Level Pair (Haikyuu!! Winged AU)

Level Pair; Resurgence 1/1

Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly. ~Langston Hughes

Kuroo Tetsuro smirks at the way the Karasuno unit members stare in awe at the sacked out level pair.

In a rare moment, Kageyama is sleeping hard, splayed out on his stomach on top of a pillow and completely lax. Maybe the pervasive militaristic training of his upbringing is finally slipping, or perhaps it's the relief of everything finally having been hashed out, but Kageyama is never this complacent in sleep and always seems like he's just on the edge and ready to wake at the slightest disturbance. Truthfully, the black cat finds it fascinating.

The broken crow is draped over top of him, his orange head resting between Kageyama's shoulder blades. Hinata is just as out as the taller boy and glowing away like always. One arm is pulled up underneath him while the other rests across the back of Kageyama's neck while still managing to wrap around the base of a large black wing. They always managed to become one confusing tangle of limbs, he muses.

Kuroo is confident that for the first time since they'd teamed up six months before, they are both finally at complete ease.

Heh. About time. Who knew getting everything out in the open would actually make things better? He muses sarcastically.

They'd returned in high spirits after what Kuroo assumed was a productive discussion given the way the redhead had been only too eager to show off his back for everyone, while the princeling had sat back and watched with a serene expression— something that was so disconcerting that the black cat had legitimately wondered for a few moments if the world was ending. The little spiker's about face from his discomfort earlier had been emphasized by nonstop chatter, the taller setter merely watching his leveler with a relentless tracking gaze and an occasional small smile or bantering remark. They were so laid back and different from normal that Kuroo had felt as if he were meeting them for the first time all over again.

But when the redhead had yawned mid-sentence, Kageyama had called it a night, disregarding Hinata's protests entirely. Kuroo had smirked, because he'd noticed the taller boy sagging, too; the curfew declaration had been as much for the setter's benefit as the shrimp's. Gruffly reminding the redhead that everyone would still be there in the morning, Kageyama'd ushered Hinata in to claim the optimal spot in the front room where the sun would hit last in the morning.

The redhead had grumbled the whole way, and then launched himself gracelessly on top of the setter's back in a gesture of defiance as the dark haired boy had bent to pull out bedding. Kageyama had huffed a chiding insult, but hadn't cared enough to really shake him off and had simply dropped beneath him, leaving the redhead to figure out a comfortable position across his shoulders and spine.

Hinata might've wanted to stay up longer, but he'd been out in five minutes flat as soon as they'd lain down. He hadn't even moved from where he'd sprawled across Kagyama's back, the conversation he'd rebelliously continued with Lev dangling into nothing. Kageyama had scoffed and rolled his eyes when he'd noticed how everyone had migrated in with them and watched them almost expectantly before shrugging and closing his own cobalt orbs in annoyance. The black cat had had to smother a grin at how the Karasuno unit had seemed to hold their breath as Kageyama dropped off at the same time Hinata began his firefly imitation.

Kuroo leans back carelessly against the wall and studies the faces in the room. There's a quiet hush among them, no one wanting to wake the two already slumbering crows. For the beach crew, this is normal... even if the unusually easygoing atmosphere of the last few hours is new. They go about setting up the rest of the room for sleep like they do every night. The futons and pillows and blankets are all dragged out and spread out like puzzle pieces around the sleeping pair until there's no space in the large room left uncovered.