an; double upload🧓🏻
make sure to read chap 23 first
"s-sorry guys- i think i'm a little late..."
speak of the devil, or in this case, an angel- y/n suddenly traipses through the glass doors, a wobbly smile on her face as she looks anywhere but the boys. one of her s/c hands flit up to adjust the pink hairclip that was weaved within her h/c tresses, the same hairclip that sakusa 'returned' to her that one day on the bus. everyone looks at her. and once they do, their countenances light up. bokuto's eyes sparkle with the purest of joy and then there's no time to think or process any more words- he's rushing over to the doorway and enveloping the stiff girl into a warm hug. she's surprised at first, but rather quickly untenses in his secure embrace. she was fond of kou.
"h-hi, koutarou! how are you do-"
"-y/nnn!! what took you so long!!" he grins widely, giggling into the warmth of the girl in his gentle grip.
"hey, y/n- don't worry bout it, you're not that late." kuroo smirks before akaashi speaks, his delicately beautiful features gleaming with charm even under the cheap fluorescent lighting of the convenience store.
"no, you're hardly late at all. we were just early."
ah...! y/n chan's here...! crap... maybe i could hide again before she sees me? hmm. but this time i have to hide with my plushy- oikawa's blooming plans are diminished the very moment he turns to grab his toy and is met with a glaring iwaizumi. 'you better behave, shittykawa.'
"greetings, y/n, it is good to see you again." ushijima comments, inching a bit closer to her after akaashi prompts his friend to release her. y/n smiles up at him, urging the green-haired male's eyes to widen slightly as he stares down at her. he doesn't really know what to do. but he knows he wants to do something. so he just extends his hand, in which y/n curiously takes, and then he gives her a very formal handshake. he was fond of y/n.
"welcome to walgreens." he says. she giggles softly, a sound that everyone's ears perked up at. "haha, thank you, ushi! and it's good to see you again, too."
kuroo slings an arm around her shoulder, lazily grinning as he opens his mouth to speak, looking over at oikawa.
"well, oikawa, what're you gonna do now after realizing she was innocent all along; despite you humiliating yourself and calling her a lying fangirl?"
"..." oikawa thickly swallows, but his visage remains the exact same; a carefree smirk on his closed-eye face. then he simply grabs his... peculiar clone of a plushy, sauntering over to the wide-eyed girl before holding the stuffy out to her. the quiet sound of sliding doors opening is barely even registered due to the chaos unfolding in the store, but perhaps a few of the boys picked up on the faint noise of the miya twins entering.
"i'm gonna give this to her as an apology, which she'll accept~ because y/n chan... y/n chan is nice like that." he finishes with a sincere, contrite smile, his cheeks tinting a rosy shade for a few moments as his brown eyes remained close. oh, please take it y/n, don't humiliate me anymore! i'm sorry for being a prick to you! you're a nice girl! not just a fangirl to me!!
"haha! aint nobody want yer ugly-ass toy!" an unfamiliar voice quietly chimes in from somewhere behind the girl.
"right?!" kuroo agrees, peering over his shoulder. y/n, reluctantly and with evident confusion, accepts the plushie with a thankful yet curious smile on her face.
"t-thank you, tooru! but there's nothing to really be sorry about... if anything, i'm the one who should be apologizing... i was being a bit insensitive during our previous encoun-"
"-y/n chan, it's okay," his brown eyes flutter open and he smiles sweetly at her. "you've done nothing wrong, seriously. i was being... well, you know~!"
"a bitch?" iwa, kuroo and another unfamiliar voice say in sync. oikawa just purses his lips and does that one gangster sniffle thing.
y/n beams at him, "ah, well it's all good now! i like you alot," she nods with closed eyes, "and i know your name is tooru oikawa and you're the team captain of seijoh. i know that you're a really good setter who cares for his teammates... and i know you're someone who definitely has what it takes to go to nationals...!" she compliments him with nothing but genuine words of resolution. and finally, finally, the lingering tension in the air dissipates, mocha eyes completely softening as oikawa's heart begins to beat back to its original speed. (though perhaps it did skip a beat.) everyone watches on with mixed emotions: envy, endearment, fascination- but share the same feeling of shock.
oikawa doesn't even get a chance to reply though. doesn't get a chance to earnestly thank her or tell her just how much her gentle words affected him; and maybe he never would have been able to to begin with, due to his quivering bottom lip and the incessant tugging sensation of his heartstrings. but anyways, he couldn't because...
lev practically pries open the sliding doors. "everybody wanna steal my girl, everybody wanna take her heart away..." he hums to himself. everyone in the store is stonefaced for a few moments but eventually loosens up; greeting their tall friend who instantly begins waltzing around the store, browsing for something to buy. after oikawa and y/n soon are pulled away to different conversations, atsumu somehow wedges himself in between the group, tryna warm up with y/n by making light conversation and jokes- to which she beams at, while his twin crouches down to look at the snack shelves. at some point, even sakusa inched a bit closer to the bunch, albeit with a deadly scowl.
"guys, i have an idea!! let's go to the park again!! there's one a few minutes from here!!!" bokuto jumps with joy, garnering exchanged looks of contemplation before a few people nod.
"sounds fun to me."
"but... what about my job? aha~" oikawa asks.
kuroo says, "just ditch it. there's better places to work."
tooru isn't even resistant or opposed to the idea, he actually just nods, deciding he'll do just that.
"YESSSS!! y/n!! you're coming, right?" bokuto asks the girl, leaning into her strawberry essence with pure excitement. she ponders for a few moments. hmm... mom's probably dealing with ed right now... they don't even know i'm gone... but i could probably stay out for a little more. she nods.
"sure, thanks for letting me tag along, kou!"
"YASSSS!!" he fist pumps the air, but iwaizumi catches his fist, the usual deadpan on his face.
"wait, bokuto, you have to let y/n
choose which car she'll go in."
and then, everyone's looking at y/n, eagerness and a hope that she'll choose them is swirling inside their twinkling eyes. some of them begin to argue, bickering and bantering about which car has enough seats and who'll be going with who- and who'll be riding along with y/n-chan. she purses her lips, holding back a surprised squeak; beginning to feel slightly worried again.
even oikawa was now wishing for the girl to come with him in his car, sit in the passenger seat as he subtly swung an arm around the headrest, backing up in the parking lot as he pretended to not know just how hot he looked... his horrendous plush that he gifted y/n would be buckled up in the back seat, forced to witness oikawa's pathetic attempts to impress her...
oh no, and now oikawa was imagining a little more than just admiring her in the seat beside him. it would just be the two of them and the plush- maybe he could kiss her? or maybe... oikawa feels his cheeks heat up as he gazes at the timid girl under the bright light; maybe he could do even a little more than just kiss h-
"everyone, please quiet down. i wish to say something."
ushijima's sonorous voice rings out, and all heads slowly turn his way. oikawa snaps out of his daze, feeling embarrassed and quite frankly, ashamed of his unbidden thoughts towards her.
"what's the matter, ushiwaka?" tendou asks, and ushi answers. "i believe that y/n should ride in my car with tendou, semi, and i. i'm sure she's feeling overwhelmed with all this noise; my car will be quiet and calm."
"..." everyone is strangely, for the first time ever, skeptic of the green-haired man. "is... that the actual reason?" kuroo asks, quirking a brow. semi and tendou stand quietly, hoping things will run smoothly.
"yes. now what do you say, y/n?" he turns over to the girl, who looks up to him with pursed lips and wide, nervous eyes. and... she...
"o-okay, that sounds good! thank you, ushi!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
even as the large group exits the convenience store and enters the chilly atmosphere, stepping foot into the different cars- bokuto's whiny shouts, the miya twins' bickering, and tendou and semi's victorious hums can be heard echoing throughout the now-barren parking lot of walgreens.
and so, just like that, the playground arc begins.
an; THE PLAYGROUND
ARC LETS GOOOOOO