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Shouyou watched Kageyama blink once, then twice, then turn the most vibrant shade of crimson.
“Sure,” he muttered, turning his head away. His ears, too, were bright, bright red. “Idiot.”
“Hey!” Shouyou objected, leaning in on his hands so that he was in what Natsu would call his ‘personal bubble.’ Kageyama’s eyes slid his way, but he stubbornly kept pretending to ignore Shouyou’s existence. “That’s not what you should call someone who just asked you out!”
“That’s what I call you. Dumbass.”
Shouyou sat back with a hmph and kicked his legs out on the grass. Kageyama’s face had faded to a shade of pink that reminded him of sunsets and summertime and the feeling he got when he read Kageyama’s nightly goodnight text. It was turning into one of his favourite colours. “Remind me again why I like you.”
Without hesitation, Kageyama quipped, “Because I buy you pork buns.”
“Oh. Right.” He grinned and Kageyama rolled his eyes.
There were lots of reasons he liked Kageyama. He liked that he didn’t run with him, but rather raced him, and he liked that he never gave up or tired of it. He liked that Kageyama didn’t treat him differently on the court, even if Shouyou knew the exact flavour of Kageyama’s lips (it wasn’t strawberry like he had wanted it to be, but something sweet and soft and comforting, like a warm bowl of rice sprinkled with cinnamon). He liked the colour of his skin and the scent of his hair and the way he smiled when he wasn’t trying.
Mostly, though, he liked the way Kageyama always said yes. Always.
Shouyou stood, brushing the grass from the back of his thighs. Maybe he turned so Kageyama would be forced to watch, or maybe he didn’t. No one would ever know. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”
Kageyama grunted and crushed his milk box in his hand.
“Kageyaaaaaaama,” Shouyou sang. Their eyes met and his stomach did that swooping thing Shouyou was sure he’d pay a million yen for if he couldn’t get it for free.
Kageyama held out his hand, then curled his fingers in so only his pinky was left. With a smile, Shouyou hooked their pinkies together, warmth spreading through the touch right up into his chest. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Shou.”
This time, it was Shouyou’s face that burned. Kageyama dropped his hand and gave him one of those scary grins that could probably kill an innocent animal if used correctly. “Y-you did that on purpose!!”
“Did what?”
“I’m not taking you anymore! You can go by yourself!”
“Fine.”
“Which means no dumplings!”
“I’m going to end up paying for them anyhow.”
“And—and no kissing!”
Kageyama’s eyes were daggers. Shouyou crossed his arms over his chest and kept his stance wide. Being little had taught him well on how to be large. Kageyama stood, and Shouyou stayed firm. He leaned in, breath warm on Shouyou’s face. “Don’t be late.”
“I won’t.” Just a tiny bit closer, and their eyelashes would brush. Kageyama had such long eyelashes. It was unfair.
Shouyou swooped in, smacking their lips together in less of a kiss and more of a slap, then darted away with a cackling laugh. He hopped on his bike and lifted his hand in a wave, ignoring Kageyama’s yells in protest. “Bye, Tobio!”
Kageyama kept yelling, and Shouyou kept laughing, their voices mingling and echoing through the mountains.
*
When Kageyama answered the door, Shouyou frowned so deeply he thought the lines were going to be permanently etched into his face.
“What?” Kageyama asked. Shouyou shook his head. This wasn’t going to do at all.
“Are you wearing that?”
“What’s wrong with this?” A sweater and shorts—normally, it was his favourite outfit on Kageyama, but there was no way that was going to fly tonight.
Shouyou motioned to himself. “It’s a summer festival, Kageyama. Don’t you have something more… festival-y?”
Kageyama’s shoulders drooped forwards. “Are you making me wear a yukata?”
“No, no, no,” Shouyou protested, ushering Kageyama back inside. “I’m not making you do anything but wouldn’t it be so cute if we matched?”
“Did you just call me cute?”
“No, I called us cute. Which we aren’t. Well, I am.” He spun around, showing off his starry blue yukata. When he nearly fell, Kageyama grabbed his arm, and Shouyou giggled sheepishly.
In his bedroom, Kageyama pulled out his yukata so easily that Shouyou was almost certain he had been expecting this. He began to change, and Shouyou covered his eyes with his hands.
“How does us matching even make sense?” Kageyama mumbled. “We play on the same team. We match all the time…”
Once Kageyama was finally ready, Kageyama-san took pictures of the two of them, Shouyou smiling way too big while his boyfriend barely smiled at all. They did look pretty cute, if he said so himself. There was something magical about yukatas because they always made everyone look good. Maybe it was the freedom in the legs.
They walked slowly, allowing the sun to set beside them. Shouyou moved from the right side to the left, so that Kageyama was framed by the sunset. If he thought it was weird, he didn’t show any indication, making Shouyou’s heart flutter, which was silly, because Kageyama hadn’t even done anything. His heart was stupid that way, but he didn’t mind, not really. Not if it meant that he could enjoy the way the shadows hit Kageyama’s nose, and the way Kageyama would never outright take Shouyou’s hand, but rather brush them together over and over until Shouyou captured his fingers in his.
Once they reached the festival, they simultaneously dropped each other’s hand. Every time they did that, something squeezed tight in Shouyou’s chest, but he understood. It wasn’t that they were embarrassed or ashamed: it was just easier this way.
“I want takoyaki,” Kageyama said before Shouyou could even open his mouth.
Shouyou crinkled his nose. “Yuck.”
Kageyama was already walking away, and Shouyou grabbed onto the back of his yukata to avoid losing him in the crowd. “Takoyaki is good.”
“No, it isn’t!”
“Yes, it is. I suppose you want cotton candy or something.”
“Yes! That’s good.”
“No, that’s sugar.”
“Sugar is good!”
The line for takoyaki was short, but Kageyama spent forever deciding on what type to get. They were all the same to Shouyou: it was just octopus. When they finally got it, Kageyama popped one into his mouth. Immediately, he dropped his jaw open, his eyes widening.
“Hot! Hot!” Except, with his mouth full, it sounded like ‘aht, aht!’
Shouyou laughed, bending his back as he clutched at his stomach. Kageyama’s eyes were beginning to water, and Shouyou realized maybe it was actually that hot. With his hand, he fanned rapidly at Kageyama’s open mouth.
“Spit it out!” Shouyou yelled, fanning his hand faster. Kageyama closed his mouth, worked his jaw, then swallowed before opening his mouth again. “Why did you eat that?!”
“Because I wasn’t going to waste it,” Kageyama said as if it was the most obviously thing in the world. Shouyou couldn’t believe this idiot.
“You burnt your mouth.”
Kageyama stared at him. “Yeah?” Shouyou shook his head. All this for disgusting octopus. Maybe that would teach him to like gross things. “Come on, we need shaved ice.”
Shouyou threw a fist into the air. “Yes!” He skipped a few steps ahead, then spun around. “I’m paying, you know.”
“Nuh uh, no way.”
He tilted his head to the side in the way he knew made him look absolutely adorable. “Really? You’ll have to get there first then,” he said before bolting into the crowd. He could hear Kageyama’s feet clocking against the ground behind him, but the crowd was dense, and he was small. Shouyou easily slipped under arms and around groups of people. He arrived at the booth seconds before Kageyama did, and happily jumped into the line with a grin.
Kageyama rolled his eyes. “Dumbass.”
“You want plum?”
“Yes, please.”
This line was longer and as they waited, Shouyou kept accidentally on purpose bumping into Kageyama’s side. It was strange, how sometimes a touch could feel like electricity, and other times like sitting before a crackling fire. Either way, there was always warmth. Sometimes it felt like too much, like he was about to burn, or maybe explode. His insides popped and crackled and he needed something to hold onto, but there was nothing, so he clenched his hands into fists and shoved them under his armpits, like maybe he could keep himself together that way.
“Do you need to shit?” Kageyama’s voice broke whatever romantic reverie Shouyou had been trying to have.
“Vulgar! Vulgar-yama!”
Kageyama leaned down and in, his face far too close. Shouyou yelped and jumped back, apologizing profusely as he bumped into the lady behind him. “You sure you don’t? You look funny.”
“I look fine!” Shouyou stepped up to the front of the line. “I’m getting you lemon instead.”
“Hinata, no!”
With their shaved ice, then leaned back against a fence and watched the people go by. The plum flavouring was dying Kageyama’s lips a delicious purple that made Shouyou wonder if they tasted as good as they looked.
Kageyama’s eyes slid over to him. Shouyou held his gaze. “Why are you staring at me?
“Because I like to look at you. “
A faint pink danced along Kageyama’s upper cheek bones. “Dumbass,” he mumbled, shoving his face into his ice.
A little girl ran by, before turning and yelling at her brother to hurry up. Her hair was braided down her back, and it flew out behind her as she ran. “She reminds me of Natsu,” Shouyou commented, scooping out some ice with his tongue. “She wanted to come, y’know.”
Kageyama grunted in reply.
“She kept pulling on my yukata and whining that I wasn’t allowed to go without her.”
“She sounds like someone else I know.”
Shouyou stuck out his tongue and kept talking. “Y’know, I think she has a crush on you.” Kageyama scoffed in a way that reminded him way too much of Tsukishima. “Really! It’s Kageyama this, Kageyama that. She wants you to come to dinner every night, and tells me that when you do, I hog you all to myself.”
He handed the remainder of his ice to Kageyama, who dumped it into what he had left of his, then stirred them both together. He took a bite, then another, before muttering, “I’d come to dinner every night if you asked me to.”
Shouyou grinned, enjoying the feeling of butterflies in his tummy, then grabbed at Kageyama’s hand. “Let’s go. I want to catch some fish!”
Of course the stall was at the other end of the festival, so they wove their way back towards where they had started. Kageyama’s knuckles kept brushing the back of Shouyou’s hand, but instead of grabbing it, he wrapped his arms around Kageyama’s. Kageyama made a noise that was some kind of hybrid between a grunt and a hum. “I’m not going to lose you.”
“I wouldn’t let you,” Shouyou retorted, but his words had no bite. Besides, Kageyama was so tall, he doubted he’d be able to lose him even if he wanted to.
At the booth, Kageyama pulled out a handful of change, but Shouyou waved his hand away before pulling out his own. They bickered over who got to pay, because they couldn’t just pay for themselves, this was a date, until Kageyama finally snapped that whoever caught the least amount of fish would have to pay. Shouyou’s eyes narrowed.
“I’ll have you know,” Shouyou said as he pulled up his sleeves, “that I am an expert at scooping goldfish.”
Kageyama squatted down beside him and snorted. “We’ll see about that.”
They both gave the stall keeper enough money for the both of them, and then explained that the winner would get his portion of the money back. The man scratched his head, but reluctantly smiled and handed over their poi. Shouyou gave him a bright smile and a thank-you, then elbowed Kageyama in the ribs until he muttered a thank you too.
There were so many fish, all of them sparkling under the string of lights overhanging above. Shouyou knew the trick to this. You had to be speedy, but gentle. If you were too fast, you’d scare them away, and if you were too rough, you’d break your poi. He exhaled quietly but fully, letting all the air escape from his lungs before he inhaled again. He closed his eyes and sent a prayer. Please, o Mighty Fish gods, please let me catch you.
There was a splash and Shouyou poked one eye open. Kageyama hand darted out and another fish plopped into his bowl.
“Three?!” Shouyou exclaimed. Kageyama’s mouth stretched upwards.
“Better hurry up.”
Shouyou suppressed a growl. “I’ll show you how it’s done,” he muttered. “I’ll catch seven in the time it took you to get three.”
Kageyama pulled his poi out of the water and watched. Shouyou swallowed and tried to forget about the eyes that were burning into the back of his scalp. He leaned forward, then quickly withdrew his hand. It wasn’t the right fish. That fish was far too aggressive, it would tear right through, no doubt about that. His golden eyes swept over the fish again. That one was too big, and that one was too small. There was no honour in catching a small fish.
Kageyama whistled beside him. “Don’t pressure me!” Shouyou yelped.
“I’m not doing anything.”
“You’re pressuring me!”
“This was your idea.”
Right, which meant he was the best at it. Naturally. Last year he caught Natsu two fish, and then she dropped the bag and he had to carry the flopping little guys in his hand as he ran to the nearest water source. Which had happened to be the fish catching booth. Which meant they went home with zero fish.
There it was! Golden and not too big and not too small and sparkling with its orange scales. Shouyou’s eyes darted after the fish waiting for the perfect moment and… now! He swooped in with his poi, stopping the fish in its tracks, and he lifted it up triumphantly, dumping it into his bowl…
Except. His bowl was empty. He spun the water around, as if there was some secret compartment or corner it was hiding it, but there was nothing. He lifted his poi. Broken, cleanly and completely. It was as if there had never been any paper netting there at all.
Kageyama was clutching his stomach, his chin pressed against his chest and his entire body shaking. Shouyou stood up. “Stop laughing at me!”
A sound that to anyone else might have sounded like someone choking on the air, but to Shouyou he knew it to be the absolute loudest of Kageyama’s laughs. Normally, it sent a shiver of satisfaction through Shouyou, but right now it just made him bitter with irritation (and, okay, he was a little bit happy to hear Kageyama laugh, but he was mostly annoyed, and that’s what mattered most).
“I caught the fish!” Shouyou protested, “You saw me!”
Kageyama shook his head. “Hinata, no. You idiot, you were too fast…”
“Ah, so you were impressed by my speed!”
He looked up at Shouyou, his cheeks flushed and eyes wide. His mouth twitched as he held back a snigger. “You’re such an idiot,” he said, but it was less of a sharp blade and more of a fluffy pillow being thrown at his face.
Shouyou sighed and his shoulders sunk forward. “I guess you win.”
“Yeah.”
The booth man reluctantly gave Kageyama back his money, saying something about kids these days. Shouyou watched as Kageyama carefully scooped his fish into the little plastic bag then stood up. He nodded at the shopkeeper and turned away. Shouyou bowed his thanks, then chased after Kageyama.
“Today was a bad night, I’m normally much better. I’ll beat you next time!” Shouyou proclaimed. A hand pressed against his chest, broad and warm. Shouyou stopped walking and gazed down at the hand and the little bag it held.
“Here.” Kageyama wasn’t looking at him. “For you.”
Delicately, Shouyou took the bag. He held it up to eye-height and watched the fish circle around. They seemed happy. He smiled. “Thank you, Kageyama.”
Kageyama grunted and resumed walking.
They stood close enough to brush arms as they walked through the festival. Shouyou depended on this touch, because he couldn’t stop gazing at his little fish, watching them swim around and around. “I’m going to name this one—”
“You’re naming them?” Kageyama cut him off. He was ignored.
“Kageyama!” He grinned, and it took a second for Kageyama to realize he was naming the fish and not chastising him. His boyfriend stared at him.
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“And I’ll name this one,” Shouyou continued, tapping his chin in thought. “Kageyama-kun!”
“Are you seriously naming them all after me?”
“Lastly, this guy’s name is… Shitty-yama!”
“You’ll never be able to tell them apart,” Kageyama commented, but he refused to meet Shouyou’s gaze, which meant that he was pleased.
He leaned forward, hopping to see the blush he had been trying for. There it was, pink and vibrant and burning something fierce deep inside Shouyou’s chest. He wrapped his arms around Kageyama’s, done with his game. “That’s okay. They’ll never be as good as the real thing.”
Kageyama opened his mouth to say something (to complain, probably), but Shouyou’s eyes had caught on the only blonde in a sea of brunettes. He gasped and tugged on Kageyama’s arm. “Look! It’s Tsukishima!” Like a shadow in the setting sun, Yamaguchi trailed beside him.
They both stopped, or rather, Kageyama stopped and Shouyou refused to let go of his arm so he had to stop too. “Don’t,” Kageyama whispered.
Shouyou threw his arm with the fish into the air. “Yamaguchi! Tsukishima!”
Both boys looked up, and their eyes met. Yamaguchi’s mouth formed a small O before it stretched into a smile. He waved back. Shouyou began to drag Kageyama along.
Tsukishima grabbed Yamaguchi’s arm and started pulling him in the opposite direction, but clearly he wasn’t as strong as Shouyou was, because Yamaguchi stayed, mostly, in place. He laughed in the way that crinkled his eyes, and said something Shouyou didn’t hear. He saw, rather than heard, Tsukishima sigh, and slowly gravitate back to Yamaguchi’s side.
“Hinata! Hi!”
“Hi, Yama! I didn’t know you were coming here!”
“It’s a summer festival,” Tsukishima drawled. “Of course he’s here. Unfortunately, so are you.”
“Look, Kageyama caught me fish!”
Yamaguchi leaned over to be eye-level with the bag. He tapped the bag gently. “You need to be careful with these guys. They don’t like movement much. Right, Tsukki?” Tsukishima grunted, which must have been a Yes in Tsukishima language.
Shouyou nodded seriously. “It is my duty and my law to protect them.”
Yamaguchi smiled. “Good. So what are you guys up to?”
“Yamaguchi, don’t bother with them,” Tsukishima said, tilting his head in that way Shouyou hated because it made him look down on his even more. “Let the King enjoy his day off. I’m surprised no one’s rushed over for his autograph yet.”
Kageyama growled and Shouyou put a steady hand on his arm. “You’re right,” he said. “I’m surprised no one’s asked for it too, because you should have seen him catching these fish. He was some kind of Olympic fisherman!”
All three of them stared at him. Shouyou tipped his head back to offer a meek smile to Kageyama. Suddenly, Tsukishima burst into laughter. “Kageyama! A fisherman!”
Yamaguchi snickered, holding up a hand to hide his laugh. “He’d—he’d glare at the fish and scare them all away!”
“No, no. He’d glare at them, and they’d jump right into the net!”
Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were beside themselves, doubling over with laughter. Yamaguchi had one hand on Tsukishima’s upper arm, and he kept slapping it every time Tsukishima added some other comment that wasn’t even all that funny in Shouyou’s opinion. They didn’t get it; they hadn’t seen the way he had caught those fish.
“I think you’re a good fisherman,” Shouyou mumbled to Kageyama only.
“Thank you.”
As their friends kept laughing, Kageyama pinched the fabric on Shouyou’s back and he took a step backwards. Shouyou followed, eyes on the way Yamaguchi kept leaning into Tsukishima. Yamaguchi kept inhaling sharply, and then he’d lean in closer with another giggle or comment. It was like he couldn’t breathe if he wasn’t close to him.
A few more steps. They were already fading into the crowd. Suddenly, Yamaguchi’s eyes met his, and he sobered right up. “Hey! Where are you going?”
Kageyama muttered something profane, and Shouyou pretended to stomp on his foot. “Nowhere,” Shouyou said at the same time Kageyama replied, “Cotton candy.”
Shouyou spun around to face. “Really? I love cotton candy!”
“Tsukki loves cotton candy too!”
“Shut up, Yamaguchi.”
“What? You totally do. Last time, you ate all of mine, remember? Because my teeth started hurting, and you swore the pink one tasted better than the blue one, even if you know they’re flavoured the exact same.”
Tsukishima sighed and held up his hands. “Fine. Whatever. Let’s get this over with.”
Which is how they ended up walking together in a big line, Kageyama and Tsukishima on the ends, Shouyou and Yamaguchi talking away in the middle about the festival, or volleyball, or Yachi’s new haircut.
Once in line, Shouyou pulled out his pocket change and counted the measly few coins he had left. “I only have 500 yen.”
“500 yen?! What did you spend it on?!”
“I needed new kneepads,” he whined. “And then there was a sale on pork buns, but you had to buy three to get it, so I… bought three.”
“Did you eat them all?” Tsukishima asked.
Shouyou nodded. “Of course!” He patted his small belly. “I’m still growing, you know!”
“Are you now?” As if to prove a point, Tsukishima bent over so he was eyelevel. Shouyou stuck out his tongue, then laughed hysterically when it brushed Tsukishima’s nose. He pulled away with a look of disgust, wiping his nose profusely. “What kind of animal are you?!”
Yamaguchi pushed Tsukishima’s hand away and wiped at his nose with the sleeve of his yukata. “It’s just spit, Tsukki.”
Kageyama returned—Shouyou hadn’t even noticed he had gone—with two sticks of cotton candy. He held out the pink one for Shouyou, who took it eagerly. “What’s going on?”
“I licked Tsukishima,” Shouyou said before burying his face in the fluffy, sugary deliciousness.
“Why?”
“Your boyfriend is an animal,” Tsukishima said. He pulled off his glasses and cleaned the lenses. “Control him.”
“Hmm, I don’t think I will.”
“Tsukki, do you want pink or blue?”
With way too much sugar for this time of night, the boys all found a spot to settle in the grass, waiting for the fireworks to begin. Shouyou didn’t know what time it was, but he didn’t care. The breeze was nice against his skin, and his insides felt cozy, like there was nothing bad in this world and nothing would ever go wrong again. He shuffled over slightly, one inch at a time, until he was pressed against Kageyama’s side.
“Did you have fun?” he whispered before leaning in to steal a bite of Kageyama’s cotton candy. Blue was better, but blue was also Kageyama’s favourite colour, so Shouyou didn’t complain. Kageyama nodded, and when he did, his hair brushed against Shouyou’s. He wondered if their hair ever mingled, weaving into each other’s so that even if you could tell that orange belonged to him, and black to Kageyama, it was uncertain where one began and the other ended.
Beside them, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were staring at Tsukishima’s phone. They were leaning in close, sharing a pair of headphones. Every so often, Yamaguchi would laugh, and Tsukishima’s mouth would flicker upwards so quickly it was barely noticeable.
“You know,” Yamaguchi said suddenly, pulling the headphone from his ear. Shouyou sat up so he was no longer glued to Kageyama’s side. “This is kind of like a double date.”
Shouyou’s mouth fell open. “Wait. You two are dating?!”
Kageyama smacked the back of his head. “Dumbass!”
“But—that’s not a joke?!”
“Do you ever shut up?”
“Yes,” Tsukishima said, tucking his phone away. “We are dating. Because unlike some people, I actually have taste.”
Shouyou’s mouth flopped open and closed like a fish. “Wait,” he turned to Kageyama. “Was that about you or me?”
“Does it matter?” came Tsukishima’s reply.
“Tsukki, be nice.”
Right then, the sky lit up above them, followed by a loud boom that reminded Shouyou less of destruction and more of fairy dust.
“Ooh, it’s starting!” Yamaguchi gasped, and then they all fell silent.
Shouyou liked the small ones best, the ones that sprinkled their way across the sky and dissolved like sugar into the atmosphere. Kageyama liked the ones that exploded, lighting up everything so that Shouyou could see the faintest of freckles underneath his eyes.
Kageyama pulled him closer, and he let himself fall, smushing his cheek against Kageyama’s shoulder. He wanted to squeeze his eyes shut, because that might be the only way to hold in whatever feeling this was that kept threatening to explode out of his chest. He had felt it before, but it had never been this strong, this demanding. He tried swallowing it down, but it never seemed to work. Instead, he gripped Kageyama’s hand, holding it so tightly that he could feel the bones. Kageyama didn’t pull away like Shouyou expected. Rather, he moved his hand so he could hold Shouyou’s just as tightly in his.
Shouyou blinked. He didn’t want to move, but he had to get away, or else who knows what he might end up saying, and who knows what his words might end up ruining. He turned his eyes from the fireworks and the way they coloured Kageyama’s face to his friends who were, apparently, dating.
They were close. Maybe not close like Kageyama and Shouyou were, so their colours blended into one, but close enough that it was hard to think of them as just friends. Yamaguchi looked absolutely delighted, his eyes on the sky, but even from here, Shouyou could see the way Tsukishima’s eyes kept sliding from the sky to the person on his left. Maybe he had been dumb not to see it before.
Tsukishima’s hand shuffled the tiniest bit. Shouyou’s eyes swept down, and he watched as the hand tiptoed over to where Yamaguchi’s sat between their two bodies. Tsukishima’s hand got close enough to touch, then he lifted it and blanketed his entire hand around Yamaguchi’s. Yamaguchi’s eyes turned from the sky, but they remained just as bright. Shouyou couldn’t see him smile, but he could tell he did by the softness that settled on Tsukishima’s face.
But suddenly that softness was replaced by a red so bright and splotched it seemed to have been painted. Had Yamaguchi said something? Shouyou’s eyes swept down and landed on their hands which were now interlaced, pressed together in every possible way. Tsukishima coughed, and with his unoccupied hand, began to fumble unnecessarily with his glasses.
“What are you doing?” came Kageyama’s voice, gently and airy in his ear.
Shouyou motioned towards their friends with his chin. “They’re kind of sweet, aren’t they?”
“So are we.”
And Shouyou couldn’t disagree with that.
He was so comfortable, curled against Kageyama’s side, that even after the fireworks ended and everyone started to leave, he stayed put. When Kageyama shuffled, he pulled him back down. “Not yet.”
A clicking noise disrupted Shouyou, and he opened his eyes to find Tsukishima holding out his phone and Yamaguchi smiling. “Sorry, but you were too cute,” he apologized without seeming sorry at all.
“That’s okay, but you have to send it to me,” Shouyou said as he nuzzled against Kageyama’s shoulder.
“I’ll post it all over the club room,” Tsukishima said.
“Okay,” Kageyama replied. “Whatever.”
“That’s okay,” Shouyou pulled out his own phone and unlocked the screen before tapping on his photo gallery and opening the last picture he took. “I’ll post this one then.”
Yamaguchi took the phone, then cooed. “Look, Tsukki, it’s us! I didn’t know you blushed that red.”
Tsukishima tried to speak, but he kept stumbling over his words. Yamaguchi handed the phone back, and Shouyou clicked the screen off, hiding the picture of Yamaguchi and Tsukishima clutching hands. “I’ll send it to you.”
“Thanks.”
Tsukishima readjusted his glasses. “Anyhow, Tadashi and I are leaving.” Shouyou raised his eyebrow at the use of Yamaguchi’s first name, but if either noticed, they didn’t say anything. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Bye, guys!” Yamaguchi waved. “It was fun!”
Shouyou waved back, and Kageyama lifted his hand in what might have been a wave. They watched their friends retreat, disappearing into the crowd, and Shouyou could swear that right before he lost them in the mass of people, he saw their hands entwine.
He and Kageyama sat still and silent in the dark, their breathing the only sound either were making. He could fall asleep like this. Yeah, maybe it would be cold, but he’d have Kageyama to keep him warm. It might have been weird, but sometimes all Shouyou wanted was to curl up against him and press against him harder and harder until he couldn’t feel himself, and all he could feel was Kageyama all around him.
Today had been a complete success, and he felt happier than he had in ages—maybe the happiest he had been since the day they had both, reluctantly and necessarily, confessed. But that day had been messy in its perfection, and today had been nothing but perfect.
“You never told me if you had fun,” he said.
“Because you stole my cotton candy.”
“You weren’t going to eat it.”
Kageyama shuffled slightly and he squeezed Kageyama’s arm to remind him that he wasn’t allowed to move yet. The breeze tickled against his skin, but it was warm rather than cold. “I did,” Kageyama said suddenly. “Have fun. Did you?”
“More than fun. And who knew Yamaguchi and Tsukishima were dating!”
“Uh, everyone did.”
“Um, not everyone.”
“Yes. Everyone. Everyone but dumbasses.”
“You know you’re the biggest dumbass of all.”
“I am not.”
“Are too.”
Still, there was one thing Shouyou needed to know, and it would eat away at him until he knew, one hundred percent, with all his heart, that Kageyama felt the exact same way he did.
He rubbed his hands on his thighs, then shifted so he was looking right into Kageyama’s eyes. “Hey, Kageyama?”
He watched as Kageyama swallowed. “Yes?”
“I need you to be honest with me.”
“Okay.”
Shouyou paused to inhale, then, with his eyes locked on Kageyama’s, he finally said it. “Do you—are we cuter than Tsukishima and Yamaguchi?”
“Oh, absolutely.”
And when they grinned, a single, forgotten firework shot across the sky.