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It happens in the midst of the heat of summer, when the humidity alone has made the clothes cling to your body long before the first sweat of the day even breaks your skin.
Yesterday had been nothing but rain and Hajime is up and out of the house before his mom has even woken up.
With summer comes freedom and an escape from the stuffy atmosphere of the classroom back in school and ice cream. With summer comes clear blue skies and the sounds of the cicadas chirping in the wind as they hide among the trees.
When fall comes things will start up once again.
Having just graduated from his preschool, this year's fall will signal the start of the next step in Hajime’s life with all the responsibilities that entails. But for now summer offers him respite, almost like time itself has come to a halt in favor of just letting him be.
The ground is wet under his feet, slightly muddy from yesternight's downpour and Hajime would be lying if he was to say that it didn’t get his heart beating in anticipation as he clutches his net and plastic terrarium in the palms of his hands.
With the rain comes dampness and the smell of earth, with rain comes the bugs that are normally wise enough to stay out of his way.
Maybe he will even catch a large one today, it has been awhile Hajime thinks to himself as he turns down the well threaded path that leads to the small river and the forest beyond.
Maybe something that he hasn’t seen before, it’s scales shimmering in shades of blue and purple under the summer sun.
Maybe there will even be frogs today. He really hopes that there is. The heat of this year's summer has made them keep to themselves, the first croak only really ringing out to him at the beginning of dusk when things starts to get colder and Hajime needs to get home as to not make his mother worry unnecessarily.
Hajime has been pondering about actually bringing one home with him a few times already because of that, giving himself some extra time to study it in the safety of his own room before it’s time for bed.
However, in the end he always ends up releasing it back to where it belongs long before his feet reach the paved road that eventually takes him back home. Hajime can’t help but think that the frog has its own home it needs to return to, just as he does. And even if it doesn’t the thought of keeping an animal locked up in a container overnight seems unnecessarily cruel to him anyway.
But today when the grass is wet and the earth damp and moist he might finally be able to catch one.
Maybe-
Suddenly there is a strangled cry cutting through the early morning air and it causes Hajime to stop in his tracks, the small boy blinking in confusion, his head unconsciously turning towards the sound.
It had sounded strangely human, which catches him off guard. Hajime is not used to seeing other people in the forest, especially not this early in the morning and before he can think better of it his legs have already started to move in the direction of the noise.
The wailing only grows in volume until Hajime suddenly finds himself stepping into a clearing, only to come face to face with another boy that looks to be around his age, sitting on the ground and hugging his legs tightly to his chest. The only feature that Hajime can really pick out is a teal colored t-shirt and chestnut hair that is all but pressed tightly against the boy's knees, the small body quivering as the boy continues to sob.
“Who are you?” Hajime asks, causing the small form to stiffen before a pair of hazel eyes hesitantly peeks up at him from over his knees. The boy's face is all blotchy and ugly from crying, his eyes rubbed red and Hajime’s brows pulls downwards into a frown as he tries to put a name to the strangers face only for his mind to draw a blank.
He thought that he knew most of the kids around his neighborhood, but either he didn’t or this boy was a long way from home.
“Tooru,” the boy finally sniffles out, rubbing at his wet eyes. “Oikawa Tooru.”
Hajime gives him a curt nod before taking the last few steps until he is at Tooru’s side, putting down his still empty container on the ground before he speaks again. “I am Iwaizumi Hajime,” he says. “Why are you out here?”
Tooru scrunches his nose before averting his eyes. “My parents hates me, so I am running away,” the boy says with a small pout, catching Hajime off guard. He has never heard of any parents hating their children before. Even if he and his own family don't always see eye to eye and even though their fights can get pretty heated at times Iwaizumi can’t recall a single time when the word ‘hate’ had ever been used.
“Why would they hate you?” he asks, causing Tooru to let out another sniffle and hugging his legs tighter to his chest.
“Because they clearly do!” Tooru exclaims loudly. “Why else would they decide to move if they didn’t hate me? I liked my old house better, now my room is on the second floor and it’s stupid and I hate it. And all my friends promised that we would call every day and that we would keep being best friends forever but they don’t call me anymore and when I call they are always busy having fun without me.”
“Oh,” Hajime says as Tooru lets out another sniffle and furiously wipes at his wet and puffy cheeks with the hem of his shirt. “You are the ones who moved in across the street that my mom mentioned the other day.”
“Not anymore,” Tooru cuts in with a pout. “I am running away, remember?”
Hajime does remember, even if he can’t help but think that the idea of running away is slightly stupid. If he were to run away himself Hajime would have no idea where to go in the first place- or how to go about obtaining food and other necessities. And judging by the state Tooru is in, curled up on himself and bawling his eyes out in the middle of an unfamiliar forest it would seem that the boy had no idea what he was doing either. “...and how is that going?”
Tooru pouts. “Great. Amazing. Best decision of my life. I will never have to see any of their ugly faces again and I couldn’t be happier.”
Just then Tooru’s stomach lets out a loud grumble and the boy ducks his head back down again, but not quick enough for Hajime to catch the pink flush spreading across the boy's cheeks. “Shut up,” Tooru mutters, his words mumbled and hard to hear from the way his face is pressed against his knees.
“I didn’t even say anything.”
“Shut up anyway.”
Hajime blinks but in the end he shrugs his shoulders and leans down to pick up his previously discarded container. It wasn’t like the other was any of his business. If Tooru wanted to spend the day being gross and snotty and crying that was on him, Hajime had bugs to catch.
Hajime turns around and is about to walk away when suddenly there are small fingers curling around one of his wrists, stopping him. “Wait!”
Hajime throws a glance over his shoulder. Tooru has pushed to his knees and is now holding his arm in a firm grip as he looks up at him with wide and pleading eyes. “Don’t go.”
A moment passes and when Hajime doesn’t say anything Tooru pouts before adding in a small little ‘please’ by the end of his sentence.
“I thought you were running away,” Hajime asks, causing the small boy to flinch before something determined crosses over his face.
“Well, I did,” Tooru says stubbornly, tilting his chin up. “But now I am tired of it. What are you doing with that stuff anyway?” he asks with a nod towards Iwaizumi’s container and net.
“Catching things, obviously.”
“Catching things?” Oikawa frowns at him. “Like bugs and stuff? That sounds so gross.”
“Says the one with his shirt and face covered in snot,” Hajime huffs with a roll of his eyes before tugging at the hand Tooru still has his fingers wrapped around. “Let me go.”
“No,” Tooru says, tightening his hold. “I am bored of running away so I have decided that I am going to spend the day hanging out with you instead,” he declares.
Hajime is about to tell him that he doesn’t want to hang out with Tooru in the first place, but then he catches the way the boy's jaw is quivering as if he is still fighting off tears and the way wet eyes stares up at him hopefully.
Hajime lets out a sigh, already deeply regretting what he is about to say. “Fine.”
Tooru lets out a happy noise before jumping to his feet and snatching up the container from him with his free hand and Hajime blinks down as Tooru’s hand that had previously been wrapped around his wrist now slips into his own as the boy links their fingers.
Tooru’s hand feels soft and strangely warm against his own.
“So where are we going?” Tooru asks him cheerfully, pulling him back to the present and Iwaizumi lets his eyes wander around the clearing, catching his bearings for a moment before nodding in the direction of the stream that he had intended to go to when he had first set out that morning.
Tooru hums and immediately starts walking in the direction, pulling him along as he starts chatting happily, their hands and fingers still linked.
“So Hajime-chan, do you like volleyball?”