Archive of Our Own

Hinata woke up and immediately vomited into the trashcan by his bed. 

He heaved and gagged for a solid five minutes before he flopped back onto his pillow, squeezing his eyes shut and smacking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, trying to get rid of the taste. 

The window to his left was still dark and his alarm hadn’t gone off yet, so it had to have been really early. 

Early enough that Hinata could probably sneak the new contents of his trashcan to the garbage outside without anyone in his family being the wiser. He knew that if his mom found out, he’d have to stay home, and staying home meant missing practice. 

Hinata Shouyou was not going to miss practice. 

His legs started shaking when he made his way to the side door of his house, unceremoniously dumping the trash bag into the bin and stumbling back inside. 

He fell back into his bed, not noticing how the sheets were already covered in a cold sweat or how his hair was matted to the back of his neck. 

The remaining hours until he had to wake up felt like a second. With a wince, Hinata groggily pried his eyes open again and weakly reached out his hand to turn his alarm off. His arm felt like it was a hundred pounds and his fingers were shaking. 

But he was totally fine. He was one hundred and ten percent fine. Nothing was stopping him from going to practice. 

He was probably just tired and sore from staying late at the gym the night before.

“Yeah, that’s it,” he muttered to himself as he stumbled to the bathroom. 

He had his a hand on his toothbrush before another wave of nausea hit him and he spun around to the toilet, hurling his guts for the second time that morning. 

Hinata wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stood up shakily. Clutching the side of the sink for support, he looked in the mirror and winced. 

He looked awful. 

His cheeks were pallid and his eyes were sunken and dark. His hair was, for once, not sticking up everywhere, but dropping over his ears and forehead. He could see a sheen of sweat coating his face. 

He still wasn’t going to miss practice. 

Kageyama had promised they would work on a new attack that he’d seen in a match over the weekend and Hinata had been looking forward to it for days . The amount of yelling and hair pulling he’d be subjected to if he didn’t show up the day they were finally going to try it would be more than he’d ever dealt with before. His scalp started to sting preemptively, like a ghost of a touch. 

Maybe you want him to touch your hair.

Hinata let out a noise of frustration. His brain didn’t get the message. 

Maybe if you skip practice, he’ll come see you. Maybe he’ll take care of you.

No. That train of thought needed to end there. Kageyama would be fine. He’d be annoyed at Hinata’s lack of dedication, but he would just spike to Tanaka or Asahi. Kageyama didn’t need Hinata the way Hinata needed him. 

And yeah, that hurt. 

But he was used to it. 

Kageyama was the cool attractive straight guy who was friends with Hinata because they played well together. Hinata wasn’t as stupidly optimistic as he seemed. He knew full well that Kageyama did not and would never feel the same way Hinata felt about him. 

With a heavy sigh, Hinata started pinching his cheeks, trying to bring some semblance of color to them. If his early morning garbage take out was anything to go by, it was a pretty chilly morning, so, with any luck, the freezing winds would turn his cheeks, ears, and nose red like it usually did. 

No one in his family was awake yet, so Hinata stumbled through his morning routine in a daze, knocking into quite a few cupboards and drawers, flinching every time he heard the house creak or settle. He could probably fool his teammates, but his freakishly perceptive little sister would surely see right through him.

His head had started to spin by the time he locked his front door and heaved his bike through the front gate, biceps quivering with the effort. It took almost all of his willpower to lift his leg over the seat and onto the pedal. It was freezing, just as he’d thought. The metal was biting and hurt to touch. 

He biked much slower than usual. The handlebars felt stiff and the pedals seemed to be pushing through molasses. Hinata had just crested the first hill when he felt his foot slip from it’s already shaky grip on the pedal. 

For a moment, Hinata felt completely detached from his body. He watched himself from above as his sneaker pushed just a bit too far forward, which wouldn’t have mattered had the front tire not just hit a small rock. 

The bike skidded sideways and tilted aggressively, effectively flinging a weak Hinata from his seat and sending him tumbling down the fairly steep hill. 

He rolled for what felt like years. By the time the arch of his back slammed against a large rock, stopping his momentum, Hinata had already given up. 

Given up trying to stop rolling, given up trying to stay with his bike, given up on going to practice. 

Something warm rolled it’s way down Hinata’s forehead, viscous and sticky. Lackadaisically, he realized that he was back in his body now, seeing things with his own two eyes again. 

He saw the top of the hill, seemingly miles away from his current resting place. He could see his fallen bike, still laying on the side of the dirt road. 

Hinata knew no cars passed through this road, and if they did, it would probably be better if they didn’t stop. 

So Hinata gave up a final time. 

He would not be found. Not anytime soon, anyways. He would lie here in the cold against this rock with blood from some unknown wound dripping over his face. 

As Hinata’s eyes drooped closed, he could almost make out the vision of an angel blocking out the sun. The angel had massive black wings, like a crow. His eyes glowed blue. He was beautiful. 

“Goodnight, beautiful angel,” Hinata whispered, his eyes sliding shut.

No one heard him. 

—————

Kageyama shifted his weight between his feet as he anxiously craned his neck to look down the road. It was nearly six thirty now, which meant Hinata was almost fifteen minutes late. That wasn’t like him.

He tried unsuccessfully to ignore the feeling in his gut that something was terribly, horribly wrong. 

Kageyama’s stomach was roiling with unfounded anxiety, the shaking breaths he was taking doing absolutely nothing to quell his nerves. 

“Yo, Kageyama! What’s up?” 

Kageyama whipped his head to see Tanaka strolling up the opposite road, keys jangling on his fingers. He lifted a hand at his upperclassman in greeting.

“Where’s Boy Wonder?” Tanaka asked when he stopped. Kageyama shrugged, hoping his anxieties weren’t too close to the surface that they would be noticed. 

“Maybe he’s skipping school! Finally living life to the fullest!” Tanaka crowed. “Or, maybe my precious kouhai has a secret girlfriend?” He added, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. 

The words felt like stones in Kageyama’s stomach. He couldn’t quite place it, but the thought of Hinata off with some nameless, faceless girl, hugging her, kissing her cheek, telling her jokes, it made him sick. 

That feeling on top of the already gnawing anxiety in his gut made Kageyama scowl at the floor. 

Why was he so stressed all of a sudden? 

“Who has a secret girlfriend?” Asked a nasal voice from behind them. Nishinoya skidded to a stop in front of the gate, sending up a spray of gravel. 

“Hinata isn’t here yet, and that’s the first conclusion that came to my mind,” Tanaka explained with a grin. 

“Shouyou isn’t here? Damn! I was gonna eat some of his lunch! I’m starving!” Noya complained. Tanaka slugged him in the shoulder and handed him something wrapped in tinfoil from his jacket pocket, saying Saeko had given him too much to eat at breakfast that morning. 

Nishinoya cheered as the two of them made their way to the clubroom to get changed, talking and laughing. 

Kageyama should have followed them. He should’ve shrugged his feelings off and gotten ready for practice, but he couldn’t. He stayed at the gate with his feet planted and his arms crossed. 

“Kageyama, are you alright?” 

Kageyama spun around. That was the second time someone had caught him off guard that morning, which was not like him. This day was just wrong. 

Daichi had his hands in his pockets, presumably protecting them against the biting cold. 

“Hinata isn’t here,” Kageyama ground out, as if that was answer enough. 

Apparently it was. Daichi nodded almost knowingly, patting Kageyama on the shoulder. 

It took some effort for Kageyama not to flinch away or shrug his captain's hand off. He’d never really been one for physical contact, hugs and handshakes just making him uncomfortable and often a little bit sweaty. 

“Have you texted him?” Daichi asked after a moment of contemplative quiet. Kageyama blinked. He hadn’t even thought of that. 

Whipping out his phone, he typed out a quick message. 

To: Dumbass Hinata 

Stupid you’re late. Where are you?

A part of Kageyama expected him to respond immediately, a flowery apology ridden with stupid emoticons that Kageyama did not find endearing in the slightest. 

Not even when they were an emoticon of two people playing volleyball. Not endearing. Hinata wasn’t allowed to be endearing, because endearing was a slippery slope to cute, which was just a bit more than Kageyama could process. 

So, no. Those emoticons were not endearing. 

A full minute ticked by before Daichi patted him again, this time in farewell. Kageyama just stood there, scrolling absentmindedly through their previous text conversation. 

Hinata had been trying to pry the homework answers out of him and Kageyama had been trying to cover for the fact that he never actually did the assignment. It was a regular day, unlike today. 

Where was that dumbass? With five minutes until practice started and no response, Kageyama turned stiffly on his heel and marched to the club room. 

When he made his way to the gym, he immediately seeked out the person who could possibly give him some answers. 

“Takeda-sensei!” Kageyama called out with a small bow. The short man turned, startled and looked up at him. 

“Takeda-sensei,” Kageyama repeated. “Did Hinata call in sick today? Or does he have an appointment?” 

Takeda blinked. “Not that I’m aware of,” he replied. “Is he not here?”

Kageyama shook his head aggressively. “I’m… I’m really worried,” he blurted out, louder than he intended it to be. 

Admitting it out loud somehow made it worse. What before had been a nagging anxiety in his gut was now a clawing sensation rising up his throat. He took a shuddering breath, but it didn’t do anything to calm him. 

“I see,” Takeda replied. “Don’t worry, Kageyama, I’m sure everything is fine. Tell you what, I’ll call his mother to see what’s going on. Will that calm your nerves?” 

Kageyama didn’t trust his voice at that point and settled for a sharp nod. Takeda patted his arm and pulled out his cell phone, walking over to an empty corner to make the call. 

Kageyama checked his phone for the hundredth time, but there was still no response. That in and of itself was weird. Hinata usually sent him a minimum of five texts in the morning, a picture of his breakfast, the time it took for him to crest the tallest hill, a selfie of him and the cat that lived in the fruit stand on his route. 

Now, without those stupid updates, Kageyama realized how much he enjoyed them. He usually brushed them off with a one word reply or he just flat-out ignored them, but Hinata never stopped sending them. 

He didn’t think he’d miss a stupid selfie so much. 

Maybe Kageyama was sick. 

“Hey, where’s Hinata?” He heard Suga call from behind him. “Weren’t you two supposed to try that fancy new trick today?” 

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Or rather, the remark that broke Kageyama’s mental well being. He’d forgotten how much that dumbass had begged and pleaded for Kageyama to figure the toss out so they could try and pull it off. There was no way in hell Hinata would purposefully miss out on actually doing it. 

Something was definitely wrong. 

He glanced over to the corner where Takeda was calling Hinata’s mother only to find it empty. With growing anxiety, he quickly searched the room to see him talking quietly with Ukai, a serious expression on his face. Ukai looked like he was about to be sick. 

There was no way that could be anything but bad. 

Seeing him watching them, Takeda gestured for Kageyama to join them. He jogged over tentatively, not really wanting to put words to his feeling of anxiety. 

“Well, I called Hinata’s mother,” Takeda started slowly. “And she said that he usually leaves before she wakes up, so she can’t be sure, but his lunch and bike were both gone. So, we can be fairly sure that Hinata left the house this morning.”

Kageyama could feel the dread pooling in his gut. “But he never made it here,” he finished for him. Takeda nodded. 

“Well then, where the hell is he?” Kageyama said, much louder than he’d intended. 

“We… We aren’t sure. Hinata’s mother said she found vomit in her trashcan this morning, so my guess is that Hinata was sick this morning and still tried to bike here, but couldn’t make it the whole way.

Kageyama stared at him. “So Hinata is somewhere out there, up in the mountains, in the freezing cold, all alone and sick? ” 

Takeda nodded glumly. Ukai looked ill. Kageyama was about to explode. 

“What are we going to do? Are we looking for him?” Kageyama asked, his voice deathly quiet and shockingly steady. 

This time, it was Ukai who responded. “We can be almost sure that he's somewhere on his route to school. Problem is, no one really knows what that is,” He explained.

“I do,” Kageyama blurted. “I walked his bike home when he twisted his ankle a few months ago. I remember the way.”

Please. Please let me look for him. Please let me find him.

Takeda mulled it over. “I would need someone to go with you. But time is probably of the essence if he’s sick. It’s quite cold today, I wouldn’t want him to get hurt,” he said slowly. 

Kageyama nodded aggressively. “Anything. Just, please. Let me go,” he practically begged. 

Takeda nodded, but Ukai looked unsure. Kageyama fixed him with the most level stare he could muster. 

“I know something is wrong. I just do. And I won’t practice if I can’t go looking for him,” he stated plainly. 

Ukai looked at him for a moment before he nodded and walked off to find someone else to search, leaving Kageyama to stew in his own feelings. 

To be completely honest, Kageyama had no clue that his feelings for his stupid, enthusiastic spiker ran this deep.

He’d never really had any friends before, just the guys at Kitagawa Daiichi, and they weren’t friends even in the loosest sense of the word. Because of this, he didn’t really have a clear definition of what being a friend was. What was the difference between thinking his form was good versus liking the way his back arched when he jumped? Kageyama wasn’t confident he could separate the feelings of friendship with his… not so platonic feelings. He wasn’t sure he knew the difference. 

But the thought of Hinata, alone and freezing, sick, shivering made his blood run cold. He didn’t have the time to sort out the intricacies of his feelings right now. He would have plenty of time to do that when Hinata was safe. 

After a few moments of asking around, eventually Ukai found out that Daichi had a study hall in most of his classes that day and wasn’t against missing them, and thus, the search team was decided. 

Takeda went inside to the main building to excuse them from classes as both Daichi and Kageyama phoned their parents, explaining the situation and getting permission to miss class. By the time Ukai started practice, albeit a few minutes late, they were already changed back into their day clothes and were waiting by the door. 

Ukai gave them a nod as he turned back to the team, presumably to explain what the situation was. Daichi put a hand on Kageyama’s shoulder as they started their long walk. They would walk to Hinata’s house and back, searching for any telltale flashes of orange. If they didn’t find him, they’d call Ukai, who would contact the police. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.

After a few minutes of looking around in silence, Daichi spoke softly without looking at him. 

“You really like him, don’t you?” 

Kageyama froze midstep, his jaw falling open. Daichi still didn’t look at him. When he regained control of his legs he sped his pace to catch up with his captain. 

Conversation was good. Conversation was a distraction from the cesspool of dread in his stomach. And, who knows, maybe getting some things off of his chest would loosen the knot in his gut. 

“I don't… I don’t know,” he responded truthfully. “My mom tells me that I’m not ‘in tune with my emotions. So… I don’t really know. How can I tell?”

If there were anyone he trusted with this kind of stuff, it was his level-headed team captain. Plus, Daichi already seemed to know more about Kageyama’s emotions than he did. 

“I can’t really tell you, Kageyama. Everyone is different. But I think the fact that you’re here says a lot,” Daichi responded. “How about this. How would you feel if Hinata told you he’d been confessed to?”

“I dunno. Kinda angry, maybe,” Kageyama muttered. 

“And what if he told you that he said yes?” 

Just imagining it made Kageyama clench his fists and grit his teeth.

“Yeah, I thought so. That should be answer enough,” Daichi responded quietly. Kageyama thought about that. 

He imagined Hinata giving his smiles to someone else, or ditching Kageyama to walk someone else home. He thought about the way Hinata’s hair stuck out in the morning, and about how his eyes glittered when he ate sweets. 

He thought about how, if Hinata got a girlfriend, he might never send him stupid photos in the morning again. He’d have someone else to eat lunch with. 

Kageyama noticed a lot about his best friend. He knew what Hinata looked like when he was upset but didn’t want anyone to know. He knew that no matter how much he poked fun at Kageyama, all of his compliments were genuine. 

He couldn’t think of anyone else he would be out looking for on a freezing winter morning, but the thought of staying behind while Hinata could be in pain was unimaginable. 

Maybe he did like Hinata as more than a friend. Maybe he always had. 

It was a real swell time to figure that one out, given he was currently poking around a bush for a flash of orange that turned out to be a dirty, discarded scarf. 

I’ll tell you how I feel, I swear. I just have to find you, first.

That was the promise he made to himself as he turned onto the first dirt road. He would be completely honest with himself and with Hinata, and all he asked for in return would be that Hinata would be found safely. 

That wasn’t too much to ask for, right?

They walked quietly for another ten minutes. Just when Kageyama was about to silently go crazy, Daichi spoke again. 

“You’re handling this well, all things considered. If this were Suga, I think I’d be much less put together. I’m proud of you,” he continued. 

“You and Suga?” He asked carefully, trying to get the conversation away from the fact that he was not, in fact, handling this well. 

“Since the start of our second year. That’s how I can tell about you and Hinata. I was the same,” Daichi said calmly, craning his neck to look down a side street. 

“How did you...” Kageyama started slowly. “How did you tell him?” 

Daichi finally glanced back at him. “I just worked up the guts to do it. I chickened out quite a few times before then, though.”

I won’t chicken out, Hinata. When I find you, I’ll tell you how I feel, I swear. 

—————

Hinata blinked his eyes open slowly. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been lying there, but he knew that he was in pain. And he was cold.

He raised a shaky hand to feel around his head and winced when he made contact with the tender skin. His fingers came away sticky with blood and he could feel his hair matting together. 

He held his hands up to his face, staring at the viscous red liquid. Something about it didn’t feel real, like that wasn’t his hand and it wasn’t his blood that it was covered in. 

Maybe he was watching a really realistic movie. If he was, the plot was really bad. The characters were kinda boring, too. 

Hopefully this movie would get interesting soon.

Hinata suddenly remembered that someone was probably angry with him. It was on the tip of his tongue. He’d promised someone something, he was sure of it. He was breaking that promise. 

Problem was, he couldn’t remember who he’d promised it to.

The situation suddenly became very funny at that moment. He was lying at the bottom of a hill he’d seen a hundred times on his way to and from school. He was maybe thirty feet from the base and the hill itself wasn’t crazily large. It wasn’t even as tall as the hill they ran sprints on at training camp. 

Hinata giggled to himself. Slowly his laughter got louder and he hiccuped, the jolting motion bringing a sharp stab of pain to his temple. He winced, then giggled again. 

“I’m getting up now,” Hinata announced quietly to the empty hillside, his words slurring. In his mind, Hinata pushed off from the ground and walked back up the hill, then picked up his bike and sped off to the school. 

In reality, he didn’t move an inch. He couldn’t. 

“I can’t feel my body,” he whispered to the grass in front of him. The grass swayed in response. 

Vaguely, Hinata registered the sound of voices in the distance. 

Or maybe he was dreaming again. 

The voices sounded familiar, but he couldn’t quite place them, like a memory on the tip of his tongue. 

Hinata watched with lidded eyes as two figures crested the hill. Silhouetted against the rising sun, they looked powerful and a bit scary. 

Hinata giggled. Maybe this movie was finally getting interesting. 

The figures froze on the top of the hill, pointing at something on the ground in front of them. 

“What’s so interesting?” He wanted to call out, but it came out in a wheezing whisper. One of the figures picked up whatever they were looking at. 

“That’s my bike,” Hinata remarked to the grass. The grass didn’t respond. “I bought that bike.” 

The figures turned away from him, looking down the other side of the hill. 

“Wrong way, silly,” Hinata slurred.

After what felt like an eternity, they appeared back on the top of the hill. When they turned to face Hinata, they both froze. 

Within seconds, the pair of figures were dashing down the hill, the bike left behind. 

Hinata watched detachedly as they skidded to a stop in front of him. 

“You shouldn’t run so fast, you’ll slip,” Hinata mumbled quietly, his words slipping together. 

One of the figures stepped forward and Hinata could finally see his face clearly. He was very handsome with dark hair and blue eyes. Hinata recognized him clearly, but his mind was too foggy to place it. 

“It’s you,” he mumbled, mostly to himself. 

The black-haired man’s face was twisted with emotion as he knelt down to the ground. 

Before Hinata could understand what was happening, he was being lifted into the air by a strong pair of arms. His head throbbed, but he ignored it in favor of studying the man’s face. 

Hinata raised a shaking hand to touch his cheek, fingers dancing over a flushed cheekbone. 

“Where have your wings gone, silly?” Hinata murmured. “You need those to do angel things.”

The man said something in return, but the words swam in Hinata’s head and he couldn’t make any sense of them. Instead he just smiled. 

“You really found me,” he slurred. 

Suddenly a large piece of fabric was being draped over his arms and torso. He twisted his head slowly to see the other man standing in his t-shirt. 

“No!” Hinata protested, but no one listened to him. 

The dark-haired man holding him was talking, saying something to him. His eyes looked serious and there were tears running down his face, but his words just floated around Hinata’s mind, never settling on a meaning. 

“I… don’t understand what you’re saying, angel. I don’t think I speak your language,” Hinata tried to explain. 

The angel looked back at him with emotion swimming in his eyes. 

His arms were so very warm and Hinata was so very cold. It was like that, lying in this angel’s arms, that Hinata fell back asleep. 

—————

The walk to Hinata’s house was torturous. Daichi and Kageyama had both agreed that it would be much faster to get there and warm Hinata up while they called for medical help, than if they tried to make their way back to school. There was no service in the mountains, so Daichi continually checked his phone to see if they could call Ukai. 

Kageyama could feel the tears slipping down his face as he looked down at the boy in his arms. 

When they’d first found Hinata, he’d looked so small. 

He was lying in front of a large rock, as if hitting it had stopped the momentum of his tumble. It probably had. There was blood caking his hair and running down the line of his jaw and his skin was feverish and clammy. 

Kageyama had tried to ask if he was alright, where things hurt, how to make him feel better. 

But Hinata had just smiled and stroked his cheek. 

I don’t understand what you’re saying, angel. I don’t think I speak your language. 

What the fuck did that mean? 

The scowl on Kageyama’s face deepened as he recalled the look of distress on Hinata’s face when Kageyama had started talking. 

Daichi let out a noise of celebration beside him and held his phone up to his ear. Kageyama sighed with relief. 

“Ukai-san! It’s Daichi. Yeah, we found him. He’d tumbled down a hill near his house… Yeah. Yeah. He's bleeding from his head… Yeah, I gave him my jacket. Okay, I’ll ask,” Daichi pressed the phone to his chest and turned to Kageyama. “How far do you think we are?”

Kageyama looked at the houses around them and then at the street sign. “Two minutes, tops,” he responded. 

Daichi relayed that information to Ukai before he hung up with a heavy sigh. 

“Ukai’s on his way.” 

Kageyama let out a breath and looked down at the boy in his arms. Hinata looked so frail, so unlike the unbreakable exterior he always wore. His lips were parted and his cheeks and nose were bright pink. He would have looked cute, if not for the blood running down the side of his face. 

Kageyama gritted his teeth and walked faster. 

To say that Hinata’s mother was surprised to open the door to a teenage boy cradling her bleeding son in a bridal carry was an understatement. She ushered them inside and directed them to Hinata’s room. 

Kageyama went to place him on the bed as he’d been instructed, but Hinata had unconsciously grabbed Kageyama’s undershirt in a vice like, white knuckled grip. 

As carefully as he could, he pried Hinata’s fingers from the fabric, somewhat shocked by his impressive grip strength, even while unconscious and weak. 

Daichi explained what had happened to Hinata’s mother in hushed tones as Kageyama tucked him into the comforter. Hinata curled into a fetus position under the blanket, reaching out and grabbing Kageyama’s hand with his own cold fingers. 

Kageyama’s heart stuttered and jumped as he knelt shakily next to the bed. Hinata pulled their clasped hands to his chest and nuzzled it with his cheek. Kageyama took a slow, shuddering breath and reached out with his other hand to slowly run his fingers through the hair that wasn’t sticky with blood. 

A hand on his shoulder made him start slightly, looking over to see Hinata’s mother holding a wet towel out to him. Kageyama took it and got to work cleaning the side of his face as best he could. 

He was as gentle as he could manage, suddenly grateful for all of the setters training that made his hands incredibly steady. 

You really found me.

Kageyama clenched his teeth and kept working, slowly wiping away the tracks of blood until he almost looked like he could just be sleeping in on a lazy morning.

Kageyama’s heart clenched. 

When he’d finally finished with his hair, carefully cleaning the wound itself, a jagged cut above his ear, Kageyama turned back to find Hinata’s bedroom empty. 

Setting the stained towel on the floor beside him, Kageyama adjusted himself so he could sit more comfortably while still holding on to Hinata, who hadn’t let go through the whole process. 

Sighing, Kageyama closed his eyes and let himself pretend this was a domestic moment and that he wasn’t waiting for medical professionals to come take his best friend away. 

—————

Hinata woke groggily to lights that were too bright and sheets that were too stiff. 

He glanced around to see his mother perched on a chair, reading a book. She looked up as if her motherly intuition made her sense that he’d awoken. 

She immediately stood up and bustled over, laying a hand on Hinata’s leg. 

“Shouyou… Oh, Shouyou,” she said, squeezing his thigh affectionately. 

He gave her a watery smile. “I didn’t worry you too much, did I?” 

“You always worry me, Shouyou. It’s my job to be worried about you. Especially when you go off riding your bike with a hundred and two degree fever,” she scolded. 

Hinata chuckled lightly then winced at the pain that shot through his head. 

“Oh, does it hurt?” She asked, peering closer.

“Just my head. And my back, kinda. And my fingers are sore. And- I guess I just kinda hurt all over,” he admitted softly. 

“Well, the doctors told me that you’re concussed and you’ve got major bruising pretty much everywhere, but nothing is broken. You are one lucky kid,” she said gently. Hinata smiled. She sighed and brushed his hair from his forehead. 

The touch brought back the hint of a memory that Hinata couldn’t quite place. 

Someone… combing his hair… Long fingers…

The memory danced away, flitting away as quickly as it had come. 

His mother sighed and glanced to the opposite wall. 

“I’m glad he’s getting some rest. He’s been up worrying all morning,” she remarked. 

Hinata turned his head and froze. 

Sitting on one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs with one leg pulled up to his chest and his face pillow on his fist was Kageyama, fast asleep. 

“He’s been here? The whole time?” Hinata asked. 

“Honey, Kageyama-kun is the one who found you. Your coach told me he insisted something was wrong and refused to practice until they let him go looking for you. He carried you home and cleaned you up,” his mother explained. 

Hinata stared at her in disbelief. 

Maybe his brain was still a bit muddled. He did have a concussion after all. Maybe his mental processing bits weren’t working properly. 

“Don’t look at me like that, Shou. That boy really cares about you. He hasn’t left your side since he found you. If he hadn’t been so insistent, you’d probably be in a lot worse shape,” she said softly. 

“Your captain was here too, but he left to go tell the team that you’re alright. He’s a lovely young man as well. I’m sure when school gets out, the whole lot of them will be in here wishing you well. Natsu is coming by during her lunch, which should be- Oh! I should leave now if I want to get there in time! Will you be alright, Shouyou?” She asked, placing the back of her hand on his forehead. 

“I’ll be fine. Go, get Natsu. You know she’ll throw a fit if you’re late,” he said. His mother kissed his forehead and waved goodbye, pulling her purse on and bustling out the door. 

Hinata sunk back into the pillows with a heavy sigh. He held up his hand, investigating the tubes sticking out of his arm, not noticing the fact that Kageyama was awake and staring at him. 

“How do you feel?” 

Hinata jumped and gasped, adrenaline coursing through his veins at the shock. 

“Sorry,” Kageyama said ashamedly. 

Hinata stared at him. 

“My mom… She said you wouldn’t practice until they let you go look for me,” Hinata said quietly. 

Kageyama ducked his head and rubbed his neck, which was turning red. 

“Well, you didn’t send me any stupid texts, and you were super late… And I just felt like something was wrong. In my gut,” he explained, still not looking up. 

“You look upset. I’m sorry,” Hinata said quietly. 

Kageyama looked at him. “What are you apologizing for, exactly?”

Hinata winced. “Well, I probably won’t be able to play for a few weeks, so I’m sorry. I might even miss that practice game against Date Tech next month and I’ve been bugging you about that new toss for days and then I don’t even show up, and-“ Hinata knew he was rambling, but he couldn’t stop on his own. 

“Shut up, dumbass! You think I’m mad because you’re gonna have to sit out? How stupid are you?! I’m mad because I just found my best friend lying half dead on the side of the road! That’s enough to get anyone mad!” 

Hinata feel his cheeks start to warm. That had not been the answer he’d been expecting. “Oh. Well, thank you,” he said quietly. “For finding me.” 

Kageyama’s eyes snapped up to meet his. “You said that! When I was carrying you. You said something about me finding you,” he said, looking like he’d just discovered the solution to world hunger. 

“I… don’t really remember much of that, honestly. It’s all sort of a blank,” Hinata admitted quietly. “What else did I say?” 

Kageyama flushed. “Uh, I don’t think you could understand anything I tried to say to you. You were saying things like, ‘I don’t speak your language’, which kinda freaked me out,” he admitted. He paused, looking like he wanted to say more but couldn’t quite form the words. 

“And you… you called me an angel,” Kageyama muttered. 

Hinata’s eyes widened and he pulled the covers up to his nose. “I’m sorry!” He squeaked. “I was… crazy! Blood loss and… all that.”

Kageyama wouldn’t look at him. 

“I didn’t… I didn’t mind.”

Hinata lowered the blanket slightly. 

“I made myself a promise when I was looking for you. I had a good talk with Daichi that made me… realize some stuff,” Kageyama started. 

Hinata stared at him. If he were in a tv show, there would be smoke coming out of his ears. 

“I guess I didn’t realize how much I would miss you until you were almost gone. And so I told myself that when I found you, I’d tell you.”

Hinata didn’t think he could speak even if he wanted to. 

“I’d tell you how I feel.”

This was the exact moment that Hinata stopped breathing. 

“I like you, Hinata. And it took me a near death experience for me to realize it, but I do. And you deserve to know so that you won’t find out years later and be disgusted by me because I like guys and I never told you,” Kageyama rambled. 

Hinata continued to stare at him, his mouth gaping. Kageyama continued. 

“Daichi told me that I just had to man up and tell you, so that’s what I’m doing. I’m not chickening out. I’m putting all the cards on the table,” Kageyama finished. 

“If this is a joke, it’s the least funny joke you’ve ever made, Kageyama,” Hinata threatened. 

Kageyama threw his hands up in self defense. “It’s not a joke! I wanted to tell you so that you can start… avoiding me. If you want to.”

“Waaah?” Hinata asked. 

Kageyama didn’t respond, instead just scuffing the floor with the toe of his sneaker. 

“Kageyama.”

No reply. 

“Kageyama. Look at me.” 

Still no reply. 

“Don’t make me get out of this bed!” Hinata threatened. Kageyama immediately looked up in concern. 

“Finally! You’re so stubborn, ‘Yama,” Hinata complained. Kageyama glared at him. 

“What I’m trying to say is that I like you too. Dummy,” Hinata admitted quietly. Kageyama’s eyes widened. “I have for a while. And it didn’t take you almost dying for me to realize it, so I win!” 

“What? You can’t win ! That’s not fair!” Kageyama protested.

“I’m the one with a concussion, so I get to make the rules. This makes it a hundred and ninety three to a hundred and ninety two! I’m in the lead!” Hinata crowed. 

Kageyama stood up, walked over to him, and leaned over his bed. “Congratulations, dumbass.”

Hinata found Kageyama’s hand and laced their fingers together. “You know, I think I know what I want my prize to be,” he murmured. 

“And what’s that?” Kageyama responded breathily, looking at his mouth instead of his eyes. 

Hinata leaned forward a bit until their lips were just barely a centimeter apart before he whispered, “Pork buns.” He grinned widely as Kageyama pulled back and glared at him. 

“Kidding! I’m kidding!” Hinata proclaimed. Kageyama growled and surged forward, planting a kiss on his lips. 

Hinata gasped and his eyes fluttered shut. 

Kageyama pulled back far too soon. His eyes were slightly glazed over and his cheeks were flushed.

“Don’t do anything dumb like this again, okay?” He said. Hinata nodded, smiling like a doofus. Kageyama flicked his arm and Hinata winced. 

“Sit with me,” Hinata demanded, shuffling over to one side of the hospital bed. 

“Is that even allowed?” Kageyama asked skeptically. 

“Don’t care! Special boyfriend privileges!” Hinata stated, thoroughly enjoying the way the word ‘boyfriend’ sounded in his mouth. Kageyama liked it too, if his blush was any indication. 

“Dumbass,” Kageyama muttered as he slipped his shoes off and climbed next to Hinata on the thin bed. Hinata immediately latched onto his arm and dropped his head into his shoulder. 

“I mean it, Kageyama. Thank you for finding me.”

“I‘ll always find you, dumbass.”