Chapter Text
Tsukishima knew that today was going to be a rough day. He woke up with a headache and a bad taste in his mouth. He ended up being late for his meetup with Yamaguchi, before they walked to school together. Which brought him to something that soured his mood even more. A puzzle of sorts-he bristled. He hated puzzles.
Where was Yamaguchi?
On the rare occasion that Tsukishima slept in and ended up being late, Yamaguchi waited for him, even if that meant being late for home room-like some loyal pup. Not that he would admit it out loud but that was one of the things that Tsukishima liked about Yamaguchi, he was stubbornly loyal. So why wasn't he standing in front of him, smiling too brightly for the morning and singing a soft "Morning Tsukki!" Maybe Yamaguchi was running late too? Usually when Yamaguchi thought he was running late, he would text him, similarly if he was sick. Something was clearly up and it made Tsukishima's head pound even more. Perhaps, Yamaguchi was still just sleeping. Yeah, that had to be it.
He decided to walk over to his friend's house and check it out. Maybe he really was sick, that would explain why he slept in so late. He almost smiled at the thought of the text he might've received. ~Wahh!! Tsukki I'm sick >.<~
Cute.
Not that he thought that Yamaguchi was cute. No, of course not. He was freaking adorable. Tsukishima could feel his face warming up at that thought. It was kind of a huge secret that Tsukishima kept from his closest friend. That he really didn't want to be best friends, he wanted to be boyfriends. Just the idea of holding hands with Yamaguchi on cold winter nights and cuddling with him while watching scary movies and kissing him gently when-No. No. No.No.No. He had to stop thinking about it. Tsukishima hoped he didn't look half as flushed as he felt. For he was standing in front of the Yamaguchi household.
Yamaguchi's parents, both, worked full time and then some-meaning that they were almost never around the house. This left Yamaguchi to fend for himself most nights. Alone. Which was why Tsukishima didn't mind if Yamaguchi came over during the week and had dinner with his family. After all, weren't they family with how long they have known each other? Tsukishima thought that he made a better family to Yamaguchi than his actually mother and father did. He clicked is tongue, pulling the spare key out of a nearby flower pot. Come to think of it, he had only seen his freckled friend's parents on one occasion, middle school graduation. Which was obligatory for parents to show. Terrible. Tsukishima unlocked the door with a resonant click and open the creaking door. The House echoed with emptiness. The air seemed stale. That was hint number two that something was wrong.
Tsukishima made his way around the creme colored hallways until he was in front of Yamaguchi Tadashi's door . It was completely quiet. He couldn't hear anything coming from the other side of the door. Not even the common soft snoring that Tsukishima had grown accustomed to. Strike Three. Tsukishima out
He slammed the door open, not caring if he started Yamaguchi.
"Yamaguchi, its time to get up." He said, doing his best to disguise the paranoia in his voice at the lack of sound that still hung heavy in the room. But he felt relief wash over him at the pile of blankets on the floor. Yamaguchi must have fallen off the bed, Tsukishima concluded from his clumsy best friend. He picked up the blankets, expecting to find Yamaguchi underneath.
He was.
Just not the Yamaguchi Tsukishima was expecting.
Underneath the pile of blankets was a child. His mousy brown hair was sticking up all over the place. His small body was curled in on itself as if trying to make itself even smaller. Clad in only an oversized T-shirt, freckles that generously spotted his skin like little chocolate flakes could be seen. It was obviously and undoubtedly Yamaguchi-but a child version of him. Tsukishima stood there for a good 10 minutes just staring.
What the hell.
Was this some kind of joke. But it is hereby diagnosed of being severely unfunny.
Slowly, the miniature Yamaguchi opened his eyes. Huge, doe eyes that were drowsy from sleep made there way up to Tsukishima's face. Tsukishima stiffened, internally begging that the small Yamaguchi retained memories. There was no glint of recognition shown in the smaller's face. He deflated. What was he going to do?
Yamaguchi yawned, sitting up from his position on the floor.
Tsukishima deflated even more.
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The squeaking of shoes and thud of volleyballs hitting the floor bounced around the gym walls as morning practice commenced. Coach Ukai looked on at the teenagers practicing hard, a sense of pride overtaking him. From his experience with them, and having been one himself, kids that age tended to be lazy, egotistical bags of hormones. But these kids here. Although they may have their moments, these kids here were genuine. But something seemed to be missing . That's right, where was the early morning arguing that had become routine? Ukai Jr. did a head count, finding only 10 kids in his gym. He scanned the area again noticing that they were missing a pair of glasses and a set of freckles. That was strange. For as much as Tsukishima said that he didn't care for volleyball, he never missed morning practice. And Yamaguchi was always with him. So what was the deal this morning? They both couldn't be out sick, could they?
As the coach ruminated on that, the door to the clubroom opened.
"Tsukishima." Daichi called from his position across the gym. ukai looked over to the door to see a distraught Tsukishima. It was subtle, but it was there. "Why are you late to practice?" The captain boomed, not appreciating the blonde's tardiness.
"Yo, kid! What's got you worked up?" Ukai took over, finding this the more important question.
"Yeah, and where's Yamaguchi?" Hinata piped. The team gathered around the front entrance of the gym. Sugawara shared a concerned glance with Daichi. They didn't know what was wrong but to work up Tsukishima this bad, it probably had to do with Yamaguchi. That seemed to be the question that bothered him most though. Tsukishima glanced between each member of the volleyball team before slowly looking down as his pant leg. The team's gaze followed his until they noticed small hands clamped onto Tsukishima's leg. Tsukishima reached down and pushed the owner of the hands forward.
The team was greeted with the sight of a small, chubby-cheeked Yamaguchi, fidgeting with their hands.
"Holy shit."