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Chapter 5

Everybody's eyes were glued to the golden ring, especially Tsukishimas.

‘He is already with someone...haha...At least he's happy now, right?

“Oh yeah, I got married she was an amazing wife, we loved each other very much”

‘Why, why does this hurt so much

“We had 2 kids together, twins, a boy, and a girl. They're 4. ”

‘...he has a happy family...something I could have never given him’

“What's her name?” Kageyama asked

“Tenshi, it means angel, and man did she look like one”

“Um, Yama, why do you keep using the past tense?” Hinata said

“Oh, well you see my wife passed away when the twins turned 8 months…I guess you can say my angel became a real angel haha...but I still wear the ring to remember her." His eyes filled with sadness as he remembered his beloved Tenshi.

He loved her dearly. He looked up at his friends and tried to smile, but it was obvious that it was a struggle for him. Yamaguchi’s eyes grew glossy as he looked down at his ring, a reminder of his lost love.

Tears welled up in Yachi's eyes, as she thought about the pain Yamaguchi must have gone through in the past few years.

Kageyama and Hinata felt a pang of sadness in their hearts, but they put on brave faces and tried to remain strong.

Silence.

“I-I'm sorry”, they all looked over to Tsukishima who had his head hanging low, “I'm very sorry that happened to you, it must have been very hard for you to lose someone you cared about that much, a-and if you ever need anything I'll be there to help,”  he said still looking down.

Tsukishima felt a hand on top of his. 'What the-’ Tsukishima looked at his hand, and sure enough, there was a tan-freckled hand with a golden ring on it.

Tsukishima looked up to meet Yamaguchi's warm brown eyes. “Thank you Tsukki, it means a lot to me for you to say that,” Yamaguchi said with a small yet warm smile

“T-tsukki, did you just call me Tsukki?” Tsukishima said dumbfounded.

“I-” Yamaguchi pulled his hand away

“I- sorry Tsukishima that slipped”   Tsukishima felt his heart racing at the sound of his nickname.

He couldn't help but blush and looked down, trying to hide his embarrassment. "It's okay," he said, looking back up to meet Yamaguchi's eyes. Yamaguchi smiled, and Tsukishima felt his heart skip a beat.

He was surprised at the sudden warmth he felt from the exchange, and he blushed even more. He knew then that he wanted to hear his nickname from Yamaguchi again.

“Aww, you two seem like the best of friends. I mean the nicknames and everything." Ishida joined in. “Oh, Ishida this is my old high school friend, Tsukishima."

Tsukishima blushed at Ishida's comment but stammered out a hello. Yamaguchi smiled, his eyes crinkling up at the corners. "Tsukishima and I have known each other for years, so don't be too surprised by our familiarity."

He wrapped an arm around Tsukki's shoulders. "Oh and Tsukishima, she is one of my finest workers, right-hand woman, second in command, and close friend of Ishida," Tsukishima smiled shyly and nodded in agreement.