eternal

beside you / tobi-q

"this sucks."

qq stood under the safe shelter of the gymnasium, wrapping her arms around herself to keep herself warm after being being caught in the autumn rain. it was eight o' clock and had just started raining. qq, who had forgotten her umbrella at home, was presently stuck in school and had to either wait for the rain to stop, or for someone with an umbrella to come by to share an umbrella and walk to the bus stop with her.

however, with the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes, the second option was not worth considering. she pressed the heels of her hands underneath her eyes and sucked in a breath, repeating a mantra in her head, do not cry, do not cry, do not cry.

alas, that did not work: her eyes burned as tears slipped down her face. her brows furrowed as she made quick work to wipe them away, stop crying, stop crying, stop—

the gym doors swung open and she choked on a gasp, shit. she bowed her head and bit on her inner cheek, willing herself to stop crying as she rubbed her eyes furiously.

"qq?"

she halted her movements, the voice sending chills down her spine. it was the last person she ever wanted to be caught crying by. she sniffed and wiped her eyes one last time to ensure that they were completely dry before turning to face the speaker.

it was kageyama, who had just exited the gym with his duffel bag and shoe bag in tow. his face was partially illuminated by the warm light spilling from the open gym doors and she could hear someone talking in a muffled voice from within the gym.

kageyama's gaze zeroed in to her eyes, which were watery and had turned slightly pink. along with the sound of her muffled sniffling, his heart sank: she had been crying. he did not know what happened exactly, but to see the girl he liked who was usually so strong and bubbly in tears made him upset and his heart ache.

before he could say anything, hinata's voice cut him off, "hey, kageyama, who's outside?"

quickly, kageyama reached out to grab qq's arm gently and push her behind him to shield her from everyone else as he turned to face the gym doors. qq grabbed onto his jacket for support and to ground herself as she bit on her tongue to stop her sniffling. now that she stared at his back, she realised that it was broad and somehow comforting.

the gym lights winked shut as hinata stepped out of the gym with the gym keys in his hand and he spotted qq's figure (though unsure of who it was, exactly) behind kageyama. he looked up at his partner, "who's this?"

"nothing, just go home," kageyama stuck his palm out at the gingerhead, "give me the keys, i'll lock up."

hinata squinted at kageyama but chose not to comment on his words, but simply handed the keys over, "don't stay for too long." he then gave one last glance to the mystery person behind kageyama and said, "and i hope you're okay!" with that, he walked off to the bike shed to retrieve his bike before going home.

once hinata was out of an earshot, kageyama placed the keys in his pocket as he turned around. qq's gaze was averted to where hinata had walked off to and she had lowered her hands and fiddled her thumbs together.

sensing her nervousness, he asked, "sorry for that. are you okay?"

she turned her head to look at him, eyes widened in surprise. her body relaxed as she managed a small smile and nodded, "yeah, i'm fine now! thanks for helping me, and sorry you had to see me like that."

there was an awkward silence as she broke eye contact, opting to stare at the rain falling onto the pavement, the only sound being heard was the calm pitter-patter of raindrops.

"do you..." qq turned to look at him as kageyama cleared his throat and tried again, "do you wanna tell me what happened? why you cried, i mean."

she stared at him and he quickly interjected, "that's if you're okay with sharing with me! sorry if i crossed the line."

there was no response. kageyama turned away and scratched the back of his neck, wanting to kick himself. you stupid idiot, you shouldn't be asking people to share things that they're uncomfortable with sharing!

he opened his mouth to say something else, but qq's voice stopped him, "it's just..."

he turned to look at her. she was not looking at him, but she was still talking, "i had a rough day today. i failed a test and got called out for it in front of the entire class, got reprimanded by the same teacher for being irresponsible for not letting her know i can't make it for two sessions of our holiday practice when it isn't even my fault i knew i had to take part in a music camp late, and..." she frowned at the sky, as if it had wronged her, "i forgot my umbrella and now—" — a sob escaped her lips as she continued — "i'm stuck here until the rain stops."

she turned her body away from kageyama so that her back was facing him, then lifted her hands to wipe her tears away. meanwhile, he was panicking. he was not great at comforting people, so what could he do now?

quickly, he reached for his bag and rummaged around one of the smaller pockets, then pulled out a packet of gummy bears. he had a habit of carrying around sweets just in case he bumped into qq, who was known to have a particularly sweet tooth. he held it out to her and mumbled, "here. eat this."

she turned around and spotted the pack of gummies in his hands and softened, reaching out to accept them. with a watery smile, she said, "thank you."

with trembling fingers, she ripped the packet open and picked out a red gummy bear, popping it into her mouth. she pulled a green one out and held it out to kageyama, and he accepted it wordlessly, eating the gummy bear alongside her.

after a few moments of silence, she asked, "do you have an umbrella?"

he shook his head. that was a lie; he had one tucked in the bottom of his duffel bag, but she did not need to know that. he watched her chew on the little coloured bears with dry eyes and he smiled. this little intimate moment was one he was not willing to let go of so easily.

"you know," he spoke up, causing her to turn her head towards him, "if you're ever sad, you can come to me."

she snorted, "what, so that you can give me gummy bears?"

"i don't carry sweets around for fun, you know," he frowned, "i always have candy in my bag so that i can give them to you if i ever run into you. they're even your favourites, i made sure to ask—!"

he cut himself off, realising the meaning behind his words. an awkward silence settled as the words he had said replayed in his head. his face burned red as he turned his head to the side, wanting to dig a hole deep enough to bury his entire body into. why oh why did he say that?

she laughed, causing butterflies to errupt in his chest, "sure, i'll find you whenever i'm sad." she paused, then continued, "but can i come to you during other times when i'm not sad, too?"

the corners of his lips turned upwards, "yeah, you can. you won't need to look too hard to find me, anyway."

"hm? why's that?" she folded the now-empty package.

"i'll..." his voice dropped down to a whisper, "i'll always be beside you, that's why."

her cheeks took on a pink tint as he looked away, blushing in embarrassment.

she turned her head to the side, smiling softly, "that's good to know. thank you."

she now knew that she would have someone to turn to in times of hurt and whenever she sought comfort. kageyama would always be there with her favourite sweets, always beside her.

···

( 1391 )
( 071022 )

hellurrr it's been a while since i last wrote
something here hehe (specifically, 9
months. omg someone could have gotten
pregnant and given birth during this entire period.). i was in my feels today while i
was otw to my dental appointment and i wrote this during my bus trip there
and back (all while it was drizzling).

can you tell i legit just want someone
to give me free gummy bears zzz