Take Your Time, Young Lion

by Brometheus

when the lights went off in the grocery store Noya had been browsing, he wondered if perhaps he had missed an announcement or two. He pulled out the bright orange ear-bud that had been nestled comfortably in his ear as he paused the music and nothing but the sound of humming freezers greeted him.

1. Chapter 1

Notes:

Wow its been 5 years since I posted anything. I'm gettin' back into fics I think but I'm probably not going to post much new here. go ahead and check out my A03 account if any of my old followers are interested in haikyuu now! I'll probably brush up and edit some of my old fic from here once school is done.

A03: /users/ApplePi

thanks for the long ride guys! I'm looking forward to getting back into fics after a really extended absence. I was formerly Nellaxival, for those who may be confused by the name change. I had some people find this account when I was in high school, haha. anyway, on to the actual fic!

Nishinoya Yuu stood by the idea that being in public without headphones in should be counted as its own sort of torture. The sweet tones of dubstep constantly in his ears was a requirement if he had to stand in a bank line or waiting for a bus. However, when the lights went off in the grocery store he had been browsing, he wondered if perhaps he had missed an announcement or two. He pulled out the bright orange earbud that had been nestled comfortably in his ear as he paused the music and nothing but the sound of humming freezers greeted him.

"Shit." He whispered, trotting to the front of the store just in time to see a car pulling out of the parking lot through the wall of windows that made up the entrance. He looked at his phone after staring at the very empty lot for a moment, watching 2:59 am tick over to 3:00.

Exasperation laced the sigh he heaved as he set his basket down, walking over to the automatic doors and standing in front of them for a moment. They didn't budge and Noya wondered just how sensitive the alarm system was in the store. Tiredness fuzzed his vision for a moment as he looked over at the darkened cash lanes and the covered deli section beyond. He'd realized they were closing soon and meant to only take a moment to grab after-work snacks but apparently he'd lingered over what type of salsa to buy for too long.

His basket lay abandoned as he hurried around the outside edge of the store until he came to the door of the back room. Noya wiggled, then pushed open the door, nibbling at his nails and he looked around the dark storeroom. his phone screen didn't provide enough light to be worth anything so he backed out of the room with the hairs on the back of his neck bristling. At least the storefront had windows.

The sound of something metallic hitting the floor one aisle over drew a squeak from the short boy and he bolted through the swinging doors to the back room again. The chipped red paint was cold under his fingers as he pushed the door open just a crack, peering through it. A shadow stretched along the floor as someone moved, mumbling quietly. Blood rushed through Noya's ears, making it impossible to make out any of the words. He missed the soft footsteps too, eyes glued to the shadow as it got darker and a person shrouded in the dark of the store came around the corner, head turning back and forth.

Noya took a moment to consider his options and then shoved the door open. The shadowed figure jumped and turned as the door banged, and Noya advanced on them fire in his eyes.

"What they hell do you think you're doing in here? it's closed! What are you, trying to rob the store?!"

"Wh-No! No, I just- I- I was-, wait," The tall man stepped into the light spilling between alises as Noya stalked up to him, back hitting a shelf laden with goldfish crackers.

"It's three in the morning!" Noya noted that while the man must have had at least a foot if not more on him but he was trembling and clutching the edge of the shelf he was leaning on for dear life.

"I-I know, I was, well I was in the.. the bathro-"

"Wait, do you work here?" The tall man blinked, eyebrows coming together as he was cut off.

"...You don't work here?" He said, making Noya stop in his tracks.

"Um, No."

They stared each other down for a long moment and the taller one slowly pushed off the shelf, righting himself and straightening his wrinkled t-shirt. Nothing could be done for the hair hanging out of the loose bun he had without taking it down and he seemed not to care as he regarded Noya.

"I'm a customer. I… well I guess they didn't check the bathroom when they were closing and when I came out everything was dark and locked up." He explained slowly, and Noya's shoulders relaxed.

"You too? Well I mean, I was in the salsa and chips part and I guess they missed me somehow? I had my headphones in the the lights were off and I was like "Bwuah? that can't be right" so I went looking for the office or something to see if a manager was still in, but the back room is like a black hole or something." The other man blinked slowly as he tried to process Noya's torrent of words, nodding slowly.

"Right… So… do you have your phone? maybe you could call someone to let us out?" He said after a moment. Noya perked, his hair bouncing slightly as he straightened his back. He brought his phone up and pressed the home button, looking at the time and freezing at the 1% looming at the corner of his screen.

"Aw hell, I don't know if it will last through the-" The screen went black a moment later and Noya scowled, cursing himself for abusing 2048 and skype in the last hour of his shift at work, "Damn it." The tall man frowned a bit, scrunching his shoulders up a bit and picking at his nails.

"I didn't bring mine… I live two minutes away, I was just getting a snack since I was going to be up all night anyway."

Noya eyed the taller man questioningly, seeing the bags under his eyes, "Are you at University or College or something?" The taller man nodded, rubbing a dark eye.

"Third year, university."

"Oh, cool, I'm in second. I just got off work though so I wanted to get something to eat."

"What's your name?" Noya blinked at the question, then grinned a little.

"Haha, right, I'm Noya. You?"

"Asahi." the two were quiet for a moment before Noya groaned and rubbed the back of his neck, making Asahi look up from the floor tile he'd been examining.

"I guess we're stuck here till open? I have no idea how to work the phones at the counters…"

Asahi considered that for a moment, "I don't know either."

"So we're here till what? eight?" Asahi nodded a bit and Noya reached towards him, making Asahi flinch to the side a little, earning a raised eyebrow from the smaller boy as he picked up a bag of goldfish. Asahi flushed but didn't address it, looking towards the front of the store.

"Maybe we should hide in the bathroom and just wait till they open and leave without bothering anyone…"

"Asahi, don't be silly," Noya noted the embarrassed downturn of the giant's mouth, "They locked us in overnight. they should compensate us with a gift card or something." Asahi looked mortified, swallowing a bit.

"I don't want to cause trouble. No one who locked us in will be in the morning, so…" Noya shrugged at the half-mumbled protest, tearing into the bag of goldfish and looking up at his messy haired companion.

"Nah, its like, corporate responsibility or something you know? They messed the hell up so they can compensate us for the time they wasted." Noya shoved the crackers into his mouth, heading down the aisle and back towards the abandoned basket. Asahi trailed after him with light steps, eyebrow raised.

"I doubt that a family run grocery store has "corporate responsibility" the way you're thinking." Asahi said dryly, prompting an eye roll from Noya.

"Well they locked two people in. Two! that's like, what? how does that ever happen? two separate people got locked in the same store on the same night. The employees are clearly doing something wrong."

Asahi considered that as Noya plopped himself down next to an empty display that typically held fresh cut flowers and leaned against it. The bag of goldfish was set aside in favour of the tortilla chips and salsa that he'd put in his basket. The tall man regarded the other with some confusion, sitting slowly.

"I guess you're right but… are you going to eat everything in the store?"

"Hah! I wish. But yeah, nah, I'm hungry, man. I can't exactly pay for it right now so what can I do? I just got off work, man, I need food."

"Yeah." They sat in silence for a moment before Noya offered the open bag to the other and Asahi smiled just a bit, taking a chip.

"So what's your major?" Noya asked.

"Well, business. I'm thinking about switching my major and minor though… I don't really like it..." He took another chip and a liberal helping of salsa as he tucked some stray hairs behind his ear, "You?"

"I'm taking human kinetics!" Noya clenched his fist, grinning widely, "I want to get into athletic development, but I haven't really decided on the specifics yet."

"Its good you know so early. I really should have changed majors sooner, if I'm going to."

"Yeah, I guess in third year its hard. like you may as well finish since you're that far? but hey I mean, you should do what you like, right?" Asahi nodded a bit, glancing down and picking at a stray thread hanging off his pants.

Noya took a few minutes to take in his companion. He was folded up and hunched, leaning his elbows on his knees. His hoodie hung off him a bit, at least a size too big, which made Noya wonder where he shopped and was able to find sweaters even bigger than he was. Asahi looked up at him and the dark brown met Noya's gold for a second before he looked back down.

"So uh, you're pretty tall."

Asahi glanced up at him again, this time with a raised eyebrow, "Yes."

"Do you play sports?" Noya worried briefly that it may be a little rude to ask, but decided his stupid mouth had already said it and thus worrying was dumb.

"I uh, played volleyball for a while, before… uh, school… got intense." Asahi sat a little taller.

"No way! I play volleyball too! I'm the libero for one of the intramural teams. What position did you play? you should come to practice some time." Asahi looked Noya up and down, shrugging one shoulder.

"Oh, er, maybe. And I'm a wing spiker."

"I'm not really surprised, I have to say. What are you, six one?"

"Oh, no, six foot even. These shoes make me look taller." Noya nodded thoughtfully, sizing Asahi up.

"You know, our team could use another spiker…"

"Ah, well, um, no. Like I said, my school is intense right now, I really couldn't commit…" Asahi shook his head, then spent another moment tucking hair out of the way.

"Its for fun mostly though! come to one practice at least."

"Maybe."

Noya was pleased enough with a maybe, looking around for a clock. His first instinct had been to check his phone for the time, before remembering it was as good as a brick was for telling time in its current state. His thoughts drifted for a moment, then he sat up a bit more, leaning towards Asahi.

"You said you were going to be up all night anyway? Do you have something due?"

Asahi blinked at the concern in Noya's voice and smiled, shaking his head, "No, I just have a hard time turning my brain off sometimes." He shrank a bit under the sudden intensity of Noya's stare, raising his eyebrows a bit.

"Well! you should try and sleep now then, I'm good for another while!" This was a lie, as Noya could very clearly feel the six hour shift moving boxes starting to catch up with him. Asahi shook his head anyway.

"Thank you, but I wouldn't worry about it."

"Hmm…" Noya shoved a handful of goldfish crackers into his mouth again, then looked towards the front door, "Do you know the time?"

Asahi looked at his watch, blinking slowly for a moment, "It's almost four now."

"Just like four more hours…" Noya mumbled, longing for his bed, "Do you think we should give the store phones a try?"

"If you want to. I'm not sure who we would call anyway?l the police, maybe? I'm not sure they could even do anything… It's not like we actually know anyone who has the key to let us out."

"A locksmith?" Noya suggested, and Asahi shook his head.

"How would we lock it back up again? that would probably set off the alarm too."

Noya considered that, then blinked, "Well, we could try unlocking it from the inside and just waiting for the security? maybe they'd guard the door and we could go home."

"Or they'll arrest us because they don't believe a word we say."

Noya sighed, throwing his hands into the air, "Alright! we just wait around till we're released from this food-filled prison!"

"Yes, exactly." Asahi tried to keep a straight face, but broke into a little smile when Noya turned to look at him.

"I can't tell if you're being sincere or sarcastic." Asahi laughed a little at that, shaking his head.

"I'm maybe joking a little, but I do honestly think that we should wait here for a few hours. I mean, there's also that at this point we would probably be waking anyone we call up, and… it isn't that much of a problem…"

"I dunno about you, Asahi, but I think being trapped somewhere is "that much" of a problem."

Asahi shrugged, bringing his thumb up to his mouth and nibbling on the nail for a few moments. The shorter of the pair sighed, rubbing his face before looking into the empty bag of crackers for a second.

"Do you need to be somewhere? I mean, um, do you have something due? because if you have something like that I'm sure you could tell the professor and see if you can get an extra day…"

"Oh, no, I'm just tired after my shift at work I guess. it's doing stock and backroom junk so there's a ton of lifting and stuff. Plus, this giant of a kid just started and he managed to knock over three boxes of boxes of shoes and they all went like boosh! everywhere. it took like an hour and a half to sort them all into the right little shoe boxes again."

"That sounds rough." Asahi smiled sympathetically, tilting his head slightly as Noya nodded vigorously.

"It was! He's still in training too so we couldn't even tease him that hard." He crossed his arms and huffed, leaning back slightly, "Bleh."

"Well, hopefully he doesn't do that again."

"Mn! Definitely. If he does no one can stop me from saying something about it."

"You could say he has two left shoes." Asahi offered, making Noya stop and look at him questioningly. Asahi sat up a little straighter, "B-Because, you know, he dropped the shoes and… you had to sort them so- um- so like he has two left feet…"

There was a beat, and Asahi wilted a little before Noya laughed, slapping his forehead, "Oh! duh! that's great, I'm totally going to use that."

"If you think it was that funny!"

"Yeah!" Noya snickered a little more, shaking his head as they fell into a companionable silence for a few minutes. The short haired man took a moment to look at the other, please to see a small smile on Asahi's cheeks. As he watched, Asahi took out his hair tie, shaking the long brown locks out and attempting to get them back into a neat bun.

"I'm thinking about grabbing something to drink. Do you want something?" Noya asked.

"Oh, yes, perhaps some apple juice…" Asahi nodded after a moment of thinking, letting his hair go.

"I could grab a big thing and we could share that."

Asahi nodded, "Please. Should I stay by the door in case someone comes by?"

"Yeah! I'll be just a second!"

Noya sprang up and walked around the corner, listening to the hum of freezers as he walked past them to the chilled juice section. Even knowing that Asahi was close by, that he wasn't alone, a particular dread settled in Noya's stomach as he hurried to grab a container of apple juice. Empty public places had such an air of desolation that Noya found himself jogging back to the front of the store.

"A.J. successfully attained." He announced, mock bowing and offering Asahi the two liter bottle of juice.

"Thank you!" The long haired man seemed to perk a bit, cracking it open and sipping straight from the bottle, before offering it to Noya. He accepted it and sat again, sleep burning at the edges of his vision again.

"Man, I need something to keep me up or I'm going to sleep where I'm sittin'."

"Well, Coke has caffeine in it if you need that." Asahi offered helpfully. Noya looked at him and got the image of a very large puppy for a moment. He grinned.

"Well that's hardly any fun now, isn't it." Noya said, taking in the bewildered eyebrow that Asahi raised at him.

"Okay?"

"What if we cart surfed?"

"I don't know what that is but it sounds dangerous."

Noya rolled his eyes at the immediate response, shaking his head and he kept a grin plastered to his cheeks, "Ah, so young. so cautious."

"... Well I'm pretty sure I'm older than you, but okay." Asahi watched the shorter man bound up and hold out a hand to him, which he accepted somewhat hesitantly. Noya felt a pang of jealousy as the timid man towered over him but paid it no mind as he started dragging Asahi over to the cart deposit.

"Okay, um, no, I am not sure-"

"Asahi its fiiine. Trust me." Noya was certain that was all the taller man would need to be reassured of the fun that was about to occur.

"I really think that we should reconsider-" He was wrong, he realized as Asahi opened his mouth again.

"It is fine! Really, Asahi, it's going to be so fun." Noya released Asahi's wrist and pulled out a full sized cart, pushing it out so it was facing the longest stretch in the store- the aisle between the cash lines and the shopping area. it reached almost the entire way across the store- save for the open area with the produce, bakery, and deli section. He took a moment to make sure that it was properly lined up, then turned to his large companion.

"Alright, get in."

The horrified and scandalized expression on Asahi's face was worth the thirty seconds of thought and preparation that went into this idea. Noya's grin stretched to near cheek splitting levels as Asahi sputtered and flubbed his words, taking a step back.

"I-I am way too tall! I won't fit! and this is dangerous!"

"Oh come on, I won't push you too fast. Haven't you ever done this before?" Noya's eyes widened as Asahi shook his head quickly, "Well now you have to try! I promise I'll go slow."

Asahi still looked uncertain, "Well, I mean, you're just going to push me in a cart?"

"Yep, we'll go a little quicker because no one is here but you don't need to worry!" Asahi looked between Noya and the cart, frowning a bit and rubbing the back of his neck. Noya could see him wavering, and turned on his own puppy dog eyes.

"I'll be tons of fun, Asahi, please?" a small flush graced the taller man's cheeks at the plea, and he sighed, looking to the left and considering for a few beats.

"Well… okay… just go slow." He didn't move for a second, but approached the cart when Noya gave him a little nudge. The golden eyed man grabbed onto the handle to keep the cart steady as Asahi tried to find the most graceful way into the shopping cart.

Finally he pulled himself up, wobbling once one leg got over the edge and started pulling the other very long leg in as well. He yelped a bit when the cart tipped but Noya kept it from falling, still grinning as Asahi sat heavily on the grated bottom. His knees were almost up to his ears from being folded up in the tiny cage and Noya laughed, pulling the kid seat in so that Asahi had a little more room.

"How's that?"

"I'm in, I suppose…" Asahi was already wary- Noya could hear the apprehension in his voice. So, before Asahi could change his mind and start climbing out of the cart, Noya started pushing, starting a slow trot.

"How long has it been since you were in one of these huh?" He asked, excited and starting to run faster.

"U-Um, I don't remember- oh my god please slow down a bit!"

"We're not going that fast!" Noya took the corner at the end of the long aisle and started down the frozen section, speeding up a little. Asahi's hands clutched at the edges of the cart, and they swerved around a display of cookies that was in the middle of the alsie, blasting down and around the next corner.

"Noya! It seems way faster in here!" Noya laughed, hopping up on the bottom bar and letting the cart glide for a moment. He dropped one foot down to push, like the cart was a giant scooter.

"I've got you Asahi, I used to do this stuff all the time!" They turned again, almost back to their starting point. Noya realized a second too late that there was another display in the aisle he chose to turn down and yelped.

They crashed into the table covered in various brands of chocolate bars, knocking several of them to the floor with the force. They had just turned so the the crash wasn't at full force, though Noya had tipped forward over the handlebar and nearly into Asahi's lap. Asahi was squirming, head pressed under his chest.

"Bah! who puts a display in the middle of the store like this!" He cried as he tried to right himself. Asahi's hands came up and helped push him back, and he looked down at the flustered passenger in his cart.

"P-People who assume that no one is going to ride carts like this?" The dry response was softened by the red face and messed up hair on Asahi's head.

"Hm. good point." Noya rubbed his chin, then looked down at Asahi again, "D'y'wanna switch now?"

"Switch?"

"Yeah! I want a ride too, Asahi!"

The brunet stared at the grinning man standing over him for a moment, then started laughing, covering his eyes with the back of his hand. Noya blinked a bit at him.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Noya said leaning over him a bit more.

"N-Nothing! Nothing bad, it's just. I dunno, I'm really tired, wow." Asahi sputtered out as he settled his laughter, looking up at Noya with his dark eyes. Noya blinked again, feeling his cheeks heat up for a second before he grinned.

"Well, tired or not, I get a turn too you know."

"Alright, just uh, give me a second to get out of this thing." He started to unfold himself, wobbling like a deer on ice. Noya dutifully held the cart as steady as he could, watching Asahi carefully step out and onto the ground, then hop ungracefully to free the other leg. They took a minute to pick of the things they had knocked over, then Noya vaulted into the cart, grinning.

"Let's go!"

"Alright, Alright!" Asahi pulled the cart back a bit, then steered it around the display and turned back onto the main stretch, "How fast do you want to go?"

"Punch it!" Noya demonstrated a punch to the air above his head, and Asahi shook his head with a smile.

"Well, I'll make sure we don't crash this time." He started a trot which was very clearly not fast enough for Noya. They did a lap around the store, Noya urging Asahi to go a little faster on each stretch. They tore around the corner to the front of the store, both laughing. Asahi was about to adjust their course when he felt his foot slip out from behind him on the slick tile and he made a surprised sound as he went down, letting go of the cart and hitting the ground.

"Asahi?!" Noya yelled, turning to look back just before the cart slammed into one of the security stands at the front of the store. Noya jerked forward and back with an oof. There were a few beats of silence, then the alarm starting blaring and both men jerked up, scrambling to put their feet on the ground properly and looking at the flashing lights in horror. They looked at each other, then back to the lights.

"Oh god I'm going to be thrown in Jail." Asahi breathed, and Noya shook his head.

"No, no, it'll be fine! They'll see on the security cameras we weren't doing anything bad!"

"What about the stuff we ate?! that's shoplifting isn't it?"

"Asahi, there is no way we could have paid for it."

"Oh this is so bad. this is so so bad." He hid his face in his hands, and Noya took a moment to put the cart away and tidy up the things they had been snacking on.

"A security guard will be here soon, its okay, Asahi. I can take the heat."

"That… That's nice of you, Noya, but I don't think you can…? I'm here too." They both looked up as a security guard knocked on the glass door they were standing in front of, getting their attention. They looked at each other again, then at the guard. Noya waved a bit, as the guard unlocked the door and let himself in.

"What the hell are you two doing in here?" He demanded over the blaring alarm.

"We got stuck in here, we were locked in." Noya said, swallowing.

"What, they did it again? for christs sake. Alright both of you out, I'm going to turn off the alarm. Wait right by the door." They shuffled out, waiting by an empty flower stand as the guard vanished into the store. When Noya looked up at Asahi he realized the man was trembling a little, almost on the verge of tears.

"Hey, did you hear that? he said that the employees have done this before, so we don't have to worry."

"I know, I just… I'm not good with… this kind of thing." Asahi scrubbed his face, then smiled a little at Noya, "Thank you for doing the talking."

"Aw, it's nothing, Asahi." The guard came out before Asahi could respond, sizing the two of them up.

"Alright, give me your contact information. I'll have the owner get in touch with you two in the morning." He pulled out a small note pad and a pen, giving them each a moment to write down their name and numbers.

"If they want us to pay for the th-things we ate-" Asahi started but the guard waved him off.

"Just go home, and get some sleep, both of you. I've got to wait for the security system rep." The two men looked at each other then turned away, starting off in the same direction. Noya shoved his hands in his pockets, glancing at Asahi, then down. He thought he could see the taller man glance at him too, but wasn't sure.

"You live near by right?" Noya asked.

"Ah, yes, just a block that way." He paused, then looked at Noya, "If you wanted to come and charge your phone for a little bit, you could."

"Aw man really?! because I've got like a forty minute bus ride home. Thanks!" Asahi smiled a little bashfully and nodded. The idea of that arduous bus ride without a source of music was enough to send shivers down Noya's spine. He'd probably pass out from exhaustion and boredom.

"Its no problem, Noya."

Noya looked at Asahi, flushing a little at the sound of his own name as he was pulled out of his musings. Dark eyes met his for a moment and Noya was struck by the way the light from the streetlamp lit them up as they passed under it. The only thing on his mind was "Uh oh" when his heart beat a little quicker at the little smile on Asahi's face as he turned to lead the way to his building.

"It's the first one around this corner," he said said softly, and Noya nodded a bit, rubbing his chest and smiling as they made their way through the door. The rickety stairs loomed up, giving the short man pause.

"This has to be some kind of violation." He said with wonder, taking in the way each stair seemed to sag to a different level and slope, as if weighed down by the ancient blue carpet.

"Probably. The building is over a century old, and it's a student building now…" Asahi admitted, "But the apartment itself is nice."

He started up the stairs and Noya waited a moment to follow, alarmed by the groan of wood each stair made as they ascended to the very top. The door was as old as the stairs, by Noya's estimation, but it had a fresh coat of white paint, free from the smudges of age. Noya raised his eyes from the stair he was perched on as Asahi opened the door.