Archive of Our Own

Tsukishima's back hurts so much.

Maybe from sitting for too long, or maybe leaning onto an old chair that is about to snap any moment now, or maybe some other things that his partner does to keep him awake all night long-

No, actually it was from sitting for too long.

His eyes were red, after staring at his laptop for a couple of days to no end, trying to finish his research papers, essays and other school requirements in his apartment because of the unexpected community quarantine due to the global pandemic.

A tint of red is already visible on his cheeks. Maybe he already caught a cold and absentmindedly ignored it to do work. Or worse, maybe he's already showing some symptoms of the virus.

But that wouldn't happen, he never stepped a foot outside his apartment for almost three weeks now.

Any minute now he might actually start to cry. He's finally even thinking that maybe walking to university and socialize is indeed less tiring than this. Trying to reach contact to his classmates, though he's in doubt that they're going to answer at this time of the day.

He even lost track of what day of the week it is now. He didn't even bother keep count.

Their professor kept bombarding them with work that is, for a fact impossible to do on their own. And setting them with a deadline that he's sure the whole class won't even able to meet.

He is getting tired, he sure is. Even though everyone sees him as a calm and collected guy, he knows when his body can't physically handle it anymore. Sleeping and even eating became too much of a bother to him now.

He asked himself why is he still doing these things when he's just going to get average credit at the end? He couldn't even remember the last time he got high grades during his college years. He always got average, and sometimes when luck and hardwork isn't on his side, he would get a failing one and take remedial classes afterwards.

He wondered what happened to everything he worked for in the college preparatory class when he was still in Karasuno. He's not even sure if he still got enough food left in the fridge, he's getting thin, his mother and brother are worried for him. Everything is just looking hopeless now.

Thanks to university, now, there's not a day when he doesn't want to kill himself.

Shaking his head clumsily, he sat right up again only to get dizzy and just wipe the tears he didn't even know were flowing down his eyes. Sounds of his fingers loudly tapping the keyboard slowly dissipates throughout the dorm again and again everytime the blonde gives up and stand and fall back down. The cycle just repeats, he's getting so tired of it.

He slumped back on the table, he can't take it anymore, all he wanted was a nice, alone time in his apartment during the quarantine. He never signed up for something like this.

He stayed in his position, breathing unstable as he tried to calm himself down.

The blonde didn't even hear his phone ring for the 5th time tonight.

He kept slouched down until he heard something loud from his apartment's balcony. Something must've busted the glass door perhaps?

As much as he wanted to stay in his table, he still wouldn't want to die by an  intruder trying to break in.

He slowly, but cautiously walked through his apartment until he arrived at the hallway leading to the balcony, and thank goodness it was just a pot that got knocked over.

But knocked over by what?

It was quite a large pot, having Monstera in them, his favorite houseplants. So he find it hard to convince himself that it was just the wind that knocked it down. Until he swung the glass door open and see a volleyball on the ground, with a sticky note of a smiley face written on it.

"So you are awake, dumbass."

Tsukishima sighed. There were days like this, especially now that he's working himself to the bone without having any glimpse of the outside world, he would sometimes forget that there is a simpleton living also in an apartment, his building right next to his, with their balconies facing each other. The blonde just looked up, not even caring if the raven-haired guy sees him wrecked from crying and just again, heave a sigh.

"Are you just going to stare at me? I've been calling your phone at least six times now- wait what the hell? Are you crying?"

Kageyama suddenly stood up straight, even leaning on the frame to get a good look the other's face since it's really dark.

"I'm busy, so will you please shut up for a while and don't break any of my pots again?"

Tsukishima, tired as he already is, still crouched down and tried to clean up the mess by picking up the large pieces of the shattered clay pot on the floor. He didn't even complain, he's just too tired to do so.

"Are you seriously trying to get yourself hurt? At least get a broom, don't pick it up." A grunt came short after.

The blonde flinched a little bit when a hand holding his wrist stopped him from what he was doing. He looked up to see Kageyama, now on his side of the building.

"Did you seriously just jump your way here?"

"It wasn't that far, so yeah."

Tsukishima mentally facepalmed. He wasn't supposed to be dealing with him at this moment, he has an essay to finish.

"Clean it up for me then, you're the one who broke it in the first place anyways.
Sanitize first before you enter my apartment." The taller guy stood up and went back inside, just to have Kageyama follow him.

Kageyama then went to look for the broom but his attention already went for the exhausted blonde working in the living room. The couch was full of books and papers, there were empty mugs all over the place and the dorm smells like coffee.

Maybe the cleaning could wait.

"Oi, have you been sleeping?" Kageyama called from behind, earning just a hum from the other, not taking his eyes off the laptop.

"Let's just say it wastes so much of my time being productive, so no." Tsukishima tiredly answered, still working.

"Alright, how about this?" Kageyama slightly pushed the blonde out of the way, quickly saved the document, turned the laptop off and abruptly carried the guy bridal style. His volleyball training regimen sure is handy not only inside the court.

"What the hell? Put me down you- mmph!"

Tsukishima was cut off by a sudden kiss from the other, causing him to blush up and feel more tired.

All of those papers he's working on somehow made him also forgot that he's dating this guy for some reason.

"Shut up, we're going to sleep. So stay quiet and at least do what your body needs." And that's all it took to keep the blonde quiet.

Surprisingly with no further protests from Tsukishima, Kageyama can't help but stay awake and just keep giving company while the other one slowly fell asleep on his arms. Gently stroking through his blonde locks, he definitely noticed the big change on Tsukishima's build. He lost a lot of weight.

Meanwhile on the other guy, even though Tsukishima is against it. He can't deny that his body was begging for a bit of rest. All of those all-nighters, skipped meals, stress and breakdowns, slowly but surely slipping away when he closed his eyes, sleeping soundly beside the person he somehow wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Thanks to him, there were also days when he wanted to stay alive as well.

Now feeling the sleepiness embracing him, he smiled.

His back won't hurt that much anymore tomorrow.