Shipping Headcannons (Tsukishima x Inuoka)
characters: Tsukishima Kei x Inuoka Sou
warnings: none, I think
further notes: my sis♡ had actually suggested this ship to me when I was writing a fic with multiple ships and I love them together now! So big props to her for this amazing thought! She had also suggested YakuAka to me for another fic I've yet to start during our conversations she has made me discover/think of great ships!
first of all: Inuoka and Hinata have some similar vibes, so I think if you like TsukiHina, you might also like TsukiInu(?)
the difference from TsukiHina, who are forced to spent time together, Inuoka and Tsuki can actually avoid each other, but they don't here
I think they might be fascinated by each other, which they actually kind of hate, because Inuoka thinks Tsuki is needlessly mean and Inuoka is everything Tsuki struggles with: he's motivated, excited, outgoing, friendly, supportive, hard-working, not the brightest but still manages well -like Hinata, but worse, because Hinata gets supported so much, he has a special technique and is a starter, while Inuoka is talented and good, but still ordinary and quickly got replaced by Lev, because he's even taller, and he handles it well, Inuoka is still supportive, happy, motivated and a good friend to everyone
so Inuoka is someone Tsuki can't understand/grasp and that's annoying, but also fascinating
it might actually be that Tsuki is the one falling first, even though he doesn't notice or rather don't want to notice
Inuoka, even though he does think critically of Tsuki, is still super friendly and nice, so when they have to do a workout together or by chance sit next to each other during dinner and Inuoka is the life of the conversation, Tsuki is staring
and when Inuoka starts to ask him questions Tsuki is answering; he actually doesn't want to answer, he wants to ignore him, he's annoying, but he still answers every questions Inuoka asks him, explains everything he wants to know he might even be blushing a little bit, because of the earnest and warm attention
Yamaguchi is nearly dying trying to hide his snickers and not choke on his food when Tsuki's ears start turning redder and redder, he has the time of his life watching his friend suffer in the best way possible
Tsuki will rant to him later and be prickly and scold him for not helping him out or anything and Yamaguchi will finally be able to laugh until he cries, before he tells Tsuki he might want to re-think what he thinks he thinks about Inuoka and if he not wants to change the way he interacts with him
cue: a or multiple sleepless night for Tsuki!
he needs some time to accept that the way he sees Inuoka and what he feels for him, changed
and when he accepted that, it's still difficult, because he doesn't know what to do and Yamaguchi is not really of big help either, because he just suggest talking to Inuoka first about just anything and later about his feelings
Inuoka now started to view Tsuki differently, after he talked to him and he answered everything, he can't see him as a prick anymore, he actually started to watch him closer and sees so many more facets to Tsuki's personality now
so there is another period where they keep watching each other, but now with different feelings and Yamaguchi is enjoying the show
I guess Inuoka might be the one to invite Tsuki to train and/or hang out with him and while Tsuki is tempted to refuse because he wants no extra training or more confusion and embarrassing moments, Yamaguchi agrees for him and then leaves to practice his serves with Asahi
So after they hang out a bit more and it gets close to one of them having to leave because I subconsciously set this during a training camp they both feel like they should confess or else they might lose their chance
I think Inuoka might be too scared of Tsuki rejecting or even laughing at him, so he wants to wait for the last moment, the moment of goodbyes
Tsuki is just scared of being vulnerable, so he also waits
I think it could be like this: Tsuki actually asks Inuoka to come with him for a moment and takes him a little away from the others, but when they stand their it's hard for him to bring the words out, so it's actually Inuoka, who got courage from Tsuki wanting to talk to him in private, who asks him to exchange numbers and stay in touch, because he likes him and wants to get closer to him
Tsuki agrees in a rather tsundere way, he avoids eye contact, because when he would see Inuoka noticing his blushing he would be way to embarrassed so he doesn't look in order to act like it doesn't happen
afterwards they stay in touch and slowly grow closer, so that when they meet again the next time, they officially start dating, because they noticed how much they missed each other and they want to stay together
the first kiss would happen during that second/next meeting, after they had a long talk and officially started dating, I think it would happen during the dark of the night, when nobody can see them and their blushing wasn't so noticable, it was a fleeting kiss, merely a brush of lips
I think they would take things slow, because they're both rather nervous and insecure about romantic kind of stuff
as a couple, when they've dated for a while, they're a sight to see: 2 tall and rather lanky boys, one an overexcited puppy and the other either sporting a grumpy look and folded arms, or a sarcastic smirk on his face
Tsuki loves listening to Inuoka talk to him about everyone and everything, even if he acts like he doesn't care for half of the stuff his boyfriends tells him, he's not fooling anyone, especially because he remembers every detail
Inuoka and Yamaguchi love to tease Tsuki and get reactions out of him, rile him up until he lets his honest feelings slip and admits how much he appreciates Yamaguchi has his best friend and how much he loves his boyfriend Inuoka
Inuoka quickly adapted to Tsuki's rather prickly nature and is able to laugh about it, when he rants about how sensitive some people are, or how all the hard work is unnecessary or stuff like that
Tsuki is taller than Inuoka and even if it's just a few centimeters he takes pride in that, he loves to put an arm around Inuoka's shoulders or let him cuddle up to him and curl against his shoulder or chest, even though he also appreciates when he can hide his face in Inuoka's hair or neck, when something is embarrassing or annoying
as adults I see Inuoka reaching out to Tsuki, either because he's in Miyagi and asks to meet up, or they're both at a gathering/party of their old teams and he goes up to him to start a conversation
now they'd need less time to notice their feelings of interest and later their growing romantic feelings
I still think it would be Inuoka who would ask Tsuki to stay in contact, get to know each other and go out to a date, that is an "official" date
I see them as both a little more "chill" as adults, but one thing Tsuki regrets is when he went to pick up Inuoka from work and all the kids he works with swarmed around him, chattering away, touching him, asking him questions, screaming about how this was "TEACHER INUOKA'S BOYFRIEND!!"
Inuoka toppled over from laughing so hard at his boyfriends face, before getting the children off him and leaving with him, sending the kids his biggest grin and wiggling eyebrows