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There were two things Tsukishima did not like when it comes to birthdays. The attention and the unnecessary celebration that came with it. He did like the free stuff though. Like right now, as one by one, his teammates gave him their presents during practice.
"Tsukishima here ya go!" Hinata eagerly handed him his present. He raised an eyebrow at the redhead as he mumbled a thank you, receiving the paper bag from him.
"Jeez, Tsukishima. At least give an excited face or something. It's your birthday!" The tall blond just ignored him, earning a huff from the smaller boy, as he placed the bag down beside the other ones he received.
And then when he looked back up, he couldn't control the beating of his heart as he gazed over at the bright face of their blonde manager.
He stood up straight and calmed himself down. Of course she would give him a present too. This was normal. They were teammates. Everyone gave him too. But why did he feel much more happier?
Yachi looked up at him with a sheepish smile as she handed over her gift. He received it almost enthusiastically before reminding himself to play it cool.
"Thanks, Yachi-san" He replied as casually as he could, trying not to stare at her blushing face.
"Um...I'm sorry if it's not much. I tried hard to make it but it just didn't look great at all. So, I'm sorry in advance!" She bowed down, looking very embarrassed, but all Tsukishima could really care about was that she made him something.
She actually exerted effort to make him something for his birthday, and although it was her nature to do so, Tsukishima still couldn't help but feel special.
"It's perfectly fine, Yachi-san. It's the thought that counts," He comforted, realizing that sounded wrong, and tried to change it but Yachi slowly straightened up looking at him with an even brighter smile than before.
"Y-You're welcome!"
After that, she got called by someone, turning away just in time when the red on his cheeks flourished.
"What's this Tsukishima? You're red in the face!" He heard the tangerine laugh at him from the left as Kageyama raised an inquisitive brow at him. He glared at them knowing that they were listening in on his conversation with Yachi. Even though they were annoying, Tsukishima felt more excited and blissful at the paper bag in front of him more than punching their faces. He couldn't help but peek inside.
He saw a shade of white. Before he knew it, he was taking the gift out of the bag and saw that it was a sweater, with his name stitched on the front left side.
"Wow! Yachi-san's great! She made a sweater for you," Yamaguchi exclaimed beside him and it took all he could to prevent himself from grinning in front of everyone.
There were some inconsistent knits here and there but Tsukishima couldn't care less. It was perfect for him. Didn't matter what it was, if it was from her, he would accept it wholeheartedly.
***
Ever since then, Tsukishima wore that particular sweater almost everyday at home. His mother took notice but did not pry on further. But, Akiteru could tell that his younger brother was always in a happy mood whenever he wore it and that he always took special care of it which made him even more curious. When he asked Kei about it, he just put on his headphones and ignored him.
So, when the first years decided to have a study session for finals at Tsukishima's house, the older Tsukishima decided that he would try to find the reason for his baby brother's weird actions through his friends.
The night before the study session though, Akiteru was baffled when he saw his younger brother cleaning his room as thoroughly as possible, a rare sight because he was usually too lazy to. Now, he really was determined to find out the cause.
When his brother's friends came the next day, he noticed how Kei kept stealing glances at the cute and tiny blonde girl. He recognized her as the girl from the Shiratorizawa match last year, the one who knew a great deal about his brother other than Tadashi. If he remembered correctly, her name was Yachi Hitoka. Akiteru then immediately understood the unusual behavior these past few months.
He smiled to himself. Oh, he would totally tease Kei for this. He'd never hear the end of it.
They were all settled in his room, Yachi sitting beside him, Yamaguchi sitting on his other side as the freak duo were in front of him, backs facing the open door.
Tsukishima couldn't really concentrate at all, with her elbow constantly touching his arm, feeling her smooth skin brushing against his. When she asked him a question, her face was too close for comfort that he almost couldn't breathe. It didn't help that she looked stunning in her casual clothes. Most importantly, she was in his room! The girl that he had been pining for was in his room.
He was losing his damn mind.
Suddenly, his mother emerged from his door holding a familiar piece of clothing. Before he could utter a word, his mother already beat him to it.
"Kei, isn't this your favorite sweater that you wear almost everyday?"
Akiteru, who was hiding behind a corner, held back a snort as Yamaguchi and Hinata hid their laughs.
Kei felt his heart stop as he dashed towards his mother in a span of a second.
"Tsukishima can run?" Kageyama whispered in slight astonishment as Hinata and Yamaguchi held back snickers behind their hands.
"Y-Yeah it is, mom," He quietly replied, closing the door slightly with only his face shown to his mom. She looked at him weirdly before folding the sweater neatly and tucked it under her arms.
"Then, I'll put it in the laundry." He nodded in response as he closed the door. But he couldn't be relieved just yet. Slowly, he turned to face behind him, moving his eyes to Yachi's small stature, but the girl was just writing, focusing on her work and he sighed in relief.
He walked back to his seat, their eyes following him.
"Hm? Wasn't that Yachi-san's prese—" Hinata couldn't continue his words when Tsukishima glared at him menacingly that he felt goosebumps.
"Huh? What is it, Hinata?" Yachi looked up only to find a pale Hinata.
"A-Ah, nothing, Yachi-san."
Tsukishima could only sigh in defeat, knowing full well that they'd tease him about this for the rest of his life.
However, everyone except Tsukishima noticed the reddened cheeks that Yachi hid with her hair, and the trembling but delighted smile she tried to repress. Unbeknownst to him, the tiny blonde had actually saw everything that happened and heard his mother's words loud and clear. And now she was a blushing mess.
She couldn't help but feel extremely happy that Tsukishima had actually liked her gift so much it had become his favorite to wear. The butterflies in her stomach were fluttering endlessly as her heart swelled with pride and overwhelming confidence. She was even more motivated to study now.
Yamaguchi and Hinata could only look at each other with knowing smiles, seeing these two people so oblivious to the other's feelings like that. Looks like they got some work to do.