Chapter Text
==Kei Tsukishima==
Tsukishima had just finished picking up his homework and was sitting down to eat dinner when his phone rang. He flipped his phone open and groaned when he saw the caller ID: Kageyama.
Tsukishima answered the call, “Do you need something?”
Kageyama responded with silence.
“Did you mean to call me?” Tsukishima asked, “Dumbass, did you mean to call me?”
Kageyama finally responded, “Yeah. Uh…” Kageyama trailed off.
“Don’t tell me,” he smirked into the phone, “You’re lost.” Tsukishima said that, but was pretty sure Kageyama had just left something at his house.
“I’m not lost. I don’t get lost” Tsukishima could hear Kageyama getting defensive. There was a short pause before Kageyama spoke again “I might be lost.”
“You’re such a moron,” Tsukishima was trying to stifle his laughter and only partially succeeding, “The King needs to hire an escort to lead him home.”
“I do not need an escort,” Kageyama was nearly yelling into the phone.
“Where are you?” Tsukishima asked, “I can come find you.”
“You’re not my escort,” There was another pause and then an exasperated groan before Kageyama explained generally where he was to Tsukishima. Tsukishima couldn’t contain his laughter.
“How do you get that lost?” Tsukishima was genuinely in awe as he headed out the door to go find Kageyama, “You went in the opposite direction of your house.”
Tsukishima heard a short string of profanities through the phone. He felt like this was Kageyama’s karma for being such an asshole earlier. Tsukishima had to walk about five minutes to find Kageyama, who had gone the exact opposite direction of where he needed to be. When Tsukishima spotted Kageyama, he was sitting on a bench, one hand holding his phone to his ear and his head resting on the other. Tsukishima hung up the phone and took a picture of Kageyama before he noticed he was there. Tsukishima wanted proof that Kageyama got lost and needed his help for more than just tutoring.
“Well, it seems as though the King has fallen from his pedestal,” Tsukishima remarked.
“Will you shut up?” Kageyama snapped.
“I thought you told me you weren’t going to get lost,” Tsukishima laughed, “And here we are.”
Kageyama clicked his tongue, “Which way is home?”
Tsukishima started walking back toward his house, “I’ll take you to the convenience store. I’m assuming getting home from there isn’t too much for you?”
“I’ll be fine from there,” Kageyama mumbled.
When Tsukishima turned to look at him, Kageyama’s face was all red. Tsukishima assumed it was due to embarrassment, it was the same way Kageyama had looked after asking for help with studying. It was also the same look Kageyama had on his face earlier that day when Hinata and Yamaguchi were pestering him about girls. Tsukishima felt himself start smirking a little bit, every time girls got brought up around Kageyama the guy didn’t seem to know what to do, and Tsukishima found it very entertaining.
“So,” Tsukishima started before getting cut off by Kageyama.
“Don’t say anything,” Kageyama said.
“Why?” Tsukishima laughed, “You don’t want me to point out that your sense of direction is worse than your grades?”
“I said don’t say anything!” Kageyama snapped.
“Fine,” Tsukishima paused for a second, “But I am glad to finally have an explanation for why I had to walk you and Hinata at nationals last year.”
Kageyama’s head snapped to look at Tsukishima and the two made eye contact, “Shut up you Four-Eyed Asshole!”
“Fine fine,” Tsukishima chuckled, “You’re just so easy to get a rise out of.”
Kageyama’s face grew redder, “Am not.”
Kageyama sounded so unsure in his retort that Tsukishima was caught off guard. So much so that he started laughing. Not his normal chuckle or mocking snicker, but a real laugh.
“What?” Kageyama sounded offended, “There’s nothing funny!”
Tsukishima laughed harder, “Nothing, nothing.”
“If nothing is funny then stop laughing!” Kageyama was nearly yelling.
“I’m sorry,” Tsukishima had to pause to laugh again, “It’s just that you got so offended because you got lost!”
Kageyama didn’t respond and Tsukishima was finally able to collect himself. When the two started walking again, Tsukishima found himself surprised to be enjoying Kageyama’s company. It had been weeks since he had truly laughed at anything. Usually, Yamaguchi was the only person that could make Tsukishima laugh like that, and since they hadn’t been spending time together he had found himself being more down than usual. As the two approached the convenience store, Tsukishima turned to Kageyama, “Same time tomorrow?”
Kageyama nodded.
“And you can get home okay from here?” Tsukishima asked.
“Yes,” Kageyama snapped, his face grew red again, “I can find my way home from here.”
“If you say so,” Tsukishima turned and walked away, “See you at practice.”
==Tobio Kageyama==
Kageyama only sort of heard what Tsukishima said as he turned and headed home, every sound was being overwhelmed by the blood pounding in his ears. After his call with Sugawara, having to call Tsukishima to walk him home was nearly the worst thing that could have happened. It wasn’t that Kageyama thought that Sugawara was right, he couldn’t be. Kageyama in no way liked Tsukishima, as friends or otherwise. But that thought didn’t keep Kageyama from worrying that Sugawara was right.
Spending time with Hinata and listening to him being jealous about the girls liking Kageyama more than him had forced Kageyama to realize that he didn’t particularly care about girls. And every time his sister brought up a boyfriend Kageyama couldn’t bring himself to care, so he had assumed that romance just wasn’t important to him. If what Suga said was right, and he did like Tsukishima, that would upend everything that Kageyama had solidified for himself about his potential dating life, or rather, the lack thereof. The more Kageyama thought about it, the more he solidified that he was thinking too much about it, and that him liking Tsukishima was impossible.
The rest of the way home, Kageyama was followed by the sound of Tsukishima’s laughter. Kageyama had never seen Tsukishima laugh in a way that didn’t feel cruel before. It always felt intentional and mocking. But the laughter on the walk to the convenience store felt genuine. Even though Kageyama was still the target of the laughter it didn’t feel cold or calculated, just like Tsukishima was actually amused. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he had rarely seen Tsukishima even smile genuinely. Part of him felt accomplished, almost like he was part of some intimate secret with Tsukishima, and Kageyama hated how much pride that thought brought him. Without realizing it, Kageyama decided to drown out every notion of liking Tsukishima with denial.
Kageyama arrived at an empty house. He was used to coming home and nobody being there, his father was in Osaka for work more often than not and his mother worked night shifts at the hospital. His sister Miwa hadn’t been around for five years. She had moved out once she turned 18 and was working at a hair salon. Miwa tried to avoid their parents, and the last time Tobio had seen her was two years ago on the anniversary of their grandfather’s death. This was the fourth day this week he had been the only person home, he hadn’t even seen his mother in the mornings. Kageyama flipped on the lights and set his school bag down. As he walked to his room, he couldn’t help but notice how lifeless and cold his house felt compared to Tsukishima’s. Where there were pictures and plants and someone cooking a warm meal in the kitchen in Tsukishima’s house there were just barren walls and empty space.
Kageyama made his way to his bedroom, abandoning any schoolwork for the next day. He showered and changed into a clean set of clothes before going about his nightly routine. Kageyama set about taking care of his fingernails, trimming them and filing them down so that they wouldn’t get in the way of his sets. He took meticulous care of his physical health so that nothing would impact volleyball. Before he went to bed, Kageyama got himself a drink from the kitchen and sat down on the edge of his mattress. He wasn’t usually this sentimental, but with the possible developments with Tsukishima and being entirely home alone he needed someone to talk to.
Kageyama turned to the picture of his grandfather, “Kazuyo,” Kageyama paused and took a shaky breath, “What do I do?”
==Kei Tsukishima==
The next morning, Tsukishima woke up to his phone buzzing. It was a text from Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi: Yachi isn’t feeling good today so she isn’t going to be at practice. I’m going to be at your house in 30!
Tsuki: K.
Tsukishima Sighed and rolled out of bed. He found himself smiling a little to himself when he got to the bathroom. The best days were the days when Yachi was sick or not at practice, he actually got to see Yamaguchi on those days. That meant that today was probably going to be decent, especially if Yachi didn’t make it to school. On top of that, getting along with Kageyama was making practice easier. It also made it easier to make Kageyama angry. Tsukishima knew he shouldn’t keep trying to piss off Kageyama, but he couldn’t help himself.
Yesterday had been weird, he wasn’t used to laughing like that. Looking back at it, the situation hadn’t been funny enough to warrant that extreme of a response. Kageyama had just looked so genuinely offended that he couldn’t help but laugh. The worst part about the whole situation was that Tsukishima had enjoyed the walk with Kageyama the day before more than any time that he had spent with Yamaguchi in months.
Tsukishima quickly got ready, grabbed his bag and headed to his living room to wait for Yamaguchi. While he waited for Yamaguchi to send him a text that he was at the door, Tsukishima sat down and started eating a granola bar. He wasn’t much of a morning person or a food person, so he usually skipped breakfast before practice. Since he was up a little earlier than usual today he was trying to make himself eat something. Tsukishima made it about halfway through the granola bar before he felt his phone buzz with Yamaguchi’s text. Tsukishima sighed as he stood up and walked over to the door, wishing that morning practices didn’t exist.
Yamaguchi greeted Tsukishima with a smile on his face as Tsukishima opened the door “Good morning, Tsukki!”
“Morning, Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima said, an air of sleepiness still in his voice.
“Still tired, Tsukki?” Yamaguchi asked.
Tsukishima nodded, “Yeah, it’s too early for this.”
Yamaguchi nodded back, “Yeah, you still hate mornings.”
“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” There was no bite in his words, Tsukishima was just annoyed about the comment about the morning. He was never a morning person, and that was holding true.
“Sorry, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi went quiet for the next five minutes or so, but was quickly back to talking.
Yamaguchi talked the entire way to Karasuno. He talked about school and practice for a little while, but quickly shifted the topic to Yachi. The second Yamaguchi brought up his girlfriend Tsukishima tuned out entirely. Yachi was the last thing he wanted to hear his friend talk about. He always tried to tell himself that he was happy for Yamaguchi. He tried to convince himself he didn’t hate their relationship and everything about it, but he couldn’t. He would have preferred that Yamaguchi was unhappy and never got a girlfriend. Tsukishima knew it was selfish, but he didn’t really care. In his opinion, Yamaguchi should have been able to balance having a girlfriend with everything else, but he was unable to, and Tsukishima hated it.
When the pair arrived at Karasuno, Tsukishima was suddenly grateful that the walk that he had looked forward to was over. He hadn’t heard a word that Yamaguchi had said for the past ten minutes, and he didn’t plan on paying him any attention for the rest of practice. If all that he could think about was his girlfriend, why should he?
Tsukishima headed straight for the equipment room to help set up the net. He usually made a point to get to practice just late enough that he didn’t have to help set up the nets, but whenever he walked with Yamaguchi they would get there early enough that he didn’t have a choice. Setup went quickly, which was a relief. It was always a tedious process that involved a lot of Tanaka yelling at people and trying to be a good upperclassman, which gave Tsukishima terrible second hand embarrassment.
During the warmup stretches, Tsukishima wound up next to Kageyama, who had already been in the gym when Tsukishima arrived. He had been out of breath, presumably due to racing Hinata to the gym. Kageyama rarely won that race due to the fact that Hinata rode a bike to school and Kageyama walked, giving Hinata an unfair advantage. Tsukishima would have found that delightful, except that Hinata was just as annoying as Kageyama, if not moreso.
“Good morning, your highness,” Tsukishima decided to talk to Kageyama as a means of avoiding Yamaguchi, who had miraculously appeared on his other side, “I’m shocked you managed to find your way to the gym this morning. I had assumed you would need a royal escort.”
“Huh?” Kageyama immediately stopped his stretch and turned to glare at Tsukishima, “What did you say, Four Eyes?”
“I said that I’m shocked that you didn’t need a guide dog to find your way here,” Tsukishima’s lips curled into a smirk. He was trying to get a reaction, and he could tell it was working.
Kageyama’s anger was palpable and a flush creeped its way up his neck, “Shut up! I do not need an escort to get to school!”
Tsukishima chuckled in response, “Well, that’s an improvement considering that you needed one to get home.”
“Would you shut up?” Kageyama was nearly yelling.
Tsukishima opened his mouth to keep poking at Kageyama, but decided better of it when he felt Ennoshita’s glare in the back of his head. Ennoshita wasn’t nearly as scary as Daichi, but he was close. And Ennoshita was more likely to volunteer the team to run lines than Daichi had been, and running was arguably Tsukishima’s least favorite part of the sport. He disliked running more than the gaggle of idiots that composed Karasuno’s volleyball club.
Kageyama and Tsukishima didn’t speak outside of calling the ball the rest of practice. Kageyama set to him, which really meant nothing. Kageyama would set to whoever is the most practical, at least from what Tsukishima knew. He never directly avoided setting to anyone purely because he was upset with them. To him, it seemed like a relatively standard practice.
==Tobio Kageyama==
Kageyama spent the rest of practice fuming. He set to Tsukishima, but only when he absolutely had to. He didn’t know why Tsukishima found it so important to bring up every mistake he ever made. Tsukishima always picked the exact subject that Kageyama wanted to avoid. He didn’t want the entire team to know that he got lost on the way home, and he definitely didn’t want the rest of the team to start paying attention to the fact that he and Tsukishima had been spending time together.
Worse than that was the fact that he had called Sugawara. By the end of his first year, the two had gotten close as friends, and Suga was who Kageyama went to for advice. Even though Kageyama wasn’t great with people, he knew that Suga couldn’t keep his mouth shut. This was something important enough that there was some hope, but if any of the third years, Tanaka especially, found out that he had called Suga it would be a disaster.
Kageyama’s attitude only worsened after practice was over. No matter how annoying and unbearable Tsukishima was, actual classes were worse. Kageyama felt like his head was about to fall off after English, and the only thing keeping him awake was that Hinata kept poking him in the back of the neck with a pencil. Math went okay, but that was because the problems were all motion problems. They involved dropping things off buildings and calculating how long it took them to hit the ground, and in his head Kageyama told himself that they were all volleyballs. By the time lunch rolled around, Kageyama was bored, hungry, and still pissed at the four-eyed asshole with a sharp tongue.
When the class was released for lunch, Kageyama made his usual trip to the vending machine. Hinata tagged along, complaining every time they passed a girl in the hallway.
“Kageyama, did you see that girl back there?” Hinata was practically bouncing off the walls as the pair reached the courtyard.
“Uh, no. I didn’t,” Kageyama hadn’t noticed anyone on the walk out of the building, rather, he had been focused on digging through his pockets for spare change, but he did have a strange sensation that he was being watched.
“She was really tall and really cool looking!” Hinata kept talking, and it seemed like it never stopped. Kageyama really didn’t mind. Even though it was annoying it had grown to be a strange sort of comfort.
“Okay,” Kageyama finally found the right amount of coins to get milk from the vending machine. He furrowed his brows as he double checked that he had the right number of coins. He kept losing track, it was that feeling of being under pressure during a game but his hands were sweaty and his eyes were blurry and his sets weren’t quite what they usually were.
“Yeah! Like, really cool. And she looked at you. I mean, she should have looked at me, I’m way cooler than you. I mean, come on. It’s not fair! They always think you’re cooler than me,” Hinata launched into a rant as Kageyama pushed the button on the machine.
“Hinata, would you shut up? You are such a moron,” Kageyama finished feeding the coins to the machine.
“Come on! You had to have noticed!” Hinata grinned as the coins clinked into the machine, “I mean, you could totally get a girlfriend.”
The milk fell to the receptacle with a dull thud. Kageyama didn’t move to pick it up, instead, he turned to Hinata.
“I don’t want a girlfriend,” Kageyama stared down at Hinata.
“I mean, maybe you don’t want one but it might be nice, you know?” Hinata had paled slightly and was backing away the same way he did when he accidentally biffed a receive at practice and Kageyama was fed up with it.
Kageyama stared at Hinata for a moment. When he finally spoke, the tension in the air was nearly palpable, “I don’t want a girlfriend, Moron. That would be distracting. From volleyball.”
The excuse felt frail as it hung in the air between them. Kageyama didn’t know why he felt the need to explain himself to Hinata. Not wanting a girlfriend was perfectly normal, especially for a student athlete. Maybe it was because he was worried about Hinata or anyone on the team asking questions. Maybe it was because that was partially true, that he didn’t want any distractions. And maybe it was because Kageyama’s instincts were still telling him that he was being watched. Whatever the reason was, Kageyama gave the reason in a panic, and for a second he thought Hinata would think he was lying.
The tension broke when Hinata accepted the excuse without giving it a second thought, “True! We need to focus on volleyball. I mean, we are winning nationals, so who needs a girlfriend?”
Kageyama felt some of the tension leave his shoulders as he started walking back to class, “Come on, Idiot. We need to get to class.”
Hinata followed Kageyama inside. The single-serving carton of milk stayed in the receptacle, untouched and forgotten.