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Hinata was nerve-wrecked. He was sitting on the floor in a virasana position next to his teammates in the Sendai City Gymnasium. His hands were firmly placed on his knees and he couldn't help breathing hard, shaking, and getting worked up for nothing. Worst of all, his stomach was flip flopping again, like all the other times it did right before a game. Hinata gulped, cradling his stomach.
Kageyama watched him out of the corner of his eye. Hinata had told him about his "sickness" that he had before big games. Kageyama himself didn't get so nervous, but he still understood the boy to a degree. He watched Hinata shiver and glide his small hand through his bright orange hair that stuck to his face in sweat. "Hey," Kageyama said suddenly to him. He was leaning on the wall and sat up off of it to glare at him, a fleck of concern showing on his face. "Is your stomach upset or something?"
Hinata looked away embarrassingly."It's tumbling with excitement," he quickly mumbled. Hinata hated how nervous he felt before games. He wanted to be strong and brave, not cowardly! He wanted to experience the feeling of spiking the ball against his hands again, the fissure of power that conjures when the ball succeeds to hit the opponents ground and the conspicuous cheers afterwards. He felt at-home on the court, and if he would just focus on that rather than all of his other fears. The guahhhh! emotion could be felt once again if he just sucked it up.
"What?" Kageyama replied. Confusion replaced his perturbed disposition. He clenched his fists, taking a step toward Hinata.
Sugawara frowned. "I think he meant trembling with excitement." Hinata reddened, nodding his head quickly to Sugawara's correction. Sugawara looked worried too, though, as well as all of his other teammates and it made him feel guilty.
"No, he's just shaking with fear," Tanaka commented.
"I know!" Noya suddenly interfered. He crouched down next to Hinata. "You got intimidated by Dateko, didn't you?" He directed his question to Hinata, who went still then started to fidget with his thumbs nervously.
"O-of course not." he said quickly.
It was partially true, however, Dateko were intimidating, especially the super tall guy with the short white hair. Aone Takanobu, was it? A trail of shivers traveled down Hinata's back at the thought of him. The "Iron Wall" were the teams nickname. Fears still managed to seep through because he was a mere 162 centimeters, small enough to be stepped on. His stomach flopped when he turned to Kageyama, who was already watching him. The latter's stare made him nervous and he quickly glanced away.
Noya narrowed his eyes at Hinata suspiciously, which made sweat trickle down the sides of Hinata's face. Sugawara sighed, turning to Asahi. "Asahi's cowardly too,' he pointed out, "but he doesn't seem nervous."
Asahi grimaced at that, but walked closer to Hinata. "I have a trick to calm my nerves. Maybe you can use them Hinata. I try and remember the scariest experiences I've ever had." he explained. "The scarier, the better. Then, I think to myself, 'Whatever happens, it can never be as scary as that.' It puts me on an even keel."
Hinata's eyes widened at that and he tried to remember all the scary things he's ever been through, like the time he failed his math test or riding that deathly roller coaster a few years ago. He suddenly is reminded of the time he hit Kageyama in the back of the head with a volleyball and his face pales.
"Um," Suga hesitates. "Are you all right?"
Kageyama studied Hinata, the bundle of nerves sitting a few feet away from him. Damn, he thought. Look at him, he's so overwhelmed again. He gets so flustered at times like this. But then Kageyama's gaze lingers for a few more moments and before he can deny himself, he thinks how cute he was right now. Cute is gross, Kageyama thought. And then again, cute is the only word that he can associate with the annoying kid. He watched the way Hinata could be joyful and all sunshine one moment and now like this, scared and afraid. It worried him, and, glancing at his soft face once more, he thought maybe, just maybe he could fix his problem. I better do something about it quick, he thought. He can't do what he did at the Seijou Match.
He grapsed Hinata's arm, dragging him up from the ground to a standing position and maneuvered him away from the crowd and into the bathroom down the hallway. Along the way were desperate protests and near-escapes from Hinata, but Kageyama's grip on his arm didn't falter.
"K-Kageyama," Hinata whined once they were in the bathroom and Kageyama closed the door behind them. "Please don't hurt me. Please! Please! I swear, I'll never hit you in the head with a ball again. Oh, come on!" The look on Hinata's face was absolutely terrifying.
Kageyama tilted his head curiously. "What are you talking about, Hinata?" he murmured.
"You're going to hurt me for what I did to you." His big brown eyes looked up at him timorously.
"Hinata," Kageyama said strongly, making the shorter boy freeze. "Why are you so nervous about the game? Don't you believe in us?"
Hinata's eyes widened, and a small "o" formed with his mouth. He didn't want to hurt him after all, he thought. He looked down anxiously and then back at Kageyama. "I do, Kageyama. It's just..."
Kageyama waited for a reply patiently but one never came. He peered down at the small boy, wanting to cup his cheeks and tell him everything would be okay. And he did just that. Unconsciously, his hands slipped around the boy's cheeks and pointed them up to his face.
"Didn't I say you were invincible with me by your side, Hinata?" The young boy's heart slowed then. His brown eyes searched Kageyama's as his breathe hitched in his throat.
"Y-Yeah," Hinata replied softly.
"Do you believe it?"
Hinata nodded.
"Then you don't have to worry," Kageyama simply stated, removing his hand to it's former position by his sides. Hinata blinked, and then looked down. Kageyama was right. He didn't have to worry because all that mattered was being able to play with him, with his volleyball partner, and they were invincible. His stomach ultimately settled then, and a cheeky grin formed on his lips. He jumped up and down excitedly twice before holding on to Kageyama's arm and getting closer to him.
"Does this mean you value me as a friend? We're like partners-in-crime!"
Kageyama gave him an unamused stare. "I wouldn't go so far as to say frien-"
"And...and you really do care for me. You have this mean glare on your face all the time and it's so hard to read you and figure out your feelings but then you say things like "We're invincible together" and that makes me feel all guaaaaah! and I've never loved a feeling as great as that and..and you-"
Kageyama rolled his eyes, grabbed Hinata's shoulders, and suddenly kissed him. It sent sparks flying through him when his lips touched the others.It wasn't anything rough, but soft and sweet, and the taste of his lips on his still lingered after he pulled away. Hinata kept still, shock spreading through his body. His mouth gaped open, and then closed, and then open again. Damn it, Kageyama thought, Panic fled through him. Why did he just do that? He was talking so much and...he just wanted him to shut up. Or maybe...he couldn't hold back when Hinata looked at him like that. It was similar to how a little child gazed at their father in sheer admiration. But before he had a chance to escape and hide, Hinata held his hand and a faint smile grew on his mouth. He leaned in closer to Kageyama and kissed him back, this time their lips were moving together as one.
Kageyama could feel Hinata's small breaths panting against him after a moment and he tried his darndest to repress a moan. He slid a hand through the boy's orange hair, pulling on the ends and in return, making Hinata moan instead. He couldn't believe this was happening, and he wanted to push Hinata against the wall but their game was starting soon. He pulled away, the only sounds of abnormal respiration in the air.
"You aren't nervous anymore, right?" Kageyama asked once he caught his breath, watching the boy's tongue lick across his heated pink lips.
"No," Hinata replied, a smile tugging at his lips before reaching for Kageyama's hand and squeezing it reassuringly. "Wait, the game! Let's go!" he exclaimed, letting go of his hand and running out of the bathroom. Kageyama was left alone, mouth slightly agape at that, and he was back to his unamused stare. Dumbass Hinata. But this time it was different, this time there was a weird tingling in his heart. A small smile replaced annoyance and he shook his head as he made his way out of the bathroom.