Chapter Text
“You two aren’t allergic to hanging out and not arguing with each other, right?”
“It’s on my doctor’s note.” Kageyama Tobio said.
“Mine too.” Tsukishima Kei muttered.
“I don’t care what your doctor says, you two will go somewhere today. That’s your homework.” Sugawara-san pushed both of them out of the gym doors, and the two of them stumbled out with a grunt. “Be glad you aren’t taking supplementary classes, Kageyama.”
The gym doors slammed shut right in front of their faces.
Kageyama and Tsukishima’s personalities clashing together was like an unwanted explosion in the lab— something like yeast and potassium— once combined, it expands and explodes, making for a haphazard mess that usually cannot be contained. That was usually them. Every time their paths cross even slightly during volleyball, a ring of fire spreads.
This was totally a bad idea. Sugawara must be a savage, trying to get them together.
The setter looked away, certainly having comic shade on his forehead, “Tsu…Tsukishima… do you want to–”
Tsukki was already walking away, bag over his shoulder and a bored expression on his face, “Sorry, King. I have to study–”
“Don’t use that as an excuse, Tsukishima!” Their coach yelled loudly from inside the gym. That effectively made Tsukki’s body tense and freeze up in his path, obviously reluctant. “Go with Kageyama! At least he’s trying, unlike you, who never does!”
Kageyama smirked at that.
“Yeah, sure.” Tsukki murmured, sighing and swiveling his body to Kageyama, who’s body language looked as if he’d rather dive head first into a volcano than hang out with Tsukishima Kei. “What’s your plan, Kageyama?”
The setter tried his best to ease into a flowy conversation, and he took out his phone, checking the time, “Well… maybe we could go out for ice cream a–and… uh–”
Tsukki tilted his head. “Come again? I didn’t hear you…”
“Ice cream and–”
“Hm?”
“I’ll sock you.” Kageyama furiously glared at him.
Tsukki rolled his eyes and turned in the direction of the school gates, “Ice cream is fine. What else?”
“Bowling.” Kageyama managed out, and his dark eyes sparkled under all that pride. “I’ll destroy you in it.”
“...Okay.” Tsukishima blinked.
“Whoever wins pays for the ice cream.”
“...Okay.”
“Why are you just responding like that?”
“Cause I don’t care.” Tsukki said easily. “Let’s head out.”
As they walked to the local bowling alley, Tsukki opened his phone to reveal a stream of messages from Yamaguchi– he was there since elementary school, and Tsukki didn’t have a coherent opinion on him ever since he stopped Yamaguchi from getting bullied on the playground, but it was always nice to have someone else that could tease as much as he did– and he opened the messages, and it consisted of many Where are you? s and also Are you alright? s.
“Sugawara-san and coach made me go out with Tobio” Tsukki typed, eyes momentarily looking forward to Kageyama, who was in front of him trying to find their way.
Yamaguchi, obviously, responded quite quickly– “ So you’re not okay?”
“Not really” Tsukki’s expression turned sour, “we’re going bowling and whoever loses has to pay for ice cream”
“Are you going to beat him?” Yamaguchi asked.
“Of course.”
“Did you tell him that to his face?”
“ Of course not. Text you later.”
They finally made their way through the entrance, and Tsukishima basked in the feeling of watching Kageyama prance around all antsy, looking around as if there were laser cameras about to shoot at his chest. They quickly got tickets, as it was fairly slow today, and picked a lane. Tsukki quickly put his name into the system and grabbed a pair of shoes.
As he was tying them though, Kageyama was staring weirdly up at the board above. He raised an eyebrow, “Something wrong?”
“Oh— nothing…”
Tsukki frowned. “It’s either you tell me or we start the round with guilt on your shoulders.”
Kageyama knew that he was being provoked. He knew the feeling.
That also didn’t stop him from directly falling into Tsukki’s trap.
“I…” He inhaled sharply, fighting to get the words out of his throat. Tsukki blinked.
Kageyama mumbled incoherently.
“King, I couldn’t hear you.” Tsukki wasn’t teasing this time.
“I…” Kageyama glanced away, “I use bumpers.”
It went silent. Tsukki heard the crashing of pins in the distance as he stared at Kageyama.
“…You’re serious?” Tsukishima asked.
Kageyama glared at him, “Please don’t act like you have never used them before.”
Then, in the blink of an eye, Tsukki’s expression went from monotone to complete serenity— an aura of light surrounded him as a bright smile etched onto his face, something Kageyama hadn’t seen ever before— he pressed his hands together as if he were saying a prayer and said sweetly, in a soft tone, “Yamaguchi will never hear the end of this. I’ve reached my peak.”
Suddenly, Tsukki felt like he could spike any ball against the most hardy teams.
Kageyama desperately wanted to swipe that stupid angel act from Tsukki. Didn’t everyone use bumpers? “Shut up, Tsukishima—“
Tsukki swiped a happy tear out of the corner of his eyes, hiccuping from laughing. “O—okay, fine. Put your name in. Don’t use bumpers, you wimp. The King using bumpers… ah…”
It seemed as if it were one of the funniest things in the world. Kageyama’s blood rushed to his face hurriedly, flaring up and his fists balling, but also… the smile on Tsukki’s face was relentlessly bright and warm. Actually genuine.
How gross, Kageyama thought. It looks good on him, but I’d do anything else than admit it.
Kageyama, with one last huff, entered his name in, and soon enough, pins were placed onto the end of the alley. He sat down and eyed Tsukki, “Your turn.”
A sigh as the blonde got up, taking a bowling ball and lining up his arm with the middle pin. Tsukki’s eyes narrowed, stepping forward, and twisting his wrist just a little.
Kageyama’s throat constricted in absolute terror, but of course, he would rather die than tell Tsukishima that he was…
He was better. Kageyama already saw that.
The ball slid into the pins, knocking almost all of them except for one in the very corner. Seeing that made Kageyama’s face heat up, but the worst thing of all was when Tsukki turned around with the most arrogant, smug expression plastered all over his face. “Beat that, Kageyama.”
Kageyama would usually say “I will!” But seeing how he admitted to using bumpers before this little meet-up of theirs, he was afraid he’d just embarrass himself even more. He took a ball and watched the replacement pins float down, and he inhaled sharply.
This was just like volleyball. It was in his control. He could control it like he did with his serves. He can do it.
Kageyama crouched a little before throwing.
The bowling ball swerved and hit the gutters. He could practically hear the damned Tsukishima Kei laughing at him, posting it onto social media and letting him and Yamaguchi spread the fact that he was absolutely shit at bowling like wildfire.
Kageyama turned back with a blank stare. The middle blocker, sitting down with his lips tightly pursed, trying not to choke on his own laughs. He groaned, “You can laugh, Tsu–”
“Yeah, yeah.” Tsukishima got up with an inhale of recollection. His body shook slightly, trying hard not to spill out another giggle, “Here– I’ll… uhm… show you how to spin it correctly.”
…
Kageyama was so confused. Tsukishima Kei teaching him how to do something other than Japanese comprehension? Willingly? Well– maybe that wasn’t exactly the case– but he still offered to. Usually he’d say something like– “ How could the King not know how to hit some lousy bowling pins? This is so funny. Yamaguchi will hear all about this.”
“...Uh, right. Okay.” Kageyama blinked rapidly as Tsukki showed him how to position.
Kageyama was just about to think that maybe, just maybe, Tsukishima had a shred of decency in him, but he noticed the entire time the blonde was trying not to double over from laughing.
Okay. Now that’s something he’s used to. Friendly Tsukishima Kei… was a sore sight for eyes.
In all seriousness, Tsukki’s pointers were fair enough. “When you bring out your arm, twist your wrist a little bit but make sure to control it so it doesn’t swerve… like how your’s did…”
“Shut up, Tsukishima.”
“Haha…”
It was Tsukki’s turn again. He turned and reluctantly managed out, “Just watch how I do it.”
It really does feel like I’m teaching a preschooler, Tsukki thought blandly.
Kageyama intently watched. It creeped Tsukki out a little bit, he had to admit, and it was scary just how much he wanted to improve. Those dark irises traced even the tiniest details, like his footing, the angle of his crouched, how many steps he took before throwing the ball, and it shook Tsukishima’s nerves.
The ball hit the exact middle and striked all the pins out. Tsukishima gave himself another chance for a smug grin. He turned to see Kageyama’s expression, but instead of annoyance, another expression was painted on the setter’s face– something between curiosity and understanding.
Right. He wasn’t really the egocentric King anymore. Kageyama took a ball silently after and then said, “You stepped four times.”
Tsukki blinked. “Oh, um… yes.”
“Alright then.” The setter looked back at the lane and lined himself up.
He took four steps forward, and Tsukishima’s eyes widened– it was unsettling and just plain terrifying just how close to accurate Kageyama achieved just by watching him.
God. How fucking annoying.
This attempt was way better than last time, a fifty percent increase. The ball hit the pins and half of them went down, and Kageyama stared at the lane in surprise.
He turned back to meet Tsukishima’s eyes, and that expression set into his eyes– Tsukki wasn’t sure if he found it incredibly aggravating or something else.
Kageyama tilted his head, a frightening gaze glazed over him as he said,
“Let’s keep going.”
Tsukishima pretended not to shiver at that.
No, Kageyama Tobio did not win against Tsukishima Kei. Gosh.
His hit rate fell shakily then– sometimes he’d hit the pins head on, but a fairly good amount of times he’d twist his wrist a little too much or mess up on his approach. Tsukishima was glad for those moments… whenever Kageyama was freakishly good at something he’d get all hot. It was embarrassing.
The blonde looked up at how many more minutes that they had. “King,” Tsukki called out, “we have five minutes left. Could you at least try to score some points?”
The setter looked back, his face saying everything: “I’ll smack you to the curb”– But he didn’t. Swallowing his annoyance, Kageyama merely nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
That striked Tsukki.
Ugh…
There it goes. His face was getting a little too warm for his liking.
The point gap was already large. Kageyama did score a few more, but Tsukki was already untying his bowling shoes because he already knew the outcome. He laughed easily at that.
The two of them returned their shoes, “You’re paying for ice cream.” Tsukishima drawled.
“I know that, Tsukki–Tsukishima.”
“You’re insufferable, using that name on me–”
“I corrected myself!”
They frowned and glanced away into opposite directions as they ventured over to the food court and stood in line for ice cream. Tensely, Kageyama asked, “What flavor do you get?”
Tsukishima looked up at the menu. “Strawberry.”
The silence was loud as Kageyama ordered their ice cream, reluctantly putting money onto a tray. He heard Tsukishima snickering behind him and Kageyama contemplated on doing a surprise attack on the guy’s face by whirling his body and punching him in the gut. “Oh, also,” Tsukki added suddenly behind his shoulder, “I’ll add a couple of toppings.”
Each topping added a little bit more onto their total pay amount, and Kageyama gave him the stink eye as Tsukki added three of them into his ice cream. Later, as they trailed to a table with their sweet treats, Kageyama muttered, “You picked the most expensive toppings, you idiot.”
Tsukki sat down and glanced up at him, “What? I just have an expensive taste.”
Kageyama rolled his eyes and they ate in a raging silence.
He wasn’t really sure on what to say, now that Tsukishima wasn’t filling in the void with meaningless insults. Kageyama found him annoying, that’s for sure, but there was another feeling sort of lingering, something warm– and that was more annoying than his actual hate for Tsukishima.
Tsukki was an arrogant, insufferable, sore loser. So why did Kageyama’s gaze sometimes linger on him for too long?
He finished his ice cream pleasantly fast, and he checked his phone for a moment to see Hinata’s messages that were sent during their bowling sessions.
“Yamaguchi told me you went bowling with Stingyshima… How is it!!!!!!!?”
“Fine.”
Kageyama didn’t want to admit he had fun. No, not with this sore loser.
…It really was fun though.
Tsukki looked up from his ice cream in surprise.
Ah.
Kageyama blinked. “What?”
“You had fun?” Tsukki asked, trailing off.
The setter felt himself beginning to blush, and he leaned backwards into the chair, staring into his empty cup. “I–I guess. It was okay.”
He wasn’t sure when he blurted that out.
Kageyama felt like he was drowning. He watched Tsukishima speed up his eating and quickly, he wiped his mouth, grabbing his empty cup and shouldering his bag, “I’ll… be going.”
“Oh… yeah, sure.” Kageyama said, words venturing off into a mumble.
Tsukki left quickly. He felt a little stupid, because he had said something so embarrassing and that had just contradicted their entire hate relationship with each other– Kageyama’s face was growing full on red now– but… also, the air was different now.
It now felt like Kageyama was weaving through and taking steps forward on eggshells.
Crap. This feeling in his stomach sucked.
The next day, practice commenced.
As per usual, Kageyama wasted some energy racing Hinata Shoyo into the gym– that was one point for him– and they practiced with the third years for the time being, with the usual quicks.
They chatted, rambling about nothing until they reached a point in the conversation the setter had been dreading ever since they arrived– “How’d it go with Stingy– Tsukishima?”
Kageyama pursed his lips as they practiced their passing, “Uh…”
Hinata punched the air rapidly, “Please tell me you beat him like crazy in bowling!”
“I— Of course I did.” Kageyama argued persistently, “The point gap was large.”
“Good.” Hinata started grumbling under his breath, “If Mr. Salty won that… ugh…”
Kageyama blinked, holding the ball tight. “Y—yeah.”
“I’m gonna love seeing his face when he walks into the gym today.” Hinata grinned, making contact with the ball, “I usually never say that, but…”
Kageyama thought for a moment as they passed meaninglessly. I guess his mind subconsciously looked out for Tsukishima, ever since their first encounter— but it was sprouted from hatred. Now, the plant was branching out and something entirely new was blooming.
He didn’t like the feeling. Or maybe…
He was just in denial about it.
Tsukishima was absentmindedly scrolling on his phone for a new song when he felt a hand clamp on his shoulder. For some reason today, he was on edge. He flinched and looked behind him.
Ah. Yamaguchi. His best friend gave him a warm smile with his freckles and all, “Tsukki!”
Tsukki slipped his hands into his pockets, letting one side of the headphones play music and the other he shoved aside slightly so he could hear better, “Could you not sneak up to me like that?” He asked quietly.
Yamaguchi tilted his head as the two of them walked to the gym, “I wasn’t. I called your name from a couple feet away, did you not hear?
“Ah well, I guess not…”
He could already feel his mood beginning to sour. Not because of Yamaguchi, but he realized just how out of it he was today. He was still wondering and thinking about Kageyama and what he said before Tsukki decided to leave on his own accord. Kageyama’s words were unfamiliar, weird; yet, admittedly in the back of his mind, it felt nice.
He told himself he’d never say that out loud.
Yamaguchi fell silent for a moment before they reached the gym doors and he pressed his arm against them, stopping Tsukki from entering— “Tsukki, are you okay?” He asked.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Are you embarrassed you lost?” Yamaguchi asked easily.
Tsukki scoffed and pushed up his glasses, “ No, I won and it was easy, Yamaguchi.”
“So then why are you all…” Yamaguchi ventured off quietly.
Tsukki frowned and stared straight ahead to open the doors. “It’s nothing. Let’s go in and finish.”
He pushed the gym doors open and to nobody’s surprise, Hinata and Kageyama were one of the first people there. The two of them seemed like they were just readying up to try a quick attack.
Hinata ran like a furious crow, and one of the third years threw a ball into Kageyama’s hands, who was preparing to set—
Then, out of the blue, Tsukishima saw Kageyama’s shoulders tense up, and despite the setter’s back facing him, he glanced at him straight on as if he’d seen them coming in. His eyes were wide. He set the ball to Hinata at the same time, and it missed coordination.
“K—Kageyama! What—“ Hinata shouted, but he turned to see what Kageyama was staring at.
Yamaguchi took a nervous glance at Tsukki, who made eye contact with the setter.
“Oh… Tsukishima.” Hinata’s eyes lit up with fire, “How does it feel like being beaten by Kageyama?”
“Huh?” Tsukki muttered.
Kageyama reddened, “I—“
“Kageyama said he beat you.”
…
Tsukki sighed, “Forget it. I’m changing.”
“Tsu—Tsukki…” Yamaguchi said unsteadily as his friend walked to the net.
Tsukki deliberately brushed his shoulder against Kageyama’s, and he saw the setter tense visibly as he dropped the ball.
“I’ll… I’ll be right back.” Kageyama quickly ushered away, following the blonde into the changing rooms.
They went into the changing rooms and had a furious fight of silence for a moment, before Kageyama murmured, “What the hell do you want from me?”
Tsukki slipped off his jacket. “You’re acting weird, King.”
“I’m not at all.” The setter crossed his arms.
“Don’t lie.”
“I’m— not!”
“Don’t pretend to not remember what you said yesterday.”
“Yeah, and don’t act like you didn’t have fun, Tsukishima.” Kageyama mumbled.
For once, the blonde was out of anything snarky to say. He couldn’t say anything at all.
Because unfortunately, he was right. He slipped on his clothes and stepped closer to him, “Not a word.” Tsukki warned.
“Like I’d ever admit being acquainted with you in the first place.”
He scoffed and slipped past Kageyama back to the gym.
His face was undeniably hot. He felt his skin prickle.
This was not good. He had to get rid of this feeling.
Immediately.