the idiot duo deserves that name [tsukkiyama]

how it really happened

tadashi had just been minding his own business on the playground when the bullies cornered him. by the time he realized what was going on, it was too late to escape them.

"your face is lumpy," they told him.

they said he needed to 'train his body.'

they shoved him to the ground and threw their book bags at him. as if the emotional pain wasn't enough, they had to add insult to injury by heaping some physical pain on top of that.

not only did his back and face hurt, but his pride too. it was even more embarrassing when the tall kid with the moon hoodie walked by and made a comment about how uncool it was.

tadashi was never sure if the tall boy was talking about him or the bullies, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. however, he was thankful, because he saved him that day, and they quickly became friends.

///

when they first met, tadashi was very dependent on tsukki. he would always go along with what he said, always did things for him, and didn't mind if he made a few hurtful comments now and again.

by the time they got to high school though, that was over. tadashi had begun to learn his worth, and wouldn't tolerate tsukki's bullshit anymore.

he stood his ground on things that he previously would've caved on. if tsukki wanted something, he would tell him to just get it himself. if tsukki ridiculed his opinion, he wouldn't back down. if tsukki made him feel bad for getting a below average grade, he would shoot back with a response about how school didn't really test your intelligence, just your ability to sit still and memorize things (neither of which tadashi was the best at for long periods of time).

at first, kei was taken aback when his friend first started standing up to him- around their third year of middle school. but then... he felt proud. it was almost a little weird, how tadashi looked up to him so much, and almost revered him. when he finally stood up for himself, kei was glad. he would occasionally push back, just to see how far tadashi was willing to go, and each time he did this, tadashi grew more and more self confident.

when they started their first year of high school, tadashi was a lot more confident, but he certainly hadn't reached his full potential.

for example, he developed a small crush on the new manager, yachi, but was too nervous to ever say anything about it.

one day, he decided to confide in tsukki about his feelings. because what better to do when you're feeling anxious than to tell your friend and have them validate you?

"hey, tsukki."

tsukishima looked over at him, setting his book down.

"what?"

"do you... have a crush on anyone?"

kei blushed almost imperceptibly.

"why do you ask? do you like someone?"

tadashi blushed, and it was much more noticeable than kei's.

"yeah, kind of... you know that new manager, yachi?"

kei's heart dropped slightly, but he pushed that out of his mind, keeping his face neutral.

"yeah. you like her?"

tadashi nodded.

"i think so. but i don't think she'd ever like me." he laughed nervously and tsukki bonked him on the head.

"what are you talking about? i'm sure anyone would have plenty of reasons to like you."

"i guess you're right... but you get confessions nearly every other week, so you probably have a different perspective than i do."