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after college maki was lost. he graduated, got a degree in pre law and had a job at some law firm that payed him to read legal papers and make sure they were ok or wtv. it paid ok, his apartment was ok, his life was ok. except the fact that he hated it.
his job, the people he worked with, his neighbors, he hated it all. makki is NOT a boring person by far yet his life was so… boring.
his saving grace was saturday nights where him, matsukawa and either matsu’s new gf of the week or iwa/oikawa (depending on if either were in town) would join them at a bar for drinks. maki loved it. the owner was this guy who had been here since the dawn of time, there was usually either stand up, karaoke or some band playing at the stage. it was an environment he felt he belonged in. despite every surface being a little sticky and the overall stench of the place consisting of beer and cheap perfume.
however, one saturday maki was alone. matsun was out of town and neither oikawa nor iwazumi were in japan at the time but he still went to the bar that night. a little drunk and a little pissed off at his co-workers, makki wrote his name on a price of paper and dropping it in the hat to be picked out of. tonight was stand up and if he was being honest, maki knew he was naturally a funny guy. he could make any situation hilarious, just the way he told stories and roasted ppl made them funny as hell.
“NEXT UP ISSsss- hanamaki!”
oh shit, now i actually have to go up there. he thought. he wasn’t nervous though, more just annoyed even though he volunteered for this. the crowd was already a bit dead and he was too mad at his life and drunk to care if he bombed or not. he started going on about his boss, stuff like how could a man in such a high position be so stupid. he went on about his co workers and his neighbors and his childhood. how growing up in single mother household with two older sisters was the definition of heaven and hell. (mostly hell) he glanced at the timer by his feet. 10 seconds. “wow only 10 seconds left? well thank you guys for laughing with me about my life. i’m Maki. y’all have a great night.” he closed off with a small roar of applause and stepped down ready to head out.
as he was collecting his things from his place at the bar, a man comes up to him slugging his arm around Maki suddenly. “you were pretty good up there y’know. you do stand up anywhere eles ‘round town?” he asked with an itialinan or brooklyn accent which makki found particularly unusual as they were in japan. “oh. nah man. that was my first time.” he replied casually whilst brushing the man’s arm off him to pull on his coat. “mm well i thought you were definitely something up there.” the man reaches into his front pocket of his trousers to pull out a card with matalic writting SI Alley on it. “i run a comedy club a little ways down, you shoukd really come by.” and the man slipped away.
little did he know that that one interaction changed Maki’s poor boring life into something much more exciting.
( a/n: uh basically he never showed up for his office job ever again. didn’t formally quit. no email. just didn’t show up monday. and now makes his living off doing stand up gigs and bartends at the SI Alley. BUTTT he becomes famous in tiktok and gets to become the host of a comedy show (Haikyuu ver of SNL but funnier) )
Thinking about Hanamaki Takahiro who met the love of his life in high school.
First year, you two were just friends. It started with small jokes and laughing about the teacher and the uptight teachers pet in your shared classes. Then he was getting his homework answers from you. You two began partnering up for every group project, he’d come up with a creative presentation and you’d do the informational part.
Summer between first and second year he gradually spent more time with you. It was you and him, then you, him and mattsukawa, then iwa and oikawa joined in some times. It was great that you fit in so well into his friend group but, Hanamaki couldn’t help but cringe at the way his friends or random guys would blatantly flirt with you. No matter how uninterested you showed you were. It was the weekend before their second year started and that’s when Hanamaki realizes how he feels towards you. It’s under the stars in his beat up 2002 light blue Honda Accord where he comes to terms with the fact that he likes you. A lot.
First half of Second year was spent fighting and growing apart. Hanamaki couldn’t deal with these emotions he felt and still hang around you. It hurt too much, it was too complicated. He started canceling plans, then making up excuses not to go, then ignoring you outright. Mattsukawa knew. He sorta figured it out and yelled at him every day for ignoring you. “You’re pushing her away!” Good. Maybe if you’re far enough he can live his life never having to face your rejection. But instead, no matter how far he pushed you away, you comeback with a greater force. Sometimes it’s not even you specifically pushing back, but the universe sending signs. When he’s not with you everything Hanamaki sees reminds him of you: he orders your coffee order when he’s alone so feels closer to you, on cooler or rainy weather he day dreams about the Saturday afternoons you guys spent dancing in the rain with his sisters.
It’s day 17 without having taked to you in person. He messages you all the time with memes and/or regular conversations but it isn’t the same as hearing your sweet voice. 9:22pm and it’s raining outside. He can’t help but wonder if you’re watching the water drip down as it hits your window right now. It’s 9:27pm when he gets an overwhelming urge to go to you. It’s late, his parents are on their anniversary trip so they won’t know if he goes out this late. And he does. He gets in his car and tells his oldest sister he’s getting sweets from the store but really, he’s driving to you. Hoping he hasn’t pushed you too far. His mind goes into autopilot as he parks, rushes up the pavement stairs, and knocks on your door. He hears you look through the peep hole before unlocking the door to question why he’s here at 9:36 at night. He doesn’t say a thing, he doesn’t hear a thing. His ears go deaf momentarily while you’re probably spewing out questions at him but he shuts you up with a kiss. His hands gently holding your cheeks as they burn red in his callused hands. The two of you break apart for air after what feels like an eternity, his forehead is resting against yours as he inhales deeply before saying, “I’m so sorry, gorgeous. I know I’ve been a dick friend to you. I just,” he pauses, “I-I-uh didn’t really k-know how to go about this. But uh, is this ok? Am I doing this right?” He asks pleading for you to say yes. “This is about the only thing you’ve done right all month” you reply smiling before going in to kiss him in return.