prison au atsumu’s head pounds as the guard pushes on his shoulder, guiding him forward. he thinks sakusa is there too but everything’s been happening a little too fast. all he can register for now is the throbbing. the throbbing of his hand from where kageyama slashed at him

with a knife, the throbbing in his stomach, in his head, and around his wrists. "next time i see you, miya, you’re dead," kageyama calls behind him. atsumu snarls, ready to pounce again. he starts to turn around but the guard immediately grabs him by the collar and shoves him

forward again. "don’t even think about it," he says threateningly and atsumu is helpless to do anything but grit his teeth and keep walking as they turn a corner. they take the few more steps that separate them from the infirmary and sakusa opens the door for them.

atsumu has been here enough times that he doesn’t have to wait for the guard to shove him in the right direction to go into sakusa’s office. it’s clean as it always is, pristine white walls, an organized desk, a single potted plant on the floor and the scent of lavender.

the nurse is a real neat freak. atsumu doesn’t get to tease him about it though, like he always does, because he’s pinned to a chair the second the door closes behind them. time seems to pause for a moment, silent safe from atsumu’s still heavy breathing.

he can’t bring himself to look at sakusa, so he glares up at the guard instead. "how’d you get that shank, miya?" atsumu tilts his chin up, narrowing his eyes. he keeps his mouth shut. his head is throbbing so badly now he feels like he might pass out.

the guard holds up the piece of bone atsumu used as a shank on tobio earlier. it’s covered in blood now. "you’re up for an entire week in solitary," the guard continues, "but we might go easy on you if you tell us who made this and why you had it."

atsumu is almost offended that this guy thinks that technique is going to work on him, of all people. he leans up on his chair and gets his face closer to the guard’s. "how else am i gonna protect myself when ya lazy fucks ain’t raisin’ a finger to keep order in yer prison?"

a dark shadow falls like a veil across the guard’s face, then he’s grabbing atsumu’s hair and slamming his head against the wall. atsumu chokes on a groan. "what the fuck did you just say to me?" "iizuna-san." sakusa’s voice is calm, deep enough to pause iizuna’s movements.

"with all due respect i think it’s time i take a look at miya-san’s injuries, now." the guard loosens his grip on atsumu’s hair but keeps glaring at him, as if hesitating, before he sighs and lets go of him completely. "yeah, alright."

as iizuna bends down to undo his handcuffs, atsumu allows himself to steal a glance towards sakusa. their eyes meet and the blonde looks back down almost immediately. with his hands free, he can sit up a little straighter in his chair and look at the wound inside his hand.

they can all see it’s not looking pretty, but sakusa still doesn’t move. "if it’s okay with you i’d like to be alone with miya-san." iizuna looks up at sakusa, then back down at the convict with something like suspicion written all over his face.

"you sure about that, kiyoomi?" sakusa gives a single nod. "i’ll be out the door. just yell and i’ll go back in right away," iizuna insists, making atsumu roll his eyes. "thank you, iizuna-san."

with that, the guard leaves after one last warning look towards atsumu, and they’re alone. without a word, sakusa slips his hands in his pockets and pulls out a pair of gloves to put on.

feeling somewhat embarrassed, atsumu clears his throat. "thanks about that, doc. jerk was makin’ my headache worse." "come sit on the bed, please." sakusa waits as atsumu gets up from his chair only to perch himself up on the infirmary bed, the sheet crinkling underneath him.

"you have a headache?" sakusa asks, approaching him as the edge of the second glove snaps to his wrist. he puts his fingers on the blonde’s head after atsumu nods and he feels around, until atsumu hisses. his gloves come out bloody. "i’m going to check for a concussion."

he reaches into his pocket and takes out a small flashlight. "follow the light," he says softly, shining the light to atsumu’s eyes. atsumu blinks first, then follows it left and right. "do you feel hazy?" atsumu shakes his head. "nauseous?" another shake.

"what year is this?" "2022, last i checked." "hm." sakusa clicks the flashlight off, dropping it back into his pocket. "does it hurt anywhere else?" /try everywhere,/ atsumu thinks. "my stomach," he says obediently.

"mhm." sakusa gives him a quick look, then walks around the bed towards his medicine cabinet. "you can take off your shirt, i’ll take a look at it." while sakusa rummages through his stuff, atsumu takes off his orange jacket and pulls the white shirt over his head.

bare from the waist up, his tattoos are on display, covering each side of his chest down to his abs with an unmarked patch of skin in the middle. when sakusa returns to him, he says nothing about the markings. he never has.

atsumu knows the nurse must have had other yakuza patients before, long before they met, but he still wonders what went through his head the first time he saw them on atsumu. sakusa comes closer and puts his hands over atsumu’s chest, his eyes down.

"tell me if something hurts," he says. as he palms over his torso, atsumu looks up at his face, committing it to his memory. the pouty slope of his lips, the pointy nose, the beauty marks above his eyebrow… "ah," atsumu suddenly hisses as sakusa presses gloved fingers

to his stomach. "yeah, that hurts." "it’s just bruised. he didn’t break anything," sakusa concludes, handing him an ice pack. "press this on the bruise while i take care of your hand." their eyes meet as atsumu takes the cold pack. "right, thanks."

he presses the pack to his stomach and grits his teeth not to groan. unfortunately for him, the pain only gets worse once sakusa starts to clean up his hand. it’s like getting his hand slashed all over again. the adrenaline was starting to go, leaving him drained of energy,

but the press of a wipe dipped in alcohol to his wound winds right back up. fucking kageyama tobio. "say doc," he starts, swallowing down the pain. "i’m real sorry ya had to see that earlier. us fightin’ and all that."

"it’s my job," sakusa dismisses easily. he finishes cleaning atsumu’s hand with a few more strokes with the wipe and then he’s reaching for the bandage. "you don’t have to apologize, miya." atsumu’s lips twitch up into a small smirk. "so what? ya weren’t worried about me?"

sakusa sends him an unimpressed look, not even pausing as he cuts a piece of bandage and starts wrapping it around atsumu’s palm. "i thought you and i had already covered that topic." atsumu almost laughs at that. they covered that topic, more or less.

it happens every time atsumu comes to the nurse’s office. sakusa looks him up, atsumu flirts with him one way or another and sakusa puts him back in his place. it’s always "this is my workplace, miya", or "can you let me finish my job in peace?"

atsumu isn’t unaware of his wrongdoings. he did things which made him deserve where he is now, in an orange jumpsuit getting jumped by a guy with a shank in a crappy hallway. atsumu is a lot of things but he’s not a dimwit bastard. he knows how to take no for an answer.

he would never push sakusa’s limits and he’s never gone beyond light flirting. the reason he hasn’t backed out completely is in the smile on the nurse’s lips that he tries so hard to hide and the lingering looks and touches… "sorry doe eyes, i’m a slow learner."

sakusa finishes the bandage around atsumu’s hand, tucking it under his thumb. "that gash is pretty deep. you shouldn’t use that hand for a while, don’t clench your first either." he meets atsumu’s eyes. "and don’t call me doe eyes."

atsumu lets out a chuckle. "would ya prefer /kiyoomi/?" "sakusa-san. you’re not supposed to address me so informally." sakusa shakes his head and heaves a sigh. he’s still holding the blonde’s hand, smoothing out the bandage. atsumu sits up straighter.

"yeah well, ya weren’t supposed to tell that jerk to leave us alone but here we are." "i don’t know what you expect me to say right now," sakusa answers slowly, glancing down. atsumu’s smirk softens. "nothin’. nothin’ at all." when sakusa goes back to looking at him,

atsumu gives him a genuine smile. "i mean c’mon. i’ve been in jail for three months…yer a pretty guy. of course i’m gonna notice ya." "mhm." sakusa nods, somber. "if we were outside you would simply keep walking." "now i didn’t say that-"

"do you know how many convicts have come onto me since i took this job?" atsumu frowns at that. "who?" sakusa’s expression falls flat. "what are you going to do? attack them with another shank?"

he regrets saying it as soon as it leaves his mouth. atsumu can see it with the way he tenses, lips pressing together. atsumu sighs. he guesses he had that one coming.

"i wasn’t lyin’ before, it was self defense. /he/ came at /me/ and- y’know what it doesn’t matter," atsumu tsks. "if i saw you outside, i would ask ya out on a date." sakusa blinks, slowly. "i’d take ya somewhere real fancy. i know a place that makes the best+

fried shrimp in the entire world. ya like shrimp, doc?" "…i guess i do." atsumu grins. "after the date, i would bring ya back to yer place and walk you to the door. and i’d be really happy about it." there’s a silence, so atsumu fills it again.

"it’s not just about me bein’ lonely. you’re…you’re like no one i’ve ever seen before." sakusa glances down again, and atsumu can see his adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows. "i don’t know if i believe you," he finally says. "and even if i did-"

it kind of stings but atsumu thinks he deserves that, too. "yeah, i understand," he breathes out. "can ya do me one favor though? just humor me for a sec. if we met outside, what would ya do with me?" sakusa seems to hesitate for a moment.

he runs his eyes down to atsumu’s lips, to his chest, until they lay on his hand. atsumu holds his breath as sakusa lifts his arm and presses a soft kiss to the inside of atsumu’s palm, right at the edge of the bandage. they look at each other, then he’s letting go.

"something like that. maybe." "maybe?" atsumu repeats dumbly. "i don’t make it a habit to fool around with delinquents," sakusa says, mouth curling up the slightest bit. "especially not when they’re yakuza."

atsumu huffs out a chuckle, refusing to break eye contact. his fingers tap against the hospital bed. "that’s fine, i was thinking about quitting anyway." sakusa’s the one to tear his eyes away first. he grabs something from his desk and hands it to atsumu. a little glass

of water and a pill. "take that for the headache, miya. i’ll tell iizuna we’re done. you’ll just have to take another cold press for the back of your head." atsumu nods slowly. "thanks, doc." when sakusa leaves the office, atsumu heaves another sigh.

nothing real with sakusa kiyoomi is going to happen as long as he’s behind those bars, maybe not ever, but he still feels himself smile a little bit. that kiss? it might just give him something to think about for his entire week in solitary.