Archive of Our Own

They’d been dating for three months before Hinata asked Kageyama to have dinner with his family. He accepted the invitation with ease. He knew Hinata told his mother everything and likewise told him everything, too. He doubted there’d be much surprise there.

When Kageyama knocked on the door to their home he heard shouting from within. It was Hinata arguing with his little sister over who’d answer. The door swung open, revealing the small ginger wearing sweatpants and a blue knitted sweater.

Kageyama smiled at him and handed him the singular red tulip he’d brough. Hinata took it with a smile, then stepped aside to let him in. Immediately he was struck with the smell of dinner and life. He wasn’t used to such a powerful scent upon walking into a home. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell, but it was noticeable.

He took his shoes off by the door and noted how cluttered the space was. He struggled to find a place to tuck his shoes away.

“They’re fine there,” Hinata said. “C’mon!”

It was only after he’d taken them off that he noticed Hinata was still wearing his. They wore their shoes inside?

That fact only became more alarming as he was led through the living area, which was carpeted and even more cluttered than the entrance, then into the kitchen. It was...small. Kageyama stayed in the doorway, feeling he’d cramp the room too much by entering. He was painfully aware of the little eyes watching him closely the entire way.

Hinata reached over his mother’s shoulder and dug through a cabinet, retrieving a small vase. He filled it with water and stuck the tulip in.

“Mom, Tobio’s here!” Hinata said.

She jumped up a bit and turned to him. Her face split into an enormous smile and she walked over to him. He smiled back and stuck his hand out to her. She swatted it away as she pulled him into a hug.

“I’m so happy to finally meet you! I’ve heard so much about you.” She pulled away and swatted at him with the tea towel she held. “I’ve suggested this for so long, but you boys are always so busy!”

Kageyama smiled at her, unsure how to respond to the affection. She was a heavier set woman, with red hair and pale skin. He wasn’t positive, but he was pretty sure her name was Alice.

“Look what he brought me,” he smiled as he showed his mother the vase.

She clapped as she smiled, “That boy! I’m a huge fan of flowers. Did you know they all mean something?”

“Yes ma’am,” Kageyama said at the same time Hinata said no.

“What’s it mean?” Hinata asked, eyeing it up.

“Hm, I have a book somewhere. It’s probably on the shelf in the living room. Why don't you go look while I finish up in here?”

Hinata took Kageyama by the hand and led him back to the living room. The carpet felt so weird against Kageyama’s socks. Hinata kneeled in front of the bookshelf and concentrated on finding the book in question.

The bookshelf itself was stuffed. They couldn't have fit another thing on there if they tried. There were books laying on top of the ones that stood. The bottom shelf even had two lines of books on it.

‘Hot damn,’ he thought.

It was taking Hinata forever to find the book, unsurprisingly, and Kageyama looked around the room. Hinata’s little sister was still watching him from a distance, seemingly intimidated. He offered her a small wave, and she dashed for her mother.

The light was dim in the room, coming only from two lamps and the television. Nearly every surface was covered in things. He felt his skin itch. Not that the house was dirty, it was just messy, but Kageyama wanted to clean it, anyway.

“Ah! Freaking finally!” Hinata exclaimed, holding the book up.

Kageyama watched him flip through the pages until he saw a picture resembling the tulip he’d brought.

“Is this it?” Hinata asked, showing him the picture.

“Yep,” he said. “It was red.”

Hinata read the page, ‘Tulip - Red: Believe me; Declaration of love.’

He looked up at Kageyama, “Wait. For real?”

Kageyama nodded, staring into his eyes. Hinata’s eyes grew wide, and he threw the book down and threw his arms around him. He took the ginger into his arms and clung.

“I love you, too,” Hinata said. “Wait. If you knew what it meant, why’d you make me read it?”

“It was more dramatic this way,” Kageyama said into his ear.

“How’d you know she had that book?”

He pulled away, but kept his hands on Hinata’s shoulders, “I may have had a bit of help. I didn’t actually know flowers meant anything.”

“You talk to my mom?”

“Not usually. It was the first time.”

“Huh.”

Hinata’s mother called for them from the other room. They met her and his little sister in the dinning room where they sat at the table.

“We’re just going to have to wait for your father,” his mother frowned.

“No problem!” Hinata smiled.

“It smells amazing,” Kageyama said.

“Thank you, Tobio! How sweet,” she smiled warmly at him.

He observed the meal on the table. He wondered how often they sat to eat like that. Come to think of it, he couldn’t remember the last time his family had done that. He shook the thought away and looked around the new room.

There was a china cabinet filled with dishes and knickknacks, all with a thick layer of dust. Beside it there was an extra dining chair stacked with old newspapers. The window was covered in live plants, large and overgrown. The table itself looked ancient.

‘Probably a family heirloom,’ he thought.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the front door opening and closing very loudly. He heard the sound of footsteps, then nothing as he passed over the carpet, then footsteps again. Hinata’s father looked exhausted as he entered the room and kissed his wife on the cheek. He discarded his briefcase and his suit jacket on the newspaper chair and caught Kageyama’s eye.

“Who do we have here?” He asked.

“Oh,” Kageyama stood and shook his hand. “Tobio Kageyama, sir.”

“Nonsense, call me Kenji,” he said.

“Right Kenji, then,” Kageyama smiled.

Kenji slumped down in his seat, “Sorry I’m late. It looks wonderful, Elise.”

Ah, so her name was Elise. With Hinata’s father there, they were free to eat. Or so he thought. Just as he was about to pick up his fork, the rest of them joined hands. He looked around and hesitantly took the hand of Shōyō to his left and Kenji to the right.

The family bowed their heads, which Kageyama did too, as Elise spoke, “For what we are about to receive may the Lord make us truly grateful.”

“Amen,” they all said in unison.

“Amen,” Kageyama mumbled a second late. When his hands had been let go, he looked at Hinata. He didn’t know he was religious. Or maybe he wasn’t, but did it for the sake of his mother.

He waited until someone else began eating before he tried that again. When it was safe, he went ahead.

Kageyama made his way through most of his food when he was full, but still had more on his plate. He didn’t realize how big the servings had been. He looked at Hinata, who was still eating happily. The rest of the family were engaged in pleasant conversation.

“Hinata,” Kageyama whispered. “I don’t think I can finish this.”

“Then don’t?” Hinata said. “She won’t mind.”

Somehow, he doubted that. He learned early in his life to take smaller plates so he could be sure to finish eating to avoid a scolding from his parents about wasting food.

“Are you finished?” Elise asked him as she stood. She was collecting the plates from around the table.

“Uh, yes. Thank you for the meal! I’m very sorry I couldn’t finish it all,” he said, bowing the best he could from a sitting position. “Please, let me help you.”

He stood and took the stack of dishes from Elise and took them to the kitchen. He began rinsing them, then turned to find the dishwasher.

‘Oh, right. There isn’t one,’ he thought.

Elise came in behind him, dropping off what was left of the dishes.

“Just leave them, hun. I’ll get to them later. Let’s go relax,” she smiled and placed a hand over his wrist after stopping the water.

He nodded and followed her, glancing back at the messy countertop.

They sat back at the table when Kenji addressed him, “Lovely to have you here. You’re a fine young man.”

“Wow, thank you,” Kageyama said as he rubbed the back of his neck. He did nothing to deserve praise, it felt wrong to accept it.

“Kenji, look what Tobio brought our boy,” Elise said pointing to the vase on the table.

“Boy, that brings me back!” Kenji laughed. “Your mother insisted on those flowers for just about everything. Said they ‘made her feel loved’.”

“It was all his idea, too!” She said. Then she mock-whispered to Hinata, “He’s a keeper.”

“Mom!” Hinata whined.

“So, Tobio, what do you plan to do after high school?” Kenji asked.

“Ah, right. I’m honestly not too sure yet. I want to go to university and I want to keep playing volleyball for sure,” he said.

“You are a skilled player,” Kenji said. “We get to hear about it every time this one gets home from your practices.”

“Ah,” Kageyama let out an embarrassed laugh. “Sorry about that.”

“Not at all, the way his face lights up fills my heart,” Elise said.

Kageyama smiled at Hinata. He definitely related to that feeling. He thought most people related to that feeling. How could they not?

Their conversation continued for a bit longer, never getting more personal, then they were excused from the table.

“Would you like help with the dishes?” Kageyama asked.

Elise waved at him dismissively, “No, no. You boys go have fun.”

Hinata began leaving the room and Kageyama bowed to them and gave his thanks once more before following him. As they started up the stairs they heard Elise yell after them.

“Keep that door open, Shōyō!”

Hinata rolled his eyes, “I know!”

He smiled back at Kageyama. He led him to the last door on the right, which was completely open. The first thing Kageyama noticed upon entering was how neat it was comparatively to the rest of the house. He felt some tension lift from his shoulders he didn’t realize he was carrying.

It was neater, but it was not neat. The accordion doors on the closet hung open, with an overflowing hamper just inside. His bed was unmade with, if he had to guess, about a million blankets. Some of them trailed onto the floor and for some unexplainable reason half of the pillows were on the wrong end of the bed. His desk was covered in textbooks and loose leaf papers, pencils strewn about seemingly at random. The desk chair was also piled with laundry.

‘Maybe it isn’t neater. How many clothes does he have?’ He thought incredulously.

Every inch of his walls were covered in posters and photographs and postcards.

Hinata approached his bed, took his volleyball jacket off of it and threw it onto the laundry chair, then worked at fixing the bedding.

“I’m sorry it’s so messy,” he said. “I figured I’d be exposed eventually, so I didn’t bother cleaning.”

“It’s alright,” Kageyama lied.

Hinata half laid on the bed and gestured for Kageyama to join him. He walked to the bed and sat uneasily on the edge of it. From his new position, he noticed the collection of water bottles living on Hinata’s dresser.

He felt heat in his arms and his legs went cool. The skin on the back of his neck started itching, and he had the feeling of pins and needles in his back. It was too much for him. He closed his eyes and zoned in on his breathing.

If he kept his eyes shut, nothing around him would be real.

Hinata put his hand on his back.

“—wrong?”

Kageyama opened his eyes and found those of Hinata, “Huh?”

“What’s wrong? You look like you're about to cry.”

“What? I’m fine,” he lied again.

He straightened out the blanket under him and laid back, dragging Hinata with him. He held the ginger close on his chest to keep himself grounded. He noticed the ceiling was decorated with little glow in the dark stars. That was tolerable, if not a bit childish.

“You’re such a dork,” he snorted.

“Hey! They’re cool! You just don't get it,” Hinata laughed.

“I’m sorry if this is rude to ask, but your mother isn’t a native Japanese, is she?”

“That’s not rude,” Hinata said. “No, she’s from England. Her parents moved here when she was young, that’s why she doesn’t have the accent.”

It also explained their weird habits. Kageyama nodded, “That’s pretty cool.”

“Right?”

They spent more time talking, Kageyama all the while making sure they stared at the ceiling, until Elise called up the stairs.

“Boys, it’s time for Tobio to go home! School tomorrow!”

Kageyama steeled his nerves and made his way back to the front door. He slid his shoes on and thanked Elise and Kenji once again for their hospitality with a bow. He waved to Hinata’s little sister, who promptly hid behind her mother.

He and Hinata stepped outside.

“Thanks for coming over,” Hinata smiled. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Kageyama smiled back. It wasn’t a lie since he was out of the mess. “Thank you for inviting me. It was lovely. Your mother’s an excellent cook.”

“She is pretty great.”

Kageyama leaned down to kiss Hinata. They remained in their embrace for longer than normal, the heat of Hinata’s body helping to soothe Kageyama’s still frayed nerves.

“I love you,” Kageyama said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I love you, too!” Hinata waved at him as he went.

-

Approximately three weeks after Kageyama had gone to his house to meet his parents, he found himself at the door of the Kageyamas. He certainly had the harder position of the two, walking in knowing there was a possibility his parents wouldn’t give him the chance to make a good impression.

Kageyama had previously confided in Hinata that his parents didn’t take kindly to him having a boyfriend in the past. Though he admitted it could’ve been because they didn’t like the specific boy. That begged the question of what if they didn’t like him?

He rang the doorbell and stepped back as he waited. For every second that no one answered, his heart got closer to his stomach. After what felt like an eternity but was actually probably only fifteen seconds, the door swung open.

Kageyama stood in dress jeans and a beige sweater over a white button-up. He’d informed Hinata ahead of time to dress similarly, so he’d worn black slacks with the same blue sweater he wore when Kageyama came over. He even tried to tame his hair a bit before leaving, even though he knew that was a losing battle.

Kageyama stepped aside and let Hinata in. He slid his shoes off, and the brunet took them and tucked them into a shoe rack inside a closet. Hinata looked around, noting it was impossibly clean. He swore to whatever deity was out there that no person actually lived in that house. Their “home-smell” was nonexistent. The tile floor literally reflected his image when he looked into it. He felt guilty walking over it.

“They should be here soon, but until then try not to stress,” Kageyama gave him an obviously stressed out smile.

He nodded, and Kageyama leaned down to kiss him. He was led through the foyer area to the living room. The hardwood floors were a light color. They shined, seemingly never touched by dust. Which was impossible because no humans lived there. The furniture looked expensive and pristine, as if they normally kept plastic over it, only exposed when company was there. The entire room was black, white and grey save for a singular spider plant in the room's corner.

Above the fireplace there was a very large television mounted to the wall. There was a bookshelf ranging from the floor to three quarters up the far wall. The shelves mostly contained black leather-bound books, but also held small knick knacks such as a small globe and family photos.

Hinata walked up and examined them, “Aw, look! Baby Tobio!”

He felt his heart melt as he noticed one photo was of their team after winning the finals, proudly showing off their metals. Photo Hinata and Kageyama had their arms wrapped around each other's waists and they looked so happy. He was glad nothing changed.

Above the couch hung all the medals Tobio ever won in his life. There was a considerable amount. It appeared he’d been in as many extracurriculars as possible until volleyball took over.

Hinata’s head snapped up as he heard electronic beeping.

“Look alive,” Kageyama warned as the door opened.

“Tobio!” A woman’s voice called over the sound of rustling bags. “Are you here, baby?”

Hinata felt his heart promptly attempt to escape his body. No amount of preparing could get him ready for that moment.

“Yes, we’re in the living room,” Kageyama called back.

“Oh, Shōyō is here?” The woman appeared from around the corner.

She was thin with dark hair and eyes. She wore a black blazer and pencil skirt, with pearls around her neck. She was also tall. Just as, if not more, than Kageyama.

She walked over with her hand outstretched to Hinata, “Pleasure.”

She kept her palm flat as Hinata shook it, and she pulled away quickly.

“Shōyō, this is my mother. Mother, Shōyō,” Kageyama said.

Hinata nodded at her as she turned back around.

“Tobio, help me with dinner,” she said. “Your father will be here any minute and it needs to be ready.”

Kageyama followed her and gestured for Hinata to do the same. He hesitated for a minute, then went on after the brunet. Kageyama picked up the bags by the door and carried them to the kitchen.

Hinata looked at the expensive appliances, countertops, cabinets and light fixtures. There was nothing on any surface that was not essential, except a decorative bowl of lemons. There was nothing personal in the room.

Kageyama’s mother leaned against the island, tapping away on her phone while Kageyama began working on plating the food from the bags. Hinata noticed it was takeout.

“I could’ve made something if you told me,” Kageyama said.

His mother didn’t look up from her phone, “Your father will be here, baby. It needs to be perfect.”

Kageyama said nothing as he continued plating the food. He discarded the containers when he was done. Hinata wordlessly moved to help him carry the food to the dining room. Somehow that room was more devoid of life than all the others. They put the plates on the large table that Hinata doubted was ever full.

When his mother joined them, she’d changed her clothes. She then wore a pink cardigan over a white button-up shirt, but the black pencil skirt remained. Her pearl necklace glimmered in the warm light. She checked her watch.

“Tobio, please go get an oshibori for all of us,” she said. “He’ll be here very soon.”

“I’ll be right back,” he told Hinata.

Hinata stood in a very uncomfortable silence with Kageyama’s mother, whose name still remained a mystery. He decided he’d just call her Mrs. Kageyama. When Tobio returned with the hot towels, it was as though the sun itself walked through the door.

The weird electrical beeping sounded around them again, and Hinata couldn’t help but look around.

“That’s him!” His mother gestured for them to stand beside her.

Hinata followed Kageyama’s lead, and they stepped beside Mrs. Kageyama. After a long moment, Mr. Kageyama came into view. He was an exceptionally tall man, clad in an impressive-looking suit.

They bowed to him, Hinata falling behind by a couple seconds, and Mrs. Kageyama greeted him.

“Welcome home.”

They didn’t stand straight again until the man sat down. He said nothing at all as he began placing food on his plate. He sat at the head of the table and Kageyama pulled his mother’s chair out for her at the foot of the table. Kageyama pulled Hinata’s chair out for him, then moved to sit opposite him.

Once his father finished taking his food the rest could take theirs. Mrs. Kageyama had picked up luxury sushi. Hinata felt a bit bad about eating it while contributing exactly nothing.

Before they ate Kageyama and Hinata bowed and said, “Thank you for the meal.”

His mother waved at them dismissively.

“How was work, dear?” She asked the man as they wiped their hands with their oshibori.

“Long,” he said.

They once again lapsed into silence as they ate. Hinata wondered if everyone felt as awkward as he did. A quick glance across the table told him that Kageyama did, at least.

“Tobio,” the man said, placing his chopsticks down. “Who is your friend?”

Hinata placed his chopsticks down.

“Father, this is Shōyō Hinata, the boy I told you and mother about. Shōyō, this is my father, Mr. Kageyama.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” Hinata bowed.

“Hinata? What do your parents do, son?”

“Oh, my father is an accountant at an electrical company. My mother stays home, but she does freelance photography.”

“A self starter, no shame in that,” the man said.

From the corner of Hinata’s eye he saw Kageyama look visibly shocked for half a second.

“What’s her maiden name?”

“It’s Evans.”

The man furrowed his brow, “She’s not Japanese.”

“No, sir.”

He tsked and looked at his son, “You knew this?”

“Yes.”

The man looked back at Hinata, “How old are you?”

“Sixteen and a half, sir.”

“At least this one’s your age,” he said, looking back to his son.

Kageyama looked away, and they all went back to eating. Neither Kageyama nor Hinata were very hungry, but both knew better than to leave food on their plates. Hinata could not think of a fate worse than being yelled at by that man.

When their incredibly uncomfortable meal was over, Kageyama began collecting the dishes.

“Let me help,” Hinata said, standing.

“Oh, please. You’re our guest,” the mother said. “I’ll help.”

Hinata couldn't help but notice how much nicer she was when her husband was around. Once they were out of the room Kageyama’s father focused his attention back on Hinata.

“So, you’re dating, then?”

“Yes.”

“You realize you’re both men?”

“Um, yes, sir.”

“I don’t understand why you don't find a nice young lady so you can build a family together. Why be with another boy?”

“Because I love him,” Hinata said confidently.

“You love him? You don’t know about love, you’re too young.”

“I know what I feel.”

“Why do you ‘love him’?” The man challenged.

“He’s amazing! He’s determined and driven and talented and kind. He's so selfless that it amazes me. I feel like I’m a better person since I’ve met him. Life wouldn’t be as good without him there.”

“That all sounds rather selfish,” the man said. Hinata felt like a hole had been punched straight through his chest. “What do you have to offer him?”

“I… I’m not sure.” Hinata looked down to his hands in his lap.

“If you love him, allow him to be with someone who has something to offer him.”

Hinata said nothing. He just wanted Kageyama to come back to the room. He didn't know what to do. He could feel the man's gaze burning into the side of his head.

“Well?” He asked. “Your mother is a lazy immigrant, your father hasn’t any notoriety, and you have nothing to offer. Lousy grades from disreputable schools. You have one thing going for you which is volleyball and you can’t even do that well without MY son.”

“I… can’t promise you that.” Hinata knew Kageyama wouldn’t forgive him if he promised anything without speaking to him first.

“Ah. Then… Kindly, get the fuck out of my house.”

Hinata clenched his jaw and stood. He bowed to Kageyama’s father and bowed, “Thank you for the meal.”

Without another word, he turned and exited the room, feeling the man’s furious stare the whole way.

Kageyama glimpsed Hinata from the kitchen as he walked to the door. The ginger took his shoes from the closet, slipped them on and left the house.

Kageyama ran after him, shoving his feet in his shoes and ignoring his mother’s calls. He grabbed Hinata by the wrist, stopping him in his tracks.

“Where are you going?”

“Home.”

“Why? What happened?”

Hinata finally looked up at him. The skin around his eyes were red, something Kageyama had only seen after they lost an important game. He reeled back but kept his grip on the short boy.

“What did he do?” He snarled.

Hinata then let the fears fall freely. The lump in his throat stung and he couldn’t hold back anymore. Kageyama felt his whole body grow heavy, but he felt like he was on fire. If murder was legal…

Kageyama pulled Hinata into his arms and held him as he sobbed. From the corner of his eye he noticed his father in the window, staring on with his arms crossed. Red consumed his vision.

He pulled away from Hinata but held onto his shoulders, “Listen. I have to do something. You go right home, okay? Vent to your mom. Text me when you get there safely, okay?”

Hinata nodded, and Kageyama placed a small kiss on his forehead. He watched as the small boy walked away and waited until he was out of sight to go back inside.

He stood at the inside of the door for a moment in an attempt to collect himself. Then his father made the terrible mistake of approaching him.

“You choose such losers.”

“What the fuck did you do?” Kageyama screamed as he stormed up to his father. “What did you say to him?”

He ran his hands into his hair and tugged. When his father remained silent, he continued, “I swear to god if you just fucked this up for me, I’ll… I’ll…”

“You’ll what?”

He noticed his mother standing in the doorway, covering her mouth. It didn’t deter him.

“I don’t know what!” He plunged his arms. “Why do you have to ruin my life?”

He felt that cursed lump in his throat. No, he wouldn’t cry.

“Why won't you just let me be happy? You’ve shoved me into every activity since I was a child, hoping one would stick. You've monitored my friends, never approving of a SINGLE one! I’ve had no one in my life! Fuck, not even you two were around! Now there’s someone who wants to be here! Enough even to try to impress you! You know how many balls that takes? And you just run him off like every. Single. Other. Thing.”

By the end, he wasn't screaming anymore. He could barely even describe what he was doing as whispering. He pressed his back up against a wall and leaned forward. He pressed his shaking hands to his temples. His vision was spinning.

“The only time I exist is when you need to impress a colleague or I piss you off. I can’t do this shit anymore. I can’t. I’m so tired.”

The house became silent. Kageyama swore he could hear his own heart beating.

“Are you done?”

Kageyama looked up at his father. He was red in the face. He knew he was about to get an earful. He looked to his mother, who just avoided his eyes.

“Yeah,” he said while standing straight. “Yeah. I’m done.”

Before his father got the chance to say a singular word to him, he turned and walked out the door.

Once the house was out of sight, he took out his phone. He had a text from Hinata that just said ‘safe’. He responded with a quick ‘good’, then dialed Sugawara.

The phone rang four times before he picked up, “Kageyama? What’s up?”

In the background he heard the squeak of sneakers on vinyl and the cheerful calls of his teammates as they practiced. How he envied them.

“Am I on speaker?”

“No, do you want to be?”

“No.”

“Are you okay?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

“One second, I’m gonna get somewhere quieter.”

“Okay.”

After a minute of painful static, Sugawara came through clearly, “What’s going on?”

“You know how we missed practice so Hinata could meet my parents?”

“Yeah.”

“My dad’s a prick and made Hinata cry, and so he went home. Then I screamed at my parents as if my name is Kyle and walked out. And I don’t think I can go back and I don't know what to do.”

As the reality of it hit his ears, the tears started falling. He couldn’t help it, but he did his best to keep it out of his voice.

“That explains a lot.”

“What?”

“Hinata came here. He didn’t go home. He called Daichi, I guess, and they’re somewhere talking about it now.”

“Oh. Is he okay?”

“I’m not sure. He didn’t actually come in. Daichi just left. Listen, why don’t you come here, too?”

“Okay.”

“Okay, see you soon.”

“Yeah. Thank you, Suga.”

“Any time. I’m here for you.”

The call dropped and Kageyama just stared at the pin pad screen for a minute before starting on his way to the high school.

-

Once he arrived, Ukai and Sugawara were waiting outside the gym for him. Without a word, Ukai wrapped himself around Kageyama. The simple touch was enough to break the facade he’d spent his whole walk working up.

He grabbed onto Ukai’s jacket and let the sobs wrack his body. Sugawara covered his mouth as he stared in horror. He didn’t realize things were so bad at home for him. He noticed the other teammates staring out from behind the net covering the door and shooed them away.

“Go!” He mouthed at them. They complied and disappeared. Off to discuss theories, Sugawara was sure.

“You always have a family here,” Ukai told Kageyama.

“I know.”

“We’ll figure this out.

“I know.”

“We love you and won't let anything happen to you.”

The burden of the evening fell over Kageyama all over again as he cried once more, “I know.”

Sugawara hugged him from the side, then out of nowhere Daichi appeared and hugged him as well.

“Kageyama, what’d you do?” Hinata asked.

The rest of them pulled back as Kageyama looked up.

“I told him off.”

“He deserved it,” Hinata said.

“Yeah, he did. And more.”

“I’d say.”

“What did he say to you?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Hinata said as he wiped Kageyama’s face with his sleeves. “Did he say anything to you?”

“He didn’t have the chance.”

“Hell ya,” Hinata said, and they shared a small smile.

“I love you. I’m sorry I put you through that. I should have known better,” Kageyama looked away.

“No, I insisted on going,” Hinata said. “Worst part was when I met your mom thinking she was the worst of the two.”

Kageyama laughed, “They’re pretty terrible.”

“Yeah. Yeah, they are. You deserve better.”

Kageyama shrugged.

“Daichi got me to call my mom. She said you can stay with us for as long as you need.”

“That’s so like her. I love her for that.”

“Me too,” Hinata said.

“Wanna go practice?” Kageyama asked. “I think slamming a few volleyballs into the ground will do us some good.”

“Oh, thank god you finally asked,” Hinata teased.

They jogged into the gym, while Daichi and Ukai stared on in astonishment. Sugawara pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Remind me next time they ask for help that all I have to do is give them a freaking ball,” he said.

Daichi and Ukai followed Sugawara back into the gym.

“Alright, guys! Pair up!”