The Sun with A False Eternity

A Minute of Peace

  Soft.

Kageyama's hand rubbed over something soft. He couldn't quite figure out what it was, so he kept stroking the texture. It was oddly rough, but still pleasant to touch.

What is this stuff? He opened his eyes and nearly jumped. It took him a couple seconds to remember where he was as he wildly looked around.

Oh right, the tree. He came to the conclusion after a moment. He tried to reach up his left hand to rub sleep out of his eyes, only for it to get caught on something. He looked down and flinched, shocked. How did this happen?

His hand was caught in a few strings of messy ginger hair which belonged to nobody other than the person Kageyama must have fallen asleep next to. Hinata was curled up sideways, with his head resting on the setter's left leg. He had his face turned away from Kageyama, but the setter could tell from his breathing pattern that the boy was still asleep.

In his dreamlike state, Kageyama had begun to stroke his friend's hair, running his fingers through it methodically. The act hadn't woken the boy up, but Kageyama still felt awkward about it. He was about to retract his hand, intent on getting out of the uncomfortable situation, when Hinata twitched and Kageyama froze. He sat his hand back down and the other teen settled instantly.

Well this is odd. Of all the things Kageyama had been expecting to do after they won against Shiratorizawa, this was not one of them. His heart felt incredibly light for some reason, and without thinking he began to slowly run his fingers through the middle blocker's hair once again. He felt his heart skip a beat when Hinata stirred, but he didn't stop.

Kageyama had never been big on physical contact, especially with people who weren't in his family. But something felt different about Hinata. Something about the boy caused him to completely forget about all of that, and focus on nothing else other than how soft his hair was, and how nice it felt to stroke it. He could feel his heartbeat picking up, but he was certain it was just from nerves about waking his friend.

They remained like that for the next ten minutes or so. Kageyama nearly didn't dare to breathe, terrified of the moment ending. But as all good things do, eventually Hinata shifted, yawning.

"Kageya- Whoa!" He jolted upright, rubbing his face and blinking. "How did I- you-"

"I dunno, I just woke up and you were lying there. I figured I shouldn't wake you up." Kageyama looked away feeling hot. He wasn't sure why he was so embarrassed, friends did things like that all the time. He knew he had seen Sugawara fall asleep on Daichi multiple times before, same with some of the second years. So this was no different, just things good friends would do.

"Well uh... Thanks," the setter looked back to see Hinata looking nearly as nervous as Kageyama felt. The ginger pulled his phone out of his pocket, flipping it open.

"Whoa, we've been here for four hours," Hinata gaped at his device, looking shocked. The other teen was slightly surprised, but he didn't voice it.

"Well it was a long day yesterday so-"

"I never properly thanked you for that," Hinata interrupted him once again, fidgeting with his phone slightly. "Thanks for coming last night. It was... Nice of you."

"Yeah well don't expect me to do it every time," Kageyama cut back in their usual fashion, uncomfortable with being praised for something he had wanted to do.

"Well I don't expect there to be any more times," Hinata retorted, sticking his nose in the air. "But if I do I'll keep that in mind."

"Good."

This was what Kageyama was used to. He liked teasing the middle blocker, throwing occasional insults into the mix. That's what their teammate relationship was. He kept repeating that to himself as he stood up and brushed himself off. He didn't like to change things.

Then why did that change feel so good?

They stayed under the tree for another few minutes, not talking about anything particularly interesting. Still, when Hinata turned to walk down the hill to head home, Kageyama found himself wishing that he didn't.

------------

"So... Yeah," Hinata adjusted his feet in the way he did when he was uncomfortable. Kageyama was standing near the teen as he looked up at two of the third years, giving them the unfortunate news. The setter watched as they both stood there for a second, shocked.

The first person to move was Sugawara, who moved forward and crushed Hinata into a hug.

"Thank you for telling us," he spoke softer than usual, stepping back to give the ginger room to breathe. "And thank you for taking care of your health, it is important."

"Does this... Does this change anything?" Hinata seemed almost too afraid to ask, and he blinked as if he regretted the words as soon as he said them. Daichi stepped forward and made direct eye contact with the middle blocker, his face dead serious.

"The only thing that's changing is that you aren't able to play right now," his voice was low but comforting. "Nothing else. You are, and always will be a member of the team, at least as long as I'm here. No matter what."

"Thanks Daichi," Hinata's eyes were watering slightly, but he wiped it away quickly.

"Exactly," Sugawara added. "And you'll always be welcome at practice, whether you're practicing or not. And hey, this isn't forever, right? I'm sure you'll be back on the court before you know it. Though to you that may feel like years." He ended the statement with a light laugh, only slightly poking fun at the younger boy's impatience.

"I hope so," Hinata looked considerably relieved, which caused Kageyama to wonder just how stressed he had been about the situation. "Of course I'll still be at practice, I can pick up a lot of things just by watching."

"I don't doubt it," it was Daichi's turn to laugh, looking amused. "Now uh... Do you want us to pass on the news? I noticed you weren't exactly thrilled with the idea of doing it last time."

"Would you?" Hinata looked happy with the idea. "Thank you, that means a lot to me." He smiled, bigger than anyone had seen in a while. The warm feeling returned, and Kageyama found that he was feeling more at peace as well.

Maybe everything is actually okay now.