x. evening outing (2)

It was a chilly evening when the five met up, all wrapped up in their winter coats. Oikawa had gone all out, it seemed, wearing a set of fluffy earmuffs and an equally fluffy scarf. Aoi was standing under a leafless tree, texting on her flip phone, when she saw Oikawa and Iwaizumi coming toward her with Naoko sandwiched in the middle. The set-up look strangely warm, and Aoi shivered, suddenly feeling the cold.

"Penguins, the lot of you," she said in lieu of greeting.

"Hello to you, too, Aoi-chan." Oikawa grinned. "You've met Mako-chan, right?"

Introductions were passing between the two when a frantic footfall reached their ears. Iwaizumi peered around Oikawa's head to see Yui sprinting up to them in heeled boots. "Hey, everyoneeee!" she greeted excitedly. "Sorry I'm late!" She screeched to a halt, her cheeks flushed as she met Iwaizumi's gaze. "Hi, Iwaizumi-kun. You look nice tonight."

Naoko gave Aoi a look when the other girl clasped her hands over her mouth to control a squeal. "What is it? Heart attack?"

"Okabe-chan," Iwaizumi answered, whipping around to glare at Oikawa when he prodded his back. Clearing his throat, he turned back to Yui, who looked faintly amused. "You look great."

Yui beamed upward at him. "Thank you! Come on," she addressed everyone, pointing at the barbecue restaurant they were standing in front of, "Let's go inside."

"Agreed," Naoko added, power-walking to the door.

"Hungry as always," chuckled Oikawa.

"Starving today. And I'm bringing home leftovers for Tadashi and Sumire, so we're ordering lots."

Somehow, the interior of the restaurant led them to feel right and home. The grills made the room warm, and they lowered themselves into seiza around their table. Naoko and Oikawa were seated together, as were Iwaizumi and Yui. Aoi, the odd one out, rolled her eyes in fond exasperation before sitting herself down next to Yui.

True to her word, Naoko did indeed order many dishes.

"Six plates of okonomiyaki?!" Oikawa almost fainted as he added up the prices in his head. "These are family size! Aren't you the one that's always going on about money?"

"Shut up and order, I saved up from my jobs to pay my part."

"You're so greedy, Mako-chan! Why would you want this stuff when you have me?"

"I am many things, but a cannibal is not one of them. You'd probably be stringy anyway."

As Oikawa spluttered and Naoko smirked slyly, Yui was leaning toward Iwaizumi, eyes round as she surveyed the menu he was holding. "Do you wanna get that cut of meat? The oyster blades?"

"Those are unseasoned," Iwaizumi pointed out. "We should get the marinated versions."

"Ah, good idea!"

Oikawa piped up, "Ah, Iwa-chan? Can I talk to you for a sec? In the bathroom maybe?"

Iwaizumi glanced at Yui, then at his best friend. Nodding, he stood. "'Kay, let's go."

"Alright." The first thing Oikawa did when they were alone was grin obnoxiously and put his hands on Iwaizumi's shoulders. "Things are going well! She's so into you, Iwa-chan, I can hardly believe my eyes!" Sniffling dramatically, he turned away. "Soon, he'll be having kid after kid after kid..."

Deadpanning, Iwaizumi slapped him upside the head. "Stop that, idiot."

"Alright, alright." Oikawa chuckled. "But anyway... I'm happy for you, Iwa-chan. You are gonna confess, right? Otherwise this whole thing would've been a waste of time."

"I will!" snapped Iwaizumi, wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans. "First Satoshi, and now you..."

"Aha! Your little brother knows, too? You're terrible at keeping secrets. But," Oikawa whacked him on the back, a small smile on his face, "I'm rooting for you Iwa-chan."

Iwaizumi took a deep breath. "Thanks. Let's go back—the others are probably wondering where we are."

Oikawa fidgeted. "Just a minute, I gotta pee. Wait, where are you going?!"

"Uh, out?"

"Stay with me!"

"Why the fuck would I wanna do that?"

Once dinner was finished, the group of five headed out with full stomachs and satisfied sighs. "Well!" Oikawa said loudly. "Mako-chan and I are gonna go buy some doughnuts. Aoi-chan, come with us?"

Equally as loud, Aoi replied, "Of course! I can't wait to get me some doughnuts!" Not so subtle, she mouthed "good luck" to Yui.

"Hurry up, I want doughnuts," Naoko urged, tapping her foot impatiently. In one hand, she carried a plastic bag filled with takeaway boxes.

Iwaizumi and Yui stared after their friends as they walked away in huge strides, leaving them alone.

"Why don't we take a walk?" Iwaizumi suggested finally, looking away a little shyly after catching himself staring at her face for too long.

Yui nodded, unable to fight off a smile. "Sure. They probably won't miss us."

They walked in silence.

"So," Yui began. "Graduation, huh? Are you excited?"

"I guess," Iwaizumi told her, halfhearted. "I haven't really thought about it. What about you?"

"Well..." Yui glanced upward at the moon, uncertainty reflected in her honey eyes. "I'm not really looking forward to it, to be honest. I really like high school. I like hanging out with you, and Minacchi, and Oikawa. I know that Minacchi is going to Todai while I'm staying here for Tohoku... And you..." she trailed off.

"Oikawa's going to Argentina to train."

That had Yui doing a double-take. "W-what? Seriously? That's all the way across the globe..."

Iwaizumi laughed. "It's just like him. He's obsessed with volleyball. He's kind of a pain in the ass that way... But yeah," he said. "I know how you feel. I've known him for so long, and we've always been together. Don't tell him I said this, but I don't want him to go that far away." Iwaizumi scratched the back of his head, a little sheepish. "You said you're going to Tohoku, right?"

"Yep."

"I'm going there, too."

They slowed to a stop, turning to face each other. Yui blinked up at him, surprised. Then she softened. "Iwaizumi-kun. I have something to tell you." Before he could say anything, she slipped her backpack off her shoulders and held it in front of her so that he could see it. She pointed at the silver star. "Do you remember this? You gave it to me a month ago."

"You kept it?" Iwaizumi's fingers grazed against the plastic sticker.

"Mmhm. Do you remember... When you asked what my wish was? I'm ready to tell you now. It was for the courage to tell you that I like you. And it came true." Yui broke out into a wide grin. "I like you, Iwaizumi Hajime."

At first, Iwaizumi didn't say anything. Then he exhaled sharply and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Dammit."

"Ah. You don't like me back? That's fine—"

"No!" Iwaizumi burst out, backpedaling frantically. "That's not it at all! Shit, sorry," he took a deep breath and wrapped his calloused hands around her soft, dainty ones, "Okabe. Yui. You beat me to it." Another sigh. "Dammit. What I want to say is—I like you, too."

Yui stared up at him. Then, without saying anything, she launched herself against him, holding him tightly. Iwaizumi embraced her in return, all the tension melting from his body as he felt the warmth of her body against his chest.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Iwaizumi groaned when they parted, "But I might actually owe Oikawa one."

"Yep. Me with Minacchi, too. But what about Makoshima?"

"She only tagged along for the food. Trust me, we owe her nothing."

Under the moon and a leafless tree, they shared a laugh.