Chapter Text
Shigeo crawls back into the backseat and quietly closes the door.
Hanazawa is staring out the window, his chin resting on his palm. He turns his attention to Shigeo again as he reenters the car. His head is tilted curiously. "Welcome back. Do you know what's going on?"
After five minutes of Reigen examining the engine, he called Shigeo outside. He pointed at the sputtering, miserable machine and ordered him to use his powers to fix it. Shigeo's always been better at power than technique, though, and he couldn't think of a single way he could help.
Shigeo admitted that to Reigen, but Reigen urged him to do something anyway. Unsure of what he could do, Shigeo sent a wave of energy through the engine.
The engine just made louder sounds after that. Looking defeated, Reigen sent Shigeo back inside.
"I think the engine broke. Shishou's trying to fix it," Shigeo informs Hanazawa.
"Ah." Hanazawa nods understandingly. "Kageyama-kun, I hope you don't mind me saying this... But while your master is a powerful individual, I somehow doubt he can fix a car."
"I don't mind you saying that. I think so too," Shigeo reassures him.
He wishes Reigen could, though. The sky is dark by now, a rich purple that's slowly blooming into black. They're far enough from Seasoning City that a few stars are beginning to show themselves already. The trip to the client had been long and turbulent, and the exorcism itself was intensive.
Shigeo yawns widely, and a tear rolls down his face from the strain. He wipes it away before it can be seen and mistaken for a sad tear.
Hanazawa probably sees it anyway. He's looking at Shigeo with that soft expression he sometimes gets, like he thinks he could keep Shigeo warm just from smiling at him.
"Tired, right? Don't worry, I think you'll be back home soon."
Reigen loudly curses outside. A few mysterious and concerning clunking sounds come from the engine. From under his lowering eyelashes, Shigeo vaguely sees flashes of orange light licking the air. The dark silhouette of Reigen slams the hood of the car shut on top of them.
An exploding sound reverberates from inside the car.
Reigen's silhouette pauses, then lowers his head onto the car hood.
He doesn't seem like he's going to get up for a while.
Hanazawa's smile stiffens. "...Soon."
Shigeo likes to give others the benefit of the doubt in most situations, but in this case he doubts Hanazawa's statement. He thinks that maybe it'll take longer than 'soon'.
Shigeo might as well get comfortable. He bends down to dig under the seat in front of him, looking for the camping bag Ritsu forced him to bring 'in case something goes wrong while you're with Reigen-san and you come home late'. He marvels once again at his little brother's level of foresight.
He drags it onto his lap and shuffles around in it. Hanazawa looks at it curiously and scooches close enough that his shoulder bumps against Shigeo's.
"What are you looking for?"
Shigeo is tired enough that he would rather not talk, but he doesn't want to ignore Hanazawa. "Something soft," he mutters.
Shigeo's hand brushes across a nice texture, and he brightens imperceptively. He brings it out of the bag. It's Ritsu and Shigeo's favorite fluffy blanket, worn thinner over the years. It's pale blue with a pattern of small dark purple stars on it.
Before the incident, they would playfight over who got to use it. These days, Ritsu usually gives it to Shigeo first. Shigeo can't articulate why that bothers him.
He shuts away that stressful line of thought by using the blanket as intended. He unfolds it and drapes it over himself, then pokes and pulls at it until he's one turn away from becoming a blanket burrito.
He hums happily at the sensation of surrounding softness. His socked feet poke out from the end, but the weather is warm enough that it doesn't bother him.
The carseat behind him is undeniably uncomfortable, though.
Hanazawa is watching Shigeo intently, like he thinks he's doing something interesting. He does it so often that Shigeo thinks Hanazawa and him just have different standards for what counts as interesting.
"You look very cute, Kageyama-kun," Hanazawa says.
Shigeo's face warms, and he raises the section of the blanket he's holding to hide his blush. "Thanks," he mumbles.
"Are you cold?" Hanazawa asks.
He slides ever-so-slightly closer to Shigeo. The sleeve of his neon orange sweater brushes against the part of Shigeo's arm that's poking out of the blanket. His sweater is almost as soft as the blanket, and much softer than the carseat. That gives Shigeo an idea.
"A little," Shigeo lies.
He leans the rest of the way over to Hanazawa and tries to rest his head on his chest. Gravity works against him, though, and it's difficult to keep the posture for very long. (Shigeo mentally makes a note to focus more on strengthening his core muscles during Body Improvement Club hours.)
He gives up on the sweater idea and slides down until his head rests on Hanazawa's lap. He has a good view of the bottom of Hanazawa's chin from there. Not an interesting sight, but a rare one.
The last time Shigeo saw him from this angle, he had collapsed to his knees while Hanazawa strangled him. This current moment is pleasantly different from that.
[It's pleasantly different, but it's still similar. He resists the urge to close his eyes.]
Hanazawa's eyes are very wide and staring at Shigeo. It's dark enough that Shigeo can't see his expression very well.
"...Hi," Hanazawa says. His tone is undecipherable.
Shigeo is drifting away already, and he absently watches Hanazawa's throat shift with a swallow.
"Are... you less cold now?" Hanazawa asks.
Hanazawa's legs are a bit bony, but they're more comfortable than the carseat.
"Mhm," Shigeo hums.
Having reached sufficient comfort, Shigeo finally closes his eyes and lets sleep take him.