Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
┅ ┅ ┅
Naomi hadn't stayed the night in fear of something going too far. That didn't stop Iwaizumi from walking her home and then arriving there early afternoon. "Hello..?" Iwaizumi held his hands in his pockets as he shifted back and forth on his shoes. "I wanted to ask if you were busy." "I-uh not really." "Would you like to come to the library with me?" "Why?"
He scratched his cheek and then immediately retreated the hand back into his jacket. "I have a shift on weekends and I wanted to see if you could join." "Shift? As in work?" "Well, I'm a volunteer." "Oh, uh," Naomi trailed, looking into her home then back at her boyfriend. "Yeah sure."
His face lit up as she turned to grab a pair of shoes and slip them on. "Cool! Uh, it's the one that's down by that koi pond not the one near those office buildings." "That one is nice." Naomi closed her door and locked it. "Shall we then?"
They walked together, once again too nervous to even attempt to grab each other's hands. Iwaizumi was correct in say that it was near the koi pond, but Naomi hadn't expected to see so many. The bright red was hard to miss as you approached. Many children with their parents were sitting around, dropping food into the water. Every time you could see the clump of red and orange move towards it like they were stuck together.
He held open the door for her and they entered the library. It was quiet and peaceful, with murmurs and soft music filling the background air. "I brought someone to help me today, is that alright?" Iwaizumi spoke to the volunteer director. "Yes, of course, Hajime-Kun. Who is this lovely young lady?" The older woman reminded Naomi of her grandmother. "This is my girlfriend. Itsuwaru Naomi." "Nice to meet you," Naomi held out her hand which the woman shook. Naomi had shaky hands from the way Iwaizumi introduced her. She hadn't taken in the fact that she'd had to get used to that title.
Iwaizumi took his moment of seeing Naomi's free hand and grasped it, leading her away. "So basically I rearrange shelves and make sure things are in the right places. Sometimes though, I read to the kids. They're always excited about it." "What are you doing today?" Naomi asked trying to hide a little bit of her excitement. "Rearranging, but don't worry. It's not as boring as it sounds."
Not that she had anything better to do. Naomi started to help him go through the shelves. She sat on the floor, making sure the bottom shelves were correct and Iwaizumi checked the top. "Oh cool!" Iwaizumi looked down at the sound of her joy and saw her pull a book out of the shelf. She ran her fingers over the cover, showing that the book tended not to see the lights by how prime it was. "Do you know that one?" "Do I?!"
Naomi grinned wide as she flipped through the pages, the new book smell seemed to had been trapped in it. "I love this book. My mom got if for me when I was a kid. I haven't seen it since." Iwaizumi bent down and sat beside her, trying to catch a glimpse of what the cover said. He reached his hand out to lift it up. "Every word you cannot say?" "Yeah, it's basically little poem quotes. It's about love and friendship."
Naomi flipped around in the book more and Iwaizumi scooted closer, hoping to see the words that made her smile. "This one, I used to read it over and over. I never understood it." She ran her thumb over the text and the boy beside her started to read it aloud. "I don't know why, but I do not feel like I'm like you, or anyone else. I feel like I'm the only one who feels the things I feel or thinks the way I think. I'm worried that I'm taking everything too seriously, or not seriously enough. Sometimes I want you to see me, and sometimes I want to disappear."
They two teenagers met eyes as they tried to find their own interpretation. "What do you think about it?" Naomi asked, not breaking eye contact. "It sounds like someone who's lonely." "Yeah. Someone who feels isolated." Iwaizumi looked down for a moment to grab her hand and raised it up. "Do you feel lonely?" He asked.
She shook her head. "Not with you here." "Do you feel isolated?" She took a second to put her thoughts together. "I feel that I'm insignificant. Like, there isn't a reason for someone to care about me." "Why do you say that?" "There's nothing special about me. Who would notice anything about me enough to care?" He chuckled as he leaned in and brought their hands up to his lips, kissing her skin.
"I already said I notice you that way, didn't I? There's plenty of special things about you. The real question is: Who wouldn't notice anything about you?" Naomi felt her breath hitch as she tried to laugh. She didn't want to cry in front of him. "Iwaizumi-Kun," she mumbled, "how do you so easily say things like that?" Both his hands held onto hers as he leaned forward. "I've got nothing to hide anymore. Now that we're together, I can finally tell you all the things I've ever wanted to say."
Naomi didn't like the closeness of his face and felt herself getting warm from it. "Iwaizumi-Kun, can-can we please wait?" He stopped proceeding, noticing how heated and shaky she was. "Yeah," he leaned back, "Yeah of course. I don't want to rush you, Itsuwaru." "We can hug," She shyly complied.
She was the one to initiate it, they both moved together, forming a hug. She dug her face into his shoulder, gripping onto his jacket. He rubbed her back softly, hoping to calm her down. He didn't want to stress her out. He already went a little far with bringing her home, so pushing her to a limit wasn't his best option.
"Don't feel like you owe me things, Itsuwaru. We're a duo and we do things step by step, together, okay? You aren't inclined to give me things just because you're my girlfriend." Naomi felt tears form into her eyes, soaking into the thick material of his clothing. The pain was sharp around her nose as the water stayed together in the dips of her face.
"I-I'm sorry," Naomi cries softly. "Don't apologize. There's nothing to apologize for." Naomi held onto him, hoping he wouldn't hear her crying into his shoulder. She couldn't let him know that his sweet words to her and comfort weren't the reason she was in tears. "Remember, Itsuwaru. Step by step. No tricks, no lies. We're a team now." She nodded.
