Chapter Text
Tsukishima had always been a lightweight. He knew the second he took his first sip of beer that he was not made for drinking. One drink- no matter what it was- was enough to get him buzzed. More than three drinks was a guaranteed hangover for him. He was lucky though. Considering the fact that some of his closest friends were Olympic athletes, Tsukishima didn’t encounter much alcohol in his friend circle.
But tonight was their rare opportunity. Every year, as a way to celebrate the end of the season, Bokuto hosted a massive party at his house. Every volleyball player, no matter what league, division or team they were part of, was invited and they were welcome to bring anyone they wanted. There was food, dancing, and, of course, enough alcohol to rival a liquor store. Tonight was Tsukishima’s most hated night of the year. The only way he managed to make it through the party year after year was his boyfriend, Tadashi. At this point it was routine to show up together, stay long enough for people to see that they went, then leave. Not this year though. This year, Tadashi was stuck working late at his office and no matter how much Tsukishima insisted on skipping altogether, Tadashi wouldn’t budge. Which meant Tsukishima had to brave the first hour of this party on his own. Yippee.
Which is how he ended up standing in front of Bokuto’s house at 9 pm on the dot. Tsukishima examined the house in front of him. He wasn’t even sure it could be classified as a house. He also had no idea how Bokuto even found a place like this. To begin with, it was huge. It easily fit the 100+ party attendees. But honestly? It just looked...weird. Whoever designed it was Tsukishima’s worst enemy. They seemed to have wanted to echo a modern art deco style, but then too late into the process, switched gears to a noncommittal steampunk aesthetic. It was a house that almost pushed Tsukishima to pursue architecture out of pure spite.
The door that Tsukishima stood in front of looked like a replica of a giant bank vault, complete with the wheel lock, though that was mainly for show. Tacky? Extremely. From out here, he could hear the party inside. Tsukishima had no doubt in his mind that Bokuto had simply looked up party songs and played the first one that popped up.The lasers cut through the curtains, reflecting off his glasses. This really was the exact opposite of an ideal night for Tsukishima. Sure, he had matured enough to admit he likes hanging out with his friends. But this was completely out of his comfort zone. The last thing he wanted was to spend more time with a bunch of sweaty athletes who were annoying enough sober.
Tsukishima groaned, holding his head in his hands.
"Tsukki!" He heard someone call from behind.
He brightened. Thank god Tadashi had arrived. He turned around but it wasn’t his beautiful freckled boyfriend. "Koganegawa. Of course."
"Why are you waiting out here? The party's inside," Koganegawa said. He reached past Tsukishima, twisting the hidden doorknob and looked back, expectantly.
Tsukishima sighed. An hour in theory wasn’t that bad, but experiencing an hour was a whole different thing. An hour could easily be filled by half a volleyball game or half of Jurassic Park, but those were both things that when he was in the middle of, all he wanted was to get to the ending. An hour at times could be unbearable.
Koganegawa grabbed Tsukishima's hand and pulled him along. "You're coming whether you like it or not."
Tsukishima let Koganegawa drag him through the door. Once it was shut, every sense hit Tsukishima at once. Bokuto had somehow situated a disco ball in the living room turned dance floor of his house and the lasers bounced back and forth off of it. There was a fog machine that blanketed everyone's feet and somehow there was even a confetti cannon that went off at the end of each song. Tsukishima immediately decided that room was completely off-limits. The smell of alcohol clung heavy in the air, forcing its way into Tsukishima's nose. Seeing and hearing the crowd inside reminded Tsukishima that in another universe, his friends would have been great frat bros.
Koganegawa continued to pull him along past the living room and staircase to the kitchen at the back of the house. The farther back they went, the more muted the music became. Tsukishima’s ears thanked him. He really needed to invest in ear plugs. Once they entered the kitchen, it took everything in Tsukishima to hold back his laugh. Bokuto had decorated the entire thing in the theme of a tiki bar. There were giant blowup palm trees around the room, and he'd even gone as far to cover the sides of the counter with straw hay and plastic flowers. On the counter, Bokuto had every bottle of liquor imaginable. Behind the counter stood Akaashi. Thankfully he didn't match the tiki theme.
Koganegawa bounded over to Akaashi, lifting him into a hug. "Hey Akaashi!"
"Kogane," Akaashi replied.
Koganegawa set him back down. "You playing bartender tonight?"
"Accidentally. I came for a drink and then everyone started asking me for one."
"Make me one then! Something...fruity!"
Akaashi nodded and grabbed a hollow pineapple. He poured a dash of pineapple liquor and filled the rest with vodka. He topped it off with a skewer of cherries, a paper umbrella and a straw before handing it off. Koganegawa took a sip and his eyes grew wide. "Jesus, Akaashi. You aren't cheap, are ya?"
Akaashi shrugged. "It's a party right?"
Koganegawa nodded. "I'm going to go find Futakuchi. Make sure this guy gets a drink!" He pointed at Tsukishima before he walked off.
"I don't need a drink," Tsukishima said, taking a seat at one of the bar stools. "Especially not after seeing you pour."
Akaashi chuckled. "How about a shot? A small glass will make up for my lack of measurements."
"A shot of straight anything is possibly the worst idea for me."
"You're supposed to be celebrating, Tsukishima," Akaashi said, already grabbing a bottle. "You just came with Kogane?"
"No, I'm waiting for Tadashi," Akaashi pushed the shot glass across the counter. "And I'm still not drinking that."
"I'll take it with you." Akaashi grabbed another glass.
"Akaashi, if I take this shot, I'm out for the rest of the night."
"You're not serious." Akaashi laughed. When Tsukishima didn't say anything, Akaashi stopped. "Seriously? One shot and that's it?"
"One anything and that's it," Tsukishima confirmed.
Akaashi thought for a second. "Okay. Then I better make it actually taste good." He took Tsukishima's shot himself before looking at the rest of the bottles. "Are you fruity? Drinkwise."
Tsukishima shook his head. "Not really. I used to like Kahlua."
Akaashi nodded. "Something bitter then. Should've expected that. You ate before this right?" When Tsukishima nodded, Akaashi grabbed a few different bottles and poured each of them into the shot glass. Once he was done, he handed it to Tsukishima.
He smelled it but he couldn't make anything out. "What did you put in it?"
"A little of this, little of that. Don't think too hard, this isn't volleyball. Just take it." Akaashi looked at him, waiting.
Tsukishima sighed. Maybe his tolerance had magically improved and he wasn't as much of a lightweight as he thought. Now was a better time than any to test it. He brought the glass to his lips and in one swift move, he took it. The back of this throat immediately burned. He coughed. "Akaashi, what the hell are you serving everyone?"
He laughed. "Hey, everyone is on a drink limit."
"I don't think that makes a difference when you pour as much as you do." Tsukishima cleared his throat. "I'm going to go show face at least.” He got up from his stool and stumbled. He knew his tolerance was low, but whatever Akaashi served him was settling faster than usual.
Tsukishima wandered around, looking for a place to chill. He was sober enough to stay away from the dance floor for now at least. He spotted Sakusa and Atsumu grinding on each other. Gross. He may love Tadashi, but not enough to participate in what was clearly an act of voyeurism.
He headed up the stairs, gripping the banister as he climbed. The stairs opened up to a smaller second living room. Suna was sitting on the floor in front of a TV the size of the wall playing Mario Kart. Hinata and Kageyama were cuddling on one of the couches behind him.
Hinata made eye contact and waved. "Tsukishima!"
“Hinata. King." He stepped over Suna who was staring intently at his game. His foot caught on the leg of a couch and he tripped. Before he could fall, Kageyama grabbed him and pushed him up. "Oops, my bad."
Kageyama glared at him. "Are you drunk?"
Tsukishima slouched onto the couch next to his friends. "A little. Maybe. Akaashi, man."
Hinata nodded solemnly. "We know. Oikawa already threw up in Bokuto's bird bath."
Kageyama laughed. Hinata and he shared a smile.
"Gross," Tsukishima mumbled.
“We literally smiled at each other,” Kageyama said.
“Yeah, that was gross.” Tsukishima turned towards the TV. "I miss Tadashi."
"Where is he?" Hinata asked as he rested his head on Kageyama's shoulder.
"Work. I mean, you guys just don't get it. You see each other like every day at home and at work. I wish Tadashi and I could do that too. Like in high school, we saw each other like all the time. I was so in love with him."
Kageyama's eyebrows shot up at that. Hinata asked the question for him. "How many drinks have you had?"
Tsukishima held up a finger. "And don't worry. I'm barely even tipsy."
Kageyama smirked. "Right. Because you always talk to us about how much you love Yamaguchi."
Tsukishima smiled at the sound of his boyfriend's name. He'd always had such a pretty one. Perfect for such a pretty boy. "I just never want to make you feel bad."
"Feel bad about what?" Hinata asked.
"That we're better than you," Tsukishima said, matter of factly.
Suna whistled. "Those are fighting words."
"If Tadashi was here he'd agree. You guys are so lucky. You get to see each other all the time."
"You already said that," Kageyama said.
Tsukishima giggled. "Oh yeah." He smiled to himself, images of his boyfriend swirling around his head. "You know Tadashi is really smart. That's why he's not here. He's too smart to waste his time. I miss him."
"Didn't you see him yesterday?" Hinata asked.
"That doesn't count. We barely even held hands."
"Ew," Kageyama said.
"I have literally caught you two making out in the locker room," Tsukishima said.
Kageyama defended himself. "That's different. Imagining you as anything other than a bastard is disturbing."
Hinata interrupted then. "Hey, Tsukishima, have you and Yamaguchi ever hooked up in the locker room?"
"No, are you kidding? It's gross in there. I'm surprised you and Kageyama didn't catch any diseases."
"It was probably cleaner than your bed," Kageyama snapped.
"I wash my sheets every week. Your bed doesn't even have- wait why are you mentioning my bed?"
Hinata punched Kageyama's shoulder. "Why would you bring that up?"
Tsukishima's eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong with my bed?"
Suna looked back at the trio. "They fucked in your bed."
Tsukishima's eyes grew wide. "IN MY BED?"
Hinata raised his hands. "In our defense, you didn't even notice!"
"Was I in the room?"
"Ew, no." Kageyama said. "It was in high school. Remember that time we were supposed to meet at your house, but you and Yamaguchi were running late because you totally stopped to make out in an alley?"
Tsukishima shook his head. "I can't believe you desecrated my bed."
"Well I didn't shit in it."
Hinata leaned forward. "If it means anything to you, Tsukishima, you and Yamaguchi can totally hook up in our bed."
"Why would I ever want to do that?”
Hinata ignored him. “You seem sobered up now.”
“How am I possibly supposed to be anything but sober after you tell me I've been sleeping on Kageyama's cum stains?”
“What's wrong with my cum stains?”
“I'm not answering that,” Tsukishima said. He got up from his spot on the couch. “I'm getting a drink.”
As he walked away, he heard Hinata scolding Kageyama. “I thought we promised to never tell him.”
“He deserves it. Making fun of my cum stains,” he heard Kageyama mumble. Tsukishima rolled his eyes. The second he got back home he was burning his bedsheets.