𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬

in true oikawa fashion, he sat up to look down at you with a questioning gaze. and in true fashion of his best friend, you answered with as much honesty as you could.

“how am i supposed to know, i’m nine!” you both dissolved into peals of laughter, you laughing even harder upon hearing oikawa snort after a solid ten minutes. by the time you two had finished laughing, oikawa’s mom had come out, frowning and whisper-yelling at the two of you to get down from the roof. that night, she let you stay the night, smiling to herself as she tucked the blanket around the two of you in oikawa’s bed, fingers intertwined and soft snores permeating the silence.

~~~

seeing oikawa cry when you were kids had been a normal occurrence. he had a low tolerance for pain, and he always requested for either you or iwaizumi to comfort him. iwaizumi had been good at deflecting his cries with a sarcastic remark, but you were always falling victim to his watery eyes and childlike pouts. he almost always stopped crying once you gave him a big hug and a forehead kiss. such a baby he was.

as he got older, those situations happened less and less, until they stopped all together. the next time you’d seen him cry, after four years of not crying all together, was the day he lost his final chance to get to nationals.

“how bad is it?” you and iwaizumi were speed walking to the gym after he had practically dragged you from your house to gather oikawa.

“last time i saw him this bad was that time his t-shirt had torn on that bush,” he grumbles, running a hand through his hair. you nodded, stopping short at the closed door of the gym and grabbing iwaizumi’s sleeve.

“how are you doing?” you gaze at him, taking in the pained look on his face.

“it sucks but i’ll love. i’m more worried about ‘kawa,” he sighs out. you nod, giving him a quick hug before pushing the door open to gape in horror at the sight before you. oikawa sat against the back wall, volleyballs strewn about the gym, and his knees red and bleeding. before you run over to him, you grab the first aid kit off the wall, sprinting back to him. as you trip over yourself, you notice how he hasn’t looked down from his sight set on the ceiling.

“tooru,” you murmur, kneeling in front of him and getting to work on his knees. he hums noncommittally, arm over his eyes.

“what happened to your knees?” you try to keep your voice quiet as you wipe the blood off before disinfection the cuts. he doesn’t even flinch.

“practiced some digs by myself. the pads got in the way,” he trails off. you say nothing as you wrap gauze and tape around his cuts before finally looking directly at him. you gently pry his arm away from his face, and he drops his head to look at you. the look of agony and tiredness in his eyes is heartbreaking, but it’s not as bad as the steady stream of tears wetting his cheeks.

“oh tooru,” you breath out, tugging his arms forward until they’re wrapped around you, your own arms reaching forward to encircle his waist. you tuck his head in the crook of your neck, letting a hand play with the hairs at the back of his neck. once your fingers thread through his chocolate brown hair, you feel him shake violently against you, sobs muffled against your skin. his arms are like a vice around you, holding your body so close to his you’re essentially sitting in his lap at this point. not that it matters though. all you can focus on is calming him down.

“i tried, i tried so hard, and not only did i let myself down, but i let my team down too,” he sobs out, tucking his head closer to you.

“tooru, you and i both know you could never let the team down. they are all fantastic players, and they’ve become fantastic players thanks to your being captain. and i’m sure if you asked them all, they would 100% agree with me!” you gently set his back against the wall, leaning away so you can look into his eyes. you let your hands cup his cheeks, wiping away the tears.

“i promise you, highschool volleyball is not the end for you. i know that there are even bigger things in store for you in the future. you have yet to change your stars, and i know you’re more than capable of doing so. don’t let this weigh you down, when i know you are meant for more than this,” you finish, bringing his head close to you. you move a hand up, pushing his bangs up and out of the way before pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. you freeze when you feel him kiss your collarbone at the same time.

“thank you,” he whispers. you nod against him, letting him wrap his arms around you once more. you stay that way, pressed against each other until he speaks once more, voice carrying through the empty gym.

“i’ll change my stars, and when i do, you’ll be right there next to me.”

~~~

“and the winner of tokyo’s 2020 olympic volleyball tournament is argentina!”

the stadium erupts in pandemonium. you can barely hear yourself thinking as cheers fill the arena, and your smile is so wide you feel like your muscles are burning. makki and mattsun are screaming right next to you, your seats just shy of the sidelines, as you watch oikawa get swarmed by his teammates, a pure and genuine smile plastered across his face.

“that’s our boy!” makki and mattsun yell in sync, throwing arms around you and each other and yelling incoherent cheers in an attempt to get oikawa to hear you guys. you can only stare at how radiant and beautiful he looks as an olympic committee member places the golden medal around his neck, offering him the microphone to make his winning speech as captain.

“thank you, everyone, for your unwavering support!” you’re glad you started spanish lessons as soon as you heard about his move. “i could not be more proud of these boys that have been my team, as they have been like family to me!” he pauses from looking out at his team, before turning his gaze towards you. your heart stops when you two make eye contact, and his smile only grows wider. “someone once told me that they knew that i was more than capable of changing my future, even if i thought my career had ended with highschool volleyball.” you’re eyes are welling up now, hand coming to clutch the star pendant that laid across your chest. “they told me that i had yet to change my stars. today, i have changed my stars. i would like to dedicate this win to the person i hold closest to my heart, for teaching me what it meant to look past the sky, to the stars that adorned our universe. i'd like to ask that they join me here on stage, as a token of what this win truly means to me.”

your ears are ringing, heart pounding as makki and mattsun scream wildly, helping you up and over the barrier of the stands and pushing you roughly towards oikawa. you move in a trance, walking slowly before jogging, running, then sprinting towards him until you’re on stage, your arms around his neck and his lips pressed against yours. you can hear the roar of the crowd behind you, but it falls away as oikawa leans back, resting his forehead against yours.

“you’re so cheesy, you know that?” you both laugh, letting him kiss your nose lightly.

“i couldn’t help myself. i’ll show you off like the star you are until the day i die, my love,” he proclaims, brown eyes twinkling brightly. the only thing you can do is kiss him again, allowing yourself to fall into the familiar comfort of his arms once again.