Heartstrings (Ushijima x Reader)

Chapter twelve

After being forced by her mother, who was heavily influenced by Toruu; she was in the supermarket buying some groceries. Even when it was his brother's turn.

As she walked through the aisles, she couldn't help but feel a sense of dread in the pit of her stomach. She had been avoiding everyone hiding for a while, not only was it weird wearing clothes other than her pajamas but also going out other than school. She knew she couldn't hide forever.

She groaned when she saw her mother's favorite can of soup on the top shelf. She stood on her tiptoes as she tried to reach it, but she felt herself losing her balance and stumbling forward.

And just as she was about to fall, a strong hand reached out and steadied her.

"Careful there, don't want you falling and breaking your mom's precious soup can. She guards those things like they're made of gold." He grins mischievously, trying to lighten the mood.

Startled, she looked up to see none other than Iwaizumi standing in front of her. For a second, they simply stood there in silence, staring at each other.

"Hajime" She replied with a weak smile.

"Hello emo." He said jokingly while turning back to the shelf, looking out for something. "Shittykawa told me you are kind of depressed?"

"Yeah, sort of," She softly giggled. "You should have let me fall so that I felt something."

"Noted for next time." He laughed. "And where is your bodyguard at?"

"That little snitch? He must be home doing nothing. It was his turn to go shopping." she said, narrowing her eyes bitterly. "By the way, I'm surprised he isn't here with you."

Iwaizumi stayed silent for a moment. "You didn't say anything?"

"About the shopping?" She furrowed her brows. "I don't know...I'm just not in the mood of fighting Nii-chan."

"But you hate shopping."

She swallowed; she knew what he was thinking. "I know."

"And you hate when he forces you to do things you dislike." He said, biting his lip as he thought. He stared at her uneasily as she looked at the floor with shyness.

After paying for their items, they walked out of the store and into the cold evening. The sun had already disappeared, and the light was barely visible.

As they stepped onto the sidewalk, Iwaizumi turned to her and said, "Let's talk."

She looked at him carrying both bags, his and hers. Somewhat forcing her to be unable to escape. She knew that if she was able to avoid her brother, it was inevitable to avoid Iwaizumi as well.

Iwaizumi stopped on a bench, sitting on it while leaving the bags on the floor. He took two cans of soda from his bag, her favorite soda to be exact.

"Here," he said offering one to her, who was still on her feet.

She pouted as she sat by his side "Thanks."

They stayed in silence for a while, letting themselves sink a little. They knew each other too much for it to be uncomfortable, but still, the craving to know what was in each other's mind was somewhat tedious.

"This park used to be ours, remember?" Iwaizumi said after taking a sip. "Ah, this place brings back memories. I'm pretty sure we were banned from this park at one point because we would never leave. But it was worth it, right?"

"Yeah, sure it was!" she laughed. "Remember when you and Tooru used to gang up on me during tag? You always had to play the hero and save me from getting caught by him."