Chapter Text
“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi jogged over to his friend. They were the last two in the gym after practice. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah, let me change shoes.”
Walking home always excited Yamaguchi. It was one of the rare times where he and Tsukishima could have a moment away from other people. It was peaceful. Calm. Especially when Yamaguchi got Tsukki talking about something that excited him, like dinosaurs. Tsukki loved dinosaurs.
“Hey Tsukki, can I ask you something?” It’d been a while since they’d held out a conversation the entire way home. Tsukki would run out of breath if he walked too fast and talked too much. “You just did.”
It was strange to Yamaguchi, seeing as it’d never happened until they began high school. It progressed over their first and second years. But when their third year began it seemed to happen more and more often. “Never mind. Hey! Did you see Hinata’s receives today? He’s gotten a lot better, hasn’t he?”
“Yeah I guess so.” Talking about the team never really lasted too long. Especially when Hinata was involved. Tsukki always said he “preferred to leave the headaches where they’re caused.” Tsukki loved volleyball, and being on the team excited him, no matter how disinterested he seemed. Yamaguchi saw through his facade.
“Yamaguchi,” Tsukki’s voice was stern, serious. More so than usual. “I’m not going to be at school the rest of this week. My mom wants me to do something, and it’s going to take a while. So don’t be surprised when I’m not there. And don’t act like a lost puppy. You can still text me.”
“Oh okay! Is everything alright?” The only response Yamaguchi got was a small nod from Tsukki. After that, utter and complete silence hung in the air. It wasn’t awkward, or tense, but it was definitely different than normal. Whether it was a good different or a bad different, Yamaguchi had no clue.