Work Text:
Kenma!!!
I can come over if you need me to.
Me
dont worry bout me, m just being dumb
ill go watch some cat videos itll feel like ur right here haha
Hinata stares at his phone until he can pretend it’s the reason his eyes are watering. He knows Kenma isn’t fooled by his half assed reply but he thinks he deserves some slack at 3am in the morning. He knew, even back in high school, that playing pro would take him all over the world, to places and people he’s never seen. He was excited, overjoyed when he first got out of the plane, oohing and aahing at everything around him even as the hot humidity turned his already wild hair into an even curlier mess.
He curls up on his side and locks his phone. He knows nothing can make him feel better right now. He’s so, so tired, his body hurts in places he never thought possible, his head feels stuffy and he just...wants to be home. He doesn’t want to leave the team, he’s happy with the life he’s built here. Everything just feels better in the light of day. Right now, in the middle of the night, when he can feel a cold or some nasty bug taking root in his chest, he would do anything for his mom’s homemade soup. And…
He presses his eyes closed and feels the tears finally overflow. He misses Tobio so much. It surprisingly didn’t take them long to get their shit together in high school, so they had a lot of time to get used to constantly being in each other’s orbit. They text constantly and call whenever they can, walking to practice, eating or even cleaning. Hinata knows that if he mentioned even a word of how he’s feeling right now, his boyfriend would drop everything and spend hours talking to him. Even if he insisted that it’s fine, Hinata doesn’t want to keep him from practice. No matter how much the empty space next to him burns, tears at him until he’s hiding his face behind curled fists, too tired now to do anything more than let his tears fall silently.
Eventually he gets to his feet, sniffling a bit, and opens a window on his way to the kitchen to get some water. He absentmindedly toys with his phone as he sits at the counter, one arm under his chin. There’s distant music coming in from the window but by now it’s as welcome as the quiet hum of cars he could hear in his bedroom back home. He smiles and sniffles again as he thinks of all the nights he spent there, daydreaming about the future, about his teammate, then best friend, then the nights they spent there together. All of their firsts, confessions and kisses hidden in the moonlight, waking up next to each other, the way Tobio had cried when they first made love...he huffs a laugh into his palm and he can feel the cold band around his ring finger.
“It’s a promise I’m making to you. Wherever you go, whatever you choose to do, I’ll be with you every step of the way. It’s not a proposal,” Tobio interrupts himself to shoot a glare at Hinata, even if its effect gets ruined by the hand holding Hinata’s cheek like he’s something breakable, something precious, “it’s the promise of one. I’m calling dibs.”
He had laughed through his tears and thrown himself at his boyfriend who hardly even budged, already used to his energetic displays of affection. Hinata sighs and runs a hand through his hair. What he’d give to be able to do that right now…
He drains the rest of his glass and sets it in the sink, promising to himself to clean it in the morning but he could already tell he’ll hardly be able to stand, let alone get to the kitchen. He’ll probably text Bokuto to bring him some medicine, since he hasn’t stocked his place yet. Not that he’s gonna mention that to his mom, he’d like to live a little longer thank you very much.
Hinata settles back into the blanket nest he’s made after coming home from practice and opens his chat with Tobio. Their last messages were from that morning, when he was getting ready for the day and Tobio was just ending his. They didn’t always talk when his boyfriend woke up before practice, he often woke up at the literal last minute and had to rush to make it. Still, Hinata can’t help but feel the prolonged silence consume him. He hasn’t felt this homesick in a while.
When he sees the clock on his screen turn to 4:00 he gives up any hope of sleeping. He turns again, this time on his back and stares at the slowly appearing light that glows across his ceiling. He could probably at least talk to Kenma, but he’s most likely recording a gameplay right now or being forced to sleep by his own, very much there boyfriend. His pillow is probably soaked by now. Laying on it’s probably a bad idea but it’s not like he can get sick while already sick, so…
As he lays there and blinks at the ceiling, he doesn’t even notice that he’s still crying. He can kind of feel that his ears and hair are slightly soggy, but at least that means that his pillow is being saved.
His muddled thoughts get interrupted by the sound of keys turning in a lock.
Wait.
Keys.
His apartment door.
Who...Bokuto? He has a spare key because he lives nearby and he knows him the best out of his teammates. Which is how Hinata knows that he wouldn’t just come over without at least texting him that he’s at the door. The amount of times they’ve walked in on each other during very...intimate calls with their respective boyfriends is way too high. But maybe Bokuto noticed that Hinata wasn’t feeling well after practice…
He can hear the door open and close silently, somebody walking in and a thump as something heavy is set down. They lock the door. Then shuffling as the person takes off their shoes, but after that Hinata can’t hear anything. They’re probably wearing socks and trying not to wake him. He almost calls out not to waste the effort, but he’s so tired of moving and talking, so he just lays there and waits. He doubts a murderer would bother with keys and taking their shoes off.
His eyes have been closed for a while now and he doesn’t bother opening them. He ignores the painful tug in his heart, the voice in his head screaming, because there is only one person he wishes to see right now and he’s on the other side of the world, twelve hours and a day long flight away at best. Still, as long as he doesn’t open his eyes, he doesn’t have to face that reality. He can pretend that it’s his boyfriend coming home from practice.
“Shoyou…”
There’s a hand softly running through his curls and the weight of someone sitting on the edge of the mattress. He stills. Is he so sick that he’s hallucinating now? No, he’s fairly certain the hand is real. And no matter how many times he’s heard Tobio say his name, whispered between kisses and caught in palms of hands for good luck, his memory can never get it quite right.
The first sob drags its way out before he can open his eyes, but then there are hands around him and Tobio maneuvers them so that they’re in the middle of the bed, Hinata curled up in his lap, head pressed into the crook of his neck perfectly, puzzle pieces fitting together as they were made to be.
“Shh, it’s okay baby, I’m here. I’m here.” Tobio keeps talking softly, whispers just loud enough to be heard over his boyfriend’s crying. He expected to find him asleep, imagined how he’d smile once he woke up to find him there and kiss him breathless. He doesn’t know what’s wrong, he sounded fine just yesterday, but he can’ ask him until he calms down.
It takes almost half an hour for Hinata’s heart wrenching sobs to die down into hiccups and occasional sniffles. Only then does Tobio dare shift a little, one hand still firmly around the ginger’s back. He reaches for the box of tissues on the bedside table and sets it next to them on the bed. He runs a hand soothingly down Hinata’s back for a while. Once he feels that he probably won’t burst into tears anytime soon, he leans back a little to look at his boyfriend for the first time in months. He looks the same, blue eyes shining almost black in the early morning light. Hinata brings his shaky hands up to cup Tobio’s face, almost as if he’s afraid that he’ll disappear back into the night.
“H-how...what are you doing here?” Tobio’s heart breaks a little at how raspy he sounds, but he can also tell that the cry made him feel better. He brings his own hands to his boyfriend’s hips to hold him steady. Hinata looks dazed, slightly out of it, and it takes Tobio a bit longer to realize that he feels overheated even though it’s been a while since he threw off the blankets.
“I missed you. Almost begged for some time off so I could come see you. Asked Bokuto-san for help since I needed to get in somehow.” Hinata looks ready to burst into tears again, so Tobio rushes to finish. “Are you okay? You look like you’re getting sick, but you don’t usually get so...emotional, over that.” Tobio regrets asking instantly when he sees his personal sunshine dim again and a tear run down his cheek. He reaches out gently to wipe it off and complies when Hinata lifts one of his own to hold it there.
“W’s just...homesick, I guess.” Hinata looks down. “And I missed you, and I know we don’t have to text constantly but today was just hard and you didn’t text me good morning and then after practice it was like someone stuffed cotton up my nose.” He sniffles as if to prove his point. Tobio probably shouldn’t find that adorable. He’s too in love to care.
“I’m sorry, there wasn’t enough time during the layover to text. I should have thought of that.” Hinata shakes his head and hugs him close once again. “I’m just happy you’re here.”
Tobio squeezes him tighter, once again noticing how hot he feels. “You should probably take a shower. You’re burning up.”
Hinata groans but moves to get up, knowing from experience that his boyfriend goes into hardcore protective mode when he’s sick. He can’t really complain, they’re way too similar. And it’s nice, to have him close, to be taken care of. They’ve gotten better with words but still like to show affection with gestures and touch. He yelps when he’s suddenly picked up and the bedroom tilts around him.
“T-Tobio!”
His boyfriend grins and carries him to the bathroom. “Nope, no walking when you look like you’re about to faint. Now get in there, I’ll go make you tea.”
Hinata complies, the idea of a shower starting to feel pretty good now. He feels weird, knows the air is warming up as the sun comes up, but still shivering as if he’s in subzero temperatures. Once he’s done and carefully steps on the rug in front of the shower, he pulls on boxers, sweatpants and a sweater that Tobio must have brought him. When he sees how big it is on him, he gets giddy because Tobio gave him a shirt! That probably smells like him! He has a whole drawer of things that belonged to his boyfriend but have long since lost his smell. He might have had a tiny breakdown when he realized that.
He brings up a hand - the soft sweater is long enough to give him sweater paws! - and takes a deep breath, but he must be properly sick now because he can hardly even get any air in, let alone smell anything. He pouts at that but decides that he’ll just have to ask Tobio to wear it right before he leaves to compensate for it.
He makes his way to the kitchen slowly, leaning a hand against the wall. The last thing he needs is a freaked out boyfriend if he falls. His eyes widen when he sees that not only has his boyfriend made tea, there’s also a plate of fresh pastries. He looks around and spots a paper bag with the logo of a nearby bakery he’s ranted about a few times on their calls. They opened really early to serve breakfast goods to people who leave for work before the sun even comes up.
Hinata sits in a chair, tearing up again but for a whole different reason. Tobio sits across from him but makes an alarmed sound when he looks up and quickly moves to the one closer to him. He pulls at the hands Hinata brought up to wipe his tears into.
“Hey, hey, what’s wrong? Did I do something?” Hinata’s watery laughter stops his freak out but doesn’t calm him much. It’s only when his boyfriend smiles at him, brighter than the sun, that his thoughts stop.
“I’m just so happy, y-you did all this for me and you’re here and I just love you so so much-” Tobio doesn’t let him finish, instead he leans over and gently pulls Hinata forward until their lips touch. After months of only seeing each other through a screen, it feels like an electric current running through them. Tobio’s lips are chapped from the filtered airplane air and Hinata tastes salty from all the tears he’s spilled, but neither of them cares. They melt into each other like the only thing keeping them going was the promise of this, of getting to touch each other again. It doesn’t last long, not when they’re both tired and Hinata is a germ factory. When they separate, he looks even more dazed but there’s a dreamy smile on his lips. Tobio refuses to let him go far.
After they eat and finish their tea, Tobio carries Hinata to bed again and gets his suitcase from the hallway where he left it. Once he’s changed into sleep clothes, he texts Bokuto to let him know he made it and asks to please bring some cold medicine in the morning, seeing as he has no idea where to get any. Then he lays on his side of the bed. Hinata pretends his heart doesn’t skip a beat, the memory of it being cold and empty just two hours ago now faded and forgotten. They curl into each other once again. Despite both of them growing and gaining muscles since high school, Hinata is still smaller than his boyfriend. No matter how much he complains, they both know that he loves it. He can feel Tobio press a kiss into his hair and take a deep breath as their legs tangle in a familiar pattern.
Neither of them wants to sleep just yet. But they keep still, pleasantly warm now that Hinata’s fever has gone down a bit. After months of sleeping alone, phones clutched in hands, it doesn’t feel real. They’re both scared of waking up alone, finding that it was all a dream. Hinata presses closer, one hand twisted into Tobio’s shirt right above his heart.
He can feel the deep breath his boyfriend takes right before he opens his mouth.
“Love you, Shouyou.”
Even after all those years, hearing him whisper those words into his ear, in the still quiet of their bedroom - because both of their places are theirs, shared, always - sends his heart racing. He lets out a shuddering breath.
“Love you, too. So much.”
Hinata leans up for a kiss, both of them warm and soft with sleepiness, lips still tasting like the honey tea they drank. Once they settle again, Hinata feels his boyfriend’s breathing even out quickly, little puffs of breath stirring his hair but not enough to make him want to move. As he too fades into unconsciousness, he thinks: I want to stay like this forever.