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It’s the end of their first year when Hinata decides to ask Kageyama to come to his place after school. Nationals came and left, and now, what was left for them to do other than practice volleyball together and play video games?
Hinata’s buzzing with excitement. Although he’d never tell him, Kageyama is his best friend; they understand each other better than anyone else does and share so many interests that it’s almost hard to believe they spend a lot of their time together bickering.
I guess that’s what happens when your best friend is also your rival, Hinata muses.
He doesn’t expect for Kageyama to say yes, but he does, and it only makes him wish he had asked him sooner. He throws a fist in the air and shouts enthusiastically to which Kageyama rolls his eyes, but there’s a soft hint of red dancing across his cheeks; Hinata thinks maybe, just maybe, Kageyama is excited about coming over, too.
When school ends, they walk the path to Hinata’s house together, bike riding alongside them. They make a stop at the convenience store to pick up meat buns and while they’re there, Hinata tells him about Natsu and how she’ll probably want to join them, but they are under no obligation to entertain her.
“We’re gonna have fun today, Bakageyama,” Hinata announces with a spark in his eyes. “Just me and you—no Natsu! She can interrupt another day, but not today.”
“And why not today?” Kageyama asks with his mouth full.
“Because Kageyama,” he emphasizes, “today is the first time you’re coming over! I want to remember this forever.”
Kageyama quickly reminds him that he has a lousy memory and doesn’t expect him to remember this day after next week; Hinata simply sticks his tongue out as a rebuttal, but the corners of his best friend’s lips go up slightly, and it doesn’t go unnoticed by him.
They greet Hinata’s mom at the door, and almost immediately, she embarrasses Hinata.
“Oh, so you’re Shoyo’s best friend! I’ve heard so much about you,” she says with a genuine smile.
“Mom!” Hinata wails. He knows his face is red after the big reveal, but even worse, is the smirk Kageyama gives him at the mention of being called his best friend.
It’s at that moment that a curious ball of energy—otherwise known as Natsu—enters the room and runs at full speed into Hinata’s arms. It takes her a minute to notice there’s someone next to her brother, but when she does, all she says is: “You’re tall. Can you help me make a tower with my plushies?”
Hinata watches Kageyama slowly give in to his sister’s adorable pout, and ten minutes later, their plushie tower is a few inches taller than Natsu; she demands Kageyama pick her up so she can keep stacking more and more until it collapses. Hinata glances at the setter, worried that he might be getting annoyed, but with a grunt, he picks up his sister and places her on his shoulders.
He’s good with kids, Hinata realizes.
He doesn’t seem to mind when Natsu tugs at his hair or shrieks a little too loudly at the sight of wobbly tower, but more importantly, Hinata comes to the conclusion Kageyama likes his sister—because when the tower collapses and Natsu asks him if they can try again, he lets out a laugh so soft that Hinata would’ve missed it if he weren’t watching them so intently.
“Oi, dum—I mean, Hinata,” he corrects himself, and it’s enough to snap Hinata back into reality. “Don’t just stand there. This is a group effort.”
“Yeah, Shoyo! Come help,” his sister says from the top of Kageyama’s shoulders. For a brief second, he’s a little jealous cause his sister appears taller than him and because Kageyama did not complain about carrying her (he wants to see the view from his shoulders, he comes to realize later).
“Yeah, yeah, but after this, Kageyama and I are gonna play video games,” he warns her. Natsu doesn’t care enough to respond.
An hour later, Natsu is fast asleep in her room after a long day of tower building and laughing. There’s about an hour left till sundown, which means there’s an hour left till Kageyama has to go home; Hinata gets this weird feeling in his stomach at the thought of his friend leaving, but quickly pushes the thought to the side. Right now, he needs to focus on the game in front of him.
Kageyama is good at a lot of things; Hinata knows this without a doubt, but after three rounds of Super Smash, he starts to get the feeling that Kageyama isn’t good at video games.
“Wow, Bakageyama,” he says after knocking out Kageyama’s Mario, “you kind of suck at this, huh?”
A pillow hits the side of his face and he laughs at the impact. The boy in question looks embarrassed, but there’s a look in his eyes that Hinata recognizes. It’s a look that he receives often; Kageyama’s gaze says I’ll get better, and then I’ll win.
They launch themselves into rematch after rematch after rematch, and Hinata can feel his eyes getting tired from staring at the screen for too long, and he’s willing to bet Kageyama’s eyes hurt, too. The last match ends with Kageyama finally punching Hinata’s Kirby off-screen; it’s the only win he has over Hinata, but it’s all he needs to brag about how he’s getting better and next time, he won’t lose.
Hinata tries to argue back, but all he can think about is Kageyama mentioning that there will be a next time—Kageyama wants to come over again after today, and the uneasiness in Hinata’s stomach slowly fades away.
Hinata walks Kageyama to the front door, asks him to double check he has everything, and soon enough, they’ve said their goodbyes and he’s watching Kageyama’s retreating figure while the sunsets.
Later that night, his phone lights up with a new text message.
I left my hoodie at your place. Can you bring it on Monday?
Hinata replies back with a quick ‘YEA’, turns off his bedroom light, and gets into bed while wearing Kageyama’s hoodie.
It’s the night before his flight to Brazil. All of his friends from Karasuno have come by to say their goodbyes and offer him a gift. Well, almost all of them—he’s sitting on the rooftop of Kageyama’s house, waiting for the nineteen year old to return with the secret bottle of vodka given to him by Tanaka (“He said it was a gift for making it pro.”).
The sky is a mix of pinks and oranges and yellows. The sun hasn’t set completely, but it’s getting there—soon it’ll be dark, and a new day will come, and with it, a new life in Brazil. He’s nervous, anxious, excited, but most of all, he’s scared. He keeps wondering if this is the right thing to do; his friends are going to college, and some are playing for teams there. In his heart, however, he knows it’s the easy way out. He wants to get better, wants to be challenged, so when the time comes, he can finally defeat Kageyama.
Kageyama’s halfway up the ladder when he calls for Hinata to grab the bottle from his hands. They sit close to each other, legs stretched out, and vodka in between them. It’s weird to think he wouldn’t be sitting this close to Kageyama for two years; he breaks his gaze away from the sky and onto the figure next to him.
We’re different now, Hinata concludes.
Kageyama’s bangs no longer covered his face; instead, they were split down the middle, letting people see his face and eyes more clearly. Hinata’s been around him for about five years now, so he’s familiar with Kageyama’s facial features; however, with the sunset illuminating his face, Hinata finds little things he’s never noticed before.
“Are you just gonna spend our last night together staring at me?”
His face burns at the question. “Sorry,” he mutters. “I just want to remember this forever.”
Kageyama takes the first swig of the alcohol after Hinata speaks. He makes a face at the taste, and Hinata can’t help the laugh that escapes him. Neither of them have ever drank before (volleyball didn’t really give them much time to party), so he’s glad they’re experiencing this together for the first time.
The bottle is placed back down between them, and Hinata reaches for it and takes a gulp. It burns and does not taste good, and suddenly, he gets why Kageyama made a face; he forces himself to swallow the rest of it down before placing the bottle back down.
It’s quiet for a few minutes, and his mind wanders off again to thinking about how fast everything is happening. Tomorrow, he’ll be in Brazil alone. Kageyama will go back to his Adlers dorm and probably forget this night. No more meeting up on Kageyama’s off days or going to his games.
“Don’t think about it too much.” He looks to his setter and sees his blue eyes staring at him.
They look sad, is his first thought.
“I’m not,” he argues.
There’s a snort followed by another swig of the vodka. “Yes, you are, dumbass. I know you. Right now, I know all you’re thinking about is tomorrow and how different things will be.” He stops and seems to think about his next words carefully. “But I also know you’re not the type to give up and give into fear. That’s how I know you’ll be okay.”
He’s not sure what to say to that because well, Kageyama’s right (he’d never admit that to him). “When did you get all wise and knowledgeable?” He teases.
Kageyama points at the bottle of vodka. “I have a feeling I’m going to be really honest tonight.”
Hinata laughs and Kageyama smiles. They’ve been through so much together and done so much together throughout these past five years; it hits him like a ton of bricks how much he’s going to miss his best friend. They can call and text each other all they want, but it’s never going to compare to all the nights they spent playing video games, playing with Natsu, going to V. League games, going out for food.
Or sitting on a roof drinking alcohol, he adds.
“Hey, Bakageyama,” the setter laughs at the nickname, “let’s play twenty questions since you’re feeling really honest tonight.”
“What if we don’t want to answer a question?”
Hinata furrows his brows before the idea comes to him. He grabs the bottle of alcohol and waves it in front of Kageyama’s face. “Then we have to take a huge sip!”
He seems to like the idea, and the game starts. They tell each other everything, so the first few questions are hard to think of—but then Hinata starts feeling bolder.
“Okay, okay, my turn, Kageyama,” he takes a deep breath, “do you have a crush on someone?”
“Yes.” The bottle is passed back to Hinata. “Do you have a crush on someone?”
He knew this question was coming, yet somehow he didn’t know how to answer that. His first instinct is to say ‘No, volleyball doesn’t give me time’, but his heart is beating a little too hard, too fast for that statement to be true. He tried dating Yachi his second year, but after they shared their first kiss, it was evident there was nothing between them; no girl had gotten his attention after that, but it could be because he spent all his free time with Kageyama, and they didn’t want him there.
“He’s my best friend! If Kageyama can’t come, then I don’t want to go,” he told a girl during his third year.
“Hinata, this is a date, not a hang out. You can’t bring him to the date! He’d be third wheeling.”
“Then sorry, but I don’t want to go on a date with you.”
Maybe he just likes spending time with Kageyama. He likes getting meat buns with him. He likes when Kageyama calls him after he’s done with practice. He likes when Kageyama gives him Adlers merch, so he can wear it to his games. He likes playing volleyball with him when they’re free. He likes the sleepovers they have, but he likes them even more when Kageyama lets him sleep next to him.
Or maybe, Hinata thinks, I like Kageyama.
“Yeah,” he croaks out after the drunken realization hits him. “I have a crush on someone.”
He quickly pushes the bottle of vodka back to Kageyama and throws out his next question before he can regret it. “Is it me? Your crush, I mean,” he nervously asks.
It’s dark now, but he can still see the moment Kageyama’s eyes widen. He doesn’t say anything, just seems lost in thought. Hinata’s almost sure the setter’s going to tell him ‘No, dumbass’, but his heart rate skyrockets when he watches him pull the bottle of vodka up to his lips and drink.
This is bad, this is bad, this is bad.
The bottle’s in his grasp again. “Is it me?” He hears Kageyama ask quietly.
Kageyama likes me. I like Kageyama.
Hinata knows he can’t say that—not when he’s leaving tomorrow and won’t get to see him for two years. He knows Kageyama doesn’t deserve to wait for him to come back, but god, he wants to tell him. He wants to tell his best friend how he feels.
He takes a huge gulp from the bottle, and the look on Kageyama’s face tells him that he knows.
“I leave tomorrow,” Hinata reminds him softly.
“I know,” is all Kageyama says before taking the bottle from Hinata’s hand. He moves it away from both of them, indicating he’s done playing the game.
Right now, you look so beautiful.
His heart agrees with his mind as he watches the moon shine on Kageyama’s face. He doesn’t want to forget this night, not now, not ever. He’s convinced the night can’t get any better until Kageyama takes his left hand and interlocks their fingers together.
“I’m going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss you more, dumbass.”
It’s the morning after the Adlers-Jackals match. Hinata feels groggy, sore, and hungry. His body is telling him to stay in bed, to get some more rest, but his stomach is saying otherwise. He turns his head to the window and the sun is barely rising. He throws an arm over his face and groans.
I’m so sleepy, but so hungry, he complains internally.
A loud bang comes from outside his bedroom, and it startles him wide awake. Fear starts to set in as he thinks someone broke into his Jackals dorm; he’s reaching over to grab his phone to call Atsumu when he spots another phone lying next to his. He taps the screen of the unknown phone and it lights up: staring back at him is a picture of him and Kageyama after one of his Adlers games.
The memories of last night start coming to him in flashes. Seeing Kageyama again. Winning the game with his teammates. Kageyama asking him to join him in a foreign league when the season is over. Hinata getting asked to join the national team. Hinata dragging Kageyama back to his place. Kissing him against the wall, on his couch, on his bed. Feeling complete, warm, and happy.
He puts his phone back down and gets up to see what the setter is up to.
He finds him in front of the stove, making what looks like an attempt at breakfast. He doesn’t say anything to alert him that he’s there; he wants to take the time and admire him.
He’s different now.
Kageyama’s bare back is on display and Hinata takes this time to greedily appreciate how much stronger and how much broader he looks. The nail scratches on his back remind Hinata of the fun they had last night, and it makes his skin flush. He’s lost the teenage look on his face—there’s a more mature man in his place now.
“Whatcha making?” He asks while leaning against his fridge. Kageyama jumps at the sound of his voice and almost drops the spatula he’s holding.
Kageyama turns the stove off and wipes his hands on the hand towel on the counter. “I was hoping to make pancakes for breakfast, but you didn’t have pancake mix.”
“So you’re making eggs?”
Kageyama looks back down at his attempt. “I was trying to make something for you, okay?”
Hinata laughs and Kageyama smiles. It feels familiar like nothing ever changed between them, and if last night was real, then their feelings didn’t change either. “I missed you.”
Kageyama walks up to him and pins him against the fridge. His lips are close to Hinata’s, and he wants nothing more than to take out two years worth of pining on them. “I missed you more, dumbass.”
When their lips connect, Hinata sees the day Kageyama first came over, he tastes the vodka all over again, he hears his laugh from all those times they played with Natsu, he smells the scent that lingered on his hoodie, he feels the touch of his fingers from that night on the roof.
I didn’t forget, he thinks with delight.