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“Kageyama, hurry up!”
Hearing Hinata’s impatient calls made him want to sigh. However, he decided that he needed to preserve as much breath as possible if he wanted to reach the top of the hill they were climbing. Seriously, if he had to take something out of this little outing, at least now he knew the length Hinata had pulled through every single day just to go to school. It was genuinely impressive.
He wasn’t going to tell Hinata that, though.
“Kageyama!” Hinata’s tone now had adopted some whining into it, making Kageyama roll his eyes.
He looked up, seeing the slightly older boy standing at the peak, waiting. Apparently the wind blew stronger up there, because Kageyama could see how his sunset hair seemed to glow more with the strands all ruffled up, letting beams of light slip through.
Even backlit by the sun above, Hinata still managed to look bright.
However, he wasn’t looking at Kageyama. Instead, he was looking forward towards whatever view it was on the other side of that particular hill—not the exact one Hinata had to go through every day, but in actuality a smaller one. Go figure.
“Oi, are you sure you know this place?” he asked, couldn’t help but feel doubtful. “There are no paths or anything. Because if we end up getting lost, Hinata, I swear–”
“Oh shush!” Hinata cut his complaints short. “I’ve told you; I’ve been going here since I was a kid! We won’t get lost.”
Impatient, Hinata walked back a few steps and tugged on Kageyama’s arm, pulling him to finally climb over so he could look at the whole expanse of the place.
Seriously, what got him this excited? It’s just a hill–
The new sight greeted him along with a spring breeze, and Kageyama involuntarily let out an impressed gasp.
In front of him, bright blue up above met and melded with fresh green below, spanning to seemingly endless limits. It felt almost unreal, like if he reached out he could smudge the image away—as if it was all an oil painting, too good to be true.
The sky and grass alone would’ve been beautiful by itself, but there were even more colors splattered around; ivory whites, cheerful yellows, pastel pinks, and many others in the form of little petals.
Just like Hinata had promised him, the field on top of that hill looked breathtaking.
He didn’t realize he had been standing there speechless until Hinata leaned towards him in a teasing manner. “So?” he taunted. “Was it worth the long walk?”
“Shut up,” Kageyama snapped out of his daze and huffed, because he definitely wouldn’t admit to it. “Just do the thing we came all the way here for.”
Hinata didn’t seem to mind his harsh reply. After a full school year plus a couple of weeks, he was used to it by this point. Instead, he laughed, knowing a win when he heard one.
“Come on,” he urged while stepping ahead. “It’s nicer by the slope.”
Kageyama watched as Hinata plopped down with an ‘oof!’ and started excitedly looking around at all the wildflowers around them. For once, he seemed really serious and picky about his upcoming choices—too deep in his task to further pay any attention to the setter.
Who followed anyway, sitting down with knees slightly bent in front of him in a significantly more graceful manner; he wasn’t willing to hurt his poor backside like Hinata did, thank you very much.
The grass felt softer than he initially thought, tickling where his skin came in contact with it. It was as if they were luring him to relax and lay down.
So he did, slowly lowering his back. His crossed arms acted as a pillow, being the only thing separating soft inky-black with green. He sighed, eyes closing from the newfound comfort and silence.
… One which was immediately shattered by Hinata.
“Hey, Kageyama?” He heard Hinata call out to him once more. Kageyama peeked an eye open to see him frowning at a couple of different flowers. “What flowers do you think should I go for?”
“How would I know, dumbass,” Kageyama grunted, quickly giving up on sleeping and opening his eyes fully again. “I don’t even know what flowers they are.”
“Seriously?” Hinata sounded incredulous. “Not even one? Not this one?”
While asking, he had grabbed the nearest white flower Kageyama had seen.
“No,” he scrunched his nose. “Why would I know?”
“But these are daisies, Kageyama!” Hinata frantically waved the flower in front of his face. “Everyone knows daisies!”
Kageyama batted it away. “Well, I don’t! Quit it!”
“You’re hopeless,” Hinata clucked his tongue. “Guess you won’t be able to help at all, then.”
“I never said that I would.”
“Then why are you even here?” Hinata grumbled rhetorically.
He looked away, back to examining all the options in front of him. He clearly wasn’t expecting for an answer, so Kageyama wouldn’t be giving him one. Not that he could, anyway.
Because I don’t have anything else to do besides volleyball, and I like spending time with– I mean– and being with you would make it less bad–
… Yeah, no.
He kept observing the other, though, as Hinata started gathering up stems of wildflowers from around them, and took that time to let his brain process the situation he was currently in.
It did feel somewhat odd. On a bright, sunny day, outdoors with Hinata but without a volleyball on sight. Instead, they were here so Hinata could weave flowers into a crown, of all things.
He stayed silent, a bit mesmerized as Hinata finished picking a handful and started working; nimble fingers pulling and twisting stems together with a foreign gentleness not seen in volleyball.
“How did you even learn to do that?” he found himself asking.
“Self-taught,” Hinata smiled to himself. “Natsu loved it. Being the elder brother that I am, I experimented a lot, so I can make the perfect crowns to make little princess happy.”
Right, Natsu. She was also the reason Hinata had wanted to make one now, after all.
“Huh,” Kageyama mused out loud. “So you can act mature, sometimes.”
“You’re the last person I want to hear that from!” Hinata gave him a stink eye.
He shrugged in response. Hinata was kind of right, after all. Kageyama wasn’t an older brother, he didn’t know that feeling.
But he did know how to act mature, sometimes. Which was partly the reason why he was here, aside from accompanying Hinata to make the flower crown his sister had asked for; to take a day off from their beloved sport, letting his body rest. Although it did take some urging from his upperclassmen, he wasn’t stubborn anymore about it.
He learnt, he grew.
Hinata had grown too. It made sense, after everything. He no longer ran on adrenaline 24/7. He was still a ball of energy, obviously, unstoppable on court. However, he had also learned to slow down out of it, and take it easy once in a while.
The view Kageyama was served now showcased just that; Hinata sitting calmly while delicately weaving flowers, expression serene and peaceful. Currently, not a single of his usual loudness could be seen—except for maybe, his bright orange hair. But even that looked more blended; softly swaying along with the wind, it looked in place with the colorful spring flowers surrounding them. His amber eyes seemed to mirror the whites and yellows he had been weaving, too.
He kind of looked beau–
“Why are you glaring at me?” Hinata peered back at him in suspicion.
Kageyama coughed, fighting a furious blush trying to go up his cheeks. “I was watching you make the– thing. That thing.”
“Oh.” Luckily, Hinata accepted his reasoning easily, going back to work. “Does it look good? Do you think the color will match Natsu’s hair?”
For a more vivid comparison, he brought the small braided section near his own head. Kageyama forced himself to focus on it objectively. He saw the daisies rest against orange strands.
It does look pretty—the flowers, that is, not anything else, obviously—but if he were to give an input …
“Add more colors?” he suggested.
Hinata tilted his head slightly. “What color do you think should I go for?”
Kageyama shrugged, although the movement looked awkward in his position. “I don’t know. Whatever color goes well with orange, I guess.”
“Hmm,” Hinata tapped his chin, thinking. “Blue, then.”
Kageyama blinked at his words, hiding ocean orbs for a millisecond. Blue, he thought as he saw Hinata starting to pick flowers with a deep tint in the middle, only slightly lighter going outwards. Somewhere in the depths of his mind, there was a voice saying that this piece of information—that Hinata thought orange goes well with blue—should be significant. However, there was also a part of him that blocked himself from thinking why.
Because he normally wouldn’t let himself go down that route.
Yet, today had been … weird. Not in a bad way, necessarily. There was just this lingering– … something, in the air.
It had been there since the moment they instinctively sought for the other, amber instantly meeting ocean blue when they were told to take a break. It had been there since they walked together side by side, how they pretended to not notice when the back of their palms occasionally brushed between them. It had been there since Kageyama had refused to take a turn at the intersection they normally parted, following Hinata instead. And how Hinata hadn’t called him out on it, yet inviting him along as if it happened on a daily basis.
Now on top of the hill, under the breeze of spring, it felt even more tangible than before.
It was a bit foreign, but it wasn’t a bad feeling. Instead, Kageyama felt like he was under a magic spell; light, airy, somewhat dazed.
Judging by Hinata’s idle smile—soft and subtle, maybe it wasn’t just self-projecting to think that the other was feeling the same.
It was oddly comforting …
Kageyama hadn’t realized that he had closed his eyes, but when he opened them again, Hinata was already three quarters done with the flower crown. So perhaps, he didn’t just close his eyes, but maybe had even fallen into a short nap.
He also noticed Hinata humming a tune, and that sound was what had awoken him up from his slumber. He knew the song. It was an uplifting one, but also with a hopeful sweetness to it.
For a few, Kageyama just laid in silence, listening to Hinata’s melodic humming and watch him twirl petals. But soon he found his lids lowering again, and he knew he would succumb into sleep if let this go on. He had to do something to occupy his mind, at least a little bit.
Looking around to find something, his sleepy gaze landed on a bigger wildflower with thick, flat leaves, just a bit out of his reach. It jogged a long-forgotten memory from his brain, and before Kageyama knew it, he was already stretching a hand out to pick it.
The grass rustled a little from his movements. Hinata shot him a side glance, but otherwise said nothing as he continued humming and weaving.
With a bit of a difficulty, Kageyama managed and relaxed back into his previous position. Only this time, he kept just one arm folded behind his head, while the other held the single leaf in front of his face. He inspected it, silent approval at the smooth surface, just as he needed it to be.
Then, he carefully folded the leaf horizontally, and brought it upon his lips.
He blew on it softly, creating a flute-like sound to pair with Hinata’s humming.
He saw how Hinata’s hands immediately paused from weaving stems together. His amber eyes widened as he turned to stare at Kageyama in awe.
“How did you do that?” he asked, humming stopped for a moment.
Kageyama just shrugged his shoulders. He brought the leaf away from his lips so he could speak properly. “My grandfather taught me once, when I was a kid,” he answered simply. Because that was a story he’d rather not tell today.
“That’s amazing,” Hinata remarked, and he did look impressed. “I didn’t know that you could even make a sound like that using leaves.”
“It’s not as hard as it looks,” Kageyama explained. “Once you know how.”
“Mm.”
For a bit, there was silence again. Kageyama waited, glancing at Hinata from the corner of his eyes. He wasn’t going to start—he didn’t know if he should start another song, one that Hinata also knew.
Besides, he kind of liked letting Hinata chose what he wanted, and do his own thing based on that.
Before long, Hinata started humming again. A bit louder, this time, as if he wanted to make sure that Kageyama would hear him clearly. And when Kageyama started to serenade along using the same flute-like sound, he smiled.
They sounded really good. Just as always, they work together perfectly.
“So I can fly …”
Kageyama turned his head slightly, to see Hinata’s parted lips.
“Far away, far away, far away, yeah…”
Somewhere in the middle of his humming, Hinata broke into words. Now, it was Kageyama who tried to not smile at his voice, so he could keep his own leaf-whistling stable.
Hinata didn’t continue his words after that, though, going back to humming. However, the wisps of air echoed it around in Kageyama’s ears.
And for a bit, it was all there was to it; just Kageyama and Hinata on that hill, communicating through a tune only they understand, hums and whistles creating a spring symphony.
“I was surprised that you know this,” Hinata whispered after they had finished the whole song, as if he didn’t want to break the air of something floating around.
Kageyama felt his cheek reddening slightly. “It’s a good song,” he said simply.
“It is,” Hinata chuckled. “Although I like almost every song that has anything to do with flying. Also, the timing is perfect!”
He perked up, lifting the now finished flower crown in his hands with pride. He turned to face Kageyama, shoving it in front of his face.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“How am I supposed to look if you chuck it on my eyes, you idiot?” Kageyama grumbled.
Pushing the object slightly away, he sat up from his previously lying down position to take a proper look on it. Apparently, Hinata did take his suggestion to heart. Now, there were blues weaved in with whites, all in various sizes and shapes, too. It looked pretty.
“Looks good,” he commented simply. He had no idea about the arts on making flower crowns, but Hinata had seemed to have done a great job.
“You think Natsu would like it?”
Anyone should love anything you give them. “Yeah.”
“Great!” Hinata cheered. “Hold still.”
“Wha–”
His eyes widened when Hinata leaned close, invading his personal space as he gingerly put the crown of blue and white on top of inky-black. “There!”
Kageyama spluttered. “What– You dumbass!” he used all his willpower to stay in place, making him have none left to suppress the red from rising up his cheeks. “I thought this was for Natsu?”
“I’m lending it to you for now,” Hinata replied easily. He seemed to have not minded the lack of distance between their faces.
He was close, so close. It made Kageyama question himself. He was so sure that all the flowers were scattered around them, the closest now being on top of his head; so why were the butterflies fluttering inside his chest?
He wanted to look away, he really did, but the way Hinata was staring at him made him unable to. Like a competition, he felt like if he looked away first, he would lose.
In silence, he watched, mesmerized at how wide, unblinking amber reflected his whole being. Like a mirror that captured him in entirety.
Is that how he looked in Hinata’s eyes?
The spell was broken far too soon, when Hinata hit him with what could only be described as a jump serve to the back of his head.
“Hey, Kageyama,” he whispered. “Have you ever fallen in love before?”
The question, seemingly out of nowhere, caught him so off guard that he froze—visibly rigid compared to the previously lax posture.
Apparently his reaction made Hinata shy enough to pull back, and Kageyama just now realized that the other was as red, if not even more so, judging by how the tips of his ears blended with his hair.
Have I fallen in love, you asked?
The irony in that– Wait, it was irony, right? He wasn’t sure, perhaps he should’ve listened more to Yachi when she was explaining their literature notes.
“Why– Why the sudden question?” he returned instead.
“I just– I just thought that–” Hinata paused, turning away while shrugging a little in an attempt to look casual. “Flying is a bit like falling in love, don’t you think? Only that it’s less scary.”
Under Kageyama’s observing gaze, Hinata fidgeted a little. Now, with his fingers free and no longer weaving stems of wild flowers, they twined together in nervousness.
“You think falling in love is scary?” Kageyama inquired. Because he thought Hinata would be the type to enjoy romance—from how he had always gushed about girls with Tanaka and Nishinoya.
But Hinata’s answer disapproved that. “Yes. Because, flying sounds like you have control over it. While falling sounds– falling sounds like it’ll hurt, you know?”
“I can see what you mean,” Kageyama hummed, thinking about Hinata’s response. “There’s more of a notion that you couldn’t stop yourself.”
Didn’t he know that, all too well.
“Exactly!” Hinata snapped his fingers. “You won’t be able to stop, and before you know it, you get hurt.” He had sounded so sure, so convincing. But was he trying to convince Kageyama, or was he trying to convince himself?
Did it have to hurt?
Because to Kageyama, being a hundred percent sure that falling in love would hurt sounded like surrendering, and he hated surrendering. Even if he couldn’t stop, it shouldn’t mean that he wouldn’t be able to do anything else about it.
He didn’t want to get hurt.
He didn’t want Hinata to get hurt.
He wanted– He wants–
“It doesn’t have to,” he found himself saying, words spilling out of his chest. “Not if you fall for the right person.”
Hinata whipped around to look back at him, like he hadn’t expected Kageyama’s answer.
But Kageyama wasn’t done yet. Staring straight into Hinata’s shocked eyes, he continued, “Because– because the right person would be there to catch your fall.”
For a few seconds, the only sound echoing in that field was of the blowing wind—and the beat of Kageyama’s frantic heart, but that was only heard by himself.
He wondered if Hinata’s heart was beating at the same pace.
And then– and then Hinata laughed. Bright and beautiful like the flowers scattered around them, like the flowers weighing atop of Kageyama’s head.
“Man, Kageyama! You always surprise me with your cheesy words!”
Kageyama spluttered. He hadn’t meant for it to be cheesy! Offended, he glared at Hinata, which only made the other laugh even more.
That laughter soon tapered off, though, as if blown away by the wind.
When Hinata spoke again, his voice was soft. “But, I guess you’re right. If you put it that way, falling doesn’t sound bad at all. Maybe even as good as flying.”
Kageyama watched as Hinata straighten up, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and spread his arms wide open—like he was trying to embrace the spring breeze with his lithe body. Maybe he succeeded, too, if the way the wind gently caressed his sunset colored hair and mused it all over was of any indication.
It’s a bit unfair, Kageyama thought, how spring could easily do what he had wanted to.
Admitting it now seemed easier, too. Why? Did perhaps, spring really casted a spell upon them?
“Sometimes, if I spread my arms open on top of this hill, it feels like I can really fly.” Hinata’s voice soon broke his lonely musings.
It took Kageyama a bit to properly process his words. “Is that why you like this place so much?” he asked, curious.
“Yeah,” Hinata affirmed. “I used to come here almost every day up to my junior high years, especially in spring, when the sky is of the brightest blue, just to feel the sensation.”
However, his answer only made Kageyama scrunch his nose. “Why did you stop, then?”
“Because I don’t need to anymore, silly.”
Hinata turned, lowered his arm as he opened amber to once again peer into his ocean blue. Yet, it was weird how Kageyama felt like he was the one drowning.
“When we play volleyball together,” Hinata explained, small, fond smile on his lips, “When you toss to me, it also feels like flying.”
An image of Hinata; frozen mid-air so beautifully as he leapt for a powerful spike etched in Kageyama’s mind. Like he had grown invisible wings on his back, up high, without gravity pulling him down.
You are, Kageyama wanted to tell him. But the words were stuck in his throat, too breathless to be able to let out.
Seemingly unbothered by the lack of reaction and not realizing the inner turmoil Kageyama was experiencing, Hinata continued. “Because you’re there by my side. You make it so I can fly.”
Another strong wind blew past, and Kageyama instinctively reached upwards to hold the flower crown in place.
The flower crown.
Crown.
Another one Hinata had bestowed upon him—break all his previous shackles so he too, could–
“It’s the same for me, you know,” Kageyama found his voice back, and whispered in a moment of rare honesty.
He didn’t elaborate on that—he didn’t know how. But as usual, he didn’t need to. Because Hinata shot him a look that said he understood.
Because Hinata always understands him.
“Is that so?” Hinata whispered back. “I see …”
That feeling of something that had been lingering all day came back, now stronger than ever. Waiting. As if with just single push, everything could burst.
Just one, small, tiny push–
“But Kageyama …” Hinata suddenly said. Always the brave one, taking blind leaps of faith. “There’s something I need to ask you.”
Kageyama knew exactly where the conversation was heading. The butterflies in his chest started fluttering wildly again. But it still wasn’t a bad feeling. It was pleasant, it was something he had wanted all along. And maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t the only one.
“Yes?” he forced out, tone even.
Hinata shot him a smile. “Will you be there to catch my fall?”
Burst, it did.
Ah, Kageyama thought. So this is it.
Because he could feel it. At that exact moment, hearing Hinata’s words, he soared. Metaphorical wings unfurling on his back and brought him up, up, higher to the skies.
Flying and falling, it didn’t feel much different, indeed.
“And you called me silly.”
He reached out a hand, softly interlacing it with Hinata’s in hopes of grounding them both. At this point, Hinata didn’t even look surprised. Amber started twinkling like the stars the bright blue sky hid away. The smaller hand gripped his just the same—tight, but with careful gentleness.
It should’ve scared Kageyama, to be flying so high up, but he didn’t. Because he knew Hinata would catch his fall.
Just like he would Hinata’s.