Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei (Haikyuu!!) G, soulmate AU
The first time Issei dreams about volleyball, the dream isn't his own.
He's there, but he's also not, watching the dream like he's a spectator and that's the first thing that gives it away. Issei is a lucid dreamer, so he generally knows when he's having a dream, and can exercise some sort of control over it. This is someone else's dream and he tries to pay attention to the people in it, tries to figure out whose dream it might be.
It's no use. He wakes up with the lingering feeling of adrenaline pumping through his system, the bright overhead lights of the volleyball court, the sound of the ball, of the audience.
He turns eleven in less than a month. He has the dream, or something similar to it, a few more times, and when his parents ask him what he wants for his birthday, he asks for a volleyball of his own.
He doesn't really get to play with other people until he starts attending middle school, but he dreams about it so often that he feels like he's learning just from watching. It's someone else's hands that are receiving the ball, serving it, spiking it, it's someone else's sense of satisfaction. Issei doesn't know who, and he never gets to see their face, but he looks forward to the dreams anyway, enjoys being pulled along into someone else's subconscious. He gets the feeling that whoever they are, they know he's there. It's an odd feeling of companionship, between two people who don't know each other, who have never even seen each other, but it's nice all the same.
Issei doesn't really care much for the whole soulmate thing. He knows about it, because everyone does, about how sharing dreams with someone means that they're your soulmate. The concept of finding someone he's meant to spend his entire life with just seems so abstract to Issei that he doesn't really see the point in dwelling on it. He doesn't even have a name, or anything to go off beyond the fact that whoever he's sharing dreams with, they clearly like volleyball and thanks to them, so does he.
Sometimes, they're there in his dreams too. Sometimes, those dreams are memories and it makes Issei wonder if he's seeing his soulmate's memories through their dreams too. He dreams about going to restaurants with his family, dreams about all the food he likes to eat. He doesn't know if it really gets through to whoever he's sharing his dreams with, doesn't know if they're experiencing everything the same way he experiences their dreams, but he tries anyway.
He spends his three years of middle school growing fonder of volleyball after joining the volleyball club and actually being taught how to play. More often than not, he goes to sleep at night to share dreams with his soulmate, feeling like they're slowly getting to know each other through these brief glimpses into each other's lives. They develop their own inside-jokes, in the form of recurring motifs in their dreams. The dog that chased Issei down the street on his way home from school shows up in one of his soulmate's dreams later and he wakes up grinning to himself because of it. They have recurring background characters in their dreams, not based on anyone that Issei actually knows, but a man with a particular haircut, a girl with red glasses, and so on until it feels like they're sharing much more than just a dream.
It isn't until his final year of middle school that it really occurs to him that his soulmate is a guy. He wakes up one morning with the realisation sitting in his chest, not a sudden burst of clarity but something slower and quieter, like he's known all along but it's only now that he's willing to admit it.
He sits up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and considers that it's not such a big deal. Perhaps it's not as common, but no one really judges people for who their soulmate is, especially not when they're meant to be the absolute perfect match. It's not a big deal. It doesn't bother Issei at all.
He applies to Aoba Jousai for high school because it's a good school and has a strong volleyball team. He's heading to his first ever practice when he literally bumps into someone, sending them both stumbling until they regain their footing.
"Ah, sorry," the guy says, and Issei freezes up because he knows that voice. He doesn't know how, and he can't really explain it because he knows he's never actually heard it before in his life. There's something about it, though, the tone, the way each syllable is formed, and it resonates with him. He stands there and stare, taking in the guy in front of him. He's a little shorter than Issei, and frowning with confusion. "Uh… are you okay?"
"Yeah," Issei replies, glad when he sees the same sudden realisation in the other guy's face too. He grins, suddenly nervous. "Hi."
"Holy shit," the guy breathes, blinking at him. "You're him, aren't you? The poor loser who got chased down a street by a dog that didn't even come up to your knees."
Issei laughs loudly. "And you're the guy who forgot about the banana in your sports bag for two weeks. It really is you, huh? I'm Matsukawa Issei. It's nice to finally meet you."
"Hanamaki Takahiro," comes the reply, and they shake hands firmly. "It's nice to meet you too, Issei."
"You got me into volleyball, you know," Issei tells him, and they fall in step with each other as if they've known each other for years. Maybe, in a way, they have. "I never would have started, if not for your dreams."
Takahiro snorts quietly. "You know what you got me into? Cream puffs. You had a dream about going to a bakery once, and I've been hooked on them ever since."
"My favourite food ever," Takahiro says seriously. "This is going to be fun, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Issei smiles, and he's certain of it. Takahiro's good-looking and Issei already feels comfortable around him. They're going to fall in love with each other and Issei already knows it, so he's in no hurry. Right now, he can tell that they're going to be good friends. That's all that matters.
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Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei (Haikyuu!!) G, soulmate AU
The first time Issei dreams about volleyball, the dream isn't his own.
He's there, but he's also not, watching the dream like he's a spectator and that's the first thing that gives it away. Issei is a lucid dreamer, so he generally knows when he's having a dream, and can exercise some sort of control over it. This is someone else's dream and he tries to pay attention to the people in it, tries to figure out whose dream it might be.
It's no use. He wakes up with the lingering feeling of adrenaline pumping through his system, the bright overhead lights of the volleyball court, the sound of the ball, of the audience.
He turns eleven in less than a month. He has the dream, or something similar to it, a few more times, and when his parents ask him what he wants for his birthday, he asks for a volleyball of his own.
He doesn't really get to play with other people until he starts attending middle school, but he dreams about it so often that he feels like he's learning just from watching. It's someone else's hands that are receiving the ball, serving it, spiking it, it's someone else's sense of satisfaction. Issei doesn't know who, and he never gets to see their face, but he looks forward to the dreams anyway, enjoys being pulled along into someone else's subconscious. He gets the feeling that whoever they are, they know he's there. It's an odd feeling of companionship, between two people who don't know each other, who have never even seen each other, but it's nice all the same.
Issei doesn't really care much for the whole soulmate thing. He knows about it, because everyone does, about how sharing dreams with someone means that they're your soulmate. The concept of finding someone he's meant to spend his entire life with just seems so abstract to Issei that he doesn't really see the point in dwelling on it. He doesn't even have a name, or anything to go off beyond the fact that whoever he's sharing dreams with, they clearly like volleyball and thanks to them, so does he.
Sometimes, they're there in his dreams too. Sometimes, those dreams are memories and it makes Issei wonder if he's seeing his soulmate's memories through their dreams too. He dreams about going to restaurants with his family, dreams about all the food he likes to eat. He doesn't know if it really gets through to whoever he's sharing his dreams with, doesn't know if they're experiencing everything the same way he experiences their dreams, but he tries anyway.
He spends his three years of middle school growing fonder of volleyball after joining the volleyball club and actually being taught how to play. More often than not, he goes to sleep at night to share dreams with his soulmate, feeling like they're slowly getting to know each other through these brief glimpses into each other's lives. They develop their own inside-jokes, in the form of recurring motifs in their dreams. The dog that chased Issei down the street on his way home from school shows up in one of his soulmate's dreams later and he wakes up grinning to himself because of it. They have recurring background characters in their dreams, not based on anyone that Issei actually knows, but a man with a particular haircut, a girl with red glasses, and so on until it feels like they're sharing much more than just a dream.
It isn't until his final year of middle school that it really occurs to him that his soulmate is a guy. He wakes up one morning with the realisation sitting in his chest, not a sudden burst of clarity but something slower and quieter, like he's known all along but it's only now that he's willing to admit it.
He sits up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and considers that it's not such a big deal. Perhaps it's not as common, but no one really judges people for who their soulmate is, especially not when they're meant to be the absolute perfect match. It's not a big deal. It doesn't bother Issei at all.
He applies to Aoba Jousai for high school because it's a good school and has a strong volleyball team. He's heading to his first ever practice when he literally bumps into someone, sending them both stumbling until they regain their footing.
"Ah, sorry," the guy says, and Issei freezes up because he knows that voice. He doesn't know how, and he can't really explain it because he knows he's never actually heard it before in his life. There's something about it, though, the tone, the way each syllable is formed, and it resonates with him. He stands there and stare, taking in the guy in front of him. He's a little shorter than Issei, and frowning with confusion. "Uh… are you okay?"
"Yeah," Issei replies, glad when he sees the same sudden realisation in the other guy's face too. He grins, suddenly nervous. "Hi."
"Holy shit," the guy breathes, blinking at him. "You're him, aren't you? The poor loser who got chased down a street by a dog that didn't even come up to your knees."
Issei laughs loudly. "And you're the guy who forgot about the banana in your sports bag for two weeks. It really is you, huh? I'm Matsukawa Issei. It's nice to finally meet you."
"Hanamaki Takahiro," comes the reply, and they shake hands firmly. "It's nice to meet you too, Issei."
"You got me into volleyball, you know," Issei tells him, and they fall in step with each other as if they've known each other for years. Maybe, in a way, they have. "I never would have started, if not for your dreams."
Takahiro snorts quietly. "You know what you got me into? Cream puffs. You had a dream about going to a bakery once, and I've been hooked on them ever since."
Issei bumps shoulders with Takahiro. "Well, hey. You're welcome. They're amazing, right?"
"My favourite food ever," Takahiro says seriously. "This is going to be fun, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Issei smiles, and he's certain of it. Takahiro's good-looking and Issei already feels comfortable around him. They're going to fall in love with each other and Issei already knows it, so he's in no hurry. Right now, he can tell that they're going to be good friends. That's all that matters.