Chapter Text
1174 Days.
That was how long it had been since Kageyama last saw Hinata.
It was fine, he told himself, long distance was completely doable. And it was for Hinata's sake, after all. He wanted to leave the country to improve, to finally rise to the top, and Kageyama wouldn't stand in his way even if being apart killed him.
They weren't completely separate, of course. They facetimed, and texted constantly, and sent pictures back and forth every day. Kageyama still got to see Hinata's smiling face whenever he wanted, still got to hear his voice whenever he needed it. But it wasn't the same. It never could be.
Because Kageyama still woke up in the morning, on their 1175th day without seeing each other, in a cold bed with no sunshine beside him.
They had a schedule: Kageyama would call immediately in the morning, and could usually catch Hinata in the late afternoon. They would only have a couple of minutes together before Hinata had to head back to practice, but Kageyama could hear his voice, at least. He had to be satisfied with little things like that. A few minutes of Hinata's voice could make the rest of the day seem a little more bearable.
There would be more scheduled calls every few hours when they were convenient, and neither of them had ever missed them. They would have to reschedule from time to time, but if one called, the other picked up. It was their unspoken rule.
It had been that way for 1174 days straight.
But today, when Kageyama rolled over in bed and immediately dialed Hinata, the call went straight to voicemail. It didn't even ring.
Kageyama took a deep breath and tried to keep himself from clenching the phone too tight in his hands. He redialed once, twice, three times before he had to give up. Okay, so Hinata's phone died, or he turned it off at practice, or he just didn't want to answer.
That was fine. Totally fine.
Kageyama could do nothing but get out of bed and wait for the next call.
Kageyama had a day off, for once, which should've been a good thing. He should've been out with friends, or relaxing while he watched TV, or doing some light practice. He shouldn't have been spending the whole day staring at his phone, waiting for Hinata to answer his "good morning" text.
But that seemed like how the day was going to go, because it was all he did for the next two hours.
And for the first time in years, Hinata didn't say a word. As far as Kageyama could see, he hadn't even read his text.
That was when Kageyama started to get worried. Maybe Hinata could miss a phone call, but not texting back? Hinata texted him at every opportunity, to send stories about Brazil or selfies with other players or just because he felt like it. Kageyama even thought it was annoying, just how dedicated Hinata was to blowing up his phone.
But, whatever. No "good morning Tobio!!!"
That was fine. Absolutely, utterly, fine.
Kageyama forced his eyes away from the phone, eventually, and spent the rest of the morning watching volleyball footage from his old games. It was the only way he could think of to pass the time. He resisted the urge to watch the tapes of their high school matches, to see Hinata's quick in action, the two of them working in perfect sync on the court. It pissed him off, to see himself looking at Hinata so nonchalantly in the footage, when these days Kageyama would give just about anything to see his face.
Sticking to professional matches hurt a lot less.
At noon, Kageyama waited patiently for the regular phone call from Shoyo, or at least a "good night" text. Maybe he had a busy afternoon, that could be excused. But he would have time for Kageyama before he went to bed. he always had.
At 2 pm, after staring at an empty screen for hours, Kageyama decided to give up hope.
So, Hinata hadn't answered a call or texted or said a single word all day. That was fine. Totally, absolutely, utterly fine.
Well, not exactly. It was anything but fine.
Kageyama felt like he'd gotten punched in the gut. Who gave Hinata the right to ignore him? For all Tobio knew, he was sick, or injured, or dead for god's sake, or-
No more thinking about where Hinata was. Kageyama was going to make himself throw up.
He spent the rest of the afternoon watching sitcoms and holding his phone too tight in his hand, like if he held on hard enough he could will a notification to come. But there wasn't a single word. Even on social media, Hinata was completely silent--not a tweet or a photo or a like on anyone else's post.
Slowly, Kageyama began to huddle into a pile of blankets on the couch, and he decided that he would stay there until the end of time. Things were okay from the blanket pile. He was comfortable, at least, and when he was all swaddled up he could pretend that Shoyo was beside him, that he was the one keeping him warm.
Then, of course, the doorbell rang, and Kageyama was forced to get up from his stupid daydreams.
"Jesus fucking Christ," Kageyama sighed, as he got up from his cocoon and made his way to the front door. "Of all the fucking days to get an unexpected visitor." He furiously undid the lock on the door, while the person outside rang the doorbell a second and third time. "God, I hear you! Who the hell-"
The door swung open from the outside, and Kageyama was staring at a man he hadn't seen in over 1174 days.
"Hi, Tobi," Hinata said almost nervously, shifting his suitcase back and forth in his hands. "I'm home." He was different, taller and tanner, the results of his years of hard work showing clearly. But it was still Hinata. Kageyama's Hinata.
Tobio froze in the doorway. This couldn't be real. A dream, maybe, or some kind of hallucination.
Hinata looked like he was trying to shrink. "Are you going to say anything?"
Kageyama blinked at him. "You dumbass. Why didn't you answer my calls?"
Hinata pouted. "It was supposed to be a surprise. And they made me turn my phone off on the plane." He gently dropped his suitcase in the hall and looked up at Kageyama. "So? Are you happy to see me?"
If this was a dream, Kageyama decided that it was the best one of his life. He reached his arm out and wrapped it around Hinata's waist, pulling him close so that he could hold him tight, so that he never had to let go. Tears came to his eyes and he willed them back, tried to pull himself together. He wasn't going to cry first.
"Of course I'm happy to see you. I missed you like crazy. Don't ever ignore my phone calls again."
Hinata laughed and looked up and gave that smile, that stupidly bright sunshine smile, and Kageyama felt his entire world grow warmer.
1174 days. That was how long Kageyama went without seeing Hinata.
He would never go another day like that again.