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Out of all the different places the world has to offer, the beach is definitely up there on Kei’s list of Top 10 Places I Actively Try to Avoid at All Costs.
Going to the beach usually means it’s summer, which is already his least favorite season because of the unbearable heat, and why anyone would want to spend time outdoors in weather like that when perfectly good air conditioning buildings exist. Sure, he always brings an umbrella so he has somewhere he can retreat to away from the sun, but that only does so much to stave off the rising temperature. He has one memory of going to the beach with Akiteru and his mother as a child and getting such a terrible sunburn that he couldn’t move the muscles in his face without it hurting.
Naturally, because it’s the beach, there are always screaming children running around and kicking sand onto his towel without the slightest clue what they’re doing. Kei doesn’t mind people going off and having their fun, as long as that fun is kept away from his personal space.
And the sand. Beach sand is an extremely special breed of annoying and downright terrible in the way it ends up in places sand should never be. No matter how hard he tries to stay on his towel and brush off any sand that happens to wiggle its way on, it always finds a way.
So when Sawamura had called for their attention in the club room after practice one day, grinned wide, and announced, “We’re going to the beach,” Kei was pretty sure a small part inside of him died instantly. After that he hadn’t really been listening to whatever else was said—something about team bonding and work hard, play hard, whatever that meant—and took to picking at the fraying aglet of his sneakers.
The thing is, as much as a part of him wants to come up with an excuse to get him out of this beach day, he’s not so disrespectful that he’d lie to his captain’s face, especially since there was clearly a lot of planning that went into this outing, judging by all the details Sawamura had provided. Plus, his mom and Yamaguchi’s mom talk about everything going on in their lives, no matter how big or small, to the point where Kei wouldn’t be surprised if his mom has started telling people she has three sons. So if Yamaguchi was going, his mom would know about it, and there would be no chance of Kei faking his way out of tagging along.
So he accepts his fate and, come beach day, ends up in board shorts and one of Akiteru’s button-down shirts, begrudgingly helping cram umbrellas and beach towels into the back of Sawamura’s car.
Apparently the third years all have their licenses, which means three cars and only minimal squishing. Sawamura dutifully splits them up into three groups, and Kei ends up with Yamaguchi, Kinoshita, and Narita in Sugawara’s grey Nissan. Kinoshita and Narita are both considerate enough to give him the passenger’s seat (“I’d feel kinda bad if you were all cramped in the back,” Kinoshita had said with a small smile), so he makes himself as comfortable as possible next to Sugawara. Even in the front it’s not like there’s an excess amount of legroom for someone of his height, but it’s definitely better than being stuck in the backseat, so he makes no complaints. Instead, he tries to focus on how he’s going to get through this day without completely losing his mind.
Sugawara glances at him sideways and, ever the observant upperclassman, must notice his pained expression.
“Don’t look so tense,” he says good-naturedly as he puts the car in drive. “This is supposed to be a fun day!”
Kei sincerely doubts that, but says nothing. Everyone had seemed in such high spirits when they convened earlier in the school parking lot, and he simply hadn’t had the energy or the will to bring them down. That, and his upperclassmen want him to have a good time, so it would make him a jerk to not at least try.
They’re the last group to arrive, which is made clear by the sight of Sawamura and Azumane’s cars parked side by side as Sugawara pulls into the lot. The two third years, plus Ennoshita and Tanaka, are hoisting the last of their belongings out of the trunks. Kei cranes his neck a little farther and sees that Hinata and Kageyama are already partway down the beach, each carrying one handle of a large cooler and bickering, if their expressive hand gestures are any indication.
Sugawara pulls smoothly into the parking spot beside Sawamura’s car and rolls down his window. “You sure got here fast,” he sing-songs. Don’t tell me you were speeding?”
“We may have been pushing the speed limit at some point,” Sawamura admits, grinning sheepishly.
“Meanwhile, Asahi-san was barely going seventy-five on the expressway,” Tanaka says, as if the mere idea of it is unholy. He’s rolled up the sleeves of his T-shirt up to his shoulders, and Kei absent-mindedly wonders why he didn’t just wear a tank top. “I swear I saw a grandma pass us.”
“What can I say?” Azumane says, shrugging. “I’m a law-abiding citizen.”
Tanaka fakes a yawn. “You could’ve at least taken some of my pointers.”
“Telling someone to ‘floor it’ in a residential area isn’t exactly great advice,” Ennoshita points out.
“And you don’t even have your license,” Sugawara adds.
“Not yet,” Tanaka says indignantly, “but my sister’s gonna teach me to drive soon.”
“In that case, I’m praying for everyone else on the roads,” Ennoshita says.
While Tanaka makes a scene challenging Ennoshita to a fight, Sugawara turns inward to the rest of them still in the car and says, “Could you guys help get the stuff out of the back?”
Kei, more than happy to distract himself with a task and relieved to be able to stretch his legs, unbuckles his seatbelt and gets out of the car. He grabs two large grocery bags filled with snacks and drinks from the convenience store and his and Yamaguchi’s towels, while Yamaguchi takes it upon himself to shoulder the umbrella.
“Shimizu and the others are already down there somewhere,” Sawamura tells them. “Just keep to the left and you’ll spot them.”
Shimizu and Yachi and the rest of them aren’t far off, and they’ve already claimed an open area of the beach for all their stuff far enough away from the water to ensure that nothing gets splashed. It’s also a reasonable distance from the boardwalk, which Sugawara had pointed out to them on the drive in.
(“I’d definitely recommend taking a ride on the ferris wheel,” he’d said, which they could see from miles away. “The view is spectacular.”
The very thought made Kei feel sick.)
From a bit further down the beach, Nishinoya is struggling to set up an umbrella and is looking uncharacteristically defeated. He quickly locks onto Kinoshita and Narita as they come trekking down, talking amicably.
“Oi, Hisashi!” Nishinoya calls. “I think something’s wrong with this umbrella. I can’t get it to stay up!”
“Don’t go blaming the umbrella now, that’s not its fault,” Kinoshita says, but heads over to help anyway.
Yachi spots Kei with the bags of snacks and exclaims, “Oh, the food!”
“Where should I put it?” Kei asks.
“Um,” she says while adjusting her sun hat, which seems a bit too large on her even though the look is probably supposed to be big and floppy. She looks at Shimizu, who smiles in a calm way that reminds Kei of his mom and tells him, “You can leave it next to the cooler. Thank you.”
Unfortunately, the area around the cooler is occupied by Hinata’s towel and backpack. He’s got the top of the chest open and is peering inside excitedly while Kageyama frowns disapprovingly from nearby.
“I still think we should let the upperclassmen have first pick,” Kageyama is saying.
“In the car Daichi-san said we could have whatever we wanted,” Hinata says.
Kageyama frowns harder. “But—”
Hinata fishes around inside and pulls out a red twin pop in a clear wrapper. “Listen! This one’s calling my name.” He holds the popsicle up to his ear in a comical manner. “It’s saying, ‘Hinata! Please eat me!’”
“Popsicles can’t talk,” Kageyama says matter-of-factly.
Hinata gives Kageyama a disappointed look. “Sometimes you’re really no fun, you know that?”
Kageyama doesn’t seem at all bothered by this confession. “I wasn’t trying to be.”
“Well, this has been a fascinating conversation,” Kei interrupts, “but I only came here because Shimizu-san told me to leave the food with the cooler, so if you’d be so kind.” He gestures at Hinata’s stuff.
“I think you could stand to add the word ‘please’ to your vocabulary,” Hinata tells him.
“And you could stand adding a lot more words to yours,” Kei says back, giving him a pointed look. Yamaguchi hides a laugh behind his hand.
Hinata, in a stunning showcase of maturity, sticks his tongue out.
“Hey, who wants to set up the volleyball net and get a game going?” Tanaka interrupts as he approaches from further up the beach. He’s got hold of one end of the net while Ennoshita has picked up the other and is attempting dutifully to keep up with Tanaka’s brisk pace.
Hinata perks up at that and drops the popsicle back into the cooler. “I do!” he shouts, gathering his belongings in his arms before running off.
“You almost have to admire what a one-track mind he has,” Yamaguchi says, trying not to laugh as they watch Hinata bound up to Tanaka and Ennoshita, not unlike an energetic puppy.
Kei makes a sound of disagreement. He doesn’t think there’s anything admirable about having an attention span roughly the same length of those advertisements that play in the convenience stores.
They pick a spot to set up which is within the general vicinity of the rest of the team but far enough away that Kei doesn’t have to engage in conversation unless specifically approached. Yamaguchi gets to work propping up their umbrella while Kei places and smooths out their towels to make sure there’s as little sand as possible on them. With nowhere else to go, Kageyama stands awkwardly nearby.
And then, because he’s right there, Yamaguchi invites Kageyama to sit with them, probably just because he feels bad for him. Kei wouldn’t choose Kageyama as someone he wants to actively spend more time around, but Yamaguchi, for some reason, has been keen on being nice to him lately, so he says nothing and settles down under the umbrella while Yamaguchi and Kageyama do the same. Except the umbrella really isn’t made for more than two people, so Kageyama’s entire left side ends up in the direct sunlight. Whatever. That’s not Kei’s problem. He could probably do with a tan, anyway.
While Yamaguchi engages Kageyama in conversation about volleyball (because what else would Kageyama be able to talk about?), Kei surveys the scenery. From their current position they have a clear view of the beach volleyball court that Tanaka, Ennoshita, and Hinata, are setting up. Tanaka is at one end of the net and Ennoshita at the other as they try to keep the poles from toppling over. Hinata, who doesn’t have the height to be of any real help, is bouncing between them and waving his arms animatedly. Kei snickers to himself at the sight.
He doesn’t realize he’s been staring at Hinata until the other boy turns sharply and meets his eyes, and Kei quickly averts his gaze to the ground. He prays that Hinata’s usual airheadedness will prevent him from contemplating any deeper meaning.
He’s pulled out of his thoughts by the sight of Narita jogging up to them and waving. “Hey, guys! Wanna help with this sand castle? We could use some extra hands.”
Kei would rather be forced to play beach volleyball than dig through wet sand. Yamaguchi, being the good friend he is, already knows this and stands up.
“Kageyama, let’s go,” he says.
“What, me?” Kageyama says dumbly.
Yamaguchi grabs his arm and hoists him to his feet. “Yep, you. Tsukki wants to get a head start on his book.”
“Okay,” Kageyama says, his expression still confused, but he lets himself be dragged off regardless. Yamaguchi turns around gives Kei a thumbs up over his shoulder, and he nods back gratefully.
Once they’re well out of earshot, Kei exhales, glad to finally be left alone. He pulls the book he packed out of his bag and enjoys the way the crisp pages feel against his fingers as he thumbs through them. Finally, some peace.
The peace doesn’t last for long. At around page fifteen, he feels something bump lightly against his leg and, when he peers over the top of his book, he sees a volleyball has rolled its way over to where he’s sitting and is now lying innocently in the sand beside him.
Of course, the volleyball idiot doesn’t fall far from the volleyball. Hinata comes jogging up to him, bright patterned swim trunks and tank top and all, and scoops up the ball. “Thanks for stopping it, Tsukishima!”
“I didn’t do anything,” Kei replies.
“You’re supposed to say ‘you’re welcome’,” Hinata says.
“Fine—you’re welcome,” Kei says sarcastically. “And you’re no longer welcome. You may now go back to your game and leave me alone.”
“I seriously don’t get why you’re so popular with the girls at school,” Hinata says. “You’ll never make friends with that attitude.”
Kei pulls a face at that, because who does Hinata think he is? Kei’s mom?
“I have enough people to keep me company,” Kei says.
“Really?” Hinata tucks the volleyball under his arm and uses the other hand to put his hand over his eyes in an exaggerated searching pose as he pretends to look around. “So where are all these people?”
“Ha ha, very funny.”
“I know I am,” Hinata says, grinning, and Kei has to resist the overwhelming urge to kick sand at him. “Anyway, you should join us.”
“What?” Kei says.
“Play volleyball with us,” Hinata says, like Kei’s the slowest person on the earth. (This is rather ironic, considering Hinata’s the one that has to come to him semi-regularly for tutoring so he doesn’t bomb his exams, but Kei knows this sardonic truth is lost on Hinata.)
“Um,” Kei says, “no thank you.”
“Why not?” Hinata says.
“I don’t want to.”
“Why don’t you want to?”
Kei waves his book in the air. “Can’t you see that I’m busy?”
“Just one game,” Hinata begs. “That’s all. And then after that I won’t bother you anymore.”
Kei presses his lips together in a thin line. “How can you go on a trip that’s meant to be a break from volleyball, only to play more volleyball?”
“Huh?” Hinata says, like Kei asked the question in a foreign language. “Because I love it.”
Kei almost appreciates how pure of an answer that is. Almost. He sets his book down and stands up, brushing off his shorts.
“One game,” he says. “That’s it.”
Hinata cheers and does an excited hop. “Alright!”
He practically bounds back to where the net is set up, Kei trailing behind. Tanaka and Nishinoya are on one side of the court, and they both turn their heads in unison as Kei approaches.
“Well, well, well,” Tanaka says, a frightening grin spreading across his face. “A new challenger has arrived.”
“For one game only,” Kei informs him.
Tanaka puffs out his chest. “Doesn’t matter if it’s one game or one thousand. We’ll crush you.”
“Yeah, we won’t go easy on you guys!” Nishinoya calls.
Hinata twirls the volleyball around in his hand. “Bring it!”
It’s abundantly clear right away that there are certain advantages that each team has that the other lack. Of course, there’s Hinata’s speed, jumping power, and never-ending stamina. Kei’s got the height advantage over both Tanaka and Nishinoya. But the two seconds years have been playing together as teammates longer than he and Hinata have. And Nishinoya’s receives are leagues better than either Kei’s or Hinata’s.
Kei can’t set anywhere near as well as Kageyama can, but he can get the ball up, and that’s all Hinata needs to spike. He slams the ball down on the other side of the net over and over. Even the sand, which is shifty and unforgiving and incredibly hard to jump off of, yields to his passion. Never mind the fact that Nishinoya is able to send back at least half of those spikes—Hinata’s not deterred, and Kei’s never seen him look this fired up, even though it’s just a silly beach volleyball game. And seeing the determined look on his face, in his eyes, stirs something inside Kei that actually makes him want to try, too.
They lose by just two points, and by the end of it Kei is sweaty and panting. Hinata, on the other hand, doesn’t look the least bit tired, and he groans in frustration. “Argh! One more game!”
Tanaka laughs loudly. “What, you need me to teach you a lesson twice? ‘Cause I can and I will.”
Miraculously, that fires Hinata up even more. “It’s on!”
“Um,” Kei says. “I only agreed to one game, so I’ll be leaving now.”
“One more, Tsukishima!” Hinata begs, looking up at him with big, pleading eyes.
Kei rolls his eyes. “You said one game. I’ve held up my end of the deal.”
“But—”
“It’s alright, Shouyou,” Nishinoya says. “We’ll still play with you!”
Hinata looks crestfallen for half a second, but he quickly puts on a smile and says, “You’re the best, Noya-san!”
Kei tries to take his exit there, but Tanaka stops him before he can get too far.
“Oi, Tsukishima,” he says. “Let’s at least shake on the good game! Like proper opponents.”
Kei thinks they probably passed the point of being professional when Nishinoya did a cartwheel before diving for a receive, but he shakes both their hands underneath the net anyway.
Then Nishinoya sizes them up, like he’s thinking deeply about something, and says, “You know, you make a pretty good team!”
Hinata turns and grins directly at him, bright and bold. “We do, huh?”
Kei has to look away as he mumbles, “Good luck with the next game,” and doesn’t wait to see what kind of expression Hinata is making before he hastily makes his way back to where he’d abandoned his book on his towel. Yamaguchi has returned from wherever he went off to with Kageyama and Narita and is lounging comfortably in the shade of the umbrella.
“Have fun?” he says as Kei plops down next to him.
“Not really.”
Yamaguchi smiles in a vague, knowing way. “It seemed like you were having fun.”
Kei makes a noise of disagreement. Yamaguchi should probably get his eyes checked. “I tolerated it.”
“In the same way you tolerate Hinata?” Yamaguchi says, putting especially weird emphasis on the word tolerate.
Kei squints. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Yamaguchi blinks innocently at him. “Nothing.”
He squints harder, and Yamaguchi laughs. “I just think it’s cute that you like him.”
Kei chokes. “We’re not having this conversation.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Yamaguchi says quickly. “I’m not making fun of you, I swear.”
Kei avoids looking him in the eye when he asks, “Is it obvious?”
“I mean,” Yamaguchi says, “you do kind of give in to anything he asks. But I can tell because—well, you know.” The I know you way too well goes unsaid.
“Well, that’s just great,” Kei mutters in embarrassment.
Yamaguchi tries backtracking. “I don’t think he knows, if that’s what you’re worried about. He’s so…” Yamaguchi gestures vaguely. “Y’know? So I think you’re good.”
That doesn’t really make Kei feel better.
“But I was just wondering,” Yamaguchi continues, “and I promise this is the last thing I’ll say about it, but would it be so bad? Telling him, I mean.”
Okay, maybe Yamaguchi doesn’t know him that well, if that’s a thought that even crossed his mind.
“That’s not a very good joke,” Kei says.
“I wasn’t joking,” Yamaguchi says.
“In that case, I think you should get your head checked,” Kei says.
Yamaguchi actually rolls his eyes then. “You’re being so dramatic. That’s a first. Just think about it, okay?”
Just for that, Kei will do the opposite of think about it.
Not long after, Yamaguchi gets coaxed by Sugawara into a volleyball match against Sawamura and Kinoshita, leaving Kei alone once again to return to his book. He fishes out his MP3 player from his bag as well, figuring he’ll listen to his music and try to get as much reading in as possible before the next person bothers him. But he’s still got Yamaguchi’s words bouncing around in his head, which makes it hard to focus, and he finds that he has to keep re-reading the same sentences on the page over and over again.
By page thirty-seven, he notices Hinata headed in his direction, and he pretends very pointedly to not have seen him. He doesn’t react as Hinata steps right up to him and bends down slightly so he can see Kei under the umbrella. When he does that, the loose tank top he’s wearing sags a bit and Kei can see the skin of his chest—
“It’s so hot,” Hinata says, and Kei quickly tears his eyes away from that particular area to stare blankly at Hinata’s easy smile. In one hand he’s holding a red twin popsicle, the same kind that he’d picked up earlier from the cooler before he was distracted by the enticing promise of volleyball.
Under normal circumstances, it’s easier to ignore people when he has his headphones on—and he has, on more than one occasion, pretended he couldn’t hear when he was being talked at—but this time his mom insisted he leave them at home in case they get damaged, so he’s stuck with a pair of Akiteru’s old earbuds that do absolutely nothing to block out sound.
“Can I help you?” he says in a way that’s not very obliging.
“Just came to see what you were doing,” Hinata says.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Kei counters.
Hinata strokes his chin. “It looks like you’re being antisocial again.”
“Is that really any of your business?” Kei says coolly.
Hinata thinks hard about this. “Well, we’re technically friends, and I think it’s normal for people to want their friends to have a good time.”
Kei chooses to ignore the part of him that feels heartened by this confession. “That’s why you came here? You don’t need to worry about me.”
Hinata blinks once, then twice. “It’s not the only reason I came. Plus, I’m not doing anything right now.”
“I thought you were busy playing volleyball.”
“I am,” Hinata replies. “Or, I was, but Tanaka-san and Ennoshita-san are going up against Noya-san and Asahi-san right now, so I’m on a break.”
Kei hums noncommittally. “So you decided to bother me?”
“Yep,” Hinata says, and plops right down next to him without asking. He opens the popsicle, stuffs the wrapping paper trash in his pocket, and splits it in half. “Wanna share this?”
Kei eyes the popsicle. “For all I know you’ve poisoned it and are waiting for me to fall into your trap.”
Hinata snorts. “I haven’t! I swear. Nothing fishy about it.“
“Remind me again what’s preventing you from eating it by yourself?” Kei says.
“Well, it’s meant for two people,” Hinata says. “Look—two sticks.” He points at them one after the other, just to drive home the point.
Faulty logic aside, Kei is apprehensive for another reason. Splitting a popsicle is like something out of a shoujo manga, the kind that the girls in middle school used to read and come to class giggling about. And he’s not ready for his life to become one big cliché. At least, not this quickly.
But Hinata’s looking at him with such big, pleasing eyes, so he concedes and takes the half that the other boy is holding out to him. Hinata grins. Kei sticks the popsicle in his mouth, and is pleasantly surprised by how refreshing the coolness is on his tongue, especially compared to the blazing heat.
“So, what are you listening to?” Hinata says as he licks away at the popsicle, which Kei is deliberately not looking at.
Kei shields Hinata’s view of the screen by angling it away from him. “Nothing.”
“It’s obviously not nothing,” Hinata says.
Kei hesitates. Then, “There’s a band I like. They just came out with a new album.”
“Oh,” Hinata says and he leans close, clearly interested. “That’s cool. By the way, where are your headphones?”
“I left them at home,” Kei says. “My mom said they might get damaged.”
Hinata hums and nods in understanding. “That makes sense.”
Kei’s hands twitch where they’re resting in his lap. “Do you want to listen?”
Hinata’s mouth forms an o shape. “Really? You’ll let me?”
“Just don’t tug on them,” Kei says, taking out his right earbud and holding it out. Hopefully Hinata doesn’t notice the slight trembling of his hand.
Hinata happily takes the earbud from him and puts it in his ear, and Kei presses play.
Hinata appears to be into the song, if the way he bops his head to the beat and tries to hum quietly along is any indication. And even though the cord length allows them to sit a normal distance apart without tugging, he’s taken to leaning in close; so close that Kei can smell the sunscreen he has on and count the number of eyelashes on his right eye. Not that he would count them. But he could. Being close like this makes his head feel light, like he suddenly doesn’t have enough oxygen—which is ridiculous, because they’re at sea level, not high up in the mountains. God. Even his thoughts are becoming disorganized.
When the song is over, Kei goes to pause the music before the next song starts playing, but Hinata stops him by grabbing his wrist. He jolts at the sudden contact and narrows his eyes.
“What are you doing?” he says.
“I wanna keep listening,” Hinata says, blinking earnestly at Kei, and his heart does a strange twist. Still, he lets the next song start up.
Hinata is uncharacteristically quiet while they listen, only humming along occasionally and ooh -ing at particularly interesting spots. By the end of the fifth song, he turns to Kei.
“This is so cool,” Hinata says. “I should listen to more of this when I get back home.”
“What kind of stuff do you usually listen to?” Kei asks, because the opportunity is right there.
“I don’t really know,” Hinata admits. “Sometimes I listen to the instructional cooking videos my mom downloaded on her computer. And also the CD of nursery rhymes from when Natsu was a baby.”
Kei actually feels sorry for him. “You don’t even listen to real music?”
“I guess not.”
Without thinking, Kei says, “So you really don’t know any artists? I should just make you a playlist at this point.” It’s not until after the fact that it dawns on him the implications of this offer.
Hinata’s eyes go wide. “Really? You’d do that?”
Kei nods, stilted. He dug himself into this hole and it’s too late to get out.
“Wow, you’re the best!” Hinata says, positively beaming.
Kei doesn’t dignify him with a response only because he’s pretty sure if he tried to speak his voice could come out sounding funny.
“So if this is the kind of stuff you like,” Hinata says.
“I’m okay with most stuff,” Kei says, because it’s the truth. He’s found something to appreciate about most genres he’s listened to.
“Really? So you like classical music?”
“Yes,” he says, then adds, “Sometimes I listen to it while studying.”
Hinata pulls a face. “Are you serious? That’s kind of dorky, Tsukishima.”
“That’s rich coming from a guy with Anpanman on his backpack,” Kei shoots back.
“It’s not mine, it’s Natsu’s!” Hinata protests. “Besides, what do you have against Anpanman?”
“Nothing at all,” Kei says, “I just think it’s amusing that you of all people would call me a dork when you seem to have that category locked down.”
Making fun of Hinata is nothing new. In fact, riling Hinata up is something he’s near perfected, if he does say so himself. Only now it feels less like he’s throwing around insults and more like actual friendly banter. He’s surprised at his own tone and how easy it feels going back and forth with the other boy like this.
Hinata taps his chin thoughtfully. “Then maybe we’re both dorks together.”
Somehow, Hinata’s use of the word together has Kei’s ears turning red.
“What about rap?” Hinata continues the guessing game.
“It’s fine.”
“Opera?”
“Sure.”
“Traditional Chinese music?”
“I don’t particularly have any strong feelings towards it.”
Hinata sighs. “Well, what do you have strong feelings about?”
You, Kei doesn’t say. Instead he says, “This popsicle is pretty good, I guess.”
“Aha!” Hinata exclaims. “Bet you’re glad you agreed to share with me now, huh?”
“Sure,” Kei says, and he sounds decidedly less sarcastic than he meant.
They fall into comfortable silence, save for the music that’s still playing through the earbuds. The current song is one that’s been on his playlist for months, and the guitars and drums crescendo in a dramatic way, and Kei thinks it’s all very cinematic, the way they’re sitting just inches away from each other and watching the waves crash onto the shore from afar. If he moved his hand just little, he’d probably be touching Hinata’s hand.
“Oh shoot!” Hinata says suddenly, startling Kei. He takes out the earbud, quickly chows down the remains of his popsicle, and springs to his feet. “I told Kageyama I’d go get his fortune told with him on the boardwalk.”
“You actually believe in that stuff?” Kei asks skeptically.
“Sometimes it’s more fun to keep an open mind,” Hinata replies. “See you later, Tsukishima!”
He swerves to avoid colliding with Yamaguchi, who’s making his way back. Yamaguchi gives him a startled wave and then looks, puzzled, at Kei. “What’s with him?”
“Something about going with Kageyama to pay a stranger to make up stuff about their futures.”
“That sounds about right,” Yamaguchi says. “Want to go check out the boardwalk, too? Not the fortune teller, I mean. Nishinoya-san told me the arcade has tons of games. And I wanna see if I can win a prize from those claw machines.”
Kei isn’t very into arcade games and knows that none of the prize ones are fair, but he agrees and follows Yamaguchi up to the boardwalk anyway. It’s bustling with people going in and out of shops, eating at the various outdoor restaurants, and watching performers juggling bowling pins or strumming away at guitars.
The arcade is old school and split into two areas: the claw machines are on one side, and the air hockey, racing, and fighting games on another.
Yamaguchi challenges him to and beats him in nearly every game in the arcade until finally, after Yamaguchi soundly crushes him three times in a row on the DDR machine, Kei calls it quits.
“Can we please do something else?” he pants as he tries to catch his breath. “Anything else.”
Yamaguchi laughs. “Someone’s a sore loser.”
“I have no problem admitting that,” Kei says.
“Claw machine?” Yamaguchi tries.
“I’ll do anything else at this point,” Kei replies.
They wander around the rows of prize machines until they come across a Pokemon themed one, which Yamaguchi decides he just has to try. He spends the next fifteen minutes attempting to grab a Pikachu plush with the metal claw with no success, and after sinking almost all his spare change, he looks positively defeated.
“You’re going to go broke at this rate,” Kei tells him. “It’s not worth it.”
Yamaguchi’s shoulders sag. “I know. But I still thought I could do it.”
“It’s not your fault these things are rigged like there’s no tomorrow,” Kei says, hoping it might make him feel better.
Yamaguchi gazes sadly at Pikachu, who smiles back unknowingly. “Goodbye, friend.”
“What’s up, you two?” someone says, and Kei startles. Hinata has somehow materialized behind them with Kageyama at his side, the latter with an admittedly adorable stuffed frog in his arms.
“Did you win that?” Yamaguchi says, pointing.
Kageyama looks down at the frog. “Yeah.”
Yamaguchi’s mouth drops open. “How?”
Kageyama shrugs and gestures vaguely off in some direction. “I played one of the games over there.”
“Kageyama’s actually pretty good at it,” Hinata says.
“I’m so jealous,” Yamaguchi says, chuckling awkwardly. “I must’ve tried twenty times and couldn’t get anything.”
Kageyama tilts his head. “What were you trying for?”
Yamaguchi steps aside from the machine and points at the Pikachu inside. Kageyama scrutinizes its position for several moments before stepping up to the machine.
“Ah!” Yamaguchi says, fumbling to get his coin purse out. He holds out his last hundred yen coin like an offering.
Wordlessly, Kageyama takes it and slots it into the machine. Yamaguchi and Hinata crowd around on either side of him while Kei hangs back, and they all watch as Kageyama uses the joystick to guide the crane so that it’s hanging directly over Pikachu. He checks once to make sure it’s in the correct position and then hits the blinking red button. The crane descends into the sea of stuffed toys and wraps around Pikachu. Hinata and Yamaguchi practically have their faces pressed up against the glass, and even Kei’s leaning forward now. The crane grips onto Pikachu and carries it up, up, then to the side, and finally releases him into the collection bin.
Hinata is yelling like Kageyama is the coolest person on the planet as he reaches in to pull the toy out. Yamaguchi is stunned to silence.
“Here,” Kageyama says, holding it out to him.
“T-thanks,” Yamaguchi stammers, taking the toy gingerly.
“You’re so cool, Kageyama,” Hinata says, slapping him on the back. “What are you, the love interest in a drama?”
Kageyama considers this. “My mom was watching a drama recently where a boy won a prize for the girl he liked.”
Kei thinks he can see Yamaguchi blush. Maybe he needs to get his eyes checked as well.
They leave the arcade together in good spirits, and Kei is almost starting to feel like he’s having a not-so-terrible day with people he might call his friends. But then Hinata makes an excited sound and says, “Let’s go ride the ferris wheel!”
“That sounds fun,” Yamaguchi says, nodding in agreement.
“Okay,” Kageyama says.
Kei has to make his exit, and fast, even if he hasn’t thought up a good excuse yet. “Well, you all have fun,” he says. “I’ll be staying here with both my feet on the ground.”
Hinata raises an eyebrow. “What? Are you sure?”
“Incredibly sure,” he replies flatly.
Then Kageyama and Yamaguchi share a look, and it happens so quickly Kei almost misses it. He’s starting to get a bad feeling in his chest, because when the two of them are on the page, it’s almost worse than when Nishinoya and Tanaka conspire together.
“Actually,” Kageyama says, his expression unreadable, “I’m going to go get ice cream.”
“Great idea,” Yamaguchi says quickly. “I want mine in a cone.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” Hinata pouts. “You guys are abandoning me?”
“Tsukki’s still here,” Yamaguchi says helpfully. “He’ll go with you.”
“Excuse me?” Kei says, suddenly becoming aware of what’s happening.
Hinata looks eagerly at him, like Kei personally hung the stars. “Will you go with me, Tsukishima?”
“No,” Kei says. “You couldn’t pay me.” He tries to communicate with Yamaguchi via rapid eye movements, but it doesn’t seem to be working. That, or Yamaguchi is purposefully ignoring his signals.
“Geez, you’re such a jerk,” Hinata huffs.
“Come on, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi godes him on. “Just one loop around.”
Kei glares at him. He’s going to have to rethink who will fill Yamaguchi’s position of best friend after all of this.
“I hear the view is nice from up there,” Kageyama says helpfully.
“I’ve heard it’s romantic,” Yamaguchi adds, and Kei screams internally.
“Please?” Hinata is looking up at him with hopeful eyes and he physically cannot bring himself to say no. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kei comes to the realization that this entire day has been Hinata coercing him into various activities, and Kei has more or less agreed to all of them. Just like Yamaguchi said. He must be going crazy.
But of all the dumb things Kei has felt compelled to do because of a crush, getting into a swinging seat attached to a metal wheel twenty-five meters off the ground might just take the cake.
“Please remain seated at all times and keep your hands and legs close to your body,” the staff member says as she engages the lock of the potential death trap they’re seated in. “No swinging, shaking, or rocking while on the ferris wheel. Have a wonderful ride.”
“Thanks!” Hinata says enthusiastically, but Kei is too preoccupied having become salient of the fact that some reckless fool might actually think to shake the ferris wheel from somewhere high up there while he’s still on it.
They begin moving, but the pace is slow enough and they’re not very high off that ground that Kei still feels moderately calm. The higher they get, though, the more shallow he feels his breaths becoming, and by the time they’ve surpassed the height of the drop tower, he’s pretty certain he’s close to hyperventilating. He holds onto the lap bar, like that will somehow save him in the event that the wheel malfunctions and comes crashing down.
While the wheel is stopped to let more people on at the bottom, Hinata makes a noise of surprise. “This is so cool! Isn’t it weird to think that most people are usually never up this high?”
Kei says nothing, but Hinata is undeterred and content to continue rambling.
“I mean besides when we’re in buildings and stuff,” he’s saying. “And roller coasters, I guess. But I don’t really go on rollercoasters. I’ve only been once, and now we don’t go because Natsu isn’t old enough.”
The ferris wheel jerks suddenly as it begins turning again, and Kei tightens his grip on the metal lap bar so hard that his knuckles begin to turn white.
“Are you okay?” Hinata has stopped babbling and instead looks concerned as he tilts his head at Kei’s no doubt paling complexion. Well, at least his face will match his knuckles.
“I’m fine,” he manages.
“You don’t look fine,” Hinata says.
“I feel like I should be offended,” Kei says, attempting to come off as lofty, but he hears the tremble in his voice.
Hinata’s eyebrows furrow. “Seriously, what’s wrong? Whatever it is, I promise I won’t tell anyone. I won’t even laugh.”
A bold statement from someone who, just a mere couple of months ago, couldn’t even keep Tanaka’s surprise birthday party a secret from the birthday boy himself. Still, Kei wagers that he’s being serious this time around, and the expression on his face is the most earnest he’s ever seen it. He hadn’t even known Hinata was capable of making an expression like that.
“Me and heights aren’t exactly best friends,” Kei says. “To put it one way.”
“Oh,” Hinata says, and Kei doesn’t know whether to be relieved or unnerved that he looks completely unbothered. “Why didn’t you wanna tell me?”
“It’s lame,” Kei mumbles. “I know.”
“I think it’s pretty normal,” Hinata says. “I know lots of people who are afraid of heights. My friend from middle school, my mom, my old babysitter—”
His rambling doesn’t exactly make Kei feel any better, but at least he’s trying, so he can’t really fault him. That, and he doesn’t currently have the emotional capacity to come up with a snarky comment.
The ferris wheel shakes again, lurching them forward, and Kei hangs onto the lap bar for dear life.
Without saying a word, Hinata lifts one of his hands and holds it out to him. Kei stares at it for several moments. He wonders if this is a prank. Hinata hasn’t exactly struck him as a mean spirited person in the several months Kei has known him, but, well.
“What are you doing?” Kei says slowly.
“You can hold my hand,” Hinata replies.
Kei splutters. “Why would I do that?”
“It might make you feel better,” Hinata says. “Like, less scared.”
“I don’t need someone to hold my hand,” Kei says, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. “I’m not a child.”
“There’s no age limit to holding hands,” Hinata informs him. “It’s an all-ages kind of thing.”
“I know that,” Kei snaps.
“So hold it.”
“I would rather not.”
“I’m just trying to be nice!”
“Well, thank you so much for your generosity, but I’m fine.”
“Oh my god, just—”
Hinata takes Kei’s hand in one swift motion without giving him time to protest, and he’s so taken aback that it doesn’t even cross his mind to immediately pull away. He notes that Hinata’s hand, while much smaller than his own, is warm and soft, while also being firm and calloused from years of playing volleyball. Somehow, holding Hinata’s hand helps him forget he’s up dozens of meters in the air, so he doesn’t let go. It also dawns on him that he might not even want to let go.
He takes a moment to pray to any higher power that happens to be watching over him that Hinata isn’t paying attention and won’t notice how red his face is.
Neither of them say anything as the ferris wheel slowly takes them upwards. And then, because Kei has the worst luck in the entire world, the wheel stops turning right at the exact moment they pass by the very top.
Hinata finally breaks the silence. “Whoa. We’re really high up.”
“Good observation, captain obvious,” Kei says. His palm is starting to sweat from the heat of both their hands joined together, but neither he nor Hinata make any move to let go.
He’s also pointedly not looking at Hinata, but by doing so can’t tell whether or not Hinata is looking at him, so he decides to risk it and sneaks a glance at the other boy out of the corner of his eye.
Hinata isn’t looking at him; he’s looking out to the scene below them.
“It’s beautiful,” Hinata says quietly, his eyes twinkling with wonder.
Kei swallows. “Yeah. It is.”
“Everyone looks so small,” Hinata says. “Being up here makes me feel really big.”
“That’s a first for you, huh?” Kei says, but with less bite and a lot more fondness than he meant to show. He’s blushing profusely.
Hinata bumps his arm with his shoulder as if to object to that statement, but he’s smiling.
“So, how do you feel?” Hinata tries.
“Like I’m twenty-five meters in the air,” Kei replies.
Hinata snickers. “Now who’s captain obvious?”
Kei bumps Hinata in the side with his elbow, and Hinata’s bumps back, except it kind of makes the seat sway, which makes Kei nervous, so they both go still again.
Hinata squeezes his hand a little tighter, his face closer now. Kei hadn’t noticed until then just how close they are, but they’re close enough to kiss, probably. Hinata blinks, and Kei watches the sweeping movement of his eyelashes, like everything’s been put in slow motion.
“Do you still feel scared?” Hinata asks.
Kei’s entire mouth feels as if it’s gone dry as a desert. “Not really.”
“That’s good,” Hinata says softly, and then leans in those few remaining centimeters to press their lips together. It’s chaste and sweet and Hinata’s lips are soft and warm, and it all happens so suddenly that Kei doesn’t have time to form a coherent thought, let alone react, before Hinata’s pulling away and looking out at the view, blushing furiously while doing so.
The ferris wheel rumbles and they start moving again. Kei’s head is spinning and he feels dizzy, but he can’t tell if it’s because of the height or because of Hinata.
When they finally make the whole loop around and are let out at the bottom by a staff member, Hinata keeps a grip on his hand and says, “We should probably find Kageyama and Yamaguchi.”
Kei nods and lets himself be tugged along. He’s not completely convinced the last ten minutes of his life haven’t been some elaborate, realistic dream. It wouldn’t hurt to ask Yamaguchi to pinch him.
They round a corner past a game where people are fruitlessly attempting to toss small rings over the necks of glass bottles and find Kageyama, Yamaguchi, and the rest of the team gathered in front of the ice cream parlor.
“Oi! Hinata, Tsukishima!” Tanaka waves wildly at them, nearly flinging his ice cream cone at Ennoshita. This gets the attention of the third and second years, who also wave and beckon them over.
Hinata waves back with the hand that’s not holding Kei’s, making no move to let go.
“Where’ve you been?” Nishinoya asks around a mouthful of chocolate ice cream as they approach.
“We were on the ferris wheel,” Hinata says. “It’s so high up there and the view was amazing!”
No one has seemed to notice how close they are, and if they have, they don’t bother to comment on it. Yamaguchi, however, is giving Kei a sneaky, knowing look, which tells him that they’re definitely going to be having a conversation about this later. Kei sighs inwardly.
“Everyone, gather round,” Sawamura calls. “We’re taking a group photo!”
Kinoshita slaps Nishinoya on the back. “You know what that means. Short people to the front.”
Nishinoya reaches up to rub his knuckles into a snickering Kinoshita’s head. “You wanna go, Hisashi?”
Hinata yanks on his arm and Kei stumbles towards where everyone is crowding in together behind Sawamura and his outstretched hand holding his phone. But they’re stuck at the back of the group, meaning Hinata can’t see and, more to the point, probably can’t be seen, either.
“Asahi, you’re out of the frame,” Sugawara chuckles.
“Sorry, sorry,” he says, “should I bend down?”
Hinata bounces on the balls of his feet as he tries to get a glimpse of Sawamura’s phone screen, muttering to himself in displeasure. Kei is about to tell him to go join Nishinoya at the front if he’s that anxious about it when Hinata suddenly drops Kei’s hand and takes a step behind him.
He frowns. “Hey, what are you—”
Hinata jumps and lands with his entire body weight against Kei’s back, clutching onto his shoulders, and he instinctively reaches behind himself to catch Hinata’s knees before he falls off.
“Are you trying to kill me?” Kei splutters.
“It’s just for the photo,” Hinata says good-naturedly.
“That was actually dangerous,” Kei says. “You could’ve hurt me or yours—”
Kageyama elbows him in the side from where he’s standing next to him. “Look at the camera.”
Kei doesn’t like being told what to do, especially if the one giving him orders is Kageyama of all people, but the sooner he complies, the sooner this will be over, so he shuts his mouth and faces the camera.
“Everybody smile!” Sawamura says.
Hinata leans forward, his hair tickling Kei’s cheek. “Smile for real, okay?” he whispers, and Kei’s mouth curves up just in time for the flash to go off.