Chapter Text
Hinata bounced—literally bounced—into the gym, followed by a slightly more smug than usual Kageyama. Hinata started rambling about something that none of us could understand because he was talking so damn fast. Kageyama hit him on the head, and Hinata shut up, clutching his head in pain. He scowled at Kageyama and started reaching for him, ready to take him down.
Kageyama backed away with his hands in the air and said, “Yachi, did you or Kiyoko get a letter?”
Yachi reached into her pocket and held a letter out. “I was waiting for the whole team to get here before I opened it. How did you know I had one?”
Hinata jumped up, glowing. He took a deep breath before saying, “Kenma said there was a super elite training camp coming up and that Nekoma had gotten an invitation and we wanted to know if we had gotten an invitation! Hurry up and open the letter!”
Yachi opened the letter, our eyes latched onto hers as she scanned the page. She smiled and looked up. “We’ve been invited to the national high school training camp!” I looked up at the ceiling and rolled my eyes as Hinata and Nishinoya started flying through the air.
Yamaguchi turned to me. “Doesn’t this sound exciting Tsukki?”
I looked down at him, “Not really, no.” Yamaguchi glared at me and walked over to Yachi, reading the letter over her shoulder.
He stared open-mouthed at the letter. “Guys! Only a few teams out of the whole country were invited! Looks like we’ve played against the majority of them as well.”
At this point, Tanaka had taken his shirt off and was swinging it around, Nishinoya was jumping all over Asahi screaming, and Asahi looked terrified as usual. Kageyama was silently screaming and most everyone else was jumping up and down. Suga and Daichi were trying, and failing, to create some semblance of order in the chaos that was our gym. In the chaos, I slipped out of the gym and headed home.
“I'm home!” I said as I walked through the front door, slipping my shoes off.
“Welcome home, Kei! Tadashi told me about the training camp! You excited?” My older brother ruffled my hair.
“Wait, Yamaguchi told you? He's still at the gym isn’t he?” I asked, confused.
Yamaguchi rounded the corner. “Nope. I saw you leave so I grabbed my bike and took a different path to your house so I’d beat you and you wouldn’t see me.”
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, and started laughing. A genuine laugh, not a trademark sarcastic Tsukishima laugh. Yamaguchi stared at me before bursting out laughing. My brother shook his head before turning to walk into the kitchen.
Still laughing, we stumbled into my room and fell onto my bed. Yamaguchi turned to me and said, “Kei. It's been a long time since you’ve laughed like that. Has something been bothering you?” I turned to him, and sighed.
“Tadashi, if I’m being honest with you, I have no idea. So much has happened recently, with us beating Shiratorizawa, going to training camps with the other schools, and people like Kuroo and Akaashi and Bokuto actually trying to be my friends. It’s all just so much new stuff all at once.”
He smiled and said, “So you’re freaking out 'cause suddenly you have friends?” I frowned. He laughed again and said, “You should hang out with them more! Don’t be so distant! Include yourself in the conversation. Don’t be so rude to our team, especially Kageyama and Hinata. But don’t be suddenly nice, cause Daichi would have a heart attack and Suga couldn’t handle being a single mother. You saw what happened when Tanaka ran into him during the tournament. Start slow, but be nicer, and maybe you won’t be so surprised when people are your friends.” I stared at him in shock and burst out laughing. He started laughing too and when we finally calmed down, sleep was already tugging at the edges of our consciousness. Before long, we were both asleep, legs tangled together.
“Get up lovebirds! You’re gonna be late for schoooool!” Yamaguchi bolted up, beet red and stammering, clumsily pulling his legs out from between mine. He ended up in a heap on the floor, and I turned to my brother and flipped him off. He stood back, faking shock, and stomped out of the room. He shouted over his shoulder, “But seriously you have like, ten minutes to get ready and get to school if you want to practice.”
I turned to Yamaguchi and said, “Ignore him. He's always an ass.”
Yamaguchi was still bright red. “Y-yeah! We should hurry. We don’t want to make Daichi mad.” He stuttered. I made a mental note to yell at my brother later.
We got to school, and ran into the gyms right as practice started. All through practice, Yamaguchi seemed really out of it. He missed every single one of his serves, and he even got hit in the face a couple of times. Daichi pulled him aside, and Yamaguchi started crying. They kept talking for a few more minutes, and I kept glancing over at them, worried about him. Daichi clapped him on the shoulder and smiled. Yamaguchi just nodded and sniffled before grabbing his stuff and leaving. I started to follow, but Daichi stopped me.
“Tsukishima, leave him. Part of his problem is you. Ask him later if, and only if, he approaches you first. Got it?” I nodded, dumbfounded. I went back to practice and finished up before heading to class. Yamaguchi avoided me all day. I completely forgot the advice he gave me the night before, and was even more rude to everyone, even the teachers. I decided to skip practice and head home early.
When I got home, I checked for Yamaguchi's shoes, but they weren’t there. I walked into the kitchen and saw my brother. I scowled and walked over to him. “What the hell is wrong with you? Do you have to tease Yamaguchi every time he comes over here? You know we aren’t a thing. He’s not even gay!” Akiteru backed up, his hands in the air.
“I was just playing around! I didn't mean to hurt anyone’s feelings.” My scowl deepened and I walked out of the kitchen.
My phone buzzed in my pocket when I entered my room and I quickly answered it, hoping Yamaguchi had finally decided to talk to me. “Hello?”
“What did you do to Yamaguchi.” Shit. It was Suga, and he sounded pissed.
“I don't know! Honestly. We were fine last night and this morning, and then when we left he completely ignored me all day!” Suga sighed again, but said nothing. After another minute of silence I brought the phone to my face. He had hung up. I stared at the phone confused and in shock before plugging it in and leaving it at my desk. I flopped onto my bed and stared at the ceiling, one hand resting on my forehead. I slid my glasses off my face and placed them on my nightstand and groaned. “Tadashi…what did I do?”
“More like what didn’t you do?” My brother responded.
I shot up. “Aki! Knock first! You always—” I paused. “What do you mean?”
Akiteru pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. “Kei, Tadashi is head over heels for you, and you stomp all over him.” He pushed off of the doorway he had been leaning against and walked out, closing the door behind him.
I jumped out of bed and yanked my glasses off of the dresser, running after him and sliding across our floor. “You can’t just say that and then leave!” I slammed into the wall and winced, sliding my glasses onto my face.
Akiteru chuckled. “I just did. Plus, there’s nothing else for me to say. I've said my lines, acted my part, end scene.”
I scowled. “Explain.”
Akiteru wagged his finger in my face. “Don’t bite off more than you can chew. If you haven’t figured it out by now, he deserves someone better. Someone who actually pays attention to him.”
I took a step back, shocked by how defensive my brother had become of Yamaguchi. My curiosity got the better of me. “Figured what out?”
“I already told you. I'm not gonna tell you more, ‘cause if you don’t already know, then you don’t deserve to know.”
“Why do you have to be so stubborn? Head over—” I stopped. “Oh. Oh shit.”
Akiteru smiled weakly. “‘Oh shit’ indeed.”
“He…no. There’s no way. Why wouldn’t he tell me? He would have told me. There’s no way you’re right.”
Aki shrugged. “I don't know what’s going on in that pretty little noggin of his, so you’re gonna have to ask him.”
I took a few stumbling steps back before grabbing my shoes and running out the door. With Daichi’s warning ringing in my head, it took every ounce of strength I had to stay away from Yamaguchi's house.
I wound up at a house, panting. I couldn’t remember whose house it was, but I knew someone from the team lived there. I slowly approached the door and knocked tentatively. A woman with piercing deep blue eyes that seemed very familiar to me opened the door.
“Hello?” She asked.
“Um…I…” The place I had seen those eyes before clicked. “Is this the Kageyama’s residence?” I responded.
She smiled. “Yes. Are you a friend of Tobio's?”
I shrugged a bit. “We’re teammates.”
Kageyama stepped into the hallway wearing a shirt at least two sizes too big. “Oi, Tsukishima. What’re you doing at my house this late?”
I flushed. “Ah…I'm…”
“Whatever. Get in here.” He stalked forward and grabbed my arm, yanking me inside. His mother stuttered a bit before Kageyama said, “We’ll be fast, Mom. Tsukishima just needs to tell me something real quick.”
She frowned a bit before nodding. “Alright, just keep it down. It’s really late.”
We both nodded and I bowed slightly before being led to Kageyama’s room. He pushed me down onto the bed and stood in front of me. “Spill.” He demanded.
I just frowned a bit and avoided his gaze.
“Tsukishima. You showed up at my house at 11:30, and you and Yamaguchi have been weird all day. Something is very obviously up. Even Hinata and I noticed it.”
I smiled a bit. That was shocking. “Don’t really feel like telling you, Bakayama.”
He grabbed the front of my shirt, bunching it in his hand, and pulled me off the bed slightly to bring us to eye level. “You don’t get to waltz into my house at nearly midnight, clearly upset, and then call me stupid.” He kept getting closer and closer to my face until his forehead was pressed against mine, and my glasses were smashed painfully against my face. He was furious, and truth be told, I was a little scared. I pushed his shoulders in an attempt to get him away from me, but nothing happened. He may look like a twig, but he’s pure muscle. I laughed nervously, trying to pull myself out of his grip, but he just followed, making us fall backwards onto the bed. He was hovering over me, and I just stared at him, blushing furiously. He scoffed and moved, sitting on the bed next to me. “What’d you do to Yamaguchi, Tsukishima?” He said softly.
We sat in silence, with him staring expectantly all the while. When I finally responded, voice trembling and tears falling down my cheeks, he froze. “I fucked up, Kageyama. I fucked up real bad.”
He lifted a hand and then dropped it, unsure of what to do. “Tsukishima…I…” He cleared his throat. “Dude, whatever happened is seriously messing with the two of you. I get it if you don’t want to tell me, but you’ve gotta tell someone. I—” He broke off before muttering, “God, I can’t believe I’m about to say this.” He spun around to look at me, intensity blazing in his eyes. “I care about you guys a lot. After what happened on my junior high team, I get scared that it’s gonna happen again. But you guys, everyone on the team, you all make me feel safe . If something’s going on with you and Yamaguchi, I wanna help.” Tears were starting to fall down his face, too.
I laughed a bit, “We’re a goddamn mess, Kageyama.”
He pulled me into a hug, and we cried into each other's shoulders. Someone knocked on the door, and we sprung apart, furiously scrubbing at our faces. Kageyama’s mom smiled softly and said, “I called your place, Tsukishima, and they said it would be alright if you wanted to stay the night.”
I bit my lip, more tears threatening to fall. I couldn’t say anything, so I just nodded and hoped she could see the gratitude in my eyes. She smiled again, and closed the door. Kageyama stood and pulled a futon out of the closet, and tossed a pillow and a few blankets onto it. I patted my pockets, looking for my phone, before remembering I had left it in my room. I'd have to get it in the morning.
“Do you wanna watch the Shiratorizawa game?” He asked.
I looked up at him from my spot on his bed. “Is that seriously what you do for fun?
“What? I like volleyball.”
“I do too, genius, but I don’t spend every waking minute obsessing over it.” I smirked. This was more like it. Let us bicker again, move on from the pain and sadness. We could talk about that later. Right now, we both needed a distraction, and I would have to settle for watching our game against Shiratorizawa with the boy whose house I had run to when I had nowhere else to go, the boy who had eyes that contained secrets that were too dark to promise swift recovery.