#kgtsk

It was the morning of 22 December, and Karasuno were huddled quietly around the fireplace at the resort they were visiting. Kei hadn’t thought it was the greatest idea at first, but he’d grudgingly admit – he had enjoyed the trip so far. The strawberry shortcake here was fantastic, and their coffee was nice, too.

And – cue the gasp – the King and he had actually gotten along this entire vacation! Yes, you may all pass out from shock. Kei couldn’t say he wouldn’t judge you – it was his basic nature to judge – but he wouldn’t judge you very harshly, seeing as Yamaguchi had also passed out when he saw Kei and Kageyama interacting almost… civilly.

Kei turned back to his hot chocolate, sipping on the beverage that had now gone cold. Ah, well, it was still sugary enough to indulge his sweet tooth. 

Another draft of icy wind swept through the hall, and the team shivered, huddling closer together in the hopes of some warmth. Kageyama was one of the few who wasn’t shivering, though, and it was solely because of his attire.

Kei still couldn’t believe that the King, of all the people, had been the one to look up weather forecasts and pack accurately. When he’d asked incredulously why exactly Kageyama hadn’t told the rest of the team, he had gotten the reply of, “I thought everyone did that. Checked the weather forecasts, that is,” along with a look of confusion that made Kei both want to smack him and kiss him.

Yes, Kei had a crush on Kageyama. No, that’s not why he teased him so often – it was just fun to rile him up, and before Kei had gotten to know that he was really just a sweet and adorably abrasive dork, the teasing hadn’t been as light-hearted and fun as it was now. Thankfully Kageyama seemed to recognise that there was no real heat behind Kei’s words anymore, and had even started to hit back with some mild roasts of his own. Granted they weren’t particularly good, and nothing near Kei’s level of course, but it was something.

Kageyama sat across from Kei now, all bundled up in a dark blue and cream plaid scarf that had come in the mail for him yesterday. He also wore a knitted sweater that had a woollen snowman motif stitched over his breast, and though he looked like the dorkiest dork ever he also looked… well… absolutely beautiful. 

“It’s snowing out,” Tanaka commented, glee in his eyes. “You know what this means, right, Noya-san?”

Nishinoya’s eyes took on the same glee, and Kei’s stomach filled with dread. 

“SNOWBALL FIGHT!” he cheered, springing up quite energetically despite the fact that he had been shivering not five seconds ago. 

 Daichi raised an eyebrow at Noya. “Weren’t you the one complaining about how cold it was about five minutes ago?” he asked sceptically.

Tanaka laughed a carefree laugh, springing up too. “It’ll get our blood pumping and get us warm, Captain!” he shouted, yanking Daichi upwards with one hand. Daichi stumbled forwards from the sheer power Tanaka had put into his pull, and winced.

“Tanaka, I don’t think that’s a very good idea-” he began, but Sugawara cut him through.

“Actually, Tanaka might be right,” said the setter, smiling his smile that Kei was never sure if it was angelic or demonic. “Besides, a snowball fight is just the thing to kick off Christmas.”

Kageyama looked up, eyes shining. “I love snowball fights,” he said to no one in particular.

Sugawara gave Daichi a meaningful glance.

“See?” he said persuasively. “Kageyama likes snowball fights.”

“I do, too!” shouted Hinata, leaping up as energetically as Tanaka and Noya had. “Let’s go, guys!”

Yamaguchi smiled softly. “I have to admit,” he said. “It might be fun. C’mon, Tsukki!”

“We aren’t dressed for this weather,” Kei groaned.

“I have some extra stuff that might fit you guys,” Ennoshita piped up, he as well as Kinoshita, Yamaguchi and Narita the only others to have packed properly. They probably hadn’t warned the team out of cruelty, thought Kei bitterly, missing his scarf and his favourite hoodie that was lying on his chair back home. Yamaguchi was really turning into a prick.

“So do I,” offered Kageyama. “Hinata-boke might actually drown in my jacket, though, so he gets the scarf.”

Kei felt instantly jealous. Why did the shrimp get Kageyama’s stuff and not him?

“If you have an extra sweater, I’ll take it,” he said quickly. “Ennoshita-san, no offence, but your clothes might be too short for me. Kageyama’s a little closer in height.”

Ennoshita nodded. “Yes, that’s right,” he said. “None taken, Tsukishima.”

“I have one that’s too large for me,” Kageyama said. “It might fit you. Though since you’re so skinny you might drown in it too.”

I’d like to drown in you, was what Kei wanted to say. But he held himself back, instead retorting, “What, King, have you had your servants pack your entire winter wardrobe?”

Kageyama flushed, ignoring his comment, and said, “I’ll just go and get the stuff,”

As they watched him leave, Ennoshita pulled on Kei’s sleeve and whispered, “It wouldn’t kill you to be a little nicer today.”

Kei frowned. “What? Why?” he replied equally quietly. 

“Well, see…” Ennoshita glanced around to check if anyone was listening in – they weren’t. Hinata had followed Kageyama up the stairs, and the rest were ransacking Ennoshita, Kinoshita and Narita’s suitcases.

“It’s Kageyama’s birthday today.”

Kei’s lips opened slightly in surprise.

Ah. So that’s why he got that scarf. Must have been a present. 

“I see. I suppose I can try,” he added. 

Birthdays were a special occasion in Kei’s home – the entire family would always make sure to be home, and they would celebrate by going on a picnic which often lasted the full day. He could respect the fact that it was the King’s birthday today…

And maybe even… do something nice.

“Tsukki!” called Yamaguchi’s voice, and his best friend stepped back inside. With a conspiratorial wink towards the stairs, he said in a stage whisper, “Not following Kageyama-kun upstairs for some alone time?”

Kei blushed furiously. “Shut up,” he hissed. “Ennoshita-senpai-”

“Already knows,” said Ennoshita, smiling in amusement. “You’re not very subtle, Tsukishima, despite what you may think. Everyone knows you’re in love with Kageyama, except probably Hinata, and of course Kageyama himself.”

“Tsukishima is in what with Kageyama?!” shouted Hinata’s voice from behind them.

“Tsukki looooooveeeessss Kageyama!” shrieked Yamaguchi gleefully, much like Happy the flying cat from that stupid manga he loved. Kei regretted ever letting him read Akiteru’s copy of that thing – Fairy Tale or something.

Hinata, who was practically cocooned in a red scarf, stared. “But Tsukishima hates Kageyama,” 

“It’s a little thing I like to call UST,” said Yamaguchi a little too happily. Ennoshita slapped him on the back, saying, “Let’s not ruin Hinata’s innocent mind just yet.”

“Tsukishima… likes… Kageyama,” Hinata said to himself, still a little in shock. “But… actually, when I think about it… it does kinda make sense…”

Kei choked. No, no, no… he’ll blabber…

“Don’t worry, Tsukishima!” Hinata declared smilingly, giving him a thumbs up. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“Hinata’s good at keeping secrets, don’t worry, Tsukki,” said Yamaguchi reassuringly.

“That only makes me wonder what secrets you’ve told him to know that,” Kei retorted.

Yamaguchi grinned. “That’s for me to know and you to find out, Tsukki,” he sang, and skipped outside after Hinata.

Kei stared after his best friend, shaking his head. 

“Since when did you become such a sassy little shit?” he called after him, but Yamaguchi chose to ignore him.

Ennoshita shrugged. “Well, looks like it’s just Kageyama left in the dark now.”

“Left in the dark about what?” asked Kageyama, coming down the stairs slowly. 

Kei was blown away by how pretty he looked – he was wearing a dark blue puffy jacket that brought out all the colours in his eyes, making them look like the ocean at night. His thick black tracks outlined slender but powerful legs, and his winter boots were dark brown, the perfect contrast to his clothing. He wore a cream-coloured plaid scarf – seriously, how many plaid scarves did he have? – around his neck and cream earmuffs to top it off. 

“Nothing,” Kei said quickly, all too aware of the faint blush on his face. “You got the jacket?”

“Yeah,” said Kageyama, handing black earmuffs and a large white puffy jacket to Kei, who put it on and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was exactly the right size. The earmuffs sat perfectly on his head and warmed his ears without pressing the ends of his glasses against his head, just the way he liked it.

“Thanks,” Kei said, and meant it. He probably would’ve frozen to death out there without the jacket and earmuffs. 

“You’re welcome,” Kageyama replied, looking away, and was that a faint dusting of pink on his cheeks?

Kei blushed too, turning away so Kageyama wouldn’t see, and headed out. 

The snow was white and pristine, and as Kei stepped onto it, he thanked all his stars for having given him the common sense to at least pack proper winter boots.

“It’s really pretty,” said Kageyama softly, eyes shining as he stared at the wintry wonderland around them.

Kei nodded. “It is,” he couldn’t help but agree.

“Do you ever get-” started Kageyama then, but he was cut off by a snowball hitting his face at 150 mph. Hinata giggled and pointed at Kageyama, who’d fallen on his ass and was glaring his demon glare up at him.

“I’ll get you for that, boke!” he shouted, bending down to package a perfect snowball in his hands and tossing it. It hit Hinata directly in the mouth, and this time Kageyama was the one smirking while Hinata wailed from his place on the ground. 

And just like that, what he’d wanted to say was forgotten. Kei shook it off – it probably wasn’t that important. 

Kei bent over, spotting Yamaguchi defenceless, and decided to get him back for all his comments earlier. He was just making the perfect snowball when something hit him powerfully in the left and knocked him over sideways – 

Straight into Kageyama.

All sixty-eight point four kilograms of Tsukishima Kei lay sprawled on top of Kageyama Tobio, gold eyes staring into stormy blue. Their limbs were tangled together, making it near-impossible for either to just get up. Kageyama’s lips were light pink, Kei noticed absently, and his breath was hot on Kei’s cold skin.

Kei didn’t think as he bridged the distance between their lips, kissing Kageyama softly. The kiss tasted cold and sweet, like ice-cream, and there was an undertone of saltiness, which was just so Kageyama. 

Then Kei realised what the hell he was doing, and he pulled away and scrambled upwards, falling back on his ass in the snow but not caring. As long as he wasn't kissing Kageyama anymore – how much stupider could he get?! 

Kageyama rose, cheeks flushed dark red. 

"Tsukishima," he began hoarsely. "What did you just do?"

Kei gaped up at Kageyama, for once speechless. He prayed with all his might that a hole would open up and swallow him into the ground – he had, after all, just kissed his crush. 

"You kissed me," Kageyama continued, stepping forwards so he towered directly over Kei. His face was still red, but he spoke with a clarity that belied his embarrassment. 

Kei was tempted to respond, Well, if you knew, why did you ask me? But he held his tongue, saying nothing. 

Kageyama squatted down so he was at eye level with Kei. 

"I liked it, if you were wondering," he said softly, leaning in close. "You can do it again if you want to." 

That's when the words came pouring out of Kei's mouth. 

"Want to?" he breathed, regaining his composure and cupping Kageyama's face in both hands. "I've been dreaming about this for nearly eight months now."

And then he kissed Kageyama again, eliciting a good number of whistles and hoots from the rest of the team. And again, and again, and again, despite the number of snowballs hurled at both of them. 

When Kei finally pulled away, both his add Kageyama's faces were bright red. 

"So…" started Kageyama, clearing his throat. "Are we… dating now?"

"If you want to," Kei said, suddenly nervous. 

"Yeah," Kageyama said, and he was smiling and his eyes were shining. 

He looked beautiful. 

"Okay," Kei whispered. "Happy birthday, Tobio, my boyfriend." 

The pleasant flush on Kageyama's cheeks and the tight squeeze he gave Kei's have as they walked back in showed how happy he was, more than any words could ever say.