Chapter Text
Kageyama sat in front of his parents with his head hung low that night. His mother was across from him, while his father was pacing back and forth behind her. The principal had called his parents to inform them of what had happened, and what his punishment would be. To say the least, his parents were not pleased one bit.
It had been silent for well over fifteen minutes, and Kageyama was anxiously squirming in his spot. He began fumbling with his thumbs and gnawing at his bottom lip. His parents yelled at him a lot when he was a kid. He was used to their yelling, and it never bothered him much. Although, sitting in the dead silence was terrifying. It screamed disappointment.
When he couldn’t take the silence any longer, Kageyama tried to break it. “Look… I know this seems bad-”
But he was cut off by his father. “Seems bad?” He started, stopping dead in his tracks, “Tobio you’re suspended for three days and will have to serve after school detention for two months.”
“I thought we raised you better than to get into fights.” His mother choked out.
“Mom, he was the one who started it!” Kageyama tried to defend himself, but it was no use. His mother shook her head, ignoring his words. Kageyama closed his mouth, and hung his dead in defeat. He took what his parents gave him.
“You punched that poor boy in the face. You interrupted class, and you’ve potentially jeopardized your chances of getting into a good school. When we got the call, we couldn’t believe it was you. But that damn busted lip proves us wrong. We are so disappointed in you, Tobio.” His father spat, walking out of the room.
Shaking her head some more, she stared at her son. Her face softened slightly and opened her mouth to say something, but it hardened almost instantly. She closed her mouth and stood from her spot at the table. His mother turned and left following his father without another word.
Tobio sat at the table for a few more minutes. He regret his actions right after it happened, but not once did he feel guilty until now. It was all that damn Crows fault. He was the one that threw the first punch, not Kageyama. He was just defending himself. Sighing, the boy picked himself up from his chair and dragged himself off to his room.
The next two days were nothing but long and dreadful. He hardly left his room when his parents were home. He finished all of his homework early on the first day of his punishment, and found himself sitting in boredom. With nothing else to do, and ends to meet with his parents, Kageyama decided to try and clean up around the house while they were gone.
Soon enough, the day came for Kageyama to take his place back in class. Awkwardly, he strolled to his desk in the corner of the room, glad his teacher wasn’t there quite yet. Sighing, he got himself ready for class, and waited.
“Oi, ass hat!”
Kageyama’s head whipped to where the familiar insult was coming from. Surprisingly, standing at the door on time for once was the orange Crow. The boy was leaning against the doors frame, his arms crossed against his chest. He was glaring right at Kageyama, sporting a dark shining bruise under his left eye.
“What do you want, dumb ass?” Kageyama growled, his face contorting to his own glare.
There was a silence between them for a few minutes as they glared at each other. Neither of the two were budging. Neither wanting to give in first.
After what seemed like forever, Hinata rolled his eyes and spoke first, “I want you to apologize for this,” He claimed, pointing a finger to the purple mark.
Kageyama smirked, “How about I apologize when you apologize for this.” He pointed to his own busted lip.
Hinata scowled even deeper, he clutched his hands into tight fists. For a moment, Kageyama was scared he would be hit again, but that fear disappeared the moment their teacher appeared behind Hinata.
“Boys.” Mrs. Tachimi announced her presence, clearly startling the shorter boy. Hinata nearly jumped out of his skin, causing Kageyama to snicker. Hinata scowled as he made his way to his desk at the back of the room.
“I hope you both took the time to think about what you did while you were away. Ask your classmates for missed work and notes. I’d also like to see the both of you after class.”
“But I’ll be late for next period if I stay,” Kageyama argued. He had already missed two days and he won’t be missing any more classes.
“You will speak to me after class. No buts. I’ll send you both with a note to give to your teachers.” She declared, her own arms folding across her chest out of annoyance. “Do you both hear me?”
“Yes…” Kageyama sighed.
“Whatever,” a grumble came from the back of the room. “It’s not like I haven’t been late before.”
When class had ended, Kageyama gathered his belongings and made his way to the front of the room. He started gnawing on his bottom lip, and clutched onto his books tighter. His palms began to sweat as his nerves set in. What if she was going to yell at them? What if she was going to make them stay later after detention? What if she was going to kick them out of her class in general? All kinds of questions swarmed his mind.
He was brought from his trance when he felt an elbow dig into his side. He looked down at the orange haired boy beside him. Hinata stood with his hands on his hips, and an innocent look on his face. Hard to imagine such a hard edged boy could look so innocent.
Kageyama continued to stare at the shorter boy. Even though the boy had a rough and tough exterior, the boy had almost a baby face. His face was round, and his features were almost dainty. His lips were small, yet his eyes were big and brown. His nose was small like a button, yet it adorned two little studs one on each side.
The sound of his teacher clearing her voice brought him out of his trance. Shaking his head, he brought his attention forward.
“Boys, I’d like to talk to you both about your actions the other day,” she began, “they were heavily inappropriate, and I will not tolerate that again in this class. Disrupting a class assignment like that? I’ve passed your group mates, but you two. That’s a different story.”
Kageyama sucked in a breath. He knew what was coming. His parents would kill him. A failing grade? Tobio Kageyama, receiving a failing grade? Unheard of. Unheard of until today apparently.
“Although Hinata, you did complete the assignment, present it, and would have received a passing grade, and you, Kageyama would have passed as well, I’m giving you both zeroes.”
That was the final blow. Tobio’s face dropped. Panic began to set in. Licking his lips, he blurted out what was on his mind, “What? No please, I can’t fail this. Is there something I can do to make it up? Anything, I’ll do absolutely anything!”
He was surprised when he heard Hinata speak. “As much as I hate to agree with this chump, is there something I can do? I really can’t fail this class.”
Surprised, Kageyama turned to look at the orange haired boy beside him. Hinata’s big brown eyes were looking at his shoes, and his right hand was running across the shaved part of his hair. As if he felt the eyes on him, Hinata raised his own, staring back at Kageyama almost kindly.
“Well…” Mrs. Tachimi began, and the two students whipped their heads in her direction.
“Please Ma’am, I’ll do anything.” Kageyama begged,
Hinata followed in tow, “I will too. Please!”
“Boys, please let me finish,” The woman pinched the bridge of her nose, “Now, I haven’t done this assignment in years, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the content of this course. Though, all you would have to do is write an essay.”
Both of the boys nodded their heads eagerly, they were both desperate for something to help boost their marks. “I’ll do it” they both said in unison.
“I came up with this assignment because two students like you absolutely would not get along. They bickered every class, interrupting constantly. I gave them this assignment, and quite liked the outcomes. I’d like to hope it works the same for you two,” She smiled. Yet, Kageyama could see a daring gleam in her eye. Kageyama suddenly didn’t like where this was going. A bad feeling rose in his gut.
“What is it?” The orange Crow, still oblivious to their teachers devious look.
“I call this, The Friendship Assignment. You two are going to get to know each other as best as you can, and write a 1500 word essay on what you’ve learned about the other. I want to know what you think are all of their best qualities, and I want to know the student almost as well as you will.”
The boys stood mouths gaping. They turned and faced each other, and then back to the teacher before them. Kageyama shook his head, while Hinata started blabbering nonsense and waving his arms wildly.
“No way, I am not working with this loser! Nor am I going to write about him! He’s an idiot!” Kageyama declared in a huff.
“And there’s no way I’m spending any time with this ass hat. I don’t want anything to do with an ass hole like him!” Hinata fought back.
“If you don’t do this assignment, your marks will both drop and your grades throughout the semester will suffer,” She taunted them both, a grin plastered on her face.
Realizing that his teacher was not going to change her mind any time soon, Kageyama was the first to give in. He would have to do this stupid assignment whether he wanted to or not. He groaned, “Fine, I’ll do it.”
Hinata looked at the taller boy in shock. He looked as if he was about to decline, but his face scrunched up. He let his tongue run across his bottom lip, and a hand went up to scratch his button nose. “If there’s nothing else, I guess I’ll work with him,” He muttered, voice low.
Their teacher’s grin seemed to grow. “Great!” She beamed, “I’ll start writing the outline and what I want from both of you, and I’ll give you the criteria and rubric tomorrow! See you then boys!” She turned away from the two, signalling they were good to leave.
Hinata was the first to turn on his heels and leave the class room. Kageyama stayed a moment, bowing slightly, and muttering a small thanks to his teacher. Kageyama was surprised to see the small orange Crow with his hands tucked into his pockets, waiting at the door for none other than Kageyama himself.
“You coming or not?” Hinata blurted, turning to walk down the hall.
Confused with Hinata’s actions, Kageyama jogged to catch up with him. Kageyama wanted to say something, but Hinata had beaten him to it.
“Look, I don’t like this as much as you don’t. But, if we want to pass this class, then we have to do this stupid assignment. We’re going to have to,” the smaller boy paused, bringing his hands up and making air quotes to add emphasis, “get to know each other, and like each other. So let’s just get this stupid thing over with.”
Kageyama nodded in agreement, “Yeah, I guess we will. But I mean, it’s better than nothing.” He shrugged. He wasn’t excited to spend his own free time with Hinata, but to pass this class, he would do just about anything.
Kageyama followed Hinata a while longer down the corridor when they passed his classroom. He furrowed his brow, and slowed to a stop. “Look, I don’t know where you’re going, and I’m not sure if you still want me to tag along, but I’ve got a class I need to attend.” He turned his back to leave, when he felt that familiar hand grab his arm tugging him backwards.
“Class is practically over anyways, we’re skipping,” Hinata stated.
The taller boy frowned and looked at the watch on his wrist. “There’s still thirty minutes left of class, that’s more than enough time to,” he tried to argue, but was simply cut off by Hinata’s sharp voice.
“Do you want to pass this dumb class or not, ass hole?” Hinata’s head was cocked, his hip was popped with his free hand resting on it.
Running his tongue over his bottom lip anxiously, he looked behind him at the closed door of his classroom. He took a moment to think, their teacher had signed them out saying they would be late. So, it couldn’t hurt, could it?
Sighing, Kageyama gave up. “Fine, whatever. Let’s go… Where are we even going anyways?” He asked, throwing his arms up in defeat.
The small crow relaxed his facial features, and they eased into a softer smirk. “First smoke pit, then the cafeteria. I’m hungry as fuck.” He let go of Kageyama’s arm, and continued on down the hallway to the front of the school. Kageyama only followed in silence. They were going to their schools current smoke hole, a place just off of the property hidden away where kids couldn’t get caught smoking cigarettes.
Kageyama scrunched up his nose in disgust. This was a common hangout for the Crows, and Kageyama had never wanted a thing to do with it. He’d always walk past it as quickly as he could. He hated the smell, the sounds and especially the people. Yet, here he was following one of the current members to the place he never wanted to go to.
He followed Hinata out of the building, and down the side walk towards the smoke pit. Kageyama thanked the heavens that none of the other Crows were present, though it still bothered him to be there.
Hinata leaned against the fence, pulled out a carton of nasty cigarettes and pulled one to his lip. He lit it, and took a deep drag, inhaling the smoke and exhaling it quickly. Kageyama’s face contorted to one of disgust, he took a step back, not wanting to get the disgusting smell on him.
Hinata raised a brow, “What’s your problem?” He muttered between drags.
“I don’t get how you and your friends do that. It’s gross and it’s going to kill you.”
Hinata snorted a laugh, “Seriously? You too? Grow a pair, a handful here and there isn’t going to hurt.”
Kageyama’s brows furrowed and he tried to hold in a cough. “But they will, recent studies have shown that they have been a leading cause of,”
He was going to continue, but he was cut off by Hinata again, “Look I don’t care, just drop it.” The shorter boy huffed, dropping the cigarette on the concrete and stomping his foot down on it. “Let’s just get some food.” He grunted, leading the way once again.
“What was that all about? Why did you even bring me here?” Kageyama asked.
The orange crow sighed again, “One, I needed a cigarette, two, we’re supposed to get to know each other, this is where I hang out. There now you know something about me.”
The reasoning didn’t seem valid, but Kageyama took it anyways. Shaking his head, he followed Hinata some more. There was a silence between them for a while, and it was growing more and more awkward the longer they lingered in it.
“I like to hangout in the stairwell sometimes. I sit by myself behind the stairs and I nap.” Kageyama blurted.
Hinata looked over his shoulder, a confused expression clear on his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but this time it was Kageyama who interrupted.
“You told me something about yourself, so I told you something about myself,” He shrugged, not speaking another word.
“I don’t smoke much, only when I’m stressed out or something is bothering me. It takes the edge away,” the Crow’s voice was hushed, nothing but honesty behind his words.
“I don’t do much outside of school work. When I’m not doing homework, I sleep. Bored? Sleep. Stressed out? I sleep.” Kageyama never thought his life sounded boring until he admitted it out loud. Hinata was exciting and daring, he did rebellious things. And there was Kageyama, absolutely nothing but boring.
Although, it earned a hum from Hinata, “I wish I could sleep more. You have that lucky.” He sounded sincere, admitting his jealousy.
Kageyama started to ease up a bit, “I sleep too much.”
Their small chit chat slowed to a stop when they reached the doors of the cafeteria. Kageyama didn’t notice how hungry he was until he thought of food. His stomach growled loudly, and Hinata’s stomach wasn’t far behind.
Licking their lips, they wondered in and both purchased some food. They settled down at one of the benches, both digging in quickly. Once they were finished, the air was tense between them once again. He checked his watch again, only ten minutes left until next class.
Hinata began to drum his fingers against the surface of the table, then his leg started shaking. It caught Kageyama’s attention quickly. Why was the crow suddenly acting so nervous?
The actions stopped when Hinata spoke, “My favourite food is pork buns. Not from here, these ones suck, but from the corner store near the school. Those are the best.”
Kageyama found himself nodding in agreement, a hum leaving his lips thinking about the food. He had just eaten, why was he suddenly hungry again? Instead of thinking further, he spoke, “I have to agree with you there. Those ones are the best.”
Hinata’s eyes widened in amazement, “Really?!” He exclaimed excitedly, losing his cool kid posture, “All of my friends think they’re so bad, but they’re not! They’re so full and cooked just right!” The Crows eyes seemed to be shining brightly.
“That they are.” Kageyama agreed again.
“Tomorrow at lunch then, let’s go get some!” Hinata blurted loudly, nearly launching over the table and clutching onto Kageyama’s hands. His eyes seemed to sparkle in happiness. Kageyama felt a tight tug in his chest, but he dismissed it quickly as nothing.
Realizing what he had just done, he let go of Kageyama’s hands, and backed down. He regained his tough exterior, clearing his throat before he spoke, “I mean uh, if you want tomorrow for this assignment, we can go get some or something. But like, it’s cool if you don’t.” He shrugged cooly.
Kageyama couldn’t help but fight the smile, “Yeah, sure why not.” He didn’t know why he agreed, but the words left him before he could think things through. He hoped Yachi and Yamaguchi wouldn’t mind his absence.
“Awesome, so meet me at the smoke pit tomorrow at lunch?” Hinata asked.
Nodding, Kageyama agreed silently.
After that, the silence grew uncomfortable again. Kageyama shifted in his seat, his face scrunching up. He didn’t like the silences that grew between them. Once again, he decided to break it. He thought of something to say, but couldn’t think of anything important about himself. So, he just blurted the first thing that came to his mind, “I don’t like tomatoes.”
Hinata looked up from his hands, his eye brows raised. He bit his lip to try and stop the laughter that wanted to escape so desperately. Though, he failed, and a loud warming laugh echoed through the room. It had to be the warmest and happiest laugh Kageyama had ever heard. It warmed him from the inside.
Kageyama scowled, “What’s so funny? I don’t like them okay?”
Hinata shook his head, settling his laughter down to mere chuckles. When he could finally breathe, he looked back to the taller boy, “It’s not that,” he began, a large smile engulfed his face, “I don’t like tomatoes either.”