tsukkiyama month - day 4

TV/news reporter AU! I didn’t realize how into this AU I was until I started writing it. I love prompts like that. ~750 words, G.

All ficlets on my tsukkiyama month tag. Thank you for all your sweet comments and tags! I always read them. :D

–

Yamaguchi leaned back in his desk chair and groaned, rubbing his face in a stupid attempt to rid himself of his exhaustion. He dropped his hands again and looked down, grimacing at his rumpled suit. He hated this suit. It was a size too big, so it was loose everywhere, but it also wasn’t long enough at the wrists or ankles because he was so tall. And why was it brown? Why had he ever thought buying a brown suit was a good idea?

Hinata bounced up to his desk. “Tadashi, you want to come to lunch? Kageyama bet he could eat more ramen than me.” His face went suddenly hard. “I’m going to beat his ass into the ground.”

“Metaphorically?” Yamaguchi asked hopefully.

“Yeah, sure,” Hinata said, after a particularly terrifying pause.

Yamaguchi shook his head. “As much fun as watching you trying to eat yourselves to death sounds, I have to say no. I’m swamped.”

“You work too hard,” Hinata said. He rapped twice on Yamaguchi’s desk and walked away.

That wasn’t wrong. Yamaguchi worked long hours and ate more meals at his desk than he did anywhere else. But he was a producer and he was good at it, and he liked being their evening news anchors’ favorite producer because he was a hard worker and always so reliable.

Okay, he revised, he liked being one anchor’s favorite producer.

As if he could read Yamaguchi’s thoughts – oh god, please don’t be able to read my thoughts – Tsukishima Kei showed up in the newspen just then, looking impeccable and camera-ready as always. He was even taller than Yamaguchi, but his suits were always perfectly tailored and fit him like a glove. Yamaguchi felt certain that Tsukishima would never be caught dead in a brown suit, either, even though he was so hot that he’d probably even make that work somehow.

Yamaguchi wasn’t the only one who noticed, either; Tsukishima had a huge fanclub that seemed thrilled by the way he completely ignored their existence. It certainly didn’t stop them from flooding the station with gifts and letters and flowers.

And Yamaguchi couldn’t blame them for it at all, he thought, not looking away from Tsukishima for even a second. He was staring so hard that it took him a moment to realize Tsukishima was coming over to him.

“Yamaguchi.”

“Hey!” Yamaguchi said cheerfully, pretending he hadn’t just been undressing Tsukishima with his eyes. “I got a lead on that investigative work Tanaka wanted to do. We’ll probably be ready to go with that in a day or two.”

“That’s good to hear. You’re such a hard worker,” Tsukishima said, and Yamaguchi beamed at the praise. “But I wasn’t here to talk about the show.”

“Oh?” Yamaguchi tilted his head. “What did you need?”

Tsukishima ran his hand through his hair; he seemed a little nervous, but Yamaguchi had no earthly idea why. “Would you like to go to lunch?”

Yamaguchi groaned immediately. “Did Hinata get to you?”

“What? No. When do I ever voluntarily talk to Hinata?”

“Oh.” Yamaguchi wrinkled his forehead. “So you don’t want to watch Kageyama and Hinata eat their weight in ramen?”

Tsukishima looked so appalled that Yamaguchi started laughing into his hand and had to apologize.

“No, I just wanted to have a meal with you. Lunch or dinner – or drinks. Drinks after the show would be good, too,” Tsukishima said, wringing his hands together. “Alone,” he added after a moment.

Yamaguchi blinked at him for what felt like several hours. “That, uh,” he said slowly, “that kind of sounds like a date.”

“Well… yes.” Tsukishima went pink across his nose and cheeks; it was endearing seeing him so flustered, even if Yamaguchi thought his own cheeks must be pretty pink right then, too. Then Tsukishima straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin, making him all intimidating serious anchorman again. “So?” he challenged.

“So, yes,” Yamaguchi replied, puffing out his own chest to cover for how he was dying inside. Then he deflated again. “But tonight, after the show. I really do have a lot of work to do right now.”

Tsukishima stared at him for just long enough that Yamaguchi started to get nervous and think it was all a huge misunderstanding, but then one corner of Tsukishima’s mouth quirked up. “You’re cool, Yamaguchi,” he said and walked away.

Yamaguchi’s face was on fire, but he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as he turned back to his computer.