Chapter Text
The cherry blossoms were in full bloom. A bunch of them littered the floor, much like the day Atsumu confessed to Kita Shinsuke.
But this time the cherry blossoms have been scattered deliberately, artfully coating the aisle leading up to the altar.
Today was Kita Shinsuke and Miya Osamu’s wedding. And Atsumu stood beside his twin near the altar as his best man.
As they waited for the music to start and Kita to appear, Atsumu bore the heavy stares of the crowd as stoically as he could manage.
He understood their curiosity. He knew that while the people in Tokyo or the rest of Japan didn’t know what really went down, it was a different story here in their hometown. They were surrounded by the people closest to them, the people who knew them for most of their lives. The people who were well aware that Atsumu used to date the groom, and that they have not seen hair nor hide of him for years.
“I’m sorry,” Osamu muttered from beside him. “I didn’t think this through. I just wanted you here.”
Atsumu took a deep breath then let it out. “It’s fine, Samu. I want to be here.”
Osamu suddenly looked at him urgently. “Do you? Are you really okay with this, Tsumu?” There was wild panic in his eyes, as if everything was just crashing down on him.
Atsumu reached out and gripped his brother’s bicep, hard. In a low voice he said, “Now is not the time to start second guessing, you stupid idiot.” Then he softened. “Osamu. I told you that one day I’d be able to accept this with a smile. Today is that day.” To prove it, he smiled at his twin.
Slowly, Osamu relaxed. He placed a hand over Atsumu’s on his arm, gave it a squeeze.
“Guess cold feet is a real thing,” Atsumu remarked.
“Shut up,” Osamu muttered. Then, “Thanks, Tsumu.”
Then the music started and Kita was there and he was walking down the aisle... not towards Atsumu, no.
And he was fine with that.
His eyes flickered to Kiyoomi, who was looking at him. He smiled, and Kiyoomi smiled back, just for him.
Yes, he was definitely fine with that.
The ceremony was beautiful. The vows were sweet and Atsumu had to swallow and look down when Osamu said, “I owe it to all the people I hurt to take care of you for as long as I live.”
He couldn’t help but smile when the two cemented their bond with a kiss, the guests erupting in cheers.
He had to pose for a lot of photos with Osamu and his family and Kita, so by the time they reached the reception, the party was well on its way.
Before he knew it, it was time for him to give the best man speech. He only had to tap a spoon on his wine glass a couple times, before everyone was quieting and looking expectantly at him.
Gossip-mongers. He took the microphone and greeted everyone. Then he glanced down at the speech he wrote down on his phone, and paused. He typed it out a few weeks ago when he realized he was going to have to give a speech — it was funny, and congratulatory, but now that he was here, he thought it sounded impersonal. He thought he owed Osamu better than that.
After an embarrassingly long pause, he locked his phone and pocketed it.
“Last year, Hinata — or Ninja Shouyou as you might know him best — asked me, Atsumu-san, is your twin bond with Osamu psychic?” Hinata beamed at him. “At the time of course, Samu and I weren’t speaking, because we were having the most dramatic fight of the ages.” Nervous laughter.
“So I said, nah. We don’t get along. Osamu is horrible.” More genuine laughter, including Osamu’s.
“But later, I couldn’t help but remember an old memory that hadn’t resurfaced in like, a decade. Just a totally random memory. Samu and I were maybe 7, and our parents went out on a date and said, behave. Stick together, don’t make a mess, we’ll be back in no time. Yikes.” He could hear his parents laughing this time, his father calling out, “It was a mistake.”
Atsumu agreed, “It was a mistake, because they were gone for like 5 minutes and suddenly we had a fight and we were not speaking. We decided we couldn’t stand each other and neither of us were going to sleep in our room, and we went stomping off into separate areas of the house. I had no idea where he went to sulk.
“But then there was suddenly this huge storm. And the thunder was loud and windows were rattling and the electricity honest-to-god went out. We couldn’t see anything, it was just pitch black. But my body seemed to know where to go because before I knew it I was reunited with Samu and we were hugging and crying and he was saying stuff like, ‘I couldn’t find you.’ Which was stupid because it was easy for me to find him.” There was a sniffle.
He took a deep breath and continued, “So about eight months ago, when I woke up at 3:30 in the morning for seemingly no reason — I just had a feeling that something was about to change. I honestly did not know what woke me. And I just picked up the phone and dialed Osamu’s number for the first time in four years. I said, ‘I just woke up for no reason.’ And he said, ‘I just woke up a few minutes ago because of a nightmare.’ And it was like my body knew once again that my twin needed me.”
He could hear Osamu sobbing quietly now. Atsumu glanced at him and saw him dabbing at his eyes with a tissue.
Voice wavering, Atsumu said, “What Osamu and I learned the hard way is that unfortunately we can’t choose our family, but we love them just the same. We fight, we make up, we break each other’s hearts, and we build each other back up, and it’s just going to be like that for the rest of our lives. And my ‘twin bond’ with Samu might be a fluke, but even if it was, I know that he has always been on my side, even the times when I was wrong, even in the years we weren’t speaking.” He blinked his eyes hard and cleared his throat.
Then he looked at his brother and his husband. “Samu, Kita, you’re each other’s family now, and this is of your own choosing. And as we stand here in the starting line of the rest of your lives, I can’t follow you anymore. I won’t always be there to find Samu in a storm, or call him early in morning when he has a nightmare. But I know the both of you really well, and I know that you two will be just fine. And you don’t have to worry about me anymore either, because I’ll be just fine, too.
“I know it took me a while, but I’m here, after over four years, to tell you that I wish you well. Make each other happy. Be there for each other. And Kita, please... stop him from waking me at 3 in the damn morning.”
Laughter and cheers erupted as Atsumu ended his speech. Osamu went over to him and grabbed him in a hug, sobbing against his shoulder.
“God, you’re gross,” Atsumu blustered but he ended up hugging his brother back. Tears slipped from his eyes and he pressed his face against Osamu’s hair. “You’re ruining my suit, stupid Samu.”
And then their parents were there joining the hug and crying. He spotted Kita at the corner of his eye, and he grabbed him and pulled him into the group hug too. Atsumu basked in the feeling of being at ease with his family again.
Forgiveness is warm. Nell was right all along.
Then he thumped them in the back and stepped back, straightening his suit. “Dammit, I was doing a good job of not crying, ya just had to ruin it.”
His mother laughed and smacked him in the head. “You’ve always been an overly emotional child, Tsumu, don’t deny it.”
Pouting, he sat back down beside Kiyoomi and the rest of the Black Jackals, while Osamu and his parents returned to their seats.
Familiar fingers touched his cheek. He turned his face to Kiyoomi, who started wiping off his tears. “You are overly emotional.”
He pouted harder but leaned into Kiyoomi.
Kiyoomi indulged his silent request and pressed a kiss on his forehead. “That was a nice speech.”
“Yeah, you made Hinata cry!” Bokuto said, jerking a thumb at the baby of the team. “Again!”
Hinata was dabbing a tissue on his cheeks. “I knew your twin bond was real.”
Inunaki was just staring at Atsumu and Kiyoomi. “This is still too weird, ‘s too weird. That’s not Sakusa babying Atsumu, that’s a pod person.”
Kiyoomi sighed, aggrieved.
Later, when all the speeches were done and they were all watching the happy couple dance together slowly, Atsumu thought about how beautiful things can still grow from the dirt.
For four years this relationship was tainted, but now that this moment was upon them, it was more beautiful than ever. It was worth the wait.
Four years of strife. Four years of tears. But now they were all here together: his families, new and old. And Kiyoomi was beside him, and he always will be.
For the first time in over four years, he couldn’t wait to see what comes next.
He followed Kiyoomi into the crowd, wrapped his arms around him, and danced.