Haikyuu One-Shots

Tsukishima Kei x Reader - Bittersweet (Slight AU)

"Tsukishima!" you called.

No response.

"For crying out loud," you grumbled, going around to the back door. His family always left it open since you and Yamaguchi tended to come at odd times.

He hadn't been to school or practice since yesterday. Yamaguchi would have come himself, but he actually feared Daichi and didn't want to risk skipping practice like the tall blond. Since you were and Tsukki were dating, (which was obviously kept pretty quiet lest the others make fun of him), he'd begged you to go in his place.

You made your way to Kei's room and sighed.

The blond was lying face down on his bed, still as a statue. You'd almost believe he was dead if he wasn't just depressed about something. And he'd probably been like this for the past day or so.

"Kei!" you snapped. "What are you doing lying like that? You could suffocate yourself."

"Who cares?" his muffled voice snapped back at you.

You sighed heavily. "What's wrong?"

He said nothing.

You narrowed your eyes, moving closer to him.

"Kei--"

"It's nothing! Go away!"

You simply flopped onto the bed, lying across him. He grunted slightly but made no other sound.

"Come on, Kei. If you don't tell me, Tadashi and I will just come back tomorrow and the next day and so on until you say something."

He moved his head slightly to glare at you through the sheen of his glasses.

You smiled back at him. "Kei....you can tell me."

His arm moved slightly, maneuvering around you to reach onto his desk and grab his phone.

"Here." He tossed it to you with surprising accuracy for not facing you.

You caught it easily and opened it to see his email.

"What am I looking for?"

"The first one," he grumbled.

Upon opening the email, you saw a very official email from a company in Tokyo for a summer internship. Thanking him for his application. You remembered this company, he had mentioned it before as a place he wanted to work for in the future.

You frowned slightly.

"Kei--"

He shifted beneath you, suddenly propping himself on his elbows. "They finally had an opening. I did everything right!" he exclaimed. "And they rejected me. ME!"

And that was the crux of the problem. For such a seemingly self-assured person, Tsukishima hated losing. He hated it more than anything. That feeling of inferiority. The feeling of...rejection. He excelled in everything to escape the bitter taste in his mouth that now mocked him for failing somewhere along the line. For not measuring up somehow.

"They didn't reject you."

"You've got it right in front of you!"

You showed him the screen, newly refreshed. "Actually, what I have is another email asking you for an interview."

He froze. "H-how is that possible?"

"Simple," you told him, moving back to the previous email. "This is addressed to 'Kai'. It was apparently meant for someone else."

He stared at the screen in surprise. "They want me after all?"

"Looks that way," you grunted as you climbed off the bed. "So get your butt to practice before Daichi kills you."

He reached out and grabbed your wrist.

"I have a better idea."


Less than half an hour later, you were both eating cake at a small cafe near school.

"Why are we here again?" you asked.

"There's no harm in taking you out to celebrate my accomplishments," he grumbled as he went in for another bite.

"But this is a pretty nice place, Kei." He avoided your gaze.

"I just heard they have great cake here."

"Or are you trying to say thank you?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" he snapped.

You laughed. "Relax, I'm only teasing you. Here, have another strawberry. You deserve it."

He reluctantly allowed you to place a strawberry in his mouth, his cheeks now bright red. The bitterness in his mouth had vanished, replaced with the sweet taste of his favorite fruit.

"T-thank you," he choked out finally.

You grinned. "You're welcome."