𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 - 𝘣𝘰𝘬𝘶𝘵𝘰 𝘬.

three

          "why are you so adamant about this?" you asked. he just shrugged. "exactly."

          you gave him a petty grin and a wave before walking off. he called over to you, "oh, c'mon. you're seriously passing up free food?"

          you froze before walking back to him. you leaned down in his face. he backed up a bit as you spoke in a hushed voice. "in case you forgot, we're in a library."

          his eyes darted to the librarian, giving them a sorry smile. he whispered, "please? you can get literally whatever you want."

          you crossed your arms and glared at him. he continued to mouth the word "please" as you watched. the longer you looked at him the more embarrassing it got. "god, stop that."

          "can we go?" he immediately asked.

          "fine."

—✧—

          the two of you walked together, the first minute passed by silently until bokuto decided to break it.

          "so?" he said, inching closer to you. "tell me about yourself." you sighed and looked back down at your feet.

          "there's nothing interesting to tell." he groaned at the sound of that. your life clearly wasn't eventful enough for his liking.

          "i knew you'd say something like that. i bet you're lying too," he laughed a bit. you looked up at him with a confused look.

          "i'm not a liar."

          "i never said you were," he said, poking at your shoulder. you were extremely wary of him. he was loud, nosy, antsy, and the like; all in all, the two of you were like night and day. the effort he was making was ... impressive ... to say the most, but you weren't charmed. this was your third time even speaking to each other. there was little to nothing for you to share with him.

          "well, there's gotta be something you'd be comfortable sharing with me. like...what's your favorite song?" you took a moment, looking off before you responded.

          "i have like three," you said quietly. his eyes widened in a rather endearing way; he looked like a surprised puppy dog. did he think you flat-out ignore the question?

          "well then, why don't we listen to them while we eat?" he was way too happy about even mentioning something you liked. you shrugged him off.

           "we can listen to them now if you want," you said, handing him one of your earbuds as you plugged them into your phone. you pressed play and walked close to him, trying your best not to pull out the earbud you gave him.

          you felt bokuto's eyes on you as you mouthed the words of the song. heat rose to your cheeks, the attention catching you a bit off guard. you averted your eyes to the ground, biting down on your tongue the rest of the way there.

          you made it to the cafe and ordered. bokuto paid, even though you tried your best to sneak some money to the cashier. you took your seats across from each other in a warm corner of the cafe. you admired the aesthetic of the place; the rustic, worn-down wood floors complimenting the stark white tables. you rested your head on your hand and stared off at the wall of paintings behind bokuto's seat.

          "what sport do you play?" you asked distractedly.

          "how'd you know i played a sport?"

          look at your body.

          "you were out of uniform on friday," you immediately lied.

          "oh right. well, i'm the captain of the volleyball team," he said proudly.

          "are you any good?" you asked, running fingers through your hair.

          "i'm one of the top 5 aces in the country! pretty good if you ask me." talk of volleyball made him ecstatic. you watched silently as he rambled about how important being an ace was. he went quiet for a moment, noticing your wandering gaze.

          "what?" you asked, your eyes focusing on his again. you'd been zoned out for a bit, admiring his features. "keep talking."

          the boy turned his head and looked out the window, a light blush covering his face.

          a lady came around to your table with two mugs, a chocolate muffin, a croissant, and a slice of pie. you took your pie and your coffee as the boy slid his cup and the rest of the food to him.

          "do you come here a lot?" he asked after taking a sip of his coffee. you nodded. he watched as you cut your pie. when you paused to look at him, he went straight for his coffee, annoyingly slurping it as if you hadn't seen a thing. you sighed and cut another piece into your pie. you reached across the table for his fork. you held a deliciously looking piece in front of him, easily catching his attention.

          "try it. it's good," you said. after some reluctance, he took the bite. he was silent before his eyes began to sparkle.

          "wow. that's amazing," he said through a mouth full of pie. you split the rest in half.

          "i'll trade you," you said, pointing your fork at his untouched muffin. his acceptance was immediate you dropped the pie onto his plate and snatched the muffin away. neither of you wasted any time with the rest of your food. eventually, both of your plates were empty.

          you left the cafe, ready to get home and get some rest.

          "let me walk you home." you turned to look at bokuto. he had his usual sweet smile on his face. your walk home was meant to be a peaceful, quiet time for you and you alone. though he was well-meaning, you weren't interested.

          "i can get home by myself," you told him before walking away. his footsteps immediately chased after.

          "it's getting dark though! i just wanna make sure you get home safe," he said, catching up to you. he stuffed his hands in his pockets and gives you another one of his radiant smiles. you huffed, unable to find the energy to ward him off.

          "just ... don't be so loud," you muttered, pulling your phone out of your pocket and putting in one of your earbuds. you played another song you loved and, after some consideration, handed bokuto the other earbud. you desperately tried to ignore the glowing look on his face.

          he took it and you listened to the music until you reached your house. every once in a while your shoulders would brush or something. it didn't mean much, but being so close was unfamiliar.

          once you reached your door, he handed back your earbuds. he didn't follow you up the steps to your door.

          "i'll talk to you tomorrow, (L/n)!" he waved before turning and walking away. you froze with your key in the door, grumbling to yourself as he left.

"bye."