Archive of Our Own

It was Monday when she first met him.

The first thing she noticed about him was his hair. It was big, fluffy, and distractingly orange. That can't be his natural hair color.

The second thing she noticed about him was how beautiful he was.

His eyes were big and doe-like. Light brown, reflecting off any light that they could. He had long, bold eyelashes to match, and every time he would blink they would flutter in a way that made him look... dashing, for lack of a better word. His nose was small and button like, tinted very slightly red at the tip. His lips were full and cherry-colored, and to top everything off, small freckles sprinkled everywhere on his face, and he even had some dispersed on his body. His skin was overall tan, considering they were in Brazil, but he was also sunburnt in a few places. And as much as she hated to admit it (she didn't want to seem like a creep), she couldn't help but ogle his short (very much-so) yet muscular body. His legs and arm muscles were almost impossible.

The third thing she noticed (heard) about him was how loud he was.

"I'm so sorry I'm late! My game ran later than expected!"

His voice was like honey.

A few heads turned to see who interrupted their dinner, but a few seem un-phased by the large outburst.

One of Hana's new (she'd just started working at the small ramen shop) coworkers didn't look up from his task as he said to the energetic man, "Shouyou, we really don't mind, your games always run late."

Shouyou. The name suit him. Hana knew the name could be interpreted as something along the lines of "sun" or "sunlight" and she couldn't help but feel that this name was perfect for the man.

Shouyou rubbed his back in embarrassment as he slipped behind the counter to get his apron.

"I guess being 15 minutes late is just the new normal." He said, all the while flashing the brightest smile Hana had ever seen.

Yes. Shouyou was definitely a perfect name for him. His smile practically radiated sunlight.

The other coworker, Lance, Hana remembered his name now, laughed and said, "This is Shouyou. Yes, he's always this loud and yes, that's his natural hair color. Shouyou, this is Hana, the newbie."

"Hello Hana!" He practically shouted, flashing another smile.

Hana waved a quick hello and went back to washing the dishes. She felt out of place standing right next to him as he finished slipping on his apron and attaching his name tag that read "Shouyou Kageyama".

She felt like she wasn't special enough to stand next to him.

Hana was only doing simple tasks, considering she just started working there, but she felt busy because her mind wouldn't stop... thinking.

Shouyou had started taking orders, waiting on tables, and running around everywhere, barely having time to talk to his co-workers, but Hana couldn't get his smile out of her head.

She allowed herself to look up a few times to see where Shouyou was and what he was doing. Every time she looked up he was talking and laughing with someone new. He seemed like he knew everyone, even though he probably didn't. He looked like he was a people-person, able to make friends and read their emotions very easily. Everyone looked content when he was around.

The night dragged on, but Hana didn't really mind because every time she saw Shouyou she couldn't help but feel at ease, and want to stare forever.

At one point during Hana's shift, Shouyou was working next to her and she glanced over to what he was working on.

He was refilling someone's drink with lemonade and she caught something odd on his left hands ring finger. It wasn't a ring (thank god) but a drawn on line encircling his finger, almost as if meant to mock a ring. She brushed it off as an inside joke (maybe, hopefully), hoping it wasn't anything serious.

Eventually the restaurant was coming to a close and the last few customers were leaving. Once the place was empty, everyone started to clean up the last few dishes and close the place down for the night.

They were almost done and about to lock up when Hana looked over to Shouyou out of curiosity. He was chatting with another one of their coworkers, Carla, if she remembered correctly.

"Yeah, no, and then she said-"

Carla was cut off mid sentence by a phone ringing. Shouyou said a quick apology, reached to his back pocket to grab his phone and said something along the lines of "I really should turn this off at work" but his eyes lit up even more (if that was possible) when he glanced at the screen.

Carla noticed his reaction and glanced over at the phone to see who was calling, but her face scrunched up in confusion.

"Dumbass? That's a bit rude, why's that one of your contact names?" She said with a snicker.

"Tobio." was the only thing Shouyou replied. Hana didn't ignore the sparkle in his eyes (she tried to).

But, apparently that one word (a name, most likely) was something Carla understood because she nodded and made an 'ah' noise.

"You can take it, I can finish telling you the story later. I have to finish cleaning the floors anyway." Carla said.

Shouyou nodded with enthusiasm as he clicked the green 'answer' button on his phone and held the phone up to his ear. Carla walked away, presumably to finish cleaning the floors.

Shouyou listened to the person on the other side of the line for a bit before replying, "Dumbass, you know I'm working, Tobio!"

Hana was surprised when he switched to Japanese, but she was fluent in the language so she was able to understand what was being said.

And, despite the words that Shouyou replied with, he didn't seem frustrated. He seemed giddy almost, with a hint of fondness in his voice and a smile playing on his lips. Hana wondered who this 'Tobio' was.

Shouyou listened a bit more before saying "The game went well. We won."

Shouyou waited again. Then responded "Well if you were watching the stream why'd you ask?!" while laughing. 'Tobio' was a lucky guy to be on the other end of this conversation.

Whatever 'Tobio' said next must've been upsetting (?) because the next thing Hana knew, Shouyou pulled the phone down from his ear to hold his mouth up to the speaker and started straight up screaming into his phone. No words, just screaming.

Lance, who was putting away drink glasses next to Hana, must've been used to this because all he did was sigh.

The screaming transitioned into laughter and Shouyou started to slowly quiet down, his once screaming replaced by a fond smile. Hana was only slightly jealous that this 'Tobio' guy effected him in this way.

Shouyou spoke again, "Will you watch the stream tomorrow?"

Silence, Hana guessed 'Tobio' was responding.

"Good." Shouyou said after awhile.

There was more silence, before Shoyo said a quiet "I know".

Another pause.

"I know."

Another pause.

"I know."

Another pause.

Shouyou then bursted into a embarrassed (hopefully) blush.

"Tobi!"

Hana felt her fingers tighten around the plate she was washing (holding over running water) at the fact that Shouyou was using such a casual nickname with someone else.

"I need to go, dumbass! I'm supposed to be cleaning!" Shouyou exclaimed, still blushing.

Hana decided to stop dropping in on their (very) personal conversation and continued to wash the last of the dishes.

A few minutes passed before Shouyou hung up and started to help Carla finish the floors. Hana let her eyes linger on him for a bit.

She knew she found the man attractive, but that attraction was slowly forming into a real crush as she saw the man laugh and joke and talk. He was breathtaking in every way.

Hana somehow finished washing the dishes and started to pack up when she heard Shouyou's voice yell. She'd known him for less than a day but she already knew screaming was a common thing for him.

"Yes, I do! Wanna come? Lance is gonna be there too!"

"Oh, yeah sure, what time is it at?" Hana heard Carla's voice ask.

"Two! Does that work for you?"

"Yeah sure, I'll totally be there, I haven't seen you play in awhile."

Hana had heard the words "game" and "play" a lot throughout her shift when people were talking with Shouyou, and she was starting to get curious.

She walked closer to Shoyo and Carla and mustered up the courage to speak up.

"Shouyou, do you play a sport?"

Shouyou's eyes lit up at the question, and he enthusiastically responded, almost immediately.

"Yeah! I play volleyball! Beach, to be specific."

That explains his build.

Shouyou continued, "That's my main... profession, if you would call if that, I work here part time."

He flashed another smile.

He was so beautiful.

Carla spoke up next "Don't be so humble Shouyou!" Carla then turned to look at Hana. "He's actually playing in the upcoming olympics!"

Oh my god. As if he wasn't perfect already. Hana didn't know much about volleyball, but she knew making it onto an olympic team was definitely considered impressive.

But, this still surprised her. Weren't volleyball players who were any good really tall?

"T-that's really cool! On the Brazil team?" Hana managed to stumble out.

Shouyou beamed at the praise and responded with "Nope, Japan!"

That explained why he could speak Japanese. Hana nodded to herself.

Carla looked happy for him. Everyone was happy when they were around him, it seemed.

Carla broke the silence before it could get too long to be considered awkward.

"Well, I'm going to one of his games tomorrow before work, if you want to join."

Hana turned to Shouyou who nodded enthusiastically. Everything he did was enthusiastic, Hana noticed.

"Well, uhm, what time will it be? And where?" Hana asked, as if she hadn't overheard the time.

"Two! PM! ...If that wasn't obvious." Shouyou laughed. God, Hana barely knew him and she was already falling hard.

Shouyou continued with, "And it's just a few blocks down, where the beach is. The courts won't be hard to find, there's usually a lot of people crowded around them on game days, and I'll be on court three."

Carla spoke up next. "If you get lost, just call me!" She pulled her phone from her pocket. "We should all exchange numbers, anyway."

Hana agreed, maybe a little too quickly. The idea of having Shouyou's number in her contacts made her feel butterflies in her stomach.

As they exchanged numbers, Hana noticed Shouyou's lock and home screen was a photo of a man being attacked by a cat in what seemed to be a living room of an apartment.  The photo was so chaotic Hana couldn't even make out what the guy looked like.

Hana didn't know what to think of the photo.

Carla laughed when she saw it.

After they their exchanged numbers, they started to finish packing up their stuff. They exchanged quick goodbyes, locked up the doors, and parted their separate ways to walk home. Sadly, Hana lived in a different direction than Shouyou.

As she walked home, she wondered if Shouyou was as good at volleyball as Carla made him seem. I mean, he was playing in the olympics after all, he had to at least be decent.

Hana was embarrassed she ever underestimated him.

Sitting next to Carla and Lance, in the scorching sun, watching Shouyou play was almost as refreshing as drinking a glass of ice water.

Shouyou was hopping all over the place, almost like a ninja (Hana later found out that was actually his nickname here on the beach). He was rolling around in the sand, picking up almost every ball. And every time he went to spike a ball, he flew. Despite his short body, he could really jump. He looked at ease playing volleyball. Like he was genuinely enjoying himself. But at the same time, he also looked like something was missing. He was still amazing, Hana thought.

His partner was good too, she guessed.

The game continued, and Hana couldn't take her eyes off Shouyou. Even if she could, she didn't want to.

After about forty-five minutes to an hour, the game was over. Shouyou won. Hana wasn't surprised.

Shouyou was exchanging hand-shakes with the other team, talking to a few interviewers, before he walked over to a camera that Lance had explained streams the game onto a website so people could watch without actually coming to the beach.

Shouyou switched to Japanese and said, "Yo Tobio, did you see that?!" he said (screamed) this directed at the camera.

Shouyou seems really close with 'Tobio'.

Shouyou didn't wait for a response (because he couldn't get one) but looked over into the crowd before waving someone over. A small guy, even smaller than Shouyou, with a weird dye-job hopped up from where he was sitting and ran over to the camera.

"Noya-san is visiting Brazil!" Shouyou said, directed at the camera again.

'Noya-san' waved enthusiastically into the camera and said (also in Japanese), "What's up Kage-" a pause, and he turned to look at Shouyou with confusion etched onto his face before continuing "Hinata?"

Shouyou shrugged and nodded before looking back into the camera and just smiling.

'Noya-san' must've gotten a notification because he pulled his phone from his back pocket, stared at his phone for awhile, before looking back up at Shouyou to speak.

"Kage- Ok, this is really confusing. You guys should've just decided on one instead of switching. But, I have to admit, it's a very you thing to do. Anyways, Hinata says 'hi Noya' and to 'stop because you are embarrassing yourself.' The last text is directed at you, I think."

Hana frowned, confused. She was trying to follow along with their conversation, but she didn't know the context behind most of this.

Shouyou looked up to the camera, fake-hurt painted over his features.

"I'm not embarrassing myself! You're embarrassing YOURSELF!" He said, a bit melodramatically.

'Noya-san' spoke up next. "He says that makes no sense."

"You make no sense!" Shouyou screamed (again) into the camera.

'Noya-san's face scrunched into something of disgust as he stared at his phone

"He said- oh, I can't say this next one out loud! What the fuck Ka- Hinata?!" he said, obviously distressed, but he continued. "Oh I can say this one though, he says he misses you." He looked up to Shouyou for a reaction.

Those words must've had great effect on Shouyou, for reasons unknown to Hana, because Shouyou bursts out sobbing. 'Noya-san' doesn't seem phased by the sudden outburst of emotion, and instead just looks at Shouyou with a fond look in his eyes. Hana was concerned for Shouyou. Why wasn't his friend? Was this normal? 'Noya-san' let Shouyou cry for a minute before saying to the camera that the next game is starting and they should probably get going.

Shouyou waved, still partially crying, then said something inaudible to the camera before walking away with the other boy, towards where Carla, Lance, and Hana were sitting. Hana felt bad for Shouyou, but no one looked the least bit concerned at Shouyou's sudden sobbing. But as the two boys got closer, Hana realized that Shouyou didn't look upset, in fact (despite the tears silently rolling down his cheeks) he was smiling, and it was so fond and... intimate almost, she felt like it was wrong of her to even see it.

When they got to where Hana, Lance, and Carla were at, Shouyou had wiped all the tears off his face. Carla didn't miss a beat before saying that Shoyo played amazing. Lance and Hana nodded along.

Shouyou smiled at the compliments and said, "Thank you! Noya, this is Hana, we work at the same ramen shop. Guys this is Nishinoya. Carla and Lance you've met him before, right?"

Carla nodded along while Lance said it was nice to see him again. Hana just waved.

"Nice to meet you, Hana, and good to see you again, Carla and Lance! You can call me Nishinoya, Noya, whatever you want!" Nishinoya explained.

Hana nodded and waved, saying a quick hello.

Shouyou was quick to start talking again.

"Lance invited Carla and me for drinks after we close today, do you guys wanna join?" He said, glancing back and forth quickly between Noya and Hana.

Hana spoke up first, maybe a little too quickly, and said "Y-yeah! Sure! That's sound fun!"

Shouyou beamed then looked to Noya with hopeful, wide eyes.

"Sorry Sho, I'm video-chatting with Tanaka and Kiyoko tonight!" Noya said, pointing his thumb at himself proudly before continuing. "Wait, it's Tanaka and Tanaka now, right?"

Shouyou looked sad for a few seconds but his slight frown was immediately replaced by his blinding smile. He started to say something like 'it's ok' and 'I understand' but all Hana could think about was that maybe one day she could call Shouyou 'Sho' as well.

The two boys started chatting, but Lance pointed out they might be late to work if they don't get going soon, so Nishinoya and Shouyou said their goodbyes and exchanged a hug. Nishinoya said goodbye to Carla, Lance, and Hana as well, saying it was nice to meet them, then walked away waving with enthusiasm.

After waving back at Nishinoya with even more enthusiasm, Shouyou turned to his coworkers.

"Let's get going, shall we?"

Hana felt heat rising to her cheeks. She could blame it on the heat, but she quickly turned around and started walking in the direction of their restaurant.

Throughout the walk, Hana could only think about Shouyou's display of emotion earlier. No one has asked if he was ok, as far as she knew, so she spent the first half of their walk mustering up the courage to say something.

Carla and Lance was busy petting a small dog they walked past, so Hana took their absence to show her concern for Shouyou.

"Hey, are you ok?" She tried her best to look reassuring.

Shouyou looked at her quizzically, but with a smile nonetheless.

"Ok? Why wouldn't I be?" He said, his voice almost sounding like he pitied her.

"Well, I mean, you were crying earlier." Hana explained, feeling embarrassed at how Shouyou was acting like it wasn't a big deal.

Shouyou laughed before saying "Oh, you saw that? That's embarrassing. Yeah, no, I'm ok." He laughed again.

And Shouyou left it at that.

Work that night was... well, as good as work could be. Hana had to deal with more rude customers than she thought she would have to and even spilled someone's water all over their suit. But c'mon, who wears a suit to a ramen shop?

But, her and Shouyou had chatted a few times throughout their shift, so it wasn't a total disaster.

Throughout their conversations, Hana learned that Shouyou was born and raised in Japan, had been playing volleyball ever since middle school, and that his favorite color was dark blue. She also now knew that he'd lived here for awhile, moved back to Japan, but then back here again because he'd enjoyed beach volleyball so much.

Learning more and more little things about Shouyou made Hana's crush blossom at a rapid speed.

Eventually, their shift ended and they started to clean up for the night.

Shouyou had dirty-dishes duty along with Hana, and she tried not to glance at his hands. The drawn on ring (?) faded more and more with every scrub at the plate that he was washing.

He hummed a tune as he washed.

Carla finished cleaning the tables and walked over to Shouyou and Hana, taking her apron off and hanging it up.

"Are we going to the usual place tonight?"

"Yep!" Shouyou responded quickly, flashing that bright smile of his, before turning to Hana and saying, "We usually go to the place a few blocks away, Pori's."

Hana nodded and continued to wash the dishes. The image of Shouyou's smile flashed in her mind everytime she blinked.

They finished washing the dishes and packed their things up, waited for Lance to finish cleaning the restrooms (it took longer than usual, there was a spider), and headed down the block.

'Pori's' as they called it was pretty small, but it gave off a cozy and nostalgic vibe, and Hana felt she was at home here, despite being with people she met yesterday.

They bartender seemed to know them, and told them they could sit anywhere. He said he'd bring out their usual drinks soon and a side of fries. Hana didn't have a usual however, so he turned to her and asked her what she'd like.

"Uhm... a vodka soda? Please?" She responded, flustered at the sudden question.

"Uwahh, so sophisticated! I usually get the fruity drinks!" Shouyou said, his eyes lighting up with interest.

Hana laughed awkwardly before turning away, blushing.

"Pfft, 'fruity'" Carla said, then snickered a bit before Lance joined in. Shouyou looked hurt for a bit then started laughing too. Hana frowned, not getting what was so funny.

They went to a booth near the back corner and got themselves situated. Lance sat down next to Shouyou before Hana could, but she didn't mind sitting across from him either, being able to just observe.

They chatted a bit before their drinks and fries came out, and Hana saw that Shouyou wasn't kidding. His drink was bright and reeked of sugar and fruit. It wasn't necessarily a bad smell, just overwhelming.

Shouyou was rambling, barley touching his drink. Hana started to sip her drink, content to just let Shouyou talk.

"But then I-"

Shouyou's story about the time he went to the grocery store at two AM last week was interrupted by his phone ringing. He mumbled a quick sorry before taking his phone out of his pocket and checked to see who it was. He answered without hesitation.

Hana didn't get to see who was calling though, but she hoped it wasn't 'Tobio'. Hana didn't really understand why she felt this way, but she knew that Shouyou and this guy seemed really close. She got weird vibes from 'Tobio'. She knew anyone who made a person like Shouyou cry was a bad person. She also knew (observed) that every time Shouyou talked with him, he seemed so happy and content it was almost tooth-rotting to watch. Hana tried to ignore the feeling of envy pooling up in her stomach.

Shouyou switched to Japanese and said "What do you want Tobio?"

God damnit.

Again, despite the hostile words, his voice was laced with fondness and a small intimate smile took form on his lips.

Shouyou continued.

"Yeah, I'm off work. I'm out getting drinks with Lance and Carla. Also my new coworker, Hana."

Hana tried (tried) to not think about how she was mentioned last. Lance and Carla weren't even paying attention, they had started their own conversation, not being fluent in Japanese, and Hana was trying her best to not make it obvious she was hanging on every word Shoyo said.

After a pause, Shouyou said, "Did you see how awesome I was today?"

Yes. She did. She saw.

After another pause Shoyo laughed his beautiful, sunshine-y laugh before saying "Yes, I do in fact remember when I cried, I was there."

Pause.

"Yes. But you feel the same, right?"

Pause.

"Idiot."

Hana hated the way his voice was soft and his face was set in a way that made him look so, incredibly happy as he said the derogatory word.

He stopped talking in Japanese and turned his attention to the table before saying "I'll go take this outside. I'll be back in a minute."

Hana frowned. Only a little. She hoped it wasn't obvious.

Shouyou got up and walked outside, so Hana turned her attention to Lance and Carla, mainly because she had nothing else to do. She was only a little (a lot) upset that Shouyou chose 'Tobio' over them.

Every time she looked out the window to see Shouyou, he was smiling.

He talked on the phone until the fries got cold.

The weeks passed pretty quickly, or at least it felt like it. Hana had been working there for a month now, and she'd gotten closer with her coworkers.

They have a few inside jokes, they all watch Shouyou's games together, and she'd even been to their apartments a few times. Almost every night they go out for drinks at Pori's.

Almost every night Shouyou talks on the phone with 'Tobio' until the fries go cold.

Hana was starting to think his behavior was a bit rude, as if nothing mattered but that guy on the other end of the phone. As if he was the most important person in the world. Carla and Lance acted like nothing was upsetting or rude about Shouyou's actions, and even gave him fond looks when Shouyou got up to go talk outside. This made her even more annoyed.  But, she couldn't be mad.

Not at Shouyou.

Hana's crush was growing everyday and she didn't know what to do. She was definitely not going to speak to Lance or Carla on the issue, it was too embarrassing.

Shouyou was bright and happy and so, incredibly beautiful she knew she couldn't hold her feelings back any longer.

She decided since she'd been pining for too long and Shouyou at least deserved to know. Or, she deserved to tell him. What was the worst that could happen? Shouyou was a great person. The worst that could happen is that he lets her down kindly.

She hoped.

It was a Friday, so Shouyou didn't show up to work today (He only worked on Monday's, Tuesday's, and Wednesday's due to his volleyball schedule) but he did agree to meet Hana, Lance, and Carla for drinks that night anyway.

They had just gotten settled when Shouyou burst through the door, smiling, and frantically scanned the room, smiling. Once he spied his coworkers he rushed over there and sat down.

Hana thanked the gods that Lance and Carla sat next to each other as Shouyou squeezed in next to her.

Everyone looked at him, wide-eyed, waiting for an explanation or a story that usually followed outbursts like these.

Shouyou noticed their faces and looked at them quizzically.

"What is it?" He asked, pouting (cute).

Lance raised an eyebrow. "Well, what happened?"

A smile replaced the pout, and Hana didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

"Nothing, just happy!" He said beaming.

Hana was glad. He deserved to be happy.

Lance looked a bit confused still, and Carla leaned over to say something about 'one more month' quietly. Hana didn't hear anything else and brushed it off.

Everyone left it at that and started to devour the mound of fries in the middle of the table.

'Tobio' didn't call tonight, and Hana watched Shouyou eat the warm fries.

It was Monday and Shouyou was there at work.

Hana started to like Monday's.

The shift passed by without too many annoying customers, but Carla did get soda thrown in her face.

She had rushed off to clean up in the break room, and Shoyo scrambled to clean the mess on the floor.

Not three seconds passed before Shoyo's phone rang.

He groaned and pulled his phone out of his back pocket.

His eyes lit up.

Hana knew who he was calling when his face lit up like that.

Shoyo looked over to Lance who had just escorted the soda-throwing man out of the restaurant and gave him a pleading look.

Lance saw the ringing phone in his hand, sighed, and walked over to Shoyo, taking the mop out of his hands.

Shouyou flashed a smile and a quick 'thank you' before running over to a secluded table to answer his call, which was the one nearest where Hana was cooking.

She didn't know if being able to hear this conversation was a good or a bad thing.

"Stop calling me at work, idiot! I was doing something!"

His voice sounded like the definition of joy.

"How is me working such an alien concept?"

His smile was smaller than his usual beaming one, more intimate, but shined just as bright.

"Yeah, you're right."

He looked as happy as he does playing volleyball.

"Around one more month, right?"

His leg was bouncing excitedly.

"You sound horrible, go eat breakfast."

The way he said horrible sounded as if he had said the word love.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Let me hang up so I can finish my shift."

Would this be what the sun would look like if it was talking to the shadows it created?

"You do? Huh. I didn't know."

He had a smile on his face that could only be described as lovesick.

"Talk to you soon, Tobi."

Shouyou hung up, practically giggling.

Hana hadn't washed a single dish.

"You can't come for drinks?" Carla's disappointed voice filled the still, night air.

It was still Monday's shift, they had finished locking up, and were about to walk to Pori's for drinks. Like normal.

Shouyou frowned.

"I am so so sorry! I was talking with Tobio earlier and he wants to video chat while we eat."

"It's ok, don't apologize! You aren't obligated to drink with us every night, anyways." Lance reassured him.

As much as Hana was disappointed, she didn't want Shouyou to feel bad so she chimed in with 'yeah'.

Shouyou's worried expression smoothed out and he said, "Ok, bye guys, I'll see you tomorrow!" and practically ran in the direction of his apartment.

Hana sighed.

Seeing his face illuminated by the moonlight really fed to Hana's perfect image she had created about him. His cheekbones and jawline were more pronounced, lighting up his face. His brown, almost honey colored eyes looked nearly magical. His eyelashes were as long as ever, creating an almost ethereal look. His hair bounced with every small movement. It was still orange.

She'd have to confess soon.

It was Tuesday when Hana had convinced herself she had it all planned out.

She'd ask Shouyou out to dinner after their shift (as friends) and confess while they ate. The restaurant was romantic, Hana had put on her favorite outfit, and her hair looked good today.

Hopefully it'd go as planned. She was not telling Carla and Lance about her plan, too embarrassing.

She wasn't terribly close with Shouyou, but she knew many things about him.

His favorite snack was meat buns, he was competitive and liked to place bets. He goes on early morning and late night jogs almost everyday. His favorite color was still dark blue, even after a month and a half.

Hana noticed he was fickle, sporadic, and changed his mind a lot.

But Hana also noticed those certain things stayed the same.

She'd also been over to his apartment. Once, even Carla and Lance weren't there.

Hana eyes wandered over the pictures and framed photos every time she was there. Almost every picture featured the same guy.

In most of the photos they appeared to be fighting, but the photos were usually blurry or chaotic that Hana couldn't make out what he looked like.

Most of the photos also appeared to be from high school, so she assumed maybe that the guy who was pictured most was a best friend/roommate. Shouyou never mentioned or brought up the guy in the photos, and Hana never asked.

A new customer walked in, breaking Hana from her mental spiral.

She looked up from the counter she was stationed at and saw a tall, almost angry looking man, wearing a plain black hoodie and athletic shorts.

His hair was dark black and as straight as a piece of paper. His mouth seemed to be pressed into a permanent straight line, and his eyebrows were angled in a moody way. His eyes were dark blue.

His eyelashes were pretty.

There was a thick, silver ring on his left hands ring finger.

Hana couldn't help but think he looked the exact opposite of Shouyou, and it made her laugh.

He didn't go to choose a table to sit at however, and walked straight over to Hana.

It scared Hana, but at the same time she was intrigued.

Once we got to the counter, he just stood there awkwardly, looking everywhere except for Hana.

Hana spoke up first.

"Is there something I can do for you today, sir?"

He seemed a bit uneasy but still answered her question.

"Where's Shouyou?"

What?

Hana was a bit surprised at first and it took her awhile to stumble out "S-shouyou Kageyama?".

The man laughed, as if the name amused him.

"Yeah. That Shouyou."

Hana was confused. Could she even trust this guy?

"He's, uhm, in the storage room, getting more ice. We ran out."

The man hummed and said a quiet 'thank you' while walking away. He sat down at a table in the corner of the restaurant.

Lance walked over to his table, Hana presumed to take his order, but he just started talking with him. He didn't even pull out his notepad and pen.

Hana was distressed, not being able to hear the conversation.

A few minutes passed before Lance had to continue waiting tables, so the man was left alone again.

Hana thought he was kinda sketchy. Sure, he looked liked the type of guy to pick up your groceries if you dropped them on the sidewalk, and he was maybe a little attractive, but what was his deal with Shouyou? And why was he always practically frowning?

Carla was on break, but when she came out of the break room she spotted the man almost immediately.

Carla walked over and started talking to him, just as Lance did. Hana was becoming more and more annoyed by the minute. Why did they both know who he was?

Carla eventually had to go back to her tasks too, and the man was alone again.

Hana was about to wave over Lance or Carla to ask who the heck this guy was when Shouyou emerged from the storage room, with a bag of ice in his hands.

"Hello, Hana! I have the ice!" He said smiling.

Hana was surprised she wasn't blind by now.

"O-ok, thanks. Also there's a man here, said he was looking for you?"

Shouyou raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Is it Noya-san?"

That tall, dark, brooding man was most definitely not Nishinoya.

Hana shook her head and pointed to the table he sat at. "That's him, do you know him? Sorry, I didn't catch his name-"

Shouyou dropped his ice.

The ruckus caused a few people to look up, including the mysterious man, and his practically permanent scowl transformed into a look of fondness, his once bored expression now a small smile. A spark lit up in his eyes.

Hana turned to Shouyou for some explanation, and she caught the same spark in his eyes.

It was a spark that looked familiar, like it was used to being present there. A spark that said 'I'm here and I'm here to stay'.

"Who-" Hana started, but Shouyou was off running towards the man.

The man got up and met him halfway. He placed a hand on Shouyou's cheek and Shouyou returned the action. They both had stars in their eyes and the most intimate smiles on their lips.

Oh.

They kissed. For about thirty seconds.

Oh.

"What are you doing here, Tobio?!"

Oh.

"I wanted to surprise you, dumbass."

Oh.

The man, Tobio, said dumbass the way Shouyou said it when he was talking on the phone. There was no hostility behind the term, just utter admiration and love.

They were both smiling. A smile fit Tobio's face well.

But, it was as if the smile was reserved for one person only.

Shouyou smiled often. Almost twenty-four/seven, actually. But the one he had on now also looked as if it was reserved for only one person. As if only one person could induce that smile.

No, not 'as if'. It was obvious that Tobio could make Shouyou smile in a way that nobody else could.

Just like it was obvious that by the way Tobio's smile sat on his face, like the muscles were only just starting to get used to their position there, that he only smiled this way around Shouyou.

They continued to smile.

They smiled into their next kiss.

Husband.

Tobio was Shouyou's husband.

And Tobio was also the person that had his hand wrapped around Shouyou's waist, as they both waved goodbye in the moonlight.

Tobio made a reservation at a restaurant for the two of them, so they wouldn't be joining the three other coworkers at Pori's.

Hana sighed. She watched the two retreating figures walk away, laughing, smiling, and just staring at each other like nothing else mattered. Maybe nothing else did.

Does anything matter when the sun and it's shadows finally touch?

"Ew, gross, they don't have to rub it in our faces. Some of us aren't in a happy relationship." Carla's voice next to her said. She laughed. So did Lance.

Hana tried to.

All the signs were there. She was surprised she hadn't found out sooner. Shouyou probably thought he wouldn't have had to say anything because of his make-shift drawn-on ring that looked like he accidentally spilled ink on himself.

Or maybe he didn't think he'd have to say anything because it was just so painfully obvious.

The way Tobio made Shouyou laugh and smile when they talked on the phone was so different from the way anyone else made him laugh and smile.

How Carla and Lance didn't seem to mind when Tobio called, and how they even looked happy when he did, or more specifically happy for Shouyou.

Carla's 'fruity' jokes.

Or they way the man on Shouyou's lock screen looked suspiciously like the man that appeared in almost every single photo of his apartment. And how Hana noticed the man who walked in the ramen place looked suspiciously like both of those things, but ignored it.

She should've known just from the way Shouyou looks when he speaks about Tobio.

She should've known when she saw Tobio's eyes when he first walked into the restaurant.

A shade of beautiful dark blue.

Hana stayed silent on the walk to Pori's.

They sat at their usual booth, drank their usual drinks, and ate their usual fries. The fries were a bit too hot today.

"How long have they been together?" Hana heard a voice say. She only realized after the voice stopped talking that it was her.

Carla shrugged and said "I think since high school. But they've been married for almost a year."

Lance nodded and said, "I don't think you can describe them as just married though. It's feels weird to put a label on them."

Hana hummed. She knew exactly what he meant, even though she hated to admit it.

They looked and talked with each other as if they were partners, friends, rivals. All those things, but at the same time none of those things.

They were everything and they were nothing.

Lance and Carla talked about their dynamic, and the more Hana listened, the more she understood.

Hana found out Tobio was on a V-league team. He was also playing in the next olympics, with Shouyou. They'd been playing volleyball together or against each other since middle school. And they planned to keep doing that.

They were like hands on a clock. Sometimes together, sometimes apart, but always moving towards the same place. The same goal.

As Carla and Lance talked some more, Hana learned that instead of choosing one name to be their shared name, they switched.

Kageyama was Tobio's first family name.

Kageyama. As in 'shadow' or 'shadowy mountain'.

"Would this be what the sun would look like if it was talking to the shadow's it created?"

Hana had even made the connection about their dynamic before, while Shouyou was talking on the phone, without realizing it.

The more Hana thought about it, the stupider she felt. The absurdity of it felt... absurd. She started laughing.

Lance and Carla eyed her suspiciously, waiting for a response.

Hana didn't care anymore.

"I liked Shouyou. Like, as more than a friend."

Lance set his glass down. Carla choked on her drink.

"And I was going to confess today."

Lance and Carla stared.

"Ugh don't look at me like that." Hana set her face in her hands, then ran them down the side of her cheeks. "I didn't know he was married."

Carla was trying not to laugh, but failed. Lance smiled a smile that basically said 'I feel bad for you'. Almost a pity smile.

Hana continued, "I feel incredibly stupid."

Lance's eyes widened a bit.

"No, no don't feel stupid. I didn't know for a while either. Well, I mean he would talk about this Tobio guy, show me pictures of him, and talk on the phone with him almost everyday but he never stopped to actually say 'this guy I've been rambling about for five hours is my husband'."

Carla laughed some more and said, "Yeah, no, it's totally fine. It's hard to not like Shouyou."

Hana sighed and nodded. "But why doesn't he have a ring?"

"He's afraid he'll lose it in the sand or while washing dishes, but his drawn-on one gets washed off by the soap anyway. Also, it just looks like he accidentally wrote on himself with pen." Lance answered, laughing to himself.

There was about a minute of silence before Carla spoke up next.

"Tobio is very stand-offish at first. But from what I know, it used to be much worse, and he was going through some things. After he met Shouyou though, well, you can see the results on his face. Every time he looks at Shouyou, he looks like he's looking into the sun."

The sun and it's shadows.

Shadows can't survive without the sun. They simply don't exist without it. They depend on it.

However, the shadows add dimension, and expression. They keep the sun in check, keep it grounded.

A constant push and pull, rise and run. Like Yin and Yang. Like they're made for each other.

They depend on each other.

Hana realized this whole time she'd just been a flower, watching this complex, beautiful dynamic of the sun and shadows as a bystander.

She didn't mind.

Hana felt ok. She'd be ok.

She smiled and eyed the fries, waiting for them to cool down.