Haikyuu x Reader

tanaka || marshmellows and cinnimon

I made the series gender neutral for all of my pals.
[& this was my excuse to write tanaka + noya in ugly Christmas sweaters in the middle of March tbh]

it was probably the worst snowfall in years, and you were stuck outside.

you didn't know how it had happened, the snow had come from nowhere, you had gone to the library to do some of your holiday homework and you had dozed and when you woke up there were mounds of snow and you cursed yourself for not going on the exotic get way your parents did for break.

you had to walk, you needed to get home and you didn't have anyone to call, and your toes were soaked and your jeans clung to your knees and you were breathing heavy because you just had to make it home. your foot caught ice on the pavement, and you let out a loud sound, because your toes were numb and you couldn't exactly feel your ankles and you fell face first into the ice and it stung your cheeks. you tried to get up, the ice slipping under your hands and your shoes, and your bag was beside you and you looked up when there was a shout. "oi!" you turned in enough time to see a boy running over to you, hair shaved short and his eyes were full of worry and oh god he didn't have any shoes on. "are you alright?" he bent down, grabbing your elbow and helping you up but your cheeks were burning rom the embarrassment and the cold wind, and he looked you over.
"um..." you knew this boy, he always spent his lunch period with noya-san and he was so sweet and kind and your face was red from embarrassment, but your lips were tinged blue from the cold.
"I know this sounds super creepy and very very weird but you should come inside because you're shaking too hard and your lips are blue."
"you h-have no s-shoes on." he looked down, taking your arms in his hand, leading you through the snow to the front door where there was a blonde girl bundled in a blanket staring at you.

"oh ryuu! there actually was a cute kid." his cheeks went red, and he took your hands into his own, ripping off your gloves and your fingertips were red. "oh this is bad, how long were you out there?"she must have been an older sister, but tears clung to your lashes because a few seconds ago everything was too cold now it was burning.
"u-um...a few, an hour, maybe?" you didn't know for sure, and the sound of footsteps were fast and the short boy slid into view, and your eyes widened. "n-noya-s-san?"
"shit!" his eyes went wide, and his friend, ryuu bent down to take off your shocks and shoes. "what the hell happened (f/n)-san?"
"i-i-i feel assleep a-at the library." it was hard to speak through your chattering teeth, and you didn't have time to protest because the boy, ryuu, bent down to pick you up.

you wanted to struggle, to asked to be put down, because noya-san was there and you knew him he was super over protective of the kids like you, (the shy soft spoken one in class.) sometimes boys and girls confessed and you fainted, noya always gave them dirty looks and a few good bruises when they eventually hurt you. but tanaka was surprisingly kind and sometimes girls thought him overbearing and the boys annoying but you found the other boy only cute and endearing. "(f/n), huh? i'm tanaka ryuunosuke, noya's friend. you have frostbite on your hands and toes, so i'm going to take you upstairs, is that alright?" you could only nod, and his eyes were full of worry, and the sound of obnoxious christmas music was playing in the background. "saeko, can you get them some clothes? it's best for them to take a bath. do you want to call anyone? why were you in that storm anyway?"
he carried you quickly up the steps, and you didn't find it as creepy as you should have, he was kind and gentle, and he seemed flustered to be holding you in his arms, your heart was beating fast in your chest, he was so kind. "i-i had to get home." you stated and he huffed as he kicked open the door to the bathroom and set you on the side of the tub. "t-thank you." you said as he left too fast. he grinned, his cheeks red when he came back, holding warm and fluffy towels in hand. "you're very kind."
"you're cute, the last thing we need is you missing fingers and toes because you decided to walk home." he sounded so sure of himself but his cheeks were red and flushed.
"the station was down!" you defended, breathing in a bit too sharply when he leaned over you to start the water, and you could smell his cologne.

was he...was he wearing a cinnamon scent?

"this should be alright, take your time, my sister--"
"just call me big sis saeko." she said from the doorway, holding a pile of folded clothes in her hands. "you alright love, anything we can get you?"
"s-something warm perhaps? for when i'm done?" you felt out of place and awkward.
She nodded, seeming to understand, eyes too kind and full of mirth and her cheeks were a bit too red. you didn't know these people, but you knew noya, and tanaka and saeko were kind so that was alright, you guessed... "sounds like a plan! ryuu, you up for a round of hot cocoa shots?" she asked, and the boy laughed as he nodded, bowing his head as he closed the door behind him.

you took your time, the bath stung your cold and wet skin, and you made sure to massage all the sore parts of your fingers and toes; you didn't get out until you were really relaxed and warm. the clothes were obviously not that of his sisters, you realised with a blush because the shirt had a saying that made you want to roll your eyes on it and the bottoms were from a video game you liked.

you dressed easy enough, holding your wet clothes in hand, and it was only after you got out, did you realise how cold it really was outside. you walked down the stairs slowly, towel wrapped round your neck and noya laughed as he jumped over the back of the couch. "(f/n)-san, how are you doing? feeling any better?" the snow came down in nothing but a thick white sheet and the sky was completely dark.
you nodded, walking over with a small smile on your face. "much, thank you so much, tanaka-kun and saeko-san." and you sat down slowly on the side of the table. and there was no tension at all, as if this wasn't as strange because they just seemed so welcoming in their presence.
saeko let out a loud whine, stretching her arms over her head and relaxing out. "well, little kid, you're not going home in that storm, you can leave tomorrow morning after it passes." that made the most sense, and ryuu smiled as he came in with a tray of hot drinks and a round of shots and your eyes widened as you dried your hair slowly, the towel still around your shoulders, the fireplace to the left warming you up.

the whole house was lit up, festive in every way possible because it was the night before Christmas Eve. the tree was decorated with nothing but what looked like homemade ornaments and it was wrapped so tightly in tinsel it was a wonder how the trunk hadn't snapped yet from the weight. on the top however, was a picture of one azumane asahi and you couldn't help but laugh. that wasn't something you saw everyday, and you knew of him too because he was noya's best friend too. tanaka turned to you as he sat down at the table, food was out between beer bottles and the telly was paying some old American movie with subtitles. "what's so funny (f/n)-san?" noya asked, reaching over for a glass of hot cocoa and a shot.
"azumane-san is your star?" you said soflty, smiling as you looked them over. both of them were in horrible attire, and your fingers still stung but you were more than grateful. you weren't oblivious to the boy known as tanaka ryuunosuke, you saw him all the time when he came to collect nishinoya from their class. or when he sat beside his shorter friend and they spent their lunch periods groaning and making loud noises and you thought the way his crooked smile looked was too damn cute.
"there you go." tanaka said softly as he placed the cup of cocoa in front of you.
it was a mess of whipped cream and small and big marshmallows. it looked messy and haphazard but it was cute and the mug was warm in stiff hands.
"if you want to take a shot just tell us, I usually do when it's cold, warms you up a bit inside." saeko said too grand, and I went red in the cheeks and smiled.
"maybe after this cocoa, it looks...interesting." there was a straw of some kind of biscuit and the inside was filled with chocolate.
noya laughed, reaching for some of the brownies that had been placed on the table.
"that's ryuu's number one best thing he makes man, his coca is to die for." and you smiled and took a sip.

oh my god he was right.

the hot cocoa was probably one of the best you had ever tasted, it was twinged with cinnamon and something else you couldn't quite place. saeko laughed when she saw your face, having forgone the straw and whip cream was all over your top lip. tanaka and noya lost it, and tanaka was holding his sides and his Christmas jumper was stupid and corny and your face went red. you had made a sound, not a loud one but not a soft one either, and for both boys, who had already had some drinks and cocoa to themselves, it was the funniest thing ever. so you set your drink down in the table and saeko handed you a blanket to put around your shoulders and you braved it on that snowy Christmas Eve eve, and you smiled snd laughed because this was stupid but it was fun.

all in all, it wasn't that bad.

especially when you had fallen asleep against ryuu on the sofa after saeko had gone to sleep, and you had woken up laying on top of him.
(he talked in his sleep, so it didn't take long for you to find out how he felt about you.)