☀️ʙᴀʙʏᴍᴀᴍᴀ✓

тωєℓνє

i looked up from my phone, straw hanging from between my lips as i came face to face with satori tendo. red buzzcut and all. i shook my head, still not trusting my words and sat up to make more room for his legs under the table. the dude was tall after all. i watched his movements; the way he sat down, the way his fingers gripped the table to stable himself, the way his hoodie was draped over his shoulders.

i was enthralled.

"i see you couldn't wait for me." tendo snickered, giving me a playful smirk. i snapped out of my trance and rolled my eyes. "it's 2:10. i was done waiting for you." i shot back. "oooo fiesty. just how i remember." he smiled and i looked away for once, still sipping on my drink. my heart was pounding, pumping, doing summersaults in my chest. i thought i was gonna have a heart attack.

"hinata told me that he invited you back to tokyo to help him with his blocks." i started, trying to lighten the mood. for me, not him. i was still kinda shocked that he was sitting in front of me right now.

he sat back in his seat, legs accidently bumping with mine and i flinched a bit but he didn't seem to notice. "yep. dude called me like 10 times and i honestly thought ushiwaka was in trouble but shortie just wanted to know how to get his blocks in." he shrugged, hands in pockets. i nodded, swallowing to clear my throat. "you came all the way back from paris to teach him?" i questioned. "why not. i hadn't been here in over 3 years, might as well. though, i wasn't much help since my fingers aren't like they used to be." he confessed and i tilted my head in confusion.

"how so?"

"they lock up on me now. with volleyball and now since i work with chocolate, my fingers can never rest." he explained and my mind goes back to when i used to wrap his fingers for him before and after most games. most of the time he could do it on his own but he always preferred if i did it. he told me it made the pain feel better. i bit my lip. "chocolate?" i asked and he nodded, smiling at me.

"i work as a chocolatier at a place called le pâtisserie. very busy around this time of year." he told me and i nodded, taking in all the information. "do you like it there?" tendo shrugged. "i mean, it's nice to come home smelling like chocolate i guess." he answered before taking a deep breath in as his eyes came up to make contact with mine. i wanted to pull away but i couldn't, i was stuck.

"enough questions about me...." he moved to change the subject and my eyes widened. "what were you doing at hyakuzawa's birthday party?" he dived right in. i guess i was asking all the basic questions and he was sick of them.

i sniffed and sat back to match his energy. "ushijima invited me and zawa and i get along." i stated, pursing my lips. "oh?" he raised an eyebrow, probably thinking about my use of a nickname. "bro...we're not dating if that was what you were thinking. we're just really good friends. not that i have to explain anything to you." i remarked, rolling my eyes at the end. "you don't, i just wanted to know." he deflected and i could tell that he was lying. he wasn't the best at hiding his emotions nor thoughts.

"got anymore questions?"

"oh, we're just getting started, you know that. but first, let's order food. i'm starving."

-

we had gotten our respective foods and tendo started chowing down the moment it was placed in front of him. "it's not going anywhere, you can chill out." i sassed and he looked up at me, eyes piercing into my soul while a smirk painted its way onto his face. he licked his lips, a roll of sushi between his chopsticks as he was gonna go for another bite. "so, armani...how's life?" he quizzed and i felt like he was playing games with me. if he wanted to know about akari, why not ask up front?

"tendo, don't be slick. you know how my life is." i snapped back at him. "i really don't. be honest with yourself here, mani. we haven't seen each other for 3 years and i've done nothing but talk about myself." he explained, continuing to eat. "i know nothing about you." i pursed my lips. "well...what do you want to know?" i asked, hoping he'd give me some wiggle room. i ate some of my food, taking a sip after.