Crows Like Shiny Things (Hinakage)

An Attempt at Courting

Nishinoya stared at Hinata and his human with a somewhat interested expression. Hinata's courting did seem to go well.

Kageyama had accepted the countless presents Hinata gave him.

Hinata had invited him to his nest, which he accepted.

Hinata had built Kageyama a nest, which he also accepted. And now they slept together in said nest.

Nishinoya tilted his head, watching as Hinata pushed Kageyama into a bush with a mocking grin, only to squeak as Kageyama grabbed his arm and pulled him along.

According to their laws and traditions, Hinata and Kageyama should be married by now. Kageyama did accept the nest Hinata made for him, after all. That was the ultimate proposal.
And yet, Nishinoya had a feeling that this human of Hinata's had no idea about their traditions or proposals. At least he was not acting at all like he was Hinata's partner.

...at least it didn't look like it, considering how Kageyama had just pushed Hinata into a bush himself.

Nishinoya let out a huge sigh and leaned back onto his wooden porch, staring up into the crown of the tree. It was a sturdy one his family had chosen for their nest, and Nishinoya always looked forward to his offspring growing up here as well.
...and now instead of looking for a wife, he was after a human. Just like Hinata.

Nishinoya facepalmed and let out another sharp sigh. How long had it been since he had first seen Asahi? At least quite a while.
But humans had something about themselves, something intriguing, something that pulled Nishinoya towards them. Even if he was frightened by them, and was well aware that those humans could kill something like bears, and even tho he had to keep his distance- Nishinoya found them fascinating, and the pull towards them was almost magnetic.

He was sure Hinata felt the same.

Not that Nishinoya was jealous that Hinata had chosen a partner and had successfully courted him.

Maybe just a bit jealous.

Nishinoya glanced back down again, only to see Hinata and Kageyama working on some sort of wooden device. A ladder? For what?
...ah. Kageyama couldn't fly. Obviously. It would be bothersome to have Hinata carry him up to the village every single time.

Maybe he could take off and visit Asahi. Considering the sun's stance, he should soon come along the path he frequented.
As soon as Nishinoya finished the thought, he was already darting up into the sky.

***

"Are you sure you don't want me to come along?"
Suga patted Asahi's shoulder, mildly concerned. That much he knew, Asahi had always been attacked on the path to and from school. And yet, the ace declined with a wave of his hand.
"I-I'm terrified, I won't lie to you. But it never shows up when I'm with someone and... I want answers. At least finally see what it actually is, without passing out this time."

Suga nodded proudly at him. It felt good to know Asahi had progressed enough to want to face the spirits.
"I have an idea. I'll go ahead, and you come along after me as soon as I'm out of sight. I'll stand guard at the village entrance and shoot you a text if anybody's about to come."
Suga gave him a mischievous wink, before brushing past him.
"Can't have someone spot you with the spirits, after all. You need a wingman~"
Asahi laughed and sat back down on the bench, watching Suga disappear around the next corner.

Only a few minutes later, Asahi forced himself to get up and follow Suga's steps home. As usual, Asahi kept his head low, hoping for something, anything to approach him.

And that was when he heard it.

The barely audible noise of wings high above him.

Asahi stopped almost immediately. He wanted to look but knew if he did, he would pass out again. Fear was pulsating in his veins, and the boy broke into a cold sweat. This time, he was not leaving.

What if it's not a spirit?

What if we were wrong?

What if it's a beast of the forest?

What if it was going to kill him?

Asahi desperately tried to shut down these thoughts. No. He was ready, he wanted to see.

The spirit above didn't seem like it was going to come closer, peacefully circling him in midair. Nishinoya found this all too suspicious. This was the second time Asahi had not run away, and the first time he did pass out the moment he came closer.
It was nice to see Asahi again. Nishinoya couldn't help but smile a little. What always stood out to him about Asahi was his height. He looked so tall, even from above. He felt like he could bury himself away in those arms, away from village duties, fear and stress.

Nishinoya took a deep breath. Was he going to risk it? Another look around. There was nobody nearby. He had seen a silver haired boy walking alongside the path just a couple of minutes ago, but he did seem in a hurry and not like he was looking for Nishinoya.
He was going to risk it.
Slowly, Nishinoya began to dip lower. Always watching Asahi, who did not dare to move or look around, trying to see if it was still alright to him.

And then, it happened.

Nishinoya's feet and wings touched the ground.

For the first time in months, in years, Nishinoya could land behind Asahi.

The boy did not dare to move a muscle, he seemed frozen in fear. Nishinoya wanted to approach him, to hug him, to nestle against his warm body but he knew he couldn't. And he was not going to play the same game Hinata had done with Kageyama.

"...this is the first time you ever let me close, Asahi-san."
Asahi froze immediately. That voice definitely came from that thing that just landed behind him. It could speak?! And god beware, it knew his name.
"...y-you can speak...?"
"Turn around." Nishinoya demanded. Asahi flinched. He wanted nothing more than to turn around and thus, he did.

And his eyes grew wide. The most massive pair of black wings he had ever seen, attached to a much smaller boy with piercing yellow eyes and a few stray feathers across his skin. Asahi flinched again as Nishinoya flapped his wings a little to adjust himself being back on the ground. Every single feather on him seemed well placed, and they all moved in sync whenever Nishinoya so much as twitched his wings.
"Y-you're..."

"Nishinoya. I'm Nishinoya."

"...beautiful."