Chapter Text
Hinata wished he could see Kageyama after a different ending. Unfortunately, this is out of his control. The Japan men's national volleyball team just lost in the quarter-finals to Brazil, which is, at the very least, bittersweet. Hinata is learning to like where he lives now (Rio de Janeiro is beautiful!), and it was an amazing game to see, but Japan is where his heart lies after all. Well, at least the defeat brought one good thing: he could finally see Kageyama. It had been months since they went out together – they are half a world apart.
Hinata is waiting for him at Lifeguard Station 8, since it’s the closest to Station General Osório. Hinata thinks it’s kind of biting that all the city seems pretty normal: the sun keeps shining, the employees are working, and the tourists are forgetting to apply enough sunscreen. None of them seems bothered about what happened at the Maracanãzinho court this morning. He wanted to know how Kageyama feels, but at the same time he thinks he already knows. There's no reason for not wanting to win, right? Not being strong enough to be on top consumes them in the same way.
He noticed Kageyama looking lost a few meters ahead. Hinata ran to him and hugged him around his waist a little tighter than he should have, frightening Kageyama. He lied in an attempt to convince himself that the hug was only to scare, not because he missed him.
“Oi, Hinata!” Kageyama says, annoyed, pinching his head too hard.
"Kageyama-kun, you shouldn't treat your friend like that." Hinata says, pouting, and caressing his own head to relieve the pain. Both know he's being a little dramatic.
"It's not my fault you appeared out of nowhere."
"Did I scare you, Yamayama?"
"Anyone would be afraid of seeing a human-shrimp."
"Shut up, Kageyama. Just so you know, I grew up 3 cm. Not that shrimp anymore."
"If you say so..." Kageyama answers, smirking.
"Don't look so cynical." Kageyama huffs. They had been craving this type of back-and-forth. With the time difference and their busy schedules, it has become increasingly difficult to find time to talk. The fear that their messages will become less frequent and their relationship will weaken has been growing in Hinata's mind. He hopes this weekend can reconnect them again. Looking at Kageyama, his shoulders still a little tense after the match, Hinata decides that his main goal will be to distract him. He can think about the defeat when he returns to Japan – and, to be honest, Hinata wouldn't want to talk about it either. He feels proud and jealous in equal measure. He always knew Kageyama was amazing. He was nineteen and already at the Olympics, after all, but he can't help but think that he would like to be by his side. To be on equal footing with him.
“Do you want to eat something? There's a place nearby that sells a seafood platter that that will make your mouth water.” Hinata, the best tourist guide Kageyama could have, encourages him to experiment with a juice too – most of them are natural and with a great diversity of flavors. The first time Hinata went to a Brazilian supermarket, he was surprised by how many new fruits there were to discover. On the other hand, Japanese ingredients are expensive and more difficult to find. Living abroad is frequently followed by the excitement of experiencing new things and the burden of missing home with the comfort you know by heart. Hinata is still trying to balance between these things. At least the impetus to keep fighting and practicing here is still solid: improve your volleyball technique and reach Kageyama at the top of the world. He just needs another year and a half – or so he hopes.
They share a jar of passion fruit, and Hinata notices how cute and surprised Kageyama looks when he has his first sip. It was chosen by Hinata, so he feels successful that Kageyama likes it. If he drank less than he used to, nobody needs to know. Just as he's about to finish his juice, he notices Kageyama staring at him and blushes.
“What? There's something on my face?”
“You are tanned.”
“Don’t joke about it.”
“I’m not joking. You must be practicing a lot. It looks nice on you.”
“Kageyama-kun is praising me?” Hinata says, teasing Kageyama, and smiling.
“I take back what I said.” He strikes back.
“No, you can’t!” Hinata states, laughing. “But you’re right. Even when using sunscreen correctly, it's impossible to completely avoid getting a tan. In Brazil, they say ‘Tem um sol para cada um’.” Hinata thinks Kageyama reddens when he speaks Portuguese, but it might just be his imagination.
“What does this mean?”
“Something like ‘There is one sun for each person’. The more time I spend here, the more I see how this makes sense." Kageyama doesn't think he needs to come to Brazil to know what it feels like. He's been close to Hinata for the past 3 years, so he knows firsthand what it's like to be so close to the sun.
“I get it.” Hinata seems a bit confused. Kageyama has only been here a few days and hasn't had much time to explore the city. But before he can question what exactly he means by that, Kageyama interrupts and asks:
“Didn't you say you were going to take me to play beach volleyball?”
“Yes! Come on, we have to walk to Lifeguard Station 9. The volleyball training centers are there.” Hinata takes him for a walk on the sand so he can get used to the feeling. He starts rambling about how difficult it was to adapt to jumping on the sand until he notices Kageyama staring at the beach, with a less contemplative and more shocked expression. As he tries to follow his gaze, he understands Kageyama's astonishment.
“It’s cool, isn’t it?” Kageyama looks at him and nods shyly. “I didn’t expect to see that when I arrived either. But it’s fresh to see people so open about it. Kato-san told me 'Posto 8' is a good space for, you know, LGBT people.”
“The flags are a good clue to that.” Kageyama responds and hides his tender smile. Even though he tries to make it small, it is not possible to mask the brightness in his eyes. At that time of the afternoon, the sun is not trying to punish anyone, just offering a soft warmth, and the sand is not burning their feet, so Hinata asks: "Hey, Kageyama. Do you want to race?"
"You don't need to ask, dumbass." Kageyama responds, sneering.
"I wasn't sure you'd keep up." Hinata ran soon after, Kageyama on his trail, accusing him of jumping the gun. Hinata feels like he can breathe a sigh of relief, even doing intense running, just because he has someone he trusts on his side. He had forgotten what it felt like to feel so, well, lonely and so distant from home. And it's Kageyama of all people, which makes everything better, and he doesn't think he can hide this feeling from the rest of the world. It's probably written all over his face, and he is not ashamed of it.
Upon reaching Lifeguard Station 9, they try to catch their breath again.
"Don't you dare to go first, dumbass."
"I didn't. That's 305 wins and 301 losses for me."
"And I didn't know where it ended."
"I said it was Lifeguard Station 9 and there's a giant 9 right next to us. Don't be a sore loser, Yamayama-kun." Hinata teases. He realizes what he did wrong immediately and wants to slap himself; he honestly deserves it. Kageyama doesn't seem angry; it's worse. He looks sad, with furrowed brows, head down, eyes slightly glistening, and biting his lip to avoid making his frustration even more obvious. Hinata can punish himself later.
“I didn’t mean it. I’m sor-”
“Don’t say it, Hinata.”
The good thing about being in a place like Rio de Janeiro is that the beach is right there to distract them (and give Hinata time to find the right words for the right moment). "Do you want to take a swim before we practice? Miwa-san would yell at us if you go back to Japan without me showing you what the beach here is like." Kageyama agrees, and his expression soothes a little more. Hinata finds a volleyball teammate nearby and asks him to watch their bags while they go for a swim. When he looks back at Kageyama, he's taking off his shirt, which makes Hinata's brain short-circuit, and his face turn red. He's seen Kageyama's body several times in the locker room, but not after training for the Olympics, which obviously did him a lot of good. Hinata tries to disguise her reaction by grabbing sunscreen and reapplying it to the parts of his body that UPF shirt and shorts don't protect.
“Oi, Hinata.”
“What?”
"Can you lend me some sunscreen?"
"You came out totally unprepared, didn't you?"
"Hey, dumbass, it's not my fault. You didn't say what we were going to do today."
"You can't come to the Rio and not take a dip, idiot."
"Yeah, you already said that. Now give me the sunscreen."
"Bossy-yama." Hinata grumbles. Hinata is already thinking about what he'd like to eat later when he sees Kageyama trying to apply sunscreen to his back and failing miserably.
"You know you can ask for help, right? So you don't get sunstroke." Hinata only realizes the implications of this too late. Kageyama is looking at him with a pout, but hands the sunscreen to Hinata anyway and turns his back. If Hinata was already surprised by Kageyama's chest and abs, it's because he hadn't seen his back yet. It's almost unfair how handsome he is without realizing it. He wonders if anyone else sees Kageyama the same way, and the mere thought irritates him deeply. As soon as Hinata touches his back, Kageyama shivers and complains, "You could have warned me before touching me. It’s cold." Hinata tells him to shut up and continues applying the sunscreen. He can't help but blush as his hands move from Kageyama's shoulders to his lower back – seeing and touching are completely different things. Just as he's finished, Hinata is startled to notice Kageyama staring at him over his shoulder, and only now does he realize how close they are. They look away quickly, blushing. The air feels warmer, suffocating him with the urge to get even closer. Hinata accuses his loneliness for feeling drawn to Kageyama now. He also knows it sounds like a weak lie.
They run excitedly to the sea and dive in all at once.
“Hinata, you idiot, why didn’t you say it would be this cold?”
“Sorry, Kageyama-kun.” Hinata says, bantering. Kageyama responds by squirting water in Hinata's face.
“Oi, Kageyama!” Hinata yells, annoyed, and so they begin a water fight. Hinata even tries "to drown" Kageyama, in an inoffensive play, leaning on his shoulders again. He obviously failed, but only because he got distracted. Nobody can blame him for that. Kageyama retaliated and actually made Hinata choke with the beach's water, frightening them both. It was a signal to calm down a bit. They had just emerged from the water when Hinata, an amateur volleyball duo who recognized "Ninja Shoyo," invited them to a match.
The beginning was, to say the least, difficult. Kageyama was surprised by the sunlight blinding him during the first few tosses, not to mention how different it is to jump onto the sand and have only two players on the court. The sand looks gentle at first, but moving on it requires them to rearrange their bodies in ways neither of them is used to. Turning that gentleness into an advantage is an immense challenge. When their quick attack finally worked, they celebrated almost as if it were the first time. And the look of astonishment on the other duo's faces was a great bonus, too. The game ended in a draw because "You should take your friend to watch the sunset in Rio, we can play more later." They sat in the sand, pressing their knees against each other softly. Kageyama seems content to observe quietly, but, on the other hand, Hinata seems a little stiff, trying to hold back the words that urgently need to be said.
“Kageyama.” He looks at Hinata and feels somewhat hypnotized by how the light rests on his face, emphasizing his eyes with an intense gleam. “You are my greatest enemy.”
“Are we saying obvious things now?”
“And my best friend too.” Kageyama's eyes widen upon hearing the confession.
"I thought you were a snob and an idiot since I met you. And I'm not wrong."
"Why are you insulting me, dumbass?" Kageyama says, grabbing Hinata's hair.
"Let me finish, idiot-yama". Hinata holds Kageyama's wrist and moves it away from his head. "As I was saying... I kind of envy you for your ridiculous divine hands, and for how well you control them as you want in volleyball. I came here so I can reach you someday. But I want to defeat you when you're at your best. I hope your frustration today reminds you of that". Kageyama nods tersely.
"So why did you almost say sorry to me, idiot? I don't need your pity".
"It wasn't a pity!" Hinata replies indignantly, raising his voice slightly. "I regretted saying ‘sore loser’ to you because I don't think you're a loser at all, and I don't want you to think you were. Damn, you were at the Olympics after all!” Hinata explains so cheerfully that it sounds like a compliment, which makes Kageyama blush and not know what to say back. “I just… I didn't want to ruin our hang out, after so long, by reminding you of the frustration of losing. We know how that feels. You'll have time to think about what you could have done better when you get back to Japan.” They hear the unspoken "We have little time together here and I don't want to waste it".
“Are you saying you missed me?”
“That's the only thing you heard?”
“I missed you too, dumbass, and you wouldn't have ruined anything anyway... But you yelled at me once for apologizing for giving you a toss that made us lose. So don't apologize for that either.”
“Okay, Kageyama.” Hinata nods. They admire the sun setting again, feeling lighter for having released the tense hitch they had been ignoring since the race. When the night finally arrives, they play a few more sets until their stomachs start rumbling too loudly for them to bear. Neither of them wants to separate yet. Three years together, practically every day, wasn't enough to tire of each other's presence. If these years have proven anything, it's that separating is, at the very least, weird. And to be more honest: it hurts. That's exactly why Hinata asks: “Do you wanna watch One Piece with me?” Kageyama nods, and they walk the rest of the path to Hinata’s home in a comfortable silence, with shoulders and fingertips briefly touching, but not before going to a "cheap and healthy" restaurant that Hinata loves.
Arriving home, Hinata introduces Pedro to Kageyama, who only says "Hi" to each other, looking quite uncomfortable. Hinata invites Pedro to watch with them, but he refuses, saying, "Eu não acho que seu namorado vai gostar¹." Hinata is confused for a moment, but then it clicks; the blood rushes to his face, and he starts stammering, "Namorada não, Pedro. Amigo de vôlei". Considering Kageyama's pout, his brow furrowed, unsure how to react to a conversation in a language he doesn't understand, Pedro still doesn't quite believe him. When Pedro's bedroom door locks, Kageyama asks:
“What were you guys talking about?”
"Nothing!" Hinata replies, in a high-pitched voice.
"You're lying. Do you think I look like an idiot?"
"Actually, I think so." Kageyama starts chasing Hinata around the house, play-fighting, until they fall to the ground and realize they're getting sand all over the room – indicating that they should probably stop. Hinata takes a shower first so that when Kageyama goes to shower, Hinata can clean up the mess. He also lends Kageyama some of his larger clothes, including a tank top (he swears it's not to look at Kageyama's arms, but it is) and a pair of shorts.
The anime starts playing, but neither of them is really paying attention, distracted by the heat and the fan's attempt to alleviate it. But the heat doesn't stop Hinata from putting his legs in Kageyama's lap, who immediately blushes and gives his friend a piercing look:
"What's wrong, Yamayama?"
"Get your feet off me, it's too hot."
"Who cares?" Kageyama responds by tickling Hinata's foot, who ends up accidentally kicking him in the face (but only this time). Before Kageyama can react, Hinata touches Kageyama's cheeks with both hands and asks, "Are you okay?" When Kageyama registers the pain, it's already being eased by Hinata's proximity and warmth. Not knowing what to do, he just nods and pulls their faces away from each other.
"You should use the force you used to kick me to make a good serve."
"I'm much better, idiot. You saw that today!" Kageyama huffs and goes back to watching the anime, without complaining about the leg still in his lap and even gently caressing Hinata's shin. Eventually, Hinata wakes up startled by Kageyama's loud snoring and nudges him with his feet to wake him up.
"Hey, sleepy-yama."
"What time is it?" Kageyama yawns.
"9:37 PM."
"Damn it, I should go back to the Olympic Village."
"What? Why?" Hinata says, trying to hide the slight frustration he feels at Kageyama suggesting leaving.
"What do you mean, 'why,' idiot? It's late."
"Do you have a meeting tomorrow?"
"Only when we get back to Japan."
"The day after tomorrow, right?"
"Yes."
"Then why don't you sleep here? I don't have a futon, but the bed is big enough." Kageyama's eyes widen as if he hadn't thought of that before, and he feels a little silly for it.
"Okay." Hinata turns off the lights in the room, and they head towards his bedroom. Kageyama lies on his back, staring at the ceiling and almost falling back asleep when he feels Hinata nudge him in the ribs. Kageyama grabs his index finger and turns his face to look at him. Hinata, who usually sleeps like a starfish, is turned to his side, a little restrained, and murmurs, "I'm happy to see you." There's a silent pause right after that, with each of their eyes being much more sincere than the words they manage to reveal.
"Me too, idiot. Now go to sleep. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Kageyama." He still hasn't let go of Hinata's finger. In fact, he continues holding it while resting his own arm on his waist until he gathers enough courage to intertwine their hands. Only then do they fall asleep, hoping that tomorrow, when they wake up, there will still be time. Time to enjoy. Time to mature. And, who knows, time to understand how far they can go with the bond they have built.