Haikyuu x Reader

Oikawa Tooru - The King of Roses

*part 2 to 'The King*

"Are you sure about this? It's not going to be a ball or anything grand, you know. There won't be any gourmet food or world-class champagne or-"

Oikawa laughs, smoothing out the silken fabric of his shirt as he turns to look at you. "I know that, Y/N. It's a town festival, trust me, I don't have the highest expectations when it comes to this outing. I just want to experience at least one of them. You made it sound so fun and going would make you happy, wouldn't it?"

You stood to the side of the grand foyer, awkwardly adjusting your gaze as you shifted in your spot. You hadn't been to a festival in many years, since you were a young girl, actually. You had grown to miss the atmosphere of the cobblestones glowing under the light of candles and the cool touch of the moon, the way that the band could barely be heard over the laughter and conversations of people packed tightly onto the square, the smells of food wafting into your nose that could make your mouth water at the mere thought of a single bite. You can only bring yourself to nod. Yes. It would.

After months of living by his side, trapped in a loveless marriage with the enemy of your now-fallen kingdom, you can't remember the last time that you had felt that wave of sun that came with being happy. Everything that had made you happy had been ripped from your clutches and you weren't even able to say goodbye to the life that you had known. You had been brought here and forced to marry a man that you didn't love, that you could never even see yourself loving, things that he knew and had known for a while. You didn't love him. You didn't want a single thing to do with him, yet he persisted. Oikawa Tooru had chef's cook you dishes that were known to your region, he had gardeners import the roses that your home was known for and they now grew happily alongside the beautiful carnations of the Riveria Kingdom.

It was like he was asking for the impossible, really. He could've lived with you never being in love with him, hating him until your last dying breath, yes, he had faced much worse in his short time as a king. He just wanted one smile, a real one, one that didn't just ghost your lips at a memory, one that stretched all the way to your eyes and lit up your face better than any light ever could.

Oikawa offered his arm to you, an invitation to hold onto him to at least maintain the front of a happy royal family while you both made the walk to the town center. But, it was only ignored, leaving both to trail along in silence and a sense of discomfort that hung in the air heavier than the humidity of a summer's day. Each question he asked was only answered with short words, brief and curt. Your hatred for him still burned in your chest, but even he noticed that your sharp tongue had dulled. Maybe it had just become exhausting or maybe you just didn't even care to let him know that you wanted nothing to do with him anymore, instead choosing to lock yourself away during the day, only appearing before him for meals when you would offer the same short responses as you did now.

It was only when the lights were flickering clearly in front of you and the sounds of music could be heard did you take up his arm. The whole of the kingdom had a hard enough time finding something to like about their young king, they didn't need to know about his failure of a marriage behind the castle doors as well, something that both of you agreed on. It was just better for the public image to put on fake smiles when the two of you needed to appear in public together, but yours was wiped from your perfectly painted lips faster than he could comprehend the minute you were secure in the privacy of the palace walls once more.

Quiet whispers echoed through the crowd at the first sighting of the two young royals emerging from the evening, arm and arm. Tooru raised in hand in greeting, his polite smile on his lips as his subjects fell to their knees in his presence. "Now, that's not necessary. We're here to have a good time, just like the rest of you. There's no need to be formal with us," Tooru says, his clear voice carrying easily over the crowd, but his smile falters as he sniffs the air. "Do you smell that? Pork buns?"