aster

Chapter 7

AIKO POV

I sat on the bench, not really paying much attention to what was actually happening in the game.

I was day dreaming about my boyfriend, instead.

When I saw him play on the court, it sent me into day dream hell.

I was pulled away from my day dreams when Mére (Suga) said, "Hey Aiko? Do you know why it seems like he puts no effort into volleyball? Is he like that with other things too?"

I laughed a little, deciding to tell the truth, "Kei cares, but he has a little bit of an issue focusing, which you wouldn't assume since he's in honor classes. He's brilliant, the smartest person I know, but his focus is the worst. Chances are, Kei can't ever focus, and it pisses him off, so it tries to pass it off as not caring. He did that a lot when we first met in person, and because it's a lot easier to focus on a computer when you can reread things than in person, I was confused and hurt. But soon enough I understood when we tried to study together. If you can give him some proper motivation, he'll concentrate harder, and his focus will improve. I'll show you before the second set." It was always such a shame seeing Kei's unfocused look, like he couldn't figure out where everything was going and he couldn't keep up. It always made me really sad, so I tried to figure out ways to fix it (i.e. The motivation to get him dressed this morning)

Every once in a while, his jersey would lift up a bit, and I would see his abs, and I'm pretty sure I visibly died every time.

Mére and Terre laughed at my obvious love for both my boyfriend and his abs.

But seriously, damn.

So when it was halfway over, Kei walked up to me, bending over at the hips so he could get in my face and taunt me, "Oh Ai~! I saw you staring~" But, as I've been in love with this nerd for a long time, I knew all the 'tips & tricks' for getting on his nerves.

"Mhm! That's part of why I adore your mother so much, she blessed me with a hot boyfriend." I retaliated, giving his nose a little kiss before he stood up and blushed profusely.

When the rest of the team was getting on the court, I pulled him back to face me and said, "If you focus the entire time, I'll give you a ton of kisses when it's over. And I'll make dinner."

His eyes widened at the proposal, before realizing Mére was watching the exchange, and blushed before walking away.

But, when he got on the court, things improved drastically. He was suddenly blocking almost every spike, the disinterested look gone.

Boy, I sure had a cute boyfriend.

Pére, or Daichi, was complimenting him the whole time, talking about how he had improved so drastically, and asked what happened.

"I don't know. Maybe it's the weather."

Boy, I sure had a smartass boyfriend.

And so, as soon as the match ended and school was out for the day, he and I walked home, I showered him in kisses, before attempting to make dinner.

"Kei, babe, I am so proud of you. You're such an amazing player and you focused so well and I'm so proud! I love you so much!!"

Before I could move towards the refrigerator, Kei stopped me, grabbing my hand and dragging me out of the house.

"Kei? Where are we going? I thought I was making dinner." I didn't let him ignore me, pulling him around to look me straight in the eye.

"We're going to the gym. I just got a text from Daichi-san saying we have another match, and it's about to start. Let's go."

So off we went to the gym, racing back just in time. Since we were so late, I didn't have time to see what team they were playing, I just sat down and Kei ran off.

It was only when I heard, "Ai-chan~! Iwa-chan will be happy to see you when he gets back from changing!"

Oikawa.

"Kawa?! Hajime?! Where?" I jumped up and hugged Oikawa, looking around for my dear brother.

Hajime exited the bathroom at that moment, and I ran to him, him catching me in a hug.

We stayed there for what felt like eternity before he released me, and instead, stalked over to my boyfriend and picked him up by the collar, even though Kei was taller.

"Listen up, punk. I know I've told you a hundred times before, and I'm gonna tell you again. If you dare hurt my sister,"

"And my precious god-sister!!!" Oikawa added,

"I will kill you. Aiko is precious. Hurt Aiko, you hurt yourself. Watch it. I'm gonna kick your ass." The rest of Karasuno was stunned into silence, and all was quiet before I couldn't contain my laughter any longer.

"Hajime, please don't scare the Karasuno boys. Kei and I know you're kidding but they don't. Awww, my poor Sunshine looks so scared!!" I lectured my brother before approaching the trembling Hinata and kissing him lightly on the head. His shaking subsided a bit, but not much.

Soon enough though, after a good luck kiss and more motivation for Kei, and hugs for Hajime and Kawa, I sat on the bench with Sugawara and watched the boys play.

Kei was focused, but so was Seijoh. It seemed like they were almost all targeting Kei, as funny as it was. Perks of being a volleyball sister/girlfriend. I chatted pleasantly with Terre and held his hand softly, as I often did when the poor boy was stressed. Tadashi had a habit of getting really stressed over everything, and in the past eight months I've learned that he likes it when his hand is held.

After the game, in which Karasuno suffered a devastating loss, Kei and I strolled home, in no particular rush. On the way, we stopped by the Florist, and as soon as we walked in, they recognized us.

"Ah, my flower children, at it again. I'm assuming one purple aster, as usual?" The old woman with greying hair and wrinkles that contained the love of universes beyond us sat behind the counter, one purple aster already pulled from the bunch.

"Thank you Ootori-San. I'll see you tomorrow, love you." We said as we walked out the door. I hummed softly and Kei smiled, weaving the flower in my hair before lightly placing his arm around me. His smile gave the world a peaceful and soft glow, like nothing could go wrong. Kei pecked me lightly on the nose and threaded his nimble fingers in my hair, and the only thing I could feel was euphoria. Complete, unadulterated euphoria.

DAICHI POV

Suga and I walked home in almost complete silence, both of us enjoying our meat buns too much to let our attention waver from the delicacy.

That is, until we spotted Aiko and Tsukishima walking far ahead of us. Enough so we could see them and maybe read their lips, but not enough for them to notice us.

"They really are in love, aren't they? I mean, I've never seen Tsukishima put so much effort into something before she arrived. And he's happier too. Both he and Yamaguchi have constant smiles. It's kinda nice." Sugawara considered, finally taking a moment to recognize the insurmountable effects Aiko had.

Insurmountable, indeed.