First fan fiction. Haikyuu!! fandom. Hinata x Yachi. (slight manga spoilers)
Written: December 2021

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He'd been to her house many times. She'd helped him with his homework many times. Still, he couldn't help the way his heart pounded every time he saw her. She was cute and blond. Her nerves were terrible, but they made him want to look out for her. It made her seem fragile in a way, but he had seen how strong she could be.

She wasn't weak in any way.

Hinata had been able to keep himself focused on volleyball ever since Yachi became a manager and he had no intention of losing focus in the future. It was still his priority. He wanted to surpass Kageyama in ability, and that would never happen if his mind drifted during practices and games.

Yet, outside of the gym, his mind was full of her. So much so he changed some answers on a test just so she would tutor him one-on-one again.

Not that he'd ever admit to it.

She was sweet to everyone. It made him jealous when she was nice to Yamaguchi, but they were just friends. Besides, he didn't have any right to be jealous over something like that. He wasn't her boyfriend - he was only her boy friend.

That one space felt like a canyon he wasn't sure he would ever be able to cross.

Still, he held out some hope. The spring tournament, he decided, would be where he would try to close that space. If he won, he'd tell her he had a crush on her. If he lost, well, he'd wait another year. It would be up to her after that. That was the most nerve-wracking part.

In the meantime, he spent as much time as he could with Yachi when he wasn't practicing or at home with his sister. The more they were together, the more he let himself get his hopes up. She was opening up more and more to him. It made him feel like number one in her life - after her mom, of course.

Finally, the spring tournament came. After beating Tsubakihara, Inarizaki, and Nekoma, Hinata felt on top of the world - and like he'd been hit by a bus. He knew he was sick and that Kageyama suspected it. He was grateful the setter wasn't saying anything, because there was no way he was going to sit out any of these matches. Especially Kamomedai. He had to play against them. He had to. He had to prove himself. Not so much to Yachi, but to himself. He wanted to prove to himself that he had what it took to beat the guy that was so much like himself but so much better.

He knew it was his ego getting the better of him, but he couldn't help it.

Part way into the match, he knew he wasn't going to be able to finish. He was getting slower. He knew, but he couldn't say anything.

He made it halfway into the final set before his condition caught up to him.

It was humiliating in more ways than one to collapse and have to rely on his teammates to carry him to the bench. It was even more humiliating to be lectured in front of everyone by Takeda Sensei. The worst part was that everything he said, Hinata knew it was true. Every word. It was his own fault he ended up this way.

Yachi was waiting when he walked through the double doors. He almost couldn't look her in the eyes. She walked with him to the infirmary and stayed with him. He did his best to not keep crying. He wanted to look at least a little cool in front of her.

"You did good," she said.

He shook his head. "If I did good I'd still be out there with the rest of them."

She stepped closer and touched his arm. "I mean, well, you're not wrong, but you still did good. You managed to get this far with this fever. It's amazing you lasted so long. I could never..."

Her words faded in his ears and his eyes were glued to her face. They dipped down to her lips. They were the only ones in the room. He could kiss her - right here, right now. Without thinking, he did just that. He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on her lips. The sensation was there, and then it was gone just as fast.

For the first time he could remember, the girl was truly speechless. She just stared at him with big eyes and no sound. His face heated up, but he didn't look away from her. He was afraid that, if he did, she would leave and he wouldn't speak to her again. "Why did you-?" she asked, not quite sounding sure.

He took a deep breath and told her the truth. "I like you, Yachi." She got flustered. He tried to fight a smile, but it was no use - she was just too cute. It was so much easier telling her this than he thought it would be.

She took a deep breath and he watched, amazed, as a calm settled on her. "Hinata, I like you, too," she said quietly. "I mean, like, um. I don't mean as more than a friend if you don't mean as more than a friend. Like, I don't have a crush on you if you don't want me to or anything like that. I just-"

Hinata kissed her again, a little longer this time. He could taste her lip gloss. Cherry. He didn't picture her being the kind to like cherry, but he liked having this bit of information. He pulled away and she tried to follow, so he let her. Their lips met again and he felt a hand in his hair. He put his hands on her waist and let their kiss linger another moment before letting her pull away. "When I said I like you," he said, voice low and quiet, "I meant I want you to go out with me. Please, Yachi, say you will."

She searched his eyes for a moment before nodding with a big smile. "Of course I will." She glanced down at his jersey, aware it was damp with sweat from his match. "You should change out of these clothes. You don't want your fever going up."

He sighed. "You're right." She went to grab his bag. While he waited, he couldn't help his smile. His fingers ran lightly over his lips, reliving the kiss. Why did he feel like he shouldn't say anything unless he won the tournament again? He wasn't sure.

Somehow, he'd made it from boy friend to boyfriend.