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The summer after Hinata's first year was brutal. His family had booked an all summer vacation to Australia, and the heat was blistering, not to mention the animals and insects there seemed to be on some type of steroids.
As well as the freakily sized creatures of Australia, he hadn't been able to see his friends all summer, seeing as he was hundreds of thousands of miles away. His phone had long been broken since the first week of break and his parents hadn't bought him a new one or even bothered to repair his old one for that matter. He had no way of communicating, so he had to suffer the sweltering summer without his friends.
But what had really distressed him were the excruciating growing pains that kept him up many nights. When he'd wished to be taller, he didn't mean he wanted to do it overnight. From 162.8 cm to 190 cm by the end of summer, he had shot up like a weed.
And holy hell, it hurt. He didn’t even know that was possible, but when he’d come back to Japan, he’d went to the doctor and found that he’d had a non-cancerous pituitary gland tumor. It had caused an overproduction in growth hormones, which is why he went from the second shortest player on the team to pretty much the same height as Tsukishima, meaning they were the tallest on the team.
The only thing he had looked forward to were the sports. He'd taken up surfing along with beach volleyball and even a little recreational swimming, so he'd long since gotten a gorgeous golden tan on his once pale skin. No amount of sunscreen seemed to protect him from the blinding sun, not that he cared. In fact, he liked being tan. His eyes had lightened the slightest bit to a flaxen brown, and his hair had somehow grown more unruly. Probably the saltwater, he guessed. Even his voice had grown a little more raspy.
It was like puberty (and his tumor) had hit him with a fucking semi-truck.
So it was no wonder, when Hinata took his first steps into Karasuno's front gates, that everyone seemed to stare. Nobody recognized the once small ball of sunshine, and he became the talk of the school.
And when he walked into the first volleyball practice, the whole team stared. "We didn't know we'd have a new member this year. Are you a third year? Transfer student? What's your position?" Tanaka asked, sizing Hinata up.
Before Hinata could reply, Yachi came running in, out of breath with her phone in hand, "Takeda-sensei told me that Nekoma wants a practice match next week!"
"Already?" Ennoshita asked, the newly named captain of Karasuno's volleyball team.
"Yes! It'll be the perfect way to—" Yachi stalled as she caught sight of a tall, orange haired boy standing near the rest of the boys. Her face went up in flames, eyes going wide as she stuttered, "Ah, I'm s-so sorry! I didn't realize we had a n-new player! M-my name is Y-yachi Hitoka, m-manager of this team, s-second year!"
Hinata seemed baffled. Yachi hadn't spoke like that to him since the first few days they'd met. But then he remembered how different he looked, and he understood. He looked intimidating.
"He hasn't introduced himself yet," Ennoshita stated, turning to look at Hinata with a calculating glance, "you know, your hair reminds me of a second year we're supposed to have on our team. Has anyone seen Hinata lately?"
"That dumbass probably forgot today was the first day of school. We haven't seen him all summer, and the messages Yamaguchi, Kageyama and I sent didn't go through," Tsukishima said, pushing his glasses up his nose.
"Guys?" Hinata interrupted, "It's me, Hinata Shouyou."
Tanaka took one look before bursting into hysterics, "You? Hinata? Have you seen him? He's only a bit taller than Noya over here." As he said that, he slapped the libero on the back, sending him tumbling to the floor.
"What the fuck Tanaka!" Noya yelled, "I'm gonna rolling thunder your ass!"
Yamaguchi only stared silently before asking a question that he knew only he could answer, “How did your first successful spike feel?"
Hinata's eyes lit up, "Kageyama's set was like 'whoosh!' and then I flew up and 'blam!' and my stomach went 'gwah!' when I landed." All the while, his arms were flailing as he recounted his excitement.
"Its definitely Shouyou," Yamaguchi deadpanned.
"How the fuck—" Kageyama spluttered, staring at Hinata with the most incredulous look. "You... You're what? Six foot? And you're tan as hell, and your voice is deeper, and your hair is messier—How the fuck is that even possible?" Through this whole speech, Kageyama's cheeks had burst into a wild pink.
“At this rate, Kageyama’s gonna pop a boner,” Tanaka whispered to Noya.
Noya snorted, trying to keep from bursting out loud. It wasn’t far from the truth though. Kageyama was all types of flustered.
"6'2," Hinata murmured.
"Where have you been? It's like you fell off the face of the earth this summer!" The dark haired setter questioned, throwing his hands in the air
"My family and I took a vacation to Australia, but my phone broke the first week of break. They didn't fix it until yesterday, so I couldn't talk to you guys. I surfed and swam and played beach volleyball, so I got a lot of sun. Also, I think the saltwater is what did this to my hair," Hinata shrugged.
The whole team was silent. None of them new what to say. Not even sharp tongued Tsukishima.
"Aren't we supposed to be practicing?" Hinata asked, aiming the question at the captain.
Ennoshita stared at him for a bit longer before slowly nodding, "Alright guys, let's practice."
After practice, Hinata stayed over to help put the equipment away with none other than Kageyama. There was an unsettling silence between the two as they rolled up the net and wheeled the ball cart into the storage closet.
The setter couldn't stop stealing glances at Hinata as they worked to finish cleaning, and Hinata knew, but he didn't acknowledge it. He didn't know what to say to Kageyama, seeing as how they'd actually had something between them at the end of last year.
The orange haired middle blocker, now taller than Tobio, recalled the last few weeks of first year. He remembered the shy touches and the giggle-filled walks home, and vividly, he remembers the kiss they shared on the last day of school.
The butterflies that filled his stomach still lingered when he remembered Tobio's soft lips pressing against his. The taller's hand gripped at his waist, the other cupping his jaw, while Hinata's arms had looped around his neck. Even after, they'd stayed like that, foreheads pressed against one another until silly smiles overtook their faces.
But he also remembers his promise to stay in touch. There were so many plans that never happened because they hadn't been able to talk, and it made Kageyama resent him, even if just a little.
The long gap of zero communicating presented the challenge of actually talking once again, but neither of the blushing, flustered, and most of all stubborn boys wanted to be the first to break the ice. It went on like that for weeks. Everyone was slowly adjusting to Hinata's post-pubescent appearance, except for Kageyama. He couldn't seem to wrap his head around the drastic nature of his growth. More so, he found himself daydreaming about Hinata more than he thought possible.
Besides that, the orange haired male had grown stronger, more agile, and impossibly fast. It was like he was some athletic monster. No one could keep up with him in anything, no matter how hard they tried. Even Tanaka had to grudgingly admit defeat to the ginger.
Things were definitely different, both for Hinata and the team. During the Nekoma match, Hinata had scored almost half the points in both sets and he had an astonishing amount of blocks. Although, he still couldn't receive or serve too well.
Kenma had done a double take. This couldn't be his fluffy, energetic Shouyou. But it was, and Kenma didn't know how to approach that.
It was starting to drive Hinata crazy, how everyone treated him differently. He didn't want to be intimidating or awkward. He just was. He’d fought so hard to fit in last year because of how short he was, and now it felt like he was having to reacquaint himself all over again, only this time it was exactly the opposite.
And Kageyama's timidity drove him up the walls. It bothered him to no end how the setter would simply avoid interaction with him outside of practice. So he finally made up his mind.
One day after practice, when Hinata and Tobio had been left for cleanup duty, Hinata had backed Tobio into a wall, towering before him as he built his resolve.
"Why have you been avoiding me so much, Tobio?” Hinata asked, an eyebrow raised. His voice was almost desperate.
Kageyama's face was red and shining with embarrassment, "I-I haven't." Kageyama wouldn't meet his eyes, looking off to the left at one of Hinata's veiny arms. He gulped.
"Yes you have. Everyone's been treating me different. Especially you," Shouyou sighed, leaning forward slightly.
"W-well, you did grow a lot.. and you're..." Tobio couldn't finish his sentence, his ears burning.
"I'm what, Tobio?" He asked, tilting his head.
"Nothing! Back up, dumbass!" The setter insisted, trying to push Hinata back. Hinata simply grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head. Wide eyed, Tobio could feel his heart pounding. "W-what are you doing?"
"Look, I'm sorry I never talked to you this summer. I wanted to, I really did. I just—"
"Didn't have your phone, I know," the shorter grumbled, squirming weakly under Hinata's grip.
"I'm sorry Tobio, but I," he took a deep breath, "I still really like you. I don't want you to ignore me."
Kageyama grew still, blue eyes staring into Hinata's flaxen ones. "Well I—mph!" Tobio muffled out.
Hinata's lips were warm as they moved against Kageyama's, stealing the setter's breath away. He stood stock still, shock coursing through his veins. Shouyou was kissing him! And he was damn good at it too.
Hinata pulled back, "Was that okay? I couldn't resist. Sorry Kageyama. You just look really kissable." His breath was heavy, hands still wrapped around the other's wrists.
The black haired boy had muttered something under his breath.
"Hmm?"
"I-I liked it," Kageyama whispered, "Kiss me again."
A huge grin grew on Hinata's face before he leaned back in, locking their lips together again. This time, Tobio kissed back, almost squeaking when he felt Hinata's tongue brush his lip. But he was far too lost in Hinata to say no, so he parted his lips, finally tasting what he'd longed for.
The sounds of lips smacking and light, barely audible groans floated through the messy gym, still littered with volleyballs.
They finally parted when they needed air, and Tobio rested his forehead on Hinata's shoulder.
"Where'd you learn to do that, Shouyou?" Tobio breathed, licking his swollen lips.
"Australia," Hinata quipped, laughing as the setter shot him a glare, "Kidding Tobio! I only want to kiss you."
"You better, dumbass," Kageyama shot back, a defiant gleam shining in his eyes before he leaned in and once again connected their lips for another long-awaited kiss.