hey! i thought this was a cute idea, but i didn't want it to be the official official ending so i'm adding it here as a bonus. i just couldn't leave hinata all broken hearted like that. he didn't deserve it :(

Hinata pulled his curly, orange hair into a low bun at the nape of his neck before throwing an apron over his head. Today was one year since he opened his own bakery. The smell of fresh bread flowed from the kitchen while he set out newly decorated cookies in lines in the glass encasement on the counter. 

That morning, he had walked into the bakery to see that his first three employees had put up a banner reading, 'Happy 1st Year!' Those three had been with him when he first opened the place and had over time become some of his closest friends. 

Hinata never pictured himself opening a bakery. After floundering between college majors for two years, he had finally settled on a linguistics major, which proved to be positively useless. But with a little help from some close friends, he had finally found a direction he was content with. (Akaashi and Kenma always got free baked goods whenever they came to visit.)  

Sandwiched between a boutique and a pizza place, Hinata's bakery was the most popular place in town. They rarely had croissants after 11am, they took at least 3 cake orders everyday, and on Saturdays they had eggs from a local farm, which sold out within an hour of opening. The farm, run by his old teammate Azumane Asahi, also supplied their milk (coincidentally, he also supplied the meat for Nishinoya's restaurant).

After boxing up the day's biscotti, he started brewing a pot of coffee. They weren't a coffee shop, so there was no need to learn any fancy drinks, but as time went on they realized they had a few regular costumers who would also appreciate some coffee with their breakfast. So Hinata obliged. 

Looking out the large windows of his store, Hinata felt nothing but bliss. It had been a lonely five years, and things had only started to look up recently. His troubles with college and money, combined with the loss of the man who Hinata thought was the love of his life, had made his early 20s not ideal, to say the least. 

Sometimes Hinata still thought Kageyama was the love of his life. 

Not often, though. Only on those nights when Hinata couldn't escape his own thoughts and wondered why there had been no one else in the last five years. No one else that mattered. 

Sure, there had been a few one-night-stands. A few summer flings. But no one who Hinata really cared about. They were just fillers. Which sounded terrible, he knew, but it was the truth. He just couldn't really be bothered to look anymore. That didn't mean he wasn't still lonely. 

But, most days he could ignore all that. Today, he didn't even have to try. Flipping the sign to read 'open' and hearing the bell as the first costumer walked in was all he needed to feel satisfied. 

It had taken a while, but Hinata learned that his value was not based off of who loved him, or who didn't. If love came to him again, he might give it another shot. If not, well, he had bread. And a cute dog. 

He had already had his great love story. And he was okay with that. 

The morning rush went quickly, as usual. A few days ago, he put up one of those 'take one leave one' libraries on a shelf, and it was already a hit. By the time the morning was over, there was not a single original book left. 

After the usual morning rush, Hinata relaxed behind the counter. Usually the rest of the day just consisted of people trickling in for a cake order or a loaf of bread. He leaned up against the counter, making conversation and turned around when he heard the tinkle of the bell. Two figures stood in the doorway. 

"Kenma! Keiji!" Hinata ran around the counter to tackle his friends in a hug. Kenma's hair was so grown out now that only the tips were blond. Akaashi looked the same as ever. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Oh come on," Kenma started. "Did you really think we would miss the one year anniversary of you turning your life around?" 

"Yeah, who do you think we are?"

"One year!" Hinata exclaimed. "I would argue that my life has been turned around for at least a year and a HALF! It had to be at least a little turned around for me to get this place off the ground, right?"

"Keep telling yourself that, kid," Kenma said, patting him on the back. 

"Kid?" Hinata asked incredulously. "You're not even a whole year older than me!"

"Sorry, kid," Akaashi said. Hinata glowered at both of them before collapsing into laughter. 

"Well, what can I get you?" Hinata said, gesturing at his mostly empty display cases. He twisted his mouth into a pout. "You should have come earlier. I would have had many more options."

"But then we would have had to share your company with like 20 other people," Akaashi said. 

"Either way, this time, we brought something for you," Kenma said, rifling around in his bag. He brought out a half-smashed cake with bright pink icing wrapped in cling wrap. "There was some travel damage."

Looking at the ugly, smashed mess of a cake, Hinata's face reddened and his chest filled with warmth. To his surprise, he could almost feel tears coming to his eyes. Not quite though, he wasn't that dramatic. 

"Oh, you guys shouldn't have!" he said, his hands on his cheeks. 

"Oh, come on. You've been treating us to immaculate baked goods for a long time now. It's time we returned the favor," Akaashi said. 

"Not that this is immaculate or anything..." Kenma muttered. 

"Shut up!" Kenma stuck his tongue out at Akaashi. Hinata went to get a plate and some forks, while Kenma fished a tube of store-bought green icing out of his bag. While Akaashi held the cake, Kenma unwrapped the top and scrawled a message on it. 

It read, 'Happy 1 year, Sho!"

When Hinata returned, he looked disapprovingly at the cake. 

"I think that green and pink might be the worst possible color combination you could have picked. This better taste good."

"Rude!"

"Also I couldn't fit your whole name so that's why it just says Sho."

"I can see that." Hinata looked up at his two friends and found himself unable to stop smiling. "I love you guys. This was so thoughtful," he said, hugging them each again. 

"An ugly-ass, half-smashed cake makes you this emotional? Man, your life is sad," Kenma said, sitting down to eat. 

"Has he gotten meaner?" Hinata asked Akaashi. Akaashi nodded. 

So, they ate cake and caught up with each other. It had been a while since they had all been together, the three of them all had busy schedules. Kenma and Kuroo had moved out of the city, while Akaashi had accepted a new research position at the local university. 

"I've been thinking about proposing to Bokuto," Akaashi said. Hinata's jaw dropped. 

"Holy shit, really? That so wonderful!" he exclaimed. 

"Yeah, I'm kind of really nervous, though," Akaashi confided. 

"Don't be. Bokuto is head over heels in love with you, Keiji. You have nothing to worry about," Kenma said, his mouth full of cake. 

"Kenma's right. You're a catch. Even Bokuto's not dumb enough to refuse you." This made Akaashi laugh. 

"Yeah, you guys are right. It'll be fine."

"And if it's not, I am 100% willing to beat up Bokuto for you."

"Same here." 

Finally, it was time for the pair to leave. Hinata hugged them goodbye and insisted that they needed to see each other more often. Waving goodbye, Hinata noticed that there was only a half hour before closing. 

He took over the register since he hadn't been doing anything for the past hour, letting the rest of the crew to start cleaning up the kitchen. A few more costumers trickled in, but time still seemed to pass slower than usual. As Hinata gazed lazily out the windows, it took him a moment before his eyes focused on the young man who had paused outside the store. 

He was tall, with stark black hair that was pushed up off his forehead in a lazy side part. He had a satchel slung across his shoulder and was peering up at their sign with his hands in his pockets. After a moment of indecision, he entered the store. 

The moment he walked in, Hinata knew he had seen that face somewhere, but he couldn't match a face to the name. 

"Hey there! How can I help you?" Hinata said, a brilliant smile on his face. The man immediately returned his smile, and a feeling of warmth flared up in Hinata's chest, accompanied by a slight tug at his heart. 

"Could I have two loaves of sourdough, please?" he asked, his voice startlingly familiar. His eyes darted to Hinata's name tag. 

"Yeah, coming right up!" Turning away, a grimace took over his face as he tried to remember where he knew this guy. 

"Oh, and do you have a bathroom here?" 

"Yeah, right down that hall," Hinata said, pointing to his left. 

"Thanks." The man left his payment on the counter. When he came back, Hinata had put the two loaves in plastic bags and set them on top of each other in a small paper bag. He set that on the counter and put the money in the cash register. 

As the man picked up his bag, he dropped a few coins and small slip of paper in the tip jar. 

"Thanks."

"Thanks for coming in!" Once he had walked out of view of the store windows, Hinata fished the paper out of the jar. 

It's been a while, hasn't it? Didn't even recognize me

I want to talk to you. Get coffee with me?

-kt

And below that was his number, which was completely unnecessary. Hinata never deleted it. 

He didn't even recognize him. Five years is a long time. 

And for the first time since then, Hinata felt that tell tale spark in his chest. It was small, but it was there. The spark of hope. 

Maybe his one great love story wasn't over after all.