Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You idiot!! How could you have missed my set??”

“What do you mean, grouchy-yama? It’s like you set that to someone 3 times my height!”

“Both of you quit it and get a move on, you’re wasting our time.”

“Can it, four eyes!!”

Daichi let out a long breath and straightened up from his defensive crouch, previously prepped for a ball that now wouldn’t be coming.

Suga exchanged a glance with him and shook his head, but it was quickly followed up by a yawn. It was late. This practice match had stretched out long enough that many had called it a night already. Yachi, Kiyoko, Narita, Kinoshinta and even Ukai had left, leaving Takeda to generously stay and supervise the ambitious night owls who wanted to keep playing (…which turned out to be most of the team.)

Checking the clock on the wall, Daichi cringed at the time. Their practice should’ve been over an hour and a half ago. The sky was dark and cloudy outside, and the temperature had noticeably dropped, wind whistling through the window cracks.

He looked across the net to see the arguing amongst the first years continuing, now with the addition of Tanaka yelling and threatening to bash their heads if they didn’t shut up. Tempers were high, and angry voices filled the cold, dim room.

Daichi sighed. Yeah… they should probably call it a night.

“Hey!” He yelled, snapping everyone’s heads towards him and startling Takeda, who had been nearly dozing on the bench.

Daichi stood authoritatively, crossing his arms. “You guys have been arguing for like 10 minutes straight. Let’s all just go home and get some rest to clear our heads. We’ve been here way longer than the school technically allows, anyways.”

Hinata slumped in disappointment, “Awww, but we haven’t even finished the set! Can’t we stay ten more minutes?”

Asahi walked over and clapped a hand on his shoulder, steering him towards the locker room. “Come on, little decoy. Even you've gotta sleep at some point.”

His complaining continued but everyone else mumbled in quiet agreement, knowing going home was probably a smart idea. The air of tension gave way to exhaustion, and everyone began dragging their feet to the locker room, very few words passed between them. Takeda happily gestured for them to start packing up, though he looked a little guilty as he checked his watch and realized he had lost track of time.

Suga came up beside Daichi. “Good call, captain. Things were getting kind of heated. I think we could all use a break.”

Daichi nodded, frowning in concern as he looked at his team. They were a really great team, that was for sure. They worked well as a unit and had faced a lot of challenges together. But lately, they had been working so hard that it felt like their drive to win had been trumping the air of fun and ease that usually filled their practices.

“Hey, Daichi.”

Daichi looked over at Suga, who had stopped in his tracks, gazing upwards with a worried expression. Confused, Daichi followed his gaze to see he was looking at the dark windows up near the ceiling.

Suga visibly swallowed. “Do you think that-“

Suddenly, the lights flickered, plunging them in darkness for a couple seconds, then flicked back on. The team let out yelps of surprise. But before anyone could say anything, they were interrupted by a loud blaring coming simultaneously from all corners of the room.

“What the hell??” Tanaka exclaimed, pulling out his phone from his pocket that was violently vibrating.

Quickly realizing the sounds were coming from all their phones at once, Daichi sprinted over to his bag and grabbed his own. His eyes landed on the top notification, the words in bright red caps:

“ALERT: SEVERE WEATHER WARNING IN EFFECT IN YOUR AREA. FAST MOVING BLIZZARD AND HIGH SPEED WINDS IMMINENT. PROCEED WITH CAUTION AND SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.”

He heard Kageyama quietly swear next to him, expressing exactly what Daichi was thinking. He whipped his head up to the windows to see heavy, fast snowfall dashing at a diagonal angle. The wind was whistling through the door cracks at a greater volume, and the temperature was continuing to drop.

What was happening? Why hadn’t they heard anything about this before? Daichi recalled someone saying there was a chance of snow this evening at school, but nothing like this. He cursed himself. Why has he let them all stay so late without paying closer attention to what was going on outside?

“It must be a freak storm.” Asahi said next to him, his eyes wide and serious. “Otherwise we would’ve been warned about it earlier. It must have just blown in from somewhere.” The team muttered in shock, and Daichi could sense the panic building.

“WOAHH… check this out!!” He heard Hinata shout, and Daichi felt his “dad mode” kick in before he even had to turn around. Sure enough, Hinata and Nishinoya had stupidly opened the door and were staring outside, allowing wind gusts with snow to swirl through the opening. The open door revealed at least two feet of snow already on the ground, sparkling from the gym lights. “It looks like the freaking North Pole!” Nishinoya cried, looking way too happy about all this.

Thankfully, Ennoshita got to them before Daichi even had to. “HEY!” he shouted, running up to them and slamming the door shut. “You want us to freeze to death?”

“Everyone please stay calm!” Takeda exclaimed, raising his hands as if to physically push the anxiety in the room down. “It’s going to be alright. We… I’m going to make some calls. We need to keep level heads and keep everyone safe. We’re going to figure this out.”

“Sh- should we try to go home? So we don’t get stuck here?” Yamaguchi asked, his hands visibly shaking.

Takeda shook his head quickly. “No. That would be too dangerous. We need to stay put for now. Like I said, I’m going to make some calls. We also need to see if anyone else is in the school right now.”

“I’ll save you the trip.” Tsukishima called over casually, who had somehow gotten over to the other side of the gym without anyone noticing. He jiggled the handle of the door leading to the school hallway. “It’s locked. And I doubt anyone stayed as late as us if the custodians already went through and locked the place up.”

Takeda stared at him for a moment, then ran a hand through his hair. “That’s… huh. That’s unfortunate. I only have the key to the outside door.” It was clear his mask of calm was starting to crack, but he held it together, clearing his throat. “I’m going to call emergency services. Everyone call your parents, tell them you’re okay and where you are.”

Now in some kind of shocked silence, the team quickly obeyed, dialing their parents and having short, tense conversations. Daichi heard a lot of “I don’t know, mom…”’s and “I’m fine, I’m fine, calm down…” with an added bonus of Hinata chattering excitedly to his mom, “This means I’m going to stay up all night playing volleyball!!”

Knowing his parents, Daichi sent them both a concise text explaining the situation and knew they’d understand. He pressed send, then took in a deep, calming inhale. He couldn’t panic. Takeda was the only adult here, so Daichi was in a position where he needed to help lead and keep things under control. So as soon as he was done, he walked up to Takeda, who was on the phone and looking stressed.

“I understand, thank you. Please keep us updated, I’ll see what resources we have.” Takeda hung up, rubbing his temples and muttering, “Stupid Ukai… why this night, of all nights, did you leave me to supervise alone? This is the last time I let you leave early…”

“Everything okay, Sensei?” Daichi asked, but he already knew the answer based off of Takeda’s face.

The teacher shoved his phone in his pocket and stared at the ground. “I’m afraid not, Daichi. The snow is piling up at an exponential rate, and the storm is projected to last the rest of the night. We’re not the only group in town that didn’t make it to our homes in time, and with all the snowed-in people, the disaster services likely won’t be able to push their way through to us until tomorrow.”

He let out a breath, closing his eyes. Daichi felt his stomach drop at his next words: “For now, we’re stuck here.”

Then the lights flickered again, and the room plunged into darkness.

Chapter Text

Daichi had never been more grateful for cell phones.

There were a few moments where nothing, except very faint moonlight through the windows, could be seen, and Daichi had to blink to figure out if his eyes were open or closed. More cries of alarm filled the room, along with Takeda begging everyone to stay calm, but the room was soon illuminated by 11 phone flashlights.

“Oh gosh… okay. This is happening.” Yamaguchi stuttered close to Daichi, trembling in fear.

“KAGEYAMA!! Where are you??” Hinata called, swinging his light until it shined directly in Kageyama’s eyes, who cursed loudly. “Get that thing out of my face!”

Asahi was pacing nervously. “The power’s off? Why is the power off? Can snow even do that?”

The panic and tension was almost coming to a breaking point once again, so Daichi knew he needed to do something. He was team captain, and right now, his team needed something to hold on to.

“Everyone stay close to each other!” he called, then cringed as all the lights were pointed at his face at once. “And only a few people need to have their lights on, we need to save our phone batteries.” Hesitantly, the team gathered into a huddle, several of them listening to him and switching off their lights.

Noticing Yamaguchi was still trembling, he swung an arm around the first year, and felt him relax at the touch. He cleared his throat. “Everyone listen carefully. I know things are crazy, but we need to stick together. This is just like in volleyball games. When we play together, we can beat whatever odds are thrown at us. So right now, we need to stay calm and listen to Takeda-sensei. Alright?”

His team nodded, and although the fear was still palpable, there was also an air of curiosity at what was going to happen.

Tanaka nodded. “Aye aye, captain.” He then turned to Takeda. “So the power’s off. What do we do, Teach?”

Their team coach had joined their huddle and flashed Daichi a grateful look.

“Listen- everything’s going to be alright, I promise. We just need to work together. I’m not going to sugarcoat it: it looks like we’re going to be stuck here for the night before weather services can rescue us. But if I remember correctly, there are a few emergency 72-hour kits stashed in the locker rooms that should have some food and blankets. We just need to camp out and hold on a little longer.’”

“Wait, so like, we’ll be sleeping in the gym?” Nishinoya asked, and everyone shivered a little. With the power out, if it wasn’t cold in the gym before, it definitely was now. Daichi had to admit, the thought of sleeping in here made him want to just try his chances trudging through the snow to his home with a fireplace.

Takeda gave an apologetic look. “I’m afraid we don’t have any other options, with the school door locked. Like I said, the 72 hour kits should have blankets-”

“Do you realize what this means???” Hinata cried suddenly, leaping out to the center of the phone-light huddle. He started jumping up and down excitedly like a pogo stick.

When no one asked, Suga humored him. “What, Hinata?”

“TEAM SLEEPOVER!!!” Hinata bellowed, pumping his fists in the air.

Asahi gave a nervous smile. “...Hinata… we’ve slept in the same room at least a dozen times at training camps and games,” he gently reminded.

Hinata continued jumping, undeterred. “But this time we’ll be cuddling for warmth! And there’s no curfew! And we’re in a volleyball gym so we can play all night!”

Tsukkishima pinched his nose and let out a less-than-quiet curse, along with something that sounded like, “Lord give me strength”.

“Heck yeah, Hinata! Team Sleepover it is!” Tanaka responded, giving his kohai a high five.

It made Daichi smile, feeling relieved that Hinata’s spirit had somewhat broken up the tension. He nodded. “Alright, everyone. You heard Takeda-sensei. Let’s go find those 72-hour kits.”

They made their way in a huddled pack over to the locker rooms, no one wanting to be left alone in the darkness. The room was no better temperature-wise, but it did thankfully have a bathroom, so at least that was one problem that they didn't have to worry about.

“Everyone put on your team tracksuits if you haven't already,” Takeda instructed, and the team didn’t have to be told twice to start layering up. Daichi found an extra t-shirt in his locker and quickly put that on over his current one, grateful he had left it there. He then slipped on his jacket and sweatpants, sighing in relief at the immediate warmth he felt.

“Hinata, you dumbass, where are your pants?” He heard Kageyama snap, and turned around to see what he was talking about. While the rest of the team had on their team tracksuits in addition to whatever layered clothing they happened to have, Hinata stood only in his t-shirt, team jacket, and shorts.

“Sometimes I just prefer biking in shorts, okay?!" Hinata pouted defensively. “Pants rub against my legs all weird. I like to be free”

“Even in freaking January??” Kageyama shot back. But before they could continue arguing, Ennoshita, who had noticed their squabble, turned around and asked the team, “Anyone have some extra sweatpants they can give Hinata?”

No response. Daichi frowned. It seemed everyone only had their one pair.

“It’s okay. Maybe the kits will have some more clothes, or at least we’ll have the blankets for your legs,” Suga suggested.

Hinata waved a hand in the air, rolling his eyes. “I’m fine. I don’t really get that cold, anywa--”

“Found them!” Takeda cried out in triumph, who was in the back corner of one of the closets. Asahi and Tanaka quickly ran over to help him drag out three large, dark green packs that Daichi thought looked similar to the ones he’d used on overnight campouts. “There’s three 5-person packs, so with the eleven of us, it should be enough. And I doubt we’ll be here for more than 72 hours, the rescue should come next morning--”

“Ohhh baby!” Nishinoya scrambled up to them, eager to get a look. “These look so cool! My dad and I have done some wilderness survival training with stuff like this, these things go hard! Let’s see what we got…”

Without asking, he grabbed the one that Takeda had dragged in and sat himself down in the middle of the locker room, looking very much like a kid opening a gift on Christmas morning.

“Just open one, Nishinoya. And careful not to damage anything you pull out,” Daichi advised, helping shine his flashlight over Nishinoya as he began unzipping it. Around him, the team all leaned in, brimming with curiosity.

Nishinoya began fishing with both his arms in the bag. The first thing he pulled out was a first aid kit. A white, plastic case about the size of a textbook. “Good, that’s good…” Takeda mumbled, immediately taking it and looking through it. Nishi next pulled out several water pouches, tossing them to the side. “Boring… we’ve already got water.”

“Assuming the pipes aren’t frozen.” Tsukki offered nonchalantly.

“Where’s the good stuff?” He mumbled, sticking his tongue out. His face lit up when he touched something. “Nice, flashlights!” He pulled out an LED lantern, followed by three battery powered flashlights, each coming with extra batteries attached. Daichi went ahead and turned on the lantern so they could turn off their phones and save their batteries.

“Food! Tell us what food it’s got!” Hinata shouted, peering over Nishinoya’s shoulder.

“Please tell me it’s not just canned beans…” Asahi muttered in a quiet plea.

“RAMEN! Please be ramen!” Hinata nearly screeched.

“Or something warm, at least? That’d be nice…” Yamaguchi added.

“Not to worry, my young kohais!” Nishi declared, pulling out and slamming down a cardboard box, followed by three others. “Ramen for all my dear crows! Along with soup mix, hot chocolate, and some calorie bars!”

Kageyama cringed. “Those things always taste like crap.”

Tanaka gripped Kageyama’s shoulder. The lighting of the room cast a dark, threatening shadow over his eyes. “We need to do what it takes to survive, my friend. It’s either this, or… cannibalism.”

Ennoshita whacked him over the head. “We’re only going to be here for a night, dingus.”
Daichi had to hide his grin. He needed to start paying Ennoshita for doing all his work for him.

One by one, he pulled out several other items including toothbrushes, hand warmers (which were immediately distributed), a battery powered water boiler, and some soap and toilet paper. When he pulled out the rain ponchos, Hinata and Nishinoya whipped their heads up and looked at him with large, pleading eyes.

“No, you are not going outside in those. What is wrong with you two?” Daichi immediately said, rolling his eyes.

Next were five, disappointingly thin-looking blankets. Daichi could see the worry in Takeda’s eyes and they exchanged a glance, but didn’t say anything.

“And last but not least…” Nishinoya said, an evil grin on his face. He pulled out a large pocket knife and flicked it open to the sky, posing like Link with the Master Sword. “THE KNIVES!!!”

“WOAAH ‘kay-" Daichi lurched forward simultaneously with Takeda, Ennoshita, and Suga to quickly extract the item from Nishinoya’s grip. Suga was fortunately successful, swiftly snapping it closed and putting it in his pocket.

“Yep, this is staying with me.” Suga said with a kind smile, though his eyes were blazing a warning to the “shared brain cell” trio (as Daichi affectionately referred to them as) of Hinata, Tanaka, and Nishinoya.

“Awww c’mon, man! I’ve taken down bears with that kind of thing before!”

“Sure you have.”

Takeda picked up the stack of folded blankets and started handing them out. “Keeping warm is the priority right now with the heat not working. Also, I know it’s late, but it might be good to eat as well and get some warm food in you.”

Daichi nodded in agreement. Most of them had eaten only a light dinner, and he himself was feeling pretty hungry.

Asahi crouched down and examined the package of ramen, angling it towards the light of the lantern. “Seems just like the top ramen noodle cups, we just need to pour the boiling water in.”

“NICE! I’ve eaten those things 3 meals a day for, like, three months straight before!” Tanaka declared, looking sincerely proud of himself. “Chef Tanaka is on the case!”

Cracking open the other packs, the blankets were all distributed and soon covering everyone’s legs or shoulders, with four left over. Huddling in their circle around the LED lantern, the team watched in amusement as Tanaka boiled water and got ready eleven top ramen noodle cups. It was especially entertaining to see him shake a few like he was making a cocktail before he was stopped by Asahi.

(“What? This is how I make it!” He protested.)

Soon they were all noisily slurping their noodles. Now that the shock of the situation had worn off, the team soon began casually chatting, as if they weren’t snowed into their gymnasium and relying on battery-powered lights.

“Kenma says to stay safe and see if we can play games on our phones together.” Hinata said between slurps, scrolling through texts on his phone. “And Oikawa says that he’s jealous we’re trapped in a volleyball gym, he’s just stuck in his boring bedroom.”

Kageyama nearly spit out his ramen, staring at Hinata with wide-eyes. “What? You have Oikawa’s number??”

“I have everyone’s number!” Hinata cheered. He scrolled some more. “Aone, Kuroo, Bokuto, that one bus driver who took us to the tournament, Ushijima…”

“Ushijima??”

Suga and Daichi exchanged a glance, barely hiding their chuckle as Kageyama continued to freak out.

Yamaguchi let out a big yawn, his legs bouncing a little to keep them warm. “So what now? It is kind of late, should we try to get some sleep?”

“No way!” Nishinoya said, standing on the bench, his blanket tied around his shoulders like a cape. “We’re having a team sleepover, right? We got to have at least a little fun!”

Tsukki scowled. “Fun? We’re literally trapped in a giant snowbank. We need to focus on not dying.”

“And what better way to not die than by staying warm with volleyball??” Hinata countered, jumping up next to Nishinoya on the bench. He flung off his jacket and blanket to reveal a small package of something he had been hiding.

“Hinata, put your jacket back on--” Suga chided.

Asahi held up a hand like he was asking a question in class. “Um, how are we going to do volleyball in the dark? We’re just going to crash into each other the whole time, Hinata”

Hinata shook his head, thrilled by the question. “We won’t! Because WE are going to play...” a cracking noise was heard, followed by several multi-colored glowing lights appearing in Hinata’s grip. “GLOWSTICK VOLLEYBALL!!”

The team stared at him, some in awe, others in concern.

Tsukkishima let out his third curse of the night.

Chapter Text

“Nice kill, Asahi!”

Asahi flashed him a smile, illuminated by the purple glow sticks around his forehead and neck. “Thanks, Daichi. Feels like we’re in Tron Legacy or something.”

Daichi chuckled, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of it all. They were doing a four on four, with each player donned in several glowing bracelets, necklaces, and headbands to help them see each other in the darkness. They had posted the three lanterns on the sides of the court so they weren’t in complete dark, but the glow sticks and neon tape they had put on the ball helped them see things even better.

It was now Hinata’s serve on the other side of the net and he was grinning like an idiot. Maybe it was because they had all agreed to his stupid idea, or maybe it was because he was wearing every single orange glow stick in the pack around various parts of his body. Either way, he let out an excited yell when his hand hit the ball, sending it over the net.

“Out!” Kageyama called, looking up smugly as the ball bounced beyond the line. Hinata huffed in frustration. Naturally, they had to put the two of them on separate teams since them being together was practically cheating. They also seemed to argue less this way, funny enough.

The next serve went into play, and things were a blur of neon colors as everyone moved around each other.

“I got it!” Tanaka yelled, and he swiftly and powerfully nailed Kageyama’s set into the ground, just a few inches away from Nishinoya’s fingers. After his missed receive, the libero flopped onto his back with a growl, his glowing rainbow of bracelets reflecting off the floor.

“Man, this is hard! I can barely see the ball!”

“That’s what makes it fun!” Hinata responded, bounding over and pulling him to his feet.

Suga came behind them both and ruffled their hair. “Good effort, guys. We’ll get the next one.”

Watching them, Daichi could hardly believe there had been shouting matches among them just an hour earlier. Nor could he believe that they’d had enough energy to keep playing into the night. But the new circumstances seemed to have changed a variety of things, from the anxiety and excitement granting them energy to keep playing, to the underlying fear that made everyone a little more clingy and friendly to each other.

Not to mention playing volleyball was helping keep them warm. The gym was practically an ice box at this point, and Daichi could see his breath fogging up in front of him. Definitely not a good sign.

Tsukki had chosen to keep warm in a different way, curling up in the corner with his headphones on. Based on his grimace, they didn't seem to block out all the noise going on. He didn’t seem to mind Yamaguchi snuggling next to him, though, quietly scrolling his phone with half-lidded eyes.

“Yo, Daichi! Incoming serve!”

Prompted by Asahi’s warning, he quickly snapped his attention back in time to receive the ball straight into Kageyama’s set. But Asahi’s following spike was shut down by Hinata and Ennoshita’s block, making the neon-taped ball smack the ground then roll away into the darkness off the court.

Hinata and Ennoshita high-fived and whooped after their success. Tanaka stuck his hand through the net to high five them as well, which unfortunately got tangled in his glow bracelets when he tried to pull it out. The team laughed and threw glowing arms around each other, the warmth of movement pulsing through their frozen veins.

They had stopped keeping track of points long ago.

--

“Okay, okay.” Hinata stuck out three fingers, tapping each one as he spoke. “I once found and brought a raccoon into our house when I was six, I can fit three pork buns in my mouth, and I was the tallest kid in my kindergarten class.”

“No way that last one is true,” Kageyama snorted, crossing his arms from his spot on the floor next to Hinata.

Hinata shrugged, looking over the team eagerly and bouncing the volleyball in his lap. “So? Which one do you think it is?”

The team was gathered around one of the lanterns in a large circle, now winding down for the night. They had managed to find some gymnastics mats left in the supplies closet, and had pulled them over to the corner of the gym. The mats smelled like old sweat, but no one was complaining. They were too grateful that they didn’t have to sleep on the hard gym floor.

Now, with everyone wrapped in their own blankets and pressed up against each other for warmth, it almost felt cozy in a way. It certainly didn’t hurt that Takeda was in the process of pouring hot water into paper cups, mixing and handing out hot chocolate to everyone.

“I’m with Kageyama. I think the third one is a lie,” Asahi said, pulling his blanket tighter around himself with a soft smile. Everyone chimed in their votes, most for the third. Nishinoya also added, “I can vouch that the second one is true, I’ve seen him do it.”

After the consensus was reached, Hinata jumped to his feet, in delight, holding his arms in an X-shape.

“WRONG! It was the FIRST one! I brought a stray cat into our house when I was six! And it’s true, my kindergarten was full of shorties, and I was the tallest!”

“No way, seriously??” Yamaguchi said. The team laughed and groaned in disbelief.

Hinata just smiled and sat back down, his bare legs bouncing. Looking mischievous, he then rolled the volleyball he had been clutching over to Tsukkishima across the floor with a push.

“Your turn, Tsukki!”

The tall blonde caught the ball in surprise and pulled his headphones off, looking up in disdain. “What?! Why me?”

He whipped his head to look at Daichi, his eyes pleading for the captain to bail him out, but Daichi just shrugged. “He rolled you the ball, mate. It's your turn.”

With an exaggerated sigh, Tsukki rolled his eyes. But then, unexpectedly, he gave a knowing smirk, his eyes gleaming.

“Fine. Here it is: I dye my hair blonde, I own several stuffed animals, and I have my own Spotify with original music.”

The team stared in shock for a moment, eyes wide.

“WHAT??” Nishinoya shouted, slapping his hands on the ground. “No way! Tsukki, how many secrets are you keeping from us??”

Tsukki just shrugged, truly smiling for the first time that night as everyone started arguing about what was the lie. Amidst the discussion, Tanaka whipped around towards the green-haired first year who wasn’t participating.

“C’mon, Yamaguchi, help us out! You gotta know!”

The first year shook his head with a smile. “Nuh uh! I’m not helping you out! That’s cheating!”

"Ugh, fine"

After much debate, the group finally came to a consensus that it was the second one. But after declaring it, Tsukki just laughed, rolling the ball to Ennoshita.

“Nope, the first. This is my natural hair. Ennoshita’s turn.”

“C-C’mon Tsukki! You’ve got to at least explain y-yourself!” Hinata chattered. Turning to look at him, Daichi noticed with a frown that the little spiker was shivering pretty hard, the blanket covering his legs having slipped. He didn’t seem to notice, too enthralled in Tsukki’s mysteries.

As the team continued to pester Tsukki for answers, Daichi scooted over so he was next to Hinata and tugged the blanket back over his lap. His legs were covered in goosebumps and he was looking a little pale, his lips losing their color.

He leaned in towards him, patting his shoulder. “Hinata, you need to stay under your blanket. You’re shivering pretty bad.”

Hinata just shrugged, not meeting Daichi’s gaze.

Suga, who was next to them, touched a hand to Hinata’s face and frowned. He then took Hinata’s trembling hands and pressed them between his own, rubbing back and forth.

“Takeda-sensei, we have some extra blankets, right?”

“Yes,” Takeda answered, and he quickly grabbed them from a pack that they had dragged into the gym. Suga took one and draped it over Hinata’s shoulders, to which Hinata gave a grateful little smile, curling his fingers around the edges. His shivering lessened a bit, and he leaned into Suga’s side.

“You ‘don’t get cold’, huh?” Kageyama mumbled, shooting him a look.

Hinata stuck out his tongue. “W-whatever, Yama! Everyone knows it’s like freaking Antarctica in here, I’m allowed to be a little cold! Look, you’re shivering, too!”

“At least I actually wear my pants in the winter.”

Daichi noticed Yamaguchi was shivering a bit, too, so he held another blanket out to him. Asahi helped him adjust it and threw an arm over his shoulder, which Yamaguchi immediately leaned in to. The group as a whole pressed into each other a little more, shoulder to shoulder, longing for any hint of body heat they could grasp onto.

“I know it’s getting colder,” Takeda said as he handed out more hot chocolate, “But we just need to hang on for the night. Help is on the way, I promise.”

“If only we could light a fire or something,” Nishinoya muttered, his breath fogging in front of him. “Could use some broken wooden broomsticks in the closet… or something…”

Tanka nodded sleepily. “Yeah. Let’s use the textbooks in my bag for kindling. And my homework. That way I have an excuse for not doing it.”

“We’re not starting a fire, idiots. Unless you want to breathe smoke the rest of the night.”

Daichi half-listened to his teammates' conversation, finally feeling exhaustion start to take it’s toll on him. He startled slightly as Takeda pressed hot chocolate into his trembling hands, who gave him an encouraging look when he looked up.

He gripped it with numb fingertips, staring into the cup. Just one night… they could hang on a little longer.

---

Daichi woke up to someone shaking his arm.

“Hey. Daichi.”

Daichi groaned, rolling over from his spot on the mat, and accidentally kicked Tsukkishima in the face, who grumbled and shifted away from him. He shivered as his blanket slipped off his shoulder, the air was positively frigid. Even so, he felt himself falling back asleep again after a few seconds.

“Daichi, wake up. I need your help.”

Now slightly more alert, Daichi sat up and blinked, barely making out the face of Kageyama in the dim lighting. The room was slightly brighter, telling him that it was likely the early hours of the morning. In that light, the setter looked uncharacteristically distressed, his eyebrows drawn together in worry.

That got Dachi’s attention. He immediately woke up more and rubbed his eye, trying to see in the darkness better. “What’s wrong, Kageyama? Is everything okay?”

Kageyama clenched his jaw for a moment, then whispered,

“No. Something is wrong with Hinata.”

Chapter Text

Daichi was on his feet before he even realized that he was moving.

Without any more words exchanged, they both hastily picked their way over to Hinata, stepping over the team’s sleeping bodies. The air was just as cold as it had been hours earlier, but the wind had stopped howling, filling the large gym with eerie, empty silence.

“Over here,” Kageyama said, finally making it to a sleeping figure that appeared to be Hinata and crouching down. Daichi quickly crouched next to him, and leaned in close to try to look the first year over in the darkness. What he saw made his stomach drop.

Hinata was motionless. Which would usually be normal for a sleeping person, but there was something off and disturbing about his stillness. The Hinata he knew was constantly in motion; even when he’d nap on the bus, Daichi would see him twitch and turn and make noises. But right now, as he took in the spiker with his pale skin and closed eyes, Daichi had the brief, horrible thought that Hinata was extremely not okay. Only when he saw Hinata’s chest rise did he finally let go of the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“I rolled over while I was sleeping and our arms touched,” Kageyama explained, his brow furrowed. “His skin was so cold it woke me up. I tried waking him up, but nothing's worked. I think… I think he’s sick…”

“Wake up Takeda and grab the first aid kit,” Daichi hastily said, not bothering to whisper.
Kageyama nodded, and stumbled his way over to their teacher, his socks softly padding against the cold mats.

Turning back to Hinata, Daichi swallowed, his hands trembling. Sitting there, with the teammate he was responsible for freezing to death in front of him, he felt useless and powerless. Like there was no one less qualified to be in this position right now.

But he quickly pushed the feeling away. His personal stress didn’t matter right now. Instead, he focused his attention on what was actually important, and that was racking his brain for any kind of first aid knowledge he possessed.

Vitals. That always came first, right?

Daichi pressed two fingers to the soft spot below Hinata’s ear to feel for a pulse. Ignoring the unnatural coldness of his skin, he concentrated on the rhythm of his faint heartbeat. It felt… slower than what was normal. That wasn’t good.

He let out a shaky breath, then gently held Hinata’s face in his hands. Words he felt he needed to say came spilling out.

“Hinata… you need to hold on. It’s going to be alright, I promise. We’re going to take care of you.”

“What happened??”

Suddenly, Takeda was there at his side, his hair mussed and his eyes wide with fear as he quickly took in the sight of the first year.

Kageyama was now running over to one of the 72 hour packs against the wall, and this time he was far less careful as he traversed the sleeping bodies. Tanaka was one of the unfortunate ones who got his hand stepped on and he jerked, blinking awake with a groggy expression.

“What the— whosthere…? What the hell…?”

His voice created a domino effect, leading to several other teammates waking up. Grunts and confused noises grew in number as the team shifted awake.

“What’s happening?” Yamaguchi yawned, rubbing his eyes and scanning the room. He and a few others caught sight of Kageyama running, now with the bag in tow.

Yamaguchi’s eyes focused and widened on the setter. “Kageyama? What’s going on?”

“Shhhh!” Tsukki hissed, curling tighter into his blankets. “Everyone just go back to sleep.”

Ignoring the confused chaos of the team waking up, Daichi watched as Takeda leaned over Hinata, feeling his face.

“I think he’s hypothermic,” his sensei muttered, his face taking on some kind of intense, deadly calm. Daichi had seen that same expression only once before, and it had been when he was checking Daichi for a concussion after his collision in the tournament.

The teacher put another hand on Hinata’s shoulder. “And he’s not shivering, which means this is bad. Like, dangerously bad.”

“Hinata?” Asahi asked, who had woken up close to where they were huddled. He had crawled over and was craning his neck to try to see the sleeping ginger. “Is Hinata okay?”

The team, all awake at this point, shifted their attention towards the huddled group.

“Daichi…?” Ennoshita asked, echoing the unanswered question.

“We think he has hypothermia,” Daichi answered softly, not willing to take his attention away from Hinata, who was so still. Frighteningly still.

The team gasped.

“Wh-what? Hinata’s sick?” Nishinoya asked, his voice uncharacteristically small and scared.

Daichi felt someone crawl up next to him, and then heard Suga inhale sharply, “Oh my god, Hinata…”

Kageyama finally arrived with the pack, and hastily pulled out the first aid kit. Takeda grabbed it from him gratefully, then said firmly, “We need to get him warm. Someone get all the extra blankets we have, and someone fill some water bottles up with hot water. We have to do all we can with what we have.”

Now wide awake and desperate to help Hinata, the team acted quickly, moving with the same smooth preciseness as they did when they were locked into a game. All of the blankets not currently in use were swiftly collected, and Ennoshita began the task of filling and turning on the water boiler.

Not waiting for permission, Suga gently took Hinata’s head and set it in his lap, where he began to stroke his hair comfortingly. The pain and worry in his expression was enough to make Daichi despair all over again. When Suga was terrified, you knew it was bad. And through it all, Hinata continued to stay unresponsive, though his chest was rising and falling evenly.

Daichi paused when he saw Kageyama stand up next to them and start taking off his sweatpants.

“Kageyama? What are you doing?”

“Making it so the dumbass doesn’t freeze to death,” he said, seemingly irritated that he had to explain himself. He pulled both the pant legs off, leaving him in his practice shorts, then knelt beside Hinata. He lifted the blankets.

“Oye. Help me get these on him.”

Daichi shook his head, frowning. They couldn’t deal with this right now. “Kageyama, we don’t need you getting hypothermia, too. Keep those on, he has the blankets.”

The setter suddenly growled, his eyes wide and angry. Daichi suddenly realized he might’ve said the wrong thing.

“Do I have to give you a freaking first aid lesson?? Hinata’s unconscious and NOT MOVING. While we were all sleeping, his body was literally freezing. That means he could—“ he stopped abruptly.

The room went silent, everyone staring at him. Kageyama swallowed, tears collecting in his eyes.

“It means he could die. So I’m going to give him my freaking pants and you’re going to help me put them on him. Got it?”

The team captain stared at him for a moment. He had never seen Kageyama get emotional like this before. Just hours earlier, Kageayama had been yelling insults at the spiker he considered his rival. Now, he was giving up his own clothes to help him.

Deep down, Daichi knew Hinata and Kageyama secretly got along. If the way they worked together on the court wasn’t evidence enough, they always chose to sit together on the bus. And hardly a day went by where they didn’t practice together long after the team left. It was clear as day. They were best friends, though they’d never admit it. And now, Kageyama was terrified he was going to lose him.

Daichi nodded. “Alright.”

Together, they slipped the sweat pants over Hinata’s frozen legs. They were too long on him, of course, so they used the extra material at the end to try and cover his feet more.

“I have the water bottles!” Ennoshita said, quickly kneeling next to Kageyama at Hinata’s side with 6 full water bottles in his arms.

“Great, thank you, Ennoshita.” Takeda said, setting aside the first aid kit. “The kit doesn’t have any warm compresses, but it does have more hand warmers we can try to use. Careful not to put them directly on his body, if we heat him up too quickly it could be dangerous.”

Nodding, the team members around Hinata quickly went to work, sliding the hot water bottles and hand warmers around his feet, legs, sides, and shoulders, tucking them with him under the blankets.

Takeda stood. “I don’t know if it’ll make a difference, but I’m going to call the rescue team and tell them to prioritize getting us out of here and Hinata to a hospital.”

Asahi, running a hand through his loose hair, looked down at Hinata with concern. “Are… are you going to call Hinata’s family?”

Takeda's expression faltered at the question. He looked scared and reluctant, but eventually nodded.

“I… I will.” His voice got quieter. “I can’t imagine they’ll ever forgive me for letting this happen to their son… but they deserve to know.” He looked up. “I’m sorry to all of you for letting this happen. I should’ve been a better supervisor, and never allowed you all to be stuck here. I hope you can forgive me.”

There was heavy silence for a moment. But Daichi shook his head, not allowing it to continue. “No, Takeda-sensei. You’ve handled everything the best you could, and we’re- at the very least I’m- grateful that you’ve been here with us.”

The team murmured in agreement, which Takeda received with a trembling lip and misty eyes. He still looked like he was blaming himself for everything, but he gave a small smile anyways.

“That’s… that’s very kind of you all.”

He then turned away quickly, walking to the other side of the gym to make his calls.

Daichi directed his attention back to the hypothermic first year in front of him, taken aback slightly when he realized Hinata was now shivering.

Suga kept his gentle fingers tucked around his head as the small spiker shook and curled slightly into himself under all the blankets.

Yamaguchi gripped Kageyama’s shoulders, leaning over him to look. He gasped, his face terrified. “Oh no, he’s shivering! It’s getting worse!”

The silver-haired third year shook his head, a comforting smile on his lips. “No, no this is good! Shivering means he is getting better and his body is finally reacting to the temperature. I think the warmth is helping.”

The team let out breaths of relief. They were now all huddled around Hinata in a little circle, breaths fogging the air. Kageyama had at some point gripped Hinata’s hand on his own, his knuckles white with anxiety.

“What can we do for him now?” Tanaka asked, his voice low. “Is there a way to make him warmer?”

There was quiet for a moment as the team stared at the shivering first year, at a loss.

But a few seconds in, the silence was interrupted by Tsukkishima letting out an exasperated sigh. “Really? You’re going to make me be the one to say it?”

The team blinked at him.

He let out another sigh, pushing his slipping glasses up his nose. “We’re going to need to snuggle, idiots.”

Yamaguchi snorted. Daichi nearly laughed as well. He never thought that he would hear Tsukkishkma say that word, ever, but he also supposed he never thought Tsukki to be the kind of person to own a collection of stuffed animals, too. Maybe the guy knew a thing or two about snuggling.

Making up his mind, Daichi scooted forward and slipped an arm under Hinata’s back, then carefully wrapped another around his shaking shoulders.

He looked up at his team. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

The team stared for another second, then he watched as they caught on and started to move in closer.

Nishinoya was first to join. He came around Hinata’s other side, hugging him gently. Suga lifted Hinata into a half-seated position, so his head was now resting on his shoulder, making it easier for them to wrap their arms around him.

One by one, each team member joined the cuddle pile. Kageyama never let go of Hinata’s ice cold hand, and pressed it between his palms, trying to rub feeling into it under the blankets while staying close to his side. Yamaguchi came to Hinata’s other hand and followed him in doing the same thing. Ennoshita wrapped himself around Hinata’s arm, while Tsukkishima and Tanaka huddled close to Hinata’s legs. Asahi was last, enveloping Suga, Nishi, and Daichi from the back with his long arms, creating one last layer of warmth with his blanket spread out around them like a mother hen’s wings.

Given any other context, this would’ve been a very strange sight to behold, Daichi knew. He could even feel his cheeks grow red at the thought of any of his high school friends seeing them like this.

But this wasn’t a joke. This was for survival. And as the team pressed their huddle around Hinata even tighter, Daichi felt truly warm, on the inside and out, for the first time since they had got that alert on their phones.

Hinata trembled violently in their grip as his body reacted, his teeth chattering against Suga’s chest. Suga continued to stroke his hair, whispering encouragement. “You’re going to be alright, Hinata-chan. We’re here.”

“Wake up, you dumbass. If you freeze to death I’m going to kill you,” Kageyama muttered.

“If you die, who will be the decoy?” Nishinoya asked. “And don’t say Tanaka cuz that guy can’t purposefully not go for a spike to save his life.”

”HEY!”

Asahi shrugged. “He’s got a point. Maybe we could give Tanaka an orange wig and see if that helps.”

“Can we please not talk about volleyball right now? I’m still kind of freaking out about this whole situation here.”

“Sorry, Yama. It’s going to be okay, he’s going to be okay.”

There was silence for a moment. The team pressed themselves against each other, frozen fingers curled around each other and noses buried in blankets. Then, from the silence, a small groggy voice asked,

“Wait… who’s replacing me?”

Chapter Text

Oblivious to the fact the entire team was staring at him in shock, Hinata began rambling, his head still tucked in Suga’s shoulder.

“Wow, I kinda feel like a baby penguin right now. You know, like how penguins huddle together in the cold? And the momma just sits on the baby? Or like I’m in a cocoon made of blankets and teammates. It’s pretty cozy, I like it. Why are we huddling like this, again? Is grouchy-yama afraid of the dark?”

Daichi had to blink, a slow grin growing on his face. Even half-frozen and unconscious mere seconds ago, Hinata was almost instantly back to his usual self, his eyes wide and sparkling.

“Because you were literally DYING from HYPOTHERMIA two seconds ago??” Kageyama shouted, though he barely was able to hide the relief in his voice at seeing the spiker awake.

Hinata rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to die Kageyama. Stop being so dramatic. Why would I die when we still have the national tournament to go to?”

“You’re hopeless, you human tangerine.”

The team laughed in relief, hugging each other tighter. Light was now starting to pour in through the windows, showing that the clouds had parted and it was now officially morning. Hinata started to shift as if he was going to stand up, but was prevented from doing so by Daichi’s iron grip on his arm.

“Oh no, you’re not going anywhere.”

Hinata frowned, “But… it's morning now. Can’t we start practice again?”

“We gotta stay warm, my dude,” Tanaka mumbled, patting Hinata’s leg. “Things got a little too dangerous for a second there. For now, we gotta stay in the cuddle pile.”

Hinata considered for a second, shivered, then tucked himself back into his team's arms with a sigh of defeat, “Whatever. I guess a team huddle isn’t the worst thing in the world.”

He gave Tsukkishima a mischievous side eye. “Now will you admit this is a team sleepover?”

Tsukki rolled his eyes, but Nishinoya chuckled at Hinata’s side and said, “Actually, he was the one who suggested we snuggle up around you.”

The spiker blinked for a moment, then blinked again as he shifted his legs for a moment.

“Wait, who’s pants am I wearing?”

They were interrupted by Takeda, who was running towards the group and looking utterly relieved.

“The emergency personnel are on their way! They’ve been able to plow enough to-”

He halted as he took in the sight of the team, all wrapped up in a mess of blankets, limbs woven around each other and tucked around their now awake teammate.

“Hinata, you’re awake!” He shouted, then began to fuss over the first year, at some point being absorbed into the huddle after shaking off a few shivers of his own. Daichi wasn’t sure how long they stayed there in the dim light of morning, but he just listened as his team chatted and felt his heart swell in relief and gratitude that it seemed Hinata was going to be okay.

He had been lost in watching the frost on the window slowly melt when suddenly there was a thump outside their door. Conversation immediately stopped, their eyes all darting to the front entrance as two rescue team members practically kicked down the door. They were in full snow gear, covered in thick heavy coats and goggles. If Daichi didn’t see the crests on their coats, he would’ve thought they were a couple of skiers who had lost their way.

The man and woman quickly surveyed the gym until their eyes landed on the team huddle in the back corner, and instantly beelined a jog towards them.

“WE’RE SAVED!!” Tanaka shouted, punching a fist in the air. Daichi was too relieved to reprimand him for shouting so loud in everyone’s ears.

The woman knelt in front of them and removed her goggles, putting on a gentle smile. Daichi instantly liked her.

“Hi, it’s the Karasuno Volleyball club, right? My name’s Suni and this is Ren. We’re here to help you guys get home,” She winked. “A warm fireplace probably sounds pretty good right now, right?”

“Yes please,” Yamaguchi mumbled, and the team laughed.

Suni nodded. “Right. And who’s the poor fella who has hypothermia?”

When Hinata grew red and didn’t say anything, Kageyama spoke up, jerking a thumb towards him. “That would be the idiot ginger right here.”

The lady nodded, her eyes glistening with concern as she looked over Hinata. “Makes sense, you don’t look too good, little guy. How about we get you to our nearby headquarters first to get you warm? Our snowmobile can only take two at a time, unfortunately, so we’re going to have to ship you all to our station in pairs. At least until we get more backup.”

Hinata glanced at Daichi, looking conflicted. About what, Daichi wasn’t sure. Maybe it was the thought of going out in the cold in his state, or perhaps leaving his team behind and stranded in the gym. Or maybe it was because he was upset he couldn’t play more volleyball (probably the last one). But Daichi gave him an encouraging smile.

“Go on, Hinata. You need to get warm first. We’ll all be right behind you,”

Suga gave the first year a nudge. “Yeah, you’ll be fine. We really need you to get some medical attention.”

Hinata opened his mouth like he wanted to argue, but ultimately let out another sigh of defeat, looking down at his hands that were still trembling.

“Alright, fine. But only on the condition that we play glowstick volleyball again.”

Asahi chuckled and ruffled Hinata’s hair.

“Sure, Hina-chan. But only on OUR condition that you actually take care of yourself. Ok?”

Hinata slowly nodded, then shifted as he got ready to stand up. The team cuddle pile reluctantly broke up, with arms loosening and legs stretching. Daichi helped Hinata to his feet, mindful that one of the blankets wrapped around him didn’t slip on his shoulders. Hinata gripped his arm back in return, his body still trembling.

He looked up at Daichi with his big, brown puppy eyes.

“Daichi, will you come with me?”

The team captain blinked a couple times, surprised. He would have expected Hinata to ask Suga, or maybe even Kageyama to go with him. But he quickly got over it and gave Hinata a smile.

“Sure, Hinata. Let’s get you out of here.”

Suni nodded and gestured for Hinata and Daichi to follow her. “Alright. You two can come with me to the snowmobile, the rest of you hang tight with Ren. More help is on the way.”

The team nodded, seemingly too relieved that everything would be fine and Hinata was getting the help he needed to complain about waiting a little longer.

Daichi began shuffling along with Hinata towards the door, shivering at the slight breeze coming through the open door as they neared it. The team called after them.

“Have fun riding a snowmobile, Hinata!” Noshinoya shouted, giving them a wave. Daichi turned to look at them. They looked disheveled and tired, blankets haphazardly wrapped around their bodies. But the sight of his friends all huddled together still warmed him up inside.

Hinata smiled back, giving a thumbs up. “S-see you later, guys!”

Stepping outside, Daichi immediately squinted at the bright light searing off of the sparkling snow, which covered everything outside in a thick, tall layer. Suni had parked the snowmobile as close as she could, but Daichi could see they were going to have to trudge through a foot or two to get to that. Which, he already knew, was not happening for Hinata.

As Suni made her way, Daichi smoothly and quickly crouched in front of Hinata and scooped him up into his back, eliciting a surprised squawk from the first year.

“Daichi!!! Wh- I can walk!!”

Daichi ignored him as he began wading through snow, his pants instantly becoming icy and wet. The snow went all the way up to his hips and he stumbled a bit, but managed to keep balance long enough to get close to the vehicle.

During the short walk he felt Hinata tuck his arms around his neck and lean his chin on his shoulder.

“Thanks, captain...” he mumbled.

“You’re welcome, Hinata.”

Daichi helped the ginger climb up onto the snowmobile, sandwiching him in between Suni at the front and himself in the back.

“Go ahead and wrap your arms around me to help you stay on,” Suni instructed, starting the engine. “It’ll be about a 15 minute ride.”

Hinata did as he was told, and Daichi wrapped his arms around Hinata to help himself stay on as they moved with a jerk, the blades of the vehicle crunching and sliding over the snow. As they picked up speed and began cruising down the almost unrecognizable streets, Hinata let out a sigh. He leaned his head back on Daichi’s chest.

“Getting tired?” Daichi asked, trying not to let concern creep into his voice. He didn’t exactly enjoy the last time Hinata was asleep.

“Nah. Just happy.” He turned to look at the captain, his eyes sparkling and orange curls ruffling in the wind. “Wasn’t that all just… fun?”

Daichi raised an eyebrow.

Hinata rolled his eyes. “Besides the whole hypothermia part. The team— I feel like we never spend time together outside of practice anymore. Glowsticks, two truths and a lie, eating noodles together, snuggling…” He looked ahead with a peaceful expression. “It all just made me really happy. Y’know?”.

Daichi thought of the previous night, and how all the team's stress and agitation had seemed to melt away. The crisis, as awful as it had been, really had pulled them together. Daichi could still feel the lingering warmth of his team’s arms wrapped around him.

He gave Hinata a little squeeze. “You know what, Hinata? You’re right. That was pretty nice. We should do things together outside of practice more often.”

Hinata nodded, closing his eyes in content and tucking his face away from the chilly breeze. Daichi looked ahead at the glistening landscape. Everything was quiet besides the snowmobile’s motor, still and calm.

Then, the silence was suddenly broken when Hinata’s eyes flew open and he sat up straight with a jerk.

Confused, Daichi watched as the spiker slapped a palm on his head and started laughing hysterically.

“Kageyama?? He’s the one who gave me his pants??? I just barely remembered he was in just his shorts when we said goodbye. Wow, he really does love me… I’m gonna tease him for the rest of his life!”

Daichi couldn’t help but laugh with him. The smile seemed to stay on both of them, even as they arrived at the shelter and Hinata was quickly whisked away by paramedics. More hot chocolate was shoved into Daichi’s hands, another blanket was draped around him, and he found himself seated in front of a roaring fireplace. Two by two, his teammates soon joined him, and the shelter got progressively louder as time passed. Daichi would glance up at the emergency workers from time to time to make sure they weren’t being disruptive, but all he always saw were amused and kind expressions as they continued to help them all warm up.

As they waited to be reunited with their parents, snacks from the free snack box were taken, fluffy blankets were donned, and everyone cheered when Hinata finally shuffled into the room, color having returned to his cheeks. Daichi leaned back in his chair, letting his shoulders drop in relief.

Everything was going to be okay.

----

“You call that a snowman, Kageyama? That looks like some kind of spikey-headed goblin.”

“It’s supposed to be Coach Ukai! That’s why it has spikey hair!”

“Really? I thought that you were trying to make some kind of demented Sonic the Hedgehog.”

“Shut up, four eyes!”

Daichi brushed snow off of his shoulder as he got up, offering a hand to Asahi who was still lying in a snowbank. Their sled had tipped over on the way down the hill, but they had managed to avoid hitting the snowman-making crowd. Straightening up, he looked around at the team with a smile.

Hinata was sitting with Yachi nearby, trying to make a snow-volleyball and giggling together as it kept falling apart. Hinata was wearing a comical amount of layers, but the team had collectively allowed no less for his outfit when they had agreed on a team snow day. Even though it had been two weeks since the incident at the gym, the team had all been a smidge protective of him as of late.

Tanaka and all the other second years were currently engrossed in an intense snowball fight, complete with shelters they ducked under while creating more ammo. While Narita was launching snowball after snowball, Nishinoya pulled a Rolling Thunder and threw himself across the ground, effectively dodging the attack long enough to jump to his feet and swing one hard towards Tanaka. Said snowball unfortunately managed to hit Coach Ukai in the back of the head, making everyone freeze in their tracks.

Takeda, who was sipping hot chocolate with Kiyoko, watched with wide eyes as Ukai turned around, an evil look in his eye.

“Oh, it’s on.” He growled, immediately picking up chunks of snow and hurling them at the squealing second years.

“Retreat! Retreat!” Tanaka screamed, diving for cover and tackling Ennoshita down along the way.

Suga chuckled and walked up beside Daichi, looking over the team.

“I’m liking the new “monthly team-bonding activity” set-up, captain,” he said, helping get some snow off Asahi’s coat.

Daichi smiled. He watched as Kageyama came and sat down next to Yachi and Hinata, quietly joining them in helping make more snow objects, pressing his shoulder against Hinata anytime he shivered. Tsukkishima and Yamaguchi grabbed a sled and started making their way up the hill, going for their fifth run, and the snowball death match was finally winding down, dissolving into laughs and noogies.

Daichi breathed in the chilly air through his nose, and watched it puff out on his exhale, just as it had in the gym, snuggled together with all his teammates.

“Yeah. Yeah, I like it too.”