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Shoyou Hinata first meets Tadashi Yamaguchi in his freshman year of college.
Yamaguchi is a nice guy—cool, charismatic, kind, with a healthy bit of snark—and the two bond instantly. He’s the kind of guy that’s automatically likable, with a bright smile and good-natured humor.
They were put together as roommates , and they quickly became good friends. Yamaguchi does the dishes, cooks and cleans, and he doesn’t bring home random people so that Hinata can’t sleep through the night. He’s the definition of a perfect roommate, and eventually they’re splitting grocery bills and taking turns doing the dishes. Soon after, they formed their own little group. There’s Hitoka Yachi, the perpetually stressed art major, and Tobio Kageyama, the volleyball team’s starting setter, whom Hinata despised at first.
But after a while, the four of them are quite close. Movie nights became a regular thing, as well as shared Netflix accounts and various items left at each others’ dorm rooms.
Except there’s just one thing.
Hinata knows little to nothing about Yamaguchi’s life outside of university.
He knows enough about the guy, sure. He knows what days Yamaguchi works out, what days he won’t be home until late, what courses he takes, and what part of campus his classes are in. He knows what foods he’s the best at making, how he likes his coffee in the morning, that he doesn’t need a ladder to change the lightbulbs. But that’s only because he’s lived with the guy for the past few months.
It’s fine that he doesn’t know, of course. He understands that there’s value in privacy and that history can be touchy sometimes. So he tries not to ask too many questions. Even though he’s burning with curiosity.
He does ask a few mundane, normal questions. Stuff like “Where did you grow up?” or “What’re your parents like?” or “Do you have any siblings?”
But of course, Yamaguchi answers with equally mundane, normal answers. “A small town a couple of states over,” or “Oh, you know. My mom’s a lawyer and my dad teaches history at the local high school,” and “Nah, I’m an only child.”
But they’re answers nonetheless, and Hinata goes a little more detailed in his questions. Eventually, he knows a bit more about the guy, the sports he used to play (volleyball, which makes Hinata insist that he practice with the team at least once) his favorite color (green, but he likes pink and purple too), and if he’s ever dyed his hair (yes, it was blue, and it washed out in a few weeks).
Occasionally, the questions get deflected, with Yamaguchi either changing the subject, getting distracted, or asking Hinata a question of his own. He seems to have a talent for it, Hinata thinks bitterly to himself, after Yamaguchi dodged a question about his favorite books for the second time that day.
He likes to know things about his friends. Kageyama’s favorite color is blue, and Yachi’s favorite dessert was peach pie. He likes knowing birthdays, asking questions, and remembering answers. So, within a few weeks of his experiment, he takes his questions to the next level. “So, Yamaguchi,” he says one morning, his mouth full of cereal. “Are you dating anyone?”
It’s one of the questions that Hinata is the most curious about. Yamaguchi is not the kind of guy to date around, and he’s declined any offer for blind dates or setups. Hinata does know that he’s pansexual (Yamaguchi had spotted his pride flag pinned to his wall within a few weeks of living together, and they’d both come out excitedly) but he’s never shown any sort of interest in dating.
So when Yamaguchi visibly brightens at the question, Hinata’s slightly caught off guard.
“I do!” he said, beaming. “I have a boyfriend.”
“Really?” Hinata leans over the table, his cereal forgotten. “What’s he like?”
Now, Yamaguchi gets talking. It seems to be the only topic that he’s willing to spout on endlessly. “He’s an old friend—we grew up together, you know?—and we’ve known each other since elementary school. We didn’t start dating until high school, but I liked him for a long time before that.”
“Does he go to this university? Or is he nearby?”
Yamaguchi laughed. “I wish! No, he’s abroad. In Japan, actually. It was a little strange to be away from him, especially since we’ve always stuck close for so long. But it’s alright. We visit when we can, and he calls almost every day.”
“He does?” Hinata hasn’t ever seen Yamaguchi calling anyone. “Do you have a photo of him?”
“Yeah, of course! I have a few on my—” Yamaguchi picks up his phone, then visibly deflates. “Wait, that’s right. I can’t show you them.”
“Why not?”
“Ah.” Yamaguchi rubbed the back of his neck. “He’s...camera shy? So I don’t take that many photos with him, and he doesn’t like me showing them to people.”
“Oh. Alright.” Hinata gets up, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “I have to get to class, but I’ll see you later, right?”
“Alright! See you later.”
A mysterious boyfriend in Japan? A childhood friend-turned-lover in a long-distance relationship? Not having photos because he’s camera shy?
Hinata would never say that Yamaguchi was a liar, but seriously, this doesn’t sound real.
* * *
“You think Yamaguchi’s lying about a boyfriend?” Yachi asked him, a week later. They’re walking across campus together, trudging through nearly a foot of snow. It’s a cold February day, and all Hinata wants to do is crash on the couch with a warm drink, and maybe sleep for a few hours too.
“I don’t know? Maybe?” Hinata huffed. “It’s just that it seems a bit unrealistic. I’ve never heard him calling anyone, he doesn’t have any photos of the guy, and if he does exist, he seems like a perfect guy, huh?”
“You barely heard two sentences about him.”
“Still.”
Yachi huffs, adjusting her scarf. “Why would he even lie about a boyfriend, Hinata?” she asks, nearly falling face flat into the snow.
“Maybe he doesn’t want us to set him up with anyone anymore? I have introduced him to a couple of people.”
“That could be why. Maybe he doesn’t like to date or something.”
“Maybe. —'' Now, Hinata does fall down, face-planting into the snow. He sits up with a huff. “I fucking hate being short.”
“You can say that again.” Yachi keeps trudging forward, determined to reach shelter. “Screw tall people.”
Hinata gets to his feet, but before he can take even another step forward, he’s pelted with a faceful of snow. A few hundred feet away, there’s a familiar sound of someone bursting into laughter. Yachi spins around to see what all the fuss is about, and she snorts. “Nice one, Yamaguchi!”
Hinata furiously wipes the half-melted snow off his face, turning around to see Yamaguchi and Kageyama laughing at him. “You’re gonna regret that!” he shouts, then scoops up a handful of snow to throw it in their general direction. It hits Kageyama in the shoulder, and he stops laughing to stare at him, bewildered, as Yamaguchi’s jeans are hit with Yachi’s handiwork.
While Hinata shakes off the water that remains on his face, he watches Kageyama as he scoops up a handful of snow, and stares down at it, confused. Yamaguchi gasps for air, his face still flushed with laughter. “Kageyama, need me to teach you how to make one?” he asks, dusting off his gloves.
“You don’t know how to make a snowball, Kageyama?” Hinata snorts, and Kageyama turns to him with a glare.
Yamaguchi waves him off. “Here,” he says cheerfully, placing his hands over Kageyama’s to carefully pack the snow until a rough ball. While Yachi sneakily accumulates more snowballs, Hinata watches Kageyama’s face flush as he watches Yamaguchi.
Suddenly, a thought pops into Hinata’s head.
Oh my God. Does Kageyama like Yamaguchi? Hinata’s face flushes, and irritation floods through him, although he doesn’t really know why. Why should he care if they like each other, or if they’re dating, or—
“There!” Yamaguchi gives Kageyama a triumphant smile, and Kageyama frowns down at the ball in his hands. “Alright, throw it.”
Kageyama complies, tossing it in Hinata’s general direction. It falls halfway, plopping down into untouched snow. Hinata forgets his momentary lapse in humor and bursts out laughing. “Kageyama, you should’ve gotten a scholarship for baseball, not volleyball!”
Kageyama glares at him again, and he picks up another handful of snow and packs it up. This time, when he throws it, it hits Hinata in the shoulder with impressive force, and Hinata nearly topples over again. Yachi starts pelting them as well, and any thoughts of jealousy are erased from Hinata’s mind as he scrambles to retaliate.
They continue their game for a while longer, until all four of them are frozen to the bone, and Hinata has fallen over a few more times. Cheerfully, Yachi heads off to her dorm, and Kageyama awkwardly thanks Yamaguchi for teaching him.
Hinata and Yamaguchi wave goodbye to the two and start heading down toward their own dorm. Every couple of feet, Yamaguchi pauses and waits for Hinata to catch up to him, still struggling through the snow. “Curse you long-legged creatures,” Hinata groans. “Life is so much easier for you.”
Yamaguchi laughs. “You’re lucky to have snow boots, though.” He lifts a leg upwards, showing Hinata his running sneakers and jeans. “My clothes feel like they’re frozen to my skin.”
“Still. You should give me a piggyback ride since you’re so tall.” Hinata takes a few more steps, then pauses. “Hey, you aren’t dating Kageyama, right?”
Yamaguchi stops short and turns around to stare at him. “Wait, what?”
“Are you dating Kageyama?”
Yamaguchi stares at him even harder. “Hinata,” he says slowly. “I have a boyfriend. Remember?”
Oh, fuck. Hinata had forgotten about Yamaguchi’s supposed boyfriend, but whatever. “Oh. Right.”
Yamaguchi looks as if he’s on the verge of laughter again, and he grins. “Hinata, you weren’t jealous, were you?”
“I was not! I was just...wondering?”
“You are jealous!”
“Am not!”
“Are so!”
“You should give me a piggyback ride, anyway.”
“Don’t change the subject—alright, fine, but just this once, alright?”
* * *
A few months later, Hinata scores a date with Kageyama, and accidentally eavesdrops on Yamaguchi’s phone call.
It’s completely by accident. His professor canceled his last class, and he managed to make it back home by seven. He’s feeling ridiculously giddy, as Kageyama—the idiot—has actually agreed to go and grab dinner with him, and he’s hoping that the dumbass finally realizes his intentions. But when he unlocks the door, he overhears Yamaguchi talking on the phone, frustrated.
“Wait, so you’re not coming back home for another three weeks?”
Hinata shuts the door quietly behind him. He spots Yamaguchi leaning against the kitchen counter, facing the other way, running a hand through his hair.
“No, it’s fine, it’s just that...you’re staying there because of a fuckin’ plane ride of all things. Yeah, I’m pissed off! What do you expect?”
It’s silent for a moment, presumably whoever’s on the other line explaining themselves. Yamaguchi huffs. “First it’s the gallery, now it’s this. Kei, I haven’t seen you until December, for God’s sake. No, I’m fine that you’re missing the fucking gallery, it’s not about that! It’s about how you keep putting this off!”
He breathes heavily, then cuts the other person off. “You know what, Kei? I’m tired. We can talk about this...whenever, I just need to think. Goodnight.”
He hangs up, slamming his phone down on the counter. The apartment falls still for a moment, but after a few moments, he sinks down onto the floor and starts to cry.
Hinata immediately drops his bag and kicks off his shoes, and he’s next to Yamaguchi in two strides. He crouches down beside him, rubbing his back soothingly. Yamaguchi’s tears are quiet, and his shoulders shake as he presses his face into his hands.
After a few minutes, Yamaguchi looks up at him, his eyes red. “Sorry you had to hear that,” he sniffed. “I didn’t know you were back.”
“It’s alright! Don’t worry about it.” Hinata sits down properly next to him. “Was that your boyfriend?”
Yamaguchi nods.
“Do you wanna talk about it, or nah?” Hinata offers up a tissue. Yamaguchi takes it, then blows his nose.
“It’s just that…” Yamaguchi sighs, frustrated. “He’s just being irritating. He was supposed to come home this week, you know? I wanted you guys to meet him, and then there’s an exhibit for freshman work until the end of the year, and I wanted him to see it.”
“But he’s not coming back?”
Yamaguchi huffed. “No. He realized he couldn’t a couple of weeks ago, and I told him it was fine, but now he’s not coming back until even longer.”
“Why?”
“I don’t really know, but he’s staying there a few more weeks. Something about a scheduling error, which makes absolutely no sense, because he’s usually so organized when it comes to planning ahead.”
“Is there a reason why he wouldn’t want to come back?”
Yamaguchi shrugged. “The only one I can think of is his brother. He’s getting married in August, and they had a bit of a...falling out, I would say, several years ago. I just...I thought they had worked it out by now. It was so long ago, and I thought Kei had forgiven him by now, but maybe he just doesn’t want to spend the majority of his summer dealing with all the Best Man burdens.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I thought that, at least, he’d be willing to deal with it to see me, and his family. I’ve known him for so long, and we’ve been dating for almost three years now.”
“Jeez, Yamaguchi,” Hinata exhaled. “You’re one for commitment, huh?”
Yamaguchi chuckled. “I guess so. Sorry that you had to hear me yelling at him.”
“Don’t apologize!” Hinata punched him playfully on the shoulder. “You’ve got a right to be mad.”
“Do you think I’m being unreasonable?”
“No way! You’re being completely reasonable, it’s perfectly fine that you’re frustrated! If anything, he’s the unreasonable one.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! He’s not coming home because of fuckin’ wedding plans, of all things? You’re dating, for fuck’s sake. He’s lucky to have you, and he should be running back home at whatever chance he can get.”
Yamaguchi laughed. “You’re a good friend, Hinata,” he sighed. “Thanks for listening.”
“Anytime.” Hinata pops to his feet, offering Yamaguchi a hand. “You want an ice cream and movie night? I can call Yachi and Tobio.”
Yamaguchi looks at him, horrified. “No, definitely not. What about your date?”
“Oh. Right.”
“You idiot. I’ll get Yachi to come over, you get dressed, and then Kageyama’s gonna pick you up and you’re going to have a nice, romantic dinner. It’s like I’m the only one with a brain cell around here.”
* * *
The exhibit opens the next day, and Yachi and Yamaguchi proudly show Kageyama and Hinata their work. Hinata is suitably impressed, and Kageyama is as well, but they can’t help but notice that Yamaguchi seems a bit down.
“What’s up with him?” Kageyama asks him, the two of them standing by the entrance as Yachi and Yamaguchi politely chat with some peers and parents. “He looks so gloomy.”
“His boyfriend couldn’t come.” Hinata chooses not to mention their argument from the night before, opting to watch Yamaguchi, a bit irritated with this mysterious partner of his. “I think he’s a bit disappointed.”
Kageyama’s brow furrows. “Where’s his boyfriend?”
“Studying abroad. In Japan.”
“He should be proud of himself, though. This stuff is super cool.” Kageyama surveys the gallery, his eyes sweeping over sculptures and paintings displayed over every spare surface.
“Yeah, but imagine if...imagine if you were playing in the finals, and I wasn’t there, or something. That’s probably how he feels.”
“But we’re on the same team.”
“But like, what if I was injured, or sick, and then I couldn’t play, or I couldn’t watch you.”
Kageyama looks at him, horrified. “Don’t get sick.”
“It’s not like I can control getting sick,” Hinata whines, but Kageyama pulls him close and settles his chin firmly on the top of Hinata’s head, as if it could protect him from germs. “I mean, fine, I won’t get sick.”
“Good,” Kageyama mumbles, and they stay like that for a while. Hinata continues to watch Yamaguchi and Yachi across the room.
After a few minutes of just standing there, Hinata hears the door open to his right. He turns to see a freakishly tall man—taller than Kageyama, even—enter the room, who surveys the gallery with a determined gaze. He has thin wire glasses, with messy blond hair falling into his eyes, and he looks vaguely familiar. After him enters a prim-looking woman, also with glasses, with dark black hair. Following behind her is a tough-looking guy with a shaved head, his arms crossed with a glare that’s probably meant to look intimidating. The door swings shut behind him with a bang, but he ignores it, continuing to scan the large room.
“Are you looking for someone?” Hinata asks.
The blond man’s gaze drops down to look at him. He does look weirdly familiar. Hinata squints at him. Where the hell has he seen this guy? “Yes, actually,” the man says. “Do you know of Tadashi Yamaguchi?”
“What do you want with him?” Kageyama asks roughly, but Hinata kicks him gently.
“He’s over there,” he answers. “Who’re you?”
The man seems to share Yamaguchi’s talent for deflecting questions, it seems, as he ignores both Kageyama’s and Hinata, and turns back around. Suddenly, his face lights up, and he strides across the room purposefully, leaving the woman and the shaken-head guy to stand by them awkwardly.
“That guy looks super familiar,” Kageyama mutters to him. Hinata’s about to agree, but as he watches, the stranger has already reached the other side of the room. He taps an unsuspecting Yamaguchi on the shoulder.
Hinata can’t hear what he says to Yamaguchi, but he spins around, lets out a loud yelp, and throws himself into the stranger’s arms.
Hinata and Kageyama stare at them, open-mouthed. Yachi, who has jumped backward in shock, is staring at them as well, as their friend wraps his arms around this random person who has wandered into the room. Hinata takes Kageyama by the hand and tugs him over to them. “C’mon.”
Yamaguchi is breathlessly peppering the man with questions. “When did you get in? I thought you couldn’t come? Does your mom know? Akiteru? I thought you weren’t getting in until three weeks from now?”
The man lets out a warm laugh. “I wanted to surprise you,” he says. “But after that call last night, I was almost going to tell you it was a joke, but I was already at the airport, and then you hung up on me.”
Yamaguchi flushes. “You idiot, I was so mad at you!” he groans, hugging him tightly. “I thought you were being bitter about the wedding.”
The man made a face. “Don’t remind me, please. Akiteru still thinks I’m coming next week.” He turns to Hinata, Kageyama, and Yachi. “I’m guessing you’re Tadashi’s friends? I’m Kei Tsukishima. I’ve heard a lot about you three.”
Realization hits Hinata like a truck, and his jaw drops. “You’re Yamaguchi’s fake boyfriend!”
“Fake?” Yamaguchi asks.
Yachi cuts in before Hinata can explain himself. “It’s wonderful to meet you,” she says, and cheerful introductions are made by a now incredibly enthusiastic Yamaguchi. Hinata is still slightly shell-shocked as he shakes Tsukishima’s hand, nodding dumbly.
Kageyama shakes Tsukishima’s hand next, but he’s frowning deeply at him, as if in deep thought. “You look really familiar.”
“Oh, that’s right, Hinata,” Yamaguchi says suddenly. “Kei works at a modeling company in Japan, and it’s in his contract to not disclose relationships to the public. So that’s why I couldn’t show you the photo.”
“Oh, I thought you were just studying abroad, ” Yachi comments politely, as Hinata blurts out, “You’re a model?”
Tsukishima looks as if he’s struggling to laugh or make a sarcastic retort, but he simply says, “I am attending university there as well, yes.”
Hinata is still sputtering over this new information when the bald man and the formal-faced woman appear beside Tsukishima. Bald Guy grins at Yamaguchi. “How’s it going?”
“Hi, Tanaka, Kiyoko,” Yamaguchi says, beaming. “This is Yachi, Kageyama, and Hinata. Kiyoko is Tsukishima’s coworker, and Tanaka’s their manager.”
Hinata continues to nod dumbly. Kageyama shakes their hands. Yachi appears frozen. Kiyoko turns to her, and her serene expression breaks into a kind smile. “It’s lovely to meet you.”
“Hi,” Yachi squeaks.
Yamaguchi grins. “We’ll let you guys get to know each other,” he says, dragging Tsukishima away. After a few minutes of acceptable small talk, Kiyoko is led away to be shown Yachi’s art, and Tanaka wanders off somewhere. Hinata sighs and leans into Kageyama’s shoulder.
It’s been a very interesting first year.