"You're sure she'll smile at this?" Ushijima asked his best friend uncertainly, tugging at his jacket to fix it.

"Positive! No one knows (f/n)-chan like I do!" Tendo smiled encouragingly.

"Wait, how do you know (f/n) so well?" Ushijima questioned.

Tendo waved him off. "We don't need to talk about the minor details!" He chuckled. "Don't forget to do the walk!" Tendo said before nudging Ushijima in your direction.

It was after school and you were absolutely exhausted. People who had never spoken to you before were suddenly acting like your best friend, feigning concern about the white hospital cloth wrapped around your head as they tried to suck out details of what happened.

"I fell down the stairs." You'd lie smoothly. "Clumsy right?"

Eventually they'd get bored, when they figured they couldn't get anything out of you and went back to their lives. You regretted even coming to school, but if you didn't, Tendo would bug you about 'not seeing his precious sister' for hours.

You were setting up the volleyball net when you heard footsteps approaching and you turned around to see who it was.

Ushijima stride over to you with some 'tough guy walk' that looked very similar to a penguin's waddle if you squinted a little. "Hey, (f/n). I heard you like bad boys." He said while crossing his arms across his chest. You gawked at him for a solid 10 seconds before bursting into fits of laughter.

He woke all black from head to toe, ripped jeans and a leather jacket paired with combat boots and sunglasses. All in all, he looked ridiculous. "You should've gotten tattoos while you were at it." You chuckled.

"I did." He stated and pulled back the sleeve of the leather jacket, revealing one of the kids tattoos that peeled off after two washes. This only caused you to laugh even harder.

"Did Satori put you up to this?" You asked.

Ushijima nodded. "He said you felt safe around bad boys. Although I don't quite understand. Wouldn't bad boys just get you in trouble?"

You were trying your very best not to laugh at him again. "Wow, you're right Wakatoshi. Maybe I should rethink my type in guys."

"That would be a wise decision." He agreed.

You looked around for sign of any of your teammates but the coast was clear. "Go get changed into your volleyball uniform, before the rest of them get here and your image gets ruined." You suggested.

"What do you mean? I'm playing in these clothes today." Ushijima shrugged.

"Wha—"

"Oh, Tendo is calling me. I'll talk to you after practice (f/n)." He said while walking off.

"What the fuck is Satori telling that boy." You sighed, slightly worried at how gullible Ushijima was.

"(L/n) senpai! Need any help?" The first year wannabe ace asked, bounding up to you.

"Yes, actually. I need you to spike a volleyball right to the back of Satori's head." You mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing! I'm okay for now Goshiki. I'll ask you if I need any help. Thank you." You smiled sweetly at him.

~•~

"(F/n)-chan! Mom wants me home early today so I'm leaving first." Tendo announced before dashing away, not giving you the chance to even say bye.

You huffed in annoyance. "So much for caring about his precious sister. I could get kidnapped for all he cares." You muttered under your breath.

"(F/n). Tendo told me to walk you home." Ushijima informed, walking up to you.

So that's why you ditched me.
Satori you little—

"Thanks Wakatoshi, But it's okay. I don't want to trouble you." You said politely.

"It's not trouble if I want to do it." Ushijima insisted. "Wait here, I'll just get my stuff from the changing room." He said before disappearing.

As grateful as you were to have someone to walk home with, you wished it weren't Ushijima. Your father almost saw Ushijima's face recently, but luckily you stopped that. If he knew what your friends looked like, it was the end for them. That's why you preferred your quiet life with just you and Tendo.

You turned around and began walking. You'd just have to explain to him another time that he shouldn't be around you too much.

"(L/n)! Getting all close to our ace I see." Semi winked, throwing an arm around your shoulder.

"I don't even know how it started." You said with an exasperated sigh.

"All's well that ends well, right?" He said in attempt to be reassuring.

But what if it doesn't end well for Wakatoshi?

"Haha, I guess so." You agreed half heartedly. You spotted him leave the changing room with his bags in hand and you wriggled out of Semi's side hug. "I'm gonna dash! I just remembered I have something to do!" You blurted and began jogging away in the direction of your house.

Since your father had just come and terrorised you in your house, you figured he wouldn't be around for the next while. The police were at your place to carry out investigations anyway.

"(F/n), wait!"

You heard the voice, but didn't slow down. Instead you picked up your pace and attempted to avoid walking with him.

"Hold on!" Without much of a delay, Ushijima was walking side by side with you. "Should I hold your bag?" He offered.

"No I'm good, thanks Wakatoshi." You said monotonously.

"It looks heavy."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." You repeated.

"Are you sure?"

"Wakatoshi."

"Hm?"

"Please don't pity me." You said softly.

"What?"

"This whole being extra nice to me thing. I appreciate it, but act as if you didn't know anything about me. I don't want you to go out of your way for me."

"Who said I'm doing this for you?" He asked.

"Who else would you be doing it for?" You scoffed.

"It makes me happy when you smile."

"What?" You stopped walking to look at him, and realised he was being serious. He continued walking, though.

"Have you thought about what type of guys you like yet? Since it's not the bad boy type anymore." He asked.

You forced yourself to keep walking, no longer looking at his face when you spoke.

"Yeah, I like sweet, flirty guys." You joked and reached your doorstep. "Thanks for walking me home, Wakatoshi. Good night." You smiled and nodded at you.

"Good night, (f/n)." He responded but his mind was elsewhere.