Enjoy as I challenge myself to stretch my writing muscles by writing for at least five minutes nonstop under threat of starting the fic over

Fic 1: Some AsaNoya Post-Time-Skip Trip Drabble

M/M Haikyuu 724 words

Asahi watched as Noya ran ahead to the top of the Eiffel Tower. He couldn’t suppress his smile as he caught up and saw him completely immersed in the gorgeous view of Paris. Coming up next to Noya, he took a moment to enjoy the sights himself. He felt himself relax and release a breath he didn’t know he was holding. This was the moment where he realized he was… at peace. Traveling the world with his loving boyfriend was more than he could ever ask for. Smiling to himself, he reached into his pocket, feeling the ring box inside. He decided to act before he thought too much about it and chickened out again.

“Hey Noya,”

The libero turned his attention away from the view. “What is it?”

“I have something I’ve been meaning to ask you - for a long time, actually. I promised myself I would ask you while we’re on this trip, so I-“

“Hold on, before you ask me, I have something to ask you,” Noya reached towards his own pocket, face red.

Asahi gently smiled. “Noya, just this once, can I go first?”

“Oh, O-Of course!” He scratched the back of his neck.

It’s so cute seeing him shy like this. “Thanks. If I’m being honest, Noya, I wouldn’t be who I am today without you. It’s because of your endless belief in the people around you that I was able to challenge myself and grow. I’d be in a very different place right now if you hadn’t been around, and I have been endlessly lucky to have you in my life. And I would be honored if you would have me in yours for the rest of it,” Asahi got down on once knee and presented the ring. “Will you marry me, Noya?”

Noya was covering his face with his hand, and with the other, he held out a different ring box. Asahi could tell that any speech that was planned had just flown out of the smaller man’s brain, and he was too overwhelmed to speak, as was Asahi. The reality did not hit his brain until the two of them out the rings on each other’s fingers. Then the waterworks began and all they could do was melt into a puddle of sobs on each other’s shoulders.

Neither remembered the trip back to the hotel that night. All Asahi could remember was how they hardly let go of each other at all last night, and the sheer number of times they had to pinch each other to make sure they weren’t dreaming. It was a good thing Paris had been their last stop before flying back to Japan, as their attention had been stripped away from any of the sights around them. By the time they landed, they were just barely falling out of their lovestruck newly engaged stupor.

Suga, Daichi, and Tanaka had shown up to bring the two of them home. Noya excitedly bounded over to Tanaka while Asahi received a warm greeting from Suga and Daichi. He immediately started telling them about the trip, talking about all their different stops, until he got to Paris.

“…and then our day in Paris, we explored around and tried some new foods and whatnot, but then we got to go up the Eiffel Tower, and when we got to the top-“

“NOYA YOU AND ASAHI FINALLY GOT ENGAGED!?”

“Tanaka! I was about to tell them,” AsahI whined.

“Ah, oops!”

“Wait, so you two actually finally-“ Suga asked excitedly.

Asahi showed off his ring, with Noya simultaneously coming over to show his off.

“Who proposed?”

“I did, actually,” Asahi sheepishly admitted.

“Tanaka, you owe me ten bucks,”

“Oi you bastards don’t tell me you bet on who would propose?!” Noya exclaimed.

They avoided Noya’s glare as Tanaka handed Suga a ten dollar bill.

Daichi shook his head. “Well, we’re all together, do we wanna go get something to eat? Drinks on Suga,” he smiled.

“Why me?!”

“You’re the one with an extra ten bucks, after all. Not my fault you didn’t listen when I warned you,”

Enjoy as I challenge myself to stretch my writing muscles by writing for at least five minutes nonstop under threat of starting the fic over

Fic 8: The latest Matchablossom au living in my brain

M/M Sk8 the infinity 1570 words

As the sun went down, Kojiro went to grab a bottle of wine and two glasses. Sia la Luce was closing for the night, and nobody else would be visiting. At least, Kojiro knew who he was waiting for probably wouldn’t come. But he couldn’t let go - he made a promise, after all.

This is your home, no matter what happens. Fight your ass off, and come back.

After setting the wine on ice, he retreated to the kitchen to finish closing. It was only thanks to the automatic doorbell that he installed was he able to focus in closing every night. His employees could confirm how distracted he used to be, after he left. Hiromi had practically forced him to buy the doorbell. Kojiro couldn’t help it. He wouldn’t believe Kaoru was dead until he saw the corpse himself, though it was entirely possible he’d never see it even if Kaoru did die.

Vivid in his memory was the last week the two had been living together. Kaoru was jumping out of his own skin, and that raised some serious red flags for Kojiro. The man was stubborn about elaborating what was bothering him. It took a complete mental breakdown to finally let the secret out. Turns out, Kaoru has been forced to join a crime organization to survive as a young adult, whose parents cut him off after graduating high school. It was just one little incident, and he was sucked in to the spiral. Luck had gotten him out, and Okinawa had served as a safe blind spot for him to recoup and rebuild some semblance of a life.

But Kojiro could tell something had gone very wrong for the other man at some point in life pretty quickly after the two of them had met at S. It was in the way he never showed any ambitions for the future, never talked about his likes and dislikes. He never even guaranteed he would come every week. Getting answers took ages, and the more answers he got, the more he fell for the other man. Hearing how his parents treated him, disapproving of essentially every life decision Kaoru made, trying to force him to take over the family business so the family could maintain its wealth, it made Kojiro’s blood boil. The worst part was he didn’t even know he was missing the biggest part of the story until long into their relationship, until it was too late. Kojiro didn’t even get to make a proper proposal, just enough to briefly exchange rings and promise to do it properly one day.

Keep this ring safe for me, and give it to me again, when this is over. They can’t know.

Kojiro himself was doing just fine. Sia la Luce was doing well, and he had a small crew of wonderful employees that he adored, including some rowdy teens he met at S who insisted they wanted to help. By all accounts, things were going how he had hoped. Many had said he should just move on with life already, and stop banking on a lost cause. After all, he had everything else going for him, why not find someone new?

But it never worked. As lovely as all the people he met and went on dates with, he couldn’t see himself being with any of them. None of them were Kaoru, and Kojiro couldn’t put anyone through dating him when he clearly still had feelings he couldn’t resolve. He may have done his fair share of dabbling with other people, but he wasn’t about to fake it and hurt someone. Hiromi shed tears when Kojiro came to that conclusion. The big softie was a romantic, after all.

Thus, life seemed to move on, unchanging. Sure, he still went to S, his family still checked in on the family business, he had no shortage of things happening around him, but at the end of the day, he could only imagine telling Kaoru about all of it. That he would set those wine glasses down, and Kaoru would be there, demanding to be served. They’d both yell at Reki and Langa to go home. The two of them would bicker, as they always did, until the bottle was empty. Until Kaoru finally relaxed, and Kojiro could truly take in how beautiful he was. He would give anything to see his face, to hold him, just one more time. Just to make sure Kaoru knew how much he loved him, even now.

But all he could do was set out those wine glasses and hope.

He didn’t know what was worse, living like this forever, or finally learning of his death, and being forced to move on. The clink of dishes was not enough to distract him. Seeing himself reflected in the plate, he paused. The light in his eyes was dim. He dunked the plate back in the soapy water, in denial of his reality. His knuckles quickly went raw from the excess force he used to scrub. The pain was a welcome distraction.

A stack of plates was still left to send through the dishwasher when Kojiro thought he heard the doorbell. The dishwasher had been loud enough that he wasn’t sure he actually heard it. He kept washing dishes, not wanting his hopes to get too high. And then he heard it again. And again. Slowly, he left the kitchen, attempting to keep his heart from pounding too hard. He could hear the bell more clearly as he headed towards the entrance.

It has to be Hiromi. Nobody else would come here at this hour. It can’t be him, it won’t be him.

His heart strained against his brain, trying to take control as he called a response. Every step seemed to shake his whole body. The floorboards complained as he crossed the dining room. Steadying himself, he opened the front door.

“I’m sorry, but we’re closed-“

“About damn time you let me in, it’s freezing out here!”

Kojiro looked up and froze. Lit by the moonlight in front of him was Kaoru. A battered, scarred, deeply exhausted Kaoru. His Kaoru. Who had to push him out of the way so he could come in and close the door behind them.

“Kaoru,” he could feel his voice waver as Kaoru turned to face him.

“It’s done. They’re gone,”

Kojiro noticed how empty his right sleeve was. “Your arm,”

“I’m lucky that’s all it cost me,”

“Guess you’ll have to learn to do calligraphy with your left hand,”

Kaoru shrugged. “I’ll have time,”

A lump came up his throat. He slowly reached out and felt Kaoru’s cheek. “You’re really back,”

Kaoru piled his own hands on too, tears in his eyes. “I am,”

All the tears from the past few years released all at once. Kojiro embraced Kaoru as tight as he possibly could. They were home, safe, together. Neither could stop the tears or the shaking, and they ended up on their knees together, weak from emotions. He soaked in Kaoru’s smell once more. It was different than it used to be, but it was still undeniably him. He finally released Kaoru, wiping the man’s tears as he did.

“Welcome home,”

Kaoru nodded, using his own sleeve to wipe any remaining tears. It was then the Kojiro remembered the lump he always had in his pockets somewhere. When Kaoru finally rid his face of tears, he was faced with a ring being presented to him.

“Kaoru, it’s time I gave this back to you. I’ll ask properly this time: I’d be honored if you would marry me and be my husband. Will you?”

“You really waited, like you promised,”

“Hiromi did make me try a few dates, but it never felt right. I knew deep in my heart that I wouldn’t ever be able to love anyone how I love you, and I hope you know how much I mean that,”

Words failed Kaoru, as he nodded and offered his hand. Kojiro quickly grabbed his matching ring from the box, allowing Kaoru to put it on his hand. They exchanged salty kisses, starved for the taste of one another. Neither could tell how long they stayed together on that floor. All they knew was that they would never leave each other’s side again.

They were the rudely interrupted by Kaoru’s stomach.

Kojiro laughed. “Come on, princess, I’ll make some carbonara for you,”

“I hope you’ve improved your recipe,” Kaoru took the hand offered to him.

“My carbonara has always been perfect, I don’t know what you’re talking about, your highness,”

Kaoru took a seat and helped himself to the wine as Kojiro disappeared into the kitchen. The smell of Sia la Luce calmed him, and he felt alive again. He was finally where he belonged.

Enjoy as I challenge myself to stretch my writing muscles by writing for at least five minutes nonstop under threat of starting the fic over

Fic 6: More Matchablossom

M/M Sk8 the Infinity 725 words

“Your parents are assholes,”

“I know, I can’t believe they said all that to your face,”

“I’m not talking about what they said to me,” Kaoru tensed at the words. “Kaoru, is that how they always talk about you?”

He paused before responding. “More or less, I guess. I’m used to it,”

Kojiro’s blood turned to ice. “Can I punch them both once for you next time I see them,”

“Kojiro please, there’s no need, I’m fine-“

“Doesn’t matter if you’re fine or not, they shouldn’t be talking to their own son like that! Who do they think they are?”

“They’re the Sakurayashiki family, what else can be said. They always get their way, eventually,”

“Then someone needs to put them in their place,”

“That’s my problem to worry about. I told you I only needed you to be my date for this party, we can fake break-up now,”

“Oh, this fake relationship is not ending right now,”

“I told you, you don’t have to-“

“What would piss off your parents more, seeing you with a revolving door of partners, or seeing you commit to just one?”

Kaoru paused. “They would be more convinced to back off with the arranged engagement idea if I had one steady partner,”

“Then, let’s-“

“However, I don’t think that’s the only thing that they would have to be convinced of - they want to conglomerate their company with another wealthy company, and manipulate who I choose as a partner to do that,”

“A chef ain’t gonna sell them, then,”

Kaoru nodded. “They won’t lay off until I can bring in more wealth to the family,”

“Fuck that. Have you thought about cutting ties?”

“Many times. But they’re paying for my college, so I can’t really do that until I graduate, at least. And they’ll make sure I can’t live independently until they marry me off,”

“Seriously, I will decimate them,”

“No you will not, they’ll just take it out on me. Again, I’m used to it, I’ll figure something out,”

“Kaoru, your family is too powerful for you to just fight off by yourself like that,”

“Watch me,”

“Let me help you,”

“You already did,”

“But it would help your chances for us to keep fake-dating right? If I can help serve them their comeuppance, I’m in. In fact, I’ll be pissed if you don’t let me get a piece of that sweet revenge,”

“They could decimate your career as a chef by whispering a few word to the right people, and they do know the right people. They’d make sure you’d never work at or open a restaurant,”

“That’s a risk I’d be willing to take-“

“But I’m not!”

Kojiro paused.

“I… I can’t ask you to take that risk. I know what Sia la Luce means to you, and…” Kaoru cleared his throat. “That place has been more of a home for me than my own. I won’t put it, or your career, at risk. End of story,”

Silence enveloped the car as they pulled up to the Nanjo house.

“We’re here,”

“Kaoru, I-“

“Go, Kojiro”

“Fine,” Kojiro got out of the car. “But promise me you’ll tell us if you need help,”

“You know I can’t make that promise,”

“We’re your friends, dammit! Promise me!”

“And that’s exactly why I can’t,” Kaoru’s voice died as he spoke. “I’ll see you later,”

“Kaoru, you-“

The door closed on Kojiro, and the car took off.

Kojiro kicked a pebble. There was so much he was learning about his best friend, yet it felt like he’d hardly learned anything. Thinking about it just pissed him off more. Why does that bastard have to be that stubborn? He knew he couldn’t sit down, so he went for a walk. If his asshole family was going to treat him like that, he wouldn’t just sit by. He couldn’t. Not until Kaoru was able to tell them to fuck off like he could to any asshole he ran into.

Enjoy as I challenge myself to stretch my writing muscles by writing for at least five minutes nonstop under threat of starting the fic over

Fic 3: Kuraryou Drabble

1119 Words M/M Daiya no Ace

“You’ve been off all day. What’s going on?”

“Just having an off day is all,”

“Oh really?” Ryou quirked an eyebrow. “Can’t be helped then, I guess I’ll have to find someone else to join batting practice,”

Kuramochi stopped. “I can still practice, you know,”

“Let’s go then,”

The two collected a bin full of baseballs and got to work batting each other’s tosses. Neither was keeping track of time, but eventually the batted so much they laid on the ground for a brief rest. Having cleared his earlier blunders from his mind with the physical exercise, Kuramochi felt lighter, relieved. Usually no matter what, batting helped clear his mind, but for whatever reason, it worked best whenever Ryou was there. The shortstop had gotten used to his presence, and while he worked well enough with Haruichi, it would never feel quite the same once Ryou graduated.

There it was again. Graduation. Knowing it was inevitable didn’t mean he wasn’t going to miss playing baseball with Ryou. The team was solid even without the third years, but Kuramochi couldn’t help but be bothered. Though he would admit, being stubborn about his feelings probably did not help him at all. But what was he supposed to do? Get all mushy-gushy and wreck his last few months with Ryou before he graduated? Ryou would be in medical school afterwards anyways, and there would be no room for dating once he started. Kuramochi wouldn’t want to distract him, after all.

But at least he had this.

Seeing the time, he got back up and began picking up stray baseballs. Ryou didn’t take long to join him. A moment later, a baseball heading in his direction snapped him out of his thoughts. He caught it on instinct, then turned to Ryou.

“The heck, man? Warn me next time,”

“I did warn you, you just didn’t hear me,”

“Wait, really?” He dropped the baseball.

Ryou glared daggers in his direction. “Whatever funk you’re in right now, shake it,”

“I’m trying, but it’s not that easy, you know,”

“What could possibly be bothering you this much? You usually don’t let your baseball suffer for anything,”

“Well, it’s… something that’s been bothering me for a long time now, I can’t just stop worrying now,” Kuramochi could feel his cheeks turning pink with indignation.

“But you know what it is, don’t you?”

“Doesn’t mean I know how to deal with it,” he turned his gaze away.

“Since when did thinking ever go well for you,”

“Excuse you?!”

Ryou punched his arm. “You’re not good at dancing around issues, so don’t dance around them,”

“But what if-“

“No matter what you do, you’ll be better off with whatever it is off of your chest, so let it out already. The team is waiting on you,”

Kuramochi groaned and scratched his head in frustration. There was no getting away from Ryou when he was like this. It was time. His arms fell to his side as he accepted what he had to do. But he’d be a coward if he ran now. He stood up straighter and took a step forward.

“It’s because I like you, okay!” Ryou’s eyes widened in surprise. “I’ve known it for a while now, and I- well, you’re special to me, and I didn’t wanna mess things up, because spending time with you makes me happy and I didn’t want that to change if I said anything and I know you’re graduating soon too and I know you really want to focus on college afterwards so I-“

“Kuramochi,” Ryou put a hand on his shoulder.

“Ah, sorry, I just…” he averted his eyes again.

“Do you see my face right now,”

Kuramochi looked back over to see Ryou’s face, freshly covered with a shade of pink that complemented his hair. He was so surprised he shut up right there.

“This is because I like you too, you lovable dumbass,” The shade of pink of both of their faces intensified.

Kuramochi stammered in response, words failing him. He stammered so badly that Ryou couldn’t help but laugh, and before Kuramochi knew it, he started laughing too. All his worries from the last few months, gone. Just like that, because Ryou felt the same way he did. He felt like a dumbass for wasting all that time by staying quiet. Happy tears fell from his face, and through his blurry vision he could see Ryou with happy tears too. Wiping his face, he wrapped Ryou in a big bear hug and held tight. He felt dampness on his shoulder as his shirt dried Ryou’s tears. As the tears died down, Kuramochi broke the silence.

“Shit, I owe Miyuki twenty bucks now,”

Ryou looked up at Kuramochi, a small smile on his face. “Why? Did he bet you wouldn’t say anything?”

Kuramochi groaned. “No, it’s because he bet you’d say something first because I was being a dumbass and he wanted to egg me on so he didn’t have to hear my lovesick miseries anymore,”

“To be fair,” Ryou reached into his pocket and presented a ticket. “I did get you a ticket to come to prom with me, and actually wanted to give it to you today,”

Kuramochi excitedly accepted the ticket. Seeing the shortstop so excited made Ryou’s smile bigger.

Then he stopped and pulled a face. “Miyuki will never let me hear the end of it,”

Ryou chuckled. “He’s the one who’s gonna be looking to bring Sawamura with him next year, he will eat his words, he’s worse than you are at this stuff,”

Kuramochi had a retort on the tip of his tongue before he started laughing again. “I guess I signed up to forever get roasted, huh,”

“You bet,” Ryou gave a mischievous grin. “If I can’t roast my boyfriend then what is the point,”

Kuramochi froze. “Wait, wait, wait, hold on, did you just-“

Ryou turned to pick up the crate of baseballs. “Unless you don’t think you can handle it,”

“Are you kidding me?!” Ryou looked over at Kuramochi and his determined grin. “Bring it on!”