Maid café AU ( Tsukkiyama )

Chapter 10 - The Confession (M)

(⚠️ Mature content)

..
At Tsukishima's place | 8:03 pm|

"You look happy" ...

The blonde commented nonchalantly as he noticed his friend smiling to himself the entire time while doing his university assignment.

"I'm not" The freckled boy denied the allegation, his smile fading slightly but not completely. He then continued to finish off his essay, occasionally looking out the tall windows of Kei's apartment, at the droplets of rain drizzling over starting to stain the glass panes. He looked outside then back at his best friend as he nibbled on his pen.

'I don't have a purpose here anymore.' He thought.

Tsukishima had recovered well and probably can return back to his games now. Yamaguchi could stop visiting.

"On the bright side, You're all well now" Yamaguchi smiled at the blonde as he crossed his legs on the couch. "Do you care about me that much?" Tsukishima asked bluntly as he flipped through some newspapers.

Yamaguchi frowned at his question as he leaned his body against the arm rest. "Well, of course."
..
"You're.. my dearest friend." .. "I care about you, you know."
The word friend echoed inside Tsukishima's mind like annoying ripples causing him to get a bit irritable.
".. yeah" He said with a cold expression, behaving a bit distant.

Yamaguchi didn't catch onto it of course. He closed his notebook & placed it on the tea table beside them. "It's hard to balance academics and dating life" He let out a tired sigh. "But at least Terushima's been letting me crash by his place at times, so-"

"What?" ..
Tsukishima cut him off. The word came out harsher than he intended.

Tsukishima's body immediately stiffened. His eyes widened for a split second before he forced them back into his usual indifferent gaze. He felt his blood begin to boil, his heart rate quickening as he processed Yamaguchi's words. He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white as he tried to suppress the surge of emotions threatening to overwhelm him.

Yamaguchi paused, taken aback by the blonde's sudden change in demeanor. " ..It's not a big deal, trust me Tsukki.."

Tsukishima ran his fingers through his hair in frustration before facing the latter again. "It is. How long has he been talking to you?!"

Yamaguchi stuttered, unable to find his words.
"..It's b-been a while now.." He shook his head before speaking hesitatingly.

"..Why does this matter anyway? Why are you getting worked up over it?" Yamaguchi furrowed his eyebrows, struggling to understand his best friend.

He sat next to Kei in an effort to soothe him, placing a gentle hand over the blonde's shoulder allowing him to calm down little by little.

"He's a nice guy Tsukki. I've been seeing him for a while now." .. "Just.. felt right to let you know." He diverted his gaze.

Tsukishima was taken aback but quickly masked his surprise with a blank expression. He didn't have a say in Yamaguchi's new relationships, but a knot of frustration started to twist in his stomach. The anger and jealousy twisted tighter in his stomach, and he could feel his blood boiling beneath his skin. He turned away abruptly, not wanting Yamaguchi to see the raw pain in his eyes. Without another word, he got up and headed to the kitchen.

Yamaguchi watched him get up with a look of concern but a sense of helplessness.
Kei rummaged through the cabinets until he found a bottle of whiskey, pouring himself a shot and downing it quickly. The burn of the alcohol did little to soothe the growing anger and jealousy he felt.