Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Excuse me, do you know where the nearest flower shop is?”

That’s what Hinata meant to say, but it came out broken and fumbled as he struggled to keep his accent contained while correctly pronouncing the language. The stranger had him repeat the phrase many times before he eventually grasped the words “Flower”, “Shop”, and “Near”. The stranger gave him directions, but the attempt futile as Hinata didn’t understand.

“Slowly, please.” Hinata practically begged as let go of his rolling suitcase and tried to write down street names and directions in his notebook. Taking off after what was likely the tenth, heavily accented ‘thank you’. The feel of textured leather kept him grounded as he wandered the streets, trying to decipher his messy handwriting. He had been studying this language for years now, but his writing was still atrocious, even more so when rushed. With random bits of roman characters and phrases in his native language thrown in, it was a language of his own. On the way there, he had to pull out his phone for his translating app more times than he liked to admit, and the conversations with other strangers were simply repeats of the first. Turning left where his notebook said to, he eventually reached his destination. He scurried into the shop, waving at the cashier before searching through the buckets filled with water and flowers. After the cashier looked at him strangely as he spent an embarrassingly long time trying to read and understand the symbols, Hinata pulled out his phone and looked up pictures of the flowers he wanted, and simply matched the real thing to the image on there.

Hinata took his flowers to the cashier up front, who took the time to arrange them and wrap them up in newspaper. Bright red hues of the anthuriums complemented those of the yellow in the daffodils, and the pinks and whites of the alstroemerias rounded everything out.

“That will be nine hundred yen.”

Rustling filled the shop as the ginger once again letting go of his rolling luggage to fumble in his bag, pulling out his wallet and struggling to remember how Japanese currency worked. He eventually figured it out and handed the money to the cashier. He thanked him many times, and tried to compliment the florists work.

“Can you repeat that? Sorry.” The florist spoke slowly, finally catching on to the fact that the kid in his shop was not even remotely from the area.

Hinata scolded himself internally while keeping his expression bright and cheerful.

“Your work is very beautiful!” Hinata repeated slowly, minding his accent.

“Thank you very much!” The florist said, smiling widely. Hinata waved as he exited the shop, bouquet of flowers tucked under his shoulder so he could still hold his phone, as his other hand was occupied with his luggage. Keyboard clicks sounded rapidly as he typed in the address he spent weeks reciting into his navigation app, following the blue line on his screen like it was his religion.
Hinata’s hand shook as he went to knock on the door, his knuckles turning white as they hit the door. Mentally, he recited how to greet his temporary family, how to introduce himself, and how japanese households worked.

A tall, black haired teen opened the apartment door with what seemed to be his mother behind him.

“Thank you for allowing me into your home.” Hinata recited, bowing. He stood back up, to find the teen holding his hand out unsurely. Hinata grabbed it and shook it as the teen began to speak.

“Hallo, Mein Name ist Kageyama Tobio.” He said carefully, yet with confidence.

Thoughts sprung up one by one into Hinata’s mind, but the most prominent one was about the flowers. He passed the flowers to the teens mother before addressing Kageyama.

“Hallo! Mein Name ist Hinata Shoyo, schön dich zu treffen!”

Kageyama looked confused and thrown off by the foreign language and thick accent thrown at him. The confusion was evident on his face, so Hinata immediately went back to his broken Japanese.

“My name is Hinata Shoyo, nice to meet you.”

Kageyama nodded in understanding before moving to let Hinata into his home, watching as the significantly shorter teen removed his shoes. Kageyama’s mom spoke to him in slow, diligent Japanese.

“Thank you for the flowers, they are beautiful. Please make yourself at home.”

Hinata beamed outwards and inwards at both the hospitality and his ability to understand the language. He thanked her many times, accidentally doing so in German the first time. She addressed her son in rapid japanese, in which Hinata only caught a few words.

“I’m going to show you to your room now.” Kageyama said, gesturing for Hinata to follow. Hinata grabbed his bag and followed him into what was to be their shared room. A twin bed rested on either side of the room, along with a small desk. It was clear which side was for Hinata and which was for Kageyama. Kageyama’s side was littered with volleyball posters and school books, and his desk looked older and more personal. Hinata set his stuff down onto his bed before running his fingers along his new desk.

“Is it okay if I am your friend in school?” Hinata asked slowly, hoping he phrased that right. Frankly, Kageyama intimidated him a bit. He was tall and angular, with harsh eyes and dark hair.

“Sure. At least until you find people you have more in common with.” Kageyama spoke while lowering himself onto his bed, playing with his thumbs. He wasn’t entirely happy about having a stranger in his house, even more so, one that wasn’t entirely fluent in his native language, and one that stood out so much. He was shorter than a lot of the kids he knew, and he had bright orange hair and freckles. He wanted to make him feel welcome though, after all, he took the time to buy flowers and learn Japanese customs.

Hinata processed Kageyama’s words and grinned, his eyes scrunching shut.

“Thank you, Kageyama!”

Chapter Text

Hinata held on to the the straps of his backpack, walking only slightly behind Kageyama. He felt like he was in kindergarten again, leaving his parents and being left to fend for himself. Except now, he was older, and at the very least he had Kageyama. Kageyama walked silently, keeping his head down, watching his feet. Hinata was the exact opposite, keeping his head up in order to look around the landscape.

They made it to school without a word shared between them, stopping at the locker section to change their shoes.

“What was school like in Germany?” Kageyama asked, slipping his shoes into his locker.

“Complicated.” Hinata smiled to himself, already missing his family back home.

Kageyama looked confused, but he knew that speaking Japanese was slightly overwhelming for Hinata, so he didn’t want to make him explain something complicated in a language that wasn’t his own. After that, they walked together to their homeroom. As soon as they got in, Hinata looked amazed and excited, but Kageyama could tell he was already stressed about the language.

“Don’t freak out about the language, you’ll do fine.” Kageyama encouraged awkwardly. Hinata failed to realize the awkward undertones, though, and thanked him with a gigantic grin on his face, bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly.

The school day passed without much incident, Hinata only looked as if he was about to have a breakdown once, and that was when a few kids came up to him and spoke a little too fast for his current ability. He tried his best to explain to them that he didn’t understand, but they continued to ask questions in their rapid Japanese. Kageyama eventually took notice of Hinata getting overwhelmed, and he went over and distracted the kids by asking about an upcoming test. Hinata mouthed a thanks to Kageyama when he caught his eye, only feeling slightly disappointed in himself. But that was the lone incident, for the most part, the other students understood that there was a small language barrier, and kept their speech slow and slightly over pronounced.

Kageyama and Hinata walked home together in the same fashion, in silence, Hinata with his head up, and Kageyama with his head down. When they reached home, they slipped their shoes off, and Hinata made his way into his shared room and took out his laptop, setting it down onto his bed and sitting in front of it. He logged in quickly and opened up his Skype app. He immediately set up a video call with his mom, plugging his headphones in. She picked up right away, already shouting greetings at him.

“Natsu! Your brother is calling!”
Hinata laughed and smiled as he saw his little sister come into frame, also shouting greetings.

“Hello Natsu! How was school?” Hinata asked just as Kageyama came into their shared room. Natsu immediately launched into a tale about her friends at school. Hinata noticed Kageyama looking at him as he and his mother started talking, and he excused himself from the conversation in order to ask Kageyama something.

“Am I bothering you? Should I call them another time?” Hinata asked, forgetting to turn his German accent off.

“What?” Kageyama asked, Hinata’s accent making it seem as if he was still talking to his family.

“Do you want it to be quiet right now? I could call them another time.” Hinata rephrased, minding his accent.

“No, It’s fine. It was just interesting to hear you speaking a language you’re fluent in.” Kageyama explained.

“Oh okay.” Hinata smiled at Kageyama, his nose scrunching the tiniest bit. He went back into conversation with his mom and little sister. Kageyama began to get the tiniest bit annoyed with Hinata's constant laughter, and decided to remind Hinata that they had homework. Hinata nodded and said his goodbyes to his family, taking extra time to say goodbye to Natsu. He hung up after saying goodbye to his mom, and shut his laptop and rested it at the corner of his bed.

“Who’s Natsu?” Kageyama asked, grateful that his room was a little more quiet.

“My little sister.” Hinata responded. Kageyama just nodded and took out his math book and began doing his homework on his bed. The bed sank down under Hinata as he laid on his stomach with his math notebook under him, doing around five problems before getting distracted and practicing his Japanese handwriting. He eventually got back to doing math, and they both finished in the span of around 45 minutes.

“Hey, Hinata, can we compare answers?” Kageyama asked, chewing on the tip of his pencil.

“Sure,” Hinata stood up and walked over to Kageyama’s side of the room. “Is it okay if I sit here?” He gestured towards the bed. Kageyama nodded and scooted over to give Hinata more room. Soft blankets met Hinata’s hands as he laid down on his stomach, bending his legs at the knee so his sock-covered feet were crossed in the air. His shirt rode up a bit, exposing the waistband of his pants and the small of his back. Kageyama took the time to notice how pale he was before he forced himself to focus on math. They ended up getting most of their answers the same, and if one got a different answer, they’d go back and go through the work to try and figure out where the other went wrong. As they worked, Kageyama noticed them both shifting closer to one another, but Hinata didn’t seem to notice, so he didn’t say or do anything. Hinata was basically a living furnace, Kageyama found. Even though the redhead was still inches away, Kageyama could still feel his body heat.

“Kageyama?” Hinata asked quietly

“Hm?”

“You zoned out for a minute, are you tired?” Hinata looked up at Kageyama who still looked dazed. “I can leave if you want to go to sleep.”

Kageyama shook his head and mindlessly ruffled Hinata’s hair, enjoying the soft feel of it. Hinata scrunched up his face and grinned before getting back to comparing their answers. They completed their math work and began to work on English when Kageyama’s mom called them out for dinner. They took turns washing their hands before sitting down at the table and digging in. Hinata took his time eating, mostly because he had trouble using chopsticks. A spoon and fork were set down in front of him by Kageyama, who eventually got annoyed watching him struggle. Hinata apologized before thanking him, continuing to finish his food.

Later that night, after the dishes were done and the table was clean, Hinata sat cross-legged on his bed, struggling to try and learn how to use chopsticks.

“Scheiße!” Hinata swore in frustration. A larger hand grabbed his out of nowhere, and began positioning his fingers around the plastic. Hinata looked over his shoulder to find Kageyama behind him, then looked to his hand to find it being handled by the same person.

“It’s really not that hard.”

“It really is.”

Chapter Text

Hinata brushed his teeth next to Kageyama, his bare feet stinging cold from the tile. Water droplets from the shower he took earlier dripped from his hair and dropped and dried onto his shirt. After his hair dried partially, he tied it into a small ponytail at the back of his head. As his hair dried, the natural loose curls began to form, and it quickly became disorderly and wild once again. They both finished brushing their teeth and wandered back to their shared room, Kageyama sitting at his desk, and Hinata on his bed. Rustling sounds filled the room as Kageyama pulled out his laptop and plugged his headphones in, along with a notebook and pen. With Kageyama’s O-K, he turned out his bedside light and crawled under his blankets, wrapping his arms around his extra pillow, hugging it tight to his chest.

Kageyama woke up to the dull sound of his alarm under his pillow. He turned it off and sat up, looking towards Hinata’s side of the room. Hinata was sprawled across his bed, covers kicked off of him and partially off the bed. The pale skin of his thigh from his boxers riding up almost melted in with the white of his pillow, which he still managed to keep clutched to his chest after all the apparent thrashing. His shirt was also wrinkled and riding up his stomach, exposing his hipbones. He started humming and rustling around, moving his leg from where it was slung over the pillow.

“Good morning, Kageyama.” Hinata mumbled, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Between his sleepy voice and unusually thick German accent, his Japanese was nearly impossible to understand. His hair was mussed from the ponytail and the thrashing, and he had a red mark from where his face was resting on the pillow.

“Get up, we need to get ready.” Kageyama muttered, avoiding eye contact.

The next few weeks passed, and Hinata’s japanese steadily improved. He got better at controlling his accent, and his pronunciation was better. Every day the pair of teens would walk to school, and every day they would walk back home and do their homework, then compare answers. Chopsticks were still hard on Hinata, but he could get through at least half his meal before giving up. Every night he and Kageyama would brush their teeth together, and sometimes Kageyama took the time to give him chopstick lessons. Every time Kageyama would take Hinata's fingers and wrap them around the plastic, and occasionally he would reach over and adjust the red-heads grip. And every night, without fail, Kageyama sat down at his desk with his computer out and headphones plugged in, with a notebook and pencil next to him.

When late April came and the cherry blossoms began to bloom and fall, Hinata would pick up the fallen flowers on his way to school. and put them into his notebook to press. The flowers had a strange attraction to Hinata, or more specifically, his hair. They would fall and nestle into the curls, pale pink splotches mixing in strands of fire orange.

“Can I take a picture?”
Hinata looked up, pink petals falling from his hair onto his shoulders.

“Of me?”

“Yeah.”

Hinata shrugged and went to brush the flowers out of his hair, but Kageyama immediately grabbed his wrist.

“Leave them.”

Hinata nodded as Kageyama’s grip loosened and eventually disappeared. His hand moved into a pocket of his school bag to grab his phone, pulling it out and opening up his camera. Hinata put on a giant smile, his eyes and nose scrunching. His dark eyelashes fanned out onto his cheeks and his freckles stood out against his pinky pale skin.

“Okay.” Kageyama said, closing his phone and sliding it back into the pocket of his messenger bag. He continued walking and Hinata followed.

“You know, in Germany, we have a holiday for spring. It’s called Maifest. The towns are decorated in colourful fabrics and flowers.” Hinata explained, trying his best to mentally translate ‘Maifest’ into Kana so he could pronounce it in a way Kageyama could understand. It ended up coming out choppy, but Kageyama got the point.

“Natsu used to wear flower crowns to them. They had vendors who would make these beautiful crowns, we would buy her one every year. She used to make me wear one too.” Hinata explained as he watched his feet squash flowers beneath them. He was getting faster with his speaking, though his understanding still got muddled at times.

“Are you going to miss it this year?”

“Yeah, but I won’t miss the drunks.” Hinata laughed. “I made mom promise to send me a crown, though.”

“Hey, remember when you brought my mom flowers?” Kageyama asked, his hand going up to brush against his hair to get the flowers out of it.

“Yeah!” Hinata exclaimed. His German accent had a tendency to come back when he spoke too fast or got excited, and this was one of those times.

“The bouquet didn’t look premade. Did you pick those flowers?” Kageyama asked, his forehead scrunching while he thought back to then.

“I did, were they okay?” Hinata asked, worried Kageyama disliked them.

“I was just wondering why you picked those.”

Hinata internally sighed in relief, happy he didn’t do anything wrong. He thought back to that day, and tried to form his thoughts into words.

“Well, flowers have meanings, you know?” Hinata began, gesturing with his hands. “And I picked out ones I felt fit the situation.”

Hinata looked to Kageyama and hoped he understood him. An expression of understanding took over Kageyama’s face.

“So what did those mean?”

Hinata paused and thought back to the flowers he got.

“Do you remember the red one that looked more like a leaf than a flower? Those are called anthuriums,” He began, once again careful with pronunciation. “Those typically stand for hospitality and happiness. The yellow ones, daffodils, can mean new beginnings, and when in a bunch, also mean happiness. And the alstroemeria, the pinky one, means friendship and prosperity.”

Kageyama just nodded and kept waking with Hinata trailing behind him, making their way to school in silence.

Throughout the day, Hinata got progressively quieter and more tired. Kageyama repeatedly asked him if he was okay, to which Hinata only response was to insist he was fine. He made it through the day, though, but most of his notes ended up in German.

“My brain is too fuzzy to remember kana.” Hinata explained, drawing swirls on his paper lazily. They did their cleaning and left school, Hinata walking slowly and staring at his feet. He tripped a few times, stumbling but never falling. Kageyama quickly took notice of this, and stopped walking to turn around. Hinata stopped too, and looked up at Kageyama to see what the matter was. He felt his hair being pushed up from his forehead and the back of Kageyama’s hand on his head.

“You feel warm.”

“You always say that.”

“Warmer than usual.”

Hinata laughed weakly as Kageyama bent down and had Hinata crawl onto his back. Skinny arms wrapped around Kageyama’s neck as he hooked his arms under Hinata’s legs. Hinata rested his forehead against the side of Kageyama’s neck, muttering small ‘thank you’s’ the entire way back.

Chapter Text

Hinata had his face pressed into Kageyama’s neck the entire way home, and after he felt he n thanked Kageyama enough he began rambling in both German and Japanese.

“Du riechst wirklich gut,” Hinata hummed.

“I don’t speak German.” Kageyama reminded.

“You smell nice.” Hinata corrected himself.

Kageyama rolled his eyes at how out of it Hinata was and readjusted his grip on his thighs.The feeling of Hinata’s breath and eyelashes was something Kageyama got used to, and something he figured he might miss when it was gone. The rest of the way home was silent, as Hinata fell asleep shortly after that half-conversation. The ginger kept his arms wrapped tightly around Kageyama’s neck, but not enough to hinder his breathing. He made his way to the door and managed to support Hinata’s sleeping body with one arm as he unlocked his front door and took his keys out of the knob and immediately brought his hand back to the leg around his waist. Though it was a struggle, Kageyama managed to slip his shoes off while keeping Hinata relatively still. He figured he would deal with Hinata’s shoes later. Kageyama’s mom was on the couch with her feet resting on the coffee table, watching game shows. She went to greet her son but Kageyama immediately put a finger to his lips, and she understood quickly once she noticed the familiar small frame resting on her sons back. She nodded and settled upon waving. Kageyama waved back and led himself to his and Hinata’s shared room, He felt the usual sensation of eyelashes and the tightening of arms around his neck. He heard incoherent German next to his ear and then semi-coherent Japanese, but it had the usual thick accent Hinata had when he just woke up.

“Bed.” Is the one word Kageyama managed to decipher from Hinata’s accented Japanese. He set Hinata down so he could shrug his backpack off before he was begging to be picked back up.

“Your bed is four feet away.”

“Nimm mich hoch!” Hinata whined.

“I still don’t speak German, but I’m not picking you up. You can walk.”

“Bitte?” Hinata continued to whimper, giving Kageyama puppy eyes.

Kageyama irritatedly gave in and lifted the smaller up. He walked two steps and patted the back of Hinata’s legs to signal him to let go. Hinata whined and reluctantly broke away as Kageyama’s hands left the back of his legs. Hinata rested on his bed, sluggishly pulled his blankets up to his chest, his eyelids growing heavy. Kageyama pushed the red hair from his forehead in order to feel if he had a fever, and noticed that he still felt warm. Hinata whispered something in German, which Kageyama didn’t understand. He shook his head to signify he didn’t understand and ruffled Hinata’s hair. He stood up straight again then went to leave to get Hinata some water.

“Nein, Leg dich mit mir hin,” Hinata whimpered, reaching towards Kageyama, and his accent was only growing thicker as he spoke more German and grew more tired.

“I don’t speak German.” Kageyama reminded, growing more irritated with this language barrier. He wasn’t sure if Hinata was using his bilingual abilities just to irritate him and make sure he doesn’t understand what he said, or if he was just using them because he was tired and his native language just came easier.

Hinata took significantly longer to process and respond to what Kageyama had said.

“Lie down next to me.” Hinata spoke slowly as if he carefully planned out every syllable.

“Do you want me to get sick?”

Hinata shook his head and quieted down, watching Kageyama leave the room, then come back moments later with a glass of water. The glass was set down onto the bedside table with a soft thump. Before Kageyama could take his hand fully away Hinata grabbed his wrist and began pulling Kageyama towards him.This is when Kageyama gave in for the second time that day and laid down on next to Hinata, crawling under the blankets with him.

“Are you happy now?”

“Ja,” Hinata smiled, his already rosy cheeks amplified by his slight fever.

“I’m starting to doubt the fact that you’re sick, given you have enough energy to whine, bitch and moan.” Kageyama muttered, shifting so he could be more comfortable.

He ended up with his arm flat under the pillow he was resting, his hand making subtle contact with the edges of Hinata’s hair. Orange contrasted with the tanned skin of Kageyama’s fingers as he twirled a piece of it. Kageyama realised how strange this would look if anyone walked in, two teenaged boys in the same bed, one playing with the others hair as he fell asleep. Hinata moved his legs so his shins made contact with Kageyama’s, and he added that to the mental list of things that someone would find strange if they were to walk in on this. Kageyama felt he owed it to Hinata, though. He noticed how Hinata got frustrated in science when he couldn’t understand what certain words said, and he noticed how Hinata struggled with Kanji. He knew Hinata felt out of place as a short, curly haired ginger with a German accent in the middle of Japan. He decided to try and make Hinata feel more at home, and if this is what made Hinata feel at home, then he’d do it. He may be hesitant, but he’d do it. It may take some convincing, but he’d do it.

When Hinata woke up, his legs were tangled with Kageyama’s and Kageyama’s fingers were loosely threaded in his hair. He noticed Kageyama had since fallen asleep, and since then wrapped his other arm around Hinata’s waist. Kageyama woke up shortly after, his usually calm hair messy and his dark blue eyes dizzy and unfocused. He removed the hand that was around Hinata and rubbed his eyes. He sat up while still keeping their legs intertwined.

“Are you feeling any better?”

His voice was groggy and rough, and his lips were puffy and the same shade of pink as the apples of his cheeks. Hinata took in the sight of sleep-mussed Kageyama and realized he wouldn’t mind waking up to this more often. A gentle pulling sensation came from Hinata's scalp as he sat up and his hair wove it’s way out of Kageyama’s loose grip.

“A little.”

Chapter Text

The cherry blossoms came and went, as did April. Soon May rolled around, and the sound of keys cutting cardboard and tape filled the room as Hinata dug into a package sent from his mom. He opened up the cardboard flaps carefully, looking inside. He pulled out a clearly handmade flower crown, the edges of the flower petals already beginning to wilt. The flowers were in shades of yellow and orange, their stems and leaves still bright green. Hinata put it on and dug out the letter in the box along with a few German sweets. He opened up the letter and the familiar sight of his mother’s stationary and handwriting provided a strong sense of comfort.

“Kageyama,” Hinata called, looking up from the paper to his roommate. Kageyama looked up from his computer, pulling an earbud out.

“Try these.” Hinata held up one of the sweets.

Kageyama got up after taking out his earbuds and closing his computer. and made his way over to where Hinata was sitting, crawling onto his bed and sitting cross legged. Hinata gathered up a small pile of sweets and pushed them near Kageyama before making his way to Kageyama and straddling his lap. Kageyama looked at him with an expression that had confusion written all over it. Crinkling sounds came from candy wrappers as Hinata unwrapped one, holding it up to Kageyama’s lips. He opened his mouth and Hinata gave him the candy.

“Böhme.” Hinata laughed as Kageyama’s face contorted into confusion about the flavours.

“Are these fruit flavoured?” Kageyama asked after he swallowed the caramel.

“Mmhm.” Hinata hummed, picking up the next candy, unwrapping it, then holding it up for Kageyama to try. Kageyama took it into his mouth and was delighted by the familiar flavor.

“Coke?”

Hinata nodded. “Kalfany.” He then popped one into his mouth. Hinata spent the next half hour on Kageyama’s lap, feeding him German candies and laughing at his reactions. At one point, Hinata’s thumb accidentally brushed Kageyama’s bottom lip. Hinata immediately apologized as he flushed red. Kageyama insisted it was fine, his face red too. Hinata gathered up the wrappers and slid out of Kageyama’s lap, walking to their shared garbage can to throw them away. Kageyama followed Hinata with his eyes, ignoring the fact that he could still feel the tip of Hinata’s thumb on his lip.

The next day Hinata and Kageyama made their usual way to school, the feel of summer already beginning in Japan, even though it was still May. It was humid and slightly warm, even though it was early in the morning. Kageyama was walking with his hands in his pockets with Hinata behind him when he felt another hand slide into his pockets, and soon his fingers were interlaced with Hinata’s. Hinata jogged so he’d be walking right next to Kageyama, their hands moving from inside Kageyama’s pocket to between them.

“Remind me why we are doing this?” Kageyama asked, stiffening at the touch.

“It’s common for friends to hold hands in Germany.” Hinata explained, swinging their hands lightly.

Kageyama mentally shrugged it off and felt himself relax, realizing they were on a quiet street and probably will be for a good amount of time. Of course living in Japan and being as young as he was, he’s never held hands before. He experimentally brushed his thumb along Hinata’s knuckles, feeling his hand go stiff then loosen. They held hands until they made it to a busier street, where the strange looks they got caused them to both let go, shoving their hands back into their pockets.

“Hinata, what are you doing over our summer break?” It was still two months away, but Kageyama was still curious.

“I think I’m going back to Germany for the first month, then I’ll be back for the rest.” Hinata spoke slowly, thinking about the phone conversation he had with his mom.

“By the rest, you mean about ten days.”

The school day passed, and they walked back home together with their fingers interlaced, at least once they made it to the quiet streets. Hinata smiled and watched their hands swing between them, the warm air of May making everything feel like home. Kageyama let go of Hinata’s hand once he made it to his front door, pulling his keys out of his bag and unlocking it. He opened the door and allowed Hinata to go inside first before trailing behind him, pulling his shoes off. Hinata walked into their shared room, setting his backpack down on his bed, then laying down, pulling out what he needed to do his homework. His flower crown was set on his bedside table, the petals growing more and more wilted.

“Are you going to miss Japan?” Kageyama asked from his bed, his pencil making scratching sounds against the paper.

“I’m only going to be gone for a month.” Hinata smiled, writing down the next answer on his paper.

“A month is enough time to forget how to use chopsticks or develop an accent again,” Kageyama rambled, erasing a spelling mistake.

“Are you indirectly telling me you’re going to miss me?” Hinata teased.

“Sorry? What was that? I couldn’t understand you, must be your accent.”

Hinata pouted. “My accent isn’t that thick anymore!”

“Hinata, I don’t speak German.” Kageyama continued to push. Hinata got up and rushed to Kageyama, beginning to playfully hit his arm.

“I’m speaking Japanese!”

“Oh, Japanese? Do you need me to teach you?” Quiet slapping sounds rang as Kageyama began to catch Hinata’s hands, pulling at them until they were wrestling on his bed.

“I’m speaking Japanese Kageyama!” Hinata continued to argue, successfully working his way to sitting on Kageyama’s stomach, holding his hands down to keep himself from being pushed off.

“Hinata, for the last time, I don’t speak German!” Kageyama struggled against Hinata, eventually turning them over.

“Are you just trying to get me to give in and speak German? Is that what you want?” Hinata said between laughs as they kept wrestling. The room went silent as Hinata felt his hands being pinned down on either side of his head with Kageyama straddling his hips. The sound of fabric rustling filled their ears as Hinata squirmed under him, his face turning a bright red. He turned his face to the side to avoid looking Kageyama in the eyes. His hands fell from a tight fist into a more relaxed position, despite the fact that Kageyama’s grip was still tight around his wrists, keeping his hands from rising off the surface of the bed.

“Does that imply that you aren’t speaking German right now?” The highlights from the sun in his hair shifted as he tilted his head to fake confusion.

“Kageyama,” Hinata whined, dragging out the ‘a’. He weakly fought back against Kageyama, not trying all that hard as he knew he wouldn’t win.

“What do you want?” He continued to whine, dragging out the vowels. Kageyama slid his hands up from Hinata’s wrists, interlocking their fingers. While Kageyama was distracted by this, Hinata flipped them back over so he was sitting on his upper thighs, letting go of his hands. Kageyama brought one of his newly released hands up to thread into the hair at the back of Hinata’s head, keeping the other one down to keep himself up. The minimal distance between them was enough to make the tips of Hinata’s ears go red. Light brown met dark blue as he made eye contact with Kageyama, his hair being gently tugged from the large hands playing with it. Hinata blinked and looked away, bringing his arms up to sling over broad shoulders, his wrists crossing at the back of Kageyama’s neck. Giggles filled the room as Kageyama brought his forehead to Hinata’s, continuing to play with the loose curls encasing his fingers. Hinata touched their noses together, his eyes fluttering closed as he gave Kageyama lazy eskimo kisses.

“What’s that?” Kageyama asked when Hinata pulled away a little, his voice and eyes soft.

“It’s an eskimo kiss. Do you guys not do that?”

“So, you just kissed me?”

“No Kageyama, It’s just called that.”

“Oh,”

Hinata brought their foreheads back together and was surprised when Kageyama brushed his nose against his own. They were like that for what felt like a while, hands in hair, brushing their noses together. Kageyama was the first to pull away, only to bring his face into Hinata’s neck and gently nuzzle at the skin there, leaving Hinata a blushing, giggling mess.

“Kageyama, you never answered the question as to if you’re going to miss me or not.”

Chapter Text

Hinata and Kageyama made a habit of walking to and from school with their fingers interlocked, letting go when they walked down a busy street, then grabbing back on when they were on a quiet road. Kageyama grew to enjoy the feeling of eskimo kisses, and it wasn’t shocking for one of the pair to wake the other up with one, or, more often, simply greet the other with one. Hinata was a lot shorter, though, so he’d usually have to grip the front of Kageyama’s shirt to get him to bend down while he stood on his tiptoes to meet him halfway. Kageyama’s mother eventually grew used to seeing those types of things, and she even grew to find them endearing. They usually kept it in their bedroom, but on weekends Kageyama would often wake up long before Hinata, which he coped with by coming out of their room with his hair a mess, padding down the hallway in his socks and wandering his way to Kageyama and touching their noses together, rubbing them sleepily.

Usually when she saw sights like these, she found it amusing to tease her son once Hinata was out of the room. “Tobio, this is the first time I’ve seen you come into contact with someone else in years.” and “I haven’t seen you look at anything like that since you were five and that girl in Power Rangers came on screen.”

The days ticked by and as the weather got hotter and more humid, and their school uniforms changed over to their summer style. Hinata turned around to find Kageyama swearing at his tie, failing multiple times at knotting it. He wandered over to Kageyama and stood on his toes, taking both ends of the tie in his hands and knotting it on the first try.

“Can you teach me?” Kageyama asked as Hinata slid the knot up, tightening it just enough so it wasn’t uncomfortable, but still looked presentable. Hinata nodded and dropped the tie, smoothing out the folds of Kageyama’s shirt before dropping back down onto his heels.

Hinata tried his best to teach Kageyama how to knot a tie after school, but every attempt came out not resembling a tie knot at all.

“Kageyama, watch.” Hinata sighed. Kageyama was sitting on his bed with a tie around his neck and Hinata on his knees in front of him.

“Fat over skinny, under, over, under both, up, then under through the loop.” Hinata repeated for what felt like the millionth time, knotting it then undoing it. Kageyama tried again and failed.

“Kageyama must I teach you the way they teach children?”

“If I’m as incompetent as you say I am then you’re going to have to.” Kageyama muttered, growing irritated.

Hinata re-smoothed out the tie. “The rabbit bounded away with the fox snapping at its tail.” He dragged the fatter end of the tie to be a hanging lower than the skinny end.

“Once around the tree, the fox chased the rabbit.” Hinata continued, wrapping the fat end around the skinny tail.

“Twice around the tree they ran.” Hinata repeated the last step, looking up to make sure Kageyama was watching.

“The rabbit scooted under a bush, away from the fox.” He pushed the fat end under the loop around Kageyama’s neck.

“The rabbit got away,” He pulled it completely under the neck loop.

“And dove to safety.” Hinata slid it under the knot loop, tightening it up. Kageyama looked eerily calm, watching Hinata’s hands.

“That made no sense.”

Hinata sighed and gave up, undoing the knot and leaving the tie undone around Kageyama’s neck. He still pushed Kageyama to try though, and after many failed attempts, something that resembled a four-in-hand knot came to light. Even though the steps had to be repeated many times by Hinata, he was still happy Kageyama managed to tie it, even if it was crooked and a little twisted.

“I prefer the way it looks when you tie it.” Kageyama looked at his knot in disgust, pulling at it to undo it.

Every morning since then, Hinata would sling Kageyama’s tie around his neck and knot it quickly. The first few times he tried to get Kageyama to knot it, Kageyama almost purposefully did it wrong just so he could get Hinata to do it. Once, Hinata took the time to tease Kageyama about how he wouldn’t be able to knot his ties over the phone once his time in Japan was over. Kageyama just muttered a half-argument and went to do it himself, but Hinata brushed his hands away. The soft sounds of swishing fabric came and went as he knotted the tie, mumbling the steps under his breath.

“I’ll laugh at you then, not right now.”

In Japan, May was home to pleasant weather. Never too hot but never too cold. As May shifted to June, though, the weather became hot and humid. Insects buzzed to life and much like the flowers, took a liking to Hinata. He was constantly shooing them away while they were outdoors, and begging to while they were indoors. Kageyama almost felt sorry for him, as it seems this is the first humid summer Hinata ever lived through. Usually complaints about the weather wouldn’t arise before mid-July, but Hinata single-handedly broke that norm. Conversations often arose about summers in Germany, but Hinata would just say it was a different kind of hot. Once the fans were broken out, Hinata would spend most of his time perched in front of one, his hair blowing about and getting somehow messier.

Hinata would almost never sleep in anything more than a t-shirt and boxers, and he pushed all his blankets to the side of his bed and just kept his sheets. Even then, he’d usually just kick his sheets off in the middle of the night, overheating quickly. They’d always have their windows open and the fans on, but Hinata still wasn’t having a great time with the weather. Kageyama reminded him that it will only get worse, but Hinata just said that he didn’t want to know.

The buzzing of fans was white noise to Kageyama as he was lying down on his bed, half listening to Hinata’s phone conversation with his mom. He realised those late nights on his computer paid off when he understood bits and pieces of the rapid German Hinata was speaking. He made sure the call was over before addressing Hinata.

“How many days until you leave for Germany?” Kageyama asked, rubbing his eyes.

“Thirty six?” Hinata guessed, running his hands through his hair. Kageyama nodded and the room went silent, save for the buzzing of fans, for a few minutes before Kageyama broke the silence.

“Hey Hinata?”

He hummed in response and turned onto his side to face Kageyama from his bed.

“When is your birthday?” Kageyama asked out of pure curiosity.

“What day is it today?”

“June 15th.” His tone was full of question as he answered the question, unsure of why it was being asked.

“Six days.” Hinata responded, not really processing how soon that was. “At least I’m spending it here. They don’t pour flour on you here, right?” A worried tone took over his voice.

“Six days?”

“Kageyama, answer the question.”

“Why would I pour flour on you? But Hinata, six days.”

Relief took over Hinata’s features as he realized flour wasn’t coming his way. Back home, he’d laugh as he saw his older cousins, schoolmates and friends get doused with flour on their sixteenth birthday, but the thought of being in their shoes never crossed his mind at all, even if he was the one pouring flour on top of their heads. He explained the tradition to Kageyama, who listened even though he seemed confused. Kageyama asked about other birthday traditions, and Hinata recalled and explained a few. The one that really confused Kageyama was the tradition of cracking eggs atop one’s head when they turned eighteen. Hinata just laughed as Kageyama tried to give himself an explanation.

“Are they just trying to bake a cake on your head?” He asked at one point, still confused. Hinata just shrugged his shoulders and continued laughing at Kageyama until they were called down for dinner by Kageyama’s mother. They washed up then sat down for dinner, finishing quickly then washing their dishes. They changed for bed and brushed their teeth before wandering to their room. Hinata felt his face go red as Kageyama leaned down and brushed their noses together, tilting his chin up and prompting the shorter to stand on his toes. He whispered a small ‘goodnight’ before pulling away and crawling into bed.

Chapter Text

“Kageyama, why are we outside, it’s hot.” Hinata whined. Kageyama had shoved him outside, trailing behind him. Complaints quickly turned to high pitched shrieks as Hinata was covered in the flour Kageyama poured on him, white dust blowing about. He turned around and started laughing, his hair and clothes covered in white powder. Kageyama reached into his pocket which had a bag full of flour inside and grabbed a handful, dumping more onto Hinata’s head. They were both covered in flour by the time Kageyama’s supply had run out. Bright white splotches littered their clothes and faces, and Hinata’s hair was almost completely white. Hinata was laughing, the pinks of his cheeks were only exaggerated by the white splotches of flour.

“Happy Birthday.”

Flour littered the floor around them as they wandered back into the house, dropping from their hair and clothes. Hinata showered first as he got the worst of the attack, washing all the flour out of his hair and scalp. Kageyama went next, but he took a shorter amount of time considering he didn’t have a bag of flour dumped on him. While he was in the shower, Hinata wiped down the floors to get rid of the trail of flour they left. He had just finished wiping it down when Kageyama’s mother entered the room. Over the three months he’s been staying in their home, she and Hinata shared little conversations. She was more than kind to him, they just had nothing to converse about. This time, though, she addressed him.

“Happy Birthday Hinata.” She spoke sweetly, her face and eyes kind and welcoming. He thanked her and apologised for the mess, which she wasn’t bothered by, especially since he cleaned it.

“I have to ask, why the flour?” Hinata laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. He explained the tradition to her and how he told Kageyama about it.

“I suppose he remembered.” He concluded, shrugging as the water shut off from the bathroom. The conversation wrapped up and he left to go back to his room and check his phone. He had a missed call from his mom and decided to call her back, holding his phone to his ear. It rang twice before she was shouting birthday wishes in his ear.

“Danke Mama! Entschuldigung, ich habe deinen Anruf verpasst. ” He laughed. “"Kageyama hat mich tatsächlich mit Mehl beschüttet!"

“Oh, sorry, Kageyama ist mein Mitbewohner.”

The conversation went on as Hinata laid back on his bed, watching as Kageyama entered the room with his hair still dripping. Kageyama gestured for Hinata to scoot over, which he did even though he was unsure why. They were both laying on their backs next to each other while Hinata stayed on his phone, continuing to talk with his mom. Getting bored of looking around the room and listening in on Hinata’s conversation which he only understood so much of, Kageyama reached down to the space between them and laced his fingers with those on Hinata’s free hand. He felt Hinata’s hand go stiff and hesitate before allowing his fingers to lace with Kageyama’s.

“Ja Mama, ich bin immer noch da,” He managed to get through the sentence, despite tripping in the middle.

Hinata didn’t know why, but for the past week or so he’d get flustered when Kageyama touched him, especially out of nowhere like this. He didn’t understand why he wasn’t flustered when they slept together or when he sat on Kageyama’s lap, and he really didn’t understand why his ears would sting red and his eyes wouldn’t meet Kageyama’s when he would lean down and touch their noses together, or why he would stutter when Kageyama talked to him, especially when he just woke up with his hair a mess and his lips puffy.

“30 Tage.” Responded Hinata, finally tuning back into the conversation just as Kageyama ran his thumb across his knuckles.

“Ja, ich liebe dich mama! Tschüss.”

Clicking sounded as Hinata ended the call and exited out of the calling app. He swiped back and forth between the pages of his home screen before shutting his phone off and setting it down.

“Kageyama?” Hinata asked, remembering to switch accents to the best of his ability. HIs voice was quiet and he had to listen closely, but Kageyama responded by squeezing his hand to tell Hinata he had his attention.

“Can we video chat while I’m in Germany?”

Hinata busied himself looking at their hands, his own being encased by Kageyama’s.

“Why wouldn’t we? I want to hear your accent come back.”

A smile took over Hinata’s face, his nose scrunching and his cheeks getting rosier. He promised his accent wouldn’t come back and that he’d try to call every day to prove so.

That night after they finished their dinner, Kageyama’s mom shut off the lights and brought out a cake with sixteen candles stuck in it, their flames casting shadows onto anything near them. Hinata covered his face with his hands and recited ‘thank you’s’, his ears and neck burning red. Fine trails of smoke rose from the wicks as he blew them out and Hinata’s dark eyelashes were clumped together with happy tears that never made it past his lower lashes. They each ate a small slice of cake then helped wrap up the rest and wash and dry the dishes, Hinata doing the washing and Kageyama the drying. Soap bubbles floated about and wound up on the tips of Hinata’s curls, which served as a distraction to everyone but himself. Stopping what he was doing, Kageyama grabbed Hinata’s shoulders and turned him, leaning down to pick out the clumps of foam from his hair. Hinata just let it happen, looking down at the floor as his face turned red.

After they finished cleaning and they had changed, Hinata crawled onto his bed and plugged his phone in, fiddling about on it and scrolling through all his accounts, responding to all the birthday wishes with excessive exclamation points and heart emotes. He clicked his phone off and turned onto his stomach facing Kageyama, his chin in his hands and his legs crossed in the air. Kageyama was curled in his desk chair, chewing idly on the skin next to his nails.

“Kageyama?”

He hummed but didn’t look up from his book, turning a page.

“Thank you.”

Chapter Text

Hinata’s nervousness around Kageyama only worsened with the passing of June. They would still hold hands and give each other eskimo kisses, but Kageyama usually initiated things, and Hinata was usually left a hesitant, red-faced mess. Hinata’s mom was very confused when he brushed her off and asked to talk to Natsu. Kids possess simpler minds as they are still trying to piece together the world, and they do so in a way that’s easy for them to process. He greeted her happily before moving on to his pending question, speaking nervously into the phone, worried that Kageyama somehow gained bilingual abilities (as he called it).

“Natsu,Warum ist man so nervös, wenn man mit jemandem zusammen ist, den man sehr gern hat?”

Kageyama caught the words ‘like’ and ‘nervous’, but it took him a little bit to mentally translate it.
He found no meaning to them though and figured if Hinata was talking in German he wasn’t supposed to understand it, even more so when he was talking to someone of his family.

The day Hinata was set to leave grew closer and closer, and his phone rang more and more with his mother on the other end, making sure his plans were set and that he was still coming as arranged. Kageyama quickly learned the phrase ‘Ja,mama.’ just from the amount of times Hinata said it. His things steadily got packed up until the only things left were his school books and supplies and a few shirts and pairs of boxers and shorts. On the day they were let out for their forty day summer break, Kageyama insisted on holding his hand the entire way back home, even through the busy streets. In fact, as soon as they left the front gate of the school he grabbed onto Hinata’s hand, even though he was still talking to his friends, which he referred to as Suga and Daichi, who were staring at their laced fingers. They were both really friendly and welcoming to Hinata when he first came, and they made sure to help him with whatever they needed. Kageyama would often insist that Suga was being too motherly, but Daichi would rush to defend him. While they were staring at the pair Hinata was just standing awkwardly, staring at his feet while clutching onto Kageyama’s hand. They exchanged their goodbyes and Kageyama led Hinata back home.

Once inside and in their room, Kageyama looked at Hinata and noticed his eyelashes were clumped together and wet and his eyes were tinted pink and puffy. Wiping away the leftover tears with his thumb, Kageyama lifted his face up and touched their foreheads together. Hinata was sniffling with scrunched eyes. He was first to pull away, but only to wrap his arms around Kageyama’s waist and pull himself closer. He breathed in to calm himself down, but only inhaled the faint smell of mint, which he knew that he’d miss more than anything.

Hinata sniffed and pulled away, wiping at what was left of his tears with the back of his hands. A smile broke out onto his face and he began laughing, his voice still watery and eyes still red.

He finished packing up his things as Kageyama watched. He wasn’t leaving until tomorrow, but he didn’t feel like packing last minute. Prepared was something he usually wasn’t, but this time he managed to have all his alarms set and bags packed. When they were called down for dinner, they both just picked at their food until they were excused. They washed up and wandered back into their bedroom. Hinata spent most of the evening playing on his phone, texting his friends back in Germany and scrolling through whatever feed he could.

When it came time for them to go to bed, instead of crawling into his own bed, Kageyama asked if he could sleep with Hinata. After gaining permission, he crawled under the sheets next to him, laying down on his back.

“Can you promise to call or text every day?” Hinata asked quietly. He was turned onto his side to face the other, his hands tucked under his face.

“I promise.”

Kageyama woke up first, as always, but this time his arms were wrapped around Hinata, who had his face pressed into his chest. Orange curls wove their way around Kageyama’s fingers as he ran his fingers through Hinata’s hair. It was soft to the touch and it smelled faintly like strawberries. Hinata unconsciously tightened his hold around Kageyama and mumbled in his half-sleep. Until Hinata’s phone alarm rang, Kageyama spent his time running his fingers through his hair and up and down the curve of his spine and waist.

The sound of a phone alarm rang through the otherwise quiet room and Hinata stirred awake. He made quick eye contact with Kageyama before feeling his face turn red and pulling himself from Kageyama’s loose hold to find his phone that was buried in the blankets.

When it was time for Hinata to leave for the airport, he first said goodbye to Kageyama’s mother, then to Kageyama himself, though most of the goodbye was spent by Hinata promising to call. Kageyama just nodded and watched his mom out of his peripheral vision. He leaned down and gave him a quick eskimo kiss before pulling away. Kageyama’s mother was watching the pair with a fond look on her face.

Hinata slid his way into the cab, thanking the driver and telling him where to go. He felt his phone buzz dully in his back pocket, taking it out and sliding the notification to unlock it, reading the name at the top of the screen before he read the message, and as soon as the two connected a smile broke across his face.

“Have a safe flight, Skype me when you can.”

Chapter Text

Flights from Japan to Germany were not only expensive, they were long and uncomfortable. Hinata was lucky enough to get a window seat so he had a wall to sleep against, but that’s about it. He kicked off his shoes and covered himself in his blanket and tucked the pillow he received between his head and the wall. He missed Germany more than anything, but he knew he was going to miss Japan, and by Japan he meant his friends, and by his friends he meant Kageyama. Pushing that thought out of his mind and pulling his legs close to his chest, Hinata plugged his headphones into his phone then popped them into his ears, hoping to eliminate the possibility of the person next to him starting a conversation. It didn’t matter which language the hypothetical conversation would be in, Hinata didn’t want to participate.

Back home, Kageyama and his mom were sitting next to each other in silence, just staring ahead. Since school was let out, Kageyama had no idea what to do. He already missed Hinata and his lively personality, and he thought back to the time he thought that he wouldn’t miss him, and the time where he thought he’d be begging for his departure. He didn’t think he’d be spending his summer vacation sitting with his mom, sniffing and rapidly blinking and checking his phone in hopes eleven hours passed in one. Leaning onto his mom’s shoulder, they were an odd sight. Before Hinata left for break, his mom would tease him relentlessly about how attached Kageyama has gotten and how glad she is her son now has ‘someone to care for.’ She usually only said these things while Hinata was out of the room, which Kageyama was grateful for, even though he didn’t fully understand what it meant himself.

Hours later, the plane finally landed in Berlin, and Hinata’s mom and Natsu were waiting for him. Natsu was the first to fling herself onto Hinata, shortly followed by his mom. Hinata kissed their cheeks in greeting and lifted Natsu up onto his shoulders.

“Hey Hinata!” Natsu called, holding onto his hair as she was carried. Hinata hummed to let her know he was listening.

“Remember when you called to talk to me?”

Anxiety rushed through him as he remembered, and he hoped and prayed she wouldn’t say anything embarrassing in front of his mom. His mom was a very kind person who always had open arms and a full plate. The neighborhood kids would love to come over and play with Natsu and eat homemade sweets and snacks. While she was an absolute sweetheart who everyone adored, she had a terrible habit of embarrassing her son and she would find every way to do so.

“Yeah. What about it Natsu?”

“Who was it about? Mom! Hinata likes someone!”

Hinata scrambled to talk over Natsu’s shrieks, but they didn’t escape his mother’s ears.

“Hinata! Who is it? Is it a Japanese girl? Is she pretty?” She teased, but Hinata could tell she wanted answers. Natsu was also asking questions, and he struggled to keep up. He knew Germany was a liberal country for the most part, and he knew that his mom wouldn’t care if the Japanese girl she was envisioning was actually a Japanese guy, but he didn’t feel like having that talk at the time.

“Sorta.” He answered vaguely.

“When can we meet her?” Natsu and his mom both asked.

Hinata just stayed quiet and stared at his feet as they walked down to the parking area, his cheeks, ears and neck burning red.

Kageyama was laying in bed with his face pressed against his pillow when he felt his phone buzz. He lifted himself up and checked his phone, and the brightness stung his eyes. He turned it down before sliding the notification, heart rate picking up at the sight of the name.

“Hello from Germany!”

He saw the text and part of him was died of happiness, and part of him realised that this text was just a confirmation of just how far apart they were. Less than twenty four hours into the forty days, and Kageyama’s chest already felt like it was caving in. He missed the smell of strawberries and sunlight, he missed the softness of his hair and skin. Overall he missed all the things he liked about Hinata, and this realisation lead to the realisation that he liked Hinata in general. One thing after another clicked, then he thought back to his mom’s relentless teasing, then he realised his mom knew before he did, then he felt like a complete headass. He ignored that feeling though and decided to text Hinata back so he didn’t leave him on read.

“Greetings from Japan.”

He saw the three dots flashing in the corner of the app and watched as they disappeared then reappeared over and over, until a message came out of it.

“Can we skype?”

Kageyama typed a quick reply and fished his computer out of the space next to his bed, opening it up and logging into both his computer and skype. He clicked on the video camera next to Hinata’s name and waited as the screen filled with blue. He saw a blur of orange and Hinata appeared, sitting cross legged in front of his computer with his finger on the mousepad. The first thing he noticed was the oversized hoodie that hung off Hinata’s shoulder that looked a lot like his.

“Is that my hoodie?” Kageyama asked, ignoring how his brain turned to static at the sight of his clothes hanging off Hinata.

Hinata flushed red and looked down, realising the sweatshirt he was wearing was not his own.

“I think I accidentally grabbed it when I was packing.” Pulling the sleeves over his hands and gripping the excess tightly, he waited for Kageyama’s reaction, hoping he wouldn’t be mad.

“Oh.” Kageyama muttered, pretending to not see how the neckline slid off his shoulder and how his collarbone was exposed.

“It still smells like you.” Hinata whispered, looking down at his lap.

Kageyama heard him say something but couldn’t tell what it was. Electing to ignore it, he steered the conversation in another direction.

“How was the flight?”

“Long.” Hinata laughed, covering his mouth. High pitched and muffled German came from somewhere Kageyama couldn’t see, and soon a small child who looked exactly like a tiny version of Hinata came on screen, making herself at home on Hinata’s lap.

“Wer ist das?” She asked, staring at the screen.

“Sein Name ist Kageyama.” Hinata explained. Kageyama waved and watched as she waved back.

“Hallo.” Kageyama spoke, smiling at just how small she was. He understood an amount of what she was saying, but responding turned into a struggle.

“Hinata mag jemanden und er will mir nicht sagen, wer es ist.” Hinata shrieked at Natsu, blushing violently and telling her that Kageyama doesn’t speak German. He instantly shut up and felt his brain implode with possibilities and thoughts when he heard broken German come from his computer speakers.

“Ich weiß es nicht, aber ich werde es wissen dich lassen, wenn ich es herausfinde.”

“When did you learn to speak German?” Hinata yelled in Japanese, taken aback by Kageyama’s newfound bilingual abilities. Even though his German was broken and mispronounced, Hinata still understood what he was getting at. Natsu tried her best to mimic what Hinata said, but it sounded more like some weird lovechild language between German and really bad Japanese. Hinata repeated it slowly, watching Natsu try and mimic the unfamiliar sounds.

“She sounds like how you used to sound.” The pair was back to Japanese, as Kageyama’s German had run out.

“Shut up! Languages are hard!” Hinata yelled defensively, then he told Natsu off in German for attempting to repeat that. Natsu was confused about all the languages around her, and she demanded Hinata to tell her what they said. Hinata only did so once in awhile, and he and Kageyama laughed at how bad her attempted Japanese was.

When Natsu left to get ready for bed, Hinata and Kageyama were still talking. The time difference had Hinata worried sick when he realised it, as it was nearing in on 4AM for Kageyama, but it was only eight for him. While he was still on Japan time and was exhausted, he was still more worried about Kageyama.

They were both laying in bed, their laptops in front of them casted blue light onto their faces as they whispered sleepy conversations, Hinata’s usual sleepy German accent coming back. They both fell asleep on skype, and the call disconnected after a few hours.

Chapter Text

Kageyama’s sleep schedule was wrecked beyond repair, but it didn’t matter to him. In theory, they could talk while it was still daytime for both of them, but Kageyama preferred to skype at night so they could fall asleep together, as he was adjusted to Germany time anyways. Though this took years off Hinata’s life because he was so worried about Kageyama and him getting the right amount of sleep.

After waking up to find his computer had died, Hinata left his room after plugging it in to go to the kitchen and sitting cross legged at the table for breakfast. He thanked his mom as she set down a cup of coffee for him, and stretched his hands out to reach it. He held the warm mug in both hands and admired how she still remembered exactly how to make his coffee.

“Hinata, that sweatshirt is way too big and you have been wearing it for days. Where did you even get it?” His mom fussed, scooping more food onto Natsu’s plate and wiping her face.

“It’s my roommate’s.” Hinata mumbled, tugging on the neck so it wasn’t hanging off his shoulder.

“Also, who have you been talking to at night? Is it that girl you have still yet to tell me about?” She continued. “I can tell the difference between German and Japanese, and you aren’t speaking German.”

“He’s talking to Kageyama!” Natsu butted in.

“So you talk to your roommate every night, seemingly until you fall asleep, and you’re wearing his hoodie, which you refuse to take off for an hour while I wash it,” She listed, watching for her son’s reaction. Hinata just stuttered in a failed attempt to defend himself.

“Pretty close for a pair of roommates.” She teased. She tried to keep a serious façade but the smile creeping onto her face let Hinata know she was just playing.

“Let him know I want grandkids.” Nonchalance was evident in her voice as she sipped her coffee.

“It’s not like that!” Hinata whined, his ears burning. “Even if it was, you still have Natsu to give you grandkids!”

“Is Kageyama your boyfriend?” Natsu asked, confusion evident in her face as her eyes flicked back and forth between her brother and her mom.

“No, Natsu.”

“Do you want him to be?”

“I’m not answering that question.”

That answer only provoked more accusations and questions which Hinata tried his best to avoid, but that only prompted more accusations and questions.

“Have you guys kissed?” Natsu asked, she and her mom laughing as Hinata crossed his arms on the table and hid his face there, wishing for the floor to just swallow him whole. He didn’t want them to take that as a ‘yes’, though so he told them otherwise. Before they could ask any more embarrassing questions, he grabbed his coffee and left the kitchen.

Two of the four weeks passed and Kageyama grew used to falling asleep with Hinata over skype. Though, he usually forced himself to fall asleep after Hinata due to some protective instinct. Even then, the skype calls just served as another reminder that Hinata wasn’t there with him. Sleeping next to a computer with a call going between them going wasn’t the same. The computer wouldn’t allow Kageyama to feel Hinata’s warm breath on his skin. Skype wouldn’t let him feel Hinata’s legs shifting and rubbing against his, and texting wasn’t going to replace the feeling of Hinata’s eyelashes against his neck no matter how much he hoped and prayed it would.

His mom had a field day when Kageyama came out about liking Hinata. He stated that he liked someone, and she listened carefully, a sly and knowing smile on her face. He then explained that it was a guy and not a girl, then she asked if it was Hinata. Kageyama flushed red and looked at the floor before swallowing and nodding.

“You aren’t subtle, Kageyama. The way you look at him gives it all away.”

She then became a little more serious, and she asked if he liked guys exclusively, and Kageyama said that he didn’t know. Accepting that answer, she told him to be safe. That phrase rang through Kageyama’s head, as he didn’t know what she meant by that. She could have meant in a sexual way, but she also could have meant in social way. Kageyama just promised he would stay safe, and thanked her for listening.

That night he got a phone call from Hinata, and he knew right away that something was off. His words were slurred and his Japanese was mixed with German. Giggling sounded from his phone speaker and he heard the hissing of a can opening, then he remembered the drinking age in Germany, And after that realisation, he remembered Hinata’s age.

Hinata was drunk, and Hinata was calling him.

“Hinata where are you right now?” Kageyama asked, panic surging through him.

“Home!” Hinata giggled and rustling of fabric sounded as he rolled around his bed. His face was flushed red and he felt light and airy.

Kageyama was relieved to know that Hinata wasn’t out and that he was home and safe.

“Kageyama?” He began, downing half of his beer before continuing.

“Ich bin in dich verliebt!” Hinata giggled, not registering what he said until the words were long past his lips. He quickly remembered that he said that in German, and his alcohol impaired brain forgot that Kageyama had learned a bit of German. It wasn’t like he didn’t plan to confess to Kageyama, he planned it long and hard, but the thought made him queasy and he decided to drink to help him calm down. One drink turned into five and here he was, drunk calling Kageyama and confessing in a language he was pretty sure Kageyama didn’t understand.

Kageyama was quiet as he mentally translated what Hinata said, whispering the words as he searched through his brain to remember what each word translated to.

‘I’m in love with you.’

Fluttering heartbeats rang through both of their ears, Hinata’s from adrenaline and Kageyama’s from shock.

“I really like you.” Hinata whispered, this time in Japanese. His face was flushed red from both embarrassment and the alcohol. He heard Natsu yelling faintly in the back and Hinata yelling back, swearing in German.

“Hinata?” Kageyama whispered back, his brain short circuiting.

“I think I’m in love with you too.”

Hinata wasn’t going to remember this in the morning. That conversation would end up as something he thought he made up, something that happened in an embarrassing dream. Kageyama knew that. Confessions meant nothing when the other was drunk. One of them would remember and dwell on it, the other would live never knowing.

Too bad Hinata didn’t forget things when he was sober, and he didn’t forget things when he was drunk either.

But he was good at pretending.

A week passed by and Kageyama was still dwelling on what Hinata said. Hinata seemed to have forgotten, as he still talked to him in the same light cheery tone and they still fell asleep together on skype, but it hurt more. Kageyama got to watch Hinata fall asleep peacefully, not dwelling on anything. He was so busy pondering over that conversation he didn’t realise Hinata was coming back in a week.

He was so busy trying to remember the tone of his voice he didn’t realise Hinata was coming back in three days.

He was so busy looking at the pictures he took of Hinata he didn’t hear his mom leave to pick Hinata up at the airport.

Rolling suitcase wheels sounded through the hallways, and Kageyama was too busy staring at the ceiling to notice them. He noticed when he heard his door open though, and he sure as hell noticed when Hinata flung himself onto him, burying his face into Kageyama’s neck and inhaling deeply. Their chests were pressed together, Kageyama’s arms around his waist and Hinata’s around his neck. Orange curls tickled Kageyama’s nose and cheeks, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care because the scent of strawberries was back, he didn’t care because he could feel Hinata’s thighs against his, and he didn’t care because Hinata’s eyelashes were fluttering against his neck. He didn’t care because he had everything he missed.

Hinata pulled away but was instantly pulled back in, Kageyama’s hand cupping his cheek and his thumb dragging across his bottom lip. Blue eyes met his before flickering down to his lips, then meeting his again as if asking permission. Hinata’s stomach flipped as he realised what Kageyama wanted, and it flipped again as he realised that he wanted it too.

Their lips met slowly, Kageyama’s hand moving from Hinata’s waist down to his thigh, tracing patterns on it with his thumb. Hinata smiled into the kiss, his eyes half closed and his fingers woven into Kageyama’s hair. They broke apart and pressed their foreheads together, smiling and leaning into each other’s touches.

“I missed you.” Hinata whispered as he ran his hands through Kageyama’s hair before pressing another kiss to his lips. Those words only reminded Kageyama of how long they spent apart, and he instantly moved to lay them down and flip them over so Hinata was under Kageyama.

For so long he had resisted pressing kisses onto every inch of Hinata’s skin, but now he had no reason to hold back.

Happy sighs and giggles left kiss-red lips as he tilted his head back so Kageyama could press more kisses to his neck and collarbones which were exposed due to Kageyama’s hoodie that was way too big on him.

Having Hinata back was all Kageyama wanted, and having him under him giggling and letting him press kisses all over his face and neck. He worked his way up his neck and cheeks before pressing one last slow and careful kiss to Hinata’s lips.

“I missed you too.”

Chapter Text

They never labeled what they had, they just knew they wanted to be together in every way. Holding hands because friends did it back in Germany faded into holding hands because they wanted to feel closer to each other. Sitting down together when at home went from keeping a minimum of six inches apart to Hinata snuggling into Kageyama’s side, his head resting on Kageyama’s shoulder and Kageyama’s hand holding his waist. Sharing beds was normal and they’d get into petty fights over whose bed they were sleeping in that night. Those fights always ended in Kageyama kissing Hinata to shut him up, which Hinata never objected to.

The first time they said “I love you”, not including the time that Hinata was drunk, Kageyama initiated it. It was late at night and their lips were crashing together like waves on a beach, all breathy sighs and whimpers being swallowed up by kisses. Hands in hair and legs around waists were all they knew, their cheeks and lips red. Their lips parted as they paused to catch their breath, and the sight left Kageyama weak. Hinata’s eyes were glazed over and dark, his cheeks and ears flushed as pink as his lips, which were shiny and kiss swollen. The sight made Kageyama just want to kiss him more, so he did.

“I love you,” Kageyama breathed against Hinata’s lips before kissing him again. Hinata arched off the bed, their chests pressed together as Hinata pulled himself closer and deepened the kiss. Kageyama gently bit on Hinata’s bottom lip and swallowed the whimper that followed, running the tip of his tongue along the place he had bitten. Hinata pulled away so their lips were less than inches apart and lifted his heavy eyelids, his eyelashes fluttering as he shyly looked into Kageyama’s eyes.

“I love you too.”

Sharing clothes was also something they did a lot, but it was mostly Hinata stealing Kageyama’s shirts and jackets and Kageyama absolutely melting at the sight. Hinata’s mom picked up on this, and every time Hinata skyped her she called him out on wearing clothes that were too big. She would fuss that Kageyama would have no clothes left, but both Hinata and Kageyama would insist that it was fine. Kageyama didn’t easily get flustered, but when Hinata’s mom asked her son if she was going to get grandkids while Kageyama was in the room, he was red faced and stuttering in both broken German and fluent Japanese, trying to come up with a response. Hinata just shrieked and apologised as he looked ready to cry of embarrassment.

Leaving love bites on Hinata was another thing Kageyama loved doing, especially when it came to the reactions he gave. Kageyama would trail kisses down from Hinata’s jaw to his neck, starting off with small presses of his lips then graduating onto soft open mouth kisses, dragging his bottom lip along his neck. Hinata would sigh and tilt his head back for more, his fingers threading into Kageyama’s hair and tugging lightly. He’d arch his back and whimper when Kageyama began to bite and suck, leaving bruises he’d have to cover later. Due to school he’d have to leave them lower, but that was less than a problem. Inner thighs and hips were Kageyama’s areas of choice, and Hinata objecting was unheard of.
Going out with Suga and Daichi on weekends was always eventful, especially the first few times after Kageyama and Hinata got together. They saw them holding hands, which was usual, but when they picked up on the lingering touches and glances along with Hinata wearing a hoodie they swore was Kageyama’s, everything clicked. They teased Kageyama relentlessly but praised Hinata endlessly for getting Kageyama to open up and show a caring side.

Kageyama’s mother was beyond excited to see her son and Hinata asleep on the couch, Hinata lying on top of Kageyama with his face nuzzled into his neck, Kageyama’s arm around Hinata’s waist. She took a picture on her phone which she never told Kageyama about, but she wanted to remember when her son wasn’t cold and distant, when he was soft and welcoming. When he looked at someone with so much love in his eyes, it was overwhelming. Watching him melt into touches and kiss Hinata’s cheeks and lips in the morning and smile at his giggles made her realise her son was genuinely in love, and the thought was heartwarming.

Hinata would never admit it out of embarrassment, but he loved sitting on Kageyama’s lap. He loved straddling him and holding Kageyama’s face between his hands, running his thumb across his lips and pressing kisses to his nose, giving him eskimo kisses and giggling against his lips. The secure feeling of Kageyama’s hands gripping his thighs had him weak every time. Kageyama would be lying if he said his hands didn’t occasionally drift upwards, and Hinata would be lying if he said it didn’t bring butterflies to his stomach which worked their way up his throat and escaped in a happy sigh.

Every day closer to March was another day closer to Hinata going back to Germany for good. The topic was avoided at all costs, as when it wasn’t it left one of the pair misty eyed at the thought of losing the person they loved so much. Kageyama knew that in just a few months he’d be back to sleeping alone, that his bed would lose the scent of sun and strawberries. He knew he’d have no one to kiss good morning and goodnight. Sleepy German accents and soft freckled skin wouldn’t be his anymore. Hinata was well aware he’d have to leave soon, and he knew Kageyama was well aware of that too.

He felt Kageyama growing distant especially as his departure date grew closer, but then he’d come back again. Touches didn’t linger and kisses were far too short. He’d look away when he saw Hinata wearing his clothes, blue eyes lingering on everything but him. But then a week later he’d be holding Hinata like he was slipping away, he’d kiss him like they were a couple being separated by war. Love bites and back scratches alike, they wanted to feel each other in every way.

The day before Hinata was set to leave Kageyama hugged him from behind while Hinata was packing and pressed a soft kiss to his neck, his eyelashes tickling Hinata’s jaw. Blurry feelings lead to blurry vision and tears fell from his eyes onto Kageyama’s hair. Kageyama let go and Hinata turned around and wrapped his arms around his neck, nuzzling his jaw and leaving small butterfly kisses. They stood like that for a while, Hinata sniffling and crying and Kageyama rubbing his back and pressing light kisses to whatever skin he could reach. They wound up laying down on Hinata’s bed and kissing away each other’s tears and pressing lazy kisses against each other’s lips. Rubbing soft patterns and circles into skin, Kageyama tried his hardest to ignore the fact that this was their last night together.

---

It was ten at night and Hinata was getting ready for bed when a familiar ringtone sounded from his phone. He hadn’t heard it in months, and he felt both panic and admiration surge through his veins. He picked it up and lifted to his ear, trying to regulate his breathing. Kageyama’s voice rang through the speaker, but something was off. His voice was watery and his breathing was uneven, and every word was separated by a quick sniff. It was six in the morning in Japan, and Hinata realised he was bound to be getting ready for school.

“What was that story about the fox and the rabbit again?”

Chapter Text

He still remembers the night he got home, feeling intense joy from seeing his family again. He ate dinner happily after the long flight, then went up to his room to try to unpack. The sweets he brought home for Natsu and his friends were tossed onto his desk. The toiletries he needed for his shower at the edge of his bed. Clothes were a tomorrow problem, but he still sifted through to find something to wear to sleep at night.

His fingers shook as he started to recognise patterns that werenʻt his, sizes that werenʻt his. They didnʻt belong to him.

He kicked his suitcase shut and rummaged through whatever he left at home, his least favourite boxers and his middle school t-shirts being the better option.

Against his will his year in Japan never left him. It was always a topic of conversation, but his family and friends came to know better than to bring up certain aspects. Food was safe. School was iffy. Host family was off-limits.

He turned eighteen and his friends cracked eggs on his head. He was laughing and screaming as the whites dripped down onto his shoulder. 

“Are they trying to bake a cake on your head?” A familiar Japanese voice rang through his head.

He tried not to let his expression sour, grabbing at some of the whites and tossing them back at his friends.

-

“God, it's like we canʻt even bring up Germany as a whole. Anything German and Kageyama getʻs all pissy,” Suga complained, his head tipping back with his hands in his pockets as they walked down the busy streets.

“Kageyama itʻs not Germanyʻs fault that your bo-” Daichi started before being cut off by the angriest exclamation they had ever heard out of the younger.

Since then it was a silent agreement to not bring up anything German. 

He turned eighteen and there were no eggs cracked onto his head.

University applications came and went. Soon he found himself taking trains to his university every day, going through classes and studying at whatever restaurants and cafes he could find. 

Finals had just ended and he found himself taking a train up to meet recently graduated Suga and Daichi up in their university town. They met him at the station and drove him back to their apartment, joking about how old they had all gotten the entire way back. They managed to convince Kageyama to come with them to a local bar, encouraging him to put on something nice and actually enjoy himself for once. He brushed them off but still dug into his duffle bag to put on an outfit and head out with the pair.

A couple split bottles of soju later Suga and Daichi were having entirely too much fun chatting with other strangers at the bar and roping them into a terrible game of never-have-i-ever. Kageyama participated until all his fingers were down and then excused himself to go get another round of drinks. 

He slid onto a barstool and scanned one of the taped-down menus that was left on the bar, trying to figure out what he could afford and what they would want. It was when he looked up to catch the attention of one of the bartenders when he saw it, fire orange. He confirmed it was true before he got up to leave, but clearly he wasnʻt quick enough.

Accented Japanese, “What can I grab you, Tobio?”

“I donʻt speak German.” He responded without thinking. 

“No need to lie,” The other retorted, this time in German.

Accented German, “Just get me 5 shots of sake.” 

Kageyama promised Suga heʻd meet them back at the apartment, he had to get a drunken Daichi home and their tabs were still open. They had left and he was back in the barstool, signing receipts and watching the German boy that ruined his life wipe down glasses a few feet from him out of his peripheral vision. 

Hinata was doing the same to him.

He took out his phone and opened it up, sending a quick text. 

“Change of plans. Iʻll see you guys tomorrow.”

No conversation was needed, they ended up stumbling into Hinata's tiny apartment, hands in each others hair and gasping at each other's breath, barely taking their shoes off before diving back into each other, pushing each others clothes up to touch any skin they could reach until they crashed down onto Hinataʻs bed, Kageyamaʻs fingers getting lost in a mess of curls and contrasting against the pale skin of his stomach.

Strawberries. Everything smelled like strawberries.

Hinataʻs lips were pink and swollen, shiny from spit as he gasped for breath, staring up at the man above him. Kageyama stared down at him before diving back in, just like they did all those years ago. 

Kageyama woke up to a tangle of sheets and limbs, Hinataʻs legs tangled with his hands pressed to the skin of his torso and chest. He peeled his hands off of Hinataʻs skin and slipped out of his bed, scanning the floor for his clothes and sliding on his boxers.

He had made it to the kitchen and was halfway through a glass of water when he felt his body being shoved slightly to face another way and his shirt being pulled down by the neck. Then, soft skin rubbing against his nose. Eskimo kisses.

Accented German. “Ich bin in dich verliebt.” 

Accented Japanese. “Still?” 

A wordless nod, their noses stop rubbing and their foreheads meet.

“Iʻm still in love with you too.”