【ѕσмєσиє уσυ ℓιкє】
"I can't be your savior, couldn't even if I tried. But I think I can be someone you like..."
A Tsukkiyama oneshot
••••
It was a chilly morning. Crystallized droplets showered the prefecture, hugging the ground like a velvet blanket. Everything was at peace. Even the usual busy streets seemed abandoned because of its deafening silence. Only a few of the inhabitants dared to withstand the cold weather and wander around the neighborhood.
Yamaguchi for one is against the bone chilling breeze of the day. But work is work, it has to be done somehow.
Rubbing and breathing into his palms, Yamaguchi shakily snaked his fingers against the frozen metal knob of the bookstore he worked at.
Closing the wooden door behind him, he felt the need to release a sigh of relief as the warmth emitted by the nearby fireplace unfroze him. "Good morning, Yama-kun!" His co-worker, Yachi Hitoka greeted, waving a hand from behind the counter. "Good morning, Ya-chan." Yamaguchi retorted, gently returning the gesture as he made his way towards the storage room.
"Yamaguchi! I see you've arrived, can you please unpack the books over there?" Shimizu Kiyoko, his manager ordered, pointing at a huge stack of boxes.
Nodding, Yamaguchi made his way towards the boxes and gently ripped through the masking tape, cautious enough to not let the blade he held bleed into the book covers.
Aside from Volleyball, the sport he enjoyed playing during his high school days, Yamaguchi also imbued appreciation for books. Books are his alternate universe where he can get lost within the huge forest of words and swim into the depths of the plot. It was his holographic paradise inside his mind.
Emitting a soft chuckle as he caught a glimpse of his favorite book from the bunch, Yamaguchi meticulously arranged the books according to genre and neatly placed them on the cart he uses to carry all of the books to their designated shelves.
Humming a soft melody as he swiftly moved through the isles, Yamaguchi found himself frowning at a couple of books being eaten by termites. Angered by such a phenomenon, Yamaguchi made room for some of the infected books in his cart and left the empty space on the shelf as it is. "Termites are really annoying!" He glowered and pushed through.
Unbeknownst to the green haired male, a pair of golden orbs had been scanning him since he popped out from the isles with a playful smirk plastered on their fair facial features.
••••
"Nice work today, Guys." Shimizu yawned, stretching her limbs out. "Yeah! That was a lot of sorting out and running the cash register!" Yachi shyly mumbled, mirroring the older female's actions. "Ya-chan, we only had five costumers today." Yamaguchi chuckled, arranging the last bunch of books. "Oh shush, Yama-kun! We'd be swarming with bookworms tomorrow!" Yachi beamed, gesturing a 'fight' sign.
"Hitoka-chan is right, Yamaguchi." Shimizu smiled, running her fingers through the younger female's blonde locks.
"Well, I'll be off now." Yamaguchi bowed and left the store. The chime played a short melody as it closed shut. Yamaguchi, now far from the comforts of the cozy bookstore, started to rub his palms together, trudging forward and courageously battling the cold.
"Are you going to move out or not? How lame, you're wasting my time." A low velvety voice rang from one of the alleys. 'I-is someone in trouble?' Yamaguchi thought, stopping on his tracks. Yamaguchi was somehow brave enough to save a life before. The only difference is that the life he'd be saving now is a human's not a cat's. And even a tough Yamaguchi who saved a cat from falling off a tree is not brave enough to fight goons.
'What should I do?!' Yamaguchi tensed up, keeping a cautious eye at the shadow casted by the people just a few meters away from him. "Hey! Let me go!!"
And that's the signal for Yamaguchi to lose his nuts. It's either fight or flight for Yamaguchi now, and a good citizen like him will never fly away from a person in need.
"POLICE!!!" He called out and pointed towards the scene. "Someone needs your help!!" He called out again, looking at the people involved with his presumed crime and towards an empty street beside him.
"Hey!" One of the goons called out to him. "Who are you scaring, Dweeb? No policeman would come to your rescue at this time of the night!" The goon laughed, sticking a tongue out as he walked towards Yamaguchi.
'Nicely played, now you die along with the stranger.' Yamaguchi thought, taking a step backwards, countering the forward steps of the goon.
"You are dead meat with that fellow over there."
"What are you doing?! Don't touch him!" The victim whom Yamaguchi still hasn't identified said, pushing himself free from the two other goons that held him. "T-Tsukki?" Yamaguchi gasped, recognizing the familiar feature of the male. "Let go of him. I'll be sure to hand you my payment tomorrow. Just stop creating more trouble." He hissed, standing in between Yamaguchi and the goons.
"You've said that yesterday, Blondie."
"Then, I'll be saying it again for the last time. Just leave." Tsukishima growled, tugging onto Yamaguchi to usher him away.
"T-Tsukki? What are you doing here?" Yamaguchi asked, voice vividly laced with surprise. "Shut up, will you? You just nearly got us killed by those idiots." Tsukishima grunted, pulling off a handkerchief from his pocket. Yamaguchi meticulously scanned the male beside him like how he does when he reads a book. His eyes were as golden as how he remembered them to be but his hair has gotten slightly longer. His body became taller and much masculine, not like his body. He was still quite short, skinny and not fitted for fighting. Perhaps, this was the reason Tsukishima chose to leave Miyagi and chase after the raven haired captain from Tokyo. Maybe Tsukishima wanted to be protected...
"I'm sorry if I can't be your savior... I just couldn't, even if I tried..."
Yamaguchi muttered, looking away. Little flakes from the sky slowly dusted his green locks as his bangs fell upon his eyes. He tried not to show his weakness right now but the salty flavor of guilt and disappointment against his tongue was slowly torturing him, threatening him to shed tears.
Shocked, Tsukishima eyed his freckled friend, tempted to reach out to him and comfort him. But a sour boy like him can't even find the sweet words to comfort his best friend.
Silence coated the distance between the two. The only sound to be heard was the sarcastic melody played by the crickets that resided around the neighborhood. Tons of memories recoiled within Tsukishima's memory as he reminisced the times he walked home with the freckled boy, just like what they currently are doing.
Yamaguchi stopped out of the blue. He lifted his head to gaze up the tall male. "It was nice meet-"
Not able to finish his words, Yamaguchi looked at his friend in surprise. His heart palpitated several times within the short duration of five seconds. His once cold lips, now warmed by the hot sensation of the blonde's soft but chapped ones. "Wh-"
"I might never be the one to comfort... I could never fix you as good as new..." Tsukishima stated, placing his huge mitten covered hand against Yamaguchi's soft locks.
"Bu-" This time, it was Yamaguchi who interrupted the lamppost.
"Could I, by any chance be someone you like?" Yamaguchi blushed, hopefully looking into those honey golden orbs that showed a dim reflection of his heated face.
"I would promise to treat you right." Tsukishima stated, fighting to keep his growing smile to himself as he pulled the freckled male in for a warm hug. He felt Yamaguchi's shoulder quaking. For a moment, he felt a strong sense of worry wash over him, thinking that the freckled male was crying but then his worries vanished when he heard the melodious giggles of Yamaguchi.
"What's funny?" Tsukishima asked, slightly insulted and highly embarrassed.
"You look so soft right now, Tsukki."
"That's it, I'm disowning you."
"What? No! I was just kidding, Tsukki! Come back!!"
••••
Okay! So there goes my first one-shot. Writing isn't my best forte and I am sure you could take a hint of that after reading this. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this. The story is inspired by a song called 'Someone You Like' by The girl and the dream catcher. If you haven't listened to that, I recommend it for you!
Thank you for reading this one-shot, I hope you enjoyed and please do tell me what you think about this! Byeeee!