epilogue: home is wherever i'm with you

2 Years Later

Looking out from our bedroom window, I watched Oikawa as he took a deep breath and welcomed his first group of students. They swarmed onto the backyard volleyball courts—the ones we set up together after moving out of Tokyo—and jumped right into their warm-up. This morning, Oikawa paced around the living room, nervous that his students wouldn't like him. That fear vanished the moment he greeted the high-energy children. If anything, they might've loved him a bit too much. The youngest boys latched themselves around his leg while others attempted to climb onto his shoulders during water breaks. The ironic part is that, in this small town, Oikawa Tōru was never known as a famous athlete. In the village of Ine, volleyball matches only existed in the tiny TV screens of dingy poker rooms. Only a few people were fans of the sport, and never would anyone imagine anything more of it in their seaport town.

When we first moved to Ine, Oikawa would show the local kids how to play simple ball tricks. Then, it became: how to do a serve over the fence. Soon: how to block, how to do an overhead pass, how to jump spike. The children's faces, their amazed oohs and ahhs, made me fall in love with the man a bit more than what was already possible. He was a natural teacher, and we realized that it would be ridiculous for him to not pursue volleyball. This time, not as a player, but as a coach.

As he pulled up the nets, Oikawa caught me staring at him. My heart clenched up, but somewhere between us, there was also a sweet relief. We both sighed a breath of accomplishment. We finally made it, and we were so proud of one another. I gave a quick wink before closing the curtain. I rubbed Eevee's belly, gave her extra treats, and headed off to Ushida's kitchen.

After weeks of convincing him to reopen his restaurant, Ushida took me under his wing. We bought new tables from the local woodworker and renovated the entire kitchen. People and tourists returned, and his operation was back in business. The old man I met on that unforgettable July day became my mentor and friend. As I got to know him, he also became my grandfather. In fact, he was not too dissimilar from my own Ojiisan. They were both romantics with endless stories to share. He needed a son. I needed a grandfather. We both needed each other.

Ushida and I went straight to cooking. We knew our routine. Calling out to the fishermen. Slicing fresh fish. Brewing ancient sake. Letting the other taste test to make sure everything was perfect and ready-to-serve. I learned how to cook from Ushida, and I taught Ushida how to make the best drinks in town. It was a win-win situation.

Oikawa's idea of moving to this quiet town fulfilled a peculiar longing within me. Perhaps, we'd been chasing a certain quietness. It was as if he'd known all along where we were meant to be, and two summers later, he was still right (annoyingly right).

Tokyo. Shibuya. The loud noises of the city... existed so far away from us.

"Here's some dinner for you and the loverboy," Ushida chuckled. He handed me a warm box of Donburi. "This is what I would prepare for my son when he was a little boy... Oh, which reminds me... This is from Oikawa. He came by while you were in the kitchen." He handed me an envelope. Inside, there was a brief note.

The weather's been nice and warm. Meet me on the dock at sunset?

~

I found him gazing out into the horizon and dangling his legs into the water, pants rolled up to his knees. Golden hour and summer air, it was truly the perfect evening.

"Greetings, Coach. How does it feel to be back in the world of volleyball?" I took a seat next to him and unwrapped the box Ushida had prepared of us.

"Great, but I'm still waiting for Coach Iwaizumi to co-teach. I know you don't want to, but I can't stop thinking about us on the Aoba Johsai team. You were a natural on the court." He took a bite of rice. "Bless your soul. This is exactly what I need right now. Kids are exhausting... and yet, I want to adopt every single one of them."

"Those kids were something else, alright," I remarked. "Cute and ferocious."

"Just like you."

"Shut up," I chuckled.

Oikawa stretched out his arms and cracked his back. "Phew, my body is getting rusty. I don't know how my leg survived the day. That boy just wouldn't let go. Talk about grip strength."

"Here."

I leaned over and lifted his leg over mine. I massaged it until I felt all of the knots disappear. It was what I learned from years of observing Oikawa's physical therapy. This was the technique I copied from his doctors and nurses. I could feel his muscles relax.

Then, Oikawa took my hands and gently kneaded my palms.

"Ah-What are you doing?"

"You spent years taking care of my leg. Now, it's my turn to take care of your hands. They're strained after being in the kitchen for so long."

"It's fine. You don't need to do this."

"Well, I like taking care of your hands. These hands feed our town. Cook the best dinners at night. Breakfast in the morning too. I want to love the hands that love me."

"In that case, let me tell you about my lower back... and thighs... and chest... and—"

He squeezed my hands and laughed. "Okay, okay. God. Save that shit for when we get home, Hajime."

"I'm just playin'."

"Now that I've mentioned it, cuddling at home would be nice."

I lifted an eyebrow and shot him a suspicious look. "Race ya?"

"You're gonna fucking lose!" he yelled back. Oikawa leaped off the dock, and we were running, barefoot and howling until our stomachs hurt.

I caught up to him. "See you at home, slow poke!"

We played a game of chasing one another, back and forth, like a pacing melody. The summer hours lasted for what felt like hours. We could run forever if we wanted to, right into the sun, into the clouds, into the stars that would soon fill the night sky. The wind combed through Oikawa's soft hair. Sweat dripped down my skin, and it tasted like the ocean. Our laughter rumbled through the orchestra of a weekend market.

I could see Oikawa's big smile from the corner of my eye. We were side-by-side. In this very moment, I wish we could fly.

Then, I looked up ahead, and there was our home in the distance. Sunlight beamed through the windows. It was real. It was beautiful. We built it together. It was ours. Ours. I was finally running towards something that made me so inexplicably alive.

~

The End.