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Normally practice was fine, maybe occasionally everything was a bit much, but they always finished up before Yamaguchi ever got an overload. Most days he didn't even mind all the noise or bright lights in the slightest. Normally practice was safe.
But today hasn't exactly been the best. He had woken up wrong, and since his cousin was visiting for a few days, she had messed up his morning routine, which had put him in a bad position before school. Once actually at school, it seemed too crowded, there were too many people, too many voices, the lights were too bright, the girl sitting in front of him wore perfume, the boy on his right had dyed his hair bright blue. Thankfully he hadn't had a meltdown in class, but he wasn't sure how long he could go without something happening.
But he couldn't just miss practice. He needed to get better, he was already one of the weakest on the team, he had to perfect the skills he knew. And so against better judgement, Yamaguchi went to practice.
The locker room wasn't as bad as it could be. Yes it was loud, but no one tried to touch him, the lights weren't super bright, and they had recently cleaned so it didn't smell too strongly of sweat. But still the cotton of his tee shirt rubbed against his skin in a way that made a shiver go up his spine, but it was fine, he could ignore it.
In the gym was a different story. The sounds echoed in there, the lights were weird, one of them flickered a bit, and they all let off a high pitched quiet whine when they were on. The sounds of the ball hitting people or the floor wasn't orderly, his teammates yells were sporadic, Ukai blew his whistle almost randomly.
Yamaguchi tried to keep his attention on the ball he held in his hand. He tossed it up and kept all of his mind focused on it as he served. The serve was slightly off, but surprisingly well for the state he was in right now.
His bangs were itching the bridge of his nose. Noya bounded up to him, cheering, clapping, bouncing. Hinata spiked the ball down with a thwack. Kageyama and Tanaka landed heavily after their jump serves. Daichi's shoes squeaked every time he moved. Yachi was panicking to Kiyoko about something. Takeda's cell phone briefly went off. The flickering light was obvious in his vision, and no direction he turned could prevent him from seeing it.
Yamaguchi's breath began to pick up. He's hyperaware of the sweat dripping down his back, the feeling of his clothes harshly attacking his skin, the temperature of the gym due to the amount of active boys inside. His thoughts weren't the most coherent, the only thing clear was his panic.
His vision tunneled, his mind felt like static, he couldn't get any air, there's too much happening there's too much it's too loud make it stop make it stop make it stop.
He's only vaguely aware of the fact that he had completely collapsed into a hunched over position on the floor, only vaguely aware of the fact that he's sobbing, only vaguely aware of the way he's pounding on his skull with the palms of his hands.
"Make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop..." were the only words he could say as he rocked back and forth. Were people watching him? He wasn't exactly sure.
And then there was a hand on his shoulder, oh god it fucking hurt who's touching him oh fuck no no no no no. Yamaguchi ripped himself away from the hand, unsure if it was him that was yelling or not. He hit himself in the head, he rocked back and forth, he clawed at his clothing in an attempt to pull it off, he couldn't breathe. It was too loud, too bright, there was just too much.
And then suddenly the lights shut off. It seemed quieter, did everyone leave him there? Did everyone go home?
Even with these anxious thoughts blurring through his head, his breathing still began to even out, he still began to calm down a bit. Yamaguchi managed to stop hitting his head, but he still pulled off his shirt and his kneepads, and his rocking persisted. And then there was something sliding over his ears, and his breath caught in panic for a second before he recognized the object as Tsukki's headphones, the big ones that covered his whole ear and muffled all the noise. He took them gratefully. Did that mean Tsukki was still here?
Yamaguchi still couldn't speak well enough to ask, but it didn't really matter. He just sat there, rocking back and forth, his hands on the headphones, tapping them slightly, as his breathing slowed down and he managed to regain control.
Suddenly he was aware of the presence next to him, and he opened his eyes to see the dark silhouette of his best friend sitting quietly at his right. Tentatively, Yamaguchi reached out and gently pulled on his shirt sleeve, bringing the blond's attention to him.
He wanted to hold Tsukki. He wanted Tsukki to hold him. He wanted to be wrapped in the embrace of his best friend, to be secluded in the safety of his arms.
Tsukishima immediately understood what he wanted, and scooted closer to envelop the boy in a hug. Without saying a word, Yamaguchi was pulled onto his lap, and Tsukishima wrapped his arms around him, one hand gently stroking his hair, the other a definite and solid grip around him. Tsukishima began to rock, to mimic the movements Yamaguchi had been doing. The smaller boy curled into his chest, his fingers still tapping a bit against his heartbeat.
This was okay. This was safe.
____________
Practice had been going well, just like every other day. Everyone was pumped up as they practiced, everyone except seemingly Yamaguchi. He seemed a little off, but nothing too bad, so everyone just brushed it off.
But when Noya went to congratulate him on his serve, Yamaguchi seemed to have a panic attack. One second he had been standing just fine, the next he was on the floor, slamming his hands into his head, tears flowing down his face. He muttered out a string of the words "make it stop".
"Yamaguchi? Are you alright?" Noya asked, squatting down next to him. By now the rest of the team's attention had been drawn, and everyone had made their way over to check on him. Tsukishima has yet to see what was wrong with his best friend, but still, a bit of worry clung to his heart.
As soon as his eyes landed in Yamaguchi, he knew exactly what was going on. This hasn't happened in a while, but after the very first time Yamaguchi had an overload he had stayed up for hours reading up on what to do.
Noya reaches out his hand, and before Tsukishima could stop him, he rested it gently on Yamaguchi's shoulder.
The freckled boy's eyes shot open, and even though his mouth wasn't open, he seemed to let out a strangled wail as he tore himself away from the second year. Tsukishima had grabbed the libero by the shirt and ripped him away as quickly as he could, but it obviously wasn't quick enough.
"What's going on with him? Is he okay?"
"Sensory overload. I need you guys to leave. Sugawara, could you bring my headphones out of my bag?"
"Uh, yeah, sure. Is he gonna be okay?" Suga asked.
"Yes, if you guys leave." He practically shoved everyone except Takeda and Ukai out the door, the adults staying just in case something else happened.
As soon as everyone left, Tsukishima shut off the lights. The tall boy could hear his friend calm down a bit, but he still ripped off his shirt and kneepads. Sugawara came back with the headphones just in time, and as gently as possible, Tsukishima slipped them over Yamaguchi's ears. Thankfully they didn't seem to affect him badly, and he tapped them gently as he rocked. Tsukishima sat down next to him— not close, only so that if one of them reached out would they be able to touch. After a few minutes he felt the green haired boy tug on his sleeve, and with one look at him, he could tell instantly what he needed.
And so Tsukishima pulled him into his lap, cradling him in his arms, making sure he applied even pressure wherever he touched, his fingers raking softly through Yamaguchi's hair, just like his mom used to do when he was little. Yamaguchi curled up close in his chest, his fingers tapping a soft rhythm on Tsukishima's chest. As Tsukishima rocked back and forth to imitate Yamaguchi's earlier movements, he pretended not to mind the cold skin of Yamaguchi's back, pretended to not notice the light sheen of sweat across it. Tsukki held him tight. There was no way he would ever let something bad happen to his Yamaguchi.
Little did they know, the team was watching the whole ordeal, but for some reason, they couldn't find it in themselves to tease the two best friends.