Work Text:
I.
Kageyama loved winters. Winter season meant cold, crisp weather which meant he could wear his sweaters all the time. Which was why he was annoyed at not being able to find his favourite sweater. He had looked everywhere for it, but he simply wasn’t able to find it.
Extremely irritated, he was startled when Hinata fell in through the door of their shared apartment. The boy was breathing heavily, as though he had run all the way home from university (he probably had). His hair was speckled with white flecks of snow and his cheeks were red from the cold. He was bundled up in his usual green scarf (the same one from high school) and earmuffs. Kageyama’s heart did a backflip. He did not bother thinking about why.
‘Oi, Kageyama what are you looking at?’, Hinata askes with a humph and a sceptical stare. This snaps Kageyama out of his trance. He remembers his dilemma and asks the shorter boy, “Dumbass have you seen my sweater? The fuzzy blue one?”
At this Hinata grows agitated. He avoids eye contact with Kageyama and mumbles, “Why would you think I have your sweater? I swear I don’t have it.”
Kageyama stares at him.
“I never said you had it, I just asked if you had seen it dumbass,” he says with a scoff as he turns towards the kitchen. “I just can’t seem to find it anywhere,”
From the corner of his eye, Kageyama sees Hinata let out a sigh of relief.
“You should take better care of your things Kageyama.” Hinata sings as he trails into the kitchen. “Now make me something to eat and I’ll tell you all about the awesome practice we had today. We are definitely going to beat you at the next practice match.”, he says as he sticks his tongue out.
Kageyama decides not to pursue his inquiry and lets himself get drawn into their usual banter. “Keep dreaming dumbass” he laughs, “We’re going to annihilate you next match for sure,” he says with a smirk as he gets out the ingredients for dinner.
But he does not forget that sigh of relief.
II.
The next day, just as Kageyama was about to shut the door of their cupboard, something blue caught his eye. There lay, on the lowest shelf of the cupboard, his missing sweater. He picked it up and scanned it to make sure it was in fact, his. On the label, there was the unmistakable ‘Kageyama’ written in small letters.
Kageyama was puzzled. He was certain he had thoroughly checked every nook and cranny of their cupboard for his sweater yesterday and yet, he couldn’t find it. How the hell did his sweater suddenly appear in the very same cupboard.
Suddenly, Hinata’s alarm rang and the orange haired boy slowly blinked his eyes open. His already unruly hair was rumpled from sleep and his eyes were unfocused as he stared up at dark-haired boy. Kageyama’s heart clenched.
Once Hinata woke up completely he spotted the blue sweater in Kageyama’s hand.
“Oh, you found your sweater?” he asks, and if Kageyama didn’t know better, he would think the boy looked absolutely innocent.
“Yes, I did. I found it in our cupboard. The cupboard in which I looked for it, just last night.”
“Oh, Kageyama! Looks like your eyes are going bad as you grow old huh?”
“Shut up dumbass! My eyes are fine.” Kageyama says as he moves toward Hinata’s bed. As he gets closer, he sees the marks of sleep on the smaller boy’s face. Hinata looks up at him with wide eyes still a bit swollen from sleep. Kageyama feels like screaming. He decides it’s because the orange haired boy is irritating. He ignores the little voice in his head that says that may not be it.
Abruptly, he flicks Hinata on the forehead.
“OW! What was that for?” Hinata asks, rubbing his forehead.
“For being a dumbass,”
Hinata let’s out a puff of breath. “Whatever Bakageyama, now hurry up and go or you’ll get late.” he says as he rubs the sleep out of his eyes.
Kageyama ignores the tightening in his chest as he walks out the door.
III.
The door slams shut with a loud bang as Hinata stalks into the apartment. Kageyama looks up from where he was opening a new bottle of yoghurt. The shorter boy had a scowl on his usually smiling face, his fists clenched at his side. He looks angry, Kageyama thinks.
“What’s wrong dumbass?”
“whydidntyoutellmeyouhadanawaymatch” Hinata let’s out through gritted teeth.
“What did you say dumbass? Speak properly,”
“Why didn’t you tell me you had an away match!” Hinata finally shouts.
Kageyama blinks. An away match? That’s why he’s so angry? It had honestly just slipped his mind to mention it.
Kageyama glares at the shorter boy. “Why are you so angry dumbass? I just forgot to mention it,”
Hinata continued to scowl as he glared at the taller boy’s puzzled face. He didn’t know why he was so angry either. He just knew that when he heard Kageyama would be going away for a whole weekend for his next match, his heart sank. He had run home on hearing it, but now he was here, he realised his anger was irrational. What right did he have to know the ins and outs of the taller boy’s schedule?
I’m acting weird, he thought.
Slowly, he unclenched his fists.
Kageyama walked towards him and pressed down on the space between Hinata’s forehead. Hinata blinked.
“What was that for” he asks, his heart stuttering as he notices how close their faces are.
“Just getting rid of your frown, I don’t like it.”
Kageyama finally seemed to realise what he was doing and freezes. He steps back and brings his hand down. He notices Hinata staring at him.
“What are you looking at dumbass” he shouts, suddenly uncomfortable with the silence between them.
“Nothing,” Hinata mumbles. His cheeks are red.
He looks pretty, Kageyama thinks. He shakes his head to get rid of the thought and walks into the kitchen.What is wrong with me today?
Eager to distract himself, Kageyama provokes Hinata. “Oi, shorty! Come here and help me start dinner”
This seems to work on Hinata, who immediately jumps onto Kageyama’s back. “Who are you calling shorty, Bakageyama! I’ll show you just how short I am” he shouts shaking his fists.
Kageyama laughs as he ignores the way his heart skips a beat. “Get off my back and help me start dinner dumbass,”
“Alright Kageyamaaa-kun” Hinata says as he jumps off.
That night Kageyama has a hard time sleeping.
IV.
The day of his match, as Kageyama was getting ready, he noticed his sweater was missing. Again.
He passed a cursory glance over his room, to make sure he hadn’t simply kept it somewhere else. But the sweater was nowhere to be found.
Immediately his mind went to the other day, and Hinata’s suspicious behaviour when he was asked about the sweater. Kageyama ground his teeth. He was certain the shorter boy had done something to his sweater.
Kageyama walked towards the kitchen, determined to give Hinata a piece of his mind and get his sweater back but when he entered the kitchen he stopped in his tracks.
Hinata was dancing around the kitchen, humming a song as he prepared breakfast. The smile on his face was blinding as he cracked an egg into the pan. Kageyama felt his heart stutter once again.
How annoying, he thought. But the fond smile on his face was in contrast with his thoughts.
Sensing that someone was staring at him, Hinata turned around. “Good morning, Kageyamaaaa! What’s with that dazed expression on your face?”
Kageyama snapped out of his reverie. “Good morning, dumbass. What are you making?”
“Well you have your match today, so I thought I’d make eggs for you” Hinata said nonchalantly, “I know they’re your favourite.”
Kageyama stared at the younger boy. He made them cause they’re my favourite. Kageyama was puzzled. He did not understand why his heart gave a squeeze at that thought. He ignored it.
He shook his head and sat down at the counter just as Hinata placed his plate before him.
“You nervous Kageyama?”, the shorter boy asked with a teasing expression on his face.
“In your dreams, dumbass.” Kageyama laughed. Hinata watched as Kageyama started tucking in, his smile fond.
The shorter boy had woken up early to prepare the breakfast. As he was sitting in his bed and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he remembered that Kageyama would be going away for two whole days. Hinata was annoyed by this but he couldn’t figure out why. To distract himself, he had rushed into the kitchen and busied himself with breakfast.
Shaking his head, Hinata came back to the present. Kageyama was done with breakfast and was standing up, ready to leave for his match.
“Goodbye, dumbass. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”
“And you better not lose to that team, Kageyama,”
“As if I need to be told,” Kageyama scoffs. “We’re going to destroy them,” he says with a smirk.
“Okay, now go or you’ll be late!” the shorter boy pushes Kageyama towards the door.
“Bye dumbass.”
“Bye Kageyamaaa.”
As soon as the door shut, Hinata ran to the bedroom. He stuck a hand under his mattress and pulled out a fuzzy blue sweater.
V.
It had only been a day and a half since Kageyama had left but Hinata was already restless.
Seeking a distraction, the orange haired boy had decided to go grocery shopping. But every time he came across yoghurt bottles he would think, Kageyama would like these. Tightening his grip on the shopping cart, Hinata pushed away from the dairy aisle.
Done with the groceries, Hinata stepped out of the store. As he was walking home, his feet suddenly stuttered to a stop. He realised he had subconsciously walked all the way to Kageyama’s favourite pork bun vendor.
Stupid Kageyama, making me take the longer route home, he thought. But there was a smile on his face.
Stepping forward, Hinata purchased a few of the buns. It’s just a gift for when he wins the match. Don’t overthink it.
Once he was home, Hinata deposited the groceries in the kitchen and proceeded to throw himself on to his bed. He fell face first into the sweater that was lying on his bed.
Nuzzling his face into it, Hinata sighed. His heart gave a squeeze as he realised Kageyama’s scent was still lingering on the sweater.
Now, Hinata was not being creepy. The problem was that whenever Kageyama was away Hinata felt like something was stuck in his throat. His heart would ache, and he would get restless. It annoyed him to no end.
One day when Kageyama was away for a match, Hinata saw his sweater lying on the couch. He had picked it up, intending to keep it back in Kageyama’s cupboard but he accidently got a whiff of the sweater. Instantly, his mind calmed down and the weight on his chest felt lighter. He decided not to think too deeply about it.
Ever since that day, whenever Kageyama was away Hinata would cuddle with one of his sweaters. He had managed to keep it secret for a while but last time he had messed up. He hoped that Kageyama didn’t suspect anything. He did not want to make him angry.
Soon, Hinata found it difficult to keep his eyes open. Before he was completely lost to the world, the boy set an alarm on his phone for when Kageyama would be home. He needed to wake up before the boy arrived, so he could keep his sweater back in the cupboard. He smiled at that. He’ll finally be home, he thought, and I can stop being miserable.
As he slept, Hinata dreamt of a tall, dark-haired boy with blue eyes that reminded him of warmth.
VI.
It was dark outside by the time Kageyama entered their apartment, exhausted to the bone from the two matches he’d played. He had a small smile on his face, still basking in the happiness of their victory.
‘Oi, dumbass! I’m home,” he called out. There was no answer. He ventured into the kitchen and smiled when he saw the pork buns sitting on the counter. Idiot, he thought.
Kageyama set his bag down and tiptoed into the bedroom. Hinata was fast asleep on his bed, curled into a ball to keep away the cold night air. Kageyama smiled as he took him in, heart pounding so loudly, he was sure it would wake Hinata from his slumber. He strode towards the bed to pull the blanket over the shorter boy who was shivering a little.
Suddenly, the sleeping boy stirred, flipping over to lay on his back. Kageyama froze as he spied the blue material in Hinata’s hands. Slowly, he pried the sweater away from Hinata’s fists that were gripping the material. Just as he managed to get the sweater out of his hands, Hinata let out a low mumble.
“Don’t take it away, smells nice.” he said in his sleep, a small frown gracing his face.
Kageyama’s heart skipped a beat. He stared at HInata’s sleep-marked face and then at the sweater, which was undeniably his.
Finally, Hinata opened his eyes. He blinked up at Kageyama, whose eyebrows were still furrowed in confusion.
“K-Kageyama?” he asks, still disoriented from sleep. “When did you get home?”
Kageyama continues to stare at him. Eventually, he holds out the sweater. Hinata’s eyes grew wide and his cheeks turned a bright red.
He opened his mouth, ready to come up with a story that would explain why he was cuddling with Kageyama’s sweater and get him out of trouble. Instead of a long-winded story, what came out of his mouth was, “I like you.”
Quickly, Hinata slammed his mouth shut. Oh my god, he thought, that explains a lot of things, actually.
He peeked at Kageyama, heart sinking at the thought of seeing anger, or even worse – pity, on his face.
The expression on Kageyama’s face was one he had seen only once before. It was the same one he had back when they were in high school and Hinata had said “You’re amazing, Kageyama.” for the first time. He looked like he could not decide how to feel.
After a few hours (minutes really), Kageyama finally spoke. “Oh my god, you idiot.” His mouth had settled into a grin. “How long?”
“Huh?”
“How long have you liked me?” Kageyama repeats, azure eyes sparkling. Hinata blinks. That was not what he was expecting.
He finally settles on, “Well, I’m not going to tell you without knowing if you like me back.”
At this, Kageyama laughed, his expression fond. “I like you too dumbass.”, he says, his tone soft. He sits down next to Hinata on the bed and holds his hand. “I’ve probably liked you for a while now.”
Hinata stared at their joined hands, his heart racing. “Me too,” he says, looking into blue eyes, “I’ve liked you for a while too.”
Kageyama pulls the shorter boy into a hug. “Dumbass,” he says, tone teasing, “You could have just told me, you know? There was no need to steal my sweater.”
Kageyama let out a grunt at the elbow he got in his ribs for that. “Don’t act smug Bakageyama,” Hinata lifts his head from where he had buried it in the taller boy’s chest. “You were just as bad as me.” he laughs.
Here in Kageyama’s arms, Hinata felt like he could fly.
(And if Hinata wore the blue sweater more than Kageyama from that day, nobody said anything about it.)