Anxious Photographer

“I wouldn’t say I know a lot about flowers. Just enough to get by,” Oikawa replied with a shrug, letting go of the lily he’d been touching. He wasn’t quite sure what jonquils meant, but Oikawa still stood by the daffodils comment: Satou was insecure and uncertain. Glancing over at the calla lily that Satou was playing with, he hummed. “Aren’t calla lilies supposed to mean beauty?” He then asked, glancing up at Satou. “I’m surprised you have an affinity for them.”

“How quaint~!” Oikawa remarked, following Satou through the house towards the garden. Taking the outdoor shoes and slipping them on, he wandered forward and through the rather tastefully constructed garden. It was obviously well-maintained. Reaching out, he gently brushed his fingers against the nearest lily. The white petals were unfurled, curling outwards to display the vibrantly yellow stamen.

“Mm… so you like lilies the most, Ryou-chan? I would’ve pegged Ryou-chan for a daffodil person, considering how he is.” He didn’t elaborate much on his statement, instead gesturing at the flower he just touched. “Did you know that the white ones mean purity and chastity, for all they’re used in funeral bouquets?”

“It’s okay, Ryou-chan. I accept your apology. I know you don’t mean to be offensive, right?” Oikawa’s lips curled into a smile at the sight of Satou nervously fiddling with his sweater. Following him through the gated fence and into his house, Oikawa glanced around with a mild curiosity. The entryway was quite… hm, he wouldn’t say mundane, but it certainly wasn’t as decorated as he thought it would, considering how inclined Satou was to taking photos.

He took his shoes off, neatly putting them to the side and walked right into the house. “Ne, Ryou-chan, you should show me around. Did I remember correctly saying that you have a garden?” He’d be appropriately disappointed if he didn’t.

          “A-Ah, yes! We do--” At the mention of having a garden, he nodded, a sudden rise of some excitement bubbling up. The garden was something he cherished, and he was thankful his mother had someone come and take care of it when she wasn’t taking care of it. “Here, I can show you to it, and we have some outside shoes by the door to the backyard so your socks won’t get dirty.” Nodding, he took his own shoes off at the front door, shutting it and locking it before leading Oikawa to the back door that lead out to the garden.

“Ryou-chan’s such a dedicated fan of mine,” Oikawa said with a lilt to his words and a grin on his face. Laughing briefly, he then added a light, “It’s flattering to have someone like Ryou-chan constantly scurrying after me like I’m actually worth your time~!” Or so he claimed. Oikawa was far more immodest than he presented himself to be.

Smirking over at Satou, he reached out to brush his fingertips against Satou’s cheek. “But ne, Ryou-chan, I don’t appreciate being called weird for saying something is cute. Nice-looking and pretty are words I use for people, ne? Not houses. But ne, maybe if I said that your home is pretty, you might hear me wrong and think I was calling you pretty, right? What a terrible misunderstanding that would be~!”

          “A-Ah, I didn’t mean you were weird for doing something weird it just... seemed like strange phrasing... I’m sorry.” Clearing his throat, he fidgeted with the hem of his sweater, feeling his stomach sink as Oikawa continued. “Y-Yeah... That would be...” Fidgeting more with his sweater, he bit at his lip, his fingers clutching at the hem of his sweater eventually, holding the fabric tight. As he tried to think of what he could even continue their conversation with after that comment, he was relieved to see the house come into view.

“Shouldn’t I be the judge of that, Ryou-chan? Or are you implying that you know my tastes so well that you can guess what I’d like without waiting for me to actually tell you what I think?” Oikawa replied with a curious tilt of his head, a smile as mild as milk upon his lips. Taking both the change and the receipt from the tray, he glanced over at Satou. “I suppose you might know, considering how closely you follow me. Ne, Ryou-chan?”

The way he said that almost made it seem accusatory, pointed, sharp–but as ever, Oikawa’s smile was teasing and his voice amused. How Satou interpreted his words was, of course, the result of his overactive imagination. Oikawa wasn’t the kind of person to intentionally put people on the spot, after all.

              “N-No, not at all, Oikawa-san!” Sputtering a bit at the idea of himself implying anything, he shook his head as his cheeks flushed a shade of red. “It’s just... a-a little weird that my m-mom’s house would be c-cute... I mean... n-nice looking or pretty sound l-like more normal ways to describe a h-house...” Though the follow up comment had him finding it difficult to contain how flushed his cheeks were.

“Yes, I did say your house,” Oikawa confirmed, saying each word slowly as if speaking to someone who didn’t comprehend Japanese very well. Grabbing the receipt from the table, he made his way to the cashier near the front of the restaurant, paying for it without paying too much attention the price. Even if it was beyond what Oikawa would usually pay for, it was definitely worth the power he got to display over Satou.

“Lead the way, Ryou-chan~! I can’t wait to see where you live. I’m sure it’ll be just as cute and near as you seem to be,” he added offhandedly, reaching out to gently tug at a stray curl of Satou’s hair. “Maybe you’ll even give me a tour, ne?”

           Flushing a shade of red with how Oikawa responded, he fidgeted with the hem of his sweater, following him over to the cashier. Though, the flush nearly doubled in intensity when Oikawa had paid for the entire thing. Now he really felt like it’d be rude if he denied just giving Oikawa a little tour... “Y-Yeah... I think... I think I could do that.” Nodding with a thick swallow, he was mostly hopeful that a normal tour included the main living area, the front and back yards ( why his mother needed this much space, he was never certain ) and essentially everything downstairs.

“He does, which is what makes him so damn annoying and the worst to be around at times. But it ain’t pathetic, you are allowed to like whoever you want.”

The question tacked on the at the end made Iwaizumi frown a little more. He wasn’t sure if Sato was asking him because he knew Oikawa better or that he might like him? If his sent was attracting the attention of Oikawa then he would know by now. He shrugged and looked down at the camera that Sato was holding.

“He’s an asshole, and doesn’t think before he acts when it comes to his health. But, he’s a great setter and despite everything he is a good friend. But he can’t handle relationships right now with his work ethic, but that doesn’t seem to stop him from going out and getting dumped like crazy.”

“I think Ryou-chan’s home is closer~! Let’s go go Ryou-chan’s home.” Oikawa remarked almost immediately, tapping his fingers lightly against the table in thought. While Oikawa would definitely have even more authority if they went over to Oikawa’s home… Wouldn’t it be interesting for Oikawa to invade into what was obviously a safe space for Satou? “Let’s head out. Maybe next time we go out, you won’t be so sick and wouldn’t waste so much food~?”

            “M-My house?” Tensing up, he swallowed thickly at the remark on him wasting the food. Right. He did waste perfectly good food with his... moment of panic... so perhaps it seemed only fair to invite Oikawa over for his troubles. “R-Right... U-Uhm... I-I guess I’ll lead the way, then...” Nodding, even though he felt his fingers trembling the slightest bit, nervous about letting Oikawa into his home. They didn’t have to go to his room, at least. There wasn’t any reason for them to, anyways.

Pressing the button Sato pointed out Iwaizumi rose his brow at some of the pictures. These were pretty good already, but he figured touch ups and effects were necessary for posters. As he looked over he took notice of the amount of pictures of Oikawa solo, which would make sense as he was captain. But even when not playing there were some of him during break talking to the team. It didn’t take long for Iwaizumi to piece it together in his head.

“So, you really like him, huh?” It wasn’t accusatory, he could get why Sato liked him. But this many pictures was a little disconcerting.

“It’s alright, Ryou-chan. Ne, you don’t have to cry for being sick, right? It’s like apologising because water is wet~!” Oikawa soothed, unable to hold back the smile from his face. He immediately schooled it into something reassuring, but there was just something so satisfying to see Satou tremble with his teary eyes, threatening to cry. “Let’s pay for the meal and we can head somewhere private. I’m sure you’d rather not have everyone else see you like this, right?” He added wryly.

          “Y-Yeah.” Swallowing thickly, he nodded through his trembling, cheeks burning in embarrassment as he remembered they were still in a fairly public locale. “Th-That sounds good...” Nodding again, he moved to rise from his seat, drinking a bit more of the water to tide himself over until they were elsewhere. Though... now that he thought about it, he wasn’t sure where somewhere more private might be.

“Ne, if Ryou-chan really was sick, he could’ve just told me. We wouldn’t have had to come out and make everyone feel unhappy, right?” Oikawa remarked placatingly, reaching out to place his hand upon Satou’s. His fingers felt cold; Oikawa had to wonder if that was a usual thing. “If you’re sick and I made you come out with me, I’d feel very bad.”

My, wasn’t Satou-chan so touchy? Oikawa had a cat-smug smirk on his face as he watched Satou rush off, stumbling and pallid in what was probably self-disgust. Of course, Oikawa hadn’t meant to make him feel so upset, but really–what could he do when someone misinterpreted what he’d said? It definitely wasn’t Oikawa’s fault at all. Pushing around his food while he awaited Satou to return, he glanced over at Satou’s bag.

It was still here. Untouched.

He was fairly sure it would take more than a few minutes for Satou to return, and he not so guiltily moved to rummage through it, ignoring everything but for the camera he knew Satou would carry around with him nearly everywhere. It took him a moment of investigating to found out how to turn the camera on, and Oikawa found himself delighted when he managed to get the lens’ image capture onto the display screen, popping it out to create a makeshift selfie-camera for himself. It barely took seconds for him to find his best angle.

Everything was set back to its original place by the time Satou returned, and Oikawa had a beatific look on his face. His smile was as innocent as he was gentle; only superficially. “Are you alright, Ryou-chan?” He asked kindly. “You ran off so suddenly.”

          Once it registered in his brain what Oikawa had said, he nodded slowly, breathing as slowly as he could in some effort of remaining calm. “I... just don’t feel good, is all. I’ll be alright, though.” Swallowing, he pushed the bowl of ramen aside in order to settle an elbow on the table to cradle his chin in his hand as he sipped at his water. The taste still lingered and he almost flinched at it.

█ ▓ ▒ ░ 【 ♛ 】჻ K I N G

        ❝ M - MY pictures??? ❞

                                 Now THERE’S a shock. He shouldn’t be surprised, honestly, yet it’s a sincere fact pertaining to his popularity without alternative meaning that has caught the brunet captain off - guard when he realizes that perhaps the fan girls that amass at the door of the gymnasium are actually more serious about his position than he thought. It’s hard to focus on the last bit that Ryo had mentioned, unsure of how to react to knowing that simply BEING helps contribute to the volleyball team’s funds.

        ❝ S - Seriously? ❞

Oikawa took his time eating his own meal, occasionally glancing over at Satou when he seemed to pick at his food, eating it slowly and hesitantly. Oikawa let this continue for another ten minutes, before he set his chopsticks down with a rather audible click against the lacquered bowls.

“Ne, Ryou-chan, is the food not good? If you really can’t eat it, you should just stop eating,” he remarked in a complete contrast to what he said earlier.

          Hearing the click and the following words were almost the equivalent of a shotgun going off and piercing his chest. He set his chopsticks aside as he swallowed hard. “I... I-I think I need to excuse myself, s-sorry...” Mumbling the words unsteadily, he quickly scrambled out of the booth to make his way to the restroom and shutting the door behind him before he had to drop down and lean over the toilet.

          Pulling the lid up and pulling his hair back, his eyes watered before he lost what little lunch he’d gotten down. After he was sure he was finished, he coughed a bit, spitting a few times in a futile attempt to rid his mouth of the taste before he felt a quiet sob leave his throat. Leaning over the sink to wash his face, he cupped his hands to take a few sips of water, swishing it around in his mouth and spitting until he had the majority of the bile gone from his mouth. He had sworn to Tokyo and back that he had been done with this problem, that it was all okay after his dad took him to see that lady in Tokyo over the Summer. Why did it still haunt him?

Satou froze up, yet Oikawa was still lax, loose-limbed and smiling winsomely at Satou. “It’s alright, Ryou-chan! I thought you’d be like this,” he commented, waving his hand as if to gesture for Satou to continue to eat… as if what he was saying weren’t driving knives right into Satou. “Go ahead and eat. I’m treating you after all. It’d be a shame if I ended up wasting money on things that you didn’t enjoy, right?” He asked, smiling innocently. “Eat, Ryou-chan.”

He picked up his own pair of chopsticks, digging into his own meal rather happily. For all Satou knew, Oikawa could’ve just been saying things without any malicious intent, and that it was all just Satou who was dreaming up the inferences behind his words, right?

          “M-Mm...” He nodded, though it seemed a bit spacey, his thoughts latching onto those words and jumping to conclusions-- conclusions that sent a shot of nausea through him. For a moment, he almost feared he might have to excuse himself to the bathroom, but instead he swallowed down whatever threatened to come up, fingers digging into the tops of his thighs. Oikawa was right, wasn’t he? It was a waste of money to let it sit and grow cold, so he should just eat... right?

“Ne, Ryou-chan really shouldn’t look at me with those kinds of eyes. It might lead me to believe things about Ryou-chan,” Oikawa remarked offhandedly once the waiter had walked off, leaving them in privacy again. Unfortunate, for Satou. “It’s like you want to ask me for something but you’re not sure if I will give it to you.” Buttressing his chin upon his hand, elbow resting on the table, Oikawa didn’t make a move to eat his own food. Instead, he watched Satou eat.

“Ryou-chan really likes his food, doesn’t he?” Oikawa’s remark was lighthearted. “I don’t usually go out with people who focus so much on their food rather than their date.”

          Almost choking on the bite he’d taken, he swallowed first before raising a hand to cover his mouth and try and compose himself. Before he really could, however, he heard the comment about him wanting to ask for something and he nearly choked on his own spit. Fidgeting now, he was shifting noodles around with his chopsticks, before stopping altogether at the mention of liking his food. For some reason it set off some sort of red flag in his brain that had him feeling nauseous all of a sudden. The color in his cheeks washed away and he set his chopsticks to the side on their rest, biting at his lip.