A/N: Hello! This fic is inspired by craziiwolf's fantastic #khwingedau artwork, so be sure to skip over to Tumblr if you haven't seen it yet!

As there are many marvelous fics written about Hinata losing his wings, I decided to go back in time instead. Each chapter is a vignette showing a snapshot of time, and as such, I have no idea how many chapters I'll end up writing. I simply add to it whenever I have an idea. Feel free to suggest something yourself, if you like!

Finally, I write for the shameless reward of comments, so please consider leaving one if you enjoy this! Thank you!

Crow Meets Crows

It took only a few seconds for the crow hatchling to punch his way out of his egg. When he peered through to find two sets of kind eyes, he was fascinated, waves of excitement and calm hitting him together. He didn't recognize these faces, and yet he knew them, recognized the feeling of their warm kindness from foggy, half-memories of incubating under their protection.

Five seconds old, and he was already addicted to that feeling. The chick hoisted himself over the broken remnants of his shell and ran to them, but his foot caught and he tumbled forward, landing face-first. Undeterred, he jumped up and continued his sprint into the welcoming arms of his new parents. Suga scooped him up while Daichi placed a hand on his head, and he beamed up at the two of them, overflowing with joy. He didn't notice, but his shoulder blades were glowing orange as two small tufts of black feathers appeared. Taking one look at this light, which perfectly matched the chick's hair and glowing smile, the older crows quickly agreed to name him Hinata.

Hinata was nothing if not confident, an understandable result of having such supportive parents. Every awful drawing, incorrect math problem, and burnt sandwich was met with as much unconditional encouragement as any of the rare things he did well. Of his few actual talents, Hinata's strongest was his likability and the ease with which he made friends. He was nearly universally adored by everyone in his murder, with one key exception.

"You're actually going to give that to Daichi?"

Hinata turns around to the source of the question, his wings already puffing up defensively. Tsukishima is standing right behind him—or rather, towering behind him—and peering down disdainfully at the small package clutched between Hinata's hands. "Of course I am," Hinata replies. "I worked really hard on this!"

In school, they had made special bath salts for Father's Day. Hinata had trouble following directions, today and always. He was too easily distracted, and his results were usually the most unique of the class. This time was no exception, and their teacher had actually insisted that they test his out, worried it risked causing permanent damage. In the end, his special formula didn't hurt, although it stung quite a bit, and the lavender scent was of a worrying strength, though not technically toxic.

"Well," Tsukishima says, his voice taunting, "Tell Daichi he'll be missed, and that we all hope protecting your precious feelings was worth having his wings disintegrated."

Hinata frowns deeply, clutching the package closer to his chest. In addition to the salts, they had all been instructed to create their own unique wrappings. Hinata had gone way over time, using most of recess to finish. The result was an unwieldy cluster of colored paper, glitter, ribbons, and bows, but it was also clear that he had spent a lot of time on it, more than any of the other chicks, and that was most important.

Hinata glares up at his sole non-friend and demands, "Why are always you so awful?!"

"I dunno, why are you always so short?" Tsukishima counters.

Hinata spreads his wings upward; they're enormous for his age and practically double his height. Huffing, he shouts, "Yah, well, why are your wings so small?"

Hinata may be the shortest chick in the murder, but his wings are unmatched by anyone even close to his age. Too young to fully understand the mysterious forces behind soul bonds, he long ago secretly concluded that his wings are huge because his parents love him more than anyone else's.

Unfortunately, rather than shutting Tsukishima down, Hinata only further provokes him. Clearly not in the mood to discuss the size of his wings, Tsukishima shoves Hinata hard, throwing him to the ground, turns around, and storms off in the other direction without another word.

Hinata walks home at a brisk pace with his head lowered and his mind racing. By the time he is greeted at the door by Suga, he is in serious danger of bursting into tears.

"Shochan, what's that? Did you make daddy a gift for Father's Day?" Suga says, reaching for the package.

"Um." Hinata clutches the thing closer to his chest, eyes shining. "Well. Yes. But, I dunno. If I should give it to him."

"Why not?" Suga asks, becoming alarmed. His son is not one to have self-doubt about anything, ever. "You worked so hard on it!"

A vision of Daichi with half-melted wings quickly flashes across Hinata's mind. He shuts his eyes, squeezing out a few fat tears. Suga has his arms around Hinata in an instant, and Hinata's mind jolts back to Tsukishima and his inexplicable meanness, and then suddenly Hinata is asking the question that's bothered him most for years. "Mommy, what makes wings grow?"

Suga pulls back, clearly unable to keep up with Hinata's erratic train of thought. He looks confused, but answers nonetheless. "Love. You know that."

"Right, okay," Hinata mutters, suddenly angry. "That makes sense. Kei is a horrible person, and that's why his wings are so small. It must be really hard to love him."

Hinata senses Suga's disappointment before he can see it. He feels in his shoulder blades, an uncomfortable prickling sensation that he, like all young chicks, knows instinctively to try and avoid. "Shoyo," Suga reprimands, "That's not how things work. It's not that simple. You can't measure love the way you measure wings."

"So it means nothing that the worst crow I know also has the smallest wings?" Hinata retorts, still angry.

Suga opens his mouth as if to respond, but then merely sighs. Hinata can feel the disappointment radiating from him, can see it drowning in his eyes, and feels terribly. He meets Suga's sad eyes with the most pathetic puppy dog expression he can muster, and tries to express without words, I don't understand this stuff. Please try to explain it to me. Suga merely shakes his head and pulls Hinata into another hug. "Most people are unkind because they don't have enough love in their lives. So when Kei is unkind, don't think of him as unlovable. Think of him as someone deserving of even more love."

Hinata doesn't understand, and continues not to understand for many, many years. He often suspects Suga is just too nice for his own good, but he trusts his mother enough to stop judging crows by the size of their wings.

Every time Hinata grasps some fundamental concept of soul bonds, he inevitably soon winds up even more confused. Tsukishima has taken to referring him solely as Tiny Idiot, which Hinata takes offense to, but sometimes he has to wonder if he isn't as smart as Suga and Daichi insist that he is.

And, it's actually on the topic of Tsukishima that the newest bombshell drops.

"I'm happy for Akiteru, but is now really the right time?" Daichi asks.

Suga responds with a noncommittal noise. Hinata seizes the opportunity to jump in and asks his dad. "So, Kei will be living alone from now on?"

"Yes, that's right. I really think he's too young, but Akiteru insists he can handle it. The two of them have made it work since—" his voice trails off; even decades later, it's still difficult to mention the passing of Tsukishima's parents "—since he was young, but…"

"It's their decision, ultimately," Suga says.

"Yes, but, his wings are so small, will he be okay on his own?" Hinata asks.

Suga and Daichi share a look, with smirks and raised eyebrows and everything, and Hinata huffs. He hates that fucking look. It usually means he is going to be sent to his room for an hour with no explanation except that his daddies need some time alone. "What!?"

"I don't think they'll stay small for long," Suga says, still smirking.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asks, feeling even stupider than usual. "I thought, because his parents—you know. They stopped growing."

Daichi and Suga again share a look, different from the earlier one but just as infuriating. This look says, 'How do we explain this to our stupid son without making him feel stupid?'

"Well," Daichi begins cautiously, "You know, when you grow old enough, and find your soulmate, the parental bond breaks. Then, the soulmate bond replaces it."

"And," Suga finishes for him, his voice gleeful, "We have a pretty good feeling that Kei and Tadashi—"

"—wait. What?!" Hinata exclaims, bolting up from his seat with such force he nearly flips over the table. He doesn't, but he does manage to smash up his knees pretty good, hard enough to bring tears to his eyes. The pain does nothing to calm his furious panic. "What do you mean, the parental bond breaks? That. That would only happen if you guys died, right? And you never will, so!?"

"Shochan," Suga reassures, getting up from the table and hurrying over. Daichi does the same. They each put a hand on his shoulder, and Hinata gets the feeling it's more to keep him in place than for comfort. "It's nothing to be afraid of. One day, you'll find your soulmate, and your bond with them with make your wings stronger than ever."

Hinata shakes his head furiously, "No! Never! I don't want a soulmate!"

Suga and Daichi share another look, but this one Hinata fails to notice.

Before he is even through the door, Hinata sternly announces, "Mom, I can't be friends with Yachi anymore."

Suga hangs his head, already exhausted by this conversation. Softly, he asks, "And why is that?"

"I like her too much," Hinata replies.

"Okay," Suga says, "But… wait, what?"

"We get along great," Hinata explains. "I mean, she's scared of me, but she's scared of everything, and she's actually less scared of me than even her own shadow, so. You know. And I really just like spending time with her. Like, lots of time."

"And... that's why you can't be her friend anymore?" Suga asks, struggling to decode Hinata's bizarre logic.

Hinata goes quiet, then frowns, and then starts to tremble. Suga walks over and pulls Hinata close, cradling his head, one hand buried in his hair. Hinata finally asks, in a very small voice, "What if she's my soulmate? I don't want you guys to stop loving me yet."

"Okay, first of all," Suga scolds. "We're never going to stop loving you. Whether we make your wings grow or not, we will always love you." Suga pauses to let this, the most important part, sink in. Hinata sniffles and nods slightly, so Suga continues. "And, if she were your soulmate, would that really be such a bad thing? You just said you love spending time with her," he reasons, and Hinata nods again, hesitantly, though continues to look distraught.

Suga sighs, hesitates, sighs again, and then says, "But also... and we aren't really supposed to get involved, but," he hesitates again, but then finishes with, "I really don't think you have to worry about that. Your soulmate isn't going to be someone you get along great with all the time. It's gonna be someone that, sometimes, you really hate."

Hinata considers this. He tries to imagine someone he really hates, and Tsukishima's image comes immediately to mind. His expression turns truly horrified. "No-"

"No, no," Suga quickly corrects, clearly able to read Hinata's mind, "I'm not saying that either. It's something in between." And, before Hinata can start worrying that a boring crow like Ennoshita is his soulmate, Suga clarifies, "No, not exactly in between. It's like... um, take your best feelings for Yachi, ok? Then take your worst feelings for Kei, and... sort of, um, splice them together. That's what it'll feel like. Being jostled between those two extremes."

"That sounds horrible," Hinata says, recoiling. "And, wait, what? But you and dad never fight!"

"Not around you," Suga confesses. "We wouldn't want to hurt you like that."

"It's okay though! I know you guys love each other, even if you fight."

Suga smiles, and it's the kind of smile that Hinata knows means he is hiding some truth that Hinata can't yet handle, but consumed by this new information, Hinata lets it go. For the first time, Hinata is kind of excited to meet his soulmate. The whole thing suddenly sounds exciting.