Akaashi's 18th (and the events that followed...)

8. Midnight Light

... only to be caught by a deft swoop of Daichi's arm. They stayed there a second too long, Daichi's fierce grip holding Suga's waist until he regained balance. Suga held onto his arm, leaning his back into Daichi's chest. Suga sighed. "I'll explain it again."

When they arrived, Suga's first port of call was the museum. Daichi hadn't expected much from it, but Suga had seen it highly recommended on the tourist leaflet he had somehow managed to procure. The advertising art was interesting enough, and Daichi took particular interest in the workings of wood-block prints, during which there was a hands-on section.

Suga's print looked far better, he pointed out, but Suga held up Daichi's print like a proud parent, and replied, "At least your mum will have something to put on the fridge with all your brothers' and sisters' finger paintings, right?" Daichi scowled as Suga playfully jabbed him in the stomach, his signature cheeky grin splitting his face in two.

Daichi had always remembered Suga being an obedient child, and throughout their time at Karasuno, he had always been a star pupil. He had been respectful of their senpais, team captain, coaches and teachers - Daichi would even describe his demeanour as a little shy. He had never put a single toe out of line. The most adventurous aspect of him had been his shining silver hair. Daichi didn't even know what colour it used to be before it was dyed.

Other than his hair, Suga had never openly showed his personality inside of school, and had certainly never been 'cheeky'. Daichi had felt that, during their first two years at Karasuno, their friendship hadn't been fully explored. There always seemed to be a part of Suga which was held back, the respectful, courteous side of him preventing his true emotions from colouring his face.

That all changed in their third year...
.
.
.
Daichi had just become captain of the team, and was waiting for the team to arrive that morning, when the double doors to the gym blasted open.

Suga stood in front of a shell-shocked, sweating Asahi. He wore a giant beam on his face. "Man, it feels good to be a third year!" Sugawara threw his bag next to Daichi's, jumping up behind the newly appointed captain and swinging an arm around his shoulder.

"Suga-san, what made you get so cool over the summer?!" little first-year Nishinoya cackled. "Did you get a girlfriend?"

Suga laughed, throwing his head back carelessly, and Daichi stared at his face. Nothing was held back in his expression anymore. The overhead lights of the gym shone and glinted in his laugh-watered eyes, lighting them up. His silver hair had been recently dyed and washed, Daichi could tell. The silver strands blew around his head in sheening waves.

He suddenly became conscious of the arm around his shoulder. Taking a glance at Asahi, he knew instantly that they were thinking the same thing. 'Where did this Suga come from?' Nevertheless, Daichi knew - at that moment - that it was a Suga he wanted to hold on to.
.
.
.
By the time they exited the museum, the sky had darkened, and - after looking at the Shiodome restaurant prices - they both settled for some takoyaki from a nearby street vendor, before arriving at the main event.

They quickly exchanged glances of amazement, taking in the incredible view.

Gleaming pillars of blue lights surrounded them. Whatever the pillars were made of seemed to be invisible, or the lights were too bright and their twinkling blinded Suga and Daichi from anything else. Lilac and pink lanterns glowed from their suspended points, as though they themselves were transfixed by the glittering beauty around them.

The ground was no less enticing to the eye. Daichi's gaze was drawn by the head-height flowers blooming from the paving slabs; large, crystalline with jagged-edged petals, tinted a delicate lavender purple. In the centre of everything stood a cone-shaped tent, again, made of tiny lights. This time, they were a rich gold, and trails of more bulbs lit the entrance, acting as a beaded curtain to the tent. "Shall we go in?" Suga asked.

Daichi checked his watch. 23:48. "Yeah, now's a good time."

Suga leaned over to take a look at Daichi's wrist. "Oh yeah, we'll be there for the new year!" With that, Daichi felt a tug on his coat, and he followed Suga through the strings of lights.

When inside the tent, enveloped in warmth, Daichi began to prepare himself. "Suga, can we talk?"

"Sure!" He smiled, then took note of Daichi's expression. A curious calm seemed to blanket his features, and Daichi could have sworn, were it not for the conflicting lights, Suga's cheeks begin to glow a similar pink to the lights outside.

"Uh, err, eettoou..." Daichi took a deep breath. "Suga, thank you for being such a brilliant friend. I'm so lucky to have you in this way." He looked up to the gods, silently thanking them for Suga, as was the tradition.

"But?" Suga gave Daichi a soft smile. He seemed to know what was coming, but waited patiently for Daichi to finish.

"But..." Daichi heard the first chime of the clock in the centre of the city. "I..."

The second chime resounded, then the third. Daichi's heart sped up. "I don't want you to think you're not enough as you are, because you are..." as the seventh bell rang, he began to get flustered, not knowing how to continue.

Suga took his hand, his soft blue eyes unwavering from Daichi's, pulling him back on track. "I was wondering if..." the tenth bell, the eleventh... he gripped Suga's hand tighter and quickly finished his sentence, "if we could be more than that."

As the twelfth bell sang, Daichi pulled Suga's hand which was grasping his, and slowly kissed him. He could feel Suga's smile underneath his lips, but it wasn't mocking, it was gentle and inviting. Encouraged, Daichi wrapped Suga's arms around his neck, in the same way they had been in that morning, as they woke up. His thundering heart calmed, and he relaxed as Suga's arms tightened, keeping Daichi where he was. Suga drew back for a moment, his slightly watery eyes starry from the lights enclosing them both. He began kissing Daichi back. Daichi closed his eyes and felt a drop fall from the corner of his eye, trailing back down his cheek.

"So..." Daichi pulled away, hesitant. "Do you think this could work?"

Suga smiled. "Uh huh. Sorry I didn't express my feelings sooner; I didn't want to tell you I liked you in case it made things awkward. Especially after you and Yui - I wasn't sure if you wanted to approach friends in a romantic way again."

Daichi grinned. "You were never just a friend Suga. You've been my partner since the day I became captain."

"To help you tame those unruly first and second years!" Suga laughed, his head thrown back and his hair shining in the light, like it had on the first day of Daichi's captaincy. Only this time, there wasn't anything unfamiliar in Suga's expression. Just the boy - now man - that he had known he wanted to hold on to.

(Word count: 1198)
(Total word count: 11,252)

Author's note:
Eeek! That's Daisuga done. However, I will not stop writing about them altogether: all the ships that have gotten together so far will still be featured in later chapters - as you will see happening next chapter.

Next chapter hint: Suga and Daichi bump into some unexpected acquaintances in Minato...