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Kageyama was currently having a mini-heart attack. And at his age, it wouldn't surprise him any. But the moment he spotted wild orange hair at the bar, he knew it had to be who he thought it was. His heart was beating so fast he was sure it would burst out of his ribcage as he slowly approached the bar area.
It had been years since he had seen him; years since he had talked to him. The anxiety of what to say welled inside of him, but mostly the curiosity of why Hinata was here – in this bar, gnawed on his mind and made his gut clench.
Nervously, he sat down at the bar, ordering his usual. The bartender gave him a brief wink before going about to make his drink.
Kageyama could feel his palms sweating and he fidgeted in his seat, wanting to turn toward the other but also too nervous to do so. That had to be Hinata, but the only way he could be sure is if he actually looked at his face and heard him talk.
Time ticked by, his drink was brought to him and he still hadn't turned to take a good look at the man a couple of seats down from him. He picked up his drink, taking a large gulp before summoning his courage. He turned to him, eyes widening when he saw the man turn at the same time as him.
It was him.
There was no mistaking it now – even though his hair had been the biggest clue, his facial features were recognizable and unmistakable.
Kageyama also noticed a flash of recognition popping in those brown eyes.
“Kageyama?”
Kageyama could feel his cheeks beginning to heat but he merely nodded, his fingers twitching on his glass. “Hinata?”
A large, beaming, smile stretched over Hinata's face. The smaller man quickly got out of his seat and scooted down to the one beside Kageyama, his shoulders now brushing against Kageyama's. The familiarity of it all was more comforting than intrusive. Kageyama's breath sharpened as Hinata glanced back at him.
“It's been so long! How have you been? Why didn't you keep in contact with me, you jerk!?”
Kageyama scoffed. “I could say the same about you, dumbass!”
“Well, you changed your cell number!”
“You did too!”
The irritation between them sizzled but the heat lowered as they both smiled, laughing gently at the way they were acting. Kageyama turned to his drink, his cheeks flushed once more.
Hinata sighed. “That brings back so many memories.”
Kageyama grunted in agreement, lifting his drink to his lips. He could feel Hinata's eyes on him, watching him drink. Kageyama wondered if maybe Hinata was watching his adam's apple bob with interest or even intent... he swallowed hard.
“I'm guessing you being here means you're... you know.”
Kageyama raised an eyebrow at Hinata's statement, watching the man fidget in his seat. A black feeling settled over Kageyama's chest. If Hinata was having a hard time saying the word gay, Kageyama could only assume the smaller man was still half way in the closet. It was probably even his first time in a gay bar. Curious on if that were the truth, he leaned forward slightly, watching Hinata blink and flinch slightly.
“Gay?”
“Y-Yeah.”
Kageyama leaned back again, taking his reaction as proof. “Yeah, I've been gay for as long as I can remember.”
“Even... back then?”
Kageyama mulled over that. “Probably? But I never thought about it back then. Volleyball was the only thing on my mind back then.”
A fond grin lifted Hinata's cheeks and his eyes crinkled. “Aah... volleyball. Those were good times, right?”
Kageyama's lip twitched. “You got that right. Do you still play?”
“Occasionally... I mean, recreational only at my local gym. It's one way for me to keep fit.”
Kageyama nodded. “I play on a team now and again but...”
Hinata perked up at the news, his eyes dancing the same way they use to when they were in high school. The look sent a shiver down Kageyama's spine. “We should play together!”
Kageyama winced at the volume of Hinata's voice, glancing to and fro as he noticed that earned them a couple of jeering glances. That sentence was completely misconstrued by anyone who had heard in the bar.
Hinata lowered his voice now, a soft melancholic lit to it as he spoke softly. “I miss your tosses. They were always the best.”
Kageyama's heart hammered and he shrugged. “I don't toss nearly as good as I use to.”
“Well I don't jump nearly as good as I use to. Probably from the weight I gained.”
Kageyama's brow raised as he leaned back slightly, allowing his eyes to rake up and down Hinata's form. He had gained a little weight, but it was quite normal. If anything he looked manlier now – stockier in all the right places. Kageyama appreciated Hinata's body for a moment longer before sitting up straight once more.
Hinata winked at him. “Were you checking me out, Kageyama?”
The playful, reminiscent, tone made Kageyama feel as if he were in high school again, his temper flaring. “As if, you dumbass!”
He scoffed at the redhead, ignoring the way he snickered at him. Somehow, Hinata was bringing out the worst in him tonight. He tugged at his collar, running his index finger along the insides of it, feeling warmer than usual.
“This is my first time in a gay bar.”
The statement made Kageyama glance back at Hinata, his hand falling from his collar and to the bar, resting beside his drink. Hinata fiddled with his own drink he had ordered, his eyes locked on it as he continued speaking.
“I never really had the chance to go before.”
“Why is that?”
Was he afraid? It's possible. A lot of gay bars are pretty usual clientele only. If someone new comes in, it's usually a big deal. But Kageyama felt there was more to this and he wanted to know.
Hinata laughed gently. “I was married.”
Kageyama felt his heart tremor and a pit open up in his stomach. He had no idea that Hinata had been married.... did he have any kids? What had his marriage been like?
Hinata's lips pursed. “My ex-wife and I... we never really got along... I think we kind of just settled for one and other but within a couple of years I knew it wasn't right. We weren't right for each other.”
“What, did she not like volleyball enough?”
The tease had only meant to be just that, but Hinata suddenly turned to Kageyama's his brown eyes wide and mouth gaping.
“Yeah! She didn't like it all! She didn't even like me playing it!”
Kageyama's nose wrinkled, amusement filling his eyes but also understanding clicking together. “That's stupid. How could you even marry someone who didn't even like you playing it? You always looked good while playing it.”
The statement coming out of his mouth made his body warm up another degree. But he was being honest. He had always thought Hinata looked good while playing volleyball. He looked good receiving his tosses, he looked good spiking a ball over the net, jumping as high as he can only to fall gracefully on his feet...
Perhaps Kageyama had Hinata to thank for his sexuality.
“I don't know... like I said, I think we just kind of settled for each other. All our mutual friends started to pair off and then we just kind of went with the flow.”
“I see.”
Hinata tipped his drink back, shooting it down the hatch before tapping it down, tossing a look to Kageyama. “Enough about my failing love life! What about you?”
“What about me?”
“What have you been up to? I always thought you'd become a volleyball representative for Japan!”
Kageyama snorted a stifled laugh, his eyebrows raising. “Sorry to disappoint, but I'm nothing of the sort. I'm a simple businessman, nothing more nothing less.”
Hinata pouted, spitting out a soft 'che', before leaning against the bar and resting his chin down on it. “I always had this dream when we were in high school.... that we'd be at the top together.”
Kageyama grew quiet – contemplative as he watched Hinata's shoulders rise and fall with each breath. Hinata turned his head, the cheek resting against the table puffing up over one of his eyes as he spoke again.
“That we would play in the Olympics together and we'd be the greatest team Japan... no... the world!! That the world had ever seen.”
It was childish and silly but... Kageyama couldn't deny it, he had thought the same when they were in high school, back when they were so full of love for volleyball.
“Aah... just thinking about volleyball makes me want to go hit a ball.”
Kageyama snorted. “You never change.”
“What? Don't you feel the same?”
Another thing he couldn't deny. He glanced at his empty glass before pulling out some yen, paying for his drink and leaving a tip – which prompted Hinata to do the same.
“Let's go then.”
As they both stood up, they took each other in for the first time in years. Kageyama was still freakishly tall to Hinata, but he appeared to be thicker – muscles and body fat that came with aging. Kageyama noticed Hinata's own thickness now that he stood, but he couldn't help but notice the roundness of his posterior more than anything else. Plus those muscular thighs... he had always loved Hinata's thighs, not that he'd tell him that.
Hinata's hand was suddenly around his wrist, pulling him out of the bar. Kageyama ignored the looks they were receiving. Everyone in the bar thought the two of them were leaving to fuck, but little did they know they were completely wrong.
Hinata kept his grip on Kageyama's wrist as he dragged him toward an outdoor volleyball court, one with a sand court. Kageyama glanced down at the fingers wrapped around his wrist and briefly wondered if this is what it would have been like if they had been together, if Hinata would have been dragging him to practice, warm fingers wrapped around his wrist.
“Hold on a second.”
Kageyama blinked, watching Hinata fiddle with a rusted padlock. He picked up a rock and hit it a couple of times before it broke off.
“Isn't this illegal?”
Hinata grinned. “We'll only borrow a ball for a couple of minutes.”
Kageyama sighed, not feeling the urge to argue against that as they both stepped inside the shed. The dust in the air caused both of them to cough, Hinata waved a hand around, clearing the air around his vision until he spotted the small cart that held some volleyballs in it. He briskly walked over and grabbed on, turning to grin at Kageyama, tossing him the ball.
Kageyama caught it and held it. It tingled in his hand and he wasn't sure why.
The two of them left the shed and walked over to the tiny net.
Hinata rolled his shoulders, stretching them out. “Do you remember what our signals use to be?”
Kageyama snorted, tossing the ball in the air. “Like I can remember something like that. You screeched something.”
“I don't screech!”
“You just did!”
Hinata scoffed, pouting gently. “Just toss to me already.”
Kageyam chuckled to himself, clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth. He really hadn't changed. Demanding for tosses...always wanting him to toss. He took his stance, falling into it gracefully, naturally and then -
“Bring it on!”
His eyes widened and suddenly, he tossed just so – watching as Hinata hit it just as he signaled it. Hinata landed on his feet, waving his arms to catch his balance before laughing.
“So you do remember!”
“No! It just... came naturally. And what kind of landing was that?”
Hinata laughed, sweat already beginning to bead on his skin. Kageyama could feel his own skin swelter too... they were both out of shape but they could still do this together. The adrenaline pumping through them made them burst through a couple of more tosses before they both fell on their asses, slacks becoming dirty from the sandy ground.
Hinata laid back. “Aah... that felt so good.”
Kageyama snorted. “That sounds so dirty.”
“You're the one who said that not me, you big pervert.”
There was a silence between them sans their heavy breathing until Hinata spoke, his eyes sparkling. “Is it better than sex?”
Kageyama sucked in a gasping breath, raising an eyebrow. “Almost, yeah.”
Hinata laughed. “I knew you'd say that. I bet I could make sex better than volleyball.”
Kageyama's skin prickled with those words and he scoffed, pushing himself into a sitting position. “And you call me a pervert.”
Kageyama got to his feet, dusting off the sand from his slack and watched Hinata do the same. The air around them felt slightly heavy now and Kageyama wanted to somehow lift it. But he was never one to really do that – Hinata usually did that for him.
“If you aren't interested I understand.”
“It's not that I'm not interested, you dumbass! I just haven't seen you for a long time and you suddenly come back into my life, we've only talked for a couple of hou-mmn.”
Hinata had jerked Kageyama down by the shoulders to press his lips against his. The kiss was chaste, but strong enough that both of their lips pulsed as they pulled away. Hinata licked his lips, which made Kageyama watch that pink tongue dart out. He swallowed sharply before Hinata spoke once more.
“None of that matters, I'm still me and you are still you... I... I feel like I still know you, no matter how long we haven't seen each other.”
Kageyama breathed in deeply. It was yet another thing he couldn't deny... he felt the same. To be cliché, he was sure it was their souls. Their souls knew each other and once reunited it was like they had never left each other. It made his heart thud against his breast. He sighed, turning away from Hinata and beginning to walk.
When he didn't hear footsteps following, he peered back at the man. “You coming?”
Hinata blinked before that sunny grin made Kageyama squint before turning away and suddenly they were racing each other to Kageyama's apartment.
And suddenly, they were teenagers once again – racing each other home after practice, challenge thrumming through their veins.
Only this time they didn't part ways.