Work Text:
26-24
That was the score of the last set of the match that ended Oikawa Toru’s high school volleyball career.
You sat in the stands with your arms crossed, watching as the ball below spun off of Oikawa’s arms and onto the ground.
…
Silence.
…
You let out a small breath before the whistle blew and the court erupted into shouts of pride and groans of despair. You stood up, grabbing your bag. You knew Oikawa wouldn’t want to see you after that play, so you would wait for him outside. Give him some space. Some time to cool off.
Your stomach turned uncomfortably as you saw him glance back at you with an unreadable expression. He didn’t look sad, nor did he look happy. You slowed your steps and stared at him for a moment longer. He turned and jogged over to his team to line up, and so you continued to leave.
You couldn’t even tell how you felt. Unaffected? Sad that your boyfriend lost? Hurt that he didn’t want to see you?
You knew it was because of his pride that he didn’t want to see you. He didn’t want to look like a fool in front of the person he loved most— after all, your opinion mattered more than anyone else’s. You just wished he would put some more trust into you.
You understood his feelings quite well, however. Every time you had lost a game, you wanted to apologize to everyone who had come to watch you play.
“Sorry for wasting your time,” were the words that wanted to come out of your mouth each time you missed a ball. But seeing it from a different perspective, you realized how stupid that sentence was.
You opened up the doors to the gymnasium and stepped outside into the crisp autumn air. It felt nice.
You didn’t know how long you waited until Oikawa and the rest of his team walked outside. You made eye contact with Iwaizumi, who nodded his head and ushered the team away from you and Oikawa. You and Iwaizumi had that sort of relationship, along with your mutual relationship with Oikawa. You simply understood each other without words, and he understood Oikawa.
Oikawa slowly approached you, looking down slightly. He stopped a few inches short and stood still.
“That was a good g-“ you began, before he grabbed your shoulders and pulled you into a bone-crushing hug. You felt his body shaking and heard small sniffles coming from above.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” he cried, squeezing you tighter. His legs wobbled unsteadily underneath him.
There he is.
You soothingly rubbed his back. It was slightly damp from sweat and was burning hot. His body felt nice in contrast to the weather.
“Why would you apologize for that?” You asked quietly, your voice soft. “The block totally messed up the course of the ball. You were in the right spot. You were there, Toru.”
Oikawa sniffled and shook his head, nails digging into your back.
“No… I should have known that little fuck would aim at the block like that…” he let out a choked sob. “I should have known.”
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve missed a free ball that was coming straight to me, Toru. Don’t act like it was your fault that the ball was knocked off course. At least you touched it.” You pulled his face back so you could look him in the eyes. “I mean, you touched it. Isn’t that amazing? You totally read Hinata in the end.”
Oikawa rubbed his eyes and sniffled. “It doesn’t matter if I read him or not. He and Kageyama were one step ahead.” He shook slightly and looked down at the ground. “I swore to myself that I would beat Ushijima in highschool.” Oikawa laughed and sobbed at the same time. “Well, look where that stupid fantasy got me.”
You grabbed his head and pulled him into another hug. You wrapped your arms around his neck and buried your nose in his hair, kissing the top of his head. His hair was damp and sweaty, and smelled of warm musk. It wasn’t bad. It was a scent you had become quite familiar to— it smelled like home.
“It’s not stupid to have a goal.” You closed your eyes and took another deep breath in. “Plus, you’re gonna keep playing volleyball in college, right?”
Oikawa slowly stood up straight, looking down at you with a flushed face from crying. He nodded a bit.
“…Yeah.”
“And so is Ushijima?”
He nodded again.
“Yeah.”
You cupped his cheek in your hand.
“There you go then. Your life isn’t over yet, Toru. So don’t act like it is.”
Oikawa smiled weakly at you but sincerely, leaning into your touch. He let out a small, breathy chuckle.
“You’re right. I don’t know what I’m getting so depressed for…” he closed his eyes. “Plus, not everything works out in a timely manner. I guess I should know that.”
You smiled as well, ruffling his hair.
“Atta boy.”
Oikawa chuckled weakly and let out small shout as you messed up his hair.
“Ah, quit! I worked hard to get my hair to lay right this morning!”
You pulled your hand away from his hair and pinched his cheek lovingly.
“Sorry, sorry. I know you value your looks.”
He rolled his eyes at you playfully and put a hand on the back of his neck.
“I wouldn’t care so much if I didn’t have a certain someone to impress.”
You raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really? And who is this ‘certain someone’?”
Oikawa shrugged and leaned down to whisper in your ear. “I guess we’ll never know.”
You felt yourself heating up at the feeling of his warm breath against your skin.
Oikawa tucked a bit of hair behind your ear. “But I can tell you that she’s the most beautiful girl in the world, so I have to make sure I look good for her.”
Your eyes went wide and you gasped softly at his words. He was depressed and now he’s acting all charming?! Was he bipolar or something? You could feel yourself reddening and you turned your head to the side so he couldn’t see.
“Mm, well, I’m sure she thinks you look good no matter what,” you murmured, feeling a bit happier now that Oikawa didn’t seem so run down from losing.
Oikawa seemed like he was about to respond before Iwaizumi suddenly shouted out across the parking lot.
“ALRIGHT, SHITTYKAWA!”
Oikawa jumped and had a look of pure fear on his face as he looked over at Iwaizumi.
“Oh, Iwa-chan!” He exclaimed with a shaky voice.
“QUIT FLIRTING AND GET ON THE BUS! WE HAVE A MEETING TO GET TO, DUMBASS!” Iwaizumi was standing next to the doors of the bus with his hands cupped around his mouth. You had to stifle a laugh.
Oikawa bit his lip and groaned, turning back to you.
“Will you be okay to get back to your house fine?” He asked.
“Yeah. I drove, so I’ll just leave after you guys.”
Oikawa nodded, leaning down to give you a small kiss on the lips before running off to get on the bus.
“Love you!” He shouted with a grin. You held up your hand and waved.
“Love you too!” you replied, watching as he jogged off.
He would be okay. You knew that. He was strong, after all.
He was Oikawa Toru.
And Oikawa Toru didn’t accept defeat.