Yamaguchi found himself thinking about his high school days a lot; more than he had expected. More specifically, he found himself thinking about the small, quiet boy with the dyed-blonde hair that had played for Karasuno's rival team, Nekoma. For some reason, Kozume Kenma kept popping up in Yamaguchi's mind at random intervals.
College classes kept Yamaguchi's mind off of high school for the most part. He sort of missed volleyball; he hadn't joined a team because he knew he didn't have any particular talent for the sport and besides, his schedule was already packed, especially after he had gotten a job tutoring middle and high schoolers. Tsukki, however, had been sought out for his height and gone to a different college than Yamaguchi on a sports scholarship. The two still kept in touch, but not nearly as much.
Not that that was a bad thing. Their conversations were often awkward, and Yamaguchi could barely look Tsukki in the eye anymore. After they had graduated, Yamaguchi had decided that he would confess to his best friend after almost six years of keeping it secret. Tsukishima had seemed shocked, but had obviously been trying to be gentle when he rejected Yamaguchi. It was still blunt, though, since it was Tsukki. Yamaguchi had smiled and said that was fine, that he hadn't been hoping all that hard, but it was a lie. He could almost feel himself breaking down, and he had completely fallen apart once he was alone. There had been lots of tears and his self-esteem had taken a turn for the worst.
As such, Yamaguchi found himself lonely. He had a roommate, but he was rarely in the dorm and the few times that Yamaguchi had met the other student, he had been virtually terrified by the fact that the other had been essentially a pure mass of muscle. Yamaguchi's roommate was loud, too, and little too energetic for the freckled boy's enjoyment.
That was probably why Yamaguchi was thinking so much about Kozume. His university was always loud, always bustling, even in the dead of night. Yamaguchi was starting to long for someone he could be quiet with, someone who wouldn't need to fill the silence. Even with Tsukki, some days, he just needed some peace and quiet. Yamaguchi wished he had spent more time with Kozume in high school; he got the feeling that he could definitely appreciate his quietness, especially right then.
Yamaguchi found himself locked out of his dorm room, his face slowly going red at the sounds coming from behind the door. His roommate was having very loud, very obvious sex, and Yamaguchi didn't dare go in to drop his things off, so he trudged off to the common room, glad that he at least carried his computer with him. Thank God for Netflix.
Four episodes into the seventh season of Supernatural, Yamaguchi decided to get up and see if his roommate was done. He packed up his laptop and slung his bag over his shoulder, looping his headphones around his neck in the same way Tsukki did; he had picked the habit up from the blond. He paused as he glanced back to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, his gaze catching on a small figure in one corner of the room by a faux potted plant. They were bent over a small gaming console, their black hair shielding their eyes from view. Somehow, though, they were familiar to Yamaguchi.
"Kozume?" Yamaguchi mustered his courage after a moment's hesitation, and his question was answered by a surprised upward glance from curious catlike eyes.
"Oh… Yamaguchi. I didn't know you went here." The words were barely audible and Kozume glanced back down at his game, not looking up again.
Yamaguchi moved over and sat down, sandwiching Kozume between him and the plant. Kozume still didn't look up, though he tensed slightly. Yamaguchi didn't say anything, more than content to just sit in companionable silence as Kozume played his game.
After a few minutes, Yamaguchi did break the silence. "Would you like to move somewhere more comfortable?"
Kozume shrugged, glancing sideways at Yamaguchi for a moment. "I wouldn't mind. We could head to my dorm. Bokuto should be gone by now. He's going to visit Kuroo for the weekend." His voice was as bland and emotionless as ever, but there was something off about it that Yamaguchi didn't remember. Kozume still hadn't changed much, though, despite that.
"Alright. I can't go back to my dorm right now; my roommate is… uh…"
Yamaguchi's lack of words and steadily reddening face must've told Kozume exactly what was going on, because he nodded and flipped the game console shut. Yamaguchi could've sworn that there was the tiniest hint of a smile on Kozume's face.
"Alright. Let's go, then." Kozume stood and Yamaguchi did the same, face still red.
Kozume didn't say anything, but years of being Tsukki's best friend had given Yamaguchi a sixth sense of when to be quiet and when to fill the silence. Because of it, he knew that that moment needed a conversation, so he obliged.
"You let your hair grow out; it's not blonde anymore." Stating the obvious was a trick Yamaguchi had used for years, to get Tsukki to talk about something that was bothering him, but it was also a way for him to figure out how much talking Kozume was willing to do.
Kozume just hummed in response; he looked rather fidgety without a game in his hands. Yamaguchi was touched that Kozume was trying to be polite, but it was obvious that he wasn't completely comfortable without being about to hide behind his game.
"I like it better like this. It fits you better." Kozume's smile was more noticeable that time, and Yamaguchi noted with some surprise that Kozume's cheeks were slightly pink.
"Thanks. We're here, by the way." Kozume's voice was monotone as ever, but Yamaguchi could tell he meant the thanks.
They entered the dorm room and shut the door. It was very obvious which side of the room was Bokuto's. His side was completely owl-themed and there were black and white strands of hair everywhere.
"Bokuto sheds," was Kozume's explanation as he toed off his shoes and sat on his bed.
"Wouldn't it be more like molting, since it's Bokuto?" Yamaguchi asked with a smile.
Kozume hummed in affirmation, smiling a tiny bit and nodding. Yamaguchi sat down beside him and Kozume leaned into him, probably out of habit due to years and years of leaning against Kuroo. Yamaguchi didn't mind. Quite the contrary, in fact; he wrapped an arm around Kozume's shoulder and pulled him closer. He enjoyed the comfortable silence and how Kozume was so much cuddlier—not to mention smaller—than Tsukki was. It was nice to just curl up with someone and not be pushed away after a few minutes because the other wasn't all that fond of prolonged physical contact. Kozume didn't seem to mind all that much, either, so Yamaguchi didn't pull away.
When it got to be a bit later, Yamaguchi decided they needed to go to sleep. Kozume needed it, too, if the dark circles beneath his eyes were anything to go by. He gently took the console from Kozume's hand, saved the game, and set it to the side. Kozume looked practically scandalized.
"You need to sleep, Kozume," Yamaguchi said gently.
Kozume glanced at the digital clock hanging on the wall and sighed a little, nodding. He shed his sweatshirt, tossing it to the floor and curling into the blankets in a rather catlike manner. Yamaguchi hesitated. "Should I leave or…?"
Kozume paused, then held the blankets up so Yamaguchi could crawl beneath them. "Just sleep here."
Yamaguchi smiled and did so, slipping beneath the blankets. Kozume moved closer, pressing himself into Yamaguchi's side and closing his eyes. The cuddling was definitely intentional that time, but Yamaguchi was fine with it as he wrapped an arm around Kozume's shoulders, smiling.
We'll catch up in the morning, Yamaguchi thought as he dropped off to sleep. They did. Yamaguchi explained his heartbreak, Kozume explained the half-healed scars along his wrists, and they both revealed parts of themselves to each other that they hadn't even let their best friends or family see. A month later, when Yamaguchi asked Kozume out, they both knew the answer before the word left Kozume's lips: a resounding yes.
Four years later, as they were curled together in bed, trying to ignore the early morning sunlight and basking in the feeling of the matching rings on their fourth fingers, Yamaguchi knew that loving Kenma was the best thing he had ever done.