Chapter Text
“Hi.” Was all Tooru could manage, staring at Hajime with a sudden overpowering curiosity. Hajime stuck out a hand, and Tooru quickly grasped it. It was warm.
“Iwaizumi Hajime, pleasure,” he introduces as he pulls away from Tooru to shake Matsukawa’s hand. “I’ll leave you guys to it, then. Once you’re unpacked and settled, come find me or my mom. We won’t be far.”
Tooru wanted to say something else but words were suddenly foriegn and his brain couldn’t form a sentence and by the time he came up with “wait”- the handsome stranger and his mom were gone.
Matsukawa scoffed. “You totally just undressed that dude with your eyes.”
Tooru whacks him in the shoulder. “Shut up. I’m not a pervert.”
The Prince walks deeper into the room, setting down his suitcase at the end of the bed near the window and falls back onto the structure. Bad idea. Oikawa cries out as his back hits a rock hard surface, prompting him to sit up immediately.
“Jesus! Are these made out of rocks?” He looked over at Matsun who sat on his bed with the same look as him. He lifts up the blanket and (stained!) sheets to find straw where a cloudy cotton mattress should be. “What are we, animals?”
He groans again, considering himself too tired to care at the moment, letting himself lie back down on the mattress of goddamn straw. Even the pillows were thin. He twists from his position on his back to his side, then his back again, then his stomach, then his other side until he sat up and roared in pure frustration.
“I don’t know if I can do this, Matsun!”
He looks over to find his right hand man sat up against the headboard, sitting with pillows against his back and a book in his hand as if their life didn’t just get flipped upside down mere hours ago.
“You complain too much Oikawa. We just got here.”
“You’re uncomfortable too! I know you, and I know when you look like you’re on your last straw. And you are definitely there. Just admit it, your ass hurts!”
Matsukawa bites his lip, sighs, and the facade drops to the floor, along with that stupid book. “Ok, yeah, this bed really fucking hurts and I’m so uncomfortable right now. I’m pretty sure my ass went numb minutes ago.”
“Exactly.” Satisfaction is in his voice but not for long as Tooru falls back onto the bed, getting rudely reminded of what the cursed thing was made of. “That’s it. I’m writing a letter to my father begging to take us back.”
Matsun rolls his eyes, sitting up and positioning himself criss cross applesauce facing Tooru’s bed. “Don’t do that, idiot, you’ll just prove to your father that you’re the whiny baby he already thinks you are.”
Well, that’s a pain. But it’s true. Tooru wants to prove himself, and he will- he just needs some time to get adjusted. He slowly climbs up from the bed, and undresses from his formal suit into something more comfortable, a white tee shirt (still one made of the finest cotton), and some tan slacks that he wouldn’t mind messing up. He had brought his equestrian boots, since those got dirty all the time anyways. He stares at the suit laid out on the bed and frowns. Where was he supposed to hang this up? Part of him feels like he should put it in a safe.
“I know this pains you greatly, your majesty,” Matsun starts, as he sheds his clothing along with Tooru- “but you should put that in the molecular sized closet.”
“Why,” Tooru moans out, playing along, “why should I when it's barely the size of my left pinky!”
Matsukawa crosses the two steps it takes to get to his companion, melodramatically scooping up the clothes and twirls around. “Oh prince, It’d be my honor to hang them for you.”
Tooru giggles as Matsun reaches with great strain to the closet door, opening it with faux struggle, revealing the shallow depth of the tiny space. He delicately hooks it onto a hanger and Tooru barks out a laugh.
“There m’lord, it ‘tis ready indeed.” Matsun bows, and Tooru slaps him on the shoulder.
“Oh give it up already, it’s weird to see you be so nice to me.”
Matsun reaches for Tooru’s hand in the bow and Tooru slaps it away playfully. Laughing, Matsun straightens to full height. “You need to loosen up and relax. It’s really not as bad as we make it seem.”
At least he’s self aware… but Tooru was glad he had Matsun on this adventure.
“Ready to go find that dashingly handsome guy you were foaming at earlier?”
Tooru takes back his previous statement. Matsun laughs at Tooru’s offended face, the brunette not even bothering to defend himself this time. He simply gets up from the bed and walks out, leaving behind his now hyena laughing best friend.
He slams the wooden door for emphasis, hoping Matsun got the message and the imaginary middle finger he put along with it. Tooru sighs, now unsure what to do with himself. Iwaizumi said that he wouldn’t be far- but Tooru had no idea what that was supposed to mean. He could take this as an opportunity to put on his big boy shoes and explore the town. He sighs again and starts to make his way down the main stairwell.
As he trots down into the first floor, a bunch of tough looking faces turn his way, and the noisy bar (yes, even the pianist) goes quiet. Will he really have to deal with this every time he goes anywhere? He slaps on a princely smile anyway, nodding his head in a quick, downward motion before briskly walking towards the exit. He’s attacked immediately by the blinding sunlight, he’d been so accustomed to the dimly lit building that he found it harsh. He shielded his eyes, letting them adjust to the bright day. Had it been that bright when they had come? It had only been a few hours- he thinks.
He walks out from under the porch, anxiously looking for a glimpse of the spiky brown hair that belonged to Iwaizumi. He could go check inside the inn- but that didn’t make sense. What else was there? To the right of him, a row of buildings that varied from a marketplace to a toyshop. To the left, more buildings ranging from a butcher to a candy store. Tooru must've been so occupied with getting to Tomi’s Inn earlier that he didn’t realize just how big Blue Haven actually was.
It was overwhelming.
Eyes kept staring at him as he just stood outside of the Inn. Women subtly leaned over to their friends, husbands, or children; some of the men had no shame with their gaze. He’s never been under so much scrutiny even when he had public conferences with his father. At least those were with people he knew. Now he was alone and not the object of the people’s affection like he naively thought he was.
He starts to retreat back, slowly making his way up the steps, when a voice calls out to him. He turns in the direction, praying he finds the jade eyes he’s been searching for. Instead, he finds fox shaped brown ones.
“Hiya princey!” The guy, about his age, smiled at him with a toothy grin. His almost pink hair and scattered freckles caught Tooru’s interest, curiously looking down at the teenager- again thankful that someone is willing to treat him like a human.
“Hello.”
The stranger laughs at him, and Tooru does everything he can to not be appalled. “You can stop being formal, I don’t care and Iwaizumi already told me that you’re pretty chill. Which, obviously , you’re just a teen like me.”
Tooru lets out a breath of relief followed by a laugh, grateful that someone doesn’t have an expectation of how he acts. He sticks out his hand.
“Oikawa Tooru.”
“I know, duh. Hanamaki Takahiro.”
They shake hands briefly, then burst into giggles.
“You said you know Iwaizumi, right?”
“I didn’t say that specifically, but sure.” Hanamaki checks his nails like he had better things to do.
“Can you take me to him?”
Hanamaki laughs. “Actually, he sent me to check on you. He says you have an assload of work.”
Awh, Iwaizumi wanted to check on him? Granted, it was to make him partake in hard labor, but a thought is a thought nonetheless. Hanamaki starts to walk away and Tooru follows, now more confident that he has someone near. People do still stare though- it’s unsettling to be always watched like that.
They journey away from the main town more towards the outskirts, where Tooru starts smelling that pungent odor again. He sighs heavily, enough to catch the attention of Hanamaki, who grins.
“What, you’ve never been near animals, your highness?”
“Only horses and birds. Even then, they smell better than this.”
“Well you better get used to it!”
Doesn’t Tooru know it.
They pass a large sign that’s seen better days, on it white lettering labeling the area Blue Haven Stables. Tooru’s glad that at least they're working with horses today. That's at least something he knows. Hanamaki jogs ahead to jump on a gate, swinging his legs over it and plopping into the muddy terrain. Tooru rolls his eyes at the showoff, but does the same in a more careful fashion.
There’s about 15 horses grazing in the mix of green and brown, tails periodically swinging as powerful jaws take up grass. They’re beautiful. Really the only creatures Tooru can stand. Hanamaki whistles and clicks, and a crimson horse with white spots trots up to him slowly, sniffing his pink ginger hair momentarily before becoming uninterested in him again. He gently grabs her reins, keeping her head close as he pets her nostrils. She lets him.
“This is Mushroom. Y’know, because of the spots.” Hanamaki pats her nose. “She’s been mine since she was a pony. She’s friendly, so I’ll let you ride her if you want.”
Tooru reaches out to touch her, pulling out the expertise he used at the castle to win over every horse there. He lets the horse sniff him, giving Mushroom a chance to reject him if she chooses. She doesn’t, nuzzling his hand, and he smiles softly. He touches her nose, soothing it in practiced up and down motions. The pungent smell is still there, but it’s more tolerable now that he’s focusing on the beautiful beast in front of him.
“You’re good with horses. That’s definitely something I didn’t expect.”
“I’m full of surprises, Maki.”
Hanamaki seems taken aback at the nickname, but quickly sets his face into a smirk. Tooru smiles at the look. Matsukawa would like this guy. Speaking of him…
“Shit! I left Matsun at the inn!”
“Who’s Matsun?” The pink ginger asked, but Tooru ignored the question in favor of trying to hop back over the fence. Matsukawa’s going to be livid. Tooru left him in a place where he knows no one, and he could be feeling the same panic as he did earlier. What a terrible best friend he is. He sets his foot on the bottom bar of the wood fence- but almost slipped off when he heard a gruff voice behind him.
“Trying to sneak off already?”
Fuck . He dismounts the fence, slapping on a cheesy smile and turning around to face Iwaizumi Hajime calmly sitting on a horse with the posture of a king. Tooru finds it extremely attractive. It’s inappropriate timing for his heart to be doing such traitorous leaps when he’s basically left his best friend for dead, but he just can’t help it.
“I wasn’t trying to do anything. I just left Matsun at the Inn-”
“The Matsun that’s right behind you?”
Tooru turns around to see a briskly walking curly dark haired man, who, yup, was definitely his Matsun and definitely pissed off. Tooru’s genuine excited smile faded into sheepishness when he saw his friend’s bushy eyebrows at such a drastic angle. Matsun marched up to the fence and whacked him on the head, which Tooru let out a loud yelp at.
“How dare you leave me?” Matsun barked, jumping the fence. “I had to ask the townspeople where you went, and good thing they never take their eyes off of you because I apparently can’t keep up with you myself!”
Tooru lowered his head in shame. To be fair, he did get caught up with Maki and all, but still.
Maki interrupts Matsun’s anger to say “ this is Matsun? Dayum” to Iwaizumi, who during all this dismounted his horse. He nudges Maki’s arm.
“So now that we’ve all met each other,” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, “can we start working now? We’ve got a lot to do.”
Tooru and Matsun groan at the exact same time.