Step. Iwaizumi quietly breathed, feeling the snaking motion around him, constricting him, locking him deeper into his predicament. He gulped, the darkness surrounding him other than the gentle light coming from the T.V. He could feel it around him. The pressure. The air thickening, the nonexistent fog clouding his mind. Every last molecule around him made him feel like he was in a pit, caught in a trap by a fierce warrior or hunter. The step echoed in his mind, yet the specific clack told him that it was from the kitchen rather than the normal carpet. He let out a soft breath of relief. He had a little more time to figure out how to solve this little problem of his.
Yet, he didn't know if the consequence of being caught outweighed the positive side effect of the situation that got him in the trap in the first place.
Beep! The faint sounds of the oven's timer echoed throughout the place, though it was likely much louder in the kitchen than the living room, in which he was trapped, of course. He heard the footsteps. He heard the quiet cursing as the other person he was with seemed to be struggling, but he couldn't even dare alert them to the situation. He could even hear the gentle whistling of the trumpets that usually played when he served. However the hell he convinced the band to play that for him, Iwaizumi would never know, though that too was the least of his current concerns.
However, the gentle snores reaching Iwaizumi's ears kind of made it all worth it. At least, to him it did.
Crunch! The T.V static, the arm slowly going around him in a hug, the soft cheek pressing against him, all of it. He could see all of it happen as though it were in slow motion. It was astounding, how time was practically frozen for him. Even the way the fridge door slowly swung open, far too slow for someone of his best friend to open a simple fridge door, was picked up. He could see every single detail, his perception heightened through the roof.
Of course, it felt like too much to handle at once, almost overwhelming.
At the moment, Iwaizumi had quite the dilemma. He felt slightly overcome with everything around him, how he felt completely in tune with all going around him, yet everything in slow motion, only amplifying its effect on him.
The creepy crawling, the gentle poking at his side, prodding, knocking at his mind to choose. The gentle crawl turned into a skitter, the gentle poking turned into nudging. The skitter into a disjointed, monstrous scuttling. The nudging into a massive shove.
His mind quietly whispered to him, Do something. In all the times that the ace had had pressure out of him, he'd overcome it. In each time that Oikawa relied on him, in each time that he was faithfully set to, in each time that Aoba Johsai had put the weight onto his shoulders with confidence in the decision, Iwaizumi would gladly rise up to the challenge.
In the face of Dateko, he didn't back down. Hell, in the face of Shiratorizawa, he didn't back down. Against Ushijima, against that weird gremlin blocker, against the Iron Wall, Iwaizumi stood up and faced it head on.
This was different.
This wasn't a team that he faced. Not a powerhouse that he could face with willpower. Not with the countless hours of work he'd put into practicing with the team. This wasn't something that he'd learned to tolerate even after all the years of dealing with Oikawa.
This was something he'd have to be delicate with. Someone he'd have to be delicate with.
Yet, as his mind screamed at him, shouting things that were undoubtedly vulgar and things that he'd certainly used on Oikawa, his body froze. At the moment, as far as Iwaizumi was concerned, they were two completely separate entities.
"Iwa-Chan~!" Oikawa's pepped-up voice called out from the kitchen, the same sing-song tone that he always used. However, while it would normally only cause a little bit of wariness in the ace due to the setter's tendency to somehow always piss him off merely by existing, this time, it horrified him. He knew that many of the things Oikawa did in public, such as his trademark grin, were typically insincere. However, he also knew that whenever the two of them hung out together, it wasn't so much the case, often with both of them having utter faith that they'd be open to each other as best friends, teammates, and athletes.
That being said, his pepped-up voice, his mere presence at this moment rested on the thick atmosphere that'd build up in the living room, a soft, almost misty fog that Iwaizumi could practically see in a metaphysical level.
"The popcorn's ready~!" He gently called out. "Shou-chan! You hear?" His tone remained as cheerful and playful as it always had, though the ace could tell. He knew. Knew it like the back of his goddamn hand. If there was one thing that Oikawa could be sometimes, it was stubborn. The presence he had when it was needed was commanding.
And when he didn't get the way he needed? When those he lead didn't bend to his will? He'd find out. He'd investigate. He'd learn everything he could about the situation.
Even if his entire motto on the court was to make sure the spiker had all the control, and to bring out everything in them, he knew that they'd need to put in everything in the first place if their entire potential was going to be brought out in the first place.
And the captain was more than skilled enough to make that a reality. Even someone as apathetic and mind-numbingly passive as Kunimi would put in everything he could when it came to Oikawa's legendary powers.
Iwaizumi, having known him all their lives, knew that better than anyone. Which was why he couldn't move. Like a snake around him, hissing and gently teasing him, its fangs gently pressing against him, though not hard enough to pierce the skin.
"Iwa-chan? Shou-chan?" Oikawa called out again, a little more impatiently. "Popcorn!"
Gentle tapping came from the kitchen, no doubt Oikawa tapping his slipper on the kitchen floor. Iwaizumi could pretty much imagine the way that he probably crossed his arms with the same pout that he'd hit the team with whenever they teased him.
Don't come in, don't come in, don't come in, Iwaizumi repeated in his head like a mantra, trying to will the universe to somehow change Oikawa's mind and actions.
"Iwa-chan?" Oikawa hummed as he casually strolled into the room, before gasping dramatically and narrowing his eyes at Iwaizumi. "Iwa-chan! I thought you were better than this!"
"It's not my fault, asswipe!" The ace defended himself, venom in his tone as he practically barked at Oikawa, clearly on the tightrope between lecturing Oikawa while simultaneously not waking up the quiet boy next to him.
"You're making me a third wheel! You promised you wouldn't!" Oikawa whined, his voice rising ever so slightly, raising a few alarms within Iwaizumi.
"Shush!" He hissed, holding his free hand up to his mouth, his left bicep currently trapped from the ginger's arms softly clinging to it.
"No!" Oikawa stomped, momentarily entering a temper tantrum as he crossed his arms. "We made a deal."
Iwaizumi fumed, feeling the rage reach his voice, "Yeah. And it's not my fault for this. Why won't you listen to what I'm trying to say for, like, five seconds?!"
"Because. You. Did. Not. Honor. The. Deal."
A quiet, softly spoken voice yawned, and a gentle shift happened before the voice softly spoke, "Oikawa-san? Hajime? What deal are you talking about?"
Iwaizumi's eyes quickly darted to the now awoken boy, gently assuring, "Don't worry about it, Shouyou. Oikawa's just being an idiot again."
Hinata rubbed a little bit of the sleep out of his eyes, "Is the...popcorn made yet? I wanna get to the next movie…"
Iwaizumi looked at him with soft eyes, before glancing back at Oikawa with a sudden switch to flaming malice, and once again softly gazing at Hinata, ruffling his soft curls, "Mhm. Oikawa's just wasting time by not getting the popcorn." He didn't think anything of what he said when he said it, though the very next moment turned the tables.
Hinata pouted at Oikawa, sincerity and genuine sadness in his eyes like a puppy that was refused the ball, "But...why? I wanted to have a good movie night with you guys…" Oikawa froze, feeling the aura of fogginess, the freezing way that Hinata lured him in. Instead of the gentle cuddling that he'd hit Iwaizumi with, he had lured the setter with his amber eyes, so wide and innocent, that simply forced Oikawa to look into his eyes, for the way his body react would be too painful for his mind to handle if he looked away.
However, Iwaizumi's snarky, now arrogant tone snapped him back to reality, "Yeah, Oikawa? Coulda sworn Hinata was the one who invited us. In fact, he invited you before me, right? Be a shame if you were to ruin it for us, right?" Oikawa snarled at the smirking ace, before defeatedly stomping back to the kitchen, temporarily retreating.
Hinata gently smiled, before gently poking Iwaizumi's arm, "Thanks for inviting me here...I know you two were busy with school and all that…"
Iwaizumi smiled in turn, his violent tone completely gone without a trace as he spoke to Hinata, "Of course, Hinata. Besides, you were the one who asked, right? We should at least be the ones to prepare the place…" Hinata gently wrapped his arms around Iwaizumi's arms yet again before gently nuzzling his fluffy hair into the bicep, finally resting his head onto the ace's chest. Iwaizumi gently wrapped his arm around Hinata's torso before softly pulling him closer.
"So," Hinata quietly giggled as he settled in. "What deal were you two talking about? Was it about me?" Gently snuggling closer with Iwaizumi, who was surprisingly delicate with the middle blocker, he looked at the various options for the movie they could watch next.
"Mm...something like that," Iwaizumi muttered, pressing a soft kiss to Hinata's forehead, who blushed a little in response.
He remembered Oikawa's words, Look, I know you two are dating, and I know you didn't want me to tell anyone else. Hell, I'm glad that you trusted me enough to tell me. But if you two might as well fuck while we watch the movie, I'm telling Daichi.
"Iwa-chan! I thought I told you I'm not gonna third wheel here!" Oikawa whined as he walked into the room. "Stop making me jealous that you're dating someone and I'm not!"
Hinata, on the other hand, hit him with a slightly curious look, "But Iwaizumi told me that you were dating 'a volleyball, or something weird like that.'"
"That's a joke, Hinata."
"Honestly, with how much you give yourself to it, I wouldn't even be surprised," Iwaizumi snorted. As Hinata softly giggled and Oikawa squawked indignantly, he leaned back into the couch, a content smile on his face. Yeah, he could see the three of them doing a movie night just like this in the future. Even if they were adults.
Yeah, this could be the life for him.