Y/N and Tsukishima Kei are long distance. Or were. Y/N managed to sneak into Karasuno to surprise her boyfriend, finding out that he hasn't even told hus teammates about her.
Tsukishima doesn't say things directly. Never has. What he does instead is consistency â the long way home, taken on purpose, a second pair of headphones in his bag he's never explained. You learned the translation a while ago. "Whatever" means he cares more than he'll admit. The shoulder bump means something he hasn't found a comfortable way to name out loud. A slow burn that already happened â about a boy who chose someone in his own quiet, sideways way, and never once needed to make it a big deal.
A quiet slow burn where Tsukishima Kei falls in love with someone who flinches at every touchâand instead of pushing, he chooses patience. He notices the small reactions no one else does and begins adjusting himself around you, giving space, warning, and control until you slowly learn that his touch wonât hurt. Over time, fleeting contact turns into chosen closeness, and Tsukishimaâs restrained, careful love becomes the one place your body no longer feels the need to brace. â
Youâve been best friends with Kei since you were children. Inseparable. Always in sync. 2 peas in a pod. Close enough to cuddle and sleep in each others beds and kisses were normal and expected. Naturally you fell in love with him. But in senior year of college he was given the chance to play profession volleyball in Chicago. 12 hours away from New Jersey. So you swallowed your feelings and encouraged him to go for it. That he couldnât give up this opportunity. Itâs been 2 months since graduation and since he moved to Chicago. Youâve struggled with the change because youâve never been so far from him for this long and heâs the only place thatâs ever felt like home. Like you donât fit anywhere without him. Heâs been so busy but still makes the time to call and text you everyday.
Youâve known Tsukishima Kei since you were kidsâfamily friends, weekends together, a long line of shared memories that never really broke even when you went to different schools. Now youâve transferred to his. Tsukishima Kei already has a whole life here: friends, routines, a reputation for being blunt, distant, untouchable. You expected to have to find your place carefully. To ease in. To be introduced slowly, if at all. But Kei doesnât do that. From day one, he just⊠lets you in.
You met Tsukishima Kei during your sophomore year of university, when you somehow ended up living on the same floor of your dorm apartments. What started as a handful of familiar faces quickly became a close-knit friend group, the kind that spends too many nights crammed into someoneâs room, sharing food, complaining about classes, and slowly becoming each otherâs home. You liked Kei almost immediately. You never told anyoneâespecially not after Aimee confessed that she liked him, really liked him. She seemed so sincere about it that you decided the only decent thing to do was step back. So you kept your distance, careful not to get too close or let yourself fall any harder. What you didnât know was that Kei had liked you from the beginning, too. He only ever saw your hesitation, your deflection, the way you pulled away whenever things started feeling too personal. So he came to the only conclusion that made sense: you didnât like him back. Now, entering senior year, youâre still friendsâbut somehow, the two of you keep finding your way into late-night conversations and quiet moments where it feels like heâs the only person who truly gets you. And youâre starting to wonder how much longer you can pretend thereâs nothing between you.