At first, dating Tsukishima was exactly like he thought it would be: the exact same as always. Their contact hadn't changed, nor had their conversations increased any. They didn't go on dates, and the only time they actually spent together was lunchtimes in school, where even then Kei would put his headphones on for most of it. He'd suspected this for the first few days, since he knew Tsukki wasn't an emotional person, but as time drew on he began to get frustrated at the lack of change. Weren't they supposed to be boyfriends? Or at least together in some way? He wished he could bring it up to Kei, but he was silenced by his own nerves. So again, they walked the way home together, and Yamaguchi was even quieter than usual.

Tsukishima removed his headphones and eyed the small boy next to him. "Why are you so quiet today?"

"Hm?" He said, whipping his head round to face Tsukishima. Hos hands twitched in his pockets. "Oh, n-nothing. Sorry."

Tsukki rolled his eyes but tried again, his patience wavering. "Tadashi. Either tell me, or stop looking like you've seen a puppy being kicked."

He gave a nervous chuckle at that but it died when he met Kei's eyes. He then shifted his gaze to his feet, his voice quiet. "Are...are we boyfriends?"

If he was startled, Tsukishima gave no notice of it, his face still impeccably still. He looked straight ahead, his hands by his side. "Well that's generally the next step after saying you like someone."

Yamaguchi thought over that, trying to figure out if that was an answer or not. He scratched his head, and warily withdrew his hands from his pocket. "So, we are? I-I mean, if we aren't I guess that's okay, but could you tell me, because-"

"Yes." He interjected, his voice sounding almost bored.

"Oh, okay." Yamaguchi looked at the tall box next to him, the boy who he'd loved for years. If they were together, why didn't it feel like that's what Tsukki wanted? Why did it feel like he was avoiding him, or not going any further? He hesitant reached out, letting his fingers wrap around Tsukishima's.

Tsukki yanked his hand away automatically with a raised eyebrow and a look of disgust, having not been touched by anyone in such a manner before. It was then that he saw Yamaguchi's face, the hurt and the shock in the way his brows were drawn and his mouth slacked, and the tears brimming in his eyes. He sighed, and rubbed his hand. His voice was softer than usual when he spoke. "Not in public."

Tadashi wiped up quickly at his tears trying to stop them before they could make their path down his face. He studied on focusing his breaths, and cursing himself for getting so upset. He knew Kei wouldn't take to a relationship easily, and he had prepared himself in his head for mild rejections like these every now and then, but when the first couple type thing they'd ever attempted was rejected, it stung. They walked in silence again, Yamaguchi shoving his hands deep into his pockets and looking at the ground below his feet.

When they reached the part where they had to say goodbye, Kei sighed and turned. He wasn't a person to be considered sympathetic, let alone empathetic, but he felt a knot in his stomach when he looked at Tadashi beside him. He frowned as he thought about it, going over hundreds of possibilities until he realised that he was in fact, feeling guilt. He felt his throat constrict when he looked at the tears that dripped down Yamaguchi's face against his will, and the dent in his pockets of clenched fists. He looked at his own hand, wondering why he'd pulled it away so quickly. Was it that he didn't want to touch him? Was he afraid because it was in public? He tried to figure out the reason himself until he reached his house, and made an impulsive decision.

"Come over."

"Huh?" Tadashi looked up, the brim of his eyes red. The wind blew at his hair, tugging that one rebellious cowlick even higher.

"I said I want you to come over." Kei walked towards his house. "Preferably before I lock the door after me."

Yamaguchi hesitated before following him, hoping that maybe he'd get some form of explanation. Even if he didn't, Kei rarely initiated that they meet up, even less so at his house, and he didn't want to ruin the chance. They took their shoes off then made their way up to Tsukishima's room. It was quite a large room, but longer than it was wide, and it had traces of Tsukki all over it. It was neat, the walls were white and littered with shelves holding unique artifacts and things Tsukki liked. There was a particular shelf with held two dinosaur toys on it, along with some framed photos, and next to it hanging on the wall was his volleyball jersey. He had a clear desk which had some books piled on it, a clock, and a volleyball perched on the side. His bed was a double, with grey covers that were folded neatly, and he had a large flat screen television in front of it, on a stand. By the window was a telescope, and numerous constellation posters were tacked to the wall. Yamaguchi couldn't help but think it was way cooler than his room.

He stood awkwardly, until Tsukki motioned him to take a seat somewhere. He sat tentatively on the edge of the bed, chewing the side of his cheek nervously. A few minutes after he'd dropped his bag and changed out of his jacket, Tsukki faced him and sighed, before sitting on the bed, too. He wasn't very close to Yamaguchi, but close enough to reach out and touch him if he wanted to. Tadashi hoped he wanted to.

Since they were inside in the privacy of his own room, Tadashi bit his lip and scooted next to Kei who, even though he tensed, didn't move away. "Thankyou for letting me in."

Tsukishima nodded in response, to busy thinking to offer real words. He looked at Tadashi, who was playing with his fingers, and sighed. "Do you want to watch a movie?"

"Sure!" He perked up slightly, looking at Kei. "What do you have?"

"Jurassic park, Jurassic World, Night at the museum,Godzilla-"

"Tsukki," Tadashi giggled. "Do all your films contain dinosaurs?"

Kei frowned and went over the list again in his head, surprised to see Yamaguchi was right. "Why watch a film if it doesn't have a dinosaur?"

Tadashi smiled again, and some of the tension was lifted. "Okay, let's watch Jurassic Park, then."

As Tsukishima slipped the DVD into his TV, he saw Yamaguchi scuttled against the wall, supporting his back with a pillow. "I'll go get snacks."

Tadashi nodded and watched as the opening credits appeared on the screen in front of him. It was a few minutes before Tsukki came back up, but when he did he sat the bowl of snacks on Tadashi's lap, then sat beside him, stretching out his long legs. Yamaguchi looked at the bowl of strawberries and bit his lip to hide a smile, knowing that the blonde boy wouldn't even have questioned whether strawberries were a suitable movie food. He popped one in his mouth.

Yamaguchi picked another one up and held his hand out to Tsukishima. "Want one?"

Tsukki reached out and took the strawberry, ignoring the feeling of Tadashi's skin brushing against his. He didn't want to acknowledge the weird shiver that sent down him-it was embarrassingly like something out of a shojo manga. He caught sight of Yamaguchi's eyes -those big brown eyes that were staring so intently at him- and ducked his head, looking away as he ate the strawberry.

It was another few minutes of Tadashi scooting increasingly closer until his hand reached out, and wrapped around Kei's. Unfortunately, he had the same reaction and pulled it away, and the second wave of rejection hurt even more than the first. "Why won't you hold my hand? Why don't you want to touch me?"

Kei looked at the emotional boy beside him, who's eyes were looking at the sheets between then while his shaking hands held on to the bowl of strawberries, and closed his eyes, resting his head back against the wall. "I just-"

"Do you even want to be my boyfriend? Because it's been two weeks and you've not touched me, barely spoke to me, we haven't done anything or went on any dates, a-and you just never look like you're happy with me!" Tadashi covered his hands with his face, tears spilling out. He hated that he couldn't control his emotions, he hated that he looked weak and whiny- exactly what Tsukki hated in a person. "I just want to be with you, and when you said you liked me back I thought my life couldn't get better. B-B-But-"

"Tadashi." He said softly, breaking the younger boy's stream of garbled emotions. "Be quiet."

When Yamaguchi silenced, Kei sighed, and turned his eyes to him once again.

"I have never been in a relationship before." He started. "Because, in a relationship you have to bear all for it to last. You have to let someone see who you are, behind the facade. You have to let someone get close to you, and get close to them in return. I've never liked that. I don't like sharing my self or my life with people, because people lie to you." His thoughts immediately flitted to his brother. "Every time I try to get close to you, I can't help that feeling that it's pointless, because you'll see something you don't like and walk away. And then I'll have nothing, because you're the only person I like enough to call a friend."

Yamaguchi sat in silence at this, in awe of hearing so many words come out of Kei's mouth. He'd never been a talker, and any overly long sentences were usually comebacks or attempts to insult Hinata, but yet here he was, trying to explain himself for Tadashi's sake. "Tsukki, I-"

"So when you hold my hand, I can't help but pull back. When you look at me, I feel like I have to look away. It's like I'm waiting for you to hate me." He murmured, staring ahead. "But, you do make me happy. You're the only person I willingly want to be around, and...I do like you. I need you to just wait, wait until I can trust you not to run away. Then this can be what you want."

It was quiet for a minute, and Kei couldn't help instantly regret what he'd just said. Why did he blurt it out like that? Still, he was surprised when he felt Yamaguchi's gaze bore into him, tears and all. He said, "Tsukki, no matter what happens with us, I'm not leaving. I'm never going to run away. I'll wait."

Tsukishima let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and trained his eyes on the TV. "Okay. Let's watch the movie now."

They sat for the rest of the movie, the only contact being the occasional brushing of hands when they both reached for a strawberry at the same time, but it was a comfortable silence this time. Tadashi's tears had stopped, and when Tsukishima caught him shivering he wordlessly lifted a blanket and draped it over him, ignoring the lurch in his stomach Tadashi's small smile gave him. He knew he'd have to try to let Yamaguchi into his life while he was waiting, because he did want to be with him, even if he didn't show it. So, when there was only ten minutes of the movie left, he hesitantly laid his hand out, palm up, ready for Yamaguchi's. Almost instantly, a very soft tanned hand slid into his, it's touch as light as a feather, and intertwined their fingers. It wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it would be, and even though his arm twitched as if to pull away, he kept it there, even after the movie finished.