Chapter 12: 'Not A Date' Date

(TW: Implication of abuse/torture, internalized homophobia)

STANDING AWKWARDLY OUTSIDE AOBA JOHSAI'S GYMNASIUM- Li Wei waits for Oikawa and his friend to come out. He hasn't been out with someone in so long that he could actually consider a friend. Most of his hangouts with Hinata were all volleyball based and nothing like what today was going to shape up to be. The male manager scrolled through his phone, reading articles about what is going on in the ice skating world.

Surprisingly, there was an article on him. A bit shocked, Li Wei quickly reads through the article and sighs in relief when he realizes it was just talking about the latest Grand Prix that he sadly won silver in. Getting back home after that night was a horror story, as his parents threw him back into the basement. Silver has never been good enough for his parents, as it was gold or nothing.

Turning off his phone, Li Wei hears some chattering as the volleyball team finishes their practice for the day. Many of the members pass by him in confusion, wondering why Karasuno's manager is by their school. Some believe he's a scout, while those in on the whole situation know that he's supposed to be their setter's date.

"BEAUTY-CHAN!!!" Li Wei's head snaps up, turning towards the sound of Oikawa's voice. The brown-headed male seems to be running in slow motion somehow, acting as though his husband has just come back from a long, long trip. Following right behind him is most likely Iwaizumi Hajime, the other person joining them on their excursion of sorts. The male seems completely annoyed by Oikawa, as he grabs him by the scruff and holds him up, before sighing and placing him right down. He can't really hear their conversation, but whatever was said made Oikawa pout.

Li Wei walked towards the two, a small smile on his face as he is honestly excited about hanging out with those other than Hinata or Kiyoko. Though, he still feels nervous, unsure of how he is supposed to act. Kiyoko stated that he just needed to be himself, but sometimes he's not sure who he actually is. With having to put on a mask for so long, it feels as though he has a mesh of two different personalities. A cold-emperor-like personality and a soft-easily flustered personality.

"Good morning, Oikawa-san, Iwaizumi-san. I..I am excited for today's excursion with the two of you." Bowing down at a 90 degree angle, the male manager does his best to convey his excitement. Though, it looks more like a mother forcing her kid exactly what to say to the two of them.

Hiding a slight grimace at the clear formal tone, Oikawa pops right back up again as he widely smiles, planning to make today more of a date than anything. He may have to share his gift from the alien gods with Hajime, but the guy is his best friend so that would be okay! Sometimes, you just gotta make sacrifices in this world.

While Oikawa is having a monologue of sorts within his head, Iwaizumi formally introduces himself to Li Wei, exchanging numbers with one another. The taller male has this need to ruffle Li Wei's hair but holds back, knowing it could make the other far more uncomfortable. However, that urge lingers in the back of his mind and he almost can't help himself. Despite the fact that the male is gorgeous, he is also somewhat like a lost puppy, overly unsure of himself.

"Beauty-chan! We're gonna go to an arcade and café for today's NOT DATE!" The setter happily utters out, locking arms with Li Wei, who flinches just a bit and looks confused by the action. He has been trying to hide his fear of touch because he doesn't want to answer any questions about what his life used to be like, but sometimes it's just so hard. The only way to get better, however, is to desensitize himself to affectionate touches. Plus, Li Wei wants more friends, so if he has to suck up his fears, then so be it.

"Onwards my 'not dates'! We have an arcade to go to and take all the prizes from!!" Oikawa's enthusiasm was rubbing off on Li Wei, who wore a much more visible smile on his face. Iwaizumi, who was used to his friend's antics, just shook his head fondly. All three made their way onto a bus that would take them closer to downtown Tokyo, where Oikawa's favorite arcade was.

Li Wei found himself intrigued by the scenery as the bus went on, paying close attention to whatever they passed by. He still hadn't explored much of his prefecture, aside from Miyagi itself. He had wanted to though, but there honestly felt like no time to do so. Now however, he would be able to explore more of his new country with some -hopefully- friends.

Poor Li Wei had no idea that neither male saw this as a hangout. Even Iwaizumi saw this as more of a three-way date.

As they arrived, Oikawa was quick to push both Li Wei and Hajime off the bus, wanting to attack the arcade as soon as possible. He dragged them both by their hands, feeling that he currently had all the power. "Ok men! We must get all the alien plushes, no questions asked! Go go! We must win every single crane game and gets lots of tickets." With his orders stated, Oikawa went straight towards a pink crane machine, with plenty of weird-looking alien plushes as prizes. He was desperate to get one!

Li Wei stayed by Iwaizumi, both of whom enjoyed the silence between them more than anything. The taller of the two decided to try his hand at a blue crane machine that featured tiny plush cats as prizes, intent on getting on for the beautiful male next to him. Unlike his best friend, Hajime isn't really good at displaying his emotions and finds it easier to express his liking for someone through gifts.

Putting in a couple hundred yen, Hajime places all his focus onto the crane, willing it to latch onto a prize and not drop it. Slowly, he moves the crane over a white fluffy cat plush, before pushing the button that would make the device capture the prize. As it latches onto the prize, Hajime and even Li Wei wait with bated breaths, watching as the crane slowly lifts back up into the air, with the plush in its clutches. Hajime can feel his anxiety spike as the crane shakily moves over to the area where it's meant to drop the prize, hoping it won't let go.

Just as the plush is about to reach its destination, it falls out of the crane. The ace can feel despair mar his features, wondering why the world has forsaken him in such a way. With slumped shoulders, Hajime sighs before trying again, hearing a small chuckle on his left. As he turns his head towards the male manager, he notices how the beauty seems as though he hadn't made a single noise.

Eventually, Hajime finally wins the stupid plush..after spending at least 1,000 yen. It hurts a bit to see that money gone from his wallet, but the adorable smile on Li Wei's face makes up for it. "Thank you Iwaizumi-san." Those softly spoken words make his heart flutter a bit, as the two walk to where his best friend is, who is hoarding a wide variety of weird plushies. "Beauty-chan~ Pick any plush you see in front of me, as they were all gathered with you in mind!" Hajime could see the sparkles light up in Li Wei's eyes, as he seemed surprised by the gift. It was adorable.

Li Wei felt pure joy at having both the cat plush and the pink-wonky alien plush in his hands, as he had never been allowed such luxuries. Often, his parents said these adorable stuffed animals were only for girls, therefore he could never have them. He got brutally whipped the one time he brought a teddy bear home, so he never got plushes after that. Li Wei is sure he'll have a breakdown of sorts when gets back home later today from the sheer amount of rules he is breaking..despite not living with his parents anymore. For now, however, his joy is completely overshadowing any of those negative feelings and it's such a blessing to feel okay for once.

As the three continue playing different video games, a young girl and her friend come up to them. "Hey misters! Are you guys married?!? My mommy says people who are happy get married." Though the question is innocent enough, it catches all of them off guard. Oikawa starts laughing a bit, before going into a full-blown laugh. Iwaizumi, on the other hand, just sighs, as if this has happened before. Li Wei, who would vehemently disagree that those who are happy together would get married, becomes flustered and completely uncomfortable by the insinuations. It makes him think about his time in a certain therapy.

"We aren't married, young miss. We are simply friends." Li Wei decides to go down the gentleman route for this situation, noticing how the young girl's features light up. However, the boy next to her glares right at him and Li Wei just can't seem to figure out why. "Oh ok! But..you would be the mommy right? And those two would be your daddies?" That statement elicits chokes from both Oikawa and Iwaizumi, the first of which seems to be holding back his laughter. Li Wei sighs, "No, they would not be my 'daddies', nor would I be the mommy." His words make the two behind him splutter further, unable to comprehend the word 'daddies' coming out of Li Wei's mouth.

Eventually, the young boy pulls away his friend, giving Li Wei the stink eye. The male manager is none the wiser as to why he is being given such a glare. As soon as the two leave, Oikawa breaks out into laughter once again, before muttering under his breath about how he could be Li Wei's daddy. The beautiful male simply wonders why Oikawa would even like to be his dad, but anyone would be better than his biological father.

After that little conversation, Oikawa drags both Li Wei and Iwaizumi over to a small cat café about 10 minutes away from the arcade. Li Wei emerald-eyes sparkled as he spotted the cats, wanting to just pet them. He couldn't have pets at home and he isn't sure if he can currently take care of an animal as sometimes, he can barely take care of himself.

As they walk inside the adorably pink pastel cat café known as Neko Espresso, the three are seated down by a large window, full of lush forest green vines. There were fairy lights hanging above them, reminding Li Wei of tiny fireflies he would sometimes catch whenever he was allowed to go outside as a child. Those cicada-filled summer nights were some of the best, even if they often ended in pure agony. The noises the cicadas made helped ground him, making it easier to focus on something other than the burning pain on his back.

The entire café was filled with soft pastel bean bags, high-rise tables, and tall chairs, with cat trees all over the place. Watching the cats move around made Li Wei want to join them in their simple lives. When the waitress came around, she seemed to be giving the male manager a look he simply couldn't understand. The blonde-haired girl with brown eyes was biting her lip and getting a bit too close to him for comfort. "What can I get for you cute guys?" The girl, Ayumi, kept winking and Li Wei just wanted to get further away from her.

Eventually, Iwaizumi must've picked up on his uncomfortableness as he took control of the conversation, giving her their orders and sending Ayumi away. After she left, Li Wei sighed in relief, unable to comprehend what just happened. He had girls like him, but none of them really ever approached him as he was their prince of sorts, which he detested. The male manager wonders why he couldn't speak up as sending girls away..and occasionally guys was something he did often back at home. Usually, if he was out at a gala or a competition, one straight-faced look with his emotionless mask would send others away. Li Wei wonders if he feels out of sorts because of how his day has gone. It has been amazing and he has been completely annoying all the implications of today till he gets back into his safe haven.

Once their orders had arrived, Li Wei happily ate his strawberry parfait as he had never had one before. It tasted like heaven. Oikawa bragged about his recent volleyball wins, while Iwaizumi continued to subtly snark at his best friend. All in all, the café trip was fairly peaceful and enjoyable, with Li Wei constantly petting whatever cat came by to their table. His eyes would especially light up whenever one of the cats sat in his lap as he carefully pet them.

Time flew by, with Li Wei eventually having to leave the two as he had ice skating practice early in the morning before class started. He hadn't practiced in quite some time and becoming rusty was not an option as he still had so much love for the sport. The journey home was admittedly lonely, as the emerald-eyed man lost the warmth he had earlier. He couldn't quite understand why he suddenly craved his friend's touch, especially that of..well a man's. He wondered if it could all be purely platonic.

In reality, poor Li Wei is so emotionally stunted that he simply doesn't understand the concept of love or affection as much as he could, explaining why he constantly doubts himself.