Work Text:
“Look alive, first years! Today’s the day!”
Tanaka’s voice snaps Kei out of his light doze on the nurses chair, and judging by Yamaguchi’s quiet yelp beside him, Kei guesses his best friend was sleeping as well.
“You guys!” Hinata gushes, jumping off the chair across from him. “You came!”
“We wanted to see how everything was going,” Sugawara clasps his hands in front of himself. The caregiver’s eyes were sparkling with excitement, a smile gentle on his lips. “You haven’t gotten any news yet?”
“No,” Yamaguchi yawns. “Kageyama is still in there. They’re really taking a while.”
“Some people take longer than others,” Daichi explains. His hands are tucked in his pockets. “That happens often. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.”
“You don’t think we’ll get any littles this year?” Noya asks, jumping up and down, hands clasped firmly on Hinata’s shoulders. “We have so many neutrals and no littles! I’m so bored.”
“You’re a neutral too, stop trash-talking.” Ennoshita appears from behind Daichi’s shoulders. “Sorry, you guys. There’s nothing wrong with being neutral.” He apologizes.
Kei slumps into his chair. “There’s no question about it,” he mumbles tiredly. “I’m going to be a neutral.”
“I might be one too,” Yamaguchi smiles, though a little strained. Kei eyes him. He knows Yamaguchi struggles with his own self-worth, thinking himself average in every sense of the word. He knows Yamaguchi wants to stand out somehow, and the idea of being a neutral upsets him.
What bullshit.
“Being a neutral doesn’t mean anything bad, you know.” Kei sighs. “It just means you can stand out a little easier, especially in our sport. Don’t you want that?”
Yamaguchi brightens a little, and something in Kei’s chest lifts. Good. He hates seeing his friend upset.
“Right,” the freckled teen chirps. “Sorry Tsukki!”
“Ah, it would be nice to have a little to take care of, don’t you think Dai?” Sugawara sighs dramatically. “I even have a little emergency baggie just in case. Kind of pathetic, huh?”
Daichi laughs, rubbing the back of his neck. “No, I used to have one too. I threw it away, after a bit, but I’m sure yours will come in handy one day.” He admits.
“You guys are disgustingly sappy,” Kei fights the urge to wrinkle his nose, instead schooling his features into a scowl. He stretches his back, wincing at the popping it causes. He really should stop sleeping in random places, it’s going to hurt his back when he gets older.
The chattering in the hall stops as the nurse steps out, Kageyama right behind her and four printed documents in her hand.
She pauses, surprised at the sudden addition of more boys in the hall. “Oh!” She exclaims. “Hello, boys. Are you here for them?”
“Yes ma’am!” Sugawara chirps. “We’re a little bit of a family, so you can guess we wanted to be here for them as soon as we could.”
The nurse smiles brightly. “I see! Well, I have their results here.” She waves her papers a little. “Everything went smoothly, it was just a little lengthy for a few members. I wanted to make sure I didn’t classify anyone incorrectly! Living the wrong classification is very mentally and physically harmful, as you can guess!”
“I definitely can,” Daichi adds, wrapping his arm around Sugawara’s waist. He tugs the platinum blonde a little closer to him, seeking comfort from the nerves he was obviously feeling for the first years. “Thank you for taking care of our boys.”
“It was no problem, they kept me on my toes, that’s for sure!” She giggles. “They were very good for me.”
Discomfort tugs at Kei’s stomach. Being talked about like that made his head feel a little fuzzy- but he was too nervous earlier to eat lunch. Maybe he’s just a little lightheaded and hungry. It wouldn’t be the first time.
“I’m glad,” Sugawara beams. “Do you boys want privacy, or can we watch you guys read them?” He asks.
“I don’t care,” Kageyama answers. Kei nods, siding with the setter.
“We can open them here!” Hinata exclaims.
“I don’t see a problem with it,” Yamaguchi smiles shyly.
“This is so exciting!” Noya exclaims, jumping up and down. “Did you guys feel like this when we did this last year, Daichi?”
“Yeah,” Daichi nods. “This year, too. It’s always nerve-wracking, despite not being the one with the results.”
“That’s because it’s a life-changing revelation,” Asahi adds, looking vaguely sick. “I can remember reading mine…”
“Let’s get on with it,” Tanaka claps. “I’m starving and would like to go home!”
“Literally no one asked you to come,” Kei sighs. Yamaguchi giggles beside him.
The nurse laughs softly. “Well, I may not remember some of your names, so I’m going to call them out and hand them to you, alright?”
Kei nods in unison with the rest of his first-year teammates.
“Hinata Shoyo?”
“That’s me!” Hinata chirps, jumping out of his seat. He takes his paper, bowing energetically. “Thank you!”
“What does it say, what does it say?” Noya cries.
“You can’t ask that of him, Noya-san,” Kei tuts. “Hinata doesn’t read that fast.”
“Hey!” Hinata objects, eyes still flying across his page. “I can read okay!”
“No thanks to you, Tsukishima.” Kageyama scowls. “Yachi helped us way more than you ever did.”
“That’s a little bit of a lie,” Yamaguchi butts in. “I know you passed some areas solely due to Tsukki yelling at you.”
“Tsukishima really does give ‘tough love’ a whole new definition, doesn’t he?” Ennoshita mumbles thoughtfully. Beside him, Narita and Kinnoshita snort.
“I’m a caregiver!” Hinata shrieks, completely interrupting any rebuttal Kei thought up of. “I’m a caregiver!”
“Yes!” Noya cries, tackling Hinata in a hug. “Another one!”
“Welcome to the club, Hinata,” Sugawara grins.
“It’s kind of boring over here,” Daichi chuckles. “Don’t expect anything.”
“I kind of guessed I’d be a caregiver!” Hinata laughs. “I really liked taking care of Natsu, but she’s in her ‘independence’ phase right now.”
“Yikes,” Suga giggles. “Good luck there.”
The nurse hides her smile behind her hand, pulling out another sheet of paper. “Yamaguchi Tadashi?”
“That would be me,” Yamaguchi stands up. He takes his paper and bows, before quickly handing it over to Kei. “Please read it to me, I can’t take it.”
Kei bites back a smile, taking the paper. He skims over the more personal pieces, to the big bold letters near the bottom.
‘Yamaguchi Tadashi classification:
’
“Yamaguchi,” Kei starts off, speaking slowly. Yamaguchi visibly tenses, blood draining from his face.
“What…? Am I a neutral? Is that bad? Let me see-!”
“You’re a caregiver,” Kei cuts him off, handing him the paper.
“What?” Yamaguchi yelps, reading over the paper himself. “Tsukki, you asshole! You scared me!”
“I tend to do that,” Kei shrugs.
“Ooo, another one! So cool!” Sugawara gushes.
Daichi smirks. “Are we going to fight over the role of mom and dad?”
“Absolutely not,” Yamaguchi shakes his head. “I’d be a terrible parent. I barely take care of myself. I prefer brother, thank you.”
“I think I’d make a good parent, don’t you think?” Hinata asks, pouting.
“Absolutely not,” Kei deadpans. “Stick with ‘brother,’ like Yamaguchi.”
“So mean!” Hinata whines. “Meanie-shima.”
Kei rolls his eyes. For a caregiver, Hinata sure is childish.
“Tsukishima Kei?” The nurse smiles.
Kei stands up. “Thank you,” he mumbles, taking his paper. He bows shortly, but the nurse catches his eye before he can leave.
“Hey,” she lowers her voice. “You can still read this in private.”
Kei startles. He glances down at the sheet in his hand. “Do you recommend me to?” He asks. He doesn’t see why he would need to be private. Being a caregiver is something people usually rejoice over, and being a neutral isn’t made that big of a deal. It shouldn’t need to be private. Not if Kei is a neutral like he expects.
Unless...
His eyes widen, and the nurse smiles sympathetically.
“Oh.” He whispers. “Okay. Thank you.”
“My office is always open.” The nurse says kindly. “I’m Nurse Aqua. I have supplies here if you ever need it.”
“I-I see.” Kei swallows. “I should get going. Thank you.”
Kei shoves his bag over his shoulder, folding up his paper quickly. He doesn’t need to read it to know his classification.
Little.
He grips Yamaguchi on the shoulder of his shirt, the cloth bunching up in his grip. “I’ll tell you later,” he whispers. “Cover for me. Please.”
Yamaguchi doesn’t even protest or ask what’s wrong. He simply nods and stands up from where he sat back down, expertly pulling a convincing lie from his ass to excuse Kei’s abrupt exit.
Kei mentally reminds himself to thank his best friend later.
The moment Kei is locked in his bedroom, he abandons his school bag on his floor.
He rips a plastic bag out from the roll tucked away in a drawer, grabs his dinosaur figurines, and throws them in it. The dinosaur sticker set he’s been hoarding since Yamaguchi gifted it to him in middle school goes in the bag too. The miniature Keroppi collection he had started when he was a child also makes its way into the bag.
He throws away any of his pillows that look a little too fluffy to be normal. He throws away his baby blanket that he hasn’t used since he was a toddler. He throws away his printed socks. All the items that may have signalled he’d grow up to be a little are tossed.
Kei doesn’t have the strength to drag the bags out to the garbage chute though. As much as he wants to get rid of everything, they have too much sentimental value for him to just heartlessly get rid of permanently.
He hides them deep in his closet instead, hoping to forget about them.
Glancing around his newly re-decorated room, Kei feels a lump build in his throat. His room was already pretty empty beforehand. Or at least, it felt so. Now, it looks completely bare.
Something in Kei’s stomach curls unhappily.
He ignores it.
Hiding from Yamaguchi is out of the question.
That doesn’t mean Kei doesn’t manage to keep his lips sealed for a few days. Getting his classification wasn’t like some switch, Kei didn’t just randomly start regressing immediately.
It is easy enough to suppress. Upon further inspection, Kei realizes he’s been repressing it unknowingly for years.
But, Yamaguchi has always been a very observant person. He’s been a caregiver since day one, and ever since their first official meeting, Kei always knew he would classify as one. Yamaguchi is easy for Kei to read, and always has been. If Yamaguchi didn’t present as a caregiver, Kei would have sat down and reconsidered the idea of being in such a high class in school.
Unfortunately, just like Yamaguchi is easy for Kei to read, Kei is similarly easy for Yamaguchi to read.
Thankfully, Yamaguchi knows exactly how to deal with Kei. Kei is given a few days of hiding, and even though he knew he would be forced to tell his friend eventually, the time he’s given really does help ease his nerves.
Kei pushes his time as far as Yamaguchi is willing to let it go. He’s proud to say that he manages to keep his secret under lock and key for two weeks until he’s cornered in his own home.
A record, really.
Which brings him to the present challenge; hiding his emotions as much as he physically can while Yamaguchi opens the door to his depressingly bare bedroom.
Kei watches Yamaguchi’s expression carefully as the brunette pushes on the wooden door. He knows Yamaguchi knows what Kei classified as- Yamaguchi isn’t stupid. He knows that Kei wouldn’t have behaved weirdly if he’d gotten classified as anything else.
Still, Kei childishly held onto his little game of pretend. It’s nice ignoring the elephant sometimes.
Kei knew Yamaguchi would be disappointed when he saw the state of his room. However, Kei wasn’t expecting it to be too bad.
Except… Yamaguchi’s face drops the moment he catches onto the emptiness of his room. His eyes get big and sad, before hardening into something slightly intimidating.
“Tsukishima Kei, don’t tell me-?”
“I didn’t need any of it,” Kei scowls. “It was taking up space. My room is cleaner now.”
Yamaguchi frowns right back. “That’s not true Kei, and you know it. Why are you torturing yourself like this?”
Kei rolls his eyes. “It’s hardly torture. I don’t need that stuff anymore. I’m not a child.”
“I know you have over one hundred dollars in dinosaur figurines, all paid for by yourself. And you physically can’t sleep without more than three pillows.” Yamaguchi presses. “You refused to use any of the dinosaur stickers I bought you because you were scared of messing them up, and you literally took the plushie shaped like a strawberry shortcake to school with you for a month when Aki-nii bought it for you in middle school. You rely on it more than you know.”
Kei twitches uncomfortably. “I lasted two weeks. I’ll survive.”
Wrong answer.
Yamaguchi’s face turns stormy. It catches Kei off guard- he’s never seen that expression on his face before.
“Tsukki, that’s bullshit.” He argues bluntly. “Maybe you’d last a few months. But it’d eventually rip you apart- we both know it. We read about it in middle school. You’re going to self-destruct.”
Kei doesn’t really have an argument for that. Yamaguchi always brings up facts and throws them in his face- he knows how to argue, that’s for sure.
Still…
“Have you ever thought that maybe I don’t deserve those things?” Kei hisses. “Because I don’t! What’s the point of keeping them?”
“No little deserves to rot in an empty room, devoid of even a few pillows!” Yamaguchi shouts right back. Kei wants to gag. Hearing the word ‘little’ spill from Yamaguchi’s lips makes it too real. “Not a single one!”
“I do!” Kei argues. “I do!” He repeats.
“And why’s that?” Yamaguchi reaches out, grabbing Kei’s forearms firmly. “Because you’re tall? Because you have tougher walls than others? Because you’re different? Because you’re all of these things you can’t help? None of that makes you less deserving than any other little out there!”
Kei grabs what he can reach of Yamaguchi’s shirt tightly, shaking slightly. “Because I make people feel bad!” He yells, louder than before. “I make people feel bad! I don’t deserve to feel good!”
“I can’t sit here and watch you self-destruct, Tsukki.” Yamaguchi cries. “I can’t do it. So you either let me help, or-or I’ll-!”
Kei freezes.
For a moment, he doesn’t breathe. His fingers remain laced tightly into Yamaguchi’s shirt, though his hands tremble slightly with pent up nerves. His palms are sweaty, and he resists the temptation to let go and wipe them on his pants.
“Or you’ll what?” He whispers.
Yamaguchi, for a short moment, looks terrified. He looks ready to shake his head, mumble a ‘forget it,’ and leave the argument at that. The moment passes, however, when Yamaguchi’s eyes harden, jaw clenching with determination. He tilts his chin up, and with only a twinge of slight regret in his voice, says “then I’ll leave.”
Kei’s cheeks grow warm, as they usually do in intense bouts of emotion. His eyes sting, and his voice wavers when he asks, “what?”
“Then I’ll leave.” Yamaguchi repeats, quieter. “And when it gets bad, I’ll tell Suga.”
Kei gapes. His mouth closes, reopens, then closes again.
“What if I’m not ready?” Kei objects weakly. Panic begins tugging at his chest, and he fights it down. “You can’t force me, you can’t-”
“Kei,” Yamaguchi whispers, firmly cupping Kei’s cheeks. “You know I would never force you. You know this, right?”
Kei swallows. Nods.
“I would never force you to give up this secret. But you need to do this in the most healthy way. And hiding all of your comfort items will endanger you. You’ve heard what happens to littles when they push themselves.” Yamaguchi says firmly.
“They drop,” Kei whispers.
Yamaguchi nods. “Right. Kei, I can’t-” His voice chokes over. Kei immediately feels guilty. “I can’t watch you drop. I can’t. I can’t contribute to it, either.”
Kei bites his lip. “Okay,” he whispers. “I’m sorry.”
Yamaguchi smiles weakly. “Are you going to let me help?” His eyes are pleading, begging for Kei to say yes.
Kei wants to reject him. He wants to say no, to continue denying, but… he’s weak for his best friend.
“Yeah,” he answers. “Nothing too much though, okay?”
Yamaguchi beams. “Okay, Tsukki.”
In the end, Kei only allows for his pillows to be unearthed from their poor spots in the trash bag, and one worn out plush brachiosaurus affectionately dubbed ‘Salad’ by Kei when he was stupid and six years old.
Yamaguchi is beaming when he leaves the house.
As hard as Kei tries not to, he always panics and forces himself to repress his regression.
At first, Kei thought that maybe he was just prideful, and not trying hard enough. That turned out to be a complete lie though- he physically couldn’t keep from panicking every time his mind tried to slip.
It was exhausting.
Despite Kei’s inner struggles, though, his days turned out to be the same as always.
Practice was somehow both as tiring and entertaining as usual. Kei finds he rather enjoys taking out his frustrations on volleyball, and though this seems to concern the teams top caregivers, Yamaguchi seems proud of him for not turning to unhealthy habits.
There was one odd thing though.
Kageyama has been strangely quiet since they took their classification tests. Yamaguchi had told Kei the day after they took them that Kageyama had classified as a neutral, but Kei wasn’t buying it.
Lying is easy. Kei could smell those from miles away.
Still, Kei is hiding too, so he doesn’t push Kageyama to admit it. He actually, in fact, uses the last nice bone in his body to be a little gentler to the setter in terms of attitude. He can tell that Kageyama is weirded out by it, but Kei couldn’t care less.
So what? Maybe Kei cares just a little. It’s not that big of a deal.
Just like everything else in life, all good things come to an end.
The peace that Kageyama and Kei develop over the weeks following their classification tests shatter after their loss to Aoba Johsai.
Kei is upset- of course he is. However, he knew far before they started their match that they would lose. They aren’t polished yet, they still have so far to go in terms of teamwork and skill. Kei is sure that in their next season, they might actually have half of a chance of making it to the nationals.
But Kageyama hasn’t moved from his spot on the floor, and Kei is getting very concerned.
Kei knew, logically, that Kageyama would take this loss very hard. He knows it could be one of the reasons that Kageyama hasn’t moved. However, Kei’s gut is telling him otherwise- and if there’s one thing Kei has learned in his few years of life, it’s to always trust his gut.
“Kageyama,” Kei starts, walking to the setter's slumped form, only to be interrupted by a quiet laugh.
Oikawa stands looking down at Tobio from across the net, lips curled into a satisfied smile. His hands are resting upon his hips, and he looks so impossibly tall at that moment that it makes even Kei falter in his steps.
Oh, no.
Kei forces his legs to keep walking, only faster this time. He drops to his knees beside Kageyama, and grips his hands tightly. He forces Kageyama to look up, and meets cloudy blue eyes.
Kei’s blood runs cold.
“Suga!” The caregivers name was spilling from his lips before he even registered it. “Daichi!”
Kei instinctively tucks Kageyama against his chest, trying to recall as quickly as he could how to take care of a drop. All he can remember was warmth. If the dropped little doesn’t get warmth soon after the drop happens, they can go into shock.
Kei swallows thickly. He may not be able to remember anything about taking care of a dropped little, but littles stick together. Especially in a place as unforgiving as the Men’s volleyball court.
He won’t leave Kageyama.
Kageyama’s fingers curl loosely into his shirt, and Kei mentally sighs in relief. He’s responsive. Good.
He leaves Daichi to get angry at Oikawa, too focused to do it himself. Sugawara is on his knees beside them in an instant, a small Little Emergency Bag slung over his shoulder.
“He’s responsive,” Kei reports, ignoring how shaky his voice sounds. “I-I don’t remember how to-”
“It’s okay,” Sugawara soothes. “I’m going to need you to hand Kageyama over to Daichi, okay Tsukishima? We need to carry him somewhere where we can take care of him properly.”
Kei holds onto Kageyama a little tighter, shaking his head rapidly. “I- But Kageyama,” he stammers. He mentally curses himself for how small his voice gets. He can deal with this, this isn’t the time to be regressing.
Still, that hint in itself is enough to get the gears turning in Sugawara’s head. Kei’s heart sinks to his stomach as understanding lights up into Sugawara’s warm brown eyes, before flashing with disappointment.
“Kei,” Suga murmurs quietly. “We’ll have to talk about this later. Give Kageyama to daddy, okay?”
Kei’s hold on his mental state slips just enough for Daichi to tug Kageyama into his arms. Kei lurches forward, but a hand on his shoulder holds him back.
“Take him out of here, okay?” Suga speaks to the person behind Kei’s back. “We’ll text the group chat our updates.”
“Okay,” Yamaguchi speaks. Kei forces himself not to slump into the hand on his shoulder in relief.
“I’m counting on you too, Hinata. We aren’t here to do our jobs, so you two are in charge.” Sugawara instructs to someone on Kei’s left.
Hinata.
Kei panics, watching Sugawara jog after Daichi with his fellow little. He stumbles to his feet, but he’s immediately dragged with both arms in the opposite direction. ‘No,’ Kei thinks desperately. ‘I can’t-’
“If you keep struggling, someone’s going to catch onto your secret.” Yamaguchi whispers. “Please, please comply with us until we get to the bus, okay? You can hold on that long, right?”
“It’s like playing pretend,” Hinata adds in, catching on immediately. “Do you like to play pretend?”
Kei pauses. He can play pretend. He’s good at it.
He makes a small noise and nods, relaxing when Yamaguchi offers him a bright smile. “Good, Kei.”
“Thank you, Tsukki,” Hinata chirps.
Kei tries to stomp his pride at the praise down, instead focusing on playing pretend. It’s easy enough. He just has to keep his back straight and his eyes firm as they approach the doors to the exit.
He manages pretty good, if he says so himself. It gets easier when they get outside, which is significantly more quiet, and has a lot of pretty birds to look at. There’s a slight breeze and the air smells faintly of gas thanks to the amount of buses parked, which bothers him a little, but the smell is suffocated as soon as they board their empty bus.
Pretend is over. He can relax now.
He slumps heavily into Yamaguchi’s side, nodding blankly when Hinata yells about running inside for their belongings. Yamaguchi eases him down onto a seat, making a soft shushing noise when Kei feels a tired whine bubble out his throat.
“I know,” Yamaguchi soothes. “You can sleep as soon as Hinata grabs your change of clothes. For now, take off your jersey, okay?”
Kei sighs tiredly, but wiggles out of the sweat soaked cloth with only a little help from his friend. Yamaguchi digs into his own Little Emergency Bag, and pulls out a packet of soft wipes.
Kei scowls. He still hates that Yamaguchi started carrying that LEB around in his gym bag soon after their argument at Kei’s house. It always reminds him that one trigger can leave him completely vulnerable to the world, to the point of needing that.
Yamaguchi just laughs at him whenever he complains about it, and tells him he’s lucky that Yamaguchi grabbed the last dinosaur printed one before anyone else could.
Kei reluctantly lets Yamaguchi begin wiping him down, though his nose involuntarily scrunches with displeasure at the coldness of the wipes.
Yamaguchi taps his nose with a small giggle. “Stop making that face, Tsukki. This is just until we get back home to take a bath. Do you wanna be stinky?”
“M’not stinky,” Kei grumbles, lifting his chin as Yamaguchi begins wiping down his neck.
“You don’t exactly smell like flowers either,” Yamaguchi shoots back. He stuffs the soiled wipes in a plastic waste bag. “Here, up, up…”
Yamaguchi helps Kei spray on deodorant, which is greatly appreciated, since Kei nearly sprayed himself in the eye. Hinata climbs back on the bus during that time, weighed down by three duffle bags.
“I got our stuff,” Hinata chirps. “Daichi also told me everyone’s going to be boarding the bus soon, and for us both to stick with Tsukki throughout the whole ride. He and Sugawara-senpai are gonna sit with Kageyama.”
“Thank you,” Yamaguchi smiles. Kei watches with half-lidded eyes as Yamaguchi digs through his duffle, pulling out the shirt Kei was wearing before their game.
“Life your arms for me, Kei,” Yamaguchi instructs. Kei complies easily, unable to stop himself from staring at Yamaguchi as the brunette eased Kei into his shirt.
Has Yamaguchi always been so pretty? He looks like a god or something.
He’s helpful like one, that’s for sure. Kei wonders why Yamaguchi even bothers being so nice to him, even when he doesn’t deserve it.
Hinata and Yamaguchi laughing breaks him out of his trance, his brows furrowing. The two are looking at him with wide grins, Yamaguchi’s cheeks flushed with a light blush.
“Why are you laughing at me?” Kei tries to demand. His voice comes out in a small whine instead, completely shattering the effect he was aiming for. “No, stoppp-”
“Sorry, sorry!” Yamaguchi chuckles. “It’s just… well…”
Kei feels his lips attempt to curl into a pout. He purses his lips to try and stop it, and when that doesn’t work, he puffs out his cheeks stubbornly. “What?”
“You were looking at Yama like a kid who got what they asked for on Christmas,” Hinata giggles. “It was so cute.”
“M’not cute,” Kei scowls. “Dashi is. Not me. Dummy.”
Hinata gasps indignantly, Yamaguchi bursting into laughter shortly after. Kei lets a small giggle spill from his lips, hand covering his mouth.
“So mean, meanie-shima.” Hinata whines, zipping open his own duffle. “I guess that means you don’t want the snack in my gym bag I was about to offer you…”
Kei stops laughing, his interest peaked. He tries not to look too interested as he asks, “snack?”
Hinata flails a little as he tries hopping into his joggers. “Oh, you know,” he teases. “Just a peanut butter sandwich with strawberry jelly.”
‘Strawberry jelly?’
Kei purses his lips. He loves strawberry jelly… he can be a good boy, if it gives him that stupid sandwich.
“M’sorry for calling you a dummy…” Kei apologizes, voice small and gruff, cheeks burning red with embarrassment. “I will stop for...hmmm… Dashi?” He looks up at his friend for help.
Yamaguchi grins. “12 hours.”
Kei nods seriously. “12 hours.”
Hinata grins. He stuffs his jersey into his bag after pulling out the sandwich. “Okay, Tsukki. You have yourself a deal.”
“Sammich.” Kei reaches out.
Yamaguchi laughs. “What do we say, Kei?”
Kei pouts. “Sammich. Please and thank you.”
Hinata hands over the sandwich with a flourish. “Here you go, Tsukki!”
Kei accepts the sandwich, opening it with slight struggle. His fingers refuse to work normally. He manages it, though, and happily chews on a corner of the sandwich with a hum of content.
Yamaguchi begins a small conversation with Hinata as they wait for their teammates to board the bus, his slender fingers gently running through Kei’s curls. Kei lets their talking fade to the background as he chews on his snack, leaning into Yamaguchi’s hand with a small exhale through his nose.
He still has a conversation to go through with Daichi and Sugawara. He’s sure to get chewed out. He also wants to check on Kageyama too. His drop was a little scary, but as far as drops go, it wasn’t the worst it could have been.
But for now, he can just relax into Yamaguchi’s hand and enjoy his sandwich. Everything else can be dealt with later.
“Love you, Tsuks.”
“Love you too, Dashi."