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Tooru remembers his first birthday, or at least he remembers his mother’s stories about the day. How he’d cried over the pandemonium of a crowded kitchen and lit cake until on shaking legs, Iwaizumi had pulled himself up to take his first steps, determined as only a toddler can be, to get to his friend. He’d calmed down after that, but his sister had to blow out his candles.
He doesn’t remember turning 2 but the pictures suggest that neither he nor Hajime were particularly pleased with the ridiculous birthday hats their mothers had stuck on their heads.
When he turned 3, Iwaizumi had gotten him a garishly colored plush toy. According to his mother, Hajime had picked it himself, insisting Oikawa would love it despite no one being sure what exactly the thing was supposed to be. Unbeknownst to Iwaizumi, Tooru still had it tucked safely away in a box with baby blankets at the back of his closet.
Half the world must have shown up to Oikawa’s 4th birthday, or at least that’s what he tells his mom. He blows his candles out to a half yelled chorus of Happy Birthday and wishes for all his birthdays to be this happy (In later years he blames the bad birthdays on his 4 year old self for telling Iwaizumi what he’d wished for)
His 5th birthday ends in cuts and bruises after a dare to retrieve a stuck ball from a tree goes wrong. On one of the only occasions Tooru can remember him crying, Hajime tearily asks if they can still be friends. Ignoring the bruises, Tooru pulls him into a hug and promises he’ll never let go.
Hajime gets sick the day before his 6th birthday, and when Tooru learns his best friend can’t come to his party he throws a tantrum that could move heaven and earth. He refuses to have a party and sends the neighborhood into a frenzy when he disappears before dinner only to be found having snuck into the Iwaizumi’s home. They both spend his birthday in bed with a summer cold.
His first real volleyball is his favorite present from turning 7, and Iwaizumi in tow, he sets off to show the world he can play like the people on TV. For the next month, practice is only interrupted when after 5 minutes of being called inside, he gets dragged away for a meal or for sleep.
For his 8th birthday he’d demanded an alien themed party. His mom and sister had baked and decorated a cake - with icing so vividly green that the stains on his fingers lasted over a day. Hajime complained about having to wear dumb antenna for half the party, but had bought him a beginner’s telescope, and spent hours that night, and the rest of that summer, in Tooru’s backyard, tracing constellations and trying to discover new planets.
When he’s 9, his sister tells him that she’s going to get him the coolest present ever for his 10th birthday. It’s a few months past the date, but staring with wonder at his new nephew, Tooru knows it was worth the wait.
His 10th, 11th, and 12th birthdays are spent outside watching Iwa-chan hunt beetles, playing volleyball, and wandering the neighborhood aimlessly together. Each one ends with sunburn, a gentle scolding, and a promise to reapply sunblock properly next year (they never remember).
13 is awkward growth and nervous excitement. It’s the beginning of a new journey and with Iwaizumi by his side, he steps into the role of setter and gets to work.
Frustration laces his 14th and 15th birthdays, still trying to rush ahead of the underclassman he feels nipping at his heels and outpace the rival that’s always ahead. The shadowed eyes and sore muscles aren’t unique to his birthday but on that day seem somehow worse.
His present at 16 is a knee brace and a reminder of how it’s all too easy for him to break.
17 finds him with his friend, his pillar, his ace, by his side, and a strong team at his back. For the first time in years, he feels invincible again.
He’ll always remember his 18th birthday, he thinks to himself. Over the year of losses and the end of this part of his life this is one of the moments that will stand out. And as strong, familiar arms wrap around his waist and a pair of chapped lips press softly against his own he decides that this is by far his favorite present ever.