Archive of Our Own ^beta

Red eyes stared listlessly at the live feed. Screams sounded from the tiny speaker. Though he thought that the roar of the crowd sounded overwhelming even in such a diminished format.

His lips pulled slightly to the side as Ushijima soared through the air and slammed the ball into the opposing team's court. Again, the piercing screams of the crowd sounded throughout his small apartment.

Muting his phone, Tendou turned back to his kitchen island. Though his gaze was unfocused and his mind elsewhere as he resumed working on his newest confectionary creation.

His brows furrowed unconsciously at the pain radiating from his chest. It was hard for him to breathe.

Gaze flitting to the phone occasionally, Tendou kept track of the game's score, but his mind cleared without the constant screams of the fans.

He missed Toshi. Tendou was being honest with himself; he missed him more than he would admit to any human. He didn't know when he became so dependent on the dark-haired boy. The two were inseparable in high school and kept in close contact during Ushijima's years playing professionally.

He was able to follow him during Toshi's moves at that point in their lives, as he apprenticed under different bakers and chocolatiers everywhere the two traveled.

Tendou opened his shop in France in the last few months, and Ushijima was in his off-season, so the separation was practically non-existent.

Now, Ushijima is in the middle of his season. Tendou is trapped in his tiny apartment above his shop, chained to one city.

A notification buzzed on his phone, pulling Tendou from his musings. In a flash, Tendou turned to his phone, and the notification read the final scores of the match. Good news.

Before turning off the live feed, Tendou spared a final glance at Toshi's solemn expression in the line-up.

The recipe was added to his alarmingly growing stack as he stored the chocolates in a case for the following day.

Just as he began to clean the kitchen, his phone buzzed on the counter next to him, disrupting the low-fi playlist sounding from the speakers.

Toshi's contact illuminated the screen, and Tendou slumped across the small space around the island to answer the call.

Taking a deep breath, Tendou pulled a stiff grin to his face and called, "Miracle Boy Wakatoshi… You did it again!"

He felt his heart crack in his chest as Ushijima's monotone voice filled his ears, "I did nothing, Satori. The team won the game."

Tendou's voice cracked slightly as he bounced on the balls of his feet to get some energy into his system, "Always modest! You did great today."

"You were watching," not quite a question, but Ushijima always seemed to need to check with him. Tendou could never understand why, as Tendou was almost religious with the regularity of watching his games.

"Of course I was, Toshi. You think I would miss a game?" He must've been more obvious than he realized, as a pause filled the line after his response.

After at least a minute, Ushijima continued, "I am not sure how to answer that. You have not missed a game before. I do worry that with the distance that you will not care to watch anymore. So, I check instead of guessing."

Tears burned his eyes as he slid down the counter into the floor. With his head resting between his knees, Tendou let out an involuntary sob.

A bit of alarm had crept into Ushijima's voice, "Satori? Is everything okay? Are you crying?"

Trying to suck in a breath, Tendou dry-heaved slightly into the phone. "Breath, Satori. Just take a breath. Take your time. Then explain."

Ushijima continued to talk in a low, steady voice as Tendou's mind moved to a more stable place.

His voice slightly hoarse, Tendou finally spoke, "I'm sorry, Toshi. It's just that…." He had to pause to take another steadying breath. "I've been thinking the same thing about you, and my heart broke to hear that you were worrying about me losing interest."

Tendou continued in a weak voice, "It's always been us, Toshi. I'm a little lost without you here. Things are going well, great actually… but I feel like you took the happiest part of me with you. I'm never going to be tired of you. I love you. Monotone, oblivious, and egotistical you. So, yes, Toshi. I watched your game, and I am never not going to watch your games. I swear it."

Tendou held his breath as he listened for Ushijima's response. What he didn't expect was to hear rough breathing on the other side of the phone. "Toshi?"

Ushijima cleared his voice roughly, "You are everything to me too, Tendou. It will not be for long, and I will be home with you. Just do not forget about us. I also love you, and I will be back soon. Just one month until I will be back for a week, and then we have the off-season together too. We will work it out. I swear it."

A watery laugh escaped Tendou's lips, "Toshi, that's the biggest confession I think you've ever given me." His giggles continued until he was curled into a ball on the kitchen floor. Leaving the phone lying on the tile next to him, Tendou grasped his cramping stomach and tried to control his giggles.

The other side of the line was oddly silent until Ushijima spoke with mild confusion ringing in his tone, "When I confessed to you in high school, I thought that I said mor…."

A clear laugh interrupted the solemn spiker as Tendou clarified, "I was only joking, Toshi!"

A small snort came across the line that had a bright smile filling Tendou's face as Tendou felt his eyes crinkling from the size of it.

Laying on his back, staring at the mixed tiled on his ceiling, his body felt light with relief. With the warm smell of chocolate in the air and the sound of Ushijima's comforting voice filling the space, Tendou felt hope for the first time since Ushijima left that everything would be okay.