Work Text:
"Hey, I hope I didn't let you wait for too long," Issei greeted you, moving towards you to embrace you. He rubbed your back before moving his head up again. One of his arms was still wrapped around your waist as his other arm let go of you. He lifted his spare hand to stroke your cold cheek gently.
"I'm glad you're wearing the muffler I gave you. You look cute with it," he said, grinning at you. You smiled at him, thanking him for giving you this muffler in the first place. "Do you want to go to the nearby café which I told you about?"
You nodded in response. His arm slid down and his fingers were searching for your hand. He tightly held onto it and you squeezed his hand back. You adjusted your shoulder bag with your other hand and then you slowly exhaled, seeing your breath which formed in the air. It was winter again. It was your second Christmas which you spent with Issei as his lover. It has been more than a year since you started going out with him. It was fun and relaxing around him, so you always enjoyed being at his side and being able to laugh with him.
You felt nostalgic, reminiscing the memories you had made with him. You smiled as you followed your boyfriend. Both of you were leaving a trail of footprints in the snow. He adjusted to your walking speed and he started talking about the events during volleyball practice.
Oikawa had provoked Iwaizumi again which wasn’t unusual. But the captain’s attitude and his presence were annoying his childhood friend until the point that he got pissed off. Iwaizumi picked up the ball which was the closest to him. A few moments later, there was a loud noise, resounding in the gym hall. A volleyball bounced on the ground and Oikawa had a print of that ball on his face.
Issei laughed as he told you the story, mimicking his friend's shocked and pained face. You started laughing too when you tried to imagine the volleyball captain with the face that Issei was making. He said that he took a picture of the scene and that he would show you once you were inside.
He kept on telling you about occurrences which happened while you weren't together as you entered the café. You could finally warm up. But you actually didn't mind the cold when you were outside with Issei. You were only paying attention to him and his big and warm hand which was intertwined with yours. Everything else was blanked out.
A waiter welcomed you as soon as you closed the door. He led you to an empty seat which was close to the window. Then he told you that he would be back in a few minutes to take your order.
The café was filled with people, so you were lucky that there was still an empty table. The theme of the café was classic and simple. The chairs and the round tables were made out of dark brown wood while the floor was made of a light brown wood. Moreover, the walls were painted in a light beige and there were a few paintings which covered parts of the walls.
You set down your bag and you took your coat and your muffler off, hanging it over your chair before sitting down. Issei took his coat off as well but he decided to keep his scarf on. You both took a quick look at the menu. A moment after, you asked: “Issei, what are you going to order?”
“Probably a hot chocolate. What about you?” he answered as he stopped searching through the menu to look at you. You intently stared at the card, furrowing your eyebrows and pointing your finger from one dessert to another. You had a hard time to decide in between those because you loved them both equally.
“It’s my treat. You can order as much as you want,” he replied, laughing at the expression you were making. You looked up to him and you frowned at him for making fun of you. But your face softened as soon as your gaze was met with his tender smile.
You looked back at the menu to check the price of the food and drinks. You roughly summed them up in your head and then you asked hesitatingly: “Is it really okay if you pay for everything?”
"Yeah, don't worry about it. Anything for my lady," he winked at you. You went along with his joke and you humbly thanked him, calling him a gentleman. He snickered at your answer. Then he noticed that the waiter was heading towards your table and he pointed it out to you.
The waiter arrived at your table and you both ordered the drinks and desserts. He disappeared again and then your boyfriend took his phone out of his jean’s pocket to show you the photo of Oikawa. He zoomed in and he turned the screen towards you. He was already trying to refrain from laughing.
You took a glance at it and your eyes widen at the photo. You bit on your lower lip, suppressing your laughter too. Oikawa had the pattern of the volleyball on his forehead and he was looking dumb-founded at Iwaizumi. His face looked like he was dramatically saying: "How dare you to damage this beautiful face!"
Issei stuffed his phone back in his jeans and he rummaged through his coat's big pockets. You were curious of what he was doing, so you tilted your head to get a better look. Then he pulled out a red and small wrapped present with the pattern of mistletoes. There was a green and slightly squashed ribbon attached to the top of it. "This is my Christmas present for you. I hope you like it."
Instantly, you searched the presents you had prepared for him. You pulled them out from your bag, setting them down on the table to exchange them with Issei's. Your presents were covered in red gift wrap as well and the words “Merry Christmas” were repeatedly printed on the paper. One of the presents was big but flat. It contained a t-shirt which said “If lost please return me to my lover” in caps. You were wearing a matching t-shirt underneath your sweater which was labelled with “I am his lover”.
The other present was inside of a small box. It was a hand-made bracelet which was made of a thin black leather strip. You had added silver cubic-shaped beads with letters on them, spelling out your name. You had also attached small and flat silver beads with a dotted pattern before the initial letter and after the final letter.
You grabbed his present as he did the same with your presents. You rattled it softly. The box was light and there was a damped sound when you had moved it with your hand. You unwrapped the present, revealing a red box. You took the top off and you gasped when you saw the content. You carefully took it out, taking a closer look at it. It was a silver necklace with your initial as a pendant. You looked at Issei who was smiling at you. He didn't open his presents yet. He was watching you the whole time.
"Thank you so much, Issei. I really love it," you said as you smiled warmly back at him. You heart was filled with love and you were feeling overjoyed. He stood up and he helped you, putting the necklace on. You moved your hair out of the way. You felt the cold metal and his fingers lightly brush against your skin. His warm touch was gone for a moment and shortly after, he wrapped his arms around your neck, kissing the top of your head.
"Merry Christmas, babe," he whispered, removing his arms and sitting back down. Then he took off his scarf, revealing a silver necklace with his initial. "I thought it would be nice to have matching items."
You couldn't believe that your boyfriend was such a sweetheart. You felt lucky that you were the one whom he chose to stay at his side. You felt lucky that he loved you and cared for you as much as you did for him. You grinned at him, responding to his words: “Well, we had the same thought then.”
"Oh, spoiler alert!" Issei said jokingly. Then he took the bigger present first, unwrapping it. You waited in anticipation. You hoped that he would like your presents. He raised an eyebrow as he turned the t-shirt around. Then he started laughing when he saw the printing on the clothing. You didn’t want to take your sweater off, so you took out your phone and you showed him the photo of you, wearing the matching t-shirt.
He kept laughing, saying that this was one of the best presents he received. He grinned at you, thanking you for it. Then he took the smaller present. He unpacked it, revealing a light blue box, the color of the volleyball team’s uniform. Issei definitely recognized it because he smirked while looking at it. He took off the top and he grabbed the bracelet.
In the meantime, you rolled up your sleeve to show him the bracelet which spelled out his name. He gazed at the bracelet you revealed and then he lifted up his head to look you in the eyes. The ambience was tense for a moment and your heartbeat quickened. Issei suddenly looked away, covering a part of his face. He exhaled and then he started laughing again. The atmosphere was back to being relaxing.
“You’re too cute. I really feel spoiled and loved by you… I love all of your presents. But I love you the most, of course,” he replied as he lowered his hand. He locked eyes with you, grinning mischievously at you.
"Damn, Issei... I love you so much," you said flustered, lowering your head and putting one your hands on the table to reach out for his hand. He willingly put his warm hand on top of yours, caressing it with his thumb and chuckling at your reaction.
The waiter finally came and you removed the presents, so that he could set down the food and drinks. Before he left, he told you that he hoped that you enjoy your stay. You started happily eating one of the desserts which you ordered while Issei was watching you. He loved the expression you made whenever you ate sweets. But he didn’t tell you about it. He smiled at you and he took a sip of his hot chocolate. Someday, you were going to find it out on your own or he was going tell you.
You spent the rest of the day, listening to Issei’s stories, telling stories yourself and laughing a lot with him. You wouldn’t ever forget about this day. You cherished every moment that you already spent with him and every moment which would happen in the future. You would keep on supporting him and smiling at his side. You loved him dearly.