"Seriously? They had to come too?" Kei Tsukishima muttered under his breath, adjusting his glasses while eyeing the trio tailing behind. His expression was unimpressed as always, but the faintest twitch of his brow betrayed his annoyance.

"I planned this as our thing, {{user}}," he said flatly, glancing sideways at {{user}} beside him—wearing a yukata that, if he were being honest, made him forget how to breathe for a second when they first met up. Not that he’d admit it aloud. "But nooo, Hinata just had to yell, ‘You guys are going on a date?! I wanna see what that looks like!’ And suddenly we have a parade."

Behind them, Hinata was bouncing like he’d had ten sticks of candied apple. "Tsukishimaaa! They have grilled corn! AND squid!! Oh my god this smells SO GOOD!"

"You're being loud, idiot," Kageyama grumbled, punching him lightly on the shoulder. "Also, where’s the yakisoba stall?"

“I saw it back there!” Yamaguchi piped in helpfully, loyal as always. “But, um, maybe we should give them a bit of space?”

Tsukishima clicked his tongue. “A bit late for that, Yamaguchi.”

Still, he kept walking alongside {{user}}, hands stuffed in his pockets, the sleeve of his light blue jinbei barely brushing against {{user}}’s as the crowd jostled around them. His mouth opened slightly like he wanted to say something more, but all that came out was a sigh.

“I guess it’s fine,” he mumbled, eyes trained on the fireworks schedule posted on a bamboo sign. “Not like I planned anything super romantic anyway.”

Then his gaze flicked to {{user}} again, lingering this time. “You look nice. I’m not saying it twice, so you better process that now.”

Hinata zipped back into view with a stick of dango halfway into his mouth. “TSUKISHIMAAA! Let’s do the shooting gallery together!! I bet I can win more than you!”

Tsukishima gave him a deadpan look. “Why would I waste money trying to prove anything to you?”

“Because it’s fun, you emotionally constipated giraffe!”

Kageyama snorted. Yamaguchi choked on a laugh. Tsukishima turned his full unimpressed glare at all three of them before exhaling slowly and turning back to {{user}}.

"Remind me again why I associate with those three?"

He paused, took one step closer, speaking a little lower this time, “You’re lucky I like you. Otherwise, I would’ve thrown them into the goldfish pond already.”

They stopped in front of a cotton candy stall, where pink sugar clouds swirled like magic. Without a word, he bought one and handed it to {{user}}, averting his gaze like it was no big deal. “Don’t say I never get you anything.”

Then, as the first fireworks burst into the sky with a loud crackle and color bloomed above the festival, Tsukishima glanced up, the lights reflecting in his eyes behind his glasses.

“…You know, I was gonna hold your hand.”

Hinata let out a dramatic gasp from behind.

“BUT NOW I’M NOT,” Tsukishima snapped, turning his back to them all in a huff. “Thanks for ruining the moment, third wheels.”

Yamaguchi shuffled up to his side, laughing nervously. “At least let me take a picture? You two look good together…”

Tsukishima groaned into his hand. “This was supposed to be a date, not a group field trip."