Hereafter | Haikyuu!! Oneshots | Hiatus!

III: Strawberry Delight

It was the next morning in which I chose to do some weekend shopping -- a person couldn't survive off of a couple of small potatoes for the next week, after all.

When heading towards the farmer's market, I noticed from a distance how unusually busy it was for eight in the morning, with almost a hundred Parisians going in and out of the space, all working like busy bees to navigate around the hive that was the tens of rows of white tents. A mess of accented vowels and consonants rang out from the space, simulating a loud buzzing noise. Sucking in a breath, I could only hope that the loudness would die down, and that fresh produce was still available by the time I arrived. 

Upon appearing at the scene, I walked around for a bit after realizing that in the eye of storm, it wasn't as hectic as I imagined. Looking at the fruit and vegetable stalls, I picked out the items I needed in order to sustain myself for the week, until the market popped back up again the next Sunday. 

Just need some flour, then I think we're done.

After grabbing a four-pound bag of the stuff, I paid for my groceries and hauled all of them in my arms, prepared to make my way back home. Weaving through the crowd, I skillfully avoided stepping on peoples' feet and tried to not bump into them, to which I succeeded at to a certain extent until I forgot to look down and tripping over someone's outstretched foot. 

As I fell, I noticed a figure directly in front of me wearing a long pattern coat -- the type of outfit that was sensible to adorn on a chilly morning such as this. Choking out my last prayers any entity out there who would save me from mortal embarrassment, I crashed headfirst into the character just ahead.

When I felt the powdery texture of flour on my hands, my breath hitched and I pressed my lips tightly together, silently cursing at myself. Who would be so moronic as to not make sure a considerable amount of flour wasn't secured? God, this wasn't how I wanted to start my day.

Feeling the beginnings of tears start to pool in my eyes, I immediately got up and opened my mouth to apologize, but stopped once my pupils fell on the face of the person I rammed into.

"Well I wasn't expecting to see you so soon," the familiar chocolatier mused, his eyebrows raised, "In a predicament like this, no less." My eyes scanned the scene behind Tendou, where I found his groceries all split and ruined. Giving small sighs of despair, I felt so utterly helpless. The redhead noticed how desolate my expression was and frowned for a moment, visibly upset, but hopped up and started to gather the wreck I caused, shoving it into a single brown paper bag, and disposed of it in a nearby trash can, leaving the space relatively clean once again.

He then turned his head around, taking notice of the small crowd that was forming and bend down to haul me up. I felt his hand wrap around my wrist and pull me up, then tugged my arm towards the direction he wanted to go. 

"Better get away from this crowd," he said softly, his irises bemusedly regarding me, "Don't want the attention to be overbearing." As I ran along with him with what I could salvage from my own semi-wrecked groceries, I couldn't help but notice how firmly yet tenderly he held my hand in his own. 

__

When we were properly situated at a small intersection with no swarms of people, I got the chance to talk without being overcome by pressure. As my breath steadied and the nerves subsided, I could finally talk without feeling like something was choking me, thus preventing all the words I wanted to say from tumbling out. 

"Sorry for crashing into you like that," I said, awkwardly laughing at an attempt to ease the tension, "I wasn't looking aware that there was something to trip over." 

"I mean at least I wasn't a complete stranger -- that would've been worse." Tendou spoke with a gladdened tone, almost as if he was trying to comfort me. "Did you know I was going to be there?" At the question, I immediately started to shake my head, denying any possibility of the inquiry being true. Feeling squeamish at the sudden silence that overtook us, I tried to fill the gap by rambling along, spewing out what seemed like nonsense.

"Honestly, I didn't expect to bump into you, of all people," I mumbled, fiddling with the hem of my sleeve, "N-Not that I mean it in a bad way, of course, I just think it would've been... less embarrassing if it weren't you." Immediately regretting that I'd said anything, I hung my head and pressed my lips tightly together to prevent anything else from coming out. I wouldn't dare stare at him, less I wanted for my soul to separate from my body and float up to whatever nirvana there was to reside in. But when the redhead spoke, I felt like dying on the spot. 

Tendou just laughed heartily as he took off his coat and dusted his shirt off, flurries of flour coming off of the fabric with every stroke of his fingers.

"Oh?" he chuckled, brushing some more flour off his sleeve, "Did you happen to think that I was at the chocolate shop?" My face grew rosy when I realized he was under the impression that I was just as idiotic as I feared. In a hurry to explain myself, I didn't even think about what specific words to say -- I just blurted out whatever was on my mind.

"No, not at all! I just- I wasn't expecting you," I admitted, "Not so soon, at least." Biting my bottom lip in regret, I took a mental note to never speak again without thinking. 

After Tendou swatted his jacket a couple more times to get rid of the white patches, he turned his attention to me. 

"We all have lives, you know?" he said playfully, casting a small smile in my direction, "But I can understand where you're coming from." Flustered, I could only muster a forced grin at his empathetic approach to the situation, the sign of happiness somehow brightening my beet-colored complexion even more. 

The atmosphere rested at a point of quietude for a few moments before I piped up again, feeling all too guilty about the unfortunate predicament.

"Is there any way I can repay you for your groceries?" I asked, "Since I ruined them, it's only fair that I do something for you." 

Tendou thought for a moment, and I watched him with curious eyes. I noticed he quirked his eyebrows ever so slightly when he'd file through the potential solutions to our problem. Once he decided on a quick fix, his gaze slid to settle on me, profiling my expression in an amused manner.

"How about you treat me to a nice dinner in exchange for spilling my groceries?" he offered, a sly smile beginning to surface on his lips, "We can call it even then." My eyes widened to the size of dinner plates at the suggestion. Never in my life had I expected for anyone to be so daring -- to a stranger, no less. His actions were bold, and what intrigued me even more was the fact that he didn't seem to care. Every movement and gesture seemed so spontaneous, but he didn't give a second thought to anything. 

"Also-"

Oh, but what a charming figure he was. 

"-I don't think you'll have to be lonely anymore." 

The edges of my lips were tugged upwards by an invisible, intruding force. A slight chuckle rose from the back of my throat, followed by a delighted sputter. Soon, I was giggling with pinkish cheeks and the biggest smile on my face. All the pent-up butterflies were let loose in my stomach, making my insides squirm, but it felt strangely gratifying at the same time. The insects' effervescent wings could've brought me to Cloud Nine, but I stayed grounded, afraid that I would overreact to such a simple proposition.

I looked up at Tendou, who stood expectantly with an endearing grin, though looking a bit more reticent than before. Taking a deep breath in to calm myself, I clasped my hands together and looked into his eyes, locking my gaze with his. 

It was my turn to speak now.

"I'd love to spend the evening with you."