Chapter Text
I fell in love with Tsukishima Kei the moment I set my eyes on him, and it only took me two years to realise it.
We had been in my dorm room, just talking, scrolling through social media, doing the normal things we always did when we hung out together alone. The only reason Yamaguchi wasn't there was because he had a class study group to bring his grades up. Everything seemed normal, just an average day.
I had just finished up in the ensuite, washing my hands before opening the door. As I looked up at him, something caught my attention, though for the life of me I couldn't tell you what it was. He was just as I'd left him, sitting on the edge of my bed, head bent as he watched a video on his phone. I had set my strip lights to multicolour, an impulsive buy after too many hours on TikTok, and the different hues flickered across his face as his brows scrunched in concentration.
It was something about his face, the expression marring his features, that brought me back to the day we met.
The first day of university, an elective history class, and my late and slightly embarrassing entrance. The professor had just started his lecture, so my opening of the door had attracted a few unwanted stares. The lecture room was small as there weren't too many students, yet there were still few seats left open as I looked for a space. Not wanting to cause more of a scene I picked the closest one, second row from the back, right on the end.
Dumping my bag and quietly pulling out my notebook, I hurriedly copied the slide that was currently being projected, not wanting to be behind on the first day. I held my breath as I scribbled down the information, releasing a quiet sigh as I finished the sentence just as he switched to the next one. Though apparently I wasn't quiet enough.
"Do you mind? Some of us actually want to listen to the lecture."
The comment came from my left, not loud enough to disturb anyone else, but with the tone that said I was meant to hear it. After making sure I had the relevant information for the slide down I turned to look at my grouchy neighbour.
The first thought to enter my mind as I looked at his face for the first time was just the word 'whoa', followed by 'he's hot for a grumpy pants'. Blonde with a jawline for days, the glasses he wore accented the contours of his face. His mouth seemed to be set in an almost permanent half scowl, though I thought that it suited him in an odd way. I could tell he was tall just from sitting next to him, and the way his sweater curved over his shoulders and arms encouraged the fact that he was probably pretty toned underneath all the rudeness.
Bringing my eyes back up to his face I immediately clocked the slight smirk that had spread across his features. Golden eyes flicked over to me for a second before focusing ahead on the lecture.
"If you're going to stare, you might want to make it less obvious next time."
Blushing slightly at the fact I had been caught staring, I too turned back to the class, glad to notice that I hadn't missed anything important while I'd been ogling the boy next to me.
"What can I say," I muttered to him quietly, just as he had done before, "I have to study my opponent before formulating a battle plan."
Now even I can admit that I'm a little (very) dramatic at times, but honestly, I'd found that it helped in weeding out those who couldn't keep up with me. If they can't jump right in, they're neither good friend or rival material. That's why his reply surprised me so much, as while it was an effective strategy, it wasn't often that someone was able to, or at least bothered to, rise up to the challenge.
"Don't start battles you can't win."
At that point I knew that whatever happened next, I wanted to know who this boy was, and what better way to do that than start a year long verbal battle with the quick witted blond beside me?
That's how our friendship progressed, through banter and sarcastic insults during our shared class, until a few weeks later, when leaving the lecture, I had the fortune to bump into the one and only Yamaguchi Tadashi as he waited for Tsukishima to join him.
Seeing me walk out of class next to the tall blond seemed to peak Yamaguchi's interest, and he made his way over before Tsukishima could ditch me in the hallway like he usually did.
"Tsukki!", he called with a small wave, "who's this?"
He looked at me with a kind smile, eyes bright and curious, and I decided immediately that I liked this boy. No one could fake such a genuinely kind face.
Tsukishima just tutted, tilting his head to look at me out of the corner of his eye. "This is the one that I told you about, that likes to annoy me in my history lectures."
Turning to him with a pout, I clasped my hands together. "Awww Tsukishima, you talk about me? That's so adorable!"
He rolled his eyes, though a small smile graced his lips, and I turned back to Yamaguchi with what I hoped was a nicer smile. Introducing myself, I shook his hand gently. "I'm Tsukishima's mortal enemy, I take it your his handler?"
Yamaguchi laughed. "Haha, I guess you could say that, though usually I go with childhood friend."
"Wow!," I exclaimed, keeping the humorous tone notable, "you've put up with him for that long? I'm honestly just surprised he has friends really, what with the grumpiness."
Tsukki scoffed, while Yamaguchi just continued to laugh.
"I like you already."
Looking at his taller friend, Yamaguchi could tell that while he acted aloof, he actually enjoyed the company of his so-called 'mortal enemy', and decided that he would also like to get to know the character in front of him.
"So Tsukki and I are actually headed to get some food before practice, if you're free do you want to join us?"
While Tsukishima uttered an immediate 'no', I took one look at his slightly confused expression and Yamaguchi's nice and sincere one and said yes.
"Sure Yamaguchi, I'd love to get to know the guy who has voluntarily stuck around this walking lamppost for the last however many years."
As he laughed again at my response, he turned and started walking away as I followed next to him, Tsukishima looming behind us like a protective but intimidating shadow the whole way.
My relationship with both of them only grew from that point on, and Yamaguchi came to be someone I relied on. It wasn't often that I found someone I wanted to depend on, but he was so kind and sweet that I couldn't help but spill my guts whenever anything was wrong.
Tsukishima, while being the same ball of snark, also warmed up to me eventually, though there was always something that stopped me from being able to tell him my darkest thoughts. I could never pinpoint the exact feeling, but I had speculated that maybe I just didn't want to bother him. That if I pushed too many of my problems onto him, he would decide I wasn't worth the effort and leave. The thought of him leaving and not being part of my life, even after just a year of knowing him, was physically painful to think about.
And then he turned up at my dorm during one of my worst days, and I thought everything was over.