"Ah, Mitsuha-san! Last minute White Day shopping?" the baker greets her cheerfully, as he steps out from behind the ovens to come to the counter. She nods and gives him a small wave, before heading up to him.

"Do you have any milk bread?" she asks, as she places the brownies on the counter. "I've checked other stores but they seem to have run out or they've closed, and I was kinda hoping you would have some?"

"Let me go check in the back," he replies warmly, taking the brownies and ringing them up. "If I'm not mistaken my daughter should have put in a loaf earlier, it should be done by now."

Mitsuha lights up, her eyes twinkling. "Thank you so much!"

He returns after a while, a large smile plastered on his face as he carries out a fresh loaf of milk bread in a tray. "You should thank Aiko later, I'm glad her love for bread pulled this through," he chuckles, taking it off the tray and placing it in a brown paper bag, along with the brownies. He punches a couple of buttons on the teller, and looks up at her. "That will be 1200 yen," he says, as she rummages through her purse for the money. Mitsuha hands it to him, and they exchange thanks as she takes the bag and heads out, not before she bows.

She practically whizzes past everyone as she tries to make it home before they do. She'd seen the third years earlier heading over with Hajime, since they were going to hold dinner in their house. Oikawa was there too, but she hopes he can spare a little time for an early dessert.

It's 6:30 when Mitsuha reaches their house, and she throws open the gate, skipping up the steps that lead into their door, wincing when she hears the gate clang. She opens the door hurriedly, kicking her shoes off her feet, stumbling while she does so. Hajime's mother is in the kitchen, watching her with a frenzied look. "You okay there, Mitsuha?" she asks worriedly, as the girl nearly runs into the kitchen doorpost. 

"Yep!" she cries manically, giving her a crazy smile. Her aunt blinks at her twice, before shaking her head. "Did you hit your head on the way home?" she asks, crossing her arms.

"Nope!" Mitsuha places the brown bag of baked goods on the counter carefully, before running to the fridge and taking out whipped cream and strawberries. Like a mouse, she scampers to their bread box, sighing in relief when she finds an unused loaf of buttermilk bread there.

She lays everything out on the kitchen counter, just as her aunt comes up to her and inspects her hair.

"Is everything okay, auntie?" Mitsuha asks, with wide eyes.

"Yeah, I'm just checking where that rat that's making you move like the world's about to end hiding in your hair," her aunt replies, determination lighting up her dark brown eyes. Mitsuha groans as her aunt chortles. "Like in Ratatouille."

"Help me make the sandwiches," Mitsuha pleads, batting her aunt's prying fingers away from her. "I need to get it done before they come back."

"Is that why you ran like a mad woman?" she asks her, opening the tub of whipping cream and pouring some of the liquid into a bowl. She passes it to Mitsuha, who takes out a whisk and begins to work like there was some rat sitting on top of her head.

Her niece nods, her eyes concentrated on the task at hand. "You know those are desserts, right?" her aunt asks, as she cleans up the strawberries, before cutting the crusts off a few slices of the bread. Mitsuha hums in response, and hands her the whipping cream, which her aunt graciously spreads on both sides of the bread slices. Strawberries are placed delicately on the cream, before Mitsuha places the other slice on top, and presses down firmly.

This continues until they've both three sandwiches, and her aunt takes them and places them in the fridge for a while. "C'mere, let me fix your hair," her aunt says after a while, watching Mitsuha slump down on the counter, exhausted after all that running.

With soft groans of protest she moves over to her aunt, who undos the ribbon holding the ponytail Mitsuha had made that morning. She sighs contentedly as her aunt's smooth fingers run through her hair, and winces slightly when she pulls two large strands of hair from both sides of her head together, and takes a middle strand of the same size, beginning to braid.

"So what's the occasion?" her aunt asks, as Mitsuha fiddles with her fingers. "You got a date?"

Her face grows warm. "Hajime told me there's a meteor shower happening tonight, at eight. I wanted to take Tooru to the park so we could both see it together."

Her aunt smiles as she continues to braid her hair. "So this is a White Day special then?" she inquires, as she comes to the end of the braid. Mitsuha hums in response. "It's our last one and I found it pretty significant that there's a meteor shower today out of all days." She ties the end with Mitsuha's ribbon, smoothing out the rest of Mitsuha's hair she hasn't touched, and pats her head to signify that she's done.

Mitsuha turns around, giving her aunt a big smile in thanks, before it drops, casting her face in a more somber look. "We haven't spoken to each other in two weeks, except say hi or just nod whenever one of us sees the other. I thought distancing myself from him would help me to figure out myself but I feel like I fucked everything up and just ruined whatever I was trying to do in the first place."

"Why'd you distance yourself from him?" her aunt asks, genuinely confused. "You two are so incredibly close that I can't see that happening."

Mitsuha sighs, her eyes now looking down at her socks. "I don't know if I like him because he seems to like me, or if I genuinely do like him for the person that he is. I don't know if these are the right feelings I want to keep when we're about to end one chapter of our lives and begin another." She looks back up at her aunt, giving her a pained smile.

Her aunt is about to reply when a familiar group of voices call out from the front door. They both simultaneously turn their heads to see Iwaizumi and the rest of Seijoh's volley trio behind him.

Mitsuha's about to ask where Oikawa is when he pokes his head out from between Hanamaki and Iwaizumi, grinning while the other two give him looks.

"Iwaizumi-san~" he calls out in a sing-song voice. "Happy White Day!"

Her aunt stifles a laugh, before walking over to them to ruffle her son's head and pinch Oikawa's cheek. "Happy White Day, you lot," she replies with a warm tone, a soft smile on her face.

Oikawa's adoring eyes go from gazing up at her aunt to her. His grin from earlier is now a large, cheeky smile, and his entire face lights up when he calls her by her nickname.

"Mittsun!" He pushes through the other two and past her aunt, who's sniggering as he barrels into Mitsuha, almost tackling her to the ground in a hug. She feels his arms wrap around her body and pull her closer to him, and she can feel the undeniable attraction to wrap her own arms around him and hold him tight.

So she does. Her arms go around his own body and she lightly presses her fingers into his sports jacket, hoping he doesn't feel it. Oikawa pulls away slowly, his face only inches away from hers. "Happy White Day!" he exclaims, beaming.

"Happy White Day to you too, Tooru," she replies, after registering everything that's happened. She gives him a sheepish smile and he's about to say something back when Hanamaki cuts through.

"Oi, better let go now. Iwa's glaring."

In a flash, Oikawa's arms leave her body and he stands up straight, his face completely devoid of any emotion, even though she can see his cheeks beginning to redden. Mattsun and Makki break into howls of laughter as Oikawa gives them both a disapproving look, looking away in shame when Hajime glares at him harder. It's enough to make Mitsuha giggle, too.

She glances down at her phone, which is lit up from a notification from Youtube. The time is seven o'clock.

Shit.

She tugs on Oikawa's jacket sleeve while he and her cousin are in a heated conversation about who ate too many bowls of cold soba noodles. Makki and Mattsun are making themselves at home in the kitchen, scouring through cupboards and their pantries, looking for something to eat. Meanwhile, her aunt's taking out the strawberry sandwiches from earlier, motioning to them with a slight turn of head.

He turns to face her with furrowed eyebrows after she whacks his arm to get his attention. "What is it with you Iwaizumis and hitting me?" he reprimands.

"Because we don't know how else to get your attention, Shittykawa-not you, Mattsun," Mitsuha replies nonchalantly, looking behind Oikawa to give Mattsun a thumbs-up as he nods knowingly, while fishing out the goldfish crackers. "Now, are you free before dinner?"

"We're not having dinner until later, so please take him for however long you want," Iwaizumi calls out, just as he finds a jar of Nutella and smiles in happiness. "But not too long, I don't want to be an uncle just yet." He gives her a shit-eating grin.

A water bottle is thrown in response, which hits him square on the forehead. Hajime stares at Mitsuha blankly as she cheers in joy.

*

The park is rarely this full. There are families and school children scattered around, with couples dotted here and there. She honestly wasn't expecting this kind of turnout for a meteor shower.

I guess everyone in Miyagi had the same idea as me, she thinks, as she spots a couple of their neighbors sitting on one of the benches, engaged in deep conversation. Oikawa's looking around too, and he's just as puzzled as her to see that many people in the park. Or was this big of a hopeless romantic as I am.

"It's never this full whenever we have runs," he comments, following her as she ascends the hill. "Is there something on today?"

Ah. She hasn't told him about the meteor shower that's about to take place. Mitsuha wants it to be a surprise. "I'm clueless," she lies through her teeth, giving him a puzzled look. Her hand clutches the brown paper bag tightly, and her other one reaches for his own involuntarily, winding her fingers through his. She drags him behind her as he gives no protest, but just smiles and goes along with it.

They descend the hill, and she's glad that she's holding his hand to stop her from slipping. They come to the quieter and less densely populated part of the park, which faced the mountains. The air isn't as stuffy here as it is where everyone else is, and Mitsuha's glad she can breathe freely for once.

She chooses a spot on top of a small knoll, and placing the paper bag by her side, she throws her body at the grass, sighing in pleasure. It's cool to the touch and the evening dew cools her skin. The smell of grass wafts through her nostrils and she can taste it on her tongue.

Oikawa comes to sit down beside her and pulls his knees to his chest as he does so. The sides of his school blazer are slightly stained green from the grass, as well as his white trainers. He watches her as Mitsuha begins to hum contentedly, closing her eyes in bliss. "It's about to start soon," she says softly, opening her eyes and looking up at the sky.

"What is?" he asks, with childlike curiosity. He inches closer to her, as her hand rises up and points to the sky. "Just watch."

So he obediently looks up, knowing full well this is going to result in a neck cramp later. He watches and waits, watches and waits, until the first star shoots across the sky. And then another, followed by another.

And so it continues in slow bursts, stars shooting across the indigo sky, like stray splashes of white paint that are quickly wiped away. Time seems to slow down as the stars continue their sweet waltz, and there are occasional show-stoppers dressed in light oranges and pinks, and the occasional stand-out in a pale blue.

It's a beautiful scene, something completely out of this world. He takes a moment to look down from the sky and at Mitsuha, who's curled up by his side now, her dark eyes reflecting the stars in their shallow pools. Much like the stars above she's completely out of this world, her entire aura lit up with the glow of the stars above. He feels the warmth of her hand on top of his, and he's aware that she has no idea she's placed it there.

Something compels him to lie down beside her, and he stretches out his body against hers, his arm slipping underneath her body to pull her closer to him. She doesn't say anything in response except nestle her head in the crook of his neck, and curl up closer to him. He's completely mesmerized by her as she continues to stare up at the sky, a smile spreading across the expanse of her face. "Beautiful, isn't it?" she whispers under her breath, only for him to hear.

Oikawa can feel the soft rises of her body as she breathes at a leisurely pace, and he doesn't hesitate to intertwine his fingers with hers. He looks up back at the sky because he doesn't want her to see or notice the adoration he has, as he replies, "Not as beautiful as you."

She giggles cheekily, nudging his side with her elbow. "You're so embarrassing," she mutters as she shakes her head. "You know what I mean."

"And you know what I mean, too!" he whines defensively, propping himself up by a shoulder. She looks up at him as though she's had enough of his shit. Her cheeks are red, although it's not that easy to see in the darkness. "Shut up, Tooru."

"Ha, you're blushing. Means I'm right~hey!" He gives her a look as she pinches the skin on his hand. Mitsuha sniggers softly, and reaches for something inside her blazer.

"No, I'm not going to marry you," Oikawa says, crossing his arms and looking away. "We're too young, and my mother does not approve." He dodges her punch.

"Is this from you?" she asks, pulling out a light blue envelope, with stars indented on it. His eyes widen in surprise.

"Ah..." he begins sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. "Iwa-chan told me to give it to you later but I caved in and pushed it in your locker before heading to practice," Oikawa explains, a shy smile on his face.

"I'm going to open it now." Mitsuha gives him a blank look as she's about to slide her fingernail underneath the sticker, but Oikawa stops her.

"Not today," he says, in a choked voice. "Please. Open it on a special day."

"Today is a special day," Mitsuha argues, sitting up now. "It's our last White Day."

"Exactly why," he replies, sitting up as well. His voice is pleading. "I don't want to ruin this day for you, so I'm begging you, please don't open it today."

She blinks at him twice, before nodding and stuffing it back into her blazer. She takes the brown paper bag at her side and passes it to him. "Do you wanna eat?" she asks, taking out a strawberry sandwich.

He nods, and reaches for the milk bread inside.

"Typical." She laughs loudly as he shoots her a scowl, before taking a large bite out of it.

*

It's nearly nine o'clock when they head back home, the meteor shower having ended ten minutes ago. The way back home is a quiet walk, both of them not saying anything and instead enjoying each other's company instead. Cars occasionally drive by, the low rumble of their engines adding to the sounds of the night time birds and their shoes against the pavement. They're not looking at each other but at everything around them, yet Mitsuha braves a glance in his direction.

"Did you like it?" she asks after a while, her eyebrows raised in question. He turns to look at her with a soft smile on his face.

"Probably the best surprise you've ever given me," he replies, his tone one of warmth. Her face lights up at his response, and Oikawa can't help but feel surges of adoration within his own heart.

Despite all the conflicting emotions he'd been harboring inside of him for months on end, he is glad for today. He's aware that she's actively avoided him for the past two weeks ever since that night, but he's glad she took the first steps and approached him today, asking him to come with her.

And he's really happy that she took him to a meteor shower, one of the non-volleyball things he loves. It reminded him of the days he'd spent dragging his mom to the planetarium in Sendai, whenever they went to visit some of her relatives or his dad when the chance came up. He'd spent the entire time at the meteor shower exhibit, asking his mom to take millions of pictures of him doing random shit. There were a couple of albums at home just dedicated to his planetarium escapades.

That was before he fell in love with aliens and felt like he belonged in the Star Wars universe. He can't imagine how Iwaizumi and Mitsuha tolerated his manic obsession back then, but he guesses it was because Iwaizumi had a Godzilla obsession, along with capturing stag beetles. If he concentrates hard enough he can hear Mitsuha's cries whenever they tormented her with one.

"I'm glad," Mitsuha replies, looking ahead with a blissful smile. He turns his attention from the past to the present. "Hajime told me about last night, and I know how much you love the stars, so I decided to take you to it. Also," she says, her voice becoming soft, "I'm sorry if I was too touchy earlier-"

"Oh no, that's okay," he quickly interjects, laughing hesitantly. "I didn't mind."

She sighs in relief before giving him another smile. "Thank goodness. Didn't want to feel like I was being invasive or anything."

They continue to walk in silence, eventually reaching their neighborhood.

"I'm sorry for being so distant the past two weeks," Mitsuha says after a while, looking down at the ground. She's walking slower now, so Oikawa slows down his own pace to match hers.

"After that night, I...I really didn't know how to face you the next day," she confesses, and he can hear her voice starting to break. "Or any day after that. It was really stupid of me to do that, honestly. Hajime told me to "man up" in his own words, and Yuki just said to not be a coward and that I'll have to face you eventually." They're at their lane now. Their houses are just down the street.

"I don't know why I'm making this out to be more dramatic than it should be," she says, her hands balling up into fists at her sides. He notices that her breathing is more laborious than it should be for any regular person.

"Mittsun, maybe you should breathe slowly-"

"I was just overthinking and put myself in a headspace where I just fucked everything up, and confused myself," she continues, completely ignoring him. He looks at her, his eyes blank. "After today I'm sure, though. I'm sure of myself and what's going on in my head."

She looks up at him, eyes brimming with tears that are ready to spill. But there's a fierce sort of determination in her eyes, one that he can't help but smile at.

"I want to stand on the world stage beside you too," Mitsuha says, her voice strong and stern. Tears begin to flow down her cheeks, but she doesn't seem to care. "And I mean it."

*

They reach their houses after she has a good cry and much consoling from Oikawa's side.

To be honest, he's glad she said that. It settled his own doubts in his head that he had been too forward with her, too strong in the point he was trying to make. While he ruminated on the events of that night he can only come to one solid conclusion: that he wasn't really thinking straight.

And while he knew that things would have gone back to normal if she just came up to him the next day and never mentioned that night again, it would just feel very one-sided on his part and he would have felt like he ruined their friendship. It would have eaten away at his core and he really didn't want to think what kind of person would have stepped out instead.

She's still sniffling when they come to her gate, and he pushes it slowly so she can walk in first. They can hear the joyful cries of Makki and Iwaizumi from inside the house, while Mattsun complains loudly. Mitsuha rolls her eyes as they walk up the steps leading inside, and he chuckles in response.

She opens the door, stepping inside. He follows, and they slip off their shoes before Mitsuha calls out that they're home. Her aunt peaks her head from the kitchen doorpost, smiling in response as Oikawa bows slightly in respect.

They make their way upstairs, where the source of all the commotion is. She stops on the landing, tugging on his blazer sleeve to make him stop as well. He turns and looks as she pulls out the envelope.

"When's the special day coming so I can open this?" she asks inquisitively, raising an eyebrow.

He stops, trying to figure out an answer. "Uh..." he begins, stuttering, looking around. She continues to look at him, clearly expecting a sound answer.

"When you receive good news," he finally says, giving her a confident smile. "Like you pass an exam or something."

"That's when I get to open this?" she exclaims, clearly annoyed. "We don't have exams until after the cultural festival, and results get released two days after. I can't wait that long."

He shrugs his shoulders and continues to walk up the rest of the stairs, effectively dodging the incoming side hit she was going to give him. Oikawa sticks his tongue out at her and she nearly pounces on him.

Luckily for her, she wouldn't have to wait that long for good news.