Work Text:
They were seated on a park bench under a cherry blossom tree in full bloom, matching boba cups resting between them, when Emi finally worked up the courage to turn and face Kageyama. He was staring at the ground, eyes following a scattered grouping of pink petals being lazily carried off by the wind. A stray petal had fallen into his hair, so Emi sucked in a breath and reached out, gently brushing it away. She can’t help but to inwardly marvel at the softness of his silky black hair beneath her fingertips.
Shigeo started at the action, shoulders jumping up in surprise. Emi pulled back instantly, a sheepish blush climbing up her cheeks as he turned to look at her, dark eyes widened incredulously.
“Y-You had a petal in your hair,” Emi hurried to explain, grey eyes focused intently on paint chipping off of the wooden bench they’re seated on.
She couldn’t look into Kageyama’s sweet, soft face at a time like this. She’d already worked herself up far too much to turn back now; she had to see it through no matter what. She was going to confess to Kegayama— for real this time —and she wouldn’t let his adorable face fluster her so much that she talked herself out of it again like she’d done the last three times.
“Ah,” said Shigeo, his voice as plain and soft as ever. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” Emi replied, smiling wobbly when she looked back up at him. Shigeo blinked at her a moment longer, eyes flickering across her face before he turned his gaze skyward to admire the cherry blossom tree looming overhead.
Emi didn’t follow his gaze. Instead, she took advantage of his momentary distractedness and admired him. Looking at him now, she could hardly believe she had ever thought Kageyama was boring and plain. Their first meeting three years prior felt lifetimes away; they’d both changed so much in that time. Kageyama shot up like a weed in their first year of high school and was now at least a head taller than her, if not more. His jawline was sharper, his face having lost some of its roundness, but the familiar softness of his demeanor that she’d come to love—along with his dorky, adorable bowl cut—remained the same.
Quickly, while Shigeo was still distracted, Emi turned and reached into her bag. When she felt the edges of the carefully folded paper within, her breath caught in her throat. She paused a moment, fretting, but would not let herself be deterred. With a steadying breath she extracted the letter, turning back toward Kageyama before she could talk herself out of it again.
“Kageyama-kun,” she started, a wobbly, nervous smile stuck to her face. “I—I wrote something new recently. I wanted to ask for your thoughts on it, if you don’t mind.”
Shigeo’s gaze returned to her, their eyes meeting. Emi instantly felt as if he completely understood her and saw her for what she truly was. A gentle smile tugged at his lips, and Emi was certain that he knew her like no one else ever could. She desperately wanted to be able to say the same about Kageyama, to know him as intimately as his gaze suggested that he knew her.
“Of course,” he answered, reaching for the folded paper after she set it in his lap. He opened it slowly, deliberately, like he did everything. Then he lifted it to his face and began to read.
Emi watched him carefully as his eyes scanned the page, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth all the while. Shigeo’s eyes flicked across the page until they reached the end—then, they flickered back up to the top and re-read the letter once again. This process repeated one more time before finally, slowly, a deep pink flush took over his face. He looked up from the page, meeting her eyes. His own were widened in pure, unadulterated shock.
“This—this is for me?” He asked incredulously, as if she hadn’t deliberately addressed the letter to him.
Emi nodded shyly, resisting the urge to avert her eyes.
“...You like me?”
She nodded again.
Kageyama smiled, and lowered the letter to his lap. His cheeks were flushed pink. “I like you too,” he stated simply.
Emi took another deep breath, summoning all of her courage, and said, “be my boyfriend, then.”
Shigeo stared incredulously, as if this wasn’t the obvious conclusion to her confession. “R-Really?”
“Yes, really!” Emi exclaimed. “I-If you want to, I mean! I don’t want to pressure you or ruin our friendship, but I really—ah?”
Emi cut herself off when Shigeo suddenly leaned forward, reaching out for her. For a single, heart-stopping moment, she thought he was going to kiss her—but he simply plucked a fallen cherry blossom from her hair and held it out to her. An offering.
Emi couldn’t take it anymore. She grabbed his open hand, squeezed her eyes shut, and wrenched him closer. Their lips crashed together rather unceremoniously and Kageyama let out a muffled cry of surprise against her lips. He didn’t pull back, though, so she scooted closer and fisted her hands in the collar of his jacket, kissing him tenderly and coaxing him to respond.
Emi’s kissing experience was fairly limited, consisting mainly of a few fleeting moments in her first year of high school when she had a brief fling with a second-year (who she quickly broke things off with when she realized that all she thought about when she was with him was Kageyama). That being said, she was fairly certain she was doing a good job because Kageyama melted in her hands, a low, feeble whimper escaping him. Emi’s heart fluttered; she dreaded the thought of parting, but she was impossibly glad when she did because Kageyama was a sight to behold.
His usual blank expression had been entirely done away with and he was staring at her with wide, bleary eyes. A bright red flush had entirely overtaken his face and his lips were parted slightly, hanging open as if to say something, but no words escaped him. Emi delighted in the knowledge that she had left Kageyama speechless.
“Kageyama-kun,” she said, her confidence growing, “go out with me?” Her lip hardly trembled at all as she asked.
“Yes, please,” Kageyama squeaked in return.
Emi was fairly certain she would never get enough of how adorable he looked when he was flustered.