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There is a lady who lives below him called Aoi. She is a lot like coach in the way that she was a punk, rebellious sort of teenager, and still acts like it. Tobio calls her “baa-baa”, and she calls him “kid”. She had also practically adopted him when she found out that his dad was always away and he had no mother; he lived alone, and got checks from his father every month, it was preferred to having him at home.
It was the summer after the middle school match when they first met; she noticed that he hadn’t been outside for a while, and decided to check on him. When she finally managed to coax information out of him about school and his general life, she decided to distract him by making him come over and watch skate videos because she had been part of a skate crew when she was younger and liked to share stories. She even gave him an old board of hers to practice with when he had developed interest, and for when he had the strength to actually do stuff outside.
Him not having enough energy, mental or physical, to take care of himself was made more manageable, and then lessened, with her help, and when she had the occasional trouble with her own self-care, he would help in return. By halfway through break they were friends of sorts. He would also come over whenever he felt that the company was better than being alone, which was most of the time, but that didn’t mean he always did something when he was over. A lot of the time he would just sit and watch the lake or cartoons.
She had a small patio, being on the lower floor, he had a balcony up top, so he would also sit outside some days to absorb the sunshine. He would water her plants too because, ‘it’s fulfilling to care for them’, and it was. Which is why a few days before he started at Karasuno, she gave him a baby Split Leaf Philodendron. They were pretty easy to care for, and good for small spaces, but mostly she wanted him to have something to grow with and be hopeful for.
She wasn’t the type of person to say things like ‘everything will work out fine’, she made sure you had something happy in the first place. Something to remind you to not give up.
Her first dress, bought on a shopping trip with Aoi, is long, pale yellow, and lacy. The neckline is a long V that ends at the waist. It has a thicker layer underneath that’s basically a jumper, and covers from her shoulders down to her thighs, and the short sleeves are just the sheer lace fabric. She loves to wear it around the house, her own and Aoi’s. The way it flows and swishes when she simply walks makes her awfully emotional, but it’s good. Although finding a matching shirt is much more trouble than it should be.
When she goes outside in it, she wears the shirt and some jeans. At first, she wouldn’t have even thought of wearing it outside because she didn’t want to ruin it, but it looks cool when she’s longboarding so she does. There is a skatepark down and across the river that she likes, when on a skateboard, and the people there are nice. She has yet to wear it there because she is more likely to fall and tear it, but it would look so cool , and she’s really dying to. Baa-baa says she’s dramatic.
In the end, it all feels wonderful and is fulfilling as growth.
Hinata thinks they look beautiful and is even considering saying it. They are happier than they have ever been, and it shows on their face and in how they carry themself. Even how they play volleyball, which isn’t as surprising, but just as nice. It looks good on them is what he’s trying to get at, and he wonders if saying it would also make them happy; make them smile because that’s been a result of being more content. It’s not scary smiling either, because it’s not forced.
It’s lovely and soft and often directed at him, which he’ll never have enough of.
Their other smiles, the challenging one, the victorious one, all make his heart beat a little faster, and they were present during the first year too of course, with him having the same reaction. He’s really enjoyed seeing them more often though, because of going to nationals, doing a successful play, or getting a good grade; it has an effect on him very similar to when he spikes a pass from them: exhilarating, making him want to run around just to get all the energizing feelings out of his body, and wanting to do it again most of all.
Learning that they skate, and longboard, was unexpected. Watching them on the board and how they move is a whole different thing. First of all, it’s another thing that they’re good at because of course they are, secondly, it looks really cool, with or without the flowy dress. He’d only ever seen them longboarding to school, and didn’t even believe them at first when they had said they could skateboard too. He thinks he can actually feel the words in his throat ready to be choked on, but he’s too busy staring at Kageyama really.
The fact that their hair is longer really adds on to all feelings he’s having right now; it’s only a bit longer than shoulder length, but it flows a bit too. The dress also has slits on either side, so they’re tied in knots in the front and back so as not to get in the way. The other second years are there too, Yamaguchi, Tsukishima, and Yachi, because they were free and they had never been to a skatepark before. They had been looking at everything when they arrived but now they’re mostly looking at Kageyama too, even Tsukishima, albeit trying to disguise his interest.
It’s all a very unique moment, place, time, and he feels excited yet calm. Serene is the word he’s looking for he thinks, he’ll ask Yachi later. Because Kageyama has been just gliding around and sometimes talking to people and generally looking very at peace. They’ve done some tricks too of course because this all started when he had said that he didn’t believe they could. Then they’d said that they would “show you later if it’s such a big deal” to which he had puffed up over, and then the plans were made to come here.
‘Here’, is a little ways from Kageyama’s house. The short trip across the river and down a couple miles was soothing too. The water was shining, and driving on it was slow and practiced, so there weren’t many bumps. Just the sound of water on the boat and the motor eventually got tuned out. When they got to the park, it was noisy and it woke him up, but not unpleasantly.
There were bright colors on everything, and the noise was from happy people who were enjoying a sport. He knew what that was like. Kageyama dips in and out of the bowl for awhile. Despite not being able to practice it a lot, the sensation of it is like being on a rollercoaster apparently. Except you control it, so it’s a bit addicting. After an hour they all go back to Kageyama’s house for food and to swim in the lake.
They live alone, but they fill the space well. There are plants everywhere upstairs, which is just a big space with a closet, some art pieces they or Aoi made, an easel, and art supplies. It’s homely, and entirely Kageyama. Full of everything that matters to them. The balcony has the plants that do better outside, and not much else. In the space behind the condo, there’s a table with benches, some sun chairs, and a ladder to the far right that goes into the water.
There’s a boat dock that starts near the front of the building that reaches past the ladder and opens into the lake. The wood walkway of the dock extends past the ladder and down the side of the river they’re on. People can fish too, but Kageyama doesn’t have any nets or rods as they wouldn’t get much use out of them. They do make use of the table though, everyone agreed on sitting outside to eat. The air is warm still but the water is cooling down, so Hinata and Yamaguchi put their feet in.
When they all go inside finally, it still smells like the fruit that had been cut. The balcony doors are open, with the cheap magnetic screen door to keep insects out in place, but the wind is blowing in. He’s getting sleepy, and he can tell that the others are too. He says into the room that they should have a sleepover; Kageyama rolls their eyes but doesn’t make any negative signs, so it’s up to the others.
Tsukishima and Yachi call their moms for permission and get an okay. Yamaguchi does not bother because her parents don’t care enough, and she stays with the Tsukishimas most of the time anyway. They all have extra clothes for after they swam so that’s not a problem, and they’d all rinsed off with the hose outside. Not that Kageyama would care if they needed to shower too. Tsukishima, Hinata, and Yachi do, before everyone, with struggle, agrees on a movie.
They all discuss who would be who in Big Hero 6. Tsukishima’s first argument is that Hinata and Kageyama can’t be anyone because everyone in it is supposed to be smart. Yamaguchi says Hinata should be Baymax then, and Kageyama is Hiro because they’re both partners. Hinata argues that they should switch because Baymax grows as a person
(“He’s a robot”
“Shut up.”)
like they did, and becomes part of the team, while Hiro is the brains of their partnership. “Also I’m older.”So it ends up that way for them. Yamaguchi is Honey Lemon, Yachi is Wasabi, and Tsukishima is Gogo. “Even though you’ll never be as cool as her.”
“Thanks.”
They all get sad when Baymax sacrifices himself, and then hug Kageyama because they’re pouting really hard. Everyone is also really tired now, so they bunch up on the living room floor that’s covered in blankets, cover themselves in blankets, and sleep. “Does anyone-”
“No.”
“Goodnight then!”