one step at a time
synopsis: routines between you and new bf!sugawara
koushi sugawara x fem!reader
word count: 1.5k
tags: established relationship, fem!reader but gender is not specified, possibly ooc sugawara, fluff, reader does sports but is unspecified, reader is shorter than sugawara, kind of angsty? but it picks back up.
It hadn't been long since you had started dating, hardly even a few months. But Sugawara had been nothing but a great boyfriend, but what stood out to you most was Sugawara's insistence to walk you to the train station after both of your practices every day.
"Y/n-san! Practice just ended for you, right? I can walk you to the train station." That was how it had started, you had insisted that you were fine to get yourself home, but he was insistent so you let it go. It had been awkward the first few times, but it was one of those things that felt routine for the both of you.
"Ah, sorry..."
Sugawara jumped slightly, feeling your hands brush by yours, you both hadn't tried hand holding yet. But finding that it had been long enough you shifted intentionally so your hands would touch once again. And before Sugawara could apologize once again, you gave him a reassuring smile.
"It's fine, Koushi. This is what couples do...right?" It made you sound like you questioned the very fact that you were dating, but that wasn't the intention and Sugawara knew that. You felt him grab your hand, considering the action before letting your fingers intertwine. You took a quick glance at his face, not missing the slight flush to his face.
"Are you embarrassed? Your face is awfully red"
Sugawara paused, if his hand wasn't holding yours he would've scratched at the back of his neck.
"Are you? You've been awfully quiet lately." He teased softly, it wasn't like he was exactly wrong. Sugawara would usually ask how your day was and listen to you talk about your day, on occasion you would return the favor and Sugawara would tell you stories about the first-years in his club, always to your amusement.
"Nothing interesting has been happening lately. Ah...um, I won't be able to walk you to the train station some time soon. For about a week, we are having a training camp with some of the other high schools."
Sugawara stated, giving you an apologetic smile. It wasn't like he had done anything wrong, but he did feel a bit bad to be springing this on you so suddenly.
"Ah, no! It's okay!"
You stated, a little too quickly, but it wasn't like he wanted to argue with you over it either. Admittedly it sounded a bit lonely, maybe you were getting too attached too quickly to the new routines between the two of you.
"We can still text from time to time while you're there, this is a big opportunity for the team, right? Good luck!"
You encouraged, you could tell Sugawara could read you well enough to know that you didn't fully believe it was fine. But it wasn't like would or could even, just not go either.
"Well, it is, don't worry I will do my best to message you when I can."
"And then you can tell me all about it!"
You finished for him, trying to reassure him that you would be okay.
"I'm expecting you to tell me all about it, 'kay, Koushi? Even the insignificant details." You didn't fully mean it, but it made Sugawara smile, earning a small chuckle that made it all worth it.
The first day without him felt like it dragged by, sure you both didn't have many classes together but you would see him during passing period and sit with him and his friends at lunch. Sugawara did send you the occasional text as promised, but you understood that he was likely tired and couldn't afford to spend time texting his girlfriend all night.
Although none of that felt worse than when it came to go home, you stood by the door to your clubroom for a moment, waiting for Sugawara to come, before a notification from your phone reminded you. He had sent you a quick message,
"Hope you had a good day!"
It read, sure, it was generic, but it was nice that Sugawara had thought to send you a message knowing this was the time you usually went home. But, you could reply later, and the main thing you wanted to focus on was getting to the train station.
The walk there was quiet, only passing by the occasional lingering student and teacher finally getting to leave as well. But usually, Sugawara would be by your side, already listening to you talk about your day with a focus only he could give. But he wasn't there, and your time deviated from the routine you both had set was just starting.
You considered talking anyways, talking into the void as they liked to say. Except, your void used to be Sugawara. The walk to the train station wasn't anything special, just quiet. But being alone gave you the space to realize things you hadn't before. The cracks in the old cement, a row of flowers that bloomed to the side halfway there, Students wearing the same uniforms as yours, making their commute home. It felt so strange, and almost made you feel guilty how clingy you must seem. It had barely been a day and you already missed your boyfriend. You knew Sugawara wouldn't mind, or he probably wouldn't. But that was the thing about negative thoughts, they didn't always have to be true to leave their impact. As you found your usual seat on the train, you turned back to your phone, feeling a bit nervous as you thought up a response, typing in a few words before immediately deleting everything to start over.
it felt like forever when you finally settled on, "My day was fine, I've been missing you." As soon as it showed it had delivered you regretted it and wanted to delete the message, but it was already too late. You just hoped Sugawara didn't see you as too clingy like your thoughts told you.
You got home and settled into what you were used too, finish any leftover homework, have some time for leisure, eat dinner, and get ready for bed. As you were brushing your teeth, you paused, hearing your phone buzz with a new message.
"Sorry I've been busy today! Hope we can see each other soon, you can do it Y/n-san."
There wasn't anything special or significant about the message you received, but it was comforting nonetheless. It wasn't filled with anything berating or dismissive like you had been expecting, not that Sugawara would ever talk to you like that.
If the first day had been hard, the next few were a bit better, you got to messaging Sugawara a bit more often. And with schoolwork picking up a bit for you it meant less time to worry about Sugawara, or a lack thereof. He would send the occasional picture, maybe of something he thought you might find pretty or a picture of him playing volleyball he asked one of the managers to take.
None of your messages were very deep, but sometimes surface level conversations were just as important. And despite your disappointment at times, when Sugawara had to say good night to get some rest in, it helped fill the void that was him not being there.
It felt surreal going to see him once again as he finally got back from the training camp. He told you about the interesting people there, and how much they struggled only to not win close to any games. But what stood out to you most was the fact that he told you that he and a few others were picking up on new skills to bring into their future games.
"Really? It sounds like you had fun!" You exclaimed, maybe a bit too loud, but there weren't enough people around to care.
"Yeah, I did. I got to learn a lot and the team gained some valuable experience." He noted, making you pause, you knew Sugawara was a setter for his team, but you had come to realize, you had never been to one of his games before.
"So...when are you going to invite me to come watch you?" "Ah uh! Well, Y/n-san the thing is I am not in the starting line-up, one of my juniors is, so you probably won't get to see me play." Sugawara stated, feeling a bit hesitant to admit it, although he knew they couldn't just beat around the issue forever.
"Mm, is that why you haven't invited me to any of your games?" You mused, not fully serious, but also curious.
"Well, no! Of course not, it's just not something that's ever come up so..." You couldn't help but giggle a bit at his reaction, it wasn't like you both had been dating long in the first place, and you knew Sugawara would invite you eventually.
"Well...even if you don't end up getting to play I can always come and support the rest of your team!" You offered, feeling determined to offer your support somehow.
"I guess you are right, I will let you know once I figure out when our next game will be, okay?" You gave a swift nod in response, already stepping onto the terminal as you waved Sugawara a quick goodbye.
