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Hinata was always a different person when it rained. He spoke quietly and moved lazily, the rhythmic tapping of the rain lulling him into a serene sort of calm; something that was impossible in the bright rays of the sun.
The first time that Kenma experienced this special version of Hinata had been late one night in the summer before he started his first year of university. He had already moved into his dorm, to get accustomed to the space before classes started, and was in the middle of making himself a snack when he heard a knock at the door.
If he had been expecting anyone it definitely wasn’t Hinata. The boy was drenched, his bright orange hair clinging to his face, droplets of water sliding down pink cheeks. He was standing in the doorway clutching the straps of his equally drenched backpack, staring at Kenma with a drowsy sort of smile.
“Hi Kenma.” Hinata said his voice soft and his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled. “I thought I might come visit you, I hope that’s okay.”
“Hi Shouyou. It’s fine; you’re soaked.” Kenma looked Hinata up and down carefully before stepping aside to let him into the small room. Kenma left Hinata in the entryway and returned to his snack making.
Hinata shrugged off his shoes and backpack and left them carefully on the linoleum, little puddles already accumulating on the floor. After a moment of careful consideration he pulled off his socks as well and draped them over top of his shoes.
Kenma glanced over from the small kitchen to the place where Hinata still stood looking down at himself and the puddle at his feet. Kenma smiled softly to himself, like he often did when Hinata was around, and continued his task.
“Umm. Kenma?”
Kenma just hummed in response.
“Can I borrow some clothes? Mine are all wet.”
With a nod Kenma went over to his dresser, pulled out a well worn set of pjs, and set them down gently on his small couch. He looked over at Hinata to make sure the boy knew the clothes were ready then returned to finish his task in the kitchen.
Hinata smiled and hummed to himself softly as he pulled off his wet clothes in the entryway and set them on top of his shoes with his socks. Kenma watched Hinata from behind his hair as the ginger moved into the living room, still humming. Kenma had noticed that his friend’s normally overwhelming personality seemed subdued right when he opened the door, but now he was sure something was different. He had never seen Hinata move so fluidly before. The ginger boy had always bounced, or zoomed, or vibrated. This was something new.
Hinata turned his back to Kenma and began slipping off his wet underwear. The dorm was a bachelor style with only the one room and a bathroom so to give Hinata some privacy Kenma turned his back to his friend and began to fiddle with his kettle. Tea always made him feel better when it rained, and it would help warm Hinata up a bit. He felt Hinata more than heard him as the ginger stepped up to look over what Kenma was doing.
“Do you still have that cherry blossom tea, from before?” Hinata asked as he pressed his shoulder lightly into Kenma’s.
“Yeah.” Kenma replied, he left out the fact that he had saved the tea once he saw how much Hinata enjoyed it. He liked knowing that they both liked something so much, other than volleyball.
Kenma pulled his tea set and tea out of the cupboard and set them on the counter before turning back to the food he had been preparing. Hinata knew how to prepare the tea the way he liked it so Kenma trusted him with that while he began placing the cut vegetables and fruit onto a plate. He added some sweets as well, since he had a guest, and then placed it carefully on his little dining table and sat down cross-legged in his chair.
Hinata placed the cups on the table, one in front of Kenma and one opposite for himself before he carefully poured the tea from the teapot into first Kenma’s cup and then his own before setting down the teapot beside the snacks and sitting down.
Kenma watched as Hinata brought the cup up to his nose with both hands and closed his eyes as he took in the fragrance of the tea. The younger boy let out a content sigh as he breathed in a second time before setting the cup down gently, his hands still cradling it as he looked up at Kenma with a smile.
Kenma nibbled on a bit of apple as he studied Hinata’s face. Wondering if something had happened to the boy across from him, something that made him quiet and gentle. It had been over a year since Hinata had stumbled upon Kenma in Karasuno before their practice match, and this was the first time Kenma had ever seen Hinata so calm. He had seen Hinata focused on winning, but that was a different sort of stillness. This lacked that intensity.
“Is something wrong Kenma?” Hinata asked, his bright eyes full of concern for the quiet boy.
“Hm?”
“You’re being more quiet than usual.”
“I was just thinking.” Kenma tried not to shy away from Hinata’s gaze as he searched for the right words to use to share what was on his mind.
“Oh,” Hinata said as he took a sip of his tea. “What are you thinking about?”
Kenma looked down at his cup, he thought about the bright boy sitting across from him as he slid his hands around it. The warmth emanating from the mug warmed his fingers and grounded him in the moment.
“You seem really different today Shouyou. Did something happen?”
Hinata reached over and placed his hand on top of Kenma’s. Their eyes met again when Kenma looked up startled by the gentle intimacy of the gesture.
“I just like the rain.” Hinata said, the sweet smile from before back on his face. “It makes me feel really nice. Like everything is going to be okay.”
Kenma nodded his head as he took in Hinata’s words, trying to keep his attention on the boy and not the feeling of his hand caressing Kenma’s own. Hinata pulled his hand away slowly and Kenma followed it with his eyes back across the table and up into bright orange hair. Hinata was ruffling his hair and looking down away from Kenma, his cheeks tinted pink like when he first walked in.
“It always makes me feel the same way I do when I’m with you.” Hinata mumbled, trying desperately to avoid eye contact.
Kenma felt his cheeks heat up as he processed what his friend had said. He lifted his mug to take a sip of tea, as a distraction more than anything else.
“I mean-”
Kenma stopped Hinata with the same gesture the boy had used a moment ago. Kenma rubbed gentle circles across the knuckles of Hinata’s free hand.
“I feel the same Shouyou.” Kenma took a deep breath and pulled gently on Hinata’s hand. The normally shy and quiet boy led his normally exuberant friend over to the small couch and sat down.
“I like that you’re here Shouyou. I was worried that volleyball was the only thing we had keeping us together.”
“Of course not, Silly! I like you because of you, volleyball just brought us together.”
Hinata shuffled closer to Kenma and pressed their foreheads together, smiling.
“There’s nowhere I’d rather be than here with you.” Hinata punctuated his statement by kissing the tip of Kenma’s nose before bouncing up off the couch and back to the table, his face bright red.
Kenma stayed sitting on the couch, feeling a bit dumbfounded. He glanced over to Hinata who was stuffing his face with sweets, the tips of his ears still red.
Kenma experienced this slow soft version of Hinata many times in the years to come. Sometimes Kenma would admit that this was his favourite version of the red head, but when you love someone so entirely it is really hard to pick.