𝐇𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐒, tsukishima kei

03

when kei stepped out of the gym, black duffle bag slung over his shoulder, [name]'s stomach dropped. he had no idea what to say—no idea if he was even allowed to look at kei at all. he took a deep breath, and told himself to suck it up. he wouldn't run away no matter how awkward this got.

"i didn't expect you to actually show up." kei's tone was sharp, but not spiteful. the blond didn't stop walking to talk, and instead walked straight passed [name] as if he expected him to follow.

     [name] followed without hesitation as he always did.

     "you asked me to walk you home. so i'm walking you home," [name] said, catching up to kei. they walked in silence, side by side, for a moment. neither boy knowing what to say. it had been so long since they had seen each other, and yet their conversation had run dry after three sentences.

     "so... this kageyama guy that tadashi's with tonight, he's not weird is he?"[name] asked, not wanting to walk in silence like they had last night. kei rolled his eyes, but [name] could tell he found it funny.

"a total weirdo," kei started, avoiding [name]'s gaze. he pressed his lips together to hold in his laughter. "but he has good intentions, and tadashi likes him a lot."

     "i can tell. he won't shut up about the guy." [name] was the one to roll his eyes this time. all he had been hearing these past two days was about volleyball practice and how pretty kageyama's eyes were. he didn't even know what the guy looked like, but he agreed anyways to make his brother happy.

     kei shook his head, the corners of his lips turning upwards. he never looked at [name]. his gazed only viewed what was in front of him.

     the only time [name] stopped looking at kei was to check if there was anything in his way. it had been almost half a year since he'd seen kei's face; he couldn't help but stare. the other boy was prettier than anyone [name] had ever seen. he was the type of pretty that people couldn't forget. [name] had always liked his eyes the best. they were sharp and full of judgment, but also the most beautiful honey brown. it was so easy to get lost in them.

     "you're staring at me." kei said, though he didn't look displeased. in fact, his cheeks were flushed red.

"you're seeing things." [name] didn't avert his gaze. he smiled and continued to stare at kei. he took in the other boy's features; his nose, his hair, his jawline. he could never get enough of that stupid beautiful jawline.

before he knew it, they were stopped at the front steps of kei's house. [name] has spent all of his time staring at him that they hardly had a chance to talk about anything important.

"do you want to come inside?"

that snapped [name] out of his thoughts quickly. he looked into kei's pretty brown eyes and nodded. "i would love to," he said, smiling.

[name] had been to kei's house more times than he could count, but when he walked through the door it looked different than he remembered. a lot had changed in the six months he had been gone. kei was taller than him. tadashi was dating someone? and the tsukishima's had replaced all of their old furniture. the ratty couch that he and kei would sit on to watch tv had been replaced with a spotless new white couch. the kitchen table had been replaced with one that had matching chairs. it was gonna take a while for [name] to get used to this.

[name] followed kei up the stairs without another thought. kei's room was still exactly how he had remembered it. his bookshelf with the dinosaur figurines on it was still in the left corner of the room, and the bed was still in the right.

kei dropped his duffle bag next to his bed, sitting down on the mattress.

"when was the last time you were in my room?" he asked, looking at [name] who was still standing near the door.

"the night before i left," [name] answered. he stepped forward, his feet touching the soft carpet. he took another set forward, and another, until he was just inches away from the other boy. "you were sitting exactly where you are right now. and i was..." he sat down beside kei. "sitting right here."

"i can't remember what we were talking about," kei said.

"we were talking about kites." [name] smiled. "you said you wanted to fly one, and i said if you still wanted to when i get back, i'd take you to the park and we could spend the whole day flying kites."

     "i still want to." kei whispered, as his face flushed a soft red.

     [name]'s smile widened. he rested his palms flat on the bed behind him and leaned back slightly.

     "you busy saturday morning?" he asked, watching as kei fought back the smile that was threatening to spread across his face. [name] loved it when kei smiled.

     "depends. are you asking me out on a date?" kei finally smiled. he turned to look at [name], eager for an answer.

     "yeah. i'm asking you out on a date."