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Genda and Sakuma: Acceptance at first sight
The two met in kindergarten. Yes, the private rich people type. They were in the same group but didn't actually meet until one particularly bad day for Sakuma.
The poor boy had a mutated eye since he was born. Thankfully, he was also blind out of it, so he could hide it. Too many people, even family members, were terrified or disgusted by it. And every child that saw it never approached Sakuma again because of it. Which was why he usually played and read alone in kindergarten, away from the others, so he wouldn't face rejection again.
Genda, though, was popular, outgoing, energetic. He had many friends and had a lot of fun with everyone. He tried to befriend everyone. Though he never seemed to have a best friend. When his grandmother asked him if he had a best friend, he'd say no. Not yet. The right friend just hadn't appeared for him yet, apparently.
Their first started off a bit... less than pleasant. A couple of older boys heard about Sakuma's eye and decided to see for themselves. It was playtime outside, and the older boys waited until the caretakers were out of sight before they went to attack.
Genda, who was on the swing at the time and a bit tired from playing with others, heard a cry of distress. He didn't see any caretakers around, so he decided that he would go to help. Following the sound, he ended up behind the shed. He did not like what he saw.
Sakuma was on the floor, his eyepatch in one of the boy's hands. He was covering his eye as the others sneered and made fun of him. Genda heard the words monster, demon, ugly. He couldn't understand why - the cyan-haired seemed cute. But not with the heartbroken look on his face.
A small fight happened; the boys, while older and bigger, didn't have the stamina and anger that Genda had. They ran away, and Genda held the eyepatch in his hands. He turned to the boy, who was wiping away his tears and sniffing.
And then he caught a glimpse of the eye. He gasped in awe, but Sakuma interpreted it differently. He closed both his eyes and turned away, begging not to be hurt again.
But the only thing that came from Genda was, “Your eye is so cool.”
Sakuma wasn't expecting that. Nor was he expecting the friendship that would follow.
Endou and Kidou: Annoyance at first sight
Now, the annoyance wasn't from Endou's side. At first, anyway. It came for a moment and left when the cape-wearing boy didn't show good manners by ignoring his offered hand. And it came back for a bit as well, when he was hurting and insulting his team, insulting the true way soccer should be played.
Endou felt awe at the Teikoku team at first, at the captain. But annoyance followed when he took a glance at their behavior. Most people wouldn't see it, but many of his friends did. In the tense tone and growl in his voice. In the clenching of fists and the glare that was so rare to see in his eyes.
For Kidou, the annoyance was the sunny, bright personality the captain seemed to offer. The way he wasn't giving up. The way he got up again and again, no matter the times he fell down. The shots rained on him like hellfire, but still, he wouldn't give them the satisfaction of quitting.
At first, he thought he was just going to be like an overexcited puppy. Clueless to the pain that was going to come. And yet, he proved to be more of a stubborn pest. An idiot who didn't know when to stop. The annoyance would later turn to interest when he stopped their shot. It would be the first time in a long while that anyone has managed to do that.
And later, when a glance at their true selves was given, they'd also feel annoyance.
Endou for the stubbornness Kidou had to offer about his capabilities in soccer. He had played against him, and he had felt how good they all were. But no, he was stubborn. He didn't want to hear it. Endou was annoyed at him for it.
And Kidou was annoyed at his own unwillingness to back down. Again. He was annoyed that the boy wouldn't just say what Kidou thought was true. He had never been challenged in that aspect. Never had anyone gone against him, told him he was wrong. He was annoyed because he didn't know how to handle this situation.
So yes, for them, it was annoyance. The first true glance at the other, and that was all that was offered.
And there would be more chances to be annoyed at each other the more they got closer. But they'd realize that the annoyance would turn into fond smiles, facepalms, and disappointed sighs. And it would never be a negative response again.
Midorikawa and Kiyama: Protection at first sight
Midorikawa won't lie to you. He was the easiest target to bully in that orphanage. A kind-hearted, timid boy recently arrived at the orphanage after his mother's death. He only had her picture and a plushie his dad left at his side. Crying was a default for him for a while. And Nagumo saw that. The boy, raised by parents who picked at every weakness, decided to pick on him for his own.
Every day for a week or so, Midorikawa tried to hide but could never find any peace. His hard time became worse, and he didn't know what to do.
His saving grace came soon, though. Kiyama, newly named Hiroto, came back from a trip Father had taken him on. The boy, happy to see his friends again, ran to the playground to spend time with them and tell them about everything. He stopped, however, when he saw Nagumo pulling the hair of a green-haired boy he had never seen before.
The boy was crying, holding a star plushie close to his chest, begging the redhead to stop. Nagumo just told him to man up and stop whining.
Kiyama glared. He looked at the green-haired boy and felt the need to hold him close and tell him he was safe. The urge to protect him was strong.
And protect him, he did. He pushed Nagumo away, got Reina and Suzuno involved in dragging him away and scolding him. He watched them leave until he was sure Nagumo wouldn't come back. Then he turned to the sniffing boy and offered his hand.
Tear-filled black eyes stared back at him, worried this might be a trick. But Kiyama was patient. He smiled gently at the boy and kept still until a tanned hand covered his own pale one.
Kiyama took him inside to clean him up, wipe the tears from his face, and place the hair like it used to be. Midorikawa was still during the whole time, finally calm after so long. He hadn't felt this safe since his mother's last hug.
They were always together after that, with Kiyama protecting Midorikawa whenever he could. Even from the close watch of his Father during Aliea. Even during the FFI tournament. And later on as well.
And Midorikawa would try his best to protect Kiyama, too. He'd make sure he didn't overwork, and he'd make sure business partners didn't ruin him when he only started out.
The only time they wouldn't protect each other was during family game nights with Kariya. Then it was every man for themselves.
Gouenji and Fubuki: Worry at first sight
There were two types of worry to go through.
Gouenji watched all the Raimon games after he left. He saw the boy—Fubuki was his name—that the coach had named as his replacement. And he was worried that that word would get to him. There seemed to be an air of perfectionism around the boy. A need to be the best, the first, and with no faults along the line. And as the Raimon and Aliea games became more intense and challenging, Gouenji noticed how much Fubuki would falter, stumble, panic, and let everything get to his head.
And when they finally met face-to-face, his worries increased. The boy seemed hollow and broken and defeated. He shyed away, became distant from everyone. The boy changed from when Gouenji saw him start out. No longer confident or smiling. Just a scared boy in a world he never knew could be this cruel.
Fubuki was worried even before he met Gouenji. Everyone seemed to put him on a pedestal and view him as a sort of god. He knew immediately that they'd never reach that high. Atsuya would sneer at him for that thought, but what else was he to do? He was insecure and imperfect still. Worry of not meeting up to the unintentional standard Gouenji had set kept him up at night more than anything else.
And when he met him, saw him on that field, he knew he'd never reach it. The boy was better, faster, more confident, more resilient than he'd ever be. Maybe only Atsuya could ever reach that high. But Shirou? No. He'd never be able to. Fubuki Shirou was worried the boy wouldn't even talk to him. Worried he knew how much of a failure he was.
But Gouenji didn't see him as a failure and never gave him that title. And Fubuki would learn to not put up those pedastals to reach.
And they'd never really stop being worried about each other or that they were doing a good job either. (Gouenji was still worried if Fubuki resented him for many things he had done.) They were worried, but they always reassured each other and themselves.
The worry only showed their care.