Chapter 41

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A month later you found yourself in a sports goods store.

You had found a second job, waiting tables at a restaurant in the neighborhood. You replaced one of their workers, who had gone on maternity leave, and while your hours were fixed, your days were not.

You got a schedule at the start of the week and only then did you know which days you would be working. You did three days a week like that.
The job was only for two months, after which the woman would be back from her leave, but that was perfect for you.

The variable schedule made it extra difficult to meet with Wakatoshi online, but you knew it would be worth it in the end.

After you first few nights on the job you noticed that your lack of stamina really made it difficult for you to keep up and while your colleagues were very understanding, they were already over the moon that someone had come to their aid, you still felt the need to improve yourself to do good work.

So you had decided to pick up running as a pastime, or at least walking if running was too much.

You had considered using the shoes Wakatoshi had gotten you, but in the end decided against it. They were indoor shoes, and somehow you got the feeling it would make him sad if you used them outside.

That's why you had decided to go out and by running shoes today. Although, now that you found yourself looking at all the different shoes, you had to admit you had no idea which ones to get.

You paced back and forth in front of the racks for a while, picking up a shoe every now and then only to put it back because you had no idea what you were doing.

"Can I help you with something?" Came a voice from behind you, startling you. You turned around to find a friendly looking man, he did not wear the store's uniform but you were not about to turn away the help. 

"I'm looking for running shoes, but I have no idea where to start." You told the man, who seemed to be of Asian origin and looked like he might be the same age as your parents.

"I see, I take it they're your first pair then?" He asked you as he was already scanning the racks for suitable shoes.

"I actually have indoor shoes. I brought them so I could compare the size and such." You explained as you took the box out of your backpack. 

"Oh! Those are volleyball shoes, and great ones at that!" The man's eyes lit up as he saw the shoes.

"Yeah my uh... boyfriend got them for me." You felt your face heat up as this was the first time you had actually called Wakatoshi your boyfriend. "He's really into volleyball and I went to practice with him once. I was not very good though." You added with a laugh.

"My son plays as well." The man told you and proudly added. "I watch all his games."

"Where are you from?" You dared ask, if he was Asian he could be from Japan, even though his skill at English suggested otherwise.

"America, I'm here on vacation." He answered and you figured it would have been too good to be true.

"These look like they would be what you're looking for." He said as he handed you a pair of shoes. You put them on, pressed the front, and measured the back with your finger, mimicking the way Wakatoshi had fitted your indoor shoes. Satisfied, you got up and walked up and down the aisle.

"These are great, thanks!" You said. "I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time when you're on vacation."

He laughed. "No problem at all! I like seeing youngsters getting into sports!"

You couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm. "Well, I'm going to go pay now. Have a good vacation!"

"Maybe we'll meet again, if your boyfriend makes it to the international stage and plays against my son!" He told you and you had to hold back a snicker. On one hand, you would have liked to tell him that Wakatoshi was already there, but on the other, you felt it might come over as bragging towards someone who had just went out of their way to help you. So you just went with telling him: "Who knows?"

You parted ways as you went to the register and he went back into the store to actually buy what he had come for.

From then on you went out for a walk or sometimes even a little run now and again. When you had told Wakatoshi he was very supportive, even though it meant that you would have less time to call each other.

A little more than a week later you got a package in the mail from Wakatoshi, containing a bunch of small running accessories and even a fitness tracker watch. From then on you started picking up stuff from stores here and there that you thought he might like and send something to him every other week. He returned the favor and regularly sent you stuff you liked as well.

About three weeks after you had gone shopping for new shoes you were on your lunch break with Marie at your usual spot.

She told you that she had been chatting with both Oikawa, who had since changed his profile picture from a piece of bread to an alien, and Nishinoya. But, as you had already expected, Oikawa wasn't as talkative as Marie had wanted.

Nishinoya, on the other hand, often woke her up in the middle of the night because he had something to say and forgot about the time difference. She had since learned to mute her phone at night.

After Marie had run out of things to talk about you couldn't help but let a sigh escape your lips, prompting her to ask you what was wrong. 

"I don't know if you're actually trying to hook up with one of them, but as someone who is now well-experienced in the subject, it's not easy to have a relationship when there are literally thousands of miles between you..." You explained.

"Yeah, I know, it must be hard for you." She said. "But you know, it's like that one song says: 'Don't count the miles, count the I love you's'."

"Marie... You do realize that the guy had given up on the relationship in the song?" You said, not knowing if you should find the situation funny or depressing. 

You could see Marie thinking about the song and then her mouth forming an 'o' when she came to the realization that you were right. "Okay, but if you overlook that detail..."

You smiled. "Yeah, I guess it still applies. It's just so hard, I want to hug him now and again you know? Is that so much to ask for?"

Marie wiggled her eyebrows. "Just hug?"

"At this point, I would already be super happy with just a hug." You complained. "I can't believe it's already been about two months since I saw him..."

"Well, that's why we're going to Japan right? We need to meet up soon to book hotels and make and itinerary! But first, if you don't leave now, you're going to be late for work." Marie said after she took a look at her watch.

You had a full day at work, while she only worked in the morning today. You had time to wait with her at the crosswalk that would separate your ways. Both of you were brainstorming for travel ideas when the pedestrian sign turned green and you finally told her goodbye as she crossed the road to get to her car.


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A/N : 

Hello guys! I had a lot of fun finishing this chapter, even though I didn't get a lot of sleep yesterday 。(*^▽^*)ゞ

I usually don't like to include too many details, but this time I did include a song that I've been listening to lately, because I just thought it was really fitting (except the part about the guy giving up on the relationship of course (*≧▽≦)ノシ))  ).
If you want to know, the song is Miles by  Christina Perri. Since I've been writing this story I've been listening to a lot of LDR songs, some of them really work wonders for inspiration!

Anyway, thanks for your support and I'll see you all Wednesday! ヾ(>ω<*)

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