Iwaizumi walked nervously towards the door of his father's office, not really knowing why he was there. His father – in other words his boss – told him to come to his office to get a new mission. Usually he just sends the instructions through the other assassins. Now he wanted to talk to his son privately for some reason. That made Iwaizumi's hands tingle unpleasantly and the hallway seem more threatening than usual. He wasn't afraid of his job, he had done it for over a year already, but he didn't like is father, who was a small, yet ominous looking man. He got to stay away from him for 19 years, but when his mother died almost two years ago, his father took control. Iwaizumi let that happen because he wanted to trust his father for once and didn't know what else to do. And now he was an assassin because of his credulousness and weakness.
21-year-old young man opened the office's door slowly after knocking three times, and stepped into a shady, small room. The lights were dimmed and it took a while to get used to the darkness, but when Iwaizumi noticed his father at the corner of the room, sitting behind a huge table, he immediately bowed a little. "Hajime", his father said slowly, chuckling quietly. "You really came. I was afraid that you wouldn't. Please, sit down." Iwaizumi crossed the room letting his guards down slightly. This was his father, after all. It wasn't necessary to be cautious of him. "I heard you did a good job with your last mission", his father said when Iwaizumi had sat down. "You are improving. Actually I'm proud of you. You are the youngest of us, yet one of the bests." Iwaizumi nodded to accept the praise. He was surprised but didn't show it – he didn't assume to be praised, and felt content, yet slightly uneasy. His father observed him with his sharp eyes and leaned back on his chair. "I have a new mission for you. It's top secret, pretty unpleasant, but unavoidable." He took a bunch of paper from the under of his desk, and the atmosphere around them changed. For a while they had been the father and his son, but now they were the boss and his employee again, causing Iwaizumi to tense a bit. "It's quite occupied, too. The details are in the papers." Iwaizumi nodded again, took the papers and stood up. He bowed quickly and walked to the door while leafing through the papers. He had a month time, but the place wasn't far away from here. He didn't find any reasons for assassination, but that was typical. He reached for the door handle turning the last page around to see who his target was, and that was the moment he totally froze. The scan of passport, the address, the picture… Every single one of them were awfully familiar.
His next target was Oikawa Tooru.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Iwaizumi threw the papers in the corner of his hallway and kicked the shoes off his feet. A box of sweets had appeared on his table while he was gone, like almost every Monday, but Iwaizumi left them there. He could barely manage to keep himself in one piece while the way home, but now he felt like he was breaking. Of all the people in this country, in this world, he had to kill Oikawa, his friend since childhood, the one he texted with every single day? Why did he accept it? He could just have turned around and told that he couldn't accept this mission. It was acceptable to do that, assassins have the right to disclaim the job offered to them if the target was their acquaintance. But the way his father looked at him… He wouldn't have approved that. After all, Iwaizumi was the boss's son. He had to put up with this, he had to kill his emotions. He didn't have the way out of this anymore. He knew what would happen if he'd fail, give up or warn Oikawa – they would be both dead in instant. But how could he? Iwaizumi collapsed to the couch, took a deep breath and just stayed still for a while. The sound of his ringtone made him open his eyes, and he reached to get his phone only to see that the call was from Oikawa. Speak of the devil, Iwaizumi thought and left the phone on the table. The ringing didn't stop, but ignoring it was the best Iwaizumi could do. He couldn't talk with Oikawa on the phone right now. He stood up and walked to the kitchen only to point out he wasn't hungry and trudged back to the living room. He grabbed his phone which had stopped ringing and scuffled to his bedroom. His mind was going blank of the overwhelming thoughts and he fell into his bed. What the hell should he do? With slightly trembling hands he unlocked his phone. Oikawa had spammed him with texts, clearly upset about that ignoring earlier.
06:12pm Oikawa: U didn't answer me :'(
06:18pm Oikawa: Iwa-chan, where are u?
06:21pm Oikawa: Still at work?
06:29pm Oikawa: You said you will be home at 6!
A slight smile was formed to Iwaizumi's face while he scrolled through the texts. The smile was faded in instant by the aching feeling in his chest, which made him feel like he was drowning. He had to choose. Loyalty to the friend or to the family and work. He was finally safe. Even if his job wasn't the safest possible, he had one, and that was the top priority. His mother was unemployed and didn't have money for her hospital bills. That's why she was dead now. Iwaizumi needed money, needed his remaining family, needed the place where he belongs. He had to do this.
07:34pm Hajime: Stop that spamming, Shittykawa. It's irritating.
07:34pm Oikawa: Iwa-chan! How was work?
07:35pm Hajime: Usual. It was a busy day, I had to stay for a while longer.
07:35pm Oikawa: That's the third time this week! And it's Friday!
07:37pm Hajime: That's just how life works, stupid.
07:37pm Hajime: …Anyway, was your day fine? Anything happened?
07:37pm Oikawa: Awww Iwa-chan, are you worrying about me?
07:39pm Hajime: Shut up. I was just asking.
07:39pm Oikawa: My day was totally fine, I was chosen to give a presentation of the planets of our solar system. Isn't that awesome? They said my last presentation about space was so good that they want me to give another one!
Right. Oikawa was student in university, while Iwaizumi was 'working in convenience store'. Of course Oikawa didn't know the truth, no one knew. They lived nearby each other, but rarely got time to visit. Iwaizumi furrowed a bit and hold his breath while typing the next message.
07:40pm Hajime: So your week has been like all the others? You haven't done anything stupid?
07:40pm Oikawa: So mean, Iwa-chan! I don't do stupid things.
07:40pm Hajime: You haven't given anyone a reason to hate you?
07:41pm Oikawa: As if someone could hate me ^w^ But no, I haven't. What's with you today? Did you eat something strange?
07:41pm Hajime: You never stop being narcissistic, do you, Shittykawa.
07:41pm Oikawa: Mean!
Iwaizumi put the phone down for a while. Who in the world would want Oikawa to be assassinated? He stayed still for a moment and opened the messenger again.
07:50pm Hajime: Hey, what's your schedule next week? We have a renovation in our apartment building, and it's quite noisy. Can I stay at your house for a while?
07:51pm Oikawa: OMG of course, Iwa-chan! My schedule is same as always, but you can stay the days too if you want ~ Unless you need me to be by your side all the time ;)
07:51pm Hajime: Idiot. But thanks, I'll be there in two hours?
07:51pm Oikawa: Yup ^^
Step one completed, Iwaizumi thought with a sigh. His face was burning red, he knew it. When was the last time he stayed overnight at Oikawa's...? Ten years ago, when they were still kids, maybe? God, he missed the time when he thought of Oikawa as just a friend…
Stop, he demanded himself. You're making this worse. He stood up and started packing his things. He had to go through with this and find a plan to complete the mission.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Iwa-chaaaan!" Oikawa hugged his friend the moment he saw him. Iwaizumi sneered and put his bags down.
"Glad to see you again. Where I can put these?" he asked in reference to three sport bags stuffed full of clothes and other goods. He wanted to avoid borrowing Oikawa's clothes, although they were quite the right size.
Oikawa chuckled and waved his hand blithely. "Just put them where you want. Feel at ease." Iwaizumi nodded in relief. Luckily Oikawa was a really placid person, so he didn't need to be tense around him. The bad thing was that they knew each other well. Iwaizumi knew that the situation hasn't changed over these two years they had been apart. He could instantly tell that Oikawa was pretty nervous, the taller boy was snapping his fingers pretending to croon a song while doing it, while in reality he just needed to do something with his hands to relieve the stress. His shoulders were a bit tense and there was a partly fake smile on his face. Iwaizumi sneered quietly and followed his friend to the kitchen after leaving the bags in the living room. "Do you want something to eat?" Oikawa asked and turned to glare at Iwaizumi with the usual little pout on his face. "It's pretty late already, but if you are hungry I can make you something. I'm really good at cooking, you know", he laughed when he saw Iwaizumi's suspicious expression. The shorter brunet shrugged his shoulders indecisively.
"I ate at home. I'm not hungry at all", he said. "Do I sleep in couch?" he then asked tilting his head a bit. Oikawa looked pensive and then grinned making shivers go down Iwaizumi's spine. Upcoming: one of the idiot ideas of Oikawa Tooru.
"Hey, Iwa-chan?"
"Yea?"
"Do you remember how we used to decide things with rock-paper-scissors?" Grin on his face didn't fade when he leaned closer to Iwaizumi. "The winner gets to sleep in the bed, loser in the couch."
"Are you serious?" Iwaizumi sighed, feeling amused. "Fine. Be ready to lose."
"Ready then! Rock, paper, scissors! Iwa-chan, you can't change it anymore! Yours was scissors!"
"You really don't know what scissors look like, Shittykawa?"
"Fine, again! Rock, paper, scissors!" Iwaizumi took rock and Oikawa scissors. "Gah! You won, Iwa-chan!"
"Stop yelling, I'm not deaf yet."
"Really? I thought so."
"Shut up."
"Well then, you get the bed", Oikawa sighed leaning back and stretching his arms. "Did you take the bedsheets with you?"
"Yup, don't need your creepy alien printed sheets."
"So mean, Iwa-chan!"
-.-.-.-.-.-
"I'm home!" Iwaizumi put his phone down when he heard Oikawa's cheerful voice from the hallway. Shorter brunet had been trying to form a plan for two days, but nothing came up. He just couldn't think a way to kill Oikawa. He didn't even want to. But he had to. What kind of assassin you are? Playing rock-paper-scissors with your target? he thought with a heavy feeling in his chest.
"How was the day?" Iwaizumi asked and turned his head to see Oikawa. The taller boy threw his jacket to the hallway's door frame and ran across the room jumping to the couch next to Iwaizumi.
"Look", he showed an official looking paper to him. "We got the reviews of the presentations we gave last week, and I got full points! Can you believe it? Our teacher said that I was the only one in that group who got a review this good!" He sounded like a kid who had just got an A from a test, and that made Iwaizumi smile slightly.
"Well, it was related to space so of course you got full points", Iwaizumi mumbled trying to act uninterested. "I would have been disappointed if you didn't." Oikawa continued bragging about the score but his words didn't even reach Iwaizumi's ears. He suddenly felt awful. Oikawa was so smart and inspired, he would have gone far with his career. He was cheerful, popular and always gave his all to the projects and presentations he had to do. Iwaizumi couldn't even think of hurting him. How could he ever complete his mission? He only wanted to protect his friend, but that was impossible now. Once a person get their name to the assassinating list, there was no way out. If Iwaizumi wouldn't do it, someone else would.
"Iwa-chan, are you even listening?" Iwaizumi turned his head and pushed the depressing thoughts away. There was an annoyed pout on Oikawa's face and the taller boy sighed. "So you didn't. This is a huge thing for me, Iwa-chan. If I keep this up, I can still follow my dreams, but if I mess up…"
"You won't mess up", Iwaizumi interrupted his friend. "Sorry I didn't listen. I'm proud of you. You will reach your dreams, I'm sure of it."
Oikawa's cheeks turned visibly red, and for a moment both of them just stayed quiet. "A-anyway, you didn't have work today, Iwa-chan? Or was it a short day?"
"I felt a bit sick so I only worked for few hours", Iwaizumi told without looking Oikawa in the eyes. He was used to lying, but with Oikawa it was difficult.
"Sick? Do you have fever? Does it hurt somewhere?" Oikawa asked with concerned tone in his voice. "You need anything? Pastille? Painkillers? I can get you hot chocolate, if-"
"I said I felt a bit sick, not that I'm dying, stupid", Iwaizumi sighed. "Really, Oikawa, I'm fine. And I know where the medicine cabinet is. I can get what I need myself."
"So cold", Oikawa muttered. "Can we watch a movie, Iwa-chan? I'm bored."
"You've been home for barely twenty minutes and you are already bored?" Iwaizumi uttered a laughter. "You really are impossible, Crappykawa."
"I'm just social, that's it", Oikawa defended himself. "You should be like that too. Although you have a job where you interfere with people all the time, you are so grumpy on your free time."
Interfere with people, yeah right. "As if I could stand to be like you", Iwaizumi sniffed.
"Mean!"
-.-.-.-.-.-
"Iwa-chaaan, I'm hungry", Oikawa groaned resting his head on other boy's shoulder.
"There's chicken in the oven", Iwaizumi answered being fully comfortable with the closeness of his friend. "I made it today. You can eat it if you want something different from those convenience foods you're always eating."
"In the oven? Isn't it burning?"
"The oven isn't on, stupid."
Oikawa laughed heartwarmingly. "Of course. Thank you, Iwa-chan. You didn't go to work today either?"
"No, I had a day off", Iwaizumi explained. "And no problem. I had to do something, too, since I've been laying around in your house for almost a month."
"Nah, that isn't bothering me at all", Oikawa chuckled. "I'm glad you are here." Iwaizumi sneered and focused on the TV show he was watching, while Oikawa got something to eat. That was an opportunity, a small voice said in his head. Iwaizumi were fully aware of that. It would have been easy to put something poisonous in the chicken. He had been missing chances like this often, sometimes intentionally, sometimes without noticing it. Days had been passing by without Iwaizumi even realizing it. He had only one week time left, but it didn't even cross his mind. He'd gotten carried away, lived with Oikawa like a normal person. He had gotten used to the feeling of waking up at 6am to wish a good day to Oikawa, to the warmth his friend gave to him, to his stupid jokes. For the first time in two years he felt loved – and loved someone himself. Oikawa gave back the light that Iwaizumi had lost when his mother died. He was hopelessly in love with his friend, and was totally fine with it. Fine until he remembered his target. He had to tell him the truth. They would find a way out of this together.
That was what Iwaizumi thought, but he couldn't bring himself to tell Oikawa. He feared the result. And what then? They could just wait for their deaths, because one thing was certain – Iwaizumi couldn't kill his friend. He never could. He was being selfish, protecting his friend like this when he had already killed people dear to others. But he would rather be selfish than hurt his friend, the one he loved.
"Hey, Iwa-chan, how long do you think the renovation lasts?" Oikawa asked stuffing chicken in his mouth. "It's been almost a month. Was it some big reform?"
"Nah, I think it will be done soon", Iwaizumi said quietly. Seven days left.
"Ah, okay", Oikawa mumbled. "Shame. I would want things to stay like this a little longer."
"Me too", Iwaizumi sighed and switched channel. After switching twice more he turned the TV off. He would give anything if thing just stayed like this. Anything if Oikawa could just live happily.
-.-.-.-.-.-
Iwaizumi counted days, hours, even minutes and became more and more nervous. Four and half days left. He thought of every possible situation, but none of them ended happily. He was unable to sleep, wandered around the house in the middle of the night and tried to find an answer. Oikawa was clearly concerned of Iwaizumi's behavior but didn't say anything out of ordinary, just the usual "Try to calm down and sleep more"-type of sentences. Iwaizumi couldn't just calm down. Both of their lives were on line in this, and that was Iwaizumi's fault. He should have disclaimed this job offer. He should have warned Oikawa when they still had time to run away. Now Iwaizumi was certain that at least one of his father's underlings was nearby this house, observing their every move. Iwaizumi hadn't been doubting his job's nature ever before, but now he hated everything about it. It wasn't just Oikawa. Now, when he was in danger himself, he understood how threatening it was. He understood the face his last target made when he was dying, he understood every single word he had been told by the people he had killed. The thing he considered as his job was wrong, no matter the situation. How hadn't he figured that out sooner? Why he was so blinded by his father's priorities?
"Is something wrong?" Iwaizumi flinched when Oikawa's concerned voice spooked him. "You will get wrinkles if you furrow like that." The taller brunet clearly waited for Iwaizumi to reply something, and tilted his head when the other boy stayed quiet. He leaped over the coach seatback and sit down next to Iwaizumi. "Hey, really, are you okay?"
"Just tired", Iwaizumi sighed leaning back a bit.
"Iwa-chan, you really should sleep more", Oikawa scolded him. "And stop being that tense. Is something bothering you?"
"You really don't have to worry, Oikawa", Iwaizumi asserted giving a quick glance to his friend.
"Of course I have to", Oikawa sniffed pretending to be offended. "You are in my house and I care about you. What is wrong? You haven't ever been like this. You can't sleep, you are nervous of everything and don't look at or answer me when I talk to you."
"Sorry", Iwaizumi mumbled and were quiet for a moment. "Have you ever been in a situation where there is no way out?"
"Like in math test?" Oikawa chuckled.
"No", Iwaizumi cut his joke short. Oikawa got serious and leaned back.
"Yea. I'm in one now. I guess my situation isn't that bad, though, it's just that I cannot bring myself to tell something to a specific person", he told. "Why are you asking?"
"That's exactly my state", Iwaizumi admitted eyes twinkling of surprise. "That 'something' must be different, though. Who you have to tell that?"
"…You", Oikawa's answer were almost as quiet as whisper. Iwaizumi couldn't help but to feel surprised.
"What is it then?" he asked with a grin on his stern face. "I'll tell you mine if you do."
"But it's embarrassing! You first!"
"No, I asked first."
"Don't be such a child."
"Which of us is being childish?"
They bursted to laugh, and Iwaizumi felt his nervousness fade away at least a bit. When they were done laughing, Oikawa fell quiet and clearly tried to figure out the way to place his words.
"You know, I've meant to tell you this a long ago, but I never did. I guess it started when we were in high school. No, in elementary school. I don't even know. But when you left after high school, I lost my chance to tell it. But now I can say it… I think – no, I know that I like you. More than as a friend. I love you, Hajime."
Iwaizumi's mind went blank for a moment. Oikawa's words were burning his heart, making his stomach turn. He was so happy and heartbroken at the same time. This made admitting the other thing easier, but the other even harder.
"Wow", was all he could say at first. "I… I love you too, Oikawa, I've loved you for a long time, but…" He buried his face to his hands. "Shit. Shitshitshitshit." He couldn't get his thoughts to the order. He hadn't lost his cool like this ever before, and now he didn't know how to control his emotions.
"Iwa-chan, are you okay?" Oikawa asked carefully and reached his hand towards his friend. The taller boy was shocked of the other brunet's reaction. He feared that he had made a mistake by telling him.
"No", Iwaizumi whispered and slapped Oikawa's hand away. "Shit, Oikawa, you made this even harder." He raised his head and uttered a dry laughter. "I'm supposed to kill you, god damn. I'm supposed to kill you, but now I can't push my feelings away any more!" he suddenly stood up and looked at Oikawa with a frantic face. "I'm an assassin, Oikawa. My current mission is to murder you. That's who I am! I have only four days time before we are both dead!" He was trembling and desperate. "I've been searching for a way to get out, but didn't find one. That's what I meant with situation with no way out. You will be dead in four days and that's completely my fault." Tears were burning in the corners of his eyes, and he turned his head away. He couldn't take this anymore, not like this.
Suddenly he felt a hand on his chin, and before he could react, Oikawa had turned his head towards his and pressed their lips together. Iwaizumi tensed a bit at first, but let himself loosen up and enjoy the warm feeling. For a slight moment he could just forget everything and feel relieved. When Oikawa backed away again, his eyes were full of concern and love. He's so beautiful, Iwaizumi thought before even noticing it.
"I know", Oikawa said carefully. "I know what you are. I didn't know that I was your target, but could have guessed it." Iwaizumi looked at him not believing what he heard. Oikawa knew all this time?
"How?" the brunet asked with a hushed voice, heart still racing from the kiss.
"You leave your documents laying around your house. I just have to check them every time I visit", Oikawa explained acting innocent and smiled a bit. Iwaizumi realized that he was right. How could he have been so careless? He could just thank his luck that it was Oikawa who had found the documents, not anyone else. He would be in jail now otherwise.
"You have visited my apartment once", Iwaizumi said with suspecting face. "How could you…"
"Actually I have visited every week", Oikawa said with a smile on his face. "You gave your spare keys to me, after all. Since you are always at working late on Mondays, I thought I would visit and leave you something sweet every time."
"That's… both cute and creepy. You are like a stalker or something."
"Mean!"
"…So those sweets were from you. And you didn't say anything to me?"
"I thought you would've laughed if I told you that I buy you sweets every Monday", Oikawa laughed uptightly. "And I was nervous. Of what you would do if you found out. After all, those things were top secret or something. I didn't think that you would have hurt me, but I was afraid of your… organization. Shit, I was such a coward. I should have gotten you out of that. Told you to stop. Anything." His eyes were tearing up, and without a second thought Iwaizumi leaned closer and hugged him tightly. Oikawa sobbed and put his head to Iwaizumi's shoulder. "Isn't there any way out? I don't want you to get hurt because of me", he cried.
"That's something I should say", Iwaizumi sighed running his fingers through Oikawa's hair. "I should have told you sooner. Now it's too late."
"No!" Oikawa sniffed and backed away gripping Iwaizumi's shoulders. His eyes were burning of determination. "We will run away. I don't care if it's dangerous. We still have time, don't we?"
"Four days", Iwaizumi said trying to be realistic. "And there are probably other assassins keeping eye on us already."
"We will leave the day after tomorrow", Oikawa said without listening to Iwaizumi. "Really, Iwa-chan, we should at least try! Our lives are in the line." Iwaizumi stayed quiet at first. Oikawa didn't know how unscrupulously the assassin organization could act when they tracked their targets. But he was right, they should at least try. There was nothing to lose anymore.
"Why the day after tomorrow? Sooner would be better", he asked pushing his suspicions away.
"I want to say good bye to Makki and Mattsun. You will too. Even if we survive, we will be gone for long time. You haven't seen them since high school, right? That's one more reason to go visit them! They have missed you so bad, even though they don't show it."
The thought of staying here longer than necessary made Iwaizumi feel uneasy, but he nodded. Of course he had missed his friends too. One day more wouldn't change anything as long as they'll leave in three days. "Fine. We'll visit them tomorrow."
-.-.-.-.-.-
"Makki! Mattsun! Over here", Oikawa called and waved his hand to his friends. Iwaizumi felt a little uncomfortable but was still happy to see his friends after two years. Hanamaki and Matsukawa greeted them with fist dumps and both of them immediately turned their attention to Iwaizumi.
"Good to see you again, Hajime", Makki said with a usual grin on his face. "Where have you been? We haven't seen you after high school and what happened to you mother. You just… disappeared."
"It's called work", Iwaizumi sighed briefly. "Sorry I didn't have time to visit."
"Listen to that, Makki", Mattsun smirked. "Hajime is a responsible member of the society. You should learn from him."
"I work too, idiot."
"Yeah, once in a month as your nephew's nanny."
Makki pouted as demonstration, but concentrated his attention back to Oikawa and Iwaizumi. "So, what's up?" he asked from Iwaizumi. "Do you still play volleyball?"
"Sometimes", Iwaizumi said and shrugged. "Not in a team or anything, but like once in a week."
"So you still have your skills, right?" Mattsun ensured. "Good. What would you guys say if we play a match, two-on-two? We are all four together for once. I'm itching to play." Oikawa glanced Iwaizumi, but the shorter brunet just shrugged again. He was actually pretty excited to play with his former teammates again.
"If it's okay with Oikawa", he said indicating to his friend's knee injury which made him quit volleyball a year ago. Oikawa smiled and waved his hand balmily.
"Aww, I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine", he said breezily. "I can play once in a while." Iwaizumi stared at his friend suspiciously for a moment, but nodded then. After all, they could be dead in a few days if something would go wrong. The injury was the smallest of their concerns.
"Well then, we can play at the beach", Makki suggested. "There aren't much people usually at this hour."
"Yea, it's barely eleven", Mattsun agreed after glancing his phone. "We'll have at least few hours before people start gathering there."
"Let's go then! Who drives?"
"Someone else than Makki, if we want to stay alive."
"You aren't much better, Mattsun."
"Hajime can drive, I don't think Oikawa would be a good choice either."
"Mattsun, mean!"
-.-.-.-.-.-
Iwaizumi hadn't felt this good in ages. The feeling of spiking a ball that Oikawa had tossed was just as incredible as ever, and although receiving hurt some of the scars in his arms, it was still worth it. The weather was perfect, not too cold or too hot, and they played over ten sets – Iwaizumi stopped counting in nine. They took a break in the middle and went to buy something to eat from the kiosk, and then continued playing. The coldly glowing digits in the clock told that it was almost 4pm when they finally left the beach, laughing to each other's jokes and enjoying the feeling of being together again. Even Iwaizumi had forgot his situation with Oikawa for a while. Makki and Mattsun had always had that skill – they made the others around them forget their problems on their own stupid way. But there was always the time to come back to the reality.
"Thank you so much of everything, Mattsun and Makki", Oikawa said with a half fake smile on his face. "You are so damn good friends. I'm glad I met you."
"Where did that come from?" Mattsun laughed and Makki nearly chocked on his drink that he had gotten from the kiosk. "Was your food spoiled? I'm shocked, Makki. Our precious captain can be sweet to the others."
"Mean! I meant what I said."
"Of course we are good friends. Why now, all of sudden? We have been good friends all the time but you haven't said anything", Mattsun said pretending to be miffed. "I guess that's because of the cream puff I gave you. You could just honestly say if you want another one."
"I don't! And Makki ate it anyway. I just thought that it would be good to say that since we aren't meeting each other regularly any more. Who knows, it may take a year or even more before we meet again", Oikawa explained, not looking at his friends. Iwaizumi had tensed a bit, and he hoped that the other two wouldn't question any more. For his relief they just glanced each other and then patted Oikawa's shoulders a little more forcefully than necessary.
"Stop trying to act cool. Seriously, we will be here whenever you need us."
"Oh, to deviate from the topic, how is it going, captain?" Makki suddenly asked and nudged Oikawa's side with his elbow. "Have you told him yet?"
"I was actually wondering when you would bring that up", Oikawa sighed amusedly. "But yep, I told him." He gripped Iwaizumi's waist and pulled the shorter brunet closer before he could resist. "We are a pair now."
"Yosh! I won the bet, Makki", Mattsun announced loudly. "Oikawa is clearly the one topping."
"Snap it out", Iwaizumi sighed and backed off from Oikawa, blushing slightly. "There's no way this guy could order me around. Or what would you say, Tooru?" he asked and glanced Oikawa with a wonderful smile on his face, the smile he would show only for Oikawa. If they were going to play this game, he wouldn't lose. The taller brunet was suddenly burning red and quickly covered his face with his hands.
"Damn it, Iwa-chan", he muttered. "Don't be so sudden. You have never called me by my first name before."
"Look how red he is! I won, Mattsun, admit it."
"Don't laugh at me! Iwa-chan, stop looking so victorious! That was embarrassing!"
"It's a tie, Makki, just like with us. They probably switch every time."
"Stop that!"
"Oh no, you made our captain even more red, Mattsun."
Iwaizumi followed the argue of his friends with a slight smile on his face. So, as he could have guessed, Makki and Mattsun were dating, too. Whatever would happen tomorrow, he would miss these two, that was sure.
-.-.-.-.-.-
Iwaizumi couldn't sleep. He had gone the chances of surviving through in his head over and over again, yet he couldn't find a way to get completely out of this situation. They would have to keep hiding from his father's organization for the rest of their lives even if they survived tomorrow. Would Oikawa be okay with that? Of course not, Iwaizumi knew it already. Iwaizumi was fine, he had been hiding from different organizations many times, but Oikawa would have to leave everything behind tomorrow. His university, Makki and Mattsun, his family, his life. The norms of assassins echoed in Iwaizumi's mind. If the assassin for any reason warns their target, they both would suffer a death worst possible. Shivers went down Iwaizumi's spine. The organization had every possible weapon in their use. They wouldn't hesitate to torture Oikawa mercilessly if they would get him caught.
He uplifted his head when he heard a quiet sob from living room. He stood up from bed and walked with soft steps to the living room. Oikawa had snuggled in the corner of the couch, his shoulders shaking in time with the quiet, miserable sobs.
"Oikawa", Iwaizumi whispered, his heart breaking. After his little breakdown at the evening Iwaizumi had told him the truth, Oikawa had been acting fearless, always putting a brave smile on his face. Iwaizumi had known that he was just pretending, but the sight of his love being desperate like this made his heart ache. The brunet walked to the coach and sat next to Oikawa, petting his head like he was just a kid.
"It's so difficult", Oikawa sniffed. "Difficult to think of leaving this all. Will we survive, Iwa-chan? Will we be alive after tomorrow?"
"We will", Iwaizumi said softly. "We have to be brave, Oikawa."
"I haven't even told to my parents that we are leaving", Oikawa said with his eyes closed. "What could I even say to them? That their son could die any time soon?" Oikawa started to sound hysteric. "I can't lie to them, Iwa-chan, I just can't. They will be so shocked if I die, if I die and they don't find the cause of death. If they think I made a suicide. They wouldn't understand it, they wouldn't accept it easily. I'm scared that it would make them depressed. I don't want anything to happen to them."
"They will be fine, and so will you", Iwaizumi assured and lifted Oikawa to hold him against his chest. "Everything will be. You have to trust me."
"You know I trust you", Oikawa mumbled. "If you were dishonest, you would have killed me already, Iwa-chan."
"Come", Iwaizumi stood up and lifted Oikawa on his arms. "We can sleep together this night."
Oikawa just nodded and hold his head against his boyfriend's shoulder while Iwaizumi carried him towards the bedroom. "Why didn't you do it? You should have killed me. Then at least you would stay alive."
"Because I love you, dumbass", Iwaizumi answered softly. "I couldn't even hurt you. And thanks to you I have realized how unjustifiable my work is. I would have quit it anyway."
"I love you too", Oikawa sighed briefly, with a slight smile on his face. "I always will, no matter what."
-.-.-.-.-.-
"Two bottles juice, snacks…" Iwaizumi muttered by himself while going through the shelfs. He had woken up early while Oikawa was still asleep, so he had decided to go buy the baits for their trip. Luckily the store wasn't that far away from Oikawa's house. "This should be enough." Iwaizumi walked to the waiting line and took the phone from his pocket. Two new messages.
09:12am Oikawa: Where are you?
09:14am Oikawa: Iwa-chan?
09:19am Hajime: Store. I'll buy some baits.
09:20am Oikawa: Will it take long?
09:21am: Hajime: Don't know, the waiting line is insanely long. Pack everything ready, we'll leave when I come back.
09:21am Oikawa: Okay ^^
Iwaizumi was about to put the phone back to his pocket when a little beep-sound notified of the new message. Iwaizumi opened the message and his hands froze. It was from his father.
09:22am Boss: Your time is up.
After answering that he still had two days left, Iwaizumi went back to his and Oikawa's conversation and tried to type a message with his fingers stiffed of sudden fear.
09:23am Hajime: Oikawa
09:23am Hajime: Is everything okay?
09:24am Oikawa: Yea, why?
09:24am Oikawa: Oh, wait, someone's at the door, I'll disappear for a moment ~
09:24am Hajime: Don't open
09:25am Hajime: Oikawa!
09:25am Hajime: Do. NOT. Open.
Shit. Iwaizumi dropped the shoppings right there ignoring the startled faces of the other customers and run out of the shop. I still had two days. Why now? He ran as fast as he could and hoped that he wouldn't be too late. His hopes shattered along with his heart when he saw a pitch-black van in front of Oikawa's house. In the side of the van were his organization's logotype. Please be still alright.
When Iwaizumi ran through the open door he forgot the first rule of assassins: be cautious of your surroundings. Before he could even realize it, someone had hit the back of his head and everything went black around him.
"Stop! Don't hurt him anymore!" Little by little the noise started to take the form of words in Iwaizumi's mind when his awareness came back. His head hurt, so did his arms which were tied behind his back. He felt someone hitting his face and finally he could open his eyes slightly. The reality hit him like a truck.
"Oh, our sleeping beauty came back to life." He didn't have to turn his head to recognize the voice of Matt, his father's 'right hand' and one of the few assassins Iwaizumi considered to be his friend. "You are really disappointing, Hajime. You would have gone far."
"Don't call me by my first name", Iwaizumi hissed from between his teeth. "You betrayed me."
"Think for a minute and say again: Which of us is the betrayer?" Iwaizumi didn't answer, and after a moment of silence Matt gripped his hair and tugged his head up. "You are really quiet. It's boring our quest." Iwaizumi could feel his heart stop. Oikawa was sitting on the floor opposite him. The taller brunet was trembling in fear, his mouth was covered with a gag and his tied arms were full of cuts, blood making a huge contrast with the pale skin. Next to him stood Iwaizumi's father and another man who was unknown to the brunet.
"Oikawa", Iwaizumi whispered. Matt released his hair and lowered his hands to Iwaizumi's shoulders.
"You really are amusing. What is so perfect about him? You betrayed your family because of that scaredy-cat."
"The organization wasn't ever my family", Iwaizumi hissed angrily. "I still have two days! Let him go! Or are you breaking our contract, father?" he asked with a little challenging tone in his voice. "I haven't betrayed anyone! The ones breaking the rules were you."
"You told, didn't you, Hajime?" His father's voice was low and cold and made Iwaizumi's blood stop flowing. "You warned him. Tobias has kept an eye on you for a week now. You should be grateful we didn't shoot you right away when you left yesterday. I'm really disappointed." He sighed exaggeratingly. "I thought you would remain loyal to me, your father, your only family. But you chose him. And you know the consequences." The man who Iwaizumi believed to be Tobias threw one of Iwaizumi's bags on the floor. His father crouched down and started taking out all the things Iwaizumi had put there – all his weapons and different kind of drugs that were meant to use in assassination. "Which one should we choose?"
"Don't you dare hurt him", Iwaizumi snarled and tried to get himself free. "What has he done anyway? There's no way he had broken any laws or rules!"
"Oh, you ask what?" his father chuckled ominously. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. This was just a test for you, Hajime, and you didn't pass it. Or why you think every single one of the experienced assassins have killed their own family? To show their loyalty. This guy here is not that special in any way, so there's no point in keeping him alive." Both Oikawa's and Iwaizumi's eyes expanded in utter shock. Iwaizumi's father walked to his son and squatted in front of him, smiling villainously. "Now, you will have one more chance. Give your friend a quick death and kill him, and you can come back to our organization."
"Never", Iwaizumi spitted out, his whole body trembling in anger. "I would never follow you anymore. You lost the remaining bit of pride you had in my eyes. How dare you make your underlings kill their own family, innocent people? We are supposed to kill the criminals, the ones society wants to be gone! How dare you use your position to needless murders? You don't even make money of that!" He kicked his father's face just as hard as he could while being tied. "You are disgusting."
"You are a stubborn one, aren't you?" his father snorted and touched his cheek which was now red and little swollen. "Fine then. It's time to get this to the end." He walked back to Oikawa taking one of the little drug cans in his way. "We'll start with these."
"Get away from him!" Iwaizumi yelled and would have probably pulled the chair over if Matt wouldn't have held on of it. "Please! Anyone but him!"
"He's annoying", his father muttered while crouching down to Oikawa. "Make him shut up." Matt forcefully put a gag to Iwaizumi, tying it slightly too tight so it hurt Iwaizumi's cheeks. The shorter brunet couldn't do anything but just watch when his father forced Oikawa swallow a handful of different kind of drugs. Tears started to roll from his eyes and he lowered his head. He had promised Oikawa that they would be alright. Now his love would have to put up with torturing and pain, just because Iwaizumi was too confident of his father's actions. The other young man was clearly terrified, but he was too exhausted to defend himself. After the third try Oikawa had to swallow the capsules which made him cough immediately. Iwaizumi's father didn't let him bend his body and forced even more pills down his throat. Iwaizumi could recognize only a few of those capsules: rat poison, cyanide and phosgene. Oikawa coughed and tried to breathe, but his torturer didn't allow that and covered his mouth and nose with his hand.
"How does it feel?" Iwaizumi's father asked with an evil grin on his face. "Does it hurt? More than this?" he cut a deep wound in Oikawa's thigh, making him shriek quietly in pain, still trembling uncontrollably. Iwaizumi couldn't put up with that, and he turned his head away. He wanted to help, wanted to do anything he could to save Oikawa. He hated himself more than anything, he just wanted to die. Breathing was hard for him, and he felt like he was breaking apart. How he could have been so foolish that he thought they would be still safe for two days?
"Isn't that enough? You are wasting expensive materials", Tobias said to his boss with a careful voice.
"You forgot? These two must suffer. It's in the code." Code, my ass. He enjoys this madness. "For Hajime, this is the worst thing I could do. Just look at him, shaking and crying like a kid. I have to do this even to my own son as the head of our organization." The way he tried to sound innocent and responsible made Iwaizumi feel sick. "Let's see…" he stood up and forced Oikawa to stand up. The taller brunet barely could stand on his feet, and now Iwaizumi saw the nasty bruises and cuts in his legs. Iwaizumi's father shoved Oikawa in the back and he fell in the front of Iwaizumi. He remained on the ground, coughing and gasping for breath. Iwaizumi's father gripped his hair and pulled his head up, putting a sharp knife on his throat. "Tell me, Hajime, if I'd cut from here -", he slided the knife from the other side of the neck to the other, "to here, would he die instantly?" Even when Matt removed the gag, Iwaizumi couldn't answer. His mind was going blank because of terror, and he could hear Oikawa's heavy, difficult breathing in his ears. What in the world he could do? "Answer me, Hajime!"
"Yes", Iwaizumi whispered. "He would die instantly. Please just do it already. He's suffered enough." His voice was nearly lost, and every word hurt his throat. It was disgusting to beg for his boyfriend's death, but he didn't want Oikawa to suffer any more. "Please. Let him go."
"This is what I was waiting for", his father chuckled and released Oikawa from his grip. The brunet fell on his side and didn't move. His breathing was wheezy and slow, and he didn't even open his eyes. "You are so damn broken. This was pretty amusing. Now, Hajime, I'll leave you a gun with one bullet. You can kill yourself or your friend with it, just as you please. We are done here." After that he released Iwaizumi's arms and left the room with Matt and Thomas, leaving everything shattered around. Iwaizumi wanted to run after them, hurt them in every way possible. But his legs didn't work. He could just stare at Oikawa, who still hadn't opened his eyes. He was still breathing. There is hope, a little voice in Iwaizumi's head yelled. Call an ambulance!
Finally Iwaizumi could move his body, and he ran downstairs just as fast as he could with his numb, heavy legs. There was no point in searching for a phone in this house, his father had presumably broken every single one. He stumbled to the front door and almost tripped when he opened the door. Now, when he moved and did something, the panic started to sneak in his mind. He was lucky, the organization's van was gone already and there was a young man walking his dog near the house. The man recognized Iwaizumi instantly and shock could have been seen in his eyes.
"Hey, you there, what's wrong?" the man shouted and started to run towards him. Iwaizumi took two shaky breaths before he could say anything.
"Call an ambulance", he gasped. "Please! My friend is dying!" After that he turned around and ran back to the house. He had to trust that the man would call. He didn't want to leave Oikawa for any longer than necessary.
His boyfriend was still laying on the floor, but he was still breathing. "Oikawa?" Iwaizumi asked, voice scratching his mouth. "Can you still speak?" After few wheezing breaths, Oikawa opened his eyes and looked at Iwaizumi, eyes starting to close again.
"Yea", his voice sounded unnatural, it was too high-pitched but still husky. Iwaizumi rushed to Oikawa and dropped on his knees next to him. He lifted the other boy to his embrace and pushed his face to Oikawa's hair. "You didn't deserve this… I'm so, so sorry", he mumbled, tears still dropping. "Does it hurt? Can I do something?" He wanted to be the strong person he used to be, to find a way to save or at least help Oikawa. But the fear of losing him was too strong, he couldn't help but panic.
"Yeah", Oikawa whispered. "It hurts so bad. It's like my intestine was burning and mind tearing itself apart." He started to tremble again. "It hurts so, so bad. Does it last for long, Iwa-chan?"
"I don't know." Words were like acid for Iwaizumi and he just tried to stay sane for Oikawa. "Hang in there, the help will be here soon."
"No", Oikawa sounded. "I want to stay with you longer." Iwaizumi's heart felt like it was going to explode and he tightened his embrace.
"I'm sorry this happened. I was too confident. We should have left sooner", he whispered, almost starting to cry again.
"Don't blame yourself. I don't regret this." Oikawa's voice was flitting and Iwaizumi barely heard it. "You didn't choose this."
"Just keep your eyes on me", Iwaizumi demanded as softly as he could. "Don't close them."
"But it's dark", Oikawa whispered and made Iwaizumi's heart stop. "It's already getting dark. Iwa-chan, please promise me."
"What?"
"Promise me that you won't kill yourself when I'm gone." Iwaizumi wanted to say something, but he couldn't form the words, and the sound that escaped his lips turned into a sob.
"Stop. You'll be alright."
"Is someone here?" The yell from downstairs made Iwaizumi to turn his head. The paramedics!
"Upstairs!" he shouted as loud as he could. "Did you hear that, Oikawa? The help is here. Please hang in there for a little longer."
"Cold", Oikawa uttered. "Iwa-chan, it's so cold. Please don't leave me."
Iwaizumi couldn't answer. The medical team came to the room and from there everything was like dream. Iwaizumi couldn't speak, couldn't hear the voices around him. He just watched how the paramedics started to revive Oikawa, who had lost consciousness right after he had stopped talking. Iwaizumi could just watch when they took Oikawa away, and he was left all alone. Some of the paramedics asked if he needed help with his wounds, but he refused. They had to concentrate on Oikawa.
After a time that felt like an eternity Iwaizumi regained the awareness of the situation. Oikawa was gone, he probably would die soon if he was still alive. It hurt to leave Oikawa like this, but he probably wouldn't be allowed to stay in the hospital, so he just had to let it go. He had to leave before the police would come. He still had a job to do.
Iwaizumi gathered his things from the floor, took the other two bags and a small first-aid kit and walked to the window. He threw the bags outside, then jumped himself. If the police would talk to him, he would have to explain. That would mean that he would spend his next years in prison. He was ready to face the consequences of his actions, but he wanted to fulfil one more mission before that. The gun his father left was in one of his bags and determination was burning inside him. Oikawa was right, he shouldn't kill himself now. That bullet wouldn't be for him or Oikawa. It would be for his father.