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"What is it that you want to do at university, Hajime-kun?"These were the same questions they faced every time Oikawa had family around to celebrate something or other. This time, it was Takeru's birthday, and the first party they'd been to since Oikawa and Iwaizumi had officially become a couple – not that it wasn't something everyone had been anticipating for years. Even so, Oikawa was still basking in its newness, in the way his family had absorbed this information and accepted Iwaizumi as a part of the family so thoroughly. How amazing, how wonderful, how–"Well, I want to make sure I can look after this idiot properly, so I'm going to go into sports science to make sure one of us knows how to keep him fit. That way, he can keep doing what he loves for as long as possible."How infuriating.Once again, Iwaizumi had been so plainly sweet in front of Oikawa's entire extended family, and once again, Oikawa was the only one who seemed to be even remotely affected. How could Iwaizumi sit there, utterly expressionless while Oikawa's cousins tittered and his grandparents cooed and Oikawa himself dissolved into an embarrassed puddle on the floor?He covered his face with his hands. "Iwa-chan," he groaned. "What?" he said, voice closer than Oikawa had anticipated. He looked up through the gaps in his fingers to see Iwaizumi moving towards him. A gentle kiss pressed into his temple. "It's just the truth."If he was struggling before, he was positively deceased after that. Oikawa loved to think he had a poker face that no one could ever see through. That he always kept his cool, was always one step ahead. Maybe that had been true before. But ever since he’d finally gotten together with Iwaizumi, it seemed keeping his emotions to himself wasn’t an option anymore. His love for Iwaizumi was constantly written across his face for everyone to see.As he sat with his older sister taunting him and his parents talking about his future wedding, Oikawa decided enough was enough. He refused to be the only one in this relationship who got flustered, who felt so much he thought he would explode with it. All he had to do was work out what it took to break his partner's stoic exterior.---At volleyball training a few days later, Oikawa thought it was the perfect time to start embarrassing Iwaizumi.He waited for the perfect moment, after they'd set up the nets and Oikawa started sending set after set to the spikers. As Iwaizumi ran up to take a spike, he watched with calculating eyes. As always, it was a well-timed approach, with good height on the jump and almost perfect positioning away from the net. Oikawa was only going to fawn over how brilliant his hit was, but in the heat of the moment, he actually did manage to botch his set, forcing Iwaizumi out of formation. Even through Oikawa's floundering, Iwaizumi recovered the ball perfectly and sent it over the net, into the far corner of the court.Immediately, Oikawa ran over to him and grabbed his hands, letting his heart take over and the words gush from his mouth. "Iwa-chan, that was amazing! No one else could have made that look so easy." Then, he pulled their joined fingers up to his face and kissed each of his palms.Iwaizumi grinned, but turned away quickly. He was already pulling out of Oikawa's grasp and walking away when he said over his shoulder, "Thanks, babe."And that was that.Not only did he not receive a reaction from Iwaizumi, but none of the rest of the team seemed to care, either. Kindaichi was already starting his approach for his own hit by the time he wandered back into position, despite the fact that Oikawa, dazed and distracted by a simple pet name, was not at all ready to set again. The ball hit the floor before Oikawa's arms were even half way to the correct place, and Kindaichi, confusion in his eyes, swiped at thin air. Recovering quickly, he sent charming smile and slick apology over to the first year. He refocused his body on the task at hand. However, his brain was elsewhere; maybe he had to go further. He had to do something that would get everyone's attention, including Iwaizumi's.A little while later, when he caught Iwaizumi on a water break, Oikawa ditched his own practice and sidled up to Iwaizumi, wrapping his arms around his middle. He gave him a squeeze as Iwaizumi's own arm fell over his shoulders and Oikawa pushed his face into Iwaizumi's neck. "Oikawa? You good?"Oikawa nuzzled against his skin, placing a kiss there, then one on his cheek, then onto his temple. "Fine," he replied smoothly, nosing at Iwaizumi's hair. "Just love you." He pulled back to catch Iwaizumi expression. It was soft, but not particularly overwhelmed or embarrassed. "Aw. Love you too." Then, with a swift kiss to Oikawa's lips, he was gone again, back in the throes of training.Oikawa watched him walk away feeling slightly put out that not only was Iwaizumi not particularly affected by his antics, but none of the team had batted an eyelid. Not even the coaches had spared a second glance, and Oikawa knew they'd seen – they saw everything.Irritated, Oikawa stomped over to where Matsukawa was practicing his serves. "Mattsun," Oikawa whined as Matsukawa sent the ball flying across the gym. "Why aren't you surprised?"Matsukawa didn't bother to stop what he was doing, watching Watari bump his serve and swearing quietly under his breath. "Straight to the setter's position," he muttered."Mattsun!" Oikawa grabbed his arm, annoyed as Matsukawa tried to walk over to the ball cart. Everyone knew he hated being ignored.Turning to look at him, Matsukawa rolled his unimpressed eyes. "Why aren't we surprised that you're acting just as much a fool around your boyfriend as any other day? I wonder."Was everyone out to get him? On one hand, Oikawa couldn't be upset that everyone knew he was utterly in love, because it meant nobody would dare try to get in between them. On the other, Oikawa never acted like a ‘fool'.But it did say something about this method of attack. It obviously wasn't going to work since Oikawa was an amazing boyfriend who always made sure to bury his partner in physical affection. No, Oikawa would have to try harder.Still, Matsukawa could have been less blunt about it. Placing his hands on his hips petulantly, Oikawa said, "At least I have a boyfriend, Mattsun. If you stared any harder at Makki's pecks in the club room, your eyes would fall out of your head."Without giving Matsukawa a chance to reply, Oikawa turned and rounded up the team to start clearing up. Hanamaki and Matsukawa being too dense to get themselves together was a problem for another day.---Throughout the day, new ideas formed and floated through his mind, but it wasn’t until lunch that a solid plan formed.Every Tuesday and Friday without fail, Iwaizumi was late to lunch. This was because he went to the cafeteria on those days; his mother’s work schedule meant there was never enough time to make him lunch. Since it was a Thursday, Iwaizumi was on time and had come into school with a delicious, homemade bento.Oikawa was the last of the four of them to get to lunch. He sat himself down next to Iwaizumi on the bench, peering over his shoulder at today’s selection.Did he have his own bento to eat for lunch, lovingly made by his mother? Absolutely. Did that ever stop him from stealing some of Iwaizumi’s? Not a chance.Without a word, he opened up his mouth expectantly.Iwaizumi tusked, but predictably raised his chopsticks to Oikawa’s face, a piece of katsu chicken in their clutches. "Always stealing my food, Shittykawa."Oikawa plucked it away with his teeth, satisfied as he crunched down on the perfectly cooked meat."You know, you could put a load of chilli in your lunch or something," Hanamaki suggested. Oikawa ignored his obvious jealousy in favour of pulling out his own lunch.Looking at Hanamaki like he had said something incredibly stupid, Iwaizumi replied, "Why would I do that? Oikawa doesn't like it spicy.""But you do–that's exactly–" Hanamaki cut himself off. Oikawa watched as he looked towards Matsukawa, as if looking for some sanity. The other boy merely shrugged. Then, he threw his arms up in the air and declared he was going to buy a drink from the vending machine instead of putting up with them. Matsukawa followed, muttering something about calming him down.Oikawa barely heard. He was too distracted by his own smugness at Iwaizumi’s response, and the idea it prompted in his mind.As he tucked into his own food, a strand of hair fell into his eyes. It would need cutting soon. Fingers were there, brushing it back before he had the chance to move. He looked up, a warmth like summer sun filling his chest. “Iwa-chan?”Iwaizumi’s hand dropped, though he didn’t look away. He smirked. “Just knew your vain ass wouldn’t want a hair out of place. Plus, I wanted to see your idiot face.”Even his insults nowadays were softened by sweetness.At least this time, there was no one around to witness his floundering.---By the time he made it home at the end of the day, he knew what had to be done. He began immediately, aware he was limited both in time and skill."I'm home," he called through the house, kicking off his shoes."Welcome back," his mother replied from the direction of the kitchen. That was perfect. She would be able to help him make the perfect lunch for Iwaizumi to express his love.He walked in to find her unloading the dishwasher. As she straightened up, he took the plates out of her hands, filling his smile with as much charm as he could muster. "Let me do that. You deserve a break." He turned away to stack the plates into the cupboard, then moved onto bowls.When he looked up at her again, she was watching him, eyes slightly narrowed. "That's kind of you, Tooru," she said.He gave a short, affirmative hum."What is it you want?"“Is it so hard to believe that I just want to help the woman who’s looked after me for the last eighteen years?”Her scoff was response enough. How was it that she always saw straight through him? “Fine. I wanted to make the best bento ever for Iwa-chan, but you know I can’t cook.”Raising his gaze then, he blinked up at her with his best puppy dog eyes. It was likely overkill – she was never hard to persuade, and had a soft spot for Iwaizumi the size of the pacific ocean – but he wasn’t going to risk his plan for anything.After a little negotiation and convincing, they began to put together the bento. It was more work than Oikawa was expecting, but it would be worth it to see the look on Iwaizumi’s face.---Oikawa could feel the thrum of anticipation in his body as he made his way to their usual lunch spot. Don’t go to the cafeteria at lunch today, he had said to Iwaizumi that morning, pulling on his hand before they parted. Iwaizumi had looked intrigued, if a little bemused. Trust me. Looking down at the two bentos in his hands, he couldn’t help the upward curl of his lips.“Iwa-chan,” he sang, placing a box in front of each of them. He sat and stared at Iwaizumi, elbows on the table and chin resting on his hands. “Open it.”Iwaizumi eyed the bento, then watched him suspiciously, as if he were looking for the trick. Finding none, he opened the box to see Oikawa’s handiwork. He’d used little pieces of nori to make the rice balls look like volleyballs, he’d hand-cut cucumber slices into stars (they weren’t perfect, but he was proud for his first attempt), and amongst the fruits and vegetables was an omelette. It had been harder to cook than he’d thought, and the one in Iwaizumi’s lunch was his second attempt – the first one was unfortunately overcooked and for Oikawa to eat instead.Mouth falling open slightly in surprise, Iwaizumi’s eyes met his own. This was it – this was the moment he’d been waiting for. Oikawa felt his expression change from glee to something softer, and he took Iwaizumi’s hand and placed the chopsticks into them. “Eat,” he said, opening up his own (charred) lunch.They ate in companionable silence for a few moments. Every so often, he glanced over at Iwaizumi, but his expression was unreadable. It wasn’t until Hanamaki and Matsukawa sat across from them that he received any insight into Iwaizumi’s brain.“What’s up, guys?” Hanamaki said.Iwaizumi grinned up at then, then turned his bento round on the table proudly. “Tooru made it for me.” Somehow, in spite of his best efforts, it was Oikawa who smiled stupidly, butterflies fluttering in his stomach, with Iwaizumi just as put together as ever. He was sure he would mind later, but in that moment, he basked in the praise.Both of their friends leaned over the table to look properly at the food. Hanamaki squinted. “Why do the rice balls look like that?”Matsukawa smirked, nudging Hanamaki with his shoulder. Despite his distraction, Oikawa didn’t miss the way Hanamaki’s eyes flitted towards his friend, then away just as quickly. “I think they’re supposed to be…volleyballs?.”Like that, Oikawa’s mood flipped to something closer to irritation. “Makki, Mattsun,” Oikawa complained, but stopped abruptly at the feeling of Iwaizumi’s hand on his thigh. Immediately, he felt himself relax.“I bet it tastes like shi–ow!”“Sorry, Makki. Was that your shin?” Oikawa said, then turned to Iwaizumi. Did he agree? Was it terrible? Should he not have bothered?Except, Iwaizumi never had listened to anything people said.He was tucking in eagerly, like every bite was worth savouring. And, maybe it didn’t matter whether it tasted terrible or not.---That was all very well, but still, Oikawa had not managed to break Iwaizumi.It was maddening. All he’d gotten for his efforts was gratitude and love and a wonderful, wonderful partner–Oikawa was getting side tracked.What he needed was to do something big, something Iwaizumi wouldn’t expect. It needed to be a grand gesture, something that went against everything he believed in.The Sports Festival.For the past few years, Iwaizumi and Oikawa had had the misfortune of being in different classes (though for the sake of their grades and their teachers, this was likely a good thing). That meant that they would once again be on different teams. To stop individuals becoming too competitive and losing the spirit of the festival, sports were assigned so students on specific teams were not playing their own sports. Oikawa would be running in the relay race at the end of the day, leaving the rest of the time free for him to explore.Iwaizumi, on the other hand, had been assigned to basketball. It wasn’t something either of them had ever had much practice in except for when they played in class. Still, if Iwaizumi’s team won, he would have to play up to three matches that day. Oikawa planned to be there for all of them.It didn’t stop him from gloating constantly about how much his team were going to win. They were wearing yellow, and Iwaizumi’s team blue. As far as Iwaizumi was concerned, it was no different to any other year – Oikawa was determined to win at any cost.That was likely why he looked so surprised to see Oikawa standing by the side of the court in a blue shirt, cheering louder than anyone else.He’d waited until they were a few minutes into the match to reveal himself. Other students stared at him, some in surprise, others in betrayal, but there was only one set of eyes he was interested in.Iwaizumi’s head jerked up at the sound of his voice. He winked and waved, then blew a kiss over. The concentration that had fallen from Iwaizumi’s face came back with vengeance, accompanied by a fierce resolve.When he called for the ball, Oikawa almost wanted to throw himself into the game to answer it. His fingers itched for the feeling of a volleyball against them, but he refrained. Someone else on his team passed it over, and Iwaizumi bounced it once, twice, on the floor, before aiming for the hoop over the other teams defence, and–Score! Oikawa whooped and cheered over the rest of the crowd. There was a flush to Iwaizumi’s cheekbones that Oikawa hoped was brighter for his presence, but was likely due to exertion. Then, Iwaizumi turned towards him, raised his fist and clenched it in celebration.The rest of the game passed with Iwaizumi on top form. It was a sight to behold, something that Oikawa would have selfishly kept entirely away from anyone else if he could have. It didn’t matter though, because after the last points were scored and the whistle was blown, it wasn’t anyone else that Iwaizumi ran to.Everything else fell away. Oikawa threw his arms in the air and round Iwaizumi’s shoulders as his boyfriend pulled him into the air, spinning him round in a circle. It was impossible to stop the laugh that escaped him as his feet touched back down on the floor. Iwaizumi pulled back just enough to look up at Oikawa, eyes crinkling. “You cheered for me even though we aren’t in the same team.” His voice was soft, filled with awe.“Maybe I just like Iwa-chan more than I want to win,” Oikawa whispered, watching Iwaizumi’s expression carefully. Surely, this would do it. Iwaizumi was about to crumble before his eyes.If anything, he seemed to be distracted watching Oikawa’s mouth. “Are you going to cheer that loud when it’s your team we’re playing against?”
Oikawa pouted, but didn’t make any effort to remove himself from Iwaizumi’s arms. “Maybe.”Leaning in closer, Iwaizumi placed a quick kiss to Oikawa’s lips. Oikawa chased his lips as he moved away. “Watch the next one as well, okay?” With another peck, this time in his hair, Iwaizumi turned away to celebrate with his team and rest up before the next match.He wanted to screech in frustration, but that would draw attention. He wanted to put his hands in his hair and tug it tight, but that would ruin his perfect wave. All he could do was stare after Iwaizumi and hope his face didn’t betray just how irritated he was that his plan had failed yet again.“Your boyfriend just won. Quit acting like someone spat in your food.”Obviously, he wasn’t doing a very good job.He startled in a way he wasn’t particularly proud of. To his left, Kunimi was tapping away at his phone, looking as bored as ever. After a moment, Oikawa recovered enough to feel put out. “Excuse me?” he replied, hoping he sounded more dangerous than whiny.Kindaichi was standing next to Kunimi, clearly panicking at his friend’s lack of respect. He was probably the only person on the team who was still a little scared of Oikawa, and Oikawa would be lying if he said that didn’t slightly get to his head sometimes. He rushed to explain Kunimi’s words. “Ah, Oikawa-san, Kunimi’s sorry. What he actually meant is that his a little confused, considering everything looking so good with you and Iwaizumi-san. Or something,” he ended lamely.Despite Kindaichi’s trepidation, Oikawa could tell that Kunimi wasn’t the only one digging for information here. However, this was not a conversation Oikawa wanted to be having. He diverted quickly. “Well, maybe Kunimi should mind his own business. What are you doing on there, anyway?”“He’s meddling.”Kunimi peered at Kindaichi, then chose to ignore him completely. “Messing with the only two people who are more of a disaster than you are.” He showed Oikawa his screen.It was open to Kunimi’s chat with Hanamaki, to which he had sent 3 different pictures of Matsukawa, who was also playing basketball, though not at the same time as Iwaizumi. His game had started around halfway through Iwaizumi’s match. Already Kunimi had managed to take a shot of him stretching where even Oikawa could admit his thighs looked excellent, then a couple of action shots of him playing that were just as good. Hanamaki’s response made him scoff, though he wasn’t surprised.To: Hanamaki Takahiro (09:23)
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From: Hanamaki Takahiro (09:25)
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you cOULD HAVE WARNED A GUY
there are easier ways to kill me
…send some more
At least he’d stopped lying to himself about it.Kunimi took a screenshot of the chat and closed it, before scrolling down to a different one and opening it.“Kunimi-chan, you can’t,” Oikawa said. Not even he would be so brazen, but he wasn’t actually going to stop him. If it got them together without getting Oikawa in trouble, so be it. They’d been pining for way too long, anyway.Kunimi attached the screenshot and sent it to Matsukawa, and it was done.“Oh god,” murmured Kindaichi.“No going back now,” Oikawa said, turning to watch then end of the game.Unfortunately for Matsukawa, there wasn’t much to celebrate at the end of that game, but at least it would leave him some free time to think about his options. The three of them watched from the little crowd of spectators as Matsukawa picked up his phone, scrolled for a moment, then dropped it completely for seemingly no reason. His face was bright red, all the way down his neck and on his ears, and he scrambled to pick it up.“See? That’s what I’m aiming for. Why won’t Iwa-chan react like that?” Oikawa complained.Before either of his kohai had a chance to reply, Matsukawa’s eyes were on them, obviously not happy. Knowing he would immediately get the blame, Oikawa threw his hands up in the air in surrender, and thought it best to put some distance in between himself and Kunimi.He stepped away and sat on the floor near the end of the gym for a moment of quiet. (It was a total coincidence that his choice of position gave him a perfect view of Iwaizumi as he stretched, ready for his next game.) There had to be something he could do.It seemed he was running out of ideas.---Having taken a couple of days to gather his thoughts after another abject failure, Oikawa had come to the conclusion as to why what he’d done so far hadn’t worked. Everything had been along the same lines, really. It was always Oikawa trying to do something unexpected – public displays of affection (which apparently weren’t that unexpected, but let him live), cooking for him, cheering for him. The one thing Oikawa hadn’t done was change the way he spoke to him.Iwaizumi had countless names for Oikawa: sometimes trying to be insulting with Shittykawa and Lazykawa, other times babe, sweetheart, or just plain Tooru. On Oikawa’s part, it had never been something he had considered before. He only ever called Iwaizumi Iwa-chan.Maybe it was time for that to change. It wasn’t like he had any other ideas.He started off simple. Nothing that Iwaizumi hadn’t called him before, but nothing he had ever used himself. Walking to school hand in hand was something that always made him feel warm inside – he remembered quietly missing it when they decided they were too old for such things. So, he was already filled with fondness that threatened to overflow as they parted ways at Oikawa’s locker. Iwaizumi said, “Have a good morning,” and kissed him on the cheek.“You too, babe. See you at lunch.”If Iwaizumi had clocked the change, he let nothing show. He simply left to go to his class, but that was okay, Oikawa decided. He had endless time and plenty more names to pull out of his arsenal later.“Anata, could you open this for me?” Oikawa asked at lunch time, struggling over a bottle of ice tea.Nothing. Iwaizumi barely looked up from whatever was obviously more important on his phone screen as he twisted the top off with ease and handed it back over.“My love, have you seen my gym shirt?” he asked as he changed ready for volleyball practice.“It’s still in your bag, stupid.” Nothing. Oikawa gritted his teeth through his ‘thanks,’ and pulled the shirt over his head. He definitely didn’t stomp his way to the gymnasium in his irritation.When Iwaizumi joined him there, Oikawa’s first sign were the arms wrapping securely round his middle, impossible not to melt into. Oikawa lay his hands over the ones at his waist as Iwaizumi tucked his face into his neck. Being mad at him was like being mad at the sun. “Everything okay?” he asked.Oikawa felt the slightest amount of shame bubble up that he’d worried him, but powered through nonetheless. “Fine, Corazón. Go do your best, okay?” He pressed a kiss into Iwaizumi’s hair, the only part of him his lips could reach.Iwaizumi hesitated for a single moment. “If you’re sure.” Then, with one more squeeze, he was off to start his individual warm-ups. With absolutely nothing to signify he’d heard the name Oikawa had called him.“I didn’t know you spoke Spanish. Too bad he didn’t seem to care.” Hanamaki said, materialising at his side. He had an insufferable smirk on his face. Oikawa couldn’t even make fun of his hopeless pining anymore to wipe it away; Kunimi’s plan had worked perfectly.If he had asked nicely, maybe Oikawa would have told him how he’d been teaching himself ever since he decided to play professionally abroad instead of insulting him. Unfortunately, he hadn’t asked nicely, so insult it was. “At least I don’t owe my relationship to a fifteen-year-old whose daily screen time is longer than an iPad baby’s.”Hanamaki was unphased. “Dude, you can say whatever you want. I don’t care how we got here. All I care about is that I can stare at those beautiful thighs for as long as I want and not feel guilty about it anymore.”Like he’d been called, Matsukawa appeared at Hanamaki’s side. Of course they were perfect for each other – Oikawa didn’t know anyone who seemed to be able to teleport the way they could. “Did someone summon my thighs?” Matsukawa said blandly.Oikawa wasn’t going to put up with this. Years of pining had dissolved immediately into constant flirting, and Oikawa didn’t have the stomach for it. “I’m leaving now,” he said, moving forward to set up the nets.As soon as he’d started, Iwaizumi’s Oikawa needs help senses must have been tingling. He was there, pulling up the other side of the net before Oikawa even had the chance to ask for help. Oikawa watched him for a moment: the way his shoulder and arm muscles flexed as he tightened the ropes, the concentration on his face, the way he moved off again without a word, never asking for acknowledgement. Everything about it was irresistible to Oikawa.His feet were moving as if he was being pulled by an invisible force, grabbing at one hand and holding it between his own. Iwaizumi looked up, slightly startled. “Thank you, mi amor. You’re the best.”Iwaizumi smiled at him, but it was a small, confused thing. He lifted his free hand to brush some of Oikawa’s hair away from his face, despite the fact Oikawa knew it was already sitting perfectly. “Are you sure everything is alright? You’ve been kinda weird lately. You know I love you the way you are, right?”That gave Oikawa pause.So he had noticed. Well. That was something, he supposed, even if it wasn’t exactly in the way he’d been hoping for. No matter what Oikawa did, what he said, he just couldn’t pull an embarrassing reaction out of him. Not only that, but he was trying so hard to make it happen that Iwaizumi was actually beginning to think there was something wrong.Maybe he was being stupid. After all, he had this beautiful, funny, caring man right in front of him and he was spending so much energy on his scheming that he could barely appreciate it. It was time to let go of this, time to accept that he would always be the one making a fool of himself. He took a deep breath, then rolled his eyes and pulled away.“Tooru?”Oikawa sighed his most dramatic sigh, throwing up his hands in defeat. “Fine. It’s over. You win.”“I–what?” Iwaizumi replied, baffled by the direction the conversation was taking.“You’re fantastic and amazing and thick-headed, and I give up.” He didn’t give him a moment to reply before he changed the topic. “Did you like my español, Iwa-chan?” He winked at him as he turned towards the rest of the team, ready to warm up.Still not having quite recovered from the whiplash, Iwaizumi followed on, replying as best he could.Eyes followed him around the gym for the rest of the session, but Oikawa didn’t mind a little bit of extra attention.---Oikawa looked up as Iwaizumi set down the tray of drinks he was carrying for the four of them and took the seat next to Oikawa. Across from them, Hanamaki and Matsukawa took their glasses – two ice coffees, one with milk and the other black, respectively – and clinked them together, each taking a sip.“Thank god you’re back. Sitting on my own across from those two for more than thirty seconds is disgusting,” he said as Iwaizumi placed his caramel frappe in front of him. He took a spoon and ate some of the cream off the top. “They can’t keep their hands to themselves and they won’t shut up about it.”Hanamaki stopped staring at Matsukawa long enough to narrow his eyes at Oikawa. “Issei, look. I think there might be a hypocrite sitting across from us. Should we take a picture?”Unperturbed, Oikawa flicked his hair. “I knew you wanted the chance to take my photo. Take it from wherever you want, Makki. I don’t have a bad angle.”“At least I haven’t morphed into the same person as my boyfriend. You’re even ordering the same drinks now. Do you remember when Iwaizumi used to drink anything other than black coffee?”Oikawa nodded sagely. “Of course, that wouldn’t be possible for the two of you, since you’ve been the same person to begin with.” His eyes travelled to the tray, where he spotted a milk bun. He hadn’t asked for one, but it was never an unwelcome sight. His mouth was watering at the thought of it. “Is that for me, Hajime?”A beat of silence, then two. Oikawa thought nothing of it for a moment, distracted by the prospect of a sweet treat, but the moment stretched out too long to be natural. When he looked up to see what the issue was, he couldn’t help but stare.Iwaizumi’s cheeks were flushed a deep pink and his mouth was open slightly. Even though they were staring directly at each other, he didn’t immediately seem to notice Oikawa’s gaze. Then, he realised Oikawa was waiting for a response, and stuttered out a, “I–um, what?” He blinked a few times, then slapped his hands to his face, looking away as if to try to regain some semblance of control. “I mean, yeah. Yes. It’s for you.”His brain screeched to a halt, taking a moment to catch up with reality before fully processing the only thing he had changed. “Is this because I called you Hajime? Lots of people call you that!”There was a slight frown on Iwaizumi’s expression, a slight down turn to his lips. It seemed like he was deliberately avoiding Oikawa’s eyes. “It’s different when it’s you, dumbass,” he mumbled.Oikawa heard the words, saw the milk bun plate being hastily placed in front of him, and felt a wide grin spread across his face. He couldn’t help but let out an amazed, stunned laugh. Iwaizumi’s eyes flitted towards him then away again, and he scowled harder, taking a large gulp of his drink. “Finally. Is that all it took? I work so hard for so long to get you to break and all it takes is your given name? I can’t believe it!” He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture. The false anger on his face did nothing to lesson the redness which was perfectly visible in the photo, immortalised in Oikawa’s gallery.Iwaizumi turned to face him, redder by the minute. “Are you serious? All this time, you’ve been being ridiculous and cute and I’ve only just held it together, but you were actually trying to screw me over on purpose? What an asshole.”Oikawa’s smile widened impossibly. An asshole, yes, but– “An asshole you love, Ha-ji-me,” he sang happily.Iwaizumi groaned, crossing his arms and dropping his face to rest in them. Oikawa took pity on him ever so slightly and pushed his hand through Iwaizumi’s short hair, scratching at his scalp in the way he knows he likes. He felt Iwaizumi move into the touch and knew he was forgiven, at least a little. “If I’d known that all it took to get you like this was to use your given name, I would have done it years ago.”“It’s like watching animals at the zoo,” an even voice came from across the table, and Oikawa remembered they weren’t alone.Not only were they not alone, but one glace told him the other two had been sat watching their interaction since the beginning. Iwaizumi lifted his head off the table. “Matsukawa–”Hanamaki cut him off, sounding frankly more fascinated than Oikawa thought he had right to be. “Here we have the rare hypocrite, caught in a mating ritual with a gorilla. Whatever will they do next?”They were lucky Oikawa was suddenly in an extremely generous mood – who wouldn’t be, with a milk bun and delicious drink in front of him, and a blushing, slightly embarrassed boyfriend at their side? – because his comeback was much less scathing than his usual remarks. “I don’t think double dating is for us. Sorry Makki, Mattsun. It’s you guys, not us,” he said brightly. He looked around, one hand still petting Iwaizumi’s hair, scouting out the café for the best table for them to move to for a little more privacy. “We’re going to go and find our own spot. Isn’t that right, Hajime?”Iwaizumi’s reply was an unintelligible grumble, but he followed when Oikawa stood, making sure to take his milk bread and drink with him. Oikawa was going to have fun with this, after everything Iwaizumi had put him through.It was only fair, right?