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Kageyama Tobio was in love, the Japanese national team knew it, but they didn't know a single thing about the mysterious man who had their setter smitten; of course, there was one exception, Hinata Shouyo knew who that mysterious person was, but he had been suspiciously secretive about who it was.
“Kageyama's boyfriend? I can't say much, Bakayama won't let me.”
Hinata stuck out his tongue exaggeratedly, crossing his arms like a scolded child.
“But he's really cool.”
The whole team stirred at that little comment. It was just a spark, but enough to ignite hours of theories. Atsumu leaned over the table with narrowed eyes.
“How cool, exactly?”
“Like... I don't know. It's like someone took Kageyama's coldness and made it interesting.”
“Hey!” Tobio protested from the other end.
“You know what I mean,” Hinata insisted. “That guy walks into a room and even Bokuto would shut up. Plus, he's kind of cute.” Drunk Hinata is honest Hinata.
“HEY!” protested Bokuto.
Everyone laughed. The atmosphere was warm, filled with half-empty glasses, laughter, and that special vibe that only appears when the team feels like family.
“Come on, Hinataaa~,” Atsumu begged, “say at least one letter of his name.”
Hinata just looked at them with sparkling eyes, satisfied with the chaos he had unleashed.
Yaku, with his fox-like smile, leaned in.
“Okay, okay. Kageyama doesn't want to say anything about him, but... could you tell us when you met him?”
Silence was immediate. Everyone turned to Tobio.
“Kageyamaaa~,” Bokuto sang, drumming his fingers.
“We met at the last Games,” he finally said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Silence. Then, a scream.
“What?! Four years ago!?”
Atsumu grabbed his head as if he had witnessed a divine revelation. Hinata laughed against the edge of the counter, clearly enjoying the drama.
—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-
When Kageyama first went to the Olympics in 2016, he expected everything except falling in love with someone, but there he was.
This time, the Japanese team had set out to explore the entire complex built for the games. Kageyama was with Ushijima, neither of them feeling particularly talkative, so it was perfect that they were touring the facilities together. After a while, the spiker decided to go to one of the official stores, claiming that Tendou had asked him to bring him something and that if he didn't go now, he would forget.
Kageyama started walking back, but of course, since the Olympic Village was so big, he got lost. He didn't think it was a big deal; he would eventually find his way back or come across a volleyball court.
Kageyama pushed open the dome door, and the air changed completely.
A dry cold hit his face, sharp as a winter gust. His breath became visible immediately. Around him, the empty stands and high lights created an almost sacred atmosphere, as if he had entered a silent temple without permission.
The ice glistened with a dim, polished light, like a lunar track.
He was about to turn around when another side door opened.
Someone entered.
He was tall. The black and white hockey uniform highlighted his figure, and the helmet covered most of his face. He could only see the defined chin, the long neck, and a little of his dark hair. He entered the rink as if nothing else existed, as if that place had always been his.
Kageyama was paralyzed.
It was ridiculous, he knew. He was sweaty, lost, frozen... and yet, for some reason he couldn't explain, everything inside him stopped.
He watched him spin with firm, precise movements, as if the ice responded to him. He breathed calmly but intensely. He was a contained force.
Kageyama didn't understand anything about hockey, or skating, or why his chest was pounding as if he had just come out of a five-set match.
But he did know that he wanted to see him again. And then again. And then, maybe, talk to him.
And then, without knowing when, without knowing how... he fell in love.
—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-
The 2020 Games would be Kageyama's second world-class experience, and he noticed that he was clearly much less nervous than four years ago, but that didn't mean he wasn't nervous at all.
The fact that the Games were being held in Japan that year made things simpler, although athletes were still allowed to stay in the Olympic Village, and the Japanese volleyball team couldn't help but wonder when they would run into Kageyama's mysterious boyfriend, but that bastard was being very careful.
Tobio knew that his boyfriend had already arrived in Tokyo. He wanted to go see him, but the team seemed to be very aware of his actions, and Ren must still be settling in anyway.
“Kageyama~, aren't you going to see him?”
Hinata was really inappropriate. He just muttered,
“Ren is still settling in, don't bother him, the trip from Hokkaido is tiring.”
“You're so boring, Kageyama. Ren is as crazy about hockey as you are about volleyball. He must be on the rink right now.”
Kageyama sighed in exasperation, Hinata just shrugged and went with the others on the team. Maybe he could go to the hockey gym for a while. He plucked up his courage and left the volleyball gym to go see his boyfriend. He thought he had been discreet, but the hunger to meddle in things that didn't concern them on the team was too great to keep quiet around Kageyama.
The raven-haired boy hated searching through all the Olympic hockey gyms, but after looking for a while, he found him. From a distance, he could see the secrecy, and Kageyama was glad he had put on his tracksuit and brought his sweatshirt before making that hasty decision. He entered the gym, willing to freeze for a while just to see his boyfriend.
And there he was, the elegant man on skates, racing across the rink at dangerous speeds, bumping into and shouting at the others on his team. Kageyama pressed his forehead against the icy glass. Outside, the ice creaked under the skates.
Ren glided with fierce elegance. Every turn seemed millimeter-perfect, yet natural. There was no clumsiness, no effort.
It was like watching him dance on the ice.
The shouts between the players mingled with the thud of the puck against the boards.
Boom.
The sound was sharp, rhythmic. Ren turned, caught a pass, shot. The puck bounced hard.
Boom.
Kageyama followed him with his eyes, as if his body had become a magnet.
Ren took off his helmet. Steam rose from his wet hair. He walked slowly, clicking his skates as he left the ice.
“Hi, honey,” he said softly, not caring about Tobio's stare.
He kissed him quickly, warmly, and then looked behind him.
A wave of cold ran down his spine.
“Aren't you going to introduce me...?” he whispered in his ear, “to your curious teammates.”
Kageyama turned in horror.
Atsumu, Bokuto, Yaku, and Hinata were there, their eyes curious and surprised, pressed against the glass as if they were watching a live soap opera. It was really pathetic. Hinata waved to Ren.
“Helloooooo!” they all greeted him, waving their hands like crazed fans.
Ren smiled.
“Nice to meet you, I'm Takahashi Ren. Tobio's boyfriend~”
Kageyama wished he could vanish right then and there.