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“We are gathered here today,” Yuu begins dramatically, “to help me not fuck up this proposal.”
It’s just barely afternoon in Italy, but it’s late enough in Japan for all of his friends to be off work, and therefore Yuu has dragged them all onto a laggy Zoom call to work out some very important logistics. Specifically, the logistics of how to set up the best damn proposal in the world, because he absolutely refuses to do anything less than Asahi deserves.
“Here are the facts,” he continues, counting on his fingers as he goes. “One: I fly back to Japan in a week. Two: Our anniversary is in a week and two days, and I want to do it then. Three: I cannot for the life of me figure out what I’m going to do.”
“Just propose to him at home,” Suga mumbles through a mouthful of food. “Worked out fine for us! I trust you to make it romantic.” After a brief pause to consider, he says, “Actually, maybe I don’t.”
“First of all, I resent that. Second, you guys are, like, the perfect couple.”
“That’s true.”
Ryuu snorts. “C’mon, like you two aren’t perfect too? Not many people can make long distance work like that. Also, don’t ask me for proposal advice, I’m the one that got proposed to. Kiyoko is the proposal mastermind on this call.” Kiyoko acknowledges this fact with a silent nod beside him.
“What is it you’re looking to do?” Daichi asks. “I mean, besides ‘not fucking it up’, which isn’t really a concrete goal in and of itself anyway.”
Yuu hums thoughtfully. “I guess I kind of want to evoke the day we confessed to each other? Since that’s our anniversary and all.”
“And is there anything particular that would entail?”
“Hmm… oh!” Yuu snaps his fingers as an idea comes to him. “Cherry blossoms!” Suga, always the resident romantic, nods in approval at this.
“What about the Meguro River promenade?” Kiyoko suggests in her usual quiet, steady tone. “It should be beautiful this time of year, especially at night.”
“Kiyoko,” Yuu says reverently, “have I ever told you that you are the smartest person alive?”
“Yes. Many times.”
As soon as the suggestion is made, Yuu knows it’s exactly what he wants. He holds a hand up to prevent any further discussion on the topic while he writes it down before he risks forgetting. “That’s perfect. Now we just need to actually work out the details.”
“Okay, most importantly, do you even have a ring?” Suga asks.
“Of course I have a ring. How stupid do you think I am? Don’t answer that.”
They proceed to spend the better part of an hour tossing out ideas while Yuu scribbles things in his notebook, and by the time they’re finished and the plan is made, Yuu is practically glowing with excitement. For all his permanent exuberance, the rest of them have never seen him more incandescent than right now.
“I owe you all big time,” he says as they wrap up. “Seriously, I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“Buy us a round of drinks when you get home and we’ll call it even,” Ryuu responds with a grin.
“Not if it’s at that fancy-ass bar you’re always dragging me out to. You know I can’t afford that.”
“Hey, whatever happened to being grateful for your best friends doing you a massive favor?!”
“My best friends and you,” Yuu retorts lightheartedly, making a mental note to get them all drinks there anyway. “I’ll see you guys when I get back, yeah?”
They all give him varying affirmations and sign off the call, leaving Yuu alone with his still-racing thoughts about the proposal. Refusing to obsess over them for too long, he stands up from his computer and stretches, electing to go for a run to clear his head and work out his pent-up, restless energy. As he’s slipping on his shoes by the door, he can’t help but think, This is going to be the greatest decision of my entire life, before heading out into the afternoon light.
The flight back to Japan is an exercise in patience.
Yuu isn’t usually one to be afraid, but right now, he’s never been more riddled with nerves, despite knowing everything should be foolproof. Unfortunately, a thirteen-hour flight is plenty of time to overthink things, frustrating virtually all of his attempts to sleep. He reviews the plan five, ten, twenty times in his head, even taking several minutes to retrieve a notebook from his backpack and write it all down to ensure he won’t forget anything. Man, if only I’d prepared this much for exams, he thinks, laughing to himself at the transformation in his mental state.
By the time he lands, he’s managed to wrestle away his anxiety and resolve it into a calm determination, certain that he’s going to do this right. He’s impatient to get off the plane and get out of the terminal as quickly as possible, bouncing on his feet in the aisle while the line to deboard moves at a snail’s pace.
Once he’s off, he can’t make his way through baggage claim fast enough, hoping that if he concentrates hard enough he can manifest psychic powers and will his luggage to his side. Unfortunately, his efforts prove fruitless, and he’s forced to wait a solid fifteen minutes before his bags arrive on the carousel. Once he has them in hand, he makes his way into the crowded arrivals lobby, by which time his eagerness has reached a boiling point.
The moment Yuu spots Asahi, it’s all he can do not to leave his luggage behind as he practically sprints into his waiting arms.
“I missed you so much,” he murmurs into Asahi’s shoulder, holding him like he’s going to lose him forever if he lets go.
“Me too,” Asahi replies, quietly but forcefully, “God, me too.”
Yuu pulls back from the embrace to ask how he’s been, but stops short when he notices Ryuu, Kiyoko, Suga, and Daichi standing a little ways behind Asahi— what are they doing here? —and before he can speak, Asahi takes both of his hands and says, “Yuu. You make me the happiest person in the world, you know that?”
“Patently untrue, because that’s my line, but okay. Why—”
He’s cut off by the sight of Asahi sinking down onto one knee, and out of the corner of his eye, he sees Suga give him a mischievous wink.
“Nishinoya Yuu, will you marry me?”
There’s a split second of blankness while Yuu struggles to process what exactly is happening, and then the awareness slams into him all at once with the force of a train. “I— you— did they all know about this?” he asks, feeling his jaw drop in astonishment.
“Yes,” Asahi says with a small laugh, “yes, they’ve known for weeks now.”
“You traitors,” Yuu hisses at them over Asahi’s head, earning a cackle from Suga and sheepish looks from Ryuu and Daichi. “They let me— helped me!—plan this whole elaborate proposal and they knew this whole time. Absolutely unbelievable. I’m going to kill them, I swear. God, I can’t believe you beat me to it,” and now he has to remove one of his hands from Asahi’s grasp to wipe away the tears that are starting to roll down his face. “Yes, you insufferable man, yes, yes, of course I’ll marry you, just— come here,” he says, and pulls Asahi up into a laughing, crying kiss, letting everything else fade into the background as if they were the only two people in the world.
Yuu barely hears the whistles and cheers coming from their friends, completely engulfed in the tidal wave of emotions sweeping over him as he pulls away to rest his forehead against Asahi’s. “I love you. So much,” he chokes out, the words having to fight their way through tears.
“I love you too,” Asahi whispers, and as he pulls Yuu back in for another kiss, Yuu knows that his life is, as of this moment, perfectly and utterly complete.