Chapter Text
It’s rush hour, and you are running for the life of yourself, trying to avoid the crowd as much as possible. The two heavy bags you’re carrying are not making things any easier… that said, you absolutely cannot afford to miss your train, or you’ll miss the coincidence afterwards and basically never get home. You try to accelerate, feeling your calfs burning and your lungs on the verge of exploding.
Fuck fuck fuck.
If there’s a thing you love about your country is that trains are incredibly punctual all of the time, but sometimes you wouldn’t mind if they had a bit of a delay.
Especially when you’re so late yourself.
You zig zag at full speed across the station main hall, your eyes fixed on the big board above you. Let’s see… departures… platform twel-
Suddenly, you collide with something rock hard, and while your bags scatter all around in a majestic arc in the air, you end up with your butt on the floor.
Ouch.
In front of you stands a very tall guy, his face a mask of pure annoyance, his stuff on the floor as well even if he managed to keep his balance - and his dignity, clearly. He glances at you through his glasses, giving you an up and down stare.
-Watch out where you’re going.
His voice is quite soothing, but it has a mocking hint in it. He doesn’t offer to help you get up.
-I’m sorry… - you mutter, feeling a bit ashamed.
He leans down and starts collecting his belongings, and now that he’s closer you can give him a better look, taking in his ruffled short blond hair, his golden brown eyes fixed on the floor and the overall elegant features of his face. For a moment, you think that despite his cold attitude he looks pretty hot.
He spares you a quick disdainful look, and at that point you realise that you are there staring at a guy while you’re still very much late, and that your train is departing soon.
-Oh no!
You quickly throw your stuff in your bags without paying too much attention, then you’re up on your feet.
-Again, I’m very sorry - you blurt out with a quick bow, before rushing away.
He straightens up, adjusting his headphones on his ears and watching your back disappearing into the crowd.
That’s when he reaches for his phone, except it’s not his phone.
-Shit.
You feel your phone buzzing inside your bag, but you have to run real fast in order to not miss your train, so you completely ignore it. Finally, you get to the platform, just in time for you to hear the familiar chime going on, warning that the train is about to leave.
Not. Happening.
With a desperate leap, you manage to jump through the doors just a second before they shut, your heart beating at a crazy pace. The train starts moving, and only then you can take a second to yourself to finally catch your breath.
Phew. That was close.
Scanning the coach with your eyes, you spot a free seat nearby and you happily plop on it, just after putting all your belongings on the rack above you. Then, you finally get your phone out.
Except the lock screen is just a blue night sky, definitely not the cute pic of your cat, and the face ID doesn’t recognise you. What the hell? You start panicking, but then you notice some notifications popping on the screen.
You see two missed calls and a text, both from your number.
Code is 026319
You type that in and the phone you’re holding actually unlocks. Thank god.
Since you’re on the train you can’t really talk on the phone, so you immediately go to the chat.
R: What’s going on?
It’s a bit weird to basically text yourself, to be honest.
T: ’twas about time…
R: How did you manage to unlock my phone??
T: Your code was painfully easy. I’d suggest you to change it when you get it back.
R: Who are you?
T: You’re not the smart type, are you? We swapped phones earlier by mistake. I’m the guy you rudely almost sent off flying.
Oh, of course. That was the most logic option, but your brain is still buffering, clearly lacking of the oxygen you used for your desperate run.
He’s the tall slim guy from earlier… well, you weren’t mistaken about his attitude.
He seems like a true asshole.
R: This is such a pain…
T: Yeah, don’t tell me. Are you still at the station?
We can swap them back if you are.
You curse under your breath.
R: Nope… I’m already on my train.
T: How far do you live?
You bite the inside of your cheek. You were in Sendai just for a few days, visiting your grandparents, but you actually live nearby Hamamatsu, which is quite the long journey. More than four hours by train.
R: Shizuoka prefecture. I was in Sendai just visiting family.
T: Fuck
You share the feeling.
T : I suppose you don’t come here often, do you?
R : Nope. Plus, I’ve got college classes I cannot miss, so it’s not like I can easily take time off.
T : Same.
R : Do you think we can swap them back via normal mail?
T : No way… what if they get damaged? Or lost?
R : Okay then, do you have a better idea Mr. smarty-pants?
Well, he’s not being nice, so why should you? This time it takes him a bit longer to type his reply.
T : Here’s what we’ll do. For the time being we’ll simply live with the other’s phone.
T : I’m gonna give my friends and family this number and you’ll do the same with mine, so we can still have a phone at least. Then, next time you’re here in Sendai you’ll let me know, and we’ll swap them back.
What he’s saying makes sense, but it’s still a pain.
R: Fair enough…
T: cool.
R: Well, until next time then! Have a nice day :)
You’re trying to keep it at least polite, but of course he leaves you on read. You roll your eyes.
What a dick.
In the next few weeks, you get accustomed to the idea of “your” new phone.
To be fair, you had to text Tsukishima quite a few times already - you found out about his name because a few people, especially in some group chats, didn’t know about this whole phone swap thing, so you’ve had to explain the situation when random people texted you. Not a big deal - still, when he gives you his attitude, you’re tempted to try to call him “Tsukki” or “Kei” just to see his reaction and annoy him a bit.
First time you had to contact him because you needed a code that was sent to your number for some authentication, then you asked him to check something in your optician's app (I’m not your secretary, y’know?) and so on. The most embarrassing one has been when you had to ask him to copy and paste to you one of your notes, where you have written down some stuff about your periods. Still, you really needed that info, and for once he’s been nice enough to not make any comments about it.
Aside from that, you’d lie if you said that you haven’t been nosy and had a cheeky peek at his phone, but to be fair it’s quite impersonal and there isn’t much for you to find out. Very few pictures - mostly random screenshots, pics of museums exhibitions and the occasional group photo with what you assume are his friends. Also, he is a volleyball player, as you can see from some videos of matches that have been sent to him. Wearing his green uniform, he looks even taller than you remember, and the way he manages to stop what looks like very powerful spikes is quite impressive.
Sometimes you look at the rare photos of him, studying his face. There’s one with an older guy who looks like his brother, where he’s smiling just a bit. It’s a shame he’s always so snarky, he has such a cute smile…
In the end, the only one bit which is truly interesting is his Spotify. He has a lot of different playlists, and while you can tell you have similar taste, he knows so much more stuff than you do. You truly enjoy listening to them, you feel like you can understand him a bit more through the songs.
Maybe he’s not that bad after all.
***
-Hey, Tsukki, I didn’t know you like cats!
Kei looks up, meeting Yamaguchi’s smiling face. The screen of his/your phone just lit up, showing the picture of your cat as the wallpaper. Of course he hasn’t changed it, just as you haven’t changed his. After all this is just a temporary situation.
-Yeah, no, I don’t really… that’s not my phone, remember? - he says rolling his eyes, slightly annoyed.
-Oh, of course, sometimes I forget about it.
-Lucky you…
It’s lunch break, and they both have a bit of time before the afternoon lessons start. Even if they are majoring into two different subjects, they have still managed to keep their friendship intact after high school has ended. The fact that they both stayed in Sendai has definitely helped, so it’s not that rare that they have lunch together.
Kei takes a bite from the onigiri he bought at the nearby mini-market, wishing to change topic. Yamaguchi, on the other hand, now looks a bit lost in his thoughts, and most importantly he is definitely not letting the subject fall.
- So… is she cute?
That question catches Kei a bit off guard. He looks at his friend, who's clearly waiting for him to answer.
- Yeah, guess she is… - he has to admit, a bit wary.
At his words, Yamaguchi’s eyes seem to sparkle. It’s not that often that Tsukishima actually makes these types of comments about girls, and he hadn’t expected him to actually respond to his question in the first place.
-Well, it’s not a big deal, don’t get too excited about it - Kei quickly adds guessing his thoughts, rolling his eyes again behind the glasses while taking another bite.
-What do you mean? Have you talked to her?
-Barely.
Still, he’s got through your stuff, finding you have an interestingly similar music taste. Still, he’s gone through your notes, finding your random thoughts quite interesting and fun, despite himself. Still, he sometimes looks at you pictures, and you pop in his mind quite often during the day.
So annoying.
-Well, you should.
Yamaguchi looks at him with his arms crossed on his chest, encouragement in his voice, as if he knows better what is the right thing to do for his friend. He probably does.
-Whatever.
That evening, Kei actually thinks about that conversation again despite himself.
He feels like in the past few weeks he’s got to know you a bit better, even if just via your phone. To be fair, he didn’t want to be nosy, it’s just that after you have asked him to check your notes, his eyes had lingered on them, and before realising it he was reading, his attention piqued.
Now he’s sitting on his sofa, stretching his arms, slightly annoyed. Why did Yamaguchi have to put it that way, making him say aloud that you are cute? That makes him incapable of ignoring the whole thing as he has tried so hard to do so far. He sighs, looking at the time.
It’s not too late, and he shouldn’t chicken out, right?
T : why do you have so many pictures of rocks?
***
That text catches you completely off guard for so many reasons.
It’s a boring Tuesday night, you’ve had a stressing day at uni and on top of that it’s raining, so by the time you got back to your small apartment you had been soaked. Still, after having a shower you definitely feel better.
You had just finished your dinner and were laying on the sofa when “your” phone has buzzed with that unprompted text. He has never texted you for anything so far. That, and the clear admission he has peeked through your pictures, makes your heart flutter a bit. What the hell, heart??
You bite your bottom lip.
R : well, technically I’m pretty sure the ones you’re referring to are more specifically minerals.
R : Also, are you peeking through my photos?!
T : what, you’re saying that you are not doing the same…? That would be a pretty lame lie.
Busted. Well, but since he has as well…
R : It’s not like there’s much tho
T : I’m sorry, next time I’ll add much more entertaining stuff for when someone decides to steal my phone and be nosy.
R : Ah-ha. And if I'm nosy what are you then?
He doesn’t reply, but at this point you want for the conversation to keep going.
R :I’m a geologist btw
T :?
R :The reason why I’ve got so many rocks' pics. Well, technically I’m still studying so I’m not a proper geologist yet, but that’s it.
T : I see.
Ah, he’s not making it any easier is he? You sigh.
R : So, do you play volleyball?
T : Yeah, I’m a middle blocker for division two team. I play for the Sendai frogs.
R : Sounds cool!
T : ‘cause it is
R : wow, you don’t need to be this cocky all the time y’know?
Honestly, why did he even text you if he has to act like this? Even if you want to keep talking to him because he seems interesting enough - and yes, yes, also because you find him quite attractive, fair enough - he needs to tone down a bit. You're always in for a sarcastic, witty back and forth, but you're also confident enough to set boundaries with someone who is, after all, a half stranger. His reply surprises you.
T : You’re right, I’m sorry
So he can be reasonable after all. Good. Now your interest is piqued again.
R : Didn’t know you were able to apologise, I’m impressed
T : Who’s being cocky now?
You grin. Touché.
And just like that, between your banters and bickering, the conversation keeps going, until it’s quite late and you have to go to bed.
That night, you both go to sleep with a faint, inexplicable smile on your faces.