Chapter Text
Gentle sunlight filters in through the gossamer curtains. The fine sheets of fabric flutter in a soft breeze that smells faintly of salt. The muted sound of ocean waves pulls Midorikawa out of a deep sleep. The bed he’s in is soft and strewn with pillows. Not even the room’s unfamiliarity can shake off the pleasant, hazy glow of the morning. Midorikawa smiles to himself. He feels weightless and ridiculously happy. It’s all so perfect.
Today is his wedding day.
That sentence alone is enough to lift his heart with giddy joy. No matter how many times he’d heard it at his bachelor party the night before, the feeling never faded.
He lies there overflowing with excitement and love. He hasn’t seen Hiroto, his fiance, for nearly a day now. They won’t see each other until the ceremony tonight, and Midorikawa can hardly bear waiting. There were times he never thought he’d see this day. But finally, he’s going to have his wish. It feels like living inside of a wonderful dream.
There’s a faint buzzing noise from the bedside table. Midorikawa stirs to pick up his phone and check the message. It’s from Suzuno, who coordinated this whole thing. He’s invited Midorikawa to go tanning on the cruise’s tanning beds. And he’s paying.
These past few days have only been one good thing after another. Midorikawa has woken up on a five star cruise ship and he’s about to get the finest, most expensive tan of his life. It’s easy to get out of the bed, no matter how soft it is. Fantastic things await him.
Hiroto feels like something died inside his brain.
Waking up has never been this hard before. The room he finds himself in is unfamiliar, unappealing, and unbelievably trashed. Beer cans are everywhere. There’s a mini-fridge in the room that looks like it has been open all night. His mouth feels like there’s literal cotton growing inside it and the early morning rays of sun through the windows are borderline offensive as he squints.
He’s in a bed. There’s someone literally wrapped around his left arm. His pants are inexplicably missing. Scratchy white sheets rub against his skin as Hiroto attempts to sit up and cringes at the pounding in his head.
“Here,” A voice says, and a glass of water is shoved at his lips, “Drink this before I pour it down your throat.”
Huh. Dark purple hair. Absolutely disgusting looking tuxedo. Hiroto blinks in the face of Kogure Yuuya.
“Huh?” He says, like he’s never heard words before.
“Water. It’s water.” Kogure says, absolutely inflectionless.
Hiroto brings his right hand up to take it and stops. It appears he’s already holding something. Upon further inspection, it’s a headband. An orange headband. He gapes.
The image is incredibly sobering. Bits and pieces of last night and today’s significance cascade down into his consciousness. Today is the day of his wedding day. He remembers kissing Midorikawa goodbye yesterday morning. The bachelor party. The drinking. The…. the...
“...Endou-kun…” Hiroto whispers, to himself.
“Dude.” Kogure says. Hiroto looks back at him, and then back to the headband. Then back at Kogure, who looks like he’s about to pour the water over his head.
“Wait, wait.” Hiroto says, shaking his head. He takes the water and puts it on the nightstand next to him before Kogure decides to attack him with it. “Why do I have this headband?”
Kogure sighs, the dark circles under his eyes look huge now that Hiroto is at least fifty percent less hazy. The younger man looks like he’d rather be anywhere but here. “What are you talking about?”
“The headband.” Hiroto feels his chest tighten. He feels on the verge of tears. How could he have done this? He would never ever do this to Midorikawa. He’s supposed to get married to the love of his life later today. How drunk were they last night? Hiroto has ruined everything. He feels nauseous, but he needs to know. “Kogure. Did I sleep with Endou?”
“What the fuck? No, dumbass.”
“Oh.” Hiroto brings the headband up to his face. “You’re right. This smells nothing like him.”
Kogure looks at a loss for words.
Suddenly, Hiroto is reminded of the figure beside him who has his arm in a vice as he hears a groan and a familiar voice. “You two...are being too loud.”
“Nagumo?”
“Hmmm?” Nagumo blinks blearily and slowly his yellow eyes travel to where he is still holding onto Hiroto’s arm like a lifeline. He blinks again. “Why are you holding my arm?”
“Um, what?” Hiroto manages, confused. Nagumo has still not moved, his whole body, legs included, are around his left arm which feels like it hasn’t received any proper blood circulation in hours.
“That’s kind of gay.”
“I’m literally supposed to be marrying a guy today, in case you forgot. Anyway, who are you to talk? Aren't you dating Suzuno?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Hiroto can only watch as Kogure picks up the forgotten cup, holds it over the bed, and dumps its contents onto Nagumo’s head.
After tanning, Midorikawa and Suzuno go to get breakfast at the cruise’s café. The space is on the upper deck of the enormous ship, decked out in white tables and white chandeliers. A soft breeze blows through, billowing the soft sheer curtains along the enormous windows lining the dining space. Already waiting for them are Kazemaru and Tachimukai, who wave them over.
“I wanted to thank you all for this,” Midorikawa says after he’s ordered his breakfast. “I really couldn’t imagine anything better.”
“You deserve the best,” Kazemaru smiles at him from across the table. “The party, the wedding, the reception - we’re going all out. It’s going to be perfect, trust me.”
Midorikawa smiles, knowing Kazemaru wasn’t lying, or even exaggerating. Yesterday and today already have his heart bursting. They may be the most important days of his life, and he is glad to spend the time with his favorite people in the world.
“Even so,” Midorikawa says, “The cruise is incredible! And the live symphony yesterday at the wine tasting? It was like a dream, seriously, not to mention everything else you’ve done for me.”
“It’s been really fun,” Tachimukai agrees, “We should do this again sometime.”
“If Midorikawa ever gets married again, maybe.” Suzuno looks at Tachimukai like he’s grown three heads. “Are you an idiot? Do you know how expensive this was?"
Tachimukai visibly shrinks.
Midorikawa laughs, “I promise that I’ll make sure all of you enjoy your bachelor parties and weddings as much as I did.”
“Right now it’s about you,” Suzuno reminds him, scrolling through what must be an itinerary on his phone. “Who cares if I’m going to be broke for the next two years. After breakfast, let’s go get our nails done. And then we can get the others and go get ready.”
Midorikawa grins again. Perhaps the cherry on top in all this is Suzuno’s extravagantly and unintentionally hilarious attempts at being nice to Midorikawa’s other friends.
“I think I’ll go see if Kabeyama or Miura are awake,” Tachimukai tries to excuse himself, red in the face with embarrassment.
“Don’t you want to get your nails done with us?” Kazemaru asks before Tachimukai can make a move to leave.
“I’ve never gotten my nails done,” Tachimukai tries again, his eyes flicker to Suzuno and there is genuine fear in his expression. “I don’t think I’d like it.”
“It can’t hurt to try,” Kazemaru presses.
“Come with us?” Midorikawa asks, “Please?”
Tachimukai looks uncomfortable. He fidgets with his hands.
“It’s just that-” he explains himself rather poorly, “It wouldn’t work for me. I play goalkeeper, so-”
“Just come with us,” Suzuno says impatiently. “Getting it done once won’t kill you.”
“Okay,” Tachimukai gives in, but he’s clearly still reluctant.
Midorikawa’s breakfast arrives, putting an end to the conversation. He digs into the fluffy belgian waffle with delight. It’s the best thing he’s ever eaten.
“How long have you been planning this for?” Kazemaru asks, sipping his drink - which is clearly alcoholic despite it being only 9 AM - as he watches Midorikawa savor the fresh strawberries that came on the side.
“Um,” Midorikawa needs to think. “Probably around two years.”
“You’ve been engaged for two years?” Kazemaru frowns in confusion. “It feels so much shorter than that. Time flies, huh?”
“It has been shorter,” Suzuno snorts. “You know he was planning this before Hiroto even proposed.”
Midorikawa blushed, but he couldn’t deny that. It wasn’t like everyone didn’t know he’d been head over heels for Hiroto for years anyway.
“So, since junior high?” Kazemaru jokes. "Were you writing 'Kiyama Ryuuji' in all your notebooks?"
Midorikawa buries his face in his hands.
“Stop talking,” he commands, and they all laugh at him.
They finish up breakfast and head to the nail salon together. Midorikawa is getting a mani-pedi. Yes, his shoes will be closed-toe. But that’s not important. He loves to be pampered.
Kazemaru is getting a simple manicure, and he helps Tachimukai order one for himself too. Suzuno, on the other hand, is getting acrylics. Midorikawa can’t help but think that decision is somewhat risky.
“Can you file the point?” He asks the technician. “Make it as sharp as possible.”
The technician looks around nervously.
Little did she know that the problem customer would actually be Tachimukai, who has no idea what is going on and keeps apologizing to her. His nails are disgusting. She spends a minute just holding his calloused fingers, gazing at the uneven, cracked nails. As she starts to slave away, Midorikawa resumes the conversation.
“I didn’t even know they had wine-tasting on cruises like this,” Midorikawa says, “That was incredible.”
“Yeah, the view from the roof was great,” Kazemaru agrees, “I got some nice pictures if you want me to send them to you.”
“Yes, please,” Midorikawa says eagerly. “I really want to remember all of this. It’s so romantic, you know?” He sighs. “I wish Hiroto could be here with me…”
“That's gross,” Suzuno says, pauses, and adds: "You’ll see him soon anyway.”
“Shut up!” Midorikawa pouts. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Don’t pretend you don’t get it, Suzuno. Don’t you do romantic things like this with Nagumo?”
“What?” Suzuno turns to look at him, his expression a mixture of perplexity and disgust. “Why the fuck would I do that?”
“I thought you were dating,” Midorikawa replies, disconcerted.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
In the background, they hear a yelp, and everyone’s heads swivel around just in time to see Tachimukai accidentally Mugen-the-Hand the nail technician.
The lights in the bathroom feel like they’re burning his eyes right through his eyelids, so Hiroto opts to brush his teeth in the dark. It’s only sheer luck that they’d miraculously booked a hotel that provided disposable toothbrushes and complimentary toothpaste. He uses a plastic cup to rinse his mouth and down three full cups of water.
Hiroto decides a shower is in order but his soul momentarily leaves his body when he opens the shower curtain to find Someoka curled up in the bathtub. He looks wet, like he’d accidentally turned on the shower when he got in. On his head is yet another orange headband.
It’s only a mystery that any of them had even survived the night. The blips in his memory are troublesome. Someoka ending up in the bathtub is troublesome. That headband is troublesome. Hiroto is trying to wrap his head around how he ever agreed to having Nagumo, the village lunatic, plan his bachelor party. The alcohol is still swimming in his brain.
Making his way back into the main room of the shittiest hotel room in existence, Hiroto takes in the scene he was too out of it to properly observe before. There are considerably more beer cans on the floor than Hiroto thinks five people can even consume in one night. There are clothes thrown about, but his pants are nowhere to be seen.
Kogure is on the other bed with a closed laptop in his hands. His expression is one Hiroto has seen many times on many people including himself: the expression that says he is purposefully avoiding checking his email.
On the floor out cold is none other than Fubuki Shirou. His pants look so familiar.
Nagumo is sitting up in the bed now, which looks like it’s been hit with a tornado. There are no pillows and no covers, only miscellaneous articles of clothing. Nagumo himself looks like he’s been hit with a tornado too. Where Hiroto is missing his pants, Nagumo is missing everything but a pair of bright red boxers.
“...I think Fubuki’s wearing my pants.” Hiroto says to him, gesturing over to the floor.
Nagumo cocks his head and follows Hiroto’s line of sight to where Fubuki is sprawled, face down, unconscious. “Yeah. He is.”
“They’re way too long for him.” Kogure comments conversationally.
“And what - what’s with the headbands?” Hiroto asks, suddenly distressed. He can’t place where they acquired them, but there are several orange headbands just like the one he woke up with thrown about the room.
“‘Cause of the dancers,” A voice says from the floor.
Hiroto, Nagumo, and Kogure watch as Fubuki peels himself from the disgusting hotel floor and sits up to look at all of them. His hair is flat on one side.
“Dancers?” Hiroto asks.
“The dancers. At the club Nagumo booked.” Fubuki drawls, nodding his head vaguely in Nagumo’s direction.
“Those words mean nothing to me.”
Nagumo sighs in exasperation from the bed, throwing his hands clumsily, “Listen. I paid extra for those dancers to dress up. You better be grateful.”
“You paid dancers to dress up?” Hiroto asks, distressed.
“They all looked like Endou.” Fubuki says from the floor, a faraway look in his eyes. “Orange headbands.”
“Why?”
“Well that’s the kind of thing you like, isn’t it?” Nagumo asks.
“You thought I would like dancers dressed like Endou.”
“Yes?”
“Hey guys,” Someoka’s voice sounds from behind them, and they all turn to see him stumble out of the bathroom.
“Someoka!” Fubuki says with delight.
They watch as Fubuki stands up from the ground and takes what he must have thought was going to be a running start towards Someoka before his feet immediately get caught in the extra length of the stolen pant legs. Hiroto, Nagumo, Kogure, and Someoka can do nothing but watch as Fubuki instantly goes crashing to the ground face-first and the pants are pulled well below his ass with the force of the fall.
Hiroto sighs.
Today is his wedding day.