Archive of Our Own ^beta

"Okay, let's go over it again."

Outside the bus windows, the scenery of Miyagi flashed by, familiar and comforting after more than a year in the big city. Tokyo was amazing—Tokyo was loud and crowded and sprawling, and the lights never turned down all the way, and they got to play volleyball at the highest level. Tokyo would have been overwhelming, but they'd gone there together.

Now, however, Kageyama and Hinata were back in Miyagi, and the mountains looked even greener after time spent away. It was good to be back, with nothing to worry about over the holidays.

Save for one small Christmas party.

Hinata turned in his seat to face Kageyama, eyes as determined as before the start of a game. "You start."

"How'd it happen?"

"After our match against Tokai," Hinata recited. "I was too excited and I asked you out in the locker room. So that means we've been dating…"

"One month, and seventeen days," Kageyama said.

They were not actually dating.

The whole plan had been Kageyama's idea, surprisingly; well, that might be giving him too much credit. It was less of an idea, more of a mumbled expletive, after the fifth straight text from Oikawa lording his relationship over Kageyama, cute pictures of him and Iwaizumi at Tokyo Disney, flowers on their anniversary, ah, I wish my precious kouhai would finally confess to someone who makes him happy…

After Oikawa had texted to ask when Kageyama planned to give him grumpy setter grandchildren, Kageyama had snapped.

"What if I said I was dating you?" he'd grumbled vindictively to Hinata over dinner. "He'd be so pissed if he wasn't the only one who got to have a childhood-friends, volleyball-related love story."

"They've been childhood friends longer, though," Hinata had pointed out.

"We've known each other since middle school!"

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "That's a stretch. But, other than that… it's not a bad idea."

Kageyama stopped stabbing at his curry with his chopsticks in surprise. "It's not?"

That was how he'd found out about the backlog of romantic advice Bokuto had been giving Hinata, as well as how Hinata had failed to put a single step of it into motion. So they'd decided the best and most obvious plan was to "accidentally" reveal their whirlwind romance during the planned reunion party over the winter break—the party they were now on their way to by bus.

"Our first date was at…"

"Trick question!" Hinata snapped his fingers. "We argued too much over what to do, so in the end, we decided not to go on one! We don't date, we let our love blossom naturally." He pointed his nose upward with an air of superiority and Kageyama snickered.

"Chill out, stupid, you'd never say something that gross normally," Kageyama pointed out.

Hinata looked highly offended. "It is not gross," he huffed. "Besides, it's true. Why would the stuff we always do together suddenly have to be a date?" He pulled a face.

"That's true," Kageyama agreed. "Like, which meat bun is normal, and which is the romantic bun?"

Hinata let out a peal of laughter so loud Kageyama had to smack a hand over his mouth. He was grateful they'd sat at the back of the bus.

"The romantic bun," Hinata wheezed. "That's going on the list of acceptable nicknames."

"No. Rejected," Kageyama said, "I'll kill you if you call me that in front of Oikawa."

"Would be totally worth it," Hinata said.

"He'd hate the other part though," Kageyama mused. "He'd definitely have to prove his and Iwaizumi-san's love is more… natural-er. More blossoming. Oh, shut up."

"I mean, it is," Hinata said, still laughing. "They're actually dating."

"They don't need to know it's blossomier," Kageyama said, then added, "dumbass," because it was on the list of acceptable nicknames and he was still trying to work out how to say it in a normal-yet-wildly-in-love manner. "That's the whole point of doing this. If you call me a romantic bun, no one'll buy it, and Bokuto-san will know you've been lying about following his dating advice all year—"

"Okay, okay!" Hinata said. "I will only refer to you as 'my little meat bun' in private." He poked Kageyama's cheek with the tip of his finger sharply, in something like retaliation, and then held out his hand.

"Thank you," Kageyama said, the tops of his ears going hot. Stupid or acceptable, fake or real, the nicknames never failed to make him blush. He intertwined his fingers with Hinata's and settled back against the bus seat. And then,

"Oy, Kageyama, your hand's supposed to go under mine, remember?"

"What? I didn't agree to that!"

"We practiced this the whole train ride, come on—"

It took them the rest of the bus ride to figure out which hand-holding position was most comfortable.

*

"Shouyouuuuuuuu!"

"Hitokaaaaaaa!"

"Aaaahhhhhh!"

"AaaaaAAAAHHH—"

Kageyama stood somewhat impatiently behind Hinata as he blocked the doorway to Yachi's apartment. It had started to snow. But the two tiny friends were so excited to see each other after so long that there was much excited feet stomping and jumping and hugging to get through first.

"Kageyama, you're getting snow in your hair!" Yachi finally exclaimed, tugging them both inside. "Come in, come in!"

Inside it was toasty warm and packed with people. It felt like stepping out of the doors of a time machine, back into their first year at Karasuno. Yachi and Shimizu had invited absolutely everyone, it seemed, and because it was Yachi and Shimizu, everyone had turned up. Most of Karasuno had come, from all three of Kageyama's years at school. And a fair amount of familiar faces from other schools had made the trip down from Tokyo like himself and Hinata. This meant seeing lots of old friends, but also, in Kageyama's case, dodging old frenemies.

"Hajime, can you believe Tobio-chan came all this way and has yet to say hello to me?"

Kageyama turned and waved, his face blank. "Hello, Oikawa-san."

Oikawa looked unimpressed. "You can't say it now that I've called you out, that's cheating."

"Then when is he supposed to say it?" Iwaizumi asked, smacking him lightly on the back of the head. It was a familiar routine, but there was a softness there that hadn't been the last time they were all face to face. "How are you, Kageyama?"

"F-fine." Kageyama, who always wound up even more out of his element than usual when faced with Oikawa Tooru in any setting beyond a volleyball court, blinked at the pair of them as Oikawa tutted and Iwaizumi fussed. And then a hand slid over his arm, reassuring and warm, and he turned to see Hinata grinning up at him brightly.

"Aren't you supposed to follow boyfriend protocol at parties, Tobio?" he teased. "I'm still wearing this huge coat, there's no drink in my hand—"

Reflexively, Kageyama shoved his face away. "You're a boyfriend, too, stupid," he said. "Pull your weight!"

Hinata laughed. "Give me your coat, and go get me a drink."

"What do you want?" Kageyama asked as he shrugged out of his jacket.

"Beer's fine," Hinata said, pulling the outerwear from his hands. "Thanks!"

Kageyama bent down and kissed him; a gentle, fleeting press of soft lips.

They hadn't really rehearsed this part. They'd talked about it, they'd agreed if it came up, they'd do it, but really, how often in Japan did people go around kissing each other on the lips, pretend dating or not? Not often enough that they had felt the need to worry. And now they were in the middle of a crowded apartment with their mouths pressed together, and Kageyama was beginning to think perhaps, just perhaps, they should have thought more of the details through.

He parted from Hinata as quickly as he had swooped in, and for a moment, they just blinked at each other. Hinata's face was doing the tomato thing. Kageyama's ears were undoubtedly following suit.

"Sorry," he murmured quietly. He wasn't sure why he was apologizing—they'd talked about it.

Hinata bit his lip, and then he was grinning again, shoving Kageyama in the stomach with their coats. "Nice going, Bakageyama," he said, another acceptable nickname, "now they all know."

"D-did you just call him your…" Yachi asked, eyes wide.

"They finally admit it!" Nishinoya shouted at eardrum-splitting volume.

Kageyama did a double take, catching Hinata's eye. His best friend looked equally confused. Finally?

"Hey, hey, hey! Hinata!" Bokuto was finally spotted, vaulting over the couch to come say hello. Kuroo tilted his head over the back of the sofa so he could see as well, his grin as knowing as ever as Bokuto put Hinata in the world's most affectionate headlock, burying his knuckles in the smaller man's hair. "Okay, I know it was basically not really a secret, but… you know you could've told me, right? But doing it this way is great, like an extra Christmas gift!"

"Y-yeah," Hinata called from somewhere underneath Bokuto's armpit. "W-wait, Bokuto-san, what do you mean it wasn't really a secret?"

"Uh, well, we just kind of assumed?" Bokuto asked, releasing him. He scratched his head, glancing back at Kuroo, who shrugged. "You guys have been dating since, like, high school. Right?"

Hinata's mouth fell open. "We have?!" he squeaked, at the same time that Kageyama repeated, "High school?"

The sound of someone loudly and emphatically clearing their throat broke through the exultations. Everyone gradually stopped talking, turning instead to look at Oikawa, who continued hemm-ing away, with a few grating coughs thrown in for good measure. Iwaizumi put his hand over his eyes.

"Oh, I'm—excuse me," Oikawa said, once the room was silent and all eyes were on him. "Something in my throat."

"Are you okay," Kageyama said blandly.

"Yes, thank you, Tobio-chan—ah!" Oikawa snapped his fingers. "I am wondering, though… when exactly you two got together. Of course, we all may have our speculations, but I highly doubt you figured it out as early as—"

"Second year!" Hinata yelped. All attention shifted to him, as the group waited to hear the apparently long anticipated story. Desperately, Kageyama tried to signal for him to stop with his eyebrows, but it was no use. "After… the… game against Dateko, at the interhigh! I was so happy after we won that it just—slipped out! I was too excited, and I asked Tobio out in the locker room…"

He looked expectantly at Kageyama, who belatedly realized the script was swerving back onto the rails. "...and I said yes. Obviously," he grunted. "I couldn't say no to his dumb face."

Everyone aww-ed like he'd uttered a saccharine endearment. He couldn't be sure, but he thought there might be tears glittering in Azumane's eyes. It was like he'd skipped several chapters of a manga he'd been reading; what the hell was going on? Why was nobody surprised? What was this business about dating in high school? Maybe Oikawa had found out about their plan somehow, and now they were being reverse-tricked…

"Oh-ho," Oikawa interrupted, his smile growing. "Your memory is so accurate, Chibi-chan. Almost like it happened yesterday."

"I… remember it like it did," Hinata said, and then he was taking Kageyama's hand, and brushing his thumb over the knuckles slowly; contemplatively. "I remember it just as well as the first time he tossed to me."

Kageyama's face flooded with heat. His romance virginity was gone now, he was fairly sure Hinata had just murdered it. There was zero chance anyone else would ever say words as perfect to him in his life. What the hell.

"M-me too," he managed to say, still reeling. What the fuck, Hinata, seriously. "I remember it as well as the day I told you only—"

"Only the strong remain on the court," Hinata finished for him. He squeezed Kageyama's hand in his own, threading their fingers together. "Well, here I am, Tobio. Just like I said I'd be."

Winded, Kageyama nodded at him.

"That's…" Oikawa said, his nose crinkling, "very…"

"Beautiful!" Yachi suddenly sobbed, before bursting into tears and burying her face in Shimizu's shoulder. Shimizu patted her comfortingly.

Hinata beamed up at Kageyama. "We know it hasn't been that long, but—"

"Now, now, Chibi-chan," Oikawa sniffed, "don't go comparing your relationship to others', even if they are far more experienced than you. Down that path lies bitterness, and—"

"Oikawa, how long have you two been going out?" Sawamura asked.

Oikawa turned to glare at him.

"Just over a year," Iwaizumi said, slinging an arm over Oikawa's shoulder to drag him in closer. He pressed a kiss to Oikawa's temple with a poorly concealed grin. "And it's been fantastic every step of the way."

"Ah, I'm sure," Sawamura chuckled, taking a sip from his cup. "Looks like our first years still beat you, though."

The argument that escalated over that could not be stopped, even after Sugawara intervened (and made it worse), but it did finally provide a much needed escape path. Hinata dumped the coats, before they both snuck over to the bar.

"Second year?" Kageyama muttered under his breath.

"I panicked," Hinata said through his teeth, as he smiled and waved at someone.

"Yeah, slightly."

"Everyone thought we were already dating!"

"Because you say things like," Kageyama adopted the most starry-eyed expression he knew how to muster, "I still remember the first time Kageyama tossed to me—"

"Well, I do," Hinata said staunchly. "I'd been receiving the ball for, like, half an hour, I felt like I was gonna die, and then you would have spit on my corpse, probably, and then you had that terrible pass, but I received it, and then you… you tossed." He wasn't rambling defensively anymore; his voice had softened into something more contemplative, as he tapped his fingertips on the counter. "I just remember realizing you'd seen something in me, finally."

Kageyama stared at him, speechless.

"Wh-what?" Hinata stammered. He turned challenging again, squaring his shoulders, puffing out his chest.

"Nothing." Kageyama cleared his throat. "What'd you say you want to drink?"

Hinata waved his hand distractedly. "Just a beer—"

"Beer, I got it, I got it—"

After they had drinks firmly in hand, they wandered over to the sitting room.

"I mean, look," Hinata said quietly, "you totally one-upped Oikawa this way, right?"

"I guess if everyone thinks we're practically married," Kageyama had to agree. Hinata suffered a coughing fit, and Kageyama patted his back uselessly.

"You okay, Hinata?" Bokuto called out.

"He's fine," Kageyama reassured them quickly. But Bokuto was already flagging them down; and so, reluctantly, dreading further questioning, Kageyama pulled Hinata over in their direction.

"Congratulations, you two!" Bokuto told them delightedly. He threw his head back and laughed. "Man! I've been wanting to tell you guys how happy I am for you for ages."

"Bokuto-san," Hinata said, his choking now subsided, "how come you were okay with giving me so much… advice… if you knew we were, uh, already…"

Bokuto looked slightly shamefaced.

Kuroo patted his shoulder. "Just tell him, Kou."

"Okay, okay." Bokuto waved him off. "Look, it's not that I was upset, or anything—"

"You moped for days when Sawamura let it slip—" Kuroo started to say.

"I just hoped—" Bokuto said over him loudly, before tapering off to a more reasonable volume, "I hoped that you'd feel comfortable talking to me about it. I thought maybe if I reached out first…"

"But I hadn't told the captain!" Hinata said. "Because we weren't—" Kageyama stomped on his foot. "Ouch—b-because we weren't… ready…" Hinata finished lamely.

"I know," Bokuto reassured him. "It's fine! I get it now."

"You would have been one of the first people I told," Hinata insisted. "Something this important—I swear."

Bokuto beamed. "It was still so awesome when I heard! You guys are so cool, you know? To have something that strong, on and off the court."

"What about us?" Kuroo asked nonchalantly. "Are we as cool?"

"Well, yeah, but we're us," Bokuto said. "I already told you you're gonna be my best man when you and me get married, dude."

"Good, okay, I've been meaning to check if that's still the plan," Kuroo said, sounding relieved. "I don't get why everyone else thinks it's a bad idea."

"Everyone except Lev."

"That is a warning sign, I'll admit."

Kageyama squinted, trying to recall what he knew about weddings. "How would that… even…"

"That's so awesome, Bokuto-san!" Hinata immediately cheered. Bokuto preened.

"Hey, actually, Hinata!" he said. "Did any of my dating advice help at all? I mean, technically you guys are dating!" He waggled his eyebrows. "The fun doesn't have to stop with the chase, you know."

"Uh…" Hinata said.

"Yeah," Kageyama said, and Hinata puffed out his cheeks in surprise. "Yeah, it was really great, Bokuto-san. Thank you." Hinata beamed at him in gratitude.

Bokuto, meanwhile, smacked Kuroo on the arm. "See? Told you."

"You told him to practice French braiding, and flower arrangement," Kuroo said. "You're a big fan of those pastimes, Kageyama-kun?"

Kageyama, who'd had no idea what any of Bokuto's "hot tips" had been, because Hinata had steadfastly refused to tell him, nodded. "Yeah. I love flowers. And—the French."

Bokuto pointed at Kuroo. "Both of those things won you over. Kozume-kun told me so."

"Dammit, Kenma," Kuroo hissed. He fished his phone out of his pocket and began texting furiously.

Bokuto patted Kageyama on the arm. "Hey, I might've chimed in a bit, but you two really didn't need any help, huh? What'd you guys always used to say before games? You're… unstoppable? No…"

"Invincible," Kageyama said, nodding. He glanced at Hinata for confirmation, to see he was already being watched by a pair of huge brown eyes.

They widened even more when they met Kageyama's. "I think—I just heard Yachi calling me—from the kitchen!" Hinata announced abruptly, speed walking in the other direction. Kageyama stared after him, wondering what that had been about.

Bokuto snapped his fingers. "Yep, that was it. Invincible! Wow."

Kageyama turned back to Bokuto and Kuroo. "The invincible thing." It wasn't that he'd forgotten. It had become so ingrained in him that he didn't even think about it anymore. It just… "That was…"

That was what they'd started saying in their second year. Clasp hands. Slap on the back. Knock their foreheads together.

As long as you're here, I'm invincible.

Kageyama inhaled deeply. "Ah," was all he managed to get out. "I think—just heard Yachi calling me, too—"

He spun on his heel and took off after Hinata. Yachi, it turned out, actually was in the kitchen, but she didn't appear to be tending to any of the food. Instead, by the time Kageyama found them, she was crying into Hinata's shoulder.

"What's, uh, wrong?" Kageyama asked Hinata. Hinata rubbed Yachi's back and shrugged at him, seeming equally confused.

"S-sorry," Yachi sobbed. "I'm n-not sad—I just c-can't believe it—"

"Can't… believe what?" Kageyama asked, awkwardly patting her on the top of her head. She finally extricated herself from Hinata's shirtfront, wiping her eyes.

"I just," she sniffed, "all through Karasuno, my heart just felt so much for you two—"

"It… did?" Kageyama asked.

"Of course," she said. "Even if you hadn't said, it just always made me feel so happy. Especially after, you know, that fight you had in first year—I know that's dumb, but when Shouyou said you were more than just a friend… you were his partner…"

Kageyama side-eyed Hinata. He wasn't sure he'd ever heard that part of Hinata's side of the story. Hinata let out a high-pitched laugh.

"Ah, youth…" Hinata said weakly.

"Yeah," Yachi agreed. "I don't even know if you realized it then, you know? But I wondered… and then in second year, I thought, ah, it happened."

"What happened?"

"The realization!" Yachi said. "Right? After the Dateko game, you said."

"Oh!" Hinata said. "R-right. Yes."

Yachi beamed. "Perfect. That's—of course. I'm just so happy for you guys!" She squealed and made little grabbing motions at them, drawing them both in for a group hug.

"Thanks, Yacchan…" Kageyama said, because he didn't see what else there was to say.

This night was just not going as expected, not in the slightest. How in the hell were they supposed to explain an eventual break up when their friends thought they'd been meant for each other for years?

"Hey," he asked, seized by a sudden idea, "was there anyone who didn't think we were dating?"

Yachi had to think long and hard. She snapped her fingers. "Kei didn't believe us."

Hinata snorted. "Well, that's unsurprising. What does he know about being in love—" He snapped his mouth shut, looking dumbfounded at what he'd been about to say.

"That's what Ryuu-senpai said at the time!" Yachi laughed. "But, it turned out he just thought both of you were too… um, well, too oblivious to notice…"

"What?!" Hinata yelped. "That bastard Tsukishima—!"

Kageyama didn't have to guess to know "oblivious" was a much nicer way of putting whatever Tsukishima had said about them. He felt oddly offended; but everything Tsukishima said about him was pointedly meant to be offensive, so that in itself wasn't so strange.

The strange thing was that, as he'd come to realize that, and as infuriating as it was, he usually got mad because Tsukishima was right.

So what did that mean now?

"Okay, my turn to ask a question," Yachi said. "Was there a reason you guys didn't want to tell us before now?" She waved her hands nervously. "I-if it's okay for me to ask!"

Shit.

"Um, well," Hinata said, "I guess it just never felt like the right time…"

"Ooohh…" Yachi nodded. "But now it does! Did something happen?"

Kageyama exchanged a glance with Hinata, trying to figure out how to respond. This wasn't something they'd had to rehearse—because everyone was supposed to be surprised, not expecting it.

"W-well," Kageyama stammered, "I mean—I guess you could say that—"

"We're ENGAGED!" Hinata cried out.

Every single person in the room fell silent, now staring into the kitchen.

"Ohmygosh," Yachi whispered.

And then, for the second time that night, Kageyama found himself on the receiving end of the loudest cheers he'd ever received, including the time they'd won Nationals.

"What the fuck," Kageyama whispered to himself, "what the fuck?"

It took a long time for him to collect his wits enough to fully comprehend what had just happened, and then an even longer time trying to untangle himself from the constant assault of hugs he was nearly instantaneously subjected to. He only managed to spot Hinata due to the tuft of orange hair he caught poking out the top of Tanaka's sweater (Tanaka had, for some reason, engulfed Hinata inside of his clothes).

"Hinata," he hissed, yanking him back into the light. Hinata emerged, gasping for breath. "Can I talk to you in private?"

"S-sure!" Hinata said. He looked terrified.

Kageyama didn't quite manage to avert his eyes as they passed Oikawa, who was glaring daggers at him, his expression suspicious. Bokuto could be heard saying loudly,

"They probably just need a minute, all that excitement—"

Kageyama marched Hinata into the bathroom down the hall, shutting and locking the door behind him. He clicked on the light, and Hinata flinched as it burned to life.

"Engaged."

"That could have gone better, I agree."

"Engaged?"

Hinata threw up his hands. "I panicked!"

"That's twice in one night!" Kageyama said. "Maybe just—stop talking!"

"You were the one who said everyone thought we were married earlier!" Hinata accused him, poking him in the chest with his finger.

"I said practically married," Kageyama said, "practically!"

"That's—" Hinata started to yell, correcting to a shouty kind of whisper after Kageyama lunged forward to cover his mouth, "what do you think engaged means, Kageyama?!"

Kageyama stared at him for a long moment. And then, because he couldn't help it anymore, he started to laugh.

"How the fuck…" he trailed off.

"I know," Hinata said, right before he burst into giggles, too.

"I mean, seriously, how the fuck—"

"I don't know!"

Kageyama leaned against the wall, his shoulders shaking. "What the hell do we do now?"

"You're asking me?" Hinata shrugged. "We're gonna wind up breaking everybody's hearts!"

"That's their fault, though," Kageyama said. "They're the ones who got all convinced."

"I guess so," Hinata said. He took a deep breath. "It's just, I guess—with what everyone's been saying, I sorta feel—not guilty, exactly, but I can see, sort of, what—"

"What they mean," Kageyama finished.

"Yeah."

They were silent a moment, staring at opposite walls of the bathroom.

Kageyama turned abruptly to face Hinata.

"I remember, too," he said.

"What?" Hinata asked, blankly.

"The first time I set for you." He waited for Hinata to catch on, knew exactly when he figured it out by the light of understanding that clicked on in his eyes. "Of course I do, dumbass."

He didn't mean the insult to sound the way it did, but it happened anyway—unbearably fond. Sometimes it just came out like that, when Hinata was being especially stupid.

Hinata seemed to be at an utter loss for words. Kageyama scratched his neck awkwardly.

"Did you, um, really say that? To Yachi?" he asked.

"W-which?"

"The thing after our fight, in first year," Kageyama said. "About us being…"

"Partners," Hinata filled in.

"Yeah."

Hinata leaned against the wall opposite him. Idly, he kicked one of his feet out, tapping Kageyama's sneaker with his own. "Yeah. I did."

"Hm," Kageyama murmured, surprised. But also, not really. He stared at their feet, at Hinata still kicking at him aimlessly. "Do you think the 'invincible' thing was kinda weird?"

"What?" Hinata gasped. "No way!"

Kageyama looked up to meet his expression. Hinata's eyes were fiery.

"Really?" he asked.

"No! And who cares if it was?" Hinata said. "So we were the only ones who did something like that, so what?! It was our thing, Kageyama, that's what made it special!"

"Special," Kageyama repeated, feeling moderately dumbstruck.

"You don't regret it, do you?!" Hinata demanded.

"Of course I don't," Kageyama said, pushing off the wall to loom over Hinata purposefully. Hinata didn't back down.

"Sure about that?" Hinata challenged him, glaring as he ruffled himself up in Kageyama's personal space.

"You know I don't regret it," Kageyama growled, pushing back, until his forehead was smashed against Hinata's. Irritated, he tried to press Hinata back down off his tiptoes with the force of his brows alone. How dare Hinata suggest he was ashamed of the things they'd accomplished—how could he ever regret how hard they'd worked to grow strong together?

Hinata pushed back, until pain blossomed in Kageyama's skull, though he didn't back down.

"You better not," he said, "Or I'll break up with you, right now."

"Break up with me—"

Hinata pushed as far up on his tiptoes as he could go, and quickly pressed his lips to Kageyama's.

"Maybe… they're not wrong about some stuff," he said quietly. "You… I mean, maybe it's always been obvious how much you mean to me."

He pulled away, leaving Kageyama frozen in place, staring out into space, lips still puckered. Hinata glanced around nervously, hands tugging at the bottom of his sweater.

"I know I kept making everything worse…" he continued. "I'm going to tell them we made everything up. I definitely don't want to tell Hitoka we broke up after she starts planning for the wedding."

He stepped around Kageyama and paused in front of the door, squaring his shoulders. Then he yanked it open and stepped out.

Kageyama didn't follow. He wasn't altogether sure what had just happened. On the surface, it was obvious. Hinata had kissed him; very suddenly, and without warning. But they'd agreed that that was fine, because it wouldn't have worked to plan kissing beforehand (though they'd briefly contemplated using hand signals). In the end, it just looked more spontaneous that way, they figured. More natural, as Hinata might say.

But this kiss had just occurred in a locked bathroom. Where no one else could see them. Kageyama was good at understanding obvious things, but not so good at the less obvious ones. But he was fairly sure, if Hinata had kissed him here, with no one to pretend for or try to fool, that meant… it must mean… that Hinata had kissed Kageyama just because he wanted to.

That hadn't been part of the plan at all. Really, nothing about that night had gone according to plan, after they'd succeeded in surprising exactly nobody. And that was the thing.

Even the part that had just happened wasn't surprising. Kageyama wasn't surprised or upset. Instead, he was just trying to understand.

He thought he might understand.

From outside the bathroom, he could hear Hinata talking, trying to get everyone's attention.

"No, listen," he was saying, and Kageyama could picture him even without seeing it; the bashful hand-waving, the intense blushing. "I was a little too excited and I got carried away!"

Kageyama strode out of the bathroom at a brisk walk, rounding the corner just as Hinata, who was now wringing his hands, took a deep breath and said,

"We have to—I wanted to tell you all something… I'm really sorry, but the truth is that me and Kageyama aren't actually—"

"Engaged," Kageyama said loudly, stepping up next to Hinata and grabbing him by the hand. Hinata jumped.

"Whaaaat?" Bokuto asked.

"I knew it," Oikawa said, nodding sagely.

"Y-you're not?" Yachi asked, looking heartbroken.

"Sorry," Kageyama said, shaking his head.

Hinata was staring at him very strangely. "We're not. But we're also not—"

"Getting married," Kageyama filled in.

Hinata turned to face him, eyes squinted nearly shut in confusion. "That's… the same thing. What about…"

"The wedding?" Kageyama asked. "I told you, you're being too eager. There's still time, stupid."

"Kageyama…" Hinata said slowly, "what are you saying?"

Kageyama grabbed him by both shoulders. "I'm saying," he said, "that I like you. A lot. Back in second year and now. Here, or in Tokyo."

Hinata's eyes were going wide again, his cheeks slowly flushing red. "S-so…"

"It's not going to change," Kageyama said, "and I want to be with you."

And he leaned down close again, to kiss Hinata in front of everyone—but this time, it was just because he wanted to, and he knew Hinata could tell the difference.

He knew because the way Hinata kissed him back was better than any plan they ever could have come up with.

After the excitement of the not-engagement had died down, they stood off to the side, surveying the rest of the party, standing closer together than normal. Normal for them apparently constituted dating, so there they were; the length of Kageyama's side was warmed by Hinata pressing against it.

"Hey," Kageyama said. He pulled his fingers away from his lips; he kept rubbing them unconsciously. "Is this… a thing you've known for a long time, too?"

"What?" Hinata asked. He kept staring at Kageyama's lips, which was entirely part of the reason Kageyama kept touching them.

"The thing with you and me…"

"Oh, no," Hinata said. "I just figured it out when we were, like, in the bathroom."

Kageyama breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god. Me too."

Hinata perked up. "Yeah?"

"Uh huh."

Hinata taps his chin. "So Tsukishima was right."

Kageyama tugged him closer, so he could smash Hinata's face into his chest. "Shhh… he can never find out."

"Never," Hinata agreed, voice muffled. "So we have been dating since second year."

"At this point, I think it'll be easier than saying we weren't."

Hinata raised his head to grin at Kageyama. "Hey! After this, do you wanna go someplace to eat?"

Kageyama nudged him. "Are you asking me out?"

"Yep," Hinata confirmed cheerfully. "How about it… my romantic bun?"

The sound of plastic crunching drew their attention and they turned, to see Oikawa standing nearby, holding a smashed cup and looking affronted.

"What did he just call you?" he asked.

"Oops," Hinata said.

Kageyama squashed his cheeks painfully in one hand. "What'd I tell you, you little shit?"

"It just slipped out—"

"That's—" Oikawa said, covering his mouth with his hand. "That's so cute, I hate it—I despise you, Tobio-chan, and I hope the two of you are very happy!" And he stormed away. 

Kageyama and Hinata stared at each other, stunned. 

"So… I think tonight went well," Hinata said.

Kageyama hugged him as hard as Hinata's little body would allow—which was very hard, he knew, after all the years spent celebrating wins and overcoming losses. "Better than I ever could have expected," he confessed. 

This time, he was expecting it when Hinata kissed him. But that didn't make it any less perfect.