Beauty and the Beast (A Haikyuu/ Tobio Kageyama Fanfiction)

Chapter Forty-Seven: Cats and Crows

~~~Aina~~~

I sat on the stairs in the training camp facility later that night, running a brush through my wet hair after my bath. It was dark, and aside from the distant chatter of the bathing second years, it was relatively quiet. As creepy as this place could be at night...it was kind of soothing.

I heard footsteps echoing down the hallway, and looked up as Tobio appeared in front of me, a towel draped over his arm. I smiled, stopping what I was doing and resting my chin in my hand.

"Evening, Tough Guy. Fancy meeting you here." He didn't respond, but instead, came up and sat down beside me on the steps.

"Sorry I haven't talked to you much this week." He said. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"You're at training camp. That should be your focus." He glanced at me. "Look, I know we're dating and all, but we don't have to be attached at the hip at all times. We can co-exist in the same space without being all over each other." He smiled, shaking his head.

"I love you." My smile fell and my eyes widened as the words fell out of his mouth, seemingly before he could stop them. His eyes widened too and he looked up at me with a shocked expression. "Uh...I didn't...you don't..."

"Look, if you were just saying it flippantly, and you didn't mean to, we can just pretend it didn't happen," I assured him, putting my hand over his on the step, "But on the other hand..."

"I...I think I meant it," He said, looking down at our hands before meeting my eyes again, "I mean, obviously, this isn't how I wanted to tell you..."

"What? Sitting alone, in the dark, at training camp while smelling like a sweaty boy isn't the kind of romantic 'first love' moment you had in mind?" I asked dryly, smiling at him. He chuckled, rolling his eyes.

"I think I've known for a while though. The night of the showcase, at least." I smiled, down at my lap.

"Yeah, me too." He met my eyes. "Oh, right. I love you too. Did I not mention that?"

"Everything is an excuse for sarcasm for you, isn't it?" He asked. I shook my head, scooting closer and laying it on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to his side. 

"You know I don't really think you're boring, right?" I asked seriously. He nodded against my head.

"I've learned by now that you can't take everything you say at face value." I chuckled.

"You sure you're not annoyed by me yet?" He squeezed my waist gently, pulling back to look at me. I lifted my head to look back. 

"Never gonna happen." I smiled as he leaned down, pressing a sweet, short kiss to my lips. "You know, even if I have been mainly focused on Volleyball...I'm really glad you're here." 

"Yeah? Me too." I heard more  chatter and looked up as all the second years came streaming out of the bathroom. "That's your cue, Tough Guy. I meant what I said about loving you, but you smell terrible."

~~~

The next morning, in front of the gym where the practice game would be taking place, each time lined up to have a ridiculously dramatic, intimidating stare down.

I crossed my arms, standing at the end of the row when I heard a click go off beside me. I turned to my right to see a tall girl with short, black hair and a camera in her hands standing beside me. 

"They have their own photographer?" I questioned. She scoffed.

"They would be so lucky. I'm taking pictures for our school's newspaper," She explained, "We get pics, I build my photography portfolio, and I get to see my brother's team play. Wins all around."