When Hinata woke, it was pitch black and his cheek was wet. Why am I sitting up? he wondered groggily. Stretching his stiff back, something fell of his shoulders. My comforter? He grabbed the fabric and pulled it into his lap for confirmation. Wiping his cheek, he grimaced at the drool.
A noise brought his gaze to Kageyama's bottom bunk. "Another dream," he muttered, feeling sorry for his roommate. It was hard to watch one of the strongest people he knew roll around in bed, whimpering. Looking down at the blanket, Hinata realized that it could only have found his shoulders one way, and he smiled softly.
Looking back at Kageyama made the smile dissipate. This private side of the prickly boy was hard to see, especially since Hinata didn't think it was wise to bring it up in conversation.
Hinata went to the bathroom to do the only thing he new he could do—fill a glass of water and leave it for when his roommate eventually awoke, panting and covered in sweat.
Hinata gently placed the glass on the nightstand, a pained expression on his face as he watched Kageyama mutter and turn towards him, his face damp and contorted.
Hinata's heart stopped when a hand reached out to grab his shirt.
"Mom?" Kageyama asked weakly.
Hinata's heart felt as if it were breaking. "No, it's Hinata." He waited for the venom that would surely come when Kageyama came to his senses.
"I'm sorry," the boy muttered, letting go and rolling back over.
So many things Hinata had done for other people to help them and at this moment, he was at a loss. The asshole demeanor he thought he'd understood so blindly just didn't exist anymore.
Gingerly, the boy sat on the edge of Kageyama's bed and wrapped his arms around his knees. Steady breathing was Kageyama's response—he didn't dare yell, as it would only betray a clammy, tear-stained face, but Hinata must have known he'd woken up.
"When I was ten, my dad left my mom for a younger woman."
The vibrant red of Kageyama's bedside alarm clock read 2:00 am.
"It was really hard, because he didn't do it quietly. He brought her home, stinking drunk, to throw it in my mom's face."
Kageyama's fingers folded into a fist, ever so slightly.
"It was a mess. Natsu was crying because he was yelling, and he hit me when I told him he wasn't my father anymore."
"Why are you telling me this?" Kageyama's voice was raw.
"Because my mom never cried over him. Not once, not that I've seen. And even though I love her and think she's the best mom ever, I think it would have been better of she'd cried."
"Why?"
"Dunno."
"What?" Kageyama finally sat up, his usual scowl in place. "You can't just tell me that and then not have a reason. It's two in the fucking morning! I'd strangle you right now if I didn't need you for our practice match."
Kageyama lunged for Hinata, who dodged by hitting his head on the top bunk, crying out and clutching his forehead as he fell back, only to hit the back of his head of the wall.
"My god you're an idiot. Get out of my bed before I catch it."
"Wait wait wait!" Hinata scrambled into a sitting position, his back touching Kageyama's calf, hidden under the blankets.
"I guess what I was trying to say is, it's okay to cry."
"Are you making fun of me?"
"No! You've just been having these nightmares and I have no idea what to do and you really seem to miss your mom which makes me think of my mom and also think of my dad because it's a painful memory and you seem in pain—"
Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and without thinking, Hinata jumped and fell next to Kageyama to hide, his heading hitting the boy's chest, hair touching skin in a way that made Kageyama forget what they were even talking about.
"What are you doing?!" Kageyama hissed.
"Hiding."
"WHY?"
The orange-haired kid was just a dark shadow, but his weight and scent jumpstarted Kageyama's heart to an impossible hammering.
"Hey, can you keep it down in there? I can hear you banging around."
The voice was muddled behind the door, but Kageyama hadn't heard it. The small body next to him produced more heat than he thought was possible. The feeling of foreign hair on his neck left him frozen. It wasn't until Hinata let out a breath of air that he came to his senses and reflexes kicked in. Using his feet he shoved the body out of his personal space, wondering why the fuck he was blushing.
"What was that for?" Hinata grumbled, picking himself off the floor and rubbing his head.
Kageyama had already rolled over, heart still pounding. "Thanks for the… water," he mumbled, unable to say anything else.
Hinata frowned, unhappy that pouring his heart out to his former enemy hadn't worked.
"I was just trying to help," he muttered as he clambered noisily into bed.
Kageyama's chest still tingled with warmth and the dark silhouette of a tiny, curly-haired boy in his bed sent him into dreamless sleep.
"Hinata… I think that's Kageyama's jacket."
The team was in the locker room, debriefing after another grueling practice. The match was tomorrow and Hinata was freaking out with no sign of calming his nerves.
The boy looked down, and sure enough, in a daze, he had tried to put on Kageyama's jacket as a pair of pants. He tried to play it off as a typical "ditzy Hinata thing," but at this point, the team was just plain worried.
In fact, Kageyama didn't need to worry about confronting the bizarre blushing bunk bed incident because Hinata couldn't even think straight, let alone notice what anyone else was doing. Even if that person was jumping a mile in the air when Hinata's skin touched their own.
Tsukki's taunts were being met with glazed over acceptance, not flustered contempt. Anything anyone said to Hinata seemed to have the opposite effect. It was a disaster.
"Get your ass out of my jacket and put some damn pants on!" Kageyama fumed, smacking Hinata's shoulder.
The boy just stuttered out a meek "okay" as he tried to take it off, falling over in the process and blushing like a flustered idiot.
This is bad, Kageyama thought. How would Hinata approach me if I were acting strange?
He remembered the boy sitting on his bed, spilling the story about his mother in a calm voice. He remembered hair on his neck and heat on his chest.
Kageyama slammed his locker door shut with force that drew everyone's eyes towards him, except Hinata's.
"Everyone is going bat-shit crazy," Tanaka muttered, exiting the locker room. He gave Hinata a pat on the back before leaving.
"Hinata, just try and get some sleep tonight, okay?" Sugawara almost pleaded, a sad smile on his lips.
Daichi had his arms crossed, looking Hinata like he was a rubix cube. Finally, he just told Kageyama: "try not to put any unneeded pressure on him."
Kageyama nodded, trying to think of anything he'd said that might have caused this. Nothing but insults came to mind, but those were so common that he dismissed them.
On the way back to their dorm room, Hinata kept mumbling attack and defense plays under his breath, completely out of it. It was the quietist Kageyama had ever seen the dumbass, and yet this almost irritated him more.
"Hey—" he began, but caught himself. What would be good to say in this situation?
Hinata looked at him with creepy eyes.
"Help me with math after dinner."
Hinata nodded and smiled slightly, chuckling at the demand. His smile was nowhere near the level it would have been if he were his usual self. For some reason, the kid had an addiction to being depended on, and Kageyama had come to know Hinata's typical reaction to things.
He's probably afraid he'll mess up. I mean, I'm afraid he'll mess up. But I can't say that.
Kageyama scratched his head and the boys entered the dorm building in silence.
While Kageyama worked as studiously as he could at his desk, Hinata lay lifelessly in bed, the noise of him rolling from side to side stirring the quiet from time to time. Kageyama still hadn't said anything noteworthy, and Hinata seemed to get worse and worse. The sun had sunk well below the horizon and soon it would be time to try and get some sleep.
"So are you gonna help me with these or not?" Kageyama finally voiced, annoyed that their old room atmosphere was gone.
"Yeah," Hinata groaned, rising from the bed like a ghost. "One second."
He clambered down and made his way to Kageyama, placing a hand on the back of his chair and leaning over to get a good view of the math textbook. Their cheeks only an inch apart, Kageyama tried to breathe normally and point out where he was struggling.
"Oh, I remember this one. So if you just use the formula on the next page…" Hinata reached out to turn the page and his hair brushed against Kageyama's cheek, making his heart stutter.
"I'm tired," he said stiffly, trying to stand from his chair and distance himself from his roommate.
"But you just started!" Hinata huffed, almost back to his usual self.
"I don't need an idiot's help," Kageyama replied, putting his books away and trying to hide his red cheeks. What is wrong with me? he thought.
"I was just showing you the right way to—" Hinata's words were cut sort by their bedroom door bursting open.
"Shrimp!" a familiar voice yelled, and Kageyama and Hinata recognized Tanaka immediately.
"What?" Hinata asked, already in a defensive position to avoid any noogie and/or forceful slap on the back. Tanaka didn't know his own strength.
"I brought you something. To help you sleep before the match tomorrow. You've been really out of it lately, so this might help."
He slammed a flask down on Kageyama's desk.
"Um…" Hinata hesitated. "Alcohol?"
"Of course. Just take a few swigs and you'll pass right out."
"I'm underage."
Tanaka rolled his eyes. "Just don't drink the whole thing, and absolutely none before the match tomorrow! You guys better be ready to kick some ass!" He was out the door in the same whirlwind of energy with which he'd entered.
"That is not a good idea," Kageyama said, getting ready for bed. When his back was turned, Hinata unscrewed the cap and took three generous swigs. The liquid burned as it went down and tasted like acetone.
"What did I tell you?!" Kageyama yelled, but Hinata was already grinning like an idiot.
"It feels warm."
Kageyama rolled his eyes. "Just snap out of it and get back to your normal for tomorrow."
Hinata looked at his feet.
He didn't know if he could do that. All he knew was the alcohol made him ready for bed, whether he wanted to sleep or not.
