Work Text:
Ida wasn’t necessarily unfamiliar with hybrids.
People learned all about them throughout their school life. Humans who have physical traits of animals, for example ears, tails or even wings which all can be hidden at will. Some even behave very similar to their corresponding animal. They are a quite rare case among humans and only every hundred in a billion were born with these genes.
And as a proud (and subjectively good) dog parent and lover, Ida was really interested in the world of hybrids ever since he learned about them as a child.
Sometimes he went out of his way to always find a way to accommodate these special people, would it be just by befriending them and making them feel comfortable with their unique features or even making clubs at his school so they could have a safe space.
But the young highschooler never really thought that he would be dating one of them someday which is why he was so surprised when he found himself in the situation he was in right now.
✎↬❤︎
It was a quite warm autumn day and both Ida and Aoki decided to study together at Ida’s house since the former didn’t have any volleyball training and the latter really needed some help for the upcoming math test.
With the sun shining through the half-closed curtains and the wind breezing through the slightly opened window, they basked in each other’s company as the tunes of Aoki’s playlist swirled softly around them. Aoki was absorbed in the current equation he was working on and Ida couldn’t help but stare at him.
Aoki was one of the most interesting and kindest human beings Ida has ever had the chance to meet. The other boy was quite expressive, had his heart and emotions on his sleeves, put others before him and quite frankly Ida had to admit that he caught himself thinking (more than once!) about how adorable Aoki was. There was just something so endearing at seeing the other try his hardest to make everyone he cherishes happy.
Ida wasn’t even sure when it happened but after the whole eraser incident and them slowly navigated through being in a kind-of-relationship for a few weeks, he couldn’t be any less grateful for that stupid eraser since he was now sitting together with his boyfriend of 3 months in his room and there was no other place he would rather be at. Not when he has oh so loveable Aoki right next to him with a focused frown on his forehead, sweaterpaws tightly gripping onto his notebook and pencil.
Brushing gently the stray strand out of Aoki’s face as it stole his view, Ida took in how Aoki’s eyes widened and his mouth formed a small “o”. At that, Ida had to grasp for all the strength left in his body to not just lean forward and kiss the other on his plush lips-
“Ida?”
Oh.
That definitely pulled him out of his trance as he let a soft chuckle escape his lips before stroking Aoki’s head gently. “Sorry, Aoki, I couldn’t help myself. You look so pretty right now.”
A deep blush spread immediately all over Aoki’s face and the flustered boy desperately tried to hide himself behind his covered hands. But before Aoki could even reach it, Ida shifted his hand to cup the other’s face and lifted it lightly to make him look at him.
“As adorable as it is, please don’t hide,” Ida whispered and Aoki squeaked at that. “Then don’t compliment me so suddenly! My poor heart can’t take it,” Aoki exclaimed while clutching his chest in such an Aoki way that Ida couldn’t hold himself back from leaning in with a smitten smile.
But as soon as he was able to feel Aoki’s breath on his skin, he stopped and observed Aoki’s reaction.
From shock to confusion and slowly melting into anticipation, everything about Aoki was so genuine and sincere that seeing him occasionally (if not always) made Ida’s heart skip a beat.
Oh no, this is bad. He is too cute.
Apparently he wasn’t the only one struggling with this level of intimacy as Aoki began to stutter gibberish and tried his best to get away and Ida was about to pull away again and joke about doing this to tease the other.
And then it happened.
The moment Ida scooted back he got greeted with the fluffiest pair of ears and a tail on his boyfriend.
“Aoki, you-,” Ida started while clumsily pointing to the top of his head. Aoki tilted his head in wonder, patted on his head and suddenly froze. It only flickered for a second but Ida was sure that he saw a hint of fear in Aoki’s eyes before it got drowned out by sadness and disappointment.
“I’m sorry, Ida, I didn’t want you to find it out that way but if I get overwhelmed then I can’t keep my ears and tail from appearing. I hope you are not disgusted by it,” Aoki mumble-rambled under his breath and Ida was glad that he was still close enough to hear everything but he couldn’t believe what he was hearing and what was implied by those words.
Aoki, his precious, kind and pretty boyfriend, thought that Ida would leave him for being a hybrid?
Aoki, who always gives and never takes, is doubting his worth just because of his secret?
Aoki, one of the bubbliest and warmest persons on earth, who is now curling himself into a ball, ears flat on top of his head and his tail curling around his body as if to protect himself from a rejection.
Ida knew that Aoki had very low self-esteem and it hurt him every time to see his beloved one wreck his head with these overflowing, self-deprecating thoughts and all Ida wants to do is to take away all this plaguing pain from him.
A sigh and a soft ‘I knew it’ brought him back and before Ida realised it, he put his hand on Aoki’s and waited for Aoki to look at him.
“Can I hug you, Aoki?”
There was a short silence falling onto them before Aoki gave him the tiniest nod and Ida took it as a sign to gently pull the former into a tight embrace, covering him fully and brushing his hand over the hybrid’s back.
Seconds passed and they didn’t say a word, just letting each other’s warmth wash over them and once Ida felt Aoki relaxing in his hold, wrapping his arms around Ida’s waist and nuzzling his face into the crook of Ida’s neck, he breathed gently:
“Aoki, can you hear my heartbeat?”
Aoki nodded and tightened his grip onto Ida’s shirt.
“Well, then you have your answer.”
This made Aoki pull slightly away to look at Ida with a raised brow. “What do you mean, Ida?”
Ida sighed and continued to stroke Aoki’s hair.
“I mean, if you can hear how fast my heart is beating, you already know how I feel about you. How can I be disgusted by you when you look so ethereal right now. You are so mesmerizing that I can’t help but want to hold you like this forever. And honestly, just because you’re a hybrid doesn’t mean you’re different now. Aoki, you are you and I will love you with all your strengths and flaws.”
As Ida finished his speech, the tears that gathered in Aoki’s eyes quietly ran down his cheeks and all Ida could do was wipe them away and press a short but hard kiss against one of Aoki’s dog ears, letting the former sob and sniffle into his shoulder.
“Can I just say that I’m glad to finally know why Mametarou likes you so much?” Ida whispered into the crown of Aoki’s head to hopefully cheer him up, which he deemed as a success when he heard the other giggle.
“Gosh, of course you would end such a serious and heartfelt speech with something stupid like this,” Aoki huffed and lifted his head again, “ But thank you, I needed that.”
“No problem, that’s what I am here for. Well, how about we finish this worksheet and then we can cuddle a bit longer before you have to go home?”
Aoki smiled at that and nodded excitedly. “Yes, that sounds great.”
✎↬❤︎
After that day, Ida and Aoki spent a lot more time at each other’s homes so Aoki was free to let out his animal parts and Ida had an excuse to pat the hybrid with every chance he could get which led them to the current situation.
“Have you seen the latest news about the new Haikyuu season? It looks so good and I am so excited to see Karasuno again and ah that reminds me that you have a match soon again, right? Maybe I should prepare some posters-,” Aoki rambled his breath away as he usually did when they would decide to just relax together at one of their houses and Ida would just listen to him.
And as much as Ida enjoyed listening to Aoki talk about the world and his favorite things with such a raw passion, he can’t help but notice how much Aoki’s tail wagged with the same amount of energy and it seemed to heighten with each little pat or stroke Ida gave to the other’s head.
It was such a wholesome thing to witness, especially knowing that Aoki wasn’t even aware of it. Yes, the dog hybrid would often lean into Ida’s touch but it also appears to be a very subconscious reaction.
So naturally, this piqued Ida’s curiosity and he was tempted to test out the waters.
While Aoki was talking, Ida tried his best to move closer to the chattering boy and gently took Aoki’s chin into his palm and turned him towards him which immediately silenced Aoki.
“Say, Aoki, can I kiss you?”
Ida could see the thoughts running wild in Aoki’s eyes as the latter tries his best not to combust from being a flustered mess and Ida tried but failed to not chuckle at that.
“Is this a no?”
Suddenly, Aoki’s eyes widened and he shook his head as fast as possible which put a bigger smile onto Ida’s face as he let his hand travel from Aoki’s chin to his cheek to fully cup the other’s face and started to lean in.
He could hear Aoki’s breath hitch and his eyes flutter shut and Ida wished he could burn this into his brain and never forget how these little things made his heart burst with love.
But once his lips almost met Aoki’s, Ida saw in the corner of his eyes how much more excited his tail would wag the closer he got. Feeling the same spark of curiosity flash through his mind, Ida couldn’t help but lean a bit back while closely observing the wagging tail that slowed down the further he pulled away and accelerated again when he would lean back in.
And apparently, Ida got so excited to see it that he totally forgot about Aoki until he suddenly got hit on his shoulder. Perplexed, he looked back to Aoki and got attacked by the cutest expression yet.
Aoki was pouting, his ears flattened and a glare shot right at Ida (He couldn’t even feel guilty about it because Aoki was just too adorable like this). “You’re so mean, Ida! I was waiting for it so patiently and you’re just teasing me again. Ah I can’t believe this...” At this point Aoki was hitting on Ida’s shoulder with each word.
Ida was curling himself into a ball from how hard he tried not to laugh. But when he finally found his composure again, he looked back at Aoki who was sulking and fiddling with the hem of his sweater.
“Sorry, I wasn’t doing it on purpose but I just couldn’t help but notice how excited you were for this and it was too cute to handle,” Ida finally said, Aoki, however, didn’t seem to be even flustered about it and whined even more.
“Of course I am! We don’t kiss often, so of course I get excited if you suddenly do this. But now I am not in the mood because you just can’t stop teasing me…”
‘Okay, maybe I did take it a bit too far this time ’ Ida would have thought if it wasn't for the playful swaying of Aoki’s tail.
At least Ida was now sure that Aoki wasn’t really mad at him and he decided to go with it. “I’m sorry again. Please let me make it up to you,” Ida said before he engulfed Aoki into a hug and started to press kisses onto the latter’s head.
“What are you doing, Ida-,” Aoki whined but immediately started to giggle, “stop it~ I’m ticklish there.”
But that didn’t stop Ida, not when he saw the excitement in both Aoki’s eyes and tail. So he cupped the other’s face and planted a short but gentle kiss on his lips. Aoki let out a surprised squeak, relaxed and wrapped his arm around Ida’s waist before he dived back for another kiss.
They continued to kiss until they both felt the need to breathe again and as they pulled away, Ida whispered against Aoki’s cheek as a faint kiss with a subtle grin: “Better?”
Aoki just stared with the fondest look into his eyes, a comfortable silence falling onto them as he softly nodded his head. “Yes, but I wouldn’t mind if we continue this.”
Ida laughed at that, nodded in agreement, turned Aoki towards him again and breathed before their lips met:
“I love you, Souta.”