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Kageyama never really got along with Tsukishima. The blonde would always tease him, and make snarky comments about him being royalty. He wasn't sure if he would go so far as to call Tsukishima a friend, but they were friendly… sometimes.
Okay, Kageyama wouldn't even go as far as to say they were friendly. Tsukishima was an ass, and Kageyama didn't like him, at all. There was this constricting feeling in his chest whenever Tsukishima would come his way.
And he always knew he was about to be insulted when the blonde opened his mouth. "Go away, Tsukishima." Kageyama grumbled when Tsukishima came up and blocked his way. He was too tired to deal with him, and he was trying to get into the gym as Hinata had asked him to practice.
He was a little annoyed with Hinata, but that didn't mean he would pass up an opportunity to set some balls up.
"Wow, and here I thought a king was supposed to have more manners." Tsukishima said with that annoying smirk on his face.
Kageyama gritted his teeth, and it took a lot of effort to keep his voice from rising. He didn't want Tsukishima to think he'd gotten to him, that would just encourage him to tease Kageyama more. "What do you want?"
"Are you saying friends can't talk to each other just because?"
"We aren't friends." Kageyama stated bluntly.
"Ouch," but Tsukishima's ever-present smirk told him that jab hadn't actually hurt. Not that Kageyama had meant it to, he was just saying his thoughts aloud. "Fine then, you caught me. What's up with you and the midget lately?"
"Why are you concerned?" Kageyama was genuinely confused. Tsukishima had no reason to care that he and Hinata had been having some rough times lately.
"Not concerned, just curious."
That was more like him. Kageyama groaned softly and ignored him, walking back into the gym to set for Hinata.
Tsukishima did not follow him.
As Kageyama set, Hinata kept missing the ball, over and over, because he kept his eyes open, and the timing was off.
Kageyama started getting more and more irritated with each missed ball. "Listen, dumbass, I already told you that isn't going to work! Your timing is all off, and you can't learn to hit a ball this fast before the prelims so just give it up!"
"No! I'm going to learn how to do this." Hinata turned to him, a determined look in his eye, "I know I can! Why don't you believe in me!"
"Because you're a hopeless idiot with no technique who can't even receive right half the time! I will set the ball to whoever I have to, to win. And if that person isn't you then I guess you aren't gonna spike any balls!"
"Oh shut up Bakageyama! If I learn to hit this with my eyes open I'll be able to hit anything! Why won't you let me get better! You aren't the only one of us that wants to improve!" Hinata shouted, his voice starting to go hoarse.
"It isn't your decision to make, it's mine. So just cut it out and do what I tell you!" Kageyama turned to walk out of the gym but Hinata tackled him to the floor.
They landed hard and Kageyama yelped, throwing Hinata off him with as much force as he could muster. Hinata rolled across the gym floor a couple feet but instantly got back up.
By the time Kageyama was up, as he had much farther to go then the little ball of energy, Hinata was pretty much upon him again.
Kageyama held his ground this time though, and used his superior weight to dig his heels into the ground and push back against Hinata. "Stop being such a jerk!" Hinata screamed. "I know I can do this. I trust your every set completely, so why can't you trust my spikes!"
Hinata backed up and then barreled his shoulder into Kageyama. The dark haired boy tried to catch himself, but that just resulted in him falling on his elbow.
"Fuck!" Kageyama cried out and bit his lip to hide any further pain.
"Listen here, you say you'll set to whoever you have to, to win? Well guess, what, one day that might be me. And when you need me to win, you'll regret not letting me improve! And if we lose, it'll be your, freakin fault, got it!"
Hinata was pissed, no way he'd be saying that if he wasn't absolutely livid. Kageyama was in too much pain to really argue back, not that he had anything he could say to that anyway.
He was loathed to admit it, but what if Hinata was actually right? Not only would it be a first, but it would also mean that Kageyama had been wrong, and he hated that.
They stared at each other for a moment before Hinata's face softened, "Yamayama-kun, don't cry, just think about it. I really wanna do this with you."
"It's not that, you idiot, you messed up my elbow." Now Kageyama's entire arm was throbbing with pain, and the way it was hard to move it, told him that this could be serious.
"Oh…" Hinata paused but then his face lit up with horror. "Oh god… Kageyama are you okay!"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Hang on, I'm gonna go get help!"
Before Kageyama could stop him, Hinata ran out of the gym, fast as a lightning bolt. What an idiot.
When Hinata came back, he had Tsukishima of all people in tow. Kageyama had never wanted to kill Hinata more than at this very moment.
"Did the king hurt himself?"
Kageyama gritted his teeth.
"And now you need us lowly peasants to help you, right?"
"Shut up, Saltyshima!" Kageyama growled, narrowing his eyes and the taller boy's smirking face.
Tsukishima rolled his eyes and came over closer. "Come on, king, let me see."
Kageyama reluctantly brandished his elbow, although he had a bit of trouble moving it into the position he wanted.
As Tsukishima observed it, so did Kageyama. The flesh was bruised, and turning purple, looking massively swollen. It was an ugly sight indeed.
"It's probably fractured." Tsukishima said. "That must suck."
Kageyama grumbled and rolled his eyes. His elbow hurt, and he wasn't in the mood to deal with stupid Tsukishima, or anything to do with him. "Leave me alone and go bother someone else."
"And here I was, about to help the king."
"I don't need your fucking help! I'll just go to the hospital on my own, jerk!"
"It's late Kageyama, you shouldn't go there by yourself. And I have to go cus I have to bike up the mountain to get home."
"Yeah, and that just leaves me and you." Tsukishima smirked. "And I'll walk you there, if you ask nicely."
Kageyama gritted his teeth. His parents were gone for the weekend, but he'd rather get mugged then ever ask Tsukishima for help.
But Hinata was looking at him with pleading eyes and it wasn't as if he could say no to that. "Fine. Help me." Kageyama said.
"Do you not understand what 'nicely' means or are you just being a little shit."
Kageyama snarled and tried to slug Tsukishima with his uninjured arm, but Tsukishima just batted it away like a fly. It wasn't as if Kageyama had much strength to put into his hits anyway. "Please help." He growled, glaring as hard as he could.
"Sure, after you apologize for trying to hit me."
"Sorry, dammit, let's just go!" Kageyama said.
"Hang on, let me see your arm again." Tsukishima said. Kageyama was tired of this, but handed it over anyway. Tsukishima, started pressing gently on his arm, starting with his wrist and moving up. "Where does it hurt the most?"
"The elbow." Kageyama answered, feeling it ache and burn even without Tsukishima touching it.
"Okay then, let's go to the hospital and get you checked out."
Tsukishima stood up, and Kageyama went to stand too before he felt himself lifted off the ground, into Tsukishima's arms. He had one arm under Kageyama's knees, and one wrapped around his back and shoulder. "Hey asshole, my arm hurts, not my legs."
"Isn't a king supposed to be carried."
Kageyama scowled, red creeping involuntarily onto his cheeks. So this was just some other way to tease him. "I don't need to be carried, put me down." He demanded, not wanting to be made fun of the entire way to the hospital.
"Hinata, you can get going now, we'll be fine."
Hinata nodded, "Okay guys, be safe. I'm sorry Yamayama-kun, I hope it's nothing too serious." Hinata looked super guilty, squeezing Kageyama's uninjured arm before hurrying out of the gym.
Then it was just Tsukishima and Kageyama.
"Seriously, I can walk." Kageyama didn't feel like getting made fun of right now.
Surprisingly, however, Tsukishima didn't say anything at all, simply readjusted Kageyama in his arms and walked out of the gym. "So what happened?"
And there it was. Kageyama knew he wouldn't stay quiet forever. "Hinata wanted to change the quick but I still don't want to. He got mad, and I got mad, and we started fighting and I landed wrong." Kageyama shrugged a shoulder.
"Wow, you and midget really are having problems." Tsukishima said.
"Whatever," but inside Kageyama didn't let on that he was actually panicking a little. He didn't like change much, it disrupted the routine, and made him scramble to grasp some sense of familiarity. And change was always so different, and Kageyama got scared that that different wasn't a good thing.
So many things could go wrong, but by trying to keep things the same, they'd also gone wrong. Who knew how bad Kageyama's arm was? Who knew how long it'd be before he was able to play? Who knew what would happen to him and Hinata? By keeping things the same, everything was still falling apart.
"What if Hinata doesn't want to hit my sets anymore?" Kageyama asked.
"Maybe he won't." Tsukishima said bluntly.
Kageyama sighed. Of course he shouldn't have expected Tsukishima to ease his worries. He was starting to regret saying anything.
Tsukishima adjusted their position again and commented offhandly, "You're kinda heavy."
"Shut up!" Kageyama growled.
"Hey, calm down. It's not very kingly to throw temper tantrums."
"Ugh, will you stop making fun of me!" Kageyama pressed his face into Tsukishima's shoulder because he didn't want to see the bastard's face.
"And why would I ever do that?"
"Make fun of me?"
"Stop making fun of you."
Kageyama bit his lip to keep from making any noise but tears burned his eyes because he was in pain, frustrated, and Hinata might not even want to be his friend anymore, and things were just moving so fast Kageyama didn't have any time to process any of it.
"Ugh, you are such a baby, king."
Kageyama saw red and briefly visualized smashing his head into Tsukishima's face. "Stop crying, you're gonna get my shirt all wet."
"Shut up," Kageyama's voice sounded too tight, and he cleared his throat, "shut up."
"Alright, king, let's take a break. I'm tired, and you're heavy."
Kageyama didn't even have the energy to retort.
They sat side by side on the bench and Kageyama wanted to bring up the fact that he could still walk, but he also didn't want to be teased again so he kept his mouth shut. But for whatever reason, he couldn't stop crying.
He hated this so much, it was so embarrassing. And maybe it wouldn't have been, in front of Sugawara, or in front Asahi, or Tadashi, or even Daichi.
But in front of Tsukishima, it was embarrassing hell, and the worst part was that he wasn't saying anything. Kageyama almost wished Tsukishima would say something offensive, or stupid, just so Kageyama could know he didn't take this seriously. Because he shouldn't take it seriously. Kageyama was just being stupid right now, this wasn't even worth crying over.
But for whatever reasons his chest hurt, and he couldn't stop crying, dammit! "So this outburst is because of the midget, right?" Tsukishima asked.
"Yeah," Kageyama mumbled.
"Well instead of throwing hissy fits and crying about it, why don't you, I don't know, talk to him?"
"I could never do that."
"Oh, but you could, believe me. What's stopping you?"
"Well… it's—"
"Your own doubt."
"I guess so."
"The midget is pretty easy to talk to most of the time, especially for you. He already feels bad, so maybe you just kind of use that to make him forgive you."
"Sounds kinda weird." Kageyama couldn't think of a word for what that was, but he did know if it was Tsukishima's idea, it probably wasn't good.
Tsukishima shrugged and didn't say anything else.
Kageyama sighed, wiping some of his tears. "Thanks anyway, I guess."
Tsukishima stared at him and then nodded, "Sure." He said and stood, picking Kageyama up again as well.
"I already told you my legs aren't broken."
"And since when have I ever given a fuck about what you say?"
Secretly though, Kageyama was glad he didn't have to walk right now. But he also wanted something to do something so he didn't have to just sit there, thinking about what made him upset.
"Tsukishima…" Kageyama murmured.
"What?"
"Can you please hug me."
Kageyama sensed a hint of annoyance in Tsukishima's tone when he answered, "And you couldn't have asked this when we were sitting on the bench, why?"
"Well obviously because I didn't think about it until now." Kageyama grumbled.
Tsukishima made a noise Kageyama couldn't identify before he said, "Aren't I basically hugging you right now anyway."
"No." Kageyama said bluntly.
"Oh, well then, since you know so much more than I do about hugs, why don't you show me how it's done."
"Set me on my non-broken feet asshole and I will."
Tsukishima rolled his eyes but bent down a little, letting Kageyama's feet go first and then steadying him with the other arm.
After Kageyama was steady they both just stared at each other, neither making the first move. "Well, king? I'm waiting~." Tsukishima's voice was still taunting and his ever present smirk was still on his face as he opened his arms in a mock gesture.
Kageyama took the hug though. It wasn't as if he were going to receive a hug from someone else, Tsukishima was the only person around.
He could always wait till the morning, but he wanted one right now. In the morning, it would already be too late.
Kageyama wrapped his arms around Tsukishima's waist, under his arms, and he felt Tsukishima's arms wrapped around his waist as well. Kageyama felt Tsukishima's arms tighten around him. Kageyama once again buried his face in the blonde's shoulder and he could feel Tsukishima's hand rubbing his back. "What if Hinata and I never make up?"
"Don't be such a dumbass, you guys will make up. And if you think otherwise maybe you should stop hanging around him so much. You're obviously catching his stupidity. Now just think about whatever it was he said that made you so angry. It probably wasn't worth the fight, and you probably just got so mad because you knew the midget was right." Tsukishima smirked.
"Shut up Saltyshima, what do you know!"
"I know that you're being an idiot, and I know you and Hinata better than you think. Trust me."
For once, Kageyama felt like he could.
Tsukishima sighed, "Come on, lets hurry up and get you to the hospital. Don't want something else to happen to your arm."
"You gonna do something to it?"
"If you keep talking I just might."
Kageyama wrinkled his nose as Tsukishima picked him up again, though he'd pretty much resigned himself to the fact he was going to be carried.
They got to the hospital within a couple more minutes. Thankfully, they were still in one piece.
The next day, Kageyama showed up to practice in a cast and a sling. Maybe he couldn't play volleyball, but as Kageyama had said, his legs were fine, so he could do some of the warmups and run to keep in shape while his arm healed.
Almost as soon as he entered the gym, Hinata was on him. "I'm sorry Yamayama-kun, this is all my fault because I pushed you. Now you can't play volleyball for weeks!" Hinata knew Kageyama must hate him now after what he did, there was no denying it.
"No, I'm sorry. I should've listened to what you were saying! You're right. By keeping your eyes open, you'll be able to see what's happening. What happened at the Seijoh match will never happen again!"
"But I'm the one who started hitting you."
"But I was the one not willing to listen to what you were saying."
"Okay, I guess so, but I was the one who—"
"Your both dumbasses, and it was both your faults okay? Okay. Now let's start practice!" Daichi shouted before turning back to them. "Oh, and if your fights ever cause one or both of you to get injured again, we'll have to have a talk."
Kageyama felt a shiver go up his spine at Daichi's claim and Hinata had a similar reaction, however he said, "But I was the one who hurt Yama, it's my fault."
"It was Kageyama this time Hinata, next time it could be you." Sugawara said. "What happened already happened, and so you should just focus on not letting it happen again, alright? Don't feel so guilty." He gave Hinata a small smile.
Hinata paused for a moment before slowly nodding, "Alright," he conceded.
"Now let's go do warmups!" Sugawara said, guiding Kageyama and Hinata over towards the rest of the team who were already stretching.
"Are we sure the king's going to be able to handle it?"
Kageyama gritted his teeth, "For the last time Stupidshima, my legs aren't fucking broke!"