Haikyuu!! AUs (x Reader) Pt 2

Miya Osamu - tick. thump. pt 1

Osamu blinked and turned his head from you. His hand casually slipped out of the girl's hand and went to his wallet. "One umeboshi, please." His voice was low and dulled. His eyes were wide and didn't look at anything, even you. The girl furrowed her eyebrows in concern.

Please let this be over quickly. You nodded and went to gather their onigiri. Your back was turned but you could hear their conversation clearly. It made your skin crawl like you were taking something that wasn't yours.

"Are you okay?" the girl asked.

Osamu hummed. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You were so excited about coming here. You just seem off."

"I'm okay, Airi. Really."

You packed the last onigiri. You didn't know what Osamu's face looked like when he said those words, but his voice carried soothing tones that made you want to cry.

"Okay." Airi sounded relieved. The weight of guilt rested on your shoulders because if Osamu felt a fraction of what was running through your mind and heart, you knew that he just lied to her and she believed it.

You placed the smile on your face once again and handed them the bag. "I hope you enjoy it."

"Thank you!" Airi took the bag from you and headed for the door as Osamu handed you a bill and a couple of coins.

"Keep the change," he said. He stood there for another moment, letting his eyes linger on you. His lips parted, but before he could say anything, Airi called him from the door.

"Have a great day," you said, your voice cracking.

Osamu hesitated, almost waiting for you to say something else, but nodded and followed Airi out of the store. You waited until they disappeared from the window of the store front and waited a bit more. You walked up to the door and flipped the sign to 'closed'. You sank down to the floor and hugged your knees like a life vest.

The regular ticking sound was gone. Every other day you wished for it to be, but you wanted it back now. You wanted the familiarity, the consistency; you wanted the annoyance and bitterness that came with it. It was a friend you didn't know you had and the first note in your favourite song.

Come back to me, you pleaded.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

•──────⋅☾ ☽⋅──────•

You skipped dinner in favour of lying down on the floor of your room and staring at the ceiling. It was one of your more favourite past times, but today was different; your mind raced and your heartbeat stuttered.

Your soulmate had a partner, someone who they loved or liked enough to stick around. They saw something in each other that was a secret language. You felt like a third wheel, trailing behind their relationship trying to pick up small pieces that they dropped that weren't yours to keep. You wanted to know more, you needed to.

Without the sound of the ticking, you felt violently alone. So, you took your clock from the nightstand and placed it beside your ear. It was a temporary fix, but it helped.

There was a quiet knock on your door and your dad stepped in with a plate of food in his hand, closing the door behind him. Your eyes followed as he set it down on your table and stood by your feet. He nudged you with his foot. "Can I join you?"

"It's your house. Couldn't stop you if I wanted to."

He paused. "I'll take that as a 'yes, my loving, dearest, dad. Please join me in my lonely state'. Yes, child. I will. Thank you so much for the invitation."