Work Text:
Tsuna rolls his body wrapped in cozy blankets as he sleeps peacefully after a busy school week, leaving any worries like homework and studying under Sunday night Tsuna's responsibility. Saturday meant he was finally allowed to sleep as deep and long as he wanted and nothing was going to stop him from doing so.
Or at least that’s what he thought.
As he reaches the best part of his dream, an intermittent ring resounds in his head and almost wakes him up. Tsuna grunts at the sound and decides to ignore it for the first 30 seconds, but eventually it becomes so irritating it completely disrupts his sleep and brings his conscience back to the real world.
-ugghh-
He rolls around and grabs some fluffy pillows to bury his face in hopes they muffle the annoying sound, but even if it works for a few seconds, the device seems more than determined to wake up the sleepy boy. A second and more intense tune plays right after the previous ring, making his body tense from the sudden change in volume.
-the alarm?-
With eyes still closed, he starts to shake and smash his hand around the night table in hopes the phone gets hit hard enough to stop making any sound. Not the most convenient way but most of the time it'd shut it up and allow him 10 more minutes (or 60 if he was cozy enough) of rest. However, this time was a little different.
"Tsuna, come on wake up!"
Before he can find the source of the sound, a rather familiar voice joins in the din and inside his temporary list of "reasons why I'd like to take my ears off when I’m sleeping”
"augh, what now"
He tries to push back the sound with his hands
"You have to come down, we're all ready. Here I'll help you!"
Tsuna lazily complains while his body is lifted from his bed and dragged around the house and down the stairs, still not entirely sure whether this is another crazy dream or if he's being kidnapped by some random stranger who broke into his house.
"Who-"
Tsuna's voice is hardly heard by Yamamoto who is now at the entrance door trying to put his shoes on along with Tsuna's as fast as he can.
"Raise your foot-no the other one...that's it. We're off then"
Tsuna's hand is once again grabbed and carried away by Yamamoto’s as he still struggles to understand the situation.
His brain was filled with questions like "What was he talking about?" Or "Where were they going?" But everything happens so fast his still sleepy body is not able to keep up with his thoughts.
As the stream of questions with no answers fill Tsuna's head, he enters what he believes is Tsuyoshi's car and sits down on the passenger seat for his body to collapse like a ragdoll afterwards. He gets a glimpse of the clock in front of him and realizes it's not even 6 am yet which makes him feel even more tired than before.
He rubs his eyes as he tries to communicate once again, his vocal cords still numb.
"Wher"
"Fishing! Me and my dad always go together but we wanted to invite you and Gokudera too"
Says yamamoto as he adjusts his seatbelt on the front seat next to his dad.
If anything Tsuna expected this to be an emergency and not “fishing” but he rolls with it and accepts his fate, not that he could do much about it.
"Juudaime, so you're coming too!"
Tsuna hears another familiar voice come from his right side.
"Gokudera?"
He barely noticed the guy in the first place, but he was kinda glad he wasn't the only one who had to wake up this early, besides Yamamoto that is, he was enjoying this so he didn't count.
"Are you okay? You look tired"
Says Gokudera as he gets closer to the back of Yamamoto’s seat, he didn’t look that happy either.
"I told you to wait a few more hours, this is too early for him!"
"Can't do! Otherwise the fish will start running!"
-running?-
"Running? No they won't they don't have legs"
Tsuna sighs as his body sinks in the backseat of the car. He couldn't believe that just a few seconds ago he was peacefully dreaming, covered in his cozy blankets on his little and comfy bed ready to start another free and lazy saturday, maybe some videogames to start the morning followed by the new chapter of his favorite manga and no other chores or distractions to interrupt him.
And yet, his reality was now completely overthrown and instead of videogames and a lazy day in his room he was inside his friend's car, pyjamas on and his friends arguing about a fish's ability to run at 5 am.
Funny (not really).
-Whatever- he thinks and lays his head on the cool car's window as the vibrations of the engine make his head shake from time to time. The sweet movements of the car lull him along with the fish discourse going on in the background, tempting him to close his eyes and completely drop his head on the car’s door. He knew his neck was going to hurt as soon as he woke up, but the temptation of falling asleep was stronger, a little pain in the neck was nothing compared to the amazing nap he was about to have.
----
By the time he opens his eyes again the scenery outside the window was different. For starters, the sun was slightly higher than before and the sky was slowly becoming brighter. Nothing more than the radio's low music could be heard in the car, transforming the previous debate into a past memory (considering it even happened in the first place). Now everyone seemed to be focused on their own thing and as quiet as ever.
"We're here!"
Yamamoto's voice pierces through everyone's silence while Tsuna manages to look at the entrance of the site by moving towards the empty middle seat. Although he couldn't see much of it, the place looked like a nice lake, small yet big enough to take a good swim in it, clear waters and surrounded by what looked like the start of a forest. It sure looked like a lovely place.
They manage to park among the tall grass and, a little more awake than before, Tsuna finally gets out of the car, ready to help carry gadgets and other fishing material.
He stretches his body and lets out a few more yawns when he suddenly freezes in place as he realizes he's still wearing pajamas, and worse of all: in public. He quickly takes a random fishing hat and vest that were lying on the seat and tries his best to disguise his cute lion t-shirt, glad about the fact that at least his shorts looked like the sportsy kind.
"Okay guys over here, let's take everything to the spot"
Tsuyoshi’s call interrupts his thoughts as he rushes to the chosen spot. At first he struggles a little with the amount of things he carries on his hands that continue to slip from time to time; who knew you needed these many things for a day out to get some fish? Either way, he manages to not let most things fall as he walks through the grass and pebbles
"Do you need help Juudaime? I can carry it if you're still tired"
"It's okay I can handle this"
Gokudera insists even if Tsuna continues to turn him down, as per usual. A part of him always wanted to accept some of his help but it wouldn’t be correct, either way he always felt grateful for it, it was nice to know there was someone there for him.
They keep walking until they reach one of the quietest sides of the lake. It was odd how there seemed to be nobody around but he didn’t give it too much thought and actually felt a little more relieved knowing that nobody was going to see him on his pjs. Tsuyoshi leaves some of the gear with the guys as he settles himself higher up at the lake, leaving the 3 boys to themselves.
Tsuna grabs one of the fishing poles and starts to look for anything that resembles a worm or any other slimy creature inside the plastic crates lying on the ground.
“Oh wait! you don’t know how to fish right Tsuna? Don’t worry I’ll show you, you can use one of these and just attach it to the hook, it’s actually very simple you just need a lot of patience and-”
“Method and tactic, that's what you need to catch them”
Gokudera intervenes with his own advice even if uncalled for.
“I mean, sure patience is important but you also have to know how fish work, having the best bait and knowing the best spots will give you the best results"
“I don’t think Tsuna knows all that yet”
“yeah duh? that’s why I brought a list, it also shows the exact coordinates where fish are most likely to come to, it’s based on my own experience so it’s 100% trustworthy”
“Wait, you’ve been here before?”
Tsuna asks
“Um…yeah”
Answers Hayato as Takeshi tries to explain the situation to Tsuna.
“We come here together on the weekends, and since we have lots of fun together we wanted to bring you here too”
Gokudera blushes a little. He couldn't deny anything since it was all true, but he wasn't going to admit his friend's statement so straightforwardly. Instead, he tries to twist Takeshi’s explanation a little, something among the likes of "I just came because he needed my expertise” even if it was clear none of them was actually buying it. Tsuna knew Hayato just liked to hang out with them, and the same went for Takeshi. They both enjoyed having him at their sides and even if it could look like the opposite, Tsuna knew Gokudera also enjoyed being with both him and Yamamoto as well.
“Anyway, let me teach you instead juudaime, my method is the best and you’ll come home with a fish loot bigger than your own house”
“I don’t think the lake has that many fish”
“Have you actually counted them?”
-Here we go again- It felt like a dejavu. Their little fights were funny to watch, but for once he'd really appreciate it if they could focus on the activity and not on what was the best way to do it, it would just feel like a big waste of time otherwise.
Tsuna slowly backs away from the fish discourse and decides to imitate Tsuyoshi who is not too far from them. It was fish after all, it shouldn’t be that hard right?
He tries to copy him as best as he can and finally throws the pole into the water. Unfortunately for him, the bait was wrongly attached to it so the moment he throws the pole the bait ends up falling off the hook, and as if it wasn't bad enough the now bait-less hook gets stuck on some plastic bags and containers nearby that accidentally fall into the water instead of the original bait.
Tsuna sits still for a few minutes, unable to process or more like pretending that he didn't drop most of their stuff into the lake. In any case he remains right next to the pole with a mildly distressed expression.
He slowly turns his face towards Gokudera and Yamamoto in hopes they would notice the situation and help him, but their discussion seems to be going through the hottest part of it, so he slowly turns to look at the lake.
Defeated, the now tired Tsuna rests his head in his hands and stays in that position for a few minutes until the feeling of a rod slipping away from his hands makes him react.
-A fish got the bait?- surprising to say the least, but he didn’t have much time to ask how and why a fish wanted a bunch of random plastic materials for a meal, he needed to act fast, so he decides that the best thing to do is to pull the rod with his own arm strength and hopefully take it out along with the fish.
He grabs the handle as best as can and tries his best to keep his feet on the ground, however, not even this seems to stop the fish's tenacity while Tsuna feels as if he was just a little boy against a sea monster ready to jump out of the lake and get the rest of the pole (and perhaps him) back into the water.
As the fight becomes more intense, Gokudera and Yamamoto finally snap out of their little debate and rush towards Tsuna who’s trying his best not to face plant and fall into the water.
Yamamoto tries his hardest to reach the handle while Gokudera holds both of his friends in an attempt to keep them on the ground, but all is futile as the 3 of them are ultimately dragged into the lake.
Tsuna is the one who gets the furthest away from the shore and panics a little once he notices his feet no longer touch the ground. He tries to scream for help but the more he fights it, the more he feels like falling down.
As he tries to calm down, fast memories of his time at the pool with everyone flashes before him. In a matter of seconds, the day plays out like a fast forwarded movie in his brain. He remembers his friends arguing over who had the best method to teach him how to swim, as if he was some little lab mouse they could experiment on.
It was almost nostalgic now that it was nothing but a past memory; the fact they decided to spend their morning by teaching a wimpy little kid like him to swim, it was a real torture, but he couldn't deny that their commitment to make him learn was admirable. It made him feel warm inside, knowing they had done all that for him.
As he remembers these funny memories he's able to calm down and recall a few tricks to float again. He tries his best to keep his head out of the water and little by little he regains stability as he starts to swim back to the shore.
As he approaches the pebbles, both of his friends run towards him with a slightly worried Tsuyoshi coming from behind.
"Tsuna are you okay?"
"Juudaime did you get hurt? Can you breathe?"
Tsuna lays on the pebbles as he coughs some of the water he drank on accident the moment he violently splashed against it.
He remains immobile for a whole minute that seems to last forever as everyone else worries for Tsuna's safety, but just before they can make any move on him, the exhausted boy clenches his fists and rolls on his back to let out a frustrated -aaAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHHH- that scares off the birds nearby.
"Tsuna?"
He doesn't know how to react. His body feels a little shaky thanks to the shots of adrenaline that went through his veins not too long ago, the urge to cry and smile for making it out alive come in like a wave of emotions at the same time. A small and broken laugh is the only thing that comes out of his mouth as he hides his distress from almost drowning.
Almost drowning...for trying to catch a fish?
Suddenly, the whole situation feels so silly to him. He slowly stands up, eyes slightly wet by tears that are about to fall down but that he tries his best to keep inside along with a smile that contradicts the rest of his body language.
"I was, so scared...that was so scary but" he sniffs "you and your terrible swimming lessons, the time we had at the pool together, for some reason I remembered them, why did I remember your faces in a moment like that. That is so embarrassing, but it's funny that I thought of you in that moment"
"Tsuna? Are you sure you're okay?"
Says a worried Takeshi.
This was not the saturday he had in mind at all, if not it was the complete opposite of what he wanted to do, but in the end, he didn't mind it all that much. Well, not for the drowning part, but having his friends next to him helped him go through the day. They were a nice support to have around and he really appreciated all their efforts to spend time together.
He felt so lucky to have them.
"It's okay, I'm okay, I'm just happy you guys are always there for me. I guess, I'm glad I'm not alone in this"
Both Gokudera and Yamamoto smile fondly at their friend as they help him walk.
"Of course you are not!"