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Sunlight dappled across the soft-looking grass, green and vibrant in its own being. The light left funny, little holes of brightness across your face and your closed eyes, across your blue jeans and 'Camp Karasuno' tee.
A lovely summer day like this one wasn't hard to come by, you were happy to report. It seemed like every day provided some new variation of contentment, whether it was in the cheery weather or the ideal music selection on the radio or the way your hairstyle came out, somehow, better than usual. Yes, this was truly your summer.
You inhaled a deep breath, taking in the smell of sun, foliage, and optimism. One might ask, "how can one smell optimism at all?", and the answer would be - well, you didn't quite have an answer to that. Just a feeling, you supposed. But, from your position laying down on the grass, arms tucked behind your head as you took in the forest atmosphere, it seemed that optimism radiated in that environment.
"Firefly?"
You opened an eye, peering up at the voice you knew so well, cracking a relieved smile.
"Well, look who found me. Did you know this is my secret spot?"
Suga let out a tinkling laugh, the sound filling your heart with an indescribably pleasant feeling. You slowly sat up, the light from the sun temporarily blinding you. The clearing you'd retreated to still maintained that unspeakable sense of serenity, despite the intrusion of your fellow counselor and partner.
Movement in the near distance caused you to look further, past the gray-haired man. The little boy gasped, hiding behind a tree.
"Haru, is that you?" You asked playfully, not yet standing up. The boy gasped from behind his tree, before poking his head out, nodding.
"Me and Sea-Mama were looking for you!" Haru exclaimed, taking a couple steps towards you and Suga. Ah, yes, Sea-Mama. That was Suga's given counselor name, and yours was Firefly.
"It's about time to clean up." Suga said warmly to you, extending his hand. You accepted the help, appreciating the feeling of his hand (equally warm as his voice) grasping yours, his certain strength surprising you, as ever.
The three of you headed for Camp Karasuno, situated in the center of this forest. You hummed to yourself along the way, hopping over mossy tree roots and ducking under sweeping willow branches, all the while thinking of that brief moment you had in your secret spot. Blissful relaxation didn't come up nearly as often as you'd have liked it too.
Suga's hand brushed yours, almost unintentionally, but you knew better. The motherly setter-turned-counselor held a degree of affection for you, and you reciprocated enthusiastically. See, when you were near Suga, that feeling of contentedness you squeezed out of every summer day was inevitably experienced. You felt at home with the gray-haired man, and his smile gave your stomach butterflies.
You stepped out of the forest and into a much larger clearing than the one you'd been resting in. A low-roofed, free-form-looking building was situated in the middle of the clearing, and pockets of fenced-off playgrounds were stationed at various intersections. This was camp. Of course, the activities weren't limited to the building and play equipment. Nature walks, practical skill-building, and stimulating craft activities were a daily occurrence, heavily encouraged by your camp director, Takeda.
Haru ran off towards the building, joining his friends gleefully. Ukai, the bleach-blonde co-director, approached the campers, shooing them off to tidy the crafts room. He paused, a small figure from far away, but you could see him rub his temples.
"Hey, guys!" Your attention was jerked towards a deeper voice. Asahi emerged from the edge of the forest, a line of adorable first-graders following him excitedly. He was waving at you and Suga, smiling from beneath his wide-brimmed straw hat. He was a relatively new counselor, at least compared to you and Suga, who'd been there for as long as you could remember.
At the same time, Asahi wasn't as green as Hinata and Nishinoya, who were the newest recruits for the summer. They, currently, were teamed up with their assigned groups of campers, and were allegedly having a god-tier level game of 'capture the flag' at the other end of the clearing. If you squinted, you could see the fleet of campers finishing up their match. It was lucky those two had been lumped with the older campers, who had more than enough energy to play a game of epic proportions.
Suga waved back at Asahi, grinning. You two joined him on his way back to the camp building, ready to clear up for the day.
Campers' parents had already started arriving, whisking their tuckered-out children from the center of the forest to their comfortable cars, parked outside the conglomeration of tall trees. They would sleep real well after a day's worth of activities at Camp Karasuno. You smiled as Haru emerged from the crafts room, perking up and running to his mother, who hugged him tightly.
"They're sweet, don't you think?" You asked Suga, nonchalantly linking your pinky with his. He nodded, looking wistfully at Haru's parents. You knew that look, it was Suga's pining, 'I want kids' look. Soon, you would tell him. Being fresh out of college, the pair of you were currently job-seeking. Suga had a promising job interview at Karasuno Elementary, and you were waiting for a call back from the town's library. A librarian and a teacher.
Your intended occupations suited your lifestyle rather well. Simple, but meaningful. They allowed for you to pack up at the end of the day and fly on home, with the intention of joining the other in your shared apartment and settling in for the night with a home-cooked meal and a riveting Hallmark movie. It was simple, but boy, you loved it.
Suga was eager to have children, that much was obvious. You were equally ready, though it did seem a tad early to have them. The two of you agreed to let things happen spontaneously, since neither of you yet had stable jobs. There was always the summer camp, but you two agreed that only when you each had a day job (to cover rest of the year) you'd focus efforts on having kids of your own fully.
Asahi went in the direction of the little ones' classroom, waving you and Suga a temporary goodbye. When all the kids went home, all the counselors would band together and clean the building from top to bottom, putting away costumes, spilled arts and crafts materials, organizing toys, and more.
The sun was starting to sink in the sky, and you spotted Ukai helping kids with their backpacks and shoes. You could tell he was itching for a cigarette, but doing his best nonetheless. Once the kids were sent off, you could find him at the edge of the clearing, leaning on a tree and smoking to his heart's content.
Suga said something quick and short in your ear, pulling you towards the equipment shed. He'd promised Takeda to take inventory of its' contents, which were mostly bikes, wagons, chairs, gardening tools, and miscellaneous sports equipment.
"Let me grab a clipboard and paper, make an official list." You said, and he nodded with a "Good idea."
You found your desired materials in the counselor's break-room, not too far from the field Hinata and Nishinoya were playing in. On your way out, you called to them, reminding them to start cleaning up. They groaned, but complied, starting to break down the perimeters of their 'capture the flag field'.
Noticing the sun had gone down a considerable amount since you'd left Suga, you jogged on your way back to the equipment shed, entering.
The gentle man was sitting on the ground, criss-cross-applesauce style. You giggled at its juvenile connotation, and he smiled up at you.
"Got the clipboard?"
You nodded, tapping it with your pen.
"You bet, Sea-Mama, let's catalog some equipment."
The shed was rather cramped and dark, for the amount of equipment it was supposed to hold. At many intervals you found yourself pressed up against Suga, in compromising positions, as you two maneuvered around the space, writing down the names of equipment and the amounts of each.
Thankfully, Suga couldn't see your darkened cheeks in the dim lighting, as your blush would have given you away. He simply hummed as he counted up a bucketful of baseball gloves, his back to you.
"I'm going to show Haru how to throw a baseball tomorrow." Suga said, sounding rather excited about it. You smiled as you looked at your partner, loving him a terribly large amount in that moment.
"That's wonderful, honey. You're a great teacher, you know." You said, watching as he turned to face you.
"You think so?"
"Absolutely. And when you get that job at the elementary school, you're going to be a great teacher there, too." You approached him, wrapping your arms around him. He melted into your hug, laughing.
"It means a lot to hear that from you."
"Oh?"
"Your opinion is very important to me," he kissed your cheek, "in case you couldn't tell", he kissed the other cheek. You felt warmed by his kisses, indulging in the feeling of being loved by the beautiful man you called yours.
You steeled yourself briefly, working up the courage to express what you meant to say.
Suga was just so good with children, he was practically a child whisperer. You just knew he'd be an even better father, and were fully prepared to spend the rest of your life with him. You imagined he felt the same way, almost as though you two had mentally had a meeting of the minds at some point in your relationship. You knew your place was here, with him, in your home town.
And boy, you just couldn't wait. Everything up to this point already felt like a dream, could it really only get better from here? Suga had said that many times, "it'll only get better from here on out", and that made you tingle with excitement at the thought of embarking on an adventure with him every single day.
From making macaroni art with the campers to laying on the couch at home watching 'Deadly By Surprise' (you two were suckers for those Hallmark murder mysteries, after all), to baking all sorts of cookies and brownies and cakes in the kitchen on a Saturday afternoon, to getting ready to actually have children, you were just happy to be there with your love. With Suga by your side, you two would conquer the best that life had to offer, with smiles on your faces and love in your eyes.
"I can't wait until we have kids." You finally said, looking up at him. Suga's face lit up.
"Me neither, we're going to be the best parents out there." He said confidently, kissing your forehead.
The pair of you could hear laughter in the distance, a child's laugh. It was that pure, unadulterated sound of sheer joy. They say when a baby laughs, a fairy is born. You believe that through and through, while Suga would snort at that philosophy.
You heard a rap on the shed door.
"Hate to break up the happy couple, but Ukai wants all the counselors out front." Tsukishima, a more seasoned counselor, stood in the open doorway, his usual blank expression on his face. You couldn't help but notice a smile, not on his lips in the slightest, but in his eyes perhaps. He was always an odd one, rather guarded and mysterious compared to you and Suga. He was a hit with the kids, though, mostly because of his height; they saw Tsuki, they thought "jungle gym".
You flushed at the intrusion, not because you and Suga were doing anything incriminating, but it was just such an intimate conversation topic.
"S-sorry, we'll be there in a sec." You said, realizing that you were still standing rather close to your gray-haired partner. You backed up a step, and Tsuki smirked.
"Okay." He left, and Suga burst out laughing. You playfully punched him, laughing yourself.
"If everyone didn't already know we were the parents of Camp Karasuno, I'm sure they will now." He said, wiping his eyes. You agreed, and you emerged from the shed, one hand holding onto Suga's, the other grasping your half-finished inventory list. The sun had gone down just enough for the golden light to filter through the trees, shining lines of yellow illuminating the clearing.
You could see the circle of counselors, with Ukai talking to them, arms crossed; no doubt giving a riveting pep talk. These guys truly were your family, you realized as you looked over all of your friends gathered in one place. Your little boy or girl would have a flock of adoring uncles the minute they came into this world, and that warmed your heart.
Squeezing Suga's hand, you met his eyes, ready to take on the world with him.
It could only get better from here.