Work Text:
Oikawa didn’t remember a time he didn’t have Iwaizumi. He had always known the darker-haired boy. Always. In the further precipices of his memory, he remembered the boy who lived next door, who he would see at the playground on his own just like Oikawa. The boy he one day plucked up the courage to ask to play with him and thus began a friendship that lasted eternity.
He saw Iwaizumi every day. It was weird going a day without seeing his best friend, because his chest would clench up in a weird sort of way and he felt like he was drowning a little but his mother just said he was being dramatic. Maybe he was. He didn’t really know. Iwaizumi was the first friend he ever made, and he would remain his only friend until high school.
Then came volleyball.
It was originally something Oikawa’s mother put him on as a way to get out all the energy he had and because she thought doing a sport would be good for him in the future, make him more well-rounded. A young Oikawa Tooru had no idea what hardships and achievements this sport would bring him but he, like with everything, dove into it headfirst.
The second he learned what a setter could do, he knew that was his role in the team. It helped that once Iwaizumi joined him, he took on a spiker’s position like a duck to water, hitting every ball Oikawa sent his way. They worked well, seamlessly, and fluidly and Oikawa felt a warmth in his chest at every successful point they garnered for their team.
Middle school saw them with only one opposition, Shiratorizawa and that despicable Ushijima Wakatoshi (he wasn’t really that bad, he was just very blunt, and Oikawa didn’t like the things he said).
“You should join the Shiratorizawa team in high school,” Ushijima said to Oikawa after a game in their third year of Middle School. “You’ll find better spikers and we could benefit from a setter like you.”
“Are you saying there’s something wrong with the spiker’s I have right now?” Oikawa asked through gritted teeth, fists clenched by his sides and his nails digging into his palms.
“You can do better.” Was all the taller boy said before turning and leaving.
“Fuck you.” Oikawa scoffed.
“What’d he do?” Iwaizumi asked, coming up to him and frowning when he saw Oikawa’s clenched fists, grabbing his hands and forcing them open. “Tooru.”
“He asked me to come to Shiratorizawa.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?”
“I’m not going.”
“Why not?” No response. “If it’s because I’m going to Aoba –”
“It’s not.” Oikawa said. It partly was, he thought. “He said I could do better than the spiker’s I have right now. I don’t want to play with someone who brings down the people on my team.”
Iwaizumi didn’t question it after. He never did, even in the future when people asked why Oikawa never joined Shiratorizawa when he got an official invitation too, when people joked about Oikawa missing out on an opportunity like that, he stayed quiet. Because he knew the truth, he was maybe the only person who did.
Oikawa cared very deeply about everything, about his friends and about volleyball, so it was only natural he would get so affected by the prodigy who went by the name of Kageyama Tobio. The young dark-haired boy joined their team when they were in their final year and he took them all by storm. He was a phenomenal setter.
The older setter felt threatened, and he dealt with it in the best way he could, by throwing himself into volleyball and overworking himself so much that Iwaizumi had to drag him from the gym on occasion.
“Why do you do this to yourself?” Iwaizumi asked one night after he pulled Oikawa away from the court and to the changing room, ignoring his best friends protests.
“Do what?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Tooru,” Iwaizumi said sharply and he saw the moment Oikawa flinched. “Sorry, sorry… didn’t mean to snap.”
“’S fine.”
“It’s clearly not,” Iwaizumi sighed, sitting beside Oikawa, and nudging his shoulder. “What’s wrong? You know you can talk to me.”
“I’m… I’m not good enough. I feel stagnant, and – and Tobio-chan comes in and he’s a prodigy and he’s so young and he’ll keep getting better but I can’t – I can’t, Hajime –”
“Fuck, Tooru.” Iwaizumi swore, turning to wrap his arms around Oikawa, cupping the back of his head and guiding it down to his shoulder. “You know all of that applies to you too, right? You’re also young and you’ll keep getting better too.”
“But if we both keep getting better, he’s already better so –”
“Shut up, Shittykawa,” Iwaizumi tapped the back of Oikawa’s head gently. “You can’t listen to your brain when it tells you all of these bad things.
“Yeah well…” Oikawa muttered. “Easier said than done.”
“Dumbass. You’re a good setter, you’re my setter,” Iwaizumi insisted. “I’m the ones who hits your sets, not you, not Kageyama. I’m the judge of whether they’re good or not. So when I tell you they’re good, what does that mean?”
“That they’re good?” Oikawa murmured quietly into the Iwaizumi’s neck.
“I said, what does that mean?”
“That they’re good!”
“Exactly.”
“Thank you, Iwa-chan.”
“Whatever, idiot.”
Iwaizumi proceeded to drag Oikawa back to his place after stopping at a konbini on the way back to grab a popsicle and split it for them to share as they walked back. Then, Iwaizumi’s mother ordered them pizza for dinner and they watched Oikawa’s favourite movie, and Iwaizumi sat through all of his best friends comments and ramblings, a warm feeling in his chest because he knew Oikawa would be okay.
They ended up at the same high school; Aoba Johsai. And Oikawa thrived.
He made friends, they both did. Hanamaki and Matsukawa, or as Oikawa had affectionately dubbed them; Makki and Mattsun. Proper friends who both played volleyball too, Matsukawa being a middle blocker and Hanamaki a wing spiker just like Hajime.
Then, Oikawa was made captain.
He cried.
Iwaizumi vividly recalled scoffing fondly before he wrapped him in a hug, patting his back. “You deserve it, you know that right? None of this self-deprecating bullshit I know you like to spout.”
“Hajime.”
The spiker revelled in every Hajime he heard from Oikawa, knowing they were used sparingly nowadays. Neither of them liked to use their first names at school, opting for Iwa-chan and whatever combination of Oikawa’s surname and curse word Iwaizumi was feeling that day. Their first names were for them and them only, a precious commodity Iwaizumi cradled close to his chest.
“You’ll be my Vice Captain, won’t you?” Oikawa asked, his tone cautious like he expected Iwaizumi to say no but Iwaizumi was never one to deny Oikawa something, especially not when he asked like that.
“’Course I will.”
They were only at the end of their second year at that point, when the mantle was passed to Oikawa, and it was around then that Oikawa was injured. Iwaizumi would never forget the panic that gripped his heart and the cold feeling that washed over his body when he heard a strangled gasp and turned to see the setter collapsed on the floor of the court. Oikawa was bent over at the waist, his forehead pressed to the floor and his hands clenched, eyes squeezed shut.
“Tooru!” Iwaizumi called in alarm, abandoning his position, and rushing over, hearing the ball fall to the floor and their teammates follow, crowding around Oikawa.
“Hajime –” Oikawa choked, searching blindly for something and the darker-haired boy slotted his hand into his, letting Oikawa squeeze it. “Hurts.”
“Coach is calling his mother!” Someone called and Iwaizumi felt some of the tension ease, dropping his other hand to the back of Oikawa’s neck.
“Hear that? Auntie’s on her way. She’ll get you to the hospital.”
“Come with me.” Oikawa lifted his head, opening his eyes wildly, pleadingly.
“Okay,” Iwaizumi breathed. “I’ll come with you.”
When Oikawa’s mother showed up, Iwaizumi looped his arm around the injured boy and lifted him, muscles straining as he half-carried him to his mother’s car, shouting behind to the team that he would keep them updated.
The diagnosis was that Oikawa had ripped something he shouldn’t have ripped. Iwaizumi didn’t really understand all the medical jargon but he knew it wasn’t good, and that Oikawa should stay off his knee for a while and not play volleyball until it healed. He also knew there was a risk of it happening again, which didn’t bode well for someone known for overworking themselves.
“Fuck,” Oikawa laughed bitterly when his mother closed the door to his bedroom, leaving him and Iwaizumi alone. “Fuck!” He cursed again, pressing the palms of his hands to his eyes as tears slipped down his cheeks.
“Tooru…”
“I hate this, I hate this so much. Why me?” Oikawa warbled, looking up and giving Iwaizumi a pleading look, begging him to find reasoning to the cruel hand fate had dealt him. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes glimmered with tearsm and Iwaizumi found him devastatingly beautiful.
“I don’t know. I don’t know, Tooru,” Iwaizumi’s lips were downturned. “I’m sorry.”
“I hate this,” He repeated, falling to his side on the bed and curling up. His head was pressed to the side of Iwaizumi’s thigh and he closed his eyes. “I hate this.”
“I know,” Iwaizumi whispered, carding through light brown locks with slightly shaky hands. “I know.”
But Oikawa got better, he even got his spark back playing against Kageyama and even winning in the semi-finals deciding the representative for Miyagi Prefecture for the Interhigh. But then came the finals.
And with them, a crushing defeat against Shiratorizawa and another jab from Ushijima to Oikawa for not joining him.
“We still have a chance,” Iwaizumi reminded him in the changing room. “I know third years usually retire after the Interhigh but –”
“We can’t,” Oikawa cut him off. “Ushijima isn’t either.”
“We won’t let that brute beat us again.” Hanamaki nodded.
“We’re all staying on then?” Matsukawa asked, getting nods of agreement from the other three third years.
hajime 🦎
[image: a blurry image of Oikawa posing beside a bowing Kageyama]
😗✌️
…
why
why NOT
he came to me
i just took advantage of it :D
ur so stupid
D:
Read 3:16 pm
They didn’t beat Shiratorizawa in the Spring Tournament. They didn’t even make it to the finals, actually. They lost to Karasuno, the same match they had won months prior, they lost this time. Their last chance to go to Nationals ever, and it was gone. They all lined up after the match to bow to their supporters, tears dripping down flushed cheeks and expressions contorted in a mixture of sadness, frustration, and mild anger.
“That was our last chance.” Oikawa said, sounding haunted. He was already out of his uniform, sat on the bench in the changing room with his elbows braced on his knees and his face buried in his hands, words coming out muffled as a result.
“For Nationals, yeah. But we still have so many chances for other stuff, you know that right?” Iwaizumi frowned, pulling his shirt down over his head. It was just them left, Hanamaki and Matsukawa having left not too long ago.
“I wanted to beat Ushijima.” Oikawa admitted, sounding choked.
“Dumbass. Don’t place your self worth on something that small.” Iwaizumi scoffed, cuffing the back of the other boy’s head.
“Ow.” Oikawa pouted.
“That get the stupid out of you?”
“Iwa-chan!” Came the dramatic gasp.
“Get out of your head, we have exams to study for. There’s no time for you to be depressing and angsty.”
Oikawa decided.
He was going to do it. He was going to tell Iwaizumi how he felt after graduation. He wouldn’t be able to leave for Argentina if he didn’t, it would haunt him. And so, after all of their parents took their pictures (individual, pair, and group pictures with Hanamaki and Matsukawa), Oikawa linked his arm with Iwaizumi’s and tugged him away to a quiet place.
“You’ve been quiet today.” Iwaizumi noticed.
“Got a lot on my mind.” Oikawa sighed, sitting down on a bench heavily, watching Iwaizumi sit beside him.
“About Argentina?” Oikawa responded with a so-and-so gesture with his hand. “Then?”
“Just… about you I guess.”
“Me?” Iwaizumi’s eyes widened slightly. “We’ve never been apart for long or at that distance.”
“Yeah,” Oikawa frowned, arms crossed over his chest and a glum expression on his face. “It’s… weird. Different. Really different.”
“We’ll still see each other, and text and call all the time.”
“It’s not the same, you know that.”
“I know. But… it’s what we decided. You wanted to go pro and I wanted to study and neither of us wanted to do it in Japan.”
“Yeah,” Oikawa huffed. “I’ll miss you, you know? A lot.”
“I’ll miss you too, dumbass. I better not get a text from you telling me you’re in the hospital for fucking overworking yourself, got it?”
“Yes sir, Iwa-chan, sir.”
They sat there in silence for a while, Oikawa trying to find the words and pluck up the courage to speak them to Iwaizumi, to tell him how much he meant to him. They were on the tip of his tongue but every time he wanted to speak, he gulped them down and they were stuck in his throat once more, an ache he couldn’t get rid of.
“Why’d you bring me here?” Iwaizumi asked, breaking Oikawa out of his stupor. “You could have said everything you just said back there. So why here?”
“I was getting to that,” Oikawa sulked. “We’re not all brave like you, Hajime.” He stuck his tongue out, earning a fond eyeroll.
“You’re an idiot.”
“Yeah well, maybe I’m more of an idiot for falling in love with my best friend and telling him before we’re both set to leave to different parts of the world.” Oikawa blurted out, averting his gaze to his clasped hands, knuckles white. He heard a sharp exhale from Iwaizumi and held his own breath, going stock-still.
“Are you serious?” Iwaizumi’s voice was soft; softer than Oikawa had ever heard it.
“Mhm. As a heart attack!” He joked weakly.
“Stupid,” Iwaizumi scoffed lightly. “And you’re right, you are stupid for waiting to tell me. Was it because you were worried it would go wrong and you’d have an out?”
“You know me too well.” Oikawa muttered, still vehemently refusing to move his gaze away from his fingers, scanning every little scar and callus he had accumulated over the years.
“Not well enough if I didn’t pick up on this. And clearly you don’t know me well enough either if you thought this would go wrong.” Iwaizumi said casually and Oikawa’s head shot up, whipping to the side, wide-eyed.
“What?”
“Tooru,” Iwaizumi gave him a look. “We’re both really stupid, aren’t we?”
“I’m kind of confused right now.” Oikawa breathed.
“Idiot.” Iwaizumi scoffed, cupping his face with one hand, and tugging him closer to press their lips together. Oikawa still tasted like the orange candy he’d popped in his mouth during the graduation ceremony, just faint traces of citrus remaining.
fantastic four
how does it feel to be single
@makki
@mattsun
😝
makki
🧍♂️
mattsun
what
hajime 🦎
tooru 💀
I WOULDN’T KNOW
BECAUSE
I HAVE A BOYFRIEND
GUESS WHO IT IS
IT’S IWAIZUMI HAJIME
LOLLLLLLL
makki
didn’t even let us guess
mattsun
who tf else would it be
Oikawa was the first one to leave, and Iwaizumi went to the airport with him and his family. He said goodbye to his parents and his older sister by the car and let Iwaizumi walk him into the airport. The darker-haired boy waited while Oikawa checked in and got his boarding pass and then it was time.
“What if I just don’t go?” Oikawa whispered.
“Yeah right,” Iwaizumi snorted. “Don’t be stupid, you have an opportunity here. Don’t throw it all away.”
“I’ll miss you.” Oikawa frowned.
“I know,” Iwaizumi sighed deeply, reaching out without warning, and tugging Oikawa towards him to wrap his arms around the taller tightly. “Me too.”
“Hajime.” Oikawa whined, hugging him back just as tightly, his voice muffled through the fabric of Iwaizumi’s jacket. “You’re making it harder to leave.”
“Sorry.” He didn’t sound very sorry.
“I’ll message you tons and call you every day and –”
“And we’ll have a facetime date every weekend,” Iwaizumi nodded against Oikawa’s cheek, revelling in the warmth radiating from him. “Yeah. We can do this.”
“We can do this.”
They did do it, although it was one of the hardest things for both of them to ever do. Loving someone when you were approximately 5,549 kilometres apart was not easy. At least there was only a four hour time difference between them. But they made it work.
There were times when one of them would be too tired to call, or had something come up and of course they argued, but someone always apologised and things sorted themselves out, because when you were in love, nothing was more important than each other, especially not the petty little arguments caused by stress, lack of sleep and frustration at not being able to see each other.
The rare moments they did get to see each other during breaks were savoured. And occasionally, Oikawa got time off from the team and he would alternate between going back to Japan to see his family or California to see Iwaizumi.
It got easier when Iwaizumi graduated and got a job working with Japan’s Men’s Volleyball team as an athletic trainer because he wasn’t bound by a strict university schedule anymore. Tooru was also much more secure in his position in the team, and in the process of becoming an Argentinian citizen.
hajime 🦎 💚
[image: selfie of Hinata and Oikawa in Rio]
is that
karasuno’s #10
YES
we’re playing beach volleyball
[video: someone is filming Oikawa as he goes to do a jump serve on the sand but, unused to the sand, he slips and face plants. The camera shakes and flips to show a laughing Hinata who waves and says “Hi, Iwaizumi-san! Hope you’re doing good!”.
Oikawa screeches in the background, “DON’T SEND THAT TO IWA-CHAN!”]
LMAOOO
tell him thank u for the wonderful video
betrayal of the highest degree
from both of u
i cannot believe this
D:
iwaizumi-san (seijoh’s ace!)
iwaizumi-san!
it’s hinata shoyo
i stole ur number from oikawa-san’s phone
i needed to send u these pics of him
[image: Oikawa sitting on the sand, his face covered in it, looking dumbfounded]
[image: Oikawa face-down in the sand]
[video: Oikawa falling but in slow motion]
[image: selfie of Hinata and Oikawa, beaming, red-cheeked and clinking bottles of beer]
THANK U EVER SO MUCH
🫡🫡
THE GREAT KING™️ 🛸 ✓ @OikawaT_SJ
trip to brazil ended up with me meeting an old rival
{we’re besties now btw)
[image: selfie of Hinata and Oikawa]
[tagged: @NinjaShoyo]
💬 🔁 ❤️
↳ Tobio ✓ @Kageyama_SWDN
Replying to @OikawaT_SJ
What is this.
↳ THE GREAT KING™️ 🛸 ✓ @OikawaT_SJ
Replying to @Kageyama_SWDN
😝😝✌️
↳ SHOYO! ☀️ ✓ @NinjaShoyo
Replying to @OikawaT_SJ
:D :D :D !!!!
“You know, when we see each other, we won’t be on the same team.”
“First time ever, hm?”
“Yeah, it’s kind of weird.”
“My team will win, by the way.”
“No way! I’m winning.”
“We’ll see about that.”
THE GREAT KING™️ 🛸 ✓ @OikawaT_SJ
REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD!!!
[image: Oikawa with his arm around Iwaizumi’s shoulders]
💬 🔁 ❤️
THE GREAT KING™️ 🛸 ✓ @OikawaT_SJ
MY DRINKING BUDDY :D
[image: selfie of Hinata and Oikawa in their respective team uniforms]
💬 🔁 ❤️
THE GREAT KING™️ 🛸 ✓ @OikawaT_SJ
LOOK AT THESE LOSERS LOLLLL
(i’m going to win)
[image: selfie of Oikawa and Ushijima. Ushijima looks bemused as Oikawa is sticking his tongue out]
[image: selfie of Oikawa and Kageyama. Kageyama looks alarmed and Oikawa is pulling a funny face]
[image: selfie of Oikawa throwing up a middle finger at Atsumu who is mid-shout behind him]
[image: the Japan Men’s Volleyball team gathered and Oikawa’s hand is in shot, forming a thumbs down]
💬 🔁 ❤️
THE GREAT KING™️ 🛸 ✓ @OikawaT_SJ
<3
[image: group photo of Oikawa, Iwaizumi, Matsukawa and Hanamaki in high school]
[image: recreation of the above image but in present time]
💬 🔁 ❤️
THE GREAT KING™️ 🛸 ✓ @OikawaT_SJ
he kisses my gold (and me) and i kiss his (and him)
[image: a selfie of Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi is kissing Oikawa’s gold Olympic medal]
[image: a selfie of Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Oikawa is kissing a golden ring on Iwaizumi’s ring finger]
[image: a mirror selfie of Oikawa and Iwaizumi with the phone over their mouths, but it is clear they’re kissing]
💬 🔁 ❤️
~ not an end, rather the beginning of a new chapter ~