Chapter Text
A large yawn escapes him that morning in the pleasant heat of his shared bed. Suga languidly stretches and arches his back, causing a reaction in the slumbering body behind him; a bulky, hairy arm slithers around his bare waist and pulls him tight against an equally hairy chest. A nose presses itself sleepily to his neck.
Suga sighs, happily basking in the quiet of the morning-
Or, that is, until he remembers what today is.
Heaving himself up, the silvery haired man peels the arms that are pulling him back down into heavenly bliss off of him, glances to the bed that feels empty even though three people sleep on it every night, and lumbers, still half-asleep, into the house's bathroom.
By the time he's woken himself up, washed up and left the bathroom, he hears conversation in the kitchen. Daichi and Asahi must have gotten up while he was showering, so Suga makes his way toward the sounds and it's only silent instinct when he's falling into two sets of arms who momentarily battle over who gets to hug him where. He feels himself drifting off to sleep on his feet when the two rain quiet kisses all over his face.
He takes turns, turning first toward Daichi who gladly accepts him and he feels Asahi behind him, not wanting to be left out and leans on his shoulder. Suga gently leans against the head on his shoulder before returning to Daichi, kissing him and lingering, almost as if he would disappear as well, if he were to turn his back on him for a moment. He gives Daichi his best morning smile when they eventually pull away. Daichi silently murmurs his affections before Suga turns around to Asahi. With him, he feels his feet leave the floor as Asahi lifts him up. His legs lock themselves around his midsection and oh- Asahi has morning wood- but all that is ignored in favor of eskimo kisses and more whispered affections when Suga buries his fingers in the thick long hair Asahi has kept ever since high school.
Today is a special day.
Breakfast is made instead of just by one of them, by all three- today is a day to spend together, to revel in their companionship and to remind each other that what they have is something special, to be nurtured and loved. Because it would be a disgrace if they let their bond fall through. Today is a day commemorating that.
Suga is in charge of eggs, digging through the cupboard for their egg poacher- that's the only way Asahi would ever willingly eat them, and only if the yolk is nearly hard as a rock. So Suga just makes all of their eggs poached now- he and Daichi don't have any particular preferences.
Early into their relationship, if they all made breakfast together, it was made in this same fashion. Typically they had some combination of eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles or pancakes, but almost always back then, waffles were almost a staple. Nowadays, pancakes are their favored option.
Daichi straightens himself out, holding the waffle iron with a certain purpose. He would be making these waffles today. Asahi silently pulled a package of bacon out of the freezer and threw the frozen chunk in the microwave.
All three of them feel a chill as they eat, but no one mentions it. Small conversation is held, about what they would do today. A lunch date, a walk along a street with some novelty stores, and lastly a visit to an important place.
They all spend their morning meal with smiles and small talk. "Remember last year? I think it was a year and a few weeks ago, but- remember the waterpark?" Daichi reminisces. Suga and Asahi let out boisterous laughs. It was quite a sight. They attracted a few stares when Asahi entered a large changing room, followed soon after by his boyfriends. The group left the room with more then a couple stares. Asahi never wanted to go back after that.
"I still can't show my face around there..." Said ace moaned into his hands. "That was a great waterpark though." Daichi and Suga nodded.
Later, after cleaning up and washing dishes, the three of them reentered their room to get dressed. Asahi and Daichi were still in their underwear and dirty shirts they must have slipped on when the woke up (all three of them were nude after the events of last night) and Suga was naked except for the towel around his waist and the one in his hair.
Comfortable in their silence, the three of them approach their own dressers, but not before Suga gets distracted by both of them, backs turned to him as they changed. He snickers, reaching for his phone and silently snapping a couple shots each for them both.
Still, feeling odd at the idea of not being absolutely open with everything with the two of them, he caves. "I just cant believe I landed these two delicious pieces of ass here." He beckons the two over and shows them the pictures, asking if he can keep them. They, of course, have no objections, even Asahi, who splutters at the indirect attention.
Finally, Suga dresses, in that bluish-grey button down shirt he was given as a gift by someone important to the three. It seemed like his hands drifted to the shirt of their own accord, and were halfway finished buttoning it when he realized just what shirt he wore. When he turned, he realized that the shirts Asahi and Daichi both wore were also likewise gifts from someone just as important to them. They pause for a moment, taking all of this in, before degenerating into three separate piles of giggles, mirth overtaking the silent atmosphere.
They leave their house, exhaling in the chilly air before retreating back inside to throw on light jackets and thin gloves just for extra measure. Dew drops off their shrubs just below the window beside the front door in the early morning mist.
They make more casual conversation on their way to the train station, the topic falling back to the same one they had the night before when they set up bicycles at the stop they would be getting off at. No one mentioned the train station they would be skipping, the three of them silently agreeing to get off at the stop before unlocking the bicycles that were secured the night before and lazily following the above-ground tracks before making a pointed deviation. It was just before a station where many people gathered to make it to their work day, unknowing of the history that place had with the three who avoided it.
They were quiet the entire way, cycling taking up much of their concentration. They took a slight break about half an hour into their journey, purchasing water bottles at a nearby vending machine and chatting about what they should do until lunch time.
"There's a park near where we were going to eat, wasn't there?" Asahi pants, pouring some of the water over his face. "Though... maybe, let's leave the bikes chained up when we get there..."
Daichi grins, smacking him hard in the back. Asahi grunts, coughing on the water. "Getting that out of shape, are we? I might not be your captain anymore, but maybe I should tell your current one to give you a few extra laps to run?" Suga laughs alongside Daichi when Asahi whines and adopts a passive posture. The entire atmosphere remains positive and lighthearted.
So, as was decided, the three chain their bicycles up when they arrive another twenty minutes later, linking hands and ignoring stares from seniors and the pointed avoidance of middle-aged women forcing their children to look away. Suga distracts Asahi with banter, no doubt he would feel the gazes of passerby on his back. Daichi grasps tightly onto his hand for the same reason, and maybe also for another reason. The same reason they are here on this extra special day.
They spend a few hours in the park, walking down the paths in the trees and passing by almost every kind of folk they could encounter. Dog walkers, preschool children on a field trip, senior citizens, young couples and school-skipping teens. They pass by an empty tennis court and wonder if it would have been possible to turn it into a volleyball court with raised-up nets. Not like they even had a ball, or even sufficient players, anyway.
The next few hours they spend inside a small cafe, just down the street where they locked their bikes up earlier. They order lunch, a healthy wrap for Suga, salad for Asahi and Daichi scoffs at them, crossing the street to order a hamburger that he claims is healthier then it looks. They eat, and make a point to not order dessert. That is important, they all agree upon. They will eat something else special later.
Browsing the shops along the street serves a good purpose, they make casual banter and laugh and push each other around playfully. They enter stores with set faces, each of them thinking of past memories they associate with each carefully picked store they visit. They don't purchase anything.
As the hours wear on, the atmosphere around them dulls, takes a melancholic turn. The three walk down the street with rosy faces, glancing at each other, knowing what is on the others' minds. The peaceful day was wearing down to a close. When the sun starts to set, Daichi turns to Suga and Asahi, ever the one to set the ball rolling.
"I think it's time, don't you?"
Suga meets Asahi's gaze. They both turn to watch Daichi, whose standing ahead of them a pace or two. Silently agreeing, they step forward and link hands with Daichi, a security measure. All three of them are there. No one's backing out now.
First they arrive back at their bicycles, unlocking them and huddling around each other as Suga pulls out a map to plot their route. It's a short ride and soon enough, they stand outside a floral shop. They placed an order for a bouquet of flowers, tiger lilies at Asahi's request. Suga and Daichi agreed when they placed the order. Daichi enters first, and Asahi and Suga spend ten minutes or so looking and smelling the flowers on display before Daichi approaches them and surprises them with kisses on their cheeks and grins, telling them it's time to go.
They chain their bikes down outside the floral shop, their next two destinations not far enough to warrant the risk of smothering the flowers as they rode.
Asahi shoulders a large backpack they had prepared the night before, detaching it from his bicycle. Together the three enter a general store, set on purchasing only one single item. Feeling the atmosphere turn more gloomy by the second, Asahi feels two hands at his sides, present calming forces of support. It was then that another chill passed through them, similar to the one they felt eating breakfast. No one says anything. They make their purchase, and Suga takes the bag with the box they purchased inside as he was the only one left not holding anything.
The three of them come to a silent halt just outside the door. Asahi feels it; a heavy pressing at his chest. Suddenly he's shaking, knowing where they were headed next. Suga notices first, glancing up at his tallest boyfriend and he slips a knowing arm around his waist. It doesn't help, and Suga sighs, knowing that Asahi and Daichi are both feeling the same pressure he feels. His shoulders have never felt so heavy.
Well, no. That was a lie. His shoulders have felt heavier. Precisely one year ago, they did.
Daichi takes initiative, steering them down a lane full of old leaves crunching under their feet. The sounds are a welcome distraction to the absolute emotion that silently weighed them down.
Asahi's arms are still quivering, but then again, so are Suga and Daichi's.
They approach a black gate that opens easily for them; opening the way to a silent clearing that couldn't be louder in their heads.
They pass through isles, feet knowing their path already by memory, and they have one of their most pregnant silences that day as they locate the gravestone of Nishinoya Yuu, the fourth member of their strange relationship.
A third, stronger chill passes through them. It the chill brings a strange feeling, almost familiar to them as Asahi sets down his backpack, unzipping it and taking it's contents out.
The sky has taken a rapidly darkening orange-red hue, and in the peace and turmoil that has set in around them, a slight breeze hums through the trees that offer them seclusion. A single crow caws in the distance.
They all silently set about their tasks, Asahi spreading a blanket out in front of the gravestone of his third boyfriend, Suga gently taking out all manner of containers and plates and plastic cutlery, handing them to Daichi who assembles them on the blanket.
The flowers and box are forgotten in the moment, as the three of them dine and break the silence with stories, old and new, all about the fourth member of their relationship who was taken much too abruptly from them. They reminisce, all smiles and laughs, about that one time Nishinoya tried riding Asahi's bike ("Remember how funny he looked?! He had to stand and lean over, just to touch the pedals!") and about that time Nishinoya tried getting up early to make Asahi and Daichi cupcakes on New Years' Day, and how sad he looked when he burnt them(but more importantly, how wide his grin was, how ecstatic he was when Daichi and Asahi ate them anyway and spent the rest of the day showering him in kisses cause they appreciated everything about the small libero just so much).
They eat their meal, the one they prepared together. Everything they did today was done together, even everything they had to do to prepare for today. It was important that all three involved themselves as much as possible today. Who knew when they wouldn't have that luxury again? They already had that luxury taken away once.
After their meal, they leave the blanket out and clean up the now-empty containers.
The chill passes through them, all three of them shivering in front of the gravestone. Asahi, in the middle, feels Suga reach an arm out behind him and him and Daichi tightly grasp hands behind his back. He raises his arms and loops them loosely around both their shoulders, feeling the weight on his shoulders increase tenfold. His head drops to his chest when he can't withstand the force anymore, and immediately the grip behind him tightens and the two shivering bodies on either side of him press closer, grounding him. A beat passes, and he takes a shuddering breath, the first sob passing through him. Three large tears make it halfway down his face before two of them are wiped clean by two hands from either side of him, and the feeling of companionship is simultaneously a positive force and a negative one, reminding him that he wasn't alone, but also reminding him of the third hand that would have been there to keep him there, but was now buried below them, six feet underground.
The third tear falls to his chin, dripping onto the ground alongside it's companions that were shed from the two lonely pillars of strength beside Asahi.
Daichi, flowers in hand, leans forward to place them in front of the cold epitaph while Suga reaches down for the box they purchased from the store earlier. He pulls out what will surely be a tradition in the making, three soda flavoured Gari Gari Kuns and offers them to Asahi and Daichi. They eat amidst the overwhelming feeling of pain in their chests and emptiness and tears. They eat. They mourn. They heal.
Together, they fight alongside each other against the loneliness that gripped their hearts that night, on the first anniversary of Yuu Nishinoya's death. They mend each other's wounds, hoisting each other up in the face of darkness and void, mourning the day, exactly one year ago, when their small valiant guardian lost his life in the 'line of duty', as was described, when he saved the life of a small child who fell in the path of an oncoming train at the station a few stops down from their house. Surely in a few years time they would be able to face the area again, but for now, they still had open wounds.
But most importantly, they still had each other. And that was to be treasured above all else, in the name of the deceased.