Work Text:
Assignment: Hinata Shouyou—life of the party, dancer extraordinaire, and ‘bite-sized’, ever popular cheerleader.
Pictures required: three candids for a two-page special in the paper, and one portrait for the front cover.
Deadline: By the end of May, so two weeks. ;P Have fun!
It all started with this photography assignment.
“What the hell is this?”
Kageyama slapped the black job folder on the table. Suga was a bit old school, so instead of sending a simple email detailing the job, he often gave out black folders with the assignment sheet and more information than would ever be needed. This folder included class schedule, dormitory, even so far as to list Hinata’s acquaintances and when was the best time to catch him for a good photo.
“Oh, I asked permission to give you that information. Half of it comes from Hinata himself so don’t worry.” Suga winked and returned to his desk to resume working on editing this week’s issue of Kobu Weekly, school newspaper for Kobu University for the Arts.
Kageyama stomped to Suga’s desk and loomed above him. “You know that’s not what I mean. I’m asking why me as the photographer and especially why Hinata Shouyou for a special?”
“Well, you are our best photographer and everyone else is busy.” Suga looked up with a wide smile. “Also, Hinata’s a great subject. He’s popular and will make for a fun read.”
“I know he’s popular. That’s the exact problem.” Kageyama sighed. “The popular types are annoying, and always unhappy with how they look in the shot even though it’s not about fake appearances, but about what the lens can catch that’s beyond surface. They’re always a pain in the ass.”
Suga chuckled and turned his attention to the computer screen again. “Not this time, trust me. I have a hunch you’ll actually enjoy this project. So go do it.”
“I don’t have much of a choice,” muttered Kageyama, grabbing the folder, and walking out of the clubroom. If it weren’t for the fact that he respected Suga as a talented upperclassman from the photography department and a good friend (when he didn’t make Kageyama do things he utterly hated), and also if he didn’t need the decent pocket money the photography jobs provided, he would have quit a long time ago.
Curse the decent, easy cash! It was hard to say no to a job where he was being paid to do something he loved, even if his subjects were irritating and most of the time, uninspiring.
Whatever. It was fine. He’d just have to grit his teeth and get this over with.
Kageyama sat in a table in the far corner of the lunchroom and pulled out his camera to observe.
Just like the job folder detailed, Hinata ate lunch at 12:35 pm in Lunchroom A, the one closest to the Dance and Arts buildings. He sat in a table with a few others of the dance department (many who were also in the cheer team), and some assorted members of the sports teams with Art degree crossover. Kageyama recognized all of them—it was hard not to since the university was only a mere eight hundred students big. Also, that core group was famous for always being at the center of weekend party life. Kageyama had been roped into one or two of their parties before, and though their party snacks and dip were pretty tasty, that’s really all he found appealing about the sweaty and suffocating event.
“You’ve been staring for ten minutes now.”
Kageyama jumped back onto his chair and looked over to where the voice was coming from. It was Hinata. When the hell did he get right next to him? “I’m just doing my job.”
Hinata pulled the chair across from Kageyama and plopped down. The gold of his eyes and round ear studs glimmered in the sunlight shining down from the windows. “You’re Kageyama, right? Shouldn’t the photographer introduce themselves to their subject instead of just creeping on them?”
Kageyama sat up straight. “How do you know who I am?”
“Are you dense? Genius 2nd year from the photography department, standoffish and cool hottie—you’re pretty popular amongst the girls in the school.” Hinata smirked and cocked his head to the side. “Also, Suga talked a bit about you when he asked me if I was okay with the special.”
“I’m not dense, dumbass.” Kageyama glared.
Hinata chuckled; it was a light and pleasant sound. “Suga was right about your attitude.”
“He promised this project wouldn’t be as irritating as previous ones, like the one I had to do with your insufferable upperclassman, Oikawa. But I’m starting to doubt that.”
“I see. Yeah, Oikawa can be quite a handful.” Hinata stood up with a bright smile and extended his hand. “It’s really nice outside. Let’s go get the portrait done and then you’ll have one less picture to be grumpy about.”
Kageyama ignored his hand, and walked ahead of him. “I’m not grumpy.”
Hinata raised his hands up with a shrug. “Yeah, sure.”
They walked to a grassy area with trees and beds of flowers a few feet from the entrance of the lunchroom. Kageyama took his camera out of his bookbag, adjusted the lens, and pointed it at Hinata. For a few moments Hinata was still and pensive, but then he suddenly burst into dramatic dance and cheer poses. Kageyama was at a loss, they were all terrible poses, and far from good material for a portrait. But Hinata continued to dance around like an idiot, seemingly indifferent to the fact that Kageyama was taking no pictures. And at first Kageyama felt annoyed with the fact that Hinata wasn't taking this seriously, but when Hinata started to run out of stupid dance move poses and started bad attempts at martial art poses, he couldn't help but laugh. He looked so fucking dumb.
"I really think—" he chuckled a few more times, "that you should try just standing there."
Hinata snapped his head toward Kageyama, face lit up with glee. "You're laughing!"
There was something about the tenderness in his eyes and the way they widened and glimmered that made Kageyama's breath catch. He brought his camera up to look at Hinata's face through the lens—to better see the layers of that expression. And it was utterly beautiful. Kageyama took in all the details: Hinata's wide, pearly smile, long lashes, the way the corner of his eyes crinkled just a bit, and how soft his hair seemed in the breeze. He took some pictures as Hinata approached him and Hinata froze, cheeks flushing pink from the newfound attention. Kageyama captured his carefree smile shrinking to a small grin, his lips pressed as if to hold back from saying something. He stood there; hands clasped behind him, and steadied his eyes on the camera. Kageyama could tell he was thinking about something. He brought his arms forward and folded them across his chest, eyes now breaking away from his gaze into the camera to look at something on his floor. His cheeks grew warmer with each click of Kageyama's camera, and it was almost cute how obvious his embarrassment was becoming. He was lovely. And Kageyama was too absorbed in catching every subtle change to his expression to give much thought to why his own heart was beating so loudly in his ear.
"Look at me again."
"So he speaks." Hinata laughed and returned his gaze to the camera, hand rubbing the back of his neck. "How many pictures are you planning to take?"
"A few more, " Kageyama mumbled and took a step closer to Hinata.
Hinata bit his lip, the desire to step back obvious in his face, but stood his ground. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and faced the camera with fortified determination. Of course Kageyama's camera never once stopped clicking during all of this; he had the bad habit of thinking with his lens before his head. Even though it would have been more polite and thoughtful to stop taking pictures while Hinata strengthened his resolve, Kageyama was too focused on the reddening tips of Hinata's ears and how they moved slightly when Hinata breathed out.
Kageyama only put his camera down when the bell signaling the end of lunchtime rang. He realized he somehow had to get across campus in the few minutes he had left before class and packed his camera in a hurry.
Hinata cleared his throat. "You should come to my cheer practice at four today. We practice in recreational room 1B in the bottom floor of the gym. You'd get good candids."
"Okay." Kageyama nodded. "I'll see you there."
Recreational room 1B was not easy to find. It also didn’t help that the only room Kageyama ever used in the gym building was the upstairs weight room, and he hadn’t cared to explore what the rest of the gym building had to offer. But he found it, in back of the bottom floor after doing a few circles and rounding an odd corner. It was about half a basketball court big, with good lighting, matted floors, and a much higher ceiling than one would think the basement would allow. There was a trampoline resting against the far right wall, a large open container of pompoms and random equipment right next to that, and a strip of bare, polished court floor on which all the cheerleaders were gathered to listen to Oikawa and a girl next to him give them instructions. Kageyama searched the crowd for Hinata and there he was, absentmindedly practicing arm positions while listening to Oikawa. For a second his gaze broke from their captain and wandered over to the entrance, warmly landing on Kageyama. His lips curved into a smile and he gave Kageyama a little wave, which Kageyama also (but more awkwardly) returned. He motioned him towards the bench lining the entrance wall and once Kageyama started making his way over, returned his attention to Oikawa.
The team’s practice started with light dance warm ups in which they simply chatted amongst each other while dancing and jumping. Hinata bopped around an adorable blonde girl and they laughed as they mimicked each other’s dance moves. After everyone had danced nonstop through the whole song, silenced swept over them as they lied down on their backs for core strengthening exercises. This they did in unison, following Oikawa’s steady voice through a circuit of planks, sit-ups, mountain climbers, and a few others. They moved on to a stretching routine, and Kageyama couldn’t help but get flustered at how freaking flexible Hinata was. Sure, he was a dancer and a cheerleader so it was expected, but seeing him ease into a front split like it was as natural as breathing brought warmth to Kageyama’s cheeks. And as if Hinata was reading his mind, their eyes met in this moment, Hinata’s eyebrows arching with amusement as he folded his leg up to meet the back of his head. Kageyama looked away, partially in embarrassment, but also because he realized that he needed to take out his camera and do his damn job.
Skill practice was next. The team lined up in rows on one end of the mat and worked their way to the opposite side with the skill that a girl, who seemed to be Oikawa’s co-captain, shouted. It started simple with handstand walking and cartwheeling, but got progressively difficult with back handsprings, front handsprings, and a combination of both with aerials. It was hard for Kageyama to follow even with the captains screaming out the names, but his camera caught every moment of Hinata’s brilliance. He almost forgot to breathe as he snapped photos of how fucking high Hinata’s body got off the ground. Even for someone like Kageyama who knew jack shit about cheerleading, it was obvious that with his good amount of power, graceful lines, and immense height, he was one of their best tumblers.
By the time they finished skill training and moved on to stunts, Kageyama had an unnecessary amount of photos. If he were being honest with himself, just keeping his finger on the shutter would have probably yielded the same amount of photos. He brought his camera down to his lap, rolled his neck, and took deep breath to calm his heart. What the hell was he getting so excited about? It was just cheer practice. Hinata glanced over at him once more to confirm that he was still there and Kageyama gave him a little nod. He returned with one of his carefree smiles and a wink, as if to say ‘watch this’. Kageyama brought his camera back up in preparation because he sure as hell wasn’t going to miss the chance to get a perfect candid. The team split into three groups of five, with the group that had Hinata in it situated at the center. Each group crowded close together and Hinata’s group circled around him. Oikawa gave a countdown and the groups on either side of Hinata loaded their middle person and shot her up into the air where each of them did a twist and landed back down. It was impressive, but nothing was as shocking as the moment Hinata cut through the air, doing a twist and a split at a jaw dropping height—for Kageyama, time felt like it had slowed down. It was beautiful and daring, even mind-blowing, the way Hinata commanded the air. And the fact that Kageyama was able to capture every moment of it made his heartbeat ring in his ear. He was positive that somewhere in the dozens of photos he took while Hinata was flying, there was the perfect first candid.
“So,” Hinata began as he walked up to Kageyama, towel around his neck wiping at his forehead, “I was cool wasn’t I?”
“Yeah…” Kageyama hadn’t paid too much attention to what Hinata was wearing before, but now that he was so close it was hard to ignore that he was wearing a tight muscle tee and running shorts that only reached mid thigh. Did cheerleaders wear less clothing to be more aerodynamic or something? Fuck, he was staring. Kageyama snapped his head up meet Hinata’s eyes and cleared his throat. “Yeah, you were.”
Hinata grinned, face smug. “I’m surprised you agreed.”
“It’d be an obvious lie if I didn’t, stupid.” Kageyama stuffed his camera in his bag and stood up. “With the way you fly, I’m pretty sure you were a bird in your past life.”
“Everyone says that.” Hinata chuckled and gathered his towel in his hands. “The team calls me Hina-tori for that exact reason.”
“It’s a fitting nickname.” Kageyama pulled his bookbag strap up higher on his shoulder. “Well, I need to go look at these. I’ll see you around for the next few pictures, I guess?”
“Wait!” Hinata grabbed Kageyama’s forearm as he turned to leave. “Um, the crew—well, Oikawa, is throwing one of his usual house parties on Friday night. You should come.” Hinata let go of Kageyama and crossed his arms across his chest. “You might get some good candids.”
Kageyama rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. “I never find those parties fun. And I highly doubt I’ll get any good pictures. But…” He glanced at Hinata again and sighed, “I’ll think about it.”
“Good,” Hinata beamed. “I’m taking that as a yes.”
“I never said I’d—“
“Hush.” Hinata pushed Kageyama towards the exit. “If you don't come we are going to play hide and seek until your photo deadline.”
“Wait, what?”
Hinata waved and closed the door behind him. Kageyama couldn’t help but feel like we was playing right into the palm of the Hinata’s tiny hand.
No matter how long he sat on the couch in the living room of his suite and racked his brain, he only had two choices: go or don’t go.
He didn’t actually want to go, at least not for the party. He knew the only reason he was debating going was because he wanted to see Hinata. And that was so pathetic and stupid. He could easily just wait until Monday to see him (provided that Hinata would actually talk to him if he left him hanging tonight). It’s not like Hinata was truly being serious about avoiding him…right?
“You look constipated.”
“Don’t start, Tsukishima.” Kageyama spat, turning around to face him, and of course Yamaguchi, who never seemed to leave his side. Both were second years like him, with Tsukishima in the graphic design department and Yamaguchi in painting. He shared the suite with them and unfortunately they became an item in the third week of school. It was annoying always feeling like a third wheel. “And you could say I feel constipated…emotionally.”
Yamaguchi tried to hold back a laugh but Tsukishima just went ahead and laughed in Kageyama’s face. “Wait, what in the world would make you of all people feel like that.”
Kageyama stood up to face them and considered how much flack Tsukishima was going to give him for the rest of the year if he dared to ask for advice. He noticed they were dressed up a bit nicer than usual. “…Are you guys going somewhere?”
Tsukishima raised an eyebrow. “The king showing interest in things we do is a first.”
Yamaguchi elbowed Tsukishima with a giggle. “Tsukki, you’re merciless.” He turned to Kageyama, tucking a few strands of his mossy shoulder length hair behind his ear. “We’re going to Oikawa’s house party. Want to come with?”
Kageyama groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I mean I think I want to come. After all Hinata invited me, and Suga-senpai urged me to go today. But I feel like I’m just going to hate it like every time before.”
“Did you say Hinata? Hinata Shouyou?” Tsukishima narrowed his eyes. “Why the heck did he invite you? Since when do you two even talk?”
“I got assigned a job to photograph him so we’ve been talking for a few days.“ Kageyama shoved his hands into his jean pockets. “He said he wouldn’t forgive me if I didn’t go today…”
Tsukishima and Yamaguchi shared a glance, faced Kageyama, and then looked at each other again. The way they could often communicate without even saying anything made Kageyama feel like they shared some type of telepathic connection. It was freaking weird.
Yamaguchi nodded at Tsukishima and promptly grabbed the back of Kageyama’s shoulders, pushing him towards the door. “Yup, we are definitely taking you with us.”
“Huh? Why?!”
Tsukishima nabbed Kageyama’s messenger bag from the floor with a mischievous grin. “Man, you’re are going to owe us big time.”
Kageyama had no idea why he’d owe Tsukishima anything for dragging him against his will to this dreaded off-campus house Oikawa and his crew were living in, but he figured he’d find out eventually. First, he needed to find Hinata.
Oikawa’s parties were the epitome of a typical university party: a ridiculous amount of alcohol, university students that had no control over their intake, party games, a good assortment of finger food, decent music, and the population of like half the school crammed into a muggy two floor house. The idiot couple that brought him to the party left him stranded in the middle of the crowd with just a ‘good luck’. While weaving through the room, Kageyama found Suga, and Daichi, who was in the sculpture department and the kendo team. They talked for a bit and then Suga graciously pointed him to the right direction, sending him tumbling away with a hard smack to the back. After taking a few steps through the crowd in that direction, he finally spotted Hinata. The midget was playing Pin Pon Pan with nicknamed ‘prima ballerina’ Oikawa, architect genius and basketball ace Iwaizumi, and a few others of their crew.
“Oh, if it isn’t Kageyama Tobio!” Oikawa stood up from the couch and walked over with a forced smile. “I thought you’d never come here again after insulting my party last time. Also I haven’t forgotten the crappy photo of me in the newspaper.”
Kageyama furrowed his eyebrows. “Yeah, I didn’t expect to come back either.”
“Then why show your face—
“Oikawa-senpai.” Hinata slid between the two of them with a nervous smile and grabbed Kageyama’s hand. “I invited him so let’s put things in the past, okay?” Hinata pulled Kageyama away and towards the table with all the alcohol. He let himself laugh when far enough away from the rest of the crew, and grabbed an empty solo cup. “We need to get some alcohol in you so you can stop looking so miserable.”
“I’m not miserable.” Kageyama ducked his head to try to see what Hinata was mixing. “Don't make it too strong. I’m a lightweight.”
“Boring,” Hinata scoffed. He turned back around with his own drink in one hand and Kageyama’s, a dark concoction, in the other. “I just mixed a bunch of random crap but it shouldn’t be too bad. You need to finish it completely.”
Kageyama brought the cup to his lips and scrunched his nose in disgust. “This is pure alcohol.”
“No. There’s at least a dash of flat coke in there.” Hinata giggled and pushed Kageyama’s cup closer to his lips with his index finger. “Come on, chug some. You need to get to my level.”
“I feel like I’d need a gallon to get to your level. How drunk are you even?” Kageyama took a long swig and groaned after. “That’s horrible.”
“You’re a baby. And I’m just tipsy.” Hinata grabbed Kageyama’s free hand and tugged. “Let’s go upstairs! It’s quieter.”
Kageyama nodded, taking another swig of his awful drink, and followed behind the peppy little orange head. Hinata guided them through the crowd masterfully, bopping to the music as he avoided other messy partygoers. They safely arrived at the carpeted stairwell without even a drop of alcohol spilled on them. They climbed up a few steps and sat down. Hinata sat two steps above Kageyama, his body turned towards him, and Kageyama with his back against the stair wall.
“Oikawa’s really not that bad, you know,” Hinata muttered, lips resting on the rim of his solo cup. “He’s the best male ballet dancer, and is also a really amazing cheer captain. He comes off a bit conceited and overbearing, but you just need to kind of get used to him.”
Kageyama set his messenger bag on the step below him and sipped his drink. The taste was losing its shock factor. “Yeah, I can tell. The reason he’s so mad at me is because I used a picture that showed something closer to his ‘real’ self, not that cocky façade he’s always wearing.”
“I remember that. He was dragging you everywhere and treating you like his personal photographer.” Hinata laughed, its tone more carefree and bubbly than usual. “It was written on your face how much you wanted to punch him.”
Kageyama nodded with a grin. “Yeah. I just stuck with it because I knew at one moment he’d be caught off guard and I could take a proper photo.” He paused, index finger circling the rim of his cup. “Wait…” He looked up to meet Hinata’s glossy eyes and he cocked his head to the side in curiosity. “You were watching us? That was all the way back in the fall.”
Hinata’s eyes widened and he quickly brought his cup up to his lips. He closed his eyes while taking a few gulps of what smelled like beer, and opened them up again a few moments later. He let out a satisfied ‘ahh’ and shrugged, ears burning red. “I mean it was hard not to watch you guys, you know? Oikawa is always making a scene. And I couldn’t help but wonder who was the cute photographer with him.”
“So you thought I was cute, huh.”
Hinata met Kageyama’s gaze, eyebrow rising with defiance. “I still think you’re cute.”
“You’re being stupid.” Kageyama sighed and ripped his eyes away to look down at his cup. He gulped the last bit of his drink and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “That’s the alcohol talking.”
“No, it’s not.” Hinata leaned down to close some distance between their faces. “I literally could backflip all around you without missing a beat. I told you already, I’m just buzzed.”
“So you say.” Kageyama glanced up to meet Hinata’s searing gaze. His eyes were a bit unfocused and he was struggling to keep his expression serious. Kageyama bit his lip and let out a small laugh through his nose. “You don’t even look threatening. You just look dumb.”
Hinata gasped dramatically, but laughter laced his voice. “Just watch!” He grabbed Kageyama by his shirt collar and pulled him up towards him as he lied back against the stairs. Kageyama had to grip the step above Hinata to stop himself from slamming into him. Hinata craned his neck so that their lips were almost touching and whispered, “I’m serious. I’ve liked you for a while now.” His eyes wandered around Kageyama’s face, expression tender, and settled on Kageyama’s lips.
Kageyama did the same and as he traced Hinata’s lips with his eyes, his chest felt so tight it was hard to breathe normally. “Since when did—
Hinata tugged at his collar again and craned his neck to bring their lips together. It was soft, paced, and wet—Hinata was quick to slide his tongue inside Kageyama’s mouth to draw out the breath that was caught in Kageyama’s chest. Kageyama let himself sigh blissfully into the kiss, knot in his stomach easing with the warmth Hinata radiated. He slotted his knee between Hinata’s legs and shifted his weight onto his forearms so that their bodies were that much closer together. Hinata hummed and wrapped his arms around Kageyama’s neck as he deepened the kiss, tongue greedily exploring Kageyama’s mouth.
“Um…sorry, can I pass to use the bathroom?”
Kageyama and Hinata froze. Fuck. They had forgotten they were in public, at a crowded party, where anyone could see them. Kageyama got off of Hinata and both of them stood to the side so the girl could pass, faces flushed a deep red.
Hinata glanced at Kageyama, nudging him with his elbow. “You want to leave the party? I kind of want fresh air.”
“Yeah, sounds good.” Kageyama picked up his bag and followed Hinata, taking the hand he held out for him.
It was lightly raining when they got outside, yet they still took their time walking. Hinata had a hop to his step, swinging their linked hands in tune with their strides, and humming a song Kageyama couldn’t recognize.
Hinata giggled to himself and ran ahead to be under the light of the lamppost, turning to him with his arms wide open. “Doesn’t the rain make you want to dance?”
“No…” Kageyama narrowed his eyes. “Okay, you’re definitely drunk.”
“I’m not. I’m not.” He flashed a bright smile and closed his eyes, facial expression relaxing. He slowly twirled on one foot, contracted his body at the end of the turn, and gently kicked out his heel with a graceful and measured pace. “Have you ever seen me dance?”
“I haven’t. But you have my full attention now.” Kageyama slid his hand into his bag for his small digital camera. He didn’t want to miss this shot—not when Hinata was purposefully letting himself be seen like this.
“Good.”
Hinata’s hands extended to gather the air around him and came back to center, squeezing as Hinata collapsed into himself, and then seductively dragging up his skin as Hinata rolled his body upright. The world could have been ending in that very moment and neither Hinata nor Kageyama would have noticed. Kageyama was enthralled by the way Hinata glided through the space around him, body sometimes soft to mimic the rain, and sometimes stiff and controlled. And Hinata, well, he was lost in his own dancing, only occasionally opening his eyes to measure the ground around him and make sure Kageyama’s camera was still glued on him. With a final circular swoop of a pointed leg and a slow bend backwards as he lowered to the floor, Hinata ended his little performance. Only then did he open his eyes, stood up, and hand-combed his wet hair away from his precious, beaming face.
“Sorry, I got carried away.”
“No…you looked bea—“ Kageyama paused and brought his camera down, eyes wide with realization. His finding Hinata mesmerizing and stunning wasn’t only the work of his lens. He liked him. Goddamn, he fucking liked him.
Accepting that he was crushing on Hinata was easier than expected. After all, the make out session, personal dance show, and giddy goodbye kiss on Friday gave him a strong hunch it was mutual.
Well, that’s what he thought until Hinata decided to go awol on him for a week. He couldn’t find him in the cafeteria, was no longer allowed in cheer practice, always ‘missed’ him after practice, and got no replies to any of the texts he had sent. The first thought that came to mind was that this was all a huge, elaborate prank. But he quickly dismissed that because Hinata wouldn’t do something so shitty. Kageyama tried to be patient with him and killed a few days by raking through his hundred of photos to pick the ones for the newspaper article—but he only came away with one portrait, and two candids he was satisfied with. He still needed one more, and for that he had to get Hinata to stop avoiding him.
So, he went to Suga for help. Suga explained that Hinata was just a bit frazzled, and Kageyama should adamantly confess his own feeling so Hinata could stop doubting what happened on Friday. He also admitted that half the purpose of the assignment was to get the two of them together since Suga had known for a little while how much Hinata liked Kageyama. With his usual closed eye smile, he clapped and expressed his joy over it working out while pushing Kageyama out of the clubroom.
“Go get him! He doesn’t have class last period so that’s when he heads to the gym. If you would have read the folder, you would have known that.”
As always, Suga was a lifesaver.
Kageyama waited behind a bush on the path to the front entrance of the gym. The moment he got a glimpse of Hinata’s unruly orange hair, he dashed out and pulled him into his hiding.
“Why are you avoiding me?”
Hinata stared up at Kageyama with wide, unfocused eyes. His face was completely red, lips pressed into a thin, trembling line, and he was digging his fingers into Kageyama’s forearms. “I don’t know! I keep thinking about what happened on Friday and kicking myself for saying and doing all that stuff while I was tipsy. For a while I thought I just dreamt it. But then you kept texting me but I still didn’t know if you felt the same. I’ve just liked you for so long, it just feels so surreal to think you might feel the same. I’m just really—
Kageyama gently placed a hand over Hinata’s mouth and sighed. He touched his forehead to his. “You’re rambling, Hinata. Breathe.” Hinata took a deep breath from his nose and Kageyama pulled his hand away to allow him to exhale. He then flicked Hinata on the forehead, expression tender. “I like you too. So stop freaking.”
“Really?!” Hinata’s face lit up and he put a hand to his chest, letting out a sigh of relief. “Thank god.” Hinata gathered Kageyama’s hands in his. “So is it okay to assume we’re going out now?”
“Yes, dumbass.” Kageyama grinned.
“Have you got all your pictures for the article?”
“I’m missing one because some idiot decided to avoid me for—
“Take out your camera!” Hinata urged, reaching for Kageyama’s bag.
Kageyama complied and Hinata grabbed the camera, turning it on and pointing it towards them. Hinata started snapping photos and Kageyama, shocked, immediately tried to cover his own face while grumbling. Hinata laughed, in that lovely airy way of his, and spent a few minutes trying to simultaneously pull Kageyama’s hands down, make Kageyama laugh, and land a kiss on his cheek. At the end of the wrestle, Hinata claimed victory. There was one selfie that was perfect.
“Use this one as your last candid.”
“You know if I use this we would be blasting our relationship to the whole school?”
Hinata grinned mischievously. “I know. I need to make sure that everyone knows you’re mine now.”
“Says Mr. Popular.” Kageyama smirked and tugged at Hinata’s hand, leading them out from behind the bush. “Fine by me. Let’s show them.”