Enjoy! Am I STILL talking to my ex? Yes. He's cute and I'm lonely, so in honour of that loneliness this chapter is where things start to pick up between a character x character ship and Y/n x Tsukishima.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
April 24
Y/n POV
☆
Since the beginning of the year this first month of high school moved by quickly. Asahi and Noya are back, of course that was an episode of lots of explanations on why's and what's but they are back none the less and we even got a coach! Turns out the reason why Takeda was creeping out around the store. He recruited, convinced, no - begged Coach Ukai Sr.'s grandson to be the coach. It worked though.
We are at a small training camp with Nekoma. Apparently Karasuno and Nekoma has quite the rivalry before any of the third years joined the team. When we get back we are gonna have that team bonding sleep over and after that the Interhigh Tourney starts.
"Sorry I can't help much in the kitchen." I laugh sheepishly as I cut some onions and bell peppers. They are un-evenly cut.
Kiyoko and Takeda laugh and shake it off. Takeda and Kiyoko are doing the real cooking. Good cooking.
Takeda is making a whole variety of side dishes while Kiyoko is busy with making curry.
"It's fine Y/n-chan your helping enough." She eases stirring the boiling pot. It smell so good. "Remember that one time the team came over and you insisted on helping me cook and then you set the boiling veggies on fire?" She teases and I whine.
"That was so embarrassing!" I whine and she laughs.
"It's fine I wasn't good at cooking back then either. I was only a first year then and you were only 13." She eases.
"I almost failed home-tech in junior high! I was band from using the stove." I pout and Takeda and Kiyoko both move away from me, teasing me.
"Are you two gonna be fine cooking? I need to go supervise the boys." Takeda says and we both nod. "Good. Don't set anything on fire!" Takeda smiles as he walks out of the kitchen.
"So since the sleep over's gonna be as soon as we get back, we should get snacks for the boys." Kiyoko suggests and I nod.
"Defiantly. Oh and deodorant for Hinata. He always forgets to bring one for practice." I complain and we both laugh.
Kiyoko lives near by so I'll be able to room by myself and the baths so I can take as long as I want.
"Oh, by the way. I heard from the News Club - the one that handles the stuff for yearbook and the school newspaper. They're trying something new. Each club will be getting someone to observe us. Just so they have some stuff for each club for articles. They're gonna be with us for as long as they go to this school. I'm pretty sure every team is getting a first year." Kiyoko says and I nod.
"Oh, that's cool. When?" I ask.
"Hm. I think about right after the Interhigh." She says just as we - well she, finishes cooking.
I move to the door and as I begin to open it I hear the funniest thing, and the boys don't even notice Kiyoko and I are standing right at the door, watching them.
"It's just you sharing a room with a bunch of disgusting sweat boys." Tsukishima says and Tanaka and Noya let out the most ear ripping screech that kind of impresses me.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Noya yells. He and Tanaka grab onto Tsukishima's shirt and shake him.
"YEAH ANYWHERE NEAR A HUNDRED FEET OF KIYOKO IS PURE AND BEAUTIFUL YOU ASS WHOLE! WHY? CAUSE SHE'S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL IN THE WORLD!" Tanaka yells and I hear Kiyoko gasp quietly.
I glance at her discreetly so she doesn't see but her face is dusted pink and she holds back a smile.
"Actually Kiyoko live close by so she's going home once we're done." Koushi says and, I don't even know what happens to Noya and Tanaka. They just died with out dying. Koushi laughs and walks past Kiyoko and I and takes a seat at the table, ready to eat.
"Erm...Dinner is ready." Kiyoko stares at the two boys who jump up at the sight of her and follow her to the table with blissful faces.
I turn to the other first years.
"Tsukishima. You know, you are a part of that group of sweaty boys. Right?" I tease earning small chuckles Kageyama, Hinata and Tadashi are trying hard to hide but fail to do so.
Tsukishima gives ma a glare and I throw my hands up.
"I'm just saying!" I defend as we walk in, Tsukishima walking ahead while I hang back with the others.
"Nice one." Tadashi nickers.
"You should shut him up more often!" Hinata beams and we hear a 'tch' come from Tsukishima.
"Oh he heard you." Kageyama whispers to us and we start to laugh.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
April 24
Tsukishima POV
☽
The rest of the team is still awake but I finally get comfortable enough to zone them out.
Thirsty. Why do I always need water when I get comfy. I let out a groan and get out of bed. I put on my slippers and walk back to the kitchen.
I fill up a glass and walk to the exit of the inn take a seat outside.
It's brisk out but it's comfortable.
"What's got you so dramatic?" Y/n jumps at my voice. She turns and relaxes once she sees me. She pats the spot beside her with a smile. She's quieter in the late hours of the day.
I've never seen a girl - at least around my age, in sleep clothes.
Y/n looks comfortable too. She wears some sweatpants that look too big/small, maybe they are her brother's. She wears a cropped tank top with a Totoro pattern on it and she hugs a sweater balled up to her chest and rests her head on it. Her skin moisturized and fresh.
The strap of her tank top slips off and I feel myself look away after she fixes it. I don't want to stare.
"Sorry for startling you." I say and she shakes her head.
"No, no. You're fine." She says. She's holding a mug filled with steaming tea. She takes a deep breath after taking a sip. "When I was little and couldn't sleep Koushi would make the this tea and stay in my room until I fell asleep. It's nothing special but I guess it still helps."
I turn back to her but she has her eyes trained to the sky. I've only seen Y/n during the daylight but seeing her outside, in the softness of the moon. The way the moonlight softens her face and makes it look kinder, more relaxed. She looks calm right now, compared to her usual energetic, but not annoyingly so, self.
I never realized how I like the way she looked.
I can list reasons I like the was she looks off the top of my head.
I just never realized just how pretty she was.
How pretty she is.
"My Dad used to bring our family to the park when it started getting warmer out. None of us knew the first thing about stars or space but we looked at them anyway. 'Who needs an excuse to star gaze when they look so bright,' is what he would say. He would alway look at Mom, Koushi and I and we all knew he was talking about us." She says, a soft smile playing at her mouth.
"Do you still go with him and the rest of your family." I ask and Y/n's mouth frowns a bit before shaking her head letting her face let out a sad smile as opposed to a frown.
"No. Erm... My Dad actually passed away nearly 6 years ago. Car accident." She laughs nervously and I feel myself grow awkward.
"O-oh...sorry." I say, not knowing what to do and she laughs. For the first time in a while I curse my lack of communication skills.
"Alway one for comfort and empathy Tsukishima." She teases but waves a hand in the air. It relaxes me. She doesn't take things too seriously.
"Don't apologize. I don't want to treat Dad's death like some sad backstory that gets me sympathy. So I don't need your sympathy I got plenty when it actually happened. When I do need it you'll know." She says honestly and I nod.
"My Dad was a kindergarten teacher so he didn't know much about Space. Do you know anything about stars?" She asks me, her (e/c) eyes twinkling at me, the stars reflect onto them as her brows raise.
"No not much but I do know some constellations." I say moving my gaze towards the stars and moving my pointer finger to it. "Like that one. That's Cancer." I say tracing the constellation with squinting eyes. Y/n moves closer to me, our shoulders touch and she and follows my finger.
"That one is Ophiuchus."
I start to list various stars and tell Y/n their stories. Her eyes never leave the sky until I begin explaining them. Thats when her eyes meet mine. A smile on both of our faces.
"I think I listed all I can remember." I say once I finish pointing out Virgo. She turns back to me and gives me a soft smile.
"Who taught you all about stars?" She asks, turning her body to face mine completely.
"My...Dad." I say awkwardly. You know cause she just told me about her Dad. She smiles and nods.
"That's nice. Pretty ironic cause you know, my Dad is dead. Blah." She laughs as she sticks out her tongue, making a dead face. Coping through laughter. It's obviously working for her. I join in on her tiny giggle. "Tsukishima that's the best conversation we've had." She notes and I agree. She checks her phone and sighs.
"It' s late the guys are gonna go looking for you." She says, turning her phone to me. The time reads 12 : 09 a.m. She downs the rest of her tea and stands up. She grabs my hand and helps me up to.
Her hands are smaller than mine. They're soft and tiny and calloused where she holds her pens when she writes.
"Anyway, why were you outside?" I ask as she lets my hand go as quickly as I grabbed it.
"The boys were loud. You guys are next door you don't think I won't hear? So I made tea." She says and I nod.
"Hopefully some of the guys are asleep." I sigh.
The boys are still awake. We can hear Daichi yelling at them to shut up.
We reach Y/n's room and she lets out a yawn. She opens her door and enters turning back to me.
"Thanks for keeping me company. Good night." She smiles at me sleepily.
"Good night." I say back to her.
In movies this would be the part where she kisses my cheek but instead she gives me a small wave and shuts the door. In all honesty, I think I wouldn't mind all that much if she did kiss my cheek. I don't know why.
I go to the boys room and they all look at me.
"Yeah?" I ask, just wanting to go to sleep.
"Where did you go?" Tadashi asks and I wave his question off.
"I just went to get some water and ran into Y/n. She can't sleep cause you all are too loud." I say. Sugawara gets off from wrestling Tanaka and looks at me. It's a weird look, just edging on being a glare.
"Okay guys just because we can't sleep doesn't mean Y/n should need to hear me yelling at you to sleep. So please do her a favour and just go to bed. It's her first training camp too so she's probably tired." Daichi says.
And with that we shut the lights.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Written July 13, 2021
Released August 5, 2021