Chapter Text
"Yamaguchi,"
Kei's flat tone cuts through Tadashi's thoughts, crisp and clear, and he flicks his gaze from his feet to his best friend. He waits for the other to continue speaking.
"Did you forget how to tie your shoelaces?" Kei asks, a wisp of amusement in his tone. It takes Tadashi a small moment to piece together why Kei asked what he did. Up till then, Tadashi was lost in thought, staring at the strings in his fingers as he was. Daydreaming was not a rare occurence for the freckled boy, and neither was the subject of his thoughts.
Tsukishima Kei.
This time, it wasn't how well the taller played volleyball, or how he made snarky comments- but it was how amazingly beautiful Kei was. His hair, blonde and soft (Tadashi knew, more often than not he would find himself running his hands through Kei's hair and surprisingly the blond didn't mind at all), and his eyes, golden brown like sunshine through a glass of whiskey. Tadashi loved his eyes, caramel soft, but piercing in their own way. Before he could drift back into those thoughts, Tadashi reminded himself that the target of his daydream was standing right in front of him.
"Sorry, Tsukki! Got lost in thought," Tadashi said, hastily knotting the shoelaces before pushing himself off of the bench. Kei tilts his head ever so slightly before heading out of the club room and down the stairs. Tadashi jogs after him and matches his quick strides.
The captain sees them enter, and they begin their warm ups.
//
Tadashi starts to get out of breath, and he signals the older setter he needs a little bit of a rest. Sugawara doesn't mind, he keeps practicing serving and Hinata takes over in receiving. He stands by Yachi, the fidgeting blonde who's eyes never seem to leave the orange blur of a spiker, and Kiyoko hands him a water bottle.
"Ah, thank you," he graciously accepts the drink and swallows down a couple of mouthfuls before handing it back to the attractive girl.
He watches from the sidelines, everyone else practicing and perfecting their performance, and then he allows his murky brown eyes to travel over to a specific blond. Tadashi watches him calculate where and when the spiker will hit the ball, and then successfully blocks, earning aggravated shouts from their bald senpai. Tadashi watches as Kei says something that seems to rile him up more and Daichi has to shout at Tanaka to get him to stop.
He snorts and Yachi glances at him.
"Tsukishima has a very sharp tongue," she says, now also watching the tall blond. Tadashi jumps slightly, then nods in agreement.
"He does, doesn't he?" Tadashi watches Kei say something to Hinata, and then smirks when Hinata blows up in his face, "Or he just targets hot tempered persons."
Yachi giggles at that, and Tadashi finds himself smiling too. She calms herself down enough to ask Tadashi a question.
"How long have you two known each other? I mean... you sure do know a lot about one another."
Tadashi thinks, and remembers the day he met Kei.
"Since elementary school," Tadashi answers with a hum, gazing at Kei. Yachi opens her mouth to speak, but gets interrupted by coach Ukai commanding Tadashi to practice his serves. With a high pitched "yes, coach!" Tadashi grabs a ball and makes his way to the serving box.
Nishinoya is on the opposing side of the net, receiving any ball he can. He spots the taller teen and grins, a glint of a challenge in his eye. Tadashi tries not to think about it, and takes a breath. He lets it go, and then serves, keeping his body fluid. Tadashi lands after his jump, then watches the ball surf through the air and suddenly drop. Nishinoya doesn't seem to have anticipated this and lunges forward, but misses- the ball making a soft thwack sound on the gym floor.
Tadashi stares in amazement, and so does Nishinoya. Then the short second year breaks out into a grin and cheers from across the court.
"Man, I can never seem to receive your serves anymore, Tadashi!" Nishinoya shouts, jumping up and down from his spot on the other side of the net. Tadashi blushes, and Ennoshita slaps his shoulder in his own way of congratulating him. There's stars in his eyes and he feels a gaze on his person. He looks around and catches Kei staring at him.
Tadashi fights down a blush at the realisation Kei could have possibly been watching him. He smiles at his blond friend, and Kei nods back before turning to Sugawara to continue their conversation.
The rest of the practice there is a warm buzzing feeling in Tadashi's chest.
//
Waving a goodbye and giving a thank you to their upperclassmen, Tadashi catches up with Kei who's already half a block away. He hands Kei one of the pork buns Daichi had treated them to and the blond silently takes it before biting into it. Tadashi smiles warmly and nibbles on his own.
"You know, it's expected that you can serve like that now, it's not a big surprise," Kei says, not turning his head but Tadashi can see he's peering at him from the corner of his eyes. It takes a moment for Tadashi to realise that the taller male is complimenting him, and there's suddenly the biggest grin ever on his features.
"Thanks, Tsukki!" he beams, happiness radiating off of his being like the rays of the sun. Kei grunts in response and Tadashi brushes off the fact he turned away too fast to be normal.
All too soon they arrive at Tadashi's home and Kei only pauses to watch Tadashi make his way to his door. Before he enters his home he turns to seek out the blond then waves a goodbye with a cheery smile on his face. Tadashi watches the blond continue walking to his own home before shutting the door.
The house is quiet, indicating that it is empty except for him. Tadashi remembers his mother filling in for someone and taking their night shift at the hospital, and it isn't weird that his dad isn't home either- he does know that he works late. Toeing his shoes off and going further into the house, he spots the plate of cling-wrapped food on the bench and is grateful that his mother thought about cooking something before she left.
As he is heating up the plate, he leans against the counter top and allows his mind to wander. Tadashi feels a smile tug at the corners of his lips when he catches his thoughts already drifting to his blonde best friend.