Drawn to you // Tsukishima x reader - soulmate AU!

ch12 - inspiration

{Part 2 - The Pull}

"Here." I hold my phone out to her.

She takes it, grinning at me. "Oh? What am I supposed to do with this?"

I feel myself get flustered. She knows what I want, she's just teasing me. She's the only one who can make me this flustered. She's the only one who has this power over me, "Can I get your number?" I properly ask.

"Hmmm," She pauses, pretending to think hard for her reply, "Only if I can get yours." She hands her own phone to me.

I let out a long fake sigh, "I guess." I sarcastically reply as I grab the device.

We're both grinning as we fill out our contacts. Passing back the phones, our drinks arrives at our table.

"Thank you!" (l/n) says to the waitress with a stunning smile. Every smile I've seen on her makes her glow. "Wow, the evening is beautiful."

I turn my attention out the same window she's looking through. The sky is almost without a sun, the light still dimly lingers in the atmosphere giving the world a golden colour. As beautiful as it is, my attention is quickly stolen back to the girl sitting across from me. The golden glow softening her skin, a simple mug clenched in her hands, the slight rosiness dusted on her cheeks from the cold we escaped from just moments ago. I now know what a 'fluttering' heart feels like.

She turns her attention back to me. I look down to the mug infront of me with the drink I ordered in it. When we came back from the infirmary and got back to the gym, practice was more or less over. I retrieved my things from the change room and we (more like she) decided to go across the street to visit a little cafe. (l/n) claimed that a treat will make her 'feel better' after getting nailed in the face with a volleyball. I simply didn't bother to argue.

"So..." (l/n) shifts her weight in her seat.

"So..." I echo, not really knowing what to say. I was never good at this.

"What now?" A simple question. I certainly did not know the answer. What now? What do we do? Where do we go from this? We've found each other, now what? I want her more than anything, but I also don't want to rush into a relationship or anything. We just met. I want to know her, to be more comfortable around her.

"How about we just talk. Get to know each other. Share all the things we can't write to each other." I offer.

She shows another stunning smile, "I would love that."

And so, we talk. We talk for hours. We share stories and secrets, ambitions and dreams. All in our little corner of the empty coffee shop. My attention on every word she shares and hers on all of mine. She seems to be the only one who does this to me. All my walls, bottles of emotions, and guards I've put up all disappear when it's just me and her. I don't feel like I need to create distance, if anything she only draws me in. I talk about my childhood and my friend Yamaguchi, about volleyball and my true feelings about the game. She talks about her friends and her mom, about art and her dreams for it. As she talks, the topic of art reminds her of something.

"SHOOT!" She quickly stand from her seat. "Crap, what time is it?" She looks at her phone. "Someone probably locked up the art room by now, if not then soon. My stuff is still in there." She rushes to the exit of the cafe and pauses. Turning back to me she waves at me to follow, "Come on. Don't just sit there." I don't. I get up and follow her back to the school.

"Thank goodness." She says as she spots light flooding out the art club's door. "Someone is still there."

She steps inside, I stay close behind her. (l/n) Goes to find her bag, but ends up finding the other person who was in this room. "Hi Mai, what are you still doing here?"

"I just couldn't stop painting. I'm in the grove. Ya know?" Her friend looks over to (l/n) from behind the canvas, then to me, then back to
(l/n). "(l/n), I told you to go out to get inspiration, not get a boyfriend." Her friend, Mai, teases.

"What if he is my inspiration?" (l/n) attempts to counter, but it ultimately fails with her red blushed face.

Mai plays along, "Well then, are you going to introduce me to your 'inspiration'?"

"Fine," She began, "This is Tsukishima." I give a small wave. "I met him a few hours ago, and... hmm what else??? Oh! I know! He's my soulmate!"

"What! No way!" Mai enthusiastically stands from her seat and attacks (l/n) in a joyful hug. "You are so lucky!" I take note of what Mai said. I haven't even realized how lucky I was to have found (l/n). In a world filled with billions of people what were the chances that she, my soulmate, was someone who when to a school only hours away from mine. A lot of people live life never finding their soulmate. Looking to her, the thoughts ran through my head. Was this fate, chance, coincidence, destiny, a miracle? I only believed in about half of those things. No matter what is was, having her next to me was like having the world on my side.

As (l/n)'s friend begins to bombard her with questions, my attention wanders around the art room. Cluttered and messy with creativity evident in every corner you look to. The perfect place to express yourself and create. Just the place I could see (l/n) spending all her time at.

She started to gather her things. Different papers, bags and items balanced in her arms.

I let out a sigh, "Here, let me help." I take a few things out of her arms and the bag that looked the heaviest before she could protest.

"No you don't have t-"

"Where to now?" I cut her off.

She gives in, "Follow me."

While following (l/n), my thought wander to Mai's first comment. Am I her boyfriend? We didn't establish this, so I don't think so. What are we? I don't want to slap a label on anything, but people are gonna ask. I'll need some kinda answer. There was also a lot of pressure to date your soulmate because they are so hard to find. But I didn't want to put that pressure on her. I know I'd certainly would not want that pressure on me. It feels like this would be way too rushed if we suddenly started dating. I don't know if she'd be comfortable with that. I don't think I'd be either.

"What are you thinking about?" She glances to me with curiosity.

"Oh, nothing much." I look up to the dark sky as I shift the weight of the bag on my shoulder.

"That's not true. You're troubled with something. What is it?" She reads me like a open book. She seems to be the only one who can so easily do that. It must be a soulmate thing.

I put on a facade of confidence with a smirk. It does nothing to slow the rapid pace of my heart. "So, am I your boyfriend or you inspiration?" I question, referencing Mai's first comment. I half expect her to go along with the witty question with a witty response. By the serious look of her thinking, I see she knows what I was really asking. 'Are we in a relationship?' It's like there's nothing I can get past her. It has to be a soulmate thing.

"I'm not sure. We just met, but-" Her sentence trails off. I know what she is trying to say. 'I want a relationship, but not yet.' It seems I can read her as well as she can read me.

We arrive at her dorm room. She lets me in to help her put the stuff away.

"How about this," I begin my offer as we finish tidying up, "we just keep in touch and keep getting to know each other until we're ready, because I know I'm definitely not ready for a relationship yet." I search her eyes for any signs of disappointment. I'm happy knowing I made the right move when I see relief.

"I think that sounds great. I'm also not quite ready to get into a relationship with someone I just met, soulmate or not." She confesses. "So we'll wait for each other?"

"Ya, we'll wait for each other." I agree. I turn to leave her room. I'm stopped when I feel her grab my sleeve.

"But can I still get hugs?" She bashfully asks. Normally hugs (or any form of physical affection) is not for me. But she makes me weak. If it's her, I wouldn't say no.

"Sure." I say as I pull her into a hug. With her in my arms, everything was right with the world.

"So, what are we?"

"Soulmates."