Dear Reader,

It's been a while since I've written anything. Like any other fanfic writer, I stumbled upon a piece of fiction and felt compelled to borrow some of its characters to write a story of my own. I love Haikyuu, and I've similarly obsessed over other shows or music groups enough to have written other fanfics. Given how the whole world is under lockdown at the moment, I figured I'd take the time to write one more.

This one is different in that I've mainly done continuation fanfics where the story remains closely tied to the source material. This one that I've written is vastly different from the anime/manga you may be familiar with. It's a story I've been itching to write, and it's only now that I've found the words to tell it.

This is a story about two people growing up, and finding themselves. It's a story about how sometimes we struggle through things, but as we grow older the lesson in those struggles becomes apparent. It's about meeting people whose personal story seems to give meaning to our own, like two puzzle pieces that fit together. It's about discovering how rare a connection like that is, and, in wake of that fact, learning how to cherish it, and fight for it.

It's a story drawing from my own experiences. Maybe, parts of it will resonate with you. All in all, I hope you enjoy it. This is Running with Scissors.

Yours truly,
ApolloThirteen

Hinata Shoyou was awoken by the sunlight piercing his eyelids. Stirred from sleep, he opened them and took in the sun's rays dancing through the passing trees and the clear blue morning sky. The car was quiet, except for the hum of the wheels on the road, the wind rushing past the windows, and the car engine running.

"Good morning." Nishinoya greeted from behind the wheel.

"Morning," Hinata replied sleepily.

His boyfriend was as he were before Hinata fell asleep. Nishinoya was wearing a fleece jacket, the collar of which lightly grazed his jawline, and an old baseball cap with a logo of a tiger on the front, which represented a sports team that Hinata could never remember the name.

Hinata turned towards the back seat. The stowed luggage and groceries for their weekend retreat sat undisturbed by the movement of the car. He then glanced at the phone that rested on the dashboard mount. The screen depicted a blue arrow transposed over a single red line, traversing a sea of green.

In the bottom left corner, read the words: ETA, 71 minutes.

"I thought I'd drive for the last hour," Hinata remarked.

"Well, you fell asleep," Nishinoya replied. "I didn't want to wake you. Baka."

The final word rolled off Nishinoya's tongue, to which he embellished with a smirk. Hinata had heard it hundreds of times from Nishinoya—he was his boyfriend's 'idiot'.

Hinata let out a yawn and sat up straight to stretch. The windbreaker he had used as a blanket slid off him, permitting the heat trapped underneath to escape, and for the colder air within the car to jolt Hinata further into alertness.

"Are you ready to drive?" The driver asked.

"Depends. Do you trust me?" Hinata joked.

Hinata was referring to the fact he had only gotten his license a month prior, though this wouldn't have been the case he hadn't incessantly begged Nishinoya to teach him. Initially, Nishinoya acted reluctant to do so, though just as a ploy to see how Hinata would respond.

"Lessons are expensive, and you already have so much experience." Hinata would argue. "Besides, don't you get tired of driving us around everywhere?"

"No, not really. I like driving." Nishinoya teased. "Plus, it also means if we take the car somewhere, you can't drive away without me."

They spent several nights before bed, bickering on the subject. Then over the course of a week, Hinata tried persuading Nishinoya's through all sorts of offers, from stocking the pantry with more of Nishinoya's favorite snacks, to taking on more of the chores around the apartment, and even offering to drive Nishinoya to and from work during his overnight shifts at the hospital once he got his license. When Nishinoya felt he was satisfied with his little prank, he agreed to teach Hinata, though he humbly rejected for any gifts or promises. They spent a few weekends driving around in empty parking lots, after which Hinata scheduled his driving exam. He passed on the first try.

Hinata was excited to get behind the wheel on his first road trip since then.

"Alright, you can drive then." Nishinoya agreed.

In one smooth and steady motion, he decelerated the vehicle, pulled over, and parked on the side of the road. When he turned to remove his seatbelt, he noticed the boy in the passenger seat had already done so and was leaning in towards him. The boy pressed his lips gently against Nishinoya's cheek—a spot below the cheekbone which Hinata had once declared, during one lazy Sunday morning between them, that it was his favorite spot of Nishinoya's cheek. The motion of the kiss was sure and steady, and it bore as much focus and confidence from practice as did Nishinoya's driving.

"Thanks, babe," Hinata replied affectionately.

A pee break later, and the two were back on the road with Hinata behind the wheel. Nishinoya remained alert to both the road and to the driver. He did so for a while, ensuring Hinata was checking his blind spots and mirrors regularly, and holding the steering wheel in the right position. Judging by the whites of Hinata's knuckles, Nishinoya could guess the boy was more on the nervous than he let on, though he supposed it was wiser for a new driver to be hesitant rather than over-confident.

After feeling confident Nishinoya was doing well, Nishinoya surrendered to observing the world that passed by his window. He made a note of how much of it had changed since they left the city. The road had shrunk to one lane either way, and there were no street lamps to be seen. A seemingly unending wall of trees stood on either side of the vehicle, guiding the road through slow turns and graceful slopes. The forest was thick, but not too dense for the sunlight to illuminate the bark and foliage. Once, a truck came in the opposite direction carrying horses. Another truck had bales of hay. Then, unexpectedly, the forest on Hinata's side of the car receded, giving way to a beautiful lake. The sunlight glistened on the water, and Nishinoya could see on the far side of the lake were tall cliffs covered with conifers.

"It's beautiful," Nishinoya remarked.

"Indeed it is," Hinata replied, his tone betraying a sense of stress.

Nishinoya once again turned to check on his boyfriend. Hinata's posture appeared more rigid than before.

"Babe, are you alright? You seem tense."

"Hey, I'm the captain now." Hinata joked, mustering as much confidence as he could, though he knew Nishinoya had already caught his bluff. "Sorry, I just want to make sure we actually get there."

"Wow, that's …grim."

"Alright, my bad," Hinata remarked. "Though seriously, how's my driving so far?"

"You're doing great. Just relax. I know it's hard…considering I'm here."

"As my teacher?" Hinata replied.

"As your boyfriend." Nishinoya teased.

Hinata laughed, feeling some of his stress leaving him.

Nishinoya pressed on with his mixture of comedy and therapy, "Honestly, you're kinda hot when you're driving."

"Really?" Hinata was genuinely surprised.

"Yeah. You're very attractive when you're so focused."

Hinata bit his lip. Admittedly, one of Hinata's favorite things about their road trips was watching his boyfriend drive. Behind the wheel, Nishinoya always appeared in his element. His back would nest comfortably into his seat, while his gaze remained ever alert and piercing. Hinata tried doing the same, surrendering more of his body to the chair and shifted his grip on the wheel to allow his fingers to ease. He then let out a long, audible sigh, allowing more of his nervousness to be expelled with the air hissing out from his lungs. Then a comfortable silence filled the car, partly because Nishinoya was used to being the one too occupied by driving to talk, but also because he was listening intently to Hinata's breathing grow steadier—the sound of which put Nishinoya's himself at ease. Moments passed, and Hinata broke the silence.

"How does it feel?"

"What do you mean?" Nishinoya asked.

"How does it feel to be sitting down and doing nothing?"

"It's different," Nishinoya replied, "but I could get used to it."

He placed both hands behind his head in an exaggerated gesture of relaxation.

"How about you?"

"It's …different." Hinata pondered.

"In a good way?"

"Definitely. I can't describe it, but it feels good."

Hinata was, in fact, still trying to process the sensation of driving in his mind. The steering wheel itself hummed, and through it, Hinata could feel the engine running. He noticed how sensitive the steering was, how even the smallest turn too far right or left would pull the car closer to either side of the lane. His foot rested the above the gas pedal, and every so often, he found he needed to press down on it to maintain speed. He became aware that he himself was in total charge of the current course and how they would get to their destination. The freedom felt empowering, almost intoxicating.

"Yet, here you had your personal chauffeur," Nishinoya remarked.

"Babe, you're not my chauffeur," Hinata replied. "I just want to pull more of my weight. You do so much of the driving and I want to help."

"Is that why you wanted the lessons? You feel like you're not helping me at all?"

"Yeah," Hinata responded, though his tone bore no sarcasm.

"Babe," Nishnoya replied affectionately, "You know I don't see it like that."

"How do you mean?"

Nishinoya turned more of his body towards the boy in the driver seat. "Hinata, you're a great co-pilot. I love listening to you talk, and share stories, and give commentary on what's outside. You're also better at reading maps, and you're never afraid to ask for directions."

"But what about when I fall asleep?" Hinata rebutted.

"Well, it makes me feel like I'm doing a good job taking care of you."

"I like taking care of you, too, you know." Hinata murmured.

"I know you do, babe."

"If you like driving so much, why did you agree to teach me?"

"Honestly?" Nishinoya asked.

"Yeah."

"Because I thought it would be a fun way to spend time together."

Hinata glanced briefly at the boy next to him. Nishinoya turned towards him in response. He smiled a warm, humble smile, which echoed the meaning of what he said: I'm happy when I'm with you. Hinata's heart warmed, though he resisted a smile to avoid giving his boyfriend the satisfaction of being the more romantic one between them in the present discussion.

"Baka. You did it because you like the ego boost." Hinata joked.

Nishinoya laughed. "Honestly, I'm glad you can drive, and I think it's going to be good for us now that you can."

"Yeah, but it means you better work on how to ask for directions."

Nishinoya chuckled at the remark. "Depends, will you be my teach—"

At that moment, a loud pop was heard, and suddenly the weight of the car, still moving, dipped towards Nishinoya's side of the vehicle. In the back, the stowed luggage and groceries rolled off the car seat and slammed against the door, the sound of which was then bested by the loud screech of metal grinding against the pavement. The momentum of the moving car then changed drastically, pulling the vehicle off its path on the road and onto the unpaved ground. The vehicle hurled onto the new terrain and continued to rock violently. Hinata screamed.

It was then that Nishinoya realized that a tire had blown—most likely the one on the front right given they were being forced into that direction. He knew that at the speed that they were traveling, roughly 90 to 100 kilometers per hour, the car needed to stop turning. Otherwise, the car would flip. Unable to verbalize anything out of sheer terror, Nishinoya reacted on instinct. He placed one hand on the steering wheel attempting to pull the steering wheel towards safety, and then another on Hinata's leg, in a desperate act to communicate some measure of assurance that they would be okay. All the while, the chaos was deafening.