Yana and Hajime both had to leave earlier than usual since it was their turn to unlock the gym. Thankfully, the coach had made it so that Yana and Hajime would open together so they both only needed to be extra early for one day.
After a little while of walking Yana spoke up. "I'm not sure if Oikawa told you already, but the two of us are dating. As of yesterday." Yana paused awkwardly. "I just figured you should be one of the first to know. You are his bestie and childhood friend after all."
Hajime nodded; He did worry what would happen to the team if the pair ever broke up but that was a problem for a different day. Oikawa and Yana had only just started dating so hopefully it'd be alright.
Much to his surprise and delight, that was the one and only time Yana brought up the topic of Oikawa on their walk to school. The rest of the chatter was filled with the usual mundane routine, it wasn't bad at all.
- ----AT MORNING PRACTICE-----
The rest of the club members started filing in the gym. "Yana-chan!"
Yana knew that voice anywhere. "Yeah?"
"Good morning."
"Morning" She smiled softly in response; Yana wasn't really sure what to do now that their relationship had changed. Though to be honest, she wondered if it would even change at all. They were already really close so Yana wouldn't be surprised if barely anything would be different.
"How are you doing?" Oikawa trotted over to her just as happy as she felt.
"I'm good, and you?"
"I'm great now that I've seen you this morning!" He chirped.
--------
The rest of the team watched the pair as they flirted openly, it usually wasn't that different of a sight, except this time Yana and Oikawa had this warm fluffy aura around them. They could practically see the flowers and hearts surrounding the two. If ever they could feel the color pink, then the scene before them was definitely pink.
"Do you think they are dating?" Hanamaki asked his teammates.
Matsukawa shrugged "A thousand yen says they are."
"Do you even have one thousand yen?"
"Nope." Matsukawa grinned. "But I will soon."
Hanamaki snickered at Matsukawa's confidence. He wasn't wrong though.
------
Kunimi and Kindaichi watched the four third-years flirt. "It's all flowers and hearts this early in the morning. How gross."
"I think it's quite nice" Kindaichi smiled. "It's nice and soft. Gives you a happy feeling."
"Agreed." Watari nodded in approval.
------
Upon noticing his team's whispers Oikawa turned to face them with both hands on his hips and his chest proudly puffed out. "I have an announcement to make!" Oikawa cleared his throat as the entirety of the team looked over. "Yana-chan and I are now dating!" He quickly made his way to Yana and gave her a hug then showed her off to the team as if they didn't already know her. "She finally fell for the great me!"
Yana managed to keep her cheeks from blushing, but the tips of her ears were most definitely red. "Y-yeah" She wasn't expecting Oikawa to just bluntly come out with the facts like that.
The rest of the team looked at each other unsurprised. "Finally." Yahaba groaned. He had enough of the mutual pining from the pair.
Matsukawa smirked "Now you can be an idiot couple, rather than a couple of idiots for not noticing sooner."
-----
The Coach entered and pulled everyone's attention. "Good morning everyone. As you all probably already know the next tournament will be the spring inter-high qualifier. It's still a couple months from now so everyone has time to improve. Hone your skills, not only your strengths but also your weaknesses." Coach Irihata gauged his team's reactions and he was pleasantly surprised to see a determined look on all of his student's faces. "Alright. Today's practice will be free drills."
"Yes Coach!"
The Coach passed Yana a clipboard with a small stack of unused paper on it. "For each player, make a training regimen that will help them improve. You don't have to make it overly detailed. Once you are done show them to me for feedback. If it works then we can give them out to everyone. They can choose if they want to use it or not."
Yana looked up at the coach surprised that he would leave such an important task to her.
"Do you think you can do it by the end of the week?"
Yana beamed; she was actually quite excited to be able to help the team in some way that wasn't just cheering, analyzing and making game plans. Of course, they were important jobs too, but it just wasn't the same. "Yes! I'll have it done within a week."
"Good. Oh, one more thing." The coach pointed at a name that she hadn't seen before. "You don't have to do this one. You haven't met him yet, but I have a feeling that he'll be coming back."
"Oh, um. Ok." Yana looked at the name once more time then crossed it out her notes.
- ----END OF LAST CLASS-----
"Yana! Aiko!" Rini bounded over and collided with Yana almost knocking them both off their feet. It was clear that the little blonde was elated. Yana had never seen her so happy. Yana was about to ask what had made her so excited till she remembered that Rini had a grocery 'date' with Aiko.
Yana quickly said her goodbyes, she didn't want to somehow be roped into the trip. She had her own things to work on. Good luck, Rini.
--------
Rini hummed happily as Aiko walked beside her. While it may just be a grocery trip, it was enough to make her day. No, her entire week. Rini had met Aiko during her second year of middle school. When she first saw him, it started as a little crush, he wasn't her type at all so she figured it would disappear in time. Rini never thought her feelings for him would last all the way to the third year of high school. She had spent all those years trying her best to flirt with Aiko. At one point she actually confessed but he didn't understand what she was asking.
"Thank you for coming with me" Aiko gave Rini a lopsided grin. He really appreciated her company and the offer to help him. Looking back on it now he realized that Rini was always with him, almost every memory he had of middle school and high school, without fail Rini would be involved. She always brightened his day. Before meeting Rini he kept more to his hobbies rather than bother with people, but it was Rini who brought him out of his shell. Rini showed him how fun the real world could be.
"It's my pleasure!" Rini chirped happily.
The pair entered the grocery store and Aiko picked up a basket for the items. He pulled out a list and handed it to Rini. "Could you read this all out for me please?"
The pair strolled through the aisles while Rini told Aiko which items to get, with each item they acquired they were both acutely aware that their time together was coming to a close. They laughed at their bad food puns and made small talk with how their day went. Despite it only being a grocery run, it was more enjoyable than the pair had initially predicted.
Aiko and Rini paused in the dairy aisle. "The last things on the list are milk and eggs." Aiko went to grab the milk then tried to look for the eggs. It wasn't long before he spotted them on the top shelf behind Rini.
Rini stiffened a little as Aiko walked closer. He was barely even a forearms length away, but he didn't stop. "A-Aiko? What are you doing?
Aiko leaned closer. Rini's body was between Aiko and the coolers. "I finally found the last thing I needed." His voice was soft as he stretched over her.
Rini was certain her face was as red as the tomato in Aiko's basket. "W-what?" Rini was swooning. Is it finally happening? In a grocery store of all places? Aiko's face came closer to hers and she closed her eyes. A few seconds passed but nothing happened.
Aiko stood straight once more. "The eggs were the last thing I needed." He gave her a proud smile not knowing that his actions had sent Rini into overdrive.
"A-Ah, Of course." Rini barely managed to force her words out as she fanned herself. She felt silly thinking it was anything other than him reaching for the eggs. This was Aiko she was thinking of. Aiko was the densest person she had ever met.
Once they had both double checked the items, they went to the check out. The line was practically empty, and they managed to pay and go fairly quickly. Their purchases could fit easily in two shopping bags.
Rini and Aiko walked out of the store together, it had only taken maybe forty-five minutes. For a small grocery run that was a long time, but for Rini and surprisingly Aiko it felt far too short. They said their goodbyes, goodnights and see you tomorrows before they parted ways. Unknown to each other they both thought the same thing.
'I'd like to do this with you again.'