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Kageyama Tobio was exhausted.
Ever since his best friend had basically ditched him to play beach volleyball in fuck-off nowhere, clear on the other side of the world, Kageyama had developed some unhealthy fitness habits. Namely, running so far and fast that all thoughts left his head in favor of pure exhaustion.
Now, you may be saying, ‘that sounds like an unhealthy coping mechanism!’ And Kageyama wouldn't deny that if you asked. But when left alone with the thoughts in his head, they made him want to scream. They made him want to cry and shout and rip all of his hair out.
As it turns out, realizing that you’re in love with your best friend of three years as they’re leaving the country to live abroad for an indefinite period of time is really inconvenient.
Kageyama flopped face first onto his bed, not bothering to pause or even turn down the music blasting in his headphones.
No matter how fast or how far he ran, thoughts of Hinata Shouyou still plagued him.
Now, it’s unfair to say they plagued him, per say. That would imply that the mental image of his former teammate was unpleasant in some way, which wasn’t the case. Rather, the unpleasant part was the fact that it was only in his mind.
The unpleasant part was also the fact that Hinata probably did not feel the same way, but Kageyama didn’t like to dwell on that.
What’s the point in stewing on whether or not a crush is unrequited when they live on an entirely different continent? Whatever feelings Hinata did or did not have wouldn’t really affect Kageyama’s state of being in Japan.
Besides, Hinata was straight. Straight, as in likes girls, as in does not like boys, as in does not like Kageyama. Which is just fantastic.
Kageyama rolled over, groaning at the soreness in his back from the one too many power lifts he’d done the previous day. His phone buzzed. Kageyama ignored it.
It buzzed again.
And again.
Buzz.
Buzz.
Buzz buzz.
Buzz.
Kageyama slapped a hand over his cell and angrily brought it to his face, glaring at the screen. The groupchat the third years had created- at the behest of Hinata and the disgust of Tsukishima- was blowing up, text after text pouring in so quickly that Kageyama couldn’t even read their contents.
He swiped his phone open with a sigh and grudgingly scrolled up to the beginning of the conversation.
To: Karasuno Fight!
Yachi: hinata check twitter!!!
Yachi: right now!!!!
Dumbass Hinata: am i in trouble or something??
Yachi: no!!! just go check!!!
Yamaguchi: What happened?
Yachi: you’ll see in a sec!
Dumbass Hinata: WHAT
Dumbass Hinata: WHY AM I ALL OVER TWITTER????
Dumbass Hinata: WHATS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW
Yachi: isnt it crazy???
Yamaguchi: What is happening??????
Dumbass Hinata: [A screenshot of a twitter post including an action shot of hinata playing beach volleyball shirtless. The caption translated from portuguese reads: ‘just saw THE hottest guy playing beach volleyball!!! how do you ask out an athlete after one of their games asking for a friend ;)”. There are tens of thousands of likes, retweets, and replies.]
Dumbass Hinata: LOOK
Shittyshima: She’s probably blind.
Yamaguchi: Don’t mind Tsuki.
Yamaguchi: Hinata that’s so cool!!
Dumbass Hinata: AM I VIRAL? IS THAT WHAT THIS IS?
Yachi: i think so?!
Kageyama scowled at his screen. The rest of the conversation was much of the same, with Hinata, Yachi, and Yamaguchi freaking out and Tsukishima chiming in with a biting quip every few minutes.
He skimmed the conversation up to the present, where Hinata seemed to have finally calmed down. Kind of.
Dumbass Hinata: do you think more people will come to my games cause of this?
Yachi: oh maybe!!!!
Yamaguchi: Let us know if they do!!!!
Dumbass Hinata: okay!!!!!!
The thought of a swarm of fangirls cheering Hinata on while he played volleyball on the sand, shirtless, sweaty, grunting when he spiked and-
Kageyama punched his pillow so hard his bed springs squeaked in protest.
It wasn’t fucking fair.
Why was Kageyama stuck in Japan, forced to scour the internet for clips and pictures of tournaments while some random girls got to see him whenever they wanted?
Did they carry him off of the court when he twisted his ankle in a practice match? Did they eat lunch together with him in the school courtyard every day for three years? Do they find it impossible to date anyone as an adult because they’ve been in love with him and his stupid hair for the last half a decade?
No.
So why should they get to fawn over him in person? It just wasn’t fair.
Kageyama shoved his face into a pillow and groaned loudly at the injustice of it all.
No matter how fast you go, you can’t outrun love.
Which is total bullshit.
Kageyama’s phone buzzed again and he grabbed it hard enough to hurt and was prepared to glare at the screen until his eyes stung, but the text wasn’t from the group chat.
Oikawa: Tobio-chan~! Have you been informed of Chibi-chan’s newfound fame?
If looks could kill, Kageyama’s phone would be an incinerated pile of ash in his hand.
Me: Yeah I have
Me: Why
Oikawa: Jealousy is not a good look on you, Tobio-chan.
Me: Why are you texting me
Oikawa: I wanted to check on you!
Oikawa: Chibi-chan being so much cooler than you has to take a toll on your mental health :(
Me: Shut up
Oikawa: Don’t worry Tobio-chan! I’ll let you know if he takes in interest in any of those fan girls.
Kageyama didn’t have any response to that. He didn’t want to reject that offer because he really did want to know if Hinata started to like any of those girls. But if he thanked him, that would practically give away his feelings.
It helped that leaving Oikawa Tooru on read was very satisfying.
He tossed the phone to the end of his bed, away from all the buzzing and the notifications, and settled with his hands clasped behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.
Worse than those girls getting to see Hinata was Oikawa Tooru. Everytime he opened the group chat or his social media only to be greeted by his unrequited first love and greatest enemy grinning and throwing peace signs with their tongues sticking out, it was like a punch straight to the gut.
A loud knock at his front door startled the stewing setter so badly he fell off of his bed and onto the floor, cursing loudly and flailing his limbs.
He kept up an impressive stream of swearing as he strode angrily to his front door, swinging it open with far more force than necessary.
Iwaizumi Hajime stood framed in the doorway looking supremely awkward.
“Hi,” Iwaizumi said simply.
Kageyama stared at him, too surprised to respond.
“I came because… I don’t really know how to phrase this…” Iwaizumi started. When he didn’t speak for a moment, Kageyama remembered his manners and opened the door wider, gesturing inside.
Iwaizumi nodded gratefully and went to sit on the couch, looking for all the world like he wanted to be literally anywhere else.
“Alright. I don’t really know how to start, but I’m just gonna tell you the things that I wished I knew about having a boyfriend with a bunch of fangirls,” Iwaizumi stated plainly.
Kageyama gaped at him. “What?!” He exclaimed. “Hinata and I aren't- I mean we... More like I- But it’s not like that! Between us, I mean. We aren’t. You know, dating,” Kageyama stammered.
Iwaizumi stared at him. “You’re not?” He asked, dubious. Kageyama shook his head.
“Yes, you are! You both are… you know,” he made a spastic gesture that Kageyama couldn’t even begin to comprehend. “You know, like that with each other!”
“We aren’t,” Kageyama tried to mimic the gesture Iwaizumi had done. “Like, at all!”
“What about all the, ‘ With me, you’re invincible!’ shit you guys always pulled?! That’s so fucking gay, dude! So gay!” Iwaizumi exclaimed.
“That’s just… how we were!” Kageyama defended.
“Yeah. Gay.”
“No, believe me, we weren’t. Hinata’s straight,” Kageyama muttered.
Iwaizumi was silent for a moment. “And you aren’t?”
Kageyama sat down next to him and put his head in his hands. “Just trust me when I say that if Hinata was gay, I’d be well aware.”
“I see.”
Kageyama paused. “And you… don’t care?”
Iwaizumi scoffed. “Did you hear what I said when I came in here? I’ve been in love with the dickwad that is Oikawa Tooru since I was seven. Believe me when I say I understand what you’re going through.”
Kageyama stared at him.
“You and… You and Oikawa?” Iwaizumi nodded. “Did you… Were you guys… together in high school?”
Iwaizumi laughed. “Oh, no. Absolutely not. You remember how he was, he always had a girlfriend, who, of course, broke up with him after a week, and then he’d get a new one. Apparently, that was just to make me jealous, not that I had any idea that he was gay. It was a real mess. But we got together the summer after our third year before we left for university, so it all turned out okay.”
Kageyama blinked in disbelief. “But Oikawa is gay. Hinata’s not. He had crushes on girls all the time in highschool” he said slowly. It had been very relieving to figure out why, exactly, Hinata having crushes had made him so angry he’d nearly punched a hole in his bedroom wall. For a while, he’d thought he had anger issues.
“It’s not all that black and white, Kageyama. Just because he’s liked girls in the past doesn't mean he’d never like a guy. Maybe he thought you’d freak out if he told you. He might’ve even just made them up. I did that whenever anyone asked. It’s a hell of a lot easier to fake a crush on a girl in your class than it is to fess up to being in love with your best friend.”
Kageyama furrowed his brows.
“And think about it. Did you ever tell him?” Iwaizumi asked.
“I didn’t figure it out until he was leaving for Brazil,” Kageyama scowled.
“Damn! So all that stuff in high school was just normal for you?” Iwaizumi asked.
“I didn’t really have any other friends! I thought they were just normal best friend feelings, I guess,” Kageyama grumbled.
Iwaizumi laughed loudly. “Dude, the only other best friends I’ve seen act like that together are me and Oikawa. And we’re in a committed relationship now, so how do you think that fares for you?”
Kageyama just scowled.
“Listen. Knowing you, you probably don’t want to confess over the phone, and I get that. But next time you see him in person? You gotta do it, man. You’ll regret it if you don’t,” Iwaizumi said, putting a hand on Kageyama’s knee. “You’re going to Rio for the Olympics in a few weeks, right? Think about it then, okay?”
The Rio Olympics. Already going to be a stressful event, but with the added stress of a confession, it might just break him.
“Wait. Does Oikawa think so too?” Kageyama asked, stiffening.
Iwaizumi frowned in thought. “I don’t think we’ve ever outright discussed it before, but if I could guess it, he probably could too. Granted, he’s seeing Hinata’s side of the story as opposed to yours, so who really knows!”
Kageyama scowled as Iwaizumi said his goodbyes, claiming he had an essay that needed writing.
“Thank you, Iwaizumi-san. I know it probably wasn’t the advice you intended to give, but I appreciate it,” Kageyama said, bowing.
Iwaizumi ruffled his hair. “No problem, man. You have my number, text me if you need anything. I’m here for you. We aren’t high school rivals anymore, okay? We’re friends. I’ll see you around, Kageyama.”
Kageyama nodded and waved slightly as he closed the door.
There were a few words Kageyama could think of to describe what had just happened.
Unexpected? Yep.
Interesting? Absolutely.
Enlightening? You betcha.
Completely and totally mind-boggling and world changing? Yeah, you could say that.
Confess, huh? Kageyama hadn’t really considered that as an option, given that Hinata was on a separate continent and Kageyama would rather die a horrible, slow, painful death than be rejected by his best friend. But Iwaizumi had seemed confident in him, and something in Kageyama knew that when he saw Hinata again, the words were liable to just fall out, uncontrolled. He supposed it would be better to have something planned to say, rather than just winging it.
Alright, then. Operation: Confess to Hinata Shouyou will now commence.
—————
Hinata slapped his alarm clock with the force of a thousand men and grounded loudly, rolling over in his sheets.
“Good morning,” came a murmur from the other side of the bed.
“Morning,” Hinata mumbled back into the pillow.
His eyes flew open, his shock delayed by his grogginess.
Oikawa blinked at him from barely a foot away, smiling. Hinata sprung up and crouched at the foot of the bed, arms raised in a fighting stance.
Why was Oikawa in his bed?
The man in question sat up, the sheets falling to reveal a bare chest. Hinata’s gaze dropped for a second before his cheeks flushed and he looked back up.
Why was Oikawa shirtless in his bed?
“Did we…” Hinata paused, nervous. “We didn’t do anything, did we?”
Oikawa waved a lazy hand. “Relax, Chibi-chan. Your virtue is intact. We drank too much last night and you offered to let me crash here.”
Hinata deflated in relief. Oikawa furrowed his eyebrows.
“I sure hope you’re glad that you didn’t make Iwa-chan a cuckold and not that you’re glad because you didn’t sleep with me,” he said, sounding a bit offended.
Hinata’s head snapped up and he waved his hands defensively. “No, no! You’re very good looking, Oikawa-san! But I… I like someone already, so I would feel crummy sleeping with someone else when my feelings were somewhere else,” Hinata explained.
Oikawa cocked an eyebrow, leaning forward.
“Feelings for someone back home, Shrimpy?”
Hinata flushed and turned his face. “No! No, no, no! I like… one of my volleyball partners! Wait, no! Not- not him, I meant beach volleyball! Not- definitely not regular volleyball. Beach volleyball. One of my beach volleyball partners. I like them. A lot,” Hinata managed to stutter.
Oikawa obviously didn’t believe his shifty excuse for a cover up.
“Really, Chibi-chan? Are we talking about the married one, the engaged one, or the single-but-straight one? Which one of those boys are you crushing on?” Oikawa asked, resting his chin on his fist.
Hinata huffed and flopped in half, burying his face into the covers. He felt Oikawa’s hand on the back of his shoulder, patting him consolingly. Hinata burrowed further into the comforter.
“Oh, don't worry, Shrimpy! I won’t tell, promise. Your secret is safe with me!” Oikawa said, the sound muffled by layers of blankets.
Hinata groaned in defeat into the blanket as he felt rather than saw Oikawa getting out of bed and stumbling to the bathroom.
Hinata followed him belatedly, the two of them dancing around each other in the bathroom, brushing teeth, showering, and, in Oikawa’s case, partaking in an elaborate hair care routine.
Thanks to Oikawa’s borderline dangerous driving, Hinata made it to the beach on time for his practice, bounding up to his teammates.
“We’ve got a crowd today, huh!” Hinata remarked when he skidded to a stop.
Heitor looked at him dubiously. “You know why, right?”
Hinata cocked his head. “Huh? Why?”
Pedro turned around from where he’d been bumping the ball to stare at him. “Dude. You’re kinda famous, remember? They’re here to see the guy from the tweet,” he explained.
To be completely honest, Hinata had forgotten all about that. He’d gone out drinking the night before with Oikawa and then that morning had been far too eventful to remember much of the whole ‘viral on Twitter’ debacle from the previous day.
Hinata spun on his heel and flashed his biggest grin at the slowly growing crowd, waving aggressively. They cheered in response, which was like a shot of pure ego inflation. Hinata turned back to his friends, who were looking at him with varying degrees of skepticism.
“I can’t believe you went viral,” Pedro said with a laugh. “Hinata Shouyou: volleyball player, eater of meat buns, internet famous.”
Heitor laughed heartily before suddenly going silent with a pointed look behind Hinata’s shoulder.
He turned to see a girl his age holding a flower, blushing terrifically. She started speaking in rapid Portuguese, far too quickly for Hinata to keep up. He just nodded and spoke brokenly when he thought she was finished.
“I’m sorry, but I really need to focus on volleyball right now. I hope you understand!”
The girl nodded and sped off, nearly collapsing into what he assumed where her group of friends. Hinata stared down at the flower before he grabbed his phone and snapped a picture of him and the rose.
To: Karasuno Fight!
Me: A gift from my fans!
Me: [The selfie of Hinata and the flower]
Hinata closed his phone to see his friends staring at him.
“What?! This is new for me, I wanna enjoy it!” Hinata protested.
It’s true. Having a crush on your best friend-slash-rival for the entirety of high school only for them to never like you back doesn’t do you favors in the confidence in love department.
“New for you? No way. You must’ve been a hit in school, you’re so fun!” Heitor said. Hinata shook his head.
“Never got a single confession. Not even a letter. I didn’t really want any, though. I was too focused on volleyball. Still am, I guess!”
With that, the conversation shifted form love and confessions to volleyball, analyzing the previous game and formulating that day’s plans.
Volleyball was familiar. Volleyball was good.
Volleyball wasn’t stupid, unrequieted crushes that never say anything in groupchats or call on the phone anymore.
Who was Hinata kidding?
Volleyball would always be Kageyama Tobio.
—————
Kageyama Tobio took one look at the text from Hinata with the selfie of him with his stupid smile and his stupid flower and threw his phone across the room.
—————
Six weeks later would find Hinata and Heitor wrapping up the final match of the day, cinching a win in the semi finals for the regional tournament. Hinata cheered and ran to his teammate, clasping his hand and pulling him in for a hug and a slap on the back. They chatted as they made their way to the shade, grabbing their water bottles on the way.
Hinata drained his waterbottle in ten seconds flat before turning puppy dog eyes on Pedro, who was nearby. With a glare, Pedro tossed his bottle, which Hinata caught with ease. He was about to start to drink when Pedro shouted, “Waterfall, please! God!”
Hinata lifted a hand in apology and unscrewed the lid, trying his best to avoid the metal from touching his lips, which made for quite a bit of spilled water. It was a bit of a waste just to avoid some germs, if you asked him.
Heitor kept talking when Hinata spotted something just beyond his shoulder.
A tall man wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap was profusely apologizing to a woman running a fruity drink stand before dashing off. Something about the man’s build, the way he held himself, it was familiar.
It was probably nothing. Hinata shook his head and refocused on Heitor.
—————
“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Shit,” Kageyama mumbled as he weaved through the dense crowd.
Hinata had seen him, he was sure of it. But that wasn’t Kageyama’s fault!
It was Hinata’s fault. If he hadn’t been so damn distracting , because holy shit, who let him just pour water all over himself like a fucking swimsuit commercial, not to mention the fact that he was already shirtless from the match coupled with the way he wore his snapback backwards, which should have looked dumb , but instead it just looked hot and- Kageyama was spiraling.
This was not how seeing Hinata for the first time in two years was supposed to go.
It was supposed to be Hinata head planting in the sand and Kageyama being suave and coming in with some tips and looking cool.
Instead, Hinata was really fucking good and way too hot and Kageyama’s pants were feeling just a bit too tight as he made his way though the packed streets.
After a moments debate, he pulled his phone out and dialed a number. Iwaizumi picked up after the second ring.
“Hello?”
“Iwaizumi-san! You said I could ask you for help if you needed it, and I need it,” Kageyama explained, a bit out of breath.
“Whoa, whoa, slow down. What’s happening?”
“I’m in Rio for the Olympics and it’s a rest day, so I came down to the beach where Hinata was playing and I was gonna say something but I just couldn’t. I wimped out, Iwaizumi-san. I can’t do this,” Kageyama said, sounding as defeated as he felt.
“Alright, just… Just calm down, Kageyama. This isn’t a competition. You don’t need to do it the fastest you possibly can. If the moment wasn’t right, then it’s probably for the best. Just take a deep breath,” Iwaizumi coached from over the phone.
Kageyama took a shuddering breath as he bobbed and dipped between the crowds. “You’re right. You’re right. If I had done it, everything would have come out wrong. I should wait until it feels right. Thank you, Iwaizumi-san,” Kageyama stated. He could practically see Iwaizumi’s nod of acceptance from the other end of the line.
Kageyama hung up soon after that, feeling sufficiently calmed. The train back to the Olympic Village was quiet and gave him sufficient time to replay the mental image of Hinata in his mind over and over again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
He’d gotten broader, that much was certain. His shoulders had widened considerably and his legs were thicker, stronger. His hair was shorter.
That cyclical way of thinking stayed in his head through the entirety of the training days leading up to the games. Shoulders, legs, hair. Water. Repeat.
The opening ceremonies passed in a blur of torches and flags and far too many languages being spoken at the same time. By the time his first game had finished in a cheer of victory for Japan, Kageyama felt as though he’d barely blinked since he’d arrived.
As he stumbled out of the back door of the gymnasium, already half asleep, he heard a very human squeak and a few stumbling footsteps.
Curious, he called out. “Hello?” He felt a little stupid speaking to the empty alleyway, but he was too exhausted to care.
“Kageyama?”
He stiffened. He knew that voice. He’d heard that voice in a hundred dreams since his high school graduation.
“Hinata?”
A small figure in similar attire to Kageyama’s sneaking out wear appeared in front of him. Hinata smiled shyly.
“Hi,” he said.
Kageyama stared.
“What’re you doing here?” Kageyama finally said. Hinata winced.
“I was trying to sneak a peek at the locker rooms- Not to be creepy! I just wanted to know if they were any different than the ones at Karasuno, but you weren’t supposed to find out that I was here, so…”
“Don’t be embarrassed, dumbass,” Kageyama bit out. “I snuck out to one of your games last week,” he admitted grudgingly.
Hinata stared at him. “Why didn’t you say hi?”
“‘Cause you were supposed to be shit! And then you weren’t and I didn’t know what to say. Happy?” Kageyama quipped.
Hinata grinned. “You thought I was good?” He asked slyly.
“No, I thought you weren’t shit. There’s a difference.”
Hinata smiled even wider. “I know a Kageyama compliment when I hear one.”
Kageyama could hear Iwaizumi’s voice in his ear.
This is it, Kageyama. This is the moment. Take it.
“Do you want to walk around for a bit?” Kageyama asked quickly.
Hinata looked taken aback.
“I mean, sure! Lead the way!”
Even though it was merely a walk around town, the fact that Hinata was saying yes to him sent a giddy feeling down his spine.
They walked around for a while, hands nearly brushing a couple of times, but always managing to just miss each other. They spoke about life in Japan and Hinata’s teammates, the banter coming easily, as if they hadn’t just spent two years apart.
They stood on a bridge as the sun set in a rare moment of quiet. Kageyama studied Hinata out of the corner of his eye as Hinata watched the water with a strange look on his face.
“I’m in love with you.”
Kageyama’s entire body stiffened. He stopped breathing and he wouldn’t have been surprised if his heart stopped beating as well. Hinata didn’t look at him as he continued speaking.
“I have been since we first met. I thought I’d get over you since you don’t reciprocate, but seeing you again tonight, I just… I don’t think I can. Get over you, I mean. I’m telling you because I don’t want you to find out from Oikawa or something and then you’ll have to rethink our entire friendship.
“Because we are friends. You were always my friend first, don't worry. But you were just more. So… Do with that what you will, I guess,” Hinata finished softly. Closer inspection would show that he had tears running down his cheeks and his breathing was shaky.
Kageyama leaned down and put his head in his hands. “Dumbass, you always ruin everything. This was supposed to be my special confession moment!” Kageyama ground out. Hinata turned to him in shock but Kageyama didn’t look at him.
“Why do you think I took you to a fancy bridge at sunset, idiot? But then you had to go and steal the spotlight,” he said, nudging Hinata’s shoulder. Hinata just swayed, still staring up at him, absolutely shell shocked.
“Are you okay?” Kageyama asked after Hinata still hadn’t said anything for a long moment, instead just staring at him, wide eyed.
“You… You love me?” Hinata squeaked.
Kageyama looked down. “Yeah. I guess I didn’t say that, did I. Well, I do.” He looked up. “I love you. I’m in love with you, Hinata Shouyou.”
Then Hinata started punching him. They weren’t strong hits, but they were shocking. He punctuated each word with a hit.
“You’re. So. Stupid! Why. Didn’t. You. Ever. Tell. Me!”
“I didn’t realize until you were leaving! I wasn’t gonna stop you from going to Brazil ‘cause I had a stupid crush!” Kageyama protested.
Hinata rolled his eyes. Then, he grabbed Kageyama’s shirt and pulled him down to meet his lips.
Kageyama hummed in approval and bent down further, deepening the kiss and wrapping an arm around Hinata’s waist.
After a moment, Kageyama pulled back just slightly so that their foreheads were resting together.
“I lied,” he whispered. Hinata looked up at in inquisitively. “When I went to your game, I didn’t leave ‘cause you played well. I left because you looked so damn good I didn’t think I’d be able to control myself if I got to close.”
Hinata laughed, soft and low. “Well, don't start controlling yourself now, lover boy,” he murmured as he recaptured Kageyama’s lips with his own.
Kageyama could hear Iwaizumi’s voice in his head again.
Atta boy, Kageyama! Way to go!
Kageyama ignored the voice, focusing only on kissing the stupidly attractive man he’d wanted for so long.
And now, after five years and 10,787 miles, he’d finally gotten him.