Notes: I always join a fandom too late, it seems. But I don't care. Oikawa x Shimizu is just too cute and feel-inducing so I just have to write a fanfic for them a.k.a I just need to see my ship sail.

Bubble Burst

Chapter 1: The Un-Fated

(1) and if you're still breathing, you're the lucky one

After the blast of teen spirit the Karasuno team carried back then in high school, at 23, what Shimizu Kiyoko wanted in life was nothing extraordinary, really.

She wanted to buy two new tea cups to match the pot she received from Yachi. She wished that the legal division would send her the third draft of the distributorship agreement by 2.30 pm so that she could study it and go back to her apartment by 6 pm. She hoped that her manager would grant her a two-day leave so that she could visit her hometown again for her mother's birthday.

Bigger dreams? Nothing of that sort. She just wanted to have a decent work that would allow her to pay the bills. She wanted to get married before she reached 28 (still five years ahead, plenty of time) to a good, average guy and have a maximum of two children, preferably girls, but boys would be fine too. The usual, really.

Those were the things she wanted. Maybe not necessarily the things she needed, but then again, one could not yearn for something she did not know she needed anyway.

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(2) dead hearts are everywhere

"Shimizu-san, are you free tonight?"

Shimizu stopped typing on her keyboard and glanced up at her co-worker. The name was not important. She knew his name of course (she was actually very good in remembering peoples' names), but it was just one among the dozens who had the actual balls to ask her out.

"No, I don't have any plan yet."

"Ah, I see," he noted, and the way his eyes lit up almost made her feel apologetic. "I-if it's alright, would you like to have a dinner with me tonight? At that restaurant in front of the station?"

"I'm sorry," she killed the hope instantly. "But I think I must decline. Thank you for the offer, though," she muttered and gave a sincerely apologetic bow. Cut it clean –she did not even have to say the reason, but she needed to play it polite still. Most of the times she just ignored these invitations flatly, but technically speaking, it would not do any good to have a discord with a co-worker.

The man chuckled helplessly, but hey, at least he tried.

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(3) fast forward to the restart, turn it up

She did not always spit ice nor speak daggers, despite the Ice Queen nickname she knew she had secretly earned. Some people actually were her soft spots. Those types tended to be the idiots, like those boys from the Karasuno Volleyball Team.

But people around here were rarely idiots. It was an office far from her hometown; it was the headquarter of one of Japan's top five pharmaceutical company. Professional, curt, necessary, distanced… and Shimizu played her part well. Not that she complained; idiot crows like Karasuno team were surely a warm thing to remember, but life went on. She went on. Had to. It was part of the deal of growing up, she guessed.

All that was necessary, and she reminded herself again that that time (that golden, adrenaline-rushing, elevating time) had ended.

It was sad at times, but not something she would despair over. No. Not even the flash of the could have been –no, not at all.

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(4) it's only right you should play the way you feel it

"Manager-chan! Wanna go back home together tonight?"

Shimizu stopped typing on her keyboard and glanced up at her co-worker. The name was not actually important, but it had been at one point –at least to Kageyama and the rest of the Karasuno team. She knew his name of course. This name had at least one page of analysis and statistics on her managerial notebook back then in high school.

One package of toothpaste-commercial-worthy grin and extremely sociable persona in the name of Oikawa Tooru.

No, I don't want to go back home together, she thought.

But unlike the others, the rejection was useless at this situation –where Oikawa Tooru was not only a co-worker in the same company but also the occupant of the apartment room next to her. She could practically reject the offer and he would still walk in the same direction at approximately the same time as well (the best time to take the train in this station was 7.45 pm).

"It makes no difference, Oikawa-san," so she instead said.

"Okay! Confirmed! 7.30 in front of the station, as usual, okay?" he declared in high spirit. Shimizu swore she could hear her seatmate sighed in envy.

Taking another less convenient train time would just show that it indeed made a difference, and Shimizu did not want to grant Oikawa the privilege of a different treatment. He could go home at any time, with or without him, she did not care. She just had to proceed with her usual timetable, whether he tailed after her or not.

7.30 at the station, and Shimizu did not look back when Oikawa was calling for her name.

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(5) and let me play among the stars

It had always been that way ever since they enrolled into this company six months ago.

Except on Friday nights, where Oikawa took the train to the nightlife area direction and Shimizu took the train to her usual apartment where only the dull and the doom greeted her.

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(6) so I will say hello to the ground again

Oikawa liked to claim it was fate: the fact that Shimizu and him were not only same-batch trainees in this pharmaceutical company but also same-apartment neighbors.

Shimizu liked to rebut the notion. It was not fate; there was a somewhat logical reasoning behind it. Sure, getting into the same company was quite a surprising fact. But this company was on the top of the list of any college graduate job-seekers –point being, anycollege graduate would try applying there. The company also had a policy to accept any cum-laude graduates from a Grade A colleges, and both Shimizu and Oikawa were entitled for that.

As to the residential arrangement, the apartment was only 5-minute walk to the nearest station with only 170 Yen per trip, decent for any solo lodger, and was within the most appropriate budget line any fresh graduates could afford. Shimizu even spotted some of the people working in the same company renting the rooms in this apartment building too.

So really, not fate or anything. Shimizu liked to classify it as a highly unfortunate coincidence nevertheless.

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(7) 'cause I get a thousand hugs (from ten thousands lighting bugs)

When her superior eventually granted her the two-day leave for her mother's birthday back to the Miyagi Prefecture, Shimizu made the time to meet with the old group from Karasuno.

Always the loud idiots, the team was ecstatic when the 'Cold Beauty Tokyo Girl' (her new nickname –invented by no other than Nishinoya and Tanaka) joined the apparently regular third Saturday monthly meeting. Among the crows, Shimizu was apparently the only one spreading her wings outside of Miyagi, and the Karasuno folks made no waste of time filling her with the information and gossips the little town offered.

The gossips of which, were actually plentiful even in only six-month time span since she left it.

It was easy to follow up at first. The names were still familiar; the issues were still relatable. The boys made sure that Shimizu was to be privy of everything that had occurred in her absence.

But on the second hour, new names popped up, unfamiliar occurrences were told. She never recalled Yasuka from the fifth floor and she did not understand the underlying history behind the supposedly hilarious story of Ennoshita and the laundry girl from around the corner. At times like this, it was advantageous being a quiet person really. The drawback would not feel too visible.

One person was sensible (always sensible) enough though.

"What about you, Shimizu?" Sugawara, who sat on the chair right in front of her, asked.

The eyes of the boys on that long table were now directed back at her. This startled her a little, but Shimizu learned the art of stoic-ness ever since she passed kindergarten. "What about me?" she echoed; recalling that she had shared her own brief summary of life in the past six months ("Where do you work now, Shimizu-san?" –"Toda Co." – "Really? That's cool! What does it feel like? How are Tokyo people? Do they really work until two in the morning?" – "Not much difference from any other company, I guess." –two or three exchange of conversation after, and the story was shifted to Hinata).

"I just remember this now. Toda Co, Tokyo Headquarter, right? I work with someone in Aoba Johsai now, and he told me that one of them also got accepted into Toda Co," Suga fished naturally.

"Oh," Shimizu noted. "He must have meant Oikawa-san."

The shock of the others (Kageyama actually even stared at her with such high interest for the first time that was not admiration in naming) was translated into another series of questions bombardment. Shimizu tackled these easily –saying that she did not know much and they were in different divisions were sufficient to silence them. Certainly, the little detail on how he was also her apartment mate was not necessary to fuel the fire even more.

"Speaking of him, he really retired from volleyball on the third year of college, didn't he?" Daichi mentioned.

"Really? The Grand King?" Hinata exclaimed and Kageyama only averted his eyes. "No wonder I didn't get to spar with him again in the prefectural tournament."

"Yeah, permanent knee injury was one of the rumors. Others just mentioned that he took his academic life in college more seriously due to family pressure," Daichi shrugged. "Well. Not unexpected. Not all of us here even still play volleyball in college."

The topic stopped there, and Shimizu was glad it did.

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(8) 'cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles (if I can just see you tonight)

She took the shinkansen back to Tokyo Saturday evening. Sugawara accompanied her until the train gate.

"Safe trip, Shimizu."

"You too, Suga."

He grinned. "I'm not really going anywhere."

Her eyes narrowed behind her glasses. She nearly let the burst slip of her lips (that he was the one who –nevermind), but she just pressed her lips tighter and bowed in gratitude for his time. She was about to hand the ticket officer her shinkansen ticket when Sugawara called for her again.

"Shimizu."

She turned around.

Summer and hot, Suga had no excuse to wear any coat; had no pockets to hide his anxious hands in. But Shimizu's eyes were locked to his eyes and she would probably never notice his sweating hands anyway.

"I… don't want you to hear it from anyone else," he began and she already knew where this was going. "But I…I'm getting married to Sanae next year.."

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(9) should I just keep chasing pavements?

And only when the shinkansen was halfway back to Tokyo did Shimizu realize she had not really congratulated Suga on the news.

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(10) but baby we can fix it overnight

"Oh, you're back!" Oikawa commented when they met on the ground floor –waiting for the elevator together. His eyes quickly took note of the travel bag she was carrying and he conversed, "Heard you took a two-day leave? Out-of-town trip?"

"Yes." Shimizu replied mechanically. Her mind had not really been there and Oikawa peering at her curiously was the least of her concern.

"That's nice," Oikawa commented and the elevator door rolled opened. He picked up her travel bag so naturally Shimizu did not even have the time to realize it even if she had been in the right state of mind. Stepping in, he waited for her to enter the elevator before he pressed their designated floor. "Back to Miyagi?"

"Yes."

"Someone's married?" he asked again; nosy, privy, almost supernaturally intuitive –that was Oikawa for you. "Usually that's what called for the long trip back to hometown."

"No. Just my mother's birthday,"

"Oh, happy birthday to your mother! Must be a gorgeous woman if she gives birth to a goddess like –"

"– and a little reunion with the Karasuno volleyball team I knew I shouldn't have attended."

There was no point, purpose, nor benefit of telling Oikawa (of all people) that. By the time Shimizu took notice of the slip-up, the elevator had reached their floor and Oikawa was pressing the door hold button and staring at her.

"All's fine?"

For a second, Shimizu could not answer fast enough. But then she picked her travel bag and walked out of the elevator. "Yes, thank you for asking. And good evening, Oikawa-san."

"I was actually supposed to have some drinks but my friends bailed out," Oikawa informed Shimizu (or her back, whichever). "So if you're free and you want to accompany me for some drinks, I'll wait at the lobby. You can put your travel bag first in your room."

"No, I –"

"Oh, no pressure," assured Oikawa; still with a grin that showcased his ridiculously white teeth. "If in five minutes I do not see you in the lobby, I'll just buy some cheap sakes from the convenience store and drink in my room," he noted, and his eyes narrowed almost slyly. "Feel free to join the second option as well."

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(11) like the sheets that we stained with wine from the liquor mart

Shimizu chose the first option.

To be Continued

Song list

(1) Youth – Daughter

(2) Dead Hearts – Stars

(3) Restart – Little Daylight

(4) Dreams – Fleetwood Mac

(5) Fly Me to the Moon – Frank Sinatra

(6) Grounds – Anton Vic

(7) Fireflies – Owl City

(8) A Thousand Miles – Vanessa Carlton

(9) Chasing Pavement – Adele

(10) Overnight – Jake Miller

(11) American Love - Wild