Iwaizumi eyed their interlaced fingers, then he looked at the girl beside him studying her features.
They had been friends for a while. They befriended each other online, and they only met twice. Though, that alone was enough for Iwaizumi to develop a small crush on the girl.
And how could he not? Yukie was so pretty, her personality was so funny and relaxing, talking to her felt like breathing fresh air, considering how loud the people he had to deal with were.
He didn't hate his friend, of course, but sometimes someone more calming was who he needed.

Then his friends noticed how he'd space out or get distracted by his phone while they were hanging out together. Of course they thought it was suspicious, Iwaizumi had never been the kind of person to get distracted while he was with someone.
And so he thought he was talking to someone, maybe his significant other.

They started to tease him, and they continued asking about his partner for days.
Iwaizumi tried to ignore them, but it was bothersome, and sometimes they would distract him during practice, causing him to make mistakes and Oikawa to scold him.
Oikawa scolding Iwaizumi , that was really something new.

So one afternoon Iwaizumi couldn't handle it anymore, and he lied: he said he had a girlfriend.
Watching the Iwaizumi Hajime lying for such a thing was a unique event.
The other third years were actually surprised. Oikawa asked him how he even did it, and got yelled at. Hanamaki smirked and just patted him on his back. Matsukawa stared at him for a few seconds in silence «Why don’t you introduce her to us, then?» 

So, after many complaints, Iwaizumi found himself going to the place where the team decided to meet them, Yukie beside him after he asked her to pretend to date him, promising to bring her to the best restaurant in the town the next time she’d go there if she accepted.
Shirofuku accepted, however, she didn't do it for the offering (at least not only for that), but also because she developed some sort of feelings towards him. And how could she not? Iwaizumi was attractive, both because of his personality and his looks. She was a little surprised when she learned about his dorky side, every time she thought about it she'd smile and her chest would feel warm.

They arrived at the cafe. Iwaizumi looked for his own group and was a little more relieved when he saw only the closest third years teammates.
They immediately tried to start a conversation when they saw the couple.
The two "lovers" sat beside each other, Yukie put a smile on her face and introduced herself.

After they introduced themselves too and ordered their food, the questioning started.
«How did Iwa-chan even get such a cute girlfriend when he has that face?» 
Iwaizumi tried hard to keep himself from hitting Oikawa.
«Wow, you must have a bad taste if you gotta ask a question like that. Did you see him well?»
Tooru's eye twitched, Hajime felt his cheeks becoming a little warmer.

«How did you meet each other?»
Iwaizumi froze, his mind blanked completely.
On the other hand, Shirofuku leaned on his shoulder and half-made up a story «We talked for the first time online, around two years and a half ago, and we talked daily. We officially met each other one year ago, and since then we pay each other a visit every month. We got together only three months ago though.» her voice was relaxed as always. 
Hajime could swear, during phone calls that sleepy tone was the end of him, he couldn’t help but think about how her voice would sound when she’d just woken up.
They kept talking, Iwaizumi listened to her voice, it was mesmerizing, but paid no attention to the exact words she was saying, until she called him.
By his first name . He knew she was doing it to make the act more believable, but it still made his heart skip a beat.

Oikawa let out a snort «I can’t believe you’re so smitten and busy looking at her that you didn’t hear anything.»
Hajime wanted to hide in a hole. 
For a moment, he swore he saw her cheeks reddening, but he shook it off thinking he didn't see that right.
Iwaizumi sighed «What were you asking?»
Tooru smiled and asked a series of questions regarding their relationship. This time, he tried to make an effort not to get distracted and answered them with Yukie.

The questioning continued for a while, with Oikawa making the most questions, Hanamaki enjoying everything in silence, and Matsukawa having the guts to make a bold question and getting decked by both Shirofuku and Iwaizumi.
It got late, and it was time for Yukie to go back home before night fell.
They left hand in hand, and he had to remind himself that it was all an act, and they walked to the station.

After a while, she was still holding his hand «Uhm… Yu- Shirofuku-san?» 
Yukie hummed, confirming she was listening and encouraging him to continue.
«They’re no longer here if you want to you can stop holding my hand.» 
She hummed again and got quiet for a moment «What if I don’t want to?»
He almost choked. Iwaizumi cleared his throat «I wouldn’t complain.»

It got silent after that.
Soon they got to the station. Iwaizumi once again cleared his throat awkwardly «So uhm… will it be alright for you to go alone?»
He watched her typing something on her phone «I appreciate what you’re thinking, but I already asked my dad to pick me up at the train station, so I won’t have to walk alone in the dark.» she turned off her phone and glanced up at the boy, smiling at the blush adorning his face, because he got caught before he could ask anything.
«Hey...» still flushed, Iwaizumi looked at her. She stood up on tiptoes and pulled his collar, planting a soft kiss on his lips. 
Then she pulled away, ignoring the glares from some people who were bothered by the public display of affection «I’ll call you tonight, so we can make it official and not pretend anymore Hajime. Bye!» she got on the train, and in a matter of a few seconds, she was on her way to Tokyo.

Iwaizumi stood there, speechless. His eyes glued on the train as it passed by. He never expected the evening to end like that, it was all an act, yet somehow they stopped pretending. He sure didn't regret anything.