love beyond species《tsukkiyama》

07:愛

愛: love

Yamaguchi woke with a start, tears streaming down his face and dripping onto his bare chest. He looked out the window to see that only a sliver of the sun peeked out from behind the mountains. He fell back in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep again.

Anxiety wrenched his stomach, knowing that he was going to take a big risk today.

His alarm clock blinked at 4:20 AM in bright red. School didn't start until 8:30. Yamaguchi groaned, sliding out of bed, and walked downstairs for a cup of milk in an attempt to feel sleepy again. He saw a sliver of light under his parent's door. The two were never awake this early unless they had to go to the hospital. He tiptoed over to their door and leaned his ear against it.

"When's that trip again?" his mom asked. Trip? They never told Tadashi about a trip.

"Next week, honey. We have to leave Tadashi alone for a week."

"Oh," was all his mother said in reply. Tadashi felt isolated, in a small box. It seemed like everyone was hiding something from him. First Tsukki, and now his own parents. He let out a small huff and kept listening.

"Do you have the patient files?"

"Yes," then the shuffling of papers, then silence.

"A victim of a mincemeat murder?" Yamaguchi's breath hitched when he heard those words. He covered his mouth to prevent any words from leaving his mouth.

"Yes. We need to perform an autopsy. The government wants to know more about what causes these events."

"Ah, I see. We'll tell Tadashi about us leaving tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan, now let's go to bed." his dad finished. His mom hummed in response and the two fell silent. Yamaguchi sighed and headed back to his room, laying back in his bed and hoping his parents' lives weren't in danger from taking on this case. So many things were happening and it felt like he was drifting away from his normal life with every passing second.

~

As soon as Kei sat up in his bed, his thoughts drifted to a certain freckled boy. He groaned loudly, still confused about what he was feeling inside.

"Kei! My favorite brother is awake," said a chirpy voice. Kei turned to see his brother leaning against the door frame. His hair was disheveled and he looked like he just got here, still wearing his university jacket

"Please leave me alone," said Tsukki blankly.

"Ah! Rude!" said Akiteru, clutching his heart dramatically. Tsukkishima got up and slammed the door on him, and then proceeded to change into his school uniform.

He grabbed all of his belongings and shoved them into his bag and walked out the door. His brother was sitting at the table, mock hurt displayed on his face.

"Sometimes I think that Kei is older than you, Akiteru," his mom said with a chuckle, making Akiteru pout even more.

"I'm skipping breakfast today. I'm studying with.." No names popped into Kei's head as he tried to make up an excuse.

"Yamaguchi?" asked Akiteru, raising an eyebrow," How are things going with him, by the way?"

"Yeah him. Good," said Kei, emotionless," Goodbye." Despite Akiteru's protests, Tsukki left the house in a flash.

He walked slowly, both of his hands tucked into his pockets, wondering where the freckled boy was this morning. Tsukki put on his headphones, which he had around his neck, and drowned out all of the sounds around him.

He reached his school and walked into his first class. Yamaguchi was already there, sitting in front of him, like usual. He had a different vibe about him today, he didn't seem as bright and as happy as usual.

"Hello," said Tsukki, wanting to see the normal Yamaguchi again. Tadashi jumped, turning to look at Tsukki.

"Oh! Hi!" he said, his voice unusually high-pitched. The teacher walked in and Yamaguchi turned away from Tsukkishima.

The rest of the day went the same. Yamaguchi didn't talk much unless he was talked to. Tsukki didn't talk at all either, so it wasn't any different on his side.

Tsukki was left to walk home alone, not seeing the freckled boy anywhere. He scanned the crowd of people exiting the school, looking over the crowd to try to find him, but he had no luck there either.

~

The truth was that Yamaguchi had tried to avoid Tsukki today, and that went well. It wasn't like Tsukki was gonna talk to him anyway. He ran all the way home and rushed upstairs, shutting the door behind his back and slumping down. He picked up his phone, his hands cold with nervousness.

Yamaguchi: Hey Tsukki. Can we meet at the park at nine? I need to talk to u.

Tsukkishima: okay.

He responded! That was a first. He could now begin his plan.

Yamaguchi rolled around in his bed, butterflies fluttering around in his stomach as he tried to calm himself down. He did this for three whole hours, shuffling around in his room, feeling like he was going to throw up. Tadashi glanced at the clock, the big hand slowly reaching twelve. Yamaguchi heaved a sigh, changing into a plain white shirt and some sweats. He stepped out in the chilly night air, walking to the park as slowly as he could, stalling. When he got to the park, Tsukki was already there.

Tadashi's breath quivered as he approached him cautiously.

"Hey Tsukki," he said with a light smile, sitting next to him on a bench.

"Hello," was all he said to him in reply. Yamaguchi sighed, turning away from him.

"Why did you call me here? I have things to do," said Tsukkishima, sounding snarkier than he meant to be. That was it for Yamaguchi. He couldn't take this anymore.

"What happened to you, Tsukki?!" he yelled out into the cold air," You are so distant now! We don't hang out like we used to! You always ignore me and practically forget that I even exist! Can't you see that I always want to help you?! To be with you always?" At this point, a single tear rolled down Yamaguchi's cheek. Kei's eyes widened only a bit, once again taken aback by a sudden outburst.

Tadashi grabbed Tsukki by the collar of his shirt, pulling him up off of the bench, and bringing his face up to his level.

Tadashi stared into Kei's golden eyes, which used to always twinkle in amusement as he watched Yamaguchi.

"You're eyes were my favorite feature of you, Kei. I always stared into them when I saw you. I'd get lost in them, but now... Now they're plain and dull. Maybe that's why you can't see that I love you," he whispered, letting go of Tsukki's shirt, making him stumble back. More tears streamed down Yamaguchi's face as he looked down, afraid to make eye contact with Tsukki again.

"I think... I think that's all," he said, beginning to walk away, but was stopped when Tsukki grabbed ahold of his palm. Kei pulled Tadashi against him and tilted his chin up.

"Yamaguchi Tadashi. I think I'm in love with you."

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