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When Oikawa suggested that they start meeting up for lunch to “further strengthen their bond as a team” (those were his exact words), Hanamaki was under the impression that they would talk about possible new plays and strategies, especially with the Spring Tournament coming up, so it didn’t really take much convincing for him to agree.
The fact that Oikawa picked the rooftop instead of the clubroom as their meeting place is one hint that they’re not actually going to be talking about volleyball, which is shocking enough in itself. The fact that Oikawa only asked the third year regulars is another.
Hanamaki’s first thought upon arriving at their agreed meeting place is to call Oikawa out on it, say that if he wanted to spend more time with them outside of volleyball then he should’ve just said so instead of making up some excuse (of course, this isn’t saying that Hanamaki and Matsukawa wouldn’t tease Oikawa endlessly for it – they’re good friends, after all, and good friends give each other shit where shit is due). But then the longer he sits there and listens to Oikawa practically gushing about his last date with Iwa-chan, he quickly realizes with nothing short of dread the real reason Oikawa asked for them.
Oh my god.
“Oh my god,” he says out loud, cutting into Oikawa’s story of how Iwaizumi agreed to watch this new sci-fi film with him and held his hand for the entire second half of it, even though it was kinda gross because we were eating buttered popcorn and our fingers were sticky, but Iwa-chan is just the sweetest, the absolute sweetest, did you know that, Makki?
Iwaizumi and Matsukawa have been gone for all of ten minutes to buy drinks from the first floor vending machine, but with how much Oikawa has been talking, it feels more like ten years.
Oikawa lifts his eyebrows at the interruption. “Is there a problem, Makki?”
Hanamaki blinks, makes a vague motion with his hand. “It’s just. If you wanted to brag about how great your relationship is you should’ve just said so, instead of making up excuses about team meetings and strategy-planning or whatever.”
Oikawa mock-gasps. “Makki! You should know that I was genuinely planning on talking about strategy! I just thought it would be polite to wait for Iwa-chan and Mattsun to get back. But since you brought the topic up”—Hanamaki opens his mouth to protest, but is ignored—“have I told you how amazing Iwa-chan is? Like, he’s just the best boyfriend ever.”
“Wow, I never would’ve guessed what with, you know, how much you’ve been talking about it,” Hanamaki deadpans.
Oikawa waves a hand airily. “Don’t be jealous that my boyfriend is so sweet and romantic.”
Now it’s Hanamaki’s turn to lift his eyebrows. “Excuse me, but did you just indirectly drag Issei? For your information, he is a wonderful boyfriend. Our relationship is just splendid.”
“And I believe you. But obviously, Iwa-chan and I are on another level entirely,” Oikawa says with a smile.
Hanamaki grins. “Ah yes, all that dancing around each other for the last four years. So romantic.”
“Hey,” Oikawa points at him, pouting. “We were really young and really dumb.”
“You still are.”
“And. There’s always a right time for love. We were just waiting for it.”
“Mm-hmm,” Hanamaki hums, still grinning. “Hey, did you know Issei and I are celebrating our second anniversary next month?”
Oikawa just sticks his tongue out in response, and Hanamaki laughs. A brief lull falls over them as they wait for both their boyfriends to return, and Hanamaki lets out a long sigh at the bliss of silence.
He should’ve known it won’t last.
“I bet Iwa-chan and I are more romantic, though.”
“Are you actually proposing a bet?” Hanamaki asks. “Because you’re on.”
It’s then that the door opens, and both of them turn their heads to see Iwaizumi and Matsukawa return. Hanamaki catches Oikawa’s eye, and the captain grins, as though to say let the games begin. Hanamaki grins back.
“Here you go,” Matsukawa hands Hanamaki his drink as he sits down, and Hanamaki takes the opportunity to lean forward and place a quick kiss on Matsukawa’s cheek in thanks. Matsukawa seems a little surprised at the action, but nonetheless pleased.
Hanamaki sends a smirk Oikawa’s way, and Oikawa’s eyes narrow.
“Iwa-chan, can I borrow your lap?”
Oh no.
Iwaizumi frowns and flicks Oikawa lightly on the nose. “Have you been staying up all night again?” Oikawa just smiles, sheepish, and Iwaizumi sighs. “Idiot, come here then.”
Hanamaki is pretty sure Iwaizumi is the only person on the entire planet who can say idiot with such affection. He watches as Oikawa cheers and lies down, settling his head on Iwaizumi’s lap and shifting for a few seconds in search of a comfortable position. Once he’s settled, Iwaizumi cards his fingers through Oikawa’s hair, and Hanamaki can see a small, fond smile on his face, one the ace probably isn’t even aware of.
Hanamaki glances down at Oikawa, and Oikawa winks at him.
And, okay. Fine. He’s letting Oikawa win this time, but they’re just getting started.
~
Volleyball isn’t the only match happening in the gym that day. Hanamaki almost feels bad for the clueless first and second years who have no part in his and Oikawa’s (frankly stupid) game, but then Matsukawa is placing a gentle hand on his waist and he forgets about his conscience entirely.
“You’re awfully clingy today,” Matsukawa comments casually. That’s probably an understatement, since Hanamaki’s sitting so close to him on the bench he’s practically on Matsukawa’s lap. Kindaichi’s been sending them glances for the past five minutes and hiding his flushed face behind a volleyball, and Hanamaki can’t decide if he feels more bad or amused by it.
“Are you complaining, Issei?” he asks, playing with the hem of his boyfriend’s shorts. He really should start wearing kneepads.
Matsukawa smiles and tightens his hold on Hanamaki’s waist. “Not at all.”
“Good.” Oikawa then chooses that moment to pass by, and Hanamaki catches his eye. He grins and tugs at Matsukawa’s shirt, making sure his voice is loud enough for their captain to hear, “Hey Issei.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s swap jerseys again.”
Maybe his voice is a little too loud, because he hears a faint squeak that sounds like it came from Kindaichi, followed by a cough from someone else.
Even Matsukawa looks slightly surprised, blinking. He quickly regains composure, though, and turns his head slightly with a half-embarrassed, half-fond smile, his cheeks tinged with the faintest shade of pink.
Hanamaki wants to kiss him.
“Okay, let’s.”
Hanamaki does kiss him, and Oikawa loudly walks away with a huff.
~
Things only get more ridiculous from there.
It’s not as though Hanamaki wasn’t affectionate with Matsukawa before this dumb contest started (he’s not even sure what’s in it for him other than bragging rights for having The Best BoyfriendTM , but he sure as hell isn’t going to lose to Oikawa), because they’ve always been physically close. But now, their level of closeness has reached intense proportions, so much that they’ve been getting visible reactions from their underclassmen for their displays.
They’re not really bad reactions, though—just some cleared throats and politely averted gazes and a couple of raised eyebrows, and a lot of blushing. Hanamaki would say he’s embarrassed, but to be completely honest he’s shameless about his relationship with Matsukawa. As long as it’s not actually disrupting their performance on the court, he doesn’t see any reason to stop.
Plus, he’s really enjoying the bit of extra attention from Matsukawa. He’s starting to get the feeling that his boyfriend’s figured something’s up though, but he hasn’t asked about it yet.
Iwaizumi, on the other hand, seems completely clueless about what’s going on. No wonder it took him so long to figure out that Oikawa is also in love with him.
But, yes. Ridiculous antics. Excessive amounts of PDA. Romance in the air, and all that.
“If this keeps up, I’m going to start puking glitter,” Kunimi remarks flatly after practice one day, half-lidded eyes trained towards where Oikawa is trying to get Iwaizumi to give him a piggyback ride back to the clubroom. He then shifts his gaze to the side, where Hanamaki is practically wrapped around Matsukawa’s arm. “Honestly.”
And, okay. They’re probably being really obnoxious if even Kunimi is commenting on it.
Kindaichi frantically looks around him, avoiding eye contact with anyone, and Yahaba hums. “I don’t mind, really, but it kinda makes the painful reality of us being single even more, well. Painful.”
Hanamaki lifts an eyebrow at that, but doesn’t comment, walking a few steps ahead and dragging Matsukawa with him so that it’s not too obvious he’s listening in. In front of them, Iwaizumi has given in and is carrying Oikawa on his back.
“Wait, Yahaba,” Watari begins, “didn’t you say you received a note in your locker the other day?”
“Yeah, but they never showed up.”
Hanamaki glances back over his shoulder at that, intrigued. “What did the note say?”
Yahaba blinks, slightly surprised at being addressed, before tilting his head in thought. “Um, I can’t remember the exact words, but it said to meet behind the gym after volleyball practice.”
Hanamaki notices Kyoutani fidgeting slightly from where he’s lagging behind the group, shoulders slouched and expression set in that perpetual frown of his, though… hmm. Hanamaki is too far to tell for sure, but it seems that he might be blushing. Interesting.
Hanamaki stores this information away to be further reflected on later.
Once in the clubroom, Iwaizumi sets Oikawa down on the floor and the captain cheers loudly, proclaiming once more that Iwa-chan is the best! Hanamaki rolls his eyes, even as his lips twitch into a smile that he has to bite back.
“Okay! I’d just like to remind everyone that we won’t be having Saturday practice tomorrow!” Oikawa says, clapping his hands twice to get the room’s attention. “We’ll be working even harder starting next week in preparation for the Spring Tournament, so consider this your last free weekend. Make plans, have fun, but don’t go too wild, okay?”
“We’re a bunch of 15- and 16-year-olds,” Kunimi points out. “I know the most I’ll be doing is staying home and sleeping.”
“You gotta live life a little more, Kunimi-chan!” Oikawa shakes his head a couple of times, before throwing an arm around Iwaizumi’s shoulders. “Iwa-chan and I are going on a date!”
“Literally no one asked,” Hanamaki deadpans, and Iwaizumi sighs.
“Oikawa, can you please stop oversharing.”
“Eh?” Oikawa turns to Iwaizumi, pouting. “But I want them to kno—ow, Iwa-chan!” He pouts even more as he rubs at his forehead where Iwaizumi flicked him. The first and second years snicker, and then everyone goes about getting changed so they can go home. Oikawa huffs and sits on a chair in the corner of the room, arms crossed.
“Just get changed already,” Iwaizumi says once all the underclassmen have left, glancing at the clock hanging above the clubroom door. “I told mom you’ll be coming over for dinner and I want to help her cook.”
It’s almost comical watching the change in Oikawa’s expression, how he quite literally lights up at Iwaizumi’s words. Hanamaki would’ve laughed at their captain if he wasn’t so busy trying to visualize Iwaizumi cooking.
“You know how to cook?” Matsukawa asks, blinking a few times.
“A little,” Iwaizumi shrugs, like it’s not a big deal, at the same time Oikawa chirps, “Iwa-chan makes me lunch sometimes, you know!”
Iwaizumi blushes lightly and mumbles something underneath his breath, but he’s smiling.
“Well,” Hanamaki says, pointing a thumb at Matsukawa. “Issei bakes for me a lot.”
Matsukawa also blushes. Hanamaki is too busy staring at Oikawa and lifting an eyebrow in challenge to notice the silent exchange that passes between his boyfriend and Iwaizumi. Oikawa’s eyes narrow, and he opens his mouth to speak, but then Iwaizumi cuts in, “Hey, Hanamaki. Why don’t you and Matsukawa join me and Oikawa tomorrow? Make it a double date or something.”
Hanamaki opens his mouth. Closes it. Considers.
Hmm. It’s not really a bad idea. He’s not made any solid plans over the weekend except for dropping by Matsukawa’s place and maybe watching movies the entire afternoon, so a day out somewhere could be nice.
He glances at Matsukawa, who shrugs and nods once. That settles it, then. “Sure, why not?”
“Great. I’ll text you the details,” Iwaizumi says, glancing at Oikawa. “Oi, you done changing?”
“Yep!” Oikawa says, picking up his bag and skipping over to Iwaizumi.
Iwaizumi looks at Matsukawa, then at Hanamaki. “You two better get out now as well. I’m locking up.”
“So responsible, Iwa-chan!”
“Shush, you.”
Before they go their separate ways, Hanamaki exchanges a silent conversation with Oikawa, one composed mostly of narrowed eyes and obnoxious smirks and raised eyebrows. And when Hanamaki finally gets home, he spends an embarrassing amount of time going over possible places they could go to tomorrow, and how he could make Oikawa eat his own words.
He falls asleep feeling oddly excited.
~
“This is…” Hanamaki trails off, staring at the scene before him.
“…not what I had in mind,” Oikawa finishes. Hanamaki nods once, just a dip of the chin, eyes still fixed forward.
“Oi,” Iwaizumi calls, waving them over to where he’s standing in line to get entrance tickets for the amusement park, “we’re going in without you if you don’t hurry up!”
Behind him, Matsukawa is fiddling with the paper bills he’s collected for payment, and waiting off to the side so as to avoid clogging the line is the rest of the team.
…the rest of the team. Right.
“How did Iwa-chan manage to convince everyone?” Oikawa asks in a whisper, staring wide-eyed at their underclassmen. “Kunimi-chan and Kyouken-chan are both here.”
Really, there’s only one explanation Hanamaki can think of as to how Iwaizumi managed to get everyone to agree on this impromptu outing. He says as much: “It’s Iwaizumi.”
A few seconds of silence. Then, “And by that you mean?”
Hanamaki glances at the captain. “Well, the guy’s pretty great even outside of volleyball. He’s a good senpai. More than half of the team adores him.”
“What?!” Oikawa whisper-shrieks, looking slightly alarmed.
Hanamaki raises an eyebrow. “Are you not aware of his fanclub?”
“Fanclub?” Now Oikawa really looks alarmed. He glances at Iwaizumi quickly before turning back to Hanamaki, expression pinched in concern. “Makki, they know Iwa-chan and I are together, right?”
“I’m positive that it is absolutely impossible to miss that certain piece of information,” Hanamaki deadpans, before his expression changes into something more reassuring. “And you don’t have to worry about anything. Iwaizumi is oblivious about his effect on the underclassmen. Also,” he starts walking towards the group, not turning to see if Oikawa is following, “he’s completely and hopelessly in love with you, so. Don’t feel threatened.”
He hears Oikawa make a small, odd noise in response, and then there are footsteps following after him. Hanamaki hides a smile behind his hand.
“I’ve got the tickets,” Iwaizumi says once they’ve all gathered around, waving said tickets in his hand. “I’m going to distribute them now.”
“Okay mom,” Hanamaki says, only half-joking.
Iwaizumi frowns, but doesn’t bother gracing him with a reply. Hanamaki observes everyone’s faces as Iwaizumi distributes the tickets – Watari looks excited, Yahaba seems like he’s looking forward to it as well, Kindaichi is slightly apprehensive, Kunimi looks bored, and Kyoutani, although frowning, is fidgeting slightly, as though he’s unsure.
Hanamaki throws an arm around Matsukawa’s shoulders once he’s done sweeping his gaze over the rest of the team, grinning. “Well, this should be fun.”
~
As it turns out, it is fun.
Once everyone has gotten over the initial hesitance of being together outside of the gym, things go pretty smoothly. Despite some claims of it being childish, they try out a few harmless rides that Hanamaki is sure are actually meant for kids, before running towards the arcade.
It doesn’t take long before everyone’s pushing everyone else towards the direction of the biggest, tallest, fastest ride they can see, calling out bets as to who can go the entire ride without crying or throwing up.
It’s only when they’re falling in line for the rollercoaster does Hanamaki pause and reassess the situation he’s in. And it’s only when he’s being seated beside Matsukawa and the safety bar is being lowered, with Oikawa and Iwaizumi seated in the car in front of them and the younger ones behind, does Hanamaki make his realization.
“Wait a second. There’s nothing romantic about rollercoasters, at all.”
And then they’re shooting forward.
Aren’t these things supposed to start slowly, Hanamaki wonders as he simultaneously questions all of his life choices. The wind whips past his face, and he’s glad that he has really short hair because he’d rather not get any of it in his open mouth. Which, oh yeah, his mouth is open. Because he’s screaming.
“Whaaat the fuuuu—”
The ride makes a sudden turn to the left and Hanamaki’s grip moves from the metal bars keeping him in his seat to Matsukawa’s arm, which is a lot more comforting. Behind them, he can hear high-pitched shrieking and a series of nearly-unintelligible swearing that comes from a gruff but panicky voice. In front of them, Oikawa’s got his hands in the air and Iwaizumi seems to be laughing.
Hanamaki tries to find his happy place.
The ride slows down slightly as it begins a climb, and Hanamaki swallows as he realizes how steep the fall is going to be.
“Hiro,” Matsukawa says beside him, probably shouting to be heard over the wind and the whir of the engine.
Hanamaki can’t take his eyes off of the track (and his possible eventual doom), stunned with an uneven mix of horror and anticipation. “Yes, Issei?”
“Hold my hand.”
At that, Hanamaki forces himself to tear his gaze away from the point where they’ll drop off, but Matsukawa isn’t looking at him. In fact, he isn’t looking at anything, eyes squeezed shut, but when Hanamaki glances between them he sees Matsukawa’s upturned palm, waiting.
Hanamaki laces their fingers together.
“HERE WE GO,” Oikawa yells in front of them, followed by Iwaizumi’s delighted shout and a panicked “HOLY FUCKING SHIT,” from behind that Hanamaki now recognizes to be Kyoutani.
He briefly contemplates closing his eyes as well so that he won’t have to bear witness to his possible death, but then again the feeling of not knowing when they’re going to drop exactly might very well be what kills him.
They reach the top of the hill, and Hanamaki keeps his eyes open.
Matsukawa squeezes his hand, and he squeezes back, holding on tight. The car pauses for a few agonizing seconds.
Kyoutani begins to let out another curse behind them, but he doesn’t get to finish it this time because the car is suddenly dropping forward at an incredible speed and all that comes out of his mouth – and everyone else’s – is a shriek.
~
“They’re not paying attention to us,” Oikawa says, pouting as he slumps back against his chair.
Hanamaki hums his agreement, eyes glued to where Iwaizumi and Matsukawa are standing in line to get food. Yahaba and Watari are with them to help carry the trays back to their table, leaving the first years and Kyoutani with Hanamaki and Oikawa.
“And here I was thinking that Oikawa-san and Iwaizumi-san were the parents,” Kunimi comments, making the third years turn to him.
Oikawa crosses his arms against his chest. “We are, Kunimi-chan.”
“Sure doesn’t look like it right now,” Kunimi says, poking at the tissue box on the table disinterestedly.
Oikawa huffs and stands up, determinedly walking towards where Iwaizumi is. Hanamaki follows him with his gaze and briefly considers standing up as well, if only to drag Matsukawa to their table and let Oikawa handle the ordering with Iwaizumi, when Kunimi speaks up again.
“The senpais are pretty easy to read, sometimes.”
Hanamaki turns towards the first year, lifting an eyebrow. “Eh? What do you mean by that, Kunimi?”
“Nothing,” Kunimi says, the smallest hint of a smile passing over his lips. Beside him, Kindaichi laughs, uncertain. Kyoutani just slumps down on the table and huffs.
Hanamaki decides to turn his attention towards the second year instead. “What’s up with you?”
Kyoutani glances at him out of the corner of his eye for a second, before looking back ahead and grunting.
Hanamaki grins. “Hey, you were sitting with Yahaba when we were on the rollercoaster, right?”
The reaction Hanamaki gets at that is very interesting. Kyoutani’s eyes widen a fraction, before he’s lowering his head and burying his face in his arms, clicking his tongue like he’s annoyed. The tips of his ears turn red.
Kunimi hums and pulls at a tissue, tearing it to shreds just to give his hands something to do. “Sometimes, even the second years are easy to read.”
Kyoutani lifts his face and glowers at the first year. “I only sat with him because you wanted to sit by yourself and this guy”—he nudges his chin towards Kindaichi, who jumps in his seat at being addressed—“didn’t want to sit with me.”
“That’s because everyone thinks you’re going to bite them,” Hanamaki comments, keeping his tone light even though he’s ready to jump in if ever things escalate.
Kyoutani slouches and crosses his arms. “I’m not actually a dog.”
“I’m sure Yahaba-san knows that,” Kunimi mutters under his breath, but Hanamaki still manages to catch it. So he’s not the only one who’s noticed.
Oikawa returns with Iwaizumi, then, each holding a tray full of food. Matsukawa and Watari follow behind them, and Oikawa nudges Kyoutani on the shoulder. “Kyouken-chan, can you help Yahaba carry our drinks back?”
Hanamaki hides his snort behind his hand and Kyoutani glowers.
~
Of course, there’s no better way to end the day than a cliché.
“Come on, come on,” Oikawa says, ushering them towards the front of the line like a parent herding their children. “Ferris wheel time!”
“We can only fit a maximum of four people in one car,” says the man operating the ride, sounding slightly apologetic. Hanamaki wonders why for a second until he realizes that there are nine of them.
“Aw, come on,” Oikawa tries to reason, stepping forward. “Just one extra person won’t hurt, right?”
The man shakes his head. “Sorry, but rules are rules.”
Oikawa opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, Watari is tentatively placing a hand on his shoulder. “That’s alright, Oikawa-san. I’m not too fond of heights, anyway, so I think I’ll sit out for this one.”
Oikawa frowns. “Are you sure, Watacchi?”
Watari nods, and then he’s stepping away and urging Kyoutani and Yahaba onto a car. “Now go on, step inside you two. Don’t hold up the line.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Kyoutani stumbles a step and glares at the libero over his shoulder, face suspiciously bright red. “Why are you pushing me and Yahaba?”
“Because our senpais obviously want to share one car, so you’re going in there with Yahaba and Kunimi and Kindaichi.”
“Well, that makes sense,” Yahaba says as he calmly steps inside, and Kyoutani looks like he wants to argue further but then decides against it. He follows in after Yahaba, grumbling underneath his breath the entire while, and Watari turns back to the first years.
“You two coming?”
Kunimi blinks once. “You know what, I don’t think I want to get on the ferris wheel after all.”
Kindaichi scratches the back of his neck. “Yeah, same here.”
Watari stares at the first years for a second, before grinning and closing the door of the car and putting the safety lock on from the outside. “Okay then, that’s fine.”
“Hey!” Kyoutani pounds on the door, looking flustered. “I thought the first years are joining us!”
“They changed their minds,” Watari says, shrugging, and then he’s turning to the operator and asking him to move the car a level up. They watch as Kyoutani attempts to bang the door open, before being pulled down onto the small seats lining the interior by Yahaba. Faintly, Hanamaki hears a stern don’t break the door, idiot, we don’t have anything to pay for it, until they’re too far up to hear anything.
He turns to his underclassmen, who all look smug. “Did you all plan this?”
“Not really,” Kunimi says, shrugging.
“It was more of a spur-of-the-moment thing,” Watari adds.
“Wait, what?” Iwaizumi asks, sounding confused.
His confusion goes ignored. Oikawa turns to the underclassmen and wipes a fake tear from underneath his eye. “You guys have made your captain proud.”
“What?” Iwaizumi asks again, but he goes unanswered another time as the third years are ushered into the next car.
Once inside, Oikawa pushes Iwaizumi down onto a seat and plops on his lap, the car wobbling underneath them. Hanamaki clutches onto the metal bar by the door and shoots their captain a glare. He gets an unapologetic shrug in return.
“Seriously, guys,” Iwaizumi says, instinctively moving to wrap an arm around Oikawa’s waist. Hanamaki sits down beside Matsukawa and holds his hand so as not to be outdone. “What was that back there?”
Oikawa laughs. “Iwa-chan can be so dense sometimes.”
“What?” Iwaizumi asks again. He’s starting to sound like a broken record, Hanamaki thinks. “I don’t get it.”
Hanamaki takes pity on him. “The underclassmen were setting Yahaba and Kyoutani up.”
Iwaizumi blinks, looking surprised. “Why?”
“Kyouken-chan likes Yahaba,” Oikawa explains, tapping Iwaizumi on the nose with his index finger. “We’re just helping him move things along.”
“Seriously?” Iwaizumi asks, frowning. “But he’s always glaring at Yahaba.”
“Yep, whenever Yahaba catches him staring,” Hanamaki points out.
“And he’s also always blushing around Yahaba,” Oikawa adds.
“But I thought that was just – but.” Iwaizumi stops, closes his mouth, and frowns. He still looks a little confused. “How come I’ve never noticed?”
“Iwa-chan, you never notice anything,” Oikawa chuckles. “But that’s alright, I still love you anyway, no matter how clueless you can be.”
“Really, though, it took me a while to realize but once I did, it was pretty obvious,” Hanamaki says.
“Speaking of obvious,” Matsukawa suddenly speaks up, and all eyes turn to him. “You and Oikawa haven’t really been subtle, Hiro.”
Hanamaki freezes for a fraction of a second, before turning his head quickly towards Oikawa, who looks back at him wide-eyed. There’s a short pause in which he considers all of their options: one, deny that anything is going on and laugh it off, which might risk making the atmosphere awkward; two, admit everything, which might risk the possibility of getting laughed at and also making the atmosphere awkward; or three: jump off of this goddamn ride (optional: yell you’ll never catch me alive upon jumping off).
Before Hanamaki can decide which course of action to take, he hears a yelp coming from across the small compartment. He shoots a hand out to the side and clutches onto the metal railing as the car sways slightly, and when he looks up he sees Oikawa caught in the grip of Iwaizumi’s arms, fingers digging into his sides.
“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa laugh-shrieks, trying to get away.
“Spill,” Iwaizumi says, pausing in his tickling assault for a second. Oikawa wheezes and squirms on Iwaizumi’s lap, and really, Hanamaki would be worried for both his and Oikawa’s life if it weren’t for the soft look in Iwaizumi’s eyes, even though he’s trying to put on a stern expression.
“Hiro,” Matsukawa begins slowly, eyes also glued to Iwaizumi and Oikawa.
“Yes, Issei?”
Matsukawa turns his head towards Hanamaki. “Do you want me to tickle you as well or would you willingly confess?”
“I’ll confess!” Hanamaki lifts both his hands, and Oikawa lets out a long “nooooo.”
Iwaizumi huffs and tightens his hold around Oikawa’s waist, probably to prevent escape. Not that there’s anywhere Oikawa can go to, unless he’s willing to do option number three. “What have you two been up to?”
“I can’t believe Iwa-chan noticed!”
“To be completely honest I can’t believe it either,” Hanamaki says.
“I thought I was imagining it at first,” Iwaizumi says, glancing between Oikawa and Hanamaki. “But I thought you two were being… oddly competitive about something. So I asked Matsukawa about it.”
Hanamaki sighs. He faintly registers that they’re nearing the top of the wheel now. “Okay, fine. Remember when Oikawa suggested we all have lunch together on the rooftop?” At Matsukawa and Iwaizumi’s nods, he continues, “Well while you two were gone, Oikawa had been talking my ear off about your movie date, and one thing just led to another and it somehow turned into a bet of who’s more grossly romantic or something.” He scratches his cheek, looks out the window. “We… maybe got a little carried away.”
There’s a few seconds of silence. Hanamaki is just starting to dread the possibility of spending the latter half of the ride in uncomfortable silence when Iwaizumi snorts, and then they’re laughing.
“Oh god, Iwaizumi, I told you,” Matsukawa is saying in between his laughter.
Oikawa gasps suddenly. “Wait, so were you two ignoring us on purpose today?!”
“We weren’t ignoring you,” Iwaizumi chuckles.
“But you were paying more attention to the othe – wait a second.” Oikawa shoves at Iwaizumi’s shoulder. “That’s why you invited the team! You were sabotaging me and Hanamaki!” He looks slightly affronted. “I can’t believe this! I had an entire romantic afternoon planned out, you know!”
“To be fair, half of it was Matsukawa’s idea.”
“Mattsun!” Oikawa clutches his chest. “How could you?”
Hanamaki can’t help it anymore. He bursts out laughing as well, doubling over and clutching his stomach. In retrospect, he should’ve known that they’d get found out eventually and that it was a stupid idea in the first place, but. Whatever. They’re teenagers.
“You’re an idiot, you know that,” Iwaizumi tells Oikawa once the laughter has died down, rolling his eyes.
Oikawa sticks his lower lip out and shifts closer to Iwaizumi. “But you love me.”
Iwaizumi stares at him for a second, before glancing away. “Yeah, I do.”
Hanamaki turns to Matsukawa. “Issei, call me an idiot and tell me you love me, too.”
“I love you, you idiot,” Matsukawa complies easily.
“Makki, Mattsun. Why don’t the two of you look out and enjoy the view from up here?” Oikawa suggests, smiling sweetly.
Hanamaki lifts an eyebrow. “Um, why?”
“Because I’m gonna make out with Iwa-chan now.”
Hanamaki and Matsukawa look at each other for a moment, before saying at the exact same time in the fondest tone they can manage, “Gross.”
~
“Today was fun,” Matsukawa comments, tapping his fingers against the polished wooden tabletop.
Oikawa rolls his eyes. “You and Iwa-chan sabotaged what could’ve been the most amazing date ever.” He pretends to pout for just a second longer, and then his expression turns into something more of a smile. “But yeah. It was fun.”
“You can’t complain,” Iwaizumi tells Oikawa, pausing for a second as their food gets set down on the table. “It’s just the four of us having dinner now. Just think of this as the actual date part.”
Iwaizumi has a point, Hanamaki thinks. The underclassmen have all gone home, and Iwaizumi and Matsukawa had suggested they get ramen. They’re even paying.
Oikawa looks appeased by that. They eat in silence for a moment, feeling tired from an entire afternoon of walking around, though it’s nothing their bodies aren’t used to. They get a lot more exercise from training, after all.
It’s nice, Hanamaki thinks. The atmosphere is nice. He feels oddly content just sitting here, eating with his three best friends after a long day out, the thought of tournaments and academics and the Future in general (capital letter F and all) pushed aside for a moment.
So of course, Oikawa goes and ruins it.
“This is going to be our last tournament.”
Hanamaki groans and resists the urge to thump his head against the table. “Oikawa, we had a really good atmosphere going on.”
“Shut up, I need to say this,” Oikawa says, without any real heat behind his words. If anything, he sounds a little subdued. “These last three years have been really… something else.”
“Just say they were great and that we’re amazing,” Matsukawa says, trying for a lighter tone, and Oikawa cracks the tiniest smile Hanamaki’s ever seen on him.
“Okay. You guys aren’t so bad.” Oikawa glances at them, before turning back to staring at his ramen. “You’re the greatest team I could have asked for, so. Thank you. And I wanted to let all of you know this early on that no matter how far we manage to go in the tournament, I’m still proud of all of you.”
For a moment no one speaks, letting Oikawa’s words sink in. And then they’re all moving at once, food forgotten as they reach out for their captain and playfully shove his shoulders and slap him on the back of the head. Oikawa makes a small noise of protest, but Hanamaki catches a lingering smile on his lips, and when he looks at Matsukawa and Iwaizumi’s faces he sees the faintest sheen over their eyes.
Hanamaki himself is feeling slightly teary-eyed, and he curses the day he met Oikawa Tooru with a fond smile. He pulls the captain in for a hug, and then Matsukawa and Iwaizumi are following in after him, until they’re just a mess of limbs tangled up by a corner booth of a ramen shop.
Someone sniffles, but no one comments on it.
“Just so you guys know, though,” Oikawa says after a while, voice coming out mumbled since his mouth is pressed against someone’s shoulder, “we’re going to nationals.”
Matsukawa smiles, Iwaizumi rolls his eyes as if to say obviously, and Hanamaki chuckles. He voices out what he knows everyone is thinking, voice coming out just the tiniest bit hoarse, “Of course we are. We’re the greatest team, remember?”
Oikawa chuckles, and then there’s a hand gripping onto Hanamaki’s arm.
“Yeah, we are.”
~
(Hanamaki gets a text that night: Soooo does this mean neither of us won? ╮(─▽─)╭
Go to sleep Oikawa.
Hmpf fiiine. I’m cuddling with Iwa-chan right now, he’s staying overrr ( ≧ ω ≦ ) ( ｡ ♥ ‿ ♥ ｡ )
Hanamaki turns his phone off and sets it down on his bedside table, before curling back against Matsukawa’s side and smiling to himself.
He disagrees with Oikawa. They’re both winners.)