#ft. a teeny tiny smidge of angst

[kagehinafromtheconcrete]

afterglow || your hand in mine (fictober day 09)

fandom: haikyuu!! pairing: kagehina fic summary: Kageyama has learned a lot of things since befriending Hinata Shouyou. Things about Hinata, things about himself. How to open up. How to be vulnerable. How to love. And Hinata? Hinata learns more about Kageyama than he ever thought he would. First-year Kagehina/Hinakage drabble collection ft. the rest of Karasuno, written for sarahenany. Slowly working through the remaining Fictober 2022 prompts! fictober day 09: "sounds like 'you' problem" by @fictober-event ch summary: After practice one day, Hinata feels insecure about his size. This isn't unusual, but Kageyama says something that makes Hinata rethink his position on the court and his place on the team.

entire drabble below. :) find the whole collection: ao3 // tumblr

Hinata narrowed his eyes. “I… I can’t tell.”

Noya brought his face closer to their hands, squinting as well. He frowned in concentration. “I can’t… either. You know what that means, right, Shouyou?”

“What?”

“It means I win.”

“Whaaa?!” Hinata jerked his hand away, giving his upperclassman an offended look. “That’s not fair, Noya-san!”

“Of course it is.” Noya’s frown vanished and was replaced a second later with a toothy grin. “I have seniority!” 

“How does that make your hands bigger than mine?”

“Because seniority~” Noya sang as if it made perfect sense, even though it didn’t make any sense at all.

“Yeah, well,” Hinata began, scrambling to think. “Well, I’m still an inch taller than you!”

Noya gasped, now looking just as offended as Hinata felt. “Going for that single inch? Shouyou! You wound me.”

“Oh, knock it off, you two,” their captain said. “You’re supposed to be helping clean up! Did you forget your promise this morning?”

Noya slumped forward, and in a defeated voice: “To work with everyone to clean up for the event this evening.”

“And?”

“And that’s why practice ended early,” Hinata added with a sad sigh.

“Good.”

“You’re both short to me,” Tsukishima said suddenly.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s what I’m known for these days.” Hinata rolled his eyes as he stood up to fulfill Daichi’s orders. “Nobody’s gonna let me live it down.”

“Sounds like a ‘you’ problem.”

“Don’t you worry, Shouyou,” Noya said, standing as well after giving Tsukishima a dirty look. He clapped Hinata on the back with enthusiasm, their argument now long forgotten. “I’m not giving up on you. We’ll always suffer together!”

Across the court, Tanaka burst into laughter. Despite this, Hinata smiled at his upperclassman, trying to remain in good spirits. “Thanks, Noya-san.”

Twenty minutes later, when they’d finished cleaning up and changed out of their practice clothes, Hinata walked in step with Kageyama like he usually did when practice concluded for the day. It was oddly quiet—but then again, it wasn’t unusual for Kageyama to stay silent while Hinata babbled away. This time, though, Hinata didn’t feel like talking, either.

Unfortunately, it seemed like Kageyama noticed.

“What’s with you?” 

“Hm?”

“You’re moping.”

“I’m not moping,” Hinata defended, giving him a heated look.

“Are too.”

“Hush it."

“It’s the hand thing, isn’t it?”

Hinata opened his mouth to deny it once more but then paused, irritated because Kageyama was right. And maybe that was stupid or made him seem childish, but he didn’t care—he’d always been self-conscious about his size, and while Noya didn’t seem particularly worried back in practice, it did bother Hinata, because, well…

He’d always thought it was cool that other players—Kageyama included—could hold a volleyball with one hand. Hinata hated that he couldn’t do it, himself. His hands just weren’t big enough.

 “Oi,” Kageyama said when Hinata remained silent. “What’s your deal? Why does that matter?”

It took Hinata a few moments to realize that he’d stopped walking, causing Kageyama to pause in his steps as well, only a foot or so ahead of him. 

“Shut up,” Hinata said sourly. He gripped his handlebars tightly, gazing at the pavement. “You wouldn’t get it.”

“Why not?”

“’Cause you’re tall! Nobody picks on you for being short. Nobody would pick on you for having tiny hands.”

Kageyama didn’t respond, at first. Hinata risked a glance up at him to see why and found that Kageyama wasn’t even looking at him—instead, his eyes were locked on Hinata’s hands.

“Your size is actually your greatest weapon,” he said eventually. 

Hinata’s frown deepened. “I know. Volleyball is all about size. You don’t have to keep reminding me.”

“No, I mean, it’s your greatest weapon, personally,” Kageyama went on. “You’re short, so everyone looks at you and thinks, ‘This guy isn’t a threat.’ But you are. You’re the biggest threat we have.”

Hinata’s breath caught in his throat upon hearing the words, eyes blown wide. Something fluttered in his stomach—a sensation that he’d associated with Kageyama time and time again—and he thought, in the safety of his own mind:

How come you know exactly what to say to make me speechless?

“...oh.” A tiny, excited smile pulled at his lips. “You think that?”

“You’ve proved it, you idiot.”

“Me,” Hinata echoed, suddenly extremely giddy. “A threat. The biggest threat in Karasuno.”

“You still have a lot to learn,” Kageyama warned abruptly. "Don't let it go to your head."

“As if you have any room to say that to me.”

Hinata’s grin shifted into something less gleeful and more teasing as he spoke. Still, he couldn’t deny the joy that spread through him brought by Kageyama’s words. It was so strong that he wanted to take off on his bike with a celebratory cheer, and he was getting ready to do just that when something curled around his wrist.

Hinata froze. “Wh…”

He glanced down to check and yeah, that was Kageyama’s hand. When he lifted his gaze to give Kageyama a questioning look, Kageyama wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“S—” He stumbled, cheeks pink. “So, uh…”

“...Kageyama?”

“Don’t. Um.”

Hinata blinked, waiting.

“Just don’t let it bother you,” Kageyama finally spat out. “It’s—it’s not like it has to be a bad thing.”

It took him a few moments to realize that Kageyama was trying to reassure him. It was… almost funny how Kageyama could say something that would stick with him for a long time without even trying, but when he actually put the effort into cheering him up, he didn’t know how.

Once again, Hinata’s smile changed. Grew softer. Sweeter. His wrist felt warm underneath Kageyama’s fingers, and slowly, experimentally, he moved his hand to touch Kageyama’s.

Unlike Noya’s, Kageyama’s hand was much larger than his own. He rested his palm against Kageyama’s, lining up their fingers, and for once, the size difference didn’t bother him.

He... kind of liked it.

“Alright,” he said softly, with that same smile. Kept their hands pressed together. Found the warmth to be pleasant. He didn’t pull away.

Neither did Kageyama.