"Hinata. How many times have I told you about the importance of focusing when we're in practice?" Daichi's voice was wavering with an uncharacteristic tinge of panic and worry.
"Um…you tell me that pretty much every other practice." Hinata let out a nervous giggle, which was evidently the wrong move.
"You think it's funny that your vice-captain just had to go to the hospital in severe pain? You think it's funny that he might've suffered permanent damage to his shoulder?"
"N-no, of course not! I…I just lost focus for a little bit and wasn't watching where I was going. I never meant to…well…" Hinata stopped rambling when he saw the fury creeping into his captain's expression.
"Of course you didn't mean to do it. But you still have to take responsibility for your actions, Hinata."
Hinata simply nodded, too afraid of provoking any more anger.
"I've been able to let you off with warnings and reminders all this time. But today? You've seriously injured a teammate. Your vice-captain, no less. And you still have the gall to make excuses. That's what I call unforgiveable."
Tears welling up in his eyes, Hinata bowed down to Daichi's feet. "I…I don't know what to do, Daichi. I know it's all my fault and I messed up super bad. All I can say is I'm really, really, sorry."
Asahi lowered himself to Hinata's eye-level and placed a comforting hand on his underclassman's shoulder. "That's enough now, Hinata. We all know it was an accident, don't we, Daichi?"
Softened by Hinata's genuine display of regret and the gentle, pleading look in Asahi's eyes, Daichi felt a twinge of shame for his recent outburst. Of course, he still couldn't just let Hinata off that easily.
"Asahi's right. Please get up now, Hinata. Look, everyone knows you didn't mean to hurt Sugawara. To be honest, I'm sure he doesn't blame you at all. But I still want you to think long and hard about what happened today, alright?"
"Yeah, I will."
"You're dismissed now, Hinata. Be safe on your way home."
The two third-years watched as Hinata jogged to the locker room, his dejected mood emanating from the lack of energy in his step. Asahi waited until after Hinata was completely out of sight before turning toward Daichi. Before he could get any words out, Daichi suddenly broke the silence.
"I was too hard on him, wasn't I?"
"Just a bit." Asahi was selective with his words, careful not to upset his friend any further.
"You don't have to sugarcoat it. It's always a disaster whenever I let my emotions take over."
"I mean...it's understandable. Suga's your boyfriend after all."
"Speaking of Suga, I'd better go check on him later."
"I'm sure he's alright. A dislocated shoulder isn't life-threatening."
Daichi nodded, trying to hide his shock. How ironic was it that "negative goatee" Asahi, the one who always feared the worst, was the one reassuring him right now?
Just then, Daichi's phone pinged with a text from Sugawara: Hope the rest of practice went ok! Shoulder is back in place now. Still hurts, but not as bad as before. The worst part is no volleyball for at least two weeks. :(
"Was that Suga?"
"Yeah. He made it to the hospital and got his shoulder popped back in. " Daichi smiled and let out a sigh of relief, reassured that his boyfriend was alright. Don't worry about volleyball, he replied. I'm just so glad ur ok.
"That's good to hear. Well, I'll start heading off now. Let me know if you two need anything, 'kay?"
"Thanks. See you bright and early on Monday."
"You got it. Oh, and have fun tonight."
Daichi looked up, cheeks bright red. He didn't like the suggestive smirk on his friend's face."W-what exactly did Suga tell you?"
Asahi chuckled, but didn't answer.
Daichi was about to protest when he got another text from Sugawara. So...I can't really engage in "rigorous physical activity" right now. Sorry for ruining tonight's plans. I totally get it if you don't want to come over anymore.
Daichi's heart skipped a beat. He had to get over to Sugawara's right away.
Sugawara was worried that his boyfriend wouldn't want to come over after what had happened at practice today. This past week, he had been swamped with college entrance exam prep and hadn't gotten to spend time with Daichi outside of volleyball club. Fortunately, it just so happened that this weekend both of his parents were away for a conference; Mr. and Mrs. Sugawara had agreed to let Daichi stay the night without hesitation, and both boys had been eagerly awaiting a night to themselves. Now it was his fault that they couldn't engage in their highly-anticipated evening of lovemaking.
What made him the most nervous was the fact that Daichi never replied to his text. That could mean one of three things: either he hadn't yet read the text, he wasn't coming and didn't want to hurt Sugawara's feelings, or that he actually was coming and just wanted to surprise him. As much of an optimist Sugarawa was, given the context of this week, the first and second options seemed the most likely.
Just as Sugawara was beginning to get lost in his thoughts, Daichi showed up at his doorstep.
"Ah, Daichi! I was wondering when you'd show up!"
"I booked it over here as soon as I read your text."
"Aww, thanks. Get in here already."
Daichi quickly closed the door and pulled Sugawara into an awkward hug, trying to avoid contact with the injured shoulder. "Ugh, I was so worried about you. Are you really okay?"
"Yeah, I'm doing a lot better."
"Good." Daichi planted a soft kiss on his boyfriend's cheek, eliciting a delighted giggle and Sugawara's signature smile.
Little did Daichi know that hidden under Sugawara's beaming grin was an enormous flood of relief.
Later that evening, Sugawara noticed a familiar look in Daichi's eyes, one that always appeared when he was in deep thought.
"What's on your mind, love?"
Daichi remained silent, feigning like he hadn't heard his boyfriend.
"I know you heard me, Daichi. Come on, what is it?"
Daichi stiffened at Sugawara's playful yet serious tone. "Just thinking about what happened—no, what Hinata did this afternoon."
"Now Daichi, you can't still be mad at him, can you?"
"He landed on you. It's his fault that you got hurt."
"Yes, but it was obviously an accident. You should've seen how scary you looked when you were chewing him out. That's no way to talk to your underclassman now, is it?"
Daichi looked away. He couldn't bear his boyfriend's disapproving gaze. "Suga, he deserved it."
"You told poor Hinata that what happened was"—he paused for dramatic effect—"unforgivable." The silver-haired vice-captain scoffed and shook his head. "You know how dense that boy is. Of course he took it to heart."
Daichi pretended to ignore Sugawara's near-perfect imitation of his "captain voice." "How did you know I said that?"
"Asahi texted me."
"Oh, of course." Daichi rolled his eyes.
"And I'm glad he did, Daichi. I predicted that you'd lecture Hinata again...and that it wasn't going to be pretty."
"Yeah…I know. I'll apologize at morning practice on Monday. But I still can't just forgive him that easily."
Suga sighed. "Daichi, you're making way too big a deal out of—"
"I-I was so…scared. I don't know how to explain it exactly—it was just horrible seeing you in so much pain and not being able to do anything."
Sugawara chuckled. "I looked that helpless, huh?"
Daichi nodded. "I know I'm overreacting, but…you're my precious Suga. I hate it when I can't protect you." The cracking in his voice was accompanied by tears beginning to well up in in his eyes.
"Oh, Daichi…." Sugawara snuggled up closer to his boyfriend and rested his head into the crook of Daichi's neck. The raven-haired boy instantly relaxed, melting into the soothing warmth of his love. Daichi began to pull Sugawara into a passionate embrace but froze when he suddenly let out a stifled, barely audible yelp of pain.
"Ah, sorry!" Daichi started backing away, feeling flustered and guilty.
"Hmm? What's wrong? Scared to get intimate with me?" He flashed a toothy, devilish grin at his boyfriend.
Daichi didn't miss how Sugawara had instinctively cradled his injured arm towards his body. He hesitated before answering.
"It's just—I'm afraid of hurting you."
"Daichi, I trust you wouldn't hurt me."
"But when I started hugging you—"
"Oh, that was nothing."
"Then why are you holding your arm like that?"
Sugawara immediately let go of his sling-encased arm and smiled sheepishly. "Hehe…sharp as always, Daichi."
Daichi sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Look, it's probably safest if we just…avoid physical contact altogether."
To Daichi's surprise, Sugawara burst into laughter. "Geez, Daichi! I mean…yeah, it hurts, but it's going to hurt no matter what. That doesn't mean I can't cuddle with you. I'm not some fragile porcelain doll, you know."
"Believe me, I know. You're stronger than me in so many ways, Suga." Daichi smiled as Sugawara's cheeks flushed beet red. His grin only grew wider as his boyfriend grabbed his hand and led him to his bed, their favorite cuddling spot since freshman year. Sugawara nestled himself into the curves of Daichi's body, and Daichi carefully wrapped his arm around his boyfriend's waist.
"This is okay, right?"
"It's perfect."
"Promise you'll let me know if I'm hurting you."
"Mhm."
Daichi shivered with pleasure as Sugawara started planting light, feathery kisses on his neck. Soon enough, their lips found their way towards each other and the two engaged in a series of short, passionate wet kisses.
After a few minutes, Sugawara pulled away and looked Daichi straight in the eyes. "I have something to confess."
"What is it?" Daichi asked, confusion written all over his face.
"I...I thought you actually wouldn't want to come over today. For real. And when you didn't reply to my text...well..."
"Okay, you already know I was just in a rush to get my butt over here. But why did you think I wouldn't come at all?"
"I've been 'rejecting' you pretty much every day this week 'cause of college prep. And I know how much you were looking forward to tonight. I wouldn't have been surprised if you were angry at me and didn't want to see me."
Daichi shook his head vehemently. "Suga...you think I just wanted to have sex with you?"
"Well...no, but we hadn't done it for so long and I could tell you were getting frustrated."
"This should go without saying, but our relationship is NOT based solely on sex. What do you think we are, friends with benefits? Of course not. I love you for who you are, Suga. I want to spend to time with you, but that definitely doesn't mean we have to be f***ing."
"Daichi..."
"Sure, I was looking forward to tonight. But if I looked upset today it was because I was worried about you and your injury. I don't care that we can't have sex right now. The most important thing is that you're okay."
Sugawara took a moment to collect his thoughts before answering. "Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't be worrying so much about nothing. What am I doing, letting Asahi's negative thinking rub off on me like that?"
Daichi shook his head. "That's not the point. Your worries were totally valid—I'm the one who should be sorry for ever making you feel that way."
"None of this is your fault, really. It was just me letting my insecurities take over. And you handled it even better than I could've imagined."
"Oh, don't put it like that. I'd be a pretty s***ty boyfriend if I couldn't even comfort you." Daichi was rubbing the back of his neck, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Sugawara giggled. "You know, maybe we could try a little something...as long as we're super careful."
"Why risk it? We'll have plenty of time for that once your shoulder is better. Let's just call this a 'small vacation' from the usual."
Sugawara smiled. "And once I get this sling off…?"
Now it was Daichi's turn to flash a devilish grin. "Well, you know what comes next."