Chapter Text
From a young age, Teruki Hanazawa knew he was different, a shining star among asteroids; no one could stand next to his brilliance, his undefeated power. But one day, Hanazawa met a planet, one that preened and welcomed the bright light that Hanazawa gave off. The surface of the planet bloomed, showing all it could do, and Hanazawa was happy to find a worthy equal in Shigeo Kageyama. If Hanazawa was asked to describe their first meeting in one word, he would say that it was dull, just as he had viewed Kageyama.
Hanazawa walked down the street in the downtown area of Seasoning City, some girl that he had already forgotten the name of was clinging to his arm, her head resting gently on his shoulder. She rambled on about something that he did not particularly care about, as far as he could tell she was talking about another girl in her class, “... well then she said, ‘I don’t see why?’ huh?! I mean, can you believe that Teru? So rude! And then I said…” God, would she ever shut up? The way she said his name with her shrill voice grated on his ears. Hanazawa severely doubted he had ever heard a voice as annoying as hers. Instead of thinking so much of someone unimportant, Hanazawa let his mind wander to what he believed was important for him, his gang for example. He’d been getting bored lately, no one had challenged him in the area in a long while. With his psychic powers, Hanazawa doubted that he could ever be beaten by any thugs in the area, and he had yet to meet another psychic who could compare to him in sheer strength.
“…Teru-kun?”
“ru-kun?…Teru!? Are you even listening to me?” Right, he’s with what’s-her-name.
“Ah, I’m sorry, I was just lost in my thoughts. I’m just happy to be hanging out with you,” Uh was her name Anna, no… Nona…definitely not… “Nana-chan, what did you say?”
“Oh!” She giggled, blush smattered her cheeks, “That’s okay, I was just asking if you still wanted to go to the café?” When Teruki looked up, he realized that they were standing in front of the Rosa Café that Nana had been begging to go to since last week. Hanazawa led her inside with an arm around her shoulder, helped her order at the counter, paid for her, and pulled out her chair when they sat down. Hanazawa ended up ordering a hot matcha latte while Nana had decided to get a fruit parfait, which she said was the café’s “claim to fame,” as if Hanazawa had ever heard of this place before now. Nana resumed her babbling about her day when Hanazawa excused himself to grab the orders from the counter. He grabbed them both, but as he was turning around, his grip on the latte slipped, the mug tumbling towards the ground. Hanazawa didn’t have enough time to react, but suddenly the mug stopped and pulled itself and its contents back until it was resting in the hand of a boy.
He was the simplest boy Hanazawa had ever laid his eyes on; he wore a simple black gakuran, in this area of Seasoning City that could be from 3 different high schools, his face was simple, with round, soft-looking cheeks, dull eyes, and a flat expression. The worst thing about this unassuming boy was his haircut, a flat, un-styled bowl cut, and Hanazawa had the feeling that if a crowd suddenly appeared, he would not be able to spot this boy at first glance, nay, not even at fifth glance. Finally, Hanazawa snapped out of his stupor, “Thank you for catching that, I couldn’t react fast enough, I’m also a psychic.” Hanazawa reached for the mug from his hand, briefly touching the other boy's fingers, a small shock ran through his fingers.
“You’re welcome,” his face did not change, and unsurprisingly, his voice was just as flat and dull as the rest of him. Then he quickly turned to leave, without thinking, Hanazawa levitated both the parfait and tea next to his head and reached his hand out and grabbed the boy's shoulder, “Ah, wait!”
He jumped a little and looked back over his shoulder, you wouldn’t think someone psychic would be so jumpy. Hanazawa smiled at him to try and get the boy to relax. Hanazawa drew back his hand, “Sorry, sorry, I’m Hanazawa Teruki, it’s nice to meet you…”
“Kageyama Shigeo”
“Nice to meet you, Kageyama!” He reached out his hand for Kageyama to shake, after waiting a while for nothing, he awkwardly lowers it back down, “Do you come to this café often?”
“Not really,” wow, he really was not giving Hanazawa much to work with here, he smiled to try and hide his growing annoyance.
“So, Kageyama, which school do you go to? I’m from White Vinegar Private Academy,” he asked, a psychic so close to Hanazawa’s territory was a bit suspicious, as far as he knew, there weren’t any schools other than White Vinegar. Though Kageyama had very reserved expressions, he could be hiding his real feelings, similar to how Hanazawa was, but he honestly highly doubted that.
Recognition flashed in Kageyama’s eyes, “White Vinegar, I know that one,” Hanazawa braced himself for a fight; it could be that he had heard about the gang activity and had connected it to Hanazawa as another psychic. “That school is really prestigious, right? My brother mentioned that he hopes to get in next year. Oh, but I go to Black Pepper High,” or, Hanazawa prepared for nothing, maybe he was just as simple as he looks, boring. But then again, if he’s psychic, maybe Hanazawa can use him to practice and increase his strength. Maybe if Kageyama proves himself to be similar to Hanazawa in strength, they could have fun running the local gangs together.
“Do you think I could get your number, Kageyama?”
“Why?”
Hanazawa flushed, a bit caught off guard by such a blunt question, “Well, we’re both psychics,” he gestured to the cups that were still awkwardly floating by Teruki’s head, over Kageyama’s shoulder, he could see Nana sitting staring boredly at her phone. “And I’ve never met another the same age as me until now, so I want to get to know you better.”
“Hm…” Kageyama mulled over the statement, “Alright,” he didn’t move, Hanazawa stared expectantly at him, Kageyama stared right back, eyes flitting from Hanazawa’s eyes to just behind his shoulder, then to the top of his head, repeating.
“So… could I have your phone, Kageyama?” He held out his hand.
“Oh, yes!” Kageyama’s face flushed a light pink. He dug his hand into his front pocket before pulling out a practically ancient dark blue flip phone with a lone sticker of a cartoon cow just below the clock display on the front. Hanazawa took the phone, flipping it open to quickly save his contact and dialing his phone to save Kageyama’s number as well.
“There we are, thank you, Kageyama, text me when you get home, okay?” Kageyama put it back to the same pocket as before.
“Hm, alright, it was nice to meet you, Hanazawa,” He lightly bowed his head, and then turned to walk out the café’s front door. Hanazawa watched him leave before realizing that technically, he was still on a date with Nana, he brought the orders back to the table where she was, he apologized for the wait and sat down. He took his first sip, only to realize that his tea was now room temperature on his tongue.
Hanazawa’s daily routine upon returning to his lonely studio apartment was simple, he would throw his bag on the floor and drape his blazer over a chair, then he would start the electric kettle in the kitchen before shuffling his way to the bathroom to wash his face and change into his night clothes. During all of this, he kept flipping his phone over, then back down in an uneven rhythm to check if Kageyama had texted him, this went on until Hanazawa laid in bed, then until he fell asleep. It was only when he woke up the next morning that he realized Kageyama had never texted him like he had asked, great, just fantastic, Hanazawa can’t stand being ignored by others, even if it was just a stranger on the street. It was now the weekend, and that meant the chance of seeing Kageyama anywhere was practically 0, he knew where he went to school, but that was it. So instead, Hanazawa got ready for the day, he pulled out a box of cereal and looked in his cabinet only to find that he had very little food left for anything else, fantastic, Hanazawa would now have to actually get ready to go to outside of his apartment. His closet was full of beautiful, gaudy clothes that he would never be able to wear except for in the comfort of his own home, ‘Well, if I’m only going out to the store…’ No! Even if he’s only going out for a brief time, there is still a chance that he will see someone that knows him, and Hanazawa refuses to risk its perfectly curated reputation. He can already imagine what would happen if those clothes were seen, the embarrassment, the rumors, he’d fall from his pedestal, he’d be no better than all the people that he claims are below him.
So, with his mind made up, Hanazawa dresses in something socially acceptable, a mild beige sweater and faded jeans, he styled his hair and put in small, practically unnoticeable, hair clips that he tended to wear often. The particular store he was going to was only around a 10 minute walk from his apartment, and luckily he was not planning on buying too many groceries, so it shouldn’t be more than he can handle, Hanazawa hasn’t had the chance to check how much he can lift using his powers, and he’s not particularly keen on finding out. It was a small store, three registers open on a good day, and only 9 aisles, and it was in one of those aisles that Hanazawa saw someone he didn’t expect.
“Kageyama?” and there, standing in front of a row of small differently flavored soda cans, was the same dull faced boy who had yet to text Hanazawa, “I’m surprised I saw you here, oh and you never texted me Kageyama,” Hanazawa tried not to sound too disappointed, but knew that some had gotten through to Kageyama by the way his face drooped.
“Yes, I’m sorry Hanazawa, I forgot,” he said, eyes drifting to look at Hanazawa.
“Well, that’s alright, just don’t forget again,” Hanazawa grabbed a few cans from the shelf, thinking of an idea, “What if you made it up to me by coming over to my place, huh Kageyama?” Kageyama was still staring at Hanazawa, focused intensely on his hair, did Teruki have something stuck there, or was there something on his face?? He started patting his hair down frantically, “Kageyama? Is there something wrong with my hair?”
“Huh? No, no… um I just like the things you have on, they have little cats on them,”
‘The things I put on…cats…?’ “Oh! You mean my barrettes? You like ‘em Kageyama?” Hanazawa flashed a sheepish smile, his fingers lightly grazing one of the barrettes.
“Yes, cats are my favorite, they’re so soft… I think your um, barrettes, really suit you,” he lightly smiled back, and turned to look over at the cans once more.
“Do you need help picking something out?”
“Hm, I guess so, I usually get the same one, but my shishou told me I should try to branch out.”
“Well, if you want to try a couple, I can tell you some of my favorites, if you’d like?”
“Thank you Hanazawa,” he softly nodded. They spent some time grabbing some cans of soda that Hanazawa thought he’d like, and before they knew it, they had checked out and were outside the store. Kageyama spoke up, “I think I’d like to Hanazawa.”
“Huh? Like to what?”
“You asked me earlier if I would go to your place, I would like to,” Kageyama looked at him, then his face flushed before he quickly rambled out, “Oh! But only if you want to Hanazawa!”
Hanazawa wanted to face palm, god how could he forget that he had asked him that, “Right, yes, my offer still stands Kageyama. I live over this way, it’s only a ten minute walk,” he pointed over to the left.
They walked for a few minutes in silence, and Hanazawa felt awkward, to say the least, every time he walked with someone they blabbed in his ear, asking questions, or telling him things about their meaningless lives. With Kageyama, it was quiet, and though Hanazawa liked the change, he also had a hard time standing it. So, logically, what better way to fill silence than flaunting about oneself? So talk he did, about anything he could think of, how many friends he had, the girls that always asked him out, and about his great marks in school.
“That’s cool,” Hanazawa looked over in surprise, “It’s really impressive that you have such good grades Hanazawa…do you think you could help me with my math?” When Kageyama finally looked over at him his eyes were shimmering. Hanazawa smiled and thanked him, they had reached Hanazawa’s apartment by now, and now they had to climb three sets of stairs. It didn’t take Hanazawa long, he climbs these every day, but when he got to his door and glanced behind him expecting Kageyama, he was nowhere in sight. He blinked, and walked towards the stairs, looking down seeing Kageyama coming up slowly, Hanazawa looked closer and could see that Kageyama was already sweating.
“You’re not very fit, are you Kageyama?” Hanazawa let out a little chuckle, he meant it as a friendly jab, but from the way Kageyama tensed and furrowed his brow Hanazawa knew he messed up.
“Well what I mean is that I’m actually on the soccer team at my school, we could run together sometime, get your stamina up?” Truthfully, Hanazawa joined the team with his gang members, but only for show, he hadn’t really participated in many games, he hadn’t been playing the sport seriously since middle school. But as Hanazawa watched Kageyama relax, he knew that his little fib did some good, thank god.
“You do soccer?” Kageyama’s eyes started sparkling again, “I’ve been part of the Body Improvement Club since middle school, president Musashi says I’ve made a lot of progress, but there’s always more room for improvement.”
“You’ve been working out every day for that long?! I can see some of that muscle in your arms Kageyama!” Kageyama seemed to flush from that compliment, or it was just left over redness from the stair climbing. Hanazawa grabbed his hand and led him into the apartment, it wasn’t a long hold, but Kageyama quickly squirmed his hand out of the hold. Hanazawa tried not to pay it any mind, but it did sting a bit nonetheless.
“You live alone Hanazawa?” Kageyama gazed around curiously, Hanazawa’s apartment was decorated with small things, photos of him and friends, posters of his favorite bands and artists, and collectible presents that his parents got him when they would briefly visit him, none of which was ever interesting or useful.
“Yes, both of my parents work abroad, they visit me once in awhile though. Go ahead and have a look around if you would like, or just sit anywhere,” Like normal, Hanazawa started the tea kettle, and busied himself with unpacking his groceries instead of doing the rest of his normal routine. When he started pouring the hot water into his cups he heard the sound of his closet opening, Hanazawa had left it cracked halfway before leaving, and had forgotten to close it when Kageyama came inside. Kageyama must have seen his large collection of ugly clothes, of course he got more interested in looking at them. Hanazawa rushed over to close the closet doors in a panic, before he saw Kageyama’s face with the same expression as he had seen earlier, awe.
“Your clothes are so pretty.”
“You think they’re…pretty?” Hanazawa thought for a moment, before making the decision to ask Kageyama a question, “Would you like to see some of them?”
So for the next couple of hours Hanazawa shared a piece of his closet with another for the first time, they snacked and laughed, and tried things on. Kageyama looked great in a pink fluffy sweater Hanazawa decided, it was so close to being his size, but just a little too big. So he gave that to him, as well as a couple bright button ups that Kageyama had liked, they were perfectly stylish, one was a royal blue with darker spirals littering the shirt, another was a garish orange with bright yellow stars. Kageyama was glowing the whole time, and Hanazawa never wanted it to end. But of course, all good things must, the sun started going down and Kageyama got a call from someone who sounded very frantic despite how calmly Kageyama had answered the phone. Hanazawa helped him get packed up, gave him one of his clothes shop bags he saved in the back of his closet for his new garments. Kageyama tried to refuse the clothes earlier, but Hanazawa insisted that it looked better on him, and assured him that he had “much too many clothes for a normal high schooler anyway.”
At the door, Kageyama smiled mildly at him, of course never making eye contact, btu Hanazawa didn’t mind, “I had fun Hanazawa, thank you,” He bowed his head lightly, and Hanazawa chuckled.
Suddenly, he came to a revelation, though he had given him three things already, one more wouldn’t hurt. So Hanazawa reached up and unclasped the cat barrettes from his hair, and held them out for Kageyama, “For you, you said cats are your favorite, and I think they’d look good in your hair too, suit you better.”
Kageyama smiled and took them, he looked at them resting in his hands, worn and well used, but still so pretty. Before Kageyama started to go down the stairs after exiting, he looked back at Hanazawa, “Bye, thank you for inviting me over Hanazawa, I’ll make sure to text you when I get back home.
Later that night Hanazawa had finally finished cleaning up his place, getting all his clothes back into the closet, and shutting the door tight. He scowled at the lone bright top that he didn’t see, and kicked it under his bed instead, Hanazawa finished his nightly routine turned off all his lights and laid in his bed util his phone on his bedside table buzzed. Hanazawa picked it up to quickly check it, a text from an unknown number, ‘I made it home’ then quickly followed by another, ‘this is Kageyama.’