When the Sun Stops Shining

Chapter Thirty-Eight: When Lovers Become Strangers

Hinata was a little worried that Kageyama hadn't responded to him yet. He was wondering whether he'd been too forward. He'd tried to be a little light-hearted by mentioning his favourite food, but he wasn't sure if that would be enough. That was why he wasn't listening to Yachi as she spoke to him.

"Shouyou. Shouyou."

Hinata blinked. Oh, right. It was that blonde woman, his fiancée. She was still wearing their engagement ring.

"Hitoka."

"Yes? What is it?"

Hinata let out a deep sigh. "I don't think this is working."

"This phone thing? Yeah, I know. It's a little rattly, isn't it?"

"No. This relationship. We don't love each other anymore." Hinata's tone was a lot colder than Yachi remembered. The other inmates would've seen it as standard ol' Hinata, but Yachi knew a happier version of Hinata. That version had died the second he stepped off the ground and through those prison doors.

"W...What do you mean? Of course we do!"

Hinata raised an eyebrow at Yachi through the thin piece of glass. "Cut the bullshit. I can see the hickey on your neck. Is Akiteru treating you well, Hitoka?"

Yachi flushed a bright red. "Shouyou... you're in here for fifteen years. Surely you don't blame me for..."

"No, it's cool. Although, since I bought the engagement rings, I'd like them back. I'll make plans to get my stuff placed somewhere else at a later date," Hinata explained. "It was nice knowing you, Yachi. Anything else you want to say? I'll be taking you off my visitation list after today." Hinata wasn't going to lie, it hurt. He'd been dating Yachi since his college years. But at the same time, he'd seen it coming. He knew that they wouldn't last. They got along well, but they got along too well. They'd never had any arguments; never disagreed over anything. He and Kageyama argued more than was healthy, but the sniper kept him on his toes. He liked that. He needed that.

It made it easier to ignore the slight twinge of pain he felt when Yachi started crying. She'd always been a really emotional person.

"I'm sorry, Shouyou."

"Don't be." Hinata smiled. "I think coming here might've not been so bad." Yachi was shocked when he saw that Hinata was smiling. "Plus, we're too different now. We only work when we're the same."

"I... I guess."

"Well, if that's all..."

"Wait." Yachi let out a deep breath. "Wait."

"I'm waiting."

"How can you be smiling in a place like this? I mean, come on. Muddy brown prison clothes? They're so unflattering. And do they give you razors? Your face looks a little stubbly."

"That's really your question?" Hinata laughed. "If anything, you should be asking why you're so closed-minded."

Yachi seemed visibly hurt by Hinata's thoughtless insult. "Shouyou..."

"Only able to see what's on the surface, but you don't think to ask about what's underneath. That's what drew you to me, right? You got angry because I didn't tell you about my past, but you never asked. Not once. We got along since we both liked volleyball and took the same course, but we were never able to sympathise with each other's pasts. You didn't even know that I was bisexual, did you?"