Work Text:
i.
“babe, pass me the salt,” tajima said through a mouth full of burger. hanai didn’t look up from his book as he did as he was told, handing the salt-shaker to his boyfriend without a second thought. he gave a noncommittal hum when tajima mumbled a thanks, flipping the page of his novel. wait.
he froze. babe? it didn’t take much for hanai to blush, and his face was now tomato red. babe… it was a first, for tajima at least. they didn’t give each other pet names. if hanai ever tried he would get too embarrassed, or tajima would laugh at him. they were only just ‘yuu’ and ‘azusa’. but he found, to his surprise, that 'babe,’ he didn’t mind. hanai smiled.
“what?” tajima asked after a minute, looking over to find hanai grinning into the pages of his book. hanai shook his head, a breathy laugh escaping.
“it’s nothing,” he replied. tajima shrugged, appeased, and went back to his food.
“... babe.”
ii.
the weather was beautiful today.
spring break had come, and the boys were spending their day at the park. a picnic basket lay beside them, already used. they were laid out on the grass, soaking the the sun’s gentle rays. big, fluffy clouds patterned the sky, while pink cherry petals covered the ground. tajima scooped the blossoms into his hands and sprinkled them around hanai. he cracked an eye open, smiling as he watched his boyfriend outline his figure with petals. with another fistful of the flowers, tajima laid a halo around hanai’s head. a stray petal settled on his cheek and tajima grinned, swiping it away with his thumb.
“am i pretty?” hanai asked with a laugh. he squinted up at tajima, trying to look at him despite the harsh light shining on him. tajima moved his head over hanai’s, blocking the sun’s light as he smiled down at him, even more radiant than the sun. it took hanai’s words away.
“you’re gorgeous, azusa,” tajima answered, leaning down and giving him a kiss. the light above them grew dimmer, and hanai felt the absence of heat on his body. tajima frowned, leaning back up to stare at the sky.
“aw, the sun went away…” he said glumly. a thick group of clouds had moved over it.
hanai grabbed tajima’s hands, lacing their fingers together. his heart beat a little faster, a doubtful twinge of anxiety swirling around his chest as he mustered the courage to say his next words.
“it’s okay,” he started, his voice a bit shaky. tajima looked back down at him, and a blush heated his cheeks. “you’re my sunshine, anyways.”
iii.
they spend thanksgiving dinner with hanai’s family. the boys, now juniors in college (and freshmen in the bright new bands on their fingers) had been practically forced into going by azusa’s mother. she begged the two to come, wanting to celebrate their engagement and share the exciting news with the rest of the family. hanai was reluctant, and doubtful, but tajima silenced him with a kiss, promising to be there with him the entire time.
so the two packed their bags and called into work sick, crammed into hanai’s rusty old 2000 honda accord, and began the six hour journey.
when they got there hanai’s mother was in hysterics, clinging onto her son and blubbering about how much 'her baby boy had grown up'. tajima saved the picture of hanai awkwardly comforting his mother as she hugged him tight, refusing to let go onto his phone.
“oh, pumpkin,” she said finally, petting hanai’s head, showing him a smile. “he’ll be so good for you.”
later that evening they sat around the table and broke the news to everyone. hanai had stammered and stumbled over his words as he tried to explain to his relatives that he was getting married to another man. tajima grabbed his hand under the table and squeezed, lacing their fingers together. ‘breathe,’ he mouthed. hanai gulped.
“yuuichirou and i are engaged.”
--
“see? i told you it would go well,” tajima said after they were settled in bed for the night. hanai kept quiet, wordlessly agreeing as he traced patterns across tajima’s arm. “you were brave. i’m proud of you.”
hanai smiled at that and kissed the other’s shoulder. “i thought i was gonna burst a vein, i was so nervous.” tajima laughed. “and ma practically smothered me, you’d think she hadn’t seen me in years. i saw her like, two months ago!”
“mm, she loves you though… pumpkin.”
hanai groaned, pushing tajima away from him. “oh my god, no.”
iv.
fifth inning, blazing heat, down two points. the team was exhausted, but they weren’t giving up.
tajima stood watching the game as the rest of the boys sat in the shade of the dugout. his cap covered his eyes from the harsh sun, and beads of sweat dripped from underneath it. hanai called out to him. “babe, step back before you burst into flames.”
tajima didn’t answer him, but moved back, just a step.
“thanks.”
tajima grunted in response. hanai assumed it was the heat making him grumpy. he sighed and placed his cheek back onto the cool metal of the bench. abe, who sat next to him, splashed his cup of ice water on hanai’s face. hanai gasped and spluttered, jerking backwards and hitting his head on the wall behind him. abe watched apathetically. hanai glared at him. “jesus, abe! what the hell?”
“‘babe'?” abe said, raising his eyebrows. he smirked. “i didn’t peg you for the nickname type, hanai.”
hanai thumped him in the shoulder. “shut up, it’s not like i call him cupcake.” out of the corner of his eye, he saw tajima shake his head, smiling. abe rolled his eyes and turned away to refill his cup. “right, babe?” he called to his boyfriend. tajima was grinning, now. he didn’t turn from the game, but nodded.
“of course, snugglebum.”
abe spat out his water.
v.
hanai was having a shitty day.
nothing was going right. his car wouldn’t start, they were out of orange juice, the cable broke, he was out of meds, and his heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest.
all of this could be fixed with ease. he could call his television company to fix his cable. the mechanic shop was a block down, he could walk to get the parts. he could get more orange juice once his car worked, and pick up his medicine to calm his nerves.
but it was never that simple.
because his pills were for anxiety. and none of those things seemed possible when he couldn’t even get out of bed.
tajima wasn’t dim, and he pieced together what was wrong soon enough. when hanai wouldn’t call the cable company, couldn’t call them, tajima did it himself. he left for his two o’clock class and returned with a carton of orange juice, and some snacks. then he crawled into bed with hanai with a promise to go with him to get his refill the next day.
they curled up under the bedsheets, playing old netflix movies on tajima’s laptop. hanai’s head rested on tajima’s lap as the latter scratched hanai’s scalp. his eyelids felt heavy.
he exhaled softly. “thank you,” he whispered. “i love you.”
tajima’s fingers faltered, surprised. “i love you too, hun.” the movie on the screen faded to black, and its end credits began to roll.
hanai smiled at the nickname. “honey?”
tajima snickered. “you don’t like it?” his fingers roamed down to trace patterns on hanai’s shoulder.
hanai considered for a moment.
“no, it’s nice.”