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•••
"Will you stop fidgeting?"
"I can't help it, Iwa-chan! I'm way too nervous!"
"You're such a pain in the ass," Iwaizumi complains as per their usual fare when nobody else is around. The other Martians have short fuses and they lash out easily whenever they hear someone speak frankly with the only heir to the crown. It's no wonder this is such a backwards society – how can there be progress if everyone's walking on eggshells with each other and hiding their real intentions and thoughts? They only ever have conquest in their minds and they don't even attempt to think about the ones being sacrificed for their ambitions.
"Mmm," Oikawa Tooru, Crown Prince to the Royal Family of Vers, simply hums his agreement. After all, after growing up practically attached by the hip, there's nothing new or surprising about each other anymore. "Iwa-chan makes me feel so calm."
Iwaizumi ducks his head at the other's gentle tone. He hates it when Oikawa becomes like this, because it's so easy to see the other's heart. But it's not like this can go anywhere other than hell. "Try not to run your mouth too much down there, okay?"
"I'm supposed to be the peace ambassador, Iwa-chan~" Oikawa reminds him cheekily, smiling that refreshing smile of his. Iwaizumi can't fathom how anybody could resist the Prince in front of him when he wields all of the charm in his arsenal. "Of course I'm going to talk a lot and lot~"
"…be safe."
"Oh? Is Iwa-chan being adorable? That's so—ow, ow, ow!" Oikawa whines as his cheeks are pinched by his (only) friend. "So mean!"
Oikawa is about to launch to a tirade about how good looks are going to be tarnished by Iwa-chan's violent hands when he suddenly feels a cool string of metal surrounding his neck. He blinks in confusion, but that soon gives way to flustered excitement bubbling in his stomach. He's grinning uncontrollably now, because Iwa-chan is really the best!
"Is this a memento? Don't worry, Iwa-chan, I will always think of you~! And the trip isn't going to be more than a week anyway, but I'll still miss you!"
Iwaizumi knows that this will just end badly for the two of them, but when he thinks about Oikawa going down to the Earth that hates their kingdom, he can't help but want to do everything that he possibly can. "It's a charm for protection."
"But wait—isn't this your only memento from your family back on Earth?"
"It's fine." Iwaizumi averts his eyes, because Oikawa's grin is blinding enough on times that he's not that excitable. "You can have it."
"I'll cherish this forever!"
Iwaizumi just prays that he'll be able to protect this gem in front forever too.
•••
"I-I-I-Iwa-chan…" Oikawa gasps and wheezes through a lungful and mouthful of blood. His vision is tinted red, but he can't mistake the other's presence, even if his consciousness is flickering dangerously. His head hurts and his chest hurts and his stomach hurts and his leg hurts and everything hurts so bad, but Iwa-chan is here, so… "…you… came…"
The charm that Iwa-chan gave him is broken in front of him.
Oikawa would laugh if he could, because it figures that Iwa-chan's charm of protection will come handy in deflecting the bullet that was aimed at his heart. It still hit him, but at least it wasn't a sure-kill hit.
And now Iwa-chan is in front of him.
Oikawa would cry if he could, because a week of separation is just too much, not to mention the war that broke out between Earth and his homeland, because his father thinks that he's been assassinated during the peace negotiations.
"I'll avenge you," Iwa-chan promises and that's the last thing that Oikawa hears before he succumbs to the darkness enveloping him.
That's okay.
Oikawa knows that Iwa-chan will save him.
•••
"I've got the Prince of Vers here," Iwaizumi calls out to his communicator – the one tuned to the wavelengths of Earth's radios. He terminates the link once he hears an affirmative from the dissenters who paid a huge sum of money for his help to capture the cunning Prince who had the strange ability to lead the world effortlessly.
He looks at the prone form of the one that had been his best friend for many years, at the one who didn't let things like race or ideals build a wall between them. Oikawa's been bandaged to the best of his ability, but he's also sedated, because Iwaizumi doesn't want to handle with an awake Oikawa when things go to shit. Oikawa's head is resting on his lap as they both wait for their gamble to play out completely.
The rebels know that he's just pretending to betray the Prince and Iwaizumi knows that they know.
It's just a matter of who is more prepared to sacrifice anything for their cause.
"Heh," Iwaizumi mutters, just as he hears a set of frantic footsteps approaching their hiding place. There's only one entrance and it's already brimming with traps, while three guns are on his person. Oikawa slumbers on, while the world is unraveling around him. "You're really such a pain in the ass."
•••
The war ends with Earth's victory, but the body of the Prince of Vers hasn't been found.
•••
Resting on a makeshift bed, Oikawa faithfully waits for Iwa-chan to return from his supply run.
He supposes he should apologize to Iwa-chan for doing all the work for him, but he thinks that the other already knows. Iwa-chan is clever after all, which is why Oikawa likes him. Iwa-chan already knows that Oikawa knows about the assassination plot and about the conspiracy between rebels against the Crown and about how there's a tracker implanted in the charm that Iwa-chan gave him as a present.
They have an immense level of trust in each other, after all.
•••end