Splash of Color

11: Together

"Oikawa." You're a few steps away from him, hands on your hips as you try to get his attention. To your annoyance, he seems to ignore you even further, his eyes never once meeting yours and focusing on the space in front of him. You could see him grip the volleyball tighter as you stepped closer and stopped walking towards him.

You realized why he couldn't look you in the eye. From the distance between you two, you studied his very vulnerable form. Really looking at him, his eyes were unfocused, like they were detached from reality and his hands had a slight shake to them that he tried to control. For a few minutes you let him do as he wished and just absentmindedly held onto the volleyball, sometimes tossing it up and spiking it but not with the same drive and glint in his eyes that you're so used to seeing. As he once again spiked the ball, you walked over to pick it up before he could. Only then did you hear him speak to you.

"...Give it back." Your heart sank at his voice that just seemed to give up on all hope. Your grip on the ball tightened and you ignored his weak complaints at you and put it away. Then you made your way to the bumbling mess that is Oikawa and gripped his wrist softly, willing him to look into your resolute eyes.

"Come with me." He finally looked up at you and you see his eyes waver. You could see he didn't want to do anything other than wallow in his sorrow at the moment but you knew being in a dark place for a long time could trap him so you decided on the former. You softly nudged your finger on his forehead before carefully pulling him out of the gym. You wanted to say more to him but as you figured out before, silence is always a valid response.

The walk to the art clubroom was a stifling one, Oikawa's arm falling limp in your grip as you dragged him to the room by his wrist. Once you finally got there, you opened the door and urged him over to sit in front of a blank canvas. He slumped in his chair but said nothing as you were fluttering about, preparing paints and pulling a smock over his clothes. You were surprised by the lack of complaint you got from him, considering that he hadn't seemed like he wanted to do anything at all but you used that to your advantage. He seemed like he still has some fight left in him and you were going to let him use the canvas as his outlet. As you finished preparing the paints on the palette, you pass it over to him. "Here, use these."

Oikawa looks at you with a tired expression. "What do I even paint?"

You settle yourself beside him with your own set of paints and a blank canvas. "Anything. It doesn't even have to look like something. Just take some colors and play around with it. For example..." You dip your paintbrush in a bright red color and smear it over the canvas. "...Something like that. Go nuts."

Both of you guys just immerse yourselves in silence, losing yourselves as you guys painted away. The silence was broken a couple times as you heard Oikawa's sighs of frustration which lead to him roughly dipping his paintbrush in whatever paint it came in contact with and slathering it on the canvas. This went on for a couple more minutes until he let out another frustrated sigh and set down his palette and paintbrush. You turned to him and noticed that he was staring at your canvas with furrowed brows. "Do you need any more paint Oikawa?" You make a move to set your materials down to stand up but his voice cut you off from any further actions.

"—No. I just...I think I'm done." He stood up and started putting his stuff away but stopped once he saw you were making your way towards his canvas. He quickly cuts you off in your pursuit and turns the canvas over. "You don't need to see it," he mumbles, "it's nothing compared to yours."

You felt your eyes narrow at his comment.

Comparisons. They either made you or broke you. And judging by the look on his face, you knew which side he was leaning more towards.

You shook your head at his comment. "Everything is something Oikawa." You give him a soft smile. You wanted to say more but the rest of the words drifting about in your head seemed too cliché to say out loud. You just opted to patiently wait there until Oikawa could gather his bearings.

He stares at you for a moment before he sighs and sidesteps out of the way. You shoot him a thankful smile before you turn his canvas over. Studying it, the colors he used were bright, just like him, and it made you smile. Oikawa took your reaction in a different way and sighed. "It looks awful, doesn't it?"

You give him a thoughtful glance. "Any reason why you think that way?"

He glances at you for a moment before he ruffles his hair in frustration. "It looks like a blob of mush! So messy and unappealing to look at! It's nothing compared to yours—I—I'm nothing...compared to them." You stared at him, startled by his sudden outburst and his little slip at the end—though you made no point to make it known. He looked too riled up to realize what he just said.

You take your paintbrush and your palette before turning to him for consent. "May I?"

He nods dismissively. "I'm not sure how you'll fix this mess though."

Once you got his consent, you study his canvas with a thoughtful look before you get to work.

As you were working on his canvas, you notice that Oikawa has once again slumped himself into his chair, looking at the ground until you cleared your throat. "Ta-da! Look Spotty, it's your work!" You move the canvas over so he could see it.

He looks up, the cloudiness in his eyes slowly disappearing. "How..." He moves closer to study it.

"It was a team effort." You shoot him a teasing smile. "Don't get all high and mighty on me for that comment." You noticed that he has finally calmed down from his outburst and you work through your head the words you've been meaning to tell him the moment you saw that dejected look on his face.

Your smile softens as you speak your next few words. "Just...don't forget that there are a lot of people who have your back—even if you're such a handful." You give an exaggerated roll of the eyes, feeling accomplished when you heard Oikawa scoff at the last bit. "...A handful that makes his friends worry about him so much it hurts." You end it off with one of your rare winks. "And I bet that Ujikama guy doesn't have a friend like me~" You felt yourself grin when you heard Oikawa let out a snort.

"You do know that's not his name." He finally turns to you with an amused expression.

"Eh, who cares," you wave his comment off dismissively and give him a teasing grin. "Spotty is a better name anyway."

You never realized how much you took for granted Oikawa's talkative nature. You preferred it much more than his silence for sure.

Putting your hands on your hips you stare down at his form and noticed that it has relaxed before resting your eyes on his canvas. "Well, you can't take this home yet though. It has to dry. But nice work my protégé!" You give him one last grin before you make a move to turn and begin cleaning up. That is, until you felt a hand grasp yours softly. It was so faint, like a breeze brushing against your fingers.

Surprised, you glance at him and realize he's not looking at you again. Shaking your head slightly, you nonetheless reciprocate his gesture and grip his hand tighter.

"You big baby."

If Oikawa needed the support, you were more than willing to give it to him. Somehow, it seemed like you needed it too. You wanted to make sure that he knew it was okay to be upset by the outcome of the game but he had to know that there were people that would still be there with him after the game—for days, months, years.

You wanted to make sure he didn't have to face his problems alone, that you guys could face them together.

For the next few moments in the art clubroom you and Oikawa comfortably grasped each other's hands in silence.

___________

This scenario has been running through my head since the beginning stages of planning this story so I'm glad to finally polish it up for you guys to enjoy (:

(you have no idea how much I freak out over these interactions when I write like I am so weak)

Thanks for all the support I've been getting, I'd also love to hear from you guys so you can freak out with me!