Summary: Hinata has always been the sun. Even someone like Oikawa can't resist his light.

a/n: a three-part love story, told from three different perspectives. each one can be read as a standalone. kagehina is the endgame, but this part is very oihina-centric. it takes place around chapter 371 of the manga, when hinata and oikawa meet up in brazil.

i'm super new to hq and only just recently finished reading and watching it, so i really hope you enjoy my tiny contribution to this incredible fandom!

stepping stones

part one — fleeting summer

[ oi | atsu | kage ] hina

Of all the places Tooru thought he might run into Hinata Shouyou, a random beach in Brazil isn't one of them.

Even more than that, he never thought Hinata would be so glad to see him. Like Tooru is some sort of angel or hero or amazing deity he believes.

The moment they cross paths, it's like a brilliant star rises in Hinata's eyes, and suddenly he's so happy, so delighted, wanting to know all about Tooru's adventures and hear all about his accomplishments and how's Argentina? What's the foreign league like? Oh, can they play volleyball together, pretty please, that would be so amazing—to play with the Grand King! How cool!—and Hinata sounds like he's never wanted anything in his life more.

It's so startling that for a moment Tooru truly forgets to breathe.

Back in high school, they'd been rivals on the court. Enemies. Tooru had spent every single moment analyzing Hinata's weaknesses and finding ways to exploit them.

But one thing Tooru seemed to forget was the fact that Hinata didn't think that way. His style was never to take advantage of his opponents and climb higher on their remains. He just wanted to do his best and have it measure up against others at their best. He loved to fight people at their strongest, even if it was harder that way, even if it meant sometimes he wouldn't win. Straightforward in a way Tooru has always looked down on in court but envied deeply when off it.

Hinata is good. A good player, a good person.

No wonder Kageyama loved him so much. It's impossible not to bloom under Hinata's neverending light.

"Oh, you think you can take me on, do you?" Tooru croons when Hinata begs him to play a game. "You've gotten really cocky there, haven't you, Chibi-chan."

Tooru then proceeds to fall flat on his face the first time he tries to spike a ball.

Hinata laughs so hard he has to physically curl up on the sand as Tooru embarrassedly kicks at his frame.

Things are surprisingly fun after that. They play some, they lose some. Eventually, they win.

But beach volleyball is vastly different from the indoor sport Tooru has spent his whole life perfecting, and he can't help but be a little amazed that this tiny spiker can have a spirit this big. From what Tooru understands, Karasuno became a legend back in Japan. They were the team everyone wanted to beat. To go from leading one of the top four high school teams in the nation to being an absolute beginner in a mirror of the sport they both loved… That took guts. And a hell of a lot of mental fortitude.

"You're something else, aren't you?" Tooru can't help but say, a little wry, but also… proud? Can he be proud of someone who isn't his?

"I want to be strong," Hinata says simply. Then he smiles up at him, earnest and bright. "You get that too, don't you, Oikawa-san? You're already so amazing, but you never stop trying harder. That's the coolest! You're the coolest. I've always thought so, even when we were on opposite sides of the net."

His sincerity makes Tooru blush. "Flattery will get you nowhere," he sniffs. But secretly his heart is very pleased at the warmth.

On Tooru's last night in Rio, they finally triumph over those guys who'd beaten them in Tooru's first beach game and they're treated to dinner and some new friends. (Because of course the little shorty would befriend smalltown con artists. Of course.)

After filling their stomachs and raising their spirits, Tooru and Hinata return to the beach where they absently pass a volleyball back and forth, chatting about everything, laughing at nothing. Tooru says something that makes Hinata laugh too loud, and Tooru smacks him with the ball because he's an idiot who isn't paying attention and it's too cute for words.

They both end up lying on the ground as they stare up at the stars, the sand like feathers at their backs.

Tooru has the sudden urge to reach for Hinata's hand, so he pokes the lion in the room instead.

"I still can't believe Tobio-chan didn't protest when you decided to hop on a plane across the globe." Kageyama had been fiercely protective of Hinata during their first year, and Tooru can't imagine he got any less attached as time went on.

Hinata hums quietly. "I want to be good enough to stand on the same stage as him one day. I can't do that if I'm always chasing after him, one step behind. He understood that."

"Is that why you're working so hard? So you can be by his side?"

A small shake of the head. "I already know I can be strong with Kageyama. I want to know if I can be strong on my own."

"You love him."

At that, Hinata turns his head a little to look at him, and the expression on his face is so heartbreakingly gentle that Tooru feels like he's the one being crushed. "Have you ever been in love, Oikawa-san?"

"No." He thought he had, once upon a time. Once, he thought he might be capable of it. Maybe even deserved it.

Hinata nods like he understands exactly what Tooru can't say. It's the kindest gesture, his understanding. It makes Tooru want to kiss him—or cry.

"Have you told him?" Tooru asks.

A sad smile. "I've never been good at keeping secrets."

"He's an idiot then."

"No." Brighter now, filled with pride. "He's a star."

Tooru has never envied Hinata, not really. He hates that Hinata's good when he's not. He hates that Hinata can smile and mean it when Tooru can't. And he hates that he can't envy him, not the way he envies others, because more than jealousy, more than resentment, what Tooru feels for this tiny ball of sunshine is respect.

But right now, on a quiet beach in Rio, thousands of miles away from all their family and friends, Tooru envies Hinata fiercely for the lack of any resentment or bitterness in his voice.

It's not fair that he's so kind. It's not fair that, even after all these years, he's still in love with someone who isn't.

"Tobio's not the only one who can love you," Tooru says, because he's selfish and awful and wants to feel a part of something after being broken for so long.

Hinata must be able to tell he's serious from the lack of honorifics, because he doesn't laugh or play it off as a joke. He only stills.

"I mean hypothetically, of course," Tooru adds with a forced laugh, breaking first. Coward, useless, weak, pretender… "Statistically, you won't end up alone. It's not like you're unattractive, Chibi-chan. You'll find someone else. Plenty of fish in the sea and all that."

After a long moment, Hinata rolls his head to the side so he can look at him, the corner of his mouth quirked in a grin. "You're a really nice person, you know that, Oikawa-san?"

Tooru scowls through his blush. "Shut up! Don't antagonize me!"

"I'm being serious!"

"You're a brat."

"Oi-Oikawa-san!"

"And don't call me that," Tooru pouts. "I spent the past week humoring you in beach volleyball, didn't I? Call me by my name."

He expects Hinata to laugh it off and get excited over being invited to address an upperclassman so informally, so it's an utter shock when instead Hinata's face goes bright red as he adamantly shakes his head back and forth like his neck is made from a twisted spring. "I couldn't!"

Tooru sits up with surprise. "Wait, are you serious? You nearly killed me with a volleyball the other day and this you won't do?"

Hinata makes a scandalized noise in the back of his throat. "That was an accident!"

"Call me Tooru," he demands.

"I can't!"

"Why not?!"

"I—I—"

"You let all these strangers call you by your first name," he accuses. "And you address them all the same in turn."

"That's—different."

"Do you call Tobio-chan by his first name?"

Hinata squawks like that's the most horrifying thing he's ever heard. "Of course not! I would die!"

"So why can't you call me by my first name if I'm telling you to?"

"Because—because—you're—"

"I'm…" the setter prompts impatiently.

Hinata must really not want to explain his confusing yet absolutely adorable display of embarrassment because he starts to stammer, "T-T-T-Tooru-san!" as if to placate him, then immediately buries his face in his hands like he can't believe he just did that.

Tooru takes one look at his trembling hands and red-tipped ears and instantly bursts out into laughter.

"Stoooooop," Hinata moans into his hands. He looks like he's hoping the earth will open up and swallow him whole at this exact moment.

Good god. He's the cutest thing in the entire universe. "Aw, don't be like that. I think it's sweet."

"You're the worst!" The words are muffled by Hinata's tiny palms. How can someone with such small hands be so good at volleyball? It doesn't make any sense, but Tooru adds it to the ever-growing list of things that are irresistible about Hinata Shouyou.

"I guess that means you had a crush on me in high school, huh?"

The sound that escapes Hinata's mouth is utterly prehistoric. And adorable. An adorable, fluffy, pint-sized pterodactyl. "T-Tooru-san!"

"So that's a yes!" Tooru is nearly over the moon with glee.

"I—it's not my fault! You were so cool and talented and amazing and—and—and like, stupid pretty. I was barely through puberty! It was awful. You made everything so much harder."

"Oh?" Tooru says slyly.

Realizing what he said, Hinata's face deepens to an almost concerning shade of red as he blubbers, "N-not what I meant!"

"Awww, don't hide, Chibi-chan. It's okay. I did, too."

That makes his eyes peek a little through his fingers. "Wait—what?"

"I had a crush on you, too," Tooru says patiently. "Of course I did. How could I not? You see, you were so small and cute. And I really like cute things."

"I—" Hinata is at a loss for words. He looks like he's not sure if he should pinch himself to confirm he's not dreaming.

At least his hands have stopped covering his face, because that leaves the opportunity for Tooru's hand to cup his cheek affectionately, making Hinata squeak at the minimal contact.

Tooru wasn't lying when he said he had a little thing for him when they were younger. Hinata had a very unique way of making anyone he played with feel on top of the world, whether they were on his team or not, and Tooru was no exception. It was another large source of envy he harbored over Kageyama: the fact that someone just as selfish as Tooru was could find himself a spiker who would give up the world just to play with him.

Tooru always wondered if the Karasuno duo had something more than friendship. He saw the way Kageyama looked at him; saw the way Hinata looked at him back. There was affection there for sure, and if Tooru were in Kageyama's shoes, he wouldn't have hesitated a second.

A man could kill for someone to look at him the way Hinata did, all big eyes full of worship and wonder.

And now Hinata is staring up at him with those eyes, propped up a little by his elbows, Tooru kneeling over him like a hungry predator, and Kageyama is nowhere to be found. Hinata's face is so sweet, so pink, so delectably sinful in its innocence. It's almost too much to resist.

So Tooru doesn't.

i.

By the time they make it into his hotel room, they're both breathless and panting and desperate for more.

They slam into the bed with purpose, a tangle of hands and lips and tongue. Tooru's palms grapple for skin and Hinata's voice chases him with gasps, but it's the way Hinata fits beneath him, perfectly small yet nowhere near delicate, that has Tooru nearly feverish with want.

Tooru is no stranger to impatience. He is selfish to his core, always wanting too much, demanding too quickly, and being frustrated and bitter when he's reminded he is merely human. But it's different now, with him.

This boy is sunlight. This boy reflects the stars. This boy has been held on a pedestal in his mind for so long that the fact that he's here, right now, trembling and needy beneath him, crying for Tooru above all else—that is dangerous, and he already knows it's going to be his ruin.

Because they can't do this. They can't. Hinata is sad and he's kind and Tooru should be comforting him, not tearing off his clothes. But then Hinata strips him back, slides off his shirt, tugs at his shorts, and when Tooru tries to pull away, tries to remember all the reasons he doesn't deserve to have this, Hinata looks at him. Just looks at him with those big, beautiful eyes of his, his body bare and flushed and by far the most perfect thing Tooru's ever seen.

Thinking becomes very difficult after that.

"I don't," Hinata starts, then stammers when Tooru kisses him some more. "I—I've never—"

That makes him freeze. "You and Tobio-chan didn't…?"

"Not—not like this." Hinata swallows, and Tooru tracks the movement of his Adam's apple hungrily. "Never like this."

Tooru hovers over him, elbows anchored on the bed, trapping the boy on the surface beneath him without trapping him at all, because Hinata has to know he holds all the power here. Tooru will take him, but Hinata owns him. Tonight, he belongs to no one else. "Do you want to stop?" Tooru asks seriously.

"No," Hinata breathes. "No. Please don't stop."

And so he doesn't.

The next kiss is different, more of a savage claiming than desire fueled by desperation. Tooru wants him and he's allowed to have him. He won't waste this chance.

Now that his mind has focused with intent, he's able to appreciate all the things he'd stumbled over on the way here. The strong lines of Hinata's shoulders. The narrow expanse of his waist. It should be impossible for someone so small to hold this much definition, and yet here he is, nineteen years old and the prettiest thing Tooru's ever seen, and Tooru feels so destructive at how much he wants him, at how easy it is to touch something that can't possibly be his.

Without tearing their mouths apart, Tooru reaches between them and grips at Hinata's cock, making him cry out intensely, so sensitive with the minimal contact. He's bigger than expected for his stature but still nowhere near Tooru's size, and he seems to realize that with the way he whimpers every time Tooru rolls their hips together and lets his hard length rest against Hinata's pale stomach.

"I—I—you're so big," Hinata stammers, voice cracking, sweeter than honey. "There's—there's no way you'll—Oikawa-san, I can't—"

"Shh," he murmurs. "Don't worry, I'll get you ready. I'll make you feel so good, Chibi-chan. Don't you trust me? Your body was made for me. You'll be begging for my cock by the time I'm through with you."

With every word, Tooru strokes Hinata's length more and more, slow, purposeful pumps that leave him tense and trembling. Keeping his eyes open and lips prodding, Tooru watches Hinata's face as he teases the slit with his thumb and smiles when Hinata gasps into his mouth, his whole body jerking with need.

"Good?" Tooru whispers. Hinata can only gasp an "a-ah!" in response, his eyes squeezed so desperately shut. Tooru smiles against his mouth, pleased. "Good. Stay here. Wait for me."

It only takes a few seconds for Tooru to roll off the bed to grab the lube and an ambitious number of condoms from his suitcase. By the time he returns, Hinata has let his thighs fall open, one hand gripping at his cock. Not moving, not milking it, just holding it there, his body taut with enough tension that his entire arm trembles with the effort it takes to remain still, and yet he waits. For Tooru. Needing him, wanting him. The perfect submissive, innocent and sweet.

Tooru has never seen a more delectable sight.

"God, just look at you." He climbs back over him, letting the equipment fall against the mattress at his side so he can drag his fingers up Hinata's thighs, over his hips, curling over the prominent angles there hungrily—so small and slim, yet so damn fuckable—before sliding back down to his leaking cock. "You're so fucking perfect, being so good for me—fucking gorgeous like that, spread out like a good boy who just wants to be eaten. Fuck, I could stare at you forever."

Hinata cries out from the praise alone, his body arching up against him unintentionally, trying to find any kind of relief he can get. "P-please, Oikawa-san, I—"

"Tooru," he says. "You call me by my first name while I'm touching you or you don't call me anything at all."

His face is crimson. "T-T-Tooru-sa—ah!" His gasp is strangled when Tooru grips the base of his cock, hard.

"I can train you to listen," he murmurs, "but I don't think you want that right now. You're too needy, too sensitive. You'd be crying for me to let you come within seconds. I would break you. You don't want that, do you, Chibi-chan? Won't you be a good boy for me, just this once?"

Hinata is practically sobbing as Tooru slowly strokes his dick, his grip punishing, firm. "T-Tooru! Please!"

"Please what?"

"I—I need—"

"Yes?"

Hinata's face is bright red, almost combustible. Tooru has shifted his movements to a slow and steady pace, coaxing, pleasing, yet not nearly enough when Hinata is this damn close. "I need to come," he chokes out. "Please, I'll—I'll do anything—"

Tooru smiles. "Well, since you asked so nicely…" He shifts down his body, and before Hinata has a chance to react, Tooru takes his sweet cock into his mouth.

The reaction is electric. Hinata positively wails, his whole body spasming at the touch. Just a few seconds and Hinata is already putty in Tooru's hands, barely able to keep his hips on the bed as Tooru sucks him, his cries desperate and weak.

He babbles incoherently with every movement, his shaking hands shifting between trying to find purchase against the sheets and ghosting against Tooru's hair before jerking away, like he doesn't think he's allowed to touch.

With a charmed hum, Tooru speeds up his pace and flicks his tongue, his thumb stroking lightly at the base then toying with his balls, somehow cruel and indulgent all at once. He is rewarded by Hinata's sweet cries as he finally comes, spilling into his mouth in soft spurts.

Once his body finally settles, Tooru releases his dick with a pop, licking up the last of his cum and pressing soothing kisses against his thighs, his stomach, his chest, as he climbs his way back up. Hinata can't even react, merely letting out broken moans as he tries to focus through half-lidded eyes, limbs completely limp and useless, so pleasure-drunk and destroyed that Tooru nearly loses it and takes him right then and there.

"This really is your first time," Tooru muses. "You came so fast and I barely touched you."

Embarrassed stutters burst free of Hinata's lips, the most beautiful flush crawling up his skin all the way to his ears. "I—I can do you," he begs, his muscles regaining just enough energy to tentatively touch at Tooru's neck, trembling and soft. "If you tell me how, I can—"

"As much as I'd love to have you choking on my cock, I am an impatient man and there is something else I want more. Later—" He runs his hands down Hinata's sides, drawing shivers and gasps. "—I'll train you so well, turn you into a pro at sucking my dick. But right now I want to fuck you. Don't you want that? Want me pressing deep inside you, stretching your sweet ass, making you come again and again?"

"Y-yes," Hinata cries. "Please, Tooru, I want to feel you. Please."

He smiles. "As you wish."

Leaning back, Tooru grabs the lube and smears it all over his fingers, making a show of it as Hinata watches, his eyes somehow wide and half-lidded at the same time.

"Turn over for me?"

Hinata is quick to obey, even if his movements are sluggish and unpracticed. Tooru guides him onto his knees like an animal, then pushes down his front so his chest touches the mattress, leaving only his ass sticking up in the air like he's some dog that wants to get fucked. The open position along with the embarrassed flush of his skin makes for the most enticing sight.

Tooru takes a moment to admire it, the way this beautiful boy presents himself just for him, begging to be taken.

And then he dives in.

He teases his slick fingers against Hinata's entrance while using his other hand to hold his hip in place, relishing in the way he seems to tremble, a baby leaf trapped in Tooru's storm. The tip of his finger barely pushes in when Hinata pitches forward with a gasp, only to be held firm by Tooru's expecting grip.

"Shhh, I've got you," he soothes. "I know it feels strange, but I'm going to make you feel so good. Try to relax and trust me, okay?"

Hinata must not be able to find his voice because he only nods into the mattress, quick, jerky movements that betray the nerves he tries to hide from not speaking.

Enamoured by the sheer adorableness of the boy in front of him, Tooru presses an encouraging kiss to the lovely curve of his back before pushing his finger in once more.

This time, he manages to slide it in nearly all the way, though the sounds that escape Hinata make it so hard to go slowly. Tooru leaves it in there for a brief moment as he uses his other hand to smooth over Hinata's side, both so Hinata can get used to the sensation and Tooru can fight to clear his mind of anything other than how perfect he feels, how tight and hot and slick, how it takes every bit of strength Tooru has not to just take him like this, so beautiful and trembling and needy and good—and then he moves his finger out, just as controlled, just as slowly, and is rewarded by another breathy gasp from Hinata's lips.

Things blur together after that. Tooru works him steadily with one finger until Hinata relaxes completely, shoulders going lax while he moans into the sheets, before inserting the second. The taut muscles there nearly cut off circulation in his fingers and Hinata cries out, a stronger mixture of discomfort and fear, but Tooru is quick to soothe him, whispering honeyed words and praises as he moves—you're doing so good, so amazing, such a good boy, the prettiest thing I've ever seen—and it doesn't take long until Hinata is back to being a mollified mess, crying and sweet.

Tooru repeats this process with the third, rapidly realizing that as terrified as Hinata is, he becomes so perfectly pliant with praise, growing lax and needy with every sweet word out of Tooru's mouth, accompanied by the practiced curve and movements of long fingers inside him. Tooru showers him with gentle strokes and velvety devotion, all the while stretching him so beautifully with his hands.

It's exhilarating. It's maddening. Tooru wants to devour him whole.

When he finally withdraws his fingers, he hides a smile at the confused whimper that Hinata emits, his ass instinctively moving back a little in search of his touch. Tooru leans back just to admire the sight, then he rolls on a condom and slicks his dick further with well-lubed strokes to prepare them both.

"Take a deep breath," is all Tooru murmurs as he gets into position and starts pushing in.

If he thought Hinata was perfect around his fingers, that's nothing compared to how he feels around his cock. This boy is flawless, hotter than anything he's ever encountered, tighter than anything he's ever felt, and every rock Tooru makes to get inside only chips away at his sanity, leaving him grasping at straws to remember why he can't just fuck him hard and take take take everything he needs right fucking now.

"T-Tooru," Hinata is crying—real, actual tears in his voice as he trembles so violently and broken. "I—it's too much, you're too big, I can't—"

Tooru hisses out a breath, struggling to remain calm as he pauses from sinking in deeper. "Shh, I know, I'm sorry, Chibi-chan, I'm almost there, you're doing so good, so fucking good, you're amazing—"

"A-ah!" Hinata wails, but he remains still for Tooru as he rocks in a little more—or as still as he can possibly be while quivering from head to toe.

"You okay?" Tooru whispers, soothing his hands up and down Hinata's back, over his sides. "I'm gonna push in more, is that alright?"

Fisting his hands in the sheets, Hinata jerks his head in a nod, face buried in the bedding. He's scared and uncomfortable and maybe even in a little pain, but he's willing to push through it. For Tooru. For this.

Tooru has never wanted to own him more.

The last few inches are a struggle to go slow. He can't remember ever feeling this good, this aroused, and Hinata doesn't make it easier with his stumbling breaths and pants of words that blur together to form nothing but Tooru's name, over and over again, like a pleading mantra on his lips.

When he's finally seated all the way inside, he has to take a moment just so he doesn't burst right then and there at the feeling of finally being where he was always meant to be.

"Chibi-chan," he groans—but no, that's not what he wants. "Shou-chan," he says, and Hinata melts beneath him like butter. "Shouyou," he croons, and he can feel Hinata clench around his cock. "God, just look at you. You're so good, Shouyou, you're so perfect and sweet, fuck—"

Hinata gives a pitched whine, his ass wriggling back a little in response. "Tooru, please," he gasps. "Please please please please, I need—I need—Tooru—"

"You don't have to beg anymore, Shouyou," he promises lowly. "I'll take care of you."

With that, he pulls back to the tip before snapping his hips all the way forward, dragging a scream from Hinata's lips. Hinata's body pretty much collapses with that, but Tooru keeps him steady, hands firmly gripping those narrow hips as he builds a rising pace of long, deep strokes that reach places that have Hinata sobbing.

"Beautiful boy," Tooru murmurs as he keeps at it, dragging his cock down against his prostate with every thrust. "Beautiful, sweet boy, you're so good for me, so fucking good around me, fucking made for me, do you even get that? Do you know?"

"Tooru," he cries, his whole body shaking with need, blooming and weak.

With every thrust, Tooru grows hungrier, more impatient. He's pretty much ruining this boy beneath him, and yet it's not what he wants. He wants more, he doesn't know what, but somehow he knows that just fucking Hinata once, no matter how perfect it is, will never be enough to satisfy him. Just breaking Hinata's ass open like this, his face buried in the sheets, breathless pleas lost in the haze of slapping skin, is not what he wants at all.

"On your back," he hisses.

"W-wha?" Hinata's voice is slurred, uncomprehending, but it's okay because Tooru's command was rhetorical anyway.

He pulls out, earning him a confused whine of desperation, but he doesn't waste time explaining his possessive thought process because he honestly doesn't understand it himself.

With a strong grip, he quickly flips Hinata over and immediately realizes his mistake.

Even when boneless, Hinata still manages to look worshipping. Like Tooru's the greatest thing he's ever seen. Soft brown eyes hazy and wet, strings of drool dribbling from his lips.

"Tooru?" Hinata whispers, so soft and shy, almost scared, like he's genuinely worried Tooru doesn't really want him. Even after everything they've done. Even with everything Tooru's determined to do before he's forced to leave.

Tooru is kissing him before he even realizes what he's doing. It's sloppy and wet, Hinata being unable to do little more than sob into Tooru's mouth from the pleasure, but that only makes Tooru hungrier, more savage with his desire. He slides back in and fucks Hinata with strong thrusts of his hips, bending him further with each one, pushing his lean thighs nearly all the way up to his neck, and Hinata positively melts beneath him, shuddering and crying with breathy pants of "please, Tooru, please."

"I love that no one else has seen you like this," he breathes recklessly, "that no one else has felt you before, been inside you before. They don't get to have you, but I do. You're all mine, Shouyou, all fucking mine, and I—"

"Ah!" Hinata tightens around him with the admission, a spasm of pleasure rocking through his every nerve at the thought of being owned.

It nearly drives him mad. "You're mine," Tooru growls again, "and I take care of what belongs to me."

Hinata keens at the declaration, but he never stood a chance. Without pausing his thrusts, Hinata's legs over his shoulders, his hands desperately grappling at the sheets, Tooru reaches between them, but instead of grabbing Hinata's dick, he curls his thumb underneath, to that spot between where they're connected and where Hinata is leaking all over his chest, and Tooru presses.

Hinata screams.

That's all it takes, all he needs. Just a simple rub of a pressure point he had no idea he possessed and he is coming, tumbling head-first over that cliff with flailing limbs as if he'd been pushed with no warning or no parachute or anything other his voice and the blurring world around him.

Tooru tries to watch Hinata's face as he breaks—beautiful, breathtaking, flushed, and perfect—but Tooru is weak, and the spasming heat around his cock is too much for him to bear.

He shatters with a choked groan, burying his face against Hinata's skin, thrusting once, twice more, before he stops with their bodies glued together as he rides out the waves. The force of it nearly makes his eyes water; his vision actually goes black around the edges. It's a miracle he remembers to breathe.

This is the most powerful orgasm he's ever had, and yet it's still not enough. How is it still not enough? What the hell is wrong with him now?

Once he finally manages to get his lungs to work again, he lifts his head to look down at Hinata, who looks as utterly destroyed as Tooru feels. Tooru almost wants to take him again because of his expression alone, but instead he bites his tongue and gently maneuvers the boy's thighs off his shoulders, Hinata wincing with a hiss at the shifting ache.

In response, Tooru places gentle kisses all over his face, soothing him, fingers trailing lightly through his damp orange hair, this time comforting him and praising him without having to use words at all. Hinata soaks it up just as easily, his body going lax with the attention, a soft sigh of contentment escaping his wet, swollen lips.

"Hi," Tooru whispers.

Hinata's smile is sleepy and soft, yet somehow it takes his breath away more than anything else they've done all night. "Hi," he whispers back, voice honeyed with affection. He tilts his face into Tooru's hand, nuzzling it happily.

It makes him so weak.

Trying to hide how deeply he's affected, Tooru slips out of Hinata to dispose of the condom, trying not to yearn at the adorable, needy sound the boy makes when he pulls away. After quickly cleaning up in the bathroom, Tooru grabs the wipes from his bag so he can take care of Hinata too, wiping away the remnants of their tryst with easy strokes to be careful of the way Hinata gasps, still oversensitive even from the delicate touch.

Once everything's taken care of, Tooru climbs back into bed and lies back on the pillow, selfishly pulling Hinata into him so the pliant boy lies limply against his side, arm strewn across his chest.

It takes a while to coax Hinata back into the realm of the living, his body so exhausted that all his words slur together in jumbled messes that can barely be considered sentences. Eventually—thanks to the help of leftover fruit Tooru stashed in the mini-fridge from breakfast—he regains his ability to respond with a little more energy, something Tooru takes full advantage of through pokes and teases.

"I'm just saying," Tooru is telling him, both of them back to cuddling under the covers, just as he likes it, "this really can't be that big a surprise. I mean, I've been flirting shamelessly with you for the past week, so it's about time you got the memo."

Hinata squawks like a prehistoric bird. It's terminal how cute Tooru finds it. "You have not!"

"Uhhhh, yeah I have. I invited you out to eat like, every night. What the hell did you think that meant?"

"I—I—I—I thought you were just being nice!"

Tooru snorts. "Here's some helpful advice, Shou-chan: no one is nearly as nice as you are. If a man's offering to buy you dinner and spends an ungodly amount of time staring at your ass, he definitely isn't trying to be friendly."

"I—that's not—I didn't—" Then his face abruptly blanks, eyes going wide with realization. "Oh. Oh. This… This makes sense now."

Tooru bursts out laughing. "Jeez, Shou-chan, how many poor bastards have you unintentionally friendzoned with your inability to recognize flirting?"

"N-not that many!" Hinata yelps, though the deep blush on his cheeks says otherwise.

Nuzzling his face into the adorable boy's hair, Tooru murmurs, "Well, I for one am glad you're so relationship stupid because I really liked being the one to break your cute ass open for the first time. Even if your flirting needs a lot of work."

"I can flirt!" he protests weakly. "I just… can't… flirt... with you."

"What?" Tooru says, highly affronted. "Why the hell not?"

He blushes. "Well, I mean—there's the face thing—"

"Face thing?" Tooru interrupts, horrified. "What face thing? What's wrong with my face?!"

"Nothing's wrong with it! It's just… your face," Hinata stammers, waving in the general direction of the offending area. "It's just so… hwuuaaaaah! And it's impossible to talk properly when I'm looking at it—which is really unfair, y'know, Tooru-san, you shouldn't be allowed to be that pretty and talented and cool at the same time—but—"

Tooru has to bite back a grin at how embarrassed Hinata seems to be while admitting this. Taking pity on him, Tooru pouts, "You went back to addressing me formally."

"To be fair, you still call me Shou-chan!"

"Would you prefer it if I only called you Shouyou?" His voice drops low, sultry, his gaze smoky and intense.

Immediately, Hinata's face turns bright red and he shakes his head rapidly back and forth. "Nonononononono," he practically slurs. "That's—no, you can't—you're banned from saying that in public ever again."

"Oh, so you want me to save it for the bedroom only?"

"T-Tooru-san!"

He exhales a long, dramatic sigh. "I really hate it when you call me that." It's a cheap shot and he knows it. Even as new to this as Hinata is, he'd never do anything Tooru explicitly states he dislikes, no matter how uncomfortable it makes him in return. That's just the kind of person he is.

"Y—you're being mean," Hinata complains, childish and cute. Tooru wants to boop his nose and kiss him all over those sweet pink cheeks.

"I know," he says cheerfully. "I just can't help it. You're too damn cute."

And Tooru likes teasing him. Usually Tooru's the one being picked on, but with Hinata, he gets to do the picking. It's so different than in high school, when Tooru seemed to be the butt of all his friends' jokes, or even now in the Argentinian league, where all his teammates have already figured out that he's not nearly as cool as he pretends to be.

He rolls with the punches and acts like the comments don't bother him, but in reality, the constant ridicule isn't the greatest on his already pathetic self-confidence.

It's nice to be on the other side of things. To be the one making someone else flustered instead of the other way around.

Of course, if Hinata were actually hurt by his words, Tooru would stop in a heartbeat. He'd never go over the line, not with him.

But Hinata remains lively and bright, even with how much Tooru likes to play with him, and so he doesn't stop, only keeps making the boy blush again and again.

They bicker for a little longer as they settle in for the night. After a while, Hinata grows quiet, his breaths not quite even as he hides his face in Tooru's tranquilizing embrace. Tooru would almost think he's asleep if not for the way Hinata's heart seems to flutter against his skin, hot and quick. Almost like he's nervous, except there's no reason he should be nervous at all.

"Shou-chan? Is everything alright?"

Stiffening as if caught, Hinata nods his head against his chest before lifting his face just enough so Tooru can see the sweet dusting of pink across his cheeks. "Sorry, I just—I'm really happy." He laughs a little, shy and kind, like soft poppies in a blooming meadow. "This whole week with you, I—I've been really happy. I was sad for a long time, ever since I left Japan, but now I feel like I can take on the whole world and it's all because of you. You're amazing, y'know? Really, really amazing. Thank you."

As soon as the words leave his mouth, Hinata blushes even more like he can't believe he just said that and he buries his face back against Tooru's chest. He trembles slightly, happy and scared all at once.

Tooru is twenty-one years old. Nearly twenty-two. He's lived a good life, had good friends, been blessed with opportunities far beyond what he deserved.

And yet he knows for a fact that he has never felt this warm.

Because he feels the same way. This past week has been the most he's laughed for real—maybe ever. He never thought of himself as a relatively unhappy person. Aside from a crippling inferiority complex and a ruthless, selfish soul, he's been pretty blessed.

But seven days with Hinata and he realizes oh, is this what it's supposed to be like? Is this what it means to have fun, to live, to feel good? It's like spending his whole life in Antarctica during winter and forgetting what the sun looked like, getting used to the cold, the dark, the debilitating drive to do better, be better, why aren't you good enough strong enough fast enough anything—and then suddenly it's summer, warm and forgiving and bright, and it seems almost insane that he ever forgot what it was like.

Tooru is not a nice person. He does not deserve good things. But Hinata has seen those awful parts of him in ways Tooru has been far more careful about hiding these days—away from the safety net of Aoba Johsai, of his high school friends, of Iwaizumi—and yet, somehow, by some miracle, Hinata still looks at him like he hung all the stars in the sky.

Tooru can't help but wonder what it would be like to have this every day. To feel this way all the time—not anxious or inferior, but good. Like he's worth something. Like he's capable of making someone else happy.

I could love you so easily, he thinks. What was so wrong with Tobio that he couldn't?

Tooru's ashamed to admit that he thought about it, back in the day. Thought about taking Hinata, tempting him from Kageyama's side, and convincing him to stay with Tooru instead. To love Tooru over Kageyama, to choose him, and to leave Kageyama behind.

What would you do without your little sunshine? Tooru would think maliciously. How would you break?

But now he has Hinata against him, beautiful and flushed and kind and perfect, and all he can think is, What the hell is wrong with you that you threw this away?

Quickly rolling Hinata beneath him, Tooru relishes in the adorable squeak of surprise that escapes the boy's throat before Tooru smothers it with his lips. He uses his tongue to coax out more sounds, more love, more desire. Hinata is quick to react as always, but the bedroom is one stage where Tooru has the upper hand and he makes sure Hinata is aware of that here.

"T-Tooru," he gasps, practically melting at his touch, writhing so quickly and so easily at how little Tooru has to give.

It's not enough, not nearly enough. Tooru needs more. "You're really going to stay here in Brazil for two years?"

Hinata nods determinedly. "I want to train harder. I want to be good."

You're already good. Don't you see how perfect you are? "You'll get there," Tooru says instead, keeping his voice casual, light. "Though you'll probably need all the help you can get. Nothing beats training with an actual setter to hone your skills. Seriously, what were you even planning to do without me? You're lucky I'm so close by."

Hinata's eyes go wide, glowing almost amber in the faint lamp light. "Y-you… Wait, do you mean—?"

"I'm saying that Argentina's only a three-hour flight away. Y'know, if you ever wanted to—"

"Yes!" Hinata blurts out before he can finish, nearly bucking Tooru's body off with his excitement. "Yes! I-I mean, you don't have to—you don't have to feel obligated to come back and help just because you feel sorry for me or anything like that, but if you—if you really wanted to, I—"

"I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to, Shou-chan."

Hinata is positively beaming now, radiant and excited, instantly soothing any nerves Tooru had when he impulsively offered up this reckless, stupid thing. "You'll really come visit me when you have time? I know you'll be busy and I can't afford to help with the plane tickets or anything, but—"

"I'm a prominent pro player in a foreign league," Tooru says amusedly. "I can afford to pay for my own airfare."

"So you're really okay with this? Really really? Really really really?"

"Yes, really," Tooru can't help but laugh, unable to feel anything but warmth and endearment from Hinata's show of innocent excitement. "God, you're too fucking cute, it seriously shouldn't be possible to be this—"

Hinata squeals and he laughs and he practically tackles Tooru to the bed as he rolls them over so he's on top. He kisses him and kisses him and kisses him some more, and when it becomes difficult to keep kissing him because he's smiling so much, Hinata merely beams back down at him, brighter than the sun. Tooru could stare at him forever.

"You're really nice, you know that, Tooru?"

He smiles wryly. "You do realize you're the only human being in the history of the world who would ever say that, right? Ever?"

"Okay, now that's just a lie." Hinata grins. "You're a very kind person. Everyone just likes you too much to ever admit it to your face."

Tooru chokes on a laugh. "Oh, you think so, huh?"

"I know so." Hinata kisses him again, short and sweet. "You won't regret this," he vows. "I promise you won't."

Too bad neither of them can predict how much of a lie that will be.

a/n: brazil-era oihina is one of the most wholesome ships around and i love them so much! plus, i adore the idea of oikawa taking the time to teach hinata things just because he has a crush and wants to be around the adorable little sunshine all the time. oikawa has spent his whole life fighting for every scrap of talent he could get. there's no way he wouldn't fight for hinata, too.

part two (a.k.a. the atsuhina chapter of this gradually more angsty saga) will be up soon! this part somehow ended up being very smut-heavy ghfdjkfdhgfkdjgh but i promise the next two focus more on plot and the gradual wearing down of hinata's broken heart.

in the meantime, you should come yell at me on twitter [infantbluee] so we can cry over our perfect sunshine boy and his not-so-merry band of lovestruck setters together. :)