double trouble ★ hiatus

[ 24 ] COME INTO THE WATER

"THIS PLACE IS SO SHADY!"

atsumu exclaims, spinning around the clearing of the forest and taking in the sight. the crooked trees tower over the both of you, giving way to a small patch of moss and logs, and a little lake that sits quaintly in the middle.

"i'm not gonna murder you or something!" you laugh, making your way through the dense shrubs and into the clearing, "but even if i were, this is a really beautiful place to go." you grin at the unamused expression on his features, holding the palms of your hands up in mock surrender.

atsumu pats down a tree stump, examines the patches of moss growing on it and sits down. he looks at you expectantly, pats the empty space next to him when you linger beside the stump, unsure. "siddown, y/n!"

"there's literal bird shit on that, no thanks." you laugh, opting to instead stay standing, all your weight shifting tp]o one foot and your arms crossed over your chest.

"whatever you want," the blonde says, shrugging it off. he folds his leg up onto the stump, crosses one shin over the other. "now please, tell me why you were crying all alone at midnight in a dark park?" he smiles, tilting his head to the side slyly.

you look down at the yellow stitches on your docs, start counting them in your head as you speak. "um, i took something. from a store, like i didn't pay..."

"...anyways, so i took it home and felt really shit about it. like, more than ever... i thought i would give it to a charity store, some goodwills." your eyes trail away from his to the trees behind him. one of them looks burnt. "but right before i could, my mum called me home. i thought maybe something urgent was up, because she sounded upset. so... i wasn't as careful as i usually am."

atsumu is quiet as you continue talking, and you find yourself fiddling with your fingers. "so i forgot to hide the things i took, and went home. well, it turns out my mum, uh." you turn around to face the lake, feeling your heart physically heavy in your chest.

"she knew."

you look up at the lake, watching the way the still water reflects the moonlight. atsumu comes up behind you so carefully, you almost don't even realise his arms sliding over your shoulders. they fit perfectly, sit there softly and he rests his head on your neck. "i'm sorry, man."

"don't be. i brought this down on myself." you lean back into his warmth, back pressed against his chest, "i just ran, 'tsumu. i couldn't see her, how upset she was. she was so fucking disappointed, and like always - all i could do was run."

"y/n, you could always tell her that -"

"no, please." you exhale lowly. "i don't want any advice, excuses or sympathy. what i did wasn't... it's not okay. and i will deal with the consequences tomorrow morning. can't stay away from mother dearest forever, yeah?"

"that's really brave of you." atsumu admits gently, and you can feel every word of his against your skin. "

"not really, but thanks." you laugh. a comfortable sort of silence falls over the two of you, before you speak up again, "so yeah, that's why i was crying. just needed to get away from all that, have some fresh air, time alone..." you sigh warily, "take my mind off things."

"do you still want a distraction? just until sunrise?" atsumu asks, and after thinking about it for a moment, you nod.

"yeah, i don't want to keep overthinking it. it's killing me, 'tsumu." though you know you are going to have to go back eventually and talk to your mum, right now - you just want a distraction from the rabbit hole that is your mind, something, anything.

"then swim with me." he grins, "take your mind off it all and let me take you into the water."

"oh, so you wanna swim with me?" you laugh quietly, intrigued by his idea, you tilt your head back to meet his gaze which is focused solely on you. "in these clothes? we'd drown, atsumu!"

"then take them off," he breathes, lips curling into a smile against your soft skin, trouble brewing in those dark eyes. "it's not like i can see anything in the dark, right?" you lean away from his body, untangle yourself from his messy embrace - no longer wrapped around his limbs.

you blink, his words catching you off guard. "you're joking."

"ya wanna bet?" his words are mocking and his eyes are trained on you, as he reaches for his fancy red tie, unlooping it over his wrist, loosening his collar.

his fingers work at every single button, but he doesn't take his dark eyes off you for a single second. the blonde shrugs off his shirt, lets it fall to the ground carelessly with a smug fucking smile on his face. you watch in silence as he sets down the rest of his things.

but you turn away when his fingers brush the waist of his black dress pants.

"why so nervous, y/n?" you hear his voice from behind you, his low amused laughter as you hear the unbuckling of a belt. the sound of fabric folding, falling. the blonde's steps are soft, tentative almost, as he makes his way to the edge of the lake. you close your eyes at the sound he makes when the cold water kisses his bare skin.

"y/n." he calls your name quietly, so delicately.

you turn around, and you can barely make out his figure in the dark. the only thing you can do is listen - listen to the water that ripples around him, his shallow breathing, the sound of breaking twigs and moss beneath the unsure steps of your doc martens.

you know what?

fuck it!

your fingers feel fuzzy as you reach for your jacket and pull the silver zip down. a laugh slips past your lips when atsumu whistles lowly, applause sounding out from behind you, "didn't think you had it in ya, y/n!"

untying the laces of your docs is easy most of the time - but right now it seems like the hardest thing in the world. "i don't even know why i'm doing this." with a small nervous laugh, you shrug off your jacket - stand in the dark for a moment before pulling your shirt over your head.

"is the water cold?" you ask over your shoulder, grabbing your pile of clothes, shoes and setting them down next to atsumu's.

"oh, it's freezing." he smiles in the dark, "so you better stay real close to me."

"you're just doing this on purpose now," you roll your eyes at his antics, but take slow, hesitant steps to the edge of the lake. the water looks anything but inviting, it's murky and cold - but the blonde boy is anything but. he smiles widely, afloat so that only his shoulders up are visible on the surface.

eventually, you step into the water, and atsumu wasn't lying. it's fucking freezing. even though your breaths come out in small shaky shivers, you keep moving into the water, making your way to the boy who has both his arms out for you to latch on to.

NOTES HI
GIYS THE NEXT CHAPWRT OH MY GOD it picks up i swear.😭🙏🏽