Chapter Text
The pixels on the screen blurred together to form the picture of a familiar face, a face that almost felt like home to Shouyou. His eyes - usually the dark blue of the ocean at night, were hazy and almost seemed trance like, as much as he could tell through the camera’s quality. It was obvious by Tobio’s awkward biting of his lip and the wet tear ducts what was going on, even to someone as dense as Shouyou.
Shouyou had sent Tobio a video call request just moments after his inbox had been bombarded with messages of pleas for help. Upon seeing his best friend on the screen, concern entered his brain and his pulse thickened. Tobio crying was a rare occurrence. In fact, in their few months of friendship, Shouyou had never witnessed quite a phenom.
“Tobio,” he stated, staring at his computer screen with wide eyes and an intensity that only his teammates have ever seen. “What happened? You ok?”
“Sh-Shouyou…” Tobio choked, in a voice so trembled it might as well just shot an arrow through his heart. A barely visible tear ran down his stained, flushed cheeks as he gripped the sides of his heads, avoiding eye contact through the computer screen. “I’m very… upset right now… don’t… don’t ever-” a sniffle interuppted his speech process.
“Don’t ever…?” Shouyou prodded to the boy on the other side of the screen. Displeasure always filled Shouyou whenever the people he was close to were upset. He could almost feel the tears threatening to break out in their ducts. “Goddammit, Tobio, you’re going to make me cry!”
“Don’t ever play sad video games,” he muttered, as he looked to his left. Shouyou thought Tobio almost looked… ashamed, that he had been caught crying in front of someone. Or that he revealed that he was secretly a sap. Either way, Shouyou found it hilarious. His eyes felt dry as he sucked in a breath of air to prevent a shit-eating grin from appearing on his face. His efforts proved to be a failure as he let out a hearty laugh. A laugh so hard, he was sure Natsu was going to knock on his door and ask what he was doing up so late and why he was being so loud.
“Tobio plays sad video games? I never expected that!” He clapped his hands together in amusement as he rolled his head back, resulting in a brash ‘shut up’ from Tobio through his headphones. “Ok, seriously, what game was it?”
Tobio scoffed before looking down at his hands. “The Walking Dead…” His cheeks were the colour of cherries, and Shouyou found it to be quite an endearing quality.
“Really?” the older boy questioned, putting a finger to his chin as he smiled. “Maybe I should play it.”
“Do it.” Tobio gripped the sides of his computer and stared into the webcam. The intensity of his stare almost scared Shouyou. It reminded him dangerously of Kenma when he got too invested in his RPG’s.
“But you told me not to.”
“Just do it.”
“If you say so…” he would play anything that the other boy would recommend to him. And if it was powerful enough to make even someone as grumpy and dense as Tobio sad, he needed to see if it was a fluke incident or really just a great game.
He waved goodbye to the other boy before cutting the connection, leaving a dull space on his computer where his best friend was.
--
A week and sixty dollars later, Shouyou had a brand new copy of Telltale’s The Walking Dead in his hands, and he was thrilled to put it into his game console. The game’s graphics were nothing too special, and the gameplay was simple. It wasn’t the type of game he was used to playing, but he knew Tobio was into the lax, story-filled games.
Although it wasn’t the type of game he was used to, it latched him in quickly. By the end of the first segment, he found himself hooked and unable to stop playing. He played well into the night, until his fingers were sore and his sister begged for him to stop because he was keeping her up. He only stopped for bathroom breaks, eating, and sending a couple of texts to Tobio and Hitoka.
By the end of the game, Shouyou’s eyes were brimming with tears and he had to take a reality break for a couple of hours. His mind was completely caught up with the game that he didn’t even realize when his mother called him for dinner. When he saw his favourite meal on the table - raw egg mixed with white rice and soy sauce - he couldn’t even bring himself to smile.
“What’s the matter with you?” Natsu commented, her shrill voice masked by a mouthful of rice in her mouth.
“Sad game,” he muttered as he took a seat at the table, across from his mother and next to his sister. Even the deliciousness that exploded through his tastebuds with his favourite meal didn’t even make him flinch.
Natsu stood up suddenly, startling the older two as she slapped her hands on the table with a shake. “There’s something seriously wrong! Shouyou didn’t even go “guuuwaaah” when he ate his favourite meal! Mom, we have to go to the hospital!”
While their mother let out a hearty giggle, Shouyou muttered for her to settle down. Even though he felt like laughing, he couldn’t bring himself to let one out. He reminded himself of Tobio when Hinata got too excited over something. Maybe this was why he was so grumpy all of the time? Because of the sad games?
While Natsu and his mother exchanged in loud conversation, for once, Shouyou remained quiet as he munched on his supper. He didn’t want to admit that the rice had cheered him up… a bit. He dismissed himself once he was done, clicking his plate against the sink before retreating to his room once again. This time, he grabbed his laptop and set it against his lap before booting up Skype.
After hitting call, it only took about three rings for Tobio to answer. Soon, he was faced with the familiar face of Tobio Kageyama, who in response to seeing Shouyou, snickered loudly. He sat at his desk with his plain blue walls layered behind him. He, of course, held a gaming controller in his hands. Shouyou wasn’t sure what he looked like, but he imagined wild bedhead, tear-stained and red cheeks and quivering lips. Shouyou pursed his lips “Did you like it?” Tobio asked, sarcasm masked in his voice.
“S-shut up!” He wiped his sniffling nose with his sleeve before crossing his arms, looking disapprovingly at the other boy. The memories of the ending of the game flooded his mind, making him want to hang up the line, lie down and cry some more. “You cried too!”
“Not as much as you! You’re such a softie!” Tobio retaliated as he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, looking away from the screen. Shouyou didn’t reply, he just let out a lengthy sigh, tucking his head into his hands after deciding that he was too emotionally exhausted to argue. He was a softie, he agreed.
A brief moment of silence passed between the two before Tobio broke it. Shouyou wasn't sure if it was the awful lighting in the other boy's room, but he thought he saw the beginnings of a soft shade of crimson on his cheeks. "Are you sure you're okay...?" He asked, his teasing tone suddenly turning soft and almost like music to the ears to listen to. He refused eye contact with Shouyou, instead becoming intrigued with the wall next to him.
"...yeah." Shouyou coughed, his eyes shifting back to the screen. He thought Tobio almost looked cute. Almost. His black hair was tucked behind the back of his bright red ear, a change from the hair always being in his face. The embarrassed look suited him, Shouyou thought, even though he wasn't sure if Tobio was embarrassed or just upset over the relevation that he dragged Shouyou into all of this.
"I think you're the real softie here, though," he giggled, his eyebrows wiggling as he felt how body relax into the teasing, hyper state it was usually in.
"Maybe I am," Tobio said as he turned back to face Shouyou, a coy (almost creepy, if Shouyou didn't know Tobio any better) grin spread across his cheeks. "But at least I don't have shit taste, unlike someone I know."
"Hey!" He scowled, mentally slapping Tobio over the head for the insult. The other boy let out a chuckle, his dimples making an appearance as he doubled over. Shouyou almost thought the insults were worth it, if he could see Tobio laugh like that all of the time.