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Daichi tugs his phone out of his pocket, staring at the time in front of him. Still half an hour til he and the other third years agreed to meet up. He nuzzles himself into the collar of his jacket to try and keep himself warm from Miyagi’s brutal winters. Today’s meet up has many reasons behind it. Firstly, it's New Years. Start of a new year which only makes their ever approaching graduation loom more than Daichi would like to think about at this moment. Secondly, he, Sugawara and Asahi, as well as Kiyoko, all agreed to go on a pilgrimage before the start of Nationals. They only have a few days before they need to head for Tokyo, and this is the day that worked out best for all four of them.
Most importantly though, today is Asahi’s birthday, and Daichi and Sugawara had already arranged to meet up on this day before Kiyoko suggested the pilgrimage. All it took was a slight shift in their schedule to allow them to meet up before the rest of their pre-established plans.
“Asahi!” Daichi jumps slightly when he hears Sugawara call out to their partner. All Daichi sees is Sugawara running full speed past him before throwing himself into Asahi’s arms, who does a good job of keeping himself on his feet. Daichi chuckles before he walks over to join his partners, smiling fondly as Sugawara attacks Asahi’s face with kisses and muffled birthday wishes.
“You didn’t have to tackle him, you know?” Daichi smirks, reaching out, and up for once, to ruffle Sugawara’s hair. Sugawara sticks his tongue out in return, pressing another kiss to Asahi’s nose before releasing his arms and legs from around their ace, letting himself drop gracefully to his feet. “Happy Birthday Asahi.” Daichi slips his hand into Asahi’s, tilting his head up to catch Asahi’s lips in a kiss. Asahi melts into it, letting out a visible breath through his nose.
“So we all just so happened to get here early, huh?” Sugawara chuckles, reaching out to take both Daichi’s and Asahi’s hands in one of his own, before bringing them together and blowing his warm breath on their hands. “Why do both of your birthdays have to be in winter?” Both Daichi and Asahi chuckles, moving in closer to Sugawara.
“I’d say it's better than the boiling heat during yours.” Asahi leans down to press a kiss to Sugawara’s forehead, both him and Daichi smiling fondly at the way his nose scrunches at the affection.
“Plus, you both look great in winter clothes.” Daichi loves the way his partners react to compliments. Asahi turns bright red, to the point it can’t be excused as simply being cold. Sugawara arguably blushes more, but acts a lot less bashful than the taller. Either way, Daichi’s point remains true. Sugawara looks particularly cute in the big coat he wears, bundled up even more with the scarf around his neck, while Asahi’s gruff looking appearance is only complimented with the longer coat he wears over one of his usual hoodies.
The trio spent the next twenty minutes chatting, and occasionally flirting while they waited for Kiyoko to arrive. They didn’t mind the wait, they were early after all. Once Kiyoko does arrive, all four of them head to the shrine to pray. There's a lot on Daichi’s mind as he puts his hands together. His final chance at Nationals. His upcoming graduation. The further future. Daichi had a brief idea of what he wanted to do with his life. The police academy has always been on his radar, but even so close to his graduation. Daichi isn't sure if going straight into the police academy, or doing so after college was his best bet. Either way, he plans to apply for the police academy at some point in his life. That he’s confident in. Another thing he thinks about is his lovers. Sugawara’s had his eyes on a teaching career ever since Daichi knew him, and Daichi cannot see any other career for Sugawara. While Asahi didn’t have many strong aspirations for college earlier on in the year, as of late, he’s been looking into specific fashion courses that have caught his eye. To say Daichi’s apprehensive about the near future would be a massive understatement. There is so much at risk and only so little Daichi can do to control it. He’s only one of twelve players on the court during a game. He’s only one of many applicants into college or the police academy. The one thing Daichi is confident in, however, is that he’s going to keep in touch with his partners. Even if they end up in different districts, they’ll reconnect in their hometown every holiday, or go and visit them wherever they end up.
“Earth to Daichi?” Kiyoko taps him on the shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts.
“Oh, sorry. I got lost in my thoughts.” Daichi chuckles nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. He blinks owlishly as his partners stare at him with a glint in their eyes, Sugawara especially. “I don’t trust that look in your eyes.” Daichi stuffs his hands back in his pockets as they start to hurt from the cold. Sugawara shoves one of his hands within Daichi’s pocket, interlacing their cold hands together.
“What were you thinking about?” Despite the mischievous look in his eyes, Sugawara’s question is surprisingly sincere. Daichi smiles when he feels Asahi shuffle a hand into Daichi’s other pocket. He’s been more confident in initiating public affection towards them since the qualifiers, but that doesn't change his reaction whenever they initiate it back.
“A lot. The tournament, graduation, what’s next for us.” Daichi squeezes their hands tightly, feeling them squeeze back. “I’m nervous. But I know I’ll have both of you by my side the whole time. So I’m just as excited as I am nervous.” Daichi watches as both of their faces flush. He can even feel his own face grow warm against the winter air.
“Save the sappiness for when we get to Asahi’s.” Sugawara mutters under his breath, giving Daichi’s hand a squeeze before he lets go to drag him by his arm. “Now come on. Let’s go draw fortunes.”
The rest of the time spent at the shrine flies. All of them laugh at Asahi’s terrible luck, and the trio get extremely hyped after Kiyoko’s comment about the tournament. As established, Daichi drives the three back to Asahi’s place, where they’re greeted by his older sister, who immediately tries to embarrass her little brother on his 18th. Thankfully for Asahi, his mother scolds his sister for teasing Asahi in front of his ‘friends’. Asahi quickly ushers his partners into his room, closing the door behind him with a deep sigh.
“Just friends, huh?” Sugawara teases, stepping over to Asahi and slinging his arms around his neck. Asahi’s hands find Sugawara’s hips, holding him steady when he begins to sway.
“Don’t pick on me more than you already have.” Asahi’s words hold no bite. He meets Asahi half way when he begins to lean down for a kiss, slipping a hand into his hair to tug it out of his usual manbun.
“Have you not told your family about us?” Daichi makes sure his tone is soft. He doesn’t want Asahi to feel he’s being pressured into doing so. He watches as Asahi shifts his weight, a dead give away that Daichi’s right.
“Why not? Your sister’s queer, is she not? So you have nothing to worry about.” Sugawara gently encourages, threading his fingers through Asahi’s hair again and again, standing on his toes slightly to press kisses to Asahi’s face.
“I’m out to them, but I haven’t told them I’m dating both of you.” Asahi shrinks into himself slightly, partially due to his nerves and to allow Sugawara to kiss him without having to stand on his tiptoes. Daichi nods, perching on the edge of Asahi’s bed, patting the space next to him. Coming out is hard enough. Reactions during these times were so hit or miss to the point you were risking a lot to come out to your family. That's without the added pressure polyamory adds to the table. Daichi took ages to come out to his mother about being bi. He counts himself lucky that his mother accepted him, and that most of his siblings are too young to have a grasp on that side of life yet.
"It's hard, isn't it?” Sugawara guides Asahi over to his bed, gently shoving him down to sit next to Daichi, who instantly pulls him into his side, watching in fondness as Asahi melts into him. Sugawara sits next to Asahi, tucking himself into Asahi's chest. Sugawara had the misfortune of getting slapped with the ‘it's just a phase’ response from his mother. Daichi remembers Asahi messaging him to make his way to his place asap after Sugawara showed up at Asahi's in hysterics. It wasn't easy for Sugawara to get over, but once he did, he became the most out and proud person Daichi ever knew.
"I just... I've made it this far. I don't want things to go south now." Asahi rests his head on Daichi's shoulder, tugging Sugawara in closer to his chest. "I don't want either of you to feel like I'm hiding our relationship. Like I'm not proud of our relationship.” Asahi’s rambling gets cut off by Sugawara pressing a finger to his lips.
“That's enough out of you. We know. It's not easy having our relationship in these times. It's okay.” Daichi hums in agreement, leaning in to press a kiss to Asahi’s neck, shivering slightly at the way his hair tickles his skin as he nuzzles into Asahi’s neck. “Now stop stressing. It's your birthday. Relax.” Sugawara leans in to steal a quick kiss from Asahi before he joins Daichi in their ace’s neck, both of them lightly kissing at the skin.
“Okay, okay.” Asahi chuckles, relaxing into the tangle of limbs that they've become. “I love you two. So much.” Asahi nuzzles into Sugawara’s hair, tightening his arms around the setter.
“We love you too, Asahi. Happy birthday.” Daichi speaks into his neck, refusing to move from the warm comfortable nook that's Asahi’s neck. He hears Sugawara mutter a birthday wish into Asahi's skin as well, all of them melting into each other as they bask in their shared warmth and love