Chapter Text
Hajime did his best not to slam the classroom door shut when he noticed yet another gaggle of girls gathered around Oikawa. He was always surrounded and it was getting on Hajime’s nerves. He should be used to this, unbothered even. But the more it happened, the more unwilling Hajime was to give these false admirers even a second of Oikawa’s day.
They were constantly seeking attention and slipping slimy remarks and platitudes reeking of flattery towards Oikawa’s brilliance and how successful he was sure to be. Really, they just wanted a piece of the hottest guy on campus.
Unfortunately for all of them, he already had a girlfriend who was woefully similar to the rest of them. She had just approached and was now shooing them off like the gossiping, bickering cuckoos that they were before attaching herself to Oikawa’s side as if she were some inane limpet.
Sliding through the pouting runoff of girls to get to Oikawa, Hajime walked beside him, easily matching Oikawa’s pace. Oikawa turned to him and gave one of his bright smiles that told Hajime that all was well with the world. The two of them along with some of their off-campus friends had planned on a get together soon. It was one of the few social gatherings that Hajime actually found pleasure in. It would be nice to catch up with Hanamaki and Matsukawa since they had last been together during Lunar New Year celebrations.
Oikawa’s girlfriend, Hiyori, was more of an on-again off-again fling. She just kept coming back, like black mold, Iwa noted moodily. And she was currently hissing some excuse about why she had missed her and Oikawa’s date last night. Hajime narrowed his eyes. He was no detective, but he could tell something fishy was going on.
Oikawa only brushed it off with a pleasant smile and unerring faith that something unexpected had occurred. The thing was, something unexpected always seemed to happen whenever Oikawa had time to go out for a date. Pairing that with Hiyori’s foxy eyes meeting a tall senior whenever they passed him in the halls, made Hajime suspect he was Hiyori’s ‘something unexpected’.
They parted ways with Hiyori upon exiting campus. Oikawa caught up to Hajime who was already waiting at the bus stop. “What’s with the face?” Oikawa teased.
“I’m not making a face.” Hajime replied, schooling his expression to something stony.
“You don’t like Hiyori.” Oikawa stated, knowing that he didn’t even have to ask. Damn him and his perceptiveness.
Hajime shrugged, he didn’t like any of Oikawa’s girlfriends but it wasn’t his place to tell Oikawa who he could and couldn’t date. As much as Hajime battled with his displeasure regarding Oikawa’s bad choices in relationships, he was equally divided about his own feelings for his best friend.
“She keeps missing our dates.” Oikawa mumbled, taking Hajime’s silence in stride. “It’s almost like she doesn’t want to go out with me anymore. Ridiculous, right?” Oikawa’s laugh sounded hollow.
Hajime lifted his head from his phone which he hadn’t even been paying attention to. “Do you want me to be honest or sympathetic?”
“Can’t those be the same things for once?” Oikawa whined.
Hajime quirked an eyebrow.
“Fine. Honest.” Oikawa huffed but his lips curled with amusement.
“I think she’s using you.”
“Iwa-chan, please.” Oikawa rolled his eyes, “That’s what you always think.”
“Have I been wrong so far?”
Oikawa jutted his jaw out the way he did when he knew Hajime was right but didn’t want to admit it.
“You really think Hiyori would do that?”
Hajime pursed his lips and gave Oikawa a sharp look. “Are you really that attached to her? You guys keep breaking up then getting back together.”
“We’re busy! Plus, she did that exchange program for a semester. You know long distance relationships don’t work out.”
Hajime felt a stab of guilt, not for Hiyori, there weren’t many eels that were as slippery as she was. He hadn’t told Oikawa yet that he was thinking about finishing college overseas. He hadn’t known how to bring it up to him while battling his longtime feelings for Oikawa. So far, Oikawa had only dated women but he knew Oikawa wasn't opposed to going out with a guy or two.
“She’s your girlfriend. I can’t tell you how to navigate your relationships. But maybe you should ask her to be honest with you.” Relief flooded Hajime when the bus pulled up, saving him from elaborating more about what Oikawa should do.
Oikawa muttered about how these kinds of conversations often turned sourly awry, screwing up a whole day's worth of good feelings. Hajime had to restrain himself from smacking Oikawa because conversations were always the easiest thing for the two of them. He could go on and on about how startlingly simple they were.
They had an understanding deeper than blood, deeper than mere friendship. Hajime halted at the thought of soulmates but what else could they be? He could never bring that up to Oikawa. For all of Oikawa’s romantic nature, he didn’t believe in soulmates, or love at first sight. Meanwhile, Hajime firmly knew that both were true solely based on what he felt for Oikawa.
He had stopped dropping hints when they were sixteen when it became clear that Oikawa would never see him in that light. It had hurt but not as much as a rejection would have. Hajime had long since made his peace with being just the best friend and nothing more. What else could he do?
“Hold up.” Oikawa gripped Hajime’s sleeve and motioned to where Hiyori was coming out of the school building, arm linked with that guy she kept eyeballing like a filet mignon. Hajime tried not to sigh when the bus doors closed and pulled out without them. Now they would have to wait a half hour for the next one to show up.
“Oikawa, I don’t think you want a confrontation right now.” Hajime said as he gently extricated his arm from Oikawa’s tightening grip.
“Sorry that I made you miss the bus. But if this turns out bad, I’m gonna need you to hold me back from making a big ass scene.” Oikawa’s entire demeanor had changed from the bright warmth that it usually was to something far colder and on the verge of dangerous. With those foreboding words, he stalked after Hiyori and her arm candy as they disappeared around the building.
Hajime suppressed a groan and loped behind Oikawa, giving him space but close enough to forestall a commotion. Just as he rounded the corner Oikawa flung the guy’s arm away from Hiyori who was in an unfavorable position, with her skirt riding up her thighs and hair disheveled. Oikawa demanded, “What the hell are you doing?” His tone was even, almost friendly, but murder was plain in the clench of his jaw.
Hiyori got right up into Oikawa’s space and snapped back, “You have no right to dictate who I am with and what I do with them.”
Hurt flickered across Oikawa’s face before he barked a sharp laugh, “I knew you were never faithful.” His face twisted into something ugly and vicious, “I heard all the stories about how you cheated on every single one of your boyfriends. I don’t know why I expected it to be different for me.”
There was no remorse on her face as she spat, “Well, what about those sluts that are always giggling around you? I figured you had enough pretty girls to keep you busy.”
Oikawa’s mouth opened, ready to throw another stinging comment but Hiyori interrupted. “And what about him!” She threw a poisonous glare at Hajime. “He’s your sexy best friend, right? Don’t tell me that you two haven’t fucked at least a few times. He’s always on your heels, he might as well be glued to you. Oh, but I guess you guys are plenty attached when he’s riding your cock!”
Knowing that he was basically Oikawa’s shadow was one thing, having Hiyori point it out and taunt him about it was another entirely. He had tried to keep his distance from all of it; his attraction and desire for Oikawa, his distaste for all of Oikawa’s flings with shallow, starry eyed girls who only wanted Oikawa for his looks.
Now, his vision filled with red as Hiyori continued the insulting onslaught. Oikawa slammed his hand against the building, making her jump with fright for the first time. Oikawa seethed about her words on Hajime who stood frozen a few steps away. Hajime only caught the tail end of Oikawa’s low-voiced threats, “-You dare talk about Hajime like that again, and I’ll ruin you and your future career.”
Those words finally seemed to get through to Hiyori who had been livid with Oikawa about getting caught about to fuck her new toy in public. Her face was white with fury and disbelief. “You don’t have that kind of power.” She argued unconvincingly. However, they all knew that Oikawa wouldn’t have made a threat if he couldn't follow through. One of the many things that made him a terrifying enemy.
“We’re through.” Oikawa bit out tersely. “Don’t talk to me, don’t text me, don’t even look at me.”
Hiyori’s mouth was a thin line of rage but she didn’t utter a word.
”And don’t even think about being a bitch to Hajime. He has nothing to do with this so stay away from him.” Oikawa’s stare lingered on her until she gave a nod of reluctant agreement.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.” Oikawa marched past Hajime, his shoulders stiff and face guarded.
Hajime looked back at Hiyori who was still white with anger and doubt. He really hoped that was the last of her. Turning back, he followed Oikawa to the bus stop. Oikawa’s hands were stuffed into his pockets as he glowered fit for a thunderstorm. Hajime stopped to stand beside him and nudged his shoulder with his own. It was his silent way of asking about Oikawa’s emotions. He was taken aback when Oikawa reached out for him, pulling him into a half hug.
“Tooru?” Hajime mumbled into his shoulder, “Are you okay?”
“I should be asking you that.” Oikawa said against the side of Hajime’s head. “That bitch has no idea what she’s talking about.”
“So you finally admit that she really is a bitch.” Hajime quipped.
”I should have just listened to you. You were right once again.”
”Aren’t I always?”
”Not always, you jerk.” Oikawa snorted and pulled away from the impromptu hug. Glancing down at Hajime whose hands were stiffly clenched at his sides instead of sliding around Oikawa’s shoulders like he wanted to.
Hajime was intensely aware of how close they were, a bare few inches separated their faces and he could feel Oikawa’s warm breath on his cheeks. He didn’t have to look at him to know that Oikawa’s golden brown eyes were filled with concern or that his clever mouth was pursed with more words to distract him.
They knew each other too well. Hajime knew every excruciating detail about Oikawa just like Oikawa knew that Hajime had never been left alone for being gay and proud about it. It was a consistent sore spot for him. Why was he constantly punished by people he barely knew for liking other guys?
“You can be upset, you know.” Oikawa said, his hand lifting as if to touch his face before dropping it.
”What’s there to be upset about? It’s not like she said anything I haven’t heard before.”
”You don’t have to keep taking peoples’ shit.”
”And I don’t need you to protect my honor. I don’t care about what other people think of me.” Hajime flicked his eyes up once to meet Oikawa’s, still as warm as ever, but deadly serious.
“You’re worth more than all of them combined.” Oikawa’s voice was filled with conviction just like he was when it came to anything that had to do with Hajime and his doubts.
“Thank you.” Hajime finally relented. He hated compliments, they were usually shallow and made to curry favor but Oikawa didn’t dole them out unless he meant them. And before he could think better about it, he leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to Oikawa’s cheek. He could feel heat explode across his face and was quick to turn towards the bus that pulled up at the most opportune moment.
Hajime didn’t catch the shocked bewilderment or the happy smile that lifted Oikawa’s face. Or the soft touch to his face where Iwaizumi’s kiss had left warmth in his cheek. “Iwa-chan.” Oikawa crowded him close to the window as he rested his head on his shoulder as he often did after a long day of classes or when they were coming home from hours of volleyball practice. “Can I stay at your place tonight?”
Hajime nodded. It wasn’t anything new Oikawa slept over all the time. But something felt different now, a little more tense, a lot more uncertain. He decided to make it easy on himself and assume that Oikawa just needed tonight to get over the break up. That was gracious of him and understandable of Oikawa. There was nothing else more complicated about it. Except… he knew Oikawa too well and Oikawa knew him just as well. He would be able to sniff out anything Hajime tried to keep from him. TLDR; tonight would be a long one.