Iwaizumi's POV

They never really talk much, even during practice matches between their teams. Just brief eye contact and nothing else.

And there was no chance that they were going to even have a single conversation together. Not when things are stiff and awkward between Karasuno and Seijō after their game.

But then, Iwaizumi Hajime never expected that he'd find himself sitting in front of Karasuno's breathtakingly beautiful manager in a café.

It was a few weeks before their exams, and Iwaizumi barely got any sleep because of late night studyingーand considering the fact that Oikawa calls him around 3 in the morning and tells him that he needs to meet up at his house because he can't calm the hell down and he needs to study for the test and that he can't bear to fail when he already failed the team.

Oikawa told him to buy four orders of huge cups of black coffee to keep them awake later at night.

Iwaizumi wanted to roll his eyes and tell him that they still have two weeks time to study. But Oikawa was persistent and attempted to use his annoying puppy eyes.

Oikawa got a smack in the face afterwards.

But the Seijō ace ended up heading to the café eitherway (which took lots of arm hugging and whining from his best friend).

And his day couldn't have gotten worse when the moment he entered the café, it was packed.

Because apparently, for some weird reason, almost everyone in the city wanted coffee at 4 PM on a Saturday.

Iwaizumi was baffled.

When his orders were listed, he struggled to look for a free seat around the café.

Because of the amount of customers, the speed of the serving would take too long and Iwaizumi didn't want to stand for half an hour just for the stupid coffee that Oikawa asked for.

He neededーdeservedーto sit down.

He looked around and he just wanted to leave and go back home. There were too many people around the place, it was annoying.

But thank the gods above, he barely spotted the only vacant one left.

It was by the large windows of the café. It was the only free chair he saw and its outlines glowed in his eyes.

As he was briskly walking towards it, he noticed that the chair across from it was taken. His eyes widened a fraction when he realized that it was someone he knew (well, not really 'knew,' but a face he was familiar with). Hell, he only recognizes her because of Oikawa's rambling on how she's not like the other girls and she never even bothered to give him a look.

His stride slowed down.

"Um... Shimizu-san?" He called out, biting the inside of his cheek, afraid he got the wrong name.

The pretty girl looked up from the book she was reading, and her expression was unreadable.

It was her. It could have been anyone (other than the rest of the Karasuno team), and it had to be her.

They weren't even close. They never even talked. And he didn't know what to do but watch her reaction.

He couldn't tell.

Was she disturbed? Was she uncomfortable because someone from the team that they won against was standing in front of her? Was she not glad to see him? (Why would she even feel happy on seeing him unexpectedly? They don't even know each other!) Was she intimidated by him? Was he too abrupt on calling out to her just like that?

He really couldn't tell.

However, all thoughts were washed away when a friendly smile crossed her flawless face. "Iwaizumi-san." She acknowledged.

Well, at least she looked like she was okay with it. And she knew his name.

"Is this seat taken?" He gestured to the vacant chair.

Shimizu shook her head. "No. I'm alone."

He gladly sat down and gave her a sheepish smile. He decided that maybe small talk would be nice. "So, how are you, Shimizu-san?"

"I'm fine." Was her short answer. "You?"

"Aa, I'm great! Although I'm feeling a bit strained for the upcoming tests."

Shimizu nodded her head in understanding. "I see." And she looked back down on her book.

Wow, he was boring.

He didn't know why, but he didn't want the conversation to end too quick.

He convinces himself that she might actually want to talk to him.

"Aa, what brings you around here, Shimizu-san?"

Iwaizumi didn't really expect for her to answer him since she doesn't seem to be comfortable around him. But she did.

She pulled her eyes away from her book and returned his gaze.

"I just thought some alone time would do me good." Was her next short answer.

He didn't really know what to say, so he just hummed in response.

So much for small talk.

He leaned back on his chair and looked away from her.

What else can he even say? He wasn't too talkative, not to people he barely interacts with.

But he felt like he didn't want to lose this chance. It was just a coincidence. Him seeing her in a crowded café on a random Saturday afternoon.

He wanted to ask her about her team, but he didn't want anything to be more awkward than it should be, and he didn't want to talk about anything related to volleyball.

So he kept quiet.

His eyes wandered around the café, cautious to any more faces he recognizes.

It wasn't like he didn't want anyone seeing him with a beauty like Shimizu, but he just wasn't in the mood to see any of his teammates.

Okay. Maybe he does worry that his teammates might see him with Shimizu.

Of course, with the loss against Karasuno and all, they might fuss about it and tell Oikawa about it and he has another problem to take care of.

But in all honesty, he didn't mind.

It's better than bumping on another Karasuno member. Like Tanaka. Or their equally loud libero. Or Sawamura. He wasn't exactly prepared to face the very people who defeated them.

Although he and Shimizu never really had a proper conversation (or talked at all), he enjoyed her company. Peaceful and quiet, despite the amount of people in the café. She wasn't pushy or annoying, not like Oikawa's fangirls.

It was completely different from being around Oikawa a lot.

His thoughts were cut off when Shimizu's soft voice reached his ears.

"How about you, Iwaizumi-san?"

Oh, shit. Was she talking to him all this time?

His hands suddenly started sweating.

"Sorry, were you saying something, Shimizu-san?" His voice came out as squeaky.

Smooth, Iwaizumi.

Another beautiful smile went to her face. "I was just asking about what you're doing here in the café."

Oh.

"Well, with the exams coming up, Oikawa insisted that I buy loads of coffee. He said that we're gonna need it since we're going to do some brainstorming tonight. He could be stupid sometimes." He shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly. "And he's pretty paranoid about it, for some reason."

He didn't mean to make Oikawa look like an idiot, but he couldn't help it when Oikawa's actually one.

A sudden giggle bursted from her. Her smile grew wider.

Iwaizumi's cheeks began to burn. Damn, that giggle sounded like music. Could someone possibly be as charming as her?

Her own cheeks turned pink, but the shy smile stayed there. "Well, good luck, then."

"Yeah, thanks."

He didn't really expect to talk to her like this. It's awkward, but the atmosphere around them wasn't exactly that uncomfortable.

He studied her appearance briefly, and she was looking back at him. Her posture was poise, her clothes casual, a book on her lap, and a cup of steaming coffee in front of her. She looked more like any other ordinary person, but there was no denying the fact that she was an extremely attractive person.

If Oikawa finds out that someone like Iwaizumi managed to get more than two words from her and not him...

Iwaizumi mentally shuddered.

He didn't even want to think about it.

"So, Shimizu-san, what do you plan on doing next year?" He asked in interest.

"I'm going to Tohoku, along with Sawamura."

He couldn't believe his ears.

"Really?" He couldn't fight back the huge smile growing on his face. "So am I."

Iwaizumi didn't want to make himself look like an idiot, so he didn't say anything else. And he didn't want to show her that it was a big deal to him. (Why would it even be a big deal? He didn't even like her.)

"What are you taking?" He asked her.

"I'm thinking about Business and Management."

He noticed that her book was already on the table between them, completely ignored.

"Hmm. Well, I'd say go for it. I mean, from what I've heard, you're a pretty great manager to your team." Iwaizumi says. He sees her cheeks color to a soft pink and she gave him a grateful smile.

Okay, he needs to stop looking at her face all the time.

Shimizu looked down on her hands resting on her lap and asked, "How about you, Iwaizumi-san?"

He scratched the back of his neck, "Aa, I haven't chosen between political science or sports science..."

"Those are two very different things, Iwaizumi-san."

Iwaizumi chuckled, mostly to himself. "Yeah, that's why it's really hard to choose." His eyes met with Shimizu's again, and he gave her a grin. He didn't know how many smiles they exchanged that day, but he wasn't exactly complaining. He can't get tired of seeing hers. (He's sounding a whole lot like Oikawa now.)

Then all of a sudden, his name was called out from behind the counter of the café. Iwaizumi jumped from his seat in surprise. He saw Shimizu's startled expression and he wanted to punch himself from getting too caught up in the moment. "IーI better get that..."

When Shimizu nodded, he stood up and went to get the coffee. Were they talking that long?

The moment his fingers wrapped around the handle of the box of coffee, he realized something: He's supposed to leave the moment he got the order...

He looked back to where Shimizu was sitting, and she was back to reading her book. Maybe it was okay for her if he left already?

But damn, he didn't want to leave yet.

He sighed in disappointment and headed straight to the front doors of the café, not before glancing back at Shimizu. It surprised him when he saw her staring back at him with aーis that disappointment on her faceーlook. When she saw him look back at her, she immediately looked away and went back to her book.

Hope fluttered around his chest and a huge smile went up to his face.

He passed by a swarm of people and went back to the direction on where the Karasuno beauty was sitting. I'm pretty sure Oikawa wouldn't mind waiting for another hour...

Author's Note: find me in ao3: axsce! :-) thank you so much for reading! and yes i like iwakiyo but i'm still iwaoi all the wayy!