Chapter Text
This... Wasn’t good.
“Oikawa!” Iwaizumi stood in front of the snow leopard enclosure with one hand knotting in his hair, and the other perched on his hip with nails digging in. The enclosure was empty. There was no sign of the big cat, but definitely a trail of where he disappeared to. The door had been mauled open, and Oikawa’s toys – fallen from the basket they were usually kept in – gave away his direction.
Somewhere in his house, Iwaizumi had a snow leopard to find. Hopefully, before Hanamaki did. On Saturdays, Hanamaki liked to sleep in until 6am. Checking his watch, Iwaizumi noted that gave him an hour and fifteen minutes to track down his son. It sounded easy put like that, but it wasn’t. Oh, it never was. Oikawa may have been a white and spotty big cat in Iwaizumi’s humble home, but that didn’t mean he was willing to be found. Many times, it had taken a full hour to track the cat down.
“God dammit, Oikawa... I swear, if you’ve broken the fridge again...” He trekked back to the house with a stomp in his step, only pausing when he went to open the door. He exhaled heavily, relaxing his muscles and easing out any tension. If he were to continue stomping around, he could wake Hanamaki. With thoughts of peace and quiet in his mind, Iwaizumi opens the door and steps in. He almost breaks his vigil of silence before it even begins.
The kitchen is trashed. There’s pots and pans all over the floor, food spread across ever surface, distinctive paw prints on the counter and one on the ceiling – worst of all, just as Iwaizumi suspected – The fridge lies on its side, door open and insides empty, the plug sparking from where the wires have been ripped away at the wrong angle. Iwaizumi puts his head in his hands and seethes with rage. That’s the third fridge this year! A noise from upstairs has him still in fright.
No. No no no. Please, god no.
He runs as fast and silently as he can up the stairs, skidding to a halt in the doorway of his bedroom. He stills; eyes wide and heart thudding painfully slow in his chest. Hanamaki lies in bed, curled up in the glow of the rising sun coming through the window, painted gold and rose as he breathes peacefully, deep in sleep.
He’s completely unaware of the snow leopard lying next to him on the bed. Oikawa looks up as Iwaizumi steps in, perking up like he’s about to leap from his place next to Hanamaki and throw himself at Iwaizumi. The only problem with that is the placement of his paws. The second he moves, Oikawa will step on Hanamaki. Iwaizumi instantly sinks into his hunches, flailing his arms around to stop Oikawa from moving. The big cat stops moving, tilts his head to one side, and then relaxes. Just as Iwaizumi breathes out in relief, Oikawa dips his head down and looks up again with tonight’s whole chicken in his mouth.
“Oikawa!!” Clapping his hands over his mouth, Iwaizumi realises his mistake. Hanamaki is still asleep. Or rather, Hanamaki was still asleep. As of this moment, Hanamaki is sitting up in bed, nose to nose with Oikawa and not yet processing that he was staring into the face of death. Hanamaki sleepily mumbles, and reaches up to run his fingers through Oikawa’s fur.
“Hajime, you really need to shave...” With nothing more than that sleepy mumble, he flops back down. Iwaizumi snickers, watching Oikawa looks between the two with a low confused grunt. Like any other cat though, he has much more pressing matters to return to. Food. He picks up the whole chicken in his large jaws and pads his paws on the mattress, pushing himself to his feet. He’s going to jump, Iwaizumi realises, and since Hanamaki has moved, the only thing is Oikawa’s way is-
“Oh.” Oikawa’s oversized front paws slam into Iwaizumi’s shoulders and push him backwards, landing on the floor with the air forced out of his lungs, wheezing when Oikawa jumps off again. As if to add insult to injury, the black tip of Oikawa’s tail delicately taps his nose. Iwaizumi growls under his breath and blows some shedded fur off his face. Pushing himself up, he wheezes once more as breath fills his sore chest. Oikawa wasn’t exactly light. 49 kilograms of snow leopard is not exactly the way Iwaizumi wants to leave this world, despite how much he loves the felines in his back garden. He sighs and follows distinctive marks on the carpet. Oikawa must have stepped in some kind of spread, since he’s leaving parts of paw prints around the house.
“Oikawa, c’mere boy...” A quiet mewl from the kitchen answers his whisper and Iwaizumi rolls up his sleeves read to wrestle something out of Oikawa’s jaws, if he has to. Last time, the Walking Troublemaker™ had chosen to gnaw on a coffee machine. Not good for his gums, and not good for Hanamaki’s coffee dependency. As he enters the kitchen, he finds Oikawa is still much more interested in his stolen chicken than any of the kitchenware. With an aggravated sigh, Iwaizumi grabs the ten meter lead he keeps in the cupboard under the sink.
It’s what he used to walk Oikawa with, back when he was a tiny cub with a tendency to wander off. It’s what he currently uses to train Watari and Yahaba, to get their muscles back into shape after months of neglect. And it’s most likely what he’s going to use with Kyoutani’s cubs when they start walking. Right now though, it serves another purpose. Iwaizumi ties it up in to a lasso, and carefully throws it to land around the half eaten chicken. Ever so gently, he pulls it tight, and experimentally tugs. The chicken moves with the lead.
“Oh thank god. Alright... Here we go. No backing out now, Hajime...” The nervous pep-talk is all he gives himself before he loops his end of the lead around his wrist, and fucking bolts for it. The lead gives him enough time to pick up speed and gain a lengthy advantage, although that will be completely useless if Oikawa decides to leap and tackle his prey, which is dragged along behind Iwaizumi. The best thing about this lasso technique is that Oikawa doesn’t see the chicken being pulled away until it’s gone, and the sudden disappearance stuns him for a moment in which Iwaizumi is still running. The second Oikawa realises the chicken is no longer between his paws, he yeowls and gives chase.
There’s no debating which one of them is faster. Oikawa is a fricking Snow leopard, for crying out loud. Iwaizumi is 100% certain he will be caught. But at the very least, he can get Oikawa away from the house and attempt to lure him back into his enclosure. He’s only just turned the second corner when he hears Oikawa’s large paws thud into the ground as he pushes himself off the earth with his haunches, leaping into the air and diving for the chicken, which bobs along after Iwaizumi. The dirt covered meal in Oikawa’s paws, the lead tenses and pulls Iwaizumi backwards onto his rear end.
“Ow, ow, ow...”
“... Iwaizumi-san, I sometimes question your motives.” Dusting himself off, Iwaizumi looks away from Tsukishima to try and hide his blush of embarrassment, though the tips of his ears give it away. Tsukishima muffles a smug laugh as he watches from his little stool just next to Kyoutani’s enclosure. The Iberian lynx raises a paw and claws at the fence, demanding another piece of food. This time, Tsukishima is giving him scraps of deer, left over from a road kill the night before. Oikawa sniffs the air intently and Iwaizumi freezes.
“Tsukishima... Put the deer down, and back away slowly...” Blinking in confusion, Tsukishima does as instructed. It’s only when he notices Oikawa stalking towards the abandoned strips of deer meat that he realises why Iwaizumi was being so serious. Kyoutani’s hackles rise as he glares at the snow leopard, ears flat against his head, claws digging into the dirt, and a low, ferocious growl rumbling in his throat. He has kittens to protect, and he’s never been the friendliest anyways. Whether Oikawa doesn’t notice him – Which would label him the stupidest big cat ever, Iwaizumi decides – or he’s more focused on the available breakfast. Most likely it’s the latter.
He pads up to the enclosure fence, almost pressed against the wire as he crouches down and starts eating. Kyoutani is going absolute nuts, yowling, screeching, spitting and launching himself at the wiring with all his focus on attacking the ‘intruder’. Despite the fact that Oikawa isn’t inside his enclosure, it’s still trespassing on what Kyoutani considers his own territory. Oikawa finishes the meat quickly, licking his lips as he lifts his head and stares at Kyoutani, unafraid of the intimidating display. He stares, and does nothing else, but something amazing happens that wows both Tsukishima and Iwaizumi.
Kyoutani backs down. He shuffles until his belly lies on the floor, his chin atop his front paws, and short fluffy tail curled beneath him. Tsukishima stares in disbelief, and Iwaizumi breathes out shakily in relief. He comes over to Oikawa’s side, and shoves the big cat towards his own enclosure.
“Come on, you big lug! Get a move on!” Iwaizumi shoves Oikawa again to try and get him walking, before Tsukishima whispers with horror in his voice.
“Iwaizumi-san... Iwaizumi-san, please, do not move.”
“Hm?” Curiously, he looks over at where Oikawa’s eyes are fixed and swears under his breath. What a time for one of the kittens to come outside for the first time! Kyoutani whips his head between the two, standing defensively between his kitten and Oikawa. For a moment, Iwaizumi thinks it might be both kittens coming out, but then Kunimi’s head ducks back into the inside area, and only Kindaichi tumbles out into a patch of grass. He sits up with a dazed look and gives a small squeak of confusion, clumsily getting back on all four paws. They’re too big for him and he trips again, but in an instance, Kyoutani is by his side. He still warily glances at Oikawa, but his focus is all on his son. Nudging Kindaichi to an upright position, he swipes a tongue over his head.
At just over three weeks old, his eyes are open and he wobbles around on all fours with determination. Not so much elegance, but definitely determination. Iwaizumi can see that both kittens inherited dark eye colour from their father, after the pearly blue of newly-opened eyes had settled. Whilst their coats are drastically different from Kyoutani’s sandy fur, their eyes and their personalities are identical in most ways. Oikawa gives a little ‘Prrrrip~?’ of interest, and Kyoutani lunges at the fence again, snarling and hissing and spitting. Oikawa’s ears flatten. His hackles raise. For a moment, Iwaizumi fears – because he is not stupid – that he is caught between two big cats that are about to fight through a fence.
“Mew!” The tiny mew, so loud for a three week old kitten, instantly breaks the tension. In the time that Kyoutani and Oikawa have been standing off, Kindaichi had ambled over to the wiring. He taps it with one clumsy paw curiously. The fence rattles, just as it does when Kyoutani throws himself against it, but quieter and on a much smaller scale. It seems to please the kitten, so he does it again. And again. As the lynx kitten bats at the fence with growing enthusiasm, Kyoutani backs down, staring at Kindaichi like he’s questioning what the fuck his son is doing. Even Oikawa blinks as if he’s enquiring about the activity. Both of them are so caught up in Kindaichi playing with the fence, that neither of them seem to notice each other anymore.
“... What do we do when he stops doing that?”
“Don’t ask me, you’re the sanctuary owner.” Iwaizumi shoots Tsukishima a look, but he only shrugs and turns his attention back to the big cats. Curious about the noise, Kunimi pokes his head out of the indoor area; one paw flopped over the step. He makes a noise somewhere between a squeak and a yowl that catches Kindaichi’s attention, turning around to squeak back at his brother. His paw automatically still hits the fence, but slower and clumsier. His sharp kitten claws snag on the wiring and as he drops his paw to the ground, the claw tugs and he squeals. Kyoutani lunges back into aggression, leaping at Oikawa and blaming the snow leopard for the kitten being in pain. Oikawa snarls back, ready to strike, and Iwaizumi knows he has to act fast. Tsukishima quickly moves forwards to help unhook Kindaichi’s claw from the fence, but Oikawa is still going to initiate a fight through the barrier if Iwaizumi isn’t quick enough and-
He throws all his weight against Oikawa, knocking the big cat away and crashing on the floor with a choked gasp of pain. He’s landed wrong. His elbow throbs and aches and he knows something is wrong, but he’ll deal with that later. Scrambling back to his feet as Oikawa stalks towards the enclosure threateningly, Iwaizumi blocks his path, making himself appear as big as possible by lifting his jacket up over his head and swinging it around. The intimidating display distracts Oikawa and he backs down with a whimpered mewl. A little guiltily, Iwaizumi steers him back towards his own enclosure until Oikawa’s attention is entirely on following the path he escaped down, and thoughts of Kyoutani are out of his head. Sighing with relief, Iwaizumi drops his jacket back to cover him and winces at the twinge in his elbow. Attempts to roll up the sleeve as Oikawa drops to walk next to him are futile, too painful to actually reveal the main part of his elbow.
“Shit...” He breathes out steadily as the shock of the injury ebbs away and is replaced with excruciating stabs of pain, bringing prickling tears to the forefront of his eyes. Locking the door to Oikawa’s enclosure with the big cat inside and looping chains around to hold it is a difficult task, and it’s only when he’s nudged to the side, Iwaizumi relents in trying. He looks up to see Aone nod down at him. Tsukishima stands further off, an inkling of concern in his stoic features. He must have seen what had happened and immediately gone to fetch Aone, who is their on-site medic for the employees and volunteers. Aone finishes chaining up the gate as Oikawa attempts to brush his cheeks against the gentle giant, purring loudly. Then, Aone looks to where Iwaizumi is clutching at his elbow through the jacket and nods to the clothing.
“Off.” Iwaizumi attempts to shrug off his jacket, but he can’t actually move his elbow enough to take it off without feeling like he’s ripping his arm off- Aone frowns deeply, enough to wrinkle the bridge of his nose with worry, and dips appear in his cheeks. Iwaizumi hisses as he tugs his jacket back up.
“Don’t worry about it, s’probably just a... Sprain, or something.”
“Iwaizumi-san, catch.” He turns just in time to see a bag of cat treats – something Tsukishima carries around – thrown towards him and reaches up to catch it. The motion is too much, too fast and a strangled cry escapes him as he pulls his elbow to his chest and cradles it behind his other arm. Aone doesn’t waste a second before he puts a hand on Iwaizumi’s back and guides him towards the main building with a hurried pace.
“Wh-What, no! I’m fine, Aone, It’s just a sprain!”
“Could be broken...” Iwaizumi stops trying to fight back in stunned silence as Aone leads him into the medical bay. Tsukishima stops short of following, pausing by Matsukawa’s enclosure. He side-eyes the caracal who does nothing but purr slyly, and rolls his eyes. Matsukawa stretches with a low trill, pacing alongside the fence by Tsukishima’s side, until he sighs and tosses one of the cat treats in for him. As the caracal pounces after it, Tsukishima takes a deep breath. How is he supposed to explain this to Hanamaki? The door to the house is still open from where Iwaizumi had shooed Oikawa out, so Tsukishima tentatively knocks.
“Hello...? Hanamaki-san?” Stepping in, he winces at the state of the kitchen. There’s movement from upstairs, and then Hanamaki’s sleepy voice floats down the stairs to let Tsukishima know he’s coming. He waits patiently, until Hanamaki arrives in the kitchen rubbing his eyes. He freezes, stares at the open fridge and muddy pawprint, and scowls.
“Oikawa...” As if this is an every day event, he carefully steps over to the coffee machine, picks it up, plugs it into the wall, and starts to run it. Lucky for him, it works. He sighs in relief and turn to Tsukishima with a casual, but tired grin.
“So wassup? You don’t normally come to visit.”
“Iwaizumi might be going to hospital.” The empty coffee cup slips from Hanamaki’s grasp, and he doesn’t even react when it shatters on the ground.
“Wh- What? What happened?!”
“Aone thinks it could be a broken bone. Uh, his elbow.” Hanamaki looks so intensely distressed, that Tsukishima shuffles awkwardly. When Hanamaki speaks, his voice is wet and shaky.
“Where is he now?”
“In- In the medical bay.” Tsukishima wisely steps aside as Hanamaki pushes past, sparing no second thought for the trashed kitchen or his state of dress – a sleeping gown with thin pyjamas underneath – to rush to his partners side. His husband, his best friend, the love of his life. Sitting in the medicine bay with potentially a broken bone and other injuries, since Hanamaki never asked how it happened.
“Hajime!” He bursts into the room, garnering attention as Aone jumps at the entrance and Iwaizumi flinches before smiling over at Hanamaki. Anybody else would have been reassured, but Hanamaki can tell there’s a slight twitch to the corner of his lips that wavers, holding back a sharp cry. Walking over quickly, Hanamaki pulls him into a gentle hug, careful of his elbows. He can instantly tell which one it is, since Iwaizumi’s left shoulder jolts like he’s been electrocuted. Loosening his hug, Hanamaki presses a gentle kiss to his cheek then peppers them up to Iwaizumi’s forehead, lingering for a moment before drawing away.
“What happened...?” With a sigh, Iwaizumi explains it as Aone uses very huge very scary scissors to cut away the sleeve of Iwaizumi’s jacket and peel it off. The flesh all around is elbow is bright purple and bruised and surprisingly pretty. The elbow itself, however...
Hanamaki gags and looks away as Iwaizumi pales, Aone’s gentle hands checking the broken bone. It’s definitely dislocated, if not fully broken. He looks just as troubled as the other two, especially since, well, Iwaizumi can barely move it without a grimace of pain. He makes his decision very quickly.
“Hospital.” Hanamaki nods, but Iwaizumi sharply shakes his head.
“What? No. I don’t need hospital. It’ll heal itself.” Hanamaki narrows his eyes.
“Hajime. I love you, but you’re a massive idiot. You’re going to hospital.” A staring match ensues, both of them wearing heavy pouts and stubborn faces until Aone gently nudges Iwaizumi’s elbow and he’s distracted with an “Ow!”. It settles the argument, and Hanamaki quickly pops back to the house to get dressed whilst Iwaizumi waits in the passenger seat of the sanctuary van, not happy about his situation at all.