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“Hey, Tobio?”
The setter hummed to show he was listening.
“Do you ever wish we could get married?”
Kageyama paused. He probably should've expected this topic to come up at some point, yet it still caught him off guard.
Kageyama and Hinata had been together for a long time. The two had practically been dating since their first year of high school, but they hadn’t made their relationship official until the day Hinata left for Brazil. It was a bittersweet moment, but they knew it was only temporary. Hinata made a promise that he would be back and better than ever before, that he would be ready to stand on the world’s stage with his setter.
And here they were, Olympic gold medalists.
They were currently on different teams, but they had plans to change that as soon as possible. After all, no setter-spiker combo could accomplish what they did together.
“Hello? Tobio?” Hinata waved his hand in front of the other’s face, bringing him out of his thoughts.
“Oh, uh, sorry,” Kageyama answered. “I mean, yeah, I guess, but you know we can’t.”
“I know, but like, what if same-sex marriage became legal in Japan?”
“But it’s not.”
“Kageyama-kunnnnnnn come onnnnnnn.” Hinata was now hanging on Kageyama’s arm and pouting. “It’s a what-if, stupid.”
“Shoyo, you know I love you. I would marry you if I could, dumbass.”
Hinata smiled.
“I love you too.”
~
Weeks went by, and the topic of marriage was all but forgotten.
At least it was for Hinata.
Kageyama, on the other hand, thought about it almost nonstop. He found himself getting distracted over it all too frequently. He would jump in surprise if someone touched his shoulder after getting no reaction by calling his name. Most people found it amusing the first couple of times, but it became concerning the more often it happened. He burnt meals while lost in thought. Well, he burnt meals often anyway, but maybe some of those times could have been prevented if he had been paying attention. He knew he had a problem when his lack of attention started affecting his volleyball practice.
He supposed there was only one thing to do.
~
The next time Hinata had practice and Kageyama didn’t, the latter put his plan into motion.
Kageyama waited until Hinata was definitely gone from their apartment before he left as well. He wore a ball cap, sunglasses, and a face mask and hoped he didn’t run into anyone he knew - or any fans that may happen to recognize him.
Luckily, he went unnoticed during his train ride and the walk to his destination.
Kageyama entered the jewelry shop and removed his mask and glasses.
“Can I help you find anything today?” asked an employee behind a counter full of sparkling diamonds and other gemstones.
“I’m loOK-” Kageyama’s voice cracked, and he had to clear his throat before starting again. “I’m looking for an engagement ring.” He said with a light blush.
“Wonderful! We have quite the selection!” The woman began pointing out delicate rings with huge stones. “Now tell me, what do you think your girlfriend would like best?”
Kageyama looked to the side and scratched the back of his neck. “It’s, um, actually for my boyfriend,” his blush was now a much more pronounced shade and covered his entire face and neck.
“Oh, please excuse me; I shouldn’t have assumed!” The woman bowed a few times in quick succession. “I can absolutely show you some of our more masculine styles, or of course, you could still have one of these if you think it would suit him more!”
Kageyama waved his hands in front of himself. “Oh, it’s no problem. I know we can’t exactly get married. I mean, it’s kind of dumb, really.” His embarrassment only seemed to get worse. He never was the best at talking to others. It was a miracle that Hinata got him the way he did.
“Not at all, not at all! The time will come when you’ll be able to, and you’ll be ready!”
Kageyama let out a relieved breath. He was so grateful that this woman was so kind and not judgemental as he had feared.
They started looking at some simple bands. Kageyama had to admit that he had no clue what he was doing. Shoyo never really wore jewelry, and he knew himself that it could be a bad idea to wear a ring while playing volleyball. He voiced these thoughts to the employee.
“Wait right here, I have a solution,” the woman said before scampering off, leaving Kageyama to continue looking at rings by himself.
She came back only moments later with a tray of rings, but they were different.
“They’re silicone,” she answered, seeing the confusion on Kageyama’s face. “They’re flexible and comfortable. A lot of athletes and people who tend to get their hands dirty wear these so they don’t have to worry about losing or damaging an expensive ring or hurting themselves. Some people get a traditional metal ring for proposing and special occasions, and one of these for everyday wear.”
Kageyama was fascinated. He had never seen or heard of these before. What a wonderful idea. If he got one of these, Hinata wouldn’t have to constantly take his ring off and inevitably lose it. He wouldn’t admit that he also just wanted to see Hinata always wearing his ring.
“Yes.”
The employee laughed. “Alright then, pick a color! Do you happen to know his ring size?”
Kageyama opened and closed his mouth a few times. How could he have been stupid enough not to think of finding out Hinata’s ring size?
The woman laughed once again. “Don’t worry, you can always guess now and come back later if it’s not right.”
Kageyama heaved another sigh of relief. He was so grateful for this woman.
In the end, he ended up with a black silicone ring and a simple gold band. The woman wished him luck as he left.
Now, all he had to do was hide them until the time he proposed. That, and figure out how the hell he was going to do so.
~
It was a warm spring evening as Kageyama and Hinata walked through the park near their apartment. They had stopped for meat buns, and Hinata was currently telling a story enthusiastically between mouthfuls.
“Swallow before you talk, dumbass,” Kageyama said for probably the millionth time since they met, lightly bumping his shoulder against the shorter man’s.
Hinata swallowed his bite just to stick his tongue out, grumbling “Bakageyama” under his breath.
The sun was just starting to set. It was time.
“Hey, Sho,”
Hinata stopped, realizing that Kageyama was no longer by his side. He turned around to see Kageyama a few paces back, down on one knee. He gasped, almost choking in the process.
“Hinata Shoyo,” Kageyama forced himself to maintain eye contact, suddenly nervous.
The redhead was frozen still, other than his shaking hands.
“I’ve never known a partner until I met you. We may have had a rough start, but you’ve shown me time and time again that I’m not alone, that you’re here. I want you by my side for the rest of our lives. I know we can’t get married now, but I want to marry you the second I can. Shoyo, will you marry me?” He pulled out the gold ring and held it up for the other to see.
Hinata started to cry, and for a split second, Kageyama was terrified. That was until he launched himself down towards Kageyama and hugged him, burying his face in Kageyama’s shirt and soaking it with tears and snot as his crying turned into full, hiccupping, ugly sobs.
“Yes! Yes, Tobio! Oh my god!”
Kageyama wrapped his arms around his now fiance and kissed the top of his head, not even trying to contain the happy giggles that bubbled out of him.
“Come on, dumbass, let me put the ring on you before you completely ruin my shirt.”
Hinata started laughing, too. He let Kageyama slide the ring on his finger, who was both amazed and relieved when it actually fit. He held up his hand and just stared for a moment before leaning down to pepper his fiance’s face with kisses.
Few words were shared between them as they finally made their way back home, both too giddy to think of anything more to say. That was until Hinata gasped and stopped.
“I need to call my mom!”
~
Later that evening, the two were settled on the couch, unsurprisingly watching volleyball matches on TV. Hinata lay on his back with his head on the armrest and his feet in his fiance’s lap. Occasionally, he would lift his left hand in the air to gaze at his ring, accompanied by giggling and kicking his feet. Every instance would earn him an eye roll and a soft, fond "dumbass."
About 30 minutes passed of this before:
"Let's go to the park! You can toss for me!"
Of course, that damn ball of energy couldn't sit any longer without wanting to play.
"Ugh, fine, I guess," Kageyama replied, though Hinata knew he wanted to go play just as badly.
Hinata smiled before realizing something important.
"Do you have the box for my ring? I don't want to lose it."
First, Kageyama was impressed that his fiance even considered that. Second, he realized that he didn't even tell Hinata about his genius preparation for this exact scenario - that was totally his own idea that he came up with with no help whatsoever. He silently thanked the jewelry store employee again.
"Yeah, but I have something else for you."
Hinata's eyes practically sparkled. "Another thing for me? Wow, Tobio-kun is so generous!"
Kageyama wanted to grab him by his head but held himself back. He was being generous, after all.
He went to their bedroom, coming back a moment later with an empty ring box in one hand and a smaller tin in the other. He pulled the silicone ring out and shoved it in the smaller man's face.
"Wear this."
Hinata had to back up to focus on what he saw.
"Another ring? But I just said I didn't want to lose this one. Why'd you get me two?" He asked, confusion plainly written across his face.
"Just put it on, dumbass."
"You'd think by now you'd have a different insult for me," Hinata grumbled quietly while he switched out the rings.
"It's silicone. It's flexible and won't fall off. You can wear it while playing volleyball and not lose it or hurt your fingers." Kageyama explained.
Hinata's eyes grew wider as he gasped. He was amazed. Never had he heard of such a thing. And it was so comfortable too!
"Wear this one normally and wear the other one for special occasions."
As much as Hinata wanted to wear the gold band all the time, he supposed it was a smarter idea. Plus, this way he could always wear a ring. He nodded in agreement.
The men grabbed a ball, put on their shoes, and headed to the park.
~
A few days later, Hinata voiced another question that had been nagging him in the back of his mind.
"Should we tell people we're engaged?"
Kageyama looked confused.
"We've already told people. Our families know. Our friends and teammates know. It's not exactly a secret."
"Yeah, but, like, should we tell people ?" Seeing his fiance was still obviously confused, he elaborated. "Like, announce it online for our fans or something?"
"Oh." Kageyama thought about it before replying. "If you want, I don't mind."
"I just don't want people getting weird about either of us being gay, you know?"
Unfortunately, Kageyama did know what the other meant. Not only was same-sex marriage still not legal in Japan, but there were still far too many people who believed it shouldn't be. Hell, they haven't even announced that they were dating. They didn't mean to keep it hidden, it just honestly never came up. If either were asked about their personal lives by fans or media, they would wave them off and talk about volleyball instead.
"I don't really care what anyone thinks, honestly. I'm not ashamed to be happy with someone I love," Kageyama blushed slightly.
"Tobio!" Hinata covered his face. "How can you just say that so easily?!" He asked, but couldn't hide his smile.
Kageyama shrugged. "It's true."
"But what about sports association people? What if they make a big deal out of it and want to ban us from playing?" Hinata tried not to worry, but once the thought entered his head he couldn't shake it.
"Shoyou," Kageyama gently grabbed the order's chin and made him face him. "I don't care. I love volleyball, and I know you do too, but I love you more. We don't have to make a big announcement, but I don't want to keep it a secret either."
Hinata let out a strangled cry before burying his face in Kageyama’s chest.
"I love you so much, Tobio."
~
The announcement came sooner than either of them expected.
Hinata's team had just finished a match, the redhead spiking the winning point.
After bowing and being dismissed, a reporter approached Hinata, cutting in front of a group of fans wanting autographs.
"Hinata-san! Excuse me, Hinata-san! Mind answering a few quick questions?"
As much as he wanted to appreciate his fans, Hinata would never pass up a chance to talk about volleyball. Especially if he got to be on TV.
The questions started out pretty typical- how was he feeling, how he jumped so high (for the millionth time), etc. Hinata answered enthusiastically, waving his arms huge, exaggerated gestures.
“Wait,” the reporter interrupted the tangent Hinata was on. “Is that a wedding ring I spy? I didn’t know you were married!” They exclaimed.
“Oh! I’m actually not married, but I’m engaged!”
“Ah, I see! I just assumed since it’s usually the man giving the woman a ring, not the other way around.”
“Well,” Hinata rubbed the back of his neck. “My fiance who proposed to me is actually a man, too.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, and he plays volleyball too! He’s the world’s best setter, Kageyama Tobio!”
The reporter was stunned into silence for a brief moment.
“Well I suppose the two of you are known to be great partners. Maybe we should’ve known that that would extend to off the court,” the reporter said with a smile.
“We’ve actually been together for years. We hope that same-sex marriage will be legal in Japan someday so we can get married for real.” Hinata’s voice was a bit sad, but had a note of hopefulness.
“Whatever happens, I wish you two a lifetime of happiness,” the reporter said genuinely while trying not to take too large of a stance on the subject while recording.
Hinata thanked them, smiling and waving as the reporter said their closing remarks.
As Hinata walked away, he spotted a familiar tall figure not far from him.
“Tobio!!!” Hinata cheered, crashing into his fiance’s arms from a running jump.
Kageyama hardly even swayed, so used to the smaller man’s mannerisms. He just laughed and returned the hug.
“Did you see us win? Wasn't my last spike cool? I was all like ‘whoosh, kablam!’”
Kageyama nodded. “I did. You were great, Sho. I also saw your interview.”
“Oh. What did you think?” Hinata asked, slightly worried that he may have messed up.
“It was perfect. You’re perfect,” Kageyama answered quietly.
“Tobiooooo,” Hinata groaned, lightly pushing at his face before swooping back in to kiss him.
“I can’t wait to marry you.”
~
Everything had gone better than planned. Both men kept their careers and sponsors. They only lost a few “fans” who turned out to be homophobic jerks. And the fans that they lost were more than replaced by a surge of fans who were thrilled to have such skilled professional athletes representing the LGBTQ+ community. The couple didn’t do it for popularity, of course, but they were proud to be people who others could look up to.
Most importantly, they had each other. Even if they couldn’t legally get married. Yet.