4 Centimeters (NoyaHina)

I know

Shouyou continues to blush at my use of the word "special" and I wonder for a bit if his parents don't praise him for things. Or maybe I'm just a huge advocate of verbal validation since Shouyou's always so nice to me.

"Um, senpai?"

Ahh, boy does that have a nice ring to it. It makes me feel so cool!

"What is it, my super awesome adorable kouhai?"

"Can we stop by the convenience store after practice?" he asks, puckering his lips and fiddling with his thumbs nervously. How cute. He's acting like it's supposed to be a date or something.

"You don't even have to ask! You know I'll always reward you for calling me senpai!" I laugh, ruffling his hair. "Now get to class."

I look up to find Tsukishima calling him stupid with his eyes and Yamaguchi snickering behind him. Ryuu has retired to waiting by the stairs and is scrolling through his phone.

"Okay. Thanks, Noya-san!" Shouyou waves goodbye to me enthusiastically and I start finding it hard to believe he's not the embodiment of the sun. I really don't mind the way he feels about me. To be honest it's cute. Really cute.

I head over to Ryuu and he scowls at me. "You really don't get what you have, Noya-san."

"I think I do," I respond, smiling.

. . .

After practice, I walk with Shouyou to the nearest convenience store and buy a gari gari-kun popsicle to split with him.

"Hey, senpai?" Shouyou asks.

"Yeah?"

"How come you like these popsicles so much?"

It's such a specific question, I'm almost caught off guard.

"Mm..." I mull over my words for a bit before speaking. "There's actually a story behind it. But just a small one. There was a girl I really liked once when I was younger. We were friends. She always had them and insisted I should try them. I guess I wanted to have something in common with her, or wanted an excuse to be with her, but I ended up liking the popsicles anyway."

"What happened to her?" he asks.

I shrug. "I guess I stopped liking her. I can't really remember. Maybe she moved away. I just remember she was older than me. Anyway, you like them for the same reason, right?"

Shouyou looks surprised.

"Y-You mean cause they taste good, right??"

I nod. Not sure what else he would've thought I meant...

Oh.

What kind of idiot would you have to be you talk to your crush about your crush?

Shouyou scratches his head awkwardly, a pink tint on his cheeks.

...Maybe you'd just have to be incredibly pure.

"Wh-what? Is there something on my face, senpai?"

"No. I was just thinking that you're really innocent."

Shouyou looks flustered. Aww. I want to squish his cheeks.

"I...! I'm not innocent!! I know how to kiss and stuff and like...I think about doing things with the person I like, and..." he grows quiet, blood rushing to his face. "...Anyway, I'm not innocent!"

He looks so cute that I decide to tease him a little more.

"What kinds of things??" I press.

"Like...! Like going on dates and stuff!! Holding hands? Kissing, and---"