Archive of Our Own

“You two are obsessed with volleyball.”

Tsukishima’s voice pierced through the quiet gym, startling Kageyama and Hinata as they had their backs turned to the door. The two first years frowned at the disruption but ignored the comment in favour of continuing their task. “Tsk,” Tsukishima clicked his tongue at their lack of response and entered the gym. “You two should just marry each other since I doubt there’s space for anyone or anything else in your lives.”

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi approached the duo, curious as to what was holding the simpleton’s attention for longer than usual, and pausing once they realised what it was. Realising that Tsukishima was about to make another quip, Yamaguchi shot his hand out to cover Tsukishima’s mouth in an attempt to muffle his partner’s words. Huffing, Tsukishima stopped and Yamaguchi dropped his hand.

“Who even shines volleyballs–” Tsukishima mumbled.

“Oh, you know they’re just doing that as an excuse to spend time together. Like you said, they don’t really have time for anything else,” Yamaguchi whispered back, not wanting the other two to hear them. “You’re right, though. Volleyball takes up so much of their time, they’ll probably stay single for years.”

Despite their attempts at keeping it down, Kageyama picked up on their conversation and finally retaliated.

“Oi! I can make time!”

“Sure, King.” Tsukishima wasted no time riling the other boy up. “Let’s say you do manage to find time in your very busy schedule to date someone, who would you even date? Are you going to find someone from the women’s team? Ha!” Tsukishima scoffed, crossing his arms and looking down to the setter on the floor. “Good luck finding someone who will understand you like the Shrimp does.” He turned to Hinata, who seemed to be equally as annoyed as Kageyama. “Same goes for the other way around.”

Without waiting for a response, Tsukishima turned around and began to make his way towards the storage room, trusting Yamaguchi to follow right behind him. What they hadn’t realised was that both Kageyama and Hinata did not plan to respond in the first place.

With their backs turned, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi missed the way Kageyama and Hinata stared at each other, engaged in a silent and serious conversation that simply ended with them nodding their heads and returning to their task at hand.

“Maybe you’re right, Tsukishima.”

“Wow, the King agrees with me?” Tsukishima feigned surprise, complete with the dramatic hand to his chest. “Yamaguchi, pinch me. I must be dreaming.”

Tsukishima barely avoided the ball that had been hurled towards the back of his head.

Later that day, Tsukishima held back a snort when he saw Kageyama glaring at him from their usual lunch spot. The setter did not manage to get back at him for his comments before practice ended so he still held a grudge against Tsukishima. Tsukishima figured that Kageyama’s grievances were probably going to last for the rest of the day.

Like most lunch periods, the five first years sat underneath a large tree by the gym as they ate their lunch. It was the only way they could enjoy their meal without dealing with the hustle and bustle of the cafeteria.

Just a few months prior, seeing Kageyama, Hinata and Tsukishima willingly eat lunch together would have been an unexpected sight. Kageyama and Tsukishima probably would have scoffed at the idea of the two of them being in the same space beyond the purposes of volleyball.

Now, the five of them were nearly inseparable. It was obvious that each of them had very distinct and polar opposite personalities, but they did have more commonalities than they would like to admit. One of them being their disdain for the noisy cafeteria and mid-tier lunch sold at their school.

When Yamaguchi, Yachi and Hinata found out that they also opted to eat their lunch in the stairwells or the classroom, Hinata brought up the idea of eating together.

And, of course, wherever Hinata and Yamaguchi went, Kageyama and Tsukishima followed. Whether the two boys liked it or not, their group’s frequent lunches had caused the five of them to bond and create their own little clique.

Hinata and Kageyama had already finished their bentos but were lazing around on the grass while waiting for Yachi’s timer to go down. Their ‘post-meal rest time’ rule was enacted after a particularly memorable lunch period where Hinata ate more than he should have, ran after Kageyama and proceeded to puke on Tsukishima’s lap.

As the duo stared at the countdown on Yachi’s phone, they were snapped out of their haze by Yachi’s laughter.

“You guys agreed to get married because of volleyball ?!” Yachi exclaimed, laughing so hard that she almost fell backwards. Beside her, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were snickering behind their hands.

“Uhm…” Kageyama raised an eyebrow and sat up. “Yeah?”

“Don’t you two want to get married for reasons other than volleyball?”

“Huh?” Now, Hinata was the one sitting up and staring at the trio with a confused look in his eyes. “What’s more important than volleyball?”

“Oh, geez. I don’t know…” Yachi made a motion and pretended to ponder over her answer for a moment. “What about love?”

“We love volleyball.”

Yachi stared at them for a few seconds before bursting into another round of laughter and actually tilting off the bench. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima joined her soon after. It was almost comical how beautifully in-sync and perfect the duo’s answer was. Really, it was on them for expecting anything else.

Hinata and Kageyama stared at their friends before turning to each other. They didn’t really understand what was so funny with what they said. After all, all they did was state a simple fact.

“I don’t get it. Was there a joke we missed?”

“No, no…” Yachi took a second to regain her composure and pick up the bento box she placed on the grass. “I’m just glad true love still exists.”

The two finacés nodded in seriousness before refocusing their attention to the timer. Typically, Hinata would join in on whatever conversation the other three had but he and Kageyama had just worked out their new quick and they really wanted to perfect it before the next practice match.

The speed at which the two boys turned back to the countdown made the other three burst into another round of laughter. The duo were truly perfect for each other.

The topic of Hinata and Kageyama's engagement came up again a week later while the team was getting changed in the clubroom.

They were talking about the upcoming school festival and what event they should hold to encourage more people to join their club the following year when Tsukishima made a quip about how Kageyama and Hinata could host their wedding in the gym. It seemed like the appropriate venue, after all.

“Kageyama and Hinata’s what ?! Noya-san! Our kouhais are getting married before us!!”

“We’re doomed, Ryuu! Doomed!”

Ignoring the second year’s antics, Sugawara paused in the middle of putting his shirt on to turn to Tsukishima and ask him what he meant by that. To avoid any misunderstandings, Yamaguchi explained the whole joke and how Hinata and Kageyama went along with the whole thing instead of protesting it like he expected.

“Why would we protest if it makes sense?”

Kageyama turned his head to glance down at Hinata as the smaller boy finished placing his knee pads on. They both looked puzzled by everyone’s reactions and found some kind of solidarity in realising that at least they found their ‘engagement’ perfectly normal.

Tanaka snorted before asking them how they could get married if they didn't even have an engagement ring. Hinata’s eyes went wide and before anyone could laugh it off and tell him Tanaka was joking, Hinata ran out of the clubroom without throwing on a shirt.

From inside the clubroom, everyone heard Yachi scream in the distance, followed by a loud slap. Two minutes later, Hinata came running back in with a handprint on his face.

“Yacchan slapped me because I didn’t realise I was running to her without a shirt but I got it!”

Hinata got down on his knee in front of Kageyama and pulled out one of Yachi’s smaller hair ties. The setter looked at his spiker in exasperation before deciding to just go with it and presented his left hand. As Hinata wrapped the hair tie around Kageyama’s fingers (restricting the finger’s blood flow) the entire club room erupted in cheers.

Holding Kageyama’s hand up, Hinata turned to Tanaka for approval then grinned when his upperclassman gave him a thumbs up. In the corner, Tsukishima sighed as he grabbed his water bottle and made his way out of the room. He had a feeling Daichi was about to barge in soon and scare everyone into running to the gym for practice.

Every once in a while, the people around Hinata and Kageyama enjoyed making quips about their ‘engagement’. After some time, the two of them joined in on it. Soon enough, their friends on the other teams picked up on it as well.

Bokuto seemed to be the only one that did not think the whole thing was a joke and was very interested in ‘planning out the details of the wedding’ with Kageyama since Kageyama was more detail-oriented than Hinata. Something about how it would make great practice for when he had to help his sisters plan their weddings one day.

Apart from the Fukurodani player, everyone else was caught up on the running gag and found it amusing whenever it was brought up.

One night, during one of the training camps, Kageyama used his pillow to suffocate Hinata awake. Hinata’s gasp and accompanying yell nearly woke up the entire room.

“Why would you do that?!”

“You were snoring. I had to find a way to stop it”

“Oh my god! ” Hinata complained and scratched his head in frustration. “Wear earplugs or something! We’re only going to be here for three nights anyway!”

“Yeah but when we get married, I'm going to have to share a bed with you. If we don’t figure something out now, I’ll never be able to sleep”

“…Fine, you’re right.” Hinata dropped his hand and looked at Kageyama with sleepy eyes. “Just hit me or something. Don’t try to kill me.” Hinata plopped back down, missing his own futon and landing on Kageyama’s. “You can’t marry a dead man.”

“Ew.” Kageyama cringed and laid back down as well, adjusting to Hinata’s presence in his space. “That’s illegal.”

“Exactly.”

The two of them settled back underneath the blanket, completely oblivious to the fact that everyone around them had woken up but were too surprised to make themselves known. It was one thing to joke about being married with others around, but a whole separate thing to do so when it was just the two of them.

Then again, they were Kageyama and Hinata. They were pretty quirky.

It happened again later in the morning. Karasuno was in charge of breakfast so Hinata and Kageyama were assigned to scrambled egg duty. For the most part, they were alone in the kitchen while the others prepared sandwiches in the cafeteria. So, the third years decided to check in on them.

When they walked in, they were pleasantly surprised to see that the two had not burnt down the room or themselves yet. In fact, Kageyama was standing off to the side and watching Hinata cook with both their backs facing the door.

Before Daichi could speak up, Hinata nudged Kageyama and spoke up.

“Pay attention. You have to, at least , learn how to make eggs.”

“Why?” The setter frowned with his signature pout but still leaned over Hinata’s shoulders to watch the other boy cook.

“If I can’t cook and you can’t cook, how are we going to get married?”

“Just hire a chef.”

“Bakeyama!” Hinata smacked the back of Kageyama’s head with one of the dry dishrags. “We won’t have that kind of money!”

“Ouch!” Kageyama finched and rubbed his head, but didn’t move away from Hinata’s shoulder. Instead, he leaned into it and grumbled under his breath. “Then we’ll make enough money…”

“For the sole reason of hiring a personal chef?!”

“I don’t want to eat eggs for the rest of my life!”

“You’re so annoying!”

Once Kageyama grabbed a chunk of Hinata’s hair, Daichi had to step in because jesus christ there was an open flame right there .

(Suga made sure to tell everyone what they had witnessed. The running gag had become everyone’s favourite joke).

After the training camp, other players began to refer to Kageyama and Hinata as the ‘volleyball husbands’ in addition to the ‘freak duo’. Their teammates found it funny when they walked down the halls during match days and heard other players talk about how they need to be worried about playing against the ‘volleyball husbands’.

When Oikawa heard about it, he began to refer to Hinata as ‘Kageyama-chan’ or as his ‘kouhai-in-law’. Hinata took it in stride but Kageyama frowned at the second nickname. No one called him out on how he’d turn red when Oikawa used ‘Kageyama-chan’ on Hinata.

Tsukishima was bewildered at how far the joke lasted. He made one quip and now it was probably going to be a part of the duo’s brand when they get into the VLeagues. Yamaguchi found the whole thing entertaining; mainly because of Tsukishima’s reactions rather than the joke itself.

During the third year’s graduation ceremony, they gave out gifts to the second and first years. To no one’s surprise, Suga presented a ‘Mr. & Mr. Volleyball’ mug to Kageyama and Hinata, complete with a wink and a promise to give them more stuff at their wedding. 

While everyone laughed at the gag, they missed the way Kageyama and Hinata shared a look and smiled at the mug.

A few years had passed since the joke began. The two boys graduated, Kageyama was playing for the Adlers and Hinata was in Brazil. With everyone busy building their respective careers, the running gag died down for a while. 

At least, that was how it felt like for the Karasuno alumnus.

During Hinata’s first few weeks in Brazil, Pedro noticed that Hinata would often disappear at random times throughout the day to take calls on their balcony or in the hallway. The man tried not to pry into Hinata’s business for the longest time but he couldn’t help but notice the way Hinata would always return with the softest look on his face. The curiosity got the best of him.

“Hey, Shouyou! Who got you smiling like that? A secret lover~?”

Pedro leaned over the back of the couch to tease his roommate but Shouyou simply shook his head and walked around the couch to sit beside Pedro.

“Not a secret. He’s my fiancé.”

The Brazilian man blinked once, twice, then a couple more times. Pedro knew that Hinata was slightly older than him but he didn’t expect the man to be in a relationship, much less engaged. Hinata didn’t wear a ring and he had never talked about his fiancé so Pedro just assumed his roommate was single.

“Bro… I didn’t know you had a man.”

“Really? I talk about him all the time!”

Stunned, Pedro was about to remind Hinata that he had never heard Hinata utter a word about his ‘fiancé’. He only knew about Hinata’s high school friends. Specifically, Hinata’s volleyball buddies. Then, it hit him.

“Wait! Is he that Kageyama guy?”

“Yeah!”

“For real? Sweet!” Pedro raised his arm to give the other man a fist bump. He had seen a few pictures of the guy and Pedro had to admit, Kageyama was hot. “When you kept calling him your ‘partner’, I assumed you meant your volleyball partner.”

“Well, he is my volleyball partner. He’s just that and… much more.” Hinata trailed off and turned his face away from Pedro, but the other man still caught the slight blush on Hinata’s face.

“Shut up. That’s so cute.” Pedro took a swig of his beer and noticed the calendar sitting on their table. “When’s the wedding? I’m totally invited, right?”

“If you ever get off your ass and apply for a passport, then yes, you’re invited.” Hinata laughed when Pedro sighed into his beer bottle. He knew Pedro had been procrastinating on that for years. “Also, we’re thinking of doing it a year after I get back. One year to settle down in an apartment together before we start to get busy with all the wedding stuff.”

“Smart.”

Hinata nodded and unpaused the game they were watching before Hinata left to take his call. It was a soccer game Pedro had recorded the night before. Despite being volleyball obsessed, staying in Brazil had caused Hinata to develop an appreciation for soccer. It was fun to watch, at least.

“You should get your man to play footvolley with you.”

“What’s that?”

“Want me to teach you?”

“Hell yeah.”

Back in Japan, the Adlers were completely oblivious to Kageyama’s relationship. The setter was a private man and did not share much about his life outside of volleyball. Even when he was probed on it, he never really had much to say. Most of his life did revolve around volleyball, after all.

Though, there was a night when Hoshiumi managed to drag them out to a nearby club and a few women tried to approach Kageyama. He turned them down as politely as he could but still ended up hiding by Ushijima’s side for most of the night.

“Why are you hiding, Kageyamaaa?” Hoshiumi slung his arm over Kageyama’s shoulders, swaying slightly from drinking one too many beers. “You’re a ladies man tonight! There’s no harm in talking to some of them.”

“I’d rather not…”

“Ooooooo!” Hoshiumi’s voice raised two octaves, clearly drunk off his mind but still able to string together coherent sentences. “Do you already have a girlfriend? Or a boyfriend?”

“Nope.”

“It’s just not your scene, then? Alright, I get it.” Hoshiumi smiled and looked at the other patrons in the bar. “I’m in the same boat as you. No one here is my type anyway.”

“Of course not.” Romero walked over to them, taking a seat beside Hoshiumi and gently taking the bottle away from the man. “Your type is currently working overtime at a veterinary clinic and you’re sad he couldn’t come tonight.”

“Exactly!” Hoshiumi let go of Kageyama and proceeded to throw his arm around Romero instead, except he had to practically lift himself off his seat from how much higher Romero’s shoulder was. “Tell me. Does he love the cats more than me?”

“No! Of course not.”

“Oh, thank god–”

“I can’t say the same about the dogs.”

“Noooo!”

It was a long night.

The next day, Hoshiumi and a few of the others were suspiciously absent from practice. Typically, Kageyama would be upset by that but they had just won a match less than a week prior and Kageyama had learnt that it was good to unwind after a game like that.

Though, while the others liked to celebrate to let loose, Kageyama opted for more practice. Watching his plays during the match and fine tuning his sets was his preferred option of unwinding. It was Ushijima’s as well.

After their practice, Ushijima and Kageyama stayed back to work on some of the sets they could have executed better during the match. As per usual, they worked in silence and only spoke up to comment on each other’s forms.

During a water break, Kageyama noticed that he had missed a call from Hinata. The call was over an ago so the man was likely at practice. Kageyama felt upset at missing Hinata’s ‘good morning’ call but he figured he’d sulk about it later. Ushijima realised that Kageyama was staring at his home screen and peaked over the setter’s shoulder.

“‘Shouyou’?” Ushijima read the name on Kageyama’s screen, dutifully ignoring the heart beside it (that Hinata definitely added himself one night while Kageyama was asleep). “Is that Hinata Shouyou from your old school?”

“What? Oh, yeah.”

“Correct me if I’m mistaken, but isn’t he in Brazil right now? Why is he calling you this early in the morning?”

“He has practice. Even when doesn't, he has a habit of calling me when he wakes up.” Kageyama placed his phone back into his bag and began to walk towards the court with Ushijima trailing right behind him.

“Hm.” The other man hummed and they returned to their practice.

As a setter, it was Kageyama’s job to read his teammates so that he could make the best plays. Overtime, it meant that he had gotten better at reading them in general. Kageyama could tell that there was something Ushijima wanted to ask but was keeping it in.

They had to focus on their practice so Kageyama figured it was better to ask the man to voice it out so that he could give Kageyama’s sets his full attention when they jumped back into it.

“Is there something on your mind, Ushijima-san?”

“Yes.” Ushijima responded, as straight-forward as ever. “Back in high school, Tendou used to refer to you and Hinata-kun as the ‘volleyball husbands’. I had thought it was just a nickname but are you and him truly dating?”

“Oh, that.” Kageyama had not heard that term in a long time. “We aren’t dating. We never have.”

“I see. Thank you for answering my question. Shall we get back to practice?”

“Sure.”

Time flew by faster than Kageyama and Hinata had anticipated. Despite counting down the days, they both felt like the day Hinata finally returned to Japan arrived a lot earlier than they thought.

Granted, they had been busy with both their volleyball training sessions and spent a lot of their free time on call with one another so it was not like they felt the distance that much. Still, they found themselves scrambling to get a new place together before Kageyama’s lease expired.

Since they were planning to move in together when Hinata returned, Kageyama did not extend his lease for his apartment. Except the two of them weren’t the most organised of individuals and had not realised that they probably should have secured an apartment before Hinata returned.

The first month of Hinata’s return was spent running all over Tokyo to check out apartments, going for VLeague tryouts and packing up Kageyama’s surprisingly cluttered apartment. Kageyama pointed out how most of his ‘clutter’ was from the packages Hinata had sent him while he was in Brazil and after six boxes of nothing but Brazilian memorabilia, Hinata couldn’t disagree.

Lucky for them, they managed to find an apartment close enough to Kageyama’s training gym and move out before Kageyama’s landlord could come and kick them out. They weren’t allowed to even live together in that last month since Kageyama’s lease was for a one-person tenant.

The time it took for them to unpack was a lot shorter than the time it took for them to clean up Kageyama’s apartment since they sent most of their non-essential boxes to their family homes in Miyagi.

They didn’t need too many things in their apartment since they would be spending most of their time there during off-seasons. Kageyama was still a tenant in the Adler’s dormitory and Hinata was moving in with Atsumu, Sakusa, Bokuto, Oliver and Inunaki in Osaka once he heard he had been invited to join the MSBY.

Despite the time apart, they did want to make their home comfortable. They hung up pictures of their friends and family, alongside some news articles from when they were still in Karasuno. Kageyama had to talk Hinata out of getting plants since it would be a sad sight to return to after months away.

Within a week, they had gotten rid of all the boxes in their apartment and bought all the furniture they needed. Since Hinata had held off meeting up with old friends when he returned in lieu of finding a new place, they figured they should hold a housewarming party for everyone to catch up with each other.

Letting Hinata be in charge of the guest list was Kageyama’s first mistake. His second mistake was allowing Tanaka and Noya to bring alcohol.

“Hey hey hey!!” Bokuto boomed from the doorway before pausing once he realised how crowded the place was.

Everyone was sitting all over the place. Asahi and Noya were sitting by Kageyama’s fake plants, Kenma was lounging over the back of the couch like a housecat and Suga was sitting in the sink.

“Bokuto-san! Hi!” Hinata yelled back, hopping off Tanaka’s shoulders and jumping over Tsukishima on the floor to get to the doorway. “Welcome, welcome! It’s a little crowded but I think Kenma saved a spot on the couch for Akaashi-san!”

“Nice! I brought drinks!”

“Oh… Uhm, Tanaka-san and Noya-san already bought way too much…”

“Impossible! There’s no such thing as too much Coke and Sprite!”

“Coke and…?” Hinata peered into the bag Bokuto was carrying and, sure enough, he could see the Coke and Sprite logos on the caps. He glanced over at Akaashi and the man was smiling. “I see. I can put those in the fridge for now!”

Bokuto grinned and handed the bags over to Hinata before making his way to Kuroo like he had not seen his best friend in years (he just saw Kuroo a few hours prior). Akaashi, ever so polite, bowed and slowly took his shoes off before stepping in.

“I had a feeling having too much alcohol at this party would have been a bad idea.”

“Well…” Hinata looked around and noted just how many of his friends were tipsy or nursing someone drunk. “You’re not wrong.”

The other man nodded and headed for the couch while Hinata made his way to the kitchen. As he walked through the doorway, he slammed into someone walking out and they both ended up on the floor. Thankfully, none of Bokuto’s drinks burst open but the other person ended up spilling their drink on the two of them.

“Sorry– Oi!” Hinata began to apologise but stopped when he realised who he had run into. “You live here! How could you not see where you’re going!”

“What?!” Kageyama yelled back. “Just because I know there’s a door doesn’t mean I know what’s behind it! And were you going to apologise but stopped when you saw that it was me?!”

“Yeah!”

“Dumbass–!”

Kageyama lunged forward to tackle Hinata to the ground, but was held back by his collar. They both turned and noticed Daichi looking down at the both of them, with the rest of the party watching the scene from behind him.

“Seriously, you guys…” Daichi tugged on Kageyama to get him to stand up then did the same to Hinata. “You just moved in. It would be a shame if the two of you got into a fight and broke something on your first week here.”

“Or killed each other.” Kenma spoke up nonchalantly from his position on the couch’s backboard, with all four of his limbs still hanging off the sides.

“On the bright side,” Yamaguchi chimed in, “Their rooms are on the opposite side of the apartment so they have some distance between them.”

The others began to delve into a discussion about the way the place is decorated and how the two young athletes managed to find a two-bedroom apartment in Tokyo with the salaries they had. Suga seemed to theorise that Kenma sponsored a part of their initial payment but Kenma shot that down fast. His sugar daddy benefits extended to volleyball only.

Hinata and Kageyama pondered for a moment if they should point out that they did not have any distance since only one of the rooms was theirs and the other was a guest bedroom. They decided not to bring it up since the moment had passed already.

As the night went on and the drinks started flowing, most of the adults were starting to get more tipsy or straight up drunk. Including the two homeowners themselves. Despite drinking more than most of the others in the room, Hinata was the most sober tipsy person there. Something about his two years in Brazil had increased his tolerance tenfold.

Kageyama, on the other hand, had two bottles of soju and was already slurring his words together. He was on the floor and slumped against Hinata’s legs while the older man sat on the couch. They were playing a drinking game but midway through, most of the players had already forgotten that they were even playing a game.

“God. They really do look like husbands.”

Tsukishima, one of the few sober adults, commented on how Hinata was combing through Kageyama’s hair while the setter struggled to stay awake. He even pointed out how the other two were wearing ‘matching couples clothes’, which neither of them had noticed. They just picked out two random outfits from their closet.

Those around them began to reminisce about the way Hinata and Kageyama were like in high school, causing Kageyama to mumble something against Hinata’s legs.

“What did you say, Kageyama?”

Suga leaned in closer to try and understand what the setter was saying but Kageyama was way too drunk to be coherent. Thankfully, Hinata had always been able to understand the other man even when he wasn’t speaking. 

“Oh! He was asking you guys if we should have our wedding in the summer or winter!”

The entire room burst out laughing. Those that had passed out were woken up by the sudden laughter and Hinata was momentarily concerned that his neighbours would get upset before remembering his neighbours were fellow twenty year olds that threw their own parties.

He didn't quite get why they were laughing. When he and Kageyama discussed the wedding with Miwa and Natsu, the two sisters had been squealing instead.

“Alright, guys!” Noya slammed his drink down onto the table, startling a sober Asahi who had been trying to keep his very drunk fiancé from breaking something that night. “Summer or winter wedding! Let’s take a vote!”

“Winter! We can make ‘Groom and Groom’ snowmen at the altar!” Bokuto yelled out.

“No! Summer! Winter’s too cold to wear a dress!” Yachi countered, leaning against Kanoka who nodded at the statement.

“I gotta stand by them, man.” Tanaka agreed. “I’d hate for Kiyoko to freeze before the vows.”

“I’ll wear a suit.”

“You’ll look gorgeous either way, my love.” Tanaka whipped around to wrap his arms around his wife, smiling contently to himself. It was difficult to tell how drunk he was since he fawned over Kiyoko just as much as when he was sober.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Suga spoke up, ever the rational one in a room of energetic men and women. “What do the lovebirds themselves want?”

Hinata hummed to himself. They wanted a summer wedding but according to Natsu and Miwa, the best weddings are in the winter. Japan is gorgeous that time of year and Hinata and Kageyama knew that they wanted a picturesque wedding. They weren't the lavish type of people, but they wanted to do something new for their wedding.

Though, something about having their wedding in the summer felt so them . They may not have the gorgeous snowy scenery that made up 80% of their wedding Pinterest board, but they’d be able to have their wedding at the beach. It’d be more casual, less stressful and there would be more than enough space to hold everyone they wanted to invite.

(That, and they could play beach volleyball right after their vows. Hinata felt that watching Kageyama and their groomsmen eat sand right after making their relationship official would be a wonderful way to start off their marriage.)

“I think I’d like a summer wedding…”

“Then I vote for summer!”

Everyone else cheered in support of that idea. In all the chatter, Hinata noticed movement coming from Kageyama and bent down to listen to the man. Kageyama was drunkenly cheering as well but in a very quiet and sleepy whisper. It was adorable.

“I think I should tuck Kageyama in for the night.”

Hinata picked up his athletic, six foot partner with such ease that the rest of the room began to cheer and whistle at them as Hinata carried him to their room. He was a little embarrassed carrying his sleeping partner into a room and closing the door behind them because he knew what the others were implying. They weren’t fifteen anymore, after all.

After taking Kageyama's jacket and socks off, Hinata placed him under their blanket and made sure Kageyama was comfortable before turning to head back out to the party.

“Shou…”

A hand wrapped itself around Hinata’s wrist and the smaller man turned around. Kageyama’s eyes were still closed but he was leaning over the edge and reaching out for Hinata.

“Tobio! Careful, you might fall off and hit that empty head of yours.”

Hinata dashed forward to push Kageyama back onto the bed and Kageyama snaked his arms around the other man’s small waist. For a drunk person, his grip was surprisingly strong. Then again, Hinata knew how clingy Kageyama had become after two years apart.

“Stay.”

“I can’t.”

“Nooooooo…”

Kageyama whined against Hinata’s navel and Hinata could practically feel Kageyama’s head getting heavier and heavier as he tried to keep himself awake. It was a good thing Hinata had shut the door because Kageyama would never be able to live this moment down if any of their friends had witnessed it.

“You’re adorable but I need to be a good host. There’s still, like, twenty people out there.”

“Wh–Why are there sooo many people in our house, Shouuyou? It’s our house. Just you… and me…”

Hinata stifled a laugh as he pet Kageyama’s hair. His partner was such a cute drunk. Maybe he should have left the door open so that someone could record this for him and Hinata could use it as his wallpaper or something.

“Okay, okay. It’s our house.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

“Yes, I agree.”

“Mmm.”

Kageyama slumped forward and Hinata held him up so that he wouldn’t tip over the bed again. He set the man down on the pillow for the second time and checked to make sure that Kageyama was actually asleep before sneaking back out the door.

As Hinata made his way back to the sofa, he took a mental note to make sure he got Kageyama drunk in front of their sisters next time. Miwa and Natsu needed to see Kageyama’s soft side.

A few months later, the two of them finally settled on a date after talking it out with their sisters and mothers. Even though the wedding was six months away, they worked on sending out their invitations as soon as they confirmed the venue so that their guests could save the date.

Considering that Hinata was inviting his friends from Brazil and a good portion of their guests were fellow volleyball players that had moved abroad or were travelling the world, six months was already cutting it close. Their guests still had to figure out travel plans with the couple and the others had to clear their schedules.

Kageyama and Natsu wanted to send an email or some kind of virtual invitation since it was faster and easier to keep track off but Hinata and Miwa insisted on physical envelopes. They were still going to send out virtual ones, but after most of their guests had already gotten their physical ones.

Both Kageyama and Natsu grumbled and pouted as they received papercut after papercut while preparing the invitations with Hinata and Miwa. They even joked about how the blood was an unwelcome but unique touch to their invitations. (Of course, Miwa re-did those invitations).

After all the invitations were sent out, all four of them gave themselves a whole day of nothing but lazing around their own houses. The wedding-prep grind was taking them out but at least they had a few days of rest. None of them expected any responses until about a week after the letters had been sent out so they decided to take it easy til then.

As it usually went with the pair, they were wrong.

Two days later, Hinata and Kageyama received a call at 5am and picked it up without checking the caller ID. They had assumed it was Oikawa since the Argentinian was the only person they knew that would call regardless of the time – especially when he was bored out of his mind.

Apparently, it wasn’t.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU TWO ARE GETTING MARRIED IN JUNE?!”

The couple cringed away from the speaker, rubbing their ears and squinting at the bright screen. Tsukishima had not yelled at Hinata like that since that one time Hinata snuck into Shiratorizawa’s training camp. He had not missed it.

“W–What…?” Hinata groggily responded, rubbing his eyes and sitting up against their headboard. Kageyama, on the other hand, opted to lay back down and bury his face into Hinata’s stomach. The older one placed his hand on Kageyama’s hair and combed his fingers through it in hopes it would get his partner to fall back asleep.

“MARRIAGE?!”

On the other end of the line, Hinata heard the scuffling of the microphone and Yamaguchi urging Tsukishima to pass him the phone. Hinata sighed. At least Yamaguchi wouldn’t be as loud as Tsukishima at five in the morning.

“Hinata Shouyou. What the fuck ?!”

Hinata was wrong. Strike two.

“Why are you guys so surprised by this?” Hinata questioned, without any sort of sarcasm laced in his tone. He was being genuine and honest and he could tell that something about that made Yamaguchi and Tsukishima act up again.

“Why are we surprised by this?! We didn’t even know–!” Yamaguchi was cut off by a buzzing noise. “Hold on, Hitoka wants to join the call.”

Hinata stayed silent as Yamaguchi accepted Yachi’s call and continued to pet a very sleepy Kageyama. He himself was already wide awake and he silently grieved over his lost sleep. It would be impossible for him to fall asleep again after the call but at least he’d be able to hold onto Kageyama as the man slept (assuming Kageyama remained asleep).

“Dashi? Is Shouyou here or–?”

“He’s here.”

“Good. Hinata Shouyou, what the fuck?! ”

Hinata was starting to wonder if all hs phone calls from then on were going to begin like that.

“Okay, okay. I’m kind of getting it now but how are you guys calling me this early? The mailman said that the letters would take a week to reach most of the recipients.”

“ Most of the recipients. We don’t have our invitations yet.”

“Then–?”

“Hoshiumi-san.”

Of course. Hoshiumi lived close to the two of them. It would make sense for him to receive the invitation first. They should have added a note on the letter that told the recipients to wait a week before sharing the news.

It was only then did Hinata notice that his phone had been vibrating the entire time. Pulling the screen back, Hinata noticed that his notifications were in the hundreds. Clearly Hoshiumi’s news had revived their old ‘high school volleyball players’ group chat. Having their marriage being that big of a deal felt flattering to the man.

“Shouyou!”

“Yes, yes. I’m here.”

Yachi must have picked up on Hinata’s tired tone and calmed down. Everyone knew that Hinata was the furthest thing from a morning person and living with Kageyama had only helped that by a little bit. She probably realised that this whole situation was a bit too much for a man that had not had his morning coffee yet.

“For the record, I’m ninety-nine percent sure no one is bothered by you two getting married.”

“Considering how queer most of our social circles are, I figured that wasn’t the case.”

“It’s just… Why didn’t you guys tell us that you two were dating?”

“We–” “We’re not.”

A grumpy and husky voice cut Hinata off and Hinata pouted when Kageyama started to rise from his spot on Hinata’s stomach. He had hoped Kageyama would have been able to sleep through all that ruckus.

“I really need you two to explain what’s going on because Kei looks like he’s going to burst a vein.” Tadashi spoke up and in the background, they could hear Kei whispering to himself and wondering if this was all some big and elaborate scheme to make him go mad. “Like, right now. Please.”

“We never dated. We started off with engagement, remember? You and Kei were there.”

“What do you mean? I’m pretty sure we would have remembered you two proposing.”

“You guys… do?” Kageyama’s voice was still husky with sleep but still went up at the end in confusion. “Remember back in our first year when Kei said that we should get married and we agreed to it? Shouyou even used Hitoka’s hair tie as a ring until we could actually afford a real one.” Kageyama scratched his hair and remembered something. “Oh. The hair tie is still in our dresser, by the way. In case you wanted it back, Hitoka.”

Nothing but silence filtered through the other end. When it came to the five of them, silence was never a good sign. Hinata preemptively held his phone away from his ear as Kageyama laid back down on Hinata’s chest, both of them already expecting the yelling to come back.

“ Dumbass! ” Tsukishima bellowed from somewhere far away, his voice getting louder and louder as he stomped back to wherever Yamaguchi was and proceeded to yell straight into the microphone. “THAT’S– THAT’S NOT HOW ENGAGEMENT WORKS!”

“No… I’m pretty sure we got it right.”

“You need to love someone romantically to marry them, dumbass!”

“But I do?” Hinata responded, looking down softly at the man currently laying on his chest with his ear right about Hinata’s heart. “I wouldn’t have agreed to marry Tobio if I didn’t love him. He’s been my fiancé since we were fifteen, I think it’s safe to say we’re both in this for the long run.”

The couple sat in silence for a few seconds, checking the screen every so often to see if they had gotten disconnected or accidentally muted the call. Soon enough, Yamaguchi spoke up and told them that Tsukishima had left to brew some coffee because it was ‘too early in the morning to process all of this’.

“I think I’ll go get some, too.” Yamaguchi declared, straining his voice as he got up from the couch. “It’s definitely a lot to think back on but you can take this as mine and Kei’s RSVP that we are coming and that we would love to be Tobio’s groomsmen.”

“That’s great! I’ll let Natsu know and she’ll add you guys to the bridal party group chat.” Hinata paused to think about how everything went down and added, “If you guys have any more questions or want to talk more about this later, just call us and we can talk about it. I didn’t realise we never made it official to anyone.”

“Technically, you guys have. We were the ones that thought it was a bit for years because of how everything started. I hope you guys don’t think this doesn’t mean you don’t have all of our support. We’re just surprised, that’s all.”

“Of course, Dashi. Enjoy the coffee!”

“See you guys later!”

Kageyama and Yachi said their goodbyes as Yamaguchi ended the call, reminding the two men she was there as well. Thankfully, Yachi had seemed a lot more calm and collected than she had been when this all started and the two of them waited until she spoke up.

“A summer wedding, huh? Will there be volleyball?”

“After the reception, yeah. Natsu and Tobio didn’t want the whole wedding to revolve around volleyball so we’re doing it afterwards.”

“Tobio? Really?” Yachi’s surprise was conveyed very clearly through her tone. Hinata understood her shock. Kageyama was just as volleyball obsessed as he was, after all.

“Yeap. He wanted the wedding to really be more about us so he’s only allowing it after we finish making everything official. Miwa-nee was the one to suggest it to be after the reception so that we wouldn’t have to walk around and greet everyone all sweaty and stuff.”

“That makes a lot of sense.” Yachi responded and even though Hinata could not see her, he knew she was nodding on the other end of the line. “Okay, then. Sounds great!”

“So… You’re coming?”

“Of course I’m coming! And I’m definitely taking up Tobio’s offer to be his Maid of Honour. I assume Natsu is yours?”

“Yeap! Miwa-nee’s got a lot on her plate with the new baby and all so she isn’t able to be Tobio’s Maid of Honour. But she’s going to walk Tobio down the aisle!”

The two of them started talking for a moment about how Suga and Oikawa were Kageyama’s other groomsmen while Kenma, Atsumu, Bokuto and Noya were Hinata’s. Before they could get into more detail, Yachi yawned from the other end of the line and Hinata remembered it was still too early for her since she wasn't as used to waking up for morning trainings like he was.

“I think I’m going to go back to bed first… I can talk to Natsu-chan about that group chat later.”

“Alright!”

“Oh! I’ll explain things to the volleyball group chat too. I assume neither you or Tobio have the energy to deal with them this early.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure! If anything, I’ll probably handle this better than you guys.”

Hinata agreed, knowing that Yachi and the other ex-managers in their mass group chat had put out quite a lot of virtual fires over the years and were the only few people who knew how to get a handle on the conversations in there.

Smiling, Hinata thanked Yachi and they ended the call. Finally, he tossed his phone aside and curled back up against his partner.

“Mmm…” Kageyama hummed and snuggled in closer, shoving his face into Hinata’s chest. “Warm.”

Hinata squeezed his fiancé closer to him and resisted the urge to flip him over and kiss him senseless. Kageyama was too fucking adorable for a grown adult man and it was a crime that the rest of the world would never see this side of him. At least Hinata would be able to keep it all for himself.

“Go back to sleep, Tobi. Sweet dreams.”

“M’kay. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Are you sure you love me?”

“Oh my god, Tobiooooo!”

Hinata groaned as he fixed his bow in the mirror for the fifth time that morning. Behind him, Kageyama was eating his third slice of cake, much to Natsu and Yachi’s dismay. Kageyama had never been the type to stress-eat but something about him wanting the wedding to go perfect spurred him to grab a plate of their pre-cut wedding cake.

After making sure his bow looked presentable, Hinata turned around to watch his soon-to-be husband wrestle the plate back from Natsu and Yachi’s clutches. Hinata was not too worried, the three of them spent way too much money on their suits and dresses to let the cake fall on them.

“Let him eat his feelings. His metabolism is annoyingly fast. Even Iwaizumi-san hates him.”

“Does this mean you hate me too–?”

“No, Tobio.” Hinata sighed, giving up on his bow and deciding to focus his attention on his husband-to-be instead. “I don’t hate you, I still love you and, yes, we are still getting married.”

“Okay…”

Kageyama stayed silent after that. He kept his head hanging low and simply poked at his cake with his fork. Hinata had to admit that Kageyama was adorable when he was pouting, but they really needed to be ready to walk down the aisle soon and he could tell that Kageyama was keeping something in.

“What is it, Tobio?”

Kageyama mumbled something that Hinata did not catch but caused Natsu and Yachi to sigh and walk over to the otherside of the room where the bouquets were. Hinata grabbed a piece of tissue and walked over to Kageyama, crouching in front of him and began to wipe the cake off Kageyama’s cheeks

“I didn’t catch you, Tobio.”

“You’re mad at me.

“What?!” Hinata sputtered. “I–I’m not mad at you!”

“You’re yelling at me. You’re mad at me.”

“I–” Hinata took a pause to adjust his tone back to normal. “I’m not mad at you,” he said in such a peaceful and calm tone that he felt proud of himself. Then again, it didn’t matter since Kageyama kept pouting anyway.

“Liar.”

“That’s it. I’m going to kill you–!”

Hinata made a move to pounce but two arms quickly hooked themselves underneath Shouyou’s armpits and lifted the man off the ground as though he was not a professional athlete that weighed more than a beer keg.

“Not that I don’t think Tobio deserves a good kick to the head every once in a while, but why do you want to kill my brother?”

Realising that Miwa was the one holding him up, Hinata started to cower and smile sheepishly at his fiancé’s older sister. Miwa was terrifying enough on a good day, but especially so on the day she and Natsu spent a year preparing for. If something went wrong that day, their sisters were going to serve their decapitated heads at the reception.

“N-No reason…”

“Shouyou.”

“He thinks I’m mad at him.”

Miwa raised an eyebrow. “And are you mad at him?”

“No.”

Miwa lowered Hinata down and stepped forward to tower over her little brother. Hinata gulped but stepped back in fear of Miwa picking him up again.

“Tobio.”

“He’s mad at me, Nee-san.”

“He’s not mad at you.”

“He’s–”

“–If you cause even the slightest delay in the ceremony, he won’t get the chance to be mad at you because he’ll be too busy grieving your death.”

Kageyama whipped his head up in surprise, only to immediately flinch back when he saw the way she was glaring down at him. Miwa was a tall woman, but she looked even more terrifying in heels. It didn’t help that her nails had been filed to look like they could slice a man’s throat open.

For the millionth time in his life, Kageyama was glad that he had a good relationship with his sister.

“Are you back?”

“Yes, I’m back.” Kageyama shot up to sit upright and nodded his head repeatedly like a puppet. “He’s not mad. We’re good.”

“Good.” Miwa glanced at the clipboard in her hand, spared her little brother one more look before turning around and making her way back to the door. “You have five minutes to clean the cake off your face and get in position. Don’t forget to start walking when the music plays.”

Nodding and giving himself a small headache from the endless motion, Tobio got up from his slump and quickly placed the cake back on the table. The other two women took that as a sign to come forward and help him again.

“Oh. Shouyou, Tobio?” Miwa stopped in front of the door and turned around with her hand on the doorknob.

“Yes, Nee-san?”

“I’m happy for you two. I’m thankful that I get to be a part of your ceremony.”

All the scary aura in Miwa’s demeanour melted away, leaving behind a proud older sister that had spent most of her childhood worrying about her little brother. Tobio had grown so much , she wanted nothing more than for his ‘perfect day’ to be truly perfect.

Not that they had much to worry about. For all he cared, Kageyama wouldn't have minded getting married in a cardboard box as long as he was marrying Hinata. Having a proper and gorgeous wedding was simply a pleasant detail to this whole thing. A detail he was immensely thankful for.

“Thank you for everything, Nee-san.”

Since the release of the invitations six-months prior, Hinata and Kageyama had managed to talk to every single one of their guests and reassured them that the two were a real couple and this was a real wedding they had been invited to.

Most of them accepted it with ease, their lives were eccentric enough that this wasn’t the wildest thing to have happened to them. Though, there were still others that still cast some doubt on the whole thing.

But when the day finally came, any lingering doubt and suspicion vanished as they watched the way Kageyama and Hinata looked at each other coming down the aisle. It was a little bit disgusting how smitten they looked. Kageyama had his quirky smile on and Hinata was practically vibrating in place to the point that Natsu had to reach out and smack her hand on his shoulder.

Even before the two men spoke, their body language already proved to everyone that their feelings for each other were definitely romantic and very real (not that they felt the need to prove it in the first place anyway). Honestly, it wasn’t Kageyama’s unfiltered happiness that surprised them – everyone knew Kageyama had his moments – it was Hinata’s.

Hinata was known by the world for his golden retriever-like personality. He was the personification of the sun. And yet, no one in the room had ever seen Hinata smile the way he was smiling at Kageyama. No one had ever seen the look in Hinata’s eyes when Hinata was declaring his vows to the man, not even Natsu. The man looked at Kageyama with nothing but absolute love and devotion in his eyes. He looked at Kageyama like Kageyama was the person that hung up the sun, the moon, the stars and so much more.

Hinata’s entire vows were nothing more than a complete and utter declaration of love to the man he wanted to spend his life with. Honestly, it was going to be hard for Kageyama to top that. (Not that it was a competition, but knowing the two of them… it probably was. None of them wanted to know what kind of reward the winner was going to receive, that would be up to them and their honeymoon).

When Hinata finished his vows, Kageyama was red all over. He took a good minute trying to get his words to work again without sputtering and blushing by how blatant and unfiltered Hinata was in his speech. Really, it was on him for not mentally preparing himself. He was well aware of Hinata’s inability to feel shy when he was speaking from the heart.

Once he was ready, Kageyama cleared his throat and got ready to begin his vows.

“Look, I’m not going to fool anyone here and tell you guys that I came up with my vows on my own,” Kageyama admitted to both Hinata and their guests, eliciting chuckles from everyone. “I said some jumbled up words to Hitoka and she helped me turn that into something prettier. I wasn’t planning on doing something fancy or poetic, but…” the man blushed and looked away from Hinata’s eyes. “I wanted to make sure everyone knew just how much I liked Shouyou. So, I got some help but the meanings and the feelings behind it are all me.”

Hinata had to hold himself back from pouting at how cute Kageyama was being. They were grown adult men standing in front of everyone they have ever been close to. That, and Kageyama was blushing hard enough. Still, he couldn't help but poke the bear just a little bit. “Liked? What are you? A five year old crushing on his classmate?”

“Shut up or I’m leaving you at the altar.”

“I dare you to try–”

The two were interrupted by a series of ‘coughs’ that sounded suspiciously like Daichi, Meian, Hirugami and Iwaizumi. The glares of their captains (and trainer) pierced through them so quickly that they decided to get back on track.

“Anyway,” Kageyama cleared his throat.”I– I just wanted to say that in case this sounds weird.”

“We’re both weird. It’s okay.”

Hinata watched as Kageyama steeled himself. Despite the fact that Kageyama was now gripping onto Hinata’s hands tighter, and Hinata could feel Kageyama’s palms getting more clammy, Kageyama had a determined look in his eye, mixed in with the fondness he had been looking at Hinata with the whole day. Public speaking may not be Kageyama’s strongest suit, but Hinata felt touched that Kageyama insisted on writing his vows for their wedding.

“They say meeting your partner feels like a dream come true. I never really understood that phrase because meeting you felt like a fever dream instead.” Kageyama paused, tilting his head like he was in thought. “Maybe even a nightmare. Since you got us kicked out of the club and all that.”

Hinata hung his head and smacked his forehead while the audience laughed politely around them. Judging by Miwa’s similar reaction, they were both realising that they should have proofread Kageyama’s vows.

“Dream, nightmare, fever dream. It never really mattered to me because in that moment of time, I felt like my life was a haze anyway. I felt lost in the world. Alone and confused about what I was supposed to do next.” The room went quiet, listening respectfully as Kageyama’s tone turned serious. “Apart from volleyball, I had nothing else in my life. I… had a lot of losses around that age.”

Not wanting to interrupt, Hinata squeezed Kageyama’s hand in support and felt Kageyama squeeze it back.

“If I had to describe it, I felt like there was a constant battle in my head. I felt heartbroken because I lost someone very important to me, but I also felt angry at myself because I felt like I was the reason a lot of other… upsetting events had happened.” Without saying what the events were, most of the people in the room knew what he was referring to. While Kageyama had reconciled with his old Kitagawa teammates, no one could deny the hurt and pain that had caused a younger Kageyama for years to come.

“And in the middle of all that, you came.” Kageyama took a deep breath and rubbed his thumb over Hinata’s hand. “You were so annoyingly bright and enthusiastic, I couldn’t even be sad because you’d do something so dumb that I had to snap out of my slump and save you from yourself.”

“I would say that …”

“It’s rude to interrupt someone’s vows, Shouyou.” Kageyama chided the man, but felt some of the weight in his chest from being open and vulnerable lift up for a moment. “You were definitely a disaster but that was okay. In my head, you were so loud and bright that you filled up all the gaps and cracks I had. I used to attribute it to your extroverted personality and the inability to leave me alone, but I realise now that you were everywhere not because you actually did follow me everywhere, but because I kept noticing you.”

Kageyama cracked a small smile and held Hinata’s hand tighter. “It didn’t matter if you weren’t talking to me or if you were even in the same room as me; you were still on my mind. By this point, Hitoka let me know that this realisation would have sent someone into a gay crisis.” A few chuckles could be heard coming from their guests. “But I never had a moment for that since we pretty much got engaged when I realised it.”

Hinata had the urge to respond with a ‘how convenient’ but held it in. He was pretty sure Kageyama was thinking the same thing anyway.

“What most people didn’t know was that after that moment in the gym, things started to change for us. We still did things we normally did, but with some small changes. We’d spend more time together, start calling our hang outs ‘dates’ and worked on figuring out how romance worked. But what really strengthened our partnership into a relationship were the talks.

It was sometime after our one month anniversary where we realised we didn’t know much about each other outside of volleyball and the mundane facts. So, we’d call each other before bed and try to talk about ourselves. Those nights were the first time I ever talked to someone about all the pain I’ve been keeping inside and it…” Kageyama started to feel himself choke up. “It wasn’t pretty.”

Hinata was well aware. He remembered running out of his house in the middle of the night and cycling over to Kageyama’s house. He knew he was going to get into so much trouble from his mother but he didn’t slow down in the slightest. All that mattered to him was making sure his partner never felt alone ever again.

“It was the first time in years that I showed someone my raw emotions. It was intense, ugly and I definitely could have phrased some things better. But despite all that, you never left.” Kageyama’s voice was tighter and his eyes were beginning to shine with unshed tears but he was determined to finish his vows without breaking down. “You ran to me in the middle of the night and hugged me for the first time.”

“You were freezing because you were a dumbass without a coat, but that was still the warmest hug I felt in years. I still cling onto that warmth sometimes, when some old thoughts come back to haunt me. I’m not saying that that night fixed me, or made all the sadness go away, but that was the start of so many things. It was almost like I woke up from my mental haze and could finally think clearly for the first time.” Kageyama glanced down at their intertwined hands before looking back up at Hinata. “That was the night I let myself fall in love with the world again – Starting with, you.”

By this point, Hinata was already crying and Kageyama felt a tear or two escape but it didn’t matter. Nothing else mattered, not when Hinata was standing in front of him and they were ready to start a new chapter of their lives together. 

“So, Shouyou…” Kageyama collected himself and smiled at the man in front of him. “Thank you for loving me when I still tasted of heartbreak and war.” Kageyama let go of Hinata’s hands and cupped the man’s face instead so that he could use his thumbs to wipe off Hinata’s tears. “As long as you’ll have me, I promise to dedicate my heart and my soul to you until my final breath. I love you, Shouyou. I always will.”

Hinata huffed out a small laugh and leaned into Kageyama’s chest, hiding there while he collected himself but still speaking up loud enough for the people around them to hear. “Goddamnit,” he spoke through muffled sobs. “You win this one.”

“It wasn’t a competition, Shou.” Kageyama wrapped his arms around Hinata, rubbing his hand up and down Hinata’s back and kissed the top of his head. “Plus, if you give me that point, I’ll be twenty points ahead of you. It’s going to be impossible for you to catch up.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Hinata leaned back, moving his arms from Kageyama’s chest to his waist as Kageyama did the same. “I have the rest of my life to beat you.”

“That you do.”

The two barely registered the exchange of the rings and their officiant telling them to kiss. In fact, they were pretty sure they went for it before she even finished her sentence.

Everyone erupted into cheers but Hinata and Kageyama were only focused on each other. They were being disgustingly in love once again but this time no one cared. At least with the newlyweds focused on each other, their guests had the chance to wipe away their tears and pretend like they didn't cry like babies during Kageyama’s vows.

The reception went pretty much as expected.

Everyone that joined in on the beach volleyball game ate sand. Hinata, Pedro and Heitor enjoyed watching the chaos unfold. Natsu smacked her brother and called him sadistic once she realised the reason he was so excited when she brought the idea up during the wedding discussions.

Thankfully no one threw up either despite Miwa making sure everyone ate before running off to play on the beach. Yachi and her ‘post-meal rest time’ rule saved the day once again.

All-in-all, everything turned out perfectly. 

Up until Kageyama and Hinata went missing and the two sisters looked like they were seconds away from tearing the whole place down looking for them. Something about how the two grooms can’t just sneak off during their own wedding .

With Yamaguchi and Hitoka camped out at the open bar and the rest of the groomsmen still playing on the beach, Tsukishima was the sacrificial lamb sent out to find them. He would have asked Kenma to help him, but the YouTuber looked like he was suffering enough in the heat.

Fortunately (or rather, unfortunately, in Tsukishima’s case), he found the two husbands quite quickly. Too quickly, actually. He really wished he had made some kind of indication he was approaching instead of just yanking the door open.

“Kei!” Hinata yelled out, shoving Kageyama away and nearly tripping over his own two feet.

“Gross,” Tsukishima responded, with a hand over his eyes and his sanity at an all-time low. Sure, the two were only making out but he feared for what he could have seen if he had found them ten minutes later instead.

“You could have knocked.” Hinata mumbled, embarrassed and trying to subtly adjust his pants. To his right, Kageyama had picked up one of the extra menus and was pretending to read it but did not realise that he had been holding it upside down.

“Or you two could have waited till after the wedding to get in each other’s pants.”

“Shut up. Why are you here?”

“To make your lives hell.” Tsukishima took a sip of his champagne to hide his smirk. “That, and Natsu-chan’s been looking for the two of you. I figured it would be less traumatising for her if I walked in on her brother and brother-in-law trying to have a quickie.”

“Shut up! Fine, we’re going now!”

Both Kageyama and Hinata grabbed the tuxedo jackets they had haphazardly thrown onto one of the tables and were about to make their way out when Tsukishima yanked them back by their collars.

“Oi–!”

“Stop.” The taller man tugged the two until they were standing right in front of him and began to mess around with their hair. “If you two walk out there looking like this, everyone will know what you were up to. Fix your outfits.”

The newlyweds threw on their jackets and began to help each other look presentable while Tsukishima worked on taming their hair. Kageyama’s was pretty simple to fix. The man’s hair did not have much going on. Hinata’s was a little bit more difficult since Kageyama’s handiwork undid all two hours of Miwa’s handiwork.

“Hey.” Tsukishima spoke up as he continued to tame Hinata’s hair but this time he avoided all eye contact with the couple.

“What?”

“We’re– I’m … Urgh.” Tsukishima huffed and the two of them could tell he was trying to say something that was difficult for him to say – which didn’t really narrow it down. They were all emotionally-stunted adults, after all. “I’m happy for the two of you.”

“What?” The couple stared in disbelief.

Praise from Tsukishima was rare enough but unprompted and honest praise was practically unheard off. It wasn’t that their friendship had not improved over the years. It was that Tsukishima was not the type of man that enjoyed ‘heart-to-heart’ with his homies unless his ‘homie’ was Yamaguchi.

“Don’t make me say it again.”

“Uh… Thank you. But why the sudden declaration?”

“Because I actually feel bad that all of us reacted the way we did.” Tsukishima huffed out. “You guys should have gotten phone calls of excitement, not people questioning you.”

“It’s fine–”

“It wasn’t.” Tsukishima cut Kageyama off, fixing Kageyama a glare before getting back to his task. “But there’s nothing we can do about it now.” The taller one had finally gotten Hinata’s hair to stay down and stepped back. “Just know that I’m glad you two idiots are together. Even though I wish we knew about it a little earlier.”

Hinata and Kageyama were staring at their long time friend for a little too long that Tsukishima decided to turn around and try to book it out of the tent. That was more than enough emotional vulnerability to last him a couple of years. Unfortunately, Hinata spoke up before Tsukishima could escape.

“Awwwwh! Kei! You’re so sweet –!” Hinata jumped forward and attempted to hug his friend but Tsukishima jerked away from them like they had the plague.

“Don’t even think about it!”

“C’moooon, Kei! It’s my wedding day! Give me a hug!”

“No.” Tsukishima dodged Hinata’s advances one more time, causing the smaller man to pout. “You seemed to forget I caught you two with your hands down each other’s pants. I want you six feet away from me.”

“Well, what can we say?” Hinata smirked. “We’re obsessed with each other to the point that we have no more space for anything else in our lives!”

Tsukishima sighed as turned around and made his way to the flap of the tent, remembering that all of this had been his doing. That all of that day and the last few months of wedding preparation was a direct result of his meddling. Everything, down to Hinata trying to hug him with his gross hands and him being uncharacteristically vulnerable because of a wedding .

“I should have sent Tadashi out here instead…”

Behind him, Tsukishima heard Kageyama and Hinata burst into laughter as he walked through the flaps and looked for a new glass of champagne.