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“Daichi! Are you crazy!”
Tōru shrieked through his laugh, fear mixing with elation as Daichi held onto him on their way down. The pair were in the US for a trip, and Daichi had claimed he always wanted to go cliff diving, so here they were.
The fall was freeing. Tōru felt on top of the world, like he’d never even had a lick of pride in his life because this was the moment he felt most in control- even though he had absolutely none. His hair floated in the wind, ears popping as the air pressure changed.
He looked to Daichi, molten chocolate eyes blown wide but filled with so much joy, a smile bold enough to stop the turn of the Earth itself.
He’ll never regret this.
Daichi promised to hold Tōru on the way down, to wade in the water until he was sure that he was safe, to help him back to shore if needed. It had taken a lot of convincing to get Tōru to even agree to these terms, so he didn’t want to test his luck.
“Yes! But you love me for it!”
The two laughed, Tōru’s still filled with some slight screaming, and Daichi told Tōru to take a breath less than two seconds before they hit the water, bubbles filling their ears.
Tōru opened his eyes wide, hair floating around his face, and started kicking his way to the surface. He would never tell Daichi, but that was so fucking fun.
Daichi was already on the surface by the time Tōru got there, water dripping from his hair and a wide smile on his face.
“I told you it was fun, Tōru!”
Tōru didn’t even have the energy to fight back- it was fun. It was so, so fun, and he already wanted to do it again.
“Race you back?”
“You’re on.”
“Dai, do we really have to go back to Japan?”
“Do you want to stay in Washington?”
Tōru thought for a moment. There was a kind of quiet chaos here. It was almost like he and Daichi could discover something new every day for the rest of their lives and still not find everything Forks had to offer.
“And if I said yes?”
“I would do anything for you, princess, you know that.”
Tōru blushed at the nickname.
“You deserve to be happy too, ‘Chi.”
“I’m happy wherever I am with you. We can always go back to visit. I’m sure we can find jobs here. Besides, Iwaizumi said you needed to stop playing, at least professionally.”
Tōru agreed silently, his knee twinging, though he was still bitter about it. It wasn’t like he only excelled in volleyball, but it was the only thing besides his boyfriend that made him happiest.
“What about-”
“Tōru, look at me.”
He felt a strong hand grip his chin, turning his face to meet Daichi’s eyes.
“Stop worrying about everyone else for once. You don’t owe anyone anything. What would make you happy, first and foremost?”
Fuck. Daichi always knew when Tōru started spiraling, which he was about to do.
“I guess we should start looking for jobs and a new place, huh?”
Their lips met, Daichi smiling through their kiss.
He wanted this too.
Moving across a city or two is stressful enough, but moving countries is a whole other story. It wasn’t the worst thing Tōru’s experienced, not by a long shot, but it was definitely wearing on his nerves. He gripped the mug full of tea so tightly it made his knuckles whiten, the ceramic warm enough to burn anyone else’s skin.
Getting jobs was hard enough- and Tōru was immediately grateful that Daichi had made him go to college, or he’d be stuck working a minimum-wage job.
He’d secured a job as a trainer at a local gym, and he already had seven clients booked by the time he got home from his first shift- everyone wanted to work with the Olympic gold medalist.
Daichi got a job as a fireman, his toned muscles being an easy sell. The two were constantly busy and massages had become a regular thing in the shitty motel they’d called home for the last few weeks.
Tōru was going to need so many fucking massages when they finished moving everything into their apartment.
“Sacchan!! Guess what?”
“What is it, Oi?”
“I can marry Dai here!”
The line was silent for a few seconds. One of the biggest barriers of their relationships had been the laws against their marriages in Japan. Satori and Kōshi had moved to France, for the redhead’s dreams of being a chocolatier and the silver-haired man’s dreams of living in the city of love, and they’d gotten engaged there recently.
“Does Daikkun know that?”
“I don’t know, but I just saw a same-sex wedding on TV, so I had to look it up!”
Tōru heard a sigh on the other line, followed by some shuffling. A new voice responded, though a welcome one.
“Tōru, love, we both know Daichi is a dense man. You might have to drop hints, or he’ll never get it.”
“Kō, I want him to be the one to figure it out. All I know is that I’m going to be late for our date, so I’ll talk to you later! I love both of you, so much!”
“We love you too, Tōru. Have fun on your date.”
The line clicked. Tōru knew Kōshi was right, that his boyfriend wasn’t the smartest sometimes, but Tōru knew their love was completely genuine. Daichi would do anything for him and Tōru would do the same.
Dress comfortably, Daichi had told him. They’d been in Forks for two years now, but still Tōru hadn’t a single clue what the two would be doing for the evening. He tugged on a pair of his own jeans and one of Daichi’s worn-out band tees, opting for comfort over style.
The tee hung loosely from his body- Daichi had always been the more built one of the two- and he looked fucking phenomenal. Tōru grabbed Daichi’s second leather jacket, knowing they’d be taking his bike tonight.
When Daichi got home he didn’t even bother to come inside, opting instead to honk at Tōru, shocking him out of his thoughts.
“Hey babe,” Daichi greeted Tōru, sealing it with a kiss. “You look amazing.”
Tōru blushed, still not accustomed to the way Daichi genuinely meant every compliment he gave.
“Ready?”
Tōru nodded, putting on his helmet and climbing behind his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around him.
“You bet.”
The two rode out of the city, towards the coast. They took the highway that stretched for miles against the beach, sunset casting beautiful orange and pink tones to the sands. Daichi pulled to a stop near a small 50’s themed diner, grabbing Tōru’s hand and leading him inside.
“We came all this way for a diner?”
“Patience is a virtue, Tōru.”
Daichi ordered food for the both of them; he’d always seemed to know what Tōru would like best. They chatted and locked their legs under the table, tossing the occasional fry at each other and filling the nearly empty diner with their combined laughter.
After he finished eating, Tōru rested his head in his hand, staring at Daichi who was paying their bill before returning with a huge smile on his face.
“I love you, ‘Chi.”
“I love you too. Let’s go, we have one more stop before we go home.”
“Let’s get going then.”
Their final destination was back near Forks- leaving Tōru even more confused as to why they travelled all that way to eat some greasy diner food- though he wasn’t complaining. The food had been amazing, after all.
They pulled to a stop at an all-too-familiar stretch of cliffs.
“Dai?”
“Remember this place? We went cliff diving on our first day in Washington, two years ago today. You were so scared, I told you it would be okay but you still screamed the whole way down. When the first jump was over, though, you asked to do it again and again. You even complained when we had to go back to the hotel.”
Tōru stared at his Daichi, who was staring out into the water. The last remnants of sunshine clung to his tanned skin, made his eyes sparkle.
“We had so much fun. You tried your first American-style cheeseburger that night, because you refused to eat them with me until you were too tired to argue anymore. I fell even more in love with you when the ketchup sat in the corner of your mouth and you wiped it away.”
Tōru grimaced a little- he hated having food anywhere on his face.
“Tōru, I don’t just love you. I’m in love with you. I’m in love with you and all of the beauty that comes with it. I’m in love with the way you scrunch your nose when you don’t like my joke, I’m in love with your bedhead, I’m in love with the way you look in my clothes. I’m in love with the way you always smell like freshly brewed coffee even though you hate the taste. I’m in love with the way you begged me to take you to Roswell for the aliens. I’m in love with the way you are so passionate about everything, from politics to your favourite kind of sweeteners to add to different kinds of tea. I’m so hopelessly in love with you, Tōru.”
Tōru stayed silent, processing everything his boyfriend just said. It was a lot to take in- all of the things his past lovers had complained about were the same things Daichi loved about him. Exactly how the hell did he get so lucky?
“I’m so fucking in love with you, I know that and you know that and our family knows that. We all know that but still, I can’t help but want to make everyone know that.”
All of a sudden, Daichi was on his knee, holding Tōru’s hands in his own. Tōru gasped slightly, blush rising furiously onto his face.
“I’m in love with you, Tōru, and I want to share everything with you- especially my last name. Will you take it, like you took my heart?”
The ring, though simple, was gorgeous. Even so, it held nothing to the way Daichi looked. Tōru has it bad for the man currently beneath him.
“Of course I will.”
Maybe he underestimated Daichi, and so did Satori and Kōshi.
He didn’t need to drop any hints.
He just needed to live the rest of his life with his overly warm
fiancé.