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Kageyama had a guardian demon.
It had been this way since he started living alone almost two years ago. Shortly after he had moved into the city into an apartment by himself, he’d woken up to the sight of a demon sitting on his couch. For the most part, they would look normal, with blond hair and a black shirt and jeans, if not for the curved pair of horns on his head. Ignoring his crazed sputtering, the demon had stood up, extended a hand, and introduced themself as Tsukishima Kei.
He was here, Tsukishima explained, because Kageyama needed to learn to be selfish. He didn’t know how to speak up or advocate for himself and he didn’t know how to express his needs. Hence, Hell had sent him, a demon, to help Kageyama learn.
Leaving Kageyama in his pajamas, his mouth open in shock, the demon had turned to enter the kitchen, poured himself a cup of coffee, and told him to get used to his presence.
A year and nine months later, Kageyama still wasn’t quite used to him. Tsukishima was there most of the time (occasionally, he would disappear for a day or so, claiming that he ‘was needed back at headquarters’), lurking a few steps behind him, quiet except for when he spoke up with a sharp suggestion.
Suggestions that Kageyama hated, but always took. Like now, standing in the line of a coffee shop, staring at the woman who just cut his place.
“You don’t need to glare at her.”
Kageyama pretended to ignore him, like always. No one else could see or hear Tsukishima, except for him—he’d learned that after swinging a fist at him after a particularly snarky comment, and a few random passersby had given him some strange looks.
“I’m not glaring,” he said under his breath after a few seconds, unable to keep himself from responding.
“You are. Just go up to her, tap her shoulder, and say, ‘excuse me, you cut me in line.’ Simple.” Tsukishima tipped his head to the side with a smirk. “Or, ‘excuse me, there’s a line,’ if you’re feeling snarky.”
“Shut up.”
“I don’t believe I will, thanks.”
Kageyama let out a sigh. After a moment, he reached out to tap the woman on the shoulder. “Excuse me—”
The woman spun around. “Oh, I didn’t see you! I’m so sorry, did I cut you?”
“Oh. Uh, yeah. Sorry.”
Tsukishima elbowed him sharply. “Don’t apologize. She’s the one who cut you.”
“No, I’m sorry! Have a good day.” The woman ducked her head as she passed him. Kageyama watched her as she went to stand at the end of the line, but quickly faced forward again.
Tsukishima leaned forward a tad. “Good job,” he said quietly, barely loud enough to hear. Kageyama repressed the urge to slap him, choosing to take a step forward into the now-empty space instead.
He quickly got to the first place in line, ordered his coffee, and left with it in his hand. He had gotten an early start on the day, with nearly an hour before he needed to head over to volleyball practice. So he took his time as he began making his way down the street, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
“I don’t see why I couldn’t have just not said anything. The line wasn’t even that long.” Kageyama popped an earbud in his ear, but didn’t start any music—he’d learned that it was a good way to talk to Tsukishima without getting any strange looks, as most people assumed that he was on a call. “It was just one person.”
Tsukishima scowled. “That’s the kind of mindset that I’m working against. She cut you in line. It might not seem like a big deal to you, but that kind of stuff adds up.”
“It’s a fucking cup of coffee.”
“I don’t care what you think. It’s my job to teach you this stuff, and whether or not you listen, I’ll still be here.”
Kageyama made a face, and the two fell silent for a few minutes, just walking down the street. Eventually, he arrived at his team’s gym and entered in with a quick nod to the security guard sitting in front.
A sign was posted on the changing room door, which Kageyama gave a short glance before entering. TRYOUTS ON SEPTEMBER 14, it said in large block letters.
“That reminds me,” Tsukishima said abruptly. “I’m needed at headquarters a week from now.”
Kageyama scowled. “What the hell are you needed for?”
“You think they tell me? Boss prides themself in being obscure.”
“My…friend from high school is going to be at practice that day. I’m meeting up with him for lunch.”
“Ah, that’s right. His tryout. I’ll be back after your practice is finished, hopefully.” Tsukishima eyed Kageyama, looking him up and down. “You’ll be alright, won’t you?”
Kageyama scowled. “I’ll be fine. If there’s anyone I can be selfish with, it’s with Hinata.”
* * *
A week later, Kageyama arrived at the small restaurant a few minutes late, in a flurry of awkward apologies to the waiter before being shown to his seat. So much for not needing Tsukishima’s help, he thought to himself bitterly as he made his way past a few crowded tables.
The head of bright orange hair was unmistakable as he found himself walking to the back of the room. A hot flush made his way up the back of his neck as he got closer—he hadn’t seen the guy in person in nearly three years, after all, and he maybe missed him a little. Just a little.
That didn’t explain the guy sitting in a third chair at the table. Dressed in white formal pants and a collared shirt, he seemed much too prim and clean to be in a tiny, cramped restaurant. He had long, dark, almost olive-colored hair, and he seemed to be talking to Hinata in a low tone.
Kageyama stared at him. “Who’re you?” he asked, none too politely.
Hinata gaped back. “You can see him?”
“That’s the first thing you say to me after three years?”
“You weren’t much better! And it’s not like we didn’t call or text each other!” Hinata puffed up a little, rather like an angry bird. Kageyama shouldn’t find that endearing.
The guy stifled a snort behind his hand, then quickly composed himself. “Where’s your guardian? They shouldn’t be leaving you alone.”
“He said he was needed back at headquarters or something.” Kageyama narrowed his eyes at him. “Who’re you?”
He smiled. “I’m Yamaguchi. Hinata here is my ward.”
“Really?” Kageyama turned to stare at Hinata. “Why would you ever need a guardian?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“If anyone needs a guardian, it’s him,” Yamaguchi sighed. He takes a sip of water.
Since when has Hinata needed to learn how to be selfish? Kageyama levels a glare at Hinata. “I thought this was just for lunch. I didn’t know I was gonna meet your damn babysitter.”
“This is lunch, idiot. How come you can see him?” Hinata asked loudly.
“Keep your voice down. And I don’t know!”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
Yamaguchi elbowed Hinata sharply with a chastising look. “Volume, please.”
“Since when have you had a guardian?” Kageyama hissed.
“Since when could you see angels?” Hinata hissed back.
“Volume, I said—”
“What do you mean, angels?”
“What do you mean? How can you see him if you don’t know what an angel—”
“Why do you even need an angel?”
“I don’t fucking know! Why don’t you ask him? Or…heaven, or something?”
“How do you even ask heaven—”
“How do you not know what an—”
“Alright, we’re leaving.” Yamaguchi grabbed Hinata’s arm and hauled him to his feet. Ignoring his protests, he began to drag Hinata out of the restaurant, gesturing Kageyama to follow.
“But the food!” Hinata complained.
“We didn’t even order anything yet, idiot,” Kageyama grumbled as he followed the two out of the restaurant, a few people giving them some irritated looks.
“It’s rude, though.”
“It’s fine, Hinata. You two were being too loud.” Yamaguchi released Hinata’s arm as they made it outside, the door swinging close behind them.
“I was hungry, though.”
“Shut up, dumbass. I have a bento if you want it.”
“Why do you have a bento if we were getting lunch?”
“I get hungry after practice, idiot, so—”
“I don’t know why the two of you were freaking out so much,” Yamaguchi interrupted. “It’s not like you haven’t ever seen an angel before.”
“You do blend in pretty well,” Kageyama admitted. “The white outfit is a bit much.”
“It’s my uniform, actually.” Yamaguchi gestured for the three of them to continue to walk down the street. Kageyama followed obediently, Hinata following more reluctantly.
“So what were you saying, you don’t know what angels are?” he asked Kageyama. “If you can see Yamaguchi, then how does that work?”
“Why are you asking me? Ask Yamaguchi.”
“Yamaguchi—”
“Watch it!” Yamaguchi snatched Hinata's arm as he took a step forward into the street. A bike whizzed past, and Kageyama jumped.
Hinata let out a breath. “Thanks,” he said. “But yeah, as I was saying—”
“Does that happen...often?” Kageyama interrupted.
“Does what happen often?”
“Like…” Kageyama gestured toward Hinata, the street, Yamaguchi. “That. Does that happen often?”
“Near-death experiences?” Yamaguchi burst out laughing. “Yeah. A lot. He’s certainly kept me on my toes. If anyone needs a guardian angel, it’s him.”
“How long have you been assigned to his case?”
“Oh, I think it's been a few months now. When you moved to the city, right, Hinata?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Probably because I started living on my own.” Hinata grinned at Kageyama. “Speaking of which, where’s your angel, Kageyama?”
“Angel?”
“That’s why you can see Yamaguchi, right?”
“Oh. Is that how it works?”
Yamaguchi nodded. “It’s to avoid panic. The number of people with angels is very few, and there would be complete chaos if suddenly everyone could see them. But people who know of our existence will be fine, and I can make myself be seen to humans if needed, which is less straining. But I might know your angel if they’re around!”
“I don’t have an angel.”
“Then how can you see Yamaguchi?”
“I have a devil. Or a demon. He goes by both, I guess.”
“Demons exist?”
“Why are you so surprised?” Kageyama asked. “You have an angel.”
“But everyone’s heard of guardian angels. No one’s heard of a...guardian demon.”
Kageyama scowled at Hinata. “Too bad. I have one.”
“How come I can’t see them, then?”
“He said that someone named Suga-san needed his help with something.”
“Your angel leaves you alone?”
“Demon’s shifts are usually looser than angels, Hinata. More specifically, you need constant supervision.”
“That’s so weird.” Hinata leaned forward. “So would you two know each other?”
“Maybe. Demons and angels only occasionally interact with each other, on the rare occasions that we team up on a specific human. But I do those very rarely. Usually, the same demons and angels are chosen for joint assignments.”
“Have you always been an angel?”
Yamaguchi looked at Kageyama with mild confusion. “I’m surprised you haven’t asked your demon that.”
“He’s a bit...closed off,” Kageyama admitted. Closed-off is an understatement, he thought to himself. Whenever he even tried to ask Tsukishima about his personal life, he’d snap at him.
“Hm. No, I haven’t. Angels and demons were humans in their past lives. Depending on how you lived, you’d be sent to hell or heaven, and after some amount of evaluation, a few are chosen to be angels or demons.”
“Huh.” Kageyama mulled this over for a few moments. “So what’s in it for you? Are you just stuck as an angel for the rest of eternity?”
Yamaguchi laughed. “Nah. After some time, you can get reincarnated if you choose.”
“And will you choose?”
“Probably not. I had a pretty shitty life, you know. I would rather not have to relieve that.”
An awkward silence filled the air, and Yamaguchi let out a short laugh. “Anyway,” he said, leaning forward to ruffle Hinata’s hair. “This guy here isn’t gonna let me retire anytime soon.”
* * *
Practice is uneventful, of course. Hinata dazzled the coach, the captain, and the rest of the team easily, and even Kageyama feels sated once practice is over. Normally, he’d continue even after the practice was over until he nearly collapsed from exhaustion, (or Tsukishima dragged him home) but today he returns to the changing room with the rest of the team, pleased with himself. Something about playing alongside Hinata again filled him with a sort of satisfactory pride.
He, Hinata, and Yamaguchi waited patiently while the rest of the team filed out of the room before they spoke again. “The team is really good,” Yamaguchi said with a laugh. “I think you did well, Hinata.”
“You think so?”
“Obviously,” Kageyama scoffed. “The whole team loved you. They always do.”
Hinata spun around to beam at Kageyama. “Was that a compliment?”
“No.” Kageyama shoved his clothes into his bag, avoiding Hinata’s gaze. “Want to grab a drink, or something?”
“Sure! Will your demon be back soon?”
“He said he’d be back after—”
“What the fuck.”
Yamaguchi’s voice cut Kageyama off sharply, and he looked up to see him taking a step backward, staring across the room. His face was pale, and he was breathing harshly, his eyes wide.
Kageyama looked to see what he was staring at, and quickly realized what it was—Tsukishima had arrived, and he was standing by the door of the changing room, his back pressed against the wall. He looked just as shocked as Yamaguchi did, his lips parted, his eyes open wide. He didn’t move, frozen in place, just staring.
“Yamaguchi?” Hinata said slowly. “Are you alright?”
Yamaguchi didn’t respond. His face was growing paler by the moment, and he continued to stare at Tsukishima, his shoulders stiff.
Tsukishima unfroze first. “Tadashi,” he said. His voice was hoarse, and he took a few steps forward, his hand reaching out as if to make sure he was real.
Yamaguchi flinched.
Tsukishima’s hand stopped.
“You’re a demon,” Yamaguchi said. “You’re my ward’s friend’s demon.”
Tsukishima let his arm drop. “And you’re an angel.”
“Hang on.” Hinata looked from one to the other, incredulous. “You two know each other?”
“Have you guys worked together, like Yamaguchi was talking about before?” Kageyama directed his question at Tsukishima.
Tsukishima ignored him. “He’s your ward?” he asked, pointing at Hinata. “This idiot? He sure needs your help.”
“You’re meant to teach him to be selfish, hm?” Yamaguchi pointed to Kageyama, ignoring Hinata’s squawk of indignation. “Seems fitting. You were always so egocentric.”
It was Tsukishima’s turn to flinch. “I have done some things I regret—”
“Regret isn’t quite enough, Tsukishima,” Yamaguchi spat. “You self-centered, thick-headed bastard—”
“You always did have the best of insults,” Tsukishima said. He smirked.
Yamaguchi’s fingers curl into a fist. “Don’t even joke about us right now.”
Tsukishima’s smirk dropped. “Tadashi—”
“If you say that name again, I will cut your damn throat out.”
“Yamaguchi. Please. It’s been centuries since then. Surely I can ask for some forgiveness.”
“Then you’re centuries too late.” Yamaguchi grabbed Hinata’s arm and his backpack. “Hinata, we’re leaving. And you—” he swivels around to jab a finger at Tsukishima’s face. “I never want to see you again.”
“These two dunces have practice together.”
“I’ll petition a transfer with Daichi-san if I have to!”
And with that, Yamaguchi yanked Hinata to his feet, shouldered his backpack, and stormed out of the room. Kageyama lifted his hand in an awkward wave as the door slammed shut, then turned to Tsukishima. “What the hell did you do?”
* * *
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Tsukishima stalked away from Kageyama as they made his way back to his apartment. Kageyama stormed after him, not caring how he looked or the strange glances he was attracting. He just needed answers.
“You knew each other in your past lives, didn’t you? Yamaguchi said something about that. He said his life was shit and he didn’t want to relive that.” Kageyama caught up with Tsukishima, reaching out to grab his wrist.
“Shut the fuck up.” Tsukishima said sharply, yanking his wrist out of Kageyama’s grasp, walking even faster.
“What did you do to end up in hell, of all places? How’d you even become a demon? What makes you qualified to teach me how to be selfish?” Kageyama shouted after him.
“I said, shut the fuck up, Kageyama!”
“You’re gonna have to work this out somehow, assface! Hinata’s gonna get on the team, whether you like it or not. And Yamaguchi’s around him constantly.”
This time, Tsukishima doesn’t respond. Kageyama feels his anger bubble up under his skin. “Why do you not tell me anything?” he snarled. “Two fucking years! Two fucking years of you just following me around, scolding me when I get anything wrong. Two years of unanswered questions?
“Am I going fucking insane? Am I just imagining you? This is the first time that I’ve ever met anyone like me, and there you are, fucking things up! Did I ever fucking ask for a demon?”
Tsukishima whirled around. “I never wanted you either!” All of a sudden, he was towering over Kageyama, glaring down at him, his eyes ablaze. “I never wanted a fucking ward. I don’t know how to help you, alright? But this was my only fucking chance to try again. But I don’t know how to fucking doing this any better than you do.”
He breathed harshly for a few moments, appearing to shrink in on himself. As Kageyama watched, he stopped, and closed his eyes.
They stood there for a while. Kageyama cast his eyes to the ground, just listening to Tsukishima’s breathing slowly even out.
“I’m sorry,” Tsukishima says finally.
Kageyama’s eyes snapped up to meet Tsukishima’s gaze. He had never apologized to him. Ever.
Tsukishima seemed to realize this. “I’m sorry,” he says again. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you. Now, or all those times before. You didn’t deserve that.”
Kageyama gaped at him. There wasn’t really much else to do in the situation.
Tsukishima scowled at him. “No need to look at me like that,” he grumbled. “I’ll answer your questions, alright? Just…”
He rubbed his temples, inhaling slowly. “I don’t know what Yamaguchi told you, but demons are very different than angels, as much as you think they might be opposites. People who go to heaven live in paradise, until they don’t want to anymore, and that’s how people become angels. Angels can get reincarnated if they wish.”
“Demons aren’t the same?”
Tsukishima let out a bitter laugh. “People who go to hell are punished. The worst of the worse. After centuries of torture and learning from your mistakes, then you can become a demon.”
“That doesn’t sound that different.”
“Think of it this way. People become angels to fulfill the last step to reincarnation. People become devils because it’s the last step of their punishment.” Tsukishima started walking again, gesturing for Kageyama to follow him down the street. “Once the demons are reincarnated, their punishments are over, and they get another chance to get into heaven. See the difference?”
“Kinda.”
“That doesn’t mean I didn’t do some bad shit when I was living. Most people go to heaven, you know? I fucked up pretty badly.”
Kageyama gave him a look. “And what was that? Why’s he so mad at you?”
Tsukishima let out a breath. “There was a war, I guess,” he said slowly. “The two of us, we were in the military. We had control of the most powerful army in the land, and I was careless.”
“Careless?”
“Yamaguchi was the smart one. He warned me not to take risks. We had a whole plan for each other once the war was over. We’d live in the countryside, a perfect, quiet life…” Tsukishima shook his head. “I wanted it all to be over. So I made one dumb, stupid mistake and risked absolutely everything, and it cost him his life.”
Kageyama fell silent. Tsukishima swiped at his eyes, exhaling shakily.
“That doesn’t sound like a great reason to go to hell,” Kageyama said finally.
Tsukishima huffed out a laugh. “I wish that were it. Once he was dead, I went on a fucking rampage. Killed everything in my path, risked everyone’s lives, and died barely a month after him in battle.” He wiped his eyes again. “A stupid way to die.”
“Still.” Kageyama dug in his bag for a packet of tissues. He felt this was a bad time to ask why demons could cry. “You were in mourning. You loved him, didn’t you? Grief.”
“I don’t think grief plays a large part in deciding whether someone should go to hell.” Tsukishima scoffed, then sighed. “But really. Yamaguchi doesn’t want to listen to me, and I deserve it. I’ll ask Suga-san to replace me the next time I’m called to headquarters.”
“Wait, Tsukishima—”
“Don’t, Kageyama. Please.” Tsukishima had never said please to him before. “Just…let it go.”
* * *
TO: DUMBASS ORANGE
how do you trap a demon.
FROM: DUMBASS ORANGE
do u have any chalk?
* * *
Kageyama dragged Tsukishima to practice the next day.
Or, to the fake practice that didn’t exist. But of course, Tsukishima wouldn’t know that Atsumu had gotten the stomach bug and that Sakusa would absolutely refuse to even look at him or anyone who had even interacted with him in the past 72 hours, which meant that Tsukishima didn’t know that practice was canceled.
Hinata had assured him that Yamaguchi had no idea, accompanied with a why don’t you have chalk, you idiot? But that was fine, because Kageyama didn’t know what he’d do with chalk, besides this.
So he got a disgruntled Tsukishima to follow him into the changing room, shoved him into the center of a messy pentagram, grabbed Hinata’s wrist and the key before locking the door.
“You sure this is going to work?” Hinata asked him, as Kageyama slid down the wall, panting. Kageyama whipped his head around to glare at him.
“I thought you said the pentagram would work,” he hissed.
“Not that! I mean, the actual getting-them-to-talk-to-each-other. That part.”
“Oh. Right.” Kageyama let himself catch his breath, before he remembered what he’s actually here for. He turned to press his ear to the door, and Hinata followed suit, squashing into his side.
“You didn’t help them plan this, did you?” Yamaguchi’s voice comes through faintly, accusingly.
“No, I didn’t, I swear—let’s just humor them for a moment, alright? I don’t know if this is just their idea of a joke or if they actually think this will work.”
Yamaguchi huffed—with irritation or amusement, it wasn’t quite clear—and there’s a few muffled sounds, likely him sitting down. “For how long?”
“Just give them a minute or so.”
“Seriously? Is this your idea of a joke?”
“Tadashi—”
“I told you not to call me that.”
“Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima let out a sigh, more exhaustion that irritation. “Just…soon, I’ll get transferred, and you won’t have to see me ever again. Just like you want.”
At Kageyama’s side, Hinata let our a breath. He leaned into Kageyama’s shoulder, and stayed there, the two just waiting for someone to speak.
It took a while, but eventually, someone did.
“Why’d you do it?” Yamaguchi’s voice broke the silence, almost too quiet to hear.
Tsukishima sighed. “You know why.”
“No, I don’t.” Yamaguchi said sharply. “I don’t know why. I told you to be careful, alright? The next thing I know, you’re throwing that all away, and then I’m fucking dead, and everything we worked towards was gone, alright?”
Tsukishima didn’t respond.
“I thought it was what you wanted. I thought you wanted to be with me, I thought everything was going alright, if we just stuck with what we were doing, then maybe we could’ve worked out a peace and then we could—” Yamaguchi sighed. “It all sounds so fucking naive, now. I was naive.”
“I was, too. We both were.”
“Did you not want it? I thought—”
“I wanted it.” Tsukishima interrrupted. “I wanted it more than anything, Tada—Yamaguchi. I was selfish and stupid and impatient, and I fucked it all up, alright?”
“Wait, what?”
“What?” came Tsukishima’s intelligent reply.
“You…wanted it? I thought that you…you were tired of me, or you just…” Yamaguchi’s voice trailed off.
“What? No.”
“Then what was all of that? You, the last battle, and then…”
Tsukishima sighed, his voice heavy. “I wanted to speed things up. If we won, then there were talks of them surrendering, and then things would have slowed down…but obviously, it didn’t turn out how I wanted it to.”
“Speed things up?”
“I wanted the war to be over. We always talked about the life we would live once things calmed down, and I guess…tunnel vision, they call it. Didn’t see how reckless I was being until everything fell apart.”
It was quiet for a moment. “Oh, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi said softly.
“What’s that for?” Tsukishima asked. “I was reckless. My own stupidity got us here.”
“But all this time, I thought it was just you…that you didn’t want us anymore, and that you stopped caring for me, and were just trying to…win.”
“Never,” Tsukishima said, hoarse. He cleared his throat. “I would never. I still don’t.”
“And now we’re here, and…I don’t know, Kei, what are we even doing? I yelled at you, and now you’re asking to be transferred, and I missed you so fucking much, but now you just feel…cold.”
“Cold?”
Kageyama almost laughed out loud. ‘Cold’ was an understatement, he thought to himself, forcing down a chuckle as Hinata jabbed him in the stomach in an attempt to quiet him.
“Blunt. You act as if everything’s in the past, but it just feels like days ago, for me.”
Tsukishima let out a sour laugh. “Do you know how it fucking feels to walk into my ward’s changing room and see you there? Tadashi—Yamaguchi, I don’t know how to feel right now. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. Always, I thought that maybe, if I was lucky, I could see you again, in some other life, but all of a sudden you were there, this thing I had been working towards since the day I died—”
“Working towards what?” Yamaguchi interrupted.
Tsukishima let out a bitter laugh. “Demons can get reincarnated. And so can angels. So I just thought, maybe, if there was some way I could get reincarnated—” he sighed, cutting himself off. “It was so stupid. All of this was so stupid. I was stupid.”
“Stupid?”
There was a silence.
“Well,” Tsukishima said quietly, almost impossible to discern. “If it was a chance to see you again, it was never stupid.”
There was another pause. Kageyama was becoming increasingly aware of Hinata’s presence, pressed up against his side, and he froze, his face burning.
“I’m sorry,” Yamaguchi said softly.
“What could you possibly be sorry for?”
“I should’ve given you a chance to tell me all of this. I just…yelled at you, and then left. I should’ve let you explain, at least, not just run away from my problems like I always do.”
“Are you running away now?”
Yamaguchi let out a laugh, although it sounded pained. “I guess not.”
They were quiet for a moment more, before Tsukishima spoke up again. “I don’t expect you to ever forgive me,” he said. “But I’ve spent the last few centuries hoping for a second chance. And I know I don’t deserve it, but—”
“Don’t you think everyone deserves a second chance?” Yamaguchi asked. “You make some mistakes, and you hurt me, but I hurt you too, now. We were both stupid, and we made some mistakes. But do you really think you should suffer for eternity for it?”
“I do,” Tsukishima said quietly. “But you always gave me more than I deserved.”
“And you’re supposed to be teaching someone to be selfish? You’re the most self-deprecating demon I’ve ever met.”
Tsukishima laughed. “You know me too well, Yamaguchi.”
“Tadashi. It feels weird when you say that.”
“Tadashi,” Tsukishima repeated.
It’s quiet for another moment. Kageyama was starting to get very tired of all this awkward silence, when Yamaguchi spoke up at last.
“Would it be absolutely crazy if I kissed you right now? I know I’m supposed to be kinda mad at you right now, but…fuck, I really missed you.”
“I’ll go crazy if you don’t.”
Hinata made a face. Kageyama groaned. Quickly, he jumped to his feet, unlocking the door and yanking it open, nearly hitting Hinata’s face in the process. “Alright, that’s enough.”
Hinata popped to his feet as if nothing had happened. “You two alright?”
“Just fine,” Yamaguchi said, beaming. His cheeks are flushed. Kageyama didn’t even know angels could blush.
“More than fine,” Tsukishima agreed. Kageyama eyed him. He was grinning, a stupid, giddy smile that lit up his entire face. His cheeks were bright red. He looked happy. Happier than Kageyama had ever seen him before.
“Good,” he found himself saying.
“By the way,” Tsukishima said, tapping the floor. “The pentagram thing is a myth.”
Hinata scowled at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s just chalk on the ground. I could just step out if I wanted to.”
“But you didn’t,” Yamaguchi said, slightly accusatory.
“But I didn’t,” Tsukishima agreed, smirking. He leaned forward, but Hinata let out a very loud groan and stalked forward to stand in between the two.
“I don’t want to see the two of you kissing,” he said. “That’s like watching two...babysitters, or teachers, or...whatever, kiss. I don’t want to see it.”
“Really? We have to deal with you two all the time.” Tsukishima sat back, propping himself up on his hands.
Kageyama glared at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You guys are intolerable. It’s a miracle I haven’t begged Suga-san to be transferred yet, and I haven’t even seen the two of you together more than I can count on one hand.”
“And I have to hear Hinata talk about Kageyama’s—” Hinata let out an indignant shriek and jumped forward to slap a hand over Yamaguchi’s mouth, who looked as if he’s on the verge of hysterics.
Kageyama furrowed his brow. “What?”
“Nothing!”
And if Tsukishima and Yamaguchi exchanged a look, he definitely didn’t see it.
He’d figure it out eventually.