falling into step
A Haikyuu! fanfic
by mew-tsubaki
- ^-^3
Chapter 10: Given the Chance…
Matsukawa seemed the same as ever and yet not later that weekend when Watari was over yet again that Sunday and the duo had one of their usual relaxing days spent inside, in the fan's line of fire as the summer tried to close out with a blast of heat. They'd done as much the past two days, for the same reason.
Watari, for his part, thought he, himself, was the same as usual, reading while Matsukawa made up strange playlists or looking something up while Matsukawa's eyes darted between his game and Watari, who sat there with the game guide cracked open in his lap. And yet…
Since finishing the light novel, Watari had sensed the change in Matsukawa's forthright gaze, and he found it hard to pick his head up and meet those eyes every time. Sometimes it was just typical, impish Matsukawa. Other times, it was that enigmatic Matsukawa who always appeared to be on the verge of saying something. Before, Watari now knew, Matsukawa had refrained from commenting on Hanamaki and Yahaba. But now there definitely was commentary on something else which he was withholding.
Still, Watari did his best not to dwell on it nor overanalyze it. He wasn't the type to jump to conclusions, and one really couldn't do that with the taciturn alumnus. Besides, Watari had the feeling that, if important enough, eventually Matsukawa would speak his mind…or let Watari guess it from his expressions as was his normal manner.
It wasn't as though the past several days had consisted merely of these instances of "Do I meet his eyes or not?" either. On Friday and yesterday, Kako had poked her head around more often, trying to play hostess in her own way, but she was an amusing addition to Watari's visits. He enjoyed watching the siblings interact, and Matsukawa was this kind of docile grump whenever she left them alone, which Watari loved seeing. She and Hanamaki appeared to be the only ones who could make Matsukawa lose his cool, and Watari pointed that out to the older boy now to break Matsukawa's stare this time around.
Matsukawa cocked his head to one side, surprised. "I do?"
The libero nodded and rested the anthology he was reading open on his chest as they leaned back against the closet doors like before, the TV supplying white noise in the background. Watari peered up at him, smiling gently. "I can't picture you genuinely angry, but you get annoyed with them sometimes. What?" he added when Matsukawa raised his eyebrows, the delight evident in his eyes as it returned and his befuddlement evaporated.
He turned back to the TV as something new appeared on the screen, and he shifted his cushion so it was a smidge closer to Watari's. "…getting annoyed or angry isn't the only way for someone to lose his cool" was all he said in response, and he didn't explain further as the half hour struck and a new show came on.
Watari was a tad curious about the remark and supposed there was some truth to it, but he didn't spend any energy trying to figure out what Matsukawa meant by his words. He thought about picking up the anthology again—he was close to finishing the collection—but he was comfortable as they were, and the late morning bled into afternoon this way as they enjoyed hanging out in general, not even necessarily interacting but simply being together.
They ate some tasty sandwiches Matsukawa whipped up downstairs for lunch and tidied up Matsukawa's room before calling it a day. Without saying anything, Matsukawa walked Watari home yet again, though Watari mused that perhaps it was a habit the taller boy was trying to pick up. He'd done it that day when Watari's thoughts had been a mess, and he'd done it twice last week, after they'd discussed Wish You Were Here Yesterday and on Friday. Thursday, Matsukawa had driven him home as had become near routine.
"Routine." It was a nice word, a word Watari enjoyed. Routines were good things. However… Watari cut his eyes over to his companion as they approached the hardware store. The libero knew that the sight of Matsukawa walking beside him would be anything but routine in the near future—it'd be a flight of fancy once he was off to university and if Matsukawa left for university before then.
Matsukawa turned to him again, curious at Watari's attention on him. He leaned his arm against Watari's, wondering if something were wrong.
Somehow, the gesture put Watari at ease, so he shook his head and offered Matsukawa a soft smile. "It's nothing," he fibbed.
The black-haired boy lifted one eyebrow and leaned on Watari the rest of the way, but the "punishment" only made the vice-captain laugh and prop him up as they walked. Matsukawa patted Watari's head at the gate, and he tweaked Watari's nose to draw another grin from him before heading back.
Watari couldn't help it: He watched Matsukawa reach the end of his street and round the corner, and only then did Watari head inside.
His mother didn't bother him before he went upstairs to his room, though he was surprised when his phone buzzed as soon as he'd shut the door to his bedroom. Anticipating a text from Matsukawa, his pulse quickened as he dug his phone out of his pocket. And his heart sank a little when he saw it actually was Yahaba:
-entertAIN ME.
Oh, boy. Punctuation, but misguided capitals. Yahaba was in a mood. But why?
-What's wrong?
-no Hanamaki-san…
Watari sighed and went and flopped backwards onto his bed. He knew to expect this, even if Matsukawa hadn't warned him. But, honestly, he'd expected a little better of Yahaba, thinking the captain wouldn't already start asking to hang when his boyfriend wasn't around. …still, he also knew that he understood Yahaba's actions and intentions, because it had to be lonely when he couldn't be with Hanamaki. Watari, too, felt down those times when practice interfered with him and Matsukawa meeting up or when Matsukawa texted him to skip visiting him on his break because work was too much and he wouldn't have a minute to give Watari.
…ah.
Slowly, Watari sat up, the humidity feeling like a cold breeze on his skin as he acknowledged that, in fact, the time he spent with Matsukawa…was it maybe in the same vein as the time Yahaba spent with Hanamaki? But, then that meant… Could he really want to spend time with Matsukawa that way, too? Watari knew—he knew he felt something strongly for Matsukawa, but…he hadn't named it yet.
All the same, he noted more and more details when they were together—details of time already spent and of the rest of the final week of summer vacation. These things had slowly but surely been popping out to him more and more often, more vividly, but Watari had a difficult time viewing them with an amused smile so dismissively anymore.
Their rides around town on the bus, with Matsukawa's leg right beside his or pressed against his, another indication of the difference in their sizes, another indication in their varied tastes, because Watari almost always wore the same, old, white sneakers, but sometimes Matsukawa wore black sandals when he felt especially relaxed, old sandals with a dark, blacker-than-black, thick strap across the top, a stark contrast with the white of the canvas shoe abutting it.
Their rides to Watari's home from the hardware store, seemingly shorter with each one that Watari took but intimate nevertheless, filled with idle or meaningful conversation as desired, the distance of the console between them up in the truck's cabin not much of an obstacle, not when Matsukawa could reach over so easily, too easily, to shove Watari's shoulder playfully or to pat his head softly, though this last Tuesday and Thursday both found Watari convincing himself he'd imagined it, imagined how what was supposed to be a pat had been Matsukawa's fingers ghosting over his skin, had been Matsukawa resting his hand on Watari's head, a lingering touch that, on Thursday, dipped to the back of Watari's neck, almost as if the libero were about to be pulled in, but then Matsukawa was waving him inside the next second, so Watari had no choice but to convince himself that, yeah, he'd imagined it…or hallucinated.
Watari's slightly wayward thoughts kept overwriting his senses like this, on Friday and on Saturday, too. On Friday, while watching a movie Watari had brought over, for once, the younger boy had been more aware than usual of the right shoulder beside him, and he'd wondered about the warmth there and how comfortable it seemed if Watari chose to rest his head there—again, he realized with a rush of blood to his cheeks during an odd part in the movie, making Matsukawa give him that throaty chuckle Watari often received when he accidentally found himself the impromptu butt of the joke, just as he did then, because he remembered he'd already fallen asleep on that shoulder once, so it was no wonder but actual memory at conjuring up that sensation.
And Saturday, Watari appeared at Sekitan Apothecary for the last two minutes of Matsukawa's shift—to collect him, the libero admitted to himself—and Matsukawa's eyes brightened when they alighted upon the smaller teen, and Watari kept the happy warmth that pooled in his middle at the action alive and well afterwards by musing how maybe it wouldn't be all that different, peering into each other's eyes a bit more fondly, a tad more often, it wouldn't be all that different from how they were already.
And on Sunday, the final one of the break, when they left Matsukawa's house later than normal, after supper, a meal they ate together before Kako could come interrupt and drag Watari into a Matsukawa family dinner, when it was darker than Watari was used to, darker and not so hot and humid, dark enough that the crescent moon was a Cheshire cat's ivory-toothed grin peeking between soot-stained clouds, Watari's mind wandered again, this time along with his eyes as he admired the profile walking beside him for the umpteenth time…and then his eyes slid down the sinewy arm that ended in a denim pocket, but Watari didn't need to view Matsukawa's hand to know about the lightly tanned hand that rested there, the sturdy hand with soft fingers that he'd felt on his wrists weeks ago, fingers that were proportionately more slender than Watari's own, fingers that teased him when they tweaked his nose…fingers on a hand that looked as though it'd feel nice to hold, even though Watari had never done such a thing before.
Would it be so bad, if things changed between them? And how did certain things become "good" or "bad" to begin with? Wasn't that up to perception, after all? And if Watari was all right with one or two adjustments to how he and Matsukawa got along, if it hadn't been Watari's imagination all those times before…
"…tari. Watari."
The shorter teen almost yelped as he was forced to halt in front of his family's nameplate when Matsukawa bent down some and stuck his face in the way. Holy crap, if he'd kept walking with Matsukawa hovering in front of him like that, then—! But, no, Watari reined his imagination in; he had to, otherwise he'd be rooted to the pavement for the rest of the night.
Matsukawa quirked an eyebrow, his lips a straight line and giving nothing on his mind away. His eyes lingered on Watari's face before he straightened up and turned towards the other boy. "You really didn't realize you were home," he pointed out, sounding impressed.
"I, uh…no," Watari confessed.
"Bummed that school resumes tomorrow?"
"Sort of." It wasn't a lie. It wasn't the entire truth, either, but it wasn't a lie. This had been one of Watari's favorite summers, thanks to Matsukawa…though Watari knew this was becoming one of Watari's favorite years, as well, also thanks to Matsukawa.
Matsukawa nodded, like "Same here." "Summer's been pretty cool," he remarked, that gleam back in his nighttime-colored eyes. But, before Watari could note his quickened pulse at the gaze, Matsukawa's mouth popped open. "Ah. Right." And he handed Watari a handkerchief from his other pocket.
Watari's handkerchief. From months ago, when they'd first reconnected.
"I…forgot about it."
"Oh." The fluttery-ness Watari had been experiencing the past week—even just from tonight—fluttered away as his mind went blank and he took the proffered piece of folded cloth. He didn't note the odd pause in Matsukawa's sentence, nor did he catch the fluster on his friend's countenance, because Watari busied himself with putting the handkerchief away, trying to do anything but zero in on how…on how disappointed he felt, as if this were some unforeseen ending.
"See you Tuesday?"
Watari blinked, snapping out of his stupor and plastering on a grin for Matsukawa. "Huh? Oh, yeah."
But Matsukawa's hand caught him as he turned to head inside, and Watari faced him again, rewarded with the full view of Matsukawa's fluster: all wrinkled lines of pursed lips trying not to frown and knitted brows pinching together and eyes that had a hard time settling on Watari's face. Then Matsukawa took a breath and twisted his lips around, like "I mean it. I'll see you then."
"I understand, Matsukawa-san."
"I want to see you then," he elaborated, as if saying it aloud cleared up everything.
Watari nodded dumbly, the only thing he could do in the face of Matsukawa's declaration, and he had to pat the hand that held on to him to reassure his tall friend before he was released and could go inside. And, inside, Watari shouted to his mother that he'd eaten already before he ducked up to his room, wishing for all intents and purposes to spend the rest of the evening with his head buried in his pillow because, if he didn't, he might scream at the feeling of his heart happily exploding in his chest.
So, of course, a text interrupted his confused celebration. But Luck was on his side this time, because the message was from the one person Watari wanted it to be from:
-(シ_ _)シ
Watari smiled wryly at his screen.
-? There's nothing to apologize for, Matsukawa-san.
Matsukawa's next response had him laughing:
-ヽ(ﾟｰﾟ*ヽ) ヽ(*ﾟｰﾟ*)ﾉ(ﾉ*ﾟｰﾟ)ﾉ
His mother knocked at his door. "Shinji?" she called from the other side. "Are you all right?"
He calmed down long enough to answer her. "I will be," he said. And he knew it was a fact as soon as the words left his mouth.
- ^-^3
The semester began with Watari a tad unfocused at school and at practice, but he knew he would've been in worse shape if Matsukawa had left him with the misunderstanding that their routine would cease.
Instead, Watari's mind filled with a plentitude of possibilities, and sometimes he was caught off-guard when Matsukawa sent him a silly emoji here and there while he worked. After half a dozen such texts on Monday, Watari—ever the good student—was a little bad and checked his messages during his lunch break, despite his tendency to keep his phone turned off during the school day. Still, he was back to being on his best behavior when he went to club activities Tuesday afternoon. However…
"If you're going to keep spacing out like that, I'm going to have to find myself a new vice-captain," Yahaba scolded during stretches. The other third years were clustered near them, but Yahaba gestured with a tip of his head for Watari to step aside with him. "You okay, Watari?"
"Yeah. Why do you ask?"
Yahaba narrowed his eyes at him. "Uh, did you not hear what I said? You've been spacing out. You do that at the wrong time just in practice, and you could find yourself injured."
Though it had long since healed, Watari instinctively touched where he'd split his lip during the Karasuno match. "I'm fine, honestly," he told his friend, and he looked at the others to avoid another one of Yahaba's "I'm not sure I buy that" glares.
But Yahaba's concern brought his attention back to Yahaba and Hanamaki, and Watari's eyes finding Hoshimura lining up for sprinting drills made the libero recall the middle blocker's words about envying such a couple, and that got Watari thinking of the comparisons he'd drawn recently between Yahaba and Hanamaki, and him and Matsukawa—comparisons that were making sense now that Watari devoted a bit of time to them and—
A funny thought hit him while Mizoguchi-san spoke to the team about preparations for the Spring High prelims. And Watari was stunned it hadn't occurred to him before. It was absurd to recognize this now, especially when it made him want to laugh in the middle of practice, though he didn't for he wanted to keep Yahaba's perceptive stare off him, but…
In all his comparisons, he'd never even stopped to think if he could see Matsukawa in such a light. He was picturing Matsukawa already fitting in to his life and vice versa, a little like puzzle pieces that had spent some of the spring and all of the summer forming the complete picture.
What a brilliant picture it was.
Watari tamped down his giddiness into pleasantness as practice went on…and dragged on…and he met up with Matsukawa a little on the later side that evening. He raised his hand in greeting, which Matsukawa returned, and Watari waited for Matsukawa to throw open the back of the truck so he could sit in his usual spot.
"We meet again," Watari said with a chuckle in his voice as he put his duffle bag down on his side opposite Matsukawa.
"As promised" was conveyed by the wry expression the older teen gave him.
"Ah, but things are different this time around."
Matsukawa frowned, perplexed.
"I've got my jacket zipped up almost the whole way, and you've left just the top button of your jumpsuit undone."
Matsukawa glanced down at his row of buttons on reflex before shrugging. "Chillier today."
"Yeah. Kind of weird, since we were still in t-shirts just this past Sunday…"
"It's supposed to be warmer this coming weekend."
"Is it?" Watari tried to think back, but he couldn't recall the forecast on the news this morning. Doubtful it would be warm enough for another pool visit, though Watari knew he'd like to do that again sometime in the future.
The familiar sensation of Matsukawa's eyes moving over him made him red to the ears in this instance, but that was only due to Watari seeing Yahaba's "I know more than you're saying" look in his mind's eye. Watari took a breath and calmed down, pulling from his memory the comfortable feeling he enjoyed from being with Matsukawa, friendly or no.
"Did I catch you at the beginning of your stop?" the third year asked, remembering how Matsukawa had had to open the back for him tonight.
"Yeah," Matsukawa said, heaving himself into the back and nudging a large number of boxes towards the front. "They've got more today."
Watari did a quick count. "Seven…eight boxes?"
"Remodeling."
"Oh. Need some help?" he offered as Matsukawa lined up the boxes beside him.
Matsukawa smiled, but he caught his bottom lip between his teeth, as though he were about to laugh. "No, I'm good."
Watari looked at him funny, but that only summoned Matsukawa's wolfish grin as the latter began carting boxes inside.
The black-haired boy moved steadily, so it took him several minutes to complete the delivery, but he didn't drop any of the heavier packages, so that was a relief. And he gave Watari a winning smile or that wolfish grin each time he returned, thoroughly confusing the libero. Matsukawa made his way down the line, drawing closer to Watari with each box turned in, but his lips were zipped tight about whatever entertained him so, and Watari rolled his eyes good-humoredly when, at the last box, Matsukawa made a show of bumping into Watari's leg on purpose. By the time all was said and done, they'd spent most of their typical time allotment this way, Matsukawa finding great fun toying with Watari once more.
But, honestly, Watari had fun if Matsukawa had fun, too.
"By the way," Matsukawa started, sitting beside Watari once he'd finished, "we narrowly avoided dinner with my family last Sunday."
"Kako-san did seem intent on remedying that situation then…"
Matsukawa cast his eyes over their feet swinging freely over the edge before settling them on Watari. He raised his eyebrows and drew one corner of his mouth up, as if to say "I'm not sure I can guarantee your escape next time."
Watari laughed and waved him off. "It's all right. I like her, you know. I'm sure I'll be fine when it happens."
"You mean when she gets her claws into you."
Okay, so that sounded scarier than Watari wished, but he'd been observing the Matsukawa siblings long enough now to know when Matsukawa was exaggerating. "She wouldn't have a leg to stand on if you cooked dinner, making it your dinner we gather 'round for."
"No."
"That was quick."
Matsukawa pouted but slowly responded, "…I don't often cook for them."
Oh. "I'm flattered," Watari replied, and his grin widened when Matsukawa's ears darkened with color.
Watari caught him up on the past two days' silliness—he'd missed seeing Kyoutani bow his head in thanks to Yahaba for handling the Hoshimura debacle since he'd been reading Matsukawa's texts, and Mizoguchi-san and Kunimi had yelled at Terakado in perfect harmony that morning. "I'd been wondering since Yahaba first became captain who'd be next, but Kunimi's really shown his mettle as of late. With Kindaichi as his vice-captain, Kunimi could make a great captain."
Matsukawa snorted at that. "Oikawa would be so proud."
"Yeah. Yahaba was tossing around the idea of buying Mizoguchi-san a year's worth of antacids as a graduation gift."
Their stomachs growled around the same time, and Matsukawa checked his watch as he passed Watari a spare umaibo from the breast pocket of his jumpsuit. "Agh. It's kind of late… I should get you home."
Watari nodded, and he unwrapped the snack and ate on the ride there. The truck cabin was filled with the sound of their crunching as they ate, and Watari sent his mother a quick message saying he'd be home shortly. A minute later, the truck rolled to a stop in front of his house.
Matsukawa tipped his head to him. "Thursday, yeah?"
The younger male beamed. "See you around!"
The words came so easily now, but the delight in Matsukawa's eyes was nothing of which Watari ever tired, and he was pleased when Matsukawa still wore that look while he watched Watari scamper inside.
The two of them really did paint a brilliant picture.
- ^-^3
Come Wednesday morning, Watari was singing a different tune.
It wasn't that he'd had a change of heart about Matsukawa—Watari didn't even consider that possibility—but he woke up that morning, in a happy mood. He got ready for school, he ate a decent breakfast, and he'd left the house on time.
Then he got to school and realized he didn't have his phone.
He cursed when he first noticed it in homeroom, but he took a breath to extinguish his annoyance. It wasn't much of a loss if he'd merely forgotten it at home; he was used to keeping it off during the day, anyway, and it wasn't as though his parents had to hunt him down to discover his whereabouts, because he had club after school, and he would head straight home after since Matsukawa was working at his family's store.
But the past two days had indulged him, and he sighed morosely when he thought of the texts he'd miss with his phone lying somewhere in his room. He tried to comfort himself with the notion that the day would be over soon enough, and he'd call Matsukawa if he had to, just to explain any missed messages.
Nevertheless, he sighed. A lot.
"Be careful nothing flies in there while you keep doing that, Watari," Mizoguchi-san teased him during practice, but his teasing grin melted when the typically perky libero didn't respond. The next thing Watari knew, the assistant coach was motioning wildly to Yahaba.
"Not this crap again," Yahaba griped as he caught up with his friend on the sidelines. The team was in the middle of a practice set, but Yahaba had pulled Watari aside at Mizoguchi-san's insistence.
Watari sighed and gave Yahaba a tiny glare. "What 'crap again'?"
"Yesterday, you were in a daze. Now you're mopey. What gives?"
The shaven-haired boy debated telling Yahaba the anecdote…and went for it, giving him the glibbest version he could without raising Yahaba's suspicion. But Watari's bad luck didn't stop at forgetting his phone.
Yahaba wore a devil's smirk as he fought a snicker down. "You're sure you forgot it at home?"
"Of course." Though he hadn't considered it'd be anywhere else…
"And yesterday was Tuesday."
"Obviously."
The captain tilted his head forward, waggling his eyebrows at Watari. "And didn't you mention that a certain someone's local on Tuesday and Thursday evenings?"
Watari jolted. Had he? "I never said that."
"You told me when you last stayed over."
The vice-captain narrowed his eyes at the other third year. "No, I didn't."
Yahaba rolled his eyes. "Fine. Hanamaki-san told me Matsukawa-san's work schedule. But," he added when Watari settled him with a particularly dark expression, "I would've figured it out without asking. You scarper off promptly after club every week on those days. It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together."
Watari cocked his head to one side triumphantly. "Incidentally, you said it, not me."
But Yahaba only grumbled at inadvertently having called himself an idiot. "You were with Matsukawa-san the other night, weren't you?"
Another sigh bubbled up within him, and Watari released it, already tired of the games Yahaba was playing. "Yeah, I was. Since practice let out kind of late, we were out kind of late, and he drove me home."
"So you could've left your phone in the delivery truck."
Oops. Now Watari felt dumb.
But Yahaba was amused by how quiet Watari had turned, and he slung an arm around his shoulders, laughing all the while. "Look at you! I bet you left it on purpose."
Watari furrowed his brow. "Why would I leave it on purpose?"
"…or, in your case, you left it on purpose unconsciously." He rolled his eyes again, this time muttering something under his breath that sounded perilously close to "By gods, Matsukawa-san must be the patient one."
So Watari glared at him again.
Yahaba tried assuring him that it was all in fun that he badgered him, but Ueno flagged them over to the doors of the gym once there was a pause in the set. Yahaba, arm still tight and friendly around Watari's shoulders, turned, bringing Watari around with him. And Watari's bad luck worsened:
Morioka, the girl who'd all but confessed to Watari, stood on the outside step, twiddling her fingers as she scanned the gym and saw where Ueno pointed to captain and vice-captain. She bowed her head to them but remained rooted to the spot.
"Hell," Yahaba bemoaned, sliding his arm from Watari, but he lingered behind the libero as Watari jogged over to the pretty girl.
"Good afternoon, Watari-senpai," she said.
The shaven-haired teen blinked, noting her honorific. Not only had he never contacted her, but he'd never bothered to learn anything about her beyond the contact info she'd given him months back. That was not good. "Uh, hi, Morioka-san…"
She smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. "Um…did you have a good summer?"
His cheeks felt warm as a select few of his favorite memories came to the forefront of his mind. "Y-Yes, I did. You?"
"Mm-hmm." She ducked her eyes then, continuing to twiddle at least her thumbs.
Watari felt like doing the same. It was better than searching for the proper words to turn her down. "Morioka-san…"
She picked her head up, her cheeks pink. "Yes?"
"Ah, so sorry to interrupt," Yahaba came up and interjected, and he slapped Watari heartily on the back. He gripped Watari's shoulder, too, digging his fingers in so Watari would be quiet. "Morioka-san, right?" he addressed her, wearing a blinding smile to put the other girls at school to shame.
Morioka nodded, though she was frowning.
"Oh, good. I'm Yahaba, the captain of the volleyball club. Sorry we didn't tell you sooner, but"—he shrugged as if it were an easy matter to forget—"the manager's position has been filled."
Her face fell, and Watari snapped his head towards the brunet. Had Yahaba made a decision all on his own? "But, we haven't—" He shut up when Yahaba dug his fingers a little deeper, making Watari wince.
Yahaba let up a moment later, casually resting on Watari's shoulder. "Sorry, he's misinformed. The position definitely was filled," he finished with a pointed look at the girl.
She flinched and turned, hurrying away after taking the hint.
Watari shoved Yahaba off him and shook his head. "For crying out loud… Did you have to say it like that? She—" He groaned. "What if she reads into that, thinking you and I…?" He groaned again as Yahaba pushed him back to practice, laughing all the way.
"Yes, yes. You can thank me some other time, Watari. I take rainchecks."
Practice, and the day with it, ended hours later, and Watari felt as though he'd been run ragged. To "lift his spirits," Yahaba focused the rest of the practice set and the one that followed on him and Okino, so the liberoes had no room to worry about anything but keeping the ball in the air.
"You'll thank me later~" Yahaba assured him in the clubroom as the guys changed and grabbed their stuff.
"I doubt it," Watari called over his shoulder, though he knew a part of him felt somewhat better after the vigorous workout. Still, a vigorous workout was draining, and Watari dragged his feet as he left the clubroom and traipsed downstairs, crossing the main courtyard at a leisurely pace. With the day over, he determined, it couldn't get any worse.
He took his time as he neared the school gate, his leg muscles not screaming but undoubtedly griping at him for not resting longer in the clubroom. He considered backtracking—maybe not the whole way…just to the shoe lockers…he could sit down right inside the doors for a few minutes…
Such ideas were forgotten, however, when he glimpsed a certain silhouette hovering right outside the premises. "Matsukawa-san?"
It was Matsukawa. Despite this being the usual time for deliveries, Matsukawa was here. He was dressed for the breeze that tumbled through the school grounds, his hands in the pockets of his dark green sweatshirt instead of his jeans. His head lifted up at the sound of Watari's voice, and his neutral expression shifted with the shy smile Watari had seen on a few occasions. He tilted his head, an invitation for Watari to catch up with him.
Ahh… Was it so wrong for Watari to enjoy the sight of Matsukawa waiting for him? Was it bad to think that they were better together as they were now, than as they had been before striking up this genuine friendship?
Was it a bad idea to get his hopes up and think that maybe, just maybe, this was a sign that the feelings he had were mutual?
"Sorry if you tried to get ahold of me today," he started with a gentle chuckle at himself. "I forgot my…oh."
Matsukawa's smile didn't lessen as he passed the phone to Watari. He glanced at the device and looked away, but Watari knew what he meant after unlocking it and seeing the handful of texts: "Yeah, I figured when my messages went unanswered…" The most recent string of fretful emoijs was a cute touch, though.
"Thanks," Watari said, looking up something on his browser.
He could sense the older boy frown, and Matsukawa took a step away.
"Hold on," Watari insisted, grabbing Matsukawa's nearer arm. "Give me a sec."
Judging by the shadow that felt over Watari, Matsukawa cocked his head again, curious.
And Watari sated his curiosity with one final check of the time. He lifted his eyes to meet Matsukawa's, though he wasn't as fidgety over being so aware of that coal-colored gaze on him. He smiled, too. "If you're not busy… If we leave right now, we can catch 'Nights Engarde' in twenty minutes at the theater."
Excitement was plain on his face. Had he a tail like the large puppy Watari sometimes saw him as, surely it'd be wagging. It was unlikely he'd picture Watari to look into more movies based on the odd short stories Matsukawa had him read, let alone volunteer to go with him to another.
But, Watari thought as he lightly tugged Matsukawa along, they had that first movie to thank, in a way. It wasn't just the light novel that made sense. The movie, too—that idea that Matsukawa embraced, of liking something…or someone…without fully understanding why… Watari decided it suited them very well.
Several yards from the high school, Matsukawa cleared his throat as they walked, forcing Watari's eyes up again. The black-haired teen averted his eyes, but he shifted his arm, long enough to shake Watari's handle on him and switch it so they walked with arms linked.
Oh, never mind. Seeing Matsukawa so happy and feeling that much happier as a result made Watari realize he'd positively fallen for this big goof who wasn't as sly as he appeared to be. So liking him without understanding why? Well…maybe Watari knew why, just a smidge.
- ^-^3
Really, as the story developed, I recognized I wanted to write a quiet but genuine love story. Though the pacing for this chapter felt slightly different compared to the others, I still assert there are no quick revelations—for either Watacchi or Mattsun—and that's part of Matsuwata's charm. I also confess: There wasn't supposed to be any more angst after ch8, but mew did A Thing and wrote that mean little handkerchief scene. But! Luckily I have someone who lovingly points out when I'm being cruel to my OTPs ;P, and Mattsun also refused to let that scene end with anything but Watari's smile, so there you go. Let's see, what else… I like to think this story goes out with a pleasing, content sigh than with a bang. Part of that comes from the inspiration I drew for some of the story from two songs, "Don't Look Back" by Télépopmusik and "Love Is" by Meg and Dia, some subtle anthems, if you ask me. There's also the satisfaction of wrapping up the Morioka thread, and the fun in insinuating that, oh, yeah, Yahaba totes knows what's been developing. XD And Watari… He swore he wouldn't overanalyze, but some of that happened in the end, but that just breathes more life into him, because we all do things we swear we won't do, non? -w-
Thank you very much for reading all the way to the end, and I'd love to hear from you in a review/comment! For those who'd like just a little more (and, ngl, because I can't help myself), there is an epilogue to follow… See you there!
-mew! :3