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The game starts with a shrill blow of Nidai's whistle. Hinata's taken one of the back corners, and he watches as one of his teammates, Sonia, serves the volleyball. It soars through the air, being met with an easy counter hit from Owari. Nidai's eager to hit it back once it returns to their side. So the game goes.
Since the ball's come nowhere near him so far, Hinata allows his eyes to wander. Naturally, they find their way to Komaeda, laying on a towel a bit away from the action. Though it always sinks Hinata's heart to see Komaeda sequestered alone during days where everyone's together, he's learned to reason that it doesn't mean Komaeda is lonely. Sometimes, it really is for the best that Komaeda stays away from everyone—forcing him to participate in every little thing Hinata did would just be cruel. Besides, at least now, Komaeda's willing to stay in his sight.
Back to Komaeda in the present, his face is buried in a book. Hinata figures it's a good way to distact from the pain he must be feeling, given the intense sunburn that stretches from his shoulders down to his legs. He had applied aloe lotion and put an umbrella over him before the game started, but there would still be a natural discomfort—and that's not even getting into how bad it would be once his skin started peeling. Hinata would have to think of a painless way to move Komaeda from his towel to their cottage once the party's over…
The ball whooshes past his head, smacking down somewhere in the sand behind him. Hinata blinks and looks around to see his teammates and opponents both staring at him.
"Oi, Hinata!" Kuzuryuu barks. "The fuck are ya doin'? Did'ja forget we're in a goddamn game?"
"N-No!" Hinata shakes his head, trying to fight the warmth that threatens to bloom a bright, shameful red on his face. "I just spaced out for a second! That's all!"
"Well, keep doing that, man!" Souda calls from across the net. Hinata rolls his eyes.
"In your dreams!"
As the ball is served again, Hinata's eyes refuse to wander. He watches it fly over to the next team, watches Pekoyama bump it, then Mioda set it, preparing Owari for a perfect spike. Hinata barely registers his own movement, getting into position and holding his hands together low. Owari leaps into the air and smacks the volleyball down. It whooshes right into Hinata's connected hands, allowing him to easily bump it to another teammate. As he backs up to his corner, he hears his teammates praise him, but more importantly, he hears Komaeda.
"Amazing counter, Hinata-kun!"
When Hinata whips his head over, he sees Komaeda looking at him, smile bright and eyes brighter despite him being in the shade. When their gazes meet, Komaeda's hand raises, fingers wiggling in a wave that makes a smirk tug at the corner of Hinata's lips. He opens his mouth to reply, but Koizumi's voice cuts through his thoughts.
"Hinata, watch out!"
"Oh, shit," Hinata curses under his breath, turning to see the ball whirling toward him. He lurches forward, arms extending out and up in a set that has the ball only connect with one of his hands. It's sent more to the right than he would have liked, but at least it's away from him. His teammates can deal with the rest.
The repeated smacks of the volleyball fade into the background as Hinata looks at Komaeda again. He's no longer looking up, attention directed back at his book. Maybe he's trying to pick apart a mystery, carefully examining the writing for any clue it could hold; maybe he's being swept away by fantastical worldbuilding and compelling themes; maybe he's being endeared to some characters and their sappy romance. As Hinata fights the urge to go ask him, his friends' cries of his name end up winning his attention.
"Hinata!"
"Ahhh! Hinata-san! Look out!"
By the time Hinata turns his head, pain is already shooting through the center of his face and reverberating throughout his skull. His hands fly to his nose, feeling something coat his hands. A panicked, wet snort leaves him.
"Oh, shit! You alright, man?!" he hears Souda shout.
"Tsumiki!" he hears the Ultimate Impostor call out. "Come over here and make sure Hinata didn't break his nose!"
"You- You don't have to get her," Hinata tries to insist, but his voice is muffled by his hands. He faintly tastes blood in the back of his throat.
When his eyes finally open again, Tsumiki is in front of him, gaze flat and purely clinical. "Um….Hinata-san, please let me look at your face."
"It's not broken," Hinata's quick to say. He presses a finger against his nose, wincing. "I-I can feel it. It's fine."
"I-I just want to make sure. So, please put your hands down…"
With a groan, Hinata's hands lower. He glances down, seeing splotches of blood on his palms and fingertips. As Tsumiki reaches up to touch his face, his eyes go to Komaeda. He's unsurprised to see that Komaeda is looking right at him, eyes wide and shoulders tense like he's about to stand up despite the fact that his entire backside is sunburnt to hell and back. Before he can do anything stupid, Hinata calls out, "I-I'm fine, Komaeda! Seriously! Don't worry! It was just a bump!"
Komaeda fixes Hinata with a raised eyebrow and a frown, but before Hinata can continue to insist that everything is okay, Tsumiki speaks up. "U-Um…you're right, I don't think it's broken, buuuut…the fact that your nose is bleeding is still a concern. You, um, you should proooobably sit down for the rest of the game…"
"C'mon, seriously?" Hinata groans.
"Yes. Um, hold on…" Tsumiki carefully makes her way to a first aid kit she packed, picks it up, then brings it over. "I have some wipes in here for the blood. Please let me know if it continues to bleed for a prolonged period of time, or if you experience any dizziness, lightheadedness, confusion, or…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Hinata takes the wipes, holding one to his nose. "Geez, do I really have to sit out the rest of the game?"
Tsumiki huffs, her voice coming out sharp. "What kind of question is that…? Obviously, you do." She puts a hand on her chest, glancing away as her voice grows softer again. "Besiiiiides, if you're getting hit by something like a volleyball, then you clearly weren't invested in the game, anyway…."
Hinata scowls, a bit of heat rushing to his face. "Whatever," he dismisses in a grumble. "Uh, thanks for the wipes."
"Ehehehe…" Tsumiki giggles, a smile lighting up her face and pink dusting her cheeks. "Of course, Hinata-san!"
Hinata looks up at everyone else as Tsumiki walks away. "Well...I guess I gotta sit the rest of this out," he announced, being met with a chorus of groans from mostly his team. Although, Souda also shouted "aw, man!", which made the corners of Hinata's lips twitch up.
"Hmph! Good riddance!" Saionji huffs, crossing her arms. "It's no fair that he's on your team, anyway! Especially with those other meatheads!"
"Geez, way to make a guy feel appreciated…" Hinata mutters. He shakes his head and sighs. "Hey, you guys will do fine without me," he addresses his team. "I'll still be watching from the sidelines."
"Worry not, Hinata-san!" Sonia raises a fist, a fire in her eyes. "We shall avenge you and win this game in your honor!"
"I…don't think it's that big a deal," Hinata replies, wiping his nose and adjusting the wipe so that a new part of it presses to his nostrils, "but…thanks."
"That's the spirit, Sonia! We may be outnumbered in players, but we are not outmatched in spirit!" Nidai shouts, shoving a fist into an open palm. "Come on, team! We gotta win this! For Hinata!"
"For Hinata-san!" Sonia agrees.
"Sure. Whatever gets this shit done faster," Kuzuryuu grunts.
Despite the sight being a bit ridiculous, Hinata couldn't help the little flutter of joy in his stomach at seeing his friends rally together to win something as mundane as a volleyball game for him. The amount of emotions swirling inside of him makes him scoff. He turns away, everyone's banter fading into white noise as his eyes meet Komaeda's again. He's still staring, brow furrowed and lips pursed like he's trying to not let a stream of words fall from the faucet that is his mouth.
"Uh…hey," Hinata says as he approaches, and Komaeda's speaking before he can even think to get another word out.
"Hinata-kun! Are you okay? Is it broken?" He raises a hand, beckoning toward himself. "Come down here and let me see."
"Hey, hey, it's fine." Hinata sits down next to Komaeda, sighing in relief as a wave of coolness from the shade washes over him. He pulls the wipe off of his nose. "Tsumiki looked at it and said it wasn't broken. See? It's fine."
Komaeda's eyes flicker downward, fully frowning. "…It's still bleeding."
"Yeah, but," Hinata brings the wipe back up, "it'll probably stop soon."
Despite his reassurances, as he looks back up at the continuing game, he hears the continued frown in Komaeda's voice. "Ah…I'm terribly sorry, Hinata-kun. This must be my fault."
Hinata almost laughs at the idea—after all, he was the one not paying attention—but stops as he thinks more on it. Sure, he was looking away during the game, but…he remembers just what had captured his attention in the first place. Komaeda's voice, Komaeda's praise, Komaeda's eyes, Komaeda's smile—Komaeda, Komaeda, Komaeda.
"It wasn't your luck," Hinata's quick to reply. "Your luck can't make me lose focus, so don't even start."
Thankfully, Komaeda seems to accept this, but his following hum pitches up curiously. "Um…you didn't deny that it was my fault, though," he points out, and Hinata feels heat creep up his neck. Shit.
"I-It's not…it wasn't your fault necessarily," he tries to explain. "You couldn't control it, it's just…"
For the first time that day, Hinata tries to look anywhere but at Komaeda. Like usual, though, he feels the other's eyes on him, searching him over like he's trying to mentally peel back his layers. It makes his own insides feel like mush.
"…I'm, uh, sorry for distracting you," Komaeda eventually says. "I'm not quite sure what about my presence could be so distracting, but if it's irritating you, I could leave."
"N-No!" Hinata shouts, finally bringing himself to look at Komaeda—if only to shoot him a stern look. "No. You're not irritating me right now, or whatever. You just…make me think about stuff. And sometimes I get caught up in those thoughts. That's all."
Komaeda lays his head down on his arms, cheek squishing up against the skin. "What kind of thoughts do you have?"
Aren't I usually the one asking these questions? Hinata rubs the back of his neck. "I don't know. I guess just…how nice it is we all get to do stuff like this together." He glances away. "And…how nice it is that you're here with us too. For a while, it just felt like I was forcing you to hang out with everyone else, which kinda sucked."
"Oh…well, I never did anything I didn't want to do."
"I…don't know about that." Before Komaeda can reply, Hinata continues, "Look, that's not the point. I'm just…happy that you're here, okay?"
His face is burning by the time he gets the words out, but it's all worth it getting to see Komaeda's reaction. His eyes go wide, and his lips part like there's a million things he wants to say, but he's too overwhelmed to say any of them. And, then, his cheeks flush a beautiful pink, almost complementing the red that's entirely spread over the back side of his body. Finally, he turns his head away—a telltale sign that Hinata's got him. Hinata can hear his own heart thump away in the silence.
"…um…" Komaeda laughs, quiet and shaky. "Um, I…did you really think about all of that during a volleyball game? Just by looking at me?"
"Maybe," Hinata grumbles. "What of it?"
"Ah…wow, Hinata-kun really is the pensive type."
"H-Hey!" Hinata scowls as Komaeda starts to laugh again, but it's such a beautiful sound that he can't bring himself to be truly mad. Especially not when Komaeda calms down, and he fixes Hinata with a soft gaze and an even softer smile.
"But, I'm…happy to be here too. With you, and with everyone else," Komaeda admits.
Hinata's heart flutters at the words. His shoulders relax as what he ends up identifying as a wave of relief crashes over him. For once, he doesn't need to question Komaeda more. There's no hidden feelings, no unsaid words, nothing to scrutinize or hypothesize. Komaeda's happy, and Hinata believes it. He realizes his cheeks are starting to ache from the smile on his face.
"Good."
With that conclusion, Hinata allows himself to scoot closer to Komaeda, his leg brushing against the other's side. He looks away from Komaeda and at the game again, shifting the wipe to one hand and holding out the free one toward Komaeda.
"…there isn't blood on this one, is there?"
"Ugh," Hinata scoffs, jerking his open hand up and down, "obviously not. Look at it."
Komaeda chuckles, letting out a small grunt as he shifts his body weight to one arm, letting his free hand grab onto Hinata's. "Ah, I wouldn't mind anyway. I've handled worse."
"Wow, thanks," Hinata mutters, but the words lack bite, especially with the small smile still on his hand. Rubbing a thumb over the back of Komaeda's hand, he watches the game, heart full despite the taste of metal in the back of his throat. It's all definitely worth a little nosebleed.