The next morning, Kageyama was even quieter around his parents and avoided them, as if he thought they could read his mind and know what he was going to do after school. As if they could know he was going to meet up with his soulmates and do the exact thing they'd never wanted him to do.
He wasn't sure what his parents thought about anything anymore either because he didn't talk to them much. Kageyama wasn't optimistic enough to believe they were perfectly okay with the idea of him being with his soulmates, but he wasn't sure if they were absolutely against it either.
He wanted to believe that it didn't matter what they thought because he was going to live his life regardless, but that mentality was far from the truth. Tobio couldn't not care about what they thought, and even if he could, they still had authority over him. He couldn't just do whatever he wanted no matter how much he wanted to.
"Mama, can I go to a friends house after school today, please?" Kageyama asked, knowing what her answer would be.
She nodded and sent a glance at him but didn't say anything. Kageyama had absolutely no idea why she looked at him like that, and he didn't ask either. He would rather not know than have to explain whatever she wanted him to.
After he ate breakfast he walked off to school for another day of the same thing and volleyball.
Kageyama should probably tell the team about Oikawa and Iwaizumi, because even if something didn't work out, he figured they should still know, and maybe they could even help him like Suga had.
Hopefully not like Hinata because 'get over it' wasn't very good advice in his opinion and whether it was good or not didn't even matter since he personally didn't find it helpful.
The problem was sometimes Kageyama overthought and Hinata didn't think at all. And he would love to be able to tell his brain to shut up and have it actually listen like Hinata, but he couldn't do that because obviously if he could, he would.
Tobio mostly kept to himself for the rest of the day, even in volleyball, just trying to think of what he would say to Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Was he expected to say anything at all?
And assuming that Iwaizumi's dad would be there, this was his chance to make a good first impression, and he wasn't going to screw that up.
"You worry too much Tobio, it'll all go well." Hinata said walking off campus with him after volleyball practice. "Just tell your brain to shut up whenever it gives you negative thoughts like that."
"You're right, Shoyo, that would be really nice." Kageyama grumbled and then added, "I wish I could turn my brain off all the time like you can."
Hinata gave him a smile before it slowly disappeared and he furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. "Did… you just call me stupid?"
"Yes."
"Rich from you. I got a D on our last assignment. You outright failed."
"Shut up! It was the opposite two assignments ago!"
"I'm just saying you're as bad at school as me."
"Well I used to get A's before you came around."
"You mean before I became your inspiration to put your energy into volleyball and become the greatest player in the whole world! You told me you only joined cus of your soulmates, so it's a good thing I came around."
"You tried it just cus of one game you saw. If anything I was your inspiration."
"Were not! And besides, the point of my comment is that you end up worrying about all the wrong things. I would think you'd be worrying about a volleyball game, or your future, or even your grades. Not about seeing people you've known for three years."
"It's different now."
"Really? How."
"Well they know who I really am now… and they like me. It just feels different okay, you haven't even met your soulmate. You'd probably be a mess too."
"No way, I don't overthink like you do. I would just go up to her and start talking."
Kageyama wanted to refute that but he couldn't because he pictured Hinata doing that exact thing quite easily.
"Whatever. Your soulmate doesn't play volleyball, and she's the same age as you and you guys don't have any history. It's just easier."
"I guess so. I just don't see why you're so nervous about meeting with them today."
Kageyama didn't respond and rolled his eyes prompting Hinata to kick his shin. "You're so rude! I'm just trying to help."
"I know." Kageyama huffed. "Let's just not talk about it."
"Okay I guess…"
They'd stopped at the gate and Hinata stood there with him while Kageyama internally tried to work up the nerves to walk to Iwaizumi's house.
Someone knocked against his shoulder, making him take a step back to let them pass.
"Fucking hell you ass." Kageyama snarled at Tsukishima who was looking down at him with one of his annoying signature smirks.
"No need to be so vulgar." Tsukishima's condescending tone made Kageyama want to rip out his vocal cords. "I bet your soulmates wouldn't want their partner to cuss so much."
"And no soulmate wants to find out their partner is an asshole like you!" Kageyama growled, gritting his teeth as he realized Tsukishima had probably been listening to his and Hinata's conversation. "How much did you hear anyway!"
"Just the end. Why are you so nervous to meet with them anyway? Get some guts, king."
"I'll kick you in yours if you don't shut the fuck up." Hinata said, scowling at Tsukishima, his eyes completely serious.
"Well there's no need to get violent."
"Why not? Cus we'd kick your ass?"
Tsukishima opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Yamaguchi calling out his name. "I'm ready to go now, thanks for waiting."
"Couldn't you just fucking wait like a normal person." Kageyama grumbled not understanding why Tsukishima was always trying to start fights with him.
"Like I would just stand around with your annoying presence right beside me."
"You just wanted to piss me off!"
"What was I suppose to say to someone who can't even confess?" Kageyama was about to retaliate that he had to have help from Sugawara but he didn't get the chance to say anything because Yamaguchi cut in.
"You have a crush, Kageyama-kun?"
"Two, actually. They're his soulmates." Tsukishima revealed, that sick grin still plastered to his face.
"Wow that's really cool that you found them both and you're going to confess to them today?"
Not exactly since he'd already confessed but he didn't really feel like explaining anything so he nodded. "They're all super cute together." Hinata piped up unhelpfully.
Kageyama glared at him and then turned back to Yamaguchi, refusing to look at Tsukishima. "Right, um, anyway I should get going to go do that."
"Not nervous anymore, king?"
"Go to hell, Tsukishima." Kageyama pushed passed him, sending a scowl that didn't even seem to phase Tsukishima.
Nobody said anything else which Kageyama was grateful for. Or maybe they did, and Kageyama was just too far away to hear.
…
The address Iwaizumi sent him wasn't too far from Karasuno, and Kageyama recognized the door to his house, even if he didn't remember seeing the rest of it before.
The colors were darker than Oikawa's house and there appeared to be random scraps of metal or something strewn across the front yard. The door to the house was larger than Kageyama even remembered, and only served as further intimidation.
Tobio briefly stood there, wondering if he should knock or ring the bell, but he didn't get the chance to contemplate because the door swung open before he could do anything.
Standing there was a man quite a few inches shorter than Kageyama, but the way he stood made him seem much taller.
The man's mouth was set in a straight line and both of them just stood there for a moment before the man opened his mouth and questioned, "Kageyama?"
Tobio nodded numbly and walked inside when the man moved, taking off his shoes at the door.
"Hey, Kageyama!" Iwaizumi said, standing in the kitchen doorway.
"Tobio-chan is here?" Oikawa peeked out from behind Iwaizumi.
Kageyama wished he could gauge their moods better but it was almost impossible to read them. Iwaizumi seemed a little nervous, maybe. His eyes kept darting around the room and his fingers kept twitching. Oikawa seemed to be more or less his usual self which meant he might decide to be nice, or he might flip Kageyama's whole mood with his next words.
The possibilities were endless.
"Glad you could come, Kageyama, and you've met my dad."
"Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you, sir." Kageyama said and Iwaizumi's dad nodded.
Kageyama was sure he'd already blown it and made a bad impression. Now Iwaizumi's dad probably thought he was inconsiderate and rude. Maybe he'd made up his mind from the moment he'd laid eyes on Kageyama. That was probably why he looked so solemn and cold. Maybe he thought Kageyama would be a bad influence on Iwaizumi which might've been true. He didn't even bring a gift or anything!
"Come on, I don't think you ever got to see my room." Iwaizumi interrupted Kageyama's thoughts and grabbed his hand, leading him to the back of my house. "I would've opened the door for you but my dad was really excited to meet you."
Kageyama thought back to the man he'd just met and frowned, disbelieving. "He was?"
"Yeah, he just gets shy around new people sometimes."
Kageyama couldn't picture any relative of Iwaizumi's being shy in any way. Iwaizumi always seemed so confident and always ready to take charge in any given situation. He would've thought he got those traits from his father, but maybe not.
He felt the word stoic better described Iwaizumi's father, and that made sense. But being shy just didn't quite fit with Kageyama's mental image or with the attitude Kageyama had thought he displayed. Iwaizumi obviously knew his dad far better than he did though, so Kageyama let it go and entertained the possibility that Iwaizumi's dad didn't completely hate him.
"Don't worry, he'll warm up Tobio-chan."
Kageyama nodded. "Will your mom be here?"
"No. I barely see her myself," Iwaizumi gave a small laugh but it seemed a bit forced, "so yeah. But I'd love for you to meet her if she ever does visit."
Kageyama furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Did his mother travel a lot?
"My parents divorced a long time ago. But they weren't soulmates either, so it was already statistically less likely for the relationship to work. I live with my dad, and my mom usually comes to visit a few times a year for a week or two." Iwaizumi explained, when he saw Tobio was confused. He seemed to be even more nervous now though. Maybe he thought Kageyama wouldn't react well or something.
"Oh." Was all he said, because he couldn't think of anything else.
Tobio thought of his parents own relationship. They weren't soulmates either, and while things had calmed down and there was hardly any arguing anymore, there was still a constant tension in the house.
He wasn't sure what else to say, so he kept quiet. Iwaizumi didn't seem to be too bothered by his parents separation anyway. Maybe it had been better for him after they separated. Kageyama had often thought about what it would be like to live with only one of his parents because he knew it could become a reality. He usually pushed the thoughts away after a little while though because of how weird it would be. He wasn't sure if his life would necessarily be better or worse if his parents divorced, but it would be different and Kageyama didn't want to dwell on something that hadn't happened.
"Okay," Iwaizumi said closing the door to his room, "before we talk, we're all going to try to be soulmates and date, right?"
Kageyama and Oikawa nodded.
"Okay, so, does anyone have any upfront questions about this?"
He didn't have any questions but he was very interested in Iwaizumi's room. Tobio knew Iwaizumi liked monsters, but apparently he liked them a lot more than Tobio thought he did judging from all the merch.
"I don't have any upfront questions" Oikawa started, "however, I do want to say that while Iwaizumi is ecstatic about the whole 'third soulmate' development, I am still apprehensive about it."
Kageyama nodded, finally seeing Oikawa start to get nervous because he paused and looked anywhere but at the two of them.
"I just don't know if it's going to work or anything so… I'm not going to lie and say I'm completely on board. I don't want you to feel awkward or anything, Tobio-chan, but I won't lie about how I feel about this either. I'm just…" scared Tobio thought but Oikawa didn't finish his sentence.
"Right, we're just trying this out." Iwaizumi shifted uncomfortably from his place on the floor. "We can take everything as slow as we need to."
And if it didn't work out then it didn't work. Kageyama was prepared for that and he could see how unsure Oikawa was and how nervous Iwaizumi was about starting this.
Still, he was fairly sure neither Iwaizumi nor Oikawa were as nervous as he was. Kageyama had the feeling that if every muscle in his body wasn't tense as a wire he'd be shaking. He was nervous about messing this up and saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing. He'd never been in a relationship before, barely had a handle on how to interact with Hinata, forget an entirely new dynamic with his two soulmates.
Not to mention how stressful the conversation already was and it had hardly begun.
"Alright, so, about dating," Iwaizumi said trying to steer the conversation in a more optimistic direction. "Kageyama, what does dating mean to you?"
"Well," he paused for a moment to think, "when you're dating someone you um… go on dates with them, and maybe kiss them and stuff?" Kageyama wasn't really sure what dating was since he hadn't dated anyone, but he had a vague idea of what it usually looked like due to reading books and watching movies, though oftentimes the characters also did things he had no interest in.
Iwaizumi gave a small laugh that Kageyama would never admit was contagious. "Why are you laughing?" he asked defensively, scrunching his nose slightly.
"Nothing, you're just cute."
Kageyama blushed at that and covered his face. He couldn't remember Iwaizumi ever calling him cute before. Oikawa had, many times even if it was mostly taunting, but not Iwaizumi. "I'm not, it's just the truth. That is what dating means." Kageyama grumbled, slowly lowering his hands.
"To you." Oikawa said. "That isn't what dating is for everyone but it's close enough."
Iwaizumi interrupted and gave Oikawa an irritated look before asking, "Alright, what about boundaries, Kageyama? Is there something you aren't okay with?"
Something came to Tobio's mind immediately, "Um, so, I haven't told anyone on my team about you except Shoyo and Suga-san, so if you could not talk about it if you're around them until I say something." He supposed Tsukishima and Yamaguchi knew he was trying to be with his soulmates, but they still had no idea who they were so he still considered it a secret from them. Kageyama stayed silent for a few more minutes trying to think if there was something else he didn't want them to do. His mind was blanking.
"Can we touch you? Kiss you?" Iwaizumi asked.
Kageyama clenched his hands and almost wished Hinata was there to say something stupid so he could get mad and not have to focus on how to tell them what he wanted. "You can kiss me." Kageyama paused before continuing, "Touch me where?"
"Like, hold your hand or something." Iwaizumi said trying to laugh it off but Kageyama could still tell he was nervous.
"That's fine." Kageyama didn't particularly like touch, his first instinct was usually to pull away if someone tried to stand in his personal space, but at the same time he didn't hate it to the point he wouldn't let anyone touch him. If he was close to someone, it was alright, and being in a team for so long had somewhat helped him warm up to touching. Kageyama still normally wouldn't initiate contact, however.
"And… what about volleyball?" Kageyama asked.
Oikawa snorted. "Of course you would bring that up, Tobio-chan."
Kageyama rolled his eyes. It was what they had all been thinking and he wasn't stupid enough to believe volleyball and being on opposite teams wouldn't strain the relationship. Volleyball was too important to all of them to not let it affect anything.
"If you had gone to Aoba Johsai we wouldn't even have to discuss this."
"Well I didn't." Kageyama said bluntly, not rising to Oikawa's bait.
"For understandable reasons." Iwaizumi cut in before Oikawa could say anything else.
Oikawa huffed, "I was just saying. And they weren't that understandable."
"Yes they were." Kageyama growled, crossing his arms. "And it doesn't matter, I can't change it and I don't want to. The point is that now it's a little bit of a problem."
"I don't see the problem. We're gonna crush you at the tournament no matter what you try."
Kageyama felt like the temperature in the room started rising and the way Oikawa was looking at him made Kageyama grit his teeth.
Ever the peace maker, Iwaizumi explained what Kageyama knew Oikawa already knew. "I think he's talking about how the loss of one of us might affect the relationship and I think we should talk about it. Personally, I'd be upset if we lost, but I wouldn't be angry at Kageyama."
"You don't think you would be." Oikawa remarked. "You wouldn't know since you haven't lost an official match to a fucking first year."
"Well I don't think I would be. I would just need time."
"I think I would too." Kageyama said. A loss would be devastating to the whole team, he wouldn't just be able to shrug it off, but he didn't want it to affect the relationship either. Volleyball was extremely important to him but he was starting to see that maybe if he paid more attention to people they would be a better safe space than volleyball ever would be.
The person he was really worried about was Oikawa. There was no telling what he would do. As Kageyama saw it, volleyball had always been more important to Oikawa than he was. If it came down to him or volleyball he could easily see Oikawa dropping their relationship for it.
He didn't even know if he could be angry about that were it to happen. He would be hurt, yes, but it would also be expected. As long as he expected it, it wouldn't hurt too much.
"The mature thing to do would be to accept the loss and move on and… I guess that's what I would try to do." Oikawa finally said, seeing that all their attention was on him.
Way to give yourself an out Kageyama thought, but shook that thought away quickly. There was no need to be bitter. They were just trying this out, there was no guarantee it would work right now, or ever for that matter. The important thing was that they were all trying.
"I guess that's as good an answer as we're ever going to get." Iwaizumi gave him an apologetic look but Kageyama just shrugged. He expected that kind of answer from Oikawa. And it wasn't as if either of them were in love with Kageyama. He could tell that much just by looking at them.
It had taken almost three years for Kageyama, who'd known they were his soulmates the entire time, to fall in love, only realized in the moment he confessed to Iwaizumi.
Iwaizumi seemed like a huge romantic, and even though he believed in soulmates more than either him or Oikawa, Kageyama knew it would take time for him to really love him. And Oikawa held grudges and he got annoyed by Kageyama easily, so it would take him even longer.
Some part of Kageyama questioned whether they would ever love him and look at him like he saw them look at each other.
He wanted it so badly, too much sometimes because if this didn't work he needed to try and be okay with that and move on. Dwelling on something that would only hurt didn't do much good for anyone anyway. He shouldn't be so stuck on a future that hadn't happened yet and just remember things that made him happy.
He almost smiled thinking back to a time when he'd tried to avoid his soulmates and have nothing to do with them and how ironic it was that that had ultimately led to this situation.
Kageyama was glad there were a bunch of times he could look back on and laugh about already even though his life was barely getting started.
After several rounds of awkward silence, Oikawa announced something so Oikawa-like he had to bite back another smile. "I also want to have pet names." He said.
"Why?" Iwaizumi muttered. "You already call us whatever the fuck you want anyway." he rolled his eyes.
"And yet no one ever calls me Tooru-chan in retaliation."
"Cus you would like it." Iwaizumi retorted, making Oikawa cross his arms but not refute anything.
"Whatever! I'm going to go eat since you guys are being mean!" Oikawa said.
"You were mean first."
"Speaking of eating," Kageyama interrupted softly, "I should get home. Mama is going to start wondering where I am if I'm not home for dinner."
"Okay," Iwaizumi said easily, "we all have to go out together sometime though." He added, patting Kageyama's shoulder.
Tobio nodded, not really knowing if he was supposed to say anything to that.
"Yep, sounds good to me." Oikawa said, but he didn't move from where he stood.
Kageyama sighed. He knew who was more enthusiastic about trying this new relationship but he still appreciated whatever effort Oikawa was trying to put in, even if it was mostly for Iwaizumi's sake.
So he gave a small smile, even if it probably came off as awkward to the two of them. It didn't matter because he could tell they felt awkward too. Iwaizumi was usually more at ease and Oikawa was more clingy than he was at the moment.
It was odd how they were usually closer than this even though they were striving now to be closer than ever.
When Kageyama closed the front door behind him, he realized that because this was really happening, it meant that he actually had to tell everyone.
He knew he could tell his parents over dinner because that was still the one thing they all did together even though they had grown so distant. A gradual distance that he'd barely even acknowledged. Not acknowledging it didn't mean that there wasn't still a gaping chasm between all three of them though.
It was almost like they'd all given up. And Kageyama hadn't meant to give up, he wasn't sure any of them had. But regardless of intention, it was almost as if they were strangers living in the same house and he wondered whether his confession would bring them closer or divide them further.
He was believed the latter was more likely, but that was just pessimism. Sometimes expecting the worst helped him feel better, especially when it came to his parents. Optimism didn't work all the time, and it left more room for disappointment. So, he tried to think of the worst thing that could possibly happen and with that in mind, walking in, taking off his shoes, and going to the dining room became a lot easier.
A/N I've been on this chapter so long it started to play mind games with me so I just need to be done with it and never look at it again lol. So first of all, sorry this took a while, this was a monster chapter that tried to destroy me and I was also just really busy last month. So yeah. Second of all, they're officially dating now so that's cool ig even though there's still a lot of problems I have to work out. Also Ik in a lot of stories like this there's quite a few arguments (especially at first) but idk how to do that tbh. Like jealousy ain't cute so I don't really wanna work that angle and the only arguments I'm coming up with are about volleyball lol (pretty typical huh?) anyway, I'm planning to end this story at the end of Kageyama's first year at Karasuno (maybe an epilogue? idk, I feel like epilogues ruin it sometimes) but we'll see if we get that far.
In the mean time if you have an specific scenes or just something in general you'd like to see in this story you can feel free to suggest them and if I can incorporate it I definitely will (and don't say a kiss. I know yall want that XD) so anyway, yeah. I think this story only has a few major plot points left and I'm hoping I can finish this story in the next couple months if I start updating more. But either way, I'll see you guys later, thank you so much for reading!