From: oikawahell To: diesuga
Message: Based on the anon messages I sent, it’s probably pretty obvious that I went through a ton of different ideas before finally deciding what I wanted to write about, a bunch of them being things I might still end up writing in the future. It was really hard to make up my mind when the ships you requested were all so wonderful. But anyway, I hope you enjoy this, and I hope your holidays are merry and bright~
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Memory
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No matter who they were, no matter where they came from, no matter what they studied… there was one thing that bonded all university students in the last week of the term — the stress of finals week. Most students suffered beneath a combination of exams, essays, and projects, while those who drew a lucky lot in finals fortune still had the drama of packing and finalizing travel arrangements to return to their families for the break between terms. The hectic air was contagious, and by the Sunday night before exams began everyone was already set for the week to end.
It began in a library.
“I need that book,” Tooru demanded. It had taken him nearly an hour to locate the book after finding it missing from its space on the shelf. The library catalog had insisted it should be somewhere within the library, and through frantic searching, Tooru had finally found it lying on a table where someone was typing on a laptop. The book thief looked up when Tooru spoke, and hazel eyes blinked, once in acknowledgment and twice in recognition, before he answered.
“So do I. But you can look at it, if you need to.”
Silence hung heavily between them following this declaration. It was Tooru who finally broke it with a low groan he hoped conveyed the true depths of his suffering as he set down his own laptop bag and dropped into the chair. He didn’t ask to see the book first, and the other student only had just enough time to slip a note card between the pages before Tooru snatched it up and began to flip through it.
The night passed in relative silence as they both worked hard at their essays, the book moving back and forth between them. It was nearly one in the morning when the silence finally broke with a relieved whispering of ‘done’. Tooru looked up, chocolate-colored eyes examining the other as if it was the first time he had really looked at him. After a long pause where Tooru looked between his screen and the standing student no less than three times, he began to follow suit and closed his laptop. Neither of them said anything more, even as they walked out of the library together, even as they walked together in the direction of the student dormitories.
When their paths finally forked, Tooru gave a short wave over his shoulder. The answer was a friendly call of “Good luck!”
Tooru spent Monday and Tuesday nights alone, continuing his late-night vigils within the library Wednesday night found him company again as his past companion joined him around 11pm, smiling as he set a steaming cup and a small bag in front of him. Checking it only briefly, Tooru nodded his thanks. He only spoke when they left the library, again well past midnight. He didn’t comment on the gifts he’d been brought of coffee, cream, and sugar.
“You know, you remind me of someone.” Tooru’s companion laughed at this, earning an offended look from the taller student. Giving a loud huff, he shoved lightly at his shoulder. “What’s so funny about that?” he asked, voice rising slightly in offense before Tooru quieted again. It felt wrong to be so loud when it was so dark and late.
“I’m not sure if I should be offended or not, Oikawa.”
Tooru puffed his cheeks slightly. “That’s not what I’m talking about, Mr. Refreshing,” he firmly insisted. He tried not to think about whether the street lights were dim enough to hide the annoyed flush that burned his ears red. “I didn’t notice it back then because I was a little preoccupied, but…” At this point Tooru pursed his lips, and he turned as he walked so that he could more carefully examine Sugawara while he walked. “I’m serious, Sugawara.” He searched Sugawara’s face as though it held his answer. “Have we met before?”
Sugawara only shrugged, an answer that Tooru found incredibly disappointing. He was certain, now, that something about Sugawara reminded him of something that had happened a long time ago. Certain enough that, when he noticed they were beginning to part ways again, he called after the silver-haired boy. “I’ll see you tomorrow as well, Suga!” He accepted Sugawara’s answering wave as confirmation, returning to his own dormitory with his thoughts still buzzing.
Something about Sugawara was like an old memory, like something Tooru had known for as long as he could remember. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, and something about that bothered him. It bothered him a lot, more than he should have been bothered over a familiar face. He saw all sorts of familiar faces, after all! Normally he didn’t care! But Sugawara made him feel like he was forgetting something important.
On Thursday, Tooru waited in the library with a book opened across his lap. In all honesty, he could have done this in his dormitory, but… Looking up at the scraping of the chair across from him, Tooru pushed forward one of the two coffee cups in front of him. For the first hour they were both silent, but Tooru finally spoke up in a soft whisper. “Are you going back to Miyagi over break?” He glanced up, noticing that Sugawara had paused in working on his essay (or, at least, that was what Tooru assumed he was working on). Their eyes met briefly, before Tooru gave a short huff and looked back to his textbook.
“I’ll be taking the shinkansen tomorrow afternoon at 6:15,” Sugawara finally answered, and Tooru nodded absently. The sound of typing once more filled the silence between them, but Sugawara spoke again as Tooru turned a page in his book. “Iwaizumi went home yesterday, didn’t he?” He could hear the smile in Sugawara’s voice, and he wondered for a moment if he was being mocked. It lifted Tooru’s gaze to give a serious look across the table. “Are you lonely?”
“No!” he answered. It was too quick, too defensive, and Tooru gave another little huff as he flipped to the next page. “Where did you hear that?” Not that Sugawara was wrong. Iwa had certainly succeeded in leaving to return to Sendai a few days early, abandoning Tooru to finish his final exams alone. However, Iwa wasn’t like him, didn’t loudly boast to anyone who would listen about his chance to return home early.
“Daichi saw him at the station.”
Tooru took in this information, pursing his lips. Had Sawamura left already too? Examining Sugawara across the table, Tooru finally gave a loud sigh before looking down at his textbook again. “I suppose I can accompany you. Since we’re going the same way.”
Sugawara could have refused. He could have made a sarcastic comment. He could have pointed out how he’d never said he was lonely, or asked if Tooru would join him. He could have teased Tooru about how Tooru was really the one who wanted Sugawara to travel with him. He could have done a million other things, but instead he smiled and nodded. “I would appreciate that.”
His lips pursed tighter before Tooru returned to studying for his last exam in the morning.
As offered, Tooru arrived at the train station just before 6pm the next day. Claiming the seat closest to the window after their train arrived, the brunet quietly settled in for the trip. It wasn’t long before the scenery was flying past the window in a blur.
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It began in a library.
Staring up at the librarian, Oikawa Tooru had said that he would, without fail, find the 35 yen that he apparently owed, forbidding him from otherwise checking out the large book he held. It wasn’t as if he could just come back tomorrow, not when the library was going to close for the school break, and the idea of not having The UFO Book: Encyclopedia of the Extraterrestrial for his perusal over the week away from school horrified Tooru.
The unmistakable sting of tears, salty and wet, welled in the corners of Tooru’s eyes as he tried, for the third time, to find 35 yen within the contents of his backpack. He did have his money for the train ride home, but…
Someone knelt down in front of him. Blinking, Tooru wiped his eyes dry and sniffed to clear his nose before he lifted his head. “What?” he asked, trying his best to sound like he wasn’t about to start crying. He didn’t think he was very successful, but the smiling boy in front of him didn’t say anything about it. Instead, he took Tooru’s hand, pulling him to stand up.
Grasping his hand still, the boy pulled Tooru back to the check-out desk. He smiled up at the librarian too, but just as Tooru was considering feeling jealous (does he smile at everyone like that?) he heard the soft clink of two coins being set on the counter, expectant eyes turning toward him. “Your card?” he prompted, and Tooru took back his hand and dug into his pocket.
Warm fingers took his hand again before he walked away from the check-out desk, and Tooru was glad for the gentle guide that pulled him along to a bench as he closed his eyes against the hot tears. Neither of them said a word as they sat down, and Tooru wiped at his face while the other boy quietly worked on fitting The UFO Book into his backpack with everything else that was already in there.
—
“Did you know, Suga –”
Tooru began to speak, unprompted, without turning his gaze from the window. His breath fogged against the cool glass, and after a few moments he lifted his hand to press a finger to it. Lifting his finger from the window, he lowered it again.
“– I once met an angel. Like the ones you see on top of Christmas trees.”
The scenery outside the window had changed as the train drew closer to its Sendai destination. It wouldn’t be long before they were parting ways, taking their separate trains to return home. Lights streaked through the darkness, and rather than the outside scenery, Tooru found he was having an easier time of seeing his own reflection staring back at him. The train was already slowing down.
“I never noticed it when I was little. The angels on trees always seemed so far away that I couldn’t get a good look.”
It was obvious that Tooru wasn’t going to turn his gaze from the window while he spoke. Lifting his finger again, he drew a curved line on the breath-fogged glass. A :) smiled back at him. After a few moments of examining his work, Tooru added a small dot just below one of the eyes.
“Do all angels have beauty marks, or is it just you?”
It was Sugawara’s laughter that made Tooru turn his head. He noticed that Sugawara was holding a pen and a torn piece of paper. The paper was folded and pushed into Tooru’s hand as, finally stopping, a voice announced their arrival in Sendai, Miyagi. Sugawara stood up and grabbed his suitcase. “Mail me over break, okay Tooru?”
Tooru sat in stunned silence as Sugawara hurried away. It was only when the intercom crackled to life to announce that the train would soon be leaving Sendai that he jumped to his feet, grabbing his own suitcase and hurrying to get off the train.
