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Tsukishima Kei steps onto Thisby wearing disgust and exhaustion like an old coat. The salty air makes him irritable; he’s tired from the journey and he wants nothing more than to collapse onto a bed and sleep.
His supervisor-slash-mentor-slash-friend, Sawamura Daichi, steps onto Thisby with excitement in his eyes. He takes in a deep breath, relishing the seaside air, before giving Tsukishima a broad smile.
“Let’s grab our things and go check in, and then we’re heading to Palsson’s,” he declares, before walking over to the boat’s captain to see about their luggage. Tsukishima sighs. He wants nothing more than to get back on that stupid boat and sail right back to the mainland, where he can be in a familiar city instead of this rock-scrabble island called Thisby.
But no. He was hired as a bookkeeper for Daichi’s barn, and Daichi wanted him to accompany him to Thisby so that they could properly check out the horses and purchase some fast ones. Or something like that. Tsukishima doesn’t care. He just keeps the books balanced.
That said, Daichi is something of a friend, loathe as he may be to admit it. So, if he must go gallivanting off to Thisby a week before the Scorpio Race season even begins, just so that Daichi can get some extra time with his lover, then fine. He can amuse himself, somehow.
The sea crashes behind him, misting him with cold salt spray, and Tsukishima pushes his glasses up with a finger. Never mind. He may have never stepped foot on Thisby before, but he already knows that it’s a terrible place.
The hotel’s clerk smiles sleepily at them when they enter the hotel lobby. Tsukishima looks around, taking in the ugly foiled wallpaper, the various plush couches scattered about the room, and the dim lighting from the glass lamps on the wall. It feels dated.
Tsukishima hates it already. He can’t believe that he has to spend the next month here.
“It’s good to see you, Daichi,” the man says, pulling down a key. “Since you asked for two beds this time, it’s not your usual room. It’ll be at the end of the third floor. Let me know if you need anything.”
Daichi grins and accepts it. “Thanks, Ennoshita,” he replies. “It’s good to see you too.”
Ennoshita shrugs. “Suga misses you.”
“I’m ditching this stuff and then I’m going to see him,” he replies. “But hey, we’ll get dinner together tomorrow, yeah?”
“Of course. Just before the rush of tourists for Scorpio season,” Ennoshita agrees. He nods at Tsukishima, and Tsukishima frowns, feeling out of place. It’s obvious that Daichi is familiar with the hotel staff.
“Will he be joining us?” Ennoshita asks, and Tsukishima feels his frown deepen at the way Daichi lights up.
“Yes! This is Tsukishima; he’s my bookkeeper. I’ve known him for a few years. He’s a good kid.” Daichi gestures at Tsukishima, and Tsukishima sighs but takes a step closer to Ennoshita. “Tsukishima, this is Ennoshita. He’s a good friend of mine.”
“Nice to meet you,” Tsukishima says, only to be polite. He truly could not care less.
“Hope you like it here,” Ennoshita replies. “Also, try the cinnamon twists; they’re fantastic.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Tsukishima has no idea what the man is talking about.
“Alright, well, I’ll see you later,” Ennoshita says. “Suga must be getting impatient.”
Daichi laughs slightly. “See you around, Ennoshita. Come on, Tsukishima.”
Tsukishima nods at Ennoshita before picking up his suitcase and following Daichi upstairs to their room. The stairs are covered in a worn green rug, and the lighting in the hallways is just as bad as it is in the lobby.
What wouldn’t he give to be back on the mainland?
At the end of the corridor, Daichi unlocks the room. The door swings open to reveal two neatly made beds, each covered in a colorful quilt and three slightly faded blue pillows. Tsukishima ambles over to the one closest to the door and flops face-first on it.
Daichi laughs. “That one can be yours, then,” he says agreeably, and makes his way into the bathroom. Probably to freshen up, Tsukishima thinks wryly, rolling over to gaze at the ceiling.
After a few minutes, Daichi comes back out and grins at Tsukishima. “You ready?”
“Yes,” Tsukishima says flatly. He hops off the bed and follows Daichi back out of the hotel. They hand Ennoshita the key, who grins and tells them to have fun, and also to say hi to Suga for him, before heading into the streets of Skarmouth.
Daichi is humming a little before he stops just outside a little bakery with a golden glow coming from the windows. He immediately fidgets with his hair (which is ridiculous, since his hair is short and straight, and there’s very little to fix), before nervously smoothing down his jacket, and then he turns to Tsukishima, face expectant.
Tsukishima arches an eyebrow.
“…do you think he’ll be happy to see me?” Daichi asks.
Tsukishima snorts. “You’ve maintained this relationship for how long?”
“Three years,” Daichi replies.
“And you’re only ever here for about a month,” Tsukishima reminds him. Honestly. “I’m sure Suga will be overjoyed to see you.” He might not know Suga personally, but he does know that they trade frequent letters for the eleven months that they are not together.
Tsukishima could probably recognize Suga’s handwriting at this point; that’s how often he sees it.
“Right.” Daichi smiles nervously, before he wipes his palms on his pants and shoves open the door. A bell chimes as they make their way inside.
“Welcome!” the man at the counter calls. He looks young, Tsukishima thinks, with a wide smile and...is his hair green? “What can I get for you?”
Daichi walks up and says, “We’ll take six cinnamon twists and a loaf of bread. Is Suga in?”
“He’s in the back,” the man replies, wrapping up the loaf and the cinnamon twists with quick, clean movements. Tsukishima watches the way the man’s fingers neatly fold over the top of the bag holding the cinnamon twists. “I can call him for you?”
“Please,” Daichi says.
“Suga! Someone’s here to see you!”
“Tell them to give me five minutes!” Someone, presumably Suga, calls back.
“You’ll have to wait five minutes,” the man says, even though Daichi and Tsukishima heard him perfectly well. “What do you want Suga for?”
“He’s a…friend,” Daichi says. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you here before?” He slides some money across the counter.
“Oh! I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi. I started working here last winter,” the man introduces himself, before picking up the money. He then tilts his head at them, and the light highlights his lashes and illuminates the freckles scattered on his cheeks. They dot his face like tiny stars, Tsukishima thinks.
“What are your names?” Yamaguchi asks.
“I’m Sawamura Daichi,” Daichi says. “And this is my friend, Tsukishima Kei.”
“You’re from the mainland, then?”
“That obvious?” Tsukishima asks.
Yamaguchi laughs nervously. “Well, Thisby is small, you know? I sort of…know…most of the people who live here, and I, well, haven’t really seen you around before. But you know Suga, so.” He laughs again, a little awkwardly, before turning back to Daichi. “By the way, here’s your change.”
“Thanks,” Daichi says.
“And your twists, and the bread.” Yamaguchi smiles as he hands over two wrapped packages. “Feel free to take a seat somewhere.”
“Thanks.” Daichi grins before walking over to a random table and dropping down into the wooden chair. Tsukishima sits next to him, looking around the bakery. It feels cozy, he thinks. He wouldn’t mind having to come here every day.
Which, seeing the way Daichi is practically vibrating with anticipation, is likely going to happen.
At the counter, Yamaguchi hums a little, wiping the counters as he does. Tsukishima lets his gaze drift over the man.
“See something you like?” Daichi asks, smiling.
Tsukishima scowls. “Why cinnamon?” he asks, ignoring the question and the knowing way Daichi looks at him.
“Do you not like cinnamon?” Daichi asks, now looking concerned. “We could get something else.”
“It’s fine.” Tsukishima actually likes cinnamon (even if he would prefer something with strawberries), but he’s not about to tell Daichi that. He’s still mad about the whole come-to-Thisby-for-a-month-so-I-can-see-my-boyfriend thing. There’s nothing to do on this island. His gut tells him that this could very well be the worst month of his life.
“Yamaguchi, who wanted to see me?” Tsukishima turns to see a silver-haired man step out from the kitchen, wiping flour covered hands on his apron. “Is it Kinoshita or Narita? Is Hinata in trouble again?”
“No, it’s some mainlanders,” Yamaguchi says, pointing at Tsukishima. “They’re–”
The man gasps. “Daichi!”
“Suga.” Daichi stands up. “It’s–”
He’s interrupted as Suga rips his apron off and vaults over the counter to tackle him. Tsukishima arches an eyebrow as Suga presses his lips onto Daichi’s, arms wrapping around Daichi’s neck. Daichi wraps his arms around Suga and kisses him with just as much passion.
If it wasn’t for the fact that they haven’t seen each other in eleven months, Tsukishima would tell them to cut it out. As it is, he decides that he can cut them some slack.
"O-oh,” Yamaguchi squeaks, and Tsukishima glances back at him, and snickers a little at the way Yamaguchi is holding Suga’s cast-aside apron awkwardly in the air like he forgot he was holding it.
“You didn’t tell me you were coming today,” Suga says, arms still wrapped around Daichi, voice soft and breathy. His cheeks are flushed and he’s looking at Daichi like he hung the stars. Tsukishima wonders how Daichi could possibly have been nervous about seeing Suga again.
“Surprise,” Daichi tells him, grinning. “Thought I’d get here a little early and spend extra time with you.”
“Sap.” Suga’s beaming though. So is Daichi. Their eyes are practically sparkling from the sheer force of their happiness.
Tsukishima cannot believe that he has to third-wheel to that for an entire month. Letting Daichi talk him into this was a mistake.
He looks back at Yamaguchi. This time, Yamaguchi’s eyes widen and his cheeks flush, as he whips his head away, almost as if–oh.
He’d been staring at Tsukishima.
Tsukishima smirks and gestures at Yamaguchi, who does look back at him. He points at Daichi and Suga, who are kissing once more. “Gross,” he mouths, and is pleased when Yamaguchi grins back.
Even so, there’s only so many glances he can sneak back at Yamaguchi before he gets tired of that, too. Forget the fact that Daichi is his boss (as well as his friend and maybe something close to mentor), Tsukishima’s had enough of Daichi and Suga kissing like that. They’re in a bakery, for crying out loud. He and Yamaguchi have to watch this.
“Not that this isn’t sweet and all,” Tsukishima drawls, “But I’d rather not watch you two kiss all night.”
Daichi and Suga both blush and separate. Barely. Suga still has his arms around Daichi’s neck, and while they’re no longer kissing, they’re still very much tangled up with each other. It’s stupidly domestic. If he weren't privy to the frequent letters they shared, he'd never guess that they regularly spend eleven months without seeing each other.
“Suga, this is Tsukishima,” Daichi says. “He’s my bookkeeper. I told you about him, remember? Thought I’d bring him to Thisby, this time.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Suga says from his spot in Daichi’s arms. “I’m assuming you’ve both met Yamaguchi already?”
“Yes,” Daichi says.
“Good,” Suga says, leaning into Daichi. “Yamaguchi, can you lock up on your own tonight?”
Yamaguchi laughs. “Yeah,” he says before tilting his head at Daichi. “You should’ve told me that you were Suga’s boyfriend. I would have told him to come out sooner.”
“I would have,” Suga agrees. “The dishes could wait.”
“I wanted to surprise you,” Daichi explains. Tsukishima sighs and rests his hand on his chin. He wonders if he can catch a boat back to the mainland, like, right now.
Yamaguchi catches his eye from the counter and mouths something.
Tsukishima blinks. He has no idea what Yamaguchi just said.
“Tsukishima can stay with me,” Yamaguchi says, apparently taking Tsukishima’s lack of a response as a yes. Good, because Tsukishima doesn’t mind staying. “I’ll let you two love birds have fun.”
Daichi looks at Tsukishima, as if to ask if he’s okay with that, and Tsukishima just shrugs.
“I don’t feel like third-wheeling,” he declares. Daichi shakes his head at that, but he’s grinning.
Suga looks at Tsukishima too, before looking back at Yamaguchi. A smile slowly spreads across his face.
Judging from the way Yamaguchi gulps, that smile is dangerous.
“Alright,” Suga says. “Thanks, Tsukishima, for letting me steal Daichi from you. Keep Yamaguchi company. We close in about ten minutes, anyways, and it’s not even tourist season yet, so it should be fine.” He winks at Yamaguchi. “Don’t do anything I would do!”
Yamaguchi just laughs at that. Daichi unfolds the bag of cinnamon twists and hands two to Tsukishima.
“Enjoy,” he says. “I’ll see you…tomorrow, probably.”
Tsukishima accepts the twists, then scowls as the implications of Daichi’s words sink in. “Are you actually planning on staying at the hotel?”
“…It’s mostly for your benefit, but I always spend some nights there.”
Tsukishima sighs, but waves Daichi off. “Go have fun. It was nice meeting you, Suga. I imagine that I’ll get to know you much more this coming month.”
Suga beams. “See you,” he says cheerfully, and tugs Daichi, the loaf of bread, and the rest of the cinnamon twists out of Palsson’s. The bell chimes lightly before the door closes behind them.
“So,” Tsukishima says after silence has settled over the bakery. “Ten minutes till you’re finished?”
“Till I can close up,” Yamaguchi corrects. “But if you’re willing to wait for…” He glances at the clock. “Forty-five minutes, we can get dinner somewhere.”
Tsukishima smiles. “That sounds good. Don’t mind me, then.”
Yamaguchi smiles back. “Okay.”
Tsukishima finally takes a bite of a cinnamon twist. It’s sweet and flaky in his mouth, and his eyes widen. The taste of cinnamon fills his mouth, and the warmth of Palsson’s settles over him. Ennoshita was right: the cinnamon twists are amazing.
Tsukishima settles into his chair better and takes another careful bite, determined to not drop any crumbs. Cinnamon settles on his tongue as he looks back at Yamaguchi, who’s humming once more, unaware of Tsukishima watching him.
Maybe, he thinks, this coming month won’t be so bad after all.