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“Any word from the lover boys yet?” Hanamaki asked. He was currently standing outside of a coffee shop with Matsukawa, who checked his phone for any new texts.
“Nope.”
Immediately following this exchange, they heard someone call their names from across the street. The two were waiting for the other half of their best friend group: Iwaizumi and Oikawa. However, to their surprise, only Iwaizumi seemed to be approaching them.
“Hey guys, sorry I’m late,” the ace said as he reached the shop. He was met with matching confused stares, and no immediate responses. “What?”
“Where’s Oikawa?” Makki asked with one eyebrow raised.
“Is he ok?” Mattsun supplied right after.
Now it was Iwaizumi’s turn to look confused. “Yeah? Why? He’s on his way.”
“You didn’t come together?” Mattsun asked.
“You’re always together,” Makki continued.
“We’re not always together,” Iwaizumi replied with a scowl. Makki and Mattsun turned to each other before letting out a laugh. “What? We’re not!”
Hanamaki wheezed even more as Matsukawa wiped imaginary tears from his eyes. Iwaizumi continued to fume silently until the duo regained their composure.
“Good joke, Iwaizumi. Seriously though, is he still coming today? Did you get in fight?” Mattsun asked with a wide grin and a teasing lilt to his voice. The ace rolled his eyes and let out a sigh.
“You guys are so dumb. He was running errands for his mom and said he’d meet us here.”
The boys nodded back in understanding, but couldn’t stop giggling. One of the duo’s favorite pastimes was teasing their teammates about their obvious closeness. Though all four were friends, Iwaizumi and Oikawa were a package deal. One never seemed to be without the other, and when they were together they almost seemed telepathic, able to know what the other needed without a word spoken between them.
Makki and Mattsun never got tired of suggesting that the two date, despite their adamant protests.
(Of course, Makki knew that Oikawa had a huge crush on Iwaizumi from conversations with the captain. And Mattsun knew that Iwaizumi harbored the same feelings for Oikawa from his talks with the ace. And naturally, Makki and Mattsun discussed these very private topics with each other.)
No matter how much the setter and spiker objected, Makki and Mattsun were highly invested in playing matchmaker with their dearest friends. They lovingly referred to their strategy of teasing them until they confessed “Operation: Hit It ’Til It Breaks.”
“Yahoo! Sorry to keep you waiting!”
The third years turned to face the final member of their group as Oikawa made his way to the coffee shop. They waved to him while he jogged across the street, and silently observed the faintest of red tints on Iwaizumi’s face.
After ordering their drinks, the four friends sat together at a corner booth to chat about school and the team. Makki noted how Iwaizumi grabbed extra sugar packets because he assumed Oikawa would forget. (A correct assumption, it turned out.) Mattsun noticed how Oikawa offered a piece of his pastry to Iwaizumi before taking a bite himself. (Iwaizumi accepted without even looking.) When the group eventually parted ways towards their respective homes, the blocker and spiker decided it was time to move on to the next phase of their operation.
“Enough is enough, my dear Issei.”
“I believe you’re right, Hiro.”
“I have a plan.”
“Do tell, you handsome genius.”
“We get them alone. I’ll hang out with our beloved captain, and you get a hold of Iwaizumi. When the topic of our darling ace inevitably comes up, you’ll both be on speakerphone to tune in.”
“That’s absolutely diabolical. I’m in.”
“I knew you would be.”
“This is so brilliant I could kiss you.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
A week later, Hanamaki found himself at Oikawa’s house to work on homework together. Books and papers were scattered across the table amongst snacks and drinks, bright pop music playing quietly in the background. They were currently working through their math assignment when Makki excused himself to go to the bathroom. Once in the next room, he pulled out his phone to call Mattsun.
Matsukawa and Iwaizumi were at the former’s house, set up in a similar fashion. The two were discussing the assigned reading for their literature class when a cheery ringtone halted the conversation.
“Issei here!” Mattsun answered on speakerphone, leaving his phone on the table.
“Issei! Just who I wanted to talk to. Hello to you too, Iwaizumi,” Makki replied, his mischievous tone obvious even through the phone. Iwaizumi looked up curiously at the greeting.
“Uhh, hey? How did you know I was here?” the ace asked.
“Ah, yes. We’ve been planning this call for a while. Listen, I’m here with Oikawa, and I think you’ll be interested to hear our conversation. So just stay quiet and enjoy, ok?” Makki stated.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Iwaizumi countered, his glare shooting up to meet Mattsun’s cheeky expression. Shuffling could be heard from the other line as Makki made his way back to Oikawa without hanging up the phone.
Mattsun brought a finger to his lips to shush Iwaizumi. “He doesn’t know we’re listening, so stay quiet. Trust me, this will be good for you.”
Iwaizumi was about to protest again, but stopped at the sound of Oikawa’s voice. He scowled at Mattsun, but remained silent, his curiosity outweighing his confusion.
“Makki, finally! Do you understand number 12?”
The phone relayed their whole conversation about the math homework. With each new equation, Iwaizumi’s frown grew deeper and deeper. He scribbled a note on a piece of paper and passed it to Mattsun.
This is stupid.
Mattsun laughed silently at the hastily written sentence before writing something back.
Patience, Iwaizumi.
The ace rolled his eyes and slumped further into his seat before picking up his book again. He was finally regaining his focus on the text in front of him when the sound of his name snapped him back to the call. He scrambled to lean towards the device, tuning back in to Makki’s voice.
“I said how are you and our dear Iwaizumi?”
A long sigh could be heard before Oikawa replied.
“Ohh you know, he’s as dense as ever.”
Iwaizumi glowered at this, his angry expression pointed at Mattsun. The blocker raised his hands in defense, but smirked at the statement. The conversation on the other line continued.
“Ah. You know captain, he would probably be less dense if you just finally confessed to him.”
Iwaizumi froze at this, an intense shade of scarlet breaking out across his face. It took every ounce of willpower not to verbally react to the bold statement, and Mattsun struggled not to laugh at his friend’s deer-in-headlights expression. Oikawa scoffed before replying.
“You know I can’t do that Makki… He doesn’t see me that way, and I can’t risk our friendship.”
“How do you know? I think you’ve got a pretty good shot.”
“No way… He’s my best friend. I’m not putting that in jeopardy. I’ll get over it.”
“You said that last year.”
“Rude!”
Iwaizumi’s eyes were wide as saucers, his blush deepening by the second, as he listened wordlessly. After this exchange, Mattsun hung up the phone and shot off a quick text to Makki: “mission accomplished.”
“Why did you hang up?!” Iwaizumi remarked, his face still screwed up into a confused expression. “What the fuck, Matsukawa? What did he mean?”
“I don’t know Iwaizumi… Perhaps you should ask Oikwawa?” Mattsun replied smoothly, his eyebrows wiggling in amusement. He watched as Iwaizumi flitted around the room grumbling about stupid Shittykawa and idiot friends while gathering his things. “Where are you off to?”
“Oikawa’s,” the ace replied before stomping out of the room. Mattsun laughed before sending another text to Makki informing him it was his cue to leave.
The following day found Makki and Mattsun in a familiar place, waiting in front of the same coffee shop for their fellow third years. They hadn’t heard from the two since their scheme unfolded, and they were eager to see the results.
When they saw Iwaizumi and Oikawa approaching them hand in hand, the duo gave each other a high five for a job well done.