Slow dance

It was a noisy and crowded day.

It was a noisy day at their school. Well, it was the night of the prom, so it was required to be loud. The yummy looking food and the very catchy music were all part of the experience! It was going to be great.

"Prom!! YEAHHH!" Hinata shouted, bursting through the door to the crowded hall. The rest of the team also went in, happily shouting. Tanaka ran around trying to find his one and only partner to dance with, Daichi also went to that girl captain. Tsukishima clicked his tongue as he was being dragged by Yamaguchi.

"Have fun, okay Tsukki?" Yamaguchi said, before disappearing into the crowd. Tsukishima didn't like crowds, he also didn't like that everyone in his team pushed him to join, well it's the last prom before the seniors left... might as well spend it with them.

Tsukishima sighed and made his way to the crowd, he took a glance at his reflection. It was weird seeing him without glasses, his brother told him to wear contact lenses instead of the nerdy black glasses he usually wore. His mom actually did his hair; she was so happy doing his hair. And his suit wasn't that fancy, just a fairly normal suit with accents of green. He continued walking, he was taller than everyone else there, some almost the same height as him, but he had a fairly great view of anyone shorter than him. Of course, he was bound to find their small and anxious manager.

"S-Shimizu-senpai?" She called out, trying to get through the crowd. She bumped into him, almost falling down, Tsukishima instinctively grabbed her hand to balance her, having a clumsy manager made their instincts way sharper, it was kinda a win-win situation, she doesn't get hurt and they get better. He looked at the tiny body, she wore a cute light blue dress, her hair had gotten a bit longer, just on her shoulders and she had her signature blue stars pined on the side of her hair. She looked nice, he thought.

"O-Oh! Tsukishima-kun! Have you seen Shimizu-senpai?" She asked, looking at the tall male. Tsukishima glanced at her, then to the sea of crowds. He easily spotted her with Tanaka, smiling and dancing.

"Ah... You shouldn't bother her. She's with Tanaka-san... they seem to be having fun." He bent down to be heard. Yachi bit her lip. Her face showed that she didn't want to be here and for once, he agreed with her. He also didn't want to be there.

"Ah, okay... Thank you for telling me...H-have fun Tsukishima-kun!" She said, before disappearing into the crowd. He frowned, their small manager was too small for him to spot. He sighed and just walked around aimlessly. He spotted Daichi with that girl captain talking, Noya and Asahi with Yamaguchi and a girl that looked familiar. Then the bickering weird duo at the food bar, fighting about which drink is better. He sighed and ignored them, he didn't feel like talking, and honestly, his energy was draining every second he was in the crowded room.

Finally, he somehow found his way to a small opening to the balcony. He walked nearer to the railing, letting his ears rest from all the noise. He looked at the shining stars above him. Maybe he really shouldn't have come. He would still see his senpai's after this anyway and it's not like he won't ever see them after that too. He placed his elbow on the railing and rested his head on his hand, just enjoying the lonely silence.

He heard the door being open, he got startled at first, his senses alerted him and he got on guard. But his shoulders relaxed as he made eye-contact with their blonde manager. an awkward silence filled the air until their manager started to panic and bow apologetically.

"Ah- I can leave if-"

"It's fine," Tsukishima said, turning back to the scenery. He heard the door close and the gentle clicking of heels going in his direction.

"You also don't like the crowd Tsukishima-kun?" He heard her soft voice. He glanced at the girl who plastered a small smile, looking at the stars. He noticed the two cakes she held, it was his favorite, he had to resist the urge to take it.

"I never liked these parties and events..." He started, he still glanced at the slices she carried. "What's... with the 2 slices?"

Yachi looked at the slices she held and flushed. "Ah- I was going to give one to Hinata-Kun and Kageyama-kun... but it looks like they were enjoying each other's presence instead... so... so I just came here." She explained, giving a guilty smile. He nodded, he wondered why she felt that the two idiots would not have openly invited her to join them, but he just shrugged it off.

"Oh! I heard from Yamaguchi-san that you liked strawberry shortcakes. It would be a waste if I don't give this to you."

It caught Tsukishima's attention. He grinned, looking at the slice handed to him. He heard a small laugh, he frowned and looked at the girl, curious as to why she laughed.

"S-sorry Tsukishima-kun! I- I wasn't laughing at you! I- I mean I was but!- Ah... I just thought it was... pretty c-cute? That you smiled at the cake..." She stammered at her words, she looked like she was waiting for a hit or a punch. Tsukishima rolled his eyes but hid the smile that formed on his face. He dug his fork into the cake.

"Eat your cake Yachi-san, or I'll steal the strawberries on your slice." He said, taking a bite of his own, the yummy taste of strawberry filled his tongue and he couldn't help but smile more.

It was a weird encounter between these two, they never really talked so casually before. Maybe they're both lonely on this particular night and each other's presence was sort of comforting. At least Tsukishima felt that way.

He finished his cake, sighing happily. He turned to the short girl, who was playing with her strawberries. He hesitated a bit, but he went to fork one of her strawberries.

"Something bothering you?" He asked, eating the strawberry. Yachi flushed, looking at him, but she nodded silently. He noticed how sad-looking the girl was, maybe it was about Hinata?

"Why? The tangerine didn't ask you to dance?" He teased, Yachi looked at him and frowned, puffing her cheeks. He laughed at how cute she was

Wait-

"No! Hinata is someone I admire, besides! He and Kageyama are wrecking the whole place. It's about something else," She shuddered a bit, remembering how the duo somehow got the microphone on the stage, inside the event hall.

Tsukishima scrunched his nose, he was never the one who would ask questions and stuff, but seeing his tiny manager looking a bit upset, even his cool exterior had a weakness.

"W-... wanna talk about it?" He stuttered, turning away from her view to hide his red cheeks. It wasn't like he cared- well maybe a bit... but only a bit. Once he knew his face was cooled down, he turned back to the blonde girl.

"I know it's silly- but... It's my first prom! A-and I kinda wanna dance with somebody... but I'm such a klutz if I dance with strangers! Plus everyone somehow already found somebody..." She said, looking sadder.

Tsukki didn't know why but he felt like someone just stabbed him with a knife right at his heart. He didn't show it, his face was stone cold as ever, with a hint of pink.

He finally listened to what was happening inside, he heard the soft and slow music. He grabbed their plates and placed them down on the thick railing. He held out a hand for her.

"Eh?" She said, looking at his hands and then to him repeatedly. He sighed, just grabbing her hand. He wasn't much of a talker, and it wasn't helping how his heart was beating faster. he pulled her along to the middle of the balcony.

"Just dance with me then." He said stubbornly. He glanced at her, she had stars in her eyes.

"R-really Tsukishima-kun!?" She said, looking ten times happier. Tsukki bit his bottom lip but nodded. She smiled and then placed her free hand on his chest, she had a firm grip on their intertwined fingers. He shyly pulled her by the waist. So they were there, awkwardly dancing to the music. After a while, he heard the blonde chuckle.

"Ha? Why are you laughing?" He asked, Yachi shook her head and hid her face by looking down on the ground

"It's nothing... I didn't actually think you knew this type of dance, Tsukishima-kun." She admitted, looking up, She rubbed the back of her head, it was becoming her habit. Tsukishima blushed.

"My brother signed me up during middle school... He said it will help me be more 'quick on my feet' when playing Volleyball." He admitted, Yachi chuckled again. He wanted to just become a blushing mess right then and there just seeing her cute face, but his ego was too far up and he wasn't going to ruin his cool persona now.

Instead, he pulled her closer to hide his blushing face. Her face now rested on his chest. Yachi was startled at first, but relaxed. It was Tsukishima, an actually nice guy.

"It's kinda great Tsukishima-kun! I used to want to be a dancer so I begged my mom to put me in classes... " She laughed at her memory, she smelled the gentle scent of a familiar washing detergent and a nice smelling cologne from Tsukishima. He smelled nice.

"But I was so bad at it! Everyone in the class was so scared to partner with me because I would step on their toes or make us both fall!" She said, looking up to smile at him. He nodded and couldn't help but smile... He'll close an eye for that smile he gave, she was too cute for her own good.

They continued to dance slowly, more comfortable now. Tsukishima got into it, closing his eyes and just listening to the music. He listened to the beat and the flow of the song and followed it.

He left Yachi amazed, she saw his calm face so up close. The way his shoulders relaxed and his moves suddenly becoming more clean and refined, on the beat with the music. She couldn't help but feel like she accomplished something by seeing his soft and gentle face.

But of course, she had to ruin the moment.

Her dress got caught on her right heel and she couldn't balance herself so she instinctively pulled Tsukishima's collar. He was caught so off guard but he quickly opened his eyes to try to save the falling girl, but what happened instead was her leg getting tangled on his own leg, pulling him along. Luckily Tsukishima swiftly switched positions to make her fall on him instead of the ground. It sure did hurt when he felt the concrete floor, but he sighed in relief, barely saving her.

They stayed silent for a moment, their eyes never leaving their stare until he suddenly burst into laughter. She didn't know why he was laughing, but his laugh was contagious, and soon she was laughing too. He sat up; she was sitting in between his legs, they were laughing so hard that they didn't notice the sound of the door closing.

"I can see why they got scared of being partners with you." He said in between laughs, he was laughing so hard that he was tearing up. Yachi laughed too, just happy to see the male so happy. Their laughter died down, but his smile was still plastered on his face.

"Yachi-san, the slow music stopped a long time ago." He said, Yachi turned to the door, hearing the blast of pop music, she smiled and nodded. They stayed like that for a while.

"Pft- That fall was pretty funny huh?" She said, her laughter coming back. Tsukishima couldn't help but agree, laughing again.

"Yachi-san!" Hinata bursts into the door. Yamaguchi held out his phone and spammed pictures.

Sometime earlier, he accidentally found them here, dancing. He took some silent photos, he didn't want to miss the opportunity to get blackmail pictures! But he got a better idea, he gently closed the door and yelled out for his other members.

With a camera flash, Tsukishima and Yachi stopped their laughter. Their smiles turned into a sort of 'oh shit' face while their whole team looked at them, dumbfounded.

"I have it!" Yamaguchi suddenly said, holding his phone high up in the air, showing them the picture of Tsukishima and Yachi laughing on the ground. Tsukishima saw it- he saw the picture that captured his reserved smile. In a span of a second, he got up, running to his best friend.

"Ya- Ma- GUCHI!" He shouted after him, leaving Yachi in shock and confusion. The rest of the teams shortly got a group message, the picture of Tsukishima and Yachi laughing together. Yachi blushed harder than ever, she might just run after Yamaguchi too!