Happier ~a kagehina fanfiction~

Bonus: 6 Years Later

hey! i thought this was a cute idea, but i didn't want it to be the official official ending so i'm adding it here as a bonus. i just couldn't leave hinata all broken hearted like that. he didn't deserve it :(

Hinata pulled his curly, orange hair into a low bun at the nape of his neck before throwing an apron over his head. Today was one year since he opened his own bakery. The smell of fresh bread flowed from the kitchen while he set out newly decorated cookies in lines in the glass encasement on the counter. 

That morning, he had walked into the bakery to see that his first three employees had put up a banner reading, 'Happy 1st Year!' Those three had been with him when he first opened the place and had over time become some of his closest friends. 

Hinata never pictured himself opening a bakery. After floundering between college majors for two years, he had finally settled on a linguistics major, which proved to be positively useless. But with a little help from some close friends, he had finally found a direction he was content with. (Akaashi and Kenma always got free baked goods whenever they came to visit.)  

Sandwiched between a boutique and a pizza place, Hinata's bakery was the most popular place in town. They rarely had croissants after 11am, they took at least 3 cake orders everyday, and on Saturdays they had eggs from a local farm, which sold out within an hour of opening. The farm, run by his old teammate Azumane Asahi, also supplied their milk (coincidentally, he also supplied the meat for Nishinoya's restaurant).

After boxing up the day's biscotti, he started brewing a pot of coffee. They weren't a coffee shop, so there was no need to learn any fancy drinks, but as time went on they realized they had a few regular costumers who would also appreciate some coffee with their breakfast. So Hinata obliged. 

Looking out the large windows of his store, Hinata felt nothing but bliss. It had been a lonely five years, and things had only started to look up recently. His troubles with college and money, combined with the loss of the man who Hinata thought was the love of his life, had made his early 20s not ideal, to say the least. 

Sometimes Hinata still thought Kageyama was the love of his life. 

Not often, though. Only on those nights when Hinata couldn't escape his own thoughts and wondered why there had been no one else in the last five years. No one else that mattered. 

Sure, there had been a few one-night-stands. A few summer flings. But no one who Hinata really cared about. They were just fillers. Which sounded terrible, he knew, but it was the truth. He just couldn't really be bothered to look anymore. That didn't mean he wasn't still lonely. 

But, most days he could ignore all that. Today, he didn't even have to try. Flipping the sign to read 'open' and hearing the bell as the first costumer walked in was all he needed to feel satisfied. 

It had taken a while, but Hinata learned that his value was not based off of who loved him, or who didn't. If love came to him again, he might give it another shot. If not, well, he had bread. And a cute dog. 

He had already had his great love story. And he was okay with that. 

The morning rush went quickly, as usual. A few days ago, he put up one of those 'take one leave one' libraries on a shelf, and it was already a hit. By the time the morning was over, there was not a single original book left. 

After the usual morning rush, Hinata relaxed behind the counter. Usually the rest of the day just consisted of people trickling in for a cake order or a loaf of bread. He leaned up against the counter, making conversation and turned around when he heard the tinkle of the bell. Two figures stood in the doorway.