Chapter Text
Kei Tsukishima has always been compared to the moon. He’s distant and cold and, well, his name literally means ‘moon island’.
The grass felt slightly damp on Kei’s back as he lay next to Tadashi, who was awestruck by the night sky. The moon was in its crescent phase which Yamaguchi, who had dragged him out at 2am to watch the stars, had compared to the stitched moon symbol on his hoodie. These late meetups were a fairly new occurrence, usually after one of them has had a shitty day. He knew Yamaguchi had a panic attack earlier in the day, after failing his serve in a practise match one too many times, so minded less when the pinch server texted asking (well, commanding) him to meet up at their usual spot.
Kei was completely disinterested in the stars and was instead watching how the freckled boy’s eyes lit up in wonder at the sky. He has found his gaze to drift to Tadashi a lot lately and melting at the very sight of him.
Pathetic , he had thought when realising his feelings for his childhood friend was more than he let on. Kei had many weaknesses, but he would never have thought that Tadashi’s mere presence would be one of them.
“Tsukki, look!”
Kei’s eyes reluctantly followed Tadashi’s finger that was pointing toward the stars. One twinkled a lot brighter, shooting past the dark canvas. Tadashi’s eyes were so full of wonder and hope and optimism. Kei didn’t understand how one person could be so calming and yet he knew how anxious he could get.
He even tried to describe it to him once; “Everything gets so loud and yet so quiet, it’s overwhelming. It feels like I’m stuck in a suffocating void and nothing will help me out”. Kei desperately wanted to be the thing that helped him out. On the days he noticed Tadashi’s signs, he’d subtly do anything he could to accommodate his friend and help make things at least a little less overwhelming for him. He wished that he could understand how it felt so he was able to help out more, but he tries everything he can.
“Let’s make a wish!”
Kei’s train of thought was cut off as another star flew past, and he watched Tadashi’s eyes shut tight; a focused look covering his face. Kei frowned but followed suit. He shut his eyes and distantly wished to see the world through Yamaguchi’s eyes. He wanted to understand him better, and perhaps be less of an asshole like he was. He slowly opened his eyes only to see the shorter friend staring intently at him.
“Did you make a wish?!” Yamaguchi asked hopefully. Kei nodded, way too exhausted to keep up his usual cold demeanour. Tadashi smiled, a sight way more beautiful than the scattered moondust in the sky, and Kei felt his own smile tug at his lips. Tadashi’s smile wavered as it turned into a yawn reminding him of the time.
“Let’s head home, Tadashi.”
—
Kei woke up the next morning with the familiar scent of strawberry shampoo and lavender detergent surrounding him. He didn’t have to open his eyes to know he was in Tadashi’s room. Except, when did he even get here? He had walked Tadashi home last night before crashing in his own bed. Kei took a deep breath before slowly opening his eyes and instinctively reaching for his glasses.
Where were they?
And why was everything so… HD?
Kei looked down at his hand searching the bed side table for non existent glasses. Except it wasn’t his hand.
It was Yamaguchi’s.
What the fuck… he thought, before desperately looking around for any signs of other people, mainly Tadashi. But he was Tadashi? What the fuck was happening?
He scrambled looking for Tadashi’s phone and unlocking it easily with his fingerprint, to his semi-surprise, and pulling up his contacts list. His number, or rather a contact with the ID ‘Tsukki! <3’ was near the top of his favourites list. He tapped desperately on the screen, hearing two rings before the other line picked up, trying not to think of the implications the heart next to his name had.
“Tsukki…?”
He had never heard his voice sound like that before.
“Tadashi, what the fuck is happening! ”
He had never heard Tadashi’s voice like that before.
“TSUKKI! It happened to you too, oh my god. What are we going to do?!” He asked with a desperate whisper.
Kei sighed, his head full with a million questions, but one goal in mind. He had to get to Tadashi.
“I’ll be over in 10.”
He hung up, jumping out of bed but allowing himself a minute to comprehend what’s happening.
Firstly, everything is slightly higher than usual, which makes sense since he was at least 10cm shorter now.
Secondly, he was currently inhabiting his childhood friend’s body.
His crush’s body.
Kei found himself wandering to the bathroom when he met his, or rather Tadashi’s, gaze in the mirror. He let his hands trail over the scattered freckles on his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, silently appreciating the softness of his skin. He always loved the speckled cheeks he knew the other boy hated. They were his cutest asset, and yet he was so insecure about them which really pissed off Kei. His hair was sticking up more than usual, but damn did Tadashi still look so cute in the mornings. How the hell was he this adorable?
Kei, that’s stupid.
He needs to get changed.
—
Their houses only being two streets away made it very convenient when they were kids, and now when they walk to and from school together. And also very convenient for when they somehow suddenly seemed to have switched bodies for however long and needed to figure out what the hell is going on.
He turned the corner, suddenly feeling very weird walking the last paces to his own door, taking a second to breathe. He pulled out his phone, texting Tadashi that he was outside. Not even 20 seconds later, the door swung open and he was suddenly face to face with… his own face.
This is certainly… different?
“Tsukki! I am so scared, I don’t know what happened, I’m so sorry, I’ll figure out how to fix it- but we’ve got morning practise and Daichi will be mad if we skip it and I promised Yachi I would-“
“Tadashi.”
Kei’s own eyes looked slightly down at him filled with unshed tears and an extremely worried expression that he wasn’t sure he was even able to make.
“Yes, Tsukki?”
“Shut up.”
Before Tadashi could apologise, Kei grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to his room. He heard a brief ‘Oh, hello, Tadashi-kun!’ from his brother as he rushed upstairs, clutching Tadashi behind him. He shut the door and sighed.
“Yamaguchi, I’m going to need you to calm down.” He told him. Seeing his own body in front of him slightly trembling yet stiff with fear was making himself feel uneasy. He needed to calm him down before they tried figuring anything out. He noticed Tadashi go even more still as a tear escaped down his cheek, his expression mortified.
“Tadashi,” he gasped slightly at hearing his name again, “You need to breathe. ”
He let out a shaky breath, and took a moment to wipe his tears before muttering apologies.
“Tadashi, I don’t care that you’re crying. Look at me,” he carefully put his hand on his shoulder, briefly forgetting that he was slightly shorter now, “ You’re okay. ”
Tadashi nodded, looking slightly less afraid but still letting the tears fall. Once he had stopped shaking and got his breathing under control, Kei thought it was safe to remove his hand and he guided Tadashi to the bed to sit down.
“Okay. We’ve got two options here,” he explained, feeling more confident as he got used to talking in a different body.
“One; we skip school, we can camp out here since it’s just my brother home for a week until we switch back,”
“But-“
“Two; we go about our days as each other. Act like nothing's wrong, since no one will believe us. I think we’ve known each other long enough to pull something off,”
Tadashi looked like he was contemplating something before saying with a chuckle,
“You really trust me to not fuck up your reputation?”
“I trust you.”
He watched his own eyes widen slightly in the control of another person, then soften as Tadashi nodded before continuing,
“So… what happened ?”
Kei scoffed in reply, shrugging as he sat next to Yamaguchi. He replayed yesterday in his head, trying to figure out what exactly was out of the ordinary. He was definitely missing something.
“Hey, Tsukki? What did you wish for? You know, when we saw the shooting stars,”
‘I wish to see the world through Yamaguchi’s eyes.’
Oh. Oh. Well, fuck.
Tadashi must’ve noticed something in his expression as not quite being able to hide his emotions with Yamaguchi’s face was giving him away, since he nudged him with his elbow, prompting Kei to speak.
“Nothing important.”
Yamaguchi didn’t look convinced but he stopped prying anyway. He sighed, almost as Tsukishima-like as the real thing, and stood up to wander to the bathroom, beckoning Kei to follow.
“You know, Tsukki… you’re really blind,”
Kei snickered in response, slightly taken back by hearing Yamaguchi’s laugh as his own, locking eyes with Tadashi in the mirror.
“Well, you’re really short.”
The tension eased as they fell back into their usual dynamic, Tadashi having calmed down which put Kei slightly at ease too. He watched as Tadashi inspected his own face in the mirror, gently pressing his glasses up his nose. Kei studied the way Tadashi was touching his blonde hair, carefully moving stray pieces around and sighing as he locked eyes with his own reflection. How had Tadashi gotten the hang of his expressions this quickly?
“So, I’m going to pretend to be you,”
“Yes,”
“I don’t know if I can make insults as good as you Tsukki,” Tadashi said as he turned to face him, a slight smirk on his lips. “And you’re going to have to be less of an asshole,”
“You mean equally as shitty just behind their backs instead,”
Tadashi giggled, again surprising Kei that his voice could even make such a noise, and he handed him his headphones.
“I know you’re stressed too. Take a minute, okay? I’ll get ready and we can skip morning practise and head straight to class when you’re ready.”
Kei was surprised at Yamaguchi’s deduction despite Tadashi himself having been in shock, and felt the faintest blush on his cheeks at the knowledge that Tadashi knew music helps calm him down. Kei being a very irritable and distant person, it was rare for people to pick up on things like that. He was flattered.
A little too flattered.
Kei cursed himself for letting his feelings get so bad.
Eventually, the two headed off to Karasuno at a slightly slower pace than usual. There was tension in the air, but Kei felt an odd comfort in the fact that they were in this together.
Classes, then practise, then they’ll have time to figure out what the hell is going on.
—
“Hey, guys!”
Tanaka. Right, okay. Round one. They’ve got this.
Kei took a deep breath.
“Morning, Tanaka-san! Sorry we skipped practise today. Tsukki wasn’t feeling great this morning but we’ll be there after school,” he felt weird calling himself Tsukki and flashing a bright smile, but pretty proud that he got through without wavering. Tadashi looked surprised too.
“Y-yeah. Sorry, Tanaka-san.”
“You sure you’re okay, Tsukishima? You don’t look great. You don’t have to come later, we understand.”
“No! No. It’s okay. I’ll be fine,” Tadashi replied with a shaky wave of dismissal.
“Wow! Kei Tsukishima, suddenly eager to go to practise. You really are sick!” He replied, but thankfully hurrying away with a wave seemingly late for class.
“Nice going, Yamaguchi.”
“Sorry, Tsukki! But you know, I didn’t know you were that much of an actor. That was pretty impressive,” He replied with a smirk, nudging his side. “Didn’t know you could smile that wide either.”
Kei glared at him but it didn’t quite have its usual effect since he was shorter than him now. He just sighed, and walked towards their classroom.
Classes went by pretty quickly, neither of them having to do much to keep their cover since they were silent the whole time. They sat away from each other like usual, although Kei was not used to being so far from the window, and all was going smoothly. Until lunch came around.
“Tsukishima! Tadashi!”
Kei felt his eyes roll on reflex at the sound of a certain carrot top’s voice from the door of the classroom. Tadashi winced, knowing what was coming.
“Please help us study!” Hinata shouted, a silent Kageyama following behind him.
“No. You idiots study by yourselves, I’m not in the mood,” Tadashi responded, his glare completely accurate making even Kei feel uneasy.
“C’mon, Tsukishima! Help a guy out-“
“I said no. I told you I’ll only help before and after practise. Please leave.”
“Why can’t you get Yachi-san to help you?” Kei offered, trying to get their attention off of Tadashi. Not that it was necessary; he was scarily good at this.
“She’s busy with Shimizu-senpai…”
“I see. Well, sorry Hinata but we’re busy too.” Kei had to physically bite his lip to stop any snarky remarks from slipping out.
“Are those Tsukishima’s headphones?”
Damnit, Kageyama. He was definitely going to get teased for this.
“Oh my GOD! That’s so cute, Tsukishima! Who knew you had a heart? We knew you liked Yamaguchi but enough to share your headphones?! ” Hinata teased, glancing over at Tadashi with a smirk.
“I-I…” Tadashi blushed slightly, averting his eyes. Kei was mortified. At the statement, and at how goddamn cute he looked blushing. For fucks sake.
“I’m just borrowing them cause I needed to watch a video for an assignment. Because we’re busy. Can you and your royal highness just go. ” Kei snapped, briefly forgetting to tone down the anger.
“Oh. Right. Yeah, okay. Sorry, Yamaguchi…” Guess it was a little too harsh coming from Tadashi.
“Hinata, let’s go,” Kageyama grabbed Hinata’s arm and yanked him out the door, looking more hurt than pissed off by the nickname. Kei felt a little bad, but not really. They were disturbing them after all.
“Tch. I don’t know why they play on my nerves like that. I just can’t stand them,” Kei stated, his way of a slight apology for upsetting Hinata. Kei looked up at Tadashi expecting some form of response but he was still blushing slightly and avoiding eye contact, gaze focused pointedly on whatever was happening outside. Was he uncomfortable? Ashamed? Crap, maybe Kei did go too far with those guys.
“Um… I didn’t mean to be that harsh with them,”
“Oh. Oh! No! It’s okay, I don’t mind. And thanks for taking their focus off me too, you didn’t have to say anything. I know how much they annoy you, I’m surprised you even managed to stay civil,”
Tadashi winked and chuckled a little, but he still wouldn’t look at him.
—
The pair headed to the gym side by side, their usual routine, but Tadashi seemed quieter than usual. Kei was a perceptive guy, he knew when something was wrong; especially when it came to Yamaguchi. Kei glanced at him, noticing something he hadn’t seen in his own expression before. It was weird, since it was his face, but he didn’t even recognise it on himself. He wasn’t nervous, otherwise he’d be rambling nonsense the entire walk… Was he tired? No. Uncomfortable? I guess he could still be getting used to functioning in a different body. Kei didn’t have time to figure it out because they reached the club room, alarmed by an over-energetic Nishinoya greeting them immediately.
“TSUKISHIMA!!! I heard you gave Yamaguchi your headphones earlier, is that trueeee~”
Goddammit. Hinata and his freaking lover just can’t keep their stupid mouths shut.
Tadashi flushed, scurrying to the corner to hide and get changed. Nishinoya just followed continuing to tease him and he prayed Tadashi won’t do anything too stupid. But he did look cute, blushing profusely like that.
*
“So boys, the neighbourhood association is here again today for a practise match!” Coach Ukai’s voice filled the gym with ease. Nishinoya began jumping with excitement and Hinata had stars in his eyes, Kageyama not-so-subtly watching him with a fond expression. Kei wondered how neither of them realised the obvious spark between them, even Kei admitted they were soulmates. Not that he believed in such a thing.
Tadashi tried to convince him once.
“Greek mythology says the Gods created two jointed humans in one body - literal soulmates. They were brilliant, productive and physically strong. But the humans filled with ego and pride wanted to take over the Gods, which provoked their wrath. They separated the humans from each other as punishment, so they spent their whole lives looking for their other half,”
Kei recalled the late night conversation where the pair were tangled up in blankets on the sofa, having just finished a cheesy romance movie.
“Can you believe that, Tsukki?! Their souls were written in the stars. Their constellations intertwined. Their whole purpose was to find their person,” Tadashi’s eyes shone, a melancholic hint in the mist of hazel and green as he turned to look at Kei.
Kei wasn’t totally convinced by the story, but he liked to think soulmates were true to a certain extent as he stared into his childhood friend’s eyes.
He wasn’t sure why this certain memory was provoked as he watched Hinata try to make the King smile as he pretended not to be excited to set for his only true partner for the hundredth time.
“Uh, Tsukki?”
Kei’s attention averted to Tadashi who whispered for him to follow to where they can’t be heard.
“What am I going to do? I can’t… I can’t block… I’ll make a fool out of myself- I’ll make a fool out of you, I’ll-“ Tadashi was shaking slightly, clearly trying not to meltdown. Kei’s chest ached.
“Hey,” Kei sighs, watching Yamaguchi fiddle with his fingers nervously and glancing over at the doors, carefully watching the association file in.
“We’ll be fine. You just have to try for one set, everyone will realise that you’re,” he pauses as he does air quotes, “‘ still sick’ , and then you’ll be benched for the rest of practise.”
Tadashi took a deep breath before nodding, slightly more determined but still clearly anxious. Kei prayed he’d keep it together - not for his reputation - but for Tadashi’s sake.
—
Kei never understood the appeal of the club everyone seemed to love so dearly, so he was surprised to find himself slightly annoyed and agitated at not being on the court. He watched Tadashi closely, who was trying his best not to appear so afraid, as he stood waiting for the opposite side to serve. When they did, he saw Yamaguchi flinch as Daichi yelled ‘ nice receive!’ at Tanaka who smoothly delivered the ball toward the net. It was only a few seconds after that Kageyama was already setting to the shorty, completing their freak attack. Kei realised he rarely got to see the quick off of the court and he felt himself mutter yes in succession, impressed once again by the seemingly impossible move. Not that he’d let those idiots know just how impressive it was.
“Yamaguchi, are you okay? You seem quiet,” Sugawara patted him on the back, offering a gentle smile.
“I’m okay, thanks! Just a little tired,” Tsukki responded, flashing a smile in return. He wasn’t used to that part yet.
“Are you worried about Tsukishima?” He forgot how perceptive Sugawara was, especially when it came to his teammates' emotions. Obviously, he couldn’t possibly know he was Tsukishima, but he was right about him being worried about Tadashi.
“He’ll be fine. Tanaka mentioned he was ill this morning? I’m sure if he wasn’t feeling great still that he wouldn’t be playing,”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Kei glanced back over to Tadashi, who was now getting ready to block for the first time this game.
He didn’t even jump.
The ball landed right behind him with a loud thump. Tadashi remained frozen. Fuck. That’s gonna panic him even more.
“Dude! What’s with you?! We could’ve totally had that!” Hinata shouted completely exasperated, and Kageyama snickered wickedly at his mistake.
Tadashi turned towards Hinata, seemingly apologising, but Kei concentrated on the shimmer in his eyes. He didn’t know what to do as the game resumed again, Tadashi rushing back to his position. He just sighed, noticing Sugawara watching his reaction, but couldn’t possibly know how Yamaguchi would really react seeing him fail that easily.
As the set continued, Tadashi just kept missing his blocks. The timing was wrong, he couldn’t read the opponents quick enough, and it just got worse with each miss. Hinata and Kageyama stopped yelling at him when Daichi pulled them aside to tell them he was ill, and Nishinoya and Tanaka just shot him concerned looks. He didn’t blame them, Tadashi looked like he was about to sob. Kei knew he was overthinking, worried about making a mess of Kei’s reputation or having his teammates lose respect for him. Kei didn’t care about any of that, but as he stood with Suga and the other second years, he couldn’t exactly go on court and tell him to stop worrying and actually breathe. Which looked impossible for him as he watched Tadashi tremble with nerves, trying to subtly get his breathing under control. He just needed to last the set. He needed to give Tadashi a minute to breathe.
So, Kei Tsukishima, who despises attention, did the only thing he could think of.
“ TSUKKI! YOU’VE GOT THIS! ”
Kei desperately tried to ignore all the eyes burning into him as he yelled into the silent gym, gaze locked onto Tadashi as he violently turned to look at him. He watched Yamaguchi’s eyes widen and shoulders tense at the noise, but drop slightly as he registered Kei’s words. He smiled and with shaking hands, gave Kei a thumbs up. Tadashi mouthed ‘thank you’ as Noya and Sugawara began to tease Kei for worrying about him that much. Then a whistle blew, and it was Tadashi’s time to serve.
“Oh, Ukai wants you, Yamaguchi,” Ennoshita gestured towards the Coach who was beckoning for Kei to rush over to him. Takeda-sensei signalled the referee for a substitute.
“You’re gonna give Tsukishima a minute to calm down, he looks like he’s about to pass out. Might keep him out the rest of practise if he keeps this up, he’s clearly not himself today. Although, I know you knew all this already,” Ukai explained with a subtle smirk at the end. He handed the wooden panel engraved with the number 11 to Kei. “Give us your best serve, Tadashi.”
Kei nodded politely, jogging over to where Tadashi now trembled with his hand out.
“I-I’m sorry-“
“It’s okay, Tadashi.”
Tadashi nodded in response, time cutting their conversation short, and headed to Ukai who wanted to talk to him. Kei just walked over slowly to serve and spotted Shimada-senpai, a wing spiker on the opposing team, giving him a big thumbs up of encouragement. He only knew him from Tadashi’s mentions of his mentor. Playing against him must’ve been extra pressure for Tadashi.
It was then that Kei realised he’s going to have to try a jump float.
Briefly remembering the earful Tadashi had said he received from Ukai last time he didn’t even attempt his serve, he braced himself for the inevitable worst jump float of all time he was about to perform. He didn’t want to disappoint Shimada-senpai, but Kei figured it’d upset him more if he didn’t try at all. Tadashi had worked so hard, after all.
The whistle sounded and the whole room went silent. Slowly bringing the ball up, he launched it into the air. The distance he ran to hit it seemed as far as the length of Heartbreak Hill, the seconds an eternity. Is this how it always felt to Yamaguchi? It was never this anxiety inducing doing a normal serve. When the distance closed, he jumped as high as he could, his palm hitting the innocent ball with all his strength, the satisfying smack echoing the room.
Inevitably, his technique was wrong.
Inevitably, his aim was off.
Inevitably, it hit the net.
What he didn’t calculate was the ball balancing on top of the net, then falling inches away from the middle blocker’s reach on the opposite side.
He just scored a point.
Cheers filled his ears as Hinata and Nishinoya were the first to tackle him in celebration.
“WELL DONE TADASHI!” Shimada-sensei beamed despite his team having lost a point and the whole thing being a fluke. Kei’s pretty sure he knows that, but it’s sweet that he’s so proud of his student.
Kei didn’t have time to search for Tadashi before he had to serve again. He silently prayed he’d miss this one and be benched again. He can’t half ass it now. So again, he launched the ball high, repeating the routine once more with as much effort as the last. It hit the net again, dropping to the floor in front of Asahi. Kei let out a sigh of relief.
Instead of Tadashi switching back in with him, he finds Narita swapping with him as he walks off the court. Kei scans the box and the bench for Tadashi, but couldn’t find him.
“Yamaguchi! Tsukishima left after your first serve, I think he just went to the bathroom. He won’t be long,” Sugawara explained, spotting the concern on Kei’s face.
With no hesitation, Kei took off to search for the boy in his body. He heard a distant ‘Tadashi! Where are you going! ’ but ignored it as he bolted to the nearest bathroom.
“Tsukki?!” Tadashi yelped as Kei burst the door open. He may have been a little over dramatic, but his mind was occupied on making sure he’s okay. Tadashi was facing the mirror with cold droplets dripping down his face, seemingly a mixture of tears and tap water.
“Um… Are you okay?” Kei asked tentatively. Despite wanting to check on him, he still wasn’t the best at comforting people. He was better at lifting them up before they reached the bottom, figuring out they were distraught before they did.
“Y-yeah. I’m fine, Tsukki. Go back to the match, I’ll be back in a bit,”
“You’re not fine,”
“…I’m okay. I’ll be there soon! Don’t worry, I won’t make a fool out of you anymore than I already have,” Tadashi chuckled. His laugh was empty.
“No. I’m not leaving you,” Kei refused, watching his childhood friend tremble in his own body. Knowing his own body’s signs and knowing Tadashi even more, Kei could sense he was seconds away from a breakdown. He had to be there for Tadashi. He couldn’t blame him, after all, it was all a bit much. After all, it was them who had swapped bodies. After all, It could’ve been anyone else.
After all,
“We’re in this together, right?”
His words seemed to have broken Tadashi’s spirit to shut him out much to Kei’s relief. He started shaking and sobbing, his breaths short and uneven.
“It’s okay, Tadashi,” He held his hands against his shoulders and guided him to sit propped up against the wall.
“Okay, that’s good. I need you to breathe now, Tadashi,” Kei pleaded. He hated not knowing how this felt for him. Kei felt overwhelmed by the whole ordeal too, of course he did, but Yamaguchi had a tendency to overthink that paired with an irrational fear of people hating him, and Kei knew all too well that Tadashi was scared of losing him.
“I’m not going anywhere. Breathe with me, please,” Kei took his cherished friend’s face in his hands to force him to look at him. He began taking deep breaths in an attempt to make Tadashi match his rhythm.
“I-I’m so sorry… I-I didn’t mean to fuck up,” Tadashi’s voice broke in a way that made Kei’s heart ache, “that badly…”
Kei wasn’t one for physical affection but he knew his words alone won’t convince Tadashi in this moment. He gently took the other’s hand in his intertwining his smaller fingers, slightly weirded out by holding his own hand. Tadashi’s eyes sparkled with fear and guilt but Kei swore he saw a flash of - embarrassment? - at the gesture.
“You haven’t done anything. I’m not mad at you,” he squeezed his hand. “You’re okay. We’ll be okay,”
“I’m sorry, Tsukki.”
Kei was getting annoyed at the fact he was still apologising but decided not to press further since his breathing was beginning to even out. He watched tears relentlessly fall down his own face and he slowly reached out with his free hand to wipe them away. Kei felt himself blush slightly, realising he was performing such a more intimate action than they were used to with his crush. He offered a soft, reassuring smile.
“You have nothing to apologise for. You’re okay now, Tadashi. I’ve got you. You don’t need to run from me,”
Tadashi caught him off guard as he launched his whole body onto him in a tight embrace. Tadashi’s arms desperately squeezed around his torso with all his strength as if Kei would leave if he let go. After the initial surprise wore off, Kei reciprocated the action and whispered comforting words into his ear, gently stroking his hair until he stopped crying. The pair never really shared affectionate gestures like this, only at times that really mattered, but as they embraced each other on the bathroom floor for who knows how long, Kei didn’t care about anything in the world but Tadashi.