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Tooru closes his eyes as he falls onto his bed. Burying his face into his pillow, he lets out a sigh as he fishes his phone out of his pocket, turning the device to silent before haphazardly throwing it onto the floor. He's tired, and weary, and a little bit sad, but he tries his best not to let it show; in fact, he's been holding it in since this morning.
There's a knock at his door. Lifting his head, he manages a soft "come in" before he drops his head back down. His door slides open, and there's a dip in the bed, right next to his hip. A hand is in his hair, and before he knows it, he's crying, weeping into his pillow.
"Kaa-san," he manages."
"Shh, Tooru," his mom says, and he sits up, burying his face into her shoulder and letting her hold him like she has for so many years prior, comforting him over lost games and monsters, and the constant, quiet fear of unrequited love. "It's all right, my dear."
He wants to shake his head, wants to say no, it's not all right, Kaa-san. I didn't get to do anything yet! I haven't beaten Ushiwaka, or made it to nationals, or told Iwa-chan I loved him, but he keeps his mouth shut, and instead focuses on his mother's breathing, her hand carding through his hair.
They're both still for a few moments, the room quiet save for Tooru's sobs and his mom's occasional words of comfort. Once he's quieted down, she shifts, legs moving off of the bed. Tooru lifts his head up and offers a sad smile when his mom presses a kiss to his forehead.
"I know you," she says, "Tooru, I know exactly what you're thinking right now, and I want you to stop it."
"Kaa-san--" he starts, but she cuts him off with a click of her tongue.
"You know he may not look it, but your father was just like you when he was your age." Tooru sniffles in response. "And when we graduated, he was so worried that he hadn't made a big enough impact during his high school years that he wouldn't amount to anything when he grew up."
At this, Tooru snorts. His father's reputation is one well-known in Japan. A CEO, owner of a big company, he barely has time for his family anymore, but he notices the small acts his father makes when he is at home, acts that show both his love and devotion to the family.
Petulantly, Tooru sticks out his bottom lip. "Otou-san is the epitome of success." He whines.
His mother laughs. "Not when he was in high school. The day after we graduated, he whined to me about not finishing as valedictorian, not being able to do anything he'd wanted to accomplish in his first year, but I told him this—and Tooru this is extremely important, so I want you to listen." She takes in a deep breath. "I told him: 'We have all the time in the world, Takeo. Just because you haven't done it today, or yesterday, or the millions of days before, doesn't mean you still can't do it. There's always room for tomorrow."
Tooru lets out a breathy laugh. "Kaa-san, that's beautiful."
She brightens. "I know. That's your Kaa-san." Standing up, she puts her hands on her hips. "Now come on downstairs and help me with dinner. Both your sister and father are here tonight, so I want everything to be perfect!"
Tooru smiles.
After dinner and an hour of playing makeshift volleyball with Takeru in the backyard, Tooru finds himself in his room once again. Sighing, he sits down on his bed and fiddles with the frayed ends of his worn-out alien blanket, whom he'd dubbed Megumi-chan, before he grabs his phone from off the floor. He's just about to unlock it when the screen lights up.
Iwa-chan <3 [52]
Pressing his lips together, he unlocks his phone. Opening the messaging app, his eyes widen as he reads each and every one of Iwa-chan's texts.
Received from: Iwa-chan <3
[16:02] Oi Shitykawa, you left your shit in my locker again
[16:10] Hey, weren't we supposed to walk home together?
[16:12] You piece of shit I swear to god
[16:13] IVE BEEN WAITING AT THE GATE FOR TEN FUCKING MINUTES WHERE ARE YOU
[17:15] I would've at least liked to have known that you got home safely
[17:21] Oi Shittykawa don't ignore me
[17:35] ARE YOU FUCKING IGNORING ME
[17:36] I WILL FUCKING STORM YOUR HOUSE OIKAWA
[17:40] scratch that, ill come storm it after your sister leaves
[18:05] I swear to god
[20:01] SHITTYKAWA
Tooru lets out a sigh and sends a quick im home safely thanks for worrying iwa-chan! before he throws his phone onto his bed. Stretching, he walks towards his laptop, moves his mouse to wake the screen and almost sighs as the screensaver illuminates before his eyes.
He'd almost forgot about it. The day of their last practice, after he'd handed off his title of captain to Yahaba, he, Iwa-chan, Hanamaki and Matsukawa took one last picture in their jerseys. Tooru sniffles, hand reaching out to trace the number 1 on his jersey before his eyes move from his own smiling face to Iwa-chan's. His eyes are crinkled, mouth curled up into half a smirk, and Tooru feels tears prick up at the corners of his eyes. He wishes with everything he has that he'd had enough courage to tell him the truth—or at least has enough courage before he moves to Tokyo for college.
He's about a minute away from bursting into real, heartfelt tears when a knock sounds at his window. Composing himself, he lifts up the blinds, and jolts when he sees Iwa-chan's face staring petulantly back at him.
"Iwa-chan--? Wha--"
"Come on Shittykawa," Iwa-chan says, mouth quirking up into a smirk. "Let's go stargazing."
Tooru huffs as he stares up at the sky. The sun hasn't completely set yet, orange still tinting the horizon, so the stars aren't as noticeable yet. It's colder than he expected it to be, so he wraps Megumi-chan tighter around his shoulders. Beside him, Iwa-chan sighs and Tooru purposely ignores him until a heavy weight of fabric is placed on his shoulders. Looking up in astonishment, he watches as Iwa-chan looks down at his hands.
"You'll get sick," he says without Tooru needing to ask. "If you do, well, it's my fault."
"Such a gentleman, Iwa-chan," Tooru singsongs, ignoring the pounding of his heart in his chest.
"Shut up." Iwa-chan says, and Tooru laughs.
It's a ten minute walk from his house up to the top of the hill where they usually go stargazing, but with the chilly air and the palpable tension between him and Iwa-chan, it feels like an eternity. When they get up to the top, Iwa-chan lays out a blanket, sitting down on it, knees hugged to his chest. Tooru follows suit, hugging the jacket and Megumi-chan tighter to his chest as he stares up at the sky. There's a few moments of silence before Tooru sees the first stars, and he can't contain the gasp that rips out of his mouth.
"Iwa-chan!" He says, kneeling and pointing at the stars. "Iwa-chan look!"
In a moment they go from a muddy navy to a shining purple and white, illuminating the sky. Tooru gasps and laughs as they twinkle. Standing, he points at the stars, noting each and every constellation he can name, and telling the story behind each of them. He's just about done Orion when he remembers Iwa-chan doesn't like his stories about the stars. Turning, he expects to find him sitting, looking outright bored, but instead, his cheeks are flushed and he has the faintest of smiles on his lips.
His brow furrows when Tooru stops. "What?"
"N-nothing!" Tooru exclaims, plopping down nect to him. "It's just that you never really listen to my stories."
Iwa-chan snorts. "That's because they're always about aliens."
Tooru gasps, affronted. "Excuse me, Iwa-chan. Aliens are totally real."
Iwa-chan shakes his head. "I'm not believing any of your alien shit."
"Oh yeah?" Tooru challenges, turning to face him. "Well, I'll wait for the day I can say I told you so when the aliens come and invade us."
Iwa-chan sighs and leans back onto his forearms. "Whatever, Shittykawa."
Tooru shakes his head and stares up at the sky. He lets out a sigh. "I wish I did more in high school."
Iwa-chan snorts. "What the hell do you mean, Trashikawa?"
"I mean, I wish I could've brought the team to nationals, just once. Maybe show Ushiwaka-chan that I could've done it. Or maybe I could've done more. Been like my dad, or my sister."
"I wish that too." Iwa-chan says, staring up at the sky. "But, you know, there's always next year. And the year after that. And even though we didn't make it to nationals this year, that doesn't mean we won't next year."
"But Iwa-chan," Tooru says, eyes glued to his knees. "We won't be on the same team anymore."
"Does that matter?" Iwa-chan says, "What matters is that we make it, right?"
"Yeah," Tooru says, and he smiles, eyes flitting back up to the sky. "The stars really are beautiful tonight."
Iwa-chan chuckles. "Yeah."
"You know what else is beautiful?"
Iwa-chan snorts softly. "What?"
Tooru laughs. "The moon. The planets. The rest of the galaxy. I fucking love space, Iwa-chan!" Tooru expects there to be a brash comment, or Iwa-chan's voice telling him to shut up, but when he faces Iwa-chan, there's a fierce blush dusting his cheeks. Tooru's mouth falls open. "What?"
Iwa-chan laughs. "Nothing." He pushes up from his forearms, bringing one of his legs up to his chest, the other resting on the ground. "It's just that I know you do."
"Do you?" Tooru murmurs, leaning towards him. His eyes are darker under the dim light, but they seem to sparkle.
"I do," Iwa-chan says, before he leans in, head tilting and lips pressing against his. Tooru freezes for a moment before he relaxes, a gasp leaving his chest. His arm lifts from his leg and finds its way to Iwa-chan's hair, fingers threading through the thick strands. Iwa-chan kisses with his entire body, leaning into every movement, body pressing into Tooru's. Tooru huffs, leaning back momentarily, reveling in the way Iwa-chan's mouth follows his.
"Iwa-chan," Tooru murmurs, hand moving from his hair down to his jaw. Iwa-chan chuckles, head dipping down to nip at Tooru's neck. Tooru squeals. "You big brute, is this why we went stargazing?"
From his spot at Tooru's neck, Iwa-chan chuckles. "Shut up, Trashikawa, just enjoy the night sky." Tooru laughs as he leans back, back hitting the blanket, and his vision is filled with the stars in the sky.