Tsukishima looked up from shelving, noticing Yamaguchi still at the beginning of the aisle. "Are your arms too tired?" 

Yamaguchi held up a finger. He huffed softly, bending into himself slightly. 

Tsukishima set down his book and hurried to make sure nothing was really happening. He waited a while, holding his hand. "Is this a flare-up? Do you need to go somewhere else?" 

Yamaguchi gagged. He clamped his hand over his mouth. "Mph…" 

"Bathroom it is." 

Yamaguchi was wheeled to the bathrooms where he went into the largest stall and spit up into the toilet, trying not to throw up. 

"Baby, go ahead. I'll clean you up and get you back to the couch where no one bothers you. It's okay." Tsukishima rubbed his back. 

Yamaguchi nodded before the little bit he'd eaten was gone and he was shaky. He took his medication and laid down. Tsukishima kept people away, still working around him and checking on him as he would move around. 

"I can get someone to take you home. You can just…" Tsukishima paused. He wasn't getting any eye contact. They'd worked on that. He set his phone on Yamaguchi's chest. "Type out what's going on. I've got to get another cart." 

Yamaguchi hesitated before typing. It was just a question. That's it. 

Tsukishima came over to the couch with a new book cart and read the question. "Oh…" 

Yamaguchi gulped. 

"Well… I'm…" Tsukishima looked at him. "I've started another job. We need the money since the medical bills have started coming in for certain things. I'm not avoiding you at all. I just need the money for the bills." 

Guilt washed over Yamaguchi. "Oh…" 

Tsukishima nodded. "Yeah." 

Yamaguchi watched Tsukishima fiddle with his hands. His medical bills were making it difficult for Tsukishima. Before both of them had income but Yamaguchi's job had stopped paying him. He worked at a tech company where he was a leader of a team and was paid a little more than a comfortable amount. 

Now it was two of Tsukishima's incomes while Yamaguchi had to sit around since he couldn't do as much as he needed. 

"Tsuki…" 

"It's okay. I've got it. All you need to focus on is recovering." 

Yamaguchi kept staring. Now that he thought about it, that kind of made sense. Tsukishima had been skipping meals lately. He wasn't sleeping as much. Him being gone more. His lack of talking. 

Tsukishima kissed his cheek. "I need to get back to work now, okay?" 

Yamaguchi nodded. They needed to talk later. 

****

Yamaguchi turned his head, huffing softly. "Tsuki…" 

"I know, I know." 

Yamaguchi put his arms up. Tsukishima put his head on Yamaguchi's chest and Yamaguchi hugged him tight. "Mm…" 

"Better?" 

"Mhmm." 

Tsukishima nodded. He took a deep breath. "Mm I'm glad we took a bath. This is comfortable." 

Yamaguchi rubbed his hair. Tonight was going to be one of the bad nights. He could already feel it but he needed to try and sleep. 

"I don't blame you." 

Yamaguchi sighed. 

"Don't sigh at me. I love you. I really do." 

Yamaguchi closed his eyes. He kissed the top of Tsukishima's hair. "Mm…" 

"Good night." 

Yanaguchi nodded. He took slow breaths, falling asleep fast. Tsukishima kissed his hand after a bit, holding his hand. It was quiet. Well, it was pretty quiet most of the time. 

Yamaguchi could barely form a sentence and when he talked he got insecure because he slurred and stuttered. Which meant he rarely tried talking. Which meant it was quiet. 

Tsukishima found himself missing their long conversations and Yamaguchi singing in the shower. He found peace in silence but now it was a reminder. 

Tsukishima shifted slightly and grabbed his phone from the window sill. 

He scrolled mindlessly through social media and read some of a book on his phone. It was relaxing for him and he could listen to his heartbeat. 

"Tsuki…" 

"I'll turn it off, sorry."

Yamaguchi whined loudly and shifted, moving a bit. "No… Mph. Eh." 

"You are way too tired to be talking right now. But thanks." Tsukishima set down his phone and immediately Yamaguchi started to cry. Tsukishima sat up hurriedly and turned on his small lamp. "Tadashi…" 

Yamaguchi startled awake, gasping quietly. Tsukishima sat him up and watched him. The smaller male leaned into him, shaking a little worse than normal. 

"Baby…" 

Yamaguchi sniffled. He wiped away his tears and looked away. 

"It's just a bad dream, it's okay. Deep breaths." Tsukishima held his face in his hands. "It's okay now…" 

Yamaguchi whined at him. 

"I know. Lay back down before your back starts hurting." Tsukishima set him down and held him, stroking his hair and keeping him warm. "Having a bad dream does suck but it is just a dream. It probably won't happen again for a while. Bad dreams rarely happen." 

Yamaguchi grabbed his phone and shakily typed out his issue. He explained the months of nightmares and the anxiety they caused when he was awake. 

Tsukishima sat there, reading it and taking everything in. He hadn't noticed the nightmares. He thought the tiredness and anxiety were from pain and surgeries. But his partner had been crying himself to sleep on his bed that he'd bought for both of them. And it was hurting him. 

"Alright. This is something I should have seen. And something you should have told me. Back to sleep, okay?" 

"Mhmm." Yamaguchi wiped away his tears before Tsukishima stopped and cleaned off his face. After, he gave him a gentle kiss and laid down. Yamaguchi laid against him, sleeping soundly after nearly an hour. 

Tsukishima could hardly sleep the whole night, worried sick Yamaguchi would wake up crying again. He didn't want him to hurt. He hated when Yamaguchi cried. 

In all, he got an hour of sleep. He headed to work in the morning and came home at lunch to give Yamaguchi lunch and helped him move a bit. 

He then went to the library and the cycle continued. Tsukishima still barely got any sleep over the next few days. 

He did everything and helped with everything and worked. He was exhausted. He had never been a caretaker. He had never gone without sleep like this. 

"Tsuki!" Yamaguchi called out. 

Tsukishima looked up from his coffee. "Hi baby…" 

Yamaguchi held out a plate he'd dried off. He'd been washing dishes for now instead of using the dishwasher. It hurt his back to lean forward so he just washed dishes by hand. 

"Good job." 

Yamaguchi pointed to the cabinet. 

Tsukishima grabbed the plate and opened the cabinet. He felt like he was moving on autopilot. And that autopilot had just stopped working. 

"Tsuki?" 

Tsukishima faltered. 

Yamaguchi touched his arm, careful. He couldn't ask what was wrong. Couldn't check on him. But there was something wrong. 

Tsukishima set the plate down and took heavy breaths. He was going to sleep. One way or another. 

"TSUKI!"

Tsukishima fell to the ground, narrowly missing his head on the counter. Yamaguchi stared for a moment, in shock. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't talk or reach things or pick him up. 

Yamaguchi knew he could move his legs. It was just a matter of how much. He rolled backward and went to his room where he found his phone. He texted Kuroo, who responded way faster than normal. 

He went to the kitchen and wiggled out of his chair for the most part. Jesus Christ that was far away. He plopped down and a pain shot through his spine. It wasn't as bad as he thought though. He gently lifted Tsukishima's head and rubbed his cheek. 

Tsukishima woke up a bit and stared at Yamaguchi. 

"Tsuki…" 

Tsukishima furrowed his brows. He pointed to the wheelchair. "How? You need… To…" Tsukishima put his head back and was out again. 

Yamaguchi kissed his cheek. He glanced at his phone and answered the question Kuroo sent. 

The door opened minutes later and Kuroo picked up Tsukishima. Yamaguchi crawled to his room after he took a few deep breaths. It hurt like hell and he was struggling to even move. 

Kuroo turned, worried. "Right. You can't walk. Forgot about that. You wanna sit up here? I don't have to go to work until ten tomorrow so I can stay here." 

Yamaguchi was put on the bed where he carefully put Tsukishima's head in his lap. He rubbed his hair, subtly checking his head for bruises. 

Kuroo came up with pain medication and water. "Are you okay?"

Yamaguchi nodded and rejected the medication. He rubbed Tsukishima's cheek. 

"Do you only respond to yes and no questions? For future reference." 

Yamaguchi shook his hand a bit. 

"So you do talk?" 

Yamaguchi prepared himself for a moment. "L… Little." 

"Ooh. Cool! Cool!" Kuroo chuckled. "You're getting better. Good job. You guys eat dinner already?" 

"N…" Yamaguchi stopped. This would come out slurred and he would sound odd.

"No?"

"Mhmm." 

"Want me to order something?" 

"Mhmm." 

Kuroo gave him his phone. "Go ahead. Type it out." 

Yamaguchi took it and typed it out. He handed it back and just held Tsukishima. The blond was fast asleep and holding Yamaguchi like the first time he'd been cuddled. Sweet and innocent and careful. 

Yamaguchi spent the rest of the night eating and convincing Kuroo he was okay before laying down. He slept soundly next to him. No nightmares. Just really good sleep. 

****

Tsukishima turned over, sighing softly. Was he seriously being spooned? 

"Still…" 

Tsukishima yawned. He turned over and wrapped around Yamaguchi. "No." 

Yamaguchi huddled into his chest. He turned his head up and kissed Tsukishima. "Mm…" 

Tsukishima fell back asleep and Yamaguchi shifted. Shit. Kuroo was still there. In his room. On a futon. Awake. 

Yamaguchi peeked over Tsukishima. Nope, Kuroo was out cold. Snoring at that. 

Yamaguchi laid back down, taking in Tsukishima's warmth. He loved waking up first. It always made him feel better. Tsukishima was an absolute sweetheart in the morning and cuddled close. He was also into chaste kisses in the morning. 

He was cute. It was so nice. 

Yamaguchi got up after a bit, dragging himself along to go get breakfast. He headed off to the bathroom after, genuinely surprised that he managed to do any of that. He had some independence now. 

He was doing it…

Yamaguchi took all of his morning medication and crawled to Kuroo's bed. He poked his cheek, waking him. 

"How did you…?" Kuroo sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Are you okay?" 

Yamaguchi nodded. He pointed to his bed. 

"You want back up?" 

"Mhmm." 

Kuroo hefted him up and put him where he had been. "Did you eat already?" 

"Mhmm." 

"Great job dude. Damn." He gave him a high five. "Do you want me to get Suga here to help you get dressed since Tsukishima's passed out?" 

Yamaguchi shook his head. He pointed to the closet door. 

"Ah." Kuroo opened the closet. "You have the left side, right?" 

"Mhmm!" 

Kuroo grabbed a pair of slip-on jeans, a t-shirt, and underwear. "I gotta piss. I'll be back." 

Yamaguchi nodded. He changed shirts and took off his shorts. He struggled with his underwear, the pain from wiggling now and earlier getting to him. 

He did change though and just laid there, panting. 

Kuroo came back and glanced at him. "Uh oh. Need help?" 

Yamaguchi laughed. He nodded, holding out the jeans. 

"I would never touch you weird, okay?"

Yamaguchi nodded. 

Kuroo eased the jeans onto him. Yamaguchi sat up and they both worked on getting the jeans up. Yamaguchi couldn't care less about this. He'd had nurses and doctors and friends change his underwear before. This was nothing. 

Kuroo on the other hand was worried sick he was going to make Yamaguchi uncomfortable. He had never done this before. Not even with his… Uh… Complicated relationship with someone he only let Bokuto and Tsukishima know about. Not Kenma but he didn't want to think about that special person right now. 

Yamaguchi settled back down with his phone. Tsukishima wrapped his arms around his waist, huddled up against him. Despite him usually not moving when he slept, he was moving everywhere. 

One moment he was holding onto Yamaguchi, the next he was sprawled out on the bed, and the next in the fetal position. 

He was weird. But that was alright.