Chapter Text
It was a cold winter day and Hinata really wished he had brought his gloves with him.
Riding his bike to school has always been a fun activity for him; the cool air hitting his face and the breathtaking sceneries he would otherwise miss out on if he took any other means of transportation.
He could technically buy a seasonal train pass, even if it’s definitely not cheap, but where’s the fun in that?
‘Damn, maybe I didn’t think this through’ he thought, trying to hide most of his face in his jacket. He quickened his pace to try and keep himself warm, while also not wanting to be late to morning practice.
For the last three weeks he had been setting his alarm earlier to get there on time, even if it meant giving up on thirty extra minutes of sleep.
He loved going to morning practice and starting his day with an hour of volleyball.
He loved the noise his shoes made while squeaking on the parquet floor.
He loved practicing on jumping higher and higher every time he had to spike on of Kageyama’s sets.
He’s been working very hard to improve his volleyball skills. In his eyes the change is very noticeable. He just hopes others can see it too…
Hinata soon got to the school entrance, got off his bike and tied it to his favorite pole just on the right of the gate.
He then took out his phone to check the time.
‘Oh crap, practice starts in five!’
He grabbed his things and ran to the locker room, hoping the others didn’t start already.
He swung open the door and saw that Kageyama was also late this morning and just now started to get changed.
“Heh looks like I’m not the only one who’s late today” he said teasingly to the setter while also starting to get changed.
“Boke Hinata! I literally got here before you!”
“Meh, sounds like excuses to me!” he finished tying his shoe laces and bolted out the door, escaping an already angry Kageyama.
He made his way to the gym and greeted his upper classmen who were already warming up, positioning himself near the wall so he could start stretching his legs.
He grabbed his ankle and brought it back towards the wall as to stretch his thigh muscles.
Kageyama soon followed him and started stretching his arms, focusing on his forearms and hands.
Hinata watched him, mesmerized. He couldn’t fathom the idea of someone taking such good care of their body.
Kageyama’s skin looked flawless and smooth. His hands looked soft, unlike his own, covered in calluses from riding his bike.
He watched as Kageyama intertwined his fingers and brought his arms forward, slightly hunching his shoulders.
Hinata glanced at his fingers, smooth and put together, and then at his own.
Furrowing his eyebrows he noticed the skin at his fingertips start to chip and absentmindedly started do pick at it.
After a while it seemed like Kageyama was ready to practice and so Hinata joined him.
First their coach made them run drills, which Hinata dreaded.
He huffed trying to keep up with his long-legged teammates, especially Tsukkishima who looked like a giraffe. Just then he thought of how he would look with giraffe-like legs and immediately started smirking to himself.
He felt time pass super slowly but eventually they got to the playing part of practice.
Coach Ukai separated them into two teams and made them practice their new techniques against each other.
Obviously Hinata was put on the same team as Kageyama, so he lounged towards him and jumped on his back excitedly.
“C’mon Kags let’s practice our super epic quick attack!” he practically screamed at his setter.
“Boke Hinata boke! Get off you gremlin!” said a flustered Kageyama.
“Hey! Who you calling a gremlin, beanstalk!” he quickly yelled back.
Daichi soon intervened to try and keep the two first years at bay.
“Guys calm down and get into position, coach is about to blow his whistle!”
Hinata huffed and went to his spot on the court, but not before noticing how red Kageyama’s ears got. The setter gave him a quick glance before turning towards the net, the redness spreading to his cheeks.
‘Huh’ Hinata thought. ‘Since when did he get flustered so easily? And since when has he started hitting the gym so frequently? His back is way more toned than it used to be’
He glanced at the setter again and yep, he wasn’t wrong. His back definitely got bigger, you could see it through his shirt.
‘Boke Hinata! You shouldn’t stare at your teammates like that’ he thought to himself, blushing at the thought of a sweaty Kageyama lifting weights.
He didn’t know what he was doing, he’s never seen Kageyama that way, but damn the image made him start to get hot.
He shook his head trying to get those thoughts out of his head, since he needed to focus on practice. Besides, he had better things to do than to think about boys that way, especially Kags.
The practice game started off slow, with no major plays yet.
On his team, Daichi set the ball, that was received by Nishinoya and later set to Ennoshita, who spiked it towards him.
Hinata concentrated his eyes on the ball and manifested a good pass to Kageyama.
Luck must have been on his side that day because he made a near perfect pass to his setter.
“Nice receive Hinata!” yelled Nishinoya from the other side of the net, because c’mon, that was still his teammate.
Hinata was overjoyed and quickly looked over to Kageyama to see if he saw it. The setter smirked and gave him a nod, and that was all Hinata needed.
He ran towards the net and jumped as high as he could since he knew the ball was gonna head towards him.
And without a second thought Kageyama delivered, tossing a perfect set to the middle.
The sound his hand made while hitting the ball was one be would never forget.
He fell back from the jump and excitedly screamed to Kageyama.
“DID YOU SEE THAT? DID YOU SEE HOW HIGH I JUMPED? ARGHHH I SPIKED IT SO HARD IT WAS PERFECT!”
Kageyama smiled, like actually smiled.
“Hell yeah, all thanks to my awesome sets” he said teasingly. Although he does give himself credit, he knows Hinata did most of the work, with his receive and high jump.
He looks towards Hinata, who is now getting praised by their teammates.
Especially Tanaka-san and Nishinoya-san, the latter one vowing to receive it next time.
As Takeda-sensei flipped the point on the scoreboard, Hinata turned back to the setter.
“Kageyama you’re amazing! I swear, together we’re invincible!” he flashed a big smile and the setter couldn’t help but melt into it.
“B-Boke Hinata! C-C’mon let’s continue, the game’s not over” he said turning away, trying not to show the redness on his face.
“I know, I know, but still! Did you see how high i jumped? I swear it’s all thanks to your sets!
With you it feels like I can fly even higher!”
Hinata beamed, jumping towards Kageyama, excited to continue playing.
He probably didn’t understand what those words meant.
At least not to him.