lend me your ears | bokuto kotaro

21 ' a better Nanao

"What is it, Nanao?" he asked, looking at the girl fidgeting her hands. They almost reached the gym but she suddenly paused, making him stop walking as well.

"Kotaro-san, I just want to get this off my chest, okay? And, and, you don't have to say anything else, okay?" she gave him a few notes.

"Uhuh, sure." He nodded and raised a brow, curious.

"Lend me your ears, even just for a minute or two, okay?" she mumbled then gulped, preparing herself. She couldn't bear to look at him in the eye and she kept looking at the side, avoiding his sweet gaze.

"My whole life, I've been shutting myself away from people. And sometimes, I don't think I'm a shy person, I just think I distrust people," she began, still not looking at him.

"But when we first talked, I think you sparked a new side of me. A better Nanao. A Nanao that trusts. A Nanao that listens." Her tone grew more confident and the words came out naturally without fail. That is, until she needed to say the words that mattered the most.

She took a deep breath and then looked up at him with sincerity. "I'm in love with you, Kotaro. I love you."

Bokuto's round eyes grew bigger and he looked at her in the eye, not believing what he just heard.

"And, it's, it's okay that we remain friends. That's more than enough for me, I'll sta-"

"I love you too, Nanao!" he exclaimed as he tackled her for an embrace. With such a big height difference, he had to crouch so low to let her chin rest comfortably on his shoulder.

He quickly swept her off her feet, literally and figuratively, and stood straight, lifting her from the ground.

"I love you, Nanao!" he repeated, snuggling his head on her small shoulder.

It was all happening too quickly at the same time--- Bokuto accepting her confession, Bokuto embracing her, Bokuto exclaiming to the whole school how much he loves her.

Her mind quickly goes blank and as they say, hoshino.exe has stopped working. All she could do now was to hug him back and so she did. She placed her arms around his back, feeling a sense of comfort.

"Kotaro, are you really okay with me?" she whispered on his ear and then leaned her head back to see him, just making sure.

"So close," she thought to herself.

"Why would I not be sure of you?" he returned the question, "I've never been so sure my entire life!" he said, smiling.

"No, really, you're okay with someone like me?" she asked as he finally put her down, but his hands trailed their way to hers.

"Nanao, you doubt yourself too much," he sighed with a pained smile.

"Really?" she muttered inaudibly.

"Loving you is easy because, well, you're you."

"What did I do in my past life to deserve you?" she chuckled, smiling at last.

"Suprising, I could say the same thing!" he laughed. He was pure rainbows and sunshines.

"So, we're together now, right? Like, boyfriend girlfriend? Right? Right?" he confirmed.

"D-Do you, do you want to?" she asked shyly and avoided his gaze again.

"Yeah! Of course!"

"Then," she spoke and lifted her head, nodding subtly.

"I love you!" he repeated and have her another embrace.

"I l-love you too," she said it back, much to his delight.

"Wait, this is okay, right?" he asked, still not letting go of her.

"If it's Kotaro-san, it's okay. It's always okay."

"I can tell my friends, right? Right? That's okay too?" he asked.

"Yes."

And the very next minute, everyone in the volleyball team was about to know. By friends, he was referring to literally everyone in the team.

"Everyone! Meet Hoshino Nanao!" he exclaimed an introduction for her.

"Yes, we all know her," Akaashi spoke, about to ask him to get changed like everyone else.

"She's my girlfriend!" Bokuto announced and placed an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him.

"I knew it, you owe me a 3 meat buns, Washio," Konoha said to his team mate, nudging him as well.

"Hey, I thought we were joking."

"You owe me a meat bun too," Shirofuku added.

"Nice to meet you, um, again," Hoshino greeted and bowed.