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Tsukishima awoke to a door scraping on the floorboards and light taps leading down the hall outside the clubs room. He sighed and rolled over, felt around for his phone and checked the time. If it was before 6am whoever just left the room was going to be the victim of his wrath.
His screen glowed bright in the darkness and he squinted against the light as it burned his pupils and made his eyes sting.
5:43am… He moaned, he wasn't going back to sleep after this. There was no point when he'd just be getting up for their morning run soon anyway. Tsukishima dropped his phone face down on the floorboards beside his futon, grabbed his glasses and slid them on and quietly slunk out of the room, careful not to wake anyone. God forbid he had to deal with his rambunctious teammates before he absolutely had to.
Despite knowing that breakfast now would only come up later, he found himself walking to the kitchen. Following the sounds of whomever had left the room before him as they slapped a glass on the bench, swung a cupboard door shut, wrenched open the fridge and slammed it closed before they scraped a chair across the floor and fell silent just as Tsukishima turned into the room.
"Kageyama? What are you doing up?" Tsukishima asked, trying to look as unconcerned as possible as he walked past and quietly set about getting his own glass of water without all the bangs and clinks of glass being roughly handled.
Kageyama didn't look up at him; he barely even reacted to Tsukishima saying anything. He had his arms crossed on the table, his head resting on top of them and one hand around his glass.
"Couldn't sleep." He muttered into the table.
Tsukishima walked over and placed his glass gently on the table before he pulled out the chair across from Kageyama, sat down and stared at him.
"What was that your highness, I couldn't quiet hear you?" Tsukishima ignored the way Tobio's shoulders stiffened.
"Go away Tsukishima." Kageyama snapped. He sounded tired though, as if he hadn't slept well or at all.
"Hoh~ is our king throwing a temper tantrum this morning? Not enough sleep for our little tyrant?" Somewhere in the back of his mind Tsukishima realized he'd taken it too far with just those two sentences, that part was dutifully ignored as Kageyama jumped up, pushing his water over, and slammed his hands on the table top.
"Fuck off if you're just gonna be an asshole Tsukishima." Kageyama seethed, keeping his voice low so he didn't wake anyone. Tsukishima glanced down at the water approaching him from across the table and frowned at it.
"Ah ah~ you spilled water all over the table Tobio. Are you going to make one of your subjects clean it up for you or are you going to go grab a towel or two?" Kei replied. He took a sip of his own water still watching Tobio's as it crept closer to the edge of the table. He still didn't look up as Kageyama's chair was shoved back and he stomped off into the kitchen, returning in the same manner with two towels in his hand. He threw them on the table, one on Kei's side and one down in front of him.
Tsukishima looked up at him with an eyebrow raised. Did Kageyama expect him to help with his mess? He watched Kageyama dab at the water on his side, swift and hard, his scowl could have evaporated the water in an instant if he stared hard enough.
In under a minute Kageyama's towel was soaked and no longer useful. They were thin, rough towels, not really useful for anything aside from drying your hands once every ten or so hours. He dumped it in the middle of the table and walked around to Kei's side, grabbed the dry towel and bent over right in front of Kei.
Kei stared in shock at Kageyama's exposed neck pushed right in his face. He smelt nice, like something fruity and sweet. He took deeper breaths as he sat there but in no time at all Kageyama was leaning back, hands full of wet towel and stomping off into the kitchen. He'd left his glass over turned on the table and didn't return.
Tsukishima slowly finished his water at the table, alone. He glanced at the microwave clock and mentally groaned. It was 6:15, he had fifteen minutes to fix what he'd done to Kageyama this morning or Daichi might actually bury him alive if their teamwork got any worse.
He placed is glass in the sink, looked around and found Kageyama standing on the veranda, leaning against the railing as he stared off into space. A draft came from the partially open door in the kitchen and Kei had half a mind to just close it and go back to their room, leave things as they were and move on, forget that cold hole slowly getting bigger in his chest. A push at the back of his mind was growing stronger, shoving him to the door, pushing him outside into the snappy morning air.
He leaned against the railing next to Kageyama and nudged him with his shoulder. He looked at the ground when Tobio looked at him. He missed the surprise and hurt flashing across his setters face.
"I'm sorry. About before, I didn't mean it."
Birds sang chirpily in the trees around them but Tobio didn't say a word.
"Well. Say something." Kei demanded. Kageyama looked back up at the sky and sighed.
"Say what Tsukishima?" He said. "That I forgive you? I don't. Every time you say it, it hurts. It feels like you're stomping on my chest, it's suffocating." Kageyama was clutching at his chest, head down and eyes closed. "It's painful. I'm trying so hard to change. To not be like I was back then because I'm terrified that everything will fall apart like it did back in middle school. I have nightmares about you all leaving me like they did Tsukishima."
The fact that Kageyama wasn't yelling at him or mumbling, just speaking in an even voice filled to the brim with hurt, made Kei's heart feel like stone. Heavy and cold in his chest. He rubbed at his heart in discomfort.
"Is that why you left this morning? You had a nightmare." Kei saw Tobio nod out the corner of his eye and that stone cracked right down the middle.
"Yeah. I was awake about an hour before that anyway so it's not like it really matters. I'm just lucky I got to sleep tonight." Kei turned and looked at him then. Really looked. He didn't like what he saw. Kageyama had bags under his eyes, deep purple ones. His eyes drooped and he looked pale and unstable, like he'd fall over at any second.
He looked tired.
"Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine. It's only been two days since I last slept."
Instantly, every single thing that the team had done in the last two days on this training camp came back to him and he felt an immense exhaustion wash over him. The training had been brutal and Kageyama had stayed behind for extra practice with the shrimp and then for himself after Hinata got tired.
"You need to go back to bed Ki.. Tobio. Now."
Kageyama jolted at his given name but shook his head at Kei's order. "I'll be fine. I can last for today. I might not sleep even if I do go back to bed. I'll just lay there and think."
Kei reached up and ruffled Tobio's hair, shaking his head side to side as he mussed the neat locks. Tobio slapped his hands away, stepped back and scowled at Kei. Confused and wary. Tsukishima wasn't warm or friendly or affectionate… ever.
"Tobio, they were your past. We are your future."
Tobio's shoulders lifted as his expression jumped into shock with a little bit a relief sparkling in his eyes. It looked as if the weight of the world had suddenly lifted from his shoulders and he smiled. It was small but Kei thought it was cute. Adorable. He'd never admit to any but himself though… and maybe Kageyama, one day.
Thumps echoed out from the inn they were staying at as Karasuno trudged into the kitchen. Some slow, still weary from sleep and others bouncing in, bright eyed and bushy tailed and far too obnoxious for 6:30 in the morning. Outside Tsukishima and Kageyama heard Ukai yelling at the team to shut up and make breakfast so they wouldn't wake Seijoh and 'whose cup is this?' Karasuno quickly shut their mouths; nobody wanted to deal with Oikawa this early in the morning. They'd already had that experience yesterday it was hell. Nobody owned up to the cup.
Without a word they both moved for the door. Kageyama pushed it open; already receiving greetings from the more lively or polite teammates before he'd even entered the room properly. Tsukishima swung the door shut behind them and watched everyone wince as it slammed and shook the windows beside it with a joyous smirk that dropped when Kageyama stumbled and began to fall.
He slumped like a rag doll over Kei's arms. He'd caught Tobio before he'd even had the chance to hit the ground. The team was stumped but quickly snapped out of it when Kei lowered Tobio gently to the floor, and descended like a pack of crows on raw meat, his name on all their lips as Kei laid Tobio's head in his lap.
He was dead asleep. He looked tired but peaceful and if Kei glared holes into the skulls of those who tried to wake him well Tobio didn't need to know just yet. Nor did he need to know that Kei carried him back to his futon and tucked him in. So nobody tell him. ^_^