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The squeaking sounds of sneakers suffocate the noise of tired breaths that fill the court. The San Juan volleyball club is finishing up their last set of their practice match. The score is 22 - 24, game point. Leaping into the air, Oikawa’s jump serve creates a loud clash from the friction of his palm slamming against the ball. He gracefully lands like a leaf fluttering down while on the contrary — the volleyball crashes down hard like a comet almost missing the out of bounds line. A whistle blow from the coach breaks the silence and the small flutter of the score change can be heard, 22-25. Creeping up on Kawa’s face, the small smirk turns into this maniacal giggle while his teammates on this side jump around him in celebration — the latter sighs but shares a bit of a playful laughter.
“Alright, bring it in, everyone."
The team comes together surrounding the coach for their after match assessment.
—
“You guys can disperse now. Make sure you’re resting and keeping yourself up to health. I better not hear anything stupid, I’m looking at you Antonio.” Coach Canapino begins to eye Antonio.
The team all quickly turn to the team’s libero who holds a playful smile. “Haha, don’t look at me like that!”
“Okay now, get out of here all of you. Also make sure to clean up.”
“Yes coach!” is said in complete unison as they begin to start heading over to their bags. The distinct UFO ringtone can be heard coming from one of the duffles on the bench. Oh how the team wonders who would have such a jingle for their phone.
“Hohoho? Who's callin’ you Kawa?” Tomas — San Jose’s captain and outside hitter — says while wrapping his arm around Oikawa’s shoulder.
Oikawa rummages through his bag to find his buzzing phone. When he manages to find the phone, the caller ID reads — My Godzilla♥️. An audible gasp can be made out from Tomas. Now peeking over his shoulder is the intrigued Valentino, a middle blocker. His eyes widen in shock as he glances at the bright screen and a not so discrete laugh leeks from his mouth. The reaction causes more teammates to continue to huddle around the now slightly annoyed Oikawa to see what was so interesting.
“Woah, I thought you were married to volleyball!” Mateo — another middle blocker — snarks, breaking the suspension.
“Well come on,” Liam — a wing spiker — remarks. “Of course the ever so attractive, Oikawa Tooru, has a girlfriend.” The comment has a slight sarcastic undertone and creates a bit of chuckles.
“Don’t flatter me too much. I don’t need it cause I already know how extremely handsome I am.” Kawa pushes back, eyes sharp and darting.
The phone continues to buzz.
“Well, you gonna pick up the phone or what?” Lorenzo — an opposite hitter – proclaims, dying of anticipation.
Oikawa rolls his eyes as he begins to grab his bag. “Obviously I am.” He starts to walk away from the nosey crowd. “Just not near any of you guys!”
Kawa picks up the phone once he deems it to be a good distance. In just a faint noise, the team makes out the words: yahoo, ‘I’ something (presumably the lucky someone’s name), and chan — how cute.
The click of the door signaling Oikawa’s leave creates an uproar in the team.
“Who the fuck calls their girlfriend, ‘Godzilla’?” Antonio confusedly gestures.
“To be fair, it did say ‘His Godzilla’.” Tomas replies back.
“Wow, this has to be the first time Kawa has not babbled about something.” Lorenzo says while looking up to recount his memories.
“Right? Hell, I know all about his rivalry with Poland cause of their one player he had beef with in high school and about his family’s drama but I ain’t ever hear a damn thing about his love life!” Valentino joins in.
“I mean, I guess this girl must really be important if he’s keeping her a secret.” Liam suggests.
Antonio giggles. “Or maybe she’s some crazy lady with anger issues that he has to keep hidden!”
With this little comment begins the start of bantering on who this mysterious woman is.
—
The team — all but Oikawa and a couple others — decide to meet up at their usual bar to create their wild theories.
“Oh, oh! How about this, she’s really ugly but has a good personality and Oikawa wants to keep his 'pretty prefect image' so that’s why he doesn’t bring her around!” The libero remarks as he shows a very poorly drawn stick figure of what he’s imagining.
“Okay first off, that’s rude, Ant.” Mateo asserts. “Secondly, that would explain a lot about the damn ‘Godzilla’ nickname.”
The group snickers and continues to think of more notions.
“Hmm, maybe she’s insanely hot and like Oikawa wants to keep her all to himself.” Lorenzo suggests.
Tomas nods in agreement but Liam shakes his head. “Ain’t no fucking way Kawa would want to hide someone that hot. Like come on, he loooves to show off.”
Valentino chirps in, “Hey what if he’s the possessive jealous type?”
“Could definitely see that.” Tomas concurs.
As the night progresses, so do the theories.
“Okay listen, you're going to have to really hear me out on this. You know how Kawa’s an alien fanatic? Well surprise, surprise, he’s fucking an alien, guys.” Liam blurts as he definitely has had too much to drink.
The table claps at how ridiculous the idea is and toasts another shot.
“Maybe she’s a felon who's banned in South America and that's why she hasn’t come to visit?” Antonio proposes.
“What if that was his mom calling!” Valentino blurts out.
This sends the group into a hysterical sea of laughter causing them to get eyes from the table over.
“Nah, he would’ve said something about that already and he wouldn’t have been so suspicious over something so small.” Lorenzo shares.
“How do you think they met?” Tomas asks, sending the team into a spiral of conjuring new absurd ideas.
Mateo is the first to come up with something. “Alllrightt soo,” his words are starting to slur. “Chilldhood friendsss who haave been attachedd thheir whooole life and likee uhh theeyy have shomee stoopid bot cute waaay of confussingg tooo onee anoter!” (Reference to OMG! It’s a UFO!)
The squad goes silent but their small snickers turn into roaring hyena cackling.
“No way it would be that simple!” Valentino shouts. “Hears what I’m thinking. They met online like Discord or something talking about aliens or volleyball or some shit, and he got catfished and he’s too ashamed to admit it so caved and decided to date her!”
“Pfft, I don’t think Oikawa is that stupid. Plus, didn’t he say he was a charmer back in high school? He’s probably turned down tons of girls with ease!” Liam chimes in.
“Sine you mentioned it,” Lorenzo adds, “What if this is just a side bitch he has! Like leaning into the whole player idea, cause he sure is still popular with the ladies over here.”
This earns a chuckle from Tomas and also Mateo — who was chugging a beer almost causing it to come out of his nostrils. This sends the table into a fit of giggles again.
“You guys know how Kawa can really drive the ball into the ground but not a car for the life of him? What if he committed a hit and run but like romantically?" Antonio says.
“Dude, what’s romantic about a fucking hit and run? Also, what's with your obsession with criminals?” Valentino exclaims with a confused and dramaticly disgusted face.
“He’s probably been watching too much damn television.” Tomas says.
“Okay, shut up guys. Like picture this: Oikawa hits this bae with his car and he’s like ‘Oh no! How ever shall I repay you!?’ and she’s like ‘By taking me on a date, wink, wink.’, cause you know Oikawa seduced her with his flirty personality.”
The group all glare at Antonio with repulsed expressions. Tomas face palms and sighs at the sheer stupidity of what the libero just uttered.
Lorenzo scratches his chin. “Oh, you know how Oikawa likes watching live streams and is super good at rage baiting? What if he pissed off the streamer so much that she low key became down bad for him.”
“Wait, back to the Kawa committing silly crimes, imagine he was getting mugged by some chick and they get into a fight causing them to spend a night in jail together? Like isn't that kinda cute? The 'Oh no! Were stuck in the same room together!' trope.” Valentino proposes.
“Ha! Look who likes my idea of Oikawa being a felon!” Antonino barks.
“At this point, you guys are just writing fan-fics about Oikawa!” Liam says while rolling his eyes. The group then all stares forward, looking at you, the reader.
—
The playful banter continues on till midnight with very few people left at the bar.
“Let’s see, maybe they met on a dating app?” Tomas suggests as he pats Mateo, the light weight, on the back as he’s already passed out.
“You think he's more of a Hinge or Tinder type of guy, haha?” Lorenzo questions with a chuckle.
“Hey! Maybe, hiccup!, Grinder!” Antonio expresses which causes the group to go silent.
“Wait, dude, I think you're on to something right now.” Valentino states.
“Orrr, on something, lol!” Liam declares, creating some cackles. “But on a serious note, you could totally be right.”
Those who were conscious enough to think begin to ponder back at receipts to find any clues for their suspicion to be true. Just as the group has finally gone quiet, a jingle from the door signals that someone has just entered.
“One glass of whiskey, please.” The mysterious man politely asks in English.
“Coming right up, sir.” Responds the bartender.
The man is looking around when he spots the group of athletes and walks up to them.
“Are you guys players on the Club Atletico San Juan team?”
The teammates break out of their trance and look up at the man speaking English to them. The guy has broad shoulders, spikey hair, and a tan. His face is stern and scary, kind of like a statue; yet, his eyes contain a kind and genuine glow.
Mateo opens his eyes and glances up at the new person standing in front of him. “Godzilla?” he murmurs.
“Oh god! We are so sorry about him!” Tomas profusely apologizes. “He’s very, very wasted right now.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“To answer your question, yes we are.” Liam replies.
“I see.”
“A fan I’m guessing?” Antonio says with a cocky smirk while stroking his chin.
“Um, not exactly?” The man looks around the faces, seemingly trying to find someone. “Just curious I guess, since I recognized you guys.”
Lorenzo gestures for the male to sit down with them but he denies so Lorenzo just shrugs it off. “So what brings you to Argentina, dude?”
“Just here to surprise visit someone.”
“Wow, lucky girl is she?” Antonino chirps in.
“Umm, sure.” The guy becomes awkward at the remark.
In order to lighten up the mood, Valentino asks, “So, you a volleyball fan I’m guessing?”
“Yeah, I’m actually in my last year of studying to become an athletic trainer, specifically for volleyball.”
“Woah!! That’s sick, man. Maybe when you finish up you should come over here and work for our team!” Liam suggests.
This comment brings a slight tug to the spikey haired man’s mouth.
“Yeah, I’ll try to.”
“Sir, your order is ready!” The bartender calls out.
“Well then, that’s my cue.” He begins to walk away but before he can continue, he turns back around. “By any chance, could I come watch one of your guys' practices? Only if you guys don’t mind.”
The team is put in a state of shock but are flattered none the less.
“Yeah, of course, man.” Tomas grins while shaking the latter’s hand. He grabs a napkin and a pen to write down the gym’s address. “Maybe you can help take care of us after our practice, haha! Get a little hands on experience!”
“Oh! Oh! Especially our setter, Oikawa Tooru! Well, I’m guessing you already know him.” Lorenzo snickers.
With a very prominent but small smile, the man replies, “Of course I do.” and continues to walk away.
Once he disappeared from view, Antonino leans in and whispers, “I knew it! He is a fan!”
—
The next day at practice, the bar group is dragging themselves into the gym. Groggy, tired, and definitely in need of some hangover soup. They head over to the benches to start putting on their sneakers and paddings. Oikawa is taping up his knee when he notices his teammates and waves them down with a very sly, cunning smirk.
“Seems like you all were partying too hard last night!” He says playfully. “Coach is gonna be mad at you guys~”
“Whatever!” Antonio hollers, rolling his eyes and puffing his cheeks.
“Start huddling up!” yells their vice-captain, Benjamin, who is apparently more responsible than the actual captain.
—
The team is practicing their receives when Lorenzo hears the upper door opening. He looks up into the seating area to see once again the mysterious spikey haired man. He elbows Valentino to show him.
“Yo, ain’t that the guy we met at the bar last night?”
“Yeah, surprised he actually showed up.” Valentino states before going back to bumping.
Antonio joins in after spotting the guy. “I called it! He must be like a super fan!” He turns to face Mateo. “You owe me 5 bucks after practice!"
“Hey! Stop trying to scam Mateo, you guys never made a bet.” Liam chimes.
BAM!
The group turns around to see Oikawa on the floor. Face flushed red and a bright circle made from the impact of the volleyball.
“Jesus! Are you alright, Kawa?” Tomas rushes over.
“I- um, yeah! Just got a little distracted…” Oikawa replies. Then a slight giggle and snarky remark made in Japanese can be overheard from the top of the gym.
“S-shut up Iwa-Chan!” Oikawa shrieks back in Japanese now in an even darker shade of burgundy. The team looks up to the man above who is still laughing.
“Wait a minute…” Antonio murmurs to himself. “Iwa-chan…” Then it clicked.
“OMG! IS THAT MYSTERIOUS MAN YOUR BOYFRIEND!?!” Antonio yells, eyes wide.
Oikawa and the man now are both furiously blushing. The man is unable to continue looking down at the team and Oikawa is still lying down on the floor covering his face with his hands. A small whisper finally comes out from Oikawa, “Yeah…”
And the crowd goes wild.
The coach looks up into the stands and calls the guy down.
—
“Everyone, this is my boyfriend, meet Iwaizumi Hajime.” Oikawa professes while holding hands with Iwa.
The team starts to cheer again.
“Did you play volleyball back in high school?” Yells out Liam.
“Yeah, back in high school I was our team’s ace.” Iwaizumi answers.
“Well, why don’t you join us for the rest of practice?" Tomas suggests. “You wouldn’t mind, coach, right?” He turns over to face Canapino.
“The more the merrier.” Coach Canapino announces. “This is also good to see you working and playing against someone new. Team up everyone!”
—
It's been so long since Oikawa and Iwaizumi had last played together but their spark hadn’t faded. Even though Iwa hasn’t played in a hot moment and it took a little to adjust, he slides right in once he receives Kawa’s set. It's like puzzle pieces coming back together.
“Shit, I would’ve hated playing against them in high school.” Mateo comments to Valentino who nods in agreement.
—
“Great practice everyone! It was nice changing things up with a new player so thank you Iwaizumi. I don’t have much else to say today so rest up for our next practice on Monday. Don’t go crazy since it’s the weekend.” The coach looks at a certain group. “And yes I could tell you guys went hard yesterday.”
The team laughs leaving the bar crew a tad bit flushed. After a quick team chant, they disperse.
“Soooo, mister Iwa-Chan,” Antonio says playfully.
“Hey! Only I get to call him that!” Oikawa turns around to pout and stick his tongue out.
“Alright, alright, so Iwa, we have tons of questions for you. You should come to the bar with us tonight.”
“Mmm, dunno.” Iwaizumi replies, wanting to just be with Oikawa.
“Drinks are on Antonio!” yells Liam as he runs past the three.
“Well, I mean if it’s on Ant, I guess we have to go now Iwa-Chan!” Oikawa sheepishly snarks.
“WAIT NO!”