The King Fell and Needs Help Getting Up

Chapter 14

Monday came and Tobio is extremely anxious when he wakes up. He starts twisting his fingers, until Kei takes his hands and separated them.

"Don't do that. You're going to do permanent damage to them and then you won't be able to play volleyball. Is that what you want your highness?" Kei asks and Tobio looks down, shaking his head.

"Good, if you're that nervous, you should have just told me." He adds and the setter sighs before looking up at the blond shyly.

"I'm super nervous... what if they show up at school? What if Hinata told people? What if the senpais are disappointed in me? ... What if you realize I'm a waste of your time...?" He says and looks down but is soon looking back up at the blond.

"If they show up, call me. If Hinata has told anyone, I'll kill him. If the senpais are disappointed, it's because you didn't tell anyone sooner, not because you're a victim. And if I ever think you're a waste of time, you have every right to punch me in the face." Kei says and Tobio pouts.

"So... there's a possibility of me being a waste of time...?" He asks.

"If there is, it's very small. I've been taking care of you for over a month. You're fine, you don't need to worry." He says before kissing the younger boy.

"C'mon, I have practice." He says and Tobio grumbles about wanting to practice as well, but gets ready for school none the less. The head downstairs and have a quick bowl of rice before they begin walking to Karasuno.

They're silent but Tobio stares at the middle blocker's hand while they walk. He hesitates but takes a risk and gently reaches out, starting with touching their fingers softly. When he's not rejected, he goes a step further and holds the blond's fingers before sliding his hand into his to intertwine their hands. He's blushing by now and he is quite aware of the look the blond was giving; the smirk on Kei's face radiating.

"Hey... um... can we still study at lunch??" Tobio asks, soft and quiet, like he was unsure if Kei would want to spend time with him.

"Of course, now that your back to school, it'll be easier to get the material into your brain." Kei says but smiles soft at Tobio, knowing both of them just wanted to spend time together.

"We're at school, we have to let go now." Kei adds and Tobio hesitates before letting go reluctantly. Kei chuckles before they enter the school grounds. Kei sends Tobio to the gym while he goes to change.

*in the club room*

When Kei enters the senpais are all there.

"Oh, Tsukishima! I heard from Hinata, Kageyama is coming back today, please be nice. He's been gone for a while." Sugawara says and Kei shrugs.

"Nothing will be different from before." He says and begins to get changed.

"I wonder if he's going to be able to practice." Nishinoya says

"He's getting over a really bad flu, he might not be up to it yet." Sawamura says and Kei looks away as he heads out of the room, now in his gym clothes. Once outside, the door closed he sighs.

"The truth will be revealed soon enough." Kei says before heading to the gym, seeing Hinata talking with Kageyama as normal.

"When you are ready to practice, we'll have to practice loads to get our quick back to where it was!" Hinata says and Kageyama's silently nods. Kei can tell he's nervous. He can tell that, as much as Tobio wants to be playing, he also wants to be as far from here as possible. It's lucky that Kei knows a good, and appropriate way to calm Tobio down. He silently hands the slightly shorter, anxious boy a box of milk and Tobio gratefully accepts it, opening it and drinking it in seconds.

"It's okay, you don't have to tell them right away, but you shouldn't keep it from them for long." Kei says and Tobio nods as the senpais and coach Ukai enter.

"Kageyama!! Good to have you back! Make sure to rest up fully so you can play! You're our genius setter after all!" Noya says and hits him on the back. He winces, biting his lip as to try not to whimper from the pain.

"Careful!! He's still recovering from his flu! Hitting him like that could hurt!" Sugawara says and chops Noya on the head.

"Glad to see you, Kageyama. Rest up and get back in when you're ready." Daichi says which makes Tobio nod quickly, hiding his small smile.

"Just leave the practice game to us!! We'll win and make sure to bring you honour!" Tanaka yells and Asahi hands him a small package.

"Herbal remedies." He says simply but shyly as he bows his head.

"Thank you Asahi-san." Tobio bows his head in return. Yachi and Shimuzu give him vitamins and health drinks to build up his immune system that is probably compromised but not the reason he has been missing.

Practice goes on and Tobio blankly watch Kei the entire time. He wanted to be back home, hugging him and getting kisses when he wanted them, like right now. The gym is loud and Tobio has spent so much time in quiet that the familiar sounds of the gym aren't comforting. He wants to play, that would calm him. Hearing the sounds of balls hitting the floor and shoes squeaking as his team members run about only makes him anxious, both in a good and bad way. He sighs but when he looks up and makes eye contact with the blond. He loses his breath for a minute before blushing and looking back down to hide it.

Kei smirks and focuses back on practice. He would never admit it, but the look Tobio had, worried him. He looks scared but Kei thought this would be a safe place for him, he was once all about volleyball. The look Kei saw before Tobio looked away showed he was anxious and he couldn't tell if it was good or bad. He walks over and sits beside Tobio.

"What's wrong?" He asks and Kageyama doesn't look up.

"There's a lot of noise and it's been a while since I've been somewhere this noisy... I'm just overwhelmed I guess."

"Good job putting your feelings into words. It's okay to be overwhelmed, but they're your friends, you have no need to be anxious."

"I know... I just want to play and clear my head." He says.

"You know you can't until next week. You can head to class early if you feel uncomfortable." Kei says and Kageyama nods.

"Alright, I'll go now then." He says and picks up his school bag before they separate. Kageyama tells Coach Ukai he's leaving and then heads to his class as practice wraps up.