Work Text:
In their almost 10 whole months of dating, Yamaguchi could count one hand how many times he had been over Tsukki’s house. It’s not that he didn’t want to go over his boyfriend’s house, the opportunity just never really presented itself.
… Okay, maybe the opportunity had presented itself in the past and maybe Tsukishima had invited him over a few times and just maybe Yamaguchi was terrified to meet his older brother and his parents and see the inside of Tsukki’s room for a long period of time. They already had such a comfortable and easy dynamic when they went over to Yamaguchi’s house, why change it?
Tsukishima never complained that they didn’t go to his house. In all honesty, it was much nicer to spend the time at Yamaguchi’s house devoid of random sibling visits and parents who didn’t like when the door was closed. Plus, Tsukishima’s house was 5 minutes further down the road from Yamaguchi’s, so it never made sense to travel 5 extra minutes just to go somewhere they wouldn’t be alone. It would be nice, though, being able to smell Yamaguchi on his pillow when he fell asleep that night.
It would also be nice to stop Akiteru from nagging Tsukishima to finally meet his boyfriend every time he’s home for the weekend. That, in and of itself, was reason to force Yamaguchi over to his house for dinner one night. Except, Yamaguchi didn’t need to be forced. All that Tsukishima needed to do to stop the nagging from Akiteru was to actually tell Yamaguchi that he wanted to have him over for dinner to meet his family. No passing conversation, no mumbling, no open-ended questions, just Tsukishima being honest and telling him how much it would mean to him.
Tsukishima has had talks with Yamaguchi about things in the past that were much more difficult, but for some reason, asking him over for dinner with his family is stressing him out the most. He’s not even exactly sure why he’s so nervous. He knows that his family will love Yamaguchi and that his mom will be so impressed when he helps clean up after dinner and that Akiteru will have so much fun talking about Kei when he was a kid, but for whatever reason, he can’t get the sentence out of his brain and into the world.
In the spouts of silence between their words and their songs, Tsukishima opens his mouth, trying to let the question come up. It doesn’t. Yamaguchi is lying on the bed, staring up at his ceiling while soft music plays from the speakers on his desk. Tsukishima is just grateful for Yamaguchi’s lack of attention so that he's not watching him open and close his mouth like a dumbass.
He’s spinning around in Yamaguchi’s chair when he starts the conversation. Each rotation around is spent trying to psyche himself up for the question he was about to ask.
“My brother’s coming home again this weekend.” The innocent statement is much easier to lead with than the question in full. It drives him to keep the conversation going until it inevitably ends up at the request.
Yamaguchi stills, weary of the motivation behind Tsukki’s sentence. He tries to be supportive anyway, knowing that Tsukki’s relationship with his brother has been doing really well lately. He sits up in time with Tsukishima’s circles coming to a halt as he tries to regain focus on Yamaguchi and not the spinning room. “Okay,” Yamaguchi says, trying not to seem too hesitant. “That’s… good?”
“Do you want to come over for dinner?” Tsukki blurts. So much for moving through the discussion and easing into the question. He can see Yamaguchi tense, as much as he tries to hide it.
“Like to meet your brother?” Yamaguchi really tries to hide the uneasiness in his voice. He had seen Akiteru in the stands at some of their matches, had heard so many stories about him, had snooped around for the small baby pictures of Kei and him, knew everything surrounding their relationship’s timeline. It was all so daunting, though, to physically sit down at a dinner table with his brother and parents as his boyfriend and not just his timid best friend. His mind is searching for an excuse, something plausible that doesn’t seem like an excuse, something that actually exists so that he doesn’t have to lie to Tsukki.
But then he sees Tsukishima’s face, eyes worried, brows knit together, lips parted slightly to compensate for his breathing and his teeth chewing gently on the bottom one as he nods, and he can’t say no. He doesn’t want to say no. “Of course, yeah. What day?” his voice is much stronger than he anticipates it being.
The relief that spreads through Tsukki’s body makes Yamaguchi feel solidified in his decision. They’re discussing plans, Tsukki is texting his mom, asking Yamaguchi what he wants her to make for dinner, Yamaguchi is keen on Tsukki conveying that he doesn’t need anything fancy, and all the while, Tsukishima has a smile on his face that refuses to drop. Getting over the initial nerves of the invitation, Tsukishima only feels pure excitement about the upcoming weekend.
Yamaguchi spends most of his Saturday worrying about going over his boyfriend’s house, something he thought he was past at this point. They had been dating for more than 10 months, weren’t these nerves supposed to be gone by now? Though it’s not Tsukki that’s making him nervous, it’s his family. What was he supposed to talk to them about? Were they going to like him? What if his brother didn’t approve of him? What if he thought that he wasn’t good enough for Tsukki?
He’s pulled out of his spiral when Tsukki texts him, something with a smiley face, which is absolutely left field for Tsukki. Witnessing him this excited about tonight makes everything feel worth it. He grabs the neatly wrapped box of chocolates from the table and calls out to his mom before beginning his short journey to Tsukki’s house.
When he arrives, he stands outside of Tsukishima’s front door for almost 3 minutes, tapping his foot and looking down at his phone and summoning the courage to knock on the door. It’s even worse waiting for someone to answer the door after he’s knocked. He hears footsteps coming toward the door and he’s just silently hoping that it’s Kei that opens the door. The door swings open, revealing his boyfriend dressed in honest to God khakis and the cutest button-up shirt he’s ever seen. He looks so good and also slightly annoyed. The entire sight in front of him just makes Yamaguchi want to kiss him so hard that they tumble backward. Instead, he slowly looks Tsukki over, meeting his eyes when his gaze completes its survey. He doesn’t have to fixate on his cheeks to notice the soft pink. Tsukki steps to the side, holding Yamaguchi’s hand as he pulls him inside. Yamaguchi slides his shoes off and places them next to the door with the rest of them.
“Tadashi!” Tsukki’s mother calls from the kitchen, walking out to greet him. “It’s so nice to have you over for dinner, finally. I’ve been begging for Kei to ask for so long.”
He bows before offering the small gift. “Thank you for inviting me. It smells delicious,” Yamaguchi can feel his anxieties starting to set back in, the pressure of making sure that he’s exceedingly respectful, but not robotic looming over him.
“Thank you,” she replies, smiling sweetly. “That’s very kind of you. Dinner will be done in a few minutes.”
The dialogue feels rigid but polite and that was sufficient for now. He introduces himself to Tsukki’s dad, smiling through the entire conversation while being absolutely terrified inside. His dad gave him no reason to be scared, wasn’t intimidating in his looks or demeanor, but there was just something about the fact that this was Tsukki’s dad that made him so worried to say the right thing.
Tsukki tries, to the best of his ability, to keep the discussion flowing, acting as a buffer between his family and boyfriend. Their dialogue is turning dry very quickly and it’s making Yamaguchi’s mind race to try to figure out how to continue it. Luckily for him, he doesn’t have to.
At the sound of footsteps on the wooden stairs, Yamaguchi looks up. He had only seen Akiteru in person maybe once or twice at a volleyball match, but he had never looked hard enough to realize how similar he and Kei actually were. Akiteru obviously looked older, his hair was more tamed, and he didn’t wear glasses, but the commonalities between the two of them were so apparent. The smile that was plastered on his face only grew when he came face to face with Yamaguchi, interrupting whatever his dad was saying with his introduction. He doesn’t even say hello, just pulls him into a very brief hug and says, “Kei has already told me so much about you, but I’m so happy to finally meet you. I’ve been bugging Kei forever to meet his boyfriend.”
The only reason that Yamaguchi isn’t staring at Tsukki as he gets really red in the corner of his eye is that he knows that it’s rude. He makes eye contact with Akiteru and smiles back at him. It was crazy how similar they looked, but how different they acted. Compared to Tsukki’s cold front, Akiteru seemed like the polar opposite, but even the soft, warm Tsukki that he knew so well felt so different from Akiteru. He was not, in the slightest, expecting a hug as a greeting or such a bubbly tone or excited expression. The combination of everything was making his nervousness slip away, replaced, instead, with comfortability and ease as Akiteru started asking him questions about school and volleyball. The conversation is flowing so seamlessly that it transitions right to the dinner table. Yamaguchi sits right in between Akiteru and Kei, a familiarity taking place among them.
“Kei was fawning over how great your serves have gotten,” Akiteru beams after dinner had been served and everyone began eating.
The table moves as Kei reaches his long leg out to kick Akiteru underneath it. His mom shoots the boys a disapproving look, warning them without any words that there is a guest and that they have to behave . Yamaguchi holds down his giggle, trying to focus on the flush spreading over Tsukki’s face and the smirk on Akiteru’s. “Was he?” Yamaguchi teases, trying to sound innocent enough. He’s having far too much fun trying to get a rise out of Tsukki that it takes a few moments for him to realize that he’s said such nice things to his brother.
“Yeah! I mean, he talks about you a lot, but he said that your jump float, in particular, was getting so good,” Akiteru replies between bites.
Yamaguchi can’t even hide the own warmth on his face now, looking at Tsukki who is hyper-focusing on the food that’s in front of him, avidly avoiding eye contact from anyone at the table. His mother chimes in, asking questions about volleyball and trying to learn what exactly a jump float was. His father asks his plans after college and Yamaguchi answers them to the best of his ability. Whenever the conversation seems to be steering the wrong way, Akiteru pulls it back to a place that usually involves making Kei blush and trying to kick him again.
If Yamaguchi didn’t know Tsukki as well as he did, he’d be convinced that he was miserable, but Yamaguchi did know Tsukki, knew him better than anyone. He watches the corner of his mouth turn up marginally as he shakes his head. He sees his eyes soften when Akiteru and Yamaguchi get really into a back-and-forth surrounding something they’re both excited about. He hears the small exhales and hums all throughout dinner.
When everyone is finished eating, Yamaguchi is the first one to offer very insistently to help with the dishes. Tsukki’s mom is taken aback and tries to decline, but Kei is already on his feet, clearing all of the dishes. He knew how badly he wanted to make sure that he helped in some way. “We’ve got it, mom.”
Yamaguchi bows. “Thank you so much for dinner. Everything was delicious.”
Dishes don’t take long with Yamaguchi washing them, Tsukishima drying them, and Akiteru coming in halfway through and helping put them away. Tsukishima’s expectations for tonight had already been exceeded more than he thought possible. His parents obviously really liked Yamaguchi, of course, that was important, but it wasn’t most important. Yamaguchi and Akiteru’s interactions felt so natural. The way that they would just keep talking and talking made his heart feel lighter. He could only act annoyed when they would stop the flow just to make fun of Kei in some small jab. Akiteru would smirk and Yamaguchi would chuckle and at one point right after they finished the dishes, Yamaguchi made the jab and Akiteru high fived him and they both laughed and Kei is quite positive that his heart has never felt that full.
Akiteru is the one that suggests going out back so that Yamaguchi could show him his serve and so that they could practice receives. After Yamaguchi tries to put himself down a few times, telling Akiteru that Tsukki was probably just being far too nice about them and Tsukki denying every time, they find themselves outside. Akiteru does nothing except hype Yamaguchi up, but that’s not the reason that he hits one of the best serves that he’s ever hit; it’s Tsukki sitting on the step, looking at Yamaguchi with such a loving smile and the small thumbs-up that he gives him.
Practicing receives and passing the ball to one another is mindless, second nature to all three of them. They keep a steady conversation, jumping from sports to college life with affirmations thrown in when one of them lands a particularly eccentric pass and teasing when Tsukki misses one that he definitely should not have because he was staring at his boyfriend. The discussion settles into something more serious when Akiteru starts to reminisce about when he and Kei used to come out here often.
Yamaguchi bumps the ball with his forearms. It arches perfectly, dropping precisely into a position where Akiteru could really make Tsukki work for the next receive, but he changes positions, arms now apart and palms faced toward the sky. The ball lands directly in his hands. He tucks the ball under his arm, clearing his throat and looking at Kei and Yamaguchi, eyes quickly darting between the two of them before a soft smile rises on his lips.
“I can’t believe all those years ago I was practically teaching you how to do receives,” he reminisces. Thinking back to the time before Tsukishima had been hurt by his brother, back to when it was just trust and naivety, Kei feels like he should be bitter, but he’s far from it. Comparing where he was then to the trauma he went through to where he’s at now makes him remember how much he’s grown.
Being out here under the sky of stars and with his brother and that warmth in his chest, practicing volleyball moves and talking about nothing at all, brings him back to those days when he was 10 again like he hadn’t been hurt at all. He had, obviously, been hurt, so it was different in a way. It was different because Akiteru was completely open with him now, showed him his flaws, and asked him for advice. It was different because the expectations felt lesser, the chance of disappointment felt lesser.
Tsukishima and Yamaguchi are quiet, just looking up at Akiteru who evidently has more to say. “Now you’re better than I am,” he chuckles. “And now you’re here with your boyfriend, which I’m not sure I ever thought would happen, just because I could never picture you wanting to hold hands with someone else except maybe to drag them along faster because your legs are really long.”
“He still does that,” Yamaguchi chimes in matter of factly. Tsukki clicks his tongue and bumps him with his shoulder. The motion nudges Yamaguchi off balance as he laughs, feet moving over one another in an attempt to regain his stance. In an instant, Tsukki’s arms are out and he’s bracing Yamaguchi, making sure that he doesn’t actually fall. Yamaguchi is still laughing, more lovingly now as he thanks Tsukki even though he’s the entire reason he almost fell in the first place. Tsukishima’s arm rests protectively on Yamaguchi’s waist who flushes at the public display of affection.
“I, uh-,” Akiteru clears his throat again, his view landing on Kei as he coughs and clears his throat once again. “Kei, can you grab me a glass of water?” Tsukki looks as confused as he is concerned as he nods, silently unwrapping himself from his boyfriend and going into the house, looking back over his shoulder to try to piece together the past few events.
Now that they’re alone, Akiteru stops clearing his throat, watching the door close completely behind Kei before speaking. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen him this happy.” Yamaguchi’s nerves catch up with him. It’s the menacing older brother act that Akiteru was mandated to do. He was going to threaten him, something like “If you hurt my baby brother, I swear to God…” Yamaguchi almost flinches just at the thought. He knew it was too good to be true.
“So I just wanted to thank you,” Akiteru continues. Yamaguchi is convinced that he can see tears pricking at the corners of his eyes that he rapidly blinks away. “I know that you definitely know what happened between us. Being out here reminds me of all of the times that it was so good, so easy when he was so effortlessly full of joy. I know that I hurt him in a lot of ways, ways that still carry over to this day even if he is coping. I know he’s difficult and hard to deal with sometimes. I’m sure you know that too.” He shakes his head, a smile forming. “I’m rambling and he’s probably coming back soon. He’d never let me hear the end of it if he knew what I was saying right now.” They both laugh. Yamaguchi can picture Tsukki simultaneously so embarrassed, but also making fun of Akiteru. “Just… Thank you.” Akiteru rests his hand on the side of Yamaguchi’s arm, squeezing gently before letting it drop back to his side right as Kei comes outside with the water.
“Thanks, Kei,” Akiteru takes it, sipping on it convincingly enough. “Alright, alright, you don’t have to hang out with your older brother any longer. You guys can go hang out before mom’s convinced that it’s too late to have a boy in your room,” Akiteru teases, waving them inside.
Tsukki rolls his eyes, trying, but failing, to look bothered by his teasing. “We’re gonna go hang out in my room, then.” He takes Yamaguchi’s hand, walking up the steps, but not without Yamaguchi waving dramatically to Akiteru.
“Thank you!” Yamaguchi yells back as Tsukki basically drags him into the house. “Your brother is really great,” he says, cautious of sounding too eager or weird or insensitive. Tsukki nods in response, but it’s not dismissive or hesitant, it’s validating.
They pass through the living room, walking past the stairs to the back hallway where Tsukki’s room is. Despite spending very little time at Tsukki’s house in the past, he still knew where his room was in relation to everything else. His parents are sitting in the living room, some news channel on at a very low volume.
“Where are you going?” his mom asks, eyes flickering to their hands linked together before smiling up at them.
“To my room,” Kei explains nonchalantly. Yamaguchi feels like they should drop their hands from the stare that it’s getting, but Tsukki holds tight.
“Okay. Make sure your door stays open, Kei.” Her tone is still sweet, but Yamaguchi can feel the seriousness behind the sentence. Tsukki lets out an embarrassed sigh under his breath. He mumbles an okay before pulling Yamaguchi into his room, making sure to leave the door open.
“This is exactly why we go to your house,” Tsukki says once he’s out of earshot of his parents. Yamaguchi just giggles at how different tonight has been compared to what their normal hangout looks like.
“But if we didn’t go to your house, I wouldn’t be able to look at all of the cool stuff in your room,” Yamaguchi retorts, walking to his shelves and picking up a small plastic dinosaur, turning it in his hand. The last time that he was in Tsukki’s room for a long period of time was the night that he snuck in at 3 in the morning to make sure Tsukki was okay. It was pitch black then and his focus was definitely not on all of the little things in Kei’s room that just made sense, on all of the little things that he could now center on wholly.
He tilted his head, reading the titles of the manga on his desk and looking at the speakers next to them that are hooked up to his computer. It’s nice to be able to picture Tsukki listening to music that fills his entire room and not just his earphones. He walks to his dresser, looking at the small knick-knacks on top of it, picking them up as Tsukki watches him intently. He spots a picture of a much younger him and Akiteru. Kei had a smile plastered onto his face that seemed to take up the entire bottom half. Yamaguchi wishes that he could take the photo with him and look at it whenever he was sad.
“Are you having a fun time snooping through my things?” Tsukki asks, causing Yamaguchi to jump the slightest amount before turning back to him.
“You get to look at my room all the time. This is my first in-depth time in 10 months,” Yamaguchi reasons. Tsukki hadn’t really moved since they had entered his room, standing awkwardly in the middle, eyes anxiously looking at the door every so often. He makes sure to keep a respectful distance, one that his mom wouldn’t make a scene about if she just so happened to stroll by.
Yamaguchi makes his way over to the side of Tsukki’s bed. He doesn’t go so far as to sifting through his drawers, but he does spot a dinosaur book that’s on his side table. He sits on the bed, flipping through the pages and looking at all of the pictures. He notices all of the tabs and sticky notes that are riddled throughout the book. He runs his fingers over some of them, reading Tsukki’s painfully neat handwriting. He glances up at Tsukki who has only now noticed that the book is in his hands. If it were anyone else, he probably would have ripped it from them, abashed at the intricate notes and thoughts that were scrambled down between the pages, but watching his boyfriend read the small findings and smile after every single one made him forget about the door.
Tsukki walks over to the bed, sitting next to Yamaguchi, but still conscious of the space between them. Yamaguchi feels the weight on the bed but is concentrating too heavily on how cute some of the notes are. Some of the notes depict extra facts that aren’t even in the book, others connect different bits of information from various other chapters, others just have exclamations like wow! or woah! or that’s rad.
He flips to the next section, the page falling much heavier than the rest of them. This particular part is riddled with colorful post-its, a larger tab protruding from the side, and a lot of exclamation points and small words scattered across the page. Tsukki immediately feels warm as he notices Yamaguchi being taken aback by the overload of information. He’s hoping that he just flips past it and doesn’t mention it, but instead he brings it closer to his face, studying each note, even the ones that are hiding underneath others.
“Troodon,” Yamaguchi pronounces slowly, adorably , but incorrectly, forming a true sound instead of a trohe . Tsukishima corrects him gently, smiling at his attempt regardless.
“They’re my favorite,” he says sheepishly, eyes on the book and not on the loving look that Yamaguchi is giving to his boyfriend.
“Why?” Yamaguchi asks. He’s stopped reading now. There was enough information in his hands that he could find the reason after just a few short minutes. The question is mostly there to allow Tsukki to talk about his favorite dinosaur and so that Yamaguchi could listen to his excitement and knowledge. It was a win for everyone.
He listens actively as Tsukishima tells him about how smart they were, that their brain cavity was super big compared to their size and other dinosaurs. Yamaguchi pipes in to say that the only reason that he likes them is because they’re as smart as him. Tsukki narrows his eyes at him, but his facial expression softens greatly as soon as Yamaguchi laughs sweetly, nudging his shoulder into Tsukki’s and compelling him to go on.
“That’s not the only reason that I love them,” he scoffs, “They had binocular eyes, Yams.” He pauses for emphasis, punctuating his sentence with a hand on Yamaguchi’s knee. “Binocular. Eyes.” Yamaguchi draws back in surprise. Okay, fair, that does sound pretty cool. He leans forward, waiting for more random facts.
“A lot of scientists thought that they used them for hunting small animals, but others think that it was just adapted from living in cold, dark places and that they were just really smart opportunistic omnivores,” Tsukishima notices that he’s babbling on and flushes, but Yamaguchi looks so enthralled that he keeps talking.
He talks about their name origins, the fact that they weren’t even that big, how they were misidentified in the 1800s, how many eggs they lay, and after every fact, Yamaguchi truly hopes that there is another one to follow. They’ve been talking for so long that Tsukki doesn’t even realize that Yamaguchi has shut the book and set it back where it came from. His body was now facing Tsukki’s side, sitting crisscrossed on his bed, his knees pressed into Tsukki’s thigh.
Tsukishima’s hand rests delicately above Yamaguchi’s knee, relishing in the small point of contact that feels innocent enough for them to have sitting on the edge of Kei’s bed like that. Yamaguchi notices the figure in the doorway before Tsukki does. When his gaze has shifted past him, Tsukki turns around, almost immediately scooching considerably away from Yamaguchi and creating space between them. He does not do that, however, because the figure in the doorway is just his brother. His body relaxes knowing that it’s not one of his parents.
He’s not exactly sure what Akiteru is doing there. He’s the one that had told them to go spend some time together without him. Was he there to check on them and that they’re keeping their distance? Tsukki considers moving still. Akiteru doesn’t say a word, just dramatically looks up and down the hallway before reaching into Kei’s room and grabbing the door handle. He smirks at the two of them on Tsukki’s bed, signaling with his head toward where his parents’ room is and making sleeping motions. “They told me to watch you,” he whispers.
Yamaguchi is frozen, not entirely sure what’s happening. Neither of them has done anything wrong, only sat close together. Even still, he feels somewhat guilty. Kei cocks his head, also wondering where this is going. “I just came in to check on you, make sure that you didn’t need anything. I’ll be upstairs in my room if you need anything. Just don’t be too loud, okay?” Kei’s face burns at whatever possible notion that could have been behind it. Yamaguchi just feels lighthearted at this very older brother feel . Akiteru doesn’t wait for a response. He shuts the door silently to ensure that his parents stay asleep down the hall.
The privacy feels foreign. They spend 90% of their time at Yamaguchi’s house alone, but being in Tsukki’s room where they’ve been given somewhat permission feels strange. They look at each other, wary of what to do. The fluidity of their previous conversation and motions is gone, replaced with rigid, uncertain movements. This only lasts for a few seconds before Tsukishima glances back at the closed door and silently tells himself to thank Akiteru later. Tsukki moves from the edge of the bed to further in, sitting next to Yamaguchi, pressed as close as he can be.
Yamaguchi leans his head on Tsukki’s shoulder, his eyes closing gently. As much as he doesn’t want to disturb this adorable sight, he needs to. Tsukki turns himself, the movement causing Yamaguchi to stir as he sits upright, pouting at the lack of contact. Tsukishima uses this pout as even more fuel to cup his cheek, bringing his lips to his and kissing softly. Yamaguchi’s surprise fades very quickly as he presses back, moving his hands to Tsukki’s waist. He holds tight around him, deepening the kiss.
Yamaguchi shifts in position but makes sure to keep his lips on Tsukki’s. He twists so that he’s facing him completely, props up on his knees slightly, and moves into his lap. Both of his hands are on either side of his face and any control that Tsukki had from initiating the kiss is gone entirely. One hand laced into the blonde strands and the other hand traveling down his chest and resting on his abdomen, Yamaguchi starts to bite on Tsukki’s bottom lip, smiling against him when he feels Tsukki’s breathing stutter.
The small noises that are coming from Tsukki are making his heart thud violently. His fingertips curl around the shirt over Tsukki’s toned stomach and as much as he wants to tear it off of him, he also knows that Tsukki doesn’t like to keep quiet when he teases him like this, knows that he probably isn’t capable. He pulls away, objections beginning to flood from his mouth when Yamaguchi kisses his neck, biting on the soft skin and rolling it between his teeth. Tsukishima proves the exact point that Yamaguchi had intended. He lets out a moan that feels far too loud for the silent house, instantly blushing so hot that Yamaguchi can feel it radiating against him.
“What were those pouts for?” Yamaguchi pokes, smiling at how mortified Tsukki still looks underneath him. He runs a hand through his hair, running his thumb down his jawline and kissing him, lovingly this time, not hungrily.
“I haven’t kissed you all night,” Tsukishima states, trying to explain at least some of his behavior. Yamaguchi laughs, moving off of his lap and lying on his side, facing Tsukki who immediately follows suit. Their heads are against the same pillow, lips so close that they can feel the other’s breath.
“We’ll just have to make up for that then,” Yamaguchi shrugs, pressing his lips back against Tsukki’s. He wraps his arm around his back, pulling him closer into him. He never wants to move from the position that he’s in, happily draped in Tsukki’s arms with such effortless access to his lips.
Okay, he lied. After a handful of minutes on his side, kissing Tsukki constantly with small pull-aways for air and a small cute comment, Tsukki rolls onto his back. Yamaguchi instinctively finds a spot in the crook of his arm, head pressed against his chest and arms wrapped around his waist. He’s so comfortable here, in Tsukki’s space. He knows that even after he leaves tonight, Tsukki will still be here, in the spot that both of them were occupying earlier. He knows that Tsukki will probably do exactly what he did the first time they laid in bed together. He’ll use a different pillow to sleep on, using their shared one to hold closely and prop against his cheek. The blankets will feel warmer and the scent will feel stronger and the bed will feel brand new, but so familiar. Just thinking about these things could make him fall asleep. That, and the small circles that Tsukki is rubbing into his shoulder and the kisses that are being placed on his forehead and the fact that Tsukki is wrapping them in a blanket and humming to him.
Yamaguchi moves into an even more comfortable position, curling into his boyfriend and wrapping both of his legs around him. Tsukki’s hand comes up, scraping his fingertips against Yamaguchi’s scalp gently, parting his dark hair. He can feel Tsukki’s heartbeat just as much as he can hear it, the rhythmic thumps like a metronome soothing him to sleep that’s too enticing to fight.
Akiteru wakes both of them up after a few hours, telling them that Yamaguchi should probably walk home or sleep on the couch. Kei is so comfortable and happy and content that he can’t even feel self-conscious about the position that his brother found him and his boyfriend in. Yamaguchi groans, rubbing his eyes, definitely more embarrassed at the predicament than Tsukki was. He thanks Akiteru quietly as he leaves the room. Tsukki’s eyelids look heavy, snapping open every few seconds to try to stay awake.
Yamaguchi stands up, covering Tsukki up with the blanket and running his fingers through his hair until his breathing steadies to a pace that he knows means he’s fallen back asleep. He kisses his forehead gingerly, making sure not to wake him up again as he noiselessly walks out of his room, shutting the door behind him. Akiteru is waiting in the living room when Yamaguchi enters. He apologizes for making him wait, but Akiteru just shakes his head. He wraps Yamaguchi in a quick hug before waving as he leaves. “It was so great meeting you. I’ll see you soon,” he says. Yamaguchi nods politely, sleepy, but beaming. He hopes so.
Tsukishima goes over to his house the next morning, greeting Yamaguchi’s mom at the door and letting himself into his room and closing the door behind him. He has every intention of ripping the covers off of him and dragging him somewhere for breakfast, but when he sees how cozy and soft he looks, he simply couldn’t. He pulls back the covers and snakes himself behind Yamaguchi, wrapping himself around him. Yamaguchi hums awake, confused, but instantly in a better mood. He pushes back into his boyfriend, ready to fall immediately back to sleep.
He recalls the events from last night, dinner, talking to his brother, playing volleyball, sleeping in his bed, and smiles at the recollection. “I had a great time last night,” he mumbles, sleep still residing in his vocal cords.
“Me too, Dashi,” he says into the back of his neck, squeezing his waist tighter, feeling Yamaguchi’s spine press into his chest harder.
“Like a really great time,” he hums. Tsukishima smiles, knowing that his tired boyfriend had to walk home in the middle of the night while he got to sleep soundly through the whole thing. He shushes him, the sound lulling his mind back to bed.
Every weekend after that when Akiteru is home, Tsukishima now has to listen to two annoying voices, pleading about making plans. There are far more “Kei, please”s than he thought that he would hear in his entire life. As much as he wants to complain, the dynamic warms his heart more than anything else. He would never admit out loud how much it really meant to him, the small interactions, and understanding between his boyfriend and brother, his two favorite people in the entire world. He would just keep giving in far too easily every time just to see and hear the excitement from both of them.
Not that he would tell anyone that that was the reason, no.
(Not that either Yamaguchi or Akiteru needed Tsukishima to tell them to know that that was the reason, no.)