Tobio trudges up the stairs heavily, the built-up grievances of the day piling on his back and dragging him into the steps he usually glides over. The tiniest things that usually didn't make any mark on him built up like too many thorns on a rose until his fingers dripped with pinpricks of blood.

God, he's fucking tired.

He reaches his front door and unlocks it after dropping his keys.

His apartment is dark and empty. It's been like this since he moved in and it's never felt any less pathetic. He flicks on the light and kicks off his shoes. He dumps his bag on the standard couch and resists the urge to throw himself on the insignificant piece of furniture.

Tobio walks into the kitchen and smacks the facet on, splashing sink water on his face before the temperature suddenly changes to scalding. He jolts his hands away from the stinging heat, an involuntary groan escaping his lips. He shakes out his hands, the cloying heat holding on tightly and irritation nearly reaching a tipping point.

Ring!

Tobio rubs his fingers through his hair, the persistent ring signaling exactly who he thinks it is.

Is it 8 already?

The ring continues and only puts him more on edge. He stalks to his bag, the dumbass on the other side will only get worried if he doesn't answer.

Tobio pulls out his phone and answers politely. "What the fuck do you want, idiot?"

"Jeez, Kageyama-kun, is that any way to greet an old friend?"

"Old?" he scoffs, "You're not that much older than me. Do the math right."

"I did! I got good scores in math, unlike you!"

"Tch."

"Don't click your tongue at me!"

He and Hinata Shouyou call each other every night at 8, Japan time. The daily ritual started when the spiker was in Brazil, half the world away, and homesick; it turned into a 20-minute catch-up session. Since then, they talk nightly, even if they have nothing to say. Thankfully, Shou's never had a shortage of things to talk about, so awkward silences don't occur.

"You sound grumpier than usual, are you okay, Kageyama?"

"I'm fine. It's … it's been a long day" he confesses with a heavy sigh, his shoulders drooping at the admission. Tobio can't find it in himself to keep it from Shou.

"What happened?"

"A lot of little things went wrong, I just can't take it anymore. I'm… tired. Look, can we talk more tomorrow? I want to sleep early and not exist for a while."

Click.

"Hinata?"

The permeating, dull silence tells Tobio that the spiker hung up.

Great.

Tobio grips the phone for a moment before shaking his head and going on auto-pilot mode. He puts his phone down, makes his normal dinner, showers, and writes a bit in his volleyball journal. The monotony of the routine keeps his mind empty, his emotions hardened. Just a little while longer and he can finally sleep.

He doesn't particularly feel like breaking, he just… feels nothing. Hollow. Numbness is a defense mechanism, he knows that, but it never feels comforting when it actually happens. The body and mind protect themselves from this formless threat and in that process, Tobio goes through periods of little to no emotion with spikes of blinding irritation.

Whatever. It'll be over soon.

He climbs into bed around 10, like usual, and he tosses and turns as his skin heats to an uncomfortable degree. Eventually, he drifts and his body unwillingly settles into his sheets.

I'll feel better any day now…

BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG

Tobio shudders awake to the sound of someone loudly knocking on his front door. Well, loudly knocking is putting it nicely. Trying to punch through sed door is closer.

Through disoriented eyes, the clock on his nightstand looks like jumbled wiggles. He blinks a few times and the wiggles clear and form 3:12 am.

Whoever is at the door continues to bang on the wood.

Tobio's skin burns as anger fully takes him over. He shoves off his blankets and storms to the door, ready to delete whoever the fuck is there.

"WHA-" he screams as he unlocks and throws open the door before freezing, his angry yell caught in his throat as he recognizes the spiker in his hallway.

"Hi, Kageyama! Sorry for waking you but I'm here now!" Hinata Shouyou says happily, a smile pulling his cheeks up under tired eyes.

Tobio stands there, confused; his thoughts crossing in eighty different ways. He blinks and that's pretty much all his body can do. He's in a state of paralysis and there is no cure.

"Kageyama? Are you not gonna let me in?"

Tobio shakes his head and regains a bit of control over his limbs, stepping aside to let the spiker hop into his apartment.

"Thanks!" Shou says, taking off his sneakers.

"Don't you… um, have practice in the morning? What are you doing here?" Tobio asks, getting out most of that phrase as he overcomes his shock.

"I'm not going to practice."

"What?!"

"I called off today. Atsumu-san will cover for me."

"You… called for today off? And Miya-san will help you? Why would you do that?"

"Why? Oh! He owes me a favor. I walked in once on him and Sa- SOMEONE and uhh yeah, he owes me one."

Tobio shakes his head. "No, idiot, why would you not go to practice? Why… why did you come here? To Tokyo?"

Shouyou shrugs. "Because you need a friend. You sounded weird on that call and I just wanted to make sure you were okay. So-"

Shou puts his bag down. He steps forward in front of the setter and lays his gentle hands on his arms, thumbs delicately pressing into his skin.

"Are you okay?"

The thing about being numb is that it's immediately noticeable when your brain decides to feel something. And Tobio feels an onslaught of love that he doesn't know what to do with.

Tobio throws the door shut and collapses onto Shouyou, pulling the spiker against his body in a tight hug that he sorely needed. Shou wraps his arms around Tobi's waist, holding him and nuzzling into his chest. He whispers sweet nothing into his skin as Tobio stands there, relishing in his warmth and care, a few exhausted tears falling from his eyes.

The phrase "I'm here" is repeated more times than Tobio can count and it just makes him melt, bit by bit, brick by brick until his walls collapse.

"I missed you," the setter whispers as his body relaxes, his best friend giving him all of the compassion he craves.

Shou grins against him and pulls back slightly. "I did too," he says and leans in, pressing kisses to Tobio's cheeks, nose, eyelids, forehead, and ending on his lips. He stays there longest as Tobio returns the kiss, their lips moving against each other, silently saying how much they mean to the other.

The first time they kissed was in their third year before Shouyou left for Brazil. Shou got a peck on his lips and Tobio shoved him away in confusion.

"Why are you kissing me? I don't like you that way!" The setter yelled.

"Um, I don't either?"

"Ehhhh? Then why did you do that?"

"Kissing doesn't have to be romantic. You're my best friend, can't I kiss you?"

Tobio's never been one to need any long-winded explanation so that was enough to convince him that kissing, especially with Hinata Shouyou, is okay. It doesn't have to be romantic because they aren't.

Shouyou kisses him so tenderly, so full of kindness. Tobio feels taken care of under his gaze and lips. If he really lets himself admit it, Shou's the reason for so many of the good things that came into his life. How could he not feel love for him?

Shouyou's stomach growls, interrupting the mood and causing Tobi's relaxed eyebrows to buckle into a frown. He pulls back from Shou's face. "Did you have dinner?"

"I may have skipped it…. I left the house right after we called!"

Tobio drops his arms and storms to the kitchen, muttering quiet 'dumbass'es on the way.

He opens the fridge and pulls out some prepacked power curry from his advertisements. He spins around and presses the "heat" button on the rice cooker before pulling out some glasses.

"Take these to the table," he says, holding them out for the spiker.

Shou lazily walks into the kitchen and puts his hands on his waist. "You're making me dinner?"

"Yeah, obviously. Can you take these to the table?"

Shou slowly grabs the two glasses. He disappears and Tobio begins rinsing the eggs.

Shou reenters and wraps his arms around Tobio's waist. Tobio thinks he's going to be there and quiet the whole time.

"The sun's gonna be up by the time you're done with everything."

What was I thinking?

Tobio jolts still and turns to glare at the dumbass on his spine.

"Let me help," he complains.

Tobio rolls his eyes and puts the eggs down. "Fine, you're on egg duty. Don't mess up."

"I won't! They'll come out perfectly!"

Tobio begins to chop some veggies while Shou does his best with the eggs. They move around each other while they cook, crafting substantive, tasty dinners while catching up. Tobio asks him about MSBY and Shou teases him about his recent commercials. They make plans to call Yachi, Tsukki, and Yams in the morning, as well as meet them for dinner one of these weekends. Eventually, after a few eggs are incorrectly made ("I told you not to mess up" "shut up! They're fine!"), dinner is served.

Tobio and Shouyou carry their plates to the square table in front of the couch and sit.

"Thanks for the meal!" They say before digging in.

Shou hums his lips, the rice and curry are so tasty together and though the eggs are a little sloppy, they add so much flavor.

"MMmmmmmm, thanks for dinner," he says with a mouth full of food.

Tobio grimaces a bit before smiling. "You're welcome, just don't skip meals from now on, dumbass."

"It's a long drive from Osaka! I got in the car right after I hung up. And after telling Atsumu-san to cover for me, I mean."

Tobio paused, his arm halfway to his mouth as his two neurons connected. "You drove here?"

"Yeah?"

"It's like a six hour drive?!"

"I made it in five hours and 40 minutes!"

Tobio sputtered. "You seriously drove six hours because you thought I was having a bad day?"

"I didn't think, I knew you were having a bad day. It's fine, Kageyama, really. I'm happy to be here!" Shou chirps, a grand smile on his face. His eyes take a moment longer to brighten, lightening up with the rest of him as if a force of habit.

"That's all?" The setter prods, knowing his spiker like muscle memory.

Shou blinks and heaves a sigh. "Okay, I missed you too. Playing with the Black Jackals is fun and all but… sometimes I miss Karasuno. The old team. Being with everyone everyday. Playing next to you and doing our attack. It was special and easier then."

The familiarity of shared memories wraps around Tobio like a winter coat, warming him and protecting him against all else. He extends a hand across the table and Shou takes it, interlocking their fingers together.

"I know what that's like," he admits in a quiet voice. "Some days, remembering how we used to play and spend time together hurts. It's easier for me to stop feeling, to go numb rather than feel the hurt of what I can't get back. But it doesn't help to wallow either, so there's no good way to get through the pain."

"We can't win, huh?"

"Not really."

They're quiet for a while, the stillness in the apartment only offset by their breathing.

Tobio isn't known for his social skills and situations like this would normally fly completely over his head. But having Shou in front of him, eyes slightly downturned and a gentle pout on his lips, his boundless energy quelled for a short moment, Tobio wants to act.

He scoots around the table and pulls Shou into his lap, the spiker falling into his embrace. He places both hands on his squishy cheeks and lays soft kisses all over his face until their lips meet again. Tobio runs his fingers through Shou's hair and pulls him closer, the spiker smiling into the repeated kisses, the comfort from his setter exactly what he's been needing.

I need you here. Shou's lips say.

I'm here, I'm always here for you. Tobio's lips return.

They go back to eating shortly after, this time sitting side by side instead of across from each other. They talk about volleyball and manga and food and anything else. They fall back into step with each other the way they did in their first year, as if nothing had changed. As if they were 15 again and not professional athletes.

Tobio does the dishes while Shouyou picks a movie for them to watch. Well, for him to watch because Tobio was about five minutes away from falling asleep before he stood up to haul the dishes back. So Shou puts on his favorite white-noise movie (The Little Mermaid) and waits for Tobio.

The setter returns and sits on the couch, his eyelids clearly drooping as exhaustion takes him over.

"Kageyama, are you tired?" Shou teases.

"No," Tobio says, rubbing his eyes and forcing himself awake only to droop once more.

Shou pauses the movie. "Should we just go to bed? If we start watching, I'm going to start singing."

"You can't sing."

"Yes, I can! I learned in Brazil! I'm a great singer!"

"I'll take your word for it," Tobio drawls as he collapses onto the couch, his head falling onto his shoulder.

Shouyou turns off the tv and smirks. "Yammaaaaa, come on, let's go to bed."

Tobio shakes his head, a hint of a frown on his brow.

Shou's eyes narrow as he figures it out. "You want me to carry you to bed, don't you?"

Tobio hesitates before he scoffs. It's all Shou needs.

"You're so easy to read," Shou says as he wraps one arm under Tobio's waist and the other under his knees, hoisting the setter up as if he weighed next to nothing.

"Mm not," Tobio slurs, curling into the warmth of Shou's broad chest.

"You are, that's why I see through all your plays. You can't fool me, King," Shou coos before pressing a kiss to the crown of Tobio's head.

Tobio curls in more closely, that old nickname sounds sweet in the soft tone, especially coming from the one who recrowned him.

Shou carries him to his room and settles Tobio on his bed. He walks into the closet and pulls on some spare sleeping clothes. Shou returns and jumps into the bed, pulling the covers around them and climbs in as the blanket falls, encasing them together.

Shou snuggles in close and lays his head on the setter's shoulder. His feet rub against Tobio's, the chilly appendages warming quickly under the friction and body heat.

"You're like an oven," Tobio remarks, half asleep.

"You think I'm hot, Kageyama-kun?" Shou laughs.

Tobio playfully shoves at Shou, not bothering to hide the smile on his lips. He barely registers that he hasn't thought about the shitty day at all since Shou arrived at his door. "Yeah, right."

"Can we explore Tokyo tomorrow? I haven't been here in a while."

"Sure," Tobio nods, his body beginning to drift and getting close to completely shutting down.

"Can we play volleyball tomorrow too?"

Tobio's eyes crack open to stare at his best friend's wide, loving eyes. "Do you even need to ask?"

Shou beams and settles in, hugging him more tightly. "I guess not," he whispers and closes his eyes. "Night, Kageyama."

"Night, Hinata." He says. After a minute or two, he whispers, "thank you for being here."

Shou curls in closer and nuzzles into Tobio's skin. "I love you, Yama~" he breathes, barely awake.

Tobio presses a kiss into his hair and whispers into the strands, "I love you, too. Go to sleep, idiot."

Shou stills as his breathing evens, the spiker finally sleeping after his impromptu road trip.

Tobio wraps his arm around Shou's shoulder as he drifts into much-needed rest.

Tobio wakes first, right at sunrise for his usual day. He opens his eyes to see the silhouette of Shou. The spiker's warm-toned skin against the dewy, bright morning stuns him, as if Shou belongs here.

Tobio learned early in life that the simplest statements can often hold the most meaning.

"Someone even better will come and find you."

"As long as I'm here, you're invincible."

And of course, "I'm here!"

Tobio reaches for his phone and rattles off a text that he won't be coming to practice today, that family unexpectedly came to visit. He returns his phone to his nightstand and pulls the blanket back up, making sure Shou's fully covered.

All Tobio thinks before he drifts back to a peaceful sleep is:

You were worth waiting for.