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The weather was hot, it would be unbearable if it wasn't for the small remnant spring breeze. There were a couple of clouds decorating the blue sky, but they weren't big enough to cover the blazing sun. The karasuno volleyball team was running drills to gain more physical endurance. The new first years, and two idiots from second year, sprint at full speed to get back to school as soon as possible. Kei, on the other hand, knew that the most important thing on this type of training was saving up energy. Mentally he thanked Kunimi for indirectly teaching him that in the match against Seijo a year ago.
So Kei jogged. At first, Tanaka, now vice captain, scolded him for not trying hard enough, like the rest of the team, but as the day grew hotter and hotter, the team became more exhausted, reducing their speed, or taking breaks to drink water and shield themselves against the dazzling sun. However, Kei wasn't tired from the exercise, nor fatigued from the harsh climate. In all honesty, he was enjoying the stroll. The way the pavement felt against his shoes, the chirping of birds, the cicadas and the small breeze against his face.
Kei raised his head a little, just to be able to see the sky. This was his favorite type of day. Ones where the sun was shining in all its glory, it made Kei feel warm and joyful, which was weird, at least according to Tadashi... And the rest of the people that knew him.
He remembers it well, what Goshiki told him one night at the Shiratorizawa Training Camp while they were eating dinner after practice.
You are a walking contradiction.
Kei knew that Goshiki didn't mean any harm by stating that, if anything it was meant to be a lighthearted joke. But it still shocked him.
His favorite type of music was rap, and he hated classical music; he loved desserts and sweets, but he detested bitter drinks and salty foods; he could talk with an endless enthusiasm about paleontology and dinosaurs, nonetheless when it came to volleyball he only did the bare minimum to be semi good at said sport; he hated winter, and the cold colorless snow, even though his personality matched with the season, unlike summer, which was his favorite.
It was shocking realizing that he was at mercy of the perceptions of others. That, even his most authentic and genuine self would be strange to other people. And ever since he came to the conclusion that it was abnormal to enjoy or loathe the things he did, Kei decided to hide his preferences. He was already a private person, so it would be easy.
Lost in thought, Kei noticed that he had left behind the team. He stopped and turned on his back to see if he could spot someone close by. But there was no one. The best course of action was to proceed with the route planned previously and wait for everyone at school. So he continued to jog, however something caught his eye, there was a boy sitting below a tree, his head was resting on his knees so Kei couldn't see his face. But it wasn't necessary thanks to the orange hair.
It was unusual seeing Hinata so still, especially while running outside of school. But everything about Hinata was unusual in Kei's eyes, so he ignored the weird feeling that was emerging.
"Oi, why are you here. Did you get a heat stroke?" Hinata raised his head so that he could look at the taller boy in front of him. His cheeks were flushed pink, and his forehead was sweaty. Then, he looked at his surroundings, without acknowledging Kei.
"Where's Kageyama?" Kei felt a pang of irritation— it definitely was jealousy but he would never admit it.
"Why do you think I know where the king is?" Hinata chuckled, it was a breathless laugh that made Kei realize how tired Hinata really was.
"Well, you must have seen him on your way here!" His voice wasn't as excited as it usually was, which made Kei frown. "I think Kageyama had to stop halfway through, because of the heat, but I didn't notice until a while ago."
"You're even more oblivious than I thought if you didn't realize you left the king behind," Kei said with a smirk, hoping the comment would rail up Hinata, but his smile dropped when Hinata didn't react. The ginger was looking at the horizon, and his eyes were shining in a familiar way Kei had seen before on volleyball matches. It seemed as if he was expecting something to happen.
He wouldn't accept it, but he was worried. Ever since their last match in the spring tournament against Kamomedai High, Kei was always watching over Hinata, checking on the ginger's questionable habits and calling him out whenever he did something that was risky for his health. And now was one of those cases, maybe Hinata really had a heat stroke, but because he's stubborn as mule, and dumb as one , he was hiding it and pretending it wasn't a big deal.
Kei kneeled in front of Hinata and stared at him, trying to look for signs of a possible problem. The boy was sweating, which was a good indicator that he didn't have a heat stroke, but his skin on his face was awfully read. Kei then looked at Hinata's hands, they didn't look pale nor clammy which indicated that it wasn't heat exhaustion. However, even though it didn't look like Hinata's health was in danger, Kei's anxiety and worry were clouding his rational thoughts. Maybe the reason why Hinata stopped and sat down was because he got nausea. And maybe the reason why he didn't acknowledge Kei's questions was because he was delirious.
"You're making a funny face," Hinata said in a cheeky voice, and Kei couldn't help but roll his eyes in frustration. All the worry he previously felt banished instantly, as he realized the shorter boy was fine. Kei sighed and decided to sit down next to Hinata. The smaller boy was still smiling and giggling, "I bet you were worried about me, Tsukishima-kun," and his smile only grew stronger.
Kei wanted to say something in return, to defend himself, and to make absolutely clear that wasn't the case (even if it was). But something stopped him from doing it. As he looked at Hinata's eyes, shining bright, and listened to the beautiful sounds that came from his mouth, Kei felt his heart beating faster. It was overwhelming, being aware of all of the small things that made Hinata unique. It made his skin tingle, like the sunny days he loved deeply did.
At the thought, Kei's breath got caught on his throat. The sun, the summer and the freedom that came with the season, were Kei's favorite, it filled his life with delight and euphoria. So it wasn't a surprise that he would fall in love with the personification of all the things he loved. But the worst thing was that Kei didn't mind. It was true that Hinata was annoying, and his endless energy got under Kei's nerves, however it was precisely that which he liked more about Hinata. That was why, when all that optimism and vitality suddenly stopped on the third day of the spring tournament, Kei felt his heart break into pieces.
But his thoughts got interrupted because suddenly he felt a hand against his forehead.
"What are you doing, shrimp," Kei said in a monotone voice, trying to mask the turmoil of emotions that he was feeling.
"Well, I'm checking your temperature. You are acting very weird, so maybe you have a heat stroke," Hinata said while examining the younger boy closely. Kei's eyes widened in surprise, because not only was it ridiculous how oblivious Hinata was, but how the tables had turned.
"What? You're telling I'm the one acting weird?" Kei pushed away the hand that was on his forehead, "you're the one that was sitting in the middle of nowhere, instead of running like a maniac to get first to school."
Hinata tilted his head, his mouth opened but no words came out of it. Then after a second his expression changed to one of awareness.
"Oh, that!" Hinata's smile grew impossibly big, "I thought it was the best to wait, since it's going to rain."
Now it was Kei who pressed the back of his and against Hinata's forehead. "Oi, Tsukishima, why are you doing that!" Hinata shouted as he tried to get away from the touch.
"I'm checking your temperature, because you must be delirious if you think it's going to rain with this weather," Kei looked up at the sky, there were a couple of more clouds, but they weren't that big, the wind was blowing strongly that before, however that didn’t meant it was going to rain.
"You won't know by looking up, you have to look there," Hinata mentioned as he pointed at the horizon. It was difficult to see, but if you looked closely, grey clouds were covering the skyline. There was also something below those clouds, it was like a shadow—
"That's rain, do you see it?" Kei nodded and scowled. He didn’t want his day to be ruined with a colorless sky. Besides snow, and hot-blooded people, his least favorite thing was rain. The dull and dark clouds covered the entirety of the beautiful sky and it eclipsed the light from the most divine star, leaving behind a trail of cold water that poured onto everything that crossed its path. He wanted to avoid getting caught on it in the middle of running, so he decided to arrive at school before that happened. He slowly stood up and took a last look at the sky, there were a couple more clouds adorning the firmament, which meant he could make it to school if he hurried up.
Kei turned to look at Hinata, which remained sitting. He was looking up at Kei with disbelief, as if he didn’t understand why he was standing up. “Don’t just sit there, let's get going, shrimp,” Kei said as he extended his hand, so that Hinata could take it and could stand up faster, which he did, reluctantly. Hinata frowned, it was very obvious to Kei that he was disappointed, but he didnt know why. If this had happened in their first year, then Kei would’ve ignored the shorter boy's strange mood and move on, but now it was different. They shared a bond after being together for more than a year. And it wasn’t only because they were teammates, they also studied together, even without the company of Kageyama, Yamaguchi or Yachi, which was both a blessing and a curse, taking into account his feelings towards Hinata. So, even if he knew he would regret it, Kei decided to ask why Hinata was acting so weird.
“Am I?” Hinata said as he tilted his head to the right, “what makes you think that?”
Kei rolled his eyes, “first and foremost, you hate rain so—”
“What?! Where did you get that from?” Hinata rejoined.
Kei became flustered, “w-well I just assumed—”
“Wait, no!” Hinata interrupted, “I can’t believe it, you're the same as Kageyama,” Kei could only stare at the boy in front of him dumbfoundedly. “Why does everyone thinks that?” Hinata said in a resigned voice.
And Kei couldn't help but to be embarrassed. He did the same everyone else did to him. Kei assumed that, because of his personality and his looks, Hinata would love summer, but it was the opposite. And it was safe to take for granted that most, if not all, people that knew Hinata would suppose other things about him. Kei internally apologised to Hinata, because there was no way in hell he would say it out loud. Kei sighed, it was weird to realize that Hinata was similar to him, especially on this subject. And curiosity was emerging. He now wanted to know about all the things that Hinata enjoyed, but no one believed. He wanted to get to know the real Hinata, the one that wasn’t playing volleyball, or trying to study. He wanted to know about who else he was, and to see the face he wasn’t showing to others. So while they were walking towards the school, he asked.
Hinata was surprised, the question catched him off guard, but he smiled. However, this smile was different from the many other Kei had seen. It was delicate, soft and shy, as if Hinata was trying to conceal, and Kei was oh so grateful that Hinata couldn’t.
“Well, it's weird but I hate summer, especially days like today. They’re so warm and bright and I just don’t like them.” Kei looked at the sky, the clouds that were previously a pure white colour had now turned grey. He frowned, but his face relaxed as soon as he heard Hinata speak again.
“And I hate sweet things, like, dark coffee is my favorite! Oh and—don’t you dare to laugh— but I love piano and violin, my sister is learning how to play both and I’m trying to also learn cus classical music is the best. And I love snow, winter is my favorite season!”
“I also love the rain.” Hinata said as he looked at Kei. His voice was breathless and dripping with longing. It seemed like he was talking about a completely different thing. It was odd hearing him talk like that, weird but Kei could get used to this other side of Hinata.
And as if on queue, small droplets of rain began falling down from the once blue sky.
However, Kei did not mind it, because the sun was still shining, even brighter than before. The contrast of hot and cold was something Kei had never experienced before, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Slowly, he looked at Hinata. He was happy, it was obvious just by looking at his face that he felt an immense joy. A silent euphoria that made no noise. Sound was not necessary since his eyes spoke and told Kei all he needed to know. And Kei knew that the star he loved ever since he had memory was jealous of Hinata.
The sun was in his eyes. Shining. Radiating light, and glimmering thanks to the water droplets that decorated his eyelashes. And the sun was in his smile, making Kei warm and fuzzy, just like hot summer days did.