Goodnight, Tadashi

Chapter 7 (Last chapter)

The following weekend, Tsukishima and Kuroo were surprised by an unexpected knock at their door early Saturday morning.

“I got it,” said Kuroo, shoving himself up from the couch with a yawn. Tsukishima heard the door open, and then heard nothing. He craned his neck over the arm of his chair, but couldn’t see the front door from where he sat. After a few moments of silence, Kuroo called, “It’s for you.”

Confused, and slightly concerned, Tsukishima got up and made his way down the short hall that led to the door. Kuroo stood in the way, door held only slightly open, so that Tsukishima couldn’t see who was outside until he reached the end of the hall. Kuroo stepped aside, and Tsukishima pulled the door fully open to reveal Yamaguchi standing just outside, an overnight bag slung over his shoulder.

“Yamaguchi?” he asked, blinking at his friend. “What are you doing here?”

Yamaguchi smiled shyly. “I wanted to surprise you. I got the weekend off work so I could come visit.” Yamaguchi’s eyes flicked over Tsukishima’s shoulder, to where Kuroo still stood. Shockingly, Kuroo took the hint.

“I’ll get some tea started,” he announced, before retreating to the kitchen. Yamaguchi waited until Kuroo was out of sight before speaking again.

“I didn’t want you to feel lonely anymore.”

Tsukishima’s eyes widened a fraction, and he could feel his ears heating up. Whatever embarrassment he felt, however, was outweighed by how touched he was that Yamaguchi would make the trip from Miyagi to Tokyo, on such short notice, just because Tsukishima had unwittingly implied that he was lonely. Tsukishima smiled, and stepped out of the way of the door.

“Come on in.”

To say that Tsukishima hadn’t realized just how much he had missed Yamaguchi until they were together again would be an understatement. They spent the morning chatting, just catching up, finding that even though they’d talked regularly, neither had any shortage of things to talk about. After Kuroo left for work they had lunch, then watched a few movies that Yamaguchi had rented for the trip - movies that had come out since Tsukishima left Miyagi, that they had talked about both wanting to see.

Sitting on the couch, with Yamaguchi curled up next to him, and a drama on the television that wasn’t nearly as good as they had expected it to be, Tsukishima realized how much happier he was just being near Yamaguchi. It was something he had always known, deep down, but something he had never been able to admit, even to himself, until that moment. Yamaguchi snorted in laughter at the overzealous actor on the screen, ruining what was supposed to be a climactic plot point, and Tsukishima couldn’t help but smile as he watched his best friend’s laughter out of the corner of his eye.

Tsukishima couldn’t remember the last time he had been this happy.

Until, of course, Kuroo came home and ruined it.

To Kuroo’s credit, he waited all day. He let Tsukishima enjoy his surprise visit from his dearly missed friend until well into the night. In fact, it wasn’t until the three boys were getting ready for bed that Kuroo finally decided to bring up the dreaded subject.

“Are you sure you’re okay with giving me your bed?” Yamaguchi asked, for easily the fifth time. Tsukishima waved the concern away from his seat on the couch, wrapped in a spare comforter.

“For the last time, yes,” he insisted. “I’m not going to make you sleep on the couch.”

“But-”

“Hush,” Tsukishima cut him off. Yamaguchi puffed out his cheeks in annoyance, but finally relented.

“Thank you, Tsukki.”

From the archway that led to the kitchen, Kuroo watched with a smirk. “Yes, Tsukki, so chivalrous,” he drawled. “There’s only one problem, though.”

Tsukishima glanced at Kuroo suspiciously. “And what’s that?” he asked.

“I don’t think Tadashi can fit on the couch with you.”

Every ounce of color drained from Tsukishima’s face. Yamaguchi looked between Kuroo and Tsukishima, brows knitted in confusion.

“Um… Why would I need to?” Yamaguchi asked. The resulting expression of confusion from Kuroo didn’t last nearly long enough. He was already putting it together.

“Oh,” Kuroo said slowly, drawing out the syllable. He pointed a finger at Yamaguchi. “You’re Tadashi?” Tsukishima buried his face in his hands.

“Yes?” Yamaguchi answered, still confused.

“Oho ho!” Tsukishima could hear the grin spreading across Kuroo’s face when he spoke. “How rude of you, Tsukki. You haven’t introduced your best friend, Tadashi, to the Tadashi you’ve been sleeping with?”

“Wait, what?” Poor Yamaguchi had no concept of what was going on anymore. Tsukishima’s heart hammered in his chest.

“Go away, Kuroo,” Tsukishima commanded, but it came out like a plea. Kuroo tried to suppress his laughter, and failed.

“Of course,” he answered, all too obligingly. He gave Tsukishima a pat on the back as he walked by the couch. “Have a good night.”

Tsukishima listened to Kuroo’s footsteps, listened for the closing of his door. He breathed a sigh of relief at the loss of the antagonist, but now he still had this whole situation to explain to Yamaguchi.

“Tsukki?” Yamaguchi’s voice was smaller than he expected it to be, finally pulling Tsukishima’s eyes up to meet his. Yamaguchi looked… hurt, and Tsukishima didn’t understand why. All he knew was that seeing Yamaguchi like that killed him. “What was Kuroo talking about?”

Tsukishima took a deep breath, trying to steady his racing pulse. He nodded toward the open cushion next to him, and Yamaguchi took a seat. Tsukishima took a few moments to collect his thoughts, trying to figure out how to explain this.

“Do you remember… when I told you I’d been sleeping better?” Yamaguchi nodded, confusion still clear on his face. “Remember me saying Kuroo had a stupid idea to help me sleep and it actually ended up working?”

“I don’t understand,” Yamaguchi said. “He told you to… start sleeping with someone?”

“No!” Tsukishima replied, a little too quickly. “No, he… He told me to get a body pillow.” Yamaguchi tilted his head to the side. Tsukishima forged on. “And I took his stupid advice, and it worked, and now he makes fun of me relentlessly for it. But, not so much just because I bought the damn thing, but because…” His throat felt like it was swelling shut. Tsukishima forced himself to take deep breaths, to press on. “Because I call it by a name.”

Tsukishima could see in Yamaguchi’s eyes when the pieces were aligned. There was a flash of relief on his freckled face, before he gave Tsukishima a tender smile. “You call your body pillow Tadashi?”

Tsukishima nodded, feeling his ears heating up at the open affection on Yamaguchi’s face. Yamaguchi reached for Tsukishima’s hand, entwining their fingers, and Tsukishima gently squeezed Yamaguchi’s hand in his own. This wasn’t how he expected this conversation to end, but he definitely wasn’t complaining. Yamaguchi stood from the couch, using their clasped hands to pull Tsukishima up with him.

“What are you doing?” Tsukishima asked, as Yamaguchi started tugging him down the hall toward his own bedroom.

“There’s no reason for you to sleep on the couch,” Yamaguchi answered, grinning at Tsukishima over his shoulder. “If you wanted to cuddle with me, Kei, all you had to do was ask.”

Tsukishima felt his blush spread from his ears to his cheeks, but he didn’t argue.

Half an hour later found both boys in their pajamas, in Tsukishima’s bed, arms around each other's waists, legs tangled together. Yamaguchi’s head was tucked under Tsukishima’s chin, and Tsukishima could feel his soft breathing against his neck. The body pillow lay discarded on the floor.

“Goodnight, Tadashi,” Tsukishima mumbled into Yamaguchi’s hair.

“Goodnight, Kei,” Yamaguchi replied into Tsukishima’s chest.

Neither of them had ever slept better.