Yamaguchi waits for her in front of the bus stop. Thankfully, he's alone right now because other people might think he's a weirdo, since he is feeling too anxious and he couldn't stop wiping the sweat/imaginary sweat on his palms while glancing left and right once in a while.

"Th-This couldn't be count as a...date...right?" he thought "I-I mean...my clothes...they are just...normal..."

He's currently wearing a black and white, long sleeves shirt that reaches his elbows and pants and sneakers. Nothing fancy, as the teen would say.

His phone vibrated in his pockets and he picked it up. Ayame's message appeared on his screen.

I'm on my way. Please wait a little longer.

After a few more minutes, the violet eyed girl appeared, carrying a simple bouquet of flower.

"I'm sorry for being late, Tadashi-kun" she apologized before noticing his dazed state "Tadashi-kun? Are you okay?"

The freckled teen was staring at her with slightly surprised eyes. She was wearing a light purple sundress and brown sandals that has a small and intricate design and her hair was loose as usual, like her usual hairstyle but for the freckled teen...it was like he's staring at an angel and he felt inferior with his clothes.

He slumped on the wall with a depressing aura above him "Sorry for dressing like this..."

"Eh?!" she blinked "Is there something wrong with your clothes?"

"No...well, maybe...I mean, Ayame, you..." he gestured at her clothes "Your clothes... I feel...ashamed with my own clothes..."

She tilted her head before stifling a laugh, to which he looked at her in surprise "Oh, Tadashi-kun... there's nothing for you to be ashamed about"

"I should be since..." he gulped "It will be like going with an angel"

She shook her head "In truth, unlike the date with Oikawa-san, I didn't ask for Shimizu-san's help with the clothes so...I was a little conscious if I looked silly with the clothes I picked earlier"

That shocked him even more "What the-?! If she picked the clothes herself right now and she's like an angel...what about when Shimizu-senpai styled her before?! Which means... she'll be like a goddess?!"

"Also..." she added with a smile "Your clothes looks good on you, Tadashi-kun"

"Eh..." he rubbed his nape awkwardly "I-I didn't know...I just decided to go casual on it. But, you look beautiful in your dress, Ayame"

She smiled with a cute pink blush on her cheeks "Thank you. Shall we go?"

They waited for a bus and boarded on it once it arrived. While traveling, although they didn't talk to each, they are pretty much comfortable with their own silence as they gazed outside. They stopped on a public graveyard and started walking.

"You know, Tadashi-kun..." Ayame started as they walked "It will be...my first time...to talk to my dad about everything..."

"First time?"

"Yes" she nodded sadly "After that incident, we went to Tokyo to "run away". But, mom and I would visit him every special occasion. However, every time we visit him...I was always afraid, always filled with guilt...and I was reminded of what I did. I didn't talk to him. I didn't try to out of fear. Mom was the one who talked to him. But...after my first good dream about him...I feel like I should talk to him to clear everything. Truthfully, I'm a little nervous and scared right now but you here is making me feel better"

"I'm glad I could be of help" he told her with a small smile "Those flowers, by the way... were they..."

"His favorite? Yes, both mom and dad loved irises and they got my name from there" she smiled little "My name, Ayame, means iris"

"And that name suits you" he thought with a smile.

They arrived in front of a gravestone with her father's name on it. She knelt and offered the flowers on the grave and the two of them made a small prayer before she started speaking.

"Ne, dad..." she whispered as she rubbed the gravestone "I'm sorry...for being silent...for not speaking to you after all these years... I'm sorry for...what happened seven years ago. I really regretted it..."

Yamaguchi stood a respectful distance from her, yet he could hear her sad and pained voice, and it also seemed to pain him, thinking that she's been suffering the guilt alone for many years.

"But... I found someone... people I could trust to and lean on them for acceptance and support. I was relieved and grateful for it. The one who set me free from my past is... Tadashi-kun. I'm sure you already know, since you're watching me and you spoke to me in my dream"

The freckled teen was surprised his name was mentioned. A tear fell from her right eye as she smiled. She glanced at him and beckoned him to sit next to her.

"Tadashi-kun is with me right now" she continued "What do you think, dad? I finally understand what you told me before...about you and mom loving each other. Well, Tadashi-kun's my boyfriend now. You know, dad, Tadashi-kun's a really great person. He's really kind, understanding and hardworking. And he's pretty cute with his freckles, right?"

He blushed from the compliment before facing the gravestone "Ano...Kaito-san, I...I heard stories about you from Kazumi-san and Ayame. Although I never met you, you sounded like a kind and amazing person. I may not be the best guy out here but...I will take care of your daughter"

"Uwaaaa...what the heck am I saying?! That was weird!!" he was mentally flustered from his own words but he continued.

"Kaito-san, Ayame is a kind person, although...she has her own faults" he didn't elaborate further about it "I was glad she opened up to me and to the team, because she was always carrying the heavy burden on her own. I'm glad she's now happy and free. And...I am glad she's my girlfriend now"

A gentle wind blew the area, making her hair sway with the breeze. They stood up and she smiled.

"Thank you, dad. Next time, then"

They left the cemetery with a pleased and relaxed air between them. Along the way, she kept glancing at his hands then back to his face.

"Do you have any plans after this?" they asked at the same time, which surprised them both.

"We were thinking the same thing, huh?" he rubbed his neck sheepishly.

"Y-Yeah... Sorry, I only told you to accompany me to my visit to dad" she played with a strand of her hair in embarrassment "Turns out I... I want to spend more time with you..."

"M-Me too..." he said before clearing his throat. They looked at each other with a blush on their cheeks "Do you want to go to the park?"

She nodded "Sure"

With their usual comfortable awkward atmosphere, the two first years strolled to the park, since it's just near. While walking, Yamaguchi shyly intertwined his fingers around hers. Her heart skipped a beat when his fingers were around her own fingers.

"I-I hope it's okay..." he whispered, his embarrassment rising to his face.

"I-I don't mind..."

It was awkward at first but soon, they were pretty comfortable in the whole relationship thing. They talked about a lot of things: volleyball, the club, their class, his practices and he even told him how he was also bullied when he was a kid.

"Eh? Really? Why?" she asked in surprise. They sat on a bench under the shade of a tree.

"Because of how I look" he sighed "I was pretty lanky and I have a lot of freckles on my face so naturally, I'm their target for teasing"

"That's terrible!! How could they judge someone based on their looks?!" anger and frustrations laced her voice, and he calmed her down before she could start swearing.

"It's okay, Ayame. It's a thing of the past" he told her "And, it's weird we're kinda the same, right? I mean, Daichi-san said you were also bullied because of your eyes"

"Yes, that's true" she nodded "Though, it soon stopped when I grew older"

"That's probably because you changed into a beauty that they stopped bullying you" he thought then glanced at her. She really is beautiful; even if she's just dressing simply and plainly. The more he thought about it, the more inferior he feels when he's near her.

"What's wrong, Tadashi-kun?" she asked when she noticed him acting a bit strangely while having a gloomy aura above him.

He unknowingly touched his freckled cheek and looked at his seemingly lanky arms, and then he sulked at how pathetic he looked.

"Tadashi-kun" Ayame placed her hands on his cheeks and looked straight to his eyes "Why are you comparing yourself to me?"

He was surprised she picked up on that.

"Please don't do it. You'll only depress yourself, and I don't want that" she told him gently "I like your freckles, because they are cute on you. Your green hair is like a forest and I like touching it. And you're definitely not lanky. You're a volleyball player, right? You're not a player if you think you are lanky. These traits you have, I like them and I don't definitely hate them. Just be yourself, like how you told me just be myself"

He blinked in slight shock and leaned his forehead on hers. He sighed and loved how her kindness made him feel better.

"I wish we could spend more time like this when we're back..." she whispered.

"Yeah..."

On the corner of his eyes, he saw a pair of familiar faces. Frowning, he looked closely and he nearly did a double take when he recognized them.

It was Nishinoya and Tanaka, hanging out like usual in front of a shop that sells shirts.

Fortunately, the second years didn't notice them. Relief with a mix of nervousness settled in his stomach.

"Crap...Nishinoya-san and Tanaka-san are here!!"

"What do you think? About the interview, I mean"

"It's a so-so, I guess. I hope I can get in"

"Why am even here in the first place? I was even planning not going to college..."

"You might change your mind, Asahi"

His ears perked up to the voices' direction. His jaw nearly dropped when he saw the third years chatting about college and their future plans. Even worse, his gut feeling was Tsukishima is somewhere around the area and he confirmed it as soon as he saw the tall blonde looking at the racks of music albums outside of a store.

And none of them noticed them together.

"What the... Everyone from the team is all here?! This is just a coincidence, right?!"

"Tadashi-kun? What's wrong?" she noticed him glancing around nervously. He blinked and scratched his cheek so she won't notice his nervousness and embarrassment.

"I-It's nothing" he lied before smiling at her "Do you want to eat something?"

"Oh, sure" she was a bit concerned the way he's acting, but she stayed silent for now.

"There's a fast-food restaurant near here. Is it okay? A-Ah, if you want a café, then I-"

"It's all right. You don't have to force yourself"

As they left, Ayame saw Daichi and the third years. He tugged his shirt and pointed to them.

"Ne, Tadashi-kun, look. I saw Daichi-nii and the others over there"

"Y-Yeah" he nodded, almost nervously "I saw them much earlier than you, though..."

"I'll just go greet them, okay? I-"

"Don't!" he grabbed her wrist on impulse, much to her surprise "D-Don't go to them"

"Why? Ah, yeah. We're keeping this a secret. But it will be okay if we could just reason out, right?"

"S-Sorry, but...I'm asking that if you don't try to approach them for now. Please?" he pleaded, slightly afraid of the bully (Sugawara) for his endless teasing once he saw them.

She heard the slight desperation and something tells her he's hiding something. Sighing, she complied "Okay...let's go to the restaurant, then"

Luckily, there are no other club members inside the restaurant and there were only a few customers inside. They ordered a light snack, for him, some French Fries and for her, a chocolate sundae and drinks.

"Thank you for the meal"

"Hmm? Tadashi-kun, those fries..." she took one and ate it "They're kinda soft and floppy, right?"

"Eh? D-Do you mind it?" he asked and she shook her head, much to his relief "They're...actually my favorite..."

"Mhmm... no wonder you love them" she smiled and had another fries "They taste good"

She observed his reactions again as she ate. He would keep glancing outside and unconsciously wipe his palms on his sides, even though she could see he is not sweating. Something tells her that something is bothering him.

"Tadashi-kun" she started "Are you really okay?"

"Eh? Why do you ask? O-Of course I'm okay"

A shadow crossed her face "Stop lying..."

"A-Ayame?"

She grabbed his hand "I could tell, something is bothering you. Before, you told me that I should stop pretending that I'm okay. Though it took a while, I stopped at it. But...Tadashi-kun, you..." her violet eyes reflected a slight hurt expression "Why are you lying that you're okay? It's not fair that you're pretending and you told me to stop..."

He flinched in surprise when her face showed hurt and disappointment.

"Crap...I messed it up..."

"So, please promise me, that you're also telling me your own problems so we're the same. I'll tell you mine and you tell me yours so we could help each other out" she bit her lower lip before continuing "Although...I understand that there are some things you can't tell me but... you can also tell me when you want to, like what you did to me"

Guilt settled in him. He didn't want to tell her about the (comical) teasing of the bullies (Tsukishima and Sugawara) to his feelings to Ayame because he thinks its pointless telling her. However, he felt guilty upon hearing her words.

He gave up and sighed and covered his face with one hand "Sorry for keeping it from you. It's actually nothing, Ayame, but... I felt guilty, hearing you say that"

She gave his hand a light squeeze "Tell me"

He slightly looked away in embarrassment "The truth is...Tsukki and...Sugawara-san, and also Yaku-san...they're...teasing me, about...m-my feelings to you..."

She tilted her head in confusion "That's it?"

"Y-Yeah, they knew for a long time, before we were a couple and, they would tease me every chance they get and...sometimes, it's too embarrassing. The reason, I stopped you from meeting the third years is because...I got kinda scared and embarrassed..."

She saw his red and embarrassed face as he slightly looked away. Sighing, she rubbed his knuckles and comforted him "You should've told me before. I'm glad I finally understand why you are so careful around them"

"You're not mad?"

"I can't stay mad to you, Tadashi-kun" she smiled and grabbed another fries "I just want to understand you better. Okay, I promise I'll be extra careful around them"

"I'm glad you're so understanding, Ayame..."

"But... I wish we could open up to them, to Daichi-nii and the team"

"We will open up to them...though I don't know when..."

"We'll do it when we're ready, then"

"Yeah, I guess you're right" he agreed "Do you want to go somewhere after eating?"

"Hmm...what are other date spots?" she suddenly blushed in realization "Th-This is a d-date, right?"

He blushed the same shade as hers "I-I don't know...p-probably..."

"Uwaaah...so this is our first date..."

"I guess..."

"I-I don't know other date spots so we could proceed..."

"It's okay. Just think of any place you want to go"

"Etto...I want to go to the library, is it okay?"

"Sure. Though, I'm sorry if we can't enjoy it much like a normal date since....you know"

"Let's just make the best out of it, Tadashi-kun"

He saw the ice cream on the corner of her lips and she didn't seem to notice. He reached out and wiped it with his thumb. It brushed her lips and it sent electrical pulses down her spine. He smiled and sheepishly apologized.

"Sorry. There was an ice cream on your lips"

Her heart skipped a beat and she smiled, feeling comfortable by his touch.