Hinata was exhausted.

He wasn't sure where this tiredness was coming from. He had been fine when he woke up, and he felt nothing but enthusiastic after the glorious bike ride over the mountain and down towards where Karasuno high school awaited.

He had walked into the Karasuno gym refreshed and ready to play. He wasn't the first one there. Kageyama had beaten him to it. He was in an especially grumpy mood when Hinata saw him, murmuring something about how he wished they didn't have practice today.

Right now, though, Hinata was standing in front of the gym, letting the exhaustion wash over him.

He knew when it began.

It was half way through morning practice. He'd been doing well so far. In fact, he had felt particularly in tune with the concentration of the rest of the team. He sprinted. He soar. He scored.

Kageyama, however, was noticeably out of it. He kept fumbling with himself, and his normal precision was a tad bit clumsy. It seemed as if it was always worse when Hinata was closer to him, so for the sake of Kageyama's sanity, Hinata kept his distance even though he felt alone and rejected. He knew it was painful for Kageyama to not do anything but his best when playing volleyball, and he didn't want to mess that up for him.

It was spiking practice. The hitting lines went by fast, until Hinata was next.

It wasn't that he hadn't been hitting any balls before then. If anything, the practice was winding down with this drill. He wasn't not warmed up.

No, that wasn't the problem.

Hinata tucked a rebel strand of orange hair behind his ear. His eyes widened as he saw the ball go into Kageyama's hands. The moment was there. He would seize it, make it his own.

He ran, and made his approach. Leaping into the air with amazing grace and agility, Hinata felt alive. He was flying.

The moment was shattered, however, when the ball shot like a bullet straight into his face.

The first thing that happened was his vision went black. His hearing went soon after, leaving a buzzing in his ear that rang with a painfully intensity. He wanted it to stop. He needed it to stop. It felt as if his head was about to split open.

He was screaming for it to stop.

Pleading.

Begging.

He was shrieking so loudly he was sure his lungs would bleed.

He couldn't even hear himself.

Maybe he wasn't screaming? But than what was this rawness in his throat? Hinata just wanted the ringing to stop, to end, to leave him in the silence of peace.

Than the real pain came.

Blossoming all over his body, from his back to his face to his neck to his shoulders. He felt bruised and abused. Worthless.

The pain was excruciating.

It was agony.

It was death.

No, no it wasn't death. He was still alive. He was still breathing. He was still in this brutal torture.

Suddenly, he saw Kageyama.

For once, Hinata was confused. The ringing in his ears died down somewhat, but then it intensified. Hinata screamed once more, trying to hear his own pain.

Kageyama was facing away from him, but Hinata knew that it was him. There was no doubting it at all. He could recognize his setter anywhere.

"Kageyama," he said.

He did not turn to face him.

"Kageyama!" he shouted.

Still, he only saw his back.

"KAGEYAMA!" he screamed.

Then there were other boys, faces looming with scary smiles.

Looming over Kageyama.

"No, get away from Kageyama!" Hinata yelled.

They were laughing, their throats ripping with guffaws. Pointing down, until Kageyama was getting smaller and smaller and farther and farther away.

"NO! STOP HURTING KAGEYAMA! GET AWAY!"

He was fading. He was crying.

He was whimpering.

"Please…please…leave Kageyama alone."

They were stealing him away. They were taking him.

"Take me instead. Not…Kageyama…"

Than all was black once more.

Slowly, oh so slowly, he felt the ringing, that awful ringing, fade. He could hear his erratic breathes. He could hear his heartbeat.

He could hear somebody's voice.

At first, all he heard was mumbling, but it gradually it grew louder. Soon, he realized it was a host of voices, not just one.

He opened his eyes, not remembering when he had closed them.

He was immediately met with the huge face of Nishinoya. Blinking, Hinata tried to sit up, but a wave of tiredness rolled through him. Pain made him wince.

"Hinata, are you alright?"

"You were knocked out, man. You need to lie down."

"Can you see okay? You keep blinking."

"Can you still practice?"

"Hinata, can you stand?"

Hinata shook his head, the pummeling of questions from all his surrounding teammates that had circled worriedly around him making his head spin. He looked around at the immensely worried faces of his teammates. Asahi, Suaga, Daichi, Tsukishima…Where was Kageyama?

"Are you sure you're alright? You were screaming your head off." Suga said softly.

Hinata looked at him.

Screaming…he had been screaming? Oh yeah…

"We heard everything."

Hinata stiffened.

"Everything?" he whispered.

The entire team stiffened, sullen and serious.

"As soon as you stopped screaming, Kageyama ran out of here. We tried to stop him, but it was too late. And we couldn't just leave you here…" Suga said quietly.

The gym was deathly silent.

Carefully, and with help, Hinata stood. Shrugging of the hands that tried to aid him further, he went out to the front of the gym and stood.

This is where he was now, standing there, alone with his tiredness.

Alone with his pain.

At some point, he had started crying so silently he barely noticed at first. He wasn't sure when it began, but he knew when it ended.

The pearly tears stopped rolling down his face when his eyes fell upon royal blue ones.

The whole world froze.

Kageyama's normal frown gave him an intense look that sent a shiver down Hinata's spine. He simply stared. Time didn't matter anymore. It was just him and those eyes.

Kageyama must be mad at him. He must hate him, or something like that. What other reason could there be? Why else had this entire thing happened?

Hinata felt the tears creep back, until another forlorn drop slid down his cheek.

Kageyama's eyes widened. Before Hinata knew what was happening, Kageyama had his hands on his cheeks. Wiping away the tears with his thumbs, Kageyama held him for a moment, that same look on his face.

Hinata blinked in astonishment.

And then he pulled away, his eyes looking everywhere but at him.

"I-I'm so-sorry." He stuttered.

Kageyama never stuttered.

Hinata watched in amazement.

"It's alright." He said, but it came out more of a croak. His voice was shredded from screaming and crying. In fact, it really hurt to speak.

He couldn't take it anymore.

"Are you okay?!" Hinata blurted, a little too loudly. His cheeks heated up from embarrassment for a second.

Silence.

Hinata took a deep breath and looked up at Kageyama. He barely had time to react as Kageyama had launched himself at him, grabbing his collar and ramming him up against the wall so that he was in Hinata's face.

"How can you say that?! How can you ask me if I'm okay?! I knocked you out! YOU DIDN'T RESPOND TO ME! I WAS SHAKING YOU AND CALLING YOUR NAME AND YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! AND THAN YOU STARTED SCREAMING SO LOUD! IT SOUNDED LIKE YOU WERE DYING! YOU WERE BEGGING! BEGGING FOR IT TO STOP! THAN YOU JUST HAD TO GO AND YELL MY NAME TOO, DIDN'T YOU! SCREAMING TO LEAVE KAGEYAMA ALONE! DON'T HURT HIM, HURT ME INSTEAD! YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS?! I COULDN'T TAKE IT! I couldn't take it…"

He was panting, clutching Hinata's shirt as if he was going to slip away from him at any minute.

Hinata couldn't believe it.

Kageyama was worried about him?

"I…" Kageyama gasped. "I had…a nightmare…You were…taken away…I couldn't…I couldn't take it."

Hinata's eyes widened.

That's why he had been so off this morning.

Slowly, Kageyama released his killer grip on Hinata's shirt.

"And…and then I…I went and…took it out…on you…"

Hinata didn't think.

He acted.

He disregarded the pain it caused him to move and full out flung his arms around Kageyama's neck. Kageyama was crying into his shoulder, sobbing wracking his frame. All Hinata could do was hold him closer.

Hinata scrambled.

He didn't like it when Kageyama cried. He didn't like it at all. He had to stop him from mumbling he was sorry over and over. He had to stop his tears.

Just like Kageyam did for him.

Pulling back, he put his hands on Kageyama's face just as he had done and wiped away his tears with his thumbs.

Kageyama's eyes widened.

Hinata leaned forward, a lightness in his chest that made him feel invicible. He felt warm.

His lips were on Kageyama's.

There was nothing but them, in that moment. He felt as if he was flying.

Indescribable.

Like playing volleyball.

The kiss ended, and Kageyama was laughing.

Hinata stared.

It was the first time he had ever heard Kageyama laugh. It was a beautiful sound that rang clear like a thousand bells. He wanted to hear it more and more.

So he kissed him again.

Kageyama was crying again, but then again, so was Hinata.

Hinata was exhausted.

But at least now, he was not alone.

Even when Kageyama carried him bridle style to the nurses office, and his face was heating up with embarrassment, he was not alone.

Even when he went to the hospital because it turned out he got a concussion, he wasn't alone. Kageyama was there, the entire time, with his family. His face had been the definition of a frown. The doctor had left quickly, to say the least. But Hinata knew better. It was because he was guilty.

Even when he was falling asleep after a long day, Kageyama was still there, sleeping over with him.

He was not tired anymore.