AN: My first ever HinaYachi fic! A short one, though. I thought it turned out pretty well, so I wanted to share it. I dunno what it is with me and turning the cutest pairings into angsty messes, so just humor me with this. It's just a headcanon of mine running wild.
Anyway, they are third-years in this. They have been dating for a long time now so they call each other "Shouyou" and "Yacchan". And they might be OOC. I tell ya, it's hella hard to write third-year Hinata and Yachi in character because obviously they will have grown by then but you still wanna keep the essence of their characters and... ah, well, you get the jist.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the writing.
ENGRAVING
Yachi exhaled harshly when she exited Karasuno's club room and the cold winter turning to spring air hit her face. It made her shiver since she had been sweating while cleaning out her locker. Her bag was heavy in more ways than one. She clutched at the strap and turned around to look at the club room one last time with a nostalgic smile. She had stayed late taking care of everything there had still been left to do for her as the manager, and everyone else including the new manager had already gone home. The last one she had sent to go on ahead had been her boyfriend of one year, Hinata.
It was their last day on Karasuno's volleyball team.
Again, she teared up and tried to swallow it. She had cried enough after their last practice when they had said their goodbyes to the second and first years. Three years of struggles, happiness, tears, sweat, victories and losses, and now it was over. Funny how much Yachi had come to love volleyball when she had never wasted a thought about it before Kiyoko had approached her. And now it was over. Everything was over.
Yachi sniffed and blamed it on the cold. She turned away because she couldn't bear to look at the clubroom any longer. Furiously rubbing at her eyes, she practically ran down the stairs only to be distracted by a light that she caught a glimpse of from the corner of her eyes. Light from the volleyball gymnasium.
That was weird. Wasn't she the only one left?
She carefully approached the opened doors and glanced inside only to find Hinata throwing a ball high up in the air, then jumping as high as ever to spike it skillfully and strongly over the net. Yachi gave a soft, inaudible sigh when the ball smashed onto the floor with tremendous force of three years of training, and then leaned against the doorframe, watching him silently with a sad smile. The view from the top. She knew he loved it the most, probably more than he loved her. Sometimes she got jealous of volleyball, how stupid.
Yachi watched him land with a light screeching sound his shoes made when they came in contact with the floor. Hinata seemed out of breath and a thin layer of sweat was glistening on his skin. Had he been doing this ever since she had sent him home? Then he must be going at it for at least an hour. One look at his glaring red hand told her she was right. But Yachi knew that Hinata didn't even feel the pain from spiking anymore.
She took a step inside the familiar gymnasium and carefully called out to him, "Shouyou?"
Hinata flinched slightly, turning around to her. "Ah, Yacchan!" His cheerfulness sounded forced, so un-Hinata-like. "You're finally finished?"
"Yeah," she replied softly, coming closer. "You didn't have to wait for me, you know."
He smiled at her, it looked a little crooked. "I know. But…" He turned back towards the net, taking a few steps forward and touching the laces. "I needed to say goodbye in my own way. I wanted to engrave the feeling of this ground, the feeling of Karasuno's volleyballs, the air of this gymnasium… I wanted to engrave it in my mind, so I won't ever forget what it felt like. Being a part of this awesome volleyball team."
Yachi exhaled through her nose in a mixture of laugh and agreement, nodding. "I can relate to that. I guess all of us third-years said goodbye in their own way."
"What's gonna happen from now on?"
Her eyes went wide with wonder, not only because the question caught her off-guard. It was more because it was a question she'd had on her mind for quite some time now, and she was surprised that Hinata had given it some thought as well. It was a question she dreaded. She dreaded it because the possible answers scared her to no end. And she didn't know if she was ready to talk about it, but she knew she had to. They had avoided the topic long enough. It was time to discuss it.
"I… I don't know," she whispered, her voice slightly trembling.
Hinata's grip on the net tightened. "Now that our time at Karasuno is over… Where do we go from here?" His voice sounded strained, a little cracked. "Now that everything is over, we'll grow up and become adults. Will I be able to keep playing volleyball in university?"
Yachi's heart clenched and her breath hitched.
"Will I be able to keep being with you?"
Her eyes filled with tears that she desperately tried to suppress, her body shaking with fear and hurt and so much more. "Wh-what do you mean…?"
Hinata didn't turn around and instead leaned his against the net right between his hands. "I'm staying here and you'll go study in Tokyo. I mean, that's super awesome, but you're a genius, so it's not surprising or anything. I knew you'd be going. But now that graduation is near, it just feels so real all of a sudden, you know?" He gave a long sigh. "You're going so far away and we're both gonna meet new people… I dunno, it just seems like it's gonna be really tough. When I imagine not seeing you every day, it makes me wonder if I'll be able to do this…"
"Sh-Shouyou," Yachi managed in a quiet sob, not able to hold her tears back any longer, "A-are we breaking up?"
Hinata finally turned around to her again, eyes wide with shock.
The tears were falling down her cheeks now as he looked at him, lips pressed together firmly. "I-I don't want to! I can't even think of not being your girlfriend anymore!" she cried, clutching her hands together at her chest. "I-it makes me unable to breathe and- and I can't! Please don't give up on us so easily!"
"Yacchan…" he whispered.
"And a-anyway, I won't meet as much new people as you think. I-I mean, you know me, do you honestly think I'll be able to approach anybody? I could die just thinking about starting a conversation. I-I won't meet anybody, especially no guys, so you don't need to worry. I can wear a mask if you want, so-"
"That's not what I meant!" Hinata cried out.
Yachi's mouth was still opened, soundlessly, as she stared at him. Hinata rarely got so agitated to the point of earnestly yelling at her, so she was a little startled.
She saw his fists ball up. "That's not it, Yacchan," he said more gently. "I want you to make friends. I don't wanna be that sort of boyfriend, the one who stands in the way of you meeting new people just because I'm a little jealous. That would make me feel like crap on the long run. It's just that I will be thinking about it, and I will be scared and… and…"
Her feet were moving towards him before she even knew it, and she threw her arms around his torso the next moment, burying her face in his shirt. "I love you," she said forcefully, "I love you. I love you. I love you, Shouyou." She hugged him even closer. "The distance won't change that. I promise. I promise I'll only love you more. I promise."
His arms came around her to press her closer and she felt his lips on the top of her head. "But you'll be lonely, won't you?" he breathed into her hair softly.
"Yes," she sobbed.
"I know you'll cry a lot."
"I will."
"Since you're a crybaby."
"I am."
"You'll worry, too."
"I will worry more than you," she mumbled into his shirt. "Because you're out-going and fun and you can talk to pretty much anyone comfortably, and girls really like you. I'll worry. I'll worry so much. But I don't wanna lose you just because of this."
Hinata ran a hand through her hair. "We can Skype, right?"
Her hands clutched at his shirt and she nodded frantically, not able to speak.
"I can take a part-time job, so I'll visit you lots." Another nod. "You'll visit too, right? Or else your Mom will feel abandoned." Another nod. "We'll talk on the phone every day, we'll message, too. It's only for three years anyway."
"R-right," Yachi whispered weakly.
"I love you, Yacchan. So much that I'm scared."
"Me too. I-I'm so scared, but…" She finally looked up at him. "W-we'll be okay. Right?"
Hinata smiled slightly, wiping the tears off of her cheeks. "Yeah, definitely. Sorry for being stupid," he said. "I even made you cry. How uncool. I fail as a boyfriend."
She frantically shook her head. "No! I'm glad! You were honest with me and told me your true feelings…" Yachi smiled through tears. "I'm really happy."
His smile broadened for a second before it faded, and he leaned his forehead against hers, gently cupping her face with both hands. "Promise you won't forget me?" he whispered.
"I promise," she whispered back. "But you promise me, too."
Then his lips were on hers. Their kisses always started soft and careful as if to test the waters, but not this time. There was a certain feel of urgency in the way his mouth moved against hers, and it was almost forceful when his tongue pushed through the slight opening between her lips into her mouth. Yachi couldn't hold back a soft moan at the intensity, especially at the realization that Hinata had never kissed her like this before, not even when they had made love. For the first time, she felt like she was sharing an adult's kiss with him, full of passion and knowledge.
She knew it was his answer, his promise. She felt in the desperation of his kiss, the way his hands pressed at her waist to bring her closer as if to mold her into him. Even if she wanted to, Yachi wouldn't deny him this. He needed it, to feel her, just as much as she needed to feel him. They were both scared of the changes that were upon them, upon their relationship. They needed reassurance from each other. That their feelings wouldn't fade over the distance and everything would be the same as before when they saw each other again.
Engraving the feeling of being here. That's what this was.
It wasn't any different from the feel of the gymnasium's ground, the sensation of touching a volleyball or the smell of air salonpas. They belonged here, and whenever Yachi thought of Hinata and would in the future, she would always see him in black and orange, sporting that heart-warming grin of his, running towards her, drenched in sweat, asking if she saw his awesome spike. She would think of the countless balls that hit his face, of her hand pressing a tissue on his bloody nose all while he impatiently waited to go back to the court. She would think of her own patience while teaching him English and Math, think of his smug smirk whenever the first and second years called him senpai, of his funny way of describing things only using sound effects that, oddly enough, she always understood.
She wouldn't forget.
No matter how far away he was, she wouldn't forget a single thing.
There was no power in the world capable of destroying her memories of her precious first love. The first one who had made her feel like she wasn't Villager B but the heroine, the first who made her voice out her insecurities and fight them, the first to make her fly, and the first who showed her the view from the top. Even if what they had was not for forever, which she simply refused to believe, there was nobody in the world who could ever replace Hinata in her heart. He had been her first everything and nothing could ever change that, nor the feelings she held for him. They would always, always be there.
It wasn't long before they broke apart, but it felt like an eternity to Yachi. A sweet, torturous eternity. Her lips were swollen, she could feel it, and Hinata pressed another fleeting, soft kiss to her mouth when he noticed. Her tears were dried, he looked flushed and sad and lost, and a strange kind of void spread inside her. She took his face in her hands as he squeezed her flush against him, and she practically sighed into his mouth.
"We'll be fine," she whispered.
"Kenma's in the same university as you'll be," he whispered back. "I'll ask him to look after you."
Yachi gave a soft, hoarse giggle. "You sure he'd wanna do that?"
"Probably not, but I'll make him," he replied with an impish grin.
"Make sure not to fight with Kageyama-kun so much. I won't be there to intermediate," she said to him, voice weak and soft. Her fingers clenched around his shoulders. "You won't have to deal with Tsukishima-kun's taunts anymore, though. But you'll see Nishinoya-san again, and Tanaka-san, and… M-maybe you get to play on the same team again!"
Hinata grinned warmly at her. "That'd be awesome."
She buried her face in his neck. "Don't ever stop playing volleyball."
"They'd have to kill me."
"When I come back, I wanna see you fly and spike and be all guwaa. And I wanna see the oddball combo."
"You will! I'll be all pow and whoosh and bam!" he exclaimed, grinning widely, and finally he looked like Hinata again.
Yachi grinned right back. "As expected of a Small Giant!"
"Yacchan," he softly breathed, hugging her as strongly as he could without hurting her, "My Small Giant will always be you."
For some reason, her eyes felt itchy with tears again, but she decided this was no occasion to cry, because it was the most sincere, romantic and heartfelt thing anyone has ever said to her, and it made her happier than everything he had ever said to her combined. The sheer honor of him comparing her to his most valued idol, his everlasting goal, it was too good to be true. She felt so lucky. So lucky that Hinata was her first love, because he was the best guy she had ever known, and the only time she had ever cried over him was today. How could he even for one second think there might be somebody better suited for her out there or that she'd even look at some other guy. She had perfection right now, and there would never ever be someone else who fit her so well as he did. It was quite simply impossible.
"I love you," she whispered into his neck.
"I love you more," he whispered back into her hair.
And she knew they would be fine.