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Kageyama and Hinata. Hinata and Kageyama. That freak duo. The weirdo first years. Partners.
There were many ways that it was said, but the gist of it was that Hinata and Kageyama were a duo. They’d been volleyball partners since their first year at Karasuno, and now in their third year, it was no different. Of course, over the last two years their relationship had changed, more than once.
When they met, they were enemies. They hated each other, remnants of their intense first meeting. Over the course of their first year together, their relationship evolved more into something like partners, and eventually friends. At the tail end of their first year, however, their relationship underwent a major change. An outsider wouldn’t have noticed a change in any of their interactions, but it was glaringly obvious to those who knew them, despite not being told outright. Once the volleyball season had ended, and the year was coming to a close, they finally had The Conversation. The conversation that would explain the last year of their lives.
After that one conversation, the mess that had been their relationship finally took on a solid form. They'd gone from enemies, to partners, to friends, and now finally, finally, to boyfriends. It was long awaited by everyone, and none of their friends were surprised.
Now, at the beginning of their third and final year at Karasuno, they were back in the familiar gym, awaiting the arrival of the new first years. As usual, they were practicing consistently, not sitting still for a single moment. Yamaguchi, the captain, was on the side with Yachi, organizing sign ups in anticipation of the new arrivals. Tsukki was there, off to the side, probably silently judging everyone.
Within the next few minutes, the group of four first years were at the doors of the gym, nervously staring at the players inside. Yamaguchi herded them into the gym and over to Yachi, and began talking animatedly. As they signed paperwork one by one, they took in their surroundings. There was the group of second years working on passes off to the side, Tsukki, who was on his phone and already so over the whole ordeal, and then there was the court itself.
There were only two players making use of the actual net, standing in the middle of the court. There was a tall boy with jet black hair and striking blue eyes, holding the ball against his hip as he gestured to the other boy. The other player was short, with bright orange hair that stood out almost immediately. Yamaguchi noticed him staring at the court and walked over.
“Hey,” he introduced himself to the first year. “I’m Yamaguchi. You're Minori, right?”
The startled first year, Minori, snapped out of his thoughts and turned to his captain. “Yeah, I’m Minori. It’s… nice to meet you.” He said, looking back at the court. The two players seemed to be setting up for something now, and he was intrigued. Yamaguchi was saying something, but Minori was transfixed on what was going on behind him. A second year stepped onto the court with them, grabbing a ball. All three of them looked to be in position for something, and he was waiting to watch the play.
The second year tossed the ball to the dark-haired guy, and then it happened. If Minori had blinked, he would’ve missed it. The short guy sprinted down the court and leapt into the air, higher than what should've been possible. The ball hit the scary-looking guy’s hands and literally teleported, straight in front of ginger in the air. Tangerine guy swung and spiked the ball down immediately. The whole play took place in under a few seconds. It was like nothing Minori had ever seen. Of course he knew Karasuno’s volleyball team was a powerhouse, but nothing compared to seeing it in person. He was stunned.
Finally, Minori turned back to Yamaguchi, who had noticed the lack of attention he seemed to have. Yamaguchi realized exactly what he had been watching, and smiled. Their stupid quick attack was crazy to see for the first time, and it never really lost its “wow” factor.
“Yeah, that play is really something special, isn't it?” Yamaguchi said, turning back to the stunned first year.
Minori nodded, still replaying the hit in his head. Yamaguchi laughed, “Hey, Hinata, Kageyama, get over here yeah?” he asked, waving the two over. Scary guy and tangerine guy walked over to where Minori and Yamaguchi were standing.
“Hey. I’m Hinata,” Tangerine guy said immediately. Ginger, or Hinata? looked up at the scary guy, waiting for him to speak.
“Uh hi. I’m Kageyama. Welcome to Karasuno... Or something,” scary guy muttered. Minori looked between the duo, unsure of what to say next. Luckily for him, Yamaguchi noticed his uncertainty and took care of it for him.
“This is Minori, he's one of our new first years this year. I would expect the team,” he said, putting emphasis on 'team,’ “to be very welcoming to our first year players.” Yamaguchi seemingly glared at the duo, looking Kageyama straight in the eye as he spoke.
Kageyama looked down, breaking eye contact. “Yeah yeah, okay, I got it,” he spoke quickly under his breath. “Sho- Hinata and I are gonna go back to practice now.” Kageyama grabbed Hinata's hand as he spoke, and lacing their fingers together, they turned away.
Minori noticed a slight stutter when Kageyama said Hinata's name, but he brushed it off and pushed it out of his thoughts. He stayed silent, watching the third years walk back over to the ball cart, talking to one another quickly and quietly as they walked.
An hour later, once practice had finished, Kageyama and Hinata were still practicing, as per usual, but all it took was one look at the clock to see that if they didn't leave now, they would be late. The two hurridley packed up, sprinting to the club room. Once they had changed and everything, they interlaced their fingers yet again, walking toward the main class buildings.
“Hey. Shouyou. Stop for a second?” Kageyama gripped Hinata's hand tighter, pulling the ginger closer to himself. Hinata looked up at Kageyama with a smile. Already knowing, Hinata stood up on his toes, lightly pecking Kageyama’s lips. He giggled, before letting go and turning toward his class, leaving a faintly blushing Kageyama.
“Wait, dumbass, wait up!” He ran after Hinata, once the daze had worn off. Their usual bickering could be heard throughout the entire halfway as they sprinted toward class, right at the bell. Whatever sense of maturity they’d had during practice was long gone, and they seemed like their first year selves again.
Hours later, the duo met up at lunch sitting on a bench in the courtyard. Hinata’s unfiltered laugh rang through the air as he discussed everything with his partner. “Everything,” being their new “plan” to gain respect from the new first years.
“Tobiooo, this morning went so well though!”
Kageyama leaned back on his hands, looking up at the clouds. “Yeah, but how long are we gonna keep this up? Like realistically? The rest of the team already knows us, so what’s to say that this is even gonna work?”
Hinata sighed, leaning back into Kageyama’s chest. “Can we please keep trying? Just for a while? All it means is not arguing in front of the first years. That's it.” He looked up at his boyfriend, knowing he could get him to agree ninety-nine percent of the time.
Kageyama wrapped an arm around the tiny ginger, burying his face in his hair. “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” he mumbled under his breath. Hinata smiled, turning to kiss Kageyama. Hinata quickly pulled his stupid emo boyfriend into a deep kiss, resting their foreheads against ome another. He then stood up slowly letting go of Kageyama’s hand.
“I’ll be back, gonna go talk to my teacher about the Tokyo trip. Wait for me?” Hinata pulled away, walking backwards while keeping eye contact with his boyfriend.. Once far enough away, he turned around and continued walking inside, and Kageyama looked down at his phone.
Minori had been walking by, and had seen the whole interaction. By now, Minori knew quite a lot about them. People were constantly talking about “those two third years, you know, the ones who play volleyball.” If the constant gossip wasn’t enough, he had literally just seen them making out in the middle of the courtyard, further confirming their relationship. Minori was pulled out of his thoughts, right as he almost ran smack into Kageyama.
Minori had to look up at Kageyama, who was a good 5 inches taller than him. Frozen, he stared at those piercing blue eyes wordlessly.
“Oh. Hey. Didn’t see you there. My bad. See you at practice. Kageyama then walked off towards the office. Minori was still standing in the same place, completely confused by the whole interaction. Kageyama seemed so serious and was intimidating. Paired with his insane volleyball skill, and unwillingness to talk to anyone but Hinata, it was easy to be scared of him. Minori pulled himself from his thoughts yet again, and continued walking.
That afternoon, the Karasuno volleyball team all showed up for practice. The first years stood almost huddled together, nervous around the members of the elite team they were joining. Yamaguchi and Coach Ukai were talking, and then practice began. As usual, many eyes were on the freak duo, watching them run their quicks. However, they knew that the first year’s eyes were focused on them, maybe a little too much.
Instead of setting up another attack, Kageyama caught the ball he was about to set. “Hinata. Come over here for a second.” Confused, Hinata walked over to Kageyama. Kageyama made direct eye contact with the onlooking first years. He then grabbed Hinata’s chin and pulled him into a kiss, in the literal middle of practice.
“Hey! You two! Stop sucking face and get back to practice!” Ukai yelled from across the gym.
“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me. Was that necessary? Are you both that stupid?” A voice carried from the court, where Tsukkishima stood with a hand on his hip. “Can you two idiots take your PDA somewhere else? Preferably where I don't have to see it, your majesties.” He glared at the duo, and Kageyama glared back.
Kageyama scoffed, turning back to his boyfriend, who was completely lost. After more prompting from Coach Ukai, they returned to practice as normal. The first years were just as, if not more, lost than Hinata. However, they shook off the confusion and jumped into practice.
Hours later, everyone was leaving the gym, and the last few were packing up. Excluding Kageyama and Hinata of course. As Hinata went to jump for a ball, he slipped and stumbled backward, almost falling over. Kageyama reacted quickly, managing to catch his tiny boyfriend. He helped him up, holding Hinata around his waist tightly. The setter leaned down, speaking quietly and giving his partner his full attention.
The final members of the team began walking out after that. Minori was one of them, and he was still watching the remaining two players. Of course they were intimidating on their own, but them as a duo? That was even scarier. They were so in tune with each other, like two halves of a whole. He hated to think about what would happen if someone messed with one of them, because just imagining what the other would do was terrifying.
After that day, the first years became increasingly more and more comfortable around the team. They started actually talking to the older players, and were less intimidated. One night, Minori was left to clean up the gym with Tsukkishima and Yamaguchi.
“Come on Tsukki, just let them do this. It’s weird but it's less dramatic, and it’ll be over soon.”
“You know I’m not complaining about the quiet Yamaguchi, I prefer when they aren’t constantly arguing. But really, it’s getting weird. They’re all fake intimidating, and I think people are actually believing that this is them.”
Minori overheard parts of the third year’s conversation as he wheeles the ball cart over to the doorway, but he was confused. Who were they talking about? His curiosity and confusion must've been evident on his face, because as he got closer, Yamaguchi turned his attention to him.
“Hey Minori! You look confused,” the captain said with a small laugh. Minori didn’t speak, just managing a small nod. Yamaguchi continued, “We were talking about Kageyama and Hinata, and their stupid performance.”
Minori was still entirely lost on this. What performance? They weren’t doing anything weird, right? He finally voiced his confusion. “What do you mean by performance? I don’t get it?”
At that, Tsukkishima laughed. Minori turned to him, waiting for an explanation. “You don't really think that the king and his queen are actually like this? Right?” The middle blocker asked. Minori stayed silent, trying to understand. “Okay, think about this,” Tsukkishima said with a sigh. “They’re intimidating, right? And why is that?”
Minori thought about it for a second before speaking. “They're just like, so talented and they act like real professional volleyball players! Like they're all grown up and know exactly what they’re doing.”
At that, Tsukkishima almost laughed, silenced by a glare from Yamaguchi. Once he had composed himself, Tsukkishima started talking again. “I’m not going to say anything yet because I want to see how far the idiots are going to take this. But please, think about that. Do you really think they’re always like that?” With that final statement, Tsukkishima walked out of the gym to finish putting everything away, leaving Minori to think about what he said.
Soon after, the three of them left the gym, having moved on from the previous topic. Although, what Tsukkishima had said was still in the back of Minori’s mind.
The next week or so of practices and school continued as usual, with Kageyama and Hinata being extremely serious about everything they did. The first years were getting used to it over time, assuming that this was how it was going to be. Minori occasionally thought about what Tsukkishima had said, but it didn't make any more sense than it had when he said it, so Minori continued to ignore the thought.
After practice one morning, Minori had rushed to class, but left his phone in the gym. He quickly turned around, sprinting back in to grab it before the bell. When he burst through the door, Kageyamam and Hinata were still inside. He froze in the doorway, watching.
“Oh, those seagull things? I thought they were wolves”
“Shut up and throw me the ball again, weirdo.”
Hinata spiked the ball down, and instead of setting up again, he jumped into Kageyama's arms. Surprised, Kageyama stumbled and fell while clinging to his boyfriend. The two landed on the floor, Kageyama in shock, and Hinata giggling uncontrollably.
“Hinata you dumbass! What was that for?” Kageyama yelled.
“Shut up! Maybe it’s your fault for not catching me, idiot! Try that next time!”
“Why would there be a next time? I’m not even going to try and catch you next time, I’ll let you fall. It’ll be deserved!”
“Tobio you turd, that’s mean!”
Once both of them had stood up, they continued arguing in the same fashion that they had been, like literal children. Finally, Hinata turned and spotted Minori in the doorway. Minori unfroze, grabbing his phone off the bench and hurrying out of the gym. He ran to class, and as the gym doors closed behind him, he could hear a faint call of “Hinata you idiot!”
In class, Minori thought about what he saw. They were stupid and childish, a huge contrast to their normal behavior at practice. It was weird to see them like that. He then remembered what Tsukkishima had said a few weeks ago, about them putting on a performance. Could this be what he was talking about?
During afternoon practice that day, both Kageyama and Hinata avoided Minori, making awkward eye contact one in a while. As per usual, the duo stayed in the gym late, offering to lock up.
“Tobio, about earlier…” Hinata said into the silence. “What are we gonna do now?”
Kageyama sighed and turned to his boyfriend. “I don't know Shouyou. This whale thing was your idea, not mine. This is on you.”
“I guess we just stop. It's probably easier that way honestly”
“So we’re stopping? For sure?”
“Yeah, why not. I wanna argue with you at practice anyway,” Hinata said with a soft smile at his boyfriend. Kageyama laughed and leaned down to kiss his stupid, amazing, perfect boyfriend.
The next morning, the team walked into the gym for practice. When they got there, the door was already wide open. From down the hallway, they could hear loud arguing coming from inside. Upon reaching the doorway, the team poked their heads inside. Yamaguchi burst out laughing, and Tsukkishima smirked. The first years headed in last, confused. Besides Minori, none of the others had seen Kageyama and Hinata as anything but professional and intimidating.
Hinata turned toward Yamaguchi as he walked over, smiling brightly.
“Hey guys! What’s up! When’d you get here? Sorry, we didn't notice!” Hinata was loud and smiling and energetic. It was completely different to the facade he had had on before. Minori was stunned, but not actually confused for the first time ever. The other first years had by then, chalked it up to the third years being weird, and moved on. Kageyama and Hinata bickered throughout the entire practice, making stupid comments and doing even stupider things.
They stayed this way for the remainder of the season, and when asked what changed, they pretended not to know what anyone was talking about. Of course, Tsukkishima, Yamaguchi, and Minori had some idea of what had happened, but everyone else was left completely in the dark.