Work Text:
To say that Moniwa is excited would be an understatement. He’s thrilled and is really looking forward to his date with Ushijima.
It’s been a while since they’ve gone on a proper date, what with his boyfriend being a dedicated world class volleyball player that he is. They’ve been enduring for a few years now since Ushijima is busy with his year-round training while Moniwa is finishing his Master’s thesis.
This year is a little kinder to them, because it’s a home court exhibition game, which means Ushijima gets to stay in Miyagi around Valentine’s and Moniwa is already happy at the prospect of being able to spend it together after months of being separated.
He fluffs his stylishly messed-up curls in front of his wardrobe mirror and fixes his glasses for good measure then smiles, satisfied with how he looks, but before he can grab his phone, wallet and keys, the doorbell rings.
“Wha- Toshi… what are you doing here?” He says, opening the door wider, surprised and confused to find his boyfriend at his doorstep.
“Good evening, Kaname.” Ushijima greets, hands behind his back. “May I come in?”
“Uh, yeah,” Moniwa says, stepping aside to let Ushijima in, and with a quick glance outside, he notes that it was snowing lightly. “I thought we’re going to meet at the station.” Not that he didn’t want to see Ushijima sooner, but he didn’t get any messages about a change of plans.
Ushijima coughs, ducking his head a little, making the puff ball of the beanie bounce. “I wanted to surprise you,” he says with a light blush. “Here,” he takes his hands from where he’s hiding it and presents Moniwa with a small bouquet of assorted flowers wrapped in a bright yellow wrapping paper and a box of what seems to be an expensive brand of chocolate, if going by its foreign name written in fancy cursive lettering.
Moniwa gasps, melts at the thought and giddily grins up at him. “Thank you! You didn’t have to!” He takes the gifts but not before pushing himself up to his tippy toes to give Ushijima a kiss on the cheek. “We’re still going out, right?”
“Yeah. If you still want to.”
“I want to! It’s been a while since we went out. I’ll just put these away, alright.”
Ushijima nods and busies himself by getting Moniwa’s coat, scarf and the matching puff ball beanie, a gift from Tendou to the both of them for Christmas two years ago from the rack while Moniwa keeps the chocolate in the refrigerator and finds a suitable vase for the flowers. Once that is done, they head out.
Moniwa feels like he’s floating because finally, something is working out for them. He’s so happy and so grateful that they’ve been given this chance and he thinks that nothing can bring him down from his elated mood.
---
The thing is, maybe they should’ve stayed in, after all.
Moniwa really wanted to go out with his boyfriend, but he’s also forgotten that his boyfriend, because of his prowess in the sport, enjoys a certain degree of fame, what with the endorsements and commercials he’s done for various products. So, while he’s not exactly ‘celebrity superstar’ famous, he’s well known enough for people to take a second look, and even ask for pictures.
The walk from Moniwa’s apartment to the train station had been fine. It’s a short walk but they were able to update each other about what’s been going on in their respective lives, ones they forgot to mention over texts or calls. The train ride had went the same fashion, though Ushijima had started getting lingering looks, but it could easily be assumed that it’s because of his height, so that’s nothing out of the ordinary.
The central district is a different matter altogether.
Moniwa thought that since it’s basically a date night for all kinds of couples, the two of them walking around like every other couple would be just barely a blip in the radar, nothing out of the ordinary, because majority of the people on the streets would only care for their respective partners, right?
Wrong.
Maybe it’s because there’s actually a small poster of Ushijima holding a bottle of health drink he’s currently endorsing posted on the window of one of the convenience stores and his image is basically in the forefront of everyone’s mind and it’s not enough that he’s getting attention because he’s tall, but because he’s tall and recognizable as the Ace of Schweiden Adlers and a member of Japan’s Olympic team, but it seems like everyone and their mothers decided that today, of all days, they would recognize who he is, put a name on his face and they can’t seem to move to the next block without someone stopping them on their way.
It’s cute, the first few times that someone’s boyfriend, urged by their girlfriend, hesitantly approach them with an equally hesitant question of “Excuse me, are you Ushijima Wakatoshi? Of the Adlers?” in which Ushijima graciously nods and answers with a soft “Yes” and proceeds to do what a good, famous personality does- agree to give them an autograph and have a selfie with them. Moniwa politely stepped aside to let them have their moment, and was even really impressed with how Ushijima is handling this impromptu meeting with some fans.
But then it keeps happening. Even some of the patrons that were eating in the restaurant, for lack of kinder word, disturbed them, just to have a piece of Ushijima. Moniwa can feel his patience thinning and his mood sinking, but he covers it up and tried to focus on the positives instead. They’re together this Valentine’s and they’re having a date, and it’s not good form to spend it sulking because he can’t handle his boyfriend being famous.
It was difficult, but Moniwa tried.
It’s not until one group of college girls, probably on their way to a group date or something, had been bold (read: the audacity) to ask Moniwa to take a photo of them. It’s a good things that he’d already eaten, so he’s not as cranky, so it was fine with him, really. They were a large group, and with someone as tall as Ushijima to include in the picture, they would need an outsider’s assistance.
But when he returns her phone, she had the gall to give it back and asked to have it taken again because she wasn’t quite satisfied with how the first one came out.
Moniwa swallows his frustration down and tried hard to keep his voice from cracking as he counts down before he presses the capture button rather harshly. It took all of him to give the phone back as gently as he could. He doesn’t know what he’ll do if she demands him to take another one again. Thankfully, she was finally satisfied, and after a few more minutes of gushing and fangirling, they finally leave them.
Unfortunately, Moniwa’s already in bad mood. But he doesn’t want to ruin this night any more than it already is, so he settles for pulling the thick, knitted scarf over his mouth to hide his pout and muffle the sniffles that he’s unable to keep at bay.
Despite the distance, Ushijima is more attuned to Moniwa’s behavior and tells and knows that something is off. He stops walking then and stands in front of his boyfriend.
“Kaname? What’s wrong?”
Moniwa vehemently shakes his head, making the falling snow flurry in disarray around him.
“Kaname,” he says, taking Moniwa’s face between his large hands and tilting it up to make him look at him. “You’re hiding and crying, it’s not nothing.”
“It’s silly,” is Moniwa’s muffled response, avoiding Ushijima’s gaze.
Ushijima lets go of his face, takes a look around and finds a bench. He takes one of Moniwa’s glove-covered hands and leads him there.
“Hey,” he starts when they’re both settled down, squeezing their hands tight. “Please talk to me.”
Moniwa huffs, but decides to be truthful. He tells Ushijima how he’d been looking forward to their date and the prospect of spending time together, but people just had to keep interrupting them, that he can’t completely enjoy their date. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to feel like this, and I’m not blaming you, it’s just that… I can’t help it. I missed you so much and I don’t know when we can do this again, and it’s really frustrating that something like this happened.”
Ushijima pulls him and wraps him in a tight hug. “I didn’t know. I thought it was alright. I’m sorry, Kaname.”
“It’s not your fault,” Moniwa mumbles against his shoulder, wrapping his own arms around Ushijima as well.
Ushijima shakes his head. “I know, but I should’ve been more sensitive and mindful. It’s our time together, after all. I’ll do better next time.”
Moniwa nods. “Thank you.”
Ushijima presses a kiss on his cheek. “Do you want to go home?”
“Yes.”
Suffice to say, Moniwa’s in a better mood when they return to his apartment.
Ushijima kept his word and politely declined a fan asking for his autograph, proudly saying that he’s spending private time with his boyfriend. Moniwa had been apprehensive, especially when the fan looks at him and their intertwined hands. But he exhales in relief when they apologized for disturbing them and leaves them alone after sincerely wishing them a lovely Valentine’s evening.
To express his appreciation, Moniwa pulls Ushijima down by his scarf to give him a loving kiss while Ushijima’s hands find their home on Moniwa’s hips.
“Can you stay the night, Toshi?” Moniwa whispers against Ushijima’s lips.
“Of course.”