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As it turned out, healing was an incredibly tedious process. Kageyama had been told this by the various doctors he had seen for check ups, and Ukai and his mother were reminding him constantly that he should expect no less.
After all, recovering from an injury like his took time.
And far too much of it.
Kageyama was bored. He was bored, and he was frustrated.
The majority of his time over the past few weeks had been spent doing one of three things: homework, sleeping, and visiting the team.
He had barely even touched a ball in nearly six weeks, let alone set one.
Most afternoons, he resigned himself to suffering, watching as his team practiced and played. It was probably a poor decision, in hindsight. All it was doing was making him more miserable, glaring as Hinata leap to hit Suga's sets.
That was another thing making him miserable.
Well. Maybe not quite miserable. It was more like... confused.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to stop himself from focusing on Hinata.
If he was being honest with himself, it wasn't exactly a new thing. Kageyama knew the exact moment that his fixation began.
When he first watched the red head soaring through the air, that was when it started. Kageyama was ready to toss to Tanaka, and yet out of no where Hinata had launched himself high into the air, arms poised to spike, his hair flying wildly, and mouth opened wide with a call of, "I'm here!"
That call.
The absolute certainty in his voice.
They had barely known each other at the time, and yet, Kageyama could've sworn he saw his future flash before his eyes. And the only thing he could see was orange.
That was where it began.
But, before he was injured, it was far easier to ignore, as in order to win, he had to focus his attention on other team members. But sitting on a bench at the side of the court, he couldn't drag his eyes away from the short spiker.
So, Kageyama was frustrated.
Frustrated about not being able to play, and frustrated about why the hell his heart would do this weird fluttery-thing whenever he saw the colour orange.
Eventually, the setter had enough.
On one of Hinata's afternoon visits, Kageyama brought up his boredom, exasperated and fed up.
"I just wanna do something," he explained, laying on his bed, "all I've been doing for the past however many weeks is sleeping and school work."
Hinata frowned sympathetically, "that doesn't sound great."
The setter huffed, "It's not. It's really not."
Hinata sighed, letting silence reign for a few moments, before his eyes lit up and he raced to his feet, "what if tomorrow, when you come in to visit," he grinned, "you could set for me."
The ravenette furrowed his eyebrows, "dumbass, you know I can't do that. Ukai's not letting me-"
"Who said he has to know?"
Kageyama's eyes widened, as he paused to think, "how do you propose we do that when Ukai's gonna be right there?"
"Hear me out," the red head placed himself on the edge of the mattress, "we wait until after practice is over, right? And we say that I wanted to talk to you in private, or something like that. Just something to get everyone out of the room. And then, we grab a ball, and you set it for me. Simple."
"That's a really stupid plan."
"Well, if you're so smart, think of something better."
"I'll tell you what's a better idea," Kageyama snapped, "we don't do this. It's a bad plan, and I don't wanna end up getting both of us in trouble. I'm already practically grounded as it is, I don't wanna risk getting actually grounded."
Hinata's eyes narrowed, "I really don't think Ukai would be that extreme."
"Look, all I'm saying is I don't wanna break his trust, okay?" The setter sighed, "I don't wanna be grounded, and I don't wanna get kicked out. I just don't wanna risk it."
The red head frowned, softening, "You know he wouldn't do that to you, right?"
The setter avoided his gaze.
"Kageyama, he's not gonna kick you out. He wouldn't do that to you."
The ravenette still looked unconvinced.
"I'll tell you what," Hinata supplied, "If we get caught. And that's a big, fat, 'if'. We'll blame me. We'll tell them that it was all my fault, and I pressured you into doing it."
Kageyama smirked, "Dumbass, it is all your fault."
Hinata frowned in mock offence, "that may be so! But you- I-"
The ravenette chuckled, "fine, I'll do it."
The spiker brightened at that, "You will?"
"But, if we get caught. And that's a big, fat 'if'," he paused as Hinata grinned, "I'm not letting you take all the blame. It's gonna be equally our faults. You suggested it, and I agreed to it."
"Are you sure about this?" Hinata questioned, "I don't want this to actually be a case of peer pressure."
"No peer pressure involved," Kageyama held out his hand, "Both our faults. Deal?"
The shorter boy smiled again as he shook the hand before him, "Deal."
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"What could be so important that you need to talk to him now, though?"
"It just is, okay?" the red head responded, realising that maybe Kageyama had been right, and this was a terrible plan, "I can't talk to him at Ukai's, 'cause I don't want anyone eavesdropping."
Daichi sighed, shaking his head, "How long do you think you're gonna be?"
Hinata grinned. The captain was finally giving in.
"Only fifteen minutes or so. That's all I need."
"Okay," he unfolded his arms, "I'll talk to Ukai. You will have fifteen minutes exactly, and if you're not out by then, I'm coming in to get you. Got that?"
"Got it," he bowed, "thank you, Captain."
The taller boy dismissed him with a wave of his hand, "Don't mention it."
And with that, the conversation was over.
Kageyama turned from where he was stood, leaning against a wall, to find Hinata bounding towards him, a wide smile on his face.
"You did it?" The setter asked quietly, hoping no one around them could hear. The rest of the team were fairly distracted with packing away equipment, so luckily it seemed like they were in the clear.
"I did it," Hinata confirmed, speaking in an equally low tone as he reached Kageyama's side, "once everyone's out, we have fifteen minutes. Plus, I told Daichi that I didn't want anyone eavesdropping, so that means no one's gonna be outside either."
The ravenette chuckled breathily, "You really are a dumbass, you know that?"
"Duh. How could I forget when you remind me every other minute?"
Kageyama smiled, although the expression faltered slightly as it morphed into a grimace.
Hinata frowned, placing a hand on his back, "hey, why don't we sit back down. Everyone's starting to leave now anyway."
The setter nodded as Hinata wrapped his arm around the taller boy's middle, slowly guiding him back over to the bench. Even weeks into the healing process, standing or walking around for too long still proved to be an arduous task for Kageyama. Another thing to be frustrated about.
They sat together for a short while, waiting for everyone to finish packing away. The setter realised that they wouldn't have a net to work with as he watched it be stored back in the cupboard. That was certainly going to make this more interesting.
As the final team members left, Daichi called out to them from the doorway, "fifteen minutes starts now!"
The door shut behind him, and Kageyama and Hinata were alone.
"So," the red head held out his hand, moving to stand in front of the injured boy, "You ready?"
He placed his hand in Hinata's, "As I'll ever be."
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Only around two minutes in, they had already discovered this was going to be harder than they thought.
"Damnit!"
Hinata landed back on the ground, the ball bounding off to hit to wall to his left, "hey, it's alright. We'll get it."
Kageyama huffed as the red head lined himself up at the back of the court, before tossing the ball in the air, towards Kageyama. This time, the set was too low. Once again it bounced to the floor, the sound echoing through the gym as Hinata touched down.
"God fucking-" the setter cut himself off, taking a deep shuddering breath.
"Hey. It's fine. We've still got at least ten minutes left," Hinata supplied, appearing at the ravenette's side, "that's plenty of time to get at least one good one in."
"I can't do it, Hinata."
"Yes you can. We just have to keep-"
"My hands are shaking too much! I can barely even keep my arms in the air, let alone set a ball right!"
"You're not gonna know if you can do it, unless you keep trying, right?" The spiker moved to the back of the court again, ball in hand, "so we keep trying."
Kageyama sighed, ready to retort, but decided against it when the ball came flying overhead, Hinata already making his approach.
For the next few minutes, the pair continued like so, Kageyama swearing loudly at every missed set, and Hinata offering gentle assurances each time he touched down. It was an aggravating cycle of failure, and yet the red head kept insisting, and somehow the setter kept agreeing to continue. Hinata had gone to the effort of getting them this time, and Kageyama didn't want to waste it sulking.
He chose to believe that that was the reason he continued, and not because his stupid heart kept doing the weird fluttery thing each time Hinata praised him, how ever undeserving he may be. Why the hell did it keep doing that?
Time after time, his sets failed. And yet the short spiker, entirely undeterred, continued to offer his praise and time, despite how well Kageyama knew it was a fruitless endeavour.
Eventually though, Kageyama found that maybe it wasn't so fruitless after all.
The ball smacked against the ground on the other side of the court, the sound ringing in his ears. He stared after it, watching wide eyed as it bounced to halt.
"Yes!" Hinata yelled triumphantly, "I knew you could do it!"
The boy sprinted towards him, and it almost looked as if he was about to jump on Kageyama, before he stopped himself at the last second, "That was amazing!"
The setter had to admit, after the amount of false tosses, he was feeling rather elated at finally getting one right. But still, "it wasn't that good. If we were in a match, that would've been blocked for sure. It was way too slow."
The red head groaned, "We're not in a match though. You're healing from an injury, dumbass! And even being able to do as much as we did today took a lot of guts. I know that if I were in your place I probably would've given up by now."
Kageyama raised an eyebrow.
"But you didn't. You kept going until you got it right, now matter how bad you were feeling about all the other tosses. Because that's what you do," Hinata grinned, "you keep going until you get it right, because you wanna always be at your best, and you always go for the win. And that's incredible! You're incredible!"
The setter's eyes widened as Hinata continued.
"You're an amazing player, and an amazing team mate. You motivate me to be a better player, 'cause you're always so determined to win, no matter what! You push yourself to your limits everyday. And at the same time you're working to try and be kinder to the people around you, and if anything that's cooler than wanting to win. 'Cause it shows that you care about your team mates just as much as you care about winning.
"You are one the best volleyball players I've ever met. The best team mate I've ever had, and the best friend I've ever had. And I am not gonna stand by and let you say horrible things about yourself when you're healing!
"You are the most astounding person I've ever met, and I am gonna make you see it, even if I have to pound it into your stupid head!"
Kageyama noticed when Hinata's voice cracked, that the shorter boy was crying.
"Hinata, what-"
"I'm trying to say I love you, idiot!"
Hinata's breathing was ragged as he finally finished his rant, a few tears spilling over his cheeks. And Kageyama was dumbfounded.
Hinata... loved him?
Is that what the tight feeling in his chest was?
Love?
Did he love Hinata?
"You... you love me?" the ravenette repeated, the words foreign on his tongue.
Hinata's eyes widened, as if he was just realising what he had said, "I- I didn't- I don't-" he stuttered, speaking quietly, his hands shaking at his sides, "I didn't mean for it to come out like that."
Kageyama continued to stare at him.
"I'm sorry. I know you probably don't like me back. And I didn't want this to ruin our friendship or mess up the team, that was why I didn't say anything for so long. But recently just seeing you has been making my heart go all gwah and I needed to do something about it... just tell you, or something," he paused, "sorry."
He bowed his head slightly, preventing Kageyama from seeing his face, before he made to turn away and pick up the ball again.
"I think I do."
Hinata froze.
"What?"
The ravenette hesitated, "I think I do. Like you back, I mean."
Hinata whipped his head to face him, eyes filling once more, "you do?"
"I- I don't really know what it feels like to like someone in that way. But, when I see you, my heart goes all gwah too, I guess. And I like spending time with you. More than anyone else," he paused, meeting the shorter boy's gaze shyly, "You're nice to me."
There was a moment of silence. But all of a sudden, Hinata was laughing. It was a breathy and wet sound, but it soon became louder as his tears finally ceased.
"Dumbass, what the hell?"
Even more suddenly, Hinata carefully wrapped his arms around Kageyama's middle, his grip loose, and buried his face into the taller boy's shoulder. The ravenette stared, now even more confused, and slightly concerned, "are you okay?"
A muffled voice vibrated against his shoulder, "you like me back."
Kageyama slowly returned the embrace, "yeah. Yeah, I do."
It was then that Hinata broke away, and stood on the tips of his toes, pulling Kageyama down by his collar slightly so their lips could meet.
It was wet with Hinata's tears, and being bent in the position he was was admittedly a little painful for the ravenette. Neither of them really had much idea of what they were doing, so it was messy, and they would've probably been quite the sight to see had anyone else been in the room. All in all, they were both pretty bad at kissing.
And yet at the same time, it was pure bliss.
They parted, staring at each other for a moment before Kageyama hissed through his teeth.
Hinata immediately let go of his shirt, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that! Are you okay? Do you wanna sit down, or-"
"I'm fine," Kageyama chuckled through his words, "I'm okay. I'm better than okay."
Hinata sighed, letting himself smile, "c'mon let's go sit down. Daichi'll be here soon, so we need to make it look like we were actually doing what we said we were doing."
For the second time that day, the red head assisted Kageyama in hobbling over the bench at the side of the gym, before racing off to put the ball back in the store cupboard.
He returned with a smile on his face, his tears only showing themselves in the slight red tint around his eyes.
"So, what does this make us?" Kageyama questioned.
"Boyfriends. Duh." The shorter boy replied, sitting himself down beside the setter, "is that okay?"
The ravenette hesitated, before placing his hand atop the spiker's next to him, "yeah. I would really like that."
Hinata smiled fondly.
They sat in comfortable quiet for a moment, before Kageyama spoke again, "That was one hell of a confession."
"Hey. You were being stupid and I was running on adrenaline. I do not take responsibility for any of the things I said in that speech."
Kageyama smirked, "So you didn't mean it then?"
"What?! Of course I did, I-" he stopped himself when he noticed the setter's facial expression, "you're mocking me."
"I would never."
"I just poured my heart out to you, and you're mocking me!"
"Hey, I said I liked you back didn't I?"
"That makes no difference!"
"I think it does."
"You know what? I take it back. I don't wanna date you anymore."
"And here I thought you loved me."
"This is slander!"
Needless to say, Daichi returned to the gym to find the pair arguing back and forth with smiles on their faces, their hands intertwined.