.・゜-: ✧ :-　

THIS WAS IT, THE DAY OF THE FESTIVAL. L/N had only thrown on some casual clothes; something that she knew looked cute and was a simple outfit. An off-the-shoulder frilled shirt, and pleated denim skirt... Of course, she couldn't look bad, not when he was around. And it could've been just them if she had kept her damn mouth shut.

She slung a small handbag around her shoulders, grabbing all of her necessities. Then she opened the door, locked it, then walked out. The walk there was literal torture, she kept bringing out her mirror and checking her reflection and hair, as if the windless night would completely destroy it.

What if I look bad? What if he thinks I'm ugly?!

She slapped her cheeks and shook her head, looking down with squinted eyes. It wasn't too long until she had reached the booming and bright festival, lights and stalls set up everywhere she could look. The crowd swallowed her whole almost immediately, and she had to physically push her way through the people to get anywhere. 

She pressed her lips tightly together, cringing as people bumped into her and crashed into her bag. She held it tightly close to her chest and felt a sinking feeling in her stomach until she spotted something. 

Someone.

"...Osi!" She called out, wincing at another person shoulder-charging her particularly hard. Osi, with her hair noticeably changed as it was without her signature pigtails, turned around and caught the stare of L/N. 

"L/N!" She yelled out, waving her hands around and running towards her, easily slipping through the crowd and crashing into her. She wrapped her arms around L/N tightly, hands slipping into hers' as she looked into her eyes, "You look so cute!"

Her ears felt hot at her bluntness, but she nonetheless, returned her smile and gripped her hands tighter. "Thank you, you look beautiful."

"Aww!" Osi giggled, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "C'mon! The others have been waiting for a while now!" She tugged on her wrist and they quickly started jogging towards a quieter spot than the busy stall area.

There, she saw Gigi, Yusa and Auyumi standing together and talking, all wearing beautiful clothes with their hair done up noticeably nicer than usual. Even Yusa wore a pretty kimono, a gentle smile on her lips. 

"Hey guys!" Osi yelled out, making their heads turn to the two. "Y/N-chan is here!"

Auyumi waved with a candy apple stick gripped in her palm, her glasses decorated with floral stickers and a keychain that hung off the side, "L/N-chan!" She spoke sweetly, Gigi waving beside her and Yusa smiling.

"We've been waiting for a while," Yusa raised an eyebrow, hands on her hips. "You dressed up for your boyfriend?"

"Well, obviously!" Osi stuck out her tongue, hand still connected with hers', "Why wouldn't she wanna look good for the man she dreams about?!"

"Osi!" Auyumi hissed, making a motion behind her, which made the small girl slap her hands over her mouth and laugh nervously.

"Well... anyways!" She turned to L/N, grinning. "Oikawa-san and the rest are over there! Let's meet up with them."

Sure, it was strange that L/N's friends were now affiliated with the volleyball team, but she didn't question it. "Okay!"

.・゜-: ✧ :-　

"Look, Iwa-chan! It's L/N!" Oikawa shook his friend's shoulder, which, embarrassingly quickly, caused him to snap his head around, only to find nobody there. "Haha! You actually fell for it!"

"You—!!"

"Woah, she's actually there!" Makki pointed behind Iwaizumi, who only scoffed, narrowing his eyes at his teammates. 

"I'm not that fuckin' gullible, idiot."

"No, seriously!"

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, a sneer on his lips. "Yeah, right, and if she's not there, I'm going to shove my fucking foot up your—" He turned, to see L/N smiling and waving at him with her friends walking her over.

Immediately, the scowl on his lips upturned into a smile, and he waved back, his threat from before seemingly forgotten in the past. Makki scrunched up his nose and made a face at the vice-captain from behind his back, which made Mattsun chuckle.

"L/N-chan!!!" Oikawa called out, rushing over to her and Osi, who flushed red. "Isn't the festival fun?! There's so much to do!"

"There's so many people," she wilted like a plant, stumbling around. She caught the stare of Iwaizumi, and she quickly perked up and rushed up to him, leaving Osi and Oikawa standing together, fist-bumping.

"Iwaizumi-san!" She stopped right in front of him, which made Kunimi gag and walk away, Kindaichi following closely behind. "You..." She stared at his outfit. A hoodie with a denim jacket over it and black jeans. "You look good."

He grinned, hand stuffed in his pockets, eyeing her up and down. "You look pretty, too. I..." He paused. "I like your hair." 

She instinctively went to fix it, twirling it around her fingers as she blushed and smiled. "Thank you, Iwaizumi-san..."

L/N stood there for a little longer until she realised it had gotten strangely quiet, and she looked around... to see nobody there. In fact, the only thing she saw was the far-away face of Gigi and Auyumi who quickly turned their heads and walked away when they caught L/N looking.

They... She covered her mouth with her hands, eyes dilated and blurry, They totally planned this!

"So..." L/N was snapped out of her thoughts when Iwaizumi started talking again, hand behind his neck and a pink flush on his face. "What do you want to do first?"

L/N felt a smile melt onto her lips, and she reached out, intertwining her fingers with his as they started walking away, "How about some games?"

"Whatever you'd like," he grinned.

.・゜-: ✧ :-　

"The... strongman game?" Iwaizumi looked at L/N, who was holding the plastic hammer tightly in her hand. She grinned, nodding and totting over to the counter.

"Alright, I can totally do this!" She hyped herself up, slamming the hammer down. It only reached 17 out of 100. The next time it reached 25, and the next it reached 27. She could only get a small bear from her points.

She wilted again, holding the small bear and not even bothering to look as Iwaizumi took his turn and looked at her sad face. She took a seat on the curb of the road, playing with the bear between her fingers. It was the size of her palm.

Now I really feel weak.

A big, brown blob being placed right in front of her caught her eye, and she looked up in surprise, to see Iwaizumi's head peeking over the comically large bear. 

Turns out he hit over 80 from each of his hits, which ended up with him getting a huge teddy bear. L/N looked at him, awe-struck.

"Wow! You're really strong, Iwaizumi-san!" She stared at him in admiration, eyes sparkly as she held up the bear that was the size of her torso. She giggled, holding the teddy out to him, only for him to push it into her chest and shake his head.

"It's yours."

L/N turned back to him, her eyes shining as much as she tried to hide it. She held it tighter, biting down on her bottom lip, "R... really?"

"Yep."

She squealed, stuffing her face against the head of the teddy and smiled wide, eyes crinkling up. L/N looked back to Iwaizumi, who was standing there awkwardly, glancing at her every couple of seconds. She grinned, looking up at him and walking closer, the space between them nonexistent as they were only separated by the bear she held against her stomach.

"You're the best, Iwaizumi-san! I don't deserve you!" L/N nearly teared up. She leaned up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. It left a small red stain that he decided he would wear as a badge of pride. "Thank you so much!"

His face just then went the deepest shade of crimson, and he felt his heartbeat fasten significantly. 

No "thanks" he's ever received was as cherished as the one he got just then.

.・゜-: ✧ :-