#tsukihina / socks / both of them being dense idiots

Kei clicks his tongue, struggling with the wrapping paper and the tape that keeps on the finger that got a paper-cut just now.

Why is he doing this again?

Oh.
Yeah.

It’s for Hinata’s birthday.

At first he was against the idea of giving the shrimp a gift, but after getting a look from Sugawara Koushi, he knew he had no choice.

So he eventually did. Alone of course, he’d rather not have Yamaguchi nag at him for choosing the first thing he sees without thinking which he really doesn’t plan on doing. He’s not that insensitive.

But at the same time, he wanted something that was in the middle of being thoughtful and half-assed just to be consistent.

So he got Hinata a pair of socks.That’s a nice thing to get, right? It’s useful that he could wear it for school or for games and it’s not an all too special item for him to read into Kei’s gesture. Simple is best.

“You’re still struggling with that?” He takes a quick glance at his bedroom door to see Akiteru, clearly enjoying his frustration.

“I’m not used to wrapping gifts.” He grits his teeth, smoothing out the wrinkles at the sides that continue to piss him off.

“I know that.” Akiteru chuckles and Kei doesn’t have to look back to know he’s smirking at him. “But, you do know that mom keeps gift bags, right?”

His hands stop. “How big?”

“Perfect size for whatever you’re wrapping, I think. She keeps it on the top left drawer in the living room.” The older answers. “For a girlfriend?”

“No.” Kei deadpans, tone clearly implied it isn’t up for debate. “For a teammate.”

“That’s surprisingly nice of you.”

“I was threatened.” Kei sighs, ripping the wrapping paper none too gently.

Akiteru laughs. “Who has the guts to intimidate you? I wanna thank them.”

He balls up all the wrapping paper that was—wasted—used and carefully rolled up the remaining sheet for future use. “Third year. Setter. Sugawara Koushi.”

“So, it wasn’t the captain? That’s even more surprising.”

“Vice captain.” Kei supplies. “The one with the gray hair. Number 2.”

“Oh the cute one?” He whips his head to where his brother is standing to send him an incredulous look. “I kinda want to meet him even more now.”

Akiteru sees the look and waves it off. “I’m joking… a bit. So, what’s your gift and who are you giving it to?”

Kei picks the socks from the floor and lifts it up for his brother to see. “For Hinata. The number 10 that keeps running around the court.”

The older’s playful expressions instantly slips into something that Kei identifies as perplexed. “Now, I know you’re the one who is joking.”

“What’s wrong with it?” He couldn’t help but downright whine.

He watches his expression and shakes his head. “Nothing.”

Kei knows it’s not just /nothing/. But he has no time for this.

He blatantly rolls his eyes and steps past his brother. He has a gift to pack after all.

-

“Practice is over but let’s all gather around for a bit!”

“Is there something wrong, captain?” Hinata asked, looking at the others who went to the supply shed to get something first.

“Nothing’s wrong.” Sugawara pats him, handing Daichi a wrapped box. “We just wanted to do something different today.”

Kei sighs walking towards the group with Yamaguchi, his bagged gift in hand.

“Okay… One, two…”

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HINATA” Everyone greets (read: screams), making the shrimp jump. He looks both terrified and overjoyed.

“Ah thanks… but it’s not my birthday today…”

“But it is tomorrow. And tomorrow’s a weekend, not all of us would be able to see you if you have anything planned.” Ennoshita says, handing over his gift, the others following suit. Kei stays from a distance preferring to give Hinata some space and avoid the chaos.

The sight is comical as it is sappy, Hinata scrambling to find purchase on all the gifts he’s being given while stammering thank yous to everyone; others come in bags like Kei’s and others in boxes like Sugawara and Kageyama’s.

Sugawara notices him and gives him the same look when Kei wanted to say no to giving Hinata a gift, making him click his tongue in annoyance.

He finally steps forward, sighing. Everyone sees him approach and gives him some room, Hinata looking at him with such caution that’d anyone would have in the face of a friend’s angry pet.

Really? Teammates for nearly a year and the shrimp’s still wary of him?

“W-what do you want?” The smaller stammers.

“Just take it.” He guides the smaller’s free fingers to help him hook around his gift bag.

“Meanieshima really got me a gift?” Kei gets an eyeful of Hinata looking at him in wonder, brown eyes shining far too much.

Too bright.

“Yes, I did. It’s not that much a big deal.”

“But it is…” He smiles, the subdued kind that Kei saw him have when he’s achieved something at volleyball. “Thank you, Tsukishima.”

Too fast. Heart’s too fast—is he going to be sick?

Kei clears his throat and backs away, feeling way too overwhelmed for something simple as giving him a pair of socks.

“Come on, Hinata. Open them!” Tanaka nudges his side.

“I’ll start with Meanieshima’s then…” He carefully places the other gifts down on the floor.

He groans to himself, “please stop calling me that.”

“Tsukishima, hush.” Sugawara tugs at his jacket.

He shifts his weight from one foot to another, suddenly feeling nervous at how everyone seems to have a keen interest at whatever Hinata got from him.

Hinata gingerly opens the bag and holds the pair of socks out for everyone to see.

Obviously, there’s bound to be mixed-reactions.

“Socks?”

“Um…”

“Very useful. Nice gift, Tsukishima!” Nishinoya slaps his back.

Yamaguchi gasps, fixating on everyone’s attention to him.

“What is it?” Hinata asks, fingers kneading at the soft material.

His friend blushes under the team’s gaze on him and stammers, “N-nothing! The little dinosaur pattern on it is really cute!”

Hearing this, Hinata lets out a laugh, “it is, isn’t it? Thanks, Tsukishima!” This seemed to do the trick and averts the attention back to him.

Kei, however, stayed with his friend who suddenly seems to be in deep thought.

First his brother, now Yamaguchi… basing on their reactions, it’s definitely not just nothing.

-

The weekend passed and, unfortunately, Tsukishima forgot all about squeezing out information from his brother and Yamaguchi.

-

They’re all changing in their training clothes like clockwork. It’s rather quiet save for the murmuring coming from the third years and the uncharacteristically calm resident loud mouths (Nishinoya, Hinata, and Tanaka).

“Tsukishima!” Hinata all but yells from behind him, making both and his friend flinch.

“Stop yelling, I can hear perfectly fine…” He drawls, keeping his folded uniform in his bag. “What is it now?”

“Look!” He turns around to see Hinata pointing at his feet… His dino-patterned socked feet.

“Mom was against me wearing them without washing them first, but today, it’s finally dry enough for me to wear them!”

He feels his brain shut down, blankly staring at Hinata in his training clothes accented by his gift. Dinosaur socks. Little Dinosaurs. Socks. The shrimp in his loose white shirt and shorts, looking all too eager for what Tsukishima has to say about it…

“Tsukki?” Yamaguchi nudges him after a while. “Say something..”

He clears his throat, willing his brain to work. “They’re just socks. Why make a big deal about it?”

“Here I thought you’d be happy to know I like your gift.” And the shrimp has the audacity to pout at him in his get up.

“You used my gift. Yay.” He deadpans walking to the clubroom’s exit, mood turning sour by the second. He better stay away from him for now.

“Meanieshima!”

-

“He hates me.”

“No, Tsukki doesn’t.” Yamaguchi answers almost instantly, not even looking up from his notes. “Also, hate is a strong word.”

“How do you even know the difference? He’s so hard to read sometimes.” Hinata pouts, laying his head on his unfinished homework. “He didn’t even look that happy when he saw me wearing it.”

“I just know.” His freckled friend chuckles, watching him sulk.

They’re spending lunch together since Hinata needed help with his unfinished Chemistry homework (Tsukishima got called by a teacher for an errand and Yachi’s with Kiyoko to prepare things for their next practice match).

“I’ll let you in a little secret.” He says, putting his notes down and tapping HInata’s arm to make him look up. “Tsukki isn’t the type to just give anything dinosaur-themed to anyone, you’re pretty special.”

A confused frown graces the middle-blocker’s face. “Dinosaur-themed? Didn’t peg Tsukishima to be a dinosaur enthusiast…”

“Not really. He’s liked them since we were kids.” He shrugs. “To be honest he’s extra selfish when it comes to that. Always hoarding stuff for himself.”

“When you mean special. How special…?”

Yamaguchi leans in prompting Hinata to do the same. “Like even I haven’t gotten a gift that has a dinosaur on it.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m really not.”

“Maybe he just didn’t like the design enough to keep it for himself…”

“Tsukki doesn’t like buying anything he’d have to use in public. They’re mostly displayed in his room.”

“I still don’t believe you. Maybe Tsukki didn’t give you anything like that because he thought you wouldn’t like it.”

Yamaguchi chooses to put his face in his hands. Both of his friends are dense. Far too dense.

—TBC