Chapter Text
“I didn’t know you kept a diary, Kyoutani.”
Yahaba gave a grunt of surprise as his friend jumped, almost hitting Yahaba in the chin who was leaning over him watching him write, and fumbled with the small book in front of him. After a few frantic movements, he slammed the book closed rather violently, causing the coffee table he was seated at to shake, tipping over one of the drinks resting on it. Both the boys lunged to catch the cup but were too late, only managing to disrupt the cup more, making sure the soda inside splashed over the table, Kyoutani’s sleeves, and his book.
“Yahaba!” Kyoutani shouted as he picked up his book and tried to mop up the liquid as fast as he could with the corner of Yahaba’s jacket that he had just thrown to the ground next to the table. Yahaba dropped to the floor next to him laughing, trying wrestle his jacket out of Kyoutani’s hands.
“Stop!” he took a wheezing breath, “Stop, you’ll make it all sticky!”
“Well what about my stuff! This is your fault!” Kyoutani yelled. He started flipping through the pages making sure none stuck together permanently. “Get off the floor and freaking clean up the table before it drips off the sides!”
“If you weren’t so jumpy, this wouldn’t happen!” Yahaba laughed as he quickly got up to stop the soda before it ran off the table. His eyes searched around the room for something to use, the liquid getting dangerously close to the edge. “What are you so afraid of me seeing, anyway?” Yahaba grabbed Kyoutani’s comforter from the heap of blankets on his friends’ bed, throwing it on the table.
“Yahaba! No! You moron!” Kyoutani went to swipe the blanket from the table but the damage was already done. Orange soda dripped from the cream covers and onto the damp and sticky short table. Soggy book and blanket in hand, Kyoutani looked at Yahaba, who was standing to the side, a sheepish grin on his face, his hand covered a portion of his face.
“I, uh. I panicked a little bit. That’s my bad”
Kyoutani simply stared back at him for a beat, until he dropped both items and took off after Yahaba, who had started for the door as fast as he could, laughter and shouts ringing off the walls.
An hour later and the table was cleaned, the blanket and clothes were in the washer, and the boys were lounged on Kyoutani’s bed. Kyoutani was laying horizontal near the top of the bed, head almost hanging off with his feet propped on the wall, phone in hand. Yahaba was near the foot of the bed, clicking through his laptop to find something to watch. He was also wrapped in a thin blanket with yellow and orange polka dots covering it, and was trying to steal Kyoutani’s equally thin blanket, which had a full winter scene and a wolf printed on the front. The weather was starting to turn cold, and Kyoutani’s parents refused to turn the heater on just yet. They claimed it wasn’t needed. As a shiver ran through Yahaba’s body, he thought that they couldn’t be more wrong.
Kyoutani’s room was a cozy size, only big enough for a twin bed, a dresser, the short foldable table, and a desk. It was a tad cramped, but the big window next to the bed and over his desk made it seem bigger; perks to having a room on the corner of the house. Hanging shelves covered the wall, along with a few posters and pictures taped here and there, holding several trophies, books, action figures, and any items Kyoutani had seen fit to place there. His desk was a mess of papers and textbooks, his floor littered with their abandoned homework, but was otherwise clean.
“Stop it, this is mine.” Kyoutani had started tugging his blanket back around himself, not taking his eyes off his phone. Yahaba only groaned in annoyance.
“Give it to me, I’m so cold I’m shivering, Look!” He slapped his hands on Kyoutani’s neck, to show his just how cold they were. This earned him a slap and a glare.
“Stop it! It’s your fault in the first place for making my blanket dirty, so deal with it.” He went back to his phone.
“But I don’t even have my jacket! That one was your fault. If you weren’t so dang jumpy this actually wouldn’t have happened.” Yahaba didn’t miss the way Kyoutani stiffened the slightest bit. A knowing smile crept onto Yahaba’s face. “Actually,” he started, peering over the top of his laptop “if I remember correctly, it was because of that book. Your diary, right?”
“First of all, it’s still your fault for creeping up on me like a weirdo,” Yahaba jabbed him in the side with his foot, “and second it’s not a diary it’s a journal and it’s none of your business” Yahaba wasn’t convinced.
“Alright Kyou, let’s assume this journal” he used air quotes around the word journal, making Kyoutani squint his eyes at him “is none of my business”
“It’s because it literally has nothing to do with you.”
“As your best friend,” Yahaba continued, unperturbed, “I need to hear every juicy secret in your life, and I feel offended that there is something you would rather do than to talk to me, your best friend. I feel like I have been replaced.” Yahaba finished dramatically, with a hand over his chest in mock heart break. Kyoutani threw his arm over his eyes.
“Oh my gosh, literally shut up, Yahaba. It’s just something I write in to write in. Haven’t you ever heard about daily writing, or like how it’s supposed to be relaxing or something stupid like that.” Yahaba only clicked his tongue.
“Kyoutani, I know you like the back of my hand,” Yahaba was now on his knees leaning over Kyoutani, and he held his hand up towards Kyoutani, which was quickly slapped down. “I know you, which means I know you’re freaking lying to me cause you won’t look at me. And don’t give me that ‘relaxation’ crap. You never do anything for the heck of it. Which means,” Yahaba puts his hands on Kyoutani’s stomach and began to shake him, “You’re writing for a reason, that reason is significant, and most importantly You. Didn’t. Tell. Me!” Each word was accentuated with a small smack to Kyoutani’s stomach, who currently had his knees pulled close to his body and his hands up to try to push Yahaba’s away. It didn’t work well, as Yahaba had the better angle. “Tell me your secrets!”
Kyoutani rolled off the bed and swiftly left the room, telling Yahaba to stop bugging him as he went. Yahaba huffed and stood to follow him. When he rounded the corner, he got a face full of hot blanket as Kyoutani threw his comforter at him, fresh from the dryer. Yahaba was briefly distracted as he made a delighted sound and wrapped the blanket around himself. He inhaled deeply, the fresh laundry smell engulfing him. Kyoutani was grabbing Yahaba’s jacket, along with his own shirt, out of the washer and putting them into the dryer.
Yahaba watched him closely. They had become close friends by the end of their second year, and at the middle of their third year, he’d like to think that they really were best friends. So Yahaba could tell. He could tell something was bothering his friend. He’s never seen Kyoutani write in a journal before, let alone be secretive with it. Kyoutani has shown him a short story or two that he had written, usually fantasy, but he never seemed embarrassed then.
“You know,” Yahaba started, quietly, “I was just messing around. You don’t have to tell me what you wrote. Just tell me if I’m right, if something is wrong. You’re acting like something is, and I want to know so I can help you. You know, if you want my help.” Maybe Yahaba was making the whole thing a much bigger deal than it really was, maybe it was just what Kyoutani had said. But if there were something going on, he’d like to think Kyoutani would rely on him enough to share with him, at the very least he’d know something was wrong. Kyoutani sighed and leaned his arms on the front of the dryer.
“Nothing is wrong, Yahaba. Nothing bad, at least.” He straightened and pushed past the burrito blanket that was Yahaba and headed towards his room.
“So something is technically wrong, then.” Yahaba waddled after him. When he reached the bed, he flopped face first onto the bed, feet sticking off, matching Kyoutani’s position.
“Not wrong,” Kyoutani’s voice was muffled against the sheets “At least I don’t think it’s wrong.”
“So why are you freaking out about this?”
“I am not freaking out about anything.”
“You jumped like fifty feet in the air when I talked to you, then you got all defensive.” Yahaba turned his head to look at Kyoutani “You’re not afraid of me knowing what it is, right? I mean, that would suck but like I said you don’t have to tell me.” The thought of Kyoutani not trusting him stung more than Yahaba was expecting it to. Kyoutani let out a loud groan and kicked his feet a bit.
“No, stop making me feel bad when that’s not even what’s going on. I just. Ugh, okay, yes, there is something.” He raises himself onto his elbows and finally looks at Yahaba. “I just. I don’t even know what I’m feeling right now. I was trying to write things out to work through them or something, to, like, get some kind of idea of what it is before I talked to you, anyone, y’know? Like, I have a pretty good guess, but I don’t know how I feel about it, yet. Ugh, why do you have to make me talk about this.” Yahaba had been paying close attention to Kyoutani’s words, watched as his hands swung around attempting to help him find the right words. And he watched as, with his last words, Kyoutani face planted back onto the bed, and grabbed a pillow and planted it over his head.
“So,” Yahaba started slowly, “I might be reading between the lines here, but it sounds to me like you might have a crush?” He could hardly keep the smile out of his voice. Kyoutani let out another groan.
“How in the world did you get that out of what I said?”
“Well, usually, that’s what having a crush feels like. I’m just guessing here. You haven’t said that’s not right. Let’s see,” Yahaba put his chin in his hand “Someone you wouldn’t mind dating, but someone who it could be difficult to be with. Something like that?” Kyoutani was quiet. Until he mumbled something into the pillow, too quiet for Yahaba to hear. He leaned closer. “What?” Again, the mumbling. “What?!” He leaned even closer. Kyoutani paused, then mumbled once more, too quiet to hear. Yahaba’s face ticked, and he ripped a corner of Kyoutani’s pillow from his hands and screamed “What!” practically in Kyoutani’s ear. Kyoutani turned his face towards Yahaba angrily.
“I said you’re so creepy!” He yelled back at Yahaba, hitting him in the face with the pillow as his friend let out an indignant noise. “Don’t yell in my ear!”
“Why am I creepy! I didn’t do anything!” Yahaba shouted back, trying to fend off the pillow, managing to yank it from Kyoutani’s hands.
“How can you guess all those things? It’s creepy, and it’s like you’re reading my mind!”
“Wait,” Yahaba saw it now. The slight blush on Kyoutani’s face, the way he turned his eyes down and away. Little hints to what Kyoutani was feeling. He couldn’t believe it. “Wait! I’m right? You have a crush?!”
“Why do you sound so surprised? You’re the one who said it!”
“But I didn’t know you’d actually tell me!” Yahaba couldn’t keep the smile off his face, and didn’t bother trying.
“You’re literally the one who just told me we were best friends,” Kyoutani rolled onto his side facing Yahaba. “So I’ve told you now, let’s drop it and go get something to eat or something, I’m starving.” Before he could move to get up, however, Yahaba grabbed his shoulder and kept him down.
“No, no, no, no, we’re not done talking yet, buddy. You can’t just give me this and expect me to not want to know who it is!”
“What? No. Earlier you said I didn’t have to tell you anything.”
“Yeah but this is different. Now that I know you like someone, as your best friend, I need to know who it is so I can help you guys get together.” Kyoutani snorted.
“As if I want your help.”
“Well you’re going to get it, cause you like them and I’m going to help, cause I want you to be happy.” He paused for a moment, “Also, when I’m the best man at your wedding, I want to be able to make a toast and brag about how everything was because of m-” Kyoutani nailed him a few times with a pillow.
“Oh my gosh just shut up, I don’t want to hear this from you. If you’re so good, then why don’t you just guess.”
“Fine,” Yahaba sent a little glare at his friend. “If you’re not going to tell me, you have to at least give me a few hints.” Kyoutani groaned, “Oh, come on! Just three. I basically have nothing to go from.”
‘Ugh, fine. Just three though.” Yahaba waited patiently for him to continue. “I guess. He’s passionate-”
“Wait, wait, ‘He’?” Yahaba interrupted.
“Yeah, He, do you got a problem with that?” Kyoutani challenged him quickly with a hard look in his eyes. Yahaba waved him off.
“No, no, I just didn’t know.” He paused, “That’s not why you didn’t tell me, is it?”
“No. I told you the reason. I didn’t really consider the fact you might act weird about it” At this Yahaba gave a pout. “And before you ask, no I don’t know what I am I just know that I like- that he’s special, I guess.”
“I wouldn’t act weird about that. I like boys; exclusively, actually.” Kyoutani gave an acknowledging hum, but he did seem to relax a bit.
“Okay, so before you interrupted me,” Kyoutani continued as if they hadn’t just shared important information with one another “He’s passionate, I guess, he can be pretty loud, and he’s a decent volleyball player.”
Yahaba smiled, humming mischievously. “Is he cute?”
“Shut up, you got your three clues.” But Yahaba didn’t miss the dark flush across his face and on the tip of his ears. That would be a yes, then.
“Alright, I guess I’ll take a stab at it, then. You have to promise to let me know when I get something right.” Kyoutani nodded. “Okay,” Yahaba settled himself in front of Kyoutani, legs crossed. “Someone you wouldn’t mind dating but also someone who it wouldn’t be easy to date, a boy, passionate, loud, volleyball, ravishingly good looks,” Kyoutani hit him on the knee for that, but Yahaba continued, unperturbed. “I guess. My first question would be whether or not he’s on Seijou? Maybe not, because that would be easy.” Kyoutani shook his head, “He’s not?”
“No.” Alright. Yahaba had to remember to kill the little voice in his head saying ‘but what if it’s you’. He gave a weak laugh.
“Okay, so If he’s not on our team, do we know him? Like have we played his team?” A nod, “Do you talk to him?” A shake “You’re crushing on him and you don’t even talk to him?”
“Shut up.”
“Fine, fine, uh, is he a third year?” A shake, “Second year?” Nod. “okay… what position does he play?”
“That’ not a yes or no question.”
“You didn’t say it had to be a yes or no question, and I swear, I’m not going to go down the entire list of positions until you say yes, just freaking tell me that.” Kyoutani grumbled and hid his face in the crook of his elbow, to where only his mouth could be seen.
“He’s a middle blocker.”
“Oh, so he’s tall then?” Kyoutani seemed to struggle with whether or not he should answer. He eventually shook his head.
“So he’s short.” A nod. It took Yahaba all but four seconds to run down the list of second year middle blockers that they knew of, who was short. He gave Kyoutani an incredulous look, which made Kyoutani, who had been watching him over the top of his arm, let out a somewhat strangled noise and twisted around on the bed, his arm back in place over his eyes.
“Him?!” You like him?” Yahaba couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him, or the teasing, although he didn’t try very hard to stop himself. “You write sappy love poems for Karosuno’s tiny middle blocker?” Kyoutani growled—growled—and shot up to smother Yahaba’s teasing under a pillow, his face burning red. Yahaba started hitting at Kyoutani around the pillow, his muffled laughter could still be heard.
“Shut. Up. I swear if you say one more thing-” Kyoutani cut himself off as he whipped the pillow from Yahaba’s face and held it threateningly a ways away, “Laugh one more time and I will beat you.”
“I’m done, I’m done, I swear.” Yahaba held his hands up in order to pacify his blushing friends, although he still had traces of laughter in his voice. “I’m just- why him? Out of all the people we know, why him?” Kyoutani was quiet for a while and he eventually sighed deeply.
“I honestly don’t know.” He looked so lost and not his usual self that Yahaba decided to take pity on him.
“Well, we can talk about it later.” He wiggled his way off the bed, repositioning Kyoutani’s blanket around his shoulders as he went. “Let’s go grab something to eat, and possibly eat our body weight in ice cream.” He smiled as he held out a hand to help Kyoutani up off of the bed. Kyoutani took it and let Yahaba pull him up.
“You’re such a bad captain. We’re supposed to stay in shape, not gorge ourselves on ice cream.” Yahaba gave him a smile over his shoulder as he headed towards the door and to the kitchen.
“It’s not every day I find out my best friend is such a sap, it’s a special occasion.” Kyoutani smacked him in the back of the head, mumbling how he was not, in fact, a sap. Yahaba just laughed and walked out of the room.
They hadn’t talked about Kyoutani’s crush since that night; Mostly because Kyoutani still refused to talk much in detail about it because he “still doesn’t know how he feels” and Yahaba wanted to give him space. It was Monday, two days after their talk, and Yahaba was trying. He was trying so hard to pay attention to his teacher, but morning classes made his mind wonder, and his eyes had fallen onto Kyoutani, who was sitting to his left. He was writing. In his journal. Their conversation had immediately jumped to the forefront of his mind. He was trying to give Kyoutani his space to figure out his feelings, but Yahaba felt the need to help his friend out. Definitely not because he was bored out of his mind, but because he felt his help was needed. Whether or not it was wanted, he just had to do something.
He glanced towards the teacher. It was a rainy day, and to let the fresh air into the room the windows had been opened. The sound and smell had only lulled Yahaba into a mellow state, tiredness from morning practice also pulling on the back of his eyes, contributing to his lack of concentration. He quickly determined he had already missed enough important parts of the lecture to the point he would be lost for the rest of class. Having justified not paying attention, he started writing in the corner of his notebook ‘Are you writing about Hinata?’ He tried to discreetly tear the note out before passing it to Kyoutani, giving the teacher a quick glance.
He watched from the corner of his eye as Kyoutani’s pencil stopped moving, picking up the note. He tried to focus his eyes on the rain falling outside, but he couldn’t help the quick glance at his friend as he shut his book quietly, but with purpose. His ears were red again. He quickly scrawled on the back of the note before giving it back. Yahaba shot him a smug smile when he read ‘LEAVE ME ALONE.’
On a new scrap of paper, Yahaba wrote ‘I’m going to help you.’ He passed it
‘I swear if you do anything I will kill you.’
‘I’m going to get you two together at least to hang out. You’ll never figure it out if you never even hang out’
‘Stop. I don’t even know if he knows who I am.’
‘Perfect reason for me to get involved then’
‘Stop. how would you even reach him’ This made Yahaba pause. He didn’t have a number. He didn’t even have a connection. He did have Karosuno’s captains number, but he didn’t know if he wanted to ask him for Hinata’s number; He didn’t exactly want to explain why he needed it. There had to be someone he knew that had connections.
Slowly, Yahaba turned his head to look at Kyoutani, who was watching him. He knew who to call. A wicked grin bled onto his face as he turned back to the paper. He didn’t miss the nervous look on Kyoutani’s face. He quickly scribbled onto the paper, only having to hide it and pretend he was answering the questions that were written on the white board as the teacher walked by. Once he had passed and his back was to them, Yahaba quickly handed the note to his friend. He watched him intently.
Call him cruel, but he quite enjoyed the slow succession of emotions that played out on Kyoutani’s face. First, his blank yet slightly concerned expression slacked. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened. Then it contorted into something that was a mix of horror and disbelief. Then it hardened and he turned his head towards Yahaba and gave him the nastiest glare he could muster. “I'll wring your neck.” He spit out.
Yahaba only tried to smash his grin away with his hand, as his teacher was now looking their way. “Kyoutani” he began, his voice stern “Is there a problem?” Kyoutani kept his gaze on Yahaba for another moment, ignoring the fact that the whole class was watching now as well, before turning to their teacher.
“No. There’s not a problem.” His voice sounded tight, and a little bit strained. When the teacher nodded, and turned back to the board, Kyoutani turned his attention back to Yahaba. “Not yet, anyway.” He mumbled to the point where only Yahaba could hear him. Yahaba also needed to smother his laughter as well, because he never knew how the words ‘I’m texting Oikawa’ could incite such a perfect reaction and cause such a perfect scene. Without sparing another glance at Kyoutani he maneuvered his phone from his pocket and tilted his book at just the right angle to be hidden from the front of the room.
Yahaba was a good student, but he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t perfected the art of discreetly texting during class. He could practically feel the negative vibes hitting him from the left, but he ignored it in favor of opening his and Oikawa’s messages. They didn’t really keep in touch after Oikawa had graduated, at least not on a personal level. Oikawa was busy with university, but he still liked to check in every once in a while, to see how the team was doing. Yahaba’s smile didn’t fade as he pulled up the keyboard and began to type his message.
Me – 11:38 AM
Oikawa!! I need help, and you're the only one who I can ask
Yahaba leaned back in his desk. He knew he didn’t have long to wait. He made sure to avoid looking to his left, instead looking to his right and smiling at the girl, Fumiki, who sat next to him. She smiled back. He made a mental note to ask her for her notes at the end of the day. She took very organized notes. His phone caught his attention as it lit up, signaling he had received a text. Yahaba smiled. He knew he had to act fast as lunch started at noon.
Oikawa – 11:41 AM
Yahaba!!! Whats wrong? Im in class but???
Me – 11:41 AM
I just need a phone number it’s an emergency
Me – 11:42 AM
Karosuno’s Shrimp?
Oikawa – 11:46 AM
That’s not an emergency :/
Oikawa – 11:46 AM
I don’t have his number :///
Yahaba frowned, scratching his head. He didn’t really have a backup plan. He couldn’t just let it go at this point, either. He had to pull though or else Kyoutani would kill him before he could make another plan. He thought hard, even screwing his eyes shut. Who knew both Hinata and Oikawa? It would have to be someone, either a second or third year. He was going down the admittedly short list, when he almost hit himself. The answer, quite frankly, was glaringly obvious.
Me – 11:51 AM
What about Kageyama? I know you have his number.
Oikawa – 11:51 AM
Ew. Why do you want him? :/
Oikawa – 11:51 AM
Why do you even need to talk to them Yahaba ://///
Oikawa – 11:51 AM
Are you cheating on the team Yahaba I knew I should have made Watari captain!!! >:O
Yahaba rolled his eyes.
Me – 11:52 AM
Oikawa!!! I promise I’ll tell you, but I need the number, fast.
Me – 11:52 AM
All I can say now is that it will be worth it and Kyoutani will hate it.
Yahaba gave a nervous glance the clock. He could still feel Kyoutani’s eyes trained on him as his fingers moved over the keyboard. He was in the middle of planning his escape route when his phone lit up once again.
Oikawa – 11:58 AM
Oh I see
Oikawa – 11:59 AM
In that case
Oikawa – 11:59 AM
>:3c
Oikawa – 12:00 PM
81 xxx-xxxx
Yahaba saw the text and finally looked to Kyoutani. He looked as if he had been contemplating all the ways he could kill Yahaba. Yahaba didn’t have time to react to that, because the bell rang, and he was out of his seat and out the door as fast as his legs could manage.
He knew Kyoutani was right behind him, both of their footsteps thundering down the hall. Yahaba felt the hair on his neck stand on end and he could practically feel Kyoutani reach for him, cursing him loudly. Luckily, by this time more students were leaving their classrooms. Yahaba squeezed through many students, quickly making his way down the hall while Kyoutani would get stuck behind someone at every turn. With a great laugh Yahaba took more corners doing his best to lose his friend. He pulled out his phone out as he started taking the far staircase steps two at a time. He dialed Kageyama’s number, and by the time he made it to the top of the stairs it was on its third ring.
He was breathing heavily, free hand leaning on his knee for support. The door to the roof let in a haze of light into the otherwise dark stairway, rain pattering on the window. On the fourth ring, he was somewhat scared Kageyama wouldn’t answer his phone. On the final ring, the dial tone stopped, and Yahaba almost pulled his phone from his ear when he heard a faint, questioning hello. He smiled. “Ah! Is this Kageyama Tobio?”
It took a few seconds, but eventually he heard a “Yes? Who is this?”
“This is Yahaba Shigeru, Aobajōsai’s captain.” The only sounds that came from the other line were the chatter of what Yahaba assumed were Kageyama’s classmates. He must be on lunchbreak as well. “I wanted to ask you something. Actually, I wanted to ask you about Hinata.”
“What do you want from Hinata?” If Yahaba weren’t so pressed for time, he would have been more worried about the shift in tone in Kageyama’s voice. It was almost aggressive.
“Well! I was wondering If he’d like to come practice with our ace.” Yahaba can’t say he really had time to rehearse what he was going to say, so he decided to take the direct route. “I know he wants to become the ace of your team, and I thought Kyoutani could give him some pointers.” He only hoped he didn’t sound too suspicious. He had to admit, what he was asking for was weird.
“Sorry, but he doesn’t need any help.” Yahaba was about to despair, thinking Kageyama was about to hang up when he heard muffled talking on the other end. It was Kageyama and a higher pitched voice, but it wasn’t clear enough to catch what they were saying. There was a loud squawk on the other end, then what sounded like a scuffle and a grunted ‘hey!’, and then there was a new voice speaking to him.
“You’re going to help me become an ace?!” Yahaba couldn’t smile wider. He practically had the situation in the bag. Just in time, as well, as he could hear footsteps pounding up the stairs. There was only one person those could belong to.
“Well, not me, Hinata, but my ace, Kyoutani! He has a wicked arm, and he could give you some good pointers. I was thinking you guys could get together this weekend for a little practice.” There was more muffled speech on the other end, a quiet argument, and then Hinata was back.
“Kageyama is coming too! He’s being weird about this and said it’s suspicious, but I don’t care! I’m coming!”
“That’s great, Hinata!” Yahaba locked eyes with Kyoutani who was now standing in front of him seething. He couldn’t help but smile as his friend froze as he spoke. “Tell Kageyama that I’ll come, and we can talk too. Tell him it’s a mutually beneficial opportunity.” He could hear a faint ‘what does that mean?’ from the background and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes before he continued. “Anyway, here’s Kyoutani!” He took a step towards his friend, who’s face suddenly lost all its color, “You can talk to him and get the details!” He didn’t bother waiting for a reply before he was shoving the phone towards a quaking Kyoutani, who was shaking his head rapidly and trying to step back down the stairs.
Yahaba succeeded in shoving the phone to his ears and he stepped back, a maniac grin spread across his face. Kyoutani gave him a frantic look. They had a silent argument, gesturing wildly; Kyoutani trying to give the phone back to Yahaba, Yahaba trying to get Kyoutani to say something. During the fuss, one of them must have hit the speaker button, because Hinata’s voice came through the phone.
“Hello?”
Kyoutani looked as if he were about to die, but with some encouraging slaps from Yahaba he managed to choke his words out “H-hey,” He cleared his throat, “Um, what’s up?” Yahaba shook his head as he watched Kyoutani’s face heat up. He clicked the phone off speaker, just so Yahaba couldn’t hear the conversation. Yahaba scoffed at him, and pushed his head close the phone so he could hear, only to have Kyoutani turn away from him and take a few steps away.
Yahaba pouted. “Don’t be childish, Kyou.” Kyoutani ignored him, putting his full attention on what Hinata was saying.
“Uh, yeah, this is Kyoutani.” A pause. “Yeah, Yahaba is so nice to set this up for us.” Kyoutani shot a quick glare at Yahaba, who only put on an innocent expression. “Ah, yeah, this weekend. Um, what day works, for you?” Yahaba stood in front of the door, watching the rain fall. At this rate, they wouldn’t be able to finish their lunch.
“Yeah, three on Sunday is great. There’s a park nearby we can go to . . . Uh, no, this is actually Yahaba’s phone . . . Yeah. . .” Kyoutani looked wide-eyed at Yahaba “My number?” This caused Yahaba to approach fast, putting his ear to the phone. This time Kyoutani didn’t turn away. He heard something about a number, about reaching each other. Then Hinata started reciting numbers, which made the two panic, not having anything to write it down on.
Yahaba quickly reached into Kyoutani’s pocket to fetch his phone and open a new contact. Kyoutani was giving him a look of disbelief before he recited the number back, making sure they got it right. Yahaba copied it down as he spoke and then hit save.
“Yeah, I’ll text you the directions. . . Okay, I’ll see you then, bye.” He hung up the phone, letting his arms drop. Kyoutani turned towards Yahaba. He had a bit of a far off look in his eyes. Yahaba thought it was cute how smitten he was.
“Well, Loverboy,” Yahaba began, “step one of the plan is complete. You’re welcome” He took a short bow.
Kyoutani gave him a dark glare. “I don’t know whether I should hit you, or thank you, but I’m thinking I’m going to hit you anyway, so you better start running.” With that, Yahaba took off back down the stairs with Kyoutani hot on his heels. They had missed most their break, but they both had smiles stretched across their faces.
“I’ve changed my mind, there’s absolutely no way that this is a good idea.” Kyoutani moaned.
Yahaba only scoffed and rolled his eyes. “It’s too late to chicken out now, they’re already on their way.” He turned to look at Kyoutani, who was standing in front of Yahaba’s mirror, looking himself in the eye with a hard look. He kept adjusting his clothes, like he was unhappy with them. It wasn’t as if they were anything special, they were his regular workout clothes, which he should be comfortable in. “Would you at least try to calm down?” He continued, “You look fine, we’re going to go and play some volleyball, you two will flirt, and then we’ll come home. Rinse and repeat until he falls in love with you and you start dating. It’s as simple as that.” He turned back to his bag which he was packing his things in, to give it one more check. Knee pads, snacks, extra shirt, etc.
All week, Kyoutani had tried to ignore what was going to happen. Every time Yahaba had tried to bring it up, he had changed the subject or ran away. He avoided it, and so he had avoided the nerves leading up to the weekend. That, of course, only meant he had put them off until the moment right before. And the nerves hit him hard. He had texted Hinata the directions to the park they were going to, but that had been it. Yahaba had tried to get him to text more, but every time he did Kyoutani would go red in the face and get a constipated look and refuse. Hinata had texted that he and Kageyama were on the train to the area moments before.
Kyoutani hadn’t stopped staring in the mirror.
It was starting to make Yahaba worry. He got up from his place on the floor and went to stand by Kyoutani.
“I don’t think I can do this.” Kyoutani almost whispered, continuing to stare into the mirror. Yahaba stayed silent, hoping he would continue talking on his own. It was rare, but when Kyoutani was like this, he could open up, a small yet valuable amount. The moment seemed fragile, almost too fragile for spoken words. The morning sun shone in through his window and reflected off the mirror onto the walls, the world around them still drowsy and soft. “I feel so stupid for even wanting this to happen.” He continued. “This whole thing is so weird, and we’re almost complete strangers, I’m going to act so stupid around him, I know it. He’d never even like me to begin with. He’s so-” He gestures his hands around “He’s so Hinata, and I’m just- I just look like a joke, and when I talked to him on the phone I acted so stupid-“ He cut himself off, taking a shuddering breath.
“How could someone so amazing ever want to be anything with me.” His voice had dropped so low he could barely be heard, but his words hit Yahaba’s heart painfully.
Yahaba couldn’t stand still anymore and he pulled Kyoutani into a rough hug. It was awkward, they were both awkward huggers, but it was needed. Kyoutani hugged him back, making sure his face was hidden in Yahaba’s neck.
“Hey,” Yahaba started softly, “Listen to me, okay? It’s going to be fine. I’ll be there, and I won’t let things go bad, okay? We’re just going to play volleyball, we’re just going to get to know them. Nothing that happens today has to determine the future. Everyone acts stupid in front of people they don’t know, and honestly? I can’t see him caring all that much; he seems like the person who could get anyone out of their shell. Besides,” he patted Kyoutani’s back, “From what we know about Kageyama, he’ll be the most awkward, yeah?” This earned a small laugh from Kyoutani, who lifted his head up to look at Yahaba. He had a ghost of a smile.
“Now, as for your looks,” Yahaba ran his fingers through Kyoutani’s hair. Overall, Kyoutani hadn’t changed his appearance since second year. The only thing that was different was his hair was slightly longer, making his curls more pronounced. He still wore cheap eyeliner and he still wore the same clothes. “Your hair has always been stupid, but, overall, you look like you, and If I saw you any other way I think it would make me want to barf and wonder where my best friend went. You look fine.” He accented his last words with a few gentle pats on the cheek and a smile.
Kyoutani pushed his hands away, but he wore a small smile. “You have such a beautiful way with words.”
Yahaba took Kyoutani by the shoulders “Kyou, you’re beautiful just the way you are, your beauty shines out from the inside.” Kyoutani snorted and pushed past Yahaba to grab the volleyball sitting on the bed.
“You ruined it.”
“Be your own kind of beautiful, Kyou,” Yahaba went to pick up his bag. “The first part of being beautiful is believing you’re beautiful.”
“We’re going to be late.”
“Beauty isn’t about having a pretty face, it’s about having a pretty mind, a pretty heart, and a pretty-“
“Alright!” Kyoutani yelled, walking out the door. “I get it!”
Yahaba only laughed, following Kyoutani out of his room.
“Good.”
The walk to the park was short, about fifteen minutes from Yahaba’s house. In the brisk mid-autumn air, they maintained a quicker pace to stay warm. As they approached the park, they could see they weren’t the first ones to arrive. Hinata and Kageyama were stretching and chatting off to the side of the entrance. When Kyoutani saw them, he halted. His body was tensing, and his face was turning red; he had, apparently, stopped breathing for a moment. Yahaba only smiled and slapped him on the back, making him stumble forwards.
“Come on, let’s get on with it.” He said, and entered the park. Kyoutani took a few deep, even breaths and followed him.
As they approached, Yahaba raised his arm to wave at them. “Hey! How was your train ride over here?” He said with a smile. Hinata met them halfway with Kageyama on his heels.
“Yahaba! And Kyoutani!” He wore a dazzling smile as he leaned and looked past Yahaba at the latter. “Thank you for meeting with us!”
Yahaba looked back at Kyoutani briefly to see if he would answer, but he looked as if he was trying his best to keep breathing regularly. “It’s no problem! Like I said, all of us can benefit from this practice.” He replied with a warm smile. “Kyoutani! Why don’t you go warm up with Hinata over there before we start.” He pointed off in a direction further into the park.
Hinata looked like he had a mix of stars and determination in his eyes as he and Kyoutani agreed and headed in that direction. Kyoutani looked way too stiff to be casual, but he managed a pitiful nod in greeting to Kageyama as he passed, who returned it, just as stiff. Kageyama had tried to follow them, but Yahaba quickly grabbed his arm.
“Hey, Kageyama, let’s warm up over here.” With a smile, Yahaba pointed in the other direction.
Kageyama screwed his face up, looking perplexed “Why?”
“Well, so we can talk about setter stuff?” Yahaba had to admit, he really had no idea how to communicate with Kageyama; setting seemed a safe enough topic. Kageyama only gave him a bland look.
“I’m going over there, with Hinata.” He said in a flat tone, and turned back around.
Yahaba was determined to be a good wing man to his best friend, and if he was going to let Kageyama get in his way he swore he’d eat his uniform jersey. He grabbed Kageyama by both shoulders and wheeled him away from the other two and pushed him behind the public park bathroom’s nearby. Kageyama was protesting the whole way and tried to twist out of Yahaba’s grasp, but Yahaba was stronger than he looked and didn’t let go. Once behind the wall, he pushed Kageyama forward just enough to make him have to catch himself before he turned around.
“What are you doing!” Kageyama was angry, but looked mostly confused. “Let me go.” He tried to walk past Yahaba, only for the older setter to block his path.
“Listen, Kageyama,” Yahaba started, “Let me just talk to you for a minute.” Kageyama narrowed his eyes but didn’t try to push past him, so Yahaba continued. “Today, you and me are gonna hang out. We’re gonna talk setter talk, we’re gonna have a great time. We’re doing this so Kyoutani and Hinata can have the time they need to get to know each other” He gave a smile, “Please don’t make this difficult for me.”
His words seemed to only make Kageyama more suspicious. He tightened his hands into fists. “What is Kyoutani doing to Hinata?” his words were grit out with a darkened glare, but Yahaba wasn’t bothered; Between Kyoutani, Iwaizumi, and even Oikawa at times, Yahaba was used to vicious looks.
“Calm down, calm down,” He raised his hands in a way he hoped would make Kageyama relax, “Nothing is happening to Hinata. Like I said, Kyoutani just wants to get to know him. And as his best friend,” he placed a hand on his chest, “I’m doing my best to make his dreams come true.”
Kageyama regarded him slowly. “Why does he want to get to know Hinata?” His hands were still tightened into fists.
“Why does anyone want to get to know someone?” Kageyama stared. Yahaba waited a beat to see if he would catch up before sighing “Hinata’s single, right?” Yahaba had spent a long night searching social media to find out if there were any outstanding candidates for the role of Hinata’s significant other, to which he had found nothing. He was glad, or else the whole day would be awkward and uncomfortable for Kyoutani; Yahaba tried not to think how things could have gone wrong.
His words seemed to have found purchase in Kageyama’s mind, because he tried to push past Yahaba once again. “No way that’s happening.” He said with heat inching its way into his voice. Yahaba had to use all his body weight to pull Kageyama back, swinging him around a bit to where he had pressed his back into the wall. He really needed to stop doing that.
“Look, please, just give it a chance. I swear, we’re here on good terms and we’ll leave you guys alone if Hinata ever feels uncomfortable. Let’s at least see how Hinata feels about it.” He was just a few hairs taller than Kageyama and just a bit more muscular; both things that made it possible to hold him still, if only for a moment.
Kageyama grasped his wrists and shoved him away. “I swear if either of you hurt him you’ll have more than just me to answer to. He doesn’t need any one else breaking his heart.” Yahaba stored that particular bit of information to save for later.
“Hurting Hinata is the last thing Kyoutani would ever do, I can guarantee that.” They both stood facing each other awkwardly. Both boys not sure what to say next, until Yahaba couldn’t help himself. “So, you seem awfully protective over him.” Kageyama looked up at him in question. “You don’t like him, do you?”
This made Kageyama start “No! I’m his best friend. I have the right to be able to make sure that no jerks hurt him! And if I talk to him and he says he doesn’t like any of this then we’re done, I mean it.”
Yahaba nodded, and flashed a smile. “Glad we’re on the same page.” A pause. “Hinata doesn’t have anyone he likes, does he?” He questioned slowly.
“If he does he hasn’t told me.” He brushed past Yahaba and headed in his friend’s direction. Yahaba sighed and followed. They walked back over towards the other two, and Yahaba quickly took in the situation. They were still stretching, but he could tell that there hadn’t been much talking on Kyoutani’s end. He looked very uncomfortable. Hinata, on the other hand, seemed to be talking quite a bit, albeit to fill the awkward silence. Maybe he shouldn’t have left Kyoutani on his own for so long.
Once they got close enough to hear Hinata’s nervous laughter, Yahaba called out. “Okay, so why don’t we go over our plan for the day?” Both Hinata and Kyoutani brightened up when they saw their friend’s approach and met them half way. Kyoutani leaned in to question where he had been, voice a harsh whisper.
“I can’t say anything I’m so nervous. I feel like I’m ruining everything.” Yahaba only gave him a pitying smile and patted him on the shoulder. He quickly determined he shouldn’t leave the two alone just yet, so he suggested a two on two game. The park they had chosen had a sand volleyball court, and they made their way over to it. The net was quite raggedy and beat up, and the cold sand would be uncomfortable in their shoes, but they quickly got into the spirit of the game. They didn’t really bother keeping score, just worked on getting to know each other’s playing styles more intimately.
The longer they played, the more Kyoutani relaxed as well. Pretty soon, he was able to talk with the two second years, although he still only said a handful of words. Hinata seemed to be having fun, Yahaba noted. He laughed and shouted and was his usual energetic self. Yahaba even caught him with stars in his eyes as Kyoutani would spike and score. Kageyama seemed to have calmed down as well; he would join in on Hinata’s banter and stopped giving the two third years distrusting looks.
They played hard for hours, until they were breathing heavy and their stomachs were growling. The autumn wind had picked up and blew the cold through their workout pants and jackets. They decided to call it quits when Kageyama flubbed a set because his fingers were too cold. Yahaba tried to rub some feeling back into his own while they decided what to do next. They all decided quickly that they should visit a coffee shop before seeing Kageyama and Hinata off at the train station; they thought it best to warm up before heading home.
As they walked, they munched on some snacks that Yahaba packed, and walked two by two down the sidewalk. However, to Yahaba’s delight, they walked wing spiker to middle blocker and setter to setter. Hinata had quickly taken his spot next to Kyoutani and continued their talk animatedly. Kyoutani tried his best to give the best explanations to the others questions, instead of nods or grunts, but it was obvious he didn’t quite know the right words to use. He eventually tried to emulate some of Hinata’s more colorful volleyball speech, Guaah’s, Ooooh’s, and squawks, which made Yahaba bend over laughing. Kyoutani’s face was red but he laughed along with Yahaba and Hinata while Kageyama pointed out they had made it to the coffee shop.
Once inside, they each ordered hot cocoa and found their way to the comfy seats off to the side of the room. The coffee shop was big enough to fit several customers, but it still gave off a cozy feel. There were only a handful of customers besides them in the shop, all were keeping to themselves or chatting quietly as a relaxing tune played softly in the background. The chairs they sat in were perhaps a bit overly plush, but after spending a long amount of time outside in the cold, each boy sank in their seat and enjoyed the warmth they gave off.
Yahaba smiled into his hot cocoa as he watched Hinata ask Kyoutani about the eyeliner he wore saying “It looks so cool! It makes you look so tough!”, to which Kyoutani hid his blush behind his own cup and a choked out ‘thanks’. Yahaba discreetly got Kageyama’s attention, who was sitting to his left, by tugging a bit on his sleeve. He looked at him, saw Yahaba beckoning him with a finger, then leaned in.
Yahaba leaned in as well, and held up his hand to cup around his mouth, connecting it to Kageyama’s ear. “Think we can meet again next week?” he asked softly.
Kageyama looked to Hinata in silence for a bit, watching his friend with fondness before whispering back to Yahaba. “I’ll ask him, but I wouldn’t mind if we did.” Yahaba smiled and was surprised when it was returned, Kageyama’s mouth curling slightly at each end.
“Does that mean Kyoutani passed the best friend test?” Kageyama snorted, but before he could reply, he was interrupted.
“What are you two whispering about?” Hinata asked, and the two setters turned to see their friends’ attention was now on them.
Yahaba was about to open his mouth when Kageyama answered for him “We were just talking about doing this again next week, if everyone wanted to.” He said it in a bored tone, ending it in telling Hinata to mind his own business.
Hinata’s eyes sparkled, “I want to!” he turned to Kyoutani, “Do you want to, Kyoutani?”
Kyoutani only blinked before answering an “Of course.” Which made Hinata start excitedly planning what they would practice. He made Kyoutani promise to show him how he got so much power into his spikes, before Kageyama stood and said they should get going to make it home for supper. They refilled their hot cocoa before heading out.
They walked to the train station, only five minutes away, and waited for the next train. They spent the time chatting and laughing. Spending time with Hinata and Kageyama seemed to him how spending time with younger siblings would be like; He was an only child, but it was easy to pretend. Hinata was energetic and loud, like how he had seen him on the court, but as Yahaba listened to him talk, he could tell there was more in him than what he was showing. Yahaba also noticed he liked somewhat dry humor, which he could appreciate. Watching Kageyama interact was a bit different. He hadn’t seen much of Kageyama’s serious side except for behind the bathrooms and briefly in the coffee shop. At those times, he seemed almost too serious and maybe too calculating. Outside of those moments he seemed to enjoy simple spats with Hinata, or adding simple yet somewhat ridiculous comments to their conversations..
To sum it up, Yahaba looked forward to getting to know them more in the future.
As the train pulled in, they said their goodbyes. Kyoutani waved to the two second years as they got on, while Yahaba yelled for them to send a text when they got home safely. Then the train went on its way leaving Kyoutani and Yahaba watching until it was out of sight.
“So?” Yahaba began, “What’d you think? Is he still the boy of your dreams?”
Kyoutani downed the rest of his hot cocoa and sauntered over to the nearest trash bin, tossing his cup inside. With Yahaba following him, he started down the street towards home. Yahaba tried again. “Kyou? Come on, tell me what you’re thinking.” He bent slightly at the waist to try to look at his friend’s face, but Kyoutani only turned away. Yahaba huffed, but stayed quiet for the rest of the walk.
Twenty minutes later and they were back in Yahaba’s room. Kyoutani goes straight to his bed and falls on it face first. Yahaba put away his bag and then stood in the middle of the room, watching Kyoutani. He waited a while, until he got concerned when he saw no movement come from his friend, not even the rise and fall of his back to show he was breathing.
He took two quick steps before throwing all his weight on top of his friend. Kyoutani started and let out a pained grunt.
Yahaba made himself comfortable on top of Kyoutani, turning so he was facing the ceiling. “Talk to me.” He said lowly. He wanted to drag every last thought out of Kyoutani’s mind, but he thought crushing him until he spilled everything was good enough.
Kyoutani let out a guttural groan, slightly strained by the weight on his back, but he didn’t make any moves to throw Yahaba off. Instead he let himself be pressed further into the mattress. They laid in silence for several minutes until Kyoutani tried rolling out from him, making Yahaba slide into and awkward position next to him on the bed.
“Yahaba.” He started. Yahaba hummed. Kyoutani had buried his face under pillows and started pulling Yahaba’s blankets around him messily. “Yahaba.” He said again. Yahaba hummed louder. “Yahaba, I think I messed up so bad, I was so awkward, he probably thinks I’m some creep, why did we do this.” He spoke all at once, without taking a breath. Yahaba only nodded and took it in.
“I don’t think that’s how he feels,” he started slowly, “but, more importantly, how do you feel about him?”
“I think I really freaking like him.” He said it with such confidence that it seemed to surprise even him. Kyoutani raised his head and looked at Yahaba for a long moment. Then they both broke out into a face splitting grin. Yahaba shot his hand out and violently ruffled Kyoutani’s hair as they laughed.
They continued their Sunday volleyball practices for a few weeks. They would always meet in the late morning and play until late afternoon. Practices ended in a trip to the coffee shop; once, they skipped practice altogether due to the fall rain and met inside where they sat and talked for hours instead. The four quickly formed an odd friendship. It was mostly volleyball based, but every now and then bits of their lives would creep into the conversation.
Kyoutani and Hinata would text quite a bit in between their weekend practices, after Hinata insisted they stay in touch more. Kyoutani was practically glued to his phone for most of the free time he had. Yahaba would always tease him and ask him what they were talking about, but Kyoutani would only flip him off and ignore him.
His plan was coming along nicely. Yahaba had to admit, Kyoutani and Hinata had better chemistry than he thought they would. Especially over such a short amount of time. He loved to watch how Hinata brought out more of Kyoutani’s smiles or how Hinata would puff his chest out the smallest amount when he would earn a compliment from Kyoutani about his spike.
It was their fifth meeting when their routine was finally broken. As Yahaba and Kyoutani approached the park, they saw a lone figure stretching.
As they reached the park entrance, they saw it was Hinata. He looked up as they drew nearer and smiled. “Hey guys!”
“Where’s Kageyama?” Kyoutani asked, while glancing around the park.
“Oh! Ah,” Hinata’s eyes flit around briefly as he scrunched his shoulders into a stiff shrug. “It’s just me today. Kageyama had to stay home today.”
“So you rode the train by yourself?” Kyoutani’s tone sounded worried and Yahaba would have teased him for it if he wasn’t also a bit nervous about the tiny second year traveling alone.
Hinata only waved their worry away. “Yeah, but it’s nothing to worry about. I was perfectly safe!” He seemed to be trying to grin and laugh the out-of-place nervousness out of his body. It was a bit weird, but Yahaba wasn’t going to call him out on it. Kyoutani gave him a wary look, but settled in and started stretching with Hinata while they started up some other conversation.
Yahaba felt no need to join in as he half-heartedly began stretching as well, standing off to the side. He was a man of opportunity, and this one seemed perfect to take advantage of. He pulled out his phone and clicked it on, looking at the screen.
“Oh!” Hinata and Kyoutani turned to look at him. “My mom just texted me! She has to leave the house and there’s no one there to let the dogs out! I’m really sorry guys but I have to go.” He looked to Hinata “I’ll see you next week Hinata,” he turned to Kyoutani whose face was draining of all color, “and I’ll see you later Kyou.” With a smile, he jogged back out of the park, his bag bumping against his back with each step.
A couple blocks away, he stopped and pulled out his phone, panting slightly. As was expected, there was a text from Kyoutani.
Kyou – 11:04 AM
youre dead to me
Kyou – 11:04 AM
ur literally dead to me
Me: -- 11:09 AM
Kyoutani!!! Get off your phone and talk to him!
Me: -- 11:09 AM
After you sweep him off his feet, take him on a date! Take him to get hot cocoa or some food maybe?
“Meat buns.” Someone murmured in his ear.
Yahaba jumped, smacking the other in the nose with the back of his skull, and spun around so fast he lost his balance and fell backwards. He used his feet and hands to shuffle as far away as he could. He frantically looked around on the ground to locate the phone that he had dropped before his attention was drawn back to the stranger, who had let out a groan and a few curse words. He was hunched over, holding his nose. Yahaba was about to jump to his feet and hightail it out of the area before he recognized the familiar practice clothes and worn down sneakers.
“Kageyama?!” Yahaba was up and by his side within a moment. “What are you doing here?!” He grabbed Kageyama’s chin and moved his face up so he could see the damage. After knocking his hands from his nose, he could see it wasn’t bleeding. However, he could see a nasty bruise already forming, with a small abrasion on the bridge.
Kageyama pouted around his hands. “Why did you hit me?” his voice was a bit nasally.
“Why were you creeping behind me?” Yahaba challenged. As Kageyama shoved his hands away he turned to find and pick up his phone.
“I was just reading your texts” as if that was an acceptable thing to do “And I was telling you that Kyoutani should take Hinata to get meat buns. He loves those things.” His hands were back to poking at his nose and wincing.
Yahaba found his phone, checking it over. Thankfully, the screen wasn’t broken. He dusted it and himself off. He sighed. “Whatever. Come on, let’s get you patched up... Stop poking at it.” He took Kageyama by his sleeve, Kageyama pausing to pick up a hat from the ground that he had apparently been wearing (that Yahaba had missed), and led him down the street.
Fifteen minutes and one convenience store visit later, Kageyama had a bright blue, star patterned band aid covering his nose, baseball cap cocked sideways. They were sitting on the curb outside of the store. Not many people were passing by on the street, so they stretched out their legs further into the road, leaning back on their arms. The sky was free of any clouds, which let the sun warm them up as much as possible; although their breath still fogged and every once in a while a stray chill would run through their bodies.
Along with the band aids, Yahaba had also bought Kageyama a milk box to hopefully apologize for hitting his face so hard. He was pouting around the straw and scrunching his nose, obviously regretting it afterwards as he winced.
“Why are you here?” Yahaba asked.
“Because you dragged me here.” Kageyama replied plainly.
Yahaba lightly smacked his shoulder. “I mean here, as in here.” He motioned his arms around them. “Hinata told us you stayed home today.” He inclined his head slightly.
Kageyama hummed. “Hinata asked me if I could just hang around today. Once he’s done he’ll text me and we’ll go home.”
“Why would he ask you to do that?” Yahaba questioned. It was rare for the two to be separated; usually, they were a packaged deal. It was baffling to think Hinata would ask Kageyama not to join him, especially if he’s already in the area.
Kageyama looked at him from the side of his eye before turning his head to look in the opposite direction. “He promised me not to tell. But I could ask the same to you. Why didn’t you stay?”
It didn’t take long for Yahaba to work through what was going on. His smile grew and he jerked forward and grabbed Kageyama’s shoulders and turned him to face his direction.
“Please,” he shook him a bit, playfully, “Tell me we’re both here for the same reason.”
Kageyama didn’t reply but his lips were pursed in a peculiar way, hinting that he was trying to hide his smile. Yahaba laughed loudly.
“Yes! Oh my gosh I can’t believe this!” He let go of Kageyama and grabbed his phone from his bag. He was already in the middle of typing a message to Kyoutani when Kageyama roughly shook his arm.
“Wait, don’t tell him anything I said.”
“You didn’t tell me anything, I figured it out myself.” He shook Kageyama off his arm but continued when he saw the worried look on Kageyama’s face. “Don’t worry, I’m just telling him about the meat buns – I forgot to earlier because I rammed you in the face.” He finished typing his message and hit send, leaning back as he did. “I might have also given him some encouragement, but nothing incriminating, don’t worry.” He smirked to himself as he put his phone away. To say he gave him encouragement wasn’t exactly a lie; he had only done it in a bit more direct way. He just told him if he didn’t come back with a boyfriend and a story to tell, Yahaba would lock him out of his house and make him walk the extra four miles to his own house in the cold.
He was already looking forward to the talk they would have later that day.
Kageyama only gave him a look like he didn’t really believe him, but he only shrugged. “I mean,” he began, “I guess it’s whatever. I did tell Hinata everything you told me, so it’d be even.”
Yahaba’s jaw dropped. “What!”
“He’s my best friend, I tell him everything.”
Yahaba contemplated sending another, more detailed text to Kyoutani. He quickly decided against it, thinking he wanted Kyoutani to sweat a bit without the knowledge his crush was also totally into him. He huffed, picking Kageyama’s hat up so he could roughly ruffle his hair. Ignoring Kageyama’s disgruntled objections, he sat his hat back on his head, swiveling it so the brim was facing backwards.
“You’re real cute sometimes, Kageyama. So innocent.”
Kageyama blushed. “Shut up.” He grumbled.
Yahaba laughed as he brought his knees up close to his chest, wrapping his arm around them. He rested his cheek on his knee. He really did hope Kyoutani and Hinata would get together. Watching the two of them could be so warming, especially Kyoutani. He was extra sweet on Hinata, giving him every bit of patience he had. Even when he ran out he’d never get seriously angry with him. More like he would cuff Hinata ever so lightly out of frustrated fondness, or pull him in for a firm yet gentle head lock, or a harsh word or two without any bite. It was honestly mesmerizing for Yahaba to watch; he’d never seen his friend be so soft.
Moreover, Yahaba could see how happy he was. How he smiled at his phone when he thought no one was looking, or how after every practice he’d collapse on Yahaba’s bed and let out pent up, anxious yet happy giggles. It was almost unnerving seeing him so lovey-dovey.
Yahaba was happy he had found someone to be so taken by, though.
He sighed wistfully. Kageyama gave him a look, but didn’t say anything, choosing instead to finish off his milk. The breeze picked up momentarily causing them to wrap their jackets tighter around their bodies. Kageyama squished his box, pushing out the dribble of milk that was left out of the straw and onto his shoes. He cursed halfheartedly and wiped them off with his hand. Yahaba watched him with an amused smile.
Kageyama turned his body and tossed his mutilated milk box towards the trashcan. It bounced off the rim and onto the ground. He pouted while Yahaba laughed at him “What kind of setter are you.” Kageyama got up to retrieve the box and try again with Yahaba’s insistence. On the third try he got it in and they cheered quietly, Yahaba raising his hands slightly in front of him.
Shortly after, the convenience store worker came out to tell them to leave, to which they didn’t argue, only picking up their things and making their way down the street. Yahaba checked his phone for the time and to see if he had a text from Kyoutani. He didn’t, and it was nearly noon.
“Have you gotten a text from Hinata?” Yahaba asked.
Kageyama hummed while checking his phone. “Just a few, but their just key smashes. Doesn’t really tell us what’s happening.”
“I hope those are happy key smashes.” Yahaba commented quietly, his mind already someplace else. “How do you feel about it, Kageyama?”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“Like how do you mean.”
“Just.” Yahaba scrunched his face up, trying to find the right words. “Like, how do you feel about them getting together. How do you feel about Kyoutani? I’m just curious cause you get all protective of Hinata like he’s your little brother or something.”
“I do not, and he’s older than me.” Kageyama started, a bit irritated. “And I’m fine with it. I’m fine with Kyoutani. Hinata really likes him, and if he’s happy I’m okay.” He was looking down at his shoes as he talked. Yahaba hummed.
“You sound kind of upset.”
“I’m not, not about them. I’m happy for them.”
“Then there is something you’re upset about?”
Kageyama let out a quiet, frustrated noise as he suddenly dug his fingers into his head, skewing his hat. “Yahaba, have you ever liked someone?”
This made Yahaba reel his head back, eyes wide. It certainly wasn’t what he was expecting to hear.
“I—I have. A long time ago. Why?”
“How do you get over it?”
“Kageyama, I don’t-“ He was really at a loss. This had come out of nowhere, and he wasn’t sure he could give him an answer; not when he was still trying to find out himself. “Do you like someone?” He figured it was safe to start there.
Kageyama’s face contorted, wincing slightly, putting a hand to gingerly poke at his nose. “I don’t. I don’t know. I thought I didn’t, but now I don’t know.”
“Oh? And what does this have to do with Hinata?” worry started to creep into the back of his mind. If this was going where he thought it was, things were about to turn a bit sour. “Is it Hinata?”
“No! I don’t like him like that. He’s my best friend.”
“Is it Kyoutani?”
Kageyama only turned to glare at him. “No!” he ground out.
Yahaba raised his hands. “Hey, I’m just trying to understand what you’re talking about here, I don’t know why you’re getting so worked up.” He could tell how agitated Kageyama was becoming, but he also didn’t appreciate the attitude that was being directed at him.
Kageyama sighed, massaging his temples. “I’m sorry.” He groaned, a bit pathetically. “I’m sorry.” He repeated.
“I mean, hey, it’s fine. Just talk to me, okay?” He set a hand on his shoulder. They had stopped walking at this point, standing in the street of some neighborhood. Luckily, no cars were around. Trees lined one side of the street, the leaves still on the trees were a mix of red, orange, and yellow. The other side of the street was lined with houses. Further down the street they could hear kids playing and shouting.
“It doesn’t really have to do with Hinata. Just. I’ve been hearing a lot about him and Kyoutani.” Kageyama’s words were fast and quiet, as he looked to the ground.
“Are you jealous?’
“No, I’m not, I’m really happy for him.” He paused. “Just when I hear about that stuff I can’t really help feeling sad for some reason. It makes me think of… of a person.” His words trailed off.
“A person?” Kageyama didn’t say anything, just started walking again. Yahaba sighed, “Well, anyway, Kageyama, it sounds like you’re lonely.”
Kageyama turned towards him, stopping again. “Lonely? How can I be lonely? I have friends.”
“You know, like romantically lonely. You see Hinata and Kyoutani and you wish you had something like that. Their bond. Just someone you could share the same experiences with.” He needed to stop. He was digging at old wounds.
“I guess… you could be right.”
‘Is it someone I know?”
“hmm?”
“Your crush, is it someone I know?”
Kageyama’s face darkened considerably. “I’m not telling you.” He began walking down the street again. They weren’t really walking to any specific destination, just trying to stay within a few blocks of the park their friends were at. Although with the temperature slowly dropping they were going to have to find some place to stay indoors.
“Please?” Yahaba followed close behind. “I’m not going to tell anyone. If you don’t, I’ll just ask Hinata later?”
Kageyama paused. “He doesn’t know.”
“I thought you told him everything.” Kageyama didn’t answer, but it made sense. This is why he had let his temper get the better of him; He’s been keeping this inside for so long. Yahaba felt sad for him.
“Will you tell me? I can help you.” He said softly.
“I don’t think you can.” It seemed that Kageyama had pulled himself together some. His voice held less emotion, and his head was up now as they continued down the street.
“Ouch.”
“I don’t mean it like that.” He paused. “I messed things up. I don’t think he’d ever like me.”
“A guy?” Yahaba inclined his head in Kageyama’s direction. “What did you do?”
. “I was a jerk. Just a huge jerk.” Kageyama sighed
“That’s very vague.”
Kageyama took a big breath, letting it out slowly, with Yahaba watching him from the corner of his eye. “It’s Kindaichi.” He spat out.
Yahaba nearly tripped. His mouth gaped open and he let out a loud noise. He was about to loudly express his disbelief when he saw Kageyama’s face. It was bright red and miserable, like he was already regretting telling Yahaba. Yahaba cleared his throat.
“I- sorry. I was just surprised.” He said lowly, absentmindedly rubbing circles into his chest to quickly dispel the butterflies that were once there. He really had to stop playing the guessing game.
They didn’t say anything for a long while. It was starting to get too cold to be wandering around the streets aimlessly, but neither brought up the possibility of finding a place to go indoors. Yahaba dug his hands firmly into his jacket pocket. He really should have worn his thicker coat.
He thought about what Kageyama had told him. Out of all the people Kageyama could have a crush on, Kindaichi was a surprise. He’d heard of the drama that had gone on in middle school a few years back, courtesy of Oikawa, who had kept tabs. He’d only heard Oikawa and Kindaichi’s point of view, though. He wondered if he should tell Kageyama the flashes of regret in Kindaichi’s eyes whenever the topic was brought up. Whatever they had had between them at the time must have been something special for both boys to be mourning over the loss two years later.
He wondered if he could talk to Kindaichi about it.
“What are you thinking about?” Kageyama asked, pulling Yahaba from his thoughts.
“Hm? Oh, nothing.” Yahaba waved him off. He thought a bit before continuing. “So, you said you think you have a crush on Kindaichi? That you weren’t sure?”
“I… I don’t know. I just think of him whenever Hinata talks about Kyoutani or when- I don’t know. I don’t know! There’s so much but I just don’t know what’s going on.” He was getting frustrated again, Yahaba could tell, so he quickly grabbed Kageyama’s shoulder and pulled him down a different street, now walking with purpose.
“Wait, where are we going?” He asked, trying to adjust to the sudden, fast pace.
“We’re going to McDonalds. I’m cold and hungry and I want to eat as many French fries as I can. Afterwards we can go back to my house and play some video games until Hinata texts you.”
“Wait, afterwards?”
“Yes, afterwards. I’m not letting you wander the streets alone in the cold until those two are done making eyes at each other. So we’re eating and going to my house, end of story.”
“Yahaba, you don’t have to do this for me.” Kageyama said hesitantly. “I want to be nearby in case Hinata texts me.”
Yahaba stopped and took out his phone, quickly snapping a photo of himself and Kageyama, peace sign flashed in front of his irritated face and Kageyama’s confused one. He quickly typed out a message to go with it.
Me—12:14 PM
I found him, we’re going to my house! text us when you guys are done. ;)
As an afterthought, he added one more text.
Me—12:15 PM
Don’t worry I wont tell kyou.
A few seconds later, he got a reply.
Hinata—12:15 PM
Yahaba!!!!! (*ﾉзﾉ*)
With that, he turned to Kageyama. “Now, I’m kidnapping you, so you have to come with me. I’m doing this because we’re friends, Kageyama, so just go along with it.”
Kageyama seemed to blush faintly “Friends?”
“Kageyama!” Yahaba grabbed him into a headlock, knocking his hat to the ground and messing his hair up roughly. “Yes, friends! Geez, kid, you can have more than one friend, you know.”
Kageyama wrestled out of his grip, cursing him lightly, careful not to hit his nose. He grumbled and picked up his hat, adjusting it a bit aggressively. However, Yahaba saw his lips pout again in a way that was obvious he was trying to hide a big smile.
Yahaba smiled as well. “Come on, first one there gets their meal paid for by the loser.” He took off down the street laughing, while Kageyama chased after him while yelling that he didn’t know the way and how unfair it was.