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Sugawara really hadn’t meant to find it. It wasn’t like he had purposefully been snooping through Oikawa’s things because that’s something he would absolutely never do. He was just trying to be nice. Oikawa had just returned home from Argentina, and to say he was jet-lagged would be an understatement. He’d been up all night because his internal clock was all out of whack, and then he’d finally crashed when the sun started to rise.
His suitcases were still packed, and Suga knew how much Oikawa liked unpacking as soon as he got home. It made him feel more settled, like he was allowed to stay for a while. Suga found the usual things in his suitcase. He hung up his shirts and pants, and put away his toiletries. He found a few souvenirs that he was sure were for himself, and he found something else for himself, too.
Suga knew what was in the little black, velvet box. However, he didn’t dare open it. He’d already messed up big time by just finding it. He wasn’t going to ruin the surprise even more by getting a glimpse of the ring.
They’d talked about marriage before. It was never in depth, but it was something they were both open to. There just never seemed to be a right time. Oikawa was in Argentina, and Suga had stayed in Japan. They made their long distance relationship work really well, but a long distance marriage was something neither of them wanted.
Despite wanting to jump on top of Oikawa who had still been sleeping peacefully in bed, Suga simply undid all of his work. He grabbed the clothes he’d just hung up and refolded them back into Oikawa’s suitcase, and he’d collected all of his toiletries, too. He made it look like Oikawa’s suitcase had never been touched, and as hard as it had been, he went about his day.
Suga didn’t mention it, but he did think about it. It crossed his mind every time he was with Oikawa, which was almost every second of every day since he was now back home for a while. He couldn’t stop thinking about it, he didn’t want to. He loved thinking about what marriage would be like with Oikawa, especially when he was sharing the most mundane moments with him, like grocery shopping.
“I’ve missed milk bread so much,” Oikawa said as he picked up a loaf from the shelf. They were hoping to stock up on food for the week, and purchase some of the things Oikawa had been missing while he was away. “Argentina has their own version, and it’s really good, but there’s nothing like what you’ve grown up on, you know?”
Suga smiled and nodded. “I know what you mean. I don’t think you can ever beat the taste of home.”
Oikawa smiled and carefully placed the loaf in their shopping cart. He walked down the aisle, and Suga followed behind him. He could see them doing this in the future. Nothing would change, they’d still get all of the same things. They’d get their milk bread, their tofu, and their fish. They’d get their humongous bag of rice and their cuts of chicken and beef. They’d get their favorite chips and ice cream. They’d get all their usual things, but they’d be getting them with rings on their fingers.
He thought about it when they were standing side-by-side in the hardware store.
“Do you think this matches the best?” Suga asked, pointing to one of the many peel-and-stick wallpapers. “I think the green matches with the plants, right?”
“Yeah, but I really like the tan,” Oikawa said. “The wallpaper’s going in the bathroom, so I think it’s more important for it to match the sink and cabinets.”
Suga hummed, “but the green is so fun.”
“How about we get the green for the living room, and the tan for the bathroom? You have more plants in the living room, so it’ll be better if the green wallpaper is out there.”
Suga thought about it for a moment before nodding. They were choosing temporary wallpaper for his apartment because despite being together for years, they had never lived together long term. Oikawa was always away, so no matter where they lived, they both knew the space would feel more like Suga’s than both of theirs. Suga knew that with marriage would come an actual house instead of an apartment. A house that had a deed with both of their names on it, so it was legally both of theirs. He internally hoped picking out paint colors for each room of their future home would be as easy as it currently was to pick out temporary wallpaper.
He thought about it when they were walking down the sidewalk and someone recognized Oikawa.
“Wait!” A young teenage boy exclaimed, abruptly stopping both of them as they made their way to the nearest train station. He looked at Oikawa like he’d hung the moon. “Are you Oikawa Tooru? The setter for Argentina’s volleyball team?”
Oikawa nodded happily since he was always thrilled to meet a fan. “Yeah!”
“No way! I watch you all of the time. I swear I’m your biggest fan. I could barely sit still when I was watching you play in the last game of the season.”
“That was a really hard game,” Oikawa admitted. Suga knew which one he was referring to because he remembered getting as comfortable as he could on the couch and watching it, watching him from thousands and thousands of miles away.
“Yeah, but you guys won, and then you ran into the stands to celebrate with all of the fans. It was so awesome to watch. I wish I could’ve been there. Can I get a picture with you?”
Suga watched Oikawa laugh at the memory before he nodded his head again. The boy handed his phone to Oikawa who immediately looked at Suga in question. “Is it okay if you take it? It’ll probably look better if it’s not a selfie.”
“Yeah, sure, I don’t mind.” Suga grabbed the phone and gave them both time to pose before taking the photo. He handed the boy’s phone back to him and raised his eyebrows at the curious look he was being given.
“Are you his friend? Do you play volleyball, too?” He asked.
“I’m his boyfriend,” Suga answered easily, “and I used to. Oikawa actually used to be one of my rivals back when we were in high school.”
“You’re Sugawara-san? Oikawa talks about you all of the time!”
Suga laughed a little before he could stop himself because he did. He wasn’t sure if he did it on purpose, but Oikawa always managed to mention him in any of the pre or post game interviews. It’d gotten to the point where even the interviewers made it a point to ask Oikawa about Sugawara themselves since they knew how much he liked to talk about him. Suga couldn’t wait for the day someone asked Oikawa about his ‘partner’ or his ‘boyfriend,’ and Oikawa would finally be able to respond with ‘he’s my husband now.’
He thought about it when Oikawa was finally getting around to showing off each and every souvenir he’d purchased for Suga while he was away.
“I swear this is the best dulce de leche you will ever try in your life, Koushi,” Oikawa said as he handed off a spoonful to him.
Suga took it graciously and didn’t hesitate to pop it into his mouth. His eyebrows raised in surprise as he focused on how sweet and rich the treat was. He knew it could be eaten with ice cream or baked into desserts, but it tasted quite good on its own.
“It’s really yummy,” he agreed as he licked his spoon clean.
“Isn’t it? You don’t know the amount of self-control it took me not to finish the first jar I ever tried when I was in Argentina within the first ten minutes of getting it,” Oikawa said. He picked up the rug that was beside him. “I got you this rug for your classroom. It’s handwoven. I thought you could use it for a reading rug?”
“Aw,” Suga cooed, “Tooru.” He held his hands out for the rug and hummed softly when it was given to him. “It’s so soft. You know I always love a good reading rug. Thank you.”
“I got you these really cool shoes, too. They’re called alpargatas. I got myself a pair when I first moved to Argentina. I think I remember showing them to you when we were on FaceTime?”
Suga nodded because he remembered that night. It had been their first video call since Oikawa had made the move and they’d officially become a long distance relationship. There had been lots of tears, and to hopefully get them to stop, Oikawa had brought up his alpargatas.
“You did,” Suga confirmed. “You said they were one of the most comfortable pair of shoes you ever owned.”
“They absolutely are. They’re so freaking light. I think it’s the type of fabric they use? It’s like a light canvas. You’ve got to try it on.” He picked up the brown alpargatas and knelt down in front of Suga so he could slip one of them onto his foot.
Suga felt his heart skip a beat as he realized the position they were in. He stared down at Oikawa and bit his lip because all he could think about was the ring that he knew Oikawa had for him. The last few days had been mundane. They hadn’t done much of anything except for simply live. They shopped for groceries, they went to the hardware store, they cooked and cleaned, and folded laundry. Suga wanted to do all of those things with Oikawa for the rest of his life.
“I have to tell you something,” Suga said, and Oikawa stopped what he was doing to look up at him. “I found the ring.” Oikawa’s eyes widened, and before he could panic, Suga continued speaking. “Don’t freak out. It was an accident. I was unpacking your suitcase for you because I know you like to unpack if you’re going to stay for a while. I… I found the box, but I didn’t open it.”
It felt like Oikawa stared at him for hours before he finally said something. “You didn’t?”
Suga shook his head. “I wanted to, like really, really bad, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise even more…”
“Does it bother you that it’s a surprise?” Oikawa asked. He chuckled a little and corrected himself, “or that it was going to be a surprise?”
Suga swallowed thickly, suddenly aware of the lump in his throat. He hadn’t meant to ruin Oikawa’s plan. “I’m sorry I found it.”
Oikawa shook his head and offered Suga a soft smile. He reached for his hand and rubbed his thumb against Suga’s knuckles. “Don’t be. I’m not sorry you found it.”
“You’re not?”
“No, I think I’m actually really relieved.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I didn’t know how I was going to ask you… Or if I ever was going to,” and before Suga could get the wrong idea, he added, “we never seriously talked about it, you know? I was afraid you’d say no, I think I still kind of am. I’m still in Argentina, and you’re still here. We’re both doing great things in our respective careers. There’s just so much we’d have to figure out.”
“So, let’s figure it out,” Suga whispered. “I’d move to Argentina. For you, I’d move anywhere in the world. I want to go wherever you go. I want to go grocery shopping with you, and I want to go house hunting. I want to do our taxes together. I want to fold laundry and wash dishes with you. I want to be able to introduce you as my fiance, as my husband, to any and everyone who will stop and listen.”
Oikawa’s eyes were getting glossy with tears that had yet to fall. He nodded and peered up at Suga since he was still kneeling in front of him. “I want all of that, too.”
“Ask me,” Suga said.
Oikawa shook his head and glanced toward the bedroom. “I don’t have the ring.”
“I don’t care,” Suga insisted as he leaned forward. He pulled Oikawa into a kiss, and he knew he could taste the sweetness of the dulce de leche still on his tongue, but he hoped he could also taste all of the love Suga had for him. “We don’t need it right now,” he murmured softly against his lips. “Tooru, ask me.”
Oikawa nodded, and then he sniffled because he was crying. That was fine, because Suga was crying, too.
“Will you marry me?”
Suga pressed another kiss to Oikawa’s lips in hopes of keeping himself from sobbing at the feeling of finally getting what he wanted. He bumped his nose against Oikawa’s and squeezed his hand in his. He couldn’t wait to see their rings.
“Yes.”