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Before he had even been given his housing assignment, Yamaguchi found himself already worrying whether or not his not-yet-decided roommate would hate him or not.
He tried desperately to find out whether or not living in a single-person space was possible, but... to no avail. So, he sighed as he resigned himself to playing the roulette that was a randomly selected student to dorm with.
And now, within the blink of an eye, this was it: moving day. Welcome week. The day Yamaguchi had been dreading all summer.
Their suite was nice. It had a kitchen, a general living space, and a small bedroom for each person; pretty much the best Yamaguchi could've asked for.
Only now, he had to face the biggest issue at hand... which was getting his roommate (someone by the name of... Kageyama Tobio?) to like him. Or, at the very least, not immediately find him weird or an easy target, to which he might immediately be made fun of by his roommate's friends talking about him behind his back within the first week.
Yep. Not happening. Yamaguchi was determined– no, prepared, even, to make a good impression.
Which was why he was pacing around in the small living room, mumbling to himself.
Hi! My name is Yamaguchi Tadashi! Nice to meet you. Simple. Straightforward. But, maybe a little too fake?
Hey, what's up? I'm your new roommate, Yamaguchi Tadashi. Ugh. He shuddered at the image of himself being so casual. No, it was best to just try and be himself.
As he continued to conjure up new ways to introduce himself, he didn't notice the quiet sound of footsteps approaching the door. Neither did he acknowledge the click of the lock before it swung open.
Yamaguchi stopped pacing when he noticed someone pushing himself through the doorway, huffing as he dropped a large cardboard box to the wooden floor.
This must be Kageyama Tobio.
Kageyama had short dark hair and bangs that hung over his eyes. When he stood up, Yamaguchi noticed that he stood a bit taller than him, which didn't help with how intimidated Yamaguchi already felt at the very prospect of having a roommate at all.
Kageyama seemed to finally take note of Yamaguchi standing there, looking slightly startled at the sight of him. "Oh," he said, with no further comment.
They stared at each other for a few long, silent seconds before Yamaguchi seemed to remember his lines. He cleared his throat, putting on a smile. "Hi, I'm your new roommate! My name's Yamaguchi Tadashi. Nice to meet you!"
He stuck out his hand, trying to initiate a handshake. That was the appropriate thing to do here, right? Now that they've finally met?
However, Kageyama seemed rather taken aback by this gesture. He just eyed Yamaguchi's hand warily, uncertain.
Realizing this, Yamaguchi quickly drew back his hand, laughing awkwardly. "Not a fan of handshakes, huh?"
Kageyama glanced away awkwardly, and Yamaguchi wanted to slam his head into the wall to take away the level of embarrassment he felt. That being said, slamming his head into the wall would not improve the situation. Then again, at this point, it didn't seem as though it could get any worse, either.
He cleared his throat a second time. "Uh... You're Kageyama Tobio, right? That's what the email told me, at least." He instinctually let out a nervous laugh, then cringed at himself.
Kageyama, finally looking at him again, blinked. "Yeah," he said slowly.
Yamaguchi nodded several times. "Right."
Without anything left to say to each other, the two just stood there silently, occasionally looking around the dorm space, just to break awkward eye contact.
"So..."
"Well, I'll let you get back to unpacking then!" Yamaguchi blurted out. "Um, I already got settled in earlier, so..." He scratched at the back of his hand. "Yeah," he finished his sentence awkwardly.
Kageyama made no gesture other than maybe a slight furrow in his brow. "Ok," was all he said.
As Kageyama picked up the box he'd been carrying before and quietly walked past Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi considered slamming his head against the wall for the second time.
"Yikes," Tsukishima stated as Yamaguchi sat down in a seat across from him with a sigh. "You look..." Yamaguchi blinked blearily at him. He had barely slept the night before, thinking and worrying about his blunder. "Sleepless."
He yawned. "Yeah, sorry." He mumbled. "Didn't sleep that well last night."
Tsukishima put down the breakfast menu he'd been holding and adjusted his glasses. They were sitting at a cafe close to Yamaguchi's dorm, one that he'd searched up weeks ago while trying to figure out the area. "I can tell," Tsukishima told him flatly. "What is it? Is it the new environment?"
"No." Yamaguchi stifled a yawn. "Well, not exactly. It's just..."
"Can I help you two with anything?"
They looked up. A server was holding a small notepad with a smile. "Do you need any more time?"
"Just a pot of coffee to start," Tsukishima told her. "Thanks." Yamaguchi nodded along. Once the server had left, Tsukishima turned back to Yamaguchi. "Go on. You were saying?"
Yamaguchi sighed and spilled the details of yesterday afternoon. Although it wasn't a very lengthy tale, Yamaguchi found himself taking longer than expected to get through it. Mostly, it was due to his interjections of, "I wasn't sure if he..." and "But, it wasn't like..."
The coffee pot had reached their table by the time he'd finished talking, and Tsukishima was sipping his cup as Yamaguchi sulked in his seat.
"Is he a jerk?" Tsukishima asked.
Yamaguchi started. "No!" He cried. "No, of course not. I mean, not that I could tell..." He began fiddling with the tablecloth. "It's just... it was such a shit first impression. I think I might have weirded him out."
Tsukishima blinked and set his coffee down. "Who cares what that guy thinks?"
"He's my roommate, though," Yamaguchi pointed out.
"So?" Tsukishima leaned back, folding his arms.
"So, you know, we have to get along."
He raised an eyebrow. "All you have to do is stay out of trouble with each other," he said. "That's what I'm doing. Mind your own business. It's not like you have to see him that much."
"But then that's awkward," Yamaguchi said, sounding a little miserable. "And I don't want to be a bad roommate." Tsukishima's eyebrows knit together. "No offense."
"Forget it," Tsukishima dismissed. He sighed. "If it matters that much to you, just try talking again. If he's not an asshole, then it should be fine."
Yamaguchi nodded slowly. He supposed there was some reasoning to that. After all, trying to fix things was a much better option than actively avoiding Kageyama for the rest of the year (as much as his gut instincts told him to do that). He smiled. "Thanks, Tsukki."
Tsukishima barely acknowledged this, just taking another sip of his coffee.
But as Yamaguchi started adding creamer and sugar to his blend: "Yamaguchi." He looked up.
Tsukishima was staring at him. "Don't be a pushover and let that guy walk all over you."
Yamaguchi nodded. "Right," he said.
"I think my roommate hates me."
Kageyama was lying on his back, one hand covering his eyes, as Hinata sat at the very side of the couch beside him, cross-legged with a console controller in his hands.
"Tobio," Hinata said, eyes leaving the small TV screen to look down at Kageyama. "You know I think you're amazing, but sometimes, you're really stupid." Kageyama uncovered an eye and glared at him. "You've only been there for, what? Less than a day? How could he already hate you?"
And so, Kageyama launches into an explanation, putting extra emphasis on the parts that mattered (at least to him).
When he'd stopped talking, Hinata was quiet.
"Actually," Hinata said carefully. "Yeah, wow. Jeez. That was pretty bad."
Kageyama had rolled over and was now screaming into the couch cushion.
"But that's not enough for him to hate you!" Hinata said quickly, patting him on the shoulder. "I mean, that's only the second worst first impression you've ever made with someone-" He narrowly dodged Kageyama swinging a decorative cushion at his face.
"Shut up," Kageyama sighed, sitting up.
"What I'm saying is," Hinata continued. "You making a bad first impression didn't stop us from getting along, did it?"
"Yeah, but that's because you're weird." Now it was Kageyama's turn to dodge a cushion flying at his face.
"Shut up!" Hinata yelled at him. "You're still missing the point!" Kageyama rolled his eyes. "My point is, this is only the start! Just open up to each other! Nothing could go wrong with that."
"Easy for you to say," Kageyama said bitterly. Hinata had been excited enough to contact his roommate, Nishinoya, early, and the two had instantly hit it off. Kageyama wished he had gotten that lucky with his housing arrangement. Then again, Hinata, unlike Kageyama, seemed to hit it off easily with just about anyone.
Hinata frowned. "Tobio," he said. "You know I love you," (nothing good ever came after that statement), "but if you come back here again to hide from seeing your roommate, I'll ask Noya-san to change the locks."
Kageyama stared at him, appalled. "Are you kicking me out?"
Hinata huffed. "I'll do anything if it'll stop you from acting like a hermit!" This time around, he couldn't dodge quickly enough to avoid getting smacked in the face with a pillow.
As Yamaguchi heard the door to their dorm open and shut, he looked up from the bag of groceries he'd brought back.
As Kageyama appeared around the corner, he stopped as he saw Yamaguchi, both making the same silent, awkward eye contact as they'd had the day before.
"Hi," Yamaguchi said awkwardly.
Kageyama stared unblinkingly. "Hey."
Yamaguchi slowly set a box of tea bags aside, remembering what Tsukishima had told him about trying to talk again. "Were you out all day?"
Truthfully, Yamaguchi already knew the answer to this question. He'd been sitting around the dorm all day since he'd gotten back from breakfast with Tsukishima, aside from the trip to the supermarket he'd just gotten back from, so he would've heard if Kageyama had returned earlier. And he hadn't.
"Yeah," Kageyama said, confirming Yamaguchi's suspicions. They hadn't seen each other all day, meaning that Kageyama must've gotten up early. At least, earlier than Yamaguchi had, which was only around 9:30 in the morning.
"How was it?" Yamaguchi asked, deciding 'Where were you?' sounded too accusatory.
Kageyama hesitated.
"You don't have to tell me," Yamaguchi said quickly. He figured now that Kageyama was, likely, a mostly private person. "Uh, anyways..." He lifted one of the paper bags he'd been going through. "I ran to the store earlier today. I was thinking about making dinner soon?"
Kageyama looked surprised. "You don't have to," he said, uttering the longest sentence Yamaguchi had heard him say yet. "I already ate while I was out."
"Oh, uh, okay," Yamaguchi smiled awkwardly. "Never mind, then."
Kageyama didn't say anything else to him before retreating to his room.
As Yamaguchi began boiling water for pasta on the stovetop, he reorganized the spices he'd bought about nine times, recounting their interaction from earlier. All things considered, it wasn't nearly as bad as yesterday's had gone, he thought.
Although he still couldn't shake the feeling that Kageyama must be silently judging him by now. Was he being too friendly?
Maybe Kageyama hated guys who were too friendly. Or maybe he simply just hated that Yamaguchi was being too friendly. Was it off-putting? It was hard to imagine what Kageyama was thinking behind that impeccable neutral expression of his.
Yamaguchi hoped that Kageyama hadn't been out all day spreading around the idea that Yamaguchi was some weirdo loner who didn't know how to talk to people.
He sighed as he began adding the noodles to the pot.
His roommate was truly quite the confusing puzzle, and Yamaguchi didn't know where to start piecing him together.
In the next few weeks, Yamaguchi began to learn more about Kageyama, little by little.
For example, Kageyama went out on early runs. Having fixed his sleep schedule from the first night, and Kageyama disappearing from their dorm less and less, Yamaguchi was acutely aware of the sound of him leaving early in the mornings, as he was trying to get out of bed, and coming back partially sweaty while Yamaguchi would start making himself breakfast.
The first morning this had happened, Yamaguchi was taking bacon and eggs out of their fridge in the kitchenette, startled by the sound of the door slamming shut. He, again, watched as Kageyama emerged from around the corner.
"Oh hey, you're back," he said, making Kageyama jump a little. "Oh, sorry." He raised the pan a little. "I'm making breakfast if you want any. I mean, I don't know if you got the chance to eat earlier."
Kageyama's eyes looked down slightly. "I didn't," he said, sounding a little sheepish. "But... thanks."
By the time Kageyama had showered and returned, Yamaguchi had two plates set out on the counter for them.
He nodded as he saw him walking out of their shared bathroom, a towel around his shoulders. "Perfect timing," he said. "There's a plate waiting for you."
The two sat down to eat but didn't say much to one another as they did so. Yamaguchi couldn't think of any topics for small conversation for the life of him. Kageyama ate relatively quickly and got up, rinsing his plate in the sink and quickly voicing his thanks before walking back to his room.
Yamaguchi hoped that was okay, he thought, now washing his plate in the sink. He wasn't sure if that was the kind of gesture Kageyama would appreciate or not. Maybe he was more of the independent type. Hopefully, that wasn't awkward for him.
But the next morning, when Yamaguchi got up to make breakfast again, he noticed a note taped to the fridge.
Gone out on a run. I'll be back soon by the time you're reading this, I think.
I can pick up breakfast nearby for both of us. Also, if we're running low on food in the fridge, just message me. I can pick up anything we need.
- Kageyama
He plucked the note off of the fridge door and stared at it for a while. After a while, he smiled a little.
It wasn't much, but it was a start.
Having just been through one of the most exhausting weeks of his life, Yamaguchi felt relieved at the end of the day to just collapse onto the cheap couch in their small living room, too tired to even dump his stuff in his room.
He'd have to make himself dinner, he thought tiredly. Oh well. If he was too lazy to do so, he could just order something.
Grabbing the TV remote, he turned it on and began flipping through channels for something to watch.
He stopped when he came across one showing a volleyball match, setting down the remote on the coffee table and adjusting the pillow cushion to support his head.
He hadn't thought much about the sport since high school (that being said, high school wasn't that long ago). It was fun, he'd made some good memories, so it would make good entertainment for his free evening.
He put his phone on Do Not Disturb and sat back to watch.
Yamaguchi wasn't paying that much attention to the game, however. His mind drifted elsewhere, but also nowhere at all. He might've been falling asleep when he heard Kageyama return, stepping through the doorway and closing it shut.
This was why it nearly scared him out of his skin when a voice above him suddenly asked, "What teams are playing?"
Yamaguchi yelped, sitting up abruptly and turning around to see Kageyama leaning over the back of the couch. "Jesus," he blurted out. "You-"
"Sorry," Kageyama said, not looking apologetic in the slightest.
"Um," Yamaguchi began, trying to remember Kageyama's question. "I don't know. I think this might be a replay from last season."
Kageyama nodded in acknowledgment, getting up and walking into the kitchenette. Yamaguchi thought that that was the end of their interaction until he peeked around the couch and noticed Kageyama staring over the counter dividing the two rooms, eyes fixed on the match playing on the screen.
He popped his head over. "Do you follow volleyball?" He asked, hoping to find some steady flow of conversation.
Kageyama's eyes went wide, looking shocked at Yamaguchi's question. It was such a reaction that Yamaguchi fought the urge to apologize immediately and retract what he'd just said. "I play," he said. "Volleyball, I mean. Obviously."
Yamaguchi had known his roommate was an athlete of some sort, based on the tight schedule he seemed to keep himself on. He wouldn't have assumed volleyball, though, and was a bit surprised to hear.
"That's cool," Yamaguchi nodded. "Are you...?" He observed Kageyama sideways, trying to guess what position he could've played.
"Setter," Kageyama said. "I'm a setter for our team."
"I was a middle blocker," Yamaguchi said. "Back in high school, anyways. Not that interesting."
Kageyama frowned at him. "Every position on the court is interesting."
Yamaguchi started. "Oh, no," he said quickly. "I didn't mean that. Well, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant, like, high school volleyball wasn't that interesting, I guess."
Kageyama still looked perplexed but didn't push the question any further. His eyes darted back to the match replay. "This is a pretty even match," he commented. "I think Brazil might have the advantage in the offense, though."
Yamaguchi found that Kageyama was most talkative when it came to volleyball, throwing out comments about the specifics of each player stepping on and off the court and explaining each side's strengths and weaknesses.
"Do you still play?" Kageyama asked after a while.
"Nope," Yamaguchi admitted. "I haven't thought about it enough to keep going with it."
Kageyama shrugged. "Bummer," he said. "I've got... I know someone who might be trying to bring a group together if you're interested."
Yamaguchi stared at him, surprised. Kageyama visibly tensed up.
"It's not a big deal," He added awkwardly. "We're just looking to do something fun every once in a while."
"No, yeah, sure!" Yamaguchi said, his voice slightly higher in pitch. "I'd be interested."
Kageyama's shoulders relaxed a bit. "Ok," he said. "I'll let him know then."
It was only after Kageyama had gotten up and left that Yamaguchi realized he probably should've asked for more information about the group Kageyama was supposedly a part of. He hoped he hadn't made the wrong decision in accepting the offer.
"What's all this?"
Yamaguchi was busy taking ingredients out of the cupboards when Kageyama returned.
"Hey," Yamaguchi nodded at him. "Welcome back," he said, as per usual. "Want to help me with dinner?"
Kageyama blinked. "Huh?"
Feeling a bit of awkwardness set in, Yamaguchi pushed past his nerves, mentally shaking himself. "Well, I just thought," he started, trying to figure out what the best way to phrase this would be. "Since we're always using the stove at different times, how about we work together on the same meal? You know, just so we're not always waiting on each other."
Every time Yamaguchi made an offer or asked Kageyama a question out of the blue, he felt as though his roommate could burn a hole right through his forehead with how intensely he stared.
"Ok," Kageyama said after a few seconds. "What are you making?"
Breathing out a sigh of relief, Yamaguchi held up his phone and showed Kageyama the preparation steps for the dish he wanted to make.
"I'm not that skilled of a cook," Yamaguchi warned, passing Kageyama a cutting board he'd taken out from under the sink. "Don't expect too much."
Kageyama nodded. "Fine," he said. "Just tell me what you need me to do."
Honestly, it felt like an intimidating task to be ordering Kageyama around. Yamaguchi found himself hastily adding on phrases like, "if it's not too much trouble," and "if you could," at the start and end of his instructions.
In truth, he had come up with this idea with the help of Tsukishima. While Tsukishima himself hadn't told him to try this directly, he had pointed him in the direction of finding a way to spend some time with his roommate so he wouldn't sneak off on his own again.
("Just rope him into doing some chores around the dorm with you or something," Tsukishima had told him. "There's nothing worse than a roommate who's dead weight. I've had to yell at my roommate five times last week for him to pick up his shit.")
"Thanks for helping me out," Yamaguchi said, preparing the rice.
Kageyama stopped cutting vegetables for a moment to look up at him. "It's for both of us," he pointed out. "Why wouldn't I help?"
He was pretty blunt with his words, most of the time, like what he was saying was obvious. Yamaguchi didn't know if this was on purpose or if he just wasn't aware that there was another way to think of it.
"Right," Yamaguchi said anyway, laughing nervously. "Yeah, that makes sense."
As he finished putting the rice into the rice cooker and pressed start, he heard a quiet hiss.
"Shit," Kageyama spat, putting down the knife with a clatter. Yamaguchi turned and his eyes shot open at the sight of blood dripping from Kageyama's hand.
"Oh my God!" He yelped. "You're bleeding!" Stating the obvious, sure, but that was the response he could muster at the sight of his roommate's slight injury.
"It's fine," Kageyama said, covering up the cut with his good hand, though he winced. "The cut isn't that deep."
But Yamaguchi wasn't having any of it. "Sit down somewhere," he ordered him. "I'll be back. Don't do anything else." He paused. "Please," he added. Then he dashed down the hall into the bathroom, looking for the first aid kit he had brought with him, just in case.
Kageyama was still standing awkwardly in the middle of the kitchenette when Yamaguchi returned, so Yamaguchi pulled out one of the table chairs for him.
"Sit," Yamaguchi insisted. Kageyama sort of looked as though he wanted to argue but decided better of it, doing as he was told.
Yamaguchi opened up the small case and looked through it, pulling out an antiseptic wipe and looking for something to bandage up the cut with. "Here," he said, reaching forward. Then, he immediately retracted his hand, remembering how Kageyama had reacted on the first day they'd met.
"Oh," he said quickly. "Sorry, I forgot. Is it ok if I...?"
Kageyama hesitated for a moment but gave him his injured hand.
Yamaguchi started cleaning off the blood, mumbling several 'sorry's whenever he heard Kageyama react to the sting of pain.
"That's probably good," Yamaguchi said, letting him go.
Kageyama inspected his bandaged finger. For a moment, Yamaguchi wondered if he was searching for fault, but then Kageyama nodded at him. "Thanks," he said shortly.
"I can take care of the rest now," Yamaguchi said. "Since you accidentally got that cut and all."
But Kageyama was shaking his head. "I said I'd help," he said. "Just tell me what you need me to do next."
Yamaguchi smiled and nodded, and the two got back to work.
All things considered, the two made an excellent team. And since then, they decided they'd make a collective effort to cook meals for the evening together. Whatever they made was dependent on whoever got back to the dorm first.
Sometimes, they would have to meet in the middle. For example, Yamaguchi had to admit to Kageyama that his spice tolerance was near zero and requested with his head hanging low that they make the dish milder. Thankfully, Kageyama rarely argued.
It was one particular evening, as Yamaguchi walked in through the door, wondering what Kageyama would have chosen for dinner that evening, that he found a stranger standing alone in their dorm.
"I'm back!" He said cheerfully as he rounded the corner. His face fell as soon as he saw, not Kageyama sitting at the small round table in their kitchenette, but a short boy with bright russet hair leaning back against the shining counter.
The two made eye contact. Yamaguchi nearly dropped his bag in shock.
The stranger blinked. "Hi," he said.
Yamaguchi stared. "You're not Kageyama," he said, stunned.
"No... I'm not." The stranger cleared his throat. "Sorry. Tobio let me in. He's in the shower now, I think. But the water just stopped, so..."
As if he'd been summoned by words, the door to the bathroom opened, and Kageyama walked out in a clean t-shirt and pair of shorts. He too, froze at the sight of the scene in the kitchenette.
"Yamaguchi," he said, staring with his eyes wide. "I didn't think you'd be back, yet."
"I'm here, too!" The stranger in their dorm shouted. Kageyama ignored him.
"I was going to tell you I brought someone over," he continued. "But I meant to send a message after I showered. Sorry."
Yamaguchi smiled. "It's no big deal," he said.
"He's not staying long," Kageyama explained. "We're just here to stop for a bit after a run."
"Hey, hello?" The stranger huffed, walking towards him. "I'm still here, you know. Stop talking about me like I'm not in the room." When Yamaguchi turned to him, he was smiling brightly. "The name's Hinata Shoyo," he introduced himself. "I'm assuming you're Tobio's roommate? He hasn't been a dick to you, has he-? Argh!"
He was cut off by Kageyama shoving his face away. "Sorry about him, he's an embarrassment," he said to Yamaguchi.
"You prick!" Hinata shouted, struggling against him. "I'm your boyfriend!"
"Oh," Yamaguchi blurted out before he could stop himself. "You mean, you two are-?"
Hinata grinned. "Together? Yeah, I'm just as surprised as you are."
It wasn't that, exactly. Yamaguchi had just never really processed the idea of any of his friends dating anyone. It had nothing to do with Kageyama or Hinata as people, it was just something that never occurred to him before.
"Second warning," Kageyama said to him. Then he turned to Yamaguchi. "Hinata's the one trying to find a group of volleyball players," he explained. "I mentioned that a while back if you remember."
Yamaguchi remembered. He'd been waiting for Kageyama to get back on that.
"Oh, this is the guy?" Hinata asked. "Tobio, you should've told me it was your roommate. That would've made things a lot clearer."
Kageyama rolled his eyes. "You should exchange numbers before he leaves so he can add you to a group chat," he told Yamaguchi. "It's just for planning, so we're clear on who can make it on what days."
As Yamaguchi and Hinata exchanged numbers (Kageyama had gone off to look for dinner recipes for that night), he learned that Hinata could talk a lot. He was rambling and asking Yamaguchi a million questions as they went through the process of adding Yamaguchi to his contacts.
"Tobio tells me you're a middle blocker," Hinata says, typing his number into Yamaguchi's phone.
"I was a middle blocker," Yamaguchi corrected him. Hinata didn't exactly catch that.
"I was a middle blocker too, back in high school," he continued, smiling. "I'm an outside hitter now. Me and that guy are on the same team," he explained, jabbing his thumb over at Kageyama. "Since high school."
Since high school? Yamaguchi and Tsukishima played for the same club back then. He knew Tsukishima was still playing in college. Maybe he could try and ask if he'd be interested in joining Hinata's group.
He didn't get a chance to ask Hinata about it, however, before the guy was already halfway out the door. "Thanks for letting me stay!" He called, putting his windbreaker on. "We'll talk more later!"
He shut the door behind him before Yamaguchi could even get a word in.
"Sorry, he's just like that," Kageyama sighed, pulling a pan out from the cupboards.
Yamaguchi didn't get why Kageyama kept apologizing to him. Maybe he was just embarrassed by the whole ordeal. "I didn't expect that the person you were talking about would be so..."
"Short?"
Well, no. Not quite. It was more that he didn't think a guy like Kageyama would be seeing a guy like Hinata. Although, maybe, he started to wonder if he'd just had the wrong impression of Kageyama all along. "Energetic," he decided. "You guys are going out?"
Kageyama suddenly stiffened and quickly turned away, digging through the fridge. "Did we remember to buy eggs last time?" He asked, clearly trying to change the subject.
Yamaguchi huffed in amusement. It was kind of endearing to know that Kageyama had someone like that in his life. It was a little odd, considering that it was his roommate, but still. "Yeah, I picked up a dozen last week. They're on the top shelf."
Later that evening, as Yamaguchi shut his laptop and got ready for bed, he heard his phone buzz. He picked it up, expecting Tsukishima, but was surprised by something else.
Shoyo: HI
Shoyo: ok, so this is gonna be our new group for now. we've got like, six people? I think.
Shoyo: everyone introduce yourselves
Shoyo: hinata shoyo, btw
Noya: nishinoya yuu!!!
Tanaka: TANAKA RYUUNOSUKE
Yamaguchi Tadashi: Hi, I'm Yamaguchi Tadashi
Ennoshita Chikara: I'm Ennoshita.
Shoyo: @Kageyama Tobio
Shoyo: @Kageyama Tobio
Shoyo: @Kageyama Tobio
Shoyo: @Yamaguchi Tadashi, is he still awake
Yamaguchi Tadashi: Oh, I don't know. Maybe not.
Shoyo: @Kageyama Tobio WAKE UP.
Kageyama Tobio: Kageyama Tobio
Shoyo: he lives.
Noya: he lives.
Tanaka: he lives.
Ennoshita Chikara: Ok I'm putting you all on silent. Good night.
Noya: GOOD NIGHT, REST WELL
Kageyama Tobio: Me too
Shoyo: YOU JUST GOT HERE
Kageyama Tobio: Bye
Shoyo: :(
Yamaguchi found himself smiling at the barrage of messages. Silently, he was a little glad he hadn't asked about inviting Tsukishima quite yet. He could imagine him leaving the group chat within seconds of all that chaos.
He silenced his phone and turned off the lights, sighing as he drifted to sleep.
Ennoshita Chikara: If everyone is available on Sunday, how about in the afternoon? At about 4:30 PM?
And so here Yamaguchi was, standing awkwardly as he watched the group crowd together and catch up.
"Yamaguchi!" He looked up as he heard Kageyama's voice calling to him, beckoning him over.
"We're splitting up into groups of three," he explained as Yamaguchi approached. "What are your strengths?"
"Huh?" Yamaguchi blinked. He didn't realize they'd be planning their teams so meticulously. He felt odd about gloating his skill. He never thought much of himself in the sport anyway. "Oh, well, you know... serving, I guess?" He phrased it like a question. "I'd say I'm pretty average in general."
He saw one of the others (Ennoshita, he remembered) nod as well. "Me too," he said. "I guess we can split each of us off into a team then."
Kageyama nodded carefully. "Any other thoughts?" He asked Ennoshita seriously. Ennoshita looked surprised.
"Oh, no," he said quickly. "I was just spitballing an idea."
"I want Shoyo on my team!" Nishinoya barked, grabbing Hinata by the shoulders from behind and jumping up and down.
Kageyama grabbed a stick on the ground and began making marks in the dirt. "So that's Nishinoya and Hinata," he began, scratching it out. "And then we can put Ennoshita with them as well. That leaves Yamaguchi, Tanaka, and me on the other side of the net." He looked up to stare at Yamaguchi. "If that's fine with you."
Yamaguchi didn't have any reason to argue. "Fine with me," he said.
"Tobio, do you have to be so picky about everything?" Hinata teased, half-crouching beside Kageyama. "Not everything has to be so serious, you know."
Kageyama poked him with the stick in his hand. "I'm keeping score this time," he said. "No one can trust you to keep count after last week."
Hinata gasped, clearly offended, but was pulled away by Ennoshita to discuss a game plan before the two could start bickering.
"I didn't realize you guys took things this seriously," Yamaguchi commented. "I thought this was all for fun."
Kageyama gave him a confused look. "It is for fun," he said. "But why wouldn't we try to win?"
Well...
The one with the shaved head, Tanaka, came up behind Kageyama and slapped him hard across the back, laughing. "Never a dull moment with you!" He cackled as Kageyama rubbed his shoulder, clearly used to this.
(Yamaguchi inched away a little, nervous that he might become the next target if he stood too close.)
Kageyama's gaze hardened. "Here's the plan," he began.
As he explained the details of who would stand where and what situations would lead to what reactions, Yamaguchi realized that Kageyama was much more intense when it came to volleyball than anything else.
Not that he was judging. Every person has their passions. But it was certainly... intimidating, to say the least.
"Got it?" He asked finally, looking from Tanaka to Yamaguchi and back to Tanaka again.
Yamaguchi processed maybe about half of what Kageyama had quickly run through, but he wasn't sure if asking him to repeat it would be of any help anyway, so he nodded.
As they approached the net, Ennoshita pulled out a coin. "Heads or tails?" He asked.
After all three of the members standing on Yamaguchi's side looked at one another, Kageyama correctly guessed tails and won the coin flip. "We'll serve first," he decided.
And so Kageyama now stood at the end of their makeshift grass court, the ball in his hands, and staring intensely at their temporary opponents. Yamaguchi could almost feel his concentration from where he was standing.
"Anytime now, Tobio!" Hinata had called gleefully from the other side. Yamaguchi turned around to peek at Kageyama, who was now glaring over at Hinata.
He turned back around as Kageyama stepped back to take the run-up.
WHAM!
Yamaguchi nearly jumped at the sound of Kageyama's palm making contact with the ball.
"Noya-san!"
"Got it!" Nishinoya zipped to the corner where Kageyama had aimed his serve, making the pass to Ennoshita.
Kageyama had joined Yamaguchi up at the net to mark Hinata, whom Kageyama had warned about earlier. As Hinata jumped (shockingly high, for his height) and slammed down the kill, Yamaguchi felt his hands fly back from the impact of the deflection.
"Cover!" He heard Kageyama shout as Tanaka dashed back.
The ball was sent back to Kageyama at the net as Tanaka and Yamaguchi ran up, both calling for the toss. Kageyama sent it to Tanaka on his right, who slammed it down at full force. Nishinoya dived but just barely missed getting the dig.
"Nice kill," Kageyama said to Tanaka, who had barely heard him and was now whooping loudly while throwing both fists in the air. He nodded at Yamaguchi. "Let's go for another."
"In your dreams!" Hinata shouted from the other side of the net.
The rest played out as a back-and-forth, each three-person team keeping the score even. Yamaguchi learned each person on the court quickly throughout, trying to piece together what their specialties were.
Eventually, he found himself up at the service line (marked by someone's bag) to serve, Tanaka encouraging him from up front and Kageyama giving him a nod.
Yamaguchi took a deep breath as he tried to recall the muscle memory of his float serve from months ago. He hoped he could still get it. Once he felt ready, he tossed up the ball and let it hit the palm of his hand.
The ball sailed easily over the net before dropping sharply. Hinata, who hadn't seen it coming, bit the dirt stumbling forward for the receive.
"Are you okay?!" Ennoshita asked, jogging over to catch up to him. Hinata picked himself up, spitting out a blade of grass.
"Fine!" He shouted. (Tanaka laughed hysterically while pointing at him from his side of the net.)
"Sorry!" Yamaguchi called hastily, although mostly, he felt relieved to see he still had his skills with him, however rusty he was.
"He'll be fine," Kageyama told him. "Something like that always happens to him at least twice a week." He gave Yamaguchi a nod of respect. "Good serve."
And the good thing about Kageyama was that with him, Yamaguchi never needed to doubt whether he'd earned it or not. He nodded back. "Thanks."
With Yamaguchi's team taking the first set and the others taking the second, the last set felt like a prolonged battle, the score remaining even for the majority of it. Eventually, Yamaguchi, Kageyama, and Tanaka pulled ahead by two points, just barely giving them the win.
He sighed in relief as he sat down on a bench, gratefully accepting a plastic water bottle Ennoshita handed to him.
Ennoshita sighed as well as he took a seat next to him. "Looks like those two are up for a second battle," he commented, watching Hinata and Kageyama argue from afar.
Yamaguchi blinked. "Are they always like this?" He asked.
The corners of Ennoshita's eyes crinkled in amusement. "Oh, yeah." He said. "I'm assuming they're arguing over a forfeit for Hinata this time. Last week, Hinata had Kageyama pay the dinner bill for all of us."
"Do you all play?" Yamaguchi asked. He felt a bit out of place among everyone else with how serious their attitudes had been.
"Nope." He sighed quietly in relief. "Just Hinata and Kageyama. I mean, I've heard Nishinoya plays in clinics sometimes, but it's just those two who are serious about it." He crossed his arms. "You're roommates with Kageyama, aren't you? That's how you got introduced? What's he like?"
Yamaguchi was surprised by his question. "You're asking me?" He asked. "I thought you all would've known him already."
Ennoshita shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, I have no problems with the guy," he said. "But, you know, he's not very open. I think you might be the closest with him out of all of us. Well, except for Hinata, of course."
Shocked by this information, Yamaguchi just stared. He had considered the fact that he and Kageyama had been getting along fairly well. But close friends? Frankly, Kageyama still felt a bit intimidating at times. Although... Yamaguchi started to wonder if that image of him was real or if he had conjured it up with his anxious thoughts.
"Ennoshita! Yamaguchi!" They turned their heads as they heard Tanaka's voice drifting over. He was waving for them to come back to the court. Kageyama and Hinata looked as though they'd stopped arguing.
"Looks like Kageyama's decided the losing penalty," Ennoshita commented, nudging Yamaguchi. "Come on, let's find out."
Nishinoya looked ecstatic as they walked over. "Shoyo's buying us Chinese buns tonight!" He cheered.
"Against my will," Hinata mumbled.
"You're welcome," Kageyama deadpanned.
"We're getting dinner?" Yamaguchi questioned.
Hinata nodded. "We usually do after getting together like this," he explained. "You are joining us, right?"
Yamaguchi reluctantly agreed, only because he felt rude to refuse. Besides, after that exhausting match, he wasn't sure he had the energy to go back to his dorm and cook dinner himself. Plus, he'd arrived earlier with Kageyama and would have to ask to borrow his key for the evening.
As Tanaka pulled Hinata ahead with one arm, yammering excitedly with Nishinoya practically hopping beside him, Yamaguchi fell back to walk alongside Kageyama.
"That was a good match," Kageyama said to him. "You played well."
Yamaguchi instinctually tensed up a little when Kageyama spoke to him. Then he remembered the conversation he'd had with Ennoshita earlier and relaxed a little. As he briefly glanced at Kageyama, he noticed Kageyama had lost the usual stiffness in his figure as well. The two seemed to have finally properly warmed up to one another.
"It was a lot to keep up with you all," Yamaguchi admitted. "You all took it so seriously."
Kageyama frowned slightly. "You were working pretty hard," he told him. "You fought as much as the rest of us did."
Well, not exactly, Yamaguchi thought. He hadn't been fighting too hard just for the game. It was mostly so that he could keep pace with the energy of the others. But he didn't tell Kageyama that.
"It was fun," he said, realizing that it was true as he said it aloud.
As the group walked along the street, Kageyama catching up with Hinata for the two to have another lovely bicker, Yamaguchi thought to himself that from now on, he'd put in much more effort to keep going with what he had.
"I took your advice, Tsukki!" Yamaguchi said cheerfully as he sat down, digging into the shortcake he had ordered.
"Oh?" Tsukishima sipped at his cup, then made a face. "I can taste the coffee grounds," he mumbled. "We should not come here again."
"Kageyama and I get along pretty well now," Yamaguchi said, poking his fork into his dessert. "He invited me to this volleyball group he's in. We play on weekends, sometimes."
"Hm," Tsukishima hummed in acknowledgment, taking another sip of his coffee despite his complaints about it. "That's good." He made another face at the taste and pushed his cup aside, leaving it at the end of the table forgotten.
"You should come over sometime to visit," Yamaguchi said as they stepped out of the cafe (Tsukishima was currently rating the place two out of five stars on his phone). "Kageyama and I just did a thorough clean of the place this past week.
Tsukishima scoffed. "Wish my roommate could take some responsibility for the cleaning work in our dorm," he said bitterly, although he wasn't rejecting Yamaguchi's invitation. "I think I'm just going to request a change if he doesn't shape up soon. Or I'll just try complaining to him again."
Yamaguchi wouldn't be surprised if the latter ended up being the tactic that worked. Tsukishima wasn't easy to be stubborn with, with how intimidating he could be.
"I'll send you our address and dorm number," Yamaguchi said, pulling out his phone. "Swing by any time. Our door's always open."
Tsukishima checked his phone and opened up Yamaguchi's message, nodding. "Sure," he said. Yamaguchi beamed.
"I'm back," Yamaguchi called, kicking off his shoes and taking off his coat. It was starting to get colder as the year began to turn to late autumn. The last of the leaves were hanging onto their branches and the air had become crisp and unforgiving in the nights.
He expected Kageyama to poke his head out from around the corner, possibly giving him a 'Welcome back' or even just nodding to acknowledge him, but there was nothing. Yamaguchi frowned as he heard voices drifting down the hall.
As he got closer, the voices got clearer, and they were arguing over something. He turned the corner to find three college students talking over each other in his kitchenette. They stopped and immediately went silent as they noticed Yamaguchi standing in the small hall space.
He blinked. "Kageyama," he said. "Hinata. And... Tsukki?!"
Tsukishima, who had looked extremely irritated just a second ago, lost the annoyed expression immediately. "Hi," he said. He pointed at Kageyama and Hinata. "These two idiots let me in."
Yamaguchi stared, his eyes darting around the room. The counter was dusted with a light coat of flour, and the fridge was hanging slightly open. "What's going on?"
All three voices started talking at once.
"Well, see, Tobio called me-"
"I needed Hinata to fetch something for me-"
"I thought today would be a good day to come by, so-"
"-so I figured, I'd stay and help out?"
"It wasn't supposed to be this much of a mess, but-"
"Turns out, instead of you, these guys-"
Yamaguchi, overwhelmed, put his hands out, waving them frantically. "One at a time!" He shouted, sending them silent again.
The three of them exchanged glances, which, at another time, would've been extremely amusing for Yamaguchi, as the three of them were all so different.
When no one stopped him, Hinata spoke first. "I got a call from Tobio saying that he needed me to pick up butter and a carton of eggs from the store," he explained.
"So I brought them by and asked what he was doing. He told me it was your birthday, so I convinced him to let me in and help him with the baking. Then, halfway through preparation, we heard a knock at the door, and well." He jabbed a thumb at Tsukishima. "It was Glasses over here. He said he was a long-time friend of yours, so we let him in."
"Good thing they did," Tsukishima huffed. "These two couldn't even spell the word 'organization' if you asked them to."
Hinata glared pointedly at Tsukishima.
Yamaguchi was looking at Kageyama. "How'd you know?" He asked.
Kageyama shrugged. "It was on your calendar," he explained. "I noticed it last week. I figured... since there was time..."
Yamaguchi was left speechless and touched by the gesture.
Regardless of the state of their kitchen (Hinata and Kageyama had apologized profusely and cleaned it up together later that evening), Yamaguchi marveled at the cake the disastrous trio had been able to pull together. It looked amazing. Smelled amazing. Tasted pretty amazing too.
"This is good!" Yamaguchi exclaimed, taking another bite of his slice.
"You sound surprised," Kageyama observed, slicing off a bite with the edge of his fork.
"I would be too," Yamaguchi heard Tsukishima mumble. Luckily, the other two hadn't heard him. Or at least, they pretended not to.
"No, I'm just..." Yamaguchi thought through his next words carefully. "Pleasantly surprised that you three were able to work together so well."
"It wasn't that easy," Tsukishima informed.
"Hinata dropped two eggs," Kageyama said.
"Tobio lost count of how many cups of flour we'd used," Hinata added.
"It took him fifteen minutes just to figure out how to preheat the oven."
"Those two ran off somewhere while making frosting," Tsukishima interjected, looking mildly perturbed. "I had to finish the job."
Hinata nearly lunged out of his seat at him. Kageyama yanked him back by his hood.
"We thought we had enough time to set up before you got back," Kageyama explained to Yamaguchi. "They wanted it to be a better surprise than this."
Yamaguchi shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he said, smiling. "This is great."
Later, after they'd cleaned up, Hinata pulled Kageyama off somewhere, shouting a hasty, "We'll be back! Happy birthday, Yamaguchi!" on their way out. This left Yamaguchi and Tsukishima alone in the dorm.
Yamaguchi sighed as he took a seat at the small kitchen table, putting down two drinks. Tsukishima sat across from him. "Thanks for stopping by," he said. "Sorry, I wasn't here when you showed up."
"It's fine," Tsukishima told him. "I don't get why you have to say sorry for that."
Right. Yamaguchi would have to work on that if he was hanging around people like Tsukishima and Kageyama.
"Your roommate's pretty fussy," Tsukishima commented. "Always telling everyone else what to do. I don't understand how you can stand it."
Yamaguchi was about to interject that Kageyama wasn't like that, at least not with him, when Tsukishima continued.
"Anyways," he sighed. "I was coming to see you to congratulate you. You know, turning eighteen and all. I didn't expect those two to turn it into a whole thing." The mildly annoyed expression from before returned but vanished just as quickly. "So, happy birthday." He said.
Yamaguchi smiled earnestly. "Thank you," he said.
Tsukishima raised his glass slightly. "To many more," he declared.
Yamaguchi took his own glass into his hand and clinked it against Tsukishima's. It felt like a delicate moment, for some reason, as their hands lingered there in the air.
To many more, he'd said.
Yes. Yamaguchi would look forward to more years with Tsukishima by his side.
"Thanks for sticking around with me," the words left Yamaguchi's mouth before he could stop them from falling out.
Tsukishima's eyes widened a little, looking slightly surprised. Hell, even Yamaguchi himself felt surprised. He felt his heart thud weirdly. Tsukishima opened his mouth a little to speak, but before he could-
"I win!"
Yamaguchi and Tsukishima jumped at the sound of the door crashing open, and Hinata, breathless, tumbling out and lying flat on the wooden floor, cackling. Kageyama showed up not a moment later, half bent over and leaning on the wall for support.
"Cheater!" Kageyama spat. "Give me back my fucking keys!"
Hinata sat up, breathing heavily, and chucked Kageyama's key ring at him. "All yours," he said gleefully. "And now, you owe me lunch tomorrow!"
That's when he paused and noticed Yamaguchi and Tsukishima sitting at the table, stunned.
"Oh, sorry," he said, blinking. "Did we miss anything?"
Yamaguchi couldn't help it. He burst out laughing.
And in the corner of his eye, he thought he noticed Tsukishima let out a huff of amusement.