Work Text:
thoughts of doubt clouded oikawa’s mind as he found himself standing in front of shiratorizawa academy’s dormitory. in his arms was a box full of his belongings and with a sigh he entered his dorm.
after much debate with iwaizumi, they both decided to go to different schools for high school. at first they argued a lot. they had been together since they were very little, after all.
iwaizumi wanted to go to aoba johsai, and oikawa was hesitant to follow him. it had always been his dream to go to nationals and he couldn’t see himself achieving that dream if he were to go to aoba johsai.
when he graduated middle school, he had been offered a scholarship to shiratorizawa.
oikawa had also been hesitant before he accepted it as he still didn’t feel comfortable being on the same team as ushijima. call it his worthless pride but it felt as if he was taking the easy way out when he thought of accepting the offer.
after many conversations with iwaizumi that would sometimes end up with one - the both - of them crying, they accepted each other’s choice to go to different schools.
now here oikawa was, sitting on his bed with his phone in hand. iwaizumi’s contact was shown through his screen as he found himself nervous to call his best friend.
this was for the best, oikawa thought to himself.
in shiratorizawa he had a high chance of going to nationals. nationals!
sure that it would be lonely without iwaizumi, but oikawa convinced himself that he was fine. that he’d made the right choice going to shiratorizawa instead of going to aoba johsai with iwaizumi.
oikawa let out a deep breath as he turned off his phone and stared at himself at the mirror with an unreadable expression on his face. there were visible eye bags underneath his eyes and his skin was paler than usual.
he hadn’t slept properly for the last week as he spent the whole time clinging to iwaizumi, hanging out with him before they would eventually separate. that led to his lack of sleep as they both had multiple sleepovers in which they would stay up till four am in the morning and wake up three hours later to start their day.
with his fingers running down his soft cheek, oikawa let out a low grumble. he needed to sleep quite badly.
suddenly, oikawa heard a knock on his door, causing to raise a brow as he wondered if the one knocking was his roommate. and if so, why didn’t he just enter the room with his own key instead of knocking.
“hello-” oikawa greeted as he opened the door but stopped when he saw ushijima staring at him with a blank expression on his face.
“oikawa, i’m-” ushijima began only for oikawa to immediately slam the door to his face before he could finish his words.
a groan then left oikawa’s lips as he gently slammed his head against the wall while wrapping his arms around himself. oikawa could feel a headache forming as he found himself glaring at his door with slight annoyance.
ushijima wakatoshi, aka the other reason - other than him and iwaizumi separating - as to why oikawa was hesitant in accepting the scholarship offered to him in the first place.
another knock was heard, causing oikawa to furrow his brows as he wondered if ushijima would go away if he were to just ignore him. it turns out that no matter how hard oikawa tried to ignore ushijima, the other was annoyingly persistent and wouldn’t go away.
eventually, oikawa let out a sigh of defeat as he opened the door to see ushijima looking as stoic as ever. a dry chuckle left oikawa’s lips as he leaned his back against the doorframe.
“what do you want ushiwaka? you’re disturbing me.” oikawa asked, his tone dripping with slight venom that made ushijima tilt his head before he let out a cough as he then bowed.
this caused oikawa to jump out of shock and let out a silent gasp while his eyes widened slightly. he was wondering to himself what was going on and if he was going crazy as he never thought of seeing ushijima bow to him, ever.
“e-eh?!”
“i look forward to playing with you, oikawa. you made a good choice in going here instead of any other school.” ushijima said before standing up straight once again and now staring at oikawa with an unreadable emotion.
oikawa felt as if there was a lump in his throat preventing him from speaking.
he didn’t know what to say as he saw ushijima now raising a brow at him. why was ushijima even greeting him?
“oh, okay. i guess i did, and i look forward to playing with you too” oikawa spoke in a cold tone, with him cringing inwardly at his own words as he then shrugged his shoulders and closed the door.
once he did, oikawa collapsed on the floor with his back against the door. his face was flushed, with his cheeks red out of embarrassment as he found himself crawling back onto his bed. he felt so drained and he just moved in his dorm. school and practice haven’t even begun yet.
maybe it was because he already unpacked all of his things earlier that day, or was it because of his late night hang-outs with iwaizumi the past week. whatever it was, oikawa didn’t care as he closed his eyes and took a short nap.
oddly enough, oikawa dreamt about playing with iwaizumi as a member of aoba johsai’s volleyball team. even if it wasn’t real, oikawa felt his heart pinch at what could’ve been.
he wanted to stay with iwaizumi, but he also wanted to pursue his own goals. in the end the latter won out, and though he and iwaizumi argued a lot with his decision, the other respected his choice.
and yet oikawa still doubted if the choice he made was the right one, whether he liked to admit it or not.
after around two hours, oikawa woke up and saw that his roommate had finally arrived. it was someone with ash blonde hair and a small scowl on his face as he was currently unpacking his own belongings. it was semi, someone who oikawa recognized as he had been popular back when they were in middle school.
“ah, hi there. you must be my roommate.” oikawa greeted after letting out a yawn and stretching his arms.
“yeah, hello to you too. did i wake you up? sorry for being noisy.” semi apologized before letting out a grunt as he had a hard time carrying most of his books which looked heavy.
the books semi was carrying were a mix between school textbooks and a lot of thick novels. it made oikawa think of semi as a book nerd, and that probably was the case. it made him wonder whether semi owned a copy of his favorite book series since he left his own copy back at his own house and he was too lazy at the moment to pick it up.
“there’s no need to apologize! you weren’t noisy at all!” oikawa said with a small smile as he stood up and helped semi carry his books. “here, let me help you.”
and with that, oikawa carried half of the books semi had been struggling to move towards the small bookcase in their room.
“thank you for that.” semi said, earning a light giggle from oikawa.
“you’re welcome, semi.” oikawa said, causing semi to raise a brow as he never once introduced himself to the other who was now organizing his books onto the bookcase.
“you know me?” semi asked, his voice somewhat small which oikawa thought of as strange.
he saw how competitive semi was when he was on the court and how intense he could be, so seeing him act like this was peculiar. maybe semi only acted that way on the court, oikawa theorized.
“hmm? of course. you were a popular setter in middle school. how could i not know you? i’ve watched some of your games, you know.” oikawa replied, causing semi to look somewhat shocked which amused the other even further.
“wait, really?” semi asked, seemingly out of disbelief, causing oikawa to let out a hum and shrug his shoulders.
oikawa always looked out for the competition, observing how they played carefully so he could formulate plans on how to beat them in future matches. semi had caught oikawa’s eyes and though he found the other inferior to him, semi interested him.
he was the superior setter, yes, but semi wasn’t horrible by any means. semi was just as good a player as he was, but oikawa knew that he was the better setter.
“yup! you always caught my eye whenever i scouted the competition.” oikawa replied, which led to semi’s face reddening slightly.
“oh.” was all the semi could say.
semi wasn’t the only popular setter in middle school after all. oikawa was even more so popular, with him receiving the best setter award during his last year.
to be acknowledged by him made semi oddly shy. usually he’d feel competitive against another setter but he somewhat looked up to oikawa despite his personality which usually disgusted opposing players.
“i’m glad that you’re my roommate, honestly. at least you’re also a volleyball player, so hopefully you’d understand what i’m talking about most of the time.” oikawa said once he was finished helping semi unpack his belongings and was now sitting on his bed.
“i’m glad you’re my roommate too, then.” semi agreed as he laid down on his own bed.
oikawa then found himself once again staring at iwaizumi’s contact through his phone’s screen. this time though, he no longer felt nervous and sent his best friend a short message.
“hey. by any chance do you own any copies of this book series?...”
“oh, i love that series. i think i put the book you’re looking for on the fourth shelf.”
“thank you for letting me borrow your copy, semi-semi.”
semi’s face was once again red, though not as red as before. with him now facing the wall so oikawa wouldn’t be able to see his face.
“you’re welcome, oikawa.”
suddenly, oikawa found himself befriending his roommate who he apparently had a lot in common with.
maybe his time at shiratorizawa won’t be so bad.
❦
practice was something oikawa usually enjoyed as he loved the thrill of pushing himself really hard to improve. but at the moment, he felt nothing but drained as he tried to adjust himself to shiratorizawa’s usual training.
it was difficult, but with semi also being exhausted sitting next to him and tendō - someone who he had somehow befriended a while ago - letting out deep breaths, oikawa couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle.
“ah! this is so tiring!” tendō whined, earning a hum of agreement from semi while oikawa let out a huff.
“even back in middle school, i never trained this hard. and i actually used to stay late just to practice!” oikawa revealed, earning a groan from semi who looked as if he felt the same way.
“hopefully we’ll get used to this soon…” semi grumbled with a frown on his lips, earning a loud laugh from tendō who then latched himself onto their shoulders.
with tendō’s arms wrapped around both oikawa and semi’s backs, pulling them closer to each other. this caused both semi and oikawa to jump but afterwards, they soon calmed down and smiled softly at tendō who had a huge grin on his face.
“let’s go to the cafeteria! i’m starving.” tendō suggested while oikawa attempted to grab his water bottle from his current position.
“sure. i’m hungry too.” oikawa spoke, causing tendō’s eyes to twinkle while semi let out a sigh as he nodded his head, which meant that he too was joining them.
somehow, in the few days he had been going to shiratorizawa. oikawa found himself forming a small friend group with semi and tendō, and hung out with them a lot on and off the court. with reon sometimes joining them during their study sessions in the library.
after semi got over his slight envy on how oikawa managed to make the starting line-up as shiratorizawa’s setter, he turned out to be a really good friend. he was very caring - albeit, easily exasperated.
though what was even more shocking was how oikawa found himself acting civil with ushijima who would ask for his sets a lot during practice.
at first, the mere thought of setting to ushijima would cause oikawa a lot of disdain. but now, he found himself enjoying the feeling of the ball brushing past his fingertips and being thrown towards ushijima who would spike it with such force.
the sound of the ball’s impact against the gym floors was enough to send a shiver down oikawa’s spine.
with the three of them now in the cafeteria, sitting at the same table as ushijima and reon. a strange conversation began with everyone at the table somehow being invested in the topic they were discussing.
“i swear to who knows what, clear your browser history. i don’t even wanna know why you searched that up online and quite frankly i don’t even wanna know more about… that.” semi said in a disgusted tone as he stuffed a spoonful of rice into his mouth.
“i agree. what you’re looking up online is disturbing.” ushijima commented with his face paler than usual.
“it’s more than just disturbing! what the hell, tendō?!” oikawa screamed - not so loudly as he didn’t want to gain unwanted attention - with his eyes wide and expression obviously distressed.
“i’m not even gonna comment on this one.” reon said as he raised both of his hands and began to ignore the redhead who was letting out a loud laugh.
tendō had his arms wrapped around his stomach as everyone around him stared at him weirdly.
“i’m sorry! hahaha! your expressions are so hilarious, i can’t-” tendō wheezed, earning a frown from oikawa, who eventually cracked up a small smile and was now also giggling.
“you two are insane.” semi commented, causing oikawa to shrug his shoulders before he continued eating.
“how could you find that funny?” ushijima asked oikawa who then looked him straight in the eye.
“i’m laughing through the pain, ushiwaka. i am mentally scarred.”
“understandable. i am too.”
this earned an even louder laugh from tendō while semi attempted to scold him while holding off his own laughter too. seeing oikawa and ushijima look so serious while saying such things was undeniably hilarious.
“look what you did! you scarred them both!” semi scolded while covering his own mouth, causing oikawa to pout at him.
“eh? stop laughing, semi!” oikawa said, causing semi to playfully roll his eyes.
amidst the chaos of what their conversation has turned into, ushijima found himself staring at oikawa. he didn’t know why he was, honestly.
maybe it was his physical appearance which he couldn’t deny was appealing, or was it because he enjoyed the brunette’s company outside of the court? even if it was with their newfound friends.
once they were finished eating, oikawa and ushijima found themselves going back to the gym to practice some more.
though when it got dark, ushijima began to clean up, while oikawa continued practicing his serves even if he looked exhausted. they were both now alone in the gym as their other teammates were now resting so ushijima was the only one to witness oikawa almost fall after landing another jump serve.
“you should stop now, oikawa. you’re already tired. you need to rest.” ushijima said as he walked towards the brunette who only shook his head in defiance.
“i need to practice more. i need to be better.” oikawa let out in between multiple huffs and deep breaths.
this caused ushijima to raise a brow as he placed his hand on oikawa’s shoulder, who was currently shaking out of exhaustion.
“you can practice again tomorrow. you need to rest now.” ushijima said as he firmly grabbed oikawa's wrist and began dragging him away from the court, earning him a glare from the brunette.
whether it was a miracle or not, even as oikawa glared daggers towards the back of ushijima’s head, he didn’t struggle against his hold. it was probably because iwaizumi used to do the same when they were in middle school, oikawa thought.
“whatever…” oikawa mumbled underneath his breath as he felt ushijima’s rough yet gentle hands drag him outside of the gym while carrying a few volleyballs to pack away in the process.
somehow against all odds, this became a daily - well, nightly - routine for them.
oikawa was stubborn and didn’t let anyone cut him off during his practice time, except for ushijima surprisingly. with him being the only one in their entire team able to stop oikawa from overworking himself.
there were times though, when ushijima himself would join oikawa during his practice sessions by himself. usually during moments when he needed to clear his head and calm down.
a silent agreement had formed between him and oikawa during these moments.
they wouldn’t pry into each other’s business and would instead help on another silently during practice. with oikawa practicing his sets to ushijima who would practice his spikes and sometimes, serves. and during the whole time, they both remained silent.
“let’s go practice.” oikawa once said to ushijima when he saw him looking down in the cafeteria one day.
ushijima only nodded as he then stood up and followed oikawa towards the gym like always.
oikawa didn’t expect himself to get used to this. to have a decent friendship with ushijima that he knew what to do whenever the other felt down and needed to relieve his stress.
but oikawa didn’t hate it. it only made him less regretful of him choosing shiratorizawa over attending aoba johsai with iwaizumi, who too seemed fine during their weekly calls.
as oikawa found himself staring at ushijima’s form in the air whenever he’s about to spike. he found himself being mesmerized.
his cheeks reddened slightly at the thought as he shook his head intensely once the ball landed on the other side of the net.
“are you alright?” ushijima asked oikawa after seeing his red face and slightly frustrated expression.
“i’m fine! i was just thinking of something.” oikawa replied, earning a nod from ushijima.
“okay then.”
ushijima only inched closer to the setter, not believing a word that he said. and as he did, oikawa found himself trying to look away from ushijima’s face and somewhat rough features. especially his deep eyes.
fuck, was all that he could think to himself as he was now blushing heavily.
❦
the first time oikawa went to nationals, he felt nothing but excitement and a hint of disbelief as he hugged semi tightly in celebration. a few tears rolled down his cheeks as he could feel the rush of adrenaline through his body.
he was going to nationals. they were going to nationals!
semi too was crying tears of joy as he allowed for oikawa to cling unto him. even though he only played for one set in the inter-high qualifiers since he wasn’t the main setter, he still felt proud of himself and his teammates.
“i can’t wait to go to my paradise!” tendō exclaimed, earning a chuckle from both oikawa and semi.
“i can’t believe it…” oikawa muttered under his breath as he wiped away the tears rolling down his cheeks.
oikawa was now cleaning himself up in the restroom, with him splashing water towards his face while he let out a few deep breaths. beside him was ushijima who was staring at him with a blank expression that he always seemed to have.
“why were you crying earlier?” ushijima asked, causing oikawa to raise a brow as a soft chuckle escaped his lips.
“i was just so happy. i get to go to nationals. we get to go to nationals.” oikawa replied with a small smile on his face as he stared at the restroom mirror while fixing his damp hair.
“of course we would.” ushijima said plainly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
at first, oikawa found his lips forming a small frown at ushijima’s words until he realized that the other was saying this because they were a part of shiratorizawa’s volleyball team. which had been the same team who had been going to nationals for the past few years.
“i just can’t believe it. the feeling of first place feels so new.” oikawa mumbled softly with his gaze now looking down at the phone in his jacket’s pocket.
he was wondering whether he should contact iwaizumi or not.
“get used to it. we’ll dominate nationals.” ushijima said, causing oikawa to smirk as they both walked out of the restroom.
“definitely.” oikawa agreed with full confidence as an unfamiliar glint shone through his eyes, one that made ushijima’s eyes widen ever so slightly.
oikawa had always known to be confident - though most would say that he’s actually arrogant. but his current gaze didn’t look like the cocky and playful one he usually had on the court.
this was different, and it was oddly intimidating.
now they were in tokyo, playing in nationals. oikawa couldn’t help but feel nervous amidst his initial excitement as he found his leg bouncing repeatedly.
“oh gosh, fuck.” oikawa cursed as he tried to calm himself.
he couldn’t afford to be nervous before a match. that would be disastrous, and there would be a high chance that he’d be benched.
as much as oikawa liked semi, he didn’t really like it whenever he was benched. though he wouldn’t put up a fuss about it as he understood why he would be benched during the middle of certain matches.
maybe it was because he wanted to play longer as he always enjoyed the thrill he felt whenever he was on the court.
a tsk escaped oikawa’s lips as he shook his head. that wasn’t just a maybe statement or speculation. that was the reason as to why he disliked it whenever he was benched, even if seeing semi play was like a breath of fresh air for him.
“why do you look so sick, tōru?” tendō asked once he noticed oikawa’s pale face and how much his body was shaking while he was sitting on the bench.
“i’m just nervous.” oikawa replied, earning a hum from tendō who then wrapped his arm around the brunette's shoulder.
“i feel you. i’m nervous too but you should try to calm down. you look like you’re about to faint.” tendō commented, causing oikawa to let out a sigh as he hit his involuntary bouncing leg with a bit of force.
a low groan left his lips as he regretted doing such a thing.
eventually the first match began and oikawa found his initial restlessness ceasing as he returned to teasing his opponents who would glare at him darkly. it only made oikawa even more excited as a smirk found its place on his lips.
oikawa enjoyed the feeling of setting the ball towards their spikers - mostly ushijima - and having land on the other side of the court. the mere sound of the ball crashing against the floor energized oikawa even more as he patted the back of his fellow teammates every time they scored a point.
“you should take a break, reon. you’re exhausted and i wouldn’t want you overworking yourself.” oikawa advised after patting reon’s back and noticing his visible exhaustion, and his quick heartbeat.
a chuckle left reon’s lips as he nodded his head in agreement even if he felt hesitant on leaving the court to go sit down on the bench and rest just yet.
“i will. though you should follow your own advice sometimes.” reon commented, earning a huff from oikawa who then pouted.
“he’s right.” ushijima agreed from behind them, causing oikawa to grumble as he then crossed his arms. “you should stop overworking yourself, especially during practice. you wouldn’t want to injure yourself.”
“eh? since when did you care, ushiwaka.” oikawa teased while reon shook his head and found himself being subbed out of the match.
ushijima found himself tilting his head as he placed his hand over oikawa’s shoulder. this caused oikawa to freeze as the teasing smile on his lips faltered slightly.
“i always cared.”
“oh”
oikawa’s face was now red, with one of his hands now covering his mouth. an amused smile appeared on ushijima’s lips as he then removed his hand from the brunette’s shoulder and walked away.
now there oikawa stood, in the middle of the court. with his face red, which earned him a bunch of snickers from his teammates - especially tendō -, and even a few of their opponents.
“oh my. why’s your face so red, tōru?” tendō asked in a teasing tone, earning him a whine from oikawa who playfully glared at him.
“shut it will you!” oikawa grumbled underneath his breath, causing tendō to ruffle the brunette’s hair, which earned him an even louder whine. “not my hair, tori!”
from the side, ushijima stared at oikawa with his cheeks slightly pink, though it wasn’t that obvious so nobody noticed.
“how cute…”
❦
some time after they had participated in the spring nationals, oikawa was surprised when ushijima had gifted him a small bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates during valentine’s day. oikawa found himself almost passing out at just the sight of ushijima carrying those items in front of his dorm room.
“will you go out with me? i like you, though i would understand if you wouldn't accept my confession.” ushijima spoke bluntly as he handed over the bouquet and box of chocolates to oikawa who was frozen in his place out of shock.
“i- i… yes, sure?!” oikawa blurted out without much thought before suddenly slamming the door shut like how he did when ushijima first visited him a few months ago before school started.
“i’ll pick you up later at five then. wear something casual.” oikawa heard ushijima say through the now closed door.
“o-okay!”
a hum then left ushijima’s lips as he walked away from oikawa’s door with a small smile on his face. one that made those he walked passed by stare at him in shock as he wasn’t one to smile so easily.
semi, who had been sitting on his bed and reading a novel, found himself staring at oikawa with an amused expression on his face.
“so i’m guessing that you’ll be out late tonight on your date, huh?” semi teased the red-faced brunette who was now stuffing his face with chocolate ushijima gave to him.
he was stress-eating. figures he would.
“shut it semi-semi!” oikawa said, earning a groan from the ash blonde who didn’t really like the nickname the brunette and tendō made for him.
“just be back before ten and i won’t have any complaints.” semi said while oikawa grabbed his phone, seemingly calling iwaizumi with a distraught expression on his face.
it all made semi want to laugh as he thought that oikawa was overreacting to the fact that ushijima had just asked him out. and he actually said yes, that made semi wheeze as he found it hard to go back to reading the novel he had been so immersed with earlier.
now he was eavesdropping on oikawa’s conversation with iwaizumi. and even if semi didn’t want to listen in on oikawa’s call, he still wouldn’t be able to ignore it as he was speaking so loudly with the ash blonde still inside their dorm room.
once oikawa was done ranting - more like nervously screaming - to iwaizumi, he collapsed onto his bed, causing semi to let out a loud chuckle.
“are you done now?” semi asked as he returned his novel onto their bookshelf while oikawa let out a groan that the ash blonde thought meant yes.
“iwa is no help at all.” oikawa whined as he buried his face into his pillow as semi opened their shared closet and began picking out some of the brunette’s clothes that he could wear on his date.
oikawa may have been someone who semi thought had a great fashion sense, but he looked so anxious at the moment. semi couldn’t help it as he picked out a few of oikawa’s shirts and jackets, thinking to himself which outfits would the brunette look good in.
a scoff left semi’s lips.
oikawa looked good in anything.
that detail about the brunette was something semi and tendō discovered one day when the redhead messed with oikawa’s clothes but he still looked so beautiful in them. semi wasn’t jealous at that, no, not at all.
“this looks nice, you should wear it later.” semi suggested as he handed over to oikawa a blue leather jacket, a cream sweater, and a white shirt.
“ah, thank you, semi-semi.” oikawa said, earning him what seemed to be a mixture of a smile and a frown from semi.
oh how he disliked that nickname.
but never once had he ever told oikawa or tendō to stop calling him that so he didn’t blame them for not stopping. maybe he didn’t dislike the nickname that much, but semi swears that if someone he isn’t close to would call him that, he would be committing a crime.
soon oikawa changed into the outfit picked out for him and he was now looking at the mirror with a small smile on his face.
“i look good.” oikawa commented, causing semi to roll his eyes as he grabbed his guitar from its stand that stood at the corner of their room.
“yeah you do.” semi snorted as he began to practice playing the instrument.
one thing oikawa discovered about his roommate was that semi wasn’t only interested in reading novels, but was also someone who knew how to play the guitar really well. there were even nights when he would pester semi until he’d play him a few songs.
“what time is it, anyways?” oikawa asked as he fixed the cuffs of his jacket.
“it’s four-thirty. you still have half an hour left before your date.” semi replied, earning a quiet hum from oikawa who was now styling his hair.
when it was time for his date, oikawa said his goodbye to semi before leaving the dormitory with ushijima who had offered the brunette another bouquet of flowers. once oikawa was gone, semi found himself snacking on some of the chocolates their schoolmates had given oikawa.
whether semi liked to admit it or not, oikawa was someone very popular because of both his looks and skills on the court. he sometimes felt envious whenever he saw girls confessing to oikawa and offering him love confessions.
though the brunette always declined them as he wasn’t interested.
with a bar of chocolate between his teeth, semi found himself practicing a song while staring out the window. the sky looked so beautiful, with the birds flying through the air and the clouds looking softer than ever.
usually he and oikawa aren’t that loud whenever they are together in their room, though there were moments when they’d sometimes scream and be obnoxious.
ever since semi discovered that oikawa would be his roommate, he initially felt disdain and anxiety. he thought that he’d dislike the brunette because of how they’re both setters, but somehow, even from day one, they got along well.
ignoring how oikawa would sometimes push himself a little too hard or how he’d often let out some teasing comments, semi enjoyed his company. add to that how pretty oikawa was, he is actual eye candy to not only him but also to everyone else.
a sigh left his lips as he found himself biting into the chocolate bar between his lips.
“fuck feelings.”
❦
it was oikawa’s second year at shiratorizawa and right now he couldn’t help but groan as he felt shirabu’s eyes on him.
the first year had come out of nowhere and somehow bested semi who would now often sulk in their room whenever they talked about volleyball. poor semi, oikawa thought out of sympathy.
he understood how the ash blonde felt, as he had felt the same way towards kageyama back in middle school. and honestly, he still felt the same way until now.
so whenever semi would rant and sometimes even cry out his insecurities, oikawa would sit beside him and listen, and even comfort him.
sharing of the chocolate he had received from his fangirls was something that he did to cheer up semi. and it worked more often than not as they both had a sweet tooth.
luckily for oikawa - though not so lucky for semi - shirabu hadn’t replaced him as shiratorizawa’s main setter. though he would now be the one to substitute oikawa during matches instead of semi.
“there, there, eita. here, have some dark chocolate.” oikawa mumbled softly during practice as he offered semi a small chocolate bar, earning him a small smile from the ash blonde.
“ah, thanks.” semi said as he ate the chocolate bar quickly before anyone else could see.
just a few feet away from them stood tendō who eyed them both secretly. he wasn’t dumb to not notice the somber expressions on semi’s face lately, and the way oikawa would always stick to him even during times when ushijima would ask for his company.
tendō didn’t think about it much but his closest friends weren’t telling him something and he felt left out. and that somewhat saddened him, but even so he never pried.
maybe it was a private matter, he thought to himself as he blocked a spike from reon.
“is semi-semi okay?” tendō had asked reon who only shrugged his shoulders while ushijima looked deep in thought.
“i don’t know. he just seems so sad lately.” reon replied, earning a sigh from tendō.
“i’ve heard from oikawa that semi is still coming to terms with shirabu’s arrival.” ushijima commented, which made tendō freeze as he cursed himself for not realizing earlier.
“thanks for telling me, wakatoshi.” tendō said, earning a nod from ushijima who walked towards shirabu so that they could practice together.
as he did so, tendō approached semi and oikawa, with him wrapping his arms around their shoulders like he often did.
“hey you two. how are you guys doing? why do you look so sad, semi-semi?” tendō asked as he stared at semi with a hint of concern in his eyes.
“it’s nothing, tendō.” semi replied quietly, causing tendō’s lips to form a frown as he didn’t believe the ash blonde’s words at all. even oikawa who stood beside him, stared at semi with a glint of disbelief visible in his eyes.
“alright then, if you say so. anyways, let’s go practice! you can go set for reon, semi-semi!”
tendō wasn’t the best at cheering people up, but he now found himself dragging semi onto the court so that they could practice together, with oikawa following them from behind. there was a small grateful smile on oikawa’s lips that he pointed towards tendō who nodded at him in acknowledgement.
somehow, semi managed to cheer up as he set a volleyball towards reon, who spiked it with ease. the three of them - semi, tendō, and reon - then began to practice with each other while oikawa found himself sitting on a bench and drinking from his water bottle.
oikawa felt drained, both physically and mentally - and even emotionally whether he wanted to admit or not.
a groan escaped his lips as he found his knee aching when he tried to stand up. his legs buckled out of pain as his face's expression morphed into one of pure agony.
one that ushijima noticed as he immediately walked towards oikawa with his face showing visible concern. once he was beside oikawa, ushijima placed his hand on the brunette’s back to support him so he wouldn’t fall down.
“you shouldn’t have over-exerted yourself.” ushijima scolded as he stared at oikawa’s white knee brace.
“i know, i know. i just wanted to get better.” oikawa mumbled after releasing a dry chuckle as he found himself clinging onto ushijima’s arm. “iwa would kill me if he found out about this…”
a frown appeared on ushijima’s face as he then carried oikawa into his arms - with his feet now wrapped around the other's waist - without any warning. this earned him a gasp from the brunette whose face was now flushed as everyone in the gym was now staring at them.
“what are you doing, toshi?” oikawa muttered quietly as he did his best to avoid meeting anyone’s eyes, other than ushijima’s.
usually he’d revel at how people would look at him. with oikawa enjoying it whenever he held people's attention, not that he needed them to feel validated. it was just a perk to having a pretty face and undeniable skill.
though sometimes, oikawa found it annoying as there were moments when he wanted to be left alone. only for people to pester him repeatedly, much to his dismay.
now though, he neither felt enjoyment nor annoyance at the attention he was currently receiving from his teammates. instead, he oddly felt shy as he buried his face into ushijima’s shoulder in an attempt to hide his blush from everybody else.
“i’m bringing you back to your room. you should go rest and stop pushing yourself unless you want your recovery to take even longer.” ushijima replied, causing oikawa to let out a sigh as his now droopy eyes looked up at his boyfriend.
“okay, whatever.” oikawa whispered, feeling exhausted and in need of a long nap.
that was how oikawa found himself close to falling asleep on his own bed while ushijima sat down at the foot of his mattress. a thick blanket had been placed over the brunette’s body as he closed his eyes and let himself sleep.
ushijima pressed a soft kiss against oikawa’s injured knee. it was something that made oikawa’s heart flutter as he shifted his body on his bed so he could sleep in a more comfortable position.
with ushijima watching over him with undeniable worry and concern in his face, oikawa managed to sleep peacefully.
though before he did, he couldn’t help but feel bad for worrying ushijima to such an extent, he didn’t mean to get himself injured from over-exerting him during practice. oikawa didn’t even expect for his knee to just give in one day which resulted in him collapsing during a practice match.
after that, he was immediately sent to the hospital, where the doctor told him that he shouldn’t practice for a while since he needed to recovery. oikawa was stubborn at first, ignoring the doctor’s words and proceeding to go practice in the gym anyways.
but after he had been called out by everyone. his teammates, his coaches even, and especially ushijima, he eventually stopped and took a break.
nowadays he would just go to the gym to watch his teammates practice while he’s either standing on the sidelines or sitting on the bench.
even if oikawa was still the main setter of his team, if he wasn’t to recover soon, there was a high chance that he’d been spending most of his time on the bench instead of on the court. and that mere thought irked him.
they were going to nationals again this year and oikawa wasn’t going to spend his entire time on the bench if he could help it.
❦
as if shirabu wasn’t enough to be such a pain to oikawa, he suddenly came across miya atsumu in nationals and now found him to be even more irritating.
maybe that’s why he and shirabu had been on more civilized terms lately and have been more open to each other’s criticism. it’s because they both wanted to beat that blonde pompous jerk.
if oikawa and semi’s friendship had been built off of their respect for each other, his and shirabu were built off of their undeniable disdain for one person.
“that blonde-ass jerk with his sets and shit…” shirabu muttered under his own breath with oikawa nodding in agreement beside him and semi looking exasperated with the both of them.
oh how their similar annoyance towards one person was enough to somehow form a friendship between the three setters of shiratorizawa.
“i officially hate first years.” semi commented, earning a glare from shirabu and a loud chuckle from oikawa who seemed to agree.
“as much as i hate miya, i can’t deny that his sets are amazing… he clearly worked hard and as much as i hate to say it, his hard work has paid off.” oikawa mumbled under his breath with a hesitant smile.
those words caused semi to let out a soft sigh while shirabu crossed his arms while leaning against the wall.
“best high school setter my ass, that should be you, oikawa.” shirabu grumbled, causing oikawa’s earlier sadness to disappear as he felt shocked at his underclassman’s words.
even semi looked surprised, with his eyes being wider than before and his mouth agape.
“eh? that’s weirdly nice of you, shirabu.” oikawa sniffled with a huge smile on his face while shirabu just shrugged his shoulders and looked down at the floor.
“i’m just being honest. you’re also pretty good, semi. not as good as me though. anyways, i’ll be going now. see you later.” shirabu said as he then walked away from the two second years who were now staring at his silhouette in disbelief.
once shirabu was out of sight, oikawa found himself staring at semi as they both looked even more shocked at what just happened. especially semi whose face was now slightly flushed at the compliment - was it even a compliment though? - that shirabu gave him.
when oikawa noticed semi’s red face, he immediately stopped thinking of what happened just a few moments ago and instead, proceeded to tease the ash blonde.
“oh my, you’re so red, semi-semi. are you sure that you really hate, shirabu?” oikawa teased with a small smirk on his face, causing semi to punch his shoulder playfully.
“hey!”
“shut up, will you?!”
“don’t be so mean, semi-semi! that hurt!”
oikawa then began to whine while semi let out a loud huff as he crossed his arms while they both returned to their room.
as they both walked, oikawa’s expression suddenly became somber as he now looked deep in thought. semi noticed this and felt concerned but didn’t pry.
oikawa will tell him what’s wrong if he wants to and semi respects his privacy first and foremost.
along the way, they both ran into ushijima and tendō, with the former staring at oikawa oddly. to most ushijima just looked as indifferent and stoic as ever, but oikawa found himself freezing at his place before letting out a sigh and grabbing the other’s hand.
“i need to talk with toshi privately. i’ll see you later, semi-semi, tendō.” oikawa spoke, earning a nod from tendō and semi who then decided to walk away together while the brunette and ushijima walked somewhere where they could have a private conversation.
that’s how they both found themselves in an empty restroom, with the door locked as they didn’t want anyone to walk in on them or eavesdrop on their conversation.
“are you okay?” ushijima asked oikawa who slowly nodded his head as he jumped and sat down on the restroom countertop.
“i don’t know…” oikawa replied honestly, causing ushijima’s gaze on him to soften as he found himself cupping the brunette’s cheeks. “i just feel so jealous and i hate it. why is it that people younger than me are always better than me? first tobio, now that miya.”
“it’s not their fault that they possess great skill but don’t talk as if you aren’t also a great setter. you’re the best setter in the miyagi prefecture, that must mean something to you.” ushijima spoke, earning a quiet sniffle from oikawa who nodded his head.
a few tears then began to roll down his cheeks as he finally let out a soft, wavering cry. he didn’t attempt to wipe them off as ushijima was already doing so for him.
“i just, i just want to stop being compared to them. i’m a good setter, and i know that there will always be other setters better than me and i’ve already accepted that! i just wish that people would stop rubbing it in.” oikawa muttered weakly.
the two of them were then silent afterwards, with oikawa now being carried by ushijima. the brunette’s arms around the other’s neck while his legs were wrapped around ushijima’s waist.
that was how oikawa often positioned himself whenever ushijima carried him. which actually happens a lot as there were days when he just felt too exhausted to even move so ushijima would carry him back to his room.
“do you want to sleep over in my room?” ushijima asked, earning a slow nod from oikawa who buried his face into his boyfriend’s shoulder.
“yeah…”
oikawa inhaled the scent of ushijima’s cologne, which had smelled sweet and comforting. it helped lull him to sleep as he was carried by ushijima into his own room.
❦
it was during oikawa’s third year at shiratorizawa that he once again heard of kageyama. with his former underclassman annoying him more than anything as he found himself practicing late at night once more.
practicing late at night had been a horrible habit of his that he thought he managed to control ever since his injury, but the mere mention of kageyama’s name was enough to send him spiralling into panic. oikawa didn’t know why this happened though.
he never once acted that way towards atsumu who also annoyed him. and he never once had gotten nervous about shirabu, though that was because he was still the superior setter when compared to the second year. much to shirabu’s annoyance.
“you’re practicing late again.” ushijima commented as he eyed oikawa carefully from the sidelines.
“yeah…”
a sigh left ushijima’s lips as he walked towards oikawa and stopped him from serving another volleyball across the net. he placed his hands over the brunette’s own, giving them a gentle squeeze.
“i thought you said that you wouldn't do this anymore.” ushijima said, causing oikawa to furrow his brows out of frustration.
“i know and i’m sorry. i just heard from iwa that tobio…” oikawa mumbled, trailing off his words as he looked down at the floor.
ushijima found himself nodding his head in understanding as he then hugged oikawa who hugged him back tightly.
“it’s okay.”
“why do you even put up with me?” oikawa asked quietly, causing ushijima to frown at his question. “i’m such a mess.”
oikawa wanted to say much more but his throat felt dry and he found himself unable to speak any further. he didn’t cry this time though.
he had already cried multiple times in the past that he felt as if he had already ran out of tears.
i’m such a dramatic bitch, oikawa thought to himself.
“i don’t know why i do too, honestly.” ushijima replied, causing oikawa’s heart to crumble slightly.
that hurt, and oikawa didn’t know why, but it really did.
as he let out a sigh, oikawa was about to unwrap his arms around ushijima’s body, only for the other to hug him even tighter. this surprised oikawa slightly as his eyes widened when ushijima suddenly lowered his head closer to the brunette’s ear.
“but i do anyways. i love you, tōru. so i’ll always be here for you, even during the times when you’re a mess.” ushijima continued, causing oikawa confused expression to morph into one of shock.
“since when did you become so sappy, toshi?” oikawa teased into ushijima’s shoulder, with the said man now smiling as he ran his fingers through the brunette’s hair.
“since i began dating you.” ushijima replied, causing oikawa to let out a loud chuckle as he then broke off the hug and intertwined their hands together.
“you sap.”
“i’m your sap, though.”
“of course you are.”
later that night, oikawa found himself listening to semi rant about his crush while he himself was reading the new novel the ash blonde bought a few days ago. he quite enjoyed the plot of the novel even though the romantic side plot wasn’t the best.
romantic side plots were always such a pain to read as their execution was often horrible.
“he’s just such a brat! he’s so rude and mean, and so fucking hot!” semi cried, causing oikawa to raise a brow.
and semi had the audacity to call him over-dramatic.
“just confess to him, semi-semi. you clearly like him so just get it over with and confess.” oikawa commented, earning him a glare from the ash blonde who then let out a groan.
“i can’t just confess!”
“why not?”
“it’s complicated!”
“what the hell are you talking about? just tell him that you like him and either he reciprocates your feelings or he doesn’t. it’s that easy.” oikawa said, deadpan.
“but he’s such a brat! i don’t want to face rejection at all, especially from him. that would be humiliating.” semi rambled, causing oikawa to let out a sigh as he closed the novel he had been reading and returned it on it’s shelf.
geez, this was just like those romantic subplots he’d read in novels, oikawa thought with his face blanched. though it was somewhat amusing seeing such situations happen in real life.
“oh my gosh, just confess to him. who knows? he might like you back, but you’ll never know because you’re being such a coward.” oikawa said as he sat down beside semi on his bed and patted his back.
“you are no help at all.”
“what advice am i supposed to give you? i wasn’t the one who confessed to my crush, i was the one confessed to.” oikawa reminded the ash blonde while shrugging his shoulders.
“stop rubbing your love life in my face.” semi grumbled with a small pout on his face.
the next day, in the gym after practice, oikawa found himself pushing a resisting semi towards shirabu who only stared at them as if they were crazy.
“stop it!” semi screamed in defiance, only for oikawa to push him harder.
“oh my gosh, just do it you coward!” oikawa yelled back, earning them both the attention of their teammates who were still inside the gym.
eventually, oikawa shoved semi towards shirabu and began to run away. he then left the gym with ushijima, who had been waiting for him by the building’s entrance, while semi glared daggers at the back of his head.
“what was going on with you and semi?” ushijima asked oikawa curiously, who snickered at the question.
“semi-semi likes shirabu but he’s too scared to confess. so i decided to give him a little push to actually confess to that brat.”oikawa explained, earning himself a quiet “oh” from ushijima.
a few hours later, semi entered their dorm room with a red face.
seeing this caused oikawa’s lips to form a smirk as he then watched semi collapse on his bed and scream into his pillow.
“so are you two together now?”
“shut up!”
“i’m guessing that’s a yes.”
❦
it had been quite a shock to oikawa that they wouldn’t be going against aoba johsai at this year’s spring inter-high qualifiers, but instead karasuno.
for the past three years they’d always face aoba johsai on or before the finals, with him and iwaizumi on opposite sides of the court. they never once failed to go against aoba johsai, and that made oikawa happy as he loved going against iwaizumi.
they might have gone to different high schools but their friendship never wavered. and because of that, facing each other on the court had been something they both enjoyed.
they had become rivals of sorts.
so to see aoba johsai lose to karasuno made oikawa freeze as he watched iwaizumi cry alongside his teammates. he felt sympathy for his friend and decided to call him to cheer him up that night.
after doing so, oikawa found himself watching the videos of karasuno’s matches as he wanted to know how a powerhouse like aoba johsai lost to a team that had been called the flightless crows. semi would sometimes watch the videos with him, and would point out how powerful karasuno’s monster quick was.
“damn you, tobio. you’re so strong now.” oikawa spat out bitterly while semi lightly punched his shoulder.
“don’t say such things.we’ll beat them and go to nationals like always. didn’t you want to go against miya again?” semi said, earning a low chuckle from oikawa who nodded his head.
“yeah, you’re right. just you wait, tobio. this time, i’ll beat you.”
on the day of their match against karasuno, oikawa showcased a smirk on his lips like he often did during matches.
when they entered the court, with all of karasuno inside, oikawa sized up every player, especially kageyama who gulped once he saw the brunette. oikawa had his arms around ushijima’s shoulder with tendō walking beside him and the rest of the team behind them.
ushijima might have been the star of most shiratorizawa’s matches as he was the most powerful player in the team and earned the most points for them. but oikawa’s role was also important on the court, and it wasn’t just because he was a good setter.
if that was his only skill then he would’ve gotten replaced by both shirabu and semi very easily.
“oh my, looks like we won’t be facing seijoh this time. eh, whatever, we’ll still go to paradise no matter what. right, tōru?” tendō said as he eyed karasuno with an amused smirk on his lips.
“it’s such a shame that i won’t be facing iwa but we’ll still go to nationals no matter what.” oikawa commented with pursed lips.
“break their hearts.”
“i will.”
“don’t be too cocky now. that won’t do you any good.” semi warned, to which oikawa nodded.
he agreed to what the ash blonde said and he was now staring down at his own palms. a few of his fingers had bandages wrapped around them, making his eyes look at them with distaste.
his long fingers had been something oikawa did his best to take care of, especially with how difficult their practices were. broken fingers would do him no good during matches.
“are you ready, toshi?”
“yes. you?”
“yeah. i can’t wait to beat, tobio.”
ushijima hummed softly at oikawa’s words as he then patted the brunette’s shoulder before they heard the whistle blow.
and with that, their match against karasuno began.