The Cat and the Crow

Tetsuro kept his eyes on Kei, who was obviously trying to figure out what was going on, and looking adorable at it. His nerves had finally settled once he’d seen Kei’s beautiful smile. But, there was still a little left over. He wouldn’t be completely calm until this was over, and he had his answer.

Glancing to the side, he gave the signal to Akaashi, who nodded, grabbed his phone to start recording video. His friend then signaled Daichi. Karasuno’s captain nodded once, and held up a placard with two words written on it. He waited until Kei had rounded the curve, and then held it up.

“Do you”

Along the opposite side of the rink, Suga held up another placard, as did Tadashi beside him.

“Remember”
“the wish”

Further down, Chibi-chan and Kageyama held up the last one. For this round, anyway.

“you made?”

Tetsuro slowed down enough for Kei to catch up to him. Now, his love looked even more confused, and a little irritated, too.

“I thought you weren’t going to ask.”

“I’m not. Not really. But, I’m beginning to wonder if you made the same wish I did.”

Kei went into think mode again, and Tetsu smiled, reached down for his hands and tugged him closer. “Try not to think too hard, love. Keep your eyes open, okay?”

“Okay, but…”

“No buts. Keep ‘em open for me.” He leaned in and kissed Kei on the nose. “You’re adorable.”

“Shut up.”

Laughing, Testuro sped up again, giving another signal. This time, more people were involved, and they were all excited. As Kei rounded the curve, another set of placards started going up, one at a time, and by someone else each time.

“I promise / to be your / biggest / supporter.”
“I promise / to be faithful / to you.”
“I promise / to never stop / loving you.”

By now, Kei’s hand had flown up to his mouth, his face was flushed, and he had tears in his eyes. Tetsuro’s own vision started blurring, but he managed to keep the tears at bay. Slowing down again, he caught Kei up in his arms, his hand cradling the back of Kei’s head.

“I meant to say those words to you before. The day after you gave me your ring. Obviously, I was too late, and then it just wasn’t the right time. I hope this makes up for it, at least a little.”

They’d slowed down to a stop in the middle of the rink. And now everyone was watching them avidly. He saw his teammates, Kei’s teammates, Kiyoko and Yachi, Coach Ukai, Coach Nekomata, and Takeda-sensei. Even old Coach Ukai was there. Beside him was Akiteru and Mom, with another face he didn’t recognize, but he seemed to have come with Kei’s brother.

No one moved a muscle. The music had stopped playing. Akaashi was standing on one side of the rink, behind Kei. Bokuto, who had an actual video camera, was recording from the other side of the rink, behind him. The sun had set, the lights around the rink twinkled along with the stars in the sky. The moon was bright and full. It was a perfect night. One that would be remembered forever.

He gently let go of Kei, long enough to put just a little space between them, and then took his hands in his, weaving their fingers together.

“It’s kinda strange, but earlier, I was a nervous wreck. But now, I’m almost calm. I’m so self-centered.”

“No, you’re not,” Kei said almost immediately.

“You’re defending me against myself. I love you so much! But please, let me be a babbling idiot, okay?”

“Again?”

It was his turn to look confused. “Again? What do you mean…?” And then, he remembered. He’d said the same thing the day he confessed his feelings to Kei at Shinzen. He bit his lip and nodded. “Yes, again.”

Kei smiled that beautiful smile, and Tetsuro’s heart sped up. He was going to make it through this, and his entire reason was standing right in front of him.

“Before I met you, I never knew what true love felt like. I never knew that it was possible to miss someone so badly. Each time we parted, it was like losing a piece of my heart, and I knew it was something I never wanted to feel again.

“No one else has ever stirred up so many feelings in me at once. It’s like, when I’m with you, I’m experiencing everything for the first time. You’ve raised the stakes. I’ve got so much more to lose without you by my side.”

He reached into his pocket and brought out the little red velvet pouch, tied with a red ribbon, that he’d carried with him the last several days. From within, a little clinking sound was heard, and Tetsuro smiled shyly. He felt the heat of the flush that spread across his face.

“Do you remember the wish you made, Kei?”

His love nodded. “Yeah.”

“I remember mine, too. Want to know what I wished for?”

“But didn’t you say that if we told our wishes, they wouldn’t come true?”

“I did, but I think in this case, our wishes coming true all depend on you.”

“On me? What do you mean, ‘on me’?”

“A few months ago, you gave me this ring,” he held up his left hand, his rose gold promise ring reflecting the twinkling lights around the rink, “as a physical reminder of our mutual devotion and fidelity.”

Tetsuro reached for, and gently took Kei’s hands in his. He carefully slipped the little band off the left ring finger, and slid it onto the right. Then, he offered his hands to Kei. “Your turn,” he whispered. When Kei was finished moving his ring, Tetsuro leaned in and said softly into Kei’s ear: “My wish was to spend forever with you.”

“Oh my god,” Kei looked absolutely stunned. “Really?”

“Yes, really.” He took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. “From the moment I first saw you, I loved you. Truly, Madly, Deeply. It made no sense, really. Until that moment, I didn’t believe in love at first sight, nor did I think I was the type to do so. I just knew that I never wanted to let you go. That my heart is, and always will be, yours.”

This is it. Now is the moment, Tetsu thought to himself as he sank to one knee. Everyone in the crowd made some sort of noise; there were sighs, gasps, a few random cheers, and even some clapping. He could swear he heard mom sobbing happy tears. But he was focused solely on Kei. He untied the ribbon on the bag, upended it, and two rings tumbled into his hand. They were black, with a rose gold celtic knotwork pattern inlaid around the middle. He took Kei’s left hand, and gently slid one of the rings on his ring finger.

“Marry me?” he asked, looking hopefully up into Kei’s gorgeous, golden brown eyes, which were now flooded with tears.

At first, Kei said nothing. No one said anything. It was completely silent around the rink. One could hear a pin drop, if one was so inclined to drop one. All he could hear was the sound of his heart, pounding wildly in his chest. But he waited. Waited for what felt like an eternity. To say he was scared was a massive understatement. But he kept his eyes locked on Kei.

Then, he saw it. A slight nod, that slowly turned into a more pronounced nod.

And then he heard the answer he was hoping for; “Yes.”

At that moment, Kei’s knees seemed to leave him, and Tetsuro caught him in his arms. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Tetsu.”

“Thank god!”

He held Kei close, and closed his eyes tight, but his own tears trailed down his face anyway. He heard everyone cheering loudly, with shouts of congratulations and even a few smartass remarks. Through it all, they stayed in the middle of the rink, unwilling to move even a little bit.

Eventually, Kei was the first one to pull away enough to look him in the eyes.

“Let me put on your ring,” he said, and Tetsu handed it over. As he slipped it into place, he said loud enough that only Tetsu heard him, “Do you remember asking me what part of my family you were to me?”

“I do.”

“You are my soulmate, my love, my peace, my life. You are my soft place to fall when I need it, my guiding light, my best friend. You are my person.” Kei reached up to cradle his face in his hands, and the bolt that had started their relationship was so intense he nearly fell over. But he didn’t. “I may not be your first date, first kiss, or first love. But I want to be your last.”

“Deal,” Tetsu whispered.

Kei’s expression was caught somewhere between trying not to laugh, and being very proud of himself.

“If you say I look bamboozled, I swear I’m gonna…”

“I would never!” Kei said, his voice laced with sarcasm. And then he smiled. “I didn’t have to.”

“You little…” Tetsu replied. He leaned in and caught Kei’s mouth in a deep kiss.

And, as sports announcers often say after a spectacular play, the crowd went wild. It even sounded like they were in a stadium, there was so much cheering. But he didn’t care.

“I love you more,” Kei said when they came up for air.

“I love you most.”