Wow, it's been a long time since I've uploaded here...
I joined SportsFest 2018, so I'm doing a lot of writing after taking an (almost) four year hiatus, and honestly? Feels great, man.
Hopefully there'll be a lot more to come in the near future!
"Kageyama! Where are you going?"
Hinata's call is the last thing that registers in Kageyama's mind as he crashes through the gym doors before his intuition and legs take over, leaving a room of angry teenagers behind to sort out their petty arguments on their own; they could spend hours debating over who's fault it was that their previous game went sour, bringing the hopeful energy that the new team had going with it.
The fact of the matter is that they lost. It's not as if this is the first time it's ever happened; it won't be the last, either.
If there's anything that Kageyama has learned over the last year and a half, it's that you can't live in the mistakes of your past; you must let them act as a guide towards the person you were meant to grow into. It took him a long time and more than a few people to drill the words into his head – even longer to start truly living by them. He still struggles with the concept sometimes…today being one of those days.
You see, Kageyama isn't exactly what you'd call a natural speaker. Even though his heart may be in the right place, his words don't always match his intentions, thoughts getting lost in translation and setting people off, landing him in a hole he didn't mean to dig himself into.
After spending most of his free time with them, he knows that most of his teammates can tell when he's getting off script, words that were meant to be friendly or helpful coming out all wrong, only making him frustrated and more prone to lashing out due to embarrassment or fear or some other pesky emotion he's been cursed with.
The ones who don't understand, though, only manage to push him further to his breaking point; it's not really their fault, either. It's a new year and a new team – a rinse and repeat that he knows he has to get used to, but change has never been a friend of his. It doesn't help that the older members who grew to understand him the best are now gone, leaving him knocked back a few steps in his personal growth.
This mid-practice argument is a prime example of Kageyama's fluctuating composure, having gone in with the hopes of calming everyone down, but ultimately coming off a bit too strongly, rubbing the wrong people the wrong way. It was all downhill from there and now he's here – wherever here is.
Coming to a stop, Kageyama takes in his surroundings, realizing that he's far from the school by now, though this isn't an unfamiliar area to him. There's nothing but trees and fields ahead of him, the sun dipping behind the tips of leaves as it sets. It's a beautiful area, really. He knows that Hinata loves to ride his bike up here when he gets the chance to, even though his home is in the opposite direction. Kageyama has been dragged on early morning excursions more times than he'd like to admit.
He also knows that this road is pretty much deserted at this time of day and will stay that way for the rest of the night; the city is nowhere near here, and there's nothing of interest for miles. The only people who travel down this road are those who live on the connecting streets, scattered few and far between, and they're all probably home from work by now, spending time with their families and not worrying about leaving again until the following day.
This knowledge prompts Kageyama to do something a little reckless. Stepping out onto the street, he stretches out before laying down on his back and staring up at the sky; a beautiful array of plums and pinks and the darkest of blues fading into a orange backdrop grace his vision, and the sight is enough to ground him, at least a little bit. He stays like this for a few moments, in blissful silence, before a voice breaks him out of his solitude.
"Laying in the middle of the road? And here I was thinking that you couldn't get any dumber."
Any other time, Kageyama would have scrambled to his feet and stuttered out a response, making himself look and sound like an angry fool, but today he just doesn't have the energy for that, letting out a grunt instead – one that he hopes sounds menacing enough to get his (unwanted) visitor to go away.
Of course, luck hasn't been on Kageyama's side today, so why would it start being now? Instead of hearing footsteps gradually getting further away, he's annoyed to find that they only get closer, stopping when there's a pair of sneakers right next to his head.
"Tsukishima," he says, addressing his teammate, choosing to just embrace his fate instead of trying to fight it like he knows the other wants him to. "You followed me. Why."
Kageyama waits for a snarky answer, but it doesn't come immediately. Instead, Tsukishima shuffles his feet a bit, hesitation heavy in the air, carried by a cool, evening breeze, causing a shiver to run down Kageyama's spine - definitely not one of anticipation.
"A good question," Tsukishima answers after the uncharacteristic pause. "You're annoyingly fast."
That's the only explanation that the other offers and it doesn't sate Kageyama's curiosity in the slightest – only ticks him off more. There's got to be something more to Tsukishima following him all the way out here, there's always something more when it comes to him.
"You should have given up and turned around then," Kageyama huffs, rolling onto his side, barely caring that the action is childish or that he's still on the street. He wants to be left alone or distracted, not enabled.
Frowning, Tsukishima lets out a tsk, adjusts his stupid glasses on his stupid face, and then sits down next to Kageyama, poking him in his side and causing him to stir (the gesture almost makes Kageyama laugh, but he tries his best to muffle the sound by growling into the concrete).
The entire exchange baffles Kageyama, and he doesn't know whether to stay or get up and walk away; something tells him to do the former. So he does. Reluctantly.
"Maybe I should have," Tsukishima continues, hand lingering at Kageyama's waist before it drops to the ground with a dull thud. "But everyone knows how stupid your anger makes you. Wouldn't want our king getting into any trouble, now would we?"
Kageyama almost lets out a retort at that one, body shifting so that he's looking up at Tsukishima, and the blond's eyes light up for the slightest second, hoping for the reaction that he came here for – waiting for the normalcy to return to Kageyama again.
Today isn't normal for Kageyama, though, so instead of biting back with his normal quip, he instead lets a smirk creep onto his face, slow and smug – one that he knows will put Tsukishima on edge.
And it does. Tsukishima can feel the hair on his arms stand up, though he doesn't let the tension show on his face. He wasn't expecting this kind of reaction from Kageyama, briefly wondering if he's acting too obvious.
"So you were worried about me," Kageyama says, maintaining eye contact, relishing in the look of horror that presents itself on Tsukishima's features.
Bingo.
Kageyama is pretty sure that Tsukishima short circuits in the next second, nervous sputtering and a few short bits of laughter leaving his lips, uncharacteristic and amusing to Kageyama. He can't help but to laugh a little, only making Tsukishima get more flustered. This goes on for a few moments until they both start to calm down, the realness and weirdness of the situation finally settling in.
The sun is sinking ever further behind the trees, almost fully enveloped in the green abyss, and Tsukishima wishes that he, too, could be swallowed up by the earth right now.
This isn't like him. He doesn't let his guard down like this, but he's noticed that lately it's been getting harder – and all because of his ever-growing crush on his teammate and, dare he say, friend. The word still feels foreign in his mind, but he supposes that that's what they are at this point, having spent so much time together (morning, noon, night, and a little bit in between).
With this in mind, and also because he doesn't lose so easily, Tsukishima finally brings himself to shrug as nonchalantly as he can, even though he knows that pretending won't save him now.
"And if I was," he says, trying to make his words sound more like a challenge than a question - more for the sake of tricking his own racing heart into calming down than to rile Kageyama up. Staring down at the boy with a stony expression that soon cracks into amusement, he resists the temptation to bust out laughing at the ridiculousness of this entire situation.
Kageyama's face, under Tsukishima's scrutiny, turns a shade of red that Tsukishima can only (regrettably) describe as adorable, and it takes all his strength not to run his fingers over the other's cheek just to see if it feels as soft and warm as it looks.
What's gotten into me today?
By the time Tsukishima successfully chases his strange urges away, Kageyama has already outwardly composed himself, staring back up at the sky and wondering what it would feel like to fly away from his feelings. Tsukishima joins him, thoughts secretly synching up, a surprisingly comfortable silence settling between them.
Kageyama is the first to speak, embarrassed (but not surprised) by himself as his mouth works faster than his brain.
"If you were worried about me," he starts, chancing a glance over at Tsukishima, currently pretending that he's not holding on to every word, "then I'd say that your head must be stuck in the clouds with how freakishly tall you are."
Scoffing, Tsukishima is about to lash back, quick insult on the tip of his tongue. But then Kageyama is speaking again, quieter this time, and the blush is back on his face, traitorous and revealing.
"And thank you…"
It's Tsukishima's turn to blush this time, but he hides it better than his teammate, facing away from Kageyama and pretending to clean out his ears. When he turns back around, there's a smirk on his face, though it threatens to crack with each passing second.
"What was that? I don't think I can hear you from this far up. You're going to have to be a bit louder."
Kageyama scowls and stands up with a quickness, twirling around on his heel and putting his hands on his hips.
"I'm not repeating myself," he says, defiantly.
Getting up from the ground, Tsukishima allows himself a small laugh, nudging Kageyama in the arm as he passes him, possibly lingering a second too long.
"Whatever. I heard you the first time, anyway." Pausing in his steps, Tsukishima turns around, sickeningly sweet smile on his face.
"Just don't make a habit of this, alright? I'm not spending all of my time chasing after you."
Kageyama wants to make a comment about how he wouldn't want Tsukishima to do that, anyway, but the buzzing of his phone interrupts him. He doesn't have to look at the screen to know that it's probably coach or one of the other members asking where he ran off to and why he's been gone so long – if Tsukishima found him and, if so, why weren't they back yet.
Honestly, he's not too sure, himself. All he knows is that his cheeks still feel like they're on fire, and there's a tingling sensation on his arm where Tsukishima touched him.
"You're not going to answer that?"
And there he is again, tearing Kageyama from his own little world once again with his smooth, commanding voice, making him impossible to ignore.
"Of course I am," Kageyama says, doing his best to scowl. "I'm not rude like you - always ignoring calls and texts."
Like this, Kageyama and Tsukishima make the trek back to school, side by side, Kageyama getting chewed out over the phone and Tsukishima living for every reaction that the other gives.
Like this, nothing changes, but something between them begins to shift.
Thank you for reading!
Please let me know if of you are still interested in reading my stuff over here. I have an account on AO3 where I'm most likely going to be the most active, but if anyone still wants me to post here, I'll do it~