Chapter Text
The Japanese National Team was already training by the time that Iwaizumi joined the team, and since he was in a less important position that with the Alders he was mostly focusing on just making new training schedules for all of them, watching film and analyzing all the players in their regular weight room training to create the perfect sets to build on their weaknesses without sacrificing areas that they were already strong in. Ushijima and Kageyama were at first the only two players that Iwaizumi readily knew and considered close, but eventually he ended up getting acquainted with more of the players on the team.
The Olympics were readily getting closer meaning players were pushing themselves to the max and people were working constantly behind the scenes to make sure everything was taken care of them so the second that they got on the court they had the absolute best chances of doing well without having to worry about who got them there. Everybody was doing so well with their new workouts that Iwaizumi was constantly updating them to make it a little harder and soon results started showing up in practice. Iwaizumi was required to watch to see if there was anything that needed to be improved off of the court, but when watching the players all Iwaizumi could just see everything going better. Players needed less breaks, stamina improved, jumps were higher, reactions were quicker, there was major improvement before the Olympics.
Iwaizumi had put in all his effort for this team, and when he received the email that he had been chosen as one of the athletic trainers that would be attending the Olympics with the team, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride at his work. It was nice to be recognized as important, even though in the back of his mind he’d been hoping something would’ve given him the excuse not to go. In the middle of the night, it was easy to brush off having to see Oikawa again, but that was different than in the day when your head is in the right place.
Still, Iwaizumi packed while on the phone with Hayate who seemed pretty excited about the development, forcing himself not to think about what going to the Olympics entailed for his personal life, and then he was on a plane to Paris for the Olympics. Part of him was definitely regretting it and on the verge of jumping out of his chair and demanding somebody to let him off, but it seemed like Ushijima was making sure that he wasn’t going to do that, forcing Iwaizumi into the window seat and ready to block the athletic trainer should he change his mind last minute.
So, Iwaizumi just sat, looking out as the airplane began to roll across the pavement, speeding up until finally the wheels were in the air instead of on the ground, holding his breath until finally he was thousands of feet in the air, nothing supporting him should the engines fail and they would all go crashing into a horrible fiery death. Iwaizumi held the arm rest so tight that his knuckles turned white. Even though all the players were chattering and moving about the cabin, Iwaizumi kept his eyes on the ground and counted the hours until he got back onto solid ground. At that moment, he decided he was definitely not an airplane person.
~~~
Arriving in Paris was not as glamorous for Iwaizumi as it was for the players. The athletic trainers left the plane first so they wouldn’t get attacked by all the people supporting the Japanese Team who had shown up to the airport to give them a warm welcome. All the people who were out there were probably supporting Team France since they were already formidable and one of the the favorites going into the games this year, but they definitely had Japan as one of their backups since Japan had grown into being pretty popular.
When Iwaizumi felt solid ground he was proud that he didn’t crumble to the ground and kiss the disgusting cement, instead keeping his composure and walking through customs to finally after the biggest hassle getting to the busses to bring the athletic team to their hotel (they wouldn’t be staying in Olympic Village). Hating planes would definitely be the reason he refused the National Team next year, but the rest of the traveling to the hotel was relatively normal.
When he got to his room, he knew that he had to start working since most of his team had been better when it came to working on the airplane, but his stressing stole away the precious hours that had now put him behind. The players were sour from sitting uncomfortably from sitting in tiny seats for a long time and if they wanted to beat teams that were much taller than themselves, they could not allow their athleticism to drop before first serve, which meant Iwaizumi spent a solid hour (he wanted to give them a few minutes to relax before reminding them this was work not a vacation) crafting a nice workout routine for them all to do, and sent it to the Head Athletic director for it to be approved.
Outside of that, Iwaizumi was largely free, taking a few minutes to wonder what he should do. The world outside was filled with things to do, but he was a bit nervous about exploring a whole new city by himself. Luckily that wasn’t a big problem since Tendou’s notification lit up his phone, telling Iwaizumi he just landed and that they should go do something. It always surprised Iwaizumi the amount of energy his friend had to be ready to sightsee after a fourteen hour flight. Still, Iwaizumi was thankful to be thought of and texted back he’d be at the airport to pick up Tendou in 20 minutes and let the head athletic trainer know that he’d be off the clock for a few hours before leaving his hotel room in a rush.
~~~
“Iwaizumi!” A loud voice broke Iwaizumi out of his confusion looking around. Tendou had told him the gate he was at, but the amount of people arriving from international flights was making it impossible to see anyone through the tourists flooding the airport and yelling into their phones. Luckily, Tendou seemed to be much more skilled when it came to navigating big crowds because he felt the taller man’s arms wrap around his shoulders as he screamed in excitement as if he hadn’t been at his house a week ago.
“Tendou,” Iwaizumi sighed after the shock of being grabbed in an airport wore off, “how was your flight?”
“Oh, it was amazing!” Tendou exclaimed because obviously he seemed to be much less scared of being in the air compared to his friend. He talked about how amazing it was to be in the window seat and how he could look at all the countries and scenery passing by and it was so beautiful that he was disappointed that they landed. It was obvious that the two had a very different experience when it came to their travel, but Iwaizumi just smiled and agreed while Tendou talked and took his bag towards where the car he’d borrowed was waiting in the parking lot.
Tendou forced Iwaizumi to give him the keys since Tendou was a local even after he moved back to Japan and was ready to give Iwaizumi the best tour of France he would have in his life, and honestly, he wasn’t lying. Tendou was able to navigate the traffic as best as Iwaizumi thought was possible and found the best places to see popular attractions like the Eiffel Tower. Throughout all of this, Tendou seemed to be glowing, and Iwaizumi could definitely see how much he loved the city. A part of Iwaizumi wondered if Tendou ever regretted moving back to Japan, but he knew that Tendou didn’t. He looked happy in France, but he knew Tendou would be even happier if Ushijima was here, which was why he loved Japan so much. Maybe one day once Ushijima retires, the two would move back to France one day, it felt like Tendou would really like that.
They went to lunch at this little restaurant that didn’t have too many customers which was a nice break for Iwaizumi, and it seemed like every server knew Tendou by name, which was nice since it seemed Iwaizumi got free service. Tendou speaking French really did help out, not just when it came to ordering, but Iwaizumi learned that if he just kept quiet and let Tendou talk, the people seemed nicer and less money hungry than when Iwaizumi spoke his broken English. By the end of the day, Iwaizumi dropped Tendou off at his hotel and went back home, happy for the little break before tomorrow it was back to making sure the Japanese National Team brought back a gold medal.
~~~
Ushijima found that the Olympic Village was not as romanticized as people made it out to be. For being the residence of the best athletes coming from all around the world to one of the biggest events of the year, it ended up being subpar at best. In Ushijima’s eyes, using more sustainable materials wouldn’t be incredibly wrong as long as they were well made. Potentially, whoever made the furniture for Olympic Village wasn’t too understanding that they would be hosting strong men and women who are built of mostly if not all muscle, meaning cardboard was not the best material. This became absolutely clear to Ushijima when he was laying on his bed after Iwaizumi’s brutal workout, crashing onto the hard floor when it gave out.
So, after talking to his coach about the situation, Ushijima was left to try to make himself comfortable in the lobby’s cafe while he waited out the time until he was assigned a new room, forced to watch his boyfriend and his best friend running around the streets of Paris finding the most adventurous and fun things to do. If it was up to him, Ushijima would already be driving out to join them, but he had a team meeting in an hour and driving out would be a nightmare with all the tourists beginning to arrive for the games, so he was stuck watching a show on his computer and waiting for photos of Tendou and Iwaizumi in front of the Eiffel Tower or tasting French pastries, or visiting one of the first chocolate shops Tenoud ever worked at. He was getting major FOMO, but he also told himself it was good he may have something nice happening should Japan not make it as far as they wanted in the Olympics this year, then he would have time to finally see the place that Tendou loved so much.
Until then, and hopefully he and Tendou would have to plan their own trip in the offseason to France since he was itching to wear a gold medal around his neck, Ushijima was half asleep. He couldn’t be fully asleep since his chair was poking him in the spine, but he was so tired from travel and training that he was almost drifting off when a loud ruckus made him jolt upright in his seat. When he looked away from the screen of his computer, he was rewarded with seeing the light blue of what he recognized as Argentina’s National Team, the last time he’d seen them was in the last Olympics. He remembered them extremely well since that was the team Oikawa was on, though Ushijima sometimes wished he hadn’t moved to a whole different country, he was truly an amazing setter and would definitely be starting in his opinion should Oikawa have played for Japan.
Ushijima, because he always made the effort to reach out to further classmates, and a little habit from high school whenever he saw the setter, got up from his previous resting spot on the chair and went up to where he saw the setter speaking rapid-fire Spanish to what Ushijima remembered as their middle blocker. They hadn’t played against Argentina since the VNL two years ago, but Ushijima remembered how frustrating he was well enough to recognize his face. Oikawa didn’t recognize him until Ushijima was practically standing right in front of the setter, seeing Oikawa’s surprised expression at seeing someone from so long ago.
“Wakatoshi-san,” Oikawa’s voice came out steady, opposed to the childish resentment that used to bubble up every time Ushijima tried to approach Oikawa in their high school years. He never tried to be outright rude, but he found that Oikawa wasn’t the biggest fan of him, which had been confirmed by Iwaizumi once the two had gotten close enough to reminisce over high school while drinking crappy alcohol from a convenience store near Iwaizumi’s house. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
A stupid remark, Ushijima was sure, because Oikawa knew exactly that Ushijima would be in this building, maybe not in the lobby at the exact moment the team from Argentina arrived, but there was a possibility of them running into each other or even playing against each other during their time here. Still, Ushijima smiled and responded eloquently, just like Tendou would’ve expected, “It’s great to see you, Tooru, how have you been?”
Oikawa’s face turned right back into that childish smirk, and Ushijima couldn’t help but smile at that. Being an Olympian sometimes made it seem like high school was so long ago, and even though Ushijima struggled through some of it, he honestly was happy with a lot of the memories he made, even if it was Oikawa and his constant upset attitude. Of course, now knowing why Oikawa found him so insufferable, Ushijima would try to sound more grateful or acknowledge the struggle that came when he won against the boy, but he would not be letting Oikawa win without a strong fight. Either way, Oikawa’s smirk combined with his words of, “oh amazing, Watatoshi! We’ve been training extremely hard and I’m sure you guys will be having a tough competition for silver this year, I hope you won’t mind finally standing below me on the podium,” and the glint in his eye like he was more focused on beating Ushijima than winning the Olympics, it was obvious that Oikawa was just waiting for the games to begin.
Ushijima just nodded, fighting back the smile because some people truly never changed, he could’ve never expected Oikawa’s competitive nature to be done away with in a few years. Still, Ushijima didn’t just want to talk about volleyball, despite that being something that took over both his and Tendou’s lives. He wanted to talk about something more real, such as the fact as to why no matter how much Ushijima asks Iwaizumi about Oikawa, Iwaizumi’s lips stay sealed about the boy he used to be attached at the hip with.
“Of course, Oikawa, I wouldn’t expect any less,” Ushijima started, keeping the conversation light before moving onto the next topic, keeping his tone casual. “I suppose you must be meeting with Hajime soon, finally being in the same city and all.”
Oikawa’s face shifted from the laid back and teasing nature that Ushijima knew into wide eyed shock and stuttering, which was a more confused reaction that Ushijima ended. Personally, Ushijima was under the theory that Oikawa and Iwaizumi had been dating but were keeping it private since Oikawa had quite the fan base in Argentina which helped the San Juan Team gain the most revenue in tickets. However, it seemed that Kageyama, who was sure that there was no way Oikawa could’ve bagged somebody as nice and objectively attractive as Iwaizumi, was more in the right about their relationship with his theory that something had happened to make them fall out.
“He’s in Paris?” Oikawa said, a little shocked, ignoring his teammates who were now trying to usher him to get his stuff and follow them as their coach had gotten their room assignments and keys, all of his teammates bound to be disappointed when they saw how pitiful their homes for the next few two weeks, but either way Ushijima stayed focused on this conversation as well. Could it really be that the two friends he saw as so close, and potentially more than friends in high school, had something wrong going in between them. Ushijima was desperate to find out.
“Oh, I should’ve known you two hadn’t talked in a while,” Ushijima said, deciding he would try to lie his way through this conversation since Iwaizumi had been sure to not let a single detail about Oikawa be given throughout the years of their friendship and therapy sessions in Iwaizumi’s training room. He watched Oikawa’s face twist into horror, like he couldn’t believe that Ushijima knew about this situation, which technically he didn’t, but it felt nice to get under Oikawa’s skin once in a while and maybe be able to pry out even more information from his friend.
“Iwa- Hajime told you about that?” Oikawa said, his voice sounding a little panicky and regretful, which made Ushijima’s eyes widen in interest because he’d never seen Oikawa seem to regret a decision ever, so this was definitely a very important moment. “Look, I didn’t want to block him, it’s just-”
Just as everything seemed to be getting good, finally a little piece of evidence into the mystery that was the breakdown of another high school personal friendship that everybody thought would last until they both were old, if not both of them growing old together with rings around their fingers, somebody had to cut in.
“Oikawa!” An older man with white hair yelled from where the whole Argentinian Team was standing by the elevator to get to their own rooms, saying the Japanese name with a heavy accent before barking something in Spanish that even though Ushijima couldn’t understand, seemed to cut Oikawa off and get the boy running towards his team at full speed. Although, seeing how Oikawa didn’t turn around to laugh or hit Ushijima with his usual be ready for defeat, the loser made Ushijima think that maybe he also really wasn’t the biggest fan of the conversation they were going through.
Well who would when they realized that their ex-best friend was going around telling people that they were blocked by said person, which was something that Ushijima still hadn’t put the effort into processing until this very moment. Oikawa blocked Iwaizumi! That was basically something out of this world for the people who watched the two grow up never leaving each other's side and who had heard stories and rumors of the two. However, it seemed like something went on in the backends of their relationship that led Oikawa to block his friend.
At some point, Ushijima may have thought that Iwaizumi and Oikawa would’ve had a fight, but he’d been friends with the athletic trainer for years and never once had Iwaizumi said something that crossed the line despite having a little prickly personality especially when he was annoyed. Outside of that, Iwaizumi was one of the most genuine and kind people in Ushijima’s life. No matter what he thought, he couldn’t see a world where Iwaizumi would’ve done something to Oikawa, Oikawa said something, and Iwaizumi didn't stop until the only thought in his brain was that Oikawa had done something or there was some sort of misunderstanding.
Even though Ushijima was not a meddler at heart, he had to know what happened and if it was a misunderstanding, he wanted to help them out. Iwaizumi hadn’t dated since his one boyfriend in university that Iwaizumi still texted sometimes and seemed to be pretty hung up on. Oikawa and him always made sense, so it felt like Ushijima’s duty after Iwaizumi gave him so much help with Tendou to help his friend get back with Oikawa if there was a misunderstanding. If it ended up Oikawa just being a dick, then Ushijima would be there to support Iwaizumi since it definitely was possible the boy just shut it into his chest and never said anything to anybody.
The good thing was that Tendou was probably the most gossipy and meddlesome person he knew, which meant that Ushijima knew exactly who to go to for help in this self proclaimed mission outside of winning a gold medal.
Right after Ushijima went to the film meeting where they watched games from every single country for what felt like a million hours and left his brain feeling numb. Still, when he got back to his new room that also had cardboard furniture, he made sure to text Iwaizumi for a little get-together at a restaurant tomorrow night to try and figure a little more about what was going on.
~~~
When Iwaizumi finally made it back home after going out with Tendou on their little day one excursion throughout the city, it was already late and Iwaizumi was beaten down the second that he got home. He’d been able to read the text that Ushijima had written him earlier, something about going out to eat, which was a little odd in Iwaizumi opinion because, even though he was sure Ushijima valued him as a friend, he couldn’t understand why Ushijima would want to spend a single second out of his busy day with him rather than spending time with Tendou. Still, it wasn’t like Iwaizumi was doing anything, so he just agreed.
The next day when he walked into one of the practice gyms to see a little tired but mostly energized volleyball players up and at it, already warming up and slamming balls into the grown with more force than they usually had due to all the excitement and adrenaline as they were about to play their favorite sport in front of the entire world not just in the giant spectator stands they’d be playing in front of during their games live, but the millions of people watching from home and reacting in real time to their actions. It was good to see that they weren’t being affected by jetlag like Iwaizumi was, but he was a little annoyed that he would be having to deal with taping multiple sore players who pushed themselves much too far in this moment. Either way, even though Iwaizumi walked in with coffee and a horrible headache, he was happy.
Just like he’d thought, throughout practice people were coming up to him to get taped or iced or complaining about something hurting, all of them obviously trying to make sure they were at their best for these games. Something about Japan’s team was that they were incredibly deep in their roster and their bench, having almost a completely different roster depending on the opponent they were going against. Ushijima was a starter in most of those games, but sometimes he was subbed out if they were going against a heavy serving team, liberos switched pretty often, but most people were more focused on the changing of the jersey between two setters, Kageyama and Atsumu.
Like Iwaizumi had told multiple times to Kageyama when he struggled sharing playing time and asking Iwaizumi what he needed to change, they were both amazing setters with different personalities that definitely changed the playing style of the whole team. Kageyama was better with the precision aspect while Atsumu brought a more flexible and unpredictable playing style. At the end of the day, they both were amazing setters and benching either of them would be a waste rather than using them interchangeably when the situation asked for it. Kageyama had grumbled, taking it more of a pep talk to work even harder to make sure that he was the better option for the team in most citations, but either way the point was the same. Everybody wanted to be at their absolute best since nobody’s spot on the court was guaranteed, which was a good way to fuel some healthy competition between the athletes, and also gave Iwaizumi something to do rather than just watch practice and take notes on the players he was assigned (mostly people from the Schweiden Alders).
After their little practice while the coaches had a meeting with the players, Iwaizumi had a meeting with the rest of the athletic trainers to compare notes, make their own recommendations on who should start the next games and see what improvements could be made in such a short time period, but honestly there wasn’t much more that could be done. Opening ceremony was in three days and their first match was right after that, so right now it was mostly just holding their breathes and praying that their efforts in the months before this massive events would be good enough to bring home a national title. It was stressful, mostly people trying to view their odds on what teams they’d do well against in pool play and hoping to get an easy first few games before getting into bracket play since nobody wanted to be knocked out before the real matches.
Luckily, the stress dissipated a little once the trainers were let out of their meeting just as the athlete meeting had finished. Iwaizumi walked with Ushijima to his room to get changed as they talked about work, but after Ushijima changed in the bathroom with Iwaizumi waiting out in the bedroom (because even though he had changed with boys before it would feel weird ever seeing Tendou’s boyfriend completely naked) they turned off work talk while they walked to the restaurant that Ushijima had pointed out.
Like, really personal stuff… some of which Iwaizumi really didn’t want to talk about.