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Birthdays were never important to Oikawa Tooru. They were just another way to mark their lives and it was a meaningless marker. At least to him. What did he do that was worth celebrating? At least on this day. Where was the accomplishment? He preferred saving his celebrations for when he achieved something great. Winning a match. Acing an exam. Getting on a new team. Those were meant to be celebrated.
The passage of time was unremarkable.
He felt it was often a reminder of all he had yet to achieve and all his failings, but that didn’t stop his friends and family from surrounding him and celebrating him.
Birthdays were meaningless, but the time spent with loved ones was priceless.
For his 18th birthday they went to karaoke. It was so embarrassing wailing into the mic while everyone sat there and laughed at his expense. Tooru’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment but he couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled so hard. When he butchered some old song from the nineties, all he could do was laugh at his own ridiculousness and the look of horror on Iwaizumi’s face.
“Well at least we know what you’re not good at now,” Matsukawa howled, holding his side and struggling to breathe from the barks of laughter that ripped through his body.
Tooru swung his arms up and bowed dramatically. “ I don’t know what you’re talking about. That was the best rendition of ‘I Want It That Way’ ever. Be grateful you’ve been blessed.” All he could do was keep up the false bravado and shake his head.
“You should start a band.” Hanamaki flicked his straw wrapper at Mattsun’s face with a grin. “You’ll drive everyone crazy, but I think you could benefit from some autotune.”
“Or a lot of it,” Iwaizumi commented with a shake of his head.
Oikawa chuckled, taking a sip from his class.“You’re all just mad that you’ll never be as good as me.”
It was the wink Oikawa shot him that did Iwaizumi in. The ace playfully shoved Oikawa’s shoulder and marched up to the mic, seizing his moment. He fiddled with the machine to find the song that he wanted, when a familiar tune erupted through the speakers.
“ABBA really?” Mattsun raised a brow.
“Shut up.”
Hanamaki stretched out on the couch with a shit-eating grin on his face, tossing popcorn into his mouth as he prepared for the show. “Sing to me!” He cried.
“It’s not your birthday.”
Soon Mattsun and Maki were wearing similar grins as Iwaizumi began to sing and Oikawa watched in amusement.
“This better be good if this is all you got me for my birthday.”
Scarlet spread across the back of Iwaizumi’s neck, up his ears, and across his face. There was a slight tremor in his, surprisingly, rich baritone voice, but even as his eyes shone and were wide with a bit of fear, Iwaizumi did not look away from Oikawa Tooru. Their eyes locked. For a while Oikawa couldn’t make sense of the words that flowed from Iwaizumi’s lips, too stunned by the melodic rich tone that greeted his ears.
He knew he should know this song, and yet all he could do was take in the beauty of the sound and the earnestness in Iwaizumi’s gaze. Makki and Mattsun watched him expectantly.
Was there something he should be doing?
He wasn’t sure, but he was absolutely enthralled. After sixteen years of friendship Oikawa had no idea that his best friend could sing until this very moment. As the rich but untrained tone reached his ear, he began to make out the words that Iwaizumi poured himself into. Oikawa’s cheeks soon were engulfed in flame.
“Take a chance on me/ If you need me, let me know/ Gonna be around/ If you've got no place to go/ When you're feeling down/ If you're all alone/ When the pretty birds have flown/ Honey, I'm still free/ Take a chance on me…”
Warm amber eyes widened in surprise.
Iwaizumi couldn’t mean that? It was a joke right? It had to be a joke.
There was no hint of mischief in Iwaizumi’s bright gaze. Nothing to indicate that he didn’t mean every word he sang. So it had to be true?
Oikawa’s heart seemed to beat a mile a minute, and he was unable to drag his gaze away from the man who sang before him. He wanted to hear his words, feel his words, and they washed over him catching him a wave that would sweep him away.
The song came to an end much faster than anyone anticipated, and the only sound was Iwaizumi’s labored breathing.
“Take a chance on me, Tooru?” He asked again, softly, quietly, and waiting for whatever answer Oikawa had to give.
Oikawa didn’t like birthdays. There was nothing real to celebrate, and that night there really was nothing to celebrate.
Oikawa Tooru did not take a chance.
Iwaizumi merely nodded with a half-hearted smile and a shrug.
He understood.
And that was that. They went on and finished their final year of high school as if nothing had happened. Regret lingered in the pit of Oikawa’s stomach, but he needed to focus on opportunities that would never come. A National Competition that would never come.
Now one year later after that practically perfect confession, Oikawa sat alone in his new apartment across the globe from close friends and family who would celebrate his 19th birthday.
Oikawa hated birthdays, but he loved being around the people he loved.
Here, in a dimly lit, sparsely furnished apartment, there was no one to celebrate with.
A birthday far from home. Far from the people he loved, and far from the one person he really wanted to be with. When Oikawa first moved he didn’t think he’d mind being away from everyone for his birthday. Before he never cared whether his day was celebrated or not. There were more important things to do. Train, clean, grocery shop, but when the day came around he felt that dull ache settle in his chest. A sense of loss, grieving the lack of family that surrounded him.
But he was calling soon. Iwaizumi basically threatened Oikawa. If Oikawa didn’t go buy himself a cupcake, Iwiazumi would ship him one, and then it would be stale and gross and no one would be happy.
He shook his head at the sheer insanity of it. However, there in front of him sat an untouched cupcake with one candle waiting to be lit. He rested his chin on his knee waiting for their call to connect on the laptop. A small smile sat on his lips as Iwaizumi’s face appeared on his screen
“Did you get it?” Iwaizumi started unceremoniously.
“You didn’t leave me with much of a choice, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa sighed with mock exasperation, lifting the cupcake into the screen and waving his cheap lighter in the air. “Cupcake acquired and one Oikawa Tooru at your service.”
“Dumbass.” He was smiling and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Oikawa knew that much. “Light the candle.”
“Whatever you say.” A brighter smile tugged at his lips, and his eyes shone bright as the flame took to the candle wick, lighting up his face in the dim apartment.
“Happy birthday, Tooru,” Iwaizumi whispered, lifting up his own cupcake.
Oikawa let out a light laugh even as his smile wobbled and he blew out his candle.
“If you keep that up I’ll have to come out there and knock some sense into you.” He was gentle but there was still some seriousness in voice.
“That would be nice,” Oikawa laughed again, wiping away a stray tear with a grin. “Miss you, you know.”
“Obviously.”
“I didn’t think this would be hard, but it is.”
Iwaizumi was silent for a moment. There was only the crackling of a poor skype connection. “It’s your birthday and you’re far from home, obviously it’s hard.”
Oikawa nodded and pushed his hair out of his face, nerves settling in his stomach. Being away was hard, but being honest was even harder.
“I have something for you,” Oikawa started. He reached behind him and grabbed a small dinged up ukulele.
“It’s your birthday not mine--”
“Yeah but I missed yours because of trayouts and training camp so… let me do this.” They locked eyes through the screen and Iwaizumi slowly nodded. Oikawa held up his hands before he started playing. “I’m not singing just so you know. I wouldn’t subject my neighbors to that torture.” The setter rolled up his sleeves and began clumsily thumbing through familiar chords. He bit his lip hard, concentrating on ensuring the melody came through. It was rough, but it was clear.
After a few moments Iwaizumi quietly started to sing along, staticy and disjointed, but it was their duet. “If you're all alone/ When the pretty birds have flown/ Honey, I'm still free/ Take a chance on me.”
Their duet ended unceremoniously and without firm resolution. After all, it was Oikawa’s untrained fingers that led the song. Roses seemed to bloom on both men’s cheeks as they sat in silence, cupcakes forgotten.
“Take a chance on me, Hajime?” Oikawa held his breath. He knew he was late. The truth was the moment he said not one year ago he regretted it, but they could focus on their goals if he said no. Now-- now he knew what he wanted.
“Took you long enough,” Iwaizumi muttered, a wide grin cracking across his face. “I would have kissed you this time last year.”
“You can kiss me when we see each other again. Distance makes the heart grow fonder.” Oikawa released a shaky breath and beamed, reaching out toward the screen to caress Iwaizumi’s face. “Sorry it took me so long.”
“S’okay. It was worth it. You’re worth it.”
“So are you.”
Oikawa hated birthdays, but he loved spending moments with Iwaizumi. July 20th was a special day for both of them now, and it was an achievement that should be celebrated. Two lovers finally coming together to make things right in the world.
Celebrating a birthday in an empty apartment was not ideal, but being with Iwaizumi Hajime, even if only on screen, was more than he could ever ask for.