Work Text:
If these sheets were the states, and you were miles away, I'd fold them end over end to bring you closer to me .
Hugs were a rare occurrence between Iwaizumi and Oikawa. As they grew older, their physical affection grew lesser and lesser, due to what society perceives as normal, however, today was a rather tearful occasion in which Iwaizumi believes is acceptable. Pulling the former Seijoh volleyball captain tightly, he rested his chin on his shoulder, patting his back.
“Don’t miss me too much Shittykawa,” he whispered.
“So mean Iwa-chan!” Oikawa squealed back. “Besides, it’s just Tokyo,” he shrugged, pulling away. Iwaizumi took the time to admire his best friend, who was now parting ways with him for university. The two of them had grown up together in each other’s backyards, playing volleyball every single day all the way to their last years of high school. And now they were parting for university.
“What time will you be arriving?” Iwaizumi asked, with concern.
A glint shone in Oikawa’s eyes. “Are you my mom Iwa-chan?” he teased. Iwaizumi shot him a glare that would’ve made anyone take back whatever they said, however Oikawa was too used to Iwaizumi’s glares already. “Maybe at eleven? I’ll show you the campus, don’t you worry!”
Their short conversation was cut short by Oikawa’s parents, who were fawning and hugging their only son. Oikawa looked much more like his mother, inheriting her beautiful feminine features of her eyes and nose. The rest were his father’s, a stern businessman with a warm heart. They hugged and promised each other a lot of things such as returning every few weeks or so and texting each other.
The monotonous female voice rang through the station, reminding her passengers that the train was about to leave soon. As Oikawa turned towards the train, Iwaizumi tugged his hand lightly for one more hug. He was still unable to process the news that his best friend was leaving to Tokyo. The news had came all so sudden, at their last volleyball practice as students of Aoba Johsai. Oikawa broke it so calmly that he had been scouted (no surprise) and decided to follow that university for it offered the best degrees and had a solid volleyball team that trained for nationals and beyond.
“Don’t miss me too much Iwa-chan,” Oikawa whispered, reusing Iwaizumi’s own words against his, squeezing him tightly before pulling away. He waved at his parents and hurried into the train with his various luggage. Most of his stuff had already been moved to his dorms a week ago, leaving Oikawa with just a few carry-ons.
Iwaizumi waited alongside his parents as the train began to shut its doors slowly. Oikawa managed to snag a window seat, pressing his face against the window and waving sadly at his parents and his best friend. As the train departed slowly from the station, Iwaizumi swore as if the whole word had slowed down for this moment, tears slowly forming in his eyes as he watched his best friend part. He held those tears in, clenching his fists and chewing his lip tightly, maintaining eye contact as much as possible.
When the train finally pulled away, Iwaizumi felt as if he had held his breath throughout. Oikawa’s parents patted Iwaizumi on the back, rubbing circles against his back as if they understood how he was feeling. “We know Iwaizumi, we’re gonna miss Oikawa so much too.”
Not as much as I will.
Oikawa stayed true to his word, calling Iwaizumi the moment he set foot on campus. “ Iwa-chan~ The campus here is so nice, I wish you could be here to see it! I’ve sent you a few pictures, I have to go and check my dorms and stuff. See you tonight!”
It was a short and sweet phone call, but better than nothing. Iwaizumi unlocked his phone to see more than just a few pictures. Oikawa was like a tourist at his campus, taking artsy shots of the university along with a number of selfies. As much as Iwaizumi wanted to punch Oikawa for his vainness, it was times like this where he was thankful that Oikawa was vain and loved taking selfies.
He held his phone up against his chest, lying in bed and thinking about his future here in Miyagi. He already applied for a university near his house, one where the other third years would be attending. It was a decent university, not as prestigious as the one Oikawa attended, but good enough for Iwaizumi.
That night, Iwaizumi felt rather empty without Oikawa by his side. Usually, since they have graduated, one of them would sleepover at the other’s and they would spend their nights together getting sugar high on sweets and energy drinks, while furiously competing against each other in video games. He had missed getting sick with sugar and staying up late racing each other on Mario Kart.
His laptop began pinging, a ringtone. Iwaizumi raised his eyebrow in confusion and noticed it was a Skype call from Oikawa. Pressing the ‘ Accept’ button, he waited a few seconds for the camera to set up and the obligatory ‘ can you hear me? ’ moments to pass.
Oikawa’s figure was a little blurry on screen, due to the darkness. His hair was dishevelled and messy already, wearing his favourite faded green hoodie along with his glasses. It was a look Iwaizumi had got used to and he liked it.
“ Yahoo Iwa-chan~ ” Oikawa waved, his hand blurry due to Skype’s quality. “Are you missing me already?”
“You called me,” Iwaizumi reminded, pulling his knees up to his chest. He rested his laptop on his bed so that it was easier for him to shift positions for he was unable to sit still, unlike Oikawa. At first glance, one would assume that Oikawa would be more of the antsy and unable to sit still kind of person but it was Iwaizumi who fitted that category. “Have you got a roommate?”
Oikawa shook his head. “It’s my dorm for the time being. Apparently, my roommate is sick and he isn’t going to arrive until who knows when so for now it’s all mine!” Oikawa exclaimed, stretching his arm wide and talking a little louder than he normally would.
“That’s nice,” Iwaizumi responded genuinely. He was secretly thankful for that sick roommate because now he and Oikawa could call without the feeling of interrupting someone.
“Tell me more about the campus.”
Oikawa’s eyes lit up, something that happened whenever someone asked him about something that he was passionate about or enjoyed. “It’s so lovely! It’s even prettier in real life. Tokyo’s weather is so nice too, so cool and refreshing. And the university is huge!”
“It’s modern and pretty sleek, and most of the windows are glass so you can look out onto the campus. Besides that, their gym is enormous! All the guys on the volleyball team looked intense, but they were really nice. And I got to play a couple of games today with the official team!”
Oikawa continued talking about his day, along with what he ate for lunch, what classes he had for the day, his timetable and every little detail. Iwaizumi was used to letting Oikawa talk and talk because he was an extrovert, and extroverts loved to talk. He was also calmed by Oikawa’s voice, something that often soothed him whenever he had moments of self doubt and anxiety. “What did you do today Iwa-chan?”
Iwaizumi was taken aback by the sudden question, stumbling to form a reply. “Well, not much really. I went and trained a couple of kids at the gym, played a bit volleyball here and there with the old team and pretty much stayed at home. I live a boring life Oikawa.”
“Well you sure do!” Oikawa teased. “Redundant details Iwa-chan, tell me what you ate and what silly videos you have watched.” Oikawa pressed further.
“How does what I eat concern you?”
“It’s just interesting to hear!”
The conversation went on longer than Iwaizumi had expected. He had anticipated an awkward lull due to their distance, but even the silence between them felt comfortable. They would slip onto their phones and every once in awhile, Oikawa would giggle at something on his phone and send it to Iwaizumi and vice versa.
“It’s midnight already,” Oikawa whispered. Iwaizumi was now lying on his stomach, his eyes slowly drooping with sleepiness but they still remained strong.
“You should go to sleep,” Iwaizumi murmured, shutting his eyes for a second.
“Yeah…” Oikawa agreed. “Goodnight Iwa-chan…”
“Goodnight Shittykawa,”
“So mean…”
Because I don't sleep at all without you pressed up against me.
That night, Iwaizumi found it hard to sleep. He tossed and turned, and despite his tired eyes, he was still unable to fall asleep properly. He would slip into a state of sleep every few hours or so, but then wake up in darkness. His eyes began to hurt from being awoken at random moments and his body clock demanded for him to get his shit together and sleep. However, for some reason, he couldn’t.
And it was Oikawa’s fault.
“ Get a grip Iwaizumi. He’s just your best friend. He’s just in Tokyo, you should be thankful that he isn’t halfway across the world. ” Iwaizumi whispered to himself, slapping his cheeks with his hands and forcing himself to go to sleep.
He fell asleep after his pep talk, although not believing one bit in his own words.
I settle for long distance calls
Daily Skype calls soon became a regular occurrence for Iwaizumi, that it replaced his norm. He soon expected Oikawa’s icon to pop up on his laptop screen whilst he was doing his work, setting aside his homework just to talk to Oikawa. It was a good replacement to their previous sugar rush nights, although, no one said it was much healthier considering the fact they both end up sleeping on their calls and wondering why their laptops overheated the next morning.
“I’m coming to visit tomorrow,” Oikawa announced, beaming happily.
Iwaizumi, who had not been paying attention to the conversation now had his full attention on Oikawa’s words. It has been a month since Oikawa left for Tokyo. His sick roommate had returned, however they were often left alone due to his roommate’s partying streak. Even though Oikawa was a sociable and a party person, he rarely followed his roommates due to the fact that those parties were extremely wild, wilder than what Oikawa could hold.
“What time?” he asked eagerly.
“Early. Let’s go have lunch and build a snowman!” Oikawa clapped his hands eagerly. Iwaizumi chuckled at the thought of building a snowman.
“We’re almost adults Shittykawa, we shouldn’t be building snowmen,” He stated, brushing off the idea.
“Please?” Oikawa pouted, pursing his lips and staring at Iwaizumi with his puppy dog eyes. Iwaizumi avoided his stare but eventually caved in to his requests. Snowmen were one of Oikawa’s favourite things to do during winters. Throughout their childhood and parts of their high school years, they would competitively build snowmen. Iwaizumi had won most of the time for he had much larger hands compared to Oikawa and had more knack for rolling snow into balls.
“Fine,”
“Yay!”
Their comfortable silence soon returned until Iwaizumi noticed that he was tired and slowly began dozing off. His eyes would open, then slowly droop shut and repeat. He was particularly exhausted today prior to his gym workout with Mattsun and Makki. He rested his chin on his arms, trying to see Oikawa. Oikawa too was slowly dozing off, resting his chin on his arms as well, the two of them so close to their laptop that they could hear each other’s breaths.
In Oikawa’s half asleep state, the three words Iwaizumi had never expected to hear from Oikawa slipped out so easily like honey.
“Iwa-chan?”
“Hmm?”
“I love you,”
And in his half asleep state, Iwaizumi replied, “I love you too,”
I'm lost in empty pillow talk again.
The conversation last night lingered on Iwaizumi’s mind as he anxiously dressed to meet Oikawa the next morning. Was it real? He contemplated. As the weather was expected to be bitterly cold, Iwaizumi wrapped himself up in his warmest clothes and a beanie that Oikawa had bought for him in their second year because he looked ‘cool’ in it. Oikawa’s train was due to arrive at nine AM sharp, and it was already eight thirty.
Setting out on a light breakfast, Iwaizumi waited at the station patiently, sipping hot coffee to warm his systems. His fingers were too numb to text Oikawa, which resorted in them calling each other.
“ Ooo! I see the station already! ”
Iwaizumi quickly chugged his coffee, tossing it into the trash can and stood at the platform. The train slowly pulled up to the platform, stopping with a groan, releasing steam. A number of passengers exited the train doors but none of them were Oikawa. Iwaizumi tip toed to spot his best friend, and eventually spotted him in a sea of passengers.
There was a brief moment of awkwardness where they stood on the platform, staring at each other unknown what to do. Their words last night were fresh in each other’s minds, leaving them to stare awkwardly at each other. A small woman who happened to pass by thumped Iwaizumi on his shoulder.
“What are you waiting for? Hug him!” she prompted before hobbling off. The two took ginger steps towards each other, before running into each other and hugging tightly. It had just been a month, but it felt like forever. “You feel just the same Iwa-chan,” Oikawa whispered, his voice much more crystal and smooth in real life. It has been the same voice lulling him to sleep for the past month, but much more smoother.
“Shut up Shittykawa,”
They kept a relative distance, still not acknowledging the Skype call the night before. It was too awkward to bring it up at the station, even more awkward to bring up at lunch at their favourite ramen shop, and now Iwaizumi can’t even tell if this moment would be awkward or perfect. They were now at the park where they spent their childhood, with Iwaizumi catching bugs and Oikawa watching from afar.
“There’s so much snow,” Oikawa marvelled. “I knew that our park will always snow!”
Our park. He said our park.
Iwaizumi nodded in agreement. “On a count of three Oikawa,”
“Wait what?”
“Snowmen, you idiot,”
“OH!”
“Three, two, one, GO!”
Iwaizumi rushed to where seemed like a good patch of snow and began forming the base of his snowmen from there. Building a snowman from scratch wasn’t an easy feat, for it was hard labour, especially working in the cold. Every once in awhile, Oikawa would attempt to sabotage Iwaizumi by throwing mini snowballs in his direction but then Iwaizumi would get him back by throwing even larger snowballs.
Eventually, their snowman competition came to an end with Oikawa, for the first time in a while, emerging as winner. “Loser!” he stuck his tongue out childishly at Iwaizumi and scrunched his face.
Iwaizumi was unsure if it was impulse or hormones that took over his body, however, he was thankful for either. It seemed like the perfect moment (in his opinion), to suddenly pull Oikawa by his collar and crashing his lips against his. Oikawa’s lips were soft despite the cold, and oddly taste like peppermint. Either he had been chewing gum or he started applying chapstick. For a moment, Oikawa was taken aback, but the warmth of each other’s lips were too good to resist, they eventually caved in. Iwaizumi’s hands trailed behind Oikawa, pulling him closer towards his body for more heat and a small moan escaped Oikawa’s lips.
Their hands roamed around each other, despite being a public place. Iwaizumi found his hands tugging at Oikawa’s hair gently, yet running through their soft, silkiness. Oikawa’s hands trailed towards Iwaizumi’s lower body, gripping him tightly and forcing their already close bodies closer. When they pulled away, both their lips were red and puffy.
“What was that?” Oikawa asked, after a moment of silence.
“It was either hormones or impulse,” Iwaizumi answered, still holding Oikawa against his body tightly.
“Either way, I’m liking it,” Oikawa smirked, leaning in for another kiss.
One kiss led to another and they eventually found themselves in Iwaizumi’s bedroom. These were some of the moments where Iwaizumi was thankful that his parents worked late hours.