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“WHAAAAAAAA?!”
Hinata and Kageyama cried out in unison the moment they opened the door to their overnight room. Their outburst attracted the attention of their team captain, along with Karasuno’s third year setter.
“What are you two hollering about?” Daichi implored as he passed by, Sugawara following closely at his side. “Is something wrong?”
In truth, nothing was particularly off about their assigned sleeping quarters, except for...
“THERE’S ONLY ONE BED!” The two underclassmen shouted in a chaotic harmonization, pointing their fingers in disbelief at the setup before them.
The third years looked at one another before looking back at their juniors in shared confusion.
“What’s the big deal? Sugawara and I only have one bed in our rooms, too.”
“Wait, what?!” The color drained from Hinata’s face hearing Daichi say something like that so matter-of-factly. He looked over at his now-roommate and saw him donning his typical frown. The aspiring ace paused for a moment, lost in thought as he imagined his team captain and the third year setter snuggling up together as if it were a normal, everyday thing. He wondered if Kageyama and him would end up doing the same...
He felt his cheeks grow warm, but shook it off before anyone else could notice.
“It happens every once in a while,” Sugawara said with a sheepish chuckle as he scratched the back of his head. “Sometimes the training venue is short on rooms, so some of us have to cozy up with someone else. If it’s an issue then one of you can just sleep on the floor.”
“But… but…” Kageyama started to protest, his own mouth agape with shock, but was shut down promptly by his superior.
“It’s only for the weekend,” Daichi cut him off, his displeasure increasing as the conversation went on. “If you can’t manage this, I don’t know how you’ll be able to work together when the tournaments begin. Maybe we made a mistake letting you first years on the team. You said you could work together, so prove it.”
His guilt trip was the final nail in the coffin. Hearing him suggest he regretted his decision, even if it was just a threat, felt like a spear to the heart for both of them. The two boys sighed in resignation as their next complaints faded away into nothing. Daichi and Sugawara walked away, looking over their shoulders
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Sugawara whispered when they were out of sight. “They’re still getting used to one another. I’m worried they’ll argue themselves to death before our first practice game. Maybe I could switch with one of them?”
“They formulated their fast attack together. I think they can handle sharing a room for two nights,” Daichi replied. Although he spoke with confidence, deep down he was still a bit concerned for his younger classmates.
He silently prayed for them to make it through the first night without killing each other.
~~~~
The sound of rapid, heavy stomps reverberated down the hallway in the late evening, starting from the bathroom and moving past the shared dorms, sending fear through the hearts of the resting Karasuno players.
Nishinoya peeked his head out from behind a door to see what was the cause of the ruckus and almost lost his nose when two determined athletes rushed past him. He watched as they continued blazing their trail, still feeling the afterwind from their movement all the way down the hall. Tanaka opened his own door and barely caught a flash of black and orange hair disappearing around the corner.
“What the hell are they doing?” the bald student asked the libero.
Nishinoya shrugged, just as oblivious to their shenanigans as he was.
In the meantime, Kageyama and Hinata were neck and neck as they raced to their shared room, the latter with a small lead due to his superhuman agility. Their focus was on one thing and one thing only, and neither dared to break their concentration with stakes as high as these. When they reached the door, they pushed and shoved one another until they nudged themselves in the door frame, neither of them able to move an inch.
“I wanna sleep in the bed tonight!” Hinata whined as he tried pushing off Kageyama’s hand, which was pressed into his left cheek.
“Hell no! I called it first!” Kageyama yelled back, grunting after Hinata stepped on his foot.
“Well, I’m older than you, so I have superiority!”
“Well, I’m taller! I need the space!”
Their bickering grew in volume, echoing off the walls and down the quiet hallway until their scuffle was interrupted by a loud, booming voice that shook them to their cores.
“ENOOOOOUGH! Stop arguing and go to sleep already!”
The captain glowered at them from around the corner, putting a stop to the fighting at once. The two younger boys froze up before slapping their hands at their sides and bowing meekly.
“Yes, Daichi-senpai!!”
And that was the end of that. Daichi disappeared once more, and the duo glanced at each other before turning their attention back to the full sized bed. Somehow, it seemed like it was waiting for them.
“Well… maybe we could both… squeeze onto it?” Hinata suggested in a meek, quiet voice. Kageyama moved forward with a dissatisfied expression.
“Whatever. Just stay on your own side.”
“Huh?”
The setter said nothing more. He plopped down on the edge of the bed and sighed in exhaustion before rolling over to face the wall. Hinata watched him curl up into a fetal position, his long legs still almost reaching the edge despite his adjustments, and suddenly felt a little embarrassed. It already looked pretty uncomfortable for the taller boy, and he was sure it’d be even worse for him if he took up the remaining space. Maybe he should’ve just let Kageyama have the bed, after all…
“Uh, Kageyama, I…”
“It’s not a big deal. Just lay down and shut up. I’m tired.”
He realized that was Kageyama’s way to say “it’s okay” without sounding like too much of a sap. With that, Hinata hopped over and flopped down on his side, causing the mattress to shake and Kageyama to bounce a bit as he lay there. There was plenty of room at the end for his legs to stretch out, so it wasn’t too bad all things considered. He realized there was more space than he originally thought at first glance; if he didn’t stretch out his arms too much, he basically had a good chunk of it to himself.
The only problem was not stretching out.
He tried his best to stay still, he really did, but the habit of fidgeting in bed to tire himself out was impossible to break in a single night. An hour had passed since the captain called for lights out, and both athletes were still wide awake. Every time Kageyama felt himself drifting off, he’d be awakened by an accidental backhand to the face or an unwelcome knee to his side. Hinata was proving to be an extremely restless sleeper, and it was starting to get on his nerves.
“Stop moving around so much!” He barked out after Hinata elbowed him in the ribs for the seventh time. He rolled over to face his orange-haired teammate, who seemed just as frustrated by the predicament.
“I can’t help it!! I can’t get comfortable…”
“How do you think I feel with you hitting me every five seconds?! And get your feet off me!”
“I’m not even touching you right now!!”
“Yes you are!”
“Am not!!”
Kageyama mumbled something that sounded like a curse under his breath, then turned around to face the wall again. The truth was, Hinata wasn’t lying; he had curled his limbs back into himself after the last accidental bump, so truly no part of him was touching his crotchety teammate. Seeking revenge for being yelled at (while also experiencing a streak of somewhat uncharacteristic mischief), he took the opportunity to tease his taller classmate.
“I’m not touching youuuu…” he taunted in a childish sing-songy voice, one finger hovering right next to Kageyama’s side.
“Leave me alone, Hinata.”
“But I’m not even doing anything…”
A wave of misguided bravery suddenly overcame Karasuno’s greatest decoy. He moved in closer until his hand was right next to his companion’s side.
And then he poked him.
At first, Kageyama just flinched. He arched his back, tension spewing throughout his body, and the sound of a stifled squeal rang out through the quiet, darkened room. In a flash, Kageyama rolled over once again to face his former middle school rival.
“Hinata! You - AAAGK!”
This time, Hinata really caught him off guard by poking his side again. The setter’s arms immediately went to his sides, hugging himself in protection. The decoy’s eyes widened once he understood what was happening.
“No way! Kageyama, you’re-!”
He was silenced by two strong hands gripping both of his wrists in midair and one single, ominous word of warning.
“Don’t.”
Still unfazed, Hinata kept pressing him. A devious smirk was slowly creeping across his round face.
“Don’t what? Don’t do this?”
He slipped one hand out of his grasp somehow and pinched his side again, but this time Kageyama let out a small yelp before flinching away. He tried grabbing Hinata’s hand, but the decoy had learned from the first time and slid away before he could be caught. He tickled every spot he could reach, seeking out unprotected areas. Skittering on his sides, poking into his ribs, clawing all five fingers on his belly, he was always one step ahead of the setter.
As his tickle attack continued, he noticed Kageyama was having a harder time holding back his laughter. For the most part, it was still fairly controlled, but hearing some little tittered giggles break through every few seconds was satisfying enough.
“Nghh! Mmmph! Hhh… ha…! … Hinata…! Sto - aha! -op!”
Kageyama’s struggles became more determined and purposeful, and soon the tables were completely turned. After a brief struggle with all four limbs involved, Hinata found himself pinned to the mattress with both wrists above his head and a very cross Kageyama glaring down at him.
“Hey, wait!! Kageyama, please!!”
“You shouldn’t mess with people who are bigger and stronger than you.”
In one swift, fluid movement, Kageyama took hold of both Hinata’s wrists in one hand. No matter how hard the underclassman pulled, he couldn’t break free from his iron grip. He wasn’t exaggerating when he said he was much stronger. It was a terrible time to learn such a fact; Hinata had made a grave mistake letting himself get stuck like this.
He was laughing frantically before Kageyama even touched him, and his laughter only grew in pitch once his free hand started kneading his ribs.
“Wait, wait, wahahahait! Nononononononono-OHOHOHO!!”
Unlike Kageyama, Hinata didn’t have the willpower to hold back whatsoever. His giggles floated through the air freely, like musical notes from a singing choir. And it seemed like everywhere the setter touched garnered an intense, over the top reaction. Worming into his underarms made Hinata howl with laughter. Wisping gently over the now-exposed skin on his stomach after his T-shirt rode up his torso made him squeal like a little kid. And digging into his sides made him cackle like he’d heard the most hilarious joke ever told. On top of that, he was thrashing around as if being poked with hot coals. Even with Kagayama pinning most of his body down with his own large frame, he was still wiggling around quite frantically.
Kageyama’s lips twitched upward in amusement, only adding on to Hinata’s torment.
“KAGEYAHAHAHAHAMA!! Pleheeheeheease no mohohore!!”
“Nope. You started this. Now I’m finishing it.”
“Gahaahahaha! Noooooo! Pleaseimbeggingyouimgonnadie!!!”
Yet, Kageyama did not stop, making sure to hit every one of Hinata’s weak spots and tickling it until he was satisfied. He was proving to be one giant tickle button, screeching with wild laughter no matter where he touched.
“Shorties like you should learn when to shut up and listen,” Kageyama gave him one last piece of advice before finally letting up on the ruthless tickling. His hand still held Hinata’s wrists down, but with a bit less pressure. His teammate’s involuntary spasms ceased, although a few leftover giggles still fell from his lips.
“You might... be taller…” Hinata gasped, doing his best to swallow as much as possible during his little break. “But I’m... faster!!”
Kageyama had let his guard down thinking he’d tired him out, forgetting about his high level of endurance, and Hinata took full advantage of that by yanking his wrists free and immediately clamping his hands in Kageyama’s underarms. He took him by surprise this time, which made the setter burst out into unrestrained laughter. He crashed down onto the mattress, causing them both to bounce as he tried shaking off the decoy’s hands. Hinata had to laugh along with him; he rarely saw his teammate show any sign of joy, let alone a full blown belly laugh, and he planned to soak it up as long as he could while he still had the chance.
Kageyama attempted to squirm away, flailing each of his limbs aimlessly in an unsuccessful attempt to kick him off, but came face first with the wall and found himself stuck with nowhere else to go. Again, Hinata tortured him by leaping from spot to spot, relentlessly tickling all of his most sensitive areas without mercy.
“Nahahahahaoooo! Hinataahahahahaha!! I’ll kill you!”
“Take that! And that!! And this too!!”
Their little game went on for a few more minutes, Kageyama spluttering out empty threats through forced giggles as Hinata began to throw in a few “tikitiki” sounds while tickling the absolute snot out of him. However, their fun was soon interrupted by their less-than-pleased team captain, who practically knocked down their door aflame with rage.
“What the hell are you two doing?! You woke up the entire floor!”
Both underclassmen stopped dead in their tracks, mortified at the fact that others had overheard them. Fear struck through their hearts upon seeing Daichi’s irate expression. Dark circles lined his eyes, an unpleasant accessory to match his deep scowl.
“Uh…”
“Stop playing around and go to sleep!” He commanded in a disciplinary tone. “We’ve got practice games tomorrow!”
“Sorry senpai!! It won’t happen again!!” The two shouted simultaneously, once again bowing their heads in shame.
Daichi grumbled under his breath before making his leave. When the door closed, the two of them collapsed back onto the mattress. Kageyama, still winded and out of breath, took a few seconds to calm himself while Hinata replayed the last few minutes in his mind over and over again. They sat there in awkward silence, neither one willing to speak of what had just happened.
“Sooo…”
“Not another word,” Kageyama silenced him swiftly, turning over to face the wall yet again. Suddenly, Hinata felt a bit lonely, twiddling his thumbs in silence for a little while longer before piping up one last time.
“So, you’re ticklish.”
“I said not another word.”
Kageyama’s order was final, but he sensed the shorter boy shuffling next to him and braced himself for yet another awkward conversation.
“Can I say one more thing?”
“Will you shut up if I say yes?”
Hinata sat up beside him, and as he spoke Kageyama could hear the smile in his voice. It made his next few words all the more flustering.
“You should really smile more often. It suits you better than a frown.”
The setter’s breath caught in his throat and made him choke, causing him to let out a few weak coughs as if he’d been kicked in the stomach. He felt a warm flush over his cheeks and thanked whatever deity was watching over him that Hinata couldn’t see. He clutched the blanket next to him and pulled it over his head, signaling that he was done for the night.
“Goodnight, Hinata.”
A few seconds passed, then he felt Hinata lay down beside him. He made a few more adjustments before finally settling down into a comfortable spot. Kageyama felt his eyes fluttering shut, but before he drifted to sleep he heard a small voice cut through the silence.
“Night, Kageyama.”
~~~~
When he woke up in the morning with sunlight in his face, Kageyama stirred a bit before realizing there was an arm wrapped around his waist. He glanced over and saw Hinata sleeping peacefully, his tiny body curled up into his own. Shocked at first, his initial discomfort settled down when he noticed his own body relaxing at the unexpected display of affection. It was a cute gesture, one that made his cheeks flush with warmth and his stomach erupt into a flurry of butterflies.
He knew that it was almost time for them to get up for practice, but he figured laying in bed for a few more moments wouldn’t hurt.