Archive of Our Own ^beta

Every morning was the same.

And Atsumu didn't hate it. 

Ever since university, ever since they had moved in together, every morning was exactly the same, and Atsumu had fallen in love with it. 

Oikawa was up first, somehow managing to sneak out of his place in the middle of the bed – which, surprisingly, he hadn't claimed for himself but instead had been wrestled into by three demanding boyfriends who were determined to get as many hands on their soft, affection-loving boyfriend as possible – without waking anyone up. If someone else woke up before their alarm, there was a chance they might wander into the kitchen or the living room to find Oikawa just finishing his morning coffee, but usually no one else was awake in time to catch more than a quick goodbye kiss at the door.

After Oikawa had already disappeared from the apartment for the day, Iwaizumi woke up to the sound of Sakusa's alarm and – since he didn't have to leave until half an hour after Atsumu and Sakusa – sleepily dragged whoever was right in front of him down into his arms, which only served to make it much harder for everyone to get up. It made Iwaizumi warm and cosy, and none of his boyfriends were very good at prying themselves out of Iwaizumi's warm, strong, sleepy arms when just after waking up was the time when Iwaizumi was more openly affectionate than any other time of day. If it was Sakusa that Iwaizumi got his hands on, it ended up turning into a very rushed morning for everyone after they eventually dragged themselves out of bed – Sakusa was more responsible than any of the rest of them, the least willing to be late to any given event, but he was also horribly weak to Iwaizumi and his sleepy affection and if Sakusa wasn't getting them up out of bed, then Iwaizumi and Atsumu were more than happy to stay in bed for a long, long time.  

Sakusa dragging Atsumu out of their warm bed was the only reason he unwillingly got up in the morning, and if Iwaizumi got Sakusa into his sleepy bear hugs in the morning, then it slowed them all down. 

But today was different.

Today, no one's alarm went off before the break of dawn. Today, no one unwillingly dragged himself out of bed before the rest of his boyfriends because work called. 

Today, Oikawa was still fast asleep in his arms as Atsumu blearily opened his eyes. Oikawa was peacefully curled up on himself and snuggled cosily between Iwaizumi – who had his head buried in Oikawa's collarbone with one of Oikawa's arms curled loosely around his shoulders – and Atsumu – who was hugging Oikawa loosely from behind with his face tucked in the back of Oikawa's neck. Iwaizumi was still asleep too, though he stirred a little bit as Atsumu shifted and accidentally jostled Oikawa between them. Sakusa had one eye a fraction of an inch open where he was snuggled on the other side of Iwaizumi, tucked against his back and stealing the furnace-warmth that somehow always melted off Iwaizumi’s skin, but all of the responsibility was clearly gone since they didn't have immediate demands dragging them up out of bed and he looked more than happy to just go back to sleep as he closed his eyes again and his breathing evened out almost immediately. 

Soft, golden morning sunlight was falling through the cracks in the blinds over the window, seeping around the edges of the curtains and spilling across the floor, dusting the mahogany floorboards and the light blue-grey carpet in warmth. The redgold light fell across Oikawa, too, dusting his auburn hair with reds and golds and making him look even prettier, even softer and more peaceful where he was sleeping soundly in their arms. Any hints of sunlight that didn’t redirect themselves to decorate Oikawa's pretty profile in streaks of gold slipped past him towards Iwaizumi, painting the curve of his shoulder and highlighting the dip of his bicep in soft gold that just made his already warm, suntanned skin look even warmer, and some part of Atsumu wanted to lean over Oikawa and rest his cheek against Iwaizumi’s shoulder to feel the heat melting off his skin. Sakusa was too well hidden behind Iwaizumi, avoiding most of the few rays of sunlight that were creeping around the blinds, but just a few soft rays were falling across his dark, almost jet-black hair, lighting up the highlights and darkening the waves and making him look so close to angelic that if Atsumu hadn’t known better, he might have thought that Sakusa really was an angel. 

“Morning, Tsumu.” 

Atsumu shifted his dark brown eyes away from Sakusa to the sound of that warm, rough, sleepy voice to find Iwaizumi barely awake, gazing across Oikawa at Atsumu with an unfathomable amount of silent love and affection in the depths of his forest green eyes. Oikawa barely stirred at the noise, but just as always, just as expected, he hummed a little before settling down again – an unconscious and expected reaction to the sound of Iwaizumi's so-familiar voice. 

“Morning, Iwa.” Atsumu murmured back, raising a hand to smooth his fingers affectionately through Oikawa's bangs, pushing them back away from his face and leaning over him to dust a sleepy kiss against his temple.

Oikawa hummed softly in unconscious recognition of the touch, snuggling deeper into the bed and the comfortable cradle of Atsumu and Iwaizumi’s arms in a motion that exuded complete and total comfort and warmth.

It was a rare gift – having Oikawa still asleep in bed when he woke up – and Atsumu wasn't about to let it go to waste. 

Iwaizumi seemed to agree with him, as one of his hands had absentmindedly drifted to Oikawa’s bare thigh in the few moments of Atsumu’s distraction and he was rubbing his palm lightly back and forth across his sun-tanned, freckle-dusted skin. 

It was quiet for a few moments until Iwaizumi took a deep breath as if to stir himself awake and keep himself from immediately falling back asleep. It drew Atsumu's attention up from Iwaizumi's broad hand on Oikawa's soft thigh and back to him instead, soft coffee-brown eyes wheeling up to fix on Iwaizumi's face again.

He still looked more asleep than awake, and he looked comfortable in a way that Atsumu so rarely saw him without the stress of work carving lines into his brow and the corners or his eyes – there was sleep etched into the corners of his eyes, and a dusting of long-term exhaustion dark beneath them, but there was a little hint of a smile on his face that breathed comfort, and his juniper eyes were glittering with something that always made everyone who saw it want to smile too. He looked so openly happy to be here with all of his boyfriends, sleeping in past the crack of dawn without being bothered by the alarms that usually interrupted their sleep and it made Atsumu’s heart give a tiny, fond little ache. 

He loved seeing his boyfriends relax…

Especially Iwaizumi, who undoubtedly dealt with the most paperwork and bullshit in his job, didn't get to relax and let all of his stress go very often, and it was nice to see. 

“Come shower with me?” Iwaizumi offered in a soft whisper, and Atsumu nodded. He didn't even need to think.

“I’d like that.”

It took them a few more minutes to actually do anything about the suggestion, both of them far too comfortable cuddled in their bed with all of their boyfriends to actually get up, but after Iwaizumi leaned forward to gently kiss Oikawa’s cheek and Astumu cosily nuzzled against the back of his shoulder, they eventually managed to start moving.

Sakusa stirred awake again as Iwaizumi carefully attempted to sneak out of bed, and Atsumu watched with a hint of a smile as Iwaizumi gently brushed a hand over his shoulder and leaned down to kiss his temple, whispering something that Atsumu didn’t quite catch but was probably just telling him where they were going. It seemed to soothe Sakusa entirely, whatever it was, because he just nodded and hummed and settled back down again, and as Iwaizumi shifted out of the way, he lazily scooted forward into the warm space Iwaizumi had left behind and reached out to toss an arm around Oikawa. 

Knowing that Oikawa wouldn’t be abandoned without the hugs they all knew he craved even if he didn’t always admit it reassured Atsumu enough that he didn't feel bad about slipping away. He was happy to see that Oikawa still didn’t stir and just leaned forward into the warmth of Sakusa’s touch, settling comfortably in his arms and nuzzling into the soft dip beneath his collarbone. 

Good. Oikawa didn’t get nearly enough sleep, and Atsumu was happy to see him look so comfortable and so happy in his boyfriend’s arms as he slept the whole morning away. 

Atsumu led the way from the bedroom to the bathroom, sleepily lifting the collar of his shirt to rub at his eyes as he stumbled down the hall more on muscle memory than anything else. Iwaizumi wasn’t right behind him anymore as Atsumu flicked on the lights in the bathroom and braced both hands against the countertop to blink sleepily at himself in the mirror, but he wasn’t too worried about it – Iwaizumi would show up, Atsumu knew that. 

The coloured lights of the Christmas tree in the living room spilled through the dark apartment and through the open bathroom door, and Atsumu found a subconscious little smile rising to his lips at the pretty, colourful lights. He’d always loved the holiday season, always loved the lights and the cheer and the snow, though he hadn’t always loved celebrating. He was the type of person that loved affection, that loved warmth and companionship and hated being alone, and well…

He'd spent more years than he liked to think about celebrating alone. 

It wasn't much of a celebration all on his own. 

Hands landed on his hips, a warm body pressing up against his back, and a sleepy kiss against the crook of his neck had Atsumu stirring out of his thoughts and blinking back to attention to meet emerald and juniper eyes in the mirror.

“Mornin’.” Atsumu murmured, a little hint of a smile rising to his lips. He’d always been a little self-conscious of his accent after moving to Tokyo, but he couldn’t really help it right after waking up, and he didn’t really need to help it anymore after Sakusa had figured out what was on his mind and Oikawa had laughed and thrown himself at Atsumu to litter his face in kisses and Iwaizumi had squeezed him around the waist so tight that Atsumu had actually groaned and struggled a little bit. 

His accent didn’t bother them at all, and in fact Oikawa was quietly head over heels for it – same as he was with Iwaizumi’s accent, and for the times when Iwaizumi slipped into his second native language without really noticing. Maybe it had taken a little bit of time, and watching Oikawa become pliant putty in Iwaizumi’s hands whenever he rumbled a few foreign words into Oikawa’s ear, for Atsumu to actually become comfortable with his accent and not worry about it anymore.

But now, after all the time they’d been dating, he didn’t even think about it anymore.

“Morning.” Iwaizumi rumbled in reply, sleep still clinging to him and dragging his already deep, rumbling voice down a few octaves further, and Atsumu shivered warmly in Iwaizumi’s arms as the warmth of his voice vibrated through Atsumu’s chest where they were pressed together. “Sleep well?”

“Mm. I’m really glad we’re all gettin’ to spend more time together recently.” Atsumu admitted, and Iwaizumi smiled against his neck as he turned his head to press a kiss against the soft skin behind Atsumu’s ear. 

“Me too.” Iwaizumi agreed, squeezing his hips affectionately before reluctantly pulling himself up off Atsumu’s back. 

Before he could get too far, Atsumu twisted around and reached out to catch Iwaizumi’s jaw, pulling him back in again and leaning down to kiss him softly on the lips. It stopped Iwaizumi in his tracks, and he melted comfortably into Atsumu’s touch to kiss him back. It was sleepy and cosy, and it wasn’t all that heavy and it stayed that way, and Atsumu never wanted to leave this moment…

“Atsumu –” Iwaizumi began, but he was smiling as Atsumu pulled him back into a second, third, fourth kiss, and there was a hint of laughter in his voice as he protested between kisses, “Baby, I – I need to shave –” Atsumu just ignored him, amusement curling through him like a flickering flame as Iwaizumi tried to back away and Atsumu just pulled him in again and again, gently scraping his teeth against Iwaizumi’s bottom lip and earning a soft groan for his efforts. “You’re so not fair.”

Atsumu just grinned as he finally relented, letting Iwaizumi pull away and rubbing his thumb against Iwaizumi’s jaw. 

“You love me.”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, but there was affection in the crinkles etched into the corners of his eyes as he replied as easily as it was to breathe, “For some crazy reason. I must be insane to fall in love with you and Tooru, you’re both crazy. Kiyoomi’s the only sane one of you.”

Atsumu gasped playfully, dramatically lifting a hand to his heart and defending himself with, “How dare you, Iwa, Tooru and I are gold and you’re lucky to have us.”

Every ounce of playful teasing melted out of Atsumu as Iwaizumi replied honestly, “Yeah. I am.” A little grin tugged at his lips, and mischief glinted in his juniper eyes as he added, “Even if you’re crazy.”

Atsumu shoved both hands into Iwaizumi’s bare chest, shoving him away from him and grumbling, “Get away from me, I hate ya. Shave, caveman.”

“No you don’t.” Iwaizumi purred back, and he looked way too sure of himself. 

Atsumu was stuck, though, because he couldn’t deny it. 

Iwaizumi was a damn bastard, but dammit if Atsumu didn’t love him so, so much. 

They both knew it was true, so they both let it go as they smoothly switched places at the bathroom counter as if they'd done it a million times. Atsumu stepped back to turn on the shower and grab a couple towels out of the closet while Iwaizumi rummaged through one of the counter drawers, and Atsumu didn’t think he would ever stop enjoying watching Iwaizumi shave. 

Iwaizumi was the strongest person Atsumu had ever met, physically and emotionally. He broke down like anyone else, but he was so solid, so reassuring, the most supportive and steady person Atsumu had ever come across. He had his problems, just the same as the rest of them did, but Atsumu had never had a breakdown that Iwaizumi couldn’t handle, and he’d never once seen Oikawa cry without Iwaizumi laying down anything and everything and doing whatever it took to be there as a shoulder for Oikawa to cry on, and he’d never seen Sakusa wind up and snap without Iwaizumi being there to catch the pieces and put him back together. 

No matter what bothered the three of them, Iwaizumi was always willing to talk it out with them, to figure out what had gotten under their skin and make them snap like that and then fix it as best as he could. Sure, he couldn’t fix Sakusa’s OCD, but he could calm Sakusa down and help take care of whatever had been his breaking point and get their apartment or their lives back to a point that Sakusa could handle; he couldn’t fix Atsumu’s depression, but he refused to let him fight it without being right there by his side to pull him back to his feet and help him break out of his more destructive moods and just watch movies with him or make him dinner or cuddle with him on the couch when Atsumu couldn’t stir up the energy to take care of himself on his own; he couldn’t fix the things that Oikawa had been through and what it had done to his head and his perception of himself, but he would never let Oikawa break down on his own without being there to hold him, to calm him, to promise him that they would never ever stop loving him because of things that had been out of his control, to promise him that he wasn’t broken and he was still the most badass person Iwaizumi had ever met and he should never let anyone else decide otherwise for him. 

All of them knew how incredible Iwaizumi was for always being a shoulder to lean on and a hand to pull them back to their feet. They all knew it, and they all returned the favour whenever Iwaizumi snapped and needed their support. 

He was incredible, and Atsumu admired him for it. 

“What’re you thinking about?”

Atsumu blinked, lifting his gaze from where it had distractedly fallen to somewhere across the room to Iwaizumi instead, following the sweep of his hand as he grabbed a hand towel off the counter and rubbed it across his face. 

“Mm, you.” Atsumu replied, leaning against the counter and gazing at Iwaizumi affectionately. “Tooru. Omi. You’re amazing, Iwa, I don’t think you know that sometimes.”

A warm pink flush spread across Iwaizumi’s cheeks, and he glanced up at Atsumu in the mirror’s reflection in surprise for a second before he glanced away and asked gruffly, “What’s that for, I didn’t do anything.”

“Liar. Anyway, ya didn’t have to do anythin’. You’re you, that’s enough.”

The blush on Iwaizumi’s cheeks deepened, and Atsumu smiled a little. He was so solid, and it took Oikawa and Atsumu some incredible teamwork to make him crack in anything sexual, but he was so easy when he was being smothered in genuine affection. 

“You're so cute.” Atsumu giggled, and Iwaizumi shot him a glare in the mirror that didn't really carry any weight at all considering he was still blushing hard from just a few loving words. 

“I'm not cute.” Iwaizumi growled defensively, and Atsumu shrugged as he pushed off the counter and purred lightly,

“You are. You're hot as hell and sexy as fuck and you're bult like a god, but you're also cute as all get out.”

“I'm not –” 

“Can't change my mind!” Atsumu cut him off cheerily, and as Iwaizumi growled behind him Atsumu dodged cleanly out of the way. 

He hadn't counted for Iwaizumi sweeping a hand out to the side at him as he lunged, though, and a startled laugh broke out of him as Iwaizumi caught him around the waist and reeled Atsumu in towards him, wrapping him up in both arms and biting at his shoulder as he grumbled, 

“You're the worst.”

“I feel like we've already had that discussion this morning.” Atsumu laughed out as Iwaizumi hoisted him up off his feet and spun him around to set him down beside the shower.

“You're not making any better case for yourself. Absolutely the worst.”

“If you say so.” Atsumu agreed, unbothered. 

He knew Iwaizumi loved him, and nothing in the world he said would change Atsumu’s mind, and Iwaizumi probably didn't even want to change his mind. 

The shower was warm, and they didn't really say much other than the occasional murmur to pass the shampoo, and Atsumu was warm and sleepy all over again under the influence of the warm water and Iwaizumi's broad, warm hands resting comfortably on his body by the time Iwaizumi turned off the water, kissed the back of Atsumu's neck, and gently herded him out of the shower. He didn't let Atsumu shiver for even a second before throwing one of the soft towels he'd gotten out earlier around him. 

Atsumu hugged it closer around him, the soft towel and his boyfriend’s love and care curling around him and keeping him warm as he dug through the bathroom closet for a hair dryer. Usually he wouldn't bother blow-drying his hair, and Iwaizumi certainly wouldn't, but they both had places to be later today and it was bitterly cold outside as the late-December winter set in. 

“Your hair's gettin’ a little long.” Atsumu commented absentmindedly as they stood together in front of the counter, Iwaizumi quiet and pliant as Atsumu rubbed his hair dry with a towel before smoothing his fingers through Iwaizumi's wet hair. 

“I guess it has been a while.” Iwaizumi replied, sleepy and content under Atsumu's hands as he raised a hand to ruffle it through the front of his hair. 

“I'm sure Tooru could cut it for you when we come back.” Atsumu suggested, because Oikawa was surprisingly good with a pair of scissors and had a surprising amount of patience to be careful when it came to his boyfriends, and he'd been trimming his own and Iwaizumi's hair for years. He'd been helping Atsumu dye and tone his hair for a long time now, too, ever since university.

Iwaizumi hummed under the suggestion, nodding vaguely and agreeing, “I’ll ask him.”

That seemed to be conclusion enough, because neither of them said another word as Atsumu turned on the blow-dryer and turned his attention to Iwaizumi's deceptively soft hair. 

He looked entirely content in Atsumu's care, under his affection, and he seemed more than happy to just lean back against Atsumu even after he'd finished Iwaizumi's hair and started on his own. Atsumu didn't mind, that was for sure.

“Is Tooru awake yet?” Iwaizumi asked finally after Atsumu turned off the blow dryer, half-lidded emerald eyes filled with a warm affection gazing at Atsumu in the reflection of the mirror.

Atsumu hummed softly, leaning down to dust a kiss against Iwaizumi's temple and murmuring lovingly into his skin, “I'll go check. Do you want coffee before ya go?”

Iwaizumi's eyes opened fully, surprise in the forest green depths as they flicked to Atsumu in the mirror, and then his real self standing at Iwaizumi's side as he denied gently, “You don't have to do that for me.”

Atsumu shrugged simply.

“You guys have a long way to go, and an earlier train. I don't mind, Iwa. Make sure you're both packed, m’kay? C’mon, let me show ya I love ya…”

Iwaizumi crumbled under that, turning around in Atsumu's arms and leaning up to kiss him as he agreed, “Alright, fine. Do you want to go handle our little koala while I get things together here? I know he didn’t get a chance to pack anything in here yet…”

“I got him.” Atsumu agreed willingly, more than excited at the chance to get to watch Oikawa wake up. “No promises he’ll listen to me, though…”

Iwaizumi snorted, grinning up at him and agreeing, “I’ll come play mean if he won’t get up.”

Atsumu snickered at that, even as a silent shiver of sympathy for Oikawa ran through him. He knew what Iwaizumi could be like when he needed to get rough. 

For Oikawa’s sake, Atsumu was hoping he’d get up.

The light was on in the kitchen as Atsumu walked out of the bathroom and crossed his way back towards the bedroom and peeked inside.

Oikawa was, in fact, still fast asleep in bed.

He was alone, now, the bedsheets and blankets tossed around his figure and tangled up around him, but he looked warm and comfortable and so damn cosy that Atsumu almost wanted to climb back into bed and join him…

So Atsumu did go to him. But he'd promised Iwaizumi, so instead of gently crawling into Oikawa's arms and winding himself around his boyfriend and letting Oikawa’s soft, warm, beautiful body soothe him right back to sleep, Atsumu pounced on him.

Oikawa startled, a sharp breath drawing into his lungs as his eyes snapped open immediately, wide auburn eyes snapping up to the figure above him. He relaxed a bit as he recognised Atsumu’s grinning face above him, but as the startled shock slipped away, his eyes narrowed and he pouted. 

“Atsu – shit – you scared the hell out of me!”

“Good morning, Tooru.” Atsumu greeted smoothly, and Oikawa growled beneath him, rolling onto his back beneath Atsumu and glaring up at him with a mixture of annoyance and affection in his gaze.

“You’re literally the worst.” Oikawa accused.

Atsumu just smiled cheekily.

Oikawa growled, and Atsumu yanked in a breath to do something – anything – but Oikawa beat him to the punch as two warm arms wrapped around Atsumu’s neck and a thigh slid against his hip and the next thing he knew, he had been yanked down into Oikawa’s warm, dangerous grasp. 

“Worst person in the world.” Oikawa muttered, snuggling his face into Atsumu’s neck and gathering him closer and closer into his body. 

He knew exactly what he was doing, because Oikawa knew that Atsumu was absolutely weak to his warmth and his soft body and he could win almost anything he wanted with puppy dog eyes or soft touches. 

“Oh no ya don’t.” Atsumu argued, bracing both hands on either side of Oikawa’s head and trying to pull himself up away from Oikawa’s warmth, and Oikawa whined softly in disagreement.

“No, stay with me.” Oikawa murmured sweetly, wrapping one leg around Atsumu’s hip and squeezing him tighter around the neck. “Sleepy, Tsum Tsum, you’re warm…”

Atsumu rolled his eyes, because he knew as well as anyone that Oikawa was absolutely playing him, but…

It was kind of working. 

“Alright, stop giving him a hard time.”

Atsumu glanced up at the new voice as Oikawa’s eyes slid opened, and both of them shifted to look over Atsumu’s shoulder at the bedroom doorway and Iwaizumi standing in it. 

Oikawa smiled immediately, his eyes lighting up happily at the sight of his oldest friend. “Morning, Iwa-chan.” 

“Hey, baby.” Iwaizumi greeted, crossing the room towards them as Atsumu subtly squirmed his way out of Oikawa’s grip in his distraction. “We’ve got a train to catch, love.”

“But I’m comfy.” Oikawa argued as if that was all the reason in the world he needed to stay here and not move and for Iwaizumi to let him.

Atsumu bit back a smile as he escaped Oikawa’s grasp, pushing himself up off the bed and backing away before Oikawa could lure him back in. 

“I know.” Iwaizumi agreed simply, and Atsumu turned away to walk out of the room with a silently sent “good luck with that” to both of his boyfriends behind him. 

Iwaizumi would definitely be able to get Oikawa out of bed, no use in Atsumu trying to help when he could be making them both coffee instead. 

With Oikawa alone in the bedroom and a light on in the kitchen that Iwaizumi and Atsumu hadn’t touched and Oikawa clearly hadn’t turned on, the conclusion was easy.

“Morning, Omi.” Atsumu greeted as he walked into the kitchen. 

Sakusa was standing at the far counter with his back to the room, but he glanced back over his shoulder at Atsumu and something soft immediately curled through his expression and his dark eyes as he replied, “Morning, Tsumu.”

He turned around after a second, and Atsumu’s heart melted as he found two cups of coffee in Sakusa’s hand and two additional – empty – mugs sitting beside the coffee maker, which was still steaming with two more cups worth of coffee in it.

“Sleep okay?” Atsumu asked, and Sakusa nodded as he set one of the mugs on the island counter and slid it across to Atsumu.

“Just fine. Tooru barely let me go,” He added, a hint of a smile rising to his lips as he continued, “I’m guessing you just got the same treatment?”

Atsumu snorted, taking the offered cup with a little murmur of thanks and admitting, “I should’a just grabbed him and yanked, but he’s so much fun to pounce on.”

Sakusa’s smile widened, but before he could say anything else a little huff of a laugh escaped him and Atsumu stifled a laugh into his cup of coffee at a very telling yelp of, “Iwa – chan!” from the direction of the bedroom.

“I guess he’s not in bed anymore.” Sakusa commented, his voice a little bit hushed in a pointedly conspiratory whisper, and Atsumu laughed as Sakusa’s gaze lifted to somewhere over Atsumu’s shoulder and he called, “Good morning, Tooru.”

“What’s good about it?” A petulant voice huffed, and Atsumu glanced back over his shoulder as Sakusa countered calmly, 

“You’re in Hajime’s arms, what’s not good about it?”

Oikawa was indeed cradled in Iwaizumi’s arms, one of his arms beneath Oikawa’s knees and his other arm curled around Oikawa’s back to keep their sleepy, touchy koala close to his chest, both of Oikawa’s arms looped around Iwaizumi’s neck. He didn’t seem to have anything to say to that, because he couldn’t really argue as Iwaizumi carried him across the kitchen to where Atsumu was sitting at their bar counter to set him down beside Atsumu. 

Sakusa immediately offered the other cup of coffee in his hands – which had probably been intended for himself, honestly – to Oikawa, leaning after it to catch Oikawa in a kiss and murmuring again, “Morning.”

Oikawa settled into it comfortably, all of his ruffled annoyance at being dragged out of bed smoothing down as he reached up to brush his fingertips against Sakusa’s jaw. “Morning, Omi-chan. Thank you for the coffee.”

“Of course.” Sakusa agreed, gently brushing his thumb up Oikawa’s cheekbone as he leaned back. “When’s your train leave?”

Oikawa hummed into his coffee, grabbing Iwaizumi’s phone off the kitchen counter where he’d left it last night and flicking it open, swiping through it to their calendar and informing them all,

“A little less than an hour. We should probably head out in 45 minutes. You leave before us, though, don’t you?”

Sakusa nodded, and Atsumu settled in quietly to watch them all talk. He was leaving after all of them, and though none of them really seemed to like the idea of leaving his boyfriends, they all seemed happy at the idea of seeing their families. 

Atsumu personally couldn’t have cared less about that. 

He would have loved to see Osamu, but other than that, he was good.

“I should head out pretty soon. You should really thank Hajime, I’d be sad if I had to leave without kissing you goodbye.”

Oikawa blushed softly, a little pink flush flaring across his cheeks as his gaze slipped away shyly and he admitted, “Yeah. Me too.” 

Hands landed on Atsumu’s shoulders, and he jumped a little as he glanced up and back over his shoulder to find Iwaizumi gazing down at him softly, and he leaned down to whisper just for the two of them, “You doing okay?”

“Huh?” Atsumu questioned, blinking up at Iwaizumi and trying to infuse genuine confusion into his expression instead of the boredom and total lack of excitement he actually felt. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

Iwaizumi shrugged, fingers brushing gently against Atsumu’s jawline and against the sides of his neck as he explained himself with, “You just seem a little out of it this morning. And… I know you don’t like being without us – not like I really like being without you guys either – so I just… I don’t know, I wanted to make sure you’ll be alright.”

Atsumu’s heart cracked a little, and god he wished he could tell Iwaizumi everything…

But he deserved to enjoy his holiday with his family. It had been so long since Iwaizumi had seen his little siblings, and he knew how much Iwaizumi loved his mother and Oikawa’s mother. The idea of not seeing his family for the holidays was an absolutely foreign idea to Iwaizumi when he had been the person his siblings and his mother and Oikawa’s mom could rely on for a really, really long time. 

He was the coolest older brother and the best son in the world, Atsumu believed that entirely, there was no way he could spend a holiday season without going home and spoiling his little siblings rotten and helping his mom with dinner. Unfathomable. 

So Atsumu lied.

“I’ll be alright, Iwa. But thank you. I mean, of course I’ll miss ya, and I’ll be glad to see ya again when everyone comes home, but I’ll be okay. It’s not too long, and Osamu will be there.”

The fact of the matter was that Osamu would not, in fact, be there, because he was visiting Suna’s family for the holidays. 

Because Atsumu had lied to him, too, and told his brother that he would be spending the holidays with his boyfriends so that Osamu wouldn’t worry about him either. 

“Atsu-chan, Iwa-chan, Omi’s leaving!” 

Both of them glanced up, and it was only then that Atsumu realised that sometime during the time they’d been talking, Oikawa and Sakusa had gotten up from the counter and they were standing in the genkan together. Sakusa already had his coat and his shoes on, and Oikawa was holding his scarf for him as Sakusa put on his gloves, and both Iwaizumi and Atsumu jumped up immediately.

No way Atsumu was letting Sakusa leave this house without at least five kisses goodbye, thank you very much. 

“Are you going to be alright?” Oikawa asked as they walked over, tossing Sakusa’s scarf around his neck and gently smoothing down his collar, running his hands down over his coat to rest against Sakusa's chest. 

Sakusa just let Oikawa worry over him, reaching out to gently grab his hips as Oikawa stroked his fingers over Sakusa’s heart.

“Relax, baby.” Sakusa interrupted him gently, and Oikawa pouted softly. 

“But with how stressed you’ve been recently and your family –”

Oikawa’s worried words fell silent as Sakusa leaned down and interrupted him with a kiss. “I'll be fine, Tooru. I know, I know,” Sakusa interrupted again before Oikawa could say anything else, soothing him down with, “I’ve been on edge lately, and it’s made me a bit crazy about having things messy. But I’ll be okay… Everyone knows better than to touch my stuff, even my little cousins. Even if they don't know why. I know you're worried about leaving me with my family, but Motoya will be there. He knows everything about the OCD, and he knows I don't really get along with some of the family even if he doesn't know why. If something’s driving me crazy I promise I’ll tell him and we’ll deal with it. And if things get too bad, I promise I’ll call. Okay?”

Oikawa still looked a little bit worried, but he looked a lot more soothed under Sakusa's words. He obviously had a plan to handle whatever might come his way, and he'd be alright even without his boyfriends – who all knew everything about his OCD and had been the reason he'd gotten a diagnosis in the first place. Maybe he didn't want to be around some of his family, but he wanted to see Komori.

“Now can you go and enjoy your holidays?” Sakusa encouraged gently, rubbing circles into Oikawa's hips and holding him close. “You were so excited about seeing your mom, and Hajime's family. Go have fun, Tooru, I'll see you in a few days.”

Oikawa didn't seem convinced, at first. He just gazed up at Sakusa calculatingly, but he must have gotten to a conclusion that pleased him eventually because finally, he nodded. The guarded worry in his auburn eyes melted, and he softened prettily in Sakusa’s hands as he leaned up to press a gentle kiss to his lips. 

“Alright, you win. I love you, Omi, have a good trip.” 

It drew a real, unhidden smile to Sakusa's lips, and Atsumu still fell in love with that smile all over again every time he saw it. It wasn’t like seeing Sakusa happy was rare, because it wasn’t. Atsumu had known him for a long time now – though not even close to how long Iwaizumi and Oikawa had known each other – but he had been a lot more reserved back in high school. 

After they had all started dating, though, and especially after they had all moved in together and Sakusa got to see the people he cared about every single day when he woke up, it wasn’t rare at all to see Sakusa smile. 

It made Atsumu happy, though, to see Sakusa happy.

“I love you too, Tooru.” Sakusa replied softly, gathering Oikawa in to kiss him again one last time. “Travel safe, let me know when you get back to Miyagi.”

“Of course.” Oikawa agreed, his voice warm with affection at Sakusa’s clear and unhidden care for him. A tiny hint of a smirk tugged at the corner of Oikawa’s lips, though, and he turned his head to smirk up at Sakusa knowingly, pointing out, “Of course I’ll be safe, though, Iwa-chan will be with me and he never lets me have fun.”

“Hey!” Iwaizumi stirred beside Atsumu immediately, glaring lightly at his best friend where he stood in his boyfriend’s arms. Atsumu snickered, and Iwaizumi reached out blindly to shove him as Sakusa choked on a laugh, lifting his dark, affection-filled eyes from Oikawa to Iwaizumi instead, requesting,

“Keep an eye on our little trouble-maker, Hajime.”

Oikawa made an affronted sound, tipping his head and putting his hands on his hips and defending himself with, “What do you mean trouble-maker, singular? As if I’m any more trouble than Tsum Tsum!”

“Hey, I’m a gem!” Atsumu cried, stepping forward and reaching out to grab Oikawa’s waist, playfully digging his fingers into his soft skin just to hear Oikawa squeak.

He didn’t really feel that bad gently pulling Oikawa back out of Sakusa’s arms, because Oikawa was so in love with his boyfriends’s affection and touch that he honestly might stay there in the genkan with Sakusa forever, and there were two more boyfriends who had to say goodbye to him and a train that Sakusa had to catch. 

Oikawa went willingly, clearly understanding the same and happy enough being drawn into Atsumu’s arms to replace the warm solidity of Sakusa against him, and he relaxed comfortably against him as Atsumu wound his arms around Oikawa’s waist from behind and leaned forward to rest his chin on Oikawa’s shoulder. 

He didn’t want his boyfriends to leave…

He wanted them to stay, and he didn’t want to be alone, and he wanted Oikawa to stay.

Iwaizumi gently touched Atsumu’s back as he stepped around the two of them, reaching out to catch Sakusa’s arm and pulling him forward into a kiss goodbye. 

He could hear the warm, deep murmur of Iwaizumi’s voice and the warm golden tenor of Sakusa’s as they said something to each other, but he wasn’t really paying too much attention to what exactly they said. It was probably just goodbyes and be safes and happy holidays, and Atsumu really didn’t want to hear that anyway.

He didn’t want to be reminded that they all had to leave each other’s sides for a little while. 

He just wanted to melt into the sound of their familiar, soothing voices and pretend they weren’t going to leave him, he wanted to close his eyes and turn his head to bury his face into Oikawa’s neck and pretend he didn’t have to let his comforting warmth go.

A gentle hand landed against the back of his head, dextrous fingers ruffling into Atsumu’s white-blonde hair and carefully manicured nails scratching lovingly against the back of his head, and Atsumu sighed. 

He didn’t know if Oikawa could feel the dismay, the pure desolation building up in Atsumu’s chest the closer they got to parting, the longer he stood here clinging to Oikawa’s warmth and hiding in his neck as if the world couldn’t touch him here. Maybe Oikawa was just reacting instinctively to Atsumu close by his side, just as he always did.

Maybe Oikawa couldn’t feel the extent of the empty pit opening up in Atsumu’s chest, but knew that of course Atsumu didn’t like the idea of being away from them because he had never liked being away from them, and was more than happy to touch him and hold him close and silently remind him that he wasn’t going anywhere. 

Even if they had to leave each other for a little while, they would all be coming back together in just a few days.

Oikawa had promised. Oikawa had promised. 

He had promised, gathering Atsumu into his arms late one night on the bathroom floor and guiding Atsumu’s head into his shoulder to hide his face and let him cry into Oikawa’s shirt, that he wasn’t going anywhere. He was never leaving Atsumu, and neither were Iwaizumi or Sakusa. 

They weren’t going to abandon him.

A soft brush of lips against his hair stirred Atsumu out of his thoughts, and he snuggled closer into the warmth of Oikawa’s neck as his soft, sweet voice washed over Atsumu like the softest, warmest blanket on the coldest, longest night of the year. 

“Everything alright, Atsu?” Oikawa whispered, and something in Atsumu’s chest hitched as he buried himself closer.

Oikawa’s fingers wove deeper into his hair, brushing over his head lovingly, calmingly, as his other hand came to rest on Atsumu’s arms around his waist.

Dammit.

“It’s going to be okay, babe…” Oikawa murmured, the soft touch of his lips and the comforting weight of his head against Atsumu’s as he leaned down to press his nose into Atsumu’s hair both settling something in his chest and carving open a yawning cavern within him. “It’s just a few days, we’ll all be back together soon. Besides, you’ll be with your brother, I know you’ve been missing him a lot recently. And we’re all only one call away, yeah?”

“Yeah…” Atsumu agreed, but he was pretty sure his voice sounded as unconvinced as he felt. 

It pulled a soft, understanding little laugh out of Oikawa, and he gently pulled Atsumu closer into his neck to press a firm kiss against his hair. 

“I know, Atsu. I know. I’m really lucky that Iwa-chan and I can go together. The trip will be long for you, but Osamu will be there right at the train station at the other end. You’ll have a nice time with him, I know you will. And you can text me the whole entire train ride. Okay?”

“Atsumu?” 

The weight of Oikawa’s head against his lifted, but his hand remained curled reassuringly against the back of his head. It was Sakusa’s voice, and it took Atsumu a second and a few deep breaths before he could raise his head to peek up at Sakusa. 

Iwaizumi was still standing at Sakusa’s side, an arm around his shoulders as he rubbed a hand warmly up and down Sakusa’s arm, and that was the first time that Atsumu really realised that Sakusa didn’t want to leave them either. If it wasn't for getting to see Komori, he probably wouldn't be going at all.

Maybe Sakusa would have understood a little better than Atsumu was giving him credit for, if he'd had the courage to tell Sakusa the truth about this. 

But it was too late for that now.

Sakusa gave Atsumu a tentative little smile, apologising, “Sorry, but… I have to go. Do I get a kiss goodbye?"

Atsumu’s arms flexed around Oikawa’s waist, but he clearly felt it because he laughed softly and squirmed his hand between Atsumu’s arms around him, tangling their fingers together and gently tugging at Atsumu in an attempt to guide him off of him and towards Sakusa.

“C’mon, Atsu, Omi deserves his kisses. And then I’ll cuddle you until Iwa-chan and I have to go.” Oikawa promised, and Atsumu turned the offer over in his head a few times before sighing. He supposed that was a good trade. 

And anyway, he refused to let Sakusa leave without kissing him goodbye.

They’d come this far, and if Atsumu was going to try to keep them here, then what had been the point of him pretending to be fine with this all this time?

Oikawa didn’t let go of his hand as Atsumu reluctantly pulled himself up off Oikawa and stepped past him. Their fingers only slipped apart when Atsumu was within arm’s reach of Sakusa, and he quickly reached out to grab Sakusa’s hand instead, catching his waist with the other hand as he stepped up to lay a soft kiss on Sakusa’s lips. Sakusa caught his hip immediately, tugging Atsumu in and leaning into his kiss comfortably.

It was far too soon when they separated, but to Atsumu’s delight, Sakusa immediately wound both arms around his waist and tugged him in tight to squeeze him in a hug. 

“I’m going to miss you guys.” Sakusa admitted, and to everyone’s surprise, his voice wavered just a fraction as he reluctantly pulled back from Atsumu and slowly reached down to grab his suitcase. 

It was Oikawa who actually managed to respond. Surprising, considering the fact that he was probably the most openly reluctant to see his boyfriends go.

But he giggled softly, walking past Sakusa to grab his hat and reaching up to run his fingers through Sakusa’s bangs, brushing his wavy black hair back away from his face and carefully setting his hat on his head. 

“We’ll see you soon, Omi-chan.” Oikawa promised, giving Sakusa’s bangs a gentle little tug in playful chastisement as if Sakusa was silly for suddenly getting emotional and leaning up to kiss his cheek as he tucked Sakusa’s scarf into his collar. “Now get out of here before you miss your train. Don’t give Komori too hard of a time, we're all here if you need us, and I expect many texted kisses when you get there safe. Now scram, love.” 

His straightforward, light attitude seemed to calm all the rest of them down too, and there was something wistful in Atsumu’s chest as he watched Sakusa slowly manage to smile, nod, and lean down to kiss Oikawa again on the lips, one last time.

“Alright, alright. Before Tooru shoves me out the door.” Sakusa decided, but he sounded far calmer than he had a moment ago.

Oikawa looked proud of himself for that as Iwaizumi leaned over to give Sakusa one more quick kiss, and Atsumu darted forward before Sakusa could even think to turn around.

Oikawa burst out laughing as Atsumu jumped Sakusa, wrapping both arms around his neck and hugging him so, so tightly that his arms almost hurt. He loved Sakusa so, so much…

Sakusa had been his first love, his first steady, his first serious, and Atsumu had been so lucky to be blessed with two more incredible boyfriends as well. 

“I want my text kisses, too!” Atsumu decided, stepping back to catch Oikawa’s hand and leaning into his side. Oikawa squeezed his hand immediately, leaning into Atsumu in return.

“Be safe, Kiyoomi.” Iwaizumi said as way of soft farewell, and Sakusa looked decidedly more happy as he nodded, took a deep breath, and turned towards the front door. 

“I’ll see you all soon.”

Atsumu and Oikawa were both waving him goodbye as he stepped out the door, and none of them moved until the door swung closed between them. Iwaizumi was the one who stirred the energy into himself to lock it, and a soft smile graced his lips as he turned to find Oikawa and Atsumu standing side by side, hand in hand.

“You two stay cosy, go finish your coffee. Atsu, make sure Tooru gets dressed eventually. I’ll get our things, Tooru.”

Oikawa raised a hand immediately in playful salute, something bright and loving dancing in his auburn and mahogany eyes as he gave Iwaizumi a salute and agreed, “Yes, sir!” A tug on his hand had Atsumu stumbling towards the kitchen, and he couldn’t do anything more than follow Oikawa like a moth to a flame as he declared brightly, “C’mon, Atsu-chan."

He didn’t know if it would make it easier or harder to say goodbye if he stayed glued to Oikawa’s side all morning, but he wasn’t about to pull away.

He’d never had the strength to pull away from Oikawa. 

It was a whirlwind of activity after that, as they finished their coffee together and Oikawa happily dragged Atsumu into the bedroom afterwards, clearly not about to leave Atsumu alone, and whether it was for Atsumu’s sake or his own safe or both of them, Atsumu didn’t know and he really didn’t know if it mattered, either. 

Oikawa looked absolutely gorgeous as he ran his fingers through his hair and threw his hair back out of his face after pulling a knitted, light-grey sweater on, paired with dark jeans that showed off his long, long legs far too well and made Atsumu’s hands itch to dig into Oikawa’s soft, thick thighs. 

“Ready, Tooru?” Iwaizumi asked as he appeared in the bedroom door, and he’d already pulled a hoodie on over his t-shirt and shrugged on his winter coat. 

“Mhm! Just need my coat.”

Oikawa moved like grace, like wind, like sunlight on the surface of water as he stepped out of the bedroom, crossing the apartment to the door and grabbing his jacket off the coatrack. It was a blur of movement and grace as Oikawa shrugged on his coat and threw on his scarf and leapt Iwaizumi to tackle his beanie onto his head, and Iwaizumi immediately struggled under his hands as he protested, 

“Baby, baby, when have you ever seen me leave without a beanie, you don’t need to tackle me!”

Oikawa just giggled, clinging around Iwaizumi’s neck from behind and declaring as if it was the simplest thing on the planet, “And what if I just like doing it for you, Iwa-chan? Now let’s go, our train awaits."

Iwaizumi just rolled his eyes, and he clearly knew far too well not to fight Oikawa on it because when Oikawa got something into his mind, he never let it go. 

And something in Atsumu’s chest hurt a little bit watching them. They were so, so clearly in love that sometimes it hurt. Atsumu knew they loved him, too, and Oikawa had laughed and ruffled his hair until he couldn’t see and wrestled Atsumu down onto the bed and into his arms when Atsumu had admitted to him in the midst of a breakdown that he was so, so afraid that they would just stop loving him one day when they had each other and loved each other so much. 

Ridiculous, Oikawa had declared, because Atsumu was his most beloved partner in crime and he never wanted to be without him! 

It had taken some reassuring and a few long weeks after Oikawa had confessed Atsumu’s worries to Iwaizumi and Sakusa and they’d all talked it out, but they’d managed to solidly and soundly banish those concerns from Atsumu’s brain.

Sometimes, they did manage to worm their way back in, though. 

All of them knew it, though, and they were all more than happy to remind Atsumu of their love whenever it bothered him again. 

Atsumu yelped, startled out of his thoughts as a heavy, warm body slammed into his and he jerked his head up to find Oikawa wrapped around him, squeezing him tight.

“Tooru –!”

“I love you, Tsum Tsum!” Oikawa decreed brightly, grabbing his face in both hands and slamming a hard, long kiss on his lips. “I’ll see you so soon, okay baby, and I’ll text you every day. So don’t look too down, alright?”

“We love you, baby.” Iwaizumi added, a hand landing against Oikawa’s back as he leaned past Oikawa to catch Atsumu in a much gentler kiss. “We’ll be back soon.”

Atsumu took a deep breath, forcing his heart to calm and the emptiness in his chest to be quiet.

And he smiled.

“Yeah. Be safe, okay? Hajime, keep our Tooru safe.”

This time, Oikawa didn’t protest, he just smiled under the soft love and affection and care towards his safety and comfort. He didn’t like being alone for more reasons than one, and they all knew why.

“Of course.” Iwaizumi promised, gently guiding Oikawa a step back out of Atsumu’s arms and reaching down to grab their shared backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. 

He was fine.

He was fine!

Atsumu was fine, and watching them step out the door was just fine. 

Everything was fine. 

It was all fine, as he walked through the empty house to grab his backpack and turned off the lights in the kitchen, and he wasn’t suddenly battling an absolute desolation filling up his chest like a rising tidal wave as he stepped out the front door and closed it behind him, locking it at his back and tugging his hood further down over his head. 

He was fine, and he wasn’t upset, and he would be absolutely fine all on his own. 

He wasn’t staying in this house alone right now, though. As much as he wanted to curl up in their bed and pretend the warmth of the blankets and the smell of his boyfriends clinging to the sheets would get him through this, he was pretty sure it would just drive him crazy. 

It was freezing outside as he walked through the parking garage to their car, slipping inside and shivering as he quickly turned on the heat and waited for the frigid air to warm up before daring to slip off his gloves to connect his phone to the car’s bluetooth. 

He didn’t know where he was planning to go, so he just drove. Maybe he’d get a hotel, or maybe he’d just end up going back home and wrapping himself up in Iwaizumi’s sweatshirt and Sakusa’s sweatpants and bury his face in Oikawa’s pillow until they came back home. 

He hated being alone…

Atsumu sighed, turning on his blinker and turning into what he found was the park a fifteen minute walk from their apartment. It was a small place, but nice – there was a lake in the summer that sometimes froze over thoroughly enough to skate on in the winter, and walking paths through the grass and trees, and a swingset that each of his boyfriends had found him sitting on by himself late at night at least once before. Sakusa had sat down on the swings beside him and waited for Atsumu to tell him what was going on; Iwaizumi had pushed him on the swings for a little while before wrapping his arms around Atsumu from behind and asking him what was up; Oikawa had sat down at Atsumu's feet and crossed his arms over Atsumu's thighs, leaning forward to rest his chin on them and gazing up at him quietly until Atsumu broke down and slipped down into Oikawa's arms. 

He liked this park…

And now that he was here, he was pretty sure it wasn't all that surprising that he found himself here considering how many times he'd come here before when he didn't know where else to go and was hiding something from his boyfriends.

Well, at least it was cosy.

Atsumu parked the car in the small lot near the playground, slouching down in his seat and turning up the music.

He wished Oikawa was here now…

Atsumu sighed, gazing out the window into the gathering snow around him, a flurry of white snowflakes dancing down around the car and melting as they landed on the hood. He'd always liked the snow, the quiet peace that took over the world as the snow fell down, the pure beauty that seemed to infuse the air with every swirling snowflake. 

As energetic and bubbly as Atsumu could be, he got quiet very easily…

Atsumu fiddled with the sleeve of his sweater, playing with it between his fingers as he settled into the quiet snow muffling the world around him. 

He liked the peace and quiet…

A little sigh escaped his lips again, fogging a bit this close to the freezing cold window, and Atsumu slowly lifted himself up away from the door towards the center console instead, pulling it open and digging around vaguely inside it. 

Sakusa would probably kill him if he knew, and Atsumu wished Oikawa was here to share one with him as he dug a beaten up old pack of cigarettes out of the center console, but Atsumu didn’t want to deal with the crushing loneliness completely sober right now. Hard habit to break, and all that, as he gazed down at the flicking flame as the spark wheel spun and the flame caught. 

A knock on the window of his car nearly startled Atsumu out of his skin, and he jumped a mile as he snapped his head around ready to slam the car into reverse because he did not have the energy to deal with anything right now –

“Iwa?”

It was pretty stupid to say, considering there was no way Iwaizumi could hear him through the rolled up car windows, but it was in fact Iwaizumi standing on the passenger side of the car, squinting at Atsumu in confusion through the frosted window. 

Iwaizumi glanced down towards the door handle instructively, and Atsumu smacked at the unlock button dazedly until he heard the click of the locks and the passenger door opened. Iwaizumi climbed into the passenger seat, a puff of hot breath from his lips freezing almost immediately in the cold air before he slammed the door closed. He raised his hands to his mouth, rubbing them together and blowing hot air into his cupped palms.

Atsumu finally stirred into motion, jerking forward and smacking at the dashboard, missing a few times before he caught the dial for the temperature and spun the heat up for Iwaizumi. 

For a few minutes, Iwaizumi didn't say anything – instead, he just sat there in Atsumu's passenger seat shivering and holding his hands up against the heat vents until slowly, his shivering stopped and the cold flush on his cheeks melted into a much warmer hue. 

Iwaizumi settled back in his seat comfortably now that he was no longer freezing after trekking through the blizzard snowfall surrounding them to get here, leaning an elbow against the door behind him and looking way too calm sitting there in complete and total control of this situation. 

He didn’t look mad. Atsumu felt like he was probably mad. 

And then he looked up. 

Atsumu’s heart stopped. 

“So are you going to tell me how you ended up alone, in your car, in the park, in the middle of a snowstorm instead of – where you told us you'd be – with Osamu 500 kilometers away?”

Atsumu blushed. 

But Atsumu was well trained in lying, and pretending he was fine, so instead of answering his boyfriend, he blustered bravely, “Are you gonna tell me what you’re doin’ here, in the park, where ya didn’t even know I’d be, after walkin’ here in the middle of a snowstorm instead of – where ya told me you’d be – with Tooru 500 kilometers away?”

Iwaizumi just gave him a mild, unimpressed look, reaching out to gently take the still-lit cigarette out of Atsumu's fingers and lifting it to his lips to take a deep breath of smoke before rolling the window down and flicking the almost-dead cigarette out the window. Done with that, he supposed…

“Nice try, babe, but you’re not getting out of this that easily. So spill.”

“How’d you even find me?” Atsumu questioned instead, still not willing to give in that easily. He’d been lying about this trip for weeks, he wasn’t going to fold immediately under one unimpressed look from his – admittedly pretty convincing when he looked unimpressed – boyfriend. 

“We all have our locations shared, babe.” Iwaizumi pointed out simply, and Atsumu gave an affronted little scoff to cover up his own frustration at himself for not considering that and his flustered blush at the idea that Iwaizumi would go through the effort of tracking him down. 

He didn’t know why he hadn’t considered that. 

“So what, you’re – you’re stalking me – ?!”

“Atsumu.” Atsumu shut up real fast. Iwaizumi was still looking at him calmly across the center console, but now Atsumu could read the very clear hints of panic and worry in the depths of his emerald green eyes. “Tooru and I got delayed an hour before our train got cancelled entirely because of the storm. We decided to just head back home and try to get a new train in the morning when Tooru got the notification – the train you were supposed to be on had a mechanical breakdown thirty minutes out from the station. Tooru was frantic when we couldn’t get a hold of you. I was going to take the car and just come pick you up while Tooru tried to get in contact with you, so he tracked you to find out exactly where your train had stopped. Only to find that you weren’t even on your train in the first place. So out with it, baby, before I have to drag it out of you, because if it has you alone in the car in the middle of a snowstorm, whatever’s going on isn’t something I can just let go of.”

He missed Osamu. He wished he hadn't lied. He knew there was no way his brother would have left him alone or let him spend the holidays by himself if Atsumu had just told him the truth. He probably would have even invited Atsumu to come spend the holidays with Suna’s family if he'd been honest about his boyfriends all going to see their families. 

He missed Oikawa… He missed Oikawa, he missed the safest and most reassuring arms in the world around him holding him close and giving him the safest, most comforting place to break down before helping him put himself back together.

He missed Sakusa, who'd been holding his hand through this since the day he'd managed to draw the truth out of Atsumu, an unwavering support through everything

He missed Iwaizumi, who had caught Atsumu more times than he could count, who seemed to be able to sense whenever Atsumu was feeling particularly down, who had found Atsumu alone in the bathroom or the kitchen so many times in the middle of the night when he felt backed into a corner and didn't know what to do.

He missed them. And he hated hiding from them. 

But he didn't want anyone to worry, so he was terrible at opening up to them. 

But he missed Iwaizumi, he wanted Iwaizumi, and Iwaizumi was right here, had hunted him down and walked fifteen minutes through a gathering snowstorm to find him, so what the hell was he waiting for? 

“I didn't want to bother anyone…” Atsumu admitted softly, his voice quiet and resigned, his breath hitching as he tried to keep himself in check. “You were all so excited to go see your families, I didn't want to hold you back, but I – I don't want to be alone anymore, Hajime, I don't know what to do.”

“What to do?” Iwaizumi repeated as Atsumu bit back a telling hitch of a sob. He didn't want Iwaizumi to be angry with him… “You come here, Atsu.”

Atsumu glanced up, confusion whirling through him like the snowflakes whirling through the wind outside. 

“W-what?”

“You come here.” Iwaizumi repeated, lifting a hand invitingly towards Atsumu. “You come here and you let me hold you like I always do when you're sad, and you tell me what's going on, and then I take you home to Tooru and we'll figure this out together, and next time you tell us – all of us – when something's going on.”

“I…” Atsumu hesitated, stopped, didn't really know what to say.

He had expected Iwaizumi to be angry about this, not… Not soft. Caring. Worried.

“Here.” Iwaizumi offered, reaching out to gently take Atsumu's hand in his own and tugging him guidingly towards him. “Come on, baby, get over here. We both can't fit in the driver's seat, otherwise I'd come over there.”

Atsumu wavered a little unsteadily, a little undecidedly, and the look Iwaizumi gave him was so completely knowing that something in Atsumu's chest gave in. 

“I'm all cold from walking through the snow to get here, you wouldn't make me warm up all on my own.” Iwaizumi teased gently, tugging on Atsumu's hand again, and it was enough to get him moving. 

It wasn't exactly graceful considering they didn't have the biggest car, but Atsumu was slim and pretty lithe, so with Iwaizumi's supportive hands on it hips he managed to clamber over the center console into Iwaizumi's waiting arms and even managed to not knee Iwaizumi in the stomach as he collapsed into Iwaizumi's lap. 

“Hey.” Iwaizumi whispered, his voice full of affection and worry as he helped Atsumu squirm around to sit more comfortably in his lap, his back to Iwaizumi's chest and both of Iwaizumi's arms around his waist.

It was a little cramped, but Atsumu had taken off his winter coat and neither of them really minded being pressed close, so they made it work. 

Strong fingers tangled through Atsumu's, and he watched feeling almost inexplicably like crying as Iwaizumi lifted their right hands together and kissed Atsumu's knuckles. 

“Comfy?”

And honestly, Atsumu didn't even really care if it was cramped as long as he got to stay cradled in Iwaizumi's warm, strong arms. 

“Yeah.” His voice was a little choked, and Iwaizumi cooed softly, a little hum in his chest that rumbled through Atsumu where they were pressed close together as he hugged Atsumu closer around the waist. 

“Just tell me what's going on, Atsu, you know I'll do anything for you and get you through anything if you just let me…” Iwaizumi persuaded gently, rubbing circles into Atsumu's hip with his thumb.

And it wasn't a lie.

Because Iwaizumi had proven he would always have Atsumu’s back in everything. 

“I lied to you.” Atsumu mumbled. Usually, that probably would have made Iwaizumi bristle in anger at the idea that he wasn't trustworthy or Atsumu had done something bad, or made panic flare up in his chest at the idea that Atsumu was mentally doing badly again. 

But right now, Iwaizumi just hummed softly, a sound of acknowledgement from deep in his chest that said yeah, he already knew that, but he was listening and he wanted to know specifically about what.

“About what?” 

Atsumu sighed, looking down at his hand in Iwaizumi's, at his sweatpant covered legs bracketed by Iwaizumi's strong, dark blue jean clad thighs. Iwaizumi was the strongest person he'd ever known…

Oikawa understood Atsumu a little better because he dealt with things the closest to what Atsumu struggled with, but it was harder for Atsumu to bring himself to tell Oikawa about things sometimes because he didn't want to be the one that tanked Oikawa's mood, but Oikawa was also the cosiest place in the world and he'd never felt more reassured than in Oikawa's arms.

Sakusa didn't always understand, but he had been around longer than Oikawa and Iwaizumi had – he'd seen more of this, and been one of the two people alongside Osamu who had gotten Atsumu through his first massive bout of this in high school. He was safety to Atsumu because he hadn't left, because he'd stuck stubbornly right by his side and pulled him through it.

Iwaizumi was his most absolute safety – he was Atsumu’s most reassuring sanctuary, his most powerful guardian, and Atsumu knew would fight the world to keep Atsumu safe. Oikawa would be the first one to draw Atsumu into his arms and not leave him alone; Sakusa would be the first one to make him tea and sit by his side all night if he needed company; Iwaizumi was the one who gave Atsumu all of his strength so Atsumu had enough strength to fight through this. 

Iwaizumi was so, so strong, mentally and physically, and he had always been willing to offer Atsumu all of the strength he had to give. 

“I was never going to see Samu. I lied to him too, I told him I was spending the holidays with you guys, I know he’d come up here himself to drag me back to Hyogo if I didn't go myself. I just… Rin invited him to spend the holidays with him, and Samu really wanted to go.”

“Don't you like Suna? I thought he and Osamu invited you to spend the holidays with them both.” Iwaizumi asked, and he sounded a bit confused because yeah, Atsumu did like Suna. 

“Yeah. I really like him, Sunarin was the first person I ever liked enough to let him get close to Samu. But I didn't want to impose, I didn't want to get in the way of their holiday. And I didn't want to keep any of you home, either, you were all so excited to go home and see your families! Even Omi, as much as being in a house that he doesn't have any control of drives him crazy because of the OCD, as much as he hates some of his family and probably doesn't want to be anywhere near them, he wanted to see Komori. I didn't want to be the person that ruined everyone’s plans…”

“Do you think it would ruin our plans to get to spend time with you?” Iwaizumi asked softly.

Atsumu didn't reply, and that seemed telling enough.

“I didn't want to bother anyone or get in anyone's way. So I just… I figured I'd just spend the holidays alone.”

“Baby, these are things you have to tell us!” Iwaizumi interrupted, and Atsumu flinched a little at the loud cut of his voice. 

“I'm fine!” Atsumu insisted nervously, tracing the seam of Iwaizumi's pants with his eyes just to have something to do. “I'm fine. I…”

“If you didn't want to interrupt Suna and Osamu, I get that. That's okay, but then you had to tell us that you weren't going to be with them! And you had to be honest with Osamu, tell him we weren't going to be around, see what he said. If they're with Suna’s family, it wouldn't be like you were imposing on them anyway, it's a whole family event. We want to figure these things out with you, baby, we'd never be mad at you for being honest. I know your brother is the only family you want to be around, but you're also a part of our families now, Atsu.”

“I'm just your boyfriend –”

“And we love you.” Iwaizumi interrupted calmly, smoothing his thumb over Atsumu's knuckles. “You're our boyfriend and we love you, and you're part of our family. My mom would love to meet you, Tooru’s made her laugh with a hundred stories about you! She loves the way you make us happy. If you didn't want to go see Osamu, any of us would have been happy to have you with us…”

“I don't know about that –”

“Well I know about that.” Iwaizumi decided firmly before Atsumu could even finish, nodding his head as if it was the simplest thing in the world. “It's the truth, baby. We love you to pieces, and you're a part of our families now. You don't spend this much time, move in with, want to be with, people you don't actually like a whole hell of a lot. You're always going to be our first priority, Atsu, and that's not going to change.”

“But why?” Atsumu asked, his voice tight and desolate. “Why would I be your first priority? I'm just… Me.”

“Yeah, you are.” Iwaizumi agreed, and Atsumu’s stomach gave out immediately, dropping through the floor so fast it nearly ripped his heart out with it. He flinched, he could feel it, and he nearly jolted out of Iwaizumi's arms in absolute betrayal. 

He'd been expecting Iwaizumi to argue with him, not agree with him – not tell him that he was just him, as if he wasn't worth something to his boyfriends. 

“Don't get me wrong, baby.” Iwaizumi interrupted, gathering Atsumu's rapidly racing thoughts back to him in this moment, and he glanced nervously over at Iwaizumi but he didn't really make it to looking at his face before looking down at their intertwined hands. “Yeah, you're you, but that's not a bad thing. You think any of us would have asked you out if we didn't like you? And before you even try to tell me that we didn't know you back then, that we didn't know all your faults and your problems and the things you struggle with, learning about that didn't make any of us fall out of love with you. We all have problems, Atsu, every single person alive does.”

Maybe that was true, but then again, "But you guys don't have problems that make me scared to leave you alone sometimes.”

Iwaizumi sighed, a soft noise from deep in his chest that hummed through Atsumu like the thrum of a bass guitar, like the rumble of a kick drum. 

“Yeah, maybe. Kiyoomi doesn't have moods like that, he's way more likely to wind up when he's in a bad place. But he's had his moments when he gets really down, and I knew I didn't want to leave him alone, even if I was never really too scared to leave him alone. But…”

Iwaizumi shifted, jostling Atsumu closer and tilting his head to rest lightly against the side of Atsumu's.

"You want to know a secret?” Iwaizumi asked softly, and at some point the arm around Atsumu had shifted so he could rest a hand against Atsumu's thigh, rubbing against it groundingly.

Atsumu shifted, gazing at Iwaizumi out of the corner of his eye.

He felt cocooned out here, in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a snowstorm, night falling around them. The world couldn't touch them here, whited-out as they were from everything else. 

And the world couldn't touch him here, safe in Iwaizumi's arms.

“Yeah.” Atsumu agreed in a whisper.

A hint of a smile tugged at Iwaizumi's lips, then, but it faded off quickly into a wistfulness as he said, "When Tooru… When he had those nightmares about the shit he'd been put through. A couple months after we all started dating, when we all started staying over at each other's places more, you remember that?”

Atsumu nodded silently, almost speechless. 

Iwaizumi had never brought this up before. None of them really liked thinking about it, Oikawa least of all, so none of them ever really talked about it. 

And Atsumu knew that this had hit Iwaizumi a lot harder than him and Sakusa, because he had been by Oikawa's side since day one. There were barely forty-three days of Iwaizumi's life that Oikawa hadn't been in. Oikawa had been his sunflower and his angel for longer than any of them could really fathom, and Iwaizumi felt so damn responsible for not doing more, for not saving Oikawa, for not being there when Oikawa needed him. 

It wasn't like there was any way Iwaizumi could have known, and Atsumu had overheard more than just a couple late-night whispered conversations in the kitchen of Iwaizumi confessing to Sakusa that he didn't know what to do, and he felt so damn responsible for not doing more then, not being able to do more now, and he couldn't watch Oikawa slip. 

“I was scared to leave him alone, sometimes. The same kind of scared I get with you when you’re in your worst places, and I’m not comfortable leaving you alone.”

“...Really?” Atsumu whispered, and he really did feel like he was being confessed a secret to right now. 

Even back when everything had happened, Iwaizumi had mainly talked to Sakusa about it, because seeing Oikawa having a hard time had dragged Atsumu down, too, and though he had been the confidante that Oikawa needed to actually tell everything and get it all out and get it off his heart, he hadn’t been able to be Iwaizumi’s solid ground, too.

“Yeah, really. I know that it was really hard for you to see him struggling, but I’m so damn glad that you were always by his side through all of it. And y’know, I don’t love him any less after all of that. I didn’t love him any less during a single second of it. And I don’t love you any less just because sometimes I’m worried about you. I wouldn’t worry about you if I didn’t love you. We don't want to leave you alone when you're not doing well because we love you, and we want to see you okay. It doesn't matter if you have shit to deal with, I'm not going to love you any less, no matter how bad it gets or how often you need us to not leave you alone. I'll be there for you and I'll never get tired of you.”

“But why would you do that for me, I'm not Tooru.”

Iwaizumi snorted, squeezing Atsumu’s hand and teasing lightly, “You’re just as crazy as he is.”

“Hey!” Atsumu burst out, and though it was almost on instinct, it still said something that he could react that bright to something right now. Maybe Iwaizumi was winning him over, just a little bit. 

“You’re not him. You’re you. And I love you both. I don’t need you to be another Tooru to love you, I need you to be you – when you’re happy, when you’re sad, all of it. Kiyoomi isn’t anything like Tooru, and I love him. I love you all just the way you are… I wish you didn’t struggle so much, and not because I hate it or don’t want to deal with you anymore. I wish you didn’t have to struggle, but as long as it’s a reality in your life, I’m going to deal with it with you. Okay?”

Atsumu was quiet, at first. He didn’t say anything for a little while, turning Iwaizumi’s words over and over in his head. 

And finally, he asked slowly, “Promise?”

“Promise.”

Atsumu sighed, slouching down in Iwaizumi’s arms and closing his eyes, snuggling in closer to his warm, safe grasp. 

Trust was the most terrifying thing to do, but…

He really did just have to trust.

Atsumu turned, as well as he could in the small, cramped passenger seat in their car, and something in his chest warmed up as one of Iwaizumi’s strong arms curled around his back and pulled him in close against his body. 

“I love you…” Iwaizumi whispered, and Atsumu nodded.

He did know that. 

His breath hitched, and his voice quivered unsteadily as he whispered back brokenly, “I love you too, Hajime.”

And for a little while, there was nothing more and nothing less than that. It was just them in the heat of their car, the snowstorm outside whiting the rest of the world out and frosting up the windows until Atsumu couldn’t see further than a few centimetres past the window, the soft music Atsumu had put on playing softly in the background, and Atsumu huddled close in Iwaizumi’s arms.

And maybe everything would be okay… 

“How about we go home?” Iwaizumi offered after who knew how long, and Atsumu just nodded, clinging to the collar of his jacket with one hand where he had his face buried in the front of Iwaizumi’s shoulder.

His voice didn’t sound any steadier, but he felt so much less miserable as he murmured back in a cracked whisper, “Yeah, okay.”

Iwaizumi squeezed him closer around the back for a second, bending his head to press a kiss into Atsumu’s soft, white-blonde hair before he raised his head and a gentle hand brushed through his hair, carefully coaxing Atsumu up out of his shoulder. 

“I love you.” Iwaizumi repeated, and Atsumu smiled even as he felt tears gather along his lashes. 

“I love you too.” 

Iwaizumi smiled, a hand coming up to cradle Atsumu’s jaw as he leaned forward to kiss him softly, and then he decided simply, “I don’t know how we’re gonna scoot around here, but I’m not getting back out in the cold and I’m not sending you out there, either. But somehow we gotta get you here and me in the driver’s seat.”

Atsumu’s eyes widened a fraction of an inch in surprise, and he began in confusion, “Wait, you don’t have to –”

“As if I’m going to let my beautiful boyfriend drive home after all of this, please, what sort of boyfriend do you think I am? I’m driving you home, because I love you and I get to pamper you, and you can’t stop me.”

Atsumu didn’t think he could really argue much with that. 

It wasn’t easy at all, but somehow with Atsumu squishing himself against the window and gasping at the cold press of the freezing glass against the back of his head, Iwaizumi managed to climb over the center console with even less grace than Atsumu had earlier, collapsing into the driver’s seat with a groan and muttering, 

“The shit I do for you guys.”

“You love us.” Atsumu declared cheerily, and he only had to infuse it with a little bit of extra happiness. 

Not nearly as much faux cheeriness as this morning. 

“Text Tooru, will you? Let him know I’ve got you and we’re coming home.”

Atsumu nodded, immediately fishing through his pockets for his phone as Iwaizumi put the car in reverse and tossed an arm around the back of Atsumu’s seat, glancing back over his shoulder and squinting into the heavy-falling snow. 

“Oh, and give Kiyoomi a call for me, will you? Throw him on speaker, I want to talk to him.”

“But –!” Atsumu began, panic winding up in his chest like a firework flare. Sakusa was already home with his family, he didn’t want to bother him now of all times with something as silly as this –

“You know I’m not going to let you talk me out of this, right? Might as well just call him before I have to do it myself so I can focus on getting us home instead.”

Yeah, and if there was one thing Atsumu was absolutely sure of, it was that Iwaizumi was stubborn as hell, and he would make them both sit here in the cold, without Oikawa and waiting to drive home, until he’d talked to Sakusa. 

So Atsumu growled under his breath as he flicked open his contacts, muttering under his breath, “Fine.”

Iwaizumi didn’t say anything, but Atsumu was pretty sure he caught him smile. 

He tapped on a call to Sakusa, letting it ring over the car’s speakers as he opened his messages with Oikawa, and he flinched when he found almost fifteen unread messages waiting for him in varying degrees of love, worry, and distress. 

Atsu ✿: ((,,>﹏<,,)

hi…)

He didn’t have to wait an instant for Oikawa’s icon to appear online and for him to immediately begin typing.

Tooru 𓆩♡𓆪: (atsu!! <3<3 bby are you okay is iwa-chan with you?)

Atsu ✿: (hi bb t-t <3

haji’s with me, yeah

i’m sry, i didn’t mean for all of this to happen)

Tooru 𓆩♡𓆪: (!! no apologising, i do not accept it! something’s wrong, you don’t have to apologise that something’s upset you

what’s wrong babe, why are you hiding at the park in the middle of a snowstorm?

are you coming home?)

“Atsumu?” Atsumu glanced up at the sound of Sakusa’s voice over the speakers, the sounds of voices and chatter in the background clueing him in to the fact that Sakusa had in fact gotten home safely. He didn’t say anything, though, glancing over at Iwaizumi and letting him take the lead on this because he had been the one who wanted to talk to Sakusa in the first place, and Atsumu could only predict why… “Hey, what’s going on?”

“Hey, Kiyoomi.” Iwaizumi greeted in reply, and there was a sudden clatter on the other end of the phone as if Sakusa had been stirring tea and had just dropped a spoon.

“Hajime? Hey, what’s – you’re with Atsumu? But he’s supposed to be in – What happened? Is he alright?”

Iwaizumi sighed, turning on his blinker as he slowed at a red light, and Atsumu just gazed over at him softly, admiring his profile in the traffic lights and streetlights through the white-haze of the snow. “Yeah, he’s here. Say hi, babe.”

Atsumu bit his lip nervously, but he tentatively managed to greet, “Hey, Omi Omi…”

“Hi, baby. You don’t sound so good…” Sakusa greeted immediately, his voice softer than usual clearly clueing Atsumu in to the fact that Sakusa was worried – really worried. 

Atsumu glanced back down to his phone, nervously worrying his lip between his teeth and texting Oikawa back as he waited for Iwaizumi to explain. He couldn’t do it right now, he had already admitted so much to Iwaizumi this evening and he didn’t know if he had the energy or the courage to do it again…

Atsu ✿: (yeah we’re comin’ home

we’ll explain when we get there, is that okay? I can’t rn… :c)

Tooru 𓆩♡𓆪: (ofc that’s okay baby i’m waiting right here for you

you don’t even have to explain at all if you don’t want to, i just want you in my arms right now…)

Atsu ✿: (i’d like that

a lot

haji’s drivin’, we’re on our way)

Tooru 𓆩♡𓆪: (okay

be safe, baby, tell him to be safe for me

i’ll be right here waiting for you <3)

“Light’s green.” Atsumu whispered, a little too tired to speak any louder than that as he dropped his phone in his lap. He really, really wanted to be in Oikawa’s arms right now, after finally talking to him. Oikawa was so warm, so soft, and Atsumu wanted him badly.

“Long story short,” Iwaizumi began, stepping on the gas and reaching out to give Atsumu’s thigh a reassuring squeeze before he turned his attention back to the road. “He lied about going home, he was never planning to. Didn’t want to get in our way, and didn’t want us to worry. Didn’t want to get in Suna and Osamu’s way, either, so he lied to Osamu too and said we were all going to be together. Tooru and I had our train cancelled, et cetera, I found Atsumu in the park.”

“Oh god…” The noise on Sakusa’s end of the phone lessened rapidly and there was a gentle click, and Atsumu could only imagine he’d stepped into a side room to focus on the phone. “Is he okay?”

“He’s… He’ll be okay. I’m taking him home, Tooru’s waiting there for us.”

“And… After that?” Sakusa asked, and Atsumu both loved and hated that he sounded worried. He was glad that Sakusa cared about him, but he hated the idea that he was ruining Sakusa’s time with Komori. 

He hated the idea that he was ruining all of their vacations, because they deserved to go home and see their families without having their minds focused on him. 

“Hey, Kiyoomi?” A softer, familiar voice interrupted from Sakusa’s end of the call, and Atsumu glanced up curiously. “My mom's looking for you – is everything okay?”

“Motoya, hey.” Sakusa called back, and his voice was a little quieter now as he replied to Komori, “I need a minute, I…” There was a bit of a shuffle, and Sakusa's voice was back to being as loud as it had been at first as he asked, “Hajime, what do you need from me? What can I do?”

“I don’t know.” Iwaizumi admitted. “I mean, I don’t really expect you to do anything, but I felt like you should know.”

There was quiet on the other end of the call, and Atsumu could hear Komori quietly ask something that Sakusa didn’t verbally respond to. And after a moment, Sakusa decided simply, “Motoya, I have to go. I’m sorry, I know you wanted to see me… We can figure something out, alright? Maybe you can come stay over for a few days after the holidays.”

“Sure.” Komori agreed simply, and he sounded a bit confused but he also sounded worried. “But you have Iwaizumi on the phone, right, what’s wrong?”

Sakusa hesitated, and if it hadn’t been his cousin, his closest friend since childhood, he probably wouldn’t have said anything. But though Sakusa and Komori had been through their ups and downs over the years, Komori had been there when Sakusa really needed someone and they were incredibly close, now. He had been the first person that Sakusa had told about having OCD, about having a boyfriend, about having three boyfriends, about all of it. 

So he admitted, “Atsumu was planning to spend the holidays alone. Didn’t tell any of us. And we both know I’m not letting that happen.”

“Oh no…” There was a beat of silence, and then Komori replied firmly, “Sure. I’ll handle the family, I promise I won’t give them too many details. Leave your presents for the little cousins, I’ll make sure they know they’re from you. Get out of here, go get your boyfriends.”

“Thank you…” Sakusa breathed, and he truly sounded absolutely and entirely thankful. “Hajime, I’m coming. You’re all at our apartment, right?”

“Yep.” Iwaizumi agreed, and he sounded a little bit like he knew that this was how it was all going to turn out – he sounded a little bit glad.

“Good. I’m on the way.”

“Wait, Omi –”

“No, you absolutely do not get to fight me on this, Atsumu.” Sakusa denied firmly, and there was already the sound of rustling fabric and quick footsteps on the other end of the phone, a little murmur here and there from Komori as – Atsumu could only assume – they got the presents Sakusa had packed out of his suitcase and got him down the hall and into his coat. “I don’t think you get it, Atsumu – how much I love you. I’m not leaving you alone when you need love ever again.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Omi…” Atsumu whispered, his voice tight and choked. He knew that everything that had happened with him in high school still haunted Sakusa, but Sakusa had never done anything wrong back then. He had done everything in his power, and he had been such a big fraction of the light that had dragged him out of it. 

“I know.” Sakusa agreed, and it sounded like he really did know. “You still lived in Hyogo back then, even if I had come, I wouldn’t have gotten there in time. I know it wasn’t my fault, but it’s in my power to do something different this time, so I’m going to. I never want to see you hurting ever again, baby, especially not when I can do something about it. I know Tooru and Hajime would be with you, but… It doesn’t feel right. And I wouldn’t be able to focus, anyway, knowing you were hurting. So let me do this for you, because it’s something I can do for you. Hajime, I’ll message the group chat when I’m on the train. It’s not that far, I’ll be there soon.” 

“Kiyoomi, my sister will drive you to the station.” Komori called.

“I’m going to go get things in order.” Sakusa concluded, and Atsumu’s heart cracked as he added, “I love you, Atsumu. Thanks, Hajime. For letting me know.”

And with that, the call clicked dead. 

And for the first time in probably forever, Atsumu just let himself accept that his boyfriends loved him and melted into their concern.

“We all love you, baby.” Iwaizumi added calmly, as if it didn’t make Atsumu’s heart flip and melt, as if it was the simplest conclusion in the world.

Maybe, for Iwaizumi, it was. 

Atsumu couldn’t really find the energy to say anything else on the way home, just curling himself into the corner of the passenger seat and watching Iwaizumi drive, deep brown eyes fixed quietly on his boyfriend. Iwaizumi didn’t really say anything else, clearly understanding that Atsumu couldn’t take more right now. 

It wasn’t that far to home, even with Iwaizumi driving slowly and carefully in the gathering snow, and some part of Atsumu was finally beginning to relax because he found himself almost half-asleep in the passenger seat as Iwaizumi finally parked in the garage and turned off the car. He was out of the car and at Atsumu’s door before he even really realised it, opening the door for him and offering him both hands to lift him up out of the car. 

Atsumu just let Iwaizumi guide him as together they walked across the garage and into the building, stopping to wait for the elevator. 

He was a little nervous about seeing Oikawa…

He was nervously worrying his lower lip between his teeth by the time Iwaizumi unlocked the front door and pushed it open, guiding Atsumu in with a gentle hand on the small of his back. 

The lights were on inside, and Atsumu nervously glanced towards the living room – where he was pretty much assuming Oikawa was anxiously waiting for them on the couch – but he was wrong. 

Oikawa wasn’t waiting in the living room.

Oikawa was standing in the middle of the front hall, just a few steps back from the genkan, playing anxiously with the sleeve of his sweater, and his gaze snapped up to the front door as it opened. 

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa cried in relief, his eyes lighting up and all of the anxiety melting instantly out of his posture as he darted forwards, and Atsumu yelped as Oikawa leapt at him in the genkan without hesitation, throwing his arms around Atsumu’s neck and falling against him hard. “Atsu, baby, oh god I was so worried about you. I didn’t think – I should have known –”

He let Atsumu go almost as fast as he’d grabbed him, hands running quickly down Atsumu’s arms and smoothing back up again as his sweet auburn eyes flickered down Atsumu’s body worriedly, asking rapidly, 

“Is everything okay? Are you hurt? I’m so sorry we left you, I should have thought harder about it..."

And as Oikawa grabbed his face in both gentle, warm hands, Atsumu found himself laughing under his touch as Oikawa leaned forward to litter kisses across his lips and cheeks and nose. 

“H-Hi, Tooru, hey – that tickles! – god, you’re warm – I’m not hurt, I didn’t even actually go anywhere.”

Oikawa pulled back rapidly, still holding Atsumu’s face gently in both hands as he gazed at Atsumu with so much heartbreaking love in his expression and pointed out logically, “Well forgive me for being concerned, you always go to that park when you’re sad. Who knows… Who knows just how sad you were…”

Atsumu melted immediately as he realised just what exactly Oikawa was so worried about, and he reached up to quickly take Oikawa’s hands in both of his, squeezing them gently as he gathered them together between them and he promised, “I’m fine… I’m fine, Tooru. I’m not hurt. And now I have you. So I’m okay. I am a little cold, though, if – you’re warm…”

It was a little roundabout, but Atsumu desperately wanted to sink into Oikawa’s arms right now and stay there. 

Oikawa smiled, clearly understanding what Atsumu was really asking for even if he hadn’t said it, and he reached out immediately to Atsumu with open, offering arms that Atsumu didn’t have the strength to not immediately step into. “Well then let’s get you warm. C’mon, coat off, I already made tea and I have some very lonely blankets on the couch that need you cuddled under them with me.”

And… And for the first time that day, Atsumu found himself really, truly smiling. 

“Yeah. Okay.” Atsumu agreed, leaning forward into Oikawa’s touch and closing his eyes. 

Oikawa was here, and Iwaizumi was behind them, and Sakusa was on his way. 

And everything would be alright, now.