And they were roommates (1)

Yachi Hitoka had started living by herself by the age of 18, at first, she moved in with her high school friend. They moved into a nice small apartment quite far from their college but it was what they could afford. It was going smoothly for a year and a half. But due to some circumstances, her high school friend had to move back with her parents. 

So it left Yachi alone, barely able to afford her apartment without having to cut almost half her food money. Least to say, it wasn't going so well, stack that up with an hour and half transportation from the apartment to her college. Yachi wouldn't want to have to go back to her mom's house, let alone ask for money! she wasn't going to steep so low. 

So there she sat at a cafe after her lectures in college, not having a place to stay by the end of this week, trying to come up with a way to not be homeless. She groaned and slammed her head straight face onto the table.

"Sounds like you have a lot on your plate." Yachi jolted back up, she knew that voice all too well.

"Kei! You finished your lectures?" Yachi asked, even if it hasn't been that long since they saw each other. Tsukishima had grown quite a lot, his hair was fluffy as ever, that blonde head of hair he grew longer over the years, he could tie it up in a low ponytail if he tried hard enough. He ditched those nerdy black glasses and got a more rounded design on the bottom part. His eyes were still golden as ever, although it seemed to be tired, even stressed but he still wore a small smile. Yachi smiled in relief, finding a little bit of a stable ground bumping into him.

"Yep, you look incredibly tired." He pointed out, he glanced at the many empty iced americanos on her table. Yachi laughed guiltily.

"Just some problems weighing me down." Yachi gave a quick excuse. His cold eyes turned into more curious ones. He tilted his head.

"About?" He asked, Yachi bit her lip, unsure if she should dump out her problems to him. He had his own problems too. But that unsureness was cut off by Tsukishima. "I have some time. tell me your problem and I'll tell you mine." Yachi sighed and gave him a thankful smile.

"Thank you, Kei. It's just I might go homeless in a week or so. My roommate had to move out for family problems and I barely have enough to pay for the whole apartment without being broke." Yachi gave a quick summary. her shoulders slumped and she frowned. "And I don't want to get help from my mom. it'll show her that I can't even take care of myself." 

"So... you are just gonna live out on the streets until you find a way?" Tsukishima looked back at her, his cold stare hitting her dead on. Yachi nodded, dreading everything. 

"Well, I guess that's the major problem I have now. how about you? You look tired and stressed, anything happened?" Yachi changed the subject, making Tsukishima frown just a bit. He cleared his throat.

"Well, I was planning to move out too. My brother said he can find a place with me and crash in to pay half. Well... that was the plan." Tsukishima explained, a visible pout was on his lips and Yachi couldn't help but feel or his situation. "Long story short, somethings came up and he'll be moving all the way to the other side of the island. But we already have the apartment and everything, I can't just cancel the contract." Tsukishima sighed, resting his chin on his hand. 

"So you got a plan? how about Yamaguchi moving in with you?" Yachi asked, Tsukishima shook his head.

"He's already settled down with someone he met in college. Kageyama- Nah, I would rather not get my apartment broken into with his fangirls. Hinata- he's overseas. and most of my friends in college already have their own." They both pouted, the air around them gloomy. 

"What should we do..." Yachi said, feeling the lowest of the lows. They just sat there in silence for a few minutes, feeling like there was no hope. But then Tsukishima jolted up, looking like he found a solution.

"I know!" Tsukishima said, his smile coming back. Yachi looked at him, confused. 

"Know what?" Yachi asked, not understanding. Tsukishima quickly pulled out his phone and scrolled through many emails before stopping and pressing on one. He showed it to her.

"Let's just live together." It was the lease for the apartment, the cost, and the house plan. Yachi grabbed his phone and widened her eyes. 

"We can share the living room, kitchen, and toilet. Then there are two rooms for both of us! wait- it's furnished too? we can split the cost in half!" Yachi said in glee. Maybe there is hope for them. So they sat there, talking about the plan and the details of the bills. they agreed to move in this Thursday. 

-

"Oh! there's a small balcony that is right above that pretty flower shop!" Yachi said, dropping everything she had and running to the balcony. It had a pretty white chair on the side and a few overgrown vines, but the view was nice and pretty, they would get to see the sunrise. 

"Huh, I guess that's what the square thing on the floor plan was. I thought it was just some extra space to put the tv on or something." Tsukishima said, he dragged his suitcase and placed it much neater on the hallway. 

"We might have to shop for some more things like plates and cups..." Tsukishima called out, looking at the empty kitchen. Besides a coffee machine and microwave, it looked empty. Yachi turned and looked at the rest of the place. 

"We can go tomorrow. for now let's just settle in," Yachi said, walking to where he was. The apartment was fairly good-sized for 2 people, the living room and kitchen were in one rectangular room, the kitchen counters cutting off the sides, between the living room and kitchen was a hallway to the toilet and the two rooms. 

Yachi insisted she can have the smaller room, she didn't need that much space anyway and Tsukishima could need more space since she saw the box of Dinosaur figurines beside the kitchen counter. They finally settled down and went into their own individual rooms. 

Yachi looked at the nice white room. It had a rather big single bed with no headboard, a wooden cabinet, and a bedside table. It still had space on the left for a desk that she would need to buy next week. She quickly dragged her suitcase and two medium-sized boxes inside and started unpacking. 

Her last apartment had already been furnished too and the furniture she did have was sold for a nice price. She only took her clothes and some personal belongings. After she had finished unpacking and placing them all in storage, she laid down on the floor, relaxing. opposite the door was a big window, she saw the moon right dead in the center of the sky. That's when she heard a knock.

"It's getting late. We should eat dinner soon." She got up and walked to the door, opening it. 

"I forgot... how should we settle groceries?" She looked up at him, he had changed into more comfortable clothes. It had been getting more chilly these days. Tsukishima shrugged. 

"I was thinking about just taking turns to buy every week." He glanced at the hallway then at her. Yachi agreed. After another round of fighting, they had settled for Yachi paying first.

"Let's go down then. The grocery store is nearby." Yachi nodded and quickly slipped on a thick jacket before following him in the hallway and to their entryway, checking everything was off, they got out of the apartment. 

"What should we get? vegetables and fruits... maybe some spices?" Yachi suggested as they walked the quite crowded street. Tsukishima picked an apartment that was quite near a popular street. 

"What? Vegetables... fruits... I was just thinking ramen." Tsukishima said, shrugging a bit, maybe his brother was a bit of an influence on him. Tsukishima couldn't even remember when the last time he had a proper meal. Yachi widened her eyes, looking shocked.

"You should eat healthier options! We are not buying ramen, maybe udon noodles, since it is getting colder. And we aren't buying those 3-minute curry packets too. It's better if we cook them from scratch." Yachi nagged, getting out her phone and writing down a list as they walked. Tsukishima leaned down ever so often to see. 

"Isn't that too much?" He asked after checking the finished list. Yachi shrugged.

"Well, we are buying everything since the kitchen is basically bare. By next week I don't think we'd have to buy salt, sugar, pepper, and many more of these," Yachi explained, Tsukishima frowned.

"Then let me pay." They finally got to the store. Yachi rolled her eyes.

"We've already talked about this. You can pay for groceries next week." She commented, pulling out a cart. Tsukishima grumbled.

"But then next week would cost lesser." He fired back, gripping onto the handle of the cart and pushing it instead of her. Yachi sighed.

"It's fine, there will be a day when you will have to buy pepper and sugar. It will even out eventually." Yachi stopped at the vegetable section, gripping onto his arm to stop. Tsukishima finally agreed and let her do her shopping. 

"would you rather have spinach or let's just get cucumber instead?" She looked up at him, the spinach packet on her right hand and a cucumber packet on her left. Tsukishima thought about it.

"Spinach." Yachi nodded and placed the packet on the cart, moving on the next. They walked a bit more, getting their stuff. It wasn't uncomfortable or anything, which surprised them both, they thought it'd be a bit more awkward than this, but it felt normal.

"Just get this coffee brand." Tsukishima pointed, Yachi gasps a bit too dramatically.

"Why would you get a 700ml one for 10 dollars when you can get a better brand like this one for the same price and 100ml more grounds?" Yachi said pointing to some brand. Tsukishima looked at it, confused.

"There's a difference?" he asked, Yachi rolled her eyes like it was so obvious.

"Yes, there is." Tsukishima just shrugged and took the one she pointed at and placed it on their cart. 

"Can we get tea too?" Tsukishima asked, stopping at the wide variety of tea. Yachi looked up and agreed. "I want green tea." He took the green box and placed it on the cart. They walked a bit further in, just checking if they needed anything else.

"I'm sorry, young lady. could you please help me with these?" An old lady suddenly called out to them. Yachi looked at her struggling to reach a product. Yachi helped her. Tsukishima waited for her, but then the cake section caught his eye, specifically a Strawberry looking cake. 

"Thank you." The old lady said, placing the idem on her cart. Yachi gave a warm smile

"It's no problem." Yachi suddenly felt a hand tugging on her arm. She turned to Tsukishima, who had a child-like face.

"Cake, there's cake." He pointed to the section. Yachi sighed, knowing his Strawberry shortcake addiction.

"Ara? newlyweds?" The old lady suddenly asked, the two blondes blushed hard.

"W-we aren't together-"

"Ho ho ho~ Young love is still so sweet. treasure these times you two." The lady left them without letting them say a word. Tsukishima flushed, pushing the cart.

"C'mon. I want to buy cake." He muttered, hiding his blush from her. Yachi followed him, biting her lip.

"Y-yeah..." 

 They finally finished their shopping. Tsukishima carried more than her, saying it's fair for him to do so. So they started walking again, discussing their meal plans.

"I can do breakfast, but and we won't be here for lunch, so we can just see who comes back first to make dinner." Yachi talked, Tsukishima just agrees. He never really got to experience just how much of a planner she was, maybe in their highschool days, but as he hears her plan out what to cook and plan out their schedules, he found her very responsible... and very cute. 

"...Okay? Or do you want to do it some other day?" Yachi suddenly asked, he snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. he didn't know what she just said, he was too focused on his thoughts rather than the girl who stood in front of their apartment door, unlocking the door. 

"You didn't listen, didn't you?" Yachi said, glaring at him. Tsukishima flinched but nodded. 

"It's fine, I'll hang it up on the fridge so we both won't forget." She placed the bags on top of the counter and started placing them in cupboards and drawers.

"Oh... I just noticed we don't have pots or pans... or any utensils." Tsukishima pointed out, looking at the empty drawers. Yachi flinched. 

"W-wait, then how are we- Oh gosh." She looked around, panicked. Tsukishima couldn't help but laugh. 

"Looks like we will order take out then. We can buy the things we need tomorrow." Yachi gave a defeated expression and had no choice but to agree. They ate take out and cake that night. 

-

A week has passed and the two blondes have settled in quite nicely. They have a sort of routine now. Yachi would obviously wake up first and use the bathroom, once she finishes, Tsukishima would already have been waiting in the living room. While he used the bathroom, Yachi started cooking breakfast. After that, they would leave together but take separate busses to their college. Yachi would usually get home first on Mondays and Wednesdays while Tsukishima would be home first on the rest. Saturdays and Sundays are different, sometimes Yachi would not be home or Tsukishima would not be home. Monday is grocery day and laundry day for Yachi, Tsukishima's laundry day was on Thursdays. All in all, they have settled in nicely. 

"Ha! I won again!" Yachi cheered, looking at the Tv screen. Tsukishima clicked his tongue, getting frustrated.

"How the heck are you so good at Mario cart?" He asked, looking a bit scared of her. Yachi shrugged.

"My old roommate always made me play it." She explained, scratching her head. She turned to the screen again. "One more round?" Tsukishima smirked and nodded. Once again he knew he was gonna lose.

"By the way," Tsukishima started, still staring at the screen, clicking his tongue and grumbling whenever he lost. Yachi glanced at him and hummed. "did you see our group chat? They are planning on meeting up soon." 

"Yeah, Shoyo said that he has time to video call us for an hour to just catch up... Tobio-kun said he'll make time and we all know Tadashi will be there. You are coming right?" Yachi asked, winning again. She turned to him, he nodded. 

"That reminds me, I haven't really told Shoyo or Kageyama that we are living together now..." Yachi added, placing the controller down and stretching. Tsukishima widened his eyes.

"I haven't even told Tadashi, He was busy the past week... We should tell them soon then." Tsukishima leaned back on the couch, relaxing. He completely lost to her, not even winning 1 game. Yachi hummed and stood up.

"Anyways, the reunion isn't until next week., so we have more than enough time to tell them. I'll get going to bed now~" Yachi yawned, lazily walking to her room. Tsukishima muttered a goodnight and took his own time to close the game and the Tv. He sighed, just sitting down on the couch, feeling alone. his mind started to wander.

Yachi Hitoka. He never would have thought she'd be living with him, sure it was great. But now he has to be more careful than ever. It was hard enough being near her, but every day? Tsukishima might as well die from a heart attack. When exactly did he start liking her? Surely it wasn't until the second year when he did start noticing her more often. 

Her pretty smiles in the morning when she'd bump into him on the bus, then her tired yawns when they are going home. He was very hard to be friends with, but Yachi somehow found her way around it. By third year Her, together with the other 3 guys, had been closer than ever. He would never admit it but their last year in high school was when he really actually liked to be around them. Their annoying begging to meet up on the weekends, them barging into his classroom during lunch and bombarding him with questions and annoying bickering... He enjoyed them. To Hinata trying to get on top of his shoulders, to Kageyama bickering about him doing better during their practices, to Yamaguchi laughing with him and Yachi... just Yachi giving him the biggest encouraging smile he ever saw. He loved all of it. 

He also enjoyed when Yachi would calm down the weird duo when he was really going to explode into an angry volcano, or when she'd treat him strawberry shortcake after dealing with Hinata and Kageyama more than usual. How she knew exactly how to help him calm down his nerves during games, and how her pretty smile could just melt away any fear and anger built up inside him. Yachi Hitoka sure did hit him with an arrow straight through his heart. And he wasn't the least bit angry about it. 

Tsukishima sighed and finally got up, he of the living room lights and walked to his room. He dropped onto his bed, grumbling at the fluttering feeling he had in his stomach. How long more can he keep up his wall before finally seeing it crumble to the ground? And when that happens, how will he face Yachi finally realizing his feelings? It sure will be hard to deal with the awkwardness of the girl. He sighed again, trying to at least get a bit of sleep. He'll think about it another time when it comes. For now, he'll just hide that butterfly fluttering around in his stomach.

-

"Eh!? You guys are really living together!?" Yamaguchi said, pointing at Yachi and Tsukishima. The two blondes just shrugged and nodded. Tanaka laughed loudly.

"I knew Kei-kun will finally come to his senses and ask a girl out. But never to this extent!" Sugawara said, laughing loudly.

"Suga- You're already drunk? We barely started..." Asahi pulled back the male. Everyone just laughed. 

"Oh! Hinata, how is everything in Brazil? Not causing any trouble there, right?" Daichi called out, they turned to the laptop where Hinata's face was shown. Hinata grinned.

"Everything is great here! I miss home food though, especially meat buns!" He called out, They all nodded, laughing.

"Boke! you should have bought them with you then!" Kageyama shouted, glaring at the screen. Hinata rolled his eyes and pouted.

"I did, Stupid! But I finished it the next day!" Hinata fired back. Yachi chuckled a bit. 

"They haven't changed one bit huh?" She whispered, Tsukishima gave a short chuckle and nodded. 

"Take a picture, Kiyoko," Suga whispered, looking at the two blondes who held their own conversation. They didn't even notice the others were focusing on them already.

"Are you sure you guys aren't dating?" Nishinoya said bluntly. Everyone froze, even though they were curious. Yachi blushed hard.

"No no! It isn't like that! I-It's just we were talking about how Hinata and Kageyama still act the same" Yachi tried to explain. They still didn't believe her, they turned to Tsukishima who just shrugged.

"Seriously. They might get married even before saying they're dating." Asahi whispered. Daichi snickered.

"They already got the living together part. Soon enough it'll make them closer... right Tanaka?" Daichi teased. Tanaka flinched, gripping onto Kiyoko's hand a bit tighter. 

"But I hope you guys are getting along well, it'd be bad if you both got into a fight! That'll make you more like a married couple than roommates." Yamaguchi teased, earning a glare from Tsukishima. Yachi just laughed nervously.

"Kei-chan is fun to be around. Besides, it's nice to have someone I know to live with me." 

"wahh, well said Yachi-san!" 

"Alright alright! Let's actually start eating before the food get's cold?"

-

"Ugh- They teased us to oblivion. Shoyo the most- I almost wanted to break that screen-" Yachi burst out laughing showing her rosy cheeks. Tsukishima pouted but looked at the girl beside him. They were walking home from the reunion.

"I just noticed, even before then, Our seniors had already been trying to pair up everybody." Yachi glanced up at him, then onto the path. Tsukishima hummed, recalling the memory. 

"At one point, they thought Kageyama was bi!" Yachi laughed, Tsukishima also remembered that Nishinoya asking him straight up if Kageyama was Bi or not. It was certainly a funny thing to watch because Kageyama didn't know what Bi meant. 

"Pft- And then You were shipped with Tadashi, he used to have a crush on you," Tsukishima said, shoving his hand further down the pockets on his hoodie. Yachi flushed.

"That was around our first year wasn't it? Man, that was a long time ago." Yachi muttered, frowning a bit. Tsukishima nodded, sighing. 

"I always wondered why you guys didn't end up together. I thought you liked him too." If Tsukishima were still like his first-year self, he would have totally shipped them too, but second-year came around, he felt anxious telling Yamaguchi that he also had a crush on the girl. But all that anxiety changed into relief when Yamaguchi told him he was over her, telling him to go for it.

"Well, I wasn't looking for anyone to date at that time- besides... I..." Yachi stopped and stared down on the ground, sighing a bit. Tsukishima tilted his head.

"Besides what?" He asked, leaning a bit lower to hear her. Yachi looked back up with a big smile.

"Besides nothing. Let's hurry before it get's any colder." Yachi walked a bit faster. Tsukishima frowned, knowing there was more than the girl wanted to say, but he let it go, not wanting to press onto the topic further. He glanced down and the shivering girl.

"I told you to wear your thicker coat." Tsukishima nagged, Yachi frowned.

"We've talked about this, It didn't fit my whole outfit." Yachi glared at him, Tsukishima just rolled his eyes. He really didn't understand why she couldn't have just worn her thicker coat. He grumbled and took off his coat, placing it on her shoulders.

"I would rather not deal with you being sick." He scolded her. Yachi stuck her tongue out and wore the coat. Tsukishima rolled his eyes, he might just pop an eye out for the number of times he rolled his eyes today. "Anyways, we should hurry. It's getting really late and I have somewhere to be tomorrow."

Now that caught Yachi's attention. "Where are you going tomorrow?" She asked, giving him a curious look.

"She asked me to help her with some of the materials our Lecturer assigned to us, why do you ask?" Tsukishima questioned her. Yachi jolted but she quickly cleared her throat.

"N-nothing in particular. Have fun then." Yachi dropped the topic, much to Tsukishima's curiosity. He wondered why the sudden change of mood. He caught up with her, leaning down to try and catch a glimpse of her face. Was she... frowning? He coughed awkwardly.

"I-It's nothing much. She had been begging me which was irritating me. I asked my friend to accompany me too." He added, looking down to see her smiling giddily. He smiled too. 

"I see... You didn't have to tell me though! I wasn't trying to pry into your own...life..." Yachi suddenly blurted out, giving a nervous laugh. Tsukishima smirked, he hummed in a tune like a song. She looked cute flustered.

-

"I'll be heading out then," Tsukishima called out, tieing his shoelaces. Yachi hummed, she sat on their couch with her laptop and a fluffy blanket, she looked comfortable.

"Oh! Kei, could you maybe help me buy some chocolates?" Yachi asked, giving a pleading face. Tsukishima nodded. "No! Wait actually maybe candy would be better... no but I want chocolates instead... but what if I change my mind? Should I just buy both? No, then I won't be able to-"

"I'll be going! See you later." Tsukishima cut her ramblings. Yachi panicked. She placed her laptop on the coffee table, crawling to the couch, nearer to the entrance where he stood, ready to go.

"I'll pay you later? Yes- I want Choco- no candy? I-" Tsukishima sighed, grabbing his coat and bag.

"I'll just call you when I'm at the store. See you later, kay?" He gave a quick smile and went out of the apartment. Yachi pouted but agreed. She laid back on the couch, hugging her blanket. She on the Tv, going to Netflix. After a while, she curled up in a ball, feeling her stomach stabbing itself.

"I hate this." She whined, she wanted to get a heat pack, but the kitchen looked so far away. She wanted tea but the kitchen is still too far away. So she laid there, crying from the pain and from the sad romantic movie she was watching. She finally had enough strength to get at least a cup of tea, she sighed in relief as the warmth enveloped her, comforting her better. After 5 hours and 2 movies, her cravings were getting the best of her. She wondered how long he was going to be out, maybe she should have gotten out. that's when she got a call. She glanced at Tsukishima's name accepted the call, she heard a bit of muffled talk.

"Hello?" She called out. 

"Would you like some desserts instead? I'm at a bakery." She heard his voice, it sounded rough. Yachi frowned.

"Chocolate." She insisted. Tsukishima sighed. 

"Alright, I'll get the chocolate as you said. but I'm buying a slice or two of strawberry cake, and hell no am I going to share one." Tsukishima warned her. Yachi just hummed. 

"Kei, I need you to-... Actually never mind. I'll go down and get it." Yachi stopped herself from embarrassment. Tsukishima sighed.

"I'm already out, just ask." She heard him talking to the staff and then a few muffled sounds and the loud cars passing by meant he had gone out of the store. Yachi pouted.

"It's fine, I have my coat on. I don't think you'd f-" Yachi blushed harder, no way in hell would she ask. She already got her coat on. But he already cut her off.

"Just say it, Hitoka." His demanding voice made her feel smaller than she already is. Her hand that was on the front door handle dropped.

"I- I just need some... Pads. I'll just go down, it's fine..." Yachi could die from embarrassment rather than blood loss. She didn't hear anything from him, just cars and people passing by.

"Which one do you need? I'm here already. Jesus- that lady is staring at me." Tsukishima muttered. Yachi bit her lip. She'll just hide under the covers of her mattress and die before he comes back home. She told him the brand.

"Do you need anything else?" He asked her after a bit. Yachi bit her lip.

"No." her voice was soft, maybe from embarrassment. Tsukishima frowned, although she wouldn't have known that. 

"Are you sure? You did ask for candy just now." 

"Yes. that." 

"M'kay. gummy's?" Yachi hummed. After a few moments, she heard the cashier and the peeping sound.

"Kay, I'll be home in 10." was all she heard before the call ended. She looked at the time, 9:45. She dragged herself into her room, not bothering to off the Tv or her laptop in the living room. She hid under her blanket and waited till death arrived. It was comfy, she was too lazy to turn on the lights, so she laid there, motionless. She doesn't know how long she stayed like that, but it was long enough to hear their front door opening and closing, and then the footsteps which seemed to be getting louder. 

"Hitoka?" She heard his voice call out to her. She'll pretend to sleep. A knock on her door and then he opened it. "Why... did you leave the Tv on? And the lights too." He asked her, dropping a plastic bag. Yachi whined. 

"I don't want visitors right now." Her voice was muffled by the blanket she had. Tsukishima sighed.

"I'll leave the chocolates here. I'll give you your laptop and your blanket too. Do you need anything else?" A brief pause before she heard his footsteps going and coming back. Yachi felt him place the blanket on the edge of her bed and the laptop. 

"Have you eaten dinner?" He asked, Yachi bit her lip, she hasn't. She sat up and shook her head. 

"I'll go make dinner then." And with that the door closed, leaving her to herself. Well, that wasn't bad. She didn't die at least. She quickly scrambled to the plastic bag, grinning at the chocolate and a few more candies. She was grateful for what he did. She tried looking for the receipt, but couldn't find one. She crawled to her door and barely opened it.

"Where's the receipt?" She called out. Tsukishima stayed quiet. "Kei?" Yachi called out again, opening her room door a bit more. She could see Tsukishima's figure a bit, she saw the headset's he had on. She'll ask him later then.

Well, that's when the doorbell rang and Yachi heard the faint sound of a woman. Never in her life had she felt her heart drop so low until the realization hit her.

Tsukishima Kei... has a girlfriend?