Work Text:
Hinata stirs—something buzzes from underneath her pillow. Slowly, she fishes through her sheets to find her phone.
Clumsily she swipes the screen to answer the call by her recognition of the heart in the caller ID.
“Hello?” Her voice is much heavier than she expected it to sound.
“Don’t tell me I woke you up?” Yuuki chimes on the other end of the line.
“What?” Hinata sits up and rubs her eyes. Sunlight peeks through her curtains and the sound of morning birds becomes more recognizable.
“Good morning, Sweetie~” A bright, silky yet tired voice sings in her ear. Her girlfriend of almost a year always brings a gentle warmth to her face, even from halfway across the world.
Hinata smiles and it seeps into her voice, “Good morning.”
“Are you ready for your big day?”
She yawns, stretching and maybe beginning to wake up. “I think so… what time is it?”
“Well, it’s already past ten here, so I think it’s about time for you leave for your first day of work~”
Panic washes over Hinata’s head. Her eyes widen reading the time in the corner of her phone screen. A quarter past six. She has to leave in less than 20 minutes if she wants to make it to her school on time for her first day working as an elementary school teacher.
She’s spent countless hours over the past week preparing her lesson materials and setting up her classroom. Yuuki quizzed her on her students' names so she could confidently welcome them all on the first day of school. Last night, Hinata had such a hard time falling asleep—excitement mixed with nervousness made a mess of feelings she’s rarely had to deal with in the past. She asked her girlfriend to call during her lunch break, but Yuuki dropped her current project to call her immediately. She works so hard, Hinata wonders if she was even planning to take a break if she hadn’t texted her. They stayed on call together until… Hinata must’ve fallen asleep talking to her… she doesn’t recall ever hanging up.
She jumps out of bed and scrambles to get ready to leave. “Oh, I can’t believe I forgot to set an alarm…”
Yuuki laughs with gentle warmth; her laughter usually calms Hinata, but right now, her mind is growing more frantic with thoughts of her carelessness. She still has to wash her face, get dressed, eat breakfast—thoughts of last night’s nerves are close to follow.
“It’s okay,” Yuuki reassures her. “You’ve got plenty of time. What are you going to wear today? Show me, show me~”
Hinata steels herself while Yuuki helps her choose her outfit, mentioning that she would look unbelievably cute in everything. Her lively, honeyed voice on speakerphone was an anchor that kept her from drfiting away in a sea of her worries. One step at a time, Hinata prepares to leave the house with Yuuki talking to her about what work she completed while she slept. The subtle distraction keeps Hinata just calm enough to move quickly through her routine without panic.
Yuuki’s work would be bringing her back to Japan soon, and the two of them were counting down the days they could see each other again. In the meantime, they treasure their daily conversations over the phone in the mornings and evenings when their downtime aligned.
When Hinata finally makes it to the kitchen to fix a quick breakfast, she finds a set of rice, steamed fish, soup, and pickles waiting for her beside a note with flowery handwriting and stickers:
‘Good luck, today! (Even though you don’t need it!)’
It doesn’t take a detective to know who made this for her. While eating what she can in only a few minutes, Hinata sends a picture to her girlfriend.
Over the phone, Yuuki coos, “Aren’t little sisters just the best? I can’t wait to properly meet her.”
“I know, I wish I had woken up earlier to properly enjoy it…” The soup had gone cold, but that made it a bit easier to eat faster, she supposes.
“I’m sure she’ll understand.”
“I’ll have to text her later to thank her.” After one last bite, Hinata sighs and collects her work bag and overcoat. “Alright, I have to go or I’ll miss my train.”
“Your driver isn’t taking you?”
“No, I don’t want to make a fuss showing up to the school in a car like ours…”
“Gosh, you’re making me even more nervous to come home. I can’t believe I landed such a fancy girlfriend.”
“You know it’s not like that…” Hinata chuckles while slipping into her shoes. “Okay, I think I’m ready.”
“I know you’re ready. You’re gonna do great, babe.”
“Thank you.” Just before Hinata steps out the door, she takes a deep breath. “I’ll call you later, okay?”
“I’ll be waiting.”
“But you’re going to bed soon, right?”
“Yes, dear~” Yuuki sighs dramatically, as if Hinata has been on her case about sleeping well for years, which she may as well have been.
“Okay, then, Goodnight and sweet dreams.”
Instead of sitting in the momentary wave of longing, wishing someone so important to Hinata’s heart could be here for her on such an important day, she brings forward her feeling of gratitude. She has people who support her as much as they can, and it would be selfish to wish for more.
“Yuuki?”
“Mhm?”
“Thank you.”
If she closes her eyes, Hinata can imagine a future where Yuuki stands at the other end of the hallway, watching as the door closes behind her; loving, mundane words float along after her through the air rather than through her phone.
“Have a good day at work~”
—
After Hinata boards her train, she checks her phone to make sure Yuuki truly went to bed. She left a message shortly after their call ended:
Don’t forget to text your sister <3