Behind the Screen

Time for You

You sigh, flopping down on the hotel bed of your room. You had finally finished with your busy day, having had dinner and just showered, so now you were taking the time to relax.

You smile as you remembered that you were going to call Tsukishima in your free time - which is now.

The phone rang a few times before he picked up. "Hey, Y/n."

You smiled wider, curling up in the blankets. "Hey, Kei. I'm finally free now."

"Finally, some good news."

You chuckled. "Yeah. Sorry. How're you doing now? I'm assuming you're at home and away from everyone that annoys you?"

"Kinda. I'm home, yes."

"Kinda? Is something wrong?"

He sighs. "My brother's home."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"I don't like him. He's a liar and disappointment."

You frown, concern for the blonde growing. "What did your brother do to make you feel like that?"

There was a long pause on Tsukishima's end.

"Kei...?"

"Let's switch to video. I'd rather talk about this stuff face-to-face... or as close to it as we can, considering the current distance between us."

"Ok." You move your phone away from your ear and switched on your camera, focusing the front facing camera on your face.

Tsukishima did the same. "Hey."

You smile slightly. "Hey."

His focus shifted away from his phone screen, away from you. He remained silent, not continuing the conversation you two were having prior to switching cameras on.

You let out a soft sigh. "So... what's bothering you about your brother? What happened between you two to make you dislike him so much?"

Tsukishima hesitated for a moment, looking at you before speaking. "Back before I was even in middle school, when my brother was going to school at Karasuno, he played as a wind spiker on the volleyball team. He'd been the ace back in his middle school years, he'd heard about how strong the boys volleyball team at Karasuno was at that time. He thought he'd be a great player on that team."

He paused, giving you the opportunity to talk. "Wow. You must've been really proud to have a big brother like that."

A sad look briefly flashed across his face before it settled to an irritated expression. "I was. He always told me how great his high school team was, how he was still the ace. Yet he never wanted me going to any of his games, just practiced super late every night. And one day, this kid commented on how his older brother was a member of the Karasuno volleyball team, how there were so many amazing players that it was hard to even be a bench warmer."

"That... must've been tough for so many of the other players. What did you do when you heard that kid say all those things, Kei?"

Tsukishima let out a deep sigh. "Yamaguchi, my childhood friend, mentioned how my brother was a starting player. The other boy said he never heard of a Tsukishima on the lineup. After hearing that, I couldn't believe what he said. We all went to the next Karasuno match and...."

You felt your heart hurt at the expressions on Tsukishima's face. "What happened?" You made sure to keep your voice soft and gentle, in hope to have Tsukishima remain calm and comfortable.

He continued, giving you a small, gentle smile before frowning while speaking. "My brother was nowhere on the court. I couldn't find him, not even within the extra players for the game. When I looked at the bleachers across from where I was standing with the others my age, I met the horrified face of my brother. He lied to me, and hid in shame from the truth."

You understood his pain. "I see.... I'm so sorry that happened to you."

"Who cares. Akiteru doesn't live at home. He's usually away at college and visits occasionally. I don't have to be around him on a regular basis."

"I guess that holds some positivity. But I understand how you feel hurt by that. You admired you'd brother, and he betrayed your trust and adoration. It seemed like he didn't want to disappoint you, so he hid. But that had only made things worse. I wish I could've been there to support you during that tough time."

Tsukishima smiled as he focuses completely on you once more. "Thanks. I know we didn't know each back then... but it's nice to know you'd still support me through something as rough as that was."

You beamed at him. "Of course. I know what it's like to have an older brother that goes behind your back."

His eyes widened. "You have an older brother?"

You nod. "Yeah. He always finds out what's going on with me and relays it back to Kenma and our parents. He knows I hate it when he does that, but he'll never stop."

Tsukishima took in this information, eyes still trained on you through the screen. "Do you have a bad relationship with him?"

"It's more neutral. We don't really communicate directly. But I can't say I hate him. In the end, he's still looking out for me as my big brother."

"Mind if we switch topics?"

"What else did you wanna talk about?"

He hesitated, unsure how to put it into words without making it seem weird or awkward. "How's the inter-high?"

You sigh, leaning further into the mattress and pillows. "It's a pain. For some reason, I'm getting really stressed out by this whole thing."

"Being a manager at a tournament that big is really a heavy load, huh?"

"More than I imagined. I'm so glad I got to have time for you. Talking with you is probably the most relaxing thing for me throughout this whole ordeal."

Tsukishima's heart skipped a beat, he felt heat building up in his face. "Do you really mean that?"

You give a big smile, feeling your heart begin to pound harder and faster ij your chest. "I do. I really like talking to you, Kei. I'm so happy we met and became friends."