6 years later
"Wake up!" I hear over, and over, and over again. "Hellooooo? Wake up! We'll be late." I open my eyes, sighing.
"Takeshi," I groan. "Will we really?" I ask, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.
"Yes! Come on." He says and I laugh, running a hand through my hair. I glance at the clock then cross my arms.
"I have half an hour to get ready." I raise an eyebrow.
"But you take forever to get ready." He pouts and I giggle.
"Come here." I open my arms. He excitedly comes over to me, throwing himself into my arms.
"Good morning baby" I greet.
"Good morning!" He responds cheerfully.
"Okay, you go downstairs. I made lunch for you, so just put it in your bag. Okay? I'll be down soon." I say and he nods, walking out the room.
I sigh, standing up and stretching. Humming, I walk to the bathroom to brush my hair and style the bangs I just got a few days ago.
I change, putting on warm clothes before going downstairs.
"Are you ready hunny?" I ask.
"Yes." I hear Takeshi call and he emerges from the kitchen.
"Okay, me too." I smile.
He reaches for my hand, and we both put our shoes on before we get into my car.
"Can we play some music?" He asks and I chuckle, nodding.
"You've been really into music these days, haven't you?" I ask and see him nod excitedly. I turn on the radio, playing the station with the most recently trending musicians.
"Our next song is one sang by rising star Semi Eita. He's gained a lot of attention lately, and who can blame him? Girls all over the world are going crazy over this kid! He is definitely what we can consider an international sensation."
Semi Eita.
Why does the name sound so familiar?
We drive in silence, letting the music speak for us.
We soon pull up to our destination, and I see the teacher outside greeting all the kids.
"Bye mom!" Takeshi, my son, waves to me as I help him out the car.
"Bye sweetie, have a good day at school okay? Be a good boy for mommy!" I grin, kissing his forehead.
"I'll be the best boy! Then you buy me cake as a reward?" He tilts his head excitedly and I nod.
"Deal." I giggle as he jumps up and down.
"Bye!" He waves once more, running to his teacher and giving him a high five before being rushed into the school. I wave to his teacher as well, a childhood friend, before getting into my car.
As I slip into my seat, my phone rings.
"Hello?" I answer.
"Where are youuuu? I'm by myself! No one is here yet."
"I'll be there soon. I just dropped Takeshi off at pre-school." I respond and hear a groan.
"Okay, hurry." He says, hanging up.
Rolling my eyes, I laugh and drive off.
The restaurant we're meeting at is only around 10 minutes away, and I make it there in no time at all.
I find a parking spot fairly quickly, then walk into the restaurant.
"Yuna-San!" I hear my name being called and turn to see my friend waving me down, sitting at an empty table.
"Good morning Shōyō-Kun." I smile brightly, sitting across from him.
"You're finally here." He throws his hands up in the air.
"Why did you come early?" I laugh and he smiles sheepishly.
"I got excited to see everyone." He says. "Thanks for picking me up yesterday from the airport by the way!"
"Don't mention it, I know Kageyama's schedule has been hectic. What did you do when you got home?" I ask, pouring myself a cup of coffee from the pot that sat on the table.
"As soon as I got home I called the coach of the national team. He said he already sent out an invitation for me to play for them. So tomorrow will be my first practice with them! I'll be able to play with Kageyama again." Hinata beams and my eyes widen.
"Wow, Shōyō-Kun that's amazing! Congratulations!" I smile and he laughs.
"After that, I plan to try out for the MSBY Black Jackals as well. So things are starting to look up." He says and I sigh in content.
"Man, isn't it crazy how far everyone's come?" I ask, a feeling of nostalgia coming over me as I look at the boy- no - the man in front of me.
He's taller, skin tanned from playing in the sun all day, and he's fit as hell.
I'm extremely proud of Hinata Shōyō. He deserves all the good things coming to him in life.
"I'm happy I get to see you today, and everyone else's who comes. When I was in Brazil, I felt lonely at first. But I met and made a few friends. I'm really happy to be home though!" He grins and I smile.
I'm about to respond, when a group of people who walk in catch my eye.
Asahi, Nishinoya, and Kageyama all come in at once. Hinata excitedly flags them down, and we both stand up.
"Hey, idiot." Kageyama stands in front of Hinata, hands stuffed into his pockets with a cool look on his face.
"You don't see your own boyfriend in two years and the first thing you say is 'hey, idiot'?" Hinata asks. "You think you're cool or something? Hm?" He asks, holding his arms out wide.
Kageyama stares at him for a moment before breaking out into a grin and enveloping the shorter boy into his arms- almost squeezing the life out of Hinata.
"I missed you. I'm so glad you're finally home." Kageyama admits.
"Yuna-Chan." Asahi looks at me, his eyes bright. "You look...amazing! Wow. You look really good!" He says and I chuckle, giving him a hug.
Noya comes to his side and we hug each other as well before I pull away.
"Thank you, Asahi-San. The perks of having a personal trainer." I laugh, patting my now toned stomach.
After I had Takeshi, I had started to feel bad about myself again.
That's when Hinata had referred me to a guy named Iwaizumi Hajime. He said that although he's an athletic trainer, he'd be happy to help me out since I'm Hinata's friend. I've been seeing him for around two years now, and the results have definitely paid off.
"How are you guys doing? The photos you guys posted of your wedding in Egypt looked beautiful!" I gush and Noya grins.
"We've been having the time of our lives! We might have a small reception here with our family and friends since it was only us two when we got married. If we decide to do that, look out for your invite okay?" Noya smiles at me and I nod.
"Thank you." I say excitedly.
We all sit down and catch up with each other.
"When is your husband coming, Mei? I'm hungry." Kageyama looks at me.
"Ah, that's right! Mei-Chan has been married longer than any of us but we keep calling her Yuna." Asahi notes and I laugh.
"It's okay." I look at my phone. "His morning class ended like, 20 minutes ago. So he should be here any minute now."
As if on cue, my dear husband walks through the doors. I jump up excitedly, standing by chair and waiting for him to come over.
"Good morning." I smile up at him.
"Good morning love. Did you get here safely? Is Takeshi at school?" He asks and I nod.
"I did get here safely, and yes. He's at school." I smile. He wraps his arms around me in a hug before we sit down. He pulls my chair closer to his, sliding his arm around my shoulders as he looks at the people sitting at the table.
"Are you going to say hi to us?" Hinata asks, crossing his arms.
"Do I have to?" My husband raises an eyebrow.
"Tsukishima!" Hinata says angrily. "At least say hi to me! We haven't seen each other in two years! You're going to hurt my feelings!"
"I've seen you when you FaceTimed Mei. I didn't miss you at all." Tsukishima rolls his eyes. "But good morning everyone."
"Good morning to the Tsukishimas!" They cheer in unison. I giggle, leaning into Kei's side.
That's right. I'm a Tsukishima now.
"I can't believe you're a dad! And from what we hear and see on social media- a pretty decent one too! I never pictured Tsukishima having a wife and a kid before any of us." Nishinoya leans over the table to look at the blonde in amusement.
"Are you guys really that surprised?" He raises an eyebrow.
"Well obviously! You were always so cold! And to get married at 18? That's far from the Tsukishima we know." Hinata chimes in, making me laugh.
"Hey, Tsukishima said he was going to marry me when we were 16!" I grin and they all look at us, shocked.
"That's how we planned your 'escape' " He turns to me, a small smile on his face. I burst out laughing, nodding.
"The night I moved, Tsukishima said that as soon as we graduate, he was going to come get me and we were going to get married so I can come back down to Miyagi. It was literally so dramatic and cliche. But that's exactly what happened." I smile and the boys at the table let out a string of 'aww's, except for Kageyama.
"And then you guys just decided to get straight to popping out the kids?" Kageyama asks and Hinata chokes on air while Nishinoya bursts out laughing, Asahi just puts his head in his hands.
"Kind of." Tsukishima shrugs, looking at me expectantly.
"Well, I actually got pregnant while we were still in school. Like, maybe 3 months before graduation. Kei was about to start college, and was already getting scouted for the professional volleyball team he's playing for right now. Since I didn't plan to go to college- instead just planning to work at my parent's company, I thought I'd be lonely since they wanted me to work from home. So I talked with my wonderful fiancé at the time and asked him to kindly donate himself so we can make a little friend to keep me company." I tap on Tsukishima's leg, and he nods as I talk.
"Basically."
"I'm surprised he agreed to that, if I'm being honest." Asahi lifts his head, eyes wide.
"Me too." Kageyama pipes up.
"Kei agrees to everything I say." I tease, kissing him on the cheek.
He begins to turn red so he immediately looks away.
"That's a lie." He responds, causing me to giggle.
"He totally does! Look at him!" Hinata points and the boys laugh. "Aww, Tsukishima is a good husband!"
"He really is. He treats me very well." I agree.
"I want to be a good husband." Hinata nudges Kageyama.
"Okay." Kageyama responds.
"I want you to be a good husband." Hinata says, crossing his arms.
"Okay." Kageyama repeats.
"So propose to me already, damn it! We're 22, we're getting old!"
"I'm trying! You were gone for two years you dumbass!" At that, Hinata gasps and covers his mouth with his hands.
"You're really going to do it?" He asks and Kageyama becomes flustered. Hinata's eyes slowly fill with tears and he looks away. "I didn't know. I ruined the element of surprise! I'm sorry..."
"Idiot, don't apologize. It's not like you know when I'm going to propose." Kageyama pulls his boyfriend into a hug, allowing us to see a rare moment of kindness towards his partner.
"Morons." Tsukishima scoffs and I nudge him, pouting.
"Be nice."
"It's true." He shrugs.
"Hey, Mei-Chan. Why did you decide not to go to college? You could have taken the same classes as Tsukishima." Noya looks over at me.
"Why would you ask such a stupid question like that?" Tsukishima asks, his tone sounding annoyed. "Obviously it's because she didn't have good experiences in school before. Why would she continue to further her education if that's the main place she doesn't feel safe at all?"
My eyes widen and I place my hand on Tsukishima's thigh, rubbing it so he can calm down.
"Sorry Noya-San." I apologize but he just laughs.
"Don't worry, it was a silly question after all. I apologize." He shakes it off.
"Are we ready to order?" A waitress comes up to our table.
"Yes please!" Hinata perks up.
~
"Mommy! Daddy!" Takeshi runs up to us, hugging both of our legs.
"Takeshi." Tsukishima says softly, a huge smile on his face as he picks up our son and holds him in his arms.
"Thank you Suga!" I bow to his teacher and wave as we make our way back to our car.
"-so I can grow big and strong like you! You like it right? So it's my favorite too! Mommy also gets a smile on her face when she eats it." I turn back to my family, catching a small part of their conversation.
"That's right, we have to eat strawberry shortcake to grow big and strong. Ask your mother if we can go right now and buy some. Tell her you were good at school today, and that Suga-Sensei even gave you a gold sticker!" Tsukishima and our son turn to me.
I'll never get used to this sight. It warms my heart every time. Tsukishima holding our son, one of his large fingers in Takeshi's grasp, both of them smiling happily.
He looks so much like his father, it's adorable. And he's already taken an interest in volleyball as well. He always tells me how much he wants to be like his dad.
"Mom! I was very good! Look at my gold star!" Takeshi pulls his shirt forward, showing off his gold sticker.
"Ooh! A gold star?" I beam.
"Gold stars are very much an adequate excuse to get cake, right?" Tsukishima smirks and I laugh.
"Right." I respond. "Let's go fast, Takeshi you can pick which one we get."
"Yay!" He throws the hand that he's not holding Tsukishima's finger in, in the air.
Tsukishima buckles Takeshi into the car seat he has in his car, and then the two of us get in. After having breakfast with our friends this morning, we went home and relaxed for a bit before having to pick up our son, so we took Tsukishima's car here.
He drives us to the nearest bakery, Takeshi cheering the entire time in the backseat.
As Tsukishima and I stand back, watching as our son bounces in front of the rows of cake they have on display, I can't help but think about how lucky I am.
I lightly squeeze Tsukishima's hand that holds mine, and lean into his side.
"I'm really glad to have met you. Thank you for sticking to our promise." I say quietly and Tsukishima let's go of my hand to wrap his arm around my shoulders.
"You don't know how much I just wanted to go and see you everyday. It was torture- my teammates made fun of me for it all the time. I had to pretend nothing was wrong." His beautiful laugh fills the air. "Oh! Speaking of those days, guess what I found early this morning when I was going through the closet?" He perks up and I look up at him.
"What is it?" I ask and he takes off the backpack from his shoulders. Why did he bring it in the bakery with us? I don't know. Don't ask me.
He rummages through it for a second before pulling things out, then pushes the straps back onto his shoulders. He holds them out for me to see and I gasp, a grin coming over my face.
"Our bracelets! And our rings!" I laugh, grabbing one of the bracelets. I tap the screen and the other one buzzes, lighting up. "They still work!" I say excitedly, then grab one of the bands and place it on my right hand.
"Yeah, I was surprised when I found them." Tsukishima chuckles, putting his ring on his right hand too. "Look, now we have our first rings and our wedding rings." He puts his hand out next to mine and I giggle.
"Let's wear them both, yeah?" I smile excitedly and he looks at me, nodding.
"If that's what you want, I don't mind. It brings back nice memories." He says and I grin.
"The bracelets! I'm happy you found the bracelets too! I was so upset when you put them away and said that we didn't need them anymore."
"We didn't. The whole point of buying them was because we were going to be far from each other. We literally moved in together." Tsukishima scrunches his face up.
"But how was I supposed to buzz you?!" I pout and he kisses my forehead.
"There was no need. If you want to wear them again, we can. Though, I won't be able to wear it during my games." He looks down at me and I nod quietly.
I admire his looks for a minute before speaking again.
"You are very kind, Kei. You make me extremely happy, do you know that?" I smile, wrapping my arms around his torso.
"That's all I want to do- make you happy. So I'm happy just hearing you say that." He pecks my lips, leaning down. "Have you shrunk? My neck hurts having to bend down so low to kiss you." He adds with a smirk.
"You meanie!" I hit his chest lightly, laughing. "You got taller! You're 6'4, how am I supposed to compete with that?" I pout again and he laughs, pulling me to him so I lay my head on his chest.
"No competing. You're so cute, it makes having to break my neck to kiss you bearable." He jokes and I smile softly.
I'm not even short. I'm way above average height for a female here. This blondie is just a giant.
"I want this one! It looks like it has more strawberries on top." We both turn to see Takeshi point at a cake.
We tell him to get it, staying in each other's arms as the worker carefully packages the cake.
I close my eyes, letting myself melt into my husbands arms.
"I love you, Kei."
"I love you too, Mei."
(Kei and Mei 🥺 how cute.
Honestly, when I was researching names that I can use- I didn't even realize they basically had the same name. I usually choose names based on their meanings, and Yuna means achieve great results and Mei means beloved, or dark, so I thought it was fitting.
Anyways, that is it for this story :( I will miss writing about them.
12/29/2020