#i've grown fond of hiiragi and this particular reader

[woo-wahhhh]

[ hopeful is your love exposed in daylight–; in which hiiragi walks into pothos just as umemiya tells you to never give up for your crush will succeed // a/n: hopefully not too ooc... ik this man is awkward af ]

hiiragi knows about your crush on him; actually, maybe now he knows about it too well. he'll give you credit, before anything though– you were pretty damn good at keeping it under wraps. you were meticulous.

if you were giving him a gift, you'd make sure to give them to some of the others too in a way that it would take careful notice to figure out that his had a lot more effort put into it than the others.

you didn't talk to him more sweetly than you did with anyone else. you bandaged his wounds every now and then, but then again, you did that to everyone else too. nothing you did could qualify as special treatment.

you just had... exceptionally bad luck, that's all. hiiragi had to pity the fact that your best friend's adoptive brother was a loudmouth– it was honestly a miracle he hadn't caught umemiya's careless blabbering about your crush on him earlier.

it truly was just bad luck that sakura and co. happened to be in the building too. maybe if his dumbass romance sensor hadn't gone off full blast, and suo hadn't started giggling, your ragtag gang would have been able to scramble an excuse up on the fly when he'd walked in to pothos.

and maybe, hiiragi himself was also to blame. maybe he should've kept a straight face when he opened the door right as you told umemiya to shut the hell up. and maybe he shouldn't have crowed a stunned, "what the hell?" which then prompted you to sprint out of the café without a second thought.

"you idiots, look what you've done!" kotoha was the first to yell, jabbing a very accusatory finger at all the boys piled into her café. "what happened to subtlety, huh? keeping secrets? being mindful of others feelings!?"

"weren't you yapping with (name) too?" sakura pointed out dryly. he didn't seem to care, now relaxed that main source of romantic feelings (you) were gone.

"that's not the point–!" she argued back.

they launched into a predictable squabble, dragging suo, nirei and practically the entirety of fuurin into the argument, but for all he'd done, it was surprisingly umemiya who made the most sensible call by innocently blurting out, "shouldn't you go after (name)?"

"ume, why would the person who just got dumped want to see his face?" kotoha interjected, scowling. hiiragi grimaced at the choice of words.

"i didn't dump anyone–,"

"– and that might as well have been a metaphorical rejection," suo quipped, calmly sipping his tea. someone was clearly enjoying the drama. "but if it wasn't a total rejection, then i believe it would be best for you to quickly clear up that misunderstanding," he slyly added.

and that was how hiiragi found himself snooping through all the nearby alleyways as he tried to find you after everyone had unanimously agreed with suo's advice.

he had called out your name aimlessly, the clamminess of his balled up fists annoying him as the whole ordeal gave him mild indigestion. come to think of it, he idly pondered while crunching a tablet with his teeth, the current box of meds i have are from (name) too.

he hadn't thought too hard about why you had the exact brand of medicine that he usually had on hand– he just assumed maybe you needed it too, without questioning why it was fully sealed and unused when you'd wordlessly passed it to him. the more he thought about it the more random– er, well, what he thought was random– occurrences kept flooding into his mind, all in which you'd treat him so sweetly.

his first question was, 'why?' it wasn't like hiiragi had a low self-esteem or anything, but he had to say that there were objectively better looking and more charming people than him.

hell, he was certain he only ever a handful of proper conversations with you– everything else was a variety of random small talk ranging from greetings to nagging about being careful to not get hurt.

you were way too meticulous, if he was being honest. how the hell was he supposed to notice if you never said a thing!?

when he'd finally found you, you were tucked away behind one of the many restaurants, hidden away behind a stack of crates knees drawn up to your head as you buried your face into them.

"it's over, kotoha," you called out without raising your head. hiiragi froze in place, awkwardly debating whether he should clarify he wasn't kotoha. and yet, out of a guilty sense of curiosity, he stayed quiet. "hiiragi will never like me."

that's not true, he thought, he had always been a bit fond of you. it was always amusing to see how despite your regular quietness, your steps always had a bit of peppiness to them when you would come to great customers with a big grin.

you paused for a bit, perhaps taking 'kotoha's' silence as disappointment. "look, i know what you're gonna say– that i shouldn't give up– but it's really over. did you see his face when he walked in? he fucking hates me–!"

"i don't hate you, (name),"

hiiragi's voice cracked towards the end, he realized as he cursed the boyish edge to his voice. his ears felt far too hot but with a sharp inhale, he steeled himself to face your flabbergasted gaze.

"oh my god," you croaked out, flinching like a skittish cat as you immediately jumped to your feet. "o-oh my god," you repeated, the sudden horror dawning upon you. you cradled your hands together in front of your heart, hands balled up as if to protect yourself. "i-i'm so sorry– i– i'm going to leave, so–,"

"hey, don't just– wait!" without so much as even a first thought, he lunged forward, his hands grabbing yours so you couldn't dash away. "don't go running away before you hear me out!" hiiragi didn't mean to chastise you with the same intensity that he used with his underclassmen, but at the sight of your frazzled expression, he couldn't help but sigh. "look, i know you're probably embarrassed out your mind–," that's cute, he thought absently, watching as you squeezed your eyes shut, nodding vigorously to his words, "– but won't you hear me out just this once?"

your eyebrows were gently furrowed as if you couldn't believe what he was saying, your pursed lips quivering as you tried to find the right words. out of habit, you tried to dig your nails into your palms, only to run into hiiragi's hands that were gently cradling yours.

"it's okay. you can keep doing that. i'm pretty sturdy, you know," he mumbled, reassuringly tightening his grip. "enough of that though, do you... really like me?"

the feeling of his calloused fingers against your skin burned as you swallowed down your embarrassment to meekly blurt out, "i'm... i'm sorry. i really do," you admitted, feeling the heat dance up your spine. despite the shade of the alleyway, you couldn't bring yourself to lift your head and meet hiiragi's gaze.

silence hung between you two, heavily. you could feel the embers of his gaze upon your skin. did he hate you? did he think this was awkward? does he dislike whatever the hell you guys were doing? the rush of questions were so overwhelming that it all came pouring out.

"b-but i can fix that!" you hastily blurted out.

"... fix... your feelings?" hiiragi parroted, blinking uncertainly.

"yeah, i'll make sure to stay out of your way!" you suddenly exclaimed, spurred by a bizarre kind of newfound confidence from who knows where. "if you tell kotoha when you're coming to pothos, i can just make sure i'm never there at the same time! that way, you don't have to be uncomfortable," you rambled on.

"you don't have to do that," hiiragi insisted, but you shook your head stubbornly.

"it'll just be awkward to be around your friends if i'm there," you smiled faintly, your gaze glued to the ground. "i would hate to make everyone uncomfortable." you sounded just fine again. in fact, he could tell that if he were to turn you down right there and then, you would do exactly as you were saying, with all the conviction of your heart. but he could see that you were biting your cheek every time you paused.

and to be honest, he was getting sick of it.

"listen to me, would you?!" hiiragi snapped, pressing both of his hands against your cheeks and raising your face up to meet his eyes. he didn't mean to be so abrupt, but perhaps it was just in his nature. "you won't make it awkward for anyone–!"

"y-you don't know that–!"

"– if they do, i'll deal with it." the resolute tone of his voice left you speechless. how could you argue with someone so certain? hiiragi was always charming that way– awkward, and nagging, but when it came down to it, his confidence was outstanding. and it was that confidence that kept you hoping he might feel the same.

you didn't say anything, choosing to bask in the warmth of his palms against your cheeks, relishing the feeling of his thumbs idly padding across your cheekbones to catch the overwhelmed tears that had accidentally spilled out.

hiiragi called out you name, the corners of his lips curling up in a self-satisfied smirk when you finally met his eyes out of your own accord.

"you know, i got tickets for my favourite band recently,"

"o-oh... i'm happy for you?"

"no, numbskull, i'm saying that if you're cool with it, maybe... you could come with?" why the fuck am i embarrassed now? hiiragi cursed to himself, grinding his molars together as if that would somehow make him feel less sheepish.

"you want to go... with me?" you echoed incredulously.

"i... i don't know if i like you as much as you like me, but i'd like to start by hanging out more– how's that?"

you could almost start crying again, but you held it back. "if- if you'll have me, i'd like that," you murmured, fully entranced by the triumphant grin he flashed you,

"then it's a date!"

it took a moment for you to process what he said, and when it clicked, your legs gave out. hiiragi's reflexes were quick, however, so instead of toppling to the ground, he helped you clumsily sit down on the pavement.

to be honest, that– that was a sensory overload; it wasn't just the relief that had suddenly flooded into your system, it was his palm was flat against your back, it was the first grip around your arm, it was that maddening scent of his cologne, and it was the concerned timbre of his voice as he fretted over you.

"i'm fine, i'm fine," you reassured, fruitlessly trying to calm your blushing profile by fanning yourself with one hand while the other tugged on his jacket to get his attention. "uhm, but why are you blushing?" you suddenly blurted out, curiously gazing at him.

indeed, hiiragi's face was flushed down to his neck; sure, he was acting all high and mighty, but he was just a teenage boy and he had never asked someone out before.

"for no reason! just–! don't look at me for now!" he crowed, pressing his palm over your eyes to obscure your vision– a clumsy, flustered action that reminded you of why you'd fallen in love in the first place.

hiiragi was embarrassed, yes, but the sound of your giggles echoing in the alleyway was enough to make it worth it.