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Sunday afternoons. A day that the weary soul can find solace in. Sunday, notably, is the first day of the work week, but also a day where doing nothing is a popular option, unless you happen to be a busybody that can’t sit still on any day of the week. But Sunday afternoon hits hardest of all. When that time of day rolls around, naps or lazing around the house are most likely in order because basically, Sunday is nothing but a day to encourage lazy behavior. After all, it is the resting day.
A light rain shower can be heard outside the house, friendly raindrops pattering against the windows, which is tender music to Yamaguchi’s ears. Like the afternoon implies, he’s lazily coiled against his boyfriend, one leg slung over his stomach in sloppy coordination. His head finds itself positioned against the side of the other’s chest, eyes closed in peaceful bliss. His boyfriend’s arm curls around the boy’s back, engulfing him in the warm sensation. If he ignores the sound of fish being caught by a mere plop , he could peacefully doze off to the rhythmic heartbeat of the other.
(Not much has happened throughout the afternoon, given that they’ve been laying around in bed all day, with the small exception of moving to the kitchen for a quick breakfast and some late-afternoon snacks. Yamaguchi enjoys moments like these, simply living out the minutes by doing absolutely nothing. It’s peaceful.)
Yamaguchi makes good use of Tsukishima’s long body, clinging to every inch he could possibly bear. Meanwhile, his boyfriend’s attention lies elsewhere, more occupied with relentlessly chasing after the banded dragonfly his net can’t seem to capture. Yamaguchi feels clingy, is clingy , so he demands for more attention from his boyfriend by squeezing the inches he can, which does eventually elicit a reaction. (Not the one he was expecting, however.)
His boyfriend sounds annoyed at first. “Yamaguchi, let go of me. You’re suffocating me right now.” Yamaguchi stubbornly refuses the boy’s request, wearing a slight pout as he holds tighter. “What did I say?” Tsukishima’s words come out a bit more impatient this time as he wriggles in the grip of the other. His long limbs flail around helplessly in attempts to reposition himself, accidentally nudging his Animal Crossing character in the wrong direction. Instead of trudging along the beach, his character smacks itself into a cliff.
Yamaguchi is relentless in his pursuits of wanting attention, refusing to budge a single inch. His head eventually plops against his boyfriend’s chest, hearing the boy’s heartbeats increase in volume. His grip doesn’t loosen, nor does it advance, he’s only stilled against the other’s body.
“ Yamaguchi ,” Tsukishima sternly warns after a moment. His character pauses on-screen. For a second, Yamaguchi thought he was satisfied with this arrangement. “Cut it out,” he reminds, softly patting at the boy’s back, “I can’t focus like this.” Part of Tsukishima thinks he can stave off off Yamaguchi so simply, but the boy is much more adamant than this.
While Tsukishima’s character arranges a fossil exchange with Blathers, the owl receiving a set of fossils with wide eyes, Yamaguchi buries his head into the boy’s chest. He cozies himself against the soft fabric that separates skin from skin. “Just let me stay like this,” he grumbles. Tsukishima feels almost ticklish, the way his voice causes faint vibrations against his skin.
Yamaguchi thinks he’s won once and for all, ready to concede victory when he feels Tsukishima’s free hand run through his hair. Of course, it doesn’t last for long, he feels Tsukishima’s hand become forceful, pushing his head off his chest. “I told you, stop it,” Tsukishima laughs softly, tussling with the boy on his chest.
Yamaguchi whines, doing his best to push against the other’s hand, but he’s no match for a long arm that pistons him to the side, rolling off the boy into the sheets. Both of them share a giggle, and Yamaguchi’s ready to return for round two before Tsukishima holds a hand to him, stopping him from advancing any further. For now, he decides to concede defeat, but only to concoct a greater plan that will have his lover in shambles.
When Tsukishima sees that his boyfriend’s backed off for the count, he returns to his gameplay. Yamaguchi, on the other hand, feigns a soft pout at his boyfriend who’s paid him a lack of attention today (‘Go on king, give us nothing,’ Yamaguchi limits himself to not say). It doesn’t eat away at him for long as he shuffles across the bed to grab one of the pillows laying around haphazardly.
If he can’t cuddle his own boyfriend, a pillow is a minor substitute that lacks in some departments (mainly, long limbs that Yamaguchi can attach himself to). It’ll have to do, Yamaguchi decides. From his spot on the bed, he folds himself around the pillow, letting it sit comfortably between his arms, perfectly nudged under the gap below his chin. While he’s wrapped around it so nicely, he absentmindedly watches Tsukishima sell off his remaining duplicate fossils to the Nook brothers, receiving a large heap of money as a result.
From there, he decides to proceed with his plan. Yamaguchi ends up shifting his position on the bed, moving further down so he knows he’s in Tsukishima’s view, just shy of view from the corner of his eye. He ends up repositioning the pillow and himself in different poses, opting to finally collapse on top of the pillow, surrounding himself in a faint scent identified as his boyfriend. His feet kick against the bed in a playful manner as he watches Tsukishima try on some clothes in the Able Sisters’ building. He has a decent taste in fashion , he thinks to himself.
His frequent movements don’t go unnoticed by the other boy, who eventually becomes distracted by them.
“Are you having fun over there?” His long leg jabs Yamaguchi gently in the side, who flinches involuntarily. Yamaguchi doesn’t look back at the other boy, only observing as he happens to land an olive flounder, which was probably originally intended to be an oarfish.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Yamaguchi muses softly, holding the pillow just a teensy bit tighter. “I’m having a nice cuddle.”
To his side, he can hear Tsukishima huff out a laugh. He’s probably smirking as well, the mere image of it ringing clear as day in his mind. “Are you upset because of what happened?” In this situation, it can be read as a concern or a tease, Yamaguchi goes for the latter.
“No, of course not,” comes his defiant reply, as he turns his cheek into the pillow. “I’m not mad at all. In fact, I think I like this pillow more than you.” The bait is set out.
“Oh, really now?” His words pounce back. “What makes you so sure of that?”
Confidently, Yamaguchi lets his words flutter out so casually. “I mean, it doesn’t complain whenever I want to cuddle it. Plus, it’s so soft and dreamy. I like it wayyyy better.”
“Are you sure about that?” He has the utter audacity to question his words. “After all, it can’t cuddle you back. I can, however.” Shots have been fired.
“Oh ho, you’re so bold, Tsukki,” he taunts, now looking back at the boy with a smug grin. “Since when do you ever cuddle back?” Said boy rolls his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest.
“I do it every single time you want to cuddle. Just not today,” he quickly adds that last part.
“Well, since you don’t want to today, I’ll just look for something else to hold,” Yamaguchi points out, wiggling his toes in pure delight. It’s light banter, cast back and forth with lazy words laced throughout.
“Uh huh, you have fun with that,” Tsukishima drawls, returning to his gameplay in silent defeat. Yamaguchi feels like he’s taken the first stride in this battle, standing proudly on the high ground.
“Plus,” he continues the engaging battle, “I might call it Tsukki Jr., or something like that.” Tsukishima’s brow raises in confusion.
“Why would you name it after me? I thought the whole point of this was to hold something that wasn’t me.” In a way, he makes a fair point, but he’ll ignore that for now.
“If you look at it like this,” Yamaguchi retorts, “it’s like the second version of you, so it’s better!” A thin smile tugs at Tsukishima’s lips.
“Uh huh, I hear you. It’s better than me, yeah right.” He’s so indignantly smug sometimes, despite the odds being somewhat against him.
“You bet,” Yamaguchi concedes, rolling onto his side. “Don’t be jealous, okay?”
“Why would I even be jealous,” the boy shoots back. “It’s a pillow.”
“You sound jealous,” Yamaguchi mocks. “You? Jealous of a pillow? I can’t believe it,” he dramatically adds. One by one, his words dent into Tsukishima’s pride.
“If you want me to cuddle you, just say so, stop being so difficult,” Tsukishima finally caves in. “Come here.”
(If Yamaguchi was on Twitter, he’d have tweeted the hashtag #Yamaguchis1stWin already with the necessary fancam.)
“No,” Yamaguchi teases, laying his legs across the bed. His foot taunts the other’s leg, poking it multiple times. Tsukishima huffs and rolls his eyes, a tad fed up with the boy’s ministrations. He needs only one swift movement to grab the boy’s ankle and tug him his way. While Yamaguchi squeals at the action, Tsukishima does his best to pry the pillow from the other boy’s arms, eventually taking hold of it and tossing it to the other side of the bed.
Yamaguchi wriggles to the boy’s side, who lays an arm over his backside. “Isn’t this better?” Tsukishima proudly observes his handiwork. Yamaguchi still isn’t satisfied, shaking his head in reply.
“I still can’t believe how jealous you were of a pillow,” Yamaguchi snickers out, his laughter softly tickling the other’s neck. “I should do this more often.”
“Shut up,” Tsukishima mumbles, shifting on his side to tuck Yamaguchi against his chest. His arms are warm, the boy notes, as he’s pressed under the other boy’s chin. His steady heartbeat is nearly enough to lull him off to sleep. Yamaguchi makes a quick guess that the older boy’s probably blushing slightly, so mildly embarrassed from what he just went through.
“Hey,” Yamaguchi breathes out, “let’s play Animal Crossing.”
“Just a little longer, okay? Be glad I’m doing this for you.” Yamaguchi doesn’t need to say anything more; he allows the boy to do what he wants for once. It’s nice, being in this kind of moment.
Later, Tsukishima indulges Yamaguchi’s request, handing over a spare joycon he kept on their bedside table. Together, the two race after butterflies and land fish that sell to fill their pockets happily. The two smile together on the bed as they chase one another around the island, Yamaguchi leaning into the arm Tsukishima has draped around him. Outside, the rain shower slows to a few drops, the sun lazily climbing into their bedside window. The added warmth of the sun along with his own lover has Yamaguchi in paradise, and he wouldn’t have it any other way, on a Sunday afternoon.