Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Iwa-chan realized that maybe giving Oikawa so many noticeable hickeys was a bad thing when they walked into school two days later.

Oikawa had managed to hide them from his parents by constantly putting on his volleyball tracksuit jacket. He'd pop the collar up and when his parents asked about it he said that he was mourning his youth. Not only did it his parents completely accept his melodramatic ways, Iwa-chan went bright red because she knew the real reason behind his actions.

However, you weren't allowed to wear such things at school so Oikawa had no choice but to show off his marks. While Oikawa didn't particularly care about who saw them, Iwa-chan was adamant about hiding them.

“There has to be something that you can do,” she insisted, striding on the side where the hickeys were in hopes of concealing them. Oikawa wanted to laugh at her logic but allowed her to do it anyways.

“It's not as bad as before,” Oikawa pointed out, gently tracing one particularly big one at the base of his neck. “Besides, I don't care about anyone seeing them.”

“I know you don't,” Iwa-chan snapped. “You told me. But I want to hide them.”

Oikawa pouted. “You know, most people that leave hickeys like these want to them to be shown off.”

“Shut up, shut up,” she hissed, grabbing her head and wildly looking around her. “I got too carried away.”

“Hm, please get carried away more,” Oikawa sighed dreamily. She smacked his arm and Oikawa howled in laughter. He allowed himself to dragged inside the school by his frantic girlfriend.

(Girlfriend, girlfriend, Iwa-chan was his girlfriend~ )

“Who has your skin tone?” she whispered as they made their way to their homerooms. Very few students had arrived at this point so Oikawa wasn’t sure why she tried to act all secretive.

“How should I know?” he replied.

Iwa-chan grumbled something under her breath about him being observant about that kind of thing. “There had to be someone who matches! There needs to be someone who matches!”

Oikawa let out a small chuckle at Iwa-chan's slight hysteria. And she called him a drama queen? “Someone who matches my skin tone, huh?” he said, tapping his lip. “I wonder who-”

Kagome passed by them, talking to one of her friends. Iwa-chan watched her go with wide eyes, biting her thumb. A conflicted expression filled her face. She swallowed hard.

“Kagome-chan!” Iwa-chan cried.

Kagome spun around. “Iwaizumi-chan? Iwa-chan motioned for Kagome to come. Kagome glanced at her friends who merely shrugged and waved her towards Iwa-chan. Kagome jogged up to Iwa-chan.

“Hey, what is uP?!” Iwa-chan squished Kagome and Oikawa’s face together. Iwa-chan inspected their skin tone, wide smile stretching across her face. She grabbed Kagome's face and whispered, “You're perfect.” Under her breath she added, “God, they're practically the same,”

“Um, Iwaizumi-chan?” said Kagome nervously.

Iwa-chan let Kagome go, suddenly aware of how weird she had been. Oikawa chuckled as Iwa-chan turned a bright red. However, there was no stopping Iwa-chan. “Um, Kagome-chan, do you have any foundation that Oikawa could borrow?”

Kagome scrutinized her. “Why? Oikawa-kun doesn't look like he-” Kagome's gaze landed on the hickeys that littered his neck. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” growled Iwa-chan, shoving him closer to her. “This idiot wants to show them off like they're some sort of prize.”

“But they are! Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you to put your mouth on my-” Iwa-chan slapped her hand over his mouth, torn between glaring at him and looking at Kagome like a deer in the headlights.

Struggling not to smirk, Kagome remarked, “I didn’t know that either of you were into that.”

“It’s not what you think!” Iwa-chan exclaimed, blushing bright red. “I swear! I never-”

Kagome waved a hand. “Listen, I don’t care what you two do to each behind closed doors. It’s none of my business.”

Iwa-chan still looked frazzled and a little sheepish but she seemed to calm down a little with this. “Okay, okay. Just… could you cover those up, please? I really don’t want- I’ll die if anyone else-“

“Knows you have a thing for sucking?” supplied Oikawa innocently.

Oikawa was certain that Iwa-chan would have kicked him out the building had Kagome not interfered.

“If you bring me lunch for the rest of the week, yeah,” said Kagome, placing a hand on Iwa-chan's shoulder. Again, Iwa-chan looked torn between smacking Oikawa upside the head and looking over at Kagome gratefully. After a few seconds of hesitation, she chose Kagome.

“Done,” said Iwa-chan, shaking Kagome's hand quickly. She left Oikawa in Kagome’s hand, making vaguely threatening gestures that suggested that if Oikawa even thought about not hiding those hickeys he would suffer severe consequences.

“C'mon, lover-boy,” Kagome snickered, taking Oikawa's hand, “Let's see what we can do about those bad boys.”

“I don't want you to do anything about them,” Oikawa whined, allowing Kagome to drag him down the hall. They made it pit-stop at her locker so that she could retrieve her make-up kit.“Let's not do this,” he tried again. “I don’t want to waste your foundation. It must be expensive.”

“No can do. Iwaizumi-chan's orders,” said Kagome. “Can't say no to your girlfriend.”

Oikawa spluttered. “W-what? Wait! How did you-”

Kagome rolled her eyes. “I don't think that Iwaizumi-chan is someone who gives hickeys to anyone. Last guy that could claim that Kakashi-san. That and the both of you are all over each other. It's about time you two hooked up, actually.”

Oikawa was left in stunned silence as they made their way to an abandoned classroom at the end of the hall, granting them the privacy that they needed.

“Sit down, Oikawa Tooru,” said Kagome, patting a desk. “Your make-up stylist has to get ready.”

Oikawa snorted loudly but did as he was told, hopping up onto the desk. He swung his legs like a little kid as he waited for Kagome to set up everything. He watched in mild fascination as she produced dozens of products out of her bag.

“How do you fit all of that in one bag?” he asked in awe. “Why do you need all of that stuff?”

Kagome winked playfully. “A girl's gotta be prepared for any kind of emergency.” She tapped a rather angry-looking hickey on his neck with her forefinger. “Especially emergencies like these. Wild night, huh?”

Oikawa blushed and turned away. “I-I guess you could say that...” he answered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Kagome threw her head back and laughed. “You guess?” Oikawa turned beet red. “C'mon, mister, 'I guess that the sex was okay ' Stretch your neck out for me.”

“How did you-!?”

Kagome's eyes widened in surprise and her hands flew to her mouth. “Oh my god… Oh my god it was just a lucky guess but… you guys had sex? You-you guys really had sex?

Oikawa bit the inside of his cheek and mentally scolded himself. Iwa-chan really didn't want anyone knowing about this new step in their relationship and here he was, basically spilling it out to his ex-girlfriend.

His ex-girlfriend who had dumped him because had called her Hajime when they had had sex when they were drunk.

Oikawa's head hurt.

Kagome started to laugh. “Oh my god, you guys did the dirty!”

“Kaaggoommeee ,” Oikawa whined, pounding the desk and pouting. “Don’t say it like that!”

Kagome just cackled at his discomfort. She wiped tears away and grinned at Oikawa who had puffed his cheeks up in anger. “Chill, dude. Chill. I'm just teasing. You don't have to share any details with me, you know. I completely understand.”

“Thank you,” he breathed out in relief. “Thank you.”

She gave him a small smile. “Oh, it's nothing. Now, let's get you fix up, shall we?” She released his shoulders and tilted his head to the side so that his whole neck was exposed to her. She opened up a couple of products and started to dab them onto the offending area. The cream was cold on his  skin and her hands were light so it didn't take long for Kagome to reduce him into a puddle of giggles.

“Steady, steady,” she chided gently. “We don't want this to get all messed up and reveal your secret in such a horrible way, hm?”

Oikawa rolled his eyes. “I'm only doing this because Iwa-chan doesn't want anyone else to see. If it were up to me I'd wear embarrassing couple clothes. You know the ones. ‘She's mine’ or ‘If lost return to Iwa-chan’ with a bunch of hearts all over it.”

“Is that so?” said Kagome absently, dabbing at his neck and looking a little irritated. “I never pegged you as someone like that. You never suggested it when we were together.”

“Oh, well- um- it never came up?” Oikawa said, nervously.

“Hm,” replied Kagome.

They were silent for a couple of minutes, Oikawa doing his best to ignore the pain in his neck and the cold make-up being applied on to it. After a little while, Kagome spoke again.

“Look, I know I said that I wasn't going to pry but… did you two use protection?”

Oikawa blinked at her in surprise. “I-er-we did. I… I know where my parents stash their stuff so I stole one… so… I mean, I threw it away as soon as I was done too...”

Kagome scrunched her nose up. “Ugh. TMI.”

“Sorry, sorry,” he said. He pointedly stared at a point in the distance, too embarrassed to look Kagome in the eye. “Did- did we do the same?” he blurted out, squeezing his eyes shut. “When we-when we had sex did we use protection?”

Kagome snorted. “Of course we did, silly. You may have been shit-faced drunk but I was still pretty sober at the time. I keep a couple of condoms under my bed.” She laughed, mostly to herself. “You know that you're not the only guy I've slept with, right?”

Oikawa couldn't help but gawk at her. “That’s news to me.”

Kagome hummed and spread something his neck with her finger and he squirmed. “Well, you're the only guy in this school that I've had sex with so I don't really have much of a reputation here for that. Just a wild party girl, really.” She stepped back to admire her handiwork. “All done! You can straighten your neck out now!”

Oikawa did so, wincing in pain as he rolled his neck in order to work out the kinks. “Why didn't you tell me?” he asked.

“Hm? Tell you what?” said Kagome, packing up her things.

“About sleeping with other guys. You never mentioned that.”

Kagome shrugged. “I didn't feel that it was important. I mean, I know that you probably wouldn't have judged me but… I dunno. I wanted to impress you, I guess.”

“Impress me?” Oikawa repeated dumbly, looking at her in disbelief. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Kagome grinned. “You'd be surprised, Oikawa Tooru. There are more people in the world that love you other than Iwaizumi-chan.”

Oikawa let out a loud, sad sigh and let his head hang down miserably. “I-I realize that now.” He looked down at his hands. “I really fucked things up with you, didn’t I?”

“Oh, yes. Royally, I may add.”

“Oh, wow. Thanks,” muttered Oikawa. “It’s not like I feel guilty about it.”

“A guilty conscience is a good. Means you know that you did something wrong,” Kagome said, smiling fondly at him. She glanced to the side. “I still really like you, you know. Not as much as before but…” she sighed.

“Hey,” Oikawa said, leaning forward.

Kagome’s eyes watered a little. “Sometimes, when I was with you, it was easy to fool myself into thinking that you could feel the same way about me.”

Oikawa opened his mouth and closed his mouth. Open, close. Open close.

“Oh,” he said lamely. “I-I’m sorry.”

Kagome snorted and rolled her eyes. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “But then I'd see you with Iwaizumi-chan and I'd realize… I don't stand chance. Nobody stands a chance. There is no way to beat her.”

“You felt second best,” Oikawa said. “Shit-I… Fuck.”

“I was jealous at first,” she admitted quietly. “Here you were, being my sweet boyfriend, but you never looked at me the way you looked at her. She is your everything and… well… I was just a something. An important something but still… a something.”

“Kagome-” Oikawa started but Kagome put her hand up to silence him.

“Yet I thought I could still win you over. You’ve been head-over-heels for this girl for years and I was stupid enough to think that you could love me back. Yoshida and Kakashi-kun tried to tell me it was no use. Yoshida had his heart broken for the same reason, you know? Iwaizumi-chan liked him, she really did, but you were ultimately the most important person to her.”

“I never meant to hurt any of you,” said Oikawa quietly. He swallowed. “Neither of us wanted to.”

Kagome pursed her lips. “When did I ever accuse you of that? Every single person that's been in a relationship with either you or Iwaizumi-chan knew what they were going up against. Some, like me and Yoshida, just managed to fool ourselves that we could reach the same level of importance.” She laughed bitterly. “I guess that's why it hurt me so much when you called me Hajime.”

Oikawa winced. “Kagome, I'm-”

“Sorry?” She smiled at him sadly. “I know. I know you are. You keep saying that.”

“But you don’t believe me.”

“I do! It’s just… I knew that we weren’t meant to last but it still hurt to end. We were such a cute couple. It’s sad to know that we’ll never be like that again.”

Oikawa held Kagome’s gaze for a moment. In her eyes he saw longing and sorrow mixed with anger. But he also saw hope and fondness.

“Maybe we don’t work as lovers but we sure as hell work like friends,” said Oikawa.

Kagome cracked a smile. “I suppose so. You’ll still talk to me, right? While you and Iwaizumi-chan are smooching each other in college.”

“We’re not going to the same university,” he blurted.

“Oh. I-really? That’s… that’s news to me. When did you find out?”

“Two days ago.”

“And is that why you two are…” Kagome’s voice trailed off. She chewed her bottom lip. “Oh. Wow. I’m sorry.”

Oikawa shrugged. “It’s nothing. Long distance relationships work out just fine, right? It’s just a couple of years. We’ll visit each other. There’s no way that we’re going to fall for someone else, right? She won’t find someone better. We’ve loved each other for years. And true love… true love doesn’t fade…?” He looked up at Kagome. “I-I’m just going to be quiet now.”

Kagome studied him, her expression a mixture of pity and sadness. It was obvious that she wanted to poke at Oikawa’s insecurities but decided against it. “Do you want to change the topic?”

“Yes, please,” Oikawa breathed.

“Well, it still has to do with Iwaizumi-chan but it also has to do with you so that helps.” She leaned towards him and gave him a sly grin. “Have you heard about The Bet?”

Oikawa tilted his head, intrigued. “The Bet? No. What is it?”

Kagome’s grin grew. “See, at the beginning of the year a couple of got together and made a bet. As the year went by more and more people got into it. About half the class is in it. Each person put in 200 yen.”

Oikawa whistled. “That’s a lot of money. What did you guys bet on?”

“We're betting on when you and Iwaizumi-chan would become official and finally kiss.”

“Excuse me?” said Oikawa, mildly amused.

Kagome hummed. “And I need you to do me a huge favor so that I can, you know, get my hands on some money.”

“Are you asking me to help you cheat?” Oikawa asked, laughing as he said the words.

 “More like blackmail but you get the idea! Think of it as payment for me saving your ass today.”

 “Alright, spill it,” said Oikawa, genuinely curious and interested in what Kagome wanted of him.

“I need you guys to make out right after we graduate. Or just a quick peck on the cheek, I'm not picky. Just need you guys to proudly declare how in love you are with each other and kiss in front of everyone.”

“I'm in,” said Oikawa immediately. “Not much of a blackmail since it's something that I have thought about doing, though. But if Hajime isn't comfortable with it I'm gonna have to say no.”

“So thoughtful,” Kagome sighed, placing her hand over her heart. “Such a gentleman.”

Oikawa flashed her a grin and they both ended up laughing so hard that their sides hurt.

“C'mon, lover boy,” she said, extending her hand. “It's time to take you to the love of your life.”

Oikawa rolled his eyes but smiled at Kagome and took her hand. They made their way through school like this, waving at whoever they knew. Most people gave them odd looks, glancing down at their intertwined hands and turning around to whisper something in their friend's ear. But it's not like either of them minded. People could talk all they wanted to, nothing changed the truth of the matter; Oikawa belonged to Iwa-chan.

Kagome lead him to Iwa-chan's classroom so that she could be the judge of Oikawa's make-up.

“Ta-da!” said Kagome with a flourish, bowing. “Good as new!”

Iwa-chan scrutinized him, running her fingers over the spots where the hickeys lay. She licked her thumb and rubbed her wet finger there.

Iwa-chan frowned. “It doesn't come off,” she said.

“That's the point, isn't it?” asked Oikawa in amusement, voice low as well. “Or do you want people to know that you like to-”

“You stretched your neck out like you wanted it!” she protested quietly. “It's not my fault that I-”

“Have a biting kink?” finished Oikawa teasingly.

Iwa-chan's face turned a brilliant scarlet red and Oikawa was certain that there was smoke out of her ears. Her mouth open and closed uselessly as she tried to say something, anything in the wake of Oikawa's comment. Finally, frustrated, she just snapped her jaw shut and hissed, “We will talk about this later.”

Oikawa gave her a dumb grin.

She rolled her and turned to face Kagome who had watched the whole scene in front of her with a raised eyebrow. “Kagome-chan, what did you put on him? How does it not come off?”

“I gave him water-proof foundation,” Kagome replied, shrugging. “Who knows that he'll get himself into. I just went with the safest route.”

Iwa-chan walked to up to Kagome and cupped Kagome's cheeks. “You are a goddess. We are not worthy of your help.”

Kagome threw her head back and laughed. “Iwaizumi-chan! It was nothing, really!”

“No, no, no. You don't understand. You are a lifesaver. An angel sent from heaven. I am forever in your debt. You didn't have to waste such expensive makeup on this idiot.”

Kagome smirked. “Oh, please. I did it for you, Iwaizumi-chan.”

“I love you?” Iwa-chan squeaked. “I love you so much? I-I how could I ever repay you?”

Kagome's eyes glittered. “With money.”

Iwa-chan blinked. “I-I don't have a lot at the moment but I might have some spare cash that I could-”

“No, I don't want your money. I just want money.”

Iwa-chan frowned. “Do you want Oikawa to pay you?”

Kagome shook her head and smiled. The warning bell rang and Iwa-chan cursed under her breath. “You guys will be late if you stick around.” She turned to Oikawa. “Update me on this later, okay? I'll go looking for you during lunch.”

“I'll see you then, Hajime,” replied Oikawa, giving her a flirtatious wink. Iwa-chan went beet-red and turned away from him.

Iwa-chan glared at him over her shoulder. “We should reserve my first name for serious matters.” Oikawa blinked and swore that he saw her cast him a sly smirk before marching away. Now it was Oikawa's turn to blush.

Kagome pretended to gag. “Lovebirds,” she coughed.

Oikawa rolled his eyes. “You know that we're perfect for each other.”

Her eyes softened. “I know,” she said quietly, looking down at her feet. “I know.”

Oikawa slung an arm across her shoulders and hummed. “Kagome-chan?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, Oikawa-kun, the make-up wasn't that big of a de-”

“No, not the make-up,” Oikawa interrupted. “Although, I do applaud you for your astounding work.”

Kagome raised an eyebrow. “If not the make-up, then what?”

“For everything. For putting up with me and my sorry ass. For being such a wonderful person. For doing what's right. For setting me straight… must I go on?”

Kagome blushed and tilted her face up to look at him. “Oikawa-kun?”

“Yes?”

Her face broke into a smile. “My pleasure.”

–----

Caps flew into the air and Oikawa kissed the living daylights out of Iwaizumi Hajime.

It was one of the greatest moments of his life.

Both the kiss and graduating part, that is.

Since he was a young boy Oikawa had dreamed about this moment. What would it be like to stand in a line, receive his diploma, and know that you would never step foot into the school like a student ever again? Would he cry? Would he feel immense joy? Would it be completely bittersweet? How much would saying goodbye hurt?

As he made his way to his spot on the line that day he came to the shocking realization that he would soon have the answer to all of those questions.

He gazed about the sea of classmates as they spoke to each other in hushed voices. Everyone looked excited and nervous, ready yet so unprepared. They had spent their whole lives waiting and working for this. Now that the day was here no one really knew how to act. Most were exhausted, drained from the rigorous school year. After this celebration most would be staying at home for the rest of the week, clocking in all those hours of sleep they had lost during the year.

At least, that's what Oikawa and Iwa-chan had planned to do.

Teachers called out names as they lined the students up. Faces and conversations blurred as Oikawa was jostled around from side to side, trying to find his spot. Or so he told people. He just went around in circles to find Iwa-chan and pester her.

After his third appearance Iwa-chan snapped at him. “Oikawa Tooru, I swear to god if you don’t go over to your spot you’re going to regret it so bad,” she hissed.

Eyes glittering he said, “What? Are you going to stop kissing me? You only have good self-control when others are around.”

Iwa-chan opened and closed her mouth. Open and closed. A couple of curious glances were sent their way, wondering why Iwaizumi Hajime’s face was so red and Oikawa Tooru looked so pleased with himself.

Finally, Iwa-chan sputtered out, “I hate you. You’re insufferable.”

Oikawa rolled his eyes. “Oh, that’s rich coming from someone who would scream out my name when-”

Iwa-chan slammed her palm over his mouth, eyes searching the crowd frantically. “Just tell the whole world, would you?” she hissed.

“I would like too,” Oikawa admitted quietly. Iwa-chan dropped her hand and stared at him. “I don’t want to keep you a secret, Hajime. You’re the most precious thing I’ve ever had. It makes sense to show you off.”

Oikawa cupped her jaw and drew circles on her cheek with his thumb. She leaned into his touch and muttered, “I wouldn’t have fallen for you if I knew that you were this sappy.”

People were definitely staring now, trying to piece together what was going on between the two of them. Oikawa leaned in close and whispered. “You love me because I’m emotional.”

She let out a soft snort. “Hm, nothing beats wiping your snot.”

Oikawa shook his head and dropped his hand. Straightening his back he said, “So, are you ready to let them all know that you’re mine?”

Iwa-chan raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Go out with a bang, you know? After all these years of denying we come out as lovers. How cool is that?”

Iwa-chan sighed. “Yes, that’s nice and all but I wish that we got some of the money from the bet.”

Oikawa tsked. “Bets don’t work that way, Iwa-chan.”

“I know, I know.” She paused and then asked, “Do I get to know when you’ll kiss me? Or just going to randomly grab me?”

Oikawa winked. “That’s up for me to decide.”

“Where the hell is Oikawa Tooru?” a teacher screeched. The students burst into laughter as Oikawa rushed over to his spot, trying to avoid the angry teachers. “Someone get him!”

However, the teachers no longer had any control over the students so they threw their professors off and Oikawa was able to slip into his spot without getting caught. The look on their faces were priceless when the teachers found Oikawa in his spot, smiling at them.

“You’re lucky that it’s the end of the school year,” they told him angrily. “We would have sent you straight to the principal’s office otherwise.”

The students around Oikawa giggled when he plastered a smile on his face. “Good thing it’s all over then,” Oikawa remarked.

The teachers continued to fuss over the graduates until it was time to go. Oikawa fidgeted as friends and classmates slowly marched past him in a lovely procession. It hit Oikawa then that high school was over. He was no longer a pupil. He was an alumnus.

The person in front of him started to move. During graduation practice Oikawa always had trouble slowing down his pace. His legs were too long and he liked to go fast. Now, because of his heavy heart and the weight of realization, Oikawa’s stride shortened. The procession was a surreal and out-of-body experience from the moment he stepped into the room until he sat down in his seat. He craned his neck to see the people that had gathered for the special occasion. In the back he could make out his family, his sister happily snapping pictures. Oikawa smiled to himself and turned to face the stage.

It was solemn and joyful event. The students sang their songs and listened to heartfelt speeches from teachers, staff, and the student body president. Oikawa nearly cried during the one that his homeroom teacher gave. He laughed with everyone during the principal’s one. He even didn’t hate the one his history teacher gave.

Finally it was time for the diplomas and students went up one-by-one to receive them. Each name that was called out earned a loud roar of shouts and applause. Students and families yelled their approval and celebrated the beginning of a new life. Oikawa almost jumped out of his seat when they called out Iwa-chan’s name, the crowd chanting ‘Iwaizumi, Iwaizumi.” She looked flustered at all of the attention but took her diploma with grace.

Oikawa flashed her a thumbs up when she sat back down. Iwa-chan rolled her eyes and smiled at him.

When it was Oikawa’s turn to go up he could barely walk. His legs shook underneath him weight as he made his way up the stage. He could barely hear the people shouting his name and his eyes stung from the camera flashes. He took his diploma with shaky hands and bowed to the important people that he was supposed to bow to.

“You did well, Oikawa Tooru,” the principal said.

“Thank you,” Oikawa said, blinking back tears. He made his way back to his seat and his peers clapped him on the back and continued to shout out the names of the rest of the students. Iwa-chan caught his eye.

Emotional, he heard her voice in his head chide him.

But you still love me, he thought back.

The rest of the ceremony went by in a blur. More people stood up and gave speeches. Another round of songs were sung. And then, finally, they were released.

The students went ballistic, trampling over each other as they made their way towards the entrance. Oikawa stumbled among them, looking for Iwa-chan. He scanned the crowd, looking for her familiar spiky hair.

“Take one, take one!” was chanted through the students. Caps with the Aoba Josai insignia were passed around. Oikawa put one on his head, happy with the snug fit.

Just as he was passing the caps around a voice called out his name. Oikawa turned around and came face-to-face with Yoshida.

“Hello,” Yoshida said.

“Hello,” Oikawa replied.

“I can I talk to you?” Yoshida asked, wringing his hands together.

Oikawa handed the caps to some girl. “Yeah, sure. What do you need?”

“In private, I meant,” said Yoshida.

Oikawa hesitated. A quick glance around told him that Iwa-cha was not in sight. She was probably off taking pictures with her friends. He turned to Yoshida. “Sure.” He followed Yoshida away from the crowd, the noisy students fading into the background.

Yoshida leaned against the brick wall of the school, gaze far away and unfocused. “This is a rather odd place to say goodbye,” Oikawa joked, uneasy about the look on Yoshida’s face.

Yoshida cracked a smile but refused to look at Oikawa. “As my setter and captain I felt that you deserved a special farewell.” He paused then added, “Kagome-chan told me about you and Iwaizumi-chan.”

“She did what now?” Oikawa cried hysterically. Yoshida jumped at this. “She promised me that she wouldn’t tell anyone!” Oikawa wailed, burying his face into his hands. “Iwa-chan is never going to forgive me now!”

“Shh! Shh! Relax!” Yoshida said, trying to placate Oikawa. “She only told me because of the bet thing!”

Oikawa’s head snapped up. “You’re in it too?” he inquired incredulously.

Yoshida nodded, having the decency to look at least a little bit ashamed for his actions. “I mean, after what happened between me and Iwaizumi-chan I just… realized that you two were endgame.” He scrunched at nose up and swallowed painfully, as though the words were a terrible bile.

“Thank you?” Oikawa said, confused.

Oikawa looked at the ground, scratching the back of his neck. While things had been awkward between the two of them it had been bearable. Yet, at the same time, some grudge still lingered and Oikawa wasn’t sure how he felt about Yoshida tackling it like this.

 “No need for thanks. I think that I owe you some honesty.”

“Honesty? For what?”

Yoshida stopped looking out into the beyond and stared at Oikawa. “I knew that you liked her when I asked her out.”

Oikawa felt like he had been punched in the stomach. The confession felt foul and nasty in a way that Oikawa could only describe as disgusting.

“Oh,” Oikawa said, because there wasn’t much else to say.

Yoshida lost his nerve and went back to looking into space. “I half-expected you to fight me. I thought for sure you were going to kill me. But then you said yes and then she said yes and I thought to myself, ‘This is my chance. She can be mine now.’ And maybe it was like that in beginning. But as time went on I realized just how wrong I was. Good grief, I was so off the mark.”

Yoshida glared at his shoes. “It started off as little things. Oikawa did this and Oikawa did that. And then she started to compare me to you. And then she started talking more about you. Whenever I called her out on it she denied it, saying that you were her best friend therefore a package deal.”

“Is that why you broke up with her?” Oikawa asked.

“It was part of the reason but it mostly her attitude about it that got to me. One time she got so pissed at me that she threw a book in my face and screamed at me, calling me names and saying that I was a horrible boyfriend for doubting her loyalty. But then she’d turn around and look at you with those adoring eyes and I felt so cheated on. We had given each other everything the other person wanted and yet… it wasn’t enough. We fell apart.”

“You took her virginity,” Oikawa said, which sounded much more like an accusation than he wanted it to be.

Yoshida glared at him dryly. “Really?”

“Sorry. You’ve given me a lot of information and I’m still processing it.”

Yoshida rubbed his eye. “Okay, whatever. Well, anyways, the day before the break-up we had the worst fight yet. I told her to go suck your dick since she seemed to intent on riding it and she told me that she would and that she’d record the whole thing and send it to me so show me how it should be done.”

Oikawa winced. He had always known that Iwa-chan could be crass and rude but that was certainly uncalled for. “I apologize on her behalf.”

Yoshida snorted but seemed to accept it.“So I go looking for her the next day, right? Because I want to set the record straight and if end up breaking up, well… whatever, you know? At this point our relationship wasn’t enjoyable anymore. And when I didn’t find her in her classroom or with her volleyball team but with you… all could see was red. I still don’t know what came over me. I couldn’t so do anything for the rest of the day because I all I could think about was how I had fucked up so much in less than five minutes.”

“Doesn’t take long to destroy things,” Oikawa said glumly.

Yoshida hummed in agreement. “Well, anyways, this is getting really long and I just want to say that I hope that you can forgive me for breaking her heart when I promised that I wouldn’t. I’m sorry for asking her out in the first place. And I’m especially sorry for still feeling a little jealous that she ended up with you and not with me.”

The two boys fell silent. It was weird to examine these old wounds that had been patched up but had become scars. Oikawa felt oddly vulnerable and very thankful to Yoshida.

“Say something,” Yoshida pleaded, still not looking at Oikawa. “Say something because I don’t know how much longer I can take it.”

“I forgive you,” OIkawa said. Yoshida looked up at him. “I forgive you.”

And just like that a weight that Oikawa wasn’t aware of disappeared. A knot inside his chest loosened and he felt light on his feet. He reached his hand out to Yoshida and they shook hands.

Yoshida smiled at him. “Thank you.”

Oikawa let go first. “So, about this bet… when did you say we were going to kiss?”

“Same as Kagome,” Yoshida replied.

Oikawa clapped his shoulder. “Hope that the couple of yen that you guys are gonna win can make up for the damage Hajime and I have done to you guys.”

Yoshida laughed at this. “Well, it certainly is a good consolation prize.”

The two of them made their way back into the crowd and Oikawa searched for Iwa-chan. He found her chatting up one of her teammates.

“Iwa-chan!” he called and she turned around. “It’s time!”

She furrowed her eyebrows at him. He motioned for her to come. She excused herself from her conversation and headed over to him. He wrapped an arm over her shoulders and called for everyone’s attention.

“Hey, everyone! Watch this!” Oikawa cried. He then proceeded to dip Iwa-chan in front of the entire class and kiss her. She tasted like victory and sunshine and Oikawa wasn’t sure if the roaring applause he heard came from his peers or from his head. Caps were thrown into the air in celebration. School was over and Iwa-chan and Oikawa had finally gotten together.

What happened next was a blur to Oikawa, the only thing he can recall clearly was Iwa-chan turning his cap backwards and whispering, “I love you, Tooru,” and Oikawa thinking to himself, thank goodness you do.

--

A few days later Hiro Iwaizumi died in the middle of the night in a nameless hospital. According to the nurse that had been charge of him he had been fine just a few hours earlier. Well, as fine as a dying patient could be.

“I have a daughter,” he told the nurse before she left for the night. “She hates me.”

“I bet she doesn’t,” the nurse replied nervously.

“She hasn’t visited me. She hasn’t called me. Last time I saw her in person she refused to look at me in the face. She hates me.” The nurse stood there uncomfortably as a single tear rolled down Hiro’s face.

“I’m sorry,” the nurse said, unsure what else she could say to console the ailing man. She was too overworked and underpaid for this kind of job.

“It’s all my fault.” He paused then added, “She graduated a few days ago, you know. Her mother sent me a picture of the two of them. They looked so pretty. Can you get me my phone, so that I could see them again?”

The nurse did so. The picture was very nice and the women in it were pretty. “They’re lovely,” the nurse told him.

“I know. I wish I had known that before,” Hiro said, voice thick with emotion as he stared at the phone screen. The nurse let him observe the picture for a little bit longer before putting away. She told him to ring them if anything happened. Hiro promised that he would. The next day when she came in Hiro Iwaizumi had already slipped into the afterlife.

Oikawa was there when they got the phone call. He was playing a board game with Iwa-chan, making her laugh as he blatantly broke all of the rules. Iwaizumi-san had answered the phone.

“Hello?” said Iwaizumi-san.

“Hello. This is this the Iwaizumi household? Um… Iwaizumi Fuka?”

“Yes, that would me.”

“I’m calling from the hospital in Hokkaido…”

Iwa-chan froze and Iwaizumi-san put the phone on speaker as the nurse recounted her tale. Oikawa watched as Iwa-chan clenched and unclenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and stared into space.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” the nurse said.

“Thank you for your concern,” Iwaizumi-san replied.

“His side of the family will be hosting a funeral soon. I suggest that you contact them to get the legal side of his will in order.”

“I will do that, thank you for calling,” said Iwaizumi-san.

“My pleasure. Again, my condolences.”

Iwaizumi-san hung up the phone and the house was plunged into silence. Iwaizumi-san stared at the phone, Oikawa stared at Iwa-chan, and Iwa-chan stared at the wall.

“Well,” Iwaizumi-san said finally. “I guess that’s that.” She looked oddly calm for somebody who had just found out her ex-husband had died. But, then again, Hiro Iwaizumi had been dead in this household for years already.

Later that night when he was in Iwa-chan’s room and skin was pressed against skin Iwa-chan said, “I hate him.”

Oikawa stopped and blinked down at her. “Come again?”

“I hate him,” Iwa-chan repeated, voice tinged with anger. “I haven’t stopped thinking about him since that stupid phone call. Why would I care that he’s dead? He’s always been dead. Why does his ghost still haunt me?”

The last thing that Oikawa wanted to do at the moment was talk about dead fathers and restless spirits. He was much more interested in the way that Iwa-chan was moving underneath him. He would like to finish that, at least, before moving onto this new topic.

Iwa-chan, on the other hand, felt differently. “I’m not going to that damn funeral. Nobody is going to be able to drag me out of this house. I don’t even remember my grandparents on his side. Why would any of them care for me?”

Oikawa sighed and plopped down beside her, resigned on the fact that they were no longer going to have sex.

“I think that you should go,” he admitted.

Iwa-chan glared at him. “Excuse me?”

Oikawa shrugged. “You know, to pay your respects. You don’t have to get sentimental about it. Just show up, stare at whatever his body is in, nod to yourself, and move on your life.”

“No way,” Iwa-chan said. “He doesn’t deserve it.”

“This isn’t about whether or not he deserves it,” Oikawa said drily. “It’s for you to get over him.”

“I am over him,” Iwa-chan said.

Oikawa snorted. “Listen to yourself! If you really didn’t care about your dad or the funeral you definitely wouldn’t be thinking about them at all. Especially not now.”

“You’re just angry because you’re not on top of me anymore,” Iwa-chan grumbled

Oikawa shrugged. “I can be salty and full of wisdom at the same time.”

“You’re full of bullshit,” Iwa-chan said, dragging Oikawa’s body back on her. “Let’s get this over with.” Oikawa was more than happy to oblige with Iwa-chan’s request.

When Oikawa woke up the next day he found Iwa-chan sitting on the edge of the bed, her back to him. Oikawa admired the way that the soft morning sun hit her bare back for a moment, reminding himself that yes, this was all his. He propped himself up on his elbow, the bed dipping underneath the movement. Iwa-chan looked over her shoulder.

“You’re up,” she said.

“Good morning, gorgeous,” Oikawa replied with a wink. Iwa-chan rolled her eyes but the small smile that tugged at her lips gave away her amusement.

“Isn’t it a little too early to pet names?”

“Never, my love.”

Iwa-chan stared at his face for a moment before shaking her head and looking away. “You’re so full of it. Why do I even like you?”

Oikawa moved closer to her, draping an arm over one shoulder and hooking his chin on the other. “Because I may be a pain in the ass but I’m your pain in the ass?”

“Probably,” Iwa-chan said. She leaned back against him and they fell on the bed against, Iwa-chan’s head on his chest. Oikawa started to slowly to card his fingers through her hair, lovingly sighing as she pressed closer to him. He was drifting away into the realm of dreams when Iwa-chan spoke up, “My mom told me that she wasn’t going.”

Oikawa frowned. “Come again?”

 “The funeral,” Iwa-chan clarified. “Did you know that his side of the family treated her like shit after my dad left? They’d call her up and act like the divorce was all her fault. As though she was the one yelling at him and getting drunk of her ass. As though she was the one that constantly made me feel like shit.”

“Really? You never told me.”

“Mom didn’t tell me until recently. Wanted to keep me safe or whatever. You know, someone even had the gall to tell her that the only reason why my father married her was because of me. Me! They had me after they had gotten married!” Iwa-chan scrunched her face up. “Besides, if that were true he would have stuck around for a lot longer.”

Oikawa looked up at the ceiling, amazed how shitty people could be. “Wow.”

“I know, right! Just accept that your family member was a piece of shit and get over it. It’s not that hard.”

Oikawa snorted. “Oh, that’s rich coming from you.”

Iwa-chan glared at him. “Excuse me?”

“Hajime, listen to yourself. You claim that you don’t care about your father anymore but for the past hours all you’ve been able to think about is him. Sure, it’s not good things but your mind is still stuck on him. You’re obviously not over him.”

“I am,” Iwa-chan said half-heartedly. “Believe me.”

Oikawa sat up and hugged Iwa-chan close to him. She curled up in his arms and pressed a kiss to the hollow of his neck. “I’m not going to force you to go to the funeral, not after what you’ve told me. But you still have to find a way to make peace with him. You can’t spend the rest of your life hating him.”

“Watch me,” Iwa-chan muttered against his neck.

Oikawa chuckled. “I know that you can go forever if you wanted to. But it’s just not healthy, you know? There’s no use in using up all of that energy on someone that doesn't deserve it.”

“He deserves to be hated.”

“You’ve hated him for years now, though. Maybe it’s time to lay that grudge to rest.”

Iwa-chan looked up at him and narrowed her eyes at him. “Since when were you so reasonable?”

Oikawa shrugged and grinned. “Maybe you’ve rubbed off on me.”

“Maybe,” said Iwa-cha softly, putting her head back on his chest. They were quiet for a minute, enjoying each other warmth. Finally, Iwa-chan spoke up. “I could yell at his grave. Smash something over the tombstone. Spit on it.”

“Those are all fine ideas,” Oikawa said. “The first step to healing is always revenge.”

Iwa-chan laughed at this. “So it’s a date, then? We go to the cemetery and I scream at his lifeless body?”

“I’ve been on worse dates,” Oikawa replied.

Iwa-chan smiles fondly at him and kisses him gently. “We’ll see about that.

--

They don’t go to the funeral. They do, however, visit the cemetery the day of the funeral. Iwa-chan had asked her mother if she wanted to come along but her mother declined.

“I feel like I buried him a long time ago,” Iwaizumi-san said.

Iwa-chan shrugged. “If you say so. I’ll spit on his grave twice for you.”

Iwaizumi-san flicked her daughter’s forehead. “Respect the dead! You don’t want him to haunt us!”

Iwa-chan stuck her tongue out. “Fine. I’ll just stomp on it then.”

Iwaizumi-san narrowed her eyes at Iwa-chan. She looked over at Oikawa. “Control her, yeah?”

Oikawa gave her a sheepish smile. “I’ll do my best but I can’t promise anything.”

Iwaizumi-san didn’t seem very pleased by the response but accepted it nonetheless. She watched as the couple climbed into the car. Iwa-chan rolled down the window to yell out a final goodbye as her mother exclaimed, “Don’t do anything that will get you arrested!”

“I won’t!” Iwa-cha called back as they sped away, Oikawa on the wheel. Iwa-chan’s smile dropped once her mother was out of sight. She slumped in her seat and looked up at the ceiling. “Is this the right thing to do, Tooru?” she asked out loud. Oikawa opened his mouth to reply but Iwa-chan waved a hand. “No, forget it. Don’t answer that.”

 The trip to the cemetery was quiet; Oikawa too focused on getting them there and Iwa-chan too lost in her own world. They had to park a couple of blocks away from the cemetery too since there were no proper parking spots anywhere nearby. Oikawa took Iwa-chan’s hand as they made their way to the place.

The sun was annoying bright, clashing terribly with the couple’s mood. The closer they got to the cemetery the more nervous Iwa-chan grew, shoulders tense and hand squeezing Oikawa’s. By the time they got to the gate Iwa-chan was a mess.

“We don’t have to do this today,” Oikawa reminded her gently.

“If I don’t do it now I’ll never do it ever,” Iwa-chan said through gritted teeth. She let go of Oikawa’s hand and took in several deep breaths. Oikawa waited until she had composed herself. “Okay. Alright. Let’s get this over with.”

The couple searched the grounds for the newest grave. They’d occasionally stop to look at pretty tombstones with fancy names and bouquets of flowers. For the time ever Oikawa wondered what his own tombstone would look like. What would its inscription say? Who leave flowers for him?

“You’re making a face,” Iwa-chan said.

“I’m thinking about death,” Oikawa replied. He chuckled, mostly to himself. “It’s amazing, isn’t it? No matter what you do we all end up the same way. In a box in the ground, rotting away for eternity.”

“Hm. Some people have nicer boxes though,” Iwa-chan pointed out, eyeing a rather elaborate looking grave.

Oikawa snorted. “Pretentious even in the afterlife. I wonder how much that ceremony cost.”

“An arm and a leg, probably,” Iwa-chan said. The two snickered at this and then continued to search for Iwaizumi Hiro’s grave.

It took fifteen more minutes of scouting but Oikawa finally spotted it. He tapped Iwa-chan’s shoulder and made motion that its general direction. Iwa-chan nodded in understanding and allowed herself to be led to the grave.

The soil was fresh and the flowers were the newest. Oikawa counted at least nine bouquets in total. The tombstone is unimpressive, just a smoothed over slab of rock with Hiro’s name, his date of birth and death, and some quote about smooth sailing. Iwa-chan crouched down to inspect the tombstone.

“I think he said this to me, once. You know, back when we lived in the city.” She looked up at Oikawa. “Seems like a lifetime ago. We were so cute and innocent back then. Now look at us, all cynical and ugly.”

“Iwa-chan is still very cute.”

Iwa-chan rolled her eyes at him fondly and turned back to the grave. She traced her father’s name with her fingertip, oddly contemplative. “Before he became a total asshole he used to tell me that I was cute. Anything that I did was cute. I could have covered myself in mud and I was cute.” Her bottom lip trembled as she spoke, finger suddenly shaky. “I-I don’t know why he ever stopped. Why he ever stopped calling me cute.”

“Hajime-” Oikawa started as Iwa-cha slowly got up.

“Why? Why did you ever stop? What did we ever do to you that made you stop wanting us?” Her eyes watered. “All I wanted was a dad. Why couldn’t you give me that much?”

Oikawa watched in slight shock as tears started to streak down Iwa-chan’s face. He reached out to touch her but she shoved him away.

“I fucking hate you,” she hissed at the grave. “I fucking hate you and everything you fucking did to me and mom. Playing us like some fools, thinking that you ever cared for us. And then you show up with some money thinking that the only thing you need to smooth things over is that. What do you have to say for yourself?”

The grave, unsurprisingly, did not respond. A bird chirped in the distance.

Iwa-chan sunk to the ground, shaking with rage. “You’re such a fucking coward. Liar, cheater, dead-beat, good-for-nothing, awful, son of a bitch- GOD! There is not one horrible nickname out there that doesn’t fit you because you are scum. The lowest of the low You hear me?! THE LOWEST OF THE LOW!”

Oikawa scanned the area and makes an apologetic gesture to a girl a couple of meters away. She glanced at Iwa-chan who was frothing at the mouth. She tilted her head in Iwa-chan’s direction.

Will she be okay? the girl asked.

“I HATE YOU!”

Oikawa winced. She will be, he tried to communicate.

The girl merely nodded and collected her stuff.

“I’m so happy that you’re rotting away in that hole. You deserved to die in that hospital without any loved ones because guess what? YOU FUCKING PUSHED THEM AWAY FROM YOU! ” Iwa-chan pounded the ground and Oikawa took that as his cue to crouch down and hug her.

Iwa-chan continued to scream and yell, only this time Oikawa couldn’t make sense of the stream of words she spewed. Some of them were verbs, some of them were nouns, but most were crude insults that would have pissed anyone off really quickly. Oikawa remembered what his mother had told him about how offended ghosts would come back to haunt those that disrespected them. Oikawa hoped that Hiro’s spirit would be a forgiving one.

As Iwa-chan calmed down her words lost their bite. She slumped in Oikawa’s arms, exhausted and upset. Oikawa gently caressed her face as Iwa-chan sniffed, her boiling anger being replaced by a sense of mourning that she could barely comprehend.

Finally, voice shaking and cracking, Iwa-chan asked her father one last question.

“Why didn’t you love me, daddy?”

“Oh, Hajime,” Oikawa said as Iwa-chan started to sob. She twisted around and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Oikawa stroked her back and cooed softly in her ear as she cried.

Oikawa’s not sure how long they spent like this. Maybe it was five minutes. Maybe it was an hour. All Oikawa is certain of is that after bawling her eyes out Iwa-chan went still in his arms. He kissed the top of head and she sniffled.

“You want to go home now?” he asked.

Iwa-chan nodded. Oikawa’s muscles protested as he helped her up. He dusted the dirt of his pants and allowed Iwa-chan to use the hem of his shirt as a tissue.

“You good?” Oikawa took her hand.

Iwa-chan squeezed it. “As good as I’ll ever be.” She looked back at the grave. “I’ll be back, so you better be ready for round two.” Oikawa snorted and ruffled Iwa-chan’s hair.

“The poor man. Won’t even get a break in the afterlife.”

“It’s what he deserves,” Iwa-chan said, sniffing.

Back in the car whatever spark Iwa-chan had had faded away. She was silent the whole trip, eyes trained somewhere far in the horizon. Oikawa glanced at her worriedly, biting his bottom lip. He opened his mouth, tried to muster out something, anything.

It’s okay. It’s all over. You don’t have to worry about that guy anymore.

But the words stuck to the back of his throat. For once in his life Oikawa Tooru was at a loss for words.

Oikawa parked the car in front of Iwa-chan’s house. He turned off the engine and the couple was engulfed in silence. The only thing that could be heard was the soft breeze outside. Oikawa felt around for Iwa-chan’s hand.

“You doing okay?” he asked once he found it.

“Hm,” Iwa-chan replied, gaze trained on her lap.

Oikawa stared down at her face, willing for something to come up. And then, something finally hit him.

“He watched us play.”

Iwa-chan blinked and looked at him over the corner of her eye. “Play?”

“Volleyball,” Oikawa clarified. “He had seen a couple of our matches.”

“How do you know that?”

“He told me,” Oikawa said. Iwa-chan turned around to face Oikawa. Oikawa took in a shaky breath. “I was setting the volleyball outside and he… he kinda came out of nowhere and thanked me. For being your friend. He told me that back in the city your friendships didn’t last very long. Is that true?”

Iwa-chan slowly nodded. “I’d get bored of them quick. That or we’d get into a fight and that was it.”

Oikawa smiled. “Thank goodness none of that ever happened with me.”

Iwa-chan looked away. “You’ve always been the exception.”

Oikawa’s heart tap-danced in his chest. “Let’s not get all mushy now. I need to finish telling my story.”

Iwa-chan grinned. “Alright, alright. Go on.”

Oikawa cleared his throat. “Okay, so where was I? Oh, right. Kinda friendless in the city.” Iwa-chan pouted. “So I try to convince him that it was you that was good to me and he… well he asks me if I’m sure. I get a little defensive and tell me to back off. He apologizes and then… he wished us luck in the tournament. Hajime, he knew that we were captains. Told me that he had seen us play a couple of times.”

“I never saw him in the crowd,” Iwa-chan said.

“Neither did I,” Oikawa said.

“I wouldn’t have been able to play if I knew that he was there,” Iwa-chan confessed. “Do you think he saw our last game?”

“Maybe? Probably?” Oikawa sighed. “I never bothered to find out.”

“Did you think about it?”

“... yes.” The couple looked at each other.

Oikawa saw a mixture of emotions play on Iwa-chan’s face. She was worrying her bottom lip, eyebrows furrowed. Something was bothering her. Something was eating her up.

“Hajime?”

Iwa-chan let out a breathy laugh. “When I was younger I used to think that he was a monster. He was always so angry. Always so mean. He made us cry so much, Tooru. And that’s what monsters do, right? Make people feel like shit. But as I grew older I realized that it was just him being… human. A terrible human but human nonetheless. Do you want to know why my opinion changed?”

Oikawa made a soft sound. “Iwa-chan…”

“I saw him, Oikawa. I saw him every single damn time I looked into the mirror after I had hurt someone. I-I don’t want to end up like him. I’m so scared of being just like him.”

“You’re nothing like him,” Oikawa said firmly. “You never have been and never will be.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know you well enough to know that’s true.”

Iwa-chan studied him with those beautiful black eyes of hers. “You’re too kind.”

Oikawa shook his head. “I’m just telling you the truth.”

“Do you think that he was a monster?”

“If it helps you any the last time I talked to him I got the vibe that he was a sad, old man how had made too many mistakes in his past. Not a monster. Just a sad, sad person,” Oikawa said.

Iwa-chan hummed, going over this new information. “Can you promise me something?”

“Anything.”

“Promise me that if I ever start leaning that way, you’ll catch me before I fall.”

 “I don’t need to promise you that. You already know that I will.”

Iwa-chan smiled one of the biggest, brightest smiles Oikawa had ever seen on her. “I know. I know.” She let go of his hand and stretched. “Well, as much as I’ve enjoyed this talk I think it’s time for me to go.”

Oikawa hummed in agreement. “Don’t forget that you and your mom are invited over for dinner.” Oikawa glanced to the side. “You know, it’s the perfect time to tell them that we’re dating.”

“Oh, my mom already knows,” Iwa-chan said nonchalantly.

“You told her?!”

“Oh, no. She figured it out,” Iwa-chan said, laughing at Oikawa’s face. “She’s a smart lady and she knows me too well.”

“I wish I could say the same about my parents,” Oikawa grumbled.

“Your parents know you too. Relax.” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and opened the car door. “See you in a few!”

“Bye, Hajime,” Oikawa said. He watched her make her way inside her house. He stayed in the car for a while longer, fingertips drumming the steering wheel. It was going to take Iwa-chan a long time to get over her dad but, at least for now, she was on the road to recovery. Someday she’d get over her father.

And someday she could get over you, whispered a voice inside his head.

No, not this. Not now, Oikawa thought desperately.

You’re going your separate ways. She’s no longer going to be at your side. She could easily find someone better than you. Tick tock, Tooru. Tick tock.

Oikawa shook his head, hoping to dispel that nasty voice but its words lingered in his mind.

Whatever, Oikawa thought as he stepped out of the car. Just concentrate on telling your parents who your new girlfriend is. One step at a time, that’s how it’s done.

He may be running out time with her but he was going to do his goddamn best to enjoy the time they had left.

--

It's been two hours since the Iwaizumis had left the dinner.

 “You already knew?”

“Oh, Tooru, how could we not? You and your cute little doe eyes.”

“She’s leaving soon, isn’t she?”

She was.

“Go out and be with her. Enjoy yourselves.”

But how could he enjoy himself when he’s not sure how long his forever with Iwa-chan would be? How could he enjoy himself when he knew that he would be waking up without her by his side. He’s spent to long wanting to be with her and now… now there’s barely anytime left.

He’s memorized her face, her smell, her body. He doesn’t want to forget her. He doesn’t want to forget him.

He’s so scared. So scared of losing her. So scared of the future.

The clock doesn’t stop running.

Tick, tock, Tooru.

Tick, tock.

--

“Oh, hell no. You’re not taking that to college.”

“Stop poking around my stuff, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa exclaimed, rushing up to her and hastily shoving the stuffed toy back in the box.

“Oikawa, that thing is so old that it’s probably go grandkids. Throw it away.”

“Maybe you don’t have the best memories of Xenothorp but I’ll have you know that he was favorite toy when I was three years old.”

Iwa-chan stared at him wide-eyed. “This thing has a name? You named it Xenothorp?”

Oikawa grinned. “I know, right? It’s a great alien name!”

Iwa-chan let out a long suffering sigh. “All these years. All these years of knowing you and- you know what? Forget it.” She gets up and playfully kicked Oikawa shin. Oikawa dramatically fell down and let out the fakest whine Iwa-chan had ever heard.

“Hajime! That hurt!”

“Oh, grow up!” she replied.

From his spot on the floor Oikawa watched Iwa-chan wander around his room, picking around the drawers and poking her head into the closet. As thrilled as he was to find her in his room he couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing there.

“Aren’t you supposed to be packing up?” he asked her.

“I’m basically done,” she said. “I just need one more thing.”

“And what is that one more thing?”

She coughed. “I-um. I don’t know yet.”

She continued to look around his room.

“You better not be stealing anything of mine.”

Iwa-chan snorted. “You know, just for that, I’m going to take this… this shirt!” She grabs something from a drawer and quickly puts it on. Oikawa propped himself up on his elbows to look at it better.

It was an ratty-looking long-sleeved shirt. The stars on it are faded from both use and age. Oikawa could barely make out the NASA logo out it.

“Sexy, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa teased.

“Oh, that’s exactly what you’ll think when I call you up late at night and tell you that it’s the only thing I’m wearing.”

“I will be upset if I don’t get that call.”

Iwa-chan laughed. She continued to snoop around the room, obviously searching for something. Oikawa’s heart hurt when he remembered that Iwa-chan wouldn’t be doing this in a week. Oikawa watched for a little longer before getting up and picking up his phone. He scrolled through it until he found the playlist he wanted.

“I can’t see you and I know that you’re up to something,” Iwa-cha said when the music started to play. “And a song in English, really?”

“The lyrics are nice,” Oikawa said defensively as he set the phone down. He made his way to Iwa-chan who had now turned around to face him. He took her hand and pulled in her in close to her. “Besides, I’ve been practicing with it.”

“Practicing?” Iwa-chan asked.

“Oh, yes. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t dance with you at least once?” Oikawa said as he put a hand on her waist. Iwa-chan smiled as he led her through a simple swaying movement. Oikawa pressed his forehead against Iwa-chan’s and closed his eyes, drinking in her scent. God, he wanted to get drunk on it.

“I’m not leaving yet, you know. We still have a week left,” Iwa-chan whispered.

“I know,” Oikawa replied, tightening his grip on her. “Doesn’t mean that I have to like it.”

“I’ll text you all the time. We can Skype, call each other, send each other emails. Hell, I’ll send you packages through the mail. What’s a little distance?”

“It’s a little distance,” Oikawa grumbled.

“Tooru, we’ve already been through this. Multiple times I may add.”

“That doesn’t mean that all my worries will just disappear!” Oikawa exclaimed. Iwa-chan’s eyes widened. Oikawa groaned. “Sorry, sorry. That was uncalled for.”

“This is really bothering you, isn’t it?” Iwa-chan said quietly.

Oikawa looked away. A new song started to play. “I don’t-I don’t want to lose you, Hajime.”

Iwa-chan’s eyes softened. “You’re never going to lose me.”

“I’ve been reading things, Hajime. I’ve been researching long distance relationships and-and they’re really hard. I won’t get to hug you. I won’t get to kiss you. For the first time in thirteen years I can’t just run next door to talk to you, okay? I’m worried. I’ve always been emotional and-and-”

Suddenly Oikawa felt like he couldn’t breathe. The dam of fears and emotions that he had kept bottled up since he first found out that Iwa-chan was leaving him burst.

His eyes watered. His voice cracked.

“I’ll miss you, Hajime.”

Iwa-chan cupped his cheek and placed a gentle kiss to his lips. “I’m going to miss you too, Tooru. I’m going to miss you so much,” she said, voice shaking. “And that’s why I’m not going to let some months of not being right by your side destroy our relationship. We’ve been together for thirteen years. We can last a couple of years not being stuck by the hip. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, right?”

Oikawa snorted but smiled at her. “Optimist.”

“Realist, actually,” she said, grinning. Iwa-chan hesitated then added, “Wanna know what I was looking for?”

“Hm, that would be nice to know,” Oikawa said.

“I was looking for the shirt that was most like you.”

Oikawa frowned. “The shirt that is most like me?”

Iwa-chan nodded. “The NASA one works, I guess. But there has to be something even more you than that.” Oikawa gave her a funny look and she blushed. “Don’t look at me like that! It’s not that weird! I just want something when it gets too much. For-for when I’m lonely but I can’t talk to you.”

“You can always talk to me.”

“You know what I mean.”

The song continued to play. The couple swayed back and forth, lost in their own worlds. Finally, Oikawa pulled away and headed towards his closet. Iwa-chan watched as he rummaged around, muttering to himself. After a few minutes Oikawa let out a cry of triumph. He emerged with the ugliest and oldest shirt that Iwa-chan had ever seen. Oikawa handed it over to Iwa-chan with a flourish.

“For you, my love,” he said.

Iwa-chan took the shirt and examined it. Years of either use or disuse had discolored the once white shirt. The front of the shirt had a panda that had been terribly colored in with blue and orange markers. On the back, scrawled in huge Kanji, was none other than Iwa-chan’s full name.

Iwa-chan narrowed her eyes. “This… isn’t this the shirt you stole from me when we were younger?”

Oikawa grinned. “Nothing screams Oikawa Tooru more than something that belongs to Iwaizumi Hajime!”

Iwa-chan stared at him with wide, unblinking eyes. As time passed Oikawa’s confidence diminished. Was she upset with him? He knows that he’s a couple of years late returning the shirt but-

And then she started to laugh. Laugh and laugh and laugh. She threw her arms around him, grinning ear to ear. Oikawa wrapped his arms around her, chuckling himself.

“I love you, I love you, I love you,” Iwa-chan laughed in his ear. “I’ve love you forever and always, Shittykawa.”

And in that moment something changes in Oikawa.

For thirteen long years Iwa-chan had loved him and she was willing to love him for many more.  No matter what the future may bring he knew that no matter what Iwa-chan would be his side. Through thick and thin, ups and downs, Iwa-chan was the strong pillar that kept him standing, she was that light in the horizon that shone no matter what. What else could he need than her and her love?

The future may be uncertain but Iwa-chan was as steady as a sunrise.

There was nothing to fear.

(He thanked his five-year-old self for throwing that damn volleyball over the fence.)

He squeezed to her tight.

“Forever and always, Iwa-chan.”