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“Tsukkiiiiii” Tadashi whined, demanding his boyfriend’s attention and breaking the comfortable quiet that had surrounded them.
The afternoon April sun was filtering through the window, keeping Kei’s room at just the right temperature. Tadashi always did prefer the spring over any other season. It wasn’t too cold like winter, too gloomy like autumn nor too hot like summer; it felt like the perfect balance between them. Tsukki’s company only made it better.
The boy in question responded with a non-committal “Hmm?” which Tadashi had learnt over the years meant the blond was listening, even if he didn’t look up from his book.
Currently the two boys were laying on Kei’s bed. The tall blond reading a book propped up by Tadashi’s side who laid across his boyfriend’s stomach, holding himself up by his elbows to play with his Nintendo. Afternoons like this were common between them. Even before they’d started dating, intimacy, albeit behind closed doors mostly, had become a habit. Of course, now going into their third year they’ve become more liberal with their PDA. But most things, the softest, sweetest things, were still reserved for just the two of them. This was one of those moments.
“Tadashi?” The blond pressed when he got no further answer. His hand paused where he had been playing with Tadashi’s hair and he finally looked away from his book to give his boyfriend his undivided attention.
“Hm. I was just thinking.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Kei’s calloused hand resumed carding through the freckled boy’s hair. It was much longer than in his first year now, and Kei especially had taken a liking to it. Already in his second year, when his hair had first become long enough to tie in a ponytail, his boyfriend had had a pretty rough time being unable to focus properly during practice. It was a week of many volleyballs to his head and stern, but worried, gazes from captain Ennoshita-san. It got better when they’d gotten together, Kei never missing an opportunity to untie his newly-turned boyfriend’s hair and run his hands through it. Tadashi didn’t complain, practically purring into the feeling.
“Is this thing you’re thinking about related to you being captain, by any chance?” Of course Tsukki would guess. Sometimes he forgets that just as well as he could read Tsukki, Tsukki could read him.
“Maybe.”
“Hm.” His boyfriend prompted him to continue
“I still don’t understand.” Tadashi shifted more onto his side so he could look the blond better in the eyes. Both his console and Tsukki’s book forgotten by now. “Why me?”
“Tadashi.” Kei chided, only slightly annoyed. “We’ve been over this. All of the team has.”
He knew they had. The whole team had been there when they decided who the captain for next year was going to be. Even the third years who would be graduating had had a saying. It had been at the end of one of their last practices of the school year, the coach gathered everyone for his final words before bringing it up.
“Lastly, about the captain for next year,” Tadashi had thought he would start that discussion, since he still had no idea who was going to fill in the spot. However, coach Ukai continued with “I believe you all have made a decision.”
The freckled boy was even more shocked as all his teammates around him nodded with conviction, Tadashi being the only one letting out a confused “We have?”
“Ennoshita, if you will.”
At coach’s signal the captain grabbed a uniform shirt Yachi was holding out, and moved in front of Tadashi. He still remembers that moment perfectly, how fast his heart was beating, how shell-shocked he was and how his stomach dropped when he finally put the pieces together.
“M-me?” He’d squeaked out.
“Who else Yamaguchi?” Ennoshita had said with so much fondness and pride in his voice. He pushed the shirt with the underlined number 1 into the other boy’s frozen hands and declared confidently. “We all know you are the best choice. You’re going to take this team far.”
Unnoticed by the boy, soft tears had begun streaming down his freckled cheeks, though he couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason for them. He felt completely overwhelmed but one question played over and over on his mind. “Why me?”
Everyone around him blinked when he finally said it out loud. Kei tightened his grip around his boyfriend’s shoulders. “Shut up Tadashi.”
“Obviously because you’re the best choice ever! You’re so responsible and nice, even though you can be scary sometimes! Everyone agreed, we didn’t even have to talk much about it!” Shouyo had excitedly told him, absolutely beaming. His teammates nodded. But still, Tadashi doubted.
Back in the present, the freckled boy pouted. “Still. Doesn’t make much sense. I don’t stand out. I only became a regular last year. All of you have something, and I’m just the other guy in our year, the only one who wasn’t good enough to become a starter right away.”
“Bullshit.” Kei grabbed the other boy’s face between his hands, slightly squishing his cheeks, efficiently making him look directly into the intensity of his golden eyes. Tadashi had to make an effort to not get distracted by them. “That’s right you weren’t in the starting line up right away, but that only makes your progress much more valuable. You forged your place on the team and worked harder than anyone else for it. So what if you didn’t have the luck of being as tall as me, or being born a volleyball genius like Kageyama or with Hinata’s monster speed? I think it’s as, if not more, commendable that you are where you are right now due to your efforts.”
Tadashi gave Kei a bright bashful smile, still between his boyfriend’s hands. “Thanks Tsukki!” But he couldn’t help the doubt still eating away at him inside, which did not go unnoticed by the blond, who sighed.
“You’re still not convinced, are you?” The freckled boy looked away embarrassed. “Talk to me Tadashi.”
Well how could he say no to his boyfriend’s soft voice while using his given name? Tadashi was only a man for goodness’ sake. “Well, even if I earned my place on the team- “
“Which you did.”
“-That still doesn’t mean I’m fit for the captain role. It takes more than that to be a captain doesn’t it? It’s usually someone strong and reliable and respected by the team, right? How are you so sure I can be that?”
“You’re saying that as if all the captains have exactly the same features. Do you see Daichi-san, Kuroo-san, Bokuto-san and Oikawa-san as the same person?”
Tadashi pouted, he didn’t like it when his boyfriend had a point against him. “No…”
“Exactly. All the captains we know where completely different people, most of them were also a pain in the ass. But that didn’t make them any less of great captains.” Tsukki said reassuringly, stroking his hand through Tadashi’s hair. “Don’t tell Kuroo-san or Bokuto-san that I said that though.” That managed to put a smile on the freckled boy’s face.
Tadashi spent a minute considering his boyfriend’s words. Finally, he looked up shyly through his lashes to meet the blonde’s eyes. “So you really think I’ll make a good captain?”
“I know it. You are great with people, you connect easily with them, so I know there’ll be no trouble on that department. You know better than most of us what is like to both fail and succeed, which makes it easier for you to relate and help all of our team without discrimination. Plus I’ve seen you yell at me, I’m sure you could whip anyone into place by only being half as scary as you were with me back then.”
“I would never yell at anyone again like I did with you.” Tadashi snickered and his boyfriend’s faked offense at his words.
“So does that mean I am special then?”
“Very.”
Tadashi could see Tsukki’s failed attempts concealing his little smile from their banter. Even after half a year of dating he still revelled in the fact that he could make the blond make such soft expressions.
“But seriously, everyone on that team respects you a lot, and they all love you. You’ll be the best captain.”
The freckled boy closed his eyes, leaning heavily into the soft touch still in his hair as he once more took in his boyfriend’s words. He couldn’t focus while staring at Tsukki’s intense gaze, turns out the blond can still overwhelm him with the pure love he would sometimes let slip out. He hummed, this time in content.
“They all love me huh? Are you not included?” Tadashi teased, an obvious attempt to change the subject, but Tsukki didn’t protest.
“I would argue I’m the one who loves you the most, do you not think so?”
Tadashi’s previous love-glazed eyes now shined with a more mischievous glint. Tsukki’s own tiny soft smile turned into an amused grin in response. “Hm, I don’t know Hinata has always been very fond of me you know, he was very excited for me to become captain.”
The blond let out a single “Ha”, shifting them a bit so Tadashi was no longer laying across his chest, but on top of him in between his legs. This way Tsukki could fold his arms around the freckled boy’s waist as Tadashi settled his head on his crossed arms atop his boyfriend’s chest.
“Please, as if idiot #1 and idiot #2 aren’t completely transfixed with each other already.” Tsukki responded, but his voice was full of mirth. He may still try to keep up the pretence, but Tadashi knew for a fact that Tsukki didn’t dislike Hinata and Kageyama as much as he wanted everyone to believe.
“Okay fair. But what about Minato-kun?” Tadashi said, trying his best not to laugh at the immediate scowl that overtook his boyfriend’s lips. “You might have some competition there.”
Minato Haiji, the boy in question, was an extremely sweet first-year and now their back-up setter. He was also, for lack of a better word, a bit obviously infatuated with Tadashi.
Even in his second year, Tadashi had already taken up a role as a bit of a moderator amongst the team. Without Daichi’s and Suga’s help (albeit the latter’s was questionable), Ennoshita-san was very outnumbered in relation with the rowdy members. Having Tanaka-san as a vice captain probably also didn’t help the matters. No question about it, Ennoshita-san was a great captain, but he already found himself out of hands with only the third years, so Tadashi had automatically taken upon himself to help where he could.
This meant wrangling in his fellow second years where he could and taking up what had previously been Suga’s and Ennoshita’s tasks of ensuring good communication between the teammates. Admittedly he started appreciating his sempais’ previous efforts the longer he filled their spot. His teammates had an unfortunate habit of starting fights randomly, taking banter too far, not outright saying what was on their minds, or explaining important stuff with sound effects. Tadashi felt like he’d aged 10 years by the end of the year, and that maybe he’d developed mind reading as a superpower. How he wished that were possible.
This was where Minato-kun came in. The kid was excitable and earnest, having come to Karasuno after seeing them play in the nationals last year. He admired Kageyama above all else when he started and was insistent on getting help and tips from the older setter to improve his own technique.
Yamaguchi could understand his motivation, and at the timed cooed internally at the initial excitement of the boy. But the more time went on, he could also smell the trouble coming from a mile away. And he was proven right.
Kageyama was never the best at communication, and although he’d gotten better, he obviously wasn’t prepared for an over enthusiastic underclassman that followed him around the entire duration of their first practices. As the days passed, Tadashi could see Kageyama was only getting more impatient with the kid, and Minato-kun more deflated. Tadashi decided to intervene then. Somehow, little by little they were able to work out a way for Kageyama to help him, and for Minato-kun to not be so overbearing. And indeed, he laid off from the setter, but his attention seemed to shift to Tadashi.
He wasn’t as ‘in your face’ as he had been with Kageyama, but it wasn’t hard to notice his little ‘crush’ if you could call it that. After all, if Tadashi was being honest with himself, he had gone through a bit of the same thing with Suga-san last year, although he’d been better at hiding. It wasn’t more than a newbie effect making you see your senpai in a more flattering light, and therefore putting them up on a pedestal.
Overall, he didn’t think much of it, besides finding it a bit endearing. And if maybe he was a bit softer on Minato, than no one needed to know that.
But someone knew it, of course. Tsukishima noticed it immediately and was not pleased. Tadashi didn’t understand why, at the time, Tsukki seemed to scowl whenever Minato was even in a ten-foot radius of them. After all Kei and Tadashi weren’t dating at the time.
It had taken him a while to understand that Tsukki was jealous, and another while for them to actually start dating.
But even after half a year of dating, and Tadashi saying over and over how he only had eyes for the blond, Tsukki never completely warmed up to the kid. It was a touchy subject, so of course Tadashi would bring it up to tease his boyfriend.
“Oh, competition, is that right?” Tsukki replied. With a quick movement he flipped them over on his bed landing on top of Tadashi, immediately setting on peppering short kisses all over Tadashi’s face and neck.
The freckled boy giggled under the attention, but his insides felt warm and fuzzy, like only Tsukki could make him feel. In this position, a memory popped up into Tadashi’s brain. He remembered the time that Tsukishima had confessed, under the glow of the first rays of sunshine in one of their lazy mornings when Tadashi had barely opened his eyes yet, how he wanted to kiss every single freckle speckled along the smaller one’s body. Tadashi knew it had been an unbidden declaration, that if it were not for the influence of sleep and morning haze, such words would have never left the blonde’s mouth so unprompted. Still, Tadashi kept them and treasured them, and now he wondered if Tsukki was trying to make way on that wish.
Whatever were his motivations, Tadashi’s initial problem was practically forgotten, another skill Tsukki possessed. He wouldn’t be stressing out over his captain duties so soon. Not for the rest of the day, or ones that followed. His boyfriend wouldn’t let it happen.
Every time Tadashi’s face might have showed just a pinch of worry or doubt, Tsukki was already there, a hand on his shoulders grounding him, a quick word of reassurance whispered. Whatever it was, Tadashi didn’t fall down that spiral again.
His confidence also built over time. He found that maybe he was actually suited to lead the team and was determined to take them farther than ever.
And that, he did. With Kei was always by his side. Like it always had been, and always should be.