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r/AmITheAsshole · 2 mo. ago
crowsfeet10
AITA for leaving to another country without telling my best friend and potentially ruining our friendship?
I (19M) was planning on moving abroad for a few years to better my career. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and had everything decided. I didn’t tell any of my friends as I was planning on surprising them with the news.
When my best friend (19M) at the time found out, he got very upset that I was leaving. We had a fight and I couldn’t help but feel angry that he felt entitled enough to dictate whether I moved or not. I left early out of spite and thought that this disagreement would blow over (it usually did). Turns out that after leaving, he grew distant. He barely replied to my texts and ignored my calls, until I stopped replying all together.
I can’t help but think I fucked this up. On one hand, I understand that he might have been shocked to hear the news, but I feel like this was a decision for me to make. At the time, I thought I was doing the right thing, but now I wish we kept in touch, wondering what would have happened had I not gone on that flight.
It’s been two years and I’m coming back home. I’m worried that I might bump into him but I do want answers. Despite it all, I still miss him.
Shouyou gave his phone another glance before turning it off for good.
It’s been two years since he’d last set foot in Japan, 730 days, 17,520 hours. A twelve hour time difference slowly trickling down into nothing at all.
He knew that it was inevitable - the welcome back party hosted by none other than Yachi Hitoka, inviting ex-Karasuno members to reminisce about their shared past for a few hours. In other words, get sappy and drunk, he got the gist. Hell, even Shouyou was excited, if it wasn’t for him being there.
Yes, him.
Schweiden Adlers’ starting setter, Suzako Banjo’s treasured player, Japan’s number one heartthrob.
Hinata Shouyou’s best friend.
Wait, can he even call him that? Does he still have those privileges?
Now that he thinks about it, it’s been a while since they’ve talked, like, properly. He won’t count all the half-assed attempts on his behalf, sent at two in the morning in a drunken haze, only to get left on seen.
If he was being painfully honest, Shouyou spent half his time rereading old messages, the other half deleting said messages off his phone in a fit of embarrassment, curled up on his futon in the sweltering Brazilian heat.
Finally getting past airport security, he hailed a taxi in the cool March air, watching the dark city illuminated by flickering street lights unfold in front of him.
He paid the cab driver a few yen notes before telling him to head towards Tokyo’s railroad station. Shouyou, having fought a valiant fight with jetlag and consequently lost, slumped against the window. He barely noticed the man watching him through the back mirror, black eyes squinting.
“Aren’tch ya that Ninja Shouyou kid?” the man asked, signalling to the right before jerking the wheel around. Suddenly, not all hope was lost, the fight was not yet over. The man looked over his shoulder at the now wide-eyed Shouyou, nodding at him. “Ya two look awfully familiar.”
“That’s me,” Shouyou said, sitting up a little straighter. He hadn’t been aware that the little Brazilian nickname made it all the way over to Japan. “You know me?”
“Oh boy, do I know ya! Ya’ve got the whole neighbourhood talkin’ about ya.”
Shouyou bit back a smile, letting his head loll to the side. “Only good things, I hope.”
The man let out a hearty laugh before setting out to ramble about all things volleyball, starting from the 2016 Rio Olympics. This time, Shouyou found himself unable to mask his smile, letting the soft rocking of the car slowly lull him to sleep.
See, it started off like this.
Shouyou, nineteen and a half, standing in the middle of the crowded Tokyo airport with an economy class ticket straight to Brazil in his left hand.
A feeling brewed in the bottom of his stomach, one of excitement and nervousness mixed into one clusterfuck of emotions. He swallowed thickly, hoping that he didn’t have to make another emergency pitstop by the bathroom for the nth time that day.
It didn’t help that when he turned his head just 45 degrees to the right, a pair of brown eyes stared back at him instead of the vibrant blue he was so used to seeing.
“Are you sure about this?” Tsukishima asked, eyeing him warily. Over those three long years, he had learned to read Shouyou’s emotions like the back of his hand, and knew a face of panic when he saw one.
Shouyou bit the inside of his cheek. “Why wouldn't I be?” he asked. “I’m just a little excited, that’s all.”
When Tsukishima didn't deem him worthy enough of a response, Shouyou crossed both his arms. “Don’t I look excited to you, Stingyshima?”
“No.” Tsukishima peered down at him through his square glasses, readjusting them with his index finger, “you look very pathetic, actually.”
Shouyou squawked. “Pathetic?!”
“Sad,” Tsukishima amended, backtracking when he bristled even more, “I mean, when it comes to you, I’d expect a bigger turnout...”
“Oh yeah, I forgot that you don’t have any friends,” Shouyou sneered, acutely aware of the fact that he was just about to leave for Rio and the only person seeing him off was none other than Tsukishima Kei, asshole extraordinaire.
It’s not like he was leaving without a two week notice - he had exchanged heartfelt and snot-filled goodbyes with his family the night prior, and made sure he got the air knocked out of his chest after getting tackled by a very emotional Yachi and Yamaguchi.
He had also received a bombardment of congratulatory texts from his Karasuno alumni and volleyball friends wishing him all the best, accompanied by a few unknown number messages that ranged from sincerely ardent to borderline threatening.
(Exhibit A:
+81 424 334 172: HEY BRO I HEARD ABOUT YOU GOING TO BRAZIL! THAT’S REALLY COOL!
+81 424 334 172:DON’T GET TOO GOOD THOUGH! CAN’T HAVE YOU SURPASSING ME!
“That’s definitely Bokuto,” Tsukishima said. “Look at how he texts. Exactly like he speaks.”
“To be fair, he does seem to be shouting 99% of the time,” Yamaguchi mused.
Tsukishima crossed his arms, deigning them with a singular snort. “Well, that’s one way of putting it.”
Exhibit B:
+81 173 550 032: you better get good in rio, shouyou-kun. i’ll be waiting for you on my side of the court
“Miya-san promised that he’d set for me one day,” Shouyou said, scrolling downwards. “How did he get my number, though?”
“Illegally,” Tsukishima said without missing a beat. “I’m sure he paid Suna to stalk through your social media accounts and figure it out.”
“He jests!” Yamaguchi replied. “And to be fair, Suna-san actually messaged me earlier this week—”
Exhibit C:
+81 935 619 240: Are you copying me?
+81 935 619 240: If you think you can get better than me, think again.
“Is that Oikawa Tooru?” Tsukishima asked incredulously. “Arguing with a nineteen year old. Oh, the shame.”
“Kageyama recalls him arguing with his eight year old nephew, so I’m not that surprised.”
“Are you kidding me?”)
He tried not to think about the elephant in the room, but staring face to face with Tsukishima made it impossible not to do so.
“Low blow.” Tsukishima sent him a look, then fidgeted with the white headphones resting around his neck. “Look, I’m not saying that this is a bad idea… I’m just saying that you have options. A lot of them, actually. That you should definitely consider looking into.”
Shouyou looked away. It was stupid that something as miniscule as Tsukishima bringing it up was enough to send him spiraling into a chasm of “what-ifs”. What infuriated him the most, however, wasn’t the fact that it was brought up so often. It was the small, nagging feeling that Tsukishima might have been right.
“It’s just a suggestion—”
“Listen, if you were put up to this by Yachi, then I really appreciate the sentiment! I really do!” he threw his hands up in exasperation, ignoring the way they were weighed down by his two messenger bags hanging off his biceps, “but I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions, thank you!”
“Nobody put me up to this,” Tsukishima countered. “Does it seem so hard to believe that I came out of here because I was a little, I don’t know, perturbed?”
“You can’t even admit that you’re worried about me!”
“Of course, I’m worried about you!” he said, raising his voice. He decided to take advantage of Shouyou momentary faltering, cutting in again. “You’re really stupid and impulsive. I just don’t want to passively observe something that you might grow to regret later.”
Shouyou glowered, raking his hands through his orange tufts of hair. “You wanna know what he told me?” He lowers his voice an octave, flattening out his birds’ nest of a hairstyle. “‘Do what you want, I don’t care. You’re selfish and stupid, Hinata Shouyou, I hate you with every fibre of my being—’”
“He did not say that.”
“He might as well have! I could see it in his eyes.” Shouyou turned up his nose, ruffling up his hair again. “I’m not his dog, Tsukishima. I can do whatever I like.”
When Tsukishima didn’t respond, Shouyou tacked on a quiet, “he’ll get over it.”. He did not know whether it was an attempt to convince Tsukishima or himself.
Shouyou: I finally arrived in Rio!!! Check the view!
Shouyou: [attached image]
Shouyou: [attached image]
Shouyou: [attached image]
Bakageyama: It looks nice there.
Bakageyama: Playing volleyball on the beach must be hard though. Nothing like PVC.
Shouyou: Always thinking about volleyball, hmmm?
Shouyou: I’m yet to try it out. It can’t be THAT hard though…
Shouyou: I met my new roommate today, too. His name is Pedro and he’s broody like you.
Bakageyama: Copycat much?
Shouyou: LOL
crying_atcabo4823 · 10h ago
NTA. Listen, you were both growing up. The fact that you wanted to study abroad was nobody’s decision to make other than yours. Yes, he might have been butthurt that you didn’t tell him before, but refusing to keep in contact was childish on his behalf, especially if you’ve tried to reach out to him. OP, it’s been two years. I think it’s time to forget about him.
There was faint music echoing throughout the otherwise seemingly empty apartment when Shouyou walked in.
Some English pop song that he can’t recall the name of, he noted mentally as he closed the door behind him. It’s pointless but Shouyou still reached out into his back pocket, feeling a frown tug on his face when the pocket was still empty.
He sighed, dejected. It was official. He had lost his wallet.
Cursing internally, he let his bag fall down by the doorframe, tiptoeing across the apartment just to be met with Pedro sitting languidly in the kitchen. He was watching something on his phone, eyes glued to the screen.
It had been a few weeks and the only thing Shouyou had found out about Pedro was that he liked to keep to himself, much to his dismay.
He didn’t know what compelled him to do this, but he still walked up over to him, mustering a smile.
“Pedro,” he began, fidgeting with his hands, “would you want to eat dinner with me?”
His roommate didn’t bat an eyelash, hunched over his phone. He didn’t even bother taking out his earphones, much less dignifying him with a verbal response. At this point, a grunt would be miles better than this.
Shouyou hovered behind him for a few seconds, swallowing down his disappointment that just kept multiplying.
He exhaled slowly and padded towards his room, dragging his feet across the cold wood. The door creaked to a close.
He fished for his phone, glancing at his lockscreen. Five pairs of eyes stared back at him.
He remembered it like it was yesterday. Takeda urged the third years to settle down for a group picture and although he kept eyeing them all, it was mostly meant for Kageyama and Tsukishima, who had been roped into this by a very eager Shouyou.
In the photograph, Yamaguchi and Yachi were positively beaming, unlike Tsukishima and Kageyama, who were squatting around Yachi, sporting equally uninterested grimaces at the photo being taken and Shouyou splayed down on the floor.
And Shouyou - he was laughing.
Bright, boisterous laughter that made his ribs ache and stomach heave, hands and legs sticking out like a starfish.
An indescribable feeling tugged at his heartstrings, a puzzle piece that had been taken away, a blackhole having made its home in his chest. He stared at his younger self, at his carefree expression and crinkled eyes.
Shouyou switched off his phone, fighting off the warmth pooling behind his eyelids. He leaned against the wall, letting himself slide down until he found himself crouching in the corner of his room.
Pulling his knees close to his chest, Shouyou blinked a couple of times, before finally letting himself go.
He hadn’t cried so hard in days.
Shouyou: I saw you on TV the other day, Kageyama.
Shouyou: Rio Olympics. I counted all the service aces you got… don’t get cocky on me now! Just because you have a head start!!!
Bakageyama: I’m not the one who travelled half across the world just to get better.
Shouyou: Says the Olympic athlete :///
Shouyou: Now, are the rumours true? Did you sleep on cardboard beds to prevent sex???
Shouyou: Not that they’d need any prevention when it comes to you, your sex life is drier than the Sahara desert.
Bakageyama: What would you know about my sex life?
Shouyou: Ahh, my dear Kageyama-kun, are you implying that you HAVE gotten laid?
Shouyou: Like, at least once? In your life? Ever? Much less during the Olympics?
Bakageyama: …
Bakageyama: No comment.
Shouyou: Yeah, that’s what I thought.
Shouyou had been watching the volleyball game for a few minutes. Of course, he had tried to be discreet about it, looking away every few seconds and pretending to observe the sea, but it was getting increasingly hard to do so. For Shouyou, anyway.
It wasn’t until one of the players finally turned to him that Shouyou thought he was going to get chewed out for snooping.
He closed his eyes in defeat, sending out a quick prayer to whatever god may be looking down on him at this moment. Ah, well. He’s had a good run.
He’s expecting an onslaught of angry Portuguese that he won’t be able to translate fast enough; what he isn’t expecting, however, is a ball tossed in his general direction.
“Huh?” Shouyou blurted out, trying not to let it fall onto the hot sand. He attempted to make sense of the quickfire Portuguese sent his way.
The man gave him a smile, then walked around him, muttering something about getting ice cream. Shouyou looked over at the other players who were all staring at him expectantly.
Well, it’s not like Shouyou was ever going to give up a volleyball game.
He tossed the ball across the net, watching the older man from across the net receive it with ease. It doesn’t take him long to realise how exactly beach volleyball differed from the regular one he was so used to playing.
His feet burned from the scorching sand, tongue lolling out from his mouth as his eyes tracked the ball. Each time the ball hit his forearms, a delicious pain crackled across his entire body. He watched the ball soar up into the sky, glistening in the sun.
“Nice kill!” Shouyou yelled as he watched the ball spike into the sand, jumping up into a double high five, palms stinging.
He was rewarded by similar enthusiasm from his teammates, who beamed back at him, albeit a little unsurely.
He was just about to compliment the woman he had been playing alongside, when a lofty voice snuck up from behind him. One rather haughty and very, very Japanese. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
Shouyou froze in his tracks because he recognised that voice, the same voice that taunted him from the other side of the net, the same melodic voice he’s heard time and time again—
He whipped his head around at the noise, ignoring the volleyball, which had already been launched into the air.
Brown hair swept across his forehead, definitely held together by a bucket of hair product. A tight Sumeshi shirt hugged his toned body, wrapped neatly around his biceps.
Shouyou blinked once. Then twice. Then opened his mouth.
“The Great King?!” he screamed.
Shouyou: How’s it going over there, on the other side of the world?
One missed call from Shouyou.
Bakageyama: Sorry, I just came back from practice. My new teammates are good.
Shouyou: You’re teammates with Ushijima and Romero, aren’t you?
Shouyou: You lucky dog ;) I’m buzzing with jealousy!!!
Bakageyama: Ushijima-san might be scary good.
Bakageyama: He’s even scarier with me setting for him, though.
Shouyou: No fairrrrrrrrr
Shouyou: Everyone’s scarier with you setting for them Yamayama
“Here, take a picture with me, would you, Oikawa-san?” Shouyou had asked after the initial wave of shock wore off.
Oikawa accepted his phone, angling it above Shouyou with a snicker playing on his lips.
“Stick out your tongue like this,” he instructed, snapping a few pictures from different angles. Shouyou obliged, he had to - after all, out of the two of them, Oikawa was the one getting millions of likes on his Twitter selfies.
Oikawa jerked the phone back before giving it to him. “Hey, don’t post them on social media, though. I look hideous.”
“Don’t worry, Oikawa-san, I’m only sending them to Kageyama,” Shouyou tapped down on his keyboard before sticking his phone into his shorts pockets. “Do you know what he’s been up to recently? Have you seen any of his games?”
“Have I heard from Tobio-chan recently?” he parroted, then rolled his eyes. “Of course, not. I haven’t watched any of his games, either. They’d only be a waste of my time.”
How typical, Shouyou thought to himself, ignoring just how much they mirrored each other.
“How is Tobio-chan doing?” Oikawa continued absentmindedly, then raised both his eyebrows. “Not that I care,” he tacked in as an afterthought, “you brought him up and it’s only polite for me to continue this conversation.”
“I don’t… I don’t know.” Shouyou waved his hands around lamely. He tried not to dwell on how embarrassing it was that he didn’t know, and he had the gall to call himself Kageyama’s best friend! “We haven’t been talking as much recently. It’s the time difference and we’re both busy, but… I’m hoping this selfie catches his attention.”
Oikawa stared at him and Shouyou could practically see the calculations running through his head. He then drew his lips into a thin line. Shouyou guessed it’s nothing good.
“Well, it doesn’t matter what Tobio-chan is up to,” he said decisively. “What matters most is that you’re here with me. I was just about to get dinner - why don’t you join me? My treat.”
Shouyou had to look up at him to see if he was bluffing, but all he was met with was a ray of light shining down on him. Could it be?
His eyes glistened with tears, lower lip wobbling at this gracious heavenly act. Shouyou had been good. All his hard work, all the good karma accumulated over the years, it had all paid off for this very moment.
“What?” Oikawa asked, turning around.
“It’s just- I haven’t had dinner yet and I might have lost my wallet during work,” Shouyou explained tearfully, his pity party rudely interrupted by Oikawa’s raucous laughter.
Ninja Shouyou @hinatashouyou · 9m ago
We’re the kings of the world! @thegreatking13
[Image description: Shouyou and Oikawa sticking their tongues out at the camera, both high off the adrenaline.]
💬17 ↺↻26 ♡ ︎188
Tooru @thegreatking13 · 20s ago
Replying to @hinatashouyou
YOU SAID YOU WOULDN’T POST IT WTFFFFF
💬1 ↺↻3 ♡ 5
Shouyou: Hiiii Kageyama ::::D Are you free to talk?
Shouyou: I just want to know how you’re doing :oo
Two missed calls from Shouyou.
Shouyou: Oh shit yeah I forgot, the 12 hour difference
Shouyou: My bad
Shouyou: If you ever find the time, please call me back
cheerleederx0 · 4h ago
YTA I’m sorry but if my best friend was leaving for two years and didn’t tell me, I’d be pretty pissed, too. Especially if it’s in another country! Ofc it’s your own decision but a little tact is still appreciated…
“What do you think about studying abroad?” Shouyou asked one day, back pressed up against Kageyama’s pillow. He had decided on staying the night, taking refuge on his warm bed and successfully kicking him out in the process.
Kageyama didn’t seem to mind, though, too preoccupied with his open English textbook, hoping to get in some last-minute cramming before his big vocabulary test.
“Oh, don’t even remind me,” Kageyama replied, flipping through the pages with a groan. “I seriously don’t want to keep studying after I graduate high school.” His eyes narrow, looking over his shoulder. “Do you?”
Shouyou hummed, stretching his arms above his head. “I don’t know,” he said truthfully. He had been looking through potential universities, but had taken a special liking to immediately going pro - that is, if the opportunity arose.
“Imagine playing for a Division 1 team right after you graduate,” Shouyou mused with a short sigh. He closed his eyes in contentment, hearing another page being flipped. “That must be an amazing feeling, huh?”
“I bet.” A pen began scratching against the margins, writing out something in broken English. It stopped after a moment, hesitating. Shouyou opened an eye and looked back at Kageyama.
“Well. What would you think about training abroad?”
“What, like travelling to another country to get better at volleyball?” Kageyama asked. If Shouyou squinted his eyes, he could make out Kageyama’s expression, eyebrows furrowing in concentration.
“Yeah, like Germany or Poland. Or the United States.”
Kageyama made a contemplative noise that rose from the back of his throat, then tilted his head backwards. Shouyou could see the stray strands of black hair fall into his eyes.
“Now you’re starting to make sense,” he said, tone turning amused. “In your case, I’d even encourage it, just so that you could keep up with me.”
“Oh, fuck off.” Shouyou ignored Kageyama’s smirk that curled at the corners of his lips, hating that his retort fell flat in comparison, lingering in the air between them. “I’m going to beat you, you know. Settle this once and for all.”
Kageyama finally turned around, gracing him with that wicked grin of his. A hint of something flashed across his face. “I’d like to see you try.”
“You’re so getting your ass beat now, you hear me? I’m not even kidding, Bakageyama.”
“Travel to South America for all I care,” he commented offhandedly, “as long as I’m the first to find out.”
Shouyou barked out a bright laugh, letting his head fall back onto Kageyama’s pillow. He leaned into the softness, crinkling his eyes at the unexpected warmth unfurling in his chest.
“Who else would I tell?” Shouyou asked and really meant it.
The door slowly slid open and Shouyou slipped into the familiar Sakanoshita market, blocking out the cold November wind.
His mind has been pacing as of recently, jittery at the idea of pursuing volleyball a step further like he had always intended to. He approached Ukai with a slight bounce in his step.
“Coach,” he started, leaning up against the counter. Ukai greeted him with a firm grin, sitting him down. “I had been thinking a lot about what I’d want to do in the future. With my volleyball career, I mean.”
“Ah, I take it that you’ve been looking at teams, huh?” Ukai set down a big cardboard box, sifting through its contents. He paused after a moment. “You haven’t gotten scouted yet, now have you?”
Shouyou flushed at the mere idea. “No, no.” He waved his hands around, shaking his head like a wet dog. “I was just thinking of training on the beach after I graduate.”
Ukai stopped at that, hands itching over one of the cartons. He looked back up at him, eyebrows shot up to his hairline.
“The beach?” he repeated slower, as if he hadn’t heard him the first time. For a second, he thought he might not have. Shouyou looked back at him, sheepish. “You’d like to learn beach volleyball, you mean.”
Learn beach volleyball, Shouyou thought to himself. He had been thinking about pursuing beach volleyball for a long time.
It’s not like Shouyou wanted to play beach volleyball professionally. Playing with a team on court, feeling the hard floor underneath your feet; Shouyou wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Shoyou wanted, no, needed to get better.
It was an unquenchable thirst that always lingered in the back of his throat, a dangerous sort of spark that kept flashing across his face. Even the mere thought of being left behind made his insides churn and it wasn’t until the two on two matches in last year’s rookie camp that it really hit him—
With only two people behind the net, each player has to be well-rounded. He couldn’t keep relying on his teammates to dig receives or hit spikes across the court, and that part of beach volleyball fascinated him.
He grew obsessed, certain that practicing beach volleyball for a few years would definitely boost his skills. He needed to learn everything there was if he even dreamed of getting scouted by a high-level volleyball team, nay being able to reach the top ranks.
“On the beach, there are only two players that have to play on the entire court,” Shouyou replied, picking up one of the magazines and flipping through them mindlessly. He swallowed thickly, Adam's apple bobbing against his throat. “I want to get better, coach!”
Ukai looked at him for a moment, letting out a contemplative hum. “Well,” he said, picking up the box and setting it down. “Alright.”
Shouyou felt his heart leap into his throat. “Really?” he breathed out, eyes widening at Ukai’s resigned tone. A tone too soft and tired to ever be mistaken for his coach—
“Hey, don’t get all excited now!” Ukai barked out in a more ‘Ukai fashion’, making Shouyou crack a smile. “Listen, you’ve got plenty of time until you graduate. We should explore your options.”
“But you’re saying there’s a chance this all works out, aren’t you, coach?” he pried, unable to keep the eagerness from lacing every word that came out of his mouth. His fingers danced along the pages, nervously fumbling around with his hands. “You’re saying- you mean—”
“I can ask around,” Ukai filled in, but amidst his sternness, one could see a hint of pride blooming across his face, if they knew where to look.
Shouyou: KAGEYAMA
Shouyou: Kageyamaaaaaaa
Shouyou: YAMAYAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shouyou: TOBIO !
Bakageyama: What
Shouyou: DID YOU HEAR THE NEWS
Shouyou: USHIJIMA *ALLEGEDLY* PLAYING AT THE 2014 WORLD LEAGUE
Bakageyama: WHAT
Shouyou: I KNOW RIGHT???!?!
Bakageyama: The World League… He’s so young.
Shouyou: How are you taking this so calmly, KAGEYAMA-KUN???
Bakageyama: I’m not. I’ll one-up him, mark my words.
Shouyou: Oh yeah?
Bakageyama: The 2016 Rio Olympics. I’ll be there.
Shouyou: GWAH you’re so cool Bakageyama~
Shouyou: Still, finding out he’s participating in something so soon arghhhh
Shouyou: IT’S NOT FAIR
Shouyou: HOW COME HE WAS BORN SOONER THAN ME?? HE’S AT A NATURAL ADVANTAGE THIS ISN’T FAIR
Bakageyama: Shorter and younger… God really hates you.
Shouyou: .
Shouyou: You’re younger than me, dipshit
Shouyou felt his eyelids growing heavy when something brushed against his forehead. The touch was featherlight, almost imperceptible, stroking a few stray hairs out of his eyes.
“Whazzhppnin?” he slurred, stirring against the bus window. Wincing, Shouyou blinked a couple of times, Kageyama’s figure coming into focus.
“We’re getting off soon,” he said, voice low. He pulled his hand away, the warmth still lingering on his forehead. “You keep falling asleep, dumbass.”
As if to prove his point, Shouyou let out a small yawn. He clamped a hand over his mouth, lips turning into a petulant scowl. “‘S not like I’m doing it on purpose.”
“Whatever. Just don’t fall asleep on me again, got it?”
The sun had long set, Shouyou realised, blinking blearily out the window. It was a cloudless night - if he squinted long enough, he was sure that he could spot a few stars.
Taking a slow turn, the bus came to a halt at their bus stop.The familiar screech echoed out before they jerked forward, the doors opening up. Shouyou noted that the bus was almost empty.
“C’mon. Let’s get going, Hinata.” Kageyama brushed his hand against his shoulder before standing up and stepping out. Shouyou’s stare fell onto Kageyama’s disheveled hair and wrinkled sweater, and his face split into a wide and knowing grin.
He decided that he was going to be a nice friend (for once) and not bring it up, instead wordlessly getting up and following him outside. He knew he was too tired to argue with him about it, anyways.
“Are you hungry?” Shouyou asked, slinging his arm around Kageyama’s neck. Well, he attempts to, but Kageyama had always been more docile when tired because he just let him, without any major complaints. “We can go grab a midnight snack, my treat. Pork buns again?”
“When are you not thinking of pork buns?” Kageyama snorted, ducking his head down. Shouyou’s grin only doubled because that didn’t sound like a no.
“Humour me for a minute, Bakageyama.”
“I humour you every breathing second I’m around you.”
“Mean,” Shouyou laughed, finally letting go. He picked up his pace, even adding a tiny bounce into his step. “You’re starting to sound like Tsukishima.”
Kageyama made an audible noise of disgust, shaking his head at the ground. The air was unusually warm for April and Shouyou was inwardly grateful, as he had forgotten to bring his jacket.
They walked in silence for a minute or two before a pair of footsteps died down, and an extra minute for Shouyou to realise that Kageyama had come to a stop.
Shouyou turned around, raising his eyebrows. “Hey, what’s up?”
Kageyama frowned at his choice of words, raking a hand through his dark hair. “Just looking,” he grunted out, then nodded upwards.
Shouyou followed his gaze and oh.
The stars were scattered across the sky, like the sky was enveloped in a blanket sequined with jewels. The moon beamed down at the two of them and Shouyou swallowed slowly, letting the shaky exhale play on his lips.
“The moon…” Kageyama’s voice trailed off awkwardly. Shouyou looked at him again, gaze prompting him to continue.
But Kageyama just stayed silent. His blue eyes were fixated on the sky. He stared upwards, unblinking.
“Yeah,” Shouyou filled in after a few seconds, nodding. “It’s sure there. Big.”
“Quit talking, dumbass,” Kageyama snapped back. Shouyou did not remind him that he was the one who actually began talking.
Another beat passed until Kageyama finally looked over at him and his face contorted into something new.
“So, the pork buns you mentioned?” he asked, suppressing a smile when Shouyou whipped his head around at the sheer mention of them.
“So, as I was saying, we could leave on Thursday and extend the trip by a day or just go after school on Friday.” Yamaguchi flipped through his notebook, circling up the dates once, twice, three times. He underlined it for further emphasis.
It was his idea to go on a mini-trip to Tokyo with the rest of the second years, taking full advantage of the public holidays coming up in May.
Whilst both Tsukishima and Yachi were surprisingly fine with the idea of leaving a day early (Tsukishima’s excuse was having no assignments due, Yachi just really wanted to go to Tokyo), it happened to be none other than Kageyama who opposed this proposal.
“Sorry for being the good and responsible student for once,” Kageyama started, ignoring Yachi’s muffled giggles and Tsukishima’s raised eyebrow, “but I do have an important test on Friday that I can’t afford to miss.”
“Boo! Just reschedule it!” Tsukishima jeered, crossing one leg over the other. He pushed up his glasses, turning up his nose. “Since when does the King care so much about his grades? They’re all abysmal, anyway.”
Yachi placed a small hand onto Kageyama’s back. “I love you, Kageyama-kun, but I’d love to go on Thursday, too. It just gives us more possibilities when visiting - we don’t have to cram everything into three days.”
Kageyama’s face morphed into something one could call pure betrayal. “It’s one extra day, Yachi-san!” he squawked, immediately recoiling at Yachi’s pained face.
“Listen, if Kageyama doesn’t want to go on Thursday, then I think it’s pointless arguing,” Yamaguchi stepped in, turning over another page. “If we drag him there, he’ll be upset and we won’t get anything out of it. I think it’s best if we go on Friday.”
Tsukishima and Yachi let out sighs of agreement. Shouyou picked at his left fingernail.
“We’ll have to move the Tokyo Skytree to Saturday then?” Yachi peered over Yamaguchi’s notebook, then poked at the paper with her index finger. “Oh, but we planned to visit Yanesen, we’ll have to move this all.”
Whilst Yachi and Yamaguchi began bickering back and forth about which sites to keep in the itinerary, Shouyou leaned back and tilted his head at Kageyama. He watched him for a moment.
At first, Kageyama pretended not to notice him, continuing to drill daggers into the floor in front of him.
His nose scrunched after a few seconds of prolonged silence.
“What?” he finally asked, eyebrows knitting together. “Are you also going to try guilt-tripping me into going on Thursday?”
“No,” Shouyou simply replied, then shrugged when he saw Kageyama’s bewildered expression. “So what, if we miss one day? Yachi and Tsukishima are going to have to suck it up, I’m afraid.”
Kageyama stared at him, mouth opening and closing. “They’ve been planning this for a long time,” he admitted after a while and Shouyou could practically see the cogs turning in his head. “They all wanted to go on Thursday.”
Shouyou gave him a half-hearted smile. “And you didn’t. I don’t see the problem, Yamayama.”
Kageyama watched him curiously, then bit on the inside of his cheek. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
He looked around expectantly, ignoring Tsukishima’s unpleasant remarks mixing in with Yamaguchi and Yachi’s voices. Kageyama gave him a look.
“When do you want to leave?” he asked, voice dipping lower. He almost looked embarrassed asking.
Shouyou’s face twisted into something warm. “Oh, come on, Bakageyama,” he said, with no real heat behind his words, “don’t tell me that I’m your deciding factor.”
When Kageyama’s face grew pained, Shouyou rolled his eyes with faux exasperation, knocking his shoulder against Kageyama’s. “If you’re asking for my own personal opinion,” he began, flashing his eyes at him, “then I personally would have left on Thursday, too.
“But!” Shouyou raised his index finger, jabbing it straight into Kageyama’s chest, “that doesn’t mean anything. You’d spend the entirety of your trip studying and stressing over your test, remember?”
“My test,” Kageyama repeated, then groaned. “What would I even tell Nakamura-sensei?”
“That you’ve fallen oh, so terribly ill.” Shouyou smiled up at him, then feigned a few coughs. “And have to retake the test after the break. Obviously.”
The corners of Kageyama’s lips twitched. “Obviously.”
“Okay, get rid of these bars completely,” Yachi said, tracing something with her finger. Tsukishima murmured something to Yamaguchi, who began crossing it out immediately.
Kageyama, who had been watching them awkwardly for a minute now, fumbled with his hands, unsure of what to do with them.
“Well, I guess I could just move my exam then. If it makes things easier,” he announced after clearing his throat.
Yachi, Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima all collectively turned their heads towards them. For a beat, nobody spoke. Then,
“And he’s so humble about it, too,” Tsukishima boasted, but his delight was very evident in his voice.
Yachi let out a squeak of joy, clapping to herself whilst Yamaguchi beamed up at him, circling everything he had just previously crossed out.
Shouyou only huffed out a fond smile, reaching out for the collar of his shirt and yanking him down. He pressed an obnoxiously loud kiss to his cheek, gently slapping the other side of his face.
“Have fun studying in Tokyo, loser,” he whispered before letting go and leaving him behind, walking over to rejoin Yamaguchi in the planning process.
Tsukishima watched as Shouyou came and sat down next to him, leaning across the table and taking a glance at the notebook. Yamaguchi was busy rewriting everything, a soft smile playing on his lips as Yachi began reciting all the places they wanted to visit, phone in hand.
“So what did you tell him?” Tsukishima asked once he was pressed up against the chair. Shouyou let out an intelligent “huh?”, to which Tsukishima tacked on hastily, “to get him to change his mind, I mean.”
Shouyou smiled at him, boyish.
“Nothing,” he said, pressing his chin into the palm of his hand. “Nothing at all.”
fivemins2mars · 1h ago
INFO. You mentioned that you had a huge argument but I feel like we need more information about what really happened. Are you sure the whole argument stemmed from the fact that you were leaving? You said that you were best friends and you thought he’d get over it - if you really were close and you knew him as well as you say you did, then maybe you drifted apart because of something else? I don’t know, OP, this just isn’t really adding up for me.
“You’re leaving for Brazil?”
Four words. One sentence. Shouyou had just been fidgeting with his phone, mindlessly swiping through his Instagram story for the hundredth time that day before his fingers stilled against the display.
He didn’t think this conversation was going to be brought up that soon.
Actually, scratch that, Shouyou had to retrace all of his conversations with Kageyama up to this point to figure out how exactly he knew that information.
Shouyou explicitly remembered constantly checking himself, hoping not to slip-up with any information about his two year move abroad. He definitely didn’t tell Kageyama, but if he didn’t, then who did?
“How’d you know?” he blurted out, wincing at how it all came tumbling out. He kind of hoped he could start over, take it back a few seconds and try something smoother, but it was too late now.
Fuck.
Was he angry? Sad? Excited? Shouyou couldn’t tell, his brown eyes desperately searching for blue, and waiting. Waiting.
Kageyama opened his mouth, then closed it pointedly.
“Tsukishima told me.”
“Tsukishima?!” Shouyou nearly threw his phone across the room. “How’d he find out?”
“So you are going!”
“Hey, don’t avoid the question.” Shouyou slipped his phone into his front pocket, flexing his fingers twice. “I asked you first.”
Kageyama gave him a look. “Actually, I asked you first,” he reminded him, then stood up. He walked to the back of his bedroom, then turned around. “And for your information, it was Yachi. She told him.”
Shouyou’s heart sank. He remembered telling her first, her initial excitement and promise that she wouldn’t tell anyone, especially Kageyama.
She must have done so unintentionally, Shouyou thought to himself dejectedly. He knew Yachi. She wasn’t one to go and talk behind his back like that.
But this meant that Tsukishima knew and if Tsukishima knew, then so did Yamaguchi. And so did Kageyama.
“So you are leaving then?” Kageyama asked again, coming to a standstill. His blue eyes glinted in the gentle afternoon sun.
Shouyou’s shoulders slumped in defeat. He was cornered. “Yeah.”
He hadn’t planned for it to go like this. Shouyou wanted to tell him, he really did, but a small, irrational part of him was worried about how he’d react.
Should he have told him in person or called, maybe texted or facetimed? Should he have cornered him in the school hallways or waited until they were alone? It was driving him mad and the longer he thought about it, the more time he wasted.
He couldn’t run now. He couldn’t delay this any longer.
Kageyama stood quietly, then his voice dropped even lower. “And Yachi and Tsukishima both knew before me?”
“Yeah,” Shouyou repeated stupidly, like it was the only word he knew how to say.
“For how long?”
Shouyou breathed out slowly, fumbling around with his hands. “Two years,” he said. “I’m going to spend that time in Rio. Beach volleyball.”
“Two years?” There was a strange lilt to Kageyama’s voice. He stared at him, lips slightly parted. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know how to,” Shouyou reasoned, propping himself up higher. He was beginning to grow antsier, eyes fixated on Kageyama’s unreadable face, his sudden shift in tone—
“And yet you still told Yachi,” Kageyama snorted derisively and that’s when something clicked inside of Shouyou.
“Is that what this is about?” He was sitting up straight now, something ugly brewing in his stomach, rising up his throat, sitting on the back of his tongue. “Are you kidding me, Kageyama? You don’t have to be the first to hear everything.”
Kageyama let out a noise in frustration. “Oh my god, shut up! I know that, you idiot, I just thought—”
“What? You thought what?” Shouyou bit back, ignoring the way his heart twisted at his accusatory tone. He stood up, rounding on him with a pointed finger. “That I’d stay here with you? Keep following you around forever?”
Kageyama pinched the bridge of his nose, groaning. He rubbed at his eyes profusely, letting his left hand fall to his side, and oh, was he—
“Kageyama—”
“Look, I don’t care if you go,” he snapped out, voice grittier than usual. “Go fuck off to Rio for all I care.”
Shouyou took a step forward. “You don’t want me to get better, is that it?”
“What? No! It’s not about that, I just-” Kageyama’s eyes flitted around the room, staring at the corners of Shouyou’s ceiling. “I thought you- I thought we—”
Kageyama cut himself off, face flushing a dark shade of red, anger mixing with ugly splotches of embarrassment. His lips pulled into a thin line, hair tousled, strands that haven’t been cut for too long falling into his eyes.
“Hinata,” he said, voice cracking at the end. It reeked of defeat, of helplessness, of something Shouyou couldn’t quite put his finger on.
He didn’t know what to say. He stared and stared, and when he inevitably didn’t say anything, Kageyama burned an even darker colour, eyebrows knitted together in contempt.
“Just go,” is what he said, losing all anger and bitterness in his voice.
And there Shouyou was, a deer caught in headlights, a rabbit in the crosshairs. His breathing hitched, caught in the back of his throat, as he continued staring because at that point, he didn’t know if there was anything else he could do.
Blinking away any traces of sadness and hurt, he masked his flurry of emotions with a scorn. His lips pulled into an angry snarl, fingers curling together. “What is your problem?”
“My problem?” Kageyama echoed, blue eyes seeing red. “My problem - what is your problem?!”
“Oh, because it’s my fault for wanting to get better at volleyball,” Shouyou laughed humourlessly, crossing both his arms. “I forgot that I had to take your feelings into consideration, my bad.”
Kageyama physically stopped himself, letting out a shaky exhale, and that’s when he saw it.
Tears. Kageyama was crying.
“You really are an asshole, Hinata Shouyou,” he spat, furiously rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand. “I don’t know what I ever saw in you.”
A pang bled into his chest. It made Shouyou’s insides churn, his knees weak. He tried not to let it show, not to let Kageyama see that it really stung.
With one final glare, Kageyama was walking out of his room, grabbing his school bag that had been laying near the door and slinging it over his shoulder. He closed the door with a bang.
Shouyou stood in the middle of his room and wondered why he was left with a feeling so decrepit and empty. He stood his ground. He was doing this for himself. He wanted to go to Rio.
So then why the hell did it feel so bad?
Blinking back the pathetic tears that were pooling behind his eyes, he swore at the ground before running out after Kageyama.
He sprinted through the empty house, bounding for the main entrance, but stopped by the door when he realised that Kageyama was nowhere to be seen.
“Fuck,” Shouyou choked out, sitting down on the stairs leading up to his house. He put his head into his hands, shoulders hunched over.
He sniffled as he fished for his phone, hovering over the familiar contact information, then faltered. He glared at his screen for a few seconds, tears staining the display, before he pocketed it again and threw his head back.
Shouyou: You told Kageyama that I was leaving for Rio.
Stingyshima: Yes. I thought he knew, though.
Shouyou: He didn’t. You shouldn’t have known, either. I was still planning things out with Washijou-san.
Shouyou: I only told Yachi.
Stingyshima: Oh.
Stingyshima: I found out via Yamaguchi.
Stingyshima: Sorry. How did he take it?
Shouyou: Bad lol
Stingyshima: Really?
Stingyshima: Wasn’t he all for you getting better to beat him at your little pissing contest?
Shouyou: THAT’S WHAT I THOUGHT TOO. BUT NO. I GUESS NOT!
Shouyou: We fought. I said a lot of nasty shit I didn’t mean obviously. I feel bad.
Stingyshima: Did you apologise?
Shouyou: Did HE apologise? No.
Stingyshima: That’s not what I asked. You are such a child, by the way.
Shouyou: Oh Kageyama-kun, I’m so sorry for calling you a bitch but I’m still going to Brazil lol get over it <3
Stingyshima: You called him a bitch???
Shouyou: No but you get what I mean? It’s dumb. He’s dumb.
Stingyshima: Talking to you is taking years off my life.
Stingyshima: Well, if you’re not apologising and he’s not, either - now what?
Shouyou: I don’t know. I want to take the first plane to Rio. Get out of here as fast as I can.
Stingyshima: Hinata.
Stingyshima: Come on.
Stingyshima: Be reasonable.
Shouyou: AND HE IS?
Shouyou: We’re both adults now, Tsukishima. If this is how he wants to solve things, then so be it.
Stingyshima: Oh, Hinata.
Stingyshima: Don’t you think this is a little impulsive?
Shouyou: Respectfully, shut the fuck up, Tsukishima.
Shouyou: I’m sorry that was uncalled for
Stingyshima: See? Was that so hard?
Stingyshima: How about you say the same thing to Kageyama?
Shouyou: Haha. You’re not fooling me with your tricks, Tsukishima-kun~
Shouyou: I’m looking up flights to Rio. I can’t deal with this right now. I think I’ll take the one in a month, on the 29th
Stingyshima: Idiot.
Stingyshima: .
Shouyou stares at his phone, the battery at a measly 16%, flashing red in the upper corner of his screen.
He couldn’t stop rereading the responses on his Reddit post.
He desperately tries to rack his brains through everything that happened during these past two years, trying to discover something he might have overlooked or missed, anything—
Info. The users demanded more information about what happened.
There was nothing to it, Shouyou thinks to himself desperately. He tries not to pace through his childhood bedroom, tries not to overthink the meet-up he was inevitably about to get dragged into.
Should he act like nothing happened? Confront Kageyama about it? Had heforgotten all about it and it turns out that Shouyou was the only one kept up by this, like the loser he is?
He sighs, long and drawn-out, turning off his phone and looking into the mirror again. No matter the general consensus online, Shouyou was determined to clear everything up with him once and for all.
Even if that meant being the bigger person and stepping away. (He’s sure that Tsukishima would be so proud of him if he ever found out).
Shouyou gets to work. He finishes washing his dishes and brushes his teeth, before standing in front of the mirror and trying out three different pairs of pants before finally settling for something comfortable.
He rakes a comb through his unruly hair which has been cut shorter than usual, kudos to Pedro who promised he wouldn’t cut it too short. He then exits his house and gets on the nearest bus.
A million different memories flood back to him as he sees the familiar Miyagi mountains and plains, the roads he used to bike through everyday at ungodly hours in the morning just to get to school on time.
He checks his phone for the nth time that day, refreshes his emails and clicks on the mass invitation Yachi sent him a few weeks ago. He taps his leg nervously before the bus comes to a slow stop and he’s peeling himself off the seat, thanking the bus driver and walking down the busy streets of Miyagi.
Belatedly, he realises that he should have probably come prepared. He had already mentally psyched himself for an impromptu apology, but showing up to the meet-up empty handed was never a good sign.
He has time, Shouyou thinks to himself as he checks his watch. Swallowing down his nerves, he veers off into a nearby convenience store, sweeping through the aisles in search of something appropriate for the occasion.
He browses the items on the shelves, then says fuck it and picks up a cheap bottle of liquor. (For good measures, he also ends up picking up a bouquet of lilies of the valley after being persuaded by the kind looking owner.)
He feels a little foolish, booze in one hand and flowers in the other, but all he does is take a long inhale before marching up the oh, so familiar pavement, seeing Karasuno high school slowly come into focus.
His heart soars into his throat when he spots two very familiar faces chatting right in front of the entrance, recognising those rectangular glasses and green flurry of hair from a mile away.
“Yamaguchi! Tsukishima!” Shouyou calls, waving his hands around fervently in hopes of getting their attention.
Yamaguchi, bless him, immediately brightens up and beckons him forward; Tsukishima smirks at the objects he is holding.
“Hinata-kun!” Yamaguchi enthuses, clasping his shoulder gently when he’s within hearing distance. “It’s so good to see you!”
“I’ve heard that you’ve caused quite a stir in Brazil,” Tsukishima adds with a lighthearted nudge.
Yamaguchi holds up his right hand, shielding it away from Tsukishima. “Oh, don’t let him fool you,” he whispers, jerking his thumb backwards. “He’s been watching all your games since you’ve left.”
“Tsukishima-kun!” Shouyou wails at the same time that Tsukishima’s smile twists into something more embarrassed. “I didn’t know that I was in the vicinity of my number one fan! Do you want an autograph?”
“You are embarrassing yourself,” Tsukishima coughs out, reaching out to ruffle his hair. “Talking a big game for such a little guy. How much have you grown? A centimeter?”
“Eight, actually.” Shouyou puffs up his chest. He nods towards the two of them. “How have you guys been, though?”
Yamaguchi gives him a crooked smile. "University has been kicking both of our asses,” he explains, then begins waving his hands excitedly. “But Tsukki has been playing for his college team and he’s wicked good, too! Have you seen his games? Trust me, they’re even better in person.”
“Tadashi,” Tsukishima elongates each vowel, looking over at him with faux annoyance. Shouyou can see how pleased with himself he is, though - the corners of his lips are turned upwards, almost resembling a fondness of some sort.
He jerks his head towards the entrance. “Shouldn’t we get going? I’m sure Yachi-san and a few others have come early.”
“Sounds like a plan, Tsukki.” Yamaguchi clasps his hands together before giving Shouyou a warm smile. “I’m cornering you later, Hinata-kun. I need to hear about everything that went on during those two years, especially that one picture with Oikawa-san!”
When Yamaguchi is out of earshot, Tsukishima leans over to Shouyou, eyebrows knitted together. “So, how’s it going? Have you guys worked it out yet? Is it official?”
Shouyou blinks up at him, having to doubletake. “Bwuh?” he asks intelligently. “Is what official? Huh?”
Tsukishima looks at him like he’s stupid, which, to be fair, he probably is.
“You know,” he says vaguely, then moves his hand around. “You, Kageyama.” He gives him a pointed look and glances over at the flowers in his hand. “Or is it secret and I shouldn’t bring it up at all—?”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Shouyou holds up his hand with the booze, effectively silencing him. “Me and Kageyama? Huh? Where’d you get that idea?”
“He had the biggest crush on you in your second and third year,” Tsukishima scoffs at the mere thought, bringing it up like it’s public knowledge. “I thought you guys talked it through.”
Talked it through?, he thinks to himself a little deliriously. Shouyou didn’t even know Kageyama liked him.
It makes Shouyou nearly choke on his saliva. “He what?!”
He replays Tsukishima’s words in his head a few times before the reality begins to sink in.
If Kageyama liked him back then, then that meant—
“You two weren’t dating,” Tsukishima takes the words right out of his head, staring at him as if he had grown another head. When Shouyou only sputters in response, Tsukishima slowly drags a hand over his mouth. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
Shouyou’s entire worldview comes shattering down to the ground. Kageyama liked him. Kageyama also must have thought Shouyou liked him back. And Shouyou—
“Oh fuck, Tsukishima,” Shouyou whispers, pressing the bottle against Tsukishima’s chest. Instinctively, his hands wrap around the neck and Shouyou uses his free hand to cover his lips. “I’m so stupid.”
“You led him on? This entire time?”
“I didn’t mean to!” Shouyou retaliates and it all comes back to him. The arguments, the soft bickering, the lingering glances.
Quiet promises in the middle of the night, playful jabs at one another and fleeting touches.
Shouyou kissing him and Kageyama letting him, despite everything.
“I loved him,” he admits out loud. His face breaks when he meets Tsukishima’s gaze. “I didn’t think he’d ever reciprocate.”
“Hinata,” Tsukishima sighs, raking his free hand through his hair. “You couldn’t recognise someone flirting with you even if they hit you in the face with it.”
Shouyou swallows thickly, looking at the clenched bouquet in his right hand. “I’m going to go set things straight with him,” he says, hand quivering. “Do you think he still…” his voice trails off, small and embarrassed.
Tsukishima’s gaze softens as he puts the bottle onto the ground. He reaches for the collar of Shouyou’s shirt and straightens it out for him.
“Have you seen the way he looked at you?” he asks, fiddling with the fabric. “I’d be surprised if he lost feelings for you completely.”
Something unfurls in Shouyou’s chest and it takes every bone in his body not to crush Tsukishima in a hug.
“Thanks,” he opts for saying instead, but he doesn’t miss the way Tsukishima’s lips quirk up, picking up the bottle of liquor again.
“I should be thanking you,” Tsukishima says and holds up the bottle. Then, he nods over to the entrance and smiles. “Now go make up or make out, or whatever.”
Shouyou has been at this stupid reunion for about an hour and still no living sign of Kageyama.
No sliver of his black hair, no fleeting glimpse of his lanky limbs. Nothing.
He tried to not let it get to him, though - in the meantime, he had caught up with Yamaguchi and Yachi, gotten tackled by a very eager Tanaka and Nishinoya, and even gotten a quiet congratulations from Kiyoko (first-year Shouyou would have been jumping for joy!).
But as the minutes dragged on, Shouyou began to lose more and more hope. He stares at the flowers in his right hand, the wrapper getting crumpled in his sweaty palm.
What didn’t help is that since his arrival, he’s had something to drink. The bottle was getting passed around like the Olympic torch and Shouyou lasted exactly ten minutes before taking a hearty swing of his own, to ease the nerves or something. Shouyou wasn’t even sure anymore.
He buzzes around in the corner, idly chatting with a classmate he can’t seem to recall the name of, until he sees it. Until he sees him.
The first thing he thinks of is that Kageyama’s still sporting that stupid expression on his face, even after all those years. The second thing he thinks of is just how much he’s grown.
Kageyama is talking to Sugawara and Daichi, bowing down slightly at something they’ve said. His hair is short and parted down the middle, jaw much sharper than back when they were both eighteen.
He stands up a little straighter when Kageyama turns his head over and their eyes meet for a fleeting second, trying to relax his grip before he ends up snapping the flowers in half.
He’s grown taller over the years, shoulders broader than Shouyou remembers. Sure, he has seen Kageyama in the Japanese advertisement Yamaguchi occasionally sent him or in a particularly grueling match between the Schweiden Adlers and Tachibana Red Falcons.
But seeing him in person… Shouyou swallows down the sentiment, chewing on the bottom of lip. He hasn’t changed at all, has he?
Sugawara seems to be saying something to him, heartily slapping him on back before Kageyama takes a step aside, making his way from across the room.
With every daring step, a flurry of memories, a whirlwind of emotions come crashing back at once; every late night conversation, five hour voice call, and boisterous laughing comes flooding in, overriding every inch of Shouyou’s body.
He freezes because, of course, he does, soles glued to the top of the floorboards. An unbearable dryness has taken refuge in the back of his throat, swallowing down his unease as he watches Kageyama traipse closer.
Any sort of plan he could have prepared had gone out the window, much to his dismay. His fingers curl around the flowers, nervously playing with the packaging paper. He plasters on a forced smile, eyes glinting when Kageyama nods down at him in lieu of a hello.
Kageyama liked him. Kageyama liked him.
“Hi,” Shouyou says, letting his left hand drop to his side, the flowers hanging uselessly. He doesn’t miss the way Kageyama’s eyes flit down to them before looking back up at him, lips quirking up into something that vaguely resembled a smile.
“Hey,” Kageyama says, voice deeper than it used to be. He nods towards the bouquet. “I never pegged you for the formal type.”
“Oh, yeah,” he shrugs helplessly, as if he had forgotten he bought them on impulse in the first place. “It felt wrong coming here empty-handed, so…” He holds up the bouquet. “Brought this. And the booze.”
Kageyama’s eyes crinkle slightly. “Ah,” he says and Shouyou tries not to dwell on how palpable the tension is.
“They’re for you, you know.” He thrusts the bouquet against his chest and before Kageyama can even open his mouth, he lowers his voice. “Can we talk?”
Kageyama stares down at him and blinks, lips pulled into a tight line. “You want to talk?”
“I want to apologise,” Shouyou amends because, at that point, these were just semantics. “It’s been so long. How have you been?”
I miss you, he wants to say. I miss my best friend.
“It’s been a while,” Kageyama concedes begrudgingly, slender fingers wrapping around the flowers. He glances down at them, pressing them up to his nose. “I’ve been good. Won a few games, lost a few. You know how it goes.”
“I’ve seen your most recent match against EJP Raijin,” Shouyou pipes up. “The one against Suna-san and Washio-san. And to think that you’re their starting setter now.”
Something shifts across his face, a hint of pride. “You’re not too bad yourself,” Kageyama comments, looking him up and down.
Shouyou ignores the way his heart lodges up into his throat. “You like my new tan?” he asks, flexing his biceps. His chest squeezes when he sees Kageyama swallow down a pointed remark. “I’ve grown in ways you can’t even imagine. And I’ve gotten way better at volleyball!”
“I know,” Kageyama says, voice uncharacteristically soft. It takes every bone in Shouyou’s body not to gape. “I’ve heard that they call you Ninja Shouyou on the other side of the globe.”
“I’m what some would call an international sensation.” Shouyou puffs up his chest, ignoring the way his stomach flips on its side. He grins into the palm of his hand, eyebrows knitting together. “Kageyama, I’m sorry for being stupid.”
“Why are you apologising?” he asks, cocking his head to the right. “Aren’t you always being stupid?”
Seems like some things never change. Shouyou lets out an exasperated huff, raking his fingers through his hair.
“You liked me,” Shouyou blurts out and it’s shocking how quickly Kageyama’s lofty smirk twists into something bemused. “Back then in high school. Didn’t you?”
“Of course, I did,” Kageyama says back, uncertain, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “You know I did. Why are you—?”
“Kageyama.”
His voice dies out in his throat when he sees Shouyou’s expression, lips pulling down into a frown. “You rejected me before fucking off to Rio,” he adds in a louder voice.
“Kageyama,” Shouyou tries again, because there was no easy way of saying that he had absolutely no idea this entire time.
Oh, I’m sorry for rejecting you, but I didn’t even know you liked me in the first place, he thinks to himself bitterly, mentally facepalming at how horrible that sounds.
“I didn’t know.”
Kageyama stops and looks at him. Like, really looks at him.
“You didn’t know?” His voice cracks.
“I thought that the reason you ghosted me was because I went to Rio!” Shouyou explains helplessly, throwing his hands up in the air. “I didn’t- I couldn’t- I thought it’d all blow over and I tried to keep contact with you, but after you stopped replying to my texts I figured you wanted me to leave you be.”
“I didn’t stop replying to your texts,” Kageyama suddenly accuses him, eyebrows knitting in confusion. “You stopped replying to mine.”
Now it’s Shouyou’s turn to be confused. “You… you’d ignore dozens of my texts,” he says, searching for his phone in his back pocket. “I can’t remember the last time you’ve called me.”
Kageyama’s face flushes. “I was busy and so were you! I was twelve hours ahead of you!”
“Kageyama…”
“Did you really think I’d flat out ignore you after getting rejected?” he asks, then backtracks. “You were still my best friend, dumbass, I wouldn’t just end it after that. I knew you didn’t like me back, anyway.”
Shouyou opens his mouth and gapes like a fish. Open, close, open—
“You’re so stupid,” Kageyama breathes out, glancing down at the flowers once more, then tearing his gaze off of them with a derisive laugh. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Wait, wait, wait!” Shouyou waves his arms around like a rabid animal, effectively shutting Kageyama up. “Let me start over, yeah?”
He snatches the bouquet back and runs away from him, weaving past old classmates he barely recognises. He does a 180 and exhales slowly before looking back at Kageyama, who is watching him with a hint of amusement on his face.
Maybe all wasn’t lost just yet.
He walks back, smoothing out his hair and holding out the flowers. “Kageyama Tobio,” he declares, ignoring the weird looks he was getting.
Kageyama’s eyes widened at the sheer volume of his voice, but that wasn’t going to stop Shouyou. “I’m back from Rio and I’m here to stay for good. Take me back, will you—”
“Shut the fuck up,” Kageyama hisses, clasping a big hand over Shouyou’s face. He gives a few passersby an awkward smile before pivoting away and dragging Shouyou out with him. “You are such a fucking dumbass, you know that? You hear me?”
Shouyou goes through a mental list of thoughts and prayers as Kageyama drags him out to his inevitable doom. His legs feel sluggish, tripping over his own feet as they exit the gymnasium and are greeted by the crisp air.
“I still want to be your friend,” Shouyou gasps out once Kageyama loosens his grip. I missed you so much, his mind screams back at him. I love you, I love you, I love you. “I want my best friend back.
“And I’m sorry, Kageyama, I really am,” he stares up at him, determined. “I know I fucked this up. And then we both did because we’re stupid and dumb, but I want to give us another chance. Give this friendship a redo.”
Kageyama looks back at him, sceptical. “This friendship, huh?”
Shouyou swallows down his avarice, just this once. “You know it, Yamayama.”
“And nothing more?”
Something falls in the pit of his stomach but he ignores the churning. He forces on a playful smile, nudging Kageyama with his elbow. “Getting even now, aren’t we? Low blow, Kageyama-kun.”
Kageyama frowns at him. “Shouyou.”
He hates the way he feels a little too warm, shuffling in his place. “Fine, but just because I owe you a lot and we’re making up,” he clears his throat, stepping onto the side. “I guess I want you more than I thought I did—”
The words die in the back of his throat when Kageyama slaps both of his palms onto his cheeks. Shouyou is just about to start complaining at how his cheeks sting, until he’s pulled into a kiss.
Fireworks. Explosions. Shouyou feels electricity course through his veins, a fire brew in his chest, a hundred little sparks flying and exploding all around him.
Shouyou lets out a panicked squeak, eyes fluttering open when he feels Kageyama’s hand tousle up his hair. Instinctually, Kageyama pulls away, face flushed and eyes wide.
Shouyou lets out a garbled little whine that he’d otherwise be extremely embarrassed about if it wasn’t for what just happened, already missing the warmth pressed up against his lips.
Thankfully, it makes Kageyama chuckle instead of ridiculing him, a mirth that brews low and deep in his chest as he strokes his cheek.
“Dumb,” he whispers under his breath. “I really like you, idiot. Like a lot.”
I love you, I love you, I love you.
“Kageyama,” he bemoans, pawing at his sleeves. “Kiss me again, won’t you?”
“You’re insufferable,” Kageyama says but obliges, tilting his head to the side until all he tastes is him. It had always been him.
Giddiness bubbles up in his throat, helpless laughter takes over. He pulls away before pressing his lips onto every inch of Kageyama’s face in quick succession, drawing out one amused chuckle after the other.
“Shouyou,” he breathes out, wrapping his arms around him and squeezing him tight. He hasn’t realised how much he loved the sound of his given name on his tongue. He decides right then and there that he’s going to have to trick Kageyama into saying it more often.
“I missed you so much,” Shouyou admits, burying his face into the crook of his neck. “I’m sorry I fucked this up.”
“You didn’t fuck anything up.” Kageyama brushes the hair out of his face, then bites down a wry grin. “Okay, maybe you fucked it up a little bit—”
“Mean, Bakageyama!”
“It’s fine,” he chuckles, carding his fingers through his hair. “We have enough time to make up for it. Speaking of, why don’t we ditch this place, huh?”
Shouyou smiles inwardly at the offer. It does sound tempting, he can’t lie.
“Have you talked to Ukai-san yet?” he asks instead, pulling away from him. He’s met with a very sour looking Kageyama, an image that makes his heart squeeze fondly.
“A quick round of pleasantries and I’m all yours,” he reasons, biting back a smile. “What do you say?”
“Fucking finally,” Kageyama huffs out, but he doesn’t miss the way his lips quirk up in placated contentment.
Bakageyama: I saw this when scrolling through reddit.
Bakageyama: https://www.reddit.com/r/AmITheAsshole/top/3ds…
Bakageyama: It wouldn’t happen to be your post, would it?
Shouyou: …
Shouyou: HOW DID YOU FIND THAT??!??!??!?!?
Bakageyama: Heh. You’re not slick.
Shouyou: IT WAS A BURNER ACCOUNT TOBIO. YOU WEREN’T MEANT TO SEE IT!!!
Bakageyama: Lol.
Bakageyama: It’s kind of obvious.
Shouyou: It’s literally NOT obvious oh my god
Bakageyama: Keep telling yourself that.
Shouyou: Tobioooooo :c
Shouyou: I was going through dark times. I was desperate, I needed answers
Bakageyama: Desperate enough to make an AITA post for hundreds of strangers to judge you, got it.
Shouyou: HAHA it worked out didn’t it?
Bakageyama: I suppose.
Bakageyama: You are the asshole, by the way.
Bakageyama: In case you were still wondering.
Shouyou: TOBIO
On one side of the room, Shouyou chucks his phone across the sofa. Warm laughter is bound to follow shortly after.