YALL its getting angsty-spicy ish in this chapter, kitty throb but eyes cry
*
Oikawa assumed people got beaten up in prison all the time. He thought taking a few punches wouldn't be a big deal.
He was wrong.
"'Scuse me, sorry, out of the way!" A singsong voice traveled through the lunch line, nudging inmates aside as it approached. Tendou slid into line behind Oikawa, an owlish look on his face. "Oikawa-kun! What a surprise, running into you like this."
"You came over here on purpose."
"I heard you got in a fight," said Tendou, ignoring him. "And I see it was true. Looks like you lost pretty bad, huh?"
"No, I didn't." Oikawa shuffled forward as the line moved. "I can't lose if I didn't fight back."
"If you didn't fight back, then you definitely lost."
"Why do you even care?"
"Just wondering what happened," said Tendou with a shrug. "Since we're friends and all."
Oikawa thought back to the broom closet incident. He didn't think he wanted to be Tendou's friend, but it seemed much safer than the alternative.
"Nothing happened. I tripped in the gym and fell into the weight rack."
Tendou propped an elbow on Oikawa's shoulder. He had to go up on his toes to get a good angle. "That's a nice story. Now tell me what really happened."
Oikawa sighed. He didn't think there was any harm telling Tendou. It wasn't as if he was going to run off and snitch to the guards. "Kuroo."
"That's what I thought." Tendou craned his head to the side, staring off across the cafeteria. Kuroo was at his usual table, and now that Oikawa had met him, he recognized Kozume sitting beside him. "Kuroo looks alright. Did you even get a single punch in?"
"I said I didn't fight back."
"That's a no, then."
Oikawa gritted his teeth and took another shuffling step forward. Tendou stayed right beside him.
"I've never been great at fistfights," said Tendou. "I'm more of a surprise stabbing kind of guy. Semi is great at fighting, though. He'd be happy to help you out if you need some tips."
Oikawa doubted Semi would be happy to help him with anything at all. "No thanks."
"Suit yourself." They took another step in tandem. "He did fight Iwaizumi that one time, though. The last time he was here. Iwaizumi won by just a hair." Tendou pinched his fingers together to illustrate. "They were both busted up pretty bad. You saw his missing tooth, remember? But I think Semi-Semi could take him now. Iwaizumi's mellowed out since then."
Oikawa didn't know what Iwaizumi had been like before if he could now be considered mellow. "What were they fighting over?"
"Something stupid, probably. That was back before Ushijima and Iwaizumi got along. Everyone was fighting all the time over something. Except Kuroo, coincidentally. He always kept out of it. Say what you want about him, but Kuroo's a smart guy. He knows what he's doing."
Oikawa slid another sideways glance at the Block Three table. He wanted to argue with Tendou about that, but he had a sinking feeling he was absolutely right.
Kuroo wasn't an idiot, but all this would have been easier if he was.
"Does it hurt?" asked Tendou, prodding a finger into the bruise staining Oikawa's cheekbone.
