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The air was heavy with sticky warmth and the stench of alcohol. Kei had never been a fan of parties, but often found himself allowing his friends to drag him to them anyway, no matter how much he objected at first. In a display of protest, he resolved to sit on the couch the whole time, but the living room had become a hotspot for drinking games and making-out couples during the past hour or so, and at this point all he wanted to do was go back to his apartment to sleep. But he couldn't leave without his friends. Or at least Tadashi - Kei wasn't so bothered about leaving without Hinata and Kageyama.
He took a final sip of his beer before scrunching the can and leaning forward to toss it onto the coffee table to join the pile of trash that had slowly accumulated there.
“Tsukki!” Tadashi flopped down onto the couch next to Kei, all smiles, cheeks flushed from the heat and one too many drinks. “You okay? You haven't moved in the two hours since we got here, you should mingle.”
“I don't want to mingle, Yamaguchi, I want to go home,” Kei rolled his eyes, half serious and half playful.
Tadashi produced a beer can seemingly out of thin air and pushed it into Kei’s chest. “Then what's keeping you here? You know you aren't being held hostage, right?”
“What have you been up to?” He asked instead of replying, not particularly keen to explain that he didn't want to leave Tadashi, even if they had spent most of their time at the party apart. He cracked open the can and sipped it, the bitterness of it making him wince and set it down on the coffee table.
“Mingling,” He giggled, “And some of us played beer pong, which got very intense. Ah, and this random girl tried to kiss me.” Kei’s ears pricked up upon hearing that.
“What? You kissed someone?” His stomach started to churn with jealousy. It had been three months since he realised he was in love with Tadashi, and he was still struggling to navigate the crush and the complicated emotions that came with it.
“No. I said she tried to. It was weird. Her friends probably just dared her to.”
“Was she pretty?”
He watched Tadashi through his peripheral vision as he turned to look at Kei, his eyebrows slightly scrunched together.
“I guess so. But I didn't- I don't think I would have kissed her even if she had bothered to ask. And there’s actually someone…” He trailed off, ducking his head to look down at his lap, his hands picking at loose threads from the ripped knees of his jeans. “Whatever. Hey, I’m getting tired, and you haven't done anything at all, so should we get going?”
Kei wasn't about to fight him on that. “Sure. Where are Kageyama and Hinata?”
“God knows. They’ll get home fine, so let's just go,” Tadashi said, standing up and tugging Kei’s arm to get him to follow suit. As he rose to his feet he wobbled for a second, his head feeling foggy. Maybe I had more to drink than I thought I did.
He let himself be led out of the house by Tadashi, weaving through clusters of people dancing, laughing, drinking. He was thankful for the cold gust of wind that they were met with as Tadashi pulled open the front door.
“That feels better,” Tadashi sighed, stepping off the doorstep.
Kei looked at the time on his phone as a trio of girls brushed past them and into the house. “It's past one a.m, why are people only just turning up? There should be a law that parties have to end by midnight.”
“Tsukki, if it was up to you, parties would be illegal all together.”
Kei shrugged with a smile, “That doesn't sound too bad.”
He plunged his hands into the pocket of his jeans as another strong breeze washed over them. He really should’ve worn a jacket - it was still February, after all. They walked in silence for a while, the sounds of the party dulling the further away they walked, until all they could hear was the wind and an occasional passing car.
Their apartment block wasn't too far away, fifteen minutes at most, but after twenty minutes they still hadn't arrived, walking at a leisurely pace despite the biting chill.
Kei looked over at Tadashi, and felt his heart ache slightly. Even in the dim light of the moon, he could still see all of the freckles that were scattered across Tadashi’s nose and cheeks, and the soft blush that bloomed under them. He looked so pretty, and momentarily, Kei selfishly wanted to spend the rest of the night walking around aimlessly with Tadashi, not feeling too eager for them to return to their individual apartments just yet.
“Hey, Tsukki,” Tadashi looked up at him, unaware that he was being watched. Their eyes met for a split second, before Kei decided that he couldn't handle it and promptly turned his head away. “Do you want to go to that new cafe that Yachi recommended tomorrow?”
“Um. Yeah, I guess,” Kei replied dumbly.
Tadashi chuckled, “You guess? Okay, Tsukki, don't sound too excited. If you don't want to go I can ask someone else.”
Petty jealousy twisted in Kei’s gut again. “No, it sounds good, I do want to go.”
Tadashi beamed and Kei felt his breath get stuck in his throat. God, why am I so flustered tonight?
They turned a corner and their apartment block slipped into view. Unlike Kei, who started to slow down his pace in an attempt to get the walk to last longer, Tadashi happily clutched Kei’s wrist to pull him the final few meters to the entrance.
The trip up the elevator and down the hall to get to Tadashi's place went all too quickly for Kei’s liking. As they said goodbye to each other, Kei found himself dragging it out, clinging on to the final moments of the night as if Tadashi would ask him to stay.
He turned, about to walk back over to the elevator to go up to his own apartment, when he felt a hand grab the back of his t-shirt.
“You should stay for the night!” Tadashi blurted out. Kei spun back around and watched as his eyebrows shot up, almost as if he was surprised at himself. “I mean, I’d like you to stay. Please.” He anxiously bit his lip, awaiting a response.
Of course, Kei had spent many nights in Tadashi’s apartment and vice-versa, but still, something felt different. The urgency in Tadashi’s voice, the pleading shimmer in his eyes. And maybe the alcohol was getting to his head, or maybe he was just overtired to the point of delusion, but Kei found himself pressing his lips to Tadashi’s instead of answering his question.
The kiss couldn't have lasted for longer than a second, but they were both left breathless when Kei drew back. He searched Tadashi's face for any sign of confusion or upset, but instead he smiled and leaned in to kiss Kei again, standing on his tiptoes to get the angle right.
Tadashi allowed himself to be walked backwards into his front door, his hands trying to find purchase on Kei’s chest, arms, shoulders, neck, as he gripped Tadashi's hips. Eventually, one of his hands tangled into the soft blond curls at the nape of his neck, while the other landed on his shoulder, and Kei felt as though Tadashi's fingertips were burning through his t-shirt and onto his skin.
When Tadashi pulled away to take a breath, Kei seized the opportunity to start kissing along his jawline and down his neck, drawing out soft whines and gasps when he began to graze the skin with his teeth. Kei shifted his hands upwards from Tadashi's hips, sliding them underneath his thick sweater. Tadashi shivered at the cold air hitting his now exposed waist, and used the hand in Kei’s hair to direct his head back up, slotting their lips together again in search of warmth.
"Kei," Tadashi gasped against his lips, and Kei pressed forward to kiss him harder, but then he felt a gentle push at his chest, causing him to pull back. “No, Tsukki, there's…” Tadashi lowered his voice and his eyes flicked back and forth between Kei and down the hall. “She’s watching us.”
“What?” He followed Tadashi's eyeline to a few doors down from where they were standing, where a rather disgruntled looking elderly lady stood, peering pointedly at the two over the rims of her half-moon glasses, her hands folded over the handle of her walking stick. “Oh, um… hello, ma’am.”
“Tsukki, leave it, let's just go inside, ‘kay?” His hands slid down to grab Kei's, and he winked, grinning up at him.
How could he refuse?