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I. a pathetic first
The first time they kiss, Tsukishima bends his head down to meet Kageyama. Or at least he tries to. Kageyama jerks back in surprise at the last second, and Tsukishima ends up catching the corner of his mouth instead.
"W-What are you doing," Kageyama stutters, the blush that first appeared on his cheeks when Tsukishima had pulled him outside spreading all the way down to the back of his neck. He inches closer to the wall of the practice gym, but there’s only so far he can push against the hard surface before he has to admit that there’s nowhere else to go.
"Stop squirming," Tsukishima sighs, pressing closer to Kageyama until the only thing in his line of sight is Tsukishima’s broad shoulders, his blond hair, and his calm face, much too close to be excused as just friendly. Kageyama knows - he knows - that the difference between their heights is minuscule, really, but right now, those few centimeters separating them feel like feet with the way Tsukishima is boxing him in.
"I like you," Tsukishima says, carefully, slowly, like if he doesn’t Kageyama won’t believe it. He presses a kiss to Kageyama’s cheek, first the right then the left. The flare of red heat under his mouth makes him smirk. “God knows why, but I do. Were you just joking when you confessed to me last week?”
“I wouldn’t joke about something l-like that!” Kageyama protests automatically, even more heat suffusing through his cheeks. At this rate, he’ll be slightly pink for the rest of his life.
“And so…?”
“I like you,” Kageyama says, a scowl spreading across his face belying the veracity of his words. Tsukishima smirks at that, like he didn’t already know, and Kageyama wants to wipe it off his face. “I want to - to k-kiss you. Too.”
"Okay," Tsukishima says, "then what are you waiting for?"
The night time air is balmy and humid, and warm even through the thin fabric of their practice shorts and shirts. Tsukishima’s eyes shine golden under the meager lights like the sun in the late afternoon. Surrounded on all sides by warmth and heat, Kageyama forgets everything else - his worries and anxiety - and just wants . He takes it.
The second time they kiss, Kageyama pushes himself up to meet Tsukishima’s mouth, and he doesn’t miss.
II. bend down
All week long, Tsukishima has been refusing to bend down the scant few centimeters between them when they kiss; instead he kisses Kageyama's nose, his cheek, and even has the audacity to tilt his head up a little to kiss him on the forehead.
"You damn bastard," Kageyama growls as Tsukishima smoothes a kiss over his temple, refusing to go any lower. “I hate you so much.” He thought an attack on their way home from practice would have caught Tsukishima off guard, but so far it’s been a bust.
"I didn't know the king was so needy," Tsukishima says, pulling away as Kageyama tries tugging him down. His mouth shifts into his familiar smirk, and Kageyama twitches with irritation at the lack of irritation he feels at the sight of it nowadays. "If you want a kiss so badly, you can come and get it.”
“I don’t,” Kageyama denies, scowling to cover up a pout. He’s obviously been watching too many romance dramas with his mom lately if he's picking up the heroine's bad habits.
“I’m sure,” Tsukishima says mildly. His face is a mask of solemnity, but Kageyama’s spent enough time watching his face to know it's a total lie. The bastard is enjoying this.
When they reach his house, Kageyama glares suspiciously when Tsukishima doesn’t drop him off at the gate like usual, following him through the front door and into the house instead. “What are you doing?”
"Taking care of the king." Before Kageyama can ask what he's talking about or protest the nickname, Tsukishima cuts him off with a gentle kiss. His neck is tilted down, like it hasn’t been all week. Kageyama twitches back in surprise at first, but quickly relaxes into the kiss. Curling a hand around the back of Tsukishima’s neck, he deepens the kiss with a wet slick of his tongue.
Kageyama shivers at the touch of Tsukishima’s hands on his waist, tucked just under the rise of his shirt and rubbing warm circles into his skin. He breaks the kiss slowly, or tries to at least. Tsukishima chases after him every time he pulls away, a kiss for every centimeter back until he stops trying to move away all together.
“W-What was that about?” Kageyama asks, minutes later with his breath shaky and lips still tingling.
“Making up for the rest of the week,” Tsukishima says. His usual smirk is more of a tremulous grin; he even looks sincere for once. With his mouth pink and wet, Kageyama finds himself distracted enough that he only hears half the sentence.
“Come up to my room,” Kageyama says, before he can help himself. He feels his cheek flush heavily, but he pushes on anyway. “Please.”
“I didn’t know the king was such a pervert,” Tsukishima murmurs, but it’s half-hearted at best, no bite. He rubs his thumb against the edge of Kageyama’s slightly swollen mouth, and Kageyama turns his head into it, pressing a kiss against the skin. “...lead the way if you’re so eager.”
Kageyama pulls him up the stairs, and they don’t come back down until much later.
The next morning, Yamaguchi stares incredulously as Tsukishima hurries to finish last night’s homework before the bell rings. Yamaguchi’s done it himself a few times, but Tsukishima isn't usually the type of person to procrastinate.
“You always have the homework done the night before,” Yamaguchi says, frowning down at Tsukishima’s messier than usual handwriting as he finishes the assigned literature packet. “What were you doing last night?”
“A king,” Tsukishima says without glancing up from his homework. Yamaguchi chokes on nothing but air.
III. fireworks (gsnk remix)
Swaying lanterns, which glow brightly against the dark of the night, grow smaller and smaller as Kageyama tugs his boyfriend deeper into the forest, away from the bustling sights and sounds of the festival. “Hurry up,” he says with an irritated tug on Tsukishima’s wrist whenever there’s a small lag or resistance coming from behind him.
“The fireworks don’t even start for another half hour,” Tsukishima points out, dragging his heels even more just to be ornery.
“It’s twenty minutes,” Kageyama mutters before he turns around to give Tsukishima a heavy scowl. It only gets him one of Tsukishima’s insincere smiles - the ones that make him look all nice and friendly even though he's a demon - in return. Kageyama tugs even harder on his wrist. “And I have a plan!” Tsukishima scoffs at this, but he chooses to ignore that.
Kageyama does have a Plan, gleaned quite heavily from his favorite drama Ume-chan & Chiyorin , which really only further guarantees his success. He has the romantic occasion (festival), a secluded place (the hill he found on the other side of the forest last week while scouting), and the necessary words practiced (“I lo-lo-”). Even if Tsukishima is an ass, his plan is definitely going to happen.
Eventually they reach Kageyama’s desired location, taking twice as long as he had hoped since Tsukishima had refused to move faster than Kageyama’s 90-year-old great aunt. The hill itself isn't particularly noteworthy, but it's high enough to get a clear view of both the sky and the twinkling lights of the festival far below them. There's just enough light from the full moon above them that seeing each other is still relatively easy. It also possesses one trait that makes it indispensable to Kageyama: solitude. His plan is completely ready to go, and he's definitely not going to fail.
“What is it?” Tsukishima asks with a sigh after Kageyama wastes three of their remaining minutes before the fireworks start in complete silence. “You brought me out here for reason, right? Other than to watch the fireworks anyway.”
“I,” Kageyama starts, after a hesitant misstep. He swallows thickly around the rapidly growing lump in his throat. His palms are damp with cold sweat, and he resists the urge to wipe them nervously against his shorts. “I just - I wanted to say that - I mean…”
“Just spit it out,” Tsukishima says with a roll of his eyes.
“I - I really like fireworks!” Kageyama can feel his face heating up the second the last word leaves his mouth. Of all the possible things to say instead of - well, instead of what he was going to say - he had to go with that . “I love fireworks! A lot!” Kageyama wants to die. “I just wanted you to know - that. It's really, um, true.” Already he can feel the flush of shame crawling up the back of his neck. If he sprints, he can probably make it back to the festival and drown himself at the goldfish catching booth before the fireworks even start.
Luckily Tsukishima seems more amused than anything, and not even in a mean sort of way. “Yeah,” he says, laughter curling in his voice. “I love you, too.”
Before he can do much more than blush, Tsukishima kisses him- a chaste thing, just a soft brush of their lips - right as the first fireworks light up the sky. Kageyama supposes he can count his plan as a success.
IV. victorious
Kageyama finds Tsukishima tucked into into a corner at the end of the empty hallway that leads to the visitors’ locker room. “Hey,” he says, lightly knocking his knee into Tsukishima’s shoulder so he’ll scoot over. “I was looking all over for you.”
Tsukishima moves down a couple of spaces so that Kageyama has room to sit down next to him, which he does with a wiggle, trying to get comfortable. “Here I am,” he says dryly. “Worried that I wouldn't make it back in time?”
“Hmm,” Kageyama says, barely a hum and not really an answer. He bumps his shoulder against Tsukishima’s before leaning his weight up against him. “Nervous for the match?”
“No,” Tsukishima says when he really means yes, absolutely . It's stupid to be this nervous - to care this much about some game - but Karasuno’s somehow infected him over the last few years, making him put far more concern into their victories than he should.
“We’re going to be fine,” Kageyama says resolutely, hearing everything Tsukishima doesn't want him to anyway. Then, he turns and gently tugs the back of Tsukishima’s neck until he bends towards Kageyama’s expectant lips.
“What is this?” Tsukishima says, mouth against Kageyama’s own, pliant and warm. “A kiss for luck?”
“We don’t need it.” Kageyama curls a hand around the back of Tsukishima’s neck, pulling him in for a deeper kiss than before. “We’re going to win. Again.” Kageyama kisses him one last time, a teasing promise, with a tug on his lower lip before he pulls away completely.
“Of course,” Tsukishima agrees, after he's caught his breath. His lips quirk up into a bare shadow of a smile. “Let’s bring home another trophy, hmm?”
V. future
Tsukishima's dorm room is constantly freezing, but when they’re tangled together under the comforter, it’s almost bearable. It’s too early to be awake, especially on a weekend, but Kageyama's body is too used to being up during the bare edge of the sun’s rise now after years of leaving the house earlier and earlier in an effort to beat Hinata to school.
Thanks to that unfortunate conditioning, he's awake now, and there’s no way he's leaving the bed when it's this cold out, so Kageyama does the only thing there is to do: he watches Tsukishima.
They've been together for a while now, but appearances aren't something Kageyama usually cares much about. There's bigger things to be concerned about anyway: the strength of Tsukishima’s hands, his terrible personality that Kageyama’s somehow been tricked into liking. He’s handsome , Kageyama thinks absently, eyes trailing down Tsukishima’s relaxed face to his bare chest where the blanket slipped off some time during the night. He supposes he understands why so many girls wanted to confess to Tsukishima in high school.
“What are you doing,” Tsukishima says, voice sleep heavy and rough, startling Kageyama out of his reverie. He doesn't bother to open his eyes.
"Nothing," Kageyama says, slanting his eyes away quickly. A dust mote is caught in the brief sliver of sunlight streaming through the blinds.
"Were you watching me sleep?" Tsukishima doesn't sound angry or teasing like Kageyama had expected, but it may be because it's too early in the morning for that sort of effort. Mostly he sounds sleepy with a brush of curiosity in his voice.
"No!" Kageyama denies, more vehemently than he means to. “No,” he says again, voice lower now. “I wouldn't do that.”
“Hmm,” is the sound that Tsukishima makes, which is neither a confirmation or denial. Kageyama waits, but he doesn't say anything after that, seemingly asleep again.
Tucked together on Tsukishima's tiny dorm mattress and sharing the same pillow, it feels like there’s nothing else in the world except for the two of them. Kageyama peeks at him again, carefully watching the peaceful calm of Tsukishima’s face, the gold shimmer of his lashes even in the room’s slight gloom. Tsukishima’s mouth is the most distracting of all, pink and slightly parted.
The distance between them is miniscule, maybe eight centimeters or even less, and Kageyama closes it, giving into temptation before he can stop himself.
Even half-asleep, Tsukishima kisses him back, open-mouthed and a little sloppy. Both of their mouths are stale from sleep, almost uncomfortable, but Kageyama’s had his mouth in worse places; a minute or two later, all he can taste is Tsukishima, warm and familiar after all this time.
"Go back to sleep," Tsukishima sighs, tugging Kageyama closer with a broad hand on his bare waist. Pressed this close together, Kageyama can feel the beat of Tsukishima’s heart, steady as a metronome.
For once, he doesn't argue. In the early morning sunlight, Kageyama falls back asleep in the space between one breath and the next, lulled by the shared warmth between their bodies.