MOVED

Alright, so his parents were gone. Fair enough. Oikawa looked around where he stood, amongst the beds. He couldn’t spot them anywhere, and he sighed. How did it always end up like this whenever they got to IKEA? He’d worry, but honestly this just happened every single time they got here so why bother?

He picked up his phone to check the time. It hadn’t been long enough for his parents to be anywhere near done yet, and they probably wouldn’t realize that he was gone until they were ready to leave and needed someone to carry their things into the car.

Glancing at the beds on display, he shrugged and §laid down on one, closing his eyes. With Iwaizumi on vacation, there was no one to bully him into going to bed at reasonable times. But wow, this was a comfortable bed. He might even fall asleep...

He woke up to his bed gently shifting, and he furrowed his brows at the disruption. Who dared?

Blinking awake, he turned his head to the side, and was met with a shock of orange on the pillow next to his. Why was someone sharing his bed!?

”Uhm, can I help you?” he asked.

The person next to him’s eyes flew open, and he stared at Oikawa.

Holy shit he knew that face.

”Chibi-chan?” Oikawa burst out.

”G-Grand King!?” Hinata exclaimed, staring straight back.

They were still and silent for a moment, both just staring at each other in shock. It took a few moments for Oikawa to re-gather his facade, and a smile slid onto his face like a mask.

”Well, Chibi-chan, if you wanted to get into bed with me that desperately you could have just asked.” he teased.

Hinata’s face turned red immediately, and he spluttered as Oikawa chuckled.

”That’s not-! Augh, what are you even doing here!?” Hinata said, voice way too loud for lying in bed with someone else.

”I live here.” Oikawa deadpanned.

Hinata’s mouth fell open.

”What!? Really?” he asked. ”That’s awful! Do you need a place to stay in that case? I could talk to my mom about it, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind!”

Oikawa raised a hand to his mouth while Hinata talked. Oh no, he was just too precious.

Reaching out, Oikawa pinched Hinata's cheek with a grin.

"I wish my kouhai were as cute as you." he said wistfully. "No, I was joking. I'm here with my parents but I've lost them. What about you?"

Alright, so maybe he should be getting out of the bed, Oikawa mused as he watched Hinata's face turn red again, sharing a queen sized bed with someone you don't know was probably generally a weird thing. But this bed was extremely comfortable, and it wasn't like Karasuno's 10 was a complete stranger or anything.

"Oh." Hinata said, and then beamed. "My mom is also here! She needed someone strong to help her carry the new furniture. So I'm just waiting for her to come back."

"And somehow you ended up in the bed I was in." Oikawa replied, amused. "What an odd coincidence."

"Right?! I would never have expected to meet you here!" Hinata said earnestly. "What are the odds for that?"

Oikawa laughed at that, enjoying just how honest Hinata was. How did someone like this manage to be a decoy?

"Alright, Chibi-chan, then-" Oikawa started, before Hinata interrupted him.

"My name isn't Chibi-chan, it's Hinata Shouyou!" he exclaimed.

"Well, Hina-chan then." Oikawa tried.

"Can't you just call me Hinata?" Hinata asked.

Oikawa's face fell into a practiced pout.

"But we're friends now, right? I give all my friends nicknames." Oikawa explained.

"We're friends?" Hinata asked with furrowed brows.

"But of course! Or are you telling me you willingly climb into bed with strangers? How debauched." Oikawa mock gasped.

"I told you! It was a mistake!" Hinata exclaimed, blushing furiously.

"And why is it that you have yet to get out of the bed in that case?" Oikawa teased.

"Well, why haven't you?" Hinata fired back.

"Because we're friends of course." Oikawa said flippantly, gesturing vaguely with his hand.

There was no reply from Hinata for a while, and Oikawa turned curiously to see why. He was met with sparkling, determined eyes and a huge grin. His own eyes widened.

"Oikawa-san."

"What."

"Oikawa."

"I don't think I'm gonna like where this is going."

"Grand King."

"Oh god."

"Oikawa." Hinata said and shuffled closer, face still intense. "Since we're friends now."

Oikawa furrowed his eyebrows.

"We should meet up tomorrow to practice." Hinata continued with shining eyes. "You could set for me, and show me how to do that KAPOW serve."

"Oh no, no no no no." Oikawa replied, moving to stand until Hinata latched onto his arm.

"But Oikawa-san, you said we were friends now." Hinata pouted.

"We're still rivals you know!" Oikawa exclaimed.

"You're just about to graduate and we have no more games against each other! What's the harm?" Hinata tried.

Oikawa frowned.

"I just want to be better than Kageyama at something." Hinata pleaded.

Oikawa looked torn.

"Please, Grand King?" Hinata asked with a tug on his arm.

"Fine!" Oikawa gave in, falling back onto the bed with a sigh and dragging Hinata, who was clinging onto his arm still, down with him.

"Thank you!" Hinata shouted, and Oikawa winced.

"Give me your number, then." Oikawa said and dug out his phone.

Hinata grabbed it, putting in his information before giving it back with a huge grin.

"You're secretly really manipulative, aren't you?" Oikawa pouted. "Also, as I'm doing you a favor here, you need to pay me back later."

"Pay you back how?" Hinata asked.

"I'll let you know. But seeing as you were so rude to wake me up, you should let me go back to sleep now." Oikawa said.

"Alright." Hinata replied. "I could go for a nap too."

Oikawa waited for a bit, before turning to Hinata again.

"I sort of meant that you should let go of my ar-" he interrupted himself.

Hinata was already asleep.

It was sunday morning, and the Aoba Johsai Sports Day was officially started. Class 3-5 in their purple team shirts was gathered together, huddled up out on the field where the event took place. The weather was stifling, hotter than anticipated and the participants were already starting to feel sticky with sweat. But even with the unfavorable weather conditions, there was a pumped up kind of anticipation in the air.

”Alright everybody!” the class president, Akiba said. ”Today is sports day, and we are here to win for the third year in a row. It’s our last time doing this all together, what better way than to end our high school time with a third consecutive victory?”

She quieted down for a moment as her classmates cheered loudly, only continuing when they settled down.

”I have no doubt that we can take this home. We have before, we can do it again. Also, we still have Iwaizumi-kun.” she went on, met by laughter.

Iwaizumi grinned along with his class, the person to his right patted his back. If there was one thing he was good at, other than speaking fluid Oikawa, it was sports. He had always been a bit of a natural, maybe not a genius but still.

”Our first game will be tug of war, against class 3-3. We will all participate in it, so let’s start by heading over to the rope!” Akiba explained. ”But first, I have just one question... Who’s gonna bring that blood and pain!?”

”Class 3-5!”

”WHO’S GONNA BRING THAT BLOOD AND PAIN!?”

”CLASS 3-5! WOOOOH!”

Standing up from the huddle, they gathered up all their belongings in a big pile to the side, and then went cheering up to the rope where 3-3 was waiting for them. Lining up in front of the orange team, Iwaizumi ended up right in front of Hanamaki.

”Iwaizumi.” Hanamaki said, straightening out to look down on him.

”Hanamaki.” Iwaizumi replied, grinning in challenge. ”Ready to get your ass beat?”

”Oh please. I’ve been practicing hard for this day, and you’re going down.” Hanamaki replied.

The teams both shook each others hands, both Iwaizumi and Hanamaki clenched down hard, staring into each others eyes.

”Don’t cry when you lose.” Iwaizumi said.

”Oh don’t worry about me.” Hanamaki replied, and then they had to let go to line up next to the rope.

Everyone kneeled down next to the rope, Iwaizumi standing the furthest back. On the other side, Hanamaki did the same, and at the signal both teams grabbed the rope and started to pull.

Biceps bulging with the effort, Iwaizumi dug his feet into the ground and pulled back. The war went on, back and forth until Iwaizumi called out to his team, and they all heaved at once, forcing the other team over the line.

It took a few seconds for Iwaizumi to realize they had actually won, and then he joined into cheering with his team. Turning to Hanamaki, he grinned. Hanamaki narrowed his eyes back.

”I’m challenging you to armwrestling again soon, watch yourself.” he challenged, and Iwaizumi laughed, as his team picked up their bags to move on to the 100 meter race.

Somehow, Iwaizumi had gotten roped into joining every single sport, and he felt his blood pump when they lined up for the race. Nothing quite like pushing yourself to the limit. He had ended up next to Matsukawa, and he glanced over at him, being met by a lazy grin back.

”Hey little man.” Matsukawa greeted. ”Will you be able to keep up?”

”Long legs or not, I’ll make you eat my dust.” Iwaizumi said grinning right back at him.

Then the starting signal ran, and they were off. Matsukawa took the lead early, together with a girl that Iwaizumi recognized from the girls volleyball team. He held the third place, though, refusing to let anyone else pass. His lungs burned and he pushed, he felt the ground against his feet and the wind in his hair and his blood was burning up! Slowly he passed the girl from the volleyball team, approaching Matsukawa with a furious determination.

Stretching out his legs, he pushed past Matsukawa, who didn’t even look surprised. His eyes steeled, but as hard as he tried he couldn’t regain the lost metres with the finish line quickly approaching, and Iwaizumi burst past it with a shout with Matsukawa right at his heels.

His class was cheering his name, and Iwaizumi punched the air while Matsukawa regained his breath next to him.

Using his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face, he then grinned at Matsukawa.

”Those legs of yours didn’t help much at all, did they?” he teased, and Matsukawa laughed.

”Well, maybe not this time.” he replied.

They didn’t have time to talk more, however, because they had other places to be and so they split up. The team gathered up all their things to move on through the different sports. The ball toss, the long jump where Iwaizumi scored good as well, and they won the game of ultimate frisbee against class 3-4. Then there was a lunchbreak for all classes, and Iwaizumi met up with his squad of Hanamaki, Matsukawa and Oikawa to eat their bentos together.

”I’m exhausted.” Oikawa complained, falling back into the grass. ”You’d think volleyball would prepare you for this, but this is completely different.”

”I don’t know what you’re complaining about, I think it’s easy.” Iwaizumi teased him. ”You’re probably just paying for the crappy food and late nights at this point.”

”Not that him being bad at everything other than volleyball will stop his fangirls. I’ve never heard so much cheering for someone who came third in the 100 meter race.” Hanamaki said.

”Hey!” Oikawa complained while the rest of them chuckled. ”I’m being considerate, I can’t outshine you all in everything or you might feel bad.”

”Keep telling yourself that, beanpole.” Iwaizumi said, squeezing Oikawa’s arm.

”Shut it, Tarzan.” Oikawa sniffed, turning onto his stomach instead. ”Iwa-chan is just a big brute.”

”Well, seeing as you’re so tired, I’ll make sure to give you a break during the dodgeball game. I’ll take you out first of all.” Iwaizumi said.

”I’m glad I don’t have to play dodgeball with Iwaizumi.” Matsukawa said. ”Imagine those bruises.”

But before that dodgeball game, there was the obstacle course. Iwaizumi was up against a tall guy from class 3-2, who was on the basketball team. The sun was burning hot, and Iwaizumi was sweating before the race even started, lining up at the starting line.

The starting signal rang out, and they were off. Up over the hurdles, climbing a rope wall, panting and sweating as he crawled under a net. Keep it up, jumping, dodging, weaving.

The voices of his classmates carried over the cheer from the rest of the crowd.

Iwaizumi is his name,

Obstacle courses is his game!

He’s got winning on his mind,

And wooah, he’s looking fine!

His heart pumped, beating hard as he pushed, pushed, pushed. His muscles were starting to ache with the exertion, and the basketballplayer was right at his heels as Hajime reached the tires and jumped through them, and he could see the finish. His body complained when he pushed it that extra bit, sprinting and sprinting hard. And then he flew over the finish line, right into the arms of his cheering classmates.

It was a bit of a blur. Someone handed him a cool towel, and another one a bottle of water. Fawning over him, just in general as he laughed from pure joy. He never felt as good as when he got to compete like this. Surrounded by his cheering classmates, he met Oikawa’s gaze from the ultimate frisbee field and grinned, mouthing ‘You’re going down.’ at him. Oikawa’s reply was a wink and a grin right back, before they both turned away, Oikawa to finish his game and Iwaizumi to accept an apple from one of the girls in his class.

There were only two events left now, with a bit of a break first. They headed over to the dodgeball court to wait for class 3-6 to finish their game, and Hajime took the break gratefully. Resting on the grass in the shade, he even fell asleep for a bit.

One of his classmates shook him awake about fifteen minutes later.

”Huh?” he asked, blinking awake.

”I’m sorry for waking you, Iwaizumi-kun, but the match is going to be starting soon.” she said, blushing slightly.

”Oh.” Iwaizumi sat up, running a hand through his hair and smiled at her gratefully. ”Right, thank you Nakano. I’ll be right over.”

She nodded, and went back over to where the rest of the class that wasn’t gonna play in the game stood to cheer them on.

Iwaizumi stretched out, standing up and walking over to the court. His team greeted him loudly, and Oikawa smirked at him from the other side.

”Let’s do our best, team.” Iwaizumi told his teammates, and they were all lining up at the side of the court.

It was an intense game. You wouldn’t have expected anything else from a game with Oikawa in fight mode in, even more so when Oikawa and Iwaizumi went up against each other. Balls were flying, someone even got a bleeding nose from a hit right to the face. Oikawa took out people to the left and the right, and Hajime dodged balls like a pro while taking out as many as he could.

At one point he realized, he and Oikawa were the only ones left on the field.

His mouth spread into a wide grin, confident. Hitting Oikawa with balls was his best event after all.

Oikawa was starting to look worried, stepping back to pick up a ball without taking his eyes off Iwaizumi. He reached for the ball slowly, and Iwaizumi took the chance to throw his, straight at Oikawa who let himself fall to avoid Iwaizumi’s ball and gather one of his own. Iwaizumi saw it coming, throwing himself onto the ground and rolling as he picked up a new ball, getting back to his feet almost immediately, throwing the ball hard against an unprotected Oikawa. He only had time to let his eyes widen before the ball smacked into him hard, and he yelped, falling back down from where he had been trying to stand.

Another loud cheer rose up from the crowds, everyone was pumped to see such an intense game. Iwaizumi walked over the court and held out a hand to his best friend to pull him up. Oikawa took his hand, and let him help him up while pouting.

”Good game.” Iwaizumi offered, trying to keep back the smug look from his face.

”I can tell that you want to rub it in.” Oikawa replied, poking Iwaizumi’s forehead. ”Just know, that the next time we go up against each other, I’ll kick your ass.”

They stared at each other for a moment, before bursting into laughter. Iwaizumi reached up and ruffled Oikawa’s hair, who complained but didn’t stop him.

”I’ll see you at the last event then.” he said, and when Oikawa nodded they parted ways to join their own teams.

The last event of the day was the 100 meter x 4 relay. All four of them were competing for their own teams, together with Suzuki from class 3-2 and Oshiro from class 3-4.

The air was way too tense for their normal teasing banter and trashtalk as they stood at the final relay to wait for the race to start.

When the sound rang out, Iwaizumi tensed up, looking back towards where the first relay was gonna take place. Class 3-2 was in the lead, with 3-3 at their heels when the first relay took place. Then 3-6 took over the lead when their runner passed by all the others in the second part. When the third part started, 3-6 was in the lead, with 3-1 and 3-5 neck to neck, then 3-4 and 3-2 and lastly 3-3 who had fallen behind.

Oikawa was off first of all, with Iwaizumi and Matsukawa right at his heels. Suzuki and Oshiro went on right after, and Hanamaki was last.

Closing in on the finish line, Oikawa blinked when both Iwaizumi and Matsukawa passed him, their intensity almost burning him as they sped past, and he stayed a step behind them without being able to pass them.

Iwaizumi was tired by now, after participating in every single event. Matsukawa was too, but he had had the last game to recharge during since he hadn’t joined into the ultimate frisbee game. And so Matsukawa stretched out his long legs, slowly inching past Iwaizumi who clenched his fists in frustration.

Don't wait, don't hesitate, the battle has begun!

Intimidate and dominate, class 3-5 are number 1!

We got it together,

We're moving to the top,

Don't look now, we can't be stopped!

His classmates cheered, loud and proud and Iwaizumi slowly inched past Matsukawa again, stealing first place and flying over the finish line before falling into a pile on the ground, cheering loud while Matsukawa ran in right behind him and Oikawa just a step behind them. Iwaizumi’s class fell into a pile on top of him, cheering and shouting while Oikawa laughed it off and Matsukawa wiped the sweat from his face with his shirt. Hanamaki came in at fifth, and the three of them stood together watching as Iwaizumi had been helped up, and was now surrounded by both his classmates and people from the crowd.

”Well, Oikawa, you might be the idol 364 days of the year, but on Sports Day, all anyone wants is Iwaizumi.” Hanamaki said, grabbing a bottle of water from the sidelines.

”I’ll give him that.” Oikawa laughed. ”He better enjoy it while it lasts.”

Iwaizumi had always taken pride in his body. Not so much his looks, but the capabilities of it. Even when he was a child, his family had all praised him for being so strong. He could even carry the basket for his mom when they shopped, he bragged to Oikawa before.

Oikawa had been appropriately starstruck by his strong friend, and it hadn’t lessened when Iwaizumi once had to carry him home when he had scraped up his knee while they were playing in the woods.

Even in elementary school, he had been known as the strong one. Carrying books and boxes and groceries, and sometimes the other kids. Especially Oikawa enjoyed the privilege of having the strongest kid in school as his friend.

It started in junior high, people started challenging Iwaizumi to all kind of games to defeat the strongest kid in school. And every victory had Iwaizumi glowing with pride and bragging to his best friend.

By the age of 15, he was working out often, building muscles by the day. Other than volleyball practice, he had a muscle building routine that he followed every other day, and it was showing.

When they got into Aoba Jousai, he became the dependable ace already in their second year, and by the end of the year the entire team trusted and turned to him. Oikawa still abused what he called his ”best friend privilege” to get Iwaizumi to do things for him. Moving around furniture, going out shopping, opening jars. Every heavy task fell to Iwaizumi, and while he could put up a front of complaining about it, he’d always swell with pride when he finished the task.

So how come, even being the dependable and strong person that he thought he was, he couldn’t ever defeat Shiratorizawa?

When it mattered the most, he let his team down.

Maybe he just wasn’t as good as he thought he was.

”Hey, Iwa-chan.” a voice interrupted his thoughts and a jar was waved in front of his face. ”Can you open this for me?”

Iwaizumi blinked, Oikawa was pouting at him. Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, but grabbed the jar anyway, twisting it open easily.

”Aren’t you old enough to open jars on your own? How are you ever gonna be able to live without me?” he asked as he handed it back.

”Ahh, good thing I’ll never have to! You’re so dependable, Iwa-chan, thank you!” Oikawa grinned, before leaving for the kitchen.

”Oh my god. Oooooohhhh my god.”

”What’cha got there, Oikawa?”

”I think Iwa-chan got turned into a pokemon!?”

Hanamaki raised an eyebrow as he walked over to where Oikawa was hanging over the edge of the pier and pointing down into the water. He kneeled down next to him, and peered into the water below. With a surprised bark of a laugh, he almost fell over at the sight of the pokemon. Oikawa was grinning up at him, way too pleased.

”That’s a Qwilfish!” Hanamaki managed to force out between laughs.

”It looks just like him! Look at it! All those little spikes and the super angry frown. I think he’d throw something at me if he had arms.” Oikawa said, reaching towards the furious-looking water pokemon with his finger, wiggling it in front of it’s eyes. ”I almost want to capture it, just so I’ll always have another little Iwa-chan with me.”

Hanamaki who had finally managed to quit laughing was gazing down at the interaction, just to fall into hysterics again when the angry pokemon used a water gun right into Oikawa’s shocked face.

Oikawa jumped up, pointing an accusing finger right at the Qwilfish.

”You..- You demon! You’re just like Iwa-chan!” Oikawa complained as he desperately tried to wring the water out of his hair. ”I changed my mind! I’m definitely not capturing you!”

The Qwilfish was glaring defiantly up at the trainer, tail fin flicking threateningly in the water. Hanamaki could almost swear that it was laughing behind that glare.

”If you had any idea of how much selfcontrol I have to exert to not push you into the water right now, you wouldn’t be standing that close to the edge?” Iwaizumi’s voice interrupted them. ”What got Hanamaki dying?”

Hanamaki grinned up at Iwaizumi and Matsukawa who approached them carrying bentoboxes with food in their arms.

”Oikawa found a new partner pokemon, I think.” he replied, moving to sit up from where he had fallen over from laughing.

Matsukawa walked over to the edge, glancing into the water at the pokemon that held Oikawa’s gaze in a furious battle of wills. Instantly his face lit up with a grin.

”Well I can certainly see how a pokemon like that would be good for Oikawa to have.” he stated.

Iwaizumi blinked, walking over to the edge as well to curiously peer down. He stared at it for a few seconds, before turning to Hanamaki and Matsukawa.

”I don’t get it. Why would Oikawa need a Qwilfish? He already has a water pokemon.” he said.

Matsukawa and Hanamaki exchanged one disbelieving glance, before bursting into laughter again.

Iwaizumi’s eyes narrowed with annoyance.

”What are you going on about?” he asked, crossing his arms.

“If you don’t get it, you don’t get it.” Hanamaki dismissed his comments. “Hey, Oikawa, at this point if you don’t catch it, it’ll be like you’ve lost against it. You probably should go for it, for honors sake.”

Oikawa stomped his foot on the ground, groaning. He couldn’t let the Qwilfish win like this.

“I hate you so much.” he told Hanamaki, as he pulled out one of his pokeballs. “Alright Qwilfish, let’s see what you can do. Milotic! Let’s go!”

He threw his pokeball into the air, and in a flash of red his Milotic appeared in the water in front of Qwilfish.

“Come on, Milotic, use aqua tail!” Oikawa called out.

Milotic wasted no time, swiftly moving forward and turning to hit Qwilfish hard with the aqua tail, hitting it right up in the air. It flew up with a cry, and landed with a splash, but recovered quickly to use Bubble on Milotic.

“Alright, Milotic, try Water Pulse!” Oikawa decided.

Milotic shot out a pulsing ball of water that Qwilfish just barely dodged, before coming at her with an underwater Rollout. Qwilfish hit Milotic dead on, passing her and then turning to come back for her.

“Lure it in, Milotic, then catch it with Wrap!” she heard Oikawa’s voice.

Her eyes hardened, and with a cry she let the spinning pokemon hit her, and wrapped it up in her tail to squeeze it hard.

Qwilfish cried out as the Rollout was forcibly stopped, but retaliated with a Poison Sting that forced Milotic to let go and retreat, immediately affected by the poison and looking bad.

“Don’t mind, Milotic, just use Refresh and then follow up with Twister!” Oikawa called out.

Milotic’s body lit up as she used Refresh, causing the poison to get disintegrated. Then without missing a beat, she swam around, causing her Twister to split the water and throw Qwilfish around, unable to attack.

“Now Milotic! Let’s finish this with a Hydro Pump, go!” Oikawa shouted.

Milotic reared back, collecting power before blasting Qwilfish with a strong Hydro Pump, causing it to fall through the air.

“Alright.” Oikawa smiled, getting out an empty pokemon ball and throwing it right at Qwilfish.

The pokemon got dragged into the ball, and it fell into the water sinking slowly while shaking.

“Ahh, damn it.” Oikawa complained. “Milotic, could you be a dear and get that for me?”

Milotic made an affirming noise and then dived down into the water, disappearing for a few seconds before resurfacing with a still ball in her mouth. She swam over to Oikawa, and dropped it into his hand.

“Thank you!” he said, petting her head with a bright smile before calling her back into her ball. “Now, take a break.”

“You actually caught it. I didn’t expect that at all to be honest, I thought for sure you’d lose.” Mattsukawa said.

“Nah, he had Milotic. He might be worthless but she knows what she’s doing.” Hanamaki grinned, patting Oikawa on the back.

Oikawa pouted, scrunching up his nose at Hanamaki, getting ready to complain when Iwaizumi interrupted.

“So you have a Qwilfish now.” Iwaizumi said. “Congrats, what’s the plan for it?”

“Well!” Oikawa said, clapping his hands together as a grin took over the pout. “The first thing I’m gonna do is obviously naming it Iwa-chan.”

“What the fuck?” he bit out, as Hanamaki and Mattsukawa doubled over with laughter again and Oikawa started snickering. “Will someone just tell me what’s so funny already?!”

Oikawa put a hand on Iwaizumi’s shoulder, trying to stifle his laughter.

Seijou’s volleyball team was one of the best in the prefecture. It really didn’t come as a surprise when they were one of the teams invited to a big training camp. They were a team to be envied and admired, each of their players well balanced and valuable. However...

Oikawa narrowed his eyes at the player in front of him.

”So, we’re willing to pay a lot if Iwaizumi transfers to our team.” the trainer said, with a flush on his cheeks.

Who the fuck did this loser think he was?

”Excuse me?” he replied, with a tight smile. ”What was that?”

”Well, having seen Iwaizumi for these past days, we think we can offer him a great place to grow. He’d make a good addition to our team, and so we voted, and we’re willing to make it worth your while if you let him transfer to our team.” the strange player explained again.

”Not interested.” Oikawa said, before turning around and starting to walk away.

”Hold on!” the goddamned nuisance called out and grabbed his arm. ”Are you sure? Because we have a lot of resources!”

”Iwa-chan isn’t interested. He’s a vital part of Seijou and that isn’t going to change before graduation.” Oikawa sniffed. ”Now let go, I have to get back to my team.”

The other player frowned, letting go of Oikawa’s arm with a disappointed sigh, and Oikawa walked away from him immediately with an uncharacteristic frown on his own face.

He couldn’t believe this kept happening. For some reason, this camp, every single team was trying to get their grubby hands on HIS ace. The ridiculous propositions were rolling in, and while at first he teased Iwa-chan about it, now it was just pure infuriating.

Arriving back in the dining hall, he spotted his team sitting by a big table together, except... Iwa-chan was nowhere to be seen.

His heart skipped a beat in his chest. Had another team kidnapped him? He wouldn’t be surprised.

Oikawa stomped up to his team in a huff.

”Where’s Iwa-chan?” he asked.

”I think someone asked him to go outside and talk about something.” Hanamaki said.

”Maybe it’s a confession, Iwaizumi always had a way with the boys.” Matsukawa chimed in.

Oikawa let out a long groan, having to protect Iwa-chan was just so tiring sometimes.

”We can’t let those vultures get their hands on Iwa-chan! As an order from your captain, don’t leave them alone with him.” he narrowed his eyes at every one of his teammates. ”I just got another proposition to sell him, and it wouldn’t surprise me if someone tries to kidnap him or something. Got it?”

”Honestly, doesn’t this seem a bit excessive? Iwaizumi won’t leave Seijou no matter how many offers he gets.” Hanamaki said.

”You’re only saying that because you haven’t been the one to have to listen to all these... vultures!” Oikawa glared at Hanamaki. ”Now where did he go?”

”Out that door.” Yahaba said, pointing. ”Maybe he hasn’t gone far.”

Oikawa nodded, and started heading out the door, determined to find Iwaizumi before the kidnappers could take him anywhere.

As he thought. When he came out through the door, he spotted someone else talking to Iwaizumi. God damn it. Forcing a smile onto his face, he walked over with a bounce in his steps to wrap his arms around Iwa-chan from behind, resting his head on his shoulder.

”Iwa-chan! And stranger-kun. What is going on over here?” Oikawa interrupted their talk with a harsh smile directed right at the intruder.

”Oikawa.” Iwaizumi acknowledged him, rolling his eyes fondly. ”This is Yoshida from Furukawa.”

”Pleasure.” Oikawa smiled at Yoshida, who looked unnerved at the threatening aura rolling off of Oikawa. ”So what were you talking about?”

Yoshida gave Oikawa a nervous look, before turning back to Iwaizumi.

”I was just... Uhm, well, I was wondering if Iwaizumi-san would be interested in transferring to our school. We wanted to offer you a place on our team.” he said.

Iwaizumi’s eyes widened, while Oikawa’s narrowed into a glare.

”Uhmm..” Iwaizumi started. ”I don’t-”

”He’s not interested.” Oikawa interrupted, a friendly smile on his lips even as his eyes were staring cold and hard at the other player. ”Iwa-chan already has a team, so you’re just wasting your time.”

”Iwaizumi-san?” he asked, still clinging onto some pathetic strand of hope.

”Well, yeah. Sorry, Yoshida, I’m not really interested in transferring anywhere.” he explained.

Yoshida’s face fell, and he nodded.

”I understand.” he said, giving a quick bow. ”Please excuse me.”

And with that, Yoshida ran off, leaving Oikawa and Iwaizumi standing around looking after him.

”Well, then, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa said, finally letting go of Iwaizumi. ”Now that’s over with, so why don’t we head back to our team!”

Turning around towards the door with an honest skip in his steps, Oikawa prepared to head back inside, but Iwaizumi stood still behind him, only turning to face Oikawa.

”Hey, Oikawa.” he said. ”What was that about?”

Oikawa’s smile grew stiff, as he stopped to listen to Iwa-chan.

”What do you mean?” he tried.

”All that. You looked like you were seconds away from punching the poor kid.” Iwaizumi said, narrowing his eyes at his childhood friend.

”Ahahahah.” Oikawa laughed uncomfortably. ”Did I? That’s odd!”

With a sigh, Iwaizumi ran his hand through his hair, ears turning a bit red.

”You know I’m not leaving Seijou, right?” he muttered. ”At least not until graduation. There’s no need to be so possessive, I won’t suddenly just accept some offer like that, after all we’ve been through.”

Oikawa’s frozen smile fell off his face.

”But THEY don’t know that!” he explained, finally turning to face Iwaizumi. ”I have to make sure the message comes across or they might try kidnapping you!”

Iwazumi raised his arm, still frowning, and Oikawa looked cautiously at it before it landed on his head with a soft thud. Then the frown gave way to a grin, and Iwaizumi ruffled Oikawa’s hair.

Going out for food after training was a tradition Hinata was not willing to break, even if he had been training alone because technically it was their day off. The sun was still up, he had been practicing all morning, and now in the early afternoon his stomach had decided that it wouldn’t keep quiet anymore.

And if he went out of his way from the normal place it was just because he felt like it, and not because Suga would kick his ass if he found out Hinata was training on said day off.

But this place seemed good too, and his stomach was growling. Not that Hinata was much of a picky eater.

Digging up his wallet, he found that he had just enough to buy himself two pork buns. With a wide grin, he did just that. Handing the cashier money in exchange for a small paper bag with his two buns in them.

He discarded the paper bag immediately to shove both of the buns into his mouth at once, the picture of grace and sophistication.

But alas, too distracted by the food he didn't even notice as he ran straight into someone at the door, and both of the buns fell towards the dirty floor.

With a cry of distress, Hinata threw himself forward to catch them. But he could only watch as they slipped by his fingers and straight onto the ground. He stared at the now soiled buns in shock, breath hitching at the loss of his food.

"Oh no! I am so sorry, I must not have looked where I was going." a familiar voice interrupted his mourning, and Hinata looked up.

His eyes widened comically as he recognized the Aoba Johsai setter in front of him.

”GuwAAH! It’s the grand king!” he yelled, pointing his finger right at Oikawa’s face.

Oikawa’s own eyes widened in surprise just a bit, before a smile broke out on his face.

”Oh! Chibi-chan, fancy meeting you here.” he said. ”Aren’t you a bit off from your normal turf? Don’t tell me you’ve gotten lost!”

”Of course not!” Hinata shook his head. ”I just finished practicing, and then I came here to try the pork buns.”

Hinata’s eyes turned mournfully towards the ruined food on the ground.

”I guess I’m not finding out if they’re as good as my normal place today though.” he sighed.

”Seeing as it was my fault, I’ll treat you to a new pork bun. To make it up to you.” Oikawa replied.

Hinata furrowed his brows in confusion. Had it been Oikawa’s fault? He was pretty sure he’d been the one not looking.

”Are you sure? I don’t think-” Hinata started.

”Definitely! Just wait here and I’ll go buy you some new ones.” Oikawa interrupted, gently walking around Hinata and into the store while Hinata just stood there, blinking in confusion as the enemy went to buy him food.

Before long, Oikawa showed up again with a frown on his face.

”No good. Apparently they were just sold out.” he said apologetically, looking sad.

”Ahh- it’s fine! I can just eat at home instead, it’s no bother.” Hinata tried, holding up his hands between him and the king.

”No, I just must pay you back for this.” Oikawa’s frown then lit up into a smile. ”Wait! I know a great place not far from here. Let me take you there instead.”

Well. Hinata was still extremely hungry. And if Oikawa was sure that he owed him food, then maybe he shouldn’t complain.

”Alright then. Where to?” Hinata said.

Oikawa’s smile widened as he grabbed a hold of Hinata’s hand and started guiding him through the streets. Hinata stumbled a bit at first, trying to keep up with Oikawa’s strides as his eyes tried to take in everything around.

They turned onto a street that was bustling with life, street vendors taking up every corner with lines of people just trying to enjoy their day off. Oikawa slowed down a bit, looking back at Hinata.

”Are you keeping up?” he asked.

”Yeah! But..” Hinata trailed off, looking down at their intertwined hands.

Oikawa caught his gaze, and threw him another stunning smile and a peace sign.

”I don’t want to lose you in the crowd. You’re so small, I might never find you again.” he teased.

Hinata scrunched up his nose at the short comment. But that made sense, somewhat. Shrugging it off, he let Oikawa continue guiding him through the throngs of people. How long until they reached the food though? His stomach was whining up a storm.

”Here we are.” Oikawa sang, coming to a stop in front of a stand. ”The best shioyaki around!”

Hinata’s eyes widened. Finally!

Oikawa turned back from the stand holding two baked mackarels on sticks out, smiling brightly at Hinata.

”Here you go!”

Hinata grinned right back at him, taking the stick from Oikawa and with a loud ”Itadakimasu!” he dug into the fish.

While Hinata was busy eating the fish, Oikawa slid his hand back into his and started leading him away again down the street.

”Ahh, that was good!” Hinata exclaimed after just a few steps, and Oikawa looked over in surprise.

”You’re finished already?” he asked, and Hinata nodded.

”But man, did that make me thirsty.” Hinata continued.

Oikawa smiled brightly again.

”Oh no, I didn’t even think of that.” he said. ”Here, let me get you a drink!”

He dropped Hinata’s hand, winking at him.

”Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

Hinata nodded, eyes bright as Oikawa disappeared into the crowd. Man, had he maybe misjudged the Grand King? He seemed so nice out here, treating him to food and drinks. Like a completely different person from out on the court.

He stood for a moment, just gazing happily out at the crowd before his jaw dropped.

Was he just doing this to get to all of their game secrets!?

At that moment, Oikawa came back into sight.

”Hey, Chibi-chan!” he called out, holding two boxes of juice. ”I hope you like juice!”

Hinata pointed at him accusingly.

”Are you trying to find out our game secrets!?” he shouted, eyes narrowed.

Oikawa blinked, then his face fell into a pout.

”Is that what you think of me?” he whined. ”Even after this?”

Hinata glared at him.

”Then what is this about?” he asked.

Oikawa sighed, running a hand through his hair as his normally plastered on smile shrank.

”Is it that weird that you caught my attention? I’m just interested in you, I guess. So I figured I’d take the chance to talk to you while making up for the food you lost.” he explained.

The glare fell of Hinata’s face, replaced with sparkling eyes and a gaping mouth.

”Woahhh, you think I’m interesting!?” he exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air.

Such a formidable foe, finding Hinata interesting. This was a milestone. He was becoming great, one of the players to watch out for!

Oikawa looked to the side, rubbing the back of his head.

”Well, yeah.” he said softly. ”So do you want that juice?”

Hinata nodded, and Oikawa handed over the box.

”Hey, now that you’re here, would you like to check out the park?” Oikawa asked, as they kept walking close to each other, sipping on their juice.

”Sure!” Hinata nodded, and with a grin Oikawa grabbed his hand again, pulling him away from the bustling street.

Moving down through the park, Oikawa pointed out all the best spots for Hinata, telling him stories about the antics Seijou had gotten up to. Hinata laughed, giving back just as good with his own stories. The rest of the afternoon was spent with shaved ice, candy apples, yakitori, joking around, walking around the entire park twice before making their way back to the bigger street. As the evening started to fall, Oikawa treated Hinata to yakisoba. Boy, for being so small Hinata sure managed to eat a lot. They slowly made their way towards where Hinata had parked his bike when he arrived.

”Well, I guess there is where we’re going to part ways.” Oikawa said, hesitating by the bike. ”But maybe we could do this again?”

Nodding excitedly, Hinata almost couldn’t stand still.

”Maybe we could play together!” he said. ”You could teach me that killer serve! Just like POW!”

Oikawa blinked, before laughing.

”Well, then, it’s a date.” he winked, causing Hinata to pause and look up at Oikawa.

”It’s a what?” he asked, frowning.

Oikawa paused, looking down at Hinata in surprise.

”... A date?” he said. ”You know, like what we just did?”

Hinata’s mouth fell open.

”THAT WAS A DATE!?” he shouted, causing people around them to turn and stare.

Wide eyes, Oikawa was staring too, right at Hinata. Before sinking onto the ground, covering his face with his hands.

”Oh my god. Ooooh my god.” he muttered, hiding his face. ”I can’t believe this is happening.”

”Hold up. Why didn’t you tell me!?” Hinata continued, voice still embarrassingly loud and Oikawa couldn’t even begin to care.

”I... I bought you food and held your hand the entire time?” he tried, almost sobbing into his palms. ”I took you on a walk through the park and then to dinner, before walking you here? How would this not be a date!? I even told you I was interested in you! This is so embarrassing.”

Hinata sank down next to Oikawa, equally in shock. Somehow, he had missed that. He had missed everything, and suddenly it was all so clear. And he didn’t mind at all.

”Well.” Hinata started, looking up at Oikawa as a grin spread on his face. ”I guess it’s only fair I make it up to you then. With another date.”

”Oh.” Oikawa finally looked up, glancing at Hinata through his fingers. ”Really?”

”Yeah!” Hinata exclaimed. ”Wait, hold on, we should trade numbers then, right?”

Oikawa nodded, wiping discreetly at his eyes with his sleeve as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Hinata, who added his contact information into it immediately.

”Well, I still need to get home. But text me soon, alright?” Hinata continued.

Moving as if to stand, Hinata suddenly halted his movements and leaned into Oikawa’s personal space and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, before jumping up and getting on his bike.

”Woahhh!!!”

Hinata’s shout caused several of the people nearby to turn and look at him, but even with his eyes as wide as they were he didn’t notice them at all. There was just so much to look at out in the ocean, surfer’s waiting their turns out in the water, and then riding the huge waves back towards the beach. He dropped his own board into the sand, eyes growing impossibly bigger.

”Look at them go!” he called out. ”Just going woOSH!”

He spun around on his feet towards his friends, who were smiling at his antics.

”I need to get out there with them.” he said, chest burning with determination.

”Calm down there. You have to start with the basics before you can go out into the waves with a board.” Daichi said. ”We aren’t here to see you die on your first day, let’s start from the beginning.”

Hinata looked crestfallen, and Daichi might have been tempted to give in if he hadn’t grown used to Suga’s patented Puppy Eyes.

”Hey now! Don’t look so sad! I’m certain you’ll be out there in no time.” Suga chimed in, grinning. ”After all, you have the best teachers on the beach to help you out.”

Hinata perked up again immediately.

”Of course! I’ll be training so hard, you’ll see!” he cheered.

Hinata did indeed not get to go into the water immediately. Suga and Daichi had him practicing on land for hours, learning the right movements to get onto the board, how to paddle, and where to stand to best keep his balance.

It was draining work, even for a bundle of energy like Hinata. After some time with practicing and explaining the theory behind surfing, the three of them agreed to take a break for lunch and watch the surfers out in the water.

They sat on the beach, chewing on sandwiches and soda that they had brought down to the beach. Suga and Daichi chatted with each other on one of the towels, while Hinata was sitting up front with his eyes trained on the surfers.

There was one out in the water right now, sitting on his board and waiting for his turn to catch a wave. His wetsuit was white and blue, standing out from the black surrounding him. Hinata couldn’t look away, even when the surfer was just sitting there. There was just something about the confident way he moved.

And then it was his’ surfer’s turn. He was looking towards the horizon, before suddenly turning around and starting to paddle towards the beach as a wave approached. It built up beneath him, and just as it started to break the surfer jumped up, gliding down with the wave in flawless and practiced movements.

”Did you see that!?” he interrupted Daichi and Suga, pointing at the white and blue surfer. ”He just went down that wave like shhWWASH!”

Suga raised an eyebrow.

”Isn’t that Oikawa Tooru?” Daichi asked him with a groan. ”Please don’t let Hinata start idolizing him of all people. I cannot stand him.”

But too late, Hinata was already sprinting down to the edge of the water, leaving his board behind, and Suga patted Daichi’s arm comfortingly.

When Oikawa got out of the water, carrying his board under one arm and pushing his wet bangs out of his face, he was met by a short boy with clenched fists and hair like fire staring up at him.

”You!” he called, pointing directly at Oikawa.

Oikawa blinked, pointing to himself in confusion.

”Me?” he asked with a tiny smile on his face.

”Yes! You! I need you to teach me how to do that!” Hinata said, voice way too loud for a private conversation between two people.

Oikawa’s smile gave way to a look of genuine confusion, before noting the black and orange wetsuit. The smile came back, wider than before.

”Teach you? Gosh, that’s incredibly forward to ask of someone you just met, isn’t it?” he replied. ”You’re already wearing a wetsuit too, from Karasuno none the less. Don’t they have any teacher’s in your club?” he teased, tilting his head.

”I’m still just a beginner, but I am definitely going to become the best surfer in the entire world!” Hinata proclaimed. ”My teacher’s are great, they’ll help me grow and become great, but to be the best I need to learn from everyone. So please teach me!”

Oikawa laughed in surprise.

”A beginner you say? Tell you what.” he smiled. ”Just because you’re so cute, once you can show me that you can catch a wave, I’ll give you private practice in how to do it like I do.”

”Woaaaahh!” Hinata’s eyes were huge and shining with excitement at Oikawa’s promise. ”I swear! I’ll learn how to surf in no time at all! You better be prepared to teach me soon.”

”I’ll be here almost every day.” Oikawa replied with a smile.

”Just you wait!” Hinata exclaimed, completely fired up while pointing to Oikawa. ”I won’t give up until I can do it!”

”I’ll be looking forward to it.” Oikawa smiled.

Hinata grinned right back, saluting him before turning around in the sand and sprinting back to Daichi and Suga, shouting at them that he needed to get back to practice.

Nobody had ever claimed that Iwaizumi was a morning person. Especially during summer, he’d sleep way past noon every day if you let him. Fortunately, or unfortunately maybe, his mom was not having it.

”Hajime! I need you to go to the store for me.” she called, knocking on his door.

With a groan Iwaizumi turned in his bed, face mushed into his pillow. Desperately clinging onto the last strands of wonderful sleep.

”Hajime, did you hear me?” his mom was heard through the door again.

”Just five more minutes.” he grumbled, pulling the blanket further over his head.

”Now, Hajime. It’ll just be harder to get up if you fall asleep again.” she said, before she walked away.

Slowly Iwaizumi sat up, rubbing his eyes as the blanket fell off him and onto the floor. With the cold air hitting his bare chest, curling back into bed was just so tempting. But nobody disobeyed Mrs. Iwaizumi, it really just wasn’t worth it.

Stumbling out of his bedroom dressed in a pair of old and torn jeans and a tanktop, he reached the kitchen by pure muscle memory, eyes still closed.

”Morning, sleepyhead.” his mother teased. ”I saved you some breakfast, and then I want you to go to the store for me.”

”Mhmm.” Hajime muttered, sinking into one of the chairs where food was waiting for him, and started to dig into the rice, miso soup and grilled fish.

As a growing boy, not even sleep could keep Iwaizumi from finishing his entire meal quickly. When he was sipping on his green tea, his mother slid a neatly written note in front of him.

He looked up at her confused.

”What’s this?” he asked.

His mother, the expert of fondly exasperated looks, just shook her head. Why even bother asking Hajime anything before breakfast? He wouldn’t be awake enough to remember it either way.

”I need you to go shopping for me today. Here’s the list of things to get. I would go myself, but there’s just so much to get done today.” she explained.

Hajime nodded, stretching out in his chair.

”Alright, alright. I’ll go.” he said, grabbing the note from the table as he stood up, calling out a goodbye to his mom as he left the house.

The bus stop wasn’t far from his house, and Iwaizumi reached it before long. Strolling up with his hands in his pockets, he went over to the bench to sit down next to an old lady. Her eyes widened, looking at him, and she inched away from him where he sat.

Paying no mind to it, Iwaizumi just sunk down in the seat to wait for the bus to arrive. It didn’t take long before it pulled up, and Iwaizumi got on it, paying the fare.

The bus was almost completely full when he got on. The only empty seat he could spot was next to the very same lady he'd been waiting next to on the bus stop. But as he walked up to the seat, she quickly placed her purse on it, looking demonstratingly out of the window when he stopped next to the seat. When she made no sign of moving the bag, he huffed, sent her a glare and stomped on towards the back of the bus. For the rest of the ride, he saw how she turned to look at him nervously for the rest of the ride.

Rarely had he experienced bus trips as stifling as this one, so reaching his stop was a huge relief. Almost everyone was getting off here to go to the market, along with both Iwaizumi and the old lady.

Finally, he thought as he saw the old lady disappear into the crowds, he wouldn't have to see her ever again.

Oh how he was wrong.

For some reason they kept bumping into each other over and over again.

By the vegetables, where she turned and saw him and dropped a tomato right onto his feet.

By the fishstand, where she continuosly inched further and further away from him when he stood in line behind her until she was almost pressed up against the food.

By the little bakery, where she saw him first and just turned around to walk away.

It irked Iwaizumi to no end, seeing her avoid him like he had the plague or something. And he ended up glaring at her everytime they met eyes.

Even at the busstop on the way home, she was standing as far away from him as she could, sending him nervous glances as he tried to just ignore her. It wouldn't be long until he got home now, he just had to keep it up a little while longer.

But just as the bus rolled up, Iwaizumi suddenly heard someone call out to him.

"Iwaizumi, is that you?"

He turned around, spotting Hanamaki and Matsukawa walking up to him as the people around him started to board the bus.

"Don't you look like a little delinquent today. I never thought I'd see the day you'd have a glare like that without Oikawa around." Hanamaki said.

"I don't look like a delinquent." Iwaizumi said, punching Hanamaki softly in the arm.

"Uh-huh. The ripped jeans, the biceps, the way too spiky hair and not to mention that glare. Sure you don't, thug." Matsukawa drawled.

Iwaizumi just rolled his eyes at them, gesturing to the bag of wares he was holding.

"I went shopping for my mom, very thuggish I'm sure." he said.

"Very." Matsukawa agreed, while Hanamaki looked at something behind Iwaizumi.

"I hope that wasn't your bus that just left." Hanamaki said, causing Iwaizumi to spin around with a loud curse while the troublemakers laughed behind him.

After what felt like ages, Iwaizumi finally stepped off the bus at his stop, cursing his shitty taste in friends under his breath.

Iwaizumi's stop wasn't a very populated one, so he was the only one to get off. Starting to head home he walked until he suddenly heard a call for help, coming from around the corner. He turned with the street without hesitating, and started to look for whoever had made the sound.

His eyes widened as he caught sight of the old lady from before, lying down in the ditch next to the road with her wares spread out all around her.

With a curse under his breath he put down his own wares and hurried over to the fallen lady, kneeling down next to her.

"Are you alright? Do you need any help?" he asked.

"Oh, bless you son, I thought I would be lying here for hours." she said, voice cracking as Iwaizumi helped her to sit up. "Can you see my glasses around here? My vision is just awful without them."

Iwaizumi quickly looked around on the ground, spotting the glasses not far from there. Reaching over, he quickly checked to make sure they weren’t cracked, but they had landed softly in the grass and he handed them over to the lady, who put them on.

”Oh. Oh dear.” she said when she caught sight of Iwaizumi for the first time, flushing with embarrassment. ”I seem to have made an awful misjudgment. I sincerely apologize, son.”

Iwaizumi looked away, rubbing the back of his head.

”That’s no problem. Here, let me collect your food.” he tried to distract her, but the old lady looked positively distraught.

Gazing at him with wet eyes as he collected all the food on the ground into the basket she had carried with her, Iwaizumi could feel his ears turn red. He tried to ignore the burning feeling, and once the food was collected he turned back to the lady to help her up, steadying her the entire way back to the street.

”At my age I should really know better than to judge someone like that.” she said, leaning against his muscular arm.

”Don’t mind it.” Iwaizumi muttered, his neck burning up. ”Are you hurt? I should probably help you home.”

”Oh dear, what a gentleman.” she said with a soft smile. ”If you wouldn’t mind. My husband is certainly waiting for me now. You know, he always tells me to be careful, but you never really understand the dangers before they happen.”

Iwaizumi nodded in acknowledgement as she spoke, carrying both his own bag of food and her basket in one hand, leaving the other one free to support her as she led the way towards her home.

”I try so hard to be the kind of person my mother raised me to be.” the lady went on. ”But sometimes I get caught up in being cautious, and I completely forget that you shouldn’t judge anyone by their looks. Just look at how wrong you can get.”

”It’s really no big deal.” Iwaizumi tried. ”I’ve been told that I can look intimidating before.”

”Nonsense! I must really apologize properly to you. The rest of us could learn a lot from you.” she gave him a warm smile as she led him into a garden. ”How about you come in for a cup of tea?”

”I don’t want to intrude-” Iwaizumi tried, unwilling to pull away before she was safely at home.

”It would be my pleasure! Please come inside.” she said, as she opened up the door and walked inside, leaving Iwaizumi to make his way in after her. His mother had always said that refusing kindness was rude.

Much later that day, Iwaizumi finally came home. Full of tea and sweets, and stories from the old couple Sasaki just a few streets over. Pushing the door open, he kicked off his shoes.

”I’m home.” he called out, heading into the kitchen with the groceries.

In the kitchen he was met by the sight of Oikawa sitting with his mother at the table, drinking tea.

”Iwa-chan!” Oikawa called out, face lighting up. ”Where have you been? Your mother said you were just going to the market, but that was hours ago! ”

Iwaizumi paused, meeting Oikawa’s eyes with a deadpan expression.