Where there is Love (Asahi x Reader)

S I X

Getting my cast taken off has made me the happiest person in the world. These past few months have been torture for me. The lack of mobility and the overall feeling of uselessness overwhelmed me and the constant reminder of the accident put a toll on my mental health. Despite my abilities in hiding my emotions from everyone to see, my father noticed. I felt his eyes on me whenever I got frustrated. He always seemed ready to help me with anything. We have avoided discussing what had happened and I could see how that was affecting him too. He had started working longer in order to make himself more tired so he could actually fall asleep. I could see he missed my mother more than anything but I had no idea how to approach him and he had no idea how to approach me. So we sat in limbo skirting around each other and our feelings.

Despite the inner turmoil I have been facing, I was being distracted by the Karasuno team, most specifically, my third-year friends. The day after I got my cast taken off, we went on a picnic. They even let me play a little volleyball with them. The other boys on the team were entertaining, to say the least. The boundless energy that Tanaka, Noya, and Hinata have has kept me laughing and in a good mood whenever they were around. The quiet first-years had even warmed up to me. Yamaguchi was without a doubt the sweetest boy I have ever known and Tsukkishima was without a doubt the saltiest. Somehow the friendship really worked, though. Kageyama often asked me questions about my own volleyball experiences and promised to set for me one day. All the boys on the team made me feel right at home and welcome from day one. 

The most welcoming, of course, was Asahi. He never hesitated to help me even after my cast was off. He held my bags for me and walked me home every night from practice. He has come to my home so often, my brother is always ready to rush out to greet him with a volleyball in hand. It was usually too late for him to play with Ryusei, but he showed up today, Saturday, unexpectedly asking if I wanted to go to the park with him. 

"Asahi, what are you doing here?" I asked. I wasn't expecting this. Since it was Saturday, I had woken up about 10 minutes ago. Thankfully, I had already brushed my teeth, but I had not changed out of my pyjamas which were simply a big shirt and underwear. No bra. As soon as he saw me, his face immediately flamed up and his eyes were everywhere except for me. And of course, it wasn't until after this flare-up, that I noticed my state of undress. 

"I... um... I-I was wondering if y-you wanted to hang out. Nevermind, you were probably r-relaxing. I'll go." 

"No!" I reached to grab his arm as he turned to leave. His face turned even redder, I didn't even know that was possible. "I-I mean, no, I'll get changed. I'd love to hang out."

"Asahi-Kun!" Ryusei shouted from inside the house. He immediately pushed past me to stand in front of Asahi. "Are you hanging out with Nee-chan? Can I come? Can we play volleyball?" 

"Ryu-Kun, you can't invite yourself out with people when they didn't invite you." I crossed my arms as I glared down at my brother.

"N-no it's fine, I did promise we'd play, didn't I." Asahi smiled down at my brother and ruffled his hair. 

"Come on in, then," I said opening the door wider. "We both need to get ready for a day of volleyball with the great ace." I winked at Asahi. "Make yourself comfortable, I'll make us all something to eat when I come back." With that I went upstairs, pulling my shirt slightly to make sure I didn't end up flashing Asahi. Ryusei ran up the stairs behind me. I could practically feel his excitement as he bounced and jumped around. I thought about what to wear. Of course, we would be playing volleyball, but it would be outside and very casual, plus who knows what we would do after. After much deliberation, I settled on a pair of shorts and a tank top that I must say, were quite flattering. Playing sports for years certainly given me a rather nice body and clothes like these definitely enhanced certain areas. I put my hair up and swiped on some lip gloss before going downstairs with a pair of sneakers in hand. 

"Ryu-Kun, what do you want to eat?" I called from the kitchen. Asahi must have heard my voice because he showed up a moment later, taking a seat at the table.

"Eggs, Nee-chan, I need my protein so I can be strong." I rolled my eyes as Asahi chuckled. 

"He isn't wrong, his protein is very important." Asahi said. I rolled my eyes again.

"Don't go encouraging him." I pulled out the carton of eggs, rice, some salmon, and a frying pan and got to work. If he wanted protein, I'd give him protein. My hands moved fast as I had multiple things on the stove at once with enough food for Ryu, Asahi, and me. 

"I didn't know you could cook." Asahi said from behind me. I hadn't even realized he had gotten up or how close he was to me as I turned to look at him. He stared intently at the stove and everything on it.

"Uhh, yea. I get it from my dad." I said turning quickly, returning to the breakfast. 

"Speaking of your parents, where are they?" He asked, remaining where he was behind me.

"Work," I said tersely. It wasn't a complete lie. My dad really was at work, he probably wouldn't be back until 5.

"Oh ok, what do they do?" I was somewhat unsure about what to say. Luckily, I was saved by Ryu who came rushing in, decked out in full sportswear including my old knee pads from middle school. 

"What are you wearing?" I sighed. It wasn't just my old knee pads. He wore an old jersey of mine which was too big for him, as well as an arm brace that was also too big for him, and a Nike headband, despite the fact he didn't have hair to push back with a headband.

"I got ready to play volleyball!" He insisted, looking rather proud of himself. Asahi struggles to hold in his laugh. 

"I think he looks rather good." Asahi went to stand beside Ryu ready to defend him, his arms crossed over his chest. 

"Yea! See Asahi-Kun knows fashion!" Ryu said with his arms crossed over his chest, copying Asahi.

"Put on a shirt that actually fits you and take off my arm brace," I said turning back to the food, ready to take it off the stove.

"But Nee-channnnn!" Cried Ryu, already whining.

"Now." My tone was unrelenting as he pouted and dragged himself upstairs. Asahi finally let out his laugh coming up behind me once again, ready to help me with the food. 

"He looked good." Asahi said finally, grabbing the plates I handed to him to put on the table. 

"Shut up," He laughed even harder before sitting down. Ryu finally came downstairs in some normal clothes, however, the knee pads stayed. I knew I wouldn't be able to convince him to take them off. Sometimes you have to choose your battles. He sat down sullenly, picking his chopsticks and already shoving his face. As soon as he started eating, his mood lifted. Food was his weakness. Soon enough he was babbling happily about volleyball and Asahi and how cool he was as if he was never upset in the first place. After we ate, Asahi and I gathered dishes while Ryu wiped the table. We finished the dishes quickly, put on our shoes, and were off.