x fem!reader
word count: 4300
song: can i have this dance by high school musical cast (mainly inspired by the song, not really based off of it)
—
meeting hirugami sachirō was nothing but a chance encounter. they were first years at kamomedai high and had never once been in the same room together, despite also going to the same middle school. it wasn't until hirugami visited the flower shop where y/n worked that they met for the first time. even then it was pure coincidence seeing as his sister was the one who was supposed to get the flowers for their grandmother and y/n had to cover for her coworker on her usual day off. nothing happened because of that initial encounter, though, at least not until they started noticing each other more in passing at school.
—
y/n wanted nothing more than to be at home, curled up in her bed, at that very moment. but once again she was troubled with the fact that she couldn't say no to people when they asked things of her. it was a wednesday afternoon, one that was meant to be her day off, and her coworker guilted her into taking over their shift after their family member surprised them with tickets to some event. of course, y/n agreed reluctantly––not that she let it show outwardly––and now she was stuck at work on the slowest day of the week.
making the most of the slow day, y/n got started making some floral arrangements that were supposed to be picked up later that afternoon and early the next morning. the process of choosing the designated flowers, cutting the stems to the appropriate length, and arranging and rearranging the bouquets until she deemed them good enough had become therapeutic to her. y/n's movements were confident and precise as she placed tulips of multiple colors on a bed of greenery like stated on the order that was to be picked up in the next couple of minutes.
the sounds of bells chiming pulled y/n out of her concentrated trance, a customary 'welcome in' escaping her lips while she put the finishing touches on the floral arrangement. eventually she looked up to properly greet the new customer only to be met with the sight of a boy around her age. his presence in the small shop was rather odd, he looked uncomfortable or hesitant or irritated? y/n wasn't too sure, she just knew that he most likely didn't want to be there.
"can i help you with something?" she broke the silence upon realizing that he wasn't going to be moving any time soon.
"yeah, i'm here to pick up some flowers," his voice was on the deeper side, she noticed. another wave of silence passed over them as she waited for him to tell her who exactly the order was for but even then he just let his eyes wander around the room awkwardly.
"do you have a name for an order or do you want me to put something together right now?" y/n tried to suppress a laugh and hide a smile when his eyes widened.
"oh, sorry, it's an order for hirugami shōko. my sister said it would be ready at five-thirty," he raised a hand towards the back of his neck where he lightly tugged at his hair.
"you're right on time," y/n glanced towards the bouquet of tulips right in front of her, "i finished it right as you walked in."
he picked up the wrapped flowers and walked out with a 'thank you' after she told him his sister paid for them ahead of time. it was only after he turned his back towards her that she realized who he was. y/n recognized him as one of the players on her school's volleyball team, despite not knowing his name. from the few moments he was standing right in front of her, she came to realize how cute he was and found herself wondering what his personality was like. 'oh well', she thought as she got back to work, 'it's not like anything would happen between them anyways'.
—
by the time they started their second year, y/n and hirugami had become 'friends in passing' as she liked to call it. for the first time in close to five years they were in the same class and often worked together on difficult assignments. that had also been the year y/n's younger brother joined them at kamomedai as a first year, signing up for the volleyball team as a libero. as a result, she started sticking around after school when she didn't have to go to work to walk home with her brother after their practice ended.
l/n y/n and hirugami sachiro were complete strangers to each other but over the course of a year and a half had grown to be something more. winter was knocking at their door when he realized there was something more complex about his feelings for the girl he had started to spend more time with. after hours in the library together working on projects and homework, making quick conversation during breaks at practice, and having the occasional lunch in each other's company, the two grew closer than they could've ever intended. so deciding to ask y/n to go out with him was one of the hardest and easiest things he had ever done, hirugami just considered himself lucky that she even said yes.
—
y/n's presence in hirugami's life was almost like the flowers she worked with. it started with nothing but a little seedling of curiosity. for whatever reason, mostly pure coincidence, they started encountering each other more at school after that day in the flower shop. eventually, that buried seedling broke ground and they formed a friendship unlike one they had ever experienced. but that was also because their feelings surpassed those of platonic friendships by miles.
it seemed like from the moment he figured out how he truly felt, he was trying to come up with a way to ask her out. nothing was ever good enough though and as much as he willed himself to just outright tell her, he somehow convinced himself it wasn't the right time. weeks passed since the first day he started putting his plan together and hirugami finally decided enough was enough. if he kept at it at that pace, it would never be the right time and no plan would ever be good enough.
for that same reason, hirugami found himself standing in front of the familiar floral shop calming his nerves before opening the door. y/n met his gaze and smiled quickly in his direction with a slight wave as she continued helping the customer in front of her. hirugami patiently waited in line behind them, watching as y/n interacted with the older man and wrapped up the flowers he shared were for his wife. they smiled at his story, admiring the expression of love that flooded his eyes, and listened intently until he bid the teenagers a goodbye, walking out of the store.
"so," hirugami leaned his elbows against the counter in between them once their 'hello's' were exchanged, "what's your favorite flower?"
"i'm not too sure, roses are a classic but i think f/f's are nice too," she smiled, answering as honestly as she could, despite not knowing the reason behind the random question. he quietly hummed in acknowledgment as he straightened his posture, tapped on the counter, and moved to walk through the aisles of the shop. minutes passed before y/n was once again met with the sight of hirugami standing in front of her, this time with a rose held up in his right hand.
"just this one please," he handed her the money to pay for the singular flower, handing it to her once the transaction was complete and laughed at the look of confusion painted on her face.
"okay so, i'm not too sure what f/f's look like but i hope this works just fine," hirugami smiled cheekily at her, "it's not much but if you say yes i could bring some more cash with me to pay for a dozen of them. anyways, back to what i wanted to ask, will you go out with me?"
y/n grinned, not hesitating to say yes and leaning over the counter to press a kiss onto his cheek, "you know you could've just googled it, not that i'm complaining or anything."
—
a couple of months had passed since their first date and since then, they hadn't found the time to go on another one. it was closer to the middle of winter, a couple weeks before the spring tournament was scheduled to start, when they managed to set aside a day to spend together. as highly anticipated as it was, their date turned out to be the furthest from ideal. it started with a message from hirugami saying that he wouldn't be able to pick her up at their agreed time. his mom's car had broken down earlier that week and they weren't able to get it back on time that saturday morning. so with a couple more text exchanges, they decided to scrap their original plans and bought movie tickets for that same night. by five o'clock that afternoon y/n and hirugami were on their way to pick up the car before he used it to drive them to their date. but as luck would have it, even that was somehow messed up. after having bought their snacks for the movie they walked up to the ticket scanner who told the two that the theater their movie was meant to be playing in was having technical difficulties and probably wouldn't be open until closer to midnight.
by the time seven thirty rolled around y/n and hirugami tried to salvage what they could of their date, resorting to sitting in an empty parking lot eating the snacks they bought at the theater. the sun had since set but neither of them noticed until they realized they couldn't see each other's faces as clearly as before. they had been so caught up in their conversation, interlaced with bouts of laughter and fleeting touches, that they almost forgot about all the previous mishaps that happened throughout the day. for both of them, however, the most memorable part of the night had been the moment y/n pulled hirugami into the freezing night to dance in the headlights of his mom's car to a slow melody that played from the radio. it had even been the night the words 'i love you' were spoken between them for the very first time.
—
there was something about the way hirugami's eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled that left y/n feeling breathless. the feeling of his hand gripping her forearm as he threw his head back in carefree laughter at something stupid she said only made her want to spit out more nonsense just to be able to see him like that more often. sure, she would be the first to say that their first date hadn't gone exactly as she imagined it but sitting there with him made her realize that maybe it was always meant to be like that. y/n knew that hirugami wasn't the type to do over the top romantic things and neither was she to be honest. besides, it was the middle of winter so who in their right mind would want to be out instead of the warmth of their homes.
in that moment, hirugami was close to calling y/n crazy. their conversation had come to a brief pause as they tried to catch their breath after their long bout of laughter. the momentary silence was filled with a soft melody that was playing from the car's stereo, a song that came from hirugami's phone which was connected to the car's aux system. once y/n realized the soothing song she added to his playlist, she turned to him with pleading eyes that almost begged him to dance with her. almost reluctantly, hirugami took hold of her hand and nodded softly. after making sure she was properly bundled up, y/n restarted the song and walked out to meet him in front of the car.
with a gloved hand outstretched in her direction, hirugami waited for the weight of her hand to fall onto his slightly larger palm. the moment contact was made, he tugged her body to his and they started to sway gently, surrounded by the brisk night air and illuminated by the car's headlights. y/n rested her head on his shoulder, face buried into his scarf in an attempt to shield herself from the sharp winds, while hirugami leaned his cheek onto the top of her head. minutes had passed and the song was long over but neither of the two could find it in themselves to leave the other's embrace. the silence that accompanied them was disturbed with a sigh and some gently spoken words that tumbled almost instinctively from hirugami's lips.
"i love you, n/n."
it was the first time either one of them had ever said something like that. sure, they both knew that what they felt for each other was obviously more than simple infatuation. despite that, y/n had been a little more on the hesitant side to actually say it out loud. what if it was too early? what if he didn't feel the same yet? what if he never grew to love her the way she loved him? there were so many 'what if's' but they were all wiped completely from her mind the moment those very same words were spoken from her favorite boy.
for the longest time she had been afraid to fall for someone who wouldn't reciprocate her feelings but now hirugami was easing all her worries. in the amount of time they had been together, she had fallen fast. heck, she was still falling deeper into love with him and she trusted that he would be there to catch her through it all. his arms were strong and open wide, waiting for her but she knew that she wouldn't keep him waiting much longer.
"and i love you, hirō"
—
their relationship was growing stronger when their third year started and was often described as perfect by their classmates. of course, as everyone knows, nothing can truly be perfect. the date of their first anniversary was approaching but things hadn't been going smoothly for the two of them. hirugami had become so caught up in training, helping the new first years adjust to their rigorous practice schedule, that he began to unconsciously pull away from y/n. she didn't blame him, not at first, seeing as she understood how busy they could get. but eventually it had grown to be too much and she couldn't stand by without doing anything about it any longer. that had been the first time they fought so badly, nearly escalating to shouts and getting in each other's faces like they never had before. truth be told, it scared them knowing that in that moment that had gotten so close to losing each other. thankfully they didn't let it go that far, almost immediately realizing the flaws in their communication and managed to resolve their issues that same afternoon.
—
y/n had enough at that point. it wasn't a strange occurrence for them to be rescheduling their hangouts the past couple of weeks. she didn't blame him either, she knew that their club and school activities were taking more time now than they had in their first two years of high school. but recently he had started to not show up without so much as a text, leaving her waiting for hours until she finally went home alone.
that night in particular, however, it had been raining and y/n sat waiting for hirugami in a cafe that was starting to clean up for closing time. glancing at her phone one last time, she was met with an empty screen indicating no new messages and a time well past the one they agreed on days prior. so she left the employees a large tip and started her walk to hirugami's house in the pouring rain. it took her fifteen minutes to reach the doorstep, not waiting another second before she started knocking on their door. her boyfriend had been the one to open the door, his look of confusion quickly turning to one of regret once he took in her soaking wet appearance.
"so, when were you going to let me know that you weren't going to show up?" her question, laced with irritation, came tumbling from her lips the moment she registered it was him standing in front of her.
"shit, y/n, i'm so sorry. i completely forgot to text you, practice was just crazy today," he ran a hand over his face before reaching out to grab her arm. she was quick to step back out of his reach, not caring if it put her right in the rain again.
"you forgot? sachirō, i sent you multiple messages asking where you were. you could've at least told me you didn't want to go if that's what it was," y/n sighed and it almost felt like her heart was going to beat right out of her chest.
"i know, and i saw them but i got sidetracked and never got around to answering you."
"you got sidetracked?" she mumbled, "am i just that easy to forget about now that you can't even remember we had plans? that you can't text me to let me know you're going to leave me hanging like that?"
"oh come on, you know it's not like that. i forget to answer one message and you make it seem like i suddenly don't care about you," he grumbled under his breath.
"one message? you really think it was one message? sachirō, i texted you five times tonight and this isn't even the first time it's happened. what about a couple days ago when you canceled only after i got home? or last week when i found out through hoshiumi that you guys were practicing late and you wouldn't be able to make it?"
"it's not that big of a deal, you're just–"
"i'm just what?" she interrupted him, raising her voice a little bit, "i'm just being dramatic? is that what you were going to say? how would you feel if i left you waiting for me at some restaurant for hours and had people going up to you asking if the other person was going to show up? do you know how heartbreaking and embarrassing it is to wait hours only to have no one show up and leave by yourself?"
"look, i'm sorry. i know i haven't been the best lately but i've just had crazy, busy days recently. i don't expect you to understand but it's not easy having to manage so many things at once," hirugami was so close to shouting too, the strain in his voice obvious.
"no, i understand completely. i just never thought that our relationship was something i had to 'manage'. but if you really think that way, then it might be easier to take something off of your plate," y/n's voice lowered significantly as if trying to hide the shakiness of it.
hirugami froze in his spot, breath caught in his throat, "what are you trying to say?" oh how he hoped his suspicions weren't right.
"i don't know, if you're struggling to manage everything at once, then maybe we should break up until you are able to figure it out," y/n tilted her head to look him in the eye and when she was met with minutes of silence, she turned her back on him with a small wave goodbye.
neither of them wanted it to end like this, with one walking away from the other, but until they got their shit together this was how it had to be. it didn't take long for hirugami to snap out of trance and race down the street towards y/n. the fear that crept into his heart the moment they started to raise their voices at each other had rendered him frozen at the sound of y/n's last words to him. he never wanted it to get that far. if anything, he hadn't even stopped to think about how the last couple of weeks had been affecting her and now that he replayed their conversation in his head, he realized exactly where he went wrong. knowing that, he'd be damned if he just let his girl slip from his fingertips when he still had the chance to fix things.
"y/n!" he shouted the second he saw her figure at the end of the sidewalk about to cross the street. she turned around at the sound of a familiar voice, squinting to look through the heavy droplets of rain that continued to pound against the earth.
hirugami was quick to pull her in the direction of his house, eager to get the both of them out of the rain. the walk back was anything but silent, filled with a conversation between the two of them the entire time. words of apology came from the boy first followed by promises of a better future together. y/n followed with her own apology, only hers was for raising her voice at him instead of having a normal conversation. both of them admitted to the other how afraid they had been at the prospect of losing each other and shared how relieved they were to have another chance at making things right between them.
the pouring rain turned into a light drizzle by the time the couple walked through his front door, his mother scolding them quickly before ushering them into different bathrooms to take warm showers. that night had shown them that no matter the situation, the extent of an argument, or even the state of weather would ever be able to keep them from fighting for each other. and when the time came for them to go to university, whether they went to the same or to different schools, no amount of distance would keep them from knowing that they were meant to be together for the rest of their lives.
—
the days slowly turned to weeks. those weeks quickly turned to months and soon enough nearly six years had come and gone in the blink of an eye. so much happened in that short period of time, y/n graduated from university and found a job not too far from the veterinary school hirugami attended. but most notably, after getting settled into adult life, hirugami bought a ring and proposed to y/n in an empty parking lot just days after picking it up from the jewlers. it wasn't a grand gesture like those they saw all over social media but it was perfect for them.
y/n didn't know if it was intentional or if he asked her in the spur of the moment but that night almost mirrored the one where they first said 'i love you' to each other for the very first time. hirugami had pulled her out of his car and danced to a silent melody in their heads. the sound of his heart beating in his chest was close to lulling her to sleep standing wrapped in his strong arms but his soothing voice was quick to pull her back into reality. hirugami had taken those minutes in silence to collect his thoughts before he found himself on his right knee in front of her, hands shakily holding the small black box that showcased the ring she had pinned at the top of one of her pinterest boards. that night had been one to remember and she was so incredibly satisfied with the path life was taking her on.
"can i have this dance?" her husband's voice interrupted her quick stroll down memory lane.
y/n smiled in hirugami's direction allowing him to take her hand in his and pull her into the warmth of his chest. resting her left arm on his right shoulder, she locked her gaze onto his and listened to the sound of their song as it guided them across the white tiled dance floor of the reception hall. despite all the things that had changed since their days in high school, hirugami's honey colored irises provided y/n with a sense of familiarity that had her admiring the color brown in an entirely new light. there was nothing in the world that y/n wouldn't trade if it meant that she would be able to love hirugami for the rest of all eternity.
"i love you, my darling wife," hirugami's lips moved against the skin of her temple where he had just planted a kiss.
"i love you, my sweet husband," she smiled softly, pressing a sweet kiss against his lips.
she truly didn't know how she got so lucky to have met him. for a majority of the time they had been together, she had come to realize just how rare it was to be in a relationship like theirs. it really was like getting struck by lightning, a one in a million chance of having the opportunity to be so in love with the person who loves you just the same. people like hirugami didn't come around very often and y/n was determined to never let him go. after all, their life together had only truly just begun, there was still so many things for them to do and memories for them to share.
—
so i've hit a plateau. i feel like i'm really repetitive in the kinds of stories i write and the quality of them too. what do y'all think? would y'all like to see something different? like angst or au's or anything else. please give me your suggestions, i'm open to all kinds of criticism!
p.s. i hope y'all liked this story format, it's pretty new to me and i'm not sure if all those flashback scenes fit well in this situation.