Work Text:
Warnings: None, just fluff
L/n: Last name
F/n: First name
___
The students walked excitedly through the halls as the first warmth of March slightly warmed their bodies. Most of the people inside the school were kids who had just finished middle school, walking with their friends, talking about their future in high school and waving their diplomas in the air.
Kageyama Tobio, third year, setter, walked slowly, holding his body attached to the walls and clutching the diploma sheet in his left hand. He looked around for one of his friend or for a teammate, just to be able to have someone to talk with. Every now and then he would stand up on his tiptoes, hoping to see someone who might have been interested in spending time with him emerge from the crowd. Surprisingly, he found himself hoping to catch a glimpse of Kindaichi's spiky hair or Kunimi's split bangs.
At some point he gave up, deciding to look down at the ground instead while tapping the wall tiles with his index finger. He knew perfectly well that neither of them would want to spend time with him and, probably, they would leave shortly after seeing him. The same was true for his other teammates.
He turned around and unconsciously headed for the gym. Voices were coming from there, but he ignored them and took refuge in the locker room, breathing heavily. He sat on the floor, leaned his back against the wall and tossed his diploma at a chair. He heard the sound of a bounce coming towards him and saw a volleyball approaching. The voices had disappeared, and Kageyama deduced that the boys who were there had left without putting the ball back. The setter waited patiently for the object to roll towards him, then took it and placed it on his thighs. He stroked the hard surface and threw it into the air, then hugged it and rested his forehead on it.
"Happy graduation, Tobio," he whispered, squeezing the ball harder and harder. Deflating it, he thought, is no longer my problem.
"Kageyama? Kageyama!"
"Huh?"
The boy raised his head and looked around in confusion.
"You should see the face you're making. You look like a child when you're disoriented! I'm here, look at me."
Tobio stood up, making the ball fall to the ground, and looked towards you.
"L /n?"
"Yes sir. It's me. Why are you here? I thought the gyms had been locked."
"I wanted to be alone. Yeah. And you?"
"I was running away from my family. I've had enough of all the pictures they made me take. I was surrounded by people who apparently have known me forever, but I don't even remember their name or their face."
"I see."
"Yeah."
There was absolute silence in the room, interrupted only occasionally by muffled noises coming from outside. You sat next to Kageyama, fiddling with the hem of your uniform shirt. The boy tried hard to find something to say to continue the conversation, but part of him preferred the absence of voices. He looked at you awkwardly as you suddenly stood up and motioned for him to follow you.
"Would you like to go get something to eat? I'm starving and who knows when we are going to leave. If that's okay, we can go to the shop and buy a snack, or an ice cream," you suggest, patting your thighs and stretching.
"Actually I have two sandwiches in my bag, if you want I can give you one," Kageyama retorts.
The setter told you to wait and ran to the lockers. He rummaged through his briefcase until he found the two silver wrappers that held the sandwiches, then quickly headed back to the gym.
"Here it is. I knew the ceremony was going to take a long time, so I wanted to have something to eat with me. But there wasn't much stuff in the house ...
... and I didn't want to go shopping,"he mumbled, making you giggle. You left the gym to avoid sowing crumbs on the court or in the locker room and sat on one of the benches in the courtyard. You ate sandwiches while exchanging opinions on the school year just finished, on the one that was about to start, on what you will do during the holidays and if you are going to watch that horror movie that they were going to air in the evening.
After you finished your snack, you decided to go back to school to avoid worrying your parents. You walked side by side, joking and making fun of the teachers. When you finally found your relatives, you said goodbye with a promise to see each other again during the summer so you could play volleyball together. Kageyama turned around, putting his hands in his pockets, and started to leave when the sound of your voice stopped him.
"Happy graduation, Tobio!"
Nobody noticed the small smile that had grown on the boy's face.
"Happy graduation to you too, F/n."