Work Text:
After their qualifier tournament, the team had grown in popularity, people were now coming up to talk to them all. Congratulating them on going to nationals, striking casual conversations as though they’d been friends before, asking for help in classes. As if the team didn’t have some of the dumbest people in the school. It always made Tsukkishima roll his eyes.While Kageyama and Tsukki were used to the occasional girl coming up to them to flirt, the other first years were overwhelmed with the sudden popularity...even Kageyama seemed to be flustered. That’s because he has the social skills of a wall, Tsukishima thought. But while Hinata and Kageyama found comfort in each other, Tsukishima had full confidence in Yamaguchi to handle himself with the new crowd. What he hadn't expected was this.
Yamaguchi had become popular.
There he stood, at the end of the wall where the two boys usually met up to go to lunch, but instead of waiting alone like he usually did, he was surrounded by several people, all talking in an animated fashion. Tsukishima took a deep breath, this will probably last a few days, at most.
When he walked over to Yamaguchi, they departed the group of people, his shorter friend still in a bubbly mood when they sat. Lunch was normal, they watched the other two first years play volleyball, commenting on their form, and making conversation about random things.
The next day, Tsukishima expected to see Yamaguchi alone at the end of the hall. He didn’t. He felt his stomach clench, and shook this feeling off as hunger. He met up with Yamaguchi, and lunch was normal again. The brunet’s mood was unusually upbeat, again.
Tsukishima expected the crowd to begin to diminish by the end of the week, allowing things to go back to normal, but the next day was worse.
There seemed to be more people around, and when Tsukishima met up with Yamaguchi for lunch, his stomach really did drop. And there was no way he could blame it on hunger.
“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi waved over the small crowd, “These guys invited us to eat with them today!”
Tsukishima kept his usual straight face, “Why?” Why would they invite them?
Yamaguchi’s smile faltered.
“Because Yams is actually really cool!” Someone from the crown defended.
“Come on,” smile returning back to his face, “Tsukki, it’ll be fine!”
It wasn’t. He barely spoke all of lunch, which actually wasn’t all that different than his usual lunch routine. But Yamaguchi spoke the whole time, people hanging on the edge of every word. The blocker had to refrain from rolling his eyes every 5 minutes.
The next day was no different. They, again, ate with Yamaguchi’s new friends.
The third day, Tsukishima didn’t even want to see them. He turned away from the crowd, not bothering to see Yamaguchi’s dejected face seeing the blond’s back walk farther down the hall. He couldn't believe his feet when he found himself sitting next to Kageyama and Hinata for lunch period.
“Hah! Get tired of sulking around during lunch?” Hinata smiled, “Coming to join the cool kids,”
“Shut the fuck up,” Tsukishima said at the same time that Kageyama responded, “Boke, you’re the least cool person I know.”
At least their constant, idiotic bickering would keep Tsukki occupied and entertained.
“Tsukki!” He could recognize that voice from down the hall as he turned into his classroom after lunch period. He was not in the mood.
*
The crowd even started to form after classes, when Tsukishima and Yamaguchi usually met up to walk to practice.
It had been weeks now, and the crowd never dispersed. He couldn’t ignore the way Yamaguchi now held himself, now more confident, more talkative.
Even Hinata noticed, mentioning it at lunch one day, “Did you start sitting with us because Yamaguchi got new friends?” There was no teasing in his voice, just genuine curiosity, but it still rubbed the blocker the wrong way.
“So what if I did?”
He looked away, “Just wondering,” and then began to argue about something inane with his setter.
“Tsukki!!” He always heard him, but using the loud crowd of post-lunch students never failed as a good excuse.
He still spoke with Yamaguchi at, and after, practice, but they didn’t eat lunch together anymore. They barely spoke to each other during the school day. And as the days went on, Tsukishima’s mood soured.
Oddly enough, the only person who seemed to notice was a certain over-energetic hitter.
“Hinata, leave me alone,” he responded, after being cornered in the locker room. The entire team had left, except the over-invested red-head, and his moral support of a setter.
“It would literally be so easy to talk to him,” he protested, “I talk to him all the time!”
Kageyama, who usually stayed quiet on this subject finally piped up, “What would he even say? ‘Hey I hate you less than everyone, and even though I’m a dick, please be my friend’” He gave his best impression of Tsukishima and before the blond could respond, he was beat to the punch.
Hinata practically tackled Kageyama, “Shut UP! That’s not helpful, you suck,”
Regrettably, he did miss his best friend. And he wanted to eat lunch with him again and talk to him in the halls again. But was he really going to swallow his pride and tell him? That’s a hard no… well, maybe a tentative no.
“What if I invite him to eat with us?” Hinata thought out loud, “It would be casual, and then his friends won’t come because they hate Kageyama!” He grew more excited as the statement went on, nodding decidedly, “That’s what we’ll do Tsukki, don’t worry”
“Tch,” Tsukishima responded, both at the plan, and the usage of his nickname.
After leaving the two idiots in the clubroom, Tsukki could actually think about the plan that was going to give him his friend back, and allowed his uneasy heart a dash of hope.
*
The next day, Hinata gave Tsukishima a not-so-subtle thumbs up during morning practice, and went to talk to the pinch server.
He felt a brooding presence approach him, and before Kageyama had a chance to speak, Tsukishima started, “How do you handle it?”
Kageyama looked taken aback, “Handle what?”
“Hinata became really popular after the game, didn’t he? I saw him talking to other people, but he didn't abandon you,” he thought he sounded pathetic, and before he could get a response he continued, “Nevermind. Forget I said anything.” He turned to go to the other end of the court, but Kageyama walked with him.
“Well,” he was looking at the red-head having an animated conversation with Yamaguchi and Nishanoya, “Hinata always talked to his classmates, first of all. And second, I didn’t stop talking to him when he became ‘popular.’”
Tsukishima nodded, also looking at the small crowd, now all listening to some story Hinata was recounting.
“Also, I think our situation’s a little different. The people in Hinata’s class are all friendly, so he didn’t really become that much more popular after the game. Maybe you just noticed it more,” he paused, “besides, more people talked to you too? What did Yams do?”
“Nothing.” he responded, almost a little too quickly.
“No,” the setter corrected, “he was still your friend, wasn’t he? He didn’t abandon you when girls asked to sit with you guys, he just waited for it to die down.”
“But his didn’t die down!” he whispered through his teeth. He couldn’t believe he was getting advice from the second dumbest person he knew.
“Yeah, maybe because his only other friend abandoned him,” Kageyama turned and went back to the group to probably yell at Hinata, leaving Tsukki’s head reeling.
*
To say Tsukishima was nervous for lunch was a bit of an understatement. His stomach hurt and his palms were sweaty. This is ridiculous… why am I so nervous? But as he walked up to the two idiots playing volleyball in the courtyard, he saw a smaller third person sitting on the curb by their stuff.
“Hey,” he said, trying to be as nonchalant as possible as he sat down next to Hinata and Kageyama’s stuff.
“Hey,” he sounded nervous.
Tense silence filled the air, only to be filled occasionally by a certain setter yelling at a certain hitter. About halfway through lunch, Yamaguchi finally broke the silence.
“Do they ever even eat lunch?” It was a light comment, laced with uncertainty.
The blond let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding, “hm? Yeah, in maybe 10 minutes? They’ll stop playing and eat lunch.”
“Oh,” and like that, the conversation had died as quickly as it started.
Sure enough, Hinata and Kageyama joined the two first years on the ground to finish their lunch, Hinata’s constant chatter chasing any lingering tension away. Yamaguchi felt like an outsider all over again, they clearly had built some weird dynamic between the three of them, and Tsukishima barely spoke to him the whole time. But he couldn’t refuse when Hinata asked him again later that week to join them for lunch.
Tsukishima had no idea how to talk to his friend. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d apologized to someone, and he wasn’t the most socially practiced person. Not to mention he still didn’t think he was in the wrong. But, as much as he hated to admit it, he missed Yamaguchi. He missed them talking and making fun of the rest of the team. He missed walking with him in silence, just enjoying his company. He missed his best friend.
Yamaguchi approached him after lunch, and he wasn’t quick enough to escape this time.
“Hi,” it was an innocent beginner.
“Hey,” Tsukki had tried for a light response, but it came out as flat and uninterested, why am I so bad at this?
Yamaguchi had taken his tone as a hint and made some excuse to peel off from the taller boy before class started.
Fuck me, he groaned internally.
He thought if Yams ate lunch with them, he could mend their friendship, but somehow he made it worse. He would need help on this.
“That was….pathetic,” he heard the monotonous voice of Kageyama behind him.
“Shut the fuck up,” he resopnded in kind, “you wouldn’t do any better,”
Kageyama just shrugged, he knew neither of them could hold a conversation, “I’m not the one who needs to do any better, I already have my sociable idiot,” and with that, he turned for his classroom. But Tsukkishima groaned again, this time audibly. He had a sinking feeling he’d now have to ask the dumbest person he knew for advice.
*
“I don’t understand the problem,” Hinata stated, the three of them were again situated in the locker room after the rest of the team had left, “You just, walk up to him, and start talking,” pausing between phrases to add emphasis on the simplicity of the steps.
“But how? You saw us yourself at lunch!” Tsukishima had shamefully asked Hinata how to talk to Yamaguchi, but unfortunately, the extrovert couldn’t comprehend the problem.
“True,” he paused, rubbing the back of his neck, “that was rough,”
“Why did I think you would help,” Tsukishima rolled his eyes.
“Because I’m the best,” that resulted in the back of his head being wacked by Kageyama.
“No you’re not.”
“Okay, okay,” Hinata sat down, “We’ll just keep inviting him to lunch, I mean he tried to talk to you after, right? So he clearly wants to still talk to you,” He hated it when Hinata made sense.
“Fine, but don’t play volleyball for so long.” he snapped, before leaving the two to their usual antics of post-practice practice.
*
The next few lunches were as awkward as the first. Hinata didn’t invite him everyday, so the group could recon after each time. Tsukki couldn’t help but worry that Yamaguchi would rather sit with his other friends. Still, he always accepted Hinata’s invitation, and even Kageyama’s on the rare occasion (Hinata made him practice being nice to other people, it was sickening to watch). Until one morning, Hinata marched up to Tsukki and declared it his turn, and stomped away. He sighed, knowing this day would come.
He steeled his nerves, “Yams,” he called before Yamaguchi left for his first class, “do you want to eat lunch with us today?” It was Wednesday, a safe bet, Yamaguchi always ate with them on Wednesdays.
“Ah, sorry Tsukki, I’m eating with Yuri toda-” Tsukishima didn’t even let him finish his sentence before walking away with a “fine”
The blond’s mood was sour the whole day.
“Where’s Yamaguchi?” Hinata asked about 10 minutes into lunch, “He’s usually here by now?” Hinata cocked his head to the side, looking curiously at Tsukki.
All he could do was scoff and look away. He didn’t want to get into it. But, as Hinata sat next to him, Kageyama nowhere in sight, he didn’t get a choice.
“So he said no, huh? I wondered how long he’d sit with us. I’m sor-”
“Don’t”
“What even happened between you?” Hinata’s voice was unusually soft, and Tsukishima realized he never even told Hinata, he just told him he needed help communicating.
“Nothing really,” the blond sighed, “After the prelims, he made all these new friends and then all of a sudden we just stopped talking,” he tried to keep the jealousy out of his words, but failed at the last phrase, “he’d rather sit with them.”
Hinata ignored the venom and continued, “What’s wrong with sitting with them?”
“They just talked all the time,”
“I mean,” he smiled sheepishly, “I talk all the time, and you sit with me at lunch,”
Tsukishima remained quiet, not willing to admit that he didn’t always mind Hinata’s mindless chatter. But only if Yamaguchi was around. When Yamaguchi was around, Tsukishima was able to handle more. It had been weeks since they hung out, since they had a conversation more than just not-so-pleasant pleasantries. Tsukishima was at his mental capacity. He needed his friend back.
“I know it’s not your strong suit but,” Hinata continued, turning to look at Kageyama as he joined the pair, “I really think if you just tell him you miss him, he’ll come back.”
“I mean he already wants to,” Kageyama added on, nonchalantly.
This seemed to interest the blond, perking up at those words, “What?”
The other two first years shared a knowing look, before Hinata turned back to face him.
“Well,” he quickly looked to the ground, unable to keep eye contact, “he asked us not to tell…”
“What?” Tsukishima huffed in annoyance through his teeth.
“It’s nothing serious,” Kageyama shrugged, “He just told us-”
“He’d rather sit with us,” Hinata interrupted, “But he feels like you don’t like him anymore…”
There was a pause as Tsukishima frowned at the dirt in front of them. I mean, that makes sense, everytime they tried to talk, Tsukishima blew him off. And when they did communicate, the blond let his annoyance take control of his tone, always cutting the conversations short and terse. He scoffed softly at his own idiocy. It was time to swallow his pride and get his friend back.
*
It had been days since that conversation with Hinata and Kageyama. Days since he realized he was the reason Yamaguchi wasn’t around anymore. He had thought his friend abandoned him, but in reality, he was just the victim of Tsukkishima’s selfishness. He stood in the bathroom wringing his hands, he felt the need to hype himself up. His own two eyes reflecting back at him, I’ve rehearsed this. I can do this. What he didn’t expect was to have to carry out his plan immediately after leaving the bathroom, but he was so focused on his mission that he didn’t notice a certain brunet until they had collided.
“Oh, sorry Tsukki,” he blushed and turned to leave. Tsukihsima’s throat closed up, his words closing off any chance for him to breathe. He swallowed hard.
“Wait,” Yamaguchi stopped mid-turn and looked up with wide eyes, “wait, I wanted to talk to you,” Tsukishima’s ears burned with embarrassment.
Yamaguchi only nodded.
“I’m-” his hands moved on their own, grasping for the words his brain was so desperately trying to spit out, “I’m, I’m sorry.” his head hung, “I miss you and I’m sorry,”
Yamaguchi reeled, clearly surprised. His face made the blond’s heart wrench, Wow, he thinks that low of me?
The words that were once lodged in his throat now tumbled recklessly from his lips, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry for abandoning you. When you started sitting with other people in your class I got jealous and I didn’t know how to handle it. I- And then it was harder to talk to you because they were always around, and so I figured, ‘why bother’. But I miss you. You’re my best friend.” His breath heaved.
Eyes still wide, it was clear Yamaguchi was still comprehending his friend's apology. Obviously not used to Tsukishima showing so much emotion.
“I thought,” he voice was quiet, almost a whisper, “I thought you got tired of me,”
Tsuki’s breath caught in his throat, “I could never.”
A slow smile spread over the brunet’s face, lighting up his eyes. It was a look that Tsukishima never grew tired of. He’d missed it incredibly over the past couple weeks.
“Besides, they weren’t that fun to sit with anyways,” Yamaguchi looped his arm through Tsukishima’s and began to lead them outside, “I loved sitting with you guys,”
A warm feeling spread through his chest, “I’m sorry about how I treated you when you sat with us, I thought it was out of pity,” Tsukishima admitted.
He could see Yamaguchi frown out of the corner of his eye, “I missed you, too Tsukki. You’re my best friend, I wouldn’t pity you like that,”
“I know,” he responded quietly, “Still...”
“Tsukki,” he stopped and faced the blocker again, “Stop over-thinking.”
“You just fit in so well, I don’t want to lose you again,” it physically hurt him to admit his insecurities. He was not good at being emotional, nor did he like it.
“I’m not going anywhere. Not again, I’m sorry too, I was just wrapped up in people actually liking me that I guess I got carried away,” It was Yamaguchi’s turn to look shyly at the ground.
“I don’t know why you’re surprised people would like you,” Tsukki felt safe to revert back to his playful annoyance.
Yamaguchi sputtered for a moment before a laugh spilled out of him, “How can you say something so sweet with such a rude tone!” he joked back. This was familiar territory. Tsukishima let out a relieved breath.
They were back.