Kags always comes by the convenience store where you work to pick up his beloved milk after school/practice

Requested by sepoonyo

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Twiddling a pencil between your fingers, you frowned at your open textbook, wishing it and the problems in it you'd been assigned for homework didn't exist. Nothing frustrated you more than this class, but you usually struggled in silence since you didn't have time to stick around after school for a tutoring session. After your classes had finished, you had to rush over to the local convenience store nearby to take over for the owner, who coached the boys' volleyball team at your school. Luckily, after the post-work rush, the store was usually fairly quiet and you had time to devote to your studies.

The bell by the door jingled, drawing your attention to a familiar young man who stepped inside the store. "Oh, hey, Tobio!" you greeted your classmate, who just so happened to be a loyal customer of the store as well.

"Hey, (f/n)," he responded casually with a small wave. Trying to hide the goofy grin on your face was challenging as you watched him make his way back to the refrigerated section, as usual. You knew exactly what he was going to buy, and he did too, but he always acted as if he was looking around before he opened the fridge and pulled out a fresh carton of his favorite milk.

Your (e/c) eyes quickly flew back to your homework and you squeezed your mouth shut in a straight line to suppress a smile when he turned around and faced the counter where you were sitting. His footsteps approached you and he set the carton down in front of you. Scanning it, you started, "That'll be..." but trailed off when you when you noticed he was already prepared, his hand extended toward you with exact change in his palm. With a chuckle, you opened the register and placed the money he offered you inside. "How was practice?"

His blue eyes examined the milk carton as he pulled off the plastic straw attached to it. "It was good," he murmured. His answer rarely ever changed, but you still asked out of habit. Once he'd gotten his milk situation figured out and plopped the straw inside the carton, he took a long sip. Again, you had to try your best to refrain from laughing at the sight of his cheeks slightly sucked in as he downed his favorite beverage. "Is that tonight's homework?" he asked after his gratuitous drink of milk, leaning over the counter.

"Yeah," you answered, turning your gaze from him to the mess of papers in front of you, "Did you look at it yet?"

He nodded. "Looks easy to me."

A nervous chuckle escaped your mouth as you stuttered, "Y-Yeah, it's a p-piece of cake!"

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he commented, "Well, did you just start? It looks like you're only on the second problem..."

"Yes!" you lied, a bright smile plastered on your face, "It was super busy before you came in, so I've only just opened the book."

"Okay." He backed away and adjusted his bag on his shoulder, his eyes meeting with yours for a second before they shot to a different spot in the store. "I'm gonna head home now. I'll see you tomorrow." As he turned away and approached the door, he quickly added, "In class, I mean."

"See ya, Tobio," you called after him even though you knew you'd see him after school too.

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The rest of the week dragged on, with your loyal customer's scheduled appearances after school being your only distraction from your boredom. With how alike the days were, it almost felt as if you were trapped in a time warp, reliving the same one over and over again.

Today, however, your mood had been shattered by receiving a bad grade on your test. When classes had ended, you'd rushed out of school as usual to get to the convenience store, but also to prevent your peers from seeing the tears streaming down your face. Despite your disappointment with yourself, you were glad to go to work, since it meant delaying the time of your arrival at home, where you would be forced to show your parents the big, red "F" stamped on your paper.

Your boss, Ukai, immediately noticed your tear-stained face and glossy eyes when you'd arrived at the store. "What's wrong, (f/n)?" he asked, his brown eyes filled with worry. He was dressed in his tracksuit, ready to go to practice, as per usual.

"It's nothing, Ukai-san!" you replied, ducking your head so that you could avoid his gaze, "Please, I don't want to make you late for practice!"

"I've got time; don't worry. Now, tell me what happened." He took a final drag of the cigarette between his fingers, letting out a smoky breath before squashing the stub in the ashtray on the counter.

Sniffling, you placed your bag on the floor and sat down on the stool by the cash register. "I failed a test today and I'm just really upset because I know my parents are going to yell at me when they find out," you explained.

"Do you need to work less?" was Ukai's fast response, "Because school should always come first."

You shook your head quickly, tousling your (h/l), (h/c) hair. "N-No! I just need to find someone to help me either during school or in the evenings."

Your boss ran his hand through his spiky, blond hair before placing it on his chin. After a few moments of silence, his eyes widened slightly and he raised his finger. "Don't fret; I have a solution!" You were about to ask what he meant, but you stopped when he gave you a firm pat on the shoulder. "I've got you covered. But, in the meantime, try not to beat yourself up too much, kid! Life will go on, and you're young, so you've got a lot of it left to live. Keep your head up." With that, he picked up his bag and jogged out of the store, making his way to practice and leaving you wondering what he had in mind.

Feeling defeated, you put your face in your hands and agonized for a few minutes longer before pulling your textbook out of your bag once more to review your mistakes. The passage of a few hours saw you pause in your schoolwork every now and then to restock a few items, assist customers, and stop a small child from single-handedly destroying Ukai's artfully stacked display of candy boxes. Sure enough, as the orange glow from the setting sun poured into the store, your loyal customer returned.

"Hey, Tobio!" you greeted him, your lips forming a small smile when he glanced your way and waved. Without hesitation, he wandered towards the refrigerators, opened the door, plucked a carton of milk from the top shelf, and let the door close with a slap. He plopped the carton down in front of you, and you scanned the barcode on it solely for inventory purposes, since you both knew how much it cost by heart.

"So," he muttered, catching you slightly by surprise as you placed the money he handed you into the register. He normally didn't speak until you asked him how his practice was, so this was new for you. "Coach told me you were having a hard time with one of your classes and asked me to help you." You blushed profusely as he tore the plastic straw off the side of the milk carton and opened the packaging so he could take a long sip. "Got a chair for me to sit in?" he asked, making your heart pound in your chest.

"U-Uh, yeah! Gimme a sec!" you chirped and ran into the storage room to wheel out a rolling chair for him. Once you'd moved it behind the counter, Kageyama slid his bag off of his shoulder and placed it on the floor before taking a seat beside you. "Are you sure you wanna do this now? I mean, don't you want to go home and rest for a bit? We could always do this another time!" you rambled nervously.

"I don't care. What subject is it?" he replied in his usual, dismissive manner. He raised the straw in his milk carton to his lips again as he watched you expectantly with those deep blue eyes of his. You grudgingly slid your test over towards him and he picked it up. "(F/n), you told me you thought this was easy."

"Well, I lied," you grumbled.

Gulping down another mouthful of milk, he questioned, "Why?"

You lowered your head, keeping your eyes on your feet. "I didn't want to look stupid."

"You want to see stupid? Come to one of our games and watch Hinata." His comment made you chuckle, and you lifted your head, feeling the cloud of gloom hanging over you start to evaporate. When your eyes met his for a moment, you noticed a small smile across his lips. Not long after you'd made eye contact, he cleared his throat and said, "Well, get your homework out and we can work on it together."

When he turned and reached into his bag for his notebook, you could've sworn you saw a hint of pink on one of his cheeks. "Thanks, Tobio."

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Bonus ending!

The next day at practice, Kageyama was interrupted during his task of helping to set up the nets by his coach. "Kageyama, come here a minute!" Ukai beckoned, making the setter jog over to him and bow his head.

"Yes, Coach?" he asked.

"How did tutoring (f/n) yesterday go?" Ukai inquired, the side of his mouth upturned in a smirk.

"Well. I'm helping her again today after practice," he answered.

With a nod, Ukai said, "Good. Thanks for doing that. As you were."

Upon being dismissed, Kageyama returned to his team only to be shouted at by Hinata. "What the heck, Kageyama! Why do you get to tutor (f/n)-chan?!"

"If you did it, she'd fail the class," was Kageyama's dry response, "Besides, why does it matter to you?"

His fiery-haired teammate balled his hands up in frustration and sighed, "Because she's so cute! And you don't even like her, so why not let someone who does help her?"

Placing an antenna onto the tape of the net, he admitted, "I do like her. I could go to the vending machine to get milk whenever I want, but I choose to go to the convenience store where she works, dumbass."

"I knew it!" Nishinoya cried from where he'd been eavesdropping at the other end of the net.

Hinata's jaw nearly hit the floor and he leapt up into the air. "Well, you'd better get to her before I do!"

"I already did, so cool it."