Work Text:
It's roughly 1 am when Tsukishima stood on the balcony of his dormitory, sipping a glass of Whiskey. The blond had headphones on while he scrolled through old messages between him and Yamaguchi. They had grown distant after high school, wanting to follow different paths in life. Kei wanted to go pro, after all. The riff of the song he kept replaying in his headphones added to the quiet yearning of his heart. He never said it out loud, but he had always felt more than a platonic attraction towards the green-haired man. He realized he fell hopelessly in love with the latter in their first year of high school, during the match they had won against Seijoh.
“Have you got colour in your cheeks?”
Every time they had hung out back in high school, Yamaguchi’s cheeks would flush with a light pink color when they were alone. Was it due to love? Or embarrassment? Kei wasnt sure —maybe a little of both. His chest ached with a sense of longing, due to the thought of the other. He missed his freckles, his face, his presence, and just Tadashi in general.
“Have you no idea that you’re in deep?”
Oh, Tadashi. He had no idea how long Kei had been silently yearning, begging, and pleading to be by his side again. Of course, he would never say that to anyone. He wanted to meet up with the freckled face and tell him how desperately he wanted to embrace, cherish, care, cradle, and kiss him. He would do anything to stumble upon Yamaguchi in person again. If Yams saw this side of him… he’d probably think Kei had lost it.
His thumb hovered over the call button, hesitant to press it. Was he sure that Tadashi would pick up? He wouldn't want to risk calling at this hour. He would probably awaken the poor man. He decided to exit out of messages and set his phone down on the small coffee table outside. He sighed into the cold winter air and shivered.
“‘Cause there’s this tune I've found, and it makes me think of you somehow”
“And I play it on repeat, until I fall asleep”
The song continued to play in his headphones and it comforted Kei. It reminded him of Yamaguchi. He leaned on the fencing that surrounded the balcony, throwing his head back to allow himself to enjoy the music.
“Crawlin’ back to you,”
“You have me crawling back to you, Yams. What am I gonna do with you?” He chuckled softly, gazing into the snowy night. The snowflakes were falling beautifully down onto the ground. Snowflakes reminded Tsukishima of Yamaguchi in a way. The snow sort of resembled his freckles. He knew since the Seijoh match during their first year, that he was long gone for the freckled man.
“Ever thought of callin’ when you've had a few?”
“‘Cause I always do,”
Kei wished that Tadashi had made a move to call, contact, or meet up with him again. Despite having each other’s numbers, they hadn't messaged each other and had a proper conversation since they started college. If ‘Dashi ever were to call him about anything, Kei would pick up the phone in a heartbeat.
“Maybe I'm too busy being yours to fall for somebody new.”
Tadashi never realized, but Kei’s heart belonged to him. From the moment The blond stood up for him when they were younger, Tsukishima offered his heart to the green-haired boy without realizing. Ever since Kei came to the conclusion he liked Yamaguchi, he declined every move that the other girls in high school made on him.
Kei stared at his phone that was placed on the coffee table earlier. He grabbed it, paused his music, and opened his messages app.
“Do I wanna know if this feeling flows both ways?”
“Sorta hoping that you stayed.”
“Baby, we both know that the nights were made to say things we can't say tomorrow day”
“Do I wanna know?”
“Too busy being yours to fall-”
“Ever thought of callin’, darlin’?”
“Do I wanna know?”
“Do you want me crawlin’ back to you?”
“Fuck it.” He glared at his phone once more and proceeded to type something out before hitting send. Adrenaline coursed through his veins at the action. He needed to talk to Tadashi once more.
Messages — 2:32 AM.
Kei Tsukishima ➤ Tadashi Yamaguchi
⭐︎Kei 👓🏐⭐︎: Hey, You up?
He hit send.
His heart hammered like a drum in his chest, loud enough to drown out the final notes of the song. For a long moment, nothing.
Then—his phone buzzed.