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The moment Daichi comes home, he’s hit with a feeling that he’s forgetting something Important. The feeling is proved right when he takes his shoes off and turns around to see Yui, dressed in her favourite blue dress with Ken barking a welcome from around her ankles. Shit.
“Oh good, you’re home! Go get changed, we don’t want to be late.”
Late for—oh. Of course. It’s Suga and Kiyoko’s anniversary dinner meet up tonight.
“You forgot, didn’t you?” He hears Yui teasing him.
Scratching the nape of his neck, he says sheepishly, “I may have. Just a little, though.”
“Go change. I’ll go get some flowers from the store, and then we can leave.” She steps around Daichi, pushing him towards their bedroom. “Go. Change. We’re leaving in 15 minutes.”
Ken, of course, goes with Yui. Good boy, never misses a chance for walks.
Daichi sighs when he shuts the door behind him. He takes a quick shower and is in the process of buttoning up his shirt when he hears his phone buzz a few times. Taking his phone out he sees 12 notifications (11 from Suga, threatening him if he didn’t show up, Suga would gut him and feed him to nine different animals, and 1 from Kiyoko, telling him the address of the restaurant).
He’s in the process of picking out a tie when he hears the door open and shut, and a telltale bark tells him the entire family is present in the room.
“Here, Daichi, wear this one.” Yui holds up a blue tie, with tiny silver roses on it. Of course, she’d pick out the right one he smiles fondly and allows her to tie it for him.
“Hey, isn’t this the one you wore on our first date?” Yui suddenly remarks.
“Why do you remember that?” teases Daichi, amused.
“H-hey, it’s not like I picked it out because of that, I thought we should match a little, I swear, that’s it!” Daichi’s seen her blush hundreds of times (he likes it best when he’s the reason for it) but he always finds it so endearing.
“We’ve been married for three years, it’s OK if you did.” He kisses her cheek. “Let’s go, we ‘don’t want to be late’” he mimics.
“Yeah, yeah, I got them orchids, by the way.”
This is the moment Ken chooses to bark for attention. Daichi picks him and coos. Yui scratches under his ear. You can tell Ken is enjoying this immensely. Family time is the best time Daichi decides.
They reach the restaurant well in time, for all Yui’s worries about being impolitely late (even when Daichi assures her that it’s Suga and Kiyoko, sweetheart, not royalty). In fact, they’re so on time, they bump right into Suga and Kiyoko outside the restaurant.
“Table for four, under the name Sugawara.” Suga tells the manager, who guides them to a table decorated with pretty napkins and ever prettier petals in a bowl.
“Plus, there’s candles!” Yui exclaims and Suga laughs. Immediately, banter starts between the two (they’re currently in the process of deciding who can count the number of petals in the bowl first), which is unsurprising because Suga’s competitive streak is a mile wide, and Yui wasn’t captain of a competitive sport just for kicks).
This leaves Daichi handing Kiyoko the bouquet and they make small talk, asking about each other’s work, listening to their significant others’ conversation, occasionally making a remark here and there.
“OK, you can’t say you’re smooth when you couldn’t talk to Kiyoko-chan for the first two years of high school!”
“Well, neither could you!”
“I didn’t even know her then!”
First year of High School was always the most important. It’s when you made friends who’ll stick by you for the next three years, where you picked a club activity that’ll shape who you’d grow up to be. These thoughts ran around Koushi’s mind as he made his way to the volleyball gym with Daichi, another boy from his class, to submit his application form when he sees the most beautiful girl in the world in the hallway. He can’t help himself, so he stops and stares. Daichi stops, too, and looks. He laughs and pulls Koushi along. They pass the beautiful girl, and Koushi’s mind is made up that he will ask her name. but the moment he sees her up close, he freezes and only nods, smiling at her (Daichi later tells him, and Kiyoko confirms, that it was more of a grimace, like Koushi hadn’t pooped that morning).
“At least our first date wasn’t disastrous!” Suga tries defending.
“What do you mean? You literally asked Daichi to ask her for you, and then you didn’t even talk to her the entire time!”
Kiyoko is laughing softly at this, and reaches out for Suga’s hand as if offering comfort for an embarrassing memory. Yui looks triumphant.
“Hey, I wasn’t the one who threw up all over my date’s shoes because I was so nervous.” Suga looks positively angelic as he lays the what he thinks is the final blow.
At this point, Daichi’s laughing too, as he wraps an arm around Yui, who’s spluttering.
Daichi had been Yui’s constant since they were six. They’d attended the same elementary school, middle school, and now, high school. They’d played volleyball together in each other’s backyards during the summers (honestly, the only reason Yui’s serves were so good was because Daichi always stayed back to help and receive them. Izumitate’s middle school volleyball team wasn’t the best, but they tried their hardest. The same went for Karasuno (although their boys’ team had been to nationals more number of times, the girls’ team had won more championships). It’s bee a natural progression for Yui to think of Daichi as her best friend, and eventually someone she could imagine spending her life with. True, he seemed extremely oblivious to her feelings, and she’d nearly given up, but a little help from Koushi had sped along the process quite a bit. Meaning he blabbed to Daichi because he was being (and Yui quotes) “denser than plum cake”. Yui had been mortified, but had bowed down and said “pleasegooutwithme” and turned to run without waiting for an answer. Thankfully, Daichi, who was more level headed than her, had stayed back after school to wait for her and told her he’d love to. “Love to what?” “To go out with you. I mean, if you still want to.” “Of course I do, silly!” and that had been that. Until when they’d met up halfway to the café and Yui turned to say something and caught Daichi looking at her with a soft smile on his face when the nerves got to her and she’d thrown up. All over Daichi’s shoes. Which were new, he’d apologised later.
“OK, what about the time you tried cooking for Kiyoko-chan? She ended up sick!”
“Uh.” Suga is out of his depth at this retaliation.
“Alright, I think we should order some food before you run out of embarrassing stories to tell about each other.” Kiyoko agrees with Daichi when he says this, and thankfully Yui and Suga comply.
Secretly, Kiyoko is glad that Koushi and Yui-chan get along so well because Daichi is one of her closest friends and she’d be upset if Koushi didn’t like Yui-chan. Kiyoko hasn’t known Yui-chan the way she’s known the boys (men now, she reminds herself), but she knows enough to conclude that Yui’s tenure as captain went similarly to Koushi’s as setter. They’re both prone to bouts of anxiety, and lack of belief in themselves (something they’ve gotten better at over the years) and Kiyoko loves how their friendship builds each other up in the most positive and fun ways.
(Like the time when Koushi dared Yui-chan to adopt a dog because she felt lonely when Daichi was of town for business. Yui-chan had named their dog Ken, and sent a snapchat to them. Or when Yui-chan had riled Koushi up so much that he’d made the best sales that week and nearly shoved it in her face when they’d next met. Of course, he’d treated them with his bonus).
“Hey, Kiyoko-chan, do you remember when you added extra chilli to Koushi’s food when you were away at camp? Suga told me Daichi cried.” Koushi chokes on his soup while Daichi turns pale at the memory. The chillis had been exceptionally spicy. Yui only smiles smugly as she munches on her vegetables.
“It’s not my fault Koushi decided there was too much and exchanged plates with Daichi,” Kiyoko says nonchalantly.
“Kiyoko…you didn’t do it on purpose, did you?” Daichi asks, cautiously.
Kiyoko looks at him with a blank face. “Maybe.” And returns to her meal.
Yui is laughing so hard, it’s gone silent and Koushi is kissing Kiyoko and they’re both blushing because babe, you’re the best! And poor Daichi, he can feel Yui pat his back, and he looks at Kiyoko with betrayal in his eyes.
“I want the orchids back.”
“Why?” Yui asks curiously.
“I want to lay them on my tastebuds’ grave.”
“Daichi, don’t be so dramatic! It was only a little spice!” Suga grins.
“A little?!” Daichi wants to get up and walk away, he has no friends.
Kiyoko, ever the mediator, puts up her hands as the next course is within sights (shrimp gyozya, ordered by guess who). The four sit in silence as the waiter serves them, and fills their glasses with more wine.
As soon as they’re sure the waiter isn’t around to hear their embarrassing anecdotes, Yui says, “what about the time you got jealous of your cat because he got sick and Kiyoko-chan had to take care of him?”
“You try talking to a vet when they’re trying to nurse an animal back to health.”
Ebi, Suga and Kiyoko’s little kitten had caught what Suga called ‘kitty conjunctivitis’ and Kiyoko, being the fantastic vet she was, did her best to heal little Ebi. Anyone who was even faintly acquainted with the the Sugawara family knew that Ebi and Suga had little to no love for one another, and Suga had, at first, been delighted that the monster cat had received what it deserved. That is, until Kiyoko had decided to stay home and care for Ebi for a day, to make sure he healed well. Suga had, foreseeably, not taken it well, for several reasons. For one, Ebi took up all of Kiyoko’s time. He would not let go of her. For another, Ebi h a t e d Suga (according to Suga, of course). He would hiss and claw at Suga and Kiyoko had banished him from their room until Ebi was better. Suga had to sleep on the couch for two nights in a row. Then, in a fit of anger, he’d called Asahi for help. Ebi, who’d taken quite a shine to Asahi when he’d come around to visit them the first time, was smitten by the kitten. Kiyoko had, surprisingly, agreed to let Asahi have her. And Suga felt like a champion. Until, of course, Yui had caught wind of it. Suga has never lived it down.
Even Kiyoko cracked a smile on that one.
Red in the face, Suga says, “Well, what about the time you and Daichi fought over zoos and aquariums?”
“Aquariums are better!” says Yui, and at the same instant, Daichi says, “Zoos are the best.”
“Get out.” Yui narrows her gaze at Daichi while he calmly smiles back at her, knowing in his heart, that, indeed, zoos are better.
“I think herbariums are nice, too,” says Kiyoko, hiding her smile in a forkful of shrimp.
She is subject to a laser beam gaze.
“What about the time you said ‘suck it’ to Kiyoko-chan when she told you not to climb the tree in your backyard and you fell and sprained your ankle?”
“Excuse me, I was trying to get a picture.”
“You whined when she said you don’t deserve flowers, only a get-well-soon card. All the way to hospital, might I add.”
“What about the time you gave Daichi a black eye when he kissed you?”
“My neck is ticklish! That is not my fault! What about the time you threw a hissy fit during board game night when Kiyoko-chan won at everything?”
“No, actually, I believe that was you.”
“Um, no. You threatened to divorce her when she won at monopoly and you were in debt. Loser.”
“OK what about the time you both were arrested and Kiyoko and I had to come bail you guys out.” Daichi had perfected his scary captain gaze during his high school years and both Yui and Suga turned slowly towards him (for comedic effect), identical faces full of fear.
The conversation for that particular situation had proceeded as such:
suga : hey so I need a favour
yui: I’m 89% sure it’s gonna be illegal
suga: ¯\_( ツ)_/¯
yui: cool I’m in hmu with the details
As the night wears on, things happen, which include (but are not limited to): a pole dancing class, a crocodile suit, a bowl of cold ramen noodles, a pair of hot pink pants, rollerblades, an angry man with a golf club, and the city nightlife.
yui: since we’re not allowed to talk in the cell, mind explaining whY THE FUCK
suga: in my defence it was 3 am
yui: you fuck
suga: I take that as a compliment (✿◕‿◕)
yui: you know how many fucks I give????? Negative four point nine. You owe me fucks thanks.
suga: Ramen night is on me next week tell daichi
yui: I don’t think I can eat ramen after…that
yui: also I don’t think daichi’s gonna be pleased. Or kiyoko chan.
suga: well…it was a necessary evil
yui: when I said ‘I wouldn’t pay your bail because I’d be in a holding cell with you’ at your wedding I was kidding pls god
suga: :D bucket list goals aren’t we
“Haha…Daichi what are you talking about?” Suga pulls at the collar of his button up.
“Yeah, honey…Oh look! Let’s order dessert, shall we?” Yui says, flustered, the two rascals hiding their faces in the menu, while Kiyoko shakes her head at Suga who is holding her hand tightly, his ears going red behind the menu.
They eat their cheesecakes in relative silence, with Kiyoko and Daichi talking about a recent medical breakthrough in someplace somewhere, and Shouyou and Hitoka’s upcoming wedding. They finish their meal and the usual quarrel about paying arises and quelled soon by Daichi (who has sneakily passed his credit card to the waiter, much to Suga’s chagrin).
They walk out into the cool night, and Suga and Yui immediately race to their usual ice cream place while Daichi and Kiyoko walk after them at a more leisurely pace.
“I’m glad for tonight,” says Kiyoko suddenly.
“Hmm..? I am, too,” Daichi replies.
“Not just tonight. I’m glad we, I mean, Koushi and I, we’re glad to have you and Yui-chan in our lives, still. All those things they mentioned, however hilarious, were spent in each others company. I’m glad they get along, and I’m glad we’re friends. I love it when we’re all together, like at the ramen stall, like board game nights, like tonight. It’s nice to see each other so often, even after high school and college, when we don’t get to see so many of our friends very often, I’m just glad we do this. I wouldn’t give it up for the world.”
Daichi is stunned and warmed by Kiyoko’s little speech. Eventually he just smiles and says, “we’re glad too, Yui and I, to have you guys in our lives. Makes it less routine when I have calls telling me my spouse and best friend are in prison.”
And just like that, they arrive at the ice cream store, and the night draws to a close with the four of them eating matcha and vanilla and chocolate and cotton candy ice cream, and a bouquet of lightly wilting orchids on their laps. There will be other nights like this (ramen night is only four days away, after all) but for tonight, they are tired and happy and full of ice cream and good humour and warmth from better company.