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Out of all the places it could have happened, it started in a tiny hotel room.
They shared it like they always shared the hotel rooms. No one ever dared questioning it. The other players of Team Japan were used to it by now and even seemed to accept it as a condition, not to be changed under any circumstances. It was like a rule. If at any possible time there were rooms to be shared, Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shouyou would room together.
On the particular day this story begins the sun was rising, letting the river glitter under the rays of sunshine. Once again Shoyou had to admire the view they were presented with. If there was one thing he didn’t expect out of his pro-volleyball career, it was the perk of getting to stay at five star hotels in cities all around the world.
Shoyo was standing in front of the windows, enjoying the new morning. He thought about the name of the river but couldn’t remember. Was it something with Lime? Or Limit?
Shouyou got ripped out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The hand touching him was big and strong but still delicate. He knew the hand well. It belonged to a certain setter.
Resisting the urge of laying his head on top of said hand, Shouyou sighed and enjoyed the warmth. A feeling he became used to over the years started to spread in his whole body. He would have called this feeling butterflies if he was younger.
“Nice view, right?”, he distracted himself from the thoughts forming in his head and started to talk with his roommate.
Tobio answered with agreement, his voice still raspy and low because he used it for the first time this morning. It wasn’t the first time Shouyou heard his morning voice but he still shivered. He didn’t even know why exactly he liked it so much. Most likely it had something to do with the inevitable daydream he continued to have about hearing it not only in hotel rooms but in a shared apartment.
“Do you know the name of the river?”, he asked just because he wanted to hear Tobio speak again. It worked.
“Why would I know the name of the river, dumbass?” In spite of the rude way the sentence was structured, Shouyou could hear the affection towards him. He smiled to himself and shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t know, you live in Europe.”
The hand on his shoulder disappeared only to come swinging down on his shoulder again. The slap didn’t hurt at all and made Shouyou chuckle while Tobio shook his head.
“I live in Italy. We’re in Switzerland right now. Why would I know the river of a country I’ve never been to before? That’s just like claiming you should know every geographical landmark in Brazil just because you live there.”
Now Shouyou had to laugh: “That doesn’t even make sense!”
“That’s what I’m saying!”, Tobio exclaimed and groaned, frustrated with his friend.
All the talk about their life made Shouyou think. He had dedicated his whole life to volleyball, so did Tobio. They had for a long time, all the way back to high school. Now they were here. On the world stage. Fighting against each other and sometimes, like in the upcoming match, even together.
The sport fulfilled Shouyou, it really did. But after so many years of volleyball he slowly became aware that something else was missing in his life. Something crucial. He knew exactly what.
He gazed at the missing piece of his life. Then he sighed. It had been clear from the start. To be honest, he knew in high school. He knew that the love of his life besides volleyball was a grumbling and serious setter that let him fly.
Tobio noticed that Shouyou’s eyes were concentrated on him and turned his head towards the smaller boy. “What are you thinking about?”
Quickly Shouyou focused on the river again. He knew they had to talk about the matter at some time in the future. But now wasn’t the right time. They had a game this afternoon and training starts in a few hours.
Their hotel was situated near the main station of Zurich but they had to head towards the airport to get to the training center. He had no idea why exactly the upper management didn’t just book a hotel that was closer to the training center but who was he to question them. At least they were left with directions to the center.
“Shouyou”, Tobio repeated in a soft voice. He still awaited an answer to his question. Closing his eyes, Shouyou thought about what he could say to move the topic of the conversation elsewhere. He came up empty.
Tobio seemed to guess that he waited for an answer in vain. He squeezed his hand and then removed it. He didn’t disappear from Shouyou‘s side though.
Instead, he scratched the back of his head and pondered over how he would turn his own thoughts into words.
When he had awoken today, his first instinct was to look for Shouyou. It always was. When he was sleeping alone he grabbed his phone as soon as possible to read any unread messages from him. There were always messages. If they shared a room, like today, he turned into the direction of the bed where Shouyou was sleeping.
Sometimes he was still sleeping and Tobio could enjoy the content and blissful expression on his face. Other times Shouyou was already awake and ready to go jogging or eat breakfast. Oftentimes he could find him meditating in the middle of the room.
Thinking about his own future had always been an easy thing for Tobio. Or it was for most of his life. It surrounded volleyball. During high school his rivalry with Shouyou got thrown into the dream as well. The thought that his dreams became reality was crazy and Tobio often had to remind himself that not everybody was as lucky as him. Sure, he had worked hard to reach his goals but so did everybody else.
But still. Sometimes Tobio wondered. Was this enough? Did he really achieve all his goals? Was this everything he wanted of life?
Normally he could answer these questions with yes. But lately he had to admit to himself that this wasn’t the truth. Not all of his goals were already achieved. Because at some time between high school and now, a new dream grew.
His new dream wasn’t something crazy or impossible. He was already supporting him in every step he made. He was already part of his life. The only thing preventing Tobio to complete the dream was himself. Which was the reason he decided not to wait any longer.
The rising sun illuminated not only the river outside their window but also Shouyou’s face. His orange hair looked fluffy and soft and Tobio couldn’t resist grabbing a handful.
Something about this hair made it impossible to resist tousling through it. Tobio had done it since high school. It was like an addiction. He had seen enough photographic evidence of him grabbing Shouyou by his hair to know that it was hopeless for him to ever stop. Over the time he had found countless reasons to pull at the hair. The funny thing was that Shouyou never stopped him even though he complained about it.
He wasn’t complaining now. For a few seconds Tobio entertained himself tousling through the hair and then he stopped, resting his head on top of Shouyou. It was now or never.
“Shouyou. I like you.”
He knew that Shouyou already knew. He also knew that Shouyou liked him as well. They may be oblivious but not that much. It was just something they have never said out loud. Never acknowledging it meant that they didn’t had to think about what to do after they both confessed.
Tobio didn’t know what kind of reaction he expected but it wasn’t this.
“Not here Tobio.”
Shouyou knew it was coming just not when. He had nearly done it himself just minutes before. But like he was thinking to himself before, this wasn’t the right time. And while he couldn’t change the time he could at least change the location and overall situation.
Inside he was screaming, dying to just accept Tobio’s feeling and confessing himself. If this was called confessing. Everybody knew he liked Tobio. Even Tobio himself knew. It will be an admission rather than a confession.
Staring right into the face of his setter, Shouyou found a confused look. The man next to him wasn’t angry but rather perplexed by the answer he got. Understandable. Shouyou’s lips formed themselves to a smile and he turned around. “Pack your bags, we’re leaving.”
The other man followed him and started putting his training clothes in a bag. But not without a very pointed look.
“That’s not exactly how you react to something like that. And they say I’m the socially awkward one. Where are we going?”, the setter grumbled.
Now Shouyou had to laugh for real. “You’ll see.”, he replied and hurried to pack his things as well. When they stuffed their bags and locked the door to their hotel room, Shouyou walked into the direction of the park he saw earlier. It looked like the perfect place to play some volleyball.
He didn’t look back or waited for Tobio. He knew the other boy was following him.
On the way to the park the words ‘I like you’ on repeated on a loop inside Shouyou’s mind. The second they arrived at a spot where he felt comfortable tossing a volleyball around, he stopped walking and opened his bag. Pulling out a volleyball, he smiled at Tobio who didn’t waste a second to lay his own bag down and got into position.
For a few minutes they just passed the ball around, enjoying how well they knew each other. They worked together perfectly and the ball never dropped. It was almost therapeutic and calmed Shouyou down considerably. Which he needed for the next part. Taking all his courage he started talking, not stopping to pass the volleyball.
“I don’t need you.”
Tobio looked at him a bit dumbfounded. “That’s not very nice of you.”
Shouyou cringed at himself and tried again. “That’s not what I meant.” He searched for words and got rewarded with a volleyball in his face. Tobio snorted and the tension was broken.
It could be easy. He was the only one making this hard. Shouyou picked up the ball and took a deep breath. Then he tried again.
“In the beginning I needed you. I needed you to play volleyball. Without you I was worthless. Then I needed you to be my rival. To get better. Now that has all changed. I don’t need you anymore. I’m good on my own. I can play alone. I achieved my dreams. That’s what I meant with I don’t need you.”
Tobio nodded, unsure where Shouyou was going with this. But he knew that every word Shouyou said was true. It hurt when he said he didn’t need him anymore but it was true. Shouyou was an amazing volleyball player who didn’t need to rely on anyone to be good. Not even on him.
When his friend continued his heart skipped a beat.
“I don’t need you but I still want you.” Shouyou looked at him, his cheeks looking a bit flushed.
Tobio didn’t pass the ball back and took a step closer. He looked inside the brown eyes he knew so well. The brown eyes that looked right back into his own blue eyes. Shouyou took a step closer as well.
“My life is amazing. Or it should be. But it isn’t complete without you. You’re the missing piece. Tobio, I like you too.”, Shouyou confessed and stepped another step closer. Tobio did the same. Until they stood directly in front of each other. They never lost eye-contact. The volleyball was the only thing that stopped them from embracing.
Tobio felt his whole body warm up. He knew that already. He really did. But how was he supposed to react to the reason his life just got a thousand times better? He did the only thing that came to mind and took Shouyou’s face into his hands and kissed him. The volleyball fell to the floor and bounced away.
They only got hungrier over the years. They have been waiting for this moment for forever. This kiss was everything to Tobio. It completed the dreams he didn’t dare speak about. Shouyou hummed into the kiss and Tobio knew he felt the same.
In the background he could hear a conversation between a mother and her child. “Mama, die zwei Männer küssen sich!”, the child was telling his mum only to get the response “Die haben sich halt gerne.”
Shouyou laughed as he noticed that they weren’t alone. He stopped the kiss and whispered: “They are probably talking about us.” Tobio knew. He wondered what exactly they were saying but seeing as neither of them spoke German there was no way to find out.
Seeing as their spectators already walked away without a second glance back, it probably wasn’t something bad. At least that’s what he hoped. He was still embarrassed. His face felt hot and he tried hard to find something to say. When his stomach growled, he cleared his throat.
“Do you want to go and eat or drink something?”, he proposed and Shouyou nodded.
Shouyou stepped back and hid his flushed face with his hand. Shaking his head he walked up to the volleyball and picked it up. He put it back into the bag and started walking towards the main station. Tobio just followed him. There had to be a coffee shop somewhere. Shouyou would know.
Shouyou didn’t know what Tobio was expecting him to find but, apparently, he was in charge of finding a restaurant or a coffee shop. As if he knew his way in this strange city any better than Tobio. He didn’t live in Europe. Tobio did.
Shouyou was already walking close to Tobio. But it wasn’t enough. Not after they waited so long to get to the point they are now. He glanced down at the hand of his setter and before he could think twice about it, he took it into his own hand. It was warm and soft. He knew that Tobio took good care of his hands and now he could feel it as well.
The only reaction from Tobio was a squeeze of his hand and the appearance of a big smile on his face. Shouyou himself was beaming too. The fact that they were able to hold hands in public was incredible and filled him with joy.
Soon enough they found a cute little coffee shop where they were able to get something to drink and stroll around the main street. By the looks of it there were other tourists as well. And the one building looked exactly like the building Miya posted in his story yesterday. Not a bad outlook.
The shop sold different brews of coffee and beverages and a few sandwiches as well. Not letting go of their hands they walked up to the woman standing there selling the drinks.
“Guten Morgen, was darf’s denn sein? ”, she asked with a friendly smile on her face.
Oh, right. They were in Switzerland. In a hushed voice Shouyou whispered to Tobio: “I thought they speak Italian here too. I read that somewhere. Would be easier for you. Why do they always speak German?”
Tobio rolled his eyes. “Shut up, Dumbass.” Then he turned to the barista who looked at them with a confused look on her face. “Ehm, English please?” Shouyou had to snort at Tobio’s broken English but honestly, at least he was talking. The woman seemed to understand him well enough and repeated her question with a heavily accented English:
“Sure, good morning. What can I get you?”
Tobio looked at him and Shouyou nodded seriously. “She asked what we want to drink.”, he explained and had to hide his pleasure at the shy blush that appeared on Tobio’s cheeks. “I know that!”, he exclaimed and squeezed Shouyou’s hand he was still holding. Then in a lower voice he added: “Order a hot chocolate for me.”
Shouyou looked at the barista again and ordered two hot chocolates, one for Tobio and one for himself. “Chocolate is famous here after all.
When they got their beverages, they walked along the street and observed other people and the stores. They enjoyed their chocolates but enjoyed their togetherness more.
“What made you say it?”, Shouyou asked Tobio. Even though he didnt specify, Tobio knew exactly what he was talking about.
His setter shrugged his shoulders and looked down at him. “You know. It was kind of like you said. My life should be perfect, having reached all of those goals I had. But it wasn’t. Because you were missing from it.”
“Are you saying that I make your life perfect?”
“Shut up, dumbass.”
“You didn’t deny it.”, Shouyou teased and earned a chuckle from Tobio.
“You’re right, I didn’t.”
Tobio enjoyed the time with Shouyou so much that he completely forgot about the training and the upcoming match. Which said a lot considering volleyball was technically still the most important thing in his life.
Even though they didn’t do something crazy, it was the best use of his time since forever. Just walking around with Shouyou was incredible now. From time to time he stole a peak down at their hands, just to confirm that it was really and finally true.
Shouyou’s thoughts seemed to revolve around the same thing because there were moments when he stopped walking only to look up to Tobio and pull him down for a quick kiss.
Tobio only remembered their practice when he wanted to take a picture of Shouyou trying to catch a pigeon and found several messages and missed calls. “Fuck”, he said probably a bit too loud because Shouyou looked back and the pigeon flew away. With a questioning look Shouyou stepped closer and waited for an explanation from Tobio.
“Oops?”, was Shouyou’s only comment to their situation which elicited a laugh out of Tobio. Of course, Shouyou would feel the same. Even he valued this change in their relationship higher than volleyball. Not that volleyball didn’t matter to them anymore. It just didn’t take the first spot in their life anymore.
“We have 30 minutes left to get to the train.”
“Let’s run?”, Shouyou proposed.
Running wasn’t their problem. They were athletes. They were really fast, even in comparison to other athletes. Especially when they were running together, competing and everything. No, the problem was finding the way.
Thankfully, they knew how to correctly use google maps and found the entrance to the main station soon enough. The real problem came afterwards. The main station was a beautiful building they had too little time to look at in detail. Instead, they hurried inside where they only found a great hall and no teammates in sight.
When in doubt, run. Which they did. They saw some numbers and arrows and tried to find the place they had to go.
After twenty minutes of running through the entire main station, they finally found the platform they needed to be. Ignoring the looks they got from their teammates because they were still holding hands, they complained about the station being a maze. It was way too complicated for any normal human being.
Suna lifted his brows and commented: “Are you sure you weren’t just distracted by yourselves? We found everything pretty quickly.” He stared at their intertwined hands and smirked.
Both of them glared at him but didn’t argue his statement. And that was that. Everybody on the team knew what it meant. It’s not that they didn’t see it coming.
And this is where it ended. On a platform, waiting for the train to take them to practice. Save to say, it was a happy end.