The sun in Rio was starting to dip low, casting a golden sheen over the vibrant city. Music had already begun to pulse through the streets, the bass of the drums like the thudding heart of the city. It was the start of Carnival, and the air was electric.

Oikawa Tooru stood beside Hinata Shoyo, both of them pressed up against the front barricade of the parade route. The excitement on Shoyo’s face was unmistakable, wide-eyed and practically glowing.

“Isn’t this incredible, Shoyo?” Oikawa grinned, adjusting the glittery mask pushed up on his forehead. “Brazil knows how to throw a party.”

Hinata barely registered his words, too caught up in the wave of music, color, and movement. The floats were beginning to roll by, huge and shimmering like dreams come to life. Samba dancers twirled past in feathers and sequins, radiant under the lights, moving with the kind of rhythm that made even the ground beneath their feet sway.

Then—something shifted.

A dancer stepped into view, and the world tilted.

Shoyo blinked, stunned. It wasn’t the glimmering costume or the perfect execution of the dance that caught him—it was you.