Tooru Oikawa x Ballerina! Reader - one shot
she was mesmerising to him. with every step she took, he came closer to the edge of his seat. with every twirl, with every pose- she became intoxicating to him. he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
her movements were so smooth, so swift. he didn’t know someone could move as well as she did, the control she had on her body was almost unbelievable. sure he was also good at controlling his body- the sport of volleyball demanded it- but she was on a completely different level.
“can i help you, young man?”
a voice snapped oikawa out of his trance. an older woman stood beside him, her hands on her hips as she stared him down, challenging his existence in her hall. “i’m sorry, ma’am…” oikawa apologised, his eyes darting back to the girl bending her knees. “i seem to have gotten lost.” he continued, his eyes glued to her.
“well, where are you trying to go?”
“the volleyball try outs, ma’am.” he turned back to the woman, holding up the sheet of paper in his hands. “you’re in the wrong building. nobutero’s wretched gymnasium is on the west, you’re in the east building.” she clicked her tongue. “right.. thank you.” he bowed his head out of embarrassment, giving the girl one last glance before turning away.
'𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙞 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣?' he thought to himself.
“straighten your back!” the older woman snapped as she returned to her students. y/n had practiced ballet since she was a child, she knew everything about the arts and yet she still felt as if she wasn’t good enough. it was either her posture or her twirl, she always found herself under immense stress. now that she was starting high school, she was also joining a new ballet environment with an even stricter teacher than her last.
still, she vowed to try her best and become the most admired ballerina in her school, or even the city. “alright, that’s enough for today. i will see you all tomorrow bright and early.” the woman snapped her fingers.
y/n watched as everyone left the gymnasium. she had made it a habit to stay back and practice longer. she wasn’t going to become the best by stopping when everyone else did. the only way she would stop was when her knees gave out.
“y/n, aren’t you going to go?”
“no ma’am. i will rest a little and get back to practice- if that’s okay.” she quickly corrected as the woman nodded and handed a set of keys to her. “lock up once you’re finished. i’m leaving.” she waved, heading out of the gymnasium.
by the time she was done, the clock had hit 6:30. she was satisfied with her practice for the day and decided to finally go home. the changing rooms were down the hall, which was the worst part since walking was always a pain after practice. everything down to her toes were sore until the next morning.
“hey.. you’re the ballerina girl.”
looking up, she saw a brown haired boy looking down at her, a small duffel bag under his arm. “do i know you?” she questioned as she continued walking out of the school gates. “no- i saw you practicing. you’re amazing.” she caught up to her side.
“thank you… are you part of the volleyball team?” she pointed down at the volleyball sticking out of his duffel bag, blocking the zip from going all the way. “oh yes- you’re looking at the new captain of the volleyball team.” he proudly put. “already? you must be really good then?”
“you can come watch me play volleyball sometime.”
“you can’t catch me dead on a volleyball court.”
the two hadn’t realised it but they continued on in the same path, reaching the same destination. they were neighbours. being neighbours was fun for the two until their second year of high school, even worse when it was their third year. y/n swore oikawa was her arch nemesis sent by God to provoke her all day and oikawa swore the exact same thing.
“morning, nutcracker.” oikawa winked at y/n as they left their homes at the same time. she rolled her eyes at his nickname, choosing to ignore him and continue on her way to school. exam season was coming up and she didn’t have time to entertain his ‘banter’. she had to get into a good school with a good ballet program.
“not even a ‘go to hell, tooru’?” he laughed as he caught up to her side, walking side by side. “do you have to follow me?” she grimaced at him as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “i’m not following you, we go to the same school.”
“well can’t you walk further away from me?” she groaned as he shook his head. “why would i do that? it would be such a boring walk to school without you cursing me out.” he smirked.
as they walked to school, side by side, y/n decided to stay silent the entire time while oikawa continued talking. “okay we’re here now, can you go bother your fangirls now?” she looked up around him, clutching the duffel bag straps hanging on her shoulder. “would it kill you to be nice to me?”
“yes. im leaving now. bye.” she rolled her eyes at him, turning and walking away before he could say anything else to her. she didn’t know why she was always so bitter when she was talking to him, she knew she didn’t mind his eccentric personality, she had even liked it before she decided to completely hate his guts.
maybe it was because of the girls always sticking by his side? maybe it was because of what they did to her two years ago- she had thought she had gotten over that but thinking of it seemed to have a nasty effect on her stomach.
“hey ballerina, what are you doing later today?” y/n looked up from her desk to see iwaizumi smiling down at her. she had gotten to know him more this past year since they were sitting next to each other during classes. “practice.. probably. i still need to perfect my form.”
“why do you put yourself through so much agony? you won’t be able to perfect your form and you know it.”
sighing, he sat down on his seat, keeping his eyes straight while y/n fiddled with her pen and the piece of paper in front of her. “what are you signing?” iwaizumi leaned over to read the words on the paper.
“im applying for the schools production of swan lake next week.” iwaizumi didn’t respond, his shoulders slumped and he stared at her with pity. there was no way she was going to get accepted for any role, he knew it and she knew it. “y/n-“
“i know what you’re going to say. don’t. i’m better now, it was two years ago and my legs have healed since then. sure… the doctors said i can’t but what the hell do they know?” she snorts out a forced laugh, shoving the signed paper into her bag. “i’m sorry.”
“why are you sorry? you didn’t do anything. oikawa did. oikawa and his fanclub.” she leans back in her seat, turning her head to face iwaizumi. “why don’t you come and watch our volleyball practice after school today? i’ll buy you an ice cream?” he raises his eyebrows at her and she scoffs at him. “i have my own practice, thanks.”
y/n sat in the girls changing rooms, examining her legs, the white tights half up her calf. her hands tightened around the white material as she inspected the faint marks left on her legs from two years ago. shaking her head, she pulled up the white tights and finished getting dressed for her practice.
when she reached the hall, it was completely empty. she preferred it that way. as she began stretching out her limbs, she could feel the muscles within her legs tighten. it wasn’t a good idea for her to be here, yet she couldn’t keep away. she constantly found that the mirrors reflecting her image would call her name, as well as the hardwood floors she used to glide upon summoning her. she yearned to be able to be a ballerina again.
still- simple biology denied her of that and half an hour into her practice she found her legs giving out from underneath her, throbbing with pain and begging her to stop.
tears slipped down her cheeks as she gave in, her body lying against the cold floor. her dreams were ruined, all because two years ago she liked a boy and all because that boy liked her back-
-and there he was, looking down at her as she weeped on the floor. oikawa wasted no time in finding his spot beside her, his arms wrapped around her shaky shoulders. “oh, y/n, i’m so sorry.” he breathed out. he blamed himself for the loss of her aspirations.
two years ago, a group of girls from their school approached her, confronting her about her emotions towards him. of course they were deeply passionate about the boy, they didn’t like the fact that she was so close to him. so they decided to send a message by ruining her life, stomping on her legs over and over again until all she knew was to beg for them to stop. they ran away and left her there, in the schools storage closet, by herself.
oikawa found her later, but it was already too late and she blamed him. the doctors told her that she wouldn’t be able to dance how she used to, her muscles were too damaged.
“it’s not your fault, tooru.” were words oikawa never expected to hear from her. yet here she was, saying them while he held her in his arms. “i guess ill just work towards becoming a doctor.. like my dad wants.” she joked, forcing out a laugh and wiping away her tears. he pulled away from the hug, looking down at her with eyes that she couldn’t read.
“do you want me to take you home?” he questioned, his hands still holding onto her as if if he were to let her go, he’d lose her once again. “no, i want to watch you play volleyball.” she spoke, her eyes gliding over his facial features before landing on his lips for a few seconds. “.. are you sure?” he raised a brow at her, remembering her words from the first time they met. “yes, i am.”
“so? how was i?” oikawa heaved out as he sat beside y/n. the volleyball practice was finally over and everyone could tell oikawa had tried extra hard this time to impress a certain someone, everyone could tell except that certain someone. “you were great, tooru, seriously. i didn’t know you could move like that.” she laughed, nodding at him. “come on, lets walk home.”
“aren’t you going to wait for your teammates?”
“what? no. they go in the opposite direction anyway. lets go.” he grinned down at her. the two walked side by side, laughing and making jokes like they had before. y/n could feel her heart flutter just like it had two years ago when she would hear his real laugh, not the one he faked with others.
“i’ll see you tomorrow then…” oikawa stopped as he realised they had reached their destination. “yes, just like you always do.” she sighed, hinting somewhat disappointed in his voice. “hey… by the way, i’m sorry. again-“
y/n didn’t let him finish his sentence, grabbing ahold of his windbreaker and pulling him down so that their lips could crash against one another. the cold breeze flew past them as she kissed him, almost immediately feeling his lips move against hers. oikawa’s hands found her waist as he pulled her closer to him, afraid that she’d pull away any minute.
“i already told you to stop apologising.” she smiled as she pulled away from him, walking up the steps to her front door. “ill see you tomorrow, tooru.” she said cooly before closing the door. she could feel her entire body grow hot, her face turning red. she couldn’t believe that she had just kissed him- and he had kissed back.
