Chapter Text
The unmistakable scent of apple pie was coming from the ginger’s yellow hoodie. The boy took another sniff, softly sighing after.
Hinata loved the smell Kenma would leave on his clothing after they cuddled. It wasn’t a particularly odd mix; the scents of warm apple pie, sandalwood, and the pudding haired boy’s laundry detergent would inevitably stick onto Hinata’s clothing- not that he minded. Swiftly taking off the hoodie, the ginger boy placed it onto his pillow, which he cuddled after putting on his pajamas.
‘Sweet dreams,’ the ginger said, knowing the person that was directed to was hours away from him.
‘Sweet dreams,’ a voice replied, far away.
xxxXXXxxx
“-ke...Boke….Boke Hinata Boke!”
Hinata lurched in his seat, making it the third time that week he’d fallen asleep in his seat.
“What Bakayama?” Hinata rubbed his eyes.
“Do you have time this weekend to put in a few more hours of practice over at Ukai-san’s home?” Kageyama was giving the other an intense look.
“Oi, didn’t you blow me off last time? When I asked if you wanted to come with me and Yamaguchi to do a shrine visit?” The ginger had his arms crossed on his chest, looking away from the black haired boy.
“That’s different,” Kageyama countered, causing Hinata to flail his arms in discontent.
“What do you mean it’s different?! I asked you out of the goodness in my heart. You’re so mean, baka.” Hinata stuck his tongue out at the other and said, “Besides, I’m going out with Kenma this weekend.”
“Again? You’ve spent every weekend since the training camp over at his house! Sugawara-senpai and Asahi-san are worried that the Nekoma team is gonna steal you. Even Sawamura-san is worried they’re gonna take you away.”
“Don’t be stupid, I’ve spent plenty of Saturdays with you at Ukai-san’s home and I want to spend time with someone I don’t get to see too often.” The raven haired boy began to grumble, commenting that the ginger had plenty of photos on his phone to make up for not seeing his friend for a weekend.
Hinata smirked and opened his mouth to say, “Oho, seems to me that Bakayama is jealous that I have other friends and he doesn’t.”
The other boy’s head whipped around and pulled on Hinata’s uniform too fast for the ginger to process.
“What. Did. You. Say?” Kageyama’s face had twisted into an intimidating expression. Before Hinata could respond, Kageyama turned to face a random boy in the class.
“OI,” Kageyama firmly said, “You and me are going to the park to play volleyball tomorrow at 8:30 in the morning. Don’t be late.” The random boy nodded in fear, terrified of the face Kageyama was unaware that he was making. The raven haired boy stormed out of the class.
“Stupid head,” Hinata mumbled.
xxxXXXxxx
“Shoyo,” a voice said calmly, but the person that owned the voice looked excited. Kuroo snickered beside Kenma, and Kenma elbowed him in retaliation.
“Kenma,” Hinata exclaimed, running over to Kenma with open arms and a wide smile on his face. The ginger shrouded Kenma in his embrace, nuzzling his head against Kenma’s neck. He accidentally brushed his lips over the older’s neck, causing Kenma to blush and jump in Hinata’s grasp. Kuroo gave them an odd look, until he saw that Kenma was red from his face and neck, and made a vulgar assumption. Hinata simply gave the boy in his arms an innocent expression, unaware of what he’d done.
“Hey, Chibi-chan, I knew you two were close, but not in that way,” Kuroo had placed his hands on his hips, his eyes had thinned and mouth widened to form a smug look on his face. Kenma twisted his body, and as a result flung Hinata in the same direction, to face the smug looking bastard and stubbornly said, “Kuroo, shut up!”
‘Interesting,’ the eldest of the trio thought, ‘Kenma knows that Chibi doesn’t know….I wonder if Chibi-chan knows about himself...hehehe.’ Kuroo motioned his arm to the exit of the train station to get the three of them to the Kozume household.
Hinata released Kenma from his embrace and locked his arms with the 2nd year, eager to reach Kenma’s room and learn how to play one of the several games the elder had amassed over the years.The ginger may or may not have brought some extra clothes to leave in his friend’s closet…
As the trio left the train station to enter the shopping district of Tokyo, Hinata caught sight of a shop selling cute keychains, reminding him of a promise he made to his little sister.
“Nii-chan! You have to promise to bring me something back from Tokyo. I won’t talk to you for a week if you don’t,” she harrumphed, putting on the most annoyed face a little girl could manage.
“I promise, I promise, Natsu. But you have to choose between sweets or something small, like a keychain or ribbon. I can’t guarantee I won’t eat your sweets,” Shouyo teased. The girl began to cry and her brother pulled her into a hug, placating her fear of a possible slice of cake being stolen from her.
Hinata stopped Kenma and Kuroo, guiding them towards the shop, pointing out that some of the stuffed-animal keychains reminded him of a certain duo; a passionate soul and the one that rose to be his equal. He noticed a cat keychain, specifically a calico, that gave him a fuzzy feeling in his chest. He grabbed it without a second thought and continued searching for a gift that would please his sister. He finally stumbled upon a little crow, noticeably smaller than the other crows, and had a tuft of orange hair on its head, not unlike his own. He smiled a small smile and met with Kenma and Kuroo at the register.
Kenma took a quick glance at the items and saw the calico cat Hinata had placed in the bin in front of the cashier. He felt a few butterflies awaken in his stomach and his face flushed, but the object of his affections remained oblivious. The three continued onward to Kenma’s home until Kuroo’s mother had called to ask him to come home and run some errands with her, leaving two.
xxxXXXxxx
Hinata bounced up the stairs leading to Kenma’s room, already having greeted the blond’s parents. He stopped in front of the room and turned to face his friend.
“Hey, Kenma,” the ginger said softly, surprising Kenma with the change in volume, “is it okay if I sleep over? My mom already agreed to it- i-if you and your parents are okay with it I mean!”
Kenma softly smiled and air blew through his nose. “Of course, Shoyo, my parents don’t mind. They are quite fond of you actually...You’re the first friend I’ve made by myself.”
Hinata awed, touched and proud that he held such an important place in the elder’s heart. He beamed at the blond boy, eyes shut tightly and his smile stretching from ear to ear. He pulled Kenma into the room and set his bags on the floor next to Kenma’s desk, pulling Kenma to a bookshelf adjacent to the desk.
“Do you have any games in mind,” asked the ginger. The other shook his head. “Hmm, well, how about we play everything on the bottom shelf first, since they’re all 3BS games. That way we can get those out of the way and we can play Zwitch games after!”
“Sure, Shoyo. I’ll teach you how to play this new game I got a week ago. I think you’ll like it.”
Kenma reached for the first game console of the night, and the two boys huddled next to each other on Kenma’s bed. Kozume-san brought pizza an hour later, her husband came up with drinks and reminded them to go to bed early.
The two spent hours playing games, each game exciting Hinata, and each time the boy smiled the warm feeling in Kenma’s chest grew a little. There was a point at which Kenma stopped watching the animated character on the screen, staring at the ginger instead. Just how much the 2nd year longed to embrace the ginger Hinata would never know.
A pain began to take the place of the warm feeling in Kenma’s chest, prompting the blond to call quits for the night; Hinata’s eyes were bloodshot and he had to be shaken out of the trance he was in. Hinata went to brush his teeth in the bathroom while Kenma laid out a cot for his friend to sleep on. The ginger walked back into the room in his sleepwear looking half asleep. ‘Cute,’ Kenma thought.
“C’mon, Shoyo, let’s get you to bed,” Kenma coaxed. The ginger waddled over to the cot and whispered a soft “good night,” causing Kenma to give him a little smile. He went to brush his own teeth and changed into his sleepwear and slipped into a bed, sparing a quick glance to the slumbering boy in the cot across from his bed. The ginger had his brows furrowed, already in a deep sleep. Kenma lightly pressed on the furrowed brows, whispering, “Night, Sho. I really like you.”
The ginger twitched, scaring Kenma, but he did not wake. Kenma fell asleep to the sound of the other's soft breathing.