Day 2 of Kagehina Week is upon us~ Here's my story for the prompt I chose, "nicknames". Sorry it's a little late, I hadn't finished it and I had two final exams today so I didn't have much time... Anyway, on to the story.

Nicknames

Hinata gulps heavily. His body is squashed against the wall outside the gym, almost like he's trying to melt into it. Head tilted upwards and back pressed against the cool material behind him, he hesitantly meets Kageyama's irritated gaze.

"Did you hear me or not?" snaps Kageyama after a moment.

"Um... Sort of," tries Hinata, but his careful approach isn't helping. Kageyama's eyes narrow; Hinata's focus on the floor.

"Dumbass," hisses the taller, "I'm talking to you!"

"But Kags-"

"What?" It's to his own disadvantage that Hinata recognizes his mistake a beat too late. Clapping a hand over his mouth, he looks up at the other apologetically. A particularly deep sigh leaves Kageyama as he tries to use mental force to erase the blush from his face. He'd love to say that he just doesn't like nicknames, but that would be more than a little hypocritical after what had happened moments ago.

It was the week before a friendly match with another local team - not an especially well-known one, but a decently strong opponent nonetheless. Naturally, Daichi had decided they'd have a little extra practice ahead of time, so practices were extended by half an hour for the week. Hinata was overjoyed.

"Kageyama, let's practice our special move again!" he called for the millionth time. The taller rolled his eyes.

"No, that's enough, I'm going home." Hoping to end the discussion with that, Kageyama turned on his heel and made to walk away, but Hinata blocked his path.

"Just one more time?" pouted the redhead. Kageyama sighed.

"Everyone's left already, we're already extending the extension - can we just continue tomorrow?"

"... Fine." The disappointment was clearly audible in Hinata's voice, but it was deliberately ignored.

Sure enough, the following afternoon, the first thing Hinata did was ask Kageyama to toss to him so they could go over the move together. Kageyama looked around. Almost nobody else was there yet, so he (reluctantly) agreed. Grabbing a ball from the container in the corner, Kageyama stepped up to the net.

For no discernible reason, Hinata had begun staring out of the high window, watching a cloud pass by. One of Kageyama's eyes twitched in irritation; wasn't the dumbass at least going to pay attention? Tossing the ball up high, Kageyama prepared to aim it at Hinata, who still wasn't paying attention.

"Sho!" called Kageyama. Hinata instantly realized what was happening and dashed over to the net, jumping up high. The ball hit his hand and smacked against the floor on the other side with a loud sound. Both of them pumped the air with their fists; it had simply worked perfectly, even with Hinata's initial lack of attention. A brief moment passed before Hinata realized something. Turning to Kageyama, he tilted his head sideways inquisitively.

"'Sho'?" Oh shit, thought Kageyama, eyes widening.

"S-shut up! I wasn't thinking!" A blush was present on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest, stepping away from Hinata and facing in the opposite direction.

Toward the end of that day's practice, Hinata hesitantly tried to talk to Kageyama again, who was still clearly embarrassed about having referred to the other so informally. He tapped his shoulder. Kageyama pretended not to notice. "King?" Hinata tried. Whipping his head towards Hinata, Kageyama glared hard.

"I've told you not to call me that," he hissed. From across the room, they heard Tsukishima snickering. "Now look what you've done," whispered Kageyama irritatedly. Apology ready on his lips, Hinata made to address Kageyama, but found himself being dragged to the side suddenly. Before he knew what was happening, he was being pushed against the gym's exterior, back-first, in a shady spot close to the door. Kageyama's dark blue eyes seemed to be trying to stare a hole through Hinata's brown ones.

"Damn it, dumbass," growled Kageyama. "Do you ever actually think before speaking?" Had Hinata been paying attention, he would most likely have noticed that the other didn't sound quite as angry as he was trying to. As it was, the shorter of the two found himself terribly distracted by how close the other stood to him, painfully aware of every breath Kageyama took. Blue eyes narrowed in irritation.

I can't believe I just gave him another nickname, without even thinking about it, thinks Hinata in shock when he becomes aware of the fact that he had just called Kageyama "Kags" out loud. Kageyama isn't saying anything though. This is perhaps the most disconcerting part; he should be yelling or at least calling me a dumbass, Hinata notes. He opens his mouth to say something but is cut off when Kageyama beats him to it.

"F-fine then… Shoyo." There's an awkward pause, during which Kageyama actively pretends they're not standing way too close together for his blush to go unnoticed while Hinata's smile extends past the boundaries of being an expression anyone else could coax their face into.

"So can I call you Kags then?" asks Hinata excitedly, all but bouncing at the thought.

"Hmpf," grunts Kageyama, not really accepting or denying the request. He looks down into Hinata's eyes and actually holds the breath he was about to exhale when he realizes that it would literally not take more than a simultaneous impulse on both of their parts to initiate a kiss. For perhaps more than just a moment he really, really wants to; when Hinata looks down and away, the desire doesn't fade, rather becoming easier to deny.

The portion of the way to their respective homes that they walk together that day seems to stretch on longer than it normally does. They're not really bickering so much for once. It feels like hours have passed by the time they reach the fork in the road at which they part ways. Right before leaving, Kageyama walks right up to Hinata, messes up his bright orange locks with an affectionate ruffle, and sort of half-smiles at him.

"See you tomorrow," he mutters, and it's without the usual hint at the continuation of an argument the next time they meet, instead holding an entirely different kind of suggestion that Hinata can't quite put his finger on.

"Good night, Kags!" calls Hinata over his shoulder as he gets on his bike and starts to head off toward the mountain path that leads to his house.

"Oi!" Kageyama shouts back, but he can't find it in himself to try to sound angry. As Hinata's outline fades into the distance, Kageyama thinks about how tempted he had been to kiss him earlier that day. It seems like an odd thought now, sort of, but whenever Kageyama replays the scene in his head (and he does so for the rest of the walk home), a part of him reprimands him for not acting on the impulse. It's not like in movies, he reasons. You don't just randomly kiss people in real life. He makes to argue back before realizing he's actually having an argument with himself.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the middle of the forest near the top of the hill, Hinata is thinking almost exactly the same thing. I should have just stood on my tiptoes and gone for it, he whines internally. Unlike Kageyama, he doesn't really care how unreasonable or unusual it would have been, only that he would really like to have felt those lips on his own… Damn, if this is what happens when I call him nicknames, I'd better do so more often, he decides.

Next time something like that happens, I'll go for it, they both promise themselves at – coincidentally – the same time. It's a moment before Kageyama adds a second thought: … Unless he tries to give me nicknames again.

Thank you for reading! As usual, reviews are greatly appreciated (no flames though). I hope you enjoyed it~