Framed Sunset

- Frame Seven -

The first thing Kageyama did after getting dropped off at his apartment by Kiyoko was collapse in the middle of his front hall, crouching down and pulling his knees into his chest, shakily exhaling until he felt the stress melt out of his shoulders. His hands trembled, his eyes scrunched.

I'm okay, he told himself, I survived that encounter.

He could feel the dots swimming at the edges of his vision, his grip on his knees tightening until it hurt.

Those people didn't do anything. They weren't mean, they didn't yell at me for being quiet - Natsu Hinata even tried to hug me.

A low whine slipped through his tight-pressed lips when his nails dug into the fabric of his pants, bruising the skin beneath.

They didn't hate me. I'm okay. I did okay. Kiyoko wasn't mad.

So why is my chest still tight?

"If you're throwing a temper tantrum, I really will become your mother just so that I can yell at you."

That voice alone made his hands go slack.

Kageyama's blue eyes widened, locking onto the figure looming above him. It stared down at him with a smug smile, eventually kneeling in front of him.

"Kiyoko gave me a heads up about today's fun times," Koushi Sugawara mused, one hand ruffling Kageyama's hair, "just in case you needed your number one mom friend."

"Suga..," Kageyama grumbled, swatting away the ash blond's hand. Despite Sugawara's interesting opening, the conversation and his steady words were calming Kageyama's heart. So far, there was no one in the world who could handle Kageyama the way Sugawara did - though it had taken them some time to get to where they were now. "Why are you in my apartment?"

"Let myself in," he answered, straightening up and dangling the spare key in front of Kageyama's face, "and like I said, Yoko gave me a heads up. Clearly, it was a good idea. Look at you."

Kageyama scowled. His legs unfolded, stretching out in front of him as he sulked. Sugawara shook his head at the sight, eventually joining Kageyama on the floor.

"So, how many strangers?"

"Four - five if you count the dog."

Sugawara's eyebrows raised. "A dog?"

Kageyama, who'd been too focused on the job at hand and his own anxiety to really pay attention to the golden retriever, shrugged. "Yeah, came in with..," he trailed off, well aware that Sugawara also knew the names of the radio hosts, "Shouyou Hinata..."

At that, the gray haired man perked up. "Oh? Why was the Sunset Sounds guy there?"

Kageyama frowned, taking a deep breath to calm himself and stop the shaking in his hands. They still quivered when he replied. "The client Oikawa dragged in was a woman named Natsu Hinata - his sister - who had her own manager. Hinata came with her for whatever reason, and brought his partner."

"And a dog," Sugawara murmured. He could only imagine one reason for a person to bring a dog into a workplace, and from his experience listening to the Sunset Sounds radio, he knew Hinata's dog also went to the station. If his hunch was correct, then Hinata having a job as a radio/talk-show host made a lot of sense.

"Well," he eventually grunted, getting to his feet, "I can imagine that meeting him only made your anxiety worse, so I'll get some tea started. Are you going to take a shower?"

Kageyama, from his place on the floor, didn't answer Sugawara's question. He came up with a correction instead.

"He... Didn't make it worse. I actually spoke, you know, when I recognized him. It was only two words, and... I honestly wish I could've talked to him more, maybe in private. Because... I want to."