During the rainy season…
A Haikyuu! oneshot
by mew-tsubaki
Note: The Haikyuu! characters belong to Furudate Haruichi-sensei, not to me. I am on a Matsuwata kick. -w- Read, review, and enjoy!
- ^-^3
"Ah, Watari, are you on your way out?"
Watari turned his head at the sound of Yahaba's voice. "Yeah. Want to walk partway together?" he asked, grabbing his bag and waving to the few of his classmates who remained. Once he joined Yahaba in the hall, he fell into step with him.
Yahaba glanced at him. "You… Oh, right, you keep your phone off during the school day, so you didn't see the group text. Oikawa-san said we're all supposed to drop by the faculty office before heading home today."
"The faculty office? We aren't in trouble, are we?"
Yahaba shrugged. "Well, Kyoutani still needs to be housebroken now that he's back at practice, but I doubt he's done anything that would result in the whole volleyball team getting lectured. It's probably nothing, especially since we don't have club activities today."
The two second years headed downstairs, bumping into Kyoutani right outside the faculty lounge door. He gave Yahaba his usual pissy look, to which Yahaba rolled his eyes before going inside just as some of the third years were leaving.
"Is something the matter, Oikawa-san?" Watari asked as their captain trailed behind their ace.
"Not really…" Oikawa heaved a dramatic sigh and held up a piece of paper. "Mizoguchi left a handout with Kunimi-chan, describing the practice schedule for this week. I'm worn-out already just looking at it…"
Iwaizumi smacked Oikawa in the arm. "You can be such a crappy example sometimes. It's just practice, and we can't beat Shiratorizawa without it. Of course, we probably can't beat Shiratorizawa without Sensei, either…"
The second years looked at him. "Is Irihata-sensei all right?" Watari asked.
"He will be. Mizoguchi-san's usual way of doing things is to leave us a list—but he rarely gets the chance since Irihata-sensei is always around. But apparently Sensei ate something bad for lunch, so Mizoguchi-san needed to drive him home and so couldn't give this to us himself." He raised his eyebrows as he looked his own copy over. "We should have no problem keeping up, though, since Sensei's more of a slave-driver."
That wasn't very comforting to hear. Nevertheless, the rest of the team grabbed their handouts. Watari waited to the side while Yahaba and Kyoutani had a childish fight about who'd grab it first, Kunimi got fed up with having to pass them out and handed the task off to another first year before dragging Kindaichi to head home, and Hanamaki stood by Watari, laughing at it all as though it were a show put on just for him.
By the time the chaos had evaporated, there were a few students and fewer copies left, and Watari grabbed one and went to stuff it in his bag. When he opened the bag, however, he discovered he'd forgotten his dictionary. The libero internally groaned. He knew he had to go back to his classroom and get it; he'd need it to do his homework.
Watari rushed back upstairs to 2-6 and was glad to find there wasn't any faculty around to scold him for coming back (or for running in the halls, oops). He went to his desk, found the book, and tucked it safely away in his bag before catching his breath and taking his time to return to the first floor.
He made his way to the shoe lockers by the entrance, still glad barely anyone was around…but it made sense, once he peeked outside. The sky was gray, overcast and cold-looking and ready to rain at any minute. No wonder no one was around—they'd all hurried home before the sky opened up. Worse yet, a memory tickled the back of Watari's mind, and he recalled the forecast this morning…but the meteorologist had called today "cloudy" and nothing more.
Watari sighed, weighing the odds of waiting for the rain to pass versus running home when he sensed that someone had joined him, and to his right was Matsukawa. His mood brightened a little at seeing the familiar face. "Matsukawa-san."
Matsukawa tipped his head in that quiet but friendly way of his.
"You're still here, too?"
"Yup." Matsukawa motioned to his bag by rolling the shoulder from which it hung. "Forgot something."
Watari chuckled. "Me, too. I would've left right after hitting the faculty office if I hadn't." He faced the doors and took another look outside. "Now we've got this to contend with."
Matsukawa stared at him for a moment; Watari could feel his eyes on his face. "Run for it?" the senior suggested.
Watari laughed again. "Yeah, I was thinking of that…"
"We could go together?"
The shorter boy glanced at the taller out of the corner of his eye. "You don't mind?" he confirmed, facing Matsukawa a little again.
Matsukawa shook his head, and then he gestured with his bag-free arm for Watari to go first.
Watari nodded his thanks and pushed the door open. A cold wind picked up and went right through him, and he was glad he'd worn his sweater vest today, even if he'd forgotten his jacket since today was supposed to have been warmer than usual. The wind was a reminder of the incoming weather, too, so the two teens hustled to the school gate. "Well, at least it hasn't started raining yet," Watari commented outside the gate. He turned to Matsukawa and bowed his head slightly. "Thanks again, Matsukawa-san. I'll see you tomorrow at morning practice!" Then he turned on his heel to head home.
The only thing was, Matsukawa headed that way, too.
Watari stopped and turned back around. "Um, Matsukawa-san… Don't we live in opposite directions…? I think only Yuda-san and I live this way…?"
Matsukawa stared openly at him but gave the tiniest of nods.
"So…I'm going home now. Have a good night." He turned back to the direction of his house, but he hadn't even moved forward when he heard Matsukawa take a step. He looked over his shoulder. "Matsukawa-san…"
"I don't mind going together," the older boy reminded him.
"I thought that was just to the front gate of the school."
Matsukawa shrugged. "It's late and dark. I don't mind."
Watari paused. He pursed his lips, twisting them around. It looked a lot later than it was because of the weather… He peeked at Matsukawa and found his senior staring again. Watari looked away immediately. He thought he was used to Matsukawa's quiet ways (except for when he became boisterous with Hanamaki at his side when they teased Oikawa). But…apparently not. And what could he do? Actually tell him "no"? Watari didn't feel he had that option here. He exhaled and moved over so Matsukawa might at least walk beside him and not follow him, saying, "All right… Thank you, Matsukawa-san."
Maybe it was his imagination, but he thought he saw a tiny smile appear on Matsukawa's face at that. Watari didn't ask; he focused on the sidewalk in front of them.
They cleared about a third of the distance to Watari's house before Watari felt something cold hit his cheek. A second later, thunder cracked, echoing in the dense neighborhood and bouncing off the closely-packed buildings, and the rain followed, a downpour that didn't give the duo any time to think before Matsukawa grabbed Watari by the wrist and scurried them over to the closest cover, the small awning of a store that was closed for the day.
"Small" didn't even begin to do the awning justice. Watari was certain it wouldn't provide him much shelter on his own. But with a big guy like Matsukawa there with him? It was almost no use, waiting there. Matsukawa's left arm and part of his back were being pelted by the rain, although Matsukawa didn't seem to mind.
Watari wished he would mind. This was such an awkward position…! He'd been grateful for a split second when Matsukawa had pulled him aside. Then Matsukawa had turned them so Watari was the one mostly out of the rain, pressed against Matsukawa's chest. The motion had given Watari time to do little but throw his hands up instinctively, so now they had nowhere to go except for Matsukawa's chest. And that was where they went as Matsukawa released Watari's wrist and reached around, curving his hand along Watari's head and tucking Watari's head under his chin.
This…was not how Watari had imagined the day ending. He'd thought he'd head home, that the sky would only be cloudy, that he'd change and do his homework like usual, that he'd help his mother cook supper, that he'd eat and take a bath and go to bed. Just. The usual.
But here he was, pressed up against Matsukawa, with his fingers curling around the material of his senior's school shirt, listening to the rain come down mercilessly and kind of hoping it wouldn't stop. If it did, then a) he wouldn't know how to look Matsukawa in the eye and b) he was fairly certain Matsukawa would be able to hear his heart racing in his chest.
Watari blinked, suddenly aware of that racing now that he'd thought about it, and he automatically pushed Matsukawa away. "Ah! Sorry," he coughed, seeing Matsukawa's hair flatten as the older boy got freshly drenched.
Yet Matsukawa smirked gently—was it accompanied by a chuckle? Watari imagined so but couldn't hear it through the din—and stepped closer to Watari. He ran a hand through his hair, which now stuck out in all directions since it was damp. He inched a little further under the awning, a little closer to Watari.
"Again, sorry…," Watari started, though he hoped Matsukawa understood that one apology was for pushing him away and the other was for pushing him into the rain.
Matsukawa shook his head, stopping Watari from continuing. "Sorry," he mumbled.
The libero blinked at him. "Matsukawa-san, why are you—"
"I wanted to stay that way under the awning."
Thank the gods for the coldness of the rain. Watari could feel his face heat up at Matsukawa's words, but he knew he needed the rain to hit his cheeks soon. He had to be misinterpreting Matsukawa's statement…
…or maybe not? Matsukawa playfully poked the tip of Watari's nose, and Watari's reaction must've been funny because Matsukawa's grin was wide and cheerful and amused. He leaned down slightly, near Watari's left ear, so that the other boy could hear him clearly: "This is kind of a confession, Watari." Then he straightened up and raised his thick eyebrows to emphasize his point.
If Watari hadn't turned horribly red before, he did now. He closed his gaping mouth, tried to fumble another apology and garbled his words instead, and ran the rest of the way home—past the other houses, past the cars on the streets, past the curious bystanders who wished he wouldn't run, and past the other stores, plenty of which had awnings that would've provided them with the necessary cover from the storm.
And, the whole way home, Watari tried to put the last thing he'd briefly seen—Matsukawa's hurt smile—out of his mind.
- ^-^3
Watari hated the rainy reason. That was what he decided as he soaked for longer than normal in the bathtub.
His mother had been horrified to see him come home the way he had, resembling a drowned cat and already looking as though he had a fever. He'd insisted he didn't have a fever but didn't offer the real reason for his flushed cheeks, so she relented once he said he'd head right for the bathroom.
Focusing on scrubbing and warming up had helped to calm him down some, and his head cleared a little as he calmed. It still felt a bit surreal, Matsukawa doing what he had and saying what he had. After all, a confession? To Watari? It didn't make sense…
He sank deeper into the water and blew a few lazy bubbles into it, thinking. He supposed it didn't have to make sense. Liking and loving people didn't have to be rational; his parents were a prime example of that, his mother having decided randomly one day to ask his father out point-blank after being in the same seminar for a few months during college.
But…Matsukawa? Watari liked him, definitely. Matsukawa was friendly and reliable, one of the kinder third years, and one of the ones Watari found it easier to be around. He…was good-looking, too, now that Watari stopped to think about it, and he vaguely remembered Yahaba talking one time before about how Matsukawa and Hanamaki had their own share of admirers, that Oikawa wasn't the only one the girls squealed about, and Watari could sort of understand that. They all had nice physiques from volleyball practice, but Matsukawa's face was very expressive.
Watari blew more bubbles in the water, the heat getting to him as he thought back to an hour ago. Matsukawa wasn't overtly expressive, but he tended to use a lot of, as Watari's businessman father would say, micro-expressions. Watari didn't really understand Matsukawa's need to stare all the time, but Matsukawa definitely let things show on his face that less than a glance wouldn't reveal.
For instance, Watari realized, Matsukawa had been glad Watari had accepted the first offer to run from the school building, when they'd made it to the school gate. His eyes…they'd widened very subtly before Watari had opened the door and they'd made their mad dash.
Then came Matsukawa's insistence to walk him home. He'd kept saying he didn't mind, but his insistence coupled with the lack of a smile read more like a frown at Watari trying to part with him earlier than he'd liked—although Watari couldn't shake the image of a big neighborhood dog following him home, and he chuckled to himself as he surfaced and leaned back in the tub, staring at the ceiling.
And then Matsukawa's tiny, relieved smile as he'd pulled Watari close to him that first time… And that open smirk that no doubt screamed, "No, this really is a confession." And then that hurt smile, his eyebrows pinched together so slightly, his body rigid as he didn't turn to catch Watari or call after him when Watari left so hastily…
Watari frowned. Thinking on that last part didn't make him feel any better, but—while he could determine that he thought Matsukawa was kind of…cute—he still didn't understand why any of this had happened. Not that he had a bad opinion of himself, but he hadn't considered anyone liking him before. He was almost tempted to call Yahaba, who had dealt with other people's crushes on him.
He finished his bath and gladly changed into his pajamas early. He set up his homework on his desk for after dinner, but he saw a new message on his phone when he went to put it on the charger. It was from an unknown number.
Odd. There weren't many people to whom he'd given his contact info. Perhaps it was a wrong number? He opened the text message…and saw it wasn't:
-Matsukawa. Got your number from Oikawa. Make it home safe?
Watari blinked at his screen. That was… To ask that, even after what had happened… Matsukawa really was a nice guy! So Watari typed out his response:
-Yes! Thank you for asking. The same for you?
-Still in tub.
Watari smiled. Of their group, Kunimi, Yahaba, and Matsukawa really seemed like the type to take their time soaking. Still…his smile faded when he stared at the screen. What to say next? Maybe Matsukawa thought Watari was angry at him? If so, the libero seriously knew he'd need to be clear:
-About earlier, Matsukawa-san…
-(– L –)ﾉ
-No emoticons. I just wanted to say that you surprised me, is all.
There. That should do it, right? But Watari hesitated, wondering if he should add more when Matsukawa didn't reply. Finally, Matsukawa did:
-Are we good?
Watari bit his bottom lip. He knew what Matsukawa was asking, but it wasn't as if they could pretend that earlier hadn't happened. It was burned into Watari's memory. He could picture Matsukawa's smirk too easily, could still feel Matsukawa's breath on his cheek when Matsukawa had leaned down, could still feel Matsukawa's warmth as if his hands were still on the middle blocker's chest and Matsukawa's hand was still at the hollow at the base of his head…
Oh, crap. They were probably way past "good," weren't they?
Watari plopped down into his desk chair, his legs wobbly and his stomach flipping in a funny way as he tried to figure out what to say to Matsukawa.
-Yes. What happened earlier was okay.
-?
-As in…it's okay…if it happens again.
-!
Watari laughed out loud. He'd surprised himself, but Matsukawa's reactions—he couldn't believe he'd made that hurt smile show on that face earlier. Maybe, with any luck, that wouldn't happen again.
Watari told Matsukawa he'd talk more later, and then he sailed through most of his homework before his mother called him down to help make dinner. His good mood showed while his family ate, but they didn't ask about it. His mother was just glad he didn't look feverish.
Back in his room for the night, Watari grabbed his phone from its charger and climbed into bed after hitting the lights. When he messaged Matsukawa to let him know he was back, Matsukawa was glad:
-Good. Making plans.
-What kind of plans?
-Try things.
-Things?
-Couple rain things: sharing umbrella, awning hug again, kissing in the rain… (– 3 –)
Watari read the short list two more times before chuckling to himself. So maybe there was a lot to wonder—and ask, if given the chance—about Matsukawa liking him, about how anyone fell for anyone in general, about how they'd proceed from here on out. But Watari had a feeling that figuring all of that out with Matsukawa right beside him was not the worst way to go about it. He was warming up to that idea just as he'd warmed up when in Matsukawa's arms earlier…
But Matsukawa's plans would have to wait. Matsukawa already knew how he felt, and he'd said as much to Watari. Watari just needed the time to catch up and meet him.
- ^-^3
Matsuwata slays me. I just. Cannot. Too cute, these two. Someone save me. I'm even drawing them more, hence the cover. Ahhh, I love rain scenes like this, in shoujo manga as well as in BL… (/ω＼) As I said, someone save me.
Thanks for reading, though, and please leave a review! Check out my other [HQ!] fics, too, if you liked this! And esp if you need more Matsuwata in your life.
-mew-tsubaki ;3