Work Text:
Despite attending classes at different universities, Iwaizumi and Oikawa always made sure to somehow make time for one another. It was difficult at first; Oikawa was a double major, so finding chances to hang out with his best friend while also managing his studies was quite challenging, mostly because he was just busy. Not to mention, their schedules didn’t really align with each other. It’s not like Oikawa didn’t want to hang out with Iwaizumi, it was quite the opposite actually. Iwaizumi knew. And they were doing just fine like that… for the most part.
When they were younger, they used to do everything together, since they attended the same schools. Walking to classes, going to practice, returning home; hell, they basically lived at each other’s houses because they hung out so often. Iwaizumi misses this feeling, and he was sure Oikawa does too.
Thankfully, as time went on, they were gradually finding more ways and opportunities to see each other in person. At first it was just the weekly movie nights they’ve been having since 6th grade; no tradition dies easily. Sometimes Iwaizumi was picking Oikawa up from his classes and taking him out to eat, the other times it was Oikawa who decided to spontaneously visit Iwaizumi, just because. Iwaizumi would often wake up to Oikawa snuggling by his side, which he loved; he often wished they could stay like that forever. It made his heart flutter. He would rather die than admit it, though.
Still, it was never enough. But nothing much could be done about it with Oikawa’s hectic schedule, Iwaizumi supposed. They repeated the same routine over and over for months; at this point he was happy that he could even see Oikawa in person.
Iwaizumi had just arrived at Oikawa’s dorm; he always shows up at the same time, so Oikawa usually already waits for him with the door open. But this time, it remains closed.
He knocks. One, two, three times, but to no avail. There’s silence on the other side of the door. The lack of a reply makes Iwaizumi’s chest ache. He has always been overprotective when it comes to Oikawa, so even little things like those can stress him out.
Worried, Iwaizumi swiftly fetches the spare key Oikawa gave him. Oikawa told him to come over whenever he pleases, but he dislikes just entering someone else’s property like this; he doesn’t want to invade anyone’s privacy, especially Oikawa’s. This time was different though; Iwaizumi was concerned for his best friend’s safety, so he entered the house as fast as possible.
Iwaizumi scanned the flat and thoroughly checked every room for any possible dangers. Upon entering the bedroom, his eyes finally landed on a certain sleeping individual. He was sitting at his desk, eyes closed, head resting on the wooden table, drowning in several biology and entomology books and a few empty energy drink cans. He was pale, dark circles spreading under his eyes. Iwaizumi’s heart shattered at the sight.
He must’ve passed out, Iwaizumi thought. Witnessing Oikawa in this state made him feel guilty for not always being there for the other; he knew Oikawa had a habit of always overworking himself to the point of overexertion, that’s why Iwaizumi always tried his best to take care of him. It usually meant that Oikawa would tease him afterwards, but it didn’t matter to him as long as he was sleeping and eating properly (which was clearly not the case this time).
Iwaizumi carefully carried Oikawa to the bed, tucking him in and covering him with a light blanket. Waking him up was the last thing he intended to do, considering he was in dire need of rest. He was about to make a beeline for the kitchen, when suddenly he felt a cold sensation on his wrist. As Iwaizumi looked back, he saw a half-asleep Oikawa reaching out to him.
“Iwa-chan… Please don’t go,” he whispered, his weak voice almost not coming out at all.
There it was. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, a clingy Oikawa was one of Iwaizumi’s biggest weaknesses. On top of that, Oikawa looked to be in a pretty bad state; he probably needed the other now more than ever. Looks like the meal has to be postponed.
Iwaizumi took a seat on the mattress beside Oikawa. He placed his palm on Oikawa’s forehead to check his temperature, just in case.
He had a fever.
“Tooru, I have to bring you water and some medicine. I won’t take long,” Iwaizumi stated, quietly enough so as not to startle the other.
Still, Oikawa was not letting go of Iwaizumi’s arm, and was probably not planning on doing so anytime soon. He was too exhausted to communicate verbally, but this reply spoke for itself.
“Give me 5 minutes,” he insisted. “You should’ve taken care of yourself and this wouldn’t have happened. At least call me next time if you need something,” Iwaizumi muttered and smiled as Oikawa pouted in response. Cute.
Iwaizumi ruffled Oikawa’s hair before standing up and temporarily leaving the room. He returned with a bottle of water, a wet towel and medication. Yet, by the time he had entered the room, the bedridden boy was already fast asleep.
He has always looked so peaceful when he was snoozing. As much as Iwaizumi found Oikawa’s loud, silly behavior endearing, there was something just so painfully cute about him sleeping. Oikawa’s flushed cheeks, fluffy hair, peaceful face, his soft lips that Iwaizumi could finally perceive without Oikawa running his mouth all day; all of these things were making Iwaizumi feel all giddy inside. He was pretty sure this is not how people usually feel about their best friends.
There’s comfortable silence, just the two of them, both dreaming; only one of them appeared to be doing so literally, though. Iwaizumi, on the other hand… seemed to be busy, accompanied by shades of red rising up to his ears.
His eyes were fixated on Oikawa without moving away, admiring each and every single of Oikawa’s delicate features. In the meantime, his mind was wandering off to dangerous areas. Imagining how their intertwined fingers would merge the contradicting temperatures; Iwaizumi’s hot hands warming up Oikawa’s. Fantasizing about how their lips would connect and fit together flawlessly—like two pieces of a puzzle. It was so easy to get lost in that little dream of his. Iwaizumi lost track of time and didn't even realize he had started to doze off until he finally fell asleep along with his best friend, together in the cozy space they shared.
The sun shined brightly, morning rays waking them up from their slumber. Oikawa was snuggled up to Iwaizumi, holding on to him so tightly as if the other was about to run away and never look back. That was not the case with Iwaizumi, though; it was the complete opposite—although he wasn’t sure how he was even supposed to consider doing so in the first place, seeing as he had a certain someone’s weight on top of him right now.
Iwaizumi looked away to hide his flustered face; the sudden realization that Oikawa was so close hit him like a truck. He could already feel his cheeks getting hotter, and at this point he was convinced that Oikawa had already noticed his blush a long time ago. Well, at least he tried.
He knew his suspicions turned out to be true when Oikawa somehow managed to scoot even closer to Iwaizumi and turned his head to face the other. They were now staring into each other’s eyes, unable to look away, as if they were hypnotized. Two dumb idiots so obviously in love, yet too shy to admit it—well, it seemed like Oikawa didn’t really care anymore, but he was afraid of taking the final step as well.
“Aw, I’ve never seen you this flustered before!” Oikawa exclaimed cheerfully, grinning at Iwaizumi.
Thank god, Iwaizumi thought. He’s pretty sure there have been countless situations where just being right next to his best friend alone was driving him wild, no matter the circumstances. It was somewhat irritating, really; how Iwaizumi's brain short-circuited every time he’d see Oikawa’s eyes light up when blabbering about aliens or cheesy romance movies. Iwaizumi could spend hours listening to him talk about the same thing over and over again without it getting boring. Or how a smile would subconsciously appear on his face when reminiscing about even the most random, mundane thing that they’ve done together.
And then the physical contact comes into play. The subtle touches, the way their hands accidentally (or not) brushed every time they walked home from practice back in highschool, the constant playful arguments they had, followed by light punches and jabs, which were often just excuses for them to get closer to each other. For them to get just a little taste of what it’d feel like to actually feel the other’s warmth, to be all over each other. As if they weren’t doing that already whenever they were given the chance.
The stolen glances, the vague hints. His sweet scent and his precious, genuine smile that only Iwaizumi got to see. All of these things were making Iwaizumi’s heart flutter; he wondered if Oikawa felt the same, because this one-sided crush had become unbearable a long time ago.
Yeah, he’s so glad his embarrassment wasn’t that noticeable; otherwise, Oikawa’s teasing would know no bounds.
“Good morning to you too. Could you please get off of me?” the other retorted without missing a beat.
“Are you sure you really want me to?” Oikawa teased, taking advantage of the fact that Iwaizumi was about as red as a tomato.
No.
It’s comfortable like that. He’d spend every other night with Oikawa by his side if he could. Was there even a point in hiding it anymore? Their lips are literally centimeters away from touching, and Oikawa is definitely not backing away now, with an intention to pester Iwaizumi.
“You’re so annoying. Looks like someone’s energy’s back; last time I checked, you were basically fighting for your life on the desk,” Iwaizumi pointed out.
“Well, I have a ton of exams coming up! You know that!” Oikawa exclaimed, plopping back onto the bed right next to his best friend.
“That doesn’t mean you should be neglecting your health,” Iwaizumi scolded, turning to face Oikawa.
“But hey! I learned a lot yesterday! For example, did you know that cicadas live underground for about 13 or 17 years? According to a very popular theory, they do that because both of these numbers are prime. They avoid syncing up with predators that way, since their cycles last for about 2 to 10 years. It’s genius! But we don’t actually know if this is exactly the case. Then, when they come out, they turn into adult cicadas by shedding their skin, which allows them to develop wings!”
As Oikawa talked, he was gesticulating and moving around a lot, it’s what he usually does when going on his tangents. Still, Iwaizumi’s eyes were following only one thing—it was Oikawa’s lips again. Everything became a blur for a split second as his brain was flooded with various imaginations and desires. He could barely stop himself from just lunging forward and kissing Oikawa right then and there.
“—and then they start mating; the buzzing you hear from them are actually the mating calls of male cicadas. It’s so loud, it can even be harmful for your ears. But it all depends on the frequency and duration of the sound. And the circumstances. Also, you shouldn’t worry anyway, Iwa-chan! Even a cicada wouldn’t want to come close to you, so you’re not going to be deaf! Thank god.” As Oikawa finished his awe-inspiring speech, he just had to add a rude remark. Of course, the irritating comments and backhanded compliments always come with the bragging and babbling like a package deal—no surprises there.
“If I was deaf, nobody else would listen to your constant rambling, so you should be thanking the cicadas then.”
“But you like hearing me ramble.”
“Yeah, I do.” Iwaizumi mumbled quietly. A moment of silence follows. “More than I’d like to admit.”
Oikawa sees the hesitation in Iwaizumi’s eyes. He wants to tease him for it, and that’s probably what would’ve happened in any ordinary situation. But this was definitely not an ordinary situation—it’s far from being one, actually. He did not want to let this opportunity go to waste, so instead, he decided to finally close the distance between them as he captured Iwaizumi’s lips in a chaste kiss. It was so innocent, so brief—Oikawa seemed to be testing the waters, just to be safe.
All his worries washed away when Iwaizumi suddenly cupped Oikawa’s face and pressed his own lips to the other. Now knowing that Iwaizumi didn't mind, Oikawa got closer once again and straddled Iwaizumi. As Oikawa laid on top of the other, he slipped his tongue into Iwaizumi’s mouth and deepened the kiss.
They felt as if time slowed down and the entire world froze. They kept going until they were out of breath, pulling away and facing each other once more. No words were needed; Oikawa just smiled and buried his head in the crook of Iwaizumi’s neck as the other hugged him tightly.
“Iwa-chan, I really like you,” Oikawa confessed and laughed softly afterwards. A wave of relief crashed over him. The feelings he has been harboring for so long were finally reciprocated—is this what heaven feels like?
“You do?”
Oikawa raised his head and looked at Iwaizumi one more time with a blinding smile and before he knew it, he was kissing Iwaizumi over and over. One again turned into another, the avalanche of kisses eliciting a chuckle from Iwaizumi. “Yes,” Oikawa declared in between smooches. “Now say it back.”
“I love you, Tooru.” When Oikawa heard these words, he was the one who turned into a blushing mess this time.
“Say it again?” Oikawa pleaded.
“I love you,” Iwaizumi repeated.
“Aga—”
He was cut off and caught off-guard by an abrupt pull which caused their lips to meet once anew; this time Iwaizumi taking the lead. It felt so good to be finally kissing him. It’s something he has been craving for years, constantly yearning but feeling hopeless. But now he’s here, in Iwaizumi’s arms, kissing him like there’s no tomorrow. Feeling safe and content in the other’s warm embrace—it puts him at ease.
They cuddled in bed for what felt like hours; Oikawa was wrapped around Iwaizumi like a koala, unable to let go. The pleasant silence persisted for a while, until Iwaizumi spoke up.
“You should really take breaks from time to time. And don’t study too hard. Also, how many times have I told you to eat proper food? Instant noodles won’t keep you alive, you need actual nutrients,” he reprimanded the other.
“Iwa-chan, are you my mom?” Oikawa teased, a cheeky grin appearing on his face.
To that, Iwaizumi responded with a lighthearted kick to Oikawa’s leg; something they’ve been doing when bickering all their lives. It never gets old.
“Mean, Iwa-chan! You should give your boyfriend a mercy period,” Oikawa pouted, which only made Iwaizumi’s heart race even faster. Not only because of Oikawa’s pretty face; being called ‘boyfriend’ by Oikawa, his one and only, caused butterflies to appear in his stomach.
That’s right. They’re boyfriends now, at last. Hopefully forever, because he can’t imagine a reality in which they’re separated.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Anyways, you haven’t eaten yet. Get up, Shittykawa. I’m making you breakfast,” Iwaizumi said, giving Oikawa a little peck on the cheek before getting out of bed, Oikawa’s hand in his, as they made their way towards the kitchen.