Updating because it's my birthday and I miss writing AHAHAHAHAH
—
The athlete looks at you as the both of you entered the stall territory. You stopped short as the smell of oil, soy sauce and fried oil wafted in the air. It was the smell of freshly cooked festival food and you had to relish the moment.
Ushijima Wakatoshi didn't seemed affected, nor interested even. His gaze lingered on you, like he was asking a silent question. And of course, you knew what he was asking with that look.
He was asking where the two of you were headed first.
You feel your stomach grumble, having to endure long hours of not eating and you could finally eat at long last. You were already grinning from ear to ear and you immediately looked up at him.
"It's your treat, right?" You asked again to confirm. Your eyes grew in anticipation as you looked at him with a smile and he pauses for a while before nodding a little too eager than usual. You nod in satisfaction and exhaled before eagerly dragging him to the stall you wanted to go to first.
"Yakisoba!" You exclaimed.
True to his words, he really did bought one and handed it to you. Though you had one problem.
You stared at the yakisoba on your left hand then to that iron grip on your other hand. The sensation as well as his intention was crystal clear.
He... isn't budging. Ushijima Wakatoshi isn't budging.
He isn't letting go of your hand.
The sharp look he had in his face only confirmed his unbending will. And you wanted to smack him for looking like that at the moment. It looked as if he was some pet attached to a leash. But it was a good thing you knew how to deal with this perfectly.
You motioned him to lean down so he could hear you and the large man only blinked before doing so. You exhaled slightly as you whispered.
"...we can still hold hands later." You say.
He looks a little stunned, like he took a while to process that. But when he finished, he immediately nods.
"Did you not eat?" Ushijima Wakatoshi asked as he looks at you wolf down that meal. You chewed while shaking your head.
"I usually skip my meals when I have photoshoots since I don't want to feel bloated and they usually end fast so I get to eat immediately afterwards. But yeah, that didn't turned out great." You explained. Your brows furrow at the unpleasant memory. It was nice that the shoot was cancelled but still.
You didn't deserve to wait that long. Though you do wonder what Norrie did when you left or what was left of that shoot for that matter.
But there's no point in knowing without any form of communication, is there?
You pout as you kept on chewing. You really should have brought your phone, or shouldn't have forgotten to bring it in the first place. Though you can't help it though. You rarely use your phone and you rarely even talk to people using it. The last person you've texted was even beside you to boot.
And suddenly, you can't help but pause momentarily at the thought.
Oh right, Goliath really was the last person you texted.
But, now that it's on your mind... didn't he say that he was busy?
"Ohhh. Is this where you were going when you texted that you were busy?" You asked and the athlete nods. You stared at him for a few seconds. He was in his casual wear, wearing a long-sleeve shirt whose sleeves were rolled back up to his elbow and a pair of jeans.
As usual. You couldn't help but thought as you look at him. Of course you know Ushijima's taste in clothes. His fashion style is kind of similar to most of your relatives after all. So it's pretty easy to find gifts for him if ever you need to. Although you bet he'll probably be happy even if you just gift him a volleyball.
But casual wear, huh? So he must have been here for a meet-up then since he says he was with someone and he just left them. Though what he did wasn't really surprising in itself for some reason. But now that you've thought about the whole thing, then you have to ask.
"Was it fun?" You asked, out of the blue.
"The festival?" You clarified with a curious smile and he only stared back and stayed quiet as usual.
"...it was okay." He replied dryly and you know what that meant.
Ah. "So it wasn't?" You blinked innocently and grinned while tilting your head in question.
"Mmmh." He hums vaguely, as a confirmation.
"But there are a lot of things to do here though!" You convinced him and he looks around. An uninterested look settles in his face and you pout. You were so excited to be here and then there's this dude who looks as if his mom forced him to go here.
You can't have that!
"Look at all those games!" You say brightly and he feels something ominous looming with that bright smile on your face. But that unconvinced look still didn't leave that stoic face.
"Then what do you do when you're here then?" You ask and he only blinks, like he didn't want to answer that.
What does he usually do? The athlete tries to recall.
He's often dragged here by his teammates in the past and he usually ends up just staring at whatever they were doing. He hasn't even tried playing the games here.
Oh wait, he actually did once. Correction, he tried to play once.
Then the kids who were playing started crying when they saw him.
The athlete nods silently at the memory. Tendo had to tell him to be out of the children's sight and to this day, he still couldn't understand why that was his fault, or why the red haired had been suppressing his laughter back then.
"Isn't that because you have a scary face?" You say casually after you listened to his story.
The athlete blinks before turning to look at you in confusion... as if no one in his entire lifetime had ever told him this.
"Yes, Goliath... you have a scary face." You say and he just blinks, like he was still processing the info.
It makes perfect sense then. You realize. This poor thing! He couldn't enjoy himself because his opportunities of having fun were so limited!
"Then it must be up to me then!" You suddenly declared.
"What is?"
"To show you how fun it is to be in a festival!" You puff out your chest before turning back to the food in your hand."-After I finish eating!"
—
Ushijima Wakatoshi sweats profusely at the view. You had just finished stuffing yourself with all the food you wanted to try. So you were very, very energetic at the moment.
But the athlete could only shake his head lightly at the view— of you, a former professional athlete and how you were in front of the festival games.
You looked like a child who has been brought to the festival for the first time. And you were, actually, as a matter of fact. This was your first time encountering festival games. The fact was written all over that bright look in your face anyway.
But who was he to judge? The athlete could only look at your exciting figure with a small smile on his face as he didn't need to worry nor think of the outcome.
"Are they scooping... goldfish???" Your eyes watched excitedly. He nods and watches as you take a closer look.
There was a large tub with a lot of goldfish in it, and a number of kids were trying it out. You noticed how they instantly stopped short, looking at your direction. It took you a while to realize... that they were fixated on your direction and that there was a large man behind you.
OH NO. What if they cry when they see Goliath's face???
You immediately looked at the man behind you who just stood there like a pole. And thankfully, there wasn't any negative reaction from the kids. You have out a sigh of relief.
Boy, would it be embarrassing if the same thing happened again and you couldn't even show to Goliath that festivals are fun.
Ushijima Wakatoshi looks as you focused all your attention to the new game before you. He only stood there as he watched you closely. He closes his eyes for a while as he could hear the children talking among themselves. And contrary to your earlier worries, of course, the children here wouldn't cry.
Your otherworldly appearance alone was enough to gather what little attention span they have.
"Here you go." The shop vendor gave you the same round thing they used to catch the fish with. You examined the small net up close, noticing how easily it broke. You were ecstatic. So you do need to have some sort of skills to excel at this game.
"The pretty fairy gets a free first try." The owner says and you blinked
"Who?" You asked Ushijima, who only blinks. "Ms. fairy, it's you." A kid whispers as he tugs at your kimono and you only looked at the child, a little dumbfounded.
The kid takes the initiative and teaches you how to play for a bit, showing how you had to anticipate how the goldfish would move or change direction.
Your first try was a fluke and a crowd naturally gathered around the stall to look at you. A random stranger even showed up and thought it was a good idea to show off to a foreigner how to be a 'pro' at this game. And you mentally had to thank him for that as your eyes were fixated on the way he used his hands to play.
You only stared afterwards.
You stared at the giant tub where all the goldfish were scattered, intently looking for a few minutes, and silently observing.
Then your hands moved, in a motion possibly too fast for even the fish to react to.
When Ushijima Wakatoshi looked at the bowl on your hand, the goldfish just kept coming at a tremendous pace. Until the fragile net finally broke.
"YOU'RE AMAZING ONEECHAN!" The kids who were looking the entire time suddenly cheered and you only grinned.
—
"You're giving it to them?" The professional athlete asks you as he sees you gave away the goldfishes you've won.
"Mmmh! It'll be hard for me to bring those over to a different country you know." You reasoned out.
That is true. Ushijima couldn't help but nod in agreement though he seemed like he was thinking of other things. You look at that contemplating look in his face and you knew perfectly what he was thinking of.
Ahh. This dude must be using what he has seen you do in that game earlier, and trying to incorporate it in his training. Look at him being that deep in thought.
You squint your eyes as you try to look for more interesting games to show him. But that plan all went away when you saw it.
"WAAAWWW!" You beamed at the shooting range, particularly excited over one of the prizes.
Ushijima Wakatoshi followed after you. He stood there, waiting for when it's your turn. He knew he didn't misheard that archery was one of your fortes when the girl manager from Karasuno once enumerated your repertoires in sports back at the training camp. The athlete knows you'll be fine.
"Oh? Your boyfriend's not the one getting it for you?" A girl from one of the couples who were in line asked you a question.
You blinked at the question. Boyfriend??? You immediately looked at Goliath for answers though more importantly. "What?" You raised an eyebrow. "You can't get things without your boyfriend?"
Ushijima Wakatoshi couldn't help but blink and shake his head slightly at your guts. But he enjoyed watching as you practically shoot everything at the shooting range with such ease, and how the worried stall owner was relieved when you said you just wanted one price when you could've taken everything.
And now, he gets to see which price you were very eager to get.
He only blinks as he watches the shop owner hand it to you.
"A gorilla?" The professional athlete asks you.
"Hm." You nod as you looked at it with a fond smile, like it reminded you of something.
And it did, as a matter of fact.
"It kind of looks like you." you say your thoughts aloud.
Ahh.
You stop on your tracks. You didn't mean to say it out loud. You immediately looked his way, panicking.
He suddenly holds your face with his two hands like he was squeezing a sandwich.
UWAAAAA. IS HE MAD??? "I'm sorry i was just teasing." You say but he only stares.
OH NO IS HE MAD.
YOU WERE JUST JOKING.
"GOLIATH. I'M SORRY. DON'T IGNORE ME. I DON'T KNOW ANYONE HERE AHUHU." You try to appease him.
"Goliaaaath." You say, jumping up and down to catch his attention.
But he wasn't budging. He wasn't even looking at you.
"Goliath???" No reaction.
"Goliath!" Nothing.
"Goliath?" Still nothing.
You stare at him for a good few minutes before you finally thought of something.
"...Wakatoshi?"
"Hm." he hums in a low voice. "What?"
"It really does look like you though."