Growing Pains

You were on your second drink of the night talking with Akaashi who was not drunk enough to join Mei or Bo on the dance floor when a new face joined you.

"I see you're distancing yourself from the chaos," the guy said. Akaashi hummed through his drink and took a moment before properly responding, "Happy birthday. (Y/n) this is Futakuchi, the captain for Dateko, Futakuchi this is Sugawara (Y/n). She's in our year. The sister of Karasuno's sister," Akaashi introduced.

"Happy Birthday," you greeted, but something over his shoulder caught your eyes. Blonde slicked back hair. You knew Futakuchi was speaking but your ears had stopped registering the sounds.

Your eyes transfixed on the area seeing Terushima talking to someone. Your heart sunk to your stomach. He looked angry at the world. His face was cold and brooding with the only smile being a smirk you'd expect a cat to wear just before it pounces on its prey.

If that was the version of him you had met first you would have been too intimidated to approach.

Koushi had left about a half hour ago. You had no other out except for Bokuto and you weren't going to make them leave. You downed the rest of your drink. "I'll be back, it was nice meeting you," you said to Futakuchi before walking back for another drink.

~~Terushima's POV~~

"Did you do that yourself," a girl asked. He was bored of conversation already. Focusing had been damn near impossible lately. "Yep," he shrugged disinterestedly. "I wonder if the curtains and drapes match," she flirted, resting her hand on his arm. "Keep wondering," he said and removed himself.

Admittedly she was hot, but he was not in the mood. He had work tomorrow and he had come to swing by for Futakuchi after a double. He wanted to go but he was missing Bobata.

How the fuck did Kazuma disappear already?

He pulled his phone trying to compose a text to locate his friend. He was way too sober for this.

~~~~~

He gave up on standing in place and hoping for the best. He froze in place as he watched someone half dragging a girl toward the rooms away from the main party. The image didn't sit right as he saw the unidentified female stumbling far worse than the guy. He spotted the captain from Nekoma.

"Hey, Kuroo," he called out. The older boy looked up. "Terushima," he asked confused. Terushima just nodded in front of them. Kuroo's eyes followed before narrowing in suspicion. "I'll go check it out," Kuroo confirmed walking after the guy.

Something wasn't sitting well in his stomach. He walked deeper into the party from the direction the two came. He froze watching someone drop something in a shot before handing it off. His blood boiled seeing the scummy asshole but he froze in place as he spotted who took the shot.

"Sunshine," he questioned without thinking. She set the empty shot glass on the table before looking over bewildered. He rushed over. The guy locked eyes with him and started running. Of corse now was when he saw Kazuma. "Lacer," he called out their code word. Bobata took off sprinting after the guy.

"What," (Y/n) asked panicking. "Hey, hey, I'm right here. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, let's head to the bathroom and try to throw that up okay," Terushima soothed. "What, throw what up," she asked. He gently took her shoulders. "That guy laced your drink," he shared point blank. Her eyes widened in fear. "Come on, you need to go throw it up," he coached. She nodded shakily and followed him.

She started to stumble as they reached the door. A terrified whimper escaped her. "Hey, it's going to be okay," he reassured. He knocked and there was no reply. He opened it and it was empty.

~~~~~

He was holding back (Y/n)'s hair as she started to sway. He pulled her back up and held her close to him. He looked up as the door opened. The girl he had seen earlier was brought in by Kuroo who had a busted lip. Kuroo's eyes locked onto (Y/n). Terushima could see the other captain's heart break behind his eyes as he silently pleaded if she was targeted too. He just nodded silently in reply.

The girl in Kuroo's arms retched and Terushima pulled (Y/n), sitting off to the side, holding her up. "The guy bolted immediately, Bobata took off after him," Terushima shared. "Fucking assholes," Kuroo growled furious as he helped the poor girl neither of them knew.

"Mai," Futakuchi's frantic voice called. "What the fuck happened," Futakuchi asked. "Some low lives crashed your party," Terushima shared.

There was a small tug on his jacket and he looked down at (Y/n). "Yuuji, I wanna go home," she pleaded in a small voice. "Did you come here with Bo, Meiko, and Akaashi," he asked. She nodded quietly. "Okay, we'll head back to the apartment," he confirmed. She nodded.

"Shouldn't they," Futakuchi trailed off. Kuroo glanced at (Y/n) shaking his head. Her going to the authorities would only bring up more issues for her, since it would potentially get her mother involved.

~~~~~
~Your POV~

You were trying to run but you couldn't move. The dimly lit and dilapidated walls extended further. Something was chasing you but you dared not to turn back at look. You pleaded and begged for your legs to move, going so much as to picture them sprinting. But they wouldn't cooperate. Something grabbed your shoulder and you woke up with a start.

You clamped a hand over your mouth trying to catch your breath after the stifled scream. "Sunshine," asked a familiar groggy voice. You shifted a bit to see your back had been leaned against his chest with his arms wrapped around you protectively. "Y-Yuuji? What," you started confused and trailed off.

What was he doing here? A deep frown etched into his face at the sound of your confusion. "You okay," he asked bypassing your questions. You nodded, hesitantly answering, "Nightmare." He nodded before speaking again. It was that same quiet, worried expression from the night of that awful dinner.

"What do you last remember," he prompted. "We were at Futakuchi's party. Koushi had left so I was hanging to the side with Akaashi for a bit. He introduced me to Futakuchi. I-... I saw you. I went to refill my drink. Someone started talking to me about wanting to open a bar and asked me to try a shot. Said I could watch him pour it. I did," you said as it started to get blurry.

"It was loud. I-I saw you again. Well, I heard your voice. I couldn't tell what it was above the music but it sound about the same tone as when you say sunshine. Um... the guy- the guy started running," you tried to recall but it got blurry. You tried to rack your brain.

"He laced your drink. Along with another girl's. Bobata and Kuroo got to him. They brought the other girl in for a tox screening to put the asshole away for good. We got lucky and got to you both before anything could happen," Yuuji explained. His words hit you like a ton of bricks. You sunk back down into his chest as the numb shock set back in.

"Really wish I found you under better circumstances," he mumbled into the top of you head as his fingers combed through your hair. You shifted to wrap your arms around him. "Thank you," you mumbled.

~~~~~

You woke up to people talking around you. You didn't open your eyes. "I don't feel right going. Not after what happened last night," Akaashi's voice argued. "You have to go talk with your dad. I'm not letting you do that alone. You think I want to leave my best friend's side after that? Look, Koushi's coming up today and Terushima hasn't left her side since. They have Bo and I think Kuroo wants to stop by check on her too. She's as safe as she can be right now," Mei's countered.

You listened for their footsteps. The two walked out and the door to the apartment closed. The lock clicked back into place.

This was basically the only time you'd be alone with him. Your head was pounding. You felt nauseous. Everything ached. It was definitely the worst hangover you had ever had. Your throat was so dry and scratchy and there was a constant pressure as if you wanted to throw up. You shifted as quietly as you could and Yuuji remained out cold as you stood, grimacing at the harsh lights.

You glanced back at him as he remained out like a light. He looked so exhausted. His hair was a little longer than when you last saw him, but the roots were evenly matched to the rest of it.

You walked back to the bathroom and tried to wash your face and teeth and with it wash away all signs of the night before. You went to grab pain medication but second guessed it, paranoid it might react negatively to whatever had been slipped into your system. You closed the cabinet and took a second to breathe.

~~~~~

Water had been doing a lot to help, but not enough. You had sat outside for fresh air and to be with your thoughts.

"Hey," Yuuji said from the doorway leading back inside. "Long time no see," you strained. The air around you grew thick. "How are you feeling," he asked sounding uncertain. "Been better, been worse," you answered, picking at the lint on your sweatpants.

The pressure from the awkward tension held you in place. You were locked in that spot. You had no idea where to start. After the way you left things....

"Um...," he started and trailed off. Your eyes darted to the side to steal a quick glance at him. "C- um.. Can we talk? A-.. um about last month I mean. The um... The dinner," he stammered. You darted your eyes back to your knees as he started shifting.

"Sorry about that," you apologized softly. "Why- What? I wa- you have nothing to apologize for. I was going to say I'm sorry if I only made things worse for you. I didn't mean to-," he started and trailed off. "I kinda of ran away before I could face any repercussions, so I'm more sorry for leaving you to deal with the aftermath of my outburst," You shared.

"You have nothing to apologize for. You stood up for me at your own expense," he countered. You looked over to see him still leaning in the doorway. He looked conflicted and confused. "Also, you did what," he finally asked.

"I might have.... climbed out my window when she sent me to my room," You shared, "I originally intended to come here but Koushi talked me out of it. I texted him as a warning to get out before she found out. Um he instead picked me up on his bike and brought me to his boyfriend's place." "Boyfr- he's-? That... kind of makes sense," Yuuji thought aloud.

You darted your eyes away from his. "Sorry for continuously dragging you into my shit. You deserve better than that," you said in small voice. "Oh, sunshine," he said sadly, "Look, I chose to be a part of your mess. I care about you."

You glanced up as he sat beside you. "If you need help staying hidden from your mom-," he offered. "Oh- um I don't have to worry about that. She signed legal guardianship to the Sawamuras. The uh-parents of Koushi's boyfriend," you shared, "So this is... this is home now, if I need anything I call them."

Yuuji's eyebrows furrowed in suspicion. "You're leaving something out aren't you." he asked. You looked over to see a knowing sad frown behind his weighted words. "Kazuma-.. uh Bobata, did the same," he shared.

"It was the first time she's ever gotten-," you started and couldn't say it out loud. Saying it out loud made it real. An arm just wrapped around you, pulling you in tight. "You don't have to talk about it," he all but whispered.

"I missed you," you admitted. "I missed you too," he replied.

"Why are you both outside. The sun burns," another voice complained. You looked up to see his friend Bobata. "Go back to sleep dumbass," Yuuji said. "You can't tell me what to do," Bobata countered.

"Hello again," you greeted. "How're you doing," Bobata asked. "Better I think," you replied. "That was very certain," he replied. "Someone's grumpy," Yuuji countered. "Yeah, I'm burning my eyes on the sun. Go back to being all cute or whatever I'm going to nurse a hangover," Bobata said.

"He stayed the night," you asked confused. "Don't worry he took Akaashi's bed they took your top bunk since you didn't want to leave the couch," Yuuji explained, "He wanted to make sure we were all okay." You nodded humming to yourself. Did not see that coming.

You pulled out your phone and went through, unblocking Yuuji's number. You straightened seeing missed calls.

"Please don't listen to those," he said softly. "Why not," you asked. "I was kind of panicking, slightly inebriated, and impulsive," he shared. "Well panicking and impulsive are pretty on par for the course," you teased.

Shock crossed his face first before A smile slowly grew. You felt a smile carve its way onto your own face. "Friends again," he asked. "Friends again," you confirmed.

"Oh thank god. I missed him," Bokuto blurted. You both looked over to see Bokuto, Kuroo and Bobata eavesdropping. "Kazuma you tit," Yuuji scolded. "Boooooooooo! We've been over this! Eavesdropping is invading boundaries," you whined. "It was his idea," Bokuto said pointing at Kuroo. "You fucking snitch," Kuroo complained.

You laughed as they started to bicker. "If he told you to jump off a bridge," Bobata asked. "Yes," the rest of you cut off.

"Hey! You. Sodium hypochlorite. I called the kid sunshine first. And where the fuck have you been for captain's meetings," Kuroo grilled. "I've been working dude. Escaping the financial clutches of one's parents requires some elbow grease," Yuuji said, "And I say it better." "Little shit," Kuroo said laughing.

"How are you doing," Kuroo asked turning to you. "Alive for now," you answered with a dry chuckle, "Managing the hangover better than Bobata." "Kazuma you're weak. She's also flushing GHB from her system and you can't even handle some sun," Yuuji teased.

"You came out here on your own accord," Bobata asked as they all stepped out to join you. Kenma waved sitting by Kuroo. He had apparently been hiding behind him this entire time. "Yeah, I needed the air," you said, waving back at Kenma. "You're nuts dude," Bobata said walking back inside. "That one yours," Kuroo asked Yuuji. "That one yours," Yuuji mirrored motioning to Kenma. "Touche," Kuroo said.

You noticed dried blood in a slit on his lip. You frowned and it caught his attention. You pointed to the same area on your own lip. "Ah. This? It's nothing. You should see the other guy," he replied playfully. You didn't buy that it was nothing.

The door opened and you could hear the panicked scrambling. Your head shot over to see who it was. "Loud," Bobata whined loud enough for you to hear. There was a mumbled voice before someone scrambled out onto the balcony. You looked up to see Koushi, frazzled, and wide eyed.

He started rambling apologies and how he tried to get there sooner. You just stared on wide eyed as Kuroo and Bokuto burst out laughing at the scene before you all. You yelped as Koushi launched himself over to pull you into a hug. The apologies continued.

You couldn't help but laugh in reply. "I'm alright onii. My friends were there to make sure I was okay," you reassured. Koushi took a proper seat beside you and started in on how you needed to be less trusting of strangers. You smiled sheepishly and chuckled.

~Terushima~

She was still leaned into his side. Everything felt different somehow. There was no real way to describe it other than that. Her brother was right. She was too trusting, too naive. How many times had she been tricked or conned before for being too trusting? Hell, she had jumped into a conversation with a stranger, running from her friend just because he made a reference to an anime she watched.

She had just gone through something traumatic, she had nightmares the whole night through, but here she was, smiling and laughing. She must feel awful. On top of a normal hangover her body was trying to flush the drug that had been laced in her drink. He was just exhausted and somehow she looked more lively than all of them.

She really was as bright as the sun.

Something moved in his peripheral. He looked over to see Kazuma poking his head out. "Hey, Yuuji, you call out are you still planning to head in today, I'm gonna head for the train in, either way," Kazuma shared. "Shit," he thought aloud, sighing out. He was too exhausted to think about working a full day and there was no way in hell he wanted to leave (Y/n) after last night.

"Working life sucks huh," Kuroo teased. Terushima hummed in agreement. "This is the last train before you'd end up late," Kazuma reminded. "Don't worry about me. Do what you need to do. I promise to respond this time," she reassured sweetly. "I'll try to swing by later," he reassured. "You're welcome whenever," Bokuto encouraged.

"Thank you, for being here to begin with her," Koushi said. Terushima looked at him a bit thrown. He nodded politely feeling a sense of unease still. So much has happened since meeting this girl, even with a month to try and process it all he still felt a bit like he was floundering.

"Take care, sodium hypochlorite," Kuroo teased. "Are you ever going to make a joke about anything other than my hair," Terushima asked standing. All of them except (Y/n) looked at him wide eyed and confused.

"What," he asked. "How do you know the chemical compound for hair bleach," Kuroo asked. "He works in a hair salon," Bobata shared. "We have a running competition that whoever can read the most ingredients labels without stuttering or messing up gets the larger cut of the days tips," he played off.

"How many times have you lost that one," Kuroo teased. "Lost," Bokuto asked confused. "The kid's a total airhead," Kuroo defended. He heard (Y/n) shift and glanced down to see she held a knowing a proud smile. "I think he might surprise you," she declared.

His heart melted like a million times before and she turned the beaming smile in his direction and spoke, "Have fun at work Yuuji! If you get any fun stories I'd love to hear them when you get back!" "You got it sunshine," he replied unable to fight off the smile she drew out.

"Why do you say that like you know something," Kuroo questioned and Terushima joined Bobata. Kazuma gave a knowing smile as they reached the door. "What," Terushima asked. "Nothing," Kazuma said quickly.

~~~~~

"Terushima," Misaki-san called. He knew what that tone meant. He grabbed the broom and dustpan before heading toward the sound of his boss's voice. He smiled in reply to the request to start sweeping.

"Look at you kiddo, someone's got pep in their step today," said the sweet old grandmother now in the chair. "All for you Reina," he charmed with the best smile he could muster. She started laughing and teasing to tell him to stop with the compliments. He bopped his head to the song trying to make the time pass quicker.

"Teru-kun," a voice called. He looked up to see the Johzenji manager and daughter of his boss. "Yo," he greeted. "You're looking more like yourself," she commented. He furrowed his brows confused. "You know, ditzy and carefree. As opposed to quiet, irritable, and pissy," she pointed out.

"Just getting my ass into gear," he teased. She nodded skeptically. "How's Runa doing," she questioned. "Good, she's starting to adjust. She actually yelled at Futamata the other day, thought you'd be real proud of that," he shared.

"Oh thank god," Hana sighed in relief.

"Hey how was Futakuchi's party," she asked. "It was great, until we caught some ass trying to lace drinks. Him and his friend got caught before anything happened," he shared. "Holy shit," Hana muttered shocked.

"You're oddly peppy for such a wild night, but you never did make much sense then did you? Adrenaline rushes always did get you hyped up huh," she thought aloud.

He shrugged trying to fight off a smile. She would never know what was truly going on in his head huh? It was easier that way.

"I also might have reunited with a friend," he shared, anyways. "What kind of friend," Reina asked. "Listening in on the teenagers gossiping again," Terushima asked. "I too am kind of curious about this, friend," Hana teased.

He rolled his eyes smiling. "Would it happen to be the pretty kind of friend," Reina asked knowingly.

He felt his cheeks flush. He hadn't really stopped to consider her appearance but she definitely was. There was no denying that, although he might be biased considering how much he had fallen for her. He thought he had just started to move on from it, but seeing her again, holding her in his arm, talking to her again... everything kicked back up.

"It's complicated," he answered finishing, sweeping up. "Complicated? I never thought you were capable of anything complicated," Hana teased. "I will have you know I am full of surprises," Terushima countered.

"Ahhh, so it is a friend of the pretty kind," Reina replied. "And more importantly the sweet kind," he added walking to the bin to leave the ladies with this new tidbit of information.

~Inuoka Meiko~

"Keiji, it's going to be fine," she reassured holding onto his hand. He nodded quietly. His mind was racing much too fast to hear her. She could tell by the far away look in his eyes.

Koutaro had been trying to get Keiji to open up and ask his parents for help, being they were his legal guardians after all, but he of course refused.

The tired deadpan was trying its best to hide the myriad of intense emotions just below the surface.

Meiko felt her frown only intensify. She checked her phone once more to see the updates from Koutaro and Kuroo. "How is she," Keiji asked. "Apparently laughing and smiling. Koushi is grilling her about being so trusting," she shared. Akaashi nodded.

"Bo said she and Terushima also, finally spoke. Kou said he's super excited they're friend's again and he finally left her side, but he'll be coming back later," she shared. Keiji nodded, but he didn't look like he was mentally present at all.

"Hey, Keij, look at me," Mei started. His eyes darted to her face. "Get a fucking grip," she said point blank.

If she could at least push him out of numb to angry she could keep him from falling into an anxiety or panic attack. That would enough, just for now.

"For fuck's sake Meiko, I'm trying," he snapped. She grimaced at the proper given name but tried her best to stuff it down. He had stopped fiddling with his fingers. "If I can't get this I don't have enough to keep up with apartment and neither does (Y/n). So if this falls through we could very well lose the apartment and then I'd be stuck as burden for the Bokutos once more, not to mention how it would displace Suga-chan," he worried.

"Hey, it'll be okay. You're always welcome to stay with me I know Kou not being out yet, kind of makes that difficult living there. And (Y/n) has a place with a million people," she reassured.

"Akaashi Keiji," a voice called. Mei watched Keiji's head perk up immediately. "Yes," he asked. The attorney just nodded for him to follow. Both stood from their chairs and started to follow the older man.

~Your POV~

Akaashi and Mei seemed pretty worried about something lately and them being gone half the day wasn't making you feel better. Kenma seemed to be the only one eyeing you suspiciously during your conversations with the boys. He seemed to suspect that you weren't as okay as you let on.

The door opened and Meiko was quick to take the other side of you. Akaashi walked out behind her and stopped to pat your head and ruffle your hair. "Hey," he said with a tired smile. "I'm okay," you reassured him. He eyed you warily and nodded, letting Bokuto pull him down into the former's lap. Something was definitely up with them.

"So what the hell is up with you two," Meiko asked Kuroo and Kenma. "He tricked me into dating him," Kenma deadpanned, looking back at his console. You erupted into a fit of giggles as Kuroo started stammering out flustered gibberish. He had an angry pout and red cheeks by the time he choked out, "I did not trick you!"

"You were all nice, and cute, and sad and you gave me apple pie to apologize. It was totally not like you I had to say yes," Kenma delivered flatly but a teasing smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.