3: Caught you.

                                    

                                          
"W-Why are you smiling at me like that?" Yamaguchi stammered, watching the silver-haired boy just smile towards him. 
                          
"Tell me, how do you see Tsukishima? And be honest." Sugawara told Yamaguchi, now placing his hands on his hips.
                          
'How did I see Tsukishima? ' Yamaguchi thought to himself, his finger drifting to his lips. Well this one is pretty obvious to him. 
                          
"As a best friend!" Yamaguchi exclaimed, suddenly getting that burst of energy while thinking of Tsukishima. I mean, that was the only valid answer right?
                          
"Are you sure?" Sugawara asked Yamaguchi, not convinced this was the real answer in this situation. "Dig a bit deeper."
                          
Of course, Yams did exactly what Sugawara said and dug deeper. He closed his eyes, thinking of all the memories he made with Tsukishima. From the time he saved Yams from bullies to the time they just went to grab ice cream together. 
                          
Thinking of all of this made Yamaguchi's heart warm up. It made his heart feel like it was dancing inside of his body, doing backflips and somersaults. A smile eventually grew on Yamaguchi's face, without him knowing he was even smiling. 
                          
"There's your answer Tadashi." Sugawara suddenly spoke up, making Yamaguchi realize that his grin was so big and making him shoot his eyes open. 
                          
"My answer?" Yamaguchi densely asked Sugawara who was already turning around to walk away. 'What? ' He asked himself, watching Sugawara slowly fade away into the distance. 'My answer? ' Yamaguchi asked himself, not talking to Sugawara this time. 
                          
Yamaguchi just stood there, thinking about what Sugawara told him. What did that mean? Sometimes, Sugawara could be so cryptic unless it really was obvious and Yamaguchi was just an idiot. 
                          
Time skip to the end of the school day
                          
The end-of-school bell finally rung, signaling that the day was finally over. This was the time the team normally got to practice so like everyone else, Tadashi made his way over to the gym. 
                          
He walked into the gym, one of the first ones to be there besides Kageyama and Hinata.
                          
"HAH! I BEAT YOU KAGEYAMA!" Hinata triumphed, just angering Kageyama more and more. 
                          
"YOU GOT A HEAD START DUMBASS!" Kageyama retorted as those two went back and forth once again, making Yamaguchi snicker a little on the side. 
                          
"There you are." Tsukishima startled Yamaguchi as he came up behind him, adjusting his shoes. 
                          
Luckily for Tadashi, the feeling of his stomach twisting up went away after lunch, and after the talk he had with Sugawara. He no longer felt nervous or like he was going to throw up when he was next to Tsukishima. 
                          
"Oh hey Tsukki!!" Yamaguchi bubbly exclaimed, greeting his best friend that was standing behind him.
                          
"Wanna warm up together?" Tsukishima asked the freckled boy, as he eagerly nodded in agreement. They normally did everything together, including warming up so, he Tsukishima didn't really need to ask. 
                          
After they both stretched their legs and arms, Tsukishima went off on his own to practice blocking with the spikers. But Tadashi went in the opposite direction to go and practice his jump serves. 
                          
They boy jumped up, serving the ball that hit the net as quick as it left Yamaguchi's hand. He felt a bit disappointed even if this was just practice. So, he grabbed another ball, preparing to try another jump serve. 
                          
He jumped up once again, but this time, his footing was a bit off. He hit the ball, barely making it over the net but once Yamaguchi came down, he landed on the edges of his feet, about to fall back. That was until he felt a pair of strong but slim arms catch him from behind, entering their hands between the spaces of Yamaguchi's. 
                          
Yamaguchi tightly squeezed his eyes shut until he didn't feel the impact of his butt hitting the floor. He looked back to see that it was Tsukishima holding Yamaguchi by his arms. 
                          
"You need to be more careful y'know?" Tsukishima scoffed, stabilizing Yamaguchi back onto his feet. 
                          
"O-Oh, thanks Tsukki!" Yamaguchi stammered, still a bit shocked that Tsukishima made it from the other side of the court to here before he fell. 
                          
There it was again. The tight feeling that enveloped around Yamaguchi's chest, making it feel like his heart was suddenly cut off it's air supply. Yamaguchi quickly shuffled a little bit away from Tsukishima, leaving a space between them. But, he automatically regretted moving away from him. 
                          
"God, you're so clumsy sometimes." Tsukki grumbled, running his hands through his blonde, slightly curled hair. 
                          
"Yeah, sorry Tsukki!" Yamaguchi apologized, rubbing his hand against his neck nervously. 
                          
"Yeah, yeah." Tsukishima huffed, walking away from Yamaguchi and the conversation.
                          
Psst! Yamaguchi turned his head to see the third year-setter whispering Yamaguchi over. As Yamaguchi walked over to Sugawara, he could see that Suga had a smug look on his face, watching Tsukishima walk away and eyes eventually going back to Yamaguchi. 
                          
"What's up?" Yamaguchi asked Sugawara.
                          
"Y'know Tsukishima practically sprinted over when he saw you about to fall?" Sugawara chuckled, eyes going back to the clever blocker, watching him push Hinata's head down, antagonizing Kageyama and Hinata both. "I've never seen someone run so quickly." Suga's eyes fell back onto Yamaguchi who was blushing red. 
                          
"W-Wait, wha--what?" Yamaguchi toppled over his words, shocked that the grumpy Tsukishima would make any effort so he wouldn't fall. "I'm sure he just didn't want to see his best friend embarrass himself by falling onto his butt." Yamaguchi innocently laughed it off. 
                          
'God Tadashi, you are one stupid motherfucker.' Sugawara thought in his head, still having a big smile plastered across his face. "Do you think a bothersome guy like Tsukishima would care if someone fell on their ass or not?" Sugawara's tone was a bit pushy and annoyed, like he was trying to tell Yamaguchi something. But before Yams could figure it out, Sugawara gave Yamaguchi an assuring wink, walking away once again. 
                          
Yamaguchi thought about it some more and Suga was right. Tsukishima would never run as quick as Sugawara described just for someone like Yamaguchi. So why did he do it?
                          
Time skip
                          
As practice came to close, all the boys finished up taking down the net, putting the balls back in the rack-holder, and got all their things together. 
                          
"Come team, gather 'round!" Daichi enthusiastically clapped his hands, signaling everyone to come and form around him. 
                          
Per usual, the group of boys formed a semi-circle around Daichi and his co-captain, Sugawara. 
                          
"Good practice today!" Daichi exclaimed, having his usual proud-dad smile towards the Karasuno boys. "Oh, and I do have something to ask you guys." Daichi added, the boys' ears suddenly perking up, suddenly taking interest. 
                          
"Since it's summer, we're inviting you guys to a beach house for a week long stay!" Sugawara cheered, taking the spotlight away from Daichi. 
                          
"I thought we agreed that I was the one to surprise them." Daichi sighed, slightly pouting at his silver-haired co-captain. 
                          
"Yeah, but you were taking too long." Sugawara giggled, ignoring the fact he said it automatically after Daichi spoke. "So pack up because we're leaving in a day!"
                          
"YEAHH!" Tanaka, Nishinoya and Hinata all three whooped at the same time. 
                          
"Of course, it is optional." Sugawara jeered, particularly looking at the yawning Tsukishima who didn't take any interest in going to a beach house. "Have a good night everyone!" Suga cheerfully waved goodbye, as the boys slowly started filing out of the gym. 
                          
End of Chapter