ONLY ME || Haikyuu x Male

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The last time Ren took a break from volleyball, he'd been suspended. So now that the Karasuno volleyball team had a two week break before continuing with the Tokyo away games, he had no idea what to do with himself.

He'd heard that the rest of his team were practicing, developing new strategies and honing their skills, but the only thing he had to improve on was returning back to his old level of ability. And in the past few weeks, he'd only gotten more confused in regards to how he was supposed to do that. So in a state of exhaustion and mild frustration, Ren decided to fully take a break from volleyball. Clear his mind of all the anxiousness circling the sport.

And that train of thought resulted in him inviting Tobio out for coffee.

He'd set the location at a small cafe - not the one that he and Noya had gone to. That was a special place, and he didn't want to blend his friendships. That'd be disrespectful to both his best friend and his new friend. So he'd asked Tobio to meet him at a cafe that was a block away from his apartment, a place that he frequented when he needed a pick-me-up after a rough day at school.

The first-year arrived at nine fifty, ten minutes early. Ren was surprised to see Tobio waiting for him at the entrance to the cafe, dressed in navy shorts and a black top with a white bag slung across his shoulders.

They were matching. Only, instead of a bag, Ren had a white button up styled as a thin jacket.

What a coincidence !

"Tobio!" The boy looked up from his phone and smiled, returning the greeting with a wave.

"Ren-san! You look nice. I've never seen you in casual clothing before." He smiled at the setter, slinging an arm over his shoulder and guiding him inside the cafe.

They ordered their respective drinks and sat down at a table in front of a window, the morning sunshine flooding them with warmth. It was rather peaceful. Calm. Ren took a deep breath, the most relaxed he'd ever been in a solid few months.

"So, why'd you invite me out, Ren-san?" Tobio raised his arm, resting his chin on his palm. "When you asked, you didn't really say why. You just told me to come here."

"Please, you don't have to use honorifics. Just Ren is fine." He smiled, leaning backwards in his chair and tilting his head. "And do I need a reason to want to spend time with my kouhai? We're friends, are we not?"

Tobio seemed at a loss for words for a moment, and when he spoke again, he didn't meet Ren's eyes. "Well, you've never seemed interested in spending time together outside of school and volleyball, so I assumed that there was a reason for this. Like maybe you wanted to talk about my setting or maybe you wanted some tips."

Ren snorted, then laughed, covering his mouth with his hand. "My, what confidence! To assume I would be coming to you for advice when I asked you to hang out."

"No, that's not what I-"

"Relax, Tobio." The barista called out his name, and they both got up to pick up their order, walking out of the cafe with their drinks in hand. They headed towards a small park nearby, conversation prattling on all the while. "I'm just messing with you. But in all seriousness, I'm not here for advice. Nor am I here to critique you. I just wanted to spend some time with someone who understands. You know, trying to recover from the fear of hurting your teammates."

Tobio was silent, and for a moment, Ren thought that he'd dampened the mood by reminding the first-year of his prior mistakes. But that thought was quickly wiped out of his mind as soon as Tobio opened his mouth.

"So, like a date?"

"No, I-"

Tobio cut him off, voice brighter than Ren had ever heard it. "I'm still trying to work on myself, figuring out the balance between putting my skills to good use and adjusting to my team's capabilities. So I can't really help you. But I promise, we're in this together!"