NEW YEAR'S EVE 2015; Tokyo

It had been a few months since that accidental text Yuki had sent. Now, she and Iwaizumi talked regularly. It was just through texts, though. Facetime calls were planned, but they almost always fell through. Time differences, overdue assignments and college stress made it difficult for the two of them to see each other face-to-face (through video calls, of course).

Yuki hadn't really thought about it in school, but she had noticed how reliable Iwaizumi was and how trustworthy he could be. The perfect person, really. And he was pretty good looking too. It wasn't like she had a crush on him. She didn't. But you'd have to be blind if you didn't see how handsome he was. 

But, obviously, she was not gonna admit this to him.

Today would be Yuki's first new year's eve away from home. While Reina, her way cooler roommate was attending some party later tonight, Yuki was going to stay home, curled up under her blankets and watching a movie with many many snacks. The perfect way to end a year. She smiled to herself as she walked the streets of Tokyo near her campus, which still had Christmas decor up along with decorations for the New Year. Some stores were closed, but quite a lot of them were still open. But people were still wandering the streets, all surrounded by the holiday spirit. Yuki giggled at the thought. The holiday season always made her feel better.

But she wasn't here to do any shopping, except for...

"Ah, there it is," Yuki said, grinning up at the shining, neon blue board of her favorite grocery store. She reached into her jacket pocket, feeling for her wallet. With a smile, she walked inside. 

The grocery store was actually a small supermarket and Yuki often found herself coming here, wandering over to the ramen isle and buying her dinner for the next couple of weeks. It was a place that was frequented by the students from the University of Tokyo and it wasn't hard to spot exactly who was a student. All of them had the same tired expressions on their faces.

Tonight, the supermarket was mostly empty. Very few people were around, from what Yuki could see. Maybe it was because the store was going to close in less than forty five minutes or maybe it was because it was new year's eve and most people had a social life, unlike Yuki.

"I really need to get out more," Yuki thought, as she pushed a shopping cart towards the chips aisle. The moment she reached, she grabbed three packets of her favorite flavor, in the large size. Perfect, if you wanted to have a party alone. 

She wandered down the aisle, looking for snacks as she lazily pushed the cart. 'Do I need something to drink...nah, there's that can of orange juice at him...but is it expired? I don't remember....maybe I'll buy one more just to be on the safe side? Ooh, there's a sale on oreos...let me get that...oh, there's a sale on apple juice...let me get that too.'

Wandering aimlessly around the store, Yuki hadn't even realized someone was calling her name, till she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around, only to come face-to-face with someone she hadn't seen in a long time. Since that person had graduated from school.

"M-misaki-senpai? Is that you?"

Misaki grinned, her red hair longer than Yuki had ever seen. "I was calling your name for a while, but looks like you were pretty distracted."

"Oh. Sorry about that," Yuki apologised, temporarily letting go of her cart. "I was just lost in my thoughts." 'About snacks.'

"No worries," Misaki answered, still smiling. She stepped forward, arms opened for a hug and Yuki promptly obliged.

'Huh,' Yuki thought. 'She smells nice.'

Before she could stop her mind from speaking out, the words were already out of her mouth. "Wow, you smell really good."

"I do?" Misaki asked with a laugh. "Thanks. It's a new perfume Tooru sent over from Argentina for Christmas. He said I'd really like it and I do, so here were are."

"Tooru-? Oh, you mean Oikawa-senpai?" Yuki said, one arm leaning on her cart. "How's that going?"

Misaki's face flushed slightly, but she still smiled. "Really nice, actually. He's great."

"Aww that's really great to hear," Yuki said, with a smile of her own. And it was. Misaki and Oikawa were probably the cutest couple she knew, not that she knew many couples. They were so adorable together. "You two are cute together."

"Thank you," Misaki answered. "But enough about me. How are you doing? I completely forgot that you were going to be attending the University of Tokyo. I don't see you around on campus though."

"I guess sports medicine just keeps me busy?" Yuki said. "I don't really have time to go anywhere because there's always a lot of work."

"Oh you're doing sports medicine too? Like Iwa? That's a funny coincidence. Both of you must be drowning in work."

"I guess so. But I like it so..."

"You should probably get in touch with him. He can help you out with stuff."

"Yeah, probably." 'I kinda already am in touch with him, but how do I say it to her? Feels weird.'

"So listen, Makki, Mattsun and I...we're having a small party with a few of our friends. You can come if you want. I promise it'll be fun."

A party? Yuki would have loved to go; she really would have. But she was not the type of person who enjoyed parties that much, even if they were with people she really liked, like Misaki. And besides, she really wanted to take this new year's holiday for herself. She was already feeling about declining.

"I'd love to come, but I kinda already have plans?" Yuki said, an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry; I can't cancel them." 'Self care days. This is just another self care day.'

"That's okay. No harm done," Misaki answered with a grin. "I thought you might have plans. No harm done. But listen, keep in touch okay? Let's meet up soon. I'll also get Sumire with me. You'll really like her."

'Sumire? I wonder who's that.' "Yeah sure, let's do that."

"Cool. I will text you everything. You take care of yourself, yeah? And have fun. Don't let college get to you too much. You'll be fine because it's you and I think you're pretty good at dealing with this stuff."

"Oh thanks," Yuki mumbled out, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"I will see you around?"

"Yeah, probably. You will."

"Well, happy new year's to you, Yuki. Have a great one."

"You too, you too. And wish Oikawa-senpai too; tell him I'm wishing him all the best for his matches ahead."

"I'll do that. See you around, Yuki."

"You too, Misaki-senpai."

***
POST MIDNIGHT, 1ST JANUARY, Tokyo

"Wait, what?" Yuki was scrambling to sit up on her bed. "I'm not ready. I'm not ready. And I don't look okay."

Her phone started ringing and she almost let out a shriek.

"Oh shit."

Yuki hurriedly sat up on her bed, turned on the light switch and just hoped that she looked okay. She was not ready. Not ready at all. All she hoped was that she looked somewhat presentable and not messy, like the state of her bed.

Taking in a deep breath, she pressed 'accept'.

'What the hell am I supposed to say?'

The screen went black, just for a moment. Then, Iwaizumi's face popped up on the screen and Yuki swore her heart just skipped a beat. He was even more handsome than she had thought. He was sitting in front of what looked like his bed, wearing a pale blue t-shirt. He looked the same as he had in high school, but there was just something about his face that made him look a lot more...mature. (And hot) 

"Hey there, Iwaizumi-senpai," Yuki internally cringed. That was a horrible way to start off a conversation. "Happy new year to you." 

Maybe it was the connection, but Iwaizumi's voice was a little raspy and it sent a tingle down Yuki's spine. 

"You know, you can stop calling me senpai, right?" He spoke, a quiet smile on his face. "I'm not your senior any longer."

"I don't know," Yuki said, gripping her phone a little tighter. "You're still older to me and it would feel disrespectful."

"Two years isn't that much of a difference," Iwaizumi pointed out as he ran a hand through his hair. "And you've known me for a while now. It's alright with me if you want to drop the honorific."

"Then can I call you Iwaizumi-san? I don't think I completely drop the san though."

"At least you're respectful. And then there's Shittykawa who refuses to call me by name," Iwaizumi said, with a slight roll of his eyes. 

"Please don't tell him I said this, but he comes up with the most idiotic nicknames," Yuki said. She didn't even look apologetic for saying this. "Like he has a brain..."

"He should use it," Iwaizumi interrupted, letting out a laugh. "That's exactly what I keep on telling him. But the guy's a loser."

"I guess," Yuki replied, smiling herself. Suddenly a memory flashed into her mind and she instantly made a face. 

"What? What's with that look?"

"It's just that...I remembered something sort of embarrassing about him. And Misaki-senpai. I don't even want to think about it. It was horrible."

Iwaizumi's curiosity was piqued. "I'm ready for any and all kind of blackmail on these two. Give it to me."

Yuki was sure her face was rather red as she started telling the story. "Okay, so this was a few weeks after Misaki-senpai and Oikawa-senpai had gotten together. I think practice was about to start and I was running a bit late and I was basically rushing to the girl's locker room. And I open the door and I see these two basically having their tongues down each other's throats and making out. In front of my locker. I had to scrub it twice."

"Ew," Iwaizumi made a face. "Those two are the worst. Let me tell you the amount of times I walked in on them basically just sucking each other's faces off...I would need two more hands for that."

Yuki started laughing. "Poor you, Iwaizumi-san."

"It may seem funny to you, but the amount of times I saw them like that...it's a wonder I didn't pour bleach on my eyes."

They had gotten pretty-off topic with the conversation, Iwaizumi realized. But in some ways, that was good. He could talk with Yuki all day. He would like to talk with Yuki all day. 

"Forget them," Iwaizumi suddenly said. "How are you? How was your new years? Did you go to any party?"

"Oh I did," Yuki said, rather proudly. She pointed at herself with her free hand. "I had a party with myself. It was fun. Really, the perfect party for an introvert." 

"That sounds like fun," Iwaizumi commented.

"It is, oh my god. You don't have to worry about stupid traditions like the kiss at midnight and other stuff. You can just relax in your own bed and do whatever you want," Yuki excitedly explained. "It's paradise, Iwaizumi-san. Just paradise."

"Maybe I should try that sometime," Iwaizumi said, looking rather thoughtful. "I could enjoy myself more like that."

(Yuki liked that look on his face.)

"You will!" Yuki nodded furiously. At least Iwaizumi was not judging her for staying in. "I mean I don't know about you, but I would rather stay in bed with a movie and my pile of snacks and not move till the clock hits midnight. Did you get invited anywhere, if I can ask?"

"Yeah, a couple," Iwaizumi said. Six parties were not a couple. For some reason, he was really popular around campus and it just confused him. "I'll probably go to the one organized by my roommate Kevin. It's just happening downstairs so easier for me."

"Cool! Are American parties like how they show in movies? Is there alcohol? Do people really makeout on couches? Are people high at these parties? Or do they like smoke or something? And do they all have horrible music taste...." Yuki suddenly trailed off, realizing that she had started rambling with all her questions just pouring out. "I'm sorry for all the questions. I didn't realize that I was..."

"Don't apologize for that," Iwaizumi interrupted, scolding her gently. "You don't have to hold yourself back around me. Ramble all you want. I'd like to hear more of that."

He what now? "Really?" Yuki looked at him, face rather flushed. "You don't mind that? Is it really okay?"

"It's fine with me. But why are you asking me like it's a bad thing? It's not, you know." Iwaizumi looked at her, slightly curious.

"Oh," Yuki said, laughing sheepishly as she looked away from the camera. "My first boyfriend I had, back in third year, told me my rambling was annoying and not cute. It kinda hurt at the time but I also really liked the guy so I stopped myself from doing that but from time to time, it just slips through."

"The guy sounds like an idiot," Iwaizumi plainly said. Internally though, his thought process was going wild. 'Yuki had a boyfriend? That's...it's not nice.'

"Oh he was. And he was a horrible kisser too. But at the same time, I was enamoured by the guy so I couldn't see how wrong he was for me. Oh, I so wish I could have my first kiss again."

'I volunteer,'  Iwaizumi instantly thought, before shushing his brain. It was not the time for this. But his brain had already started the thought process and the idea of kissing Yuki was now buried in his mind. Before he could start speaking, Yuki had continued on. 

"Honestly, I don't have the time to think about kisses and romances and all that. I'm just too swamped with homework and assignments. And I am a procrastinator." 'But I wouldn't mind being romanced by you.'

'Fuck you, brain. Fuck you,'  Yuki silently thought. 

"Enough about me now," She spoke out loud. "How are you? Any girlfriends? Or boyfriends? That's fine too. Ooh, I wonder who your first kiss was."

"H-Hey!" Iwaizumi stuttered out. He wasn't going to disclose that fact. Especially since he hadn't kissed anyone yet. He hadn't done anything beyond kisses on the cheek, "It's too embarrassing to say."

"Oh, come on! You could tell me! I swear I'm not gonna say a word! You should trust me."

"I trust you but not with this. It's a secret I will take to the grave."

"Seriously you never kissed any of your girlfriends?"

"I'm not Oikawa. Girls don't exactly line up around me."

"Listen. Oikawa-san is pretty and all that, but you're like handsome and nicer than him. Girls dig that. You could totally get a nice girlfriend, I bet."

'Fuck Yuki, you don't know how to shut your mouth,' Yuki internally yelled at herself. 'Idiot. Idiot. You absolute fucking idiot.'

She really needed duct tape for this stupid mouth of hers.

oh to be yuki nohara and have iwaizumi hajime basically be in love with you 😖😖

I'm literally having so much fun writing these two; like this fic is gonna be fastburn and I can promise you there's a shit-ton of cute scenes coming up ahead. Honestly, I don't think it really has a plot or anything and this fic is just an excuse for me to write fluffy scenes for Iwaizumi and Yuki.

For all those who are reading this and haven't read Fault Lines (my Oikawa fic); Misaki is my OC in that. I just recently completed that and I would love it if you guys would check that out!

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Let me know your thoughts in the comments! 💖💖💖