shoyo hinata, the center of the solar system

venus - tadashi yamaguchi

"Whooo! Nice spike, Tanaka!" Nishinoya yelled.

As soon as Tanaka's feet hit the ground, he turned around and pumped a fist in the air, making an animal-like noise. Nishinoya replied with the same gesture, yelling as if his life depended on it.

From the sidelines, Hinata laughed at their ridiculous behavior. Sure, their second years were a little strange, but it was entertaining to watch them regardless. Plus, he thought, he probably wasn't any better. From his peripheral vision, Hinata noticed Yamaguchi fidgeting with his hands, a nauseous expression on his face.

"Yamaguchi, what's wrong?" Hinata asked, turning to his friend. "It's just a practice match. It's not like our school depends on it."

The boy addressed looked down at his shorter friend, twiddling his fingers. "I know, but Aoba Johsai is still pretty intimidating. Plus, if I stand around and do nothing," he looked up sullenly at Oikawa, who was now getting ready for a jump serve, "they'll think I'm nothing more than a bench warmer."

Yamaguchi did indeed spend most of his time on the sidelines, but he wasn't a useless player. He could receive just fine, and even set if he had to, but his most valuable skill was his serves. The boy had a mean float serve that usually scored more than one ace point. Still, he didn't like being shunned away by the light of his more valuable teammates.

Hinata's expression dropped, understanding why his friend felt that way.

"But you're not just a bench warmer, Yams," Hinata declared. He set a mean expression on his face, pointing at Yamaguchi and barking, "We love having you as a part of our team! Who cares what wannabe pretty boys say!"

Wannabe pretty boys? While delivering that line, Yamaguchi couldn't help but laugh at his friend's seriousness. "I guess you're right, Hinata."

"Did you hear that, Iwa-chan?!" They heard Oikawa yell. "The shrimp just called us pretty!"

"Not like that!!!" Hinata screeched to the boy across the gym. He saw some of the opposing team double over in laughter, causing a sudden hotness to Hinata's face. Iwaizumi's head was turned, but he didn't want to know if he was looking at him, let alone what expression was on his face...

He heard small chuckles from beside him. He turned to Yamaguchi, smiling up at him. At least he's not as sad now, Hinata thought.

"You're really something, Hinata," Yamaguchi remarked, eyes on the volleyball dancing around the court in front of them. Hinata noticed him subconsciously twiddling his fingers again, so he reached out to the hand closest to him and pulled it close. The short crow started playing with Yamaguchi's fingers himself, pressing on each finger with his thumb like a mini piano while watching his teammates run around the court. Back and forth, back and forth.

Yamaguchi eyed his teammate for a short minute before accepting it and training his focus back on the game. No, not just a teammate, he thought to himself, grateful for the friend he'd made in the past year.