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“You’re pathetic,” Tsukishima lamented flatly through the phone.
“Tsukkkkkiiiiii,” Tadashi groaned, shoving his face in his free hand. “You’re not helping!”
“If you wanted help, you wouldn’t have called me.” Tsukishima scoffed.
“You’re the only one I could think of!” Tadashi protested.
“Please tell me you’re not shouting this while your roommate-crush is like five feet away. You’ll be even more pathetic to me,” Tsukishima replied, and Tadashi could imagine him rolling his eyes. “Call the King or Hinata or something. Anyone but me. At least those idiots have been dating for some time now. I don’t have time to bother with relationships while I’m trying to pursue a degree and a volleyball career. We can’t all be so lucky to get recruited out of high school like they were,’’ he scoffed, “Goodbye, Yamaguchi.”
And with that, the line went dead, Tsukishima hanging up and leaving Tadashi to wallow in his sorrow. While he wasn’t ‘even more pathetic’—Terushima was out at one of his classes—Tadashi was definitely starting to think Tsukishima was right.
He hadn’t exactly had anywhere to go once accepted into college, and paying for the tuition meant that he wouldn’t be able to afford an apartment on his own. Hoping to find a roommate, he went to the internet and contacted some members of the teams Karasuno had played against during his three years of high school, hoping to find someone who could help him pay his rent.
That’s when one Yuji Terushima swooped in, finding Tadashi at a coffee shop nearby his college. One of Terushima’s teammates from Johenzji was moving out of their shared apartment and it seemed like a match made in heaven. In fact, maybe a little too much. A year and a half later, Tadashi’s life was falling apart thanks to his horrible, desperate crush on Terushima, and Terushima, thankfully oblivious, only caused more problems for Tadashi’s weak heart.
“Yammy-Yams! I’ve returned!” Terushima called as he rushed through the doorway.
“Oh, hey Teru-wAH!” Tadashi looked up from his phone, only to find himself crushed underneath Terushima.
Terushima stuck out his pierced tongue at Tadashi from atop him, grinning stupidly as he shifted all his weight, crushing Tadashi into his bed.
“Gah, get off Teru!” Tadashi yelped, face flushing from the closeness and hoping the blonde only thought it was from the amount of effort it was taking to push him off.
“Yamayama doesn’t love me.” Terushima pouted as Tadashi finally wriggled out of his grasp.
“I never said that,” Tadashi replied. “I just don’t enjoy you trying to squish me like a bug.”
“But you’d be such a cute little bug.” Terushima laughed, then it seemed like a light went off in his head. “You’re just as spotted as a ladybug!”
“W-what?” Tadashi spluttered, face turning red. “What the hell do you mean?”
“Your freckles! You’re like a little ladybug now with how red you’re getting.” Terushima grinned and pinched both of Tadashi’s cheeks in between his fingers. “My cute little Freckle-bug!”
I’m absolutely done for.
If Tadashi thought things couldn’t get any worse for his condition, boy, he was sorely mistaken. He’d asked if Hinata and Kageyama could spare some time to see him, but it seemed that he had lucked out with the holidays coming up. That was, until Terushima saw him getting ready to go out.
“Hey, where are you going Yamayama?” Terushima asked, suddenly appearing almost magically in front of Tadashi.
“Wuh-oh! Uh, I’m just meeting Hinata and Kageyama for lunch,” Tadashi admitted, figuring he technically had no reason to lie.
“What? And you didn’t invite me?” Terushima pouted. Tadashi immediately felt his resolve shatter.
“I just didn’t know if you’d be able to come. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.” Tadashi nodded, feeling his cheeks redden.
“Oh great! Let me get my coat!” Terushima grinned, rushing off.
Tadashi immediately sent a text his friends’ way.
Abort mission! Teru’s coming now too
You’re so weak, Yamaguchi.
Don’t be mean Bakageyama!
Tadashi could only groan into his hands as he put his phone away. He really was pathetic, wasn’t he?
“Freckles? What’s wrong?” Terushima asked once he heard Tadashi groan. He moved to wrap his arms around Tadashi’s torso and rested his head gently on Tadashi’s shoulder, which only made his heart pound faster and his problems grow tenfold. “You know you can tell me, right? Otherwise, what else would I be good for?”
“Oh, stop that Terushima,” Tadashi protested, breaking from his grip to rest his hands on Terushima’s shoulders. “You know you’re good for lots of things, not just helping me not stress—though you’re very good at that. Among, you know, all the other things you’re good at!”
Terushima laughed at that, squishing Tadashi’s face in his hands.
“Aww geez, what did I do to get such a sweetheart in my life?”
“Uh, give me a place to stay?” Tadashi felt his face growing warm, and quickly changed the subject. “Now c’mon, we’re gonna be late!”
Luckily, the restaurant where they were supposed to meet up wasn’t too far away, so a brisk walk brought the two right on time.
“Hey guys!” Hinata greeted, practically bouncing.
“Hey Hinata! Kageyama!” Terushima laughed. “Look at you guys! I can’t believe you’re really professional athletes!”
“Yeah,” Tadashi added. “It’s crazy that we went to school together in the same year while you guys are playing at the top level.”
“It’s awesome!” Hinata agreed. “We’ll get you some tickets to the next match as a holiday gift!”
“Really?!”
Terushima and Tadashi gasped in unison, grinning at each other.
Tadashi felt his heart getting warm as Terushima eagerly thanked Hinata and Kageyama. Although neither of them really played volleyball beyond club teams, Terushima seemed to love throwing on games as he filtered around their apartment. Getting to be at one in person with likely some pretty decent seats was going to make his roommate so happy.
“Let’s go inside before we freeze to death.” Kageyama snorted, opening the door as Hinata and Terushima nodded and both bounced inside.
Tadashi went to follow them, before Kageyama grabbed his shoulder.
“I wanna talk to you,” Kageyama muttered, before adding, “Go try and get us a table, okay Sho?”
“Sure thing!” Hinata grinned.
“W-What is it?” Tadashi asked anxiously.
“Look,” Kageyama began. “I know you have every right not to believe me considering how long I pined after Shoyo in high school. But, considering how often you guys told me what I looked like… I think Terushima likes you in the same way. The fondness he has for you is exactly what you guys said I looked like.”
Tadashi blushed.
Does he, really?
“Tobio, what are you guys doing? We just got a table!” Hinata called, rushing out
“I was trying to help him out like he originally wanted us to before he was too much of a mush to tell his lover boy no,” Kageyama said.
“Oh yeah! He’s totally into you Yamaguchi!!” Hinata laughed, grinning widely.
“W-what? How do you know?” Tadashi spluttered.
“Well, I know you’re totally in love with him, and you guys look at each other the exact same way!” Hinata replied. “It’s like, only ever when the other person isn’t looking though.”
“I mean, you two used to do the same thing,” Tadashi huffed.
“Exactly! And now we’re a dangerous volleyball power couple!” Hinata cheered. “You should totally just tell him Yams!”
“But I can’t risk it without definite proof!” Tadashi protested. “I live with him. What happens if I’m wrong? What if he kicks me out on my ass?”
“Then you can come live with us or something!” Hinata grinned.
“But he’s not going to kick you out,” Kageyama added. “Besides, it’s not like you have to do it today… just think about it.”
“Fine, fine, I will think about it, but I can’t promise anything else,” Tadashi huffed, and followed Hinata and Kageyama inside.
As they walked inside, a woman working at the restaurant appeared to move some kind of ladder away from the front door. Tadashi would have paid it no mind, but Terushima stopped Hinata and Kageyama.
“Guys, mistletoe!” Terushima teased, pointing above the couple.
That was what the woman had been doing—hanging up mistletoe for the holidays. Tadashi could only flush red, not sure if he was relieved or disappointed that he hadn’t walked in first and been caught with Terushima under the mistletoe.
“You gotta kiss now!” Terushima continued to laugh. “I won’t even look, but you can’t break tradition!”
Terushima promptly covered his eyes, sticking out his pierced tongue goofily as well.
“It is tradition, Tobio!” Hinata laughed, before aggressively pulling Tobio down into a kiss.
Tadashi laughed at their antics, and even more so when Terushima let out a loud whoop. As they pulled away from each other, Hinata shot Tadashi a quick look, smirking and gesturing towards Terushima.
He blushed, shaking his head firmly, but the seeds had already been planted in his mind.
Despite buying the mistletoe for their apartment, Tadashi had unfortunately chickened out before being able to hang it up, fearing Terushima might question him. Terushima was one for questions, especially ones that always seemed posed in such a way that they pierced into Tadashi’s carefully guarded soul.
One of these questions emerged as Tadashi was finishing making dinner—Terushima’s favorite, wiener pan, and his guilty pleasure, french fries.
"We’re so in sync Freckles, even our favorite foods go together perfectly!” Terushima had once declared, which of course had made Tadashi nearly lose his mind.
The more he thought about it, the more sure he was that Tsukishima was actually right in calling him pathetic. This was exemplified extraordinarily well when Terushima asked, “What are your plans for Christmas?” and Tadashi choked on his own spit.
“Wha?” Tadashi yelped as Terushima sprang to his feet to pat Tadashi’s back.
“Geez, you okay?” Terushima’s eyes were wide with concern for Tadashi—concern that his stupid self did not deserve.
“Yeah, yeah,” Tadashi said, taking a deep breath. “Fine. You just caught me off guard, that’s all. I don’t have a partner or anything, and most of my friends do, so I don’t really know. Maybe I can convince Tsukki to let me bother him, but honestly he’ll probably get dragged into something by his brother or one of his teammates.”
Terushima’s face lit up, which Tadashi didn’t know how to feel about, considering he’d just told his roommate he was a lonely loser.
“Perfect!”
“Perfect?” Tadashi asked, turning back to his cooking to hide his embarrassment and confusion. “I take some offense to the idea that my being single and lonely is somehow ‘perfect’ for you.”
It would only be ‘perfect’ if you were about to make some move and save me all my trouble.
“Ah, well ‘perfect’ might be a little harsh, but I’m also ‘single and lonely’, which means we can spend Christmas together!” Terushima explained sheepishly. “Our first Christmas together?”
Terushima’s sudden shyness was strange, and while Tadashi could certainly interpret it in a specific way, it wasn’t worth getting his hopes up.
“Oh wow, that’s right,” Tadashi considered, finishing dinner at last. “Last year I went to Asahi and Nishinoya’s Karasuno Christmas get-together. They’re not doing it this year because Noya somehow got plane tickets to spend Christmas in New York City.”
“So, whaddya say, Freckles?” Terushima asked, excited. “Teru-Yama Christmas Extravaganza?!”
Tadashi laughed, his heart pounding in his chest at the blonde’s child-like excitement. “I can’t promise the ‘extravaganza’, but sure, Teru-Yama Christmas sounds like a plan.”
Teru-Yama Christmas was not a good plan.
“Hey Asahi,” Tadashi greeted when his former upperclassman picked up the phone.
“Yamaguchi? What’s up?” Asahi seemed confused, and honestly, Tadashi couldn’t blame him.
“You have a hyperactive crazy boyfriend, right?” Tadashi asked.
“Uh, yes, I do. In fact, let me move before he hears any reference to himself and decides he needs my full-blown attention.” Asahi chuckled softly.
Tadashi felt himself smile at that—an all too fair assessment of Nishinoya, he thought.
“So, what’s your deal?” Asahi asked once he moved.
“Does Nishinoya ever like… suddenly go silent on you?” Tadashi asked.
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“Terushima just like… suddenly won’t talk to me like he usually does. I mean, I guess it’s different since you guys are dating and we’re not, but he just like… I don’t know, talks less?”
“Hmm,” Asahi laughed softly, “I would say he’s plotting something?”
“P-Plotting?” Tadashi yelped.
Asahi laughed again. “It’s nothing bad. Yuu just tends to get clammy when he’s trying to surprise me because he knows he won’t be able to stop himself from spoiling it otherwise. So, that’s my assumption for what’s going on with Terushima.”
“Oh, geez… what do I do? What could he be plotting?” Tadashi whined.
“Well, the least conspicuous answer is probably something for Christmas, right?” Asahi suggested and Tadashi immediately smacked himself in the face. The sound must have been louder than he’d thought, as Asahi suddenly gasped out, “Woah! Yamaguchi, are you alright?”
“Ugh, yeah,” Tadashi groaned. “I just realized how stupid I’ve been. We agreed to spend Christmas together, I didn’t even realize that he’s probably trying to somehow one-up every other Christmas I’ve had.”
Asahi laughed. “Certainly sounds like someone I know. Which reminds me—you’re sure you two aren’t actually dating?”
“No! I wish, obviously, but there’s no way he feels the same way, right?” Tadashi chuckled nervously, “And if he does, how do I even approach things!? If he was interested, he would have approached me first, right?”
“Ah, Yamaguchi, I don’t wanna sound too much like a ‘dad’ or something but… I know exactly how you felt. I thought that if Yuu liked me back, he would’ve approached me. It turned out, though, that he didn’t want to scare me and make me feel pressured. Doesn’t that seem like something Terushima might do for you?”
Tadashi groaned. “Yes, it absolutely does. He’s way too nice to me. He always wants to make sure I’m doing okay. But… still, I just don’t think I’ll ever have the courage to ask.”
“Are you happy like this?”
Tadashi nearly gagged.
“Ah! Sorry, didn’t mean to imply you aren’t, but just think about it, okay?” Asahi replied awkwardly. “If you decide you aren’t happy just pining for him from afar, maybe it’s worth it to ask, yeah?”
Tadashi went silent, lost in thought. After a moment, he said, “Yeah… yeah, I’ll think about it.”
“Good,” Asahi said, and Tadashi just knew he must have a soft smile on his face on the other end.
“ASAHIIIIII!”
“Oh, I guess that’s my queue to go.” Asahi laughed at Nishinoya’s loud cry for attention. “Hope things work out!”
“Thanks… me too.”
“I promise you, shopping for gifts isn’t hard,” Sugawara chuckled as Tadashi led him through the mall. “Honestly, you know Terushima better than anyone—I don’t think I’ll be much help.”
“Then why did you agree to come?” Tadashi frowned.
“Because I needed to go shopping too.” Sugawara shrugged. “I’ll buy you some mall food for lunch if you want.”
“Fine, whatever,” Tadashi huffed, earning him a pat on the back that wasn’t much appreciated.
“C’mon Yamaguchi,” Sugawara laughed. “How about this—I’ll show you what I’m buying for people, and then you think about what you’d want to get for Terushima. Sounds like a plan?”
“Yeah…” Tadashi sighs.
“Chin up, Yama! You’ll have the perfect present by the end of our trip!” Sugawara assured him.
Tadashi wasn’t sure. While he had picked up a few things to make sure he wasn’t going to give Terushima nothing, he still wanted to find something special for his roommate so he could hopefully be able to confess.
“What do I doooo, Sugawara?” Tadashi groaned.
“Stop worrying and just think from the heart!” Sugawara suggested teasingly, and Tadashi rolled his eyes.
Thinking from the heart, huh? What would Terushima really want for Christmas? Want from me?
Suddenly, it was as if a lightbulb went off in Tadashi’s head.
“Craft store, now!” Tadashi yelped and rushed off, Sugawara following him in confusion.
“What are we doing?” Sugawara asked, laughing at the sudden burst of determination and clarity from Tadashi.
“I’m gonna make like a scrapbook of our friendship,” Tadashi explained, panting heavily upon arriving at the front of the store. “And then… at the end… I’ll ask if the friendship could be something more.”
“Seriously?” Sugawara gasped. “Our little Yamaguchi’s growing up!”
Tadashi frowned at the jab, but ignored it, instead perusing the store for a starting scrapbook.
“I talked with Asahi the other day, and… he made me realize that even if it’s risky, I’m not happy just pining after him forever. I mean, what if he gets a partner? What would I do then?”
“Cry, probably,” Sugawara teased, but handed Yamaguchi a shopping basket with some craft supplies he picked out himself.
“Unfortunately, you’re probably right. So… I’m gonna confess. Christmas Day.”
“Romantic, aren’t we?”
Tadashi flushed. “Uh… I mean, I dunno. Teru is, so I’m just.. trying to impress him.”
“Of course, of course.”
Christmas Eve arrived sooner than Tadashi expected, and so he tucked his finally finished scrapbook hidden away under his bed. Christmas Eve was tomorrow, and Tadashi was willing himself not to chicken out these next two days. He was going to ask out Yuji Terushima, even if it damn near killed him.
“Hey Freckles, I was thinking…” Terushima trailed off as he entered Tadashi’s room, seemingly flushing. “You wanna go out to eat tonight?”
“Hm? Sure, but why?” Tadashi asked absentmindedly, moving from his desk to grab a coat and shoes.
“Well, I just wanna treat my roomie to something nice since you agreed to make food for us on Christmas,” Terushima laughed, but there was something forced and awkward about it.
Probably best not to pry right now. I don’t want him to clam up on me before I can ask him out.
“Yeah, that sounds great, Teru,” Tadashi replied softly, smiling. “Where to?”
Luckily, this seemed to relax Terushima. “Your pick, so long as you’re not just trying to eat me out of house and home.”
“How did you guess my evil plan?” Tadashi gasped in mock pain, laughing.
Terushima broke into a fit of giggles too, wrapping his arm around Tadashi’s shoulders gently.
“Let us be on our merry way, my darling Freckles!” Terushima cheered, whisking Tadashi out the door.
They both were still laughing. Tadashi felt his face warm. Terushima also seemed to be sporting a blush, and Tadashi hoped he wasn’t just imagining that it appeared as a result of their closeness.
They ended up going to an udon shop, and as they sat at the kotatsu, waiting for their meals to arrive, dorkily playing footsie where no one could see, Tadashi felt his heart rise with hope.
Maybe I haven’t had anything to worry about this whole time.
Once their udon arrived, Tadashi nonchalantly slid over a few extra napkins towards Terushima, who rolled his eyes fondly.
“Y’know, you’re such a great wife, Yamayama,” Terushima stated simply. “Why get married to some girl when I’ve already got you.”
Tadashi flushed at the implication, and it seemed Terushima realized what he said only minutes after, quickly trying to backtrack.
“Of course, I’m not as good, so it’s not fair to keep you all to myself, huh?” Terushima snickered, but the genuine self-loathing could still be heard in his voice. “Probably it’d be better to be with someone like Yachi, yeah?”
Unsure where this had suddenly come from, Tadashi quickly countered with, “I don’t think Yachi intends on ever being anyone’s good little wife.”
Terushima seemed to have already shut in on himself. Tadashi felt bad, missing the calmness and flirtation of what was probably only just moments earlier.
Terushima remained slightly cold and awkward the rest of the night and into the next day, until Tadashi returned home from shopping for food for cooking on Christmas.
Suddenly, Terushima’s switch had flipped again, and he had returned to normal, almost bombarding Tadashi the second he returned.
“Let me get those bags for you my darling Freckles!” Terushima cooed happily, grabbing the bags from Tadashi’s hands and making a show of how much he could lift by pulling the bags above his head.
“T-thanks, Teru,” Tadashi spluttered, confused, but happy to see Terushima back in a good mood.
“But of course!” Terushima laughed. “Are you excited for our ‘Teru-Yama Christmas’?”
“Y-Yeah, totally,” Tadashi laughed in return. “In fact, I bet it’ll be your best Christmas yet!”
“Oh really?” Terushima challenged, narrowing his eyes in what seemed like a flirtatious manner. “You wanna bet, huh, Yams?”
Tadashi had to resist the urge to blush.
“I would, if I had anything to bet,” Tadashi merely replied, beginning to put away their groceries. “But I suppose I can bet my pride on it. I won't disappoint, Yuji Terushima.”
Terushima laughed again, a pleasant blush decorating his features.
“Y’know what… you can call me that, if you want.”
“Huh?” Tadashi gaped.
It’s like his life’s work is catching me off guard.
“Yuji. We’ve known each other long enough, right?” Terushima explained. “I mean, I don’t need to call you by your first name if you’re worried about that. I just think I’m cool with you calling me Yuji.”
Flushed, Tadashi tested the name on his tongue. “Yuji, huh?”
Terushima—Yuji now—flushed as well, his face taking on a pleasantly pink shade. “Yeah. I was right—I’m… very… cool… with you calling me that.”
“You can call me Tadashi,” Tadashi added with a self-satisfied smirk.
Yuji flushed even darker. Finally, I got him back for once.
“Alright… Tadashi,” Yuji practically purred.
Abort, abort, this was a mistake. Tadashi’s deepest, dirtiest fantasies came rushing to the forefront of his mind at the sound of his name being said like that.
Yuji laughed, probably realizing he’d broken Tadashi. “Alright, ready to go get some KFC, Tadashi?”
“Y-Yeah, sure,” Tadashi spluttered. “Let me just finish putting the rest of the groceries away, okay?”
“Sure thing. I’ll go grab your coat and shoes, Freckles.” And with that Yuji was off, giving Tadashi time to relive the last five minutes.
He’s either playing with my heart in the meanest way possible, or perhaps I haven’t had anything to worry about at all? But why has he suddenly been so up and down?
“Tadashi! Let’s go my dear Tadashi!” Yuji calls, flapping Tadashi’s coat around him and pulling him in close. Close enough that they could kiss if they wanted—and oh, how Tadashi wanted.
He had actually pouted, embarrassingly enough, but either Yuji hadn’t seen or he had seen and pretended not to notice so as to not embarrass Tadashi further.
Why can I never get a good enough read on him? Tadashi thought, full of despair. Hopefully come tomorrow morning, this would all be sorted out… unless Tadashi chickened out, which he felt he was starting to want to do, too confused by how Yuji had been acting recently.
As they walked through the city towards their local KFC, Tadashi was lost in thought, panicking about how little he really understood his crush’s recent actions. After all, Yuji was passionate, but also excitable about many things and easy to distract. What if something—or someone—new and shiny had come to catch his eye? What if-
“Tadashi?” Hearing his given name in that voice somehow cut through all the noise in Tadashi’s head, and the firm but gentle hand on his shoulder grounded him to the moment. “You okay?”
“Ah, yeah,” Tadashi half-lied sheepishly. “Just thinking a lot.”
Yuji frowned slightly, both of them knowing that Tadashi was hiding something. However, Yuji thankfully didn’t pry, because just like he always did, he trusted Tadashi to confide in him when he was ready.
I’m such a piece of shit. He’s worried about me and I can’t even tell him what’s wrong!
A silence fell over them as they waited in line, but it wasn’t the usual silence, comfortably just existing in each other’s presence. This one was stuffy and thick, both of them feeling the weight of words unsaid. Tadashi hated it. Soon enough, though, they had reached the front of the line, ordered, and began the trek back home.
Say something, anything! You or me! Tadashi groaned internally, hugging the bag of food close to his chest.
Once he looked at him, Tadashi noticed Yuji was fiddling with something in his coat pocket. The second the two made eye contact, however, Yuji froze, face flushing.
“What-Whatcha doing?” Tadashi laughed lightly, quite confused.
“L-Looking… for… something,” Yuji stuttered out through gritted teeth.
“Right. Y’know, Y-Yuji, you can always talk to me when something’s bothering you,” Tadashi replied awkwardly.
Yuji smiled softly, looking almost relieved. “Yeah, I know.”
They had reached their apartment complex, and Tadashi started for the door, when he noticed Yuji had started dangling something over their heads.
“Y-Yuji?” That was when Tadashi glanced upwards, seeing Yuji’s blushing face and the mistletoe he was holding above them.
“I’m… I’m no expert, but I think we have to kiss now, Tadashi,” Yuji whispered, though Tadashi could tell he was shakingly slightly, likely out of nerves.
“No—”
“No?!” Yuji’s face fell, and Tadashi felt heat rise in his, both from anger at Yuji’s jumping to conclusions and at the joy that he actually liked him back.
“Let me finish talking, you idiot!” Tadashi snapped. “I was gonna say no fair! I was planning for your gift tomorrow to be how I confessed to you! You beat me to it!”
Immediately, Yuji’s face split with his signature grin. “You wanted to confess to me too? You do like me back!” His voice was soft, hopeful.
“Y-Yeah, I do!” Tadashi yelped.
“So… you gonna kiss me then?”
“Ah!” Tadashi blinked. “Ye-Yeah, I-I just-”
“I’ve got you,” Yuji nearly purred, moving to cup Tadashi’s face and caress his cheek. “Is this okay?”
“Yes… very,” Tadashi breathed, smiling shyly.
Yuji smiled back, and then came in closer, softly pressing his lips to Tadashi’s. The kiss was gentle and warm and sweet, a perfect first kiss. Except there had been so much time and pining and angst leading up to this moment that Tadashi wanted, no, needed more. Shifting their bag of dinner to one hand, he used the other to pull Yuji in closer by the waist.
He licked at Yuji’s mouth and succeeded in deepening the kiss, Yuji opening his mouth in slight surprise at Tadashi’s boldness. Next thing he knew, another hand was on his other cheek, and he smiled, figuring Yuji must’ve tossed away the mistletoe to deepen the kiss himself.
Unfortunately needing to breathe, Tadashi pulled away from his lips with a pop, breathing heavily and flushing bright red when he saw the line of spit connecting their mouths still. Yuji, on the other hand—
“Hot,” he laughed, wiggling his eyebrows and leaning in closer once again.
“Can we continue this inside?” Tadashi asked, although his cheeks flushed more pleasantly and his heart felt warm. “I don’t wanna let this food go to waste-and maybe we should talk a little too.”
“Fineee,” Yuji groaned playfully. “Promise we can make out some more?”
“Yes,” Tadashi replied way too quickly, causing Yuji’s face to split into an even impossibly bigger grin.
They ate dinner and talked about their relationship, except the whole time Yuji wanted to play footsie under the table. Tadashi, unfortunately, eagerly indulged him.
“Second year of high school?” Tadashi gasped. “But… that’s the first time you ever saw me!”
Yuji laughed, his face a pleasant shade of pink. “Well, that’s when the attraction started. You’re really cute Tadashi.” He shrugged. “After you guys beat us, I kept thinking about what it would be like to kiss all those freckles of yours. I was excited when you needed a place to stay, because you’d only gotten cuter, and then living with you made me realize I’d actually fallen in love.”
Tadashi flushed at hearing all of this, and Yuji only laughed at his expense.
Nudging his foot against Tadashi’s leg, Yuji continued, “Well, what about you, huh? When did you fall for moi?” He waggled his eyebrows at him, playful.
“Well, I guess I always thought you were really hot during high school, but I never would have pursued it,” Tadashi admitted. “Honestly, I was kinda scared to pursue it now. I think I always was sort of crushing on you from afar, figuring it would never be. Then you offered me a home and… well, god,” he groaned slightly, feeling a blush crawling to his face, “This is cheesy, but then you became my home. And that’s why I was so scared of ruining things.”
Glancing up from his food, Tadashi was shocked to find tears running down Yuji’s face.
“Wah! Yuji, are you okay?!” Tadashi yelped, and Yuji nodded, quickly wiping at his face.
“Y-yeah, I just… I’m your home??” More tears of joy poured from Yuji’s face and Tadashi smiled fondly.
“Well, this is new. Usually I’m the crier.”
Yuji scowled playfully. “I guess I was scared too, y’know? Didn’t wanna somehow scare you away.”
“Yeah… I figured, almost.” Tadashi gulped. “When I freaked out and called Asahi, he said apparently things were the same way with him and Nishinoya,” he admitted.
“Aww, you’re so cute! You cared enough to get advice about us!” Yuji cooed.
The two sat in a comfortable silence for a little bit after that, finishing their dinner and sharing shy, blushy smiles with each other from across the table. The second Tadashi finished eating however, Yuji quickly continued talking. “Sooo… what about that promise, huh?”
Tadashi laughed. “You’re such a dork Yuji.”
“But now I’m your dork! Your boyfriend!” Yuji purred.
Tadashi flushed. “That’s true, huh? We’re boyfriends now?”
“Yes! We are! And don’t you forget it, Yamaguchi Tadashi!” Yuji teased.
Smirking playfully, Tadashi replied, “Oh, I won’t.” With that, Tadashi set himself on Yuji’s lap, preening upon noticing that Yuji was flushing bright red, mouth agape.
“F-Forward now, are we?” Yuji asked, gripping Tadashi’s thighs and licking his lips.
“Well, there’s not much to worry about anymore, is there?” Tadashi cupped Yuji’s face with his hands, pulling him closer.
“Nope, nothing at all.”
Yuji made the final move, closing the gap. This time, there were no moments of hesitation, both immediately going for a deepened, passion-filled kiss. Yuji smugly moved his hands from Tadashi’s thighs to his hips, sneakily making slight moves towards his plump ass.
“I can feel you, you know,” Tadashi chided playfully, grabbing Yuji’s hands and placing them on his ass. “Don’t be shy, Yuji, I’m not going to break or run away.”
Yuji’s face flushed, and his eyes darkened deliciously, before he asked, “Are you okay with this? We might be moving a little fast.”
“I don’t care how fast we’re moving,” Tadashi stated firmly. “I’ve been wanting everything with you for so long now, I don’t think we could go fast enough to fulfill my fantasies.”
“F-fantasies?” Yuji’s eyes widened, and he smiled shyly. “You’ve… you’ve fantasized about me?”
“More often than you could even imagine,” Tadashi purred, feeling exhilarated by now having the upper hand. “Let’s at least make one of them a reality tonight, okay?”
“Of course, darling. Your wish is my command,” Yuji replied, and immediately, the two met for another kiss.
Smirking as he felt a bit of boldness, Tadashi ground his hips into Yuji’s, and a groan escaped his lips in pleasure.
“Best… Christmas Eve… ever,” Yuji growled.
Christmas morning, Tadashi awoke pleasantly sore, a leg thrown over his and arms tightly embracing him around his chest.
Looks like everything last night was real after all, he thought. Good. I’m glad.
Glancing around blearily, Tadashi smiled fondly at the still sleeping Yuji. He noticed they seemed to be in Yuji’s bed. Tadashi supposed that, having started living here first, Yuji did have a bigger bed. But that meant he had to force himself out from Yuji’s grip to sneak back to his room to snag the Christmas present he’d made.
Lucky for him, his boyfriend was a heavy sleeper, and while he seemed to twitch at the loss of warmth around him, he didn’t wake.
Tadashi quietly made his way back to his own room, which he figured he might have to change into something else now that he hopefully wouldn’t need his own bed. He squatted down to rummage under the bed for the book, when he noticed something he probably should have a while ago—the mistletoe he’d stored under there was gone.
Yuji had probably been cleaning… and he found the mistletoe! That’s how he knew I was interested too!
It wasn’t exactly a rarity for Yuji to clean Tadashi’s room, given that he was often busy studying and Yuji’s lack of culinary skills made him choose cleaning as a way to pay back Tadashi for all the meals. Tadashi was just glad he’d been hiding the book in his desk until last night. Not only would it have exposed his feelings, but it also would have ruined the surprise of the present.
“Freckles?” Tadashi heard Yuji call in a panicked voice, and he quickly made his way back before Yuji panicked further, thinking he’d somehow regretted last night and completely left him alone on Christmas.
“I’m here, I’m here,” Tadashi teased, coming to sit on the bed. “I had to go grab your Christmas present. It was supposed to double as a confession… but you kinda beat me to it.”
Yuji grinned. “I don’t see you complaining—didn’t hear you complaining last night either.”
Tadashi flushed pleasantly at the memories of last night, but shoved them aside for the moment. After all, they had all the time in the world now to make more memories like that.
“I’m not. Plus, I just realized you stole from me to confess anyways, so it’s basically like I beat you to it,” Tadashi teased, and Yuji practically malfunctioned.
Tadashi laughed as he watched how Yuji could only splutter out nonsense.
“It’s okay, Yuji,” Tadashi continued, rubbing his boyfriend’s back. “I’m glad you found my mistletoe. You knew I liked you, so you weren’t taking a risk like I thought I was. And it all worked out in the end, right?”
“Yeah. It did.” Yuji grinned brightly, before taking Tadashi’s hands and pressing kisses to both of them.
“Ready for your present?” Tadashi smiled.
“Aww hell yeah!” Yuji grinned. Then, he raised his finger, motioning for him to wait. “Actually, wait! Let me get yours—and let’s make some tea! It’ll be all romantic!”
Tadashi grinned softly, watching Yuji’s naked form rush off into the kitchen to turn on the kettle. He flopped back onto the bed, and within a few minutes, he found himself being presented with his favorite tea by his favorite person, as well as with a present.
“Merry Christmas.” Yuji grinned, kissing Tadashi’s cheek.
“Merry Christmas to you, babe,” Tadashi replied, turning the kiss into one on the lips. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”