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“Do you have eggs at home?” Kageyama asked as he intensely stared at the many boxes of eggs before him. If Hinata hadn’t known him, it would have looked as though he was angered by the mere fact that these eggs dared to exist.
“I think we only have two left,” Hinata replied cautiously.
“Not enough,” he mumbled before grabbing a box and carefully inspecting its condition— the plastic crinkling under his fingertips as he did so. Once satisfied, he placed it inside the trolley that he absolutely did not allow Hinata to push. He was adamant that his recovery from his injury somehow meant that Hinata was now basically made out of paper-thin glass.
“What else do you need?” Hinata asked, feeling quite useless just following Kageyama around the supermarket like a lost puppy.
“Carrots?”
“I have plenty at home.”
Kageyama nodded and made their way to the cashier. Hinata tried to help by grabbing whatever he could— but considering his short stature and bruises, he managed to wince in pain as he overstretched himself. This caused a very pointed glare to be sent his way by Kageyama, prompting him to lift his arms up as a sign of defeat. Hinata stepped back and just watched, pouting slightly. The cashier gave an odd look but quickly returned to his work.
They left the store in silence. Hinata was brooding, Kageyama indifferent to his sudden change in mood. When they reached the pedestrian crossing, an old man opposite them was waving at them. Kageyama grit his teeth. As they reached the other side, the old man tried to ask them something.
“Sorry, we’re in a hurry,” Kageyama brushed him off before grabbing Hinata’s hand and running off. They both looked quite ridiculous with the amount of shopping bags that they were carrying.
“Hah?!” Hinata was confused and his arm hurt a little from his bruises, “h-hey, Kageyama! Shouldn’t we help him? Why aren’t we helping him?”
“It’s dangerous,” there was a dark tint to his face as he continued pulling him along, “I don’t like him.”
“Oi, I think you’re over-thinking things,” Hinata was starting to get tired, his stamina was still not in the best condition, “he just needed help.”
Kageyama ignored him and finally came to an abrupt stop when he saw Hinata’s house nearby. They were both panting from the exertion. The shopping bags were in a disarray. Hinata hoped the eggs didn’t crack.
“He looked at you weirdly,” Kageyama finally explained himself, not quite meeting Hinata’s eyes.
“...Kageyama-kun,” Hinata started off in a serious tone, “I think he was partially blind. Didn’t you see his walking stick?”
“...”
“Kageyama?”
“...it’s all an act,” he mumbled quickly.
“Huh?” A small giggle escaped from Hinata’s lips, his hand quickly covered his mouth. “Sorry,” his voice was muffled.
“H-he- never mind stupid,” his face was flushed in embarrassment. He walked off awkwardly, leaving Hinata a mess on the floor as he laughed uncontrollably. Kageyama reached Hinata’s entrance and waited impatiently for him to catch up.
“Hurry up!” Yet his rough tone still didn’t match his flushed face.
“Sorry, sorry,” Hinata grinned, “I think the old man was calling me just now, did you hear his whispers?”
“S-stop it!” Kageyama couldn’t look him in the eye.
“But then... we find out... he was actually a ghost coming to get us!” Hinata jumped in front of his face for added effect.
Kageyama lightly pushed him away, feeling completely flustered, “I’m gonna kill you.” He muttered, “open the stupid door already.”
“How can you say that to an injured boy?” As he fumbled around his pockets for his keys.
“Tch.” Was all Kageyama replied back.
Hinata couldn’t fit in the keys as he shook from laughter. Kageyama grabbed it from him and unlocked the door, grumbling as he did so. He headed straight to the kitchen and started to prepare the ingredients.
“What are you planning to cook?” Hinata watched curiously as Kageyama messily cut up some vegetables.
“Fried rice,” he said, a deep scowl etched on his face as he concentrated.
“I didn’t know you cooked.”
“This is my first time,” He replied as he accidentally dropped a carrot.
“...do you need help?”
Kageyama glared at him as he bent down to pick up the carrot, “no, you’re injured. Go to the living room and watch TV or something.”
Hinata unwillingly stomped off the living room and did exactly that. He flopped on to couch feeling grumpy but quickly became engrossed by the show being played. It was getting close to sunset, the sky’s colors changing to muted purples basked the room with soft light. Half an hour turned to an hour. And an hour turned to another. Hinata began to think if he should start on his homework when a terrible smell made him gag. He ran quickly to the kitchen to find Kageyama in a complete mess.
Sweat was dripping down his face as if he had just finished a match. His hair was sticking out everywhere and his bangs were matted onto his forehead. There was heavy smoke filling the kitchen.
“What happened!” Hinata exclaimed. “Are you okay?”
“...I burned it,” he muttered, “All that... hard work... and it’s burned...”
“Don’t mind, Kageyama! We can always order or eat something else.”
Kageyama's face darkened and began to glower. Hinata even thought that his eyes were slightly wet.
“Uh,” Hinata was too shocked for a second, “K-Kageyama! I-it’s okay! You really tried your best, and that already means so much to me.”
Kageyama just huffed and looked away. His face was red again from embarrassment.
“Hey, come here, it must be really stuffy there.”
“I wanted to do something nice... after you finally got discharged and I messed up.” Kageyama was muttering.
“N-no, Kageyama! You didn’t, I had so much fun today. And you took my mind off things, really! It was nice having you around!” Hinata smiled widely, though he was slightly worried at his friend’s sad expression.
“There’s plenty of milk in the fridge,” Hinata’s voice was now slightly above a whisper as he tried to soothe him, “fruit loops in the cupboard. I’ve been craving cereal the whole day actually. Let’s eat that while watching TV.”
“...’kay.”
Once they cleaned up the kitchen and scrubbed the burned pans clean, they settled in the living room. Another show was just about to start as Hinata happily ate the cereal. Kageyama was still quietly brooding as he munched.
“Here,” he pushed his bowl of leftover cold milk to Kageyama and grinned.
“What?”
“Just a little thank you for today!”
“There’s milk in the fridge,” Kageyama stated bluntly.
“Do you want it or not?” Hinata huffed.
“...’kay.”
Kageyama never tried to cook again after that.