How to fly with clipped wings (English ver.) HAIKYUU!! FAN FICTION

Chapter 64: The Semifinal

3/4 CHRISTMAS MARATHON

-------

Mikaela woke up feeling cold. She stretched out her hands, trying to reach for the warmth that she remembered feeling when she fell asleep. Tsukishima. Mikaela grimaced, stretching out her arms and feeling her bones pop. "Kei?" she mumbled, trying to force her eyes open.

No response. Mikaela blinked and sat herself up, yawning. Did he leave? No note, no sign of him- yeah, he left. Her game was earlier than his... so he had no reason to leave. What time was it?

She glanced at her phone. 7:04. She didn't have to be up for another hour. Tsukishima, not for another two. So where was he? "Shit," Mikaela grumbled, raking her bangs out of her eyes as she blinked at her bright screen.

Do I text him?

The click of her door nearly made her jump. Mikaela stiffened, but relaxed when she saw it was Tsukishima. He was holding two coffee cups in his hands and had his headphones over his ears. "Drink?" he asked, gesturing with the cups.

"Oh, sure," she said, stifling her yawn. "How long have you been up?"

"Few minutes."

He handed her one of the cups, and she took it from him and brought it to her lips, then paused. "You, uh..." Mikaela trailed off. "You know I don't drink hot chocolate all that much anymore?"

Tsukishima nodded, pulling his headphones off and setting them on the side table. "Coffee, two sugars. Kageyama mentioned it." He sat down next to her, leaning against the headboard of the bed.

She beamed, then smirked. "He mentioned it?" she teased.

He scowled. "Fine. I asked him."

"Aw," Mikaela cooed, nudging him with her elbow. "Thank you, Tsukishima. I thought you'd left."

"Kei."

"Kei," she agreed softly. "Okay."

They both sat in silence, sipping their drinks. After a minute, Mikaela tipped her head to lean on Tsukishima's shoulder. The sense of comfort she was feeling was indescribable; part of her wished that their games were later so that they could go back to bed and cuddle.

She let her free hand fall onto his thigh, and his free hand closed over hers. "Have to be up in an hour," Mikaela murmured.

"Yeah."

"Cuddle until then?"

"Sure."

And that was how Mikaela nearly missed her eight o'clock alarm and Hiba had to come and drag her out of bed. Despite her panic, Tsukishima had stayed in her bed, smirking at her the entire time, and although she hated that smirk and his cocky attitude, the soft look in his eyes was enough for her.

-------

Today they were up against Todokimachi High for their semifinal match. Mikaela had scoured online for videos, and from what she could see, they were a solid team with a knack for picking apart the ace and letting their opposition crumble around them. They'd seemed normal enough, but the videos hadn't been what bothered Mikaela. It was the interviews and articles with the teams they faced that worried her.

A lot of the people they interviewed that had just gotten off of a game with Todokimachi said that the team was 'sharp' and 'suffocating'. Mikaela could see the underlying frustration in the defeated ace's face and it was unsettling.

So they were going to target her. Nothing she wasn't used to. So why was she so worried?

"Captain? We've got to huddle up," Taki called. "Warm up's almost over."