The New Neighbor (USHIJIMA X OC)

2. Morning Encounters

Third Person Perspective

Akira groaned, taking off her shoes as soon as she got into the car. It was 5 in the morning and she was exhausted. But, she left with lots of tips in her wallet. After dealing with many guys flirting with her, she was relieved to be going home and lay in her nice, comfortable bed. She put her keys in the ignition, seeing her tank was almost empty.

"Ugh, why can't I just go home already?" She cursed to herself and drove to the nearest gas station. She slipped her heels back onto her sore feet and began to pump gas into her car, ignoring all the looks she was getting. She opened the trunk of her small car and pulled a large red zip-up sweatshirt. She threw it over her shoulders and tied the strings so it'd stay on. It kept her warm in the cold morning air and reminded her back to her brother.

"I wonder what he's up to today," She whispered to no one in particular. Her brother was always there for her, teaching her volleyball, helping her study, he was the big brother everyone wanted. Akira befriended all of his friends when she went to training camp with them in high school. 

She remembered Bokuto's energy, Akaashi's overthinking, and Tsukishima's smart comments about how tall she was. She met lots of boys there, but she always had a favorite. 

Sugawara.

He'd set for her when her brother didn't let her play with him and the guys because she was too small and he didn't want her to get hurt. Sugawara saw her outside the gym one night and invited her to come set with him in the other gym. Ever since then, they had been best friends. 

He was an elementary school teacher in a school about 25 minutes from her university. She always received messages from him asking if she was doing okay and she'd respond with asking how things between him and his boyfriend were.

Once she heard a small click, she took the gas pump out of her car and climbed back inside. She turned her car on and finally drove back to her apartment. When Akira got to the apartment building, she was the sun was beginning to rise. She groaned, realizing how early it was and how badly she just wanted to go to sleep. 

When she got in the building, she smiled at the old receptionist and headed towards the elevator. When she got in, she pushed the button to her floor and leaned her head against the wall. When the elevator opened, she walked out with her head down, not seeing the giant man in the hallway. Akira accidentally bumped into his chest, taking a step back when she recovered.

"Oof, my apologies." She looked up into a pair of familiar olive colored eyes.

"It's okay. Are you just getting home?" Ushijima asked. She smelt like alcohol and with her appearance, he assumed she just left someone's house. The jacket hanging on her shoulders seemed to be sized bigger than her, meaning it must have been somebody else's.

"Yeah, I just got off work." Akira let out a small yawn and leaned against the wall in the hallway. Her eyes looked like if they closed they wouldn't open up again. Normally, she wouldn't be this tired after a long shift but she had stayed up all night Friday finishing her project and barely slept much.

"Are you alright?" Ushijima wasn't one to understand relationships or women for that matter. What job would have you in a state like this, wearing that?

"Just a bit tired." She smiled and waved him off "What are you doing up so early anyway?" 

"I'm on my morning jog before practice." She looked to see he was dressed in workout apparel, a tight long sleeve thermal that accented all his muscles perfectly, shorts with compression pants under them. What was he crafted by? Aphrodite? His appearance woke her up completely.