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“Aaaw, Iwa-chan, don’t pout. You couldn’t have guessed I tend to get seasick.”
Because it’s the third time Oikawa repeats it doesn’t mean Iwaizumi feels any better about it. It’s silly, he knows that, and so does Oikawa but Iwaizumi got upset over it enough for Oikawa to not tease him mercilessly. It’s true that there was no way Iwaizumi would know. They’re twenty-six. Iwaizumi knows about everything there is to know about his lifetime best friend, long-time boyfriend, soon-to-be…
“I still enjoy the seashore. It’s really pretty this season! We can eat our food and stroll down the beach,” Oikawa goes on, oblivious to the way Iwaizumi’s hands clench in the pockets of his board shorts.
They’re sitting on the sand, their surroundings almost deserted. Iwaizumi hoped for that, except that he had planned for them to enjoy the quietness during a boat trip around the coast. A plan that has failed and might jeopardize…
“Oh my god! Look! That piece of sea glass is the exact color of your eyes!” Oikawa is already scrambling to his feet, half tripping in the sand and accidentally kicking quite a dangerous quantity toward Iwaizumi’s face in the process.
He ends up puffing his cheeks, sputtering by reflex although none makes it into his mouth, still blinking when Oikawa drops back next to him, pushing a tiny stone under Iwaizumi’s nose.
Iwaizumi goes cross-eyed for an instant, the time for an over-enthusiastic Oikawa to pull back a little and let him adjust. He then focuses on it, and raises a critical eyebrow: “Not quite,” he comments.
It’s Oikawa’s turn to pout, although that’s nowhere near as concerning as it is when Iwaizumi does it.
“It looked like it when it was in the sand, okay?”
“Did it, now,” Iwaizumi can’t help but scoff a little at the outraged expression painted on his boyfriend’s face.
He knows what Oikawa is doing, because despite still ignoring a few very specific facts about him, Iwaizumi knows him by heart. Oikawa is trying to cheer him up. That’s why Iwaizumi quickly looks around them and points out a triangular shell half buried in the sand with a seaweed patch stuck on top: “This one looks like you, period,” he deadpans.
Oikawa immediately leans over Iwaizumi’s lap, sprawling shamelessly to examine the shell then sitting back up, chin high, a suffisant look on his face: “It fucking doesn’t.”
“It’s got the same hairstyle.”
“I’ll make you eat sand, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa warns him. “Maybe then you’ll have a solid reason to ruin the fun!”
“Fun was ruined by you, Seasickawa,” Iwaizumi counters, finding out it’s not stinging so much to joke about it, proof that Oikawa really soothed him down enough.
His hands return to his pockets, the right one fiddling with the content.
“How dare.”
“Oh I dare! I had plenty of stuff planned for today before we got stuck on the beach. And what do you propose we should do to entertain ourselves, now? Hunting rocks?” Iwaizumi teases him, doing his best to overcome the remnants of his bitterness.
A day on the seashore with the excellent food they brought in a basket isn’t so bad. Especially with Oikawa. Especially after they’ve missed each other for the last four months. Iwaizumi will have to reschedule plans, sure… but then Oikawa frowns at him, sighing dramatically and acting almighty… and Iwaizumi thinks that today definitely won’t be too bad.
“That rock was so much prettier than that ugly attitude of yours,” Oikawa bites, using his knee to jab Iwaizumi’s. It makes Iwaizumi bark a laugh.
“Any rock’s gonna be prettier than me today,” he banters, referring to his ugly mood. But what he doesn’t expect is for Oikawa to gasp with genuine outrage this time.
Iwaizumi gets slapped on the wrist: “You absolutely have no right to slander my boyfriend like that! Especially not when he went through the trouble of planning the perfect date at the beach for me.”
Iwaizumi’s heartbeat picks up in pace. Oikawa gets to his feet, hands on his hips, looking more determined than ever.
“My Iwa-chan is prettier than all the rocks here, but since he’s so smart, I’ll show him both that hunting rocks is fun and that even if I pick up some beautiful sea glass that looks the most like his eyes, it will never compare to the real thing!”
“You’re on,” Iwaizumi answers, getting up as well.
The hunt won’t be long anyway. With grey and brown eyes, they just have to bend to find a thousand shells, rocks and sea glass bits matching colors with them, right? Well, damn, is Iwaizumi wrong.
Not in the sense that it takes them ages to pick up all sorts of sea treasures, but because they end up having so much fun they spend the entire day going back to it. Even when they decide to explore the big rocks around the cove down the beach or when they look for crabs; during their post-lunch stroll in the sand; or when they sit quietly together under the abandoned floating pier they eventually reach to find some shaded solace. They kiss, but even then, Oikawa parts away, certain he’s found yet another rock and Iwaizumi doesn’t mind it because it’s too endearing.
His pockets are filled to the brim by the time the sun starts setting and so are Oikawa’s. Except that it’s not the only thing in Iwaizumi’s pockets, so he uses his tee-shirt to hold the treasures Oikawa refuses to throw away.
It wasn’t a bad day. It was sweet, and fun, full of nostalgia when Iwaizumi thinks about how they’d hunt bugs and rocks around when they were twenty years younger… Definitely, today was not what Iwaizumi had in mind but as always when it’s time spent with Oikawa, it’s perfect. Something he doesn’t tell him, instead going for: “So, since I’m strictly forbidden to throw those away because, I quote, ‘they’re too pretty’, you proved me right. These rocks are prettier than me.”
“They’re not, but they are gorgeous. And I totally proved you wrong too, Iwa-chan. You’re smiling like a goof, you had fun!”
Iwaizumi would like to stop grinning for a second but Oikawa is standing there all proud of himself, nursing a bunch of sea junk in his arms like they’ve just discovered a pirate’s chest filled with gold and gems.
It’s not like Iwaizumi has the time to tease him or banter back anyway. Oikawa suddenly takes him aback, leaving a dumbfounded Iwaizumi when he shrieks and drops absolutely all of his shells and rocks to lunge toward the ground.
What on—
“I FOUND IT!” Oikawa gasps, covered in sand like a massive dork, knees buried in the dirt while he throws his hand in the air, something minuscule stuck between his thumb and index finger.
Iwaizumi shakes his head, snapping out of his stunned silence to jog toward Oikawa and squint at the little thing.
Oikawa shifts on his knees, bending one so only the other stays in the sand now, so he can proudly exhibit the tiny thing.
“There. Exactly matching the color of your eyes. Isn’t it absolutely stunning?”
And, in the golden light cast by the setting sun, Iwaizumi has to admit the bit of sea glass Oikawa just picked up is stunning. But… As always…
“Isn’t that a little too dramatic for some rock you found in the dirt?” he asks with a smirk.
“It’s not just a rock. It’s so beautiful it looks like jewelry. Oh my god,” Oikawa wails excitedly, suddenly realizing something. “Look at me being so smooth! Imagine that gem on a pretty little ring, neh, Iwachan?” he asks with a smug, flirty tone, wriggling to adjust into the perfect ‘proposal’ position.
And this time, it’s Iwaizumi’s turn to drop all the shells and rocks bunched in his rolled up tee-shirt as he freezes, eyes going wide as saucers. He can’t help it, his jaw drops too, as well as his heart and stomach. Fuck. Fuck, fuck… Fuck!
There’s no rescheduling plans, now. There’s nothing to save Iwaizumi. Just Oikawa being stupid and perfect, and gorgeous with the golden light dripping on his soft locks that curl in the sea air. Just Oikawa ruining Iwaizumi’s plans, maybe for the best. He’s on autopilot as he fumbles with his pockets for the hundredth time today. This time, however, Iwaizumi pulls out the small velvety box he has kept there all along.
Oikawa’s eyes zoom in on it but it’s obvious he doesn’t understand what’s happening immediately. He does get it exactly when Iwaizumi tells him to “get your ass up, Tooru,” and he’s already moving to his feet without really needing to be asked.
“Hajime?” Oikawa breathes out, shocked but slowly starting to…
“Don’t freak out,” Iwaizumi cuts it short. “Don’t panic. Just…” he looks up at Oikawa, heat rushing to his face as his heart drums in his chest. “Maybe you could take a look at what’s inside that box and tell me if the rock I found is as pretty as your eyes.”
And… nevermind if it’s not the proposal Iwaizumi planned, not the words he had in mind. Nevermind if he doesn’t get to really ask properly on the first try…
The way Oikawa tackles him to the ground, both of them rolling around in the sand, crying while he kisses Iwaizumi senselessly, tells him that today definitely was the best day they could have spent together… until the rest of their lives together begins.