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Shouyou was never the type who liked long walks through the park. He'd much rather lean over the window pane in the kitchen of the apartment he shared with Noya and admire the broad plains of green across the street, sipping his morning tea in a lousy pants and t-shirt he used as pyjamas. Alas, being a proud owner of a three-year-old now Chow Chow, he diligently took the time off his day to tire the lovable creature out by playing outside. He and Bun - for that was the dog's name thanks to Noya, who insisted on it after the tiny at the time thing swallowed a whole bag of their meat buns in one go - spent from 3 to 5 hours a day in the park, sometimes running, sometimes playing catch, other times simply walking, or just having a small picnic in the warm afternoon sun. And thanks to that fluffy ball of joy barking at him happily, little by little Shouyou started to enjoy the time they spent together across the street.
His attitude changed even more when another benefit of spending long hours in the park presented itself quite unexpectedly in a form of a tall, rather scary looking but somehow appealing to the eyes, dark-haired man and his aristocratic looking German shepherd.
To be perfectly honest, when Shouyou saw the man for the first time, he automatically opted to take a different route, as if lead by his preservation instinct, which was screaming in alarm. The guy radiated danger, his dog no less intimidating, and both Shouyou and Bun were highly alert and cautious of their presence. But as they encountered the pair more often on their daily walks, they got used to that strange air of formidability and, although still cautious, continued on their own way without caring much about them. The other two seemed quite content to ignore their existence as well, so Shouyou shrugged and did the same.
That was until one day when out of nowhere, and almost giving Shouyou a heart attack, the man tapped him on the shoulder, face scrunched up in a hilarious mix of embarrassment and a frown, and explained that he ran out of bags, asking if Shouyou could spare him one of his. Be it from nervousness or the sheer absurdity of the situation, Shouyou laughed. But seeing the stranger's face morph into a full frown with angrily pulled together lips, he quickly stopped, stuck a bag in the other's hand and left running, as if the hounds of hell themselves were after him, Bun faithfully in toe with his every step.
With heart beating wildly from running, and his near death experience right before, Shouyou lay on the couch in the living room, cuddling to Bun's fluffy fur, and pondering the stranger. The only thing he could say about him was dark. Dark, dark, dark and gloomy. His hair was dark, the colour of ink, his eyes equally as dark, but with a slight hint of blue visible in the sunlight; even his clothes were dark, and his face! Oh, his face! He looked like he didn't even know what a smile was, not to mention trying to perform the very act.
Shouyou shrugged noncommittally, deciding it was no concern of his. He had made quite a few friends with the people who walked their dogs in that park, but this guy was different. Shouyou automatically knew they would never work out as friends. He just didn't need that kind of negativity in his life.
For a while he stopped seeing the man during the set times he and Bun chose for their walks, and in the secrecy of his mind Shouyou wondered if maybe they moved out, but after a few days he spotted the familiar now figure of a tall, dark man and his German shepherd come onto the small clearing near the artificial lake, where he and Bun chose to rest that day.
He tensed up on reflex, but seeing no reaction from Bun, who only rose his head with interest, he blinked in confusion. And then he blinked again, absolutely stumped, when Bun trotted up to the shepherd and started sniffing his ear affectionately. In complete silence, Shouyou watched the dogs, forgetting about the man, until he was standing right next to him - tall, dark and intimidating. He almost shrank away from him on instinct.
"Here," the man said, getting something out of one of his pockets and giving it to Shouyou. "Thanks for the last time."
Shouyou looked down at his hand, and to his surprise found a green bag there, slightly crumpled, but still neatly folded. He would have laughed to relieve the tension in his body, but remembering how it ended the last time, he only smiled at the man in thanks and took it. He was about to pocket it, when a whiff of lavender tickled at his nostrils and he brought his fingers to his face, taking another sniff. And then he raised incredulous, wrinkled with laughter he could no longer hold back eyes at the man standing next to him.
"You use lavender scented bags?" he asked, unable to keep calm anymore and giggling into his hand. "Princess much?"
"Oh, shut up!" the stranger flamed beet red, and all the remnants of fear and tension that were clinging to Shouyou only seconds ago left momentarily. This guy was… "These were the only ones they had in the shop. It's still better than leaving without cleaning, right?" There was a soft grumpiness to his voice, and the way he looked away from Shouyou's eyes just made it plain clear. This guy was…
…cute.
Tall, dark, intimidating. And cute.
Shouyou stared at him for a while, and then he couldn't hold back. He threw his head back and laughed, laughed, laughed, until tears welled in his eyes and he had to wipe them with his still smelling of lavender fingers. Then he offered the pouting - he was really pouting! how much cuter can you get - guy his hand.
"I'm Hinata," he introduced himself, smiling brightly. "Hinata Shouyou. And that," he pointed towards their dogs who were now busy chasing each other down the lakeside, "is Bun."
There was a few seconds of silence while the man looked at him seriously, probably thinking something over in his head, and then he took his hand, shaking it firmly.
"Kageyama Tobio," he said. "And Spike."
And that was how their sort-of-friendship started, and to be honest, Shouyou still had no idea how that came to be in the first place. But he was really glad it did.
After that, they met up in the park quite regularly, their daily walks overlapping more often than not, and since Bun and Spike got along, neither of them complained. Most of the time, they met up somewhere in the park and then continued on together, the dogs running ahead and forgetting about their masters in favour of chasing the lone squirrels around, while Shouyou and Kageyama talked. At first, there was a lot of awkward pauses, neither of them comfortable enough to share their private lives, but Shouyou was never a people-shy person. Quite the contrary, and his openhearted spirit quickly showed, as he started babbling about the most random things, like his university life, what he was planning to eat for dinner, the newest trick he taught Bun to perform.
And it was during one of his rants that Shouyou started talking about his high school life and about his days in Karasuno’s volleyball club. Kageyama’s face, contorting from shock into stunned disbelief and then joy, and the creepiest smile ever made Shouyou back up carefully, putting some well needed distance between the two of them.
But as it turned out, it was hardly necessary. It was Shouyou’s turn to listen in wonder to Kageyama – normally not a very talkative person – who turned into a literal chatterbox and went on and on about volleyball. Shouyou was surprised to see how the brooding face of his new friend was slowly turning soft around the edges the longer he talked, and then, when Kageyama smiled at him, he was left speechless. Because it wasn’t the usual ‘run or I’ll murder your whole family’ smile. It was genuine and gentle, warm and so full of love, Shouyou felt an answering smile stretch his lips without his permission.
Kageyama loved volleyball, that much was obvious to him. And Shouyou believed that no one who loved volleyball could ever be a bad person.
The next day, Shouyou brought an old, worn-out volleyball (that was still rolling around the floor of his apartment even now – neither him nor Noya could bring themselves to throw it out) with him, and he didn’t even have to convince Kageyama to practice with him.
It seemed strange, but ever since that volleyball revelation, Shouyou felt this overbearing sense of completeness and pride, as if two pieces of a puzzle came together in perfect alignment. He couldn’t help but think that maybe he and Kageyama were supposed to meet, that maybe it was fate connecting them – they had so many similarities, so many things in common. He lay on his bed, awake, long into the night, his thoughts circling around the most absurd idea ever. What would it be like if they went to the same high school?
Sometimes these oh-so-vivid thoughts brought him the most amazing dreams in the quiet of the night, and Shouyou woke up energized, but with a lingering feeling of longing - longing that could never be fulfilled. It dissipated in Kageyama’s presence though, a clear sign what it was that he longed for. A few times Shouyou even told Kageyama about his dreams. Of course not about how he craved the other’s presence after waking up, but about how awesome it would be if they went to the same school. Kageyama only smiled then, and said “Yeah, I bet we would have been Japan’s number one.”
Shouyou supposed it was only an offhanded comment, something to keep the conversation going, but he couldn’t help it when his heart skipped a bit. Because it implied Kageyama’s trust. And maybe, just maybe, Kageyama thought about him as much as Shouyou did himself… He didn’t realize how important these small shows of trust were for him until then, but ever since, Shouyou started noticing the little things.
Like Kageyama’s different smiles – the creepy one, the genuine one when he talked about volleyball, the tiny gentle one when he thought no one could see, the bright one when he looked at Spike. Then Shouyou noticed exactly how tall Kageyama was, easily towering over him. He knew how rough and calloused his hands were from the high school days of constant practicing, just as much as his own were. He spotted how long and elegant Kageyama’s fingers looked when he tossed the ball in a perfectly trained arch. He’d seen the way wind ruffled through ink black hair, slashing it across Kageyama’s forehead until he impatiently combed it back. And there were also his eyes, dark and gloomy, but to Shouyou they seemed bright with emotions, reflections of the blue shining brighter than the sun.
It wasn’t until Shouyou described Kageyama to Noya, that he really realized what was happening to him. And then his roommate just rolled back on the couch, howling with laughter at the obliviousness on Shouyou’s face.
“You’ve got it so bad for him, Shouyou!”
“What?” he asked, still having no idea what was so funny about the whole situation.
“You don’t even realize it yourself, do you?” Noya shook his head and sit up straight, putting one hand on his shoulder and looking at him, suddenly strangely serious in that ‘son, we need to talk’ manner. “You, my dear old friend, have gotten yourself smitten with mister Kageyama what’s-his-name.”
“It’s Tobio,” Shouyou corrected him automatically, and then his jaw dropped when he realized what he’d done.
“See?” Noya nodded gravely. “It’s that bad.”
Shouyou swallowed thickly and then got up off the couch, walking like a zombie and bumping into things in confused haze, and locked himself in his room for the rest of the day. And the next one. And the one after that.
Finally, when both Noya and Bun had had enough of his moping, they banged on his door for as long as it took to get him to open it, and then, against his protests and struggles, took him out to the park. Shouyou wined and begged, but the only thing Noya had to say was “He’s your friend, right? It’s not like you have to confess right away.”
It worked better than either of them could expect, and suddenly the lethargic sack of potatoes that was Shouyou until then, got back his usual energy and he chased after Bun who was busy barking a squirrel up a tree. They spent the whole day in the park, Shouyou both dreading and hoping to see Kageyama, but it didn’t happen. As they were leaving, he wondered if the other was okay, why didn’t he come, did anything happen.
But with Kageyama nowhere in sight, he couldn’t get any answers. So with a heart hurt by his friend’s – now crush’s (it sounded so wrong oh god, Shouyou blushed) – absence, yet somehow relieved about their unchanged relationship, Shouyou trotted back home.
Nothing had to change between them. Not yet, at least.
And he was going to keep to that.
Tobio was avoiding him. He was avoiding Hinata like the plague, even to the point of blatantly turning the other way when he’d seen the red-head approach. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Hinata – it was just the opposite. He liked him too much.
But what happened a few days back was still fresh on Tobio’s mind, a thorn in his heart that refused to disappear and bit further into his vulnerable side every time he saw the short guy with Bun faithfully trotting at his knee…
To be honest, Tobio was a bit worried. He hasn’t seen Hinata for the last two days, and it might have been okay if he knew that the other way going on a trip or something, but when the red-head disappeared without a word, Tobio just couldn’t help it. It kept nagging at him, like a dull headache from the lack of sleep, somewhere at the back of his mind, mild but persistent.
Spike seemed to be down too, probably missing Bun’s company, and Tobio had to smile briefly. People often said that animals share their master’s character traits and habits, and Tobio could clearly see the truth in that now. They both missed the pair of red-heads.
Tobio sighed when once again his hopes of seeing Hinata were blown away with the gust of warm afternoon wind.
“What now, Spike?” he looked down at the shepherd. “Should we head back home?”
The dog only glanced his way before pulling him in the other direction. Tobio only rolled his eyes, but allowed himself to be led towards the little forest inside the park. It wasn’t long after they passed the first trees that Tobio heard the sounds of laughter, happy and without a care in the world. Normally, he would probably skip over it, tuning it into background noise, but somehow… it sounded familiar. Spike led him straight towards the voices, and when the trees cleared a bit, Tobio stopped, pulling the leash short.
It was Hinata. Sitting in the grass, with Bun playfully swaging his tail at his feet, laughing at something with a soft blush adoring his cheeks, eyes wrinkled around the edges and mouth wide open gasping for breath. A mix of relief, hope and anger at seeing his friend made Tobio frown in thought. He could understand anger, after all Hinata was either avoiding him, or simply didn’t care about him enough to tell him to get lost. But he couldn’t make heads or tails of why the hell he was relieved to see the other man. And hope? What was he hoping for?
Before he could sort out his feelings though, he noticed something else. Hinata wasn’t alone. There was an arm casually slung across Hinata’s shoulders, a leg bent at the knee touching Hinata’s thigh; side to side, closer than it was appropriate, was sitting some brunet Kageyama was seeing for the first time, but it seemed like him and Hinata were good friends. Watching how the man head-butted Hinata playfully in the side of his head, Kageyama’s insides curled. They were more than friends…
Hinata laughed again and turned to his companion, their faces so close Kageyama couldn’t watch anymore. He turned on his heel, forcefully pulling a resisting Spike with him, and left. His heart burned in betrayal, and with the furious fluttering of its beat, he realized how fucked he was.
He had a crush on a guy who was already taken.
Hearing another bout of laughter fading with his every step didn’t help to calm the bitterness in his mouth.
And that was why now Kageyama was avoiding Hinata to the best of his abilities. He just didn’t know how to face him. He’d say what? Congrats on your boyfriend, you make such a cute couple? He’d rather die.
Tobio sighed and rubbed at his eyes irritably. For the last few days he wasn’t able to sleep much, his mind too busy thinking. Of Hinata. Of what could be if this and that happened. If Hinata somehow broke up with that guy and Tobio was there to pick up the pieces.
Of course he didn’t want Hinata to suffer, but in his fantasies the tears falling from the red-head’s amber eyes were drying quickly, his own lips kissing away those yet unfallen, and mouth desperately sobbing after the lost love was opening wider to utter soft moans against his shoulder as their bodies clashed together in a dance of heat and passion.
Tobio shook his head to clear it off the images. He didn’t need those now.
Looking around for Spike, he almost froze, shock and panic stilling his heart and muscles, when a familiar mop of red hair came into view. Hinata must have seen him too, for he was heading in his direction, eyes firmly set on Tobio’s face, which made him want to run away all the more. It was the first time in days that they would be seeing each other, but Tobio was dreading the very thought of it.
He turned to leave, but the other caught up to him fast.
“Why are you avoiding me?” Hinata demanded without as much as a greeting, his usually merrily laughing eyes serious as never. It somehow unnerved Kageyama into stopping and actually answering.
“I’m not avoiding you,” he said, and cringed inwardly at the snort of disbelief from the other. Okay, that was such an obvious lie he was almost ashamed of himself. Almost.
“Yeah, right,” Hinata stepped around him to face him properly. “Tell me. What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” he said, but the hard stare was still on him, until he relented with a sigh. “I’ve seen you the other day, with that guy.”
“The other day?” Hinata’s brow furrowed in thought. “You mean Noya?”
“Probably,” Tobio shrugged. He really didn’t need to know the name to hate the guy.
“So?” Hinata continued pestering him. “What of him?”
Tobio growled in impatience, looking away from the red-head. “I just don’t want to be a third wheel, is that too much for you to understand?”
“A third wheel?” there was genuine curiosity in Hinata’s voice, which somehow made Tobio glance his way. And when he glanced, he could no longer turn his eyes away. “What do you mean, Kageyama?”
He grimaced, hating how it took only one look for Hinata to elicit the answer from his lips, as if he did no longer hold the power over his own body.
“I mean that I don’t want to intrude on you two,” he bit out, helpless anger and dejection licking at his insides.
Hinata’s face was scrunched up in thought, and Tobio could clearly see that he still didn’t understand. He was about to open his mouth and scream at the red-head, all his anger, all the pain, all the frustration, when amber eyes widened and Hinata looked at him in disbelief.
“Wait…” his voice was almost breathless. “You mean like Noya and I… dating?”
At Tobio’s pointed stare, Hinata’s mouth dropped, and after a while he was laughing. Sudden urge to smack the idiot consumed all Tobio’s self-control. He growled in anger. Was this guy mocking him?
“Hey,” he snarled, hands balled in fists, and his voice must have sounded intimidating enough because Hinata’s laughter died and amber eyes focused on him again. “This isn’t funny at all.”
“Oh no, it is,” Hinata returned with a smile. “You see, Noya and I, we’re old friends from high school. We even live together.”
“Congrats,” Tobio glared at Hinata, the bitterness rolling off his tongue.
“Argh, you’re so frustrating!” Hinata snapped at him, throwing his hands in the air. “I’m saying you’re wrong about this, idiot!”
Tobio narrowed his eyes at the red-head. Wrong? How was he wrong?
“So what are you saying exactly?”
Hinata’s jaw clicked as he took a step forward, his finger poking Tobio right in the chest. Amber eyes shone like the sun, the heat smouldering.
“I’m saying that Noya is not my boyfriend,” he stabbed his finger in Tobio’s chest painfully to underline each word, but Tobio didn’t feel any pain. Only sudden relief and a wild boast of happiness. Until… “And you’re a coward.”
“Huh?!” he glared the smaller guy down, all the happiness gone in less than a second. “How does that make me a coward?”
Hinata snorted again, a sound Tobio quickly learned to hate. “Because you don’t even have the guts to ask me out. You act all high and mighty ‘I don’t want to be a third wheel’ and shit, when the truth is you are just scared of rejection!”
“Like hell I am!” Rage. That was rage burning low in his stomach, burning high in his chest, burning hot in his eyes.
“Then prove it,” Hinata hissed, and for a second Tobio thought he would jump the red-head and punch him then and there, but he controlled the impulse.
“I’m not doing that,” he replied, a semblance of rational thinking coming back to him, until Hinata’s lips stretched into a mocking smile.
“See?” his voice was low, eyes slanted tauntingly, head cocked to the side. And Tobio felt the anger coursing through his veins singing the song of bloodlust. “A coward.”
Before Hinata has ended speaking, Tobio was moving. He stepped forward, reached out, and ignoring the surprised yelp of pain from the other man as he grabbed him forcefully and tugged into his arms, he kissed him. Rough, dirty, fuelled by anger and the hours he spent imagining the different scenarios of it happening. But nothing he could ever come up with would have prepared him for the hands pulling him down by the collar, teeth biting hard on his lip and mouth so warm and sweet, it melted all his remaining anger.
There was nothing gentle about the kiss, and there was nothing gentle about the way the parted. No post kissing nuzzling, no forehead touches, no soft pecking as their breathing calmed down, nothing. Tobio felt a slap to his chest, hard and painful and took a step back, cringing. His eyes met Hinata’s, which shone with a strange light of amusement and anger.
“Don’t avoid me, Kageyama,” the red-head warned, and his eyes flicked down to the hand he still kept on Tobio’s chest.
Tobio’s eyes followed his and he noticed a white card between the other’s fingers. Carefully, he took it and turned over, reading its content. It was Hinata’s name and phone number, mail address jotted down neatly below it. When he looked up, Hinata was still staring at him with the same intensity. Slowly, the pressure of the hand on his chest retreated, as Hinata stepped back.
“You better call me,” he only said and turned on his heel, whistling for Bun, and left, not even once looking back.
Tobio stared at his disappearing figure, then at the card. And then he had to crouch in the grass, as the full picture of what they had just done came to him clear as the day. They kissed. They kissed in anger. He was so furious he didn’t even stop to think about what he was doing, about the possible consequences, about anyone who might have been around at the time. He kissed Hinata.
Tobio hid his hot from embarrassment face in his hands, not even caring about Spike who was urgently poking at his hand with his wet nose.
He kissed Hinata. And Hinata kissed him back.
Noya looked out the kitchen entrance when the front door slammed shut.
“Oh, Shouyou,” he started, but stopped when his junior’s face turned his way. “Why are you so red?”
“N-noy-ya-ssaaaan…” Shouyou whined, stuttering along the way, holding onto the door for dear life.
“What happened?” curiosity piqued, Noya came closer, noting the blush covering not only his friend’s face, but also neck and ears, and it made him even more curious.
“Ka-Kageyama…” Shouyou started, and then continued in one breath, so fast Noya was only able to make out the word ‘kiss’, but it told him everything he needed to know.
He laughed, clapping the red-head on the back enthusiastically. “I see, I see.” And still laughing he turned back to the kitchen.
Now, things would be getting even more interesting from now on, he was sure. He quickly texted Ryuu, cackling to himself all the while. So much more interesting.