It's a soft sound, for such an expansive movement, the rise and fall of his shoulders, the expansion and contraction of his lungs, his breath misting in the cold night air like his soul taking a brief, nebulous shape before disappearing into nothing.
It's an action that Tadashi is familiar with. He knows those shoulders, has memorised the slope of them, to the point where he almost knows what they would feel like beneath his hands. He knows how warm they would feel, how solid, just like the rest of Kei.
He would say that its been a while since he's last thought about it but then, he would be lying. It doesn't matter that they don't see each other as often any more, now that they're in university, in two different towns. Tadashi still thinks of him constantly; thoughts of Kei fill him the same way the stars fill the sky on a clear night, impossible to count, each one unassuming at a glance but burning with a force of its own. The very existence of Tsukishima Kei is enough to have a galaxy blossoming to life inside Tadashi, spinning and expanding and threatening to spill out of him.
Tadashi has held back for this long, though. He's learned to look away before his glances can turn into stares, he's learned to bite his tongue before his babbling can turn into confessions. He manages, somehow, even though he burns for it. He aches to reach out, but he's a coward, in the end. He's already let his chance pass through his fingers, like sand on the shore, blown away by the wind. He has no right to regret it, but that's never stopped him before. It's not going to stop him now.
"You're awfully quiet tonight," Kei murmurs, glancing sideways at Tadashi, his glasses slipping down his nose before he adjusts them.
Tadashi's gaze is drawn to Kei's long fingers, his breath catching in his throat.
He reaches forward, without any real thought, not even realising what he's doing until his fingers are tangling with Kei's.
"…Yamaguchi."
"Sorry," Tadashi breathes, and he tries to pull his hand back, but Kei is holding onto it tightly, using it to pull him in.
"Sorry," Tadashi whispers again, and it comes out against Kei's lips this time, just before they're on his. Tadashi shuts his eyes, trembling until Kei squeezes his hand, grounding him.
"Sorry you took so long, you mean," Kei murmurs as he pulls back, and Tadashi didn't think that second chances existed, not for things like this, but it's there in the gentle curve of Kei's smile. It's there in the soft press of his lips when Tadashi leans in to kiss him again, and again, and again.
FILL: Team Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru, G
word count: 461
Kei sighs.
It's a soft sound, for such an expansive movement, the rise and fall of his shoulders, the expansion and contraction of his lungs, his breath misting in the cold night air like his soul taking a brief, nebulous shape before disappearing into nothing.
It's an action that Tadashi is familiar with. He knows those shoulders, has memorised the slope of them, to the point where he almost knows what they would feel like beneath his hands. He knows how warm they would feel, how solid, just like the rest of Kei.
He would say that its been a while since he's last thought about it but then, he would be lying. It doesn't matter that they don't see each other as often any more, now that they're in university, in two different towns. Tadashi still thinks of him constantly; thoughts of Kei fill him the same way the stars fill the sky on a clear night, impossible to count, each one unassuming at a glance but burning with a force of its own. The very existence of Tsukishima Kei is enough to have a galaxy blossoming to life inside Tadashi, spinning and expanding and threatening to spill out of him.
Tadashi has held back for this long, though. He's learned to look away before his glances can turn into stares, he's learned to bite his tongue before his babbling can turn into confessions. He manages, somehow, even though he burns for it. He aches to reach out, but he's a coward, in the end. He's already let his chance pass through his fingers, like sand on the shore, blown away by the wind. He has no right to regret it, but that's never stopped him before. It's not going to stop him now.
"You're awfully quiet tonight," Kei murmurs, glancing sideways at Tadashi, his glasses slipping down his nose before he adjusts them.
Tadashi's gaze is drawn to Kei's long fingers, his breath catching in his throat.
He reaches forward, without any real thought, not even realising what he's doing until his fingers are tangling with Kei's.
"…Yamaguchi."
"Sorry," Tadashi breathes, and he tries to pull his hand back, but Kei is holding onto it tightly, using it to pull him in.
"Sorry," Tadashi whispers again, and it comes out against Kei's lips this time, just before they're on his. Tadashi shuts his eyes, trembling until Kei squeezes his hand, grounding him.
"Sorry you took so long, you mean," Kei murmurs as he pulls back, and Tadashi didn't think that second chances existed, not for things like this, but it's there in the gentle curve of Kei's smile. It's there in the soft press of his lips when Tadashi leans in to kiss him again, and again, and again.