Chapter Text
Tooru’s ears are ringing. That’s the only explanation, that his ears have stopped functioning correctly, and that Iwaizumi didn’t just accuse him of being a demon. The fact that the accusations are very much founded is another matter entirely.
“Iwa-chan,” his voice is too high-pitched, fuck, he’s not believable at all, “where on Earth did you get that idea ?”
“The fact that I can hear you putting a capital letter to ‘Earth’, like there’s other places with people in them, is kinda…” Iwaizumi answers, and he smiles thinly. “Wanna tell me what that sulphur smell is about ?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about !” Tooru all but yells. “I’m just like any other student. I’m just trying to live my life.”
Iwaizumi stops looking at him for a second, and frowns at their still linked hands . He understands what it means to have a complex family, he understands the need to get away, just a little, maybe forever – he wouldn’t blame Tooru for doing exactly that. But he’s also a N ovice, uninitiated to any form of the Craft. He doesn’t Know, he doesn’t know anything, and that surely must be frightening. Tooru doesn’t want to lose him. Suga was… a mistake. T ooru was so happy to find someone who understood that he didn’t hide – he didn’t act like he should have, and that made Suga run away. The mere thought of Iwaizumi looking at him with as much disgust is frankly distressing.
“Let’s say I believe you. Will you tell me how to help ?” Iwaizumi says, and Tooru feels tears pooling at the corner of his eyes. “Don’t cry, idiot ! I just… I don’t wanna lose you,” Iwaizumi mumbles.
This time, Tooru starts crying for good – once he’s started, it’s like nothing can stop him. “I – I don’t want you to go !” His hand clasps Iwaizumi’s with more force than a feeble human should have, and he can feel the red tint creeping up his skin. He has to take a few steadying breaths before he feels okay enough to look at Iwaizumi again. “I don’t want you to look at me like that.”
“Oi, dumbass,” Iwaizumi says, his smile wobbly. “I’m not looking at you any different from before Shimizu told me you smelled like rotten eggs.”
“Kiyo-chan and I are gonna have a talk,” Tooru promises, voice fake-grim. “This is slander and I won’t stand for it.”
Iwaizumi smiles, then, a bright and happy thing.
Oh , Tooru thinks. He is not, by human and non-human standards, “in love”, but… he’s definitely catching feelings, has been for a long while, really. He takes a deep breath and prepares to say – he doesn’t know what, and then, the atmosphere is ruined by Iwaizumi’s phone ringing.
“Fucking hell – shit, it’s my brother, I gotta answer,” he curses, and he swipes on the phone to take the call, hastily walking to the bathroom so he can have a little privacy. Tooru is left reeling on his bed, tears still intermittently falling from his eyes, and right then, he makes a vow. Iwaizumi is a luminous, precious being – he will see, long after their paths have diverged, that he remains safe and sound. He promises this to… he has no one else but himself. So he swears on his life, and he can feel the ripples of magical energy emanating from him as the spell is cast. Iwaizumi’s voice halts briefly, like he felt the wave going through the whole room, the whole building, before he starts speaking again.
W hen Iwaizumi comes out of the bathroom looking significantly more grim than when he entered, Tooru feels like discussions will be postponed. They look at each other awkwardly, and Iwaizumi shakes his whole upper body like a wet dog before grabbing a box of tissues for Tooru, who is still sniffling quietly.
“I’m dead tired,” he says when Tooru has stopped blowing his nose. “I think I’m gonna go to sleep, we can talk later. Don’t you dare run away,” he adds like an afterthought. Like he fears Tooru might pack his things in the middle of the night and disappear.
“Don’t worry, Iwa-chan. I’m here to stay,” Tooru answers, smile genuine. Iwaizumi blushes a little, which is an adorable look on him. “Sleep well.”
“You too,” Iwaizumi softly says, and he raises his hand like he’s gonna brush Tooru’s hair with it, or touch his cheek, but he lets it drop before their skins meet.
Tooru doesn’t sleep that night.