He wasn't expecting it when he sat down and pulled out his book but seeing the picture that fell out almost made him smile. Slowly picking it up from where it had landed in his lap, he brought his hand up to hide the faint curving of his lips as he gazed at the photo from his childhood. The tiny, hidden smile turned into a frown as he thought of those long ago days, back when things were happier.
Back then everything was still so carefree and innocent, before one of the people who mattered to him left and never returned. Before he closed himself off to avoid feeling that kind of pain again, the pain of letting someone in just to have them leave and take a piece of him with them.
Nowadays there was just Yamaguchi who he let get even remotely close, likely because he'd known the same person and was thus the only one he could talk to when the memories became too much to keep inside. Turning to glance at said person, he saw him gazing down in shock at another photo, his book open in his lap as he slowly turned to meet Tsukishima's eyes.
"Tsukki, did you?" His quiet, trembling voice asked him.
Shaking his head, he turned back and stared down at the image of his childhood friend, her bright (e/c) eyes staring up at him as she had been grinning happily at the camera, one arm slung over the shoulders of the smiling blonde boy beside her. Her other arm was slung over the dark-green haired boy on her other side, his cheeks pink with embarrassment.
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On his way to after school practice, Tsukishima couldn't help but feel the edges of the photo that he'd slipped into his pocket, still wondering how someone had managed to not only get a hold of the photo but also had slipped it into both his and Yamaguchi's school books. For a moment before going into the club-room, he pulled the picture out to glance at it, putting it away quickly as he felt his heart ache a bit at the sight.
Wondering why he was torturing himself, he relaxed his features into his usual neutral expression and swung the door open, entering the noisy room to find everyone gathered into a huddle near the lockers. Sighing at them, he slowly walked over to find out what was going on, noticing they were in front of his locker as they all quieted down and looked at him with wide eyes.
Looking at his locker, he noticed an envelope taped at eye level with his name carefully written on the front. Scowling at the whispers he heard around him, he pulled the envelope down and tore it open, almost dropping it when he saw the picture inside. The smiling face of (y/n) looked up at him, a much more recent picture that showed her (h/c) hair framing her face as her bright (e/c) eyes shined with happiness.
"Who put this here?" His voice cut through the room as he turned to look at the gathered boys standing nearby.
"Some girl I'd never seen before asked if she could put it on your locker. It's a love letter right?" Tanaka and Nishinoya both were leaning forward with eagerness as they stared at the envelope, pointing to the corner of paper that was sticking out of the ripped edge.
Pulling out the paper, the tall blonde blinked at the words he read and dropped the note to the floor as he pushed past his teammates and raced out the door.
"Hey! What's going on?" Hinata shouted as he watched Yamaguchi run out, chasing after his best friend.
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Standing in the middle of the school entrance, (y/n) smiled brilliantly at the tallest member of the volleyball team, his golden-brown eyes seeming to shine with the tears he refused to let fall. Taking a few steps forward, the (h/c) haired girl wrapped her arms around the boy she had been missing for so many years, her head resting against his chest as she listened to his heart's soothing beat.
"Happy Birthday, Kei." Her soft voice whispered to him as his arms wrapped around his long lost friend, Yamaguchi smiling at them from nearby.
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In the club-room, several boys stared at the note as they read the two simple words that were written upon the paper. "I'm home."