tw: n/a.
•
the week flew by.
yamaguchi kept up with his nighty walks, still taking his dogs out on nights he knew the johzenji boys weren't coming around. on nights that they did, once the bikers found yamaguchi, he hung onto terushima's bike for the ride.
on nights yamaguchi knew he wasn't going to meet the boys on their rides, he and the boy in yellow would always talk over the phone before terushima went to bed. who knew that the fun-loving and wild captain actually had a decent bedtime four days of the week.
as for yamaguchi's own bedtime, it was nonexistent. he was found sleeping more often in class or even taking a shorter route on his walks to catch up on sleep. on weekends, he slept in until noon or one pm to make up for loss of sleep during the week. his parents were growing worried of his irregular sleep schedule, but being that he was staying on top of his school work, they didn't bring it up. they knew he was in good hands anyway.
at school, tsukishima returned. stating he was just really run down the day after prelims, yamaguchi's worry melted away and the team resumed practice for nationals. the club drew more interest now that they were excelling to a national level, so they even had some visitors during practice; coach ukai wasn't pleased about that though.
kageyama didn't bring up yamaguchi when proposing the idea of the end of the season party to terushima. it wasn't even going to be for the end of the season, they revamped it to celebrate the teams that were proceeding to nationals; any team could come too, not just miyagi.
but distance proved a factor, so kageyama and terushima would see who showed to the johzenji gymnasium friday night in a two weeks time. as captain of the volleyball club, all terushima needed to get was his coach's permission. that was easy enough, so the gym was clear to use.
so, for the next two weeks until the party's date, everyone kept to themselves and practiced for nationals if they were attending. for those not, practice was no longer mandatory as their season 'ended'.
for two boys, though, they began to meet to practice the sport they both grew to love.
•••
"damn, yams. your serves get better every time we meet," terushima compliments, a hand on his hip. the two practiced behind the shimada mart every night possible when terushima didn't go attend practice. yamaguchi was there regularly anyway, so he didn't have to go out of his way to see his blond friend.
"thanks, teru! your spikes are getting.. better too!" yamaguchi responds enthusiastically, but he had to stop to yawn. the older player casts a worried look at the other, but doesn't question it. yamaguchi retrieves his ball before returning to where terushima stood. "why are you looking at me like that?"
"mm? oh, nothing. you've been yawning a lot, that's all. do you go on walks every night?" the bottle blond asks, watching yamaguchi fixate himself in his serving position before stepping forward. the float ball sailed over the cheap net, but it passed.
"yeah.. kinda. i've had a lot on my mind," yamaguchi mumbles after a yawn again, watching the ball bounce a bit behind the net before it stopped at the fence. terushima's usually present smile fades.
"wanna talk about it?"
"nah, not really."
"oh," terushima murmurs, watching yamaguchi come back with the volleyball again. yamaguchi offers an apologetic look, but terushima waves him off before placing a hand on the olive-haired boy's shoulder. the latter lowers his arms, as he was about to serve.
"you can talk to me, if you need. i can be a goof sometimes.. most of the time, but i'm still your friend. i'm still here for you." the younger smiles gratefully at terushima, who felt a bang in his chest after seeing the cheerful boy's face.
"thanks, teru. that's really nice of you. i'll think about it. can we go back to playing now?" terushima nods, clearing his throat and taking his hand off of the other's shoulder. yamaguchi follows through with the serving motion, fist pumping.
"it's getting better!"
"sure is, yams."
•••
"tsuuki! wanna serve with me?"
"how about you go serve with my replacement after practice instead?"
yamaguchi's cheery face falters, coming to a stand still on the gym's floor. everyone was allowed a half hour to work on whatever skills they wanted as coach ukai had to talk to takeda regarding nationals. so, an eager yamaguchi had approached tsukishima, who had been recently more withdrawn than usual.
"my replacement. you know, the fake blond i met at prelims with you?" tsukishima says, adjusting his sport glasses.
the olive-haired boy frowns, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. "teru's not your replacement, tsuuki. nobody can replace you, you're my best friend after all," seeing tsukishima's skeptical face, the boy runs over and holds out a closed fist. he knew tsukishima didn't like hugs in public, but a fist bump he didn't mind.
the act of friendship got tsukishima. the blond let out a defeated sigh, returning the fist bump before grabbing yamaguchi's ball for himself. ruffling the other's olive hair, tsukishima shakes his head with a smirk. "thanks, yamaguchi. really. go get a ball, this one is mine now."
"tsuuki!-"
"quit whining, you sound like hinata."
"hey!!"
•••
the two friends walked home together, the shorter kicking a few rocks out of the way.
"you really don't think i'm replacing you, do you?"
"my mom drives home past shimada mart every night. she mentioned you with that kid practicing there a few times."
yamaguchi frowns, "if you don't want me to practice with teru, i won't, tsuuki. he's.. really, just a friend. i know you two didn't get off on the best foot, but he's a really good guy, and a good volleyball player. he's been helping me a bit with my serve when mr shimada is working.. late." he only paused a couple times to yawn.
"get some sleep, would you?" tsukishima teases, giving his friend a small but real smile. something that only tsukishima's family and yamaguchi got to see, and it was still uncommon. yamaguchi rolls his eyes before giving the blond a side hug, walking sideways.
"yamaguchi, i don't like hugs!"
"too bad! i gotta expel the sadness!"
•••
yamaguchi glances at his vibrating phone on his bed from his place at his desk. he could see terushima's contact appear on the screen. a phone call. the boy sighs, looking down at his school work before back at the phone.
reaching over and grabbing it, he rejects the call and instead opens up messages.
freckledgrass: i'm doing hw, what is it?
terushiiima: oh, that's where you are
freckledgrass: are you outside shimada?
yamaguchi waited for an answer, but he didn't get one.
freckledgrass: oh my god i'm so sorry, i should've texted you. i had a lot of hw tonight so i couldn't go practice :(( if i didn't have hw, i'd even invite you over :((
terushiiima: is chill. wanna call later tho? it's only 6
freckledgrass: okie
•••
terushima presses his phone to his chest, staring at the volleyball net out in front of him. it wasn't even properly set up; one side was a little lower than the other side. but, the boy in yellow still loved the sight of it. it meant he was going to see yamaguchi again.
not tonight, though.
the bottle blond sighs in disappointment before mounting his bike again. pocketing his phone, he pushes off the ground to get his yellow bike rolling before beginning to pedal back home.
"he has school work, he's not avoiding you."
"how do you know that?"
"because i'm you."
"oh, right."
the boy's own voice fills the air as he biked back home. it was maybe twenty five minutes biking between karasuno and johzenji, as they were relatively close.
the boy would never admit it but friendship issues were a big thing in his life. he never had problems making friends; it was the concept of keeping them. that's why he never had a 'best friend', because no one ever stuck around long enough to be called a best friend.
some people were scared away by his always-excitable attitude and his piercings. some didn't like his playboy-ness, and would rather not have to pick up a beat up kid who hit on the wrong boy or girl. some just didn't trust him.
after meeting yamaguchi, the boy just seemed so innocent and friendly that terushima had a easy time believing that the boy was just being nice to him while they first met. but after spending time together, the blond was able to see that yamaguchi's personality really was admirable; and the two grew closer as friends.
but even just with one meet up canceled, those doubts came back. he wasn't doubting yamaguchi, but his own abilities. was he being too overbearing? yamaguchi did have other friends, maybe he didn't want outside of school friends?
"just let him be, yuuji," he tells himself, panting heavily as he climbed uphill. "he'll call you. he'll call you."
"you don't need to worry, he's a real friend."
~~~
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