The volley-ball team had finished their training session that day, and a small group had gathered in a corner, stretching their sore limbs.

“Hey Tsukishima, what is your class doing for the school festival?” Hinata Shouyo asked.

The small boy was sitting just in front of Tsukishima, looking at him with his big eyes, full of curiosity. Tsukishima’s eyebrows knitted; he didn’t like those eyes…

“I have no idea…” he sighed, trying to shut Hinata up.

“Huh? How can you not know? Do you not participate in the class activities?” Hinata pushed. “You’re really weird, you know…”

Tsukishima glared at him, “None of your business, shrimp…”

“Hey, you don’t have to be mean about it! Sorry for wanting to know more about your life, humph!” Hinata pouted as he shifted his stretching position to his other leg.

Kei flinched at those words and averted his eyes. “You don’t need to know about me…” he thought, gritting his teeth.

Tsukishima Kei was not the kind of teenager who is passionate about anything in particular. He is also a slacker, easy to give up when something asks too much effort. And the approaching school festival at the Karasuno High School didn’t change his attitude in the slightest.

“W-what about you then, Hinata-kun?” Yamaguchi Tadashi suddenly asked, trying to appease the tension between the boys.

Hinata shifted his attention, “We’re doing a Café this year!” he beamed. “And let me tell you, it’s a lot of work!”

“Oh that’s nice! So you’re going to be wearing a suit?” Yamaguchi asked.

“Y-yes something like that, haha!”

Hinata’s expression and tone had changed slightly, which Tsukishima immediately noticed. Kei raised his eyebrows and smirked discreetly.

You see, Tsukki had recently found himself unconsciously watching Hinata, to the point where he could tell when his little teammate was lying.

“So… you don’t mind if we come visit you on saturday then?” Tsukishima inquired, still smirking. “Coffee sounds really delicious, all of a sudden!”

Hinata’s eyes widened, “Ah, w-well, if you want… But um, there won’t be much to see you know…”

“Oh, it’s fine! I’m sure we’ll be entertained!” Tsukishima asserted.

“It’s decided then! We’ll come see you at the festival, Hinata!” Yamaguchi said with a smile as he and Tsukki started to head home.

--

The day of the festival came the next week, in early November.

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi arrived in the afternoon, taking their time to walk to Hinata’s classroom.

“I wonder how the girls in his class will be dressed?” Yamaguchi wondered.

“Maid cafe dresses!!” Two voices shouted behind them.

It was Nishonoya and Tanaka, their two other hot-headed teammates.

“Must be maid dresses!” they repeated in unison as they joined Tsukki and Tadashi in their walk.

“Hello Tanaka-san and Nishinoya-sempai! Are you coming to Hinata’s café too?” Yamaguchi asked.

“Of course! How could we miss cute girls in cute dresses!” they answered proudly.

“Pervs…” Tsukishima mumbled.

They arrived at the classroom and were seated by one of Hinata’s classmate: a girl in a maid dress.

“Woooh! It must be heaven!” Tanaka exclaimed when they were all sitting at a table. “They’re all so cute!” He continued with a slight blush on his face.

Tsukishima sighed, “They’re nothing exceptional…”

“Huh?! Do you have shit in your eyes Tsukishima?! They’re all really pretty!” Nishinoya gawked. “What is your type then? Do you know Yamaguchi?”

“Ah, n-no, Tsukki is really quiet when it comes to that…” Tadashi replied awkwardly.

“And you will never know…” Tsukishima thought, turning his head away from the discussion. “So bothersome…”

Coffee were brought to them, but after a while they noticed something:

“Hey where is Shouyo? I haven’t seen him since we came in...” Nishinoya remarked as he bit a piece of lemon cake.

“Yeah, now that you mention it! He shouldn’t be hard to spot though…” Yamaguchi added.

Tsukishima frowned a little, “I came to this class especially to bother Hinata, so the little idiot better be coming…!” he thought, his chin resting on his hand.

Kei slowly scanned the room, looking for a red-haired boy. But instead, he suddenly noticed, in the corner of his eyes, a petite girl dressed in a maid dress like the other girls of the class. She was discreetly standing back to the room, hunched over a tablelittered with pastries.

Tsukishima’s eyes seemed glued to this girl and her cute side pigtails.

“Wait! Did I just think ‘Cute’?!” he mumbled between his teeth.

“Did you find him, Tsukishima?” Tanaka asked as he heard Tsukki mumbling.

He darted his eyes to where the glasses boy was staring at and smirked.

“So this is your type, huh?”

Tsukishima jumped in his chair, eyes wide, “Huh?! No it’s not!!” he shouted.

“Oooh, on the defensive, are we?” Tanaka insisted, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Go talk to her!” Nishinoya intervened, winking at Tsukki.

The latter felt his cheeks become hot, “Mind your own business! Why don’t you go bother Kiyoko-san instead?” Tsukishima growled, getting up from his chair.

Suddenly, he heard a clunking noise on the side, where the girl was. He turned around and saw that she had dropped a few pastries on the floor.

Two of them ended their course at his feet. He lowered himself down to grab them and, after staring at them hesitantly, made a few steps towards the girl, who was now squatting down, picking up things on the floor.

“Hey, you dropped this.” He said.

It startled the girl, who slowly swirled around and looked up at him apologetically. “Ah, thank y- Gah!” The girl fell over on her buttocks, panick on her face.

Tsukishima’s eyes widened, frozen in place.

“Hi- Hinata?!” he shouted, incredulous.

The “girl” in front of him jumped up and backed away against the table behind “her”.

“Y-you must be mistaking me for someone else!” the “girl” said in cutesy voice, averting her eyes.

Tsukishima took a step closer, “Don’t try to fool, you idiot! I’d recognize those eyes in a million!”

He stared down at Hinata from head to toe and couldn’t believe he was fooled…

“Why the fuck are you dressed as girl?!”

“I- I didn’t have a choice okay!” Hinata retorted, his cheeks red. “ They wanted some of the boys in our class to dress as girls… So they… I was chosen to wear this stupid dress!”

The small teenager tried to cover himself, with no real success.

Tsukishima kept staring at his small frame, strangely captivated by this look. The slim legs, the narrow waist… He gulped as his eyes darted to Hinata’s slender neck and collarbone.

A voice broke his hypnosis: “Hey Tsukki! Hinata isn’t here after all, so we’re heading out! You coming?”

Hinata quickly turned around with a gasp; and Tsukishima realized that he was probably shielding the small boy with his own big stature.

“Yeah, I’ll be right there.” he replied, his eyes still on Hinata.

They heard the girl at the entrance say goodbye, and Hinata sighed.

“Shit that was close…!” he murmured, a hand on his chest.

Tsukishima grinned, “Better thank me, cutie! They would have found out if I hadn’t been here!”

Hinata turned to face him, squinting his eyes, “Why didn’t you tell on me…? Usually, you love annoying me…”

Tsukki’s eyes widened, “Yeah, why didn’t I…?” he thought.

“You will not tell the others, right?” Hinata pleaded, his big puppy eyes looking straight at him.

Tsukishima narrowed his eyes as an idea suddenly hit him. “Mm, I don’t know yet…” he said nonchalantly.

“P- please don’t! I…” Hinata said desperately.

“This might come in handy…” Tsukishima thought with a grin.
“Alright, then are you willing to be my sla… help during next week at the club?”

Hinata looked up, hopeful. “Y- Yes, of course! But you better keep your promise!”

Tsukishima raised his hand in a boyscout gesture. “Sure…”

“It’s a deal then!” Hinata said, extended his hand towards Tsukki.

After hesitating a few seconds, Kei shook his hand. Once again, he was taken aback by how frail his petite teammate looked right now, in his maid dress.

--

Tsukishima went home that day, not really understanding why Hinata’s attire had stirred so much in him…

“Is he my… type…?” he wondered, scratching the back of his head.

He put his headphones on his head and listened to loud music, hoping to forget about the whole day.