AN: (a little timeskip! end of third year!)
ew i'm sorry, i tried so hard but this is like. wheres the cute. its not here :(
this isn't cohesive or insightful at all but i hope you enjoy reading it!
1.
what flavor cake bring 2 party?
Yachi buries her face in her hands and sighs. Their celebration party starts in 2 hours and she asked Kageyama and Hinata to pick up the cake ages ago, but for the last 30 minutes she kept getting frantic texts about how they took the wrong bus and didn't know how to get to the bakery. In retrospect, she shouldn't have sent them together, but she was in a hurry.
I ordered it already! Just tell them my name and give them the money!
Her thumbs move quickly, face scrunched up. When she finishes the text, she stands up from her chair and paces around the room. It's already decorated with colorful streamers and a banner displaying "Congratulations Karasuno!" but a lot of things are still missing, namely all of the food. She already knows the underclassmen are a little hopeless, but apparently she was wrong to expect that Kageyama and Hinata would be any better. The room looks so empty, and she sits back down on her chair with a grumpy sigh. Her phone beeps.
dumbass hinata knocked over a $30 cheesecake!
Yachi resists the urge to scream and instead presses new message, intending to vent to Kiyoko about how she ends up spending all her money fixing the team's idiotic mistakes.
pls help
Yachi stops typing and imagines the scene. Hinata jumps around in frustration and the cake falls to the floor. Instead of apologizing, Kageyama yells at Hinata — "you shitty idiot!" — and ignores the angry cashier. They're so busy arguing about whose fault it was that they don't notice they got kicked out. Sitting on the doorstep of the bakery, Hinata yells at the sky while Kageyama pulls out his phone and texts her.
sorry
Yachi is irritated, and tired. But she thinks about the practice hours spent in the gym, and the feeling of accomplishment after that final game, and the smiles they showed her when it was all over.
me too. its my fault. sorry.
She thinks about Kageyama taking Hinata's phone out of his pocket, shoving it in his face and telling him to write her a message too.
She desperately wishes this wasn't happening, but resigns herself and grabs her jacket. And her wallet.
2.
Her phone rings a couple times, but she ignores it. Yachi's head is a little dizzy as she rolls out of bed, glancing at her messy hair in the mirror. The phone rings again.
"Hello?" she answers groggily. It's 7:25 already, but it's Saturday, so she feels like she has the right to be sleepy.
"Hey uh, Yachi, can you, do you think you can help me?" Kageyama asks. He's stuttering, but he sounds wide awake. Yachi thinks he's nervous.
"Yeah, with what?"
"I'm moving now…" He sounds incredibly uncomfortable.
"Yeah! He's doing it!" She hears faint shouting in the background.
"Ugh… never mind," he says.
"Oh… did you want help?" Yachi's curious as to who it is with Kageyama, but if she comes over, then she'll find out anyway. "I'll be right over!"
"Well-" he starts, but is cut off by her hanging up.
.
.
Yachi looks at the car Kageyama borrowed and looks skeptical. It's his parent's old car, complete with rust and chipped paint. Well, she supposes it'll be sufficient for moving, being that he doesn't have all that much stuff..
"Hey, Yachi-san!" Tanaka shouts with a wave. He comes out of the house with Kageyama and Nishinoya. Kageyama looks miffed.
"Hi! What are you guys doing?" Yachi asks. She smiles brightly in hopes of getting a reaction from the irritated-looking Kageyama, but it looks like he's avoiding her gaze.
"Well, we loaded some of the heavy furniture into the car, but there isn't much that Kageyama wants to take to his apartment anyway. Oh and we have dates to go to now, so we're going to leave! Bye!" Nishinoya says. He and Tanaka immediately start running away, and Kageyama's face is frozen in shock, hand outstretched.
"THAT'S A LIE!" he yells once he regains some composure, but they're already escaping, snickering the whole time.
"Um?" Yachi smiles awkwardly, not understanding what's going on. "So should I help you clean up the rest?"
.
.
"Wow, it's messy," she admits when she steps into his room. It's a lot emptier than it was the last time she visited, but there's still clothes strewn everywhere.
"Sorry," Kageyama mumbles. He runs his fingers along the doorframe.
"Well, where should I start?" Yachi walks over to his desk, where a photo of the volleyball team from last year sits. "You're gonna bring this, right? Where's the box?"
"Oh, right here." He brings it over, seemingly more calm.
Kageyama doesn't talk much as they sort through his old things, only saying "yes" when Yachi holds up a trophy, or "burn it" when she points to a picture of him and Hinata. She puts it in the box anyway.
.
.
At the end of the day, she offers to drive him to his new apartment since he's been lifting things all day, but he declines. "I'm afraid that you'll break the car," he says. It should be a joke, but it sounds serious.
She still insists on coming along for the drive, so he buckles up and crosses his fingers.
It doesn't help.
They stand on the edge of a dirt road, stranded surrounded by fields of wheat. Kageyama attempts to lift the hood of the car, but even if he could, he doesn't know the first thing about car mechanics. "Shit, my battery's dead." Yachi calls her mom and asks for the phone number of a towing company.
The sky gets darker as they wait, but Yachi isn't afraid to sit around. Kageyama leans against the wood fence. "It wasn't me who broke the car after all," she says with a laugh.
"It was you who saved me," he says, looking away so she couldn't see his face.
3.
Yachi strolls through the mall happily. Kiyoko is visiting her, so she has lots of fun picking out cute dresses and buying snacks. It's been a while since Yachi got to hang out with girls, since she's been busy dealing with uni stuff.
"I'm pretty sad because everyone's separated..." She trails off.
"You'll see each other often though, I'm sure," Kiyoko replies. After all, they are meeting right now after 2 years.
"I wish! Even now, it's been a couple weeks since we've met up. That's why I'm so excited that we're going out for Hinata's birthday. You're coming, right?" Yachi says excitedly.
"Tonight, of course. Although I'll have to stop by at home first..." Kiyoko trails off because something has caught her and Yachi's eyes. They stare blankly.
On the other side of the mall a suspicious figure in a dark hoodie and sunglasses sneaks around the sports store.
"Isn't that…"
The person turns around suddenly and seeing Yachi and Kiyoko, quickly runs away.
"It is, isn't it…" Yachi says, and they chase after him.
.
.
Not a surprise to either of them, they find Kageyama in the volleyball section, still in that ridiculous getup. He's shocked that they found him.
"So… why are you here like this again?" Yachi asks, sweating.
"Nn…" Kageyama speaks really quietly, so Yachi and Kiyoko lean in to hear. "I forgot to get a present for Hinata," he whispers aggressively. "Don't tell anyone! It's embarrassing."
Secretly Yachi wonders why Kageyama thinks that forgetting to buy a present is more embarrassing than getting caught sneaking around the mall, but she doesn't ask.
"You could have just dressed normally and pretended you were looking for something for yourself…" Kiyoko offers. Yachi sees his disheartened face again and feels very sorry for him.
.
.
"Kneepads. Those look really cool!" Yachi says with starry eyes. Kiyoko left already, promising to meet them at the restaurant later. Rather than go home, Yachi thought it would be a better idea to stick around with Kageyama.
"Does he need 2 new pairs though?" Kageyama squints at the price tag. "I'm not even sure that he needs 1 new pair."
"The ones I got him are really awesome though. He's definitely going to love them!" Yachi shouts triumphantly, hand raised in the air. People whisper around them and Kageyama tells her to be quiet.
"If your definition of awesome is just like these ones here, I disagree. I definitely disagree."
"Well, if you think my taste is so bad, then I don't wanna help-" She pouts and starts to walk away.
"Wait." Kageyama bites his lip and asks again. "Please help me."
She turns around with a grin.
They end up picking out a new pair of shoes which Hinata loves, and lots of people are surprised that he likes them so much, most of all Kiyoko. She raises an eyebrow, and Kageyama turns red, but Yachi gives him a thumbs-up and a smile.
4.
Yachi cuts apple slices from the bowl of fruit next to her.
She switches the channel again and again but nothing interesting comes on. Cop show reruns, a wildlife documentary, an old drama she hated… Yachi grabs a glass of iced tea from the kitchen and places it on her coffee table.
Someone starts banging on the door.
"Yachi-san! Urh.. bblk.." Tsukishima yells, struggling with something heavy. Lucky her neighbors are away.
Yachi races to the door. "Oh-"
As it opens, Kageyama falls into her arms. She looks down. He doesn't look up.
"He got drunk, obviously," Tsuki says. "And your apartment was close. Sorry." Tsuki wipes his hands like he was glad to get rid of something disgusting, although in his defense it looked like Kageyama had thrown something green up on his shirt.
"Why were you guys drinking?" she asks, lifting Kageyama up. She realizes he's really heavy now that she's holding him by herself. "Don't you have practice tomorrow morning?"
"Well, I do, but I'm not the one who doesn't know how to hold a drink," Tsukishima replies. "What an irresponsible, arrogant bastard, leaving other people to take care of him." She shakes her head.
He looks like he wants to leave but hesitates. What's stopping him isn't care for Kageyama, but pity for Yachi.
"Oh, I'll deal with him. You should get some sleep," Yachi says lightheartedly. Kageyama waves his hands around and she grimaces. She might not directly agree with Tsukishima's words, but she has ideas for what she's going to say to him when he wakes up.
"Ok, if he does anything horrible, I'll kick his ass for you."
The door shuts and suddenly she realizes that she's alone at night with drunk Kageyama in her hands. She first drops him on the couch and lets out a sigh. Yachi takes a sip of tea and goes to look for spare clothes.
.
.
When he wakes up the next morning, his first thought is how much it smells like strawberries.
He sits up, rubs his head and takes in the image of blankets and tv static and the note resting on the plate of toast with jam on the table —
feeling better? :)
He wants to leave a note back but can't find the right way to say thanks without sounding too grateful or too nonchalant.
In the end, he stands back and admires his work. He feels ridiculous, and leaves before he can get too embarrassed and change his mind.
Yachi comes back to her apartment and laughs as soon as she gets to the table.
"He spelled "thank you" out in slices of fruit!" She cries hysterically later on the phone with Tsuki.
"That arrogant idiot bastard."
5.
Kageyama doesn't know what he did to deserve this, but he must have done something huge. Because here he is.
.
.
"Okay, what are we looking for?" Yachi asks. The room is dark - they aren't supposed to be there so Kageyama doesn't want people to find them.
Earlier Kageyama's senior had texted him about something he left in the clubroom by accident, so he enlisted Yachi to help him sneak into the room. They made it into the room… but.
"Uh, some textbooks." He rifles through his messy pockets for his phone. "Red one- Statistics. And blue-green biology one."
"Tell me again why we have to do this?" Yachi says as she pinches her nose. No one ever said club rooms smelled like fresh flowers, but this is too much.
"I owe him a favor. A couple actually. Maybe a lot." Kageyama shrugs. Yachi rolls her eyes.
"Oh, here." Yachi holds up the red book they were looking for. "It was under the bench, covered in socks. Yuck." She hands him the book but they're interrupted by the sound of footsteps. The hallway light turns on.
"Dammit." Kageyama looks for an escape route. "The closet. Sorry," he says as he stumbles over her feet. It's a small storage spot with a door, but luckily not a lock.
At least they fit, although they can barely sit down comfortably. Regardless of the size, it's dark and smelly.
But he's sitting right next to Yachi.
And he hates himself for thinking it, but it could be worse.
The door opens and the voices of two girls enter. The room light flicks on.
"Ooh, look. Lots of sweaty stuff." They make lots of noise, knocking over some volleyballs.
"What is this?" Yachi hisses from beside him.
"That's the captain's girlfriend, I think…" Kageyama mutters. "She visits sometimes. Wait. No. They broke up last week."
"Okay, make as much of a mess as you can," one of the girls says. "And give me all of his stuff. I want to burn it."
Yachi immediately turns to Kageyama . "Shouldn't we stop this?"
"Oh, this has happened before. Don't worry, she doesn't mean it. Probably."
"Kageyama!" She resists the urge to shout at him.
"Aaahh!" The girl shouts, tossing things around the room. "He's such a jerk!"
A volleyball hits the door right in front of Yachi's face, and she almost screams, but Kageyama covers her mouth.
"Sorry," he says quickly. "I'm pretty sure she's not going to do anything horrible, but I can only hope."
Yachi shifts around uncomfortably, and Kageyama wonders if he should just open the door and risk getting in trouble just to make sure that they stayed safe. Then again, if anyone was around to get them in trouble, it would be the girls who attracted the attention first.
"Oh," Yachi whispers. She lifts up the textbook from behind her. "This might be the stats textbook."
"There!" shouts the girl. "I'm done."
Rumbling steps sound in the hallway. "Stop right there, young lady!"
"Aw. I didn't want to get caught, but it was totally worth it this time," the girl says. "Let's go," she tells her friend, and they run away. Kageyama and Yachi hold their breath.
After a couple of minutes and some distant shouting, they think they're safe. Yachi opens the door, and hands him the other textbook.
"Thanks for coming, Yachi," he says. He feels guilty, but-
"Thanks for inviting me," she replies with twinkly eyes. "I had fun."
6.
They walk down the street, snow falling. The lights are beautiful, and holiday music is playing out of the speakers. It's not his favorite, but someone taught him to appreciate it.
Yachi wraps her scarf tighter around her neck. "Hey, Kageyama-"
"Yeah?"
"Couldn't you just look at this forever?"
He looks around. The shops are lit with shiny gifts ready to be wrapped, and bells are hung on every door. Little kids are running around in mittens and it's just… cute. Not that he would ever say it.
Next to him Yachi never stops smiling.
Instead of answering her question, he has an impulse. "I've never been able to help you nearly as much as you've helped me."
"What?" she laughs.
"You're so… amazing, you can do everything- " He stumbles over his own words.
"You want to be helpful," she says charmingly. He's irritated, because it sounds like she's making fun of him.
"Tell me, Kageyama-kun." Yachi stares intently into his eyes, and he gets nervous.
"What?" He asks cautiously.
"Hey… I was wondering. I need some advice. What's a good way to tell an important secret to someone incredibly dense?" She doesn't take her eyes off of him.
He thinks of Hinata. And he wonders if that's who she's thinking of, too.
Kageyama remembers something that someone told him a long time ago. When something is important to you, it doesn't matter who else knows, or the circumstances. Telling the truth will always prove your sincerity.
"Uh… be really direct? Be like, here's an important secret! And yell it."
"Are you sure?" she asks. It's not like she doesn't believe him, he thinks. It's more like she wants to be doubtless.
"Yeah."
"Okay." Yachi clears her throat. "That was really helpful. Um!" He gets really, really tense.
"Kageyama, here's an important secret. I want to tell you, because it's about you. But it won't be a secret any longer." She takes a deep breath. "KAGEYAMA, I LIKE YOU!"
She immediately squats down and hides her face in her hands.
The whole square can hear, and she's not looking at him, and he hasn't said anything, and she feels like crying.
A moment's hesitation.
"I REALLY LIKE YOU TOO!" she hears even louder than she yelled and it makes her look up immediately.
Kageyama's face is red as a tomato but now she is laughing.
"So you didn't have to be embarrassed alone," he whispers when she stands up.
It's such an idiotic thing to do, but that is why she loves him.
AN: next time i want to write about their feelings! i usually like writing from one person's viewpoint so i can focus on their feelings, but that's not how this turned out… Also as you probably can tell I love slow build… slow build… this is very slow, i'm sorry :( to the point that the romance is a bit weird. i'm working on it!