A few weeks had passed since the school festival, and Tsukishima Kei had been thinking a lot about why his little teammate, Hinata Shouyou, had confused him so much. In the end, he concluded it was probably just a fling, caused by Hinata’s weird attire.

Tsukishima was back to his daily, unmotivated routine, when his little friend rushed at him one evening, after training.

“Hey Tsukishima! Let’s do a serve challenge!” Hinata shouted, pointing his finger at Kei.

Tsukishima blinked at him. “....huh?”

“I want to see who’s the best at serving, so let’s do a contest or something!”

Tsukishima frowned a little, “And why ask ME? You have our King for that… Your rival, or some bullshit like that.”

“Kageyama… it’s not the same with him!” Hinata countered. “If I think of a rival, I… well you are closer to that than him! You know, we almost have the same position and all...” Hinata pouted, blushing a little. “...And you’re kinda strong too, so I want to beat you…” he mumbled.

Tsukishima felt something stir inside him.

“Is that so…? Well, no thank you, dear rival…” he said as he started to walk away.

“Come on, Tsukishima-kun! Don’t you want to see who’s the best?!” Hinata exclaimed, quickly grabbing Kei by the arm.

Tsukishima flinched at the gesture and swung his face to Hinata.

“Don’t cling to me! And no!”

He disengaged his arm and continued walking.

“Pff, you’re just scared to lose… Big wimp!” Hinata added, really disappointed.

Tsukishima stopped in his tracks. He might not look like it, but his sense of pride was really strong. He spun around and clasped a hand on Hinata’s shoulder.

“Bring it on!” he challenged, his eyes flaring with intense fire.

Hinata grinned at him, “Gotcha! I knew you’d say that, he he! Come on, let’s start!”

--

And so the challenge was as follows: The first to reach 50 successful serves wins. Pretty simple in theory.

“And what about the reward…?” Tsukishima asked.

“Um… the loser… has to do anything the winner wants! One wish!”

Suddenly, the challenge had become more interesting to Tsukishima.

“Don’t regret it later…” Kei smirked.

“I won’t, since I’m going to win!” Hinata retorted.

The match between the two boys started. They had pretty much the same level when it came to serving, and were neck to neck for a long time. Then Hinata lost patience and tried to go faster, which was a huge mistake. He lost at 45 scored serves.

Tsukishima turned to Hinata, an evil grin on his face.

“Well, well… will you look at that!” he mocked. “So does that make me the strongest?”

Hinata scowled. “I… I got distracted! L-let’s redo the match!” he quickly demanded, clearly annoyed by his loss.

Tsukishima strided towards him, hands on his waist.

“Heh, that’s not what I saw… A win is a win! Don’t back away, bad player! Aren’t you a man of your words…?” Tsukishima poked, leaning forward.

Hinata glared at him.

“O-of course I am!” he barked. “What do you want for your reward then…?”

Tsukishima put two fingers under his own chin, “Hum, what indeed…”

He glanced down at Hinata, who had his arms crossed on his chest.

“I’ll think about it… I have no idea right now.” Tsukishima finally said, shrugging.

“Really…? Well, let me know soon!” Hinata said. “Well let’s go home then!”

Tsukishima really did think about what he wanted from Hinata, but most ideas were just too childish to ask them.

One day, they were one cleaning duty at the volleyball club and were the last ones staying in the training hall.

The two teenage boys were putting away the balls and all other props in the storeroom, when Tsukishima stopped for a second, and leaned against a wall. He watched as Hinata was crouched down, gathering the jerseys.

Tsukishima’s eyes lingered on Shouyou’s slim neck, and suddenly, a flashback of the school festival and of Hinata in his maid dress came back to the four-eyed boy. His eyes widened at the memory as the vision overlapped with the current Hinata.

Kei almost reached out to touch the boy’s neck but recoiled when the latter sprung up on his feet, spinning around to face him.

“Okay, all done!” Hinata exclaimed.

He extended his arms above his head and stretched, and a long content moan came out of his mouth. Tsukishima’s lips quivered at the sound.

“Hey, shrimp... I think I know what I want for my reward.” he said, clenching his fists.

“Reward?” Hinata quizzed, tilting his head. “Oh! That! Okay, tell me! What is it?”

“....iss...”

“Huh? I can’t hear you.” Hinata said, coming closer to Kei.

“I dare you to kiss me.” Tsukishima repeated, clearer and louder this time.

Hinata’s eyes widened. “K-kiss? Why would you want that…?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Tsukishima smirked, “I don’t know… I thought it might be fun to ask something embarrassing.” he replied, shrugging.

“But that’s… I don’t know…” Hinata hesitated, lowering his gaze. He had a slight blush on his face.

“How about we add a penalty if the loser doesn’t do what is asked?” Tsukishima added nonchalantly. “You are the one who initiated this stupid challenge, Hinata… Shouldn’t you stick to your words?”

“I-I will! It’s just... “ Hinata paused for a moment.

He raised his face and stared at Kei’s face. Shouyou frowned at the amused grin on his face, and was instantly striked by a burst of competition. He took a step closer, looking up at him from his 163 centimeters. He squeezed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“O-okay! I’ll do it!” Hinata exclaimed.

Tsukishima froze, “Is he really going to…?” he thought, staring while the small boy stood on his tiptoes, trying to reach up to his face.

“Oi! Get lower a bit, you’re too...tall!” Hinata grumbled as he pressed his hands on Kei’s shoulders.

“Ah sorry! I forgot you were such a midget!” Tsukishima joked.

He bent his neck, bringing his face a few inches away from Hinata’s. His heart skipped a beat when his eyes locked with Shouyou’s big hazel eyes. He could feel the boy’s breath on his face, who suddenly gripped the collar of his shirt and brought himself closer.

“I said lower, Stingyshima!” Hinata scolded as he pulled his teammate further down.

He hesitated for a second, his lips were almost touching. He gulped at the intensity of Tsukishima’s gaze, and felt his lips tremble.

“No backing down...” Kei reminded in a whisper.

He was the one who finally sealed their lips together. It was just a graze at first, but a magnetic wave travelled in both their bodies. They pressed their lips harder, their eyes still wide open, as if pulled by a string.

It was Hinata who closed his eyes first, as Tsukishima tried to engage the kiss even more. He pressed a hand on the back of Hinata’s neck, at the base of the skull, and tilted his head to have a better angle.

Shouyou let out a small gasp at the touch of his fingers; his neck was apparently a weak spot.

Good to know… Tsukishima thought as he took advantage of the small opening that Hinata created. He brushed the tip of his tongue against Hinata’s upper lip, then bit the lower one.

“Mn~”

Tsukishima groaned at the cute sounds emitted by his small friend. He squeezed his eyes and let himself go with the flow. He pushed Hinata against a P.E. plinth beside them and leaned further. Kei’s kiss became greedier, deeper; he used his tongue to taste the sweet scent of Hinata.

Did he eat candy? he wondered.

Tsukishima felt Shouyou’s hands clench his shirt, and he heard himself moan as the fingers touched him through the fabric. Kei flinched when he felt a weird sensation grow at his crotch. He suddenly pulled himself away from Hinata, grabbing his small shoulders.

They were both out of breath; a small trail a saliva was apparent between them.

“H-happy now…?” Hinata was the first to speak. His whole face was a crimson red, and he had a hard time looking Tsukishima in the eyes.

His trembling lips were very attractive to Kei, but he still managed to straighten himself up. He turned around to hide his arousal and put his glasses straight.

“It was... not bad I guess…” Tsukishima shrugged. “Was that your first kiss, Hinata?”

Silence. He turned back around, raising his eyebrows, and was met with Hinata covering his face with his hands. His red ears were still completely visible. Kei grinned at such an innocent confession.

He sighed, “Look… it was also my first if that can reassure you…” he confessed, scratching the back of his head.

Hinata raised his face, looking at his teammate with tears in his eyes.

“Is it really true…?”

“Yep!”

“Then why…? You wasted it like this…”

“I told you: I thought it would be fun… and it was, surprisingly enough…!” Tsukishima mused. “Your face was priceless I have to say, ha ha!”

“S-shut up!” Hinata shouted, pushing Tsukishima against the wall. “You were really into it too! I saw it!”

He gritted his teeth and glared up at Kei.

“Can’t say I wasn’t…” Tsukishima admitted, a small grin on his face.

He raised a hand to Hinata’s face and brushed his thumb on his swollen lips. He licked his own, and the two boys felt a new tension grow between them.

“Ugh!” Hinata retreated, slapping the hand of his face. The red on his cheeks seems permanent.

He hurried out of the storeroom and flipped a middle finger at Tsukishima.

“I’ll beat you next time!” he declared. “And I’ll make you regret this!”

He sprinted away, almost hitting the door on his way, and headed to the changing room.

“Then I will have to win again…” Tsukishima chuckled as he exited the gym hall after his teammate.

What should I ask next time…? he pondered as he headed home.

This little challenge between him and Hinata was maybe not so bad after all..