Chapter Text
“You can’t be serious.”
“Come on Tsukki, don’t make fun of me!”
“Seriously? Disney? What are you, six?"
Yamaguchi stuck his tongue out.
Tsukishima snorted. “Very mature.”
“You said I could choose any movie so we’re going with this one!”
Tsukishima looked sullenly at the brightly coloured DVD case clutched in Yamaguchi’s hands, gold cursive title faintly shining in the light of Tsukishima’s bedroom.
The Princess & The Frog
“It’s a children’s movie. And can’t we stream it? You seriously still use DVD’s?”
Yamaguchi gave Tsukishima an exasperated look. Tsukishima smirked right back.
“If you want to pay for a Disney+ subscription, be my guest! Please Tsukki,” Yamaguchi began to whine. “We’ve watched Jurassic Park for the past three movie nights.”
Tsukishima arched an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with that?”
Yamaguchi rolled his eyes. “The plot is so repetitive, the only exciting thing about them is when the protagonists are about to get eaten. And the child actors, Tsukki, oh my gosh, they get worse with every sequel!”
Yamaguchi continued his rant and whilst Tsukishima privately agreed with most, if not all, of Yamaguchi’s complaints, he wasn’t going to tell him for two reasons.
Number one: Dinosaurs. Obviously.
Number two: though Tsukishima will never admit it outright, he liked – no loved – to bicker and be ornery, especially with Yamaguchi. Tsukishima gets to witness the transformation of Yamaguchi the shy wallflower into Yamaguchi the excitable opinionated nerd whom he befriended all those years ago. Tsukishima finds himself playfully bickering with Yamaguchi more often these days, just to hear the other raise their voice.
Yamaguchi was downplaying one of the greatest franchises in cinematic history to defend a cartoon with a trumpet-playing crocodile. And yet, Tsukishima didn’t mind. Watching him grow more bold in his Jurassic Park criticisms, Tsukishima couldn’t help but think that Yamaguchi was like a shooting star. A star you’d never thought you’d be able to see, but you did, because you were stubborn enough to keep watching the sky.
And if Yamaguchi was a shooting star, then Tsukishima was the fool who wanted to make a wish.
A wish, like, “please give me the courage to tell my best friend I’m hopelessly in love with him.”
Pathetic, right?
Tsukishima felt that familiar warm, thrumming sensation in his gut, one he’s felt in Yamaguchi’s presence for so many years. With a deep breath, Tsukishima managed to arrange his expression into one of indifference as Yamaguchi’s rant morphed into a ramble.
Tsukishima replied, “We only have one more to go, and as frustrating as the child actors are, it’s an action-packed franchise, and last time I checked, you were an action movie fanatic.”
Yamaguchi’s rambling faded to a thoughtful hum, eyes closed in concentration. Tsukishima stifled a chuckle at how Yamaguchi’s nose scrunched up and how he started to twiddle his thumbs.
Cute.
“I do like action movies, Tsukki.”
Tsukishima felt his cheeks warm slightly as Yamaguchi opened his eyes, gazing confidently back at him. “I do like action movies but I want to watch something that gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling.”
Yamaguchi looked down at the DVD in his hand and gave a small smile. “I love movies that make me feel that way.”
Tsukishima’s heart skipped a beat.
Warm and fuzzy … that’s a feeling Tsukishima was very familiar with.
Tsukishima cleared his throat, hoping he was still coming across as indifferent and not hopelessly smitten. “You’re telling me you want to watch a movie with talking fireflies? Talk about a wild Friday.”
Yamaguchi giggled, giving Tsukishima a cheeky grin. Tsukishima’s felt flutters in his stomach as two dimples appeared among the freckles scattered across Yamaguchi’s face. A joyful constellation.
“Just this once Tsukki, I promise we’ll finish the franchise next week ok?” Yamaguchi held out a pinkie finger.
Tsukishima looked away, cheeks warm. He tentatively linked his finger with Yamaguchi’s. “Fine.”
“I’ll get my laptop, it’s an older model so it has a DVD drive, be right back!” Yamaguchi placed the DVD on Tsukishima’s desk and walked into the hallway. Tsukishima sighed and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.
Trying not to fixate on how his finger tingled from Yamaguchi’s touch, Tsukishima found himself looking at the shelf above his desk.
A spelling bee trophy. A scuffed volleyball. A few books with broken spines. But what caught Tsukishima’s eye was nestled between spare notebooks and his sport goggles.
A green dinosaur plushie.
Tsukishima reached up and took it gently into his hands. The vibrancy of the fabric had faded over the years but it was still soft to the touch. Tsukishima ran his fingertips over a small inscription sewn into the dinosaur’s belly. As he traced the characters over and over, Tsukishima found himself remembering …
///
Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were walking home from school when all of a sudden, Yamaguchi stopped, crouched down and ripped open his school bag.
Tsukishima stopped a few steps ahead, turned around and arched an eyebrow. “What is it Yamaguchi? Did you forget something?”
Yamaguchi gave a nervous chuckle, hands slowly retracting from his bag.
“No … I just have something for you.”
Tsukishima’s heart began to stutter as Yamaguchi picked himself off the ground, dust staining his uniform. As Yamaguchi walked towards him with tentative steps, the late afternoon light caught the flecks of gold in his hazel eyes. In that moment, Tsukishima head filled with a single thought:
Yamaguchi’s cute.
“Happy Birthday Tsukki!”
Tsukishima stared blankly at the parcel shoved into his hands. Before he could utter a single word, Yamaguchi sprinted away, shoes squeaking against the asphalt. Tsukishima watched Yamaguchi’s figure grow smaller and smaller until he disappeared around a corner in the direction of home.
Flustered, Tsukishima abruptly sat down on a nearby bench and carefully opened the parcel. Tsukishima felt himself start to smile as he picked up the green plush Camarasaurus and squeezed its tail. Tsukishima gave a presentation on this dinosaur for a science class, a presentation Yamaguchi had helped him practice. Tsukishima turned it over and gasped. Sewn shakily onto the dinosaur’s belly was a short inscription:
月に向けて撃つ
Shoot for the moon.
“And you’ll land amongst the stars.” Tsukishima murmured thoughtfully. He turned to look back at the empty corner.
I wish …
///
“I didn’t know you kept her, Tsukki!”
Tsukishima startled, almost dropping the plushie. Yamaguchi smiled at him, hazel eyes gentle and curious.
Tsukishima looked away, feeling warm. “Of course I did.”
Tsukishima held it out to Yamaguchi who eagerly took it to inspect the sewn inscription. “I’m glad it’s still there, I didn’t know how to sew and just took my chances.” Yamaguchi hummed and squinted at the small plastic eyes that have managed to stay affixed to the fabric. “It’s been five years but it still looks pretty new! You’ve taken good care of her.”
Yamaguchi gave him another smile and Tsukishima couldn’t stop himself from reaching out with a trembling, pale finger to lightly trace across the inscription until his finger met Yamaguchi’s hand. Yamaguchi gasped at the contact and looked up. Tsukishima swallowed and continued tracing his finger up Yamaguchi’s hand, along his arm until coming to rest his hand on Yamaguchi’s shoulder.
“I … never thanked you properly. For this present, so … thank you.”
Tsukishima nodded and took his hand away, palm sweaty. Tsukishima was too flustered to notice Yamaguchi’s slight stutter of “Y-you’re welcome Tsukki,” and the light pink flush on his face.
“I’ll … go get some snacks, you get the movie set up.”
Yamaguchi nodded and placed the plushie back on the shelf, mumbling too softly for Tsukishima to hear. Tsukishima walked slowly to the kitchen, head and heart reeling.
I touched him.
Tsukishima removed his glasses, turned the faucet and cupped the cold stream of water into his shaking hands. After splashing his face, he clenched his hands around the rim of the sink, staring at the empty basin.
I want to touch him again.
Gritting his teeth, Tsukishima shut off the faucet and dried himself. He reached into cupboards and brought out a popcorn sachet, a bowl, some candy bars, and a bottle of soda. As the sachet turned and kernels popped in the microwave, Tsukishima closed his eyes and felt the warm, fluttery sensation return tenfold.
I’m so pathetic
The microwave dinged.
I wish … I wish he would touch me.
“Tsukki? Ready when you are!”
It wasn’t until Tsukishima was bringing the snacks back to his room did he remember what all Disney princess movies were ultimately about.
Shit.