Chapter Text
When Hinata first mentions Brazil towards the end of their second year, all Tobio remembers feeling is pride. They had just started dating a few weeks before that and the awkwardness of a new relationship still lingers around them as they sit next to each other on the deck of his house. There’s no practice today, so Hinata came over to practice serves and receives since nobody is around to complain about the noise, unlike at Hinata's house.
They are gulping down water from the bottles they left on the steps and Tobio is suddenly hyper-aware of how much closer to him Hinata sits than what he used to. They have been discussing the youth training camp Tobio just got back from after attending the second year in a row while passing the ball back and forth with strong serves and shaky receives, Hinata extracting every piece of information from him he could and Tobio attempting to elaborate to the best of his ability. By the time he finishes they’re already sweaty despite the cold weather, and less than a minute later Hinata’s alarm goes off on his phone to remind them to take a break. It’s a system Ennoshita suggested after seeing them collapsing in a heap one too many times after constant practicing.
“You can practice a lot longer if you make sure to take breaks,” he said. Hinata, surprisingly, took that to heart and is now making sure to pay attention to rest as much as he does to action.
They’re sitting in silence now, Hinata appearing deep in thoughts and Tobio realizes neither of them talked since he finished his explanation of the cool block-outs Hoshiumi performed one after the other during camp. He puts down his drink and turns fully to the redhead, with the intention of saying something to break the silence when Hinata beats him to it.
“Tobio-kun,” he starts, and Tobio swallows his complaint about the usage of his first name because- right, they agreed to it and he’s supposed to call Hinata - Shouyou. Which he tries to, just not in his thoughts, not yet.
He settles for humming to indicate he’s listening, and watches as Hinata turns his intense gaze to his face.
“I’m going to Brazil.”
Tobio blinks at him. “Uh?”
“I can’t keep going on like this- you have the youth group and I need to improve myself too, I need to do something.”
The wheels in his head start turning and he gives Hinata a look that’s supposed to say ‘are you stupid or something?’
“You can’t just go to Brazil, dumbass. It’s…. It’s very far! You’ll need a plane ticket, and- and we still have nationals next month, and next year, you can’t just-” It’s rare for Tobio to rumble on like this but Hinata just brings it out of him with his stupidity.
“Not now !” Hinata stops him. “After graduation. I spoke with Coach a few weeks ago about it and he looked into it for me.”
“Oh.” Ah.
“Apparently Washijou-sensei has connections with someone who plays beach volleyball there so he’ll help me, he told me during the regional rookie camp while you were in Tokyo.”
“Beach?” Tobio feels like he’s missing a few steps of this conversation. He also doesn’t know who Washijou-senpai is but the name does ring a bell.
“Yeah!” Hinata leaps to his feet with this sort of gleam in his eyes as he looks down at Tobio. “I need to get better at everything , and beach seems like the best option.”
Tobio stops for a moment to think it over and then nods. “Yes. It’s actually a very good idea. How did your brain come up with it?”
“Hey!” Hinata squawked at him. “My brain is plenty smart, I came up with it all by myself.” He grins, puffing his chest.
Tobio stands up and lays a hand on Hinata’s shoulder, try as he may, he can’t stop the proud expression from appearing on his face. “I think it’s a great idea,” he says with a squeeze of his shoulder. Then he adds “after all, I’m so far ahead of you.” He smirks, waiting for Hinata to jump at the opportunity for some fake fight but Hinata bites his lower lip without breaking eye contact.
“I know,” he says, “that’s why I must go.”
Tobio is taken aback a little but nods and soon puts down his drink and walks over to the ball a few meters away. “Well come on, getting better in the future doesn't mean you don’t need to practice now!
“Right!” Hinata places his own drink down and they continue their practice until their arms are red and sore in the best way possible.
Later that night, they sit on the couch after a shower and some food (‘you’re a shit cook’- ‘shutup dumbass like you’re any better’), settling for a kid’s movie when they couldn’t find a Volleyball match on TV.
“I have some disks of recordings in my room,” Tobio points out, but Hinata dismisses him.
“I’m too comfy to let you move. And besides, I need to go soon and I’ll be way too frustrated if I have to stop watching in the middle of a game.”
By comfy he means leaning on the couch with both his legs draped over Tobio’s lap while snuggling in a throw blanket. It’s already dark outside and at this time of year, the temperature drops significantly with each passing hour. Tobio shudders at the thought of Hinata riding in the windy road all the way over the mountain to get home.
Hinata sighs and lays his head on the armrest, his eyes to the ceiling. “It’s going to be so amazing. Didja know Brazil is the top of the world in Volleyball?”
Of course Tobio knows that. “I’m going to be better,” he says instead.
Hinata giggles at that. “Well by then I’ll learn all the awesomeness from Brazil and add all of my own awesomeness so I’ll definitely be better than you!”
“Dumbass, that doesn’t even make any sense.” he flicks Hinata’s shin under the blanket and gets a yelp in response.
“Meanie.” Hinata pouts at him but keeps his legs in his lap so it definitely isn’t that painful.
“Gwahh, I wonder if I’ll meet Romero there!” He’s back to his dreamy expression now, but soon he looks back at Tobio. “And we’re going to skype call every day and I’ll show you how awesome I’m becoming and I’ll send you a selfie with Romero when I meet him and you’ll be so jealous and- why are you so red Baka-yama, you have a crush on him?”
“Of course not!” Tobio stutters. It is true that Romero is indeed one of his idols, but what actually gets him flustered is the way Hinata just casually insinuated they’re going to stay together so long that it’s going to last after graduation when they have been together for only two months. But Tobio is not complaining. This feels like forever.
"You're going to do great," he says eventually, in a much softer voice.
Hinata's expression melts from teasing to something else, and before he realizes what's happening, Hinata pushes himself using his hands and shin muscles to shift himself to sit on Tobio's lap, arms looping around his neck.
The pink dusting Hinata's cheeks makes Tobio feel a little bit better about the way he freezes with his arm uselessly at his sides, his own face burning.
"Thank you," Hinata says touching their foreheads together. "I'll miss you."
"Dumbass," he mumbles, "it's not for another year." He closes his eyes and says, "I'm going to miss you, too."
And when their lips meet Tobio opens a drawer in a secret corner of his brain where he decides to store all their kisses from now until Hinata leaves, because this is a feeling he wants to keep forever.