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There are some people who have never once hid the fact that they are gay. Unsurprisingly, Hinata Shouyou is one of those people. He’s always been flamboyant and open about his deep desires to be with a hot guy. It’s the same locker room talk that Tanaka so graciously starts up every day - Hinata talks about guys with the same admiration as Tanaka when he gushes about Kiyoko. And so maybe not everyone is as open about their sexuality, but Hinata takes it in pride and never once in his life thought he was weird or different.

His team has been very accepting of the fact, not that Hinata would ever allow them to feel differently. Hinata’s not the kind of guy to attend pride festivals or care about homosexual stereotypes. He’s just a guy with a sexuality, just the same as every other person. So he doesn’t think twice about ‘coming out,’ since it’s something he’s never done before. His parents raised him knowing he’s been gay all along, and the talk about relationships didn’t really hit until middle school anyways, where his friends could already tell.

Hinata’s an open book, and sometimes forgets that there are some people who aren’t so open about it. Like Kageyama, for example. A man who has never once showed interest in romance in his whole life, so Hinata has no idea if he may be gay (or straight either, at that). And sure, there’s plenty of others who he doesn’t know the sexuality of - but he’s looking directly at Kageyama. This may or may not have to do with the fact that Hinata has a big fat crush on him (it’s definitely because of that).

It’s one of the few days that Hinata sticks around after practice. Usually, he’s out on his bike within minutes of changing so he can get home before dark and take Natsu off of his mother’s hands for a few hours while she cooks dinner. But today, Hinata has a different mood than usual, and so he sticks around when Sugawara confronts him.

“Hinata, you seem distracted,” his upperclassman says in the locker room. Hinata’s pulling his head through the arm hole of his clean shirt, and nods frantically in the direction of the voice used to call him out.

Reversing his movements, Hinata finds the correct way to wear his shirt. “Well, of course I am!” He pouts, beginning to change his pants now that he’s got his top straightened.

“Need to talk about it?” Suga continues, laughing as Hinata jumps out of his shorts and nearly falls into the locker behind him.

Before opening his mouth, he checks the locker room. Many of their teammates have left at this point, but a few lag behind. The only person that would stop Hinata from discussing his issues is gone, and therefore Hinata sighs before opening his mouth. “Does anyone know if Kageyama is gay?”

Tanaka, reacting to Hinata’s invitation for the remaining teammates to join the conversation, bursts out laughing. Nishinoya elbows him, though he is smirking at the question as well. Sugawara just smiles mischievously at his underclassman, raising an eyebrow. “So, someone’s got a crush on our setter?”

“Obviously,” Hinata rolls his eyes, swinging one of his legs over the bench now that he’s fully changed into street clothes. “But how weird would it be to ask him out if he doesn’t even like guys?”

Suga laughs at the openness that Hinata brings to the atmosphere. He’s truly got no shame, not that it’s out of the blue that Hinata likes Kageyama in the first place. To be fair, Sugawara has been expecting this for a while. Perhaps Hinata was far more blunt about it than predicted, but not at all surprising, nonetheless. “That is a query,” he comments.

“We just have to find out if Kageyama likes dudes,” Noya adds in. “Can’t be too hard.”

Hinata shakes his head. “But it’s different. I’m really open about being gay, but Kageyama’s never said anything one way or another. It could be weird to ask him outright.”

Tanaka nods in agreement. “We have to take the back route. Get him to admit it without directly saying it.”

Suga cocks his head. “Isn’t that a little rude, though? What if he’s not ready to come out with it yet? Or even worse, if he’s straight, and we just keep harassing him?”

Echoing his friend’s words, Nishinoya says, “Back route. Hit him from the side. We don’t explicitly make him talk about his sexuality, we just do little things that give us hints. At least enough so that Hinata can stop being a pussy and feel confident in asking him out.”

“I am not a pussy!” Hinata shrieks, though he agrees with Nishinoya.

Ennoshita, who has been quiet until now, chimes in. “I’m not very open about being bisexual, so I should warn you. It could be toxic to force someone’s sexuality out of them. I didn’t appreciate it when my friends forced me out before I was ready with a label.”

Sugawara hums. “That’s a really good point. We have to be careful.”

“Back route!” Tanaka says loudly again. “We don’t have to be obvious about it! If Kageyama is okay with being out, then maybe it’ll show. And if he’s not, then Hinata can embarrass himself by asking out a straight guy.”

“Tanaka-senpai! So rude,” Hinata pouts, crossing his arms. “All we can do is try, you know? To be fair, Kageyama’s never said he’s straight either. So we have a chance.”

“We just have to be subtle about it,” Sugawara says, slowly getting on board with the plan.

“I’m not going to say I support you trying to out someone,” Ennoshita informs, “but if you go through with this plan, please be kind about it. And, subtle, like Suga-san said.”

“Thanks for your approval, Ennoshita-san!” Hinata beams.

“It’s not approval. But I know you’re all chaotic idiots who won’t listen to me even if I advise you against this. So I’m giving you tips, and hoping that you won’t mess this up,” Ennoshita says bluntly. “I will not be partaking in this.”

“Fair enough,” Sugawara smiles, patting Ennoshita’s shoulder. “Thank you for the advice.”

“And don’t worry, I won’t mention this plan to Kageyama, or anyone else if you don’t want me to.”

“Thank you, Ennoshita-san!” The other three bow as the second-year dismisses himself from the clubroom. They fall silent in his departure, but Sugawara turns back to his younger teammates, smiling.

“So, 'Operation: Is Kageyama Tobio Gay?' is a go?”

“Yes!” The remaining three cheer, Hinata especially thankful for his friends.

1

The first plan is an act of Sugawara. They came up with it the same night that Hinata confessed his worries regarding Kageyama - and it was to be executed the following day after practice. The typical locker room talk already emerged from the second-years gushing over Kiyoko, and Hinata listens with excitement. Everything is going accordingly, and the four operation members nod their approval as Sugawara gets ready.

Noya throws out the first cue after Tanaka finishes his drooling. “So we all know our beloved Tanaka is still in love with our gorgeous Kiyoko, but how about anyone else? Anyone dating right now?”

Hinata side glances towards Kageyama who is peeling off his sweaty practice shirt. Kageyama makes no reaction to Nishinoya’s question, not that Hinata would’ve noticed if he did anyways. Rather, Hinata freezes up when Kageyama notices him watching. Why did Kageyama have to take off his shirt at this very moment? With a blush, he snaps his head back towards his own locker. He doesn’t miss the ‘dumbass’ being muttered by Kageyama though.

Sugawara takes the next step, speaking on top of Noya’s setup. “Hmm, what about our pretty setter boy? I’m sure the girls are all over you, with those defined abs,” he practically purrs at Kageyama’s side. It’s all an act, and Sugawara is playing his role well.

Kageyama raises an eyebrow at his upperclassman, obviously unsure of what to say to the strange behavior. “I guess?”

Suga’s face falls. “That’s it? You guess? Surely you’ve been confessed to before.” He quickly gets back into the act, leaning against the lockers to stare at Kageyama intensely.

“Well, yeah,” Kageyama confirms, though his face is twisted with confusion.

Suga narrows his eyes. “Ever said yes? Or wanted to say yes?”

Kageyama looks up towards the ceiling, nose scrunched in thought. “No, I’ve never thought about it.”

“Why not?” Suga asks, leaning in more to Kageyama’s space. The setter has thrown on a new shirt by now, and he takes a step back from Sugawara. He doesn’t seem intimidated by the elder, but Hinata thinks Kageyama is definitely unsure of why the conversation was brought up in the first place.

It’s not that Hinata regrets the idea, or that he wants to stop the operation, but he feels like this was the wrong way to go. It’s way too weird, way out of the ordinary, and it certainly isn’t Kageyama’s ‘style’ to talk about accepting girls’ confessions. Perhaps Kageyama is onto them, and knows something is up. Because this is just too different from any normal day, and surely Kageyama thinks so too. Apparently, Daichi’s right there with Hinata. “Stop being creepy to your underclassman,” the captain interjects.

Suga shoots daggers at his friend, trying to silently communicate that he needs to stay out of the conversation. Daichi doesn’t seem to get the message.

“I’m focusing on volleyball,” is Kageyama’s response. “I haven’t thought about loving a girl when I can play volleyball instead.”

The four in on the plan all sigh at Kageyama’s response. “That’s it?” Nishinoya cuts in.

“Pretty much?” Kageyama states in a question, as if he’s asking if that’s an okay response.

“Okay, no more harassing teammates about their love lives,” Daichi cuts in, message more powerful this time. They all drop the subject, and Kageyama is now picking up his bag to head out. No one can think of anything else to add in, so the first plan ultimately ends there. 

Hinata watches as the man in question exits the room, and promptly falls to his butt. He lets out a loud exhale, and shakes his head. “Well, that failed.” 

“We should’ve expected that response,” Sugawara reflects. By now, most of the team has cleared out. The only ones left are the operation team along with the other third-years. Tanaka lets out a string of curses as Nishinoya declares that they need a new plan.

“So, what the hell is this all about?” Daichi asks, tone a little threatening. Asahi’s gaze shifts among the other four, but stays quiet.

Sugawara laughs as Tanaka sing-songs, “Our little guy has a crush on the hot setter.”

Hinata flashes red cheeks at the choice of words, but sighs in shame. “It’s true,” he nods, “I just don’t know if he’s gay too.”

“So,” Suga leads, “we’re trying to indirectly get Kageyama to give us a hint as to which way he leans.”

“Which means that we came up with this plan to hopefully get him to admit something,” Tanaka continues.

“All because Hinata’s a pussy and won’t ask him out in case he’s straight. It’s embarrassing to him, or something,” Nishinoya finishes explaining.

“Stop calling me that!” Hinata directs towards Noya. “I just don’t want to make things weird. If I ask him out, he may think I assumed he’s gay, and that can be an issue. So I just want to make sure I at least have a chance before making a move.”

Daichi nods at the explanation, crossing his arms and tapping his feet. “Well, there’s always another way to find out,” he grins, reflecting the same mischievous smile that Sugawara wore the night before.

The first plan was a failure, but at least it got more plans brewing.

2

Hinata is shocked when Daichi offers his help, providing them with the second attempt. Two new members of the operation have now joined, Daichi being excited for his underclassmen and Asahi only joining from Suga and Noya’s peer pressure. It’s weird at first, because Hinata was almost certain that Daichi was going to scold the four of them for being immature and for invading someone’s privacy.

It is very clear to Hinata now that he misread his captain - he may be in a role of responsibility, but he’s still a teenager who likes to have fun. Daichi makes it painfully obvious that he wants in on the plan when he begins brainstorming their next move.

Choosing to sleep on it, the operation team filed out of the clubroom minutes after their failed attempt. When Hinata comes back to practice the next day, Daichi pulls him and Tanaka aside before the team rounds up for a warm-up jog.

With detailed instructions, Daichi explains thoroughly which steps they’ll take next. Tanaka nods in understanding, Hinata listens with eagerness, and Daichi assures them that Suga and Noya are already in on the plan. Asahi sits back this time around, though Hinata is positive he doesn’t mind being left out.

An hour later, Daichi gives Tanaka the secret cue. He calls for a water break, and while Hinata’s surrounding teammates are out of breath, Hinata is as energetic as ever. This could be it, and he feels bubbles growing inside his chest. 

Kageyama’s forehead is salty with sweat as he reaches the bench to grab a towel. Hinata matches these gestures, trying to play off his anxiety as something much less exhilarating. “Why do you look constipated?” Kageyama asks, throwing a wicked glare at Hinata.

It’s a little vulgar. Hinata was not at all expecting Kageyama to say something. Normally, they save their banter for outside of practice or directly during a drill - it’s not something they engage in during water breaks. Though, in Kageyama’s defense, Hinata’s been acting weird this whole practice. “Rude, Bakageyama.”

“You were the one staring at me,” Kageyama shrugs. “It’s like you were asking for it.” He lifts his water bottle to his lips, tugging on it with his teeth to open it. Hinata watches in admiration, unable to construct a comeback for Kageyama’s retort. Before he’s caught in a trance, Tanaka swoops in.

Hinata shakes his head, back into reality. Of course, Tanaka’s following Daichi’s cue. It’s go time, Hinata thinks, backing away from his setter. He goes to join Suga and Noya, both of which are watching from a distance, though they’re close enough to hear the conversation.

Kageyama is still sipping on his water, apparently unphased by Hinata and Tanaka switching positions. Tanaka leans against the wall, staring directly at the slightly taller male. He clears his throat, and Hinata watches as Kageyama cocks his head at the wing spiker.

“So, Kageyama,” Tanaka begins. Once Kageyama turns his body to show he’s listening, he continues. “My cousin plays volleyball. He’s only on a club team though, he doesn’t play for his high school.”

Kageyama nods, setting his water bottle down. “Is he looking for someone to practice with him?” Kageyama asks, picking up a volleyball near his feet. He begins to twirl it in his hands, looking eagerly at Tanaka. Hinata bites back a sting crawling up his throat. It’s as though Kageyama is excited about practicing with a stranger - but he has Hinata, so he shouldn’t need to practice with anyone else. Sugawara slaps Hinata on the back of the head as if he knows exactly what Hinata is thinking.

“Uh, no,” Tanaka says, scratching the back of his head. “He’s just been asking me if I had any single teammates, and, you know. You implied you were single in the club room yesterday.” 

Kageyama’s normal scowl deepens as he listens to Tanaka. “Um, okay?”

“Well, I showed him a picture of you, and he thinks you’re cute.”

Kageyama shifts his positioning to face away from Tanaka, as he begins setting the ball to himself over and over in tiny tosses. He’s disinterested, to say the least.

Tanaka tries one more time. “I know you said you don’t date because of volleyball, but since he plays volleyball, I thought maybe I could try hooking you guys up?”

Kageyama catches the ball in his hands, looking at Tanaka with a shocked expression. It turns from wide eyes into narrow ones, and he gives his ultimate answer. “I’m too busy with my own volleyball team,” he responds, bouncing the ball once on the ground and walking away.

Tanaka twirls on his foot, turning back to the other guys with his arms spread open and shoulders shrugging. He walks back to them, rolling his eyes. “Well, I tried.”

“Was this part of your plan to find out if Kageyama’s gay?” Ennoshita asks his teammates who are all huddled together in a closed off circle.

“Yes, and we failed,” Tanaka sighs.

“Again,” Suga adds.

“Again? How many times have you attempted?” Ennoshita asks, eyebrows raised.

“Only twice, but we’re crafting a new plan once practice ends,” Sugawara explains. He turns his head back into the circle, where the operation members begin discussing.

Nishinoya is the first to have feedback. “Well, he didn’t seem repulsed by the idea of us setting him up with a guy. That’s the good news.”

Daichi nods, continuing off of that. “And he did say he wanted to focus on our volleyball team specifically, which means you might have a chance. He doesn’t want to date anyone outside of the team, but who knows how he’d feel if it was someone on the team.”

“All good points,” Suga hums. “And it’s a good thing he didn’t say yes, considering this cousin doesn’t exist.” This earns a laugh from the guys, who are all in good spirit despite the failed attempt.

Nishinoya speaks up again. “The point is, we still don’t have a definite answer, so we can keep trying.”

Hinata smiles with excitement. Sure, they’ve failed twice now, but he’s honestly having fun. It’s a bonding experience, and he’s certainly making memories that he’ll carry with him. While it’s frustrating that they haven’t gotten an answer yet, he can’t say he’s too upset about it. “Thanks for all the help so far, I really appreciate it,” he beams towards his teammates. “Onto the next idea!”

They disband as Daichi backs out of the huddle and calls for everyone to get back to work. All throughout their next drills, Hinata thinks of new ways to get a hint from Kageyama. By the time practice is all wrapped up, he finds himself taking apart the volleyball net with Sugawara. “We’ll come up with another idea, I’m sure of it,” his upperclassman promises.

Hinata smiles in agreement, just as he watches Nishinoya approach Kageyama. He knows they have reason to talk to one another - they’re on the same team after all - but he can’t help but wonder if Nishinoya is acting alone and furthering the operation. The possibility alone causes Hinata’s ears to open wider, eavesdropping to hear as much as he can from across the gym.

Noya approaches Kageyama swiftly, picking up the volleyball that Kageyama was reaching for. “So, I heard Tanaka told you about his cousin,” he said. Hinata is almost positive Noya wiggled his eyebrows in a teasing manner.

“He did,” Kageyama confirms, as awkward as ever. Classic Bakageyama; terrible at conversations and unknowing of how to act in basically all situations. And yet, Hinata is head over heels. Besides, Hinata talks all the time anyways - Kageyama barely has to input into their conversations as it is.

Noya elbows the setter. “And?”

Kageyama is silent for a moment. “...and? Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Noya acts disappointed, as if he didn’t know the outcome of that conversation in the first place.

Kageyama takes the volleyball from Nishinoya’s hands. “I’m not interested, simple as that.”

Without allowing room for Noya to respond, Kageyama walks away to another loose volleyball. He trots to the volleyball cart and releases his gatherings, leaving Nishinoya in defeat. 

Plan two was also very much a failure.

3

It’s early in the morning, and Hinata is walking his bike to school. He hopped off to walk next to Sugawara when they met paths only a block out from the school. They talk a lot about their next game, and how they think they’ll rank in the upcoming tournament. Optimistic as ever, Hinata exclaims that they’re going to crush Ushijima’s stinky team and make it all the way to nationals. Sugawara says that he should be focusing on beating Seijoh, first. This is all assuming that’s how the brackets will go, though.

It’s easy conversation as always, both boys being extroverted and enjoying a nice morning discussion. Hinata finds himself looking up to Suga the most out of all the third years. As a person, anyways. He’s always going to look to Asahi for tips on being an amazing ace. But when it comes down to being teammates, being friends, and being a great upperclassman, Sugawara is the best example Hinata has. Sure, he’s two years older, but Suga is inviting. Hinata wants to be like that to his underclassman, and he’s gracious that he has Suga now.

“So, about the operation,” Hinata says, changing the topic of conversation.

Suga looks down at Hinata. “Ah, yes. Operation: Get the freak duo into a relationship so they can make out every time they score a point.”

Hinata kicks the back of Sugawara’s knee. “That’s so incorrect!” He exclaims, though the tone of his voice gives away that he’s amused.

“Maybe,” Suga laughs, “But also, not really.”

“We wouldn’t,” Hinata shakes his head. “Would we? Oh no, we probably would.” Hinata sighs thinking about it.

“I told you,” Suga pokes Hinata’s side. “Anyways. What about the operation?”

“Has anyone come up with a new idea?”

“Not that I know of,” Sugawara admits, regretting it when he sees Hinata’s begging face. “But I know we’ll come up with something!”

Hinata groans. “I’m getting to the point where I just want to ask him out. It’ll be painful but honestly not knowing is almost hurting more.”

Sugawara pats his back. “You don’t know if he’ll reject you.” He says, hoping to reassure his underclassman.

“And you don’t know if he’ll say yes.”

Suga hums, unsure of what to say. Hinata’s right, he doesn’t know. “Maybe you just have to be more direct than we’ve been so far. I don’t know for sure, but you can give it a try.”

“I suppose,” Hinata nods. They finally reach the school yard, and they’re about to part ways. “Thanks for everything so far, Sugawara-san. I’ll think of something.”

Hours pass, and Hinata’s finally got his lunch period. Him and Kageyama usually meet outside their classrooms to walk outside together, and today’s no different. Hinata walks his friend to his favorite vending machine, hidden around the corner of a building. After Kageyama pays for his milk and grabs the carton, they sit down at their typical spot.

They talk about random things, mostly regarding volleyball. When Hinata asks about coming over after school to practice, Kageyama shifts the conversation to one that Hinata can use for a possible plan three.

“I know we planned to hang out, but my sister is bringing her boyfriend home tonight.”

“Miwa has a boyfriend?” Hinata asks, eyes wide.

“Yeah,” Kageyama confirms. “I guess it’s a meeting-the-family type of thing, so my mom is preparing a feast.”

“Sounds nice,” Hinata dreams, drooling at the idea of pork cutlets and onigiri. He pictures eggs on rice, and suddenly his packed lunch doesn’t sound as appetizing anymore when it’s just spring rolls.

“Well you can quit slobbering over it, because you can’t come over tonight.”

“But why not?" Hinata overdramatically complains. He throws his body into Kageyama’s side and acts like he’s dying of hunger.

Kageyama grunts and shoves the smaller boy off of him. “I told you, Miwa’s boyfriend is coming over. My mom is freaked over it, and said it has to be perfect.”

It’s a window. A small, but clear window, opening into what Hinata imagines could be an opportunity. It’s a lame attempt, not at all thought out, but when was Hinata ever known to think in the first place? So he takes his chance. “Man, I wish I had a boyfriend,” he throws it into the air, waiting for Kageyama to catch it.

And he does catch it, in the form of a snicker. Kageyama practically snorts at Hinata’s confession, as if it were funny. Though, it was kind of ridiculous, and Hinata finds himself laughing too. They don’t typically talk about relationships, or dating, or even the fact that Hinata likes guys. It’s a known fact, but they never discuss it. It’s not their rhythm to lead conversations with that topic, so it is slightly out of place for Hinata to bring it up. It wasn’t meant to be funny, but the misplacement has Kageyama cracking up.

“I am so gay,” Hinata says in attempts to relieve the boy’s laughing.

Kageyama calms down enough to respond. “I know, dumbass. We all know. Everyone knows. The whole planet would take one look at you and know. Do you want me to congratulate you or something?”

“You’re so overdramatic, Kageyama,” Hinata laughs at his friend’s response. “I don’t need any congratulations from you or the whole world.”

“I’m not being overdramatic,” he says. The conversation is still light-hearted, but the laughter has died off. “I’m always one hundred percent honest.”

Hinata rolls his eyes. “Not always,” he mutters under his breath. Kageyama’s not necessarily being dishonest, but would it really kill him to just show one little hint towards his sexuality? Hinata groans in his head. He knows it’s unfair to expect someone to be comfortable sharing, but he’s pining and he’d really just like to know.

“What?” Kageyama asks, and Hinata’s not sure if he’s asking because he didn’t hear what he muttered or if he’s asking to expand on his comment.

“Nothing,” Hinata smiles. It truly doesn’t matter that much, right? Because he made Kageyama laugh, and that’s all that he cares about. So he’s going to let his stupid desires go, and he’s going to appreciate his lunch with Kageyama as they talk about more pointless topics.

Plan three made Kageyama laugh, so maybe it wasn’t that much of a failure after all.

4

This one was all on Nishinoya. Granted, Daichi led it, but the idea was all on the libero. There’s a new food shop in the heart of town, centred around meat buns. It’s right up Hinata’s alley, and Kageyama loves them too. Nishinoya’s grandfather was mailed coupons, which were given to the second-year for a team outing. It could’ve been as simple as them going after practice, but one thing that Tanaka had said a while ago stuck with Nishinoya.

“Maybe we can tell by the way he dresses!” Tanaka once pondered. It’s fair, in Hinata’s mind. He knows the stereotype that Tanaka is referring to, not that he supports stereotyping sexualities. But Hinata knows that he’s taken inspiration from the internet on how to dress, so there’s always the possibility that this could give them a hint on Kageyama.

The thing is, whenever Hinata is with Kageyama, they are never able to dress in their street fashion. It’s always a school uniform, workout gear, volleyball jerseys. It’s never nice jeans and a tee shirt - even when they hang out after school. Kageyama wears sweatpants to lounge in, so not even Hinata knows what Kageyama looks like when he’s dressing for a night out.

Enter Nishinoya, holding up a page of coupons, reiterating what Tanaka said a week ago. “So the plan is: Daichi tells everyone that the team is meeting up at this meat bun shop on Saturday. I have coupons, so it should encourage everyone to go. Who wouldn’t want half-priced meat buns?” Noya exclaims, waving the discounts in the air.

Tanaka cuts him off. “So, since this is in town, in public, we’re hoping Kageyama wears nice clothes to meet us all there. It’ll give us a true look at what fashion he has.”

Sugawara sings in approval. “I think that’ll work!”

Hinata jumps in the air. “Yes, yes, yes! Let’s do it!”

Daichi laughs and half-whispers to Asahi, “I think he’s more excited about the meat buns than the actual plan.”

Hinata rolls his eyes at the comment, but doesn’t retort back. He’s mostly right, anyways. Meat buns rank pretty high on Hinata’s list.

Saturday rolls around, with Hinata practically sprinting out of his house. Meat buns at half the price? Who wouldn’t be excited? It takes him much less time than he predicted to get there, so when he sees that Yamaguchi is the only one there so far, he’s not surprised. They share their greetings, sitting on a bench outside.

“So, how’s the operation going?” Yamaguchi starts conversation. At this point, pretty much everyone knows what’s going on. It’s hard to hide when the entire team is being dragged to lunch for the operation in the first place. Hinata smiles down at his feet.

“We have no leads yet,” Hinata looks back to Yamaguchi, “but he hasn’t said he’s straight yet either. It gives me hope.”

Yamaguchi laughs at this, just as Tsukishima arrives. “Well, I wish that Kageyama likes men for your sake.”

“You’re so kind,” Hinata jokes, putting a hand over his heart.

“What’s so funny over here?” Tsukishima asks, sitting on the other side of Yamaguchi.

“Just talking about Operation: Get Hinata a boyfriend.”

“Ugh, you’re taking part in this too?” Tsukishima complains. “Shit’s childish, just ask him straight up and stop playing around with it.”

Hinata leans forward on the bench to see the blond, narrowing his eyes at him. “We all agreed that it was too much to just ask him. We’re waiting to see if he gives any hints before we make a decision.”

Tsukishima groans. “I’m just here for the discounted lunch, I don’t care about your gay issues.”

Hinata throws himself back against the bench and looks at the sky. “Don’t need to be so open about your homophobia.”

Tsukishima scoffs. “I’m an asshole, not a bigot. I find it particularly rude to be named as homophobic. Call me a bastard, I don’t care. But don’t twist it up with my morals. I support the community, hell, I’m a part of it. I just don’t like you, okay? But I’m not homophobic.”

Hinata is taken aback by Tsukishima’s comment. “I’m sorry,” he apologizes, and he genuinely means it. He’s ultimately shut up, though, and doesn’t say another word. More of the team shows up, and sooner than later the entire operation squad is there. Kageyama is amongst the three that are left to show up - that being him, Narita, and Yachi.

Kiyoko’s passing out coupons, and Yachi arrives just in time to help her finish. Hinata’s anxiously bouncing on his feet, looking down every street to see if he can spot Kageyama. Daichi places a firm hand on his shoulder, and advises him to calm down. It works a little, until Hinata actually sees Kageyama’s form walking closer and closer.

Hinata honestly feels like he’s going to pass out. Kageyama greets the team with a head nod, accepting his coupon from Kiyoko. Tanaka leans towards Hinata and exclaims “Get a load of this!”

He’d be fine if this was normal Kageyama, but it’s not. This Kageyama is much more well-presented than Hinata’s ever seen. His hair is silky and neatly combed; it makes Hinata want to run his hand through it and mess it up. But more than anything, it’s Kageyama’s outfit that gives Hinata a hard time breathing.

Kageyama is wearing a tight grey shirt that clings to his stomach. Layered on top is an unbuttoned, short-sleeved collared shirt. It’s a darker shade of grey, and compliments the outfit really well. But the part that has Hinata speechless are Kageyama’s pants. They’re black jeans, ripped at the thighs on one leg and knees on the other. They aren’t rolled up or anything - but they end a few centimetres above his ankle. He’s wearing converse shoes, but the last thing Hinata notices is a small chain around Kageyama’s neck. Dangling from it is a ‘K’ charm, delicately laying against his chest.

Hinata can’t breathe. He’s actually sweating, and he’s staring at Kageyama with wide eyes. “Yeah, I’d say he’s gay,” Tanaka whispers into Hinata’s ear as Kageyama approaches.

“Well I sure as hell am,” Hinata whispers back, before breathlessly greeting Kageyama.

Plan four wasn’t a definite success, but Hinata doesn’t think it was much of a failure either.

5

Sugawara has taken the responsibility to execute plan five. It’s probably a little risky, and certainly wasn’t Hinata’s first choice, but they don’t have many other plans going for them. It’s a filler - Hinata is positive they’ll work something out that’s more effective in the future. Maybe something more like plan four - that one was fun (especially for Hinata).

It’s late one night after practice, and Sugawara asked Kageyama to help him roll up the volleyball net. Of course, Kageyama agreed, not being able to say no to the vice-captain. So they worked together, folding the net without getting it tangled. They’ve done it hundreds of times before, it’s almost like they pay it no mind anymore.

They start in silence, but Sugawara notices that they’re almost finished with the task, and he hasn’t even started the plan yet. “So, Kageyama.”

Kageyama looks up from his fold to look at the third-year. “Yeah?”

“Hinata’s pretty cool, isn’t he?” It’s awkward - it’s so very awkward - and Sugawara isn’t sure why he even thought to do this in the first place.

Kageyama smiles small, but nevertheless agrees. “Yeah, I’d say so. Though, he’s pretty stupid too.”

Sugawara, caught off guard, laughs at the comment. “Okay well, he’s fun, nice, and super friendly, yeah? You’ve gotta give him more credit than just being stupid.”

“Of course,” Kageyama says. In complete seriousness, he also comments: “He’s fast, and he can jump really high. So he’s not completely stupid.”

“Exactly!” Sugawara says animatedly. “He’s pretty amazing, isn’t he?” The plan is to get Kageyama to admit that Hinata is, in fact, pretty amazing. Sugawara is beaming towards Kageyama, who is simply staring back. 

The first-year scrunches his face together, cocks his neck, and asks with no joke in his voice at all: “...Do you like Hinata or something?”

Sugawara nearly snaps his head off with how fast he shook it. “No! Oh my God, nevermind. Forget I said anything.” With full embarrassment, Suga took the folded net to the storage room with the intention of finding Hinata.

Hinata is laughing, beet red, and pointing at Suga while doubling over in giggles. “He-he,” Hinata tries. “Thought you-” After listening to the conversation, he had to flee before he made a scene with laughing so hard.

“It’s not funny!” Suga picks up a volleyball and throws it at his underclassman. Hinata wipes a tear after dodging the attack.

“It kind of is,” Hinata says, trying to calm down. “And he called me stupid, like he's one to talk."

Suga groans. “That’s it, I quit.”

“What? No!” Hinata says, immediately pulling his laughter to an end. He grabs Suga’s arm. “You can’t quit on me now!”

“I’m out of ideas; that kid’s more dense than a rock.”

“One more try?” Hinata pleads. The problem is, Hinata’s still young, and he looks like a puppy begging for treats. Suga can’t say no.

“Fine, one more try.”

Plan five was the biggest failure yet.

+1

The ‘Operation: Is Kageyama Tobio Gay?’ squad is sitting in the club room, furiously discussing new ideas. Kageyama and the other two second-years are already gone, but other teammates are still lingering. “Nothing seems to be working. We have to go at a more firm approach, or we’ll never get through,” Suga complains.

Noya sits up, and throws his hand in the air. “Electric chair! Strap him in and threaten him.”

Tanaka slaps Noya’s arm. “What the fuck will that solve?” He shrieks.

“It sounds fun!” Noya retorts.

Hinata cuts in, getting serious again. “We have to make him admit it without being obvious.”

Daichi shakes his head. “That’s what we’ve said from the start.”

“What if he’s closeted for a reason? What if he’s just not ready?” Asahi worries.

“I’ve been saying that, too,” Ennoshita agrees.

Yamaguchi decides to speak up as well. “What if he’s not actually gay, and you’re all just harassing him? He’s got to know something’s up at this point.” Tsukishima looked over to the conversation when he heard Yamaguchi’s voice. He stays quiet, but he's now listening in.

Daichi seems defeated, and listens to the others’ views. “If he wants to come out, I’m sure he will. Maybe we should just drop it, you know?” Hinata’s face falters in disappointment, but he sees where his teammates are coming from.

“I just need to know!” Hinata exclaims, trying to get his teammates into the same energy they all shared previously.

“Yeah, he needs to know!” Tanaka repeats.

“Electric chair, anybody?” Noya pipes in, earning an elbow from Tanaka.

Suga, who had been contemplating for a long while now, speaks up. “Maybe we can start a GSA at our school. We can represent it as a team and hand out flyers-”

He’s cut off by the sound of a phone ringing. Though, it’s not an incoming phone call. Someone is calling out, and it’s on speaker. Suga goes quiet, and the whole team looks at the source of the noise.

Tsukishima is standing with his phone held outward, and he looks at everyone. “What? I’m tired of this bullshit. You’re talking about creating a whole club for this. I’m over it.”

Hesitantly, Suga asks the one question on everyone’s mind. “Who’re you calling?”

Tsukishima simply poses a nasty grin, and the phone stops ringing almost immediately. An irritated “What the hell do you want?” comes out from the speaker.

“Hello, King,” Tsukishima greets, smirking at everyone. Hinata’s eyes go wide as he stands up to wrestle the phone from his teammate. All that Tsukishima has to do is hold the phone higher than Hinata can reach, and there’s nothing that can be done.

“Don’t call me that. I’m going to hang up,” Kageyama scowls through the phone. 

“I have a question,” Tsukishima says before the other is able to end the call.

“No, Tsukishima,” Hinata warns.

“What?” Kageyama asks, unamused.

“Are you gay?”

The question seems to stop time. A snapshot of the clubroom shows Hinata dangling from Tsukishima’s shoulder. Yamaguchi is biting his nails, staring at Tsukishima. Suga’s eyes are wide. Daichi and Asahi are staring at one another in disbelief. Ennoshita has his hand facepalmed against his forehead, clearly in disagreement. Nishinoya’s jaw is dropped but he’s clearly amused, as is Tanaka, who is hugging one of Noya’s arms. 

But then time starts again, everyone’s in movement, and Hinata falls to the ground. They all wait expectantly, unsure of what the answer will be. But Kageyama, in all his glory and awkwardness, is extremely nonchalant about the question, as if he’s asked it every day. “Yeah, why?”

Hinata gasps loudly, bouncing right back up to his feet. Tsukishima ends the call without any more thought. “It was as easy as that. Get a life.” He turns swiftly on his feet, exiting the clubroom as if nothing had just happened.

“Oh my God!” Hinata shrieks, turning to look at the rest of his team. They’re hesitant, but immediately start celebrating with Hinata when they see him beaming.

As if Tsukishima would be the one to succeed?

Bonus

It’s early the next morning, and the team is wide awake for practice. Hinata had been too bubbly to get much sleep, and the energy transferred into the next day. He didn’t contact Kageyama - nor did anyone else on the team - since Tsukishima’s risky phone call.

Kageyama walks in, determined as ever. As soon as he slammed through the gym doors, his eyes scanned the room. One blond bastard catching his eye later, and the setter is pacing straight towards him.

“Oh, what is it, King?” Tsukishima asks with amusement.

“What the hell was that?” Kageyama bursts.

“What was what?” He smirks, letting Kageyama step into his personal space.

“The phone call, you idiot,” Kageyama explains.

“Ask Hinata, or your vice-captain, or literally anyone other than me,” is all he responds with.

It’s not that Kageyama’s mad, really. He’s the one who answered Tsukishima’s dumb question in the first place. And he doesn’t even care if people know. Don’t people know? Kageyama just feels confused, and stupid. He doesn’t understand the call. It wouldn’t bother him if it was anyone else, but of course it was the blond bitch.

Kageyama steps away, looking at his other teammates who are all watching the interaction. Sugawara pushes Hinata forward.

“I-I guess I can explain,” Hinata stutters, looking back at Sugawara. His upperclassman nods in encouragement.

“Why are you nervous?” Kageyama asks.

“I dunno, you seem mad,” Hinata responds, half telling the truth. Though, he’s more nervous about the fact that the explanation requires his confession.

Kageyama frowns. “Not really, not at you,” he says. “I just thought Tsukishima was pulling something.”

“Oh,” Hinata accepts his response. It helps him breathe a little more. “Well, basically. Me, Tanaka, Noya, and Suga were all trying to find out if you are gay or not. We had this-”

“Huh?” Kageyama interjects.

“I’m sorry, I know it was an invasion of privacy. We tried being low-key about it, and Ennoshita-san warned us that it was wrong, but-” Hinata rambles until he’s interrupted. 

Kageyama shakes his head. “No, I don’t- what?”

Hinata tilts his head. “We wanted to figure it out, because-because, well,” Hinata’s voice gets lost in his throat. He looks at Kageyama, who is staring with the most lost look on his face. Suddenly, Hinata feels very naked to be doing this in front of his entire team. Sure, they helped out a ton, but confessing in front of others is a bit awkward.

“I’m just confused,” Kageyama admits. “I thought you all knew I'm gay.”

The room falls dead quiet. Glances are shared, jaws are dropped, and eyes are widened.

“Excuse me, what?” Hinata asks, glaring at his setter.

“Well, yeah,” Kageyama scratches the back of his neck.

Hinata lets out a breath of disbelief, letting one of his hands hold up his head. “Clearly, we did not know. We put together a whole operation to find out, and eventually the entire team was in on it. None of us knew. We tried so hard to get hints, literally anything, from you. But you- Oh my God. You actually thought we knew?”

Kageyama lets a smile onto his face. “Seriously? Guys, come on,” he laughs. No one else is laughing. They’re all staring in disbelief. Except Tsukishima, who Yamaguchi has slapped a hand over to get him to stop snickering.

Hinata can’t do anything but shrug his shoulders and throw his hands to the side. “No clue, man.”

Kageyama then stops laughing and looks directly at Hinata. “Why’d you guys want to find out in the first place?”

Hinata’s palms are sweating, but he brings up the courage to confess what he’s wanted to say for months now. “Because, I-uh,” he musters up, “I wanted to ask you out, but. I dunno. I didn’t want to if you were straight? I guess.”

He’s not sure what he’s expecting. A rejection, maybe. Or maybe, possibly, a confession in return. Hinata doesn’t know what to expect, but he can say with full certainty that he did not expect Kageyama Tobio to burst out laughing seconds after receiving a confession. “It’s-it’s not a joke,” Hinata says in an attempt to get him to listen.

“No, I know it’s not,” Kageyama chokes on laughter. “It’s just that I thought I’ve been so painfully obvious about liking you that I can’t believe any of you ever thought I was straight.”

And suddenly, everyone else is laughing too. And it’s nice. It’s not the confession Hinata ever thought he’d get, but it’s nice. Because he’s here, laughing with all his friends, and the person he likes happens to like him too. Kageyama Tobio likes him. It’s so them, Hinata thinks. They were never ones to do things traditionally, never ones to talk about feelings or relationships. So of course, this would be no different. 

The ‘Operation: Is Kageyama Tobio Gay?’ team officially disbanded that morning, with no more need to plan. After practice, Kageyama even asks Hinata to have lunch with him over the weekend. They’ve eaten lunch together millions of times, but this one’s different. This one’s a date.

Hinata confesses to Kageyama about all the plans that the operation came up with over sushi. It’s no longer a mystery to Kageyama of why Hinata was so careful about it, and all secrets seem to be laid down on the table. And when Hinata asks about why Kageyama always said he didn’t want to date since he was busy with volleyball, Kageyama explains that Hinata may or may not be the only thing that he’d put above the sport.

It’s a week later when Kageyama asks Hinata to officially be his boyfriend, and it’s minutes later when they share their first kiss. No one on the team asks questions about if they’re finally together, because their smiles say it all.

It’s no longer a question, no longer something Hinata has to find out. He’s got it all; answers and a super great boyfriend.

Hinata Shouyou is confident to say that Kageyama Tobio is definitely gay.