i never would have thought // CH.10
A/N: GUESS WHOS BACK?? I lived hoes 😎😎. So I've been feeling a lot better and I finally got enough sleep to remember how to write and I also got an editor!! so yay! Hopefully the quality will be a little bit better writing wise :)! We will be returning to semi-scheduled programing but for my sake I'm gonna change the updates to twice a week since three time was clearly too much for me to keep up with. Tuesdays and Fridays will be the new upload days! Anyways, enjoy the rest of the chapter~
“I knew you’d make it!” Tanka roared, slapping Tsukishima’s back a little too hard as the blonde took a seat beside him. Tsukishima flinched ever so slightly, and grit his teeth as he reached up to rub his shoulder.
“I only came because this is a team event.” Tsukishima mumbled, rolling his eyes as more teammates piped in with hellos and comments of joking passive aggressiveness.
When Tsukishima had initially texted the group chat that he would be skipping that night's festivities the team had erupted into light disapproval and jokes of annoyance. Although (Y/n) knew she should have been angry, the feeling that overwhelmed her senses was much closer to disappointment. She’d tried her best to hide the way her stomach had sunk deep into itself by keeping her eyes low, but her slightly hunched posture had been a dead give away. Sugawara, ever so intuitive, had taken notice.
So while the rest of the team broke out into laughter and hypothetical plans to drag Tsukishima along, Suga had wrapped an arm around (Y/n)’s shoulder and offered a sympathetic smile. (Y/n) had smiled back of course, as convincing as she could muster, but had mostly kept her head down for the rest of the walk.
And while the team was slightly annoyed with Tsukishima’s lack of presence, they weren’t the least bit surprised since it wasn’t the first time he had bailed on them. Yamaguchi, especially, had tried his best to defend Tsukishima at first. That is until he’d caught a glimpse of (Y/n)’s face. One look at her frown immediately made him go silent. A few minutes later he had broken away from the group, typing away furiously at his screen.
Now that Tsukishima was sitting right across from her, (Y/n) couldn’t bring herself to erase the stress that was crushing her chest. She looked down at her food in confusion, he was here.. so why did she still feel awful?
“You didn’t have to come, you know?” (Y/n) finally burst out, looking up just in time to see Tsukishima’s eyes widen ever so slightly. In the dim yellow-ish light his blush was easy to miss. Tsukishima reached up to adjust his glasses and let out a signature tch.
“Of course I didn’t have to come, stupid,” He replied in irritation, looking away to avoid (Y/n)’s heavy stare. When she didn’t look away, he added “I came because I wanted to.”
“That’s convenient.” Yamaguchi cut in, unusual smirk tugging at his usual innocent face.
“Just gonna casually leave the part out where I had to basically force you to come?” Yamaguchi teased, reaching over to poke at Tsukishima’s increasingly red face. The blonde quickly swatted his best friend’s fingers away.
“You didn’t force me,” He scowled, sending Yamaguchi a glare “I just reconsidered is all.”
The latter of his words were much quieter, so much so that for a moment (Y/n) considered they may have been just for her. A secret message of reassurance that he didn’t in fact hate her, but rather had really just been feeling lazy. She turned those five words over in her head at least seven times, staring at him intently, before receiving another glare. She came to the conclusion that it was much more likely that he hadn’t meant for anyone to hear. (Y/n) thought about what it could have meant, narrowing her eyes as her vision lulled.
“Stop staring, it’s rude.” Tsukishima said flatly, reaching across the table to flick (Y/n)’s forehead abruptly. (Y/n) shook her head in surprise and finally noticed she’d completely zoned out straight ahead. Her eyes widened as a red tint flushed across her cheeks.
“S-sorry!” She squeaked out, looking away immediately.
If it wasn’t for Tsukishima’s light chuckle drawing her eyes back just seconds later, (Y/n) would have missed what must have been the first time she’d seen Tsukishima smile in what felt like forever. He rolled his eyes before turning to ask Tanaka a question, and being pulled into a long conversation about volleyball.
Following this example, (Y/n) turned to her upperclassmen and joined their conversation, but unlike Tsukishima, she was unable to focus. And although her eyes rarely made their way back to him for the remainder of dinner, (Y/n) couldn’t get her mind to do the same.
At around 9 PM, Hinata and Kageyama announced that they would be departing early, excusing themselves with a simple mention of early training. As he hugged her goodbye, (Y/n) could have sworn she saw a blush creeping its way across her cousin's cheeks, but when she tried to ask he’d practically jumped out of his skin and laughed a little too loud.
“I’m probably just sleepy!” Shoyo had chuckled, slapping (Y/n)’s arm with more force than necessary.
(Y/n) had squinted at the pair, watching as they made their exit, wincing as she rubbed her arm thoughtfully. She would definitely have to bring this up with Shoyo later.
As for the rest of the team, most of them had stayed until at least 10 PM. After that it grew even later and people began to bid their goodbyes until only Daichi, Sugawara, (Y/n), Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima remained standing outside of the restaurant.
“I never realized how late it had gotten!” Sugawara yawned, peering at his watch. Daichi took Suga’s school bag and draped it over his own shoulder, wrapping his free arm around his boyfriend’s waist. Suga rubbed at his eyes sleepily.
“Hinata-chan, will you be okay walking home so far this late at night?” Daichi asked, turning to face the first years.
“I think I’ll be okay… I’d usually just walk with Shoyo but he left early.” (Y/n) giggled awkwardly, rubbing at the back of her neck with her palm. Daichi’s eyes suddenly widened as he looked at something just behind (Y/n). She turned back quizzically only to be met with a sheepish Yamaguchi. (Y/n) narrowed her eyes and raised a brow.
“Yama..?” She asked slowly.
“Yes?” He replied, batting his eyelashes innocently. Tsukishima rolled his eyes and groaned.
“Okay, well i'm going home. Congratulations Hinata, have a good night everyone.” He raised a hand lazily, already turning to leave.
“Would you like me to walk you h-“ Daichi began before Yamaguchi, who had grabbed Tsukishima by the collar of his shirt at some point, cut in.
“Actualllllyyy Tsukishima is gonna walk her home! You guys go home! Don’t worry about it!” Yamaguchi beamed, waving at his upperclassmen in an almost aggressive manner.
“Looks like we’re being shooed away, goodnight everybody.” Sugawara chuckled lightly, following Daichi’s lead as he turned them both around and began to walk, arm still held tight around Suagwara.
“Goodnight everyone.” Daichi called back, footsteps growing distant as a silence fell over the three remaining first years.
“I’m not walking her home.” Tsukishima said, almost on cue, as he wiggled his way free of Yamaguchi’s gasp and began to walk away once more.
“Oh no you don’t.” Yamaguchi snatched him by the strap of his bag this time “You absolutely will be walking (Y/n) home! Last time you didn’t, so you still owe her.”
“H-hey it's ok! I can just walk home alone, I don’t wanna cause any trouble-“ (Y/n) tried, words wavering as her anxiety seeped through.
“Are you kidding? It’s almost midnight! No way you’re walking that entire way alone! What if you get kidnapped? Or worse! Tsukishima are you really gonna let some random killer get a hold of our teams precious third manager because you-”
“Oh shut up.” Tsukishima finally cut in, rolling his eyes in frustration. He glared over at Yamaguchi and ripped his friend’s hand off of the strap of his bag.
“Fine, I’ll walk her home…. But fuck you Yama.” He growled, turning briskly to walk in the direction of the Hinata’s house.
(Y/n) looked over at Yamaguchi in absolute horror, Yamaguchi only offered her a cheeky grin and two thumbs up in response before Tsukishima’s angry voice rose up.
The first ten minutes of walking were dead silent, with Tsukishima keeping a steady pace two steps ahead and (Y/n) trying her very best not to stare at the back of his head like a total creep.
“Sorry for being late.” Tsukishima eventually grumbled, not bothering to turn back.
(Y/n) was thankful for that, given that her cheeks began to glow pink almost immediately. She blinked at the back of his head for a moment too long before remembering she was supposed to answer.
“I-it’s okay!” She stuttered out, staring up at the sky in avoidance until her face finally cooled. After more silent minutes passed, (Y/n) furrowed her brows thoughtfully and asked,
“Why didn’t.. you wanna come… at first?”
Whatever Tsukishima’s face had done in response to her abrupt question would forever be a mystery, given that from behind he appeared completely unfazed.
“Reasons.” He finally said flatly, head tilting ever so slightly to indicate he was looking up at the sky.
“But I came didn’t I?” Tsukishima added after another long moment of silence.
“Thank you for showing up, even if you were late, it meant a lot.. to me.” (Y/n) replied, voice barely above a whisper.
Tsukishima’s shoulders seemed to tense, but not enough for (Y/n) to be sure. If only they were walking side by side she could gauge his reactions better… she quickened her pace ever so slightly but not enough to close the gap.
“Yeah, congrats on winning.” Tsukishima could have been smiling, it almost sounded like he was, but in all honesty (Y/n) never knew with him.
“You deserved it.” He added after another minute of silence passed.
The walk continued in quietude for a bit as the tension finally eased off of (Y/n)’s shoulders. Even if it was just one simple kind remark, (Y/n) understood Tsukishima well enough by now to know he didn’t go around giving praise to just anyone. His kindness was not to be taken lightly, even if it was barely notable at best. Maybe he had been mad, maybe not, but it had clearly passed given that he wasn’t being mean or ignoring her at the moment. If they were okay, if Tsukishima was tossing her light compliments and walking just a little bit slower until their paces matched up and they were walking side by side, then it didn’t really matter much to (Y/n) what had been going through his head earlier that day. They were clearly still friends, so she could stop walking on so many eggshells.
“You know you never did tell me much about your brother!” (Y/n)'s voice chimed up, bubbly syllables lifting her steps into light skips as she leaned forward and turned her head back to send Tsukishima a cheeky ass grin. He scoffed and reached up to adjust his glasses, breaking eye contact quickly.
“I already told you stuff about me. If anything you should be the one talking, idiot.” Tsukishima groaned, irritated brows crossing across his forehead.
“What do you wanna know?” (Y/n) asked, pestering tone vanished from her voice. Tsukishima only shrugged, eyes held taught to the sky.
“I could tell you about my family?” (Y/n) tried after neither first years said anything for a full five minutes.
“Ok.” Tsukishima said simply, glancing over as (Y/n) held a finger up to her chin thoughtfully.
She tried to ignore the way his eyes made her cheeks burn just a bit and looked up at the stars that had gradually begun to shine brighter and brighter.
“Well my parents are pretty nice people, they just aren’t so great at being parents.” (Y/n) laughed to herself softly, glancing over at Tsukishima’s confused face for only a moment. When he didn’t reply, she continued
“They love me, I know they do. The world back home is just… different. Honestly it's difficult for me to talk about this because I feel like it’s a hard place to explain to an outsider.”
“An outsider..?” Tsukishima narrowed his eyes, not in offense but in curiosity
“My parents are kind of… wealthy. The whole social bubble that comes with that is totally different from here..” (Y/n) explained cautiously, embarrassment seeping through the cracks of her words. Tsukishima’s face relaxed to an unreadable expression.
“Oh.” He mumbled, gaze drifting to the sky in tandem with (Y/n).
“Yeah. It kind of sucks..” She sighed, “And I mean I don’t wanna sound ungrateful or anything because I’m not! It’s just that everything has a price and mine was freedom.. My whole life growing up my parents were always motoring me like some kind of doll. I always had to dress a certain way and act a certain way and hang out with certain people and the more they made me the more I hated it.”
(Y/n) paused, sneaking a glance at Tsukishima, his brows furrowed again, but instead of frustration he seemed like he was deep in thought.
“Once, when I was 11, I remember overhearing them arguing about how I'd never end up happy if I couldn’t learn how to fit in. My dad wanted to send me away to boarding school and my Mom was absolutely opposed, but she agree with him that I needed to.. improve.. or I’d never find the right man and settle down and stuff. I was too young to really understand but it just seemed so unfair. I mean, I hated school. I was always having to hang out with these girls that would spread rumors about me behind my back and the guys were.. mean, and I was just so mad that my parents were blaming me for the way I was reaction to it all that I started pushing back as hard as I possibly could and-“ (Y/n)’s lips came to a halt as realization hit her
“I-I’m sorry I’m totally rambling about stupid stuff that you didn’t even ask abou-“
“Shut up” Tsukishima cut in, “if I didn’t wanna listen I would have just tuned you out.”
“H-hey!” (Y/n) protested, mortified blush still hugging her cheeks.
“I didn’t. So stop talking about pointless stuff and keep going.” Tsukishima scoffed, stretching his arms up to provide support for his head which was tilting back into his palms.
“Okay.” (Y/n) mumbled softly, embarrassment dying down to a subtle shyness.
“W-well, I ended up dying my hair brown two years later. I wanted to because I-I never really liked my hair but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t do it mostly because I wanted to piss my parents off.” (Y/n) giggled out the last bit, tugging at a strand of hair unconsciously.
“It suits you.” Tsukishima said simply.
“Thanks!” (Y/n) lit up, too distracted by the prospect of talking about her hair to notice exactly what Tsukishima had just said.
“I did it by myself and I’ve kept it up all these years because I think it looks a lot better and-“
“Okay, I’m tuning you out.” Tsukishima yawned
“Hey! Don’t be rude!” (Y/n) glared, reaching over to punch his arm lightly. Tsukishima made a face of displeasure but otherwise ignored it.
“Anyways, AS I WAS SAYING before SOMEONE so RUDELY interrupted me,” (Y/n) began again, clearing her throat before delving into a ten minute rant about why dying her hair was the best decision she’d ever made.
Just as she was finishing up, the Hinata household came into view. The conversation fizzled to an end as Tsukishima walked (Y/n) all the way to the door, staying a good foot behind her. He watched her with the same bored expression as they made their way to the front steps and front yard respectively. (Y/n) paused and turned back to Tsukishima with a breath held tight in her chest, it would be rude to walk inside without even saying goodbye.
“T-thank you, for walking me all the way here.” (Y/n) stuttered, eyes trained on the ground that stretched between.
“Yeah.” Tsukishima shrugged, pausing for a long moment before finally asking “Hinata-chan?”
“Yeah?” Her eyes snapped up to him almost reflexively
“While you’re here, be yourself. It’ll be a waste if you’re not… I know we all want you to feel at home so if your other home is a bad place make this a good one.” Tsukishima’s tone was nearly impossible to pinpoint. It hadn’t been quite soft but his usual cover of aloofness was completely absent, it was the kind of comfort that was candid and honest in a way that Tsukishima rarely ever displayed. (Y/n) stared at him wide eyed, before slowly nodding. He stared back for another long moment, almost as if waiting for a reply before a look of finality overtook his features and he held up a lazy hand.
“Goodbye.” He said monotonously, before turning to leave without another word. His movement snapped (Y/n) out of her shock and she called after him,
“Goodnight, Tsukishima! Thanks again!” She exclaimed, waving a frantic hand even though she knew Tsukishima wouldn’t be turning back to acknowledge it. As she watched him go (Y/n) felt an unstoppable blush stream across her face as his words rang through her head once more. His kindness was so rare, and as a result it always ended up feeling like a special gift. She touched the heated flesh of her cheek with the tips of her fingers, why was she always getting flustered around him?
“Don’t be so loud, my parents are already asleep.” Shoyo hissed from behind her, sticking his head out of the cracked front door.
(Y/n) realized Tsukishima was gone and that she’d been staring stupidly at nothing, she turned around and offered a sheepish smile.
“Sorry.” (Y/n) whispered, making her way inside once Shoyo opened the door fully and stepped aside.
“Why did you stay out so late?” Shoyo asked as (Y/n) leaned over and began taking off her shoes. After a pause she said,
“Tsukishima walks reeeeally slow.” (Y/n) smirked, lying straight through her teeth.
Shoyo’s eyes widened for a moment as he tried to do the calculations in his head, staring at her in utter perplexity. (Y/n) only snickered, slipping into her slippers as she began to walk away. Shoyo brain finally caught up and he burst out after his cousin,
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