6 Times Shoyo Hinata Won (And One Time He Maybe Sorta Didn't)

by izzy_the_yachi

Summary:

Shoyo Hinata has never, ever, been called "patient". Not once. So, when he realises, with very little warning, that he's been in love with Tobio Kageyama, his bestest friend, for three years, the words that come out of his mouth aren't appropriate. He doesn't say "I like you." Instead, he rushes ahead to something that usually is asked many years into a relationship.

"Marry me."

-

A 5+1 fic that got slightly away from me and became 6+1 but it's okay!!

Chapter 1

[ 1 ]

The Sun is shrouded by the dull, light-grey clouds swarming in the, what should be bright blue, sky. Despite Summer nearing, the skies have not been able to rid themselves of the miserable and aggravating clouds. Shoyo, in a very strange way, gets it.

His trip, or rather, move, to Brazil is nearing too; Shoyo can basically taste the hot sands and salty sea on his tongue. It's a good thing. He's worked his ass off to be able to rent an apartment out there, and will continue to work his ass off to earn his place there, on the beach, playing volleyball until his legs give out underneath him. Yet, despite all of his excitement and anticipation, and the baffling language lessons, he still feels like there's something missing.

However, underneath his favourite tree, secluded behind the school building, Shoyo feels at ease, because his best friend, and his partner, is sat beside him, leaning lazily against the very same trunk he is. Kageyama is very relaxed. Shoyo knows this, because the pout on his lips and furrowed brows mean absolutely nothing. That's just his resting face, and if Kageyama was actually annoyed, he'd be doing a lot of yelling. Right now, his face screams constipated, but he's content. Shoyo knows this.

His bangs are short now, shorter than they were in his first year when they covered his eyes like a lame manga protagonist, and Shoyo likes it, because he can see more of his stupid face that way. It also means he can see Kageyama's strikingly blue eyes a lot better. Though, his eyes aren't bright blue like the sky during the day, they're more like the ocean at night. They have a calmness, but also an intensity to them. They reflect him in that way: all intense, but also weirdly beautiful.

What?

Shoyo thinks a lot of things, believe it or not, no matter what Tsukishima says, but never, ever, has he downright thought of Kageyama as beautiful. Sure, he'd been known to jokingly flirt with Kageyama, but that was always just to see how long it took before he flushed an embarrassing red and tried to kill Shoyo with his bare hands (it didn't take a lot for him to have that reaction, to be fair.) Sure, the first years, and the second years back in their first year, had assumed that Shoyo and Kageyama were dating, and, sure, Shoyo pretended for a little while without Kageyama's knowledge that they were, until he found out and, again, attempted first degree murder. And, sure, Kageyama was objectively, incredibly, attractive; from his lean waist, to his abs, to his strong arms, to his gorgeous face, to his-

Oh. Crap!

He must've accidentally been staring at Kageyama for too long, because his expression has shifted to confused, and slightly irritated.

"What?" He barks out, sitting up straight and pouting, which is cute, and- yeah, Shoyo has definitely just had a revelation.

"Marry me," He blurts out.

Woah. Okay. That was too impulsive. Like, way too impulsive. Like, even Shoyo knows it's a bad thing to say in the moment, kind of impulsive.

He understands this, both because of his own two braincells, and because Kageyama's face is a roaring red, from his chin to his hairline, sort of creeping onto his neck, and his jaw is wide open. Shoyo watches as the cogs in his brain turn, and he swears he can almost hear them. There's a long stretch of silence as Shoyo prays for whatever God exists to strike him down on the spot, and Kageyama struggles to find his voice.

"What?" He chokes out, with a lot less volume than the first time, and Shoyo wonders if he's about to pass out.

Somehow, this breaks Shoyo out of his trance, because he immediately rushes to cover all the bases and make things right again. He has never thought he was as dumb as Sucky-shima accuses him of being, but maybe he is, because no sane best friend says that to their other best friend. Ever! It's a not-in-a-million years sort of thing. Maybe, just maybe, if they do, they don't mean it!

The scariest thing is, Shoyo kind of does.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean that. Well, definitely not now anyways! And if I were to propose to you I'd want to do it properly! But, we're not even dating, so why would I say that! OhmygoshKageyamapleasepleaseforgetIsaidthat! Please don't die!" Shoyo screams out, feeling his face slowly turn a bright shade of pink to match Kageyama's.

The person he's ranting to doesn't look like he's listening to Shoyo's very important apology, because his eyes are wide and his jaw is still slack and he's actually, visibly, passing away in front of Shoyo. Shoyo doesn't think he could handle watching someone die, he's not very mentally strong, and he definitely could not bare to see Kageyama die. Especially not if it was his own fault!

He surges forward and starts aggressively shaking Kageyama by the shoulders, which must knock some sense into the other, because he grabs Shoyo by the head and throws him to the ground.

"What the fuck, dumbass?!" He shouts, standing up off the floor and dusting his knees, absolutely righteously horrified, but also it makes Shoyo kind of sad, because he's not as horrified by the suggestion himself. He's more horrified by his own lack of mouth control.

Standing up too, he takes a second to collect himself; he, personally, thinks he needs more than that, but he needs to ease Kageyama's worries, because the guy is very much like a stray cat and is probably considering his best escape route. Fight or flight, sorta thing. Once he regains his composure, he feels the redness on his own cheeks start to die down and he sighs.

"Okay, so, I did not mean to say that-"

"I fucking hope you didn't!" He snaps, looking halfway between grabbing Hinata's hair with both hands and tugging until he goes bald, or maybe is decapitated, or running away to a faraway land.

"Can you shut up for a second, Idiot-yama? I need to get my words out!"

At this, Kageyama huffs, but he doesn't continue talking, just crosses his arms and stares at Shoyo, with his gorgeous (sue him, he's said worse today) blue eyes and waits expectantly, making his impatience very clear.

"But," He begins again, easing himself into the situation, trying not to blurt out all his newfound feelings at once, "I do like you. I think."

Kageyama looks at him with a baffled expression, as if to say "YOU THINK?", or maybe something involving a lot more cursing, but he lets Shoyo continue to talk, which is a win in his books.

"Well, I've only just realised my feelings now, and in the moment they came out in a weird way, I know," He flushes in embarrassment as he recalls his impromptu proposal that he'll probably never live down, "I also know that this might be a bit selfish, because I'm moving to Brazil and I won't see you for a while, but I need to tell you that I like you, a whole lot. I think I have for a long time."

When Kageyama doesn't say anything, again, Shoyo takes a brief pause to watch how his cheeks are still slightly rosy and his mouth takes on the form of a surprised pout, as though he has just gotten it through his tiny brain that an accidental proposal may not mean marriage, but it still means something, maybe even everything. Despite this, Shoyo isn't stupid. He knows he's going away, he knows he and Kageyama probably won't be able to be together, if the other even wants that, but he wants to get it out in the open for closure, or something.

"I don't want this to hold you back from, I don't know," He speaks without thinking, a twinge of jealousy making itself strangely known as he thinks about Kageyama doing things with other people: kissing other people, generally being with other, more fleshed out, athletes, "experiences of being a pro. So, even if you return my feelings, which, to be fair, I don't actually know yet-"

"I like you too," He interrupts, blunt as ever - eyes serious, but also with a hint of shock, as though he's only just figured out his feelings as well.

It's nice. They're always on the same page. Shoyo's never really alone, because he's with Kageyama.

"And, this won't hold me back. We can still play volleyball and like each other, it doesn't stops us. It definitely wouldn't stop me," Kageyama says very seriously, looking mildly horrified at the thought of not playing volleyball, which is funny because isn't what Shoyo meant at all, "And it better not stop you."

"That's not what I meant," He laughs and shakes his head, "I meant, like, hold you back from, I don't know, dating other people? People will be fawning all over you now you're getting out into the world, Silly-yama!"

At this, Kageyama looks slightly more constipated than before, like he's just eaten something sour and can't get rid of the taste.

"I don't want to date other people," He says very simply, like it's the easiest and most obvious thing in the world. It makes Shoyo's heart squeeze with affection and he has to fight himself from leaping onto Kageyama and peppering him with kisses, because he's not quite sure that they're there yet.

Although, Kageyama's never really been one for feelings, so he quickly ruins the moment, probably without even realising.

"Who else would want you anyways, idiot?" He scoffs, flicking Shoyo's forehead and scowling at him, which is very rude.

In the heat of the moment, riding the high off of just confessing his feelings, somehow Shoyo's boldness, which is (according to majority of his teammates, and apparently others) too high "for someone his height", increases rapidly, to the point where it seems like his ego borders on the Great King's level.

"Well, I don't know," He shrugs nonchalantly, a wicked grin taking over his face, pointy canines showing, "But you do!"

All of a sudden, Shoyo realises he has pushed Kageyama too far and has no way to avoid the hand grasping and yanking on his hair. His only solace is the pink blush on Kageyama's cheeks and his squinted eyes proving that instead of anger, he's just flustered, but also too stupid to truly tell the difference himself. He wriggles free and he's still grinning, even though he might, genuinely, go bald before fifty if he stays with Kageyama long enough, which he wants to.

Looking up at Kageyama, even if slightly bruising to his ego, is nice. Looking at him in any way is nice, even when he's all scowly and shouting and grumbling, he's still pretty. That's not the only thing Shoyo likes about him though. He likes his honesty, even if it pisses some people off. He likes his well-meaning nature, because Kageyama is never usually rude to anyone purposefully, unless it's Tuskishima or the Grand King or himself. He likes his determination and his stubbornness. He likes his competitiveness. He likes his calculated side on the court, compared to his stupidity anywhere else. Most of all, he likes that he agrees to compete with Shoyo to the ends of the Earth. He likes that he knows they'll stick together through it all.

His fond thoughts must show on his face, because he gets to watch Kageyama's resolve crumbling as his face cools down and he sighs, crossing his arms, facial expression relaxing slightly. He wants to wipe the frown lines between his brows with his thumb and see what his face is like when they go away.

"So," He starts again, slowly, drawing out the syllables, because, for the first time in his life, he's delaying something he wants to say for what someone else might want. Ah, the things love does to a person, "will you be my boyfriend?" He asks, smiling lopsidedly as he gazes upwards.

"Yes," Kageyama agrees quickly, almost too quickly, so fast that poor Shoyo attempts to fight off a laugh, muffling it with his hand, but it's very much in vain.

Shoyo thinks of all the things he could say in one go, but none of them feel very real to him, nothing that sounds like him. He could flirt a bit, tease Kageyama a bit more, possibly risk his life actually being taken from him. He could kiss him, and Shoyo kind of wants to, but he doesn't know if they're ready for that yet. He could maybe hold his hand, or brush the bangs from his eyes, or maybe even jump up in the air about how Kageyama is his boyfriend. But, none of it feels right. He stares up for a moment longer, before, somehow, his grin widens and he's all teeth and flushed cheeks and determination behind his eyes.

"I win!"

"What?" Kageyama blinks once, twice, three times, trying to figure out what competition they're in, whilst also being very evidently annoyed that he lost whatever it is, even if he doesn't understand.

"I confessed my feelings first," He says, gesturing with his hands, and wiggling his brows just to emphasise the significance, "and I asked you out, so that's two points for me!"

"Two- What?!" He yells, his fight instincts increasing immediately, like the sore loser he is, "I didn't even realise I liked you until two seconds ago!"

"Well then I have three points because I realised it first!" Shoyo teases again, pointing at his stupid amazing face and basically brimming with glee, like a child on Christmas morning.

Yelling something nonsensical in a hazy rage, Kageyama then roundhouse kicks Shoyo to the ground.

Although his ribs ache, a lot, because Kageyama has no chill, nothing compares to the happiness swelling in his chest. Kageyama is no longer just his friend, or best-friend, or partner with the anger issues of a ravenous lion, he's his boyfriend. Somehow, that makes the whole being physically assaulted thing a whole lot easier to deal with. His pain receptors are dulled by joy.

[ 2 ]

Shoyo is nervous.

Not in the way he gets nervous before a game where he almost poops his pants and throws up at the same time, no, more like something worse but less disgusting than that. He doesn't feel like he's about to projectile vomit all over his clothes, but Tsukishima is glaring at him in a way that looks like he's about to throw up, or make Shoyo throw up, which is scarier.

"Just go ask the King out on a date," Tsukishima says, for the third time, sounding more exasperated by the millisecond, as though Shoyo's nerves are breaking down his usual nonchalance into nothing but a memory, "It's really not that difficult."

"It's not that simple!" He shouts, hands tugging at his own hair like a sick joke.

At this, Tsukishima groans, searching the school grounds for Yamaguchi with his eyes, or maybe just searching for anything to get him out of the conversation. Not like he'd find Yamaguchi anyway, he's probably doing something cutesy with his girlfriend, whilst Shoyo is planning to ask his boyfriend on a date, and Tsukishima is alone and miserable - as the world should be. It's only fair! If someone is far too tall, and a massive asshole, then he deserves loneliness and all the agony that comes with it.

Dating, or rather, being with Kageyama is not easy. At all. Not that he'd expected it to be, but he hadn't truly anticipated the levels of Kageyama's stupidity.

The day he realised that Kageyama truly knew nothing about romance was humiliating, somehow more for Shoyo than Kageyama.

They hadn't necessarily told the team, or their old team, that they were dating, and, in fairness, they all joked about it anyways; either way they wouldn't have done a big announcement, because it just didn't need to be a major something for all of them. Shoyo and Kageyama were trying to figure out how to adjust to a romantic relationship instead of their platonic one, or at least Shoyo was, because apparently Kageyama had never even thought about romance before.

One Saturday, Shoyo had come over the mountain because all their ex-team members had gotten time to visit from University or wherever they were usually, so they all decided to go out together. There they were, perfectly happy, walking to Ukai's store to rob him blind for free meat buns like old times. In a moment of fearlessness, Shoyo held out his hand for Kageyama to hold, just like they did in the movies. The sky was a dark blue, but could barely compare to the blueness of Kageyama's eyes, even when it was littered with dazzling stars - or something like that. Shoyo doesn't really like poetry.

Anyway, all Kageyama had to do was close the distance with his own hand and they could hold hands, and close the distance he did.

He glanced down at Shoyo's hand, extended in front of him like a gift, waiting to be grabbed. Kageyama's lips formed into a pout like he was thinking and Shoyo waited with baited breath for the cheesy rom-com moment.

Shoyo then was met with a freaking low-five.

It was the worst possible outcome.

To make awful matters worse, Kageyama hadn't even realised the issue! Instead, he just continued to walk, even having the guts to start a conversation with Suga, who looked about ten seconds from pointing and laughing at Shoyo, whose face was turning an even more humiliating shade of red.

Tanaka and Nishinoya, who were supposed to be his favourite senpais, actually pointed and laughed boisterously, doubling over on the street and even collapsing to their knees as they mocked Shoyo's failed attempt at romance. He felt like Tanaka back in his second year when he would constantly get shot down by Kiyoko, only this was worse because Kageyama was his actual boyfriend and not someone who barely looked at him.

The worst part of it all is that he is still unable to shed himself of the memory. Every time Tanaka sees him, he chooses the nearest bystander to re-enact the scene for Shoyo as if he wasn't actually there and feeling all the embarrassment in real time.

He can't even be that mad at Kageyama himself because the moron had no idea what happened right under his nose. Shoyo isn't smart, but he's sure that he'd be able to understand if someone wanted to hold his hand!

"Jeez, Hinata, it's not like he's going to reject any advances you make," Tsukishima says blatantly, somehow easing Shoyo's worries, which is weird, because Tsukishima only exists to hurt others - it's the only reason he was sent up to Earth from Hell, "He hasn't done that before.. oh wait." There it is, the shit-eating smirk that turns Shoyo from a law-abiding citizen to an almost-murderer.

As if on cue, Yamaguchi and Yachi appear, all flushed cheeks and bright eyes and holding hands. Shoyo turns his face to the sky and screams at the top of his lungs, letting out every bit of inner turmoil. He does also cause all the birds nearby to immediately jump and fly off into the sky.

Without another word, he marches off to find Kageyama and leaves the confused couple and a snickering Tsukishima in his dust.

When he finds Kageyama, he's stood by the vending machine, staring at it very intensely. It's silly, because that's where he always is, and Shoyo is usually with him, but just seeing him there makes Shoyo's brain feel fuzzy. He feels like he could leap in the air like SWOOSH! Realising Kageyama still hasn't spotted him, he walks lightly, slowly, softly, ready to pounce. As Kageyama finally decides on his drink, Shoyo jumps at him, putting pressure on his shoulders and screaming in his ear. Without a second thought, Kageyama screams and aggressively throws him to the floor - Hinata Shoyo, back on the concrete.

"Why the fuck did you do that?!" He shouts, swirling around and pointing down at Shoyo, who's rubbing his ass sorrowfully as he stands from the floor.

"I was just saying hi," He sticks out his tongue like an immature toddler, but it's okay, because he isn't alone in his behaviour.

Grumbling under his breath, Kageyama aggressively stabs the straw into the milk carton; Shoyo wonders whether his mean boyfriend is picturing his face on the blue carton. It's a terrifying thought. Although, worrying about Kageyama potentially murdering him isn't why he came over, so he quickly shakes the thought off and stares, hard, at the oblivious setter.

"What?" He asks, pulling the straw away from his mouth and pouting.

Just a simple word gives Shoyo flashbacks of how they ended up together in the first place. Staring too long (maybe he had been doing that for a while), being questioned in the same way, blurting out something he wouldn't dare ask again until the right time, and then a tangible love that he didn't know could be shared between the two. Though, dating isn't much different to being partners on the court or their friendship, because they know it doesn't need to be. Even if Shoyo is very embarrassed about the hand-holding fiasco, he knows that affection isn't a massive deal to him, he can live without it if that's what Kageyama wants as well, because he doesn't want everything to change just because they're together.

He smiles. It's soft and determined and if Tsukishima was here he would call it sickening.

"Wanna go out for a date this weekend?" He asks, and the words feel so easy, but also so relieving, like a weight has just been lifted off his chest, like the freedom he feels when he's flying up and up and up before the net.

There's a pause, for a split-second, barely noticeable, as the words wash over Kageyama's features, his face softening just slightly, but enough for Shoyo to notice, because he always notices. It's hard not to notice. Kageyama is just noticeable.

There's no hesitance in the pause though, just a quiet understanding. Something sweet and a lot softer than either of them intend to be.

"Yeah," He agrees quietly, the pink shade dusting his cheeks matching Shoyo's as he nods, "like volleyball?" Kageyama asks suddenly, back to his usual self, eyes wide and excited at the idea of playing - Shoyo had felt the same.

He shakes his head sadly. Kageyama frowns.

"Suga-san said playing volleyball isn't a date because we do it all the time," Shoyo regurgitates, frowning at the memory of Suga shaking his head disappointedly when Shoyo has suggested it. The reason he'd even gone to Suga was because he figured Suga would agree it was a good idea, given that he and Kageyama are quite close and Suga understands him as well, but he was not given the same enthusiasm he had expected.

At this, Kageyama pouts harder, probably considering a way around it. Luckily for him, Shoyo is the best boyfriend, in the entire world probably, and has already figured their way around it.

"So," He drawls, and Kageyama's expression changes from upset to confused as Shoyo rustles around in his bag for a second, before grabbing the tickets and shoving them in front of him, all bright eyes and wide grins, "I got us tickets to see the Schweiden Adlers!"

Instantaneously, Kageyama brightens, eyes going wide as he pounces towards the tickets, Shoyo quickly handing them over as Kageyama stares down at them like they're the best thing to ever happen to him. He even smiles! Kageyama's fake smiles are scary, like, terrifyingly-intimidating-mother-when-angry levels of scary, or at least to anyone else. Shoyo has learned to find it funny over the years, but still. However, Kageyama's real smiles, when he's happy about volleyball, are beautiful. Beautiful, not in a way where everyone stares, but beautiful in the way that everything else continues and Shoyo himself is grateful that he gets to watch it for just a moment.

Without anyone around, in the silence at the back of the building, Shoyo Hinata gets to watch as Tobio Kageyama smiles with his stupid gorgeous face about volleyball tickets for his favourite team. He also gets to be glad that he was the one to put that smile on the other's face, nobody else (other than the Schweiden Adlers team, but that's besides the point.)

Unable to let the moment stay sweet for two long, because he has to tease his boyfriend just a little bit or there's no point in existing - other than for volleyball purposes, of course, Shoyo's smile of pride turns into a cheeky grin - sinister and sly.

"I win again," He announces proudly, his hands on his hips like he's a superhero from a Western comic, or something.

Immediately, Kageyama's grin changes to a scowl and he glares at Shoyo very harshly, shouting,

"What?! No way!"

"Yes way! I asked you out for our first ever date, so by that logic I get another point! I feel like I should get two points for making you smile so happily though!" He teases, grinning from ear to ear and dodging the kick that comes his way, "So violent!"

"Whatever! I've still won more races, and I'll beat you in volleyball!" Kageyama retorts, competitive flame behind his eyes mirroring Shoyo's own.

"Like that'll ever happen!" He screams back, the smile never leaving his face.

[ 3 ]

The mirror in front of him is dusty and slightly cracked but he is very excited, so he's choosing to ignore it.

Picking an outfit for a date is supposed to be difficult, the normal reaction is supposed to be pacing back and forth and throwing all your clothes onto the floor and crying in the heap when you can't figure out what to wear, but Shoyo has never had many normal reactions to anything and his relationship with Kageyama is the complete opposite of the norm, so, it's not surprising that he's not nervous about that sort of thing.

Sure, he's slightly nervous that this is his first date ever, and not just with Kageyama, but, to be fair, they're both in the same boat.

Stepping out of his bedroom, he darts down the hallway before his mum can even get his name past her mouth. She stands with wide eyes and her mouth hanging open like she's ready to shout, but she pauses when she sees him, still swinging her car keys around her finger.

Shocked back into reality, she surges forward and pinches his cheeks harshly and he pretends to try and wriggle away but he's laughing contentedly in her hold until she pulls away and they leave. Natsu's out for a sleepover, and he's glad, because she would waste no time poking fun at him as he leaves the house and he does not need that negativity in his life.

Strapping himself into the front seat, he rejoices in being able to control he radio as his mum doesn't care and his ten year old bitesize sister isn't there to rule over him with an iron fist (he loves her really.) Though, his mum keeps glancing at him every five seconds out of the corner of her eyes and he just knows that she's itching to say something.

"Mum, what's wrong?" He asks, turning the volume knob down quickly so he can hear her instead of the blaring music he was dancing vigorously to all of ten seconds ago.

"Nothing's wrong!" She exclaims with wide eyes and a slightly baffled expression, but she sobers up quickly and her voice becomes softer, "I'm just happy for you two."

Shoyo's heart warms; he thinks he could jump outside of the car with nothing on but shorts and a t-shirt, and he'd still feel warm and giddy, because he's happy too. Really happy.

"I mean, seriously, watching the both of you dance around each other for almost three years was sad," She teases, extending an arm to ruffle his hair and he swats her away - of course she had to tease him and take away his hopes of pure, unbridled confidence.

"Mum!" He complains, blushing slightly at the notion that others noticed his pining that he didn't even notice until, like, two and a half weeks ago - even though he'd come to terms with the fact that he'd fell for Kageyama, hard, upon first sight. Not that he would ever admit to it.

When the car pulls up to Kageyama's house, he quickly kisses his mum on the cheek and darts out towards the front door, slamming the car door shut behind him in a messy flail of limbs and a haze of excitement. Pounding his fist against the door, he rejoices when Kageyama yells at him to "stop being an idiot" or something else along those lines, muffled by the space between them.

When he opens the door, Shoyo's grin somehow widens, because Kageyama has an Adlers jersey on, because he's an obsessed fangirl, and because Hinata loves him. Barely able to contain his exhilaration on a regular day, Shoyo surges forward and throws his arms around Kageyama, shaking him slightly, but still holding him with a tight grip, like he doesn't want to let go.

"What are you doing, dumbass?" He shouts, but with a slightly lower volume than he would if they were alone, or if Shoyo wasn't hugging him like a crazed monkey with orange hair.

Although he yells, Kageyama doesn't actually mind the affection, he just doesn't know what to do about it. Old habits die hard. Hesitantly, he hugs back with a little bit less vigour, but that's enough for Shoyo. It's enough that he's trying for them.

The sound of the car driving off behind them is an unfortunate hint for Shoyo to pull away and for the two to begin walking down the street.

"Your jersey's cool," He praises, and relishes in the small smile it evokes on Kageyama's face - a barely noticeable twitch of the lips, but it feels revolutionary every time Shoyo draws it out of him, like he's won a match.

"I know," Kageyama agrees, honestly and seriously, but with a slight quirk of his upper lips to indicate that he's showing off - it half makes Shoyo want to punch him and risk death, and it half makes him want to kiss that stupid smirk off of his face.

You see, between hand holding being rejected, and other embarrassing instances, the two haven't kissed yet, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but Shoyo would like to do it, whenever Kageyama is ready, of course. All that being said, he does wonder when it will happen. He wonders if he'll instigate it, which, yeah, he probably will. He wonders if Kageyama will respond immediately, or if he'll stand like a statue whilst Shoyo does all the work. He wonders if it'll be sweet or passionate or something else.

Pushing all those thoughts aside, he reaches out his hand and clears his throat. Looking down, Kageyama furrows his brows and then glances back up at Shoyo.

"Why do you keep trying to give me low high-fives, weirdo?" He asks bluntly, with a disapproving scowl on his face.

At this, Shoyo flounders, because, for one, Kageyama is the weirdo, and for two, he's not trying to give him a low-five! He's trying to be dashing and romantic and cool: three things his boyfriend is not, because he is stupid. He plunges his hands into his own hair and screams at the top of his lungs. Kageyama, all too used to this, just stands and stares with a blank expression, mild disdain on his face.

"Stupid-yama," He exclaims, basically lunging for Kageyama's hand and taking it into his own, "I'm trying to hold your hand! You're the one who's been gunning for low-fives! Seriously, they're not a thing! You invented it!"

At this, his blue eyes widen slightly and his scowl turns into a straight line, but he quickly shakes the shock from his face and huffs.

"Well you should've just said that instead of being a dumbass."

Kageyama squeezes his hand slightly and the warmth of summer rushes through Shoyo's whole body. He wonders if any winter could ever cool him down.

The two take the train to Tokyo. The journey is far from silent. They stand together as the train shudders on its tracks and Shoyo laughs unforgivingly when his whole body is slammed into Kageyama's like they're sumo wrestlers. After an angry slap, Shoyo looks up and can see the small quirk of his boyfriend's lips and finds that maybe he'd like the train to send them careening into each other again.

People pile off of the train, rushing around the station like headless chickens, and the two teenagers are knocked about like bowling pins, but they just keep walking, hands intertwined like they've been super-glued together. It's nice. It feels right. Shoyo considers that the low-fives may have been worth it.

"I'm so excited," He gushes, jumping up and down in the queue to get inside the stadium, placing pressure on Kageyama's shoulders with his calloused palms as he leaps into the air like a madman.

"Me too," Kageyama agrees, grinning again and he looks so kissable, but even Shoyo has his limits on impulsivity, so he holds back from pressing their lips together in front of a crowd.

Instead, he knocks his head into the other's shoulder and laughs as he's shaken about like a rag-doll.

As the crowd filters in to the building, Shoyo and Kageyama spot the merchandise tables at the same time, grinning wildly at each other before chasing towards it, probably scaring some poor children walking around, but the two are too wrapped up in their own lives to notice. Kageyama buys another jersey, and Shoyo buys an MSBY Jackals one, half because he likes the team, and half because he wants to piss Kageyama off. When he notices Shoyo shrug it on, Kageyama huffs and squints his eyes, smirking teasingly like an asshat.

"Guess you're supporting the losing team today," He states, and Shoyo basically launches himself upwards to attack.

The two clumsily find their way to their empty seats, throwing themselves down with food stuffed into their cheeks and content expressions on their faces. Shoyo thinks that they could've been doing the whole dating thing for a lot longer if either of them had just realised. Apparently everyone else in their lives had noticed, and didn't have the decency to say "Hey, you're both in love with each other! Do something about it!" Shoyo wishes they had, but the two probably would've denied it until their lungs gave out anyways.

As the teams run onto the court, the two cheer loud, and to Shoyo they're louder than anyone else watching, because even in the heat of the moment, with all the excitement coursing through his veins, Kageyama's voice finds its way to his ears above all the rest. He knows Kageyama can hear him too. A loud reminder of "I'm still here! I'll always still be here!"

The game starts quickly. The two watch with bated breath and each time something intense happens, they manage to shift even closer together, hands intertwining, shoulders bumping, constantly squeezing into each other's personal space. Shoyo's never been one to care about that sort of thing anyways (personal space, shmersonal space) but Kageyama does, and yet he still clutches Shoyo just as tightly.

The last set is about to be a tie, there's about to be another set, and then, the ball slams against the court. Right at the very edge. There's a beat of silence. Shoyo can hear Kageyama sucking a breath in.

A whistle slices the tension.

In an instant, Kageyama soars out of his seat, alongside Shoyo and basically the rest of the Adlers fans, screaming and cheering like lunatics as the players bask in the glory of their win. Somehow, even though he doesn't support the Adlers, Shoyo soaks in the victory too, feeling pride rush through his blood.

The two boys tear their eyes away from the court for just a moment.

Then, without another thought, Shoyo is pressing his lips against Kageyama's in a chaste kiss. After a moment of kissing with zero reciprocation, he pulls back to face a Kageyama with flushed red cheeks and bulging blue eyes and lips that are looking pinker and plumper and more kissable by the second.

"Do that again," He orders, and who is Hinata to protest?

He launches forward, relishing in Kageyama tilting his head slightly as the two kiss. His hands find their way to Kageyama's shoulders, and Kageyama's hands wrap around Shoyo's neck like a life line. Now that the other is finally kissing back, Shoyo can truly appreciate the softness of Kageyama's lips. They taste like mint but also like the feeling of stepping onto the court.

Neither of them are good at kissing by any means; though Shoyo has had practice with the back of his hand, it's nothing like a real person. Plus, he's fairly sure Kageyama hasn't practiced even a bit.

Pulling away, he gazes into Kageyama's lidded eyes and fluttering eyelashes; his ruffled and messy hair; his pink cheeks, flushed with warmth, and his delicious mouth. Jeez. Shoyo didn't realise just how corny he was.

Grinning, he lets out a soft laugh at Kageyama's endearingly dazed expression.

"We should do that again sometime," He jokes, but he means it, beaming like he's just won nationals.

Snorting, Kageyama flicks his boyfriend's forehead.

"Don't be a dumbass."

At the crude mockery, a thought pops into Shoyo's head. A great thought. An amazing thought. Who ever says that Shoyo Hinata doesn't think, cough cough Sucky-shima cough cough, is a liar and a cheat and a terrible person. Shoyo thinks of glorious things.

"I win again!"

The moment is now entirely shattered, because Kageyama shouts at him and threatens that Shoyo will never win another thing in his entire life. Although, somehow, Shoyo doesn't agree. Not even a little bit.

Before he can get sappy over any of it, not that he would, because he's also very competitive and, according to everyone he knows, immature, he starts screaming back. Then the people surrounding them get to watch as he's decked in the back of the head. Gasps from everyone around them are heard, but the two genetically modified mutants are too focused on their brawl to care.

So much for romance.

[ 4 ]

Shoyo is having a crisis. A real, genuine crisis.

His current most pressing issue is not his impending travel to the other side of the world. No. That actually feels a lot easier than dating Tobio freaking Kageyama. Not because of the boy himself, but all the deranged upperclassmen doting on him like a stray cat.

Shoyo himself has his fair share of adoring upperclassmen, he is amazing after all, but none of them can compare to the insanity of those who latch onto Kageyama.

Getting the shovel talk from Miwa was expected. She is terrifying: tall in stature and personality, basically looming over Shoyo like a one-way ticket to Hell. Despite her usually opposing Tobio in personality, with her being actually expressive and able to talk to people, her face when she threatened him was eerily similar to that time he served the ball into the back of his boyfriend's head. It was fricking horrifying.

Anyways, that's not even the worst of it. Because, sure, he'd been expecting Miwa to gut his insides with words like an evil fishmonger, but he had, stupidly, not really been expecting multiple shovel talks from previous upperclassmen.

The most concerning of all three shovel talks was the one with Suga.

Despite his innocent and "almost angelic" appearance, every member of Karasuno had quickly learned that Suga was a menace to society disguised in soft edges and fluffy grey hair.

However, when his ex-upperclassman had invited Shoyo out to a café, he foolishly thought it was just to catch up, maybe even to try and pry information about his teammates or something. Instead, he was caught of guard and terrorised.

Shoyo arrived at the café on time and slid into the booth that Suga had claimed for them. Once they'd ordered, the other stared him down harshly - wide hazel eyes boring into his own brown ones like he was trying to set Shoyo on fire just by looking. In fairness, he wouldn't have been surprised if he did somehow get engulfed by flames, because Suga is demon-spawn.

"So," He drawled, the tone of his voice making Shoyo's skin crawl (the grin on his face that didn't quite meet his eyes wasn't helping either), "I know you Hinata. You're a good kid, and you'd never intentionally hurt anyone."

It's true. Sort of. The only person Shoyo would ever intentionally hurt would be Tsukishima, but Shoyo thinks that if a person is going to exist purely to spite the rest of the world, then they deserve whatever violence may come there way. It's only fair. Survival of the fastest, or whatever they learned in science class.

"But if somehow you hurt Kageyama, I will have to flay you alive," He said almost sweetly, and it was terrifying, because it's arguably true.

Although, it felt sort of hurtful that Suga was so open and honest about his favouritism, not that it wasn't obvious. But still. There's levels.

The waitress awkwardly placed their mugs down and smiled sheepishly as she walked away, and Shoyo considered begging her to take him too.

After that, Suga's expression shifted to something much more easy-going as he sipped on his iced latte, ignoring Shoyo's very apparent fear, highlighted by the colour almost completely draining from his face.

After that he had a very strange conversation with Oikawa.

At three in the morning, he was awoken from a very wonderful dream where he was spiking volleyballs to his heart's content by the infuriating ringing of his phone. Not bothering to check who was calling, he quickly picked up and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" He slurred, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he fought to stay awake.

"Shrimpy!" Someone screeched into his ear, sounding a lot like Oikawa, but Shoyo hadn't spoken to the Great King in two years, and only really thought about him every time that Kageyama swore that he didn't stalk his every move on social media - like a liar, and the connection was terrible, so he couldn't tell.

"Oikawa-san?" He asked, voice groggy, but he tried to make it sound less like he was drowning.

"The one and only!" He chirped from the other side of the screen, and the world.

"What's-" He started, but his question was quickly interrupted by the older of the two.

"You and Tobio-chan are dating right?"

And yeah, they were and are, but he had no idea how Oikawa knew that, considering that Kageyama would never, in a million years, willingly reach out to the Great King, let alone talk about things like feelings or relationships with him. So, someone they knew ratted them out, or Kageyama was killed and his phone was taken and the creepy stalker messaged Oikawa.

Pushing all those thoughts to one side, Shoyo responded.

"Yeah," A pause, a beat of silence, like Oikawa was mulling over the information, "Why?"

The silence stretched for longer and Shoyo wondered whether Kageyama sensed the conversation and travelled to Argentina in under ten seconds to brutally murder his middle school senpai who he had a very complicated relationship with.

The sound of the other sighing into the phone jerked Shoyo back into the situation.

"Just... I heard you're going to Brazil, yeah?"

Maybe Shoyo didn't know his boyfriend that well, because from Oikawa's question, it was very clear that Kageyama had spoken to Oikawa in the last few months, and about relationships and the future no less, which made Hinata wonder if the world was ending and that he was having his last few moments alive. He wanted to be a pro volleyball player. He wanted to defeat Kageyama and then probably marry him at the same time. He did not want his last moments to be talking with the Great King about Brazil.

"Yeah," He echoed, chewing on his lips with nervousness, "Is everything okay?"

"Brazil is far from Japan," He spoke with something sad in his voice, a distant understanding almost, but Shoyo didn't know him well enough to actually know what Oikawa was thinking.

Even though it sounded far-fetched, Shoyo's immediate thought was that Oikawa was worried for Kageyama - concerned that his prodigy's relationship would crumble with the distance.

Despite it being a fair concern, Shoyo felt sort of offended and very stubborn.

"We'll be fine," He assured indignantly, feeling very much awake as his eyes burned with certainty, "Kageyama and I aren't going to break up because of some stupid distance."

A soft huff of a laugh. Something happier. Something relaxed.

"I'll bet," He said with the finality Shoyo wanted to hear, before a shout from a voice he didn't know in a language he didn't understand distracted Oikawa, "Goodnight, Shrimpy."

"Goodnight."

Before he could put the phone down, he was threatened.

"If you tell Tobio-chan about this call I will kill you."

Then the call disconnected with a foreboding bleep.

Sure, maybe he didn't receive a shovel talk, but the threatening of his life was still there, and the Great King very clearly cared about his ex-underclassman. Gosh forbid he admitted it.

Three instances of threats upon his life are why he finds himself paranoid in Kageyama's house, which he arguably shouldn't be, because he's been there enough to know that nobody is going to run through the back door and tackle him in the kitchen. But, still. He has the right to be anxious.

"Why are you acting so weird?" Kageyama accuses with narrowed eyes, turning away slightly from the oven, when Shoyo jumps at the sound of the washing machine for the third time in ten minutes.

Huffing, he shuffles closer to Kageyama and rests his chin on the other's shoulder, wrapping his arms around his cooking boyfriend. Shoyo has learned that Kageyama, despite seeming closed off, actually enjoys physical touch, even if he never initiates it unless trying to rip Shoyo's head from his neck. So, when Shoyo wraps himself around his boyfriend like a koala, completely unprompted, the other doesn't even flinch, just relaxes slightly. It's domestic. It's adorable. Shoyo wants to squeeze him until he pops.

"You have weird friends," Shoyo blurts out against his neck, making Kageyama shiver slightly, but that moment quickly dies when he tries to crane his neck, stupidly, to see Shoyo.

"We have the same friends," He comments blandly, and it's true, they do have the same friends, and those friends are weird. Proven by that one time Yamaguchi played bean-boozled and almost croaked it when he got a good flavour instead of the toothpaste one, which he liked for some reason.

Though, he's not talking about their shared friends, other than Suga, he guesses.

"No, I mean, your upperclassmen friends," He corrects quickly, and then adds on, "Oh. And your sister."

Shoyo feels Kageyama tense as the cogs in his brain turn almost visually. He can basically hear them creaking.

"What did they do?" He asks, and he sounds both annoyed and mildly resigned to his fate, like he's very aware of what Shoyo means.

What didn't they do?

"For starters, your sister threatened my life, and my volleyball career, saying she'd somehow crash my plane if I hurt you. I don't even know how she'd manage that, but I could tell she meant it!" He exclaims, pulling away from Kageyama to wave his arms up and down like an air dancer.

At this, Tobio grimaces, but doesn't say anything, going back to stirring the pot. Taking this as an invitation to continue ranting, Shoyo does.

"Then, to make matters worse, your favourite upperclassman took me out for what should've been a nice hang out and then said he'd peel my skin like a potato if I were to hurt you! I thought Suga-san liked me!" He bemoans, ripping at the hair on his head, another habit he's picked up from Kageyama, because apparently now he actually needs the risk of early baldness to feel okay.

This time, Kageyama shakes his head, sighing slightly. His eyebrows furrow a bit.

"Sugawara-san does like you," He says, and despite the risk of his own death, the comforting certainty in his voice has Shoyo less afraid.

For a moment, Kageyama chews on his lower lip, clearly thinking about the next best thing to say. Shoyo knows not to interrupt him when he's thinking over what he wants to say, because he does get there, eventually.

"He's just weird," Is what his boyfriend decides on, and though it is blunt and quite obvious, it's true and it soothes him.

But, Shoyo is certainly not done yet.

"And then," His voice somehow gets even louder and Kageyama flushes, like he's only just realising the amount of insane people he surrounds himself with, "The Great King called me-"

"Oikawa called you?!"

Shoyo lunges forward and slaps a hand to his boyfriend's mouth, suddenly very nervous that Oikawa is about to snipe him through a window or something. He had very clearly stated to never share this information with Kageyama, and Shoyo is worried that he'll be able to sense them talking about him from the other side of the world.

Irritated, Kageyama pries the fingers away from his mouth and glares with his teeth clenched together.

"What the fuck was that for?!"

Ashamed, Shoyo quickly apologises like a scolded child.

"Sorry. Oikawa threatened me and said to never tell you."

At this, Kageyama's brows furrow further, but in confusion this time rather than anything else. Before continuing, Shoyo kisses the crease in his brows and watches as it fades away. Content with this, he continues the story.

"Anyways," He gets back into the mood, "He called me all worried about you. Implied that we might break up because of the distance."

Tensing, Kageyama's eyebrow crease comes back, but he's not confused. He's nervous. He's upset. Shoyo never wants to be the cause of that look.

"Like we'd ever be defeated by distance," Kageyama scoffs, the sadness vanishing from his expression to give way to annoyance, but the face Kageyama just made is imprinted on Shoyo's mind like a tattoo.

For the thousandth time since they started dating, Shoyo surges forward, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend tightly, never wanting to let go. Tentatively, Kageyama responds, reciprocating the hug with the same iron grip.

The only noise in the room is the shuddering of the washing machine and the pot simmering.

All of a sudden, Shoyo is overwhelmed by a gut instinct. Kageyama, his perfect boyfriend, is in his arms, hugging him. Kageyama, his boyfriend, is nervous and kind of angry but also very content. Shoyo has never felt quite like he does about Kageyama, who is always pushing him to reach new heights. So maybe, the next three words mean nothing at all, because he's always meant them with every "I'm here", but also they mean everything ever, because he's never truly meant them in the way he does now.

"I love you."

The words drip from his lips like they never belonged there in the first place, rather they belong out in the world, where Tobio can hear them and never for a second doubt whether he is worth a thing.

"You don't need to say it back," He mutters into the other's shoulder, but he means every word, every muffled word, "But I do. I love you. I need you. I love you."

The washing machine shudders. The pot simmers. Shoyo loves Tobio.

Two things are mundane. One is everything. All three things are true.

"I love you too," He whispers back, and Shoyo savours the words in his ears like they're a lifeline.

Tobio loves Shoyo.

Somehow that feels revolutionary. Like his entire world has shifted.

Fireworks explode in his stomach.

Tobio loves him.

Though the moment is everything he could ever want, Tobio begrudgingly pulls away and continues to cook. The washing machine stops shuddering. Despite all the background noise, Shoyo spots the blush, vibrant against his pale skin.

He kisses the back of Tobio's neck and whispers it again, like a prayer.

"I love you." Kiss. "I love you." Kiss. "I love you."

He repeats it until they're both laughing and Kageyama pulls at his hair again, half grumbling about how he's a dumbass, but Shoyo doesn't care.

Realising something almost equally as important as the love he's held for years, Shoyo grins brightly, and Tobio scowls in annoyance before the shorter of the two can even push his words past his lips. Still, despite his boyfriend's realisation, he cheers.

"I win again!"

"Fuck off!"

The moment is less sweet and vulnerable now, more like them. Tobio plates up their food and they sit down at the wooden table together.

Remembering their previous topic, Shoyo asks something very important to him.

"Did you get threatened over hurting me?" There's a hopeful tilt to his voice, wondering if maybe Bokuto or Tanaka or Nishinoya threatened to eat Tobio, or something.

It's wishful thinking.

"Tanaka and Nishinoya tried, I think," He says, eyebrows furrowing with confusion again as he probably still can't understand whatever the two had said to him, before shrugging and continuing, "They walked over to me basically swinging their fists and yelling, but then they just started laughing."

"What about Bokuto?" He squeaks out, holding on to the last tether of hope.

Tobio viscerally cringes.

Shoyo feels the hope die.

"No," He shakes his head as he talks, blowing on the spoon in his hand, "He called me crying and stuff. I could barely understand him. I think he asked to adopt me?"

Unceremoniously, Shoyo slams his head against the table.

Of course, his last hope, Bokuto, was never actually a hope at all because he is the living version of a smiley face and would never threaten anyone in his entire life, unless on the court. Even then, he is super nice to opponents and usually resists from trash talk.

When he lifts his head up, he sees Tobio glaring at him, but irritation isn't the only thing on his face.

"What?"

"You should expect some weird phone calls or emails," He mutters, looking slightly abashed, despite being 6' and athletic and talking to his 5'nothing boyfriend.

"Why?" He asks suspiciously, the grimace on the other's face doing nothing to soothe his worries.

"Akaashi-san may have signed you up for a weird internet cult..."

He groans again and tries to break the table with his skull.

[ 5 ]

Shoyo has been in Brazil for two long years.

He's had an amazing time, and, gosh, has he learnt more than he ever thought was possible. The sand became a second home to him and Portugese slips from his mouth like liquid gold, but it's lonely. No amount of Sun and sea and even, and don't tell Tobio he said this, volleyball, can't fill up the void of someone you love.

So, the month that he's travelling home feels longer than the two years he's been gone for.

Early in the morning, right as he wakes up, when Tobio is eating dinner after a long day of practice, probably all relaxed after a shower, Hinata face-times him to chat about something he's been sitting on. The phone is answered after barely two rings.

Tobio is wearing his blue checked pyjamas that Shoyo sent him for Christmas last year and he looks stupidly gorgeous, especially for someone who's just eating dinner on a regular night. Shoyo misses eating with him. He misses doing anything with him actually. But just seeing his face, his pouting, chiselled, adorable, gorgeous, handsome face, is enough for now. He's got bigger and better things to think about than his own misery.

"Hello," Tobio says, used to their early morning and late nigh calls that have been keeping them going through the hard two years.

"Hey," He yawns, stretching in bed, "I have something I want to talk to you about. It's important."

Placing his chopsticks down, Tobio swallows the food in his mouth, his previously hamster-like cheeks deflating once the food goes down his throat. He looks slightly confused, but not nervous. Never nervous. Not with Shoyo.

"Everything okay?" He asks once he's cleared his throat, pulling the phone closer to him, as though trying to evaluate Shoyo's face.

"Yeah! It's nothing bad. I just," He trails off, feeling slightly hot, "Have a question for you."

"If you ask me to marry you again, I'm telling everyone we know and still saying no," He scoffs out jokingly, lips quirked up slightly. Another new thing about Tobio. He has a slightly improved sense of humour.

Adulthood does weird things.

Squawking in embarrassment, Shoyo feels his whole body turn red as he shouts.

"Like I'd ever propose over the phone!"

"Good!"

"Anyways," He drawls, shifting the topic back to what he wants to talk about, "You know how this is my last month in Brazil?"

Somehow, Tobio visibly brightens, like just the reminder that Shoyo is coming back to Japan, coming home, is enough to make him feel as warm and fuzzy inside as Shoyo does when he thinks about it. He likes that they're on the same page. He likes that they feel the same about many things. It's what made it so much easier to keep their relationship going. Neither of them will ever give up on volleyball, but that didn't mean they'd give up on each other either.

"Of course," He huffs, "Not like I would forget that, dumbass."

Laughing, Shoyo shakes his head, because of course Tobio would go from soft to making fun of him in zero seconds flat.

"Well, I was wondering if I could move in with you?" He asks, feeling like just vocalising it fast enough might make the blow of rejection easier.

"Yeah, sure."

There isn't a beat of silence. There's no pause. There's no consideration. Just agreement. Like it's the easiest thing he's ever done.

"Really?" He asks, watching with wide eyes as Tobio goes back to eating his rice as though he'd just been asked if it was raining.

Shrugging, Tobio looks back at the camera and swallows his food again.

"Well, it makes sense. You've got the MSBY Jackals who are based in Osaka, so it's not like you can live back in Miyagi with your mum for long since your contract starts soon," He explains, twirling his chopsticks in his fingers as he talks, "And we've been together for over two years. Plus, even if we hadn't, we've been friends for longer and it's cheaper to live with me than find another apartment, even with the cost of travel. Why wouldn't you come live with me?"

And, gosh, if Shoyo could run home right now with his own two feet and kiss that stupid blank expression right off of Tobio's stupid face he totally would, because of course there was never anything to be embarrassed about. This is Tobio! If Shoyo asked him whether they could hide a body together, he'd probably be a bit appalled, but he'd definitely agree to it. They're best friends, partners in more ways than one, and soulmates, if you believe in that kind of thing.

"I love you," He blurts out again, as always, never able to contain his emotions when it comes to Tobio.

The other flushes slightly on the apples of his cheeks; apparently around three years isn't enough time to get over embarrassment when it comes to affection, even in privacy. Though, he smiles lopsidedly and shakes his head.

"Yeah, yeah. I love you too, dumbass."

"Oh, and also," He says, earning a confused look, "We've been best friends for longer, don't get it wrong."

Tobio scoffs and, in the silence, Shoyo comes to yet another glorious discovery.

"I win again!"

"Hah?!" Tobio yells, dropping his chopsticks to grab at his phone.

"I asked to move in together, therefore making us move forward in our relationship, yet again, so-"

Huffing, Tobio rolls his eyes and places the phone back down on the table so Shoyo is facing the ceiling of his apartment and not Tobio.

"Hey! What was that for?! Let me see your stupid, pretty face, Mean-yama!"

He can hear faint and muffled laughter, obviously hidden by a hand as Tobio lifts his phone back up. Upon seeing his face again, Shoyo relaxes and stops his complaints, just smiling goofily at the screen.

"Better."

That morning (or night for Japan), Tobio goes to sleep listening to Shoyo ramble as he goes on his morning run. Right before the older of the two hangs up, he stares fondly at his phone and fantasises about hugging the sleeping body in their shared bed in their shared apartment until they are old and withered.

The day Shoyo arrives home is an exciting one.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on the way you look at it, and Shoyo's always liked to be optimistic, he's on the earliest flight home. As he takes off into the sky, he shoots his boyfriend one final text, and smiles all throughout his nap.

When he lands, Shoyo can barely contain himself. Trying to stand basically still, because everyone is hauling their stuff from the overhead compartments is hard enough when you haven't been missing your boyfriend for two whole years, he can't stop his mind racing. Tobio's name chanting in his mind over and over. Stepping out into the cool Japanese air feels like home. His chest is warm and he feels like he might burst into tears the moment he sees Tobio.

Walking through security, he finally gets into the main airport area and spots his boyfriend's head. His hair is short with his stupid, ugly, hilarious, adorable micro-bangs that make him look like a coconut. Tobio spots him instantly too.

At the same time, they run towards each other like the leads of some cheesy rom-com, flinging their arms out and enveloping each other in a much needed hug.

He does start crying. So does Tobio. Fat tears that cascade down their cheeks as they kiss each other hungrily.

It'd been a long two years. They need this.

Even if Tobio isn't much of a crier, it doesn't matter, because they hold each other steady and cry until they realise there's a much more productive way to spend their time. Well, Shoyo realises. Pulling away, he lifts his hands to cup Tobio's face and soaks in the pretty view of his gorgeous blue eyes and tear-stained, pink cheeks and soft, pouting lips. Quickly, he pulls the other in for another, gentler, kiss.

"I'm here," He whispers when they pull away.

"You're here," He sighs breathily.

They kiss a lot again on the walk back home. And then when they get home they kiss a lot too.

It's perfect.

Home.

The word rolls around in his brain like it's always been there. Home feels like Tobio and Tobio feels like home. The two belong together.

[ 6 ]

"I want to propose to Tobio," He says, quickly but surely, like ripping off a bandaid, because he's nervous that Miwa might appear and beat him to death, even though he asked for her blessing and got an enthusiastic yes about a month ago.

Now that they're back from Brazil and Italy, after yet another batch of long distance, the two are retired, which is a very strange feeling. For the longest time, Shoyo didn't know where he ended and volleyball began - it was, and is, and always will be a part of him. A part that he cherishes. Even so, despite his hunger and passion for volleyball, living without Tobio at his side every day for another six years was tough - definitely the hardest part of their relationship.

It wasn't perfect. They argued a lot. It took a heck of a lot of work to keep them together and content. That being said, they put in the effort to talk as much as possible, at the very least twice a day. The time difference wasn't as hard to deal with as Brazil and Japan. Plus, the travel was easier, so they could visit each other more often.

All that being said and done, they came out of it stronger. They were both nervous to quit professional volleyball given that it was what they had aspired to do from a young age (for Tobio it was since he could form a thought), but they're happy, and very ready to live together in the same home, in the same country forever.

Majority of the people around him have reasonable reactions. Kiyoko and Daichi smile at him. Chikara, Kazuhito and Hisahi start clapping, like they've just won a match in high school again. Ukai almost chokes on his beer. Takeda and Asahi almost start crying - to their own immediate public humiliation. Koushi ruffles his hair. Tadashi and Hitoka cheer. Ryuu and Yuu, ever boisterous, tackle him despite them all being cramped in a booth at a bar. Kei, however, smirks evilly and narrows his gaze.

"Haven't you already done that?"

Unfortunately, one snide comment is enough to turn the entire table against him. The group of people he and his soon-to-be-fiancé deem part of their family turn on Shoyo in an instant, laughing and jeering at him like he's not just told them he's going to propose.

Willing himself to fight back, he narrows his gaze on Kei too. If he wants to be an asshole, fine, Shoyo will stoop to his level.

"Talk to me when you're in a relationship."

The whole table, like a live audience, make "ooh" noises and slap the two on the back.

"Jeez guys, knock it off. You're not in high school anymore," Koushi teases, slinging his arms around the both of them from where he sits in the middle, before directing his gaze upon Shoyo, "So when do you think you'll do it?"

His cheeks flame.

"I haven't decided yet," The table boo's him and he's worried they'll get kicked out of the bar soon enough for being too rowdy, "But I know I need to do it soon, before he can even think of proposing to me."

Kiyoko sighs, all old and withered like she's tired of them, but she's smiling, so he doesn't take it to heart. Hitoka, her manager protégé, makes a similar noise, even shaking her head like their tired mother.

"You guys still make everything a competition, huh?" Her lips quirk upwards and Tadashi squeezes her hand whilst laughing, like an irritating already-married couple.

"Of course!" He shouts, at the same time as Ryuu crudely says, "It's their foreplay."

Choking on his drink, Kei practically gags and throws a napkin at Ryuu, who's evading Chikara's hand whilst snorting and laughing and basically crying.

"That's not something I ever wanted to hear," Asahi says solemnly, grimacing very sorrowfully whilst finishing off the rest of his beer in a hurry, like it can make him forget.

"You kids are still giving me grey hairs," Ukai says, looking mildly icked out at the idea of any of them having foreplay, and Shoyo watches Ryuu remember, with a horrified expression, that Ukai and Takeda are also at the table.

"But! I need to get some people's blessings first, and then I can start planning," He exclaims, bringing the attention back towards him.

"People?" Daichi asks, smiling wider as a tired Yui lays her head against his shoulder - the two are an adorable couple and Kei swears down that they shouldn't be allowed in public lest they kill every single person in a ten mile radius. Shoyo hopes it happens soon.

At this, Shoyo turns to Suga, who's eyes widen as he cracks an even bigger smile, huffing out a surprised laugh.

"Sugawara-san," He begins, very professionally, but with a large grin that threatens to become a laughing fit with every second, "I love your son Tobio Kageyama very much, and I would like your blessing to propose to him."

Unable to contain himself, he begins to chuckle unashamedly alongside Suga. Catching his breath, their old upperclassman finally nods.

"I give you my blessing," He jokes, prodding Shoyo between the eyebrows.

Just in time, Tobio walks back towards the table from the bathroom. He's freaking jaw-dropping. Even at the age of thirty, he's still the most insanely attractive person Shoyo has ever seen. His bangs are swept either side, parted at the middle, like usual but with more purpose. His cheeks have a rosy blush from the few drinks he's had, since Tobio has never been able to handle his alcohol very well. His navy blue silk shirt has majority of its buttons, except the top one, done up and it hangs off of him and tightens on him in all the right places. His black trousers are snug and enticing and-

"Jeez, Sho! Stop drooling!" Yuu teases him, leaning across the table and smacking the top of his head.

"Yeah," Ryuu wiggles his eyebrows menacingly, "You literally came here together."

Grumbling, Tobio squeezes his way next to Shoyo and tries to look unaffected by their comments, but is a terrible liar even at his old age.

"Not my fault he's hot," Shoyo snaps out of his daze and sticks his tongue out, wrapping his arm around Tobio's waist.

"He's right," Tobio agrees, smirking, all of a sudden losing his stupidly pretty face and becoming a sly demon - changed by the years together, "I am."

Someone, probably Yuu, if Asahi's sigh is anything to go by, wolf whistles, but Shoyo is too focused on pressing a kiss to the side of Tobio's lips and relishing in the snort he gets in response. His face is pushed away by the laughing man and he feels all too giddy. Even after so long together, that he brings out that side in him. The dorky, laughing, vulnerable side.

"Next round's on me, as your teacher and all," Takeda jokes, taking the attention off of arguably the most gross and touchy-feely couple by offering drinks like a sacrifice.

Everyone cheers and Shoyo barks out a laugh when Tobio can barely keep his eyes open after his next, and final, drink.

In the taxi home, Shoyo rolls the window down and hands a bottle of water he'd bought to Tobio, laughing as the other fumbles with the lid. Sure, Shoyo is tipsy, he's not inhuman. But after four beers, someone should not be able to be as delirious as Tobio.

"I told you to ease up, Drunk-yama," He reprimands, without any bite or actual sternness in his voice, simply swiping the sweaty bangs on his forehead and smiling softly when his boyfriend leans into the touch.

He mumbles something in protest, but by that point he's smooshing his face against Shoyo's shoulder, so all the words are completely lost, not that they would've made sense anyway. But still.

"What was that?" He teases, feeling slightly sad when Tobio sits up sort of straight and the weight on his shoulder is gone.

"'M not drunk, Sho," Tobio assures, but even if the slurring of his words are ignored, the fact he's calling him 'Sho' (which he only calls him when he's drunk) proves that his boyfriend is a silly little liar.

"Of course, my bad," He snorts, pulling the younger's head back down onto his shoulder when he sees him struggling to sit up properly.

Paying the taxi driver, Shoyo pushes Tobio out of the car and they stumble into the familiar setting of Shoyo's old home. His mum and Natsu are long asleep, so the two ever so (not) quietly, stumble into Shoyo's old room and flop onto the bed gracelessly.

Luckily for Shoyo, even when drunk off of his mind, Tobio doesn't even consider sleeping in his outdoor clothes, and hurriedly changes into a pair of navy blue shorts and a white t-shirt before crawling under the blanket. Shoyo changes into his own pair of red shorts and flops down beside him. Instantly, he pulls Tobio into his grasp, wrapping his arms around the other's waist and pressing his head into the back of his neck, leaving a few gentle kisses there that lull the other to sleep.

Shoyo feels a realisation hit him like a train.

He needs to propose whilst they're in Miyagi. There's no doubt about it.

He has some planning to do.

In the morning, he laughs a bit when Tobio slaps him lazily for getting out of bed and groans, shoving a pillow over his tired eyes. He presses a chaste kiss to the other's hand whilst promising water and a coffee, without him needing to even ask.

He returns with the promised items and receives a grumbly thank you before he heads out for his "morning run." Except, this run has ulterior motives, such as call every person he knows and tell them the good news.

Before he leaves the house, he tells his mum about his idea and she bursts into tears. Nervous, he comforts her and quietens her down so as to not alert his oblivious boyfriend and wake up the whole neighbourhood. If he cries a little bit too, that's their business alone.

He slots himself in a familiar café and slaps his headphones on, first getting Karasuno into a team call.

Somehow, they all answer. Well, all except for Tobio. And Tanaka, because Kiyoko decides to take the call. And Yachi because Yamaguchi and her moved in together yonks ago. Even Yui makes an appearance, but only briefly.

"What do you need Shoyo?" Daichi asks, not unkindly, just confused, "Is Tobio with you?"

"Ah, no," He rubs the back of his neck, hoping they get the hint whilst he thanks the waitress for the coffee.

The first to catch on is Hitoka, who quickly gasps.

"Is this about the proposal?" Chikara understands next, raising an eyebrow and smiling softly, like he's already certain.

The whole call drops silent as they stare at him.

"Yeah! I'm doing it whilst we're down in Miyagi!" He exclaims, before sending an apologetic smile to the waiter that flinched as he walked past.

"That's so exciting! I'm so happy for you two," Asahi says, already welling up.

"Ashley, stop crying! He's not even popped the question yet!" Koushi reprimands, pretending to karate chop his screen and probably giving Asahi war flashbacks.

"Yeah, save the tears for the wedding," Hisahi teases, blowing a raspberry at the screen.

"Do you know how you're going to do it?" Kiyoko asks, sipping on her tea whilst Ryuu physically vibrates with excitement next to her, unable to wipe the toothy grin off of his face.

"Ooh yeah! Got any cool proposal plans up your sleeve?" Ryuu pipes in, wiggling his brows, because apparently he needs to do it at all times.

"That's sort of why I wanted your guys' help," He says, not going further and delighting in the quizzical expressions on everyone's faces.

"Well don't just leave us waiting!" Kei complains, resulting in everyone staring at him with gaping jaws, and then slaps a hand over his mouth before reverting back to his uncaring and nonchalant expression, "Or whatever. I don't care."

Everyone devolves into laughing fits whilst the supposed "uncaring" one huffs and rolls his eyes and goes as red as a tomato covered in ketchup. Eventually, they move their attention to the soon-to-be engaged man.

"So, what do you want us to do?" Tadashi asks from where he's cooking breakfast, because, somehow, all of them are adults doing domestic and homey things instead of constantly practicing together on a volleyball court. Their lives didn't stop being intertwined when volleyball stopped holding them together, which is nice.

"Can we all go to the Sakanoshita shop to bother Ukai in the next half hour?" He asks, blinking his eyes innocently and watching as everyone agrees without a moment's hesitation.

When they arrive, Ukai barely blinks, because apparently twelve years of them not barging in everyday for food still isn't enough to get him back to being shocked by it. Instead, he squashes the cigarette in his hand and glares at them all, without genuine aggravation, for disturbing his morning.

"What?" He grunts out, bothered by their silence for once.

Someone, probably Daichi, nudges him forward and he awkwardly shuffles over. Ukai gives him a glance up and down.

"What do you want?" He sighs, flinging his newspaper away and very clearly giving up on any sense of normalcy, as he should, given the group of people huddled in the small shop.

"Do you have practice on Tuesday?" He asks, because that's the final day before they leave, and Hinata wants a bit of time to prepare without letting Miyagi slip through his fingers, grinning brightly when Ukai thinks about it for a second and then shakes his head.

"It's a rest day for the kids," He answers, picking at a loose thread of string from his jumper, "Why?"

"I want to use the gym to propose to Tobio," He blurts out, and then realises he hasn't actually asked, so he adds on quickly, "If that's okay?"

Eyes widening, Ukai coughs and then nods once, without much forethought.

"Yeah, sure," He speaks with a strangely soft tone, and then remembers who he is, "'Course you guys have to make your proposal about volleyball," He huffs out, earning laughter from the peanut gallery behind him.

"We had meaningful moments in that gym, thanks!" He scorns, trying not to crack a smile and failing miserably, earning him a clap on the back from Ryuu.

After that, the group gradually disperse, well Shoyo assumes they do, because he's the first to hurry off back to his house over the mountain so he doesn't make Tobio suspicious. Not that he would be, Shoyo's runs can tend to go on for very long, especially if he gets distracted, which he usually does, but Shoyo wants to make sure there's no room for mistakes. He rushes head first into things, sure, but Tobio is one person he thinks deserves everything to be perfect.

Arriving back at the house, he spots that Tobio is up and.. stretching? Because, despite his clearly raging hangover, there is no rest for the wicked, no matter how retired they are. Feeling like he wants to be a nuisance, considering that Tobio has his earphones in and hasn't spotted him yet, he sneaks over and pulls his legs so he flops down.

Incredibly annoyed, Tobio gains his bearings and tries to strangle his hilarious boyfriend.

"What was that for, moron?!" He shouts, but then remembers where they are and hushes his voice, "You're such an asshole."

Grinning, he tries to press a kiss to the other's cheek, but he pulls his face away.

"No. Not after that performance," He grumbles, and Shoyo hangs his head in defeat, understanding that now he must beg for forgiveness.

So he does.

He flops down next to the other and cups his face, peppering it with kisses all over - ignoring his lips - until Tobio is a flushed pink and is laughing whilst trying to push him away. Finally pulling away, he presses one final soft kiss to his lips.

"I'm sorry," He whispers when they separate.

"Yeah, yeah, I forgive you."

Later, when Shoyo's mum is at work and Natsu is at school, the two sit together, entangled on the couch watching a match between two teams neither of them support, but are very engrossed in anyways. A blanket is thrown over them lazily, but Tobio, still always cold, shoves his feet between Shoyo's legs villainously, and after twelve years of being together, Shoyo no longer reacts genuinely to this betrayal, but he still complains, because who would he be without bickering with Kageyama Tobio.

"You're such a jerkface," He says, earning a tongue sticking out from the other; he simply presses an ugly, wt kiss to the other's cheek and continues watching the match.

Now that he thinks about it, twelve years is a long time for dating, especially without marriage. They haven't had the time or location, but is it still weird that he's only proposing now? He's sure Tobio doesn't mind. He doesn't really care about dating societal rules, but will others find it strange. None of their friends have said anything, but would they say something if they genuinely had an issue with it? And then, would Tobio feel ashamed about that?

Tobio must notice the cogs turning in his head, because this time he leaves a gentle kiss between his eyebrows.

"Whatever you're thinking about, stop thinking about it so hard," He sighs, resting his head back against the other, "What's the matter?"

"It's.." And if it was anything else, Shoyo would spill it out in a heartbeat, unable to keep anything from his boyfriend for very long - not that he ever wanted to, but the proposal is important, and a secret. "It's nothing," He breathes out, "Just thinking."

Unconvinced, Tobio gives him a once over with tight knit brows, but sighs complacently and lets it go.

"Okay," He says, and then, much quieter, "But if you do want to talk about it, I'm here."

He holds him a little bit tighter after that; presses far too many and not enough kisses to his head as they watch the match; squeezing his hands every so often.

The rest of the day goes by sluggishly. They toss a ball around in the garden and go for a walk around the fields as Shoyo talks about the time he saw a boar when walking around with his grandparents. Tobio snorts at his story, picturing a tiny Shoyo screaming in fear as a boar laid on the ground far away from him.

"You're such an idiot," He huffs out, "Always have been."

"Okay," He agrees, resigned to his fate, "But you love me. So who's the bigger fool?" He asks mischievously, earning him a slap to the back of the head.

Then it's Sunday and the air might be chilly but Shoyo feels warm.

He wakes up with his arms around Tobio, his front pressed to the other's back as his black hair tickled Shoyo's face. Not long after him, Tobio wakes up, which is sad, because it means they have to get up. However, he has plans. Big plans. Although, what he wants to do makes him shiver with nerves.

Tobio's grandpa is always a touchy subject, and even though they've known each other for half of their lives, the fact never changes that Tobio struggles to talk about it. He likes talking about the happy memories, especially with Shoyo, but when it comes to his actual death, it was hard to get Tobio to open up. Shoyo, as far as he's been told, knows all the details, and is the only person in Tobio's life that knows the full extent of his grief.

In a weird way, it makes Shoyo feel fuzzy.

All that said, Shoyo saw how Tobio stared down at the picture in his wallet that morning when he thought no one was watching. He wants to visit the cemetery, but he doesn't want to dampen the mood of the visit. Shoyo can tell. And again, all that said, Shoyo wants to visit too - for desires regarding the proposal, as well as wanting Tobio to visit the grave for his needs.

Not wanting to spring the question on him immediately though, Shoyo suggests they go out for breakfast. The two hop in the car and drive over the mountain to go to one of Tobio's old favourite places to eat.

When they're finished, they leave hand in hand and walk down the familiar streets of Miyagi. Finally, Shoyo plucks up the courage and taps the other on his arm. Looking down at him with a puzzled expression, Tobio waits silently for Shoyo to talk.

"I was wondering if you wanted to visit Kazuyo today," He says, feeling slightly relieved to get it out into the open, "Seeing as we're only here for a few more days I figured you'd want to visit."

Tobio's eyes widen, but he eventually softens and his lips form a wobbly smile. Shoyo just got him without having to ask.

"Yeah, I do."

The cemetery is old and slightly overgrown. It's not exactly well cared for, other than by the mourners and family members of those in the graves, but, other than that, it's pretty much left to its own devices. It makes Shoyo kind of sad to think about, and he knows Tobio shares his feelings from the multiple rants he's received about the state of the place.

Watching as the other sighs when he looks around, Shoyo beelines to grab his hand and squeeze it - comforting the other as they walk along the grassy path. Just as intended, Tobio physically relaxes, which causes a smile to make itself known on Shoyo's face. Even if it seems like a little-win, making Tobio feel at ease always feels like a big thing for Shoyo.

He wants to spend the rest of his life making the other content. He's wanted that since their third year in high school.

As they near the grave, Shoyo feels nervousness in the pit of his gut. Logically, sure, he knows Kazuyo isn't going to fly out of the grave and forbid Shoyo from taking Tobio's hand in marriage. That being said, Shoyo has never been a very logical person> So, the thought of a ghost looming over him dauntingly and refusing to let Shoyo propose is a horrifying image that taunts him.

"Why are you making a face?" Tobio asks, eyebrows tightly drawn together as he stares at Shoyo's face as though he is trying to pick it apart.

"I'm not!" He protests weakly, but Tobio refuses to let it go.

"You are," He states simply, before his face changes to something softer, something downcast, "Are you sure you want to be here? I know you've come before, but if you don't want to-"

"That's not it," He quickly interrupts, never wanting to be the reason for Tobio to make such a face ever again, "I promise that's not it. I just-"

And it might not be the right time, because it's not, but Shoyo's never hidden anything from Tobio before and this is hard on them.

"We've been together twelve years, right?"

Snorting, Tobio shoves his shoulder.

"Should you really need to ask that?"

"I just-" He exhales deeply, shaking his nerves from his body- "You're not mad that we've been dating so long without really moving forward like everyone else, right?"

"What?" Tobio asks dumbly, blinking slowly like a frog, before realisation daunts on him, "like marriage?" He continues gently when Shoyo nods, "No, I'm not mad we haven't done that yet. We don't need to work at the pace other people do. We don't need to match them, we just need to match each other."

It really is that simple.

Shoyo feels like an absolute idiot for ever doubting it.

The two of them have never felt the need to play by other people's rules, always focused on pushing each other and matching each other and racing each other to the top, but never have they thought about needing to meet others' standard. In his eyes, now that Tobio's soothed his worries, he doesn't understand why he ever felt that it wasn't that simple in the first place.

Laughing, he wraps an arm around Tobio's waist and leans into his side, relishing in the feeling of an arm around his shoulders.

"Thank you."

At the gravestone, things feel quieter and more vulnerable, like the world around them has paused for a moment to let them breathe. Tobio kneels down first and whispers things under his breath. Every so often, Shoyo hears a sniffle and wants nothing more than to reach out and hold his boyfriend (the word still feels inadequate on his tongue) but he knows that Tobio likes his privacy when talking to his grandpa.

When Tobio finally stands up, with slightly red eyes, Shoyo asks if he can speak privately with Kazuyo as well. Immediately met with a questioning look, he just smiles and watches as Tobio walks to stand where he was all of a few seconds ago. He kneels down.

"You raised a really good guy, Kageyama-san," He whispers so that Tobio can't hear him, wanting the moment to be just between the two of them, "He's the love of my life. The person I could never imagine a life without. I want to be at his side every day, through anything the world might put us through."

He smiles as tears prick at his own eyes. Jeez! He's so emotional!

"I wish I could ask for your approval in-" He pauses, sighs, and continues- "better circumstances, but this is the best that I can do."

Somehow, the unimaginable happens, his smile grows even wider, physically hurting his cheeks.

"I'm going to ask Tobio to marry me. I hope we have your approval from wherever you are."

Shoyo has never been a particularly religious person, but he knows Tobio grew up in a Catholic household and was raised to believe in Catholicism. He's not a hardcore Catholic by any means, but he does follow the faith. Anyway, the idea of Kazuyo watching down on them and smiling from the after-life is a nice enough reason to add that final comment.

Slowly, he stands up and brushes his knees, striding over to take Tobio's hand.

"You done?" His soon-to-be-fiancé asks.

"Yeah." He presses a gentle kiss to the other's lips.

The next day is Monday, another no-practice day, luckily for Shoyo. Although, Tobio is no longer grossly hungover, so he's itching to get out and run and go to the gym, but also to spent time with Shoyo whilst doing all that.

Unfortunately, as much as Shoyo would like to spend every hour with Tobio, he has to make plans so they can spend the rest of their lives together. So, he has to sacrifice a few hours for forever. Quickly, he sends a message to the group chat, asking literally anyone to distract Tobio for the rest of the day whilst he and the others take care of setting up the gym.

His saviour? Koushi Sugawara: an angel in human form.

He bemoans about not being able to help set up, but decides that he's probably the best person to distract Tobio without irritating him and risking him leaving early - cough cough Kei cough cough. He promises, with a salute and everything, to keep Tobio as far from Karasuno High School as possible.

Tobio is gobsmacked when Koushi materialises at their door without any warning and barely has time to say goodbye as he's dragged into a car and driven gosh-knows-where. So, maybe Koushi isn't an angel, and is more of a kidnapper with helpful motives. He just hopes that his boyfriend doesn't get arrested before they get hitched.

Hopping into the car, he drives down to the gym, where everyone else should also be going to. Somehow, his proposal feels better knowing that it's a team effort.

Every time Shoyo thinks about Tobio's family, before him and Karasuno that is, his chest aches, because how any parent could see Kageyama freaking Tobio and ever discard him or abandon him is beyond Shoyo's wildest thoughts. It's not understandable, at all. He sees Tobio and sees a person he doesn't ever want to go a day without ever again. If other people couldn't see that, fine, but their weird rag-tag dysfunctional family love him more than they ever could. Tobio told him just as much late at night once, after a tiring day. Shoyo still holds that memory close to his heart.

Shoyo wipes his eyes. No need to get sad! Especially not because of people who don't deserve his or Tobio's time.

His eyes narrow in determination as he hops out of the car.

He's met with a group of people, bundled up in warm clothes with grins on their faces, Kiyoko and Ryuu haven't arrived yet, apparently having decided to grab them all coffees on their way down, which is sweet and Shoyo feels like he wants to jump around with giddiness. Daichi claps him on the back with a bright smile.

"I can't believe your proposing tomorrow," He says, sounding like he might cry soon too, probably out of relief since the whole team constantly complains about having to watch them obliviously dance around each other for three years.

"I know," He basically shouts, flexing his fists to try and burn some energy.

"Maybe you shouldn't have any coffee," Tadashi jokes, laughing breezily, "Since you've already got enough energy to withstand, like, ten tranquilizers."

Shoyo grins sheepishly, but still he takes the coffee he's offered when Ryuu hands it to him happily.

"So, I have the decorations in the boot of my car, but I'm pretty stumped on how I want it all to look," He starts rambling as he fumbles with his keys, "I have a visual, sort of, but I don't know how to explain it. So, put things where you think they'll look best and if I want to change it, I can?"

Everyone seems pretty comfortable with the suggestion, so they scramble into the gym and begin to set it up.

Unsurprisingly, Shoyo lacks many notes or criticism for his friends as most of them could probably design a better proposal than him - not to say he's bad at it, but he's probably (definitely) better at actually proposing than he is designing the perfect proposal. He became a volleyball player and not a party-planner for a reason. Luckily, he doesn't think Tobio will be too focused on how the room looks, not that that gives him any excuse to not make it look as good as it can.

When they're done, Shoyo, along with the rest of the group, flops to the floor in exhaustion, though the tiredness never wipes the smiles off of their faces - even Kei is content without teasing Shoyo for five seconds. Yuu pulls bottles of sake out of his bag and hands them around, considering the fact it's finally a reasonable time to drink.

"Really," Daichi questions, with the same intimidation tactics he used as a captain, but without the actual authority, "Drinking on school grounds?"

"Cause for celebration," Yuu retorts lazily without missing a beat, shrugging his shoulders and cracking open the bottle with a wolfish grin.

Not a single person refuses a bottle as they hand the packs around the circle.

"You think he'll like it?" Shoyo asks without actually looking at anyone, staring up at the ceiling - envisioning the next day.

"It's Tobio," Hitoka assures with confidence that she lacked twelve years ago, "He'd like it if you proposed in a rubbish bin."

The sound of laughter relaxes him and he finds himself lost in it too.

That night, when he's curled around Tobio's back, wrapping around him like a boa constrictor, he smiles into his neck as he envisions the next day. Finally, he'll be able to call Tobio his fiancé. Finally, there'll be a wedding in sight. It feels like they're moving forward. It's not daunting or scary. It could never be.

In the morning, he takes a moment to look at Tobio.

In a few hours he's proposing to the most beautiful person that the world has ever had the luxury of seeing. His boyfriend. The love of his life. Tobio, unfairly, still looks like he's straight out of a painting even in his sleep. His stupid flat hair isn't messy at all, even the little bits sticking out look purposeful; his mouth isn't hanging open or stained with drool, in fact, his lips are jutted out into a cute pout; worst of all, he's facing Shoyo and thus Shoyo wants to take a bite out of his face. Maybe he would, if he was just a tad more deranged.

After about ten minutes of just staring, he all but leaps out of bed, yet again leaving Tobio to sleep as he rushes about. He sends a message to the group stating that he wants to propose at sunset, when the gym will be covered in orange and yellow and pink - looking almost as beautiful as his stupid almost-fiancé. Until then, he just has to keep Tobio distracted, whilst also giving them both a good reason to be slightly dressed up.

The others respond to him enthusiastically, and they all say that they'll be there. Koushi decides that they'll hold a party at his house after, knowing they can't use the gym for too long, lest they get Takeda or Ukai in trouble, so he then goes M.I.A - probably buy too many decorations and a lot of alcohol and food. It feels like nostalgia. It feels like home.

By the time Tobio wakes up, he has a whole day planned out.

He tells Tobio that they're going out for a nice lunch to celebrate their final day in Miyagi, and then they'll go meet up with the others at Karasuno's gym for old time's sake.

"When did we plan this? I'm sure I'd remember," He mutters, squinting his eyes, as if trying to figure out an invisible rubix cube.

Trying to cover his ass, Shoyo lets out an abrupt, and probably unconvincing, laugh.

"You don't remember?" His voice cracks, "That's so silly. It's probably because we planned it on the night you got wasted," He teases, feeling the hot flush on his neck dissipating as Tobio flounders.

"I was not wasted," He springs to the defensive, crossing his arms and huffing.

"Sure," He continues, smirking slightly as he leans upwards, pressing a kiss to the other's jaw, "And I'm not devilishly handsome."

Scoffing, Tobio pushes his face away lightly and all but marches to the bathroom to shower. Feeling very proud of himself, because, wow, maybe he is a good actor and everyone else in his life is a liar, he begins to get ready as well.

The cool breeze tussles Shoyo's hair when they step outside and Tobio's body moves with muscle memory, fixing the curls that bounce all over the place with his obvious lack of focus shining through his pout. Even after being together for so long, Shoyo still finds the mundane and ordinary moments with Tobio perfect. Sure, they can't compete with the exhilaration of an Olympic match well played. However, they don't need to. They are different situations and Shoyo loves them both.

The sappy and sentimental thoughts in his brain must show on his face, because Tobio is raising a brow as they intertwine their fingers together whilst walking towards the car.

"You look stupid," Tobio teases as Shoyo opens his door for him, looking even more befuddled when he does so. How dare he! Shoyo is totally a gentleman all of the time!

Slightly offended, but not really, Shoyo shuts the door behind him and hops into the drivers seat, scoffing when Tobio makes a song-and-dance about putting his seatbelt on and gripping onto it as though Shoyo a) isn't a way better driver than him, and b) didn't get his licence first. He flicks Tobio's shoulder and starts the car, pulling out of the drive way and praying that Tobio doesn't notice Shoyo's mother crying quite obviously in the window.

Luckily for him, off of the court, nobody exactly describes his boyfriend as observant.

The drive is pretty normal. Shoyo talks his ear off and Tobio turns up the radio as though he doesn't enjoy his super cool boyfriend's rants and rambles that are oh-so-very important. With a grin on his face, Shoyo turns the child-lock on the doors of the car, other than his own, and hops out, sticking his tongue out at the younger man through the slightly dusty windows of their car. Satisfied with the look of mild irritation and heavy confusion gracing Tobio's face, he walks around to the other side of the car and lets him out, laughing as his hair is ruffled with a lot less aggression than it would've been fourteen years ago.

"I can open the door myself, I'm not as stupid as you," He barks out, but there's a lack of bite to his words and he's fighting a laugh as hard as he can.

"I'm just being a gentleman," He croons, bowing deeply, but with flair, sticking an arm out like a glorified lead actor at a pantomime. He's quickly bonked on the head.

The two intertwine hands again and walk through the glass doors into the cosy restaurant. There's a fake cherry blossom tree not far from the doorway and it has a two-person table underneath it - perfect for a romantic lunch date. In his last week before Brazil, Shoyo and Tobio had come here on a date and sat under the same very table. Looking around, it's the only thing Shoyo recognises, not because of renovations - the place hasn't changed at all, rather, Shoyo is and was too focused on Tobio to even try to remember how the place looked.

"You've been so sentimental this whole trip, you dork," Tobio scoffs out as they sit at the table, but a small quirk of his lips is enough for any idiot to tell that he doesn't mind it one bit, "Taking us to all our date locations, doing the things we used to," He trails off, flicking through the menu before raking his intense blue gaze back up to Shoyo's eyes, "Do you want to retire here, or something?"

Choking on his water, Shoyo pulls himself together and begins to question it. Does he? They have a nice apartment in Tokyo and the security system is good, but he has always thought of retirement as somewhere quiet and homey, like Miyagi. That being said, they're only thirty, they don't need the typical old-person retirement yet. Thinking on it for one final moment, he places his glass down gently and shakes his head.

"I think that's more of an old person thing, you know? People who retire from normal jobs at the age of sixty, not volleyball professionals retiring at thirty," He explains, gesturing with his hands to emphasise his point.

Taking his words into consideration, Tobio hums a sound of agreement and then nods, before glancing back down at the menu.

"Yeah. More of a when we have grandkids sort of situation."

He chokes again. This time, Tobio actually has the decency to look concerned.

"Are you.. okay?" He asks nonchalantly, like he didn't just blow Shoyo's mind.

It isn't an if situation, Tobio said when. Tobio wants grandkids, therefore, by proxy, he wants children. It isn't like they've never discussed children, and having them, before, but it'd always been if, and Shoyo usually ended up teasing him because he couldn't keep a goldfish alive that one time when he was five.

"You want kids?" He squeaks out when he finally can.

Realising his words, the apples of his cheeks flush slightly, and Shoyo is glad he's not the only one flustered anymore, but then he just sighs and the redness starts to fade away.

"Yeah, I think so," He starts, and the older can tell from his tone that there's more, so, for once in his life, he shuts up, "I mean, I've not been thinking about it any more than usual, but it just rolled off the tongue without me realising, so..."

This is it. This is the moment he dies. Shoyo Hinata is accepting his fate: death from a love-induced heart attack. Tell his boyfriend he was planning to propose. It's over!

Letting go of that train of thought, he takes control over his face again and grins, his eyes still sparkling as he reaches over to grasp Tobio's hands in his.

"I want kids too," He agrees hastily, nodding his head quite aggressively, causing Tobio's eyes to widen in slight surprise, "Maybe not tomorrow, but someday, someday soon."

After that, he leans over the table to press a kiss to Tobio's lips. It's gentle. It's soft. It tastes of the sweet tea they'd drank earlier. Shoyo is madly in love. He is proposing in a few hours!

The two order their food and don't talk much more about kids, lest either of them spontaneously combust in public.

"Have you spoken to Ushiwaka about his coaching job in Paris?" Shoyo asks through a mouthful of food, to which Tobio scowls.

"Stop talking with food in your mouth, it's gross. I've been telling you not to do that since we were teenagers," He scolds, prodding Shoyo between the eyebrows before leaning back into his seat and becoming less spiky, "And no. We've both been busy. We've organised to call for the end of the week to discuss the next best steps," He gestures between the two of them with his chopsticks, "for the both of us."

Shoyo laughs. It's loud and boisterous. He can't hold it in.

For one, of course Tobio and Ushijima have organised a call, like they're some business partners and not friends bound together by time playing together on their first ever real, professional, volleyball team. Secondly, he thinks they'll talk much sooner than that once Tobio has been proposed to.

"What are you laughing at, dumbass?" He scorns before unhinging his jaw and shoving rice into his mouth - Shoyo snorts at that.

"Nothing, just you and Ushiwaka being freaks," He shakes his head, sighing contentedly as he returns his focus to his food.

Swallowing, Tobio looks back at him with a blank face.

"We are both sure about coaching jobs, right?"

"Yeah," Shoyo responds quickly, once the food is out of his mouth, lest he receive another scolding.

Tobio becomes quieter as he continues, staring at his plate whilst eating.

"Same area, right?"

And, oh, he's worried. Tobio is worried that they're going to live apart for another six years.

"Of course!" He reassures quickly, almost flinging a chopstick into a concerned waitress' eye - he shoots her an apologetic grin and hopes it looks somewhat charming, "Can't have you missing me too much."

"Shut up."

And he's back. Good. There's no need for him to worry anyways. Shoyo's not exactly planning on going anywhere any time soon, other than to a wedding venue. If he was a lesser man, he'd say to Hell with the proposal planned all beautifully at the gym and propose right now. It's a lovely restaurant. That being said, it doesn't hold as much meaning as the Karasuno gym does to them, and Shoyo has never half-assed anything a day in his life. So he sucks it up, like a champ, and holds off on scrambling to one knee right now.

He lets Tobio lean over the table and swipes a grain of rice from his cheek, and he still savours the closeness between them, feeling like a giddy, in love, vulnerable, idiotic teenager all over again. He never understands when people say that teenage love isn't real, because he's seen it play out in so many different ways. He'd seen Daichi and Yui pine for a year in high school, and heard that it had been going on a lot longer than that from many sources: Koushi and the couple themselves, and then he'd been at the wedding. He'd been more than just at Ryuu and Kiyoko's wedding - he'd dragged Ryuu home from his bachelor party! Finally, he'd cried incredibly ugly tears at Hitoka and Tadashi's wedding. Most importantly, though, he's still as infatuated with Tobio now as he was sixteen years ago when he'd walked past Shoyo at his first ever tournament and the world held it's breath.

"I love you," He blurts out, because if he can't pop the question right-freaking-now he needs to say something, "I love you so much."

"I love you too," He responds, easily, basically just as infatuated - though Shoyo is sure that nobody in the world, not even perfect Tobio, has the ability to love anything or anyone as much as he loves Tobio.

Once the two finish their meal, they exit the restaurant and walk back to the car.

"We don't need to be at Karasuno for another hour," Tobio points out, gesturing to the time on the screen in the car.

Shoyo flounders slightly, because, for all his planning, he hadn't planned to be early. Then, he remembers that he's the most impulsive man in the world, according to many, so he doesn't need to worry.

"Do you wanna play volleyball in the park nearby?" He asks, already knowing the answer, and basically itching for the volleyball in the backseat already.

"Yes."

They play volleyball for a while, and almost play so much that Shoyo forgets he's actually stalling before he needs to propose in the gym, which he's supposed to be at currently.

"Shit!" He exclaims as he frantically turns his phone on and off, trying to manifest that the time will change and he won't already be a minute late with another ten minutes to drive.

"What?" Tobio asks, slicking his sweaty hair back slightly.

Okay, maybe, just maybe, it wasn't such a great idea to play volleyball. However, the two had gym clothes in the back of the car, so it's not like they got their nice clothes insanely sweaty, they just got sweaty themselves. Though, at this rate, they'll be fifteen minutes late because they need to re-change and still drive to Karasuno.

"We're late! We need to get changed!" Shoyo shouts, running back to the car, already sensing Tobio sprinting behind him. The two messily get ready in the public restroom - which is gross, but neither are too bothered, too busy focusing on being as close to on time as possible. Shoyo's phone is not helping in any way. The group chat specifically made for the proposal is blowing up and Tobio is getting frustrated at the aggravating bleeping noise. Grabbing it out of his pocket, Shoyo takes a glance at all the messages that are cursing him out, alongside very few nice ones from better people that are concerned for him, but he then turns his phone on silent and shoves it away. He doesn't have the time to answer.

When they hop into the car, Tobio's lips are jutted out into a pout and his brows are furrowed with slight confusion.

"Why are we hurrying so much?" He asks, and before Shoyo can give a flimsy excuse, he continues, "I know we're late, but it's just a hang out, they won't die if we're a few minutes late."

Feeling the heat creep up on the back of his neck, Shoyo's mind races with possible lies he could give to make Tobio less suspicious, because he doesn't want the other to figure out his master plan. His master proposal plan that was going so well until he suggested playing the very same sport that could distract them from the world exploding.

"Uhh-" He stumbles, "Koushi said he'd wring my neck if we were late and I believe him?"

At this, Tobio's mouth forms an 'o' shape, and he stops asking questions. Silently, Shoyo thanks whatever being that's out there for giving him a mentally deranged upperclassman with the face of an angel and the mind of the freaking devil.

When they arrive at Karasuno, Shoyo can feel his heart in his throat at the very same time that he can feel it pounding in his chest. Maybe, this is what it feels like to actually explode. Kei always said he was bound to some day, maybe this is it, he'll explode outside of his old gym right before he can propose to Tobio and then his poor boyfriend will have to grieve someone that he couldn't even marry. Maybe, if he asks very nicely, Tobio will marry his remains.

Hopping out of the car, he smiles when Tobio actually lets him open his door without a fuss. Then, he reaches out his hand and his heart slows as Tobio takes it in his own. Their fingers lock perfectly together, like everything about them. There's no nervousness in his mind anymore. How could he even have considered being nervous when Tobio was right next to him? Suddenly, his train of thought from two seconds ago seems so silly.

Everything is simple. Tobio loves Shoyo. Shoyo loves Tobio. They're going to get married and live together and die together and haunt the world together. They'll probably haunt a volleyball court too, because why not.

Before he opens the doors to the gym, he turns to his right and smiles sickeningly at the only person he's ever loved this much and presses a fat kiss to his cheek. Smirking, Tobio cocks a brow, but catches Shoyo's lips with his own for another sweet kiss before they step into the new chapter of their lives.

Like always, Shoyo reaches out first and opens the door.

The decorations, now caught in the glow of the sunset, look even more beautiful than he had imagined, but none of that matters. Not when Tobio is stood next to him, still oblivious of what's to come. His mouth is slightly agape as he takes it in, definitely confused as to why they'd done up the gym so nicely.

Tugging Tobio forward, they stand in the middle of the gym. Tobio glances around at all their friends, stood basically in a semi-circle. Their eyes are already misty and Shoyo hasn't even gotten down on one knee yet. Even Kei looks slightly choked up, which Shoyo knows he needs to make fun of later, and he will, but he has something to do first, so Yuu chuckling behind him at Kei's expense is enough for now.

When Tobio's eyes find him again, he's on one knee with a ring box in his hand. Tobio's pale and calloused and wonderful hands find his own face, covering his mouth - completely and utterly surprised.

Perfect.

He clears his throat. Originally, his proposal speech was planned, but now, in the moment, he figures he doesn't need some silly planned speech - blurting the truth out has always been better for them anyways. Though, this time, he also figures that he should take his time with it, show Tobio Kageyama how much Shoyo Hinata truly loves with him.

"Kageyama Tobio," He starts, already feeling his own eyes get teary, because he's weak for his boyfriend, okay? He likes it this way, "I fell in love with you sixteen years ago at my first ever volleyball tournament. You walked past me with your team, and, sure, all of them made me terrified, but when you walked past my entire world stopped. Everything around you blurred and it was just you." Tobio chokes back a sob.

"After you won, I promised you that I'd beat you, and I did, and I still am beating you in every competition, always," Tobio scoffs, but his eyes are watering and he's smiling, so Shoyo counts it as another win under his belt, "That also, in a way, was a promise for us to constantly be together, forever, even if I didn't realise it back then."

"During our time at Karasuno, you were my first ever partner, the first person to take me seriously on the court. I always will feel grateful to you for that. When I was in Brazil," He smiles at the memory, "You visited me within two months of me being away, even dragged poor Kei along to third wheel, " Tobio snorts at the reminder, but doesn't say anything, "just so you could see me. You made me feel at home again, and then I realised that my homesickness and loneliness wasn't from missing Japan, it was from missing you."

At this, Tobio's shoulders start shaking slightly with his silent cries, but Shoyo needs to finish this. He yearns to wipe the tears off of his partner's face, but he restrains himself, barely registering his own tears slipping down his cheeks.

"Tobio, you're my family. My home. My partner. And so, finally," He opens the ring box that showcases the simple, silver band he and Kenma picked up together, "I know I've asked this once before," He hears muffled laughter from the people behind him, "But, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" He half-yells, half-chokes out, before Shoyo launches himself up, hurriedly slamming his mouth into Tobio's.

Holding each other, they kiss until the sound of people coughing behind them reminds them of the task at hand. Laughing and still crying, Shoyo slots the ring onto Tobio's finger and watches as the other stares at it in awe. He's not materialistic by any means, but the volleyball engraved into it where a diamond would be is probably enough to make Tobio feel seen in ways that only Shoyo sees him.

Instantly, the whole team jumps at them, wrapping their arms around them in a large group hug with tears and laughter and love.

Yeah. It's everything he's ever wanted.

At Koushi's house, leaning up against the couch after one hell of a celebration party, Shoyo and Tobio curl into each other on the futon given to them after deciding the travel over the mountains was too bothersome and they didn't want to leave the car. Shoyo presses a kiss to Tobio's nose and smiles in the darkness. The other's eyes flutter open sluggishly.

"Tobio," He whispers, smiling smugly.

"What?"

"I win."

Tobio scowls and flicks his forehead before pressing his face into Shoyo's shoulder and falling asleep.

[ +1 ]

It is Tobio and Shoyo's wedding day.

It is probably- no- definitely the best day of his life. Somehow even better than beating the Schweiden Adlers in his first ever professional volleyball match. Somehow even better than asking Tobio out. Somehow even better than the proposal.

Nobody, absolutely no soul, in the audience or up by the altar isn't crying. Seeing Ukai start to cry was a major shock, but the older man swears it's because he's just so relieved that the two actually managed to become adults.

Daichi, who is the best person ever seeing as he got ordained just to officiate the wedding for them, because they both decided they wanted something as personal as possible, is holding his cards and crying like a dork, and is very much trying not to ruffle their hair every five seconds lest Miwa castrate him with a live audience.

By Tobio's side are his 'best people': Miwa and Koushi, both sobbing violently like the proud older siblings they are, staring at the two soon-to-be-husbands with so much love in their eyes that their pupils might turn into actual hearts.

By Shoyo's side are his best men: Bokuto and Kenma - one a blubbering mess, and the other a more refined and relaxed crier, a few stray tears here and there, but mostly just passing tissues lazily to the wailing man next to him. Shoyo can barely contain his laughter through his toothy smile.

"Do you, Tobio Kageyama," Daichi starts again, clearing his throat and grinning proudly, "take Shoyo Hinata to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto him for as long as you both shall live?"

Tobio, flushed from the top of his head to, probably, the tips of his toes, grins with all his teeth, and suddenly, he's just a boyish teenager again, with too long limbs and a lot of passion, but also a lot of awkwardness. Yet, he says his next words as a promise.

"I do."

Shoyo starts crying, again.

Daichi doesn't let them rest for a moment, though, probably keen to not let Shoyo follow in Bokuto's footsteps (the man is still a mess behind him, but Kenma has quietened him down.)

"Do you, Shoyo Hinata, take Tobio Kageyama to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto him for as long as you both shall live?"

This. Right here. This is everything he's ever wanted since the beginning of forever. When he was younger, even before volleyball, he used to long for a partner, for someone to see him for everything he is and to love him as much as his family did, maybe even more. He's found that. That person is no longer just a partner, they're his everything, and they're Tobio Kageyama. His person. His favourite person.

"I do."

There's a moment of tranquillity.

The almost-married couple stares at each other and the room is silent, more silent than any room with them in it has ever been before. They're loud people, always itching to compete, but in this moment, they're happy to let the quietness wash over them.

Daichi, ever observant, let's the moment last for what feels like a while, but probably isn't; time warps whenever Shoyo finds himself lost in Tobio's eyes.

"Tobio Kageyama and Shoyo Hinata will now exchange their vows."

Taking a deep breath in, Tobio endearingly takes a moment to collect himself before he starts talking - he's never been one for public speeches, but it's okay. They have all the time in the world.

"When I was younger," Tobio begins, already choked up, because he's a loser (Shoyo is the same, but that's his own business), "My grandfather told me that someone better would come and find me, so long as I worked my hardest. I spent years trying to figure out who my 'someone better' was. The day we competed for the first time, and you jumped so high, I think I already knew then that it was you, even if I didn't accept it."

He pauses for a second, smiling and shaking his head.

"Then, I saw you at Karasuno and wanted to punch you in the face because of how annoying you were," Breathy laughs fill the venue, but Shoyo can only hear Tobio's voice, "When you assured me that you were by my side on the court, and when you re-crowned me as the king, I felt seen in a way I didn't know was possible. It's like you completed me. You stopped the loneliness that haunted me. Even now, you constantly help me realise my worth, and I will forever love you for that. Even if I didn't realise it until our third year, I have loved you since the moment you called for the ball."

A soft sob escapes Shoyo's lips and he tries to pull himself together in vain.

"I've never been good with words, but I hope you know that you are everything to me. My first and only ever partner, forever. On and off the court."

Shaking his head, he reaches out to hold Tobio's hand before he begins talking, wanting to be close to him in any way possible. Nothing is ever close enough, but this will have to suffice. He lets out a shaky sigh.

"If you told me, sixteen years ago, that the boy who beat me in my first ever real volleyball game would be my future husband, I probably would have exploded on the spot," He chuckles softly, "But here we are, and I can't imagine my life without you. You make me who I am, you're my other half. I don't believe in soulmates, but if anyone was to make me believe in them, it would be you, because you complete me," He echoes part of Tobio's speech, which truly reminds them just how much they have impacted each other.

Tobio's tears drip from his eyes and it takes all of Shoyo's strength not to kiss them away, letting them fall down his cheeks

"In our first year, you pushed me to work harder, to fly higher, and without you I wouldn't be where I am today. You promised me that together we would be invincible, and, even if that was a promise for the court, it's true to our life away from the court as well. I know that when we are together, I am the strongest I could possibly be. I hope I can make you feel half as happy and loved as you make me feel every day."

"When I confessed to you in our third year, I couldn't be normal about it. I was so overwhelmed by my love for you that I proposed on the spot," He laughs again, letting the memory wash over him comfortingly, "I think I just knew that you were everything I could ever want. There was no other path, we were always going to end up here, together."

"I'm here for you, always and forever, even when we're old and grey and you still want to punch me in the face," He jokes lightly, rubbing the back of Tobio's hand with his thumb gently.

Pausing to pull himself together, Daichi looks about as misty-eyed as the couple. His smile is soft and gentle as he continues the ceremony.

"Tobio Kageyama and Shoyo Hinata will now exchange rings as a symbol of their love and commitment."

Tobio slots the golden wedding band, simple and plain, with a volleyball yet again engraved onto it, onto Shoyo's finger, never breaking eye contact as he does so. Shoyo has to hold himself back from kissing the breath out of him prematurely.

With the patience of a God, he slots Tobio's matching ring (though it is silver instead of gold) on his finger and watches with glee as Tobio's cheeks go even redder, not with embarrassment, not anymore, but with pure glee.

Clearing his throat, Daichi's smile grows as he nears the end of the ceremony. This is it. His rival, his best friend, his partner, his boyfriend, his fiancé will now become his husband.

"By the authority vested in me I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may now kiss each other."

Without wasting a moment, the two dive forward, lips locking like they were made to fit each other. Shoyo's hands find themselves around Tobio's waist and Tobio's find theirs around his neck. The two move in harmony as always.

Finally, when they pull away, the crowd's cheers finally register in their minds and the world stops glowing, but Shoyo doesn't make a move to pull away or even glance to his side. He rests his head against Tobio's and they smile at each other, embracing the closeness.

"I win," Tobio whispers softly, like it's just for them. Shoyo's heart speeds up even more somehow - it might burst out of his chest, "I said my vows first, and I said I do first."

No. Shoyo thinks. Tobio can't have won. It's not possible.

In this situation, with Tobio standing before him with a wedding ring and a cute suit and his beautiful face, Shoyo is the very clear winner.

Chapter 2

ART COMISSION!! DRAWN BY: @gobrikitt on titkok!!!!! :3
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Notes:

JEEZ!! This fic has been a long time coming! I finally completed it, though! I'm proud of how it came out, and I hope you guys like it just as much as I do. Think of it as an apology for all the angst edits and that one sorta-angsty fic! :3

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