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Daichi had exited the minute Asahi came back from the corner store, blushing gently and carrying two six packs of beer. The boy could pass for way over 20 (as he'd demonstrated in his brief foray into an adult theater) and Tanaka had finally worn him down enough to agree to go buy them farewell booze for the last team party with the third years. Daichi didn’t want any part of it, though, and so he’d pulled on his sweatshirt and waved goodbye. Suga has smiled and waved back, knowing Daichi still wanted to maintain that distance that came with being captain. He had to hold on to his image, after all, just for this last party. And he didn’t really want to see his team drunk.
Shimizu had left with him. Daichi would make sure she got home safe. Noya and Tanaka had whined after her like puppies and then attacked one of the six packs with a vengeance.
Suga stayed because he knew he was the most responsible person there. Asahi wouldn’t say anything if things got out of hand. Noya and Tanaka were a mess. The rest of the people there were first years and shouldn’t be left alone ever. Hinata and Kageyama were sharing a beer and trying not to look disgusted about the taste (yet another one of their competitions, probably). Tsukishima was drinking like he did this every day of his life. He looked down his nose at all of them while Yamaguchi sat beside him, watching everyone with wide eyes. Yamaguchi often looked like he wanted to join in but didn’t want to leave Tsukishima behind. Suga wondered what it would take to make him truly join the team. Perhaps another year with Kurasuno would persuade him to engage.
As the six-packs emptied, the team started filtering out. Hinata was the first to turn pale, and he ran for the bathroom, Kageyama right behind him. The two left leaning on each other and bickering. Hinata kept trying to make grand, explosive gestures. Kageyama kept grabbing Hinata’s bad wrist, the one he’d broken, like he was plucking an injured bird out of the air and placing it back at Hinata’s side. It was an odd gesture, weirdly protective and possessive. Neither of them seemed to notice it was happening. Suga made sure they both had water bottles to get them home all right.
Tsukishima and Yamaguchi departed soon after. Suga tried to get them to stay for a bit—he was pretty sure they would end up chasing down Hinata and Kageyama and mocking them for throwing up—but Tsukishima just stared at him and Yamaguchi smiled nervously and kept darting glances at Tsukishima.
“My moms will be worried,” Yamaguchi said when Suga asked if he’d stay and eat some more snacks. “I have to babysit my sisters in the morning, anyway. Sorry! Wait up, Tsukki!” Suga gave up and let them go.
Tanaka left crying. He was sighing Shimizu’s name and had lost his shirt somewhere. Suga forced him to at least hold a water bottle before he ran off into the night. It was a warm night (summer had well and truly begun) and he lived only three blocks away but Suga still called his sister and let her know what state her little brother was in and to be on the lookout for him if he forgot where he was going. She was laughing when she hung up. Suga smiled at his cell phone.
This left Noya and Asahi. Noya was holding an empty bottle in one hand and a half-empty in the other, and had two other empties lined up in front of him. Asahi wandered around, picking up scattered chips and bottles and caps. He hadn’t been drinking. Neither had Suga, but that was more due to the fact that he was in charge of everyone and hated beer. If Asahi had managed to get a case of hard lemonade or a handle of Froot Loop vodka, Suga might have insisted Daichi stay and be responsible, even though things wouldn’t have gotten as exciting as they had with just Suga sitting against the wall and smiling benevolently at his underclassmen and peers. He knew when to step in but he also knew when to back away. This had been just the right kind of party for the kids to have fun without getting themselves into trouble.
“Leave it, Asahi,” Suga said, waving a hand dismissively. “I can clean it up later.”
“It’s no trouble,” Asahi said. “It’s your house, I don’t think you want us leaving a mess. I don’t think your Grandma wants us leaving a mess.”
“She's not back for another two days,” Suga said. “Sit down. Would you like something to drink?”
“Beer him,” Noya slurred.
“Pardon?” Suga said.
“Give ‘im a beer,” Noya said. He propped his head up on his hand and grinned sloppily in Asahi’s direction. “Bet he’s a cute drunk.”
Asahi turned bright red. “Uh.”
“Beer for him!” Noya yelled happily.
Suga looked at Asahi, then took one of the empties from in front of Noya, retreated to the kitchen, and filled it from the tap. As he re-entered with the fake beer held high, he glanced meaningfully at Noya, who had dropped his forehead onto Suga’s coffee table and was singing “Go go go go go go Dateko” to himself as if it was a funeral dirge. Asahi stared down at Noya, then back at Suga, then at the six packs. All of them were gone, drunk quickly by the team. There was no way Suga had found another one. Suga watched patiently as he put two and two together.
“Oh! Yes,” Asahi said loudly. “I will have one beer please, Sugawara.”
Suga rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure, here.”
He passed Asahi the beer bottle full of water and Noya raised his hands—but not his head—and said “ ‘oraaaaay.”
“Noya, are you all right?” Suga asked. He squatted down by the second-year and tried to twist himself to get a look at Noya’s face.
Noya rolled his head back and grinned at Suga, loose and wobbly and strange. “Yesssss.”
“You need to eat some pretzels,” Suga decided.
“Nah,” Noya said. “What I need is to stow away in your backpack and go to college with you guys. I could do it, too. ‘M smaller than Hinata. You could just pass me off as a stuffed animal.” He giggled at himself. He didn’t notice Asahi’s sudden pained expression.
Suga looked between the two of them and made a decision. “Asahi, watch him. Give him the trash can if he starts looking green.”
“Yesssss,” Noya said again.
“No,” Suga told him. “Do not throw up.”
Noya pursed his lips and blew through them, sounding remarkably like a horse. Then he gasped and touched his face. “My lips are numb! Do I have to go to the dentist?”
“Oh my god,” Suga sighed, and left the two of them there. He dug through his pantry until he found some starchy snacks to soak up all the drunkenness that was spreading throughout Noya. He didn’t believe that Noya could get alcohol poisoning off of four beers, no matter how small he was, but it would be nice if he was coherent again.
Suga paused before he stepped back into the living room. Asahi was talking very quietly and Noya was humming every now and then in agreement. It sounded important. Suga heard the word “graduate” and then heard Asahi mumble, “not going to university, you know.” Suga peered around the doorframe.
Asahi had sat down beside his friend on the floor and Noya had immediately climbed in his lap. Asahi’s hands were folded around the smaller boy and his head was tipped back against the couch. He was talking to the ceiling. He was saying, “…person, you know that? The best guy I know. And I know you don’t want to play volleyball without me but you should. I won’t… We can play together sometimes. I know you’ll have practice and stuff but maybe weekends. I wouldn’t want you to quit on the team, you’re amazing. It won’t be a huge change or anything. Well, I mean, it will, but it doesn’t have to be. Because I want you around. Like, around me. A lot. Um.”
Noya had his fingers hooked into the collar of Asahi’s shirt and was chewing absently on the fabric. In the orange light coming from the streetlamps through the window, his eyes looked remarkably shiny. His hair was mushed flat by Asahi’s jawbone pressing against his head. He suddenly nuzzled closer, nose pressing into stubbly neck, and Asahi’s jerky litany stopped with a gulp.
Suga raised his eyebrows. This wasn’t unexpected but it also didn’t seem like his place to intrude. He looked down at the snacks and weighed the guardianship of his Grandma's fancy carpeting against such a moment. Then he ducked back into the kitchen, slid down the cabinets to sit on the floor, and began picking his way through the stale Chex-Mix himself. The noises that started filtering through from the living room proved he had made the right choice. He hoped they calmed down soon, before he ran out of rye chips.
THE END