Archive of Our Own

"Alright, final lap and then circle up!" Ukai called.

Hinata and Kageyama made eye contact, then began sprinting with all their might around the gym, causing their team members to jump out of their way. Right as they began to close the final lap, they both jumped and hit the floor, trying to reach where Ukai stood.

"I made it!"

"No, I did!"

"My arms are longer than yours, I reached them first!" Kageyama growled.

"So you cheated!"

"It's not cheating, it's a biological advantage."

"Enough!" Ukai barked as the rest of the team joined them on the floor at Ukai and Takeda's feet. Once the team had all taken a seat, he began talking again. "You all did a great job at the Tokyo camp, and we're beginning to see some real results here. I know this is supposed to be your summer vacation, so I wanted to say thank you for continuing to work so hard."

He paused to grant them all a rare smile.

"Now, Takeda-sensei has something he'd like to talk about."

Takeda stepped forward, his eyes sparkling. "We've seen firsthand the skills and strengths that the other teams have. Blocking, offense, serves, adaptability, and more. But what they all have in common is great team work. A chain cannot hold if all of the links don't work together, and that's what makes it strong. We have a great team, but I believe we can be even stronger! And that's when I came up with a team bonding idea that combines training and practice with fun and summer…a beach weekend!"

Hinata, Noya, and Tanaka whooped loudly as the others clapped and spoke excitedly to each other.

"We'll be going this Friday through Sunday. Please have your parents sign these permission slips," Takeda said as Yachi and Kiyoko distributed the papers, "and be prepared for a lot of teambuilding activities!"

Tanaka raised his hand. "Will the managers be coming with us?"

"Yes, we're planning on it," Kiyoko answered.

Tears instantly sprang into Tanaka's eyes, and Noya clutched the back of his friend's shirt as they both lowered their heads in reverence at the idea of seeing Kiyoko in a bathing suit.

"Yachi! Will you collect seashells with me?" Hinata asked.

"Sure!" she said.

"Who'd want to do something as stupid as that?" Kageyama muttered to himself.

"Nobody asked you, Kageyama!" Hinata snapped, whirling on him.

"Good! I wouldn't want to anyway!" he growled back, looming closer.

Hinata closed the distance, and their foreheads ground together as they snarled insults at each other. Daichi was trying to no avail to get them to stop.

Ukai looked from their feuding star players to Takeda. "You better have some pretty great bonding activities planned, teach."

"Oh, I do," he said with mischievous eyes.

***

Hinata was the last to arrive at the gym on Friday morning, frantically pedaling up to the waiting group. Kageyama was the first to spy his orange mop approaching in the distance. His heart rate increased like it always did whenever Hinata was around. It was like Hinata was an electric wire, and Kageyama couldn't relax around him or he'd get shocked. It set his teeth on edge.

"Coooooach!" Hinata yelled as he all but fell off his bike. "I can't find my permission slip anywhere, but my mom did sign it! She's at work, but I can call her and she can tell you—"

"It's okay, Hinata," Takeda said. "Your mom faxed me your permission slip yesterday. She had a feeling you might lose track of it."

The team burst into laughter, and Hinata blushed as bright as his hair. Kageyama rolled his eyes. The team then helped load the rest of the supplies for the weekend into the bus storage compartments while Hinata deposited his bike in the club room.

Once all the preparations were done, Takeda stood before them and began speaking. "Now, before we get on the bus, I have assigned you all into pairings! While you may talk to everyone on the bus trip, I want you to sit with your partner and learn five new things about each other, and we'll all share what we've learned when we arrive at the beach! First pair: Hinata and Narita!"

"First dibs on seating!" Hinata cheered. He and Narita smiled at each other as they got onto the mini bus.

"Next, Nishinoya and Yamaguchi!"

Noya jumped up and threw an arm around Yamaguchi, causing the taller boy to stoop over as they laughed and walked to the bus.

"Azumane and Kinoshita!"

Kageyama looked around at the dwindling team members. He wouldn't mind being paired with any of them, except Tsukishima, of course. At least Hinata was already out of the way. The thought of sitting with him for that long gave him goosebumps. It seemed like Takeda was pairing students who didn't know each other that well, so he likely wouldn't be with Sugawara. Ennoshita was a possibility, or even Tanaka. He just didn't want it to be—

"Tsukishima and Kageyama!"

Of course, he thought to himself. He looked over and saw Tsukishima glaring at him already. Kageyama briefly wondered if he would've actually preferred Hinata to this as they made their way to the bus.

Tsukishima walked on first and stood in front of an empty bus seat. Kageyama waited for him to take his seat.

"What are you waiting for?" Kageyama asked, already annoyed.

"You sit first," Tsukishima replied.

"Don't try being polite. It doesn't suit you," he snapped.

"I need the leg room of the aisle," the blonde said, stepping forward and looming over Kageyama. "You get the window."

"Is there a problem already?" someone behind them asked nicely.

They turned around and saw Daichi and Ennoshita waiting behind them in the aisle. Daichi, who'd spoken, was smiling, but there was a death threat in his eyes. Kageyama grumbled incoherently to himself and took the seat by the window. He actually preferred the window seat, but he didn't like giving in to what Tsukishima wanted.

A few minutes later, the rest of the team had filed on, including the managers and coaches. Takeda stood at the front of the bus.

"Okay, everyone! Remember to learn five new things about your partner! We'll be there in a couple hours."

The team began talking as Takeda got into the driver's seat and fired up the bus.

"You have an older brother right?" Kageyama asked. "That's one."

"Yes, but you already know that, so it doesn't count," Tsukishima retorted.

"But I didn't know for sure!"

"Doesn't. Count."

"Okay, tell me about your parents."

"I don't want to."

Kageyama growled. "Then tell me something!"

"You first."

Behind him, Kageyama heard Hinata snicker and knew the brat had been listening in. He turned around and peered at Hinata over the bus seat.

"Mind your business," Kageyama snapped.

"Narita and I already learned our five things while we were waiting on the rest of you," Hinata said, smiling brightly.

Something about that pissed him off. "Oh yeah? Prove it!"

"I don't have to!"

"Then I don't believe you!"

"I don't care!"

"Guys, please," Narita said gently, holding his hands up.

As chatter from the team filled the bus, Ukai looked at Takeda from where he sat in the front seat.

"Not too shabby, specs," Ukai said, sounding impressed. "But who do I get paired with?"

"Oh." Takeda smiled. "I didn't pair the managers and coaches."

"Then I guess I'll be paired with you," Ukai murmured, leaning forward. "I look forward to learning more about you."

Takeda blushed, his hands tightening on the wheel.

***

Once they arrived at the beach house, the price for getting off the bus was telling Takeda their five new facts about their partner, then they were instructed to gather in the living room and wait for further instructions. Kageyama had to start his over five times because he kept leaving out the stupid little details that Tsukishima had included just to make him mad. Like, who cared about the distinction of a favorite color being dark forest green instead of just green?

Takeda walked into the room, noticeably without Ukai, Yachi, and Kiyoko.

"There are three bedrooms in the house. Coach and I get the master bedroom, and the managers get the twin beds in one bedroom. There are two more beds in a third bedroom. The rest of you will sleep in the living room."

Groans sounded from around the room. Takeda rubbed the back of his head.

"I know, I know, but we didn't have enough money to rent a house with a lot of beds. But! This means we'll be having a competition for the last two beds! And the competition will be…beach volleyball!"

The team began chattering excitedly.

"Ukai and the managers are setting up the court right now down at the beach. As you know, beach volleyball is played in pairs. And this time, you get to pick your pairing yourself! The winning pair gets the bedroom!"

The gears in Kageyama's brain started turning. He'd stand a decent chance with any of the spikers, but his best chance, he knew, would be if he were paired with Hinata. But if they won, they'd have to share a bedroom, and he didn't love that idea.

He turned and found Hinata's eager eyes on him. The kid was practically quivering with excitement, presumably at the idea of a challenge like beach volleyball. As they looked at each other, Hinata's eyes narrowed and he tilted his head to the side. Grudgingly, Kageyama nodded. So it was decided.

"Alright, team! Let's go!" Takeda said as they left their bags behind and began jogging down to the beach to warm up.

"I want to play together too, but this is the best way to make sure one of us is there to protect them while they sleep!" Tanaka hissed to Noya as they went.

"You're right, you're right." Noya clapped Tanaka on the back. "I wish you luck, my friend."

"For Kiyoko."

"For Kiyoko," Noya confirmed, then ran forward and jumped onto Asahi's back, causing the taller man to stumble. "Asahi! Wanna be my partner?"

"Oh, uh, well—"

"Great!"

"Idiots," Kageyama muttered, then turned to Hinata. "Listen, your stamina is going to be our best asset. Running on sand is way more exhausting, and I'm betting it's going to throw a lot of them off. Don't let it throw you off too."

"Got it," Hinata said, nodding.

Kageyama pause, surprised that Hinata had agreed. "You also won't be able to jump as high, so prepare for that."

"Yes!"

Takeda led the team down to where Ukai and the girls had set up the beach volleyball court. Ukai turned to face them, a grin on his face.

"Alright, team! A few things to go over," he said. "You'll notice the court is smaller. That's because sand is harder to run on than a hardwood court. There also isn't an attack line. Both players are allowed to go anywhere in the court and perform any actions. You'll also see the ball is bigger and lighter than what you're used to. And, a block counts as one of the three touches. We'll play two sets to 21 points, and if there's a third it's played to 15. Got it?"

"Yes sir!" they chorused.

They divided into their pairings, and then waited to figure out what their brackets would be. Since they didn't have eight teams to break up nicely into a bracket, the two teams with the highest statistics would automatically be in the second bracket. Kiyoko and Yachi bent over their notebooks, doing the math with regard to who was paired with who, and then—

"The two pairings automatically in bracket two are Azumane and Nishinoya—" Noya cheered and jumped on Asahi's back again. "—and Kageyama and Hinata!"

Kageyama straightened up, stunned. He knew he was technically skilled, and that he and Hinata worked really well together on the court, but they had variable success rates and Hinata had almost no game sense. He'd thought for sure the other team would be Daichi and Sugawara.

Hinata seemed to be thinking the same thing, because he turned to Kageyama and grinned. "I'm glad I didn't drag you down!" he said.

Kageyama clenched his jaw and looked away. He clenched his hands into fists as his stomach twisted. "You have your own merits," he grumbled almost unwillingly. "Now pay attention to these first matches," he snapped.

The other four pairs drew straws to decide their matches. It would be Daichi and Sugawara versus Narita and Kinoshita, and Tanaka and Ennoshita versus Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. A flip of the coin determined that the Daichi and Suga vs. Narita and Kinoshita match would happen first.

"Come on, captains!" Tanaka cheered.

"Kick their asses, guys!" Ennoshita shouted to his second year friends, who looked like they were already kissing the third bedroom goodbye.

The difference between playing indoor and outdoor was immediate. Like Kageyama had said, they couldn't run as fast or jump as high. Sugawara had immediately adjusted his sets to this new jumping height. He also noticed that the way they received changed. They started jumping with their receives, rather than just using their arms.

Daichi and Sugawara won both sets, and then it was Tsukishima and Yamaguchi's turn against Tanaka and Ennoshita. Kageyama felt Hinata straighten up beside him to pay closer attention, and he smiled. They'd be playing the winners of this match. The sand really seemed to throw Tanaka off his game at first, and Yamaguchi's float serves worked really well with the lightweight ball, but the second years got their feet under them soon enough and took the second and third sets.

The next match was Asahi and Nishinoya against Daichi and Sugawara, which was a game like nothing they'd ever seen before. Nishinoya took to the beach court like a sand beetle, springing up from his dives and back to running with no problem. However, he and Asahi had trouble finding a rhythm with their two person team.

Instinctively, Noya clung to the back of the court and dug up most of the balls, but that left Asahi to set up the spike for Noya, which neither of them were used to. The first set was close, but Asahi and Nishinoya eked out the win. In the second set, it was clear they switched up tactics so Asahi was doing most of the receiving, leaving Noya to set up the spikes. That increased their effectiveness, but it seemed like Daichi and Sugawara were ready for it. The third years took the second set, and then the third set after that.

"Tanaka!" Noya cried with tears in his eyes. "It's up to you!"

Tanaka put his fist over his chest and nodded solemnly.

"Come on," Kageyama said, dragging Hinata up to his feet.

"I've got it!" Hinata yelped, slapping Kageyama's hands away from him. Kageyama's hands tingled, and he frowned.

When the game started, Kageyama saw Hinata's shortcomings almost immediately. The sand did throw him off, even with Kageyama's warnings. Everything he'd come to rely on—his speed, his jumping, his ability to change direction—was affected by it. Kageyama was able to pick up Hinata's slack most of the time, however, it didn't win them the first set.

"Get it together!" Kageyama snapped as Hinata scraped sand out of his mouth after another failed play.

"I'm trying!" Hinata yelled back. "I can't—"

"Do you trust me?" Kageyama.

"Yes," Hinata said immediately.

"Then act like it," Kageyama said, holding his hand out. "I'll get the ball to you."

Hinata took his hand, then nodded. Kageyama's heart rate increased as he helped him up to his feet, and then Tanaka served. Hinata managed the receive, landing on his elbows, then started to scramble up when everybody shouted. Kageyama watched as Hinata noticed the ball on the opposite side of the court and realized that he had done a dump. Hinata grinned, and it was like sunshine. They may be down in the middle of the second set, but they were still in it.

True to his word, Kageyama did get the ball to Hinata. He'd been watching Hinata's jumps during the first set and now knew how to adjust to Hinata's new jumping height. The only problem was that in order to properly set to Hinata, that meant Hinata would have to receive, and the reliability of that was even less in the sand than indoors. So Kageyama ended up doing most of the receives, using momentum and his whole body to try to bump the ball to where Hinata could spike it over, resulting in only two hits on their side.

The second set was hard fought, but Kageyama and Hinata pulled the win out. In the shorter third set, it was clear that Tanaka and Ennoshita's stamina was waning, but Hinata and Kageyama's wasn't. With the opposing team slowing down in the sand, it gave them the advantage to win.

Hinata jumped on Kageyama, ruffling his hair as they fell over into the sand. Kageyama blushed when he realized that Hinata was straddling his hips with his hands in Kageyama's hair. He shoved Hinata off of him and strode over to where Yachi had water bottles ready for them.

What a child, Kageyama thought to himself as he drank, then splashed some water on his face to cool his cheeks.

They all took a fifteen minute break before the last match to give Kageyama and Hinata time to recover.

"Daichi's better at receiving than you are, but you've got the stronger spikes," Kageyama mumbled. "If only you could receive too, then we'd be set up pretty good. Sugawara's gotta have some tricks up his sleeve, and they'll adapt pretty quickly, so we can't just keep doing what we were doing against Ennoshita and Tanaka."

"Whatever you say," Hinata said, which made Kageyama's temper flare at first, until he realized that Hinata was being sincere rather than flippant. He was saying he'd follow Kageyama's lead, that he trusted him.

Kageyama ducked his head and nodded, wiping some sweat off his brow. "Right."

As it turned out, Kageyama had been very accurate in his assessment of each pair's strengths. Daichi and Sugawara pretty easily took the first set, having more flexibility and overall skill on their side. Kageyama and Hinata fought hard in the second, but in the end it just wasn't enough to beat the more experienced third years.

"Daichi and Sugawara win the third bedroom!" Takeda announced, and everybody clapped for them in a very sportsmanly manner.

With most of the day gone, they retreated back to the beach house to set up the bedrolls and start cooking dinner. When they arrived in the living room, Hinata's eyes locked on the living room couch.

"I call the couch!" he called immediately.

"What? No way!" Noya exclaimed.

"Kageyama and I got second, we get the couch!"

"You're going to share the couch?" Ennoshita asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kageyama blushed. "Of course not!"

"Well, we could take turns," Hinata suggested, although he looked like he didn't want to.

"No need," Yamaguchi said, walking over to it. "It's a pull out." And sure enough, when he pulled on the bottom part of the couch, it rolled out to expose a small mattress.

Hinata crowed with victory, and even Kageyama smiled a little bit.

"Wait, wait, we should compete again," Noya said desperately.

"Noya, man, you're insane," Tanaka said around a yawn.

"Not with volleyball!" Noya said. "Roshambo! Drawing straws! Something!"

"Anybody have an issue with Hinata and Kageyama taking the couch?" Asahi asked.

Nishinoya was the only one who raised his hand. He groaned and collapsed onto the floor in a dramatic fashion. Hinata laughed and launched himself onto the couch cushions.

"You don't want the mattress?" Kageyama asked.

"I thought you'd want it," Hinata answered. "You don't seem like you'd like sleeping on the crack between cushions."

Kageyama smiled slightly. "You're right."

Hinata grinned. "I knew it."

The orange-haired boy set his stuff down on the couch and began chatting with their teammates, and Kageyama waited for the usual flare of annoyance to rise in him, but it didn't. Instead, he just felt…known, and kind of happy. Which immediately annoyed him, and his face soured.

***

The next morning, Kageyama came slowly to consciousness, which was his favorite way to wake up. He smelled coffee in the air and heard murmuring voices in what he assumed was the kitchen. Someone near him was snoring, and he felt really relaxed. A hand was playing with his hair, and he sighed contentedly into his pillow, thinking of his mother, then froze with realization. His mother wasn't here.

He opened his eyes slowly to see an arm extending from above him. Hinata was on his stomach, his mouth open slightly as he slept. His arm was hanging carelessly over the side of the couch, and Kageyama guessed Hinata's hand had landed on his head and started subconsciously playing with his hair.

Hinata's fingers moved absentmindedly through Kageyama's hair, lightly scratching his scalp, which caused goosebumps to rise on Kageyama's arms. He calmly studied Hinata's face and smiled a little bit. It was strange to see the boy quiet and peaceful instead of bouncing off the walls like normal. Then Hinata's thumb brushed across Kageyama's cheek, and it was like an electric shock went through him.

Kageyama pulled away so quickly that he rolled off the edge of the small pull out mattress. He grunted softly when he landed, then looked to the side and saw Nishinoya sleeping beside him. He was quietly grateful that he hadn't landed on the second year. Kageyama spared one last look at Hinata, whose hand had fallen to the mattress and stopped moving, then shook his head.

Disgusting, he told himself, fighting the rising blush in his cheeks. It won't happen again.

He followed the voices into the kitchen, where he found Ukai, Takeda, and Asahi talking over cups of coffee.

"Oh, Kageyama, good morning," Takeda greeted. "Did you sleep well?"

Kageyama's blush returned as a thought occurred to him. Did any of them see Hinata playing with his hair? The coaches had slept upstairs and maybe wouldn't have noticed as they came into the kitchen, but Asahi had also been in the living room. He scanned each of their faces but didn't see anything out of order, only confusion, and he realized he hadn't answered sensei's question.

"Y-Yes, just fine," Kageyama replied.

"The beach games wore us out," Asahi said. "Are we going to do more of that today?"

"No, we weren't planning on it," Ukai replied. "But don't think you're getting off easy."

"I have some more bonding activities for this morning, and Ukai will do some training exercises, and we'll see where the rest of the day takes us," Takeda said with a smile.

They chatted amiably for a while before the rest of the team started waking up. Tsukishima excused himself to go on a morning run as the teachers and managers began cooking breakfast for everyone. The last to arrive were Daichi and Sugawara.

"The beach volleyball champions decide to grace us with their presence," Tanaka said, turning to wink at them.

Sugawara yawned and waved. "Morning."

"Did you guys get enough sleep last night?" Yachi asked, concern in her voice.

"Yeah, why?" Daichi asked.

"I woke up to go to the bathroom and heard you guys watching a movie or something? It was kind of loud."

Sugawara blushed and began stammering, but Daichi put a hand on his shoulder, which shut him up.

"Yeah, we started watching Netflix on Suga's laptop and fell asleep partway through, I guess," he said. "Was it too loud? Did we-it keep you up?

"Oh no, it was fine!" Yachi said. "I fell back asleep easy!"

"Want some help?" Sugawara asked quickly, his voice somewhat strained.

"Yes please!" Kiyoko said.

The captain and vice-captain moved into the kitchen to start helping. Kageyama squinted at Sugawara's embarrassed expression then shrugged. People got embarrassed over the weirdest things, even late night movies.

After breakfast, they went down to the beach and Takeda led them in their first bonding exercise. He lined all of them up, placing people in line according to some weird logic of his. Kageyama ground his teeth together, because he was in line between Hinata and Tsukishima.

The team was murmuring suspiciously amongst each other, which got louder when Kiyoko pulled a long rope and what looked like several blindfolds out of her bag.

"Oh, we're getting kinky!" Tanaka crowed.

"I wasn't ready for this!" Nishinoya called out too.

"Shut yer traps," Ukai said.

Kiyoko handed one end of the rope to Takeda, then began walking down the line of team members, each of them putting one hand on the rope. Behind her, Yachi distributed blindfolds to every other person.

"We're going on a trust walk! Everyone will hold on to the rope, and we will walk along the path and navigate any obstacles together." Takeda announced. "Those of you with blindfolds will obviously not be able to see, and you'll have to trust the people in front of and behind you for guidance. However! It won't be so easy. The people who don't have blindfolds won't be allowed to talk!"

"That won't be easy for Tanaka," Tsukishima said under his breath.

Kageyama rolled his eyes and put his blindfold on. He didn't like the feeling of it at all. His hand gripped the rope tightly. It was his lifeline in this. And so, according to Takeda, were Hinata and Tsukishima. He didn't like his odds of surviving this.

"Let's go!" Ukai called.

Kageyama felt the rope pull in his hand, and he took some staggering steps forward. He apparently stepped too far, though, because Hinata cried out in protest.

"Kageyamaaaa! That's my shoe!"

"No talking, Hinata!" Takeda reminded.

"Sorry!"

"No talking!"

"S—" He cut himself off in time, and Kageyama laughed.

At first, they were just walking in a straight line, but then Takeda started changing it up. He led them in curves and through long grass and up and down different hills, but then something else happened.

"We're climbing over something," Daichi called from the front of the line. "Feels like a log."

Kageyama tensed himself, shuffling his feet forward carefully. The rope in his hand kept getting pulled taut, forcing him to move even though he really didn't want to.

"Okay, Hinata, you next," Yamaguchi said.

Kageyama heard scuffling noises, then the rope pulled again. His free hand stretched out, trying to feel for the log, when he felt someone take it. It had to be Hinata. He blushed as Hinata led took his hand and set it on the log.

"Thanks," he mumbled, feeling his way forward. He started to move his leg over the log and felt Hinata's hand guide his leg over, then felt another hand on his back leg and knew Tsukishima was helping too. He felt an inexplicable mix of gut-reaction anger as well as pure gratitude. Which, he supposed, was exactly what Takeda wanted them to get out of this.

Once the rest of the team was over the log, they tackled some more obstacles. They had to climb between two trees that were close together, then under some low-hanging branches. Hinata's hand was there for him each time, on his own hand, on his head, on his calves, on his sides. Every time, it reminded him of this morning and how Hinata's hand had felt in his hair, and every time it felt like electricity. He was blushing so hard he wished he wasn't the one with the blindfold.

Even Tsukishima was helping too. When they were going under the brances, Kageyama had thought he was ducking enough, but Tsukishima had reached forward and grabbed Kageyama's forehead at the last moment, and Kageyama felt Tsukishima's fingers hit a branch.

"Oh, sorry, thanks," Kageyama said. Tsukishima shoved his head down in response, and Kageyama grinned to himself.

"Everybody pause!" Takeda called when they were through the branches. "Take your blindfolds off!"

Kageyama sighed with relief, blinking his eyes in the sunlight.

"Now turn around and give your blindfold to the person now in front of you!"

Tsukishima scowled as he took the blindfold from Kageyama. "Shimizu, would you hold my glasses?"

"Yes," she said, appearing and taking his glasses carefully.

Kageyama glanced behind him to see Hinata's blindfolded face grinning stupidly. He rolled his eyes and smiled. Only Hinata could this excited about being led blindfolded.

"Here we go! And remember, if you're blindfolded you can now talk, but if you can see you can't!"

Takeda began leading them around. Once they started walking, though, Kageyama felt Hinata's hand on him again. But this time he was grasping Kageyama's shoulder, presumably for balance.

"We're going up some stairs!" he heard Sugawara call out. "There's six steps!"

"Ah, fuck!" Tanaka cried. Kageyama leaned over and saw that a blindfolded Tanaka had tripped on one of the stairs.

"Remember to watch out for your teammates!" Takeda called.

Tsukishima reached the stairs and started to walk up them. He used the toe of his shoe to feel for the step and appeared to handle them fine on his own, so Kageyama focused on Hinata behind him. He patted Hinata's hand.

"Are they close?" Hinata asked.

Kageyama patted his hand twice.

"Is that yes?" Twice more. "Okay." He felt Hinata's hand tense on his shoulder.

Kageyama stepped onto the second step, then squatted and reached behind him for Hinata's left leg, lifting it at the knee. Hinata was wearing shorts, and Kageyama could see the muscles flex in his legs as he moved. No wonder the guy had so much jumping power.

He set Hinata's foot down on the first step, and Hinata brought his right leg up to meet his left. They repeated the action for the rest of the steps. As he and Hinata reached the top, Sugawara announced that they were now going down a ramp. Hinata's hand fell from Kageyama's shoulder, and Kageyama figured he was feeling more confident and didn't need it anymore, but then Hinata's hand landed on his waist, fingers curling in Kageyama's shirt, and he stiffened and blushed.

As they walked, the communication method they'd developed of pats and guiding and verbal confirmation continued and helped them as they walked along. People ahead in the line called warnings to each other as they encountered new obstacles, and it really did feel like they were all working together even though they were only interacting with the people in front of and behind them.

After a few minutes, Kageyama felt Hinata's hand come away, and he looked behind him to see Ukai with his finger over his lips and several of his team members standing around watching. His coach indicated that he should let go of the rope, and he did so. Ukai continued moving up the line, telling team members to let go and stand aside until it was just Nishinoya at the front of the line.

Ukai had picked some long grass and used it to tickle Noya's face.

"Gah! Uh, I think there's a—bleh!" he exclaimed, trying to escape from the grass.

Hinata's hands were over his mouth, trying to stay quiet, and Kageyama smiled in amusement.

"Man, this bug is—eugh, go away!" Noya exclaimed. As if in response, Takeda dropped his end of the rope. Noya immediately stopped walking.

"Sensei?" he asked, looking around pointlessly with his blindfold still on. He seemed to realize there was no one behind or in front of him. "Guys?" Then he ripped his blindfold off and turned around, spotting them, and everybody finally laughed out loud.

"You jerks!" he called, laughing as he ran forward and tackled Tanaka to the ground, who was laughing the loudest.

"Good job guys!" Takeda called. "How did it feel to be blindfolded and to help your blindfolded friends?"

"It sucked!" Tanaka replied.

"It was hard to figure out how to communicate at first," Ennoshita answered, "but it was fun once we figured that out. Switching threw me for a loop."

"Did you find it hard to trust your teammates at first?"

"No," Hinata replied, the only one who answered in the negative.

Takeda smiled as he looked at Hinata. "No?"

"I trust Kageyama," Hinata said, smiling brightly. Kageyama felt stunned. He knew Hinata trusted him on the court. That was the only way they'd been able to get Hinata playable at first, by blindly trusting Kageyama's sets. But outside of volleyball…

"You didn't have any doubts?" Kageyama asked quietly as Takeda moved on to other discussion questions.

Hinata blinked up at him. "No. Why would I?"

Kageyama looked at the pure sincerity in Hinata's face and felt something twist in his gut. He looked away and shrugged.

Takeda released them to Ukai's care. He led them on a run and several core-building exercises. Then they did a setting exercise in pairs. Takeda put them in randomly assigned partners, and they set back and forth to each other, stepping back each time they set the ball, kind of like the water balloon tossing game. Sugawara and Nishinoya won that game, to Kageyama's chagrin.

They took a break for lunch, and then Takeda led them in another bonding exercise, warning them that this one would be a heavier exercise than the first one, meant to help them analyze their privilege. He lined them all up and read off various statements, such as "If you've ever been bullied for something you cannot change, step backward," or "If your parents or family has inherited money or property, take one step forward." Takeda emphasized to them that how much they were willing to share was up to them, and that they were free to disclose or not disclose whatever they wanted.

At the end of the exercise, they were all fairly spread out across the sand. Kageyama and most of the others were on the "forward" side of the line, but some of his teammates were on the "backward" side of the line.

"Take a look at the people around you. Notice where you stand in relation to others," Takeda said gently. "Would anybody like to share how they're feeling right now?"

They went around and talked about how they felt about the various privileges or disadvantages they'd had in life, and how it felt to see it laid out before all of them like this. Kageyama was in the middle of the pack, but he looked behind him and saw Hinata. Hinata didn't look discouraged or annoyed by it, though. He never did. He met Kageyama's eyes and smiled brightly, and Kageyama's heart thudded. He looked away, feeling suddenly peeved.

"We all have advantages and disadvantages in life, just like in volleyball. Height, past experience, family support, time, money, and more. But if we work together, we can help each other and get all of us past the line and onward."

They all came forward for a group hug, and then Takeda announced they could go do what they wanted until dinnertime. Most of them headed back up to the house to change into swimsuits. Kageyama sat on the pull out mattress and kind of felt like taking a nap like Daichi and Sugawara said they were going to do. That exercise had been emotionally draining, and Ukai had made them work hard earlier too.

"Yachi!" Hinata called as he came out of the bathroom in swim shorts, looking around. His shoulders slumped in disappointment when he didn't find her

"Sorry, shorty, Takeda and the girls went to go get things for dinner," Ukai said.

"But she said she'd go seashell hunting with me," Hinata mumbled in disappointment.

Most everyone else had already left. Tsukishima was sitting outside reading a book. Daichi and Sugawara already disappeared upstairs. Ukai was looking over playbooks and the managers' notes.

Kageyama looked down at his hands and sighed. "I'll go with you."

There was silence in response, so he looked up. Hinata had stars in his eyes, and he was wiggling in excitement. "Really, Kageyama?"

"Don't make me regret this," he growled.

They raced down to the beach, of course, and laid panting in the sand when they'd arrived.

"I won," Hinata said, smiling up at the sky.

"Did not," Kageyama retorted.

"Did too."

He looked over at Hinata. His hair was spread out over the sand, and his eyes had closed as he laid there. Kageyama's hand twitched, and he decided to indulge his urge. He reached out and ruffled Hinata's hair, then stood up and started walking for the shoreline.

"Hey!" Hinata exclaimed, sitting up and shaking sand out of his hair. "Wait for me!"

Kageyama put his hand in his pocket, brushing the pad of his thumb over his fingers. Hinata's hair had been really soft, softer than he'd expected it to be. He blushed and shook his head.

Hinata caught up to him, and they walked down to the shoreline. They saw some of their teammates playing in the water. It looked like Tanaka and Nishinoya had somehow convinced Yamaguchi and Asahi to help them play chicken fight.

"Here, here, I found one!" Hinata called out, holding up a jagged piece of a white shell.

"Barely," Kageyama said.

"Shut up!" Hinata said back, though it was with a grin. He reached to put it in his pocket but paused when he realized his swim shorts didn't have any. "Hey, Kageyama?" he asked tentatively.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Kageyama said, but he held his hand out for the shell and put it in his vest pocket. Hinata gave it to him joyfully, then began looking for more.

They'd never hung out just the two of them before when it wasn't volleyball related, and Kageyama was surprised to find he was actually enjoying himself. Hinata always operated at one hundred percent, but somehow it was less irritating right now. Maybe it was because they weren't competing at something, or maybe because Hinata wasn't making dumbass mistakes that might cost them a game. Right now, Hinata's intensity and hyperfocus were actually…endearing.

"Kageyama, let's go climb those rocks!" Hinata called out, running forward to a rocky outcropping.

He followed at his own pace, laughing when Hinata yelped because the rocks were sharper to walk on than he'd expected. They climbed and jumped over the rocks, laughing as they went. He climbed up on to a steep rock and saw Hinata standing a shallow pool of water between some rocks next to him.

"Look at this one!" he said, holding up a white and brown twisty shell.

"Nice," Kageyama said, reaching out to add it to the collection in his pocket.

Just then, the water rushed in harder than it had been, and it hit the back of Hinata's knees. Hinata's legs gave out, and Kageyama was frozen in shock. A look of neutral surprise crossed Hinata's face as he fell backwards. Almost in slow motion, Kageyama reached out and grabbed Hinata's hand. Instead of saving him, though, Kageyama's balance had been thrown off, and Hinata ended up pulling Kageyama down with him.

"Ouch," Hinata groaned as the water pulled back into the ocean. His hand moved up from Kageyama's shoulder to push his black hair out of his face. "Are you okay?"

Kageyama grunted. He'd tried protecting Hinata's head from the rocks by covering the back of it with his hand, and he was paying for it now. One of his arms was wrapped around Hinata, his fingers curled in the now-wet hair. The other was braced against the rock that they'd landed against. Dimly, he realized he was laying right on top of Hinata, and Hinata had his hand in his hair again.

"Fine," Kageyama answered, scrambling quickly so he was no longer straddling his teammate. He climbed to his feet, offering his hand to Hinata. When the boy took it, though, it agitated Kageyama's hand and he hissed.

"You're not okay," Hinata said, not letting go of Kageyama's hand. He turned it over and lightly traced the scrape there. "You protected my head, didn't you?"

Kageyama stared at their hands. "Well, we can't have you losing any more brain cells."

"See? I was right to trust you," Hinata said, looking up at him, and gently squeezed Kageyama's hand.

His heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly had the urge to knit their fingers together. But that would be stupid. That would be something he'd do with a girlfriend, not with a teammate he couldn't stand. Except he could stand Hinata. They actually got along really well when they weren't being pigheaded, and this trip had only proven that.

He pulled away like he'd been shocked, and Hinata looked at him quizzically. "Are you okay? Your face is really red. Are you getting sunburned?"

"It's nothing, let's go," Kageyama said, turning around. "My clothes are soaked and my hand hurts and there's sand everywhere."

"Oh! The shell! I dropped it!" Hinata exclaimed, plunging his hands into the shallow water.

"I'm leaving you behind."

"Kageyama!" Hinata whined as he got to his feet. He waded ahead of Kageyama and climbed the rock first, then turned and offered his hand to Kageyama. "Like the rope walk, yeah?"

"Stupid," Kageyama muttered, but he took Hinata's hand anyway and let him help him over the rocks.

***

Kageyama woke up earlier than the rest again the next morning. This time, though, Hinata's hand wasn't in his hair. He tried not to feel disappointed. He rolled over to face the couch and saw that Hinata's hand was hanging off the side of the couch again. Hesitantly, he reached out and touched it. The ginger didn't react, so he got more bold.

He lifted Hinata's hand slightly, rubbing his thumb over Hinata's knuckles. There were some bruises there from their practices and Hinata's terrible receives. Then he turned his hand so Hinata's was covering his. Heart racing, he moved his fingers up, finding the slots between Hinata's fingers. He pulled his fingers through, and then their fingers were interlaced. The pads of Hinata's fingers grazed against his skin, and Kageyama stared at their hands. Then Hinata's hand twitched, and Kageyama looked up to see brown eyes staring back at him.

Panic flared up inside him, and he started to pull back, but Hinata's fingers squeezed together and prevented it. Kageyama's blood pounded through his veins as he stared up at Hinata. A blush was spreading across Hinata's cheeks, and he rubbed his thumb over Kageyama's, and a feeling of calm came over him. Not enough to slow his racing heart, but enough that he didn't feel like a scared animal anymore. They stared at each other in silence, with blank and wide-eyed expressions, until Hinata's eyelids began to droop, and he swiftly fell asleep again.

Kageyama held onto Hinata's hand a while longer, then gently pulled away when he heard Tanaka stretch and yawn. He sat up and stared at his hand, trying to remember what it felt like to hold Hinata's in it. He didn't quite know why he felt like this, and he was honestly scared to find out. But then he thought of the sincerity in Hinata's face yesterday when he said he trusted Kageyama, and Kageyama realized that he trusted Hinata too.

He had to clear his head. He got up, grabbed some clothes, and changed, then went out the front door for a run. The morning air was crisp, and it felt good to not focus on anything other than the way his body moved. Sunshine started burning through the morning cloud cover, and it made him think of Hinata's smile.

Why did he want to hold Hinata's hand? Why did Hinata want to hold his? He hated Hinata, or so he'd thought. Half the time being around Hinata made his skin crawl and his stomach turn. He couldn't get a moment's rest around the kid. Except for this morning. And what did all of that mean? Was it just an illusion created by the bonding activities? Were they actually becoming fond of each other?

He'd been out for fifteen minutes and decided to turn back. If Ukai had any drills planned for them today, he didn't want to exhaust himself. And he didn't want to miss breakfast.

"Sensei, why are you wearing your jacket all zipped up?" he heard Noya ask as he walked into the house. "It's so hot already."

Kageyama came around the corner and saw Takeda with his hand on his neck, cheeks red. Next to him, Ukai was smirking for some reason. "Oh, well, I'm just chilly, and—"

"There he is!" Kinoshita called, his eyes landing on Kageyama.

"Little punk," Ukai muttered, then glared at Kageyama. "Went for a run, eh?"

"Um, yes," Kageyama said.

"Without leaving a note or telling anyone or taking your phone?"

Kageyama patted his jacket pockets and realized that he had, in fact, left his phone behind. "I'm sorry," he said, though it came out more like a question.

"Kageyama, what if something had happened to you?" Takeda asked.

"You're washing all the dishes by yourself by hand," Ukai said.

"Yes sir," Kageyama said, although honestly the heartbroken and worried expression on Takeda's face had been punishment enough.

After breakfast, and after the forty-five minutes it had taken Kageyama to wash and dry every single dish, Ukai led them in several workouts on the beach. It had been grueling, especially in the growing heat, but it was also nice to get his mind off of things. After lunch, Takeda gathered them all in the living room and had everyone get in a large circle.

"For our last bonding activity, we are going to pair up and look into each other's eyes for sixty seconds."

The team groaned loudly.

"And!" Takeda continued. "We're going to do it with each person in this room, so we'll do it fifteen times. After sixty seconds, I will tell you to switch, and you will find a person you haven't paired with yet. As you look at your partner, I want you to reflect on this weekend, on our team, and on your relationships with each other. We must all be able to look each other in the eye and know that the other person has our team's best interest at heart. Find your first partner."

There was suddenly a bit of a scramble as everybody turned towards each other. Kageyama locked eyes with Daichi, and they walked up to each other. Takeda announced the beginning of the countdown, and everyone fell silent. As he and Daichi stared at each other, he wanted nothing more than to look away. It was uncomfortable to look at a person this long without talking. But that feeling faded, and he focused on the strength, confidence, and trust he saw in Daichi's eyes, and it warms his heart.

"Switch," Takeda said, and they scrambled again. "Begin."

He paired with Yachi this time. The manager-in-training couldn't stay still as they maintained eye contact, which reminded him of Hinata. They both had an effervescent positivity about them, which shone through in her eyes along with her eagerness and drive.

"Switch," Takeda said again, and they went through the song and dance again.

With each person, the discomfort that came with such prolonged staring was less than before as he got used to it. He started to see the people behind the eyes, and he really did feel he was getting to know them better, even Tsukishima. In each of them he saw insecurity and confidence, doubt and determination. It varied from person to person. But most of all, he saw the desire to push forward in every single person.

As they progressed, it became harder to find someone they hadn't stood with before. Kageyama had the additional challenge as well of avoiding Hinata for as long as possible. He was certain that he would go blind after being paired with Hinata, like he'd been staring at the sun.

"Switch," Takeda said, and Kageyama looked away from Ukai. He'd seen a surprisingly gritty confidence in Ukai, one that spoke of growing through hardship and persevering no matter what. Kageyama scanned the room, trying to find a face he hadn't looked into yet, and knew that there was only one option.

He could feel Hinata's eyes on him as he turned. Hinata stepped forward, and then they were inches apart. Kageyama kept his eyes lowered, staring intently at their shoes.

"Begin," Takeda said for the last time.

Kageyama raised his eyes and looked down at Hinata. His stomach clenched, and he thought he might be sick from nerves. Hinata smiled softly, though, and that made him relax a bit. As expected, he saw confidence and fire in Hinata's eyes. He also saw joy and a love for the game they played together.

He reflected on their history, on their fights and their laughter. He wondered if he'd been deluding himself into hating Hinata this whole time. Something brushed against his wrist, and he recognized it as Hinata's hand before logic told him that was the only conclusion. His fingers lightly trailed down from Kageyama's wrist, then curled around his palm. Kageyama's heart raced, and he wanted to pull away, but everybody else's eyes were busy. He could allow this. Slowly, he folded his fingers over Hinata's.

"And time," Takeda said.

Kageyama ripped his hand away as subtly as he could, then shoved both hands in his pockets. "Stupid," Kageyama muttered to himself as he turned toward the teacher, but he could still feel Hinata next to him.

"I hope you've all formed new connections with each other," Takeda said, "and that you can feel the strength in our chain of links. We can overcome any obstacle, and I just know we're going to go all the way to Nationals!"

The team cheered and applauded. Then they set about the business of cleaning the house and packing back up. The beds had to be stripped, the dishes cleaned and returned, the trash taken out, and more. Everybody chatted happily with each other as they worked, and the atmosphere was remarkably amiable. Takeda really knew what he was doing.

Once all the chores were done, it was time to get on the bus for the ride home. Takeda let them sit with whoever they wanted this time. Kageyama filed onto the bus with the others and found Hinata staring expectantly at him when he got on. He gritted his teeth together and slid onto the bench seat next to Hinata.

"Here," Kageyama said, reaching into his duffel and pulling out a bag of seashells. "From yesterday. Forgot to give them to you."

"Oh thanks!" Hinata exclaimed, grabbing it. He added it to his own things, then dug around his stuff for a while, finally pulling something out. "This is for you. I found it last night after dinner."

Kageyama held out his hand, and Hinata dropped a broken sand dollar into it.

"They're lucky right?"

"I think they're lucky if they're whole," Kageyama said, fingering the broken edge of the shell.

"Oh." Hinata's face fell.

"But I like this better," he finished, then slid it carefully into a pocket of his duffel. "Thank you."

Hinata smiled brightly, and it really was like looking into the sun. Then he asked, "Are you cold?"

"What? N—"

Hinata took his jacket from beside him on the bench and spread it over both of their laps. Kageyama blushed and glanced around to see if anybody was looking. Nobody was. They were either napping, reading, or too wrapped up in their own conversations.

He felt something nudge his thigh, and he realized it was Hinata's hand. Kageyama's cheeks burned. Hesitantly, he slid his hand under the jacket and placed his hand over Hinata's. Hinata interlocked their fingers and squeezed.

Kageyama's heart felt like it might explode in his chest. He stared squarely ahead at the back of the seat in front of him. Then Hinata yawned and rested his head against Kageyama's shoulder. He glanced down at the boy next to him, and some of the pain in his heart eased. He had no idea what this was, and that terrified him. He'd always been scared of the unknown, always wanted to calculate every possibility so he could make a plan. This, though, was completely unplanned. But he didn't want to run away. Not yet, at least.

A while into the bus ride, most of the loud chatter had fallen away. Ukai looked back at the bus full of students. Tsukishima was stretched out on a bench by himself, asleep with headphones in. Daichi, Sugawara, and Asahi were talking quietly and happily in the back of the bus. Yamaguchi sat with Kinoshita, but they were turned around in their seat and playing a card game with Narita and Ennoshita behind them. Noya and Tanaka were playing with handheld video game consoles, and Hinata and Kageyama were asleep on each other. Yachi was asleep too, with her head in Kiyoko's lap as she read a book.

"Well, teach, looks like they broke back up into their friend groups," Ukai said quietly.

"I expected that," Takeda replied. "I didn't think they'd all become best friends over the course of one weekend. But I do think they all trust each other more now, and that'll help us in the end."

"I was skeptical at first, but I think you pulled it off," Ukai told him. "This was a great idea."

"Thanks," Takeda said, then whispered, "Besides, how could I pass up an opportunity to use school funds to go on a beach vacation with my boyfriend?"

"You devious bastard," Ukai whispered back with a grin.

***

Later, when the bus arrived at the school volleyball gym, many of the students' parents had been waiting there to pick them up. They did a team huddle, then went on their separate ways. Kageyama was about to walk home when Hinata yelled for him. He blushed as he turned to face the redhead.

At some point during the bus trip he'd fallen asleep and woken later with his head leaning on Hinata's, their hands still clasped together under Hinata's jacket. He'd been mortified at first; his heart raced and his stomach flipped. He thought it was from revulsion, like usual, but then he realized he was just nervous. Then he wondered if it had been this was all along.

When they got closer to the school, Kageyama extracted his hand and pushed Hinata off of him and against the window. The kid didn't even stir, despite the fact that his head was now bouncing against the vibrating wall of the bus. He covered Hinata with his jacket, then busied himself with his phone for the last thirty minutes of the ride. But whenever he turned his head just so, he could smell Hinata on his jacket, and to his chagrin it made him smile.

"Kageyama!" Hinata called again. "Help me get my bike from the club room!"

"Get it yourself!" Kageyama yelled.

"Bet I can beat you there!"

A spark flashed inside Kageyama, and he instantly took off running. Hinata started too, and they almost tripped over each other in their haste to get to the door. Hinata undeniably got there first, but Kageyama attributed that to the fact that Hinata was about two meters closer to the club room when they started.

"Cheater," Kageyama spat from where he laid on the floor of the club room, breathing hard.

"Shut up."

Annoyance flared inside him, but then he felt Hinata take his hand. They were quiet, except for the sound of their breathing. Panicky thoughts of being discovered flitted through Kageyama's mind, but their other teammates had no reason to come up here. They were alone. Which was almost worse.

"Kageyama?" Hinata asked softly. "Is this okay?"

His throat tightened, making it almost impossible to speak. "Y-Yeah."

Hinata paused before continuing. "Why?"

"I don't know."

"Do you like me?"

Kageyama pulled his hand away and sat up, his face flaming. "I don't know!"

"Do you dislike me?"

"Shut up!" Kageyama snapped.

For once, Hinata didn't argue back. Kageyama sat there with his elbows on his knees and his hands in his hair. He didn't want to talk about this. Talking about this meant figuring out what the fuck this was. He didn't know what it meant for him, what it meant for them, what it meant for the team. He didn't know what he wanted. All he knew was that he apparently liked holding Hinata's hand.

He wondered how Hinata of all people could be so calm about this. It wasn't fair. Here he was, having a crisis, and Hinata was acting like everything was normal. It pissed him off. But then again, that was just how Hinata was. He took everything in stride, with a positive attitude and a shit-eating grin. It was what Kageyama admired most about him.

"No," he said softly after a few minutes of breathing. "I don't dislike you." If he'd been asked that just a few months ago, though, he would've said yes without a second thought.

"I don't dislike you either," Hinata said, and Kageyama heard him sit up. "I think I might actually like you. Really like you. You're the best setter I've ever seen, and you're always so cool, even when you're yelling at me. You challenge me, and I want to be better so that we can be better. I don't want to let you down."

Kageyama paused, remembering Friday night when they were playing beach volleyball, and Hinata said he was glad he didn't drag Kageyama down. "That worries you a lot, doesn't it?"

Hinata was silent, and Kageyama finally turned around to face him. The boy was sitting with his legs crossed and his hands on the floor in the middle of them. He shrugged his shoulders, eyes on the ground.

"I just don't want to waste more time," Hinata replied. "Like you said I have."

"Like I…" Then it came to him. The first time they met, at the Junior High Athletics Meet. "What the heck have you been doing the last three years?!"

"I don't want to disappoint you again," Hinata said, still looking down.

"You have so much raw potential," Kageyama said. "That's what I meant. It…frustrated me to see all that talent unpolished and misused. But…" He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "You are getting better," he grumbled.

Hinata looked up at him with stars in his eyes. "Really? Kage-chan thinks I'm getting better? You think I'm great?"

"I didn't say that, and don't call me that!" Kageyama snapped. "You're barely getting better, so don't go giving yourself any medals yet!"

Hinata laughed, and Kageyama felt his anger go down. A comfortable silence settled around them, and after a few moments, Kageyama reached out and took Hinata's hand.

"Is this okay?" he asked, echoing Hinata's earlier question.

"Yeah," Hinata whispered in reply.

Kageyama watched him, eyes roaming over the face of the boy who got under this skin like nobody else could, but also the face of the boy who understood him like nobody else. When they were in a groove, they were dynamite on the court, and he trusted Hinata with everything. What if they could be like that outside of volleyball? What would that mean? What would that look like?

"Kageyama?" Hinata asked, and their eyes locked.

"Yeah?"

"Can…" Hinata swallowed. "Can I kiss you?"

A buzzing filled Kageyama's ears, and he felt his eyes lose focus. Kiss? Kiss Hinata? Let Hinata kiss him? Part of him felt like the question came out of nowhere—why would they ever kiss?—but also, it felt like the natural progression of their conversation and the hand-holding. Did he actually want to kiss Hinata, though?

He looked at Hinata, at the open expression on his face and the anxiety in his eyes. He remembered when they looked at each other for sixty seconds back at the beach, the connection he'd felt then. His heart tugged at him, and for once he followed its lead. He leaned toward Hinata, and he saw a look of surprise cross Hinata's face before their eyelids closed, and then their lips met.

The kiss was soft and hesitant. Kageyama could feel Hinata shaking through the kiss and their hands. It felt…nice, warm, and safe. Which inexplicably pissed him off, and he pulled away. He almost hadn't wanted it to be nice. He'd wanted to be disgusted by it so he could write this off and never talk about it again.

But then Hinata opened his eyes, smiled at Kageyama, and asked, "Again?"

All of Kageyama's fear and frustration melted away, and he fell into Hinata once more. Whatever this was, whatever this meant, there was no denying it now.

Hinata was the one to pull away this time, with a ridiculous grin plastered on his face. "Did you like it?"

"N-No," Kageyama said, grinding his teeth together.

"I think you liked it," Hinata sang.

"Stupid!"

Hinata laughed, climbing to his feet, then offered a hand to Kageyama to help him up. Once Kageyama was on his feet, though, Hinata didn't let go. Instead, he suddenly tugged on Kageyama's arm, causing him to bend over, and then they were kissing again.

Kageyama felt dizzy when Hinata pulled away a few moments later, and Hinata's giddy laughter filled the air. Kageyama pressed the back of his hand to his mouth, and he could feel the blush radiating off of his cheeks.

"Why aren't you freaking out?" Kageyama asked a bit angrily.

"Why would I?"

"Because this is...it's new, and it's weird, and—"

"I am nervous," Hinata admitted, and Kageyama could see a quiver in his hand as he fetched his bike from where it leaned against some lockers. "But that's what makes it exciting!"

Kageyama stared at him as Hinata walked his bike toward the door. Hinata met his eyes and smiled, and Kageyama could see it: the nerves, the excitement, the hope. He reached out and covered Hinata's hand over the bike handle, then leaned down and kissed him softly. His stomach flipped, and he felt Hinata smiling against his lips. He smiled too, then straightened up.

"Walk me home, Kageyama," Hinata said, pulling open the club room door.

"No chance, you live so far away." Kageyama made a stink face.

"But that's what a good boyfriend would do."

"B-Boy—" Kageyama sputtered. "I'm not your boyfriend!"

"Why not?" Hinata asked, smiling at Kageyama over his shoulder as he began to walk the bike down the stairs. "You held my hand, and you like kissing me."

Of course Hinata saw it as simply as that, ignoring all the complications and potential difficulties that came with something like this. Kageyama slammed the club room door shut behind him, turning the handle a bit to make sure it was locked. "Shut. Up," he hissed through gritted teeth.

Hinata laughed again, and it made Kageyama smile against his will. They were in this together now, for better or for worse. But as Hinata's infectious laugh caused Kageyama to laugh along, he hoped it was for the better.