It takes time but Atsumu adjusts to his new life without his brother's constant companionship. He does his job and he makes new friends among the agents. He does well on the Jackals team. He shows that he's earned his place among the elites. He visits Osamu three times a year if he's lucky, but The Voice gets the rules to lighten up enough to allow him to call twice a week instead of once a month. Atsumu thinks that The Voice has always been fond of his brother.
His list of missions and covers is always growing, he spends most of his time out in the field now. There's very little time for him to rest, but he gets his chance once every three months. After a brutal two weeks of traveling across the world the check in on undercover agents, he arrives at a hotel in Russia. This is where he is now, sprawled across the bed in just his boxers with a Switch in his hands. He sticks his tongue out as he concentrates on the game on his screen.
"Should we get room service?" Kiyoomi asks as he steps out of the bathroom, drying his hair carefully with a towel. Atsumu pauses the game and rolls over to look at him.
"You said it upset your stomach last time. I brought those noodles you said you wanted last time."
"We can make those today then. Go shower and I'll boil the water," Kiyoomi says as he fastens the buttons of his shirt. Atsumu rolls off the bed and stands as close to Kiyoomi as he can without touching him.
"You could come shower with me," He teases. Kiyoomi makes a disgusted face and takes a few steps back. Atsumu doesn't take it personally, he's pretty sure there's a little bit of fondness in the other man's gaze.
"Don't talk to me til you're no longer gross and sweaty," Kiyoomi grumbles before hurrying out of the bedroom.
"It's your fault!" Atsumu yells after him. He can't see Kiyoomi in the other room but he's pretty sure he's being flipped off.
Atsumu takes his shower as quickly as he can while also being sure to wash thoroughly. Though their time together is limited to four short visits every year he's been able to learn a lot about Kiyoomi. He's learned that Kiyoomi is particular about the cleanliness of things. He says that it wasn't always this bad but while he's undercover he has so little say in the kind of environments he has to be in so when he gets to have a bit of a break he likes things to be exactly as he wants them. Atsumu also learned that like himself Kiyoomi used to play volleyball in school. He wonders if they had met at some point during that time but he can't really remember. Kiyoomi had attended the national youth training camps that Atsumu had been invited to participate in but Fukurodani hadn't cleared the travel. They didn't have anyone inside the training facility that could offer him protection if his identity had been discovered for any reason.
He wonders if things would have been different if he'd met Kiyoomi then. Would they have liked each other as teenagers? Would they be able to have a real relationship instead of just sleeping together every few months? Would they have both ended up at Fukurodani?
When he leaves the bathroom Atsumu finds Kiyoomi in the small kitchenette, his gaze focused on the water boiling on the hot plate. Atsumu leans against the back of the couch and watches him, there's just something about the dark-haired man that draws Atsumu in. He wants to be near him, wants to touch him constantly. It's a bit of a distraction at times but he knows that it's not allowed. He's not supposed to have feelings. Kiyoomi had been clear about it at the start of their arrangement. Kiyoomi doesn't like it when Atsumu hangs on him too much.
"Come taste," Kiyoomi says with a quick glance over his shoulder. Atsumu stands up straight and goes over, he thinks for just a moment about wrapping his arms around Kiyoomi but figures it would be better not to piss him off too much on their first night together. He grabs a clean pair of chopsticks and uses them to have a taste of the noodles.
"They're good," He assures the other man before setting the chopsticks aside and moving away. He can feel Kiyoomi's eyes on him as he steps to the side and washes his hands. "What's up?"
"Nothing," Kiyoomi looks away to finish preparing their food. "Are you still living at headquarters?"
"Mm yeah, there's no point in getting an apartment when I'm off on missions all the time anyway."
"Did they give you a bigger one at least?"
"Yeah, it's not half bad. Why?" It's weird for Kiyoomi to ask about things at headquarters.
"Do you have a lot of belongings?"
"Omi Omi what's up?" He asks.
"There's an item I'd like from my belongings that they're holding in storage. I'd requested it once before but headquarters told your brother that they'd have to release all of my belongings."
"Oh I can do that," Kiyoomi had gone straight into undercover work after his training period was over, anything left in his storage would be from whatever life he had before he was recruited. Atsumu has to admit that he's curious about who Kiyoomi was before. "Leave it to me Omi Omi! I'll take care of you!"
"I know you always do," Kiyoomi sets two bowls down onto the table and Atsumu has to fight to ignore the way his heart races. He wonders if Kiyoomi even realizes how much it affects him when he replies to Atsumu's jokes like that.
***
It takes two weeks for Kiyoomi's belongings to be released from storage. Atsumu returns from a mission to find five boxes neatly stacked inside his dorm with Kiyoomi's name neatly written on each one. Atsumu recognizes the handwriting as Kiyoomi's own and he's not at all surprised that he'd chosen to pack his own belongings instead of letting someone from the agency do it for him. Atsumu looks around his dorm and considers the space he has available. It's not much but he's sure that Kiyoomi's probably worried about how long it's all been packed away. He decides to go through his own belongings and gets rid of some of the clothing he doesn't really wear much anymore. He puts Kiyoomi's clothing away among his own and finds spots on his shelves for Kiyoomi's books. When he's done he looks over the dorm once again and he tries not to think too hard about how good it feels to see all of their things mixed together like this.
"I'm so fucked," Atsumu grumbles as he finishes tidying up his room. He eyes the brightly colored Itachiyama hoodie that now hangs in his closet. He remembers seeing the uniforms when his team had played for nationals but he'd been more interested in catching up with Kuroo than trying to meet anyone new. Atsumu vows not to think about it too hard when he falls asleep with the highlighter yellow hoodie held in one hand.
***
At some point, Atsumu starts measuring time by the visits he makes to Osamu and the missions where he gets to see Kiyoomi. The time in between seems to pass by in a blur. It's strange to him to see how well Osamu has settled into a normal life. He and Suna live in Osaka where they work together to run Osamu's onigiri restaurant. Everything about them is so domestic.
"Stop eatin all the onigiri!" Osamu yells, throwing a towel at Atsumu's face with enough force that he falls from the stool he'd been perched on.
"Nice kill!" Suna's voice calls from the kitchen. Atsumu curses as he gets back to his feet, he's got the towel in hand ready to toss it back at his brother but before he can the bell above the door rings. He and Osamu both plaster smiles on their faces and call out a greeting to the customers that have arrived. When they aren't looking, Atsumu makes a face at his brother before going to take their orders. He always tries to help out at least a little bit when he comes to visit.
It's not a customer who he finds standing in the doorway though, It's the silver haired Mr. Refreshing. Atsumu narrows his eyes at the agent, no one is supposed to bother him while he's out at his brothers and he definitely doesn't trust this agent in particular. If he's honest it's not like Mr. Refreshing has done anything in particular but there's no way Atsumu can trust him.
"Sugawara," He says, trying to keep his agitation out of his voice. Mr. Refreshing is a double agent. He was a part of The Academy, an agency with no morals. One that has a hand in any sort of illegal business you can think of. Mr. Refreshing had been one of their agents and he'd snuck his way into the ranks of Fukurodani to spy on them. To report on their missions to The Academy. He'd come clean, admitted to his spying. He claimed it was because he'd fallen in love with one of his teammates, that he couldn't continue to put him at risk. Atsumu didn't trust it. How could someone just give up everything they've ever known for someone they'd only known for a couple of years.
"Miyas" Sugawara says cheerfully, waving at them.
"We're going for a walk," Atsumu meets his brother's eyes for a quick moment then grabs Sugawara by his shirt and drags him out of the restaurant.
"What was that about?" He hears Suna ask as the door slams shut behind them. They walk in silence for a few minutes and then Sugawara shakes off Atsumu's grip and straightens out his shirt.
"Good to see you too Miya two," He says with an easy smile.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Atsumu snaps at him.
"Calm your tits dude," Sugawara sticks his hands in his pockets. "I got an update on that joint mission and I thought you'd want to know right away and not in a week when you get back from your little vacation."
"Who told you where I was?"
"No one told me, I just knew," he says. Atsumu freezes then, thoughts of his brother being in danger racing through his head.
"What else... do you just know?"
"I didn't pass it on. But it's not like he's hiding you know? I mean he named the place Onigiri Miya," Sugawara steps up onto a short wall along the sidewalk and takes his hands out of his pockets to keep his balance better.
"He ditched the Miya name when he got married. He wanted to keep it somewhere though"
"What's his name now?"
"I'm not telling you that," Atsumu wonders if he could get away with pushing Sugawara into a bush.
"Rude," The silver haired man jumps down off the wall and smiles sweetly at him. Atsumu is pretty sure he could tell what was being plotted. "You know we're going to be working together on this assignment for a while right, Miya? You might as well try and get along with me at least a little bit."
"Why should I?" He crosses his arms. He knows why he should, he knows he's probably being immature but he just can't make himself see it that way. Atsumu has worked countless undercover missions and he's seen plenty of people completely betray their spouses after just a few flirtatious words.
"It's not Sugawara anymore you know?"
"What?"
"My name, it's not Sugawara. It's Sawamura now, legally."
"There's nothing legal about any of your names." He says with an eye roll. Sugawara puffs out his cheeks.
"You know Sugawara was my name. It's the one I was born with."
"Why did you join them?"
"You don't join them. They pick you, or they own you," Sugawara starts walking again. "I figured that was my life. That I was going to follow their... instructions until I died. I didn't care one way or another and then... I did care. I cared about him, in a way, I thought I never would. Do you know what it feels like? To love someone like that?" Atsumu looks up at the sky and thinks about it. He thinks about Osamu giving up the life they knew for Suna, he wonders if he would do the same for Kiyoomi. Would Kiyoomi do the same for him?
"Oh oh oh I see that look! You love someone!" Sugawara laughs playfully and loops an arm around Atsumu's shoulder pulling him in closer. "Come on Miya, tell me all the details!"
"Ugh no get off I don't know you like that," Atsumu complains as he tries to free himself from the other man's iron grip. "It's bad enough I have to work with you. I don't need you trying to bond with me!"
"You like someone! I want details!"
"Alright alright god just stop strangling me," Atsumu manages to slip free. He tries to fix his hair as he shoots a glare at Sugawara.
"Sooo who's the lucky person? How long have you been seeing them? Do you have pictures?"
"I'm not.." Atsumu lets out a long sigh. "We're not seeing each other. We're just... it's convenient."
"Oh, you've got it bad though huh?" Sugawara asks.
"I don't know... I mean... Fuck yeah, I think I do," Atsumu rubs his eyes and drops down onto the wall. Sugawara sits down next to him and pats his back a little too hard to be comforting.
"It's hard to think about that kind of stuff when you're in our line of work. But it's worth it. When you find that person that makes you feel things you never expected, it's so very worth it to give up everything you ever knew for them."
"Would you do it again? Go through everything that you had to go through for him?"
"In a heartbeat," He says with no hesitation. "Now let's get back to business so I can get back to him. Enough of this negativity!" Atsumu covers his stomach and gives him a warning look. He's seen Sugawara's response to negativity before. Sugawara just grins at him mischievously. Atsumu's about to warn him not to try anything when both of their phones ring. They look at each other briefly then pull their phones out to answer.
A mission has gone wrong in South America. There are several Nekoma agents missing in action and it's all available hands on deck for the rescue. Atsumu feels a rush of panic when he hears Kuroo's code name on the list of missing agents. He shoots a quick text to Osamu telling him that he'll return when he can and then he and Sugawara are heading for a small airport nearby to catch a helicopter back to headquarters.
The mission is rough. Atsumu ends up with a black eye and several broken fingers. At least one agent is lost, Atsumu doesn't get the whole casualty count. They never do. Bad for morale or something. Of the six missing agents, only five come back. Kuroo was moved to another location before the rescue team even arrived and there's no sign of where that could be. Atsumu hates sitting around doing nothing. He hates taking time to let such minor injuries heal when his friend is out there in danger. He wants to do something, he wants to help. He should be out there helping look for Kuroo.
It takes eight weeks for Atsumu's fingers to heal. He's not allowed to do fieldwork in that time. He gets to finish his visit with Osamu but it's bitter sweet, he finds a way to tell Osamu about their missing friend without giving much away so they're both feeling particularly useless the whole time. When his fingers are cleared by the doctor he has to go to Iwaizumi to get cleared to go back into the field. He nearly has a heart attack when he enters the building and sees the tall blond guy that Iwaizumi is training with. He keeps his distance and spars with another agent until Iwaizumi is free.
He gets paired with Bokuto once he's cleared. They're both Jackals now so it makes the most sense. Not to mention they both have the same connection to Kuroo. They all grew up together. Kuroo is one of them. He's as good as their brother. They don't rest until they're forced to return to headquarters. They are no closer to finding Kuroo than they were before. When they return to headquarters they're met by the voice who gives them both a surprisingly thorough scolding before dragging Bokuto off to the apartment they share. Atsumu has two days to rest and then it's time for him to return to his regular schedule of missions. He can't rest though. He finds himself back at the gym pounding his frustrations into a punching bag and pretending that he doesn't see Kuroo's fiance getting his ass kicked by Iwaizumi's training.
The first two weeks of his missions are exhausting. Atsumu runs through them on autopilot and barely notices the time passing. All of a sudden he's back in the hotel room in Russia and he can't bring himself to do anything more than the bare minimum. He sweeps the room for bugs and cameras and then collapses onto the couch. He can't even get the energy to get up when he hears Kiyoomi come into the room.
"Atsumu?" Kiyoomi's voice is nearby. He opens his eyes to meet the dark gaze of the other agent.
"Hey Omi-omi," He says with a weak smile. Kiyoomi's hands are shoved deep into his pockets and his shoulders are pulled up to his ears. He knows the room hasn't been cleaned to his standards.
"Are you sick?" Kiyoomi asks, looking him over with narrowed eyes.
"No sorry... I'm just exhausted," He sighs, then holds out his arms. It takes him a second to realize what he was asking for and he's about to pull his arms back in when Kiyoomi drops down onto the couch and hugs him. Atsumu doesn't even hesitate to hug him tightly. He presses his face against the other man's neck and squeezes his eyes shut.
"What happened?" He asks.
"There was a... A job in South America. Some cats went missing. We found most of them but we couldn't find Black Cat. We've been searching. The Voice made us come home but I just could stand sitting around doing nothing. But it's just..." He shakes his head and squeezes Kiyoomi tighter. He feels calm here, for the first time in months he feels like it's okay to rest for just a moment. Just a second.
He doesn't remember falling asleep, but the next thing he knows there's light coming in through the windows and it's almost morning. He's in the bed now, his head resting on Kiyoomi's chest. Strong arms are wrapped around him. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes again. Kiyoomi lifts a hand and cards his fingers through Atsumu's hair.
"You can sleep more if you need it," Kiyoomi offers. "Or if you want I can draw you a bath."
"You just think I'm dirty," he mutters against Kiyoomi's chest. Kiyoomi huffs a laugh and tugs gently on a strand of his hair.
"A good hair washing couldn't hurt," he teases.
"Wash it for me?" He asks. Kiyoomi hums and massages his scalp, it feels so good that Atsumu would purr if he could.
"If I'm doing anything to your hair I'm going to fix that ugly yellow color."
"Omi that's mean! My hair is fine!"
"Let me do it and it will be."
"You're not gonna leave me bald are you?" he asks. Kiyoomi's fingers keep moving.
"No, I like the sounds you make when I pull on it too much."
Atsumu feels his face flushing and he knows that if there was any more light in the room Kiyoomi would be able to see the fierce blush. He presses his face against Kiyoomi's chest.
"Yah can't just stay stuff like that with no warning Omi-Omi," He whines.
"Can I do your hair?"
"Yes fine alright," there was no way he could say no anyway.
When he leaves Russia this time it's with properly blonde hair and way too many feelings, and maybe a little bit light headed from the kiss Kiyoomi had surprised him with before he'd left.