Chapter Text
Semi hummed as he folded his clothes on his bed, being able to do his laundry after two weeks of neglecting it in favor of cramming for his finals. Luckily for the ash-blond male, he was able to finish all his final tests and submit all his course requirements early, which means he gets to spend more time with his boyfriend this weekend.
Placing the clothes on top of the other, Semi smiled as he stood up to place them on his closet. Once he closed the closet, he looked at himself and smiled. HIs hair was held back by a single headband, his roots were showing as he hadn’t had the time to bleach his hair or go to the hairdresser as his professors were intent on making their students suffer by piling their course works week after week. He wore a rainbow shirt and some pair of boxers, with his shirt tucked inside his bottoms.
In all actuality, the shirt was actually one of Shirabu’s shirts, gifted to Semi long before they were dating. Maybe gifted wasn’t exactly the right word for it, it was during his second year and they invited themselves to have a sleepover at Shirabu’s house (much to the latter’s dismay). Semi had actually asked Shirabu if he could borrow one of his clothes after Yamagata spilled his soda on Semi’s shirt after hearing Tendou’s explicit thoughts. Shirabu grumbled about not letting any of them in his house after this sleepover while his parents were away but still instructed Semi to follow him to his bedroom.
After entering the bedroom, Shirabu told him where the closet is and left to get an extra towel for Semi and to check up on their teammates while he’s at it. Semi shrugged and padded towards the closet, opening it to survey the contents. Somehow, he was able to find the exact rainbow shirt he’s wearing right now.
He doesn’t remember how he was able to find it, seeing as Shirabu’s house clothes consisted of whites and pastel-ish shirts — some shirts were statement shirts, others were just plain. One of the things that contrasts Semi from Shirabu, as the former’s closet was filled to the brim with black graphics tees and band shirts.
Now as he was about to wear the shirt, the bedroom door opened and Shirabu came in with two towels. He paused and looked at the shirt Semi was holding, a certain emotion crossing his eyes before reverting back to the indifference one the team got accustomed to. “Here’s some towels to wipe the remnants of the soda. Just give me your shirt after, I’ll wash it and return it next week before practice.”
Semi nodded before pulling his shirt off, taking the towels from Shirabu’s hands and wiping the sticky residue of the soda off his skin — mentally thanking Shirabu for running the towel slightly in water — and putting on the shirt he got from the closet. Semi then gave the towel and his soiled shirt back to Shirabu as he exited the room and went back to the living room, with Shirabu ducking away from Tendou’s hug to go deposit Semi’s soiled shirt in the laundry room.
The night went on and soon enough the next day came, with the team having a merry breakfast — courtesy of Shirabu and Kawanishi —, playing a mini game of volleyball before deciding to head home by the time the clock strikes noon.
Semi didn’t remember how or why but by the time Sunday came around, he took his phone to send his very first private message to Shirabu that night.
To: Shirabu Kenjirou
10:37pm
> Can I keep the shirt?
It only took Shirabu two minutes to reply.
From: Shirabu Kenjirou
10:39pm
< Do whatever you want, Semi-san. And go to sleep.
And that was the story on how the rainbow shirt had come into Semi’s possession.
One of the things he noticed about the shirt was that it fitted him just right, meaning it was a size or two bigger than Shirabu (he had chased the thought of Shirabu in that shirt away from his mind.). Another is that it doesn’t necessarily fit into Shirabu’s clothing preferences, as the latter prefers light and neutral clothes that screams minimal and plain. The shirt itself, however, was loud and colorful — a shrill cry from Shirabu’s reserved and introverted nature.
It took four years of being his teammate and friend (and admittedly, being a fussy mom friend) and for them to start dating just for Semi to ask him about the shirt. Turns out, Shirabu’s cousins had dragged him to Tokyo on his birthday to participate in the Tokyo Pride parade just a month after attending Shiratorizawa. Of course, his cousins hadn’t been able to guess his shirt size and thus, he was given a shirt that was two sizes big on him. Semi’s heart softened at the close bond between Shirabu and his cousins (and now, his younger brother), and made a mental note to call his family that night.
A distant sound of his phone ringing had snapped him from his reverie. Semi glanced at the time, noting that his hand was playing with the hem of the shirt affectionately. It should be around the time Shirabu called, so as soon as he took his phone, Semi wasn’t surprised to see his boyfriend’s name displayed on his phone.
From: Bunbun ☼
7:17pm
< Hey dumbass, You up for video calling and crying over our requirements together?
Semi laughed, knowing fully well that Shirabu still has lab exams the days after and wouldn’t be able to get out of it until this weekend. He texted his reply and placed it on his phone stand, taking a seat and opening his laptop while pulling out his notebook filled with lyrics to appear busy.
To: Bunbun ☼
7:17pm
> Just say you miss me and facetime me rn, smartass.
Not long after, Shirabu’s contact name and a picture of them posing for the camera appeared on his screen.
Bunbun ☼
would like to FaceTime…
[Decline] [Accept]
As soon as he accepted the call, Semi perked up to see Shirabu pouting on his screen, though his eyes were glued to the laptop in front of him. Semi laughed as Shirabu turned to him, pout still intact. Shirabu’s eyes lit up as he saw his boyfriend laughing, scrunching his nose out of habit that makes him so adorable.
“What’s with the long face?” Semi cooed, logging into his laptop to see his browser running. Smiling as he looked at the screen, he turned his attention back to Shirabu. The latter was focusing back on his laptop.
“My anaphy professor is a dickhead who needs to get laid.” Shirabu grumbled, his lips twitching upwards as he heard Semi’s laughter. “He gave our class another workload and we have to submit it by this week. Oh sure, let me go work on it. It’s not like we don’t have other courses and lab reports to work on, no biggie. It’s not like I’m busy, but whatever.”
Semi gave Shirabu a sympathetic look, playing with his pen as he gazed into his stressed boyfriend. He spied a mug by the other side of the laptop, making a mental note to count how many cups Shirabu will drink during their call — he’s been dating Shirabu long enough to know it isn’t the first cup of coffee he had that day.
“Well, I took a break and did my laundry.” Semi said, looking back at the rainbow shirt he’s wearing. Suddenly, an inspiration struck him while his boyfriend grumbled incoherent curses at his professor. He turned to his notebook and started scribbling the lyrics and notes on top of his head.
Wear a rainbow shirt.
For me, that’s a first
And it’s all because of you.
Hearing the sound of paper shuffling from the other line, Shirabu broke his intense glare with his laptop to look at Semi. The latter was hunched over his notebook, scribbling words that were illegible from Shirabu’s perspective. Shirabu let out a small smile as he spied Semi’s tongue out, a habit Semi has yet to let go off whenever he’s focused on something, whether it be his academic workload, writing lyrics or volleyball back in high school.
“I can’t wait to see you next week, bumbum.” Shirabu accidentally said, his eyes widened as Semi stopped writing and looked at him. Shirabu felt his cheeks heating up before turning back to his worksheet, ignoring Semi’s adoring gaze on his side profile.
Shirabu still didn’t know Semi had finished earlier than expected. Semi smiled softly as he saw the familiar red blooming on Shirabu’s cheeks whenever he was embarrassed.
Semi could only take a look at the confirmation page of his train tickets that weekend before saying, “I can’t wait until I get to hold in my arms again, bunbun.”
