ganymede : chapter 9
on the day of the match against aoba johsai, you got up early at the sounds of your phone exploding from notifications. they were all excited texts from shoyo, describing the directions to get to a public volleyball gym where the match was being held.
---
shoyo shoyo
shoyo:
hi y/nn!!!!
hello hello
aaa are u up yet???/?
im so pumped for u to be there!!!!!
im sure tsukki is excited too ;D
we r ALL excited!!
ok sooo
uhh im gonna assume that ur gonna
check ur phone when u wake up right?
so here are the directions...
[shoyo shoyo shared an image]
ya!! see u in a few hours ig :))
text me back when u see this >:(
lazy lazy get out of bed
y/n:
omg uh hey
wow thanks for the directions
yep gl on your game!
shoyo:
AAAA Y/N'S AWAKE
yuh we're stretching and warming up
i didnt tell tsukki ur coming
it will be a surprise!!
y/n:
lmao shoyo uh
i dont think it will matter to him
like whether i come or not
lol we promised to keep our personal lives separate
or smth along those lines
shoyo:
i doNt tHink iT wiLl mAttEr tO hiM
trust me y/n :(
i think it'll make him play better!!
and i dont like tsukki all that much
but
like i said
i think ur presence will be accepted graciously
y/n:
UGH UR SO SWEET <3 <3
literally going just for u
alr im gonna go get ready now cya
shoyo:
hehe cya y/n!!!
---
of course, maybe, you had lied just a tad bit to get shoyo to stop teasing the possible attraction between you and tsukki. but, to be fair, it wasn't really shoyo's place to know about your little crush on tsukki. you decided to try and keep that to yourself, for who knows what could happen if that got out?
you got dressed and brushed your teeth before heading outside. you followed the instructions carefully, trying your best to not be late. after all, you didn't want shoyo to see up at the stands and miss you.
maybe you were too focused on your phone while walking, but you managed to bump into someone accidentally. backtracking, you looked up and muttered out a quick apology.
"oh, it's alright," the girl you had bumped into waved it off. in shock, you had dropped your phone on the ground, but she already had picked it up for you. "hm? are you headed to the gyms too?"
"yeah, actually. thanks," you said, tucking your phone into your pocket.
"i'm going the same way, i could show you how to head there if you're going to watch the karasuno and aoba johsai game," she offered, pushing her glasses up her nose in one delicate motion.
"that'd be great," you smiled, trying to hide the fact that you were slightly panicking at the fact that maybe... just maybe, you were lost.
you followed the helpful girl around the town. she really seemed to know where she was going, like she was really experienced at this. you wondered if she was a frequent game-goer, so you decided to pitch a question to her.
"hey, who are you rooting for? are you a karasuno fan?"
she pondered on the question for a bit. well, you actually weren't sure if she was thinking or if she was trying to suppress a smile.
"umm, well, as the karasuno manager, aren't i obligated to say 'karasuno'?" she said softly, giving a small grin.
"oh! oh my god, you're the manager! hi, i'm shoyo hinata's friend? and um-" you were in a hurry to introduce yourself. you didn't know if you were suddenly feeling a bit anxious because she was actually really pretty, or if it was because you were scared to leave a rude impression.
"ah, i think i know you... you're the girl that tsukishima tutors, right?" she said, pausing as if she was trying to recall all the things he said about you. you prayed that she wasn't around to hear all of the crappy stuff he said when he first met you.
"mhm," you sighed.
"if i recall correctly... he really seems to like you. it's my job to watch the team closely, and that includes both plays and mood. uh, believe it or not, but he seems to light up very slightly when he talks about you! you should feel quite lucky, it's not every day he seems to find something he's interesting in," the manager explained, a fond smile gracing her lips.
everybody on the team seemed to tell you this, and to be honest, you were ecstatic! maybe now because your feelings seemed to be quite set in stone about tsukki, you could take these comments with ease, knowing that maybe deep inside he seemed to be fond of you too. maybe you could even tease at the idea of him having a crush on you now, or at the very least now willing to be your friend.
"oh, where are my manners... sorry; i'm kiyoko," the manager introduced, before checking a watch on her wrist. "oh my, i'm a bit late. sorry, i'll be seeing you!"
and with that, she rushed into the gym.
slightly disappointed that you couldn't return the introduction, you walked into the gym in her wake and took your seat in the stands.
---
karasuno took the first set with ease, and they hadn't had a break yet, so shoyo didn't have a chance to see you yet.
luckily, after the first set, there was a short break. shoyo seemed to be scanning the crowd for you, and the sight of your familiar figure, he gave a big wave. you waved back, giggling a bit at his childish giddiness. but soon, your short burst of joy was turned into a mix of your own giddiness at the sight of shoyo motioning to tsukki.
the tall blonde's annoyance was clear, but once he saw you in the stands his hard stare seemed to soften the slightest bit. you gave a small wave, a lot smaller than the one you had previously given to shoyo. and to your surprise, a small wave was returned to you from tsukishima.
shoyo gave you a bright smile as the game resumed and the rest of the players shuffled back on to the court.
but for some reason, amidst all of the volleyball players, short and tall, the only figure your eyes remained glued onto was tsukishima's.
---
the game was finally over, with karasuno earning their rightful victory. the team, decked out in orange and black, was huddled on the court, radiating energy and ecstasy. the blue and white team, on the other hand, was sprawled out on the court in defeat and fatigue.
you had turned around to leave the gym, when shoyo's all-too-familiar voice called out to you.
"HEYY!! Y/N!!" he yelled, and you turned around despite your strong will to leave before tsukki saw you and (possibly) got mad. although, (you started to rationalize with yourself) he did wave at you on the court, so could that mean that he was okay with starting to share his private life with you? were you no longer on a strictly-business relationship? then, could you start hinting at your attraction for him? or-
you were overthinking this.
you walked to shoyo, who eagerly brought out tsukki. he seemed very tired and seemed like you were the last person he wanted to see right now.
"what are you doing here?" he mumbled, running a hand through his sweaty locks of hair.
"uh, shoyo invited me. so i hear that you speak well of me now? the entire volleyball teams' been telling me all the sweet stuff you say about me, and wow, thanks so much, tsukki," you grinned teasingly. where had all your previous nerves gone, you didn't know, but it felt good to joke around with him despite your crush.
"ugh, shut up," he sighed.
"so? what is it? did it really help to have me in the stands, hm?"
"who told you that?" he asked, sounding a little bit defensive.
"shoyo."
"i'll kill him. anyways, to answer your question... no. you're a little nuisance, you know that, y/n?" he said, but his words weren't seething with malicious intent. instead, a small smile teased at his lips as he ruffled your hair playfully. good thing you guys were slightly obstructed from the team's view, or tsukki would've been in for quite the teasing, you assumed.
"be honest with me," you sighed, smiling back. "did i help your morale? do you like me?"
oh god.
oh god that was so forward.
'do you like me?' you replayed that sentence in your head over and over again, half-hoping that you sounded like you were joking. the other part of your, however, hoped that he caught onto your feelings.
"do i... do i like you?" he repeated, making it sound like a question to himself.
you didn't reply.
there was an awkward silence over the both of you for a bit, both of you playing a silent game of bartering.
"i'm sorry, forget i said that-" you said quickly.
"maybe-" a small murmur came out of tsukki, speaking over you slightly.
"what-?"
"nevermind-"
"did you say maybe?"
"did i say maybe?"
silence once again.
"sorry, i made this so awkward," you apologized, still trying to keep the playful vibe up in the air.
"it's fine."
"i think your team's calling for you..." you lied, pointing behind him. karasuno was still too busy high-fiving each other and gave no attention to the missing presence of tsukishima.
"yeah," tsukki said, before turning around completely and rushing back to the court where his team didn't even realize he was gone.
with a dreading feeling in your stomach, you walked home.
you felt quite cheated on, even though nothing extreme had just happened. it was just a miscommunication, right? did he really say 'maybe'? and did he take it back? i mean, he didn't say so, but his mannerisms certainly seemed to regret spilling that to you. maybe he was just embarrassed...
not knowing what to do, you caught the bus on the way home and phoned up yua.
"... hello? y/n?"
and you proceeded to spill everything.
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a/n : hmm things are picking up pace! i haven't proofread anything at all in this book, so i'm going to go proofread now </3 thanks for the support on ganymede, though!!