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Waking up had been a process for the both of them; the jet lag, combined with how warm they were entwined in each other’s arms, was a deadly combination. It took Iwaizumi a second to even remember where he was until he blinked a few times and recalled. South Carolina.
Iwaizumi turned his head to Oikawa, who was still fast asleep. Iwaizumi knew that he needed to wake up since they had to start driving soon in order to loosely keep to their schedule they had planned, but Oikawa was the most classic example of a pretty sleeper and Iwaizumi was weak to it.
He was weak for Oikawa’s long lashes and smooth skin, and the way that he didn’t quite snore , no it was more like a little hum that Oikawa let out every time he exhaled. And Oikawa always liked to hold something when he slept, whether it was Iwaizumi’s hand, or his arm, or else the setter would just bundle up blankets and scrunch them up so that he could hug them. Overall, Iwaizumi always hated to have to wake Oikawa up for any reason.
So, he tried to do it as gently as possible. Leaning forward, he threaded his hands in Oikawa’s hair, running his hand through the locks, then down by his cheek, and rubbing his thumb across Oikawa’s cheekbone, then repeating that action a few times.
“‘Kawa,” he grumbled sleepily, scratching at Oikawa’s hair a little. The setter made a disgruntled groaning sound, but didn’t show any signs of waking up. Iwaizumi furrowed his brow and leaned in closer to Oikawa’s ear.
“ Ba be,” he whispered, and this time Oikawa seemed to stir a little, his eyes scrunching and his lips morphing into a pout at being woken up. Iwaizumi huffed a little, and leaned in so close that his lips grazed the shell of Oikawa’s ear.
“ Tooru ,” he purred, and he knew he had won when the corners of Oikawa’s lips turned up. One of the setter’s eyes slipped open and looked over at Iwaizumi, who was grinning with victory.
“Come on,” Iwaizumi said, placing a chaste kiss to Oikawa’s cheekbone before standing up to start getting dressed. “We have to get going soon if we’re going to make it up by tonight.”
Oikawa grumbled, attempting to sit up but being hit by a dizzy spell and slouching back against the headboard. He mumbled something again, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Iwaizumi watched all of this with subdued amusement at the sight of his sleepy boyfriend fumbling to get himself together.
“Wh’re we going today ag’n?” Oikawa mumbled as he pulled a shirt out of his small suitcase.
“Up to the mountains,” Iwaizumi said. “ Apple at chin. Or something.”
“Ooh,” Oikawa said, as if remembering. “This is the Blue Ridge Road , right?”
“ Parkway ,” Iwaizumi corrected, though it really didn’t matter what it was called. What mattered was that it had gorgeous views, and the weather was cool and tolerable in comparison to the searing heat of the coast.
Once they’d gotten dressed and repacked and mentally prepared, they checked out of the hotel and made their way out to their car. They were both still groggy with jet lag, so the whole ordeal took slightly longer than if they’d been fully awake, but honestly Iwaizumi was proud that they’d gotten out of the hotel before noon.
Before long, and with the addition of much needed coffee, they were driving steadily on their way to the Appalachians, which was a word that neither of them was able to even attempt to pronounce.
“Iwa-chan, I’m tired,” Oikawa whined, leaning his head against the window of the car and sighing dramatically.
“Then go to sleep, dumbass,” Iwaizumi responded.
“But I don’t want Iwa-chan to be lonely,” Oikawa pouted, shoving out his bottom lip and making a pitiful face at Iwaizumi.
“I’ll be fine for a few hours, Tooru. Sleep.” Iwaizumi brought his right hand down to rest on Oikawa’s thigh, knowing that Oikawa liked to be held when he slept and it was the best Iwaizumi could do in the moment. He watched Oikawa struggle to stay awake for a few minutes, his eyelids fluttering shut and snapping open in a cycle until they finally stayed shut and Oikawa’s head slumped against the car window.
Iwaizumi smiled, leaving his hand on Oikawa’s thigh and settling in for the long drive to the mountains. They’d spent hours after both of their work schedules planning out exactly where they wanted to go, leading to several nights falling asleep on the couch together with computers still in their laps. It was a little stressful, sure, trying to pick out landmarks and places to go in an area of the country neither of them had ever been. But they did it together, and with a lot of help from Hanamaki and Matsukawa, who had lived in America for a little while and were able to point out places they should go.
The car ride was fairly uneventful, with the scenery only changing barely with the exception of a few larger cities, and but Iwaizumi never moved once to wake Oikawa up. If Oikawa was tired, Iwaizumi was going to make sure his boyfriend slept soundly for as long as was possible.
Which turned out to be about two hours before they had to stop and get gas.
For the second time that day, Iwaizumi had to wake Oikawa up. Fortunately, he woke up fairly easily, the biggest sign he’d been sleeping being the tousled look of his soft brown hair. Iwaizumi cupped Oikawa’s cheek in his palm, then slid his hand up to comb through his hair and fix it a little.
“You need to go inside?” Iwaizumi asked gently.
“Mhm,” Oikawa grumbled, rubbing exhaustion from his eyes.
Iwaizumi pumped the gas and then pulled forward so they were parked outside of the station.
“Come on, ‘Kawa,” Iwaizumi prompted, and Oikawa grumbled a bit before getting out of the car and following Iwaizumi inside. Oikawa lazily threaded his fingers through Iwaizumi’s and leaned his head on a broad shoulder.
“Hey, babe,” Iwaizumi said, chuckling as they walked into the gas station. “You feel awake now?”
“No,” Oikawa said, meticulously analyzing the cold drink coolers and trying to pick out something. “But I feel better.”
“That’s enough for me,” Iwaizumi responded, picking out two cans of Red Bull (sugar free because that was slightly less likely to put him in cardiac arrest, right?) and handing them to Oikawa. He also grabbed two bottles of water to be safe, some snacks for the two of them, and then paid.
An hour and a Red Bull later, they were both much more awake and much more enamored by the sights outside of their windows. The mountains were gorgeous, unlike anything they’d seen before. They were sloping, and the ones that were further away faded out into different shades of blue and gray.
“Wow, Iwa-chan, look at it!” Oikawa exclaimed several times, pointing at various mountains and rocks and trees out their windows.
Iwaizumi was slightly more focused on not flying off the windy roads, but still got the chance to glance out every so often and take in the views. Regardless, he was smiling like an idiot because Oikawa was giddy and happy, and that made Iwaizumi giddy and happy.
There were overlooks to pull over to on the side of the road, and once there was one without trees obstructing the view, Iwaizumi pulled the car over so they could get out and stretch their legs. Not only that, but also admire the mountains.
Oikawa hopped out almost immediately, the joint efforts of the Red Bull and his natural excitability causing him to itch to escape from the confines of the car. Iwaizumi got out after him, the brisk mountain air a welcome change from the heat of the coast.
He walked up behind Oikawa, slinging his arms around Oikawa’s waist and putting his chin on the slightly taller shoulder. Oikawa startled a bit at the sudden touch, then settled back into Iwaizumi with a content sigh.
“Hi, Iwa-chan,” He giggled, the vibrations making their way to Iwaizumi’s chest.
“It’s really pretty,” Iwaizumi answered. “Just like you.”
The blush that planted itself on Oikawa’s cheeks also spread down his neck, where it was obvious to Iwaizumi.
“Y-you’re being so sappy today,” Oikawa countered, squirming with futile effort.
“Because I love you, obviously,” Iwaizumi responded, and really that was the reason. He loved pampering and supporting Oikawa, and vacation seemed to just make him that much more eager to do so.
“I love you more,” Oikawa teased.
“Not possible.”
“Completely possible. And true.”
Iwaizumi squeezed Oikawa then, hugging him tight against his chest. “Nope. I love you more than anything.”
Oikawa laughed, and the sound alone made Iwaizumi swoon silently. “Iwa-chan, what if we say we both love each other equally and go for a hike?”
Iwaizumi smiles, releasing Oikawa from his grasp.
“Sounds good to me.”
They drove up the road a while, until they reached an overlook with a trailhead attached to it. It said it was four miles, which didn’t seem like all too much for two young, athletic men. What they hadn’t considered is that this was a steep mountain , and they were both running on fumes since the Red Bull was fading from their system. The sun was also setting, meaning they hadn’t slept in a while and their lunch had been insubstantial for this kind of activity. Iwaizumi noticed Oikawa looking tired about halfway through the “up” portion of the trek.
“Hey, maybe we should just go back,” Iwaizumi suggested. “You look tired.”
“I’m not tired,” Oikawa threw back defensively, his pace momentarily speeding up. “I’m a national level athlete. I can do this.”
They reached a flat area with a bench for resting, and Iwaizumi reached out and tugged Oikawa’s wrist over so they could sit down.
“Come on, we’re both exhausted,” Iwaizumi tried to reason.
“No, I’m not,” Oikawa repeated, pulling his arm out of Iwaizumi’s grip. Iwaizumi wasn’t too offended, since he knew that Oikawa tended to get cranky and defensive when he was tired, even more so if he thought his abilities were being attacked.
“I’m not saying you can’t do it, Tooru,” Iwaizumi amended. “There’s just no reason to make us more tired and exhausted on vacation.”
“But I’m fine .”
“You’re not, seriously-”
“Be quiet! I’m fine!”
Iwaizumi felt a flare of anger at that, stepping closer to Oikawa. “Hey, don’t be a brat , I’m just looking out for you!”
He saw a pang of hurt flash in Oikawa’s eyes at that, and instantly regretted saying anything at all. He didn’t want to fight, especially not right now.
“Th-that’s mean , Iwa-chan,” Oikawa said, his eyes now growing glassy with unshod tears. Iwaizumi did a mental oh-shi t, and stepped forward to try and grab Oikawa’s hands, but the setter got scared and stepped back.
The next events unfolded like in slow motion. First, Oikawa stumbled on a tree roof behind him, and startled tripping backwards. Then, Iwaizumi noticed the sharp drop in the mountain directly behind Oikawa. Then he panicked, because his boyfriend and love of his life was about to die. Finally, more as a reflex than anything else, Iwaizumi lunged forward and grabbed Oikawa’s shirt, then pulled him back up away from the edge of the mountain. For a second, it seemed like they were both going to go over the side, then Iwaizumi gave a tug and Oikawa came back up, both of them standing with Oikawa pulled tight against Iwaizumi’s chest.
They both breathed heavily for a second, then they frantically met each other’s eyes.
“Are you okay?” Iwaizumi asked.
“I’m fine,” Oikawa breathed out, still looking a bit in shock.
After another beat of silence, Iwaizumi dropped his head to Oikawa’s chest.
“I’m sorry. You’re not a brat, I don’t know why I said that,” he said.
“N-no, you were right. I’m about to drop dead, I don’t know why I was fighting you.”
“It’s that silly pride I love so much,” Iwaizumi answered, looking up and smiling at Oikawa. Oikawa smiled back, and then leaned down to capture Iwaizumi’s lips in his own. The kiss was sweet, and tasted vaguely like Red Bull. It didn’t matter; Iwaizumi relished any time he got to spend kissing Oikawa.
They went back down the mountain carefully, Iwaizumi now on high alert about cliff edges and tree branches. When they finally reached the car, they decided to go to the hotel and get sleep early, since sleep deprivation was really not going well for them.
Once they were finally in a mildly-comfy bed in a town named for an old Indian tribe, Oikawa leaned forward and kissed Iwaizumi on the nose.
“Thank you for not letting me die,” he whispered.
Iwaizumi smiled. “I’ll do it as many times as I have to. I love you.”
“Love you more.”
“We agreed we love each other the same.”
“Okay…but I love you more.”
“Go to sleep.”
“Okay, but I love you most.”