Work Text:
“Sorry, we’re all out,” the saleswoman told Koutarou, her sympathetic smile on the verge of pitying.
Koutarou was certainly in a pitiful state. He was edging up on hour number three on his search for the perfect Valentine’s gift for Keiji. And sure, he was starting his search on Valentine’s Day and not the week before like he should have, and yes, Keiji frequently called these types of holidays “shallow”. But would that stop him? Absolutely not.
Koutarou left the chocolatier shop with a sudden new burst of purpose. He was Bokuto Koutarou, pro-volleyball player and literal Olympian… A Valentine’s Day gift was no sweat comparatively.
Right?
Koutarou’s stride on the busy streets of Osaka quickened. His gaze darted between shops on the busy city strip.
A new scarf? Nah, Keiji already had a million. A new tie? Not romantic enough. A new… Hello Kitty purse?
Koutarou mentally shook himself out of his frenzy outside the Sanrio store. He was overthinking all this, probably.
What does Keiji like?
Koutarou settled back into a steady pace along the strip. Ok, this was it. Just keep it simple. Don’t overthink.
Keiji likes food. Keiji likes reading. Keiji likes yoga.
And just like that. Koutarou grinned, pleased with himself. He would go to a sports store, and get something yoga-related for Keiji. That would be a great gift! Koutarou wasn’t as much into yoga himself, but he figured inspiration would strike when he made it to the store.
But inspiration did not strike. All they had to offer at the nearest sports store were a handful of neon-colored yoga mats. Keiji was particular about his type of yoga mat, Koutarou knew, plus he wasn’t a fan of neon. Koutarou pouted. Well, there went that plan.
As Koutarou sulked his way out of the sports store, he turned a corner and found the potential solution to his woes: a bookstore! Yes, this would be perfect!
Koutarou enjoyed the overall vibe of the clearly independent bookstore. It was smaller, and all the signs over the bookcases were handmade. A cat stretched in the windowsill as Koutarou made his way over to the stationary near the front of the store. Maybe Keiji would like a new planner?
But… no. Keiji had a meticulous system to keep track of schedules and deadlines on his phone, as well as in a bullet journal Koutarou had gifted him a few birthdays ago.
Koutarou wordlessly fidgeted with other items in the stationary section; everything from candles to bookmarks. But nothing seemed quite special enough. Koutarou then made his way through each section of the bookstore, carefully considering each genre. He browsed through countless titles and summaries, and had collected a few potential “maybe” books by the time an employee came over to talk to him.
“Are you finding everything alright, tonight?”
Koutarou gave the employee a smile. “I am, thank you! Hey, do you have a sports section?”
“We do, I’ll show you the way,” the employee said pleasantly. Koutarou was able to glimpse that their name tag read “Yuki”.
“Hey, Yuki-san, do you have any plans tonight?” Koutarou asked conversationally.
“I do!” Yuki replied. “My partner is taking me out for dinner after my shift.”
“That sounds great! I’m going to be picking up my partner from the train station soon, and we’ll be going out to dinner, too,” Koutarou said, then out of curiosity added; “What time do you get off work?”
“I’m off at seven o’clock tonight,” Yuki replied. “So…. in about fifteen minutes.”
“Ah, fuck!” Koutarou said, checking his watch for the first time in far too long. He handed his small stack of books to Yuki. “Listen, I’m really sorry, but I was actually supposed to pick up my partner 20 minutes ago. Thanks so much for your help, though! I’ll definitely come back!”
After leaving the bookstore, Koutarou finally checked his phone to see a handful of text notifications and one missed call.
After searching up the quickest route to Osaka station, Koutarou made his way to the nearest station while simultaneously calling Keiji back.
“Hey, babe!” Koutarou said as soon as Keiji picked up. “I’m so sorry I’m running late! You’re still at the station, yeah?”
“Hello,” Keiji said, sounding a bit tired, but at least not upset; “Yes, I’m still at the station. I’ll text you my location in a moment. It’s not a problem, I had to check in on Tenma-san anyway, so I needed the extra time.”
“Awww, you shouldn’t have to work late on Valentine’s Day,” Koutarou pouted.
“Honey, it’s a Wednesday. And I left the office early today to take the train, so I needed to catch up on some calls. It’s really alright.”
Koutarou sighed. “Yeah, yeah. Ok, well I’ll see you soon. Love you!”
“Love you, too, bye,” Keiji said.
The phone call ended, which was just as well, because Koutarou had successfully arrived at the nearest train station.
On the train, Koutarou kept close watch on the stops. Thankfully, it was only a matter of four stops, with one transfer, that would take him to Osaka station.
Koutarou was so excited to see Keiji. Granted, it had only been a few weeks since they’d last seen each other, but hey, long distance was hard.
What do I like about Keiji ? Koutarou found himself thinking.
Well… there was a lot that Koutarou liked about Keiji. He liked Keiji’s wit, he admired his intelligence, and he found Keiji’s smile stunning.
Koutarou liked the way Keiji chuckled when he thought something was funny, but wanted to keep his composure. Koutarou liked the way Keiji burned scrambled eggs almost every time he tried to make them. Koutarou liked that Keiji had a lot of work friends and was well-respected in his editing department at Shounen Jump .
Koutarou loved a lot of things about Keiji, too. Koutarou loved the way Keiji said his name, or better yet, when he called him “honey” or “darling”. Koutarou loved the way Keiji kissed him, soft at first, then filled with passion. Koutarou loved that when he was with Keiji, he felt unstoppable. Like he could face off with a meteor and win. Like he could capture the moon, tie a bow on it, and gift it to Keiji.
Ah, right. The gift. The Valentine’s gift. The one that Keiji would not be receiving, because Koutarou had not found one. Dammit.
All frustrations melted away when he saw Keiji waiting by the south central exit. It took all of Koutarou’s willpower to not full-on tackle his boyfriend in a hug upon sight. He managed to keep it to a tight embrace.
“Hello, darling,” Keiji whispered in his ear, and Koutarou felt goosebumps prickle on the back of his neck.
“Hey, babe,” Koutarou replied. They ended the embrace, and Koutarou got a full view of how incredibly sexy Keiji looked. He was wearing dark jeans, his favorite gray peacoat, and a navy scarf, his hair toussled in just the right way. Koutarou was suddenly very glad he had decided to go for a nice button-down top under his puffy sports coat. Keiji wouldn’t have cared if Koutarou wore a T-shirt to their Valentine’s dinner, but he definitely would have made fun of him.
“So, where are we eating?” Koutarou ventured to ask. Keiji had said he’d make reservations for them, but had never mentioned which restaurant he’d ended up choosing.
Keiji told him, and Koutarou exclaimed; “Hey! That’s where I took you when you came to visit me in Osaka for the first time!”
“I thought it would be appropriate,” Keiji said.
“Appropriate? What do you mean?” Koutarou asked, confused.
“Um, you know, appropriate for- for Valentine’s Day.”
Why did Keiji seem so nervous? Koutarou grinned. He knew exactly why Keiji was nervous. Keiji must have also not gotten a gift for Koutarou. Well, then that was perfect! They’d enjoy a nice dinner, not worry about gifts, and round off the evening with Koutarou’s second favorite kind of physical activity (after volleyball, of course).
They chatted about Keiji’s day at work, Koutarou’s upcoming training, the weather difference between Tokyo and Osaka, updates on various friends, and the latest pop song that Koutarou couldn’t get out of his head.
The chatter continued throughout the evening in their secluded corner of the restaurant, some topics more interesting than others:
“Keiji, so my new sponsorship deal is this toothpaste brand… is it considered disrespectful to sponsor one brand of toothpaste while you’re using another brand of toothpaste on the side? Isn’t that kind of like I’m cheating?”
“Cheating on… the toothpaste?”
There was also:
“Tenma-san said he’s quitting.”
“Doesn’t he say that like, every other day, babe?”
“Yes.”
And, of course:
“Shortie and Tsum-Tsum say hi, by the way.”
“And Sakusa-san?”
“He says Valentine’s Day is full of corporate greed and we should be ashamed of ourselves for celebrating, but he hopes we have a nice date.”
“Huh.”
And finally:
“Koutarou?”
“Yeah?” Koutarou looked up from his tiramisu. Keiji had opted for the matcha mochi.
“I wanted to say- um, I just-” Keiji faltered.
“Keiji, it’s ok!” Koutarou grinned.
“What’s ok?” Keiji looked confused.
“Well, I think I know what you’re trying to say.”
“You do?” Keiji’s voice was tinted with surprise.
“Yeah! You forgot to get me a gift for today. But that’s ok! I didn’t get you a gift either! I mean, wait, that sounded bad. I wanted to get you a gift, but I procrastinated and then I was indecisive and I ran out of-”
“Koutarou,” Keiji interrupted. He had a slight smile, but still looked nervous. “I- uh, I didn’t forget.”
“Oh, man! You’re always making me look bad! Everyone knows you’re the better boyfriend,” Koutarou groaned.
“Well, I’m hoping,” Keiji said, pulling a small box out of his pocket, “I’m hoping that I can be the better fiancé. ”
Koutarou took a moment to process what was happening.
“Koutarou, will you marry me?” Keiji asked softly, opening the box to reveal two matching silver rings.
“A hundred billion times yes, babe,” Koutarou grinned, reaching across the table to grasp Keiji’s hands in his, the ring box gently pushed aside.
Keiji seemed at a loss for words, so Koutarou continued to talk; “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Akaashi Keiji. I love you so, so much.”
Keiji put one of the rings on Koutarou, and then Koutarou did the same for Keiji.
The two held hands across the table. Koutarou felt Keiji’s love radiating from his very being as he whispered, “I love you too, Koutarou.”
And oh, had Koutarou never felt more loved.