Chapter Text
Growing up, your parents were never easily pleased. It didn’t matter what anyone around them had accomplished, they were never satisfied. It was even tougher as their child, as the dissatisfaction with anything you did had a toll on you and how you saw yourself.
Perfect grades throughout school? Other kids could do better.
Never drank or smoke before you turned of age? That’s expected of you as their child.
Always praised by your peers and elders? Praise from other people shouldn’t matter, only their own.
Always looking to satisfy them, you got to the point where you were constantly degrading yourself, comparing and contrasting what you could and couldn’t do to other people and their accomplishments, and constantly doubting yourself and your worth.
That is, until Iwaizumi Hajime came into your life.
He came in as calm as a gentle summer breeze, easily slipping into your life and daily routine. It was almost as if he was always there, sliding into your daily routine easily, like he belonged there from the start.
Hajime was the one who managed to raise your self esteem a little through the little tasks he made you do when you guys going out together, like in high school when you would set to him, albeit clumsily and no where near as professional as his flamboyant best friend.
(“Are you sure I’m doing this right?” Holding the ball awkwardly in your hands before your next set, you felt that sinking feeling of doubt when Hajime had spiked your set into the net. Despite the tension in your shoulders and doubt on your face, Hajime was quick to gently ruffle your hair, giving you one of his breath taking smiles.
“You’re doing great for someone who doesn’t play volleyball. I appreciate what you’re doing, you’re doing your best to help me and that’s all that matters to me.”
You felt your cheeks heat up for the first time, the blush never seemed to leave whenever you saw Hajime after that.)
Hajime always seemed to give you comfort in life, continuing until after high school and into college, where you two spent your days in a tiny apartment together. With college, Hajime, and your own life to keep track of, you almost seemed to forget about your parents’ constant complaints.
Until a call one day.
Quickly running out of the bathroom to grab your phone, you smiled and gave a small thanks as Hajime handed it to you, green eyes never leaving the Godzilla movie currently playing on his laptop.
Giggling slightly at him, you finally answered the phone, passing a nice greeting through the phone before a familiar deep voice came through the device.
“Hi, dad.” You muttered into the phone, physically deflating in confidence as the solemn voice spoke asking about you and your studies. Hajime seemed to notice, too, as he stopped his movie to look at you in confusion. Ignoring his gaze, you quickly gave simple replies to your fathers’ small talk, before almost choking on your saliva at your father’s suggestion.
“Visiting me? When?” Glancing back and forth between the wall and Hajimes’ own confused eyes, you finally got your answer, before ending the call with a brief ‘goodbye,’ hanging up quickly.
Slumping into your couch, you groaned into your hands, feeling Hajime slide close to you and slide an arm around your shoulders. Before he could even ask, you were already answering his question.
“My parents are flying here so they can spend time with us,”
“Parents?” Hajime question. He’s yet to meet your parents, which was strange since you’ve been together since your third year, going on 4 years soon. Parents were always avoided with you, so Hajime just preferred to never mention it. But now that your parents were flying over to the states to visit, he couldn’t help but smile at the idea of finally meeting them.
“That’s great, I can finally show them how great of a boyfriend I am.” Hajime beamed, but his smile faltered as you shook your head. Looking up at him, you couldn’t help but feel your heart tug, knowing that he just wanted to make a good impression.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, confusion written on his face.
“They’re just... I don’t know, growing up with them, they’re not the type to be satisfied easily, nothing can please them, and they have no filter. I just don’t want them to say things to you that they’ve said to me and make you doubt yourself, or us.” You said, frowning as you turned your gaze towards the ground.
After a moment of silence, you felt Hajime pull you back into his arms, making you giggle as he pressed light kisses to your neck. Leaning back, you finally met him halfway for a comforting kiss, smiling into it. Finally, he pulled back, thumbs running soothing circles into your arms. Feeling the tension leave you slowly, you leaned into him, gently kissing his neck as a good sign that you were fine.
It wasn’t until you heard a slight chuckle reverberate through his chest that you pulled back, meeting his green eyes that held a soft look as you gazed into them.
“Well,” Hajime started with a confident smile that made you break into your own smile,”let’s just prove to them that we’re something to be proud of. If not us,” He gently grabbed your hand,”let’s make them proud of you.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
Standing outside the gate number your parents had told you, you mindlessly bit your nails as you watched plane after plane take off and land. The nervousness had set in as soon as you guys had left the apartment to go and pick up your parents from their flight. The addition of the sudden rain was not helping either. Hajime must’ve sensed this, as he hasn’t let go of your had sense you guys had left the airport.
After about another twenty minutes of waiting, you finally saw people walking though the said gate your parents told you, and you were quick to stand up, straightening your clothes and make sure your hair was nice and neat. Looking over to Hajime, who was staring into space, you also made sure to correct his posture and neaten his hair some from where he’d fell asleep in the car. He swatted your hand playfully, making a giggle escape you, before a cough interrupted you.
Looking over, you quickly stepped back from Hajime and let a polite smile cross your face. Standing at an astonishing 6’5, your father stared down Hajime, his cheeks sunken in even more from where he was chewing the inside of his cheek. His dark eyes finally moved to you, before stepping forward to embrace you in a hug.
Quickly wrapping your arms around him, you gently said,”I’m glad you made it safely here, but where’s mom?”
As if on cue, the recognizable clacking of heels had you pulling away from your father to see your mother quickly making her way towards you. Despite the long flight, her hair and makeup was done perfectly, nothing out of place. Her dark red lips stretched into a smile, smile lines appearing that exposed her age. Pulling her into a hug as well, you said your greeting before stepping back to Hajime, who awkwardly stood as he watched the exchange.
“Mom, dad, this is Iwaizumi Hajime, my boyfriend.”
Hajime raised a hand to your father to shake as he gave a welcoming smile,”It’s nice to meet you both, I hope we get along.”
You slightly cringed as your father frowned as he shook Hajimes’ hand reluctantly, the displeasure written on his face. Your mother merely nodded at him and smiled, ignoring his outstretched hand altogether. Despite the awkward exchange, you quickly tried to change the subject.
“Alright, let’s get going, shall we? We can drop you off at your hotel and we can hang out tomorrow, as it’s so late in the evening.” Giving your best smile, you could feel the tension in your shoulders settling in permanently like they used to in high school. Your mother exchanged a confused look with your father, then turned back to you.
“Oh honey,” She started,”did your dad not tell you? We had plans on just staying with you on this trip, you know we hate hotels.”
Jaw dropping open, you quickly shut it as you gave a brief frightened glance to Hajime, who was equally as shocked.
“Staying with us? But I don’t think there’s enough room in our apartment, mom!” You tried to explain.
“Oh nonsense, we’ll take your room ans you’ll sleep on the couch. It’s no big deal! We’ll be fine,” Your mother said before grabbing her bags and heading out the doors to the parking garage. Your father gave a glance to Hajime before turning to you.
“He can drive, you can sit in the back with your mother.”
At his words you could feel Hajime freeze beside you knowing that he was stuck driving with your father beside him in the passenger seat. As your father turned to follow your mother, you let out a sigh before turning to Hajime, who was still shocked at the exchange.
“See what I mean?” You asked.
Hajime was quick to remove his facial expression as he grabbed your hand, giving a comforting smile.
“It doesn’t matter, we’ll make the most out of this. I’ll prove to your parents how great we are together.” Giving you a small kiss, you couldn’t help but smile as he held your hand tightly, showing he wasn’t scared of what was to come.