elk knots

You ran downstairs, sliding open the door for Yachi. Her hand immediately dropping down to the floor, letting her bag fall.

“You seem tired today, no?” You replied, stating the obvious as you watched her sigh, her shoulders finally relaxing.

Yachi hummed in agreement, crouching down to remove her shoes. “Was your match bad?” You asked whilst leaning against the wall, bringing your hands to your chest and folding them together.

“Yeah, and we still have a match later this week.” her reply was meek, as she pushed herself up, her face fixated on the floor.

Walking towards the direction of your room, Yachi let out a sigh of relief, feeling the soft pillows against her back. Yumi continued to the kitchen, grabbing her notebook and alongside two juice boxes from the fridge.

“We're going to Tokyo.”

Turning your head to face her, my brows furrowed on my forehead, “Woah seriously? Tokyo?” You asked, biting back the urge to say that you were jealous, being the volleyball manager did have its perks, and one of that is getting to travel to places.

Yachi noticed your inner turmoil, chuckling as she leaned closer to the edge of the bed. Grabbing one of the juice boxes, using its straw to poke a hole. “I know what you’re thinking~”

You eyed her carefully, raising my eyebrows at her comment. “Yeah? What?"

“You jealous?”

You groaned hearing those words leave her lips, grabbing the pillow beside you and throwing it at her face. “I don't know what you're talking about."

Yachi just nearly dodged your throw, a small smile plastered on her face as she giggled, knowing she got it right.

“You can always join ya' know? Two managers are allowed."

Your hands hovered over your notebook; your fingers traced over its design carefully as it took you a second to process what she just said. Internally debating whether or not joining as their manager would even be a good idea.

“No way.” You spat out, aggressively flipping open your notebook as you forced yourself to read the words. Although, each word you did read, only came out the side.

You felt Yachi's stare burning a hole at the back of your head, still, she let you be, already accustomed to how stubborn you were. She merely shrugged before sliding closer to start on their project.

25 minutes had passed, the two of you worked quietly on your parts. Both agreeing that you'd would work on the first half and Yachi could finish the second half of it. It was like watching two well-oiled machines work.

Both of your attention was broken away from your work when you heard the front door open. But before that, around 15 minutes ago, her mom just got home from the market and started dinner.

Since you both knew your mother was already home and your father, who wouldn't be home until later that night. There was only one last person it could be. You dropped your notebook beside Yachi as you pushed yourself off the edge of the bed.

“I'll be back, just grabbing some juice."

Yachi hummed as a response; her focus stayed on the work in front of her. She was always such a diligent worker, you were always so surprised when she’d give it her 100% even after such a tiring day.

As you made your way to the living room, you heard a couple of voices in the kitchen. Thinking it was just your mother cooking, you decide to shrug it off as such.

Boy were you wrong.

As you turned around the corner, your gaze was met with a familiar blond who sat on the corner of their living room. “Oh. You're here?"

Tsukishima didn't reply, letting Yamaguchi reply for him instead. “We have a project, that's why. You got a problem?"

You opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately you decided against it. Being too tired to argue, if you could even call that an argument, so you just shrugged and turned away.

“Whatever, I was just asking.”

Making a beeline to the kitchen, you passed by your mother who told you that dinner would be ready in 10 minutes. Nodding along, you grabbed two juice boxes, making your way back to your room.

“Hey, you're taking two. Don't be selfish now." Tsukishima remarked, his signature smirk plastered on his face as his eyes narrowed down on you, his attention landing on your hands which held two juice boxes.

You halted in your steps as you turned around, your brows furrowed in annoyance, “The extra one is for Yachi.” You retorted, leaving the room before he could spout out a reply.

Yamaguchi watched as you made your way back to your room, a bit surprised to find out that Yachi was here. Was that why she needed to leave early?

Shrugging the thoughts away, he stood up from his spot on the couch, making his way to his room. Tsukishima followed pursuit, he was more quiet than usual.

The two sat down on the table, making themselves comfortable. “So what's your plan?” Yamaguchi spoke up, breaking the silence.

Tsukishima looked up from his phone, “What?" He replied, taking a second to realize what his question was about, gesturing his phone, the screen was lit up on a website.

"Let's make our project based on this."

Yamaguchi’s eyes trailed on the words, reading quietly as he nodded. “Alright! I'll do the second part.” He exclaimed, grabbing his notebook and pencil case from his bag.

Tsukishima stayed quiet, this was his way of saying ‘ok’ and Yamaguchi was used to that. Grabbing his phone which sat on the corner of his bed, making his way back to the table.

Tsukishima watched as Yamaguchi placed his items on the table carefully, his eyes landing on the unfamiliar green colored phone.

“Is that a new phone?

Yamaguchi’ eyes widened in surprise when Tsukishima spoke, bringing up the fact that his phone was indeed new. He nodded, reaching for his phone.

“Yep! Just bought it last week!"

Tsukishima stayed quiet, he looked like he was thinking of a lot of things, Yamaguchi noticed this. Wanting to pry but also knowing his friend would just brush it off, he decided to just switch the topic.

“Ah, I keep forgetting but since we’re talking about phones, I don't have your phone number yet.”

Tsukishima looked at him, a little dumbfounded. Was that even possible?

“I forgot, which is why I haven't been able to text you these past few days.” he shrugged, scratching the back of his neck as he handed the phone to Tsukishima.

Yachi laid on your bed, her arms stretched out as she yawned. “Finally... I'm done.” she breathed a sigh of relief, cuddling herself between the pillows.

“Damn, I'm shocked myself."

Yachi pushed herself upwards, sitting on the bed as her back leaned against the bedframe. “Since I finished my part early, I'll just go home.”

You dart your eyes to your friend, a mix of disbelief and shock on your face. “Wow, okay fine, just leave me to die.” you muttered out as you turned your head away to sulk.

Yachi couldn't help but giggle, seeing you act this way was kind of funny. “It's getting late. Mom's already asking for me back home."

“Won't you stay for dinner at least?"

Yachi shook her head, rushing to her feet as she grabbed her stuff. Putting them carefully in her bag, as she made her way out of the room. Her footsteps treading carefully as she walked through the hallway.

As we passed through the kitchen, Yachi informed my mom that unfortunately she couldn't stay for dinner.

And just as luck would have it, coincidentally, the boys got out from their room, making their way to the kitchen.

“Ah, just in time. Tadashi, could you walk Yachi to the bus stop?"

Everyone's attention turned towards your brother who looked at Yachi, who in turn looked at you. There was a certain tension in the air, which everybody picked up on, except the two idiots who kept looking at any direction but.

“You don't have to do that... I can manage!" Yachi replied, trying to sound convincing.

My mother flicked the spatula in the air, placing her hands on her hips. “Tsk, dont say anything more. You know it's not safe for a lady like you to walk home alone."

"Tadashi, go.”

Yamaguchi yelped at the mention of his name; you watched him run towards the doorway to put on his shoes. Yachi looked nervous, turning her head to you as you gave her a thumbs up for support.

As the door closed behind you, leaving only the three of you inside. Your mother turned off the stove, “Yumi, set the table.” she ordered, you nodded as you made your way to the plates.

Tsukishima’s eyes wandered around the room, feeling awkward just standing there. “Is there anything I can do?"

“Don't worry about it dear, Yumi can handle it. Just go sit down."

He begrudgingly sat down as per your mother's request, as you made my way back to the table with the plates in hand. Catching a glimpse of Tsukishima who stared at you, his lips formed into a grin.

“How kind of you.” He retorted, placing his hands on the table as he leaned his chin on top of his hand. You rolled your eyes at his words; choosing to ignore him and just continued to place down the rest of the plates.

After finishing placing the plates, you sat down on your spot at the table right across from Tsukishima. You mother was still preoccupied with something else, leaving the two of you alone.

You shifted around your seat, trying desperately not to look at the boy in front of you. Suddenly, you felt your phone buzz in your pocket.

Pulling it out, as you tapped on the screen lightly. A small smile formed on your lips when you read the notifications.

Your attention was pulled away from your phone when your mom had placed down the plate of food in front of you. “No phones at the table while we eat.”

“Besides, we have a guest oh, don't ignore your guest.”

You sighed, turning off your phone and placing it back inside of your pocket, realizing that Tsukishima was in fact still here. “He's not even my guest."

“Even so, what did I teach you?”

Through gritted teeth you replied, trying your best to sound civil whilst avoiding eye contact. “...to be nice...”

Your mother hummed in agreement, sitting down at the end of the table. You heard Tsukishima snicker upon hearing your words, biting back the urge to say something, you settled to just kicking his knee under the table.

Tsukishima yelped, bring his hands down to where his knee was. His eyes glaring at you, about to say something but deciding against it.

Your attention was taken away as your head turns to the door as it opened abruptly, revealing a slightly out of breath Yamaguchi. His hair looked disheveled, and his face was a bit pink.

“Did you run here bro?”

Yamaguchi stumbled into the kitchen floor, not before kicking off his shoes and slipping on his house slippers.

“N-No.”

Your mothers' eyes glance towards him, eyeing him up and down. “Did Yachi go home safe?” The sudden mention of her name made Yamaguchi’s eyes widen in surprise. Idiot.

“Ye-yes.” He replied, his gaze focused on the food in front of him. The rest of us chose to ignore how his voice went up an octave.

“Okay then, Let's eat.”

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a/n: hi.. Im so sorry this took a year to update.. I just graduated lol, and well since I posted the kenma thing, I thought I should probably post the next chapter of this T_T though Chapter 5 might take longer since I dont really have the passion to continue this, I wanna try doing other stories and maybe try posting for MHA, but I wont abandon this, just saying it might take longer for me to post the next chapt. But anyways thx for reading this story!!

Part 2 of chapter 4 is coming maybe later tonight

You smiled to yourself as you turned off your phone, tucking it back into your pocket.

Skipping happily, you reached the doors of the gym, the noises inside got louder. Hearing a couple of voices argue, you could easily tell it was Shoyo and Tobio.

As you peaked your head over the door, you noticed Yachi standing near a bench, her head occasionally turned to your direction—till finally she saw your heard peak out. "Finally! Took ya' long enough!" she chirped, running over to you.

"Here—can you refill these?"

You stared at the water bottles in her hand, before darting your eyes back at the girl—who only smiled innocently. "Did you just bring me here to make me run errands?!"

"Mayhaps." Yachi smiled, trying to hide the obvious smile that was on face. You rolled your eyes at her comment, but a faint smile slowly crept up your face. "You're lucky I can't get angry at you." you huffed out in annoyance, pinching her cheeks before grabbing the water bottles from her hand.

You grabbed the last bottle from the line, slowly filling it up before you noticed footsteps from behind you slowly walking towards you, turning your head slightly to see who it was.

"Ah it's only you, Kei."

He paid no response, but you could feel his stare burn into you.

"Er... d'you need something?" you asked, quipping your head—now fully facing him. This time he let out a chuckle, really soft—one you might miss if you weren't listening closely.

His weight shifted from his other leg, and suddenly he was peering down on you with his obnoxiously tall height. "Errand girl." he muttered but still loud enough for you to hear, he said it with that stupid smirk on his face, his eyes piercing.

"Excuse me?" You replied, raising an eyebrow at the guy. "I am not your maid" you said—this time your voice was sterner, placing a hand on your hip as you stared back at him.

"Never said that." His response was quick, calculated even—almost like he knew you were going to say that. You rolled your eyes at his words, bringing your focus back to your task as you closed the last water bottle.

"Whatever, aren't you supposed to be training or something?" You questioned, turning to look behind him. His eyes followed your direction, turning his head around to see what you were looking at before turning it back to you.

"You're such a klutz, your brother got worried" Tsukishima replied with a shrug as he took a step closer to you. His hands reached out to yours, briefly touching your fingers as he grabbed ahold of the water bottle in your hands.

"—the fuck..." Unintentionally cursing, you were a bit stunned and confused at his actions. He rolled his eyes at your words, grabbing the other water bottle before you it be in your grasp.

"Hurry up." That was all he said before he turned his body around, already walking back to the direction of the gym. You stood there for a moment, obviously perplexed. He didn't even give you a chance to reply!

You watched his back slowly getting farther away from where you stood, which made you snap out of your thoughts. Picking up the pace, you tried to run after him.

Coach Ukai had gathered the players around the board to discuss about the upcoming practice match against Nekoma.

Yamaguchi shifted around the floor, his eyes darting back and forth from the board to the gym doors. Tsukishima had walked out on him earlier mid convo, and he was kinda worried on why.

He was used to his usual antics, sure. Walking away from him was something he knew all too well, but usually he'd say something before he would leave, notifying the boy about his reasons.

But this time—he didn't. Tsukishima merely glanced at him before walking off outside. It definitely took a toll on Yamaguchi's emotional well-being, already panicking.

'Did I do something wrong..?' he thought, slowly nipping away at his fingernails as he tried to remember what happened since this morning.

All of a sudden, the doors opened abruptly, making everyone turn their attention to the two who just entered the gym. Coach Ukai was in the middle of explaining their game plan when he looked over to see you and Tsukishima enter the gym—water bottles in hand.

"Hey! Tsukishima, you're late." Coach Ukai scolded him, watching closely at the boy who seemed to have no expression towards his words at all.

You bowed your head apologetically for disrupting their practice, cursing inwardly at yourself. Tsukishima placed the water bottles on the bench before he ran towards the rest of the group to huddle.

Yachi walked closer to you, her brows raised as her eyes narrowed between you and Tsukishima who was huddled with the rest of the players. "What was that?" she questioned, the tone in her voice was clearly teasing as she bumped her shoulders against yours.

"I don't know, he just suddenly came up to me, okay?" You sighed out, trying to make sense of your excuse—hell, even you could believe what you just said. Subconsciously you found yourself drifting your gaze towards the same blonde from earlier.

"Uhuh. You know—you've been pretty close these past few days." Yachi pointed out, placing a finger on her chin as she recalled something from the other day when she was going to the gym.

Yachi had just come back from who knows where, her hands sliding the gym doors slowly. Her face was flushed red from what you could only assume the reason why was from running.

Her eyes examined the gym carefully before her eyes widened. Right there sitting on one of the benches in the gym was you and Tsukishima. The two of you looked to be talking, which isn't what shocked her. It was the fact that you two looked civil while doing so.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that the two of you had some sort of history, to which Yamaguchi would explain it to be rivalry from when you were in middle school.

So when Yachi saw the two of you—together talking? She thought she was in another dimension where everything was the opposite.

Her eyes scanned the rest of the room, the other players were preoccupied with their own business, leaving only her to notice the miracle that was happening.

The two of you continued on talking, it was like you two were in your own little world. Even occasionally you'd giggle at something Tsukishima said. And Yachi would notice that sometimes—for a brief moment only, Tsukishima would look at you with those eyes. The kind that you wouldn't use on someone who's just a friend.

'How interesting.'

The next day, you sat on the edge of your seat doodling whatever came to mind. Occasionally looking up at the teacher to make sure they knew you were still paying attention.

"This project is worth 20% of your grade, so I suggest you take this seriously." The teacher notified to the class before continuing to explain the criteria for the project.

She started handing out the workbook for this project, walking from aisle to aisle and passing it to each student. "You can pick whoever your partner is... Just make sure that you pass it within 1 month, before your exams."

The class erupted in cheers upon hearing her instructions, the other half groaned in annoyance, their face etched into a frown. You look over at Yachi who sat beside you, she was holding her pen concerningly tight.

"Pssst.. Hitoka." You whispered, catching the blonde's attention. As if she could read your mind, she nodded—giving you a thumbs up before turning her attention back to her notebook.

You sat on your seat leisurely, tapping your pen on the table as you hummed to a song you heard from somewhere. It was already after classes, and you decided to be early at the library because you thought being early = fast progress.

But considering your partner was running late, you huffed slightly in annoyance, glancing over to your phone and tapping on it twice to see the screen light up. 4:33 PM.

Considering the type of person your best friend was, she wasn't the type to be late—at anything. Feeling a bit frustrated at her tardiness, but ultimately you decided to let it slide for now—she must have a good reason, right?

You sighed, pushing yourself off the seat. Lazily gathering your belongings that were scattered on the table.

Walking out of the school, you glanced over the direction of the gym. It wasn't unusual for you to walk home alone, but for the past week or so, You and your brother usually went home together.

This wasn’t a problem for you, but it kinda sucked since you couldn’t go home with any of your friends anymore since they already had left a while ago.

So you really had no choice but to walk home.

You decided to stop half-way at the convenient store. Opening the glass door, the chimes signaling your presence. Inside you greeted the cashier who had probably gotten used to my face by now.

The store was fairly big, finding your way to the meat buns that they had displayed near the back with the rest of the food.

You grabbed three and made your way back to the cashier. As they scanned my items, you rummaged through my bag for the money and paid for your stuff.

Waving goodbye to the store clerk before you continued your way down the mountain. The view during this time was always so pretty, just in time to see the sunset, it was always so peaceful too.

You fumbled around for your bag, taking out your phone to take a picture of the view.

Meanwhile, back at the Karasuno Gym, the players were told they could have a short break. Yamaguchi sat on the floor; his back pressed against the wall.

His hands grabbed his phone to check the time out of habit, it was already 5 PM; unexpectedly their captain had called last minute to schedule a practice match with another school.

Scanning his phone, he hovered on the message app before noticing that he had gotten a post notification from your Instagram account.

He pressed on it and sighed relief, “So she already went home. Nice...” Although a bit irritated as she didn't wait for him, he understood why.

Still, he felt a bit guilty for making his sister walk home alone, dropping his phone down to his side. He didn't notice his blond friend had watched him do so.

Tsukishima shifted beside Yamaguchi, clearing his throat to get his attention.

“Hey, ahm.. about our project...”

Yamaguchi tilted his head, looking confused before remembering what he was talking about. Their teacher had assigned them a project on something about Japan’s history.

To be honest, he kinda dozed off during the announcement, and was kind of glad Tsukishima reminded him about it.

“Oh yeah, why what's your plan?”

Tsukishima hesitated for a moment, before replying “Lets do the project at your house.”

Yamaguchi looked surprised that his friend would suggest that, usually when the two was paired up for a project, they’d usually work on it at the library or at the very least, at Tsukishima’s house.

It wasn't like Tsukishima had never gone to their house, it was just unexpected. But nonetheless, Yamaguchi agreed.

Their attention was brought back to the court when Coach Ukai whistled them to clean up the gym.

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a/n: holyshat sorry it took so long, I had some technical issues while translating and I didnt realize until it was too late.. BTW this wasnt proofread cause I tried to rush this so badd cause I have a quiz tomorrow </3

Thats how you ended up here.

Before you could even react you character died and your screen flashed red.

You waited patiently, the buzzing in your headphones continued due to the lack of voices occupying it. Suddenly you heard him sigh—it was long and tired, you couldnt help but smile.

Were you secretly a sadist?

"..thats...okay..nice try."

You blinked once. Twice. Your hands gripped the mouse tightly "Seriously..?" You muttered, gritting your teeth in annoyance as you realized you failed, again.

"What?"

"Nothing uh.. sorry.."

He sighed deeply and—that was kinda hot.

"What?"

"...did you say something?"

Panic ran through your veins, eyes bloodshot—maybe due to the fact that you were playing at 3 AM, but still, did you say that out loud?

"No..?" You replied, trying to sound confused, but it just came off weirdly high-pitched.

Silence filled your headset, and your heart panicked; that was a mishap on your part—truly an unfortunate fate. It's been more than a month since you two became gaming buddies, and aside from trying to ragebait him, you sort of, kinda, maybe had a slight crush on him.

"...Let's do better next time.." you heard him say, his voice scruffy, and you honestly wondered how he looked like at this very moment—was his hair disheveled? How did he look—

"—[Y/N?]" He called out for the nth time before you finally heard it.

"—Huh? Oh uh, yeah.." 

Your screen flashed red, the title saying 'Defeat'. You sighed into your seat; as much as you wanted to see him rage—you hated as much seeing yourself lose. You were just as competitive as him.

"I'll cue again?" Kenma's voice filled your headphones; his tone was calmer this time.

"Yeah.. sure."

Kenma didn't press cue; instead, he waited—he was trying to think of what to say. Truth be told, he doesn't know what to say most of the time; his only hope was to rely on his little people skills.

"..Are you tired?"

You replied with a soft hum, the kind that didn't really tell him what your answer was. "Uh..." Your head turned to the direction of your wall clock out of habit.

3:24 AM

"Shit—I didn't realize it was that late." You cursed outwardly, slouching your back against your chair. You could hear shuffling through the headset, closing your eyes briefly as the noise lulled you to sleep.

"...you sleepin?"

His question woke you up, fixing your posture as you let out a small yawn. "Mm... dunno."

"You're tired. Sleep."

You let out an exasperated laugh; his comment wasn't really funny—but perhaps the lack of sleep was getting to you.

"What're you laughin' at...?"

"Hm... just found it funny how you say 'sleep' when... you won't even do that." Your words were starting to slur, and Kenma found it a lot entertaining how you were trying to stay awake just to play.

"..uh-huh... Just go to sleep [Y/N]."

You sighed, hearing his voice say your name in such a manner that made your knees feel like Jell-O already.

"..just one more round, I'll win it this time!"

You waited for his response—but it never came. The silence was suffocating; the only other thing you could hear was the soft buzzing of your computer.

"..hey.. Ken? You still there?"

"...yeah."

"...Are you mad at me for making us lose...?"

"..No... not really.."

You sighed more into your seat; your body practically turning into mush. This was hopeless; your plan on rage-baiting him isn't working—so time for plan B!

—

Plan #2: Mission Ragebait

Just act as clueless as possible; not the best plan—but it's worth a try!

"Then.. are you mad 'cause you died first?"

You heard a grunt through the speakers; it was small—but it was there. You smiled to yourself, thinking your plan was working; just a few more nudges, and he'll break.

"Eugh, no way! I only died because of—"

You.

It's always you, huh?

Kenma sighed into his seat, his shoulders slumped into a shape that resembled a crescent moon. His hands dug into his face as he tried to control his breathing. Once again, the two of you lost another round—it was a ranked match, too.

He practically babysat you the whole game; he wouldn't let you go watch a site alone—it was almost as if he was worried you'd die...because you did. Almost every single time, too!

Even when Kenma was there to help attack, you somehow managed to get killed. Every. Single. Time.

"..damnit... What am I gonna do with you [Y/N]?" Kenma blurted out, his eyes peeking through the creases of his hands, staring at the Discord call that started around 5-6 hours ago? Who knows? —Kenma for sure doesn't.

He pushed a button on the keyboard and his mic lit up, fixing his posture as he leaned in slightly. "I think I'm just rusty," Kenma replied back, his excuse wasn't convincing at all. Even he could tell it sounded fake. I mean, seriously? Who would ever believe that Kenma — The Kenma, would ever be rusty—

"Hmm.. Yeah, it really shows."

Kenma stuttered for a moment, his thoughts went on pause once he heard those words leave your mouth.

Were you seriously agreeing with him? This was driving Kenma insane; after months of playing together, he's never seen you this....bold— This straightforward before.

And in Kenma's honest opinion, he wasn't sure if it was on purpose or not. He noticed the difference last week, during another one of your late-night rounds of Valorant. Plays that should've been easy for you were suddenly difficult, every time you had to clutch, you always died.

"Anyways...maybe Valorant just isn't your game today," you replied, combing through the stray strands of hair that were on your face.

Kenma sighed into his seat, his shoulders tense as he fixed his posture for the first time in 3 hours. "Yeah.. sure.." he replied, exiting the game. You followed him and closed your own game, mentally taking note of the time again.

3:28 AM

The sound of your keyboard echoed around the room, the light of your computer being the only one that lit up your darkened room. Your eyes watched the side of your screen carefully, waiting for him to say something else.

You were just staring at your computer screen for a good minute or so, casually you'd drift off from time to time due to the lack of stimulation from the conversation. Honestly, you thought he must've died or something because you've never seen him be this quiet before.

Did your plan finally work? Could he be—

"..Aren't you tired?"

You hummed, the type of hum that didn't provide him with any answers whatsoever.

But Kenma knew, he always did.

You heard him let out a soft chuckle from your headset, sending chills down your spine. You wondered if it was because it was too cold in your room, and definitely not because of how attractive his voice sounded.

"You wanna play one last game? Or do you just wanna talk?"

"..talk."

"..hm, about what.."

"...dunno.."

—

This conversation was going nowhere, but you hadn't the energy left to actually make an effort to do so otherwise. So instead, the two of you just continued talking—if it was even considered that anymore.

"You know.. earlier this week, Kuroo made me do pushups five times.." Kenma complained, his voice grazing as you shuffled out of your seat.

"Ken, I'm gonna switch devices real quick." You replied before clicking exit call, hastily opening the Discord app on your phone as you made your way to your bed.

"Back.."

"Took you long enough.." He replied, voice low as he let out a soft chuckle. "I was gone for 30 seconds."

"Longest 30 seconds of my life...I missed you."

The call fell silent, your brain took its sweet, sweet time to register what he just said, because when you finally did realize it, he was already clearing his throat. Was it a slip-up, or on purpose?

You turned on your camera, your phone lying sideways as you used a pillow to help it stay up. On the other side, it looked completely dark, but if you squint—and look really closely, you could see the outline of a face, and eyes that stared back.

Kenma was a bit thankful he didn't turn on his camera, or else you'd see the obvious red tint that spread across his face.

Despite your sleepy state, you managed to grumble out a question. It was simple enough, but to Kenma it was everything.

Because to him, no matter how outrageous or how stupid the words that came out of your mouth were, he'd eat it up every time. He wasn't oblivious to his treatment towards you—not like he was trying to hide it either.

"What time is it?"

"...it's 3:29 AM." He replied, soft and slow, like he was scared that any louder, he'd wake the sleepiness out of you.

You hummed, closing your eyes, feeling a smile creeping up your face. Kenma watched you closely, his eyes studying your face like it was going to be an exam the next day.

The two of you stayed silent like this for around a minute or so, but to him it felt like an eternity. One he wouldn't mind staying in forever.

The clock on the bottom corner if his screen showed him it was 3:30 AM. How long were calling for? He'd guess it was around 7-8 hours, considering you were fast asleep, camera on and face still on call.

You grabbed the laptop and ran straight to the gym. When you arrived, you could see a couple of players doing warmups, hearing some of them yell, you recognize some of their voices.

You cleared your throat, trying to catch their attention. "Hello? I have the laptop."

Shoyo's eyes landed on you from across the gym and smiled, waving his arms to you like a kid. You spot Kiyoko walking towards you, and you greeted her briefly before handing her the laptop in your hand.

"Thank you so much Yumi for coming on such short notice." she replied, bowing her head to thank you, before she turned around and walked back to the bench—leaving you there standing, unsure what to do.

Your eyes move back to the court, catching your brother on the other side warming up. You also took notice how Tsukishima was standing right beside him—seemingly having a (one-sided) conversation about something.

"Yumi—" A voice called out makign you turn your attention back, Kiyoko walked up to you, her hands clutching the laptop cloes to her chest.

"I'm sorry to ask you this, but if it's not too much of an ask, could you stay here for a bit?"

Your eyes glance at the laptop and back at her, she seemed to understand what you were trying to say, "I still have to print these files, and I need someone to help set up the match."

Her eyes drift towards the court with players, "Yachi isn't here unfortunately, but you've seen how we set up the net and other equipment right?"

You nod slowly, still trying to grasp the situation. "But If you're busy I can—"

"No go ahead, it's fine. I can stay." you voiced out, Kiyoko looked at you with a smile and nodded before excusing herself out of the gym.

You watch Kiyoko's figure turn the corner out of the gym doors and finally disappear before whipping your head around back at the gym, walking towards an empty bench to sit down.

You were still a bit shaken up with what you just did, "curse me and my people pleasing." you muttered to yourself, anxiously bouncing your leg up and down.

"Talking to yourself now?"

A familiar voice snapped you out of spiraling, as it took everything in you not to roll your eyes—knowing who it belonged to.

"Kei."

"Yumi."

You looked behind him, seeing your brother following not far behind. "Yums, are you gonna stay for our match?" Yamaguchi asked, rubbing a towel on his face to wipe off the sweat.

You hum out a response, turning your head back to the court. "I wanna see how good you guys have gotten these past months or so."

"Are you sure you aren't just skipping class?" Yamaguchi teased, raising an eyebrow at you.

"You're being influenced by Kei, Tadashi." rolling your eyes, as you turned your head away.

"I don't act like Tsukki!" Yamaguchi reasoned, his eyes glaring at you as Tsukishima quipped a brow at his statement, "What's that supposed to mean?"

You smiled to yourself as you exited the group chat, feeling like in such a good mood. You looked at the clock in your room, it was still pretty early.

The match lasted longer than you thought, and you were sort of worried you wouldn't have enough time for your homework. but you managed to finish your homework it right after dinner. Now you had another problem: boredom.

You stood up from your chair, crashing on your bed with a groan. Amidst you rolling on your bed in your room which lacked noise, an idea struck you. You should totally bother catch up with that unknown number guy.

It couldn't hurt to chat him, right?

masterlist || <prev - next>

a/n: sorry it took so long to get out, I had a lot of pending works to get out and im not gonna lie, this is like only my top 3 priority. ALSO, school is starting for me next week, so I really can't promise any consistent updates </3 sorry :'(( but thank you so much for your support, everyone!

After class ended, you waved goodbye to Yachi and made your way to your brother's classroom, peaking inside to see if he was still in there. You saw him standing over Tsukishima's desk, his hands on each corner of the table as he rambled about something.

Suddenly Tsukishima turned his head to you, almost like he knew you were there, with a quick side-turn he looked at Yamaguchi who in turn looked over at to what he was looking at.

Tadashi ran over to you, as he spoke a bit out of breath, "Hey...I can't walk with you home today." he said with an apologetic look, you raised an eyebrow at his statement, tilting your head slightly to see Tsukishima walking over to both of you.

"We have volleyball practice today."

"Seriously? How come you guys are practicing more recently."

Suddenly a voice inserted itself into your conversation, "That's how sports work, dummy."

Turning your attention to the standing figure behind your brother, you twitch a smile, biting back the urge to spit out a comeback. "Awhh, come on Tsukki.." Your brother tried to defend you— 'very helpful' you thought.

"What? I'm only correcting her. Can't have her going around clueless, right?"

"Hah...right, thanks so much for that insightful information!" You managed to chirp out, though not without its malice in your tone. Tsukishima smirked at your response, before he could come up with another reply you excused yourself and left, waving only a small goodbye as you turned the corner.

At home, you spent your free time studying and catching up with homework or notes you missed from your previous classes, but after a while you got bored and decided to lay on your bed and read.

Couple of minutes passed and you laid your manga down on your bed to go grab something to eat or drink when you saw your phone lit up on your bedside table.

You turned off your phone with a huff, slightly annoyed and confused over the rando that just texted you. but a part of you was also slightly concerned with what Yachi said.

'Could it be a stalker?' You shivered at the thought, trying to calm yourself down before you could overthink the situation.

masterlist || >next>

a/n: sorry for the awful quality chat, I'm still kinda learning how to do this thing...

Well past your bedtime, he insisted on staying awake with you, not wanting you to work alone. Sitting across from you, his hands hovered over the rim of the tablet as he watched mukbang videos, a hobby he recently picked up from whom, you might ask? His wonderful partner, who, right now, was busy biting their nails.

Tobio Kageyama— genius setter, had a strict rule on his nail care, more specifically his fingernails. He had been that way ever since, before you two had even dated. It was a habit you admired in your boyfriend; it was niche, and you loved it. But right now, he wished he could say the same thing to you.

His eyes momentarily drifted away from the video when an ad popped up, subconsciously looking over to you, who had stopped typing and had begun biting your nails.

What monstrosity! The sight of you doing that brought his eyebrows together on his forehead. Were you trying to annoy him?

Chronic nail-biter. That's what he called you, in his head at least. He noticed it not long ago; whenever you got nervous before a deadline, or when you got anxious during your presentations, you'd bite. You always called him right before you had to present in a meeting, your hands clamping up as you placed the phone on the bathroom counter.

Then, and even now, you still haven't gotten over your bad habit. Oh, how it irked him! He took such good care of his nails; he carried himself with a certain pride, one you could not decipher.

His eyes narrowed; the ad long since passed on his tablet.

"Stop that," he said, your eyes meeting his.

This callout made you drop your hands on the table; a mix of confusion and curiosity built up on your face as you said, "Tobi, what is it?"

His brows furrowed further, much to your dismay. He only looked away, leaving you even more confused.

"What's wrong?" you replied, your tone laced with worry. Your hands reached out to grab his; the moment his hands touched yours, he flinched.

—

You draw back, biting back the hurt that was trying to escape your face. Did you do something wrong? Maybe you forgot to take out the trash, or was it your turn to do the dishes?

Tobio noticed how you went silent, your mouth quivered as you looked away. Your hands, once sprawled out on the table, now lay clenched, close to your chest. His brows dropped, a twinge of guilt rising in his chest.

"Shit—No, I, I didn't mean it that way."

He stuttered through his words, looking away as if to wash away the guilt. Tobio then took your hands, bringing them over for him to hold. Your hands were cold; did he do that?

He sighs, his head hung low as he tried to find the words.

"You uh—your nails. You bite them."

His words made you raise your eyebrows in shock. Did you? You hadn't noticed, not until now at least.

Your eyes dropped down to your hands, following along before finally landing on your fingers. Tobio's hands held your fingers close, his thumb rubbing circles on your knuckles. His eyes were focused on your fingers too.

"...Sorry...I didn't realize, I'll—"

He shook his head before finally looking up to meet your gaze. "Don't apologize, it's not your fault."

Your presentation long forgotten, as your little conversation dragged on. "It's just, I take care of my nails and—"

You already knew that. Your head tilted slightly, wondering where he was going with this. Perhaps he thinks it's disgusting that you bite them, no?

Before your thoughts could continue, you felt him tug on your hands, making you break away from your chain of thoughts; your eyes looked at him with anticipation.

Bringing your hands close to his face, he inspected the damage to your nails. His eyes focused back onto you, looking confused.

He brought your hands close to his lips, your fingers brushing against his soft lips.

"I want to... take care of yours too."

—

His words, despite being so simple, so mundane, so domestic, tugged on your heartstrings more than you liked to admit.

Your lips pressed together, then turned upwards into a smile, and then a laugh. Was Tobio Kageyama ever this cheesy?

His eyes widened in shock, seeing you smile then laugh at his words. He could feel his cheeks heat up, feeling embarrassed by his words; he tried to pull away his hands to cover his already reddened face.

You pulled back, not letting him let go. Your eyes remained on him; like a trance, he couldn't look away. The way your lips formed into a smile, he was weak to that. But you knew that already, using it to your advantage.

"...Okay, I'm looking forward to it!"

You smiled, your lips turning upwards as it reached your eyes. You thought about how lucky you were to get someone like Tobio in your life; he was caring, loyal, and sweet when it mattered, which in your case, it always did—the epitome of perfect by your standards.

His eyes lingered on your smile, narrowing down on your lips. The very same lips that bit these precious nails, he thought, bringing his attention back to your fingers. They were all crooked, and in some parts, looked like they were bleeding.

His brows furrowed, a hint of annoyance spread on his face; you knew this because his lips formed into a scowl, downturned more than usual.

"How did I let you get it this bad..." His words were low; you almost couldn't catch them, but you did. You merely laughed at his comment, but this was serious to him.

His lips scowled even more than usual, his mind racing with what-ifs. If he had paid more attention, then maybe your fingers wouldn't have ended up so bruised and broken.

"What kind of boyfriend am I..."

"A really good one."

His attention pulled away, looking at anything but you. He still had a long way to go before finally getting used to your compliments, not that he minded.

His eyes landed on his nail kit that sat on the edge of their end table. Tobio gently placed your hands back on the table, hoisting himself off his desk.

Tobio sat back down, his nail kit in hand. You watched closely as he got out his tools, placing them accordingly on the table. You couldn't help but smile again.

Kenma shifted his eyes as little as possible, feeling uncomfortable with all the lights flashing above him. Much to his dismay, the couch was beginning to fill up as the rest of the spots became occupied by other people. The only empty spot remaining was the one beside him; he prayed it would stay that way.

But, just as his luck would have it, someone sat down, making him grumble to himself. Not that he wasn't used to things not going his way; his RNG had been bad recently; his recent plays would prove that.

His eyes avoided any eye contact; his body shifted to give him just enough space for no contact. The only remaining senses he had left that he couldn't shelter were his hearing. Amidst the chaos Kuroo had instilled earlier, with the male practically threatening to carry him out the door himself if it came to it, he had forgotten his headphones.

Now left to fend off the villains (small talk) that would fight him in battle, he braced himself for impact. Dramatic, I know.

Kenma had fully expected you to start a conversation with him, expecting you to be just like everyone else, so when his ears were met with silence, the only thing that echoed was the remix of 2000s indie-pop music. He was kind of taken aback, and somewhat glad, and at the same time curious. Kenma hadn't felt that much emotion since—well, since the 200-day Ayaka Banner.

His eyes widened when he realized the familiar soundtrack, fixing his posture almost—out of habit—just to catch a glimpse of what was in your hands. It was only your phone, but that wasn't what made him look; it was what was on your phone that caught his attention.

The familiar gateway arch, the soft hums of the soundtrack—oh yeah, he knew where that came from. He turned full geek mode the moment you pressed on your phone screen. You were playing Genshin Impact.

His eyes immediately locked on yours; his body subconsciously inched slightly toward you. Oh, how embarrassing it was; he looked like a kid watching someone play on their phone—except maybe for the fact that you were both adults, or in this case, overgrown children playing a gacha game.

You weren't oblivious; the moment you sat down and pulled out your phone, you knew he was hooked. A fellow player just like you—except maybe you did this on purpose.You were in a similar situation: a friend dragged you out of your shared apartment to go to a party with approximately 99% of people you didn't know—the 1% being your friend.

The moment you set foot in this place, you knew you couldn't leave for another hour or two, even if you had begged, not that you would have anyway, seeing as your friend knew all too well what things to bribe you with: a copy of a newly released game that  the shelves within the hour it was displayed.

You, being one of the unlucky few who couldn't manage to get your hands on it, your friend knew this, of course. Using it to their advantage, they pulled a couple of strings to get you a copy straight from the factory—or wherever games were made; you really couldn't care less.

As you continued to play the game, doing your dailies, you could feel the guy beside you lean his face forward. It was honestly kind of cute; from your peripheral vision, you could see he was watching you play while doing his best not to seem weird.

No words were exchanged until that point; you chose to play and let him watch in silence.

Sometimes you'd miss an attack and take damage, feeling irritated, and you could hear him wince—as if he were the one playing. You bit back the urge to laugh.

Finally defeating the boss, you relaxed your fingers and let out a sigh. Opening the chest to collect your rewards, your screen flashed with the list of items you received: 50 Primogems.

"How generous…" you groaned. You were doing this quest even before you went to the party, and only now did you finally finish it, and the rewards—you couldn't say you were surprised, honestly. You've been a player since the release, and this wasn't out of the norm for them.

You huffed, sighing as you exited the quest room, your character running around briefly before you opened the character menu. Kenma's eyes followed the screen, watching you switch between your characters.

Recently, you decided to build Kazuha, although you already had a build for him, you definitely could do better; his EM was too low for your liking—a measly 1,405 was good, but again—you could do better.

Enter. Fight. Collect. Repeat.

Your eyes locked on your phone as you played; your concentration wasn't gone unnoticed by Kenma. His eyes darted from your phone to you from time to time, convincing himself that it was out of pure curiosity.

Watching you so focused on a game he liked lowkey kind of made him happy—not that he'd admit it to you outright. It wasn't every day he'd meet someone as game-obsessed as him, and to find one at a party of all places. This was definitely a legendary find, probably a 0.003% chance. Maybe his RNG wasnt so bad afterall.

You stayed focused mid-battle, trying to fight off the stupid overgrown lizard for the third time now for the materials for his talents.Halfway through the fight, Azhdaha changed its element to Pyro. You shifted your body, positioning your elbows on your lap, your eyes locked on it—when suddenly your game paused.  Both of you let out an annoyed sigh, a little louder than intended.

Your phone was about to die.

Frantically, you checked your pockets for a charger. Your hands touched empty spaces as your hope slowly slipped away, like a dimming light—plop.

Your eyes widened at the charger thrown onto your lap. Your eyes darted to the boy next to you, who had his face turned away, his hands covering part of his mouth. He said, "You can borrow mine." As the words left his lips, the tips of his ears turned a slight shade of pink.

You looked back down at the charger; a small smile tugged at your lips. "Thank you."

During those two hours of gaming, you barely spoke—only grunts when your character was hurt, or a tiny chuckle when you outwitted the enemy.

The two of you stayed bunched together on one corner of the couch, sharing only that.

Kuroo managed to find Kenma on the couch, sitting close to someone other than him. The state his friend was something you'd only see when he was in his room. Kuroo's eyes remained fixed on you left.  The other guests started leave, but the both of you stayed comfortably on the couch in silence.

"Hey, is he your friend?" Your eyes remained fixed on your phone, not daring to look up, knowing would be a pair of eyes staring back. Kenma looked up, seeing Kuroo across the room, an unfamiliar expression on his face. Kuroo turned to his friend, smirking and giving him a thumbs-up, mouthing "Good luck," since they were too far apart to hear each other. "Nope."

Your head turned slightly toward the boy beside you, half-meeting his gaze. "Do you play...?" It was low and sounded hesitant, making you feel self-conscious. Kenma's eyes moved from the screen to you, a brief moment of eye contact before he looked away, nodding slightly.

Kenma grabbed his phone from his pocket—this was probably the longest he'd gone without using it. You watched as he unlocked his phone and loaded the game, bringing your focus back to your own screen as you waited.

After a couple of seconds, he nudged you slightly, sliding his phone toward you to show his UID. You scanned the numbers for a moment before furrowing your brows. A strange laugh escaped your lips as you scratched the back of your neck.

Kenma tilted his head, curious about what you found funny. His eyes darted to your phone screen, noticing your in-game username, then your adventure rank, AR 60, he noted, recognizing you'd been grinding on the game far longer than he expected you to—and finally, your UID.

"Ah."

He was in Asia; you were in America.

Your conversation fell silent when you both realized the obvious dilemma: your account was in America, meaning he couldn't play with you since his account was registered in Asia. Kenma's mouth opened to speak but fell short; his words wouldn't come out. You looked at his expression, your eyes dropping to his lips, which formed a scowl. You couldn't help but laugh.

The sound of your laughter echoed in Kenma's ears, which now colored a slight pink—he was doomed. Unable to help himself, he chuckled as well, despite not knowing why; he just did.

"Too bad, huh?" he replied, his voice slightly overshadowed by your laughter.

"No, it's—we can still play." You pointed, exiting the game as it loaded back to its home menu screen. Your fingers hovered over the button labeled 'America'.

"I have an account in Asia."

His eyes darted to your face as those words left your mouth. Those six words were like a gift from the heavens—like God himself had come down to earth and kissed him on the forehead. He didn't understand why, but hearing you say that made him happier than he wanted to admit. The opportunity to play with you was again made possible, and he honestly could thank his luck.

His eyes watched your movements closely as you brought your phone close to hide part of your face; your eyes looked away, seemingly embarrassed.

"...but I havent been playing on it, so im only on AR 55.."

Oh, he was doomed—so doomed.

"Wake up." Sokka exclaimed, turning on the lights, making his roommate groan and seek for shelter in his blankets. "Clean this up man– and what are you? A vampire?!" He ranted further, picking up what seemed to be dirty socks.

"It's 11 PM! Why should I be awake?!" He retorted, his voice a bit muffled from the pillows. Sokka shuffled his way around, finally sitting on the edge of his bed. "Becausee–"

He grabbed the blanket in one swift motion and shoved his phone into Zuko's eyes, "Suki and the girls are at this cool party down two blocks." He paused, his eyes filled with excitement while Zuko remained indifferent.

Zuko's eyes tried to adjust to the sudden array of light and the obvious tiredness, "So? Whats it got to do with me?" Shoving his phone away, rubbing off the little specks of dust in his eyes.

"Dude seriously! We cant miss this!" Sokka replied, "–Theres–like—cool.. –people!" He grunted each word, trying to pull his friends ass of the matress.

"Sokka, it's 11 PM on a school night."

"Oh come on! Its not like you wouldnt do the same with your study nonsense!"

"Studying is not nonsense!" He huffed out, swatting away his friends hand off him, before begrudgingly standing up, wobbling for a moment.

"Get out."

"Oh come o–"

"I'm gonna change!" Zuko yelled in annoyance, which made Sokka leave the room smiling. It wasnt that he had convince him, No. No way!

Zuko just decided that even if he were to decline, Sokka wouldnt let him sleep all night. Berating him with bountiful requests which if he was gonna be honest, he'd rather go to a stupid party than listen to him talk till the sun shines.

____________________________________________

Cut the scene to you, Why were you at this party?

The same question you asked yourself a million times before going. You tipped your cup slowly, watching your drink swirl around in a circle.

It wasnt really your a choice. A friend of yours said that someone from the other department invited her us to a party.

And obviously that meant you had to go with, because Avatar forbid a girl has hobbies.

And before you knew it, your outfit was already picked out and displayed on your bed.

You did your best to prepare, but you havent been really goong to many parties to really know what to go for. Just deciding to just go with some plain jewelry and your favorite strawberry perfume.

"Y/N! Lighten up will ya!" Your friend nudged your shoulders in a playful way, trying to get you to dance.

"Maybe next song." I replied, trying to act tired. And with a faint smile, I nudged her back to the dance floor. With a small pat behind my back, she made her way back to the dance floor.

This was now your nth drink, and in all honesty, it seemed like you werent stopping anytime soon.

You've sat on your high-horse of a chair for what felt like eternity. But it was really just 30 minutes. You sat and drank and watched your friends dance, mingle, flirt, make out for 30 minutes, while you get no game.

Okay, maybe a little too harsh, but it was your choice to sit and stay. The opportunity came and you made your choice, your sad sad choice.

With little concious you had left, you spot one of your friends walking towards you, gathering all the willpower you have to speak, "Done dirty dancing?"

Your friend laughs, does she finds your misery humorous? Or is she pitying you? "Enough drinking, more dancing!" She replied, dragging your arms towards the dance floor.

But before you could even reach, you felt your insides burn and turn inside out.

"Holy shit, Y/N." Your friend yelped in panic, watching you clutch your stomach. You had just puked, all over the floor. What an entrance.

Your friends all gathered outside the bathroom floor, with one of them inside to help you puke out the rest of what you had drank. "Y/N.."

"I know, damn it." I wiped my hands over my mouth, the bitter taste still in my mouth. "I'm sorry for ruining your night."

"Its not that... We're worried about you." Your friend exclaimed, her hands behind your back, rubbing soft circles. "We.. We thought this party would lighten you up, after what happened.."

Her voice was drowned out by the loud music, it went in one side and left the other. You just focused on her lips and nodded.

Your friend helped you up off the bathroom floor, "Go outside, get some fresh air." She paused, pointing towards the back door, "I'll be back with a bottle of water, Okay?" Her eyes looked at you with that look. You hated that look.

____________________________________________

Now this was just great. Said party turned into some sort of germ fest filled with a bunch of thirsty young adults, and Zuko was stuck inside.

This was honestly the craziest he's seen by far. All the other parties he'd got dragged went to wasnt as wild as this.

He had just seen someone throw up all over 1/3 of the dance floor, and that was enough for him to get up on his feet.

Nobody would blame Zuko for leaving to have a break, is what he told himself.

Zuko stumbled across the dance floor, passing through the sweaty dancing intoxicated wave of bodies of supposive adults. Chances are, theres definately some underage teens in there, but it wasnt really his job to monitor them, was it?

The wave of fresh air hit his nose, filtering out the mix of alcohol in the room. Shifting through his pants to find a packet of cigarettes.

Zuko doesnt usually smoke, only does it when he's stressed, or alone, or bored, or–

Maybe its the daddy issues. His dad was an active user anyways, the apple doesnt fall far from the tree.

Of course he didnt really enjoy them, how could anyone enjoy the taste of bitter air? Well, his father did.

____________________________________________

"Mind if I join you?" His hands stops where its at, the cigarette barely touching his lips, his eyes landed on you. "..Be my guest."

Zuko cleared his throat, slowly letting his hands fall back to his pockets. "Please, continue." I gesture, trying to steady myself on the rails. "I dont mind the smoke."

He paused for a moment before sighing, bringing his hands back to his face. Grabbing the other side of his pocket to pick his lighter. His eyes trailed back to you.

"Hey, you're puke girl." Zuko said with a scoff, a small smirk between his lips. I laughed at his bluntness. "So you saw that?" My hands traced the rails carefully.

The scent of smoke and alcohol washed over us both. "Everyone did." He replied, exhaling the smoke from his lips. "Another memory to remember me by."

Zuko looked at you, his expression remained unreadable. "I don't know, maybe everyone will be too drunk to remember you." His attempts to comfort you was humor on your part.

"I'd hope so." You reply, staring out into the balcony. Feeling the cold autumn breeze hit you, a mix of your strawberry perfume and cigarette smoke.

"Whats your name mysterious stranger?" I asked, not bothering to turn my head. He let out an exhale, "Does it matter?"

"I'd like to know."

"Of course you do, Im sure you have a lot of questions in that drunken state of yours."

You let out a huff, maybe it was the alcohol talking but you felt a sudden wave of adrenaline, looking at this stranger you havent met. Maybe because consequences werent at play here.

"Im not drunk anymore, I puked it all out." I explained, making him chuckle. "Im not sure it works like that." He exhaled, the smoke going out of his lips.

The cigarette in his hands were staring to wilt, deteriorating slowly. Your eyes watched as he inhaled the smoke, "Why do people smoke?" I ask, clearing your throat a bit, a slip on your part.

His eyes followed yours, looking at the cigarette in his hands. He looked like he was gonna say something, but then just shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno."

My eyes examined him more, "Seriously, what's so great about it?" I ask again, this time leaning closer to get a better smell at the smoke.

The brows on his face furrowed, before leaning in as well, before blowing the puff of smoke on your face. "Eug– Yuck!" I blurted out, trying to fan awag the smoke.

"It smells bitter." I coughed out, looking at the dark haired stranger in front of me. A small grin on his face. "I know."

My mouth fell silent for a moment, thoughts clouding in my head. My body was moving faster than I could think, and before I knew it, my mouth slipped again. "Does it taste bitter too?"

The boy laughed, before inhaling the cigarette once more. "Do you wanna try?" He gestured for me to come closer.

I inched towards him, the cigarette in his hands placed in front of me. "Well? Go ahead?" He replied, placing his other hand on the rails for stability.

His expression remained unreadable, but even a child could see how much he enjoyed this.

And damn it, maybe you did too.

Before your lips could touch the tip of the cigarette, the door swung open, revealing your friend. Her hands occupied with a bottle of water, "Sorry it took so long, I had to run to the nearest store down the block." Giving me the bottle of water, "Seemed like everything in here was only 100% alcohol."

Her eyes watched you open the bottle cap, drinking from it slowly. Before panning her eyes to the figure beside you. "Oh, uhm.. was I interrupting something?" Her tone laced with sarcasm.

Rolling your eyes, as you capped off the bottle. "We were just talking." You shrugged, leaning against the balcony railings. Your friend eyed you carefully, her mouth about to open to say something before deciding not to.

Turning around as she mumbled something out the door, "Well, if you need anything, I'll be at the movie room." And with that, you saw your friend disappear into the crowd. It was only the two of you alone now.

"Your friend..?" He asked, his hands now empty, sitting carefully on the cold metal rails. You could only hum in agreement, as you watched his hands trace around the pattern of the rails. "Its gone."

He looked at you for a moment, before bringing his attention back at the view. "I was done." He replied, which made you turn your head back to the view as well.

"...I really wanted to try it." You replied, almost as if pouting to yourself. He looked at you, his expression remained emotionless, "I don't think that'd be wise." He replied, "It damages your lungs, you know that right?"

in which you retorted back, "I know, but you still do it."

"its because I'm already damaged."

You were taken aback by his response, it was so straightforward. And edgy.

"Yeesh.. you sound so emo right now.."

"..Shut up." You felt him shift his body, sneaking a glance you could see a light shade of pink on his ears.

Sokka opened the doors, as we both went inside. The aroma of tea and pastries engulfed our noses, feeling a sense of warmth in the cafe.

The jasmine dragon had been a popular franchise near our school, always crowded by students and passerby's. We were regulars here, since we'd usually do our projects here. And also, the fact that the owner's nephew, was one of our close friends.

We saw Zuko serving on one of the tables, it was quite busy for a weekday. He saw us walking in, sending us a small nod before going back to his job.

"What do you want?" Sokka asked, pulling out his wallet from his pocket as he looked up at the menu. "Anything's fine.." I replied, walking to a nearby empty booth.

5 minutes had passed, I sat on my seat comfortably, twirling the pen in my hand as I looked up at Sokka. He wasnt paying attention to the homework in front of him, instead settling on scrolling his phone.

"Hey dork, maybe you should stop what you're doing and actually do your work"

His face still focused on the phone at hand, grumbling something before aggressively tapping away.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, louder this time, making the boy jump slightly on his seat. He looked annoyed at my disruption, "What?"

"You're gonna fail if you dont study"

He shifted back into his seat as he spoke, "I already studied." A hint of amusement as he went back into his phone.

I didnt say anything as I countinued to watch him, my stare burning holes in him, as he groaned slightly, sparing me a glance as he spoke, "I'm just taking a break okay."

"Thats rich." I snickered, obviously judging him and his choices.

"What!" He quipped, feeling annoyed at my staring. "You should try it you know!" He folded his arms back, leaning in against the chair, setting down his phone on the table.

"I'll take a break when I want to!" I retorted, stuffing my face back into the book I was holding. Hearing him laugh from the other side at the table, he grabbed the book away.

"Come on, you're so.. overworking. Chill out for a bit."

He placed the book in front of him, far from my reach as he placed his hands behind his head for support.

I sighed, looking at him defeated. He wouldnt give me back my notebook if I didnt, and maybe it would be good.

We were at it for 4 hours now, and I only stood up three times, and two of them were for the bathroom!

"Why don't we play a game."

"Im not playing roblox with you."

His face shifted to one of the embarrassment, "Wh– No–" slamming his hands on the table, as he spoke through gritted teeth, "..It's not roblox–"

"Why would you say that?!'

"You always beg me, can't sue a man for assuming!"

He folded his arm as he looked out the window, "Well, I wasn't.." he grumbled slightly. Falling silent for a moment, before his face lit up with an idea.

"One two three?" His head turned to me, a knowing smile on his face. "Alright then.. you first." I leaned back in my seat.

His mouth opened slightly to protest before deciding against it, he placed his arms on the table, looking out the window eagerly.

A few seconds later, a brunette walked by her hair the length of her shoulder. She wore a green tee and loose jeans, her shoes decorated by random doodling.

"Oooh she's nice"

"Hm..." Sokka nodded, taking a few close looks before shaking his head. "Well yeah, but you can't settle on the first one you see!" he exclaimed, folding his hands.

"..Right.." I rolled my eyes at his excuse, turning my head to the window. After a while, another girl walked by, she had white beautiful white long hair, she wore a nice blue dress and had sandals on.

"Shes cute!" I exclaimed, placing my hand on the table to support my chin, I looked at Sokka, he nodded his head. "Right!.." he paused; his hands rose up to his chin as well to think.

"..but..?"

"There's still the third one!"

I chuckled, leaning back into my seat, "At this rate you're gonna get an old lady–" his head darts to me, his face telling me to shush up.

"Don't say that! You're gonna jinx it!"

His head turned back to the window, anticipating the next girl that was gonna walk by fingers crossed he waited, when suddenly the first girl from before came back running the other direction.

"Does that count?" I asked, as I looked out the window, seeing the girl mouth something to her group of friends.

Sokka looked a bit startled, still processing what just happened, when the girl suddenly stopped in front of the window, and for a brief moment, their eyes locked together.

The brunette sent a small wave before running past us again, Sokka's eyes widened in awe, a faint whisper leaving his lips. "Woah."

"That was a sign from the universe."

"Definitely.."

In a sudden motion, Sokka then turned to me with a proud look on his face. "I'm gonna get her number." his tone cocky as he folded his arms together.

I could only shake my head in disbelief, props to him for being so ambitious.

"Your turn."

I looked back out the window, waiting for a moment when the first person passed us. A teen boy, probably 3-4 years younger than me, I shook my head as I spoke, "Nope. Pass."

"Wha– already?!"

"You're one to talk... he's too young"

"You don't know that." Sokka replied, leaning back against his chair as his gaze fell on the window. The second person had walked past, a guy in a suit, who was probably on his way to work.

"What about that guy huh," Sokka quipped, turning his head slightly to see my reaction. "Hell no. I don't want someone's dad?" I crossed my arms defensively.

My response got Sokka to laugh, his laughter echoing in my ears, "Tell me why are your choices better??" I asked, my voice a hint of annoyance behind it.

"My choices are teen boy or old man!"

"Better hope the next one's better then!"

I grumbled at his response, as I turned my focus back to the window as we both waited. I sat up properly, my eyes narrowing out the window across the street.

"What are you two looking at"

We spun our heads around, only to see Zuko standing in front of our table with our orders. "We're playing a game." I quipped, shifting my body to face the table.

"I– You know what, I don't even wanna know"

"You guys are quite busy today." Sokka replied, as he grabbed his cup off the tray, setting it down gently on the table. "Yeah... sorry for the wait. Uncle and I are still looking for new workers."

I nodded slightly, grabbing my cup. "Hey, wait–" Sokka replied, a look of realization crossed his face. "You saw Zuko, doesn't that count him as number three?"

Zuko turned his head to Sokka, him and I exchanging glances. "What– No!" I retorted, "He's not even a player!"

"He doesn't need to be! You saw him, it counts"

"What are you guys talking about?"

Sokka turned his head to Zuko, "Its a game, 'One, two, three, he's yours'" He replied, bringing the cup up to his face to drink. "Sounds stupid."

"It is."

"–The game is basically a dating game, the first guy passes by, either you accept the guy or you pass and wait for the second guy."

"..when the second guy passed, you either accept the guy or pass, means you're automatically stuck with the third guy!"

Zuko looked unimpressed, "I don't get it." Holding the tray on his side. "I dont expect you to–"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

The table erupted into laughter after Zuko's question, Sokka looked at him with a knowing smile on his face, "The point is, Y/N's playing and technically.."

"–Techincally, she saw you so that makes you guy number 3."

Zuko looked even more confused, looking back and forth to Sokka and Me. "So she's stuck with you now!" The boy gleamed, holding his cup closely.

Your wonderful boyfriend is taking you out to this new restaurant down the street, call it an early celebration if you will, considering your 1-year anniversary would be in 2 days, he decided why not to celebrate early.

You stepped out of the vehicle, your red heels clacking against the cold pavement. You locked arms with Zuko, hands intertwined together as you walked towards the glass doors of the restaurant.

"Good evening, Sir... right this way please."

The waiter led you to a secluded corner of the restaurant, the interior was simply elegant and screamed luxury. Of course, nothing less from your boyfriend. After 6 months of dating him, you've simply gotten used to this kind of treatment, from your boyfriend's grand trips to priceless jewelry, you name it, he'll get it.

As you got to your table, Zuko gracefully pulled out the chair, gesturing for you to sit. You smiled at your boyfriend and his efforts to stay romantic, believe it or not, he wasn't exactly this showy on the first few months of your relationship

Oh, how far you've come.

"Y/N, what are you getting?"

"Oh... hm," You hummed slightly, grabbing ahold of the menu on the table. Scanning over the menu page, you spot over a dish that caught your attention. Salad.

You didn't usually order this, your typical choices of cuisine were pasta, or most notably chicken nuggets. So, much to your boyfriends' surprise when you had told him you wanted a salad, a look of skepticism wash over his face.

"Oh, are you sure?"

"Yep!" A wide smile spread across your face, and your boyfriend was absolutely clueless.

A few minutes later, your waiter had arrived holding in hand a notebook and pen, "What will it be for you two tonight?"

"Oh, I'll have the... steak, medium rare..." Zuko's voice trailed off, as his head turns to you, fully expecting you to continue his conversation. You stayed quiet, with a smile on your face.

"—she'll have the salad."

A look of apprehension plastered on the waiter's face, as she looked at you and Zuko. She hesitated for a moment, before her eyes looked at you with concern, "Is that what you want Ma'am?"

Inwardly you couldn't contain your laughter, but you did your best to conceal your giggling, as you kept on a stoic expression. You looked at Zuko for a brief moment, his eyes didn't leave yours.

Zuko felt like it was your way of telling him to talk for you, and as naive as he was to the situation, he did what he was told.

"Yes, she'll have the salad."

The look of suspicion placed carefully on the waitress's face, her eyes went back and forth between you and Zuko. It was truly priceless when you saw the cogs turn in Zuko's head as he realized how concerning it sounded to an outsider's perspective.

Before he could even explain what was really going on, that you actually did want a salad, the waiter had promptly walked away from their table, leaving room for misunderstanding.

Silence filled the table as you looked at your boyfriend's distressed state, and you couldn't contain your laughter any longer. Bursting into a fit of giggles as your partner looked at you with a flushed expression.

"Seriously, what were you trying to do?''

His voice tried to sound annoyed, but really, he couldn't stay mad at you, as you notice a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Zuko rolled his eyes, as he crossed his arm, his eyes never leaving you.

"What am I going to do with you Y/N..?"

He let out an exasperated sigh, his eyes showed a hint of amusement at your 'prank'. You really were childish like that, but not like he'd mind, he likes how outgoing you are, and how you could always bring a smile to his face.

All this time you thought you were lucky to have found a guy like him, but really it was him that was thanking the moon and stars to have met someone as wonderful as you. He was the lucky one.

A soft smile grazed his face, bringing his hands to yours as he held them across the table. His touch, despite the rough features of his hand, felt soft against yours.

"Happy 1 year anniversary."