Boys, Bruises, and Babystting (kagehina)

Pinkies, Promises, and Privacy

Though neither of them had considered it when they had first started dating, Natsu had become a massive part of Kageyama and Shouyou's relationship. Every time her older brother came home alone, Natsu would beg Shouyou to call 'Kage-nii-chan' over.

"Kageyama lives over thirty minutes away," Shouyou would explain. Natsu would pout and be cross all throughout the rest of the evening.

Shoyou called his boyfriend one particularly troublesome evening in the late summer. School had started up again and between classwork, practices and Natsu's incessant whining over Kageyama, Shouyou hardly found time to decompress. He took this time while his little sister was having her bath to have a long overdue conversation with Kageyama.

Shouyou hadn't really been able to talk about anything other than volleyball with his boyfriend in weeks. It was nice, for a while, to have some more common conversations. It was only when Shoyou was starting to feel more relaxed that Natsu burst into the room, demanding to speak to Kageyama. This, of course, resulted in a dispute, which leads to Shoyou hanging up on his boyfriend and locking Natsu out of his bedroom, and Natsu running to their mother in tears.

★☆★

After practice later that week, the two of them sat down at a meal to decide what should be done about Natsu. Both Kageyama and Shouyou loved Natsu very much, no doubt about that, but being around her was becoming stifling. There were no kisses or prolonged cuddling without Natsu's interference. She was always urging the two of them to play outside or some activity that would further exhaust them after they had already come back from practice.

How could they manage to protect the privacy and intimacy of their relationship while not excluding Natsu? Of course, Natsu was a child and her place in the two's romance was not all that great. However, her presence in each of their lives was that of a little sister. An adorable yet annoying little sister that didn't quite comprehend the boundaries of a couple's privacy.

Shouyou was chowing down on a burger while Kageyma sipped his drink in contemplation. "We haven't gotten to be alone in so long." He lamented.

"You can always come over to my place," Kageyama suggested.

"Mom doesn't like me staying out during school nights, you know that." Kageyama looked as if he were carefully considering a myriad of different strategies.

"Well, maybe we should try talking to her?' Kageyama offered, apprehensive, but trying to be helpful.

Shoyou shrugged his shoulders. "She's being quite stubborn about this, she seems to be really attached to you." Shoyou scratched his head in frustration.

There was only one person they could turn to now, the man who had all of the answers, Sugawara.

★☆★

"Well, I agree with Kageyama that you should try and talk to her." Sugawara crackled from the other side of the line. Both of the younger boys listened intently to the advice. They were in a quiet place on the street, sitting on the bench under the shelter of the bus stop enclosure. It was dark and had started to drizzle a bit.

"Maybe you should try to explain to her that your goal isn't to completely extricate her from your relationship, but that you guys need alone time as well as Natsu time." Sugawara pondered. "I think if you set those boundaries and explain it well, you can find a good balance."

"How do we do that?" Shoyou asked, twisting his hands in his lap.

" Let's say you make a compromise." Sugawara paused briefly to collect his thoughts. "How about you promise that if Natsu-chan is on her best behavior, that Kageyama will come over once every few weeks or something?"  

Shoyou nodded his head. "That could work." He looked at his boyfriend and they both nodded at each other in agreement.

"Thanks, Sugawara-senpai." Shoyou said.

"Anytime," Sugawara crackled before hanging up.

It was two boys in the silence of the rain beating on the bus stop eclosure. Shoyou called his mother to tell her he would be on his way home, but she told him that he'd better not ride his bike all the way home just to catch a cold and miss school the next day.  So they headed over to Kageyama's house.

Shoyou and Kageyama bathed and got ready for bed. By the time they were under the covers and snuggled together, they were too tired to do much else than give a sloppy kiss goodnight and fall fast asleep.

★☆★

The next day was a Friday and they had decided that was the day that the two of them would confront Natsu about giving them a little privacy from time to time. It was after practice and both of them raced on their bikes for the thirty-minute ride to Shoyou's house. They arrived sweatily and out of breath, they were squabbling over which one of them had arrived at the front gate first.

They entered the house and were met by those tiny rumbling footsteps racing down the hall to greet them. "Kage-nii-chan!" Natsu cried, latching herself onto the sweaty high schooler before he even had the chance to remove his left shoe. He choked out a startled noise as the elementary schooler swung herself from his arms. "Welcome home!" She warbled.

"Natsu, come set the table please." Her mother crooned from the kitchen.

Natsu whined a bit in protest, still, she hurried along to the kitchen, quickly forgetting her distress when she smelled the alluring aroma of chicken and fried rice. Kageyama and Shoyou placed their stuff on the floor in Shoyou's room and sat on the bed, discussing their plan before being called for supper. They savored the moment, holding hands and Kageyama rubbing his thumb over Shoyou's hand in a soothing, reassuring manner. Shoyou leaned his head onto Kageyama's shoulder, sighing. Their breathing and heartbeats synchronized. They were peaceful, despite the particular worry that occupied them. Their eyes slid closed after a while and it led them to believe, rather foolishly, that they could have a nice nap and capture a bit of rest.

Natsu entered the darkened room, a sliver of light cutting through the dark from the threshold. The two boys were slumped together on the bed, so close to drifting off into a peaceful slumber. She tiptoed in, saw both of their hands entwined and almost felt bad about what she had to do next.

"It's time to wake up, nii-chan, Kage-nii-chan!" She called, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify the sound.

The two boys shuddered, so startled they nearly fell off the bed, taking Natsu with them. "Natsu, what the heck?!" Shouyou cried.

"Mother says it's time for dinner, so it's time to wake up!" Natsu chirped.

"Why'd you enter the room without knocking?" Shoyou asked. "It's not polite," he added in a scolding tone.

Natsu cocked her head to the side like a puppy confused at a new noise. "I came to come get you?"

"Listen, Natsu, next time you enter, please knock," Shoyou lectured.

"Why?" She asked, pouting slightly.

"Sometimes when people start dating..., they need some alone time," Shoyou explained slowly.

"That's no fair, nii-chan! You spend time with him at school and now I can't spend time with him at home when he comes over?" Natsu whined.

Kageyama took one of her small, shivering hands in his. "We will always make time for you." Shoyou looked at Kageyama, a bit astonished and proud. He never thought the day would come where he would be able to talk this easily. His awkward blueberry of a boyfriend was growing up.

"Really?" She sniffed.

"You're our favorite girl, after all?" Kageyama gave a reassuring smile.

"Promise?" She held out her pinky.

"Promise."