For Your Safety (ON TEMPORARY HIATUS)

Chapter 7

(Iwaizumi POV)

I looked over to Oikawa who was watching the little fluff of red that poked out from under my discarded jacket. The jacket made Hinata look much smaller than he was, although the release of the emotional pressure he had built up within him most likely attributed to that. He had curled right up on Oikawa's lap, most likely to make himself feel less vulnerable after his breakdown, and had fallen asleep almost immediately. His darkened under-eyes told me there was more to his actions than meets the eye.

A quick scan of the room revealed that almost everyone's eyes were on the small red head; everyone except Kunimi who seemed to be staring at the ground rather intensely. Although he was usually quiet and reserved, he had seemed more so since he had returned with Hinata. I returned my eyes to Hinata, continuing to run my hand soothingly along the sleeping boy's back. I typically wasn't one for showing affection towards those close to me, but even without any knowledge of what was happening in Hinata's life, I knew that he needed more than what I typically provided as a show of comfort; a slap on the back or a fist bump didn't seem appropriate.

"Alright, Kunimi." Oikawa mumbled, drawing everyone's attention immediately to him without looking up or moving from his gentle hold of Hinata. Although he is often seen as a talented, pretty-boy goofball captain, everyone on the team, even the first years, knew how Oikawa could get when he became serious. I knew first hand how much of a façade he puts on in order to be seen that way, especially off-court. "Time to spill. What happened when you went to get him?"

Kunimi's usual blank face slipped momentarily, allowing his surprise at Oikawa's observational skills to show, only to be covered by a mix between a scoff and sigh barely a second later. "His Mother asked me about whether I was on a volleyball team, but the way she said it was as if it was the same as being a part of the mafia or something. After I told her I was on a track team instead she calmed down a lot."

"Safe to say that she has a part to play in preventing the Tangerine from playing." Kyotani growled, gripping his hands together to try and suppress his anger. The amount of anger he was failing to hold in surprised me.

"Calm down Kyotani-san." I growled at him, worried he might leave to try and punch Hinata's Mother in the face; that was the last thing Hinata needed since he wanted to play volleyball again. A group of volleyballers showing up to punch you in the face isn't the greatest way to show that we were a civil group of people. "We don't know the specifics of the situation. If we act before we know the full picture we could have it all wrong and make things worse."

"Right as always Iwa-chan." Oikawa giggled, locking my eyes with his own and earning a small grumble about not calling me Iwa-chan at a time like this. His mood is hard to pinpoint sometimes, flipping just like a switch at random times. Yet I had spent enough time around him to become accustomed to locating the smallest reasons for his mood switches.

The room fell silent apart from the loud rhythmic breathing coming from Hinata's sleeping form, toeing the line of gentle snoring. The silence was never awkward in the group, even with the heaviness of the emotional evening so far and the small addition. I watched Oikawa swipe a stray hair from Hinata's closed eyes, seemingly unaware of the several pairs of eyes that captured the sweet moment. I couldn't find it in me to tease Oikawa for the innocent and loving gesture, for the small boy had already successfully wormed his way into my heart as well, along with presumably everyone else on the team.

The comfortable silence was broken by Kunimi who idly murmured something about food. I let out a small sigh as I looked over at Oikawa, still too engrossed in his new job as Hinata's personal cuddle buddy to do his actual job of being a good captain to the team, before I joined Kunimi in the kitchen. He began to pull out trays and plates to cook and serve the small pile of meat buns on, leaving me to ready the meat buns onto the trays