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Yamaguchi Tadashi’s nightmares were always very vivid. It was a kind of curse that he had somehow developed. A lot of the time, they caused him to wake in the middle of the night, cool sweat on his hot skin. When he was younger, he always burst into tears upon waking; however this habit died as he grew older.
Yamaguchi’s coping methods would always vary depending on the nightmare. Sometimes all he needed was some water before going back to sleep. Sometimes he needed to immerse himself into a piece of fiction – maybe a book, or perhaps a TV show. If they were increasingly realistic, the boy would not be able to go back to sleep, regardless of how early he had woken up.
A memory that would never escape his mind was the first time Yamaguchi invited Tsukishima to sleep over at his house. They were quite young, seven or so, and they had not been friends for long. The brunette boy had woken up from one of these nightmares in a wave of sobs, completely forgetting that his friend had been in the same room as him. When Yamaguchi saw Tsukishima coming towards him and climbing into his bed, he was completely taken aback. No words were exchanged, but the meaning behind it all was clearer than daylight. That night, Yamaguchi slept better than he had ever remembered.
Since then, Yamaguchi had established a crush on his best friend. It had been almost nine years, but his feelings towards Tsukishima Kei hadn’t faltered. Of course, he made sure that they were never apparent. If they were, Yama didn’t know what he would do; he was terrified of Tsukki finding out, which meant that all of his feelings were never confided into any of his other friends and instead were bottled up inside of him.
“Hey, Tsukki, want to stay over at mine tonight?” asked Yamaguchi after one fateful volleyball practice, walking out of the building with Tsukishima. “I mean, we haven’t seen each other out of school all that much recently because of exams, and it’d be nice to hang out now that they’re over,” he drabbled on.
“Wouldn’t it be better to stay at mine? My family is hardly ever home, so it’d be alright.” The taller boy looked straight ahead as he spoke - which Yama was grateful for as his freckled face was washed over with a light blush. He agreed to this, and then excitedly started yapping on about the ideas he had on what they could do together.
The walk back to the Tsukishima household was mainly made up of Yamaguchi’s talking and Tsukki’s periodical interjections. The brunette usually initiated the conversation, but he didn’t mind at all – even hearing only a little bit of his best friend’s voice was enough for his heart to beat faster than usual. Finally arriving, Yama made himself at home straight away – he’d been at Tsukki’s place so many times that it became like a second home to him.
~ X ~
After hours of the duo’s favorite activities, such as intensely playing board games and (mainly Tsukki) making fun of the rest of the volleyball team, the boys decided to go to sleep. Tsukishima got out a blow-up mattress for Yamaguchi and set it on the floor of his quite spacious bedroom. The tall blonde and his friend whispered their goodnights to each other, Yama sporting a small grin.
This grin didn’t last for long, though. Just to his luck, Yama’s dreams became twisted quickly. Though it all seems like a haze now, there were some distinct features that would not leave his mind; a dark alleyway, a suspicious figure going after him, dead bodies lining the floor of a large and lonely room – some that the dreamer himself recognized.
Yamaguchi awoke in a cold sweat, taking heavy breaths and shivering slightly in the darkness. Tsukishima’s room was almost pitch black, if not for the dim light of the moon. It was too dark for the freckled boy’s liking, but he could not turn on the light without waking his best friend up. Although he was terrified of walking through the dark halls, Yama thought it would be better to try to get up and compose himself in the bathroom.
What he didn’t account for was the sensitivity of Tsukki’s hearing. Yamaguchi got up, but his shaky breathing caused the blonde to stir. “Tadashi? Why are you up this late at night?” he murmured, sitting up in his bed as he looked towards the shaky boy.
“I- uh, sorry, d-did I wake you? I- was just going to the bathroom,” stammered Yamaguchi, suddenly feeling embarrassed and bad for making Tsukki wake up.
“Hey, come here,” whispered Tsukishima in a voice that was strangely soothing for his character. Obeying, Yamaguchi walked over to his bed – and was immediately pulled down onto it. “You had another nightmare, didn’t you?” Tsukki pulled the smaller boy close to his chest, trying to help him calm down. As confused as he was, Yama slowly closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around the other’s waist. When he was sure his best friend was asleep, Yamaguchi mumbled a soft “I love you” into his chest before drifting off into a sweet sleep.
What he didn’t realize was that Tsukishima had, in fact, been waiting for Yamaguchi to fall asleep to say exactly the same.