After a long training season with Iwaizumi, where you both pushed each other to the absolute limit, you found yourselves sitting side by side on a bench under the vast night sky. The air was cool, and the soft rustling of leaves in the evening breeze contrasted with the heat of your sore muscles. Every part of your body ached from the constant pounding of the volleyball against your wrists, but there was something deeply rewarding in the pain. You hadn’t quit. And now, with the sting of exhaustion, there was a sense of accomplishment.

The stars above twinkled, faint yet endless. You leaned back on the bench, rubbing your wrists, trying to ease the tension.

Iwaizumi, still sitting upright next to you, broke the comfortable silence.

“I wanna be an athletic trainer... maybe continue volleyball if I can fit it in,” he said, his gaze distant as if he was already picturing the future. “Go to college with a major in sports science.”

You both continued talking about your goals and dreams. It felt comforting to share these thoughts, your hopes for the future intertwining. As the conversation flowed, your hands slowly moved closer on the bench, your fingers brushing slightly at first, then inching toward one another. His rough thumb accidentally brushed over the softness of your knuckles, and you could feel the warmth of his hand so close to yours. Your eyes met then, his deep brown gaze locking onto yours. The familiar tension between you both, the moments of stolen glances, the silent understanding that had been building for weeks, months, finally came to a head. And before you could fully comprehend it, his hand was gently pulling you closer, and his lips were meeting yours in a soft, tender kiss. It wasn’t rushed, but it was long overdue. The kiss was everything that had been said in silence, everything that had been lingering just below the surface.