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Kageyama wakes up to orange curls in his face.
His boyfriend was wearing that big, stupidly adorable smile on his lips as he nuzzles his head in the crook of Kageyama's neck, urging the man to wake up. The taller rubs the sleep from his eyes and sits up, staring blankly at the opposite wall for a few seconds to get his mind geared up for the day.
It was already 8 AM anyway. Waking any later meant traffic on the road, and it's a pain when he's with his boyfriend. The redhead gets jumpy and antsy, and he fiddles with a lot of things. Sometimes it distracts Kageyama from driving, but it wasn't all that bad to be stuck with him. When the weather is pleasant, Kageyama would roll down the window to let the cool breeze waft inside the car, and every time he does so Hinata would stick his head out without fail. He'd look like an oversized dog, but it was a nice sight to see, the way his curls will flutter in the wind and will frame his face beautifully against the backdrop of cerulean blue sky and ivory clouds.
And when it happens, Kageyama would find himself unable to look away, wanting to engrave the image in his mind forever.
Today was one of those days when the sun is high up in the big blue sky, a perfect weather to have a picnic. Kageyama double checks all the items in his basket, making sure he's got everything he needs as Hinata stands by the door, head tilted to the side as if asking what was taking the raven-haired man so long.
Kageyama spots him and shakes his head in amusement. His boyfriend was impatient as always.
He carries the basket in one hand and grabs the car keys in the other. He locks his apartment, loads up the car, and the two are off.
Today, Hinata is fiddling with the console of Kageyama's car. He plays with the buttons of the touchscreen pad and scrubs through the different radio channels until he finds one he's satisfied with. A song was playing in a language that Kageyama didn't understand, but it sounded familiar to him. Some of the words he has heard from Hinata before. Maybe it was Portuguese. That'd explain why his boyfriend was nodding to the beat. Hinata probably misses Brazil.
Kageyama thinks he never should've left. Maybe then things would've been...different.
But there's nothing he could offer to change it now. The most Kageyama could do is bring in bits and pieces of Brazil into his home, to let his boyfriend know, and himself, of the life he had abroad.
Kageyama watches him on with a fond smile, letting him have his fun. They haven't seen each other in a while due to his busy schedule. Today was one of his days off, so Kageyama would just let his shenanigans slide.
When he spots the gates that boarders the park, he slows down.
"Shou, we're here."
At the sight of rolling green hills, Hinata perks up in his seat, practically vibrating in excitement. he was grinning from ear to ear as Kageyama gives a nod to the security guard.
He drives the car slowly through the green landscapes, admiring the well kept trim of the grass and shrubbery. This place was beautiful, peaceful. There's no other place he can imagine to spend with his boyfriend. But beyond that well-trimmed façade, Kageyama feels sad. Maybe because there was less people than before, even the ones who worked here. And sometimes, he would shed a tear coming here because it was, just, so damn beautiful. So, so beautiful. And perfect.
A heaven on earth, the only place he could belong.
Kageyama slows down the car and stops once they find their usual spot by the old sakura tree. Hinata doesn't wait for the engine to turn off before he's running up the small hill up the peak. Kageyama wants to shout, but the hyper redhead's too far gone to hear him anyway. He gets the basket out and follows him up the hill and on the flat surface underneath the tree shade.
Kageyama sets down the basket and pulls out a blanket. He gingerly places it down the grass, flattening out the folds and creases. Soon after, he pulls out the various food and snacks he's prepared. Tamago kake gohan for Hinata, and pork curry with egg bento for him.
The whole time he's preparing, Hinata was off to the side watching him fondly. Kageyama doesn't mind that he's doing this all by himself. He was used to it.
He notices the redhead sitting on top of the dusty stone, so he clicks his tongue and grabs a dry rag from the basket. Wetting it with a little water, he shoos his boyfriend away and starts wiping the stone.
He was well aware it was stone. It was in no way, shape or form, a soft material. But Kageyama wipes it so gently and delicately with so much care. Once it was clean, he smiles to himself.
Finally, he can see the words etched clearly.
日向 翔陽
𝗛𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘆𝗼
𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟲-𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟭
Kageyama puts his food on the small ledge, along with a couple of sunflowers he bought fresh yesterday. He claps his hands and says his prayers. He then proceeds to eat his lunch as he animatedly recounts stories of how his life had been so far. His boyfriend is back up on the stone, hugging his knees together and listening intently.
Kageyama tells him about practices, the hellish training, all the camps he went and attended, and the different players he met and got the chance to play with. He finishes his meal and packs up his stuff, but he doesn't leave just yet. Not for a while.
He sits cross legged in front of the grave stone and talks more volleyball just like they used to. Kageyama tells him about the new techniques he's learned, the new record holders, and how the JNT is slowly climbing up the ladder of the world stage.
All this time, Hinata listens in his seat, looking fondly back at Kageyama who faced the gray stone.
"I never stopped counting, you know..." Kageyama says, his fingers fiddling with the grass peeking under the blanket. "Even when you left, I never stopped counting our tallies."
Kageyama chokes down a sob.
"When—whenever I look up to the sky thinking of you and there's a slight breeze, you get a point. Or, whenever the neighbor's cat with the fluffy orange hair comes to my door asking for food, you get a point. Every time I see a sunflower, or a pork bun, or even vabo-chan, you get a point."
Kageyama breathes in. "You get a point just for the sunrise, too. And the only way you're getting it is if I see the sunrise too. And it sucks, because you have more points than me now. But it was the only way I can live through these years without you. I have to wake up and see the sunrise, Shouyou, to give you your points, and I can keep counting your tally, and I won't ever have to forget you. Everyday, I'll count it for you."
Kageyama spends a few seconds in silence. He's never said these much words at his grave before, opting to keep it lighthearted to distract him from the fact that the love of his life is gone. But today was one of those days he feels the gravity of his emotions and let it all out before the one person he would bare his soul to.
After a while, the raven-haired boy sighs and stands up, dusting his pants before folding the blanket back into the basket. Reluctantly, he says his goodbyes, touching the cold stone with his warm fingertips and closes his eyes. A gust of wind passes by, the warm breeze enveloping him like a comforting hug. He takes in a long, deep breath, letting the air flow through his body and fill the cracks, crevices, and everything in between. Its scent—fresh, citrussy, sweet, everything that reminded him of Hinata—invigorating him.
Kageyama smiles, and starts the walk back to his parked car. He chances a glance back at the gravestone where Hinata stays sitting, unmoving, his honey brown eyes watching his every move.
Kageyama waves goodbye at him, and if you ask him, he swears that he saw Hinata wave back—a farewell of his own.
Turning around, he boards his car and drives on the road back home.
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*𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘱*
𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦.
*𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘱*
𝘛𝘰𝘣𝘪, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘑𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘸! 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺. 𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶? 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧! 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘩𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘩𝘢! 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘱. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘰𝘯𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘮? 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘛𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘰, 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯!'
*𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘱*
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