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Kageyama Tobio is the last person Hinata would describe as “cute”. Awkward, maybe. Terrible at math. An asshole.
He would also describe him as vindictive, vengeful, and downright terrifying when he smiles. The first time he sees it, Hinata feels like someone's dumped a bucket of ice water over his head and told him he's failed all his midterms.
That's honestly the first and only time Hinata's seen Kageyama smile. Kageyama is capable of being happy, of being excited, and he knows it because Hinata's been there as it's happened, when they play super well or win a particularly hard match, when he gets his favorite popsicle flavor, when Hinata takes his hand and helps him pet one of the cats on their way home and it doesn't hiss at him once. But he never smiles. It's probably a good thing, too, Hinata tells himself, because he doesn't think he's seen anything scarier.
It only occurs to him later, one day, when they're sitting together after practice, that maybe Kageyama just...can't smile. Not physically can't, but maybe he just doesn't know how to. Kageyama's sitting with one knee up, the other leg stretched out in front of him, and Hinata's waving his arms and saying something when he sees the corner of Kageyama's mouth quirk up.
At first, he feels his heart stop, because if he's going to be confronted with that face again he wants to think of his death wish first. And then Kageyama's twisting his head to the side, face against his shoulder, and Hinata pauses.
Does he always do that? Hinata finds himself wondering, and after that, he pays particularly close attention to Kageyama's face when something happens. He sees all the usual expressions—annoyed, indifferent, excited, livid—but he starts to notice when Kageyama covers his mouth with his hand, or tilts his head into his shoulder, or turns away and pretends to cough. Hinata feels like this isn't a new thing, like he's just been overlooking it up to this point, and something in him feels a little guilty.
Kageyama had been trying to smile that one time, after all. He'd tried his best and it was horrific and shitty and Hinata still shudders thinking about it, but what's even worse is the idea that Kageyama maybe just can't smile. So he sucks it up, steels himself, tells himself he is going to make Kageyama smile, for real, no matter what.
It's hard. Hinata buys Kageyama his favorite juice, his favorite bread, lets him win a race (or so he tells himself), and every time he thinks he'll get Kageyama to smile, he's met with just a look of confusion, like Kageyama doesn't know why Hinata's being nice to him or something. Hinata's nice, of course he's nice, and he can even be nice to Kageyama if he wants to be, so what's the problem? Kageyama's the problem, he tells himself, Kageyama and his dumb scowl that never seems to leave his face.
Even when he's sleeping, he's frowning, although it's probably about as placid as it will get. Hinata tries, one night, when he's sharing a bed with Kageyama, to gently tug the corners of his mouth up, to see what it would look like if Kageyama wasn't Satan whenever he smiled. It looks kind of ridiculous and ends up having to roll away and laugh into the pillow.
Hinata even tries tickling him, once, and ends up with a black eye for trying. Kageyama says he hadn't meant to hit him, but Hinata knows better, and sulks the entire day until Kageyama buys him ice cream to make up for it and grumbles that he shouldn't attack people like that.
He's trying hard, honestly. He wants to see Kageyama smile again, but nothing seems to be working. He tells jokes, he offers to do Kageyama's homework (“you're as shit as I am at math, asshole”), but nothing is enough to earn him more than a twitch at the corner of Kageyama's mouth, maybe a crinkle at the corner of his eyes if Hinata squints hard enough, after which he's accused of being weird and to stop staring, dumbass.
It's exhausting, honestly, he says aloud one evening when he's hanging out at Kageyama's house. He's sprawled on his stomach, spread over Kageyama's legs, mumbling into the blankets beneath them. Kageyama's flipping through a magazine, shifting his knees when he says Hinata's getting too heavy, but never making to push him off.
“What's exhausting, being you?” His fingers turn another page, and he glances over at Hinata, who scowls back at him.
“No, asshole, trying to get you to smile!” Hinata blanches when he realizes what he's admitted, and if Kageyama hadn't noticed anything before, he sure will now. He watches, petrified, as Kageyama lowers the magazine that's blocking half his face, staring squarely at Hinata.
“So this whole time you've been acting like an idiot because you're trying to get me to smile?”
Hinata huffs, because he's not acting like an idiot, he's trying to be nice, for god's sake, and he says so. “I bought you ice cream like, five times, I bought you bread, I let you pick the movie to watch, I even tried tickling you and you punched me in the eye,” he ticks off on his fingers, staring down Kageyama accusingly about the last bit. Kageyama doesn't even try to deny it anymore, just shifts his knees under Hinata's stomach.
“The last time I smiled you nearly shit your pants,” he says, glancing back down at the magazine.
There's that guilty feeling in Hinata's stomach again, because he gets the feeling Kageyama was trying really, really hard to be encouraging. He's not going to deny it was awful, but still. Friends are supposed to make each other smile, even if one of them looks like a demon while doing it.
Hinata shifts, sliding off Kageyama's knees and sitting up. “Come on, just do it once.”
“I don't have any reason to smile, stupid.” Kageyama's still focused solely on that stupid magazine, which Hinata promptly yanks out of his hands.
“Kageyama.”
“No.”
“Kageyama!”
“Give it back.”
This doesn't seem to be working, because Kageyama's glare is deepening and he's making a grab for the magazine.
“I know you can smile.” Hinata tosses it over his shoulder onto the floor, blocking escape with his body. “I've seen it. Kind of, I mean, besides that one time. You just don't show it, but I'm gonna make you.”
He thinks Kageyama's eye is twitching, and it might be the start of a smile, but he's not quite sure. It doesn't look like a smile, not even a scary one. Hinata sighs.
“Okay, like this.” He grins, blinding, and Kageyama blinks. “See, just like this. It's not going to kill you.” It might kill me, he wants to say, but he holds back.
“For the love of—Hinata, get out of the way. I'm not going to smile.” Hinata feels himself being shoved out of the way, sees Kageyama reaching towards the magazine on the floor, leaning over, and this is the perfect opportunity. He has to take it before it's too late.
So he does. Hinata tackles Kageyama from behind, and they both tumble to the floor, Kageyama's head smacking the hard surface beneath them. He sputters and flails and says words Hinata doesn't even know are real, spitting and cursing and Hinata clings for dear life until, finally, Kageyama goes limp.
“I'm not getting off until you do it.” Hinata tentatively sits up, straddling Kageyama's chest. “Come on.”
Kageyama's hair is fanned out around his head and he looks like he's in pain, maybe from the prospect of smiling, more likely from the lump forming on the back of his head, perhaps a little bit of both. He's looking to the corner, refusing to meet Hinata's eyes, brows knitted in a deep frown.
Hinata grabs his cheeks, turning Kageyama's face to look up at him, although his eyes still steadfastly focus on the wall next to them.
“Kageyama...” Hinata leans in close, close enough to feel Kageyama's breath on his face, heating his cheeks. He can see his eyelashes, long and fluttering like he doesn't want to focus. “Just once, come on. Please?”
He does his best impression of a cute puppy, trying to look innocent, and Kageyama's eyes finally flicker up to his. “Hinata, no. Get off of me, this is stupid. Even if I wanted to smile-”
“I'll drool on you.”
There's no more Mr. Nice Guy, now. Hinata sits up, eyes cold and staring and looking very, very serious. He can tell by the look in Kageyama's eyes that he believes him; good, because Hinata's not past playing dirty.
He hears Kageyama heave a sigh, feels his chest rise and fall underneath him, and then Kageyama's looking away again, and the corner of his mouth is turning up in a really terrifying grimace.
They are both absolutely silent.
“Is that it?” Hinata finally says, and it was entirely the wrong thing because Kageyama's thrashing beneath him again, threatning to kill him, and he has to hang on for dear life until he settles. “I'm sorry! It's just, that was a very half-hearted smile, Kageyama.” Hinata pets his hair, trying to placate him like he does with Natsu when she's throwing a fit. “Try again.”
Kageyama's glare is positively venomous, but he and Hinata both know Hinata's not going to budge until he complies. They have been in this situation more than once, believe it or not, and that's the only way for it to end without a split lip and a sprained finger.
“No, don't bare your teeth.” Hinata pinches his cheeks and Kageyama practically snarls. “Come on, you've seen me smile like a million times. You don't even have to show teeth, just move your mouth.” His fingers tug at the corner of Kageyama's lips. “Okay, now keep them like this.” He tugs a little more, prods a tiny bit, and then his hands move back. He tilts his head and studies his handiwork.
It's acceptable.
Hinata grins at Kageyama, leans in close and bumps their noses together. “See, it wasn't that hard.”
“It was hard,” Kageyama growls, mouth turning right back into a frown. “It was hard and I hate you.”
“No, you don't.” Hinata sits back, very sure of himself. “I know you tried really hard to smile that time, and it's not your fault you're shitty at it. Even demons have to learn how to love, you know?”
Kageyama is grumbling, sitting up, propping himself on his elbows when Hinata leans in and blows a raspberry against his neck. He knows it's playing dirty, he knows Kageyama's neck is his No Zone, but this is it, this is the opening he was really looking for, and sure enough Kageyama's grunting in a way that sounds suspiciously like an actual laugh and Hinata shoots back up just in time to see his mouth curve up into an unassuming smile.
Kageyama Tobio is the last person Hinata would describe as “cute”, but with the corners of his mouth turning up just slightly, just enough to be considered a smile, Hinata finds himself thinking that exact word as his stomach does some impressive acrobatics. It's something he really wants to see again; it's not scary, really, just kind of awkward, like everything about Kageyama is.
He wants him to do it again.
They spend the rest of the evening with Hinata trying his best to keep Kageyama pinned under him, Kageyama scrabbling at the floor and swearing and yelling that he's a dead man, trying to pry Hinata's hands out from under his shirt and threatening to break his fingers. Hinata sees him smile four more times, and the bruises on his elbows and the knee to the crotch is sort of worth it. And later that night, when they're curled up in Kageyama's bed and Kageyama is trying his best to sleep with Hinata kicking his leg, noses almost touching, and Hinata walks his fingers across the blanket to grab Kageyama's hand, he's sure he sees that tiny, possibly cute smile again, struggling to hide itself.
Yeah, maybe Kageyama could, sometimes, be described as “cute”.