Refuge in Your Eyes

Caring Too Much

"Hey Tsukishima, I thought you were practicing with the captains of Fukurodani and Nekoma. What happened?"

Tsukishima looked over Hinata's head to meet Kageyama's gaze, "Where is Yamaguchi?"

"How should I know?" The setter replied, sipping on his water bottle.

"Hey! Don't just ignore me!" 

Tsukki looked down dangerously at the ginger, "Do you know where Yamaguchi is, then?"

Hinata shrank in his spot, "Well... last I saw, he was practicing his serves with Noya," he answered.

Tsukki brushed past him and made his way over to the court next to the one Kageyama had been using. 

"Hey! Tsukishima! Come to practice your receives?" Nishinoya asked with excitement.

Kei just shook his head, "Have you seen Tadashi lately?"

"Oh, no. He left a little while ago," Noya recounted, his shoulders slumping a bit as he spoke, "His serves weren't going where he wanted them to and he hit the net a couple of times. He looked kinda distracted if you ask me." 

Distracted? Tsukki wondered. What could he have been thinking about?

"Where did he go?"

"Back to our sleeping quarters, I guess."

Tsukishima made his way around the gyms to get to the main building where the team had been staying for the past several nights. He took his steps slowly and thought about how he could effectively get across what he wanted to say. He ran through all the possible outcomes and tried to prepare for anything Yamaguchi could throw at him.

It didn't take long to get back, even with some of the other players tossing in the towel for the night, the building was still relatively quiet. Tsukishima walked up the steps and started down the hall to the room Karasuno been staying in. 

The room was dark the way the night sky was. Dim, hard to make out any exact shape, but still illuminated by a silvery glow. Tsukishima could see a figure tucked away over by the window across the room. When he opened the door, the silhouette turned to look at him. 

"Oh, hey Tsukki," a voice said shakily, pulling at his heart strings. The sound was thick and filled with emotion. The lightness the boy tried to bring across was lost in the weight of everything he didn't say.

Suddenly everything Tsukki came here to say was set aside. He moved closer to Tadashi and as he did, the moonlight streaming through the window allowed him a better image. His friend had his legs tucked close to his chest, his head propped up lazily on his knees. Yamaguchi met Tsukki's stare. His normally soft eyes were soulfully deep. They were filled with unsaid words, self-doubt, and longing. Tsukishima was afraid he'd drown if he looked into them too long. 

Tadashi had always been so concerned with breaking down Tsukki's walls that Tsukki had never even considered that Tadashi might have his own. The heaviness that hid behind Tadashi's usually sunny personality agitated Tsukishima. 

How was it that someone as considerate as Yamaguchi could be burdened with anything so heavy? 

Mostly though, he was frustrated that he hadn't seen it sooner.

"You've been crying."

Yamaguchi's eyes widened. He didn't say anything but the look on his face read, "How could you tell?"

"Don't give me that look," Tsukki started, sitting down next to him, "I can always tell," He looked at Yamaguchi solemnly and urged him to tell him why.