Archive of Our Own

1.
Yamaguchi wouldn’t trust his memory; wouldn’t believe that Tsukishima had technically been the one who started all this. But he didn’t need to rely on his foggy recollection; he had evidence: text messages saved in his phone that revealed a different side of his usually stoic and decidedly unflirty friend.

It was a regular school night. Yamaguchi had just finished taking a shower and was ready to head to bed for the evening. He might play a video game as he lay under the covers for a little while before shutting down, but otherwise he was spent. Before that, he saw a light blinking on his phone, indicating a text message. He had his guesses as to who it might be, and he wasn’t that surprised when he picked it up off of his dresser and flipped it open.

Tsukki: What did you get for #6 on the math homework?

Yamaguchi checked the time stamp. Unfortunately, it had been sent just a minute after he had made his way to the bathroom, so it had been waiting unanswered for about a half hour.

His fingers moved over the keys of his cellphone quickly as he pulled his notebook out of his bag. It wasn’t totally atypical for Tsukishima to text him about this kind of thing. He was the better student, in basically every subject, but he also tended to doubt himself. He liked to have Yamaguchi confirm his answers. Yamaguchi found his answer to number 6 and finished composing his message.

Sorry I didn’t answer sooner. I was in the shower. I got 34 for that one.

Yamaguchi slid his notebook back into his bag and was about to place his phone back onto his dresser when he felt it buzz in his hand again.

Tsukki: Tsk. Showering without me? Wish I could have been there.

Could a heart get dislodged from the chest cavity and plummet to your feet? Yamaguchi paled at the strangely suggestive message. Then he remembered the conversation he and Tsukishima had had earlier that same day about things they would imagine the horribly horny Nishinoya saying if he ever got a girlfriend. This was no doubt a callback to that. Just a joke. Nothing more.

Yamaguchi felt himself laugh, relieved. He typed another quick message.

That’s a good one. LOL.

He put his phone back on his dresser and got into bed. But even after he wound down with some Pokémon, even though he was thoroughly exhausted from school, practice, and homework, he still took about an hour before he finally fell asleep.

Tsukishima didn’t mention anything about the saucy text message the next day, and neither did Yamaguchi. And they didn’t revisit the conversation about Nishinoya’s overactive hormones and matching imagination. So Yamaguchi assumed the exchange was a one-time thing. Until a few nights later.

2.
This time, Yamaguchi was the one to shoot Tsukishima a text message regarding their homework. They studied together sometimes, but most nights it was too late by the time practice got out for them to really spend any time at each other’s houses.

Tsukki, I cannot figure out this stupid English homework. I can’t even read the instructions properly.

He dropped his head onto his desk with a thud. English would be the death of him, he was certain. Math? No problem. Science? Easy peasy. Japanese and History were also walks in the park. But English just didn’t seem to compute in Yamaguchi’s head. He groaned as his phone vibrated and picked himself up off his blank homework sheet.

Tsukki: I’ll take a look at it with you after morning practice.

Yamaguchi sighed in relief, ready to pack it up for the night. With Tsukishima helping him, he’d probably be able to finish in less than ten minutes, whereas if he attempted to work on it tonight, he’d probably be up until two in the morning.

Thanks, Tsukki! You’re the best. At literally everything. :)

Yamguchi sent the message without thinking too much about it and expecting no response. But a moment later, as he was getting out a book to read before bed, he felt his phone buzz again. He cocked his head as he flipped it back open to another message.

Tsukki: I’m not the best at everything. Example: You’re the best at serving. And you look the best doing it too.

Yamaguchi’s face immediately caught on fire as his eyes scanned the message. This message seemed to veer a little left of friendly, but perhaps Yamaguchi was reading too much into it. Tsukishima was probably just teasing him. Yamaguchi quickly determined that must be the case, so he replied quickly.

Don’t say stuff like that.

He settled onto his bed and rubbed his freckles self-consciously, feeling the warmth still simmering under the surface of his cheek. He clutched his phone in his hand, wondering, waiting to see if there would be another text incoming.

Tsukki: Why not? You always brag about me. Let me brag about you. Just this once.

Yamaguchi smiled. That message was pretty sweet, a little out of character, but not that flirty. He appreciated the sentiment. It was true, Yamaguchi was pretty quick to compliment Tsukishima, and Tsukishima was not exactly one to reciprocate. The most he gave Yamaguchi was usually, “nice serve.” And Yamaguchi treasured those tiny praises. But this was a little more direct and Yamaguchi wasn’t going to complain. He tapped the keys for a quick reply.

Okay, just this once, I think I’ll allow it.

Yamaguchi flipped open his book to where his bookmark was left. But he couldn’t bring his eyes to scan across the words, much less make his brain actually comprehend it. He was more interested in seeing if his phone might buzz one more time. He held his phone open against his book, waiting to see that little animation swipe across the screen to alert him to a new message. A moment later it popped up, and Yamaguchi quickly opened the new text.

Tsukki: I can’t promise I won’t do it again though. Maybe you should just get used to it? Especially since you’re getting progressively cooler.

Yamaguchi felt like his body was electrified as he scrambled to write another message back.

Me? Getting cooler?

The reply came back in less than a minute.

Tsukki: Cooler. Hotter. Whichever.

Yamaguchi almost threw his phone in shock. Did Tsukishima seriously just call him hot? Was he getting pranked? His fingers shook, unable to come up with a coherent response. Eventually, he managed something.

Oh my gosh, Tsukki.

He wondered what possessed his friend to act like this, but he would be lying to say that there wasn’t some part of him that enjoyed it. This kind of attention was exciting, at least.

Tsukki: You’re stupid if you can’t recognize it. Whatever. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Yamaguchi felt himself calm down. That text was definitely on brand. Leave it to Tsukki to follow up a compliment with an insult. Yamaguchi sent back a “Goodnight,” and officially gave up on reading his book in favor of reading the six messages he had received from Tsukishima over and over again until his eyes couldn’t focus anymore.

The next morning after practice, Tsukishima explained the English assignment as promised and guided Yamaguchi to finish it in just a few minutes. “See, you really are the best!” Yamaguchi said as he filed the assignment back into his bag.

“Hm?” Tsukishima said, acting as though he didn’t know what Yamaguchi was talking about. For the briefest of moments, Yamaguchi feared that some stranger had gotten a hold of Tsukishima’s phone and had been the one texting him the night before. Then he seemed to remember. “Shut up, Yamaguchi. I told you already, I’m not.” Tsukishima shoved his hands into his pockets rather coldly and lumbered out of the club room to head to class. Yamaguchi just shook his head, trying not to be jarred by the flip in Tsukishima’s personality that seemed to have occurred overnight.

3.
It was a little past midnight on another school night the next time Tsukishima’s text-messaging alter-ego decided to make an appearance. Normally, Yamaguchi liked to be asleep by then. He had a really bad habit of oversleeping, so he did everything he could to try to mitigate the threat of being tardy for practice, which would in turn make Tsukishima late too, since he usually waited at the corner for them to walk together. As a result, Yamaguchi was a bit of an early-to-bed, late-to-rise kind of person. Right now, he blamed it on the fact that he was still growing and needed the extra rest, even though Tsukishima was growing too, and much faster, and he was never late.

Yamaguchi tossed and turned in the bed. Right now, his sleep was being inhibited by his aching legs. Normally, he had no trouble falling asleep, but they had practiced late today and then he followed that up with a footrace with Hinata and Kageyama to the store, which he lost really badly. Tsukishima had shook his head at him when he finally caught up, trailing behind. Yamaguchi was regretting it now, as his legs burned. He picked up his phone, wanting something to occupy himself with until his stinging, tired eyes finally got their way over his buzzing brain.

He opened his messages, scrolled until he found his message thread with Tsukishima. His eyes met the text Tsukishima had sent several days ago, about showering together. They hadn’t sent a lot of messages since then, just the ones about Yamaguchi having gotten hotter, so it still hovered at the top of the thread. I should bury that message, Yamaguchi thought. Bury it, but not delete it. His fingers tapped out a quick message.

Hey, are you awake?

It was a kind of stupid question, Yamaguchi realized after he hit “send.” But oh well, Tsukishima should be used to his stupid questions by now.

After thirty seconds, a message pinged back.

Tsukki: No, I’m asleep.

Yamaguchi rolled his eyes. Tsukishima’s sarcasm never took a break. But he supposed he deserved it. He tapped out another text.

Having trouble sleeping. You?

Yamaguchi waited for another message to come through. A few minutes passed as he stared at the screen. He wondered if maybe Tsukishima had dozed off after all. Then a message came through.

Tsukki: Just thinking of you.

Yamaguchi felt sweat begin to prick his forehead. What the hell? Was this another joke? More sarcasm? Tsukishima never sent emoticons, so his tone was pretty hard to read over text. Yamaguchi wondered if the message had taken so long because Tsukishima was debating whether or not to send it. Or maybe Yamaguchi was the one overthinking the whole thing. Maybe Tsukishima meant it, but not in a weird way. Just thinking about him… as a friend. Either way, Yamaguchi didn’t quite know what to say back, so he sent something rather lame.

Oh, really?

Yamaguchi exhaled dramatically, as if hitting “send” on that message was taking all his strength. The next message came back a little more quickly, even though it was longer.

Tsukki: Yeah. You know, there is something you can do to help yourself fall asleep.

The message was casual, but it piqued Yamaguchi’s curiosity. He wondered what kind of advice Tsukishima would have on the subject. He was really knowledgeable about a lot of stuff. Maybe he knew some relaxation or meditation techniques?

What is it?

Yamaguchi was so invested in the conversation that his mind was about as far from sleep as possible. He flipped onto his stomach, holding his phone in his hands as he waited for the message to come in.

Tsukki: Well, it’s more fun if someone else does it for you.

Yamaguchi cocked an eyebrow at the cryptic message. Fun? He thought they were talking about sleep aides. Then it dawned on him. Tsukishima was not talking about mindfulness exercises. Yamaguchi’s heart fluttered as it had when Tsukishima had sent him the first suggestive message the week before. Maybe this was just a joke, too. Yamaguchi’s fingers flew over the keys before his brain could catch up.

Too bad you’re not here to show me.

Yamaguchi’s finger hovered over the “send” button. He rationalized that he could feign innocence if Tsukishima thought he was being weird, or he could play it off that he was just going along with the joke. There was no reason not to send it. So he did.

It was less than a minute before the reply came.

Tsukki: Too bad indeed.

Yamaguchi flipped back onto his back as the pressure on his front was getting uncomfortable. The way Tsukishima had replied back so quickly made Yamaguchi question himself. Maybe the message didn’t mean what he thought it did. It was probably nothing. It was probably just a misunderstanding. His phone vibrated once again. Yamaguchi glanced at it, seeing the sender. A double text, another rarity from Tsukishima.

Tsukki: I guess for now you’ll have to take care of yourself. Maybe I’ll do the same. But then let’s get to sleep. I don’t want you making me late tomorrow.

Yeah, there was basically nothing else those messages could mean, right? Yamaguchi sent back a quick, Okay. See ya, before following his friend’s advice then going to sleep.

The next morning as they trudged off to morning practice together, Yamaguchi pressed his luck and vaguely mentioned their conversation from the night before. “So, what time did you actually fall asleep last night?” he asked.

Tsukishima scrunched his eyebrows as though he didn’t remember their late night text exchange. Yamaguchi briefly wondered if he had imagined the entire thing. But he knew he hadn’t since he read and re-read it just before leaving his house only moments ago. Then finally Tsukishima answered. “Uh, like probably close to one.”

Yamaguchi nodded, but didn’t ask any more questions.

4.
That weekend, Hinata had invited Yamaguchi to go on a hike over the hills by his house. Well, technically the other two first years were also invited, but Tsukishima was uninterested in spending any time outside of his bedroom, complaining that it was a rest day and that he intended to do just that. Kageyama declined the invitation in favor of watching back their old volleyball games in an attempt to divine some improved strategies. It wasn't that uncommon for Hinata and Yamaguchi to hang out together alone because of the other two's total disinterest in group activities.

However, Yamaguchi sort of regretted coming along, as Hinata's stamina applied to more than just volleyball practice. He spent the entire hike practically jogging while Yamaguchi struggled to keep pace. He liked his hikes to be a lot more leisurely. He actually wanted to appreciate the nature surrounding him. On the rare occasion that Tsukishima would accompany him on a stroll, they walked slowly. And Tsukishima was always eager to identify insects and plants that they discovered on the way. Tsukishima loved all manner of living organisms, at least in an academic sense. He liked learning facts and never seemed to forget any of them, spouting off statistics and anecdotes on just about any creature that Yamaguchi ever pointed out. And Yamaguchi enjoyed hearing about it. But Hinata had no such interest. Yamaguchi was only able to snap one sort of blurry photo of a rather colorful bug on the staggeringly fast walk, which he planned to send to Tsukishima later for additional information.

Once he said his goodbyes with Hinata, Yamaguchi ambled home on wobbly legs. He didn't waste any time getting in the bath to soak his sore muscles, and once he got out he remembered that he still hadn't sent Tsukishima the photo he had captured of the bug.

As he began pulling on his pajamas, Yamaguchi flipped open his phone and sent the poor-quality photo with an inquiry.

Check this out! Found it on our hike. What is it?

Before he had even settled on the bed, he had his answer.

Tsukki: Rosalia Batesi. They turn red when they die, you know. Terrible photo, by the way.

Yamaguchi wasn't surprised that Tsukishima immediately knew what the insect was, nor was he surprised by the insult to his photography skills.

Sorry, Tsukki. I barely had time to take the picture. With Hinata, it was more of a jog than a hike.

He hit send and waited for another biting text message. Perhaps something along the lines of "I told you so." But instead he got something else.

Tsukki: Looks like you got some sun today.

Yamaguchi felt his eyebrows furrow at the message. How would Tsukishima know that? Yamaguchi checked his photos again and realized his arm was in the upper left corner of the picture. And it did look rather brown. He tapped out his confirmation.

Yeah, I guess I got a tan.

Tsukishima replied immediately.

Tsukki: And more freckles.

Yamaguchi groaned as he looked at his hand. Dusted across each knuckle, his wrist, and especially his elbow, was a fresh crop of new or darker freckles. He loved the warmth of the sun. He hated its side-effects. Yamaguchi sent a simple message back.

Ew.

He and Tsukishima never really discussed it at length, but Yamaguchi hated his freckles. Hated his skin in general. They were the reason he got bullied in elementary school. Or at least they were the excuse the bullies used to single him out. He wondered if Tsukishima would echo his sentiment; agree that the sun had damaged him ruthlessly and unfairly. That it was indeed ugly and unsightly. Yamaguchi’s phone buzzed again after a few minutes.

Tsukki: Don't say “Ew.”

Usually Yamaguchi was the one telling Tsukishima not to be so self-deprecating, so this message confused him.

Why? Do you like my freckles or something?

Yamaguchi hit send. His message was intended to be sarcastic, and he hoped it came across that way. Of course Tsukishima didn't like his freckles. Who would?

Tsukishima didn't reply for a while, so Yamaguchi figured that he probably assumed the question was rhetorical, which it kind of was. Yamaguchi fell back on his bed with a groan, then held his tanned and speckled arm in front of his face to study and hate each new blemish that had appeared on his skin. He cursed himself for not wearing any sunscreen, but he didn't think he would need any under the shade of the trees. He supposed that what light that filtered through the branches overhead was enough to ruin him. His phone finally vibrated again, temporarily disrupting his train of negative thoughts.

Tsukki: You could play connect the dots with your freckles.

Yamaguchi snorted through his nose at the suggestion. Of course Tsukishima dodged the question, but at least he came back with a decently funny joke. Yamaguchi hammered out a reply.

As if the freckles aren't bad enough… I wouldn't want pen ink all over my skin.

Yamaguchi traced his fingers over his arm, trying to see if he could find any hidden pictures amongst the clusters of tiny brown flecks that afflicted his appearance. The best he could come up with by the time his phone buzzed again were his and Tsukishima's initials.

Tsukki: Then don't use a pen.

Yamaguchi scrunched his eyebrows and typed out a reply.

Then what? My finger? A tongue?

Again, the question was rhetorical, sarcastic, and again he didn't expect a reply. At least not a direct one. He watched the next message ping onto his screen.

Tsukki: Tongue? What are you? A cat grooming itself?

Yamaguchi actually laughed at that. The mental image was pretty funny. But then another image, one much less funny and much more lewd, entered his mind. What was that doing there? Why had he envisioned that? But still, he couldn't shake it loose from his imagination, and since he and Tsukishima had exchanged some questionable messages recently, he decided to press his luck.

Maybe not with my tongue. Maybe someone else's?

Yamaguchi hit send before he could talk himself out of it. He held his phone in trembling hands, wondering if Tsukishima would interpret it the way he meant it. If Tsukishima would know that Yamaguchi was imagining Tsukishima to be the one to trace his tongue over his tanned body. Yamaguchi tucked himself under the covers as he waited for what seemed like an eternity. In reality, it had only been about two minutes.

Tsukki: My tongue?

Yamaguchi nodded as he read the message, as if Tsukishima could see it. He gathered himself to write his response.

Your tongue. Yeah.

The next text couldn't come soon enough.

Tsukki: Hm. Maybe that would be kind of fun.

Yamaguchi didn't want to stop at fun, though. He figured he should make clear exactly what he thought it would be like, even if part of him knew Tsukishima would just assume he was joking.

I think it would be pretty hot, actually.

He had no clue where this would go now. He had no clue if Tsukishima would be grossed out or turned on. It was impossible to tell. The Tsukishima who texted him late at night was so different from the Tsukishima who walked with him to practice in the morning. There was no precedent for this. Yamaguchi didn't want to bother to parse out precisely what his own feelings on the matter were. Surely a little flirting was normal between friends. Surely it didn't mean anything, really.

Yamaguchi's phone buzzed one more time for the night.

Tsukki: Of course.

That simple response was all Yamaguchi needed. He heaved a sigh, relieved that Tsukishima didn't seem to be bothered by Yamaguchi's pitiful attempt at a suggestive conversation. Yamaguchi set his phone aside on his nightstand, deciding to stop while he was already ahead. He held his arm in front of his face again to study the freckles. And for the first time in his life, even if only for a minute, he didn't find that he hated them quite so much.

Yamaguchi didn't see Tsukishima again until they walked together to school on Monday morning. Yamaguchi felt like the space between their shoulders was charged with some kind of strange electrical energy and he was certain that if they were to bump together, they would each be blown back or else would combust. But if Tsukishima felt the tension, he didn't seem to acknowledge it at all. His face was stoic as usual. His eyes trained forward, headphones draped around his neck emitting a soft hum of music, providing the only sound for their otherwise silent walk. Yamaguchi tried not to be annoyed by this. This was normal for them, after all. But a cloud of text messages and confused feelings hung heavy over him. That part wasn't normal at all.

5.
Yamaguchi decided over the next few days that he didn't care if Tsukishima wouldn't reference their text conversations in person, at least not the sexy-flavored ones. Yamaguchi could compartmentalize too. It was better to have the attention over text only than to not have it at all. So when he found an old pair of volleyball shorts from elementary school buried deep in the back of his drawer on a Thursday night, an idea formed in his mind immediately.

If Tsukishima wouldn't acknowledge their messages in person, acting like everything was the same as always, then Yamaguchi had no reason to be afraid of his messages being too forward or bold, right? He rationalized all this as he slipped the old shorts up over his legs and forced them over his hips.

He looked in the mirror hanging in his bedroom and smirked. The shorts, obviously, barely managed to make it over his now-muscular lower body. As a result they were obscenely tight and way too short. It was funny, yes. But maybe it was also kind of… hot? Well, it would be hot on anyone other than Yamaguchi anyway. Yamaguchi sighed, then steeled himself. If Tsukishima didn't think it was attractive, he would just make fun of him. And Yamaguchi was fine with that. He held his phone over his shoulder and hitched his shirt up slightly with his other hand so his butt would be visible.

He snapped the picture and looked down at it. He tried not to be too critical. His legs looked lean and strong at least. The look on his face was maybe too serious, though. So Yamaguchi retook the picture with a cheeky smile this time instead. There. That was better.

Yamaguchi typed out an innocent enough message.

Look what I found in my drawer. LOL. Remember these?

He attached the photo and hit send. Yamaguchi wished he could be a fly on the wall in Tsukishima’s room as he opened the image. What kind of face would he make? Would he pace around, trying to come up with something cool to say? Or did it come easy to him, like everything did. He probably kept a completely blank face as he typed out a reply. Yamaguchi stopped trying to imagine Tsukishima's physical reaction when his phone buzzed with a reply about six minutes later. He flopped onto his bed to read it.

Tsukki: You should wear those more often.

Yamaguchi blushed. He tried to think of an appropriate answer. Something flirty, but not too bold. So far all of their conversations could be interpreted as nothing more than jokes or meaningless banter. He didn't want to steer them too far off that course, just in case.

Really? Don't you think they're too tight? And short?

So innocent. Maybe a little coy. Perfect. Yamaguchi hit send as his heart hammered in his chest.

Tsukki: Yes. That's the point, isn't it? I guess maybe you shouldn't wear them, then. You might incite a riot.

Yamaguchi was curious to see where Tsukishima was going with this.

A riot?

Tsukki: From all the people who couldn't resist you, obviously.

Yamaguchi clutched at his shirt, as if that would settle down his heartbeat. He typed out a reply with one clumsy hand.

Well, we can't have that. Besides, they are kind of a little uncomfortable.

Tsukki: Then I think you should take them off.

Yamaguchi made a sound from the back of his throat that he's sure he's never made before. He shucked the shorts from his body at Tsukishima's suggestion, leaving them to fall onto the floor into one of his many nondescript piles of laundry. But then he realized he hadn't worn underwear under them since they were too tight and short for that. Should he inform Tsukishima of that fact?

I'm not wearing any underwear though.

Tsukki: What a coincidence. Me neither.

Yamaguchi was certain he was dreaming at this point. This had all been an elaborate hallucination. He read that last text from Tsukishima about twenty times, drilling it into his head. Tsukishima was now sexting him. Right? That's what this was, wasn't it?

Yamaguchi felt his phone buzz again.

Tsukki: Sorry. Too much?

Yamaguchi felt his forehead wrinkle. Then he realized that he had spent the last twelve minutes freaking out and not responding. Had Tsukishima spent those last twelve minutes worrying that he said something wrong? Evidently, as his last text would suggest. Yamaguchi slapped his cheeks to focus. He wouldn't leave Tsukishima hanging any longer. He banged out a reply, too hurried to be tactful.

No no no! I'm sorry I didn't reply sooner. I was too busy freaking out at the thought of you sending me a text like that. I'm not used to this, but I kind of like it.

He sent the message with a shaking finger. He really hoped he hadn't said too much this time.

Tsukki: I guess it's not very nice of me to get you all worked up this close to bedtime.

Yamaguchi scoffed as he began writing a new message.

When have you ever been nice, though?

Tsukishima didn't take long to reply this time.

Tsukki: Good point. But it's still getting late. I'll see you tomorrow.

Yamaguchi sighed. He had definitely ruined the conversation by getting so wrapped up in his own head. He smacked his forehead into his headboard as a quick punishment before sending back a typical Goodnight. Then he slipped off the bed, pulled on some pajamas, got back under the covers, and tried to fall asleep.

The following morning on their walk to school, Yamaguchi cleared his throat as if to say something, anything, about the texts they exchanged the night before. Tsukishima glanced at him from the corner of his eye, as if daring him to speak.

"Sorry about last night," Yamaguchi said vaguely. He regretted that he had caused their conversation to be cut short, that he freaked out, that maybe he said too much to reveal just how much the saucy texts had meant to him.

Tsukishima only grunted in response, squashing any of Yamaguchi’s will to talk about it further.

+1.
Weeks passed with nothing more than casual texts, usually revolving around homework and volleyball practice plans. There were a few picture messages sent from Yamaguchi to Tsukishima of dogs that he saw on the rare occasion that he was walking somewhere without him. The most exciting text messages exchanged were just gossipy insults directed at Hinata and Kageyama. Yamaguchi tried not to be bothered by the lack of flirtatious texts as Tsukishima seemed determined to leave no openings for such conversation. All of those texts slowly got buried deep in their message thread

While Yamaguchi was convincing himself he didn’t miss it, he was also wondering how normal it was. Did friends usually send each other suggestive text messages? Did they flirt when no one else was listening? He pondered the likelihood of that as he absentmindedly folded up the volleyball net after practice on a Saturday morning.

He placed it away in the supply closet on auto pilot, and with the last little bit of his wherewithal he noticed Yachi hovering by the door. He navigated toward her while the other teammates finished their tasks. “Hey, Yachi,” Yamaguchi said, grabbing her attention away from her notebook that she was scribbling some statistics in.

“Oh, Yamaguchi! What’s up?”

“I was wondering if you and Shimizu ever flirt with each other. You know, as friends?” He rubbed at the back of his neck as he registered how absolutely stupid he sounded.

Yachi scrunched her shoulders up to her ears practically and her face paled. “No! Never! Why would we?” Once the color returned to her face, it returned in full force, coloring her cheeks a vibrant pink.

“I don’t know,” Yamaguchi said, sensing her embarrassment but not quite sure what exactly was causing the reaction. Was she lying? Or was the thought of it really that ridiculous? “Forget I said anything.”

He hung his head as he trudged off to the clubroom to change. The others filed in with Tsukishima bringing up the rear. Yamaguchi changed slowly, even more so than usual. He was usually pretty sluggish when it came to getting ready, but now he was moving in slow motion. He felt idiotic for asking Yachi that. Like an answer from her would have been useful anyway. She and Shimizu hadn’t been friends as long as Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. Besides, they were girls. Girls were different, right? Yamaguchi felt a finger tap his shoulder, snapping him out of his obsessive thoughts.

“Hurry up,” Tsukishima said next to his ear. “Or we’ll get locked in.”

He was joking, of course, but Yamaguchi still felt the tips of his ears warm up at the thought of being locked in a small room with his best friend. “Sorry, Tsukki,” he croaked out as he shrugged on his shirt and zipped his bag closed.

The two walked behind the cluster of their teammates heading toward the store as they often did. Meat buns were distributed when they caught up to the group and Yamaguchi took his gratefully. He and Tsukishima walked ahead of the others as they finished their snack while the others lingered in front of the store to argue about something asinine.

“Sounds like their dumbassery doesn’t even take a break on the weekends,” Yamaguchi remarked as they exited ear-shot of the rest of the team. He tried to smirk, but his heart wasn’t in the insult like it usually was.

Tsukishima blew a puff of air from his nose. “Of course it doesn’t. If they were capable of turning it off, I would hope they would have done so by now.”

Yamaguchi snickered lowly, even if internally he was considering how empty this conversation really was. Not that he wanted anything deep or meaningful. But he did want something else. And he had been craving it for weeks. That special kind of attention that Tsukishima would only give him at night, through hastily typed words and vague imaginings. He cleared his throat.

“Uh, Tsukki, why haven’t you texted me lately?” Yamaguchi asked, seemingly out of the blue.

Tsukishima didn’t falter or hesitate. “Did you hit your head at practice or something? I texted you last night. About the science project.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Yamaguchi mumbled, just loud enough for Tsukishima to hear.

While Yamaguchi was certain Tsukishima had heard him, his comment went unanswered. Instead, Tsukishima returned to the subject he was interested in. “Did we decide what we were doing about the science project?”

Yamaguchi shrugged.

“Come over tonight, then,” Tsukishima demanded. “We’ll work on the project and if we get tired, you can just stay over.”

“Yeah, alright,” Yamaguchi mumbled. He really didn’t want to work on the project. It wasn’t due for three weeks and he always told Tsukishima that he liked to ruminate on an assignment before getting started. Tsukishima had the opposite philosophy. Get it done and over with. Because of this conflict of perspective, and the fact that they were prone to distraction when together, they rarely partnered for big projects. Tsukishima would rather do everything by himself anyway. But the partners for this assignment had been selected by the teacher, so they didn’t have much choice. It’s not like they were upset about it, though. Homework and studying were usually okay, since there was no wiggle room on the due date and they could get it done before diverting each other. They would just have to tap into that mindset to finish the project.

They parted ways at the intersection with the plan to shower and relax before Yamaguchi would go over to Tsukishima’s that evening to work on the assignment.

Yamaguchi briefly considered pulling on his old volleyball shorts before going over to Tsukishima’s house, but obviously thought better of it before choosing a pair of jeans and a familiar hoodie. He threw his toothbrush and some pajamas in his bag before slumping off to Tsukishima’s house. Normally, he would be happy to spend a little time outside of school and practice with him, since it didn’t happen as often as he might like. But under these circumstances, he was almost dreading it.

Yamaguchi raised his fist to knock on the door, but before his knuckles could make contact, Tsukishima had opened the door and was practically pushing him towards his bedroom. Yamaguchi knew why. Tsukishima’s mother could be chatty and Yamaguchi was too polite to walk away, so they had to avoid her if they wanted to make any progress on their project.

When Yamaguchi settled at the low table in Tsukishima’s room, he saw that Tsukishima had already compiled some resources in the form of web articles and books from the library. He also had a color-coded work schedule on top of the stack.

“I thought we were supposed to do the project together,” Yamaguchi said with a cocked eyebrow. Not that he was surprised at all. Tsukishima probably wished he could do the whole thing alone.

“It’s nothing,” Tsukishima replied. “I just got some things to get started. The plan I made for us has us working on this for only a few hours at a time with self-imposed due dates for each step. That way we can stay on task this time.”

Yamaguchi knew that self-imposed due dates didn’t mean a thing to his procrastinating mind, but he decided to try to adhere to Tsukishima’s meticulous plan as best as he could. He was trying his best to circumvent the usual pitfalls the pair encountered when working together and Yamaguchi appreciated the effort, at least. “Thanks, Tsukki,” he said. “This looks great.”

Tsukishima nodded. He seemed to trust Yamaguchi’s ability to read the task list and get started without any further instruction. Yamaguchi pulled his notebook from his bag and picked up one of the articles that Tsukishima had gathered. He scanned the article for relevant information to the topic they (Tsukishima) had decided to do their project on and jotted down the facts and data. They would use this to create a compelling hypothesis, the basis for their research and experiment. (Which, according to the schedule, they would conduct the following weekend).

Yamaguchi already felt himself getting incredibly bored as they read through their sources in silence. This is why he always procrastinated. It was more exciting when the deadline was imminent. Besides that, working under pressure produced Yamaguchi’s best results. At least that’s what he told himself.

But Tsukishima’s nose was buried deep in a book, his attention seemingly undivided. Yamaguchi felt a groan rise from the back of his throat. Tsukishima lowered his book to glare at him. “Focus, Yamaguchi,” he scolded.

“Can we at least listen to some music while we work?” Yamaguchi complained as he sifted through the pile of academic journals.

Tsukishima narrowed his eyes. “Fine,” he said as he walked to the stereo sitting on his bookshelf. He plugged his MP3 player into it and pressed play on a Classical playlist.

Yamaguchi whined again. Boring music and a boring task. “Why are you so mean?” he asked.

Tsukishima just grunted in response, but there was the hint of a smile playing at the corner of his lips. He enjoyed torturing Yamaguchi, which perhaps explains what he did next.

After Yamaguchi gave up on listening to music with any discernible beat, he tried to buckle down and concentrate. The faster they made it through the sources, the faster they could do something actually interesting. Yamaguchi didn’t look at Tsukishima, didn’t try to read the spines of the books lining his shelf, didn’t even glance out the window. But that focus was short-lived.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He reached his hand in and pulled it out. He had a text message. He opened it, hoping Tsukishima wouldn’t notice and scold him again.

Tsukki: Are you sticking your tongue out like that on purpose? To seduce me?

Yamaguchi scrunched his eyebrows and looked up in time to watch Tsukishima set his phone back on the table in front of them. Tsukishima’s expression was entirely placid as his eyes returned to scanning the document in front of them.

Yamaguchi glanced back down at his phone, looking between it and Tsukishima’s face until he felt like a bobble-head figure. He typed out a reply.

Is it working?

The truth is that he hadn’t even noticed that he was sticking his tongue out. He must have actually been concentrating. But now all that resolve had dissolved. Even as he slipped his phone back into the front pocket of his jeans, his brain couldn’t register any of the words in the book in front of him. They all blurred together, his brain completely incapable of any coherent thought.

His phone vibrated again. He pulled it up.

Tsukki: It was working. But now you look way too flustered.

Yamaguchi felt the blush that he didn’t know was there deepen by another shade. He scratched at his burning ear as he tried to come up with a decent response. It was more nerve-wracking knowing that Tsukishima was sitting a mere three feet away from him on the other side of the table. Why was he doing this? Yamaguchi was certain that these types of conversations with his best friend had simply been a phase, a phase which had ended several weeks ago. Apparently not. After too long a pause, he finally came up with something.

Sorry, we all can’t look sexy 24/7 like you can.

Yamaguchi didn’t bother putting his phone back into his pocket this time. He didn’t even put it on the table. Instead, he steeled himself and watched Tsukishima pick his phone up from the table and read the message. It was embarrassing, but he wanted to know if Tsukishima’s expression would change. Even if only for a second. As Tsukishima tapped to open the text, Yamaguchi noticed the slightest uptick of his eyebrow and a short but powerful breath escape his nostrils, the most miniscule of laughs. He set down the book in his other hand as his long fingers flew over the keys of his cell phone.

Tsukki: Do you really think that? Or is this just part of your seduction?

Yamaguchi sent a single word back with a smirk.

Both.

Tsukishima looked at Yamaguchi for the first time since he scolded him earlier. He wasn’t smiling. He was wearing an expression Yamaguchi had never seen before. Like hunger, almost. Tsukishima looked between his phone and Yamaguchi’s amused face as he typed out a reply.

Tsukki: Why don’t you come over here so I can kiss that dumb grin off your face?

Yamaguchi squeaked when he looked at the screen in his hand. He looked at Tsukishima who responded with a frown.

“Tsukki, are you being serious?” Yamaguchi said, this time out loud, his face contorted in shock.

“What?” Tsukishima replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

Yamaguchi pounded his fist on the table. “Are you seriously going to act like you don’t know what I’m talking about when we’re sitting right across the table from each other?” He waved his phone, as if to illustrate his point.

Tsukishima made his signature “Tch” sound. “Whatever. It doesn’t even matter now.”

Yamaguchi wanted to throttle him, wrap his short fingers around that long pale neck, and strangle Tsukishima for being such an insufferable, denying tease. “It doesn’t matter?” Yamaguchi’s voice was shaking.

“Yeah. Because you aren’t grinning anymore.” Tsukishima was definitely teasing now, as his lip was curled obnoxiously.

“Well you are!” Yamaguchi said as he launched himself over their study materials. “And I’m going to do something about it.” He grabbed Tsukishima’s shoulder and smashed their lips together so hard that he could feel the impression of their teeth under their lips.

Tsukishima made some kind of strangled sound from the back of his throat. He shoved Yamaguchi off of him.

Yamaguchi panted, leaning on his heels, as he looked at Tsukishima’s rather unimpressed expression in front of him. His eyebrows were furrowed; the teasing grin was definitely gone. Yamaguchi wished that the kiss would have satisfied the part of him that felt like it had been held in unbearable tension for weeks, but it didn’t. It just left him wanting more. So he waited impatiently to see what Tsukishima would do or say.

“Damn it. If you’re going to kiss me, please do it properly!” Tsukishima put his hands on either side of Yamaguchi’s face and pulled his face closer. This time, it was a bit gentler, a bit wetter as their lips parted, sliding against each other. All too soon, Tsukishima pulled away again and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “There,” he said.

They both breathed heavily as they looked at each other, then they broke into a fit of laughter, the tension escaping their bodies in the form of gasping peals of joy.

As they settled, a question nagged at Yamaguchi and he couldn't help but ask it even as he tried to catch his breath. “Why did you stop? For the last several weeks?”

Tsukishima regained his cool and calm demeanor faster than Yamaguchi, unsurprisingly, but for a moment the question seemed to perplex him. “Huh? Oh. Because you apologized, I assumed you didn’t want to do it anymore.” He shrugged.

Yamaguchi cocked his head, trying to remember. Then he realized. He had been apologizing about disrupting their last saucy text conversation, not for having the conversation in the first place, but Tsukishima must have misunderstood. Just as he was about to ask a follow-up question, Tsukishima continued as if sensing what Yamaguchi wanted to know.

“I figured out that I was wrong about that when you asked me why I stopped earlier today.”

Yamaguchi smiled. Even when Tsukishima was pretending not to know what he was talking about, he knew. Yamaguchi felt a mix of happiness and irritation. “You know, it probably would have been helpful if you had acknowledged these texts in person from time to time,” he said, shoving Tsukishima’s arm playfully just as he was attempting to pick up his book again.

“Shut up, Yamaguchi. It’s embarrassing,” he said. “Now let’s get back to work, huh?”

Yamaguchi sighed, but he obeyed, crossing back over to his side of the table and picking up another sheet of paper from the table. It only took about a minute for his phone to buzz again.

Tsukki: Actually, forget this project. I have something else I’d rather do.

Yamaguchi flipped his phone closed, raised his eyes in time to see Tsukishima’s phone falling to the floor and a pair of eager hands reaching over to drag him back across the table.