Archive of Our Own ^beta

Kageyama stood still in front of the glass door. His eyes narrowed as he read through the flyer that was taped to the inside of the door. All the passersby that were going about their shopping turned their heads to him as they went by. The sight of a tall man glaring at a help wanted poster, which is how the scene must’ve looked to them, probably wasn’t what they were expecting to see on a cloudless Sunday morning.

Oblivious to everyone’s curious gazes, Kageyama continued studying the contents of the inquiry. The café was looking for a part-time worker, immediately available, for the next few months. No prior experience required. Perfect! He was sure he could handle brewing coffee and bringing it to people. He’s even had several years of experience being a gofer for his older sister.

A bell rang and the help wanted poster started distancing itself from Kageyama. Someone had opened the door from the inside.

“Uhh…” the person holding the door said, “the door doesn’t open on its own.”

“I’d like to apply for the part-time job”, Kageyama replied.

“Ohh!” the other nodded.

“Where do I need to apply?”

“Well, usually you’d have to call or send an email with your application, but I think our manager is here today. Come in!”

“Thank you very much”, Kageyama bowed and followed the employee with a bowl cut.

The interior design of the café caught Kageyama off-guard. A peculiar mix of paraphernalia were hanging on the walls, surrounded by framed photographs of rice fields. The space was rather narrow but it expanded into the back. There was even a small staircase that seemingly led to a second floor.

They walked past tables with customers and got to a counter. Under the counter there was a display with various cakes and sandwiches. One looked tastier than the other, but the strawberry meringue shortcake especially made Kageyama’s mouth water. He was trying to decide which cake to order, almost forgetting the reason why he had entered the shop in the first place.

“Shouyou, is Atsumu-san in the back?” bowl cut asked.

“Where were you Tsutomu? Bring these to table five”, the man behind the counter replied.

“But—”

“Hurry!”

“Ah, fine!” he grabbed the plates and turned around. “Just tell this guy.”

“Uhm…”, Kageyama blinked.

“Hello, my name is Hinata”, he smiled wide, “how can I help you?”

“Ah, uhh, hi”, he couldn’t help but smile a bit as well, “I saw the help wanted poster and wanted to apply.”

“Ohh! I see”, Hinata nodded.

“That guy”, Kageyama pointed backwards, “told me to follow him ‘cause the manager was here or something.”

“He is, but I don’t know if you can just—”

“So ya wanna work here?”

“Atsumu-san!?” Hinata startled and jumped. “Since when were you standing behind me!?”

“Yes please”, Kageyama nodded.

“Swell.”

“...? Atsumu-san?” Hinata seemed confused.

“Follow me to the back, I’ll ask ya some things”, ‘Atsumu-san’ grinned and beckoned him behind the counter.

“Atsumu-san?!”

“Take care of things for me for a sec, will ya?”

“Ehh…”, Hinata exclaimed and glanced at Kageyama, but only received a nod as he followed ‘Atsumu-san.’

They walked through a small corridor with doors on each side, one of them with a small circular window in it. Kageyama peeked through it and saw what looked like a kitchen on the other side. Inside were two other people, seemingly arguing. He couldn’t make out what they were talking about, not even with his limited lip-reading skills.

One time in middle school, he took part in a lip-reading course because he wanted to see if his classmates were talking about him behind his back. But not only was he very bad at it, constantly making mistakes when trying to decipher others’ mouthing for exercise purposes, he’d also always start glaring, which was a dead giveaway and made people stop talking or turn around completely.

He shrugged it off quickly and returned his attention to ‘Atsumu-san’ who was waiting for him to enter the room on the other side. He stepped into the room and started looking around. Inside were a big couch with two armchairs, a round table with some chairs, a vending machine and various other items, which led Kageyama to confirm this room as the break room for employees.

“Have a seat”, ‘Atsumu-san’ smiled and pointed at the couch. “Ya want somethin’ to drink?”

“Uhh…”, Kageyama sat down and looked at the vending machine, “do you have to pay for drinks on your break?”

“Oh, this thing?” he started laughing and approached it.

“Yes.”

“Nah, you just pick your choice and”, he smacked the side of the vending machine after pushing some buttons, “ya get yer drink!”

“...how exactly does that work?”

“I dunno but I ain’t complainin’!”

“I see”, Kageyama nodded, “then I’d like a barley tea, thank you very much.”

“Sure thing”, he pushed some more buttons, smacked it again and handed the cold bottle to Kageyama.

“Thank you.”

“Well then”, he sat down on an armchair, “my name’s Miya Atsumu, I’m the manager of Ricebucks.”

“Hello, my name is Kageyama Tobio and I would like to work part-time here.”

“Wow, straight to the point, I like that”, Atsumu laughed, “why don’t ya tell me somethin’ about yerself?”

“Okay”, he nodded, “I’m 25 and play the bass in a band and—”

“Ohh, which band? What stuff do ya play?”

“We’re INFAMY MORNING. We do quite a lot I’d say, anything from alternative rock to post-hardcore, pop punk and emo and stuff.”

“That explains your outfit”, he snorted.

“It does…?” Kageyama looked down at himself.

“Absolutely. Look at you, in all black, ripped jeans, heavy boots, edgy earrings”, Atsumu started describing him from tip to toe. “I like it. Has an impact.”

“...thank you?”

“So if yer in a band already, what’re ya doin’ here?” he drank from his coffee can.

“We’re currently in need of some cash for something that we’re planning to do, so everyone decided to look for a part-time job on their own.”

“I see, I see”, he nodded, “well to be frank with you, we do need someone soon. The owner’s goin’ on a business trip for a while and I need to take over for him. So we’ll have less people in the front.”

“I understand.”

“But since this is such a unique circumstance, we really don’t wanna get someone on full-time, ya get me?”

“We’ve all decided to do the part-time job for half a year at most, since we won’t have time to focus on anything else then. So with that in mind, if you’d still be willing to employ me…”

“Aight, yer in!”

“...huh…?”

“Ya got the job”, he smiled, “lemme just go find the contract and you can sign it and start next week.”

“Already? Are you sure this is okay?”

“Don’t sweat it, Tobio-kun”, he stood up, “I’m the manager, no one can tell me what to do.”

“Hmm, is that so?” someone had entered the room and stood in the frame of the door with his arms crossed.

“Oikawa!?” Atsumu jumped. “What are ya doin’ here? It’s not time for your break yet!”

Kageyama recognized him as one of the two people that were arguing in the kitchen before.

“I’m well aware of that”, he answered, “but Sakusa has been getting on my nerves since my shift started. Would you mind telling him that I’m not going to change how I make my sandwiches?”

“Can’t ya tell him that yerself!?”

“Don’t you think I’ve been trying?”

“Ugh, fine”, he rolled his eyes, “sorry Tobio-kun, please just wait here for a sec until I’m back okay?”

“Oh, uhh… alright”, he nodded and took a sip from his bottle as the other two left the room. Kageyama didn’t get much time to himself before the door opened once again and two people entered.

“Ohh! The guy glaring at the door!” bowl cut exclaimed. He was accompanied by an unknown face who quickly sat down on one of the armchairs.

“Yo”, he greeted Kageyama quickly.

“Rintarou-san! Your shift is starting, why are you sitting down?!”

“Just gimme five, gotta check my feed first”, he said as he scrolled on his phone.

“I can’t believe you…” he shook his head and stepped closer to the vending machine. Just as Atsumu did before, he inputted a number, smacked the machine and grabbed his drink of choice. He sat down on the other armchair and turned to Kageyama with a big smile on his face.

“Did you get the job!?”

“...?!” Kageyama startled at the sudden question. “I… I did”, he nodded.

“Really? Congrats!!” bowl cut grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously.

“Th-thank you…”

“My name’s Goshiki Tsutomu, nice to meet you!”

“Kageyama Tobio. Likewise.”

“Hmm, new coworker? Cool, less work for us”, the other added. “Suna Rintarou.”

“Rintarou-san!”

“Fine, fine”, he sighed and stood up, “I’ll get going.”

“Good luck!”

“Blegh”, Suna groaned and exited the break room, leaving Kageyama and Goshiki behind.

“Are you a student? Or do you just need some quick cash?” Goshiki returned his attention to his newest coworker.

“Oh, no. I’m in a band and we need some funds right now…”

“A band!? Cool! Are you famous?!”

“...” the question left him deflated.

“Ah…” he calmed down, “sorry.”

“...that’s the end goal, but I guess we’re not there yet…”

“Well, I hope you do get there soon! Having a famous friend would be fun, haha!”

“...” Kageyama chuckled. “Thanks.”

“I’m back, did ya miss me?” Atsumu announced as he returned.

“Welcome back, Atsumu-san!” Goshiki replied.

“Tsutomu-kun, why ain’t ya workin’?”

“It’s my break.”

“Ah, fair enough”, he sat down and put some papers on the table. “I’ve got yer contract here, Tobio-kun.”

“Thank you very much.”

“As it’s stated here, yer contract is for half a year. Normal shift hours, five days a week. And ya get free drinks and cakes.”

“Ohh…” he grabbed the contract and started reading it.

“Whoa, you’re actually reading it?” Goshiki gasped.

“Yes”, Kageyama nodded, “our manager made it very clear that we always need to read things before we sign them.”

“Sounds like a good manager to me”, Atsumu smiled.

After reading through the contract and signing it, he returned it to Atsumu. He was told he’d receive a copy of it when he starts working, which he could do next week. They continued talking for a while until Goshiki had to return to work. Before leaving, Kageyama decided to order some coffee and a cake for take-out. The bell rang again when he left the café to step outside.

With a content expression and a sense of accomplishment, he headed towards the studio where INFAMY MORNING usually practised. They’d have one last practice day before their short hiatus.

“Tobiooooooooo!”

“Hello, Bokuto-san”, Kageyama placed the cake box on a table. “I’ve brought some cake.”

“Why cake?”

“It looked good and they were selling it at my part-time job.”

“You already got one!?” Bokuto exclaimed in surprise.

“Yeah.”

“Well done, Kageyama”, Yaku said, sitting at the table.

“Thank you, Yaku-san.”

“And you should hurry up too, Bokuto. Everyone else got something already too.”

“Really!?” Bokuto looked around frantically. “Hoshiumi!?”

“At a bookstore.”

“Ushiwaka?”

“I got scouted for a temporary model gig.”

“What!? Semi??”

“Stand-in bassist for another band.”

“You’re still doing band stuff?”

“I get paid so who cares.”

“Inunaki?!?”

“Substitute teacher.”

“Huh?!”

“I have a degree in education”, he winked.

“There you heard it”, Yaku grinned. “You’re the last one.”

“...” Bokuto sniffed. “I’ll do my best…”

“That’s the spirit!” he stood up and slapped Bokuto on the back. “So let’s make this last practise count, guys! INFAMY MORNING?!”

“WAKE UP!” the others replied in unison before they each went to their instrument to start practising.

They spent the rest of the day holed up in the tiny studio. The sun had already started setting when Yaku decided to end practice. Before sending everyone home though, he invited them to dinner at a ramen place. It was past midnight when they left the restaurant and everyone headed home. Kageyama’s apartment was the nearest of them all, so he decided to go by foot and take a stroll.

He passed through the local park, enjoying the silence of the night and the faint lights of the stars in the sky. He was sad that he wouldn’t be able to practise with his bandmates for a while, but at the same time he was also excited for his part time job. Definitely not because he’d get to try all those delicious-looking cakes and pastries. And how hard could it really be, right?

☕☕☕

“Shouyou-kun?” Atsumu called.

“Yeah?” Hinata had just finished changing into his working outfit.

“Tobio-kun’s gonna arrive in a bit. Since I gotta drive Kita-san to the airport I’d like you to show him everythin’ he needs to know.”

“Sure, you can count on me!”

“Good boy”, he ruffled Hinata’s hair.

“Gah!” he jumped back. “I told you to stop doing that. I just finished arranging it.”

“Ya can’t arrange somethin’ as spiky an’ wild as yer hair.”

“...” Hinata merely glanced in response.

“Ah, speakin’ of the devil”, Atsumu smiled as he waved in Kageyama, who was standing in front of the entrance door. The bell rang and Kageyama approached the two.

“Mornin’”, Atsumu said.

“Good morning!” Hinata smiled.

“Morning. Pleased to be working with you from now on”, he bowed down to greet them.

“Same here. Alright Tobio-kun, ya can—”

“I’m ready, Atsumu.”

“Kita-san!” Atsumu turned around.

“Good morning, Kita-san!” Hinata said.

“To you too, Hinata”, he nodded. “And you must be Kageyama. It’s nice to meet you, my name is Kita Shinsuke, I’m the owner of Ricebucks.”

“The pleasure is all mine, I’m Kageyama Tobio. I’ll be starting here today and despite my inexperience I will try my best! Thank you very much!”

“Thank you, too, for coming on such short notice. It’ll really help us out”, Kita smiled.

“Kita-san, we have to leave if you wanna catch your plane.”

“Right, well then. I hope you enjoy your work here.”

“Thank you very much”, Kageyama bowed down to him.

“Hinata, please look after the café.”

“Of course! Have a nice trip, Kita-san!”

“Thank you”, Kita nodded and turned around. Atsumu was already standing by the door, holding it open.

“Kita-san, aren’t you supposed to say that to me while you’re gone?”, he asked.

“...” but Kita only smiled and exited without saying anything.

“Kita-san!?” Atsumu followed and the door closed behind him.

“Well, I guess it’s only the two of us now!” Hinata exclaimed.

“Only us?”

“Ah, no worries. Oikawa-san and Sakusa-san will arrive in about half an hour. And the café only opens at nine o’clock, so we still have about an hour left. Plenty to show you everything you’ll need to know.”

“I see”, Kageyama nodded.

“First things first”, Hinata crossed his arms, “you’ll need to get changed. I’ve readied an outfit for you in the break room. You can change there. After today you may also come to work dressed for it already if you prefer that. You get two sets so you can make sure one’s always clean.”

“Alright”, he nodded again, “do I need to take off my piercings?”

“Nope, all good! ”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

“‘Kay!”

While Kageyama was changing into the café’s uniform – Atsumu called it a uniform, but it really just consisted of a pair of black pants, a white button-up shirt, black shoes and a dark green and beige apron – Hinata started prepping some tools to show them to the new worker.

A short while after, Kageyama returned from the break room.

“Oh, it fits perfectly”, Hinata said, “and it looks good on you.”

“Thanks”, he nodded, “what about the apron?”

“Oh, you can wear that normally or just like a waist apron, whichever you like more!”

“I see”, he nodded again and tied it around his waist, leaving his shirt uncovered.

“You can also roll up your sleeves if you want.”

“Is that okay?”

“Sure, Atsumu-san does that too.”

“No, I mean, ‘cause…” Kageyama started explaining as he rolled up the left sleeve. “I’ve got some tattoos.”

“Oh, is that a bass? Cool!” Hinata looked at it closely. “Do you have some on your other arm too?”

“Yeah”, he rolled up the other sleeve to reveal tattoos of a volleyball, a pair of scissors and a flying fish.

“What do they stand for if you don’t mind me asking?”

“My grandpa used to be a famous volleyball player and I always looked up to him. My older sister is a hairdresser and… well”, he avoided Hinata’s gaze. “My name…”

“Your name…?”

“...”

“Oh ‘cause it sounds like a flying fish!!” he started laughing.

“...hah…”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh. But that’s really funny, I like it.”

“...”

“‘Kay, lemme show you everything.”

“Alright”, Kageyama nodded.

Hinata began by showing him how the various machines work and how to operate them. He showed him how to properly plate the cakes, pastries and other meals from the display. He mentioned how Kageyama could start with just taking orders from the guests and once he got used to everything he could serve them too.

Much to Hinata’s surprise, Kageyama seemed to be listening to everything attentively. Kageyama acted more seriously than Hinata had expected, but if that helped him get the hang of things more easily, then all the better. Though when he tried to explain how the checkout worked, Kageyama switched between glaring and raising an eyebrow at the machine. A longer, more intensive explanation of it would be needed after working hours.

In the meantime, Sakusa and Oikawa had already arrived and started preparing some of the meals for the day. The sandwiches and other savoury dishes that the café sold were always prepared in the morning, while the cakes, pies and other sweet desserts had already been baked the day before after closing time.

Despite Sakusa being a learned patissier and Oikawa usually being in charge of all the savoury foods, not one day went by without each of them trying to give the other (more or less) helpful advice on what to do. Like some months ago, Sakusa suggested that Oikawa make round sandwiches instead of cutting the toast in triangles like he usually would.

After holding a 30-minute long monologue as to why triangle-shaped sandwiches are by far the most superior sandwich shape, Atsumu had to intervene by reminding Sakusa that cutting a square piece of bread into two triangles wouldn’t leave any scraps behind, as opposed to cutting it into a circle. Only then did Sakusa accept the triangles, and the two returned to their work.

“Alright, I think that’s most of the things you really need to know how to do”, Hinata said, arms akimbo.

“I’ll do my best”, Kageyama nodded.

Hinata opened the café, and the two waited for the first guests to arrive. He knew that the beginning of the day always meant fewer guests, but it would also provide the best conditions for Kageyama to get used to it. When the first people entered, Hinata waited behind the counter and told Kageyama to go take their orders just as he explained earlier.

He observed Kageyama approach the guests that had sat down at a table near the entrance. He felt proud, it had been almost a year since the last time he had to show someone how to do their work. The café’s newest worker before Kageyama was Goshiki, and back then Hinata was also the one to show him the ropes.

It didn’t take all that long before Kageyama turned around and walked back to the counter.

“How did it go, what did they order?”

“They said they didn’t know what to order yet”, he explained.

“Eh, really? But they’re two of our regulars, that’s odd…”

“Oh, I see.”

“SORRY I’m late!” Goshiki almost kicked the door open.

“Tsutomu, your shift only starts in an hour. Didn’t you see the new plan?” Hinata sighed.

“...oh”, he did not see the new plan. The two guests chuckled at him being dopey. He greeted them and casually asked if they had ordered already and the two promptly told him what they wanted.

“Morning”, Kageyama greeted him.

“‘Sup!” Goshiki approached the counter, “they said they wanted the usual.”

“Oh, maybe that’s why they didn’t tell you, you wouldn’t know their usuals yet”, Hinata nodded.

“Ah, that makes sense”, Kageyama replied.

“Okay got it, I’ll get it done asap.”

“Shouyou, can I move my shift now that I’m here already? Pretty please??”

“Fine”, he sighed, “but don’t forget to write it down.”

“Nice, I’ll be right back!” he said and rushed towards the break room.

While Hinata prepared ‘the usual’, Kageyama used the opportunity to observe and learn. He brought the drinks to the table before returning to the counter. Seconds later, more people started entering the café and sitting down. Hinata remained behind the counter and followed Kageyama with his gaze as he walked from one table to the other.

“And?” Hinata asked when he came back.

“...none of them knew what they wanted yet…” he looked down. “Are they all regulars too?”

“Th-they’re not…”

“I see…”

“Let’s just wait a bit and try again, okay?”

“I’m back!”, Goshiki exclaimed. “Oh, look at all those new guests, I’ll go take their orders!”

“Wait, Tsutomu, they’re—” but before Hinata could finish his sentence, Goshiki was already swarming around the tables, taking orders left and right. He returned with a filled up page in his little notebook.

“...” Kageyama was speechless.

“Wha—how!?” Hinata exclaimed.

“How what?” Goshiki tilted his head to the side.

“Nothing, can you prepare everything?”

“Sure!” he nodded and got behind the counter.

“Kageyama?”

“...yeah?”

“I’ll accompany you to the next person that enters, okay? Maybe there’s something I can help with.”

“Alright…” he agreed, still looking somewhat defeated.

It didn’t take long for the next guest to enter the café, and Hinata followed Kageyama to the table. He positioned himself next to him, smiled, and observed everything.

“Welcome to Ricebucks, what would you like to order?” Kageyama asked.

“Uhm, I’d like…” the man looked up to Kageyama and gasped, “...eek! Uh… Uhm… I’m still thinking about it…”

“I see…”

It was then that Hinata turned his head to the side and witnessed the reason for Kageyama’s problem .

He wasn’t smiling.

That, paired with his height and hair style that obscured parts of his face made it look like he was glaring at the guests. They were actually being intimidated by him, even though just accidentally. Oh no, Hinata thought to himself before he quietly told Kageyama to head back for now. After talking to the man a bit, he managed to take his order and walked back as well.

“I’m sorry…” Kageyama apologised.

“I know your problem now.”

“Really?”

“Yes”, Hinata nodded, “smile!”

“...huh?”

“Smile for me!”

“I’m not really one for—”

“Do it!!”

“Okay!” Kageyama sighed and smiled.

“Eek!” Hinata gasped and jumped back, almost bumping into Goshiki and knocking over some paper cups.

“See?”

“Oh, so you’re aware of it?”

“I’ve been told plenty of times by my bandmates, yes…” he explained. “That’s why I never do any kind of fan service during our performances.”

“Hmm…”

“I’m sorry…”

“Tsutomu!” Hinata called him.

“Yeah?”

“Do you have any ideas on how to make someone smile?”

“Uhh…” he started thinking, “what about funny vids?”

“Ohh, good idea! Kageyama!”

“...!?”

“Let’s go take our break early”, he grinned, “can you handle it, Tsutomu?”

“Leave it to me!”

“Nice!” he said, grabbed Kageyama by the arm, and dragged him to the break room. He took out his phone, opened the TheyTube app and started searching for compilations of funny videos. He clicked on the first result and held the phone screen in front of Kageyama’s face.

“Uhh…” Kageyama looked at him.

“Watch the video!”

“I’m not sure that’s gonna be much help—”

“Watch it!!”

“Okay!” he gave in and looked at the screen.

Hinata was holding up his phone eagerly. He couldn’t wait to see Kageyama laugh naturally. It seemed he was well aware of the fact that his forced smiles looked more intimidating than anything.

Minutes passed, but Kageyama had yet to laugh once. Not even a chuckle or grin could be seen. Hinata wondered if the video wasn’t all that funny to begin with, so he scooched over next to Kageyama and looked at the screen as well. It only took him about ten seconds to start laughing.

“I don’t think this is working, and our break will be over at this rate…”

“But these are so funny!!” Hinata said, half-laughing.

“...sure…”

“Ah, crap!” he closed the app and put his phone away. “I guess we gotta try other things. Let’s just go back for now.”

“What should I do?”

“Do you think you can operate the machines?”

“Except for the checkout, yes”, he nodded.

“Alright, let’s just have you stay behind the counter for now.”

“Understood.”

“Don’t worry”, Hinata slapped Kageyama on the back, “you’ll get the hang of it eventually!”

🎸🎸🎸

Kageyama checked his phone for any new messages, but there were none to be found. He scrolled up in the chat, just to make sure again. April 3rd, 11am, in front of the gates. He arrived here at the right place at the right time. But it was already quarter past eleven, so he started to wonder whether something had happened. Just as he was about to dial a number, the person he had been waiting for came running around the corner.

“Kageyamaaa!” Hinata shouted in the distance.

“Ah, he’s here.”

“Hah, hah…”, Hinata panted, hands on knees. “Sorry about that, my bicycle had a flat tire so I had to run.”

“Oh…”

“And when I wanted to call you mid-way to let you know, I realised I forgot my phone at home.”

“I see”, Kageyama nodded, “I’m glad nothing happened to you though.”

“Yeah all’s good, just gimme a min to catch my breath.”

“Sure”, he nodded.

The two were standing in front of the entrance gates to the local zoo. Hinata had invited him to go to the zoo next time their days off coincided. His only reasoning being that his little sister used to love going to the zoo and seeing the animals made her smile a lot. Hinata was convinced that would make Kageyama get more accustomed to smiling naturally.

And while Kageyama wasn’t sure that this plan would work out – as any other plan Hinata had tried in the past month – he didn’t mind going to the zoo if it meant spending time with him. He couldn’t really explain it, but being around Hinata made him feel at ease.

Due to his bandmates being busy with their own part-time jobs, they rarely got the opportunity to meet and hang out or go out for dinner together. Their days off almost never aligned, so it turned out to be quite difficult to find a day when everyone was available.

“Okay, let’s go in”, Hinata said.

“It’s been a while since I went to the zoo.”

“Same, actually”, Hinata laughed, “I only ever went with Natsu.”

“Natsu?”

“Ah, that’s my sister.”

“I see”, he nodded.

The two paid for their tickets. After taking a look at the map they were given, they decided to walk through the zoo clockwise, opposite to the recommended route. Because it was a sunny Saturday, the zoo was full of people. They were mostly families with little kids or couples walking hand in hand. Kageyama wondered how they looked to other visitors, but before he could continue that thought, Hinata’s excitement over the shoebill stork exhibit caught him off.

“I love these birds, they look so funny”, he laughed.

“They do”, Kageyama got closer, “though they really look like they’re annoyed at everything all the time.”

“Yeah, they’ve got RBFS just like you and Suna-san.”

“What?”

“Resting Bitch Face Syndrome.”

“...ah.”

“It’s what Suna-san called your… issue ”, he looked at Kageyama, “though he’s got it too.”

“But the guests order normally with him…”

“That’s ‘cause he mastered how to smile properly.”

“How?”

“I asked him that too, but he just replied that he didn’t know. That he just did it.”

“Not very helpful.”

“We don’t need his advice, this is totally gonna work! Let’s continue!!”

“Alright”, he nodded and followed Hinata.

After walking around for a while, they reached the petting zoo part. Hinata wanted to go inside and feed the goats, but Kageyama shook his head in response and was determined to stay outside of the enclosure. He’d never trust any goat ever again.

When he was younger, he and his family visited a zoo once. They had a petting zoo as well and Kageyama and his sister were led inside. Both of them had a little paper bag with food that they could feed to the goats and other animals inside. He was very excited to feed and pet them as they had never had a cat or dog, even though he always wanted one.

He located a goat that was on its own, put some of the food on his open hand and slowly approached the animal. When he got closer, he stopped and waited for the goat to eat from his hand. It seemed to smell the food and stepped closer. Just as it was about to eat, Kageyama’s sister complained that there were no cute bunnies inside, dropped her bag next to Kageyama’s feet and all the animals around him started storming towards him, aiming their mouths and beaks at the food.

Kageyama shook his head, trying to forget the traumatic experience he had as a child. He focused on Hinata again, who was doing the exact same thing he did as a child. He was about to call out to him to be careful or to run away, but the goat quietly ate from Hinata’s hand. A sigh of relief later, Kageyama approached the fence to take a better look.

“Haha, that tickles”, Hinata laughed. “Stop it, there’s enough food for y—oww!”

Another, smaller goat had bumped its head into Hinata’s butt.

“What was that for?!” he turned around and was promptly bumped by the goat he had just been feeding. “Ow! Stop!”

“Pff…”, Kageyama snorted before starting to laugh.

“He laughed! Ow!”

“Ahaha!”

“Stop laughing and help me!”

“I’m not getting in there, sorry”, he replied, still laughing.

“Kageyamaaaa!!” Hinata exclaimed, but when he realised he would in fact not receive any help from him, he quickly emptied the bag on the ground and jumped away. He left the enclosure and rejoined Kageyama, who was still trying to calm down.

“Grr…”

“Sorry”, Kageyama took a deep breath, “I shouldn’t have laughed.”

“Well, as long as you’re learning how to smile”, Hinata grinned.

“...thanks.”

“Onward, there’s much to see!” he raised an arm skyward as the two continued.

The rest of their day passed by without any other major incidents. Kageyama did in fact smile a few times afterwards too. He couldn’t help but chuckle at Hinata whenever he did or said something funny. Seeing him excited about the animals felt so endearing to him. Kageyama was glad that he agreed to go to the zoo. Whether it would help with his ‘problem’ was another issue.

☕☕☕

“Welcome everyone, please come in!” Hinata waved his arms around. He was standing in front of the café while holding a big sign.

It read: Experience working in a café for one day!

Once a year in May, all the shops, restaurants and cafés in the shopping district hold an open door event for the children of the town. They invited them to look behind the counters of all the various businesses and had them experience how it would be to work there.

Hinata was currently in charge of advertising for Ricebucks. Strictly speaking, the businesses didn’t gain anything from it; it was also a voluntary event. Despite that, most shops in the street participated and also held an unofficial contest to see who would get more children. The prize for the winner being a short feeling of superiority and the temporary disgrace of the losers.

“Shouyou, time to switch”, Goshiki said as he stepped outside.

“Thanks”, he gave him the big sign. “It’s starting to get hot though, so go back inside if it gets too warm, okay?”

“Will do!” he showed him a thumbs-up.

Hinata headed to the counter. Even though the event was mainly focused on children, the café still operated as usual, which meant that all hands were needed on deck. The entire team was present, yet Atsumu still had to help out in the front. He and Suna were attending to all the guests. Hinata stepped behind the counter and joined Kageyama.

As it turned out, Kageyama had a talent for working behind the counter. He was unexpectedly skilled with preparing all the drinks and plating the food. He even had a knack for latte art.

“How’s it going?” Hinata asked.

“Mh”, Kageyama nodded. He was pouring milk foam into a cup.

Hinata got closer and observed him, “Ohh, a cat!”

“Here you go”, he said and handed the cup to a little girl on his left.

“Wah, a cute kitty cat! Thank you mister!” the girl smiled and walked away.

“Wait, you’re not giving them coffee, are you?”

“Of course not, it’s hot cocoa”, he replied. “Next.”

“Me me me!” a boy raised his arm. “Can you do a Gundam?”

“Huh?” Kageyama turned to the boy and looked at him.

“Help, he’s gonna eat us!!” the boy and two others yelled and started running away.

“Ah, no…” he stretched out his hand but they were already gone.

“Seems like that is still an issue huh…” Hinata sighed.

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t sweat it!” he smiled. “I’ll handle the kids!”

“Okay”, he smiled faintly, “thank you very much.”

Hinata walked towards where the boys ran and talked to them. He explained that Kageyama only looked like that because he stayed up all night practising his latte art skills and didn’t get any sleep. The little white lie impressed the kids, and they returned to the counter with Hinata.

“U-uh…” one of them started talking. The others were hiding behind Hinata.

“You wanted a Gundam, right?”

The boy nodded.

“Sorry, there’s not enough space for an entire Gundam, but I can do the head if you want.”

Another nod.

“Alright”, Kageyama grabbed the can and started pouring. Not even a minute later, he presented the cup to the boys and made them gasp in excitement.

“It’s a Gundam!!”

“Whoa!!”

“You’re so cool, mister!”

“...th-thanks…”

“Now then, take care when going back to your table so you don’t spill the cool art, okay?”

“Yeah! Thank you!” the first boy said.

“Ask your mama to take a pic of it!” another one said as they walked away.

“I gotta say”, Hinata crossed his arms, “you’re pretty impressive that you can just do that.”

“Really? It’s easy if you do it a few times”, Kageyama replied.

“Ah, you’re one of those geniuses, got it”, he was observing the boys who were showing the latte art to their mothers.

“Wh… I’m not!”

“Ahaha, I’m just kidding”, Hinata started laughing.

“...” Kageyama smiled in response.

“Anyway, gotta go back to work”, he turned around. “Ah, Kageyama!”

“...!” he startled when Hinata stepped closer to him.

“Your cheeks are all red, are you feeling okay?” he put a hand on Kageyama’s forehead.

“Y-yeah, I’m good.”

“You don’t have a fever, though it’s getting pretty hot today. Make sure to drink a lot, okay!”

Kageyama nodded.

“Oh, youth…” Atsumu leaned onto the counter.

“Atsumu-san! Good work out there!” Hinata greeted him.

“Thank ya, Shouyou-kun”, he smiled. “It’s pretty busy today, isn’t it?”

“Is it always like this during the event?” Kageyama asked.

“Sure is.”

“Oi, manager”, Oikawa appeared from the back, “question.”

“Sorry, Tohru-kun. What did ya say? I think currently I’m the substitute owner, ain’t I?”

If looks could kill, Atsumu might’ve been dead.

“Let him have his little moment of glory, it’s annoying otherwise”, Sakusa joined.

“Hah…” Oikawa sighed, “Oh almighty lord substitute owner, I have a question.”

“Yes?”

“Sakusa said you told him that he should help me make more sandwiches, is that true?”

“It is. With this many guests comin’ in today, we’d be better off with some extras.”

“And why couldn’t you have told me yesterday? I don’t trust this guy with the task.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sakusa grumbled.

“That I don’t trust you and your sugar-filled brain, is what it means”, Oikawa replied.

“Oh, really?” he crossed his arms.

“Really”, he did the same.

“Guys, calm down, no need to be fightin’...”

“Can it!” the two said at the same time.

“No one respects the manager…” Atsumu sighed.

“He called himself manager again”, Kageyama whispered.

“You’re only the manager ‘cause you’re fucking Kita-san”, Suna appeared out of nowhere.

“Suna! Phrasin’!”

He shrugged.

“Wait, he’s not denying it?” Kageyama mumbled to himself.

“Shouyouuuuuuu!!” Goshiki shouted from the entrance. “Do you have a parasol or something, I’m gonna melt…”

The current chaos was just another day in the lives of the Ricebucks workers. Strangely enough, Kageyama had already gotten used to everything. He enjoyed observing them. Despite everything, they all were a good team that understood each other. They reminded him of his own bandmates.

“Ahh, get it together, guys!” Hinata exclaimed. “I’m coming, Tsutomu. Hang on!”

Kageyama chuckled at the chaos and started cleaning his workspace to prepare for the next request.

🎸🎸🎸

“Isn’t this nice?” Hinata sighed happily. He took a sip from his water bottle. “The sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky!”

“Yeah”, Kageyama nodded.

“Perfect conditions for a picnic. Just me, you…”

“What do you mean my sandwiches are unpalatable?!” Oikawa shouted.

“...and all of my co-workers”, Hinata sighed, not happily.

He had planned to invite Kageyama out on a picnic. His idea being that everyone loves picnics, so Kageyama was bound to smile a few times. Which would make him more used to it and therefore not scare people away anymore. The only problem was that Atsumu ended up eavesdropping on their conversation and promptly tried to invite himself as well.

But when Hinata had politely declined, stating that it was an important picnic and not just for fun, Atsumu apologised, saying Hinata was right, he wouldn’t want to disturb his date with Kageyama. Caught by surprise, Hinata vigorously denied it being a date, to which Atsumu had declared it a picnic day for the entire staff on that one free weekend in June – due to a holiday. Since it’s not a date, everyone can go and deepen their connections with each other, right? he had said.

“It means your sandwiches aren’t suited for my discerning palate”, Sakusa rolled his eyes.

“Imma shove this palate up your ass if you keep complaining about them”. Oikawa grabbed one of the paper plates.

“Why do you always have to be so vulgar?”

“Why do you always have to be so irritating?”

“Ha ha ha”, Atsumu forced a laugh, “isn’t it great to hang out with friends and enjoy a picnic together?”

“So can I go home yet?” Suna asked. “I was looking forward to spending the day in bed.”

“I love the fresh air out here!” Goshiki beamed. He was the only one who was genuinely enjoying the day. While Oikawa and Sakusa had their thing going on, Atsumu realised what a bad idea it had been and secretly wanted to leave as well.

“Me too”, Kageyama nodded, trying to change subjects and keep a conversation going. “And I like this place too. How did you know about it?”

“Well actually …”, Atsumu started.

“Here we go again…”, Suna whispered.

“Kita-san’s family are rice farmers. As it happens, this is part of the land they own. If you go further down that road you’d see rice fields poppin’ up left and right. You see, he actually wanted to follow his parents’ path and become a rice farmer too, but then one day he—”

“He met me and through me he learned to love coffee, so it’s all thanks to me that we can work with Ricebucks now”, everyone else but Kageyama said at the same time as if they were part of a recital in a theatre.

“Aww, you love that story as much as I do?” he asked the others.

“Dream on”, Suna said.

“Are you stupid?” Oikawa offered.

“Not in a million years”, Sakusa scoffed.

“It was cute the first time?”, Goshiki guessed.

“Hah”, Hinata had enough.

“No one respects the manager…”

“Kageyama!” Hinata jumped up from the paddy-patterned picnic blanket. “Wanna go for a walk?”

“...S-sure”, he nodded and stood up as well.

“Ohh!” Goshiki smiled. “Can I come too?”

“Oh, Tsutomu-kunnn…”, Atsumu grinned.

“Yeah?”

“There’s somethin’ I need to talk to you about.”

“Does it have to be now?”

“Yes.”

“But.”

“Now.”

“...Fine”, he sighed.

As Kageyama took the lead, Hinata turned around and saw Atsumu winking at him.

The two walked along a narrow gravel path next to the road Atsumu had pointed at earlier. They didn’t talk much; Kageyama because he didn’t know what to talk about and Hinata because he was trying to come up with a plan to leave his co-workers behind and work on the original plan again.

They reached a crossroads after a while, played rock-paper-scissors to decide which way to go and turned right after Hinata lost five times in a best-of-eleven. Soon after, they reached a big field of sunflowers. They were all blooming, the fields seemingly stretching out until the horizon and beyond.

“Whoa…”, Hinata’s eyes widened. “There’s so many!!”

“Yeah.”

“We totally should’ve had our picnic here”, he approached some flowers. Kageyama looked around and found a sunflower on the floor. He crouched down to pick it up and glanced at Hinata, who was still running around observing the flowers.

“Hinata.”

“Yeah?”, he came jumping back.

“Here”, Kageyama held the sunflower in front of him.

“Eh?”

“You seemed to enjoy them a lot, so you can have this if you want.”

“Cool!” he laughed. “I can put it in a vase at the café!”

“These sunflowers remind me of you”, he said and smiled.

Hinata was at a loss of words. “Wha…”

“We should head back”, Kageyama said as he started walking. Hinata was still trying to process what had happened; he didn’t even register him smiling. “Hinata?” he turned back.

“Ah, yeah, coming!” He ran.

They didn’t talk on the way back either.

The other five seemed to have calmed down by the time they returned.

“Oh, nice flower ya got there”, Atsumu smiled.

“Found it on the ground, thought we could put it up as decoration in the café”, Kageyama explained.

“Nice.”

“Shouyou, are you alright?” Goshiki asked.

“H-huh!?” Hinata jumped back.

“Is it too hot? Your ears are all red.”

☕☕☕

The sun had already set when Kageyama arrived at the stairs where he was supposed to wait. Despite it being dark already, it was still a stuffy night in July. He rolled up the sleeves of his yukata in an attempt to refresh himself. He followed the stairs with his gaze.

Hundreds of lanterns were hanging from ropes on both sides of the stairs. They were the guiding lights leading up to the shrine on top of the hill and the place of the summer festival. It was the biggest shrine in the vicinity, which meant that it also hosted the biggest festival. Just as he assumed, dozens of people were arriving and going up the stairs. Families, groups of friends, people on dates; though what surprised him most was the sheer lack of people dressed in traditional garb.

He wasn’t the only one by a long shot, but the majority was wearing everyday clothes. Kageyama didn’t want to wear a yukata at first either, but when he met up with his sister the other day and told her about the festival, she insisted on buying him one. They ended up going shopping together and now Kageyama owned the yukata that he was wearing: a dark blue fabric with a simple pattern of white goldfish near the hems.

“Sorry, am I late?”

“Hinata…” Kageyama replied, relieved to see Hinata wearing a black jinbei. “No, I just got here too.”

“Alright!” he laughed. “And nice outfit, I was worried I’d be the only one in something like this ‘cause we didn’t talk about what we’d wear!”

Kageyama chuckled. “That’s my line.”

“Should we head up?”

“Sure”, he nodded and they went on their way.

Hinata’s plan this time was to invite Kageyama to go to the summer festival together. Everyone loves summer festivals. If that didn’t make Kageyama grow accustomed to smiling properly, then nothing could.

After they had climbed up all the stairs, they were greeted by dozens of stalls that were either selling various foods and snacks or hosting some kind of festival game. Hinata started looking around and immediately dashed off after noticing a very specific stall. Confused yet happy to see him so excited, Kageyama followed after him.

“Do you like candy apples that much?”

“Ah, sorry, Kageyama”, he laughed, “but I do! They’re awesome!!”

“I don’t think I’ve ever had one.”

Hinata and the stall owner gasped audibly. “How can you have never had one?!”

“Dunno, it just never happened I guess…”

Hinata turned back to the stall owner. “Uncle, make that two candy apples!”

“Coming right up!”

“What if I don’t like it?”

“No worries”, Hinata grinned, “I can eat both!”

Hinata paid for the apples and gave one to Kageyama. He studied the red candy apple with rainbow sprinkles before taking a bite.

“Aaaaaaaaand?” Hinata waited full of anticipation.

“It’s good”, he nodded.

“Nice!!”

“But also a lot, I dunno if I can eat all of it.”

“As I said” –he took a bite from his apple– “leaf id tmee.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full”, Kageyama chuckled.

As the two continued, Hinata had already finished his apple when Kageyama was only halfway done. He asked if Hinata wanted to have the rest of his and before he could even finish the question, Hinata had already yoinked it.

“Say, Kageyama.”

“Hm?” he was searching for a fun game stall to play something.

“Do you work out?”

“Huh?” he returned his attention to Hinata.

“Those are some good arms!” he said and poked his upper arm.

“Being in a band requires a lot more stamina than one might think, but I do work out, yes.”

“I see…”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You may be short but you’re well built too.”

“I’m not short! You’re just a giant!” he glared at him.

“Sorry”, Kageyama smiled.

“Believe it or not, this is all from lifting.”

“Weights?”

“Boxes in the café!”

“Seriously?!”

“Yup”, Hinata nodded self-assuredly. “Well, and I go running regularly too.”

“I see…”, he nodded and glanced to the side. His gaze fell on a stall. “Let’s go over there.”

“Whe—Kageyama!?” before he could finish his sentence, Kageyama had already taken him by the hand and dragged him to the stall.

It was a shooting gallery stall with prizes that ranged from plushies, to books, snacks and even some small electronic gadgets like hand ventilators. Unlike with other games of this kind where you have to shoot targets that correspond to a prize, in this one you had to aim at the prizes themselves and knock them over or off the shelves. Kageyama put enough money on the table for three shots.

“What do you want, I’ll get it for you.”

“H-huh?”

“I’ll pick the hand ventilator for my sister, she always complains about the heat. And I’ll take the strawberry milk. You?”

“Uhh…”, he looked at all the prizes. “Heh.”

“What’re you grinning for?”

“That tiny chubby crow plushie.”

“That ugly thing?”

“It’s not ugly, it’s…”, Hinata fell silent for a moment. “Special.”

“Uh-huh.”

“It just needs some love.”

“Well, if you say so.”

He did say so. But what Hinata didn’t say is that he chose that plushie because it was the smallest target and he just wanted to see Kageyama fail after he so confidently proclaimed to hit everything.

Much to Hinata’s surprise, Kageyama hit all the targets with one shot each. He collected his prizes from the stall owner and handed the special-but-not-ugly crow plushie to its new owner.

“For you.”

“...Th-Thanks…”

“You good?”

“You didn’t tell me you were a pro?”

“Heh”, Kageyama stepped closer, “there’s a lot you don’t know about me yet.”

Hinata held his breath.

“I’m getting hungry, wanna have some yakisoba?” he turned around and looked for food stalls.

“I uhh… sure?” he shook his head to calm down again. He thought Kageyama was acting unusual, but he also seemed to be enjoying himself and he could even catch him smiling sometimes. Hinata caught up to him and the two headed over to a yakisoba stall.

They decided to sit down on a nearby bench to eat. The big portion was enough for two people to share it, so that’s what they did. After they finished eating, Hinata challenged Kageyama. Whatever the next game was that they’d see, they’d compete in it. The loser was tasked with treating the winner to dessert. Kageyama ignored the fact that they had already eaten candy apples before and accepted the challenge.

“That one!” Hinata exclaimed and pointed at one of the stalls. “Let’s play that one.”

“Yo-yo tsuri…”, Kageyama grinned. “Bring it on.”

The two approached the stall. “One game please!” they said at the same time as they slammed the money on the table. The stall owner gave each a paper hook and observed them crouching down to the small plastic pool that had dozens of colourful water balloons floating around.

“Most balloons wins?” Hinata asked.

“Fine by me”, Kageyama nodded. “Go!”

Both went at it full of energy and immediately tore the paper hook.

“Ah…”, they said in unison.

“You have to be careful”, a kid next to them said and scooped up one of the balloons without any difficulty, “see?”

“...thanks…”

“Want another go?” the stall owner asked, trying to suppress her laughter.

“Please…” the two sighed and bought another attempt.

“No time limit?” Hinata asked.

“No time limit”, Kageyama replied.

“I can’t believe you won by one”, Hinata complained, taking a spoonful of his shaved ice. “Ahh, brain freeze!”

“I guess I’m too good.”

“Shut up.”

“Pff”, Kageyama started laughing.

They were walking around the festival and enjoying their shaved ice. Kageyama got matcha while Hinata’s was watermelon flavoured. They tried a bit from each other’s ice but decided their own was better. After they had finished they got to another stall with a game that Hinata wanted to try out.

“Senbonbiki, really?” Kageyama raised an eyebrow.

“Why not?” Hinata asked as they stepped closer.

“‘Cause this is one of those games that’s always rigged so you don’t win the big prizes that you see. There are no strings attached to those.”

“Another childhood trauma? Like the goat?”

“The goats have nothing to do with this!”

“Don’t be such a spoilsport!” Hinata laughed.

“I’m telling you”, Kageyama stepped forward and grabbed all of the strings at once, “it’s rigged!!”

With one swing he pulled down on all strings.

And to his surprise, all of the prizes, even the expensive ones, were lifted.

“Ah”, he let go of them in stupor, which made all prizes fall down and off the small shelving they had been positioned on.

“What’re you doing, lad!?” the stall owner got up from his chair, looking furious.

“Shit.”

“What do you intend to—”

“Run!” Kageyama grabbed Hinata by his hand and started running away.

“What! Hey, come back!” the man yelled but the two were already out of sight.

Kageyama stopped running once they got out of the crowd and hid behind a corner of the shrine. Both of them started panting, trying to catch their breaths. Running at full speed in sandals wasn’t easy.

“S-Sorry…”, Kageyama breathed in, “for dragging you away like that.”

“Hah…”, Hinata sighed, “seriously.”

“Sorry…”

“Man, but, you know”, he laughed, “until now you only looked like a bad boy, but that was the bad boyest thing you’ve done so far.”

“Well”, Kageyama smiled, still holding Hinata’s hand. “Did you like it?”

“...I—”

“Tamayaaa!” the crowd in the distance shouted as the first fireworks bloomed in the night sky.

“Whoa…”, Kageyama looked to the sky. “So pretty.”

“Yeah…”, Hinata nodded. He didn’t notice how their fingers intertwined.

Without exchanging any words, the two watched the fireworks until the end.

🎸🎸🎸

“Thank you very much for the past six months. It was a very nice experience to be working with you all!” Kageyama bowed down in front of everyone.

“I wasn’t expecting some little band kid to be such a valuable resource of the café, but you really turned out to be a lot of help”, Oikawa said.

“Oikawa-san…”

“Except you still can’t talk to customers.”

Kageyama sighed.

“I’d much rather be abandoned on an uninhabited island for a week with nothing else but natto to eat than saying what I’m about to say, but I agree”, Sakusa crossed his arms.

“Oh really? I can arrange that lovely vacation for you, if you want. I’d even expand it for you.”

“Rintarou-kun, could ya…?” Atsumu sighed

“I don’t get paid for that”, Suna shrugged.

“You get tomorrow off.”

“Cool”, he grinned and started pushing Oikawa and Sakusa away and into the kitchen.

“Nice”, Atsumu smiled. “Anyway, Tobio-kun.”

“Yes?”

“I wanted to thank ya as well. It was a real pleasure to be workin’ with ya. And sorry that Kita-san isn’t here today. His flight was delayed until tomorrow.”

“Ah, no, the pleasure was all mine, thank you.”

“Kageyamaaaaa!” Goshiki sobbed. “I’ll miss youuu!”

“Tsutomu-kun, he’s not dead. You can see him again.”

“But it won’t be the same!”

“I’ll come here regularly. I’ll bring my band mates too”, Kageyama nodded.

He sniffed. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Pinky promise?” Goshiki stretched out his pinky.

He chuckled. “Pinky promise” and pinky promised him.

“Back”, Suna returned from the kitchen.

“Oh, have ya solved it already?”

“Solved what?”

“Tohru-kun and Omi-kun’s argument?”

“I was supposed to solve it?”

“...yes?!”

“Oh”, he snorted, “lol, no. They started throwing laddles at each other.”

“What! We have to stop ‘em!”

“Why?”

“Tobio-kun, wish you the best, see ya!” Atsumu grabbed Suna and Goshiki by their sleeves. “Let’s go.”

“Ugh”, Suna rolled his eyes.

“Wait, why me too?!” Goshiki exclaimed but was dragged away.

“Hah…” Hinata sighed. “At least we are already closed for the day.”

“I think I’ll miss the chaos a bit”, Kageyama said.

“Really?”

“...Maybe not.”

“Wow”, Hinata laughed.

“Well…”

“Yeah…”, he crossed Kageyama’s gaze. “Sorry that I couldn’t…”, he gestured, “fix your issue.”

“Oh…”, Kageyama glanced away, “yeah. It’s okay. I had fun.”

“I’m glad to hear that!” Hinata smiled.

“...Hinata?”

“Yeah?”

“Wanna go to the amusement park with me?”

“Wh-what?”

“As a thank you.”

“I…”

“Only if you wanna…”

“Yeah! Sure! That could be fun!”

“Alright”, Kageyama nodded. “I’ll text you then.”

“Okay!”

“Later”, he said and turned around.

“Bye-bye…”, Hinata waved his arm until the bell rang when the door closed behind Kageyama.

“Sorry, I’m late again!” Hinata huffed when he got to the amusement park’s entrance.

“It’s okay, I only just got here myself too”, Kageyama lied. He had been waiting for half an hour because he arrived early, making sure he wasn’t late. “And I’m kinda used to it by now.”

“Still! Lemme treat you to a drink or something.”

“You don’t have to.”

“But I want to.”

“...Fine”, Kageyama gave in. He glanced down at Hinata’s messenger bag and smiled when he noticed the special-but-not-ugly crow plushie hanging from it. He didn’t recall it being a keychain. Then again, it had been more than a month ago. If anything, he was just happy to see Hinata actually held on to it.

“Let’s go in!!”

“Yes”. He nodded and the two entered the park.

Without much further ado, Hinata immediately fulfilled his promise and bought a water bottle for each of them.

“Wow, a water bottle”, Kageyama laughed.

“That’s not the treat! I’ll get you something later too!”

“Thanks.”

“Stupid Kageyama…” he mumbled.

Hinata had made a plan for which rides he wanted to get on, which included almost all of them. The rollercoasters, water rides, merry-go-rounds, haunted houses; everything. He wanted to start with a rollercoaster and headed straight to the cue. A wide grin appeared on his face when he noticed Kageyama’s discomfort as they lined up.

Kageyama was no friend of rollercoasters, though he would never admit that and especially not to Hinata, who instantly started talking about the ride. About how it’s the scariest ride of the park and how some people fainted on it because it was too extreme. All of which he made up on the spot, but Kageyama didn’t know that. He was busy mentally preparing himself.

The devious plan backfired in the end when Kageyama was surprisingly okay after the ride, unlike Hinata who had to sit down on a bench for a while and calm down. Kageyama proposed to avoid the other big rollercoasters, but Hinata declared that he would find a ride that he’d take better than Kageyama.

He did not find such a ride.

The sun started setting when he finally decided to give up. He was about to ask Kageyama if they should head home when Kageyama took his hand.

“Wait, I wanna go on a final ride.”

“W-wich one?” Hinata, despite being taken aback by the sudden gesture, didn’t let go of Kageyama’s hand.

“That one”, he turned around and pointed at the Ferris wheel.

Hinata nodded and the two walked towards the big wheel. They got into one of the cabins and sat down in front of each other. Neither of them talked when the wheel started turning and they slowly gained height. Hinata pressed himself against the window and looked at the view.

“Wow, you can see the entire park from up here! And we’re not even at the top.”

“Yeah, I thought this would be a good place to tell you.”

“...Tell me what?” he sat up straight and observed Kageyama. “Oh, right, you said you wanted to thank me, haha. I don’t think you need to tell me up here.”

“It’s not that”, he shook his head. “Well, not only.”

“Okay…?”

“But still, thank you for these past six months, Hinata.”

“You’re welcome, though all my plans to make you smile failed…” he sighed.

“Really?” Kageyama looked him in the eyes. “Then why am I smiling so much right now?”

“You—” Hinata got blinded by the sun, which moved right behind Kageyama as the Ferris wheel continued turning. When he could see again, his gaze fell on a wide-smiling Kageyama. With rays of sunlight behind him as if to amplify how happy he looked.

“I’m smiling because of you. You’ve made me smile ever since I’ve met you. You are the reason I can smile like this.”

“I…” He was at a loss for words. It was true, he finally realised it. He did remember seeing Kageyama smile now and then, but he would still suck at it when trying to smile in front of customers. But now everything made sense. He thought his plans failed in making him used to it – and they kind of did fail, in a way – but he accomplished his goal either way.

Kageyama was smiling naturally. And it was because of him.

As soon as thought that, his ears turned bright red.

“Which is to say…” A short pause. “I think I’ve fallen in love with you, Hinata.”

“...Kageyama…”

“Would you allow me to date you, so I don’t lose my reason for smiling?” he asked wholeheartedly, stretching out his hand.

Tears started forming in the corners of Hinata’s eyes as he slowly put his hand into Kageyama’s.

“I’m up for the challenge. I think I’ll win this one”, Hinata smiled as a tear rolled down his cheek.

☕🎸☕

“Shouyou-kun, sorry to bother ya in yer break but could ya cut it short and go help out in the front? Omi-kun is threatening Tohru-kun with an offset spatula to his throat, Rintarou-kun is filmin’ it with his phone, and I dunno where’s Tsutomu-kun got to since he ran out of the café chasin’ after the customer that forgot their wallet.”

“...I. Sure. I’ll be right there.”

“Thank ya”, Atsumu disappeared from the break room again.

“Will they ever change…”, Hinata stood up from the couch and put on his apron. He left the room and walked to the counter. Two people were already waiting. “I’m so sorry for the wait, we’re having—”

“Put the spatula down, Omi-kun!!”

“He bent my cake scraper!!”

“I’mma bend more than your scraper!!”

“...Technical difficulties”, Hinata smiled and tried to drown out the lunatics in the kitchen.

“Ahaha, typical day at Ricebucks”, one of the customers laughed.

“Sorry. What would you like to order?”

“I need to not fall asleep, so a double espresso to go.”

“And a caramel cappuccino for me. Also to go”, said the second one.

“Thank you very much”, Hinata smiled.

“Oh my gosh, what is this?!”, the first one pointed.

“Oh, that’s a contest to win tickets for the INFAMY MORNING concert in town next month. You just need to write down your name, an email and what your favourite drink from our shop is”, Hinata explained.

“From your shop? This contest is only for visitors of the café?”

“Yup.”

“How did you get tickets for that? I thought it was already sold out!”

“W-well…”, Hinata chuckled. He couldn’t quite say that he’s the bassist’s boyfriend.

“I still can’t believe it. They only debuted last year and are already doing a nation-wide tour. They got crazy popular so fast!”

“Wait, look!!” the second one pointed at the picture that was attached to the flyer that explained the contest’s rules.

“Oh my gosh!? Is that Kageyama-kun!? Smiling!!”

“He never smiles on stage!! Which I don’t dislike, you know. He has that mysterious charm. But he looks so happy here!!”

“Wait!! Is that his signature!?”

“This gotta be the rarest photo ever. Let’s fill out the thing. Maybe we’re lucky and win!”

“You’re right. This café will bring us luck.”

“Your drinks are ready”. Hinata put them on the counter.

“Ah, thank you. And also”, the first one turned to Hinata. “How did you get that!?”

Hinata took that picture at the first concert he went to. The band was still performing in an underground venue, so there weren’t many people in the audience. But Hinata managed to catch the moment when Kageyama smiled after noticing Hinata in the crowd.

He smiled. “Trade secret.”