floating trees - c418 . minor nsfw
(two months later)
"we could go to that festival in tokyo. it's by the nationals gymnasium, so we might see some familiar faces."
"is that supposed to be a good thing?"
"of course! udai has been watching and meeting with a lot of those guys to help set them up with college, so i might see some friends."
"friends..."
"friends, 'toshi. just some friends."
"i still don't want to go."
y/n and ushijima laid together in his full-sized bed while trying to figure out what to do over their break before college started up.
y/n had agreed to go on a trip that would last around two weeks to the uk with udai to learn more about being an athletic trainer from his football trainer friend. because of that they wanted to have some time together before having to think about the college stuff. even though they were already going to be in the same city, with ushijima going to play for the schweiden alders, and y/n going to major in athletics and health at tokyo gakugei university, a break couldn't hurt.
after losing to karasuno, ushijima couldn't have been happier. the stress of nationals was nowhere to be seen in his life, and instead he could enjoy time with y/n. he could walk into school with her hand held by his, and it was finally them sharing a piece of cheesecake. finally, he could walk in proudly with his arm around her and, though she tried to stop him from caring, he could revel in the looks of envy that he received from the same guys that harassed her at the beginning of the year.
every morning after practice, ushijima would specifically not tie his own uniform tie so that she'd have to tie it for him outside of class.
-
"i know that you leave it untied on purpose, 'toshi."
ushijima leaned against the wall beside their classroom as he watched the shorter girl in front of him neatly wrap his brightly colored tie back around his neck.
"no, i don't," he disagreed. "i'm in a rush to leave the locker rooms, so i forget."
"why don't you do it when we walk here?" she asked him, knowingly smiling.
"you tie it better than i do," he shrugged. "it looks nicer."
y/n chuckled and evened out the ends.
"i think you just like when i'm close to you."
she reached up to loop her fingers under his tie to pull him down by the loose knot. she kissed him hastily, keeping it short so that he couldn't return it with the understanding that there were people around. she pulled away and tightened the knot, laughing at his small grimace.
"i do," he quietly agreed.
-
ushijima impatiently checked his watch, watching the busy terminal in front of him and the planes flying and landing on the runways just outside.
it was only a bit after six at night, but already ushijima was starting to worry that something was wrong. he wondered if maybe he'd been early, but his worries easily settled when he saw his girlfriend approaching him in the wide hallway.
she wore her headphones over her head and she looked to be reading something on her phone while she walked with her suitcase rolling behind her.
she wore shorts that ended just above her knees, though they were hidden by ushijima's hoodie that she couldn't seem to stop wearing. but he still made her promise that she'd wear his schweiden alder hoodie when he started there.
feeling a pair of eyes on her, she looked up over the rim of her glasses and through the dark hair that hung low, as it had grown much longer over the past year.
she saw ushijima watching her and she quickly pocketed her phone and pulled her headphones down to hang around her neck. she quickened her pace until she felt secure enough to let her suitcase stand on its own while she wrapped her arms around his neck and held onto him tightly. he returned the embrace easily, and he smiled discreetly after pressing a kiss to her temple. he held her tight enough that her feet lifted off the ground, and she leaned further into him.
"you know you didn't have to come pick me up," she said after releasing him. "i could have called a cab."
"my mom bought me a car while you were gone. i wanted to drive you around."
"a car- are you serious? i didn't even think you had your license."
ushijima shrugged and reached around y/n to lift her bag like it was nothing.
"it was a graduation present. and i thought that we should have some way to make it to that festival in tokyo."
hearing that ushijima had finally agreed to spending a couple days in tokyo with her, she quietly squealed.
"it'll be so fun, 'toshi," she said, holding his hand tightly. "see, i knew you'd change your mind so i already planned everything out."
she continued to ramble on while ushijima led her back to his brand new car, though he didn't deny that the things she mentioned sounded fun. even as they sat in his car, she could barely focus on anything besides their future in tokyo.
"we'll start in the afternoon to go see that play about the old samurai, then we'll walk around for a bit and try some of the food and play some games there, then find somewhere to sit to watch the fireworks. i actually have a friend who lives right by there, so she told me that we could stay the night in her apartment since she's overseas. and then the next day we could look around the area where you'll be playing."
"you really planned..."
"wakatoshi, i knew you'd change your mind."
"what would you have done if i didn't change my mind?"
y/n hummed. "i would've cancelled everything, and done whatever you wanted to do."
"even if i told you that i wanted to stay at home all month and do nothing?" ushijima pulled up to stop light where he turned to look at y/n.
"i would have done that with you."
-
festival week had finally arrived and y/n couldn't have hid her excitement any worse. the night before, because ushijima's mother was on another business trip, y/n had chosen to stay the night with him and it was as innocent as could be. almost.
they made a full dinner for themselves and watched movies that y/n remembered from america. ushijima acted like he was bored, but he was secretly just as entranced as y/n was, and she knew that. they'd gotten tired soon after, and fell asleep on ushijima's couch after showering together.
the next morning, y/n stood in front of ushijima's bathroom mirror groaning loudly, viewing all the darkening hickeys that painted her neck and collarbones. ushijima followed her in tiredly, wiping the sleep out of his eyes and reaching for his purple toothbrush almost immediately, which sat right beside her dark green one in the same cup.
"what's wrong?" he asked with his voice covered in rasp.
"all these marks, 'toshi! my robe won't cover them at all!"
"don't cover them," he replied nonchalantly. his words were muffled because of the toothbrush that glided over his teeth, but that didn't stop y/n from scoffing at his demand.
"why shouldn't i? people will think i'm a whore if they see them." she wetted a rag with cold water and proceeded to wipe down the purple marks in a weak attempt to make them disappear.
"they'll know that you're mine, though."
the accidentally suggestive comment made y/n blush. "i can't believe how jealous you are all the time."
ushijima rinsed his mouth out with a cool and minty mouthwash that felt cold enough to wake him up.
"i wouldn't be so jealous if guys could catch on quicker that you weren't available."
she chuckled and began brushing her teeth as well. "marking me up like this won't help anything."
he shrugged and stepped to the side to turn on his shower.
"maybe not." he walked behind her after removing his shirt to toss it into his hamper. his hand hung by his side while he watched her bend over the counter to spit her mouthwash back into the sink. for his own pleasure, he let his hand rest on her backside and leaned over her shoulder to kiss her cheek quickly. "but, i think they look nice."
she yelped loudly and swatted his hand away. ushijima quickly fled the bathroom with a small grin while she fakely frowned at him. he undressed on his own and chuckled as he heard her reprimanding him through the wall.
"you're so inappropriate! what even happened to you!"
ushijima could admit that since being with y/n he'd become much more affectionate and touchy, but y/n could also admit that she liked it a lot, and only scolded him for it because it made him do it more.
-
they made it to the festival that afternoon, and like y/n said, they saw a lot of familiar faces. after they watched the well-made hour long play, they found themselves looking around for food to eat. the miya twins were running an onigiri stand where osamu cooked and atsumu called in the customers. nekoma and fukurodani's second and third years were walking together in one large group with kuroo absent, which ushijima was thankful for. they saw karasuno's third years as well, who kindly warned the two that tanaka, nishinoya, and hinata were also walking around somewhere. they sat down at a table far from the crowd to enjoy their dango together, but ushijima still felt off.
he realized after taking his seat that it wasn't the people that he knew that bothered him so much, but it was the people that he didn't recognize. guys his age and older seemed to have their eyes drawn to his girlfriend's body every time that he looked away, but he could always catch a glimpse. he refrained from telling her, hoping not to ruin the clear fun that she was having. but it was hard when she seemed to keep giving other guys something to look at.
she wore one of her brother's black and gold uniform tops tied back to "fit her better" and shorts that were small just for the fact that it would be hot that day. she was oblivious as ever to the lustful looks she received, so once more he'd been especially sure to keep his affection as public as possible, much to her embarrassment. but she never told him to stop either.
-
the sun had finally set and it was nearing the hour for the fireworks to begin. y/n was overrun by chills and shivers as the fall air hit her bare skin, but as always, ushijima was there to save her.
they found a private spot right beside a pond where they could watch the fireworks without having to squeeze in or find their way around all the other people who'd decided to stay as well. they sat in the grass on a blanket that y/n packed away in the tote bag that she'd brought with. they laid on their backs ready for the lights to begin. it'd been loud for a while, so now that ushijima could find the time to talk, he'd do just that.
"i had fun today," he said.
she rolled over onto her side to look at him. "of course you did. and after the fireworks, we can go back to nana's apartment and sleep, and tomorrow morning we'll walk around some more."
ushijima sighed and shook his head. "i think there's something else that i want to do."
"what's that?" she sat up onto her elbows to look him in the eyes.
ushijima remained silent as he lifted his hand closest to her to hold her in place while he delicately swiped an eyelash off of her cheek. he tucked a bit of her hair behind her ear and in a fluid motion, he pulled her in for a slow and satisfying kiss that he'd been waiting for all day. her lips sat on his gently and she closed her eyes as she melted into his touch. she exhaled softly at the short moment between kisses, and as soon as they'd met again, it seemed like the fireworks were the last thing in their minds.
even as the colorful sparks glowed and lit up the sky like stars, all either of them cared about was continuing the moment.
the once soft kiss sped up almost exponentially. ushijima's hands had left her face and trailed down her body to focus on her sides. she felt his touch, so she rolled off of her side to lay over ushijima with his knee positioned in between her legs, and her hands either entangled in his hair or holding onto the black blanket beneath him.
"how far is nana's apartment from here?" he quietly asked after the fireworks had ended.
"close by."
"how close?"
"two minute drive."
ushijima's hands held her tighter while he hummed lowly.
"that's so far."
despite his comment, y/n still moved to stand up and pack her things away. ushijima watched her closely.
"are you coming or not?" she asked. "if we don't go now, we might never get there." she looked down at him with a knowing expression. he realized quickly what she was trying to tell him and he stood up the same as her to finish cleaning up faster than he'd ever cleared a gym.
-
the sound of y/n's keys loudly clattered against each other as she rifled through her ring full of keychains, membership cards, and silver keys. ushijima stood behind her and paid no mind to her struggle as he had all of his attention on her exposed neck and underneath her shirt.
her breath would hitch and she would shortly hum at every move he made. his soft olive hair that looked brown in the dark brushed against her face and she couldn't keep herself from flushing.
"i can't focus like this," she whispered. "i don't remember which key it is."
"okay." he hadn't paused his actions for even a second.
she continued to look through her keys and fumble with the ring attached to a msby jackals lanyard.
"at this rate, we'll never get inside."
"i will."
she laughed dryly to herself. she cut herself off almost immediately with a barely audible gasp as ushijima bit her skin gently just above her collarbone while his hands ran dangerously close to her chest underneath her shirt.
"you're such a-" she paused to exhale. "-such a pervert."
she knew that, of everything, ushijima hated to be called a pervert. and of course, ushijima stopped what he had been doing to pull away and disagree with her with a scowl.
"i'm not a pervert."
in the moment that she had, y/n found the key with nana's name written on it. she pushed it into the lock and turned it to the right. the lock clicked quietly and the door opened almost immediately.
ushijima grimaced as she grinned up at him, knowing that she'd only made him stop for that.
y/n walked in first and set her keys down in the bowl sitting on the shelf nearest to the door. she reached for the light so she could see her away around, but ushijima stopped her hand before she could. he turned to shut the door and lock it, leaving the room completely dark.
y/n felt the taller male move closer to her in the night.
"wakatoshi, it's too dark to be messing around."
"you've been messing with me all day," he replied.
despite not knowing what he was referring to, y/n couldn't deny the urge to mess around a little bit more. she felt especially free knowing that she'd stay in an apartment with no adults there to bother them.
"do something about it," she whispered.
her quiet taunts to him did nothing except motivate him even more.
he walked closer to her, and she took a step back. he took another step, and so did she. they continued backwards until they reached nana's bedroom, where the bed was made neatly and the sheets smelled like clean laundry still.
after ushijima shut the bedroom door as well, they stood watching each other as the small air freshener light illuminated the room just enough for him to see the glint in her eye.
"are you sure you want to do this here?"
instead of responding, she pulled the rubber band tying her shirt back off and she dropped it in the floor. the ends of the shirt hung at her legs, and she hooked her fingers under it to lift it up and pull it over her head. the muscles in her arms and chest flexed tightly as her shirt came off completely, and she tossed it off to the side, giving ushijima a clear view of her body.
he stared at her chest and stomach and hips, exhaling at the sight of the subtle light emanating from the corner of the room highlighting her body. aside from her school uniform, her body was always obscured by large and baggy clothes, and ushijima hadn't been able to often understand how beautiful she was with his eyes, and he'd only been able to touch her. but now she stood in front of him with a questioning expression, waiting for him to make a move.
in response to her silent answer, ushijima held his shirt by the back of his collar and removed it as well, tossing it somewhere behind her as she sighed.
"wakatoshi..."
no other words were exchanged between them once ushijima walked her further backwards until her legs hit the bed. his hands found her hips once more and they pulled at her shorts and skin. his fingers dragged up her spine while she dug her nails into his shoulder. he connected his lips to her chest just above the valley of her breasts.
ushijima remembered how she'd complained that morning about the love marks that he'd left on her the night before, and he was already seeing them fade out because of the lotion that she'd applied. he understood her reasons to cover the marks, but he hated it. he wanted people to see them, same as the way that he would proudly parade around in locker rooms with scratches on his back for everyone to see. they were bright pink and healed quickly, but he always felt a sense of pride when he could walk in the next morning and see a new set of scars covering his spine and shoulder blades.
they fell into nana's bed together. ushijima laid over her, lips on her stomach and hands gently tugging on the waistband of her shorts.
"you didn't answer my question," ushijima whispered.
"what did you say again?"
"are you sure you want to do this here? in her bed?"
"of course i do," she said. she let her leg rest on his shoulder, pulling him closer to her. "why wouldn't i?"
"don't you think nana will be able to tell that we had sex in her bed?"
"obviously," she laughed. "but i don't really care."
-
the sun, though covered by the white silk curtains, still lit up the room. the light made the purple love marks that reached every part of y/n's body from her chest, to her wrists, to her neck, to the insides of her thighs, to her ribs look a pretty magenta. the pink scars that were dotted by dried blood looked like the brush strokes in an old painting on ushijima's broad back. underneath the thinly made wool blanket, their well defined muscles and figures were traced by the cloth, and their legs remained tangled underneath.
ushijima had his muscular arms protectively wrapped around her to keep her pulled into him. her head rested on his chest and her arms were similarly snaked around his torso, keeping him in place with her fingers lightly intertwined behind him.
y/n felt ushijima take a short deep breath, and her eyes opened slightly. she inhaled deeply and pressed her face further against his toned chest with her eyes shut to adjust to the severe brightness of the morning. she sat up and glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand beside her, reading a little after nine. she realized that the soreness and exhaustion were making it feel a lot earlier than it was.
she sat up and reached over the side of the bed, wincing while she pulled on ushijima's shirt. she heard him exhale again and she turned to watch him sleep. she'd done it often because she usually woke up before him, but she was always so enchanted by his calm expression. she leaned over to kiss him gently on the corner of his lips. she removed his arm from her waist and slid out of bed, scouring the floor for her underwear before she found her way to the kitchen to make breakfast.
ushijima rolled out of bed only an hour later, which ended up being the perfect time as y/n had just finished plating their blueberry pancakes and bacon, something that she knew ushijima's mother made for him often because of how much he liked it. by then, she'd given up on the idea of walking around, realizing that she was too sore. she barely made it to the kitchen, and that was enough.
she heard ushijima walking around in the bedroom searching for his clothes, so she went to find a pair of glass cups that she filled three quarters of the way with orange juice. ushijima was very specific about how vitamin c intake.
he walked out of the room yawning and itching his back in specific spots, trying to dodge the scars but also soothe the irritation.
"good morning," she said. she held out his glass and laughed as he hummed and silently accepted the glass with his eyes heavily lidded.
he finished his juice quickly, and immediately went to refill it with water while he watched his girlfriend eat her breakfast and read new articles on her phone.
he noticed the bruising around her knees from how he tightly held her legs in place. he took another sip of water and placed his cup down on the counter before moving closer to her. he carefully lifted the bottom of her shirt up to get a better look at the differences in her skin.
what he could see of her backside was turning red, and hickeys like constellations were already contrasting her skin. he dropped the fabric and looked up to her face. her bright marks continued just until her jaw. her lips were redder and more swollen.
y/n watched curiously as his face morphed from exhausted to pensive in a matter of seconds.
"what's wrong?"
his hand snaked up to cup her face like it always did.
"am i too rough?"
she scrunched her eyebrows for a moment, but she understood what he was referring to after she felt her legs shake again.
"no, not at all. 'toshi, you know i like it."
"but i'm hurting you, aren't i?"
she shrugged. "it's a good kind of hurt."
"how can it be good? you can barely stand."
"it's good because then you care for me afterwards." she shook her head. "if you're worried because you think i'm upset, i promise i'm not. i know i act like i am sometimes, but i understand it. you're protective because of the things that happened at shiritorizawa."
ushijima dropped his hand and looked away, obviously not believing her. he mumbled something quietly, too quiet for y/n to even make it out.
"i didn't hear you..."
"it's not because of shiritorizawa. y/n, i... i think i love you. if that's the right word."
though her heart was about pound out of her chest and her face was turning red at the use of that one word, she teased him anyway.
"you think?"
"i do. i'm protective because i love you."
"wakatoshi... i love you, too."
as she dropped her fork on her plate and stood up straighter, ushijima leaned down to be her height so he could softly press his lips to hers.
"i'm not too rough, then?"
"not at all." as y/n ran her hands over his bare torso, she felt the aftermath of last night on his skin as well. she felt over the scars that had turned into grooves after she ripped through the top layer of skin. "i should be asking you that, honestly."
she worriedly looked up at him but he shrugged nonchalantly and flexed his shoulder blades to demonstrate that there was nothing wrong.
"i'm fine. do you not like them?"
"the opposite, honestly." she walked to stand behind him to fully view the scars that she traced with her finger. "i really like them. but that doesn't mean you need to go around showing them off or anything," she quickly scolded.
he frowned slightly and she rolled her eyes at him.
"what if i want to?"
"nobody needs to know how we... you know. it's better to keep it between us."
"i want people to know."
ushijima firmly stared down at her, not planning to budge on the matter any time soon.
y/n groaned and crossed her arms impatiently.
"do you really think that us being together and doing those things makes you better than others?"
"yes."
she groaned again, not surprised at his answer. "just... don't talk about it. i'm still going to cover mine because i don't need udai to see them, but i guess it doesn't really matter to you."
"but you'll let me keeping doing it?"
she nodded.
"and you'll keep doing it?"
she nodded again.
"and everybody will know that you're mine."