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“CANNONBALL!”
Hinata jumped unceremoniously into the pool creating a large splash just nearly missing Tsukishima on the sidelines. It’s a perfect, scorching day to visit the public pool. Unfortunately it will not be a relaxing trip for Yamaguchi Tadashi.
“HINATA YOU DUMBASS. THAT’S NOT HOW YOU DO A CANNONBALL!” Kageyama shouted while running to demonstrate his equally destructive jump.
Yachi had planned this outing to the Toyoma Public Pool saying we needed to bond more as first years. Which is mostly true, the only problem is Tsukishima. First of all Tsukishima does not know how to swim. Now not only does Yamaguchi have to make sure the demon duo doesn’t disturb civilians, serve as protector of his childhood best friend, but also deal with his intrusive thoughts about said friend. Yamaguchi has been off kilter since the training camp in Tokyo. He yelled at Tsukishima and then Tsukishima said he was cool. Which on the surface doesn’t seem like much, but it meant the world to Yamaguchi. Just knowing that he makes a difference in the middle blocker’s life is something. He’s started noticing things he didn’t before. Like the way Tsukishima’s eyes sparkle in the moonlight. Or how when he goes to serve, the dimples on his back show ever so slightly and Yamaguchi wants nothing more than to just poke them.
So all the anxieties of life are coming to fruition in this one single trip to the pool.
I got to get a scope of what kind of people are here, any mean looking ones that would bother Tsukki? Any Karens that will report Kageyama and Hinata for disturbing the peace? Where is Yachi? God what if Tsukki takes his shirt off?
“Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima spoke, breaking Tadashi from his spiraling thoughts.
“Yeah?”
“Shut up.”
“Sorry, Tsukki.”
Tsukki is right. I need to relax. It's just one trip to the pool, how bad could it get?
Tsukishima opted to sit in one of the lounge chairs and continue his summer reading assignment.
“Yamaguchi-Kun, Tsukishima-Kun, do you want to play catch?” Yachi walked up to where Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were hanging out in the shade. She was wearing a pink two piece with little strawberries sprinkled throughout.
Tsukki probably really likes Yachi-San’s swimsuit; he loves strawberries.
Yamaguchi hears Tsukishima say something but he is lost in thought.
“Yamaguchi-Kun?”
“Sorry what?” Yamaguchi scolds himself.
FOCUS IDIOT.
Yamaguchi has had enough crushes on people to know these were not normal friendship thoughts. His brain usually chooses completely harmless people to have crushes on, random girls in his class that he doesn’t have to talk to, the store clerk at Shimada Mart, but not someone who has been a constant in his life for nearly 6 years.
Now every thought Yamaguchi has will somehow bring him back to Tsukishima, which is a real inconvenience. He doesn’t want to lose Tsukishima, he’s the best friend Tadashi has ever had. And now here he is looking at a cute girl and thinking of him again.
“Get in the pool Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima interrupted his thoughts yet again.
“Right! Sorry, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi followed Yachi into the shallow end, still keeping an eye on the heathens splashing each other on the other side of the pool.
“Hinata-Kun! Kageyama-Kun! Let’s play catch!” Yachi shouts to the duo. She is also trying to keep their destruction to a minimum.
“OH HELL YEAH I’LL KICK YOUR ASS HINATA BOKE!” The two swim over to join in somehow turning catch into a competition.
“Is Stingyshima not playing?” Hinata looks up at Tsukishima relaxing in the shade, failing to hide his concern in his face.
“He just doesn’t like to get wet! He’s totally fine!”
“Oh, okay. I bet I can catch the ball harder than you can BAKEYAMA!”
Phew. One crisis averted.
The rest of the afternoon swims by without too many issues. Hinata only throws the beach ball at one senior citizen by accident. And the game Yachi came up with was distracting enough that Yamaguchi’s thoughts BARELY drifted to his taller blond friend.
On the walk home, which of course they take together, Yamaguchi’s mouth moves without his brain, rambling about something completely unimportant. He may be talking about volleyball or maybe even ski trips, he doesn’t know his mouth just keeps moving.
“Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima interrupts Yamaguchi’s thoughts like he always does. “Thank you.”
“Ehhhh what for?” Tsukishima saying ‘Thank You’ is about as rare as him admitting he’s wrong or apologizing. So this outburst comes as quite a surprise to the olive-haired boy.
“I know that if you weren’t there to tell the idiots to lay off, they would have nagged me about getting in the pool, so just, thank you for existing.” Tsukishima looked off to the left, blushing ever so slightly that it could be confused for a sunburn.
“Anytime Tsukki, I would literally do anything to protect you. What are best friends for!?” Tadashi pushes into Tsukishima playfully, laughing along the way. He always knows just what to say to pull Tadashi from his spiraling and his ranting. Yamaguchi will do anything to preserve this friendship, he doesn’t know what he would do without it. He’s had it for so long, he feels like he would be a completely different person if he lost it. These feelings he has, he just hopes they go away. They have with everyone else. He doesn’t want to ruin the most important thing he has in his life.
“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima responds without a hint of cruelty in his smirk.
“Sorry, Tsukki!”