ʜɪs ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ sᴇᴄʀᴇᴛs

Chapter 18

"...Why the hell is it so god damn slippery.", Kageyama snarled. Hinata giggled.

"Because it's ice! What'd you expect, dirt?", He laughed again at his setter's flustered expression.

They were skating together, Kageyama clinging to his arms and shoulders just to keep from eating ice. It felt like a date nice hanging out with his setter outside of practice or school, doing something other than Mario Kart or discussing upcoming and previous matches.

After a moment of silence, Kageyama begrudgingly muttered, "...It's pretty fun. You're- You're a good teacher." Hinata grinned.

"Aww, you've gone soft! Thanks, Bakayama!" Kageyama huffed, shifting his grip on Hinata's shoulders so he wasn't leaning completely on top of him. Hinata frowned into his jacket's collar. The cold was already seeping in where his setter's surprisingly warm arms had been.

"Hey Hinata?", Kageyama asked.

"What's up?" He felt Kageyama shift nervously.

"...Nothing. Never mind.", He said eventually. What a let down! He was hoping it was a confession something volleyball related!

"M'kay! If you say so!", Hinata gently loosened Kageyama's hands. "Try skating with the wall for a bit! Then push of in short bursts, I wanna see how good your balance is!"

Doing what he told him for once, Kageyama wobbled his way around the rink, nearly faceplanting three separate times but never actually hitting the floor. Huh. Hinata honestly expected him to fall at least once. Maybe his setter had a secret talent!

He watched Kageyama teeter to one side then the other repeatedly as he half walked half shimmied over...Maybe not.

"You did okay!", Hinata cheered, clapping Kageyama on the back. "You can use a crate if you want to keep working on your balance. Actually, yeah, I'm gonna go grab you a crate, stay here a minute, 'kay?" Kageyama nodded mutely. "Cool!"

Hinata zipped towards the rink's exit, leaning over to snatch a black stack of four crates. He double checked all four were screwed together and not just two stacks of two because goodness knows Kageyama's too tall for one of those.

"Alrightie!", Hinata placed the stack in front of Kageyama. "Practice with these a bit! I'll go make some hot cocoa so we can warm up when we're done! How's that sound?"

"That's fine.", Kageyama agreed, taking a couple tries to get his arms placed properly on the stack.

Hinata quickly exited the rink, hoping his setter assumed the red on his face was from the cold. He shook his head to clear it of thoughts like that. No way! He's not like literally everybody else he knows! He totally won't get a crush on someone in the same profession as him!

But Yuuri and Viktor did, Yuri and Otabek, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, Sugawara and Daichi, Ukai and Takeda, Kenma and Kuroo, Lev and Yaku, Nishinoya and Asahi, Yachi and Kiyoko did too and they're the cutest by far. Let's be real, other than maybe Sugawara and Daichi cause their dadmom dynamic is adorable. Wait, why did everyone start dating their best friend? Is it, like a social requirement? Eh, who knows.

Humming softly to keep his mind off Kageyama, Hinata finished the two mugs he'd poured with a handful of marshmallows each.

"You can get off the rink now!", He called over his shoulder to Kageyama, grabbing both mugs and heading towards the benches to sit down and wait for him. After a bit of struggle walking over in skates, Kageyama had situated himself next to Hinata. "Here's your mug!" He chirped, passing him the cocoa.

"Is it-", Kageyama began, before Hinata cut him off.

"Yes, I made it with milk. I'm not a monster!", Hinata joked, laughing. Kageyama seemed to have a special ability to always make him smile. It was... Nice.

Kageyama gave a smile of his own. Not a smirk, not a grimace, not a horrific imitation of Sugawara's smile, but a genuine, cute, soft smile. It felt like Hinata's heart stopped, was torn out of his chest, and then melted.

He took a sip of cocoa to both stop himself from letting out an embarrassed squeak and to hide his blush until it faded away. Setting down his cup, he scooched closer to Kageyama, tucking himself under his arm.

At his setter's questioning glance, he used the mumbled excuse, "I'm cold."

Kageyama nodded, seemingly accepting the blatant lie.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. Shouyou curled around his mug; what was a lie a little while ago was slowly becoming the truth. It was freezing.

He shivered. Kageyama's arm wrapped around him, not unlike how they were skating. Rather than question this oddly kind gesture, Hinata nestled into Kageyama's side, grateful for the heat provided.

"Oh my gosh, Baka-geyama, are you a freaking heater?", Hinata snickered. "Wait don't answer that, if you're always this warm, my poor little skater's heart will shrivel up and die from envy!"

He could feel Kageyama shake with repressed laughter, and counted that as a personal win.

He kept telling jokes, right up until they finished their cocoa. After that, they kept chatting. Eventually, the manager came in to shoo them out, and they ran out laughing.

Maybe it'd all work out, Hinata thought, clinging to Kageyama's hand like a lifeline. After all, this week started with him worrying about his team making fun of him and calling him girly, and ending wonderfully with him and Kageyama closer than ever. He weaved his fingers tighter with his setter's, grinning happily in response to the small smile Kageyama sent him.

Yeah, there was a definite chance everything would go perfectly.

Only time would tell, he supposed.

****

Thank you for reading from start to finish!! I hope you guys enjoyed this book :))

Word Count: 939