HEADPHONES ‧ k.tsukishima

𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬;

The sweet syrupy smell of fresh pancakes and bacon wafted through the apartment, drifting gently along the simple corridors. It mixed with Yachi's jasmine perfume, creating an elegant but soft scent that was slowly lulling Tsukki to sleep.

He pressed his face against the cool marble surface of the kitchen counter and sighed. Yachi, who had been previously preoccupied with making a gorgeous full English breakfast, whacked him over the head with her spatula and scowled,

'You're not allowed to sleep until you've tried my signature omelette, mister.'

From the other side of the room, Yamaguchi grinned and spoke with his mouth stuffed with egg, 'It's literal heaven topped with all that good herb shit bro.'

Tsukki chuckled, 'Fine fine but hurry because I have work to do.'

Yachi flipped the omelette over and raised an eyebrow, 'Work? It's spring break, chill. We've got a whole week to do nothing.'

'I have some leftover work plus midterms are second week back. Our teachers are so mean.' Tsukki groaned but perked up when a plate was set before him.

Yachi grinned and flung her cloth over her shoulder, 'Bon appetite. The Yachi special American-style omelette. Eat up.'

Tsukki thanked her with a grin and began to tuck in as Yamaguchi shuffled over to plead for more. The omelette was mouth-wateringly delicious and Tsukki devoured it ravenously, accompanied by the sizzling of butter and faint rustle of trees.

Yachi plopped down next to him with her omelette and rice placed in a bento box, neatly wrapped in brown wax paper to eat later. A small ping came from her phone and she checked it quickly; her eyes widened in surprise and she shrieked,

'I GOT THE JOB.'

Yamaguchi screeched and sprinted over to hug Yachi.

Tsukishima grinned and ruffled her hair, 'Way to go!'

She bounced up and down with Yamaguchi, both screaming wildly.

'YACHI GOT THE JOB. YACHI GOT THE JOB. YACHI GOT THE JOB.' Yamaguchi yelled.

'Okok sit down guys...' Tsukishima rolled his eyes and laughed. What a bunch of lovable idiots.

Yachi sat back down on her stool, clasping Yamaguchi's hands tightly, 'I'm interning at a super famous, super cool ad agency. The pay is awesome!'

'Omg so proud of you bae.' Yamaguchi kissed the top of Yachi's head and squeezed her in another big hug. He looked over at Tsukki, 'Join the bestie hug Tsukki.'

Tsukishima raised his eyebrow but reluctantly wrapped his arms around the two shorties. 

'You guys are silly billies. Love you all.' Yachi said, slightly muffled from underneath the suffocating hug.

Tsukki sighed contentedly, 'Love you too.'

'Ms Daichi, as pleased as we were to receive your application to our esteemed college, unfortunately we have decided-'

Atsuko groaned, 'Ok toss that one in the rejection pile.'

Her French roommate, Madeleine, pouted and tossed the rejection letter away,

'Ok next one to read from Osaka University.' Madeleine sighed and opened the ominous white envelope, 'Dear Ms Daichi... we are pleased to inform you-'

Atsuko squealed and grabbed the letter from Madeleine.

'WE ARE PLEASED TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR APPLICATION FOR OUR B.SC HONS. PROGRAM HAS BEEN ACCEPTED AND HIGHLY PRAISED. YOU MAY APPLY FOR COURSES FOR A BACHELOR OF SCIENCE HONOURS IN BIOCHEMISTRY DEGREE ALONGSIDE FREE ELECTIVES BLAH BLAH BLAH. HOLY SHIT BRO I GOT IN TO OSAKA UNIVERSITY. NO NO I GOT INTO AN HONOURS CLASS IN BIOCHEMISTRY OSAKA UNIVERSITY. THIS IS INCREDIBLE!' 

Madeleine shrieked and hugged Atsuko who was laughing like a mad man.

'YES MY BABY WELL DONE SO PROUD OF YOU!' She showered Atsuko in kisses and cheered loudly.

Atsuko giggled, 'We'll get a noise complaint. But this is amazing, I'll sign up for electives, hopefully something to do with virology and then I'll ace my classes, get my undergraduate degree then move on to my postgraduate degree which'll be a PhD in biochem of course and once I ace that then I'll-'

She was suddenly shushed by a laughing Madeleine who covered Atsuko's mouth with her hands,

'Alright alright calm down lovely. Why don't you just focus on applying for courses and lectures and whatever now then plan out your life later whilst I go to work. So proud of you though.'

One last kiss on the cheek and then Atsuko was left alone proudly staring at her acceptance letter whilst Madeleine rushed off to her job, It had been a rough couple of months, dealing with her missed exams, working her ass off to make up for her hospitalisation. But now she was going to one of the best universities with an honours degree planned, a PhD planned and a whole career planned. Atsuko remembered being a little kid, eagerly waiting for her father to come home and tell her all about his work in the lab that day.

Atsuko sunk into a chair and smiled briefly. He had been a microbiologist and she used to love hearing about all his research, hugging his leg tightly when he came running through the door.

'Biochemist. What's a biochemist? Sounds fun. I want to be a biochemist, daddy.'

Atsuko's dad grinned at his little daughter, 'You can be whatever you want, honey.'

Atsuko's mother glared at him, 'She certainly can not. She is going to be a lawyer and work hard to bring us money. Now go back to your Maths exercises Atsuko.'

She sighed and went to make herself a coffee. Her dad had passed away shortly after her 6th birthday and Atsuko missed him everyday. He had been the only one that listened, the one that believed in her. And her mother... well, the cause of Atsuko's hospitalisation spoke for itself.

 The creamy brown of the coffee stared back at her as Atsuko swirled it round and round, again and again. She'd worked so hard for this. It was time to move past her misery and pave a path forward. She had to leave the past behind.

A lone tear fell gracefully into her cup, sending ripples across the surface.