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tsukishima and kageyama didnt know when exactly it started.
all kageyama knew was how worried he was when tsukishima was injured in their match versus shiratorizawa.
so worried he went to tsukishima’s house to check up on him even if it was at the middle of the night. he needed to make sure he was alright.
their friendship and care for each other is hardly noticeable if you compare it to him and hinata, or tsukishima and his childhood friend, yamaguchi.
their care for each other was mostly through eye contact, with kageyama giving tsukishima extra food whenever they ate out and tsukishima always had a relief patch in his bag to give to kageyama.
it was the little things.
and they both noticed those little things.
maybe it started when kageyama noticed an extra carton of the milk he liked tucked inside his bag. maybe it started when tsukishima noticed that kageyama always sat beside him when they had their breaks during training.
they never knew when exactly it started, but it was definitely tsukishima who made it clear what their label was.
“king, do you like me?” he was so straightforward that kageyama almost forgot to breathe. how long has he liked tsukishima? was it their first meeting and he grabbed his collar and they both could physically feel the tension between them?
“do you like me?” kageyama was the most prideful man tsukishima had ever met.
“can’t even confess without knowing the other’s feelings first, huh? i do. what are you going to do about it?” tsukishima says with his smirk, something that irks kageyama to no end.
“kiss you.” and with a tug of his collar, their lips pressed together. it all came full circle, kageyama also pulled his collar the first time they met. maybe they should have done this a long time ago.
if only tsukishima didn’t get into his nerves most of the time because of his attitude.
but still, he can’t deny that tsukishima could back up his cockiness. tall, smart, good looking, and good with volleyball. he was the living, walking embodiment of kageyama’s type. he had always been tall, standing at almost six feet tall, so it was a struggle to find someone taller than him.
“i didn’t.. know you were that straightforward.” tsukishima says after the kiss, fixing his glasses, clearly caught off guard.
and so the day they found out they were going to advance to nationals was also the day tsukishima and kageyama got together.
their relationship was awkward at first. they both waited for everyone to head home before they could even hold hands for only a few seconds. their plans to walk home while holding hands were ruined by their clueless captain, daichi, who wanted to walk home together as he was also going in the same direction.
the second time they held hands was when they were putting away the equipment for the day. tsukishima had always been a bit self-conscious about his hands. to him, it looked weird and long, but it weirdly fit like a glove when they held hands. they immediately let go when nishinoya came in and helped them.
their first kiss as boyfriends was the most awkward of all, it was after their exams and kageyama wanted to thank his boyfriend for all the tutoring he gave him so that he could pass. kageyama surprised tsukishima by pressing their lips together before they went their separate direction before going home.
tsukishima was so shocked he just stood there, “that’s not fair. tell me when you’re going to kiss me-”
before kageyama could kiss him again, they heard someone calling tsukishima’s name. they both froze and immediately let go of each other’s hands, “kei!”
tsukishima cleared his throat, annoyed that they were interrupted, “nii-san. this is tobio.. he’s..” there was a pause. they never really talked if they wanted their relationship to be known.
“i saw you guys kiss.” and just like that, kageyama was red as a tomato as he sprinted home. how embarrassing!
akiteru definitely feared for his life when tsukishima glared at him. “sorry.. i didn’t know your boyfriend was shy like that!”
a month into their relationship and three months before nationals, kageyama called tsukishima with his given name for the first name. tsukishima and his secret competitive spirit called him kageyama by his given name too.
“thank you for today, kei. i enjoyed it.” kageyama tells him, they were walking home from their date. they went to a newly opened café in their area, one where they served cakes and milkshakes, treats they both liked.
“tobio…” tsukishima starts, “do you want to let the team know?” he was nervous, a month in their relationship and only his brother knows about them. he hasn’t even told yamaguchi yet. but he does have a hunch that yamaguchi is close to figuring it out.
“if they ask, we won’t deny it. are you okay with that?”
“more than okay.” tsukishima says and presses his lips on kageyama’s forehead, his favorite form of affection as they were the perfect height to execute it.
fortunately — or maybe unfortunately for tsukishima and kageyama, that day would come soon. as in tomorrow type of soon.
their day started great, with this particular training being more relaxed than others as they were preparing to go to another summer camp with nekoma in two days, coach ukai wanted them to not strain themselves too much.
the team being huddled up in a circle during their break was a normal routine for them, after all, they needed to have a good relationship with each other to have teamwork. during these huddles, it was mostly the second years who carried the conversation.
“oi, rumor has it there’s a couple in our team. i heard my classmates gossiping about it.” tanaka starts, “they were both wearing the volleyball club jacket so they knew it was from our team.”
kageyama glanced at tsukishima, their eyes met, trying not to panic.
“really? who could it be? maybe they were mistaken. our team goes home in pairs or groups. it’s not unusual to see teammates going home together.” sugawara says, a bit skeptical about this topic. he wouldn’t appreciate false rumors about their team to be spread around campus.
“apparently my classmate saw them kiss. she did say it’s not from the second years so…” nishinoya adds.
shit.
shit.
shit.
both kageyama and tsukishima were losing their minds at this point. should they confess? not talk? what was the appropriate response to this? would they accept them? after all, this could ruin the team’s dynamic. hell, they don’t even know if their team knows they’re queer in the first place.
“let see… third years… daichi is dating yui.. suga-san and i are single.. so it’s not us.” azumane says, gears in his head are definitely turning.
“that leaves only the first years.” daichi says, all of their gazes immediately turning to the four of them.
“eh? i ride my bike home, and i’m single!” hinata says, also thinking who it could be.
“it’s not me… i haven’t confessed yet…” yamaguchi says with his usual shy smile when he talks about yachi.
“then that leaves…” hinata starts, and then all eyes are on tsukishima and kageyama.
“tobio and i… we’re dating.” tsukishima immediately answers, he feels like he can’t breathe at all.
there was absolute silence in the gymnasium before it fully erupted into full chaos.
“EEEEEEEEEEEH?!!”
“bakayama and saltyshima?! you’re dating?!”
“since when?”
“did i interrupt your date when i walked home with you guys?!”
“tsukki… i knew it!”
the chaos was quickly silenced by a clap of sugawara’s hand, “hai, let’s not bombard them with questions.”
“it’s okay, sugawara senpai. we have been dating for a month now.” it was now kageyama’s turn to answer, “we just didn’t know if we should tell the team considering this could change our dynamic. sorry.”
“don’t worry about that. i know you and tsukishima are professional enough to not let it interfere with your performance. how did you guys get together?” to their surprise, someone replied to kageyama.
“coach ukai?!”
great. now even their coach and adviser was interested in their relationship.
that night, kageyama slept over at tsukishima’s like usual. kageyama was mostly alone in his home as both his parents and older sister worked, and tsukishima’s family was accepting of him, especially his brother.
“how do you feel that everyone knows?” kageyama says softly, facing tsukishima as they cuddle together. perks of dating a tall person is that their bed was king size by default. it was the best for cuddles.
“relieved. we don’t have to wait for everyone to go home before we can hold hands.” tsukishima says, snuggling closer to kageyama. whenever tsukishima didn’t wear his glasses, kageyama could only stare at his beautiful golden eyes.
whenever they laid beside each other, tsukishima found himself staring at kageyama’s lips, and they would end up making out with each other for an hour before finally going to sleep.