Haikyuu imagines

Stay- Ushijima

I didn't expect anyone to be waiting for me after close. All I wanted was to lock up, get in my car, and go home. The store was quiet, the sun already dipping low, the kind of evening where shadows fall faster than they should.

I shoved the last receipt drawer into place, grabbed my bag, and stepped outside-

Only to freeze.

Someone was leaning against my car.

Not just someone.

My ex.

He lifted his head at the sound of the door, that familiar smirk already twisting into something sour. My stomach dropped straight through the ground. I could feel the panic rising, the old instinct to shrink, to make myself smaller, to disappear before he could say something cruel.

I took an automatic step backward-

And hit a wall.

A warm wall.

"Are you alright?" Ushijima Wakatoshi's deep voice murmured behind me.

I nearly jumped. "Ushi- I thought you already left."

"I said I would pick you up," he replied simply. "So I came."

He didn't sound annoyed. Or inconvenienced. Just... like it made perfect sense for him to be here.

But the moment his eyes followed my line of sight and landed on the man by my car, his shoulders tensed-subtly but unmistakably.

Your ex pushed off the door. "There you are. Been waiting."

He said it like it was owed to him.

I didn't know what to do. My breath stuck in my throat. Every nerve in me screamed go back inside, but my feet refused to move.

Ushijima didn't hesitate.

He stepped directly in front of me, body blocking my view, shielding me so smoothly it almost startled me.

His voice dropped, low and controlled, but there was a steel edge I had never heard from him at work.

"Come with me," he said without looking back. Then, even softer, only for me: "Stay close."

He started walking, one broad hand reaching back to guide me behind him-but never touching me without permission, just close enough that I could feel the intention.

I followed, trembling.

My ex's footsteps crunched on the gravel behind us. "Hey- I'm talking to you."

Ushijima didn't even flinch. Didn't turn. Didn't acknowledge him in the smallest way.

He simply walked me straight to his car and opened the passenger door like we had done this a thousand times.

"Get in," he said gently.

For some reason, hearing his voice that soft made my eyes sting. I nodded, sliding inside. Ushijima shut the door and circled around the front.

My ex stood a few feet away, glaring. "Seriously? You're running to him now?"

Ushijima paused with one hand on his door handle. He didn't lift his voice. He didn't posture.

But his words landed like a punch.

"She doesn't need to run," he said. "I'm taking her home."

Then he got in the car and drove away-no drama, no show, just an unshakeable certainty that made me feel safer than I had in months.

My hands were still shaking when we walked inside. Ushijima noticed.

Of course he did.

He closed the door behind us. "You should sit," he said softly.

I sank onto the couch, burying my face in my hands.

"Sorry," I muttered. "You didn't sign up for all that. I didn't mean for you to-"

"I came because I wanted to," he interrupted. "Not because you needed help."

I looked up at him, startled.

His expression was unreadable in that way he always was-but his eyes... his eyes were warm, grounded, steady. "Thank you."

"I didn't do it to be thanked," he said and took a slow step closer. "I did it because I want you safe."

My heartbeat stuttered.

He exhaled, and for the first time, his voice dipped into something hesitant-like he wasn't sure he should say the next part. Like it meant something.

He didn't touch me. Didn't crowd me. Just stood there, waiting, giving me room even while offering himself in the softest, most vulnerable way he knew how.

I reached out-tentatively-touching his wrist.

He looked down, surprised.

"Can you stay?" I whispered.

For a second, Ushijima didn't move.

Then his fingers curled around my hand, warm and careful, like he was afraid to hold on too tightly.

"Of course," he murmured.

And for the first time all day, I felt safe enough to breathe.