𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 [ᴋ. ʙᴏᴋᴜᴛᴏ]

𝚜 𝚒 𝚡

The rest of the week passed by, all with the same routine. Katana spent a lot of time with Bokuto and thus with his friends and at practice. It got easier to be in the gym and watching the guys play volleyball from day to day. Pretending to be Bokuto's girlfriend was also getting easier, it came naturally to her. She didn't mind at all, holding hands, sitting next to each other all the time, having him around constantly and even texting with him every day. In all honesty, she got used to it quicker than anticipated. And, whether she realized it or not, Bokuto was becoming a significant part of her daily life slowly but surely.

Katana snapped out of her thoughts when Bokuto sat down next to her on the bench. She had zoned out again while watching practice. She had been catching herself deep in thought a lot lately.

"You're doing it again, princess," he said as she handed him the water bottle.

"Doing what?"

"Staring off into space. What's on your mind?" He took the water bottle and gulped down almost half of it.

"Nothing, I'm just tired lately. Must be the weather." She shrugged and shot him a small smile.

"You gotta start looking after yourself better." He said and scanned her from head to toe briefly. "Say, are you free tonight?"

"Depends..."

"I won't take no for an answer. I'm taking you to my favorite steak house, okay?"

"But-"

"Ah, no buts, Kata-chan." He waved a finger in front of her face and pointedly shook his head. "I bet you haven't eaten anything today, so I'll just make sure you'll have a proper dinner at least. And what's better than steak?"

Katana looked at him skeptically. They hadn't really gone out together with just the two of them other than that one breakfast date. But its sole purpose was just to get to know each other a bit better and talk about the arrangement. It wasn't a real date. The thought of going out with him now, after having spent so much time with him, had her stomach tightening. "I don't know..." she trailed off and looked away from him.

"Nah uh, we're going and that's final." He stood up from the bench and patted her head with a grin. "It's a date then."

Oh god... a date?

The young woman was sitting at the kitchen island, her chin in her open palm as she stared at the red digital clock on the stove. Bokuto would pick her up in about an hour. She had gotten ready in a hurry, almost frantically and now she was one hour early.

"I'm an idiot..." she mumbled to herself and heaved a sigh. For a moment she considered taking a nap to pass the time. However, she dismissed the thought right away. Katana didn't panic over her appearance only for a nap to ruin it back to square one.

Not gonna happen.

Having a snack would also not be the smartest idea. They were going for dinner after all, she couldn't simply stuff herself with some random snacks.

The time just didn't pass and Katana overthinking every possible scenario about this dinner, didn't help her situation at all. She didn't even know why this had her so worked up. Her stomach twisted like she was about to give a big presentation.

Her phone buzzing on the counter snapped her out of her spiraling thoughts. Snatching it off the counter, she immediately answered the video call without hesitation.

"Ka-chan!" He exclaimed loudly, not even giving her the chance to greet him first.

"Hey, Tooru," she chuckled.

His eyebrows knitted and he came closer to his phone, holding the camera straight in front of his narrowed eyes. "You look... freshened up. Why don't you look like you rolled out of bed?"

Katana shot him an unimpressed look.

"For real!" He held the phone at a normal distance from his face again and raised an eyebrow. "It's Friday evening. You should be napping or chilling on the couch, drowning in ice cream and CSI:Miami like always."

"Shut your mouth, Oikiwi." Katana shot back. "I'm being a functional human being for once and you're immediately judging."

Oikawa burst out laughing. "You? A functioning human? Never in a million years. At least not without some alcohol involved."

"You're an asshole."

"You love me and you know it," his laughter subsided as he wiped his eyes. "Anyway, I called because I have bad news."

"Bad news?" The amusement was wiped off her face in an instant. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he waved her concern off. "But my roommate has a girlfriend."

"What? No way," Katana chuckled and shook her head dramatically. She had once seen the Argentinian guy in the background during a video call with Tooru and he looked really good. Since then Tooru had been giving her tea about him whenever he found out something about his roommate.

Oikawa nodded and theatrically wiped his eyes in mock sadness. "I already had your wedding planned."

"You're an idiot," Katana said fondly rolled her eyes. "So, how about your Spanish? Are you getting better at it?"

Tooru sheepishly chuckled before his face turned serious and he came closer to the phone, whispering seriously, "the struggle is real."

The young woman let out an amused breath and shook her head. "Well, as long as the only struggle you have is the language, it's fine."

"Enough of my Spanish, or lack thereof. So, where are you going?"

Katana hesitated. Tooru was her best friend, it should go without saying that she would be telling him the truth about the arrangement with Bokuto. However, something deep inside her heart made her stop. She didn't know where this sudden loyalty towards Bokuto came from, she told Tooru everything after all. And she was sure that he wouldn't tell the rest of their mutual friends if she explained the whole situation to him. But still, she couldn't bring herself to be truthful. At least not entirely. "On a date."

"What?!" Oikawa almost dropped his phone as he straightened up, his eyes wide as he stared into the camera. "A date?! Who?! When?! How did I even miss this?!"

"Tooru, relax-"

"Relax? Relax?! I can't relax, I have to know everything." He exclaimed.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you some other time, okay?" Katana said, trying to avoid too many details. She didn't want to lie.

"Fine," he huffed and pouted. After a brief silence, he let out a seemingly relieved sigh. "If you're happy, I'm happy. I'm just glad you're finally going out again."

"Thanks Tooru," she softened up.

"And here I thought I had to fulfill my best friend duty and marry you when you're 30 and still single."

"We never agreed on something like that," Katana laughed.

"That goes without saying! It's in the best friends manual."

"You're an idiot," she shook her head in amusement.

Tooru smiled cheekily and threw her a kiss, "you love me." He waved at her with a chuckle. "Have fun and be careful."

"Thanks," she smiled and rolled her eyes fondly. "Take care. Love you," she ended the call with an amused shake of her head. Leave it to Tooru to be endearingly annoying.

The doorbell rang and Katana immediately got off her seat, straightening her shirt. Taking a calming breath, she grabbed her purse and jacket before opening the door. "Hey, Kabuto-san."

He grinned, his hands in his pockets. "Hey, princess, ready?"

She nodded. Bokuto took her purse, holding it for her as Katana put on her jacket before handing it back to her with a smile. "Thanks, let's go then."

Yeah, let's go...

  

A/N - hey hey hey! long time no see, sorry about that. how have you guys been? i've been stressed lately, i can feel an academic burnout coming, hahaha.
anyway, i hope you still enjoy the new chapter! 
don't forget to vote and comment. i'd like to know what you think of the story so far :) <3