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To say that Asahi and Daichi knew each other was an understatement. Asahi and Daichi, despite not being blood-related, were practically brothers. Their mothers met in the maternity ward in the Sendai hospital while visiting their new babies, and bonded immediately over the fact that both had a baby boy, born no more than 24 hours apart from each other
Their birthdays were most often spent together starting off with both of their families deciding to spend the New Year’s holiday together and ensuring that not only were the traditional foods present but also a small cake for each boy to eat.
“Oh look, the sun is just about to rise!” A small Asahi of almost five years old pointed, eyes shining with excitement as the two sat on Daichi’s porch. The faintest rays were peeking out from behind the neighboring houses, but grew stronger.
“Happy birthday, Asahi!” Daichi said loudly, turning to Asahi with a big smile showing that a tooth was missing in the front. “You’re now five like me!” He said hold a hand up showing five fingers.
“Haha…I guess I am…” Asahi replied shyly, feeling his cheeks warm slightly.
“What do you mean ‘you guess…’? The sun is rising, so it’s January 1st now. And your mom says your birthday is January 1st, so you turn five right after me.” Daichi narrowed his eyes as he leaned in closer to Asahi, lips pulled tightly together in an attempt to have a stern look.
“Alright…okay, I’m five now. Like you, Daichi.” Asahi sighed a little uncomfortable with how closely Daichi was leaning to him.
“Good.” Daichi grinned again, showing off the missing tooth as he did. “I wouldn’t wanna share my birthday with anyone else, Asahi.”
“Me too, Daichi.” Asahi grinned back with a softer smile, but one that still made his eyes close.
They didn’t really publicly voice their closeness as the years passed, the two spent most of their free time together. That is to say there wasn’t very much of it spent together when they were in middle school as they attended different schools and both joined their respective volleyball clubs. Once they entered high school, Suga joined the two of them in hanging out and the three of them made a pact to go to nationals with the team they had built during their third year.
When Suga had heard about his two best friends having birthdays a day apart, the silver haired setter and vice captain started hatching a plan. When Daichi and Asahi were both invited to Suga’s New Year’s party, where he was also sure to say the whole team was invited, they both knew that Suga probably had some hidden agenda. The two had been having joint holiday and birthday celebrations with their own families to know that there was a high probability that Suga was in fact planning the same thing. The two still knew that if they didn’t show up to the party for a bit it would hurt not only Suga’s feelings, but the rest of the team’s as well. They were clear to tell Suga that they had made commitments with their families as well in regards to New Year’s and their birthdays, but they would make an appearance, even if it was late.
Just after 11pm on January 31st, Daichi and Asahi both arrived at Suga’s place. They nodded to each other before both knocking at the door.
“Come in, come in!” Suga said with a smile practically pulling them into his home. “I trust your family celebrations went well?” He asked as the two of them removed their shoes at the door and followed Suga to the living room.
“Just the same celebration we have had since we were kids.” Daichi replied first.
“Yeah, but it’s special for our moms especially.” Asahi added. “They became friends because of both spending New Year’s in the maternity wing of Sendai hospital.”
“Well we are glad you have you here to ring in the new year as a team this year.” Suga said with a nod as the whole team appeared to be crammed into the Sugawara’s small living room. Noya and Tanaka hopped off the couch when Asahi and Daichi entered, gesturing for them to sit where they had just been.
The next hour progressed with all of them just laughing and talking with each other. The team knew that Spring Nationals was just around the corner and that it was the third years’ last year to reach their dream. It was so close that everyone could taste it.
Suga occasionally looked up at the clock during the merriment. Just before midnight, he nodded to Hinata and Kageyama and they snuck away to the kitchen. The team began counting down to midnight out loud.
“10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…”
“HAPPY-“
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAPTAIN SENPAI AND ACE SENPAI!” Hinata shouted as he pressed the whipped cream pie against Asahi’s face and Kageyama got Daichi’s.
“Boke, Hinata, boke! You were supposed to use their names.”
“But those are their names. I call them that.”
Kageyama shook his head with a sigh, deciding not to argue further.
“Well look at that, Daichi. I don’t think our families ever did something like this for our birthdays.” Asahi chuckled wondering how on earth he was going to clean this out of his hair and goatee. He was now regretting wearing his half bun hairstyle tonight.
“Definitely a first.” Daichi chuckled back at Asahi and then to the room with a wide smile blending into the whipped cream on his face.
“Thank you to all of you for this.”
“Yes, we really appreciate it.”
“Especially you, Suga, for arranging all of this.”
“It was no trouble. To be honest, I’d been wanting to do something like this for you both since I first heard about you being born so close to each other in our first year of high school. It never seemed like the right time…until now…our third year…on our way to Nationals.”
“Yeah, it does seem fitting.” Daichi smiles looking over at Asahi with a smirk. “And this is our thanks to you!” Then the two took a handful of the cream from their faces and reached to smash it on Suga’s face.
“Not cool guys!” Suga whined before adding, “though I probably deserved this…”
The whole room was filled with laughter. Daichi looked around the room before his eyes fell on his fellow third years with a soft smile. They all knew what was coming in the next few weeks and they knew they were ready.
Karasuno had just finished their first match of Nationals and the third years had been standing on the balcony of their room talking about the team and the game they’d had today. Once Suga had called it a night and returned to the hotel room to check on the team, Asahi leaned back against the balcony looking over at Daichi hunched over the balcony. No matter how much Asahi or Daichi’s mother had tried to correct it, Daichi would fall into that posture whenever deep in thought.
“Say, Daichi…”
“Yeah, Asahi?”
“Don’t think too hard or your face will get stuck like that and you’ll be hunched over like old lady Hamada.” Asahi chuckled heartily as he gave Daichi’s forehead a light flick.
“Hey!” Daichi straightened up, rubbing the spot that Asahi had flicked with a hand, biting the inside of his cheek.
“Daichi, we’ll do fine tomorrow. Aren’t I the one who’s usually supposed to be the one that’s the bundle of nerves and you telling me how you won’t comfort me or some BS like that?”
“Shut up…” Daichi grumbled. “Let’s go in. I think I hear Suga causing a ruckus instead of calming everyone down like he said he would.”
“Okay, okay. Let’s be the ‘uncool parents’ breaking up the party.”
“Asahi!”
“I’m done, I promise.” Asahi rested a hand on Daichi’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze before moving into the room the team was sharing for Nationals.
Nationals passed in a flash and they were spending their last night at their lodgings in Tokyo. Asahi and Daichi found themselves on the balcony again alone. Asahi shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He knew he’d been waiting long enough to tell Daichi about this. He’d never kept anything from Daichi before, but Asahi hadn’t wanted to give Daichi something else to worry about during this run at nationals.
“I’ve decided that once I graduate high school I’m going to Tokyo. I’ve always wanted to pursue fashion design and the best school is in Tokyo. I just hope that I can get the score I need on the entrance exam to get accepted.”
Asahi rubbed the back of his head fighting not to run his hand through his half bun he’d put his hair in today.
“Oh, Tokyo, huh? This place grew on you that kid much already.” Daichi said, trying to sound cheerful, but there was still a touch of sadness in his tone. “I did notice you were gone during some of our free time. You visited the school?”
“Yeah, I asked Coach and Takeda-sensei if they didn’t mind. It’s really where I feel called to go. I know that I’ve never been outside of Miyagi except on family trips, so I’m very nervous…”
“Asahi Azumane, you will get into that school, because anything you set your mind to, you accomplish. And if that’s not good enough, I believe in you. The one who’s been your friend since birth.”
“Thanks, Daichi. It means a lot.” Asahi reaches out to take Daichi’s hand, giving it a firm squeeze as he shakes it.
Just as Daichi had said, Asahi did get accepted into the university of his choice in Tokyo and for the first time the two had to cope with the fact that they couldn’t just pop over to each other’s homes to see the other. Daichi was happy and supportive of Asahi pursuing his dream just as Daichi had chosen to do closer to home in Miyagi. Daichi always wanted to help people, so between a few online classes through Sendai University and ride-along training, Daichi was almost certified as an EMT by the time his nineteenth birthday was coming closer.
Daichi and Asahi still talked as much as they could with their busy schedules, but it was more often through emails and text messages with a weekly video call if the two’s schedules happened to align. Both knew about how close it was to their birthdays. If the snow and cool temperatures weren’t enough of an indication, the constant holiday music playing whenever either of them went out into their respective cities would alert them.
Asahi’s mother called him to ask if he was going to be home for New Year’s. He could hear the sadness in her voice as he knew that she had really missed him not being home for the Christmas holiday. In his household, New Year’s had always been the bigger of the two holidays. Partly, it was due to his birthday being the first day of the new year.
“Mom, I’m sorry, but I can’t. I have this big portfolio due right after the New Year. It’s like a mock proposal for spring fashion week.”
“Spring? It’s still Winter…” His mother replied, sounding slightly annoyed now.
“You know that we are hosting that Sawamuras this year. I can tell that Daichi has been missing you, even if he hasn’t told you. Come home, please, my Sun.”
“Mom, I really want to. Believe me, but I can’t. This degree doesn’t have the usual breaks that the rest of the university does.”
“Okay, fine…but you’ll have to tell Daichi yourself that you’re going to have to miss the birthday celebration this year.”
“Yes, Mom, I promise that I’ll let him know.”
“Promise me that you’ll not miss next year. It will be your twentieth birthday after all. A very big birthday indeed.”
“Okay, I promise, Mom.”
Asahi sighed, as he ran a hand through his long hair that he hadn’t bothered to put up yet. While he thought over how he was going to tell Daichi that he was going to miss their birthday for the first year since the two had been born, he began to braid his hair into a long braid that fell over one shoulder. Asahi himself had been struggling with the fact that he was going to be alone on his birthday for the first time. Sure, he could call up Bokuto, or Kuroo and they’d have a big loud party, but it just wasn’t the same.
Asahi picked up the phone and received Daichi’s voicemail. He knew that this wasn’t something he could just text, but it wasn’t something that could wait.
“Hey Daichi…it’s Asahi. I mean you probably already know because you saw the miss call notification. I…uh…I’m sorry but I can’t come home for New Year’s…for our birthdays. I hope that you have a good one. I’ll give you a call as the clock strikes midnight, okay?”
He hung up the phone just as a tear streaked down his cheek.
The next five days passed quickly and Daichi found himself at the Azumane family home assisting with preparations for the New Year’s party tonight. He noticed that only one cake sat at the table with the name ‘Daichi’ on it. He already knew that Asahi wasn’t going to be there, but it still stung being in his house on their day without him there.
Daichi kept checking the clock, thinking any minute Asahi would walk through the door, surprising them all. As time continued to pass, however, Daichi’s heart sank. Pulling out his phone, he checked the train schedule. He could still make it in time if he left now. Should he? Their families were already upset that Asahi wasn’t going to be present, but now he was thinking of going to Tokyo to see Asahi? What would they say?
He was sliding on his shoes at the door when his mom came around the corner.
“Go, and be safe,” was all she said, as she gave her son a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t forget your cake.” She nodded over to Daichi’s small cake on the table. Daichi made his way to the train station hoping that there was still an express ticket to Tokyo left.
At the same time, Asahi had returned to his dorm where he found a small package on his desk. The sender address was some cake shop in Tokyo nearby. He opened the box with a card inside reading.
Happy 19th birthday, my Sun. We miss you. Study hard and please visit soon.
-Mom and Dad
The cake inside was beautiful but still was no match for the homemade ones that Daichi’s mom would bake the two of them. He fiddled with the tail of the braid hanging over his shoulder as he wondered if he could’ve come home and made it back in time. Was he just being overly cautious by not going? Perhaps…
He checked the time and the train schedules, finding the last one that could get him to Miyagi in time. Throwing a few items into a bag, Asahi headed for the train station.
Asahi reached the platform as Daichi had just arrived on his train. Daichi spotted Asahi standing on the platform with his bag in hand as if he was leaving to go somewhere waiting to board the train. Was Asahi trying to head back to Miyagi? Had Daichi been wrong and Asahi had planned this as one big surprise? Maybe, but Daichi wasn’t going to chance the possibility of missing Asahi as he was getting off the train and Asahi was boarding.
“ASAHI!” Daichi boomed as he stepped onto the platform.
Asahi’s head turned towards the familiar voice. His eyes widened as he wasn’t dreaming or hearing things. Daichi was standing here on the train platform in Tokyo.
“Daichi…wh-what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the New Year’s party?”
“Where are you going with a bag packed? Didn’t you say that you couldn’t come home, hmm?” Daichi raised an eyebrow at Asahi.
“Okay you caught me. I didn’t think I could spare the time to come home, but now I want to make it work.”
“You do realize that you are cutting it pretty close.” Daichi laughed.
“Shut up…” Asahi leaned in closer, resting his forehead against Daichi’s.
“Better late than never I guess.”
“Daichi…” Asahi side-eyed Daichi while giving the stockier man a light shove.
“Okay, okay.”
The two boarded the train that Daichi had just arrived on. Just as they pulled into the Miyagi train station, the two heard the fireworks shoot off signaling that it had just turned midnight. Daichi turned to Asahi who had drifted off to sleep on Daichi’s shoulder for most of the train ride. Asahi yawned, rubbing his eyes.
“Asahi…” Daichi said softly, running his fingers down Asahi’s braid. “Happy birthday. You are nineteen now, just like me.” He held out the cake box.
“I know it only says my name, but mom will be happy to make you one when she finds out you are here.”
“Daichi, it’s fine, if you don’t mind splitting your cake. I’m just happy we made it in time.”
“Yes we did. Another year spent together.”
“And many more, Daichi.”
“Yes, many more, Asahi.” Daichi whispers, pressing his lips to Asahi’s forehead.