When you're young, you are not afraid of commitments; you would clutch onto and attach yourself to someone or something earnestly like super glue. But all that changes as you start learning what it is like to grow up.
It's almost been a year since Hajime graduated high school and four months since Oikawa and he had started dating. It was weird accepting what they were now, but in a sense it was as if they were always together.
It was just the wall of acknowledging it. Growing up as childhood friends living on the same street, they had transitioned normally from friendship to romance.
In all honesty, Hajime really shouldn't have been thinking about such things when Oikawa was going to be at his apartment soon- no later than the than the time they had agreed on. (Oikawa was dependable when it came to Hajime. He was stable no matter what anyone else believed- now only if he channeled that energy somewhere else.) And that meant Hajime had no more than five minutes, shit and he would never be able to choose between the t-shirt and the hoodie or the plaid flannel.
Hajime wondered why he even bothered with hard decisions when Oikawa had seen him in both outfits before. It wasn't like it really mattered, but the thing called "relationship etiquette" just had to pop up. There really should have been exceptions that came with the topic when Oikawa was thrown in the equation. There were exceptions for Oikawa in everything anyway.
In the end, he decided to go with the plaid (just as the doorbell rang) because it was more comfortable, not because he thought Oikawa would appreciated how the flannel looked on Hajime or that it was a date.
The movie wasn't all that great. (Hajime wanted to ask Oikawa why he even liked all of these sci-fi movies anyway but he already knew. They grew up together- it was a part of their childhood that Hajime didn't think he would ever forget.) It's the same old extra-terrestrial alien movie: humans/earthlings against martians; not that original and followed in the shadows of every other film made.
Except they don't manifest the same face as ET. Large head and bug eyes? Non, nada, nope. They appeared to be humans and were taking over the Earth from the inside; not with physical force until the main alien (hero of the film) showed up. Hajime supposed that it was easier on the director with a smaller demand on CGI effects which in return could be really bad and fake-looking.
Since the first shot took place in a karaoke box with the ikemen alien and a bunch of crazed women and a sprinkling of men in there, Hajime determined it was one of those movies. (B-rated, yet high in budget spending.) Manipulation and hypnotism from paranormal creatures would never get any director anywhere.
Oikawa's eyes were focused intently on the screen with childish emotion and energy throughout all of the movie. And as a way to cope with this never-ending boredom, Hajime took handfuls of popcorn from the bucket on Oikawa's lap until Oikawa realized it and slapped his hand away. ("Iwa-chan go buy your own food if you're planning on eating all of mine." "What? Food always makes everything better. Besides, sharing is caring isn't it?")
Hajime thought what Oikawa said was an exaggeration and that he wanted to yell at Oikawa for being a hypocrite. The bastard drank from Hajime's cup of soda all the time after finishing his own, but the popcorn was never completely eaten. The damn former-ace/setter even took two straws for himself as a habit now whenever they went to the movies so he could drink from Hajime's drink.
(Hajime would let him just drink from his straw if Oikawa didn't care. He also forgave Oikawa when the setter slipped his hand in Hajime's, though he suspects that the other boy did it so Hajime didn't attempt to take any more of his food.)
As the B-rated film continued, Hajime pondered on the movie's need for a love interest. She was completely useless to the story line (only appearing twice with no real amount of screen time). So were the endless amounts of explosions. The only redeeming feature of the whole thing was the soundtrack dragging out primitive feelings that impacted the movie.
Nevertheless, Oikawa loved the horrible monstrosity, no pun intended, anyway and only made a minuscule complaint about the use of hovercrafts instead of the traditional disk-shaped UFOs. When the movie concluded and the credits began to roll, Oikawa was clapping his hands over-enthusiastically, his eyes bright even though there were no live actors for him to applaud, for they weren't at a play.
For all that, this was one of the things that Hajime liked about going to see sci-fis with Oikawa. The unrefined excitement, raw and genuine. This Oikawa wasn't constantly burdened and worried and overworking himself.
(The stripped red bucket of popcorn that Oikawa threw out into the garbage can, Hajime observed, was still more than half full. He rolled his eyes.)
Hajime found himself rocking on the balls of his feet back at the lobby of the theater, his hand still engulfed in Oikawa's. He and Oikawa stood by the Now-Showing and Coming-Soon movie posters. If he was honest, the string of lights bordering each frame were really bright and starting to annoy him.
But more importantly, there was the constant question of "What's next?" that was part of their cinema routine. The couple could always head home and catch up on sleep, but that seemed like a waste for a fine Saturday evening.
"Iwa-chan, what are we going to do today?" Oikawa asked. His smile was bright.
Before Hajime had a chance to answer though, he spotted the girl who had been alone by the concessions stand, walk over to them in all of her pink and yellow sundress glory.
Hajime had noticed that her gaze flitted between their intertwined hands to their faces for a while. Probably another one of the ignorant, homophobic kids walking the streets of Japan, he thought. But no, this one was just curious and born a romantic.
When she said "Hi!" with a chipper voice, he should have known that at least once on a date he and Oikawa would run into a little, probing girl. It's only as generic as their story of childhood friendship turned romance is.
"Hi there," Oikawa replied and Hajime realized, he was deciding whether or not to bend down to this four-foot tall creature. In the end, Oikawa chose not to. He hated sharing anything with other people, Hajime knew this, and especially not the time that he spent with Hajime and alien movies.
That's what the (fake) smile on Oikawa's face meant. It said, 'hurry along brat' and was similar to the ones he gave Kageyama and other members of opposing teams. He never really had any friends when he was younger (and neither does he now) other than Hajime. The only exception Oikawa had to his own hating children rule was his nephew and the kids he taught at Lil' Tykes.
Yet stubbornly, the girl stayed and asked questions.
"Are you two in a relationship?" Both Hajime and Oikawa were stunned by the question. First, no seven year-old should be talking like that. And, no one, had asked them about them before.
Oikawa was the first to recover. "Yes," he answered, looking proud and smug, but mostly the latter. "Iwa-chan is all mine."
"Shut up, Assikawa."
The little girl looked re-energized. Hajime knew from being around Oikawa's nephew (and Hinata Shouyou) that it was a bad thing.
"Then you both love each other, right? You're going to get married?" This girl was ridiculous. Did she even know what she was asking?
Hajime almost choked on what was left of his soft drink -what Oikawa didn't finish- and Oikawa's eyes looked as if they would fall out of his gorgeous face. Their faces turned red; this was an awkward situation. The topic had never popped up before. Sure, they like each other, but the L-word? It didn't seem to be capable as a part of Hajime's vocabulary.
"So do you love each other?" she repeated; she might have began to get impatient.
Oikawa's eyes were trained on Hajime's face. "Yes, I do love him." The girl was satisfied with the answer if the crooked, toothy grin on her face was anything to go by. Hajime noticed that Oikawa evaded, the second question (he would have too), but the expression he had on was serious.
And as abrupt that her appearance was, the girl left. They didn't even know her name until her mom called, "Aiko!" her voice filled with relief upon finding her child.
It was then, that Hajime realized Oikawa had told someone who they didn't know had existed until a few moments ago, about their love life.
That was one milestone. A large milestone in fact. Hajime sighed as he looked down at his and Oikawa's still linked hands, warm like a summer day.
"Restaurant or take out?" Hajime asked.
"Take out," Oikawa said with complete certainty like the matter they were discussing was an undercover mission.
The topic wasn't brought up again before all the soba and gyoza were finished. Hajime and Oikawa were curled up on the couch. There was no cliché sunset basking them in a beautiful overrated golden-yellow glow.
The drapes were shut tight.
In comparison, there were the constant sounds and colors of the television broadcasting an international volleyball game.
The match was a reminder of those that Hajime played in with the Aobajousai team in high school. When he used to spike the tosses that Oikawa sent to him. With emotions and tension running high, each point was a game changer. Hajime heard the cheer of the crowd and could see the sweat falling from the player's bodies.
That was exhilaration they were feeling- being alive on the court. They took risks and ran completely on both practiced and unpracticed techniques. Adrenaline flowed through their bloodstream.
"I want to be on that court and play like that," Hajime found himself whispering to Oikawa, who had draped himself over the other male ages ago.
"Then, I'll set the ball for you to spike it," Oikawa replied back softly. Oikawa seemed to melt back into the warmth that the couch and Hajime provided, but Hajime felt him become rigid a few moments after.
"Ne, Hajime," he paused, "do you love me?" Oikawa said so lightly that if Hajime wasn't as close to Oikawa as he was, he wouldn't have caught the words stumble from his lips.
Hajime thought back to Aiko in the afternoon and the question she had proposed. He realized that he couldn't tell if Oikawa was genuinely asking (he would probably hope that they felt the same way), wanted to tease Hajime about it (but he used Hajime's first name), or was feeling insecure (his mask was always put on beautifully).
But to Hajime, it doesn't matter why Oikawa was asking.
"Yes."
Because his answer would be the same for all of the reasons Oikawa would possibly have for asking him.
He was more sure about this than a majority of the things in his whole life- even if it took him a while to reach the conclusion.
Because, Hajime thinks, if you can ramble on uselessly for hours about how stupid someone is, yet make excuses for each fault:
you're in love.
But it wasn't until he buries his face that he pressed the words (I love you, Tooru) to the intersection where Oikawa's neck and shoulder met. Oikawa then visibly relaxed into the touch.
"I love you, too, Iwa-chan," Oikawa breathed out and he was back to calling Hajime by his given nickname.
"Don't call me 'Iwa-chan', Assikawa," Hajime protested as Oikawa turned and positioned himself to lean up and Hajime, down to press their lips together.
"Sure, Iwa-chan."
When you're young, you are not afraid of commitments; you would clutch onto and attach yourself to someone or something earnestly like super glue. But all that changes as you start learning what it is like to grow up.
Except Oikawa's childishness counteracts that. (There he is again, making exceptions for himself.)
Author's Note:
I was originally supposed to put this up sometime in December 2014, oh well. At least this got up before my Reigisa fic did and I started that in August.
In case you didn't realize it, Aiko's name means "love child". Don't kill me for the puns.
I'm sorry that it's 12:54 AM right now and I'm probably not editing properly. I apologize. Once again, don't hate me. I'm going to sleep soon. Have a nice day! (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
Talk to me about volleyball dorks, or really any other dorks at my tumblr. (kikunakamura)
Have a nice day!
Word Count: 2,060
Originally Published: January 29, 2015