Chapter Text
Hinata's lips were a little damp and tasty from the juice he'd been drinking a minute ago,but it felt amazing on my own. He was cradled in my arms, on our sofa, and I liked the way his warmth made me feel warm, I liked how fragile he was and how I wanted him to stay in there, so I could protect him forever. We were watching a National Geographic documentary, as we often do, but this time all I wanted to do was to watch him, to look at his perfect lips and at his freckles and to watch his eyes locked onto the screen depicting a whale nursing her baby. I was the whale and he was my baby. That's what it seemed like, sometimes, because of the height difference of course, but also because of his impulsive temperament and my over protectiveness. I caressed his blazing hair and he looked at me, grinning, then moved a bit so that he could rest his head on my torso. I kissed him on the forehead and heard him mutter my name:
“Tsukki... I feel so good with you, right now...”
My heart flinched and I thought about how much I loved this little fluffball of a man.
“I like being with you too. I'm happy Hinata, so happy to be with you...”
I wanted to capture that perfect moment, so I squeezed him a bit harder, breathed in his hair, and kissed him on the cheek, which made him chuckle. I quickly turned on the camera on my phone and took a picture. I looked and it was probably the best photo of us so far, so I put it as my phone wallpaper and made him look. He smiled broadly, looked my in the eyes and I approached my face, wiggled my nose on his and heard him laugh. My stomach filled with butterflies. I truly loved him, I told myself. If I could be with him forever, and hear him laugh every minute of everyday, I would be the happiest man on Earth...
Then I heard a faint noise over my shoulder, looked...
It was my alarm clock. I open my eyes, weirded out. I frown, thinking of my dream, put my glasses on and shudder. If I had a list of the most bizarre dreams I have ever had, this would make it in the top 5. It would even make the top, number 1 freakiest dream ever. To dream about Hinata in itself is already uncommon, but this was... Nevermind. I need to pee and dress up for school anyway.
I quickly forget about the dream, and hurry to catch up on Yamaguchi, who is waiting for me at the crossroad. We greet each other, and he tells me about the maths homework he has problems with. I promise him I would help him understand during lunchbreak, and then put on my headphones. We arrive on time for morning practice, go directly to the changing room and then get back on the court to warm up.
The third years were already there, chatting in a corner. But then we all turn round to the door because we can hear yelling sounds. Hinata jumps in, quickly followed by Kageyama.
“Yosh! I win today! 45 to 46! I only need to win one more time and then we're even!”
Hinata. I hadn't heard what he was rambling about because I had frozen. My heart had flinched, perhaps even missed a beat at the sight of him. Hinata. What were you doing in my dream this morning? What are you doing to me right now? I shake my head but it was too late, I can feel the heat in my cheeks, and my chest tighten. I am breathless and smiling internally. Hinata was here. Of course he was, he's here everyday because we have volleyball practice every morning. I know that he'd be there. So why am I suddenly happy he's here? I hate the guy. I hate his over-enthusiasm, I hate the way he's always too stressed out before any match. I hate his orange hair... But I wonder if they're as soft as they were in my dream. No! I look at the floor and try to recompose myself. There I am, looking as cold as I always do. And Yamaguchi is staring at me. I flash my deadliest stare and wait for the usual “Sorry, Tsukki!”.
We can now begin practice.
But it is harder than it looks. However hard I try, I can't help but feel warmer when Hinata's blocking near me, or when he's in line in front of me, waiting for his turn to receive. And I can't help but look at him when he's away, on the other side of the court. Tsk. I feel stupid. I concentrate harder to look away, and even if I am able to for a minute, Hinata jumps in front of my eyes every time. Is he doing this on purpose? Probably not. His brains aren't evolved enough to have noticed my frustration. The guy's clueless, and that's for the best. What I'm worried about, is Yamaguchi's reaction. He keeps staring at me. But isn't he always staring at me? Is he staring a lot more than usual? If he thinks I'm weirder than usual, he'll eventually try and talk to me anyway. I wouldn't worry about it.
Practice ends and we start cleaning up.
“Tsukkishima!”
That's his voice, isn't it? I freeze then manage to turn slowly, and act casual.
“Tsk. What, Hinata?”
“Help me with the net. I can't reach it and Takeda-Sensei said that I couldn't climb on the pole.”
I come closer and feel weaker. I even notice that my hands are a bit shakey. Nevertheless, nothing shows through and I take the net off and hand it to Hinata's waiting hands, careful not to touch them. In spite of my self control, I can feel my heart beat faster and I shake my head once again. My fist clench a bit when I turn around, I am so angry with myself. Yamaguchi appears in front of me and asks what is wrong.
“Tsk. Nothing.”
“If you say so. But I know you and you look upset! I just wanted to know why and cheer you up, Tsukki!” he says, putting his hand to the back of his head.
“I hate you reading me like that.”
“Sorry, Tsukki!”
I really don't like him reading me like that. Soon enough he's going to know why I am irritated and God knows how he will react.
***
During class hours, my mind cannot settle. I scribble down some notes, but my attention is scattered. I think of Hinata's hair blowing in the wind. I doodle Hinata's hair blowing in the wind. I close my eyes and mutter to myself:
“Idiot Hinata.”
Yamaguchi looks at me.
“Did you say something Tsukki?” he murmurs.
I look at him and shake my head from left to right. But now I can feel my cheeks burning. It's never going to go unnoticed, I think, but Yamaguchi shrugs, smiles and looks back to the chalkboard.