Chapter Text
It was almost nine years ago, during a sweltering July when (Y/N) had first moved in to his neighborhood. Her parents had spent a small fortune on hand held fans and ice cream's from the corner stores in a desperate attempt to escape the heat. Although nothing they bought could help shield them from the heat, July was just one of those months where nothing could save you from the suns powerful rays.
"I hear the neighbors have kids your ages!" Her mother smiled as set another box down inside the empty kitchen.
"Good, (Y/N) could use some friends," her sister giggled, sashaying up the ledge in to the house.
"Don't act like you know anyone here either," (Y/N) bit back and bumped roughly against her sister.
The box in her hands dropped as (Y/N) elbowed her in the side—a form of retribution for her snarky comment. Their mother was far too caught up in the chaos of unpacking to bother scolding them, instead she simply sighed and continued informing them about their new neighbors.
"I'm thinking of making you two go over there later on, y'know to mingle with them for a little while!" She said far too excitedly.
"No," the sisters bit back, almost instantly after their mother finished speaking.
The idea of their mother setting up little play dates for them—especially with the neighbors children, was absolutely horrid. No teenager, or child, would ever want to say their mother was the reason they made a friend.
"Oh, you two are being so silly about this! I'm sure that when you meet them you'll change your minds!"
In spite of her mother's comment, (Y/N) did everything she could to minimize her time in the line of sight of the neighbors. She would carry large boxes to cover her face, and run quickly back and forth between the moving truck and her house. Unfortunately, despite her best efforts, she was caught by the boy on the other side of the fence.
A pair of glasses and the top of some spiked blonde hair had come in to sight, and as she traveled back and forth, it was all she could think about. No, not in a cute, school girls admiration, sort of way. (Y/N) felt awkward, she was irritated every time she stepped out on to the front lawn, knowing she was being watched by some little creep on the other side of the fence.
"Hey! Do you see that little creepy kid!" (Y/N) called out to her sister as they crossed paths on their way to unload more boxes. She pretended to stretch, craning her head slightly to the left to take a look at the fence which divided the two lawns.
"Uh, you mean the little blonde boy," she questioned, not understanding at all what was so creepy about him.
"He keeps watching me," (Y/N) muttered.
Her sister broke out laughing, almost dropping yet another box during her giggling fit. (Y/N) couldn't quite comprehend what was so hysterical about her discomfort, in fact she was growing extremely frustrated every second her sister continued to chuckle.
"Oh please! You're just being narcissistic, he isn't looking at you dummy!" She cackled and raised a hand to ruffle up (Y/N)'s hair before heading off toward the house.
"Hey! You can't insult me with word's I don't know!" (Y/N) yelled back angrily.
The act of carrying their belongings back and forth was tedious to say the least, and by the time they finished—just when the sun began to set, they were all extremely tired. Their house was covered with cardboard, tape, and bubble wrap, the floors which their mother stressed to keep clean while they moved in, were unfortunately covered with dirt.
"I'm ready for a nap," (Y/N) sighed as she fashioned herself a little throne out of cardboard boxes.
"Same here—"
A gentle knock on the door had stopped her mid sentence. The three of them perked up, all eyeing the door to see which of them would be the one to answer it. With a loud huff, their mother stood up and headed toward the door, shooting a gaze toward her daughters that said 'come with me or else your grounded.' Their shared interest in living to see another day made them rise from their seats and follow their mother to the front door which was now being swung open.
"Ah, hello! It's nice to finally meet our new neighbors!" The women at the door said enthusiastically.
"Hey there! Sorry we didn't stop by when we first got here, unpacking was a bit of a pain!"
The two mothers continued speaking in their own language, mentioning things like the heat effecting them, and how hard it is to unpack kitchenware. (Y/N) began to zone out from the conversation, imagining herself laying down in her nice comfy bed with a million fans pointed in her direction. That dream of paradise was interrupted far too quickly when she suddenly felt her mother press against her back and shove her toward the door frame.
"Ah, how funny! I have two girls, the same ages!"
(Y/N) stumbled, and as she came out of her dream like state she found herself face to face with the boy who was previously peaking at her from the fence. His glasses were too large for his face, and he was easily four or five inches taller than her.
"Hi! It's really nice to meet you!" Her sister cooed, she seemed far more intrigued with the older brother, whom was smiling back at her sheepishly.
(Y/N) and the glasses in front of her had a less ecstatic greeting. They simply nodded their heads, acknowledging each other's existence, and then returned to looking at their shoes. She wished that they would leave, allowing her to return back inside her home, and make her dreams of falling asleep in her bed a reality.
"How about you all come over for dinner, right now?"
No, (Y/N) thought to herself, but her mother said the complete opposite. Her lips curling in to a smile, and her head moved up and down, accepting the invitation eagerly.
"That would be lovely!"
"But mom—" (Y/N) felt something kick her ankle, and she turned to see her sister scowling down at her, with her hands balled in to little fists. Once again there was an unspoken conversation being held, and (Y/N) was being told 'say yes or perish.'
"Are you girls okay with that?"
"Yes," the sisters responded, one of them sounding far less enthusiastic than the other.
—
The food was delicious, but the company was utterly awful, or at least that is what (Y/N) thought. She had slurped up everything on her plate, and then eyed down her family members, praying that they would get the hint and rap up their conversations. But much to her dismay, they did no such thing. In fact, her mother and her sister did quite the opposite.
"You play soccer? Wow that's really cool!" Tsukishima's older brother replied as her sister went on and on about sports. They hit it off within seconds, the conversation topics just kept coming and coming never once allowing for a beat of awkward silence. (Y/N) was on the other side of the conversation spectrum, she and the boy didn't utter a word to each other unless someone else initiated the conversation for them.
"Kei, how about you show (Y/N) around the house?" His mother offered, sensing that they were having a bit of a rocky start.
"What a good idea!" Her mother agreed.
(Y/N) followed Tsukishima silently, her fingers fiddling endlessly in her pockets as he walked from one part of the house to the other. As he showed her around, (Y/N) couldn't help but notice all of the volleyball posters, jerseys, and team photos displayed on the walls.
"Do you play volleyball," she asked after working up the courage to do so.
Her question seemed to make him grow more lively, his eyes getting wider behind the lenses of his glasses. "Not yet, but my brother plays! He's real good," Tsukishima grinned pointing to a ratty old jersey which hung on the wall near his brothers room.
(Y/N) nodded her head, unsure of what else to say to him. She dreaded small talk, which was odd for someone of her age, whose entire being would normally revolve around talking nonsense. What she didn't know is the boy guiding her through the house felt the same, in fact, that wasn't the only thing they would figure out they had in common.
"Here's the back yard. We have a basketball hoop, a ping pong table, and a soccer net, but we don't really use any of it, only that," he said and pointed to a bag filled with inflated volleyballs.
"A soccer net?" (Y/N) asked, a smile creeping upon her lips.
"Uhuh, why, do you play?" Tsukishima asked, a bit uninterested.
"Well my sister does, but I want to play when I get to middle school!" She said enthusiastically.
Unfortunately her energy was not matched, and the boy seemed to lose interest in the conversation almost immediately, staring back off in to space. His sudden change in attitude had made (Y/N) even more annoyed than she was before, and that wasn't an easy feat to follow.
"Why were you staring at me earlier," (Y/N) asked, remembering why she was so angry in the first place.
"Huh? I wasn't staring at you, I was staring at the birds nest on top of those electrical towers," he responded, pointing upwards toward a jumble of twine, and branches atop of the tall structure hidden in the depths of the night sky.(Y/N) suddenly felt her face go very read, maybe she should have researched the word her sister had called her before making such accusations.
Judging based off of her flushed face and her sudden silence, Tsukishima could tell she was thoroughly embarrassed, a look similar to those who wandered around the play ground after getting bullied, and he wasn't very found of bully's.
"Don't worry, I only stare at lame people," Tsukishima laughed, hoping to make her feel better.
"So you don't think i'm lame?"
"Eh, I'll let you know when I get to know you better," he grinned, not knowing that those words would soon become a prophecy for the future.
—...—
"I still don't get it." Tsukishima leaned over dramatically toward (Y/N), his head phones dangled around his neck. They walked side by side out through of the doors of their middle school.
It was the very last time they would be leaving school together, a scary fact to face. The entirety of their school careers leading up to this point have been spent together: Every class, lunch period, and every single study period. The thought of sitting at a desk without the other one next to them was frightening.
"You know my sister went to Fukurōdani, so it just makes sense I would go there too," (Y/N) sighed and shoved her empty folders in her bag—there was never any schoolwork to be done on the last day of school.
"But it's so lame to drive that far just to go to high-school," Tsuki muttered.
(Y/N) grinned slyly and stood slightly on her toes so that she could reach up to the top of his head and ruffle up his blonde hair. "Aw, is Tsuki-poo gonna miss me!" She taunted him, continuing to call him "Tsuki-poo" over and over until he shoved her away from him.
The mood between them changed quickly as she stopped her taunting. Looking back toward their middle school they felt a wave of unwelcome nostalgia over come them. The children in grades younger than them stood outside, loitering around the school with happy faces. It felt as if they were mocking them, rubbing in their faces how much time they had left together while Tsuki and (Y/N) had so little. (Y/N) sighed and switched her bag over to her other arm, fiddling with the strap as they walked.
"Listen, at least you're not gonna be all alone. Tadashi is going to Karasuno as well, which means you're not gonna need me hanging around you anymore anyways!" She said more upbeat, although the words were eating away at her insides.
(Y/N) remembered the day in primary school when Tsukishima had cockily waltzed over to a group of bully's and rescued that little freckled boy from their prepubescent wrath. Tadashi was shorter than the both of them, and timid like a house cat, but to combat those flaws, he was also extremely kind and loyal. So when he became a friend to Tsukishima, he became a friend to her as well.
Their duo became a trio, and never once did either of them feel slighted or excluded. They were there for each other during every important moment, and every bad day. (Y/N) knew that switching schools meant loosing her footing on the bridge which supported their friendship. And although she wanted nothing more than to stand with them, she knew she was going to have to fall off at some point.
"Stop talking like you're going away to war, you still live next door," Tsukishima scowled, hoping she would drop the sappy tone before he became nostalgic.
"Don't imply that I'm dramatic, remember just a little while back when we went to your brothers—"
"Okay shut up! I get it, we're both dramatic," Tsukishima bit back, going to place his head phones on his ear in an attempt to drown her out.
They walked in silence a bit more, ignoring their feelings of nostalgia and the fears they both shared of growing up. Tsukishima kept his promise, he did hang out with her long enough to decide whether she was indeed lame or not, however it seemed that some where along the way he found himself enjoying the time they spent together. That night in July turned in to years spent side by side, which was never part of his original plan.
"Where is Tadashi anyways? He wasn't in school today," (Y/N) asked as they neared the corner store which sat a block away from the street where they lived.
"He went west with his parents for the weekend, I guess he figured it would be better then going to school," he responded.
"Can't say I blame him," (Y/N) laughed.
"Wanna get a popsicle?" Tsukishima asked as they reached the corner. (Y/N) looked at him with an expression of utter confusion, they hadn't stepped inside that corner store since they were about seven years old. Tsukishima's child like appetite had disappeared by the time he reached thirteen, which meant that he never indulged in junk food. So when he offered to buy her a sugary block of frozen fruit juice, she found herself feeling a bit shocked.
"Really?"
"Don't let my act of kindness go to waste. If you don't get your butt inside the store I'm just gonna walk away," he mumbled.
(Y/N) smiled and ran through the automatic doors. She walked through each aisle with the expression of a student inside a library, picking up each little snack, examining what was lined up on the shelves. Tsukishima was less excited, he followed closely behind her with his hands shoved awkwardly in his pocket. "Come on, pick something," he would whisper to her every time she took a long pause to read the label of something colorful. "You don't want your act of kindness to go to waste, yeah? So don't be an impatient jerk," she would bite back every time he sighed.
He looked down at her, watching as her face lit up with every product she stared at, the fluorescent lighting even made her eyes glow even brighter. He felt his throat go a bit dry as he let his mind wander, thinking about how this could be the last time they would ever be this close. Soon they'd part ways, and the only thing that would anchor them to each other was the fact their yards shared a common fence.
"Wanna share?" She said, holding up a colorful package with the kanji label in bold sprawled across the front.
"What is it?"
"Uhm, frozen pink goo!" She responded back confidently. She hadn't the slightest clue what exactly it was, she just saw the dancing strawberry and the bold lettering on the package and was sold.
"Fine," he said and grabbed the frozen packaged treat from her hand and took it to the cash register. When he opened his wallet he was greeted with the few dollar bills sloppily folded, his school ID, and a picture of him and (Y/N) from their primary school graduation which kept in their secretly for good luck. Noticing (Y/N) hanging over his shoulder Tsukishima quickly grabbed the bills and shut his wallet closed, hoping she hadn't seen the picture inside.
"Thanks sir," (Y/N) said to the man at the register and followed Tsukishima outside where she began to rip at the packaging of the sweet treat.
"That doesn't look very fruit like to me," he snickered as (Y/N) opened the package to reveal a milky colored popsicle. The bold lettering and colorful foil had distracted her from the smaller print, which said "MADE WITH MILK."
"It said strawberry," she muttered back bitterly as she took a bite.
"Yeah, strawberries and creme you idiot," he laughed as he grabbed the popsicle stick from her hand, their fingers brushing against each other only for a brief moment. He didn't understand why his cheeks felt flushed, or why he suddenly wished he was back in sixth grade again, wanting to experience his time with her over and over again.