Chapter Text
Misa de Gallo has come once again.
The cold December air nipped at church goer’s cheeks and skin, causing most of them to wrap themselves even deeper into their jackets and clothes. The Philippines never had snow but when night came around Ber months, it sure as felt like it was one temperature away from dropping snowflakes.
It was always like this—listening to the hymns, propers, and readings in the early hours of the morning, always ending just before dawn. It was always like this—colorful, bright, well made lanterns adorned the outside of the churches and houses, lighting up the streets in a variety of hues of red, orange, yellow, green, and blue. It was always like this—smells of newly lit wax candles and fresh rice cakes flew through the night air.
“It’s Christmas!” a boy with a bright smile as bright as his orange hair walked out the Saints Peter and Paul cathedral, his much taller best friend ambled beside him in perfect sync with his energetic steps.
“Hm,” Kageyama smiled slightly, watching Hinata ramble on and on about how excited he was for Christmas day.
It was always like this—Hinata and Kageyama attending Misa de Gallo but never seemingly having the motivation to finish all nine days, always either sleeping in too late or just feeling lazy to wake up at the ass crack of night.
This year was different though, they had managed to finish it from December 16 and to December 24, they had managed to finish the novena.
As Shoyo continued to blabber about how excited he was for the food his mom and aunts were preparing for Noche Buena, Kageyama hummed every now and then to signify that he was still listening.
Gunmetal blue eyes stared up at the star filled sky, the pale moonlight wrapping around their figures and every building around them. Tobio’s ears caught the faint sound of music blaring from a block away, probably a restaurant that was either still open or had open impossibly early, but Tobio quickly blocked it out, directing back all of his attention to Shoyo.
“Y’know, Tobibi, earlier you were so close to falling asleep,” Hinata laughed quietly, energy slowly coming down as the cold finally caught up to him. “Hm?” Kageyama looked down over at his friend, “Earlier, when Father was having his sermon, you were so close to falling asleep on my shoulders,” The tangerine haired boy pointed out with a teasing smirk.
“Ah,” Tobio made a noise, placing a hand on top of Shoyo’s head to push him down. “If you weren’t being such a noisy brat last night, I could’ve slept better” he laughed quietly whilst Hinata tried to elbow him.
“I was just excited, idiot,” Shoyo smiled, cheeks a kissable shade of pink.
Tobio begrudgingly shoved his hands inside the front pouch of his black hoodie, balling them into fists to stop himself from pinching his best friend’s round cheeks. He was always the cuter one between the two.
“Before I forget—Merry Christmas, Tobibi,”
Shoyo’s voice was quiet, quieter than usual but when Tobio looked him straight in his bright hazel eyes, he saw adoration, he saw care, he saw love. He saw the past 17 years of their lives inside those eyes and all the air in his lungs felt like they were punched out his body.
Softly and gently, the shimmering lights of the old, ruined churches built centuries ago reflected themselves onto Hinata’s orbs—like stars coming home to the sun. It was like the sun finally being able to see the shining constellations after centuries of only being surrounded by a big blue sky.
The lights from the church bathed Shoyo in a light golden color, it made him look holy, he looked ethereal. He looked as thought nothing could corrupt and ruin his golden wings.
For the nth time that night, Kageyama felt his breath get taken away.
It was unfair, absolutely unfair. Hinata Shoyo was an angel and he deserved heaven and much more than what Kageyama Tobio, a lowly devil can give him. He deserved the sun, the stars, and the feeling of the wind rushing through his veins.
“Come to the mall with me tomorrow? I forgot to buy Natsu a gift,” Hinata pouted to himself, a little bit exhausted. Tobio once again hummed, words just didn’t come easy to him, and maybe he was just a little bit afraid he would say the wrong thing.
Tobio clutched the fabric of the inside of his hoodie, trying to calm his poor heart down and also to at least try and repel the numbing cold feeling in his fingertips. It was missing the warmth of Hinata’s smaller hands wrapping around his as they prayed Our Father. It was as if time slowed down. For nine straight nights, Kageyama Tobio waited for hours just for that moment to arrive, for Shoyo to grab Tobio’s cold hands in his own and the setter just melted each time.
It was such a touch starved action but Tobio really did love it.
Hearing Shoyo sing the hymns and cantatas right beside him made his heart flutter.
No, it was not a secret that Kageyama Tobio was absolutely in love with his best friend. Everyone could see it, everyone could feel it, everyone could sense this air of completion every time the two were together—it felt like everything made sense every time the two were in the same room.
Every single time Tobio had to stand up and every single time he had to feel Shoyo’s palm loosely press against his own, he swore he could feel the clouds in heaven part and hear the angels sing for them. Dramatic? Yes but was it accurate to how he was feeling? Definitely.
He could almost hear them singing to him, telling him to—
Kageyama shook his head. Those were unnecessary thoughts, he tried to convince himself, pulling back to listen more to Shoyo’s ramblings.
“How’s Miwa?” Shoyo asked, bending down to pick up a kalachuchi flower from the ground.
“She said she was super busy, she couldn’t even take a break for the holidays to fly back home, y’know how schools in other countries are,” Tobio sighed through his nose, remembering how much his older sister apologized to him, promising she’d buy him new shoes the next time she came home.
“Oh, so that ’s why you came with us,”
“And if I didn’t come with you, our tradition of attending Misa de Gallo would be ruined,”
“Just admit it, Tobibi, you love me,”
“Just admit it, dumbass, your mom loves me more than you,”
Conversations came easy to the both of them, it was so easy. No matter how loud Hinata got and no matter how anti-social Kageyama became, they would always fall into perfect pace with each other.
“Why don’t we make mom’s wish come true?”
“Of?” Tobio raised an eyebrow.
“Of making you a part of our family!”
“How?” the dark haired boy couldn’t help but chuckle, watching his energetic best friend‘s eyes become filled to the brink with mischief.
“Let’s get married, obviously,” those words came out of Hinata’s lips way too easily, it sounded too natural, it sounded so easy.
“Are you fucking dumb?”
Shoyo only laughed with pure delight but all Tobio could hear was the beating of his own heart, beating violently against the cages of his chest.
Shoyo laughed and Tobio swore the world became a little brighter, the moon almost sparkled, and it might have just been the euphoria and the chemicals in his brain but Tobio was sure the stars were dancing.
Shoyo laughed and Tobio suddenly knew what peace was—even if Shoyo wasn’t a very peaceful person.
“I’m serious, dummy,” orange hair was blown back by cold winds, Hinata grabbed the sleeve of Kageyama’s hoodie, dragging him towards a sari-sari store.
Kageyama Tobio was absolutely confused, impressed, and flustered at the same time, how could that little brat just say those words so easily—?
“Is that,” Tobio hesitated for a moment, watching Hinata call out for the owner of the store. “Is that your poor excuse of a confession?” Shoyo didn’t answer right away, pointing towards two coke bottles before looking up at his gunmetal blue eyes.
“At least, I confessed, right?” there was no hesitance in his words, no regret behind his hazel orbs, and no lies in his lips.
Hinata Shoyo had waited for years for the perfect timing, that perfect pocket of time where he could shamelessly confess his love but no—he could never manage to catch the exact moment he had been dreaming of since 7th grade. So why not now? Why not now that he’s finally finished the 9 days of Novena?
Turning around, Shoyo handed over the bottle of coke over towards Tobio but immediately jumped when his fingers brushed against the setter’s—they were so so cold.
“What the fuck, Tobibi,” Shoyo took the bottle back, throwing it inside his backpack before wiping his hands on his shirt, making sure it was dry from the cold vapors of the bottle. “Your hands are freezing,” his warm hands found their way back to Tobio’s freezing ones; they were so cold to the touch.
Shoyo pulled the boy closer, trying his best to provide heat and warmth.
Warm. He was so warm.
But his concerned words and light scolding just went in one ear and out the other as Kageyama Tobio stared at him, heart racing a thousand miles per second.
“Let’s get married, obviously,” those words echoed through his brain.
“I’m serious, dummy,” was this some sort of dream?
“At least I confessed, right?” if it was, he hoped to God he’d never ever wake up ever again.
But this wasn’t a dream, this was reality and the tight grip Shoyo had on his trembling hands was the only thing grounding him.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Why didn’t you tell me you were feeling cold? You might get sic—”
“I love you, Sho,”
Hinata was taken aback by Kageyama’s sudden but quiet outburst. It was lame, the dark haired boy had to admit. It wasn’t a grandiose gesture nor was it full of flowery words, it was just—it was just what he felt. It was what he’d always felt. There was no use beating around the bush, was there? So he had to just blurt it out, say it aloud, admit it to not only Shoyo but also to himself that he loved Hinata Shoyo and he was pretty sure they were soulmates.
Three simple words that were bland and unexciting compared to other confessions, compared to the ones they’ve watched in movies and read in books but it was theirs. It was a confession that was so simple but it said a lot.
“Wouldn’t it be better to just lay it all out? Just be straightforward with it, tell them you love them and let the moment take control, because if you say too many flowery words and try to be some sort of Lang Leav copycat, the original meaning and reason why you even confessed in the first place will be lost,” Miwa had told him one day when he confined to her about his feelings, through text of course, Tobio would’ve fainted if he ever actually said it outloud.
“The reason why we confess our feelings is to let them know that you love them, so just be straight forward with your approach. Just tell him your true feelings and if he actually feels the love and adoration you have for him with just three simple words? I’m telling you now—that’s real love, tobio, the kind of love that will last even to your next life times,” It was ironic , how Miwa had warned about being too poetic but she was being poetic herself, and she probably didn’t even realize it.
“I love you so so so much, Sho,” Tobio repeated once again, louder this time.
Shoyo was the one standing in shock this time, his hold on Tobio’s hands only tightened and this made Tobio almost want to cry. It was so reassuring to be held like that, even if it was only his hands. He was being held like he was important. He was being held like he was the world and he thanked the stars that it was Shoyo who held him like that.
With every syllable rolling off his tongue, Hinata felt the sincerity in each curve of Kageyama’s lips, in each nervous eye contact, and in the way his hands shook, Hinata felt the unadulterated adoration.
“I love you so much more, my Tobio,”
Now, Kageyama Tobio never believed in magic or miracles but maybe this time, this one time, maybe it was real. Maybe the myth about completing the nine nights was real.
“Y’know, I’ve been wishing for this ever since God knows when, that’s why even if I’m so exhausted, I still force myself to attend Misa de Gallo because isn’t there a saying that if you complete the Novena, the one wish your heart desires will come true?” Shoyo silently admitted, gently swaying along to the faint music in the background.
“Me too,” Tobio mumbled as he leaned in closer unconsciously, trying to get a better look at Shoyo’s sunshine eyes and reddening cheeks, the uncharacteristically shy behavior was absolutely endearing to Tobio.
Once again, Tobio swore he could hear angels, clouds, and doves sing, telling him to just shut up and kiss the boy.
And this time, he listened.
As if all fear and doubt magically disappeared from his body, Kageyama Tobio, 17, dark haired with gunmetal blue eyes, and a penchant for saying the wrong things at the wrong time, leaned forward and caught 17, orange hair with golden sunlight eyes, and known for having zero filters, Hinata Shoyo’s soft lips, slightly chapped from the December temperature.
And it felt as though it was always meant to happen.
It was always like this—Kageyama and Hinata.
Shoyo and Tobio will forever be like this.