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[December 23rd, Irvine, California]
Iwaizumi inhaled the crisp, cool winter air. He smiled, the cool air reminding him of the winters in Japan. Winters in California tended to be a bit warmer than those in Japan, but the air always reminded him of his homeland. Iwaizumi didn’t know what it was about the air, or the wind, but it was always nostalgic for him. He hastily checked the time on his phone, hoping he would make it there in time. Iwaizumi began walking a bit faster, eventually reaching his car. He opened the door to the vehicle, started the car and slowly backed out of where he parallel parked. Iwaizumi pulled up the directions on his phone, glancing down at it every few seconds as he drove down the Californian roads.
This was it. This was the day. He knew this year wouldn’t be a “White Christmas”, since it rarely snowed, but he still wanted to make this week of December the best.
He maneuvered his car into the parking lot, neatly parking his car in between the two marked stripes of the parking space. Iwaizumi put the car in park, he turned it off and got out. He opened the trunk of his car, grabbing a sign so he could be identified in a crowd, but knowing the person he was going to be picking up, it wouldn’t be hard for him to find Iwaizumi in a sea of people. Iwaizumi checked the time on his phone once again, seeing how much time he had before the flight landed. He began to make his way to the exit. Iwaizumi looked over towards the escalator, where everyone who departed the plane would be coming from. He held his sign up, tapping his foot impatiently. About a couple dozen unfamiliar faces descended from the mechanical stairs, until he finally saw who he was waiting for. The impatient mood he had been in suddenly changed to a joyful expression, his previously dull eyes lighting up as he spotted the brunette man scanned through the crowd, looking for Iwaizumi.
[December 22nd, San Juan, Argentina]
Oikawa sighed as he rushed to finish packing his suitcase. He mentally noted down what he had packed and what he hadn’t, hoping he didn’t forget anything. With a grunt, he sat on his suitcase, awkwardly zipping it up. He may have overstuffed it with clothes, but he didn’t care. The brunette grabbed his suitcases and a backpack he had prepared for the plane ride. He stumbled out of his apartment, underestimating how hard it would be to manage three bags at once. A grunt escaped his mouth, as he miraculously managed to close the door to his apartment, and fumbled with one hand to lock the front door. Once he made sure it was locked, he grabbed both his suitcases with his bag slung over one of his shoulders, despite there being two straps, and made his way down a short flight of stairs to the sidewalk. He walked towards the main road then waved a hand to hail a taxi.
After a few minutes of raising his hand, a taxi finally arrived to take Oikawa to the airport. The taxi driver put his suitcases in the trunk and Oikawa got into the car with his backpack. The driver asked where he was going and Oikawa replied, in Spanish, “The airport.”
He sat in the car and unzipped the front pocket of his bag then he dug his hand in and felt around until he found the familiar feel of earbud cords. He pulled the blue earbuds out, hastily untangling them, as he pulled out his phone and plugged them in. Oikawa navigated to a playlist that his boyfriend made for him. He pressed the shuffle button, leaned back in his seat a bit, and watched the world pass by through the window. As “Out of My League” by Fitz and The Tantrums encapsulated his brain with a psychedelic symphony, he kept asking himself why this was even on the playlist. If anything, his partner was out of his league. Oikawa was wrapped up in his mind, staring blankly out the window. He only noticed that he arrived at the airport when the cab stopped. He reluctantly took out his earbuds and got out of the car, thanking the driver as he took his belongings.
----
[Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU)]
Oikawa entered the airport and made his way to check in, which was a bit of a labyrinth when it came to navigating between people and stanchions. He hastily checked the time on his phone again, hoping he wouldn’t be late for his flight. [07:13] the digital display read. He sighed in relief, walked up to the counter, and received his boarding pass. Oikawa placed the two suitcases on the scale hoping none of his bags would be overweight. He was relieved that none of them were, thankfully. His flight was set to leave at 08:00, which would take him to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, then to John Wayne Airport. Oikawa thanked the worker and took his backpack with him to security. He took in the surroundings, excited to finally see his partner again in person. They communicated through phone calls, texts, and many video calls, but none of them compared to physically seeing each other. Oikawa wasn’t a fan of the long distance, but he was determined to make it work.
As he approached security Oikawa was instructed to take off his shoes, remove any metal objects, and to put those items into the plastic bin, along with his bag. He obeyed, placing the plastic bin with his belongings on the conveyor belt and walked into the metal detector. He was nervous about being scanned even though there was absolutely nothing he had that was illegal or metal on his body. The security guard motioned for him to step out, indicating he was good. Oikawa thanked the security guard and gathered his belongings. He made his way to the boarding gates, looking down at his ticket to see where he needed to go. {Gate C…} he thought silently, craning his neck a bit to locate where Gate C was. In his peripheral, he saw the letter “C”, and turned that way, reading the sign. The sign read “Gate C”, which prompted Oikawa to make a beeline for the gate, his stomach doing somersaults in excitement. He sat down in one of the chairs, plugging in his earbuds to his phone again, as he waited to be called to board the plane. A soft smile crept across his face as “Olivia” by One Direction played, and he gently nodded his head to the music and quietly tapped his foot. He was engulfed in the sound, drifting off into his thoughts. Oikawa blinked a few times once he saw people getting up and quickly took out his blue earbuds, bunching them up and shoving them in his pocket.
Groups of people were being called to board the plane, starting with first class. He waited until his group was called, then put on his backpack and stood in the crowd waiting to board. The brunette readied his boarding pass to show to the worker, and when his turn came the worker scanned it. He nodded in thanks, walking through the jet bridge, and stepped onto the aircraft. Oikawa looked for his seat, scanning the rows of heads, checking the overhead bins for the seat labels. Eventually, he found his seat, which was a window seat, and awkwardly squeezed past another person sitting in the center seat. He sat down in the window seat, giving an acknowledging nod to his neighbor. About 30 minutes or so had passed before one of the flight attendants started giving the safety speech. Oikawa listened for what seemed like forever, then it was announced they were taking off soon. The man next to him was somehow already asleep and he chuckled a bit when he noticed. When he thought about it, the safety speeches were pretty boring; he didn’t blame the man for falling asleep in the middle of it. Oikawa went into his pockets, digging out the earbuds, and meticulously untangled them. He opened Spotify again, resuming the music as he looked out the window. The plane started moving and lifted off of the runway, causing a bit of pain in Oikawa’s ears, but he tried his best to block it out. All he paid attention to was the plane window and the music vibrating through his earbuds. Moments later, the brunette fell asleep to his favorite song, “Hey There, Delilah” by The Plain White Tees.
[December 23rd, Irvine, California]
Oikawa sighed as the plane landed, this having been his second plane ride of the day. Since his first flight was a connecting flight, he had to get off at the Dallas airport, and go through the boarding process again to get on the plane for Irvine. His stomach rumbled, ready for dinner, despite it being the afternoon in California. He waited for instructions from the flight attendants about departing the plane. People started standing up from their seats, and Oikawa followed suit. The front rows got in the aisle and started departing, causing a ripple effect throughout the rest of the plane. He finally stepped off the plane, and made his way to the luggage pickup.
Oikawa tapped his foot, waiting for his suitcases to appear on the oversized conveyor belt, as others grabbed their belongings and started leaving towards the escalators to the baggage claim. He saw one of his suitcases emerge from the conveyor belt entrance, and waited for it to come around before eagerly grabbing it. Only one left. He watched the entrance of the conveyor belt, waiting to see one of his suitcases pop out. At last, after what felt like eternity (even though it was only five minutes), Oikawa saw his other suitcase. He quickly snatched it up, and went on the escalator. The brunette man looked at all the heads in the crowd as he descended on the mechanical staircase, before finding his boyfriend’s. His face instantly lit up, and you could practically see stars in his eyes. He grinned stupidly, and as soon as he got to the bottom of the escalator, he wrapped his boyfriend up in a hug, crying tears of joy.
“Iwa-chan~” Oikawa said happily, his voice cracking a bit. Iwaizumi hugged him back, missing the warm embrace of his boyfriend. Neither one wanted to let go; it had been ages since they’ve seen each other, and they wanted to keep this moment as long as possible. Eventually they stopped hugging so they could look at each other. Iwaizumi gazed at Oikawa’s face as he mentally took it in. His deep, chocolate eyes, his wavy brunette hair that swooped every which way, the shape of his smooth, soft lips, his defined jawline. Every little thing that he fell in love with was standing right in front of him. Iwaizumi felt better than he had felt in ages, and felt a solace overcome his body.
“I missed you, Shittykawa.” Iwaizumi said lovingly, eliciting a soft chuckle from Oikawa. Iwaizumi traced Oikawa’s jawline with his index finger, before pulling him in for a kiss on the lips. Iwaizumi didn’t care who saw; all he knew was that the person who meant the most in the world to him had returned.
Time froze, and his surroundings disappeared as Oikawa leaned into the unexpected kiss. The world around him faded away; it was just the two of them, in pure bliss and happiness, their lips embracing. All of his worries and doubts melted away, seemingly cured by such a simple action. He wouldn’t trade this moment for anything in the world.
Iwaizumi gently pulled away. “I’ve missed you so fucking much.” He was smiling, gazing up at Oikawa. “I’m so glad we can spend Christmas together, it was getting lonely over here.” He chuckled softly.
“I missed you too~” Oikawa lovingly remarked. He yawned, the jet lag starting to hit. “Could we go back to your place, and then cuddle?” Oikawa asked, his expression soft, and his eyelids droopy.
“Of course we can Sleepykawa~” He mused, taking one of Oikawa’s suitcases. “You must be pretty tired from all the travelling, and having jet lag thrown on top of it. I drove my car here, so it’ll just be us.” Iwaizumi explained. Oikawa nodded, and as Iwaizumi started to leave, Oikawa followed, dragging his other suitcase behind him, blushing softly.
The pair arrived at Iwaizumi’s car, and Iwaizumi unlocked it, popping the trunk open. He hoisted Oikawa’s suitcase into the car, and Oikawa followed Iwaizumi’s motions with his other suitcase. After making sure nothing was blocking the trunk, Iwaizumi slammed it shut. Oikawa walked around the car and opened the door, ducking before closing the door. Oikawa put his seatbelt on, as Iwaizumi got in the driver’s seat. Iwaizumi made sure to buckle up before starting the car up, and carefully pulling out of his parallel parked position. He carefully merged into traffic, noticing an awkward silence between the two. Oikawa’s mind was racing, and he tried to stay awake, not wanting to fall asleep, especially since he just got in California.
“Hey Iwa-chan, could I play some music?” Oikawa asked, who also noticed the painfully awkward silence. Iwaizumi nodded, his eyes still focused on the road. Oikawa smiled and connected his phone to the car speakers, choosing a playlist, and hitting shuffle. “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers started playing, and Oikawa nodded his head along to the guitar-heavy song. Iwaizumi was still fixated on the road, both his hands on the steering wheel, but his fingers tapped along to the rhythm of the music. As the beat came in, Oikawa was mouthing the words, dancing subtly to the music, pretending to hold a microphone at times. Iwaizumi looked over at Oikawa, enveloped in his bubble of melodies, and smiled. This is what he missed the most about Oikawa; all of his little quirks he’d never show to the world, but he would let loose around Iwaizumi. As the bridge of the song approached, Oikawa was very involved in his dance, accidentally singing along to the vocals, releasing a “I never~” from his throat. As soon as he realized he was singing out loud, his face flushed bright red, and Iwaizumi chuckled, looking over at his blushing boyfriend.
“I don’t mind if you sing, you’ve got a beautiful voice.” Iwaizumi reassured, turning his head to the road again. Oikawa blushed even more as he built up the courage to sing again. By the time they arrived at Iwaizumi’s apartment, Oikawa had sung nearly all the songs he knew the words to. Iwaizumi also occasionally joined in, the two lost in the rhythms of the music.
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[Iwaizumi’s Apartment]
Iwaizumi parked his car in the parking lot of his apartment building, unlocking the car doors. He opened the trunk and grabbed both of Oikawa’s suitcases as he got out of the car.
“I can take my suitcases, if that’s okay.” Oikawa asked
“It’s no big deal, I can handle them.” Iwaizumi replied, smiling. Oikawa tilted his head a bit
“Are you sure? I know you gotta unlock the door and everything, I want to make this easier on you” He smiled softly.
“I guess, I mean you could take one, if that’ll make you happy” Iwaizumi returned the smile, and he started leading Oikawa to the entrance of the building. Oikawa smiled, absolutely struck with love. He was only going to be in the US for Christmas, then he left on the 26th. Even though it would be a short few days with Iwaizumi, he was determined to make every day count. Oikawa knew he could be a little too narcissistic at times, and he wanted this trip to be about spending time together, not him. He fidgeted with something in his jacket pocket as he followed Iwaizumi down the hallway.
Iwaizumi stepped up to the door of his apartment and unlocked the door, motioning for Oikawa to go in. It was a nice apartment, with a central room meant for spending time with other people, and to the right, a kitchen. To the left was a short hallway that led to the bathroom and two bedrooms. Iwaizumi veered left, opening the door to a bedroom. In the middle was a queen sized bed, with a dresser to the left of it. A nightstand accompanied each side of the bed, with a lamp on each nightstand. A door to the right led into the master bathroom, which was decently sized, containing a bathtub big enough to fit two people, a toilet, and a counter with a sink. There were a few items on the floor, and the bed looked nicely made.
“I think there’s some free room in the closet for you to put your stuff,” Iwaizumi smiled, motioning to the small closet next to the dresser. Oikawa walked over and placed one of his suitcases inside, and Iwaizumi followed. It was around dinner time for the two of them. “Is it alright if I order pizza for dinner?” Iwaizumi asked, unsure if Oikawa would like that at all.
“Sure” He smiled, sitting on the bed. He patted the area next to him, and Iwaizumi made his way over to sit next to him. Oikawa put his arm around his boyfriend, and Iwaizumi leaned in, placing his head in the crook of Oikawa’s neck. It fit perfectly, just like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Oikawa smiled, gently stroking Iwaizumi’s hair. He ran his fingers through his pitch-black hair, admiring each strand. {How in the world was I able to be with someone so perfect…} Oikawa thought, as Iwaizumi drifted off to sleep, tired from the day. It was only 5pm, but the brown-haired man knew Iwaizumi needed some rest. He smiled, his arm still around Iwaizumi, running his fingers through the sleeping man’s hair. Oikawa started singing softly to Iwaizumi, savoring this moment.
“Kiss me where I lay down, my hands pressed to your cheeks, ” He hummed quietly, admiring his boyfriend, “A long way from the playground, ” {I’m so goddamn lucky to be in love with you} Oikawa thought, as he continued singing.
“I have loved you since we were eighteen
Long before we both thought the same thing
To be loved and to be in love
All I can do is say that these arms were made for holding you
I wanna love like you made me feel
When we were eighteen ”
Oikawa quietly sang the rest of the song, his heart racing with emotions. Iwaizumi was the only thing on his mind. He’d walk through heaven and hell for Iwaizumi; hell, he’d even take a bullet for him. To him, Iwaizumi was his whole world, and he wouldn’t trade him for anything.
Iwaizumi woke up around 5:35pm, still nestled in Oikawa’s neck. Oikawa was quietly humming, not noticing he was awake yet.
“You’ve got such a pretty voice” Iwaizumi croaked out, still a bit groggy from just waking up. Oikawa was slightly startled, not expecting Iwaizumi to take such a short nap.
“Oh, uh, thanks” He blushed a light pink, rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand. “It’s gonna be 6pm in about 30 minutes, d’ya wanna sleep some more or…?”
“I just wanna be here with you” He looked up at his boyfriend, smiling. “We could watch some TV and cuddle a bit,” Iwaizumi suggested, taking in the warmth from the other man.
“Sure!” Oikawa cheerfully replied. The pair got up from the bed, and interlocked hands, walking to the living room.
“You can get comfortable and pick out something to watch, and I’ll grab some blankets and order the pizza,” Iwaizumi smiled, walking over to a cabinet to pull out some fluffy blankets. Oikawa located the remote and sat on a yellow-orangey loveseat, turning the TV on. He navigated to Netflix, scrolling down to the Christmas selections. His chocolate-brown eyes scanned over the titles as he flipped through the selections, unsatisfied with any of them. He pouted a bit, disappointed he couldn’t find anything worth watching. Oikawa exited out of Netflix and went to another channel, hoping to watch one of his favorite titles with Iwaizumi. “Iwa-chan~ I found something~” He smiled.
“I’m gonna guess it’s one of those romantic-comedy movies,” he chuckled, knowing even though Oikawa was serious at times, he still had a child-like side to him.
“Yeah,” he blushed, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Sounds perfect,” Iwaizumi smiled as he walked behind the couch, quickly kissing the top of Oikawa’s head as he walked around the side of the couch to sit next to him. He took a fluffy blanket, and draped it over the two of them. Iwaizumi snuggled into Oikawa, missing the sturdiness of him; not just of his body, but feeling secure and knowing everything would be okay as long as he was here. Oikawa pressed the play button and the movie started. Both of them had their eyes fixated on the screen, as the pixels uniformly displayed a moving image. Iwaizumi was watching the screen, but his mind wandered elsewhere - mainly about when the pizza would arrive - but also about the 26th. He hadn’t seen Oikawa in person in years, and he’d be leaving so soon. Was he prepared to say goodbye to him again? The answer was no. Iwaizumi was brought back to his senses by the buzzer, and he quickly got up, opening the door. The pizza delivery man stood there, holding two boxes of pizza. Iwaizumi quickly got his wallet out, shuffling through some items before he handed the delivery man the correct amount in cash. Oikawa was still watching the movie, and Iwaizumi made his way over to the kitchen, setting the two boxes down on the counter.
“Do you want cheese or pepperoni?” He called from the kitchen
“Could I have one of both?” Oikawa responded
“Yeah, no problem,” Iwaizumi replied, getting some plastic plates out and putting the greasy slices on them. He walked over to the couch, handing Oikawa his plate, and went back to the kitchen to grab something else. Oikawa took a bite off of the tip, enjoying the warmth that suddenly flooded his mouth.
“Do you want some hot chocolate?” Iwaizumi asked, heating up some water in the microwave to make a cup for himself.
“Yes, please!” Oikawa replied, feeling tired. He yawned, still feeling jet lagged. It was around midnight in Argentina, as his body started feeling heavy. Normally he’d try to go to bed at a reasonable hour (aka around midnight, sometimes 1-2am on a weekend), but this was going to take some getting used to.
After a few moments, Iwaizumi walked over, holding two mugs. “Here you go,” he said with a smile, and Oikawa grabbed the handle of the mug. He took a sip, and sighed contentedly. This is exactly what he needed. Iwaizumi set his mug down on a table along with his plate and got under the blanket with Oikawa. He nestled in with Oikawa, before picking up his plate and eating the slice. Iwaizumi gently stroked Oikawa’s fluffy brown hair, noticing his boyfriend’s eyes looking tired.
“You gettin’ sleepy?” He asked gently, rubbing his head. Oikawa nodded slightly, setting his empty plate down on the table and nestling himself into Iwaizumi’s body. Iwaizumi smiled, putting an arm around Oikawa and continued to eat his pizza. “Let’s just try and stay up later, so we can get your internal clock set to Californian time, does that sound okay?” Iwaizumi asked, enamored with his boyfriend. Oikawa nodded, picking up his mug and taking a sip from it. The feeling of warmth rushed down his throat, into his stomach, sending a wave of heat through his body. It was an amazing feeling. He exhaled, his breath warm from the beverage. Iwaizumi was switching between watching the TV and gazing at Oikawa. This night couldn’t get any more perfect.
It was around 9pm, and the film had ended. Oikawa was fighting sleep, determined to stay up at least another hour or so to help reset his internal clock. He yawned, rubbing his eyes. Iwaizumi was playing with his brown, wavy hair, and Oikawa didn’t mind.
“Do you wanna watch something else?” Iwaizumi asked, feeling sleepy himself.
“Only if you want to~” Oikawa replied, yawning mid-sentence.
“I have a fun day planned for tomorrow, and I wanna get some rest. If you wanna watch something I don’t mind,” he smiled slightly.
“I think I’m gonna go to bed too” Oikawa concurred, as Iwaizumi got up, gathering the dinnerware and placing it by the sink to wash in the morning. Oikawa got up reluctantly after Iwaizumi, stretching a bit and folded the blanket. He placed it neatly on the couch, going to the master bedroom. Oikawa walked over to the closet, opening a suitcase to retrieve his toiletries. He went into the bathroom, and started brushing and flossing his teeth. A little bit after he started, Iwaizumi came in, and started changing into his sleepwear, which was just his boxers and a t-shirt. Oikawa walked out of the bathroom, and sat down on the bed. Iwaizumi gave him a quick peck on the cheek before disappearing into the bathroom to take care of his teeth. While Iwaizumi was flossing his teeth, Oikawa was getting undressed to change into his sleepwear, which was basically just his underwear. He got under the covers, enjoying the feel of the sheets against his bare skin. Within a few minutes he was fast asleep. Iwaizumi walked out of the bathroom after a bit, smiling as he saw Oikawa fast asleep. He turned the light off and got in bed next to Oikawa, cuddling him. Soon, he too succumbed to slumber.
[December 24th, Iwaizumi’s Apartment]
Oikawa yawned, waking up earlier than Iwaizumi. He was being cuddled, his boyfriend’s arm draped over his bare chest, feeling Iwaizumi’s shirt against his back. He sleepily reached over to his nightstand, grabbing his phone from the surface. The phone turned on, and he squinted, eyes adjusting to the sudden bright light. It was 3am. He let out a small groan, putting his phone back on the nightstand and moved into Iwaizumi’s warm, homely embrace. Iwaizumi, still asleep, pulled Oikawa closer, smiling unconsciously. Within a few minutes, he was taken by sleep.
Around 8am, Iwaizumi woke up, still cuddling Oikawa. He reluctantly pulled away from the brunette man, getting out from under the covers and stretching. Oikawa, still sleeping, took this as a cue to steal the rest of the blankets for himself, seeing as his main source of warmth was gone. Iwaizumi silently got dressed, and went into the kitchen to start making pancakes. He mixed the batter, peeking towards the hallway every now and then to see if Oikawa was up. He got into a rhythm of pouring the batter on the pan, flipping the pancakes, then plating them. Iwaizumi quietly hummed as he flipped the flapjacks, waiting for his partner to wake up.
Oikawa yawned as his eyes fluttered open, clumsily grabbing the phone from the nightstand. [08:33] was seen as the time. He took the covers off and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, standing up to get dressed. Oikawa threw on a t-shirt and sweatpants, planning to change into something nicer later. He walked out of the room and down the hallway, greeted with the smell of fresh pancakes. His eyes lit up, not expecting Iwaizumi to be cooking for him.
“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa greeted, a grin spreading across his face. Iwaizumi looked up from flipping pancakes, a smile forming to match the intensity of his boyfriend’s. Oikawa sat down on one of the barstools in the kitchen at a small bar area.
“Morning Tooru-chan! I got up to make some pancakes, I was thinking about going ice skating this morning, does that sound good?” Iwaizumi asked, turning off the stove and removing the pan from the heated area. Oikawa nodded, his face washing over with a shade of pink. {Tooru-chan…} He gazed lovingly at Iwaizumi and he felt as though he was falling even more in love with him, if that was even possible. Oikawa was spacing out again, he was only brought back down to earth when he heard the sound of a plastic plate being placed down on the counter, with a small stack of pancakes on it. Iwaizumi placed a bottle of syrup next to the plate with a fork and a knife.
“Eat up” Iwaizumi smiled warmly, getting his own plate and sat down next to Oikawa at the small bar. The two chatted while stuffing their faces with the flapjacks, finally able to catch up after not seeing each other for what felt like years.
After breakfast, Iwaizumi went to go get ready for their date. He changed out of his sleepwear into some heavier clothes. He would’ve loved to take Oikawa to an outdoor skating rink, but there were none nearby, so he settled for an indoor rink. Not as romantic in his opinion, but still fun nonetheless. Oikawa was still trying to adjust to the time change, even though he got some decent sleep last night. He yawned, walking into the master bedroom, and dug in his suitcase to find some warmer clothing to wear. He wasn’t well adapted to cold weather, since it was pretty warm in Argentina in December. Oikawa fished around for a winter coat, before cursing under his breath. {Dammit… I must’ve forgotten to pack it} Oikawa sighed, running a hand through his hair as he scrounged around for anything he could layer to provide some warmth. He sighed, not finding anything that could help.
“Iwa-chan…” Oikawa shouted to Iwaizumi, who was in the main room
“What’s up love?”
“I forgot my winter coat…” He sheepishly said, blushing from both the pet name and from embarrassment.
“I think I have an extra jacket you can borrow, if that’s not enough, I have a few sweatshirts you could layer on top of it.” Iwaizumi got up, walked over to the hall closet, pulling out a light blue winter jacket, and walked back to the bedroom, handing it to Oikawa. “I hope it fits, if not I bet we can figure something out,” he smiled. Oikawa thanked his boyfriend and continued to get ready as Iwaizumi left the room.
“Ready to go?” Iwaizumi asked after Oikawa stepped out of the bedroom. Oikawa responded with a nod. Iwaizumi got up and walked towards the door, Oikawa following. Iwaizumi unlocked his car, and opened the driver's side door, getting in and buckling his seatbelt. Oikawa entered through the passenger side door, and put his seatbelt on as well. Iwaizumi started the car, and started driving to the skating rink. Oikawa put his playlist on shuffle, and glanced down at his phone, pouting for a second before skipping the song. He did this a few more times, before finally settling on “Everybody Talks” by Neon Trees. Iwaizumi smiled, still focusing on the road. Oikawa quietly hummed along to the music, before singing the chorus out loud. Iwaizumi drove, listening to the melodies of his boyfriend. The rest of the ride was generally the same, Oikawa singing with Iwaizumi occasionally joining in. Iwaizumi pulled up to the ice rink, and the two got out of the car, entering the building.
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[Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena]
The sharp air sent a cold chill down Oikawa’s throat as he took a deep breath in. A part of him missed the cold weather, and even if it was just artificial, it still provided a certain dose of nostalgia for him. Since neither of them owned skates, they’d have to rent some out.
“You know your shoe size in the US, right?” Iwaizumi asked as they approached the counter.
“Mmm I think so… Size 10 if I’m not mistaken,” Oikawa mused, scanning his brain for any additional information pertaining to his shoe size.
“Sounds good, and if it doesn’t fit, we can just get another size.” Iwaizumi smiled, walking up to the counter to rent the skates. Iwaizumi talked to the worker, and paid for the rental with his money. He was handed two pairs of skates, and he turned around, walking to a bench with the pairs. Oikawa followed, sitting next to Iwaizumi.
“These should be a size 10.” Iwaizumi handed Oikawa one of the pairs. The two proceeded to put on their skates, lacing them as best as they could. “Hey, Tooru-chan, could you help me finish lacing mine?” He was struggling to finish tying the rest, since he didn’t leave enough lace left to effectively tie a bow.
“Sure!” Oikawa knelt on the ground so his hands would match the height of the laces, and began pulling on the laces to tighten them, then tied a bow. “Do you want me to do the other one as well?” He asked, and Iwaizumi responded with a nod. He repeated the process on the other side, being careful to not move his feet too fast, since there were sharp blades on the bottom of his feet.
Both of them finally managed to get their skates on, and Iwaizumi stood up, trying to balance. He tried to walk forward a bit, and lost his balance. Oikawa caught him in his arms.
“You okay Iwa-chan?” Oikawa asked, helping Iwaizumi steady himself.
“Yeah, I guess I just don’t know how to balance properly in these.” He let out a small chuckle. “Have you ever skated before?”
“Uh, when I was younger I did a bit, but I haven’t skated in like, a decade.” Oikawa rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess we both have to learn how to skate!” He smiled. Iwaizumi returned the smile, and the two held on to each other to balance as they made their way to the ice.
Stepping onto the ice was unnerving to both of them, as Iwaizumi hugged the wall and Oikawa tried to remember how to skate. Iwaizumi managed to get his feet to cooperate, and slowly started trying to glide while holding on to the wall for dear life. Oikawa managed to start gliding next to Iwaizumi, and he tried to do a cool-looking spin (or what he thought was cool), but instead lost his balance and fell on his butt. Iwaizumi looked down at Oikawa, shocked, but instead of being upset, Oikawa just started laughing. Iwaizumi cracked a smile as Oikawa got up, brushing himself off.
“Well that did not go as planned,” Oikawa joked, unphased by the fall.
“It looked cool” Iwaizumi smiled as they made their way around the elliptical rink, with his skills growing enough to reluctantly let go of the wall. “Can I hold on to you?” He asked Oikawa, gliding carefully along the slippery surface.
“Yeah” He smiled, holding his arm out so they could link arms. Iwaizumi linked with him, and they both made their way along the rink, recalling stories from their high school days. The two kept skating, smiling as they reminisced over all the events that happened when they were younger.
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[Iwaizumi’s Apartment]
Iwaizumi unlocked the door to his apartment, feeling tired from skating for so long. They went out for lunch after they finished skating, which happened to be around 2pm. By the time they got back to the apartment, it was approaching 4. Oikawa took off his winter wear, putting it away in the bedroom, before flopping on the couch in the main room. Iwaizumi was also feeling worn out, and put his stuff away, before going to check on Oikawa.
“Do you wanna cuddle and watch some cheesy Hallmark movies?” Iwaizumi suggested, feeling the need to rest as well. Oikawa nodded, tiredly sitting up. Iwaizumi grabbed a fluffy blanket and draped it over the both of them, then turned the TV on. Oikawa leaned into Iwaizumi, with Iwaizumi doing the same. With the drone of the TV in the background and both feeling exhausted, it wasn’t long before they both fell asleep.
Around 5:45pm, Iwaizumi started waking up, still cuddling Oikawa. The TV was still playing movies, although this one was a different title than what was playing when they fell asleep. He yawned, stretching a bit. Dinner time was approaching soon, and they had leftover pizza in the fridge. Not ideal, but it would do for now. Oikawa was still asleep, so he’d just wait until he woke up. Iwaizumi watched the TV to pass time, not daring to move until Oikawa woke up. He checked on his boyfriend occasionally, looking down for a few seconds before looking back up at the TV. He smiled softly. Iwaizumi knew that this is what home felt like.
After the pair finished eating pizza that had been microwaved, they both agreed to go to bed early. Oikawa waited for Iwaizumi to finish using the bathroom. All he wanted was for the next day to come faster. His mind was racing with thoughts of the next day, how Iwaizumi would react to his presents, what they were going to do, and if Iwaizumi had anything planned.
“Bathroom’s free,” Iwaizumi stated, making his way to the bed.
“Thank you” He gave Iwaizumi a quick peck on the cheek before going to the bathroom. Oikawa looked in the mirror, and mentally prepared himself for the next day, tuning the faucet on and washing his face. He dried his face off, sighing as he began brushing his teeth. {I can do this… It’s gonna happen tomorrow} He thought, trying to give himself a pep talk. Oikawa washed his mouth out then walked out of the bathroom, getting in bed next to Iwaizumi (who was already fast asleep) after he changed. Tomorrow was going to be perfect.
[December 25th, Iwaizumi’s Apartment]
Oikawa ended up waking up early again, grumbling as he checked the time on his phone. He squinted, trying to read the time with the glaringly bright screen. He sighed, seeing the time. 2am. He clumsily put the phone back on the nightstand as he closed his eyes, hoping for sleep to come soon. He sighed, trying his best to clear his mind. Iwaizumi was cuddling him again, so he just focused on the warmth he radiated, falling back asleep within minutes.
It was time. Christmas morning had arrived. Oikawa slept in today, whereas Iwaizumi was awake by 7am. He felt restless. It was the last full day he had with Oikawa before he had to go back to Argentina, and he wanted to make every second count. He was planning to take Oikawa out to Orange County Great Park in an attempt to make more memories together before they had to part ways for a while. Iwaizumi didn’t really have a plan in mind, he was just going to see what happened. He went to the kitchen to go make breakfast, this time he was making some cinnamon rolls. It was going to take a while to make them, maybe around an hour- so Iwaizumi decided to play some music while he baked, subtly nodding his head to the beat. He hummed occasionally while baking, trying to be as patient as possible as he waited for Oikawa to wake up. After a while, Iwaizumi put the rolls in the oven, setting a timer for 20 minutes. He put away the ingredients he used, and washed the dishes, trying to keep himself occupied while waiting for Oikawa to wake up and for the rolls to be finished.
Oikawa awoke to the smell of something sweet, although he couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was exactly. He got out of bed and got dressed, walking into the kitchen. By now, Iwaizumi was just pulling the buns out from the oven, and he carefully placed them on a cooling rack.
“Morning Iwa-chan!” Oikawa yawned as he made his way to the kitchen. “What smells so good?” He sniffed the air again, the smell of cinnamon rolls wafting through the air.
“I made us some cinnamon rolls!” Iwaizumi smiled. “They need a few more minutes to cool, but I hope you like them.” He came over to Oikawa and kissed his cheek. “How’d you sleep?”
“Ehh, it could’ve been better. I woke up at like, 2am,” he yawned. “Still trying to get used to the time change, y’know,” he smiled.
“I have a fun day planned for us,” Iwaizumi smiled, pouring the glaze over the cinnamon buns. “I was thinking after we exchange gifts, we could go to Orange County Great Park. I jog over there sometimes. They’ve got a really cute carousel there we could ride on together,” Iwaizumi smiled, looking up at Oikawa, while carefully removing two rolls, and placing each on a plate. “Here ya go!” He smiled. Oikawa inhaled, taking in the sweet scent of the bun before picking it up and taking a bite into it. The cinnamon flavor and glaze melted in his mouth, it was heavenly tasting.
“Mmph-” Oikawa smiled, clearly enjoying the food. Iwaizumi grinned as he ate his own, his mouth filled with warmth. “After this, do you wanna open gifts?” Oikawa asked, mouth still half full. Iwaizumi responded with a head nod, chewing his food. Oikawa’s smile grew larger as he swallowed the rest of his breakfast, waiting for Iwaizumi to finish.
When Iwaizumi finally finished, he and Oikawa went to the small Christmas tree in the corner of the main room, which was neatly decorated with small baubles and colorful lights. It wasn’t a very big tree, about only 3 feet tall. There was one wrapped gift under the tree, with “Oikawa” scrawled on the gift tag with a marker. It was about an inch thick, and it was around the size of a laptop.
“I tried to wrap it the best I could, but it clearly isn’t my strong suit.” He smiled sheepishly.
“It’s beautiful” Oikawa genuinely smiled. “I’ll be right back, I gotta grab mine from the bedroom!” He hopped up from his sitting position and jogged to the bedroom, grabbing a box from one of his suitcases, and a small, black box from the pockets of his jacket, slipping the black box into his pants pocket. He carried the large gift out to the main room, smiling. Iwaizumi gazed at the gift, envious of Oikawa’s wrapping skills. It was almost as perfect as he was. Oikawa handed the box to Iwaizumi, sitting down next to him. Iwaizumi carefully unwrapped the present, feeling a bit guilty for ruining such a beautiful wrapping job. He saw under the wrapper, and smiled, excitedly unwrapping the rest of the present. It was a brown cardboard box, but something was definitely inside.
“I’m gonna go grab some scissors real quick,” Iwaizumi smiled and went to a drawer and grabbed a pair of scissors, hurrying back to the tree to continue unwrapping the gift. He cut through the packing tape and pulled out a plush, grinning. It was a giant, black Godzilla plush, about 2 feet tall. Iwaizumi hugged it. “Thank you so much, I love it!” He kissed Oikawa on the cheek, letting go of the plush to hug his boyfriend. “You should open yours” He gently pulled away, handing the sloppily-wrapped gift to Oikawa. Oikawa carefully opened the gift, feeling it was fragile. He blushed as he peeled back the wrapping, revealing a canvas with a painting on it. It was a painting of Oikawa from back in his high school days, painted by Iwaizumi. Oikawa’s brown eyes examined every detail of the painting, tearing up. It was perfect. He placed the painting down, wrapping Iwaizumi up in a tight hug
“Iwa-chan, it’s perfect!” He smiled, crying tears of joy. “I love it so much,” He pulled away, gazing into Iwaizumi’s dark-brown eyes.
“I got into painting as a way to help pass time on some days, and I wanted to paint you something,” He smiled, blushing. “Of course I’m not a professional or anything, I mean it co-” He was cut off by Oikawa
“It’s perfect.” Oikawa reassured him. “I have one more thing for you” He stood up, motioning for Iwaizumi to stand up as well. The brunette reached into his pocket, pulling out the box and getting down on one knee. “Iwaizumi Hajime, I have loved you since high school, and I knew we were meant to be together. You’ve been with me through everything, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, so…” He opened the box, revealing a simple golden ring. “Will you marry me?” Oikawa asked, looking up at Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi had his hands cupped over his mouth and nose, crying tears of joy. He nodded, voice cracking as he formed words
“Yes, oh my god yes!” Iwaizumi held out his right hand, and Oikawa placed the band on his ring finger, and stood up. Their foreheads were touching, as they hugged each other. This Christmas was going to be an unforgettable one.