Chocolates (Iwaizumi x F!Reader)

Before you even entered the school, just as you were pulling apart from the rowdy throng of fellow classmates, one of your good friends pulled you side, pointer finger pressed against her lips.

You followed her in silence, anticipation pounding in your chest. What was it? Was it a surprise? A gift? A secret? It was strange for her to call you out so suddenly.

She held one hand on your shoulder, the other in her pocket. Something with sharp edges poked out from her bag. In a hushed voice, she whispered, "Hold out your hands."

Giggling a bit, you obliged, holding your hands out, palms facing up.

She laughed as well, openly placing a box of chocolates in your hands in a not-so-secret manner. It made you wonder why everything before was done in such a hush-hush manner, but you held back your questions in place of a delighted gasp.

"What's this for?" you asked, holding the golden box, laced with a gorgeous strand of red velvet.

"For being my friend," she said with every ounce of certainty. "You should share some with your other friends!" A wink. "You know, spread the sweetness!"

You blushed. "Oh thanks. You're pretty sweet yourself," you complimented her, turning to place the box in your bag.

Out of nowhere, she said, "You can even give it to a special someone!" while playfully punching your arm.

You zipped up your bag and proceeded to nervously scratch your cheeks, aflame with a passionate heat. "There's no one like that, okay? I'm not into anyone right now."

Which was true. The people in your class gave you no interest at all. Since you weren't in a college prep class, all the people were rather rowdy. Not your type. In all honesty, you felt like you weren't ready for a relationship, anyway. Was there anyone who liked you? What kind of person would that be?

"Okay, okay. I'd give it to Hanamaki if I were you. His hair kind of looks like the strawberry icing on, like, half of the chocolates." Your friend winked yet again.  

"Why don't you do it yourself?" you teased, gently pushing her. "I'm sure he'd take it. If he ever takes his hands out of his pants."

At the last sentence, she blushed just as hard as you, if not more. You finally had the upper hand. "No! Sh-shut up! He's totally for Matsukawa, if you know what I mean," she stammered, grabbing a random student from the hall to cover her reddened face.

That poor kid just happened to be Iwaizumi.

"Well, thanks for the offer, but I'm not into Matsukawa in that way," Iwaizumi joked, cheeks tinting a light pink.

Oh, what was this?

You raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at the ends of your lips upon seeing this small detail. He was probably flustered by being grabbed by a strange girl out of nowhere. Or maybe he truly felt something for his teammate? You snickered at the thought, finding it strange that you'd think of something like that in front of him.

Saying nothing, you watched your friend panic, letting go of Iwaizumi's arms with a squeal. Her arms flailed around before snapping straight to her sides.

"I-I'm going to go now," she hissed, fleeing down the hall in the opposite direction of Iwaizumi.

She was going to have quite the long trip, considering that her class was in the same hall as his.

You shrugged, heading to your own class without paying Iwaizumi any more thought. You never spoke to him before, anyway. He was in a different class from you. You've never even spoken to Oikawa, nor Matsukawa. You have spoken to Hanamaki, however. Your friend begged (forced) you to ask him which kinds of chocolates he liked. Ironically, he did not like strawberry-flavored chocolate as much as milk chocolate. She definitely took note of that next Valentine's Day.

Once you were in your class, however, the heavy, sweet aroma of chocolate filled the noses of everyone within close proximity of your desk. Besides the general background noise of daily chatter, the grumbling of stomachs began to fill the room.

It was hard to concentrate, considering that the people closest to you sounded the hungriest.

The boy to the right of you tapped your shoulder once the teacher left the class.

"Hey, do you have chocolate?" he asked, eyes wide and earnest. "I'd do anything for some chocolate."

"Yes... Okay, um..." Honestly, you weren't sure what to do with yourself. You were quite awkward, and for a boy to just come up to you and ask such a strange question...

You clumsily ripped the box from your bag, shoving it in front of him. "T-take the ones you want!" you practically screeched.

Curse it all.

A group of girls heard, ears perking up.

"Ooh, how cute! (Name), you like Nobu-kun?"

Nobunaga furiously shook his head. "No, I just asked her for some." He popped a chocolate in his mouth. Round, like a bud, filled with saccharine wine and a maraschino cherry. "Mmm, that sure hits the spot. Mind if I take another?" Already, his hand was reaching back towards the box.

Your mouth formed the shape to say no, but despite your intentions, you blurted out "yes!" in order to please people... How typical.

The girls leaned in close. "Can we have a few, too?" one asked, batting her eyelashes.

Finding it hard to refuse, you relented. "Oh... Uh, sure."

It took five long, hard minutes for the next teacher to come to class. By then, the whole class had practically consumed the whole fifty-piece sample box.

Fifty-piece.

Fifty-freaking-pieces, all given out to people you didn't even care about. From the front of the class, Hanamaki watched you, pitying the poor classmate who couldn't turn anyone down. He hummed to himself, drumming his fingers on his desk. Maybe he'd buy you some chocolate, to repay your kindness. It definitely wasn't going to be a fifty-piece set. Maybe twenty? Thirty?

At last, the box, after being passed around the room, made its way back to you. The top was left off, as if to mock your kindness. Just single crummy plain slab of chocolate was left. It had no filling, no peanuts or almonds, no coconut shavings...

Just... chocolate.

You practically wanted to cry. You were so upset, so disappointed, so frustrated... You were planning on giving the last piece to the teacher, but you were so scared you would break down sobbing right in front of him. You felt too sick to stomach it... You capped the box and shoved it back into your bag.

It was a given that you didn't bother to participate in any more class discussions. No one noticed that something was wrong. No one stood up for you being robbed of your gift...

At last, the glorious sound of the bell rang. Hanamaki contemplated saying something to you, but shrugged the feeling off. He'd tell his team, though, at practice. To Iwaizumi, most likely. It was people like you that attracted the strong ace, anyway.

You were the last one to leave the class, the weight of the forty-nine stolen chocolates seemingly multiplying and being forced on your shoulders. You dragged your bag on the floor for half the classroom before finally heaving it up and carrying it on your back like a normal person.

You weren't paying much attention to your surroundings as you walked. A few people barked, "Watch it!" and "Look at where you're going!", but you didn't care all that much. The stinging of a few bruises was nothing to the sting left on your heart. How would you explain this to your friend?

That was until you heard a voice, low and kind, ask, "What's wrong?"

You turned around, despite being sure that the person couldn't possibly have been talking to you.

You were proved wrong as Iwaizumi returned your gaze, hands on his hips. "You're crashing into everyone," he explained, not wanting to seem creepy.

Well, no duh.

You could taste sour defeat on your tongue, still. "Want a chocolate?" you asked, throwing your bag on the ground. Hastily zipping it open, you wrenched the box, yet again, from your bag, throwing it at him. You were evidentally not in the mood to talk.

Iwaizumi leaped at the box, catching it just before it fell. "Hey, that's not safe," he warned, standing up straight again. "Though it's lighter than I expected." He juggled the box in his hands before finally opening it, sneaking a peek at the contents.

He was sorely crushed at the sight of a single square of disappointment.

"Oh," was all he could muster, still confused. What an anomaly you seemed to be.

"Eat it," you said, waving your hand, starting to head off. "A gift from me, for caring."

His unexpectedly soft voice stopped you in your tracks. "At least take the box. It's beautiful."

Facing him again, you could practically hear the unspoken 'like you' lingering in the air.

A buzz began in your fingers, spreading the unknown warmth throughout your limbs, fire blazing toward your heart. "Thank you...?"

"Iwaizumi Hajime," he completed, plucking the chocolate from the box. The crinkle of plastic echoed in your ear. "And you?"

"(Name)," you answered, graciously accepting the box back from his outstretched hands.

He studied the chocolate before taking a small bite from it. You winced, watching the chocolate already melting, sticking to his fingers. Noticing your discomfort, he ate the rest of it before it melted any further.

"It's good," he said at last, trying to lick his fingers off as discreetly as possible. "Nice choice in chocolate, (Name)."

Suddenly shy, you fiddled with a strap on your bag. "Oh, I didn't choose it. My friend... She gave it to me. The one from this morning, that is."

Iwaizumi's lids lowered, grinning at you easily. "You two seem close. I have to go to practice, but it was great to meet you. See you around?"

You take it back. The chocolate square of disappointment couldn't possibly be more bitter than goodbyes.

"Alright. No problem," you said, despite him never thanking you. "See you."

You didn't feel anything for him... He was just a nice student who ate your unwanted leftovers. Nothing more.

However, to him, you were an angel descended from the... top of the gym ceiling. Which was pretty high, so if he said that to you, you probably wouldn't have been offended, anyway.

He was starving at the time, frustrated with his first bad grade in his class. The hunger ate at him as his mind was haywire with stress. He saw you just in the nick of time, before he stormed to practice, probably messing up every move from anger. Anyway, he wasn't going to admit it, but you were the only girl he actually held a proper, albeit short, conversation with this month.

He practically skipped to practice that day, heart soaring.

Upon entering the gym, he went to the locker room to change.

Hanamaki was already there, changed, sitting on the bench and stretching his arms. His jersey wasn't tucked into his shorts yet, which Iwaizumi had to hold back from chastising him for.

"Yo, Iwaizumi, guess what?" Hanamaki asked, bending in a strange manner, making him look oddly owlish.

Iwaizumi grunted in response, inviting his friend to say more.

"So I have this classmate. You probably don't know 'em. (Name)?"

Iwaizumi's back visibly stiffened at the mere mention of your name, a soft blush blossoming on his tan skin. "I just spoke to (Name)" he admitted, surprised he was willing to say such a thing. He incoherently blubbered 'gave me a chocolate', too embarrassed to say more.

"Oh, she did? That's weird. She only had one left the last time I saw..." Hanamaki pursed his lips, thinking.

"Did she?" Iwaizumi asked, feeling touched for no reason at all. Did you have another chocolate box? Unless... The chocolate you gave to him was the last one you had...

"Oh my god," Iwaizumi said, finally connecting the dots. "Dude, what happened to the other chocolates?"

Hanamaki shrugged. "All our classmates were like seagulls, man. They crowded around her, asking her if they could have some. They took the whole box... Man, that poor girl can't turn anyone down... I didn't even have the heart to take one. Was it good?"

"... Wh... What was good?" Iwaizumi asked, too stupefied to comprehend anything anymore.

He had never met anyone as selfless as you.

"The chocolate," Hanamaki clarified, leaning back, stretching his abdominal muscles. Your friend would have paid a hundred bucks to see that sight, no doubt.

"Oh... It was great, yeah. Hey, is she nice?"

"What's up, man?" Hanamaki chuckled. "Do you like her?"

Iwaizumi huffed. "Don't be stupid. I'm just planning on returning her favor. That's all." Hanamaki couldn't be fooled. The higher pitch of Iwaizumi's response, as well as the faint hitch of his breath and the squeak of his voice as he answered were all blatant indications of his lies.

"She's great. She's kind of pretty, too. Amazingly smart. She could be in college prep classes if she wanted to, but I heard she turned the opportunity down, because her self-esteem isn't all that great or something." Hanamaki slathered everything good about you onto Iwaizumi. He could practically see his friend's heart swelling up with feelings for you.

Never had Iwaizumi experienced the bursts of feelings he felt at that moment. He wanted to protect you. He wanted to support you. He wanted to hug you. He also wanted to beat the asses of each of your classmates who took a chocolate. Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, Iwaizumi decided that he'd surprise you tomorrow after class as well.

And without fail, he did.

As the next day's classes came to an end, you left the room once again, a little faster than yesterday, considering your improved mood.

In fact, this almost caused Iwaizumi to miss your receding figure.

Almost.

"(Name)!" he called, jogging down the hall to meet you.

You automatically whipped around, your body oddly responding naturally to the sound of his voice, which wasn't yet familiar to you, yet it made you feel safe.

"Oh, Iwaizumi. Hi," you greeted him, bowing. "Is everything alright?"

"Y-yes," he stuttered, suddenly forgetting whatever the hell he was planning on saying to you. He had a whole 2-paged script written out of the scenario, even practicing it in front of a mirror for hours last night. Only you could make his mind blank like this.

"This," he blurted out, shoving a box of chocolates at you just like you had at him yesterday. Thankfully, he didn't throw them at you like a hurtling projectile. Not every favor had to be returned.

You took it, surprise evidentally dancing in your glistening eyes. "My, my. What's this?" you asked. It was definitely smaller than the box from yesterday. However, it looked more intricate, more expensive. Good money was definitely spent on this little gift.

"It's for yesterday," he mumbled, regaining half of his senses. The others completely left his body, only to return after you both parted ways.

"Oh, you didn't have to," you whispered, breathless. What a kind act!

"Hanamaki said you didn't eat any, so..." He internally cursed himself for mentioning another boy, but he tried playing it off without a pause.

"Hmm..." You smiled bright, eyes shutting from the radiance of it. "Let's share! You're so kind, Iwaizumi!"

Needless to say, Iwaizumi missed out on the first half of practice. Oikawa complained about it, and the coach griped at him as well. Hanamaki simply had a knowing smirk.

But if the chance ever came around again... If you ever decided you wanted to share food with him... If you ever wished to speak to him just like you did that day after school, under the cherry blossoms...

If you would only smile like that once more...

Why, he'd give up chocolate forever without hesitation, if that meant he could be with you for an eternity.