Work Text:
“Kageyama, that was so close! Toss me one more!” Hinata shouted, pulling the collar of his shirt to dry a bit of the sweat that was dripping from his face. They had been practicing their new quick for quite a while and exhaustion was starting to creep into their muscles. However, as stubborn as the pair could be, they’d vowed to practice until their attack felt synchronized enough.
Kageyama stretched his arms a little and nodded, getting in position again. While Hinata was grabbing another volleyball to throw at him, Kageyama looked around the gym and it suddenly hit him that the rest of the team had already left and he hadn’t even noticed it, being as focused as he was on Hinata and their training. Not even Nishinoya was there anymore, training his receives like he would normally be.
That made his stomach twist and turn a little. It wasn’t unusual for the pair to be practicing until late at night, but the thought of being alone with his teammate had recently started to make his palms sweat and his heart beat faster for reasons Kageyama could yet not comprehend.
Kageyama eyed Hinata. “You ready?” to which the boy replied a quick “yep” and started running. In moments like these, when they were training by themselves, Hinata would sometimes look at him with an intensity and determination that sent shivers down his spine. It made him feel all fuzzy inside, skin burning, suddenly extremely self-aware of himself, distracted and nervous. He couldn’t look away from his friend. Instead, he matched that look with the same dedication, sending Hinata the most perfect set he knew how.
The sound that resonated inside the gym when the ball made contact with the floor was pure bliss, only outmatched by the grin on Hinata’s face as he ran towards Kageyama, arms outstretched for a high-five with both hands.
“Yes! I knew we could do it, Kags! You’re brilliant, oh god, we did it!” And then Hinata sprawled across the gym floor, completely drained but with a content smile playing on his face. Kageyama suppressed a smile of his own, secretly sharing the sentiment.
“Hey, who said you could take a break, dumbass? Get up, we should keep working on it till it’s acceptable.” He extended a hand so his friend could get up from the floor, but was pulled down instead, falling beside Hinata with a humiliating yelp. Hinata had the audacity to giggle.
“You should have seen your face when I pulled you, you looked like an idiot, Kageyama!”
“You’re the idiot!”
“It’s totally you!”
“We’ll see who’s the idiot when I clean the floor with your face, dumbass!” Kageyama made a move to grasp Hinata’s hair but the boy easily dodged, ticking Kageyama without mercy.
Being this close to Hinata was no good to his poor heart. “Stop it, you annoying little shit, I hate you!” Kageyama barked, trying to disentangle himself from the mess of Hinata’s limbs with no success.
“Pff, we’re past that phase, Kags. I know you don’t hate me anymore” He stopped it anyway, laying down once again and smiling lazily. Kageyama tried to frown and look mad, but Hinata poked his cheek relentlessly despite being shoved away multiple times. His laughter was annoying but contagious and Kageyama accepted his defeat, softening his expression.
They remained there on the floor for some minutes, breathing coming back to normal. Kageyama’s heart skipped many beats as he turned to his side a bit and contemplated Hinata’s face. Closed eyes, a loose smile, wearing a proud expression that came with hard work paying off.
They did it once. They could do it again, he was sure of it. Everything felt possible with Hinata by his side. If they kept training, they could get to the top of the world together. At the moment, he felt invincible and it awakened a greedy monster he had inside his heart.
He wanted more than he could have. He knew it, and he knew that he should keep it a secret. So he flicked Hinata’s forehead and asked him:
“Wanna go get meat buns?”
“You know I do”
This time Hinata was the one extending a hand, and Kageyama felt it tingling for the whole time they walked to Sakanoshita’s store.
Maybe something shifted in his mind that night. Maybe it had been changing for a while now and that night was when he first realized it for real.
He was falling in love with his best friend.
***
Kageyama picked up the call, Hinata’s voice coming through the speaker slightly apologetic. “Hey Kageyama, what time are we supposed to meet the team at the arcade today? I think I forgot.” Kageyama could even imagine the kind of face his friend must be making right now, so he couldn’t help but tease him.
“Oh my god, Hinata, how were you able to function as a human being before you met me?”
Hinata’s reply was an exasperated sigh. “I knew I should have called Yamaguchi or Suga instead, you asshole. I bet you don’t even know it”
“Of course I do, Daichi told us to be there at 3.”
“Oooh, see, you can use your brain for other things than volleyball!!”
“Look who’s talking, stupid. You should be thanking me”
Hinata huffed. “Alright, thanks, your majesty. Your house is on my way to the arcade, do you want me to pass there so we can go together?”
Kageyama felt a thousand mini volleyballs being thrown in every direction inside his chest. Everything churned and his cheeks started feeling much hotter than they had a minute before. He was so, so glad no one could see him now.
“Yeah, sure. Just don’t be late.” Hinata pretended to be offended. “I would never! Be there in an hour, byyyye!” He said cheerfully. Kageyama was sure he waved goodbye as if he could see him through the phone.
One hour and fifteen minutes had passed and no sight of Hinata yet. Kageyama was about to leave his house without him when he saw the boy pedaling furiously. He started waving and babbling incoherent things from a distance, and Kageyama rolled his eyes. He could pick up something like “Natsu”, “mom was out” and “had to wait”.
When Hinata stopped in front of his house, panting, Kageyama glared at him. “We’re gonna be so late, Hinata. Who’s fault is that?”
“It wasn’t on purpose! I had to wait until my mom came back from the store, she told me it would be quick. I couldn’t leave Natsu alone, she’s a child, you know that, Kags.” Hinata parked his bike in front of Kageyama’s house and gave him a bump on his shoulder.
“I bet she can take care of herself better than you.”
“Hey! I’m a good big brother, you’ve seen how much she likes me.”
Kageyama pretended to be thinking. “Mmm, debatable.”
“Well, then you should ask her next time you come over, dumbass.” Kageyama had been to Hinata’s house more times than he could remember already, but the mention of him visiting again was enough to send his brain into overdrive. Hinata’s house was so full of… Hinata. His smell. His memories. His warmth. His colors. It was a place he felt comfortable in and the knowledge that he liked having Kageyama there was enough to make him feel special.
Not in the way he’d like to be, but still.
Hinata sheepishly offered: “I’m sorry, though. For being late. I’ll get one a milkshake.”
“Vanilla?”
“Of course.”
“Okay.”
They got to the arcade and waited. And waited. Then waited some more. The rest of the team was nowhere to be found. Kageyama had already finished his milkshake when Hinata complained to him:
“Where the hell is everybody, Kageyamaaaa?”
“How am I supposed to know??” He groaned. It was already 3:45 when they decided to text the team group.
Hinata saw Suga’s reply to his message and calmly asked: “Kageyama, why is Suga saying that they won’t be here until 5, as planned?”
Oh shit. He bit his lip and looked anywhere, but on Hinata’s face. “I think someone might have misheard the time we were meeting up.”
“Ohh, so you’re telling me that we arrived here almost two hours earlier than everybody?”
Kageyama’s voice was almost inaudible. “Maybe”
“And who’s fault is that, Kageyama?”
He shrugged, refusing to answer his friend. Hinata punched his arm. “You totally own me a milkshake now, you moron!” In a mocking voice, he repeated what Kageyama had told him earlier “ Oh my god, Hinata, how were you able to function as a human being before you met me ?”
“Okay, okay, I might have messed up. But that only means we get to spend more time here, sooo… not so bad?”
Hinata flashed him a mischievous look, pressing a finger to Kageyama’s chest. “I bet I can beat your ass in all the games here!”
“Not even in your dreams!”
In the end, Hinata won two games more than Kageyama did, but only because those freckles were so damn distracting. To leave him in a more hopeless situation, the arcade was packed with people talking, laughing, cheering when they won and whining when they lost. Every time Hinata tried to say something, he had to lean closer to his friend’s ear and that act alone was enough to bring goosebumps all over Kageyama’s arms.
Thank god he was wearing a sweater.
Kageyama would rather die than admit it out loud, so he insisted that Hinata had only won because was cheating.
“How can I cheat at a game I had never even played before??”
“I don’t know, you just did!” He argued, messing with Hinata’s hair, who poked his stomach in return.
“Ouch, you asshole, that hurt.”
Kageyama swatted Hinata’s hand away while he giggled. Illuminated by those purple, blue and pink lights, with such a carefree expression on his face, Kageyama was sure that he fell for his best friend even harder.
Around 5, the other boys started to arrive. Kageyama would normally feel glad to see his friends, but that afternoon it frustrated him to no end. He tried his best to cover it up.
A twinge of jealousy flooded through his veins as Hinata ran to hug Tanaka and Yamaguchi. It was irrational, he knew it, but his greedy monster got a glimpse of Hinata’s undivided attention and it needed more.
More than he could have.
***
When Kageyama saw Hinata arriving at the coffee shop, he briefly wondered if his soul had already left his body and ascended to heaven. It couldn’t be real. No, there was no way.
In regular circumstances, Kageyama already thought that Hinata was beautiful. He tried really hard not to stare too much, but Hinata’s body had changed significantly in the span of a year. All the countless hours spent at the gym had defined and strengthened many of his muscles. Not only that, but he let his hair grow a bit and the combination of those things got him feeling more confident, more comfortable being himself.
Today, Hinata was wearing a pastel purple crop top. He also spotted two small braids in his hair. As if that wasn’t enough to leave Kageyama feeling completely weak, he was wearing eyeliner, for fuck’s sake. Fucking eyeliner.
He wasn’t just beautiful. Hinata was the most gorgeous thing Kageyama had ever seen.
When Hinata greeted him, Kageyama took around two seconds to reply. Hinata adjusted his hair and placed his hands inside his pockets. He glanced around, asking for Yachi.
“Uhh, she’s not here yet. She must be on her way”
“Yeah, probably… It’s still early, right?” Kageyama let out a noise of agreement. His wide eyes were still glued to Hinata’s face.
He bit his lips nervously. “I’m kinda feeling a little overdressed for hanging out with friends at a café in the middle of the afternoon…” His foot kicked some peebles on the pavement, not knowing how to stay still.
Before he could even think of what he was about to say, Kageyama blurted out: “What? No way. It’s fine. You’re fine. Good, actually. You look good.” His face was on fire and suddenly the sign at the window of the café became the most interesting thing he’d ever seen. Kageyama furrowed his brows and stared at it intently, pretending to read it even though his brain had just turned to mush and he wanted the ground to open a hole and eat him whole.
If he had looked at Hinata, he would have seen the color that dusted the boy’s cheeks after hearing that awkward praise, and the way the corners of his lips had turned upward.
“You wanna get inside? It’s a bit cold out here, we can pick a table and wait for Yachi there”. Kageyama nodded, not trusting his words anymore.
After some minutes, they started to worry. Yachi was normally the first to arrive when she planned something with other people. The mere thought of leaving her friends waiting for her made her feel all anxious and uneasy, so Hinata decided to call her.
Instead of Yachi, it was her mom who picked up the phone. Kageyama watched as they talked, trying to decipher what was going on. After a couple of minutes, Hinata explained that Yachi had a really strong migraine and the pills she took earlier had completely knocked her off. She apologized, but Hinata told her not to worry and that they both hoped Yachi would get better soon.
So, this led them to being at a café. Alone. Just the two of them. Only Hinata and Kageyama. If you think about it, the situation resembled very much what people would call a date .
Kageyama’s heart was thumping madly inside his chest, threatening to escape from its ribcage. Oh god. It wasn’t a date, right? Although it looked like one… They hadn’t asked each other on a date. Would it be uncomfortable? What if he didn’t know what to talk about and Hinata thought he was stupid? They had been alone before, but never in a situation like that. Never in a scenario that was so romantic . Everywhere he looked he saw couples, people holding hands, he even saw two girls kissing each other!
And Hinata was so pretty, while Kageyama was just… looking normal. He wished he’d picked a better outfit. He wanted to have on Hinata the same effect the boy had on him.
Kageyama needed something to occupy his mind with or he’d go crazy.
“Hey dumbass, I’m getting hungry, let’s get something to eat.” There was a short line of customers waiting to make their orders, and Hinata made his way happily to the end of it while Kageyama picked up a menu from the counter.
“Do you know what you wanna order, Kags?” Hinata inquired, getting into his personal space to read what the menu said. Kageyama could smell the faint fragrance of Hinata’s shampoo and leaned closer to him unconsciously.
“Mmm, not yet. You?”
“No idea. But I’m really bad at making decisions, everything seems delicious here! Yachi wasn’t kidding when she said that this place was nice.” Kageyama nodded in agreement. “Yeah, they have too many good options.”
Suddenly, Hinata’s face lit up. “What if I chose something I think you’ll like, and you chose something for me as well?”
Kageyama narrowed his eyes. “How can I trust you’re not gonna pick something awful, dumbass?”
Hinata’s expression became really serious as he extended his finger. “Pinky promise!” Kageyama only glared at him.
“For real, Hinata? What are you, five?”
“You should know that I take pinky promises very seriously, Kageyama. I make them with Natsu all the time.” Shaking his head, Kageyama decided to humor his friend and extended his finger too. (Not because he’d be able to touch Hinata’s hand, not at all.)
Now that their pinkies were interlaced, Kageyama noticed that Hinata’s nails were a deep, rich shade of black. It made him want to scream. Hinata was getting prettier by the second and it was so, so unfair.
He nudged him with his shoulder softly. “Uhm, I like your nails.” Hinata gave him the brightest smile.
“Aww, thanks Kags! I made them myself and I’m super happy with how they turned out.”
“Do you think that it would look weird if mine were painted?” He asked nervously, uttering out loud something he’d thought multiple times before. Hinata grabbed his hand and inspected it closely.
Kageyama prayed for whatever god that would listen, hoping that Hinata would not notice how sweaty his hands were.
“Of course not! Your nails are already so pretty, they’d look amazing, no joke.” After a pause, Hinata added in a tone that seemed shier than before. “I could do it for you, if you wanted.”
Kageyama stuttered his reply. “Uh, y-yeah, that would be… that would be fine.” The only problem is that he had no idea how he’d be able to survive having Hinata touch his hands for more than a moment without combusting spontaneously.
Despite Kageyama’s anxiety, they both had a great time that afternoon. Hinata was, before anything else, his best friend. He found ways to make him feel comfortable without even trying. They talked about the latest chapter of the manga they both were following. They talked about volleyball, obviously. They pretended to be food critics and used big words they didn’t really know the meaning of in a ridiculous attempt to sound fancy.
When they were almost leaving, Kageyama surprised Hinata by ordering him a pumpkin spice latte on his way back from the bathroom and Hinata had sparkles on his eyes when he tasted it. “It’s absolutely perfect, Kags, oh my god , prove it!”
He still preferred his hot chocolate, but it was nice indeed. For a fleeting moment, Kageyama wondered if he’d be able to feel this taste on Hinata’s lips.
Outside the café, the weather was just perfect. Not too hot, not too cold and they walked in comfortable silence for a while until it was time to part ways. Kageyama felt a weird sense of expectation taking over him, the monster roaring wild inside of him. That afternoon had only fed his feelings even more, instead of helping him get over his stupid crush that had the potential of ruining not just a friendship, but the team they’d worked so hard to build.
He knew where their priorities laid, so he couldn’t allow himself to dwell on that fantasy. Still, when Hinata looked at him so fondly before quickly hugging him during their goodbyes, Kageyama's heart did somersaults.
Surprised, he asked Hinata, almost whispering. “What was that for?”, to which his friend replied, flashing him a grin “For the latte! And because I felt like doing it” before turning and walking away.
Kageyama was left with his mouth hanging open, unable to formulate an answer, only sure that the boy had taken another piece of his heart with him this time.
***
“ This hasn’t been one of my smartest ideias ”, Kageyama thought to himself as he left a roller coaster ride at the amusement park, knees shaking and head spinning. By his side, Hinata looked like he was about to puke at any moment, white as a sheet. Kageyama had no idea of how Tanaka and Nishinoya could act completely unfazed, talking excitedly about how much fun they’d just had.
Nobody knew it, but deep down Kageyama was a huge, huge coward. Those rides terrified him, but he’d rather be sick than admit it to anyone. So when their upperclassmen invited him and Hinata to spend a day at the new amusement park of their town, he froze and couldn’t find a good excuse to say no.
Kageyama could only hope that their next ride would be more chill. However, it was Tanaka and Noya that were leading the group. As always, they were up to no good.
“Guys, we have to go on the pirate ship! It’s one of my favorites.” Noya shouted and started running in the direction of that damn ship, Tanaka following him closely.
To Kageyama’s luck, Hinata intervened.
“Guys, I think I might actually be sick if I go there now, I’ll sit this one out. But you can go ahead! We can meet again after you guys are done.” Not letting the opportunity slip, Kageyama quickly added: “I’m gonna stay with Hinata, you know, to make sure he doesn’t get lost or anything”, which earned him a punch in the arm and a murmured “ asshole ” from his friend.
Tanaka and Nishinoya shared a quick smug look before agreeing. “Yeah, good call, Kageyama! We’ll see you soon. Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do!”
Kageyama huffed and whispered, only to Hinata. “As if there’s anything they wouldn’t do, those menaces.” Hinata giggled, and then took a long breath.
“Hey, let’s find a place to sit, that ride reaally made me feel all weird.” They started walking as Hinata looked around the park and raised his eyebrows, hand on his chin, thinking. “We could go on the ferris wheel, Kags, what do you think?”
“Hinata, we’ll be stuck inside of it for some time. What if your stomach gets worse?”
He gave it some thought, then argued. “But it’s really slow, I doubt it will make me feel sick. I don’t wanna feel like we’re doing nothing, it feels like a waste of time…”
Kageyama sighed. That made sense, but he still felt that it was a bad idea. “Okay, whatever. Just don’t puke on me, dumbass, or I’ll kill you.” Hinata nodded profusely and latched onto Kageyama’s right arm, making his whole body tense up.
They got a cabin just for the two of them, and waited for it to start moving. Kageyama kept stealing glances at Hinata’s direction, checking for any indication that his friend might be feeling worse.
As they got progressively higher in the air, Hinata seemed lost in thought.
“You okay, Hinata?” Kageyama asked, kicking Hinata’s foot gently with his own, trying to feign nonchalance. He would have succeeded, if Hinata hadn’t been his friend for so long.
Hinata’s reply would normally be a mockery, something along the lines of “ awww, Kageyama, who would have guessed that you do have a heart! ” Right now, however, he simply stared at Kageyama’s face affectionately, kicking his foot back.
“Yeah, I’m alright.” His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes as he contemplated his hands, settling on placing them by his sides on the seat. “Thanks for, you know, staying back with me. You’re a good friend, Kags. I appreciate it.” The sunset colors came through the glass and reflected on Hinata’s face beautifully, making him glow. The orange, red and pink hues added another layer to his apparent melancholy.
Kageyama’s fingers twitched with the urge to card through Hinata’s hair, to smooth that mark between his eyebrows, to bring back that grin that could illuminate even a dark room.
“It’s nothing. I like spending time with you, anyway.” His whole face was on fire, but seeing Hinata’s lips opening in a broad smile, glistening eyes, shoulders visibly relaxing, it was all worth it.
***
Contrary to anyone’s expectations, Kageyama and Tsukishima were capable of learning how to get along. It was a long and winding road full of bumps and fights in the middle of it, along with lots of reasoning from their teammates. Eventually, they realized interests they had in common and their arguments were reduced to harmless bickering.
As a team bonding experience (and a way to keep Kageyama and Tsukki acting friendly with one another), Yamaguchi proposed that they got together every Saturday to watch episodes of animes that had been released during the week. Their new tradition had been going strong for months, taking turns among Hinata’s, Kageyama’s, Yamaguchi’s and Tsukishima’s houses.
That week, they had planned to spend the night at their setter’s household.
Shortly after Hinata had arrived there with his overnight bag and snacks, they got a voice message from Yamaguchi.
“Hey guys! I’m really sorry, we completely forgot to tell you that today is our anniversary so we wanted to spend some time together, just the two of us! See you next weekend tho, have fun!”
Kageyama sensed something was off; he had a vague memory of Yamaguchi mentioning to Yachi that he had gone to a nice restaurant with Tsukki to celebrate their 2 years together last month .
Hinata was hesitant, looking at his friend with a conflicted expression. “Is it okay if I spend the night here anyway, Kags? Cause I could call my mom and ask her to come back, she’s probably still really close to your house.”
Honestly, there was no reason for Kageyama to not want Hinata at his house (and a million reasons for him to want him there.) However, he could tell where that reaction was coming from.
A week before, Hinata called him after practice, an unreadable expression on his eyes.
“Kageyama, there’s something I wanna tell you, but can you promise that it’s not gonna change the way you see me, that you’re gonna keep being my friend?”
He felt ice running through his veins. “You’re kinda scaring me, Hinata…”
“Just promise me, please.” He wouldn’t meet his eyes.
Hacking his brains, he couldn’t find a single reason that would make him wanna lose Hinata. So he nodded and waited. Hinata seemed on the verge of tears, voice cracking.
“So, uhm, I-I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, and I… I’m pretty sure that I like boys.”
Kageyama stared at him, that greedy monster filling him with hope.
At the same time, he panicked. How does one reply to his best friend coming out to them?
Silence stretched between them, not because of the reasons Hinata expected. It made him feel more anxious anyway.
“Are you… gonna say anything?”
Kageyama ran his fingers through his hair, still trying to find his words. He remembered the way Hinata had started the conversation.
“Hey, I would never stop being your friend because of this, Hinata. You don’t have to worry about that.” After a pause, he considered how nobody in Karasuno seemed to make a big deal out of Yamaguchi and Tsukishima’s relationship, so he added. “And I’m sure none of our friends will treat you differently. You’re, like, exactly the same person. Same dumbass.”
Hinata chuckled and took a deep breath, a single tear rolling down his cheek. He wiped it quickly and confessed: “God, I was so scared.”
At this moment, he seemed so small and vulnerable. He had just shared something extremely private and important to him with Kageyama, and he had worried so much about his reaction.
Kageyama had never been truly good with his words, so he took a step closer to Hinata and opened his arms, the air being knocked out of his lungs after Hinata launched himself in his embrace.
Nothing had changed between them after that. But Kageyama was sure that Hinata worried about making his “straight” friend uncomfortable.
“Don’t be stupid Hinata, you’re here already. We can watch something else and then next week we catch up on Jujutsu Kaisen. Okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, okay.”
Since it would be just the two of them, they grabbed the snacks and headed to Kageyama’s room. Kageyama turned on the TV and started searching on the Netflix catalog for something they might enjoy.
This series called “Heartstopper” almost made his heart stop for real. There was this picture of two boys around his age in dirty clothes, probably from some rough sport, one of them had his hand on the other’s cheek.
It hit too close for home, that was not fair. Hinata read the synopsis and made puppy eyes at him, begging for them to watch it.
“Alright, alright, but just one episode. If it sucks I’m not watching the rest of it no matter how much you annoy me.”
They ended up watching everything, all eight episodes in one go.
Kageyama lost track of how many times Hinata had cried throughout the episodes. Around the third time it happened, having shed a few silent tears of his own, Kageyama put his arm around Hinata’s shoulders, in his best attempt to comfort his friend. Hinata took it as an invitation to cuddle, sticking to Kageyama’s side for the rest of the episodes.
The series wasn’t sad. On the contrary, it was quite hopeful, portraying queer relationships in such a heartwarming, positive light. It was the kind of story that leaves a mark in you, leaves you feeling like the world can be a good place if you have the right people around you.
Hinata wiped his face for what seemed to be the thousandth time that night, sighed and plopped down on the mattress, eyes all puffy and red. Kageyama turned off the TV, leaving the room almost in complete darkness. He laid down beside Hinata, facing his friend.
“You okay there?”
“Just… processing everything. I loved it, though.”
“Why did you cry so much?” Kageyama mentally smacked himself for sounding so accusatory. “I’m not judging you. I also… cried… a bit.”
Hinata took some time to answer, smiling softly at his friend’s confession. Of course he had noticed that Kageyama was also touched by Charlie and Nick’s love story.
“I think it’s just that… This wasn’t the first time I watched something with a queer couple. There are many other stories portraying that kind of relationship. They just tend to be so.. tragic.” He started counting on his fingers as he spoke. “Someone always dies. They can’t be together. Their love is forbidden. They have to hide who they are. Someone messes up and hurts the other person. Heartstopper made me so emotional because it’s just… the story of two boys in love. It’s not exactly simple, but it feels real.” A little softer, he added: “It’s silly, but it makes me feel that I could have something like that too.”
He understood that feeling. The thing inside his chest that he used to call a greedy monster was simply his desire to love. To be loved. To be seen. To care for someone. To create and cherish memories with someone special.
He reached out and squeezed Hinata’s hand, the one that laid between them. “It’s not silly. It’s just… human.”
“Oh god, when did you become someone so sensitive, Kags?” He squeezed back, a thumb caressing Kageyama’s hand. Everything felt tingly, tiny sparkles coming from the places their bodies made contact. The air between them was heavy, packed with months and months of pining, a thousand unspoken questions begging to be asked.
“Probably got it from spending so much time around you, dumbass.” Kageyama lifted his hand very slowly, trying not to hit Hinata in the face. He carefully placed it down on his friend’s hair, scraping his scalp lightly with the tip of his fingers. Hinata hummed, pleased, and moved closer.
Kageyama felt he might be crossing a line there.
But there was no backing down now. He had tried his best to let those feelings go, but they only came back stronger every time Hinata looked at him. Every time he asked for another toss. Every time he smiled. Every time he touched him casually. Every time they were alone and it felt like nothing else in the world mattered but that moment.
Hinata deserved to know how much he meant to him.
“Hinata…?” Kageyama’s voice came as a whisper
“...Yeah?” His reply was uttered in the same shy tone.
“Is…is this okay?”
What he truly meant was is it okay that I touch you like this, is it okay that I see you like this, is it okay that I wanna hold you close and never let you go, is it okay that I’m in love with you?
“Sure, it’s nice. It feels good.” Kageyama could hear the smile on his voice.
It was now or never.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves and his thumping heart, and whispered again, slowly, scared by the answer.
“Would it be okay if I kissed you?”
Before Hinata’s reply came, Kageyama felt a hand touching his cheek gently, almost reverently.
“It would be more than okay, actually.”
Trembling fingers slid from Hinata’s hair to his jaw, breathing even more ragged now. Kageyama’s lips captured his in a kiss that gave another meaning to a promise pronounced long ago.
As long as I’m here, you’re invincible.
I wanna be invincible with you.
I wanna fly high with you.
***
Some days later, Kageyama was sitting with Hinata during their lunchtime, hearing his boyfriend blabber about a very, very weird and complex dream.
“And then the white-haired spy jumped on the girl, but she was expecting it!! She used it as an opportunity to kick him right in the stomach, and he was in so much pain that he just exploded in a million tiny particles of dust and floated away from her! Are you still following, Tobio?”
“Shou, I stopped following it many minutes ago when the yellow alien showed up.”
Pouting, he complained. “Aww, man, it was such a cool dream.”
“I can’t help it, you’re too cute, it’s distracting me.” He planted a kiss on Hinata’s hair, smelling that nice fragrance he still hadn’t recognized. “You know what would be even cooler?”
Hinata eyed him suspiciously. “What?”
“You and me, having a picnic this weekend at that park near your house.”
Hinata’s eyes widened, excitement taking over his whole body. “Oh my god, Tobio, are you asking me out on a date ???”
“That I am.”
“Our first date?”
“Yep.” Kageyama was playing it cool, but the thousands of mini volleyballs inside his chest were being thrown around like crazy.
Hinata squealed, throwing his arms around Kageyama’s neck, who hugged him tightly in return. “Is that a yes?”
“Of course it is, dumbass, a million times yes.”
On a pretty uneventful afternoon, bathed by the sunlight that warmed their skins, as he kissed his boyfriend’s lips once more, one boy fell in love all over again for his best friend, his rival, his partner, his lover.