Gray (Haikyuu One-shots)

Hold On (Part 3)

Argentina taught Atsumu and Oikawa three things, love, second chances, and healing. Making a choice to fly to Argentina was impulsive, but it's one of the decisions neither of them regrets.

Upon landing in Buenos Aires, Oikawa's former coach welcomed them with a white banner that says, "Bienvenido a Argentina Oikawa y Atsumu,"

The two just assumed it meant welcome to Argentina Oikawa and Atsumu, and when they asked the coach, it turns out they were right.

During their stay in Argentina, Atsumu understood what it must've felt for Oikawa when he moved to Hyogo instead of Miyagi. Atsumu felt awkward around Oikawa's former coach, and he struggled with making friends, especially with the language barrier. Both of them studied Spanish through books and movies they borrowed from Oikawa's coach. They talked to each other in Spanish and would cluelessly stare at each other when they couldn't understand what the other was saying. They butchered the language multiple times, but after a few months of studying and practicing, they finally got the hang of it.

Oikawa was the better one at making friends, and they decided that he should be the one doing all the talking while Atsumu would listen and observe for a while. He studied how Oikawa would make friends and use that method as well. It was a system that worked for both of them, and within no time, Atsumu was able to learn to filter his thoughts and the words coming out of his mouth. He spoke so smoothly, and his flatteries seemed like genuine compliments, making Oikawa chuckle and say, "you sound like a sales talker with all those compliments,"

Atsumu would roll his eyes and respond with, "I learned that from you, dumbass,"

They would then laugh and continue to talk about their days. It was fun, surrounded by strangers who don't know them and their secrets. It felt liberating, and they enjoyed what tasted like genuine freedom. They continued to freely live in Argentina. They visited the Astronomical Observatory El Leoncito, where they watched the stars through telescopes.

In their stay at the observatory, Atsumu found out how much Oikawa loved the stars, and that night, he couldn't keep his eyes off him. The way his eyes glimmered with love and so much interest was so beautiful that Atsumu mindlessly says, "you're stunning, more than the stars in the sky,"

Oikawa turns to him and sees his eyes locked on him. Oikawa chuckles and smiles at him, Atsumu has seen Oikawa's smile multiple times on various occasions, but this particular smile seemed different. Inside that observatory, Oikawa's smile looked brighter and more beautiful to Atsumu.

"Thank you, Atsumu," Oikawa says and brushes Atsumu's fringe to the side, "you look gorgeous tonight as well,"

Both of them remained in silence, both looking deep into each other's eyes as if it were the reason why they were there and not the stars. Their eyes glimmered with something they know well but refuse to acknowledge. So, they smile at each other before returning to watching the stars with their hands intertwined.

They continued to roam San Juan to get used to the area before getting started on returning to their first love, volleyball.

They decided to visit the Santiago Graffigna Wine Museum, where they tasted San Juan's best wines. The wines tasted wonderful in their tongues. The old liquor swimming in their mouth tasted bitter and sweet and felt hot in their stomach. But what tasted better was the press of their lips against each other when sanity bid them goodbye after their twentieth glass of wine.

Both held a glass of wine between their fingers when their eyes accidentally meet. They stared into each other's chocolate brown orbs as they slowly lean in, both fully aware that if they continue, they'd be blurring the lines of friendship and taking the route towards a deeper relationship. But neither of them stopped to save themselves from stepping past the border of being friends.