Once in a Lifetime

short read

Once in a lifetime

"It's been a long three years, hasn't it?" Kageyama said to the short orange haired boy.
"I guess it has..." Hinata looks at the wall of the waiting room in the hospital.

Ever since Hinata and Kageyama graduated, Hinata hasn't been so well. The already small boy seems to get smaller day by day. They've both noticed it but neither of them want to believe something was wrong. Finally they booked an appointment with a doctor.
"Tobio.. do you think i'll be okay?" his brown eyes dart towards Kageyama.

"I think you'll be fine, Shō." He thinks about touching his shoulder but slowly pulls his hand back towards his side.

The thing is, Kageyama doesn't know if Hinata is okay. His small frame keeps shrinking and its out of his control. He felt a sense of despair growing inside of him. Pushing that feeling down hoping it would go away was pointless.. It didn't matter until they heard he was okay from the doctor.

"Hinata Shōyō? The doctor is ready to see you." A nurse with a high squeaky voice calls out to Hinata. Both the boys stand without hesitation.

"Follow me, boys." The nurse smiled as she lead them to a room with the number 10 on it. Kageyama made sure to point it out.

"Hey, Shō look, it's your number." Kageyama tried to smile but his face wouldn't budge.

"Oh.. haha yeah!" Hinata shows a disheartening smile that only makes Kageyama feel worse.

They take their respective seats in the room. It was cold and smelled of disinfectant. The crunch of the paper that was placed over the bed grew louder each time Hinata moved. Kageyama on the other hand was too worried to think about it. What if Hinata wasn't okay? Just then, the door creaked open to reveal a nurse with a clipboard coming in to do the basic checkup before the doctor.

"Any lightheadedness, nausea, exhaustion?" She said as she checked his temperature and the back of his throat.

"I feel tired all the time.." Hinata says unsure of himself.

"I see.. anything else?" She threw away the plastic on the thermometer that had been in Hinata's mouth.

"I've been losing a lot of weight rapidly. I eat but i can't seem to keep any thing on.. or anything down." he looks towards Kageyama who then looks away.

"Okay..we can draw blood and do different forms of testing? Would you like to test for natural illnesses, genetic diseases, or if nothing comes back we can always test for cancers that prevent weight gain. How does that sound?" She looks up with a sad smile.

"Yeah, that works." Kageyama's eyes dart up at Hinata who looks like he's on the verge of tears.

"Shō..." Kageyama grabs Hinata's hand and kisses it.
"We'll get through this together. We're a team" Kageyama smiles at Hinata.

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It's been a week since the appointment and now they have to go get Hinata's blood drawn. Kageyama holding onto Hinata's hand as he pulls into the parking lot at the clinic.

"You ready, Shō?" His blue eyes locking with Hinata's.

"Yeah, I think i'm ready." Hinata's expression hardens.

They walk in hand in hand. Kageyama still isn't used to how small Hinata's hands were. Even after 3 years it still shocks him. This time, Hinata's fragile figure was shaking all over. He was scared, and it's completely understandable.

They went back to the room they were in before. Room 10. It was bright and they had needles and syringes laying around on the counter. Assuming they're going to be used to take Hinata's blood, they both sit down. This time, Kageyama pulls a chair up right next to Hinata to hold his hand.