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Hajime didn’t get it. He’s known Tooru for practically the entirety of his life, or at least the parts that mattered, and dated him for 5. So why doesn’t he call him Hajime?
“Yo, now that you two are officially getting hitched, which name are you taking?” Hanamaki asked.
“Hey, they might try and hyphenate it.” Sugawara, their wedding planner, jutted in. It was wedding planning and with Tooru only physically being here for the next 3 months, the team had to figure out all concrete details, get them married, and make it to their honeymoon before Tooru’s across the ocean again.
“Actually, I don’t think we’ve discussed that,” Tooru said, eyes widening in realization. “Iwa-chan, what should we do?”
There it goes. Hajime didn’t hate the nickname, far from it. It was a reminder of their childhood and a symbol of how long they’ve known each other or something, but would it kill him to call him Hajime every once and a while? Hell, they were about to get married!
“If you take his name then you’d be an Iwa-chan too,” Mattsun said, calmly sipping his tea.
Hajime watched Tooru’s face. He could see that dumbasses cogs turn. Oh god, he’s going to say something dumb.
“I become Iwa-chan? How the hell do you want to make that happen?”
The group sat in silence at what the Argentinian setter said. “Ummm.” Suga began, “By marrying him?”
Tooru looked at Suga slowly blinking to himself. “Oh. Wait right sorry!” He let out a little laugh. “I must still be tired from the flight over.” Everyone relaxed a bit but Hajime knew that Tooru was hiding something.
“Anyway, honestly what are you doing to do?” Suga asked.
“Iwa-chan, what do you think? Oikawa Hajime or Iwaizumi Tooru?”
Hajime sighed, moving away from his questions on the name Iwa-chan. Honestly, Tooru was wrong about one thing. Hajime was ready to take the Oikawa name. Had been since he was 18.
“Oikawa Hajime sounds nicer.”
------
That was last week and Tooru’s comment was still bothering him. Become Iwa-chan? Marry him and take his name? Though it seemed pretty clear that Hajime would in fact be the end of the Iwaizumi family name.
He turned to the sleeping form of his fiance. Fiance. It still sounded so weird. Felt weird. So much of Hajime’s life he had firmly placed himself in the friendzone. Refusing to let his true feelings shine. Now he was going to marry the man. He should have known. Oikawa Tooru was an unstoppable force.
Hajime smiled at him, an impossibly lovesick thing. He wouldn’t show it in front of Tooru, wouldn’t matter if he did, that idiot knew anyway. Times like these were when the distance hit the hardest. The months, weeks, even days that Hajime could immerse himself in Tooru’s scent. In his warmth. When he could turn to the other and he would be there . But Hajime didn’t regret it. Never. Because despite what people would say, Tooru was Hajime’s forever and Hajime was Tooru’s.
“I know I’m beautiful Iwa-chan, but staring at me while I’m asleep is a little creepy, don’t you think?”
Tooru’s voice broke through Hajime’s love-addled mind. And a frown followed soon after. That damn nickname. It never goes away.
“Iwa-chan?” Tooru called, eyes still closed. He always took longer to fully wake up. “Are you okay?”
“Fine, ‘kawa.”
“No, you’re not.” Tooru pushed his body up into a seating position. “You haven’t called me ‘kawa in months.”
And all you do is call me Iwa-chan.
“It’s nothing. What do you want for breakfast?”
“Iwa-chan’s being hospitable and changing the subject? You’re not telling me something.”
Hajime cursed at himself. It was something everyone, even he himself, forgot. For however much Hajime knew of Tooru, Tooru knew of him. And Hajime was predictable. From how his hair would be styled to the packs of milkbread that were in his pantry without fail.
“I’m always hospitable dumbass.” Tooru didn’t react to his comment. He would wait until Hajime said something. And Hajime really didn’t want to say this. The silence stretched before them. Hajime’s head managed to find its way to Tooru’s lap where the latter was gently combing through it, humming a little song as he did.
“You know you can tell me anything right? I won’t judge you. If it’s about the wedding or if-”
“Stop. God Tooru, it’s not the wedding. I want to marry you just as much, if not more, as the day you asked. I just-” Hajime frowned. How the hell was he supposed to ask Tooru this?
“Oh thank god. I really, really didn’t want to get yelled at.”
“Who’s going to be yelling at you?”
“My mother.” Hajime chuckled at that. Oikawa Aimi was a terrifying woman. The sweetest you’ll meet but Hajime has been on the receiving end of many lectures to know exactly how scary she could be.
“Iwa-chan,” Tooru began, Hajime’s face immediately scrunched up, “Is that it? Is it your name? Wait are you mad that I didn’t really think about last names? Because I completely forgot about that and didn’t know that we could change our names.”
“We’re getting our certificate in Argentina, smart one. We can change our name if we want. It’s just a partnership certificate here.” Hajime sighed, face frowning a tad. The wedding was more of decoration than everything. It was for their family and friends but their honeymoon, with its pitstop to San Juan’s courthouse, was where the fancy legal work came from. “I’m not mad about that. I didn’t even think much about it until Suga pointed it out.”
“Could have fooled me. You seemed confident with Oikawa Hajime.” Tooru’s voice took a different lilt. The teasing was coming. “Have you been thinking about this a lot Iwa-chan?”
“Maybe,” Hajime said simply. “Breakfast? Well, brunch actually.”
“Iwa-chan still hasn’t told me the problem but I’m hungry.”
Hajime was annoyed. No matter the moment, Tooru never called him Hajime. It was annoying. It had been 13 months since Tooru proposed and that was the last time Hajime made its way from Tooru’s lips.
“Why do you call me Iwa-chan?”
Both men paused at what Hajime just said. Hajime himself wasn’t expecting it but it was out there and he couldn’t very well take it back.
“What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean. After all these years, I think you’ve called me Hajime 3 times.” Hajime turned t look at his fiance. Right now he needed an answer. Anything to calm his thoughts.
“Because that’s who you are,” Tooru said simply.
“What?” Hajime was thoroughly confused. “Iwaizumi is my family name.”
“No not your family name. Iwa-chan is you.” Tooru cut him off more insistent this time. “Give me a second.”
Tooru turned to get his phone. A few seconds later, Tooru turned the phone towards Hajime. It was a video of little Tooru, a gap in his teeth.
“Are you going to tell Hajime-kun about your tooth falling out?” Tooru’s mother asked from behind her camera.
“Yep! Iwa-chan’s got to be so jealous.” Tooru exclaimed.
“Dumbass.” Present-day Hajime snorted.
“You know if you keep calling him Iwa-chan, someone’s going to think that you two are dating.” Oikawa Aiko, Tooru’s sister said from outside the frame.
“If only they knew,” Tooru said, looking down at his ring.
“Dating?” little Tooru’s head tilted a little. He was confused. Adult Tooru was the same way.
“Yeah. You know being with Iwaizumi-kun romantically. Going on dates, holding hands, kissing.” Aiko teased.
“Being with Iwa-chan forever?” Tooru questioned.
“You could.”
“Oh, that would be adorable. I’d love Hajime-kun as another son.” Oikawa’s mother said.
“You mean you’d love for Kana to be your sister in law.” Oikawa’s father said, coming in frame with his coffee. Probably half cream with a ton of sugar.
“Oh hush you. You act like you and Takumi-kun won’t be giddy too.”
Well, she wasn’t wrong. Even all these years later, both their fathers were insanely happy over their engagements. Last Hajime heard, they were planning an official father-in-laws fishing trip.
“I’d like that.” Little Tooru said. “I’d like to spend forever with Iwa-chan.”
The video ended after Tooru’s statement. Hajime was shocked, to say the least. He never knew Tooru wanted to spend his life with him at 4 years old. A little smile graced Hajime’s lips. Even then, they were one of the same. Hajime asking for the same when Tooru had gotten sick and he wasn’t able to visit him. Though it was adorable, that didn’t mean that Hajime understood why Tooru still called him Iwa-chan. And he told him as such.
“Iwa-chan was what I called you when we first became friends. It was the name I called you when I told my parents I wanted to marry you. Spend forever with you. For you.” Tooru began. Hajime felt a stinging in the back of his eyes.
“Iwa-chan was there through elementary. Through middle school and high school. Through every win and loss. Whenever I felt like I wasn’t good enough. When I almost gave up on volleyball-” Tooru paused. Hajime reached out and grabbed Tooru’s hand. Any measure of comfort was enough. “Iwa-chan was what I called you when I fell in love. And it doesn’t make much sense but Iwa-chan isn’t a nickname. Not anymore.” Tooru looked at Hajime.
“Iwa-chan is kind. He cares even when it doesn’t seem like it. Iwa-chan asks for cuddles constantly because he’s always cold and wants to warm up. Iwa-chan loves Godzilla and will spend hours talking about that dinosaur.”
“It’s not a dinosaur,” Hajime said weakly, voice cracking as the urge to cry was stronger.
Tooru laughed, eyes shining. “Iwa-chan is the first to lend me a hand and the first to believe in me. He is my favorite memory and my reason for everything. Iwa-chan is the first gift I gave you. Iwa-chan is love.” Tooru said with finality.
“Iwaizumi is a family name.”
“And Hajime?”
“Hajime is for when I make you an Oikawa.” Tooru teased a little.
And Hajime laughed. A full-body thing. Tears falling and clutching his stomach weakly, barely staying on the bed. Tooru joined him soon after and Hajime realized something.
Nicknames, no matter how absurd, were what made a person. Especially when they came from someone like Oikawa Tooru.