sweetener | kei tsukishima x reader

3 | trust

"I don't know, Miki. This feels wrong," you told her as you were getting dragged to the stairs.

"I mean, Tsukishima-san is with a girl right now. You told me Saturdays are his training days, why is he there?"

"I'm not going to be sneaking up on him," you told her and stopped walking.

"Doesn't it bother you?"

"Not at all!" you exclaimed, regrettably raising your voice.

"Tsukishima-san looked flustered talking to that lady," she revealed.

"How did you know? Plus that's ridiculous."

"I bought my coffee there so I saw him."

"Forget it, I still have work to do," you scolded her and walked back to your work area.

"Wait," she stopped you.

"What?"

"You trust him too much."

"I'm supposed to," you added before you walked away.

Suddenly, you felt your phone in your jacket pocket vibrate. As you pulled it out to see the notification, it was Kei's mother.

"Great, as if my morning hasn't been completely ruined yet."

You let go of your grip on the phone, causing it to fall back to your pocket and you didn't bother reading it just yet.

"You okay?" Nana asked, still waiting for your answer.

"I won't join you for lunch today, I still have to do this," what a flat out lie.

"Alright, don't skip lunch though," she told you before leaving with your other colleagues.

You spent the rest of your shift with your failed attempts to keep yourself busy. You even assisted some of your co-workers with their tasks, just to change your focus on something else.

Before you even noticed it, it was time to call it a day. You remembered that Kei was supposed to pick you up today but you felt conflicted with him now.

"I shouldn't suspect him," you told yourself, repressing your doubts and suspicions.

You walked down the stairs and as you reached the door, you swayed your head to see where he was. Instead of seeing him though, you received a message.

"Sorry, I'll be there in 5 minutes," he messaged you.

You didn't bother to reply and you just stood in front of the building, waiting for him and watching the cars.

"Oh, Y/N," you heard Miki as the door opened.

"Waiting for Kei, I see," she mumbled in a disappointed manner.

You clicked your tongue in annoyance.

"Ah, sorry, take care," she bowed her head and left.

The sight of Miki made your worries worse. It reminded you of what she said, the part where she told you you trusted Kei too much. You tried justifying yourself, you've been through thick and thin for the past years, so why should you feel that way? But then, why is there an annoying urge for you to justify your trust for him in the first place?

"Sorry to keep you waiting," you heard Kei's voice, "Coach gave us a sermon."

As he got closer, you turned and faced him, speechless.

"H-hey, is something wrong?" he asked, he couldn't conceal his surprise and uneasiness upon seeing your face.

You didn't realize it sooner, but you felt so small and weak as you contemplated about your relationship with him. You also got surprised as you saw a glimpse of yourself from the window. You were teary eyed and even getting red.

"Y/N," he called your name again and held your shoulders, "What happened?"

Returning back to your old self, you straightened your posture and looked up at him, "Let's go."

You began walking to your apartment, not minding his curiosity. He followed you and walked alongside.

"It's okay if you don't tell me," he said, "But I'll hear you out if you do."

"No, Kei. Precisely because the concern is you," you thought.

He cluelessly held your hand but your grip from his was disappointingly loose. Moments later, you noticed Kei's phone ringing and he grabbed it from his pocket with his other hand.

"I don't mind," you told him.

"No, it's not someone important."

"Who is though?" you asked.

"Just a friend," he answered with a frown, already sensing some doubt from you.

"Ah, okay," you nodded.

When you finally reached your home, you paused and rummaged through your bag to get the key.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," you lied with a smile, concealing your worries and doubt.

"I'll make you a snack," you continued speaking, now putting an effort to sound energetic.

"Alright," he seemed convinced and stepped inside.

"You should wait there, I'll cook something you like," you instructed him and pointed at the sofa.

"Mhmm, okay," he said and placed his bag at the coffee table.

He turned on the TV and made himself at home, switching through channels.

"Oh, the Little Prince, I like that," you commented as it played on the screen.

"Then the Little Prince it is."

"Don't tell me you haven't watched that," you told him as you looked through the fridge.

"I read the book."

As soon as you prepared all the ingredients, you began making churros and even put an effort to make two dips, strawberry and chocolate. You heated and melted your chocolates and by then, your doubts started fading away, even if it was temporary.

The Little Prince
Fox
To me, you will be unique
in all the world. To you,
I shall be unique in all the world

While you waited for the chocolates to melt, you suddenly felt Kei embracing you from behind and gradually felt his warmth.

"I love you," he muttered softly in your ears as he rested his head on top of yours.

"I really love you," he emphasized and  tightened his hold on you.

"I love you too, Kei," you responded.

"Will you watch my game tomorrow?" he asked, not letting go at all.

You continued stirring the dip you were making.

"Sure, I will," you answered, now more genuine, more sincere.

"Let's go watch TV," you suggested as you turned off the stove.

He let go of the hug and watched you as you prepared the food. As you took a seat on the sofa with him, you noticed his phone vibrating once again. It was your friend from high school, Yachi Hitoka.

"Hey, Yachi-chan is calling," you informed him.

Suddenly, it occurred to you that, maybe, he met with Yachi. If it really was Yachi, then you wouldn't mind it at all.