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Kageyama Tobio was frustrated.
He was concentrating on the game, a practice game, but still a game nonetheless which gives him plenty of time to improve himself and push his skills over the limit.
As the setter, he must be sharply focused, with tactical strategies constantly processing in his mind for every nanosecond that passes, all while it translates immediately into his next set of movements.
He can process Nishinoya’s lifesaving receive of the ball, Tanaka’s powerful hit over the net, and Daichi’s catch of the ball after being rebounded by the other team’s middle blockers, with their captain’s strong stance against the polished wooden floorboards.
His heartbeat quickened for every muscle and effort it took to wrap it all together like a neat little package with his set as Asahi pushed it right over the line with a powerful hit, scoring the point for Karasuno and a loss for Fukurōdani.
Kageyama can hear Bokuto’s wails of defeat clear as day just as he hears the squeaking of rubbered soles as each player prepares for the next round.
But his sharp focused mind also made him pay attention to a peculiar thing happening right in front of him. A simple brush between hands. A sign of benign comfort and reassurance, he mused. But what’s boggling is the fact that it’s between the last two people he’d guess the interaction would be.
For the first time in a long while since he grew accustomed to his instincts and grew closer to this team, he doubted what he saw because it’s slim next to impossible for it to be true, and yet, in the face of it, he had to think it might actually be, no matter how disbelieving it seems.
Because he can’t seem to think of anything to refute how usually hard eyes relax into soft, gentle ones, how a grin could get so bright and encompassing as it envelopes the whole room despite his short stature, and how they both seem to take great comfort in the simple touch, before going back to focusing on the enemy behind the net as if it never happened.
Off the court, Kageyama seems oblivious to any of these things because he simply doesn’t care for any of them, thinking it’s a waste of energy to focus his mind on things he isn’t interested in. But here in the game, he must be keenly aware of everything and everyone in his surroundings, which in turn means even seeing the smallest, inconsequential things that sometimes really have no relation to the game whatsoever.
Tsukishima and Hinata, God, who would’ve thought? He sure didn’t.
But as long as whatever this is doesn’t disrupt their full potential with their skills and agility, he’s fine with this new and peculiar development between his teammates. Although he’ll definitely ask the idiot about it one day, just to make sure Mr. Grumpy himself ain’t taking his best friend hostage.
Nanami Kaori is having a very weird, quite an odd day today.
Okay so maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration since it didn’t turn out to be that bad, but she summarizes nonetheless that it’s crazy how such an event happened to her in the first place.
Her days are usually composed of snooze-inducing lectures for every hour it switches to the next, routine mindless conversations with friends, and that satisfying burst of relief when her sensei for their last subject finally dismisses them. All ordinarily, unassuming aspects of a regular student life.
That is until Nanami observed something different this time around. Specifically, her seatmates being unlike how they usually behaved on either side of her. She supposes she shouldn't assume but the blonde just can't help it when you're wedged in between two boys currently bickering at each other.
Although she also couldn't really call it bickering either when — at the corners of her peripheral vision — all she could see were indistinguishable hand gestures and rapid mouth movements, with the occasional giggles, scoffs, and too-quiet whispers that her ears just couldn’t make out too clearly.
Nanami tried to focus her thoughts on what her sensei was writing on the chalkboard, she really did, and even directed her line of sight to what was being presented on the projector screen, but all efforts were in vain when her mind was just a constant struggle of jumbled thoughts, all pointing and screaming at her to figure out — what the hell was going on between her two classmates?
So ultimately, the blonde just gave up and gave in to the temptation of sneaking a peak to her side.
Only to see Hinata Shōyō do the most cliché blow-kiss maneuver she's ever seen — before snapping her eyes to the opposite side — and seeing Tsukishima Kei seemingly reciprocating back in his own way with a roll of his eyes but nonetheless catching the imaginary aerial kiss with a hand, sticking it to his chest, and then turning his head back towards the board.
Nanami swears she saw a fond-looking smile creep up the face of what she assumed to be the most ice-cold and stubborn guy in the class. Maybe even the entire batch.
It was all so disgustingly sweet until it dawned on her that she was indirectly third-wheeling around this love fest the whole time and now suddenly she was frozen in a mid-panic, cold sweat springing out of her pores.
All at once it now feels quite hot under her oversized sweater, which was just very comfortable prior to her epiphany, much to her annoyance. She hates how this gets her so flustered. And it isn’t even directed at her!
Nanami wasn’t that close to the blonde male, more like mere acquaintances who see each other every day, though she smiled knowing that she was at least much more friendly with Hinata-san. And yet she still couldn’t believe how this could have come to be.
She could spend hours figuring out and coming up with countless possibilities without meaning to, only because of the huge number of danmei she’d read in her spare time already.
She really should stop that train of thought before things can get much more awkward.
So here she sits frozen, with her sensei droning on and on about rational equations in the background, whilst berating herself for thinking inappropriately about those two lovebirds — that’s still entirely not her business whatsoever!
She still couldn’t stop wayward thoughts from flying every which way though, no matter how much she tried to tamp them down.
Nanami thinks it may be because of how incredibly enticing the situation is, figuring out how they got together and the sweet possibilities that can come up for their future together.
“This is why I’m gonna end up dying single.” She thought sadly, looking back at the countless imaginary partners and fairytale scenarios for herself. She shook her head and watched as a few strands of blonde hair fell around her face. Still and lifeless. Just like her hopes and dreams.
Nanami may have a sad lonely life now, but she knows at least that her fate will come soon, she just had to be patient. Plus, she thinks as she smiled optimistically, she could always count on her twin sister Tori to be her gossip buddy!
The young student glanced at her wristwatch and grinned after seeing only a few minutes left before break time.
She couldn’t wait to tell her sister all about this bizarrely sweet experience.
Because most of everyone in Karasuno’s second-year students this year are both (for some reason) well-off and generous enough to share some expenses, the school agreed to let them take a year-end retreat and week-long stay at one of Japan’s Nihon Sankei or “Three Views of Japan”, Matsushima Bay. Which was known to be one of the three most beautiful sights in the country, and was situated perfectly right in Miyagi Prefecture.
Any second-year student was permitted to come, provided that each student’s parents had signed the obligatory parent-consent form and were able to collaborate and get at least two parents and one sensei to voluntarily join them as adult guardians for the trip.
Tsukishima Kei’s mother, Tsukishima Haruka, was one of the parents who had volunteered. She simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity when her youngest son had told her (a word or two) all about the field trip because she was reminded of when she went to see the wonderful landscapes and mountaintops when her parents had taken her as a child. Haruka can never forget the breathtaking feeling of seeing hundreds of tiny islands on one of the highest viewpoints they offered, as well as feeling the splash of droplets against her skin as she cruised through from one pier to another, riding onto those sightseeing boats and getting to see nature up close.
Haruka wanted her Kei to experience that same intense joy just as she did in the past, so she signed up as a volunteer first thing the very next day.
She had no doubt Kei would have fun and enjoy his time anyway without her presence, of course, she just wanted to have the pictures and memories for safekeeping. As well as requested blackmail from Akiteru to capture as much as she could of any instance of Kei being with that new boyfriend of his now! Her son hadn't disclosed the relationship to her yet, but she suspects that this has been going on for months now, and wanted to let him be until he was ready to tell her all about it.
So for now, she stayed hidden in the background as she watched a literal bundle of joy and sun-personified happily drag his son all over the trip to sightsee and explore to their heart's content. She knew all those skills working as an unpaid student photographer during her uni days had paid off, Haruka thought while grinning widely as she scanned over all the plenty of candid shots she’d taken. She knew her son would thank her then when this appeared at their wedding.
On the way home, whoever, was one circumstance where she opted to capture, thinking it would be best to let them bask in this shared moment together.
It went along like this: Tsukishima Haruka chose to board the one bus that carried her son — out of the three that's been able to carry the entire batch — because it's only sensible that she should be there to watch over him, along with the rest of the students as they traveled back to Karasuno.
After about an hour of traveling, the mother decided it was time to do a routine check and headcount of the students under her supervision. So, she went to open her notes app again to go through her list of student names before standing up and walking carefully through the aisle of the moving bus. She looked over each teen seated on either side, quietly reciting each name and moving on to the next after every nod of approval when she reached Kei and Hinata-kun.
What she saw before her eyes made her soften and melt a little, seeing the ginger sleep soundlessly as he rested his head against Kei’s shoulder, who was serenely looking out the window, watching the hills and city skyline pass by.
But at that very moment, the bus bounced harshly, maybe bumping against a small protrusion on the road, and causing several students to jump from the momentum and one particular male to rouse suddenly.
Hinata woke up with a grimace, shutting his eyes back again and bringing a hand to his temple to rub away what must be dizziness.
Kei looked down, with soft concern in his eyes. “You okay?”
The ginger hummed. “Yeah… I'm alright, just a mild headache… It'll go away eventually.” He replied slowly in the end, wrapping his arm around the blonde’s and adjusting himself to get more comfortable.
Kei turned to tilt his head down closer to the ginger’s curls and inhaled slowly. “Alright, let me know when you need anything, Shō,” he said softly, before leaning to plant a chaste kiss on his forehead.
By then, Hinata was already drifting back to sleep when Kei turned to see his mother slowly approaching. “I’ll get an extra bottled water later in my bag for the headache, Kei.” She said quietly but kindly as she carded a hand through his son’s hair.
An endearing blush bloomed over Kei’s cheeks and nose bridge, looking with wide eyes before turning away to try and hide from embarrassment. “Thanks, mama…” He reluctantly said anyway, with Haruka hearing the appreciation in his voice and smiling warmly before moving on to the next students farther behind the bus.
Kei’s mother is just glad to find her son has found someone to willingly share this piece of love inside of him, and to be loved like that in return.
Hinata Shoyo fiddled with the lapels of his suit vest. Shifting from one foot to the other, he regarded himself one more time in front of the mirror uneasily, before taking a slow breath and walking towards his desk to check the time on his phone.
6:05 pm, it read.
It was prom night for Karasuno’s second-years and Hinata went with a white, buttoned down, long-sleeved polo shirt, paired with a matching dark burgundy shade of slacks and waistcoat, and completed with a striped monochrome tie to wear for the evening.
He honestly couldn’t decide whether the vest was just a darker shade of red or a deeper copper brown, but he liked it nonetheless as it slightly diverged off of the usual norms with suit color schemes.
Yamaguchi had originally proposed the idea to them since none of them were as keen on going along with the cliché and boring color of black tuxedos, so they went ahead and got different colored suits that suited (ha) them.
The ginger eyed the clock one more time. In just a few minutes his friends would come by his home to pick him up so he came down from his room to wait by the door, anticipating their arrival.
“Uwahh!! Nii-san looks pretty!!”
Hinata turned to his sister gushing over him with a bright smile. He smiled bashfully. “Hehe, you think so?”
Natsu stuck her tongue out and grinned evilly. “Hah nope! You’re very ugly!”
“Hey!”
“Well, I for one think my son looks like such a handsome young fellow!” Hinata’s mom inquired kindly from the kitchen, looking proud as she came to envelop him in a hug.
The ginger’s eyes shone brightly in excitement against the luminescent lights of the ceiling, relaxing a bit more at her mother’s kind words. “Thank you, mama.”
Just then, the doorbell rang and the front door opened a little to see Tsukishima peeking out curiously. “Hinata-san? Is he ready?”
His mother stepped closer to swing the door — and her smile — wide open. “Of course! But before you kids go let me take the obligatory pictures!!” She sang out while dashing for her phone.
The son flushed at his mother’s actions, just as Kei chuckled and placed a warm hand on his shoulder. “Let her be, it’s fine.”
Hinata groaned and buried his face in Tsukishima’s chest — careful to not crease his gorgeous cream gold suit too much — to hide from his embarrassment. “You smell good,” The ginger mumbles quietly, and the blonde looks down at him in amusement. “Why thank you, I got the cologne from raiding Tadashi’s closet.”
Hinata laughed deeply at that, just as Yamaguchi came in from the front door, looking not just sharp in his sage green getup but also all kinds of unimpressed, followed by an amused Kageyama and Yachi. “I would very much like my perfume back after tonight, young man.” Yamaguchi harrumphed pointedly at his best friend, and the blonde at least had the sense to look slightly chagrined.
“Come on guys! Smile for the camera! You can’t not show yourselves off after looking like that!” Yachi gushed out as she twisted her wrist to pan her phone screen away from her, holding it out as far as she could to get everyone in for a selfie. The second-years laughed, crouching down together for the shot and feeling the high and joyous excitement for the night.
The elder Hinata just rushed past them then and tutted to arrange them all for another photo-up in front of the house. “Now everyone! Say cheese! And then after this Shōyō and Tsuki-kun will do a paired shot together!” Everyone laughed once again as Hinata and Tsukishima blushed bright under the moonlight.
After a few more turns with each of them, and after Natsu had rushed past them just to be hauled upwards by Tsukishima for another group photo, they said their farewells to Hinata’s mom and got picked up by Tsukishima’s car to bring them to their batch’s choice of venue.
Upon their arrival, the five saw an already bustling venue filled with second-years dressed and glammed up to their best alluring and bejeweled looks. Spotlights were situated at the entrance, tilting around to spread beams of light which served perfectly for the mood for tonight’s celebration. The entrance was decked out with an arched walkway, with shimmering fairy lights tangled up around the wood panels and beautiful flower arrangements above the velvety dark red walkway below.
The five glanced in quiet awe as the pulse of the audible beat quaked beneath their feet. Which only got more louder and intense the closer they came to the entrance, where they were dazzled with a much more decked out interior filled with colorfully ambient changing lights, more spotlights hanging above them, a wonderful band playing up front the stage, food to last them the whole night, and so much more.
Looking around, Yachi smiled mischievously and hooked Yamaguchi and Kageyama’s arms in hers to drag them towards where she saw they served all the hors d'oeuvres. Hinata’s squeaks of indignation at the abject abandonment along with his partner were drowned out by the constant noise of the ever-insistent beat of the music, mixed in with the cacophony of joyous chatter of the crowd tonight.
Hinata huffed, then got elbowed by his taller partner, who guided his attention towards the bar situated opposite their friends’ direction. The ginger grinned, and the two of them gladly trudged towards it, wishing for the sweet cool refreshments coming their way.
Tsukishima signaled for the bartender as Hinata skimmed through the menu, amused with how accurate the bar looked to an actual bar despite knowing this school event was prohibited from serving alcohol anyway. Although he assumed a few sneaky rebels didn’t let that rule stop them.
Nonetheless, the couple ordered some nice, fruity sodas and watched their friends and classmates have a good time that evening. People came and went, approaching the two with wide smiles and a plethora of compliments to offer and exchange with one another.
After a long while, Hinata heard a heavy sigh coming from his partner beside him. Tsukishima was resting his head on his hand, arm propped up against the bar counter, while the other drew invisible strokes around the rim of his glass with a finger. He looked, simply put, barely hanging onto his seams.
Hinata gently placed a hand on top of Tsukishima’s, halting his earlier movement and eliciting another sigh out of him. “What I've been dreading this whole night seems to have happened.” He gestured toward the crowd of teens and personnel. “I’m afraid my social battery is fraying at the seams, Hinata.”
“Was that all?” Hinata tilted his head in amusement. “You know no one’s forcing you to socialize with everyone in the whole school right?” He stifled a laugh that was about to come out. Although he thinks he failed anyway based on the glare he received. “You can just talk with me all night if that’s what you want to do!”
A corner of the blonde’s mouth turned up a little as he turned to fully face the boy who always rendered him hopelessly smitten.
“What if I want a different distraction? Something that no one would dare interrupt us from?”
Before Hinata could fully process what he said, a slow but sweet song started to play from the onstage band. Instead of the organized chaos the overhead spotlights were cycling from, each of them slowed down to a more calming cycling pattern, with their hues matching the mood and vibe of the enhancing but homely tune.
Hinata broke out of his trance as a shadowed, tall figure came in front of his line of vision.
Tsukishima stood tall and proud, softly smiling at him with his hand outstretched. His pulse quickened at the gesture and he just knew how much of a flustered mess he must have looked at that moment. Damn you Tsukishima!
“May I have this dance, Shōyō?”
Hinata wanted to wipe off that insufferable cheeky expression on his face so much yet opted to take his hand instead, in lieu of answering. Mischievously, he dragged Tsukishima all the way to the middle of the dance floor and spun around to immediately press his body against Tsukishima’s.
The blonde smoothly placed one hand on the ginger’s waist and the other grasping his smaller hand, while Hinata rested the only other hand on Tsukishima’s shoulder.
Hinata glanced down on their feet curiously, before looking back at his lover, eyes shining. “Are we ballroom dancing or just swaying?”
“It could be either of the two that you wish it to be.”
Hinata raised an eyebrow. “When did you get to learn ballroom dancing?” Tsukishima sighed, his cheeks pink from embarrassment. “My mama signed my brother and I up for some lessons when we were younger…”
“What!?” The ginger’s eyes were shining with barely held amusement.
“Yeah yeah laugh it up,” Tsukishima grumbled while rolling his eyes.
Hinata chuckled, pressing himself even closer to the blonde, almost hugging him. “Aww, but it’s quite cool, Tsuki! Don't you want to show off your moves every once in a while?”
Tsukishima hummed without commenting before smirking. “What? Like this?”
Hinata didn't have time to respond before he brought him into a twirl, losing his balance from the sudden momentum, and Tsukishima catching him on time with his arm slung around his back in a slight dip.
Now Tsukishima’s face was inches away from his, hot breaths intermingling with the cool night air. Hinata thinks he wouldn’t ever get tired of being surprised by Tsukishima, it also doesn’t hurt that he gets to look at this handsome face any time he wants to.
It’s only now did he realized that a wide berth of space was given to both of them. He hadn’t noticed they were dancing and moving that far and wide, and his cheeks warmed at the thought.
“Uhh… Kei? I’m pretty certain they’re all staring at us…” Hinata whispered under his breath.
Tsukishima smiled, a feat so rare that everyone just had to stop and look at what caused this usually cold man to genuinely express such happiness. Tsukishima lets go of the hand he was cradling to card his own through Hinata’s hair, right before bringing it down to gently cup his cheek. “Let them. Besides, this is our chance to declare who exactly the great Hinata Shoyo desires.” Tsukishima grinned at the face of Hinata’s abject shock. “You’re such an asshole.”
“Love you too, shrimp.” Tsukishima says before bringing him into a kiss.