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Ever since his breakup with Iwaizumi, Tooru hasn’t felt like himself. Even the warm, sunny weather in Buenos Aires can’t cheer him up.
It started the same way most of their fights do where they make snippy remarks at each other until one of them snaps, although this time, Tooru was the one who snapped. He can’t even remember what started the fight, or why Iwaizumi was angry in the first place, even though before then, they’d been fighting a lot.
(“Fine then,” Tooru shouted at the top of his lungs as he grabbed one of the dining chairs, hurling it at Iwaizumi, “if you’re so sick of my shit then go back to Japan!”
The next morning, Iwaizumi’s bags were packed. They sat at the breakfast table in silence until Iwaizumi spoke up and said, “I’m going back to Japan. I think we need space from each other.”
Tooru accepted it. Begging for Iwaizumi to stay wouldn’t have done either of them any favors. Every few days or so, Iwaizumi would come back to pick up more and more of his things until suddenly the apartment felt too big for Tooru.)
Tooru isn’t sure when everything started going downhill. He wonders if it’s when they graduated high school. He wonders if it’s the time that Iwaizumi followed him out to Argentina once he finished university. Most importantly, he wonders if they’ve simply grown apart from each other after two decades of being best friends and sticking together.
Once Iwaizumi left, Tooru moved to a shoebox apartment, though he tries his best not to spend much time there. He does everything he can to go outside and to take his mind off of everything, but it never works.
He misses Iwaizumi’s touch. The way his arms were wrapped around his waist every morning. The way that Iwaizumi would kiss him on the cheek and his slight stubble would tickle. The way Iwaizumi’s rough hands seemed to fit perfectly in Tooru’s. Iwaizumi was a cuddly person, despite his rough exterior. Touch was certainly his way of showing affection, whether it was a pat on the shoulder for a job well done or a knock on the head as a reminder to focus up.
Tooru misses everything about Iwaizumi, come to think of it. Iwaizumi had fit within Tooru’s life. Even when they were apart, they never went a day without talking to each other.
Friends have certainly reached out to him about the breakup, but Tooru ignores all of their calls and texts. What’s he supposed to do? Admit that his life is falling apart and it’s getting harder to play volleyball when he’s feeling this way?
Of course not. Over Tooru’s dead body.
This doesn’t go unnoticed by Hinata when they meet up. Hinata notices that Tooru isn’t on his game when they play together for a round of beach volleyball, although he doesn’t bring it up until after the match when they head to lunch together.
“What’s going on?” Hinata asks.
“Nothing’s going on,” Tooru lies. He’s fine. Everything is fine. He can live just fine without Iwaizumi.
Hinata shakes his head. “No. I’m not going to sit here and let you crumble to pieces. This happened with Atsumu before, I’m not going to let it happen to you.”
“I told you, I’m fine,” Tooru says through gritted teeth.
“Not if it’s affecting what you love, dipshit!” Hinata says angrily, and Tooru’s eyes widen. Tooru had forgotten how mean Hinata can get sometimes when he wants to be. “You love volleyball, and I want a formidable teammate and opponent.”
“I - ” Tooru starts, though he stops himself and sighs deeply. “Fine, okay. I miss Haji - I miss Iwaizumi.”
Hinata’s angry expression turns into a softer, sadder one.
“Don’t pity me.”
“I’m not trying to! I get it though, I miss Kageyama sometimes. I wish we’d been able to meet before I left for Brazil, but there’s nothing I can do about that. We’ve started talking again recently though. I missed his friendship.”
“Pfft,” Oikawa scoffs. “Was it friendship if all you did was bicker?”
“You and Iwaizumi-san bickered too!” Hinata retorts. “Stop being stubborn and listen to me!” His voice starts rising higher, and other patrons of the restaurant are starting to stare at them.
“Even if I wanted to talk to him, which I don’t, I doubt he’d want to talk to me.”
“Of course he’d want to talk to you. You’re his best friend! I doubt Iwaizumi-san would be the type of person to throw away your entire friendship because of one fight.”
Tooru is about to answer, but he stops and thinks about it. Hinata is right, Iwaizumi wouldn’t be the type of person to just ignore everything he and Tooru have been through.
“So, then, what should I do about it?”
Hinata hums, thinking for a moment. “Give him a call. Send a letter, maybe.”
“What if I visited him?” Tooru blurts.
Hinata looks at him strangely. “What?”
“What if I visited him?” Tooru repeats. “I’m serious about it. I’m sure I can forego a week of training and fly to Japan. I think it might be better if we talk to face.”
Hinata stammers. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
But Tooru has already made up his mind, and once Tooru makes up his mind, it’s difficult to convince him otherwise. “I think I should go. I want to see him again.”
Hinata sighs. “You should at least let him know before you fly out there.”
“Okay, then.” Tooru pulls out his phone and scrolls to find Iwaizumi’s contact. He hovers over the call button before tapping it and holding the phone to his ear.
It rings twice before an automated voice starts talking. “We’re sorry, the number you are trying to reach has been disconnected,” it announces before the line goes dead.
Tooru hangs up and sets the phone down on the table. Hinata looks up at him expectantly. “Disconnected.”
Hinata blows a raspberry. “That’s dumb. Well, at least you tried.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Tooru mumbles. “Thank you though. You’re not the only one who’s wanted to check on me, but thank you.”
Hinata beams. “Always! You’re my best friend, Oikawa-san.”
Tooru feels as if a weight has been lifted off of his chest.
(Tooru wakes up with the sunlight in his eyes. After three weeks of living here in Argentina, he still hasn’t gotten used to waking up with the bright, blinding sun. In Japan, it would still be dark when Tooru wakes up.
He hears a grumble beside him, and Tooru turns around to find Hajime still sleeping soundly, his hair tousled and his mouth hanging open.
“Silly Iwa-chan,” Tooru says with a laugh. “You’re going to catch the flies.”
Hajime doesn’t answer him. He’s still sound asleep. Tooru can’t blame him, he just endured a thirteen-hour flight the day before, running on no sleep from the panic and stress of traveling.
Tooru creeps out of bed carefully, scouring for his slippers once he feels the cold hardwood floor under his feet. Once he finally finds his slippers, he heads into the kitchen where he opens the refrigerator to figure out what to cook for breakfast.
He settles on scrambled eggs. Tooru isn’t the best cook in the world, but he certainly tries his best, and he’s sure he can create something edible. If he somehow messes up scrambled fucking eggs then the universe is out to get him.
Sometime later, he feels a pair of arms wrapped around his waist. Tooru tilts his head to come face to face with Hajime, kissing him slightly.
“I didn’t hear you over the frying pan,” Tooru says, before turning back to the eggs.
Hajime hums. “Good morning to you too. I was going to make breakfast for you but I see we had the same idea.”)
When Tooru hops off of the plane, he meets Makki and Mattsun at the airport gates. They end up hugging in the middle of the airport while crying. None of them even care that people are watching them, they’re just glad to see each other again.
Once all of Tooru’s things have been settled into Makki and Mattsun’s apartment, they try to beg Tooru to join them for a drink, although Tooru wants to sleep in the meantime.
“Please?” Mattsun asks. “You sound like you’ve been stressed out lately, and you should probably relax.”
“Does sleeping no longer count as relaxing?”
Makki rolls his eyes and reaches over to tug on Tooru’s arm. “You know what I mean.”
Tooru mulls it over for a moment. He knows his best friends won’t give up and arguing with them would be a waste of energy. It doesn’t take much for his friends to convince him, that’s for sure. “You really want me to come with?”
Makki and Mattsun nod enthusiastically.
“Fine, fine,” Tooru says. “Let’s go.”
Tooru feels entirely out of place once they arrive. It’s weird to think that he used to do this with his friends every weekend with Iwaizumi and his friends back in Argentina.
Speak of the devil.
On the other end of the bar, Iwaizumi is sitting there, nursing his drink. Tooru wants to turn back now before he can see him, but it’s too late. Iwaizumi has already made eye contact.
“I can’t do this,” Tooru blurts out as he tries to turn around.
Makki and Mattsun push him. “Nope, you’re not turning around now.”
“Just talk to him,” Makki quips.
“Easy for you to say.”
Makki and Mattsun don’t listen to him and instead push him to where Iwaizumi is sitting. Iwaizumi looks up at him expectantly.
“Um, hi?” Tooru says nervously. Get it together, you’re never this anxious.
“Tooru - Oikawa,” Iwaizumi stammers. “What are you doing here?”
“Nothing, just personal matters,” he answers. It’s not exactly a lie, this is a personal matter.
Hajime takes a swig of his drink. “Ah, okay.” He pauses for a moment. “Do you wanna drink with me?”
Tooru nods. He looks over his shoulder for Makki and Mattsun, who have seemingly orchestrated this whole thing, but it turns out that they’ve already left to be in their own little world.
So he sits down next to Iwaizumi and it doesn’t take them long to get a conversation going once they get past the pleasantries. A lot has happened in the six months since they broke up, but he’s still the same Iwaizumi he’s always known.
And while there’s no way they’re getting back together any time soon, Tooru feels as if this is the start of an entirely new relationship with Iwaizumi.