When Tobio first moved to Tokyo, it was lonely at first. He joked that he wouldn't miss Hinata at all when the oranged-haired menace left for Brazil but it had been awfully quiet since then, Tobio missed the constant chatter with the shorter boy. He missed Yachi and her jokes and collaborating with Yamaguchi about new plays for the team. And Kei... he didn't realise the distance made his heart ache so much at first (not that he would ever admit to that). Tobio was spoiled by Kei's constant at Karasuno, he had ingrained himself so much in Tobio's everyday routine, it felt so jarring to have him suddenly disappear - well, not entirely. They promised to call each other, if not every day, at least a few times a week, but even then, phone calls paled in comparison to Kei sitting next to him at lunch, scolding him about doing all his homework late, or the warmth of Kei's fingers as Tobio taped them up before practice. Kei's soft laughter over the static of the phone was a mere reminder of their distance, and the worst part, they couldn't meet often. Kei had been busy with school, and Tobio with the practice for the upcoming volleyball season. Admittedly, it was rough in the beginning, but eventually, they worked through it, and their relationship only strengthened.
At the end of Tobio's very first volleyball season, they came up with a new routine. It was an offhand comment that Tobio made that sparked the idea when Kei mentioned coming to Tokyo to celebrate Tobio's win.
"Don't forget I'm coming to Tokyo this weekend, Tobio," Kei said quietly.
"How could I forget?" Tobio responded gleefully, he was sure Kei could've heard the smile in his voice. "And maybe next time I could visit you in Sendai, hmm?"
And that was how their new routine was born. No matter what, every month they would each make time to visit each other, alternating between Tokyo and Sendai. Sometimes Yamaguchi and Yachi would be available to join them as well, and sometimes Hinata would also be there, via video call of course. He cherished these moments as much as he cherished his time on the court.
This month it was Tobio's turn to make the trip to Sendai to see Kei, they had also made plans to meet with Yamaguchi and Yachi for brunch during Tobio's stay. Usually, neither Tobio nor Kei brings many presents when visiting, last time Kei visited though, he surprised Tobio with this stupidly cute, frilly apron (that Yachi allegedly helped pick out) and Tobio wanted to surprise him as well. Normally, Tobio would make a week's worth of food for Kei because he knew Kei was a repeat offender for not taking proper care of himself. He would also buy a slice of strawberry cake from Kei's favourite bakery in Tokyo.
But, as he was walking back to his apartment from his nightly practice with Ushijima, Tobio spotted this adorable frog plushie in a claw machine that instantly reminded him of Kei. He remembered Kei mentioning that he was considering getting back into volleyball, and he wanted to join the Sendai Frogs. It would be a perfect gift for Kei, Tobio thought.
"Ushijima-san, you can go on without me, there's something important I need to do," Tobio uttered, in an all too serious tone as he made his way to the claw machine.
"Kageyama-kun, you do know that those machines are designed to steal your money... right?" Ushijima called out, bewildered.
"I don't care, I need to get that plushie," Tobio said, his voice laced with the same determination that was only heard on the court.
