New York here we come!

Maybe not so salty after all

He had promised himself, he wouldn't give a sh*t, if his boyfriend went away. After all, it's not his fault, right? He never promised to always be supportive and loving. But then what's the relationship for anyway, his mind whispered cruelly. Alright fine, maybe he missed his strawberry boyfriend a little bit, not that he would ever admit it. He had a reputation to hold, being soft showed vulnerability, that's what he's learned and he isn't going to abandon it now. Maybe, just maybe it wouldn't be so bad, to not be so rude towards those he cared about, just maybe... NO NO NO. The blonde kept telling himself but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop thinking about it.

Ok so maybe he missed his boyfriend, not that he's deserving of that title but still. Now, utterly frustrated, Tsukishima Kei got out of his bed at 5am. How annoying, he thinks to himself, as he gets ready rather quickly. It feels weird having breakfast this early in the morning but, at least he could go out for a walk now. Early morning walks were a little nostalgic, especially since he did with..... Yamaguchi, he couldn't deny it anymore, he missed his Yams. He leaves the house, locking the door and then he walks. He doesn't know where he's going but he walks and he walks. The blonde eventually reaches Sakanoshita market, coach Ukai's shop. He see's a flash of dark hair run past him, Kageyama? what was he doing at the shop this early in the morning, but then again he couldn't say anything either. Tsukishima walks to the opening of the shop, and reaches for the door handle. The warmth of the shop consumes him, the smells of spices and pastries fill his senses, it's oddly comforting, not that he'll ever admit it to anyone.

"Another brat, great", Ukai had mumbled out, just loud enough for Tsukishima. So that was Kageyama, he thought to himself as he pretended to ignore his coach. He walked over to the pastry aisles, without realizing it he headed straight for the strawberry shortcakes. It reminded him of Yamaguchi, a lot. The blonde didn't want to think of the other, didn't want to show vulnerability but he couldn't stop it. He genuinely loved Yamaguchi more than he loved himself but his pride always got the better of him. He did realize until his glasses fogged up bit, but he was panting heavily as tears fell. He was having a breakdown in the middle of a pastries aisle, he felt pathetic. It seems that he had caught the coach's attention with his not so silent sobs.

"Hey kid, you alright? You seem to me in the middle of crying your heart out. You break up with strawberry or something?", Ukai had abruptly asked him.

Mumbling something along the lines of 'might as well have', he earned a concerned glance from his coach. It was rare for Ukai to show concern towards his students, or any affection towards them. But he still cared for them. Ukai made his way to the blonde and patted him on the shoulder. That seemed grab Tsukishima's attention as he instinctively shuddered away. Tsukishima Kei wasn't one for affection, ever, well maybe there was on exception. But that doesn't matter now.

"Yea, I'm fine, you can leave now."

"Well I can't exactly leave idiot, this is my shop and I have time to spare. Also I heard about your guys 'boyfriend fiasco'. Rumors say they ran away for a couple of weeks-"

"You know where they are?"

"Oh ho ho, interested aren't we, but to answer your question yes, I do. The tangerine told Takeda, who told me."

"Oh well, I messed up big time then."

"Yeah I know, the strawberry kid, ranted to Takeda on the phone, and I just happen to overhear it. I want to you to understand that Yamaguchi will move on from you, if you don't apologize. Let go of your pride, your ego. The kid loves you, genuinely, just try and make it up to him before it's too late. Oh, and tell your other friends to do the same, I think Kageyama has already made a start," Coach Ukai finished off.

The younger couldn't help but chuckle, of course Ukai knew. His coach's relationship with Takeda sensei wasn't as subtle as they thought. "Thank you, also wish Takeda sensei, happy holidays for me. You guys aren't very secretive about your relationship you know, the whole team knows."

As he felt heat rush up to his face, he yelled at the other, 'GET OUT YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT', Geez these kids will be the end of him, at least he had Takeda. By the time he looked back, Tsukishima was already gone. The boy adjusted his glasses as he jogged back home. It was still cold out and he was still in need of warmth. He made sure to hide any signs of him crying. He did not want his brother asking him, if he was okay over and over and over and over again. He stopped at Yamaguchi's house and stared at it for awhile. Tsukishima had fallen, fallen really really hard, and he had ruined it. He needed to fix it but he didn't know how. This is going to troublesome. He inwardly groaned as he knew he would have to ask his stupid emotion driven brother for advice.

He averted his gaze from the house and started walking again. He let himself get drowned in his thoughts again, until he reached his neighborhood. Tsukishima suddenly felt a tight feeling in his chest. He didn't like it. It was like the guilt was starting to infect him. He still kept his stone cold faced as he headed for his house. Turning the keys, an then the door knob, he opened the door. It creaked loudly, when he looked inside, it seemed to appear everyone was still sleeping. He slowly walked in and closed the door behind, making sure to make as little noise as possible. He didn't feel like interacting with anyone outside his family today, so he quietly made his way up to his room and back in his futon. There were too many thoughts to take care of, he'll sleep it off, keeping Yamaguchi close by in them this time.

(HELLO, I am back again from the dead, surprisingly, slow updates again, I know I'm sorry. But I am working on another book, I'll release the first and second chapter soon. Beware it is a Dream Smp one, so if you're a fan of that, you have that to look forward to. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, feel free to leave some ideas. See you guys next time)