CHAPTER 29

The keys are louder this time as they fit into the lock. Someone swears on the other side of the door, followed by more jingling keys.

When you thought your heart was already racing, it starts to pound harder, reaching your ears with a sharp pain. "Shit," you start to scramble, grabbing your sweatpants and struggling to fit your feet through, "Why didn't you tell me that he was coming home early?"

"I didn't know!" Oikawa is also rushing to put his clothes back on, nearly tripping over the blanket in the process. The blanket, he thinks, and the flowers and the candles and the record player and this entire fucking room needs to be cleaned before—

"I need my fucking underwear!" if the situation hadn't been so unexpected, maybe you would be laughing, or maybe you would have simply forgotten about the used piece of clothing. But it's hard to ignore the fact that you've never met his father before and, well, "I'm naked!"

A million thoughts are racing through Oikawa's mind, your clothes not being one of them. There's not enough time to clean the entire room. He was going to have to think of a lie, and a good one.

"Oikawa!" you jump up and grab his shoulders, shaking him violently, "What the fuck are we going to do?"

"Shh!" he hushes, more to himself and to the raging amount of anxiety that has replaced the calm atmosphere. When he sees your bare legs, he bends down and fixes the pool of clothing by your feet. "We're gonna have to be quiet, and quick," he almost stutters as he fumbles with the strings on your sweatpants, "You have to hide in my room until it's safe for you to leave. Understand?"

You have no choice but to comply — unless you want to meet his father now, which certainly isn't the ideal option. "Yes."

He grabs your hand with a crushing grip and yanks you towards his room. You dare yourself to glance over at the front door, the sound of his father more audible with ever nearing step. The door knob shakes, then stops when Kai realizes he's got the wrong key again.

Sliding his bedroom door open, Oikawa quickly pushes you inside. "Stay quiet, okay?" you nod, just before Kai stumbles inside the house with a loud groan.

The air is still, both inside of Oikawa's room and out in the hall. You look around, trying to find a spot to hide, but the minimal furniture makes it seem impossible. Stay quiet, you think as you pace back and forth. As long as his dad doesn't come in here, we're safe.

On the other side of the door, Oikawa tries to control his nerves with deep breaths. He hates lying to his dad, because every time he did, his father never failed to see through his words.

"Tooru!" Kai finally greets his son with a crooked smile, "Surprise surprise! I'm home early—" he trips over his own feet, collides into the wall, and burps. "Uh, sorry. My bad."

It's not odd behaviour, considering that Oikawa has seen his dad drunk plenty of times. "Went out with some friends, I see?"

Kai covers his mouth, suppressing a small burp that feels like a gag. "Yeah," he sighs when his stomach calms down. After another breath, he straightens up and wobbles towards Oikawa, pulling him into a tight hug. "I'm happy you're here."

"Yeah, you too," Oikawa's first lie slips by easily, and thanks to the alcohol in his father's system, he doesn't catch it at all. When Kai pulls back, his breath hits Oikawa's face. "Hm... is that beer?"

"How'd ya know?" Kai murmurs, then dismisses the question with a wave of his hand. Something itches his nose, and he quickly prepares for a sneeze, only to deflate back to his drunken state. "What the hell is that smell?"

"Smell?" Oikawa presses his back against his bedroom door, refusing to leave you behind. Fuck, he thinks, the candles are still lit. "I just have a few things in the living roo—"

Another burp cuts him off. "Sorry," Kai kicks his shoes onto the rack, and before he can walk further down the hallway and plop down on his usual spot on the couch, something catches the corner of his eye. "Hold on," his head snaps back to the shoe rack, "Whose shoes are these?"

The pressure on Oikawa's shoulders increases the more his father questions his surroundings. First the smell, now the shoes. "They're, uh... mine."

"Yours?" Kai mumbles as he wipes his mouth, then cleans his hand against his shirt. Dirty, Oikawa thinks as he eyes the new smear. "They seem too small for ya."

"They fit perfectly fine."

"I've never seen them before," Kai tries to squint his eyes, but it only makes his vision spin. "Fuck it. Whatever." Giving up, his feet lead him down the hall and into the living room — and more importantly, past Oikawa's bedroom.

Oikawa wanders around the hall, contemplating whether he should check on you, but he's quickly interrupted when his father gasps out loud. Panic shoots up his spine as he runs down the hall, thinking that maybe his father had broken something.

Instead, Oikawa finds him walking all over the blanket with his old record player in his arms. "I haven't seen this piece of junk in a while," he says as he cradles the record player like a baby. How much did he drink exactly? "You're using it."

"Yeah," Oikawa scratches the back of his head, trying to come up with another lame lie. "I just saw it sitting in the corner and I thought, why not?"

Kai can feel his head beginning to spin. "Shit," he hisses when the record player nearly slips through his fingers. He quickly sets it down on the table, next to the flowers and candles. "What exactly were you doing here?"

"Meditating," Oikawa wants to laugh at how stupid his lies sound right now. "I thought maybe the candles would add a nice touch."

"Huh." Kai straightens, showing his son the unpleasant look on his face. "And the flowers?"

"They were on sale. I thought—"

"Thought why not?" Kai's laugh is far from genuine, and it's enough to make Oikawa shift back and forth on his feet. "It looks like you set up the entire living room for a fucking date!"

Oikawa can feel it — feel his father's booming voice reach the deepest part of his ears. It makes his head pound, and his heart is racing faster than it ever has before. Even his stomach shunts, and for a second, he thinks he might throw up.

"There's even flower petals on the floor," Kai gestures to the entire room with a spin. "You always continue to hide things from me, and I don't appreciate it."

"I'm telling you the truth, I swea—"

"First it was volleyball, and now you're sneaking people into my house without me knowing," Kai's emotions have flared up completely, but when he approaches Oikawa and finds fear in his eyes, he takes a step back. The flavour of beer still lingers in the back of his throat. "Sorry. I didn't mean to yell."

Oikawa doesn't know what to expect anymore. He thought he'd seen his dad drunk before, but tonight, he was on a whole different level.

"It's okay," Oikawa manages to speak, hoping his calm tone would help his father recognize the state that he was in. "I think you just need to sit while I clean this up."

"Okay," Kai burps again as he walks to the couch. Oikawa has to shake the stiffness out of his legs before cleaning the blanket and the pillows. His hands tremble, and a cold sweat breaks our over his entire body.

For the first time in Oikawa's life, he doesn't feel safe in his home.

"Why'd you stop like that?" Kai's voice brings Oikawa back into the room. He didn't notice that he froze, the blanket still unfolded in his arms. "You hiding something?" Oikawa can't bring himself to respond, not when the fear is settling into his bones and his heart feels like it's in his throat. "You're hiding something."

"I-I'm not."

"Who's here?"

"No one."

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm telling you the truth!"

At the sound of Oikawa's raised voice, Kai jumps up from the couch. His head starts to spin again, but he regains himself with a deep breath. "Alright," he mutters as he shoves his shoulder into Oikawa's, "Let me just have a quick look around and see for myself."

Fuck, Oikawa thinks as he follows his father down the hall, right to his bedroom.

Kai senses the urgency in his son's behaviour. He wants to see a reaction from him, and without warning, he grabs the door and whips it open.

I'm so sorry, Oikawa apologizes to you in his head, I'm so sorry for bringing you here.

Kai gasps loudly. "Oh, wow!" his eyes dart all over the room before landing on the thing his son has been trying to hide. "Look at you. I can't believe you!"

Oikawa doesn't want to follow him, but after accepting his defeat, he steps in. "Listen, I didn't mean to lie to you. I was just..." then, his mind trails off when he looks around.

His dad is crouching in front of his desk, eyes glued to the volleyball players paused on the computer screen. "You watch Argentina's volleyball team?"

The question is like a slap in Oikawa's face. What? He feels confused, not because his father is watching the match he was studying a few hours ago, but because you aren't in the room at all.

What the fuck?

"Hey look, they're playing against Japan here," Kai says, pointing to the screen with a trembling finger. Oikawa doesn't care about his father anymore, too concerned with where you could have possibly gone. "I bet you want to play with them in the future, huh?"

With confusion running though his mind, Oikawa helps his father stand up and walk back into the hallway. "Yeah," he glances over his shoulder, scanning his room one last time for any signs of you. He comes up with nothing.

"I know you'd be amazing on Japan's team."

Oikawa chuckles. "Not the team I was referring to."

"Oh, you wanna play with Argentina?"

"Mhm."

Once Oikawa slides the door closed, sealing his room away, Kai leans back against the wall with a huff. "That would be amazing." He looks his son up and down, picturing him in the team's light blue jersey. The imagery brings joy to his heart. "I would love to watch you play."

"Well," Oikawa cocks his head to the side, "If you ever want to support me in the future, you're gonna have to support me now, and from the looks of you," it's his turn to look his father up and down, "I don't have your best interest in mind."

Kai's lip twitches. "You got me there," he says, pushing off the wall and making his way to the living room. "Prove to me that you can make it to nationals, and maybe I'll change my mind."

Aoba Johsai was scheduled to play against a rival school in a few weeks. It's been a while since Oikawa had last seen his childhood friend — enemy. He wanted to make sure he was top notch and ready for when the day came.

Even his friends would talk about how strong their rivals have become since the start of the school year. Apparently, their first years are extremely talented, and when Oikawa had seen who was on the team, he couldn't let it out of his mind. "I have a game against the crows. Will you be there to watch me defeat them?"

Kai huffs as he plops down on the couch. "No. But, I have no doubt that you will win."

"And if I lose?"

"I don't think you want to find out."

Oikawa was certain that he was going to win. He rolls his eyes before turning around, getting ready to search for you. "Whatever."

Then, Kai finds it — finds you, hanging outside of Oikawa's back pocket in the form of pink lace. He can't believe his eyes, and even after rubbing them, thinking that it's just the effects from the alcohol he's been drinking, he still finds the lace tucked away.

It's all he needs to confirm his suspicions, and he wasn't going to let his son know about his discovery.

In the meantime, Oikawa sighs when he checks his phone and sees a notification from you.

My Baby❤️‍🔥
kawa, i'm in the bathroom.

"I'm gonna go out for a drive," Oikawa mumbles over his shoulder, his feet already leading him to you, "I'll be back in a few."

"Sure. Take your time." Kai closes his eyes. He doesn't know what to do with himself now that he knows more about his son's secrets.

He even ignores the sound of feet shuffling towards the front door, and he doesn't say bye when you and Oikawa leave the house. He knows better, and it doesn't matter whether he's drunk or not. He's been living in this house longer than Oikawa has, and naturally, his senses have adjusted to everything — more than what his son can even estimate.

"I'll start counting down the days until I meet her." Kai mumbles before laying back on the couch and closing his eyes.