Kageyama stepped out of the car, hauling his heavy bag with him, and stared up at Hinata's house. It was nice-looking, not shabby but not fancy, comfortable and lived in. The plants in the front were well-tended and green, and the late afternoon sunlight bathed it all in golden light. He could easily imagine Hinata and his parents and little sister filling this house with their lives, their happiness and warmth and love for each other.

The car honked and Kageyama turned to wave good-bye as it drove away, then stepped to the door and rang the bell. The door opened almost immediately, and Mrs. Hinata gave him a big smile and welcomed him into the house with a sweeping wave of her hand. "Kageyama-kun! Come in, come in! The kids are in the main room—I'll show you there."

He bowed a polite greeting, but her back was already turned as she hurried into the house. Kageyama toed off his shoes as quickly as he could and followed, half-jogging for a few steps to catch up. He could hear voices, faint at first, then louder as they approached. Natsu-chan's high little voice was easy to recognize, and the other...

Kageyama's eyes widened as they reached the wide opening to the main room and he looked inside. "Tanaka-senpai?"

Tanaka grinned at him from where he sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by toys and coloring books and brightly colored markers and crayons. Natsu had climbed up on his back as if he was a jungle gym and was currently hanging from his neck with a monkey's grace, and... Kageyama had to blink, unable to believe it. Tanaka's face sported several vivid stickers and marker drawings clearly created by Natsu's hand, vaguely resembling butterflies and rainbows.

"Bald nii-san!" Natsu commanded, tiny bare feet digging into Tanaka's back as she tried to climb higher up his body. "Hold still! You're too wiggly!"

Tanaka grunted as her forearm threatened to cut off his air, but he was still grinning. He reached up and grabbed her hands, providing leverage, and bent his back to make it easier for her to climb on him. She guffawed in approval and walked up the inclined surface, then settled herself on his shoulders and raised her fists, crowing in triumph. "I climbed the mountain! All by myself! Did you see, nii-chan?"

This was directed at Hinata, who lay on the sofa against the wall. He was lounging on a pile of pillows and blankets, one leg thrown up over the back of the sofa, arms akimbo and head cushioned securely against the sofa's arm. He even had the stuffed stegosaurus from Tsukishima hanging out with him, which made Kageyama blink yet again.

Hinata looked tired, his eyelids heavy and his body limp, but he still had a grin for his little sister and her antics. "Yeah, I saw. Great job, Nacchan!" He gave her a big thumbs up and a look of extreme big-brother pride.

Then he waved at Kageyama. "Hi, Kageyama. Good to see you."

Kageyama nodded back, still not sure what to make of all this. Natsu kicked her feet against Tanaka's chest, glorying in her defeat of the "mountain." Mrs. Hinata smiled so wide and sweet that Kageyama was surprised that an entire flock of birds did not immediately appear and begin singing in chorus.

At least she saw fit to explain the situation to Kageyama. "Tanaka-kun has spent the entire day here, entertaining Nacchan so Shouyou could get as much rest as possible. Wasn't that kind?"

Kageyama nodded mutely. She reached for his bag, tugging on the strap. "Let me take that to Shouyou's room for you. Supper will be ready in about twenty minutes. Will you be staying for the meal, Tanaka-kun?"

Tanaka nodded eagerly. "Yes, please. My sister will pick me up afterward. I'll text her and let her know." He looked at Kageyama. "Mrs. Hinata's cooking is amazing."

Kageyama nodded again. He let Mrs. Hinata take his bag.

Once she was gone, he moved over to Hinata's sofa and sat at his feet—there was plenty of room, seeing as it was an enormous sofa and Hinata was not an enormous person. Natsu bounced on Tanaka's shoulders, demanding a ride, and he reached up to grab her legs so she wouldn't fall. Kageyama watched them carefully.

"You've been here all day, huh?" Maybe Hinata hadn't had a chance to feel scared and lonely, then.

Tanaka shrugged, bouncing Natsu on his shoulders. "I'm suspended. Might as well take advantage of the time."

"That makes sense."

"Nii-chan can't play with me," Natsu declared, almost pouting. "But bald nii-san came, so it's okay!" And she hugged his head.

Good grief. Kageyama's heart flew into about a hundred pieces. Hinata and Tanaka didn't look much better. Natsu bent over and rubbed her nose on the top of Tanaka's head.

Dammit, no. Kageyama was not going to be jealous of Tanaka for managing to befriend Hinata's little sister with such ease. It wasn't Kageyama's fault that she met him in horrible, terrible circumstances that were practically guaranteed to ensure she didn't like him. He'd win her over eventually. Somehow.

"Oi, Kageyama." Hinata stretched out his bare foot and nudged Kageyama in the side to draw his attention. Kageyama did his best not to recoil in disgust. "What's with the grumpy face all of a sudden?"

Kageyama whipped his head around to stare at him. "...Grumpy?"

"Your face was all 'geeehhh' and 'bwah' and 'ugu' and stuff."

"Speak Japanese!" Hinata's foot stretched for him again, toes wiggling repulsively, and Kageyama slapped it away. "That wasn't a grumpy face, anyway. It was determination."

"Hah? Determination, you say?" Hinata's tone was disbelieving, but his eyes were sparkling. And his gross foot was making another play for Kageyama's side.

"Ugh, yes!" Kageyama turned sideways and grabbed Hinata's ankle to fend him off. His toes kept wiggling in the air. "It's not my fault if you can't recognize determination when you see it."

"I think it's your fault for being bad at facial expressions."

"Of course you think that! You're an idiot!" Hinata's other foot was now coming after Kageyama, too. Kageyama grabbed that ankle with his other hand and held on, bending his head back to avoid any accidental touches. Hinata was wiggling all ten toes at him now. Furiously.

"Kageyaaamaaa," Hinata whined. "Don't call me an idiot. I have a head injury, it's not faaaiirrrr."

"You were an idiot before the head injury and you'll be an idiot after the head injury, so of course it's fair!"

"Kageyaaammaaaaa. Be niiicceee to meeee."

"Idiot!"

A sudden peal of high-pitched laughter interrupted the insanity, and Kageyama whipped his head back around to the middle of the room. Natsu was bent over Tanaka's head, helpless with giggles, and Tanaka was shaking hard with his head bowed, trying to contain his own mirth. Kageyama's eyes widened. He had completely forgotten that he had intended to make Natsu like him, instead instantly starting the stupidest fight that had ever been fought with her big brother.

Natsu didn't seem at all bothered or frightened, though. Instead, she was laughing hysterically. As Kageyama watched, she slid limply off Tanaka's shoulders and down into his lap. Tanaka cradled her there, bent halfway over her as if in protectiveness, but it was just because he was laughing so hard, himself.

"Grumpy!" Natsu gasped out between giggles, pointing a shaking finger at Kageyama. "Grumpy nii-san!"

"That's right, Natsu-chan!" Tanaka scooped her up in his arms and rubbed his face on her belly for a moment as if she were a kitten. She squealed even more. Tanaka then freed one finger to point at Kageyama, too. His eyes were actually tearing up from laughing so hard. "It's grumpy nii-san! You should never, ever call him anything else!"

"Grumpy nii-san! Grumpy nii-san!"

Kageyama let go of Hinata's ankles and just stared at them in astonishment.

Well, at least Natsu didn't hate him anymore.

X

After supper (which was, as promised, incredibly good), Tanaka, Kageyama, and Hinata went outside and sat on the stoop to wait for Saeko. Kageyama hadn't been sure it was a good idea at first, but Mr. and Mrs. Hinata both said that Hinata should get some air and they were happy to clean up the meal. The sun was setting and long, thick shadows were beginning to stretch across the landscape, and the three of them sat there and enjoyed the air and the sounds of the birds and the breeze.

Hinata had perked up with the meal, and he was sitting relatively upright on the stoop, his elbows on his knees, his back only slightly bowed. Kageyama and Tanaka mirrored him, one on either side. They hadn't said a word as they came out here and sat down, choosing their positions naturally, but Kageyama didn't have to talk to Tanaka to know what was going on. It was silly, maybe, to be worried out here in the cool and the quiet of a lovely evening, but neither of them was going to let anything get at Hinata while they were there. Anything that tried would have to go through them, first.

But now that Hinata's energy was up, Tanaka's seemed to be draining. His weariness from the day before was returning, his quiet tension, the way his shoulders were too tight and his hands too still. Kageyama found himself watching Tanaka as much as he watched the road. Words nudged at his lips, wanting to spill out, but he couldn't seem to find the right ones. He wished Suga was here.

There was a heaviness in the air, suddenly, a feeling of portent, of grief. They had all lost something when Hinata's head hit the wall, and they were never going to get it back. A kind of innocence, wrenched from their hands and shredded before their eyes. Some sense of invulnerability and youth, some sort of trust that the world was on their side. It had shattered, it had crumbled, it was gone.

"I'm sorry, Hinata," Tanaka said.

The others both turned their heads to look at him, though they didn't otherwise move.

"What for?" Hinata asked, completely baffled. Kageyama didn't have to ask. He knew. He felt it too.

"For not stopping it." The words were heavy, and they hung in the heavy air, sinking slowly toward the earth.

"Stopping…" Hinata stared, the words dying his lips.

"I'm your senpai. It's my job to look out for you. How many times have you hid behind me from some scary dude we happened to meet? It always made me happy to be strong for you, to be your senpai. But the one time it really mattered, I wasn't there."

"You were… Tanaka-senpai…" Hinata held still for moment. Then he reached out and put his hand on Tanaka's arm.

"I don't blame you."

"I know you don't." Tanaka looked at Hinata for a moment. His eyes were moist, and he looked away, staring toward the road. "Somehow that almost makes it worse."

"It was like an earthquake," Kageyama said. They both looked at him, and he did his best to meet their eyes. "No one could have stopped it."

"Maybe so, but…" Tanaka swiped at his eyes with his fingers and looked away again. "I can't stop thinking about it."

Right. Kageyama knew this one, too. He nodded decisively. "That's because your brain is allergic."

They both stared at him again. This time neither one looked away.

Kageyama flushed. Words! Why were they so difficult? "You don't… It's just… Wind," he said. "It's wind and you have to let it go through."

"Wind…" Tanaka echoed blankly.

"Bad wind," Kageyama clarified.

They blinked at him, almost in unison.

Kageyama threw his hands in the air in frustration. "Just... Ah!" He reached across Hinata toward Tanaka, beckoning with his fingers. "Give me your phone."

"My phone?"

"Yes, your phone."

Tanaka fumbled in his pocket and drew it out. Kageyama took it and scrolled through the contacts. As he expected, it was there. Why wouldn't it be?

"There." He selected the contact but did not hit the dial button, then handed the phone back to Tanaka. "When your sister picks you up, call him."

"Suga-san?"

Kageyama nodded vigorously. "Yes. Call him. Talk to him." He considered for a moment. "Maybe Takeda-sensei, too. He understands stuff."

Tanaka stared at his phone for a moment, then put it back into his pocket. "All right."

He sounded like he was humoring Kageyama, not like he meant to do it. Kageyama reached over Hinata's head and punched him in the upper arm. "I mean it! Call him!"

Tanaka actually recoiled slightly, then rubbed his arm where he'd been hit. "Okay, okay! I will!"

Hinata laughed at it all, bright and sparkling. Kageyama pointed a finger at him, half-rising to loom over him. "You should, too!"

"Okay, fine!"

Kageyama sat back down, huffing in satisfaction. He could still see Tanaka rubbing his arm in the corner of his eye.

And Hinata continued to giggle. "Wow, Kageyama, you're such a bully. And you're so bad at speaking reassuringly! Last night, too."

Kageyama grunted. "I was right though, wasn't I?"

Hinata made a noise that could have been assent. Kageyama was willing to take it.

Tanaka shook his head. "You are both such weird kouhai."

"But we're your kouhai, right?" Hinata asked.

Tanaka paused. He really looked at him, then, really met his eyes. "Yeah."

His voice was soft. And strong. And more like himself.

Hinata sort of launched himself at Tanaka. Not very hard and rather awkwardly, since they were sitting next to each other at the time. But Hinata's arms wrapped around Tanaka's torso and held on tight, and after a second Tanaka put his arms around Hinata in return, and Kageyama sat there and felt stupid, but also kind of nice about it all.

"And you were there," Hinata mumbled into Tanaka's shoulder.

Tanaka went still. "Hah?"

"You were there." Hinata drew back and looked up, meeting his eyes. "You said you weren't there, but you were. I remember. I remember your voice. Everyone was upset, but you were the most. And even though, even though I knew that something was wrong and something bad had happened to me, I felt safer because I knew you were there and you were looking out for me."

Tanaka shook his head, not like he didn't believe him, but like he didn't understand. "That's not what I…"

"It's true, though," Kageyama interrupted. He didn't like to think about that time directly after the incident (didn't like to think about any of it, but some things he didn't have a choice over), but he remembered. "When I ran to Hinata. Right after… Right after. I heard you behind me, and I knew I didn't have to worry about that bastard who did this. I knew you were going to take care of it. So I went straight to Hinata and I didn't even look at that guy until much later. Because you were there, and you were looking out for us."

Hinata nodded. "You were there."

After a moment, Tanaka nodded in return, accepting. Then he looked to the road, squinting his eyes against the dying light as he watched for his sister. The three of them sat there in comfortable silence, enjoying the breeze.