#the barrels on the arms can shoot out a net to catch specimens

[bugblast]

current alien mech design

[frogtanii]

falling for you ✨

request: @lil-mellow-bunbun

pairs: tanaka x reader

warnings: slight slight angst??, fluff, maybe a lil ooc

an: bruh this took SO LONG, also i am so so sorry if this is bad ily i hope this is fine 🙈

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tanaka is easily enamored. that isn’t to say that he doesn’t have taste because we all know that just isn’t the case, (i mean, have you seen kiyoko?) but he often finds himself longing after a beautiful girl that he spots for just a moment, maybe leaving the train or shopping in the grocery store.

he knows these infatuations are temporary. he’s used to the pang in his chest when it sinks in that he’ll never see those girls again and the pain grows even worse when he realizes he probably wouldn’t even get a second glance if he’d actually approached them.

so tanaka hides. he watches from afar, waiting for the oh so familiar anguish to attack his heart once he sees the next woman run headfirst into the arms of another. he hides behind his loud and brash personality because he knows if he lets down his walls, he’ll just be hurt again.

it isn’t all bad, he reasons with himself. he has nishinoya and the volleyball team and the lovely kiyoko that he’s sure will return his affections one day, if he just tries hard enough. he has the thrill of the sport he loves, people he cares about and who care about him. i’m okay, he tells himself again and again, when he finds himself falling for women who will never even know his name.

the cycle is all so normal for him that when he spots you at the tokyo training camp, laughing with kuroo and somehow getting kenma to smile, he’s expecting it. what he’s not expecting, however, is the sheer intensity of his emotions towards you.

the first time you approach him, he nearly chokes on his tongue. you were helping the other managers clean up the gym after a grueling practice match between nekoma and karasuno when you notice a stray water bottle near the corner. you jog towards it, recognizing that all of your team had theirs which meant that it must be a crow’s. picking it up, you scan the gym, searching for someone who wasn’t drinking anything. that’s when you spot him.

you don’t consider yourself someone to get easily flustered so when you lock eyes with the the tall, muscular teen and heat fills your cheeks, you’re almost astonished at yourself. get it together!! you mumble as you head over to the group of boys seated across the gym from you. they shouldn’t be this intimidating, you think as your sneakers squeak to a stop just a foot away from tanaka.

“hi! i found this bottle in the corner and i noticed you didn’t have one. is it by any chance yours?” you give tanaka a warm smile and he swears that you’re an angel right from heaven. when he opens his mouth to respond with a suave and sexy quip, nothing comes out but a mouthful of gargling noises. his lips clamp shut as a blush overtakes his entire face and you can’t help but giggle at his adorable demeanor. you place the bottle by his foot and pat his shoulder as you stand. “take a drink! maybe it’ll help.” when you wink at him, he immediately feels his soul leave his body. as you walk away, yamamoto appears beside you, wrapping an arm around your shoulder and laughing loudly. tanaka finds it in himself to feel disappointed through the haze of embarrassment, when his ears pick up something very interesting.

“- little sis!” the rest was muffled by the rushing of blood in his head but that piece of information brightened his whole day. he still had a chance with you! or so he hoped but he wouldn’t give up! he would get you to talk to him again (and hopefully he’d respond back this time).

he took his second chance at dinner. you, of course, sat at the nekoma table in between your brother and kenma, occasionally giving him some gaming advice or making a well placed joke in the conversation going on before you. after a while, your thoughts began to drift as your eyes wandered the cafeteria. they flitted from person to person until they landed on him. you couldn’t help your immediate reaction which was to gasp and cover your cheeks which were swiftly heating up. you were only human and he was a fine specimen.

once you gather up the courage, you glance back at him, only to pause when you see him staring right back at you. a blush was fast to overtake his cheeks as he gave you a sheepish smile and a little wave. you grin back and waggle your fingers, just to embarrass him a little further. this definitely doesn’t go unnoticed by the rest of his table which immediately bursts into laughter and teasing. when you catch his gaze again, you flash him an apologetic smile before continuing your conversation at your table. his lips curl up as he looks down at the table, basking in your unexplainable light, only to be snapped out of his thoughts when he hears nishinoya make a lewd comment about your chest size. that’s quickly put to an end with a swift chop to the back of his head.

after dinner ends, tanaka is determined to find you, to hold a conversation with you but you’re nowhere to be found. he ends his discussion with noya and bursts out of the dining hall, his shaved head darting from side to side, hoping to catch a glimpse of where you disappeared to. he waits outside that dining hall for at least another five minutes before resigning to the fact that you probably had already gone to bed, giving him no chance to speak with you again.

tanaka decides to head off to bed as well, passing an open gym on his way there. a tinkling laugh drifts out the open doorway and it stops him completely in his tracks. hesitantly, he follows the voice, gently pushing the door open and what he sees punches the air from his lungs.

you look ethereal, covered in a faint sheen of sweat from your activities and laughing with a gorgeous smile on your face. tanaka physically can’t look away from your beauty, your presence before him stunning him to the point of silence. his eyes track your movements as you move back to one side of the net, squatting down with a look of determination written all over your face. a quick look to the other side of the net reveals akaashi and bokuto getting ready to spike for you.

tanaka can’t tear his eyes away from the scene unfolding in front of him. he’s never seen you play but he has seen bokuto’s powerful spikes so he can’t help but worry for you. he doesn’t have much time to worry though because before he knows it, akaashi is setting the ball and bokuto is slamming it down hard on the other side of the net. time seems to move in slow motion as you move and- you receive it. you actually receive bokuto’s spike! tanaka’s heart swells at your cheers of excitement. as you hug your partners, he turns away, happy to see this part of you but mildly upset you didn’t ask him to spike for you. he begins walking back down the sidewalk when he hears steps running towards him.

tanaka turns towards the noise to see you, panting and out of breath right behind him. his throat seizes up again and he feels faint when your hand shoots out to grab his arm, your warm hands burning against his skin. “uhh...” this was one of the few times tanaka felt absolutely speechless under your unintentionally intense gaze.

“oh my gosh, i’m sorry!” you quickly snatch your hand from his arm and give him a sheepish smile. “i just noticed you from the door and i wanted to come say hi! you’re yamamoto’s friend, tanaka, right?” all he can do is nod as you grab his hand and pull him to start walking beside you. “sooo, you’re really good at volleyball! i saw you spiking in the game versus nekoma and it was crazy strong!” his face fills with red as he turned towards you and bowed deeply.

“thank you taketora-san!” you can’t help but giggle and help him stand to his full height once more. “no need, tanaka-kun! though, i wonder why you aren’t as loud with me as you are with your teammates and everyone else..” these words cause tanaka to freeze up. did you know how he felt about you? you continue to speak, unaware of tanaka’s inner thoughts. “i’d really like to hang out with you if you’re okay with that!” tanaka nods aggressively, knowing that now he has his chance to make his move on you (with your consent of course)!

you finally make it to the manager’s rooms, stopping in front of tanaka with a shy smile on your face. “thank you for walking with me tanaka-kun. i appreciate it,” you lean up and place a gentle kiss on his cheek before turning back into the room. tanaka was vibrating with excitement, unaware that he barely spoke a word to you instead racing off to his room to brag to nishinoya about how he got a kiss before him.

finally, it was the day of the barbecue. all the managers were passing out watermelon as the boys took their well-deserved rest on the lawn while awaiting the delicious meat. as you grabbed another tray of fruit from yachi and begun to pass it out, you couldn’t help but notice all the leering eyes on you as you bent down to pick up an empty rind. you know that they’re just “boys being boys” but you were starting to get uncomfortable, the whispers becoming loud enough to reach your ears.

“damn, look at nekoma’s manager. who knew she’d be so cute!” “yeah, i thought karasuno had the cutest managers but i guess we were wrong.” you feel your cheeks heat up in embarrassment, one of your hands shooting down to pull your shirt over your butt. you were just about to excuse yourself to go hide in the bathroom when a loud booming voice interrupts your escape.

“oi! keep your pervy eyes off of nekoma’s manager!” you swiftly turn at the sound of tanaka’s voice to see him, nishinoya, and yamamoto standing in front of you, blocking the view from the creeps. you can’t help your heart beating out of your chest at the sweet gesture so you place the tray of fruit down and barrel into the boys, wrapping your arms around tanaka’s waist in particular. you can feel him tense up in your arms but you can’t see his fearful glances that he gives to your brother. yamamoto just laughs and claps a large hand on his shoulder.

“you can take her out dude! i totally respect you and i know you’ll take good care of her!” at that, your brother bows deeply followed by tanaka’s own deep bow. you roll your eyes and take tanaka’s hand, pulling him close to you and kissing his cheek before whispering in his ear, “i can’t wait to go on a date with you..” with that, you turn and walk away to join your fellow managers, not surprised to hear nishinoya’s clear yell, “dude!! i want to date a hot manager!!”

tanaka can’t help but grin, finally feeling full.