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Winter
The first snow fell on the eve of Tobio’s birthday.
It was later than anyone had been expecting, but nonetheless special. Kei made sure to let him know as they watched their balcony catch the snow. Next to him, Kei looked contemplative, as if the cold weather worried him.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
Kei shook his head, and leaned closer against his side. He turned his face so his cold nose was resting against Tobio’s neck. “It’s nothing, just thinking,” he replied, mumbling against Tobio’s skin, his breath tickling him. “I feel like we shouldn’t have gone and agreed to that dumb “no presents” rule this month. I really want to get you something now.”
A particular snowflake that Tobio’s eyes somehow caught sight of danced in the cool, damp air, before joining the rest of its snowflake friends- Kei’s words merely background noise as he snuggled closer against him, content.
“This is fine. I like having you here like this,” he tells his husband as he laces their fingers together. He held their hands up and watched their matching rings glitter brilliantly under incandescent lights.
This is enough.
— 💍 —
“I know you bought me a present even though we talked about not getting one for each other anymore since we just got married. And you thought I wouldn't notice you sneaking off to who knows where,” Kei said with a chuckle, pointing at his husband. “You’re not exactly superspy material, I’ll have you know.” He may be laughing now, but Tobio can feel that he didn’t mean anything bad about it.
Sitting across from him, Tobio guarded the box with his arms folded around them. “I’ll make a great superspy,” he insisted, albeit under his breath, but it was audible enough for even Kei to hear it, and nod patronisingly at his expense.
Kei just laughed some more. “Is that so? Well, if you’re such a ‘great superspy’ then you’d have noticed me, the sneakiest superspy, buy you a present, then? Only great people recognise great people like them, you know?” And just then, Tobio let out a confused whine, and whipped his head back to look at Kei who was now sporting a smug grin on his face as he held out a paper gift bag out to him. “It’s nothing special – I bought the pattern from a fan’s Etsy if you’re wondering.” Kei had said, but Tobio was busy putting the sweater on – a knitted sweater that looked almost like Kei’s Sendai Frogs jersey, but the name on the back was his own. Slowly, Kei reached out to place his hand on top of his. “Can I see what you got for me?”
He looked up from his new sweater, and saw Kei smile at him, encouraging him. He nodded at him, and then he pulled his gift from his lap to present the long box to Kei.
Pulling it towards him, Kei shot him a curious glance, as if to remind him that he’ll still like it no matter what it contained; Tobio just hoped it was the best he could have gotten for him under short notice. All of a sudden, his breath was knocked out of him.
Kei threw himself at him for a hug, the open box held tightly in his hands.
His words barely registered in his mind when all he could see was how beautiful his smile looked as he put the scarf on – his shoddy craftsmanship evident in the garment – and at how his eyes sparkled at the fountain pen nestled deep inside the box. “I love it.”
‘Thank you.’ He said with a kiss.
Spring
Tobio knew it was spring when he woke up sneezing one morning. But with how busy they both were with work, they could hardly find the time to – almost quite literally – smell the roses. Which in this case, justified Tobio buying a bouquet to surprise Kei at the museum with. As much as he denied doing something romantic, he still found himself days later standing inside a flower shop, getting a beautiful bouquet befitting his beautiful husband. Later at the museum, he chanced upon one of Kei’s coworkers from the same department, who let him into the offices in the back; his surprise would have gone off without a hitch if Kei hadn’t just gotten off the lift right at that moment.
He looked up from his water bottle, “did I miss a date night, or something?” He stepped around his coworker to hound Tobio. “I’m really sorry that I can't get off work so we can go see the flowers together, if that’s what the bouquet is for.” He looked apologetic, and that wasn’t what Tobio had intended when he bought the flowers for him!
“No, it’s– ah, since we’re both busy to go to a flower viewing, I thought of just bringing the flowers to you… to view?” That sounded better in my head , Tobio thought wearily, but he heard the telltale amused snort that Kei often did whenever he was trying not to laugh.
That said, Kei stepped closer, and plucked a rose from the bunch, and pushed it up to Tobio’s nose. “This one’s for you, then. To bring home, if you’re giving me the entire bouquet.”
Tobio was smiling all the way back home.
— 💍 —
“What’s gotten you all smiley today, huh, Baka-yama? No, wait, Baka-shima!” Hinata was clearly drunk, but that didn’t stop Tobio’s smile from growing wider. He found Kei sitting between their former team managers, probably talking about how to “keep volleyball idiots in check” or the other. Totally not about him, then.
The rest of their former teammates were either egging Hinata to sing some songs he learnt in Brazil, or laughing (most of them had gotten drunk, too, it seemed) at his mistake.
“Nothing, just having fun being around friends,” Tobio says to no one in particular.
Yamaguchi, who was sitting closest to him as he reached for another sandwich, looked at him incredulously, but only chuckled before he went back to sit with the very drunk Hinata to feed him his procured sandwiches.
“Nothing, he says.” He followed Tobio’s line of sight, where Kei was laughing with his head thrown back in his mirth. And Tobio was completely unaware that everyone could see just how much he adored his husband.
Summer
To say that Tobio was bummed was the understatement of the year.
He’d already gone and bought swimming trunks for both him and his husband for when their almost-magically aligned days off arrived so they could spend a day or two at the beach– he’d already made a list of things he wanted to do, saved tips on how to build the best sand castle in his phone, and he even bought a cooler with wheels like a trolley for their snacks and drinks for the trip. But all of those plans went down the drain when two things happened: One, it rained on that very day they were supposed to leave, so they had to stay home; and two, Sugawara-san called them later that rainy evening and asked if they could come around his school this coming weekend, and teach some of the kids there how to play volleyball.
On any normal day, Tobio would be the first to agree to the invitation, but on a day when he's down in the dumps, the responsibility fell onto Kei, who was more than happy to agree to visit their former senpai's school.
He only hoped that teaching little kids would help his husband's mood.
— 💍 —
Kei felt sorry for him, but the kids!
They were having so much fun, even if they'd just started doing their drills. There were other people besides the couple who dropped by to help teach – Kuroo, who had been the one to organise and coordinate with the other pro volleyball players; Bokuto and Miya Atsumu were there as well, although the kids opted to not join their lessons when they were around each other because it always got intense whenever Bokuto-san got excited and wanted to show off; Aone, who looked terrifying in the beginning, only to turn out to be the most patient of all of them; and Komori, who seemed to have taken to his small class of Libero-hopefuls.
On the other hand, Kei and Tobio were tag-team teaching their students how to do a simple volleyball passing drill; Tobio was silent for the most part, but answered any child's query–even the ones asking if they were dating ( "we're married, actually" ) or if they could teach their younger sibling how to do the drills with them–and helped each kid correct their footing and hand position.
Kei could only hide his laugh behind the ball in his hand when one of the children miscalculated their toss, and sent the ball right on to hit Tobio on the bum. He only looked around, confused, until he saw the scared-looking boy who kept on apologising profusely. He walked up to the kid, knelt in front of him, and hugged him. He forgave him, and gave him tips on how he could send the ball over the net, which the boy had eagerly agreed to learn.
"He's great with kids, eh?" Kei heard a familiar, grating voice say from behind him. Kuroo stood tall in front of him, spinning one of the toddler-sized balls in his hand.
Kei only rolled his eyes. "Shut up, man.” He said with a scoff, elbowing the guy as he approached him. Although watching Tobio work with kids was truly a wonderful sight that gave him a different sort of yearning he had yet to understand – but he’s willing to understand it with his husband, when the time comes for them to talk about… it.
This may not be how his husband had envisioned their summer to go, but Kei supposed he was forgiven, if he went by how tightly he held onto him as they braved the makeshift Test of Courage their former teammates and volleyball colleagues put up at Karasuno’s gym.
Autumn
The only other thing Tobio found that he liked more than his husband were discounted sales. It was lame, yes, but he enjoyed going shopping for groceries and finding the different discounts and coupons he could avail from his purchases. Kei teased him about this, and called him a housewife, but he refuted it by saying he was anything but a housewife in a much different setting – that shut him up easily enough. Aside from the savings he was able to make, it also let him make extra purchases that he could keep from his husband knowing, or at least to the best of his abilities, to hide anything from Kei.
This time, they both decided to spend the day itself together at home; they had to call off whatever party their friends were planning for him for the weekend, so more people could come join. Kei was amused with how much “sneakier” his husband was trying to be, but he ignored him most of the time, even when he’d already dropped some of what he supposedly bought “in secret”. His husband was planning on cooking for him!
It could be anything, but Kei hoped it was an Italian dish that he learnt how to prepare while he was with Ali Roma. For someone who didn’t like Maths as a student, he turned out to be quite adept in the kitchen, and with him being home more often than Kei was, with his museum work, he can only count down the days until he’ll need his shirts altered to fit him with how much Tobio fed him. He’s aware that his mum was overjoyed whenever they visited, and saw that he was putting on some weight.
“Can you make me some of that risotto you made last week? I really loved that,” he called out to him when he heard paper and plastic bags crinkling as they jostled around in his husband’s hold, just as the door clicked shut. There was a hiss of what sounded like an Italian swear word, and the quick footsteps of someone whose cargo was about to spill. Kei only smiled at Tobio’s antics, but didn't comment on it. He let him sort and stash away the grocery before hinting at what he wanted to eat on his birthday.
Tobio rushed into the living room where Kei was working on his laptop, and looked up at him expectantly. “Yeah, I’ll– I can make some risotto for you. If that’s what you want.”
“That’s all I ask for,” Kei replies with a firm nod. They can just buy or order a strawberry shortcake, but nothing can beat his husband’s home cooking.
— 💍 —
Ever since he got his licence, Kei found that he enjoyed driving. It was relaxing to an extent, and maybe catching his husband dozing off in the passenger seat with his head against the window, occasionally dropping forward and hitting the dashboard; Kei had to turn the music up whenever that happened so he could at least drown his chuckles out.
This time, though, it was Tobio behind the wheel, while Kei navigated for him; how they got roped into saying yes to have his birthday party at a hotel in Iwate was beyond him, but hey, it was an all-expenses paid trip sponsored by Kozume Kenma, or at least that’s what Kuroo-san managed to say with Bokuto singing him a happy birthday song in the background, all warbled and loud as he struggled with the English lyrics.
They just had to come, and make merry and celebrate with their friends and families– both his and Tobio’s families have already been brought to the venue, so all they’re waiting for was the guest of honour.
Everything was going according to schedule as Tobio drove at a leisurely pace without going over the limit. That was until he noticed them drive past the hotel. Even the GPS announced that they’d already reached their destination, and yet Tobio was still driving.
More confused than afraid, Kei could only watch as Tobio kept on driving until they reached Jodogahama beach, stopping only to park. Once the car was turned off, and Tobio was unbuckling his seatbelt did Kei voice out his concerns. “Look, I want to spend some time with just us two, too, but if we head back right now, I’m sure we can ask if we can head back earlier, or we can book a room at the hotel, if you wanted?”
Tobio only shook his head and helped Kei remove his seatbelt. He did get out of the car and followed his husband out to the beach.
— 💍 —
“Why are we at the beach again? It’s so cold out here,” Kei asked, pulling his scarf – a handmade present he made for him – around his neck, and over his chin.
“We weren’t able to go last summer, remember? And since we’re already going somewhere with a beach nearby, might as well give it a go?” Tobio had never been one for spontaneity, Kei knew that for sure, and he made sure to be obvious in how he said it so maybe that’s why Kei could only sigh, and shake his head in that fond way he does.
He looked at Tobio, his eyes boring into him with an expression that was anything but pure adoration. “We can go next time when it’s warmer, and we won’t risk catching a cold.” He smiled at Tobio, and pulled him in, finally catching on. “And the next year, and the year after that, and after that– actually, you know what? We can come out whenever you want. Anytime you want,” Kei added, repeating the last part like a promise.
“Okay,” Tobio chuckled, “I think you’re laying it on too thick, but I get it. And, thanks. For putting up with me. Another year of putting up with me.”
“And thank you for loving me. For letting me spend another year of my life with you.”
They closed the already infinitesimal gap between them, and sealed their promises with a kiss. It’s not like fireworks– those have long ago died out; instead, it’s something soft, soothing like hot tea in winter, and warm like coming home after a long day; Tobio could also taste the ocean on Kei’s lips, but that could also be his general saltiness, too, but he loved it– he loved him nonetheless. He found out, years ago, that he didn’t mind it.
And he wouldn’t mind it in the years that will come after.
Fin.