A 'Puff Proposal

A Haikyuu! oneshot

by mew-tsubaki

Note: The Haikyuu! characters belong to Furudate Haruichi-sensei, not to me. Celebrating Hanayaha Day (3/6) not only with art but some timeskip feels! :') Read, review, and enjoy!

- ^-^3

The nap Hanamaki plans on lasting him the entire trip up north ends about an hour out from his destination. With a grunt, Hanamaki sits a little straighter in his seat on the train and withdraw his phone from his jeans' pocket to check the time. Yep, still an hour away from arriving in Miyagi. Ah, there's also a text from Watari:

-Thanks again for delivering that, Hanamaki-san!

Hanamaki huffs and eyes the small bag on the floor beside his backpack. It's probably the fault of Watari's text, buzzing him awake… But he can't blame his friend and former teammate. Even if Hanamaki is incredibly jealous of the lovey-dovey care package the former libero sent along for Matsukawa, there is the fact that Watari loaned Hanamaki the money for today's train ticket. And that kind of matters more than jealousy or any snoozing does.

Hanamaki stows his phone and turns his attention outside the window, but nothing in particular catches his eye. And how can anything? Right now, his head and heart are focused on his destination, on that one person…

Yahaba.

He grins a bit to himself. Gods, it's been too long since they last saw each other properly. They got together with Matsukawa and Watari last July, staying at Watari's place, to cheer on Oikawa during his run at the Olympics. But, after that, Yahaba and Matsukawa returned to Miyagi, and Yahaba's schedule and Hanamaki's hadn't lined up well for another in-person visit until Christmastime. And now with both their birthdays passed… Hanamaki is, in no uncertain terms, going to wait until Golden Week to see his boyfriend in the flesh again.

"But Shigeru's definitely gonna think something's up, turning up unannounced," Hanamaki mumbles to himself with a tired smile. Ah, well. He'll…handle that once Yahaba goes into overanalyzing setter mode.

It feels good to stretch his legs when the train rolls into the station and he disembarks. It also feels nostalgic, even though he isn't accustomed to taking the bullet train everywhere. Stepping out into the city, Hanamaki is greeted by familiar sights and scents, which both make him nervous and put him at ease.

He checks the time on his phone again. Unless Yahaba's schedule changed suddenly, Hanamaki has some time to kill as he winds his way to his boyfriend's current neighborhood. Well, that's an easy task. Hanamaki Takahiro has been killing time professionally since middle school.

Hanamaki makes his stops along the way as he comes upon them. He lingers at the bakery, Sanji's, selecting an assortment of cream puffs. He pauses at two different vending machines, but that's mostly for himself since he drained his water bottle early on the train and didn't purchase anything during the ride. Then he settles in at the arcade up the street from the facility where Yahaba works as a sports instructor. But he has the presence of mind to set an alarm so he doesn't get too absorbed in playing the rest of his time away.

He's played half a dozen games when his phone chimes, jolting him out of his trance. Is it really already time to go?! Ah—

-Don't forget, Hanamaki-san! c:

Dammit, Watari with his prompt reminders…! Hanamaki sighs and realizes it's close, anyway, but he has no desire to see his best friend yet. Matsukawa can wait a while longer, if not another day. Hanamaki has to hit the prize counter before he skedaddles.

From the arcade, the neighborhood health center is only about a block away, an easy walk for someone with Hanamaki's stamina. As he draws close, he debates waiting outside for his boyfriend or going in to search for him. Either way will be a surprise, for sure—

In the parking lot, though, there's a clatter by one of the cars to his left. Right as Hanamaki turns his head, he hears the yelp of "T-TAKAHIRO-SAN?!"

Hanamaki grins. For all his grumbling about and envy of Matsukawa and Watari, they at least know to keep their mouths shut. "Surprise~"

He's barely taken two steps towards Yahaba before the latter clambers over the equipment he dropped and rushes him, diving into a bear hug Hanamaki manages in spite of all the bags he carries. "What on—?! You never said—!" Yahaba squeezes him and then pulls away just enough to lock eyes. His face is flushed, but his smile's blinding. "I'm so happy to see you."

"I can tell," Hanamaki states with a chuckle. He rests his forehead against Yahaba's and bumps their noses as Yahaba laughs at himself, too.

"What even brings you here?"

Hanamaki snorts.

Yahaba rolls his eyes. "Okay, okay, dumb question. Me." He laughs when Hanamaki sneaks in a quick peck on his lips. "I just got off work, so this is perfect timing."

"I figured I'd come pick you up," Hanamaki states.

Yahaba raises one eyebrow. "…I'm the one with the car…"

Some heat rushes to his cheeks. "You know what I mean, Shigeru."

They head over to Yahaba's sedan, where Yahaba quickly picks up the assorted sports junk by the trunk and crams it inside. There's still room for Hanamaki's backpack, but Hanamaki insists on putting his things in the backseat. Only then does Yahaba see the bag from the bakery, and he laughs again, knowing it has to be cream puffs. "Is that supposed to be dinner, Takahiro-san?"

Hanamaki averts his eyes like a little kid. "…no." Though he can't blame Yahaba for asking. On any other day, he really might make a meal of them.

It's a five-minute drive from Yahaba's work to his apartment. Despite their noisy reunion, their drive transpires in companionable silence. It's…comfortable. A few times, either man catches the other looking and then bashfully tears his eyes away…

Funny how, even years later, their closeness, the feelings, still feel so new and vibrant and theirs.

One thing Hanamaki isn't used to is the outside of Yahaba's apartment complex (buildings aren't supposed to be that shiny), but he long ago stopped gaping at it, especially when he recalled the condo in which Yahaba grew up. They park in the garage and take the elevator up to the ninth floor, and Yahaba's curiosity finally gets the better of him as he unlocks the front door. "All right, I've got to ask: What's with all the bags?"

Hanamaki looks at the two bags, one in each hand, as he follows Yahaba inside and they kicks off their shoes. "Ah. Nothing much. You already guessed the Sanji's bag. The other's a favor for Watari. Special delivery for Matsukawa."

Yahaba snorts. "Pfft. He saved on the shipping!"

Hanamaki doesn't bother correcting him about the trade-off being train fare…

"How are things in Tokyo and Kanagawa anyway? Since you seemed so lost in my eyes during the car ride over."

"Hey, I wasn't the only one staring at a sexy beast," Hanamaki quips, only to be met with an amused look. "And things are good for Watari. I promise he is not peeling me off his living room floor as often as he tells you he does."

"Honestly? I'm not even sure he considers you a nuisance anymore. These days, his text updates read like someone taking care of a pet."

Hanamaki falters behind Yahaba. "…a pet…?!"

Yahaba gives him a sympathetic look. "It's not that bad, Takahiro-san. Maybe, so long as you scoot when Matsukawa-san visits, you could convince Watari to make you his roommate? Tokyo and Kanagawa are next-door neighbors, so it should be fine for your work." There's a softness in his brown eyes, as if he adds, And I'd worry a little less about you if you moved in, too.

But Hanamaki bristles and looks away. "No, Watari likes his place to himself. The occasional guest is one thing. So don't go planting the idea in his head, Shigeru."

Yahaba frowns but shrugs. "…all right." He makes for the kitchen partly around the corner but continues speaking over his shoulder. "I won't bring it up to Watari," he promises. "But I noticed you only talked about how well he is. What about you, Takahiro-san?" He waits until Hanamaki joins him and looks at the older man across the kitchen island. Yahaba's frown hasn't faded. "You showed up out of the blue today. You know I love seeing you, but—is everything all right?"

Agh… Hanamaki drops his eyes to the faux marble of the island and scratches the back of his head. "…can we just eat?"

He sees it, in the way Yahaba's shadow on the island tenses. Yahaba is less short-tempered nowadays, at least with him—but that's because he knows eventually Hanamaki will stop joking around and avoiding the subject and open up. Yahaba has had the time to get used to that side of Hanamaki: during high school, trying to downplay his feelings for Yahaba in case they didn't work out; losing the Spring High; trying to figure out if university was an option for him after Seijou; and even now, with the long distance between them and keeping that going. So Yahaba nods now and starts grabbing things from cupboards and drawers and the fridge, setting up to cook. At least he doesn't mind when, after a moment, Hanamaki pitches in to help.

Their early dinner is ready in short order, since Yahaba has them dressing up mostly leftovers. They set everything on the island and sit beside each other on one side to eat…in silence, unfortunately. Hanamaki keeps sneaking peeks at Yahaba while he eats. Surely, he's ruined today's mood.

But Yahaba ignores him for only so long. He glances at Hanamaki out of the corner of his eye and gives him a tiny, if somewhat defeated, smile. He pats Hanamaki's left hand, too, before he resumes eating supper.

It's little comfort, but it makes getting through their meal a bit more bearable. More of the tension dissipates when they do the dishes together, too.

But then they sit back down and Yahaba reaches for the box from Sanji's. "Ah! Can't forget about these. Pass me some napkins, will you? I—HEY," he gripes when Hanamaki snatches the box away and gets up to keep them out of reach. "Takahiro-san, what the hell."

The color is back in Hanamaki's cheeks. "I just—some are specifically for you and some are not," he announces, reaching blindly behind him for napkins. He opens the box and picks out specific ones to pass to Yahaba. Only then does he slide any cream puffs Yahaba's way.

Yahaba, meanwhile, settles him with a skeptic, narrow-eyed stare as Hanamaki eats standing across from him. "…are you pulling a prank on me?"

Hanamaki's usual laughter doesn't bubble up this time. He fidgets and motions for Yahaba to eat while he picks at one of his own desserts. "Hey, Shigeru—"

"Hmm?" Yahaba says around a mouthful of cream puff. He has a dollop of cream by the corner of his mouth.

Hanamaki chuckles and wipes it off with his thumb. "To answer your question from earlier… Yeah, things are fine with me in Tokyo." He licks the cream (ah, it tastes like sugar and Yahaba) and takes a breath. "I'm in my normal cycle, you know. But…I've been thinking: I can be jobless anywhere." He laughs.

Yahaba doesn't. He stares and blinks at Hanamaki and sets aside his dessert to reach for his boyfriend's hand. "Hey! Hey, Takahiro-san, don't let this get you down. You've been here before, but I know you. You'll find another job soon. You're never jobless long, because your charm gets you in the door and your hard work lets you to stay." He squeezes Hanamaki's hand, too.

Hanamaki wants to burst right there and then and spoil everything—damn if Yahaba never stops believing in him. He pulls his hand away to hide his fluster, much to Yahaba's amusement, and gestures to the cream puffs. "As if I'm the only one with charms… Finish your dessert, Shigeru."

Yahaba laughs but picks up another pastry. And finally he bites into the right cream puff, with a shock and a yelp, pulling the cream puff away from his mouth so he can remove the foreign object for inspection:

A ring.

…well, a little, toy, plastic one.

But a ring.

Yahaba gawks at Hanamaki.

Hanamaki hates how his nerves act up right now—his own hands shake, so he drops his food and plants both hands on the countertop—but he faces Yahaba anyway, face red and with honesty. "Today hasn't really gone as planned. And I wasn't even certain I was going to do this until I scored that at the arcade earlier, but I'm done with the distance, Shigeru. I don't give up, partly because you don't give up…on me—so, if you—"

"YES!"

They both freeze. Hanamaki hasn't even gotten his proposal out because Yahaba's eagerness beat him to the punch—go figure. At least they laugh when they realize their blunder. Yahaba now sits in his seat, a dithering mess, as Hanamaki walks around and pulls him into his arms.

But Yahaba laughs again and pulls Hanamaki down to kiss him, just another confirmation should Hanamaki ever get his words out.

Hanamaki stays with him a little while longer that way, figuring the words can wait. He's never felt so good about one decision, one person, in his entire life—and he's glad he'll get to hold onto him now, forever.

So, yeah, the words can wait. They'll have all the time in the world for words and more.

- ^-^3

:') First: HAPPY HANAYAHA DAY~! Second: This fic came about bc I had the chance to paint a nice pic for Hanayaha day, and when I decided to draw timeskip Hanayaha, I got to thinking about my hcs for them (a bunch of which cropped up in a timeskip Matsuwata hc post I wrote, btw), and now here we are. XD Has it been five yrs since I last drew them and two since I wrote them? Well, yes, BUT I still love them lots and have a million HQ! fics planned still, just never the time to write everything. ;w; But I'm v happy to have gotten this down, esp bc, the more I think of it, the more I think I write Hanayaha breaking up and/or close to breaking up half the time? Or at least having major difficulties. *lol* WHOOPS. I do love them, istg. Not to mention this was another Hanayaha in which editing and switching to present tense made me like this fic a lot more—they feel a lot more right in present tense? Idk. Anyway, enough dithering. Btw, there's a One Piece reference in here bc I felt like it. XD Cookies if you find it!

Thanks for reading, and please review! Check out my other [HQ!] fics, too, if you liked this! And reblog this fic on tumblr to show your support~

-mew-tsubaki :3