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Hajime has had a long day. Being the Japan National team’s athletic trainer is far from an easy job, especially during the Olympics. Now, the only thing he wants to do is flop down on his bed face first and sleep like a log for as long as he can, which is probably not long considering Ushijima has made it his job to wake everyone, including Hajime, at five every morning, and it’s already past midnight.
But just as he’s about to finally lay down, he hears a knock on his door. Groaning, he begrudgingly walks to it and opens it, uncaring that he’s only wearing his pajama pants right now.
“Tooru?” Hajime blinks in surprise. He wasn’t expecting his high school best friend to be the one knocking on his door, considering that he has a game tomorrow, and he’s always been insistent on being in the best condition to play.
The man shuffles his feet, bearing a sheepish smile. “Hey, Iwa-chan, how are you doing?” Tooru asks, trying to be nonchalant and almost falling on his ass when he leans against the air.
“Shittykawa, don’t you have teammates to bother now? Or a coach to fix your mistakes?” Hajime says, rubbing his tired eyes with his fist.
Tooru pouts, crossing his arms. “Aw, why do you assume I did something wrong? What if I just want to talk with my lovely best friend? Have you considered that? Your lack of trust in me is offensive,” he declares, whipping his head away from Hajime.
“Cut the crap, we texted this morning.”
“Okay, you got me there, you win.” Tooru sighs. “Can you let me in?”
“No,” Hajime answers, but he steps back into his room, leaving the door open. Maybe it’s something serious. Probably not, knowing Tooru, but Hajime would blame himself forever if something happened and he wasn’t there. What are friends for, if not staying by your side?
He sits down on his bed, covering his mouth when he yawns. Tooru settles down next to him, quiet for once. The silence stretches on, and Hajime’s eyes start to droop.
“Are you ever going to tell me what’s up? I’m tired,” Hajime complains, turning to look in his best friend’s eyes.
Tooru bites his lips, lifting the corner of his lips into a small grin. “Okay, so basically,” he starts, and Hajime watches as the man’s cheeks redden slightly, squinting suspiciously. What the hell did Tooru do? “I might or might not have told my teammates that we were dating and now they want to meet you,” Tooru admits, the words spilling out of his mouth faster than Hajime can think this late into the night.
“You what?!” Hajime stands up in surprise. He takes a few deep breaths to calm himself down and hope it’s dark enough to hide how flushed his ears are. “Why would you say that?” he whispers-shouts.
“They kept bugging me about getting a boyfriend, so I lied and said I already had one. But then they asked who, and I panicked so I said the first name that came to my mind: yours,” Tooru explains, shrugging.
Hajime groans, massaging his temples. “And when were you planning to tell me?”
“Never?” Tooru says tentatively, rubbing the back of his neck. “I thought that since you were in Japan and I was in Argentina, keeping the lie going would be easy enough.” He smiles proudly. “And I was right, it’s been years and they haven’t suspected a thing. I just didn’t consider that maybe they’d ask to get to know you one day.”
“Years? Stupidkawa, you really deserve this fucking nickname.” Hajime feels a sharp twinge in his heart. Does Tooru not trust him enough to tell him the truth? Keeping such a secret from him for years, are they really as close as Hajime thought they were?
“Don’t be like that, Iwa-chan, it’s just a harmless lie.” Tooru waves him off. “I just need you to come with me to a bar for a few hours, and then boom!”
“Or just tell them that we broke up.”
Tooru tsks. “I thought about doing that, but my teammates might come to beat you up. And since I’m a great friend, I don’t want you to end up in the hospital.”
Hajime stares at him blankly. “We’re in the Olympic Village, surrounded by security and members of the JNT who wouldn’t let them lay a finger on me.”
“Why do you have to be so insightful, Iwa-chan? Fine. I don’t want them to tell Coach, because he might think that my breakup would get me off my game and bench me. I don’t want to be benched, I’d rather die,” Tooru says, joining his hands in a praying position and fluttering his long eyelashes. “So please, just this once, go along with my plan.”
Hajime sighs. “You’re a dramatic idiot.”
“Was that a yes?”
“Unfortunately.” Hajime is weak for Tooru. Too weak, most likely. He’s about ninety-nine percent sure this is going to go wrong, he can just feel it. Curse whoever made Tooru so pretty.
The next day goes by quite fast. Japan doesn’t have any games, but the team still has to train. It’s lighter training than usual of course, their bodies need to rest at least a little bit. Hajime observes the players attentively, occasionally offering a tip or a massage and generally making sure everyone is in tip-top shape.
He wraps the evening session up with some stretches and sees everyone off for the day. He makes sure the gym is in order, and when he leaves, Tooru is outside, chatting with Hinata. The setting sun’s syrupy amber light enhances his sharp features and his silky brown hair, while also complimenting his peaceful expression. His skin is tanned and small wrinkles are starting to show on the side of his eyes. He looks happy. He’s beautiful.
Unwilling to get caught staring, Hajime clears his throat, startling the two men. “Ready to go?” he asks Tooru.
“So eager,” Tooru giggles. He turns to Hinata. “Bye, Shouyou-kun! It was nice talking with you, I look forward to playing against you,” he says, grinning widely.
Hinata nods excitedly. “Right. Bye, Oikawa, Iwaizumi-san!”
And then he runs off to the vending machine Kageyama is standing in front of, yelling something about a race. Hajime furrows his eyebrows. Logically, he knows that both of them are very serious about their health, but he can’t help but hope that they don’t do anything stupid.
Tooru nudges him with his elbow, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Is my presence distracting you, Iwa-chan? I can’t blame you, I’m just so fascinating.”
“In your dreams.” Hajime rolls his eyes. “Come on, your teammates must be waiting for us.”
“They can wait.” Tooru clicks his tongue, but he starts to walk nonetheless.
Hajime raises an eyebrow, amused. “Why do you sound so mad?”
“They kept making fun of me today, because they’re so sure I’m lying about you being my boyfriend,” Tooru whines. “Which is just so mean, I could have any man I want.”
Hajime doesn’t disagree, but he isn’t going to tell Tooru that. “Well, they’re not wrong, Tooru.”
“But they don’t know that! They’re just doing it to annoy me, and I’m so ready to make them eat their words when we show up.”
“How do you even sleep at night?”
“Like a baby,” Tooru says proudly.
Hajime bumps their shoulders together. “That’s exactly the issue, Crappykawa.”
“You’re too honest of a man, Iwa-chan,” Tooru reprimands, waving his pointer finger in front of Hajme’s face.
He grabs Tooru’s wrist and sighs. “Why do you make that sound like it’s a bad thing?”
Tooru doesn’t answer, knowing that Hajime’s question was purely rhetorical. “You didn’t even ask me how my game went. Do you not care about your best friend anymore?” he asks, shaking his head in faux disappointment. “Utterly despicable.”
“We watched it on the screens earlier, but I knew you’d crack and talk my ear off about it at some point.”
“I don’t « talk your ear off » about anything.”
Hajime snorts.
Tooru glares at him. “Okay, almost nothing. Just the important stuff!”
“Oh, a change of packaging of your favorite energy drink is important stuff?” Hajime raises an eyebrow.
“I— You—” Tooru splutters, before he just huffs.
Hajime would almost feel bad had it been anyone else. “I’m joking, don’t get your panties in a twist. Your rambles are fine. You’ll have to talk to me about your game later, though, because we’re almost there.”
Tooru immediately regains his composure, proof he was just acting—he always is. “Let’s hold hands, Iwa-chan. Make this realistic. Remember, we got together two and a half years ago.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re way too invested in this, I’m sure they won’t even notice,” Hajime says, but he still obeys and grabs Tooru’s hand, interlacing their fingers. As much as he complains, he isn’t going to lose this opportunity, and even if this is all fake, Hajime feels a bit nervous, the way he was when his first boyfriend introduced him to his family. Tooru won’t admit it, but his teammates matter a lot to him, so all in all, the situation isn’t different. (Except that Hajime actually likes Tooru, and the relationship isn’t actually real.)
They enter the bar filled and Tooru tugs on Hajime’s hand lightly, leading him to the table where his teammates are sitting. Remembering that none of them speak Japanese, he switches to English.
“Hello, my name is Iwaizumi Hajime, I’m Tooru’s boyfriend. It’s nice to meet you all,” he greets, bowing his head slightly.
“Oh, we know. He talks about you a lot,” a man with a mullet and nose piercing says, causing a wave of laughter in the crowd.
“A lot is an understatement,” another guy adds. “Nice to finally meet the legendary boyfriend.”
Hajime turns to Tooru, unable to hide his smirk, and he has just enough time to see the way Tooru’s face turns a beautiful pink before he whips his head around to hide it.
“Can you guys stop embarrassing me for a second?” he says, frowning. “See if I ever bring Iwa-chan with me again.” Tooru pulls out a chair for Hajime before sitting right next to him.
“Sorry, Cap.” They don’t seem the slightest bit sorry, and the sight pulls a light laugh of Hajime.
“No matter the country and the years passing, you’re still not a feared captain, Tooru, I think it’s time to give up.”
Tooru squeaks in offense. “Don’t slander me like that.”
“I like ya,” a guy with dark red hair declares. Hajime thinks his name is Onzari, he’s the libero. Tooru glares at him, and he raises his hands in surrender. “Not like that, don’t worry your head about it, Tooru. I just meant that I wouldn’t mind if he decided he wanted to train the better team.”
“I already train the better team,” Hajime answers, a shark-like grin on his face.
“We’ll see about that,” Tooru retorts. “You’ll regret not taking him up on that offer.”
“Sure, love.” The nickname slips out without Hajime’s permission. He’d regret it if Tooru didn’t make such a pretty surprised face, before catching himself and acting as casual as he can.
The rest of the evening goes in a similar fashion, with Hajime taking advantage of the situation and trying to fluster Tooru as much as he can. When Tooru starts reciprocating, Hajime’s heart beats a bit too fast and he isn’t too sure what to think of it, but he decides to just enjoy the moment, as fleeting as it probably is.
When everyone starts to head home, a guy who Hajime recognizes as Ledesma, the starting opposite hitter this season, claps him on the back amicably. And damn, that man has some serious strength, the gesture cuts off Hajime’s breath. “Y’know,” Ledesma says, “I’m glad Tooru has you, you’re a good guy. We were all relieved when he told us he finally had the balls to ask you out, his pining was getting a bit much.”
The lack of oxygen must be getting to Hajime’s brain, and it’s making him hallucinate. Yeah, that must be it. There’s no way Ledesma actually said that, right? He’s stunned into silence, pinching himself to make sure this is in fact an hallucination. The pain makes him wince. Okay, it must be a very elaborate hallucination, those exist. He thinks.
“Sorry, did I hit you too hard?” Ledesma asks, looking genuinely concerned. “You’re as pale as a ghost.”
Hajime just shakes his head. “I’m— okay, I think I got lost in thought.”
Ledesma doesn’t seem convinced. He turns to Tooru, who’s laughing with the few of his teammates who haven’t left yet. “Tooru, deberías llevar a tu novio a su habitación. No se encuentra bien.”
And while Hajime doesn’t speak Spanish fluently, he understands the gist of the sentence. “No, no, I’m fine,” he hurries to say.
“He’s right, Hajime. You look sick, let’s get you to your room,” Tooru insists, taking his coat from the back of his chair and standing up, giving his team a quick apology.
Hajime sighs, well aware that Tooru is too stubborn to change his mind. They say their goodbyes and leave hand in hand. They don’t let go when they’re out the door, and none of them says anything about it.
“Are you sick, Iwa-chan?” Tooru questions, eyebrows furrowed.
“No, I really am okay, he just said something that surprised me.” Hajime feels Tooru’s body tense up besides him.
“Oh?” he prompts, voice cracking.
“Tooru,” Hajime says, stopping to stand face to face with him. Maybe he’s wrong, and maybe he’ll get to hold Tooru’s hand forever. He’s willing to take the risk. “You didn’t tell your team that you were dating me because they were annoying you about getting a boyfriend.” His hands are shaking and blood is pulsing in his ears, but Hajime has to do this. He just hopes that he was wrong about the elaborate hallucination, or he’ll have to move to Australia. “It was because they were telling you to ask me out.”
The silence is deafening, for a second, and the outside word ceases to exist. Hajime is lost in Tooru’s eyes, sharp brown universes of their own. He stares at the darker spots in their middle and the way their pupils dilate, captivated.
He’s broken out of his trance by Tooru’s voice. “Yes.”
Hajime breathes in deeply. “So you like me?”
“Yes,” Tooru repeats.
“Then, can I kiss you?”
“Yes,” he says, before his eyes widen in realization and he stumbles backwards. “Wait, what?”
Hajime catches Tooru by his arm, a soft smile crawling onto his face. “No take backs,” he warns, jokingly. He leaves Tooru some room to back away, because he’s not about to force him to do anything, Iwaizumi Hajime is not a total jerk, thank you very much.
Tooru doesn’t seem to want to do that anyways. As soon as he regains some stability, he grabs Hajime’s face and smashes their lips together. Hajime takes it in stride, moving their mouths in sync and devouring Tooru’s like a starving man. In a way, he is one.
When they pull away, out of breath, he feels like he’s flying. His soul lighter than it has been in years, Hajime feels like he’s reached the top of Mount Everest. “I like you too,” he confesses.
“Fuck,” Tooru says. Yeah, fuck. “How long?”
“Forever,” Hajime replies. It wasn’t what he meant to say, but it’s not a lie. When has he not loved Oikawa Tooru? Being in love with his best friend was just a fact of his life, at this point.
Tooru pouts. “Why didn’t you say anything? We could have been together years ago.”
“Why didn’t you?” Hajime counters. “As long as we’re here now, does it really matter?”
“No,” Tooru admits in a whisper, before his eyes flutter closed and his lips find Hajime’s again.