Level Pair; Reconciliation 1/1

You are my heart, my soul, my treasure, my today, my tomorrow, my forever… my everything. ~Anonymous

Kageyama sets them down on a large open plateau, the wind blowing steadily. He releases Hinata and the redhead steps away and turns to look at him with wide-eyed wary uncertainty.

"Sorry… I didn't give you much warning." Kageyama murmurs.

"It's… okay. Um...this spot is really exposed…" Hinata says in a small voice, his almond eyes watching him carefully, and Kageyama detects rife confusion and caution.

Damn. I overdid it. He's completely on edge. But Kageyama hadn't seen any other way to stop that exchange in its tracks. He wants to sigh in frustration. This was not how he'd pictured this going down.

"It's supposed to be. It's a lot harder to eavesdrop when your target can see you." He says, his thoughts drifting back to the way the others had crowded him earlier. Yeah… they'd probably just about fall over themselves to hear this explanation even if only to give him crap for his poor communication skills later.

"Oh… um, Kagayama," Hinata says hesitantly, his gaze dropping to the ground. "I know you don't always talk about everything. And... I know there's been something bugging you, but it's okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Kageyama frowns, not liking the way his voice sounds meekly pacifistic. That isn't Hinata.

"It's long overdue… besides, pretty much everyone else knows." He says, guilt tugging at him. Hinata's amber eyes find his own, the creases at their corners betraying his unease.

"It's okay. You will tell me when you are ready." He says and Kageyama can see he's nervous. He wonders what Hinata thinks might be coming as he continues babbling. "You always talk when you're ready. It's usually after we've beaten the crap out of each other off Momma Yu's back launch platform— which is kind of disappointing it's not available anymore because I think this might have been resolved by now. And it's harder to go through that ritual of yours with so many people around all the time, too. Your penchant for needing a dose of physical abuse in order to start talking is a bit masochistic— and I don't get why I have to suffer it with you, but whatever helps. So it's fine, because—"

"We're a level pair, Hinata."

The words just tumble out and Kageyama is surprised it was that easy. He'd honestly been more focused on how the redhead seemed to be working himself into an anxious ball of nerves than his own insecurities. Hinata blinks at him, his eyebrows rising in surprise. But that's all it is— just surprise. There's no shock or disbelief like Kageyama imagined there would be.

"What?" He asks as if he's seeking clarification, not as if he's crazy, and Kageyama looks away.

"We're levelers. You know, like in all the stories?" He mumbles.

"Oh…" He says softly. "I knew that already."

Eeeeh?

Kageyama has a moment to blank over at the response before he frowns.

"Er… Since when?"

Hinata's gaze slides to the side, his shoulders hunching slightly.

"A while now… since that day you got us all banned from the fish shop across from Ukai's in town like a month after we got here. You remember? You kinda lost it and even laid out Lev on accident."

Kageyama deadpans.

He doubts he will ever forget. Bokuto had pulled him outside the shop for a moment, for what he can't even remember, but when he'd walked back in, some jerk with white wings had backed Hinata and Yachi up against a wall. Hinata'd later said the guy'd been harassing the bunting, so he'd stepped in. Kageyama happened to return just as the jerk had taken hold of the redhead's shirt.

'Lost it' was an understatement. Kageyama had straight up seen red. Centuries of military control went out the window, but all the skills learned under his father came effortlessly. Before he even knew what was happening, four pairs of hands were forcing him to the ground. When he'd finally focused on the faces around him, he'd blinked up at them in a moment of blind shock. Bokuto and Akaashi had had a solid restrictive grip on his wings, Tsukishima had placed a knee in his back, and Lev had secured a hold of his arms, his mouth bloody. The guy with white wings lay unconscious and surrounded by people on the floor a little ways away.

Apparently, Kageyama had broken his nose, several ribs, and one wing in two places… and that didn't even touch the other bruises he'd inflicted in the six second span it took for bystanders to react. Lev had been the first and had caged him from behind. He'd quickly thrown him off and executed a textbook punch to his face before Bokuto, Akaashi, and Tsukishima had stepped in, the blond drawn in from outside by the commotion. And the thing that had stood out most for him in those moments following the one-sided altercation, was Hinata's shocked face as he placed an arm around Yachi's shaking shoulders.

All in all, it was not his fondest memory or proudest moment.

"Yeah… I remember." He manages but Hinata's already continuing without any solicitation.

"It was kind of a bunch of things that just sort of lined up for me and honestly, it wasn't you that gave it away." Kageyama frowns.

"It wasn't?"

That's a surprise since he was the one who'd completely, five-hundred percent, overreacted. Hinata shakes his head.

"You'd literally just beat the ever living feathers off that gull for pretty much nothing— I mean, he was up in my face, but your response was overkill…" He glances away, his gaze sliding unfocused. "And everyone treated it like it was totally normal— expected even.

"When we got back, Kuroo took one look at Lev and his busted lip and laid into you. You just stood there, taking it as if you knew you'd seriously fucked up, but Lev stepped in and said that it wasn't your fault. And... Kuroo left it at that."

One of Hinata's hands moves on its own and grips his other arm.

"At first I thought that maybe it was just Kuroo being his 'older brother' self with Lev being a cat and all, so when he more or less said it was 'okay', Kuroo let it go… but everyone was giving you these forlorn glances, as if they somehow felt sorry for you. Kiyoko was bandaging your wing after you'd cut it on a table in the brawl and she looked at you with such pity. Even Tsukishima only had a frown and not his usual sneer. It made no sense, the way everyone eased off you after you'd nearly killed the guy… it was like they were all silently saying you'd had no choice."

Kageyama feels his face heat.

"It kind of happened before I'd even thought about it." He mumbles and Hinata glances at him.

"Yeah… I got that impression. You didn't get to sleep for a long time that night; I know, because I didn't either. When your heart finally slowed down, I opened my eyes and your wings were glowing. My few feathers were, too, but yours had this really cool deep blue going on and I remember everything just kind of falling into place. The way we'd both be sick after any real fight we've ever had and the weird molts, the sleeping together, the way your sprained wing seemed to heal ridiculously fast, and the way you are always close by— it all just clicked." Kageyama quirks a brow with a touch of surprise.

"Mine glow, too?" He'd never noticed. Hinata's face colors just a bit but a small smile tugs at his mouth.

"Not often… the cut on your wing healed and they stopped. But they're super cool looking when they do. Mine… well, mine are gone so I guess I'll always glow." He says wryly before looking back up at him inquisitively. "How long have you known?"

Kageyama glances away, this question forcing him right back into a comfort level he's not so keen on.

"A couple days after you were grounded." He murmurs, waiting for Hinata to get upset and indignant because he'd never told him. But the redhead suprises him like always.

"Whoa, that long!? I didn't think you were that observant." He says, his eyes flashing with awe and it takes Kageyama off guard.

"Eh...you glowed at night. It was easy to tell." He says feeling marginalized on some level at how noticing Hinata glowing in the dark was apparently somehow an achievement.

"I guess. But I'm the one that glowed and I never noticed…"

"You were always asleep. That's usually when it happens." Kageyama remarks dryly.

"Still they're my glowing feathers." He mumbles petulantly, his arms folding in front of him. Kageyama can't help but find it endearing. But a question strikes him and he can't ignore it.

"Why didn't you ever say anything? You must have realized that I already knew." He asks, as much afraid of the answer as he is curious. Shouyou hunches slightly, his gaze fixing firmly on his feet.

"Because I didn't want to make you upset."

For the second time in the last five minutes, Kageyama mentally stumbles.

"Upset?" He echoes, baffled.

"Yeah… you only get one leveler, and you ended up with me— a broken crow. I won't ever be able to fly with you or play real Volley again or any of those things. I didn't bring it up in case it made everything worse… I—" Shouyou squeezes his eyes shut and the fear that touches the shadows of his face makes Kageyama want to cringe. "I didn't want to do anything that might make you leave."

It comes out quiet and pained and Kageyama can only focus on that last part and the way it seemed like such an emotional toll for the redhead just to say it. And as the words sink in, he feels shame and regret crawl into his gut in an instant.

He doesn't care if it isn't something he'd normally do, he reaches out and takes Hinata by the shoulders. The smaller crow jumps, but Kageyama's hold is strong and Shouyou's almond eyes look up at him with surprise and uncertainty. Without a word, Kageyama pulls him to his chest and crushes him in a fierce embrace. He couldn't have left if he'd wanted to.

"Shouyou... you're my world— have been for a while. It doesn't work if you're not in it, so I'm not going anywhere." He can feel Hinata jerk just a little and go rigid.

"Do you mean that?" He whispers, and Kageyama can hear how raw his nerves are. He can hear the distress, dread, desperation, and anxiety and he hates all of it. He huffs slightly.

"I'm stubborn and belligerent and not good with words, but lying… you of all people should know how well I fail at that, idiot."

Hinata's stiff muscles loosen just a bit but he doesn't say a word. It's a reaction that tells the setter that his weak attempt at a bantering reply isn't enough. Kageyama sighs softly into his hair, marveling absently at how it tickles against his face.

"I'm not here because I view you as some responsibility. I honestly don't know what I would do without you." He murmurs and Hinata leans into him just slightly.

"Please don't ever go away?" He asks, his voice cracking.

And damn if the redhead's insecurity isn't tugging at his own chest. How many times had he thought back to that argument that first night they'd spent with Kenma and Kuroo and that very possibility? He takes a deep breath.

"That will only happen if that's what you want. I'll keep you invincible until then." He says. "And for the record… it never mattered to me that you're grounded. There's no one else I'd want for a leveler."

Finally, Hinata slacks and his arms snap out to return the hug with every bit as much intensity.

"You know… you really are amazing." The redhead says so quietly in a voice that's half fractured with emotion that he's almost unsure Hinata spoke at all. Kageyama blinks even as his chest swells at the watery remark. "But you're kind of slow."

What?

The warmth in his lungs pauses and Kageyama's brow draws down in puzzlement.

"What are you going on about now?" He asks gruffly.

"It's always been difficult… being beside you. You were always unrivaled at everything you tried and I was fascinated all the way back to that first time I saw you. And I always felt like there was an impossible gap between us, like there's no way we could ever stand on the same ground. You were always the best and I wanted to be just like you, so that I could always stay beside you. I never did tell you, but I thought you were incredible in that match against the Grand King." The remark blindsides Kageyama, and he has no idea where this is coming from.

"But we lost." He murmurs, still off balance. Hinata huffs with amusement.

"I know. I was there...you fought for us… for me …" He squeezes a little harder. "Kageyama… you've been my world for most of my life. And just recently, I felt like I could reach out and finally touch it. Like at the fish shop. It was both terrifying and exhilarating, seeing that look of pure lethal intent on your face when you attacked that gull, and realizing later that it was for me alone." His head drops just a bit against him and Kageyama wonders if he's trying to hide his face or something.

"But… it's also depressing because I know I'll never get to fly with you again."

There's a quiet measure of lament in his voice but that's not why Kageyama frowns. He gently pushes Hinata away from himself and holds him at arm's length. The redhead's large amber eyes stare up at him questioningly.

"You… what are you talking about? Of course you'll get to fly again." He says. Hinata's face drops.

"My wings are gone, Kageyama. No amount of healing will ever change that. You can't fix something that doesn't exist anymore." He says bitterly. Kageyama stares at him for a long moment.

And then he's yanking on Hinata's shirt, completely ignoring his surprised protests. He forcibly extracts the redhead and holds the shirt up out of his reach. Hinata stands before him, red faced and shoulders hunched, an angry glare slicing up at him.

"What the hell was that for, moron?" He barks. Kageyama grabs one of his arms and pushes him sideways, his squawk of surprise not deterring him in the least. He thumbs one of the ridges along Hinata's spine.

"You can't tell me you haven't noticed these." He says and Hinata pauses but his glare doesn't waver.

"O-Of course I have, they're on my back."

"What do you think they are?" He asks with a deep frown and Hinata glances away.

"My wings were ripped out, Kageyama. It was bound to have messed up other things, too." He says.

Kageyama releases him, incredulity flitting through his face. Hinata looks back up at him as he brings a hand to his head.

"Oh, my god. Tsukishima was wrong. You are stupid." He growls.

"Oi! That blond prick—"

"Those are your new wings, idiot." Kageyama cuts him off, shoving his shirt back at him. Hinata goes silent, his gaze blank for several moments, his hands reflexively taking the garment from him.

"What?" He finally croaks.

Kageyama turns him aside once more, a long finger finding his scarred feather base where the ridges stem from. He gently traces one of the dual vertical ribs beneath the redhead's skin, the heat from the other boy almost searing against his fingertips. He glances up to meet Hinata's bewildered frown.

"These are going to be the new long bones. And this," He says, pressing the point near Hinata's hip where they come together, "will be the main joint. You have them on both sides. Your body can't just spontaneously materialize entire new limbs without the infrastructure to support them, and to protect them during the spawn of new bones, muscles, and ligaments, they are forming under your skin. They will be smaller than the ones you lost when they finally break out… but I'm sure they will grow back into their proper size with time."

Hinata watches him with disbelief.

"You.. you're serious." He says in a small voice and then his gaze drifts to the side, and Kageyama can see his thoughts spinning. "This is what Noya and Tanaka were freaking out about."

Kageyama drops his hand from his hot skin with a nod.

"I'm… I'm really going to fly again?" He asks, his almond eyes looking up at him with a terrifying vulnerability. Kageyama flinches at the tendrils of bright hope in his face and turns away from him.

You are always so brilliant. That happy brightness has always been scalding in its intensity. You say being beside me is hard but being beside you is blinding. It's the reason he'd refused to teach him to play Volley that first day so long ago— because he couldn't handle it. And it's the reason he'd gravitated toward him ever since.

"That's the goal. I'll fly you wherever you want in the meantime." He says softly. There's a moment of rustling behind him, and then Hinata's arms slide around his gut, his head dropping against his back between his wings not unlike that first night they spent with Kuroo and Kenma in that cave what seems like yesterday.

"And you'll stay? After?"

Kageyama glances sharply over his shoulder but he can't see the redhead's face. He's still worried about this?

"Until you say otherwise."

"That will never happen."

"Then I think we're good."

"Yeah… hey, Kageyama?"

"Mm."

"'Breaking out' sounds like it will be painful."

Kageyama blinks at the redhead's disjointed thoughts before a small smile tugs at his mouth. Even in the middle of his uncertainty, he's still humming with excitement. That is just like the Hinata he's always known. Kageyama turns and catches him in a headlock and drags him forward until he's situated just under his arm and tucked up against him. The tension in his shoulders diminishes just a little, because Hinata simply fits there at his side just so.

"Probably. Maybe kind of bloody, too. They are under your skin after all." He murmurs before looking down at his leveler. "Are you scared, Shouyou?"

Hinata's watching him, his gaze shining and Kageyama almost wants to look away from its burning intensity. But he doesn't, because that glowing smile that always gets Kageyama to do stupid things and knuckle under at every turn tugs at the redhead's mouth.

"Not at all."

It blooms in its entirety and Kageyama catches his breath before finding a point in the distance. He knows his face is probably pinking and knows by how his neck feels hot that it probably crept up from there.

"Hey Kageyama?" Hinata asks.

"Hm?"

"Can I call you Tobio?"

Kageyama blinks… and again once more. And then his face sours.

"Why would you want to call me that when the only other person who does is the one person I detest most in this world?" He mutters saltily.

"You call me Shouyou." He points out as if it were the obvious answer… and he supposes that it is. Damn. Logic sucks.

"You really want to remind me of my father whenever you say my name?" He asks caustically. Shouyou laughs.

"It's your name— so own it, Tobio."

Kageyama's arm tightens just a bit around Hinata's shoulders.

"I'm going to throw you off the mountain." He deadpans, his characteristic death glare back in place and scorching the trees in the distance.

Shouyou only laughs again and despite his annoyance, Kageyama revels in it. It is a pure sound, one that quiets every agitated nerve in his body and rouses others. It makes him giddy with excitement and happily content. Hinata is the sun, brilliant and shining. As long as Hinata is smiling, he can breath easy and smile, too.

His resolve deepens and a new goal takes shape in his head. No matter how much this redhead unravels his world, he will continue to reach for it, because his leveler is constantly restitching the seams back together into a new one that is colorful and vibrant and perfect. Kageyama is no longer the same person; he can't turn back from this new reality even if he wanted to. A cynical smile that masks the underlying elation tugs at his mouth. This little spiker has totally ruined him… and he's okay with that.

Because no matter how how warped his world becomes at the redhead's hands, he intends to make sure that Shouyou Hinata is always laughing.

A/N: A huge thank you to those who bookmarked or left comments, kept tabs and followed, and everyone who made it through this with me. I know I'm not very good at responding to comments, and I apologize, but I have to say you guys are fantastic and totally made my year. Writers thrive on people like you, so know you are greatly loved and appreciated. This is technically the end of Level Pair... but I may have a small post epilogue blip half done that i might shore up and post if people are interested. The POV is from one of my favorite characters of the series (not Hinata/Kageyama) and kind of expands just a bit further into Craziiwolf's AU.

This chapter... I both loved and hated writing. Yay! they get their happy ending... but will it fall flat? Are they still in line personality-wise? Fluff is one of those things that can really skew a character, so I over analyzed everything to see if it seemed like something they'd actually say/do. Is it true to form, and does it pull the warm fuzzy emotions while not being overdone or unbelievable? It's really short following that monster of a chapter just ahead of it, but I think if I'd have stretched it further, it would have lost a lot of it's presence. I hope it's worth it after I built it up over 6 CHAPTERS.

So, finished up almost on time to kick off Haikyuu! season three! I hope you are all as eager for it as I am, lol. I shall definitely be back with more for you if I get another bout of inspiration... As always, have an awesome night you guys! :)