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kkanabel · 1 year

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march 10th, 2020 ( chapter 4 , week 2 )

sypnosis: The new year has just started– you’re moving into a place with your closest friends after reaching the peak of your career. Now that you can afford to live in Tokyo, you can finally spend time with your closest friends and go out on the town to further grow your YouTube channel. It’s time to have a new start in your new place and meet hot, rich people to be your possible future partner. This is the life to live; it’s great being famous and living in a big city with your best friends!

Wait, never mind– COVID-19 is in Japan? Fuck.

Well, at least there’s this one hot guy you keep seeing on Tik Tok who keeps posting about cleaning.

[ 9 : 02 AM ]

You were nursing a warm cup of hojicha to your chest in your favorite mug. Your legs were crossed atop a white modern-style stool by your kitchen island. This was your morning routine– you’d wake up (at some point), drink either some tea or coffee, and check your phone before staring out the window and questioning life.

There were many windows in your apartment. They spread out across the walls, giving the room lots of sunlight. You always pulled up the blinds in the morning.

Things were only getting more worrying in the news. Today, the government of Japan officially declared the coronavirus outbreak a national emergency. As of this point, there are 514 people infected and there have been 9 deaths in total. The emotional strain it’s taken on you is already terrifying. You’re seeing articles about the state of corona in China, and it’s even worse.

You text your parents a couple times every day, making sure they haven’t caught anything. Their growing age worries you. If they caught the virus, what would happen? You don’t think you could handle it. You’re too young for that right now. You look at the clouds in the distance through the window, the entire sky blanketed in a thick cover of gray fluff, offering wishes to the sky.

It’s getting warmer and more humid outside. Around this time, you were planning on buying a bunch of spring clothes for some new videos. You couldn’t leave the house, though.

But you didn’t mind that. You were just waiting for the end of this in a couple weeks. You wanted to stop worrying about your parents and about your friends. It was exhausting, looking at the news and worriedly going to the Phone app to call your parents to check if they’d left the house or if they started developing random symptoms.

You get knocked out of your anxious trance when you hear Hinata opening the door from his/Oikawa’s room and yawning a muffled “good mornin’” to you. You uttered one back to him, smiling as you finished the last of your hojicha and hopped of your stool to walk over to the sink, washing your mug and placing it into the dish rack.

“How was your sleep?” you ask as a way to distract yourself, heading back to your favorite stool.

Hinata was in the middle of grabbing bacon, eggs, and orange juice from the fridge for an American-style breakfast. He sighed when he heard your question. “See this bump right here?” he pulled his bangs from his forehead and pointed to the growing red bump on his head. “I hit my head again.”

You laughed at him, causing him to groan and release his hair back onto his forehead, fluffy orange curls flopping back down. “We should really get those shelves removed. It’s not like we use them anyway,” you said, pausing. “Hm. I guess we should remove them after coronavirus ends.”

Hinata just turned on the stove and placed a pan onto it. “Want some?” he offered, putting oil on the pan and waiting for it to heat up. He turned on the stove fan, so you listened as the machine whirred to life and started breathing in the delicious smells of fried bacon.

“Absolutely!” you thought for a moment before speaking up again. “Hey, why don’t we get some pool noodles, cut them, and then put them onto the edges of the shelves? It’ll protect your head at night.”

He turned back to you for a moment, his eyes brightening. “That’s genius!” Then he paused and narrowed his eyes at you. “Wait. Isn’t that what they do to babyproof a house?”

Laughing, you nod your head. “It would still protect your head, though! Maybe I’ll order some the next time you hit your head again.”

The ginger scoffed. “Please just get them now. You know I’ll hit my head again!” he complained before realizing the bacon finished cooking. He placed the bacon evenly onto four plates.

You watched his back as he moved around, grabbing one of the eggs from the carton. He cracked the egg open, gingerly dropping it into the pan as it sizzled and hissed in the bacon’s grease. Meanwhile, he plugged the (really cute) white retro-style toaster into the power outlet and plopped pieces of bread into it for the eggs.

You were very proud of this toaster. You gave it to them as a housewarming present before you knew you were going to move in, knowing that you wanted the toaster for yourself. You were glad that you inevitably started owning it.

Hinata made four plates for everybody and placed yours in front of you. Grinning, you told him to move close to the plate so you could take a photo to show off how great of a roommate you had. He smiled brightly behind the plate, putting up two peace signs.

It smelled amazing. These were the kinds of moments you were grateful for when you moved in. You were really looking forward to more of these moments.

[ 1 : 09 PM ]

Today is upload day! Starting last week, you’ve started to double the amount you normally upload onto YouTube. This, of course, means that you need to work twice as hard, but you’ve been stuck inside, so there’s not much else to do.

You’re waiting as your video uploads to your channel, sitting in the living room next to Oikawa as he edits one of his videos. He’s wearing blue-light glasses and a fluffy grey bathrobe that you gifted him for Christmas, sitting with his legs rested atop an ottoman and ankles crossed together.

He’s truly the epitome of a modern-day man. In his earbuds, his voice plays over and over again as he cuts and moves around clips of himself. You’re doing the same, editing a video for next week.

Today, you’re uploading a video for outfits in quarantine. You pray that the algorithm takes kindly to this. In your video, you clarify your update to your uploading schedule, and you tell everybody to stay inside and stay safe before giving them tips for outfits. Of course, all of the clothes are linked in your description. You aren’t a monster.

In fact, you’re wearing one of those outfits that you showcased in the video– some sweatpants and a mock neck sweater underneath your graphic-designed sweatshirt. Of course, you popped on quite a lot of jewelry. After all, “accessories are necessities,” as you always repeat in your videos.

Your hair is put in a cute and trendy hairdo– one stolen straight off of TikTok.

When the sound of your own voice and the sight of your face starts to repulse you, you put down your laptop and head to the fridge for a drink. “Hey, ‘Kawa! Want somethin’ to drink?” you call from the kitchen to the living room to ensure that Oikawa can hear you through his earbuds.

He jolts for a moment and pulls out an earbud in his panic. “Oh! Yes! Could you grab me a juice?”

You grunt out an affirmation before sitting back down next to him and handing him his mug. During this gesture, he also puts away his laptop and lets out a relieved sigh while stretching out his arms and wrists. “Have you finished uploading yet?”

You check your laptop quickly, seeing it at 58%, and then shaking your head. You pull yourself into a sitting fetal position on the couch, and you face Oikawa. “So, I talked to Kenma about doing some sort of Minecraft server thing with him and uploading it to our channels. Wanna join? I’ve already asked Tobio and Shoyo.”

Oikawa’s eyes widened. “A Minecraft server? Dang, I haven’t touched that game since 2015… but my builds were god-tier, so yes. Absolutely.” He finished the last of his juice. “Get ready to be pranked 24/7.”

This statement makes you cackle. “What makes you think that? I’ve destroyed you so many times in Mario Kart. I doubt you’ll be any better at Minecraft. Do you even know what a cave is?”

He rolls his eyes. “You only ever win because you cheat!”

“How is following the game’s rules cheating?!” You laugh as he accuses you.

“Stop placing banana peels in front of me!”

“Dude. Bro. ‘Kawa. I love you man, but you can’t blame the game’s mechanics for losing in this case. Accept that you suck.”

Oikawa ceases this subject matter because he knows he’s lost. “Anyway, when are we gonna do it?”

Craning your head up to the ceiling, you say, “Honestly? I’m not sure yet. Maybe about a week or two. Maybe when we’re out of this quarantine?”

He then crosses his arms together. “I wouldn’t bet on this ending anytime soon. I think it’s going to last longer than two weeks… Why are you so convinced it’ll end soon?”

“I don’t know. I guess it’s because I can’t imagine it lasting any longer. I don’t want it to,” you admit, bringing your gaze back down to the ground and groaning. “I’m worried about my parents.”

He pats your back to comfort you, and rubs your shoulder to ground you. “It’s alright. We’ll keep sending them groceries every two weeks, so they won’t have to leave the house. I’m sure they’ll be okay.”

Then, a notification sound knocks you out of your emotional state again. “Oh! It’s finished uploading!” You then get busy liking and responding to comments to distract yourself from your worries.

Oikawa glances at you and gives you a soft smile before getting back to his editing.

[ 2 : 19 PM ]

[ 10 hours later ]

You shrieked in your bedroom after checking on the video you just uploaded, a hand clasped over your mouth after the high-pitched noise. It was the dead of night, but your brain didn't even register that you made a horrifying noise.

Your brain was completely frozen, staring at the screen on your laptop.

Worried, Oikawa, Hinata, and Kageyama all rushed to your door and opened it in a panic.

"What's wrong!? Is there a pervert!? A thief!?" Oikawa screamed, holding up a lamp as a makeshift weapon.

Hinata was holding a plant. Kageyama wasn't even holding anything. He just looked sleepy, confused, and worried.

The ginger had definitely shuffled out of bed at your scream, and you could see a red bump forming on his nose from where he probably tried to get up in a rush to make sure you were okay.

"G-Guys. I reached three million views in ten hours!" You screamed, jumping off your bed and jumping for joy into their arms.

The three men were frozen for a moment, confused. This was before they started jumping with you, smiles of joy cracking open at their faces.

"Oh my god! We need to celebrate! Let's grab some champagne!"

[ video of the week ]

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a/n: hehe what do y'all think? btw, thank you so much for all the reposts recently! i appreciate it so much <3 also, please lmk if i have a typo or anything lol. i was kinda typing this up in a rush.

#social media alternate universe #haikyuu smau #smau #haikyuu #sakusa kiyoomi x reader #sakusa x reader #sakusa kiyoomi #oikawa tooru #yachi hitoka #shimizu kiyoko #kageyama tobio #hinata shouyou #bokuto koutarou #miya atsumu #miya osamu #sakusa smau #sakusa fluff #haikyuu crack

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hojicha-co · 8 months

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Hojicha Tahini Spread 🍞

This nutty, toasty, and smooth Hojicha Tahini Spread is the perfect topping for your next slice of toasted bread.

https://hojicha.co/blogs/recipes/hojicha-tahini-spread

#bread #tahini #hojicha #wave toast #hojicha powder #hojicha co.#tea #japanese tea #home cafe #roasted green tea #green tea #toast #breakfast #snack #foodie

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itohkyuemon · 1 year

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今年最初の季節パフェは「抹茶チョコレートパフェ」からスタートです。パフェの最上部を飾るのは、ダークチョコレートとココアメレンゲ。お土産としても人気の「宇治抹茶生ちょこれーと」「宇治ほうじ茶生ちょこれーと」「いちご抹茶トリュフお茶苺(おちゃめ)さん」をトッピング。濃い抹茶アイス、抹茶ゼリー、白玉の下には、細かく砕いた薄焼きクッキー(ロイヤルティーヌ)を敷きつめました。チョコアイスにはチョコクッキーを混ぜ込んだチョコ好きにはたまらない、チョコ尽くしのパフェとなっております。季節限定パフェのスタート商品、「チョコレートパフェ」の濃厚な宇治抹茶と濃密なダークチョコレートの共演を是非お楽しみください。本日より販売開始しております。 _________________________________________ ◼︎ 抹茶チョコレートパフェ：1月13日〜2月下旬予定提供店舗：宇治本店・JR宇治駅前店・祇園四条店 _________________________________________ [English] This year's first seasonal parfait starts with "Matcha Chocolate Parfait". Dark chocolate and cocoa meringue decorate the top of the parfait. Topped with popular souvenirs such as “Uji Matcha Nama Chocolate”, “Uji Hojicha Nama Chocolate”, and “Strawberry Matcha Truffle Ocha Strawberry”. Underneath the rich matcha ice cream, matcha jelly, and shiratama dumplings, finely crushed thin cookies (Royaltine) are spread. The chocolate ice cream is mixed with chocolate cookies, making it an irresistible parfait for chocolate lovers. Please enjoy the co-starring of rich Uji matcha and rich dark chocolate of "Chocolate Parfait", the starting product of the seasonal parfait. [简体中文] 今年的第一个季节性芭菲从“抹茶巧克力芭菲”开始。黑巧克力和可可蛋白酥皮装饰着冻糕的顶部。还有“宇治抹茶生巧克力”、“宇治焙茶生巧克力”、“草莓抹茶松露奥茶草莓”等人气伴手礼。在浓郁的抹茶冰淇淋、抹茶果冻和白玉饺子的下面，铺着细碎的薄饼干（Royaltine）。巧克力冰淇淋混合巧克力曲奇，是巧克力爱好者无法抗拒的冻糕。请享受浓郁的宇治抹茶和浓郁的黑巧克力共同主演的季节性芭菲的首发产品“巧克力芭菲”。 [แบบไทย] พาเฟ่ต์ตามฤดูกาลแรกของปีนี้เริ่มต้นด้วย "มัทฉะช็อกโกแลตพาเฟ่ต์" ดาร์กช็อกโกแลตและโกโก้เมอแรงค์ตกแต่งด้านบนของพาร์เฟ่ต์ ท็อปปิ้งด้วยของฝากยอดนิยมอย่าง “Uji Matcha Nama Chocolate”, “Uji Hojicha Nama Chocolate” และ “Strawberry Matcha Truffle Ocha Strawberry” ภายใต้ไอศกรีมมัทฉะเข้มข้น เจลลี่มัทฉะ และเกี๊ยวชิราทามะ มีคุกกี้บางบดละเอียด (รอยัลไทน์) กระจายอยู่ ไอศกรีมช็อกโกแลตผสมกับคุกกี้ช็อกโกแลต ทำให้เป็นพาร์เฟต์ที่คนรักช็อกโกแลตไม่อาจต้านทานได้ โปรดเพลิดเพลินไปกับการร่วมแสดงของ Uji Matcha ที่เข้มข้นและด��ร์กช็อกโกแลตที่เข้มข้นของ "Chocolate Parfait" ซึ่งเป็นผลิตภัณฑ์เริ่มต้นของ Parfait ตามฤดูกาล https://ift.tt/JMzv6NR

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diaryofseraph · 2 years

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10/20

i got the day off today!!! which was so well needed tbh, i’m so sick of doing 12 hr shifts for psych and not getting to do anything during that shift :”)

i had a late start to the day, got my exercise in, played a bit of genshin, and got some coffee at deseo! i came back home and took a nap, then waking up to attend online class and bake some hojicha cookies

i think the cookies turned out ok, i wish they spread out more and were crispier/chewier on the edges, but they have a good flavor to them!

i got to see luke for an hour today as well, which was nice ^_^ we got pasties at cornish pasty, and it was fun getting to see him + shoot the shit

at the very end, i gave him a kiss on the cheek and his phone was ringing in his pocket, and he pressed it against me as i was hugging him >_>

but hey, he’s pretty cute with the short hair and slight stubble :D

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xurkitree · 5 years

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Sift and Simmer - Hojicha Milk Jam

#food #sift and simmer #hojicha milk jam #hojicha #milk jam #roasted green tea #hojicha spread

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themournewitch · 5 years

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Hojicha is a great tea. I must look out for this version as I've never had it iced before

#Tea Month #Brew of the day #Fill your kettle #spread the joy #Iced tea #Hojicha

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ohmykazuha · 3 years

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the little things they do

order: HOJICHA (ほうじ茶)

from the customer: zhongli / kaeya / xiao x gn!reader

warning: fluff, none

a/n: hope you liked this!!! like / rb if you liked this, lets try to get it past 100!

ZHONGLI.

- he makes you tea at night

- he brings you the tea as you finish your work, as you're feeling tired and you just want to rest.

- he stays outside with you as you do your work as well :")

- zhongli cuddles you as the both of you lie on the couch together as well >:D he's (unsurprisingly) a cuddly person, expect it 24/7

- cuddles when you fall asleep

- cuddles as you cook breakfast

- cuddles as you do your work

- cuddles as you cook dinner

- cuddles before you fall asleep/as you all asleep

- CUDDLES 24/7!!! SPREAD THE AGENDA

- also watching your favourite shows at night and regretting the "one more episode" syndrome the next morning XD

KAEYA.

- kaeya is a wonderful cook!

- he makes you breakfast ~~

- dancing around the kitchen with kaeya at 9am in the morning while he cooks bacon and eggs (or a salad, if you're a vegetarian/vegan)

- kaeya loves music. he introduces you to all these little funky playlists and you get to hear bluegrass, indie, bedroom pop, etc

- eventually, you get used to his favourite songs and it ends up being in your repeated playlist as well!

- screaming the lyrics in the car while you drive down the highway? more likely than you think. <3

- i like the idea of him dancing with you at night, while jazz goes. yknow, he in his white pirate looking shirt as he twirls you around TuT

- WHY ISNT HE REAL SCREAMS AND CRIES AND WHINES

XIAO.

- aghjakskhsajd xiao <33

- xiao loves to read with you

- its calming, he doesn't have to talk, etc etc. he can just sit there with you in peaceful, comfortable silence!

- perhaps the two of you read the same books at the same time and then discuss the good parts and bad parts and the why-did-they-kill-off-the-main-character-this-is-unfair parts XD

- i think xiao would be an avid reader, tbh. i mean.. it fits! escapism!

- he loves to just. discuss

- also cuddles in the little reading nook. we can't forget that!!

- and he likes to play instruments as well. a guitar maybe? singing sessions <3333

- yeah agkhufhsj its very cute!!! jack of all trades, master of almost-one perhaps.

hope yall liked this!!! likes/rbs are highly appreciated :"D

taglist: @bookuya, @mikachuchu, @dilucbar, @starglitterz, @cherubbic, @noirkkat, @the-gayest-sky-kid, @ajaxeology @eternism, @icecappa, @almondto-fu, @gnyuvile, @yeetmeoffjueyunkarst

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ramenaddicted · 3 years

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Drinktober Day 2 Hojicha (Kyojuro x reader)

Hidey ho! Drinktober day two is Hojicha! Our base (fandom) for this one is Author's choice, the mixer (character) is Author's choice, and Garnish (genre) is Fluff.

Two cups of Hojicha, coming right up.

A/N: Hōjicha is a Japanese green tea. It is distinctive from other Japanese green teas because it is roasted in a porcelain pot over charcoal. Roasted at 150° C to prevent oxidation and produce a light golden colour, as opposed to other Japanese teas which are steamed.

Umai Umai!"

You're hardly startled as the Flame Hashira starts yelling his praises. It’s fall time at the insect pillar estate, you were invited by Kyōjurō to attend a maple leaf viewing party, but ended up cooking maple leaves for the other Hashira’s. The process is a simple one, first, you take clean and dried maple leaves, next dip them in a sweetened tempura batter, then fry them in hot oil, finally set them on a rack so they drip dry. Serving them with maple syrup is optional.

"Umai!"

Again Kyōjurō yelling his praises is nothing new, even his little brother is astonished by the treat. Uzui laughs as he sips his sake and Sanemi is roasting sweet potatoes on a small fire. The other Hashira’s are spread out among themselves. Giyuu is standing off by himself being a loner with maple leaves. Kanrojii-san and Iguro san are eating sakura-colored dango while having a light conversation. All the other Hashira’s are laughing and making conversation, along with their guests, except for one, our gracious host.

“Shinobu san, I need another plate!” I called while trying to plate my current batch of deep-fried maple leaves.

“Ah, my apologies, I'm carrying some tea at the moment.”

“I’ll get a plate for them, my love.” Kyōjurō beamed as he pulled away from his brother to go inside the insect pillar mansion.

Just as fast as he left, the Flame Hashira returns with two plates for the lightly browned maple leaves. His beautiful crimson irises staring at you like an owl staring at the moonlight and basking in its luminescent glow.

"Kyo?"

"Yes, my love?"

"You're staring, are you still hungry?"

He furiously nodded his head in response as he set the plates down. One of the butterfly sisters comes up behind you, with a tray of teacups. Two ceramic tea cups in onyx decorated with golden butterflies and specs of gold. The tea for the party is Hojicha. Hojicha is roasted green tea, different from its counterpart Matcha. Hojicha is roasted in a clay pot until brown.

The little girl with the butterfly pigtails effectively released me from frying maple leaves to enjoy the party with my boyfriend. We picked a spot by a tree close to the fryer, just in case. The second my feet felt relief from standing I sighed in contentment. Kyōjurō chuckles at me as he sips his tea. The roasted tea is a palate cleanser from all the fried maple leaves.

"Oh don't move my love!"

"What? What is it Kyo?"

The last time he gave you this intense stare there was a beetle on your shoulder and you freaked out. This time dexterous fingers reach out for your hair and all you could think about was some creepy crawly in your mop of hair. The thought alone made you shiver and shriek in fright.

"What's wrong with my love?"

You slowly open your eyes to reveal a picturesque version of fall. Kyōjurō's dual-color mane blowing in the wind, his eyes staring lovingly at you and the maple leafs clutched between his two fingers. He closes the short distance between you two to give a small peck on your cheek.

A gradual blush creeps across your face and in return you give him the brightest smile. When you go in for another kiss, a plate of cooked sweet potatoes separates you two as Senjuro returns with food for the both of you. Kyōjurō gives a hearty laugh as his brother settles in between you two; sharing the tasty fall treat.

Is this what it would be like if Kyōjurō and I had a child of our own?

The giddy feeling in your heart only spiraled into joy as the hand you held on Senjuro's shoulder was caressed by Kyōjurō's. His eyes never left your face as he also wondered about your future with him.

"Umai!"

#drinktober2021 #ramenwrites #kny fanfic #kny fluff #rengoku kyojuro #rengoku kyoujurou x reader #rengoku kyojuro x you #kny reader insert #flame hashira

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kewpiemeayo · 3 years

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Can't Get Enough [Kuroo Tetsurou x Reader]

Summary: Chapter 4 of Thread of Fate looks a year into the future, following senior year graduation. The prominent third-years are now looking forward to the end of their first semester in university. Track ID: Can’t Get Enough by Basenji

[Y/F/N] — Your Family Name [Y/N] — Your (first) name

Content Warning: Fem!Reader, drinking/drunk thoughts & actions (SFW), poly!ship if you squint :P

With your final exam in hand, your second spring term at UTokyo finally came to a bittersweet end. You bowed to your professor as you dropped off your exam booklet onto her lecture hall workspace. She returned the gesture, quietly thanking you for your participation during the term and wishing you a good summer break as you headed out.

The fresh air of the hallway greeted you as the wooden door closed behind you with a silent swing. The windows from within the lecture were facing east so the sun wasn’t as bothersome and welcoming in comparison to the bay windows in the hall. You squinted for a moment, eyes adjusting to the new light as you fished for your phone.

Bokuto had messaged you during your exam session asking if you would be interested in attending an end-of-the-semester party. Apparently the UTokyo volleyball teams had plans to host one tonight in the residency across from your shared apartment.

You hastily sent him a sticker of a monkey giving the OK hand, assuming his lack of online activity was due to his own exam session. The timestamp read 1:29, your stomach growled on cue.

Kuroo’s exam should be ending around this time but he mentioned his next one was at 2:30 so he would probably want to study. Without much of a second thought, you switched to Kuroo’s contact, “Just finished my last exam. Will pick up a small lunch for you to eat while you study before I head back to our apartment.”

Your phone in one hand and your tote bag in the other, you started for the nearest cafe on campus. A chime caught you out of your mindless humming—a response from your boyfriend, “Congrats kitten!”

You watched his text bubble continue to dance as you walked across the cement paving over the koi pond between the buildings, “Can I have yakisoba pan please?”

The examination schedule was rather spread out, offering you a good chance at fresh sandwiches from the cafe since most students were probably still writing or just finishing up their tests. The student behind the cash register greeted you as you arrived, the smell of freshly toasted sandwiches and brewing coffees inviting you in.

You left as quickly as you entered, leaving with Kuroo’s yakisoba pan, a bento box, a bottle of hojicha and a couple of assorted sweet buns. The walk from the bakery across campus to the chemistry building wasn’t as bad on days like these, the good weather was worth being outside for.

The familiar head of messy black hair twisted as the man beneath it continued to scribble down his last-minute notes. You encircled your arms around his shoulder, leaning in to whisper, “Boo!”

“Oh no, I’m oh-so terrified,” Kuroo sarcastically wiggled his body under your grasp as he capped his pen.

You channelled an annoyed huff as you placed your lunch on the table, legs splitting over the benched seating, “Yakisoba pan for the studious boyfriend.”

“A thank you kiss for the wonderful girlfriend,” the raven-haired boy puckered his lips in your direction, but you only pressed a piece of edamame to his lips with your chopsticks. He stared expectantly, eyes blinking and body unmoving as he continued to wait. His pout made him look childish but the unimpressed eyes said otherwise. “Okay, okay, fine.”

Kuroo’s hand pulled you closer by the waist as he planted a firm kiss on your lips, “Thank you though, you’re the best.”

Your eyes rolled in response with a hum as you continued picking from your bento box, “Bo mentioned a party tonight?”

Kuroo made a sound of agreement behind his yakisoba pan, a stray noodle stuck to his chin as he tried to chew through his food quickly. Your finger swiped at the stain with a napkin as he spoke, “VB teams want to host something for members to celebrate at but the captains are inviting the volleyball clubs too for a recruitment social.”

The two of you ate silently. It had been a while since you got to see Iwa, only briefly meeting up the first couple weeks at the start of the semester but your busy schedule kept you two apart. Kuroo watched as your eyes burned holes into your potato salad, “Maybe Iwaizumi will be attending with his club.”

Kuroo ate his lunch while you quizzed him until the two of you were done eating, taking a small break in between for him to teach you some new facts or formulas—whatever would help him retain his twenty pages of notes for his own final.

“I think I’m good for this exam,” Kuroo bemused as he shifted through his papers and organized his small stack of flashcards. “Right?”

The puppy eyes he gave you almost made you choke on your tea, but even the nerdiest of the bunch had their own worries and test anxiety. You opted to give him a little kiss, a physical affirmation to soothe him with a light tease, “I don’t know, you seem pretty big-brain, you sure you’re not the one giving the exam?”

Kuroo nodded appreciatively, “You’re right, you’re right. Just another exam—alright, you better get going so you don’t distract me more than you already have.”

The rooster head didn’t acknowledge the mock offence that flashed across your features as he blindly shoved you further away from him on the bench, muttering something about keeping Akaashi company until he and Bokuto were done with exams.

The Fukurodani third-year had wrapped up his own exams before coming into the city yesterday to stay with the three of you on campus. You had offered to show him around since you would be the first one done. He met you outside the campus’ main hub where you decided it would be best to kickstart the personal tour.

Sweet buns in hand and the sunlight warming your skins, Akaashi followed you around campus as you pointed out all the good hiding spots for naps or quiet studying time and occasionally spewing some facts you had learned in your two years on campus. You kept it as lighthearted as possible, knowing the third-year was barely halfway to graduation and with his academic records, he shouldn’t be limited to UTokyo only because of you and Bokuto’s rather biased opinions.

“[Y/F/N]-san,” Akaashi murmured as the two of you got settled back at the apartment. You watched the soft third-year as he took a seat on the edge of the couch, hands clasped between his legs as he stared at the wooden flooring beneath him. “Do you think that you and Kuroo-senpai would have stayed together if the two of you went to separate universities?”

The thought-provoking question left you quiet for a moment as your mind flashed through the sequences of possibilities where the two of you did in fact attend separate schools.

What would have happened if you had taken the opportunity to move abroad? If you had transferred to a different university after your first year at UTokyo? How about the off-chance you had stayed at Seijoh instead of pursuing dual-enrollment?

Akaashi patiently waited for your answer, curious eyes trying to find a tell that would answer him before you verbally could, but you just offered him your sweetest smile as you took a seat next to him.

“For every action you consider, there are countless possibilities for them to procure different results,” you offered. Akaashi tilted his head at your composite response. “Now don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy with my relationship with Kuroo, but to counter your own question, there is still a possibility wherein some alternate universe we attend UTokyo together but Kuroo and I don’t stay together too.”

Akaashi nodded, absorbing the hidden meaning behind your words. He twiddled his fingers as he silently made his own visual paths of possibilities before he heaved a small sigh, “I’m just scared that I’ll make the wrong decision, but I haven’t even remotely narrowed down a list of universities I want to look into yet.”

You leaned into Akaashi with one arm, offering him a side-hug as you sighed too, “It’s stressful, I can understand that. You have a lot on your plate so don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it Akaashi, but when it comes down to making a decision that may or may not involve important people in your life and the grand scheme of your future, it depends on trust and motivation. Ultimately never hold yourself back because those important people will always want you to have your own success and there will always be ways to work around the obstacles you may face.”

Sitting up from Akaashi, you chuckled earning his attention once again, “But to truly answer your question, I think we would have been fine long-distance too.”

Akaashi smiled at your own positive affirmation, giving himself a quick stretch to loosen his tense shoulders, “Kuroo-senpai still looks at you the same way he did back in high school, so that’s completely valid—not sure why I bothered asking.”

“Oi,” you warned, gently shoving his shoulders. “It is completely okay to ask questions and to speak your mind. It helps you to work out your own worries.”

Before the senior could retort, the locks twisted loudly and an even louder Bokuto came barging into the apartment, “EXAMS ARE OFFICIALLY COMPLETE, I AM HOME!”

Together, you and Akaashi gave a rather straight-faced, congratulatory hooray with a tiny round of applause just to tease the owl a little. Kuroo, who was tagging behind, shoved the emotional fool through the doorway so he could get by.

“There’s two of us you egomaniac,” the slightly taller of the bickering duo tutted as he removed his shoes.

The two men halted their insults at the sound of you and Akaashi welcoming them home, a clear blood vessel popped in both of them as they dramatically wept in unison, “It feels so good to come home after a stressful exam to my favourite person.”

Akaashi mirrored your face of disgust, too shocked from their outburst to move away from their onslaught of affection, “Is this what you have to live with, [Y/F/N]-san?”

“Beats paying full price for this entire place,” you nodded while Kuroo squished his nose into your cheek, furiously rubbing his face against yours as you spoke.

The volleyball social was a lot rowdier than you anticipated. There were more people in attendance than you could keep count of, having said hello to just about everyone you could as you and Akaashi tagged behind Kuroo and Bokuto. For one, you weren’t all too familiar with the club members, only knowing the school team through Kuroo and Bokuto’s membership, but aside from the volleyball players, word had gotten out about the party and other students on the same floor of the dormitory decided to host a party of their own.

UTokyo’s Men’s volleyball captain, Kugisaki-san had opened up his dorm along with the three other teammates who lived on the same floor to both the team and the club. Someone who you can only vaguely remember as Mamoto who played on the soccer team also decided to open up his dorm with his team for their own party.

By nine o’clock, there were two sports teams and two clubs hosting beer pongs and Super Smash Bros tournaments. Kuroo and Bokuto were absorbed in keeping their beer pong champion title against Mamoto’s team while Akaashi joined in on some Jackbox Party games in Kugisaki’s dorm.

You weren’t able to find Iwa amongst all the students despite having done a couple rounds in all the open dorms on the floor. In desperate need of some fresh air after your third solo cup of spiked punch, you weaved past some buff soccer players and excused yourself onto someone’s terrace, snagging a fresh bottle of beer from the cooler as you passed it.

At a moment's peace, you realized you could see your apartment from the courtyard. There was a faint cherry red glow emitting from behind the closed curtains to your room. It was the LED lights that Kuroo was so adamant about lining the ceiling with because it was trendy and would “set the mood”.

You chuckled at the memory, remembering how Kuroo stepped on just about every available surface to adhere the lights around the perimeter of your shared room, almost taking out the bedside lamp when his knees buckled into the shade.

Lost in your train of thought, the beer in your hand started to numb your fingers, prompting for a small sip as you leaned back into the patio set, eyes watching the stars as you enjoyed being away from the party animals.

The patio door slid open, drawing your attention from the shadows of one of your neighbours dancing in their living room. For the first time in two years, Oikawa stood within your range, a look of shock crossing his features before he looked down and apologized, “Sorry, I thought this would be the one empty patio.”

“It’s fine,” you murmured behind your bottle before tipping it towards the other patio chair. “There’s a spare seat.”

Oikawa was hesitant, choosing between taking a seat across from you—his ex—or heading back into the party and finding spare room on a random couch. He caught your arched eyebrow, seemingly impatient with his delayed-choice so he opted to stay, closing the door behind him.

Muddling in a brief moment of awkward silence, Oikawa cleared his throat, “How were your exams?”

You let out a sharp exhale through your nose, eyes wandering over his face for any telltale sign he was just being rhetorical. Your lack of response garnered his attention, the two of you stared expectantly at one another before you shrugged, “It went alright. Could have done better on my biology exam but there’s not much I can do about it now.”

“Biology’s tough, I held off taking the intro course this semester, but I’ll have to take it in the fall,” Oikawa shared a brief smile, taking a sip from his own drink.

“How about you?”

Confused, Oikawa looked at you, “How were your exams?”

The ex-Seijoh captain made a muffled sound of embarrassment, flushing as he mumbled, “Oh, yeah they were okay. They were okay…”

His chocolate pupils darted between his fingers and his beer, trying to find something to keep from having to stare at you, while you tried to blink through your blurring vision. The alcohol was starting to affect you.

Another wave of tension sat upon your shoulders as the two of you kept to yourselves. Oikawa opened his mouth, ready to shout his apology at you but you had beat him to the first words, “Sorry, I should have thanked you for the goodbye gift the moment I opened it.”

Shocked at your words, Oikawa momentarily sucked on the inside of his cheeks—he wasn’t prepared for this. Shrugging to yourself, you tried to find the rest of your words.

“I still use it today, it sits on my windowsill next to my books,” you chirped, pointing off to something in the distance. Oikawa followed your pointer finger in the direction of the apartment building. “Red light.”

“It reminded me-” Oikawa stopped himself short, pausing to rethink his choice of words before he gave you his signature smile. “It suits you.”

Before you could respond, Kuroo and Iwa stepped onto the porch, “There you two are.”

In a flurry you had jumped out of your seat and bounded into Iwa’s open arms, chanting his name. With an equal reciprocation, Iwa also jokingly chanted your name before pulling you into a hug.

While Kuroo and Oikawa greeted one another, you and Iwa caught up, briefing each other about the semester before Bokuto slammed the sliding door open, “[Y/F/N]-channn~”

“Bo!”

The two of you clonked foreheads and suddenly you were feeling more drunk than you had been earlier. Boisterously giggling at absolutely nothing, Bokuto clung to you as you two sheepishly whispered random things to one another. Bokuto shared his beer pong stories while you boosted his ego with compliments and questions about his little tournament.

Everyone else had evaded your thoughts as you and Bokuto drunkenly rambled to one another, leaving the other four to watch on with amusement, occasionally talking to one another about recent volleyball games. You momentarily glanced between your boyfriend and your best friend, both laughing about something they had shared.

“Pspsps,” Bokuto whispered into your ear, getting your attention once more. “We should get more drinks.”

It was a terrible idea considering how drunk the two of you already were, him worse than you because he had been drinking at the beer pong table most of the night. However, as a respectable brain cell shareholder, you sheepishly nodded agreeing with him.

Unfortunately, you both were louder than you had believed as Kuroo curled a finger into the collar of Bokuto’s shirt, halting him from shimmying the two of you towards the sliding door, “Oi, where do you two think you’re going?”

You slowly turned to look at Kuroo over Bokuto’s shoulder, now fully aware that Bokuto’s arms were wrapped around your waist from behind. Iwa and Oikawa watched you from their seats while Akaashi pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows at Bokuto.

“Alcamahol,” you simply stated, purposely mispronouncing alcohol as you pointed into the apartment.

Bokuto nodded enthusiastically, pointing with you, “Alcamahol.”

“Bokuto, you’re gonna pass out if you drink anymore,” Kuroo warned before leaning closer to squint at you. “And how much have you had to drink, kitten?”

You paused, the top of your head scraped against Bokuto’s chin, listing off your finger as you count your drinks, “I had a soju with you guys before the party, four cups of punch and a beer.”

As if you were being any less incriminating, you held up your bottle, the last few sips swishing around the glass. Kuroo pointed at your drink, “You’re not even done.”

Bokuto briefly moved from his resting place above you to allow you to chug the rest of your beer. Gasping, you pointed at your now-empty bottle with an impish grin, “Done.”

Kuroo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose at your childish antics—the kind that only seems to worsen when you and Bokuto got drunk together.

Iwa on the other hand guffawed, earning everyone’s attention before he hid behind his hand, waving everyone off with the other, “Sorry, I’ve never seen [Y/N] in this state before.”

Oikawa also shared an amused look between his two hometown friends while Kuroo shook his head, “She’s like this whenever Bokuto’s around—can’t tell who’s influencing who though.”

Iwa continued to laugh as he stood up, “I’ll go watch them, I want another drink anyways.”

Akaashi agreed, pushing himself from the railing to follow behind you and Bokuto who started some haphazard conga line back into the apartment, neither of you dancing to a single beat, let alone a synchronized one.

To be completely honest, as honest as you can be when inebriated, you weren’t sure how long you and Bokuto managed to leave Akaashi and Iwa. The two of you devised some plan to lose them in the shuffle from the patio to Mamoto’s door, hopping off to Kugisaki’s room where Bokuto was sure it would house the better drink choices.

In a speedy attempt to drink as much as you can before the responsible bodyguards could find you, Bokuto had poured out three shots of some sour, green liquor each. The two of you were halfway through shotgunning your vodka soda chasers when a very disappointed Akaashi beelined for you and Bokuto. Iwa sniped your drink from your hand, finishing off the rest of your can with an exasperated look.

The six criminalizing shot glasses sat upside down on the counter in front of you, “Really? You guys took three shots and tried to down a can of Whiteclaw each?”

“We’re going back to the patio before you alcoholic fiends blackout,” Akaashi grumbled as Bokuto pouted. Iwa took the lead with you, Bokuto and Akaashi tailing behind.

“Please don’t tell Kuroo,” you murmured to Iwa just loud enough before he left the dorm.

“I’m not promising you shit,” Iwa warned, briefly looking over his shoulders to catch you pouting with your signature puppy eyes, the same one you always gave him even as kids when Oikawa bullied you and took from your bento box. He grumbled something incoherent before you caught sight of Kuroo out on the patio, the light above him casting an angelic glow.

You murmured a wow before making a dash at the door, nearly tripping over someone’s charging cable, struggling with the sliding door before Iwa helped you push it open. You squeezed yourself out, tripping into Kuroo’s chest with an oof.

“Sorry, they snuck out from Mamoto’s room to down some shots from Kugisaki’s dorm,” Iwa sighed, catching you from your brief moment of sleep.

“Hajime~” you whined at your best friend who just shrugged, taking his seat next to Oikawa once again.

“I said I wasn’t promising you shit,” he tutted, offering the drink from his hand to your ex.

Kuroo both chuckled and sighed, having already prepared for the worst of you and Bokuto’s drunken behaviours. He planted a small kiss in your hair, sending a shiver down your spine, “Are you cold?”

You murmured something into his chest, arms winding tightly around his torso as you tried to warm yourself between his body heat and his school bomber jacket. Within a second, Bokuto was draping himself behind you, snuggling his head on top of yours once more.

“Bo, you’re heavy as fuck,” Kuroo wheezed, trying to pry the owl off of you with little success. Akaashi stepped in, pulling him away to give the two of you enough space so that Kuroo could take off his jacket and drape it over you. “You’re gonna get sick, kitten.”

“I think we should start heading back,” Akaashi groaned at the sudden weight that Bokuto had placed on him, head drooping over the shoulder of the shorter two.

Kuroo hummed, pushing you back enough to get a good look at you beneath your messy hair and warm cheeks, “Home?”

The only response he got from you was a tired nod before you snapped up realizing what he had said, “Hajime!”

Your friend jumped at the sudden sound, tooth colliding on the lip of his beer bottle. He watched you with owl-like eyes as you stumbled past Oikawa and over to him, wrapping your arms around his head you pulled him into a hug.

“I miss you and we should all hang out during the break,” you squeaked, planting a kiss on your best friend’s spiky hair before resting your cheek on the spot, eyes bleary and just barely making out Oikawa’s stunned form. “You too, just like old times!”

Iwa patted your side, hinting to let go of him or maybe his own version of a hug, you were too drunk to know at this point, but regardless you let go when you saw Kuroo extend a hand towards you.

Their responses went in one ear and out the other as you and Bokuto started giggling at one another. The sturdy giant offered to carry you home, to which everyone grimaced as they watched the two of your sway.

As he carried you bridal-style back into the dorm, Kuroo’s hand came down to prevent your head from colliding with the doorframe, “Don’t damage my girlfriend, please.”

Kuroo and Akaashi bid the Seijoh alumni goodnight, carefully making sure Bokuto didn’t trip on anything on his way out with you in his arms. The precautions proved futile as Bokuto tripped over his own two feet about halfway into the courtyard separating the dormitories from your shared apartment.

The two of you went down into the grass, Akaashi and Kuroo quick to help you both up, with your boyfriend chiding, “Alright, I’ll take it from here, Bo.”

Bokuto didn’t put up a fight this time, head lulling from side to side as Akaashi helped him stand with one hand, the other supporting your back as you draped yourself over Kuroo’s shoulders.

“Up we go,” Kuroo huffed, standing up with you on his back. You intertwined your hands over his chest as his hands held your firmly by the crevice of your knees. “You both are gonna regret sneaking drinks tomorrow.”

“I ragret nuthin’,” Bokuto slurred, finger pointing into the air as he stumbled next to Akaashi.

“God, please get that tattooed on your ass cheeks next time you drink,” Kuroo teased, cackling at the thought as he jolted your slipping weight.

The owl gasped at the idea his best friend had fed him, “Matching tattoos! [Y/L/N] we should get matching tattoos!”

Akaashi chuckled, trying to shush the loud man from waking up the entire campus with his not-so-bright-and-totally-too-drunk ideas, “Only if you’re sober when you plan it and when you get it, please?”

Too tired to argue and to form any more words, you and Bokuto failed at meeting fingertips as you murmured some agreement or promise.

Upon arriving back into the safety of your own apartment, you made a dash for the bag of sweet buns you had bought earlier in the afternoon. You peeled open a strawberry jam-filled melonpan*, shoving it into your mouth before Bokuto could snipe a bite.

Ignoring the grumbling man, you stumbled onto your soft, head nearly missing the armrest as you tried to relax from the very little walking you exerted.

“You two, stay here while we get ready,” Kuroo instructed, gently pushing Bokuto into the living room with two bottles of water he filled prior to leaving for the party, knowing damn well how you two would get.

Akaashi disappeared into Bokuto’s room where the two were staying while Kuroo went about in your shared room to make sure everything was in place. The two of them took the chance to hop into the showers too, leaving you and Bokuto to drunkenly dissociate on the couch.

At some point, in another attempt to steal your food, Bokuto had taken his spot on top of you. Your bun, having only grown moist from its hold in your mouth, was yet again missed. Bokuto gave up rather quickly at trying to get a bite, instead, finding a much more comfortable position for his head in the crook of your neck and his free hand under your shirt.

By the time the water had stopped and the two designated caretakers were out of their rooms, you and Bokuto were fast asleep, snoring away without a care in the world.

Kuroo couldn’t find himself to be the least bit annoyed at the comical site before him, Akaashi also chuckling, “Are you kidding me?”

“Sorry,” Akaashi whispered, pointing at the owl clinging to you. “He’s very clingy when he’s sleepy, worse when he drinks.”

Kuroo sighed, “Believe me, I know.”

You were still in his jacket, one arm curled around Bokuto’s head of messy hair, the other draping off the couch. Your uneaten melonpan stuck between your now-slacking jaw. Kuroo snapped a quick photo with a wicked grin before reaching over to tug the pastry from your mouth. His face scrunched up in amusement and disgust at how you had managed to only hold it the entire duration since you got home like some toddler trying to savour their biscuits until it went soggy.

Akaashi pulled Bokuto’s hand from under your shirt, adjusting the fabric before tossing one of the thin blankets over the two of you, “Do you think she’ll be okay under his weight?”

Kuroo paused, listening to your breathing pattern before shrugging, “Seems fine to me, as long as she doesn’t puke in her sleep.”

Akaashi’s eyes widened at the thought, before Kuroo dismissed his worry, “[Y/L/N]’s not much of a puker though, should be fine.”

The two of them planted a small kiss on your temples before turning off the lights and retreating to their rooms for the night. Kuroo left his door open in case you wanted to crawl into bed, not that he expected you to with how hard you were sleeping already.

However possible, you and Bokuto remained still as rocks all night, only switching positions in your sleep once in the morning when Kuroo had dropped the spatula on the kitchen floor in an attempt to be silent. Even then, that was supposedly two hours ago when he was trying to cook breakfast for him and Akaashi.

Midway through their meal at the dinner table, you stirred first, pushing your weight up from Bokuto’s chest to peer over the back of the couch. Kuroo paused behind the mug of coffee he had been nursing, eyebrow arched at the untamed cowlicks sprouting from your head. Akaashi turned to see what Kuroo had taken an interest in, nearly jumping out of his skin at the sight of your messy, zombie-like state.

Kuroo smirked, “Oh good morning, sleeping beauty. Care to rejoin civilization?”

You squinted at the man, barely recognizing him from the distance before going back to sleep, words having gone over your head. The man stirred below you, adjusting his head to hide from the sunlight Kuroo had ever-so-kindly let in just to see if he could deter Bokuto enough to move you back to your own bed.

“Guess not,” your boyfriend mused as he took a loud sip of coffee, exaggerating his sigh to see if it would get your attention once more. Akaashi couldn’t help but find the situation achingly sweet. He wondered what other antics and domestic memories he missed out on with the three of you.

The only sounds that could be heard after that were the chopsticks scratching at bowls and light chewing from Akaashi as he finished up his food. The two of them cleaned up and started checking emails on their laptops from their seats.

It was around one in the afternoon when Bokuto woke up, his light movements to see what was pressing on his chest woke you up as well. You both got up after a long moment, groaning at cramping muscles. A sore arm was the lightest way to explain the scorching ache in your right shoulder, the one Bokuto had fallen asleep on.

Your knuckles rubbed at the corner of your eyes as you yawned, slowly taking in the environment as you tried to recall how you ended up on the couch in the first place.

Bokuto massaged his temple as he murmured to himself, something about championship titles not being worth the hangover. Surprisingly you felt fine, despite the memory jog you got from your roommate’s ramblings.

Your vision blurred from the pressure you had applied to your eyes, head lolling to the side as you tried to regain your sight. A strong pair of arms wrapped around your torso, taking advantage of your inability to see and plucked you from your spot on Bokuto.

Kuroo sighed as he plopped himself on the one-seater next to the couch, his grip only tightening to secure you on his lap, “You two have the night of your life, huh?”

A synchronized groan erupted from you and Bokuto as the two of you nestled further into yourselves at Kuroo’s sly words. It was the same thing he would say after any nightly outings that included you and Bokuto drinking together. It was your boyfriend’s lame but conniving attempt to scold you both while also teasing you about it.

Akaashi chuckled lightly as he took a seat next to Bokuto, passing you both a mug of ginger tea each. The spicy aromatics help wake you up, almost curing you of your slight headache.

“It was honestly a sight to witness,” Akaashi shrugged, leaning into the sofa with a sigh while watching Bokuto shamefully burn his tongue on the scorching liquid.

Your boyfriend shifted beneath you, carefully tilting you to maneuver his fingers through his pocket without spilling your tea on your laps, “We even got photo evidence this time!”

“You get them every time,” you muttered, eyes slit with a huff as you remained unimpressed with his fib and yourself. You swear left and right after every night that you won’t be as much of a lightweight as you were previously, but you still managed to get drunk as a horse binging on rotten apples before Kuroo ever does.

His thumb swiped across his pages of apps, pulling up his photo collection. Your eyes shifted from Bokuto and Akaashi, wiggling your eyebrows at the two from behind your mug before catching a glimpse of the photo Kuroo was trying to show you. The hot tea sputtered from your lips, most of it making it back into your mug as you coughed.

Kuroo burst out into a hyena-like holler, tossing his phone into Bo’s lap with precision. The silver-haired man took a glimpse of the phone, minutely bemused before scrunching up his eyes and sighing like he just saw his final grade. He handed the phone to Akaashi, the now-free hand coming up to shield his eyes as he flopped back into the couch cushions.

“I’m sorry Kuroo, I didn’t mean to!” Bokuto wailed from his spot, legs flailing around as he tried to wipe the memory away. Everyone in the room knew that the apology, though genuine, holds no promises for the future. This was simply the dynamic that you and Bokuto had developed and Kuroo was more than understanding and trusting of it.

Kuroo released you from his hold, hands coming up to wave off his best friend, “I’m not even mad about it, just a little chapped that I wasn’t the one getting cuddles.”

An audible sigh filled the room as you took a sip from your tea once more, Kuroo let out a strangled cry as he leaned closer to you, nose nuzzling into the nape of your neck, “Why are you sighing?! Are you tired of me already?”

Unable to will yourself to answer him, you murmured something under your breath teasingly. His nose scrunched and his ear twitched to catch your quiet words, but he latched onto nothing besides a faint laugh, “[Y/N]!”

He rocked you from side to side, trying to get you to spill your thoughts but you simply whined in laughter, trying not to spill your tea all over the rug instead. Your boyfriend incessantly cried complaints and questions, just barely easing up on the motion to peek over your shoulder.

A soft pout tugged at the corners of his mouth, nose scrunched, “You still love me right?”

Pausing, you turned to look him dead in the eyes, your lids hooding over just enough to glare at him, “Of course I still love you, what kind of rhetoric is that?”

His worry faded, pouty lips now pulled into a smile as he beamed, “Just making sure. You hear that Bo?”

Your friend waved off your boyfriend, moving into Akaashi himself to shield away from the inevitable public display of affection Kuroo was ramping up to. Without fail, he pressed his lips along your jawline, up to your cheek and finally, dead centre on your plump lips. A loud smack echoed the room dramatically as Kuroo shoved his undying love for you into Bokuto’s face.

Trust was certainly one thing but it did not limit Kuroo’s teasing personality to show his innate protective tendencies. It should have been obvious considering the button from his Nekoma school uniform was worn around your neck in the form of a makeshift necklace. It was the very one he had plucked for you following the graduation ceremony, and sometimes it just felt right to remind everyone that he couldn’t get enough of you.

*Melonpan is a type of Japanese sweet bun, similar to Chinese pineapple buns and Conchas.

A/N: This is the official last chapter for the series, wrapping up on a light-hearted note. For those who are interested in Oikawa's POV of this night, a bonus chapter will be released next Friday, June 25th @ 6:OOPM/18:00 (PST). Hope you guys enjoyed this little project!

>> Series Masterlist // Masterlist Taglist: @subtleappreciation @weebsausage @pricetagofficial @catxsara @forzumaki @misssugarless @whorefornoodles

#mea.kuroo #kuroo x reader #kuroo tetsurou #kuroo tetsurou x reader #hq kuroo #haikyuu!!#hq #hq x reader #fluff #iwaizumi hajime #akaashi keiji #songfic #songfic series #oikawa tooru #oikawa tooru x reader #oikawa tōru #oikawa tōru x reader

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1-800-imagine · 3 years

Text

autumn’s song

sero x reader

✎ genre: angst, pro hero au?

✎ warnings: angst, major and implied death

✎ word count: 2.5k

✎ inside scoop: this fic is inspired by autumn’s song by stephen day for more than obvious reasons, and i personally recommend you listen along as you read (you can click here for that). of course you don’t have to if you don’t want to -- whatever optimizes your reading experience.

on a separate note, i’ll probably get some more time to finish up some pieces this weekend that’s honestly debatable but we’ll see. so if you’d like, you can go ahead and request something.

✎ synopsis: fall had always been a tough time for sero, seeing that it had always reminded him of you.

the last thing sero ever wanted to do was get so hung up on the past -- it was the last thing you ever wished for him. though it’s tough when everything seems to bring back so many memories.

even the entire season of fall brought him back to times when you were around. afterall autumn was just filled with so many great memories of your relationship.

swinging through the awfully familiar city of musutafu, sero can feel the tears pooling at the corners of his eyes -- threatening to roll down his cheeks at any given minute.

the tape hero stops at the next post available. he lifts off his helmet in order to take in some of the fresh air. that cold, crisp atmosphere hits sero’s tear-stained cheeks, along with reels of unwanted memories.

he does his best to suppress those reminders of what once was -- at the very least keeping them tucked in the farthest part of his mind so that he can finish up his patrol.

“great,” he utters. just as sero thought he could escape his little swamp of thoughts, he realizes his surroundings -- far too familiar for his own comfort. he looks down, only to see your favorite, seasonal spot, surprised that it was still running its usual business after all this time.

right as the hero boarded up those old memories, the floodgates seem open right back up. this time hitting him harder than the bullet trains running all through japan.

sero felt the wind cascade through his long hair, tickling the back of his neck. he felt your hand in his own -- fingers intertwined. the sound of leaves crunching filled his ears with every step along this newer, unknown path.

your destination, to you, was a mystery -- a surprise actually. sero had always seemed to cross paths with this little cafe on his way to pick you up from your hero work. he was actually quite alarmed, when you said you hadn't heard of it since you passed by almost everyday.

well, sero gave you the benefit of the doubt considering it was a small place -- family-owned he assumed. a quaint little shop, lodged between two much taller, corporate buildings. in short: it was very easy to skip past the place.

when the two of you had stepped inside, you were greeted with a sense of shelter from the cold, bitter outside. that smell of sweet pastries filled your numbed noses. the space was a lot smaller than it appeared to be.

it was empty too, the only other people inside were an older couple, but they didn’t seem much older than the two of you.

the older man wore a mossy green cap, despite there being no sun needed to be shielded from. a narrow, grey streak weaved through the woman’s hair, contrasting its natural, dark tones. it was pretty, representing the wisdom she gained in her years of living.

“ah welcome,” a voice called out. it was the older woman’s voice -- smooth and sweet like honey. “what a lovely young couple,” she mentioned, “you two must’ve been dating for quite a while, yeah?” her question earned a rosy shade from sero’s cheeks all the way to the tips of his ears; and a nervous chuckle was all you could seem to muster up.

“you don’t have to answer her,” the older man, who was presumed to be the woman’s husband, interrupted. just by listening to the tone in his voice alone, sero could tell the man was clearly displeased with the woman’s antics.

the older woman gestured for the two of you to come inside. “we don’t get too many people coming by,” she spoke. “i think that’s obvious,” her husband interjected.

the wife gestured to you two to come in, she made the both of you feel very welcomed -- like a part of their little family. “we’re glad you chose to stay” the husband observed, “we’re the kokawa’s by the way.”

the lady maneuvered around the tables, claiming that the one directly in the center was the most perfect. she handed you two some paper menus as you sat down and got yourselves comfortable. “thank you kokawa-sama” sero thanked, scanning over some of his options.

“please, call me chiyoko,” the older woman requested, “and that is isamu.” she was very casual, inviting you to use both her and her husband’s first names. in return, you had offered your names to the couple, “i’m (y/n), and that’s hanta.” sero felt so giddy inside when you pronounced his name, like a little kid on the swing set. it was just that he always loved how his name rolled off your tongue.

chiyoko shared some of the couple’s favorite items with the two of you, “i recommend the yuzu honey, it can be served hot or cold,” she explained, “the hojicha is a favorite of isamu’s; though, i would only indulge after a big meal.”

your eyes seemed to have lit up at something chiyoko recommended, and sero knew exactly what it was. given the two of you had been dating for a year or so, he was able to read you like the back of his hand.

“i think the yuzu honey sounds great,” you ordered -- just as sero predicted, a silly, little smirk gracing his lips. he knew how much you loved that sweet, citrus tea rain or shine. “and what about you?” chiyoko had seemed to catch sero off guard. “i, uh, yuzu honey as well please,” he uttered.

“so the two yuzu honey? that’s all?” chiyoko affirms. you respond with a small nod.

the older woman takes the menus and walks to the back, leaving the two of you alone for a moment. “thank you hanta,” you expressed. “what for?” the male asks, hints of confusion littered in his voice. “this,” you answered, “we haven’t spent quality time like this in a while.”

there was a pause in your words, and you reached out for sero’s hand across the table. “i’m sorry,” you muttered. when you looked up, your boyfriend noticed the glassiness layered over top your eyes.

“don’t be,” he assures, “we’ve been really busy lately, you know, saving the city.” his signature proud, triangular smile lit up the room. “but i’m glad we can spend some time together every now and then,” sero adds, giving your hand a tight squeeze.

you found so much comfort in his words -- it was like he knew exactly what to say.

“ahem,” isamu grunted. he was holding a small tray with two cups of tea balanced on top. from the background you could hear chiyoko scolding her husband, “isamu, quit being so impatient. can’t you see they’re having such a sweet moment.” you watched as she discarded a lonesome tear.

isamu took the cups from the little tray and gently placed them on the table. “don’t worry about it,” sero assured, followed with a light-hearted chuckle; your lips shifted into a simple little smirk.

you took a small little sip of the tea from the cup, your expression perking up almost immediately -- like a small dog wagging their little tail. the steam from the cup warmed up your face as well. sero took a swig of his tea, and he tasted the bright flavors of the yuzu, which contrasted the duller shades of autumn.

“enjoy?” the older woman asked. your small, little smirk spread into a smile. “very much,” you responded.

while you continued to sip on your drinks, chiyoko even brought out albums of countless, old photos of the life her and isamu had shared. it was a life sero only wished he’d be able to share with you.

but things aren’t always so simple -- they always say all good things must come to an end, right?

it was the first day of fall following summer -- the weather was much cooler than the previous days. some people even claimed it to be an ominous sign. the wind threatened to pull trees from their roots, the fog made it difficult to see nearly five feet ahead.

but sero continued to fight the both wind and the fog. he rushed through the city, because he knew what was at stake. cellophane had been called onto the scene to support a mission gone awry -- your mission that had gone awry.

the closer sero got, the more he could see how disastrous the mission had gone. what was once a tall standing building, now turned to nothing but rubble. heroes from all over the board came to offer any sort of assistance.

though he could barely recognize them, but sero even saw some of his old high school classmates coming to the rescue.

he watched as the tentacle hero, tentacole, brought the leftover civilians to safety, being sure to shield them from any of ground zero and gale force’s uncontrollable blasts of power. uravity, sugar rush, and battle fist had been maneuvering larger masses in order to find anyone hidden in the debris, while alien queen melted away the concrete and steel.

even sero’s former teacher, eraserhead, worked with the underground hero, mind jack, to round up the last of the villains.

as soon as the tape hero swung onto the scene, he found the nearest person he could ask for help. he figured top hero creati was sure to know where you could be. “mo-creati,” cellophane announced, granting him the creation hero’s attention. “have you seen them?” he questioned.

the least she gave him was a shake of her head. “i’m sorry,” the creation hero began, “we don’t know of their whereabouts as of right now.” though she made it seem that she was composed under the frantic situation, creati was just as scared as cellophane.

from then sero did one of the most unprofessional, irrational things a hero could do and run straight into the chaos without any other instruction. it was against protocol -- it was against his own rules, but he was desperate to know if you were safe.

“cellophane!” another hero called out. it was red riot, a former classmate and a close friend. the bmi hero, fat gum, followed close behind.

sero gripped both of his red-haired pal’s sturdy shoulders. “please,” the hero’s voice began to grow desperate, “please tell me you’ve seen them.”

“no,” the red-head answered. sero began to drown himself in his own thoughts. where on earth could you be? were you even alright? you had to be. he thought. “but the last anyone has heard or seen from them was over that away,” red riot pointed out.

cellophane gave his buddy a simple nod as a sign of appreciation, before proceeding down the path he had pointed out.

as he continued in that direction, the tape hero stumbled across a body, which laid dormant and defeated in front of him. he recognized the definable features to be yours, eyes growing wide at the sight. despair washed over sero at his discovery.

‘no it isn’t,’ he thought, ‘it can’t possibly be them. is it?’ sero knew there was only one possible way to answer that question -- a question he wished he would never have to answer.

it was almost like his legs took root in the ground below, his knees pulled him to the ground like heavy rocks. sero felt himself sinking into the ground.

“(y/n)?” he whispered. the warmth of his arms contrasted that of the body held between them.

a silent bubble formed around the two of you, but all sero wished for was to hear your voice. he wanted that voice to tell him that everything would all be okay. that things would soon go back to normal -- though he knew they wouldn’t.

“hanta, say something. please,” you begged, your words filling that silence, “let me hear your voice once more.”

nothing. unlike the countless times before, sero didn’t know what to say. he simply just didn’t have the right words.

you had brought your hand up to hold onto sero’s cheek, and he felt the warmth begin to fade. “hanta,” you spoke out, barely even whispering. every breath containing less and less life in it.

“(y/n). . .” he whimpered, but it was too late. your hand dropped due to the lack of life in it. “(y/n)” he continued, “(y/n), please, (y/n)!” the tears finally began to fall, with no sign of stopping anytime soon.

“don’t leave me,” he pleaded, “don’t leave me without saying goodbye.”

there was no response.

“you promised,” the words echoed through the open space, “you promised.”

that day japan lost a strong hero, and sero lost an even stronger love.

just about two autumns have passed since your incident, and there isn’t a day that goes by where sero doesn’t think about how things might’ve been if you were still around.

he wonders if you would still have been the same person you were back then. he wonders what would have changed. what would have stayed the same?

but sero knows he can’t get so hung up on the what if’s, because they aren’t the reality -- a reality without you around anymore.

the wind hits the back of sero’s neck, and it brings him back to that first time he walked down this once familiar path. however, this time he can only wish that you were still by his side, accompanying him.

when the male stepps inside, he’s hit with that same warmth once more. just this time he can tell that something was the slightest bit off.

a voice calls out -- isamu, “long time no see.” a long time it indeed had been -- just about two years to be exact.

since the tragedy had struck, sero hadn’t come back to the little cafe; however, the male figured he’d stop by while he was already in the area. at least to say his hello’s to the couple if nothing else.

the older woman, chiyoko, emerges from the back room, a tray in her hands. her eyes grow wide, like she some sort of apparition stood in front of her. “welcome back,” chiyoko greets. a relieving smile shifts onto her face. it makes sero feel at home -- the most at home he’s felt in a little while. “please come sit,” isamu insists.

sero does as he’s told, walking toward the center of the cafe -- the best seat in the house. it reminds him of that first time he visited with you.

chiyoko comes by the table with a small cup in hand. “yuzu honey?” she offers, “it’s on the house.” sero gives the woman a simple little nod, taking the offering from her. as he sips on what once was your favorite beverage, he tastes that bright, citrus flavor. that flavor you had fallen in love with all that time ago.

“how’s (y/n) doing?” chiyoko questions. she was always a very curious woman and probably couldn’t help but ask. sero could hear isamu grunting from behind, attempting to signal to chiyoko that she may have overstepped her boundaries.

“it’s alright,” sero utters, “they-”

he can’t even give the older couple a proper answer. so instead, sero put on that signature, triangular smile -- like a mask, covering the deep, twisted despair inside. he took a deep inhale and lied.

“they’ve been doing well,” he wished.

#boku no hero academia #bhna #bhna imagines #bhna angst #bhna x reader #my hero academia #mha #mha imagines #mha angst #mha x reader #sero hanta #sero hanta x reader #sero x reader #sero angst

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