Chapter Text
Kiyoomi had been dreading this day for weeks, months even. It was the day he was moving into his first apartment, a moment every young adult should look forward to. The moment where you “get to spread your wings” and “leave the nest” for the first time or whatever other bullshit people say to encourage young adults when they leave home. Maybe he would be excited if he were going to be living alone, but nope , he was going to be living with someone. Not just anyone, someone he barely knew, had never even met in person and had only talked to online. He seemed nice enough, but Kiyoomi was a very particular person. He was obsessively clean, that much everyone knew, and he conveyed that to his future roommate as a very important boundary to be maintained if their cohabitation was going to last more than an hour. He was understanding and promised to do his best to keep up with his portion of the housework and to make as few problems for Kiyoomi as possible, that wasn’t the problem. The problem, well was it even a problem? Kiyoomi thought to himself more than once, and truthfully, no, it wasn’t a problem, but it was a slight discomfort at the bare minimum. His new roommate, Atsumu, had been open about his sexuality, Kiyoomi hadn’t even asked, but he was more than happy to share in their first interaction, claiming to want to lay all the cards on the table. Kiyoomi appreciated that, the honesty and the candor, it was much easier to deal with someone who cut the shit and got to the point, and he didn’t have a problem with it, he didn’t give a shit who the guy slept with or who anyone slept with for that matter, what bothered him was the thought of it happening where he lived. He didn’t know if he’d feel the same if his roommate were to bring a girl home, maybe, maybe not, it didn’t matter, what mattered was that the thought of Atsumu bringing another guy home and doing things in the room adjacent to his made Kiyoomi’s skin crawl. He couldn’t say that though, it sounded terrible, he knew that and he had no right to tell someone else what they could or couldn’t do in their own home so he would just have to grin and bear it, if it got too out of hand they could have a talk, but Atsumu, like the stand up guy he seemed to be, already promised that wouldn’t be a problem. So, what are you even worried about? Kiyoomi scolds himself mentally, letting his head fall against the train window and watching the scenery pass. Twenty more minutes and he’d arrive at his destination where his new roommate would be waiting for him and he’d begin his new life as a college student. He should be looking forward to this, but he wasn’t and nothing was going to happen in the next twenty minutes to change that. So he shut his eyes and willed his mind to stop working so hard before he felt even worse about the situation by the time he arrived than he did now.
🔺
He must’ve fallen asleep because the next thing he knew, Kiyoomi was being awoken by the announcement for his destination and the feeling of the train coming to a stop. He rubbed his eyes, willing the headache growing there to go away, and gathered his things before exiting the car. When he steps off the train, he glances around briefly at the few people who have gathered, but he doesn’t have to look long before he spots Atsumu. The blonde hair in itself is a dead giveaway, Kiyoomi could probably spot him out of a crowd of one hundred much less one of ten people, but the enthusiastic grin accompanied by his name being shouted confirmed what he already knew.
“Sakusa-san? Hey! Over here,” Atsumu yells and Kiyoomi rolls his eyes, he wasn’t blind and he certainly wasn’t deaf, there was no reason for him to be yelling when there was hardly no one else in the station. But that wasn’t what annoyed him, what annoyed him was that Atsumu looked happy to see him and he even looked kind of cute ? With that stupid grin and those honey brown eyes that looked at him so expectantly, so excitedly, for what? They didn’t know each other, they weren’t friends, they’d barely even spoken, there was no reason for it and it annoyed him, it probably shouldn’t, but it did and he wouldn’t apologize.
“Yeah, thanks, I almost missed you,” Kiyoomi says sarcastically, but Atsumu either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care because he just keeps smiling at him and even offers to take his things. Kiyoomi hands them over gladly and then walks in front.
“This is all ya’ve got?” Atsumu asks with genuine confusion. It is all Kiyoomi has, well all he brought with, two suitcases, he liked to travel light. He nods and keeps walking. Atsumu shrugs, “That’s good, I guess, I have too much shit, not enough space. Yer low-maintenance then, I take it? Ya don’t need much?
“I guess,” Kiyoomi responds curtly, rubbing his eyes again. Nope, the headache isn’t going away and Atsumu’s talking isn’t helping any. Thankfully, Atsumu picks up on the hint that Kiyoomi isn’t in the mood to talk and lets the conversation drop there. They walk the rest of the way to the apartment in relative silence, other than Atsumu giving directions when necessary. He grew up in the area so he’s familiar with everything. Kiyoomi is sure he has a million stories to tell, can tell that Atsumu is practically bursting at the seams waiting for him to ask questions so that he can dive into some childhood memory or share his favorite spots, but he doesn’t, so Atsumu doesn’t share. You’re making a great first impression , Kiyoomi scolds, but he decided before this move was even arranged he didn’t have to be friends with the guy, he just had to live with him and that might be easiest if they didn’t talk or talked as little as possible so maybe this was a good way to start things after all.
“Ah, we’re uh here,” Atsumu says, nodding to the door at his left. Kiyoomi stares at him expectantly, waiting for him to stop standing there and open the door. Atsumu looks back, slightly surprised, that’s a weird expression to have, Kiyoomi thinks. “Do ya, uh, have yer key? Or can ya take something? M’ hands are kind of full here,” Atsumu says, nodding towards his hands, which are, in fact, full of Kiyoomi’s things. Kiyoomi slaps himself on his face gently before grabbing his things and muttering a “sorry” under his breath. Atsumu laughs lightly, “‘S okay, ya had a long trip.”
The door opens and Kiyoomi is pleasantly surprised by what he sees, the apartment is bigger than it seemed in the pictures he’d seen online. “It’s clean,” Kiyoomi says, not meaning to say it outloud, and cringing at himself the moment the words left his mouth.
Atsumu laughs and Kiyoomi instantly hates that he likes that sound so much. “Yeah I made sure everything was up to yer expectations, didn’t want ya to feel uncomfortable or anything,” he says genuinely and offers Kiyoomi a warm smile. He feels his heart tighten a little at this, this genuine concern for his comfort from a near perfect stranger and the warmth with which he’s being addressed is too much for him to handle.
“Thanks,” Kiyoomi manages to mutter through clenched teeth in an effort to hide how he is really feeling, which is what exactly? He doesn’t even know, but he doesn’t want to figure it out now. Now he wants to sleep and be away from Atsumu or as far away as their new living situation will allow. “I’m going to bed, long day, I’m tired, you understand.”
Atsumu looks the slightest bit hurt for a second before regaining his composure and flashing Kiyoomi another blinding smile, “Of course! Second door on the left, bathroom is across the hall and I’m right next to ya if ya need anything.”
Kiyoomi will keep note of that and make sure never to take him up on that offer. He nods in acknowledgement and takes his few belongings to his room where he throws them in a corner and heads directly to the bed. Thankfully, there was one in the apartment, that was one of the big draws, that it was fully furnished, and even better, it was made. Normally, that would make Kiyoomi’s stomach crawl like it did when he was in an inn or a hotel and he thought about how dirty the bedding likely was, but Atsumu said he cleaned everything so it must be clean. Why the fuck do you trust Atsumu all of a sudden? Kiyoomi begins to wonder, but quickly pushes the thought and any subsequent ones out of his head as he faceplants into the mattress without undressing and tries his best to fall asleep. Sleep comes quickly, Kiyoomi’s tired body and mind being dragged into the softness of the mattress immediately, and he sleeps for a long time, uninterrupted, and doesn’t awake until hours later.
When he finally blinks his eyes awake, Kiyoomi realizes the room is nearly pitch black, only moonlight shining through the open windows. He fumbles for his phone and finds it on the floor next to him. Ten o’clock. Ten o’clock at night, he slept for five straight hours, fully dressed, in a bed that he didn’t know. His headache has dissipated, but he rubs his eyes nonetheless as he tries to collect himself and remember where he is. My new apartment, right, I live here now , he thinks and realizes that he hasn’t eaten all day when he feels a pang of hunger. Groaning, he stretches and gets out of bed, praying he doesn’t look like too much of a mess which shouldn’t matter but of course it does not, he has a roommate. He opens his door and looks around, the apartment is quiet, maybe Atsumu went to bed already. He walks to the living room, but sees no one, so he checks his phone and sees a text from Atsumu.
>> Went out. Leftovers r in the fridge if ur hungry
Went out . That’s good, that means Kiyoomi is alone and can be for a while longer. He doesn’t normally eat food prepared by others, he doesn’t trust the cleanliness of other people enough to trust the food they prepare but Atsumu has proven to be rather serious about Kiyoomi’s obsession so far so maybe it would be okay and he was really hungry and the food looked really good and okay he was just going to say fuck it for the second time of the day which was very much unlike him. Kiyoomi takes the food from the fridge and sits at the table to eat. He is surprised by how good it is. Atsumu didn’t really seem like a cook, but what the hell did he know, he just met the guy. He decides he should at least thank Atsumu considering all he’s done for him today already and the rather cold reception Kiyoomi had offered him earlier.
>> This is pretty good, I didn’t know you were a chef on top of a housekeeper.
The reply is almost instant which makes Kiyoomi’s heart skip a beat for some reason.
>> lol, not me, my brother, glad ya like it.
Kiyoomi goes to type another text but is interrupted by a notification telling him Atsumu had texted again before he got the chance.
>> I’m going to be late, I’ll try to be quiet so I don’t wake u
Oh. Oh. He went out like that. That makes sense. And now Kiyoomi’s appetite is gone and the discomfort he felt earlier is back in full force. He’s bringing someone home. Of course he is, this is his home too, but Kiyoomi just got here, couldn’t he wait like a day? He feels a flash of anger at the lack of consideration, but quickly tries to reign it in, he has no right to be angry, Kiyoomi never said he couldn’t bring people home, how could he? So, he carefully types out a reply to try and confirm his suspicion.
>> That’s fine, should I expect company?
Another instant reply.
>> Yes, but don’t worry we won’t bother you at all, promise.
Kiyoomi lets his phone fall to the table and quickly stands up to throw away the uneaten food. He collects his phone and heads to the bathroom. He needs to shower. He feels dirty now, like his skin is crawling, and angry, so fucking angry for some reason. It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine, Kiyoomi repeats in his head over and over again because it is fine. There is nothing wrong with any of this, he just needs to pretend it isn’t happening. He’s just uncomfortable because he’s never known people were having sex in the room next to him before while he was trying to sleep, especially two men , but it was fine. He turns the water on as hot as it will go and strips, letting the hot water wash over him for a few minutes before he begins to scrub his skin with unnecessary roughness to try rid himself of the uncomfortable crawling sensation he feels there. This does the trick and after a while he feels okay, good enough to go back to bed, so he does, and thankfully, sleep comes quickly. And lucky for him, he even sleeps through the night.
When he wakes up the next morning, Kiyoomi is surprised to see the time. He normally woke up early, around the time the sun rose, but he had let himself sleep until nine this morning. I didn’t hear anything, Kiyoomi thinks, maybe Atsumu didn’t bring anyone home after all . The thought almost makes Kiyoomi smile, almost, but then he hears laughter in the room next to his. One laugh he recognizes instantly, it makes his heart beat a little faster for some reason he still hasn’t figured out, and the other belongs to someone unknown, but definitely male. Kiyoomi’s spine stiffens and he grips his phone a little tighter. He gets out of bed and fumbles in his bag for his headphones, praying they are charged, when he finds them, he connects them to his phone, and thank God they’re charged . Kiyoomi gets back into bed, finds something to listen to, anything he doesn’t care what, and turns the volume up as loud as he can stand it so he doesn’t hear anything he won’t be able to forget later.
🔺
Kiyoomi stays like that for a while, maybe an hour, when he hears a loud knock on his door. Annoyed, he rips his headphones out and throws off the blankets, stomping to the door.
“What?” He says as he opens the door to a very happy Atsumu who is smiling and holding a cup of coffee in each hand.
“Mornin’!” He beams, “I made coffee, wouldja like some?” Kiyoomi stares down at the cups in his hands and then back at his smiling face.
“What are you so happy about?” Kiyoomi snaps.
Atsumu’s face falls slightly, “I’m just tryin’ to be nice, Omi, God, why do ya hate me so much already?”
Kiyoomi flinches, he didn’t realize he’d been that cold, but also Omi? What the fuck was that? “I don’t hate you, I just don’t like mornings, but what did you just call me?”
“Oh,” Atsumu laughs and Kiyoomi swears he can see his cheeks flush slightly, “Just a nickname, sorry. Anyway, coffee, as a peace offering.” He hands Kiyoomi a cup. “I didn’t know how ya drank it so it’s black but everything ya need is in the kitchen.” He turns to head towards the kitchen and Kiyoomi follows, not because he needs anything, he does drink his coffee black, but because he feels like he owes Atsumu something for being so rude to him, even if it was an accident. “I hope I, uh, I hope I didn’t make ya uncomfortable or anything.”
Kiyoomi stiffens and Atsumu turns to look at him, staring intensely with wide eyes, full of genuine remorse. It melts Kiyoomi’s heart and any resentment he felt moments ago was gone, replaced by something akin to longing but that couldn’t be the right word. “N-no, not at all, I didn’t even hear you until this morning and even then all I heard was you laughing,” Kiyoomi admits, looking at the floor because he physically couldn’t stand to see Atsumu’s eyes full of remorse for another second longer.
“Oh, good,” Atsumu sighs, shoulders relaxing and face shifting into one of relief, featuring a small smile, not his usual blinding smile, but a much shyer one, Kiyoomi liked this one even more. “I was worried that was why ya were mad.”
“Not mad,” Kiyoomi says, looking away again before he can get trapped in Atsumu’s gaze again. He swears he could get lost there if he stared long enough at that thought terrified him. “So, um, did you have fun? Last night I mean. W-when you were out not what you did here but I guess maybe that was fun too? B- but I don’t want to know about that, please don't tell me about that.”
Atsumu laughs and Kiyoomi feels his face heat up, why did he say all that? “Yeah, it was fine, ya should come next time,” Atsumu says, smiling again, at Kiyoomi . He wished he would stop that, it made him uncomfortable. He couldn’t figure out why, but it did, but he also loved it.
“Sure,” Kiyoomi says without thinking.
Atsumu gasps, “Really, Omi? Yer gonna come with me sometime?” He sounds so damn excited, like a kid who just found out they’re getting a puppy for Christmas, it almost makes Kiyoomi not regret what he accidentally agreed to which is the only reason why he doesn’t immediately correct his answer and instead offers a nod. “Tonight?” Atsumu asks with all too much excitement.
“Tonight? W-what?” Kiyoomi asks, shocked, he was just now realizing what he agreed to. “I don’t like guys, it’s not a date.”
“No shit dumbass,” Atsumu laughs, “It’s a drink at a bar, I’ll even ask my friends to come so it’s less like a date if that makes you more comfortable.”
“Okay, sure, as long as it’s not a date,” Kiyoomi says, staring into his coffee, trying to ignore the heat rising up his neck and across his cheeks. He was just going out for a drink with his roommate who just so happened to be gay, there was nothing weird about that, so why did Kiyoomi feel weird about it? It wasn’t that he
didn’t
want to spend time with Atsumu, in fact, he was pretty sure it was the opposite and that was
weird
. There was something about Atsumu that Kiyoomi found very endearing, his kind gaze, his warm smile, the fact that he seemed to give a shit about Kiyoomi also helped, but there was also this desire to get
closer
to him. Kiyoomi wasn’t sure what
closer
meant, only that that was what he wanted, so sure, he’d go for a drink, maybe his head and heart would finally give him a break if he tainted his blood with some alcohol, it was worth a shot anyway.