Chapter Text
Tsukishima Kei's eyes scanned the deep mauve sky; half lidded in the early morning. The copper sun barely peeked over the horizon, casting the thinnest rays of light over Miyagi prefecture. Water from Tsukki's watering can caught the tendrils of light and sent it bouncing against the life in his colorful shop. Tsukishima moved through his store, methodically watering his plants as he did every morning, leaving certain ones alone as they weren't as greedy with water. Hardly any sound was made as he finished up his morning ritual, setting down the watering can behind the little checkout counter at the back of the store. The sun had now emerged and with it came a rainbow sky, wispy clouds bouncing thousands of colors around. Tsukishima leaned against the wall and took in the beauty of the sky and his miniature jungle. Moments like these were why he got up in the mornings.
Yamaguchi Tadashi followed his teammates through the streets of his childhood hometown, they were going to be playing a few practice matches with a local college later that day. Most of his high school teammates had gone onto prestigious schools; with full ride scholarships, to play volleyball. Being only a pinch server, he didn't get the same opportunities as his friends, and instead played volleyball at a university on the edge of Tokyo. Coming home was like a breath of fresh air, he had a chance to visit his family, few of whom Tadashi had seen in a long while. Mornings in Torono were quieter, the evenings less lively. Perfect for letting Tadashi to take a step back and breathe.
Dust kicked up behind Tadashi's team as he stayed behind, he Yams wanted to hang back and take a walk down memory lane. He passed by his old neighborhood, his favorite shops, and coach Ukai's old store. Tadashi was headed towards Karasuno high when the light from a small store drew his attention. Tucked in between a post office and a café resided a small flower shop, overflowing with plant life. The sign read closed but the lights were on, so Tadashi peering in through the window. Beyond the thick foliage he could make out the slouched silhouette of a tall gentlemen resting against the wall, his glasses falling down the bridge of his nose. His sleeping form threw shadows dancing against the wall as his shoulders rose and fell with his breathing.
Tadashi wasn't sure how long he had stayed at the window watching the man, but it was long enough that his glasses slipped off his nose. Tadashi didn't want the man to wake up and step on them on accident, so he checked to see if the door was unlocked and quietly slipped inside.
Kei woke up with a bright glare of the sun in his eyes. Gazing around everything was blurry, and the familiar weight of his glasses was absent. He looked down at his feet; they hadn't fallen to the floor. So where were they? Kei stepped away from the wall to search, and then halted when he spotted their hazy form on the counter next to him, sitting atop a yellow sheet of legal paper. He slipped them on and picked up the note.
Your glasses fell off your nose! You should take them off before sleeping next time! p.s. Your plants are beautiful
There was no signature, only a wobbly smiley face. Tsukki didn't know why, but he felt embarrassed knowing that someone had actually seen his glasses fall off, which means someone had probably been watching him long enough to see it. He felt his face heat up when he read the note, others had said his plants were lovely, but for some reason having a mystery person with an endearing signature tell him that made him, happy? Tsukki patted his flushed face and went to officially open his shop.
Tadashi wiped his away the sweat on his forehead, and tossed up the ball to serve. They were at the end of the second set, his team losing 24 to 22, they were definitely going to lose the practice match. The ball was expertly blocked by the other team; their defense was strong, the ball slammed down onto tadashi's side of the court. That was the game. The home team cheered and exchanged high fives with one another before both teams thanked each other before parting. Despite the loss it was only practice, the teams would each be able to learn and improve before a real competition. Yamaguchi's team filed into the locker rooms to change and collect their belongings. Some wanted to shower there, and some teammates wanted to go back to the hotel to shower. however, Tadashi had other plans. Quickly changing out of his sweaty sports clothes he slipped on a cotton shirt and some shorts before slipping out the door and off campus. Jogging through town he retraced the path he took earlier that morning, past his high school, the street filled with shops was littered with people. He ran past the café and stopped in front of the shiny glass window to catch his breath.
Opening the front door he looked around the flower shop from before. The full sun of the afternoon gave it a lively atmosphere. A few other people mulled through the indoor jungle. Tadashi spotted the man he was looking for, ringing up a lady with a few potted orchids. The man in question smiled warmly as she thanked him, his soft blond hair bounced as he nodded his head in farewell. Tadashi felt his chest tighten, and wondered what it would be like for him to receive that smile. The tall man's eyes found his, and tadashi's face flushed when he realized that he had been staring. Shaking the intrusive thoughts from his head he stepped up to the counter and looked up at the man. He could have been mistaken, but Tadashi could have sworn that he saw a dusting of red on the other man's face as well.
"Can I help you?"
"What?" It took yamaguchi took a moment to realize the he was the one being spoken to.
"Can I help you?" The man repeated himself, a hint of annoyance laced in the words.
"Oh uhm,,, W-what sorts of plants are hard to kill? On accident I mean."
"Succulents, they don't need much water and are tough little guys. They need a fair amount of sunlight though. Peace lilies are also fairly hard to hurt, and are very appealing to the eye as well. If you'd like I can show you what I have here." The annoyance disappeared when he started talking about his plants. Tadashi could see that they clearly made him happy. He nodded to the giant's answer and followed him through the aisles of plants. Leaf tips tickled Tadashi's arms as he passed by.
"By the way what's your name?" Tadashi was tired of not knowing.
"Tsukishima Kei. Yours?"
Tadashi couldn't help but feel like the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on it.
"I'm Yamaguchi Tadashi, It's nice to meet you!" Tadashi flashed a toothy grin when Tsukishima looked back towards him.
Tsukki turned away and kept walking, but Tadashi felt compelled to carry on conversation.
"How long have you had your shop here?"
"The past two years, why?" That explained why yamaguchi didn't remember seeing it before, Tsukki's store wasn't opened until after he left for college.
"Oh, because I don't remember seeing it before, I grew up here in town, but I guess you opened shop after I moved away for university! Did you move here from somewhere?"
"No? I lived here too. I started this shop right out of high school." Right out of high school? That meant they were about the same age.
"Did you go to school here? At karasuno?"
"Yes, actually. So did my brother."
"Ah cool me too! I wonder why we never met before! Did you do anything after school? Any clubs?" Tadashi couldn't believe he had never met tsukki before, they went to the same high school and THIS was their first time meeting?
"No. When I was a kid I wanted to do volleyball, but then I grew out of it."
"Ah you should have done it! I was on the team back in high school! I wasn't the best per say, but we could have met sooner if you had!" Tadashi was so caught up in conversation that he hadn't realized that they had stopped walking, and were now lingering in the corner of the store.
"I told you I grew out of it as a kid."
"Ah but you should try it again! I play volleyball with my university, I could teach you! You're really tall, you'd be perfect!" Tadashi was bouncing with excitement, the idea of getting closer to Tsukkishima and playing volleyball with him sent warmth through his body.
"Would you give it up?" Yamaguchi's happiness fled when Tsukki suddenly snapped at him. Kei's face was turned down into a grimace, his lips were tight. His warm aura from before had disappeared.
"Sorry, I mean, can you just stop talking about volleyball?" Kei turned away and took a deep breath. Something was clearly making him upset, and Tadashi felt horrible for not being able to help. Flustered, he grabbed Kei's hand and held it gently in his.
"It's okay! I'm sorry for bothering you. I'll leave if you want." He gave Tsukki a wobbly smile, a wobbly smile that Tsukki recognized.
"Were you here before? This morning I mean." Kei put it bluntly, but his face flushed. Yams felt heat spread across his face.
"Maybe." Kei suddenly smiled. The warm aura from before returned. Kei brought Tadashi's hand towards his face and gave it a small kiss. Impossibly Tadashi's face flushed an even deeper red than it had before, his freckles looked lighter in comparison.
"Thankyou for picking up my glasses."