Chapter Text
The words hadn’t sunk in your developing child mind, merely floated atop the water like soap bubbles. Harmless, expected to disappear and be forgotten. And with an attention span minute enough to be negligible, the words flitted from your mind like dust in the wind.
Even when your parents brought you to the Ushijima household the following weekend, a common thing, you never thought anything of it. All you wanted to think about was the quiet little boy and his dad teaching you how to pass the volleyball back and forth. Forming a triangle, you half-listened as the man told stories of something called a “reliable ace”, whatever that meant. You were aware it involved the type of ball he taught you to bump back and forth, but you didn’t know any of the names he listed. Libero, setter, wing spiker? It all went in one ear and out the other.
You were just glad to be able to play with the little boy named Wakatoshi.
~
“Daddy, why is Mommy up there and not with us?” Ever the patient father he was, you listened intently as your father explained any and all of your inquisitive questions. What else could you expect from a child? The world was a vast place of mystery and wonder.
“She’s the maid of honor, sweetie,” he smiled, pulling you up and into his lap with ease, wrapping an arm around your tiny waist to secure you to him. “She makes sure the bride doesn’t have to worry about anything on her big day.”
“Bride?” you asked, tilting your chin up so you could look up at your smiling father in wonder.
“The bride will be here soon. She’ll be wearing a big beautiful white dress, like a princess.” Your eyes sparkled, imagining the princess doll your grandmother gave you last year. Looking back to the row of women standing behind your mother, you looked over to the men standing on the other side of an archway.
“Is that her prince?” you asked your dad, pointing to a brown haired man dressed in a black tuxedo. The other men were dressed in a dark grey, making the black stand out. Chuckling behind you, your dad confirmed your suspicions about the prince being dressed in black, calling him the “groom”.
When the music started, you waved to your mother when she caught your gaze. You waved until people began to stand and turn around, your father picking you up and setting you on your feet.
“Here comes the bride,” he whispered to you, to which you began bouncing on the balls of your feet in excitement. You couldn’t wait to see what she looked like.
And then you saw her, one of your mom’s best friends. She was stunning, gorgeous in that white dress. Truly, she looked like a princess. Her white dress sparkled in the sunlight, the designs so intricate that you wanted to trace them all with your hands just to find where they started and stopped. No doubt that your mother was beautiful, especially when she wore her makeup like today, but the bride was beyond words. Starstruck, you gaped at her beauty as she waltzed by gracefully like a goddess.
For the next several moments, like the groom, you could hardly take your eyes off the bride. When you did, your eyes jumped to the man holding her hands, smiling and wiping tears from his eyes. It was the first time you had seen a grown man cry.
“Daddy, why is he crying?” you asked quietly, once again seated in your father’s lap. Looking up to him, you didn’t miss the way he was gazing at your mother.
“Because he’s happy.”
It was awe-inspiring to you, the whole wedding. When they gave each other a ring and kissed, your little starstruck heart skipped a beat. The man began to cry more, laughing this time as he kissed the beautiful woman.
“Daddy, will I have a prince someday?” Smiling, utterly contagious, your father’s eyes crinkled as he hugged you to his chest tightly.
“You will, sweetie. He might be closer than you think.”
~
You’ll never forget the day you and Wakatoshi interrupted an adult conversation around age 10, regarding the two of you. Having been outside bumping the ball back and forth in the summer heat, you had become thirsty and the little boy offered to get you some water, for he was thirsty too. Opening the door, your ears were met with the stern voices of the adults.
“-ust want them to have something solid to bond over, at the very least.” That was Wakatoshi’s father speaking in a concerned tone, and the voice of your mother caught your attention next.
“They’ll have plenty, they’re practically growing up together alr-” Halting her words when she heard the two pairs of feet padding across the floor, your mother cleared her throat with a soft smile. Her smile looked kinda funny, but you didn’t dwell on it for long.
“Tired of playing with the ball?” she asked the two of you, watching you shake your heads at the same time.
“Thirsty,” you told her, following the quiet boy into the kitchen. The adults continued speaking, but now the voices were hushed. Father told you it was bad to keep secrets, but maybe adults were allowed to keep a few things to themselves, even if it was unfair.
The next day your parents told you the secret with a smile, the words that would carve the path of your future, for better or worse.
“You’re going to marry Wakatoshi when you grow up!”