Chapter 5: Sleepless Nights

The walk home after that moment felt like a blur. Hinata remembered holding Kageyama’s hand. He remembered how warm it was, how perfectly it fit into his own, and how those deep blue eyes looked at him under the streetlamp.

“Don't run away.”

Those words echoed in his head over and over again, like a broken record.

As soon as Hinata stepped inside his house, he bolted up the stairs to his room and slammed the door shut. He slid down against the wood, panting heavily, his face feeling like it was on fire. He pressed his hands against his cheeks—they were burning hot.

“W-What the hell was that?!” He whispered to himself, his voice shaking.

He stood up and started pacing around his small room. Back and forth. Back and forth.

Kageyama was his rival. His enemy. The guy he wanted to defeat more than anyone else in the world. They fought every single day. They argued about receives, about sets, about who was faster, who jumped higher...

So why did his stomach do that weird flip whenever Kageyama got close? Why did his heart race like he was running a marathon whenever they touched? And why... why did he feel so disappointed when Kageyama pulled away in the shower?

Hinata groaned and threw himself face down onto his bed, burying his face into his pillow.

“Stupid stupid stupid! Why am I thinking about him?! He’s just a grumpy, scary, selfish King!”

But even as he said it, he couldn't stop the image from appearing in his mind. Kageyama wet and naked. Kageyama holding him tight. Kageyama looking at him with those eyes that seemed to see right into his soul.

Meanwhile...

Kageyama arrived home in a similar state of chaos. He ate dinner mechanically, barely hearing what his grandfather said to him. As soon as he could, he escaped to his own room.

He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his own hand—the one that had held Hinata’s.

He could still feel it. The smaller, softer hand trembling slightly in his grip.

Kageyama frowned deeply, grabbing a pillow and squeezing it hard against his chest.

“He’s so annoying.” He muttered to the empty room. “So loud. So hyper. Clumsy. Short. Irritating.”

He listed all the things he hated about Hinata Shouyou. But every time he said one, his mind countered it with something else.

But he runs fast. He jumps high. He never gives up. He looks at me like I’m not a monster. He smiles...

Kageyama’s eyes widened slightly.

He rolled over onto his back, staring at the ceiling in the dark.

“I hate him.” He whispered, but his voice sounded weak. Even he didn't believe it.

“I don’t hate him...”

The realization hit him like a volleyball to the face.

He didn't just see Hinata as a rival anymore. He didn't just want to win against him. He wanted... more. He wanted to be closer. He wanted to touch him again. He wanted to see that blush spread across those orange cheeks just for him.

“Tomorrow...” Kageyama murmured, closing his eyes. “I’m gonna tell him. For real this time.”

The next morning, when they met at the school gates, things were different.

Hinata was walking with Yachi and Narita, but as soon as he saw that familiar tall figure with black hair, he froze.

Kageyama was already looking at him.

Their eyes met across the busy crowd. And for just a second, Kageyama’s lips curled up into the tiniest, almost invisible smirk.

Hinata’s knees almost gave out.

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