8 Years Prior
Sixteen year old Tsukishima sat reading idly on one of the palace's veranda when a knife unsurprisingly found itself laying on his throat.
Tsukishima yawned. "Fail."
"What do you mean 'Fail'," Hinata demanded, stepping out of the shadows. "There's no way you saw me!"
"Saw you when you scaled down the left guard tower." The Jack tsked. "Really, Hinata, you're going to have to try better than that when you go on real assassinations."
Hinata glared. "I was stationed from half a mile away, it's broad daylight, and you knew I was coming."
"Excuses," Tsukishima replied, decidedly not mentioning that the split second where he'd caught Hinata's shadow had been the only thing that gave away Hinata's position. No reason for the Ace to get complacent after all.
Hinata huffed, sitting down on the ground next to Tsukishima's chair. He was without the normal mask for once since the sight of Hinata the servant would cause much less panic than an all black figure advancing on the Jack.
"Whatcha reading," Hinata asked, glancing up at Tsukishima.
"A letter from Takeda," the Jack said, holding it up for Hinata to see. "He and Keishin apparently found someone they'd like me to consider for an assistant. She'll be at the palace by the end of the week."
"Are they coming, too?" Hinata asked excitedly.
"No," Tsukishima said, swallowing his own disappointment.
Takeda, their guardian and the former Jack of Spades, had retired roughly a year earlier, allowing Tsukishima to take over the role. He and Keishin had moved to one of Spades' northern valleys where Takeda could work of his various science projects unimpeded by also running a government. Based on the letter, both men were quite happy but that didn't stop either Hinata or Tsukishima from missing their former guardian and the spy teacher.
"He did say they'd visit for the summer festival," Tsukishima added. "Apparently, he currently has too many experiments that would explode without constant supervision."
Hinata nodded before frowning. "I didn't know you were looking for an assistant."
"I'm not," Tsukishima answered firmly. "But because Takeda sent her, I suppose I'll meet her and reject her in person."
Hinata rolled his eyes. "Tsuki, at least think about it!"
Tsukishima snorted in clear dismissal before turning back to the letter.
"You know Takeda's just going to send her again if you reject her for no reason," Hinata argued.
"I'm sure I'll find some reason," Tsukishima countered.
"Ugh, you're the worst," Hinata groaned, falling back to lay on the stone floor. "Fine but I'm going with you to meet them. At least then I can see if it's a fair reason."
"No."
"Yes, I'll even go as a servant so it's not suspicious."
"In what way is a palace servant sitting in on interviews not suspicious?"
Hinata frowned, thinking. "I'll hold a food platter or something so it looks like I'm serving you."
Tsukishima sighed, not bothering to respond.
"If you say 'no', I'll just sneak in anyway," Hinata reminded him.
"...Fine," Tsukishima bit out, more to end the conversation than anything.
Hinata smiled. "Yay! What's their name?"
"Yachi Hitoka," Tsukishima said flatly. "But don't bothering remembering it. She's not staying."
"We'll see about that," Hinata said, standing up and brushing off the dirt. "Now, help me practice again. I want to see if I can get all the way here without you seeing."
Tsukishima nodded and Hinata grinned before disappearing back into the shadows.
ooooooo
"Have either of you seen Hinata," Tsukishima demanded, barging into the Queen's room.
Yachi and Suga looked up from the festival preparation, twin expressions of confusion painting their faces.
"I thought he was with you," Yachi frowned. "He wasn't in his room when I went to wake him up so I figured he'd already gotten up and gone to your office to check in."
"I haven't seen him since last night," Tsukishima huffed. "I need to go over the new mission outlines with him before I pass it over to Shimizu and Asahi."
"I supposed he could have been in the latrine or something when I stopped by." Yachi shrugged.
Suga gave a rueful smile. "Don't look at me. Only time I've seen him this week is when I go to check in on Kageyama." The Queen paused. "You don't think he already went up to take over for Shimizu, do you?"
Tsukishima shook his head. "Even Hinata not idiotically shortsighted enough to go for guard duty without checking in first." The Jack sighed. "Maybe a miracle happened and he went back to sleep after Yachi missed him."
Both Suga and Yachi sent him skeptical looks at that suggestion.
"I'll go check his room again," Tsukishima told them. "If he comes by here or something, send him over to my office."
"Will do," Yachi responded cheerfully.
Tsukishima strode down from north side of the castle back to the east, where Hinata's small room was located just a floor down from the Jack's office.
"HINATA! GET UP!" Tsukishima banged on the door, taking a bit of relish in Hinata's private quarters being disturbed for once instead of his.
After yelling and banging on the door didn't get the intended result of an annoyed Ace of Spades, Tsukishima sighed and threw open the door.
"How deep are you asleep," he muttered before realizing that Hinata was in fact not in the room at all.
Tsukishima frowned, looking at the empty unmade bed and the various clothes scattered around the room.
"That idiot better not have gone to his shift without checking in first," Tsukishima grimaced, looking around at the unkempt state of his contemporary's quarters and felt a silent wave of gratitude that they no longer shared a room.
It was then that the Jack noted something peculiar laying among the rubbish.
Perplexed, Tsukishima picked up what looked to be a small plain brown burlap sack.
Why does Hinata even have this, Tsukishima rolled his eyes before a faint but distinctive smell caught his nose.
Ignoring the rising sense of foreboding, the Jack of Spades waved the bag in front of him, careful not to inhale too deeply.
Chloroform.
The bed creaked as Tsukishima sat down heavily, for once ignoring its messy state. He blinked rapidly, his brain compiling information faster than he was choosing to accept it.
Hinata was...The Ace of Spades was gone.
ooooooo
A good number of miles away, Hinata was abruptly woken by a bucket of water thrown in his face.
"Time to wake up!"
The Ace spluttered and coughed into alertness, blinking his eyes and trying to assess his surroundings as quick as his pounding head would allow.
The first thing he saw was a large muscled and scarred man with a nose a dark purple color that showed it had been recently broken. Hazily, Hinata vaguely remembered that might have something to do with the dark angry glare he was sporting for Hinata.
Speaking of himself, Hinata seemed to be secured to some kind of beam-wooden, judging by how the texture felt around the back of his neck and what small parts he could feel with his hands. His captors had clearly gone a bit overboard in tying him up-though perhaps not given his title-with his arms pulled around the sides of the beam and hands secured in some kind of knot that would take Hinata at least a few minutes to work out let alone untie. He also had rope winding around his neck, securing his upper body while some more was wrapped around his waist. Last, his ankles were tied together as he could see from where he sat on a dirt floor.
Hinata glanced around, taking in the building he'd been taken to. By the looks of it, it was an old wooden warehouse-one of the many used for storage out by the docks. That was...not terrible but slightly unfortunate. At least it meant he was probably still close to the city but it did severely cut back on the number of people who would hear him if he tried calling for help-if his captors wouldn't immediately kill him for doing so.
As if reading his thoughts, the man in front of him smirked. "There's no one around here for miles. No one to hear while we ask you a few questions."
"Questions," Hinata asked, his voice coming out a bit choked around the rope.
Frankly, Hinata was a bit surprised that they hadn't already killed him. Even tied up, he was still the Ace of Spades-a dangerous captive to have in any circumstances. He had vaguely thought they might be trying to ransom him but, if they were working for Hyakuzawa-and really, what were the odds that they weren't?-it didn't really make sense to ransom someone you tried to assassinate earlier. Trying to get information out of him kind of made sense if you squinted. Though, it wasn't the best plan of course because…
"I'm not telling you anything," Hinata said flatly, offering back as much of a glare as he could muster while feeling like his brain was literally drumming.
"I'm not sure you understand your situation," the man said, leaning closer until Hinata's face was filled with his bad breath. "No one's coming for you. I doubt they've even noticed you're gone, let alone sent someone out to look for someone as lowly as you. I can assure you that your Suit has much bigger things on their mind. The Ace of Spades is dead and even if he wasn't, there's no way he'd have a chance of finding you."
Hinata's head shot up, confused. Did he just say...did he think…
"Sorry, what did you say," Hinata asked. "About the Ace?"
The man growled. "Your Ace is dead. We killed him weeks ago. Your Suit is still trying to hide it."
Hinata blinked. They...they didn't know he was the Ace? They thought the Ace was dead.
Hey, wait a second, if I'm not here because I'm the Ace then-
"Why am I here," Hinata demanded.
In retrospect, he should have expected the punch to the face-not that there was much he could do about it.
"Don't play games," the man shouted into his face. "We know your the King's servant! Tell us why none of our assassination attempts have gotten through!"
Hinata winced, the left side of his face throbbing. Of course, they captured him because he was close to the guy they were trying to kill. In a vague sense, as Hinata tried to readjust, he wondered if maybe they should have paid more heed to Kageyama's paranoia of people getting close. But really, who thought Hinata the servant would be in more trouble than Hinata the Ace?
"I," Hinata had to stop, sticking his head out as far as it would go to spit some blood out on the floor. "I'll never betray my King."
The man growled, pulling back a fist before another wiry man stepped up from behind and caught it.
"Relax, Onishi," the new man said, turning an assessing eye on Hinata. "Let him stew a bit and think about his options. He won't do much good if you beat him to death before he can even talk."
The man, Onishi, huffed. "Fine." He glared down at Hinata. "Think about how long you want your life to be. Because I can promise that if you don't give us what we want, it will be a very short one."
Onishi held his gaze to let his meaning sink in before he finally backed off, turning to his partner. "Sano! When's Iwasaki getting back?"
Sano, the wiry man, shrugged. "Said something about being more direct and took off."
Hinata bowed his head, trying to look properly hopeless while keeping his eyes trained on the men as they went to sit at a small table in the corner of the warehouse, a deck of cards laid out between them.
Once the two men appeared to be more focused on their card game, Hinata silently evaluated his options. He could probably...no, he could definitely get out of the ropes around his hands given a few minutes. He'd already gotten them lose during his conversation with the men. Thr rope around his neck, waist, and feet would be a bigger problem. Not really because they'd be any more difficult but because it would be practically impossible to get through all of them without the men in the same room noticing. And that would mean Hinata's death.
He could wait. Judging by his internal clock, it was early afternoon and Hinata could theoretically wait until night. But his instincts told him that the men wouldn't let him live that long, especially if he wasn't giving them information. Frankly, Hinata assumed that even if he did give them something to go on-even if he faked the information-he still wouldn't live past sunset. Assassins didn't like loose ends.
Hinata...wasn't really seeing a way out of this but he was the Ace of Spades and he wasn't worthy of his title if he was giving up this easy. Not to mention, that giving up would mean his death and leaving Suga, Tsuki, and Kageyama alone to deal with a coming war.
Never. Maybe...maybe Hinata could try to fight them. He didn't think he'd get further than his hands and his waist before they noticed but maybe...that would be enough.
"You do look like you're in trouble, don't you," a cheery voice sounded right beside his ear and Hinata jerked.
A man, who looked around Hinata's age and with bright red spiky hair, laughed at him from where he crouched beside him.
Wow, Hinata's headache must be worse than he thought if he didn't notice a new captor literally right next to him.
"I'm still not telling you anything," Hinata coughed, trying to subtly shift his wrist to hide that that his hands were basically free.
"Oh, don't worry," the man smiled. "I'm not with those guys. In fact," the man's smile widened and he leaned closer, "what would you say if I told you that you were the only one in this room who could see and hear me?"
Hinata clearly needed to reevaluate how bad his concussion was.
The man laughed at his confusion. "Oh, you little Ace are adorable. And so entertaining!"
Before, Hinata could do anything more than widen his eyes, the man shot a hand out and covered his mouth.
"Careful, they can't hear me but they can still hear you," the man said, wagging a finger. "Allow me to introduce myself," the man stood up and bowed, swinging his arm out in a flourish. "I'm Tendou, though you would know me better as Chaos."
Hinata stared blankly for a solid five seconds. "...you mean like the Fate?"
"Exactly like the Fate," Tendou grinned. "In fact, not even like, I'm the Fate. Personification of Chaos, creator of Cards, excellent poker player, blah, blah, blah."
Hinata was suddenly not sure if he was hallucinating this or if this was actually happening. It wasn't exactly everyday that the mythical creator of your country popped up while you were tied to a pole. Wait, a second, maybe it was because of that second part.
"Aren't you only supposed to show up in the most dire of circumstances," Hinata gulped. "Am I...am I dying? Like from the concussion or something?"
He had certainly considered it as a likely possibility but it was a little different when a Fate showed up to confirm it.
"Pft, no, you're fine," the Fate waved a hand airily. "I was just bored and thought I'd drop by." He rolled his eyes. "And I'm not sure about 'dire'. Ushijima's been basically stalking a guy for a decade so I think I'm allowed to have a bit of fun, too."
"Ushijima?" Hinata asked hesitantly.
"Oh, yeah, that's Order," Tendou explained, bending down to look at the ropes around Hinata's neck. "Don't worry about him. I'm the much more fun Fate. Trust me." The personification of Chaos tilted his head. "Well, unless you get him drunk, then it's a real party."
Hinata wisely chose to stay silent before the Fate said anything more confusing.
Tendou whistled. "They've got you tied up pretty well, don't they?"
"Can you help me," Hinata asked hopefully.
"Duh, of course, why else would I be here," Tendou said, rolling his eyes.
Hinata let out a relieved sigh. "Are you going to like use your magic to make me appear back at the castle or something?"
Tendou shook his head firmly. "Definitely not. That's wayyyy too boring." He paused. "I mean...I guess I could but where would be the fun in that?"
Hinata opened his mouth to argue but Tendou smirked and started again. "You just sit tight and wait for my signal. Kay, short stuff?" The Fate glanced down again. "Oh, you might want to work on those ropes around your waist, too. It be a real bummer if I went through all of this just to see you killed."
With that, the Fate popped out of existence and Hinata was left alone with his own jumbled thoughts. Somehow, Hinata always thought that the Fates were a little bit more...reserved. Like some kind of wise old grandparents or something.
Still, Hinata frantically began to work on the rope around his waist because he really didn't think Tendou was joking about being killed.
Hinata had just gotten the ropes loose enough to slip off when-
"HEY!" Onishi yelled. "WHAT ARE YOU UP TO OVER THERE!"
Shit. Hinata really hoped the Fate actually had a plan.
Sano pushed off from the table brandishing a small knife and walking ominously toward Hinata.
Just when Sano was about a foot away, Hinata saw Tendou pop back into being right beside him and stuck out a foot, catching Sano's leg.
The man went down hard, knife spinning out of his hand and flying right towards Hinata's face.
Hinata barely had time to take a breath before the knife planted himself into the wood, less than an inch away from Hinata's neck and directly through the rope securing it.
He didn't give have time to freak out about how close his neck had come to being shish kebabed, shooting his free hands up to yank the knife out of the wood and free his neck. Frantically, Hinata bent down to the last bit of rope around his legs and had just gotten the knife close when he was slammed hard back into the pole by Sano.
Only from hard earned experience was Hinata able to keep hold of the knife, his other hand coming out to punch Sano hard across the face and knock the older man off.
Sano groaned, blinking disoriented.
"DUCK!" Tendou shouted and Hinata complied instantly.
His entire body hitting the dirt and Hinata heard a whoosh as Onishi swung an ax an inch above his head.
"Nice One," the Fate called out and Hinata ignored him, focusing on rolling away from Onishi's next swing.
The ax hit the dirt next to Hinata and the Ace tried to get into a crouch before Onishi could ready another swing. Something that would have been a lot easier if his legs were unbound.
"Kill him, Onishi!" Sano yelled and Hinata saw the other man holding his cheek and raising himself on two unsteady feet.
Onishi swung again and Hinata did a half leap half squat to the side, catching the thick beam and levering himself around it to use as a shield.
Seconds after Hinata had ducked to the ground behind the beam, Onishi's next swing hit right into the middle of the wood, sinking a solid half a foot with a dull thunk!
Growling, Onishi tried to lever the ax out of the wood but Hinata moved before he could, striking out with the knife in one movement.
Onishi's hand slipped from the ax handle and down to his leg, face going quickly white as his leg's femoral artery soaked the dirt floor. The man had just enough time to realize what had happened and glance back at Hinata with wide eyes before his eyes rolled back and his body hit the floor heavily.
"Onishi!" Sano screamed. During Hinata's fight, the other man had made his way back to the table and had grabbed a sword from somewhere.
When he saw Hinata looking at him, Sano met his eyes and glared. "You'll pay for that, you little shit."
The mercenary ran full front at Hinata, the sword held high over his head and poised for what was sure to be a messy blow to Hinata's neck.
Hinata let out a small sigh, pulling back his own knife before sending in spinning.
Sano's body fell next to Onishi's, a knife embedded in the exact middle of his forehead and the sword clanging as it hit the ground.
Hinata reached down and quietly loosened the rope around his legs enough to slip out.
Beside him, Tendou let out a low whistle.
"See, I knew you'd be interesting," the Fate grinned. "Nice throw back there."
"Thanks," Hinata shrugged. It was kind of an easy target when the man was running towards him like that.
Hinata watched as Tendou walked over to the ax still embedded deep in the wooden beam and casually flicked it.
"Thanks for you help, too," Hinata rushed out, remembering that this guy was literally the very essence behind the magic of Cards. "I'm honored by your assistance."
"Aww," Tendou gushed, turning to him. "Entertaining and polite. I'm totally rubbing this in Ushijima's face next time I see him." He hummed thoughtfully and gave Hinata a cheery smile. "By the way, you might want to get out of here."
"Yeah," Hinata grimaced. "Tsuki and Suga are probably going crazy if they've realized I'm gone….Not to mention, Yachi."
"Actually," Tendou grinned. "I mean because this entire buildings going to collapse any second. But that too, I guess."
"...what," Hinata laughed awkwardly, wondering if he misheard.
Tendou jerked a thumb at the beam, sawed halfway by the ax. "Oh, this is the major support beam for this place. With me and my chaotic magic here, I give it...maybe a minute before the whole building goes down." Tendou sent him one last grin as Hinata's jaw gaped open. "Now, I'll be watching so stay interesting, would ya?"
The last syllable had barely reached Hinata's ears before the spy found himself alone in the warehouse that had just started to creak ominously
Hinata didn't stay for long.
At full sprint, Hinata bolted as fast as his legs could possibly go, not even pausing to survey the warehouse. His shoes clacked hard against the dirt as Hinata threw open the door, squinting briefly in the afternoon sun to see a dock overhanging a river in front of him. Hinata sprinted off the dock and jumped-hitting the water just as a loud snap sounded behind him.
Under the water, Hinata covered his ears an used the dock for cover as pieces of wood splashed into the water all around him.
When Hinata finally dared poke his head up and look back over the dock behind him, all that was left of the warehouse was a large pile of broken wood and shattered glass.
Hinata let out a slow shaky breath and just to himself thought that, in the future, maybe getting help from the personification of Chaos should not be his first option.
ooooooo
Shortly after dinner, Iwaizumi retired back to his private chambers to think.
Usually, Iwaizumi was hardly ever in his room between training the Knights of Hearts and running the kingdom. But for the last week or so, the Ace had found himself in his room more and more, carefully turning over the conversation he'd had with his King-with Oikawa.
Why do you want me to be King?
That was the question that Iwaizumi had to answer if he wanted even a chance of having Oikawa stay.
Iwaizumi always thought of himself as a rather straightforward guy-never one to try to over complicate a matter when the simplest answer would do. He had quickly come to realize that this was a key difference between him and Oikawa. Where Iwaizumi was straightforward and firm like the blade of a sword, Oikawa was quick and versatile like a knife. Iwaizumi was not one to wonder about the how's and why's of a matter, perfectly secure with a simple what.
Even during the war, Iwaizumi had never truly wondered why he was chosen as Ace. After he claimed his title, he had, of course, wondered how he would lead the kingdom-mainly reaching out to the other Card Suits for advice or going back to the past policies of the Hearts kingdoms-but why he was Ace had never really occurred to him. He simply was the Ace-it was how he was born and it was how he'd die so why put much thought into how it might be different?
Because of this, Iwaizumi's first answer to Oikawa's question was a confused because it's your destiny. That would never be enough to convince Oikawa though. Not for someone so concerned with finding all the different paths behind every decision.
Iwaizumi sighed. When Iwaizumi asked Mad Dog why he became Queen, the mage had just shrugged and said "the magic" so that had been unhelpful. Asking Yahaba had meant sitting through several perplexed demands about why he was asking and assuring the man that yes, Iwaizumi thought he was doing a fantastic job as Jack and of course, wasn't questioning his skills. Finally, Yahaba had responded that he thought Hearts' financial system was out of date and wanted to fix it before it pulled Cards into an economic depression.
In other words, Yahaba had a specific task in mind and thought he could accomplish it as Jack. Iwaizumi didn't know what task Oikawa had. Or….well, he guessed that wasn't quite true. He knew that Oikawa's ultimate goal was helping Hearts' people.
Iwaizumi frowned. That...that might be the start of an idea.
He needed an idea and desperately. He and Yahaba were leaving for Spades tomorrow afternoon which gave him less than twenty four hours to come up with an idea that would convince Oikawa to become King.
He...he could tell Oikawa about the Hyakuzawa plot. He should tell Oikawa about the Hyakuzawa plot. He knew the man well enough that Iwaizumi had no doubt that Oikawa would take on the mantle of Kingship if it meant Hearts staying out of war. Oikawa would do anything for Hearts, even taking on a role he didn't believe in. But...but Iwaizumi didn't want to do that. Not to Oikawa. Not without trying everything else first.
Iwaizumi knew what it was like to Claim a title to prevent war. He knew the burden, the unsteadiness he'd felt for years after-really until Yahaba and Mad Dog had come to stand beside him. For someone like Oikawa, someone who didn't believe he should have the title in the first place, it would be even worse. And...and Iwaizumi couldn't make that his reason for wanting Oikawa as King. Not yet. Not until he absolutely had to.
But, the fact remained that Hearts needed Oikawa. Not because of fate or destiny or even the threat of war. Iwaizumi felt it deep in his bones that Oikawa was needed here, that a Hearts without him would be a worse off place.
And Iwaizumi would...Iwaizumi would miss him if he left. He'd miss their banter, their arguments, their spars. He'd miss the way that Oikawa's eyes lit up when he would talk about Hearts. He'd miss him being close by and always ready for a conversation, running the course between light and witty or deep and heartfelt. He'd miss the way his hair curled at the ends from sweat after a particularly long spar. He'd miss how Oikawa could turn his words into devastating barbs or carefully considered suggestions depending on his need. He'd miss the smiles and laughs that would edge too close to sincere and make Iwaizumi return on reflex.
Her rubbed his chest absently as something twinged-probably just some heartburn from the wine at dinner.
How could he find the words to convince someone who was so much his opposite?
Maybe...maybe that was it, though? Maybe that was the reason that Iwaizumi wanted him to stay the most. It could be that...maybe Iwaizumi already had the answer and now that he could see it, it was blinding like looking directly into the sun.
Heart pounding, the Ace got to his feet and rushed to the door, intent on finding Oikawa.
He jerked the door open and had one foot out before he looked up and...
Oikawa stood in front of him, hand raised to knock.
Iwaizumi starred.
Oikawa blinked.
The two men stood, both frozen in the doorway.
"Um, evening," Oikawa greeted, smiling hesitantly before fidgeting in the entrance way. "Sorry to intrude...or something."
Iwaizumi continued starring. "What are you doing here?"
Oikawa opened his mouth before frowning, shaking his head. "Nevermind. This was...this was stupid. I don't even know why I came. I'll go."
The other man turned, obviously intent on walking back down the hall before Iwaizumi reached out and grabbed his wrist-his fingers rubbing against the bandage.
Oikawa stopped, turning back to Iwaizumi with large confused brown eyes.
Iwaizumi's throat went suddenly dry and he dropped his wrist, bringing the hand up to rub the back of his head. "Sorry...just, um, want to come in? Since you came all the way up here and all."
Oikawa swallowed, the movement drawing Iwaizumi eyes before they quickly flickered back up to Oikawa's face. "Yeah, I guess….ah, thanks."
"Actually, I was just heading out to find you," Iwaizumi said, stepping aside and letting Oikawa inside the room. Iwaizumi closed the door and watched as Oikawa stood awkwardly in the center of the room, obviously unsure where to sit since Iwaizumi's room didn't have much in terms of seating other than a single desk chair or the bed.
"You can take the desk if you want," Iwaizumi suggested.
Oikawa nodded, taking the suggestion.
The two men sat in an uncomfortable silence that reminded Iwaizumi far too much of Oikawa's first week in the castle. In a way, even worse, because at least then the two were always a second away from snapping at each other rather than this weird limbo they seemed stuck in.
At the desk, Oikawa cleared his throat and then...did something that Iwaizumi never would've expected.
Slowly, he unwrapped the bandage off his hand until all that was left was a bright red heart and a pale hand-standing out even brighter against the tan of his fingers.
Iwaizumi breath caught in his chest.
"Why were you heading to find me?," Oikawa asked softly, eyes moving up to meet Iwaizumi's own.
The Ace swallowed, figuring this was as good an opening as any and decidedly better than most.
"I have an answer to your question," Iwaizumi said, trying for a firm confident voice but coming out softer than he had intended.
Oikawa hummed. "Which question was that?"
"I know why I want you as my King."
And there was the firmness his voice needed.
He was just able to catch Oikawa's eyes widen before the man quickly ducked his head down back to the desk, his hand tightening around the unwrapped bandage.
"And why is that, Iwaizumi," Oikawa asked and Iwaizumi briefly faltered at the sound of his full last name.
Pushing his nerves aside, Iwaizumi moved forward, stepping in front of Oikawa and grasping his shoulder to push him back in the chair until their eyes met. If he was doing this then Oikawa was going to look at him while he did, would see how much he meant it.
Oikawa blinked in surprise, opening his mouth but not finding any words before Iwaizumi started.
"I want you as my King because Hearts needs to change and I'm not the one who can give it," Iwaizumi said, voice heavy for the small room.
"Not alone," Iwaizumi continued. "Hearts needs someone to be able to push past just rebuilding to forge it into something new and better and you're the only one who can do it." Iwaizumi took a deep breath. "You were right back at the audience when you told me I focused too much on stability instead of progress. Hearts needs more than that right now, it needs someone who can take it apart, examine it, and put it back as something better."
"And...and I know you're the one who can do it because...because you'd do it while still caring about it, while still loving it enough to see the things that need to stay the same and the things that need to change." Oikawa made to interrupt but Iwaizumi stopped him. "Look, I know you don't think the people need you on the throne. I know you don't believe in fate or destiny. And who knows? Maybe you're right and the Marks don't always make the best leaders. They certainly fucked it up with the last Ace and Queen. But….but that doesn't matter right now. Hearts needs someone to lead it to the future and no one is going to be better at that than you. Mark or no Mark"
Iwaizumi swallowed, finally looking away so he wouldn't have to see the answer. "So….yeah, that's why I want you as King, because in the end, you were right all along. What do you say?"
There was a pause and then Iwaizumi felt a hand on his cheek, guiding his face back to look at Oikawa.
Iwaizumi didn't get a chance to see Oikawa's expression before the other man was leaning forward, stopping with his face a breath away from Iwaizumi and paused in a silent question.
Iwaizumi didn't pull away and Oikawa took that as the answer it was, moving his hand to the back of Iwaizumi neck and pulling him forward to meet Oikawa.
And then Oikawa was kissing him.
Beyond the obvious, Iwaizumi had absolutely no idea what was happening but he really didn't want it to stop. So he leaned forward matching Oikawa's soft movements with his own and tilting his head to get a better angle.
Oikawa seemed to take this as encouragement, his movements becoming less soft and more the deliberate and demanding force that Iwaizumi had expected….wait, when exactly had he developed expectations for how Oikawa kissed?
It really didn't matter as Iwaizumi reached out blindly, grabbing hold of Oikawa's sleeve and pulling him up from the awkward half sitting position and into Iwaizumi's chest. Oikawa went with the movement, laughing slightly into Iwaizumi's mouth before bringing his hand up to grip his hair.
He nibbled slightly on Iwaizumi's lip and Iwaizumi groaned, bringing his arm around to pull Oikawa closer.
He could feel Oikawa's mouth twist into a smirk and for some reason, that was what fully broke Iwaizumi's trance.
He pulled back, breathing heavier than it should've been after barely a few minutes of kissing.
"What," Iwaizumi breathed out before catching his breath and settling into a firmer voice. "What was that about?"
Oikawa smiled and this time Iwaizumi could take in his expression.
He looked...tired
Oikawa stepped back, putting space between the two that they probably needed but Iwaizumi definitely didn't want.
"Sorry," Oikawa said softly. "I'm selfish. I just wanted to do that one time before I had to give it away." Oikawa took a deep breath and Iwaizumi's stomach went into free fall. "I...I actually came here to tell you that I was wrong...and to apologize." He waved a hand between them. "I didn't really mean for this to happen..though I don't really regret it." Oikawa bit his lip, looking down. "The truth is I was wrong for what I said a month ago. You're a great leader-and an even greater man. You'll do a great job with Hearts like you always have but…," Oikawa looked up, meeting his eyes. "But I can't be your King."
Iwaizumi opened his mouth but Oikawa leaned forward putting a hand over it before he could speak.
"No, listen," Oikawa pressed. "You're amazing, really. And...and maybe the only reason I was chosen by Fate was so I could tell you that...to push you in a new direction maybe. But, overall," Oikawa shook his head. "I've seen you...seen Yahaba and Mad Dog...all of you are meant to lead Hearts. You're good at it. But a throne's never been where I belong and it never will be. The throne's for you. All three of you," Oikawa dropped both his hand and his gaze. "And, maybe, it's because you do understand what it's like to live under a tyrant king. You do and...and, you're not like me, you're not like me at all, you didn't chose to hate it blindly….you did something better. You changed it. You took something broken and tried to fix it. And, yeah, maybe some parts are still kind of shitty and need more work. But you're trying and you're a better man than me because I...I never...So, yeah."
Oikawa looked back at up with him before immediately directing his attention back to the floor and letting out a slightly wild laugh.
"And...and you want to know what the really crazy thing is?" Oikawa asked, not giving him time to answer before starting back. "I think that if I let myself it would be really, really easy to fall in love with you. Not even counting all of this King shit."
Iwaizumi's breath caught but Oikawa just let out another laugh, scrubbing at his face with his sleeve. "And, I mean...that's crazy, right? I thought I hated you a month ago. But...but now...I think...I really think I could and it would be easy."
And, yeah, Iwaizumi thought, that was crazy. But, even still it felt like something precious was slipping through his hands, faster than he could stop it. His thoughts were interrupted by Oikawa finally looking up and meeting his eyes.
"So, I guess I can't let myself, right," Oikawa whispered, soft tone belaying the fire in his eyes. "Because, well, you don't become King just for one person. That's...that's just selfish and...and I can never be your King. It's not who I am. You deserve-this country deserves better than me and so, I can't be the one to wear the crown."
Iwaizumi moved forward to argue but a single look from Oikawa stopped him.
"You're not going to change my mind, Hajimi," Oikawa said firmly. "So, please... You're leaving tomorrow for Spades and I'm not. So, just for tonight, can we not talk about monarchies and politics?"
Iwaizumi opened his mouth but all that came out was a short raspy breath.
He laughed, short and without humor.
"So, this is it?" he asked. And he didn't know what he looked like, what he sounded like but something in his demeanor made Oikawa flinch and Iwaizumi hated it.
"I'll see you off tomorrow," Oikawa said quietly-the words barely making it out of his mouth before Iwaizumi was moving, yanking him forward
Oikawa gasped, a short sudden intake of breath, before Iwaizumi's mouth met his again.
Iwaizumi didn't have to wait long for Oikawa to react-he never had-and soon the other's hands had returned to their previous position, gripping Iwaizumi's hair.
True to Oikawa's wish, the two didn't talk about politics or monarchies. Of Kings or Aces. Of wars or destiny.
In fact, they didn't talk much at all. But, Iwaizumi still heard one word in every touch of their lips, in every stillness between moments, in every desperate stolen second.
Iwaizumi still heard goodbye.
ooooooo
Tsukishima paced around his office, going through papers and papers trying to find something, anything that would give him a hint of where Hinata was.
After finding the bag and Hinata's room empty, he'd immediately alerted Suga, Yachi, and the rest of the spies. Currently, they were all busy with their own tasks but each were coming up as fruitless as Tsukishima's own was proving. The spies had split their resources-Shimizu going out into the city to try to find any clue and Asahi staying in to guard the King. Yachi was discreetly surveying the palace servants to see if anyone had seen anyone unusual in the past. So far, all she'd found out was that two men had apparently been spotted somewhere on the east side of the castle yesterday afternoon but hadn't been seen since. Yachi had passed that information on to Shimizu. Suga was using his magic to try to get a location on Hinata's life essence-a notoriously difficult and unwieldy process that hadn't found anything yet. With magic, this meant that Hinata was either on the move, outside of Suga's range (which was terrifying in its own way since that range was half the country), or that Hinata was d-
Well, Tsukishima was not thinking of that option. Not recognizing that the most obvious goal when capturing the Ace of Spades did not involve keeping him alive.
Tsukishima drew in a ragged breath, stalking over to his desk to look through papers there. He had been so stupid. He had thought that the decrease in activity meant that the assassins thought the Ace was dead. He should have realized they were just biding their time for something bigger. If Hinata was….if Tsukishima didn't get to see him again, then the fault would lay entirely own his head. It was the Ace's job to act on information and to gather it; it was the Jack's to properly asses that information and watch the Ace's back.
Wiping a hand over his face, Tsukishima pulled himself out of those thoughts and back to the task on hand. Scrub the feelings, focus on the data. A lack of focus would only mean delay in finding Hinata.
As soon as he finally calmed his mind to a place where he could actually process the information, a knock sounded on his door.
Tsukishima held back a growl but couldn't stop the scowl as he strode over to the door.
"What," Tsukishima bit out before finally looking down at his visitor.
Hinata smiled. "Hey, Tsuki!"
Tsukishima stumbled back and Hinata apparently took this as the Jack letting him in as he strode past Tsukishima with a grin.
"Sorry, it took me so long. I had to walk a few miles just to find someplace with actual people and then you wouldn't believe how long it took me to find someone both with a horse and willing to lend it to me. Oh, by the way, remind me to bring Mr. Reo his horse back-you remember him the old guy with the cats, who runs that seafood shop?-apparently his nephew or something's in town for the weekend and let me borrow-"
That was as long as it took for the shock to wear off and Tsukishima to reach forward to the spy.
Tsukishima closed his eyes and let out a slow breath, feeling his heart beat quickly in his chest and feeling an answering calm, beat from Hinata
"Um, Tsuki?" Hinata asked, voice muffled by the awkward hug. "You alright? I'm really okay, I promise."
"Shut up," Tsukishima said, pushing Hinata back.
The Jack straightened his clothes and let out a small annoyed huff, leaning on his desk. "So, tell me what happened."
Hinata grinned, falling back into the visitor's chair. "You're really not going to believe it."
"Try me."
And Hinata did.
