Bloomed (Oikawa Tooru x Reader)

(Part Eight)

(Oikawa's POV)

'Why am I just standing here...? Move feet!' I yelled at myself but I still couldn't move. I don't know why, but (Y/N)-chan's words made me kind of sad. 'Why though...?'

Suddenly I heard multiple pairs of footsteps, and, as if on instinct, I jumped and hid behind a bush. I tripped and ending up falling into the bush. The footsteps stopped and it seemed like they might've heard me. I held my breath but sighed in relief when I heard them continue to walk away. 'Are they going to the Gardening Club..?

Curiosity got the better of me, and I started to tail the group of people heading to the Garden. 'They aren't the other members...? And there's a guy in there too-' I stopped what I was thinking and pushed my messy hair away from my forehead in frustration. 'Why do I care so much...?!' The group walked through the flower arches and walked up to the (H/C) haired girl I was just thinking of.

(Third Person POV)

"(Y/N)-san!" (Y/N) turned around in response to her name and came face to face with a raven-haired boy. He was slightly taller than the gardening-girl but he came with a friendly smile and approachable aura.

"Oh, hey Taishiro! What brings you here?" Taishiro, the ravenette, smiles, and moves to show the other people he came with.

"I told you I would stop with the rest of the club to pick some vegetables, did you forget already?" (Y/N) sweatdropped and shook her head.

"Sorry... I've just had other things on my mind recently. Anyways if you came here to pick them, the cucumbers and the strawberries are ripe! There should also be some others too, I just haven't checked them all yet..."The other members of Taishiro's club nodded and started to talk amongst themselves while they walk towards the greenhouse. (Y/N) went back to what she was doing while Taishiro awkwardly stood there, a slight blush forming on his face the longer he waited.

"S-so... (Y/N)-san... I was wondering if-"

"(Y/N)-chan!" The oh-so-familiar voice of a certain captain rang through the garden. Taishiro spun around and all the color drained from his face, the Oikawa Tooru was walking towards them. '(Y/N)-chan...? They're friends...?'

" Oh, hey Oikawa-san? Did you come here to bring more flowers...?" Her smile brightens and she looked up at the taller boy. Oikawa stopped just next to Taishiro and shook his head. "I just wanted to see you~" His cheerful and slightly flirty tone aggravated Taishiro, though he was holding himself back.

"Oh, well then, could you maybe help me then? Oh, and Taishiro?" At the mention of his name, he perked up, the blush back on his cheeks. "The blueberries you planted last time you came here are ready for their first harvest." Taishiro nodded and hesitantly walked away, glancing behind, and saw Oikawa smirking.

"Oikawa-san?" Stopping his smirking, Oikawa turned to face the small girl. A genuine smile made its way onto his lips and he shook his head.

"Yes?"

"Why are you really here? You seemed like you might've been lying when Taishiro was here..." Her voice quieted and she looked downwards towards the flowers she was watering before. Oikawa was about to speak, but realized he was going to lie again, 'She would know... I should just say it...'

"I wanted to see you again... and talk to you..." His voice was quiet and he had a slight frown on his face. 'I can't...' "That's all really, but if you're busy, I can leave..." His frown turned to a sad smile and he turned around. He stopped though when he felt a tug on his hand. Turning around, the smaller (H/C) haired girl was smiling up at him, a slight blush on her face.

"If you wanted to talk, you should've just said so..." She let go, and Oikawa seemed to miss the feeling of her warm hand. She crouched down again and picked up the watering can. When she finished and noticed Oikawa was still standing, she playfully rolled her eyes and patted the ground next to her. The two were in a circular part of the garden and there were all kinds of flowers surrounding them.

"So, when you first came here, is that the first time you came to the garden?" Her simple question brought ease to Oikawa's racing mind. He nodded and sat down next to her, hugging his legs to his chest.

"Yeah, I don't really go anywhere other than my classes, the cafeteria, and the gym. If I have to, I'll go to the teachers' lounge, but that's rare." He chuckled and had taken a long look around. The vibrant colors of the flowers made the light blue of the sky seem brighter. He hadn't realized it, but his life was a constant cycle of the same thing, Wake up, classes, Lunch, classes, practice, late-night practice, then go home. He had started to ignore the beauty of his school, in favor of working on his skills.

"You don't need to see everything, but it feels nice to get out of the cycle most people put themselves into, and this garden is my way of doing that..." She smiled and closed her eyes, letting the soft breeze move her hair slightly.

"'There are some flowers you only see when you take detours'... A mentor of mine taught me that, she always seemed to go so fast but she was always taking detours to experience all she can." Her words struck a chord in Oikawa, he understood what she meant, and seeing all the beauty around further cemented the idea into his head. 'I want to see everything I can...'

Sighing, (Y/N) looked upwards, a bright smile on her face. Oikawa followed her movements and looked up, and his eyes widened. Flying through the air was three white birds. The two larger seemed to be helping the smaller, 'A family...' He glanced at (Y/N), looking for her reaction. She was fondly looking at the family, a slight blush on her face.

"Cute..." He whispered out loud, causing (Y/N) to look up towards him, confused. Oikawa could feel his face flush slightly but played it cool.

"What'd you say?" She had a confused smile on her face, the blush from earlier faded. Oikawa chuckled and shook his face, nervous she heard.

"Nothing, just wondering something..." Motioning for him to continue, Oikawa finished his thought. "Like, if you had to do something other than gardening or taking care of plants and flowers, what would it be?"

(Y/N)'s eyes widened but then a puzzled look on her face appeared. She looked down and twidled her thumbs. "I always wanted to be a professional swimmer... I just used to love playing in the water, and the feeling of swimming as fast as a dolphin... and being able to win medal after medal..." She smiled and looked up. Oikawa nodded, understanding the feeling of wanting to win.

"So why'd you stop? Or are you doing it outside of school...?"

Sighing an uneven breath, (Y/N) continued. "It was in a swim meet, in my last year of middle school. I was doing my usual, but I think the night before I overworked my legs practicing for the meet. That time we got would decide if we would get to join the Highschool Swim Team, and go to competitions and compete. I was the last person to finish, by a long while. I had pulled something in my legs and they hurt every time I pushed myself forwards. I couldn't finish it in a good enough time, and they kicked me off the team..." She clenched her fist, a regretful look on her face. "I just wish I was strong enough to have finished that meet..."

"Is that why you stopped me from practicing that night? You were worried?" Oikawa asked, looking back to the sky, a neutral expression on his face.

(Y/N) nodded, "Yeah, I feel bad because I know you're nothing like me, someone who gave up the sport I loved so much just because of a tiny failure..."

Oikawa stood up, and took a step forwards, then turned around with an unreadable expression. "Today might be the chance at letting your talent bloom. Maybe tomorrow, the day after, or next year... maybe even when you're thirty. I'm not sure if physique has anything to do with it, but if you think it will never, then it probably never will." He smiled and extended a hand out to (Y/N).

She hesitated, then reached out and grabbed his hand. A small smile was on both of their faces, till (Y/N) started laughing. Confused, Oikawa looked around and noticed something fall off his head. Looking up, he noticed the large tree he had pulled both of them under, he didn't even realize he had because he was looking at (Y/N).

Leaves were falling around them, and Oikawa smiled fondly at the (H/C) haired girl laughing. He decided then we would accept the feelings deep down inside of him, but how would he get her to feel the same too?

-Word Count: 1,525-