Chapter Text
Kageyama takes a deep breath.
He inspects his clothes again, straightening out nonexistent wrinkles in his sweater and adjusting the sleeves to cover his wrists better. The outfit is simple but charming (in Yua-san’s words) and the colors bring out his features (in Tsukishima’s words). It makes him relieved if he’s being honest, that someone else was in charge of that department.
Kageyama takes another deep breath.
One of his hands holds a small gift bag: an aromatic candle, the same type he’s seen in Tsukishima’s living room. Yua-san always says wonders about it, going on about how the smell is sweet but not too strong to become cloying. Just the perfect light touch of perfume to cozy up any place the candle is settled in.
It felt like a nice gift when he stopped by a shop on his way to Hinata’s but now, as he nervously eyes the door he has yet to knock on, he feels like maybe he should’ve picked something else. What if Hinata’s family hates candles? Or hate perfume? They’ll definitely hate him too if he gives them that. Oh god-
His descent into madness is cut short by the door opening, revealing a shorter but just as orange-haired Hinata frowning at him. It’s a child, Kageyama can gather, probably no older than ten years old.
Natsu , Tobio’s mind supplies.
“Why are you just standing here like a creep?” The girl asks, distrust leaking into her words. There goes his chance of a good first impression.
“Uh” Kageyama gulps. Think idiot!, he screams at himself “I forgot how to knock?”
He barely refrains from facepalming as soon as the words leave his mouth but they seem to turn Natsu’s expression to something vaguely amused, so he’ll count his victories. Though Kageyama thanks the heavens no one else was there to see that interaction, knowing for sure Tsukishima would tease him about it until he died if he ever knew.
“Goooot it,” She says. The words come out way too ominously for a ten-year-old, but Tobio tries not to dwell on it too much. “Come on in”
He obeys, entering the house with a greeting bow, determined to not allow himself to say any more foolish things. The Hinata household is very cozy, he notes as he follows Natsu inside. Lots of pictures decorate the walls and Kageyama can’t help but smile at how Hinata looks so much like himself even when he was barely older than a toddler.
“Natsu, dear” A female voice sounds from the kitchen “Why did you open the door?”
“Shoyo’s friend is here and he forgot how to knock!” The little girl answers easily, striding into the kitchen.
Tobio can hear Hinata’s mom chuckling at the answer and his whole face catches on fire. Idly, he wonders if it’s too late to just run back home and claim he had the flu or something. They can’t hate him if he bails, right?
“Come on!” Natsu suddenly demands, pulling him by the hand.
So much for his escape plan. He enters the kitchen then, greeted by the delicious smell of home-cooked food.
Hinata’s mother is a short woman, shorter than Kageyama by at least ten centimeters, but she holds herself high and proud. Her hair is a deep black, much like Kageyama’s own, a big contrast to both Hinata’s and Natsu’s orange ones, but she has the same brown eyes. When her gaze finds Kageyama’s own, he notices she also has the same cheerful glint both the Hinata siblings seem to have.
“You must be the famous Kageyama Tobio I hear so much about,” She says, walking closer to where he is “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Tobio-kun”
“Likewise, Hinata-san” Kageyama answers instantly, bowing in respect. He raises the gift bag he’s still clutching in his hand, trying not to seem too nervous. “Thank you for having me”
“Just calm me Hikari, dear” Hinata’s mom tells him, coming closer to get the bag. She takes a look inside and instantly lights up “You’re too kind, Tobio-kun!”
It seems like genuine praise so Tobio lets his shoulders sag in relief. He didn’t fuck it up. Yet.
“Ooh, what is it?” Natsu asks, jumping to get her mom’s attention and see the bag’s content. “It smells good!” She shouts once she manages “ It 's mine!”
Before either of them can do anything, Natsu grabs the bag and runs out of the kitchen. Kageyama only blinks at the girl’s retreating form, much too used to an orange dot running around. Seems like that kind of energy really runs in the Hinata family, he figures, especially because Hikari-san seems completely unfazed.
“Oh well” She says, turning back to Tobio with a smile “Will you help me set the table dear?”
Kageyama is quick to nod, following her to get what they need around the kitchen. There’s been no sign of Hinata still, he can’t help but think, which makes him relieved at the same time it makes him nervous. Instinctively, he looks up, as if looking for the boy through the floor upstairs.
“Shoyo is just finishing getting ready” Hikari-san tells him once she sees him looking. Tobio’s cheeks burn at being caught and he looks back at her. She’s wearing a knowing smile that Kageyama tries not to read too much into “He’ll be here soon. Hiroshi too, he just went to the store to get some things I forgot” She sighs happily, placing the plates “It’s so good having him back, honestly.” She turns to Tobio “Does your father work away too?”
“Uh” Kageyama answers, incredibly eloquently. He can feel himself panicking.
How does he tell her he has no idea what his father works with? If he says just that she’s going to ask questions and he’s not sure he can answer many of those. Should he just tell her the man is out of the picture? It wouldn’t be that far away from the truth, would it? It still seems like a lie, though, and he doesn’t want to lie to Hinata’s mother 30 seconds into meeting her.
Something must have slipped through his expression because Hikari-san seems to understand his hesitancy almost immediately.
“It’s complicated?” She tries. Tobio resigns himself to just a jerky nod. She nods back. “I get it”
Kageyama’s not sure how much she actually gets it but he’s not about to question her on it. Whatever reason for his silence that crossed her mind did the job of changing the subject, and she chats away about food recipes as they finish getting everything ready.
Not too long after, Kageyama hears the front door opening to let in who he assumes is Hinata’s father.
“I’m home!” A deep voice makes itself heard, confirming his suspicions.
“Welcome back darling!” Hikari-san calls back, a smile clear in her voice “Come say hi, Shoyo’s friend is here!”
The first thing Kageyama notices is that Hinata’s father is much taller than everyone else in the house.The man’s height is quite on par with his own, with Kageyama maybe having one or two centimeters more, but his hair is the same bright shade of orange both his children have. His eyes, like all the other Hinata’s, are brown and carry that same cheerful glint.
Still, when the man approaches them both, Kageyama can’t help the feeling of unease that runs over his body.
“You’re the setter I hear so much about!” Hinata’s father greets him, a big smile on his face “Kageyama right?”
“Yes” Kageyama nods, a bit stiffer than he hoped.”It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hinata-san”
“Just call me Hiroshi, kid. From setter to setter!” He laughs loudly, wrapping a hand around Kageyama’s shoulder.
His reaction is instant and involuntary. His body freezes up, shoulders tensing at the weight of the man’s arm.
It’s illogical, he knows. Tobio has known Hinata’s father for less than a minute and the differences between him and his own dad are exceptionally clear. But he still can’t get his body to relax, not when it would be so easy for the man to turn on him if he wanted to.
He could grab his wrist, he could bend his fingers, he could-
As quickly as the arm came, it goes away again and Kageyama lets himself breathe, taking a step back he hopes is not too noticeable. If Hiroshi-san sees his reaction, he gives no indication of it.
“I’ll call Shoyo down so we can start eating, the food smells amazing!” The man says the voice just as cheerful as he walks away from Tobio and toward the stairs. “Shoyoooo!”
“Yeeeah?” Comes Hinata’s voice.
“Your friend is here already, come down!”
The sentence is followed by a loud thud from upstairs, which makes them all flinch.
“I keep telling him to be more careful” Hikari-san sighs.
“He’s just like that at practice too” Kageyama tells her absentmindedly “Energetic”
“Natsuuuu!” Hiroshi-san screams, jumping a few steps up the stairs “Come down too!”
Hikari-san sighs again, although not without a smile on her face.
“Wonder who he got that from” She chuckles. “Let’s sit, yeah?”
Kageyama obeys, settling down at the table. Hikari-san sits across from him and it doesn’t take long for Hiroshi-san to join her, sitting by her side. Natsu also comes quickly, settling down close to her mother. Kageyama looks at the empty space next to him from the corner of his eye, wondering when-
“I’m here!”
They hear Hinata before they see him running down the stairs, much to his mother’s dismay. He manages to get to the table with no slip-ups, cheeks healthily flushed and a toothy grin decorating his face.
“Hi!” He greets, sitting down next to Tobio.
“Hey” Tobio greets back, hoping he doesn’t sound too nervous.
Once he’s settled, everyone takes it as permission to start eating. Kageyama is in the middle of serving his plate when Hinata turns back to him.
“Glad to see you made it in time, Kageyama!” He says.
“I’ve been here longer than you, actually,” Kageyama says back, earning a chuckle from the boy’s parents. Hinata scowls at him.
“You can’t be here longer than me, this is my house!” He argues.
“It is what it is” Kageyama shrugs.
“Ugh” Hinata groans “You’re spending too much time with Tsukishima”
“Who’s that?” Hiroshi-san asks. “Another teammate?”
“Yeah!” It’s Hinata who answers. “He’s like, super tall. Taller than Kageyama!”
“He’s a middle blocker” Kageyama adds.
“Oh! Just like you, Sho!” Natsu cheers.
“Yeah” Hinata agrees, sheepishly “He’s a lot better than me, though”
“Not at spiking” Kageyama says quickly, before he even registers the words. Hinata instantly turns to him, eyes wide in surprise, and Tobio is quick to stuff his mouth with food so he doesn’t have to say anything else.
“Ooooh, that’s quite the compliment coming from a setter” Hiroshi-san teases, smiling at the way his son’s cheeks redden. “I would know!”
“Yeah, but Kageyama it’s a much better setter than you!” Hinata teases back, showing him his tongue
Oh no.
“Hinata” Kageyama hisses instantly, panic building up in his body.
He’s quick to turn to Hinata’s father, an apology on his tongue, but the man merely laughs it off. Kageyama frowns. He’s even still smiling .
“I’m sure he is” Hiroshi-san says and if Kageyama wasn’t surprised before now he definitely is. The man turns to look at Tobio, face still cheerful. “We have to catch a game of yours soon. Hinata tells me you guys can make a super quick?”
“Yeah!” Hinata shouts, moving his arms around. “In the beginning, I closed my eyes and the ball was just there! Like BAM! And I hit it!”
“Wow” Hikari comments, seemingly genuinely impressed. “That’s amazing, Tobio-kun!”
Kageyama, still a bit stunned, blinks a few times before understanding what has just been said. As soon as his brain catches up, he feels his cheeks reddening.
“Thanks” He says “It’s nothing much, though”
“Of course it is!” Hinata interrupts, making Tobio look at him “It’s super cool!”
Kageyama blinks again, cheeks even redder. Hinata keeps going about their quicks, their matches, their practice and Kageyama can only ever add a few comments, too sucked in the energy Hinata gives off. It 's warm and calming and comfortable.
Like the sun .
Kageyama smiles.
The rest of the dinner flies by in a flurry of volleyball stories and laughs and smiles, and the end of the night comes way too soon.
“It was a pleasure, Tobio-kun” Hikari-san says, pulling him into a hug. “Please come by more often.”
“Yes!” Natsu agrees “Then you can play volleyball with me!”
“Find your own setter, Natsu” Hinata sticks his tongue out at her.
“You can’t hog Tobio-chan, Sho!”
“He’s my teammate, when he comes here he’ll play with me !”
“Kids” Hiroshi-san scolds them lightly and they both resign themselves to just making stupid faces at one another. The man rolls his eyes fondly and turns back to Tobio “It was a pleasure to meet you, Tobio”
He pats Kageyama’s shoulder and, this time, the boy doesn’t flinch at the action. Instead, he smiles back at the man.
“Likewise, Hiroshi-san” He says, then turns to the rest of the family “Thank you for having me”
“I’ll take you home!” Hinata shouts, already putting on his shoes before Kageyama can even think of protesting..
“You don’t have to-” He tries anyway and is immediately shushed by a finger against his lips.
“Don’t be stupid, Kageyama!” Hinata shouts back, withdrawing his hand and moving to fix his shoes. “I’ll even bring my bike! I’m used to it”
“Take care anyway honey” Hikari-san adds, though she doesn’t oppose to Hinata going. She turns to Tobio then, smiling. “I hope to see you more around here”
“Me too” Tobio answers and he’s not even surprised at how sincere he sounds.”Thank you again”
“Come on, Kageyama!” Hinata screams, already moving towards his bike.
Kageyama bows quickly, finishing his farewells and running to catch up with the other boy. Hinata stops to wait for him, pushing the bike at his side.
They both walk in silence for a little while, unsure how to spark any conversation. Kageyama keeps trying to get words to come out of his mouth but they all seem wrong. He’s ready to resign himself to a silent trip when Hinata breaks the silence.
“Soooo” The boy begins “You liked the dinner?”
It sounds like he wanted to ask something else, but Kageyama doesn’t comment on it, glad for the distraction.
“Yeah” Tobio answers easily. “Your family is nice”
“They really liked you” Hinata adds “I’m glad they did”
“Me too” Tobio agrees.
They fall back into silence for a little while, surrounded only by the sound of their footsteps, of the bike’s tires spinning against the ground, and the cicadas chirping on the trees.
It doesn’t take long for them to reach the street that marks the division of the path to Kageyama’s home and Tsukishima’s. Tobio turns the way to Tsukishima’s without a word and Hinata, although looking a bit surprised, follows suit without complaint.
Sometime later, once again, it’s Hinata who speaks first.
“Can I ask you a question?” He says.
It’s weirdly subdued, almost shy, not at all like Hinata’s usual boisterous questions. He seems unsure, Tobio notes, and that alone is enough to fill him with a mix of worry and curiosity.
“Sure” Kageyama answers.
A second. Another one. One more. Then:
“What is the deal between you and Tsukishima?”
Tobio blinks, though he doesn’t feel exactly surprised at the question. Hinata’s not the most observant person, but he’s sufficiently so. Besides, it's obvious that the relationship between Kageyama and Tsukishima has changed in the past couple of weeks.
That said, Kageyama should’ve been prepared for this. Hinata was bound to ask it sooner or later with how close the two of them are and how they always seemed to be on common ground in regards to their relationship with Tsukishima Kei.
Still, he can’t help but feel nervous at the prospect of talking about it.
He has only been living in the Tsukishima’s for a few days and he’s still unsure of how things will go in the future. It seems…too easy, in a way, for him to be able to just leave some things behind. Things he really wants to forget.
The more he talks about it the more real they feel and the more afraid he feels that his fairytale will come to a premature end.
It's scary.
“You don’t have to explain if you don’t want to” Hinata quickly adds as he is met with Kageyama’s silence. His offer is sincere, Tobio can tell, but the unmistakable hint of hurt is there too. Kageyama doesn’t like it one bit.
Just a bit, then.
“I’m staying with him” Tobio let’s himself say before he can talk himself out of it. He wants Hinata to understand him better, even if he’s not willing to go into full detail about it. “Because I can’t stay at home right now”
Hinata stops walking. Kageyama stops too. He isn’t looking at the shorter boy, but he can feel his searching glare, his yearning for more information.
Tobio can’t give him what he wants. Not yet, at least. All he can hope is that Hinata understands.
Please.
“Ok” Hinata says, then.
Kageyama looks at him, meeting an easy smile. He goes back to walking, Tobio following after a second. It seems like a weight has been lifted from their shoulders.
“Well, then you have to make Tsukishima practice more!” Hinata says, back to his usual excited tone “You can like, hide all his socks and just give them back once he agrees to practice!”
“Hide all his socks?” Kageyama questions, baffled, but not quite containing the smile in his voice “Are you stupid?”
“It’s a deadly tactic, Kageyama!” Hinata argues “Natsu did that once so I would play house with her and until I agreed I didn’t find a single pair !”
Kageyama doesn’t even try to contain his snicker, imagining little Hinata Natsu tormenting her big brother like that. The ploy seems really on-brand for her, even though he’s known her for just a short while.
“It still seems like a stupid idea” He teases “Besides, I don’t think I could hide them in a place he wouldn’t find.”
“You can give them to me” Hinata ponders, seemingly really invested in the scheme “Or! You could make them all look like a giant ball and disguise it as a volleyball?”
“What?” Kageyama laughs.
“We could even play with it!” Hinata continues, smiling big and brightly “Can you imagine his face?”
Kageyama could. He snickered again.
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard”
“You’re the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!”
“Oy!”
Hinata laughs, the sound sending chills through Kageyama’s spine and he knows he can’t blame the cold for it, not when he also feels so unbelievably warm.
Like the sun.
If Tobio was a braver man, he would have reached for Hinata’s hand. He would have intertwined their fingers and helped him manage the bike so they could keep holding each other. He would’ve looked at Hinata’s smiling face and told him everything, he would've freed his chest from the pressure.
Tobio is not a braver man, however, so he lets the unsaid things remain that way.
“Thanks for today” He says when they finally reach the Tsukishima household, face red because of the cold and not anything else. “I had fun”
“Me too” Hinata says back, a toothy grin on his face as he mounts his bike. “See you at practice, Kageyama!”
“See you”
The little orange dot gets further and further away. It's bittersweet.