Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You felt like banging your head against your desk. You didn't know what you did wrong in a past life to deserve this seemingly perfectly crafted personal hell that you found yourself in but oh my god you must have been a war criminal responsible for the deaths of thousands because this was plain cruel.

"The only option is death, that is the only way out" The dark-haired girl in front of you sighed in her signature Melodrama™

For someone so small and so seemingly shy and timid, you really had a hard time shutting her up once she got going and for the nth time that week, you found yourself wondering how the hell she had managed to become one of your closest friends. Okay your only friend, but in your defence, Karasuno was in a different prefecture than where you went to middle school, so when you moved to Miyagi, you also left behind all your middle school friends and so far you only had Sora.

"God, yes please then I don't have to hear it," you crumpled onto your desk to prove your point to the tiny gremlin who persistently continued to inform you of her extremely exaggerated relationship drama, no matter how many times you threatened to kill her or yourself

"Why are you so mean? Would It kill you to take interest in my love life?" Honestly, the term 'love life' was a gross overstatement considering that the two people she was in a quote "Shoujo-Style Love Triangle" with had only talked to her a combined number of 3 times, but she would take it to the grave that "he was making heavy and suggestive eye contact that could only mean he was in love with me but too shy to say it out loud"

"I wish it would, that would be much less painful" you deadpanned,

"Fine, if you don't want to hear about the harrows of my love life then," she leaned forward in her chair, a devilish glint lighting in her eyes, causing a pit to form in your stomach "I've heard that the boys in the volleyball club in our year are really cute"

You let out a groan. You really didn't think it could get worse, but here it was, getting worse and getting worse in ways you never could have predicted. 

"I would rather gauge my eyes out with a rusted nail and rub salt into my empty eye sockets, thank you" she rolled her eyes

"Oh come on even you, sworn to celibacy, can acknowledge a tall, handsome boy when you see one" her eyes began to almost glaze over as she stared out into space, probably thinking things that were completely inappropriate for 9 o'clock on a Monday morning.

"I'm not 'sworn to celibacy' you moron, I just have self-respect, and if we're being honest, none of the men in this place" you gestured to the classroom around you, a look of disgust adorning your face "really cut it" she rolled her eyes again

"You're so judgy"

"I am not judgy, I just have standards" you folded your arms and leant back in your chair looking down your nose at Sora (literally looking down, seriously she's the size of an overgrown garden gnome)

"Oh sorry, you're right you're not judgy, you're just an asshole."

"I resent that"

"But you don't deny it"

You glared at her, a smug grin adorning her face,

"Shut up"

It was nearly 7:30 already, you had lost track of time as you tend to do when you stayed back late in the music room after everyone had left at the end of music club. You rubbed your eyes and yawned, you didn't realize just how tired you were until you actually tore your attention away from the sheet music in front of you. It didn't take long for you to pack up and leave, deciding you were going to get a drink from the vending machine on your way out.

Humming to a tune that had been stuck in your head all day you walked towards the vending machine, and with only a couple of lights to guide your way and deep in thought about the pros and cons of whether to have strawberry milk or an apple juice, you didn't notice the dark figure approaching from the opposite direction. Pulling out your wallet, to pay for your apple juice (which you had decided on over strawberry milk after much internal debate, deciding that milk at this time of night would result in you a few hours from now sweating and in pain on your toilet) the dark figure which you still hadn't noticed stood directly behind you, collecting your juice and turning around you came face to face with him and, reacting on pure animal instincts, you yelped and kicked him in the shin. 

He keeled over clutching his leg and in the process dropping his milk, spilling it on the ground.

"What the hell dude? You just creep up behind people like that usually?" You yelled, heart still pounding from shock and under normal circumstances you may not have reacted in such a way, but dude was hella tall and hella scary

"Me 'what the hell'? You what the hell, why would you kick me? And you spilled my milk" He yelled back

"Why would I kick you? Hmmm, let me think" You put your finger to your forehead feigning deep thought "maybe because you crept up directly behind me in the dead of night and scared the shit out of me! Man, in this economy I thought I was gonna get killed," He straightened up from clutching at his shin and you felt fight or flight starting to kick in, as if dude wasn't tall and scary before, now standing up straight and sending you a glare that could wilt a field of wildflowers he was terrifying and now you were really worried that you weren't gonna make it out alive.

But of course, you wouldn't be you if you didn't provoke a bad situation to make it worse

"And who gives a shit about your milk, if you already had one why are you here?" you looked at him like he was the stupidest person alive gestured to the vending machine

You could see the anger and embarrassment rising in his face, much as you could feel it rising in your own, what the hell was this guy's problem?

"Because I wanted another one, why else!" you looked at him with venom, finding it hard to believe someone so stupid has lived this long when you heard footsteps approaching

"What is it, what's happening?" what looked like a couple of third years had just run out of the gym at the commotion, one with silver hair, who had that kind of undeniable boy-next-door kind of beauty, and the second one, the one that spoke that was kinda tall (not as tall as the vending machine demon, but still impressive)  with dark, short hair and a stern kind of aura that you could feel from a mile away and something itched at the back of your mind as you looked at them because they looked awfully familiar.

"Kageyama, what is this?" the tall one with dark hair spoke with authority

He pointed indignantly to his milk "They spilled it" he yelled, which offered the third years absolutely no insight into the situation and you didn't give them the chance to follow up either as you turned your head slowly to look at him, throwing daggers with your gaze

"You fuc-"

"Sorry for him, I really am" the authoritative third year cut you off giving you an apologetic glance, trying desperately to dissipate the growing tension and diffuse the situation

You took a deep breath to centre yourself, which had a fighting chance at working until you heard the little asshole beside you muttering, you turned to glare at him which he returned. Dick. 

You decided to be the bigger person (not for any reason other than spiting the asshat next to you) and faced the third years  "Of course, It's not your fault that this asshole is a blithering idiot" out of the corner of your eye you saw his glare intensify and open his mouth to defend himself, but you cut him off

"I'll see you around" you bowed slightly to the third years and held the vending machine demons glare until you turned around and walked off

"asshole" you muttered under your breath again as you walked away, feeling his glare burn holes into the back of your head, angrily sipping your juice it finally clicked when you were halfway home.

Those two-third years who looked oh-so-awfully familiar were the two men who, according to Sora, were madly in love with her. This realisation, completely melted away any remaining tension in your body as you burst out laughing 

"oh my god I can't wait to bully her tomorrow" 

The next morning the incident of the previous night had all but disappeared from your mind as you rushed out the door still hoisting up your socks and pulling on your backpack, an apple stuffed into your mouth in lieu of breakfast. You had overslept again and were now running late, cursing like a sailor in between bites as you rushed down the street praying to a god whose existence you were dubious of, to get you to school on time or for at least your homeroom sensei to be in a merciful mood today.

Luckily, you made it just before the second bell and managed to run into class, hair windswept and out of breath seconds before your homeroom sensei arrived, and you happened to notice something you've never noticed or rather you noticed someone you had never noticed before.

The devil himself. You could feel your eye starting to twitch as you stood there in the doorway, glaring at his stupid head lying down on the goddamn desk having a goddamn stupid nap

"Hey, what are you doing idiot?" you heard Sora call out to you, snapping you out of your daze, you made your way over to your desk, the desk directly in front of Sora's, and sat down, just about ready to pop a blood vessel

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, confusion spreading over her face, but just as you opened your mouth to talk Aki Sensei had walked into the room and called for everyone's attention, you gave Sora a glance that meant "we'll talk later" and turned to face the front, to half-listen to what sensei was saying while trying to repress the urge to go over and bust his kneecaps.

The entire way through homeroom and the first four periods before lunch there wasn't a single opportunity to fill in Sora on the events of the previous night, and you couldn't help but turn your head occasionally to look at the vending machine demon (which you had now figured out that his name was 'Kageyama Tobio' after he got reprimanded several times for sleeping during class, but in any case, 'demon' seemed more appropriate) But what really pissed you off was that he hadn't even noticed you. Not that you wanted his attention but it just pissed you off to know that he wasn't pissed off because he hadn't even noticed you, and what kind of asshole does that? What was he over it? Too emotionally mature to be pissed off by silly things like that? Because he sure didn't seem it last night, and the idea of him already having moved on from the incident somehow only pissed you off further. Of course, you were pretty much over it, it was already water under the bridge and you had turned a new leaf, but it didn't feel right that he should be. Unbeknownst to you, Kageyama was very much so not over it as you would find out when he was awake for a long enough period of time to notice you.

You had barely finished giving Sora the rundown of last night's events and had barely scratched the surface of the amount of bullying you needed to do about her "love interests" being obviously not interested during lunch when your conversation was rudely interrupted by the sound of a chair scraping the floor as someone got up too fast.

"You"  Kageyama pointed at you, glaring you down, with the eyes of the entire classroom fixed on him, including yours. You looked him up and down incredulously, you were on a roll making fun of your best friend and you didn't like being interrupted mid insult. You stood up from your seat too, chin jutting out in a silent challenge. Kageyama remembered the events of last night vividly, but one thing that had seemed to dull in his memory was just how scary you were, and he suddenly felt very exposed, feeling every eye in the classroom on him. You were also taller than average which didn't help and there was something about the angles of your face and the hatred behind your eyes that sent shivers down his spine - wait no not hatred, it was something else, it was almost mischievous which he was sure was about to make things worse for him. 

"What," you said shortly "problem?" you challenge, eyebrow quirking and a ghost of a smirk on your lips. He could practically feel the spike in his blood pressure at your attitude and honestly, he felt a little flustered at your reaction, he was still groggy from sleep and was only just now processing his own actions and the situation he found himself in

"You spilled my milk"

Chapter Text

"What," you said shortly "problem?" you challenge, eyebrow quirking and a ghost of a smirk on your lips. He could practically feel the spike in his blood pressure at your attitude and honestly, he felt a little flustered at your reaction, he was still groggy from sleep and was only just now processing his own actions and the situation he found himself in

"You spilled my milk"

A disjointed second passed, your body catching up to the gears turning in your brain. In the light of day, and without the threat of imminent death, Kageyama Tobio was much less scary, and now pointing his finger at you across the classroom like an indignant toddler was even kinda cute, not that you thought he was cute, well you suppose he was kind of cute, but you didn't think he was cute, you could just see how someone else could think he's cute. But no he wasn't your type at all, which is hardly the point but just to clarify once again, you would never even think about it. Probably.

You burst out laughing. Proper laughter too, the kind that makes you clutch your stomach in pain and brings a tear to your eye

"S-Shut up" He stammered out, which only seemed to make you laugh more but before he could try again you said something that completely and utterly shocked him, and caught him (and the rest of the class) so off-guard that he almost fell over

"Cute," You said, laughter dying down as you straightened and walked out of the classroom without another word, shit-eating grin still on your face

Kageyama was struggling to come to terms with what just happened, he could feel his cheeks get hot, probably as a result of you embarrassing him in front of the whole class (calling him cute, how ridiculous, the only person who had ever called him cute was his mum), so he took his seat again he stared straight ahead trying to make sense of what just happened when from beside him he heard another set of laughter, this time from the annoying tangerine.

"She called you cute" he clutched his stomach as he laughed

"Shut up, Hinata," He said noncommittally which automatically shut up the redhead beside him, not that his actual words had any effect but Hinata had expected him to start hitting him or threatening him or throwing things or at least raise his voice at him, but he just sat, eyebrows knitted together in confusion eyes staring straight ahead, seeming almost catatonic.

And all was relatively quiet for the next minute or so before conversation picked up again so by the time you had walked back into the classroom, holding a carton of plain milk no one was paying attention anymore. No one except for Sora and Hinata. Kageyama, still in a state, the word cute bouncing around his head like the DVD logo bouncing around the screen in complete emptiness, never once hitting the corner, didn't notice you enter either until you were right in front of him, staring right at him. He looked up at you, your eyes sparkling with mischief, just now for the first time noticing how vibrant their colour was.

"You can stop whining now" your voice lilted teasingly as you placed the milk onto his desk and walked nonchalantly back to your desk, where Sora was waiting for you, mouth hanging open, eyes flitting between you, Kageyama, and the carton of milk that was now on his desk.

Kageyama stared at the unopened carton of milk. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Being angry he understood, why weren't you angry anymore? Why did you switch up so suddenly? And if you weren't angry then what were you? He didn't understand you or your actions, he didn't understand why you called him cute (which made his stomach tie up in knots when he thought about it, it must have made him embarrassed or something, he wasn't sure) he just didn't know how he was supposed to react to any of this, what the hell was going on and why was there now milk sitting on his desk?

He had never been so goddamn confused in his whole life.

Chapter Text

Finally, finally, the bell rang signalling the end of chemistry and the start of lunchtime, which couldn’t have come a second too soon as you had missed breakfast (again) after sleeping in, and you were so hungry that you and the rest of the class had been listening to the growling of your stomach for the past fifteen minutes. 

"Jesus, slow down," Sora said, surveying your hunched-over figure, stuffing food into your mouth like you hadn't eaten since the start of the last century as she sat down next to you, handing you a carton of strawberry milk after returning from her brief field trip to the vending machines

"you're gonna get indigestion"

You only grunted in response, currently preoccupied and only half listening

She sighed pointedly and when you ignored her she sighed louder, narrowing her eyes at you

"What's wrong with you?" you spoke through another mouth of food, finally taking the bait

"My parents" she paused staring at the ceiling as if it would hold the answers to her problem "God, it's like nothing I do is good enough for them," she turned and looked at you. This was not a conversation you were having for the first time. You were very familiar with the ways of her parents, and you were arguably more resentful of them than Sora was as a result of their helicopter parenting

"I'm the only first year to get a regular column in the school newspaper in years, and when Takahashi-san graduates I have a pretty good shot at head editor, but they really couldn't care less, it's like "well as long as it doesn't distract you from your studies" or “I don’t understand why you waste time writing those you’re going to be a doctor anyway”, would it kill them to not be assholes and be proud of my achievements for like 12 seconds? Seriously I’m asking for 12 seconds, that’s literally the bare minimum" you were mulling over what she said, trying to process everything while also eating at the same time

"Wait, what?" your head snapped toward her, cracking something in the process

"You got a column in the paper? Since when, asshole, why didn't you tell me?" she looked down at the ground bashfully and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and you couldn't help but roll your eyes at this faux shy act

"Oh you didn't know?" she said lacing her fingers together, biting her lip and looking away feigning embarrassment. God, what a fraud. When you first met her, you thought she was so shy and sweet, but laying just underneath the surface was the most melodramatic, borderline insane person you had ever met, and listen, you were no doctor but you knew BPD when you saw it, and Sora had been dancing across the borderline whilst maniacally laughing for a lot longer than you knew her.

"No, I didn't, moron, how am I supposed to know things when you don’t tell me, fool?” you pointed an accusatory spoon at her, a couple of stray grains of rice getting launched into the air in the process "What is it, what column did you get?"

She sighed, resigning her previous attitude, pouting "that's where it gets less fun," you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion and tilted your head to the side in silent question "I got given the sports column" you didn't reply for a few seconds, blinking once

"Since when is there a sports column?" you asked genuinely confused, not that you were an avid reader of “Karasuno High’s Student-Run Weekly Journal For Students and Teachers” (usually just abbreviated to “The Journal” in conversation because wtf who named that) however you had skimmed the occasional edition enough to know your way around most of the regular columns and sections that usually ran in the paper, and you had never seen a sports column before.

"We’re bringing it out of retirement, we had a regular sports column in the paper up until a few years ago when they cut it after the volleyball teams' old coach retired, and I guess they didn’t have much to write about anymore" she shrugged staring out into space for a few moments before turning back to me, placing a hand over her heart in mock conviction "I may not know dick about sport, but I swear I'm gonna make this the best goddamn sports column a high school newspaper has ever seen" you rolled your eyes at her

"It's not permanent yet though, I have a four-week trial run and if it doesn't work out then they're gonna cut it” a heavy threat, but Sora didn’t seem even remotely phased

"What are you gonna write about first?" you question, taking a long sip from your strawberry milk

She paused, contemplating your question for a moment before answering, "I don't know yet, maybe the girls swim team? That's what Takahashi-san thinks, he said that it would be a good starting point because they have a meet coming up soon, and they're a strong team and usually place in the top three, so you know, something guaranteed to write about” you could feel your interest waning at the topic of sports, your eyes involuntarily glazing over a little, which didn't go unnoticed by Sora, who was very accustomed to the look of disinterest that took over your features

"Anyway, thanks for caring," she was being sincere this time when she looked down at her shoes, a small bashful smile on her face, though that look was gone as soon as it had come, being replaced with a much more sombre look "you know, no matter how much I try and convince myself that their opinions don't matter, it still hurts when they completely ignore me," she sighed heavily "I could've gotten a column the New York Fuckin’ Times, and they would get mad and tell me I should focus on school more."

“I feel bad for them" her mouth fell open in indignation "I mean, how the fuck would they would ever expect you to become a doctor, I don't think anyone in their right mind would let you anywhere near sick or injured people” she laughed and told you to shut up, lightly slapping your arm

"But seriously, good job, It's pretty impressive that you managed to annoy your seniors into giving you a column" she feigned outrage and hit you in the arm with a fist this time, which for someone the size of a well-fed toddler, really fucking hurt

"Hey, that's not fair! I didn't annoy them into it more like gently persuaded and astounded them with my great intellect and journalistic capabilities" she said with a flourish of her hands

you scoffed

"Yeah, okay"

Easily your favourite part of school was the end, not because you hated school or anything but because it meant you could, at last, seek the solace of the music room, staying back late after everyone else had left, practising and composing to your little heart's content. But more than that, it also served as a distraction from the routine of school and an escape from reality and the prying eyes of parents and others who might want to interfere with your “delicate creative process and fragile artistic vision”

Truthfully, you supposed they weren’t that bad, especially in comparison to Sora’s insane helicopter parents, in fact, they hardly ever bothered you about school-related affairs, only occasionally asking if there was an assignment due or a test coming up. Yet somehow, even the smallest of questions seemed to make your world cave in. Sometimes you were really jealous of Sora’s blind faith in herself (almost definitely to the point of narcissism) but she worked hard and deserved to be a little narcissistic, but compared to her, you felt like you had the mental fortitude of a soufflé, especially when it comes to the things that you're passionate about. But don’t get it twisted, you weren’t some asshole that cries over a B- in chemistry, (well, you probably would cry over a B- in chemistry out of sheer joy because you have only ever actively paid attention to about ten minutes of chemistry class literally ever) nor were you one to usually crumble under pressure, but for some reason whenever music was concerned, the love-of-your-life-who-absolutely-does-not-love-you-back music, your Achilles-heel music, the thing capable of making you the happiest and saddest you've ever been music, you just seemed to completely fall apart.

Honestly, though, it wasn’t your parents who gave you a hard time, or your music teacher, or your seniors, or anyone else, it was just you. You were truly your own worst enemy, and not even in a cute, fun way that 'fuels your art' or whatever, but more in like a completely crippling can't get out of bed in the morning kind of way.

And as the textbook temperamental musician you are, some days the crushing weight of your own inferiority felt heavier than others. And lucky for you, today your gifted kid inferiority complex was being held relatively at bay, and you were having an alright time. So after longer than you intended, feeling okay about what you had achieved that day you packed up the music room, making sure to lock the door behind you and started in the direction of the vending machines for your nightly apple juice for the walk home. Granted, after the events of the previous Monday, may not have been the wisest of choices, but you had a routine, and you weren't going to sacrifice your apple juice just because a tall, dark-haired volleyball boy with anger issues might beat you up, leaving you to bleed out slowly overnight, nobody knowing until the next morning only to find your mangled corpse decomposing by the vending machines, family and friends mourning your loss in denial that such cruelty could befall such an absolutely wonderful and outstanding, mind-numbingly sexy, smart and funny person, all the while the sneaky bastard would lead an unchecked monopoly over the vending machines, invoking fear at every corner of the school. It was a simple problem of risk versus reward, and obviously, the reward (an apple juice) far outweighs the risk (see above).

Rounding the corner, the vending machines came into sight, along with one visibly deep in thought, Kageyama who was staring at the glowing machine like it held the meaning of life within its confines. As you advanced further toward Kageyama, you realised he had yet to notice you, and being an opportunist by nature, you felt it would be remiss of you to let such an opportunity pass you by. You slowed your pace and moved forward as quietly as possible sneaking up directly adjacent to him so that you were almost looking over his shoulder, staring at the vending machine alongside him. You waited for a few seconds for him to notice your presence, which you didn't think would take that long, considering you were as close as you possibly could be to him without touching him, but apparently the allure of the glittering machine in front of him overpowered any sense of self-preservation he might have had, leaving you to take matters into your own hands.

"Whatcha doing?" your voice lilted playfully, a crooked grin hanging off of your face in anticipation

"What the fuck?" he yelled and jumped an impressive distance back, and you immediately doubled over hysterically laughing. Upon realising it was you who had just shaved off five years off his life, blood immediately rushed to his face and he felt himself falter for a second before regaining some sense of composure

"W-what is wrong with you?" he managed out, voice strained and face still working overtime like a shitty Ikea space heater in the dead of winter

"I-I c-can't" You struggled against your own laughter trying to form a complete sentence, but the harder you tried to stop laughing the harder it became and the more pissed off Kageyama looked, which in turn, only further fuelled your laughter.

"Are you finished, moron?" Kageyama said, looking down his nose at you with arms crossed once you had finally gotten your laughter under control and the violent red that was Kageyama's face now subsided to a light dusting of pink over his cheeks.

"Yeah" you wiped away the tears at the corners of your eyes, a dopey grin still lingering on your face

"Oh man that was good, better than expected honestly" you sighed and looked wistfully off into the distance as if reminiscing on better times

"What is your deal?" he raised his voice slightly, glare intensifying.

You plastered an exaggerated pout onto your face

"Did I scare you? Do I need to buy you another carton of milk to make up for it?" you put a hand on his shoulder in mock comfort which he promptly smacked away "Ahh I see how it is now" you place the hand that was just slapped of off Kageyama's shoulder under your chin feigning enlightenment "behind that scary, terrifying, truly just made of nightmares face is a scared little boy who needs a little love and a carton of milk" you swear you saw him go through all five stages of grief right there and then as he stepped back from, and glint of what looked distinctly like fear in his eyes

"What the hell is with you?" You briefly consider what exactly is your problem (not 100% sure but you're pretty sure it has to do with the untimely death of your childhood pet lizard, it's crazy how trauma manifests) as you walk back over to the vending machine and to get yourself your long-awaited apple juice

"What do you want?" you whipped around to see Kageyama already staring at you, still looking completely baffled

"What?"

"What do you want," you jerked your head in the direction of the vending machine "to drink"

"That's what I was trying to decide when you-" he trailed off, breaking eye contact and looking out over his shoulder, his face reddening again

"Yeah, when I scared the living shit out of you, I remember- wait, that's what you were doing? I thought you were high or something, but you were just trying to pick a drink?" with each word out of your mouth your grin grew wider and wider and the sparkles in your eyes seemed to dance in the dim neon lights of the vending machine

"Plain milk" he strained, and still he wouldn't (or rather couldn't) make eye contact with you, and as if he wasn't already in enough of a state when you turned back around to face the machine, you shook your head, still chuckling to yourself and muttered "cute" underneath your breath, just loud enough for him to hear.

You grabbed his plain milk (gross) out of the tray and turned around to hand it to him, but when you reached your arm out to give it to him, he was completely unresponsive. You waved a hand in front of his face, yet he continued to stare straight ahead, so you grabbed his hand, causing his head to instantly snap toward you, but before he could move his hand away, you placed the carton, now collecting condensation from the summer heat still lingering in the night air into his hand. He looked down at the carton like it was his first time seeing such a thing, and you stepped away, patting his shoulder, and this time he didn't immediately swat it away, still fascinated by the carton of milk that had found its way into his hand

"You can buy next time" you quipped as you walked away, a smile on your face as you poked your straw through your apple juice and by the time Kageyama had registered what had happened, you were merely a dot on the horizon happily sipping at your juice

"Cute...?" A beat passed, the word feeling strange on his tongue

"What the hell" his momentary stupor broke as he followed suit and jabbed his straw into his milk, scowl taking up its usual post on his face as he walked away, trying to ignore the gnawing feeling in his gut as he tried to instead focus on reviewing the new strategy Coach Ukai had revealed in the practice just finished.

Chapter Text

You had a plan. Well not really a plan, you had the shell of half an idea that you hadn't even thought through completely, but whatever, the entire thing hinged on a boy who clearly didn't realise his power - Tiny Redhead. You were going to use him and his advantageous position with Kageyama to aid with your quest of getting on every one of his last nerves. Because as much as making fun of him and his love for plain milk was great material, it was starting to get old and you felt you needed to expand your arsenal.

Kageyama had left the room and the second he did you nearly rearranged the entire classroom bolting across the classroom to get to Hinata as quickly as possible, you didn't know how long he would be gone and you needed as much time as possible

"Hi, you don't know me, but I know you and we don't have much time so I need you to listen and listen close," you pulled up a chair and sat yourself down while talking not wanting to waste any time, you had a plan to hatch and you needed to know if Hinata was going to be your loyal sidekick or not

"Wha-" he started mouth ajar and looking around the room like somebody else may have the answer as to what was happening

"Shhhh" you put a finger on his lips "don't talk, just listen" you looked around the room, checking nobody was listening in on your conversation

"Do you want to form an alliance with me" Hinata knew that he wasn't the smartest book on the shelf but he was so incredibly lost, who the hell are you and what the fuck were you talking about? I mean, he knew where you sat and that he was kind of afraid of you (as were most people in your class, the consensus was that you were pretty unhinged) and the context clues were not contexting right now

"W-what?"

"An alliance"

"For what?" He looked around uncertainly

You stared at him intently for a moment, almost as if taking a second to compose yourself and simultaneously analysing him, which made him all of a sudden very self-conscious and hyper-aware of the way his cheeks were heating up and how he felt like he was sitting in his chair kinda weird, and why did he have his arms resting on the desk like that? Anyway, the point was you were intimidating and kind of oddly... familiar? But why did this feel so unnervingly familiar? Then it clicked - Kageyama. That intensity behind your eyes, a determination, confidence, and focus hidden just below the surface that he imagined could compel people just to want to do what you said without even thinking it through. Scary. Maybe even scarier than Kageyama.

"Do you want to make fun of Kageyama with me" He was immediately pulled from his train of thought. This was unexpected.

"Huh?" you shifted forward in your seat a devilish glint flickering behind your eyes

"Let's make fun of him" He wasn't sure what was happening, he had seen the Milk Incident take place, but he wasn't sure how that fitted into what was happening now or what exactly your intentions were.

"I-I don't know I mean, sorry what? Why though? Do you not like him that much?"

"What are you talking about, I think he's hilarious" If he wasn't confused before he was now

"Huh?? Are we talking about the same guy? Kageyama? Hilarious? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, you know when you make fun of him how he gets all stuttery and his face gets all red, and then he says something dumb, it's great"

And for the nth time during this conversation, Hinata was confused. Usually, when he made fun of Kageyema it got him a volleyball to the head or an arm around his throat or, if he was in a good mood, yelled at and called enough PG-13 unfriendly insults to make a grown man cry.

But what you had said had piqued his interest, the thought of Kageyama blushing and stuttering was an idea so foreign he couldn't even make a visual picture of it, an idea simply too good to pass up, he couldn’t help the grin that broke out on his face and stuck his hand out

"Alright, an alliance" He agreed. You smiled, that glint behind your eyes that made a shiver run down his spine twinkling as you shook his hand, and for the first time he had realised how pretty you were because you were really pretty, he never really realised before, but you really could have been the most chased after person in the year if people weren’t so unnerved by you.

"You won't regret this, comrade," you let go of his hand and leaned forward, hand resting under your chin "Now tell me everything" 

And thus, it was born - the alliance from hell

Kageyama had walked back into the classroom, milk in hand, to a site that made him almost feel physically ill.

You and Hinata hunched over at his desk giggling and what looked like, god please no, plotting.

"What are you doing?" he said firmly, looking down his nose at you both as he approached, you quickly closed the cover of the notebook you were writing in and stood up, hiding it behind your back

"Oh nothing, just chatting to a friend," you say sweetly, gesturing to Hinata 

"Your Highness" you dramatically bowed to get under his skin, never once breaking eye contact, Hinata's uh-oh shouldn't have said that warning looks missing you entirely

He stood completely still, blood rushing to his face in anger

"What did you just call me." He said shortly in a low voice, and you felt a grin rising despite yourself

"Oh please, Your Majesty don't be so modest, you are the King after all" you could practically see the steam radiating off of him as he stepped closer to you, pointing a long finger at you

"Don't. Call. Me. That." He was trying to keep himself from yelling so his voice came out like a deep growl. He looked pissed. Fantastic. You were having the time of your life.

"C'mon now, don't be like that Tobi-chan," you said as you ruffled his hair, briefly getting distracted by just how soft and silky it was like damn if this was taking place in a different setting you would have asked him for his hair care regimen.

A split second of extremely tense silence passed, Hinata getting ready to run and call a teacher in case of a murder, You standing your ground completely unaware, or rather unconcerned of the current danger you were in, and Kageyama stood still not at all sure of how to process what was happening, a murderous look on his face

He smacked your hand away from where it still rested on his head, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water looking at you outraged, searching for how to proceed, which you were making especially hard a smug grin on your face, eyebrow cocked and arms crossed, which pissed him off beyond belief

"Don't- just stop- I-I" He tried to stammer out, which cause Hinata to snigger, Kageyama's head immediately snapping toward him at this offence 

"Shut up you moron" he barked out and turned his attention back to you and after a few more seconds of mindless stammering he managed out

"You shut up, too" and then sat down stiffly in his chair staring straight ahead. He had given up, he couldn’t do this anymore.

Barely a beat passes,

You took a stride, now standing directly behind where Kageyama was sitting and bent down so your head was right next to him, staring straight ahead for a moment, letting the tension build as he slowly turned his head toward you. He spoke first

"S-stop it" he cursed himself silently for stuttering again, you finally turned your head to look at him, the sunlight pouring through the windows backlighting you, your hair falling around your head perfectly framing your face, eyes wide feigning innocence. Time seemed to slow down as you looked at him and he felt like he was going to be sick, as he felt his brain turn to mush, not being able to form a single coherent thought outside of the small smile on your face that he could feel was mocking him,

"I didn't even do anything yet," you gloated, and before he could retaliate, you straightened out and sent him one last stomach twisting smile and walked back to your seat, head held high in victory. 

He stared at the empty space where your head was just moments ago, so close to his face

"Your blushing" pointing and laughing like he wasn't about to get murdered was Hinata

"I am not blushing, you simple moron I'm angry" 

Hinata poorly stifled another snicker

"Yeah okay, if that's how you wanna cope"

"I'm gonna kill you, redhead piece of shit"

Today was a good day. You had just finished up in the music room after school and everything was going swimmingly well, and not to draw connections where there are none but on the days when you messed with Kageyama, it always put you in such a good mood that your afterschool music sessions went well. Like suspiciously well. You didn't know why and you didn't want to mess up the good vibes the universe had gifted you with so you just blindly followed like the good sheep you were.

You were in such a good mood today that you took your sweet time as you left school, taking in the sun setting over the landscape, and the smell of summer on the wind. Sometimes life wasn't all that bad you supposed as you walked past the gyms on your way out of school, the sound of balls (lol) hitting the floor and the shouting coming from the gym caught you off guard in your reverie. Usually, most people had finished up by this time and seeing as you were in no particular rush as you were busy being whimsical and ruminating on the meaning of life, you let your curiosity win as you approached the gym, looking through the open door to see- wait, Kageyama and Hinata? Wow, I guess they stay back pretty late, too-

You were snapped from your mellow train of thought by the sound of a ball hitting the floor with excessive force, followed by a loud exclamation from the two boys

"Pass me one more"

"Okay"

They well and truly had your attention now as you watched Kageyama gracefully set up the ball, and then almost too fast for your eyes to register, Hinata had smacked it down. You knew absolutely nothing about the sport, nor did you care that much but whatever that was, caused goosebumps to form on your arms and the hairs on your neck to stand up.

Something shifted in the way you saw them at that moment, Kageyama in particular. That was really fucking cool, and the way that sweat was dripping down the back of his temples and the back of his neck and that look- holy shit that look in his eyes sent a shiver down your spine. That complete focus and determination, so serious and passionate, there was no way that was the same guy who was so easy to stir up, who stuttered over words and could hardly look you in the eyes if you embarrassed him.

"Crazy" you hadn't meant to say that out loud, two heads turning toward you

"y/l/n san?" Hinata said with a smile jogging toward you "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just happened to look, I guess" you rubbed the back of your neck uncertainly

"I saw that- that," you gestured at the volleyball net "That thing you did-"

"What about it" Kageyama cut you off, a fighting tone in his voice still standing where near the net, ball tucked under his arm

"Why do you care? Just stop provoking me and leave" He spat out, what the fuck was this guy's problem? You know you teased him a lot but still, you weren't out to try and destroy his sense of self. You scoffed,

"Who said I was provoking you? I was going to compliment you but I guess not"

"Why would I need a compliment from you? Why would you think I care" He said taking strides toward where you and Hinata stood in the doorway

Okay. So it's like that is it, asshole? You were in utter disbelief, what the fuck was going on at home for him to act like this

"Okay let's take it down a notch, buddy, l was being nice, why are you being such a prick about it?"

"Maybe because you're always being a bitch, so forgive me if it's hard to take you seriously" Kageyama instantly regretted saying that, not that he would admit it, but the look of genuine shock and hurt on your face when he called you a bitch, instantly sent a pang of guilt through his heart.

"Woah, Woah, let's all just take a minute, yeah?" Hinata laughed nervously, looking nervously back and forth between you and Kageyama

"Yeah don't worry about it Sho-chan, I'm gonna head out now" you turned and walked straight out the door and didn't look back once. Your good mood officially ruined

Hinata looked at Kageyama with a disapproving look in his eyes but didn’t say anything as he moved to start cleaning up, clearly done for the day after Kageyama’s little outburst.

Kageyama was thinking a lot of things and more disturbingly feeling a lot of things as he followed suit and helped Hinata clean up. First of all, he felt awful and guilty for calling you a bitch and he knew if his sister heard him say that he would’ve been turned to dust under her withering disappointed stare. Secondly, he felt embarrassed, embarrassed for the way Hinata was looking at him right now and embarrassed that he hurt you. Thirdly, he felt oddly really annoyed at Hinata, since when were they so close? Since when do you call him "Sho-Chan"? And Finally and most overwhelmingly he felt a deep hatred for himself, he hated himself for the way you looked so hurt after he insulted you, he hated himself for taking it too far, he hated himself for hating that you and Hinata were close and he hated himself for caring so much about what you thought of him.

He usually only felt a maximum of one-two emotions at one time so all of this was overwhelming for him, and those were just the emotions he could identify, there were a handful of other emotions he didn’t even know the name of.

"What's wrong with me," he said under his breath to no one in particular

"At least you acknowledge there is definitely something wrong" Hinata replied, which earnt him a volleyball pegged in his direction

The next day Kageyama couldn't bring himself to look at you, which wasn't a problem because you weren't looking at him either. He wanted to apologise but he didn't know how to, and all this thinking and regretting had frankly gotten him exhausted, so during maths, he may or may not have nodded off to sleep.

"Kageyama- can someone wake him up, please? Hinata," Aoki Sensei clicked frustratedly in his direction

"Wake up moron"

"Hinata, I'm gonna kill you, leave me alone"

"Kageyama, you can worry about killing Hinata after I've finished with you" His head snapped towards the teacher, aware of his presence for the first time, a blush crossing his cheeks

"Sorry Sensei, I didn't-"

"Worry about excuses later, now the answer, please?" He sighed exasperatedly

"Yes, sorry," he stared at the blackboard, wiping the sleep from his eyes and trying to make sense of the chalk strokes on it, but with every passing second he didn’t answer the atmosphere in the classroom got more and more awkward which only made it harder for him to try and make up an answer

Aoki Sensei sighed

”You don’t know?” he asked, looking disappointed in his pupil 

“No” he lowered his head in embarrassment 

“In his defence, sir” he didn’t need to look up to know that it was you who had just spoken, he also didn’t need to look at you to tell that what you were about to say was almost certainly not in his defence 

“He’s a mediocre volleyball player, he doesn’t need to know how to count”

He turned his head slowly to glare at you, but you still wouldn’t look at him as you were writing down notes with a smirk on your face like you just told the funniest joke ever,

He didn’t think he had ever felt this outraged before, first off, he most certainly could count, and mediocre?? You had seen him play how could you say he was mediocre, you probably just don’t know that much about volleyball. Yeah, that was it, if you ever saw him play on a court in a real game he knew that you would think he was good.

”Alright, alright let’s keep it down” Mr Aoki directed at you

“And lefts focus, please” this time directed at Kageyama

He grumbled and tried to focus back on the empty page in front of him

He knew what you were doing, he had played competitive sports long enough to know what it looks like when you try and get under your opponent's skin, and what you had done was a very poor attempt at goading him, in the logical part of his brain he knew all this, and usually, something like this probably wouldn’t get a second thought from him. But for some reason, because it was who had said it, he couldn't stop thinking about how much he wanted to prove you wrong. He would kill to have you look him in the eyes and admit defeat, to grovel and say that you were wrong and he was the coolest best volleyball player to ever walk the earth. That would be the perfect revenge. 

Yeah, that’s what he wanted,

“Revenge”

Chapter Text

"At your service, your highness!" You said standing in the doorway as Kageyama rolled in for the day.

He sent you a withering look, it was annoying the first time you did it but on the 20-somethingth time, announcing some variation of this even when he came back from the bathroom during class last period, ("good piss your highness?") it started to get wearing. Hinata behind him stifling a snigger, still finding it as entertaining as the first time.

"Good morning!" Hinata beamed at you.

"Morning Shoooyooo" You chirped, sending him a warm grin past the dark aura around Kageyama.

"Good morning your grace!" You bowed deeply to Kageyama, his lip curling in response,

"How much longer are you gonna do this for?" A sharp edge in his low voice.

You gasped "Whatever do you mean, my dear monarch? 'Tis mine duty, m'Lord!"

He opened his mouth to respond but didn't get the chance,

"Move your asses out of the doorway" Sora called from the other side of the two boys in front of you.

The three of you shuffled into the classroom to make room for her to pass. "God, who raised you people?" she huffed as she squeezed impatiently past the little huddle into the classroom, stopping to eye off the three of you before continuing on her path to her seat, snagging your wrist as she went, dragging you along with her.

"Hey, I wasn't really done here-" you objected but quickly gave up, her hand tight around your wrist, but you would be damned if you didn't get the last word before you were dragged off.

"LONG LIVE THE KING!!" you yelled with a smirk, already halfway across the classroom, only a few of your classmates looking in your direction, already used to this almost daily occurrence.

"Moron" he muttered to himself before moving to his seat, Hinata not far behind.

Hinata settled into his seat, suspicious gaze scanning over the pink dusting on Kageyama's cheeks, barely visible, "Be honest" Wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, "You kinda like it, right?"

"What are you going on about now, shit face?"

"Uncalled for, but i’ll let it slide… you kinda like it when they make fun of you like that, don’t you?"

"Say something like that to me again and I will break every bone in your feet one by one" His voice was threatening, but the deepening pink on his cheeks was giving him away.

Hinata smirked, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed behind his head, disbelieving smirk painted on his face.

"Okay buddy" earning him a swift English textbook to the face.

"Oi, Kageyama, Hinata, stop fighting! What do you even have to fight about, we just got here?" Daichi scolded the two boys bickering in the doorway

"Kageyama's getting all sensitive because he has a crush on- OW stop it!"

"Stop running your mouth you useless piece of shit!"

"Ah The King’s infamous crush," Tsukishima purred as he walked into the gym, pushing the two boys out of the doorway in the process, a sly smile adorning his face as he provoked Kageyama. 

This garnered the attention of the entire team, as of course, was Tsukishima’s intention.

"Kageyama has a crush? No way." Nishinoya chimed in, he and Tanaka immediately closed in and begun circling like vultures,

"Tanaka! Don't say that!" Suga scolded,

"I mean, we were all thinking it." Nishinoya defended.

"Yeah I've heard all about it, too, they're pretty famous in our year" Yamaguchi chimed in.

"Famous how?"

"Oh come on Suga, you're supposed to be a voice of reason." Daichi chided,

"They're our years' resident psycho" Tsukishima provided, light reflecting off his glasses like some kind of anime villain.

"Hey they're not psycho, they're a little, um, strange I guess but, they're actually really funny and nice!" Hinata defended your honour, "They're like crazy pretty, too but Kageyama refuses to admit it." 

"Trying to steal his highness' one true love now, are we?"

"Ohh wait, no way I know who we're talking about now, L/N Y/N right?"

"Damn, Kageyama, you’re hitting that?”

"I'M NOT DATING THEM" Kageyama had finally had enough of this, the entire team stopped babbling and looked at him with eyes wide

"I don't think of them like that, in fact, I don't like them at all, they're annoying and loud and- it doesn't matter! Can we just practice now?" There was a light blanket of tension that settled over the following silence.

Nishinoya was the one to speak up first, slinging an arm around Kageyamas shoulders.

"Ah my precious kouhai, have you heard the saying "A strong denial is the same as a strong affirmation" by any chance?"

Daichi clapped his hands together before this could devolve any further into unadulterated chaos. "Okay that's enough, Kageyama's right, we should focus on practice, Interhigh Prelims are right around the corner." At the mention of Interhigh everybody's attention was no longer on Kageyama, he sighed in relief, shoulders sagging.

Practice continued on without a hitch and with no more mentions of you (not to Kageyama at least, it was still a hot topic for everyone else, Hinata finding moments between drills to catch everyone up on his own personal theories) but right as Kageyama thought he was finally well and truly out of the woods, Tanaka and Noya cornered him at the end of practice.

"If you ever need a senpais advice, you just come to us okay?"

He let out a deep and laboured sigh "I'm gonna kill Hinata"

By the time you had reached your classroom you were out of breath, you had overslept and usually, you wouldn't be that pressed over only making it into the classroom a only few seconds before the bell, but today was no ordinary day- today was the day that Kageyama and Hinata were back from some volleyball thing and you were excited to see him again you had brainstormed some new ideas to stir up Kageyama and were eager to try them out.

You burst through the doors, completely out of breath only to see both Kageyama and Hinata asleep at their desks. Now Kageyama sleeping before, during and after class was nothing new, but Hinata? That raised a red flag, he was a bottomless pit of energy and almost never slept during class, at least not when he could be talking/playing/fantasizing about volleyball. After recovering your breath (which took way longer than you’d care to admit), you moved toward the sleeping Kageyama and Hinata.

"Good Morning," You said loudly clapping your hands together, jolting them both awake, upon looking up and seeing you, Kageyama rolled his eyes, muttered something incoherent and let his head fall back to his desk, which was a pretty typical response. You were expecting Hinata to give you a cheery greeting like usual, but he looked, in the nicest way possible, kinda like shit.

"Oh, hey." he smiled weakly.

"Jesus, who died," you ruffled Kageyamas (stupid soft) hair "What's wrong with you,"

You gasped covering your mouth "Did you finally realise that volleyball is kinda embarrassing? Oh god, that's so sad, I mean I knew you'd figure it out eventually but..." you looked off into the distance, anguished expression adorned "you should have had more time, goddammit!"

Before you could fully commit to the bit, Kageyama raised his head slowly, looking at you through sleep-deprived, bleary eyes with eyebrows furrowed like he was about to retort, then decided he couldn't be bothered and just grunted and dropped his head again.

You looked back and forth between the two, lowering the hand that you were about to throw over your forehead while dramatically wailing about how it breaks your heart so. This was really weird. Usually, by now you would have had Kageyama yelling at you, his face getting all red and blotchy and Hinata laughing, egging you on and pissing Kageyama off further.

Seeing your confusion, Hinata heaved a sigh

"We... we lost." It looked like the words physically pained him to say

"Lost what?"

"The inter-high preliminaries"

"...."

"Oh... that's so... oh no?" you didn't have the first clue what he was talking about and it absolutely showed.

"It's the volleyball competition we went to, we lost and now we probably won't make it to nationals." the fog in your head cleared now, understanding dawning on you.

Kageyama grunted into his desk again, apparently still not up to forming human words. You didn't know how to respond to that, the bell signalling the start of first period saving you from having to come up with anything.

The two volleyball nerds' moods didn't seem to pick up at all during the periods before lunch, and for most of the lunch period, they stayed strewn over their tables like depressed, sad little dolls abandoned by the 12-year-old who promised to love them forever.

"Here," You placed a carton of milk and a carton of apple juice on Kageyama and Hinata's respective desks, only Hinata having the decency to look up at you and give you a quiet ‘thank you’.’

"I know you guys... You probably... hm" All that time to prepare what to say and you still didn't know what to say awkwardly clasping and unclasping your hands in front of you

"It's okay, you really don’t have to.” Hinata spoke softly sending you a sad grimace that you think was supposed to be a smile. 

"No, but I want to, so sorry for kinda being a dick this morning, but in my defence, it is kinda my charm and only personality trait so yeah... anyway," You dragged a nearby chair over, sitting down so you could speak to them at eye level, (well speak to Hinata at eye level, Kageyama was still moping face-first on the table) busing your hands by playing with the hem of your sleeves.

"Listen, I don't know what exactly you're feeling after a big loss like that because I'm too pretty and funny to play sports but... I can empathize and, I mean, I've lost things I really, really wanted, too. And I know what it feels like to think you let yourself and others down, and I know that it sucks worse than anything else to have someone tell you to not feel shitty when all you wanna do is feel shitty and wallow in sadness and regret..." you trailed off, getting distracted by Sora who had been staring at herself in the reflection of the window for a truly shocking amount of time, you're sure that there’s an abnormal psychologist out there destined for her.

"Is there gonna be a 'but' or is that it?"

"Oh yeah, haha sorry kinda got lost in thought there for a sec but uhm" you cleared your throat and tore your attention from Sora, who was now practicing laughing at her own reflection.

"Yeah, I mean like I said I'm just generally too hot to care about sports but I'm rooting for you guys and I, um, I hope you guys can pick yourselves up and try again because I think you guys deserve it and I would hate to see you guys let this keep you down because I know you guys are capable of more."

A brief silence followed, Kageyama lifting his head just enough to catch your eyes and stare you down.

"How would you know what we're capable of? And stop lumping me in with that guy, I'm much better than he is" You couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm sure you are, buddy, but I wasn't really talking about volleyball, I don’t know dick about volleyball, I more meant your character. Like who you are as people."

"What about my character? What would you know?" he asked defensively, sitting upright fully now, gearing up for a fight.

You shook your head and chuckled, standing up and putting the chair back where you found it and messing up Kageyama's (seriously, stupid soft) hair once more before leaving.

"I mean you have a good character and I don't like seeing you guys sad and defeated because I like you, I like you both" You rushed out, trying to ignore the embarrassment rising in your chest as turned to quickly walk back to your table to where Sora was still staring at herself, careful not to make too much noise upon your return, eager to see how long it would take her to notice you were back.

"They sai-"

"I heard what they said, moron, shut up." Kageyama had already forcefully slammed his head back down on the desk so hard he was sure it was gonna bruise in an attempt to hide the raging blush spreading his cheeks. He didn't need Hinata misinterpreting things again.

He needed to stop thinking about you immediately, he couldn't cope with the way it made his insides turn, especially now. It had been so much easier to compartmentalize before you started saying nice shit like that, but if the erratic pace of his heartbeat and the heat in his face that he was trying desperately to get to go away was anything to go by, he was in for serious trouble.

Chapter Text

Hey party rockers in the house tonight, I thought I would give a brief update on what's happening with this work, cause I feel I've kinda left it in the lurch a bit.

I actually haven't written anything new for this since literally like 7 months ago lol and I've been super un-motivated (and i forgot lol ADHD) to write bc looking back I'm not super happy with how this feels as a body of work so far and I've been contemplating a full rewrite/revamp for a while (for lots of reasons, mostly bc I'm not happy with it so far and there is some future plot stuff that I wanted to change and just couldn't be fucked to until now), and I finally started to rewrite it today, and I am very happy with the new direction it's taking so far and I'm very excited to put something up that I'm really proud of again.

This version of Heart Attack is gonna stay up on AO3 but she's going to go pretty dormant for a while bc It's probably gonna take me a while to get all my ducks in a row and actually figure out what I want this to look like when it's a whole piece.

Anyway, thank you, everyone, for reading until now (if anyone did lmao) it may be a while until something new happens in the way of this story, but this shit is my baby and I'm never gonna abandon her so just know that, party rockers.