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They sat in silence in the A&E waiting room, just as they had done for the past three hours. An ice pack sat abandoned on the table next to them. It had initially offered Oikawa some relief, but had become too warm to make a difference. Next to it, there was a half-empty glass of water he'd used to swallow the pain killers they'd given him that hadn't really touched the pain at all.
Oikawa looked over at Iwaizumi. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest, and the scowl etched on his face hadn't eased since they'd first arrived. "Let's just go home. It's not even that bad," Oikawa tried for the tenth time, hoping this would be the one that stuck.
"If it's really not that bad, I'll just fuck off and you can get yourself out of here on your own then."
He pushed himself up of the chair, and Oikawa felt the panic rising in his throat, threatening to overwhelm him. Before he had the chance to think, his hand was reaching out to clutch at the back of Iwaizumi's shirt, stopping him from moving any further. Iwaizumi looked over at him with flat eyes. "Don't go," he said softly.
He hated to be so vulnerable in such a public space. Anyone could hear them, and he was already embarrassed enough to have ended up there in the first place.
He hated it, but he hated the thought of Iwaizumi walking away so much more.
Iwaizumi still hadn't made any move either to sit back down or to walk away, so Oikawa buried is pride as deep as he could manage. "Just...just stay, okay? Please."
There was an unbearable pause, and Oikawa looked away, releasing his grip. If Iwaizumi decided to leave, Oikawa wasn't going to watch him go. He wrapped his fingers, still slightly trembling from the pain and anxiety, around his own arms.
It wasn't like Iwaizumi hadn't warned him over and over again. He'd suffered through countless lectures and rants about his health and how Iwaizumi wouldn't put up with him not looking after himself. He'd just never thought he would see the day he actually followed through on those threats. At least, he had hoped he never would.
He braced himself to feel Iwaizumi move, to hear his footsteps echoing further and further away, but they didn't come.
Instead, Iwaizumi heaved a deep sigh and Oikawa felt him drop heavily back down next to him, and the tense stalemate returned.
Despite Iwaizumi's mood and the pain that kept hitting Oikawa in waves, he couldn't help but feel himself relax slightly. Iwaizumi was there for the moment. Not leaving. He dropped his head to rest against Iwaizumi's shoulder.
"I just–" Iwaizumi began, but cut himself off quickly.
"I know." He knew exactly what Iwaizumi was trying to say, because it would be the same as every time. Except instead of sitting on the sofa or in one of their rooms, they were stuck in a clinical-smelling room that was way hotter than necessary, surrounded by dozens of other sick and injured people.
"You're so–"
"I know, Iwa-chan." There was a certain numbness in his mind that stopped him from feeling the full extent of the emotions he knew were bubbling under the surface.
He let him rant it out, knew it had been brewing since the moment Oikawa had collapsed in a heap on the floor with no sign of getting up again. "You just never listen. I've told you so many times what will happen if you overwork yourself.” Oikawa raised his head to watch Iwaizumi grab at his hand, holding it between both of his own and clutching it tightly. His elbows were resting on his knees, and he brought his forehead down to meet their intertwined fingers. “You aren't a better fucking player like this. If you keep going the way you are, you might not even be a player at all. Please, Tooru," he begged.
Laughing wetly, Oikawa tried to lighten the mood. “I think Iwa-chan might be worried about me.”
Iwaizumi’s head shot up so fast, it was like a blur. He tried to let go of Oikawa, but Oikawa held fast. “You’re such an asshole! You’re not even going to try to tell me you won’t do it again? You’re unbelievable.”
“Would you believe me if I did? Or would it be the same as every other time I’ve said it?” Straightening himself up as much as he could without jostling his aching knee, Oikawa looked at Iwaizumi, really looked at him. He took in the deep bags under his eyes – likely put there by long nights worrying about Oikawa – and the anger in them that he was using to cover up the fear, the panic. Before he spoke again, he made sure there was no sarcasm, no pretence. He made the decision he should have made long ago. “I can’t do this again. I won’t. If this is something I can fix, if I can play again–” gods, let it be something that could be fixed – “I’ll show you I can do it without all this. I’ll do it properly, and I’ll be the best without ending up here. Just – don’t leave before I get there, okay?”
“Oikawa Tooru-san?”
Before Oikawa could get a full read on Iwaizumi’s reaction, his name was being called from the other side of the room. His fingers tightened involuntarily around Iwaizumi’s. All of the courage that had overcome him in the last few minutes suddenly rushed away at the sound of his name being called.
He wasn’t ready. He didn’t want to know what the doctors had to say.
"I'm scared." His eyes strayed to the woman waiting for him at the door.
"Oikawa–"
"It's never been like this before. It hurts so much." She called for him again. Oikawa knew this was a busy place, and she wasn’t going to wait forever.
“Tooru, look at me.” When he did, there was fire in his eyes, and it bolstered his confidence. “Go in there and find out what’s wrong, and we’ll deal with it.” He pulled his hand out of Oikawa’s grasp and replaced it with the crutches the hospital had given him when they’d arrived.
Iwaizumi stood up and pulled Oikawa to his feet, then ushered him towards the doctor. Automatically, he plastered a smile onto his face and pushed all his unpleasant feelings back into the shadows.
Before the doors shut behind them, he turned back to catch a last glimpse of Iwaizumi. He wasn’t looking back, but he was settling back into the same uncomfortable chair to wait, and that was enough.
---
About half an hour or so in, he’d text his parents to let them know he’d be late home. He hadn’t told them where he was; he didn’t want them to worry. Then, he texted Iwaizumi.
To: Iwa-chan<3<3
(23:11) You should go home. They’re nowhere near done, and I’ll be okay from here.
He put his phone away after that, expecting Iwaizumi to go home, but not particularly wanting to see confirmation of that fact. As much as he had a bone-deep want for him to stay, it was getting late, and Oikawa had no idea how much longer he would have to sit through each test and examination.
Taking in the information that was being thrown at him as best he could, he watched the doctor, trying to gauge the seriousness of his situation from the expressions on her face. Unfortunately, she was very good at keeping her thoughts to herself, and didn’t give a single thing away until she was ready.
It was at least another hour, if not two, before he was finally released from their investigations. Luckily, with only a few weeks’ rest, he should be back to normal. He was sure he would be relieved once he wasn’t so tired. His crutches clacked against the floor as he carried himself back out into the waiting room.
Despite their late hour, there were almost as many people as there had been earlier. The lights were just as dazzling, and the air just as stifling. He pulled out his phone to call for a taxi to take him home. Then, he noticed a string of notifications on the screen which hadn’t been there before.
From: Iwa-chan<3<3
(23:13) No fucking chance. I’ll be here when you get out.
(23:57) Still here. Everything going okay?
(00:23) I think I just fell asleep sitting up. You still in there?
He checked the time; it was a quarter to one. He felt his face warm at the idea of Iwaizumi sitting there, waiting for him, even when Oikawa had said it was alright for him to go.
“Shittykawa.”
When Oikawa looked up, it was into Iwaizumi’s face, obviously tired but still there, just like he said he would be. Something about it was too much, overwhelming him. Tears prickled in his eyes and he frees his arms from his crutches, taking most of his weight on his good leg and throwing himself at Iwaizumi.
Catching him easily, Iwaizumi held Oikawa to his chest. Oikawa hid his face in his neck. “What did they say?”
He breathed in his familiar scent, trying and failing to calm himself down. “I can still play. Just a few weeks of recovery.”
“Thank god.” The arms around him tightened.
Though he knew they would feel empty to Iwaizumi, he couldn't stop the words spilling out, and knew, for once, he truly meant them. "I'm not going to do it again. I can't do it like this. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Pulling back, Iwaizumi reached down to pick up the crutches and put them back into Oikawa’s arms. His eyes were serious. “I want to believe you. I want to trust you. But I can’t keep doing this, Tooru. We can’t be back here in another month because you didn’t listen to your body when it was telling you to stop.”
Oikawa shook his head, his resolve strengthening. “We won’t be. I’ll prove it to you. I promise.”
He watched as Iwaizumi’s gaze softened, his body relaxing. “Okay.” Putting his hand on Oikawa’s back, he guided him towards the hospital entrance. “I called your mum. She should be outside now.”
“You told her?” Oikawa said, scandalised. If he thought he was in trouble with Iwaizumi sitting, waiting for him in the waiting room, it was nothing compared to what would be the wrath of his mother. “Iwa-chan, betrayal! How could you?”
“She was going to find out eventually, dumbass. If you don’t want her to be pissed at you, you shouldn’t have been such a shitty idiot in the first place.”
He might as well just stay there at the hospital. That would be much better for both his physical and mental health.
Unfortunately, she had already seen him. As he stepped cautiously out of the doors, he caught sight of their family car. It was a welcoming sight if you excluded the woman sitting behind the wheel, quietly fuming. Oikawa shivered. “Will you stay with me?”
Iwaizumi laughed for what felt like the first time that night. “To face Obasan? Sure. It’s not me she’s mad at.”
It wasn’t much reassurance. Oikawa took a deep breath, and carried himself towards his second lecture of the night.