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The smell wakes Kei up before his alarm does, but it’s the much better interruption between the two. He keeps his nose buried in his pillow until the smell forces itself into his nostrils and his hunger overtakes most of his desire to remain static in bed. Kei drags his half-unwilling legs to the kitchen, his bare feet heavy against the laminated wood.
It’s not a fancy breakfast by any means. Yamaguchi is cooking eggs because it’s the only thing he knows how to apart from rice, and uncomplicated miso soup simmers in the post beside him. Still, Kei’s stomach grumbles. Loudly.
“Tsukki! Good morning!” Yamaguchi greets, setting an egg atop a bowl of rice and holding it out to him.
Kei takes it. “Good morning. Thank you.”
Yamaguchi hums as he finishes cooking the other egg, and Kei ladles soup into bowls for both of them before waiting at the dining table.
“Kuroo-san called,” Yamaguchi almost yells over the sound of sizzling oil against the hot pan. “He was looking for you.”
“Did he say why?”
“He has your book. He says you left it at the library yesterday.”
Right. “We’re having lunch later, so he’ll give it to me then.”
“You’re going out? Do you mind picking up a few things at the supermarket? I have a list.” The crackle stops.
“Sure.”
Yamaguchi settles in front of him, chopsticks in hand and bowls placed in between them.
“You have raw egg on your cheek,” Kei says, stirring the yolk into the rice as Yamaguchi eats.
“Gross.” Yamaguchi rubs off the offending substance with the back of his hand. “Thanks, Tsukki!”
“You’re too bright for the morning. Brighter than usual.” Kei squints, as if Yamaguchi’s cheerfulness can physically manifest in light.
“I can’t help it,” Yamaguchi smiles wider. “Tokémon Opal is out.”
He’d almost forgotten. “I forgot. You can’t get it today, though, right?”
Kei realizes it’s the wrong thing to say the second Yamaguchi’s smile sours. “My numbers didn’t get picked, yeah, so I have to wait until Saturday for the actual release.”
“That’s stupid,” Kei replies. It’s as much of an apology as it is a valid point.
“It is, isn’t it?” Yamaguchi’s every word riddles with exclamation points as his mood rises again. “But I hear there’s a new OV formula in this, plus a part of it is set in outer space, so today’s still pretty exciting!”
“Oh, cool,” Kei nods. They bathe in comfortable silence.
“I had the weirdest dream, by the way,” Yamaguchi says a few minutes later, through what should be his last mouthfuls of rice. “There was a dog.”
He elaborates: “I tried to pet it, and then it turned into Daichi-san.”
Kei stays silent for a moment more, but the next thing he hears is Yamaguchi slurping his soup. “That’s it?”
“We haven’t seen Daichi-san in years. In my dream, he was still wearing a gakuran.”
So that’s why. Yamaguchi loves swimming in a pool of nostalgia for Karasuno and volleyball, and once in a while tries to pull Kei in with him. Most of the while, he’s unsuccessful.
“I guess we should call him,” Kei attempts to humor Yamaguchi anyway.
But they won’t call. Yamaguchi will forget and Kei will pretend to have forgotten.
They eat.
“Kikkoman, two bottles,” Kei reads, and picks up one bottle from the shelf of condiments. Yamaguchi always overestimates.
The supermarket is unsurprisingly empty on a Tuesday morning, and Kei considers marking it official Errands Day until he realizes he’ll have to do grocery shopping alone from then on if he does, considering Yamaguchi’s classes don’t end until later in the afternoon. Only two items remain unstruck on Yamaguchi’s list, but the supermarket has yet to replenish their stock. Kei figures they can live a week without a pint of mayonnaise and ajinomoto.
Two out of the seven counters are open – the cashier at one is reading a manga, so Kei hauls his almost-purchases to that register. If Yamaguchi were with him, they would have been able to fill up two carts with the items they want in twice the quantity they need. Kei drops a single basket on the counter.
“Here’s your book, by the way.”
Kuroo hands Kei a blue paper bag when they finish eating. He winks.
Kei rolls his eyes. “Thanks. Tell Kenma-san thank you for me, too.”
“Sure,” Kuroo waves. “Really, how are you guys? I see you at campus semi-regularly, but I haven’t really seen Yamaguchi in a while.”
“We’re the same,” Kei replies, picking at his unfinished shortcake. “Yamaguchi’s just a little busier with his internship.”
“Ah, yes, our future Dog Whisperer.”
“Veterinarian.”
“Same thing. Anyway,” Kuroo segues. “I wanted to run something by you – Kenma said you wouldn’t agree, but I wanted to give it a shot anyway – since you have that extra bedroom, is it cool if Hikaru crashes with you for a bit? His girlfriend just broke up with him, so he had to move out, but he says he’ll pay half –”
“What extra room?” Kei interrupts. “The closet?”
“No, your apartment has two bedrooms, doesn’t it?”
“I live with Yamaguchi.”
Kuroo rolls his eyes. “I know that.”
“What extra room?” Kei repeats.
"Wait, you don't sleep in the same room?"
At that, Kei startles. One eyebrow shoots up to meet Kuroo's equal confusion.
"Oh, shit," Kuroo says, before Kei can say anything. "I owe Kenma two thousand, don't I."
"What?"
"Oh, Tsukishima-kun," Kuroo says, in the way that suggests he'll say something more than mildly annoying. "You and Yamaguchi-kun are dating, aren't you?"
His conversation with Kuroo swims in Kei's head even as he and Yamaguchi eat take out yaki udon on the couch hours later while they rewatch Yamaguchi's favorite season of his favorite reality show.
"It's too bad Mako-chan truned out to be pretty awful, huh," Yamaguchi muses. "I totally thought he and Yuna were going to end up together."
They sit the way they've always sat on this particular couch, with Yamaguchi snug against Kei's side, and Kei's left arm circling Yamaguchi's waist. Except now, Kei is hyperaware that he and Yamaguchi are cuddling.
"Nah, it was never going to work out between them, even if they eventually hooked up on the show. Yuna's pretty laidback, but Makoto seemed like he was there to find his soulmate or something."
In agreement, Yamaguchi nods his head against Kei's neck. If he hears Kei's breath hitch, he doesn't say anything.
"He is pretty serious, isn't he? I think some people would prefer that, though, over someone who was unsure about their relationship." Before Kei can ask what he means, Yamaguchi stands up. The cold hits his side like a punch.
"You done with that?" Yamaguchi asks, gesturing to Kei's bowl of udon. Kei nods.
"I'll throw it away. We should probably sleep – it's getting pretty late." Behind Yamaguchi, the credits roll.
"Wait," Kei says, pulling Yamaguchi down so he sits on the couch again. "I got you something. Wait here."
In response, Yamaguchi only looks up at him quizzically, but Kei takes that as his cue to grab the paper bag in his room. When he returns, he hands the bag to wide eyes and hesitation.
Yamaguchi peers into the paper bag.
And shuts it immediately after.
"You didn't!"
His excitement is contagious. Kei tries to hold back a smile; his failure is accompanied by Yamaguchi's own gleaming teeth.
"Tsukki, I love you!" Yamaguchi launches himself at him. The paper bag presses in between them, but it's the last thing Kei notices when Yamaguchi's entire body is on top of his.
"Find you a guy who gets you an early copy of Tokémon," Yamaguchi mutters into his shoulder. Kei's sure Yamaguchi can feel the warmth in his cheeks, in his neck.
"That's a very specific type."
"My only type is you, Tsukki," Yamaguchi laughs. Kei hopes he's amused enough to ignore the pounding in Kei's chest.
Yamaguchi pulls away, cradling the bag in his arms. His legs straddle Kei's waist.
"Kenma-san had two winning lottery tickets. He's the one you should thank," Kei manages to push out from his labored breating.
Yamaguchi beams down at him. "Kenma-san is really lucky. But I'm lucky to have you, too, Tsukki."
Arising from Kei's sudden euphoria, Kuroo's confusion from earlier echoes in the halls of Kei's psyche.
"Yamaguchi," he mutters, sitting up so they face each other, but not moving away too much so their legs rest on top of each other. Yamaguchi hums his reply, too preoccupied now with his game cartridge to listen.
"Are we dating?"
That gets Yamaguchi's attention. He sputters. "What? Dating?"
"Forget it." Kei flinches at the transparent disappointment in his own voice.
"No, no! Tsukki, that's not..." Yamaguchi tries. "What made you ask that?"
"Kuroo thought we were."
Comprehension dawns on Yamaguchi's features. He nods. "Yeah, I get that a lot, too."
"Really? From who?" Kei doesn't mask his surprise. Kuroo's assumption wasn't the first inference of that sort from their relationship, but it was the first from a close friend.
"I told Hinata and Kageyama they could be best men at our wedding."
"No way in hell either of them are going to be best anything at our wedding," Kei replies before he can stop himself.
Yamaguchi laughs. "Sometimes you know me better than I know myself, Tsukki."
"You're thoughtful and you're sweet and you motivate me to be the best version of myself, which I think is really cool," he continues.
"Yamaguchi –" Kei attempts, but Yamaguchi ignores him.
"And I'm so grateful. Even if I could be friends with anyone else in the world, I'd still pick you, you know?"
Kei stares. He melts at Yamaguchi's affection. At Yamaguchi.
"Yamaguchi, the next time someone asks if we're together, I don't want us to be lying when we say yes," he says.
Wordlessly, Yamaguchi leans his head against Kei's shoulder and laughs.
"I've liked you since high school. Since before that."
Kei takes both his hands. It isn't something they've never done before, but it suddenly feels like more than just touching skin.
From his shoulder, Kei hears Yamaguchi breathe out. "I feel like I'm dreaming."
Yamaguchi's eyes are already closed when Kei pulls his chin up gently.
Kissing him is like coming home.