Requested by @SophiaCaldarella
You glow different intensities depending on how near you are to your soulmate. When you touch your soulmate for the first time the glow disappears forever.
"I don't... want a soulmate, so could you let me go?"
"You don't... what?"
------
You stand in a short line of people waiting to use the vending machine, your face molded into a frown that seems to deepen by the second. The glowing aura around you is becoming more obvious the longer you wait for the people in front of you to get their drinks, and you can't help but groan as the two people at the front begin to have an animated conversation with one another. If this stretches on any longer you'll have to leave so you don't run into the person whose heart you're inevitably going to break one day.
"You're glowing again." A voice you're fairly used to by now whispers into your ear. You whip around and attempt to smack him over the head, which he (sadly) dodges.
"I realized that Makki." You growl. He shrugs with that stupid smile on his face before tapping the corner of his lips.
"Try smiling a little, auntie told me to make sure you don't walk around looking like that all the time." When you swing at him this time he catches your wrist and nods to the hallway that branches off from the one you're currently in. "Aren't you gonna run now? You're glowing like a bug lamp."
"Yes, I'm going. Do me a favor and buy me something before you go to practice." You pull your arm out of his grip before slipping into the other hallway right as a group of boys appear behind Hanamaki.
"Make him shut up or I'm punching him." Iwaizumi says to Hanamaki, which of course doesn't make Oikawa stop.
"Makki, I'm glowing! Glowinggg!" Oikawa practically swoons, his eyes surveying everyone in the room to see a matching glow. When he doesn't find one he practically deflates. "But no one else is glowing. Why does this always happen to me?"
"Maybe they don't want to meet you?" Matsukawa says with a small shrug. Oikawa gapes at him and Iwaizumi snickers, and with them all distracted no one notices when Hanamaki takes a quick glance down the hall to make sure you're gone.
"Not maybe, they don't." He murmurs.
------
"Why are you hiding?" Hanamaki asks from beside you. You flinch in surprise before leveling him with a heated glare.
"Why are you always appearing whenever I have a problem? Clearly I'm glowing." You sigh and Hanamaki gives you a look.
"If you would just let me tell you who your soulmate is you could dodge him a lot better."
"I don't want to know, so don't bring it up again." You frown at him and this time he's the one who sighs.
"You're starting to glow less so maybe he's gone." Hanamaki peeks out and after a few seconds he nods. "Clear."
"Then I'm gonna run since I still need to get my lunch. I'll see you later." You rush out of the tight space between two bookshelves and Hanamaki leaves right behind you, earning some odd looks from the students in the area. Sadly one of those students is Iwaizumi, who looks at him with an unreadable expression.
"My cousin." Hanamaki says before he can make any odd assumptions. While he's dealing with Iwaizumi you're busy slipping between bookshelves, dodging in and out depending on how intense your glow is. You finally reach the door and leave with a relieved sigh. The first thing you do is text Hanamaki a quick message saying you escaped before making your way back to your classroom, which you wish you hadn't left in the first place. After that the day passes by quickly, and before you know it you're back home in your bed. With the soft pillows surrounding you and the warmth of your blankets you find yourself drifting off into a nice nap, only to be interrupted by the lovely sound of your mother opening your bedroom door.
"Takahiro left his knee pads yesterday, take them to him so he doesn't get in trouble during practice." She throws said knee pads onto your bed and leaves the room before you can say anything back.
"He's so fricken lucky I don't live far from the school." You murmur. Before your mom gets the chance to come back around and start yelling you grab the knee pads and leave your room. When you get to the front door your mom is already standing there with a small bag in her hand.
"I also made him some snacks." She passes you the bag and you slip on your shoes before leaving to drop Hanamaki's things off. The walk to the gym seems to take an eternity, partially because you managed to go to the wrong gym first and ended up running into another team, but after finally figuring out which one Hanamaki's in you get there without any further incidents. When you open one of the doors everyone's already dressed and Hanamaki is nowhere in sight.
"Um... excuse me? Where's Takahiro?" You ask as you step into the gym. They all look around at each other with confused glances and shrugs until finally one of them steps forward.
"He's running a bit late because he was held back by the teacher." A male with unruly brown hair answers. He has a similar expression to the usual one Hanamaki has on his face, and you're sure you've seen them together at some point.
"Thank you, he forgot something at my house so I came to give it to him." You say with a smile. Now everyone stares at you with looks you can't seem to make out.
"He... forgot something at your house? Are you dating?" Someone with brown fluffy hair asks. Your eyes go wide, but before you answer you hear the door fly open behind you. Bright light assaults your vision and the person who opened the door barrels into you. Luckily it's not enough to knock you down, but that's probably because the person ended up grabbing you before you got the chance to fall.
"I'm so sorry, I was just in a hurry!" His voice is nice, but just a little whiny at the moment. You look at him and blink a few times to make sure you aren't hallucinating or anything. He's really handsome, with wavy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes to match.
"It's alright, I'm fine." You say back. You hear something hit the ground from the other set of doors and look to see Hanamaki staring with his mouth wide open. When you give him a confused look he quickly walks up to the two of you and pulls you away from the handsome guy. You don't understand it, especially when he hides you behind his back.
"Makki, what are you doing?" The handsome guy asks. Hanamaki turns to give you a look and suddenly you realize why he's reacting this way. A really handsome boy, someone who you should've seen at some point during your years attending Aoba Johsai, and a bright glow you didn't think much about when he ran into you. Your hand reflexively finds the back of Hanamaki's shirt and you use it as an anchor to keep yourself from running away like every muscle in your body is screaming at you to do.
"So, those two are dating, but the person behind Hanamaki-san is Oikawa-san's soulmate and now that they met they're both freaking out because of it?" It's that same voice from before, the one that asked you if you're dating Hanamaki. You go pale and Hanamaki sighs.
"No, this is my cousin, and we're leaving." Hanamaki spins around the grabs you to drag you away, but you feel someone tug you back before you get very far.
"If we're soulmates then what's the problem? That's a good thing!" You cringe and try to pull your arm away from him, but he holds firm, so Hanamaki turns around and gives him a heated look.
"Let go Oikawa." Oikawa glares at him and you look between the two of them anxiously. It doesn't seem like either of them are going to budge, so you take a deep breath before turning to face Oikawa.
"I don't... want a soulmate, so could you let me go?" You ask, almost flinching from the conflicting emotions that come onto Oikawa's face as you talk. Just because you're like this doesn't mean you're heartless, and you genuinely feel bad for doing this to him.
"You don't... what?" His grip on your wrist loosens slightly and you take that chance to tug your hand away and rush out of the gym, leaving all the boys, including Hanamaki, to watch you run away. You don't pay attention to where you're going, you just want to get as far away from the gym as possible. When you end up at the school gates you finally allow yourself to slump down and take a deep breath. You notice you're shaking, and when you lift a hand up to wipe the sweat off of your face you realize it's tears running down your cheeks instead. An involuntary sob slips past your lips and you cover your face with your hands as years of emotions that you've been pushing away hit you all at once like a truck, and it's so much more painful than you expected it to be.
"I'm sorry..." You whimper, not bothering to wipe away the seemingly endless tears. "I'm so sorry I'm not good enough for you."
------
Your surroundings have felt oddly dull the last few weeks or so. The days pass by the in blink of an eye and everything seems to have a hazy filter over it. You rub at your eyes for the millionth time since that fateful day and focus back on making your way to your classroom.
"Hey (Y/n)~!" Someone sings behind you, loud enough for you to hear past your music. Suddenly the dull filter disappears and you let out a relieved sigh. Oikawa's pretty face appears in front of you, but at this point you've stopped trying to tell him to leave you alone since you know he won't. Plus, he does make everything around you a little brighter, which is a nice trade off since you have to deal with him everyday.
"Hello Oikawa." You murmur, sparing him a glance before looking back at your phone to change the song.
"I told you to call me Tooru!" He whines, even though he knows you'll ignore it. When you see him taking curious glances at your phone you tilt it towards him so he can see what you're listening to. His eyes instantly light up and he snatches an earbud from your ear and places it in his own.
"You like this song?" You ask, to which he nods. From the unusually genuine smile on his face you can tell he means it, and so you let him keep the earbud as the two of you walk down the hall. When you arrive at your class you can tell he's reluctant to go, as usual, but the bell's about to ring and he's already going to have to run to make it to class on time.
"I know you're gonna say no again, but-"
"I'll eat lunch with you and the rest of the boys, so go to class before you're late." With that you walk into your classroom, leaving a wide eyed Oikawa behind. As you sit down you see him do a little victory dance, which you find yourself almost smiling at, before he rushes off to class.
"I guess... lunch won't be so bad, right?" You murmur, letting your attention drift to your phone which is lighting up with text messages from Oikawa that consist of way too many emojis and exclamation marks. "Yeah, it won't be that bad."
------
"Where's the idiot at? He usually shows up at my class as soon as the bell rings." You say as you open the door to the boys locker room where the small group consisting of Hanamaki, Iwaizumi, Matsukawa, Oikawa, and now you, eats to dodge his fangirls. You settle down next to Hanamaki and take out your food as you wait for an answer from one of the boys.
"He probably got caught up in another confession, it's been awhile since he's gotten one because of the soulmate rumors going around." Matsukawa muses.
"I didn't expect them to start back up yet though, it's only been what... 2 months since everyone found out? Maybe three?" Iwaizumi says with a sigh. That's when Oikawa bursts in, his face flushed from running around God knows where.
"I'm here!" He announces, taking his usual spot next to you. "After a bit of trouble."
"The fan girls tried to follow you again." Iwaizumi says it more like a statement than a question, and unsurprisingly Oikawa nods.
"They were trying to figure out why I keep going to the second year hallway so I ran away." He says with a smile and peace sign. Iwaizumi reaches over and smacks him on the head, making him yelp.
"Don't cause trouble for (Y/n), if those girls show up outside of their classroom I'm kicking your ass Trashikawa." He says before going back to his food. You chuckle at the look on Oikawa's face and continue eating your food as well, which he immediately begins eyeing after getting over being smacked by Iwaizumi. Suddenly you remember you actually have something for him in your bag, and when you pull out a small package of milk bread you wave it in front of him.
"I brought this for you, my mom bought too much during a sale and it's gonna go bad." You pass him the bread and his eyes light up like stars.
"I can't even look at it after how much auntie's fed me." Hanamaki says with a shiver. Unexpectedly someone knocks on the door and it swings open to reveal a girl you don't recognize.
"Tooru!" You quickly decide that her voice is annoying, and not in the cute way Oikawa's is. Everyone stares at her with wide-eyed expressions as she saunters into the locker room and plops down in Tooru's lap. "I knew I'd find you here!"
Oikawa seems actually speechless for once, his eyes going back and forth between you and this girl you're finding more irritating by the second. She finally looks at you, though it's a look full of loathing, and that's when Oikawa finally pipes up.
"Um... who are you exactly?" The color drains from her face and you can't hold back the laugh that slips past your lips. "And could you get up? This spot is reserved specifically for my soulmate."
"You're obnoxious." You say, rolling your eyes when Oikawa winks at you. The girl stays as stiff as a statue and you wave a hand in front of her face. "Hello? He said go away, why're you still sitting there?"
At that her face flushes an angry red and she jumps up before storming off. You let out an irritated sigh and start picking at your food again, but when no one says anything you look back up to see them all gawking at you.
"What?" You murmur. Hanamaki lets out an awkward chuckle and Matsukawa raises an eyebrow.
"Quite territorial aren't we?" You stare at him in confusion and he shrugs. "Never mind, if you don't get it."
"I don't, and also," You give Oikawa a look, though he doesn't seem to notice as he's too busy staring at you with a mystified expression. "Make sure you don't lead any other girls here, we might have to find somewhere else to eat. And will you stop looking at me like that?"
When Oikawa doesn't listen you look at Iwaizumi who reaches over and smacks him again.
"Ow! Iwa-chan, stop hitting me!" He whines, finally taking his eyes off of you. They bicker back and forth and before long the bell signaling the end of lunch rings.
"Time to run." Hanamaki says, quickly gathering his things up to get to class. Iwaizumi and Matsukawa do the same, and they're out the door before you and Oikawa even get up. Usually Hanamaki and Matsukawa are the type to take their time, but all of their classes are on the other side of the school so Iwaizumi rushes them to class so they're not late.
"Alright, let's go." You stand up and grab your things and wait for Oikawa to do the same. You know he has to lock the door, so when you walk out you wait for him to do so before walking him to class, which you only do because it's on the way to your class, though you don't tell him that.
"You should come watch our practice one time." He says suddenly. You glance at him with an unamused expression and he shrugs. "Just an idea. A really good idea by the way! I gave it lots of thought."
He does a little pouty face and you mentally curse the fact that he's so attractive it almost makes you say yes immediately.
"I'll think about it." You say, even though you already know you won't be attending. His face lights up with a bright smile and you find yourself regretting the small bit of hope you gave him.
"You can't be late okay?" He leans in what you would consider too close for comfort and doesn't move away until you nod. You finally get to his classroom and after some convincing he finally goes in so you can go to class. On the way there you pop in your headphones, though it isn't long before you're interrupted by the last person you'd expect.
"You're... the lap girl? Do you need something?" The fan girl from earlier stands in front of your classroom, her face a mask of anger as she stares at you.
"My name is Yumiko!" She says, though you can't bring yourself to understand why she's so upset.
"Um... okay? You never answered my question." Her face flushes at that, but instead of answering she stomps up to you and gets up in your face.
"What's your relationship with Tooru? Who are you to tell me what to do concerning him?" At this point she's really annoying you, more so than people normally do. You blink at her several times before placing a hand against her shoulder and inching her away from you.
"First off, don't get so close to me, I don't like people in my space. Second, that's none of your concern and I have no reason to tell you anything. Now, I'm going to class, and you should do the same." You walk past her, though you stop in the doorway of your classroom to throw her one last look. "Also, stop calling people you're not close with by their first name, it's overbearing and annoying."
Before gauging her reaction you turn back around and enter your classroom right as the bell rings. When the teacher begins the lesson you're already zoning out and the classes pass by until it's finally the end of the day. You get up and begin to head down the hall that leads to the gates, but a sudden thought pops into your head and you slow down. Before you give yourself the chance to think on it too much you turn around and head to the gym, where you'd be showing up to volleyball practice like Oikawa expected you to. For some reason you have an odd feeling like you need to go, and when you open the gym doors you understand why.
"Great." You murmur, your eyes landing on Oikawa. Though he's surrounded by a small group of girls there's one you instantly recognize. Yumiko, whose name you're currently struggling to remember, is latched onto Oikawa's arm like she thinks she belongs there. She spots you almost instantly and glares while scooting closer to Oikawa, which ends up being a mistake on her part as it alerts him to your presence. His face lights up instantly and he quickly says something to the group before jogging up to you.
"You actually came!" He grabs your hand with a wide smile and you can't help the way your heart flutters at how excited he is.
"I did." You offer him a small smile back, which makes him beam even more. Out of the corner of your eye you see the rest of the team lining up, so you squeeze Oikawa's hand before reaching up and patting him gently on the head. His face flushes slightly and he stares at you like something's wrong.
"What... what was that for?" He mumbles. For once he sounds actually embarrassed and you can't help but chuckle.
"It's because I felt like it. Practice is starting, you don't want to get yelled at do you?" You motion to the team and he flinches when he sees the glares directed at him from the coach and Iwaizumi.
"I'll talk to you after then! Watch me, alright? Just me!" He winks at you before jogging to line up for stretches. All the girls who were gathered around now make their way to the seats where fans usually sit during games. You decide to follow suit, though you keep a distance since you don't want to get involved with Oikawa's little fan group. Though you try your hardest to just watch the boys practice, which is actually fairly entertaining since Oikawa keeps showing off because you're watching, it becomes difficult with the constant glances from the girls near you. Though it was uncomfortable at the beginning, you do start to relax a bit as the practice passes by, until there's only a little bit of time until it's over and the boys are wrapping up with a practice match.
"Hey, you." You almost jump when you hear a voice speak from right next to you. You ended up becoming so immersed in their little match that you didn't even notice anyone walk up to you. Though you instantly recognize the voice, it still irritates you even more when you see her face.
"Yu... Yumemiko? No, Yumeko! Right?" Her face flushes more with each guess, which doesn't go unnoticed by the little group standing behind her.
"Her name is Yumiko!" One of them says, followed by nods from the others. You have to hold yourself back from rolling your eyes when Yumiko shoots a proud smile her way.
"Yumiko then, what do you need?" You say it as more of a statement than a question and Yumiko frowns.
"You and Tooru-"
"I already told you stop calling people you don't know by their first name." You snap, even surprising yourself at how irritated you sound. Yumiko flushes again and balls her hands into fists.
"Stay away from Tooru." She emphasizes his name and this time you can't hold back from rolling your eyes. What's up with this girl?
"Why?" You lean back in your seat and give her an annoyed look.
"Why? Because she said so!" One of the girls pipes up. You level her with a heavy glare before sighing.
"So you, some random girl whose name Oikawa doesn't even know, is telling me, his soulmate, that I should leave him alone?" Several of the girls gasp and Yumiko goes pale. While most of them are freaking out a voice in the back of your head is questioning you and your decision to fight with these girls. Why should you care whether they hang around Oikawa? Why are you being so protective of him? You push these thoughts away as quickly as they come.
"You... what?" Yumiko's voice is quiet in comparison to how brash she was being mere moments ago. With that you know it's checkmate, with you on the winning side of the stupid fight.
"I'm asking you why I should leave my soulmate alone just because you want me to." The girls behind her start squirming uncomfortably and you get up from your seat as you notice the boys have all finished and are now grabbing their things. You notice Oikawa waving to you from the quart and you wave back.
"You guys made me miss who won their game, so thanks for that." You say sarcastically before breezing by them to go to Oikawa. They all have angry expressions on their faces but you couldn't care less, instead focusing your attention on the sweaty boy who's smiling so wide you swear it probably hurts.
"You were watching right?" He's jumping around like an adorable puppy that's begging for praise. You give in, of course, like you've found yourself doing recently.
"I was, you did really good. But I didn't get to see who won though. I was... occupied dealing with that lovely fan club of yours." You motion to the girls still standing around their seats while they all look uneasily at you and Oikawa. He gives them a quick glance and you can tell he's not happy.
"Don't be mad, okay?" Before you can respond he grabs your wrist and tugs you flush against him. He slips his hand around your waist and you look at him in shock.
"Oikawa-"
"Ladies, I want you to meet someone!" He yells just loud enough to get their attention, which he clearly does by the amount of girls now looking at him with slightly flushed faces. "This is (Y/n), my lovely soulmate! They're cute, right? I want you to be extra nice since I really like them a lot, okay?"
They all seem to nod without realizing what they're agreeing to, which you guess is the power that comes with amazing looks and a perfected persona. Oikawa then quickly grabs his things and drags you from the gym so you're both alone outside.
"Sorry about that, but I don't really feel like dealing with them right now. I'm still excited because you came to watch." Oikawa's eye are lit up like he's looking at his favorite thing in the world. You can't help but smile and shrug.
"I decided it wouldn't be that bad, though I did gag a bit when I saw miss pushy over there attached to you like a leech." He cringes before a mischievous smile comes onto his face.
"Could it be that you were... jealous?" He says this just as the rest of the boys walk through the gym doors to join you both.
"Oikawa, I can't believe you got (Y/n) to co- hey, what's wrong?" Hanamaki looks at you with concern as he notices the expression on your face. You're obviously pale, so much so that it's making the rest of the boys seriously worried.
"I... need to go home." You murmur. Everyone stares at you as you brush past them and disappear around the corner. You left so quickly that none of them had time to say anything, but of course Hanamaki is quick to follow you since it's clear you're not feeling well.
"I'm gonna go, I'll see you guys tomorrow." He nods at them before running to catch up to you, which he does fairly quickly.
"Makki?" Your voice is low, like you're exhausted for some reason. If Hanamaki wasn't worried before he definitely is now.
"What's wrong? What happened? Did that idiot do something?"
"Did Oikawa do something? No, he hasn't done anything..." You look down at your hands and ball them into fists. "Makki... what am I doing? Why do I care so much? Oikawa said that I was... jealous? Am I? I don't like seeing all those girls around him, the ones that think they each own a piece of him. It makes me... mad, for some reason. Even though I can't-"
"Why can't you?" He cuts you off with something you'd never expect to hear from him. You slowly come to a stop and stare at him with obvious hurt.
"Because I can't. You know why I can't." Hanamaki only looks at you with what you assume is pity, which is the last thing you want. You get a bad feeling when he opens his mouth, and what he begins to say is the last thing you want to hear.
"Just because your dad-"
"That man is not my dad." You snap. Hanamaki lets out a deep sigh and places a gentle hand on your arm.
"You don't have to let his decisions affect your life. You know auntie only wants the best for you, and she wouldn't want you closing yourself off just because of what happened to her." Somewhere in the back of your mind you know what he's saying is true, but trauma doesn't go away just because someone says a few pretty words.
"You don't get it. You never will, because it didn't happen to you. Just... mind your own business." You brush his arm away and continue walking home. This time he doesn't bother following you, as you both know you don't need to be around each other right now. Hanamaki has always agreed with your choice to not be with your soulmate. Helped you, even, in your times of need, but he can tell you're making your decision at the cost of your own happiness. Even now as you walk away you can't help the tears that silently slip down your cheeks, ones that you don't bother to dry until you finally get home.
------
"Hey, wait-" At the sound of Oikawa's insistent voice you slip into the crowd of people that occupy the hallway. You duck so he can't find you, and quickly find your way into an unoccupied classroom. With the years of experience dodging him before you met running away comes with ease, though it is a bit harder since you don't have the glow to help you out.
"I'm... sorry." You murmur. Every time you run away from him you feel an immense amount of guilt flood your system, as well as a choked up feeling that makes you want to cry. Somehow you feel like apologizing out loud will make it better, though it never manages to change anything. These past few weeks have been a wreck on your emotional state, and you're getting tired of running from Oikawa now that you're so used to having him around. At this point you're even dodging Hanamaki, but you have a feeling he's doing the same to you since you haven't had much trouble concerning him. You take a seat against the wall so you can pull out your lunch, the reason you were out in the halls in the first place, and finally begin eating in peace. What you don't expect is for the door to fly open and Oikawa to be standing in the doorway. His face is flushed with exertion and you find yourself staring at him for a moment before coming to your senses and shooting up from your spot, which causes you to spill your lunch everywhere.
"Just my luck." You groan. For a moment you consider abandoning the lunch in favor of running from Oikawa, but he's blocking the only way out and he's clearly not letting you go anywhere. You find yourself reluctantly bending down to pick up your food with a slight frown on your face. "If you're going to trap me here can you at least help me clean up?"
He nods and crouches to pick up some food that rolled towards him. He works quietly, which you find unnerving since he's always so talkative. As the silence stretches on you awkwardly clear your throat, but he gives you a look that makes you hold back any small talk you were aiming to start. Both of you continue to work in that tense silence until you've finally finished cleaning up the mess you'd made.
"...Thank you." You dodge his stare and try to focus on the wall behind him instead, though it doesn't work as he steps to the side so you'll meet his gaze.
"You're dodging me."
"I'm not." It's the most obvious lie in the world but it's the only defense you have at this point. He takes a step forward and you take two back.
"You run when I call out to you. You don't eat lunch with us anymore. You haven't come to a practice since the first time." With each piece of evidence he steps forward until your back is against the wall. "You're even trying to distance yourself from me now, why?"
"I..." You truly can't think of anything to say to him as he stares at you with those big chocolate eyes of his. The longer he stares the more nervous you get, so you blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. "I don't want to be around you anymore. You know I don't want a soulmate, and-"
"I love you." He cuts you off with a whisper. You instantly freeze up as he murmurs those words, your body going as stiff as the wall behind you. "I've never loved anyone before, but I love you, so don't lie to me."
"I'm not-"
"You are, I can tell when people lie. Why are you dodging me?" He places a hand next to your head on the wall and leans closer to you with an earnest expression. Once again your mouth opens without much thought, but this time it's something truthful instead of one of the lies you use to shield your emotions.
"Because I don't want to hurt you." You almost cringe the second the words slip out. Oikawa blinks a few times as if he's trying to understand what you mean, but he won't get it unless you tell him more, which he quickly understands.
"Why would you hurt me? Aren't I the 'playboy' here?" He gives you an expectant look and you sigh.
"It doesn't matter, just take my word for it and leave me-"
"it does matter, so trust me and explain so I can understand." The two of you stare at each other for a long moment, so long that the bell rings and the noise from the halls interrupts the silence.
"We need to go to class-"
"No, we're not leaving until you talk to me. Please, just talk to me. Don't you think I deserve to know since it's affecting me too?" Even heartbreak looks handsome on Oikawa, and for a split second you find yourself thinking he looks like he came straight out of a movie. You shake this thought away quickly before placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Oikawa, even if I tell you it won't change anything. No matter what you say, what you do, nothing will come from it." You give him a sad smile and try to push past him, but he still insists on holding you in place.
"If you won't tell me... at least stop dodging me. Even if you won't be with me I want to be around you." He's downright pleading with you now, but the last thing you want to do is hurt him. Just when you're going to refuse you notice that the hand that's not busy trapping you against the wall is shaking. You close your eyes and take a deep breath before reaching out and grabbing onto it.
"I won't dodge you, but please don't expect anything from me. We're friends, and that's it." You breathe out. His whole body seems to relax when you finish and you believe you finally made one good decision, though you quickly question that when he leans close to you with an almost anxious look on his face.
"Can you close your eyes again? Please." When he asks you're reluctant to do so, but for the sake of keeping him happy you listen to him. You feel his hand brush along your face and then hear him whisper. "Sorry, but just give me this one time, and then I won't do anything else."
Your eyes shoot open when you feel something brush against your lips. You blink rapidly as you stare at Oikawa, who's looking at you with a bittersweet expression with two of his fingers touching your bottom lip. He gives you a pained smile and pulls his hand away. "An indirect kiss."
He lets out a small yelp when you grab the collar of his shirt and pull him towards you. He looks like he expects you to hit him, so when you place your lips on his he freezes up. It doesn't take him long to realize what's happening though, and when he grabs your waist and pulls you flush against him you're the one who doesn't know how to react now. When you finally pull back from him you're both out of breath with equally flushed faces.
"There, you got your kiss, now go to class." You murmur. He gives you a dazed look and slowly nods after a few delayed seconds. He drags his feet on the way out, with that same completely out of it expression on his face. As soon as the door closes behind him you lift a trembling hand to your lips. You let out a deep sigh and lean against the wall behind you as the late bell rings. In usual circumstances you'd care about skipping class, but at the moment you'd like nothing more than to sit and think about all the problems you manage to create just because of your stupid feelings that make your life harder than it should be.
------
Heavy rain beats on the roof of your small bakery as you sit in the staff room. In front of you sits your laptop with a video of Oikawa's latest game pulled up to watch. Having already sent everyone home and locked everything up you take this chance to relax before going back to your empty apartment.
"Is it too late to grab a snack?" A voice calls from behind you. You turn to see Hanamaki standing in the doorway with a wide grin on his face. In one hand is his key chain with the key your grandmother had gifted him after she passed the shop down to you, and in the other is two cream puffs on a small plate.
"You already grabbed one anyway, why ask?" You gesture to the seat next to you and he plops down in it with his snack.
"You're watching Oikawa's latest match?" He hands you one of the desserts and you take it with a nod. "You told me you finally explained to him why you can't accept him. How'd he take it?"
"He was really supportive actually. I know I shouldn't have waited this long to tell him, but I'm glad I finally did."
"You really shouldn't have waited that long, it's been what, years? He even went off to Brazil without knowing or questioning you. And even though he knows your choice he's still been single since he found out you guys are soulmates." You let out a nervous laugh when Hanamaki gives you a flat look.
"Well, actually, after talking to him I think I've finally gotten over what happened to my mom. What that cheating bastard did to her was unacceptable, but I'm not him just because I'm his child. I won't make his mistakes, and I truly believe Tooru's a good person who won't either. I know he's in Brazil right now, but when he comes back, I think... no, I know I want to be with him." Hanamaki gives you an impressed look and pats you on the back.
"I mean, we all knew you've liked him for a while even if you fought it so I'm not surprised, but congrats for finally making a good decision." He finishes with a big smile and you roll your eyes.
"Whatever, I just can't wait for him to come home."
"Actually, about that-" The staff room door flies open again, but this time it's Iwaizumi standing in the doorway. He's clearly out of breath with a rare panicked expression on his face.
"(Y/n), please don't freak out, but-"
"Iwa-chan, move!" Iwaizumi flies forward and now Oikawa stands in the doorway in all his handsome glory. As soon as he spots you his eyes light up, and you can't help but mirror his expression as you jump up from your seat and race towards him.
"Tooru- wait, who is she?" You stop right before you get the chance to jump on him. The tears you felt pooling in your eyes seem to dry up instantly as you stare at the beautiful woman standing behind Oikawa.
"That's why I said don't freak out." Iwaizumi says from his spot on the ground. You can tell he wants to get up and knock Oikawa out, but he seems to be holding back for you. If the mystery woman wasn't bad enough, you now notice something else that has you staring in angry disbelief.
"And who's the KID?" At this point you're yelling and you look at Oikawa with a harsh glare. "You really got a girl and had a kid while you were gone? Seriously?"
"Wait, I can explain-"
"Get out." You point to the door and he seems to shrivel on the spot, but rather than leave he takes a nervous step towards you. You take a step back and shake your head. "My feelings are seriously hurt right now Oikawa Tooru, so I'm asking you to leave before I start crying."
"If she starts crying I'm kicking your ass Oikawa!" Hanamaki calls from his seat, followed by a chuckle from Matsukawa, who came from God knows where.
"Makki, you know it's not what it looks like! Can you guys help me out please?" He pleads, his eyes never leaving your face. Instead of looking at him you look down at Iwaizumi to get your answers.
"He's not lying, the woman behind him is his coache's wife. Since Oikawa just retired because of his knee they decided to come back with him to visit Japan for a bit." You then look to Hanamaki and Matsukawa, who both nod.
"And no one felt the need to tell me he was coming back? Or that he retired?" They all look away nervously and Oikawa clears his throat.
"It was supposed to be a surprise." He murmurs. You sit down on the closest seat, which happens to be a small couch, with a sigh.
"Everyone out, except Tooru of course. Makki, give the guests something that I haven't already put away to send to the food bank." They all nod and shuffle out of the room, leaving you with a clearly nervous Oikawa.
"Tooru." He flinches when you call his name before hesitantly meeting your gaze. "Come here."
He does as you ask, and when you pat the spot next to you he sits awkwardly. You shuffle closer to him and wrap your arms around his torso to pull him into a hug.
"I missed you, idiot." You murmur into his chest. His arms immediately go around you and squeeze you so tight you can hardly breath.
"I missed you more." He whispers back. The two of you sit like that for a while, just happy to be around each other again.
"Tooru?" He hums when you call his name, but he doesn't pull back from your hug. You tap his back multiple times but it's clear he doesn't want to budge. "Tooru, I have something to say."
"I'm listening." He says. You reach up and tug on the hair at the nape of his neck, but all that does is make him shiver, which you regret immediately since you know where his mind is now. Since he wants to be difficult you decide to just say what you have to say whether you can see his face or not.
"I love you." He instantly pulls back from you, his eyes wide and filled with surprise as he stares at you.
"Say... say it again." He murmurs. A teasing smile comes onto your face and you shake your head. Within a matter of seconds he's on top of you and his lips are on yours, and he's assaulting you with one kiss after another. "(Y/n), say it again."
"I... l-love you, Tooru." You gasp as he places a kiss on your neck and place your hands on his shoulders before he gets too carried away since you still have more to say. "Will you be with me? Am I still good enough for you?"
"You're more than enough, you're everything I've ever wanted in this world." He places a light kiss on your cheek and you smile.
"Now get married!" Hanamaki yells from the doorway. You both jump apart and he starts laughing loudly.
"Shut the hell up Takahiro." You growl, leveling him with the harshest glare you can. His laugh dies down into a snicker and he points at Oikawa.
"Aw, he's disappointed because you didn't say yes." When you turn your head Oikawa's staring at you with wide puppy dog eyes. You groan and put your head in your hands.
"Get out, both of you."
"Hey, no fair!" Oikawa whines. You look up at him with a cold smile and he instantly shuts his mouth with a nod. Hanamaki, who's clearly holding back more laughter, leaves the room first, though he's followed by Oikawa immediately after. The door shuts quietly behind them and you're finally left by yourself after all the overwhelming events you'd just gone through. Your peace doesn't last long though, as your phone lights up with a message from the one and only grand king.
I really do wanna marry you one day, so don't get too mad at me when I actually propose. And you have to say yes, okay? You have to!
You read the message with a smile before turning your phone off. Whether he waits a week, a month, or even a few years, your answer to him will always be the same. And when his phone lights up with a text from you he reads it with a wide smile, because he already knows without looking what your answer's going to be.
Of course it's a yes, who else would I marry besides you, idiot.