To my dearest friend. Happy birthday, Valita.
I don't own HQ nor Star Wars.
Star light
"Your birthday? Today?" Tsukishima asked as if it was no big deal. He was walking home along with Yamaguchi after practice and the first stars were appearing at the sky.
"Yes." Yamaguchi confirmed with a nervous smirk; his hands were sweating despite the coolness of the night.
"Do you have something planned?" The blond boy inquired, adjusting his glasses.
"Not really. My parents are out of town, so I'll probably just watch movies by myself." Yamaguchi answered.
Tsukishima thought it was strange for parents to leave their kid alone in his birthday. He examined Yamaguchi's expression in search of clues to what the other teenager was really feeling. The freckled boy had contracted eyebrows and showed a small smile that did not have any happiness.
"Did you complain to your parents for leaving you alone?" Tsukishima questioned.
"No, of course not." Yamaguchi denied. "It was a business trip; I wouldn't want to bother them."
"You could have told someone during the practice." Tsukishima commented. "The way those guys get excited over anything, I bet they'd take you out for dinner."
"I don't go around telling everybody about my birthday. Besides, I don't like to make people super worked up because they feel they have some obligation to celebrate with me." Yamaguchi sounded somewhat disappointed. That tone of voice made Tsukishima raise an eyebrow.
"Please, tell me you're not one of those people whose dream is to get a surprise party." The tall teen asked in a joking tone. The teenager with freckles gulped and blushed, not saying anything.
"I wouldn't feel comfortable around too many people but…" Yamaguchi looked away, scratching his head. "… let's say, if a special person wanted to spend my birthday with me…"
"I see." Tsukishima said. It was pretty obvious what the other wanted but the fact that he would not simply ask annoyed Kei. What happened to that bold guy saying that all he needed was pride? And now he could not even just ask "wanna spend the night with me?"
"This is where we split." Yamaguchi said with sadness, glancing at the narrow street he would take to get to his house.
"Yeah. Good night." Tsukishima nodded, continuing to walk. The boy with dark hair stayed at the same spot, still. His hands trembled lightly. Yamaguchi stared at Tsukishima's back as he walked away slowly and felt his own heart ache.
"Tsukki!" He called before thinking on anything to say.
"What?" Tsukishima asked, turning around.
"I…" Yamaguchi lost his speech at the sight of Tsukishima under the light of the stars. Even though the blond boy had a serious expression, or maybe because of it, he looked beautiful.
"Don't you have anything you want to tell me?" Kei inquired.
"Uhm…" Yamaguchi tried to think in what to say.
"If you want to tell me anything, you can call me later. I'm going home to take a shower." Tsukishima stated, leaving.
As he saw the blonde going away, Yamguchi wanted to bury himself under something cold.
Why couldn't I just say it? He asked himself in frustration. Tadashi walked alone until he reached his empty house. He locked the door after entering and found a small cake over the table with a note saying "sorry for not being here, we'll compensate once we return. Love, Mom and Dad."
Chocolate cake… Tsukki would like it, he thought, melancholically. Yamaguchi took a shower and put on his pajamas. Then, he grabbed three DVDs from his bedroom desk and took them to the living room.
"Do I watch them in order?" Tadashi asked himself, studying the Star Wars covers. He probably should begin with A New Hope but his heart longed for something more romantic. "Nah, it's going to be Empire."
The truth was that Yamaguchi was not as much of a Star Wars fan as he was a fan of Han and Leia. Back when he was a kid, watching those two characters interact made him feel encouraged and safe. It was a feeling he would only experience in his real life after meeting Tsukki. The blond boy was just as cool as them in Yamaguchi's eyes; and in recent years he caught himself fantasizing his favorite scenes of the movie with Tsukishima in the role of Han and him in the role of Leia, or vice-versa.
Yamaguchi got closer to the TV when the movie reached his second favorite part. He felt his heart race as Han held Leia's hands in spite of them being dirty.
Princess Leia: Stop that.
Han Solo: Stop what?
Princess Leia: [timidly] Stop that. My hands are dirty.
Han Solo: My hands are dirty, too. What are you afraid of?
Princess Leia: Afraid?
Han Solo: You're trembling.
Princess Leia: I'm not trembling.
[Han gets closer]
Han Solo: You like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life.
Princess Leia: I happen to like nice men.
Han Solo: I'm a nice man.
Princess Leia: No, you're not. You're…
Someone knocked on Yamaguchi's door at the moment of their first kiss and the boy let out a sigh of annoyance. He paused the movie and went to check who was visiting at that hour. To his shock, Tsukishima was standing there, wearing a blue blazer and holding a box of pizza.
"T-Tsukki?!" Tadashi gasped.
Kei looked at how red the other's cheeks had turned and felt something warm in his insides. However, he managed to put on a straight face.
"Aren't you going to ask me to come in?"
"S-sorry." Yamaguchi tripped on his words as he let the tall boy inside, not deviating his eyes from the other's clothes. "So beautiful…"
"What?" Tsukishima asked, getting closer to the other teen, who took a step back.
"The b-blazer!" Yamaguchi almost shouted. "It's a beautiful blazer."
"Oh." Tsukishima sounded disappointed, turning around. "I like to dress well."
"I didn't know you were coming… I should take the pajamas off." Yamaguchi commented. To his surprise, Tsukishima turned to face him immediately, blushing hard. Realizing what he was doing, Kei looked down and headed to the living room, where he found the frozen kiss scene n the TV.
"It's Star Wars." Yamaguchi said before entering his bedroom. "Do you like Star Wars, Tsukki?"
"I've only watched the prequels but I know about the whole 'Luke, I'm your father' thing." The tall boy replied, sitting on the couch. Yamaguchi did not find it in his heart to tell Tsukki that the quote was not exactly that.
"Make yourself comfortable, I'll be right back." Tadashi said, closing the bedroom's door behind him. As he took off his clothes and replaced them with a pair of jeans and a red T-shirt, Yamaguchi could feel his heart beating furiously in his chest.
Meanwhile, Tsukishima had taken two plates and the pizza to the living room and thought about what he should do next. Should I tell Yamaguchi? I was hoping he would be the one to tell me first. I don't even know if he's ready for a relationship.
When Yamaguchi returned, he was carrying the cake his parents had made to him and put it on the desk in front of the couch. After that, he sat next to the blond boy.
"I have Jurassic Park, if you want to watch something else." Yamaguchi suggested, shyly.
"It's your birthday, you shouldn't worry about pleasing others." Tsukishima scolded the freckled boy. "It wouldn't hurt if you acted more like a scoundrel once in a while."
Tsukishima smirked to himself. That was a word you don't usually use in a conversation, I bet Yamaguchi is impressed. When he looked at the other boy, Tadashi had acquired a deep shade of red on his face.
"What are you getting all excited about?" Tsukishima asked, confused.
"N-nothing!" Yamaguchi tried to play it cool. "T-then, let's get going with the movie."
Tsukishima spent the next 20 minutes wondering if he should tell Yamaguchi about his true feelings. What if he gets all awkward? I don't want to make him feel uncomfortable.
"Thank you, Tsukki." Yamaguchi said at one point, smiling sincerely. "I'm really happy for spending my birthday with you."
"There's no need for you to thank me." Tsukishima murmured, admiring Yamaguchi. "I enjoy spending time with you."
When Tsukishima saw Yamaguchi blushing and shyly looking away as he beamed, full of happiness, he knew that he could no longer wait. He could not bear to act cool and pretend he did not love Tadashi intensely. However, Kei did not know how to properly express himself and he was afraid to act as a fool.
"Yamaguchi, I…" He started, rubbing his hands in anxiety.
"What's wrong, Tsukki?" Tadashi asked, concerned. The closer look on those lovely eyes made Tsukishima look down in reflex, feeling his cheeks getting hot.
"There's something very important that I want to tell you. I've wanted to do it for some time…" Tsukishima felt that he was being evasive but did not know how else he could say it. "You might not even believe it."
"You don't need to push yourself, Tsukki." Yamaguchi tried to comfort the other by holding his hand.
"W-what are you doing?" Tsukishima nearly freaked out when he felt the boy's warm touch. "You're just making it more difficult for me."
"What are you afraid of?" Tadashi asked seriously.
"Afraid? I'm not afraid."
"Tsukki, you're trembling." Yamaguchi commented, getting closer to the blond teenager.
"I-I'm not trembling."
He's so nervous, Yamaguchi thought, could it be? Does Tsukki…?
Tadashi felt like he had been possessed by a force that erased all of his doubts. Everything was crystal clear in front of his eyes. He allowed himself to indulge in his instincts and pressed his lips against Kei's, gently and passionate. When they were separated, Tsukishima looked at the other boy in awe.
"I love you." Tsukishima stated, not stopping to think twice.
"I know." Yamaguchi replied, making his beloved know that his feelings had been delivered.
They both had a great time, eating pizza and cake while they watched the movies, until they inevitably fell asleep together. It was a starry night outside, but those stars were not as shiny as the ones they found in each other's eyes.