"Are you sure you don't want to do anything?" Kageyama has his eyes closed, and is idly running his fingers through Hinata's soft hair.

"Yeah, I like it like this." Hinata replies, snuggling closer to his boyfriend. It's interesting to him, how he differently he spends his birthday now compared to previous years. It's interesting enough that he wants to share it with Kageyama, so he does. "I used to make the biggest deal out of this day, you know?" Hinata lifts his head to look at Kageyama, and admires how serene he looks. The afternoon sun shines through the window, and a strip of light hits Kageyama at the perfect angle. He looks beautiful.

"Mm? I can imagine." A smirk makes its way across Kageyama's face as he imagines a younger Hinata proclaiming to everyone that he is a year older than yesterday, and the peaceful moment is gone. Hinata pouts, and jabs Kageyama in his side. "Hey!" Kageyama immediately sits up, wrestling Hinata until he's got him pinned. He smiles deviously as Hinata struggles, but becomes frozen when Hinata suddenly pulls his head down and kisses him, biting at his bottom lip.

In the moment Kageyama is still shocked, Hinata flips them over so he's straddling Kageyama's waist, and now he's the one grinning. His smile disappears when Kageyama pulls him down by the collar and presses their lips back together, and whatever was on his mind goes with it. He is kissing back with fervour and has his hands cupping Kageyama's cheeks, and feels Kageyama's hands travel down to his hips. When Hinata threads his fingers through Kageyama's hair, he is suddenly reminded of the birthday he spent at the grass fields, and remembers how he was going to tell Kageyama all about it.

After pulling back and sitting up—still on top of Kageyama—Hinata takes the larger boy's hands and interlaces their fingers. Kageyama gives him a questioning look, and it's so cute Hinata has to kiss him again before explaining. "I was going to talk about my previous birthdays, but we got off track, and then I felt your hair, and—"

"You feeling my hair when we were making out reminded you of a birthday you had years ago?" Hinata nods his head up and down in an exaggerated manner, and Kageyama asks another question because the response to the previous one makes him feel irked. "Is that an insult?"

"Wh—no!" Hinata shouts vehemently, "your hair is good, it's kind of coarse—which isn't a bad thing! But it's soft at the same time, and it reminded me of the grass where I had my birthday once."

Kageyama sits up and leans against the headboard, managing to keep a hold of Hinata the entire time. He starts playing with his boyfriend's fingers, feeling all of the ridges, and the bumps of his calluses, before indicating for him to tell his story.

"Well," Hinata looks down at Kageyama's long fingers covering his own, because he knows he'll get distracted by the touch if he doesn't acknowledge it at least once, and then looks up at the ceiling. "I was really young, either before or at the very start of elementary school. I've always really loved being outside, you know? I love the feeling of the sun on my skin, and the wind as it blows past me," Hinata closes his eyes and extends his arms, imagining it. He smiles. "Anyways, Mum just had Natsu then, so she couldn't really take me out anywhere like before. She asked what I wanted to do, and apparently I just said I wanted to roll around in some grass."

Kageyama snickers, lips quirking up. Hinata really is simple sometimes, but he still always has the best interest of others at heart. "I'm guessing it was some good grass then? Since you remember the feel of it so clearly."

"I guess you could say that. But moreso it was just a nice day. After that I didn't really spend any birthdays with my family outside." Hinata gives a small, sad smile, and he knows Kageyama notices because he squeezes his hands. It makes Hinata grin, "but that's okay, because I have my friends now!"

Even before Hinata starts telling his next story, Kageyama knows which one it's going to be about. In their second year at Karasuno, the entire volleyball team—old and new—got together to celebrate Hinata's birthday on the weekend. It's particularly special, because it was the catalyst allowed their relationship to bloom. Kageyama smiles just from thinking about it, and he presses his forehead against Hinata's, whispering "our second year" softly like it's something precious that can't be shared.

Hinata gives Kageyama a quick peck on the lips before moving off his lap and to the space beside him, close enough that their sides are still touching. "Let me share my side of how things went, yeah?"

While Kageyama gives Hinata a moment to mull over what he's going to say, he thinks back on what the day was like for him. He was jittery, for starters. It was the first time he was celebrating Hinata's birthday, and at that time he had already developed feelings for the slightly older boy. It snuck up on him, in a way; it happened slowly, in a pace that was unfamiliar to anything in regard to the spiker—Hinata started becoming very important to Kageyama, until it seemed as though he was now on par with volleyball in Kageyama's mind. But Hinata also made Kageyama experience feelings volleyball couldn't. Shyness was a feeling Kageyama was unfamiliar with, until Hinata started complimenting him whenever he made a good play. It made his heart flutter, and face heat up, and to this day he still sucks at receiving them. Nowadays though, he can respond to them with a kiss, and relish in the way Hinata turns red.

The old third years were the ones who planned the surprise party, because they had more experience, and were more responsible than anyone else. Kageyama didn't feel nervous when they told him to spend the morning with Hinata before bringing him to the venue, but on the actual day he felt on edge the entire time. It wasn't as if he had never spent time alone with Hinata before, but this was a special occasion, it was Hinata's birthday.

He ended up following Hinata most of the time, because even though he was the one who suggested the outing, he actually had no idea what to do, and just decided to let Hinata lead. It was a good idea, because he was pulled into Hinata's rhythm, and found himself relaxing more as each moment went by, until he was back to his usual self—except he kept being distracted by how cheerful and happy Hinata looked. It made Hinata stop in his tracks a few times to ask what was up. That snapped Kageyama out of his daze, and every time, he had to look away because the curious expression Hinata wore was too adorable, and the emotions it made him feel were too overwhelming.

Kageyama is brought out of his thoughts when Hinata starts speaking again, and turns his head to watch him talk. "First of all, let me just say some of the things they did were not my idea. I didn't think that any of them even knew about my feelings! I certainly didn't tell them, did you?"

Hinata looks up at Kageyama and meets his gaze. The taller boy watches him back, and wow, has Hinata always liked Kageyama's eyes. Aside from the colour, he likes how they can be so intense, or as he found out after they got together, how soft. Call him a cliché, but he really could get lost in them. When Kageyama finally replies, he sounds thoughtful. "No, but maybe they just knew. Maybe it was obvious to everyone aside from us."

"When did you get so smart, huh?" Hinata beams, bumping his shoulder into Kageyama's. He gets an eye roll in return, but no other comment. "I'm still so impressed by the whole thing though; the venue was decorated so nicely, and there was so much food, and so many activities were organised. Did you know that it was the only time I didn't want to pair with you for something?"

"Oh?" Kageyama quirks an eyebrow, "fair enough." Some of the things were… suggestive, if looked at it a certain way. He's almost certain it was done like that on purpose.

"Yeah, but coincidentally no one else was free. Remember that maze puzzle thing?" Hinata cringes whenever he thinks about it, and it annoys him that Kageyama takes delight in it.

"The blind folded one? Couldn't forget it even if I tried," Kageyama smirks, because he knows it'll irritate Hinata. It's a good memory for him, even though it may not have been at the time. He certainly looks back on it differently to how Hinata does. "Us, holding hands for the first time," Kageyama starts off, using a dreamy voice to disguise what he's about to say next, "your sweaty, sweaty hands."

"Oi!" Hinata swats Kageyama's arm, furrowing his brows and looking as angry as he can muster. It's not his fault his hands get like that when he's really nervous! It felt like his heart was literally going to jump out of him. He wanted Kageyama to be the one with his eyes covered, of course, arguing that he's afraid of the dark. Normally he wouldn't dare admit a secret like that, but he was desperate. It did not work out in his favour. His older teammates took it as more of a reason to have Kageyama guide him through it.

It didn't help that the taller boy hadn't said a word in a really long time, and was looking out into the distance. Hinata wondered if he was doing that thing where he was thinking and not saying anything again, so he made a comment to the other members about not doing the maze. Kageyama didn't look like he wanted to, and since it was Hinata's birthday, they should do as he said. They looked at each other with an expression Hinata couldn't decipher, but before he could ask what it was, Kageyama clasped their hands together. Hinata, shocked to the point he lost his words, could do nothing but look down at where their hands were now interlocked. Kageyama's hand was really warm, and it made him feel safe, and suddenly he was turning his head away to hide his blush.

Hinata remained in that state even while Kageyama led him through the puzzle, clutching his hand like a lifeline. He knew his hand was sweaty, and he was glad Kageyama didn't comment on it. Hinata apologised about it once though, to which Kageyama replied saying it was okay, everyone had their fears. Hinata then had to bite his lip to keep from laughing when he realised Kageyama thought he was nervous because he couldn't see anything. He couldn't have been more wrong—there is no one Hinata trusts more than Kageyama, his fear of the dark had been forgotten. He was freaking out due to the fact he was currently holding his crush's hand. When they came out the other side, Kageyama let his hand go, but Hinata could still feel it there, enveloping his own, for the rest of the day.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Kageyama holds his hands up as a fake surrender. "If it makes you feel better, I felt like I was going to vomit. I already couldn't believe I was holding your hand, but then you had to go and squeeze it sporadically and make my heart skip a beat. I tried so hard to stay focused on the activity, but I couldn't because I would look down at you, at how much trust you put in me, always, and wish so badly you could be mine." Kageyama almost chokes out the last few words, remembering some of the nights he spent crying because he thought this would never happen. Hinata is so good with people, and he is so loveable, whereas he's just… not. Never mind the fact they were friends, he thought there was no way Hinata would ever see him in a romantic sense. Honestly? Sometimes still feels like a dream.

Kageyama's words flood Hinata with affection, and they make him sad at the same time. He knows how it feels, because he was in the same position. Just as the memories start crawling back, he decides that he won't be sad on his birthday, and he won't let Kageyama be sad either. Hinata lets the moment pass by them, and then pulls Kageyama back down onto the bed.

"Well I'm here now," Hinata states, making eye contact with Kageyama to make sure he gets the message before going back to cuddling him, lying on his chest, "forever and always."

And then there's silence for a while. The two boys switch between sleeping and letting their minds wander, but other than that there isn't much more conversation. The sun has already set by the time Hinata speaks next.

"I've had so many extravagant birthdays," Hinata says as he listens to the steady beating of Kageyama's heart, "but I think this is the best one yet."

When Kageyama sees Hinata smile to himself, small and content, it sends this warmth surging throughout his entire being. It starts at his chest and blossoms outward, until Kageyama feels like he's holding the sun in his heart. He moves closer to the boy whom he loves more than the world, and presses a gentle kiss on top of his head.

"Happy birthday, Shouyou."

A/N: :))

I actually have one another completed fic that was written before this (and a lot more that are incomplete), so look out for them if you're interested! my tumblr is tobioshouto if you wanna hmu.

(reviews and such are always appreciated and make me v happy ty)

thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed!