Drawn to you // Tsukishima x reader - soulmate AU!

ch 23 - strawberry

"You never told me that your boyfriend's friend is this cute." I say to my best friend, (y/n). This successfully colored the freckled boy in an impressive blush. He looked like the human version of a strawberry. It was adorable.

"I didn't know I had to." (y/n), half jokingly, says. "Now let's go, we've got to show you around."

(y/n) quickly finds her spot next to Tsukishima as we walk into town, with Yams and I closely following behind.

"Mai? Right?" He asks as we set pace behind the two love birds leading the way to wherever we are headed.

"Yes, and you're Yams?"

"Yamaguchi."

"Nope. It's Yams now."

He lets out a small laugh, the blush never quite leaving his cheeks. "Ok then."

When I heard that (y/n) was spending the weekend down here, I offered to join her. I said it was to properly introduce me to her boyfriend, but mostly I wanted to make sure she was doing ok. By looks of the intertwined hands, the shared looks that are full of love and the shirt that clearly doesn't belong to her, everything is ok. I must be a genius with advice. "Did those two figure out their issues?"

"It seems like it. But not on their own. I had to force it, I was ready to go die in a hole if it didn't work out."

"Well, good job Yams. You are probably the soul saviour of this ship."

I give him a playful punch in the arm. Soft enough to not break his arm, strong enough to see if I felt it too.

I didn't.

He just gives me a questioning look.

My focus sways over to the couple in front of me. Connected hand, soft conversion bouncing between the two, shimmering smiles. It's like they are in their own little bubble. I suddenly feel like an intruder.

"It's like we could just leave and they wouldn't even notice." I joke.

"That has actually happened to me." Yamaguchi comments, "We were all walking together, going home, then when we reached my street I took off and they didn't even notice at all. I wasn't mad though. It was actually kind of nice seeing Tsukki like this. Normally he's all cold and salty and distant. Not when he's with her though."

"So if we left, they actually wouldn't notice?"

"With their track record, no, they wouldn't notice."

It's very clear that they didn't notice.

We took off after a few minutes of me begging Yamaguchi to show me all his favorite places in their small town.

They didn't notice or they didn't care that the two of us took off together. It's been 40 minutes of Yams showing me places in town, and still no text or call from (y/n). So we weren't missed.

The next stop of 'Yamaguchi's favorite places' is a little secondhand bookstore. Entering the small store was like removing myself from reality. With old lofty shelves, yellow paged books, warm light leaking through windows. There was the light sent of vanilla, dust and that unique smell you get from something old.

"This is my favorite place to be, other than playing volleyball." Yams says as we wander through rows of books. The floor creeks beneath each step.

"I can see why." I scan the bindings of the books, looking for a title to catch my eye. I spot a few, half pulling them out of the shelf to get a better look. "What kind of books do you like?" I absentmindedly ask, turning to Yams.

With the warm light pouring on him, like a spotlight calling all attention to the stunning boy, I feel my breath hitch. His skin seemed to glow, soft and warm. The wooden shelves of books almost acting like a backdrop to a beautiful photo, creating a scene so serene. 

He was like a galaxy. Each freckle mapping out a consolation. The sky placed itself in every expanse of his being.

I was almost convinced he was not of this world.

And I was very convinced that he is someone I would like to keep in my life.

"Is your hair naturally this colour?"

We're at the last stop, outside a small convenience shop just down the hill of his school. We both have warm drinks in hand as we sit at the small plastic table outside the store.

"Yes, it's kinda ugly. Isn't it?" He says, playing with a piece of his bangs.

"What?! No! It suits you. It compliments your skin well and overall completes your aesthetic. Plus when you blush it makes you look like a strawberry and it's adorable." And, just on queue, a blush crawls across his skin."See, like that!"

All he can do is attempt to hide his face behind his hands. He is going to give me heart failure at this rate because, how can someone be this adorable!?

"Oh my gosh Yams, you are going to kill me." I dramatically grasp at my lunging heart.

"Kill you!? You are going to kill me!!!!" He looks back up at me with wide eyes.

"Oh my, I think we have intruded on something." A third voice, that I know all too well, comments.

"The audacity of those two." Another person agrees.

"They should really get a room."

"You would think they would have some shame."

I glare at the two who have begun snickering, Yamaguchi looks like he's going to combust.

"I should have dug that hole." I hear Yams mutter into his hands.

"Where have you been?" (Y/n) finally asks.

"Why do you care, you didn't when we left." I counter.

"Because we tried to contact you." Tsukishima says, showing a text string with Yamaguchi. Except it's just Tsukishima asking different variations of 'where did you go?' With no reply.

I look to Yams for an explanation, but he has somehow buried himself further into his hands.

"Well, you found us now."

By the end of the day, I have successfully exchanged numbers with Yamaguchi with us both agreeing that we would like to see each other more.

Maybe it wasn't so bad, finding someone other than your soulmate.

He wasn't my 'other half', he was another whole. Something completely new and someone wholly different whom I will have the privilege to learn about. We won't instantly click, instead we will re arrange ourselves for each other. We won't be inseparable, instead we will slowly learn to depend on one another. We will disagree and fight and will swallow our pride to make it right with each other. And when he chooses to stay with me, by my side, it will be 100% his choice.

And I find there is nothing more that I would ask for.

{I am here to give credit where it's due. The inspiration for the idea of Mai and Yams originally came from @qtshima. Thanks for the inspo!!!}