ao3 here / 2.6k words
merry christmas sara!!! for @michichans ♥
Yui blows into her gloves, white clouds slipping through her fingers, and tugs her scarf around her neck tighter with a shiver. The light snow crunches under her feet and she squints through the crowd, heart lightening when she spots the tall man she’s looking for and spreads her arms to wave.
“Sawamura! Over here!” Daichi looks right at her, matching her grin as he starts over, and Yui drops her hands to her front, wringing them together lightly. It wasn’t that she was nervous -- it was just a Christmas meet up over the holidays, when they both have time before dinners are set out -- yet there’s the unmistakable pattering in her chest of just that, only rising when Daichi stands a foot from her and never giving way. “I didn’t think you’d see me in the crowd.”
“I almost didn’t,” he admits, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. The hands go into his jacket pockets, blowing out white smoke into the cold air, and shrugs as he looks around. “So. What did you have in mind?”
The last sleepover she’d been to had been helpful in thinking of ideas... though most made her wish she didn’t wear so many layers, burning with embarrassment. The few Yui did like were simple and feasible enough, things Daichi would probably like too, and they’re the ones that she flicks off on her fingers.
“Um, okay, so I thought we could hit up a few stores--”
“Last minute shopping, Michimiya?” Daichi’s teasing her and she groans, putting her face in her hands.
“I know! I just-- there was someone I couldn’t figure out anything for.” She peeks out of her fingers at the very person she’s talking about, pouting slightly. “So I’m kinda just... scrambling, yeah.”
“Well, I’ll help you find something then. It shouldn’t be too hard with two people.”
He’s going to be a lot more helpful than he realizes, of course, and Yui thanks her lucky stars that Mao won’t be giving her an ‘I told you so’ speech for all the courage she’d plucked for today. Whoo. Just window shopping with Daichi, yup, nothing to be nervous about...
... Though it’s for Daichi, too, which is the issue. Yui keeps pace with the other, jumping when his shoulder brushes hers and he apologies.
“Ah, no, it’s my fault, I was just thinking,” she returns, smoothing at her skirt and wondering if it’d been too much after all. “Did you say something?”
“I was wondering what this person’s like.”
“Oh, he’s-- they’re kind of sporty,” ignoring the raise of his eyebrows at the slip, she speeds up just a little, “but I don’t want to get them something like that. I’d already have something picked out if that was the case.”
Daichi nods, scratching at his chin in thought, and peers into a shop’s windows as they pass. “So what does he-- do they like,” he asks casually, and Yui’s becoming very aware of how cold it is out with her face like this.
“Practical things. I think they’d like something that’s fun too, but I know they’re definitely the kind of person who’d appreciate something useful.”
“Why not buy them a scarf?” Yui glances at the one tucked into Daichi’s jacket and shakes her head. He hums softly, unintentionally raising her heart rate. “Shoes? If they’re sporty, then they probably wear those out a lot. Unless that goes under the kind of present you don’t want to buy them.”
“No! No, shoes are fine.” She knows for a fact that Daichi’s are starting to wear down anyway, the soles losing their grip and making it easier for him to slide on the wax surfaces of the gymnasium. It’d made for a hilarious incident where he and the net danced while Koushi and Asahi had watched on, the former laughing and the latter wondering if he should help or not. Yui covers her giggles with a cough, waving away the other’s questioning look, and straightens up with a muffled clap of her hands. “Okay, so, shoes!”
The shopping itself is mostly boring. There’s things she stares at, that she’s not sure she could pull off (and can imagine Mao berating her for thinking so, because she can pull off anything), when Daichi offers to buy her one of them. She colors and stutters out an excuse that she was just admiring it for a friend, not really looking to buy anything for herself, and hopes he doesn’t see the last longing glance she gives the bracelet before they leave the storefront.
(He does, and Yui misses the way he checks the store’s name to remember it for later.)
The highlight comes when they’re done and a nice pair Daichi had been eyeing himself is gift wrapped in the seat beside her, a crepe laden with chocolate and ice cream before her all ready to be eaten. Yui spoons it and glances at her company, trying not to let her heart get ahead of her with how handsome her friend and fellow captain looks in the dying light of the day.
“I hate how soon it gets dark now,” she huffs white into the air and his laugh does the same, nodding with her complaint. “It makes everything feel so much later too, like it’s time to sleep when really it’s time to eat!”
“Mm. And it’s especially bad when practice runs over.” Daichi stretches and returns his hands to the matcha tea crepe he’d gotten at Yui’s suggestion, his face pleased at the taste. “It gets so dark you’d think the world ended.”
Yui laughs, fingers tightening on her spoon at the mention of practice (something she didn’t have anymore, not until university anyway), and wonders where her appetite went as she stares down at her decadent treat. She can’t smack her face here. Daichi wouldn’t understand this time. So she settles for something else, determinedly sticking a chunk of ice cream into her mouth and whining at the coldness before she speaks.
“Okay, so, if you could do one thing before that happened -- before the world ended -- what would it be?”
Daichi sits back in his seat with a hum, crossing his arms and tapping the spoon in midair. “... Play volleyball, I guess?”
“You’re such a nut,” she teases, and yelps when his hand reaches over and tweaks her nose. The cold’s a great excuse for her warming cheeks. “Well, it’s true!”
“Oh yeah? Then what would you do, Michimiya?”
... It’s sad to say, but Yui finds her thoughts drawn to the court as well, to be able to stand on it once more and play with everyone again. She might’ve not been the best captain -- the kind of captain that could lead everyone to a sure victory -- but... if there was one thing she could do before the world end, it would be playing volleyball again. To feel the heat of her hands after a good spike, the exhilaration of seeing past the net and hearing the leathery smack of the ball on the other side, and suddenly all of the energy that had pent up over the months is more present than ever as her feet tap at the ground and she frowns at Daichi.
“I’d--” It has to be different. She can’t say volleyball. That’d be letting him win. “I’d eat the largest beef bowl in the world.”
Daichi’s lips quirk up and he leans forward, a knowing look in his eyes. “Oh yeah? Do you think you could finish that all on your own?”
“I’d have to, with you off playing volleyball as the world ends.”
“Well,” he lets more of the crepe’s ice cream melt in his mouth, “what if I said I wanted to play volleyball with you?”
Just like they used to from time to time, when there wasn’t practice with their own teams. Yui tries to keep frowning and sighs inwardly when she can’t hold it down. “Then you’d have to help me eat my beef bowl too.”
Daichi laughs, a deep and strong sound that makes her want to join in, and nods. “Deal.”
They hang out for a few more hours, really window shopping this time, before the sun’s past the horizon and the streetlights have turned on their glow, the chilly wind bringing an empty promise of snow on its scent and darkness only sharpening it. She sniffles, bringing her scarf up around her nods and mouth, and jolts when she feels gloves brushing against her cheeks to pull it over her ears too.
“Thanks,” she says, feeling like she has to speak up a little louder to unclog her throat. Daichi waves it off -- it’s better that she doesn’t get an ear infection -- and does the same for himself, shivering when the wind catches under his protection. Yui sighs. “I can’t believe how cold it got! I know it’s winter, and it’s evening to boot, but still!”
“It’s supposed to be even worse tonight, not to mention tomorrow morning.” She can imagine his grimace under the scarf, knowing how it looks with his eyebrows drawn down with worry creasing between them. The white vapors let her know he’s sighing too, tilting his head back to look at the sky. “I guess we’ll do laps inside. Summer’s one thing, but winter’ll kill you.”
Yui giggles and nods, not realizing she’s stepped closer until their bodies bump and they both jolt momentarily. “-- Sorry!”
“No, I should be looking where I’m going, not at the sky.”
But his gaze returns there after a moment, and his arms linger at his sides before he wraps one around her shoulders and pulls her closer. Yui can hear her heart quick in her ears, even knowing that it’s to share warmth, and focuses on her steps forward so she doesn’t stumble.
“It’s really clear tonight, huh?”
She fixes her scarf and looks up too, nodding. “Yeah... It feels like you can see all of the stars.”
The wind blows, softer but no warmer, and she’s thankful for their closeness for more than just selfish reasons now. A quick look at her phone reveals the time as officially Christmas Eve and her hand tightens on the bag, worry flashing through her mind if Daichi’d really like it, and jumps a little when she feels a tap on her shoulder.
Daichi smiles apologetically at her, hand rubbing at the back of his head. “Sorry, Michimiya, but can you go on ahead? I forgot that my mom asked me to buy something while I was out.”
“Oh, sure.” Disappointment rides high on her slumping shoulders, giving her friend a small wave before he disappears around a corner, and Yui sighs it out into the world. Her palms itch and she smacks her cheeks. “Okay! It’s okay! He’ll like it! Don’t worry!”
It doesn’t make all of her doubts fly off, but the stinging reminds her of how she shouldn’t let herself get caught up in thoughts like that.
Yui shivers waiting for the train when there’s pounding feet coming to as top beside her, the heavy pants not from a lack of exercise, and really Daichi is too much when he’s red in the face, grinning widely when he realizes he hasn’t missed her (and oh, how her heart gives way). He tries speaking, coughs because of the dry air, and waves off her teasing about his lack of stamina in the winter.
“You’re-- You’re not much better, Michimiya,” he manages out, chuckling deeply at her protests and holding up a hand to silence her. Yui complies, curiosity getting the best of her when she hears the shift of a plastic bag coming forward.
Whatever’s inside is small and she looks up at the other, taking the bag when it shakes again and pointing to herself. He nods.
“I thought you said you were buying something for your mom,” the words coming out reluctantly as her hands move to take the black box out. “What’s this?”
“Something my mom asked me to buy,” Daichi simply replies, and she knows that with his breath back that the red’s not from the cold anymore when he clears his throat. “So, ah, are you going to open it?”
For her? His mom asked him to buy something for her?
Yui’s gut twists and her cheeks sharpen the cold air with their warmth, knowing already what’s inside even as her mind digs in its heels and tries to deny it:
But there it is, the cute bracelet she’d been aching for the past few hours.
The peridot butterfly glimmers in the station’s light as it lays delicately on its silver chain, Daichi’s black gloves fitting their hands together and hooking it with some difficulty around her wrist. Words catch in her throat and the dry air feels stuffy when she tries to speak, palms itching again as she grabs the box from her bag and shoves it at Daichi.
“For you! It’s-- They’re for you!” Yui’s words fumble out finally, hands shaking until the shoe box is taken from her. Chancing a glance up, she can see his pleasure -- as surprised as it is, confusion tinging at the edge -- and she fiddles with the bracelet as nervousness clenches her shoulders. “I-- I wasn’t sure what to get you, Sawamura, so I just thought I’d see what you wanted and buy that.”
“You’re sneaky,” he replies offhandedly, plopping down beside her on the bench. Their shoulders warm the other. “I can’t believe you lied to me.”
“You’re one to talk. Something your mom asked you to buy?”
Daichi scoffs a little, grin tugging at his face while he’s trying to look offended, and Yui feels her mouth doing the same. “Well-- kind of. She reminded me about it.”
“And you pulled the same trick I did on you. I’m sneaky?”
Daichi laughs, nodding to the bracelet she hasn’t stopped touching. “Do you like it?”
“I... I really do.” Even if she still doesn’t feel 100% about it, she really does like it. Yui plays with it some more, face heating up at the thought of how much her friends were gonna tease her at tonight’s Christmas sleepover, and groans. “Thanks, Sawamura. I would’ve been fine with something sporty too!”
“Well... Even so,” he sounds a little firmer now, hands flexing on his knees, “it looks cute on you, Michimiya. It suits you.”
That station lights are woefully bright, casting their shadows in a way that makes them cuddle, and Yui jostles his side, laughing loud enough to cover the beat of her heart. “Okay! Thanks a ton, Daichi,” he blinks at the given name, “I love it. I just have to remember to take it off before I practice.”
“That’s great!” It’s her turn to be confused now. Daichi smacks his knee and winces at the impact, beaming elatedly. “I’m glad to hear you’re still gonna be playing, Michimiya, I knew you’d keep on!”
-- She did say that incidentally, didn’t she. Yui laughs nervously, back to playing with the bracelet, and shrugs. “I-- I guess I am! I haven’t thought that too hard about it, but I still love volleyball,” so much it makes her heart ache, though she knows she couldn’t compete with Daichi in that aspect, “and I really, really can’t think of anything else I’d want to do in university.”
“And you have to keep in top shape for when the world ends too,” he reminds her, and she snorts.
“That too. So! You know. Yeah.”
Daichi still has that stupidly handsome grin on his face, fingers rhythmically tapping the shoe box, and laughs when Yui shoves him lightly. Snow starts to fall past them on the track, quieting the world and leaving the two in their warm bubble until the train’s bound for their station.
