Work Text:
It becomes a competition, as most things often do when it concerns the two of them.
32 wins, 30 losses, and one draw—to Kageyama. The numbers rattle around their brains at all times, a subconscious action like blinking or breathing. Their rivalry was an obsession, a disease neither one could let go of. And as always, they manage to turn even the most trivial matter into something akin to a war.
It starts with an innocent question:
“Kageyama,” Hinata starts casually, lips closed around the straw in his smoothie. “Have you ever kissed anyone?”
Kageyama chokes on his yoghurt milk. He’s so stunned by the question that he actually forgets to act hostile. “Have I what?”
Hinata eyes his strange reaction warily. “Kissed… anyone?” He finishes a bit hesitantly, those infuriatingly cute brown eyes wide and unblinking, his skin glowing as orange as his hair in the afternoon sun.
For a good minute, Kageyama stares uncomprehendingly at the shorter boy. Then he regains his bearings, and a scowl instinctively finds its way onto his face.
“What kind of a question is that?” He spits, his face ablaze. “Idiot…”
Hinata continues to stare at him expectantly, brows raised, as they continue their walk home. Kageyama does his best to ignore the curious puppy-dog stare, but his mind was worn out after practice and he couldn’t come up with an adequate change of topic to distract Hinata with. Besides, those eyes are hard to ignore… even for him…
His patience eventually wears thin, and he comes to a brisk halt, facing a now apprehensive Hinata. The expression on Kageyama’s face must have really been something to look at, judging by Hinata’s apprehensive expression.
“You,” he says venomously, pointing severely at Hinata’s face, “are going to leave me alone once I answer this, alright?”
It’s almost comical how Hinata’s face brightens immediately, and he straightens up seriously. There’s a curious light in those eyes that Kageyama finds difficult to read, but maybe that’s just because he found it difficult to stare directly at Hinata because his hair was literally fluorescent in the setting sun.
Kageyama takes a deep breath, puffing out his chest and mustering as much dignity as he could. Several seconds pass while he does so, and the tension between the pair steadily mounts. Hinata is actually bouncing on the balls of his feet expectantly by the time he exhales again, and Kageyama has to throw him an irritable glare to make him stop.
“I haven’t.” He manages at length, more embarrassed than he’d like to admit. Hinata’s eyes fly wide open in shock; this is a reaction Kageyama hasn’t anticipated; a reaction that, to be honest, flatters him—if only just a little. Was it that unbelievable that he’s yet to have his first kiss?
His cheeks burn with embarrassment. “Now leave me alone, yeah?” He mutters, and then quickly takes several steps down the street so that he could hide the clear discomfiture on his face from Hinata. It’s embarrassing enough to have to admit out loud his innocence when it came to relationships, but for some reason only worse to have Hinata see his weakness.
He’s walked an entire block before Hinata recovers from his state of stunned surprise. To his unpleasant surprise, he decides to close the distance by yelling and running down the street.
“Kageyama, Kageyama, wait!”
He’s screaming, attracting the attention of literally everyone passing by. And then, to Kageyama’s continued mortification, the incoming ball of excitement crashes directly into him and the pair nearly tumbles onto the sidewalk together—all amidst the amused stares of passersby.
“Are you”—he starts lowly, dangerously, and then exponentially increases his volume when Hinata grins at him sheepishly—“an ABSOLUTE MORON?!”
“Y-You saw me coming!” He protests meekly. “You could have avoided…” He trails off when he sees Kageyama’s scary glower. “Anyway, I was saying! I’ll race you to it!”
Kageyama blinks at that, his fury subsiding a little under his confusion. “You’ll what?”
Hinata grins at him, a hint of determination in his eyes. “To a first kiss! I’ll race you!” Is Kageyama imagining it, or is Hinata actually blushing? “U-Unless… you’re scared I’ll beat you?”
“I’m not.” Intellectually, Kageyama knows this entire thing is probably the worst idea the two of them have had yet, but his competitive instinct overrides his rationality and he has the strangest urge to grab the closest stranger on the street and ask them for a kiss. “I’ll beat you to it. For sure. I mean,” here he smirks, grabs a fistful of Hinata’s hair, and shakes his head around, “have you seen this atrocity? Who’d want to kiss you?”
Hinata’s cheeks turn a brilliant crimson, his soft features scrunching up into a humiliated scowl. Cute, Kageyama’s mind supplies rather unnecessarily. Really, really adorable, it tacks on, much to his discomfort. And then, all at once, Kageyama becomes uncomfortably aware of how close they’re standing, and the fact that his fingers are still buried in Hinata’s hair, fingertips tingling where they come into contact with Hinata’s scalp.
Kageyama’s breath catches in his throat when he inhales sharply.
Hinata notices this sudden shift in demeanor, and the embarrassment in his eyes turn into confusion, then into something that looks a bit like apprehensive suspicion, before finally settling on a vague sort of disbelief. Kageyama feels heat flood his face, and he very abruptly releases Hinata’s hair before making a sharp turn and continuing his angry, brusque walk down the street.
“Stupid, stupid…” He finds himself muttering, trying to steady the pace of his racing heart. “What idiot… what moron would kiss him…?”
Later, much later that night, the scene replays itself out in his head as he struggles to fall asleep. Over and over again the conversation loops, until finally Kageyama comes to a startling, horrifying realization. He tries to suppress the thought, but it keeps barreling its way to the forefront of his mind, loud and outrageous and impossible to ignore.
It’s me, he laments, distraught, grimacing to himself in the darkness of his room. I’m the moron. I’m the moron who wants to kiss him.
He has the sudden urge to jump out his window, sprint all the way to the airport, throw himself onto the first flight out of Japan and live his entire life out under a fake name in a remote third-world country.
No, no, he thinks to himself. I’ll be fine tomorrow once I see that stupid face again. Pfsh. Like I’d ever want to kiss him…
Yeah, he convinces himself. He’ll be alright. He’s going to see Hinata at school tomorrow, see those wide brown eyes and that cute messy hair and not think at all about leaning down to press his lips softly against—
He groans to himself, angry and frustrated. Okay, so it’s going to be a bit harder than I thought… but I’ll manage, I’ll manage…
The prospect of fleeing the country has never looked more appealing to Kageyama, but he’s confident about his nerves of steel. If he could survive Oikawa at his worst then there’s no way he’s going to blanch because of some small shrimp with a bad dye job. He can do this. It’s going to be easy.
He can make it, definitely. He’ll just find a date and squeeze in a kiss somehow before Hinata manages to. It’s not going to be too hard. He’s no physical wonder like Oikawa or Kuroo but he… he’s confident that he’s decent-looking enough to find someone before long.
Yes, he thinks, feeling better and more confident. He can do this. It’s all going to be very simple. He’ll find a nice, uncomplicated date and get his first kiss over and done with before he could think twice about it. And he’s just not going to think about Hinata at all. Ever again. Especially about kissing him. On those stupid, moronic, pretty lips of his. Like they do in the movies. Maybe after a date together, or maybe even after practice…
Kageyama shakes his head fervently. No, no, no, he’s not going to get sidetracked. He’s going to stick to his plan. The most important thing in his life, after all, is not his own pleasure, but the sweetness of tasting victory.
Yes, it’s going to be easy and simple. Find a date, get a kiss. All without thinking about Hinata at all.
Easy. Simple.
Right.
“Crap,” is the first word that escapes Kageyama’s lips as soon as he steps into class the next morning, because he’s so tired that he slams right into the doorframe. It’s a Monday and even considering the fact that he usually fares terribly on Mondays, there are dark circles under his eyes after having stayed awake the entire night thinking about Hinata and he’s having trouble keeping his bloodshot eyes open so he thinks this is a brand new low even for him. He rubs his fists into his eyes as he weaves through his wary, whispering classmates towards the safety of his own desk.
He sighs exasperatedly, trying not to look too grumpy about his lack of sleep. Looking like an actual demon is not going to do him any favors in his search for a date. To make matters worse, Hinata chooses that moment to bound into the class, looking as wide-awake and sunshine-y and bright (and beautiful) as ever. His wide eyes and hair looks so lively and happy that it’s nearly blinding to Kageyama in his dazed state of dark sleeplessness. Akin to a vampire hissing and running for cover when exposed to the sun, he groans audibly and buries his head in his arms.
“Wow, Bakageyama,” he hears Hinata say blithely as he drops into the seat next to him. “You look like gwah-level of scary this morning!”
“Not in the mood, dumbass” is Kageyama’s muffled response.
“Okay,” Hinata says in a falsely appeasing, devious voice. “But if you’re going to be like that, nobody’s going to want to date you~”
“I hope you choke on your own spit, you moron.” Kageyama mutters darkly in response.
“What?”
“I said,” He starts, louder this time, “I hope you choke on your”—
“Good morning, class!” The teacher’s voice interrupts him suddenly, cutting his voice off. Kageyama tilts his head to a side until he could see Hinata’s smug, grinning face staring back at him. He shoots Hinata a glare, his eyes glinting with pure malice under the fringes of his dark hair, and then retreats back into the shell of his arms, hoping he could get a few minutes of sleep before the teacher catches him red-handed.
As soon as he hears the announcement, he knows he’s a goner.
“The student council is going to be holding a fund-raising event this weekend to celebrate Showa Day,” their class representative announces from the front of the class at the end of the day while everyone packs up to leave, a Naoko-something Kageyama hasn’t spoken to in his entire life. “If you want to help out with the event, please make sure you meet me now to sign up for a stall! And even if you can’t come, please do drop by. There’ll be fun activities, food stalls, and maybe even live performances!”
The class fills with excited chatter, and Kageyama lifts his head from the desk, his eyes and lips slack in sleepy confusion. “What,” he intones miserably. Next to him, he could almost feel Hinata’s surmounting excitement.
No, he thinks unhappily. Not today.
“Na… Naoko-san!” Hinata exclaims excitedly before rushing through the desks and his classmates towards the class representative while Kageyama watches on in abject horror. “Naoko-san, wait!”
He feels resentment burning within him as Hinata approaches the very pretty, very nice Naoko with a sheepish smile on his face. She smiles pleasantly and holds out her clipboard for Hinata to sign. Something sinks in his stomach when Hinata shyly rubs the back of his head and asks a question that causes Naoko’s face to light up, her cheeks aglow. The smug grin on Hinata’s face widens further and further, and by the time they’ve both said their goodbyes and gone their own ways he is positively beaming.
Kageyama feels a foreign bitterness in his chest, a keen slice of anger simmering low in his gut. He can feel the scowl on his face deepening and cementing into his features, and his face only hardens further when Hinata faces him and shoots a cheeky grin his way. Angry and disappointed in himself, he flips his head around from side-to-side in a valiant search for a victim, until his appraising eyes land on the girl standing by the seat beside his.
He doesn’t even know the girl’s name, but he calls out. “H-Hey,” he says, his voice sounding too harsh and too unfriendly.
The girl blinks upon being addressed, and twists her head back in surprise. Kageyama is befuddled by her confusion but then he realizes that the fact that he’s speaking to her after an entire semester of ignoring her must have been at least slightly disconcerting. His savage appearance is probably not helping, either.
“Kageyama…san?” She asks uncertainly. “Are you okay?”
Kageyama opens his mouth with the full intent of asking her out, but the words don’t come out. His throat sticks together, and beads of sweat pop out on his forehead. Confused, he strains his throat again, but the most he could emanate from his lips was a panicky groan. “I… uh….” His voice is hoarse from lack of sleep, and his strained expression must have truly been a terrifying sight. “Uh… um…”
Damn it, why can’t I say anything!? Wasn’t this supposed to be easy!?
“S…Scary,” the girl whispers, probably instinctively, and then flushes in embarrassment upon realizing she’d spoken out loud. “Um, I’ll see you later, Kageyama-san.”
Kageyama’s eyes widen in alarm as the girl twists on her heels and rushes away, linking an arm with a friend nearby and leaning close to her, no doubt to relate the tale to her. Kageyama feels a sensation of panic flutter through him when the other girl recoils and then exclaims an “Ehh!?” in surprise, before the both of them shoot a furtive look towards Kageyama.
He looks away hastily, flushing under their scrutiny. Crap, he thinks anxiously. Now those girls are going to go gossip off to everyone else in their class and his chances of getting a date will immediately decrease to a big fat zero. He swallows down the nervous lump in his throat and gets to his feet, hurriedly throwing his supplies carelessly into his bag.
“So?” He hears Hinata say cheekily from somewhere beside him, but Kageyama can’t bring himself to look at him for some reason. “Did she say yes?”
“Fuck off,” is his surly response. And before Hinata could react, he quickly swings his bag over his shoulder and promptly exits the classroom.
There are tears in his eyes, but he passes them off as something caused due to the sting of rejection from his classmate, what’s-her-name. (And at the same time, he tries to ignore the jealous pang he feels in his chest when he recalls the image of Hinata and the Naoko girl sharing those shy, sweet smiles with each other.)
After a shitty practice and a worse night of sleep, Kageyama naps through half the session the next day at school and only manages to keep his eyes open during lunch break because he woke up late, skipped breakfast and therefore was too hungry to even think.
Despite their obvious differences, he and Hinata sit together at their usual bench. Kageyama sips his yoghurt milk in silence, miserably watching Hinata scarf down his bento at a faster speed than usual. It’s messy business, and he gets food all over his face and even into his hair. Kageyama resists the urge to reach out and pick out the pieces of rice stuck to his fringe.
“You’ll choke on your egg, dumbass.” He hisses out finally, teeth clenched around his straw. “What’re you rushing for anyway?” He asks, genuinely curious, before spitefully adding: “Got a date?”
To his infuriation, Hinata grins shyly. “Kind… of?” He mumbles through a mouthful of rice, and then swallows heavily before continuing. “Naoko-san wants everyone to meet her and give some ideas for our stall.”
Kageyama chews on his straw irately. “Yeah?” He says rudely. “So what’re you going for?”
“So rude!” Hinata complains, and takes a big bite of rice. “Imfdinfoodfidem’now?”
Despite his sour mood, he feels a laugh bubble up in his chest, because he couldn’t understand a single word that’s just been spoken and anyway, Hinata looks ridiculous with his cheeks bulging like a hamster. He resists the grin and shakes his head irritably instead.
“Swallow before you speak, for god’s sake.”
Hinata takes a big, dangerous swallow. “I said,” he says, gulping in air. “I can give good ideas too, you know!”
“Yeah?” Kageyama challenges, cocking a brow. “What’s the stall about?”
“Well,” and here Hinata puffs up his chest importantly and grins. “Naoko-san says”—Naoko-san this, Naoko-san that, Kageyama thinks he might hate the girl even more than he hates himself right now—“it would be a good idea for us to have a bake sale!”
Kageyama stares at him, actually terrified. A fleeting vision of Hinata in an apron running around brandishing a blowtorch, randomly setting objects on fire is the only thing that comes to mind when he associates the words bake sale with his hyperactive best friend.
“Am I the only one,” he deadpans, “who thinks it’s a really bad idea for you to be exposed to infinite amounts of sugar?”
“I-I’m going to do my best, okay!” Hinata says defiantly. “And they’ve given me brownies, to make sure I don’t mess up.”
Kageyama isn’t appeased. In fact, he’s only grown ten times more worried. “Don’t tell me you’re going to be doing this alone.”
“Well,” Hinata mutters, embarrassed. “We… We’re short on hands… Naoko-san had no choice but to”—
Kageyama sighs exasperatedly. And automatically, without actually understanding what the hell he was getting himself into, he says: “Like hell you’re going to be using an oven unsupervised. I’ll help you out.”
And to see Hinata’s eyes light up, to see his face brighten like the sun peeking out from between the clouds on a gloomy day, one might have thought the kid won the lottery or something. He cheers so loudly that Kageyama winces and immediately thinks twice about the rash decision he’s just made.
“That’s… that’s great, Bakageyama!” Hinata says, now clapping and dancing. Has Kageyama mentioned that he wants to die? “You should come with me to the meeting today, then!”
“What.” He intones, shocked. But before he recovers enough to protest, Hinata has thrown his empty lunchbox back into his bag before grabbing Kageyama’s wrist. He only has a moment to yelp before Hinata starts dragging him through the courtyard amidst the stares of the student population. Kageyama is only just beginning to understand the implications behind agreeing to work alongside Hinata, and his face involuntarily falls slack in a dismayed expression of absolute horror.
What have I done? He thinks to himself, horrified. Now I’m going to have to participate in this… this bake-sale, with the perfect Naoko-san in charge, no less!
Before he knows it, Hinata has arrived at the designated classroom. He slides open the door loudly and announces: “We’re here!” like the cringe-worthy ray of sunshine he truly is, and then enters proudly.
All ten participants there greet Hinata amiably, and then their faces contort in shock when their eyes fly up to see who was there beside him. Kageyama is still too mortified even to smile, but some ingrained instinct within him automatically goes for a stiff nod in greeting.
“Kageyama…san?” The infamous Naoko-san actually stares at him with her mouth open in surprise. Hinata grins at her triumphantly, and then happily opts to explain—which is a relief, because Kageyama isn’t sure his lips could even move.
“Kageyama says he’s going to help out with the brownies!” Hinata says sunnily. “So I told him he should come along… that’s okay, right?”
Naoko’s manners must have kicked in just then, because she manages to give Kageyama a warm smile. “O-Of course,” her voice is still a bit shaky though. “We’re grateful for the help, Kageyama-san! Thank you so much for being here. Now, as I was saying…”
She goes on to explain meticulously about the cost and how much the school was willing to provide as a budget, and truthfully Kageyama does try to pay attention because he’s the one who’s going to be chaperoning Hinata—who, by the way, has zoned out sometime around 10000 yen and is now occupied with doodling a strange caricature on the table. But he can’t help but feel resentful as he listens to her do her best to be friendly and approachable and confident. It would have been much easier to dislike her if she’d been vapid and boring, or at least a grumpy old slouch like Kageyama, but nooooo, the universe has to remind him of his mediocrity by providing Hinata with the perfect date, someone who’s cute and smart and friendly—the polar opposite of him.
It’s not fair. It really isn’t.
(Hinata burps just then, trying to be subtle about it and placing his hand over his lips to muffle the noise. The resulting movement jostles the grains of rice in his fringe, and they drop onto his desk, but the moron doesn’t even notice.)
Then again, Kageyama thinks miserably, the fact that he has to have a crush on Hinata isn’t fair in the first place.
“Kageyama!” Hinata yells as he walks into the gymnasium for practice the next day, waving a suspicious-looking wad of money that makes the blood drain right out of Kageyama’s face. “I got the cash! We can go shopping for supplies today!”
Seeing the money all primly packed with tape inside a see-through wrap makes his commitment to the bake stall all the more real, and he blissfully entertains the idea of packing up his belongings and fleeing to Europe for several seconds before responding.
“Can’t I back out?” He grumbles unhappily to the approaching Hinata, whose grin immediately falters.
“What!” He exclaims, distraught. “Kageyama, you promised!”
Kageyama makes a face. “I did not promise!”
Hinata’s face pulls downward into an extraordinarily (cute) stubborn pout. “But, but,” he starts loudly, “Kageyama, you said”—
“Stop being loud!” He interrupts with a groan, throwing the ball in his hands towards his head. It misses the mark, unfortunately, but at least it manages to make Hinata shut up. “I’ll do it, okay? Someone has to stop you from burning your house down.”
“You’re participating in the fair, Kageyama?” A curious Sugawara slides into their conversation, eyebrows high on his forehead.
“Yes.” Kageyama mutters sullenly, glaring daggers at a now thoroughly cheerful Hinata. “The moron is making me do it.”
“He is?” Sugawara says, and there’s a very knowing, very infuriating smile on his face that makes Kageyama irrationally angry. “Well, it’s nice that you’re participating in something other than volleyball, at least.”
Kageyama only grunts in response, averting his eyes to hide the embarrassed flush that rises to his cheeks.
“Even if Hinata’s making you do it, which in my opinion is quite a considerable feat.” Sugawara’s smiling sweetly, but there’s a teasing edge to his voice that makes Kageyama want to punch a wall. “Don’t work yourselves too hard!”
The conversation stops there, thankfully, because coach Ukai rounds them up to start practice, and from there on they’re training too hard to be distracted by anything else.
“Three hundred grams of eggs, four flours…” Hinata reads from the list of ingredients in his hands loudly while Kageyama pushes their cart down the aisle, wearing an expression like he’s chewing through a lemon.
“That can’t be right.” He says huffily, and grabs the sheet out of Hinata’s surprised hands before scanning it and sighing. “You dumbass. It says three hundred grams of flour, and four eggs. Don’t you know how to read?”
Hinata snatches the list back, scowling. “I do, too!” Kageyama only shakes his head as they continue strolling down the aisle together, Hinata rattling out the ingredients loudly as they go. He does his best to throw in everything, while at the same time keeping a careful ear out for any more suspicious misspeaking.
Discounting one nearly disastrous moment when Hinata tries to clamber up a shelf to reach a bottle of vanilla essence at the very top, and in the process nearly topples the entire aisle (if Kageyama hadn’t seen him and quite literally dragged him by the collar back to the cart it really might have happened) it goes fairly well. The two of them don’t have any (major) arguments, and Kageyama only has to call Hinata a moron twice. A good day for them by all accounts.
“So I was thinking,” Hinata says, half-hidden behind a paper bag as they make their way through the parking lot after paying for their purchases, “you know how the fair is on Saturday? And how we won’t have school the day before because it’s Showa Day?”
“Yeah,” Kageyama grunts, too preoccupied to sound mean because he was carrying the lion’s share (after violently shouting down Hinata’s protests) of the groceries.
“Yeah, I was thinking, we’ll be busy with practice on Friday afternoon… right?” He keeps peeking out from behind the paper bag, trying to maintain eye contact. It irks him a little bit, because he’s worried Hinata might trip if he doesn’t pay attention to where he’s walking. “So Naoko-san says we could do the baking that morning. How does that sound?”
“Sounds great.” Kageyama says without a hint of fire, and then frowns to himself.
No way. He can’t possibly be looking forward to it, could he?
He is. He realizes unhappily the next day upon seeing Hinata on his way to class. He is looking forward to spending an entire morning together with his best friend—okay fine, his crush, baking something and possibly smiling and talking to each other civilly for once.
“Hinata,” the Kageyama in his imagination has a much nicer smile and excellent posture, completely unlike his real self. “Be careful with that pan. It’s pretty hot.”
“Hot?” The Hinata in his imagination blushes. This Hinata is completely smitten with Kageyama. “O-Oh, I’ll be careful…”
“Don’t worry…” the suave Imaginary Kageyama smirks confidently, reaching down to caress Imaginary Hinata’s cheek, “I’m here to protect you.”
Kageyama winces, and then has to resist retching. He doesn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed that the Imaginary Hinata and Kageyama are nothing like their real counterparts. He suppresses a shudder. He knows he’d sooner nose dive off of the Tokyo Tower before saying something so cheesy.
“Morning, Kageyama!” Hinata exclaims as he falls into step with Kageyama, as usual way too loud for it to be acceptable in the early hour. “You look less scary this morning!”
Yeah, because I wasn’t awake half the night thinking about how best to avoid you. “Finally got some sleep.” He admits, and decides to take an initiative with the crush thing by testing out his chances and giving Hinata a smile.
Hinata eyes his expression warily. “Don’t do that,” he whispers, recoiling. “You have a demon smile.”
His face immediately sours into its usual grimace. “And you have a stupid face, moron.”
“Shouyo-kun?” A soft voice says, and Kageyama looks back to see the Cute Class Representative Naoko sidle up to them, smiling and looking impossibly perfect despite the fact that it was the literal crack of dawn (8am, actually, but that’s neither here nor there).
Oh, great. He thinks, his mood dampening further. They’re on first name basis, too.
“Good morning, Naoko-san!” Hinata greets enthusiastically, smiling widely.
Naoko’s eyes flicker unsteadily to Kageyama, who gives her a curt nod. She bows back politely, and says with a hint of a smile: “Hello, Kageyama-san. We’re all grateful that you’re helping Shouyo out with the brownies.”
Suddenly Kageyama gets the idea that he wasn’t the only one who’d been worried about Hinata burning down the kitchen. Disconcerted to find himself having something in common with Naoko, he only nods uncertainly.
“Naoko-san!” Hinata puffs out his chest importantly. “You can count on us! We’ll get the brownies done for sure!”
It’s only a bake sale, Kageyama thinks, rolling his eyes to another dimension. Why is he acting like he’s going to war for the country or something.
But Naoko only smiles warmly at him, a sure sign that she is in fact a far better human being than Kageyama. “I’m glad to have someone so reliable working with us.” She says cheerfully, and waves politely as she walks ahead of them, perhaps to get to class early and clean the whiteboard like the angel she obviously is. “See you both soon!”
Kageyama sighs, feeling exponentially worse than he’d been when he’d first seen Hinata. Despite himself, the only thing that comforts him is that he’d be getting to spend an entire morning alone with Hinata tomorrow.
He thinks about his competition, the ever so perfect Naoko-san, and then fervently thinks that the suave Imaginary Kageyama’s approach isn’t too bad an idea after all. Maybe he’d have to be that forward to win over Hinata from someone like her.
Not that he could pull it off or anything, but it was still nice to hope.
A terrifying thought strikes him just then. Until now he’s always thought that the reason Hinata doesn’t show any interest towards him is because of his objection to Kageyama in particular, but what if he just doesn’t like guys in general?
It’s highly unlikely, Kageyama muses, because as far as he can recall Hinata has only ever swooned over and gotten starry eyed for guys; people like Bokuto and Kuroo and on occasion Tanaka and Nishinoya. Still, there is a chance that he’s straight, right? Which would mean all of Kageyama’s nonexistent efforts would have been useless from the start.
There’s also the chance of him not having realized any doubts in his sexuality despite them being present. Kageyama knows personally that he in fact would not have even considered the possibility that the hot and bothered restlessness that grows within him when he sees Hinata is romantic affection had he not been aware of his sexuality beforehand.
Because Hinata is not, in fact, the first crush he’d had on a guy. His first crush had been on Oikawa Tooru, way back when he’d first joined middle school.
Of course, it’d been a physical sort of thing rather than an emotional attraction, and anyway any feelings he’d had towards his old captain had died out once he’d realized what a terrible personality he had. Besides, Kageyama had quickly learned that nobody else would have stood a chance with Oikawa while Iwaizumi was around…
Suddenly, Kageyama gets an idea.
Arguably, the worst one he’s come up with yet.
“You better make this quick, Tobio-chan,” Kageyama hasn’t been waiting at the bus stop he’d specified through text for too long when Oikawa Tooru comes to a halt in front of him in his practice tracksuit, smiling maliciously and still looking flawless. “I don’t have all day.”
Kageyama already regrets asking the guy for help, because he’s beginning to understand that if Oikawa had a choice between helping Kageyama out and feeding him to the sharks he’d be fish food before he could think twice. But despite his obvious antagonism to everything concerning Kageyama’s wellbeing, he feels strangely reliant on Oikawa. Maybe it’s because the guy has somehow always managed to find a feasible solution to whatever problem Kageyama approaches him with.
“T-Thanks for giving me the time, Oikawa-senpai, I”—
“Yes, yes, we all know I’m wonderful.” He says casually. “But that’s not why you’re here, are you? You need my help.”
“Yes,” and here he gives him a respectful navel bow, as deeply as he would give to someone like a school principal—or maybe even the prime minister of Japan. He realizes that he’s flushing to the roots of his hair, and that his voice is shaking out of nervousness. It’s the first time he’s actually admitting his affection for Hinata out loud, so perhaps it’s understandable. “I wanted… to ask a question.”
“Jesus Christ, Tobio-chan,” Oikawa exclaims suddenly, eyes widening and taking a step back. “You’re not going to ask me out, are you? I mean, I understand that I am rather perfect but surely you can’t be crazy enough to…”
“Y-You’ve got it wrong!” Kageyama interrupts, mortified. A shiver runs up his spine at the very thought. Whatever he’d thought when he’d been a prepubescent twelve year old has no bearing on his life now. “It’s not… It’s not you, Oikawa-senpai!”
“Good,” he sighs in relief, melodramatically placing a hand on his chest. “Iwa-chan finally asked me out and he and I are together now, so it would have broken my heart to have to reject a sweet little kouhai like you.”
Kageyama doesn’t think Oikawa is physically capable of human emotions like heartbreak, but he’s not in any position to refute the statement. He’s about to elaborate on his plight further when Iwaizumi appears out of nowhere and grabs Oikawa’s collar with a scowl on his face, causing the latter’s pretty eyes to widen slightly in alarm.
“As I recall, Shittykawa,” he sounds irritable but Kageyama can’t deny that there’s an incontrovertible fondness in his eyes. “You were the one who asked me out. Lots of tears and wailing involved, if I remember correctly”—
“Semantics, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa interrupts, grinning brightly. “And how rude, you were eavesdropping on our conversation.”
“I didn’t think it would be safe to leave Kageyama at your mercy, you ass.” Iwaizumi says, but he’s grinning widely now. “I’m the one who would have to hide the body if you kill him, you know?”
“Are you encouraging me to actively practice murder, Iwa-chan?”
“When have I ever supported your crazy antics?”
“Oh, Iwa-chan, you always do. Because you know you love me.”
“Actually, I loathe you.”
Kageyama thinks it’s an appropriate time for him to interrupt, because he clears his throat uncomfortably. The pair suddenly seems to remember that they weren’t alone, and they abruptly turn towards Kageyama, Oikawa wearing an amused smirk.
“Anyway, Tobio-chan,” he says brightly. “The point is that I’m not single. So if you’re here to ask me out”—
“Ask you out?” Iwaizumi cuts in, surprised. He cocks an eyebrow at Kageyama. “Wait, I thought you were dating that tiny number 10.”
His face colors an impressive shade of burgundy. “I… it’s… um…” he stammers, mortified, but he can’t find the correct words to explain his situation. He considers turning on his heel and running away, but then finds that his legs were still shaking too much for them to be of any use. “I, uh…”
Understanding dawns on Oikawa’s features, and a truly nasty smile spreads over his face. “Ah, I see.” He says knowingly, his eyes glinting with mischief. “Tobio-chan has a crush~”
He’s so embarrassed that all he could do is bleakly nod. Oikawa’s so happy that he looks like Christmas has come early, and even Iwaizumi is trying not to smile.
“So,” Oikawa continues happily. “You want my advice in trying to woo Shrimpy?” He shrugs. “Oh, that’s easy if you have a flawless face like me. All you have to do is look desperate and thickheads like Iwa-chan would buy it without a second thought…”
“Oh, get out of here.” Iwaizumi says, covering Oikawa’s face with his hand and quite literally pushing him away. “Ignore him, Kageyama. He’s been real smug ever since I finally agreed to be his victim 24/7. So you really have a thing for number 10, huh?”
Kageyama digs his nails into his cheeks miserably. “I don’t know how to deal with it.”
“Well, why don’t you just try telling him about it?”
Kageyama stares at him like he’d suggested that Kageyama strip naked in front of Hinata and do the can-can. “No way!” He refutes immediately, shaking his head. “What if he doesn’t like me back?”
Oikawa and Iwaizumi stare at him for a second longer, and then, to Kageyama’s increasing bewilderment, they simultaneously burst out laughing.
“Oh, Tobio-chan, you’re so blind, it’s cute~” Oikawa sings, looping his arm around Iwaizumi’s and beginning to drag him down the sidewalk. “Come on, Iwa-chan. We’re done here, so let’s go get something to eat…”
“Don’t be so stingy, dumbass, you know I’d shove food down your throat regardless of whether you wanted it or not…”
“Wait!” Kageyama calls out helplessly. “You haven’t really…”
“You can work this one out on your own, Tobio-chan!” Oikawa yells back, walking off into the sunset, leaving Kageyama possibly more confused than he’d been before asking his senpai for help. He can still hear Oikawa’s roaring laughter from a block away when he finally turns on his heel to head back home.
Hinata texts him later that night while he’s climbing into bed to go to sleep. Or at least try to sleep, seeing as he’d probably be too excited about the oncoming day to focus on doing less important things, like sleeping or even breathing.
karasunorange10: bakageyama?? U awake?
He nearly drops his phone in his haste to text him back.
tobio9: yeah i was up studying
He’d actually been staring at his miserable reflection in the mirror for an hour, but Hinata doesn’t need to know that.
karasunorange10: u’ll come 2moro right? 7am???? u knw where my house is right
tobio9: i drop u off from school every day, moron. ofc i knw where ur house is
karasunorange10: so… so i’ll see u tmr?
tobio9: y are u being weird. i already told u ill be coming
karasunorange10: i knw i knw, im just… making sure…
tobio9: go to sleep, dumbass. U better not be sleeping by the time i show up
karasunorange10: what the hell!! im already in bed anyway!! i bet i can fall asleep faster than you can
tobio9: what!!!! you’re on
karasunorange10: kukukuku!!! ok goodnight kageyama!! rest well ^^
He nearly screams and throws his phone across the room, such is the magnitude of the leap his heart gives. “goodnight kageyama. rest well ^^”!???! Is he trying to give Kageyama a heart attack?
tobio9: …moron.
He takes a deep breath, and quickly types out before he could change his mind.
tobio9: u sleep well too. im looking forward to tomorrow.
Too terrified to check his phone for any response, he quickly climbs underneath the covers and curls up into a ball, waiting until his heart stopped racing. He shuts his eyes tightly, but he can’t stop smiling to himself, and he can’t stop the excitement and hope bubbling inside him.
It’s no earlier than 3am when he finally manages to drift off to sleep.
The next morning has him rushing out of bed and into the bathroom with the very first alarm, hurriedly dragging his toothbrush across his teeth and splashing his sleep-deprived face with water a couple of times. He gets dressed quickly and is already walking out of his house a full fifteen minutes before he was supposed to get to Hinata’s place, much to his mother’s surprise. It’s a miracle for him to be awake before 10 on a day off, she thinks, so what on earth was he doing awake so early?
“Tobio?” His mother calls out from her place at the dining table with her coffee. “You’re awake this early?”
Kageyama hovers over the threshold restlessly. He needs to be there before Hinata’s ready, otherwise his hard work waking up early would have gone to waste. “I’m helping Hinata out with some… class stuff…” he trails off uncertainly.
“Class stuff?” His mother cocks an eyebrow. “You like doing things other than volleyball?”
He fidgets with the hem of his jacket. “Yes.” He says stupidly.
“Well,” his mother says, giving him a knowing look. “Let me know if you’re staying over for lunch. Have fun with Shouyo-kun!”
Embarrassed, he bids his mother a hasty goodbye and goes about on his way. He makes some quick calculations, and decides that if he runs, he could probably make it in five minutes.
Ding-dong.
The bell rings, and the door opens almost immediately to reveal a Hinata in miniature; his little sister Natsu, clad in a pyjama onesie and looking extraordinarily cute as she rubs sleep out of her eyes. Kageyama, one who’s already awkward enough around adults and only worse when it comes to kids, nods in greeting, trying not to be too obvious about the fact that he’d sprinted the entire way there.
“Shouyo nii-san?” She calls out, yawning. “Your friend’s already here…”
“Let him in, please, Natsu!” He hears a woman yell back from somewhere within the house.
Natsu opens the door wider to let him inside, and Kageyama awkwardly tugs off his shoes, looking about at the messy entryway as he does so. He recognizes some of Hinata’s footwear splayed about messily, but also several tinier shoes he thinks might belong to his little sister Natsu. He finds the sight to be endearing, and is smiling to himself a little as he steps onto the wooden walkway leading further into the house.
He enters a living area and a doorway that must lead to a kitchen along with a staircase leading to the rooms upstairs. He also finds a woman with Hinata’s eyes standing by the sofa, wearing an apron and a nice smile. Seeing how Natsu runs up to her and clings onto her hand adorably leads Kageyama to the conclusion that this must be Hinata’s mother.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you like this, Tobio-kun,” she says amiably. “I’ve always seen you playing volleyball with Shouyo but we’ve never really had the chance to talk. I wish I could stay longer and help you boys out, but I have to go to work.”
“Work…?” Kageyama trails off, confused. He’d been under the impression that offices often close on Showa Day.
“Work,” Hinata’s mother confirms cheerfully, adjusting her apron. “At the bakery on the corner. We’re only busier than ever on National holidays, unfortunately. Dear, have you had any breakfast?”
A bit overwhelmed by her all-over-the-place manner of speaking, Kageyama shakes his head.
“Oh, I’ve made some coffee, and please help yourself to some toast while you wait. Shouyo overslept a little, but he’s getting ready now. He’ll be down in a minute. Natsu, go ahead and get some bread for your brother’s friend while I get the plates ready.”
Kageyama doesn’t recall agreeing to breakfasting with the Hinatas, but he finds himself being ushered into the kitchen and being seated at the dinner table nonetheless. He does little more than blink and try to keep up with their rapid-fire conversation. While Hinata’s mother pours him a mug full of warm, hot coffee, his little sister Natsu runs up to him and shyly gives him two slices of toast before saying, “You’re a lot less scary in person, Tobio-nii-san,” and running off to who knows where.
“…Anyway, thank you so much for helping out with the brownies, Tobio-kun,” Hinata’s mother is saying, giving his hand a warm pat. “Shouyo is a sweet boy, really, but he’s just so enthusiastic that he can’t help destroying things in his way sometimes. It makes me feel better to have you boys together, at least. But do call me if something goes very wrong. I’ll only be a block away.”
“O-Of course,” he manages to squeeze in, his chest warm with a strange, fluttering emotion. “Thank… thank you for the toast.”
Hinata’s mother gives a wide smile that looks so alike to Hinata’s that Kageyama finds himself staring at it like a complete idiot. “Oh, it’s no problem, Tobio-kun.” Just then a loud series of thumps interrupts them. “That’ll be Shouyo coming downstairs. I’ll be off now.” And sure enough, a moment later, a familiar head of wild orange hair barrels into Kageyama’s view. His hair is uncombed and his shirt hangs loosely from his shoulders, exposing his pink-tinged neck and collarbones. He looks breathless from obviously having rushed his morning routine (cute, Kageyama thinks miserably) and a bit disappointed about having Kageyama win their latest unnecessary challenge.
“Here at last?” He says smugly by way of greeting.
“You cheated, Bakageyama!” He retorts huffily. “No one said you could come early!”
“Play nice, boys.” Hinata’s mom censures with no real fire as she exits the kitchen. “Shouyo, you know the number of the fire department, right?”
“M-Mom!” Hinata stutters, embarrassed. “We’re not going to burn the house down, okay? You can leave now.”
“Make sure they don’t get into too much trouble, Natsu” is all she responds with before disappearing down the walkway, and a second later the door clicks closed and she’s left the house.
Hinata pours himself a glass of milk and quickly butters some toast before sitting down at the table beside Kagayama, who’s almost done with his slices already. The cheerful mood in the house is infectious, and soon Kageyama finds himself grinning as he chows down on the last piece of his toast.
Hinata glances at his face, and then shudders. “It’s creepy when you look so happy.”
Very deliberately, he widens his smile, which causes Hinata to burst out in laughter despite his best efforts to keep it smothered behind his hands. Kageyama drinks his coffee leisurely, and feels glad that he’s managed to elicit something other than anger from Hinata (progress, he thinks).
“Shouyo nii-san?” He hears Natsu say from somewhere in the living room. “I’m just going to sit here and watch TV, mm’kay?”
“Okay, Natsu! Don’t watch anything dangerous, okay?” He warns, and then clarifies for Kageyama’s sake with a mouthful of toast. “I saw her watching Game of Thrones once.”
Once they’re both done with breakfast and the dishes are all washed, Hinata pulls out two pink aprons from a drawer, handing one to Kageyama before busying himself with tying one on himself.
“I’m not putting that on.” Kageyama refutes. “Absolutely not.”
“You’ll get flour on your clothes,” is all Hinata says in response, lowering down to drag out the rest of the ingredients they’d bought from one of the lower cabinets. Sighing in defeat, Kageyama drags the frilly number over his respectable clothes and leans against the counter, embarrassed.
“Okay,” Hinata says, pulling out his cellphone and opening up the brownie recipe Naoko-san had sent him earlier, “so first we need to mix the wet ingredients.”
Kageyama watches warily as Hinata picks up the required number of eggs with his unskilled fingers, and feebly attempts to crack one into a bowl. It becomes quickly evident that he’s never done this before when he taps the egg against the bowl a bit too hard, causing it to smash in his fingers.
“Let me,” Kageyama mutters irritably, easily grabbing the bowl and the eggs from his hands. Hinata watches a bit resentfully as he easily cracks the eggs into a bowl.
“You’re good at this.” He admits ruefully, causing a surge of pride to well within Kageyama’s chest.
“I cook sometimes.” He explains quietly. “My mom is usually busy at work.”
Kageyama whisks the eggs together while Hinata opens up the recipe again. “The sugar, now,” he says, measuring and then pouring out the cups needed into the bowl Kageyama holds out for him. Working together like this, they add some butter, vanilla and some chocolate that Hinata melts in the microwave and somehow ends up getting his hands coated in in the process. Kageyama’s cheeks feel hot as he watches Hinata cutely lick them off of his fingertips.
“Okay,” he says, averting his eyes to the now deliciously brown mixture. “What next?”
“The dry ingredients,” Hinata states, pulling out a half-open sack of flour that would have toppled over if Kageyama hadn’t foreseen the disaster and reached out to hold it upright. “Cocoa powder… and flour?”
They manage to finish up the brownie mix without making too much of a mess, and in no time it’s sitting in the oven, minding its own business as it bakes. Of course, that’s not to say that some spillages didn’t occur here and there, but as a whole the entire ordeal passes without much drama. It’s not the romantic time together that Kageyama has envisioned in his fantasies, but sometimes there’s an accidental brush of the fingers, and he even manages to elicit some sincere laughs so he thinks it’s all worked out pretty well. They haven’t had a single argument, which doesn’t really equate to ‘meant to be’ by any standards but—it’s progress, right?
“You’ve… there’s powder on your nose.” Kageyama points out to Hinata as he finishes washing up their dishes.
“Where?” Hinata says, swiping his face in a misguided attempt to get the spot of flour off his nose, and ending up with more of it on his cheeks and forehead. Kageyama stifles a laugh behind his hands.
“What?” He says defensively, swiping more and getting more flour on himself.
“No, you idiot,” Kageyama snaps, letting the last plate fall into the sink as he reaches out to grab Hinata’s wrists to prevent him from causing more damage. “You’re only making it worse!”
“Oh yeah?” Hinata says cheekily, freeing a hand from Kageyama’s grasp and grinning as he reaches out to smear flour on the highest point on Kageyama’s body that he could reach with ease—his chin. “Am I really?”
Kageyama releases Hinata’s wrists and glares at him meaningfully, his lips twitching as he tries not to laugh. “You’re going to regret that.”
His evil eye mustn’t have been very effective, because Hinata is completely undeterred. He giggles before quickly swiping out with both of his hands, effectively marking Kageyama’s cheek and neck. Kageyama can’t help but grin as he grabs the wet rag he’d been using to wipe the dishes with and dives forward to retaliate against Hinata with his own weapon.
Natsu looks over at the kitchen curiously to see why her brother and his friend are making so much noise, and then giggles to herself when she sees her brother run around the table in an attempt avoid his friend, who seems to be brandishing a dirty rag like a sword.
“Catch me if you can, Bakageyama!” Hinata laughs like a maniac, ducking under the table to escape Kageyama’s outstretched hands. The ticking from the oven as the brownie bakes and the dialogue from the television blend together with their happy laughter as they play their little game.
They play at this for a while when finally, Kageyama’s fingers manage to snag onto Hinata’s shirt, and he triumphantly pulls him close before spinning around to press him against the counter in order to prevent any possible escape.
Kageyama is still laughing when he realizes how quiet Hinata has gotten, and the rest of his chuckle dies midway up his throat when he becomes all too aware of the fact that their bodies are pressed very close together. Hinata’s hands have somehow ended up on his hipbones and his own palms are pressed flat against the counter, caging Hinata in, and their lips are quite literally inches away from meeting one another.
His breath catches in his throat.
“Kageyama…?” Hinata whispers, his brown eyes wide and filled with surprise and something… something he doesn’t want to hope for, something he’s not sure isn’t a figment of his imagination, and it’s a testament to how close they are that he can feel Hinata’s breath on his face.
Hinata blinks up at him, his lips slightly apart.
Kageyama swallows.
This is it, he tells himself. This is the perfect opportunity! It’s been several seconds, and Hinata hasn’t even protested their proximity. They’ve had a good morning together. The time is right. The time is perfect, actually.
But for whatever reason, his limbs have frozen and he couldn’t manage to—lean in and close that minuscule space between their lips. He doesn’t even have to move much, just tilt his head, really, but he just can’t do it.
In the scenarios he dreams up, it’s all too easy to cock his head and grasp Hinata’s lips between his own but now that it’s actually happening in reality, he’s too nervous and too scared and—okay, he’ll admit it—too insecure to just go ahead with it.
What if he regrets it? He thinks to himself. What if he thinks this is all just a mistake later on and it completely ruins their friendship? If he has to choose between not being with Hinata and not having him at all then he knows which one he prefers.
It’s the sound of the oven timer ringing that alerts them both to reality from their state of dazedness. Hinata jumps, and Kageyama finds himself pulling back as suddenly as he would have been if physically yanked by the neck.
“The brownie…” he mutters blankly, as if just now realizing that there was more to the world than Hinata. Anger bubbles in his gut irrationally, at himself for being a coward and at the oven for saving him from a predicament he clearly had no clue how to handle. He can’t bring himself to look at Hinata as he walks over to the oven with a pair of mitts and extracts the tray.
It looks and smells delicious, but all Kageyama can feel when he looks at the tray is regret, because it keeps bringing back the hopefulness he’d had within him just hours earlier, along with the embarrassing moment he’d subjected himself to just now. Suddenly the house, the sound of the television, Hinata fidgeting with his shirt somewhere next to him, it all becomes too much, and Kageyama gets the inexplicable urge to run away.
“I… I have to go.” He finds himself mumbling, tugging off the ridiculously frilly apron and quickly walking out of the kitchenette. Hinata follows him, his footsteps pitter-pattering against the wooden flooring.
“Kageyama, wait.” His voice is quiet, softer than Kageyama’s ever heard it, but he doesn’t stop his abrupt departure and only continues to march down the hallway briskly in fear that he might change his mind if he dares to chance glancing at Hinata.
“Hey,” Hinata starts again, frowning from the entryway as he watches Kageyama tug on his shoes. Kageyama swallows and tries not to fumble with his shoelaces. He manages to tie them at last, and finally decides to spare Hinata a look before leaving the house.
“You’ll come to practice, right?” The expression in his brown eyes is confused and conflicted, and it only makes Kageyama feel ten thousand times worse.
“Yeah,” he says thickly, averting his eyes again. “Of course.”
Practice goes as well as one expects it to go with the setter and his favorite spiker inexplicably at each other’s throats—that is to say, it goes horribly. The pair keeps making rookie mistakes and fumbling and jolting out of synchronization and messing up plays for the entire team, and it leaves them both—but especially Kageyama—ticked.
Kageyama knows he’s being unfair, taking out his frustration at himself on Hinata, but he just couldn’t help himself.
“Useless!” He snarls for the fifth time that day as Hinata misses yet another ill-timed toss. He knows he could have aimed it better, and truthfully Hinata’s mistake was caused only because Kageyama had been on edge. “Why can’t you do anything right?”
Hinata sends him a hurt look, indignant and confused. “I… I’m doing my best, Bakageyama!” He fires up irately, taking a defiant step towards him. But he looks apologetic, and Kageyama feels like absolute shit when he wistfully says: “Send me another toss! I’ll get it this time!”
Irritation surges through him, mostly at himself but also at Hinata for being so ridiculously, infuriatingly forgiving. He closes the distance between them angrily, and his outstretched hands find purchase on Hinata’s collar.
“You complete idiot!” He hisses in a seething voice, his fingers clenching desperately around the jersey. “You’re supposed to get angry at me when I treat you like shit, not… do whatever the hell it is that you do!”
Hinata looks outraged at this, and he actually places a hand on Kageyama’s chest—right over his racing, aching heart—and pushes him away roughly. “What?!” He exclaims, now just as loud and just as annoyed as Kageyama. “What is that even supposed to mean?”
A tiny part of Kageyama—the sane, rational part within his brain—is kindly reminding him that he should stop screaming about his feelings in the middle of practice, but the larger, crazier part of himself is on a roll and truthfully he probably couldn’t have stopped himself even if he tries.
“God,” he snaps, anger charging through every syllable. “You’re such a freaking moron! Do I have to explain everything to you for you to be able to understand”—
“Like you’re someone who should be saying that!” Hinata interrupts just as heatedly, taking very deliberate steps forward until they’re almost nose-to-nose; an impressive feat considering their sizable height difference.
Kageyama has seen Hinata angry before—like duh, they argue like this all the time—but he hasn’t ever seen him this incessantly livid. It’s a sharp contrast from his laughter and smiles from earlier that morning. There’s a hard scowl on his face and his eyes are fiery, twin circles of amber burning with defiance and anger. His words, however, are completely lost on Kageyama.
“What?” He barks irritably, and then smirks cruelly. “Have you resorted to calling me stupid, now? Seriously? You?”
Hinata’s cheeks flush a furious crimson. “M-Maybe about some things, I’m pretty stupid, yeah! But… But you’re the one who’s being stupid now, because…” His eyes flash defiantly again. “Because you think I’m supposed to read your mind, and figure out what you want! News flash, idiot, but that’s never, ever worked with me, before!”
Kageyama’s skin goes cold, and he thinks his heart might have actually stopped beating right then and there. He’s so shocked and confused that his fury dissipates, being replaced by a frantic anxiousness instead. His chest tingles where Hinata had touched it only moments earlier.
“Are you…” He tries to say, his throat dry. “I mean, do you…”
Hinata sticks up his chin, pouty and mulish, as if challenging Kageyama to say it out loud. The defiant, angry expression on his face stirs something inside him again, hot and unfamiliar, and he becomes frustrated once more upon realizing that he doesn’t know how to deal with it.
They stand at an impasse for a while, Kageyama’s mouth opening and closing intelligently like a goldfish. Heat floods his face, and his nervousness deepens as the moment wears on. Hinata continues to stare at him, almost expectantly now, but Kageyama can’t find the words he wanted to say. He knows them theoretically, but just like that morning they just couldn’t escape his lips. He looks at Hinata a bit helplessly, almost apologetically, and the other looks like he’s about to say something when all of a sudden a strong hand grabs the back of his collar.
“Well, you two,” and a shiver runs down his spine when he hears the distinctly forced pleasantness in Daichi’s voice, “you’ve interrupted practice for long enough, haven’t you?”
Kageyama and Hinata both gulp in simultaneous fear. He bows respectfully and offers an embarrassed apology before getting back into position to practice the play. Hinata takes his spot as middle blocker, but he manages to turn his head back to stare a bit worriedly at Kageyama just before Asahi serves and practice resumes again. When their eyes meet, Hinata grins widely, as if to say: “I’ll be expecting a toss, dumbass.”
Kageyama blinks, amazed about the fact that Hinata is worried about cheering him up despite Kageyama consistently managing to treat him like complete shit. His cheeks color a dark burgundy, and he quickly averts his eyes, furious with himself for being stupid and with Hinata for being so inexplicably lovely.
Focus, he tells himself, concentrating his nervous energy on the game. You being a complete moron isn’t going to help anyone.
He needn’t have bothered though, because when he jumps in the air with his arms outstretched towards the ball, there are no thoughts in his mind other than ensuring that Hinata gets the best toss one could possibly get within reasonable physical constraints. And despite himself, there’s a smile on his face as he watches Hinata’s sure hand fly through the air and slam the ball powerfully onto the other side of the net, its resulting ricochet echoing loudly and satisfyingly up and down the gymnasium.
And at that instant, when their eyes meet and Hinata gives him an exhilarated grin, Kageyama thinks there’s some understanding there.
He’s lying in bed that night, thinking unhappily about the kiss they could have had when the phone in his hand buzzes with a notification. Blinking, he pulls the device up to his face to find that he’s gotten a text message from Hinata.
karasunorange10: hey, ur still gonna come to the fair tmr right?
He hesitates only a second before responding.
tobio9: duh
tobio9: can’t let u take credit for the brownies i baked lol
karusunorange10: rude!!! we worked on them together
tobio9: hinata u didnt even knw how to crack an egg
karasunorange10: wtv… soooo… ill see u there?
tobio9: yeah
Honestly, he’d rather subject himself to some Oikawa-induced torture than go and watch Hinata be all lovey-dovey with Naoko right in front of him, but he’s committed to it now and there’s no way he can back out.
tobio9: hinata???
karasunorange10: yeah?
He’d been planning to apologize for their fiasco that morning when he sent that message, but now he decides it might be better if he ignores it altogether. Maybe he should just… try to move on or something. There was still the possibility of him finding a date tomorrow, right?
(He couldn’t even convince himself, to be honest.) He sighs, and types out another message.
tobio9: nothing. nvm. see u tomorrow
tobio9: remember to comb ur stupid hair for ur stupid date
karasunorange10: rude. but pls tell goodnight to the nice kageyama who helped me bake the brownies this morning
And despite himself, he smiles.
tobio9: goodnight to u too, moron
“Hey, what are you most excited for?”
“The band, of course! My boyfriend is playing today…”
“Ehhhh, lucky! I wish I had a date…”
“Maybe you’ll find one before the fireworks start. Don’t give up hope~”
“Fireworks!? No way, that’s a lie. We’re getting fireworks tonight?”
“Mmhm, so I suggest you go and find someone before it’s too late…”
Many similar conversations filter in and out through Kageyama’s ears as he meticulously works on pinning up a banner in front of their stall with the words ‘BAKE SALE’ painted on it in cute font with decorative hearts and cupcakes. He doesn’t remember ever agreeing to be so active in setting up the props, but perhaps due to his height he’d somehow become the de facto décor guy.
The chair he’s on wobbles dangerously just then, and Kageyama flips his head back to shoot Hinata a glare.
“Hold onto it tightly, you idiot! I nearly fell just now.”
“Sorry,” Hinata says sheepishly, returning both hands to the chair. “I got… distracted by the food again.”
There certainly were enough delicacies there to serve as feasible distractions, because it turned out that literally everyone on the volunteer team has had baking experience other than Hinata and Kageyama. Their brownies, while looking pretty decent by themselves, couldn’t hold a candle to the pretty cupcakes and macarons and sweet dumplings that their other classmates have managed to come up with.
Kageyama’s just proud he managed to not burn it. Or the house.
He hammers in the last nail onto the board, and then sighs in relief before jumping down from the chair. He wipes some dust and grime on his jeans, and then turns to Hinata for more instructions.
“What now?” He says, but Hinata is already peering at a cutely decorated notepad Naoko-san has pinned to the wall at the back of their stall, and he follows his line of sight to discover a chart with their names on it, neatly divided according to the time.
“Stall duty,” Hinata explains, pointing to the first line. “Look, we’re first up.”
Kageyama finds it a bit strange that Naoko has so leniently let them pair up together, especially taking into account the fact that she is supposed to be on a date with Hinata today, but he doesn’t question it. If anything, it’s better for him that they spend as less time together as possible, right?
The fair begins not long after that, and Kageyama is initially very terrified about having to act pleasant and welcoming to everyone who comes to buy food from their stall. He must have been making a strange face trying to smile through his nervousness, because Hinata gives him a nudge and a reassuring look after their first few customers. He eases up, but only a bit once he realizes he could get away with handling the money and letting Hinata do most of the talking. So for the most part their shift passes without much drama, Kageyama quietly working the counter and Hinata being the bright, approachable host. In fact, they become so immersed in their job that they don’t even notice Naoko smiling at them knowingly from across the stall.
Kageyama doesn’t look up from his stall until he hears the last voice he wants to at that instant.
“Yoohoo, Tobio-chan~”
If it had been physically possible for him to burrow into the ground and reemerge somewhere on the other side of the Earth, he would have done so, because the last thing he wants is Oikawa smiling at him like the Grinch Who Stole Christmas while he tries his best to not be too awkward with Hinata. But apparently God likes to test his limits, because suddenly he finds himself face-to-face with his old captain, who’s smiling as fondly as a mother hen would to its chick. Next to him, Iwaizumi sighs and shoots him an apologetic look.
“Look at you two, working together so diligently.” He exclaims, clapping his hands together in delight. “How lovely. And the food here doesn’t look half bad actually,” he wrinkles his nose at the brownie, though. “Except for this one here that looks kind of gross. Hmm, what do you think, Shrimpy? Should I bless this stall by making a purchase?”
Hinata blinks at him, his face a bit pale. He stammers out something that sounds like “T-The Great King… he’s… he’s here… and… and the Ace is here, too…”
Oikawa shakes his head sympathetically, like he’s used to this kind of behavior. “Well, you’re lucky I’m feeling hungry. Iwa-chan, how about buying me some of these macarons?”
Iwaizumi glares at him, but fishes his purse out anyway—a smart move, because one always loses the battle with Oikawa. “I thought you were making a purchase. Not me.”
“But Iwa-chan, aren’t we one and the same?”
“Every day I wake up hoping to hear of some strange illness taking him in his sleep, so that I can finally be at peace.” Iwaizumi directs the whole of this comment towards Hinata and Kageyama, but he dutifully pays 200 yen anyway. “And so far I’ve had no luck.”
“You’re the best, Iwa-chan~” Oikawa swoons, and gives the pair another saccharinely sweet smile before pulling his date with him to go ogle at something else. Kageyama actually sighs in relief, thinking that the conversation went fairly well considering its many possibilities of disaster, but just as he relaxes Oikawa yells and waves at him from like six stalls away.
“Good luck with wooing Shrimpy, Tobio-chan!” Kageyama is already mortified, but he looks like he’s about to say something else when an exasperated Iwaizumi finally bonks him less-than-gently on the head and quite literally drags him off into the crowd to distract him with a shinier toy.
“What did he say?” Hinata asks curiously, but Kageyama pretends to be immersed in counting the money, and appears not to hear him.
A large group comes up to them suddenly, and they become too distracted by the customers to talk among themselves. In fact, they continue to be quite busy until the rest of their shift, serving one customer after the other, including a proud-looking Sugawara and a strangely blushy Daichi, whom Kageyama wonders might be on a date together. He wouldn’t be surprised if they are.
By the time they finally manage to duck out of the stall, their legs are sore from having stood in the same position for so long, and they both smell like a pleasant but strange assortment of sugar after having been around the desserts for so long. They spend a while just walking around together in silence until the numbness in their legs fade away, and by the time they reach an ice cream stall somewhere at the far end of the fair Kageyama congratulations himself on not having picked a fight even once.
“I’ll buy you an ice cream.” He says stiffly, mostly as a silent apology for his shitty behavior the past week, but he’s blushing while he pays for it nonetheless. Hinata looks grateful to be doted on even despite the fact that it’s Kageyama that’s treating him, and maybe it’s just because of his personality but the smile that brightens up his face when Kageyama hands him the sprinkle-topped strawberry cone makes his heart flutter with happiness.
Kageyama savors his mint chocolate lazily as they continue strolling through the stalls, their hands occasionally knocking against one another. The sky deepens from the red of a sunset to the deep blue of twilight as they walk together, and the whole place is lit up with some Chinese lanterns that the student council has attractively placed at intervals. It’s a nice feeling, sharing ice creams together like this, and Kageyama is actually beginning to feel very comfortable when Hinata speaks and shatters his daydreams in one go.
“I should… probably go find Naoko-san,” he says, as if just realizing this. Kageyama convinces himself that he’s imagining the apologetic disappointment in Hinata’s voice, and just shrugs despondently in response. He’s not too sad about it, since he’d been prepared for it, but the sting of rejection is painful nonetheless.
He watches, his heart sinking, as Hinata disappears into the crowd, and then he very painstakingly makes his way to a lonely bench a long way away from the crowd, hidden under the shadows of a tree in the far corner of the courtyard. In the distance, he can see and hear the band—comprising almost entirely of second year students—performing onstage, and he can see the mostly enthusiastic crowd surrounding them. The music isn’t half bad, actually, and he finishes the rest of his cone while listening to them sing, debating whether he should head home or wait to watch the fireworks by himself like the total loser he is.
He’s about to get up from the bench when he sees Naoko and Shouyo talking to each other at the very edge of the crowd, and he feels exponentially worse. He thinks he should probably just slink away quietly without causing himself any more needless heartbreak, but some strange masochistic creature that sounds scarily like Oikawa keeps whispering to him that he should stay and observe the situation.
He watches them converse together glumly, his chin resting on the arm propped up on his knee. He’s too far to hear their conversation over the loud music, but he’s near enough to be able to read the expressions on their faces. Hinata is smiling a lot and being very friendly, and so is Naoko. Kageyama thinks it makes perfect sense for two such happy people to be together, and bemoans how extraordinarily good and cute they look standing next to each other like that.
He’s just about had enough of the toothache when he realizes suddenly that Hinata’s face has done a strange one-eighty, his features falling despite the fact that Naoko is smiling and speaking very gently to him. He looks confused, and a bit worried, and Kageyama watches like a hawk as Naoko pats him sympathetically on the shoulder before melting into the crowd, leaving Hinata by himself.
The dazed Hinata chooses that moment to stumble confusedly away from the crowd—right towards Kageyama himself. He almost panics and runs away right that instant, because what the hell, he doesn’t know how to comfort someone who’s been rejected… but wait, he kind of does, right? Because he’s been rejected by Hinata consistently for the past week…
It’s too late for him to bolt, because suddenly Hinata is standing only a few feet away. He’s so deep in thought that he doesn’t even notice Kageyama until he calls out to him stiffly. Hinata’s eyes brighten a fraction when he sees Kageyama sitting by himself at the bench.
“You’re still here.” He breathes, like it’s a cause for celebration, and walks over to plop down next to Kageyama on the bench, sighing heavily in defeat.
Kageyama feels kind of stupid asking him what happened, since he very clearly saw the entire exchange happen right in front of him, but he asks anyway so as to not feel like a complete stalker-ish fool.
“Naoko-san…” Hinata starts confusedly. “She said I was really nice but…” He shakes his head, half a smile finding its way onto his lips. “…it doesn’t matter, she thinks we won’t work out.”
Kageyama might have wanted to cheer if Hinata hadn’t looked so conflicted. His emotions are muddled inside him, hopefulness clashing with bitterness and combining together to leave a bitter taste in his mouth, so he just says, “Oh.”
“Yeah, but you know what, Kageyama?” Hinata rattles on, his eyes trained on the performing band. They’re singing a soft, slow song that suits their dull, sedated mood. “I’m not even hurt that she let me go. Doesn’t that make me a really bad person?”
He doesn’t know what to say to this, so he shrugs. Hinata looks at Kageyama very briefly, and lowers his eyes to his feet.
“You wanna know what else Naoko-san said?”
Kageyama feels a strange desperation well up within him at seeing Hinata so conflicted. He wishes he could say something that could cheer him up, but he doesn’t really trust himself to speak, so he just raises a questioning eyebrow.
“She said I’m nice… but that I’m better suited,” and here Hinata brings his eyes, brown and wide and beautiful, to look hopefully up at Kageyama. “For someone else.”
Suddenly, Kageyama realizes what he’s talking about. What Naoko must have been talking to Hinata about. And slowly he comes to understand that the knowing smiles and the gentle looks she’d given them while they all worked on the stall together meant that… that she must have known all along what Hinata had failed to realize.
Kageyama’s heart begins to race, and he turns to face Hinata, who looks up at him, his eyes wide and shy but also hopeful and full of brightness.
It’s never going to be easy with the two of them, Kageyama thinks. They’re always going to have rough edges they’ll need to smooth out, and they’re always going to be awkward and uncoordinated but… they can make it work. He knows they can. It’s not going to be easy, but they can pull through.
“You know what, Bakageyama?” With a wider, more sincere smile, he tilts his head at Kageyama, and says without any hint of hesitance. “I think I agree with her.”
The world stops its spinning. Kageyama hadn’t realized it had been such a mess in the first place. Everything clicks into place, every brush of their fingers, every affectionate smile, all of it suddenly makes perfect sense.
Thud-thud, his heart goes, confident and steady, and without thinking twice about it Kageyama makes his decision.
“32 wins, 30 losses, 2 draws.” He murmurs shakily.
“Two draws?” Hinata asks, scrunching his eyebrows together in confusion.
Kageyama takes a deep breath, and brings his fingers up to gently cup Hinata’s cheeks.
“Two draws,” he confirms, and Hinata’s eyes widen in comprehension.
Beyond them, far, far in the sky, the first of the fireworks come to life, drowning out the noise of the fair with its powerful booms and filling the night sky with bright colors and sparks. Kageyama leans in without any hesitation to press his lips softly against Hinata’s. It’s their first kiss, and it’s gentle and inexperienced, but somehow as sweet and as wholesome as Kageyama imagines it could possibly be.
They pull back, their eyes meeting briefly, and all too quickly Hinata’s hands are pulling their faces back together until their lips clash together once again. Their second kiss is deeper, more insistent, and Kageyama finds himself scooting closer on the bench until he’s all but wrapped Hinata in his arms and pulled him up onto his lap.
When at length, they pull away, the fireworks have stopped—both in their heads and in the sky up above.
And Kageyama realizes, his heart bursting with emotion, that if he’s an idiot for wanting to kiss Hinata, then he’s willing to be a complete moron for the rest of his life.
So thinking, he smiles, and leans down to kiss Hinata again.