Chapter Text
“Don’t wake them up, Iwa-chan,” Tooru whispered, holding onto Hajime’s elbow as he guided them through the dark living room.
They paused at the entrance to their short hallway, Tooru looking out at the snoring lumps sprawled around their living room. Bokuto was on their couch, laying spread eagle face down into the cushions, Akaashi curled up by his feet. Daichi lay on his back in the middle of the room, an arm thrown over his eyes as he snored quietly. Suga had pushed the coffee table out of the way, hugging a pillow to his chest as he slept next to Daichi. Across from Bokuto and Akaashi, Kuroo was draped across the small love seat, feet hanging off the side.
“They’re like our children,” Tooru sighed happily, clicking off the hallway light.
Hajime snorted, turning to head to their bedroom. “They are not like our children.”
“Some of them are,” Tooru said, padding down the hallway after Hajime. “I had to stop Bokuto from almost eating the wrapper with his ice cream sandwich after dinner.”
“Easy mistake,” Hajime said, closing their bedroom door with a firm click before pulling off his shirt. He knelt by their dresser, bumping around for a pair of pajama pants while Tooru pulled off his own shirt.
Tooru giggled when Hajime wrapped his arms around him from behind, kissing his bare shoulders.
“Hajime, we can’t do that when everyone is in the living room,” he said, laughing as Hajime spun him around to plant a kiss to the corner of his lips.
“Why not?” Hajime collapsed onto the bed, pulling Tooru down with him. “They’re big kids,” he said, kissing Tooru with parted lips.
“Hajime.” Tooru pulled away, crawling under their covers. “They’ll hear us.”
Hajime sighed, joining Tooru under the sheets. “Tell me why we invited them over again?” He pulled Tooru close, letting his chin rest over his shoulder as he draped an arm around Tooru’s waist. Tooru sighed softly, kicking Hajime’s feet away slightly as he got comfortable.
“They’re our friends.”
“Friends that take up our whole living room.”
Tooru snorted, wriggling in Hajime’s arms until he could pull his pillow closer. “Maybe we just need a bigger living room.”
“Or less friends.”
Tooru giggled again, the sound carrying down the hallway as Hajime pressed another kiss to the nape of his neck.
***
Hajime rubbed his eyes, clicking his bedroom door shut before shuffling down the hallway towards the sound of low voices and clattering plates.
“Iwa-chan, good morning!”
Tooru skipped over to smack his lips against Hajime’s cheek, his just-washed hair smelling fruity as he leaned down.
“Mornin’.”
He blinked sleepily, waving at Kuroo and Daichi sitting on the high stools over their counter. Bokuto waved his spatula around by the stove without turning around, intent on the bacon sizzling in the frying pan.
“Making breakfast already?” He said, stifling a yawn as he grabbed a cup from above their sink. He shuffled around Tooru, switching positions in their cramped kitchen so he could head for the fridge.
“It’s already nine, Iwa-chan. If we waited for you to wake up we’d be here all day.”
“It’s Saturday,” Hajime grumbled, opening the fridge to pull out a jug of apple juice.
“And the volleyball courts are always full by eleven,” Kuroo said, taking a sip of his coffee. “Rise and shine, bum. We have a game to play.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He brought his juice over to the counter, resting an elbow on the high top. “Where are Suga and Akaashi, then? Why don’t you go bother them about sleeping in.”
“I wouldn’t try waking Suga up before 9:30,” Daichi said, shaking his head into his coffee cup.
“Unless you want to get punched in the face,” Kuroo added, banging his fork on the counter. “Say, Bokuto, what’s taking so long with the bacon?”
“They have to be extra crispy!”
Tooru peaked over Bokuto’s shoulder, scrunching his nose at the smoke drifting from the pan. “Don’t set off my fire alarm,” he said, slinking along the tiny space by the cupboards to stand by Hajime.
“Yeah, we wouldn’t want to set off the fire alarm,” Kuroo said loudly, turning to smirk at Daichi.
The bathroom door opened up down the hall and Akaashi sauntered in, stopping behind Kuroo and Daichi.
“What happened to the fire alarm?”
“Akaashi!” Bokuto called before anyone else could answer. He picked up a plate by the stove, turning to wave it around over his head. “I saved you the floppy bacon because I know you like it.”
“Bokuto-san, shouldn’t you watch the stove if it’s still on?”
Bokuto just laughed, cramming his way past Hajime and Tooru in the small entranceway to the living room to bring Akaashi his plate. Kuroo leaned over the counter, stretching out his arm to switch off the stove as the bacon smoked in the pan.
“Is somebody cooking breakfast?”
A sleepy Suga wandered over to the kitchen counter, his oversized shirt hanging off one shoulder as he rubbed at his eyes.
“Bokuto did,” Daichi said, opening his arms to pull Suga into his lap. “We’re going to go to the courts after.”
Suga yawned, nodding slightly at he rested his head against Daichi’s shoulder.
“Do you have to sit like that right now?” Kuroo asked, pushing his stool farther away. “We’re trying to eat.”
“There’s nowhere else to sit,” Daichi said, rolling his eyes over Suga’s head.
“You can go sit in the living room alone.” Kuroo smirked, laughing when Daichi made a face at him.
“Hey, no fighting before breakfast,” Tooru said, reaching over the counter to grab an apple.
“Can we fight after breakfast?” Bokuto asked, snickering as he gave Kuroo a high five over Daichi’s head.
“Do whatever you want,” Hajime said, taking the apple from Tooru’s hands to take a bite.
“Did you hear that, brother?” Kuroo spun around in his stool, kicking Bokuto’s shins with a grin on his face. “Dad said we can do whatever we want!”
“I am not your dad.”
“Whatever we want!” Bokuto shouted, grabbing the apple from Hajime’s hands and tossing it to Kuroo, who made a disgusted face and threw it back to Tooru.
“You guys—” Tooru tried to lunge over the counter to grab it, his hands crashing into Daichi’s shoulder, the apple hitting Suga’s legs before rolling to the floor.
“You need a bigger kitchen,” Kuroo said, watching the apple roll past his feet.
Hajime turned away, rubbing a hand over his forehead as he headed to his room to change.
***
“I’m home.”
Hajime unbuttoned the pea coat Tooru had bought him for Christmas last year, throwing it over one of the kitchen chairs, shucking off his shoes before heading down the hallway.
“Tooru?” He paused in front of their bedroom, scanning the cluttered room before moving on. “Are you here?”
“I’m in the office,” Tooru’s voice called, floating down the hall. “Did you hang up your coat?”
Hajime sighed, backtracking to the living room to hang his jacket on the pegs Tooru had made him nail up a year ago. He grabbed a snack from the kitchen, heading back down to the end of the hallway.
“What are you doing in here?” Hajime said, pushing open the door to find Tooru in front of his laptop, chin propped up on his fist as he scanned his screen intently.
“Nothing, really.” Tooru turned in his seat, holding an arm out for Hajime to come closer, giving him a one-armed hug as Hajime pressed a kiss to his jaw.
“Nothing?”
“Kind of.” Hajime pressed another kiss to his neck, Tooru glancing distractedly back at his screen. “Just looking at houses.”
“Houses?”
Hajime stood up, grabbing a chair to pull up next to Tooru at the desk. “Real houses?”
“Yes, real houses,” Tooru laughed, turning back to look at Hajime. “I was just thinking, our lease is up again at the end of the year…”
“Does this have anything to do with Kuroo saying our kitchen is too small?”
“No.” Tooru paused, hand on his chin as he thought for a second. “Yes. Our kitchen is too small.”
Hajime glanced at the house on the screen, a big two-story one with blue paint and a wraparound porch. “That looks nice.”
“I was just looking around,” Tooru said, closing his laptop before standing up, stretching his arms over his head. “Do you want dinner? I can start thawing the chicken.”
Tooru bent down, brushing an absentminded kiss to Hajime’s forehead before wandering away, leaving the office door slightly ajar. The sound of cupboards banging closed and pots rattling around drifted down the hall, Hajime staring after the door. He leaned over the desk, picking at his nails as he glanced at Tooru’s laptop humming idly. Tooru never casually looked at anything—not a day in his life.
***
“Iwa-chan.”
Hajime grunted, hand on his stomach as he lay on the couch, watching a cop show on their television. Tooru sat on the floor between his legs, typing away on his laptop, occasionally glancing up at the TV when Hajime laughed.
“Iwa-chan, what do you think of our house?” He had turned around completely, resting his arms on Hajime’s thighs, fixing him with a curious look.
Hajime picked up the remote, muting the TV as a commercial started playing. “What do you mean?”
“Do you like our house?”
Hajime leaned back on the couch, folding his arms over his chest as he thought for a minute. Tooru leaned his chin on one of his arms, watching Hajime closely.
“Well, we rented it out three years ago when I got that promotion,” he finally said.
“And we left that awful apartment,” Tooru said, looking up at Hajime.
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“Iwa-chan, the people above us never stopped playing music. I couldn’t sleep.”
“So we rented this place out,” Hajime said, patting the couch next to him, gesturing for Tooru to come join him.
“No more loud music in the suburbs,” Tooru said, climbing onto the couch, laying his head in Hajime’s lap.
Hajime hummed in agreement, carding a hand through Tooru’s hair.
“But what do you think about it now, Iwa-chan?”
“It’s alright.” Hajime looked over at the kitchen, the two stools pushed under the counter, the stove crammed into the corner and the fridge awkwardly placed by the small entranceway. “I guess it is kind of small.”
“And we’re married now.” Tooru grabbed Hajime’s hand, spinning the gold band on his ring finger around.
“We are.”
“You’re my husband.”
“I am?”
“Iwa-chan!” Tooru laughed, sitting up to sit legs crossed on the couch, scrunching his nose as he faced Hajime. Hajime just smiled, cuffing Tooru on the side of his head.
“But married people need a lot of room, Hajime. For stuff.”
“For stuff,” Hajime repeated, reaching over to lace his fingers with Tooru’s.
“Yes.” Tooru leaned forward, his face suddenly becoming serious, fixing Hajime with wide eyes. “What do you say, Hajime? Do you want to buy a real house with me?”
Hajime drew his hand back, sucking on his bottom lip for a moment as he looked around the tiny living room. He remembered Tooru stacking boxes along the walls, each one labeled in his neat block lettering, everything waiting to be put away in its new place.
“Yes, I’ll buy a house with you,” he finally said, grinning when Tooru flashed him the biggest smile. Tooru whooped, shaking Hajime’s leg in excitement.