Chapter Text
Out of the many things Oikawa Tooru had learned since college the two most prevalent ones would be that one, College Volleyball practice was fucking grueling and two, if you eat solely cheap ramen noodles for three days straight you will throw up after college volleyball practice. Or at least that's the notion Oikawa got after his hour long puking session with the toilet the night before. He really needed to pick up the slack, his boyfriends would be disappointed. He promised he'd get better and he was, well he was trying to, but he hadn't anticipated how hard long distance would be. Being five hours away from his boyfriends wasn't exactly Oikawa's favorite thing. However, he did love Tokyo.
Oikawa thrived in a big city, more than he did in his smaller hometown. He liked the busy streets and the abundance of people. He also like that he could blend in, he didn't have to constantly keep up appearances now that he was invisible. He still had a bit of a fan group in college, girls who flocked around him, wanting to meet the young freshman who was already a starter on the volleyball team. Oikawa handled the attention with grace as he always did, he turned down every confession, every offer to hookup, every person who got a little too handsy. However, college was a little more overwhelming then he let on. Yes, Oikawa loved the city and his room mate, who happened to be Nekoma's middle blocker, but still he was alone. Sometimes he let the thoughts plague him, about how no matter how many Skype calls and texts Oikawa was still alone and how the person he grew up with and loves is miles away-Nope! He promised himself he would stop thinking like that. So, Oikawa shook his head when the negative thoughts tried to creep up on him while he walked back from the corner store. He really had to work on being more positive. Eventually, Oikawa stumbled into the tiny apartment he shared with Kuroo Tetsurou.
"Heyo." Kuroo called from his spot on the couch.
"Give me some positives." Oikawa said, initiating a little game that they occasionally played.
whenever Oikawa was feeling particularly negative he'd ask Kuroo to tell him some positive things about life. Kuroo absolutely radiated positivity. Oikawa suspected it had something to do with Kuroo always cheering up Kenma. Oikawa didn't know much about Kenma, just that he was a bit of a pessimist and he was dating Kuroo. He learned the latter through his bad habit of not knocking before entering rooms.
"Ok let's see," Kuroo started, "We live in a world in which milk bread exists."
"Mhmm, that's a good one." Oikawa hummed.
"We are both members of an amazing volleyball team, your knee is getting better, you passed your math examine yesterday, also we saw that super cute dog on the street this morning. Need I say more?" Kuroo finished.
"Thank you, Tetsu-chan!" Oikawa chirped.
Oikawa was grateful that Kuroo understood that sometimes he just needed a little reminder that not everything was bad.
-
Sadly, Hanamaki wasn't as fortunate in the roommate department. His roommate wasn't particularly horrible; he just wasn't the most open minded person. Hanamaki was glad he wasn't playing volleyball anymore. If he was he probably wouldn't be able to spike with how bad his back hurt from wearing his binder so often. He only took it off in his room. He had a feeling his roommate’s reaction would be a little less than welcoming.
Outside of his mildly shitty roommate, college was pretty cool in Hanamaki's opinion. Although he still couldn't decide on a major. He had absolutely no idea what he wanted to do with his life. The only thing he knew for sure was that he wanted to help people, so he thought psychology would be a good fit, but Hanamaki found out early on that the human brain was just too confusing. At least his classes were interesting, English especially. He always found learning languages easy. English had been pretty easy for him in High school so he decided to continue taking it in college. Regardless of his interest in languages Hanamaki still wasn't sure what the right fit for him was. He didn't really have any useful passions or interests like his boyfriends.
Thankfully, these boyfriends were an incredible support system for his insecurities and indecisiveness about college. However, everyone always said long-distance was hard and everyone was right. He often texted into the Skype group chat and often initiated group calls despite his busy schedule. Although despite the frequency of their communication online Hanamaki still felt as if something was missing from his life. He had only seen Iwaizumi and Matsukawa once since they left for college and all of them had yet to see Oikawa.
Hanamaki felt horrible being so far away from the people he was closest to. He also felt particularly bad about not being able to visit Oikawa yet. Maybe one of these weekends he could make the trip up there. He’d probably have to skip a class or two but Oikawa was definitely worth it. Hanamaki pulled up the calendar app on his phone and started looking for a weekend where he was mostly free. He was surprised to find out that the weekend after the next he was available. Well, available enough to make a trip to Tokyo. Hanamaki made note of his plans to go to Tokyo before opening Skype to message Oikawa. After a few minutes of consideration, he decided against telling Oikawa. It would be a nice surprise.
-
Matsukawa felt his heart flutter in a “Oh my god I’m so fucking in love” way, when he peeked over his textbook and realized that Iwaizumi had fallen asleep. His head was resting on Matsukawa's stomach and his still open textbook laid across his chest. Matsukawa set his book aside for a moment to admire his boyfriend. Matsukawa knew he was damn lucky to live with him in college. Date night was every night, constant kisses and hugs, no parents to interrupt, someone to confide in, and not only was the sex great, but the sex was great. So, Matsukawa didn't have much to complain about, he liked his major and he loved his roommate. So, the only problem was the other two people he was madly in love with were miles away. Despite Iwaizumi's nearly constant presence it felt like something was gone from his life, as if the space around him was a little emptier then it should be.
Matsukawa sighed and laid his textbook across his chest before getting comfortable and closing his eyes. He was half asleep when he felt Iwaizumi get up and drag himself out of the bed. Matsukawa reluctantly opened one eye to see Iwaizumi stretching his arms above his head. His shirt rode up slightly, exposing his toned stomach which was greatly appreciated by Matsukawa.
“Get up,” Iwaizumi grumbled, “If you nap now you’ll be up all night.
Matsukawa groaned in protest but followed his boyfriend’s orders.
“What’re we doing for dinner?” Matsukawa yawned.
“Hmm I’ll probably make something.” Iwaizumi replied.
“Fuck yes.”
Another upside of living with Iwaizumi was his amazing cooking.
-
Iwaizumi regretted not finishing studying before dinner because now he was sleepy and just wanted to go to bed. He was half asleep with his head resting on his hand, trying to keep his eyes open as he stared at his text book. Soon enough he lost his focus and drifted off which resulted in him slamming his head onto his book. Well, that certainly woke him up, still he was too lazy to lift his head. The sound garnered Matsukawa's attention, who was sprawled on their shared bed.
"Babe, it's late, you should really get to bed." Matsukawa prompted.
Iwaizumi sighed, his boyfriend was right.
"Yea ok, you're right, it is late." he yawned.
With another yawn he tiredly crawled into bed. Iwaizumi, much like Matsukawa, liked his college life. Volleyball was comforting familiarity; as a first year he didn't play as much as he was used to but he understood he had to earn his playing time. He also had no qualms about rooming with one of his boyfriends, but It felt odd not having Hanamaki and Oikawa around after their usual presence for the past three years. It felt especially odd not having his best friend living a few houses down. Nevertheless, Iwaizumi, unlike Oikawa, was an optimist. He tried to look at the brighter side of things. For example, they could always Skype and text. There was also Snapchat and Snapchat streaks which Oikawa was very adamant about keeping. As usual Iwaizumi entertained his antics. So, he made sure to keep their streak no matter what.
Iwaizumi let out a sigh before cuddling in closer to Matsukawa, who in turn wrapped his arms tighter around him. Iwaizumi fell asleep thinking of the two people he missed the most.
-
Oikawa was about half way through physical therapy when his phone started blowing up. He looked down at his phone, seeing the Skype notifications pop up. Sighing he flipped over his phone so he wouldn't see the screen light up with each message. His boyfriends would probably be wondering why he wasn't answering. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to them, it was just that they would ask how he was doing and Oikawa was a terrible liar. He wasn't doing horrible; his grades were okay, volleyball was going great and he even made a few friends. However, he still wasn't doing so great in the mental health department, and he had promised to get better. The thing was Oikawa hadn't accounted for how mentally taxing a long-distance relationship would be. He constantly missed his boyfriends. Still, he tried, he rarely self-harmed and he tried to start thinking positively, but his sleeping schedule and eating habits were less then adequate.
Oikawa was pulled from his thoughts by the little 'bringggggg bringggg' sound of a Skype call from his phone. He flipped over his phone and saw his boyfriends were trying for a group call.
Oikawa's fingers hovered over the green "accept call" button before he turned his phone back over. He'd call them later; he couldn't let them see him now. He knew he had dark bags under his eyes and his hair was a mess. He couldn't worry them.
And so Oikawa called his boyfriends back a few hours later with concealer under his eyes and a fake smile. His boyfriends saw right through it.
-
“Good night, I love you guys!” Hanamaki said.
He waited long enough to hear them say “love you too” before he ended the group call with his boyfriends. Immediately afterwards he quickly created a group chat with only Iwaizumi and Matsukawa.
Hanamaki: Yoooo I’m worried about Tooru that was totally a fucking fake smile he was giving us
Iwaizumi: yea, he keeps promising he’s doing better but I think he’s struggling.
Matsukawa: I really want to go see him.
Hanamaki: oh, that reminds me!
Hanamaki: I’m planning on going to visit him in two weeks.
Iwaizumi: Good, I think he needs you there.
Matsukawa: Luckyyyyy were so fucking busy I s2g
Hanamaki: I miss you guys too! I’m gonna try and visit you guys soon too.
Matsukawa: Fuck yess
Iwaizumi: we really miss you too.
Matsukawa: also! Send us a lot of picture of you and tooru so I can live vicariously through your visit
Hanamaki: I gotchu
-
The next week was as mundane as the one before as Oikawa fell into a routine. However, his usual schedule went a bit awry when he came home after class realized that Kuroo’s boyfriend was visiting. Oikawa had met Kenma when he visited Kurro once before. Oikawa liked him, he was quiet and kept to himself for the most part but Oikawa could tell that he was also quite perceptive. His uncannily cat-like eyes seemed to capture even the smallest of details going on around him.
“Hey Kenma-chan!” Oikawa greeted, “Where’s Tetsu-chan?”
“He went to pick up the take out. He got you something too.”
“That was sweet of him,” Oikawa said as he plopped down on the couch next to Kenma.
“How’s being a third year treating you?” Oikawa asked.
“It’s weird not having Kuro around.” Kenma frowned.
“I get where you’re coming from. I miss having my best friend around too.”
Kenma hummed in agreement before getting and letting the blanket on his lap fall to the floor. He walked over to the apartment’s tiny fridge.
“Hey I’m gonna have some juice, do you want anything?” Kenma asked.
“No thank you.” Oikawa responded before glancing over to Kenma. Oikawa’s eyes widened when he realized Kenma was wearing a purple skirt.
“I’m digging the skirt.” Oikawa commented.
“Oh, thank you. Kuroo mentioned you were pretty open-minded.”
“Yeah I’m pretty cool about everything.”
“Oh yeah, I should probably mention I’m agender and I use they pronouns.” Kenma explained, looking at his feet.
“Duly noted!” Oikawa replied with a warm smile.
Although Oikawa kept his cool he was kind of freaking out on the inside. He’d never met another trans person outside of Hanamaki and never someone who identified outside of the binary. He wanted to blurt out that he was the same and find comfort in Kenma. But he kept his mouth shut, still somehow wary of ridicule.
-
The next morning when Oikawa woke up he found Kenma making coffee in the kitchen in one of Kuroo’s shirts, which went down to their mid thigh and knee high socks with really cute kittens on them. Oikawa checked the time and realized Kuroo would still be in class. It looked like it would just be him and Kenma for a while.
“I like your cat socks.” Oikawa complimented as he walked into the kitchen.
Kenma jumped slightly at the sudden noise. “Oh, sorry I don’t have my binder on.” Kenma apologized, going to cover their chest.
“Nah, it’s fine,” Oikawa assured, “you guys are super quiet though, I’m surprised I didn’t get sexiled.” Oikawa said gesturing to the shirt Kenma was wearing.
“Kuro also mentioned you have little self-shame.”
Oikawa chuckled, “You seem to have a lot. You’re awful bashful for a person whose been so open.”
“Oh,” Kenma mumbled looking at their feet, “I’m usually not so open I kinda just passed as a boy throughout high school because I transitioned pretty young, and I didn’t really correct anyone, because I don’t really mind being seen as or called a boy. Kuro has been encouraging me to be more open and to start correcting people on my pronouns.”
“That’s good, one of my best friends is a trans guy, he always says it hurts more to repress yourself then anything anybody can say or do.”
“I think Kuro mentioned him, Hanamaki right?”
“Yep, I’m pretty close with him and two other guys from my volleyball team last year.”
“Iwaizumi and Matsukawa?”
“Wow, I must talk about them a lot.” Oikawa admitted sheepishly.
“I think it’s cute.” Kenma said with a smile.
Oikawa found out he really liked Kenma. Their personality’s were rather different, but Oikawa found Kenma liked a lot of the things he did, and Oikawa didn’t mind Kenma’s quiet nature.
Soon enough the conversation turned to make-up when Oikawa realized Kenma’s painted toenails.
“Do you like make-up and painting nails and all that jazz?” Oikawa asked, pointing to Kenma’s toes.
“Yeah,” Kenma replied wiggling their toes, “but I’m not very good at make-up.”
“You should let me do your make-up!”
Kenma raised an eyebrow, “You know how to do make-up?”
“I had an older sister, she taught me a lot.” Oikawa explained.
“Ok but why did you take it to college?” Kenma questioned, not in a judgmental way but like they were trying to piece something together.
Luckily, Oikawa had an answer for everything. “Makki was my last test subject and I was hoping to find a new one in college.”
“Okay, I guess.” Kenma agreed, shrugging their shoulders.
And so when Kuroo came home he found Oikawa gently applying the last of a dark colored lipstick to Kenma’s mouth. Kuroo stood in the bathroom doorway while Oikawa applied the finishing touches to their face. When Kenma looked up he met Kuroo’s stare. Kenma’s eyes were complimented by a gold eye shadow and framed by the most flawless cat eyeliner Kuroo had ever seen.
“Wow, you look good, Kitten.”
Kenma’s cheeks turned red and they looked to the side to avoid Kuroo’s appreciative gaze. “Tooru said he wanted a face to practice on.” Kenma explained.
“Well I’m glad he chose yours.” Kuroo smirked.
“Oh, Kenma can a send a picture of you into a group chat with Iwa, Mattsun, and Makki?” Oikawa piped in.
Kenma gave a short nod, allowing Oikawa to take a couple of photos.
“Alright, that should do. Thank you Kenma-chan!” Oikawa chirped on his way out of the bathroom, leaving Kenma and Kuroo to themselves.
-
Oikawa: Ya know Kuroos partner Kenma??? They let me do their make up!
Iwaizumi: They?
Oikawa: Kenmas agender! WHICH IS ALSO REALLY COOL BC THEYRE THE FIRST TRANS PERSON IVE MET OUTSIDE OF ‘HIRO!!!
Oikawa: anyway
Oikawa:
[one image attached]
Hanamaki: HOLY SHIT THEY LOOK SO GOOD
Matsukawa: omg they look more like a cat then before
Iwaizumi: Yea, I like the eyeliner.
Oikawa: I like Kenma, they’re pretty cool
Hanamaki: you think you’ll open up to them?
Oikawa: hmmmmm maybe? I feel like they already know somethings up, theyre really observant.
-
When the weekend ended Kenma went back home and Oikawa went back to his regularly scheduled routine. Unfortunately, this routine included a lot of takeout as neither him or Kuroo could cook to save their lives. Volleyball practice was about the only thing keeping them in shape at that point. Still the week dragged on and eventually Friday rolled around.
On this particular Friday night Oikawa settled down on the couch with a bag of popcorn to watch the X-files with Kuroo. Surprisingly, Kuroo also enjoyed the show and Oikawa didn’t have to force him to watch it with like he did with Iwaizumi. About two episodes in there was a knock at their apartment door.
“I got it.” Oikawa said crawling out from under the covers.
Oikawa made his way up to the door and undid the lock before throwing the door open without checking the peephole.
“’HIRO?! What are you doing here?!”
“I’m here to see you, dummy! Now let me in this bag is heavy.”