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Kageyama really had no idea why he bought the ring. Looking back, most things in his relationship with Hinata had happened that way. Sitting in a private room in Hinata's favorite restaurant waiting for his boyfriend of almost six years to arrive, he could not help but reminisce on their relationship.
Looking back at his first meeting with the other man, almost a decade ago now, one would never know what the two would eventually end up becoming. You usually don't meet the love of your life outside of a bathroom after all. His first thought upon seeing his future lover was that he was far too short to be playing volleyball. His impression of the other was completely changed less than an hour later. Watching Hinata soar through the air as he tried to support his otherwise worthless team the only thing the young teen could wonder was what had the other been doing for the past three years. In hindsight, his first year of high school might've had a smoother start if he had not decided to confront the other with this thought right after their game, but had that been the case he probably would not have made as strong of an impression on the other boy.
When Kageyama chose Karasuno high school, running into Hinata again was the last thing on his mind. He was completely shocked when his first serve in the gym of his new high school was interrupted by the other boy questioning why he was there. Their relationship was always a little volatile and their first true meeting was no exception, culminating in them knocking off the vice-principals wig and getting temporarily suspended from club activities. They eventually learned how to work together though, and Kageyama swore his heart skipped a beat when Hinata declared to him that he would be the only one allowed to beat him, that he would even follow him to the top of the world if necessary. In the two tournaments following that proclamation, Kageyama felt his fondness for Hinata growing.
The first half of their second year at Karasuno was marked by a period of extreme awkwardness where he and Hinata avoided contact with each other outside of club at all costs. This was put to an end after they were informed by Ennoshita and Tanaka that they were going to be made captain and vice-captain of the club after the third years retired and it would probably be for the best if the two of them made up from whatever fight it was they were having. The two of them reluctantly started spending time together again, though it was mainly related to club activities at first. After the third years retired, leaving the club in their hands, Kageyama and Hinata's relationship had not only fully recovered from the period of awkwardness at the beginning of the year, it had grown much stronger, something that did not go unnoticed by Tsukishima who teased them about it mercilessly.
In their third year of high school Kageyama and Hinata would lead Karasuno to the nationals and beat Nekoma in the final round. It was at Hinata's house that night, following the celebratory party with their old upperclassmen and the current team, that he and Hinata shared their first kiss. The two of them ended up falling into a decently functional relationship rather easily after that. They didn't get much time to themselves that first year together, most of their time going to managing the team and talking to scouts from various colleges. Tired of how little time he and Kageyama were spending together Hinata suggested the two of them get an apartment together after graduation. Kageyama readily agreed.
Even with this arrangement in place graduation came much too suddenly for the pair, and before they knew it they were moving on to the next stage in their lives. Hinata and Kageyama had ended up getting scouted by different universities, Hinata studying early childhood education and Kageyama studying sports medicine. Their time in university was spent living in a tiny studio apartment between their universities. Living in such close quarters caused things to get a bit awkward when they had games against each other, as both were still insanely competitive, but that didn't happen often and overall the time spent in that apartment was some of the happiest in their lives.
Hinata had been the first of the pair to get scouted by the national team, his jumping prowess and agility greatly impressing the coaches. Kageyama did not have long to wait though, he ended up getting scouted himself less than a month later. For the first time in three years the pair was playing together on the volleyball court again. It was as if they had never stopped. As they practiced together Kageyama couldn't help but remember the promise Hinata had made to him when they were both fifteen.
It was during the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo Hinata and Kageyama stood on the world stage for the first and last time together. They ended up winning the gold, but the win came at the cost of Hinata's volleyball career. While scoring the point that would win the final set, using their odd-ball quick strike, Hinata landed wrong. He insisted nothing was wrong, he had just sprained his ankle, but Kageyama insisted that they go to the hospital after the medal ceremony just to be safe. It was there that they discovered that Hinata's fall had severed ligaments in both his ankle and knee and that he would require surgery to be able to walk normally again. Hinata was all smiles while the doctor was present, only to break down as soon as they were alone. In the four years they had been together it was the first time Kageyama remembered seeing Hinata break down and he felt his heart was breaking.
They scheduled Hinata's surgery for right after they graduated. Kageyama already had a job lined up in a sports clinic and was planning on using his wages to support Hinata as he healed. Hinata refused, instead getting a job at a local elementary school, telling Kageyama that while he appreciated the thought he would have been bored out of his mind staying home alone all the time. Even so Kageyama insisted that he help with Hinata's recovery somehow and it was decided that he would be in charge of his rehabilitation after the surgery. It was the most time the two of them had spent together in years and Kageyama realized that he wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life by Hinata's side.
That thought was still in the back of Kageyama's mind when he went out drinking with his coworkers later that week. When he woke up the following morning, long after Hinata had left for work, he noticed the box in his coat pocket. After freaking out for a few moments he put the ring back in his coat pocket and ran off to work, resolving to ask Hinata out to dinner and get it over with.
It would be two weeks after he made his decision before Hinata finally caught up with grading and was able to meet up with him. These were the longest and most nerve-wracking two weeks of Kageyama's life. And now Kageyama was waiting in Hinata's favorite restaurant and Hinata was over an hour late.
“Sorry I'm late, something came up at work and I missed my train.” He heard Hinata say as he entered the room.
“You could have sent me a text if you were going to be late, dumbass.”
“I thought I did? Ah, looks like it didn't go through.”
"Is everything all right? I haven't seen you look so nervous in years." Hinata asked as he sat down.
"Yeah, everything's fine. I'm going to go tell the waiter that you're here. You don't mind that I ordered for you, do you?" Kageyama asked, hoping to get away to calm his nerves for a few moments.
"Nope, not at all." Hinata replied with a smile.
"Okay, I'll be back soon." With that Kageyama quickly left the room, leaving an amused Hinata behind. After going to the kitchen and informing the staff that the other member of his part was now present he checked his pocket just to make sure the ring was still present. Before he returned to Hinata he took a deep breath and mentally went over the, admittedly brief, speech he had prepared.
"What took you so long?"
"Sorry, it took a bit longer than I expected to find our waiter. How was work by the way?"
"Good, I think I'm going to miss this class. They're all good kids, even if some of them are a bit of a handful."
"You really like your job, don't you." Kageyama asked, noting the fond look that was always on his boyfriends face whenever he talked about his class.
"Yeah. I always thought I'd be playing volleyball for the rest of my life, but now I can't imagine doing anything else."
"Are you still planing on coaching one of the local kid's teams once your leg is fully healed?"
"Yep, I'll be helping out the older coach Ukai soon. He want's me to take over for him once he finally decides to retire."
"It'll be a while then."
With that their food arrived, causing Kageyama to momentarily freak out again. As Hinata started eating he stood up and moved next to his boyfriend.
"Shouyou." Kageyama said, voice quivering as he got on one knee and reached into his pocket, Hinata froze, "We've been together a long time now. We've stood at the top of the world together. Will you continue to stand with me for the rest of my life?"
Kageyama stayed there for several moments with no response. He was getting ready to get up and walk away, to tell Hinata to just forget it, when he saw the shocked expression Hinata was wearing.
"Shouyou?"
"Yes."
"What?"
"I said yes, Tobio." Hinata told him with the gentlest smile he had ever seen on his face.
Immediately after hearing Hinata's answer, Kageyama stood up and pulled his now fiance in for a slow, gentle kiss.
They both knew that their future would not always be easy, but as long as they were together they knew they would be okay.