Work Text:
This is a stupid idea , Kei thought. He’s not this desperate to pet cats he had never touched in his life; he’s not this desperate to try a cake he had never tasted in his life.
He’s desperate, and he’s actually sitting on his bed like an idiot, halfway through setting up his profile on Love Maze. Nothing against online dating applications and websites, they’re just really not his cup of tea, but they’re an undeniably fast method to get to know someone new who shared your interests, talk to them, perhaps invite them out to meet up to see if the relationship could blossom into something special for both individuals.
Curse Hinata. Curse him for having Kageyama as his boyfriend who he tormented Kei with every time Kageyama comes over to their dorm, curse him for being a shitty friend who wouldn’t even pretend to be Kei’s significant other for only a few hours, curse him for coming up with this absolutely awful idea that had alarm bells going off in Kei’s head.
But it’s 11th February. And Kei needed a date before the 14th came and went.
Not even bothering to force down the groan bubbling out of his throat, he typed the last requirements in his profile’s description and proceeded to upload a picture of him. snapped by Hinata a few months ago who snatched his phone when he wasn’t paying attention. Kei made sure that his phone was with him at all times when the other boy was in his vicinity after that incident.
He tossed his phone to the side, leaned back on his bed and stared blankly at the wall before him. He had no idea if it’s even likely a stranger would willingly message him and agree to this wild plan. Yet he sensed the small seed of hope in his chest, blooming into a flower under the essence of hopeful luck and chance.
-----------------------
[picture]
Tsukishima Kei, 22
Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Trying to find someone who lives in the same area and doesn’t mind pretending to be a couple with me to get the 50% discount for the Valentine’s Day special event at Cafe Serendipity. Message me if you’re interested to discuss further details.
-----------------------
It’s 12th February, and way too late for a functional human to be awake. Kei had been mindlessly swiping right on every profile shown to him by the darn application. Zero potential dates.
He’s gotten more than just a few matches. They’re simply all interested in something that he wasn’t. Hinata had laughed at his predicament a while ago, meaning that he had hit a new low.
He placed his phone screen down on his bed and stumbled out of his room to brush his teeth.
He really wasn’t expecting to receive a notification that would catch his eye when he returned.
Scrambling to unlock his phone, he hurriedly tapped his inbox of messages from Love Maze. There was a new one, above all the other old and discouraging conversations.
Yamaguchi Tadashi: hi!! i just read your description, and i hope your offer is still available, because i’m very interested in it :)) i’m free on the 14th, do let me know if you wanna meet up!!
The guy had a youthful face, with a splattering of freckles covering it. Kei would have thought that he was a high schooler, if not for the listed age of 22. There was a flyaway piece sticking up at the top of the dark green mop of hair.
Damn , Kei mused. He seems like a nice guy.
Maybe it’s the universe moving him, maybe it’s destiny whispering into his heart, but he only went to sleep after he replied to this boy with stars floating on his cheeks.
-----------------------
Tsukishima Kei: Hello there, the offer is still available. Would 3pm on the 14th in front of the cafe be good for you?
Yamaguchi Tadashi: absolutely :)) looking forward to seeing you there!!
Tsukishima Kei: As do I.
-----------------------
Kei felt like his head was in the clouds. Not in an absentminded, careless way, but instead in a tense form of wobbly legs and palpitating heart. Wisps of hot breaths left his lungs, evaporating in the biting cold air.
He scrolled through social media in an attempt to calm his nerves and ignore his brain’s repetitive thoughts along the lines of oh my god i can’t believe i’m doing this what the actual hell was I thinking before checking the latest message his date sent.
Yamaguchi Tadashi: i’m gonna be wearing black and orange, you won’t miss it :))
Kei could not believe he stooped as low as asking (begging) Kageyama for his black coat. It’s only to match the colour scheme of outfits, to act the part as a couple and definitely not because he wanted to look good in front of the stranger, not at all.
2.55pm. Kei was hoping, no, praying that this wasn’t all a big joke from the universe, that it wasn’t an elaborate prank set up by the guy, or worse, Hinata. That he wasn’t gullible enough to get catfished and then abandoned on the side of a road in front of a cat cafe in Japan’s freezing weather. He exhaled through his mouth and looked up from his phone.
A small blurry figure, dressed in black and orange, was hurrying in his direction.
Kei’s breath hitched. He slipped his phone into his pocket. The figure grew bigger and clearer as the distance between them shortened, until he was standing right before Kei.
Oh.
Well, Kei knew now that the sole grainy, pixelated photo on Love Maze didn’t do Yamaguchi Tadashi’s face any justice.
“Tsukishima Kei, right? You matched your photo on the dating profile.” The man's smile was big and bright, and Kei had to find his voice to avoid making a fool out of himself in front of the tall and (only somewhat, he insisited) attractive stranger.
“That’s me. I presume you’re Yamaguchi Tadashi.”
“The one and only. Tadashi is fine, since we’ll be posing as a couple anyways.” Ah. Kei had honestly forgotten about that for a slight moment. “Shall we?”
Yamaguchi linked their arms together and wordlessly led Kei towards the entrance of the cafe. Without letting go of Kei, he gently pushed open the door.
“Welcome to Cafe Serendipity! Are you two here for the Valentine’s Day special event?” The waitress’s words seemed unsuspecting. “If so, would you two please kindly give the other a kiss on the cheek each as proof that you are a couple?”
Kei merely stood there unable to react as Yamaguchi’s head dropped onto his shoulder and the man’s other hand shifted to grasp lightly onto his. “I deeply apologise, but Tsukki here doesn’t like such displays of affection in public. However, I can assure you that we are happily dating!”
Tsukki? Where did that come from?
The waitress’s smile was one of understanding. She gestured for them to follow her into the dining area, and sat them down at a table across each other.
“Here's our cafe’s menu, please come to the counter when you’re ready to order. You're allowed to interact with the cats, but please do not bring any of the food and beverages into the playing area. We hope you enjoy your stay here at Cafe Serendipity!”
And with that, they were left alone.
Yamaguchi reached for the menu. “Well, I think we should eat something before playing with the cats. Is there anything you’d like to have in particular? I’ve came here before, but I’m not very sure about you. I do recommend their strawberry shortcake though, it’s really good.” He stopped and glanced up at Kei, who cleared his throat nervously.
“It’s actually my first time here. And I wanted to come here because I wanted to try the strawberry shortcake. And interact with the cats, I guess.”
“Perfect!” Kei was in disbelief at how comfortable Yamaguchi already sounded while talking to him. “I’ll go order, you can just wait here.”
“Wait, Yamaguchi-”
“Shhh.” Yamaguchi’s voice had dropped to a whisper. “It’s Tadashi. Don’t want them to find out that we aren’t actually dating, right?” He winked and flounced off, unaware of the swoop in Kei’s stomach upon witnessing the action.
It happened once again, when Kei saw Yamaguchi returning with a tray, on which two steaming mugs of liquid and a plate of the famed strawberry shortcake were placed.
“I got each of us earl grey tea to go along with the cake, hope you don’t mind!” Kei stared as Yamaguchi sat back down across him. How could Kei mind when it’s his favourite? Was Yamaguchi that lucky in guessing Kei’s favourite drink by chance?
He thanked the man, then took the plate of cake off the tray. It’s a dessert more expensive than what he can usually afford, and it’s right in front of him, as if it’s egging him on to sink his teeth into the delicious thing.
Yamaguchi’s next words nearly made him choke on air.
“Ah, hold on. Do you mind if I just feed you a bite of that? Y’know, to sell the act? That’s what couples do, right?”
Kei had to rewire his brain to make sure that he heard that right. Yamaguchi was beaming at him, the picture of innocence, as if he wasn’t almost the cause of Kei’s death.
It’s just to sell the act, Kei told himself, as he nodded wordlessly. It’s to convince the staff. Yamaguchi picked up the fork and cut off a piece of the cake. It’s to pretend that we’re a couple. He opened his mouth as Yamaguchi moved closer, allowing the latter to feed him the bite. He closed it, feeling the fork sliding out past his lips.
It’s the best thing Kei had ever had the pleasure of tasting in his life. He’s not sure if it’s because of the food itself, or due to the person feeding it.
They made small talk after that episode while enjoying their cake and tea, and Kei learned a lot about Yamaguchi. He learned that Yamaguchi’s favourite food is soft, floppy french fries. He learned that Yamaguchi played volleyball in high school as a middle blocker, though the latter was used more as a pinch server in his first year, until he became the captain in his third. He learned that Yamaguchi was a hardworking individual, always seeking to better himself and support his friends.
So Kei told Yamaguchi about himself, about the past antagonistic relationships he had with Hinata and Kageyama that had developed into something more valuable, about the story with four boys from three schools who all played volleyball but had different thoughts about the sport, about the match that changed his life and outlook on volleyball as a whole.
And Yamaguchi listened, drinking in every word intently, his eyes never leaving Kei.
-----------------------
It was with a start that Kei realised that they had finished the cake and tea, and he suggested that they should go interact with the cats. Yamaguchi only smiled in response and stood up, motioning for Kei to follow him.
Kei was led down a corridor, where a lone door stood at the end. He stared at Yamaguchi, who grinned at the blank expression on his face. “Ready?” The latter pushed open the door.
Felines. Of numerous sizes, of various colours, of different breeds. Some lazed around on the floor, while others laid sprawling over people’s laps.
Kei had never seen so many cats in one place, and his hands tingled in anticipation.
“Let’s sit here,” Yamaguchi said, gently pulling him over to a corner occupied by fluffy mats on the floor.
Yamaguchi squatted down, stretched his hand out to a calico cat nearby and clicked his tongue twice. Kei watched in amazement as the feline padded over, sniffed at Yamaguchi’s fingers, and started rubbing itself up against the man’s legs.
With a swift fluid motion, Yamaguchi picked up the cat and stood back up, carrying it over to where Kei had sat down against the wall. Carefully kneeling next to him, Yamaguchi moved the cat closer.
“Let her smell you first. Just place your hand in front of her nose.” The cat moved forward and bumped its nose into Kei’s fingers. “There you go.”
Without warning, Yamaguchi slowly deposited the small animal onto Kei’s lap.
“Her name’s Caramel.” Kei didn’t know which was softer, the fur of the tiny creature, or the voice of the man beside him. He breathed as quietly as possible, fearing that even inhaling and exhaling too heavily would disturb this sense of comfort and tranquility.
“She likes scratches behind her ears.” Yamaguchi overlapped his hand with Kei’s, leading the latter’s from the cat’s back up to its head.
It’s as if time had stopped, as if Kei’s head was in the clouds, as if all his worries had simply vanished in this invisible bubble that had enclosed around them.
Transfixed, he didn’t realise that Yamaguchi had already moved away from his side, only looking back up when he heard shuffling noises. Kei gazed on wordlessly as Yamaguchi delicately plopped down on the floor beside the former, another calico cat he had acquired from who knows where squirming in his arms.
“This one’s Mocha. She doesn’t like being carried, but I do it anyway.” Yamaguchi laughed, and god, if that wasn’t a pretty laugh.
He mimicked Kei, leaning back against the wall with the new cat now purring in his lap as he absent-mindedly ran his fingers over its back. Kei’s body involuntarily jerked as the man rested his head on Kei’s shoulder with a sigh, his right arm nudging Kei’s left.
It really wasn’t the amount of physical intimacy Kei was used to.
Yet he didn’t find it uncomfortable at all. And Yamaguchi obviously didn’t either.
So Kei simply stayed as still as possible, as to not jostle the body that was against his.
Outside the window of the cafe, the harsh wind blew. But Kei’s heart was warm, warm and unaffected by the biting cold air.
-----------------------
The street lights were on by the time they exited the cafe. It seemed absolutely surreal for Kei, who usually noticed the passing of time.
Yamaguchi, who had been walking in front of him, turned around and smiled up at him. “Thank you for your time today, and I’m happy I had the luck of coming across your interesting offer by chance on Love Maze.”
“Yeah.”
Kei’s heart felt oddly heavy. Say something, his brain urged him. Say anything. This ending doesn’t feel right.
A sudden realisation hit him, and with a gasp that sounded foreign to his own ears, Kei opened his mouth. “Wait, you paid for both of our food and amenities. It was my offer in the first place, let me pay you back-”
“Well,” Yamaguchi started softly, and Kei shut up. “Today can be my treat, as I was hoping that maybe you can pay for us next time.”
Kei’s thoughts came to a grinding halt. Yamaguchi’s smile was shy, a stark contrast with the friendly one from a minute ago.
“I- yes, that would be quite alright. Uh, do you want me to give you my number?”
Yamaguchi, no, Tadashi’s eyes were bright, brighter than any star Kei had ever seen with his own. So bright that Kei could see the wobbly image of the moon in them.
“That sounds lovely, Tsukki.”
And when Kei laid in bed that night, eyes closed and mind full, full of a boy who embodied the stars, he was grateful that the universe moved for this.