Chapter Text
Tooru basically screeches when he first reads the message from an unknown number, scaring everyone in the team as they’re changing out of their jerseys.
RECEIVED [UNKNOWN NO.]
Your smile isn’t as bright as it is on tv.
Tooru screeches again, nearly dropping his phone this time and the rest of the team glance at him before cautiously returning to what they were doing. Better leave out of the captain’s sketchy businesses—
“So, are aliens invading?” Tetsurou asks him conversationally as he shrugs on his jacket, the embroidered insignia of the national team tactfully hidden on the right side of his chest by a towel.
“It’s gotta take more than that to have Tooru screaming,” Koushi comments, chuckling as he zips up his bag.
Tooru sinks onto a bench, completely forgetting about changing out of his sweaty clothes, more preoccupied with staring at the sentence he just received trying to analyze every aspect of it up close.
I GAVE HIM MY NUMBER IT’S HIM!!!!
MY SMILE?
He saw my number and texted me.
He saw me on tv—
HE THINKS MY SMILE IS BRIGHT!!!!
“…kind of weird how he’s staring at his phone intently with that creepy smile,”
“Tetsu! That’s mean.”
“I mean, I’m just saying…”
“Suga-chan, he texted me!” Tooru peals, flapping around his legs excitedly.
Koushi smiles at him patiently though he has no idea what’s going on. He tilts his head.
“Oh really? Who did?”
Tooru’s cheeks are flushed.
“My…” Oh. “…friend.”
Tetsurou narrows his eyes suspiciously and stage whispers, “He’s not even sure,” to Koushi.
Tooru ignores him. He notices the room emptying out as their other teammates flee to escape his whining and for once he’s not thoroughly upset about this.
“I went to the ER three weeks ago right,” Tooru tells them, his tone excited.
Tetsurou looks even doubtful. “How is this a good memory?”
“Oh, Tooru! Did you hit on someone there?” Koushi says fretfully. “You know what I said about hitting on strangers…”
“I didn’t hit on him oh my god!” Well maybe a little— “His right arm was in a cast and he couldn’t write so I offered to help.”
“Then you hit on him,” Tetsurou grins.
“I didn’t!” Tooru squeals indignantly as Koushi and Tetsurou burst into laughter.
“You didn’t but you gave him your number?” Koushi says.
Tooru shrugs. “Well it seemed appropriate.”
“Because you were flirting,” Tetsurou pipes up again and Tooru thumbs at the screen of his phone, smiling as he ignores him.
“Did you know he goes to law school?” he tells them.
It’s a little satisfying to hear his friend’s groans of exasperation.
***
RECEIVED [Oikawa Tooru]
- ajsiufi3hoTsfjk
- FUCK sorry i was thumbing the screen and i
- is this Hajime Iwaizumi? iwa-chan?
- you have to force a smile for the CAMERA btw
- not actually that enthusiastic about cameras but my autocorrect—
Hajime bolts upright in a start, almost kicking the bowl of popcorn by his feet and nearly kneeing Issei who’s sitting on the floor and leaning on the couch, on the face with his other leg.
“What the fuck,” Takahiro says casually, looking up from where he’s lying down on Issei’s lap. Issei, meanwhile doesn’t seem to be that bothered.
Hajime mumbles an unintelligible response, curling into himself and hugging his knees as he reads Tooru’s reply again and again, all his focus on the movie they had been watching disappear.
“Hmm,” Issei hums and Takahiro sits up on one elbow, grinning maliciously at Hajime.
“It’s that crush of his again—”
“Shut up, Takahiro,” Hajime says pleasantly, eyes not leaving his phone.
“What crush?” Issei wants to know and Takahiro happily supplies him with details because he is nosy.
It isn’t technically a crush, Hajime wants himself to believe. It’s more of a small nagging voice with a bright smile and he may or may not have googled the owner of said bright smile a few (several) times, mumbling eloquent words of holy shit each time.
He replied!!
But Iwa-chan. What the hell though.
SENT [Oikawa Tooru]
no iwa-chan.
Tooru had taken a good five hours to reply to him for the first text and Hajime isn’t supposedly counting though he starts to dread that maybe he had texted when he was busy then and he’s probably busy now and he shouldn’t have bothered to reply—
RECEIVED [Oikawa Tooru]
iwa-chan seems appropriate when your arm is in a cast and you can’t pinch my nose or smthn in annoyance~
Hajime almost whoops when his phone vibrates but he doesn’t since he’s a mature and sensible adult unlike some people who’re sitting on the floor when there’s a couch, at the moment.
He grins though and glances at his right arm. It’s no longer in a cast though his forearm is still bandaged.
“You seem rather delighted looking at your injury,” Issei quips and Hajime rolls his eyes at him.
“He’s texting that celebrity boyfriend of his,”
“Mind your own business, Takahiro, oh my god.”
Takahiro snorts.
“He’s just an acquaintance,” Hajime tells him. Or maybe he’s reassuring himself.
“Don’t they all start from there,” Takahiro makes a big show of winking at Issei lasciviously.
“Gross,” Hajime tells them without much bite.
SENT [Oikawa Tooru]
it’s not in a cast anymore.
RECEIVED [Oikawa Tooru]
oh! that’s great! i showed it to my friend and he said congrats.
SENT [Oikawa Tooru]
are you…in practice? are you actually texting during practice?
RECEIVED [Oikawa Tooru]
- you texted me first though!
- but i’m not in practice (○ﾟε＾○)v♪
SENT [Oikawa Tooru]
am i even allowed to text you?
RECEIVED [Oikawa Tooru]
why not!!!
SENT [Oikawa Tooru]
i could be a person selling other people’s information
RECEIVED [Oikawa Tooru]
i thought i was the person selling other people’s information? /:)
SENT [Oikawa Tooru]
well, you know.
RECEIVED [Oikawa Tooru]
i know a great deal about you too you know! Hajime “Iwa-chan” Iwaizumi born on June 10 only child of Aiha and—
Hajime feels his face heat up, embarrassed. Okay so what if he remembers all that it shouldn’t matter anymore. Hajime leaps off the couch and treads out to the porch where it’s cooler and quieter and quickly dials Tooru’s number.
Tooru is giggling when he answers.
“Don’t be creepy,” Hajime tells him easily.
Tooru sounds like he’s grinning. There’s a distinct noise on his end, people mumbling and talking.
“Too creepy?” he teases.
Hajime scoffs, rising up to the challenge.
“Well I’ve looked you up too, Oikawa Tooru captain of the Japanese national volleyball team, born July 20 and younger brother of—”
Tooru laughs gleefully. “Okay! Fine, not too creepy then,” he says, muttering the internet these days aside and Hajime snorts.
The talking on Tooru’s end fades and Hajime hears hurried footsteps.
“I got out so I can hear you better!” Tooru explains.
Hajime rubs the back of his neck.
“Are you…busy?”
Tooru’s reply is immediate.
“Wha—no, Iwa-chan!”
“No Iwa-chan.”
“Ehh…”
“How’s your knee?”
Tooru hums a surprised breath.
“It’s, well it’s better now.” He says.
Hajime exhales, leaning against the railing.
“Just a friendly advice, it’s not heroic to overwork yourself you should get some rest.”
Tooru is smiling again.
“Are we friends now?”
“I take it back,”
“Nooo, wait—”
Hajime finds himself laughing.
“I was being serious though, Tooru?”
The wind is cool, pleasant against Hajime’s warm cheeks and warm hands an d Tooru’s smiling voice makes the night seem more cozy and his heart’s aflutter.
“Thank you, Hajime,” Tooru tells him.
SENT [Iwa-chan ♥]
Tetsurou was being mean today!
SENT [Tooru]
- Tetsurou?
- oh your middle blocker.
- you should listen to him.
SENT [Iwa-chan ♥]
maybe he’s jealous of me
SENT [Tooru]
somehow i doubt it
SENT [Iwa-chan ♥]
why are you so like this..?
---
SENT [Tooru]
you were on tv today
SENT [Iwa-chan ♥]
DID YOU SEE ME!!
SENT [Tooru]
that's why i said you were on tv today
SENT [Iwa-chan ♥]
did i look good ;)
SENT [Tooru]
..
don’t you always?
Hajime doesn’t send it.
---
SENT [Iwa-chan ♥]
GOOD MORNING IWA-CHAN!!
SENT [Tooru]
- ♡♡♡ it is me I am Iwa-chan ♡♡♡
- what the fuck
- sorry that was my roommate let’s pretend that never happened
SENT [Iwa-chan ♥]
Iwa-chan has a roommate? /:)
SENT [Tooru]
an annoying one.
Hajime picks up a lot of things from him somehow, his teammates too. He learns that it’s a habit of theirs to take Mondays off and Tooru spends the entire day watching tv. He learns that Tetsurou steals his hair products and Koushi admonishes him most of the time. He learns how tough their practices for the day were gauging Tooru’s repeated complaints.
In return, Hajime tells him about his days. How stressful school is becoming everyday into the semester. How annoying his roommate can be accompanied by his boyfriend. How he dislikes milk bread after all much to Tooru’s disbelief. Tooru seems to enjoy even the most mundane things it’s rather amusing it’s—
(—adorable.)
SENT [Tooru]
i saw you on Volleyball Monthly today.
RECEIVED [Tooru]
- :DDDDDD
- was it good?
- did i look okay ehehe
SENT [Tooru]
eh
RECEIVED [Tooru]
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN????
Hajime smirks, holding up the copy of the magazine he bought today, almost hurriedly too he remembers, having almost choked when he saw Tooru’s face on the cover.
He’s smiling dazzlingly, holding a ball to his side while his teammates are behind him. Hajime doesn’t recognize them but feels he doesn’t need to anyway. Humorously, he covers Tooru’s face with his thumb as he’s holding it up and quickly snaps a picture.
SENT [Tooru]
very adorable lmao.
RECEIVED [Tooru]
Iwa-chan ლ(ಥ Д ಥ )ლ
***
RECEIVED [Tooru]
we’re going to Saitama today!
The pen Hajime’s holding almost flies out of his hand when he squeezes it hard.
SENT [Tooru]
what why
RECEIVED [Tooru]
we have a practice match, Iwa-chan s( ^ ‿ ^)-b
SENT [Tooru]
WHERE??
RECEIVED [Tooru]
- whoaaaa
- the central gym, you know the biggest?
SENT [Tooru]
I’m from Saitama.
RECEIVED [Tooru]
- and we’re on our way
- WAIT YEAH HOLD ON A SECOND
- SEE ME
“HIRO!” Hajime yells as Takahiro passes by, on his way to the kitchen and nearly drops a bowl of lettuce.
“Some people like peace and quiet,” he says in distaste.
“I want to go to the gym today.”
“Have fun.”
“Come with me.”
“No, Jesus Hajime what are you—”
“It’s an emergency,”
“It’s so humid out and you want to play volleyball?!”
Hajime grins at him.
“I won’t tell Issei about the one time you threw out the chocolates he gave because you’re allergic.”
“Dammit, Iwaizumi,” Takahiro growls, setting down the bowl of lettuce on the counter with more force than necessary before stomping off to his room to change and Hajime bursts into laughter.
RECEIVED [Iwa-chan ♥]
well…yeah i could do that. it’s just a walk from where i live anyway.
“Tooru, please—I, too am trying to—text my way into my own romance—If you would just stop fucking shaking me—”
“Tetsu-chan! He’s gonna come see me!” Tooru peals, giving Tetsurou another good shake much to the latter’s annoyance.
“Are you sure you didn’t force him…?”
“Tetsu!”
Koushi and Morisuke peer at them both curiously from the seats opposite from theirs.
“Is it that one crush he keeps talking about?” Morisuke whispers aloud and Koushi merely chuckles.
“Wow,” Morisuke whistles. “Shameless. Does the other boy know?”
Koushi grins. “Hopefully.”
“You know I already slightly regret sitting beside you,” Tetsurou informs Tooru as he waves his phone around Tetsurou’s face so he’ll see.
He sees alright.
Tetsurou smothers Oikawa with one of the headrest pillows and he squeals again. The coach turns in his seat, all the way from the front to look at them both, frowning slightly and shaking his head though he doesn’t seem to be mad.
“I get it already, I get it!” Tetsurou says, mussing Tooru’s hair to make him stop.
RECEIVED [Tooru]
iwa-chan you’ll tell me where you are right?? RIGHT?
Hajime makes a face.
“What the FUCK, Hajime why are there so many people at the entrance?” Takahiro grumbles behind him.
“The national team is coming to practice,” Hajime replies, face close to his phone as he focuses on typing.
“Huh,” Takahiro mumbles distractedly.
They both stop at the edge of the crowd and watch as a bus arrives at the same time Hajime’s phone vibrates again.
RECEIVED [Tooru]
IWA-CHAN!!
SENT [Tooru]
why are you still texting me lmao
“Let me out let me out let me out let me ou—”
“Jesus, Tooru calm down.”
Tetsurou grabs his arm and goes, “Find your chill for once in your life.”
He looks about to cry petulant tears when the coach goes along with Tetsurou’s teasing and lets the younger players alight first much to their amusement.
Hajime looks up when Takahiro tugs on his jacket going, “There they are.”
A few players wearing dark red jackets come out of the bus and then there’s loud squealing from somewhere ahead of them. Hajime doesn’t see Tooru yet but his heart is already pounding.
Unbelievably, his phone vibrates one more time.
RECEIVED [Tooru]
i don’t see you :(
Hajime snorts.
SENT [Tooru]
you’re not even out yet lol
There’s another bout of screaming and Hajime looks up to Tooru being towed on both sides by a messily haired teammate and a gray-haired one, both grinning at Tooru teasingly as he’s pouting at his phone.
Hajime’s heart is in his chest, in his ears, and in his hands as his phone vibrates again because Tooru’s still on his fucking phone.
“Hey isn’t that your friend?” Hajime hears Takahiro say and he quirks a private smile that makes Takahiro yell in realization.
“You’re here for your friend you sly fuck!” he sneers.
RECEIVED [Tooru]
what are you wearing? ;)
SENT [Tooru]
dumbass
RECEIVED [Tooru]
D:
Hajime sees Tooru tapping away at his phone as he looks around wildly, a serious scrunch in his forehead that makes Hajime want to laugh.
SENT [Tooru]
why are you still on your phone wtf
RECEIVED [Tooru]
but where are you :(
Tooru is looking in the other direction, pouting once again. His warm brown curls are a little tousled from when his teammates were dragging him but now they’ve let go, Tooru’s running a hand through it. Hajime can see Tooru’s green shirt underneath his red jacket, obvious alien prints all over it.
SENT [Tooru]
I like your shirt lmao
Tooru’s gaze sweeps around the crowd, still not finding him yet and Hajime chuckles.
SENT [Tooru]
a little to the right.
Tooru turns at the same time Hajime looks up and this time he’s sure their eyes will meet and—
Tooru breaks into a dazzling smile, laughing to himself and despite the distance, Hajime can almost hear the chime of his laughter. His heart is doing a little dance at this point and he’s trying to grip his phone hard enough to squish the butterflies in his stomach but he can’t stop smiling back at him nevertheless as though there aren’t any people around. And even then when they’ve only got a few seconds before Oikawa has to go, they manage to feel like hours.
Hi, Tooru mouths and Hajime laughs in spite of the loud cheering of the crowd.
Hi, Hajime mouths back to him.
“Captain, catch up!” One of Tooru’s teammates shout to him and there’s a slight second of panic in Tooru’s face before he waves at Hajime enthusiastically and running off to catch up with his team.
Even when he’s gone inside, Hajime feels clammy. He turns to Takahiro to tell him they have to watch the practice match and he finds him talking on the phone.
“—listen, Issei I’ve just witnessed really obvious, really graphic oblivious flirting and frankly I am disgusted—”
Hajime aims a kick at him.
“Shut up, Makki.”
***
Hajime sees Tooru practically sparkle with confidence on court. He stays in the upper bleaches with Takahiro and Issei whom he’s called over so that he, as he says, “won’t be subjected to Hajime’s hopeless romanticism” which promptly got him another smack.
Tooru is amazing, Hajime finds himself thinking multiple times in the course of the match. He’s seen him play on screen before but seeing him fly here, gaining several victorious points with every service ace, it’s hypnotic to watch. He can see all the hard work burned into this, hours of rigid training that presumably got him his injury.
Nevertheless, Tooru doesn’t look as though he regrets his decisions one bit with his smirk of triumph each time the ball connects with his palm, with every successful toss he makes, he soars higher.
“He’s a great player,” Takahiro remarks, genuinely as soon as the match ends and the players are gathering.
“Oikawa Tooru, huh?” Issei muses.
Hajime flushes for whatever reason that he deduces to probably be a start of a fever.
Definitely a fever when he feels his phone vibrate and his heart starts racing.
RECEIVED [Tooru]
iwa-chan! are you free? can i see you? i'm at—
Hajime clears his throat, already ready to go.
“Um, I gotta…for a sec…” he stammers to Takahiro and Issei who’re looking at him with raised eyebrows as he vaguely gestures to a general direction.
“Yeah, sure,” Takahiro snorts and Hajime bolts away.
“You know, I remembered what I was going to say,” Issei says smugly. “I went to high school with that Oikawa guy.”
“Ooh, you one-upped Hajime for once,”
“Oh you’re hilarious.”
Hajime arrives at the hallway where the locker rooms are ahead and finds one person standing there, fidgeting.
Hajime’s palms are clammy, no point in hiding either way.
“Well don’t you look like a picture of nervous grace,” Hajime says, chuckling despite the fact that he too probably looks like a picture of nervousness without the grace.
Tooru jumps in a start but quickly recovers with a grin.
“Iwa-chan!” he greets, laughing delightedly. His eyes immediately land on Hajime’s still-bandaged forearm and blinks at Hajime questioningly.
“It’s better now, see?” Hajime wiggles his fingers at him.
Tooru smirks. “No more need for my help then?”
Hajime rolls his eyes but he snorts. He points to Tooru’s knee, thankfully he’s wearing his brace.
“How’s your knee, you rebel?”
Tooru sticks his tongue out at him.
“I told you I’m okay, you doting mother, you.”
“I’m just going to ignore you said that.”
Tooru hides a small giggle with the back of his palm, definitely uncalled for as he stands there with his other hand on his hip.
“D-Did you watch…um…” he mumbles, hands fumbling for the edges of his red jacket not looking at Hajime straightly.
There’s a huge lump of affection in Hajime’s throat and he coughs a laugh.
“I did,” he says, immediately seeing Tooru sag in relief. “My roommate and his boyfriend too, actually. We thought—I mean, I—well, you were amazing,”
Tooru’s smile is teasing and smug.
“But you know,” Hajime quickly adds. “You look kinda terrifying when you smile all weirdly like you’ve just killed a person,”
Tooru doesn’t pay attention with the last bit.
“I know just the thing for you to get a free autograph of mine, Iwa-chan!”
“I’m not really asking—”
Tooru ignores him. “Because I was wondering if—”
“Hajime! There you are—oops, sorry I…uh,”
Hajime looks back and sees Issei standing there waving at them awkwardly.
“Issei,” Hajime sighs. “What is it?”
“Ah,” Tooru murmurs, pointing at Issei all of a sudden. “Matsukawa Issei? Mattsun!”
Hajime frowns, looking at them back and forth.
“How is it that you know each other?”
Tooru just starts snickering as Issei waves a hand off.
“We’re kind of eh, high school batch mates, that kind of thing,” Issei explains noncommittally with motions of his hand. “Anyway I was going to ask if you’re done because Takahiro’s bugging me to go eat somewhere but I didn’t realize you’re in the middle of something so like, please go on,”
Tooru raises his eyebrows. “Oh it’s absolutely—”
Hajime smiles innocently. “You were saying, Tooru?”
Tooru twiddles his thumbs, looking down sheepishly.
“I was going to ask if you’re free later because I know this café b-but! No pressure or anything because you’re with your friends and…”
Issei pushes Hajime towards him so fast and hard that Hajime stumbles onto Tooru’s waiting arms with a loud yell.
“HE’S FREE,” Issei shouts, making a sweeping gesture. “Totally free, this entire week, heck this month he’s free, he’s yours!” he babbles as he starts walking backwards. Hajime shoots him a glare, horrified. “He’s especially free later! Forget I said anything! Free, free, free for dates, BYE!”
He quickly skips away to the end of the hallway before making a sharp turn, still chanting free, free, free ominously.
It takes Hajime a split-second to disentangle himself from Tooru, cheeks flaming, brightly colored curses of what the fuck and I will kick his ass come flowing out of his mouth as Tooru is clearly trying to hold in his laughter.
“Sorry, sorry,” Hajime says, fighting the urge to cover his face with his hands.
“Barely thirty minutes in and you’re already falling into my arms, Iwa-chan haha,”
“For the love of—”
Tooru leans close to him, eyes sparkling and taking advantage of the measly five centimeter difference between them.
“Will you go to the café with me?”
Hajime swears his heart is louder than the clubs he’s ever been in.
“Yeah, yeah, okay,” he manages and Tooru steps back enthusiastically and extends a hand towards him. Hajime stares, confused.
“Nice to meet you again without some sort of injury, I’m Tooru Oikawa, not a murderer and…” Tooru chuckles at the memory. “Won’t sell your information to anyone else.”
Hajime takes his hand and is immensely satisfied to find that Tooru’s hand is as cold as his.
“Hajime Iwaizumi,” he says, smiling crookedly. “Will probably sell your information if you’re being annoying.”
Tooru makes a face at him briefly and Hajime makes a swipe at him that makes him laugh again.
“Later?” Tooru asks him eagerly and Hajime nods.
“Later.”
Later is good. Later is full of promises.