After being best friends with Tsukishima for so many years, you'd constantly been subjected to his sass, and you often returned it. Most of the time it was light-hearted and playful, but sometimes, the words cut deeper than expected.

Whether it was facetious comments murmured under his breath or sarcastic remarks made straight to your face, Tsukki always seemed to have something to say.

"You're such a creature of habit, (f/n). That (favorite food) of yours that you eat for lunch is so boring," Tsukki commented as you sat down next to him during lunch.

"You're one to talk. All you ever do every single day is throw shade," you retorted as you began eating your lunch.

Tsukki simply scoffed at your response. "Lame." You rolled your eyes jokingly and nudged him with your elbow, earning a glare from him out of the corners of his eyes.

You two found just about anything about one another to poke fun at, so you could never let your guard down with him.

One day, as the two of you walked outside during lunch, Tsukki put his hand up to shade his eyes from the glaring sunlight. "I could really use some sunglasses," he complained.

"I didn't think you'd need sunglasses since you always act so shady," was your fast response.

"You wouldn't know what kind of predicament I'm in since you're so blind and oblivious."

"If I'm so blind and oblivious, then how did I manage to finish those math problems faster than you?"

"Well I could hardly see the board since your damn hair was in the way."

"You're really going to blame that on my hair?"

"Yes."

"Saltykishima..."

Tsukki grumbled.

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Even though your frequent banter was usually funny and entertaining, there were times when either one of you really didn't appreciate the jabbing words. Today just happened to be one of those days for you, especially since you were sleep-deprived, annoyed with life, and just irritated in general.

You smoothed down angry pieces of your (h/l) (h/c) hair as you stomped through the hallways of Karasuno towards your class.

"What's up with that hairdo, (f/n)?" you heard Tsukki comment with a snicker as he looked down at you with that mischievous gaze of his.

"Ugh, I don't know..." you growled as you furiously tried to tame your wild hair. It irritates you that you'd gone to such lengths to make it look nice, yet it had just gone straight to hell.

"How many brushes did you break trying to untangle that mess this morning?"

You felt your blood boil at the amount of self-consciousness you were feeling about your hair because of his teasing. "The answer is zero, and my additional comment is that you should leave me the hell alone."

With that said, you stalked into the classroom to take a seat at your desk, leaving Tsukki feeling slightly shocked.

About halfway through class, as you were copying down notes off the board, you heard Tsukki's facetious comment echo from where he sat behind you. "Do you know how hard it is to see past that big head of yours? Your hair is puffier than usual today."

You turned slightly to glare at him out of the corner of your (e/c) eyes. "There's an empty desk at the front of the class for visually challenged people like you, you know," you shot back before sighing angrily and returning your attention to your note taking.

"Yeah, but then if I sit in the front of the class everyone will be complaining because I'll be in the way. I'm too tall to sit there," he explained with a shrug, brushing his short blonde hair out of his face.

"Well, then, I guess you'll just have to suffer."

"Or maybe you could move your head down a little bit? You make a better door than a window."

You pressed a finger against your forehead and willed yourself to be calm and keep your shit together. "You know what? Just leave me alone," you snapped quietly. You could've sworn that you heard him murmur something else, but you didn't have the energy to care. You'd already decided that you weren't going to respond unless he had something nice to say.

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During lunch, you reluctantly walked to your normal spot and set your bag down on the bench next to Tsukki. As much as you wanted to like him because he was so cute, it was really hard for you to do that at the moment since he was really pissing you off.

"Did you put your clothes on in the dark or something?" he asked, an eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"What?" was your almost automatic response as you sat down next to him.

"Your shirt's all crinkled and your buttons are uneven... Tch, did you even look at yourself before you left your house this morning?" he questioned.

You didn't respond, and you self-consciously checked your shirt to find that it was, in fact, messed up. You cursed in your mind as you started trying to straighten it out. You couldn't fix the buttons while you were in public, of course. I'm such a mess today... you thought with annoyance.

"Do you really still need your mom to help you get dressed?" Tsukki continued, rubbing more salt in the wound. You grumbled quietly as you felt yourself growing more and more frustrated. "It's like you didn't even try to look decent today."

That comment struck your final nerve, and there were tears in your eyes before you could stop them. "You have no idea what I'm going through! You have no idea what kind of stress I'm trying to deal with! And since when did my looks become so important to you? Honestly, you're making me feel so damn self-conscious and I hate it. Just leave me alone!" you yelled at him. You then turned away from him and cried, covering your face with your hands and hoping that nobody else was looking at you.

"H-Hey—"

You felt a hand touch your shoulder, but you pushed it away angrily. "Don't touch me! Just leave me alone!" you reiterated. You continued to fight against his grip until you eventually gave up and let him pull you closer to him.

You rested against him and buried your face in his shoulder as tears continued to flow down your cheeks, and he held you somewhat awkwardly in his arms.

"(F/n), I—"

"If you've got another smart-ass comment, just keep it to yourself, Kei."

You heard Tsukki sigh deeply, and you felt his arms tighten around you. "Listen. I'm sorry that I teased you. I didn't know that you were dealing with so much... and... I guess I just went too far, so I'm sorry," he apologized quietly. His chin eventually came to rest on your shoulder. "And you should know by now that I—"

"There you go again with that condescending tone of yours..." you interrupted softly but angrily.

Tsukki took a deep breath and started again. "I don't try to make you feel self-conscious and I never mean to make you feel as if I'm insulting you, you dummy."

"You have such a way with words."

"The only reason why I tease you so much... is because... because..."

"Just say it already!"

"Ilikeyou."

"What was that?"

He murmured something unintelligible again, and you kept pressing him until he finally said it loudly and proudly. "I. Like. You," he stated, "I like you... a lot."

You pulled away from him slightly as you felt a grin creep into your lips. "You do?"

He immediately turned away, looking flustered as his cheeks reddened slightly. "Yes..." he muttered.

Your smile brightened. "I like you too, Kei," you told him, making his cheeks glow with embarrassment.

You were about to give him another hug, but Yamaguchi showed up and sat down next to you. Now that you wouldn't be alone, Tsukki got up and practically sprinted over towards the nearest vending machine, complaining that he needed something to drink.

"What a nerd," you sighed.

Needless to say, Yamaguchi was left utterly confused and wondering what he'd missed.

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Requested by @ryou-chan
Hope you liked it!
Up next: Nishinoya Yuu