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There were three things Tsukishima knew about Yamaguchi.
First, he was an early bird. It was a secret for nobody actually. Yamaguchi would always be the first one to wake up at their apartment, and the first one to arrive at the hospital in the morning. It was a habit of his that Tsukishima hated if he had to be honest. He wasn’t much of an early bird, rather a night owl.
Second, he was a ray of sunshine. All the freckled boy had to do was to smile or talk and the room would be lighter. It was as simple as that; a second in the same place as Yamaguchi was enough for anybody to notice how much light he radiated. It was a fact that Tsukishima learned to like, somehow.
Third, Yamaguchi liked pain. This was a more subtle trait of Yamaguchi that no one actually knew. But Tsukishima was looking right at it as his friend was smiling, bouncing his way into the hospital’s corridors, very happy about doing chores . Tsukishima wrinkled his nose, glaring down at Yamaguchi.
“I can’t stand you.” There was no real venom in his tone, but even if there had been, Yamaguchi was immune by now.
Yamaguchi just laughed, rolling his eyes. “It’s fun, Tsukki!”
“There’s nothing fun about working that early,” Tsukishima countered, squinting. “Plus, the patients will be grumpy.”
“Well, you should get along then!” Yamaguchi teased, sticking his tongue out and opening the first door.
Tsukishima kept his snarky remark to himself as he entered the room behind Yamaguchi, flicking the smaller light on.
“Hello Hanajima,” Yamaguchi whispered cheerfully, walking to the old lady in the right bed. “We’re sorry to disturb you, but we have to check on you.”
Tsukishima tore his gaze away from his friend to look at the left bed, where Mitsuru, a young man, was laying. He was looking at them, expressionless. Tsukishima sighed, knowing he would have to take care of him since Yamaguchi was already with the other patient.
“Sorry to-” He started, approaching the man.
“Yeah, I know the refrain. Please, hurry up so I can go back to sleep.” Mitsuru interrupted him, at the exact moment the old lady was answering “Of course young boy, don’t be sorry about it!”
Tsukishima took a few seconds to breathe in, praying to every god he knew to give him the patience he needed to get through this day. He heard the lady whistle slightly at Mitsuru’s comment, but ignored her and started taking the man’s vitals.
“Some people really don’t like mornings, right?” Hanajima spoke, earning her a glare from the other patient. What Tsukishima would give to do the same. “They should get along pretty well.”
Tsukishima put his nose up in the air this time, and turned to glare at Yamaguchi who was openly laughing, looking at him with amusement.
“I know, right?” Yamaguchi humored, answering to the old lady. “They’re best friends, look!”
Misturu wrinkled his nose at Tsukishima's side, and Tsukishima couldn’t agree more with him. He purposely ignored the conversation, focusing on his task, eager to just finish this morning as soon as he could.
“Ah,” The old lady sighed happily, “Friendship truly is the most precious thing in this world.”
Yamaguchi laughed, and added, tone growing more and more teasing. “I know, right? Their friendship is definitely made to live forever.”
This time Tsukishima rolled his eyes. He let the two friends talk together, taking care of his own patient. But the moment they were out in the corridors, he turned to his best friend with a pointed look.
“You’re impossible,” He stated nonchalantly.
Yamaguchi only smirked at him, blinking exaggeratedly, faking innocence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He pushed a clipboard onto Tsukishima’s chest and added. “You’re taking care of Seki today.”
There were actually four things Tsukishima knew about Yamaguchi. And the fourth fact was unknown to everyone but him. Yamaguchi was evil. And if he had to be honest, that was a part of his friend he liked very much.
Still, he groaned. “I hate you.”
“No you don’t.” Yamaguchi teased, laughing slightly before opening the next door, disappearing
behind it and closing it on Tsukishima’s nose. Tsukishima couldn’t help the small smile on his face as he turned around, heading to his own patient’s room.
There was one thing Tsukishima was sure about himself. As Yamaguchi said, he didn’t hate Yamaguchi. Actually, he had a huge fucking embarrassing crush on his childhood friend and he was absolutely not subtle about it. And maybe, just maybe he liked pain too, since he always agreed to the morning shifts with Yamaguchi.
—
“Let me guess.” Kenma spoke out the moment Yamaguchi put down his tray on the table, sitting down next to him. “You got the morning shift?” He didn’t even bother to wait for an answer before he plunged his fork back into his food, biting into a chicken piece.
Tsukishima took his place in front of Yamaguchi, ignoring the blonde’s question. He started playing with his food, not feeling very hungry, ignoring once more Kenma’s look. He was grateful that his friend said nothing though, turning his head back to Yamaguchi who asked, biting into his sandwich:
“What makes you say that?”
Kenma put down his fork, sipping on coffee. Tsukishima didn’t know how he could eat lunch while having coffee, but truly, this drink had become their number one friend since they started as interns. So he said nothing, focusing on Kenma’s answer. “You look happy as shit, and asparagus over there looks tired as shit.”
Tsukishima wrinkled his nose at the nickname and was about to protest when someone plopped down next to him, sighing dramatically.
“That’s their everyday self, Kozume,” Akaashi interrupted, opening his can of juice. He ignored Tsukishima’s disgruntled look, continuing. “I still wonder how they get along.”
“Opposites attract!” Yamaguchi simply said, shrugging as if he hadn’t just put Tsukishima’s world upside down in a matter of seconds. Tsukishima took a mouthful of rice, miserably trying to hide his blush, and purposely avoided Kenma and Akaashi’s pleased faces.
The thing was, if Tsukishima’s crush for his best friend was obvious for their friends, it remained an absolute secret for Yamaguchi. And sometimes, more often than not, the fact that Yamaguchi was the most oblivious being he knew didn’t play in his favor.
“Plus,” Yamaguchi continued, unbothered. “You’re the one to talk.”
Akaashi shrugged, drinking and flicking his gaze on Kenma. “What I was trying to say was that they are always happy as shit and tired as shit.”
“We got it the first time, thank you,” Tsukishima gritted his teeth, squinting at the man at his side who only gave him a pointed look.
“That’s because Tsukki is a night owl.” Yamaguchi explained, still chewing on his sandwich, looking at his friends as if this conversation was really important. “He prefers night shifts to morning ones.”
“Who prefers morning shift?” Akaashi asked in disgust.
“Early birds.” Tsukishima answered, wrinkling his nose.
“AKA, Yamaguchi.” Kenma cleared out, vaguely gesturing to the freckled boy.
Yamaguchi pouted slightly, turning his sharp gaze to the blonde. “And what are you then, Kenma?”
Akaashi snorted, almost choking on his drink as he spoke. “He’s a permanently exhausted pigeon.”
The small table erupted into laughter, ignoring Kenma’s glare and slightly pink cheeks at the sudden attention, attracting some pairs of eyes on them. Kenma quickly looked around the cafeteria before countering, teeth clenched:
“Then you’re the whole aviary, Keiji.”
Akaashi’s laugh ended so abruptly it sent Yamaguchi and Tsukishima on for another round, as they were both enjoying this little battle.
Yamaguchi grinned, swiping a false tear before adding. “You get it Akaashi? The whole aviary, because your old school had a bir-”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” Akaashi interrupted, glaring at Kenma through squinted eyes and standing up quickly. Kenma only smirked at him, one brow raised as Yamaguchi was still laughing at his side. “I have better things to do.” Akaashi concluded, turning on his heel to head outside.
Kenma sighed, a teasing smile still on his lips as he got up too, adding. “I have to go too. Yaku needs me for an intervention.”
“Good luck!” Yamaguchi chanted, smiling, at the same time Tsukishima retorted, teasing, “Make sure the patient is well anesthetized this time.”
Kenma gave him a flat glare, walking away with his tray and Yamaguchi gave him such a violent kick under the table that he actually winced.
“What was that for?” He complained, brushing his hand over the pain.
Yamaguchi only sighed, shaking his head before eating his last bit of sandwich. “Well, there’s only the two of us left,” he spoke, looking around, to which Tsukishima answered with a small ‘yeah’. “This is the only bad part of morning shifts. We’re the only ones free, and no one is here to play with us.”
Tsukishima never said it, but that was the second reason why he liked morning shifts, the first obviously being spending time with Yamaguchi. Their friends would always be busy all day, which left the two of them pretty much alone.
“What do you want to do?” Yamaguchi asked, turning back to him in a bright smile.
“Want to practice stitches?” Tsukishima offered, knowing Yamaguchi would say yes anyway. Yamaguchi smiled brighter, sending Tsukishima’s heart in a loop before standing up, getting rid of his tray.
They both walked to their favorite corridor, where hospital beds were displayed, without anyone around to disturb them. It truly was a calm place, somewhere first years would gather up during their free time, collapsing on the different beds and complaining about how hard their lives were. It was fun, Tsukishima had to admit.
Yamaguchi slumped down on the bed, already working with medicine utensils to practice his stitches. Tsukishima sat down next to him, looking at his hands working, occasionally giving him advice. It was simple, it was quiet, it was them.
“I’m hungry.” Yamaguchi spoke after a few minutes of silence.
“You just ate.”
“But I started thinking about the fact that we probably won’t have time to eat before late tonight so now, I’m hungry.” Yamaguchi pointed out, sticking his tongue out at Tsukishima.
Tsukishima snorted, not surprised at all. This was something he had always found odd about his best friend. Even with his small body, the boy could eat for two if he wanted. Most of their breaks at the hospital were spent with Yamaguchi eating a snack, and most of their time at their apartment was spent with him cooking and Yamaguchi tasting everything before it was even ready.
“I’ll cook something for you tomorrow.” He answered quietly, leaning his head against the wall behind him. “We finish early tomorrow, right?”
Yamaguchi yawned and nodded quietly. It took him a few more seconds before he spoke, slowly. “That’s nice, thank you Tsukki.”
Tsukishima only hummed, looking at the ceiling. He knew by Yamaguchi’s tone that the boy would be quick to fall asleep. It was something he was used to. Waking up so soon in the morning and spending all his energy on his patients could be really tiring, Tsukishima didn’t know how Yamaguchi was doing it. But that led him to be tired during the afternoon if he wasn’t active, and that was what happened a few minutes later, as Yamaguchi’s breath steadied and his head fell gently on Tsukishima’s shoulder.
And as used to it as Tsukishima was, the warmth on his shoulder, the soft breathing of Yamaguchi so close to him, and the gentle smell of his perfume still made his cheeks heat and his chest squeeze.
God, he was so screwed.
“Tsukishima? Yamaguchi?” Hinata screamed a few hours later, making the blonde jump in surprise and hiss at the shorter boy emerging from the closed door. Hinata’s face illuminated as he made his way to the two friends. “Ah there you are! I’ve been searching for-” He stopped dead in his momentum when he noticed Yamaguchi still sleeping on Tsukishima’s shoulder. Tsukishima hated himself as he felt his cheeks heating ever so slightly. This didn’t get unnoticed by Hinata, who grinned at him, posing both hands on his hips. “Oh?”
“Shut up,” Tsukishima growled, cheeks turning redder and redder. “What do you want?”
“Right now, I want to know how are you feeling all cuddled up like that with yo-”
“Say one more word and I’ll make sure you won’t do trauma ever again.” He said through clenched teeth, menacing.
Hinata rolled his eyes but gave up, sighing dramatically. “Fine, but you’re no fun. Oikawa is asking for you, and since Yamaguchi is always with you, he said to bring him too.”
“You really are staying in trauma too much, you're even taking Oikawa’s antics.” Tsukishima growled, slowly moving around to wake up his friend. Hinata only stuck his tongue out at him in response as Yamaguchi woke up, scrubbing his eyes.
“Ah, I fell asleep?” He asked, turning to look at Tsukishima, who kept his gaze away from his friend who was still way too close for his own good.
“Yeah.”
“Sorry, Tsukki.”
“It’s okay.” He grumbled, standing up. “Let’s go, Oikawa needs us.”
“Oh, right, okay.” Is all Yamaguchi says, yawning again, still slowly extirpating himself from sleep. Then, he noticed Hinata, who was still grinning at them. “Oh, Hinata?”
“Hi Yamaguchi! How did your nap go?” He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
Yamaguchi only shrugged, getting out of the bed at his turn. “Fine, Tsukki’s warm.” He said, flattening the top of his head —uselessly since his little antenna flew back up, making Tsukishima’s heart skip a beat— as if it was nothing.
Hinata snorted. “Oh, I’m sure he is.”
What Tsukishima would give to kick the small boy, maybe he could even get him to be in a hospital bed and he would be the one teasing and being a giant shit. Truly, Tsukishima was just exasperated. If Hinata of all people noticed how head over heels he was for his best friend, he wouldn’t be surprised if the whole hospital staff would be aware of it too. That would lead to Yamaguchi being the only one not knowing, which Tsukishima didn’t know if it was a good thing or not.
—
“I used to be young, too,” Hanajima sighed dramatically, looking at the ceiling, nostalgic. She had been talking like this for ten minutes now, and Tsukishima was seriously starting to get annoyed. But Yamaguchi seemed absolutely fine.
“What are you saying?” Yamaguchi laughed, winking. “You still look pretty young to me!”
Tsukishima couldn’t help the wrinkle of his nose, and he focused on listening to his patient’s beating heart to prevent him from eavesdropping on their conversation. He noticed the smugness on Mitsuru’s face, and dared to glare at him.
“Oh, my boy, don’t waste your time with fried sardines like me,” she giggled, and Tsukishima was sure she winked at Yamaguchi back. He didn’t turn around to look though; this wasn’t his conversation, she wasn’t his patient, and he had other things to take care of. Like his own patient, who was now fully grinning at him, one brow raised.
“Come on! I’m not wasting my time — can you sit up please? — I love talking to you!” Yamaguchi answered, cheerful as usual.
Tsukishima closed his lips in a firm line, posing his stethoscope a bit more firmer than necessary on the man’s skin. He didn’t seem to mind though, and even looked like he was enjoying their neighbors’ conversation very much.
“You’re a very nice boy! But come on, we all know you’d better be with a strong, tall person!” She giggled, and added, “Like that blonde over there.”
Tsukishima froze for a second, narrowing his eyes, heart skipping a beat in his chest. He waited for Yamaguchi’s answer, which came not even seconds after when he laughed happily. Tsukishima didn’t know how to take his, but he relaxed, going back to checking Mitsuru’s vitals.
“I mean,” the old lady continued, “he could probably put a bit more joy in his life, but I guess you have enough joy for him, right?”
Tsukishima almost choked at the words and he felt his cheeks heating, guessing that they were turning crimson. He made sure to keep his head down, ashamed, but found out it was a terrible idea as Mitsuru had a full view of his flushed face. And he laughed, the little bastard; he cackled, clearly mocking Tsukishima. Tsukishima glared at him, putting a few medications into the man’s hand violently.
“Eat.” He commanded, but the man only kept laughing, clearly enjoying Tsukishima’s embarrassment.
“That’s mean, Hanajima,” Yamaguchi countered with a hint of malice in his voice. “Tsukki’s not that bad. He can smile sometimes.”
“I’m sure he can even be embarrassed,” Mitsuru teased, cackling.
God, Tsukishima was so screwed. His crush was even known among the patients, and truly, it wasn’t fair. He glared harder, shoving a cup of water in Mitsuru’s hand and commanded again: “Drink.”
“Well,” Yamaguchi continued, and his tone was light, pensive. Tsukishima didn’t dare turn around to look but he knew Yamaguchi had a finger on his cheek, frowning slightly. “I’ve seen him embarrassed a few times, yes.”
A few times would be an euphemism. They knew each for so many years now, Yamaguchi had surely seen him embarrassed a lot more than “a few times”. Even more since he learned about this stupid crush on his friend, and had been blushing every time Yamaguchi would be oblivious.
“Well then,” Hanajima whispered loudly, teasing. “Go get your man.”
Tsukishima straightened up, taking the cup from Mitsuru’s hand who was still grinning, and turned around quickly, heading outside.
“I’m done.” He said, firmer than he intended, not casting a single look behind as he left the room hastily. He slowed down once he was in the corridors, plunging his head into his hands. He felt stupid. How could he let a crush get into him like this? It was ridiculous.
He was about to go check on his next patient when a familiar voice interrupted him.
“Tsukki?” Tsukishima took a long breath in before turning around to his friend, who was frowning at him, clearly worried. “Are you okay?”
He rolled his eyes, hoping it was convincing enough. “Of course.”
Yamaguchi frowned harder, insisting. “I’m sorry. Did we make you uncomfortable? I didn’t realized, I can ask Hanajima to stop teasing us if-”
“I said it’s fine,” Tsukishima interrupted, and he was serious. It was fine, he didn’t actually mind it, he just found his reactions pathetic and wished he could hide it better.
“I’m sorry, I should have-”
“Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima countered once more, posing a hand on the top of the boy’s head, shoving his worried face away. “I’m okay, really.”
Yamaguchi got away from his hold, chuckling before casting a last glance at him, probably making sure Tsukishima was really fine. Then, he smiled brightly, a smile reaching his ears and pink dusting his cheeks, making Tsukishima’s heart skip a beat.
“Okay then! Let’s go to the next room!”
—
People would think having his best friend as a roommate only had its advantages. Which, to some extent, was true. Tsukishima didn’t have to complain, Yamaguchi and he knew each other enough to adapt to the other’s way of living, and the fact that they were both interns made it all easier. Yamaguchi would cook for him, he would do laundry for the both of them. The rent was cheaper, and the way home wasn’t lonely.
It had its advantages for sure, except when both of them were absolute idiots, or just, too tired really. Tsukishima was abruptly woken up by Yamaguchi, shaking him violently.
“Tsukki, wake up, we’re late.” The urgency in his tone made the blonde straighten up quickly, glancing, around him, disoriented.
He frowned, confused as to why he wasn’t in his bed when he noticed their work clothes on the ground, tossed to the side without any care. The memory of the previous night made its way into his mind as he remembered being too tired to even go upstairs to his bed and had slumped on the couch with Yamaguchi instead. They both had probably fallen asleep, and forgot to set an alarm.
“Tsukki, come on! Hurry up!” Yamaguchi was searching for something in their work clothes, brows furrowed and clearly worried. When he finally found what he was searching for he screamed in victory and handed Tsukishima his badge, before putting his own into his pocket.
“Okay, let’s go.”
They arrived an hour late, almost running and panting in the corridors, searching for Suga, who was their resident of the day. They found him signing papers in the emergency department, clearly waiting for them. When they both stopped at his side, he looked at them, eyebrows raised and spoke:
“Nice of you to show up.”
They both bowed deeply, apologizing for their lateness, even though they knew Suga wasn’t actually mad. When they straightened up, a fellow doctor was next to their resident, arm settled on Suga’s shoulder.
“Come on, Suga! Don’t give them hell, yer not any better.” Atsumu grinned, looking at the two interns.
Suga only rolled his eyes, looking back at them too. Tsukishima felt both looks observing them, obviously looking at him and Yamaguchi up and down. He tried not to fidget under their stare, but when both surgeons grinned widely, he couldn’t help but look down at his outfit, confused. He then turned to his friend who was doing the same, as lost as him. And when he noticed how disheveled their work clothes were, how messy Yamaguchi’s hair were and guessed that his weren’t any better, his face turned crimson.
He plunged his head into his hands, knowing exactly what kind of image they were both giving to their superior. His theory was confirmed when he looked up again to see even larger grins and evil eyes. He groaned.
“We just overslept.” He didn’t know why he felt like justifying himself, but he did anyway, making both men laugh teasingly.
“We didn’t say anything,” Suga pointed out, clutching the papers to his chest and turning his heels, putting an end to the conversation.
Tsukishima didn’t dare look at his friend again, passing in front of Atsumu without further words, following Suga to their first patient. He heard Yamaguchi’s tiny steps behind him, and by his lack of enthusiasm, Tsukishima guessed he had understood the allusion too. Which did nothing to smother his embarrassment.
As they were about to enter a patient’s room, Suga stopped them both, narrowing his eyes. “Stay here, I’m going first. I’ll tell you when you can come.”
Tsukishima frowned at him, confused. “Why?”
“Because I said so,” Suga answered, disappearing behind the door. He opened it again one minute later, grinning like a mad man. “You can come.”
Suspicious, Tsukishima entered the room, not knowing what to expect. But it was just a hospital room, with Akiko laying on her bed, smiling at them happily like she’s used to. He shook his head, it was just a weird day, he was probably overthinking everything.
“Tsukishima!” Akiko yelled, arms outstretched. “Come play with me!”
Tsukishima arched a brow, clearly surprised, and a quick glance to his best friend next to him showed him that he wasn’t the only one. Akiko had always been a cheerful child, always ready to play, but her first choice of friend had always been Yamaguchi, which was understandable. Even if Tsukishima was shockingly pretty good with children, when it was subject to play, Yamaguchi would be the first one to be chosen. So Akiko asking for him to play with her was a bit surprising. Still, he nodded and sat down next to her on his bed, while Yamaguchi started checking her vitals.
But as Tsukishima took one of her plushies, she crossed her arms and pouted. “No, I don’t wanna play with you. I wanna play with Tsukishima.”
Tsukishima frowned, refraining himself from clicking his tongue. “Yeah, and i’m right here.”
But she continued to glare and turned her head to the side in disapprobation. “No. You’re Yamaguchi. I wanna play with Tsukishima.”
Both interns froze, frowning. They shared a knowing look, turning to Suga worriedly. But the resident was signing papers, not paying attention to them.
“You want to play with me?” Yamaguchi asked, sitting down on the bed at his turn. The girl nodded happily, giving him her greatest smile. “Akiko, sweetheart. I’m Yamaguchi, you remember, right?”
She laughed, giving him one of her plushies, “Don’t be silly, I know you’re Tsukishima! Here!”
Yamaguchi said nothing, and played with her while Tsukishima checked her vitals, arranging the machines, making sure everything was alright. Nothing seemed wrong, but the moment the three doctors stepped out of the room, Tsukishima talked to Suga about his worries.
“I think we should do an MRI.”
Suga finally looked up from his papers, arching a brow. “Why? Any problems?”
“She mixed up Yamaguchi and I.” Tsukishima added, brows furrowed. How did Suga hadn’t notice it?
“Yes, she insisted that I was Tsukki.” Yamaguchi agreed, visibly worried.
But Suga just looked at them, blinking, before frowning at the two, and pointing an accusing finger at them. “What’s wrong with calling you by your names?” He sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t have time for your jokes. I don’t see any problem here.” He then turned his heels, walking down the corridor, speaking over his shoulder, “I’ll let you both handle the rest!”
Yamaguchi and Tsukishima shared a confused look, clearly lost. They pushed it away though, and continued their shift, which only grew weirder and weirder as the day passed.
Tsukishima flopped down on the chair, slamming his tray on the table next to Kenma, startling him. Kenma glared at him but he couldn’t care any less; he was tired and frustrated. Yamaguchi sat down in front of him, next to Akaashi, silently, frowning at his food.
“That must have been a tough morning if you aren’t joyful,” Akaashi pointed out to Yamaguchi, who just shrugged, picking his chopsticks up.
“Damn,” Kenma spoke at his turn, surprise evident in his voice, “what happened?”
Yamaguchi was the one answering, voice barely a whisper. “Everyone has been messing up with me and Tsukki since we arrived this morning. They’re mixing up our names.” He looked up, frowning at Kenma, emphasizing, “ Everyone .”
The table fell silent, and Tsukishima took a mouthful of his rice, trying to drown his frustration with it. Being called Yamaguchi all morning hadn’t been good for his heart and self control. Not only was it annoying, but being called what he’d like to be called, what he dreamed to be called, was making him feel all sorts of ways. He looked up just in time to see Kenma and Akaashi sharing a knowing look, making him squint at them.
With an unreadable expression, Kenma took a bite of his sandwich. “What’s the problem with that?”
Akaashi shrugged, adding. “Yeah, Tadashi Tsukishima is your name, it’s written on your badge. Why would we call you anything else?”
That was the last straw. Tsukishima stood up abruptly, slamming his hands against the table, eliciting Kenma and Akaashi’s evil grin. They had no right to tease him like this, right in front of his best friend, for whom he obviously had a crush. He had accepted the fact that everybody but Yamaguchi knew about his feelings, but having others teasing him about it openly was something else.
“I swear, I’m going to-” He started, but Yamaguchi interrupted him.
“Tsukki.”
“No. I’m done with this bullshit. I-”
“Tsukki.” Yamaguchi cut him again, voice firmer, hands reaching for his blouse and tugging it, prompting him silently to sit down.
Tsukishima looked down at his friend, ready to snap again, when he noticed Yamaguchi was hiding his face in his free hand, the tips of his ears and his neck crimson. Confused, he sat back after his friend gave another pull on his blouse.
Yamaguchi didn’t dare look up when he continued, “We exchanged badges.” He croaked out, clearly embarrassed.
“What?”
“I gave you my badge this morning without noticing it,” he repeated, hiding further back, eliciting Kenma and Akaashi’s laugh again.
Tsukishima looked down at the badge on his blouse, and froze when he saw his best friend’s name on it. His own face turned crimson quickly as he stumbled to unhook the badge from his pocket and slide it to Yamaguchi. He then took back his chopstick, eating with a bit more force than intended, frustration quickly replaced by sheer embarrassment.
Kenma shook his head, a grin on his lips and stood up, snorting. “Just confess already, you’re both hopeless.”
Tsukishima truly considered murdering Kenma at this moment, or at least hurting him. They were in a hospital - he would be fine, after all. But he kept silent instead, frowning at his plate, not even looking up when Akaashi left them alone too.
The atmosphere was awkward, silence stretching out between them, neither of them daring to break it. Eventually, Yamaguchi groaned, slumping on the table and hiding his embarrassment into his arms.
“This is definitely not how I wanted my confession to go,” he complained, still hiding.
Tsukishima would have sworn it wasn’t possible, but he knew his face went from crimson to purple, and it took all his remaining strength not to hide it in his hands. He cleared his throat before answering, voice trembling a bit more than intended.
“What? You expected flowers and chocolate with loving birds flying over our heads?”
Yamaguchi raised his eyes to glare at him, and the blush on his cheeks made Tsukishima’s heart skip a beat. “That’s not funny, Tsukki.”
Tsukishima shrugged, averting his gaze. “It doesn’t matter anyway, my answer would be the same.”
There was a silence, making Tsukishima more and more uncomfortable as he kept pushing his glasses up his nose. Yamaguchi wasn’t responding and that was not a good sign. He dared a look at his best friend, only to find him blinking stupidly at him.
“What did you say?” He finally spoke.
“My answer would be the same either way.”
“Which is?”
Tsukishima couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he answered, grumbling, slow, merely a whisper, “I like you too.”
Yamaguchi's face illuminated as he smiled widely, chuckling, eyes fondly looking at him. It took Tsukishima’s breath away, and he froze, staring.
“I love you too, Tsukki.”
Tsukishima didn’t know how much a man could blush, but he would bet his face flushed again, and he averted his eyes once more, mumbling. “I didn’t say that .”
“You didn’t have to.”
Maybe there were more than four things Tsukishima knew about Yamaguchi. After all, they were childhood friends, they knew a lot about the other. Maybe people around them knew things about Yamaguchi that Tsukishima didn’t know before now. But right now, none of these were important. The only thing that mattered was that Yamaguchi was his boyfriend, and that Tsukishima wouldn’t want it any other way.