completely forgot to post a photo for him, art creds: deadprinceee on twitter!
it was the last quarter. down to the last minute, oikawa was freezing. he noticed iwaizumi was wearing an unfamiliar large coat, having naību wrapped in his arms. he had an extra body for heat, while oikawa could only focus on leaving.
naību turned to oikawa, blinking at him as her red and blue eyes were wide.
"t-chan could've given you his jacket for warmth." she nodded to herself, "after all zumi is wearing marcey's coat."
that comment didn't surprise oikawa, he only laughed at it, "i see. i'm okay like this. the game is almost over anyways."
he looked at the score board, seijoh winning by a lot. 42-0.
he turned to looked at the field once more, seeing that the other team had the ball. running to the end zone, hoping to score before the night ended, but then he saw number 4, tsuyoi, running as fast as he could to catch up to that player. seijoh had a very competitive football team, each player was going after that one guy, practically having a race to see who could reach him before he made a touchdown.
of course, tsuyoi was the one to get there first. he wrapped his arms around the male running, tackling him to the ground in harsh manner, the football releasing from his grasps before he touched the ground. tsuyoi's eyes followed the movement of the ball, a fumble, he quickly got up and picked the ball up on instinct.
"and aiko tsuyoi gets the fumble! seijoh had a huge advantage. will the star player make it to the end zone?!"
there were so many cheers. the two volleyball players were still shocked to hear this much energy and loudness.
there was 20 seconds left, he wanted to beat the countdown, he wanted to make a touchdown one more time before the game ended. he huffed out a sigh, he was on the other side of the field, this player was only 10 yards away from scoring, so he had to pick his pace up.
the cheers grew louder, the screaming only proved to the captain that he was the star player, the one to end this game, the one to bring victory to his team.
he wasted no time in running, his feet close to the out of bounds area, his eyes moving everywhere. hoping to spot the other team before they tackled him, but it was a breeze for him. it was like no one was on the field with him, it felt like his one on one, lonely practice.
"the crowd is wild! tsuyoi has really stepped his game up!"
~~
"were you not playing to your fullest?" tasha asked.
tsuyoi shrugged, "my body told me to push my limits. even though it was also screaming at me to just give up, but i had people to impress. i couldn't let anyone down, at least, that's what i thought." tsuyoi blinked, his mind feeling dead as he thought about his past. "i'm starting to regret agreeing to this interview, i don't think i'm truly ready to share my story."
oikawa grabbed tsuyoi's hand with both of his hands, his eyes softening at the taller male who couldn't make eye contact. it was heartbreaking to watch, but oikawa soothed his mind as he gently rubbed his hand. kissing just below his ear, knowing that tsuyoi always found a sense of clarity in that action.
tsuyoi smiled when he looked at oikawa, he took a deep breath, "but i'm already here. there's no point in stopping, so let's continue."
~~
he noticed someone had caught up to his speed, realizing that they were gaining on him quick. at this rate, he would be tackled, at this rate he would let people down. this wasn't a practice or a scrimmage where he could fool around, this was an actual game, and his coach would be disappointed in him.
no, i can't fail here. tsuyoi thought, but his speed began to slow down, fatigue catching up with his body.
oikawa bit his bottom lip, he was focused on the game that he hadn't cheered once. but he didn't want to cheer, he didn't want people to hear his voice, but he couldn't help it now. tsuyoi looked like he was ready to collapse, he looked like he needed some sort of boost. that there were certain things leading up to his fatigue, and it didn't help that he's been playing all game.
oikawa took a step closer, his hands going around his mouth as he loudly cheered for tsuyoi. iwaizumi and naību followed his lead, knowing exactly what he was doing.
tsuyoi heard them, his heart filling with happiness. he had been listening out for them, his ears ignoring every voice, just so he could hear them. he needed them. his feet picked up, he pushed his negative thoughts away. he needed to score, his fatigue was not going to get in the way.
but in those few seconds, the male had caught up to tsuyoi, there was 8 seconds left on the clock, he could get a touchdown in about 2 more seconds, if only he wasn't about to get tackled.
he turned his head, ready to see how close he was, but a smile appeared.
"thanks for lasting a bit longer, tsuyoi." marcos called out, turning his shoulder as he tackled the person that was following tsuyoi. "didn't mean to keep you waiting!" he yelled as he sat up from the ground.
and because of that, tsuyoi scored one last time. the score was now 48-0, the clock reached zero. and the cheers only got louder.
marcos ran to tsuyoi's side, patting his back as tsuyoi was hunched over. sweat trialing down his jawline, he couldn't wait to go to marcos's place and crash.
"you over did it." marcos stated, knowing it wasn't just today.
tsuyoi nodded his head, "it's not my fault though."
marcos smacked his helmet, "i know, dumbass. i'm the only person who does know."
tsuyoi laughed, standing tall as they walked to the rest of the team. their coach having a proud look on his face, something that rarely happens.
"good work, boys." the coach put his clipboard -that held their plays- under his arm. "let's change and head on the bus to go back to seijoh. we'll have to talk there, you may speak to your friends and family for a few minutes but we leave in 10."
"yes sir."
marcos and tsuyoi quickly went to their three supporters.
"you guys sure helped me in the end." tsuyoi admitted, "thank you," he bowed a bit, along with marcos, "and thank you for coming." they both said in sync.
they fully stood as marcos began to speak, "tsuyoi and naību usually come and stay at my place. would you two like to join?"
iwaizumi and oikawa looked at each other, turning to face them.
"yeah, that would be great." iwaizumi said.
oikawa nodded, "we'll head to the school and wait. then we can walk together."
"great, see you then." marcos began to run off, not wanting to be left.
tsuyoi stayed back a bit, an unnoticeable blush dusting across his face, "i truly appreciate you guys coming it means a lot to-"
"tsu-tsu!" a female voice cut him off, they turned their heads to see a 5'9 female with shoulder length red hair, green eyes and freckles that only went across her nose. she had a 'model figure' body and was absolutely stunning, "you played very well!"
she reached over the railing and wrapped her arms around tsuyoi's neck, planting a sweet, but fast kiss on his cheek. he wrapped his arms around her back, smiling.
"thank you, natalie." they pulled away from the hug, he faced them, "natalie, you've met my sister already, but this iwaizumi and oikawa. iwaizumi and oikawa, this is natalie... my girlfriend."
she smiled brightly at them, sticking her hand out, "nice to meet you guys!"
they shook her hand, oikawa felt his heart pang in hurt, but he brushed it off.
natalie turned to tsuyoi, "now you better get going!" she poked his chest, "or your coach will leave you like last time."
"alright, alright, i'm going." but natalie pulled him in for one last hug, whispering something in his ear. his eyes widened, "you can't say stuff like that!" he then turned and began to run to the locker room.
~~
"what did she whisper?" tasha asked.
oikawa turned to him, "can't say just yet. it'll spoil everything." he looked back at tasha, "but when i found out, i was super happy."
~~
natalie turned to the three, "i hope you guys stick with him. he needs all the friends he can get." she then looked at oikawa, licking her lips, "especially you, volleyball captain." then she saluted them, "i must go now!"
she began to run up the steps, slowing down when she caught up with a female that was shorter than her, 5'5 to be exact. she had bright pink hair that stopped at the bottom of her back, her skin was darker than natalie's, she was a tad bit plumper and bigger than natalie, but nonetheless she was breathtaking.
oikawa and iwaizumi left after that, meeting the two football players at the school, just like they said.