love like you. || tsukiyama

three.

"i could even learn how to love"
...

present day

"tsukki! what took you so long?" yamaguchi called to his bestfriend as he walked over the bench he had been sitting on. the taller boy sat down next to him, placing his bag on the floor.

"shut up yamaguchi, i was just in the bathroom." tsukishima responded cooly, even if he secretly loved the way the boy looked for him at all times.

"sorry tsukki" yamaguchi muttered, although a smile was still present on his face. tsukki' was the new nickname he had given the boy, and though the older acted as if he hated it, they both knew he didn't mind it at all.

"how was your day?" yamaguchi spoke enthusiastically as he smiled at the boy next to him. this was something yamaguchi asked everyday, and being that they were at lunch, they had plenty of time to talk.

"fine. i saw hinata and the king this morning, those idiots seem to be everywhere" tsukki chuckled lightly before turning to face to his friend.

"how was yours?" he returned the question, genuinely interested.

"it was good, nothing special. i cant wait for practice today!" yamaguchi smiled, thinking of the big gym and all of his teammates. even if tsukishima didn't really like anyone else on the team, yamaguchi gladly called everyone on karasuno's boys volleyball team his friends.

"why? you never get to do anything" tsukishima laughed at his friend before receiving a slap on the arm from the boy.

"tsukki!!" yamaguchi huffed, cheeks turning a light shade of pink. tsukishima was right, he didn't do much, being that he was a pinch server and rode the bench for a majority of the games. still, he looked forward to seeing his teammates every practice, but even more so, he looked forward to watching tsukishima play.

"oh don't be upset, at least you can serve. hinata can't even do that much" tsukishima laughed again, getting joy from picking on his orange haired teammate. to this yamaguchi laughed as well, though he had nothing against hinata. yamaguchi had a habit of following in tsukishima's footsteps, whether it be literally or figuratively, whatever tsukki did,  yamaguchi did too.

the two were silent after that, eating their lunch and taking in their surroundings. it wasn't an awkward silence, it was more peaceful than anything. that was, until yamaguchi let out a sudden yawn, which caught tsukishima's attention.

"are you tired?" he asked immediately after, turning to face him.

"just a little, nothing to worry about" yamaguchi responded with a smile. he didn't want to worry tsukishima with something as minor as being a little sleepy.

"there's 15 minutes until lunch is over, you can sleep on my shoulder and i'll wake you up when we have to leave." tsukishima shot back, not wanting to waste anymore time to let the boy sleep.

"oh, uh- okay tsukki!" was all yamaguchi said before he laid his head to rest on the taller's shoulder. without a second thought he closed his eyes and began to doze off.

tsukishima noticed as soon as yamaguchi was actually asleep because his body felt heavier and he snuggled into his side. to this, tsukishima smiled. it was a true, genuine smile, one that he rarely ever shows. a smile that only yamaguchi can bring out of him.

he smiled at the sleeping boy because he was in awe of him. he was pure, with the biggest heart of anyone he knew. he was tsukishima's entire world in one tiny human, but yamaguchi would never know that.

in tsukishima's eyes, he wasn't even close to being good enough for yamaguchi. he believed yamaguchi deserves the best out of the world, and he couldn't be that for him.

so after that smile faded, he pulled his headphones over his ears and drowned out the world, leaving himself to his own thoughts and racing heartbeat, while the boy he was so deeply in love with slept on his shoulder.

———

a/n : i like this chapter 🥺
that's all, thank you again for being supportive of this story, i love you guys sm !!