#which is...

"O-oi!"

With an exclamation cracking through the playing music from his headphones, Kei turns around, pulling away one of its speakers from his ear with a raised brow. There goes a panting Tobio, resting his hands on his knees in exhaustion.

"What?" Kei huffs.

"You left without me." Tobio frowns.

The corner of Kei's lips twitch at that, before he turns his head away with a fake cough. He starts moving, ignoring the warmth growing on his cheeks. "I didn't know I signed some contract to serve the King himself in after school hours."

"Hey, w-wait!" Tobio squawks. Kei hears buckling steps from behind him, and he feels Tobio's figure on his side but doesn't return anything at Tobio's accusing glare. "I-I thought... you-" He cuts himself off. "You said it yourself... damn it, Tsukishima." He grits his teeth.

It leaves Kei finally looking at him, then away, then back to him again, and then he quickens his steps. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"What? Oi! J-just wait, okay?! Damn it, wait for me, bastard-!"

At that point, all Kei had hoped for was for the concrete streets to swallow him whole, regardless of his expensive headphones that he won't admit he adores in front of Akiteru's face, the one that had gifted it to him. To hell with not running away from his feelings, he'd gladly do it time and time again even if it leaves him ashamed because of his cowardice choice.

But, with how it had been a while since he had grown to reluctantly know Tobio, the volleyball idiot was nothing but stubborn, and the only thing Kei took for granted was the possibility of that same stubbornness to be directed at him. 

The way he had let Tobio grab his hand was one proof of his supposed nonchalance from it all, and Kei would have probably laughed if he weren't the one in the midst of all this ridiculousness. He sighs, close to biting his lip and ruining his hair with his hand in frustration, "What, King? What am I supposed to do here, exactly?"

Idiot. Asshole. You obviously know what exactly.

Shut up. Kei retaliates to that annoying voice in the back of his mind. It makes him a little late to react to Tobio suddenly looking determined, a fierce look in his eyes, but the blush on his face betrays the energy he seems to want to give, "I already said I like you!" He tightly clutches Kei's hand with both of his own, holding desperately for the blonde's full attention. "And you returned it! 'Sure. Me as well.', you said it yourself! So w-why...!" His voice rises, and he can't seem to get away from the earlier high of his run, but it's accompanied something else. Something from deep within.

Kei's lips useless hang open, forming an 'o' while his headㅡone that he had been praised for, one that made them win for Nationals, one that has him be a straight-100s studentㅡturn into a puddle of mush. He'd say it's an exaggeration but it felt as if his legs were gonna buckle without his permission. 

Yeah. Okay. Fine. Damn it all to hell.

From start to finish, all Kei could feel was a whirring rush of continuous warmth, and it connects with the weight of Tobio's fingers on top of his, leaving him with a quickening heartbeat like Tobio's earlier confession at lunch break, and Kei knows he should be quick to decide.

Removing his burning face from his empty hand, he fidgetily looks back at Tobio again and, oh, it took everything for Kei to not kiss the King's reddening skin in the middle of the street. It was a sight for sore eyes, and a reminder why he had reciprocated and blurted out his feelings in the first place. 

His ego is left shattered on the cold ground, but Kei, even with much difficulty, knows that he should be better than being the one who is always running away, in the end. Because Tobio had been genuine to him from the startㅡhe was the one who had immediately smashed it all up, in the first place.

Kei finally squeezes Tobio's hand back, both of them still connected amidst the air of the early evening and golden hour, and he both hears and watches Tobio's breath hitch. And with the proximity of their wrists as well, it was as if Kei could hear the unsteady rise of the setter's pulse, and he relishes on the fact that he's the reason for it happening.

"Sorry." Kei mutters, close to stuttering. Then, he inhales, to steady his breath, and releases a short sigh. "I mean what I said. About me liking you."

"G-good!" Tobio grunts, even between his own cracked words. "I definitely would have whacked you in the head if you ran from me..."

Startled, Kei lets out a loud laugh without even realizing. He immediately covers his mouth with the back of his hand to defy it, and his lips form a smirk as support, "Scary. How violent of His Highness."

Tobio glares at him, and Kei stops himself from pinching his cheeks that still have dusts of pink on them that making his supposed angry look similar to those of puppies. "You're still gonna be the same old jerk, huh?"

"Why? Want me to act all lovey-dovey to you?" Kei starts to walk again, pulling Tobio by the hand, and Tobio doesn't seem to notice that they still haven't let go of each other.

Tobio's nose scrunches in disgust, "No. You'll look weird."

"Gee, thanks." Kei snorts. 

"Besides," Tobio ignores his wit, "I still continued to like you even when you kept being an asshole. So," He looks at Kei directly in the eyes. "Don't try to be someone else."

He knows, Kei knows fully well, that Tobio had always been blunt. He'd startle if it leads him to being wrong, but he's direct. Straight to the point and has never filtered out anything. Perhaps it's just like how Kei is, but they're different. He's all snark, but Tobio is genuine to a fault. Naïve in the corners, but it is the truth. Wholeheartedly.

But that doesn't mean that Tobio's words don't leave Kei's face slowly going into flames once again. Will this be the norm from now on? They don't even have an official label yet. And yet Kei continues to hide his embarrassment with the unstable straightening of his lips, wanting to give up.

Tobio still continues to be clueless, not having to grow witness to Kei's dilemma, and he adds, "Maybe something's wrong with me. Why you?" Tobio huffs a breath, incredulous.

Kei raises a brow, scoffing, "Wow. You're really... okay, then."

Seeing his expression, Tobio looks away, "Joking."

"You're very funny." Kei bridges his original sarcasm to completion, and Tobio looked like he was close to bursting our laughing right on his face. "Though," And Kei decided that that won't do, and with the drive of teasing Tobio to an extent in the back of his mind, he pulls on the setter's hands, ignoring the yelp that follow it, and free-handedly held Tobio's waist, putting them in close proximity. "I think this would be even funnier. Don't you think so, Kageyama?"

The lack of the usual nickname, how close they are, then Kei's steady clutch on his side even if with his uniform halting the direct skin-to-skin contact, it was simply too much for one Kageyama Tobio, and his cheeks grow as a strong contender for a competition with a tomato with its bright color. "Y-YOUㅡ!!!!!"

"Hm? Me what?" Kei innocently blinks, raising their hand-holding escapade, and there Tobio finally notices that he forgot to let go, leaving him spluttering even more in his spot. Kei decides to freefall, go fuck itㅡbesides, he's already too far goneㅡand nudges his cheek towards Tobio's knuckles, not letting go for a second.

With nothing to do but to continue standing there and letting Kei do what he wanted, Tobio's lips open and close and shake even more, until it seemed he couldn't take all of it anymore and just let his head thump to the surface of Kei's shoulder, hiding himself from the embarrassment of it all.

Kei slightly went still but he regains himself, chuckling, "Growing shy even now?"

It's slightly muffled, but Tobio doesn't do his incessant daily yelling in practice and matches, which are almost always triggered by one ginger-haired spiker, of his, "SHUT UP!" to fail being heard by Kei, who lets himself fully laugh, shamelessly amused.

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry, Your Highness." It still leaves with an edge of teasing, but Kei half-smiles at Tobio, who only pouted back at him, continuing to lay his head on Kei's shoulder. "Come on." Kei finally lets go of him, putting some distance between them, but he doesn't let go of Tobio's hand. 

He leads the setter towards the path home, one that he should have already done numerous moments ago, but he stays in the now, walking while still turned to Tobio who looked everywhere but his direction, the pigment on his face finally calming down, but they are left there to stay.

"How about a quick stop at that ramen shop near your apartment?"

Tobio eyes him for a moment, still suspicious, but Kei only raises a brow expectantly. The raven considers for a moment, before sighing, "Sure."

"Good." Kei nods. He gently caresses Tobio's palm with his thumb, and Kei hears him make a slight reaction, but it didn't sound like defiance, and so the blonde silently continues on, slowing down to match with Tobio's pace which now has them side by side, their footsteps accompanied by yellow lamp posts and the sky turning into a dark blue.

He'd been running all his life, even if it always leaves him exhausted, in unadmitted emptiness, built from his frustrations and not being open for change. But Kei looks back at all those moments, and tries to not repeat them again. It started with that 3 on 3 match all those months ago, then Karasuno, to that summer camp, from his unwilted dedication to the sport he plays, then ultimately Akiteru. They are all paths that Kei had run on, and have eventually slowed down on as well, catching his breath, forming learning materials for the future. But those are days of the tomorrow's.

For now, he'll walk back home with Tobio, holding his hand, staying with that continuous warmth in their own little path, wherever it may lead them.

Peaches: chuckles Oh you poor innocent boy...

Peaches: I already have~

Mysterion: These ropes won't hold me forever, you know.

Peaches steps closer

Peaches: Well, that's too bad. Because I think I'd rather see you suffer. And besides,

Peaches, whispering in his ear: You look really cute like this~

Mysterion and Peaches kiss as she wraps her arms around his waist

it's been a hot minute, how're you doing?

could be better 🫠

I finally considered substance abuse and while it's nice like sometimes nothing beats being dead