CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

      Six months ago, if you had told Misaki that she'd be Oikawa's girlfriend and they would be going on dates together, she would have laughed and then punched you in the face. Because that idea was just preposterous.

      Fast forward six months and the idea was just more plausible. Because yes, she was absolutely in love with Oikawa and yes, she was his girlfriend. It was a thing she had never expected to happen but she was glad it did. Once she had gotten used to Oikawa's kisses and annoyingly comforting hugs, there was nothing stopping Misaki from falling in love even more. It was disgusting really, how she'd suddenly become a complete sap around him. But she loved him and that's all that really mattered.

      In the two weeks since they had started dating, Misaki and Oikawa had been on three dates together. They were nothing fancy or formal; they just happened to be very spontaneous and all of them happened after practice was over. But today's date was a lot more planned. It had been Oikawa's idea, visiting the planetarium in Sendai as a couple.

      'His obsessions with aliens and space is never-ending,' Misaki thought, as she waited for Oikawa outside the gates of her house. 'It's pretty cute though. He's cute. I wonder how's he gonna look. Not that he's gonna look any less hot. That idiot could probably rock any stupid outfit...wait, stop.'

      Misaki slapped her face with both hands, willing her mind to stop thinking about Oikawa. Uggh. Somehow, being in love also meant that half her thoughts at any given point of the day would revolve around Oikawa, which also happened to be very distracting.

      All of a sudden, Misaki heard Oikawa's voice call out her name. She looked up, only to see him just a few feet down the street. With swift strides, he came to a stop right next to her.

      "Hi," Oikawa breathed out, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. "Ready to go?"

      Misaki nodded, keeping her mouth to stifle the squeal that was about to erupt from her. 'Oh god, he is so cute.'

      'And he's dressed cutely too,' She added as an afterthought, glancing over at his outfit. A giant navy blue coat, over a grey hoodie and denim jeans, did nothing except enhance his prettiness.

      "Misa-chan, did you just check me out?" Oikawa teased, putting an arm around her shoulders. She turned her head, ready to stick her tongue out at him when he leaned down again and this time, pressed a kiss to her lips.

      Misaki swore she melted a little there and then. She pressed her face into Oikawa's sides, mumbling under her breath, "You have no right being this good-looking. Literally no right."

      "Oh? What was that? Could you repeat that?" Oikawa said, even though he had clearly heard what she had said.

      "Can we just go now?" Misaki said, now looking up at him with a small blush on her face. "Otherwise, we'll be late for the show."

      "Ah, but before we go, I have something for you," Oikawa said. "But you have to close your eyes."

      "Oikawa what?" Misaki crossed her arms. "Did you get me a gift? You know, you didn't have to do that, right?"

      "Oh, but I wanted to," Oikawa said as he stepped right behind her. "Now, close your eyes, Misa-chan. And don't you peek."  

      "Okay." Wary, Misaki closed her eyes. With eyes shut tight, she could see nothing but pure darkness in front of her. Suddenly, she felt Oikawa's hands brush against her neck and she shivered. Then she felt the sensation of something cold being slipped around a neck. She almost reached out a hand to touch it, when Oikawa pushed it away.

      "No touching either," He jokingly scolded.

      Misaki almost groaned. This was so like him. Judging by the feel of the thin cold metal around her neck, it was definitely a necklace. Or a locket. "Can I open my eyes now?"

      "Yes, okay, you can!"

      "What did you even get-"

      As she opened her eyes and stared at his gift, the words slipped from her throat. "Oikawa, this is just like-"

      "That one locket you used to have in elementary school before it broke," Oikawa finished her sentence, grinning. "I actually thought I'd give this to you for our birthday, but I changed my mind at the last second."

      "How'd you even remember what it looked like?" With slightly trembling fingers, Misaki touched the locket. It was a simple rose gold colored, heart-shaped locket, except the letter 'm', was carved into the front. She used to have a similar one, but it had broken years ago. She had been so attached to that one and so when it had to be thrown away, she had been rather sad. The fact that Oikawa got her something so similar...

      "My mom has a whole album of yours, Iwa-chan and my pictures from elementary school. Kinda strange, right?" Oikawa said, tapping his index finger on his chin. "Oh, pictures! Wait!"

      Out of nowhere, he pulled a small polaroid camera out of the pocket of his coat and pointed it towards her. "Misa-chan, smile!"

      Taken aback, Misaki quickly mustered a small smile just as the shutter clicked, indicating the picture had been clicked. The camera slowly buzzed, as the photo printed. Oikawa pulled it out, shaking it as the picture developed completely. "For memories!" He said, with an excited grin.

      "Oikawa," Misaki said, watching as he put the camera and the picture back into the coat pocket (just how big was that pocket?). "Lean down for a second."

      "What is-" Oikawa froze, as Misaki pressed a soft kiss to his jaw, before quickly pulling away. She intertwined their hands together, looking away rather shyly. Oikawa stared at her before a smile spread across his face.

      "You are so cute, Misa-chan," He said, squeezing her hand. "Literally, when did you get so cute?"

      "I don't know," Misaki answered, a blush still visible on her face. "Maybe it's because I'm around you. Can we just go now? I don't wanna be late."

      "Aww, you flatter me so much," Oikawa said, laughing. "And yeah, we should probably get going now. You know, I've heard they've made some changes to the show."

      "Oh yeah?"

      "Yup. I was reading up on them. Did you know they've added..."

      Of course, Misaki already knew about the changes to the show at the planetarium, having secretly looked them up on the website. But, having Oikawa explain them in his own animated way was a lot more fun. And cuter to see too.

     Oh crap. She really was too much in love with him. (And it was definitely not a bad thing.)

      Since it was the weekend, the Sendai Astronomical Observatory was pretty crowded. Parents and their kids and other couples were present today. But with Oikawa's weirdly good luck, he and Misaki had managed to find perfect seats somewhere in the middle for the planetarium show. And even more, fortunately, the three seats next to them were empty. They practically had the whole row to themselves.

      "Isn't this fun?" Oikawa whispered to her as the lights started to dim. The child-like fascination in his voice was just the same as it had been when they had first visited the planetarium. And now, Misaki found it annoyingly cute.

      "Yeah," Misaki answered, quietly smiling. The lights completely dimmed and the inky-black dome of the planetarium lit up with a million glittering stars. The voice of the narrator softly echoed through the speakers, signalling the beginning of the show. But instead of watching the stars above, she watched the one next to her.

      Oikawa's attention was completely captured by the show. Even if he had already seen this many times before and probably had it memorized, he looked just as fascinated as the first time. The corners of his mouth were lifted up into what was probably the softest smile Misaki had ever seen on his face. She felt her cheeks grow a little warmer and immediately, she looked away, now looking up at the dome.

      'If he'd caught me staring, he'd be so annoying about it,' Misaki thought with a fond, yet exasperated smile. 'But uggh, why does he have to be so pretty all the time? It's really not good for my heart.'

      Sighing, she put her hand on the armrest between their seats. She stared up at the starry show playing across the dome, letting herself get lost in her thoughts. But at that very moment, it was Oikawa who looked at her. She didn't realise that at all though.

      Oikawa watched her fingers lightly tapping across the armrest, a rather dazed smile across her face. That made his heart skip a beat and before he could stop himself, he placed his hand on top of hers. Next to him, he felt Misaki jolt in surprise. He didn't look at her, instead staring up at the glittering dome. Smiling to himself, he started fiddling with her fingers, lightly brushing across them. And out of the corner of his eyes, he watched as a dark blush spread across her cheeks. He was proud that he had such an effect on her.

      Suddenly, an idea came to his mind and he smirked. 'I wonder how Misa-chan will react if I-'

      Oikawa secretly glanced at her and then, very carefully, decided to make his move. He let go of her hand and instead, slowly moved his hand around the armrest. With a slight warning (just a simple tapping of his fingers), he placed his hand on her knee. Turning towards her with a smile, he quietly mouthed, "Is this okay?"

      Misaki just nodded, the blush on her face even more prominent. Oikawa gently squeezed her knee in what he hoped was a comforting manner. He wanted her closer, he suddenly realised. Using his other hand, he pushed up the armrest, removing the gap separating him from Misaki. She immediately reacted, shifting a little closer so that her head was touching his shoulder.

      Ahh. Oikawa really did love her a lot. The realization may have come a little late, but he was so glad it did. After all, Misaki was his best friend and being in love with his best friend was probably the greatest feeling he had ever felt.

      He'd never been in love, he thought. He had liked other people before but it absolutely could not compare to what he felt for Misaki. And now that they were together, he was sure that he was even more in love than before. Whenever he looked at her, it was as if all the oxygen was sucked out from his lungs. When he kissed her, it felt like the world completely disappeared and there was no one but the two of them. Around her, he forgot every bad thing he felt about himself. They were young, and most people would consider him a fool for saying this, but Oikawa loved Misaki more than he could love himself. As cheesy and silly as it sounded, he was completely ready to hand over his heart to her (not that she hadn't unknowingly taken it already).

      "Wanna spend some more time with me today?" He softly whispered.

       And it was in the way that she said 'yes', that Tooru Oikawa knew that he was completely and utterly screwed.

      (And in love, of course.)

^^ (Oikawa Tooru - played by Asuma Kousuke, in the Haikyuu Stage Play) (Misaki Katsuragi - played by Alice Hirose)

Listen,,,I'm gonna proudly say that this chapter was an excuse for me to write about Misaki and Oikawa being absolutely in love with each other. And it's also me vicariously living my dreams of an ideal relationship through these two. I know it's a shorter chapter compared to the previous long, but I am pretty proud of it because it is just pure fluff, without any plot. And you know, sometimes, we need that. 

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