The King's Rival [kagehina]

Chapter 9: Finally

It was almost noon when Hinata woke again. He felt a heavy arm on his side and smiled to himself. He slowly turned to face Kageyama so as not to wake him and stared at him intently as he slept. He was so beautiful. Smiling slightly, Hinata gently pushed back some raven hair from his forehead. He wondered what was going to happen now between them, after last night. He was definitely getting some "more-than-friends" vibes from Kags last night. He was torn between wanting to wake him up to talk and letting him continue to sleep peacefully

He didn't have to debate long as Kageyama opened his eyes not too long after. He seemed a bit surprised, but then pleased, to see Hinata's face not far from his own. "Hey" he said.

"Hey" said Hinata. "You sleep OK?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Yeah." Hinata smiled again. They stared at each other for another moment.

Kageyama: "We should get up. I'm starving."

Hinata agreed and Kags found some 2-day old leftover pizza in his mini-fridge. They figured that was good enough until they could go out and get something more substantial. Hinata was sitting with his back against Kageyama's headboard, chomping down a slice of pepperoni, while Kageyama sat on the side of the bed, eating the last piece of cheese. He preferred his pizza with meat, but he had given the last piece to Hinata. Man, I'm whipped, he thought.

Between bites, Hinata asked "Kageyama, should we talk now?" In truth, Hinata was anxious to get this over with. Things were so much more comfortable between them since last night and he was definitely getting vibes from Kags that made him think this talk would go better than he had originally assumed.

"Um, sure" Kags replied, finishing off his pizza and getting up to throw the box away. He was suddenly a little nervous, he realized and he was buying himself some time. He came back to sit down on the side of the bed, not facing Hinata, but not facing away either. Here goes.

Kags decided to start on somewhat safe footing: "I've really missed you since you started hanging with Miya."

Hinata smiled a little deviously: "Yeah? Is that so?"

Kageyama blushed a bit and gave Hinata a one-sided smile. "You knew I was jealous." It was a statement, not a question. Hinata shrugged. "I wanted to think that."

Kags: "So, um. Yeah, I missed you a lot. I missed practicing with you and giving you tosses, and hanging out with you. And, well... I have been thinking about what you said before break. I made a mess of it. I didn't know what to say, I was just so surprised and you know I'm not good with people or emotions or words. I just froze. I didn't mean for it to seem like I rejected you, I just didn't know what to do or what to say. And..."

Kageyama paused and took a breath. Hinata was looking at him expectantly and waiting for him to go on. He is so nervous and cute right now, Hinata thought. It's adorable!

Kags clears his throat and continues. "And I had a panic attack." Hinata's eyes opened slightly and then his brain seemed to process a bunch of information at once.

"I didn't know," said Hinata softly.

"Because I didn't tell you." They were both silent for a moment, in their own thoughts. Kageyama knew he had to keep going though, and get it all out. It's now or never, he thought.

"So, yeah, I didn't really know how to feel at first but I started thinking about it and considering the possibility of, you know, us. Then Miya joined the team and I saw you with him, saw how he flirted and was clearly letting you know he was interested. And... it made me crazy. I was so fucking jealous of how he was spend time with you and touching you and fluffing your hair and and how you smiled and touched him back. And at some point, I realized how I felt about us. I want you to look at me and smile at me instead. I want to be the one you touch. And... kiss. I have been going crazy thinking of him doing those things with you. Out of my fucking mind. And, I was so afraid I fucked up so bad that I'd lost you. I'm sorry Shoyo. I reacted awfully to your confession. I was an idiot and I wasn't ready to face my feelings. But I know what I want now. And if you still feel the way you did before, I think... I think I want to try to see where this goes."