Chapter Text
~Volleyball locker room, after Saturday practice~
“Kageyama, how much longer are you gonna take?” Hinata asks, jumping around the cleaning setter.
“Five minutes,” Kageyama answers, carefully packing his supplies back in his bag. He slings it over his shoulder, barely avoiding bumping into Hinata as he strides toward his locker.
Hinata pouts, but quickly recovers as he bounds off toward the five second years who are still getting their stuff together.
Kageyama huffs in relief, sneaking a glance back at his distracted teammates before stuffing a box of salonpas in his bag. After Suga realized Kageyama was hiding an injury, surprisingly, instead of scolding him, he’d given him the box of salonpas. Kageyama had initially refused, but was quickly convinced to accept it, ignoring the pleased look from his senpai.
“Make sure to take care of yourself,” Suga had smiled, before walking out of the locker room with a wave.
Kageyama realizes a little too late that he hadn’t even thanked his senpai for the gift. Maybe I should buy him something in exchange? Or is that weird? And what would I buy him anyways?
He shuts his locker door with a loud ‘bang,’ but the sound isn’t enough to gain the attention of the chattering second years, plus the easily excitable spiker who is gesturing wildly with his arms.
“She said she wants to be a spiker just like me!” Hinata’s shout echoes toward him.
“Oh man, I want to meet your sister! She sounds super cool!” Tanaka exclaims.
“Yeah, I’ve always wanted a little sister!” Noya shouts.
“I wish my little sister liked volleyball...” Kinoshita trails off, zipping up his volleyball bag.
“Yeah, your sister’s into soccer, isn’t she?” Narita pats him on the back.
“Didn’t you start off with soccer too? I’m sure she’ll play volleyball with you if you ask,” Ennoshita consoles, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sure she’ll listen to anything you say, Ennoshita- sama, ” Kinoshita smirks, nudging his friend in the ribs.
“Okay, that was one time . And usually girls want to be the princess, not the commoner who marries a prince,” Ennoshita returns Kinoshita’s smirk.
“That’s probably my fault actually,” Narita mutters sheepishly, capturing everyone’s surprised gaze. “I stayed over at Hisashi’s one night and he’d already fallen asleep so I had to read his sister a bedtime story.”
“And what did you read to her?” Hinata asks, leaning closer to Narita. Everyone joins him, eager to hear his answer.
“She wanted an original, so I made one up on the spot,” Narita confesses, rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t think she’d remember it.”
“Thanks to you, I had to wear a crown all day. Do you know how embarrassing it was going to the park like that?” Ennoshita hides his face in his hands.
“Awww man, I totally wanted to see that!” Tanaka yells, putting an arm around Ennoshita’s shoulders.
“I have pictures,” Kinoshita grins, taking out his phone.
“No, you better not-!” Ennoshita lunges for his friend’s phone, but Kinoshita’s reflexes save him. He swiftly dodges as he continues to scroll through his photo gallery. “Found it!” he yells, throwing his phone toward Noya. The libero easily catches it, shoving the screen between Tanaka and his eager faces. Hinata jumps up and down, sneaking a look over their shoulders.
The bright screen shows a zoomed-in photo of Ennoshita in a dark navy button-up shirt buttoned to the very top, a thin, sparkly silver crown sitting on top of his head.
“Woah, just goes to show how you fit so well as a beautiful prince!” Tanaka howls with laughter.
“Yeah! I knew you were meant to be royalty!” Noya laughs along.
“Uwaaah! You look so cool, Ennoshita-senpai!” Hinata exclaims, his eyes sparkling.
Ennoshita quickly snatches Kinoshita’s phone out of Noya’s hand, clicking the delete button.
“No-!” Tanaka lunges forward, grabbing the phone and hugging it to his chest.
“I already deleted it,” Ennoshita smirks, his smirk widening at Tanaka’s pout.
“Do you really think I only have one?” Kinoshita grins, motioning for Tanaka to return his phone to him. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to send them all to you,” he winks at Tanaka, smiling when his phone is safely returned to him.
“You guys are so- Ugh-” Ennoshita flings his hands into the air, his fingers twitching in mock anger.
“You’re the best, bro!” Tanaka fist-bumps with Kinoshita, exchanging excited grins with Noya, Narita, and Hinata.
“You guys never play fair,” Ennoshita mutters, swinging his bag over his shoulder.
“Hey! At least you got to be the prince! I had to be her horse for the whole day!” Narita complains, also swinging his bag over his shoulder. Hinata, Tanaka, and Noya fail to hold in their laughter, unfazed by Narita’s playful glare.
“My sister likes sitting on your shoulders since you’re the tallest out of us three,” Kinoshita shrugs, picking up his bag. He quickly stuffs his phone into it, making sure to keep an eye on Ennoshita.
“I’m not gonna steal it. It’s not like I know your password, anyways,” Ennoshita huffs, crossing his arms.
“Don’t believe him, Hisashi! He hacked my laptop yesterday when I told him I downloaded that knew video editor thing he’s always wanted!” Tanaka shouts.
“I wanted to try it out myself! And your password’s so easy to crack!” Ennoshita argues.
“I would’ve let you use it if you asked!” Tanaka shouts back, draping an arm around Ennoshita’s back. “Come on, I’ll show you all the features at my house!”
Ennoshita’s eyes sparkle before switching into a hard gaze. “You guys need to finish your homework before we do anything fun.”
“Awww, come on Chikara, one day of rest won’t do much harm,” Noya complains, joining his bro on Ennoshita’s other side.
“Besides, we only have math homework and that’s due on Monday,” Narita comments.
“Hey, let’s get sushi on the way. I’m starving,” Kinoshita changes the subject, pulling his bag over one shoulder.
“You just want the pickled ginger!” Ennoshita argues, striding toward the door.
“Hinata! Kageyama! You guys wanna come?” Tanaka offers. The five second years turn toward the two, smiles blooming on all their faces.
“Kageyama already promised to get me ice cream today!” Hinata yells, bounding over to the setter sitting on the bench.
“Oooh, I see, I see,” Tanaka teases, exchanging grins with Noya.
“Stop it you two,” Ennoshita smacks his friend’s backs, before smiling at his two underclassmen. “Stay safe and have fun.” He waits for Kageyama and Hinata to nod before he leads Tanaka and Noya outside with minimal protest, followed by Kinoshita and Narita.
“So, Kageyama, are you ready-”
“Oh, don’t forget to lock the door behind you,” Tanaka sticks his head in, winks, and is promptly yanked back out by a scolding Ennoshita. “Hey, I was just reminding them to lock the door when they leave!” They can hear Tanaka’s complaint through the thin walls.
“Yeah, right.” They hear the exasperation in Ennoshita’s voice as their upperclassmen’s footsteps fade into nothing.
“Kageyama, let’s go!” Hinata grabs onto Kageyama’s arm, pulling him toward the doorway.
“Wait, I need to get my bag-”
“Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s-!” Hinata is stopped mid-jump by a sharp glare. “I-I’m not scared of you!” He raises both hands and gets into a defensive stance, playfully pouting at the setter.
“Just give me a minute to find my wallet.”
“Okay. Zero, one, two, three-”
“Zero doesn’t count as a number, boke,” Kageyama mutters, shoving his wallet into his pocket. He zips up his bag, and swings it over his shoulder.
“But my microwave counts down to zero!” Hinata shouts, bounding over to the exit.
Kageyama follows close behind, unable to hold back a scowl. “That doesn’t mean it counts!”
“That’s rude to the zeros!”
Kageyama gives him a look between shock and irritation.
“Apologize to them!”
“What?!” Kageyama looks up from locking the door, surprised to see Hinata’s eyes glimmering with determination.
“Apologize to all the zeros you offended!”
I- What?! Kageyama’s eyebrows furrow as he searches Hinata’s gaze. There’s no hint of a joke in his expression. “Why should I?”
“Zeros are always overlooked and forgotten. Don’t you feel sorry for them?” Hinata yells, going down the stairs two steps at a time.
How can you feel sorry for a number? Kageyama shakes his head. “How are they overlooked?”
“They aren’t exactly overlooked, but... hated on, you know? No one likes zeros.”
“No one wants a zero on a test,” Kageyama agrees, nodding.
“But when zeros are put after a number, people finally find importance in them,” Hinata’s eyes sparkle as he continues muttering, “It’s like the context or perspective changes? But people fail to realize that if we didn’t have the concept of ‘nothing’ then we wouldn’t be able to have ‘things.’”
Kageyama stays silent, unsure of how to answer.
“Woah, I said something super cool, didn’t I? Hey, did you get all that down, Kageyama-kun?” Hinata sings, running over to his bike excitedly.
“I bet you heard that from one of the senpai,” Kageyama smirks at Hinata’s pout.
“But it’s true, isn’t it?”
“What is?” Kageyama thought he’d gotten used to Hinata’s swift mood changes, but he can never get used to his serious expression.
“Zeros are important. They’re the transition point, the important addition... the secret VIP!” Hinata looks up from unlocking his bike.
“Do you even know what VIP stands for?” Kageyama sighs, grabbing the handles of Hinata’s bike, and pulling it out of the bike rack before the other can protest.
“Very important person!” Hinata holds onto the other side, helping the setter push his bike.
“Numbers aren’t people!”
“Then, zeros are VINs!”
“Very important numbers?” Kageyama asks, his eyebrows rising when Hinata nods. “Then what about the other numbers?”
“Hm?”
“You’re leaving out all the other numbers.”
They make it past the school gate, unconsciously heading toward the same ice cream shop they’d gone to last time.
“The other numbers already receive enough attention! Give zeros a chance!” Hinata puts his hands on his hips, smirking when Kageyama fumbles to hold up the bike’s shift of weight. “Things lose their specialness if you try to include too many things with them. And Coach Ukai always tells me to focus on the things that are the most important.”
“That’s because your attention span is all over the place.”
“Anyways, zeros are important!”
“So, are zeros your favorite number?”
Hinata stays silent, turning away sheepishly.
“Then you shouldn’t be-”
“My favorite numbers are 4, 9, and 10,” Hinata announces proudly. “And zero is included in 10, so-”
“Why 4 and 9?” Kageyama redirects the conversation.
“What?”
“Why 4 and 9?” Kageyama repeats, putting emphasis on the second number.
“My birthdate fortune book said my lucky numbers are 4 and 10!”
“They why 9?”
“I dunno, I just really like it...?” Hinata trails off, peeking up at the taller boy.
Kageyama seems lost in thought for a while before his smirk returns. “You’re still jealous of me getting a lower number than you.”
“Nuh-uh! You’re jealous I got the small giant’s number and you didn’t!”
“That’s why you’re so stuck on the number zero. It’s cuz your number has a zero in it,” Kageyama mutters, ignoring Hinata’s yelling.
“No! I really do think zero deserves more attention!”
“Then why do you like 9?”
Hinata drops his gaze to the ground, watching as a small crow takes off towards the clouds. “I just do okay? And you still owe me ice cream, so we really should get to it,” Hinata mutters, turning away to hide his blush.
Shoot, I almost forgot about that. Kageyama reflexively pats the wallet in his pocket, trying to remember how much money he has left. I still have some emergency money, so even if I run out, I’ll be-
“You okay, Kageyama?” Hinata peers up into Kageyama’s face, poking at the furrow between his brow. “You’ve been really weird lately.” His expression turns into one of concern.
“Yeah, it’s just getting really cold,” Kageyama comments, eyeing Hinata’s thin jacket and shorts.
“Awww, you’re worried about me? Thanks, Kageyama-kun,” Hinata teases, bumping his shoulder against the other’s side.
“I’m not-! You really need to wear thicker jackets!” Kageyama yells, pulling one arm out of his jacket while gripping the bike handle tighter. Hinata instantly gets the message, shoving his arm through the sleeve.
“I really wanted to say this last time, but it’s kinda hard to walk like this,” Hinata mutters, looking up at the taller boy.
“Then you don’t need to-”
“No!” Hinata grabs both sides of the open jacket, pulling them towards his chest and trapping Kageyama’s arm between his hands. They stumble a bit, but Kageyama somehow manages to catch the bike seat before the whole bike topples over.
“You’re always so warm,” Hinata mumbles as though it came as a surprise. One hand snakes around to join Kageyama’s on the bike.
“And your body heat’s like a kid’s,” Kageyama quips, resisting the urge to intertwine their fingers.
Hinata pouts, but ignores Kageyama’s teasing. “You’d think you’d be cold with your icy blue eyes and your cold shoulder, but you might actually be warmer than me.”
“I’m not cold!” Kageyama argues.
“Yeah, you’re warm and comfy,” Hinata snuggles closer to Kageyama’s chest, laughing as Kageyama stumbles again.
“Hey, why don’t we just ride this to the shop?” Kageyama asks, using his question as an excuse to squeeze Hinata’s hand.
Hinata’s exaggerated gasp makes him look down at the other. “My, my, Kageyama-kun. I didn’t know you were such a bad boy,” Hinata sings, locking eyes with the other. “Even if you were the one pedaling, I don’t think we’d fit in one seat.”
“Then you can just sit in my lap,” Kageyama suggests.
Hinata’s face blooms red, rivaling his bright orange hair.
Oh shit, shit shit! Kageyama’s face combusts into a tomato as he realizes the implications of his instinctive comment.
An awkward silence is about to take over, but Hinata saves them, muttering, “Um, if you really want to, then...”
“What?!” Kageyama jumps, pulling his hand away from the bike as if he’d touched a freezing pole.
“Hey, you don’t need to be that surprised,” Hinata mumbles, struggling to hold up the bike with one hand. Kageyama hesitates before returning his hand to the bike seat, his fingers twitching as Hinata covers them with his own.
“Your hands are getting cold. You need to make sure to keep them warm,” Hinata mutters, rubbing them gently.
“You need to keep your hands warm, too,” Kageyama replies, his fingers gliding over the other’s. Hinata takes that as a silent message to temporarily ignore what just transpired.
“You need to more .” Hinata increases his vigor, trying to outdo the setter.
“It’s your right hand,” Kageyama states, also increasing his massaging speed.
Their hands continue to dance with each other as they head toward where they think the ice cream shop is.
It isn’t until fifteen minutes later when Hinata looks up and realizes he doesn’t recognize his surroundings anymore. “Hey Kageyama?”
Hinata’s question makes Kageyama stop alongside him. “What?”
“I think we already passed by the ice cream shop,” Hinata mutters, still grinning over his victory. He’d managed to catch Kageyama’s hand under his own, and no matter how much the setter twists his hand, there’s no way to escape.
“Then we should just head back,” Kageyama answers, but not without a hint of hesitation.
Hinata doesn’t miss the reluctance in the other’s voice. “Hey, why don’t we just go to that park near Karasuno?”
“Didn’t you really want to get ice cream?” Kageyama asks, turning them around so that they’re heading back towards the shop.
“But you don’t want me to get cold, do you?” Hinata squeezes Kageyama’s hand tightly.
“Fine. But you better not complain about me still owing you ice cream, later,” Kageyama huffs. He switches directions again, leading Hinata along the narrowing sidewalk.
“Hey, but you do! You’re just gonna have to get me some when it’s warmer!”
“Not if I get a higher score on our next history test,” Kageyama smirks.
“I’ve actually been studying for history a lot more!” Hinata exclaims proudly.
“Not as much as me.”
“I’m gonna win!”
“Not if I don’t let you!”
“But I-” Hinata abruptly stops again, looking both ways. “Hey, do you know where we’re going?”
“Nope,” Kageyama confesses, then feels Hinata’s head hit his chest. “I thought you knew where you were going!” Kageyama accuses, carefully guiding Hinata to the end of the sidewalk.
“I thought you knew where we were going. I’ve only really gone to that park straight from school, so I don’t know any other routes,” Hinata admits.
“So we’re lost,” Kageyama whispers. Again.
“We could retrace our steps to get back to school?” Hinata suggests. Kageyama gives him a surprised look, as though he didn’t expect Hinata to suggest something so intelligent.
“They did that in this one detective movie I watched last week. They were trying to figure out where the kidnapper took the girl,” Hinata explains, turning them around once again.
“You like detective movies?” Kageyama’s surprised expression doesn’t fade.
“Not really, but my dad does. He especially likes those old yakuza and police movies, even though the effects are really bad,” Hinata’s nose scrunches up in reminiscence.
“Your dad sounds really cool,” Kageyama comments, successfully pushing down his anxiety.
Hinata immediately perks up, starting a long narrative to 'prove his dad's awesomeness.'
Kageyama's had enough experience to push away all thoughts about his own dad, allowing him to immerse himself in Hinata’s stories about his family.
He's infinitely grateful that Hinata doesn’t ask him about his own.
~~~~~~~~~
~On their way to Tanaka’s house~
“Hey Chikara, is there something bothering you?” Tanaka asks, knowing it’s better to be straightforward when talking to Ennoshita.
“Why do you ask?” Ennoshita stalls, glancing behind him to see his other three friends giving them a considerable amount of space. He holds back a frown, his lips tightening into a twitching line.
“You’ve been really spacey for the past week or so. You know you can tell us if you have any worries,” Tanaka reassures, wrapping an arm around his friend’s shoulder.
Shoot, have I been that obvious? Ennoshita sneaks another glance back, catching Kinoshita’s worried gaze. I guess I have.
“Chikara?” Tanaka twists to face Ennoshita.
Ryuu’s always been overly perceptive when it comes to feelings, too. Ugh, how can I get out of this?
“Is there something bothering you about school?”
“No.”
“Friends?”
“Nope.”
“Volleyball?”
Ennoshita hesitates for a second, before answering, “No.”
“So it is volleyball.”
“No, it has nothing to do with-”
“If you’re thinking about quitting again, Noya and I will-”
“I’m not thinking about quitting. Ever. Never gonna happen again,” Ennoshita promises quickly, wanting, no needing to wipe the anguished look off of Tanaka’s face.
“Then what is it?” Tanaka’s nose scrunches in confusion as his mind whirls, trying to figure out what has Ennoshita so distracted.
“I can’t tell you,” Ennoshita whispers, unsure of how else to answer.
“What, why?!” Tanaka pulls away from him, unable to hide the anger in his voice.
“Hey, what’s wrong Ryuu?” Noya jumps in between them, trying to placate Tanaka.
“Chikara won’t tell me what’s wrong with him!” Tanaka shouts indignantly, shoving his hands in his pants pockets.
“Nothing’s wrong!” Ennoshita lies, turning away from his friend’s accusing stares. “Okay fine, nothing isn’t wrong, but it kinda is since it was sorta resolved, but things are too complicated and I can’t-”
“Is this something between you, Daichi-san and Suga-san?” Kinoshita asks, jumping when Ennoshita’s head whips up to face him.
“How did you know?” Ennoshita’s eyes narrow at his friend.
“You wouldn’t be this secretive if it wasn’t,” Narita answers for his friend, smiling reassuringly.
“Man, you could have just said that from the beginning!” The tense atmosphere is broken by Tanaka’s relieved laughter. “Come on, we’re gonna have to wait even longer if we don’t run!”
Tanaka takes off in a sprint toward a random direction.
“Hey, the sushi store’s this way!” Kinoshita calls after him.
“I thought we were going to get ramen!” Noya shouts, running after them.
“The sushi place’s closer!” Narita yells, struggling to catch up.
Ennoshita shakes his head, but a soft smile blooms on his face as he runs to catch up with his friends.