on our way to twenty-seven // kuroo x daichi

25 - MARRY ME?

Tetsurou's bare hands are covered in red paint by the time he's done, but he's proud of his handiwork, if he says so himself. The seven simple letters stare back up at him, a little messy but still legible enough to declare his intent clear as day. He hums out a quiet laugh to himself as he grabs an old rag to wipe his hands off; the last time he'd planned to write anything on the end of the breakwater, he'd been beaten to the punch, had let his chance slip through his fingers. But not anymore.

Suga and Daichi have been broken up for five years now, and Tetsurou's been lucky to be with Daichi for four of them. As hard as it was, he'd waited, not wanting to seem like he was taking advantage of the situation. So he carried on as normal, offering his friendship and nothing more, until Suga, of all people, called him out on holding back.

"You should ask Daichi out," Suga had said when they were all home the summer between junior and senior year. "I mean, you guys already text all the time and hang out a lot, and there's history there, so just do it."

Tetsurou frowned. "Now's not the time. I have to go back to New York for my internship next week."

"If you keep thinking now isn't the time, then the time is going to pass you by." Suga stopped, one foot on the breakwater, one in the sand. "Me and Daichi were better off as friends, so I know what it's like to go from being friends to dating, and I know it doesn't always work like it does in the movies. So believe me when I tell you that I think you and Daichi would be good together."

Even with Suga's blessing, Tetsurou waited a few more months, until Christmas rolled around and he and Daichi were both in town for the holidays. The transition into dating happened over shared cups of hot chocolate, frantic trips to the grocery store for extra ingredients, keeping hordes of little cousins and nieces from getting into the Christmas cookies, and Suga pushing them both under the mistletoe.

It's frigid even for mid-January, and the wind sends the sea spray into Tetsurou's face with every crash of the waves, but he can see Daichi making his way down the breakwater, and he can't help but smile. Gone is the timid fourteen-year-old who'd clung to the ropes to inch his way across the rocks. This Daichi is confident in his steps, focusing more on keeping his scarf wrapped around his neck than where his feet are falling.

Tetsurou meets him in the middle, holding a hand out. Daichi takes it, squeezing tightly. His hands are freezing, raw and red from the harsh winds. "Hey, Tetsu, you know I love you, but it's stormy out and the weather guy said there's a nor'easter blowing in tonight so we should probably get inside soo—"

Tetsurou twists his hands in Daichi's coat lapels and cuts him off with a quick kiss. "This won't take long. I have something to show you."

He leads Daichi across the rocks to the end of the breakwater, letting him see the two words spray-painted on the last rock.

"I was planning to have a whole thing, like a picnic and wine and something really cute and romantic and shit, but then the weather got gross but I didn't want to wait for a clear day because all I did before was wait, you know?" Tetsurou begins, already feeling his carefully-prepared speech run away from him. "Like, I was gonna ask you to prom way back in high school, but we all know how that turned out. And I'm not mad about it! Because I think we got everything right in the end. I think you're the right one for me and I like to think I'm the right one for you. And I've been thinking about how nice this last year has been, waking up in my favorite place in the world with my favorite person in the world, and I was kind of hoping you'd let me keep doing that. For a while. So..." Tetsurou reaches into his pocket and pulls out the small velvet box, popping it open. "How about it?"