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Tadashi walked briskly through the school halls, lunch in hand. His eyes locked onto the words that littered the wrists of his fellow classmates as he blew past them. Tadashi's curiosity of his soulmate mark only grew with age. The desire to find his other half, the one who would love him for eternity and back pushed him to try to do more. Seek out more people. Spend more time with the ones he knew.
He watched throughout his childhood as soulmates started finding each other. The younger they were, the more likely they were to meet at first greeting. Soulmates weren't a 'first meeting only' thing, it was when the time was right. However the younger you were, the more likely you were to find your soulmate on first greeting.
By high school, soulmates found each other left and right. This got Tadashi worried. This year was his last year at high school, and volleyball be damned if he didn't find his soulmate this year. Granted, Tsukishima hadn't found his soulmate yet either. In his best friend's words he, 'Didn't really care about it.' Tadashi had peeked at his childhood friend's soulmate mark a couple times, but always grew disappointed. They both had fairly common words on their wrists, with Tsukishima's being 'Oh no' and his own being 'Sorry.' Tadashi's luck at its finest. He almost wished that maybe they were soulmates, but there was no way that their words matched up. Fate wouldn't let him have it so easily.
Tadashi turned the corner and slammed into someone, papers flying everywhere and his lunch (surprisingly tightly shut) knocked to the floor.
"Sorry!" The small girl he crashed into shouted.
Ignoring the girl, Tadashi watched as the papers flew through the air, out into the courtyard. "Oh no!" He cried out.
The two rushed to the nearest exit, already jumping to catch even one paper. A few minutes later, the majority of the papers collected, the two finally turned to each other. Tadashi instinctively looked at her wrist and saw the words on her wrist. Joy bubbled throughout his body as he remembered what the girl had just said to him.
"Did we just?"
The girl blushed, getting nervous before saying, "I think we did."
"So...do you want to go on a date later? Maybe today? I don't have volleyball practice today."
"S-sure!" She stuttered, looking away from him. Before they could say anything else, the bell rang. The two raced back to their classrooms, laughter escaping their mouths as they ran as fast as they could. Tadashi stumbled into his classroom before slamming his ass down on his assigned seat. He let out a sigh of relief before he looked around at his somewhat empty desk.
"Hey Yamaguchi, looking for something?" Tadashi turned around to find Tsukishima holding his lunch box, swinging it side to side.
Taking his lunch from Tsukishima's hand he said with a sheepish grin, "Sorry Tsukki."
Class went on as usual, Tadashi's joy and excitement clear to all. How could he hide it anyways? Why should he hide it? He found his soulmate!
By the end of class, Tsukishima was onto him.
"So...something interesting happened during lunch, huh?"
"N-no! I just tripped!" Tadashi looked away nervously.
Tsukishima rolled his eyes and lazily took his phone out. As he plugged in his headphones Tadashi shouted, "I can't walk home with you to school today!"
"And why is that?" Tsukishima held his headphone directly over his ears, a silent threat that if he didn't start talking, he would be drowned out.
"I got a date..."
"Oh? I thought you were waiting for your soulmate?"
"I found her!" Tadashi burst out finally, blush spreading across his freckled cheeks. Tsukishima smirked then released the hold he had on his headphones so they snapped against his head. Picking up his bag he started walking towards the classroom's exit before turning back and saying, "Good luck."
...That wasn't like Tsukishima to do. To just walk away with no snarky comment in tow? Something was up. But Tadashi didn't have time to dwell on it as he saw his soulmate walk past the door. Quickly, he gathered his stuff and raced after her to catch up.
Turns out, the girl's name was Yachi. She was a senior as well and surprisingly, the manager of the girl's volleyball team. He thought back to their date, with her blonde hair in that adorable side ponytail, her bangs brushing softly against her forehead from the wind, the way her eyes―
"Yamaguchi are you even doing your homework?"
Tadashi put a hand behind his neck in shame, "Ah, sorry Tsukki."
Silence overtook the pair once more.
"You want to talk about her, don't you?"
Tadashi's eyes lit up. "She's just so sweet! I took her out to a cat café and we pet so many cats. There was even one that looked like you Tsukki! It was yellow with these sharp little eyes and I swear the cat followed me all over the café. And the backs and bottoms of the chairs were shaped like paw prints―"
"Yamaguchi."
"―and she didn't even talk about or try to get to me to date you! I'm really surprised about that since you're quite popular around the ladies and all. It was amazing I swear―"
"Shut up Yamaguchi." Tsukishima said this time, the classic phrase causing Tadashi to pause in his gushing.
Tadashi laughed lightly, "Sorry Tsukki."
"Did you get that feeling? That indescribable one?"
"I'm pretty sure I did..." Tadashi thought for a second then nodded. "Yeah, I did!"
"Alright..." And they went back to studying.
•.•.•*•.•.•*•.•.•*•.•.•*•.•.•*•.•.•*•.•.•
Graduation was torture for Kei. Seeing his best friend taken by some random girl who he barely even knew. Yamaguchi was his best friend, his only friend, so watching him go to Yachi first after getting his diploma made his heart ache. Kei almost wished―he almost wished that he was Yachi.
Then again, that didn't matter anyways. It had been two years since graduation and the two were still together. They were 'soulmates' after all.
Yamaguchi ended up moving in with Yachi. They didn't go to the same college but according to Yamaguchi, they made it work. Kei on the other hand got an apartment of his own. He almost moved in with Kuroo, Bokuto, and their soulmates. That is, until he remembered the two's chaos, quickly going back on that thought. Living alone would be better. Less distractions, less annoyances. The only troublesome thing would be paying the rent on his own. He should have known better.
On a particularly long day of school, Kei came back to his apartment to see Yamaguchi sleeping against his door, his freckled face stained with tears.
"Idiot." Kei muttered before poking his cheek in an attempt to wake him up. He didn't stir. Kei sighed before sticking his hands under the slightly shorter boy's armpits, lifting him up to a standing position. Wrapping an arm around his waist, Kei used the other to unlock the door and stepped inside. He tossed Yamaguchi onto the bed then left to make dinner for the two of them. By the time Yamaguchi had woken up, the finished cooking an hour ago and was stone cold. The boy looked around the room, confused, before his eyes locked onto the other boy.
"Tsukki?"
"Ah, sleeping beauty, you're awake." Kei teasingly said. He couldn't help himself after all.
"Why am I here? Not that your place is bad or anything," Yamaguchi quickly corrected himself, "I just don't remember going to your place."
"I should be asking you that. I found you asleep against my door." Kei recalled as he popped Yamaguchi's cold food into the microwave.
"Um..."
"It doesn't matter. Eat." Kei insisted, taking the plate out of the microwave and handing it to him. He doubted Yamaguchi would know when he last ate if he didn't even remember why he was here.
"Thanks Tsukki." Yamaguchi scarfed down the food as if he had never eaten before. By the time he finished, Yamaguchi looked down at the plate, realization filling his eyes as he said, "Right..."
"Yachi hasn't been home a lot lately. Like, at all. She's just so busy with her classes that we never have any time for each other, you know? But when we are together, it never feels like it. Our eyes go anywhere but each other. It's gotten so bad that it's felt more like roommates than soulmates."
Yamaguchi took a deep breath before saying, "So...we decided to take a break. Give each other some space. I guess soulmates are just a children's tale, huh." Yamaguchi started to tear up. "We're supposed to be soulmates! Soulmates! But how can we be soulmates if we're barely together? How can we be soulmates if I'd―" Yamaguchi stopped himself mid-sentence before bursting out, "For once in my life, why can't something just work out for me?"
Yamaguchi broke down as Kei stared at him, silently surprised. He almost brought himself to speak before Yamaguchi continued, more softly this time, "Why don't we gaze at each other? Why don't we ever look at each other when we have the chance? We've been together for almost two fucking years! Shouldn't we love each other by now?"
"That's because nothing can be easy for you, Yamaguchi." Kei interrupted, sitting down beside him on the bed. " You weren't naturally talented at volleyball, you had to work for it. You spent hours practicing alone. He'll, you weren't even a regular. Because you know what? Some things just don't work out. And that's okay."
Yamaguchi cried even harder at that. Once he was done, he thank Kei and leaned back against the wall. Within a few minutes, he was asleep. Kei followed suit, although a buzzing noise kept him from falling asleep. Kei checked his phone to find ten panicked texts from Yachi asking if Yamaguchi was with him. Chuckling, he texted her back. Those two really were alike. Yamaguchi's head fell onto the taller boy's shoulder, resting there as he slept.
"So lame." Kei muttered with a smile, soon falling asleep.
The next day, Kei was on a mission. With no classes on the docket he could go anywhere, do anything. But with his best friend holed up in his apartment, he knew it was time to visit that section of the library.
Stepping into the library, he headed for the one section that he never touched, the soulmate section. He needed questions answered. For the next week, Kei researched.
He found absolutely nothing.
On Sunday, Kei planned on giving up. He knew his reasonings for doing this were selfish. There was still some hope that the world was wrong, that he was actually Yamaguchi's real soulmate. No matter how hard he tries, Kei couldn't crush that wistful thought. But Yamaguchi was stuck in the 'friend zone' with his soulmate, something unheard of and enticing. Sure, friends could be friends and then at the 'right moment' find out they're soulmates. However the reverse was extremely unexpected. This drew Kei in more to Yamaguchi.
Kei walked out of the library, discontent with his lack of findings. And for stumbling upon Hinata, who was on the other side of the bookcase attempting to study before begging Kei to help him study. To cheer himself up a bit, he plugged in his headphones and started walking through the park.
As he walked, he watched the various pairs and families in the park. The children playing with a kite, the two lesbians having a picnic, the dog barreling straight towards him―
Wait.
Kei stumble back as a Shiba Inu slammed into directly into his knees. The dog barked, loudly, and wouldn't stop despite the woman running after the dog, calling out the dog's name. Her black hair slapped against her face as she ran, the wind forcing it to blow across her face.
"Oh no! Down Bean!" The dog stopped attacking his knees. "Are you okay?" She asked, looked at his knees then his wrist. Then, the bespeckled woman looked up at the sun as if the curse the land it flared upon.
"Sorry?"
As she looked, her eyes squinted from the rays, and she didn't stop until Kei finally looked at her wrist, realizing what was going on. "I'm gay." He said as fast as he could.
"Same."
"Did you get that 'feeling'?"
"Luckily, no." She pushed up her glasses. "Funny how we have matching words though."
"Yeah, it reminds me of a friend of mine." Kei thought back to Yamaguchi and his ex.
"What, does he have 'Sorry' on his wrist too?"
"Yeah, and his soulmate has 'Oh no' on her wrist." She laughed. Suddenly Kei remembered what Yamaguchi had said the day before. "Hey, are you free? Like tomorrow afternoon?" He asked, quickly jumping into explaining his master plan.
•.•.•*•.•.•*•.•.•*•.•.•*•.•.•*•.•.•*•.•.•
Tadashi stared at his texts. Tsukishima had been acting weird ever since that night. He wasn't avoiding him, at least he didn't think so. He was just spending longer times out than usual, like Yachi. Sometimes longer than his classes were. The freckled boy would have thought that he was hanging out with Kuroo and Bokuto, but even Tsukishima wouldn't spend that much time with the two. Only their soulmates had the ability to do that.
So, Tadashi kept staring at the text from Tsukishima until he finally gave in and texted Yachi.
Tadashi didn't exactly expect her to text back right away, if at all. She's been really busy with her classes, plus they weren't on the best of terms. Sure, they were kinda friends. However, if he had to choose between Tsukishima and Yachi as friends, he'd choose Tsukishima every time.
Yachi texted back.
Tadashi released a breath he didn't realize he'd was holding. That was one thing done.
The walk to the address was awkward between the two, filled with an empty silence that seemed to stretch further as they went. Tadashi wasn't even sure Yachi would even talk to him until they reached the place (a fifties-esque diner). Tadashi moved to open the door for Yachi out of habit before he bumped into someone. He glanced down to see a woman with black hair who, despite bumping into Tadashi, was more intent on staring at Yachi. Tadashi looked back to Yachi, whose face turned redder than the day he met her. She sputtered out a few unintelligible words before he saved her by saying,
"Ah, sorry about that! Let us," he looked directly at Yachi as he finished his sentence, "buy you a milkshake. You know, as an apology."
"Thank you, but that isn't necessary. I'm waiting for someone." At that, Yachi's blush lightened a bit, clearly sad at the sound of the woman being taken. "But, I could still wait with you until he shows."
"Of course!" Yachi burst out as fast as she could, causing Tadashi to laugh internally. Yachi always seemed to short circuit at the sight of a pretty girl.
The three made their way into the diner, Yachi and Tadashi sitting next to each other at a random booth (a habit the two developed from dating) while the stranger said, "I'm going to go see if they have any milkshakes, I'll be back in a second."
"So..." Yachi started once the woman was gone, "Who's the friend Tsukishima is bringing?"
"I don't know actually," Tadashi said nervously, his hand on the back of his neck. "He just said he was bringing 'someone'."
"You don't know if it's a friend or not!? It could be his new boyfriend! Or a gangster to threaten us! It could be a straight up murderer!" Yachi's voice grew louder as she panicked.
"Tsukki wouldn't do that..." He weakly denied.
"Tsukishima literally hangs out with Kuroo! That guy looks like a gangster! How do we know that he doesn't know gangsters if he knows Kuroo!?"
"Oh god you're right." Tadashi felt the panic build up in him too, feeding off of Yachi's anxiety.
Suddenly, they heard an "Oh no!" from the center of the shop. The two whipped around find it came from the bespeckled stranger, who trudged back to their booth with no milkshake. She glumly said, "They ran out of milkshakes."
"Sorry." Yachi said sincerely out of pure instinct. She was used to Tadashi's favorite foods always being out during their dates, causing him to have to choose something he didn't like. As soon as the word left Yachi's mouth, a mix of awe, excitement, nervousness, and pure joy spread across their faces.
"I-I'm Hitoka." Yachi stuttered out.
"Shimizu Kiyoko. Call me Kiyoko." The other girl offered. "It's an absolute pleasure to meet you Yachi."
Yachi turned a deep red before leaning towards Tadashi and whispering loudly, "We're done. Bye bye break, hello goddess."
Shimizu laughed before adding, "Sorry, she's all mine."
The three talked for a while, waiting for Tsukishima and the person Kiyoko was waiting on to show. They ordered food and drinks, which arrived just in time for the diner's bell to chime. Tadashi didn't notice, too engrossed in his floppy fries. As he picked one up, Yachi furiously tapped his shoulder and pointed at the door. Looking up, Tadashi dropped his fry.
Tsukishima stood at the door way. He barely looked any different than usual, but there was just something different about him. Maybe it was how he styled his hai, or that his face was clear of stress (a rare sight lately). Tsukishima glanced around the joint before spotting their booth and headed towards the group.
'Oh no,' Tadashi thought, not even hearing the words escape his lips, frozen in shock and wonder. Yachi started laughing at him, but Tadashi was too tuned out, eyes locked on Tsukishima.
"Finally." Shimizu muttered under her breath, her words barely audible to Tadashi.
Tsukishima's eyes landed on him and he smirked. Once he reached the table, he leaned down real close to Tadashi's ear and whispered cheekily, "Sorry."
By the time Tsukishima sat down in the booth, the emotions and feelings were already rushing through their bodies.