pet shop ✰ kagehina

as the clock spun

'round and 'round, tobio tapped his fingers impatiently against the desk. he fiddled with the collar of his shirt, the hem of his jacket, the blue beaded bracelet his little sister made for him, anything to keep him from bursting out of the classroom door and dashing home.

tonight was the dance. volleyball practice was canceled, since half the team had dates to the dance.
tobio hasn't been to a dance before.
he can't really... dance.
he's nervous.
can't you tell?

class was dismissed with the bell ringing loudly inside the readiness of his ears, and in a frenzied mess of papers and backpack straps, tobio kageyama was out the school doors and down the road to his little freedom before the night arrived.

•••

"please just fix it!" he groaned exasperatedly, fidgeting in his stiff dress shoes.

"hold on, honey!" his mom scoffed, laughing a bit as she re-looped the maroon tie hanging in a tangled, knotted mess around the boy's neck.

while she fixed away, tobio tucked his black dress shirt into his belted black pants and ran a hand through his hair. he stared in the mirror, wishing shōyō would like the way he looked tonight.

"you look very handsome,"

"will he think so?"

"i believe he will."

"what if something goes wrong?" tobio grimaced, "what do i do, mom?"

"you do the same thing you've always done. stay by his side."

•••

"tobio kageyama, you have never looked better!"

"shut up."

shōyō stood up on his tippy toes and placed a big kiss on his boyfriend's lips, smiling so bright he could beat out the sun.

shōyō himself wore a white button down, sleeves rolled up, with a teal tie and black dress pants. he had on a little black and orange bracelet tobio had given him that donned the colors of the karasuno team, just for good measure.

"you're so handsome."

"shō!"

"what?" he giggled.

the two of them stood outside the doors of the gym, terrified to go inside. neither of them knew what they'd find- acceptance or not, it was too big a dagger hanging over them both to ignore.

tobio stared at his boy, his gentle, world-deserving boy, and he smiled.

"i have a better idea." shōyō squeezed his hand.

"what is it?"

"follow me."