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The crisp autumn air bites at the tips of high schoolers’ noses. It's a cooler day than that of a typical September, but as the air gets brisker, it reminds them of summer days long gone. The tangy smell of chlorine was swiftly replaced with the scent of dusty textbooks and sharpened wood pencils. A smell like that wouldn’t satisfy a typical teenager, but for Tsukishima Kei, it reminds him of the things he’s good at.
Grades have been his specialty since the beginning of elementary school. He’s been known to have it all, an outstanding GPA, a good track-record, and a wisdom like no other. He’s quick-wit is terrifying to approach when it comes to him defending his best friend, Yamaguchi Tadashi.
Yamaguchi’s dark hair was softly grazing against his ears as the passenger seat’s window rolled down. Unlike Tsukishima’s favorite smells, tadashi enjoyed the crispness in the air. It’s sweet and reminds him of red apples, ready to be picked in the upcoming month of October. Yamaguchi’s freckles, as Tsukishima observed, had been laying evidently on his face, despite the concealer he had put on. There was no use in that , Tsukishima thought.
He pulled his new Corolla into the parking lot of Karasuno High School. It was still early, so the lot wasn’t half-filled. There wasn’t a volleyball practice this morning, so it was one thing both enjoyed greatly. The time spent in the morning is crucial to their studies. It won’t rush Yamaguchi to figure out what he needs each morning—one of his many concerns on the daily—and it allows Tsukishima to walk in without anyone bothering him, mainly Hinata and Kageyama. The one thing he can’t stand in the morning, is people in his way.
“We’re here. Don't forget to roll up the window. I don’t want bugs in my car,” Tsukishima said, gathering his school bag.
“Sorry Tsukki,” Tadashi said, “the weather this morning is just perfect. The smell... the taste. It’s almost October. We’re still on for apple picking at the orchard next weekend, correct?”
“Mhm,” Tsukishima hummed. It was odd of him to think that Tadashi wanted to go apple-picking next weekend when it would still be September. He didn’t want to persist with the matter as Yamaguchi continued to talk about the plans for next weekend.
“I was also thinking,” Yamaguchi pondered, opening his locker door. Tsukishima opened his locker door too but didn’t advance for his Honors Chemistry textbook. “For next weekend, if it’s okay with you, we could go to the lake?”
“Why would you want to go there?” Tsukishima asked. Tadashi’s request did puzzle him. To Tadashi, though, it made perfect sense: Why not go there?
“Well, you see...” Yamaguchi started. How was he going to tell Tsukishima that he wanted to confess to him? Yes, Tadashi was, in fact, in love with his best friend. “There’s something there that I wanted to show you. Also, I think that it would be a good place to talk to you about something.”
“What’s the difference between telling me there than telling me at the orchard? Or better yet, since you need help studying your upcoming test for English...” he teased. Yamaguchi hid himself away in his locker, wanting to disappear, as the heat from his freckled-covered cheeks started to rise. “Why don’t you tell me tonight? Since I’ll be over at your place, of course.”
I want to make sure everything’s perfect, Yamaguchi thought. Before he could speak, the ring of the warning bell was heard. Students around started to pick up their paces, almost like the minute before the late bell was a life-or-death situation. Yamaguchi sighed, getting out his Trigonometry textbook, and softly closing his locker door. Tsukishima closed his locker door before walking away. Not even a “see you later,” Yamaguchi thought, sauntering his way through the halls to his classroom.
{~~~💮~~~}
The morning classes seem to move slowly, but at the same time, Yamaguchi couldn’t pick up on the lesson in Trigonometry. Focusing on class today seemed a lot harder than usual, but he couldn’t pin-point exactly why he didn’t have the energy to. Was he upset with me wanting to go to the lake after apple-picking? I only wanted to spend some time with him under the moonlight.
The moon is something Yamaguchi loved about the night. Not only did the light bring him a sense of comfort and serenity, but it also reminded him of his favorite person: Tsukishima Kei. Tsukki’s kanji translates to “moon” and moonlight was the most precious thing Tadashi wanted to hold onto. The moon high in the night sky reminds him of the best person in his life, whereas the stars remind Tsukishima of someone too.
The stars make up constellations in the sky. They decorate the deep purple with a glittering light that resembles a child’s art project in elementary school. The glitter in the sky is like the freckles that dust across Tadashi’s cheeks. Tsukishima loved staying up and observing the night sky as best as he could in his house. Because of the lights from his neighborhood, it’s hard for him to get a clear view of the vibrant blues, whites, oranges, yellows, and reds of the stars. The freckles hidden behind the concealer and the lights of the town at night were two things that kept Tsukishima from seeing the real Yamaguchi.
Tsukishima’s classes went by a lot quicker than that of Yamaguchi’s. The reason being was because Tsukishima was actively participating in his class. Honors Chemistry went by fast, followed by College Prep Pre-Calculus. Two subjects that he excelled in quite nicely. Tsukishima felt a buzz from within his pocket. Confused by the suddenness, he pulled out the object that he felt vibrate against his upper leg: his phone.
His home screen lit up, displaying a picture of him and his best friend from their middle school graduation. They were hanging off the yellow monkey bars in the playground of their elementary school. A younger version of Tsukishima was holding onto the handle with one hand while his other was holding his rolled-up certificate. Next to him was his best friend, who was upside down, one hand holding the top of his cap while the other was holding onto another rolled-up certificate. His freckles weren’t covered by concealer, which Tsukishima was grateful for.
He remembers that his brother, Akiteru, took their picture. Tsukishima wasn’t as thrilled as Yamaguchi was, but he held back his grudge against Akiteru for him. That’s probably why Tsukishima didn’t look nearly as happy as Yamaguchi did, but Tadashi’s smile made the picture better to Tsukishima, despite his stoic emotion. The only part of the picture that seemed off was the setting. If it was up to him, he wouldn’t have done it at the place the two of them first met. When they met, it wasn’t the best circumstances, especially for the freckled boy.
Speaking of the boy, Tsukishima’s phone buzzed again. He shook away his thoughts of the lock screen and opened his phone to read the text messages from his best friend. They read as followed: “Hey Tsukki! It’s me. I’m a bit lost in trig today. The lesson was too hard for me. Can you help me at lunch today with it?”
He grinned at his phone, reading over Yamaguchi’s request once, twice, three times. Tsukishima’s Trigonometry class was more advanced than Yamaguchi’s, going at a quicker pace than that of the regular Trig classes; that also meant that it was material they had already covered a month prior to now. His chest swelled as he suddenly attempted to write out his response to him.
“ I have your number. You don’t have to tell me it’s you, Tadashi.” Tsukishima wrote. He quickly shook his head, careful so that it would go unnoticed by his instructor, before deleting the response. It seems too forced.
Eventually he settled with the best response he could come up with: “ I mean, sure. I’ll be a bit late to lunch because I have to talk to my teacher about something. Try to get done as much as you can before I get there and teach it to you. It’ll save us time to know what parts you understand and what you don’t.”
He quickly slipped his phone back into his pocket, glancing around the room for a bit, before focusing back in on his teacher’s lecture. He missed a little bit of the lesson, but he’s sure he’ll understand it as the lesson progressed. His teacher tended to drone on the same topic for a number of minutes anyway.
{~~~💮~~~}
The lunch rush was as chaotic as animals in a zoo. Students rushing up to get in line, pushing and shoving each other around as if a brand-new game was about to be sold out on Black Friday.
That was an exaggeration and Yamaguchi knew that.
Tadashi had positioned himself at one of the back tables in the lunchroom. It was a small table, one that could fit four people. It was only him and Tsukishima for lunch, but because of the Trig lesson he needed help with, he thought it was best to get more room for the two of them. He waited patiently for Tsukishima to arrive, slowly unwrapping the sandwich his mother had made him as he read over the notes he managed to gather from the board. I hope Tsukki brings his notes. I think I’m missing something...
The lunchroom was quite loud, but somehow, Yamaguchi focused on his studies. His dark eyes glanced back and forth at the margins as he tried to understand the lesson in its full. When he couldn’t, he gave up and started on the homework assignment. He got a good bit done, but whether they were the right answers, he didn’t know.
A loud pound made the freckled-faced boy jump. He winced at the three oversized bullies standing in front of him. It had been so peaceful; how could anything go wrong?
“ Whatcha working on, freckled-freak?” one of them asked. His tone was menacing and aggressive, taunting his every action and reaction. Before Yamaguchi could answer—or even move—the assignment was ripped away from him by one of the bullies.
“Oh ho ho...” he chimed, “looks like he’s doing his math homework.” He laughed, holding the paper closer to him as Yamaguchi tried to swipe it away.
“No, please. Give it back,” he whined. His hands were desperately trying to grasp at the sheet. The leader of the three stepped forward, forcefully placing his hands down on the table.
“Now listen here,” he proposed, “you don’t need that silly paper. What’s a guy like you going to use it for? Trying to match your concealer color? I didn’t know you wanted to be a girl so bad.” He laughed, stepping away from him. The other two laughed along with him, balling up the assignment and started to play toss with it. “Maybe he needs some mascara and blush too. That’ll at least make him look a little bit better.”
“No it wouldn’t,” one of them butted in, “because if he starts to cry, then his makeup would run.” The three of them laughed even harder. Yamaguchi felt lost as his hands fell to his side, head hanging low.
“I need that assignment,” Yamaguchi’s voice wavered. It was unnatural of him to try and stand up to someone much bigger than him. “I would like to have it back please.”
They stared at him for a couple of seconds before bursting out into hysterics. “Listen here, freak,” the leader spoke, “if you ever think you’ll be as strong and mighty like your prince on horseback, you’re strongly mistaken.” Those words cut like knives in him.
“Yeah, I mean, he’s probably tired of having to save you so much,” one of them said.
“Yeah. I wouldn’t want to be around you either if I knew you couldn’t defend yourself. What with you and your imperfect face. He'll never like you,” the other chimed in.
Yamaguchi’s eyes started to water after hearing the three bullies' banter, picking on his weak demeanor and unappealing face. He zoned out of the conversation, letting the words sink into his heart and echo in his head.
Tsukishima arrived just in time to see the situation at hand. He silently cursed to himself at being so late before moving to the table towards Yamaguchi and the other three. He stood, towering over Yamaguchi from behind, staring down his nose at the slightly shorter bullies. “Is there a problem here?” he asked. His tone made the bullies wince, backing up slightly and dropping the ball of paper onto the floor.
“Well, look who it is,” the leader said, “I guess your prince does care about you anyway.” The three boys turned on their heels and walked away from the table, leaving the crumpled-up assignment on the floor.
Tsukishima went to pick it up, wondering why they had a piece of paper to begin with. He originally thought they were going to throw it at Yamaguchi until he opened it to reveal the trigonometry assignment Tadashi had been previously working on. “Here,” Tsukishima said, holding it out to him, “I think this is your assignment.”
“Thanks,” Tadashi whispered, not meeting Tsukishima’s eyes. Tsukishima could feel the pain in his voice as Tadashi tried to wipe away a stray tear that had fallen down his face. “Let’s just continue on with the lesson.”
{~~~💮~~~}
That afternoon, Tsukishima was trying to get his best friend to answer a simple text message from him. He saw that Tadashi would read the message, but then wouldn’t see the bubble pop up on the other side, indicating that he was texting. It started to hurt knowing that Tadashi was ignoring him. But for what reason, Tsukishima wasn’t quite sure.
He had just finished up with his volleyball practice, something Yamaguchi wanted to miss due to not feeling well. It was now late in the afternoon. The sun was still up, but for how much longer? Tsukishima took a deep breath as he walked towards his Corolla. Yamaguchi had decided to walk home from school as well, giving him a short response. Tsukishima didn’t have time to answer him back before Tadashi left.
It puzzled Tsukishima to know that Yamaguchi deliberately didn’t want to be here. Tadashi didn’t want to be around him. Tadashi wanted to be alone. Tsukishima wasn’t sure if Tadashi was working on his English, but given his recent mood, Tsukishima came to the conclusion that he wasn’t. What had happened to him at lunch?
Tsukishima was determined to get that answer out of him. He got into his car before pulling out his phone for the sixth time that day and texted Yamaguchi: “ You wanted to go to the lake this weekend, yeah? Well, why don’t we go to the lake tonight. I heard the sky will be clear.” If it was one thing that Tsukishima knew, it was that Tadashi would never turn down an opportunity to look at the night sky.
He tossed his phone onto the passenger seat—where Yamaguchi would have been—before grabbing for his seatbelt. Almost immediately, he heard a similar buzz to the one earlier. He whipped around, reaching for his phone that had been previously casted away. He opened his phone, not bothering to look at the photo of post-graduation. Tadashi’s message read as followed:
“ Did you want to do it tonight? Because I would be okay going tonight.”
Tsukishima let out a breath that he didn’t know he had been holding. He texted Tadashi back swiftly, telling him that he would be there in about an hour before turning off his phone. He tossed it back to the previous spot that it had just been at, and drove off, away from the day that caused Yamaguchi so much mental anguish.
{~~~💮~~~}
The drive to the lake was silent between the two of them. Yamaguchi had his head turned to glance at the moving world around him. His face was slightly puffy, and his eyes felt tingly from crying earlier that evening. Tsukishima was focused on the road, but he would glance at him from time to time again. Tsukki wanted to make sure Tadashi was okay, checking on him to acknowledge the fact that he was with him and that he wanted him to talk.
He never pressured Yamaguchi into talking to him about problems because Tsukishima never had a problem with him being open about them before. This was completely new, being shunned away from Tadashi’s innermost thoughts. It almost scared Tsukishima how quiet Tadashi was.
“We’re here,” Tsukishima said, pulling up into the spot that they would always go to before summer vacation had ended. The lake was situated in the front of them, reflecting the dazzling night sky. The water held the reflection of the moonlight and captured the sparkles perfectly. It was a peaceful and secluded place away from the town, surrounded by nothing but forest green. It was their perfect getaway that they would frequently visit if one of them asked to go.
Yamaguchi slowly made his way out of the passenger’s seat and into the back seats. Back there, Tsukishima had supplied them with a couple of soft blankets and a few pillows. He wanted Tadashi to feel comfortable, and what better way to do it than to prepare for them to spend a night at the lake again.
Tsukishima slowly got out of the driver’s seat, leaving the keys in the ignition, before opening the side door and crawling into the back with him. It was slightly crammed with the amount of comfort he prepared for Tadashi, but he didn’t speak on it. “You said you wanted to tell me something here?” Tsukishima questioned.
Yamaguchi shrugged, pulling one of the blankets closer to him. The scent of Tsukki was present on the blanket and Tadashi couldn’t help but feel the serene feeling surround him. Like moonlight, he thought. He sighed before moving to face Tsukishima. “Yeah, I did. I don’t know if it’s a good time to say it though. Not with everything that happened earlier...”
“You mean, with the bullies?” Tsukishima asked.
Tadashi nodded his head before continuing, “I thought I could do it this time. I thought I was strong enough to tell them off. Tsukki, I really did try. Please don’t hate me for it.”
Tsukishima was shocked. Here is best friend, telling him that he tried to fight them off, and then said to not hate him? “What?”
“They said really mean things about me. It’s not uncommon that they do. But then they started to talk about you too. I couldn’t tell them to stop. I really am sorry, Tsukki. I’ll try harder next time,” he persisted. His eyes were welling up with tears again. Tadashi cursed himself for wanting to cry in front of him.
“Tadashi, stop.”
Yamaguchi sucked in a breath. He hasn’t seen Tsukishima so upset before, but for what reason? He was simply apologizing for not sticking up for Tsukki like he had done years before. “Stop apologizing, especially for something like this.”
“But...” Yamaguchi stammered.
“No buts,” Tsukishima said, “I don’t care what they said about me. I never care about what they say. Their words don’t mean anything to me because I know that what I do is because it’s what I want to do. I will not stop doing the things I want just to please them. That also means that I will not stop hanging around you just because they said something stupid.”
Yamaguchi was silently listening. Tsukishima’s emotions were present and raw. It meant to Tadashi that he was being genuine and honest. “Listen, Tadashi,” Tsukishima started, “nothing that they say will ever change how I feel about you. You shouldn’t let them get to you about the littlest things...”
“They talk about my freckles,” Tadashi screamed. Tsukishima flinched back, silencing himself for Tadashi to speak. “They called me a freak and told me I have an imperfect face all because of these little spots. They taunted me and teased me about them. They even brought you into the situation, saying how they’re surprised you haven’t gotten tired of me yet.” Tadashi was crying now. It broke Tsukishima’s heart to see his tears. The fat, frustrating depression that silently rolled down his cheeks was enough for Kei to bring Tadashi into a passionate hug. He kissed the side of his head as Tadashi sobbed into his chest.
“You are perfect,” Tsukishima said, “you are wonderful. I love your freckles more than anything else in the world. You don’t need to cover them up for me. I don’t like it when you do. They are not imperfect, and you are not either.” Kei tightened his grip on Tadashi. “I love you, Tadashi. I love you and your freckles and no one is going to change my mind on that.”
When Tadashi had calmed down, they pulled away from each other. Tsukishima kissed the top of his head softly before kissing his cheeks; kissing specifically in the spots that had a freckle to two. Tadashi giggled from his actions before settling comfortable in his arms. The two glanced through the front window, looking out onto the landscape.
“Don’t cry anymore,” Kei whispered to Tadashi, tightening his hold on his now-lover, “it’s such a clear night out. I would hate it for the moon to not see the stars he loves so much.”