/god this one shot is long
It all started when you bumped into him on your way to the gym. You were coming down the hall, about to turn the corner and-
"Ouch!"
-Slammed right into something, or someone at least a foot taller. "Oh-" you heard them grunt, and you stumbled back, nearly falling over.
"Sorr-" you looked up, freezing momentarily as a giant stared down at you. He tilted his head, but what you were staring at were his eyes; lazy, but shrewd pools of dull gold. Your fingertips tingled, and it felt like you were being sucked in...
He smiled, "Sorry, I didn't think that any grade schoolers would be visiting today. Did you lose your sibling, little boy?"
...if only he kept his mouth shut. You gawked at him, your own mouth ajar, before your eyes narrowed in a dangerous glare. "You-! What class-no! What's your name?!" You glared, pointing at him.
And he smirks, the dull gold shimmering and you can't breathe but feel like you're taking too much air at the same time; you can't believe someone like- "Tsukishima Kei, first year, class 4."
-Someone as arrogant, and condescending and a pain in the ass could be so tall or have eyes like that.
"You-you should respect your elders more!" You say indignantly. For a moment, his eyes widen slightly, and then he smiles, not a condescending, smug smile, but a genuine one, a smile that melts away your irritation in an instant.
"I'm sorry, senpai. I'll be better behaved from now on," he says, and you blink, taken aback.
"O-okay-"
"Would you be happy if I said that?" And you blink, utterly floored as his smirk widens and he's looking down at you with an expression that reeks of confidence and clearly says, I'm better than you. He gives yon one last, short 'hmph', laughing at your height-or lack thereof, before turning on his heel.
You watch him walk away, your fists shaking by your sides. 'That... that bastard!' You're too angry to notice he'd gone in the same direction you were headed.
When you encounter him not ten minutes later in the gym, dressed in the volleyball uniform, you throw a fit. Of course, he merely smirks at your poor attempts to rile him up, throwing sass after sass in your direction, until Sawamura broke the two of you apart and commenced with practice.
From then on, neither of you stopped trying to get underneath each other's skin (though, you'd never admit Tsukishima was a lot better at provoking you than you were to him). In fact, the two of you were probably a second, much more troublesome version of Kageyama and Hinata, though you and Tsukishima weren't compatible enough to be a killer pair for volleyball matches.
The two of you were so easy to fight with each other that you had arguments at least once everyday over the simplist things ("But Sawamura-san! He started it!"). Squabbles that stemmed from ("Wait, your name is Hotaru? Hah!"), to ("Shorty-san, don't you think it's time you drank more milk?"). You've lost count how many times Sugawara or Sawamura have had to physically hold you back from stomping over to Tsukishima and hitting the crap out of his intestines (since you can't reach his face).
You don't hate him though, just strongly dislike. You'd never admit it to anyone but yourself, but despite his crappy personality, he's actually quite smart, and you can't help but have a small, tiny ounce of admiration for him.
"Is it true you haven't grown since your first year? Sad."
If only you could sock him once.
Karasuno was staying at a lodge for a training camp during Golden Week, and you've just received the worst news possible...
"...And so, since there's a limited amount of space, we only have a limited number of futons, so we ended up pairing you with Tsukishima-"
"Absolutely not," is your flat, firm response. Sawamura sighs.
"I know you don't exactly get along, but..."
"He makes it a point whenever he sees me to laugh in my face and call me short," you cross your arms, frowning. "Why can't Yamaguchi sleep with him? They've known each other for longer and Tsukishima likes Yamaguchi. Or at least tolerates him a lot better than me."
"We've already paired him with Tanaka," Sawamura explains.
"...do you enjoy torturing me, Captain?" you smile humorlessly, your expression filled with hopelessness.
"E-eh? No, I just..."
"I'm just kidding," you pinch the bridge of your nose, and sigh. "For you, Sawamura-buchou, I guess I'll have to. However," your humorless grin darkens, and you glare at the opposite wall, "I'm warning you now; if he pisses me off, I can't guarantee his safety or personal health." Sawamura smiles sheepishly.
...
"I can't believe I'm paired with you, Dumbass Hinata!"
"Shut it, Bakayama! The same could be said to you!"
"I'll gladly switch," you say, helping them put out the futons. The room the team is staying is rather small for a team of thirteen, like Sawamura said, but there are dividers in the center, for whatever it's worth.
"Who's your partner, [Last]-senpai?" Hinata asks as you toss him a pillow. Your face twists as if you ate something sour.
"...Tsukishima..." you mutter. Just thinking about it makes you want to strangle something, probably him.
"Ack... sorry, anyone but him," Hinata apologizes. You sigh.
"Ah well, it was worth a shot. Kageyama?"
"Uh... Sorry," he says, "Even Dumbass Hinata is better..." the confession makes him grimace, like he's stepped in something foul.
"I don't know if I should be happy about that..."
At dinner, you're seated between Sugawara and Nishinoya, who appears to be leaking fat crocodile tears (along with Tanaka) over the food that Kiyoko and Takeda-sensei cooked-though you were sure it was mostly because she was wearing an apron when the team arrived.
You reach for some fried chicken, but before you can grab a piece, a familiar and infuriatingly obtrusive hand knocks your chopsticks out of the way. Your narrowed eyes snap up to meet Tsukishima's lazy, amused ones, and he smirks at you.
"Oh, sorry, [Last]-san," god, you want to sock him in the jaw, just once, "your hand is so small, I didn't see it," Tsukishima sneers haughtily, and your grip tightens so much on your chopsticks you feel the cheap wood begin to snap.
"Tsukishima, stop provoking, [Last]. [Last], don't listen to him," Sawamura scolds lightly. Tsukishima throws one last smug snort in your direction before going back to eating his food.
"You should respect your senpai more!" Nishinoya shots Tsukishima a disapproving frown as he shovels rice in his face.
"It's no use Noya, there's no way you're gonna get through that thick skull," you scowl at the blonde, who merely snickers at you.
"I think the one with the thick skull is the senpai who can't seem to grow taller than his thick-skulled kouhai."
"W-what?! You wanna fight?!" Hinata thrusts his chopsticks in Tsukishima's direction, indignant.
"Enough! You four, calm down or you'll be running laps soon!"
"Eugh... yes, Captain..."
...
You pull out your bathroom things along with the other first years, since the third years were talking with Coach Ukai. "Try not to snore tonight, okay, [Last]-san?" Tsukishima smirks as he takes out his own towel and bathroom necessities.
"Tsukki..." Yamaguchi warns him quietly, but the blonde ignores him. You hear him shift on the futon-your shared futon, and can hear the smirk when he next speaks.
"It's pretty late, are you sure practice hasn't gone past your bedtime-"
"Stuff it, Hotaru-kun," you grit your teeth, a grimace-like smile twitching on your lips. You see him stiffen, and he sends an unamused glare in your direction, but you narrow your eyes back at him. You grab your towel and stalk out of the room, followed by Hinata and Kageyama closely after.
The hot water from the bath helps relax you a little, but you can't help grumbling, still in a bad mood from earlier. "Seriously, what's his issue?" you grumble, dragging your shampoo-covered fingers through your hair with more force than necessary. "The brat pisses me off so much... who does he think he is?"
"[Last]-san, do you hate him?" Hinata asks, soap dripping off of his wet orange hair.
"Urgh... I don't hate him," you say with some reluctance, "but if he were better behaved I would like him much more."
In the bathroom, you listen to the others splash around. "Man, the bath feels great after practice!" Noya says, leaning back against the edge of the large bath. You stand, intent on joining them, when you slip on something-probably thin air-and land flat on your face.
"I guess in addition to being a shrimp you're also pretty clumsy, eh?" You can hear the smirk in Tsukishima's stupid voice. You slam your hands against the floor, pushing yourself up and glaring, though you feel your eyes water, and the way his smirk deepens says your angry expression has no real heat.
"Tsukki..." Yamaguchi says weakly, but Tsukishima's already walking away, a snicker on his lips.
"That bastard..." you huff, stomping back over to the shover heads.
"Ah...! [Last]-san! Watch out for-"
"Uwah!"
"That bucket..."
...
Tsukishima's already lying on the futon when you enter the room, and you grimace, wishing you could have switched with someone after all. Nevertheless, you grit your teeth and settle down next to him, immediately turning your back to him.
"[Last]-san! Do you wanna see the game that I bought?"
"Oooh! Yeah, show me, Hinata!"
"If you have enough energy to play games," Tsukishima turns towards you, "maybe you need to work harder during practice?" Your fist clenches around your pillow; you're so tempted to hit him, just once...
"Oi, don't fight, we're gonna turn out the lights," Sawamura calls out. People wander over to their respective futons, and you lie on your back, staring at the ceiling. The room goes dark and your teammates bid each other goodnight. Minutes go by before you hear the soft snores from Hinata and Nishinoya. It's quiet, not the kind of quiet where you can feel people's thoughts, like in assembly or in class; no, this quiet is the kind that feels more fragile than glass, like just your breathing-no, your heartbeat would disturb it.
You try to clear your throat quietly, but the sound is like a gunshot, and you wince. "What are you thinking about?" you jump when Tsukishima's voice-oddly quiet but fitting for how late it is, sounds next to you.
"It... it's none of your business," you scowl, turning on your side, away from him.
"Whatever," he grumbles, and you hear him turning as well. Soon, the shock of Tsukishima talking to you, without any insults, no less, wears off, and you're left once more staring into the darkness, waiting for sleep to gradually take over. At least, you would, except...
...You feel Tsukishima pulling hard on the blanket, and with a scowl, you tighten your grip on it, trying hard not to shake with the amount of effort you're using to keep him from taking it. Unfortunately-it really pains you to admit it-you're not strong enough, and with a muffled grunt and a seemingly extrastrong pull, the blanket is ripped from your fingers, leaving them tingling. "Oi, Tsukishima," you hiss, "you're hogging the blanket."
Your muttering receives no response, and if he wasn't sleeping inches from the wall you'd get on the other side of him and steal the blanket right back. Poking him with your foot yields no different outcome either, so you curse him in your mind, turning away from him with an angry sigh, curling up as much as possible.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, the lodge has air conditioning, and though you're grateful not to be sweaty and sleeping next to the irritating blonde, no blanket means you have to nuzzle as far down as you can in the futon and hopefully adjust to the chilly temperature.
It's hard to sleep, you realize, when you're shivering so much. Occasionally, you turn onto your opposite side with a small sigh of relief that you can warm your frozen side with the heat from your non-frozen side. Still, whenever you rotate to the side that faces Tsukishima's back, you glare heatedly at it, wishing looks did kill.
The minute tick by, and you're dozing in and out of sleep, woken up by spontaneous shivers. You know practice tomorrow is going to make you suffer as a result of your lack of sleep, but you're thinking of excuses as to why you'll be sleep deprived. You try rolling on your back and staring at the ceiling until you fall asleep, but the air conditioning turns on, and the lack of blanket leaves you defenseless to the gentle, cruel wafts of cold air.
You're not sure how much time passes before you're writhing numbly, lethargic, cold and half-dead. You're so tired you've forgotten where exactly you were, and when you turn to the left instead of the right, and lean against something warm, you feel yourself relax immediately. A familiar scent fills your nose, and you press yourself close to the source of warmth. In fact, the warmth is such a relief that you're asleep within moments, unable to feel the sensation of a blanket being thrown over you.
...
When you wake up, Tsukishima is gone, and you sigh in relief, throwing your arm over the empty space on the futon. "[Last]! Don't fall asleep again! We're gonna start practice soon!"
"Ahhh... early practice is going to be the death of me..." you mumble, forcing yourself to sit up.
"Ahaha! [Last], what's with that bedhead?!" You hear Nishinoya laugh.
"Noya, shut up," you mumble sleepily, though there's no real threat in the tone of your voice.
"[Last]! If you're not ready in five minutes you'll be running ten laps!"
"Ack! I-I'm getting there!"
...
"Hinata, Kageyama, right before the quick..."
"Asahi-san, try to imagine the ball before the serve..."
You drink as much water as you can during the break, sucking down the cool liquid through your parched throat.
"Drinking water won't help you grow, Shorty." Your teeth gnaw on the spout, shooting a glare in Tsukishima's direction. He smirks, daring you to retort, and you almost do, but instead you turn on your heels and walk over to Sugawara.
"Oh, Tanaka, pass me that water bottle, will you?"
"Sure! It's gonna go flying, so be careful-"
You turn at the right time, and freeze, eyes widening as the bottle flies right towards you. "Uwah-" You raised your arms in front of your face, blocking the immediate impact, but the bottle cap flew off, and you cried out in shock as the cold water splashes all down your front.
"[Last], sorry!" You hear Tanaka shout as Sugawara hands you a towel.
"Ah, don't worry about it, accidents happen," you smile, wiping your face and hair. "Hm... but what should I do? I don't have another shirt..." Tanaka claps his hands together in apology.
"Oh, I have an extra shirt you can use," Sugawara says, and you turn to him, eyes sparkling with happiness.
"Really?! Thank you, Sugawara-san!" He laughs slightly, waving his hand at you.
"Don't worry about it; I don't want you to catch a cold." You smile widely in response.
"Right!"
You pull out Sugawara's bag, back in the room with all of the folded futons. You see he has a few folded up, clean t-shirts, and pull one out. "Yikes... it's so much bigger..." you sigh. "Why am I short?" You pull off the wet shirt, making a note to hang it up to dry. Tugging Sugawara's shirt over your head and relishing the dryness, you're in the middle of zipping his bag shut when you hear someone snicker.
"Isn't it nice to have someone like Sugawara-san watching out for you." You hear the smirk in Tsukishima's speech, as you had countless times before.
"...what's that supposed to mean?" you ask, fist slowly clenching around the fabric of Sugawara's bag.
"I suppose it's only natural that people have to pick up after your clumsiness-"
"Is that the only reason why you came here?" you ask shortly, pushing Sugawara's bag back against the wall. "Man, can you stop being pissy for once when we're not even on the court?"
"And who's the one responding to me?" He asks. You grit your teeth.
"God, you're so annoying!" You stand, crossing your arms and walking over to where he's standing by the doorway. His scowl deepens as he watches you tug on the hem of your shirt. "Geez, maybe I should have asked Noya for a shirt."
"Not that it'd fit, anyways."
You growl. "If you hate me, just tell me to my face!" You grit out, almost stamping your foot in frustration. You clench your fists so hard your knuckles turn white and they shake. "God, you're so irritating! Why beat around the bush, eh? Just tell me you hate me so I can ignore you properly-"
His hand flies towards your face, and you wince, expecting the pain of him hitting you. When his palm slams against the doorway, you jump, taking a step back, anger melting away slightly. "Wh-what?" you ask, looking up at him, eyes wide in surprise.
He stalks towards you, and you back away. "You," he begins, and it's not as if you don't already know how tall he is, but in that moment when you're backing away, he's looming over you with such intensity you feel as if you have no choice but to back away. Your back hits the wall and you jump, eyeing him warily as he closes the distance between the two of you, "...are so annoying," he finishes, and you're about to retort, about to tell him off for being a jerk, when he raises his hand and flicks you, hard in the center of your forehead.
"Ow!" Your hands fly up to cover the spot, and you glare at him. "What the hell, Tsukishima?" You demand. He raises his eyebrow at you, crossing his arms.
"You're so dense, [Last]-san," he says. Your mouth falls open, but you nearly choke on your own spit.
"Wait, '-san'? Not 'Shorty'?" You gape.
"Do you prefer to be called nicknames?" Tsukishima smirks, "Or maybe you're just a masochist."
"You...!" you raise your fist, biting your lip angrily. "Whatever, Sawamura-san is going to wonder where we are," you say, trying to step around him.
His hand slams against the wall next to you, making you flinch, and he leans closer, opening his mouth to say something, but then he scowls, glaring down at you. His glare is strange, though. Rather than glaring at you, he's more glaring towards you, as if you're not the actual reason he's angry.
"Y-you're frowning more than Kageyama," you say, tilting your head. He reaches up, swiftly flicking your forehead once more.
"Even you can be cute sometimes," he says, before stepping away from you. You blink rapidly. Did... he just call you cute?
"H-hey," you say, "you're not feeling sick, are you? Maybe the heat's getting to you... don't you need to sit out?" And he frowns at you, before rolling his eyes.
"Don't fall behind, Shorty," he says, walking out of the door and back towards the direction of the gym.
"Tsukishima, you-!"
...
Practice ends a little earlier than usual, probably because it's the last day, and though you're tired and can't feel your limbs for the most part, the bath helps you relax, and you offer to help Kiyoko and Takeda make dinner.
"But you must be tired," Kiyoko says uncertainly. You grin.
"Don't worry, Kiyoko-san! I actually feel quite awake after the bath!"
"Oh... okay. Well, we're thinking about making curry, do you know how?" she asks curiously. You nod, going to the fridge to get out some carrots.
"Leave it to me!"
"Ah! Oh no," Takeda fumbles with a pot of water, some of it spilling over the edge.
"I'll get a mop," you say.
"Ah... sorry," he apologizes.
"Ah! [Last]-san, are you going to cook?!" You hear Hinata from outside the door. You nod, smiling at him, shutting the fridge.
"You bet! I'm actually pretty confident in my cooking skills," you say. Hinata's eyes sparkle.
"Senpai, you're so cool!" You blink, taken aback.
"No, really, I..."
"Please do your best not to poison us, okay?" Tsukishima says as he passes by the kitchen. Your grip on the carrot tightens, your brief good mood instantly gone.
"Whatever, you can starve for all I care," you turn away, walking toward the sink.
"Wait, [Last], the water-" Kiyoko says, but it's too late. Your foot slips out from under you, and with a cry of shock, you stumble back, hop a few times, and fall over, body tense with the fear of hitting the table or counter. You're bracing yourself for the impact, watching the room around you spin, when you fall-
-right into Tsukishima's arms. He stumbles slightly, but keeps you upright, and you instinctively grab onto his arm, heart racing with adrenaline. Slowly, you turn your head to look up at him. It might have been a trick of the light, or maybe you're just tired, but you could have sworn you saw his expression soften just a little.
It's gone in a second, however; you wonder if you were just dreaming when he smirks, that cocky, infuriating smirk once more. "Can you even stand properly?" he snickers, and you're so, so close to stomping on his foot.
"Ahh, [Last]-kun, are you alright?" Takeda asks, and you nod, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sorry, the water..."
"Don't mind, Takeda-sensei, I was just going to get a mop," you said. Blinking, you realize Tsukishima is still supporting you, and you flail slightly before straightening yourself, sending him a wary frown before walking away.
"Shorty, is that how you treat your savior?" he sneers. You freeze. "That's not setting a very good example, is it~?"
"...thank you," you whisper under your breath. Tsukishima hums, leaning in with his hand cupped behind his ear.
"What's that? I didn't hear you," he says lightly, his infamous smirk on his face. Dammit, he's enjoying this.
"...thank you," you say, a bit louder, hating the way he's looking down at you.
"Hm? I really don't know what you're saying," he smirks.
"I said thank you! You jerk!" you push him in the direction of the door. "Now get out! Go take a bath or something!" He snickers, walking away, and you watch him go, wondering why you can still feel your heart throbbing harder than usual.
...
Dinner (mostly) goes off without a hitch, and you find yourself flushing whenever someone complements your curry. Tsukishima's face is as unpleasant as ever, and he scowls deeper when you raise an eyebrow at him, confused as to why he looks so angry.
"Ahh... I can't believe we're leaving so soon..." Hinata sighs as he helps you and Asahi lay out the futons. "I wish we could play more!" He cried out, flailing his arms around.
"I-I do too, Hinata, let's calm down, okay?" Asahi said sheepishly.
"It's not like we can't play more when we get back to school," you tell the jumping orange-haired boy. "Coach Ukai will probably want us to have some sort of practice match when we get back, anyways."
"Ohh! You're right, [Last]-san! I can't wait for tomorrow!" Hinata all but yells. You chuckle, then frown, your shoulders slumping.
"[Last]? What's the matter?" Asahi asks as you sigh.
"No, well... you turn to him, a dead, flat look on your face. "To be honest, I don't know if I can make it through the night."
"Ah, you're sleeping next to Tsukishima, right?" Asahi smiles slightly. "I think you'll be fine. It's just one more night, right?"
"Urgh... I guess so." Since Tsukishima isn't here, you're the first to lie on the futon, keeping an extra handful of the blanket just in case he tries to steal it again. You stay close to the wall, knowing that at least you can kick Tsukishima off of the futon if he starts being a brat.
You don't hear the door slide open, but you jump when you feel him lie down heavily next to you. "Oh? I see it really is past your bedtime, Shorty." Tsukishima sneers. You want to kick him so badly. Instead, you turn to the wall, shutting your eyes and praying for sleep to take you.
However, it seems like hours pass and you're not asleep. Though the others are sleeping, some snoring rather loudly, you can't find yourself in the right mindset or position to join them. You stare at the lines in the wall, listen to other people breathing.
You feel Tsukishima turn, and you know he's turned towards you because you can feel his breathing, though barely, tickling the nape of your neck. You want to tell him to stop-to stop breathing? Yeah right. You tried to ignore it, instead distracting yourself by drawing patterns on the wall, by trying to fall asleep, but as the minutes pass you swear the breathing gets... heavier. In fact, it's no longer just breathing, but a thin stream of air is hitting the back of your neck, and you twitch.
"Can you not-" you grit out. The air stops, and you sigh, relieved. Then you hear it. A quiet, slight snicker.
"Is something bothering you, Shorty?" Tsukishima asks, and you freeze, because his voice is inches from your ear, because even though you're not touching, you can feel him looming over you. And more than that, though you ought to be used to it, you feel so small. You try to scoot closer to the wall to put some space between the two of you.
"What's up with you?" you mumble. "You're cornering me a lot today." He snickers.
"Your reactions can amuse me a little, at least." You growl, turning around to face him-
-that familiar, dull liquid gold stares back at you, even through the darkness. Your breathing falters, whatever comeback you're about to throw at him disappears. You can feel the slight puffs of his breath against your cheek, you can feel your heart thud and you're sure he can feel it as well. At the very least, he can feel the heat from your face as your cheeks flush deep red, barely visible in the darkness but you see him smirk anyways, lips pulling back as he watches your expression.
In a flash, you turn away from him again, one hand pressed against your mouth and the other gripping your wrist. You can feel your own pulse clearly, can feel the blood pounding in your ears. "I-I thought you'd prefer to just hate me," you whispered through your fingers.
There's a pregnant silence before he speaks again. "I don't hate you," Tsukishima's voice is quiet, so quiet you have to strain to hear him, despite the closeness, despite the silence. "Sure, you're annoying and distracting," you grit your teeth, "but I never hated you."
You blink, before turning your neck to look over your shoulder, raising an eyebrow at him. "...'Distracting'?" you repeat.
Tsukishima looks at you; his eyes are calm, steady, and you're so painfully aware that your bodies are just barely touching. "You really are dense," he whispers, before leaning forward. You barely have time to blink before his lips brush against your forehead. Your heart, breathing, thinking stops in that quick, tender moment.
When he pulls away, you see just the slightest pout on his face, and looking closer, his cheeks, while they're not as red as yours, have a darker tinge to them. "Tsu-" you hardly dare talking, "Tsukishima..." he turns on his side, and you gape.
"I'm going to sleep. Goodnight, [Last]-san," he says. Several very loud seconds pass before you fully turn to face him, reaching forward with a trembling hand to grasp his shirt. You feel him tense slightly, but maybe your shaking has thrown off your deduction a little.
"...me too," you whispered, centimeters from his back, "I never hated you. E-even though you're cocky and irritating, I never hated you." You say, your fist hurts from clenching so hard, but you're only focused on Tsukishima, on the heat of his body against your hand, the heat of your own face. Another stretch of silence that makes you aware of your own nerves, and you're worried he's fallen asleep, or worse; he's going to say it was all a joke.
Neither of those things happen. When he turns, his shirt is ripped from your grasp, and you only have time to gasp slightly before you feel an arm being thrown over you.
"You know, [Last]-san, you're actually quite docile when it's late. Are you out of steam?"
"You..." your fist is shaking, and you growl slightly. "I'm going to have wrinkles at a young age because of you." He snickers.
"I think it's too late to worry about wrinkles."
"Why you..."
By the time you feel yourself beginning to calm down, and your eyelids are feeling heavier by the second. At least, until...
"By the way," Tsukishima says, and you look up at him tiredly, freezing at the sadistic, dark smile on his face. "I never got back at you for calling me Hotaru-kun, did I?"
You gulp.
...
The next morning, you're woken up by furious whispering. "Should we wake them?"
"I don't know, I don't really want to die..."
"Ryuu! Picture! Get a picture!"
"Idiot, shut up! They're going to wake up!" Blinking tiredly, you look out of the corner of your eye, seeing other members of the team crowded around you. You feel heavy, like there's a weight keeping you from moving.
"Oh, he's awake." Your head tilts to the side, blinking slowly.
"...What's going on?" you ask, voice thick with sleep.
"O-oh! Nothing much, right, Sawamura?"
"R-right..." You look around, catching words like "amazing" and "bedhead". Glancing down, you freeze, seeing Tsukishima still asleep, curled up next to you. Five, six, seven seconds pass before your mouth falls open.
"Th-this isn't-!" You wave your arms. "It's not what it looks like!" The others are staring at you with pleased faces. Your cheeks feel like they're on fire. "D-don't look at me like that! We uh-" your mind is racing to find the right words, "Like, it wasn't voluntary! No, not at all! I move around a lot in my sleep and he was there and-!"
"If you would all..." Tsukishima pushes himself off the futon, "...kindly leave," he glares at everyone, who trip over one another while backing away.
"Ack! T-Tsukishima! When did you-?"
"I've been awake for a while," he scowls, feeling around for his glasses.
"W-well..." Sawamura says, "We're, ah... getting ready to leave, so..." Tsukishima sighs.
"Yeeees," he drones, and you scramble onto your feet, unable to look anyone in the eye with your cheeks burning so hot.
The rest of the morning goes by rather quickly as you all gather your things and put away the futons. After one last call to check for anything left behind, people begin bringing their stuff onto the bus. The morning air was calm, and you felt almost relaxed, except...
"Let's go, [Last]-chan," Tsukishima says, smug smirk just a little smugger than usual.
"Did you just call him..."
"...'[Last]-chan'?"
You wanted to die. If hell existed, this is what it would feel like. Tsukishima tilts his head, waiting expectantly.
"W... woof, woof," you choke out, face hot enough to cook an egg.
Silence, before Nishinoya and Tanaka burst out with uproarious laughter. The others gape between you and Tsukishima, jaws dropped. If it were winter, you were sure the others would be able to see the steam rising from your face. Tsukishima snickers.
"Good boy~"
You really wanted to sock him once.