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Shouyou gets a picture message from Kageyama’s mom about halfway through the school day, and it takes about ten minutes before Yamaguchi’s calmed him down enough for him to actually open it.
“Okay, but what if she found something she wasn’t supposed to?” Shouyou would bite at his nails if he knew Kageyama wouldn’t yell at him for it later. His boyfriend is pretty weird when it comes to Shouyou’s hands. “What if it’s a… oh God, Tadashi, what if it’s a picture of a condom? I told Tobio to hide those better, that freaking idiot.”
Yamaguchi hasn’t really been fazed throughout this entire ordeal, but now the look he’s giving Shouyou is one of quiet judgment. He looks oddly like Sawamura always did back when they were first years. “You really think Tobio’s mom would send you a picture of a condom instead of him?”
“You don’t know Masami like I do!” Kageyama’s mom is actually super nice on a good day, but she’s downright cheeky on the bad ones, completely unlike her son. “The caption will probably be something like ‘tell Tobio-chan he needs to clean his room when he gets home.’” Shouyou groans, slumping against his desk. “What did I ever do to deserve this?”
“I think you’re over-reacting a little bit.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, why don’t you open it if it’s not that big a deal!” Yamaguchi shrugs, typing in the phone’s passcode without another word while Shouyou flails indignantly. “Wait, stop, I didn’t think you’d actually do it! Kei won’t forgive me if I make you cry!”
“I’m not going to cry.” Yamaguchi laughs, and Shouyou watches him pensively, waiting for any kind of reaction. It takes a while – Shouyou honestly thinks he’ll die of nerves – but eventually Yamaguchi’s unperturbed expression morphs into something that Shouyou finds vaguely concerning. “Oh, boy.” He hands the device over to Shouyou wordlessly, who ducks down slightly to hold his phone beneath the desk and between his thighs.
He’s not really sure what he’s looking at for a moment. Well, he knows what the picture is. It’s Kageyama’s anxiety medicine, neatly divided into separate cases for each day of the week. But Masami opened all the lids for the photo, showcasing tiny pink pills where Shouyou knows there shouldn’t be any, if Kageyama has been keeping up with his schedule.
Shouyou finds himself frowning, wondering if Kageyama had seemed any different at practice this morning while he types out a message to Masami. ‘I’ll take care of it.’
“Tsukki?” Shouyou snaps his head up at the sound of Yamaguchi’s voice, which has taken on what their juniors call a “Drill Sergeant” edge. Sure enough, Tsukishima is standing in the doorway of their classroom, watching the two of them closely. “What’s up?”
Tsukishima’s eyes dart around the classroom, but Shouyou stands up before he can say anything, Yamaguchi following close behind. “It’s Tobio, right?” Shouyou asks once they’re out in the hallway. “Where is he?”
“Bathroom on the first floor.” Tsukishima replies evenly, though Shouyou can tell he seems a little rattled. His breathing isn’t even, like he’s just done a set of flying receives in the gym. “What, were you expecting this?”
“We don’t think Tobio’s been taking his medicine this week.” Yamaguchi explains. “Kageyama-san sent Shouyou a message about it.”
“Well, that explains it.” Tsukishima says, but Shouyou’s already bounding down the stairwell, so he could have easily misheard.
Tobio’s so stupid. He’s an idiot. The worst. Shouyou thinks as he runs, thinks as he’s scolded by teachers for running, thinks as he continues to run because he has somewhere to be, dammit.
He still gets mistaken for a first year sometimes, so no one really gives Shouyou a second glance as he hurries into the boy’s restroom. It’s kind of nostalgic, reminds Shouyou of when he’d camp out here and get sick before and after exams, or hide from Kageyama’s prepubescent wrath.
But now Kageyama is the one hiding from Shouyou. Sugawara always did say that being a third year never stopped being surreal.
“Tobio?” Shouyou calls after making sure the urinals are empty. Only one of the two stalls seems to be in use. “You still in here?”
There’s an almost uncomfortable silence that lasts for nearly ten seconds… not that Shouyou’s counting. He’s just kinda pissed off and worried and Kageyama really should know better than to pull this kind of crap after everything.
“I’m not leaving until I know you’re okay.” Shouyou declares, crossing his arms over his chest and standing defiantly in front of the occupied stall. Kageyama is probably wishing he could disappear right about now. “So, you better answer me, or else I’ll go get Hitoka.”
“You’re playing dirty.” Tobio’s voice grumbles from the other side of the locked door, and Shouyou breathes a nearly inaudible sigh of relief. “What are you, my mother?”
“Concerned boyfriend.” Shouyou corrects, just because he can. “But speaking of mothers, I just got a text from yours.” Kageyama is quiet. He probably knows what’s coming. “Why haven’t you been taking your medicine?”
Another silence follows. Kageyama is most likely collecting his thoughts, and Shouyou holds his tongue and lets him, although he really hopes Kageyama won’t try to lie to him. “The Inter-High is coming up.” Kageyama says finally.
Shouyou gapes at the stall door and all its nicks and dents as if it were Kageyama himself. “Um, and? That’s so not an excuse.”
“I’m thinking about a million things at once!” Kageyama snaps, voice terse and rough, but Shouyou just thinks he sounds sick and frightened. “I just kept forgetting, is all. You’re making it into a bigger deal than it needs to be, Hinata. I can't let this shit stop me from playing.”
Anyone else might say Kageyama is being irrational – and a little bit mean, Shouyou hasn’t been "Hinata" to Kageyama in months – but Shouyou knows what volleyball means to his partner, how desperately he wants to be a setter like Sugawara, or even Oikawa.
So, Shouyou gets why Kageyama tried to hide how shitty he felt. The logic behind it makes perfect sense to him. But Shouyou also knows that Masami worries about her only son, and that Kageyama smiles more when he’s on his medication, and god does Shouyou love Kageyama’s genuine smiles.
Volleyball is important to the both of them, but lately Shouyou’s begun to realize that there’s no value in it at the cost of Kageyama’s emotional stability. He still has nightmares sometimes when Shouyou sleeps over, and his hands shake when strangers stare at him too long.
The sport didn’t do that to Kageyama, but people associated with it did. He took to the court during their first year even though it terrified him, and now, two years later, things have fallen into place.
Kageyama deserves nothing less than to be happy both on and off the court, and Shouyou won’t let his boyfriend compromise that just because his memory is total shit.
“Kei was worried about you, you know.” Shouyou says, gripping his elbows and leaning against the cold, tiled walls. “He ran all the way upstairs to get me. Are your symptoms that bad, that even Kei was upset?”
“You’re both over-reacting.”
Shouyou sighs. “Look, I know you’re stressed out. I don’t blame you for forgetting. If you want, I can call you at night and in the morning to remind you. Or I’ll start revoking privileges if you keep forgetting.”
“Don’t even bother, my mom won’t leave me alone about it now.” Kageyama says petulantly, and Shouyou kind of wishes he would just open the door so he could hug him. “And do I even want to know what you mean by privileges?”
“Only good boys who take their medicine get to have sex with the ace.” Shouyou says, biting his bottom lip to keep from laughing as Kageyama shouts almost indignantly. “Oh, come on, that was funny!”
“You’re disgusting.” Kageyama retorts, and Shouyou’s about to remind Kageyama of just how disgusting he can be when the lock turns and the door starts to creep open.
Suddenly Shouyou is just itching to get his hands on his partner – they’ve barely seen one another all day, he’s allowed to be greedy – but actually seeing Kageyama makes him stop in his tracks.
“Oh.” Something achingly soft breaks open inside Shouyou as he steps up to Kageyama, who watches him with glazed eyes lidded in exhaustion. He’s visibly shaking, hands curled into fists at his sides in an attempt to hide the worst of it, but one of Shouyou’s most developed talents is his ability to observe. “You look like shit.”
Kageyama actually smiles, tight-lipped with pain though it is, and Shouyou reaches up to grasp his pale face between his palms, wishing he could help more. Or perhaps fix the part of Kageyama’s memory that doesn’t retain basic life skills. “Thanks, Shou.”
“Can I kiss you?” Shouyou asks seriously, and Kageyama rolls his eyes. “Is that okay? You won’t throw up on me?”
“Don’t you think we’ve already pushed our luck in this public bathroom?” Is Kageyama’s unimpressed reply, but he doesn’t put up a fight as Shouyou drags him down so their lips can meet comfortably, close-mouthed, because Kageyama is kind of right when he says they’re already pushing it.
“You taste like sweat.” Shouyou mumbles, swiping his tongue along his bottom lip. “And you’re super hot.”
Kageyama hums intelligently, staring down at Shouyou. Even if he’s still shaking through his withdrawal, the expression on his face – underneath his blush, anyway – seems almost content. Shouyou can’t help but squish his cheeks together, laughing at Kageyama’s half-hearted scowl, and then he’s just kissing his partner again and again, on his mouth, his nose, his sweaty forehead.
“You need to go home.” Shouyou says once he’s satisfied with the blissed-out look on Kageyama’s face. It’s something he really only sees when Kageyama is sick or injured. “Take your medicine and get some sleep. I’m sure you’ll feel better in a few days.”
“But what about – “
“We’ll do fine without you at practice for one day.” Shouyou says sternly, exercising his marginal authority over Kageyama as vice-captain of their team. “Takahashi can work on his setting a little more than usual, it’ll be awesome.”
Kageyama still seems doubtful, even as another tremor wracks his body, and Shouyou twists his expression into a glare that he knows is similar to Kageyama’s own. The first and second years always tell him that he looks too much like his partner when he’s irritated. “I wasn’t kidding about going to get Hitoka, you know. Fight me on this and see what happens.”
“You’re honestly the most terrifying person I’ve ever met.”
“Really?” Shouyou considers this for a moment before smiling and wrapping his arms around Kageyama’s torso, burrowing into his chest. “Good.”
Kageyama’s body shakes again, though it’s mostly because of his silent laughter, huffed into the crown of Shouyou’s hair. He returns the embrace tightly, and Shouyou closes his eyes, hopes that Masami isn’t too worried by herself at home.
“I just want you to be happy, Tobio.” He mumbles, mostly to himself, but it’s totally okay if Kageyama hears.
“I know you do.” Kageyama says, completely earnest, and Shouyou never thought they’d get here, that he’d be on a first name basis with Kageyama’s mom or that she would entrust her son’s well being to him. Their third year together really is surreal, exactly like Sugawara always told them. “But the medicine isn’t what makes me happy.” That’s what you’re for, dumbass.
“You’re a sappy nerd.” Shouyou announces into the curve of Kageyama’s bicep, but really, it’s not like he’s any better.