ACTIONS OVER WORDS | KAGEHINA

15: Solicitude Arc Begins

Absence Will Tell You The Importance Of Presence

Hinata sat on the pavement under the rain, hugging his knees - his feet on the road, and crying more than ever. Just how bad could this day get? Texting Kageyama definitely wasn't the best idea. Now, he was crying not only because of Kenji's behavior but also because he hurt Kageyama. Ah! Hinata's classic, usual reasons for bawling his eyes out.

The raindrops continued drenching Hinata. His lip tint was smudged; his eyeshadow was running out; his clothes were wet; his hair was a mess. He looked horrible now. To make things worse, he was wearing shorts, causing the cool breeze to hit his bare skin and make him shiver. He could just move from there, go home or something, but he stubbornly decided that he deserved it. He was somewhat torturing himself in a way.

But then suddenly, the pouring stopped. However, he could still hear the sound of rain. He raised his head slightly and through his blurry eyes, he saw a figure standing in front of him. He rubbed his eyes and looked up at the person. Once he recognized the face, his eyes widened.

Unbeknownst to Hinata, Kageyama had unobtrusively arrived and held an umbrella above the redhead's head while he was busy sobbing. That explains the mystery why Hinata could hear it pouring but not feel it out of the blue.

"Pathetic," Kageyama remarked with a disgusted expression plastered across his face. "Tobio," Hinata mumbled. No one knows from where he developed the habit of calling the taller by his first name. "Get up, idiot," Kageyama commanded. "You're gonna catch a cold."

Hinata's eyes lit up when the realization finally hit him. He's here! He'd come for me! He thought as though someone finally rescued a cat stuck in a tree. He stood up and instantly, in the blink of an eye, wrapped his arms around Kageyama's torso - hugging him tightly. "Wha- cut it, will you?!" Kageyama exclaimed, "You're getting me wet too!"

"Thank you," Hinata spoke in a feeble tone, "Thank you so much, Tobio."
"Get off of me!" Kageyama tried getting rid of the redhead but he's like a leech, remember? "Jeez. You seriously are a leech in disguise." He stopped trying and let Hinata stay like that. He, however, refrained himself from hugging back.

In Kageyama's embrace, Hinata felt as though his feelings of inadequacy had disappeared and vanished.

He let go of him after a few seconds, finally, and looked up at the taller. "Let's go," he suggested with a smile and Kageyama nodded before they began walking, under the same umbrella which was pretty much useless now that they both were drenched.

After that, they walked in silence for a while.

"How'd you know I was here?" Hinata asked, interrupting the silence. "Souta had texted me," Kageyama answered, avoiding eye contact. "I see," Hinata mumbled. "So you're ready to listen to him and not me?" He then questioned jokingly. "Shut up. It's not like that," Kageyama stated while Hinata chuckled, still conversing without making any eye contact.

"And you're ready to choose a dimwit who'll fuck you up mentally and not me?" Kageyama asked back scornfully with death glare. "Wha- Why you!" Hinata exclaimed before hitting Kageyama playfully and the latter did the same in return.

Everything seemed to have gone back to normal, it appears as though they'd forgotten about all their worries and were being themselves again.

Once they were done bickering, Kageyama felt Hinata's eyes on him so he turned his head to look at the shorter who then looked away. He observed Hinata's condition - the way he appeared especially. Now it could be that the rain had ruined his appearance but Kageyama's brain works on a... well... different level. So he asked, "What did he do now? Molest you?"

"No! What the fuck are you thinking?!" Hinata denied, looking into the taller's eyes. "Ah. I was about to call the cops... Thank god that's not the case," Kageyama spoke, "But still... you do look like you've been molested."
"Shut up! Stop talking about it!" Hinata whined.

"Why have you been dressing up like that?" Kageyama queried out of curiosity, "Not that I have a problem. You do you. But... I never saw you dress like that back in high school, you know?"
"Ah. It's just that..." Hinata responded, "Kenji prefers this sort of style on me."

"He enjoys watching you look like a slut?" Kageyama joked but to Hinata he sounded serious.
"Dude seriously? Why would you ever say that?!" Hinata grumbled, "You sound like a judgy asian aunty!"

"I'm just kidding. It's just..." Kageyama paused as his eyes traveled further down to Hinata's legs. "Those are... dangerously short," referring to the shorts, he continued the rest of his sentence in a low voice but Hinata caught it.
"Oi! Stop checking me out like a perverted middle-aged man!" Hinata pulled the hem of his shorts, fixing them.
"I wonder how many perverted middle-aged men had already checked you out by now," Kageyama murmured.
"There wasn't anyone aroun- wait a minute," Hinata paused to smirk. "Are you perhaps implying that I look good? That I can turn heads, Kageyama-Kun?" He continued teasingly.

The Kageyama-Kun always meant heavy sarcasm.

"No. You look dumb," Kageyama lied, oblivious that Hinata has already been told that.
"Not you too!" Hinata whined.
"Huh?" Kageyama huffed in confusion.
"Kenji said I looked dumb too!" Hinata complained.
"Ah. He's indeed an honest person, I see," Kageyama joked with a straight face.
"Oh my fuckin' god, shut up!" Hinata folded his arms and looked away with a pout.

───── ⋆ ⭑ ⋆ ─────

"How is it?" Kageyama asked, eager to get his culinary skills complimented. "It's delicious," Hinata answered, "I love it."
"Bet you can't cook as good as me," Kageyama teased. "Yes I can!" Hinata retorted, "I'll show you how I can cook better than you!"
"Oh yeah? When?" Kageyama scoffed. "Uhm... I don't know," Hinata replied, "You don't usually come over."

"Is that so?"
"How about on my birthday?"
"Don't you wanna spend that day with your dimwit?"

Hinata fell silent for a brief moment. "I don't want to," he then confessed. "Huh? What did you say?" Kageyama questioned although he heard him. "I said, I don't want to spend my birthday with Kenji," Hinata clarified. "What gives?" Kageyama queried. "Whenever I'm with him, I'm never satisfied with the way he treats me. I don't wanna be depressed on my birthday now," Hinata explained, "Besides, I feel more happy and comfortable around you."

Kageyama somewhat felt unexplainably pleased to hear Hinata say that. "Oh yeah? Are you guys gonna break up?" Kageyama inquired. "I don't know... Maybe?" Hinata replied.

"So you do consider it?"
"Consider what?"
"The idea of breaking up with that dimwit."
"Yeah, I do."