Chapter Text
“ Hinata! You dumbass, it’s your turn to empty the dish rack!”
Hunched over a notebook at the dining room table, she yelled back, “I’ve been eating at the dining hall all week! Those are yours, Bakageyama !” Turning back to her work, she grumbled under her breath saying, “Empty it yourself, jerk.”
Quick, heavy footsteps were all the warning she had before she received a swift smack to the back of the head. “That’s not how chore charts work, dumbass ,”
“What the hell, Kageyama!” she turned in her seat, ready to jump up for a fight.
Kageyama towered over her, her eyebrows drawn sharply over her steely eyes. “Are you going to empty it, or not?”
Hinata rubbed the back of her head, ruffling her messy copper hair in the process, “Since when do you care how chore charts work? We made that thing weeks ago but everything is still a mess!” To prove her point, she gestured at the dining room, which was littered with take out boxes, and the dining room through the walkway, which was scattered with discarded sweaters, books, and at least three volleyballs.
“How am I supposed to do the dishes if I have no where to put them?” she placed one hand on her hip, glowering at Hinata and making a point to ignore what she had said.
“I swear to God , Kageyama, just put them away until there’s enough room for your junk and then pile it on top of what’s left,” rolling her eyes, she settled back into the chair, “It’s not that hard.”
“Doing what you’re supposed to isn’t that hard, either,” she replied pointedly, grabbing Hinata’s head fiercely.
“You’re one to talk!” she yelled back, suddenly pushing the chair away from the table with enough force to knock them both to the floor. The chair kicked out from under her, hitting the table leg with a loud pop. “I’m in the middle of my lab report! I need to finish this or I won’t be able to go to practice tomorrow, so you can either do it yourself or untwist your damn bra!”
“Get the fuck off!” she huffed. Hinata had fallen right on top of her, so she responded by dumping the other girl unceremoniously to the floor. Kageyama pushed her hair out her face, scowling as Hinata scrambled to her knees to glare right back at her.
Hinata crouched, staring at Kageyama as if she were going to strike again. Her round, warm brown eyes were alert, waiting for a hint of movement.
Deflating, Kageyama relented, “Fine. Do your lab report so we can both go to practice tomorrow. But when you’re done you’re emptying the dish rack and cleaning the apartment.”
“Like hell I am!” she muttered, getting to her feet, “It was your idea to order all this junk,” she waved a hand at the closest pile of old take out boxes, “It’s too expensive for me, so why do I have to put up with you and do all the cleaning?”
“Fine! We’ll both clean!”
“Fine!” Hinata said stubbornly, sticking her tongue out, “You owe me dinner tomorrow, though, for putting up with you because you’re the worst roommate.”
Exasperated, Kageyama rolled her eyes and stomped back into the kitchen, where she began to begrudgingly unload the clean dishes from the rack to put away. “Which report are you working on anyway?” The clatter of dishes being tossed to their shelves punctuated each word.
“Biology,” she called back, “I can’t believe they’re making us take this class. I thought college was about freedom.”
Kageyama snorted in response, “You can’t be trusted to make your own choices.”
“Tell me about it, I decided to live with your grumpy ass and look where it got me,” she said loudly, fixing her chair moodily before hunching over her book. “The school should give me an award for keeping you out of the freshman room draw!” she shouted, and a beat later their downstairs neighbor pounded on their ceiling. The loud “thump!” from below her feet caused her to jump almost to the ceiling.
“You’re going to get us thrown out,” Kageyama hissed, leaning around the corner from the kitchen.
“I wouldn’t be yelling if you weren’t such a jerk!” she fired back in a loud whisper.
Kageyama gave her a dark, steady look before flippantly shrugging her hair back over one shoulder and returning to the kitchen. Hinata could hear the water running, and she tapped her notebook with her pencil, feeling too wound up to focus.
She checked her phone, tempted to open it up to play a game for a few minutes. Stupid Kageyama already distracted me, might as well take a break , she thought, but hesitated instead of swiping the lockscreen open. She had to be at the library in an hour for her shift at the cafe on the ground floor. With a loud sigh, she dropped her phone back on the table and picked up her pencil, forcing herself back to the task at hand.
A little while later, Kageyama drifted back into the room with a glass milk in one hand and a dishtowel hanging over one shoulder. Her expression was sour, but even as she entered the room Hinata could tell that her mood had improved.
“I know I said I would help clean tonight,” Hinata said, pausing to turn the page of a print out, “But I have to leave soon for my shift at the Bean.”
Kageyama leaned over her shoulder, resting her free hand on the back of Hinata’s chair, close enough to catch the faint impression of Hinata’s fruity shampoo. “You’re not going to get out of it,” she warned. She glanced over Hinata’s messy scrawl, picking out the beginnings of a lab protocol and her heart sank. “Wait, is this for our biology class?”
“Kageyama,” Hinata’s voice was flat, as if she were having trouble processing the question. “I’m only in one biology class. You’re in the only biology class I am taking.”
“Oh, shit,” she turned to meet Hinata’s stare, feeling a bubble of panic well up in her gut.
“It’s for the lab,” Hinata said carefully, “Since my lab is earlier in the week than yours, my report is due before yours, so you still have time.”
“But—”
Hinata groaned and slouched over the table in an attempt to start writing again, “You’re going to make me late for my shift. Can’t you just text someone from your lab section to ask?”
Pulling away, Kageyama lowered her glass, setting it on the table, “I don’t have anyone’s phone number.”
She glanced at Kageyama from under her hair, noticing the tight, thin line her lips had formed. “Okay, why don’t you bring your stuff to the cafe? I’m going to try to finish mine now, but if you come work on yours we can go over them together on my break,” she absently chewed on the end of her pencil. “I think someone else from my class is working tonight, but she’s probably already finished,” Hinata shook her head, “She always does everything so early! I can’t believe it, but, Kageyama,” she peeked up through her hair again, “She’s in your lab section, it might be cool to all study together.”
Kageyama pushed her hair out of her face with both hands, letting her messy bangs fall back over her eyes while she pulled the rest back as if she were going to tie it in a low pony tail. Irritated, she let it fall to her back. It ended several inches below her shoulders, long and straight. She replied, “I hate studying in groups.”
“Don’t forget that we need to pass all of our general curriculum classes if we want to stay on the team,” Hinata warned, furiously copying a paragraph from the print out into her lab notebook.
“I know,” she grumbled in response. After downing the rest of her milk, she took the glass to the kitchen sink and went to gather her things. “I’ll go with you, but I’m not giving anyone my phone number. I don’t need anyone texting me when I’m trying to practice.”
“You’re too scary to text for fun anyway,” Hinata said dryly, earning herself a sharp jab to the ribs.
Snickering to herself at Hinata’s pained squeak, she walked down the hall to grab her backpack, stepping over moving boxes that hadn’t been unpacked yet and the junk that only ever seemed to belong to Hinata.
Kageyama’s room was neat, but only because she rarely spent any time there. Most often, the two of them were at practice, in class, running late to both, or watching tv in the livingroom. Her lab notebook and folder were strewn across her desk, the latter stuffed to the brim with beginning-of-the year paperwork and crumpled copies of her first few lab write ups. They were a short month into their first college semester, but Kageyama felt as though she couldn’t quite get her bearings, constantly forgetting about assignments or feeling overwhelmed by the sheer lack of time she had to practice her setting. She skimmed over the freshest of those crumpled materials, finding that her report was indeed due after Hinata’s, but each evening before then was a practice night.
She sighed, gathering up her things. Hinata seems to be adjusting fine, she thought, blowing air through her lips. Between our new teammates treating her like the resident kid sister and the study group invites from our classmates, she doesn’t seem too stressed at all. She frowned, stuffing extra pens into the outermost pocket of her backpack, But when, besides before a big game, is Hinata ever stressed about anything?
A short rap at the door made her jump, and she turned to find Hinata in the doorway, a bemused look on her face, “Earth to Kageyama,” she sang, “I’ve been calling your name from the dining room, didn’t you hear me?”
“No.”
“Hm. Quit spacing out, I have to leave soon,” with a shrug, she turned away from the door, and Kageyama wondered why she had actually agreed to go with Hinata and if she were just getting pulled into her rhythm again. She figured it was the latter, which caused her to zip her backpack more forcefully than what was necessary.
After sliding the pack over one shoulder, Kageyama walked to the front door, a pair of shoes in hand. Hinata stood, waiting, with one hand on her hip, as Kageyama sat to put them on.
Kageyama glanced up from her spot on the ground, taking in Hinata’s outfit. She was wearing a faded pair of denim shorts and an oversized forest green sweater that was too familiar for it to belong to her. “Will you quit taking my clothes?” she asked irritably, recognizing Hinata’s unintentional fashion savvy as she took in her friend’s appearance. The heavy green of Kageyama’s sweater balanced the bright copper of her wavy hair, and the thick, slouchy knit somehow managed to accentuate her athletic frame. Her faded shorts and white high tops pulled the look together, making her look so much like herself that Kageyama found her irritation at getting dragged out of the house fading away.
Hinata glanced down at the sweater in confusion, “It was in my room, I thought it was mine.”
“You’re such a dumbass, how do you not know what clothes you have?” she asked, rolling her eyes as she slipped her second foot into its shoe.
“ So-rry , Kageyama,” she said with ample exaggeration, “It’s your fault for leaving all your crap in my room all the time.”
“Whatever,” she said, standing to lead the way out the door.
“Do you have your keys?” she asked, closing the door behind them.
“Uh,” she patted her pants pockets, “No. I forgot them.”
“Oh, I already locked it. If you leave the cafe before my shift ends I’ll just give you mine,” Hinata bounded away from the door, ending up a few paces ahead of Kageyama.
She quickened her pace, at first out of habit, but when she saw Hinata speed up a little more she broke into a full sprint, tearing down the hall of their apartment building and down the stairs.
“Hey!”
Kageyama glanced back to see Hinata gaining on her, the small grey messenger bag she used for schoolwork bouncing as she bolted down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Kageyama rounded the corner, her own backpack bouncing, taking the turn fast in an attempt to gain back the distance Hinata was seizing with every rapid footfall. They plowed past students on the sidewalk, expecting everyone else to get out of their way.
As they raced to through the campus gates, Hinata took the lead and howled with delight, picking up her speed even more upon passing Kageyama. Gritting her teeth, she tried to catch up again, trying to push through the burning ache creeping through her lungs.
Hinata disappeared around the last corner, and when Kageyama caught up, she was waiting on the other side of the glass doors to the library entrance, flushed and panting. She wrinkled her nose, making a face as Kageyama slowly pushed the door open.
“You still have to clean later,” she said breathlessly, walking purposefully past Hinata and towards the stairs that lead to the lowest level of the library.
“Doesn’t matter,” Hinata replied airily, grinning, “That’s three in a row for me, Kageyama.”
“I’ll start taking you seriously when you manage to intentionally receive the ball in practice, and not with your face, either.”
Hinata’s bottom lip puckered, “Low blow, Kageyama.”
The Bean was tucked away in a far corner of the ground floor of the library, and was mostly run by students working their work-study jobs. The Bean was run by the school, and was almost exclusively open in the late evening when the greatest number of students were crammed into the quiet stacks of the largest campus library.
Hinata took a deep breath as they entered the cafe, savoring the lingering taste of fresh coffee on the air. She waved as Kageyama mentioned taking the table nearest to the counter, where she would work on her lab report, and walked back and around the counter.
“Hi, Shou-chan,” Kameko, a sophomore with friendly brown eyes and strawberry blonde hair, greeted Hinata as she slipped her bag from her shoulders to stash under the counter.
Hinata smiled broadly at the other girl, “Kameko-san, how are you? Has it been busy?”
“Not really, it’s too early in the semester for it to be too hectic,” she replied with a small laugh, “Too bad for us, because when it really gets busy, I would prefer use my shift time to do my assignments!”
“Ohh,” Hinata hummed, “Did you take the introductory biology class last year? The one with the basic practices lab?”
Kameko shook her head, “Nope! Not required for my major,” she shuddered, “I can’t handle the sciences. I’ll take Japanese classic literature over biology any day!”
Hinata laughed and pulled on a dark blue apron, tying it behind her back as she said, “Well, I might have to take a class in that department next semester. I’ll have to get your help if I do.”
“Of course, Shou-chan,” she grinned, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
Kageyama listened with detached interested as the two continued to chatter, trying to focus on the words outlined on the assignment for her own biology lab. The cafe was empty save for the three of them, but she knew that could change the later it got. A glance at her phone told her it was barely eight in the evening. I’ll try to get this done in the next two hours, before everyone from the library shows up to get their late night coffee.
She tried to focus, attempting to sink into the work in the same way that she sank into setting for Hinata and the rest of the volleyball team. As her hand moved steadily across the page, she slowly drifted into the task, diligently copying over instructions and writing out equations as neatly as she could.
“Here,” a soft voice pulled her out of the work, and she glanced up, lips pursing in surprise. Hinata placed one hand on her shoulder, providing the gentle and consistent kind of physical contact Kageyama had come to expect after three years of her friendship. What she hadn’t expected, in this moment, was for Hinata to have placed a deep mug of something warm in front of her.
“What’s this?” she asked, carefully sliding the mug around her papers to examine its contents.
“Ah,” Hinata grinned shyly, “I kind of made it up. I call it the ‘green latte,’ it’s mostly milk with a little bit of matcha and coffee—” she caught the expression on Kageyama’s face and said, “Don’t worry, it’s all decaf. I know you prefer to get to sleep early.”
Kageyama sniffed it experimentally, trying to ignore Hinata’s intense gaze. There were overtones of vanilla and the smooth bitterness of coffee, all rounded out by a generous helping of hot milk. She blew on it once and took a sip, melting into the wide mug as the flavors met her tongue.
“Is it good?” she asked eagerly, watching.
Kageyama kept the cup to her lips, lifting her eyes to meet her roommate’s expressive gaze. “It’s not bad,” she said finally, setting the mug in the saucer Hinata had brought with it.
“Yes!” Hinata brought her fist close to her chest in satisfaction, “I knew you would like it,” she smiled so broadly her eyes all but disappeared. “Let me know if you want another,” she said, glancing back to the counter. Kameko had gone into the back room, and Hinata leaned close, whispering conspiratorially, “I can probably also swipe you a brownie if you want, but only when Kameko-san isn’t looking!”
Kageyama suppressed an eye roll at Hinata’s enthusiasm, “Maybe before I leave.”
Hinata grinned again, “Ok! I’m going to check the inventory and wash up some of the stuff the earlier students left behind. Then I can get my report out and we can compare.”
She didn’t reply, choosing instead to take a sip of the mildly sweet drink Hinata had prepared for her. It was smooth and mostly milky, which is what Kageyama preferred from all of her coffee-based drinks, and Hinata seemed to enjoy creating variations on that theme for her to try.
Kageyama was almost done with her report when the first of the late night crowd started to trickle into the Bean. She had finished her drink and was flipping between two sections of her notebook when a couple of guys she vaguely recognized from another sports team came into the cafe, loudly complaining about how crowded the reading room was.
Irritated, she lifted her head to scowl at them, channelling every ounce of her annoyance into her stare as they approached the counter, where Hinata was replenishing the napkin dispenser. One of them leaned over the counter, resting his elbows on the chipped laminate and arching himself close as he gave his order.
Something about his posture and the easy way Hinata responded set Kageyama’s teeth on edge. He was bent at the waist, practically pushing himself over the counter to hand her the student ID card that doubled as their campus currency card. She laughed at something Kageyama couldn’t quite catch while swiping the card through reader on the register. When she tilted the screen toward them, she heard the leaning boy crack another joke before scrawling his signature on the tablet.
Not even leaving a tip , she thought icily, watching as the two hovered at the pick up counter as Hinata busied herself with their order. And where is that other girl?
She watched as the second student inched over to the first to whisper something in his ear, making him go red. She slammed her books shut and stuffed them in her bag, standing in a quick, fluid motion.
“Hinata, I need your keys,” she announced, stomping over to the counter.
Sending a curious look over her shoulder, Hinata said, “Okay, they’re under the counter in my backpack, do you want to grab them?” She was steaming milk, her hands busy with tin containers and levers. “You’re leaving already? I thought we were going to go over that report together.”
“Yes, we can just check them before practice tomorrow,” she said, her tone stoney as she parted the two male students to walk behind the counter. She had all but bumped into the one who had been chatting up Hinata with her bag, purposefully elbowing it out towards the other students as she passed.
They made way for her, and she crouched behind the counter, digging around where Hinata had gestured, finding her bag stuffed atop a purse she assumed to be Kameko’s and a ratty binder labeled ‘Bean shortlist.’
The keys were in the outermost pocket of Hinata’s backpack, as per usual, and she grabbed them, telling her she would leave the door unlocked for her.
“Thanks, Kageyama,” she said warmly, pouring the two drink orders into paper cups. “I’ll see you at home.”
“Yeah,” she said gruffly, shoving past the boys again, “See you at home.”