go to a hairdresser if he couldn't even make it in to work.

Well, he officially had probably the scariest barber in the world, now.

When Hinata was finally satisfied with the back, he moved around to the front. "Close your eyes," he instructed quietly, and Tobio shut them so that all was dark, and the metallic noise of scissors snipping, the sharp, crisp noise of hair strands being cut away. Tobio could sense Hinata watching him, focused on his work, on the task—on the job. Did he ever see Tobio, through all of it? Tobio wanted to ask him, but knew it was a stupid question, with a depressing answer.

"Okay," Hinata said, and Tobio blinked his eyes open.

The first thing he noticed was that it really was easier to see when there wasn't a shaggy crop of hair hanging into his eyes. He'd gotten so used to it that he hadn't even noticed how much it obstructed his view when left untamed.

The next thing he noticed was Hinata, as the older man crouched down in front of him to survey his handiwork. He reached out a hand, like he might be moving to tilt Tobio's head, and then pulled back. He opted for just staring, eyes roving all over Tobio's face. Tobio swallowed.

"Well," Hinata said, "the hair and the glasses were a pretty solid combo but… look at that."

"At what?" Tobio asked, nervous. Hinata nodded towards the mirror and Tobio turned around to look at his reflection.

Hinata had done a good job. He'd only trimmed everything, but instead of the mess Tobio's hair had been, it was now cut clean in the back and above his ears. His bangs had retained their natural eye window shape, but they were shorter and much more neat now, revealing more of his face.

"Not to brag, but I feel like this could be a side gig of mine," Hinata said, sounding satisfied. "I can see your eyes now… it was kind of hard to tell what color they were before." His reflection in the mirror smiled.

Tobio felt lost. "They're blue."

"I said it was kinda hard to tell," Hinata said, "not that I hadn't noticed."

He started to pack away the hair trimming supplies, and Tobio was left to wonder if maybe there were still some small ways that Hinata had seen him after all.

*

After a harrowing couple of hours at Chennai International, during which Tobio was convinced his sweaty, pale face would give him away for the fugitive he was, they had made it through airport security. He was positive Hinata had been acting his most cheerful and charming, just to keep some of the attention off of him. They reached their gate slightly ahead of boarding time, and very soon the announcement came over the speakers that first-class passengers could begin to line up.

Hinata thumped Tobio's knee. "Come on, let's go."

"They're still calling for first class," Tobio said.

"That's us," Hinata told him, and Tobio detected the rather smug note in his voice.

"Huh?" He scrambled to his feet. "We're in—can we do that?"

"Why couldn't we?" Hinata asked, hefting his (and Tobio's) bags onto his back.

"Well… it's not exactly low profile," Tobio said, trotting along behind him.

"It's not," Hinata agreed, "but that's why we're not using our actual names, Bakageyama. Also, if that's what they're expecting, why should we go along with it, right?"

"I guess…" He glanced at Hinata suspiciously. "So, did the company pay for this?"

Hinata laughed airily. "Nope, I did! I upgraded us at check-in."

Tobio shook his head in disbelief. "You're an idiot."

"I can find another seatmate, if you'd like to check out economy…"

"No," Tobio said quickly, remembering his cramped legs on the flight over from Japan to Malaysia, and Hinata shot him a sly grin over his shoulder. Tobio's stomach flip-flopped, and he looked away with a roll of his eyes. For a super spy who seemed to have as many brushes with death as he did, Hinata was stupidly high maintenance. Although, Tobio thought, perhaps that was the entire reason why he acted like this. No use living cheaply when your last day was always potentially right around the corner. The thought soured Tobio's mood.

The flight attendants greeted them warmly as they boarded and showed them to their seats, which were called, to Tobio's rising disbelief, suites. Very quickly, he saw why. Each assigned seat in first class was practically its own separate room. There were curtains that could be pulled around to enclose the whole thing for privacy. He and Hinata had the two seats in the middle next to each other—there was only a small divider in between them so they could easily talk to one another. The curtains pulled on the aisle side for both of them, so their view of one another wouldn't be blocked. It was, Tobio couldn't help but note, incredibly intimate.

"There's slippers?" he asked in disbelief, as Hinata tucked away their bags. "And pajamas!"

"Really pining for coach over there," Hinata muttered under his breath. "Not even a 'thanks for upgrading me Hinata, you're too kind'…" Tobio pretended not to hear him, opting instead for flopping onto the seat and kicking off his shoes, shoving his feet into the comfy slippers. "Thanks for being so great, Hinata, I'm glad you're always looking out for me instead of abandoning me to the luggage compartment…"

"What is happening…" Tobio whispered as he toggled the seat recline feature. It didn't just stop once it had leaned back. Instead it kept going—extending out, seat back descending until it laid flat. "Hinata!" he hissed, and Hinata watched him, expression deadpan, as Tobio's head disappeared slowly below the partition separating them. "It's a bed!"

He looked up in amazement as Hinata rested his elbow on the little wall, chin propped on his hand. "Comfortable?" Tobio nodded emphatically. "Great."

Meals were served to-go in the Premiere cabin, and the list was elegant and extensive. Tobio ordered immediately, as did Hinata. The flight attendant came along shortly with bottles of wine to complement the meal. Tobio stared at them cluelessly when asked for his choice, leaving it up to Hinata to pick for the both of them. There followed an extensive discussion (argument) over why different wines paired well with different foods, which Tobio did not understand, but mainly insisted that it made no difference at all because it annoyed Hinata so thoroughly.

"If it makes no difference, tell me this," Hinata said in annoyance. He was still drinking, savoring it.

"Hnnnh…" Tobio murmured. His meal was finished, the wine drained from his glass in one go (as Hinata hemmed and hawed in protest), a pleasant haze glossing over his senses. He squirmed in his fully reclined bed to get comfortable.

"Why," Hinata said, "does the right choice taste so damn good?"

He held the glass in a way that Tobio could only describe as… effortless. He tilted his head to watch as Hinata swilled the rich red liquid, raised it to his mouth, and sipped—tongue darting out to brush over the lingering sweetness on his lips.

It made Tobio recall the distant noise of a party—and a bubble of honest happiness inside him so big, expanding so fast, there was nothing for it but to burst, for its shimmering surface to pop and leave in its place nothing but empty air.

And the illusion cracked down the middle, the relaxed friendship they were slipping back into suddenly exposed for the lie Tobio now knew it to be as he recalled days earlier—cool sand underneath him, alcohol simmering in his mouth, and Hinata's lips even hotter against his own.

Hinata was that emptiness left behind. Hinata was good at this; good at reeling Tobio in just enough that he could keep an eye on him, keep Tobio following his orders, but always shoving him back down when Tobio crossed a line he could never quite see. For both their sakes, maybe; because their lives depended on caution and rational thinking.

It didn't make Tobio feel any less like sh*t, to know that.

Hinata must have seen the change in his expression. "You okay?"

Tobio nodded stiffly. "Tired. Gonna try and sleep."

"Alright," Hinata agreed.

Tobio rolled over, pulling the covers up to his ears. Hinata turned out the little lamps in the suite. He did some shifting around. And then suddenly he spoke, very close to Tobio's ear.

"When we land in Paris," he said in barely a whisper so his voice wouldn't carry to anyone around them, his breath ghosting across Tobio's skin, "I don't know what's going to happen."

Tobio lay still. He didn't know what to say, so he said nothing.

"We might find the terrorists, or they might have moved on. We might be able to stop them there, we might be able to gather intel, or we might just have to run."

"I'm ready," Tobio whispered.

"We're as ready as we can be," Hinata agreed. "But I need you to do something for me."

He didn't elaborate, and finally, Tobio rolled over, to look at him. Hinata was staring down at him in the low light, unblinking. He looked—Tobio couldn't be sure, but the expression in his eyes was hard. Uncompromising.

"No matter what happens, you do what I tell you. Okay?"

"I already told you I would listen to you," Tobio said. "I have been, this whole time."

"I know that, I just—" Hinata grabbed his shoulder, startling him. Tobio's first instinct was to pull away, but he didn't. He should, but he didn't want to. "I want you to promise me. Promise me you'll trust me."

That was new. Tobio opened his mouth, but no sound came out right away. When he managed to speak, his voice rasped.

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"You already know it's not safe for you to—"

"How am I supposed to trust you?" Tobio asked. "After everything? Do you think I'm stupid?"

Hinata froze. He seemed to have been struck speechless. Silently, he withdrew his hand from Tobio's shoulder, averting his gaze so they were no longer looking at each other.

"I understand… if you can't trust me," he said. "But you know—you have to know I'd never let anything happen to you. You know that, don't you?"

He turned his eyes back to Tobio, who now thought he could see something almost like pleading in Hinata's gaze. Tobio sighed.

"I know you care about your job more than anything," he said.

"Can you trust that?" Hinata asked him.

"Yeah," Tobio said. "I can."

"Promise me—"

"Okay, okay," Tobio said, waving him off. "I promise, alright? I won't f*ck anything up."

"Thank you," Hinata said. "Maybe after this… maybe we can go home, after."

"Hope so," Tobio muttered. He turned over again, hoping the conversation was over.

He was tired of all of it. It wasn't like he had any choice but to put his trust in Hinata. Obviously, he didn't want to die. But it just made it that much more bleak, that he'd been forced into this corner, after first learning what it was like to trust Hinata completely for no good reason at all.

Chapter 12

Chapter Text

PARIS, FRANCE

Tobio slept fitfully through most of the flight, waking to a light touch on his shoulder from Hinata right before they began their descent. He sat up, feeling immediately alert. At last, they were due to encounter their enemy—and they were finally one step ahead.

Using CITI, Tobio would be able to get a lead on their exact location, so he and Hinata could do some early reconnaissance and call in backup. They'd have to hold off on any large scale maneuvering until they had more information, so as not to alert their enemies. For the time being, the two of them were on their own.

They got off the plane and made their way through security without a hitch. Instead of leaving the airport, however, Hinata took a slight detour, ducking into a door with a "STAFF ONLY" sign posted outside it. Knowing better than to question it at this point, Tobio followed.

It was a dingy, tiny closet that smelled strongly of cleaning supplies. Tobio pressed himself back up against the door to give Hinata room as he unearthed a huge cardboard box of what looked like paper towels, ripping open the sealing to pull out a heavy black case. He cracked it open on the ground to check inside it.

Tobio caught a glimpse of a small computer, handheld radios, and a small but varied arsenal. Hinata pulled a pistol from the case and checked to make sure it was loaded, before tucking it into the waistband of his pants. He rooted around in the box again, emerging once he was laden down with several decidedly less lethal items.

"What's that for?" Tobio asked, eyeing the bundle in Hinata's arms.

"For you," Hinata said. "Put these on."

Several minutes later, Hinata stepped back to scrutinize his disguise. "Well, that's not subtle at all," he said with a snort, "but it'll have to do."

Tobio now wore a dark pair of sunglasses, an oversized hoodie, and a blue baseball cap that said "HOLLYWOOD" on it; but it was what he'd put on underneath the sweatshirt that weighed heaviest of all on him. He flattened a hand over the front of the hoodie nervously.

"Shouldn't you have one of these, too?" he asked.

Hinata co*cked his head. "That one's mine, but they only sent one, so... Merry Christmas, I guess."

Christmas was months away. Tobio frowned, but Hinata was already on the move again.

They ducked out of the supply closet and then made their way out of the airport without incident. There was a dingy black van waiting for them in the departures area when they stepped outside.

"That went better than the last time we were in an airport," Hinata murmured, so only Tobio could hear him. Tobio nodded emphatically.

They climbed into the back of the van and Hinata exchanged a few quick words with the driver in French. The two of them clasped hands with a smile—Tobio wondered if this was yet another friend of Hinata's.

"Tobio, this is Henri. He'll be our Paris tour guide," Hinata said as he introduced the two of them.

"Bonjour," Henri said, much more cheerfully than Tobio felt. He nodded politely back regardless. "So this is the one all the fuss is about, hmm?"

Soon they were pulling away from the loading zone, out into the traffic of Paris. Tobio pushed up against his grimy back window to look out of it, staring at the bustling city streets. There, in the distance, was the Eiffel Tower, soaring up above the rest of the skyline.

"Kageyama," Hinata said, switching his attention over to Tobio suddenly. "Ready?"

Tobio nodded. They had planned to try and get a lock on the terrorist organization's location as soon as they landed, to give them as little time to react as possible. Tobio and Tsukishima had done a lot of testing on his laptop since they'd arrived in Thailand and were satisfied with the level of security on it, though Tobio himself had buffed it up as much as he could during the few days they'd spent traveling to India. They had been monitoring it non-stop. He was fairly confident he could trace any signal without being detected himself.

He pulled his computer out of his bag, tossing his sunglasses to the side to pull on his regular glasses so he could see better. Hinata leaned over to look at the screen as it whirred to life.

"Can you still track them?" Hinata asked.

"I can do better than that…" Tobio said, eyes focused on the screen, fingers flying over the keyboard. "The signal still seems to be based in the same location, but I can narrow the radius considerably now that I've had time to calibrate. Plus, we're way closer to the source. Give me a few seconds and…" The laptop pinged softly. "We can see them."

Hinata whistled and Tobio fought back a grin, still proud of CITI despite everything that had happened. With his newfound government resources, the whole of Paris was open to him. His eyes and ears were innumerable, giving him a clear picture of the entire city. The signal they'd been tracking was nestled in an area on the outskirts of Paris, along the Seine. A factory district, Tobio noted, as grainy video feed began to pour in while CITI calibrated the data from all nearby camera sources. Soon he could position the camera at street level, zooming around in a 360 view that was almost like they were standing there themselves.

"Seems they picked a place well out of the way of foot traffic…" Hinata said. "They probably wouldn't be noticed there if they need to move lots of units around. Can you get a visual up that street, there—"

"Got it," Tobio said, pulling up the requested video. "That's the warehouse I'm getting a read out of."

"You're sure?" Hinata asked. "It's that accurate?"

"Yes," Tobio said.

Hinata glanced at him for a moment, then shook his head, breath huffing from his nose in a disbelieving laugh. "Incredible."

Tobio bit his lip. "It's just… how I built it. It was supposed to be amazing."

"Wasn't talking about the program," Hinata said. Mercifully, he turned his attention back to the laptop screen, missing Tobio's brief short circuit at his words. Before he could say anything, or even begin to think of how he might respond, Hinata pointed at the screen. "Here. This is my entry point. Seems quiet right now. This is live?"

"Yeah," Tobio confirmed. "Wait, are you—you're not going inside?"

"I need to get a little closer to figure out what we're dealing with," Hinata said. "I can cut across the rooftops. Look at those windows, here; I'll be able to see inside from the opposite building, easy."

"But what if they…" Tobio's throat felt suddenly parched, his tongue heavy. "What if they see you? What if they—"

"That's the risk!" Hinata said, entirely too chipper. "Besides, they won't see me."

"What if they do?"

"You don't trust me?" Hinata asked, and even though he was smiling, it was razor sharp.

Tobio fell silent. It wasn't that he didn't trust that Hinata knew what he was doing. It was that he didn't trust anything about their entire f*cking situation. When he promised to listen to Hinata, he hadn't considered it might mean sitting back and doing nothing while Hinata put himself at risk. The thought of Hinata going out there by himself—so near to the people they'd been running from for so long just to stay alive…

"I know what I'm doing," Hinata told him. "You're going to stay with Henri. If anything happens—which it won't—the two of you get out of here immediately. You'll be safe, so don't worry, okay?" He said this like it was a reassurance.

It wasn't. Tobio did not want to be far away, while Hinata was so close to danger. But he had promised to obey, and it wasn't like he could help in any other way; so reluctantly, he nodded. Hinata grinned at him, his smile softening now that they were in agreement.

"Just gotta do this," he said, "then we call in the cavalry and wipe these motherf*ckers off the map."

They chose a back alley, several blocks from the warehouse, where there was a visual deadzone. Tobio couldn't see into it with CITI, but that meant nobody else would have eyes on it either, at least electronically. Even better, the factory bordering it had a fire escape around the other side of the building. This would be what Hinata used to get up onto the rooftop.

"Right," Hinata said, once they were in position. Grimy, faded brick walls loomed high on all sides of the car, pressing in on them. It felt claustrophobic, but that was how they knew they were hidden. Hinata cracked open the case he'd retrieved from the airport. "Put this in."

He handed Tobio an earpiece and leaned in to help adjust it. Tobio let his hands fall away, rather than fumble with it uselessly. Hinata brushed his hair back, fingers skimming Tobio's cheek, the shell of his ear as he secured the device. Even after it was sitting snugly, his hand remained, just barely cradling the side of Tobio's face as they tested it. Tobio knew he was only imagining the way Hinata's fingers lingered; he hoped that his reaction to Hinata's touch didn't show in his expression.

Hinata pulled back slightly so he was looking straight into Tobio's eyes, so close their noses were nearly touching. Tobio felt all the air leave him as he stared back into that golden gaze, the one that had captivated him from the start. But Hinata's expression was deadly serious, so focused that it made Tobio feel guilty for being unable to stop fantasizing about him, even after Hinata had made his intentions clear. Even now that Hinata was about to put himself in harm's way, all for Tobio's sake.

No—thinking that way was what kept getting him into trouble in the first place. Hinata was doing this for the mission he'd been charged with. Save the world, and protect Tobio while he was at it. And after everything he'd done to keep Tobio safe, Tobio owed it to him to be just as serious about this, to keep those goals in mind. This wasn't some bodyguard fantasy; this was their lives at stake.

"Test, test," Hinata said quietly. Tobio could hear the echo in his ear. He gave a thumbs up, and Hinata put a hand on his shoulder briefly, squeezing it. "See? We'll even be able to hear each other the whole time."

Tobio swallowed. "Okay." It was better than nothing.

Hinata returned his thumbs up, and exchanged a few more words with Henri, before pulling a black beanie over his hair to hide its trademark vibrancy. He slid the door of the van open. Tobio caught a glimpse of the pistol tucked into his waistband.

"Hinata-senpai!"

He'd moved without thinking. Hinata stopped in the door, before looking over his shoulder. Tobio had caught the back of his shirt with his hand, desperate to keep him there, to tell him one more thing. He knew he was being difficult, letting too many of his feelings show.Hinata might confuse him, reject him, make him mad as hell—but Tobio still hated the thought of anything happening to him. He'd seen Hinata's scars, his bruises; he'd seen him bleed.

Hinata wasn't invincible.

The words Tobio wanted to say were pointless, obvious. But he couldn't not say them.

"Be careful."

Hinata didn't pull away from him, or push him off. He waited for Tobio to let go, and then he nodded.

"Promise," he replied. "I'll be back soon, Kageyama-kun."

He hopped out of the van, slamming the door shut behind him, and Tobio was left to wait.

He didn't have to stay in the dark for long. On his laptop screen, movement caught his attention. Hinata had made it onto the rooftops.

He hauled himself up over the edge, blending in to the grays and browns of the rooftops in his dark attire. He stuck to the shadows of walls, air temperature control units. He made his way easily across the first few buildings; Tobio lost sight of him now and again, when he couldn't angle any security cameras to track Hinata. Every time he saw Hinata, he spent a few precious seconds erasing any signs of Hinata's presence on the camera footage.

When Hinata reached the edge of the first rooftop that didn't have scaffolding or a way across between it and the next roof, Tobio had to put up with his first real scare.

"I think," he said, trying to see around the different sides of the building, "if you double back to that set of stairs there, you can come up the next building on the other side."

"Too slow," Hinata said in his ear. On screen, he backed up, away from the edge of the roof. "No big deal, it's not much of a gap."

"Not much of a—wait—"

He lurched forward in his seat, almost as though it could lend Hinata momentum—watching as Hinata sprinted for the edge and then leapt clear across the gap, which seemed very large to Tobio. But Hinata landed, tucked and rolled easily to absorb the impact, before he was back on his feet, already moving forward. Even if any cameras did pick him up before Tobio could get rid of the evidence, they'd likely think he was some reckless kid out to prove his parkour skills.

"Easy," he declared in Tobio's ear. He was definitely grinning. Tobio could hear it. He leaned back in his seat, stressed.

"Asshole," he muttered.

Hinata reached the rooftop opposite the warehouse in no time at all. Finally, he slowed, getting to his stomach to army crawl to the edge, low to the ground like a snake. He pulled something small and black from his jacket, and for a moment Tobio thought it was his gun—and then saw, no, it was a pair of small, sleek binoculars.

"See anything?" he whispered. He knew there was no need for him to be quiet, but it still seemed too dangerous to talk at a normal volume. At the very least, he didn't want to risk distracting Hinata.

"That's… a negative," Hinata said after a moment.

"What?" Tobio asked. "But—the signal, I'm still picking it up from that building. There were people all over yesterday—"

"Yeah, there's signs they were here," Hinata said, voice serious. "But I'm not seeing any activity now… maybe they vacated recently? Dammit, maybe we spooked them. They could have picked up our trail at one of the airports…"

The earpiece Tobio was wearing crackled with static, and a new voice entered the conversation.

"Agent one-oh-one-oh, do you copy?"

Tobio jumped in surprise. He recognized the voice; and Hinata responded, tersely.

"Agent eleven, I copy. Report?"

"Your position is compromised."

Tsukishima's voice, even distilled and hazy over the connection, was tense. Hinata didn't skip a beat.

"Threat level?"

"Immediate. Your orders are to pull back."

Tobio watched as, on screen, Hinata's hand strayed to his gun. Fear began to fray at the edges of Tobio's nerves, sour and sharp.

"I have eyes on target, looks like the operation packed up. Requesting—"

"Request denied, Ten," Tsukishima snapped. "Pull out. Regroup."

"Nothing to regroup to," Hinata responded. His voice was stony. "I need to get a better assessment of the situation. I understand the risks."

"You do not."

Something about the answering steel in Tsukishima's voice gave Hinata pause. "What don't I know?"

"I'll info dump you later—"

"Kei."

Tsukishima swore.

"We are so close," Hinata said. "Give me a reason to give up."

Silence for another brief second, as Tsukishima weighed the options. The scale tipped.

"They found the safehouse in Kanchanaburi."

Tobio's blood ran cold.

"Are they—"

"Grams is dead."

And Tobio felt it, then. Rolling over him, blank and dark—the numbness of disbelief that came before the wave of nausea, shock dulling the horror so that he could bear it at all; but only barely. His hands started to tremble, violently; his whole body, so hard his laptop started shaking. He had to grab it to keep it from falling off his lap. His eyes blurred instantly, but blinking felt unnatural, took too much effort. The back of his neck burned hot.

Someone he'd cared about was dead. Because of him.

"The children," Hinata said, voice cracking around the words. "Were they found?"

Were they found how? Tobio wondered, terrified. Alive? He couldn't bear the alternative, not even to think it.

"You need to—"

"Tsukishima!"

A pause, then, "Nishinoya went in on recovery. Said he pulled seven of them out of the river, alive."

Seven. That was all of them. There was a breath on the other end of the line. "Thank you."

"I…" Tsukishima hesitated, then said, "I didn't want you to check out on us."

"I won't," Hinata said. "Not until this job's done. We're on the move. Contact you again when we reach the safehouse."

The static cut out, leaving Tobio to stare blankly at his computer screen. He was watching Hinata, who was still on the rooftop.

A bolt of clarity cut through the fog of pain, making Tobio sit bolt upright with realization. They'd been compromised and Hinata wasn't out of danger—not by a long shot.

"Hi-Hinata," he said, voice sticking in his throat. "Run—"

"On my way," Hinata said, but he didn't understand, he didn't know what Tobio knew.

"They're not gone," he rasped. "It's a—"

The sound of a gun co*cking made his voice run completely dry. He looked up.

The driver, Henri, had pointed a pistol aimed right between Tobio's eyes.

It was a trap.

Slowly, the man raised a finger to his lips. He pointed to Tobio's ear, and then held out the hand that wasn't holding the gun.

"Kageyama?" Hinata's voice sounded urgently in his ear. Henri shook his head. "Kageyama, are you—"

Through the earpiece, Tobio heard a loud commotion. He snapped his attention back to the computer screen, to see the door to the rooftop slam open as Hinata tried to make his exit. He was surrounded immediately, guns trained on him from all sides. They wrestled him to the ground before he could even begin to attempt an escape.

"Go," Hinata hissed, and Tobio knew it was meant for him. "Just go—"

Slowly, he took out his earpiece, and dropped it in Henri's hand.

"You figured it out?" Henri asked, in accented Japanese.

"There must be a backdoor," Tobio said. "To trace us in Thailand… to send a dummy signal to my program…" He leaned heavily back against the seat of the car, forgetting even the danger he was in for the moment. "How much did you already know?"

"Me?" Henri raised his hands in mock innocence. "We knew nothing. Nothing, until CITI told useverything."

Tobio sagged under the words. It was all his fault. Hinata, captured. Grams…

All because he'd been so f*cking confident they couldn't have hacked him.

Henri started the car, and Tobio clenched his fists in his hands. He was in for it now; he was sure he was going to be delivered to the warehouse, and into the hands of their enemies. Would they kill him on sight? What would Hinata do, when he saw him; when he realized Tobio had led them both into this?

Would they even leave Hinata alive long enough for him to see Tobio? To realize that after everything they'd been through, everything he'd done, they'd still caught Tobio in the end?

"J-just let me go," Tobio said, voice shaking. "I never wanted to be a part of this." He received no response, and sat shivering and silent in the back seat the rest of the short ride to the warehouse.

The back of the warehouse truly was innocuous, just like its front; a loading zone large enough to admit any trucks, bordering the dock full of its container ships. But it was utterly isolated, quiet, no people in sight. Henri kept his gun out as he came around to Tobio's side of the van and opened the door.

Tobio stepped down from the van, palms sweating. Henri pushed him roughly along and he stumbled slightly; and then he lurched forward, heart in his mouth, a wild attempt at escape. He didn't make it far—he hadn't expected he would. But the crack of metal against the side of his skull as he was pistol whipped, and the pain that blossomed there instantly, were still startling. He fell to the ground, hands over his head, resolving now to come quietly. He was too afraid. He didn't want them to hurt him anymore. He didn't want to die.

"Get up," his captor barked at him, and he was dragged to his feet. "Hands behind your head."

Tobio's skull throbbed and he obeyed meekly, fingers locked dutifully behind his head as he let himself be hauled along, barely aware of his surroundings. The clatter of the factory doors sliding upward rattled the ache between his ears and he was shoved forward out of the thin sunlight and into the factory itself. It was a cavernous space, clearly dressed up to look like some kind of hardware warehouse, line with towering shelves of equipment, and cluttered with all kinds of workstations and half finished projects and benches and boxes filled with tools. Sounds echoed harshly off the concrete walls and flooring; guttural voices, heavy footsteps.

Hinata was still alive. They had him completely pinned down, on his knees with his face smashed against the floor. An enormous man had his boot on Hinata's head, keeping him from moving. Even still, there were at least five weapons pointed in his direction.

Henri said something—in English, but Tobio caught his name.

Hinata's whole body jerked. He twisted his head painfully to the side under the boot of the man restraining him. He saw Tobio. He saw the gun pointed at him. His eyes went wide, wild, with a rage Tobio had yet to see from him.

"You—" Hinata hissed, and then his words were lost, an unceasing barrage of vicious threats and curses, Japanese, French, English.

"Shut him up," Henri said in English, and Hinata got a boot to the ribs, kicked hard enough Tobio was scared some of them would break. Hinata yelled in pain and anger.

"I'll kill you!" he shouted, hoarsely. "You traitor!"

"You won't kill me," Henri said, now back to Japanese—for what could only be Tobio's benefit, he assumed. His insides writhed in fear and fury, equal part.

Henri gestured, and the giant of a man holding Hinata down dragged him up to his feet by his hair. Tobio was grabbed from behind—a thick arm clasped around his shoulders and the cold metal of a gun barrel pressed to his temple. He struggled but it was no use; he wasn't strong enough to get free, not by a long shot.

"LET HIM GO!" Hinata screamed at them. Their captors ignored him.

Henri continued to advance on Hinata. "That has always been your problem, no? Trusting too much. Caring too much." He motioned towards Tobio. "You should not have made your weakness so obvious. You were too eager to close this job out, why? To keep him out of danger. It made you stupid, and now look where you are. He will be better off with us, and now he can see it for himself."

"So, you'll let him live?" Hinata asked. "If he works for you?"

"Of course," the man said.

"Kageyama," Hinata said, and his voice was shaking, from fury, from the effort it was taking to keep calm. "Do you hear that? I guess you better accept."

He looked right at Tobio, and as their eyes met, Tobio understood what he wanted. They had been betrayed from within, outmaneuvered. There was no way out of this corner. Hinata meant it. In the end, he was telling Tobio to take their deal, even if it cost Hinata his life. Even if it cost the world.

And Tobio had promised him that he would obey.

"If he does not," Henri said, "I'll kill him right after I kill you. He would be a great asset, but we have others who can do what he does, as you have seen."

Hinata glared at him, straight down the gun muzzle that would kill him. "You don't have anyone like him," he said.

And Tobio remembered, in a flash, Hinata's lessons from the boat.

Strength was irrelevant. It was standing his ground that mattered most.

He went limp in the arms of the person restraining him, and out of surprise or concern, they loosened their grip. Immediately, he planted his feet, dropping his stance nearly into a crouch to twist his whole upper body until he had managed to slip most of his torso from their grasp.

He swung his leg around, so that he could now step behind the burly man who'd held him, bracketing the backs of the man's legs against the front of his own. Then he dropped low, locked his arms behind the man's knees, and heaved.

Turned out it didn't matter how strong you were if your balance had just been f*cked by a terrified nerd in glasses. The man flipped, right over Tobio's hip, crashing hard and unexpectedly into the pavement. The back of his head made contact, hard. He didn't move after that.

The sudden commotion drew everyone's attention away from Hinata—except for Tobio's. His field of view had narrowed—to the traitor, to the gun pointed at Hinata's forehead, and he ceased to care about the other men with their weapons. All of his focus was on the threat to Hinata.

With a roar of anger that surprised even himself, Tobio charged straight at Henri. Hinata was screaming something at him but through the rushing in his ears Tobio couldn't make out the words.

Then a gunshot rang out, and a force like a horse on steroids punched into him from behind.

It slammed him forward, down onto his knees. Tobio wheezed. He couldn't move, couldn't get up; instead he just silently collapsed the rest of the way, falling bonelessly over onto his side.

"What are you doing, you imbecile?!" Henri was screaming. "He has not given us his answer!"

He'd been shot again; this time in the back.

It hurt. A lot. He still didn't want to die.

But he'd had no choice. Watching Hinata die while he stood by and did nothing would have been more painful than anything he could imagine.

It would have been worse than dying.

He saw Henri's face, although his vision seemed to be struggling to decide between too bright and too dark. The man looked shocked, like he hadn't expected Tobio to refuse their offer again, let alone so recklessly. And then, with his vision steadily fading, Tobio watched as everyone else in the room seemed to die.

Tobio didn't know what he had intended when he'd shaken loose from his captor; but what he had accomplished was a split second distraction, the smallest opportunity needed for Hinata to take advantage of their enemies.

They should never have taken their eyes off of him.

The big man who'd been restraining him was the first to fall as Hinata twisted around, dropped onto his back, and kicked his powerful legs as hard as he could, straight into the man's kneecap. There was a sound like wood splintering, and his leg was suddenly bent the wrong direction. He fell to the ground as Hinata surged upwards—stomped on his wrist to snatch the gun out of his hands—then kicked him in the head. The man went limp.

Henri fired at him; Hinata was already anticipating it. He dodged it, running forward, and fired off a point blank shot of his own—through the man's gun hand, blasting a bloody hole right through it. His second shot pierced straight through the traitor's gut. He yanked Henri in front of him before he could recover to use as a shield, and fired twice more to kill the two guards on the right.

The three guards still left scrambled for cover, two behind a table they upended to take cover behind, the third around a tall set of shelves. Unceremoniously, Hinata used his gun to bash Henri in the face, three quick, vicious blows, before dropping him to the ground without a second thought. Then he bent to pick something up off the tool-strewn floor.

His footsteps carried him past Tobio where he lay, and through a haze of pain, he realized what Hinata was now carrying.

Hinata rushed the overturned table, firing precise shots as the guards tried to pick him off at a distance, keeping them ducking for cover, before he reached them. With a click, his gun ran dry, but he had planned for that. He vaulted over it in one smooth leap, and then—

The horrible grating shriek of an electric buzzsaw muddied the air, as Hinata put his newfound tool to work. As a tool made for cutting wood and metal alike, human flesh was all too easy, and bone much too messy. The table hid much of the carnage from view; the screams, however, couldn't be blocked out. But they ceased, all too abruptly.

Hinata straightened, face and hands spattered with blood. He fiddled with the buzzsaw; at first it was unclear what he was doing.

The last guard leaped out from behind the shelf suddenly, gun aimed, hoping the element of surprise would work for him. It didn't. Hinata's hand whipped out in a blur, too fast to see—but the man gurgled, and dropped his gun. He clawed at his throat, at the saw blade Hinata had detached and flung straight into it. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Hinata dropped the saw. His fingers dripped blood. Tobio watched the uncompromising, strong lines of his back and coughed, weakly. He had done it. Somehow, he'd saved Hinata; even though, mostly, Hinata had saved himself. The last thing he saw before he finally let his eyes droop shut was Hinata's expression when he turned: golden eyes in a bloodstained face, still mad, still burning—but wonderfully, gloriously alive.

Then darkness finally swallowed him, and Tobio slipped mercifully beneath its surface.

Chapter 13

Chapter Text

HUNTING SEASON

The sound of someone yelling his name jolted Tobio back to consciousness. He gasped, eyes flying open. The first thing he saw was Hinata, bent over him. He had grabbed Tobio's face in his hands. As soon as he saw Tobio was awake, he thudded his forehead against Tobio's so hard it made spots dance in front of Tobio's eyes.

He should have looked terrifying. His face was close, still speckled with blood from the buzzsaw slaughter. His eyes roved too fast, flicking back and forth across Tobio's face jerkily. He looked like the killer that he was, bordering on manic.

Tobio had never cared for anyone more in his life than he did for Hinata, even now. Especially now.

"f*ck," Hinata whispered. Tobio thought he'd hurt himself, too, smashing their heads together like that. But then: "f*ck, I thought—I thought you were—"

"N-no," Tobio said. His hands were still shaking, but he pulled up his hoodie to reveal the sturdy, black ballistic vest he wore underneath it. "That's why you made me wear this, right?"

Hinata had put it on him in the airport, even though there had only been one vest sent, specifically for Hinata to wear. Hinata, as usual, had been overly protective. Without it, Tobio would likely have been dead instead of just bruised.

"We gotta get out of here," Hinata said. "Can you move, can you walk?"

"Y-yeah," Tobio said, though as he said it, he realized it might be an overestimation of his abilities. Some of the pain was fading, but his legs still felt horribly shaky. "The van… he left it out front."

The "he" in question—Henri—was dead. Tobio caught a glimpse of him before quickly turning away, as Hinata rummaged in the man's pockets for the keys. His jaw looked like it had been pried open, and he had been shot through the mouth point blank multiple times. The floor under the man's head was a mess of blood and other, more solid matter that Tobio didn't want to think about. Everyone else who had tried to hurt Tobio had met with a painful end, but they'd been presumed enemies already. Hinata, it seemed, didn't take kindly to betrayal.

"You didn't—" Tobio started to say, then had to swallow down the sour bite of bile rising up in his throat. "You didn't keep him alive? He might've known something."

Hinata didn't look at him. "Too late now."

"Hinata—"

"You almost died because of him," Hinata said, razor sharp, and Tobio stopped talking.

He leaned on Hinata, who helped him limp out of the warehouse as fast as his legs would carry him. They loaded into the van, and he sagged in the passenger seat.

"Where to?" he asked tiredly. "The safehouse?"

Hinata shook his head grimly. "It'll be compromised."

They were silent the rest of the way to their destination—Hinata drove them in a twisting, dizzying route, doubling back multiple times, going in circles, aimless and confusing. He was trying to make sure they weren't being followed, Tobio realized and although his whole body ached, he stayed quiet. The tension rolling off Hinata in waves was enough to deter him from speaking, so instead he focused on silently getting out of his heavy, conspicuous clothes—struggling out of the hoodie, so he could remove the ballistic vest after it. There was a ragged hole in the sweatshirt, and a scored, dark mark in the same place on the vest. He took a shaky breath. That would have killed him, he thought yet again, if Hinata hadn't thought ahead to protecting him.

They got farther and farther from the warehouse, edging more into the dingy part of the city. Graffiti crept along the sides of buildings, here; everything seemed years older, dull and grey and rundown. This was not the green and glamorous France brochures wanted to advertise. But it was here they would be safer.

Hinata ditched the van several blocks from their destination—a seedy motel hemmed in on all sides by other, even seedier locales. Tobio kept stepping on the backs of Hinata's heels, as close as he was following him, but Hinata seemed relatively at ease. He'd cleaned the blood from his face and hands, and his dark, disheveled clothes seemed barely out of place. He jerked his head in greeting at the oily-looking man behind the motel counter, and after a short exchange Tobio couldn't understand, had booked them a room. The elevator was out of order; they trudged up the stairs to the third floor and Hinata unlocked the door to the room with the cheap, plastic key card.

The inside was hardly more encouraging than the outside. There was one harsh overhead light, ensconced in a ceiling fan that barely rotated. The walls were unpainted and pockmarked, the wiring clearly visible in many places. The beds looked rickety, the frames rusted and like they were close to collapsing.

Hinata shut the creaky door behind them, and Tobio turned to face him, ready to hear a joke or complaint about the sorry state of the room.

He was met instead by a fist straight to the jaw.

He stumbled backward. Hinata could throw harder punches, could have probably knocked him out with one hit, so he must not have been seriously trying to do damage. But he was pissed, Tobio could see it on his face. It wasn't the kind of blank rage he'd had in the warehouse. This was a fire, fury in Hinata's eyes, in the contorted lines of his mouth. He grabbed Tobio by the front of his shirt before he could recover.

"Hinata, what the f—"

"You," Hinata said, "promised." His chest heaved, breathing coming harder than it had at any point during the fighting before.

Tobio closed a hand over Hinata's on his collar. "I couldn't run!" he said, angry at the insinuation that he'd purposefully gotten himself captured. "I tried! But he—he caught me—"

"I told you," Hinata said, "to accept his offer. I did not tell you—" He yanked Tobio forward so their noses were nearly touching, as he yelled into Tobio's face. "I didn't say to get shot playing the hero, you idiot!"

"They were going to kill you!" Tobio shouted back.

"That's not your problem!" Hinata said, shaking him. "Don't ever f*cking try that again!"

Tobio tried to pull away, but Hinata's grip was too strong. "It's not my problem?! Maybe you don't care about me beyond any of this sh*t, but I still—I still forget you're not really my friend, sometimes!"

Hinata let him go, and Tobio slumped, defeated. His exhaustion caught up with him and he staggered back the last few feet to sit heavily on one of the old beds. He had no fight left in him. He knew, he knew he'd f*cked up again. If he'd been stupid enough to get himself killed, it would have meant everything had been for nothing. Hinata probably hadn't even needed his help in the first place.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Hinata asked him, and Tobio flinched.

"It means I couldn't just stand there and watch," he told Hinata.

"What if they'd shot you in the head?" Hinata demanded.

"Then I'd be dead." Tobio didn't look at him. "Are you mad because I almost messed up your job?"

"Messed up my—" Hinata broke off. "You think that's why I'm mad?"

"Why else would you be?"

Hinata swore, softly and viciously. He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his vibrant hair, making it even more disheveled; and still, after everything, the sight made something in Tobio ache.

"Kageyama," he said. "I heard that gun go off and—there was a moment. Just a second. I didn't even remember you were wearing the vest."

"But you made me put it on," Tobio reminded him.

"I know, I—" Hinata put his hands over his face. "I don't… know how to explain it. It was just so sudden, I wasn't expecting…"

"I didn't mean for it to happen," Tobio said. He wasn't even sure if he'd known himself whether they would shoot him or not. All he'd thought about at the time was trying to reach Hinata.

Hinata dropped his hands again so Tobio could see his face. His eyes were filled with some kind of emotion Tobio couldn't identify, some struggle. Then he reached out, tentative and unsure. Tobio held his breath—and then Hinata's hands were on his face again, warm on his cheeks.

"For that one second, I thought they might have killed you," he whispered. "I was terrified. I can't—I can't lose anyone else. Not you. I don't think I can keep…"

His fingers were shaking—but that was impossible, wasn't it? Hinata never shook. He never wavered. He was never scared because those things could get him killed; so he was always steady, and sure, and brave, because he had to be. Because he could handle anything, Tobio had been so convinced of that up until now. Hinata had stared down death so many times that he could see the end coming and still not be afraid.

So why was he so scared when it was Tobio in danger?

The confusion on his face must have been obvious to Hinata. Hinata closed his eyes, and exhaled one more long, slow breath. When he opened his eyes again, he looked ready for something.

"You're not just the job," he said.

"I don't…" Tobio stared at him, trying to process. "I don't get it."

"You're not just… 'the job,' to me," Hinata said. "You never were."

Tobio couldn't make sense of what Hinata was telling him; after everything, he couldn't comprehend it. "If I'm not the job to you," he said, and a horrible thought occurred to him, "then what am I? Do I mean anything—"

"Yes," Hinata said, kneeling in front of the bed so Tobio no longer had to crane his head back to look at him. "You're—you weren't supposed to be more than that. For that one week, that was it. Just the job, nothing else. Maybe we might have become friends later, at the agency, I didn't know. I didn't care, before I met you."

"I know that," Tobio tried to say, but Hinata wasn't finished.

"But then, you were you. A genius. Determined ashell. Honest, and funny, even if you don't know it yourself. And you're just… so stupid." Tobio made a noise of surprised indignation, and Hinata smiled, brushing Tobio's bangs aside absentmindedly, so fond and soft it made Tobio forget he'd been insulted. "I remembered what it was like, before I joined RAPTOR, feeling like I could accomplish so much if only I had someone to show me how. I wanted to get to know you. I wanted you to be happy, I wanted to make you happy."

This was the Hinata that Tobio had first met. That bright mischief in his eyes, that smile that would make anyone feel like anything was possible because Hinata was there to tell them they could do it. It was like he was back in the deep end of a sunny swimming pool, with Hinata helping him keep his head above the water.

"I got… carried away. I didn't think much of it, because I thought, maybe we could…" The smile faded from Hinata's face. "But then all of this happened. And I just wanted you to be safe." He sighed. "I couldn't—I couldn't think about what you already meant to me."

"You told me you—you said you never felt…" Tobio said. He remembered the words exactly; he remembered how much they hurt.

I don't feel anything like that for you. I never did.

He knew it was obvious on his face, what he was thinking. He clenched his jaw, breaths becoming more erratic as they huffed through his nose, and then his mouth started to tremble. Dammit.

"I thought I wouldn't be able to protect you if—if I was too scared for you," Hinata said. "But then you were so… well, relentless, and so I thought maybe if I rejected you, made you angry with me, even…" He broke off as Tobio sucked in a huge, shaky breath. "I'm sorry, I don't—I know there's nothing I can say—"

"No one's—ever—liked me," Tobio forced out. He didn't know what to say, either. He didn't know how to explain to Hinata what he needed; what it had done to him, thinking Hinata liked him, and then being told it had all been a lie. "No one's ever wanted me. Not—not even as a friend. Nobody, until I m-met you. Except then you didn't, and that was somehow worse, after thinking that you—that you had—"

"f*ck—I'm so—"

Hinata let go of his face, put his hands on Tobio's knees, and bowed. His back bent until his forehead rested, too, on Tobio's knees. There he stayed, completely at Tobio's mercy.

"I'm so sorry," he said, "so sorry for putting you through this. For making you feel that way."

Tobio stared down at the back of Hinata's head, at his motionless form. He still didn't know how to say what he wanted to say. He was still scared of being pushed away.

"H-Hinata," he finally choked out.

Hinata looked up at him; and Tobio, who had no idea what else he could possibly do, after everything else he'd been through, started to cry. Big, fat teardrops fell into the lenses of his glasses, but he felt too drained to even take them off, to wipe his eyes.

Hinata leaned up and touched Tobio's glasses, fingers tracing along the stems. When Tobio did nothing to rebuff him, he eased them off and set them aside, folding them neatly on the stand by the bed.

"Kage—Tobio," he said. "You are wanted."

The world had blurred, from poor vision and tears. But that didn't matter; because Hinata was still clear, was everything Tobio could see.

"R-really?" Tobio asked him.

Hinata slid a hand against the back of his neck. When Tobio didn't resist, he pulled him closer until their foreheads were touching, like he had after Tobio had woken up in the warehouse. But softer, so much softer.

"I want you," Hinata said, without hesitation. "I want you."

"I want you, too—" Tobio gasped out, and then Hinata kissed him.

For days now, weeks, Tobio had been replaying the other times he'd tried to kiss Hinata in his head. He'd been the one to start it, every time. And whether or not Hinata had responded, Tobio had either been turned away or Hinata had been reserved, pulled back, put up walls.

Not this time.

Hinata didn't kiss shyly; he didn't kiss hesitantly. Even when he'd been trying to keep Tobio at arm's length, when he'd let Tobio kiss him on the beach—Hinata had known exactly what he wanted, how much to take, to give.

Now, there was no more measuring. He had made up his mind not to hold back, and Tobio finally found out what it was like—to really be kissed. To be shown, without a doubt, how wholly and shockingly Hinata just wanted; wanted his mouth on Tobio's, wanted Tobio's body against his, wanted to overturn all the dark, cloudy doubts in Tobio's head. To make up for being the one to put them there in the first place.

It was so different from the beach. There was no rough bitterness from alcohol, it was all Hinata. The warmth against his lips, the sound of Hinata's breath in his ears, the fact that his breathing had sped up when he'd leaned in to kiss Tobio, and hadn't yet slowed. He brushed Tobio's ear with a single finger, tracing slowly over the shell of it, before trailing down the side of his neck. His touch was barely there, like an afterthought—but it felt, to Tobio, like lightning striking. When Hinata turned his head to change the angle of their kiss, sucking lightly on Tobio's bottom lip, a soft noise escaped Tobio before he could stop it, a tiny sigh slipping into Hinata's mouth.

Hinata shifted suddenly forward, overbalancing him, sending them toppling back onto the bed; it creaked alarmingly as Hinata climbed onto it, climbed on top of him in one smooth, sleek motion. He let Tobio cling to the front of his shirt, twisting it in his hands—still afraid of being told he'd have to let go of Hinata, let go of being allowed to feel like this. Tobio gasped for air, and Hinata stilled, and pulled back a fraction.

"Okay?" Hinata murmured, brushing his hands against Tobio's cheeks. "Are you okay?"

Tobio closed his eyes so he could better feel the calluses on Hinata's palms. He realized he was still a bit teary-eyed, but Hinata said nothing. He just waited until Tobio's eyes had mostly dried and the only thing that bubbled out of him against his will were tiny hiccups, every now and again. But he didn't want to stop now that they had finally started, and Hinata seemed to know; and he kissed him, and kissed him, and kissed him. His compact, strong body pressed Tobio into the bed, a little on the side of too heavy in spite of his shorter height. The weight was solidly reassuring.

"Are you okay?" Hinata repeated again, after a little while.

"I think—so—" Tobio panted, and Hinata stopped again. Tobio groaned.

"Sorry," Hinata said. "I just want—I f*cked up, and I want to make sure I don't do it again."

"You're not," Tobio said. "f*cking up. I just—it's a lot." He was easily overwhelmed by little things at the best of times. This was not a little thing; and it was objectively the worst of times.

Someone he cared about had died. So many people had been hurt, because of him. It was his fault.

He pushed the thoughts away, shut down that part of his mind, like a survival tactic. Hinata was here. He had Hinata, he wanted Hinata. He needed to know Hinata wouldn't leave him. He needed to know it without a doubt, or he would fall apart.

"I know it's a lot," Hinata said. "I don't want it to be too much for you."

"I can handle it," Tobio said, stubbornly. He glared up at Hinata for extra emphasis.

Hinata looked down at him for a long moment, the slightest smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He bit his bottom lip—dragged it through his teeth, and Tobio made another embarrassingly pitched, involuntary noise, watching him. Why did those sounds keep—falling out of him, he wondered irritably. Hinata leaned in again.

"You can, huh?" His voice was so low, low, but not too quiet for Tobio to hear perfectly clearly. Not when Hinata was breathing the words into his ear, nose brushing against his cheek, lips pressing into Tobio's skin. "You think you can handle me?"

Tobio writhed under him, needing desperately to move—moving felt good, with the way Hinata was laying on him, but it also made him want even more. Hinata's voice made him want—lots of things.

"Y-yeah," he said, breathlessly. "Definitely."

"Okay," Hinata said, agreeably. Too agreeably. "Let's see."

He rolled off Tobio and hopped out of bed without another word. Tobio blinked, first up at the ceiling, then turned his head to the side to watch Hinata saunter into the bathroom. He left the door open. Tobio could see into it, from the bed.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Nowhere," Hinata said, "but I need to clean up."

"Why?" Tobio tried to keep the petulance from his voice. He wasn't quite successful.

"I'm not going to touch you after I got covered in a bunch of other people's blood," Hinata called back, running the faucet in the sink.

Hinata had been touching him already, though. Tobio frowned. "I don't mind."

Hinata snorted. "It's unsanitary."

This was going to take too long, and Tobio was impatient. He opened his mouth to argue, at the same moment Hinata shucked his shirt off. Tobio forgot what he had been about to say. He fumbled for his glasses on the nightstand, hurriedly jamming them onto his face so that he could see better.

He'd seen Hinata shirtless plenty of times at this point—at the hotel, at the boathouse in Thailand—but it was still… an experience. Hinata made the simple act of undressing look so good; the single, languid motion of his black t-shirt being pulled over hips to stomach to chest, the way the muscles of his abdomen rippled and his biceps flexed as he pulled it over his head. It was hypnotic, and made Tobio's stomach feel tight and hot in ways that were quickly becoming familiar.

Hinata discarded the shirt and turned on the faucet, splashing water on his face and throat, scooping handfuls of liquid up his arms and shoulders, smoothing it down over his chest, before sticking his entire head under the stream of water. After a moment of letting it run, soaking his hair, he straightened up again and sucked in air, before shaking his head a bit like a dog after a bath. He braced his hands on the side of the sink, wet hair hanging in his eyes as he stared at his reflection in the mirror.

He uttered a low noise; not dissatisfaction, but perhaps resignation. He was bruised again, in new places now—it did seem like the norm at this point.

Tobio was fascinated by it. The scars Hinata bore, the wounds he shrugged off like they were nothing—the dark, angry blotches on his skin he'd gotten fighting for his life, and Tobio's.

Tobio climbed out of the bed, padding hesitantly over to the door, peering inside the small bathroom. Hinata had grabbed a thin towel from the rack, vigorously drying his hair before scrubbing over his face with his washcloth, giving Tobio a chance to look at him close up—the way the water ran in little paths over the swell of his chest and down his hard stomach, trickling further down into the band of his black pants. There was a single drop clinging to the peak of one of Hinata's dusky, pink nipples, and Tobio found that he could not stop watching it, at the way it shivered a little bit but never fell as Hinata wiped his face.

Except Hinata wasn't wiping his face anymore. He was looking at Tobio from the bathroom, watching Tobio watch him. As soon as their eyes met, Hinata's lips quirked.

"Staring," he said.

"Sorry," Tobio said, even though he really wasn't.

Hinata co*cked his head. "You wanna come in?"

Tobio had no reason to join him in there, but he nodded. If Hinata was willing to finally let him in, let him get close and see his bruises, his scars, the way his eyes shined gold close up—all the things that made him so him, scary and deadly and beautiful all at once—there was nowhere else he'd rather be.

Chapter 14

Chapter Text

Tobio slipped into the bathroom and shut the door, enclosing them both inside the tiny space.

Now what? He shuffled awkwardly, not knowing where to look. He didn't want to stare too unabashedly at Hinata's naked upper body, that seemed rude. There was just so much to look at and after the fight in the warehouse, there were so many bruises… It wasn't like he thought they made Hinata look bad, not at all, but—he didn't know what to say.

"You're thinking real loud," Hinata murmured, tilting his head one way, then the other, as he ran a wet towel over the exposed sides of his neck, his throat. "What about?"

His eyes met Tobio's briefly again, and Tobio snapped his gaze away once more, blurting out, "Your skin."

Hinata looked surprised for a moment. He stared at Tobio in the mirror as Tobio started to turn pink, and then laughed, eyes scrunching closed in delight.

"I don't mean it in a weird way!" Tobio protested.

"Yeah, okay," Hinata said, reflection beaming back at Tobio. "How do you mean it, then?"

"I—I just meant—" Tobio glared at him, before stepping up behind him, as close as he could get. In firm retaliation, he bent and pressed his lips to Hinata's neck, where it was still damp from the washcloth. "I'm just thinking about stuff," he said, face still pressed into Hinata's neck.

"Hmmm," was Hinata's reply. "You'll have to be more specific." He tilted his head further to the side, eyes still watching Tobio in the mirror.

"Um…" Tobio said, unsure of what this meant. But Hinata was smiling at him in a curious way, eyes lidded and relaxed, which surely meant what Tobio was doing wasn't wrong… he kissed Hinata's neck again, because he wanted to, and because it appeared he was now allowed. And Hinata didn't push him away. He sighed softly and eased back against him, and Tobio dared to raise his hands and place them on Hinata's waist. This, too, seemed to be allowed.

He filed a trail of kisses higher and higher up Hinata's neck. His skin was warm, a little salty, and without quite thinking about it, Tobio flicked his tongue against it, at the hinge of Hinata's jaw. Hinata sighed again, and before Tobio could doubt what he was doing, said,

"That's good…"

Tobio drew back slightly in surprise. "Y-yeah? Should I keep—"

Hinata turned to face him. "Try it," he said. "Do what you want. See where it gets you." He ran his hands up Tobio's forearms, to grip lightly at his elbows. "I'm not gonna stop you."

What did he want? The possibilities were almost too overwhelming. He leaned forward again, and brushed Hinata's lips with his own. He'd wanted to kiss Hinata nearly since he'd met him, and Hinata hummed encouragingly. It seemed he was leaving it up to Tobio to lead, which was both exhilarating and terrifying. Tobio tried to tilt his head the way Hinata had done, to pull Hinata's bottom lip between his teeth, but he was nowhere near coordinated enough. The front of his teeth rubbed against Hinata's mouth awkwardly, and when Tobio tried to save it, swiping his tongue against Hinata's lips, Hinata let his mouth fall open and… oh.

He licked inside Hinata's mouth, somewhat accidentally, and discovered new things, good things—the slide of Hinata's tongue against his own, and the way it seemed to lock them closer together. Tobio sucked in a breath through his nose, rather than break away, and Hinata's hands dropped from his elbows to land at his waist, playing along the bottom of his shirt.

Tobio's breathing stuttered. Beyond kissing, sometimes—sometimes, with the way Hinata moved, the way his body looked in his fitted t-shirts stretched across his solid chest… or now, when he wasn't wearing anything to cover the scars and the muscle and all of… him… Sometimes Tobio just wanted to touch. Hesitantly, he skimmed his fingers over Hinata's waistband, nerves threatening to fail him.

Hinata slipped his fingers under Tobio's shirt, dipped them below the top of his jeans to trail teasingly against the slope of his hipbones. "Try it," he whispered again, teeth grazing the flesh of Tobio's top lip. "Thought you said you could handle me, Kageyama-kun."

Every part of Tobio burned in response. He shoved Hinata back against the sink in his eagerness as he gave in, handled Hinata. He flattened his hands against Hinata's stomach, which was hard and hot under his fingers, pushed his palms up over taut skin. There were many, many imperfections roughening it—scars and welts that bumped under Tobio's touch. He wanted to feel them all, to trace them with his fingertips and his mouth and hear the story behind each, but he didn't have the time or the patience right now. Right now, his mouth was already occupied, desperately seeking its fill of Hinata's; and his hands were busy, too, sliding over Hinata's warm, water-slicked skin, up his chest to rest on either side of his neck as Tobio kissed him greedily, before sweeping back down his sides again. Excitement made him forget that not all the marks scoring Hinata's torso were old.

Hinata hissed as Tobio's fingers skated over the purpling bruise in his side where he'd been brutally kicked earlier. He jerked back, feeling slightly sickened that he might have caused Hinata more pain.

But Hinata tangled a hand in his hair at the back of his head, gasped out, "God, yeah, there—" and Tobio felt himself ignite all over again.

"It doesn't hurt?"

"Like a motherf*cker," Hinata groaned, shifting his hips against Tobio's in a manner that was less controlled than before, and somehow even more devastating to Tobio's sanity. Hinata's grin slashed across his face, dangerous and irresistible. "Feels good. Means I'm alive and with you, so who cares?"

"Yeah," Tobio said, remembering how fast Hinata had demolished the group. Right after Hinata had thought they'd hurt him. "Y-yeah."

"This is nothing," Hinata said, dragging Tobio closer, fingers gripping the back of his neck. "They can do whatever they want to me, I'll be fine. But I swear, if anyone tries to touch you…"

Tobio had already seen what happened to anyone who tried. "You'll kill them," he said.

"Painfully," Hinata confirmed.

"For me." Tobio swallowed, fingers digging just a little too hard into Hinata's bruised side. Hinata's hand clenched in his hair and his mouth dropped open, brow furrowing in what might have been pain or…

His hips rolled slow against Tobio's, and Tobio knew it wasn't just pain. Or if it was, Hinata might not mind. f*cking hell.

"You like that," Hinata murmured, and then to clarify that he didn't just mean the way he was grinding against Tobio— "You like how far I'd go for you? The things I've done to people?"

Tobio's stomach flipped. No use trying to deny it. "You're… f*cking terrifying," he admitted. "But…"

Blood on Hinata's hands. Bruises on his body. The violent brutality. There were a lot of things Tobio liked, that maybe weren't normal to like at all. But maybe that was why he couldn't get over Hinata, no matter how hard Hinata had tried to scare him off.

"I've been dying to touch you for so long," Hinata said. He tucked his fingers under Tobio's shirt, brushing across his stomach, teasing the fabric higher and higher. "The thought that someone else would lay a hand on you—that they'd hurt you—"

His jaw tightened in fury. The things Hinata did, and said, affected Tobio almost beyond his control; but he had the same effect on Hinata in some ways, he was learning. Tobio liked Hinata's willingness to destroy people for him; Hinata liked knowing that Tobio didn't want him to hold back.

"It still hurt a lot when I got shot today," he announced.

Some of the anger faded from Hinata's expression. "Yeah, the vest doesn't make it magically painless." He tilted his head up, to kiss Tobio softly. "That's why you shouldn't have done it."

"I did it for you," Tobio said solemnly.

It worked like a charm. "Idiot Kageyama," Hinata said. But the hoarseness of his voice, his fingers drawing random patterns low on Tobio's stomach, softened the insult. "Let me see where you got hit."

"Okay," Tobio said, obediently.

Hinata kissed the corner of his mouth before swiping his tongue softly against the seam of Tobio's lips—he peeled Tobio's t-shirt off as he kept tasting him, slow and unhurried like they hadn't been running for their lives the better part of the past few weeks. His hands were careful, skimming over Tobio's whole torso, fingers tickling over his sides, over his chest, until they had to break the kiss to push the shirt up over Tobio's head. Tobio helped remove it, too eager and immeasurably less sexy than Hinata had been,he was sure, as he struggled to get his head free. Then he was out, and Hinata could toss it carelessly to the side, already looking at Tobio intensely, already drawing him back in with his rough hands gentle on Tobio's bare skin, fingers trailing over Tobio's spine until the two of them were chest to chest, pressed against each other.

It was like a scene from a movie, the kind of blush-inducing make-out sessions some films had, with all the wet noises and gasps and sighs, that usually made Tobio feel like he wanted to look away, but couldn't. It was something, to be kissed like that for real—to know someone wanted to kiss him like that, wanted to be so close to him. Hinata stroked his cheek for every unexpected moan Tobio made, like an encouragement, like he wanted to draw those noises out of him. Tobio's lips buzzed, starting to feel sore from all the kissing, and he didn't care. He couldn't tell if it was his own heartbeat or Hinata's hammering against his ribcage. It didn't matter; he just liked the unbelievable feeling of it.

"Turn," Hinata ordered him eventually, after their frantic clutching at one another had calmed somewhat, and the kisses had turned softer and less desperate. Reluctantly Tobio did, only to have to swallow another moan as Hinata peppered kisses over his back, one hand still roaming his front, his chest and stomach, the other dizzyingly lower, fingers stroking high up against the inside of one of Tobio's thighs. "Looks okay. You're pretty bruised, but it'll fade quickly." He brushed the spot with his hand and Tobio sucked in a breath.

"Hurts," he said. But Hinata was right—it did feel good, too, in a way.

"Sorry," Hinata said. "What should I do… to make you feel better, then?"

Tobio shivered. He knew Hinata was indulging him, and that made everything even more overwhelming. But Hinata had been that way from the start—trying to make him happy, like he'd said. Spoiling him.

"Th-this is good," Tobio said, losing what little flirtatious nerve he had. He didn't want to be too greedy, ask for too much. "I like this a lot…"

Hinata pressed his face against Tobio's back, breathing slowly for a moment. He rubbed his cheek against Tobio's skin.

"Can I suck you off?"

It took Tobio a moment to sort out the question. He picked it apart in his head, confused by the words individually, a picture slowly forming in his head. When it finally snapped together, he twisted around to face Hinata so fast he almost fell over. "Wh-what?"

"Sorry, sorry," Hinata said, half laughing as he steadied Tobio. "Too sudden."

"No," Tobio said instantly. "I'm just—I've never…"

"You've never been with anyone before," Hinata said understandingly.

"No—well, yeah," Tobio said. "But—I've never thought about it? I've never wanted anyone like this…"

"Oh!" Hinata sounded surprised, but he smiled at Tobio, a little sheepishly. "That's fine, too, if you don't want to. It's not something we need—"

"I want to," Tobio said quickly. "I want… that."

He knew he still sounded confused, and Hinata must have sensed it. "Are you sure?" he asked. "I mean it. We don't need to do anything you aren't okay with."

But Tobio was already thinking back—back to the way he'd felt, when he'd touched himself on that beach with Hinata's voice in his ear, how he'd thought he might not survive that encounter with the way Hinata was watching him, but how he had also figured it was, all in all, a fine way to go. He had never liked anyone touching him before; but he had never liked anyone the way he liked Hinata, either. He had never wanted anyone to touch him the way he needed Hinata's hands on him.

"I'm sure," he said. "I just don't know how to…"

"Don't worry about that," Hinata said. "Stand… here." He guided Tobio around to swap places with him, so Tobio was standing with his back against the sink. "Hands here."

"Why?" Tobio asked, as Hinata planted his hands firmly on the edges of the sink behind him.

"No reason," Hinata said, but his expression was too coy to be trusted.

Tobio's nerves rose up into his throat. Hinata was so sure of what he was doing. And while the thought that Hinata was more experienced than him made his stomach feel pleasantly hot, it made him nervous, too. What if he made an idiot out of himself? What if he was so boring and inexperienced and bad thatHinata decided he didn't want to do it? He swallowed thickly, and Hinata leaned up to press his lips to Tobio's throat where his Adam's apple bobbed.

"Relax," he murmured.

He kissed Tobio's collarbone, then the middle of his chest, then went to his knees.

Tobio gripped the sink behind him as hard as he could as Hinata put his mouth to his hip bone, looking up at him through damp, messy bangs as he brushed his lips closer to Tobio's navel. He felt the sudden wetness of Hinata's tongue dipping into the little hollow and jerked in surprise. Hinata never broke eye contact.

"If you don't like what I'm doing," Hinata said, "tell me to stop."

"I will," Tobio said.

"If you do like it," Hinata said against his hip, "tell me that, too."

Tobio could only nod, too afraid of what might come out of his mouth if he tried to speak.

Without breaking eye contact, Hinata trailed his mouth across Tobio's waist, lashes flickering just slightly when he nosed through the dark trail of hair that disappeared into Tobio's jeans.

"Do I smell bad?" Tobio asked, mortified.

"No," Hinata said vaguely. "Good."

"O-oh. Okay."

"What'd I just say?" Hinata asked. His voice had become more stern, suddenly.

Tobio was already struggling, but that voice, combined with the way Hinata was mouthing lower down the front of his pants… he whimpered. "R-relax."

Hinata's eyes lifted upwards again to Tobio's face. "Yeah," he said. "You're okay, Tobio. You're doing fine." He flicked his tongue out, against Tobio's zipper.

"Oh," Tobio said, "f*ck."

"Experienced" may not be the most fitting word for what Hinata was; he was what he'd been from the start—deadly, and aware of it.

He dragged Tobio's zipper down with his teeth, slow enough that it could be classified as a form of torture. He didn't look away from Tobio's face once. Tobio pressed the back of his hand to his mouth in embarrassment. His co*ck was getting hard in his underwear, the stiff outline of it visibly pink through the white fabric. He hadn't even been touched yet; this was all from Hinata talking to him and looking at him.

"You're blushing a lot," Hinata observed. Tobio could feel his breath, hot and so unbearably close, and he thought about shifting his hips forward, just to close that insignificant distance—

Hinata immediately pressed his hips back against the sink, too strong for Tobio to budge. He gasped for air, desperate; he didn't know how Hinata had known, but he needed more, now.

"You're gonna be so eager, huh?" Hinata said. He sounded unfairly delighted. "God, you're so cute when you get shy. I can't wait to…" He trailed off, biting his lip against the grin threatening to escape him.

To what? Tobio wanted to ask him. Instead he grit his teeth and said, "Then get on with it. Dumbass."

"Oooh," Hinata cooed, "he's upset. Very intimidating."

"Hinata…"

Why did Hinata know exactly how to make him blush? Worse, why did Tobio like it so much?

"I know, I know," Hinata said. "Just—let me go a little slow, okay? Let me make this good for you."

There was no way Tobio could argue with that, and Hinata knew it. Nervously, Tobio watched as Hinata pushed his jeans down over his hips—hands skimming firmly over the swell of Tobio's ass—and halfway down his thighs, exposing Tobio fully.

"Cute…" Hinata murmured, staring unabashedly at Tobio's dick, sheathed in white. "Figures you'd be a briefs boy."

This part almost wasn't embarrassing, because he was too stuck on trying to puzzle out why Hinata was looking at it with such intensity. It was just his dick, in his dull white underwear, albeit standing at attention quite a bit more than it usually did. Hinata licked his lips, and it throbbed, twitching inside his briefs. Tobio winced.

"Don't stare at it," he said.

"How rude of me," Hinata breathed, his eyes half-lidded, cheeks unusually pink. He leaned in, and sealed his lips over the base of Tobio's shaft, taking his oversensitive skin inside his mouth, pressing against his tongue.

Tobio made a sound he had never known he could make before. He leaned back heavily against the sink, hoping it might be enough to steady him. It barely worked. Hinata's mouth felt fire-hot, and it sapped the strength from him entirely, leaving him weak-kneed and helpless as Hinata started to learn the shape of him through his underwear.

He'd never realized how small Hinata's mouth was until right now. It was always doing so much—talking, laughing, shouting. Even when it was just straight and thin in that terrifying grimace of fury, it seemed so noticeable. But now it looked so small and pink, his pert little lips opened up wide so he could wet Tobio's underwear with his tongue, mouth roving slowly and steadily further up his shaft. Even through the briefs, each soft, wet movement was like lightning zapping up his spine. Each throb of his heart pumping blood between his legs felt heavier and deeper than the last.

"Hnnh…" Tobio said articulately. "That's… it's…"

Hinata's gaze slid up to look at him. Tobio's eyes nearly rolled back into his skull in response. His threadbare briefs were soaked through with spit, now, practically transparent. His co*ck was red and swollen and barely concealed, easy enough to see that Hinata could find the vein that ran up the underside of it and trace it, dragging his tongue up Tobio's length.

"Ohhh—kay," Tobio panted, as Hinata pushed the tip of his erection into his mouth. "f*ck, f*ckf*ck—"

Hinata smiled up at him, lips pulling back from his teeth so Tobio could watch as well as feel the way they grazed, just barely, over his head; over the obvious, spreading wet patch he'd steadily leaked through the cloth—and then Hinata had his underwear in his teeth, was pulling them down determinedly, and Tobio's co*ck sprang free, bouncing in front of Hinata's nose.

Tobio covered his face with his hands and moaned.

"What does that mean?" Hinata asked. He sounded genuinely curious; regretfully, Tobio realized this meant he couldn't just ignore the question in favor of hiding.

"I just—it feels like—" he said, sucking in sharp breaths of air, one for every kiss Hinata was now pressing softly to the newly exposed crease of his thigh. "That's a… lot… of me. To put in your face…"

Hinata's mouth fell open—dangerous, dangerous for Tobio's state of mind, when he was so close—and then he laughed.

"Mmm, well…" he said, still grinning. He slid his hands from Tobio's hips, finally, to curve around behind him. Tobio let out a deep, shuddery breath as Hinata cupped his ass, fingers grabbing very secure handfuls. "Maybe so, but that's what I'm after."

Tobio swore again as Hinata looked up at him with his clear brown eyes full of hope, rubbing his cheek against Tobio's thigh. He would never be able to believe this was real, that it was true; not because he'd been made to doubt it once before, but because it seemed so far beyond his reach, still, even as it was happening. He couldn't have guessed, before now, what it was like to want someone so badly it made his heart feel like it was about to fall out of his chest. But more than that, the way Hinata was looking at him—like he felt the same—was something Tobio had never even thought he might have, one day.

But f*ck, it was a good feeling.

"Can I?" Hinata asked him, his voice a hitched groan. "Kageyama…"

"Y-yeah," Tobio said. He barely had time to brace himself back against the sink again, before Hinata was taking what they both needed.

Tobio dropped his head back, eyes squeezing shut, mouth falling open—pleasure and shock and a bit of fright all mixed up into one emotion. He couldn't look, not yet, but he could feel it—Hinata's mouth, his lips and his tongue and all his wet heat, as he eased Tobio's co*ck in a little at a time, seemingly in no hurry now that he had what he'd been after.

His toes curled in his socks—it felt better than he ever thought it would. Sometimes it was barely enjoyable when he did it himself, focused purely on the end result, the relief he knew org*sm would bring. The thought of having a part of him be touched and tasted and inside another person had never struck him as anything that could be pleasurable. But with Hinata, it was, impossibly so. And it was shoving him dangerously fast towards the edge. Even he knew that coming too fast wasn't supposed to be a good thing, but Hinata wasn't leaving him with much choice.

"H-haah—f*ck—"

He looked back down at Hinata. Mistake. He'd taken Tobio nearly all the way to the base now, lips stretched wide around his shaft. His eyes were closed, his fine, light eyelashes just brushing his pink cheeks—he looked more vulnerable and soft than Tobio had ever seen him, even before he'd known who and what Hinata really was. He looked perfectly blissful.

"Hinata—" Tobio grated out harshly, and Hinata drew back off of him.

"Sorry," he said thickly. His expression wasn't as alert as it usually was. His eyes were heavy, expression hazy, almost drunk. A thin, shining trail of saliva led from the corner of his reddening lips down his chin. "If it's too much, I'll—"

"I just don't want to come yet," Tobio said in a rush. Hinata blinked slowly at him. "Feels—really good, but that's too fast."

"Oh," Hinata said. "Oh, I didn't… I was trying to go slow."

Tobio looked away, staring at the opposite wall. "It, ah… it needs to be slower…"

"It's fine," Hinata said. He sighed a little bit, content, as he touched his lips to Tobio's co*ck again, speaking against it. "It's not a big deal if you come early."

"I don't want to," Tobio mumbled. And then, "Hinata, not helping."

Hinata looked up at him innocently, from where he'd been mouthing at Tobio's tip. A milky drop of precum glistened in the center of his lower lip. "I want to make you come," he nearly whined, and Tobio shivered all over. "It's okay if it's right now."

"I don't want it to be over already," Tobio insisted.

"I'll make you come again later, too," Hinata said, swiping his tongue against Tobio's slit.

Tobio willed his legs not to give out. "It's still too early!"

"Stubborn," Hinata huffed. "Fine. You be in control."

"H-huh? How?"

"Hand," Hinata said, "in my hair." Tobio complied, unsure of how this was supposed to help anything. "If you get too close, pull."

"Um… okay—oh, sh*t—"

Tobio cried out as Hinata swallowed him to the base again with ease. He was clearly only ever going slow for Tobio's benefit; he had no problems letting the head of Tobio's dick hit the back of his throat, hands splayed across Tobio's ass to press as close to him as he could get, pushing Tobio in even deeper. He looked determined to choke on Tobio's co*ck, and Tobio had to struggle to squash down the urge to spill himself down Hinata's throat immediately.

Hinata wanted him to come, and Tobio wanted to last. Hinata had also told him to take control—and Tobio wanted to prove that he could follow instructions, at least for a little while. He could control himself long enough for them both to enjoy it.

Hinata started to work his mouth over Tobio, and Tobio realized in seconds that he was absolutely not in control, and he didn't care.

His fingers trembled against Hinata's scalp as Hinata pulled slowly off him, leaving his dick shiny and wet with spit. When he started to bob his head, Tobio clenched his hand into a fist in Hinata's hair, but he didn't pull, and Hinata only moaned in satisfaction, moving faster every time he went back down on Tobio, letting his co*ck slide in and out of his lips. He lapped at Tobio messily with his tongue, building a rhythm of sucking him, licking him, the barest hint of teeth grazing his shaft every now and again—

The next time he moved back to swirl his tongue over the head of Tobio's co*ck, Tobio twisted Hinata's hair in his hand and pushed, without meaning to, hips snapping forward involuntarily. Hinata gagged for the first time.

"sh*t," Tobio gasped, breathing hard. His glasses had steamed up, he realized—it was hard to make out Hinata's expression, and for a second, Tobio felt ashamed of himself.

Hinata pulled off him, and rasped, "f*ck my mouth. Do it again."

He dove back down before Tobio's brain even had time to short-circuit at his words; and then he was moaning around Tobio's co*ck in his mouth, as Tobio did as he was told, like he always did for Hinata.

He slid his hands against Hinata's cheeks and held his face, rolling his hips, sliding his dick against Hinata's tongue, deeper into his mouth, over and over. He wasn't going to last—he knew he wasn't going to last—it didn't even matter anymore, this was perfect, Hinata was amazing—every muscle in his body tensed, taut and ready for the snap of release—

Firm hands suddenly held onto his hips once again, locking him in place. He watched, bewildered, as his co*ck slipped from Hinata's mouth, and Hinata wiped his lips with his hand.

"What…" Tobio said, weakly. His legs felt like jelly, but the rest of him was still begging for release.

Hinata stood, and pulled him in to kiss him. It tasted salty and bitter, and Tobio felt lost to it, to everything. Being found seemed overrated.

"You said you didn't want to come yet," Hinata said against his lips, "right?"

Tobio's mouth fell open. "You… bastard."

"That's me," Hinata agreed. He bent his knees and locked his arms below Tobio's naked butt and then, without warning, lifted him into the air. Tobio might have been a head taller, but Hinata had at least three times more muscle than him; there was no chance of dropping him. Tobio still yelped and clung, arms flying reflexively around Hinata's neck. Hinata laughed. "Let's see if these beds will hold our weight."

"I c-can walk!" Tobio protested.

"Sure about that?" Hinata asked him. "God, you're like an octopus. Why are you so long?"

"Because you're short," Tobio said. He wrapped his legs tighter around Hinata's waist, regardless and hunched lower, putting his nose in Hinata's wet hair.

"Gah, Kageyama," Hinata said, voice muffled against Tobio's chest, "I can't see where I'm going."

"Not my fault," Tobio mumbled. Hinata's hair didn't smell like flowers or old memories or smoke or anything—it just smelled like Hinata, which was nice. "What kind of secret agent are you? Didn't you memorize the layout of the room when we walked in and stuff?"

"Real life isn't like your movies, Kageyama-kun," Hinata said, as he effortlessly navigated his way around the furniture to the bed, entirely without looking. He threw Tobio down on the mattress again, or tried to; the attempt was foiled when Tobio wouldn't unravel his allegedly octopus-like limbs. With a tolerant oof, Hinata flopped on top of him and grinned.

"Right now it kind of is," Tobio said. Hinata leaned down until their noses were touching.

"Why?" he asked, voice low and sly. "Because you're about to get laid?"

"Because… you like me," Tobio said breathlessly.

Hinata seemed to have no response to this. He blinked at Tobio, then dropped his head, resting it in the crook of Tobio's shoulder. "f*ck."

"Hinata…?"

Hinata grabbed Tobio's face again and kissed him hard. "Yeah, I like you," he said. "I really, really like you."

Tobio submitted readily to this new onslaught of kisses. "Am I really about to get laid?" he asked in between them.

"Do you wanna be?" Hinata asked.

"Uh-huh. Yeah."

"Then yeah, you definitely are."

Tobio wet his lips with his tongue. "Cool."

Hinata grinned at him, before nosing along the line of his jaw. "Do you watch p*rn?" He glanced at Tobio as Tobio wrinkled his nose. "There's my answer, I guess."

"Why?" Tobio asked. He'd tried watching it exactly once, and never attempted it again. All the bodies touching and loud noises and the way the people seemed so not-real had made him horribly uncomfortable.

"Just trying to figure out how to start. What do you want to do?"

That question held far too many possibilities for Tobio to answer. He gaped at the ceiling, searching desperately for words. "What sh-should we do?"

"We can do anything," Hinata said. Tobio didn't understand how he was so… normal-sounding, about this. "I've done everything, so I thought I'd leave it up to you." Now he sounded smug.

"Everything?" Tobio asked, morbidly curious and a bit awed, though he tried not to show it.

"Mhm," Hinata said. "I'm fairly adventurous. Shocking, I know."

Tobio's brain buzzed into overdrive. He had figured Hinata was experienced, obviously; and adventurous, of course, he knew that. If Hinata was willing to do anything, then did that mean, then, that there was a chance he might let Tobio… but Tobio also really wanted Hinata to…

"It's your first time, and you literally got shot today, so maybe we make this easy," Hinata said, smiling like he knew the exact debate raging in Tobio's head. "Do you want to f*ck me?"

"Yeah," Tobio wheezed immediately, "except, w-wait—are you okay with… I mean, do you even…"

"Do I bottom?" Hinata asked, and Tobio died inside. "Sure. I like to be in control though."

"Th-that's fine," Tobio said, relieved.

"Yeah?" Hinata looked down at him, head tilted, expression very focused. Heated. "I bet you'd like it, if I told you what to do."

This seemed true, from experience. Tobio's persistent hard-on certainly seemed in support of the idea.

"Stay," Hinata told him, climbing off of him once again, this time to get something from the duffel bag he'd been carrying since Malaysia. "Have you ever fingered yourself?"

Tobio shook his head. He'd never wanted to. Hinata finally unearthed something from his belongings, a small plastic bag with…

"You just carry those around with you on missions?" Tobio asked, scandalized, as Hinata tossed the lube and condoms onto the bed.

"You never know when you might need 'em," Hinata said. When Tobio continued to look put out, Hinata grinned ruefully. "I don't really get many chances to go out on the town on assignment, so the condoms don't see that much use. But the lube is because getting shot at really makes me need to blow off some steam somehow."

"Oh," Tobio said. "So…"

"So, I really wanna f*ck," Hinata clarified. "I'll get myself ready, it'll be faster."

Tobio hastily readjusted his glasses as Hinata started to strip out of his pants. Finally, he thought, he'd been naked for ages, and he'd seen a lot of Hinata with his shirt off but now, yes, now Hinata was unzipping his fitted black slacks, pushing them off his hips. His underwear was black, too, sleek and form fitting and not leaving much to the imagination. Tobio fixated on the outline of him, where he had clearly not been unaffected by everything they'd been doing; and then he didn't have to imagine anymore, because Hinata had slid those off, too, like it wasn't even that big a deal they were both about to be totally naked, together, with the intent of having sex.

Granted, this wasn't that new of an occurrence to Hinata. But Tobio felt like he had reached an unknown high point in his life he hadn't even known he'd been waiting for. Not the sex, itself; but being able to stare openly at Hinata standing naked in front of him, the continuous realization that this was happening because they wanted each other.

Hinata was nice to look at all over, unsurprisingly. Nude, he reminded Tobio of classical art; clean lines of hard, distinct muscle all through, his thick, bare thighs, and his sculpted calves… Tobio could probably have guessed he had a thing for Hinata's legs since their meeting at the hotel and how much he'd noticed them in Hinata's pool boy shorts. But now it was like some other entity was taking over inside his head, making him think things he'd never considered before.

A lot of the things had to do with Hinata's dick. It was hard between Hinata's legs, which Tobio wanted to touch, kiss those incredible thighs, bury his head between them and—and what? He felt, urgently and embarrassingly, like he just wanted to be as close to Hinata's co*ck as possible. He licked his lips, confused by this obsession his raging arousal had brought on.

"Weren't you the one telling me to stop staring earlier?" Hinata murmured, and Tobio snapped his eyes upward, mouth hanging open stupidly.

Hinata was holding back a smile, chewing on his bottom lip. He looked… it seemed impossible, but he appeared almost nervous, which made Tobio's stomach do a series of somersaults.

"I'm just—" he started to say, voice more aggressive than he meant it to come out. Forcibly, he grunted, "You're really perfect, I guess."

Hinata laughed in surprise. "That's the nicest and most reluctant compliment I've ever been given," he said, with a sigh of relief. "I keep expecting you to get totally weirded out."

"Why would I?" Tobio asked.

"What about this situation isn't weird?" Hinata said. "Not least the part where I'm supposed to be protecting you, not falling for you."

His words pinged through Tobio's brain over and over, rattling him harder than the gunshot. Falling for you, falling for you…

"You're still protecting me," he said.

"Yeah," Hinata said. "But I'm not supposed to do the other thing."

"Who cares?" This time there was a humiliating crack in Tobio's voice.

"Well, not you, clearly," Hinata observed.

"Come here."

"Okay," Hinata said, caving in easily.

He climbed back into bed and Tobio pounced, a kitten setting upon a full-grown tiger, pushing him back into the sheets triumphantly. Hinata didn't resist, and Tobio knew he wouldn't. He was warm and solid beneath Tobio, his eyes were soft and fond, and Tobio relaxed, laying fully over him, melting into him.

"Hi," Hinata said.

"Falling for me," Tobio whispered.

Hinata slid a hand up his side, stroked his shoulder, pressed his palm to Tobio's cheek. "Yeah."

He guided Tobio's lips against his again, kissed him, rolled his hips up into Tobio's, and Tobio was gone.

He could feel Hinata's co*ck rubbing against his, hot and insistent. He vaguely sensed Hinata patting around on the bed for something, then heard, "Lift off me a bit… here…" Tobio blinked at him dazedly as Hinata rearranged their position, so Tobio lay next to him instead of on top of him.

"I need to… I just need to—mmm…" Hinata said. He tipped his head back, mouth falling open slightly, and Tobio made a desperate noise as he watched Hinata reach a hand between his legs, teasing his entrance. "Ah—"

"You still—" Tobio choked, awed, as Hinata pushed a slick finger inside himself. He was doing that for Tobio. So Tobio could… "You still want me to—"

"Yes, yes," Hinata gasped, his voice going breathless with urgency. "You want to, right? You wanna f*ck me?"

"Please, please," Tobio begged. He kissed Hinata as best he could from the awkward angle, the corner of his mouth and his cheek and jaw. "Can I? Hinata, I want to—"

"Al-almost," Hinata said. He was rushing, scissoring himself open on two fingers, thrusting them inside himself. "Haah, f*ck, to-touch me—"

He raised his hips as he said it, making sure Tobio knew what he wanted. He slipped his hand down and found it—Hinata's co*ck, hot and smooth under his fingers, fitting into his palm when he encircled it with his hand. His strokes were gentle and nervous at first, and Hinata mumbled something that sounded like, "Harder." So Tobio moved his hand faster, rougher, until all that came out of Hinata's mouth was "Yes, good, like that, yes—"

The fact that Hinata would let Tobio see him like this amazed Tobio. Even the terrifying moments before now, when Hinata had been set on painfully dismantling their enemies, he'd still been utterly in command of the situation. But this was different.

This wasn't a loss of control; Hinata was giving it up, Hinata had let down his guard and let Tobio in. He let Tobio watch the ways his perfect body looked when he was overcome by pleasure—his back arched off the bed, his sturdy thighs spread apart wide, his hips rolling to thrust his co*ck into Tobio's fist before bearing down on his own fingers stretching him open. It was almost more than Tobio could take. He tried to sneak his free hand down to his own co*ck to press against himself, and then to grip around the base, tightly, when that nearly tipped him right over the edge. Fortunately, Hinata had mercy on him before too long.

"Condom?" Hinata gasped out. "You know how to put one on?"

sh*t. Tobio only had vague notions, learned from outdated, awkward lessons in high school with teachers who had preferred to talk around the subject rather than about it. His silence caused Hinata to pick up his head to look at him.

"You've got no idea," Hinata said.

Tobio bristled. "I can do it!" There was no way he could admit he didn't know, not when Hinata was staring at him, eyes dilated, chest heaving and gleaming with sweat, waiting for Tobio to do all kinds of sex things with him. Tobio sat up, grabbing the little plastic bag with its supplies.

It took him several tries to open one of the wrappers, and then the thing was in his hand, rubbery and slightly slippery. He didn't like the smell of it in the slightest, and the feel wasn't much better. He pressed the little circle to the tip of his dick, and grimaced.

"Other way," Hinata said. He was staring at Tobio's co*ck very intently again.

"Huh?"

"It goes on the other way. Do you want me to—"

"I got it," Tobio huffed, turning it over and rolling it slowly on.

"Here," Hinata said. He tossed Tobio the lube, and Tobio smeared a generous amount over his co*ck. It was cold, and not very pleasant, even if touching himself with the condom on felt a distant sort of good.

"It's hard to feel stuff," he said, slightly disappointed.

"Trust me," Hinata told him, "that's going to work in your favor."

"What do I do now?"

"Now you come down here," Hinata said. "Here…"

He pulled his knees up to his chest and tugged Tobio closer, until Tobio was between them, Hinata's legs over his shoulders, their bodies flush together. Tobio's ability to think straight began to shut down.

"Use your hand to line yourself up with me," Hinata said. "You can do it now, I'm ready."

"f*ck," Tobio whispered. He followed instructions as best he could, hand shaky as he wrapped it around his co*ck. His face burned in embarrassment as he poked it against the back of Hinata's thigh, his ass cheek, in his search.

"Ah, there," Hinata said.

Tobio felt the give against the head of his co*ck when he found Hinata's entrance. He was going to f*ck this up, he knew it, there was no way—

"Tobio, I want you inside me," Hinata breathed, helping ease him forward, pulling him ever closer, not leaving him room to overthink anything.

And Tobio learned that they would fit together, if only they just let themselves.

The condom seemed to make absolutely no difference, now. He had never felt anything like this, so mind blowingly good, just from his dick being pressed so deep and so tight into warm, soft heat. It ripped a strangled moan from his lungs as Hinata rolled his hips to help get him buried fully, his ass pressed to the juncture of Tobio's hips. Tobio just stayed folded over him, shaking like a leaf, overwhelmed.

"That's it," Hinata breathed, "that still feels good, doesn't it?"

"sh*t, oh sh*t, f*ck—"

"Good boy… that's my good boy," Hinata murmured, hands winding into Tobio's hair, and Tobio shuddered as his whole stomach contracted in pleasure. This was it, this was undoubtedly the best thing that had ever and would ever happen to him. He raised his head, glasses slipping almost all the way down off his nose as he tried to focus on Hinata, tried to regain control of his motor functions to lean in and kiss him.

"H-Hinata…" he managed to babble, mouth bumping against Hinata's. "Nnh—" He jerked as Hinata tightened up, the muscles encasing Tobio's co*ck clenching around him.

"I've got you," Hinata said. His voice was rough and raw and he licked into Tobio's slack mouth to give him the exact kind of heated, filthy kiss he was after. "Move a little for me?"

Tobio nodded, finding he couldn't make words. He rocked his hips and nearly sobbed at the new friction it caused around him, increasing the impossible levels of pleasure he already felt.

"Mmm—yeah," Hinata breathed, "harder—I know you can f*ck me harder than that—"

Tobio whimpered. He could feel how fast the fiery heat in his belly was coiling, tying up in knots. If he went any faster, it'd be dangerous—but all he wanted was to please Hinata, to hear Hinata praise him again. He rolled his hips again, snapped them faster, and Hinata let out a soft, satisfied moan.

Tobio fell forward, dropping his full weight down onto Hinata. Hinata's hands fisted tightly in his hair.

"Just like that," Hinata groaned in his ear, as Tobio started to rut into him, fast and unsteady, the bed frame creaking louder and louder. "Keep going like that. Keep going—"

"Hi-Hinata—" Tobio gasped, words muffled into Hinata's neck. His glasses had started to fog. The sensations building inside him were far too much, too fast—every time he pulled out and then slammed his co*ck home again, buried himself inside Hinata, sloppy and fumbling and frantic, it pushed him ever closer to the inevitable edge. It was just too good. "f*ck, I'm—I'm—"

He cried out, as it overtook him. It nearly hurt, how strongly his whole body convulsed—and then he was coming, shivering and sobbing out his broken moans as he emptied himself deep inside Hinata. It seemed to go on for ages, a white, blissed out ecstasy, where he had no control of himself. He was dimly aware he was crushing one of Hinata's hands in his own, but he could feel Hinata moving, realized he had wrapped his other hand around his co*ck to stroke himself to completion. Tobio felt a weird pang of sorrow at that—he wanted to help Hinata finish, but right now he was too caught up in the throes of his own bliss to be of use to anyone.

"Hinata—senpai—"

Hinata sighed, long and low and satisfied, and then spilled between them. His stomach tightened, muscles clenching, and Tobio groaned again. Hinata pulled his hand higher to kiss his knuckles as Tobio felt his shaking start to ease, a little bit.

"There you go," Hinata murmured. "Tobio…"

Tobio tried to raise his head, so he could look at Hinata; he wanted so badly to see him, but it was too difficult. He relaxed, like every muscle in his body was telling him to do: sink beneath the surface and enjoy it, enjoy this feeling. It was more than just relief. It was happiness; the softest, heaviest, most hypnotic kind. Just like the hand stroking his cheek now, callused fingers gentle and comforting.

So just like he had in the warehouse, Tobio let himself be pulled under.

Chapter 15

Chapter Text

This time, Tobio slept for much longer. When he woke up, it was dark. His whole body was heavy and hard to move, and though he could tell he was in a bed, he was laying on something much firmer, and warmer than motel room sheets. His glasses had been removed, and the covers were pulled up over his shoulders. With great difficulty, he shifted.

"Welcome back," said a warm voice, and he realized he was curled on top of Hinata. He lifted his head up, startled.

Hinata was smiling at him. He looked less on edge and more mussed than usual and just—good.

"How long was I asleep?" Tobio asked groggily.

"Just a few hours," Hinata said.

"You didn't sleep?"

"I'm fine," Hinata said. "Someone had to keep watch."

"I could've stayed awake with you," Tobio admonished, with a huge yawn.

"You needed it," Hinata said.

Tobio squinted at him. "Did you have sex with me just so I'd take a nap?"

"Jesus, Kageyama," Hinata snorted. "No. But you got kidnapped, shot, and hit with a fair amount of emotional trauma. I thought you could use the rest."

Now that some of the fog was clearing from his head, Tobio could appreciate that he was right. His back ached sharply where he'd been hit, and there was a dull throbbing in his head. But more painful than any of that, if he thought back to the day's events…

He inhaled sharply, sitting up so fast it made his head spin. "Hinata… Grams, they said she—"

Hinata laid a hand against Tobio's cheek, and Tobio stilled. "I know," he said softly.

The glass wall Tobio had built up around the knowledge of what had happened shattered. He balled his hands into fists over Hinata's chest, grit his teeth, and still, it hurt. The tears came all at once, vision swimming, before they started to fall, hot and bitter.

"I'm sorry," Hinata said, pulling him close. "I'm so sorry."

"D-don't—" Tobio choked. "It's my—it's all my fault—"

"It's not," Hinata said. He threaded his fingers through Tobio's hair, rhythmic and steady. "I swear to you, it isn't. But I know how much it feels like it is."

"It doesn't just feel like it!" Tobio burst out, voice cracking. "If I—"

"If you'd done things differently, it wouldn't have happened," Hinata said.

"Yes! So how can you say—"

"Then why didn't you?"

Tobio swiped a hand furiously across his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Why didn't you do it different?" Hinata asked. "Or, why did you do what you did?"

"Because I thought—I thought…" Tobio stared at the sheets, too ashamed to meet Hinata's eyes. "I thought they couldn't track us. I thought I made sure—I thought it was impossible."

"Yeah," Hinata said. "And I thought that safe house was completely hidden. And Grams thought she could handle any threat that came at her." He put a hand below Tobio's chin, tipped his face up so they were looking into each other's eyes. "We were all wrong, Tobio. But nobody's at fault."

He let his head fall back against the pillow.

"If I'd chosen a different route, a different safe house, she'd still be alive." He let his breath out in a slow exhale. "But I wanted to see her. She chose to save my life when anyone else would've let me die."

Tobio pulled himself upright again, as Hinata put his hand over his eyes. He didn't fight when Tobio grabbed his wrist to pull it away. His eyes were too bright, not his usual sunshine beam, but distant and unfocused.

"It wasn't your fault, either," Tobio whispered.

Hinata laughed, but there was no humor to it. "Why do you think I'm trying so hard to convince you?"

Tobio lay back down, head on Hinata's chest. For a long time, they were quiet, Hinata's arms around Tobio, Tobio listening to the steady pulse of his heart.

"This is why you kept telling me not to get close," Tobio murmured eventually. "Because it—it hurts. If something happens."

"It wasn't only because of that," Hinata said.

Tobio frowned. "Then… why?"

Hinata was silent again, for such a long time that Tobio wondered if he'd pushed too far. But then Hinata took a deep breath and began to talk.

"I started working for RAPTOR when I was pretty young," Hinata said. "Younger than you, even. Before I joined, I had… nothing. Nobody. I never knew my mom, she died when I was a baby. My dad never got over it, so I never really knew him, either. He was in the military, and he didn't come back to Japan often—but he died when I was twelve in an accident. At least, that's what they told me at the time."

"He didn't actually die?" Tobio asked.

"No, he did," Hinata told him. "Only he wasn't just a military grunt. He worked for RAPTOR."

Tobio stared at him. "Seriously?"

"Yep," Hinata said. "They approached me when I was sixteen. For the past five years I'd kind of… fallen through the cracks. Definitely not in an entirely… legal capacity. I was good at it, though, even as a kid—slipping through the system, getting off the grid. Whatever you want to call it. Trying to stay alive, however I could manage it. Honestly, I thought I was hot sh*t." He laughed ruefully. "RAPTOR rooted me out like it was child's play."

"To arrest you?" Tobio asked.

"No, no," Hinata said, "I was chicken sh*t. They may as well not have wasted their time on me but—well, my dad. They thought I might have a similar… aptitude."

Tobio propped his chin on Hinata's chest, intrigued. "So you got recruited to be a superspy by being a delinquent kid?" He couldn't quite keep the awe out of his voice. That was so… action movie cool.

"They didn't recruit me right away," Hinata said. "They're not into the child soldier thing, fortunately. For a long time, they just… sent people to observe me. Get to know me, get in my good graces, find out what I was really like."

"Just like…"

"Just like I did with you," Hinata confirmed. "They had to see if I could handle the pressures of a job like this. I might've just been some dumbass kid with a death wish for all they knew. I didn't figure it out for months, either."

"What did you do when they told you?"

"Oh, I told them to f*ck off," Hinata said.

"What?!" Tobio sputtered. Even now, after everything that happened, he couldn't imagine turning down an offer like that. The resources, the opportunities, the chance to do work on the kind of grand scale he'd always wanted—on the world stage—it was too tempting.

"Well, yeah," Hinata said. "They told me everything. From my POV, it was like they'd gotten my dad killed. I think I always blamed him a little for not being there for me—but now I literally had someone to point the finger at."

"I guess…" Tobio said.

"You have to realize…" Hinata sighed. "I know you're so used to it you probably don't even have to think about it. But I never had anyone packing me Hawaiian shirts for my vacation because they hoped I'd have a good time. For a long time I was caught between telling myself I didn't care, and wanting to light the world on fire for never giving me the chance to have something to care about."

Tobio was quiet, tracing one of the pale scars across Hinata's shoulder. "But you said yes."

"Eventually, once I saw how much money they were offering," Hinata said, with a wry grin. "I thought, you know… I'd just see."

"And you liked it," Tobio said.

Hinata nodded. "It… surprised me."

"That you liked the job?"

"No… that I liked the people." When Tobio looked at him in confusion, he smiled faintly. "We had orientation, basic training, rookie housing… they threw me in with a bunch of other newbies and I suddenly had this… family. I went from having nobody, to being surrounded by this group of assholes I could never get away from, and the weirdest part was I liked them. I mean, a lot of it is probably psychological, you fight together, you bleed together, you get to where you feel like you're bound together. I'd never known what that was like before. Never had a family, never had people I cared about that much."

"But… that all sounds good," Tobio pointed out. It sounded like something out of a classic war film, fire-forged friends who all had each others' backs.

"It was good," Hinata said. "I had these two best friends… Izumi and Kouji. They joined around the same time I did, a little after me. So we were always stuck together." He gave a little laugh, fond this time. "It was probably HQ's way of making us learn to get along, but I would've liked them no matter what, I think. We pushed each other pretty hard… I never had people to challenge me like that before. I don't think I ever beat Izumi's shooting range scores, kid was a natural with a firearm. And Kouji was the only new recruit who could fight me to a standstill in hand-to-hand. So I always dragged them along for extra practice, sparring, shooting range, even after we were dead on our feet from training. Those times… they were some of the best."

Tobio felt a little flicker of jealousy, even though he knew that wasn't fair to Hinata. After all, Tobio still had his mom and dad, and he loved them, even if they weren't necessarily close. But he'd never had real, true friends, either.

"So what happened?"

Hinata sighed. He traced idle fingers over Tobio's back, and if Tobio didn't know better, he'd say Hinata wasn't just thinking of how to tell the story; he was hesitating.

"A little over a year in, we were past the baby ops," Hinata said. "They were starting to trust us with bigger sh*t, important sh*t. But that made it more dangerous. Up until that point, we'd handled everything they threw at us—we thought we were unstoppable." He swallowed. "We were wrong. We were so f*cking wrong.

"We got ambushed. Outnumbered, bad, and cornered. Of the entire team, only three of us made it out, and I was the only one who wasn't seriously injured. At that point, we had to cut our losses, get exfil from the safe house and lick our wounds, report back to HQ that the op was a failure."

"You said yourself that it's dangerous," Tobio told him. "You can't be the only person this happened to—"

"It doesn't end there," Hinata said, voice rough around the edges, and Tobio fell silent again. "It would be hours before they could extract us. HQ ordered us to sit tight and keep our heads down. I had orders. But the thing was—that wasn't just my team that got cut down. They were my friends. The family I never had."

Tobio had seen the look in Hinata's eyes after someone tried to hurt him. "What did you do?"

"Went back. Just me. They weren't expecting it, not after they wiped us out, and definitely not just one person. I was… it was suicide." His fingers tapped on Tobio's back, mindless. "I didn't care. I only knew I had to make them pay. So I killed them. I slaughtered them, down to the last man. It was supposed to be a non-violent operation—kill only if provoked. Well." He didn't need to state the obvious; he'd been f*cking provoked. "Got the intel we'd been sent to retrieve, too. Didn't really feel like an equal compensation."

"But you managed it," Tobio said. "That's something."

"It was something," Hinata agreed. "I told myself it was something. And then I got back to the safe house. And I—"

He cut off suddenly. Tobio looked up at him and saw Hinata was staring, staring and not really seeing. His jaw was clenched, and he'd pushed a hand into his hair and was gripping tight, so tight Tobio thought it must be painful.

"Hinata," he said softly. "You don't have to tell me."

Hinata dragged his hand the rest of the way through his hair and blinked up at the ceiling hard. "While I was hunting them, they were hunting us. When I got back to the safe house, it was a ruin. Nothing left but fire. And Izumi and Kouji were—they were—" This time he didn't finish. "I was the only one who made it back alive."

Tobio didn't know what to say. There was nothing he could say to that, to be any kind of comfort to something so painful, and so long past. He pulled himself up higher on the bed so that he was even with Hinata, rested his forehead against Hinata's temple and wrapped an arm across his chest.

"The thing is," Hinata said, voice gone quiet, "I got the job done. But if I'd followed orders—if I hadn't cared so f*cking much, hadn't lost it and gone running back there to—to get revenge, which didn't do a damn thing in the end—I'd've been with them. They were too hurt to fight back, but maybe I could have saved them."

"You might have been killed along with them," Tobio said.

"Maybe," Hinata said. "Maybe not. But now do you get it?" He turned and locked eyes with Tobio. "I know what it's really like. To have everything be your fault."

"Hinata, it's not…" Tobio whispered.

Hinata took his face in his hands, silencing him. "I am telling you this so you'll understand. I need you to trust me when I tell you—what happened to Grams was not because of you."

Tobio's eyes went hot and blurry immediately. Hinata pulled him close again, let him hide his face as the tears streamed down it. It felt like they might never stop. It felt like he might never stop shaking.

But he did. Eventually, he did.

"This is why… you don't like to get attached to people," Tobio said, voice no more than a harsh croak.

It wasn't just because it hurt if something happened. Hinata avoided it because it clouded judgment, caused rash decision-making—and deadly outcomes.

Hinata gazed steadily at him. "I try not to make it a habit."

Tobio bit his lip. It wasn't important, in the grand scheme of things… but he had to know. "Does that mean you're still scared of getting too close to me?"

"Yeah," Hinata said. "It does."

Tobio tried not to let his feelings show on his face when he said, "Oh." Knowing what he did, what right did he have to demand it of Hinata anymore? The thought that it actually frightened Hinata, who was never afraid, was enough to make him shove down his own sadness. How could he risk either of them being hurt like that?

But then Hinata turned Tobio's face toward him, gripping his chin with sure, calloused fingers. "Tobio," he said, "that doesn't mean I don't want to try."

He kissed Tobio again, soft and careful, and Tobio fell into it, because he was relieved, because he was grateful that Hinata didn't want to give up. After everything, Hinata wanted to try—for him.

And that had to be worth the risk.

*

They left before the crack of dawn, the sky overhead still a deep, near-night blue. Tobio had tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes several times already, without much success.

"Up and at 'em, Kageyama-kun," Hinata said, entirely too chipper for the hour of day. He had bundled Tobio up with his backpack into a nondescript car (again, presumably stolen), a protective hand on his back, making sure Tobio's hood was pulled up and obscuring his features.

Tobio was exhausted, and all he'd done during this whirlwind of days had been follow along as he was shunted from place to place. When looked at Hinata closely, the brittle edges of his smile were all too visible; so were the shadows under his eyes. It was Hinata who never slept, who'd done all the planning, all the fighting. It was Hinata who'd lost a close friend. He had to be reaching his limit.

Protective instinct of his own spiked through Tobio. He needed to find a way to put an end to things, soon.

They drove in silence for awhile, Tobio too sleepy and Hinata too focused to make conversation. They hadn't made contact with HQ after they had been ambushed. Hinata's phone had, of course, been taken when he'd been captured and it wasn't safe to try and get in touch from a non-secured line. He was hoping to do that at another safe house, though they'd need to be careful, Hinata had said. There was no telling how many ways they'd been compromised, from where they were being watched.

The thought rankled at Tobio. It was the same feeling he'd had after they'd fled the airport—that there was something he was missing, something that might help him slide the last puzzle piece into place. But it eluded him.

"You okay?"

Hinata's voice cut into the quiet. Tobio glanced at him, at his bruised face, the defined shape of his jaw. Even with what felt like every emotion at once whistling around inside of him, he still had the strong urge to reach out and trace that line.

"Yeah," he said.

"Not still beating yourself up?"

Tobio grimaced. "I'm…" He was what? Trying not to beat himself up? Trying not to let himself forget. He settled for: "Trying."

Hinata nodded, eyes fixed on the road. "I know. Believe me, I know exactly where you're at right now."

"What you said before… it helped," Tobio told him. He didn't want Hinata to think he had told him all of that, what had to be his worst memory, for nothing. Just to try and save him from his own guilty conscience. It had meant the world.

It was just hard.

But Hinata took one hand off the wheel, and found Tobio's without even looking. He just held it for a moment, grip firm and secure, before gripping the wheel again.

"Sometimes it's as simple as being in the wrong place at the wrong time," Hinata said. "Misunderstanding what you think you know."

Tobio blinked. "Yeah…"

Hinata sighed. "I thought I was hunting them, while they were hunting us."

Something jiggled loose.

"Wrong place," Tobio murmured.

"Right."

"No—" Tobio shook his head jerkily, squinting. "No…"

Hinata shot him a glance. "Tobio? Are you actually okay? You look like you're rebooting."

He was. He was resetting his memory, flushing all the old sh*t away, all the distractions that had been piling up for days and days. He needed to clear it all out. There was something he had to remember.

Wrong place… wrong time…

Hinata's words echoed around in his head, something about them had triggered this, but what? What was it?

Hunting us…

How had they laid that trap for them? They must have known Tobio would use CITI, had laid out all the necessary pieces for him to track them. But he'd come up with that coding on the fly; they couldn't have been sure he was tracking them—or exactly when he and Hinata would show up, unless they were monitoring his usage of the program, and that was impossible. He would have detected any hacks in the software, he was confident of that.

Wrong place…

Unless it wasn't the software.

"f*ck me," he whispered.

"What?" Hinata asked sharply.

"They didn't hack the software," he said. "They're hardwired into my computer."

Hinata sucked in a breath. "How?"

Tobio closed his eyes, put his hands on either side of his head, and pressed. Think back, think… when could they have—

Wrong time.

His eyes shot open. "The rehearsal."

"What rehearsal?" Hinata asked, baffled.

"The conference rehearsal. The practice we had! When we were all setting up—" He remembered it clear as day, all of a sudden. His nerves, the trouble he'd had setting his laptop up for the presentation. The hotel technician who'd taken over for him.

The hotel technician who wasn't supposed to be there.

"There was a tech at the meeting room. I heard our coordinator arguing with hotel staff about it—apparently we never asked for one. And the hotel staff was confused… because they never sent one. He was one of them!" He swiveled to face Hinata fully. "That's when they got CITI."

No wonder he'd never found any trace of them using a backdoor—they'd walked right in through the front. It had only been a lapse of a few minutes on Tobio's part, but it had been all the opening they'd needed. This was how they'd found the house in Thailand. It was how they'd known about the trace, and how they'd known Tobio and Hinata were in Paris.

"It'll take me time to figure out a hack like this," he said. What he had to say next pained him, but it was for the sake of their survival. "We need to dump my laptop. If it has a tracker on it—"

But Hinata shook his head. "Wait," he said. "If we were being tracked by GPS, we would have been caught and captured a hundred times over by now."

"What if they just didn't want us to figure out how they were doing it?" Tobio asked.

"Why go through the trouble? The resources?" Hinata tapped his fingers on the wheel. "That's why the attack in Thailand happened days after we left. And why the terrorists needed to lead us to them."

It made some sense. And besides…

"If we don't tip them off, they won't feel the need to change their behavior patterns." Hinata furrowed his brow. "Which means we understand more about them than they do about us at this point. The only problem is… I don't know how you're going to use CITI freely anymore, and it's kind of a vital part of our whole 'Stop the Terrorists' plan."

"Oh," Tobio said, "I can use my app."

Hinata was silent for a long moment. Eventually, just his gaze slid over to stare at Tobio out of the corners of his eyes.

"You can use your what." It wasn't a question.

"My app?" Tobio repeated.

"You have a CITI app?" Hinata demanded.

"It's really rough," Tobio said. "And I can't do as much with it as I can the full program, obviously—"

"Who else knows about this?"

"Just you," Tobio said. "I never told anyone else I was working on it."

It had been his biggest secret. Somehow, it felt alright to tell Hinata, circ*mstances notwithstanding.

"Well," Hinata said, and then he exhaled again. "Well."

"What?" Tobio asked warily.

The ghost of a grin flickered into view on Hinata's face, like a battered neon sign. "I think it's time for the hunted to become the hunters."

Chapter 16

Chapter Text

The Loire Valley, Central France

A new country meant another long drive, it seemed. Unsurprisingly, Hinata got them out of the city as soon as possible, away from the packed roads lined with tall buildings, windows dark and all of them looking like potential hiding spots for their enemies to watch them from.

"Where are we headed?" Tobio asked, as the landscape opened up all around them, giving way to rolling green fields. In the distance he could see a quaint little town climbing up the side of a hill, brown roofs leading the way to the hilltop where a magnificent stone structure with round turrets crowned the scene.

"Not that far out of Paris," Hinata told him. "I have some… friends, who live in Loire Valley. We'll be staying with them."

"At a safe house?"

"Well… it's safe, yeah," Hinata said.

Tobio looked at him. "And you have friends living there?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Will it be safe for them?" Tobio asked. Hinata stared at him and he dropped his gaze to his lap, fingers worrying at the hem of his shirt.

He remembered what Hinata had said about the way things worked, about how people understood the necessary risks. But it didn't stop him from feeling that he was once again bringing danger to someone's doorstep. Grams was clearly no stranger to the business, but in the end it hadn't mattered.

A warm hand slid against the back of his neck to steady him. "Don't worry," Hinata said. He squeezed, and Tobio exhaled slowly. "There's a couple things different about this place."

"Like what?"

"For one, it's not, strictly speaking, company approved."

Tobio turned wide eyes on him. "Isn't that worse?"

"Not in this case." Hinata laughed a little. "Our normal hideouts may have been compromised—this one isn't on the list."

"But that means they're civilians?"

"Technically, yes."

"Technically?"

"They're retired," Hinata said. "Or 'on leave' for now, I guess. But they're two of the most capable field agents RAPTOR's ever had."

That was a bit more reassuring, at least. "Will they be okay with us just showing up to drag them into this, though?" Tobio asked.

"If I know them, and I like to think I do," Hinata said, "they'll already be expecting us."

He didn't say much more about it for the rest of the drive. In fact, Tobio started to get the sense that he was acting a bit nervous.

He decided to let Hinata carry on being weird and turned his attention to his CITI app. There was a lot of optimization to be done before he could hope to go up against the stolen copy of his original program without getting traced or shut out.

Engrossed as he was with CITI, Tobio hardly noticed an hour had passed before he looked up and noticed they were turning off the highway towards a little hamlet, one of many they'd passed along the road. Brown-roofed houses nestled up against the tree-lined roads at the water's edge in a manner that could only be described as cozy. And lording over the scene, perched on the hill overlooking the Loire River, was what Tobio could only call a literal castle—turrets and all. It was as though they'd driven right into a picturesque fantasy film, and kings and knights might still reside within its walls to that day.

He was so preoccupied with staring at it that he didn't realize they were headed right towards it until the last possible second.

"Hinata…"

"Uh huh?"

Tobio squinted at him. "Do your friends live in a castle?"

"Yes," Hinata said, fingers tapping on the steering wheel. "Except, please do not call it a castle to their faces, or we'll never hear the end of it."

"Why not?"

"It is, as I've been informed multiple times," Hinata said, with an unreadable expression, "a chateau."

They were navigating up a long, winding, cobbled drive now, the greenery perfectly trimmed and lush on either side. Tobio had almost expected a drawbridge or something similar at the end, but they were instead greeted by a towering iron gate that looked as though it could keep out a whole host of invaders.

Hinata hopped out of the car, and Tobio watched with no small amount of nervousness as he strode up to the gates like he owned the place. He stopped and stood there with his fists on his hips, peering up at the trees. Tobio followed his line of sight to see—ah, yes, there… and there. Cameras, the monitoring light on all of them blinking red.

Cautiously, he opened the car door. "Hinata," he hissed. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to get them to let us in," Hinata said. He stared contemplatively at the gate for a few more seconds.

Then he bent at the knees and leaped straight up into the air, an astonishing height, to grab the top of the gate with his hands. Tobio gaped.

"Are you crazy?!"

"We can't—wait out here forever—" Hinata said, as he effortlessly hauled himself up over the top of the gate. Tobio had to wonder what the point of it was, before realizing that there were probably very few people who could accomplish what Hinata had just done.

He watched as Hinata dropped down on the other side of the gate. Tobio abandoned his post in the car, scrambling closer to peer through the bars.

"Get back in the car," Hinata said calmly, straightening his hoodie.

"You're trespassing!" Tobio protested.

Hinata shot him a withering look. "After everything, that's what you have a problem with?"

"You can't break into your friends' house!"

"Would you get back in the car already?"

"Isn't there a doorbell or something?!"

"Tobio, seriously, it's not safe—"

KRA-KOW!

The sound split the air like thunder. Hinata—instead of running—immediately flung himself prone onto the ground as something too fast to see whizzed over his head. Tobio yelped and leaped back from the gate. The next second, as a deep rumbling he hadn't noticed before grew in volume, a figure appeared.

Not just any figure—they thundered into view astride a striking, dappled grey horse at a blistering gallop, decked out in full riding gear. As soon as they reached Hinata, however, they slowed to a trot, circling him like a hunter cornering its next meal. Tobio realized they were holding a rifle.

Not good.

"Waitwaitwait!" he cried out, throwing caution to the winds. It wouldn't do them a damn bit of good if Hinata's friends shot him before they recognized him. "Don't kill him, that's—"

"Shouyou?"

The rider lowered his rifle. He looked over at Tobio, and then back at Hinata.

Hinata sat up slowly, hands raised, and gave a tentative wave. "Hi, Oikawa-san."

The man in question, Oikawa, let out a bark of laughter. "So." He tipped the rifle back to rest on his shoulder and grinned at them both. "You finally decided to pay us another visit, hmm?"

*

They were quickly ushered inside after that. Oikawa touched a finger to his Bluetooth earpiece and spoke into it, and the gate swung open seconds later. Hinata got back behind the wheel to drive the car the rest of the way to the chateau; Oikawa rode beside them on his mare, whose name they soon learned was Giselle.

"You really didn't realize I was coming?" Hinata asked. He had the window rolled down so they could talk.

"We knew you were somewhere in the area," Oikawa said. "Which means so are the people chasing you. I wasn't expecting you to sneak in without warning."

"Told you," Tobio said.

"I almost shot you!"

"I'm aware!" Hinata said, glaring at Tobio. "Still, got your attention, didn't it?"

"You realize if I'd been trying to hit you," Oikawa said, "you'd be dead."

"But I'm not!" Hinata said cheerfully.

Oikawa huffed. He was an extremely handsome man, older than Hinata, but his mannerisms reminded Tobio of the popular kids from his high school classes. Now he was closer, Tobio could see he wore a silver ring on a chain around his neck. "You're in trouble, aren't you?"

"When am I not?"

"Serious trouble," Oikawa clarified. "Or else you wouldn't be here, and you would know better than to risk me putting a bullet in your head."

Hinata sighed. The mask of cheeriness fell away, and he rubbed a hand over his face. "Yeah."

"Well?"

"You been following Malaysia at all?"

Oikawa turned wide eyes on the two of them. "So that was you?" When Hinata nodded, he gave a low whistle. "We wondered, but… sh*t."

Tobio leaned across Hinata to look up at him. "Can you help us?"

Oikawa gave him a funny look. "Shouyou-chan, I was being polite and refraining from asking… but who is this sad, scruffy child?"

"I'm not—" Tobio started to protest, but Hinata cut him off.

"He is a long story," he said. "It'd be nice to only have to tell it once."

Oikawa smiled thinly. "I can't deny that I feel rather offended that you don't see fit to fill me in immediately, as your oldest acquaintance—"

"Senpai…" Hinata groaned. At this, Tobio's ears perked up. So this Oikawa person was Hinata's senior…?

Oikawa held up a hand. "Fine, fine. I am nothing if not a gracious host, you know! And I can see you're tired. Let's save the introductions for when we are all together."

"Thanks," Hinata said.

He smiled at Oikawa, and the other man returned it; beneath the prickliness, there was something very warm, very familiar. Tobio looked back and forth between them and blinked.

Hinata cleared his throat. "So, how's the vineyard?"

"Oh, flourishing. You know, we have our own vintage now? It's been selling quite well internationally…"

The interior of the home—castle, as Tobio was still calling it in his mind—was as impressive as the grounds. A valet was waiting at the roundabout at the front of the chateau to park the car after Hinata and Tobio got their belongings out. They weren't carrying much, but more staff materialized from nowhere to take it from them. Oikawa, meanwhile, dismounted his horse, which was led off by a stablehand. It was all extremely grand and overwhelming, so much so that Tobio nearly missed the unobtrusive butler who took Oikawa's rifle and handed him a smart-looking cane instead.

"I've increased security around the perimeter," Oikawa told them, as they climbed the steps up to the gleaming double doors. Now that he was off the horse, his gait was loping and uneven; he had a limp, Tobio realized. That was why he used the cane. "If anyone suspicious even enters the commune, we'll know."

"Thanks," Hinata said, the relief in his voice undisguised. "I, um… I know this is all pretty sudden. And after I left last time, I—" He glanced sideways at Tobio, uncomfortable. "I mean, I know you have no reason to help us—"

Oikawa turned to stare at him with an expression that reminded Tobio, distinctly and fondly, of his own mother. "Shouyou," he said, "if you think we wouldn't help you because of anything that's happened between us, you're an idiot."

Hinata winced. "I know."

Who's we? Tobio desperately wanted to ask. And what happened?

"Which isn't to say you aren't an idiot," a new voice said. "But we were already aware of that."

Descending the grand staircase of the entrance hall was another man. He was tall, like Oikawa, and similarly handsome; but in direct contrast to Oikawa's general air of put-together-ness, his fair hair was a mess, and he had a plush sleepwear robe wrapped around himself. Next to Oikawa, in the crisp white pants and tall black boots of his riding ensemble, he looked particularly disheveled.

"Sorry to barge in on you like this, Miya-san," Hinata apologized.

"Oh, I don't mind that," the man drawled. His Japanese held the faintest hint of an accent; not foreign, but regional. "Wakin' up to my entire household on high alert with no prior warning is always my favorite thing. Who's this?"

He was referring to Tobio, who was so flustered by the combined force of the two men before him that he could do nothing but blurt out, "Kageyama Tobio!"

They both blinked at him, before turning in unison to Hinata for a better explanation.

"Right. Tobio, this is Oikawa Tooru and Miya Atsumu," Hinata said, clapping a reassuring hand on Tobio's shoulder. "And this is Kageyama Tobio! He can take over the world from his phone."

"Not from my phone," Tobio snapped, embarrassed. "I told you, the app is a lot less powerful—"

Miya held up a hand. He wore a silver band around his ring finger. "I am gonna need a drink for this."

"It's the middle of the afternoon," Oikawa scoffed, but he followed Miya anyway, beckoning the other two along.

They wound up in an enormous, gleaming kitchen, where Miya ended up pouring both himself and Hinata strong drinks. Oikawa poured himself a tall glass of some kind of fragrant, fancy-looking bubbly water, while Tobio himself settled for green tea. It was a type he'd never heard of, but it smelled heavenly, and something about having the hot mug in front of him to cup his hands around was grounding.

He was mostly quiet as he listened to Hinata recount the events up until that point. He started with the Grand Hyatt, and meeting Tobio, though he left out some of the more scandalous details. Oikawa and Miya didn't seem to find it odd that he'd been under surveillance; in fact, they took the entirety of the shocking events that had occurred in stride, only pausing to ask the occasional question when they needed a detail clarified. The only reaction either of them had was when Hinata informed them of the betrayal in Paris. Oikawa swore softly under his breath, and Miya clenched his jaw.

"And that's what led us here," Hinata said, to wrap things up. "I just… needed somewhere I knew would be safe for him, while we plan our next move."

Oikawa put a hand over his heart. "So you came to me for help! I'm touched."

Miya gave him a withering look. "If anythin', he came to me."

Oikawa sniffed. "There's no need to get touchy about it, Atsu-chan."

"Who's touchy?!"

"Oh, very well," Oikawa relented. "Us, then."

"Yeah, us," Miya said, but he seemed pacified. "First things first, you two need to see a doctor."

"Oh, no," Hinata said, waving his hands. "We'll be fine—"

"I'm not askin' you, I'm telling you." Miya knocked back the rest of his drink. "I'll call our physician. He lives nearby, so it won't be any trouble."

"You said Tobio got shot?" Oikawa murmured, sharp eyes trained on the two of them. "He's not an agent, Hinata. You can't treat him like one."

At this, Tobio finally stirred. "I'm not yet," he said, trying not to glare at Oikawa, and failing. "But I don't need to be babied."

"I wasn't suggesting that, Tobio-chan," Oikawa said. He smiled, but it didn't seem like it was meant to be friendly. "I was merely reminding Shouyou that he should try and be more mindful."

"I'm fine—"

Hinata reached out over and put a reassuring hand against the back of his head, ruffling his hair briefly. "No, he's right." He shot Tobio a small smile. "We'll take you up on that offer, thanks." Sensing Tobio was on the verge of arguing further, he added, "I do want to make sure you're okay. Now that we're here, we should."

Tobio nodded. Hinata had taken the worst of the punishment thus far; it would be good for someone to finally check on him, as well.

"Good," Miya said. "We'll get you settled in the meantime."

They trailed behind Oikawa as he led them to where they would be staying. Tobio couldn't stop his head from swiveling; if he had thought the Grand Hyatt was luxurious, it was nothing compared to this. He'd never seen fountains inside a house before. The whole thing was a mix of classic 16th century architecture and modern design ("Surely an interior decorating faux pas," Oikawa confided to Tobio, "but I could never live somewhere with a color palette as drab as the European middle ages").

"How're the others on the squad?" Hinata inquired.

"Oh, fine," Oikawa said. "Last I heard, Iwa-chan was breaking up a smuggling ring in some tiny unheard of country… with Ushiwaka of all people. Can you believe it? How dull."

It didn't sound dull to Tobio, but before he could interject, they had reached the door to their rooms.

"Hinata, here's your old room," Oikawa said. "And Tobio, you'll be right across the hall—"

He cut off, eyebrows raised. It took Tobio a second to realize he'd seized Hinata's hand and was holding it as tight as possible.

"I'm staying with Hinata," Tobio announced.

Hinata blinked at him, and for a moment, Tobio was worried about what he might say.

Then Hinata nodded. "Well, you heard him."

Oikawa shrugged, the picture of nonchalance. "Suit yourself! It makes no difference to me." He headed back down the hall with a wave, but paused to throw one last remark over his shoulder. "I do hope it won't impact your ability to do your job, though."

Tobio felt, more than saw, Hinata cringe beside him. "What does that mean?" he asked nervously.

"It's really nothing," Hinata told him. When he caught sight of Tobio's expression, he sighed and squeezed Tobio's hand. "It has nothing to do with you. I promise."

"That doesn't mean I don't want to know," Tobio grumbled. "What's going on? Why are they both…"

"Like that?" Hinata asked, heading into the other room to grab Tobio's stuff and move it to the other room. When Tobio nodded, he laughed. "It's a long story… but also, they both really are just like that. They're… odd."

"Like you," Tobio pointed out.

"And you," Hinata said. "Kinda have to be to get into this line of work."

"So what happened?"

Hinata groaned. "Why do you assume something happened?"

"They're obviously pissed at you."

"Yes, and shockingly, it's none of your business why."

"Maybe not," Tobio said, "but I don't like it when you keep sh*t from me."

Hinata thunked his backpack down by the bed and huffed. He looked very young and extremely petulant in that moment.

"I'm not keeping things from you," he said. "At least, not work-related stuff."

"They were agents with you before, though," Tobio said. "Weren't they?"

"Yeah, but, that's not what caused the issue," Hinata said.

"What did?"

Hinata flung himself onto the bed and pressed his palms to his eyes. After a long silence, he mumbled something Tobio couldn't quite make out.

"What?"

"I hit it then quit it, Tobio, what do you want me to say?!" Hinata sputtered, finally. "I'm not exactly dying to talk about this! We had an—intimate relationship, and then I just… I left."

Tobio gaped at him. "Wait… you and Oikawa-san…?"

"Uh huh."

Tobio squinted. "And Miya-san?"

Hinata just sighed again. "Yes."

"And they both know?" Tobio demanded.

"I would imagine so," Hinata said. "Seeing as they're married."

"Wait—" Tobio did a double take between Hinata and the door, as though expecting their hosts to walk in at any second. "What?!"

"You couldn't tell from the rings?" Hinata asked.

Well, now that he said it, it seemed obvious. Tobio could feel himself flushing.

"You mean you're a homewrecker?!"

"No," Hinata said, flinging a pillow at his head.

"So you slept with them before they were married?"

"Not exactly…"

"Hinata!"

Hinata made a gesture with his hands that looked a bit like he was trying to strangle the air. "They were both aware!"

"How do you know that?"

"Because," Hinata said, drawing out his words very slowly, "it's pretty hard to miss after you've f*cked both of them at the same time."

Tobio gasped, scandalized. "You can do that?"

"Oh boy," Hinata muttered.

"Why did you leave?" Tobio asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

Hinata's annoyance faded out to something distinctly more glum. "Because all I'm good for is hurting people, or getting people hurt."

Before Tobio could ask anything further (he got the feeling Hinata wasn't going to elaborate on it himself), there was a knock on their door. At Hinata's response to come in, Miya stuck his head in to inform them of the doctor's arrival.

After a thorough check-up, Tobio was deemed to be no worse for wear aside from his various bruises, the worst of which was the huge black and blue mark on his back. Hinata's injuries were slightly more severe, but all things considered he appeared to have gotten off miraculously easy. The doctor had surprisingly few questions about how they'd gotten hurt, although Tobio suspected that he was very well paid not to ask. He prescribed both of them bed rest, which they readily agreed to (despite it being unclear when, exactly, they were supposed to find time to do that).

For the time being, however, Oikawa and Miya were letting them stay until they got their bearings. They needed to figure out their next move, and it would have to be a big one.

"They won't let you get away again," Oikawa theorized, staring grimly at a map of Paris.

They were eating a late lunch, food spread out haphazardly across a table that had been more devoted to their work than eating. Maps of different areas of France were strewn across the surface, along with printouts of hotspot areas from Tobio's CITI app. He hadn't touched his computer; they'd all agreed that it should be avoided until the last possible moment.

"We can't afford to let them escape, either," Hinata said. "They're gearing up for something here in France. They're going to be desperate after failing to catch Tobio, again, and now they know he won't help them. He's the key to all this… the one who can bring it all crashing down around them." He looked up at Tobio seriously. Tobio regretted that he'd chosen that moment to take a huge bite of his sandwich—it really ruined the dramatic timing. "I don't think they'll plan on letting you live anymore."

Tobio gulped down his sandwich mouthful. "Fine by me," he said. "Maybe I don't plan on letting them live either."

Hinata shot him an unimpressed look. "Fortunately for them, RAPTOR will handle that part, while you will be remaining somewhere out of harm's way."

Tobio opened his mouth to argue, and closed it again at Hinata's my word is law expression. Given he was still on thin ice for letting himself get shot, he decided to cut his losses.

"Fine," he grumbled.

"Good," Hinata said.

"Obedient one you've got there," Miya said. He was very good at smirking infuriatingly, Tobio was coming to discover. "You weren't nearly so well-behaved yourself."

"What do you mean?" Tobio asked interestedly.

"Not important enough to focus on right now!" Hinata chirped quickly. "Oikawa-san, you said you thought you'd heard of some suspicious activity happening in this area of the city…?"

But Miya's smile was knowing enough that later on that night, Tobio found himself gravitating towards it, after many hours of grueling yet fruitless searching for clues about their enemies whereabouts.

A much needed break had been called, and after learning Tobio was a film buff, Oikawa had become smugly insistent upon showing off their home theater—which was huge enough, in Tobio's opinion, to be called an actual theater, only much more comfortable and with a better offering of snacks. The room itself was two stories high with actual balcony seating, and the plush first floor seats converted into soft lounges, each piled with blankets and pillows.

"Are you alright, Tobio-kun?" Oikawa actually asked in concern at the look on Tobio's face upon entering the room.

"I think he's processing," Hinata explained, with an amused expression that Tobio chose to ignore.

He was still processing as he sank down gingerly into one of the cloud-like couches as Hinata and Oikawa argued over which movie to watch. Tobio figured he'd be happy with whatever they chose; he was a film buff, not a snob, and just getting to watch in such a room was enough for him. He still could hardly believe they were inside somebody's house.

He tensed slightly when Miya hopped onto the seat next to him. "Yo, Tobio-kun!"

Tobio nodded back cautiously. He wasn't sure what to make of Miya yet. Or Oikawa, for that matter; but where Oikawa had an undercurrent of politeness to his mysterious air, Miya patently did not.

"Sooo," Miya continued, as though Tobio had indicated he was in any way open to conversation, "how are you likin' life with Shouyou?"

Tobio looked at him in confusion. "I've only known him a couple weeks."

"Bet it feels like longer, though." Miya co*cked his head. "You certainly follow his orders well enough already."

Tobio shrugged. "I'm still not really sure how well I know him. But I'm not upset that we met. Even if it was because of all this."

"He does have that effect on people," Miya agreed.

Tobio chanced a glance in his direction. "Even you and Oikawa-san?"

Miya laughed, and it was only a little unkind. "Kid, you have no idea."

Oikawa and Hinata chose that moment to crash down next to them, loudly. The lights dimmed as they announced they'd finally amicably settled on an old James Bond movie.

"A little on the nose, isn't it?" Miya said, as Oikawa jostled him around in an attempt to get comfortable.

"It's for Tobio-chan's benefit!" Oikawa insisted. "This way we can explain how we really do things, unlike in all these movies he's been rotting his young, impressionable mind with!"

"My mind's not rotting," Tobio protested.

He couldn't help but feel secretly pleased when Hinata scooted onto the couch on the other side of him. He was glad he'd seen the film (Goldfinger) a number of times already—the other three were very talkative movie watchers, while he himself normally preferred silence. They also forgot to turn on Japanese subtitles, but he already knew most of the plot, fortunately.

And he had to admit he was extremely distracted by how warm Hinata was curled up against his back with an arm draped over his waist. Tobio, who had previously believed himself immune to the charms of cuddling, now found himself proven drastically wrong. Hinata seemed fairly engrossed in squawking excited commentary or laughing at some of the more ridiculous "spy" aspects of the film, which left Tobio lots of room to trace a finger over the calloused lines of Hinata's hands. He hadn't realized until just then that his own hands were larger; but Hinata's still felt tougher, stronger… sexier, somehow.

He burrowed into their blanket and Hinata pressed a soft little kiss to the top of his head, not even pausing in his arguing with Miya over which Bond car was the coolest. Tobio felt like he was glowing bright enough that it probably showed through the blanket.

It was a much more comfortable evening than Tobio could have imagined having, even twenty-four hours ago. Of course, a day ago they'd been hoping to be out of this mess by now, or at least see a clear path through. Now they just felt deeper in it than ever, but at least things felt relatively safe, for the time being. He supposed this was what it probably felt like to work with RAPTOR when the mission hadn't gone completely sideways in the worst way possible; Miya and Oikawa may not technically be agents, but former agents with a frightening amount of wealth and influence was surely the next best thing.

"What did you mean when you said Hinata wasn't well-behaved earlier?" he asked.

"Oh, that," Miya said with obvious relish.

"Shhh!" Hinata said. "I can't hear the movie!"

"You've been talking the whole time," Tobio growled, kicking at his ankles.

"Little Shouyou-kun was always turnin' up where he didn't belong," Miya recounted. "That's how we met him, you know. He literally stowed away on an aircraft, turned up in… oh, where was it—"

"Istanbul," Oikawa said.

Miya snapped his fingers. "Istanbul, on a job he definitely was not assigned on, with a senior team he definitely was not ready to join."

"I was ready!" Hinata yelped. "I should've been on that mission!"

"I really should have just tied you up and left you in the plane," Oikawa said.

"I offered to kill 'im," Miya added.

"But you didn't!" Hinata reminded them. "Kageyama, don't listen to them, they're trying to make me look bad!"

"What happened after that?" Tobio asked, fascinated. He couldn't imagine Hinata doing something so impulsively reckless. Hinata didn't even let him fight random sailors on ships when they deserved it.

Oikawa sighed. "He managed not to get himself killed."

"I saved your life!" Hinata crowed. "They made me take up a covering position because they thought I was gonna do something stupid—"

"Whyever could we have thought that?" Oikawa asked dryly.

"So I was stuck like a mile away, but then I saw there was a sniper on the roof across from the building Oikawa-san and Ushijima-san were going to infiltrate, and nobody else realized it! So I tried to radio them, but they were jamming our comms!"

"Yep," Miya said, "so instead of doing the sensible thing and sendin' up a signal with the flare gun we left him—"

"That would've blown the entire mission!" Hinata said. "And I was good at climbing."

"He's good at climbing, he says!" Oikawa put a hand over his eyes. "So he sneaks all the way around to the sniper's position—never mind the fact that if he encountered any enemies it would've blown the mission anyway."

"But I took out the sniper," Hinata finished proudly. "Who totally would've shot you if I hadn't, so you're welcome."

Tobio found it somewhat unfair that Hinata's extreme rashness seemed to have paid off for him in such a heroic fashion. "Did he get in trouble?"

"Oh, loads," Hinata said. "They almost kicked me out of RAPTOR, but Tooru and Atsumu convinced them not to in the end."

"At great cost to my sanity," Oikawa said, "given I had to agree to take on your training in exchange for them not sending you packing."

Hinata clapped his hands together in front of his face. "Thank you very much, senpai!"

All of them were laughing at that point, and Tobio had to wonder what could have happened between them to make their initial reception so uncomfortable. But the movie credits were starting to roll, and it seemed like the cue for bedtime had come.

"Does anything that happens in those movies ever happen to you guys?" Tobio asked, curious. Despite trying to pass off their movie-watching as educational, not a lot of actual educating had occurred.

"Please," Oikawa scoffed, "our lives are far more exciting."

"I did have a plane decompress on me after one of the windows got shot out once," Miya recalled. "But it got shot from outside the plane."

"What about…" Tobio thought back through the movie, "something like wearing a disguise under your clothes to sneak into a fancy party?"

"Hmmm…" Hinata tapped his chin. "Well, there was one time I had to wear this mascot outfit—"

"Wait," Oikawa said, sitting bolt upright. "The banquet."

"Which banquet?" Miya and Hinata both echoed.

"The French-American Foundation Leadership Banquet!"

"We've never been to that one," Miya said, confused.

"Not yet," Oikawa said, "but I bet you we need to show up at this year's."

The cheerfulness in Hinata's expression was fading, to be replaced by alertness. "When's it supposed to take place?"

Oikawa met his eyes. "Four days from today."

"And who generally attends this banquet?"

"All sorts of people," Oikawa said. "Industry experts, ambassadors, politicians, royals…"

"In other words…" Hinata started to say slowly.

And Tobio caught on to what they were saying. "It'd be the perfect place to take over a country."

"Possibly two countries," Oikawa said grimly. "Depending on American attendees."

Miya gave a low whistle. "Now that's an opportunity if there ever was one."

Hinata nodded. "It looks like we're not getting much sleep tonight. Tobio—we need every bit of surveillance you can get on the venue, and on everyone who's been in and out of there the past month."

"It'll take longer with the app," Tobio warned him. Even so, he could feel a buzz of excitement and nerves humming under his skin at the possibility that they might have a lead.

"Do your best," Hinata said. "Oikawa—can I bother you for records of every guest attending and every employee working that event? And we're going to need to be on the attendee list."

"Somewhat beneath my skills, but lord knows we can't trust Atsumu to do it," Oikawa said.

"You little piece a' sh—"

"Miya-san!" Hinata cut in. "We need communications with venue staff, private, business, everything. We need to sift it for anything that looks suspicious."

"I knew you were going to be a detriment to my sleeping schedule," Miya complained.

"What sleeping schedule?" Oikawa asked.

"And one other thing!" Hinata said. He gave them an endearing, winning smile. "We're gonna need a nice suit for Kageyama."

All three of them turned to look at Tobio.

"Oh, that," Oikawa said.

"That we can do," Miya added.

Somehow, this made Tobio feel even more nervous than the prospect of infiltrating the banquet.