kunimeh | overflow/inbox

[ For all that he outwardly seems like a silly goofball, Oikawa Tooru prides himself on paying close attention to the people around him. That goes double, if not triple, for his teammates, most especially his precious underclassmen. He wouldn't be where he is without their support, and they deserve just as much in return.

Which is why, when Oikawa claps a hand on Kunimi's shoulder just before their game with Shinzen, he immediately notices that something's wrong.

Kunimi isn't expressive, at least not outwardly; Oikawa has come to understand this, and so he instead looks to other sources of information to figure out how the first year is feeling. After the past few months he's realized that Kunimi does show how he feels: he simply does it in negatives. He'll ignore his name being called; he'll turn away from an invitation; he'll leave his food untouched. Small, simple things, the kind that their louder teammates might never notice but Oikawa can instantly recognize.

By now, Kunimi has also seemed to become accustomed to Oikawa's easy affections. He's physical with all of them, lavishing each one of his teammates with high-fives and hugs and even the occasional kiss on the cheek. It's his love language; he can't stop himself any more than an eagle can keep itself from flying. Up until now Kunimi hasn't exactly been eager for it, but he rarely pulls away, rarely does anything except make a face and mumble something about it being inappropriate.

But today?

Today, when Oikawa's hand lands on that slim shoulder, Kunimi winces.

It's tiny, barely perceptible, but Oikawa's eyes are sharp and his attention is immediately focused entirely on his kouhai. Unfortunately for both of them, they have a game to play - but the entire time Oikawa's eyes keep coming back to Kunimi, watching to see if there are any other clues, any small tells that might give away why, exactly, he made that face. ]

[It's always spooked Kunimi a bit, how well Oikawa understands him.

Very few people even try to look beyond his flat, slightly chilly affect - he's assumed to be bored and lazy on the court, intelligent but irresponsible in class, and so disinterested in social connection that he intimidates a lot of his classmates. He's got Kindaichi, he's got his volleyball team, and he doesn't seem to want anyone else in his life.

But then there's Oikawa, who saw Kunimi suffering under Kageyama's reign of terror after he and Iwaizumi graduated out of Kitagawa Daiichi and knew that Kunimi didn't actually want to quit volleyball. Oikawa, who thought to ask why an athletic young man like Kunimi struggled to maintain enough energy to function long before his peers started to burn out. Oikawa, who took a stupid, lazy, worthless waste of a starting position on his team and crafted him into a third set nightmare for their opponents.

When Kunimi is with Oikawa, he belongs. And when Oikawa gives him an encouraging clap on the shoulder and the answering wave of pain down his arm makes him wince and shrink away, he's furious with himself for repaying all Oikawa's gifts this way. Wasting the night before a game in Tokyo on such a pig. He can't allow his play to suffer in any way, he tells himself furiously, and he doesn't.

After the game, in which he just manages to live up to his usual standard, he skulks away while his teammates are cleaning up and changing for the bus ride home and finds a mirror where he can check on the bite mark that Oikawa aggravated earlier. Only Kuroo's canines punctured his skin deeply enough to scab - the rest is a ring of purplish, almost black bruising that can't be mistaken for anything else.

Sure do hope no one approaches him while he's looking at it.]

[ It would've been such a waste to let Kunimi fade away. Maybe he's nowhere close to Kageyama's level, but why does that have to mean he can't find a place for himself on the court? Sure, Oikawa's dedication to the first year may have been born out of pure spite for the former Kitagawa king, but the time he's spent with Kunimi has meant a lot more to him than some silly revenge plot.

It's almost as though he's managed to cultivate a rare, difficult flower: he's the only one to make it bloom, to figure out the right conditions in which it can truly thrive. Every small smile and quiet shout of triumph feels ten times bigger to Oikawa because he knows how big a deal they are to Kunimi.

They play, and they win - but something's off. Not enough for anyone else to notice; no, the rest of the team is in their typical state of post-victory cheer, clapping one another on the back and discussing what they'll have for dinner when they get back. Oikawa is the only one who sees Kunimi slip away, the only one to follow in his footsteps like a shadow.

The school is strangely quiet now, in that odd after-hours time where club activities are finished and only a couple of teachers remain. The locker rooms at Shinzen are large, with several small changing areas branching off from the main space, and Oikawa hides himself behind a row of lockers as he watches Kunimi inspect a strange mark on his skin. From here, it's difficult to tell what it is - but Kunimi seems quite focused, which means Oikawa can sneak up behind him pretty easily to get a better look.

As he steps forward, silent and cautions, Oikawa's lips pull into a concerned frown. The mark looks too much like a bite for it to possibly be anything else, but how could it have gotten there? Kunimi's not the type to get into physical confrontations; even if he was, surely there would be other signs, more bruising on the rest of his face and body. No, those marks, in that pattern - Oikawa's seen them before. Felt them, even, on his own skin, though rarely in such a visible spot.

He's so intent on figuring this out that he doesn't realize he's pressed right up against Kunimi's back, the front of his open jacket brushing over the other as he leans closer. It also doesn't help that Kunimi will be able to look up and see Oikawa's face in the mirror's reflection. ]

[Oikawa approaches so quietly that Kunimi doesn't notice him until he feels his presence raising goosebumps on the back of his neck. He shifts his gaze in the mirror and startles, quickly readjusting the collar of his shirt as if that'll be enough to make Oikawa forget what he's seen.

At least the only other marks Kuroo left are on his hips and ass... no one will be seeing those deep half-moon scratches by accident. But what is he supposed to say about this one, easily the most suspicious?]

Oikawa-senpai...

[More than guilty or sheepish, Kunimi just looks profoundly unhappy once the surprise leaves his face.]

[ Oikawa doesn't look up until he hears Kunimi say his name; when he does, his eyes are dark, intense, an expression not at all like what most have come to expect from the cheerful captain. ]

Kunimi-chan.

[ His voice, too, has lost its playful edge, despite still using the nickname he's bestowed upon the younger boy. It's not judgmental, though.

He can tell by the look on Kunimi's face that he isn't trying to hide, not exactly. Sure, maybe he didn't want anyone to see, but there doesn't seem to be any trace of embarrassment in his face or voice. Instead, to Oikawa, he just looks... sad.

And that makes Oikawa angry. ]

Are you alright?

[ Rather than asking for details, rather than digging into whatever - whoever - left that ugly blemish on Kunimi's pale skin - Oikawa's first instinct is, instead, to assess his kouhai's condition. ]

[Kunimi knows this darkening of his captain's eyes and deepening of his voice by now, even if he saw it much more often in junior high before Oikawa got some control over his volatility. It always causes the same little spark of heat low in Kunimi's gut and he always has to douse it in figurative ice water before he can focus on the matter at hand.

Is he alright? Jeez, that question doesn't help him decide how to explain at all. He turns away from the mirror but keeps his eyes to one side of Oikawa's face, never looking at him directly.]

I did something stupid last night. But I'm fine. [And though Oikawa's not asking for an apology, he adds:] I won't be careless like that before a game again.

[ I did something stupid last night.

The minute Oikawa hears those words, a strange feeling shoots through him like a bolt of lightning. He's never felt anything quite like it before: it's part protective instinct, part betrayal, part possessiveness. He knows exactly what Kunimi means by something stupid - between the fact that they'd been at a hotel last night, there's a strange bite mark on him now, and the way the other boys had been murmuring to one another so furtively this morning, it's impossible not to figure it out.

For a moment, Oikawa doesn't say anything. He doesn't feel angry - his teammates can do as they wish, with who they wish, when they wish, just so long as it doesn't mess with the team as a whole. They both know without saying it that doing something like that the night before a game is a bad idea, so there's no point in scolding Kunimi on that particular point; besides, it's not as though Oikawa is entirely innocent in the regard, either.

But his fingers are twitching at his sides, and there's some instinct flaring up inside him, something that makes him reach out to hook a finger into the collar of Kunimi's shirt and tug it aside, exposing that ugly bruise once again. ]

What did he do to you?

[ The question is quiet, but no less direct, Oikawa's eyes burning a hole through the atmosphere as he stares at those two small scabs left behind by Kuroo's teeth. ]

[Two strong reactions hit Kunimi in immediate succession - a profound chill from the danger radiating off Oikawa in thick, palpable waves, and an equally bone-deep warmth when he realizes it's in his name, not directed at him. Oikawa's angry that someone hurt him.

Granted, that also makes the explanation even more awkward.]

No, senpai, he - he was an asshole, but that wasn't - [A helpless laugh sneaks out before he can stifle it, pure nervous energy without any real mirth.] - I, uh, encouraged. That part.

[Don't worry, senpai who met me when I was all of 12 years old, I like it rough!]

[ Maybe it should be more awkward, talking about sex with his kouhai like this. Oikawa doesn't usually engage in that type of conversation with his teammates (Iwaizumi being a notable exception, but that doesn't count), and even when he overhears the guys talking about some pretty manager or a raunchy video that's making the rounds, all he does is giggle in their direction, which is typically more than enough to embarrass them into changing the subject.

But this?

This is different. ]

He hurt you. [ It's easy for him to gloss over the detail that Kunimi, apparently, likes when his partners don't treat him as gently as he deserves. That nervous little laugh is sweet, and some part of Oikawa's brain files it away for later, but right now there are more pressing issues at hand than how adorable Kunimi is when he's flustered.

Kunimi looked sad. More than just sad - unhappy. No matter how much he might have wanted what was done to him, something must have happened to make him look like that afterwards. Something he didn't deserve.

For the first time, Oikawa hesitates. It's not his place to ask this, and besides, does he really want to know? But then the words come out anyway, and there they are, hanging in the air between them: ]

Who was it?

[It's so, so important that he makes this clear to Oikawa after the stupid threat he hurled at Kuroo in a fit of pique. If Oikawa's asking, it's not just out of idle curiosity - he respects his teammates' business much more than he does their personal space, so he wants to know for a reason.]

I wanted it, Oikawa-senpai.

[There. That's the best he can do. Kunimi genuinely has no idea how miserable he looks just having to talk about the whole fucked up mess, and even if he did, it'd be actual agony to explain to Oikawa why the silly slip-up of saying someone else's name felt more like a knife in his back. He doesn't have to say any more, does he?

Well. Other than the person's identity. He clearly won't get away without sharing that.]

Kuroo Tetsurou. [Maybe one more detail:] I didn't know him before last night. We met by mistake.

[ Hearing Kunimi say, loud and clear, that it was consensual - that does a lot for Oikawa, soothing his anger and cooling the heat that's been growing in his chest. Oikawa's been around long enough to know that, sometimes, it's easier to lie and just pretend you wanted something when you didn't, just so you wouldn't have to talk about it anymore. But Kunimi doesn't seem the type; or, at the very least, Oikawa is pretty sure he'll be able to tell if the younger boy lies or evades the truth on this particular matter.

But he still looks so sad. Even if he wanted what was done to him, something clearly happened to leave him like this, and that thought keeps Oikawa's rage at a low simmer.

Kuroo Tetsurou.

Oikawa's eyes go wide, nostrils flaring, as a very familiar faces flits across his mind's eye. That cocky rooster-haired Nekoma captain dared to lay his hands on Kunimi? It doesn't matter if Kunimi was willing to go along with it - Kuroo should've known better.

Anger, visible and violent, floods Oikawa's face as he pictures it. Kunimi, small and scared, Kuroo towering over him - no, it doesn't matter that they're almost the same height, this is his imagination okay?! - terrifying the poor boy, leaving a mark on him -- ]

Where else?!

[ The sound of his own voice, sharp and irate, surprises Oikawa, but he doesn't stop. His hands move to clutch at the hem of Kunimi's shirt, lifting it, eyes scanning the boy's skin rapidly. ]

Where else did he -- [ Touch you. Mark you. Claim you. ] -- hurt you?!

Whoa, hey - !

[Kunimi's face goes hot and he tugs at his shirt, trying fruitlessly to yank it out of Oikawa's grasp. This is so far beyond any reaction he could've imagined, and he no longer understands where any of the rage is even coming from - if he knows it was consensual, why does Oikawa keep saying "hurt you" like that? Like he got beaten up, not screwed roughly enough to leave some marks?

He gestures in the direction of their teammates' voices with a beseeching look on his face - can Oikawa at least keep his voice down? He doesn't need them all marching in to see the evidence that'll prove all their whispers right.]

If you really need to know, I can show you. Just - keep it down?

[ Honestly? Oikawa doesn't know why he's reacting this way, either. There's a feeling inside him that goes beyond simple concern for a teammate and friend, something he isn't used to feeling, and it's all he can do to keep his grip on reality as panic floods his veins.

Why wasn't he there? He should've been protecting him. After all that shit with Tobio, Oikawa promised himself he'd never let another bully destroy Kunimi the way that brat had. It's been a gift to watch Kunimi blossom over the past few months, to see that he's so much more than some pawn to be used by a pompous jerk - and now, now that everything is going so well, Oikawa let Kunimi out of his sight for a few hours and-!!

He swallows, forcing himself to breathe, as he hears the shock in Kunimi's voice. He nods without speaking, grasp loosening on the fabric of Kunimi's shirt but not quite letting go just yet. It's almost as though they're suddenly adrift in the ocean, and if Oikawa lets go he'll lose Kunimi forever. ]

[Oh. Oikawa's really not okay right now.

Kunimi tries to tell his stomach not to fill with butterflies, his chest not to seize with pitiful hope, but he can't. Seeing Oikawa like this has triggered the tiny, tiny sliver of his heart that insists on believing things can work out, it's totally possible that Oikawa might one day look past all his admirers and fans and precious near-lifelong best friend and see Kunimi not as a kid, a kouhai, a teammate, but a potential partner he wants to claim as his own.

Shut up, he tells that part of him. Shut up shut up shut up. Something else must be bothering him. This is just how it's coming out. It's nothing to do with me.]

... Oikawa-senpai? [He rests a hand tentatively on Oikawa's elbow.] Are you okay?

[ Oikawa knows he's teetering precariously close to an edge he cannot allow himself to fall over. The last time he had, he'd almost hit Kageyama; if Iwaizumi hadn't stopped him, he probably would've gotten kicked off the team. What consequences will there be this time, if he lets himself tip over that edge? If he gives in to this strange, frightened, overprotectiveness he's suddenly feeling?

He forces himself to take a breath. Then another. Then, finally, his smile returns, though Kunimi will likely be able to see right through just how fake it is. ]

Of course I am, Kunimi-chan!

[ He even manages a little laugh, light and tinkling like bells. His hands fall away from the other's shirt and he rubs at the back of his head, suddenly looking embarrassed of himself. ]

Sorry about that - I don't know what came over me. I just get so worried about my precious kouhais! But I guess you're growing up, too, aren't you? I should probably give you more credit.

[Well, at least he seems to have backed away from some kind of precipice. That's something. Kunimi had a feeling he wouldn't want to worry a kouhai and sure enough, turning the concern back on him has brought him back. For now.

He needs to keep an eye on this. Even if it does give him that giddy, nervous, idiotic what if feeling. Idolizing Oikawa as much as he adores him doesn't mean that Kunimi will ever deny the dark, erratic current that runs deep beneath his perfect smile.]

All good. Not like you can help it when I was, like, 12? When we met? [The idea of Oikawa still seeing him as that gawky little nerd actually makes Kunimi die inside, but now is not the time to think about that! He returns Oikawa's smile with a crooked grin.] And I'm glad you still wanna look out for me. It's - nice.

[ This is right. This is good. Oikawa feels more like the person he needs to be already, mature and responsible, a shining light that can lead his team to victory. The darkness lurking inside him can stay tucked away; there's no need for it right now.

Or ever. ]

Twelve?!

[ He blinks, then leans back, resting a few fingers against his chin as he thinks about it. ]

I can't believe it's been so long! You're practically all grown up now, Kunimi-chan!

[ He levels the other boy with a bright look, but that darkness is still hiding in his eyes, is still evident in the way they flicker down to where that bruise is hiding beneath Kunimi's collar.

Kuroo, huh? ]

I'll always look out for you, silly. That's what a good senpai does!

[These shared, secret moments, just the two of them hidden away from the rest of the team and speaking with an intimacy that would startle even their closest friends, always bring the truth right to the tip of Kunimi's tongue and make it almost impossible to bite back.

I'll always look out for you, Oikawa says, and Kunimi's mind screams I love you, I love you, oh my god I love you so much, please see it written all over my face, bleeding from every pore, please hear it echoing all around me, I can't even imagine loving anyone else, I love you I love you I love you

But then, thankfully, that's what a good senpai does puts him right back in his place. There's always some remark like that. It's hard, but Kunimi can't honestly say it hurts. If Oikawa ever leaves one of those doors open, that'll be the day Kunimi ruins everything.]

You should probably get back to the rest of the team before they think something's wrong, Oikawa-senpai. [Almost as if Oikawa's gaze irritated it, Kunimi rests a hand lightly on his wounded shoulder.] I'm, uh, gonna get cleaned up over here... I won't be long.

overflow/inbox

😘✨

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rip kuroo lmao 🥲

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