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Yamaguchi slowly opened his eyes.
“Ah, you’re awake”. He started right into dark brown eyes, not hidden behind glasses for once. ‘Tsukki really has pretty eyes…’ He couldn’t help but be mesmerised by them.
“Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima spoke again.
The shorter boy was thrown away by the sharpness in the other’s voice. Yamaguchi only then realized that they were lying unnaturally close to each other and that he was curled up against Tsukishima’s arm, holding it tightly while resting his cheek on it.
“Ah!” He quickly sat up and released Tsukki from his grip. “Sorry…” Tsukishima didn’t say anything to reply; he stood up, grabbed his things and went to the bathroom of the dorm they were staying at.
Yamaguchi hid his burning face in his hands. ‘Not again…’. He had always known about his habit of hugging the nearest large thing with his body while sleeping. He was a heavy sleeper so he never realized it until he actually woke up and Tsukki was already awake before him most of the time, so he had no way to escape these embarrassing situations.
The first time was like that too – He was sleeping over at Tsukishima’s and they were lying in their futon next to each other, talking and the next thing Yamaguchi knew when he woke up was that he was sprawled out all over Tsukki’s upper body, the tall boy watching him quietly. He was shocked by his own actions and had apologised countless times, tripping over his own words but Tsukishima only brushed it off, saying “It’s fine.”
It’s not like Yamaguchi could help it. It was as if his body was naturally attached to the other boy. The nights he slept best were those when he was close to that warm body, this minty scent and these soft arms…
“Yamaguchi, you’re going to be late.”
“E-eh?” He looked up to the source of the voice and saw Tsukki, already finished with his morning routine, stepping back into their room. He then realized that he hadn’t moved from his spot since waking up and his face darkened again.
“Uhm yeah, thanks for reminding me.” He quickly grabbed his things and went to the bathroom, avoiding looking at the other at all costs.
'So embarrassing…!' Yamaguchi splashed cold water to his face, trying to calm his racing heart.
He should really stop doing this. But did Tsukki really mind? He would usually say something if he didn’t like it, right? Or would he?
Yamaguchi shook his head. No, this had to stop doing this. He was only inconveniencing himself and Tsukki with that. …But how should he do it?
Practice matches with the schools of the Fukurodani group were hard. Even though Yamaguchi didn’t get to play much, running up and down the hill after another loss was keeping him on his toes and his additional evening practice of his jump float serve tired him out even more, so by the end of the day Yamaguchi would have given anything for a good night’s sleep.
Yet here he was, lying in his futon in the middle of the night, unable to fall asleep. No matter how much he shifted his body, his arms, his legs, something always felt wrong and uncomfortable and the struggle began anew.
He could simply turn to his other, usual side and fall asleep soundly but then Yamaguchi would be facing Tsukishima and most likely hog one of his body parts for himself again. No! He couldn’t bother Tsukki like that again. He shifted in his futon again, this time bringing his legs up and putting one arm under his pillow, hoping it would feel more comfortable this time.
"Yamaguchi"
"Ah" Tadashi looked over his shoulder, "Sorry Tsukki, did I wake you up?" ‘Shit, I hope he’s not angry…’
Tsukishima didn’t answer his question, instead, he stated as a matter of fact: “You were avoiding me today.”
"O-oh really?" Yamaguchi laughed uneasily. He didn’t pay any attention to it but it could be that he was unconsciously avoiding Tsukki all day.
"You are still avoiding me." Tsukishima stated again. "E-eh, you see Tsukki-"
"Why?" Tsukishima asked, audibly irritated.
Yamaguchi had to swallow. For a moment he thought about lying to the other, but he quickly discarded the idea. They were friends and should be able to talk about stuff like that…right?
"I-I…" Even without looking at him, Yamaguchi could feel the other’s piercing gaze in his back. "I’m avoiding you because I would end up h-hugging you in my sleep again and it probably annoys you so I want to stop doing it and-" He lost track of his voice when he heard Tsukishima exhale sharply. ‘Oh no, he’s really angry at me, I should have just lied and now Tsukki will really hate me-‘
"Look at me."
"E-eh?" Being surprised, Yamaguchi couldn’t help but follow his words. Barely turned around, Yamaguchi felt strong hands grabbing him and suddenly he was pressed against a warm body.
"Tsukki…? What-?"
"Yamaguchi shut up" Tsukishima muttered against the smaller boy’s hair.
Yamaguchi’s heart was beating rapidly enough to feel it in his fingertips but he calmed down when he heard that Tsukki’s chest was beating almost as fast as his own. He smiled and snuggled closer to the other which made Tsukishima’s body stiffen for a moment. He quickly relaxed and pressed the smaller boy even closer to his chest, a small genuine smile hidden in black locks.
BONUS
Sugawara stormed into the room of the the first years. “Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, are you okay, we were missing you during breakfast and practice is starting alread-“
The sight he was greeted with a quite precious one. The two childhood friends lying in each other’s arms, sleeping soundly without a care in the world. Sugawara brought out his phone and quickly took a picture of his kouhai… In case it could be useful in the future.