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“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Kageyama rubbed his eyes furiously and clicked on the profile labeled: Sunshine. It rang for several excruciating seconds. “Hinata, please pick up—”
“Yes, bakageyama?”
“Please don’t be mad.”
“I’m definitely probably going to get really mad.”
“Not helping.”
A beat, Kageyama’s heart skipped one.
“My bad, Tobio. What’s up?”
“I may have done something stupid.”
“Tanaka stupid or Tsukishima stupid?”
“Not even close. It’s more like Daichi’s-gonna-kill-me-for-this-because-he-told -me-not-to-do-it-but-I-did-it-anyway stupid,” Kageyama held the bridge of his nose and gripped the phone tighter, “better yet, it was you stupid.”
“Hey! Not nice, rude-Yama!” His voice cracked, squashing his immediate comeback, “...So, it was that boneheaded, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. Okay, so, look out your window.”
Hinata opened the curtains of his room and was met with the miracles of a blizzard. Unique snowflakes pittered the glass, opening his eyes in wonder. He’d heard the wind whistling but hadn’t noticed the whiteout. “Whoa! Cool! We’re getting snow!”
Hinata, can you please focus? “And you know how yesterday Daichi told us not to go out in it because It'd basically freeze our lungs?”
“Don’t tell me you went—”
“Swimming in the snow in a speedo like Tanaka did? No, stupid boke,” Suddenly, Kageyama had gotten self-conscious of his decision. Fear of sharing his decision drove his mouth to desire for an ongoing rambling. Maybe he could forget about the whole stupid mistake he made and never tell Hinata anything or even say anything. He itched at his temple and closed his eyes, wanting to slap himself or maybe even hang up.
“I definitely wasn’t thinking that.”
“Oh, whatever. Don’t lie, Hinata-boke.”
Being no idiot, it was obvious what Kageyama had done. Emotions and anything of the sort equaled anyone far from Karasuno’s setter. Narrowing his eyes, Hinata called him on it, “You went on a run didn’t you?”
As to reply, a sniffle met him from the other side.
“And now you’ve caught a cold.”
Kageyama sniffled and rubbed his nose.
“Idiot,” he smiled and shook his head, not taking his pretty eyes off of the outside world, swirling with beauty. When the cool white light became too much to bear, he turned and trekked into the kitchen to fix some Ramen, nearly forgetting to add the water.
While the silence on the line deafened, only replaced by the whistling of the wind, an inevitable zone-out plagued the middle-blocker. His staring contest opponents: blueberry dipped flowers, drooping and abandoned of moisture. “You’re an idiot, Tobio.
“I know…”
“Daichi’s gonna kill you.”
“No doubt about it.”
“I’m coming over. Don’t move,” Hinata hugged the phone to his ear with his shoulder and a bend at his neck he was sure would reward him with a crick later. Grabbing a duffel, he threw in what he felt he needed.
“Shouyou, it’s just a cold.”
“Yeah, but you need meds, stupid,” Hinata shivered, remembering what ‘just a cold’ turned into last time. “You know that you can’t leave this untreated. Your family history’s not exactly in your favor here. Remember what happened last time you left ‘just a cold’ untreated, stupid-Yama?”
Another pause, another slow blink, another wind whistle.
Another beat, Hinata’s heart hopped one.
The ticking of the clock was enough to make him almost go crazy, deafening him along with the clog of worry. The wind waged a war on the foundation of his house. The microwave beeped. Kageyama sighed.
He had many issues to solve...and him being forced to leave his Ramen to fester in the microwave while his stomach ate itself was going to be the easiest to solve. He had no access to the specific medications or the immune-system-boosting vitamins Kageyama was supposed to be taking on the regular, but probably had run out of and for months neglected them altogether.
Pretending he was fine was what the former King of the Court did best. Letting others have any clue of the fact that he wasn’t at one-hundred percent wasn’t on the agenda. They’d just worry, or worse yet: bench him.
No, he’d worked too hard, stayed up too late, neglected his health too much, focused all of his energy for too long to give up the spot he’d earned on the court. Anyway, then his mom’d just nag at him. Going on and on about how he’s given too much to volleyball.
It wasn’t his fault he ate, slept, and breathed volleyball.
Sometimes, it just wouldn't allow him to exhale.
The beautiful sport, which had its sharp edges and terrifying corners, bit back, even through its enchantress. Its grimy fingers would reach out, dripping with fear of betrayal, and strangle him. Constricting his throat, he couldn’t breathe.
He’s had trouble breathing since middle school. When volleyball became his main focus. When it became more important than sleeping, eating, relationships, health, and life itself. Even with the switch to high school with the crows, he’d barely loosened up.
Until he met Shouyou, he’d been near strangulation.
Until he learned he didn’t have to balance the entire world on his shoulders, he’d been near strangulation. Volleyball became beautiful once again, and not an uphill battle.
Did it mutate into...fun? Yeah, that word. It became fun.
“Shouyou how are you getting over here? I will not allow you to walk in the blizzard,” Kageyama blurted, rubbed his head and blew his nose into a tissue.
“Already on my way, I’ll be there soon!” He hung up. Another one of his problems easily solved, unlike several of the others. Again, he looped back to the acquiring-medicine-thing. He wasn’t old enough to purchase the things he needed...unless—
Glancing at the clock, he knew if he could hurry, he could make it to Ukai’s store and purchase it there! Perfect! He could tell the truth to his mom: saying he’d go over to a teammate’s house for the night, so she wouldn’t worry about who it was—even though she knew him—and then only tell a little white lie to Ukai. He’d just say that he was buying extras for his family. That his mom had given him permission and money but was unable to come herself.
He’d then go on: ‘you should totally let me buy it since you trust your baby first-year crow, right?’
Ukai’d cave, he was sure of it.
Then, he’d keep Kageyama out of trouble. Although, Ukai wasn’t dense by any means. He’d know for sure that Tobio hadn’t taken care of himself and gotten himself sick if he found out anything about their setter’s condition.
Even if he gave in to the initial excuse, Ukai would most likely snuff out some sort of half-truth somewhere in there. Hinata’s desire wasn’t to lie to his coach, but he also didn’t want to get Kageyama in trouble. Especially since hiding the cold, or at least masking it, was feasible. He had the present day, Saturday, and Sunday to recover and ready himself for Monday practice.
Easy peasy. One hurdle, two hurdle; red hurdle, blue hurdle. Hinata’s mom and Ukai: the only obstacles.
He could do this.
He could do this.
They could do this.
Yes.
“Shouyou Hinata, where are you going?”
Crap.
“To a friend’s house, mom. Nothing crazy,” he shrugged and zipped the duffel closed, although a bit on edge. “Just heading over to a teammate’s house, yeah. A teammate’s house.”
“Shouyou Hinata, are you telling me the truth? Why are you fidgeting?”
Crap. Is my hand fidgeting in my hair already? I thought I was gonna keep my cool!
“No, mom. I’m going over to Kageyama’s house.”
Gonna tell her the truth. Easy peasy.
“Kageyama’s house, huh? If I call his mother, she’ll agree that that’s where you’re going and where you will end up?”
“I’m pretty sure, mom. You can ask her or even call Kageyama if you want,” he replied and started for the door.
“And you’re going to go in the snow? It’s really blowing out there, babe.”
“Mom, I’ll be fine. His house’s not that far and I totally know a shortcut!”
“You’re positive?”
“Yes, mom! I’ve gotta go!”
“Okay, put that scarf on before you go or I’ll have Mrs. Kageyama wring your neck.”
“Got it! I’ll be sure to be back soon with my neck still intact! Bye! I love you!”
“Love you too. Be careful in the snow.”
“Will do!”
He sprinted out the front door, loosely locked it, and yanked his bike out from beside the house. Shivering at the biting wind, he laced his hood and tied it with a neat double-knot. The snow flew against the brick, almost replaced immediately after Hinata swiped it off of the leather seat.
A trail followed him, imprinting in the snow. As the wind died down, a peaceful glaze shone over the top, a sparkling sensation. Hinata basked in it, the warmth of it all. The sight of the sun prevailing through the swirling clouds crammed itself through his vision, fizzing into a powdering drizzle of flakes.
It was so distracting he almost forgot he had to steer and pay attention to what was happening outside of the weather. Y’know, the people rushing home and other obstacles? Yeah, those things.
Also, crap, I have ten minutes to get to Ukai’s store before it’s officially closed. Then, my excuse of buying it as extras for my family would fade to invalidity, since it wouldn’t make sense for him to have to wait on me when I could merely wait until tomorrow.
Anyway, it may not even matter. That excuse won’t even make sense anyway, since I’ve ridden in the snow for no reason. Even if it just stopped blowing around like a crackhead after a hit, I’m covered in snow and freezing and wet-looking, like some dog.
He’ll probably ask why I’m there and I’ll just have to tell the truth, but lie about why Kageyama’s sick.
Yeah, I’ll do that.
Genius, aren’t I?
On an off-topic note: she never called.
Ukai was just locking the front doors as Hinata sped up, and struggled to throw on the brakes, careening towards the electric sliding doors at the front of the store. He turned, just in time to firmly grab the front of the handlebars and swing it around, using the wheel momentum to turn it. The snow underneath his boots served as perfect surface to spin around on his heels, he decided, and wheezed out a panicked breath.
“Shouyou Hinata, why are you going so fast?! You could’ve crashed right through those doors, or worse: you could’ve gotten yourself hurt! DO NOT do that!”
“I’m sorry, coach!” He frantically jumped off of his bike, lucky for Ukai not releasing his grip in the handlebars, and waved his hands frantically. “That was an accident! I didn’t mean to whoosh towards you and your doors and almost BAM! into them...or you!”
“Just slow down next time, kid. I’d hate to see our freakishly quick number-ten get hurt, yeah?”
“Yeah, coach. Nice save, anyway, though.”
“I used to have good reflexes, back in my old days,” He said. Hinata looked away and rolled his eyes, bracing for some long life story or something. “So what d’ya need from me, kid? If you sped up so quick, obviously you need somethin’, no?”
“Well, actually I do. I need some cold meds and immune system boosting multivitamins.”
“I’m not supposed to sell things like that to minors, Hinata. You probably already know that.”
“Yeah, but I gotta! Y’know because I have to!”
“You have to? What for?”
Dun-dun-dun.
There it was. The end-all be-all question he’d been dreading the entire time. Telling him a huge lie would be harder than just telling most of the truth. Just being honest would save him the trouble, anyway.
Wait.
He wouldn't even have to lie! He just wouldn’t have to tell him the entire, entire truth. As previously planned, he’d tell coach that Kageyama was sick, but not because he’d gone on a run. No one else would have to know of his blatant disobedience. Although, a pecking urge to tell on the boy that irked him most of times gnawed at him. It’d be rather fun to rat him out.
Whatever.
Besides, Kageyama constantly had his back when he needed it, so it’s his turn to return
the favor.
Returning the favor would come in the form of buying medicine and food, but not in the form of choosing words carefully or thinking of potential consequences per said words.
“I need them for Kageyama. He’s been neglecting his vitamins and, honestly, his health as a whole and has been doing stupid things for said health, so I’m here instead. I don’t know why his parents haven’t just bought some somewhere else, but now I’m here to do it and take it to him.”
Good going. That was really smooth. Way to rat Kageyama out without ratting him out, as well as making his parents look bad and neglectful. Yes. That’s exactly what we were going for, here. Spot on. Nailed it.
He cleared his throat and wrung his hands for warmth through his thin gloves, “So our setter’s got a cold, and you’re here to buy him some medicines. He’s not been taking care of his health well and his parents haven’t bought him medicine. Lovely.”
This is an entire disaster. A torrential typhoon, a horrible hurricane. Earth, please swallow me whole so I shalt die in peace.
“I will get you your medicines,” Ukai continued, “on one condition.”
Hinata perked up, “yes, coach?”
“Step inside and give me your phone.”
With nothing else, he turned, placing the bike on the ground gingerly. Keys jingling, the door was opened and they stepped in. Ukai held his hand out and Hinata faithfully delivered.
Ukai flipped it open and squinted at each contact. “Is ‘Stupid Boke’ Kageyama’s contact?”
Out loud, it sounded even more stupid, but stifling a laugh under Ukai’s terrifyingly serious coach aura was all-too-easy. “Well, yeah. It is.”
“Cool,” He clicked on it and then the little green phone icon. Hinata stiffened, realizing that this could actually be bad for Kageyama’s reputation. But, he made his choice. Kageyama knew full well what he did and what the repercussions could be.
Honestly, the realization that Hinata was actually that out of control of the situation set in. He really didn’t have that much grip. Most of it was out of reach, out of his control. Nothing he could do could change the intended trajectory of the situation.
Good thing volleyball wasn’t like that. He’d most likely rip out all his sunkissed hair if that was the case. He hated being out of the control seat, even if that meant things didn’t always go as planned when he was in said place.
But especially when it pertained to people he cared deeply for. For people that he loved so much.
“Shou?” Kageyama sniffled and lazily rubbed it with his index finger.
“It’s actually coach Ukai.”
Kageyama’s soul all but left his body, “Um, hey coach Ukai.”
Don't freak out. Don’t freak out. Don’t freak out.
“Hinata tells me you haven’t been takin’ care of yourself lately. That has resulted in you catching a cold. Is that right?”
“Yeah.”
“And you also haven’t been making good choices regarding your health lately either, have you?”
Hinata shifted his weight from foot to foot, resisting the itch to spring out of there, or to shrink down onto the ground.
Kageyama stood up and began a tour of his entire house, unsteadily of course, but began tracing through it anyway. Likewise gripping the phone with shaky hands, nervously controlling his breathing.
Everything's fine. Everything’s fine. Everything’s fine.
“I—wouldn’t put it like that, no. But sometimes I don’t make the most best decisions.”
Hit him with that good grammar. Nice.
“Well I’m going to need you to work on that. Starting with getting over whatever cold you’ve caught. That means that you’re going to refrain from running until at least Monday, as well as ensuring that you’re taking your vitamins every single day. Understood?”
“Yes, coach,” his tone wasn’t exasperated, but actually respectful. Everything he was saying was true, so obviously Kageyama had to listen to reason if he wouldn’t listen to anything else.
“Are your parents neglecting to take care of you, Kageyama?”
An answer returned much quicker this time: “No, coach. They’re both away on business at this time. I’ve got everything I need. Nothing to worry about.”
Ukai chewed on this for a moment, absorbing the word filtration and tone, “Well, alright. Just wanted to ensure everything’s right, here,” he thought again, “Do not neglect rest or sleep this weekend. At least nine hours of sleep today, and then tomorrow, and again Sunday. You understand?”
“Yes, coach. I fully understand. Thank you for—um, taking the time to look out for my, uh, wellbeing I guess.”
“Anytime. That’s my job. Get some rest, Kageyama.”
“Will do,” And with that, he hung up. For some reason, he’d found his way back to his bed and was resting once again. Peace, calm rolled over his shoulders, coursing down his spine.
It meant alot to have someone looking out for him...other than Shouyou and his other teammates, of course. Someone he could look up to as some sort of parental figure, especially since his dad barely had time to glance over at him.
To him, volleyball wasn’t a pursueable profession. To him, it was a waste of time, blood, sweat, tears, energy, focus, determination, pride. It was all the same to him. All just a waste.
Good thing Volleyball was the best ‘waste of time’ that had ever happened to him.
Hinata accepted the phone back into his hands, breathing a sigh of relief. Neither of them seemed mad. Well, for now. He knew he might be in it for the wrath when he made it to Tobio’s house, but he’d cross that bridge when he reached it.
“Grab what you need and get outta here, kid. I’ve got it covered today.”
“Hold on, really?” He hopped on his toes, holding his hands out defensively, like he participated in karate.
“Yes, really. Now hurry up before I change my mind,” Turns out, Ukai was not only a coach who used beer metaphors to explain volleyball morals; he was also a drug dealer. An illegal one, at that. Not an illegal drug dealer, but one that deals pharmaceuticals illegally to minors. If that makes it any better.
It’s not like it was a risk, however. If Ukai took just one second to be completely honest with himself, he trusted Kageyama and Hinata with a whole lot, and not just with some simple cold medicines. He trusted with acting as the foundations of their attacks, and not just because they acted as the setter and decoy, but because they lead in a way that no other on their team could.
They lead in a different way than Sawamura did. They weren’t captains nor did they have presence like one, but for sure he’d trust them to lead without even saying anything. He’d trust the entire team, because the freak duo weren’t the only ones who lead with their talent, strength, and play-style.
Ukai would put his full trust in the team. He’d put his life into the hands of the ladies and gentleman that helped him fall in love with volleyball once again. Coach would trust the teacher, Specs, with his life.
They had restored his sense of purpose. His love for volleyball. His desire to be a better person.
Hinata bowed in gratitude and grabbed what he requested initially, along with some cough drops, snacks, and tea, then hurried out. With another bow, he was off, pedaling quickly towards the house.
He hopped off of the bike, his teeth chattering as the background music along with the chorus of the wind. Which, in fact, had stopped whistling as much. Although, the snow had finally soaked into his outer clothes and scarf. Great.
Knock knock knock.
“Tobio if you don’t open up, I’m going to kick this door down if you do not open up!”
Another beat, both their hearts skipped one.
“Shouyou, I know you didn’t ride over here in that snowstorm!”
“Um, well, you see—”
The door ripped open, nearly scaring him out of his wits. He jumped, and then nervously twiddled his thumbs in front of him, averting Kageyama’s daggerly glare.
“Don’t just stand there, stupid boke. I’m not an idiot. Stop looking away from me like I’m just going to ignore that you’re shivering.”
“I’m sorry, okay Bakageyama? I didn’t mean to get you into trouble with Ukai or anyone! I didn’t tell him you went on a run and I didn’t mean to make your parents sound neglectful or that you were being stupid. I didn’t mean to rat you out but I had to go buy medications and—”
“Hinata, stop. Just stop, dumbass,” He reached out and pulled Hinata into a hug, clearly not caring whether his clothes resembed ones that had accompanied a polar plunge. Pulling his bright head into his chest, he curled his hair around his fingers lightly. Hinata had always been tender headed. “Thank you. I know you were just trying to help and I really appreciate it.”
Whoa. Where did that ease of speech or boldness come from?
Shou. It came from Shouyou. Of course it did. The ease and calm he brought despite his chaotic tendencies. For sure.
Kageyama felt better already.
“Wait a second!” Aaaaand the moment fleeted quicker than it had begun, “I came here to take care of you, not the other way around!”
“Well you can’t do that if you’re uselessly wet and hopelessly chattering like that,” they both stepped inside, out of the biting wind.
“Well, I’m not as useless or hopeless as you think! I brought clothes to change into!”
“We all know you didn’t pack those with this situation in mind! You brought those in case you were stuck here for more than just today, which you are.”
“Wait what?”
“If your boke-self had checked the weather, you would know that the next wave of the storm’s coming overnight.”
“I’ll just, uh.”
“Ride home in a few hours? In the dark and falling temperatures? I think not.”
Hinata folded his arms like a small child, yet spared himself from endless ridicule by resisting the desire to plop down right there on the floor criss-cross.
“Fine! You’re gonna win this time, stupid bakageyama!”
“Go—a-achoo! change into dry clothes. If you need a towel, well, you know where they are in the bathroom. Sling your wet clothes over the curtain rod.”
“Got it!” He chortled, wiggled his boots off of his feet, and pittered up the stairs two-at-a-time.
Kageyama collapsed on the couch, smiling like an idiot. Standing for that long wasn’t exactly the best idea, he concluded. However, it was very worth it. “I really hope he brought Ibuprofen too. My head’s killing me and I’m pretty sure I have a fever,” He said to himself.
Hinata changed as quickly as he could. His track-suit pants—which he had to roll twice at the bottom and once at the waistband—and fuzzy sweater Kageyama had gotten him last year around Christmas time, were the verdict. He rolled the sleeves twice as well, and unlocked the door and walked out.
“Merry Christmas, Tobio!” He beamed and held out the medicines he had gotten. Kageyama’s face twisted into inadvertent confusion, and his head cocked to the side slightly.
“Tomorrow isn’t Christmas, is it?”
“Uh, well yeah it is, actually, stupid dummy,” Hinata laughed softly. Kageyama’s heart nearly fell out of his ribcage or possibly actually did, and then suffered from a stroke all by itself. That laugh filled the room. Somebody please make a ten hour loop of that giggle. It’d ease his anxiety forever and ever amen. “Now take these.”
“Ukai actually let you buy these?” He asked around the corner as Hinata retrieved more water for him. Somehow, he’d spilled some on the counter in the process and insisted that everything was fine when he screamed a little bit in surprise.
“Yeah,” He sopped up the water with a nearby towel, “he wasn’t too crazy about it. Told me he’d give them to me, but only if he could call you, hence why he talked to you on my phone.”
Kageyama nodded, understanding the full picture. Hinata strode in, holding the glass with both hands. He took the medicines given to him plus the additional ibuprofen Hinata had smuggled from home. Kageyama had run out of those earlier in the day, so he was thankful for that as well.
“I was gonna wait until, like, tomorrow to give you this but I’ll give it to you now because you’re sick and all,” Hinata said. An unfamiliar awkwardness filled his throat, and a similarly foreign sense of self consciousness pooled in his lungs and stomach. The beautiful ‘what if’s’ made his scalp itch and face heat up.
He’s probably going to think it’s stupid or ugly. He’ll probably hate it or not like it or something. It’s stupid, really.
“Shou, just relax. What’s up with you shaking and blanking out over there?”
Shouyou turned meekly, clutching a fuzzy blanket in his hands. One look into Tobio’s dark pools calmed his joints, and his breath un-hitched. Wordlessly, he unfolded the soft, black fabric in front of him, standing on the chair behind him so the full piece could be seen without ground hindrance.
“Merry Christmas,” he said quietly, the quiver muffled through the fabric.
In the middle of the blanket, were hand-embroidered kanji characters, the familiar ‘Fly’ characters that painted their banners for matches. Down the top side, the stitching read:
‘Reach for the moon, if you miss, you’ll surely land among the stars’ in pretty cursive lettering.
Kageyama was speechless. Hinata just blushed. The familiar silence rested between them, gripping their hearts and thoughts. Although, it wasn’t an awkward, uncomfortable silence. Mutually, it was a normal silence, one dripping with...adoration and affection.
“Hinata...it’s really, really.”
“Ugly, I know. I messed up here,” He pointed to the spots Kageyama hadn’t even noticed, nor would have cared about. His eyes moved from corner to corner, starting from the bottom and making his way all the way up to Hinata’s beautiful hazel oceans, peering at him with fear-for-judgement. “And here, and here. Oh, and there—”
“I wasn’t talking about that. To me, there aren’t any mistakes. I was gonna say that it’s beautiful, Shou. Thank you so mu—” He broke into a coughing fit that forced him to stand from his seat to catch his breath. “Sorry.’’
“You apologize too much, Tobio,” Hinata said, and hopped down. He chased Tobio across the room and tackled him onto the couch.
Not much time after, he was burritoed up in the soft blanket, with Hinata right beside him, wrapped up in the blanket as well. His head rested on Kageyama’s shoulder, although otherwise taking note of the serious heat that radiated through his t-shirt.
“I should probably go make you some tea,” Hinata wiggled to get out of the blanket.
“No, stay.”
“Well, I guess if you don’t want any tea, Bakageyama.”
“I want you instead, Shou.”
“Well, alright then,” he beamed and rested his head back on the shoulder. Sometime later, they both fell into dreamless, restful sleep. Tobio got more sleep than he’d gotten in a long time, and fulfilled his promise to Ukai.
Nine hours?
Try twelve.