Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu or any of its awesomeness, characters or epic-settings
AN: Written for a fic-exchange for SuzaLouch :D
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{A Distraction}
aka. the Aoba Josai Baby Sitting Squad
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No-one knew exactly how their weekend Training Camp suddenly got hijacked into a babysitting hostage-type of situation.
After all, they were men. Teenage men, but still men, after all. Damnit. They were supposed to be doing manly stuff, like watching action movies and driving quad bikes. And looking at girls... 'cause, it's manly, damn it all. But this...
This was a child. A two-foot-something, tiny sneaker wearing, pissed-off-looking child. Offspring. A sentient human fetus. What the hell?
"Come on, Hajime, say hi!" Yahaba urged and tried his best not to show how awkward he felt about this whole situation.
"Hello..." Iwaizumi said curtly but the frown never dissipated. He was definitely a shy one.
The whole team bowed elegantly and choroused, "We're happy to have you here!"
… which was what they usually said to a rival volleyball team and not a practically fresh-out-of-the-box human spawn.
"Man... I've never met a kid so angry-looking before, are you sure he's only two-years-old?" Matsukawa mumbled and got a glare sent to him courtesy of said-kid.
"Two-and-a-half," Yahaba corrected lightly and crossed his arms with a confused frown on his face, "That's what Mrs. Iwaizumi said when she dropped Hajime off... but, I'm not so sure how the hell it makes a difference... he's so short... and bitter..."
"Like a mini espresso," Matsukawa added in and high-fived with Hanamaki.
"But... why's he here?" Kindaichi asked, staring at the young kid as if he's a carrier of the Plague itself.
"It's only until tomorrow, and Mrs. Iwaizumi wasn't exactly in a talkative mood when she dropped him off... she just said that Coach Irihata was fine with it..." Hanamaki said and jerked his thumb towards the bags behind him, "Apparently those has everything inside he'll need but..."
The team's faces said all they couldn't say out loud. It's a kid. A two-foot tiny toddler with disaster written all over it. How in the hell were they supposed to babysit this kid when they didn't even know him from a bag of chips?
"Let me. I'm great with kids" Oikawa said with an air of confidence that made the entire Aoba Josai team sigh in relief... for a second, until he opened his mouth again, "Are you pissed off, little Iwa-cha~an?"
Of course the entire team could only chime in with:
"HEY!?"
"Don't swear in front of him?!"
"What the hell?!"
"No."
and finally some groans of embarrassment from the team members.
"Come on, little Iwa-chan..." Oikawa cooed and grins as he picks him up, "We're going to have so much fun! Hey! That rhymed! Iwa-chan have some fun... aww!"
"No." Iwaizumi snapped curtly and put his hands over Oikawa's eyes, as if trying to block him out completely, "Put me down!"
And, just like that, their torture... erm, Babysitting had begun.
It was only past eleven in the morning, so the morning session wasn't completely over with, which made the entire little adventure a complete disaster... at least to Oikawa.
The past half-an-hour the team had been constantly breaking practice to make sure little Iwa-chan didn't run underfoot whilst they were practicing drills, didn't fall off the equipment while he was climbing, didn't trip over his shoelaces because they came untied... and then, when all the distractions started to get on Oikawa's nerves...
"Oink..? … um...Mr. Oinkawa..." Iwaizumi mumbled, quite unsure that he was saying Tooru's name correctly. He tugged softly and shyly at Oikawa's pant-leg, being very conscious of the movement of Tooru's feet.
The setter's focus broke for a moment before turning back to finish setting for Matsukawa. After the spike landed, Oikawa finally turned to Iwaizumi and crouched down to his eye-level, "Yes? Do you want to go to the bathroom again?"
After all, Oikawa did actually like kids. Always have. But, he really needed his team to get this training camp under the boot before the end of this week, since they'll be up against Nekoma soon. They didn't need distractions right now.
Iwaizumi could be seen thinking it over for a moment before deciding against it. He shook his head and kept tugging at Oikawa's pants. "I'm … I'm hungry... Mr. Oinkawa..."
Of course Matsukawa had heard little Iwa's mispronunciation of the Grand King's name and just had to add in his two cents, "Yes, please! Can we all take a break, Oinkawa-kun!"
"Oh! Maybe we should get some pork ramen..." Hanamaki muttered pensively before fist-bumping Matsukawa.
Of course this started a whole chain reaction of the entire team making various pig, pork and bacon-related jabs at their King, until said King finally sent them a death glare and the pokes finally came to a halt.
They ended practice a bit earlier since Iwaizumi was definitely their charge and they were responsible for his well-being...
But, mostly because the tears didn't end. It wasn't a loud crying fest, no yelling or anger at all. In fact, the poor kid was just sitting on the bench with his hands clasped to his lap and face drawn to a frown, with tears streaming down his face.
It was only a ten minute wait, but, for kids, ten minutes is a lifetime.
So, when Oikawa had, mid-set, caught the look on Iwa-chan's face, he was completely thrown off his game. He didn't waste time after to even have the team pack up, he just simply walked off court, picked up Iwaizumi and called out to the rest of the team that they'll be grabbing lunch at the nearby café. And so, almost as if a light was switched, the entire team shook off their game faces and happily followed their captain to the café. After all, this was the captain's treat and they were not going to pass up this opportunity.
It didn't take long for the team to order their usual lunch, but it was a different problem all together, to get little Iwa-chan to actually be fine with sitting on the high-chair.
With an undeniable excitement of being able to pick up the kid, Yahaba lifted up little Iwaizumi to place him on the high-chair next to the table.
Only, little Iwa-chan was not fond up being picked up. "Put me- put me down!"
"But, it's nice and high!" Yahaba exclaimed, trying to work little Hajime's legs through the spaces meant for seating, "Then you can-"
And that's when everyone on the team became fully aware of the kid's hidden powers. It wasn't screaming nor a hissy fit. It was just a head-butt. Straight to the nose.
"OW!" Yahaba cringed violently, almost dropping the kid.
That little strike had the team in stitches, laughing their asses off at Yahaba's murderous expression.
It was Kyotani out of everyone that actually grabbed the kid from Yahaba's grip and glared at him. He held him at arms-length whilst moving the high-chair away with his foot. He awkwardly pulled another normal chair up to the table, all the while keeping Iwaizumi at a distance before setting his feet on it, "Happy?"
Yahaba, stumbling towards the bathroom to check on his nose, was followed by a 'concerned' but red-in-the-face-from-laughing-his-ass-off Watari, but Kyotani seemed to be pleased with his own work as he took a seat next to the kid.
"The sit is hard!" Iwaizumi pouted and stomped his foot against the chair, as if to demonstrate the actual density of the material.
"The seat..." Oikawa corrected, quickly parroted by the young kid. So, it was Oikawa that shrugged off his thick jacket, folded it into a square and, with the help of a quick lift from Kyotani, slid it underneath Hajime's feet.
With an experimental test, the young boy wiggled his foot a bit, surprised by the softness of the jacket before smiling happily. He plopped down without another complaint and grinned to himself, completely satisfied now.
That's why, when their lunch finally arrives, everyone couldn't help but feel just a tad bit weirded out by how this babysitting stint had gone. This kid was definitely not normal.
"Who drinks coffee and eats vegetables, by choice...?" Watari said and grimaced, "Are you sure he's a child, Yahaba-kun..."
"Well, I like him already," Hanamaki said, making sure Oikawa sees them clinking their coffee mugs -albeit tiny fake ones filled with practically room-temperature coffee – together. The staff at the café had been nice enough to use the play tea-set for little Iwa's coffee mug, and also made a point to offer the rest of the team the same thing... to which only Hanamaki was game for. After all, he was the only coffee-junkie on the team, "More coffee, Hajime?"
The kid shook his head with a smile and licked his lips after finishing off the last of his coffee. He legit drank coffee as if it were juice, how was that possible? And he was eating baby marrows and sweet potatoes... by choice. This was not normal.
"Ne, ne, little Iwa-chan wouldn't you like some milk bread?" Oikawa said and samples off a piece of the treat for himself before nodding, as if he'd just taste-tested the safety of the dessert for the kid. He takes another piece and grins, "Open up, Iwa-cha~an!"
"No."
"C'mon!" Oikawa cooes and goes full-on airplane mode on him. He swings the dessert in a wide swoop before closing in on little Hajime's lips, "Open up!"
"No. Don't like it."
"... don't like...?" Oikawa repeats and tilts his head in confusion, "It's … Milk. Bread."
"No."
"How. Can. You. Not?" Tooru repeats, now infinitely insulted that his favourite treat in the world is absolutely abhorred by this young offspring.
Of course, when Matsukawa and Hinamaki was keen to sample it, the offer was irrefutably taken off the table.
"Maybe, he needs a distraction," Hinamaki said after a while, finishing off the last of his fries, "Maybe then we can get some drills done today..."
And that's when the wheels started turning for Tooru Oikawa. This was the solution to the problem. Find a distraction for the kid and they would be able to actually get some work done in this training camp yet.
"Like games?" Yahaba said and tilted his head in thought.
"A Teddybear?" Kyotani chipped in, only to have the entire team drop their actions and stare at him in surprise, "What."
And, just like that, what was initially just a lunch break turned into a quest to find little Hajime a toy, teddybear or thing-a-ma-gig that would keep him occupied whilst they finished their afternoon drills. It was a challenge they all were actually strangely excited to undertake, loading up the kid into a cart and pushed him all along the aisles of the local convenience store toy isles. Of course, convenience stores don't have an excessive amount of toys stock to begin with and by the sixth store they were all losing hope.
"I'm heading back," Akira said after a long sigh.
He was definitely not the only one feeling the strain at this point. The entire team was lagging.
"Do you like this one?"
"No."
"What about this one, come on, his widdle baby waby weggies..." Oikawa cooes almost desperately and wobbles the teddybear's legs around. He HAD to make this work, he wasn't sure what else to even try.
"No." Hajime said, but suddenly his eyes filled with stars as he pointed enthusiastically to something behind him. He jumped excitedly in the cart for a moment before quickly retracting his hand and clasping both his hands together as a pink blush crept to dust his face.
Oikawa, a bit taken aback by the sudden enthusiasm after all their other misfires, looked behind him and took a small squishy spiky ball from the shelf. It was a gelatinous ball that almost looked like a sea urchin. It had googly eyes and was much too squishy for Tooru's liking. He held up the gelatinous fake sea urchin and asked, "This?"
"Yes, please!" Hajime said shyly, but suddenly started tearing up again.
"Hey, hey, don't cry..." Oikawa said softly and handed him the small ball. "Do you want it? Really?"
With the way Iwaizumi suddenly laughed, like a chorus of small bells that would make the heavens tilt and listen, it was definitely something he'd like.
"Okay, then!" Oikawa said, earning the collective sigh of relief from the team once more. At least, this time the captain did actually save their butts.
So, when it was their turn at the check-out line, Oikawa pointed to the female cashier with a smile, "Okay, they need to scan it-"
"No!" Iwaizumi suddenly snapped and hugged it to his chest.
"Oh, sorry about this," Oikawa states smoothly at the woman and winks, "He's shy around beautiful women..."
The woman, completely a blushing and feeling much like a schoolgirl once more, just laughed and waited patiently for the item to finally reach her hand.
But, it was as if Oikawa was now the designated 'safe-person' for Iwa, since Hajime had no qualms against handing Tooru the toy, although he did whine cutely when the woman took hold of it to scan it. Though, once more, when Tooru gave it back, Hajime was all smiles and rested his head happily against the brunette's. Obviously the fact that Tooru had given the toy to Hajime in the first place was now the sole reason why the kid had officially taken a liking to him... but, it was a win, all the same.
Yahaba grins happily and flips open his phone, "I've got to Tumblr this..."
They paid with ease and finally decided to make their way back to the gym.
"Crap! I forgot my jacket at the café!" Oikawa exclaimed and paused in his tracks.
"Oh, I can go get it for you, Oikawa-senpai!" Yahaba quickly offered and was waved off.
"No, you need to make sure Akira practices his decoy drills!" Oikawa stated and set Iwaizumi down on the floor, "Me and little Iwa are going on an adventure!"
And, much to Oikawa's delight, Hajime grabbed hold of Oikawa's t-shirt and held fast.
"We won't be long," Oikawa said and turned around, only to feel Iwaizumi's hands suddenly slip away from his shirt's hem.
"Hey! Watch it, kid!"
"Aooowww!" Hajime whined lowly, holding his forehead with a pained expression on his face. The small squishy ball he had been holding onto rolled way, instantly forgotten.
But, as soon as the man turned around to face him, the entire team stepped up in front of the small child, shielding him from the guy.
"Hey, you should keep a handle on your kid, asshole," the man yelled gruffly, grabbing Oikawa by the collar.
Only, as soon as he did, Kyotani's hand enclosed over his, crushing it. After all, if there was anyone going to kick Oikawa Tooru's ass, it'd be him.
"Did. You. Apologize?" Oikawa said darkly, feeling his adrenaline kick into gear.
"What? No! He ran into me, the brat!" the man yelled back and pointed to the kid.
A sniffle and hiccup suddenly rang from little Hajime and Oikawa was quick to pick him up. He held him against his chest and patted his back softly, apologizing over and over, trying to get the young boy to calm down.
It only seemed to make it worse.
"Apologize to him!" Oikawa threatened lowly and glared at him.
As if by order, Kyotani crushed the man's hand further.
The man yelped and started squirming before quickly bowing -though awkwardly since Kyotani still hadn't let go of his hand, "S-sorry... sorry!"
The young boy clung to Oikawa's shirt, rubbing forehead where the little red bump was visible. He was trying his best to stop his tears, but they just kept falling. It was definitely an accident, but it was still a shock to the young kid, which had started this array of tears that now seemed to be cascading down his cheeks with no end.
"Not to me! Apologize to Iwa-chan!" Toru snapped angrily.
"S-sorry! Iwa-chan...?" the man repeated awkwardly, but not wanting to have a repeat of the bleached-blond's previous actions, he quickly bowed to the small child in resignation, "Iwa-chan! I'm really sorry! It was an accident!"
"There, see, Hajime?" Oikawa said in a placating voice, rubbing circles on the young boy's back, "He apologized, okay? It was an accident..."
Hajime only buried his face in Oikawa's shirt, not wanting to face the man once more. He sniffled and nodded.
"Fine," Kyotani snapped and finally let go of the man's hand with a huff. He didn't back off though and seemed intent on following the man at least a block further until Yahaba had called him back.
Kindaichi salvaged the small fake jell-o-like fake sea urchin from the street, but it would definitely need to be cleaned off first. He stuck it into his jacket and threw Oikawa a thumbs-up.
"Let's get going," Watari said and the rest of the team nodded in unison, except for Oikawa.
"I'm still missing my jacket," Oikawa insists, turning to face the direction of the café, "We won't be long..."
"If you're sure..." Matsukawa said and shrugged, "Alright..."
So, the pair head back to the small café, just a few blocks away. The sun was already setting, but at least it was relatively warm and quiet outside. It was definitely edging towards summer now and the breeze took enough to the edge off the humidity to make the walk pleasant.
"So, Hajime... what colour do you like best?" he said, trying to lighten the mood.
No reply came.
"Oh? I like blue best, I think..." Oikawa said, as if Hajime had actually answered his question, "It's like the sky when the rain stopped and everything's new and fresh..."
But, Hajime was still sniffling. It obviously upset him to had been exposed to something like that, although a minor exchange, at best, Oikawa knew that for kids it would be exceptionally frightening. He had wanted to use this time to calm him down a bit, but it didn't seem to working yet.
"So," Oikawa started with a smile, trying to get a response from the young child. He had laced his fingers to create a make-shift chair for little Iwa, so he could carry him, but he honestly hadn't expected for the kid to actually be fine with being carried in the first place. After a moment, he continued, "What kind of animals do you like best?"
"Those..." Iwaizumi muttered with an awe-struck grin gracing his chubby face. It was adorable to see him so excited, his round cheeks puffed up and dimples showing.
But it also didn't make a lot of sense... there weren't any animals around...
"Where?"
"Those!" Iwaizumi repeats impatiently and waves his arms towards the sky, as if the answer is blatantly in front of him.
But, still, there was nothing. Not even bats or the last of birds returning to their nests.
But, then, it finally hit Oikawa.
The sounds.
Usually cicadas don't sing in the evenings, but when there's so much fluorescent lights, such as in Miyagi Prefecture, they keep singing along with the floodlights until dawn.
"You like Cicadas?" Oikawa asked and smiled with genuine curiosity when Iwaizumi tilted his head in confusion.
"See dah cars?" Iwaizumi repeated, only for Tooru to smush his forehead against his.
"No, Ci-ca-das... it's like a beetle that has wings and they make that TCHHRRRRRRRR-" Oikawa imitated the exceptionally annoying trilling noise of the cicadas with an exceptional amount of accuracy.
Although, apparently this is exactly what it took to impress the young child to no end. "WWAAAOOHHHWW!" Iwaizumi exclaimed, grabbing unto Oikawai's shirt tighter, his eyes wide with admiration and awe, "Do it again! Again! Again!"
And, just like that, the rest of their walk, Oikawa would imitate the cicada's call, much to Iwaizumi's delight every single time. It was a strange visage to encounter for other passersby, but when they saw how the young child's face lit up, they just grinned and kept walking.
They were almost at the café now, but it was getting quite dark and, for Tooru, a bit too cold.
"Mr. Oinkawa... you're cold?" little Hajime asked, concern clearly showing on his face.
Oikawa sighed at his mispronunciation once more, "Why don't you call me, Tooru?" he suggested, trying to smile.
"Tooru... okay, Tooru."
"... and I'm not too cold... thanks, Iwa-chan, but I'll be okay," Oikawa said, trying his best to smile. He was definitely not one for the cold. He always hated it and could barely tolerate late summer weather... and right now, he was seriously missing his jacket so much.
But, without warning, Hajime suddenly threw his arms around Oikawa's neck and nuzzled into his shoulder, "You cold!" he repeated accusingly, as if that were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Thanks, Hajime..." Oikawa said, forcing himself to smile as he pat Iwaizumi's head, "It's okay, I'll be fine now."
"No."
Oikawa just assumed it was a natural response to the kid when it came to him, so he just sighed a bit and reached around his neck to unhook little Hajime's hands from his t-shirt, "You can let go?" he said and tried to sound as non-chalant about it as he could, after all a part of him did like the fact that the kid had finally taken a liking to him, but his pride would never allow him to admit that.
But, instead of detaching himself from Oikawa and running off, like Tooru had thought he would...
"No." the short statement came once more and suddenly he felt Iwa's hands gripping his shirt even tighter now, as if to make sure he won't run away.
The café was closing, but the waitress spotted him and trotted over with his jacket in-hand, "Oikawa-san, your jacket!"
"I know, thank you very much for keeping it safe for me!" he smiled sweetly as he took the jacket from the girl's hands, "Good night!"
~"Good night, Oikawa-san!"
"Okay, I'm going to have to put you down..." Tooru said softly, unable to find it anything but absolutely adorable that this kid was so stubborn, "I know you don't like being carried".
"No." Hajime insisted and wrapped his legs around Tooru too, "Piggyback ride!"
"... not really... a piggyback ride, but..." Oikawa said to himself and shrugged in defeat. He draped his jacket over his arm, cursing himself for not being more selfish at the moment, 'cause he knows he'll regret it later, but he just didn't want to let go of Iwaizumi either.
It was halfway back to the Aoba gym when the yawns started to get more and more frequent and little Hajime would tilt a little too far back, almost falling off Oikawa's make-shift hand-chariot.
"Iwa-chan... are you tired?" Oikawa asked softly, grinning a bit when Iwa shook his head resolutely.
So, Oikawa paused his walking, leaned a bit back to balance the kid a bit better whilst he quickly slipped his jacket on as fast as he could. He quickly grabbed the ends of his jacket and zipped Iwaizumi up inside, "There, comfy?" Oikawa asked and laced-his fingers once more behind Iwaizumi.
For a moment Hajime frowned, annoyed that he was woken up in the first place, before his head lolled in sleepiness a second later, "Yes."
Once more, with Iwaizumi's head now resting at his collarbone, Oikawa set off to finish the last distance to the gym, softly humming his favourite song as he went. And, for once, he didn't mind missing practice all that much and he found himself content with this new distraction.
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~I hope you liked it! P
lease drop me pm or review if you liked it!