Chapter Text
“Iwa-chaaaaaan!” Oikawa moans from one end of the Aoba Johsai gym, broom in hand, sweat beading up on his forehead-him and Iwaizumi were in charge of cleaning up the gym from yesterday’s practice. Only problem was, today was the first day of summer break, and the heat of the morning sun was unbearable. “I’m soooooo hot!” Iwaizumi paused for a moment and released a big sigh. Why did I become this idiot’s friend again?
“Oikawa! Shut up and keep sweeping. The faster you finish, the faster you can go home and stop complaining.”
“But Iwa-chan!”
“Ugh, you're such a pain!”
“Don’t be a meanie!”
“Then stop acting like a two-year old!”
At this, Oikawa scrunched up his face, continuing to sweep the floors of the gym once more. In truth, he didn’t want to be there at all: he only volunteered because Iwaizumi did. Oikawa started to clutch the broom hard with his fists: he’d done all of this, only to find that Iwaizumi didn’t enjoy his company? He squeezed the broom even tighter. And was it worth the effort? In the exhausting heat? Oikawa started to bend the broom and then SNAP! it broke in half. He stared at the two pieces of broom, small wood splinters flurrying onto the ground and creating a mess. Oikawa heard Iwaizumi drop his broom, and even at a distance he could feel the rage in his aura. Oikawa slowly turned around, half frozen in fear and half annoyed that he’d have to clean up all the microscopic shavings on the ground. “Oops.” That was all he could manage to say before Iwaizumi charged at him, his face ice cold and furious. “THE HELL!? WHAT’D YOU DO THAT FOR?!” Iwaizumi swung up his left arm, Oikawa knowing what would happen next.
“Iwa-chan! That really hurt!”
“Then you shouldn’t have broken that stupid broom! Learn to control your temper. You're not a baby, and now the coach is going to be mad at us. Plus we’re going to have to buy him a new one. Do you ever think before you actually do stuff?”
Oikawa held an ice pack to the bruise on his cheek, both of them sitting on the ground. Iwaizumi was disappointed and stressed. In the end, Oikawa was just his immature little brother that he had to babysit everywhere the two of them went. It was getting tiresome. Couldn’t Iwaizumi use a break for a change? The thought pondered in his head as he got up and sweeped the little wooden splinters on the ground. He threw away the broken broom and continued to sweep up the rest of the gym.
“Um, Iwa-chan?”
“What is it now, Trashykawa?”
“Sorry.”
“You can say sorry by buying a new broom.”
“Then will you forgive me?”
“Sure, whatever Lazykawa.”
Oikawa lightened up a bit after that, and Iwaizumi kept his cool. They finished up in the gym around noon and then parted ways-Oikawa going to buy a new broom as soon as he possibly could and Iwaizumi heading out for lunch. After about an hour, Oikawa had single-handedly picked out the best broom he’d ever seen in his life. He couldn’t possibly wait for Iwaizumi’s approval. No, he wanted to make him happy as soon as he could. The only plan that made sense in Oikawa’s brain was to show up at his house to show him the broom, and to make sure that Iwaizumi forgave him completely. Iwa-chan is going to be so happy with me! He thought, marching up to the front door of his house and ringing the doorbell, the newly bought broom in his other hand. Oikawa was expecting Iwaizumi to shower him in gratitude and forgiveness, and then the two would be back to normal in a few minutes.
However, that was not the case. Iwaizumi did not open the door, and Oikawa was getting grumpy. “Iwa-chaaaan! I have a surprise for you! Come open the door!” Then it hit him: something terrible must’ve happened. What if Iwaizumi had collapsed, or passed out? What if he needed rescuing? Oikawa dropped the broom, racing to one side of the house and looking for a window. His heart was pounding in his chest as he jumped up and down in the grass, waving his arms and shouting like a madman. “IWA-CHAAAAAAAAAN!” He was getting sweaty under the blazing sun, his body tiring out before a full five minutes had passed. Oikawa stood there, gasping for breath. Was Iwaizumi just ignoring him then? “Iwa-chan, I know you’re there. Get up and come-” A noise that sounded awfully similar to a door swinging wide open came from the front of the house. Oikawa turned to look, and some sort of monster came bumbling towards him. Messy hair, squinty eyes, drool dripping down their chin-they were even walking like some sort of wild creature. Oikawa’s eyes widened, not sure if he should be running away or not. But as the figure came into view, he relaxed, placing his hands on his hips and sighing. “Iwa-chan, you look like a mess. What happened to you?” Iwaizumi was not amused. His face was stone cold again as he wiped the drool from his face.
“Someone woke me up.”
“Woke you up?”
“I was taking a goddamn nap.”
Oikawa tilted his head back and made a thoughtful noise. Despite Iwaizumi’s current state, Oikawa paid no attention to where he had gone wrong and simply smiled like a sweet dog greeting its master.
“I got a new broom for you! Did you see it?”
“Oikawa.”
“Am I forgiven now? Are we friends again, Iwa-chan?”
“Oikawa.”
“What?”
“How on earth is it possible for you to be a piece of shit around me yet still the captain of the Aoba Johsai volleyball team and a tough rival to so many opponents?”
By now, Iwaizumi had fully woken up-what with all the heat and Oikawa’s childish actions that he had to deal with. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was ever going to be able to catch a break. It was summer, after all, but Iwaizumi was tired of having to do this all the time. When playing volleyball, Oikawa was as smart as they come. When meeting against an opponent, Oikawa was strong and no one would have ever guessed that he was this much of a clutz in real life. But it was summer, and most of the teammates were off on vacation with their family. Plus, none of them were really that fond of Oikawa anyway.
“I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult.”
“Whatever. Yeah, you’re forgiven and whatnot and I like the broom you bought. There, happy now?”
“Most of that doesn’t seem as sincere as it should be.”
“You're such a pain, you know that?”
It was nighttime now, both Iwaizumi and Oikawa lying in bed at their own houses. Iwaizumi had his head propped up on the palms of his hands, his eyes staring straight into the ceiling. A sudden updraft of cold air breezed by: he was relaxed and the room was cooled just perfectly. Iwaizumi closed his eyes, the darkness around him becoming peaceful as it slowly put him to sleep like a soft lullaby. BUZZ BUZZ. Iwaizumi opened his eyes again, annoyed that he couldn’t fight the urge to get up and check his phone. Who would text him at this hour? He had a pretty good idea, but was that person worth the trouble? After all, Iwaizumi would have fallen asleep by now if it weren’t for the sudden text. I might as well check. I’m fully awake now, anyways. Iwaizumi stood from his bed and traversed through the dark, quiet room. He knew where his phone was because it had buzzed again, and the light lit up from over where his desk was. Iwaizumi picked it up, the first thing he checked being the time. 10:30. His eyes then dropped to where the messages appeared on the screen. He squinted at the tiny words:
Hey, Iwa-chan. You awake?
Look, I’m really sorry about today.
Iwaizumi sighed, massaging his temples. He desperately needed a break. More importantly, he needed Oikawa’s smart, intelligent side to come out and play. But without volleyball, how was that going to happen? Iwaizumi started to type back a reply, yawning during the process:
Didn’t I already tell you that you’re forgiven? You’re so annoying sometimes.
Go to bed, Trashykawa.
Oikawa responded with a bunch of grumpy-faced emojis, and Iwaizumi stared at them and smiled a little. Oikawa was annoying, sure, but the way he cared about his relationship with Iwaizumi was remarkable. He placed his phone on his desk and returned to the warm bed, pulling the covers over himself and drifting off to sleep. Iwaizumi was truly lucky to have a friend who could do both: be an intelligent volleyball player and a caring friend who was the clumsiest person ever. But Iwaizumi couldn’t take dumb Oikawa forever. He needed a break. He needed smart Oikawa.
Oikawa was sitting up on his bed, a blanket wrapped around him. After texting Iwaizumi, he couldn’t fall asleep. His room might have been a little warmer than he would have liked, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. So here he was, earbuds in his ears as he stared intently into his phone. Oikawa was rewatching a few of his games that had been recorded before, pausing it every now and then to take notes. His eyes were sharp, and he was able to catch even the smallest of mistakes on the court. He had a small writing pad and a pen at his side, so that afterwards he would be able to show his teammates where they had went wrong. So that they'd have a reason to practice again when the rest of the team members came back from wherever. In truth, Oikawa missed volleyball. He missed it so much, even if they had just played it the day before. It was as natural as breathing to him, so spending a day without it seemed so uncanny. A little while passed as he looked to the top of the screen, reading the time: 12:00. Now would’ve been a good time to retire for the night. There weren’t too many videos left, and Oikawa was getting tired. His eyelids were faltering and he couldn’t stay awake any longer. He leaned back onto his bed, falling asleep in the blink of an eye.
The next morning, Iwaizumi arrived at the gym to replace the broom (it wasn’t that much different from an ordinary one, yet Oikawa had spent so much energy and time looking for the thing) in the storage closet. To his own surprise, the front doors were cracked open. Iwaizumi stood there, wondering if someone could have gotten inside without a key. The doors were in perfect condition, but the only people with a key were Iwaizumi and Oikawa. Plus, it was eight thirty in the morning: Oikawa normally slept until about ten o’clock. The coach didn’t have a key: he gave his to them so that they could enter the gym and clean up. So, who? Iwaizumi cautiously approached the door, broom in hand as if he were about to whack someone with it. His eyes focused and his shoulders tensed. In one swift motion, he pushed open the door, leaping inside. “Who’s there?” He called. His eyes trailed through the gym until they landed on a familiar face. Iwaizumi relaxed the tension in his muscles and sighed, the broom sagging to his downwards. Oikawa stood there, volleyball in hand. He looked down thoughtfully.
“What are you doing in the gym?”
“I came here to replace the broom. What are you doing in the gym?”
Silence.
“Iwaizumi?”
“Yeah?”
“I want to play volleyball.”
The use of his actual name surprised Iwaizumi. Yesterday, all he had been called was ‘Iwa-chan’ and now, Oikawa seemed to be dead serious. His little puppy dog eyes from before had faded. This made Iwaizumi hopeful that maybe today, Oikawa will show his other side.
“I know you do. So do I. But we can’t play a game without other people.”
“I know that.”
“So, what will you do?”
“I don’t know yet. In the meantime, will you practice with me? If you don’t have anything else to do, I mean.”
Iwaizumi smiled. Even if it were just for one morning, he’d have smart Oikawa. It didn’t make up for playing a real game, because afterwards Oikawa would go back to being dumb again. But it was enough, for now anyway.
“Sure thing, Oikawa.”