once the sun peeks from behind the clouds, the sunflower turns to her. the sunflower feeds on the warmth and light that the sun gives, while the sun enjoys the company and beauty of the flower. 

hinata never kept his heart closed. while it hurt to move away from feelings he harbored for years, he felt relief at last - he had his answer, there was nothing he could do, especially now that their time in high school was coming to an end. he could continue chasing the moon, but at what cost? his own feelings? his unkept world?

he had wasted enough time and energy on chasing the celestial object, his heart was tired, his soul was drained - the sparkle from his eyes slowly faded away. the pain he felt... he knew it would go away - it gets better. it always gets better.

it was time.

time to finally turn back to himself and look for ways to make himself happy. he had suffered enough uncertainty and unrequited feelings. but, hinata never closed his heart. he was open to feelings and always on the lookout for the person who will feed on his sun and in exchange feed him as well. he was on the lookout for a new companion, hopefully, one, that would reciprocate his feelings.

kageyama, on the other hand, found his inner world crumbling. he didn't realize what he had said until the very last moment, all this time he simply thought that hinata distanced himself in order to focus on his own work - not because his core was turning away from kageyama. he barely even noticed the sparkle disappearing from hinata's eyes.

once he did realize, once he wrapped his mind around it - he felt a sharp pain go through his heart. it's like his moon, once full and beautiful, began chipping away, crumbling into his ocean. the once mighty and bright pillars were now standing covered in dust, cracked and broken, scattering on the very bottom - useless.

and kageyama once again made a mistake.

he chose not to fix his words.

he chose to stay quiet instead of saying something to the sun that was slowly moving away from him. 

as the two parted ways, as they said their heartfelt goodbyes to each other - hinata had let go. kageyama had not. he still had feelings for him, he still had hope that one day they could be happy together, but at the same time, he was scared of holding hinata back, though what he didn't realize is that if he had told hinata how he feels, even right before hinata boarded the plane, hinata would have dropped everything and stayed with him.

he would have rather stayed with him.

but kageyama said nothing.

and his sun was gone.

hinata, on the other hand, ventured into a different world. 

he spent some time in a different country, just playing volleyball, working odd jobs, getting away from the mundane everyday routine - he was on route to rebuilding his inner world to its former glory. and while he had some encounters that seemed like they could go further, they never did.

that was... until he met someone.

volleyball was one force that still kept hinata going throughout all of the years, it was like a little motor that kept spinning and making hinata strive for the best - for the time being he had chosen to make that his main motivation, to go pro, to play professional matches, to meet new teammates...

and his attention was caught by a sunflower. 

immediately.

there was no hiding behind the clouds, there was no going around, this sunflower was looking directly at him - it wasn't turning away. miya atsumu was ready to monopolize the sun and hinata was unknowingly ready to be taken.

atsumu had no intention of holding back, he waited long enough, he needed the sun and he needed it now. all he had to do was choose the best approach, how should he interest the sun? while the two of them had been texting and talking on the phone for a while, actually going somewhere requires much more than just adding a couple of emojis to the text.

while he was going back and forth between his ideas, hinata couldn't help but notice the eyes that atsumu was giving him every time they practiced. there was something in them that made hinata look into them more and more, most of the time he could see his own reflection in them clearly, but it was as if his reflection was altered - glowing in the eyes of atsumu, his new setter.

atsumu didn't plan on sitting around - the moment his mind landed on one better idea, he immediately took action. it was just after practise, hinata was changing into his normal clothes, talking about his time meeting oikawa. as the others slowly left one by one, leaving only atsumu and hinata in the changing room, the setter took charge.

with a confident voice, he spoke words to hinata, words that he had been meticulously crafting the whole day. a compliment, an observation of the clear sky followed, then an invitation for a hot beverage and finally a smile. 

as hinata looked into his eyes, he could once again see himself in the altered vision - and he liked it. he agreed without any protest and returned the smile - bright and wide. 

atsumu was open. he didn't like hiding secrets, because the more you hide them, the more painful they become. hinata was bright, unable to keep secrets, but holding onto some - waiting for the right to spill them. so perhaps it was that warm summer night, the clear sky with millions of stars, the moon nowhere in sight and hinata's open heart that led atsumu confessing on the spot, because the moment he looked at hinata again it was as if all his worries disappeared.

he didn't expect the response that he received - which was an immediate agreement and the return of warm words. the clouds in atsumu's world dissipated and now the sun looked at him in full beauty. it was so warm, so nice that atsumu could have stood there for hours. all the past hurt was no more. 

and slowly but surely, by each day passing and the two of them becoming closer and closer - the sparkle came back to hinata's eyes. but this time it was reserved for atsumu and atsumu only. he had his sunflower. someone who fed on him, but also provided for him. someone who was there to love him unconditionally. someone who gave him more love than he thought he needed.

it was a connection so strong, no one dared stand in their way.

and it was so beautiful.

and so warm.

and so sweet.

fulfilling.

warm.