eternal

stress relief / tobi-q

everyone had different stress coping mechanisms. some liked to binge eat, some liked to read, some liked to go for a jog. kageyama's was the latter, and of course, this list is not exhaustive.

qq's way of coping with stress was to overwork herself. it might sound strange, but she liked it. she liked to throw herself into something and see that it's completed, or she wouldn't be able to live with herself. oftentimes, she knew when to step on the brakes and stop herself before she got even more stressed or frustrated with herself as well as the work she was doing.

however, being a determined person, there were still times she never knew when to stop.

and one of those occasions happened to occur on this very day.

qq had been stressed for a while since her recital was coming up. recitals in the music conservatory were like finals and held a heavy weightage, which determined one's promotion. she felt she was nowhere near ready — one listen at other pianists sent her to panic mode and she would scramble to the nearest practice room.

this evening, she holed herself in one of the practice rooms. she thanked her lucky stars because this room had a steinway grand piano, and the room had great acoustics. not wanting to let this opportunity go to waste, she resigned herself into the practice room, lilting mozart and voicing bach. since she was in a bad state of mind that day, she couldn't seem to get anything right, which fueled her stress levels and caused her to hammer every single note with pure frustration.

being so immersed in the practice session, she didn't notice her phone buzz. that was, until persistent knocking came at the door.

she whirled her head towards the door, ready to yell at the intruder to piss off, when she recognised the familiar face peering into the room. cerulean eyes, smooth black hair, it was kageyama.

her eyes softened as she stood up to unlock the door, allowing him to come inside. his eyes had been worried from the moment she saw him at the door, and he scanned her up at down.

"did you eat anything?" kageyama asked, immediately holding her hands, as though she would fly away the moment he let go of her.

"yeah, at two-ish, i think," qq replied and watched his eyebrows crease with worry, "what time is it now?"

"it's nine," he replied as he let go of her and went to get her a foldable chair to sit on.

he opened the chair up and motioned for her to have a seat, then reached into the plastic bag he had brought in. the moment he opened the bag, qq felt herself begin to salivate: food.

"i got you a few red bean buns because i thought you'd have eaten dinner," he said and handed them to her, to which se already began to eat.

"yum, thanks tobio," she managed to say between bites, staring up at her boyfriend with rounded, glittering eyes.

"this is very unhealthy," he said as he crossed his arms and stared at her intently, "were you stressed?"

she bit into the bun again and nodded, "my recital is coming up, that's why."

he sighed softly and knelt down, holding onto her free hand which had been lying on her lap. he brushed his calloused thumb over her smooth knuckles.

"it's good that you're practicing, and i know it's a coping mechanism — overworking yourself, i mean," he said slowly as he stared intently on her hand, "but i don't like it when you forget to take care of yourself and you stress yourself out further. it makes me worry too."

a pause, then he added, "i know you're a hard worker. you're going to do well, i know it." he wasn't one to compliment others and he was admittedly bad at doing so.

he raised his head to meet her gaze, which were storming with multiple thoughts. his brow relaxed, but his signature frown was still on his face. with a much gentler voice, he added, "remember to put yourself first, okay?"

suddenly, uncontrollable tears bubbled up in her eyes and began to pour out despite her attempts to hold them back, causing his eyes to widen in shock. he dropped the plastic bag slung on his arm to the ground and let go of her hand, immediately reaching out to her face. hastily, he tried to use his thumbs to catch every single tear (which proved to be futile).

"d-did i say something?" kageyama asked worriedly, the crease reappearing on his forehead as he scanned her face.

qq shook her head and her speech came through sniffs, "n-no, you didn't. i'm just glad i have you, tobio. thanks for always being there for me."

a pause, then she added, "i'm sorry you have to worry about me all the time."

he shook his head, "don't be. it's my duty to worry about you. i don't mind any of it."

he wiped away the remaining streaks of tears on her face before he reached down to the plastic bag, bringing out a sealed cup of bubble tea (her eyes widened upon seeing it). he pulled out a straw and poked it into the seal, before handing it to her. she tried to quieten her sobs by sipping on the drink as he ran his hands through her hair.

"thank you, tobio," she said after she stopped sipping momentarily, "i love you."

his ears burned red and pink dusted his cheeks, still very much flustered by a simple declaration, "i love you, too."

he leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, causing her to break out into a small smile.

"let's go," he said as he walked over to the piano to help her grab her books, "you look like you need a nap."

"i'm not a baby, tobio," she mumbled as she held up the last bun, "want it?"

he shook his head at her question, then said with a smirk, "that's because you're my baby."

she laughed and said as they interwined their hands together to walk out of the practice room, "yeah, yeah, whatever you say, blueberry."

···

( 1046 )
( 070420 )

where can i find myself a kageyama to get me free food and boba? :<

been in a kinda sour/gloomy mood these few days, yikes. most likely going to rampage it out on writing, if not practice. we'll see.