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“Hey, Tsukishima, why do you hang out with that Yamaguchi kid?”
Tsukishima draws his attention away from the window, chin in his palm and pencil gripped laxly between the fingers of his opposite hand. It’s lunch time and he wonders why Yamaguchi hasn’t come to get him yet; going into their third year of high school they’d finally been separated into different classes, but they still eat and walk home together every day. Maybe he’s being confessed to again. Tsukishima almost wants to smirk at the thought, no girl (or even guy) is going to get anywhere with his Yamaguchi. Poor suckers.
Ari-something-or-other (Tsukishima can’t be bothered to keep track of all the people in his class) frowns at Tsukishima and snaps his fingers to get the blonde’s attention.
“What?” he snaps back, feeling his hackles raise ever so slightly.
“I was asking why you hang out with Yamaguchi?” Ari- continues, leaning forward onto Tsukishima’s desk ever so slightly. “He’s kind of lame.”
Very calmly, and very slowly, Tsukishima stands. If he’d thought his hackles were up earlier they’re certainly bristling now as he drops his forgotten pencil and tangles his fingers in the fabric of Ari-whoever’s uniform, pulling him close.
“Don’t say another word.”
The other high school student looks vaguely alarmed but not particularly malicious, which is almost worse in Tsukishima’s book. “W-why?” he stutters. “I mean it’s cool if you’re friends with him or whatever, he’s just annoying is all I’m saying. I can’t stand when he’s around.”
Ari-dumb-as-fuck doesn’t seem to notice the way Tsukishima’s teeth grind together, or the dangerous narrowing of his eyes. “He’s really whiny, you know? And clingy. God I wouldn’t be able to put up with him the way you do, always hanging all over you like that. He acts like he’s your girlfriend or something.”
Tsukishima doesn’t even realize he’s made a fist until he’s drawing it back and then slamming it directly into Ari-dead-motherfucker’s nose. The crunch of breaking bone is disgusting.
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“I cannot believe you, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi chides, eyebrows pinched in anger, and yet the hands wrapping Tsukishima’s broken fingers are gentle and soft. “What in the world got into you?”
Tsukishima decides not to deign that with a response, leaning back on his good hand and studying the easy slope of his boyfriend’s shoulders with a dull interest. It keeps him from having to look at Yamaguchi’s disappointed expression anyways.
In elementary school, they had met because of bullying. Not on purpose or anything, but Tsukishima had saved Yamaguchi and things had kind of blossomed (slowly, awkwardly and more than a little painfully) from there. Tsukishima’s mere presence had scared most of the bullies away after that, but Yamaguchi, in all his timid openness, had attracted them like flies to honey and they cornered him time and time again when Tsukishima wasn’t around. He’d done his best to protect Yamaguchi for a long time and then….then he hadn’t.
Tsukishima thinks back to the last time he’d punched someone.
“Get lost!” he yelled, fingers curled into tight fists by his side. His entire eleven year old frame shook with fear and rage. He was just so scared…so scared and it was eating him up from the inside out and this was the only way to get rid of it.
Yamaguchi was still crying, dark eyes heavy and sad. “I’m your friend, Tsukki. Please let me be your friend.” A freckled hand reached out, trying to bridge the distance between them and Tsukishima acted on pure adrenaline fueled instinct.
He didn’t realize he’d hit Yamaguchi until the darker haired boy blinked up at him from the ground, one hand on his purpling cheek. The tears hadn’t stopped but he didn’t look sad anymore, just determined.
“Go away,” Tsukishima tried again, and his voice cracked.
“No.”
That had been a week after he’d gone to see Akiteru play and had realized that hard work equaled unfulfilled dreams and heart ache. The lesson had quickly leeched its way into all aspects of his life, and he’d cut off the ties with his friends in fear of how the relationships would hurt him. All except one at least, not that he didn’t try. Yamaguchi had stared up at him from the ground, defiant and strong in all the ways Tsukishima was not, and refused to relinquish his hold on their friendship.
It’s the single moment in his entire life that Tsukishima is the most grateful for.
Things hadn’t been easy after that, however. Tsukishima had ignored Yamaguchi through every year of middle school but the last, and it had cost Yamaguchi dearly. Without Tsukishima to protect him the bullies had descended, tongues sharp and vicious. Defending himself had been difficult and by the time Tsukishima had come around again a lot of damage had already been dealt.
Going into high school was their fresh start. They had each other, they had volleyball, and slowly they had become a part of something far bigger. Not to mention the change in their relationship from friends to something much more.
But because of the history Tsukishima is determined he’s not going to fail Yamaguchi again. Not for fear or pride or frigidness or any of Tsukishima’s other countless flaws. He will never let Yamaguchi be hurt by bullies ever again.
A soft hand on his face brings Tsukishima back down to earth, until he’s staring into warm brown eyes even more familiar than his own.
“It’s not polite to space out on me when I’m trying to lecture you, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi says, voice soft and playful. There’s concern still etched into his brow, though, and Tsukishima knows he’s the one to have put it there with his unexpected violent outburst.
“Sorry,” he breathes, leaning forward to rest his forehead against his boyfriend’s.
It’s quiet between them for a moment, Tsukishima lets his eyes fall closed, and then, softly, “You’re worrying me.”
Tsukishima feels something hard and bitter rise into his throat like it always does when things get emotional between them. As much as he loves Yamaguchi, as serious as he is about him, he still can’t say any of it. Fear climbs up his spine with icy fingers and his lips sew themselves shut. Sometimes he’s able to work past it, and he tries he really does, but sometimes it’s too much and he can do nothing but tuck his face into the crook of Yamaguchi’s neck, breathe his scent in and pray the other teen recognizes the action for all the words he cannot bring himself to speak.
Yamaguchi shifts against him. They’re still leaning against each other, seated cross legged, face to face, on a bed in the nurse’s office. Tsukishima’s eyes open slowly as a warm hand settles comfortably on his jaw, not pulling him in to kiss, just weighing there and helping ease some of the tension out of his muscles.
He finds himself sighing and the knot in his throat eases enough for him to speak. “That guy was talking about you.”
Yamaguchi makes a small humming noise in the back of his throat, praise for Tsukishima having spoken, and then, “Arikuma?”
Of course Yamaguchi would know his name when Tsukishima can’t be bothered to remember it, and Yamaguchi isn’t even in the same class. Tsukishima almost wants to laugh, but he doesn’t, just nods tiredly and watches the way Yamaguchi traces patterns on his knee with his free hand.
“What did he say about me?”
“Stuff,” is the first word that pushes itself off of Tsukishima’s tongue, his instinct to distract and deflect rising before he can tamp it down. But tamp it down he does, with some effort, and then he forces himself to continue. “Just bad things, like you’re annoying and clingy.”
Yamaguchi hums again, the fingers against Tsukishima’s jaw stroking idly. “Do you think I’m annoying and clingy?”
“Of course not!” That, at least, comes easily.
“Is that why you broke his nose?”
Tsukishima’s chest seizes and his breath shakes out of his open mouth unsteadily. It takes a long time before he can even think about speaking again, but Yamaguchi sits patiently, not prodding or pushing, steady in a way that nothing else in Tsukishima’s life ever is.
“I,” he says eventually, and he finds that even if he’s not looking Yamaguchi in the face having his boyfriend in his line of sight is proving problematic. So he pulls back a little and then drops his forehead against Yamaguchi’s shoulder, this way he won’t be able to see the other teen’s expressions and Yamaguchi won’t be able to see his. It eases some of the weight on his chest and the rest of his sentence comes a little smoother, “I was worried he would say it to you.”
The hand on Tsukishima’s jaw slides to rest against the nape of his neck, squeezing lightly.
“You thought he was going to start bullying me?” Yamaguchi asks, tone soft but not completely free of judgment now. He sounds almost….awed.
“Something like that,” Tsukishima mumbles even though his boyfriend hit the nail on the head.
The laugh that bubbles out of Yamaguchi catches Tsukishima by surprise, and he jerks away from his boyfriend with something akin to horror on his face.
“No, no,” Yamaguchi giggles, both hands now cupping Tsukishima’s face to keep him from pulling away further. “I’m not laughing at you, I promise. That’s so sweet of you, really. I just,” and he starts laughing again, shoulders shaking and nose wrinkled. “I can’t believe you broke your classmate’s nose because you thought he would say something mean to me.”
Tsukishima eyes him warily and tries very hard not to feel offended as another wave rolls over his boyfriend. It’s difficult to be particularly upset when Yamaguchi looks so damn cute though.
“Shut up, Tadashi,” he grumbles, pulling the hands away from his face.
Yamaguchi just grins widely at him and then leans in to steal a kiss before Tsukishima can stop him.
“Thank you, Kei, for protecting me,” he mumbles against Tsukishima’s lips, still smiling and laughing lightly. “But next time just write a strongly worded letter or something.”
“Go to hell.”
Tsukishima kisses Yamaguchi this time, forcefully, and makes damn sure his boyfriend doesn’t have any breath left to laugh with.