Hooked: Kagehina (discontinued)

Chapter Thirteen

Hinata opened his eyes groggily, groaning and grasping at the sheets underneath him with weak, shaky hands. He squinted at the bright hospital lights above him, grimacing at the strain it put on his eyes. He felt so warm and comfortable that he almost wanted to go back to sleep, but it seemed as if someone were sitting at the end of his bed.

"K-Kageyama?" Hinata stuttered, his tongue tying itself up like it had never been used for human speech before.

"Yeah. It's me," Kageyama said in a smooth tone, his posture showing his disappointment. Hinata flinched when Kageyama began to speak, but saw nothing of what he'd been trying to prepare himself for. There was no yelling, no hit over the top of the head, and most definitely no lecture, which was the strangest part. Harada had even warned him that Kageyama would probably be infuriated with him.

Then again, Harada seemed to only know the old Kageyama: the dictator, the ruler, and the King of the Court. He had changed a lot, and maybe this was apart of that metamorphosis.

Hinata tilted his head in confusion, keeping his vision focused on the boy in front of him. He leaned over himself and toward Kageyama, keeping a hand on the bed in front of him to steady himself.

"Is it you, though? Aren't you going to yell at me? Aren't you going to lecture me?" Hinata asked, his voice wavering.

"Yes, of course it's me, dumbass," Kageyama said quietly. "I just think you've been lectured enough."

"That's new," Hinata replied with a snort.

"What, you want to be yelled at? Is that it?" Kageyama said, cutting through the calm ambiance that had just settle around them. He sent a gaze Hinata's way that slashed him like a knife, a gash that made him want to flee from his presence, but he couldn't leave. Kageyama was the one in his space, after all.

"No, I don't," Hinata said complacently, looking down and lying back on his pillow once again. He faced the lamp on his bedside table with a deep, stubborn frown, and Kageyama sighed.

"I just don't want to hurt you more than you already have been," Kageyama whispered, hiding his light pink blush in his hair as he faced the door. Hinata's heart fluttered at the sincerity of his comment, but like it always did, it dropped right back down with a crash. He'd already had so much hurting him, but that all hurt his family far more. He felt pitiful lying there when his injury wouldn't be permanent.

Hinata grabbed a pillow from under his head and swung it around himself, propelling his body forward with the fierce motion, and smacking Kageyama in the side as hard as he could. It wasn't all that powerful, considering all the power in him was going to healing that bone, but it was enough to surprise him.

"Hey! What the hell?" Kageyama hissed, jumping back the slightest bit.

"That's for worrying about me like I-I'm some weakling!" Hinata grunted as he flew forward with the pillow again, this time smacking him over the head with the pillow. "You sound like you like me or something when you say stuff like that." Hinata finished his sentence with a forced laugh and smacked him again, the movements intended to disguise his blush. He just kept smacking him with the pillow, building and building and building upon Kageyama's frustration until he'd had enough.

Instead of hitting back, Kageyama got up from the bed and swiveled around to face Hinata. He grabbed his wrist and pulled Hinata up, their faces so close that Hinata could feel Kageyama's hot breath on his face. They stared each other down for a moment, Hinata's breath caught in his throat and Kageyama's rushing in and out of his lungs. Hinata's hazel eyes were wide and fearful as they looked into Kageyama's, but fear wasn't all that was hidden in his eyes. Kageyama looked deeper, searching Hinata's expression with one of his own that could only be read as focused, and found genuine concern in Hinata's face. Only Hinata could be held in such a vulnerable position and still hold worry for the person threatening him.