Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Even though Shoyo and Tobio didn’t get along during their first year, they had grown fond of each other as the years passed. They hung out every single weekend and they spent every lunch break practicing. They understood each other without saying a single word and they could tell what the other was thinking all the time. It got to the point where they were asked if they were dating, even by their teammates.

They always denied it, saying they just cared for each other a lot.

“I’m moving to Brazil after graduation.” Shoyo said, sitting on the gymnasium floor, right next to Tobio. The latter turned to look at him with disbelief in his eyes.

“What?” Tobio asked, thinking he might’ve heard it wrong.

“I’m moving to Brazil after graduation.” Shoyo repeated, this time making eye contact with whom he called his best friend. Tobio wanted to say something, but Shoyo cut him off before he could even open his mouth. “I want to try beach volleyball. I think it’ll help me develop my skills. Besides, I need a change of scenery.” He said with a smile on his face.

Tobio smiled too, looking at his best friend with pure admiration in his eyes. “You are going to be great at anything you do. Don’t forget about me, dumbass.” The raven said trying to hide the sadness in his voice, but it didn’t go unnoticed by the shorter one.

“Hey, don’t worry about that. I promise I will call you every single day.” Shoyo said, giving his best friend a reassuring side hug.

A year had passed since Shoyo moved to Rio de Janeiro.

As promised, Shoyo texted and called every day. He maintained his old habit of sending pictures of what he was doing at the moment, a habit that made Tobio really happy — even if he didn’t want to admit it. However, their busy schedules and time difference caused them to drift apart.

They completely lost touch seven months after the shorter one moved to the other side of the world. The last message was a ‘call you later’ sent by Shoyo, which left Tobio waiting. The raven ended up falling asleep and forgetting about it, too busy focusing on practice with the Adlers to remember. When he did remember, he assumed that Shoyo would eventually text him again.

He was completely wrong.

Tobio hadn’t heard from him in five months. Not a single text, not a single call.

He hadn’t realised how much he missed Shoyo until he found his first year Karasuno Volleyball Team uniform inside a box next to his desk, along with some pictures. His attention was caught by a polaroid of Shoyo and him during one of their team hangouts. They were at a park near the Karasuno High School having a team picnic , as Suga liked to call it.

The picture was taken in a moment when neither of them were looking, too distracted talking and laughing with each other to notice the camera. Shoyo was laughing out loud, his eyes shut and his head thrown back due to the laughter. On the other hand, Tobio was smiling wide, looking at his best friend like he had hung the stars.

He decided to pin it on the cork board above his desk, right next to a picture of his sister and his grandfather . He couldn’t help but tear up at the sight of it, now becoming aware of how much he missed his best friend’s company. He kept wondering if Shoyo felt the same way or if he was better off without him.

Suddenly, he felt the urge to ask him. He wanted to know if Shoyo missed him as much as he did or if he had forgotten about him already. The thought of texting Shoyo to apologise for distancing himself from him unconsciously kept him awake. After staring at the ceiling for what felt like an eternity, he decided that he was going to text him. He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and opened his chat with Shoyo.

After typing and deleting for twenty minutes, he gave up — he didn’t know what to say and he was too tired to think. He put his phone down on his nightstand again and went to sleep, determined to try again the next day.

───   ⭑ 𓂃⋆   ───

Tobio’s alarm went off at 5AM, meaning he had to get ready for practice. He got up against his own will and grabbed his phone to turn off his alarm. When he unlocked it, he saw that he had left Shoyo’s chat open and got nervous again. Right, he wanted to text him last night.

He decided to go wash his face and then make breakfast. Meanwhile, he thought of ways to talk to Shoyo and apologise for not paying as much attention as he should have to their friendship throughout the last year. He felt the sadness take over him as he remembered the last text Shoyo had sent. God, he really missed him .

After he finished his breakfast he brushed his teeth, grabbed his duffel bag and his car keys and walked out the door. When he arrived to practice, he greeted his teammates and started warming up.

He couldn’t get Shoyo out of his mind, which caused him to be a disaster during practice. His sets were off, as well as his serves. When practice was done, he almost ran to the locker rooms to avoid any questions. All of his teammates noticed but nobody mustered up courage to approach him and ask what was wrong.

Well, all of them except for one.

“Kageyama, I can tell that there is something bothering you. Would you like to talk about it?” Ushijima asked with his usual neutral tone, his duffel bag hanging from his shoulder.

“It’s okay, Ushijima-san. I’m okay.” He said trying to brush it off while he changed his shirt.

“Is this about that short friend of yours? Shoyo Hinata.” Tobio froze at the mention of him, getting lost in his thoughts for a few seconds before giving his teammate a nod. “I don’t know what happened, but what I do know is that it’ll pass soon.”

“Thank you, Ushijima-san. See you tomorrow.” The raven got up quickly, not letting his teammate give him a response.

He got into his car, started it and turned on the radio to distract himself. That was, until “Dress Down” by Kaoru Akimoto started playing. He immediately recognised it, remembering how Shoyo forced him to sing it with him when they went to a karaoke during their second year. He remembered how pretty Shoyo looked, smiling and enjoying himself despite not knowing how to sing.

He turned off the radio, feeling the heat rise to his face. He spent the rest of the way home in complete silence, thinking about his best friend.

Were they even best friends anymore? He wasn’t sure about that.

When he arrived home, he took a shower and went to the kitchen to eat something. When he was done, he picked up and washed the dishes before flopping down on the couch. He stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours, unsurprisingly thinking about Shoyo.

He decided that it was time to leave his insecurities aside and just text him what he was feeling at the moment.

He grabbed his phone, opened his chat with Shoyo once again and texted him.

grumpy-yama🫐

hey shoyo, it’s been a while

i don’t even know what to say, i just wanted to tell you that i’m sorry

i was so focused on volleyball that i had no time for anything else

could we please talk?

i hope you can forgive me

please, text me back as soon as you can

He threw his phone on the couch, hoping for the best.

Chapter Text

To say Tobio was going crazy is an understatement. He checked his notifications every two minutes to see if Shoyo had texted him back.

An hour passed, and he had no news from the redhead. Well, it was understandable considering it was 4 AM in Brazil, but Tobio —apart from being too dumb to realise that— is an impatient person. Suddenly, a ding came out of his phone. He immediately picked it up, hoping that it was a text from Shoyo.

It obviously wasn’t.

It was Yamaguchi asking if he wanted to have lunch with Tsukishima and him on Saturday. He sighed before saying yes to his former captain, it has been so long since they last saw each other.

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had been dating since their second year. Surprisingly, it was Tsukishima who asked Yamaguchi out, and the latter —who had been in love with the blonde his whole life— accepted immediately.

Kageyama had never paid attention to anything related to love until that moment, when he realised that he preferred not to put any labels to his sexuality because he found it confusing. He believed he’d notice when he had a crush on somebody.

Once again, he was completely wrong.

“I’m gonna tell him. It’s getting painful to watch them act like this every day.” This was a regular topic of conversation between Karasuno’s current captain and his boyfriend, who couldn’t stand watching Tobio ‘subtly’ staring at Shoyo with heart-shaped eyes while the redhead helped one of the first years.

“Kei, we’ve talked about this a hundred times. Let them be. They’ll realise sooner or later… I think.” Yamaguchi said, clearly doubting his own words.

“Both of us know that it won’t happen. We just need to kick some sense into the idiotic duo — they will be happy and I won’t have to keep up with their bullshit.” Tsukishima replied, earning a bad look from his boyfriend.

“It’s none of our business. Now, go back to practice or you’ll get benched for the next match.” Yamaguchi threatened, sending a shiver down the blonde’s spine.

Tired of waiting for a reply from the redhead, Tobio went for a walk around his neighbourhood. He kept walking aimlessly for two hours, completely unaware of his surroundings. That was, until he felt his phone vibrating inside his pocket.

He took it out to check his messages without much hope, almost dropping it when he saw who texted him.

dumbass🍊

hey kags!!!

sorry i was asleep

i wanted to text you a long time ago but i didn’t wanna bother you

and it’s okay you don’t have to apologise!!

what’s up?

Tobio ran to his house as fast as his legs allowed him.

If passers-by thought he was crazy, that didn’t concern him.

───   ⭑ 𓂃⋆   ───

The moment Tobio arrived home he took another shower —because he had sweated too much while running—, laid down on his bed and unlocked his phone to reply to Shoyo’s texts. He didn’t say much, just that he was tired because of practice.

He waited for about ten minutes before he received an answer from the redhead, saying that he was on his way to the beach to play volleyball and asking how practice went for the raven. Tobio couldn’t help but think that the conversation was kind of awkward, but he didn’t expect everything to go back to normal so easily, either.

They kept talking about what happened the last five months for a few hours until the raven fell asleep with his phone in his hands. To text Shoyo again was he first thing he did when he opened his eyes the next morning.

They returned to being their usual selves after a couple of days, and Shoyo revived his old habit of sending pictures of whatever he was doing. Thanks to this, Tobio could see that the redhead had gotten tanner, which made his freckles more noticeable, and gained muscle mass. He noticed that he was taller now, too. Tobio hated to admit it even to himself, but Shoyo was breathtakingly attractive .

He already knew that the redhead was handsome back in high school — he found himself staring at his best friend a lot more than he actually should. Even if his physical appearance changed now, he was still the same cheerful, sunshine boy he met and grew fond of years ago.

He felt like he finally got his best friend back, and he couldn’t be happier. Even his teammates noticed his mood change despite the raven not being expressive most of the time.

Saturday arrived, meaning he was going to have lunch with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi after practice. He was in the locker room changing when he grabbed his phone with a subtle smile on his face to see if he had received texts from the redhead this morning. His smile dropped the moment he read them.

dumbass🍊

KAGS

LOOK WHO I FOUND IN RIO!!!

[Photo]

Why is Shoyo with Oikawa Tooru, of all people?

He felt the anger bubbling up inside his chest, but he didn’t quite understand why. It was only a photo of his best friend with one of the most insufferable people he has ever met. The fact that they never got along was no secret, and seeing Oikawa’s face anywhere is annoying to him. Seeing Shoyo next to him, however, was another level of annoying.

Ushijima, who was the only person left inside the locker room besides Tobio, approached the latter when he saw him throwing daggers at his phone. Tobio looked up and showed his teammate the picture, watching him as he silently scanned the screen.

Ushijima looked up at him again, giving him an understanding look and going through the door right after.

Tobio stayed there, staring towards a fixed point in the wall trying his best to gather his thoughts. He sighed and replied to Shoyo’s texts with a thumbs up before picking his things up and leaving to meet his friends.

No matter how hard he tried, the unsettling pressure in his chest didn’t disappear.

Chapter Text

Tobio has always been bad at anything related to feelings. Whether it was others’ or his own, he had a really hard time understanding. Not just feelings, anything non-related to volleyball.

The only thing he was sure about was that he wants to stay on the court the longest.

It worsened when his grandfather passed away. He didn’t react at the moment, he didn’t even cry at his funeral — then realisation hit him, and he felt angry.

He was supposed to be sad, not angry. He didn’t understand, and that made him even angrier.

Volleyball was his safe place, it helped him take his frustration out in the healthiest way possible. The thing that motivated him the most was his grandfather’s words. He wanted his someone better to find him. He was desperate for that person to arrive.

As time passed, his desperation grew bigger. His teammates didn’t show the same drive as he did, so he took his anger out on them. It was his way of saying that they could do better, but it turned out more aggressive than he thought it would.

Then he appeared.

A short, redheaded boy who had amazing reflexes, speed and jump.

“Where have you been this whole time?” was what he wanted to say, but the words “What the heck have you been doing the last three years?!” came out of his mouth instead. This boy had potential in him, he could see it.

For the first time in a while he didn’t just feel anger . He felt something more, but he couldn’t put it into words.

When the redhead screamed at him after the match saying that he was going to beat him one day, the raven realised that he had finally found someone who was as passionate as him. They didn’t get along, hated each other even, but they were invincible on the court.

Tobio had a really hard time understanding almost everything.

There were two things that he was completely sure about — he wants to stay on the court the longest, and Shoyo Hinata is his someone better.

He still had a long way to go, the raven knew that. Shoyo himself knew that. However, he was everything that Tobio wasn’t.

Contrary to what other people thought, Shoyo was intelligent. Not academically, but emotionally.

During their high school years, they helped each other a lot — Tobio pushed Shoyo to be better at volleyball, and Shoyo helped Tobio understand his emotions. He was the first person Tobio thought about when he was having a hard time, and he always knew what to say.

Tobio could never admit it out loud, but Shoyo was —and still is— someone he admires.

Shoyo was not just a partner to him. He was his best friend, his biggest support.

His someone better.

It could have been fate or a mere coincidence, but that didn’t matter to him at all.

They had found each other, and that is of greater importance.

───   ⭑ 𓂃⋆   ───

Tobio arrived to the location Yamaguchi had previously sent him almost automatically. He was so lost in his thoughts trying to figure out the cause of his sudden change of mood that he almost didn’t notice Yamaguchi waving at him from the other side of the restaurant, sitting right next to Tsukishima.

The raven sat down in front of the couple and tried to concentrate on what Yamaguchi was telling him to keep his mind busy with something that wasn’t Hinata and Oikawa together in a foreign country.

His friends were perceptive enough to notice that something was wrong after their food arrived, because Tobio wasn’t one to talk much but he was suspiciously quiet and picking at his food. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima stared at each other, as if they were communicating telepathically, and nodded before turning back to face Tobio.

“Kageyama…” The mentioned looked up at Yamaguchi. “Is there something concerning you? You’ve been really quiet.”

“And you barely touched your food even though you usually eat as if you weren’t fed as a child—” Tsukishima said, complaining when Yamaguchi elbowed his side as a scolding.

Tobio looked at them as if he was trying to figure out what to say next. He sighed. “You promise not to tell anyone about this?” When both of them nodded in response, Tobio continued. “It’s about Hinata. We stopped talking when he left and we got back in touch a few days ago.”

“Now that you mention it, he seemed to avoid the subject whenever we talked about you over the phone. I never questioned why, though.” Yamaguchi recalled.

“It’s kind of surprising considering that both of you acted like the world was ending when the other wasn’t around.” Tsukishima teased, earning a bad look from his boyfriend.

Tobio decided to ignore what the blonde just said and continued his explanation. “Well, this morning he sent me a picture of him with Oikawa Tooru on the beach.” Tobio frowned when he said that name. “You do remember him, right? Seijoh’s captain when we were first years.” The couple nodded again, giving Tobio unspoken permission to continue. “Well… it made me feel weird. It wasn’t anger but I wasn’t happy about it either.”

“That’s because you’re jealous.” Tsukishima stated while he took a sip of his drink.

“Jealous? Why would I be jealous?” Tobio asked, genuinely confused.

“Are you serious? Have you not noticed already after all these years?” Tsukishima replied, and Tobio could swear that he saw his eye twitching.

“Kei,” Yamaguchi grabbed his boyfriend’s arm as a warning. “don’t you dare.”

“I’m sorry Tadashi, I can’t do this anymore.” Tsukishima looked distressed, and Tobio’s confusion only grew bigger.

“What the hell are you two talking about?” Tobio was losing his patience as he saw the couple glaring at each other daringly.

Tsukishima turned to look at the raven. “Did you seriously not realise that you’re in love with Hinata? Are you that oblivious? It’s been four years, for fuck’s sake.”

Yamaguchi rested his elbow on the table, holding his head with his hand and closing his eyes. “I can’t believe you actually said it.”

Tobio froze at the blonde’s words. In love? With Hinata? He was certainly not.

He knew that his best friend was attractive and he wanted to be around him all the time when they were in high school. He only smiled around him, and the redhead was the only one who could make him laugh without holding back. He liked to hug him sometimes because he found it comforting. He even wondered what Hinata’s lips on his would feel like, and thought of actually kissing him once or twice.

That didn’t mean that he was in love with him, right?

Right?

“I can see you thinking, King.” He heard Tsukishima’s voice pulling him out of his thoughts. He hadn’t heard that nickname in a while. “Are you ready to admit it? Or did you realise it just now?”

“I—” Tobio tried to find the right words, still shocked with his realisation.

He was in love with Hinata.

He had been in love with Hinata for years.

“I am.” Tobio hid his face in his hands, but he knew that both of his friends were smiling right now. “I am in love with Hinata. Was I really that obvious?” He looked up and that’s when Tsukishima and Yamaguchi burst out laughing.

“Obvious? You have ‘I am in love with Shoyo Hinata’ written all over your face.” Yamaguchi said in between giggles. Tobio felt the heat rise to his face and frowned. It only made them laugh even more.

“Stop laughing! You were in love with Tsukishima for years before you started dating, and it was very obvious too!” Tobio yelled at Yamaguchi. He was aware of that because Hinata told him once after practice when they were first years, but Yamaguchi didn’t need to know.

“Yeah, but I actually knew that I was. Tsukki had to say it out loud for you to finally get your shit together.” Yamaguchi smirked, and Tobio had no arguments against him.

“Now what? Are you gonna confess? Not that I care, but I’m curious.” Tsukishima asked.

“Are you crazy? I mean, I know he likes guys, but that doesn’t mean he likes me.” Tobio said. It was true that Shoyo came out to them when they were on their second year, days after Tsukishima and Yamaguchi started dating.

He would’ve laughed at the expression on Tsukishima’s face if it weren’t for the situation he was in.

Tsukishima sighed before staring at the ceiling. “Lord, please, give me patience ‘cause if you give me strength I’m going to rip his head off.” Yamaguchi cackled because of his boyfriend’s words and then turned to look at Tobio, who was as confused as he was before his realisation.

“Kageyama, give yourself time. Tell him when you feel ready, you know how Hinata is. He won’t say anything hurtful if he doesn’t feel the same.” Yamaguchi reassured him before changing the subject.

They finished their food, paid for it and parted ways after a few hours. Tobio had those words playing in his head over and over again.

Did you seriously not realise that you’re in love with Hinata?

He should’ve known.

Every glance, every touch, every fleeting thought of kissing him.

The answer was in front of him all along, he was just too blind to see it.

He spent the rest of the evening binging on romcoms that Miwa insisted he would like. He was trying his hardest not to think about Shoyo while a disgustingly sappy scene was playing on his TV when his phone started ringing.

Shoyo was calling him.

Very convenient.

───   ⭑ 𓂃⋆   ───

“What do you want?” was the first thing he said the moment he answered the phone. He didn’t mean to say it that way, but his mouth moved faster than his brain.

It wasn’t the first time that they called this week, but he wasn’t expecting him to do it without previous warning.

“Geez, Kags, do you hate me that much?” Tobio blushed when he heard Shoyo’s voice. He was about to hang up when Shoyo spoke again. “But seriously though, is this a bad time? I just wanted to talk to you before I go to the beach for practice.”

Tobio’s heart fluttered at Shoyo’s words as a subtle smile appeared on the raven’s face. “It’s fine, I’m not doing anything right now.”

They talked for approximately thirty minutes before the other side of the line got quiet.

“Shoyo? Are you still there?” Tobio asked, thinking that the redhead might have hung up the phone.

“Yeah, sorry. It’s just…” Hinata hesitated for a second. “Is it okay if we facetime? I wanna show you something. It’s kind of stupid, but I want you to see it.”

Tobio felt his hands trembling at Shoyo’s question. He was going to see his face in other than pictures for the first time in a year. His pulse got faster and he couldn’t get any words out. Is it because he is aware of his feelings for the redhead now?

He’s going to end up making a fool of himself if he keeps acting like this.

“Tobio?” Shoyo’s soft voice brought him back to the real world. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to—”

“I want to.” Tobio cut him off. “I want… to see your face.”

Shoyo got really quiet again. Tobio looked at the screen and saw that Shoyo hung up.

‘Why the fuck did I say that?’ he thought as he hid his face in his hands. That was really embarrassing and now Shoyo won’t talk to him anymore and they are going to lose touch again and he will be heartbroken forever and die alone—

His phone started ringing again and Shoyo’s contact name appeared on the screen.

‘Oh. He’s facetiming me.’

The raven picked up the phone totally forgetting about his disastrous fake scenario. The first thing he saw was a smiling Shoyo —which made his stomach flip— with his hands behind his back, hiding something.

“Are you ready?” Shoyo asked, his smile getting bigger and his eyes twinkling. Tobio could stare at his stupid—gorgeous—face all day.

“What’s all the expectation for? Just show me already.”

Shoyo put his hands in front of the camera, he was holding a… Zoro plushie?

“Isn’t he cute?! I got him when I went for a run yesterday!” The redhead said in a joyful, childish manner.

Tobio blinked once, then twice before laughing at the scene in front of him. It was so absurd, yet so adorable.

Shoyo’s face turned bright red, which only made him look even cuter. “What are you laughing at, huh?!” He said with a hint of anger in his voice.

“It’s cute. I like it.”

Shoyo switched rapidly from anger to happiness, his face still red, going on a rant about all the One Piece merch he had bought in Rio including mangas in portuguese.

Tobio had a really hard time understanding almost everything.

“Hey, Shoyo?” The mentioned stopped talking when he heard the raven call his name. “I’m glad we are talking again.”

There were three things that he was completely sure about — he wants to stay on the court the longest, Shoyo Hinata is his someone better and he has been in love with said someone better ever since he met him.

Shoyo froze at his words for a second before a soft smile appeared on his face. “Yeah. Me too.”

He had a feeling that it would be like that for a long, long time.

Chapter Text

It was Tobio’s day off.

He woke up later than usual and made himself breakfast. He turned on the TV to watch something. He chose to watch ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ — Shoyo’s favourite movie.

Ever since he realised his feelings for his best friend, he couldn’t stop associating everything he does with the redhead. Even the smallest, most insignificant things reminded him of Shoyo.

Thirty minutes into the movie, he paused it and took out his phone to check the time. It was 10 A.M in Japan, so Shoyo should still be awake right now. He pressed the facetime button before he could overthink it.

Tobio smiled when Shoyo appeared on his screen.

“Hey Kags! I was about to go to sleep. Did something happen?” He sounded genuinely curious, a bright smile of his own matching the raven’s. ‘God, he’s so pretty’ was the only thought present in Tobio’s mind at the moment.

“Hi Shoyo. Everything’s alright, why the question?”

“We already talked this morning and you’re smiling much more than usual, so I thought that something good might’ve happened to you. What’s up?”

Tobio’s smile dropped a bit after hearing Shoyo’s words and his cheeks reddened. “Nothing happened, I just…” He paused, thinking about an excuse.

Would it be weird if he said that he missed his face and voice?

“You’re frowning, Grumpy-yama. You’re gonna get wrinkles before you’re thirty. Besides,” Shoyo kept going before Tobio could fight back. “I like it better when you smile. It makes you look good. Don’t get me wrong! You always look good but… you know what I mean.” Tobio’s face turned all shades of pink, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly, unable to get any words out. “Anyway, forget that! What did you want to say earlier?” He changed the subject, nervousness noticeable on his voice.

“Nothing, I just wanted to… hear about your day. We usually call when you’re about to start your day and mine is just finishing, so I thought it would be a good idea to call you now.” He said the first thing that came to his mind. “It sounds stupid, I know. Don’t make fun of me.”

“Why would I make fun of you for that? I didn’t do much today though, it was my day off work.” Shoyo leaned back against the headrest. Tobio could see the Zoro plushie on his pillow, but decided not to comment on it. “As you already know I had practice this morning, and then I went out to eat with Oikawa-san. He paid for me, can you believe that?”

Tobio felt like he was going to pop up a vein anytime soon if he heard that name one more time. “You two spend a lot of time together now, are you two dating?” He asked, his voice coming out more harsh than he expected.

“Pfft. Very funny, Tobio.” Shoyo answered sarcastically, increasing Tobio’s annoyance. “It was a genuine question, you asshole!”

“But Oikawa-san is dating Iwaizumi-san, I thought you knew that? I helped him pick out a gift for their fifth anniversary today!”

Huh?

Tobio’s jaw almost dropped to the floor. “You’re joking.”

“I’m not—” Shoyo paused, then he smiled mischievously. “Wait, you were jealous.”

The raven felt his cheeks burn again. He hated Shoyo and his ability to make him flustered effortlessly. “What the fuck are you talking about?! I wasn’t jealous!”

“Oh, you so were. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna let him take your place as my best friend.”

“You’re so stupid, I wasn’t jealous.”

“Sure, whatever.”

Tobio decided to ignore Shoyo’s teasing for his own good. “What did he buy for Iwaizumi-san?”

“Don’t tell anyone, but…” He lowered his voice in case someone heard him, even though they were the only people around excluding Pedro, Shoyo’s roommate, who was in the room next to the redhead’s. “Oikawa-san bought a ring. He’s going to propose when he goes back to Japan to visit him.”

Tobio’s eyes widened. He never thought that he would hear the words ‘Oikawa’ and ‘propose’ in the same sentence.

“That’s good. Iwaizumi-san has endless patience if he’s dealt with Oikawa-san for five years…”

“Hey! Oikawa-san is much more nicer now than he was back then… Also, they were best friends for sixteen years before they started dating. They’ve known each other their whole lives. Five years are nothing compared to that.”

“I guess you’re right. I already have grey hairs from dealing with you and it’s only been four years.” Now it was Tobio’s time to tease Shoyo.

The redhead gasped, pretending to be offended. “That’s mean! You know you love my company.”

Once again, he was right. Tobio loves Shoyo’s company.

The raven’s heart clenched. There it was again, that uneasy feeling in his chest.

He’s talking to Shoyo again, he should be happy for that. He realised he’s in love with him so he should’ve felt like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. They text and facetime every single day.

There was only one thing that wasn’t right.

Shoyo was not there.

“Shoyo?” The mentioned hummed in response. “I miss you.”

“What do you mean? We’re talking right now.”

“I know! That’s not what I meant, I— I miss you being here.” The redhead stayed silent as Tobio explained himself. “When you left I wanted to appear like it didn’t affect me, but the truth is that I was devastated. I got so used to you being next to me every single day that I didn’t want that to end. Then, I was so busy and distracted with volleyball that I didn’t notice I was forgetting about the reason why I was working so hard in the first place.” He said, his voice breaking. He looked away so Shoyo couldn’t see the tears that were threatening to come out.

“It was always you, ever since you came into my life. I’m sorry, for everything. I’m not the type to be sappy or whatever, but I wanted to let you know that you changed my life for the better. I miss you so much.” He waited for Shoyo to say something, but he was uncharacteristically quiet.

The raven lifted up his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Shoyo’s trembling lip and his beautiful hazel brown eyes full of tears.

“What the— are you crying?!”

“I’m not crying, shut up.” Shoyo said, but the tears that started rolling down his cheeks gave him away. “I’m sorry, I don’t even know what to say. I miss you too, you have no idea. The first months were so hard, I felt so lonely. I still do, sometimes. I wished to be there in Japan with my family, with you.”

Tobio listened to everything as he fought back his own tears. ‘I wasn’t the only one who felt like this after all,’ he thought.

“I’ll go and visit soon, I promise. When are the Olympics here in Rio? You can stay with me if you want to, I’ll show you around!” Shoyo said all of this in between sobs, breaking Tobio’s heart one word at a time.

“Stop crying, idiot. The Olympics are in two months.”

“I’ll make space for you in my apartment, then!” He sounded very convinced. Tobio was so in love with that idiot and his occurrences. “Sorry, I need to go to sleep now. It’s getting late.”

“It’s fine. Good night, crybaby.” Tobio teased, earning a bad look from Shoyo before he hung up.

───   ⭑ 𓂃⋆   ───

A week passed since they both poured their feelings out on the phone, silently agreeing on not bringing up the subject again.

dumbass🍊

heyyy i just wanted to say that i won’t be able to reply to your messages until tomorrow

don’t miss me too much while i’m gone

bye bye !!!

Tobio decided it was better not to give Shoyo’s texts too much thought. ‘He must be busy with practice and work,’ he assumed.

Tobio replied to Shoyo’s messages with a ‘take care’ and a thumbs up. Just as he was going to switch off his phone, he received a call from Yamaguchi.

“Hey Yamaguchi. What’s up?” Tobio said when he answered the phone.

“Hey Kageyama! Tsukki and I are going to Tokyo tomorrow, is it okay if we go to your house? You don’t have practice this week, am I right?” Yamaguchi’s voice was trembling and he was asking a lot of questions at a time, weird.

“Yeah, I don’t. Tomorrow at what hour? And why is your voice trembling?” Tobio asked, kind of worried for his friend.

“Uh… I don’t know. Maybe at five in the afternoon, we’re not sure when he— we will arrive. And my voice is not trembling, what do you mean?”

“…Okay. See you tomorrow then—” Yamaguchi hung up as soon as Tobio finished his sentence. What the hell was up with him? Did something bad happen?

Tomorrow came sooner than expected.

Tobio was finishing cleaning the living room when his phone rang. He expected it to be Yamaguchi and got surprised when he saw the contact name.

Shoyo was facetiming him.

He picked up immediately. “Hey Shoyo. What happened yesterday? Is everything okay?” He noticed that Shoyo was on the street. He had his sunglasses on and his backpack was hanging from his shoulders.

Wait.

Isn’t it like 4 A.M in Rio? What’s he doing out so late?

And most importantly, why is it daytime?

“Tobio! Don’t worry, nothing happened. Sorry for that, but using my phone on a plane is a risk I wasn’t planning on taking.” He put his sunglasses on his head, revealing his eyes.

Tobio blinked once, then twice. His mouth opened in confusion, what does he mean by that?

Shoyo turned the camera, and Tobio’s building door appeared on the screen.

Shoyo was standing outside his building at that precise moment.

Tobio’s eyes widened and his heart rate skyrocketed at the sight. “Would you be so kind as to open the door for me? My backpack is kind of heavy.” Shoyo laughed nervously, his cheeks tinted in a beautiful shade of pink.

Tobio hung up the phone, threw it on the couch, picked up his keys and ran off the door as fast as he could. He didn’t even take time to put on his shoes. He came down and opened the door.

He was there. Shoyo was right in front of him, smiling widely with shiny eyes as he left his backpack on the ground.

“Long time no see, Tobio.”

Chapter Text

“Long time no see, Tobio.”

Tobio felt like his knees were about to give up on him.

He couldn’t even talk because his voice would break if he tried to pronounce the slightest sound.

Shoyo was standing there.

He was taller than he remembered. His hair was shorter but looking as fluffy as always. His skin was tanner, the freckles adorning his cheeks and nose more noticeable than they were back then.

He never looked more beautiful in Tobio’s eyes.

“I didn’t know when I was going to arrive. Sorry if this is a bad time, I wanted to surprise you—” He couldn’t finish what he was going to say because Tobio moved forward, wrapped his arms around Shoyo’s waist and lifted him up the ground. The redhead held onto Tobio’s shoulders to keep from falling.

“I can’t believe you’re actually here!” Tobio shouted as he spun Shoyo around. He couldn’t hold back his excitement nor his tears. He didn’t care about the passers-by that looked at them like they were insane either.

The fact that Shoyo was right there with him after a year was all that mattered.

Tobio put Shoyo on the ground again and looked at him with the biggest smile ever. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me that you were coming?”

“I already told you, I wanted to surprise you. I asked Yamaguchi and Tsukishima for help the day after you told me you missed me.” He said, staring directly into Tobio’s eyes and wiping the tears that were rolling down the raven’s face.

So that’s why Yamaguchi was so nervous. Idiots. He will thank them later.

“I’m staying for three days here in Tokyo, then I’m going to Miyagi to visit my mom and Natsu.” Shoyo said, looking away. “I was so excited to see you that I forgot to book a hotel, so I hope that you have enough space in your apartment…”

Tobio felt dizzy all of a sudden. Shoyo, who he hadn’t seen in a year, was going to spend a few days in his apartment?

He tried his best not to collapse to the ground.

“…Yeah, I don’t mind. Let me help you with that.” Tobio took Shoyo’s backpack from the ground and hung it on his shoulder.

“What a gentleman you are, Tobio Kageyama.” Shoyo said in a tone that sent a shiver down the raven’s spine.

“Shut up or you’ll sleep on the street.”

───   ⭑ 𓂃⋆   ───

Shoyo had been in his apartment for only a day but Tobio already felt like he was dying.

It’s not that he wasn’t comfortable with the redhead staying with him, it was the total opposite. That was the problem — he was getting too comfortable with Shoyo being there.

Shoyo felt like home.

Tobio woke up the morning after Shoyo arrived to Tokyo because he heard noise coming from the kitchen and found the redhead making breakfast for him. Tobio felt himself fall in love all over again.

What will he do when Shoyo goes back to Brazil? He will probably die of loneliness.

“Good morning Tobio. I’m sorry, did I wake you up?” Shoyo said with an apologetic look.

“Good morning, it’s no big deal. I should be the one making breakfast, you’re my guest after all.” Tobio got closer to where Shoyo was with the intention of taking his place, but the redhead put a hand in front of him to stop him.

“I came here unannounced and I’m sleeping in your guest room. The minimum I can do is help, don’t you think? It’s not like this is the first time I’m making breakfast for us both in your house, anyway.”

If Tobio had learned one thing throughout all those years of being best friends with the redhead, it was that when Shoyo insisted on doing something it was better not to go against him, it was better to just let him be. “You’ve got a point, I guess.”

Before they could realise, there was only one day left until Shoyo went to Miyagi. They went out to eat together (Tobio paid for it and Shoyo teased him saying that he was still jealous of Oikawa — Tobio denied it a hundred times but Shoyo still doesn’t buy it) and wandered through the crowded streets of the city. They ended up lying down on the grass of a park near Tobio’s apartment making small talk while watching the sunset.

Tobio couldn’t get his eyes off Shoyo the whole time they were there. Shoyo looked up at the shades of red, orange and pink that were adorning the sky, but Tobio stared in awe at the way the rays of sunlight made Shoyo’s eyes appear a lighter brown.

In that precise moment, he knew that if he didn’t say that, he would regret it for as long as Shoyo lived in the other side of the world.

He interrupted Shoyo’s rant about Natsu being almost as tall as him now and said—

“Shoyo, I’m in love with you.”

They fell into a complete silence that felt like an eternity.

The mentioned sat up promptly and turned around to face Tobio, his face completely red. “Huh?”

“I’m in love with you.” He repeated as he sat up to be next to Shoyo. “I’ve been in love with you since high school, I never realised until… a couple of weeks ago, I think? I wasn’t planning on telling you but I needed to get it off my chest before you went away again. I don’t want to ruin our friendship. We can just forget about this—”

“There’s no way I’m forgetting about this.” Shoyo grabbed Tobio’s hands in his and looked him in the eye.

“What do you mean?” Tobio’s mind couldn’t work properly because of the heat Shoyo’s hands gave off. “I’m sorry—”

“Tobio, I took a twenty two hour flight a week after you told me you missed me. Do you think I would do that if I wasn’t in love? Come on, you’re supposed to be the one who knows me better than anyone else.” Shoyo intertwined their fingers together. “Unlike you, I knew since high school, so I win this one.”

“Idiot! Are you seriously turning this into a competition?! I confessed first, so I’m the one who won.” He shouted angrily, then it hit him. His eyes widened. “Wait, you’re in love with me?”

Shoyo hummed and nodded with a smile. “Always been. I was kinda obvious, too. I’m surprised you didn’t know, our whole team did — including Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei.”

Tobio let go of Shoyo’s hands to hide his face. “This is so embarrassing.”

Shoyo chuckled. “Yeah, it is. I thought about telling you when we were in our third year, but it would’ve hurt more when I left.”

Tobio wondered what it would’ve been like if Shoyo confessed before he left, what it would’ve been like if he realised his feelings sooner.

What it would’ve been like if they never stopped talking. 

They stood in silence until Shoyo spoke again. “Hey… would you like to come to Miyagi with me?”

Tobio looked at him like he just confessed to a crime. “You’re going there to see your family, I don’t wanna bother.”

“Tobio, my mom is always asking about you and Natsu loves you more than she loves me. Trust me, they will be more than happy to have you. And I have to introduce you as my boyfriend.”

Tobio choked when Shoyo said the last word. “Introduce me as who?”

“My boyfriend. Aren’t we dating now?”

“We haven’t talked about it, asshole!”

“Well, do you want to be my boyfriend then?”

“I was going to ask you first!”

“You are the one who confessed, so let me have this!”

They stared at each other daringly, before Tobio looked away and sighed. “Alright, you can have this.”

Shoyo grabbed Tobio’s face with his hands. The raven wrapped his around Shoyo’s waist. “Tobio Kageyama, would you be my boyfriend?”

“I guess I have no choice.” He said, laughing at Shoyo’s fake offended expression, which didn’t last because he started laughing along with his now boyfriend.

Their laughter calmed down and they stared into each other’s eyes lovingly. Then, Shoyo wrapped his arms around Tobio’s neck, closed his eyes, pulled him closer and pressed his lips on the raven’s. They stayed like that for a few seconds before pulling away, happier than ever.

───   ⭑ 𓂃⋆   ───

They were in the airport waiting for Shoyo’s flight. They sat in silence, Shoyo lying his head against Tobio’s shoulder, their fingers intertwined. The raven wanted to say something but he knew that he would start crying if he even tried to open his mouth.

Then, a voice came out of the speakers, announcing that the passengers who were flying to Rio had to start boarding. Shoyo got up and looked away from Tobio.

“I guess I have to go now.” His voice was breaking, and so did Tobio’s heart.

“Yeah…” Tobio said, getting up and hugging Shoyo from behind.

The redhead started sobbing as soon as his boyfriend’s arms wrapped around him. He turned around to face him, his cheeks red and his eyes watery. “I’ll miss you so much.”

“Me too.” Tobio kissed his forehead in an attempt to comfort him, but he couldn’t help the tears that were escaping his own eyes. “Please text me as soon as you arrive.”

“I will. I love you.”

“I love you more.”

“Don’t turn this into a competition now, Kageyama.”

“I’ll turn it into a competition if I want to, Hinata.”

“Shut up.” He said before kissing his boyfriend. They pulled away when they heard the same voice coming out of the speakers once again.

“I’ll be waiting for you here.” Tobio said, grabbing Shoyo’s hand and rubbing circles on it.

“You better be.” Shoyo said jokingly, smiling and walking away until their hands slipped away from one another. He waved in the distance and disappeared into the crowd. Tobio stood there for a minute or two before going back to his apartment.

That night, he slept hugging the Zoro plushie that Shoyo had left on his apartment.

───   ⭑ 𓂃⋆   ───

The sound of the whistle indicated the end of the match. The MSBY Black Jackals won against the Schweiden Adlers. Shoyo’s teammates went over to him screaming with happiness. He could hear his friends screaming his name on the stands. He couldn’t believe it.

They won.

He fulfilled his promise.

He won against Tobio in an official match.

He looked over at his boyfriend, who was standing at the other side of the net. He was smiling wide at him, his eyes resembling a starry night.

Shoyo managed to escape his teammates’ embrace and walked over to where Tobio was standing.

“I told you I would win against you one day.” He said, extending his hand.

“And I told you I’d be waiting for you.” Tobio replied, taking Shoyo’s hand in his.

Shoyo smiled brightly at him, unable to contain his joy. Then, in a blink, he pulled Tobio in and hugged him tightly. “I love you.”

Tobio wrapped his arms around him and whispered, “I love you more.”

Shoyo rolled his eyes. “Please, top turning this into a competition.”

“That’s a promise I can’t keep, dumbass.” He looked down at his boyfriend, cupped his cheek and kissed him as if they were the only people left on the court.

Tobio thought about his younger self, short-tempered and desperate to win. He thought about the day he met Shoyo.

He recalled that time they said as long as they were together they were invincible. He recalled the time when he realised that Shoyo was, without a doubt, the person his grandfather promised would come — his someone better.

Neither time nor distance would change that. Even if they are miles apart or if they spend months without talking, they both know that they will meet again eventually. Fate once brought them together and they will make sure to find each other as many times as necessary. 

The End.