an: to celebrate both of our last years of school, i have wrote this for echo's the best years of our lives collab!!! it is going to be three parts. this is based on my own personal experiences! i hope you all like it :)
pairings: timeskip!tsukishima x fem!reader
warnings: swearing, fluff, tsukki's bad attitude, lowercase intentional
-
one thing about tsukishima is that he loves a schedule. the consistency of it all made him feel secure and made him feel at ease. thankfully, this morning was going exactly according to plan.
his 9:00 lecture ended exactly at 10:00, which meant he had exactly 1 hour and 45 minutes to grab something to eat and get a little bit of work done before he had to walk to his 12:00 class. if he's lucky, his professor will wrap up at 1:30, allowing him to catch the bus at 1:45 to head home, so that he can enjoy his friday evening doing homework with yamaguchi like usual.
of course, it wouldn't be a friday morning without seeing you.
ever since his first year of university, tsukishima has seen you pretty regularly around campus. passing each other on the way to class, sitting near each other in the library, he even saw you at the grocery store a few times. at first, he thought it was just a coincidence in schedules, but after four years now, he isn't sure what to make of this.
he has never talked to you, and you have never spoken to him. hell, you have never acknowledged him. part of him wishes you would, though.
sitting down in the dining hall, tsukishima begins his homework playlist and starts to work. the time seems to be flying by until he hears a voice behind him, distracting his workflow. lowering his headphones, he turns over his shoulder and nearly chokes when he realizes who's talking.
you're sitting directly behind him laughing into the phone that fits perfectly between your ear and shoulder, typing on your laptop while you do so. normally, tsukishima would be incredibly annoyed by this, but he isn't. the sound of your laugh and soft voice actually made him smile.
rolling his eyes at his behavior, he turns his music up and tries to get back to work.
the rest of the day was fine. his class ended right on time, he got to his apartment quickly, and he was able to get to yamaguchi's without any problems. but, now he regrets coming over.
"aww, tsukki's campus crush!" yamaguchi cheers from the kitchen, grabbing chopsticks for their takeout. tsukishima groans into a pillow from the couch. "shut up, yamaguchi. i shouldn't have said anything," he gripes, snatching the chopsticks out of his best friend's hands. "it's not even a crush."
yamaguchi laughs. "is she pretty?"
tsukishima feels his cheeks heating up. looking at his food, he sighs. "yeah, very."
yamaguchi smirks. "right."
-
monday morning came a lot quicker than you had hoped. the weekend is never long enough, especially this semester. as you walked through campus, bleary-eyed and exhausted, you looked up to see him.
headphone guy.
the first time you saw him was in the library four years ago. ever since then, you have seen him everywhere. you don't know anything about him, besides the fact that for four years now, he has worn large white headphones.
and, that he is extremely good-looking.
you pass by each other, like every other monday morning, without a word.
after class, you can't seem to get him out of your head. he looked so handsome, with his rimmed glasses and blonde hair, and he seems so serious. you've seen him study some pretty impressive science textbooks, too. he must be intelligent.
walking into the bookstore on campus isn't helping your thoughts. as you shuffle through the isles for a specific book you need for class, there he is.
standing directly in front of your section, he flips through a book mindlessly. his headphones are draped around his neck, the very faint sound of music whispers through them.
"excuse me," you squeak, cringing at your attempt. tsukishima looks down at you at you and doesn't say a word.
okay asshole.
"i-i'm looking for a book,"
"obviously," he interjects, still staring at you. you cock an eyebrow at him. what is this guy's problem?
giving him the benefit of the doubt to save the image of him you made in your mind, you start again. "it's for my psychology class this semester. i didn't know i needed it, it wasn't required," mumbling the last part, you step forward to scan through the book spines.
tsukishima watches intently, suppressing a chuckle as you grab the book you need and mutter a finally under your breath.
"is that for psych 325?" you nod. "it was required actually. it's in the first section of the syllabus,"
your eyebrows shoot up, only to lower back down into a low glare. "no it wasn't, i checked."
he smirks down at you, pushing his glasses back up his nose with the back of his knuckle. you are about to disintegrate on the spot.
"well," he sighs, looking for his own book. "i'm the TA for that class this semester,"
you blink. twice. three times.
"what section?"
he turns on his heel and begins to walk out of the isle, book in hand. he looks over his shoulder at you. "section 8."
no fucking way.
you walk after him as he heads to the checkout counter. shaking your head in disbelief, you finally catch up to him. "you're tsukishima?"
he nods, grabbing his wallet to pay for his book.
"but you aren't in my class."
placing his receipt in the book cover, he turns to you and adjusts his headphones. "i don't need to be there, i just help grade and upload assignments from time to time."
paying for your own, apparently required book, you start to feel a little sheepish.
"after all these years," you mumble to yourself.
stopping midway from putting on his headphones, it's his turn to cock an eyebrow.
and he wouldn't admit it, but he really hopes he heard you correctly.
"what did you say?" you pause, then adjust your backpack.
"nothing, i was just talking to myself," you look away, fixing your eyes on anything but his brown ones.
walking towards the door, you both want and don't want him to follow you.
he does.
"do you know me?" he asks, holding the door open for you. walking out, you wait for him to join you outside.
"no, but i've seen you around campus a few times," you aren't technically lying. but you aren't going to admit that you've been staring at him for the past four years. he hums back.
tsukishima's just as stubborn as you, if not more so. the last thing he's going to do is tell you that he has been thinking about you for the past eight semesters, even telling his best friend about you.
standing in silence, the two of you stare at your feet as the autumn breeze kicks up around you. clearing your throat, you look up at him once more.
the midday sun dances across his cheeks and hair, the strands looking almost white in the rays. he looks down at you before you have time to look away.
"you know, just because we spoke, please don't expect any special treatment in the class," he sighs and pulls his headphones over his ears. rolling your eyes, shake your head at him.
"obviously."
he chuckles at your imitation of him earlier. feeling his heartbeat quicken once more, he turns to you before he walks to the bus stop.
"the class is challenging, so don't be afraid to reach out. my phone number is on the syllabus, along with my email," he says, grabbing his phone to press play on his playlist. looking at you again, he bites tongue as you are staring back at him with wide eyes and blushing cheeks.
"for academic purposes, of course."
tsukishima walks away, hoping you don't catch how nervous he actually is. he can't believe he said that. yamaguchi is gonna love this.
your thoughts are racing, far too quickly for this monday afternoon. beginning the walk to your apartment, you shake the thoughts that sneak their way into your head.
Hello your latest diasommnia art has me in a chokehold. There are so many details I love but most importantly is there the implication that Lilia dyes his hair to look more down and hip with the kids???
thank you! :D
I'm pretty sure (although don't ask me what story or random voiceline it's from) it's canon that Lilia's hair streaks are dye/color and that he switches colors when he feels like it, he's just been on a pink streak for a while! ~*artistically*~ it's a handy shorthand to show time passing; I've also seen people do that by giving him long hair, but that was harder to see in the style I went with. :')
also I just really like the idea that one day Lilia woke up and was like
notes: sorta delayed contribution to @veenxys valentine's day collab! (really enjoyed writing this one)
bonus: listen to "fall" by ben&ben
"kei..."
"hm?"
"it's raining."
sure enough, the sound of it pattering against your windows started to increase its volume, dewdrops kissing the clear glass, obsuring the view of the greying neighborhood outside.
if you haven't a clock on hand, you wouldn't have figured out it was just four o'clock in the afternoon. but for tsukishima kei, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon. he has an essay due at midnight, and has a lot more research left to do â not to mention his slow progress at actually writing â with less than 8 hours to spare. it usually took him a whole week to complete one, so he was starting to get a little hopeless about finishing it on time. giving up on a task midway wasn't really his thing ... nor was it an option, for the paper takes up more than half of the final grade.
you had asked if you could stay over at his place to hang out which he agreed to, giving you a heads up that he would be occupied most of the time. he figured you would take back you request but weirdly, you waved those off, saying that his presence was enough.
well, he would never deny a little bit company ... especially from you. but he had and inkling that you weren't just there to "hang out". something was up from the very start.
you see, he knew you as a rather eccentric and energetic one.
he vividly remembers that time you video chatted him in the middle of a random wednesday to tell him that in a few minutes, you would be jumping off of a plane thousands of feet above ground.
yamaguchi, who was studying with him in a library at that time, was a witness to his bewildered and flabbergasted expression upon hearing that you decided to skydive on impulse. then there was this other time where you ended up with a broken nose because you got into a fight with a creep on the bus stop ...
he never stopped you, though, because no matter how worried he was (he felt like your mother sometimes), deep inside he knew that you would be able to take care of yourself to some extent, because (hopefully) you still had some hint of caution inside you.
that's why he fell in love with you in the first place â you showed him the thrills and twists of life.
"how much more time you need for that essay?" you ask with an obvious groan from where you ate cashews on his bed.
the blonde squinted his eyes at you, "a lot, why...?"
as if waiting for a signal, you jumped up from his bed, quite literally PEELED him away from his desk, and dragged him to the front door. by then, he knew his protests were futile, because though he can easily lift you up and carry you back into his room, he honestly wanted to do anything BUT his essay.
and he turns mush when you hold his hand, so there's that too.
you drag him to the porch in nothing but pajamas and an oversized t-shirt. it was chilly outside, and the rain sounds were quite overwhelming for the lack of walls and roofs to muffle them.
"y/n... what are you doâ"
he watches you in horror as you back up from the covered porch into the rain, the water flattening and dampening the whole of you. wiping at your face and hooding your eyes with your hands to peer at him through the raindrops, you signal him over,
"WELL WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU WAITING FOR GET OVER HERE!!!"
kei couldn't believe it. should he be mad? thankful? disappointed? relieved? he didn't know. he wanted to call you a dumbass for distracting him from his work to play around like kids in the rain when he felt like his future relied heavily on whether or not he finishes the essay before midnight. clouded with thoughts, he was unable to stop you from tugging him into the rain in time.
"FUCK WE'RE GOING TO GET SICK, Y/N"
the rain pattering on his head felt like small fingers made of ice drumming on his skin. he looked up, or at least tried to.
nothing but an expanse of light grey.
in the distance, there, too, was a child and his father playfully chasing each other in the rain. some other neighbors chose to watch the weather scene from their own porches, looking out in awe like the rain was snow, and the thunder, a lullaby.
in a way, it was, he thinks to himself. the tapping of his mechanical keyboard was starting to liken the mood of the monotonous, black and white hum of an office job, and his thoughts were starting to shift into nagging voices in his head that just wouldn't shut up. he looks down at his hands, torso, and feet â all soaked and soggy.
from the distance, he hears you calling him. kei, come with! you say, making him feel as though he is witnessing the pleasant parts of his flashback montage before death. like a camera whose lenses rush to take in each and every minute detail from the scene:
the greyness, the muted colors of houses, a child's innocent screeches of delight, rain hitting asphalt, his slippers squelching from trying to grasp on to something on the slippery road, you, you, you, youâ
there you were.
arms upturned, eyes closed, and face welcoming the raindrops like how one would bare oneself on the beach for the summertime tan. you skipped around like a child on a mission, like an officeworker resigning from a boring desk job to follow their childhood dreams. like a lover and reciprocated love. like meeting old friends after years of distance ...
kei took a mental note of all these things, shaking off all thought of his essay from his mind.
he needed all the memory in his head to capture the you right now, twirling around as if this muted world is yours for the taking. he willed his eyes to copy the scene exactly as it is to archive in the album of core memories in his head.
then he sees you scream something at him, but it comes on muffled from the rain.
"WHA?" he shouts back, pointing at his ears to signal you to turn up your volume.
"I SAID, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, YOU IDIOT!!!"
kei had many things to be thankful for that day: for you, for taking him out of the black hole that is his study table; for his eyes, because without it, he wouldn't have been able to take snapshots of this exact moment for his keeping; and for the rain, because without it, everybody would've witness him tearing up at the sight of your happiness. because he was simply so overwhelmed with gratitude for you, that he did not know what else to utter when he held you close under the rain like a scene in some cheesy romance.
so instead he returned your "happy valentine's day" greeting, whispering affections into your ear, that only you, him, and the rain would ever know about. two lovers drenched in an afternoon rain. perhaps there is romance and love found in laying down in bed together, both sniffling and downing the medicine for colds.
ăĄ: hope u all had a wonderful valentine's day!! personally, i didn't have much time to plan anything for hearts day bc of school (it's currently hell week for us since our grades are due next week), but i do have some good stuff waiting for me at the end of the week. basically just me binge-watching comfort films and feeling as single as ever đđone of my beloved friends gave me a handmade crocheted mouse/cat hybrid with lavender essential oil so it's like a mini stress toy! except i won't squish it bc poor mousecat :(( her letter made my bawl my eyes out in the middle of dinner, and the crocheted heart fits perfectly in the palm of my hand. i treasure her so much. i wish i could be there to hug her bc expressing emotions through text online feels weird to me. or maybe it's just bc i don't know how to lmao either way i lov my friends <3 _2162022
>> all words by aero 2022. please do not repost and plagiarize or else i'm coming for your kneecaps.
oh girl! //rubs hands// i have read a ton lately so let's see
Post-Timeskip Kagehina Fics by akaashism (acciomerlin) this is a collection and has 5 fics and they are all like fluff and humor and domesticity heehee
coffee au by solicitors a coffee shop au, in which hinata is a barista who hates coffee and kageyama is a volleyball player and they both go to the same university. when they meet, it's basically love, at first sight, it's so good.
Something New by Maroonedpunk is a 4 part series, these are all NSFW, i think. part 1 is so fucking dhfsghkfdhj wild i'm wheezing thinking about it,, it's basically kghn being friends with benefits in their 3rd year? until kageyama finally snaps bc he's so in love and they are both so stupid. Part 2 was my favorite tho. kageyama comes to brazil for the olympics and visits hinata and.......................it's just good smut idk what to tell you
btcu (body talks cinematic universe) by ClementineKitten 4 part series. i only read the first part of this, yet, but omg that one i already loved. Hinata is affectionate and clingy and kageyama is deeply in love and suffering :')
always (waiting for you) by backyardrants girl................this fic is good but ugh,, i'm- getting teary-eyed a little bit......... so, hinata is about to get married to atsumu and kageyama had been in love with hinata for 10 years and he confesses to him and so hinata has to make a decision? i guess? idk there is supposed to be a second chapter which i'm still waiting patiently for. the tags say it has a happy ending so i'm trusting it :c
One Little Push by rock_candi is a fun one, natsu hinata is iconic
Winter Sun by catsoo12 post-timeskip fluff. love. getting together. that's all
take me to your best friend's house by peachybuckys 3rd year kghn getting together ^o^) this one i loved a lot
settle by moonwatcher more 3rd year kghn, kageyama sprained his ankle and hinata takes care of him
valentine's day is today?! by spider-troia (wndrgrl) this one i saved just yesterday i haven't read it yet, it sounds good tho :D
Stupid Together by asdfroppy another one i have saved, sounded cute also 3rd kghn?
tsukishima comes home to a suspicious red box and lets out an agitated sigh. he had already told you that he doesn't care for the marketing ploys of valentine's day, from the expensive and materialistic gifts to the allergy-inducing bouquets. let's just say that he's not a fan of this day.
but when he opens the box and realizes that it's strawberry shortcake, he softens. it's his favourite. the slices of fluffy cake decorated with sliced strawberries makes his mouth water and his heart melt. he calls you up and thanks you, his voice undeniably soft. yes, the cake was delivered safely. yes, he likes the surprise. yes, he might not hate valentine's day if he's sharing it with you.
im listening to i will by mitski on repeat and cant stop thinking about tsukki coming home super tired from work/practice and then running him a warm bath...him asking you to come in bc he wants to be close to you, you get in there and nothing sexual happens just you washing his hair and taking care of him like he deserves đ god i am hurting
First, this song kills me. Second, this CONCEPT. I could actually cry. Anon. This is precious and I love you. I am ALSO hurting. (this got long so I shoved it under the cut)
His classes start earlier on Tuesdays, meaning he has to be up earlier than usual to be ready on time. His internship is also on Tuesdays, so he spends what is usually a few free hours to eat and do homework at the museum, eating something random he could pick up on his way in that is absolutely not what he wants to be eating. Then, he rushes back for his last class, his hardest class of the week. From there, he rushes off to practice. He spends most of his Tuesdays looking forward to practice because, even though it's work, it's work he enjoys. Tsukishima can let go on the court, can pretend the world around him doesn't exist and he can just be.
But today had been an exceptionally taxing day, and Tsukishima just can't perform well at practice. His teammates keep asking if he's okay until he finally snaps at Koganegawa to leave him the hell alone and just set. Of course, that hurts his feelings, and Tsukishima has to scramble to apologize. Even Kyoutani gives him shit for being so mean, and that's saying something.
So, by the time he stumbles through the door to your apartment, Tsukishima looks just about ready to collapse. He slips his shoes off but goes barefoot as he moves toward your bedroom without a word, which is very out of character. However, you can't help but find it amusing that Tsukishima is shedding clothes as he goes. You get up to follow him, stepping over his shorts, then his shirt, then his boxers as you go. You do your best to hold back your laugh -- it isn't the fact that he's clearly overwhelmed and tired that's funny, it's more the fact that his first thought upon arriving home was to get naked.
"Bad day?" You ask, leaning against the door to your bedroom. Tsukishima has flopped onto the bed, facedown and completely uncovered. All you get in response is a grunt. You push off from the doorway, unable to resist giving his cute little butt a couple of pats before you head towards the bathroom. Tsukishima wiggles a little, grumbling in response (he swears he hates when you do that, but he also always pouts when you don't).
Turning the tap to a temperature that really shouldn't be comfortable, you plug the drain in the tub and leave it to fill while you prep the rest of the room. You light a candle (a light scent, cotton something or other) and then rummage around in the cabinet until you find the epsom salt. Stirring a little of that into the water, you wince at the temperature and reach over to turn it a little cooler for the rest of the fill.
"Kei?" You say gently, emerging from the bathroom to set on the edge of the bed. He looks up at you now, eyes squinted and unfocused from his lack of glasses. Your heart flutters in your chest -- he really is just perfect. "You wanna come take a bath?"
"Only if you take it with me," Tsukishima sighs, making this precious little pleading face at you that has you convinced he might actually cry if you say no.
"Of course."
He sits up then, rubbing at his eyes as he scoots off the edge of the bed to follow you into the bathroom. Large hands find the end of your shirt and tug a little, asking more than demanding, and you lift your arms to let Tsukishima undress you the same way he'd undressed himself. Getting into tub itself is a tight squeeze with Tsukishima's long-legged ass, but you manage to cram into it. He sighs in pure bliss when he sinks into the hot water, head falling back against the tile wall with a pretty solid thunk that you're sure must've hurt.
You let him rest for a little while, arms wrapped loosely around you where you sit against his chest. It's easy to settle in like this, enjoying the silence and feeling the way Tsukishima begins to slowly relax behind you. He nearly whines when you start moving to turn around, until you assure him you're not getting out. Instead, you move to grab his shampoo and the little cup you keep on the shower rack.
"Lean forward for me? And keep your eyes closed." You say, sitting up on your knees as Tsukishima follows your request. This position is always so funny to you -- you're not really that short, close to average height, but Tsukishima's ridiculously tall, and it makes things much more difficult. But you manage.
You dip the cup into the water, holding your empty hand near his hairline to try and block his eyes as much as possible as you slowly pour the water over his hair. Tsukishima sighs contentedly, hands coming up to rest on your hips. His thumbs gently dig into the softness of your flesh there and you smile to yourself.
Once his hair is wet enough, you get a little shampoo from the bottle and begin to work it in, taking your time to really massage it in. Tsukishima leans into your touch, humming quietly as you work. Once you're satisfied, you grab the cup, mimicking your earlier position as you rinse the suds away. Once you're done, he sits back up, pushing his hair off of his forehead to look you properly in the eyes for the first time since he came home.
"Thank you," he says, leaning in to kiss you. Tsukishima pulls you in close, relishing the warmth of your body against his before he pulls back. "I love you. This is -- this is nice."
"I love you," you echo, smiling brightly. A few years ago, things looked a lot different for the two of you -- a sentence like that would've been really hard for Tsukishima to get out. Now, he doles them out like pennies. "You wanna tell me about your day?"
"God, yeah --" He grumbles, leaning back again. "It was awful. I snapped at Kanji."
"Tsukishima Kei," You gasp. You really are surprised. You'd only met the guy a couple of time, but he radiated pure sunshine. "Tell me you're joking."
"I'm not," he whines. "It was awful! This morning --"
He launches into the full story, unloading the dayâs struggles as you listen. You're not sure you could love a person more than you do Tsukishima. And the way he holds you, fingers tracing gentle patterns over your back, you know he feels the same about you.
Husband!Tsukki who cannot shut up about you when he comes back to work after your wedding, surprising all of his coworkers when he willingly shows off wedding photos
Husband!Tsukki who fiddles with his ring when heâs anxious, because it makes him think of you and that calms him down
Husband!Tsukki who refers to you by your new last name way too often in the first few months after your wedding because heâs just so enamored with the fact that youâre his
Husband!Tsukki who says âmy wife,â in conversation instead of your name, even to people who know you (they try so hard not to make fun of him because itâs really sweet to see him so happy but also ⊠the ones that were your friends first canât resist giving him a little shit about it)
Husband!Tsukki who gets you flowers every couple of weeks, making sure that little centerpiece on your dining room table always looks fresh
Husband!Tsukki who surprises you on your first anniversary with a miniature version of your wedding cake (it was kind of a pain to get the guy who did the original to do this, but, Tsukkiâs persuasive, he managed)
Husband!Tsukki whoâs special ringtone for you is the song you danced to at your wedding
super excited to share my full piece for @hqscrapbookzine !!! i just really wanted to draw some of their memories in brazil so i had fun đđ»đ§đ·
summary:
tsukishima finds a nice little surprise from the universe for new years.
loving tsukishima was loving the world at its quietest. it was the love that found you when you finally see the gates of euphoria after the mile-long walk. it was the love that hushed you when you had everything to say but nothing to mean. it was the love that built itself on refuge and remained the house built on stone.
tsukishima kei was not one of the exceptional people of the world. he never set foot in an olympic court, heâs never even been in one. as far as he knows, getting into university was his greatest achievement. luckily for him, love finds itself best in the arms of someone who is, in a way, unremarkably remarkable.
on the 5th of january, just a few days after new years, he catches your eye. you had that grin on your face. the new yearâs hangover look. you apologize and leave, running of to wherever you decide to go next. it was only a fleeting 10 seconds of his day, but there was something so addicting about the way you smiled at him.
on the 10th of january, he gave you a smile. he hasnât noticed you before, and with the way you were lugging around furniture to your apartment, he just assumes you were new. you two were stuck in the elevator together. his hand was already in his pocket, fishing for his phone so he could escape the tension. but when you give him that smile again, who could blame him for smiling back.
on january 15, tsukishima found himself asking you for your number. he was never one to take the initiative. tsukishima was cold, distant, and unresponsive, but something about the twinkle in your eye makes him reconsider his entire personality. so when you let him have your number, he just cant help the god-forsaken grin that appears on his face.
tsukishima wasnât anything special. he wasnât pointedly smart, athletically built, or noticeably handsome. luckily for him, the world liked to celebrate new yearâs by giving ordinary people special gifts. and that year, he was just lucky enough to be the one who received your love.