Chapter Text
It took a lot of arm pulling and whispering that got more frustrated by the moment to try to get Tooru to get up from the bed the next morning. But it would take only a forehead kiss and the promise of more to get him up and moving.
He felt surprisingly giddy, brushing his teeth next to Hajime, despite the fact that it was past noon already. Neither spoke of what exactly happened the night before, but there didn’t seem to be a need for words. Because why else would Hajime reach for Tooru’s hand when they left their hotel room for the first time that day?
Their flight back to Japan required them to leave and check out of the hotel within the next two hours, so the trip was only brief, to say goodbyes to Tooru’s parents and extended family.
Tooru hugged his mother tight, pretending for just a moment that he could be small enough for her to hold in her arms again, small enough to still be able to view the world from the top of her shoulders.
Hajime even got a handshake from his father, and a hug from his mother. Tooru could’ve sworn she’d whispered, “Take care of him for me.”
“I always do, Oikawa-san.”
Kokomi swiftly took Tooru by his arm, guiding him away from the crowd. “So where the hell did you two sneak off to last night?”
“Stop looking at me like that,” Tooru said with a shake of his head, “nothing bad, I promise. We just walked around the valleys.”
“You’ve got this glow about you, though.” Kokomi’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open. “Wait, don’t tell me he proposed-”
“ Of course not -”
“Oh, so you proposed?” Tooru wordlessly stuck out his, ringless , hands, for his sister to take the hint. Kokomi sighed. “Well, if you ever need help with picking out a ring, I’m only a flight away.”
Tooru smiled. “I’m going to miss you again, Kokomi.”
She waved her hand. “Call me, then. Invite me over sometime, okay? I haven’t seen your new apartment yet.”
“I promise you, it’s nothing special.”
“It houses Oikawa Tooru. Of course it’s special.”
Tooru gave her a swat on the arm in response. “I have to get back to the room. We have to pack.”
“We?”
The both of them turned. “Stop sneaking up on me like that, Iwa-chan-”
“ You ,” Hajime poked Tooru’s chest, “made an absolute mess. I’ve kept all my things nice and orderly, I think this is mainly your chore.”
Tooru scoffed. “Rude. I did not make a mess, I just have an unconventional way of unpacking things, thank you very much.”
“Whatever you say,” Hajime said, grabbing Tooru by the arm and pulling him back towards the elevators.
“I’ll see you before we leave for the airport!” Tooru called behind.
When they got back to the hotel room, Tooru’s suitcase significantly less organized than it had been upon arrival, but if he would be returning with everything he came with it would have to do, another moment of silence fell between them. Hajime sat on the edge of their bed, hands fiddling with his phone, though never bothering to check it. Tooru stood by the door, suitcase in hand, though they would still have a good half hour before they would need to get to the airport.
“Are you going to ignore me again?”
“Again?” Hajime repeated. “When have I ever ignored you?” The question was obviously rhetorical, Tooru knew, but something about the way he phrased it made something inside his gut drop.
“We’re both bad at confrontation, aren’t we?”
“And you’re just picking up on this now ?”
Tooru snorted, sitting on the bed beside Hajime. Their knees were touching, but Tooru decided that it simply wasn’t enough, so he leaned into Hajime, letting his head come to rest on his shoulder. Hajime let out an exhale and lifted an arm to pull Tooru closer and run his hands through his hair.
He realized, for maybe the thousandth time that week, that words simply couldn’t suffice sometimes. Appreciating the company and trust of someone rather than all the sweet talk they could give instead, something Tooru was coming to realize himself.
“This doesn’t have to stop, you know,” Hajime said after another moment of silence.
“When did it ever start?” Tooru joked. “I don’t know. Boyfriend has a certain ring to it.”
“Friends are overrated, anyways.” He could hear the smile in Hajime’s voice.
“Hey, don’t let Makki or Mattusn hear that.”
“Hmm, because they’re too in love with one another to make time to be friends with either of us.”
“I think we could give that a try,” Tooru said softly.
“Who says I haven’t been in love with you this whole time?”
And the only response Tooru could think of for that was to take Hajime’s cheeks and kiss him.
-
Tooru’s goodbye to his sister was filled with tears and promises to call, text, email, whatever it took for them to be present in one another’s life. Soon, though, the taxi door had to be closed, separating the two of them for the foreseeable future. He didn’t know how to deal with it, so he formulated about fifteen different variations of a text to his sister before he decided on a favorable one.
Me (16:02): enjoy the honeymoon
Airport security took longer than expected, and Tooru and Hajime had to rush to board their plane on time.
“Get some sleep for me. Please.” It wasn’t a request, Tooru could tell, but there would be no way his body would ever allow it.
“I can try. No promises.” Tooru leaned forward to dig around in his backpack for one of the various American chips he’d thought looked processed enough to be worth trying. “Want some?”
“Absolutely not.”
Tooru studied the label. “You sure? I’m not sure where you can get both natural and artificial flavors, all in one bag.”
Hajime shook his head in response. “Fine. If I fall asleep on your shoulder again, you have to do your best to fall asleep right back, alright?”
“No promises. There’s always time to fall asleep in my nice and lovely bed back home.” Tooru hadn’t retained much homesickness through the past week, but it seemed that was all catching up with him. He sent a quick text to Sugawara, telling him they were on the plane, getting ready to depart. He figured to leave the whole kiss part out of the conversation, maybe walking back into their apartment holding Hajime’s hand would be enough of a statement for his roommate to infer. Even just the thought put a smile on his face.
Soon, the airplane was in taxi, and they were speeding down the runway, and Tooru’s stomach dropped as it often did, but this time he was able to shamelessly hold onto Hajime’s hand until they reached maximum altitude, and passengers were free to roam the cabin.
Tooru searched through his bag for something to do, deciding on a paperback he’d forgotten he’d packed. Once he was maybe two chapters in, Hajime’s head dropped onto his shoulder. It was enough to keep a smile on his face for the rest of the ride.
-
Food was a top priority once they were off the plane. It had felt significantly shorter than the plane ride there, Tooru realized, but he was still tired out of his mind, so he picked up his phone, going straight to his favorited contacts.
“ Hello ?”
“We’re at the airport,” Tooru yawned.
A sigh. “ And I assume you want me to pick you two up? ”
“Yes. Please.”
“ Blegh. I’ll be there soon. ”
Hajime was texting on his own phone to his family, he had informed Tooru, that they had touched down smoothly. “My mother wants to meet up over lunch tomorrow.”
“It’s only been six days,” Tooru laughed, fiddling with his thumbs in his lap.
“So? You would miss me if I was gone for six days.”
“Hm, I wouldn’t let you leave for that long,” Hajime hummed.
“Gross. I can’t believe you took me stargazing .”
“It’s a perfectly good activity for a first date!”
First date, it was now dubbed in Tooru’s mind.
-
They both fell asleep in the backseat of Sugawara’s car on the drive back.
When Hajime went to answer a call from his father, Sugawara whispered, “Hand holding?” Tooru only nodded in response.
“What, I thought you would’ve been more surprised than that,” Tooru said, grabbing his luggage out of the car’s trunk.
“No, honestly, it’s been a long time coming. You should see the way Iwaizumi looks at you half the time.”
“See, that’s the second time someone’s said that to me,” Tooru huffed. “Catch it on camera next time for me.”
“Did Hajime say anything about going back to his apartment tonight?”
“No,” Tooru admitted.
“So I think that’s your proof.”
-
Tooru unpacked enough to get his essentials out, but left folding his clothes, laundry, and everything else for the next day. He called Kokomi briefly in response to a photo she sent from her honeymoon; ring displayed proudly.
They hung up quickly, Tooru not wanting to keep her from her wife, with a shared promise to call again soon.
Sugawara was already asleep when Tooru left his room for a glass of water. “What the fuck are you doing.”
Hajime looked up from splaying a blanket on the couch. “Getting ready?”
“Oh, absolutely not , we shared a bed for five whole nights,” Tooru laughed, grabbing his arm. “What’s one more?”
“Careful,” Hajime warned, though he complied, following Tooru back to his room, “one night more and it’ll start to become a habit.”
“Hm, what a shame that would be.”
And if Tooru could spend the rest of his nights falling asleep by Hajime’s side, woken up by good morning kisses and giggles, just maybe he would die a happy man.