The Cat and the Crow

[HOLY SHIT. THEY WON!]
[Did you honestly think they wouldn’t?]
[TBH, THERE WERE TIMES I THOUGHT THEY MIGHT LOSE]
[Not a chance. Not with this team]
[HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT FROM THOSE BEFORE?]
[Hard to explain, but this year’s team had everything going right for them, and you are looking at the result]
[THIS ISN’T THE END RESULT, THO]
[Good to know you caught on to that.]
[I'M HAPPY FOR THEM! I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THEM AT NATIONALS]
[Me too]
[ARE YOU GOING TO MEET TSUKI?]
[Yeah, once things settle a bit. They have to set up for the ceremony, too]

Kei left the restroom and stopped. Tetsuro was leaning against the wall, waiting for him. Without a word, he took the few steps needed to cross the hall, and was wrapped up in his love’s arms.

“Congratulations,” Tetsuro said softly. “How does it feel to know you’re going to Nationals?”

“I’m happy, of course, but it’s kind of surreal. I mean, we somehow beat the team everyone thought would win. Even Shiratorizawa thought they had this game in the bag. And yet… we won. We’re going to Nationals.”

“Amazing feeling though, isn’t it?”

Kei nodded against Tetsuro’s shoulder. “Yeah.” After a few minutes, he leaned back and gazed into those dark honey eyes he loved so much. “Thank you for coming.”

“Wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Tetsuro replied. “I wish I had been here to watch you beat Aoba Johsai. Instead, I had to settle for live streaming.”

“It’s okay. I’m happy you’re here now.”

Kei would have been happy if they could have stayed that way for a while longer. As it was, he had to go to the ceremony, and that was starting soon.

“I need to go. When do you go back?

Tetsuro sighed. “This evening. I can’t stay. We have practice every day until our prelims start, and I can’t miss any more.”

“Are you able to at least eat dinner with us?”

“The team or your family?”

Kei shrugged. “Either. I mean, the team is pretty much family, you know. But we could go home, if you want.”

“A cat amongst the crows,” Tetsuro looked thoughtful. “I want to, but if it’s going to be with your team, I’d better not intrude. This is your moment, your time to spend with them.”

He understood. He really did. “But even so…”

Tetsuro put a finger lightly against his lips. “As much as I want to celebrate with all of you, I’d be the interloper. It wouldn’t be right for me to crash your team’s celebration.”

Kei would have said something else, but he heard Tadashi calling for him. “Come on, Tsuki! The ceremony’s about to start. We gotta get out there!”

“Dammit!” he whispered. “See you after?”

“Yeah, definitely.” Tetsuro leaned in to kiss him deeply. “See you after.”

“Love you more,” Kei said as he backed away.

Tetsuro smiled gently. “Love you most. Now, hurry up and join your teammates.”

Kei smiled, blew a kiss and winked. He stayed just long enough to see Tetsuro’s wide eyes and flushed face. Then, he turned and left, laughing as he went.

[Team Is Family]

As it turned out, the team was planning to go eat at the same restaurant they had visited after Interhigh; Coach Ukai’s treat. Kei had told him after the ceremony ended, and Tetsuro was also able to congratulate Daichi, Sugawara, and the rest of the team when they met up outside the gym. Kei had once again tried to get him to join them for dinner, but he’d respectfully declined.

“When does your train leave?” Kei asked.

“8pm. Why?”

“I’ll be there. I’ll get Akiteru to drive me back.”

“No, don’t do that. I’ll be fine, promise. You need to stay with them.”

“Actually, it’ll be fine if he goes,” another voice cut into their conversation.

Tetsuro looked over Kei’s shoulder and saw Takeda standing a few feet away, along with Daichi beside him. “Takeda-sensei…?”

“As long as he can make it back to school for our meeting, he can go ahead and see you off at the train station.”

“Thank you so much!” they both said, bowing.

“Don’t worry about it. See you at school, Tsukishima,” the teacher said as he turned away.

“We know it’ll be rough these next few months,” Daichi said as soon as Takeda was gone. “And by the looks on both your faces, we couldn’t keep you apart. Tsuki, if you want to go now, none of us will stop you.”

“Of course we wouldn’t. That would be stupid,” Noya chimed in. While Daichi had their attention, the rest of the team had crowded around them.

“Go on and go. We got you covered,” Tanaka added.

“Even though Coach and Takeda already know,” Suga said ironically. “Either way, you better get going. If I heard you right, your train leaves at 8pm. You have two hours.”

“You guys are the best,” Tetsuro said as he claimed Kei’s hand. “See you at Nationals!”

“You bet,” Daichi replied. “Now, get out of here.”

Kei winked at Tetsuro, who knew what to do. “Thanks, mom and dad!” they both said as they took off running.

“We just adopted a cat, didn’t we?” Daichi quipped as he turned to face the team. Everyone laughed as they loaded up into the bus to go eat.

[Before You Go]

“Here,” Tetsuro said as he handed over his phone. “The guys want to talk to you.”

Kei took the phone and looked at the group chat. As usual, it had blown up while he’d been away from his phone. And more so while they spent time together at the station. They’d just finished eating, and he backread first, in order to catch up. When he was done, he started replying.

[Hey guys. Thanks for the congrats]
[HEY TSUKI! YOU WERE AWESOME TODAY!]
[Thanks, Bokuto.]
[Great work, Tsuki!]
[Thanks, Akaashi.]
[CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU DO THAT AND MORE AT NATIONALS]
[Certainly going to try.]
[I can’t wait to see how far you’ll go, tbh]
[Yeah, me either.]
[SO… ARE YOU HAVING FUN YET?]
[I think so? It still hasn’t quite hit me that we’re even going in the first place]
[IT’LL BE A WILD RIDE, THAT’S FOR SURE]
[Says the veteran]
[I think my favorite part of the game was that kill block]
[OH YEAH! WHEN YOU HAD YOUR MOMENT!]
[Would have loved to see it in person, tbh]
[I just wish I could have done a few more…]
[Even if it was just that one kill block, it was a major one.]
[IT TOLD USHIWAKA THAT YOU’RE A BADASS BLOCKER AND TO WATCH OUT]
[I’m not as badass as all that]
[YES YOU ARE]
[Definitely going to give Kuroo a run for his money]
[WE’LL DEFINITELY BE THERE FOR THE TRASHCAN SHOWDOWN]
[See you there, then]
[I DON’T KNOW WHO I WANT TO WIN]
[Just cheer for us both.]
[BOTH IS GOOD]
[Indeed]

The conversation waned at that point, and Kei handed the phone back to Tetsuro. Instead of reading that, he pulled up his gallery and tapped on a picture. He held it up for Kei to see.

“Is that…?”

“Old Coach Ukai? Yeah. I sat beside him for a while. He was able to tell you were conditioning yourself to read block.” He smiled at Kei. “Good job, love.”

Kei shrugged shyly. “I was only putting to use what I was taught.”

“Keep doing it. You’ll only get better.”

“Sure you should be telling me that? Considering we’ll be adversaries if we make it that far?”

“The correct word is ‘when.’ And why shouldn’t I? You were already a decent blocker when we met. I just helped you become better.” He checked the time on his phone, and reached over to take Kei’s hand. “We gotta get to the platform. It’s almost time.”

They didn’t have too far to go, so they didn’t hurry. Still, Kei wanted to walk even slower. He wasn’t sure when they’d see each other next. But even as he thought that, an idea sprang to mind. Tetsuro’s birthday was coming up…

Once they reached the platform, it only took a few minutes before the train arrived. Tetsuro pulled Kei into his arms and held tight.

“Call me when you get there,” Kei said softly.

“Yeah,” Tetsuro replied softly. “It gets harder and harder to leave you.”

“I wish you could stay,” Kei replied, clutching the back of Tetsuro’s jacket.

A piercing whistle sounded; the train was about to leave. They let go of each other, and Tetsuro quickly kissed Kei before running onto the train. Kei waved as the train left, and then turned away to go find Akiteru.

He had a plan to surprise Tetsuro. He just needed to get things sorted and finalized.