Note: an old fic written for friend's birthday. You can find it on AO3 (originally published there on June 27th 2017).
MatsuHanaIwaOi (more precisely established MatsuHanaOi pining for Iwa-chan), side Kyouhaba. Voltron AU, based on what said friend came up with.
Enjoy! :)
Iwaizumi really didn't know what he did in his life to deserve this.
He was a good prince, obedient to his father and always thinking about his people. He never behaved disrespectfully towards foreign kings, representatives, or diplomats... although he had to admit he had been close to doing so more than once. During his childhood, he rarely snuck out of his room at night and didn't cause that many problems, regardless whether it was his idea or if it was Suga who put him up to some mischief. In short, he considered himself a decent guy.
So what did he do to deserve this?
Suga, who was standing next to him, covered his mouth with his palm to stop himself from bursting out laughing. He did his best, but his withheld giggles and desperate gasps for air showed how much fun he was having. Iwaizumi, on the other hand, sighed deeply with resignation and glanced at the training hall once again, feeling his irritation swell.
Kyoutani hit the the wall with a spectacular thud and fell limply to the ground like marionette with cut strings, or in his case, more like (if Iwaizumi understood paladins' description correctly) a heavy piñata that hadn't been hit, but was accidentally thrown off the branch. Yahaba joined him right away, certainly not as dramatically as his companion, but, strangely, with a lot more grace, like it was supposed to happen. He looked as if he was performing a choreography honed with dedication for a long time. Choreography to what? Probably no one could answer this question.
The training droid didn't have a time to dodge Matsukawa's hit, but it stopped the next one with a quick swing of its club. Matsukawa went flying, gliding across the floor and throwing Hanamaki - who was just getting up after his last failure - off his feet, the two of them tumbling backward another few meters.
The hedgehogs lounging on the console started to make sounds similar to a huffing noise but not quite. Thanks to the telepathic bond linked between Iwaizumi and them, the prince was sure that they were having a blast, too. Suga gave up hiding his amusement and sank to the ground, breathing with difficulty.
"Prince Hajime, stop them, please!" he finally stammered out. Surely he was scared the paladins could hurt themselves. "O- or I'll die from laughing!"
Or not. Because who would care about these five dweebs on whom the fate of the whole universe depended, right?
Iwaizumi inhaled deeply through his nose to calm himself a little bit. He held the air in his lungs for a short moment and then glanced once again at the control panel and specifically at the level of difficulty. It was set at the third level, which was usually accomplished with more or less effort by every thirteen year old Altean child. At that moment Iwaizumi had the feeling that the setting was mocking him with insolent audacity and unswerving, malicious satisfaction.
It only irritated Iwaizumi more.
He exhaled through his mouth, turned off the simulator and for a half a tick observed the situation behind the glass. The droid stopped mid-motion and was sucked into the hole in the floor literally at the same moment that Oikawa tried to attack it. He didn't manage to throttle his momentum, and with nothing to attack and the lack of support from the air, he fell to the sweat-dampened ground.
One of hedgehogs laughed so hard it skidded down from the console. Luckily the desktop wasn't very high, so it didn't hurt itself.
The problem wasn't that the paladins didn't know how to fight. None of them were masters of martial arts, but they got by pretty well. If only they could get in sync and not to intrude on one another during the fight. If only they could complement each other! This silent understanding and sync of Oikawa, Matsukawa and Hanamaki, still not really impressing but at the same time inspiring, surely helped a lot, but it wasn't equivalent to a closely knit team. But it wasn't too much of a surprise in their case. After all, they were dating. And Iwaizumi had to admit - with a little more practice they would become truly challenging opponents.
"The system recorded this… 'fight.' We can watch it once again," Suga informed him, wiping the last tears from the corners of his eyes. Noticing Iwaizumi's glare, he added innocently, but with not-so-innocently shining eyes, "So we can work out what exactly they should do to improve, of course."
"Of course," Iwaizumi growled brittly through gritted teeth. He knew perfectly well what were his advisor's true intentions. He knew him too well. Besides ruling Altea together, they were also long-time friends.
Iwaizumi silently leaves the control room. Behind him, Suga exclaims, "Oh quiznak, this is gonna be good!" as he goes to meet the only hope of the universe.
In Hanamaki's humble opinion, they did pretty well. Sure, they could be a little bit more in sync, Kyoutani could listen to others and intrude less, Yahaba could be less hesitant, and their trio could attack less chaotically (though they synced well enough that it was, like, organized chaos), but in general they did good. A solid seven out of ten!
Sadly, Iwaizumi didn't agree, because what was the first thing the prince did after arriving in the hall? Praise them? Give hints how to correct all these little (okay, maybe not so little) shortcomings? No! He started chewing them out!
Not that Hanamaki minded too much, especially once he tuned out the scolding and focused instead on Iwaizumi's deep, passionate voice. He'd be lying if he said that prince's muscled arms didn't catch his eye. Oh, how he craved for Iwaizumi to pin him against the wall with his perfect, hot body - that is, what? Who said that?
"Don't tell me what to do! Who do you think you are, huh?" Kyoutani's growl swiftly pulled him out from his daydreams.
"It's the first time I've heard him talk in forever," Matsukawa whispered in his ear. To be honest, it wasn't even an exaggeration, because most of Hanamaki's (and Matsukawa's) interactions with Kyoutani were limited to monologues occasionally interrupted by Kyoutani's growls, monosyllable answers, or - if they were lucky - sentence-long comebacks. Who knew, maybe Kyoutani wasn't that brusque after building closer, friendlier relationships. Not that it was easy: he was pretty aloof and withdrawn after all. Or maybe he just was like that.
"Kyouken-chan!"
Oikawa, the responsible leader that he was, probably wanted to say something, but Yahaba interrupted him before he managed to utter even one more word: "Quit whining! Just shut the quiznak up!" With the last word he slammed Kyoutani into the wall, but the other was so irate that it didn't faze him at all, he just shoved the green paladin away. They glared at each other for a suspenseful second that felt like forever.
Hanamaki didn't know if Yahaba's anger was caused by Iwaizumi's scolding and the boy just took it out on Kyoutani out of spite, or if their opinions on this matter really were that different.
A vein popped out on Iwaizumi's forehead, showing how annoying this situation was for him. Hanamaki wasn't even surprised. If they were to form Voltron, beat Zarkon, and save the universe, then they really couldn't allow themself to have any internal conflicts.
"I'm the prince-" Iwaizumi didn't even have a chance to cut to the chase of his argument, because Kyoutani butted in.
"Not my prince!" he growled again. "I didn't choose you!"
"You don't choose princes, it doesn't work like that," Yahaba chimed in.
"Shut the fuck up! I won't listen to someone I can easily beat to a pulp!"
Everyone could tell after those words, that the red paladin's statement had wider context and he meant not only Yahaba, but Iwaizumi, too.
"Hey!" the voice from the loudspeaker intervened. "Show some respect for-"
"Easy, Suga, I got this," Iwaizumi calmed his friend with poised wave of a hand, looking at Kyoutani. "In this case everyone can lecture you, since your lack of cooperation is appalling and it has significative influence on your results."
"What did you say?!"
"I said that… How do you, Earthlings, say it? You suck."
"Oooh, burn!" Matsukawa shouted. Besides Hanamaki, who high-fived him, no one noticed him.
"But if you're that eager to find out who would beat who in a duel, then fine."
Iwaizumi discarded his royal robe in one swift movement, reaching out to stretch his arms, joints popping in place. The muscles shifted under the skin of his arms, biceps and triceps bulging in such an appetizing way that Hanamaki felt his mouth go dry. When he glanced at Iwaizumi's tantalizing chest, the tanned abs, the v-shape dipping under the edge of the prince's loose pants… He felt weak in his knees.
"Makki, hold me…" Oikawa moaned, hanging onto Hanamaki's arm like a prosimian on a branch.
"Sorry, I can't," he stammered in answer. " has stopped working."
"Well, something of mine started working, if you know what I mean," Matsukawa muttered with an exhale.
A staff appeared from a trapdoor in the floor, Iwaizumi gripping it tightly and giving it a few twirls. He glanced around the hall to make sure everyone stayed at a safe distance, then looked directly at the trio and asked, "Hey, guys, you alright?" Concern was audible even through his controlled anger.
Hanamaki didn't even notice that they'd all slid down the wall they'd just been leaning on, Oikawa still clutching his arm.
"Yeah, yeah!" Oikawa answered hurriedly, waving his hand dismissively. "We're just... " he cut himself off, unsure of how to end the sentence.
"Tired and, y'know… thirsty," Matsukawa finished, a huge grin on his face. Hanamaki snorted loudly.
Thirsty for you, he rectified in his thoughts, not even for a moment glancing away from the prince. He knew he wouldn't catch the allusion anyway.
Iwaizumi peered at each of them, but his eyes lingered on Hanamaki, making the boy fear for a moment that perhaps Iwaizumi could read minds and heard all of this . He reddened even more than the healthy flush in his skin after their intensive training. Right away, he scolded himself. If the prince indeed had telepathic abilities extending to the paladins, then he would've already had more than one occasion to hear interesting words about himself.
The remaining fear faded away when Iwaizumi nodded, completely unaware of the reactions he had caused in their trio. "Don't dehydrate," he said, turning back to focus on Kyoutani.
"Yes, sir!" they shouted. Oikawa reached for the bottles with water, passing some to the other two. When he sat with them again, they shifted their positions a bit - Oikawa leaned against Hanamaki and Matsukawa, who intertwined their fingers together. After they settled in comfortably, they focused on one of the most handsome beings they have ever see- that is, on the duel, of course.
Kyoutani didn't waste time. Right after Iwaizumi signaled he was ready, the red paladin charged, swinging around with his sword once, twice, both attempts effortlessly dodged by Iwaizumi, who blocked with his staff. The prince switched from defensive to offensive and after the next failed attack, used Kyoutani's moment of recovery to deliver a precise blow, knocking Kyoutani's bayard out of his hand. The weapon skidded across the floor and stopped when it thumped into the wall on the opposite side of the room.
Kyoutani cursed under his breath, furious. He glanced briefly at the sword and considered going for it, but Iwaizumi threw his staff away.
He smiled. "So it will be fair."
Kyoutani pounced on Iwaizumi, fury in his eyes. He delivered a hit with his right fist, then threw a left hook, but Iwaizumi gracefully avoided both hits. This further angered the red paladin, who immediately swung his leg around in a powerful kick, which the prince used to topple his opponent. Kyoutani used his hands as leverage and tried to kick him again, but Iwaizumi jumped, seemingly dodging the blow in an offhanded manner, keeping his own footing. He stepped back and to the left, dancing away from having his legs swept out from under him. Kyoutani's fist appeared exactly in the same place where Iwaizumi's face had been just a second ago, but it didn't faze the prince at all. Before the red paladin could even move, Iwaizumi grabbed his outstretched out arm and threw him over his shoulder. Kyoutani made a beautiful arch in the air and landed on the floor with a solid thud.
For a moment, the hall was silent.
"Why is he so perfect? That's not fair!" Matsukawa groaned, hiding his face in the crook of Hanamaki's neck. The sound was so quiet that probably no one besides Hanamaki heard him.
"I know, right?" he muttered in response, sliding his hand in Matsukawa's hair and playing with the soft locks.
Kyoutani scrambled up from the floor.
"I want a rematch!"
"He probably will never learn…" Yahaba sighed. Hanamaki startled a bit, surprised, and Matsukawa grumbled a bit at the sudden movement, because he didn't hear when Yahaba joined them. But, to be fair, his attention was elsewhere, after all.
"I don't want to hurt you," Iwaizumi answered. Hanamaki focused on the prince again. "We can arm-wrestle."
Hanamaki smiled softly at this solution.
About a week and a half ago, nearly a whole month after arriving at the Castle, Oikawa, Matsukawa and him decided that Prince Iwaizumi was charming not only on the outside, but on the inside, too, and that they'd enthusiastically invite him to their relationship if he were to agree. For now, they only admired him from afar, exploring tentative unfamiliar waters, as they had no idea what the limits were when it came to interacting with the monarch. Above all else, they didn't know if Iwaizumi was as captivated with them - or any one of them, for that matter - as they were with him. To check that, in a short amount of time they were outdoing each other with fancier and fancier ideas on how to get closer to him and define the situation (besides the time spent together with the prince himself, too).
Among other things, Hanamaki had challenged Iwaizumi to arm-wrestling match. He had explained the earthly activity as a friendly rivalry, a team-bonding activity, and in tense situations, a way of determining dominance. Mainly, it was an excuse to hold Iwaizumi's hand (a genius move, as later Oikawa praised him) but it resulted in a lot of incredibly cute (though pretty naive from Earthling's point of view) assumptions and questions, caused by erroneous conclusions.
For example, Iwaizumi praised humankind as a whole, because arm-wrestling indeed seemed like a good way to determine dominance. The diplomatic meetings invoked during crises had to be fascinating. But what did it truly look like? Did every nation have one representative, the strongest person in the whole country? Perhaps it was an acquired trait for the ambassadors to be the strongest, or maybe the kings and queens were the ones who participated in the duels? Were royal children's greatest responsibility to care about their brawn? Or if it was the strongest representative, then how were they chosen from the people of the country? Did competitions take place? If so, how often? Were they mandatory or voluntary? What importance did intelligence hold in this situation, in this world? Do wisdom and knowledge matter at all? They have to, right? Etcetera, etcetera.
Now, Iwaizumi tried to better work with Kyoutani using this earthly way. From what little he knew of Kyoutani, he seemed to be hoping that it would not only help coax Kyoutani into some form of allegiance, whether big or small, but also to form a bond with the red paladin.
Kyoutani hesitated for only a second, even after witnessing all Hanamaki's failures. It seemed that he thought he was stronger than both Hanamaki and Iwaizumi. To a certain degree, it was a vain idea, but whether it was the truth, no one could tell, since Kyoutani had never arm-wrestled either of them before.
"Okay," he agreed.
Iwaizumi glanced at the control room where Suga was hidden behind the glass, giving him a single nod. A sleek table materialized from the ground, its surface big enough for an arm-wrestling contest, but with enough friction that their elbows wouldn't slide. Iwaizumi sat next to it and propped his elbow against the countertop, ready. Kyoutani did the same. He gripped Iwaizumi's hand firmly and glared at him with a menacing look, but the prince wasn't intimidated in the slightest, instead glancing calmly at the others.
"Oikawa, would you?"
"Of course!"
Oikawa quickly got up, threw his bottle to Hanamaki and stood by the rivals. He covered their linked hands with his palm and gave them a countdown. Shouting out zero, he leapt away from the arm-wrestlers.
Kyoutani immediately pressed down on Iwaizumi's arm and the huff he let out showed that he was using his whole strength. The prince's arm didn't even move a single millimeter. Admittedly, his muscles were tense, but one glance at his relaxed face revealed that Iwaizumi didn't labour at all. Kyoutani gathered himself and tried once again, but the prince subdued his efforts, slamming the red paladin's hand on the counter without breaking a sweat.
"Hurray, Iwa-chan!"
"Nice, Iwaizumi!"
Hanamaki smiled, kissed Matsukawa on the nose, then got up (much to Matsukawa's displeasure) in order to unceremoniously push Kyoutani to the side. The red paladin seemed ready to argue, but Hanamaki didn't pay him any attention, just propped his elbow on the counter.
"My turn."
Iwaizumi smiled wide, showing his white teeth and firmly grasping Hanamaki's hand with his own, warm and a little rough.
It's probably unnecessary to mention that Iwaizumi won once again.
Matsukawa was tired of this green goo they were supposed to eat. He'd never been a picky eater, but having the exact same thing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner - not to mention for snacks or dessert - would naturally mean you'd be sick and tired of it at one point. Luckily, Hanamaki and Yahaba proved that they could conjure up a real treat from the unknown alien ingredients. Unluckily, they didn't have much free time to cook. Even if they did find some time after training, their lack of motivation or energy became a problem.
Still, Matsukawa awaited meal time with impatience, because during meals, even Iwaizumi would relax a little, being less of a strict and demanding trainer and caretaker for a few moments. True, he was a prince who was always expected to be stern - businesslike, even - but he was also just Hajime. He would let the others pull him into their silly antics or discussions, or he would tell them stories of his own. Sometimes they were funny, other times simply interesting, and once in a blue moon, full of nostalgia.
His eyes would shine with childlike excitement and curiosity when the paladins reminisced about their time on Earth. For half an hour, it seemed that he forgot that the fate of the universe depended on all of them, putting his memories about those he lost aside, instead trying to live and be happy like his parents probably would've wanted him to. Matsukawa, seeing Iwaizumi relax a bit, would unwittingly relax, too. He felt happiness and relief at the thought that the prince had stopped worrying for a moment. There was also this fondness and warm, fuzzy feeling in his heart that before, he had only felt in the company of Oikawa and Hanamaki. Now, he felt it whenever Iwaizumi smiled at him. Matsukawa felt the urge, no, the need to protect this smile.
This day wasn't any different, except for Suga having complimented the team - well, Matsukawa took it as a compliment, at least. The royal advisor's exact words were that they did "pretty well on today's training… for humans, that is." After a short chat, Matsukawa took over the reins, explaining to Iwaizumi how to effectively conduct a prank war using the example of one war that he, Hanamaki, and Oikawa had done in the Garrison.
It had sparked unexpectedly and quickly dragged in their other friends. With every day that went by, the pranks became more and more intricate and eventually entirely contrived. After some time, they also started to affect a third party, there were more and more witnesses, and the plausible excuses for the pranksters were quickly running out. Honestly, the risk of getting caught wasn't even their biggest problem, because constant formation and breaking of alliances meant their trust in each other was constantly tested. Betrayals became a daily inevitable occurrence and only the most cunning and clever one was able to have the advantage… assuming that they were also the most successful in gathering information about their opponents that day. And then finally, someone - Bokuto? Or maybe Nishinoya - had gotten caught red-handed in the act and everyone was punished. For a moment, there was the threat of them all getting kicked out of the Garrison and everyone was scared. Luckily, their activity was characterized as nothing but a minor hindrance, and as it was the first time that any of them had gotten in trouble, no one was expelled.
Despite their initial fear after getting caught, the group all collectively decided that the experience, overall, had been worth it. How many friendships had started, then were broken up, and then formed once again - this time for good - during the war? How many relationships got even stronger as the result of the tough times weathered together? The event could only go down in history as The Great Prank War.
"But of course, we couldn't let anyone get caught, or we'd all be in the pot, so whenever one of us was even in the slightest bit of trouble, then our silent agreement about a temporary truce was immediately on and we rushed to help them," Matsukawa continued. He tried his best not to get distracted, but it was hard when he had the prince's undivided attention and beautiful green eyes staring at him.
"Remember when they almost caught you preparing a trap for Kuroo?" Hanamaki sent him a wide grin.
Oikawa snorted and Matsukawa's face turned crimson.
"Don't remind me about this! I don't want to remember it," he groaned, hiding his face behind his hands. But when he looked through his fingers to glare at Hanamaki, who was laughing along with Oikawa, and then looked at Iwaizumi, he saw that the prince had a gentle smile on his face and was lifting an eyebrow, encouraging him to continue. He seemed just a little bit intrigued, but in his eyes Matsukawa noticed a great curiosity and thousands of unspoken questions that wanted to break free.
Even though he would do nearly anything to please Iwaizumi and see that smile on his face for an even longer amount of time, Matsukawa really didn't want to recount this incident and go through the embarrassment once again. Iwaizumi wouldn't persuade him. Just… no.
"Issei, don't make us beg, please!"
"Matsukawa-san?" It seemed Yahaba was curious too. Even if he had been in the Garrison at that time, he didn't know any details. Nobody who hadn't directly participated in the prank war did. Even Kyoutani, who was sitting next to the green paladin, looked intrigued, despite his attempts to look disinterested.
"C'mon, Matsukawa!" Simply amazing - even Suga had joined in.
"I-ssei! I-ssei! I-ssei!" Oikawa started to chant. Hanamaki started cheering, too.
Traitors. He loved them with all his heart, but they still were filthy traitors. They knew just how hard it would be for him to resist their pleas. But he will be strong. He has to, because there's no way he'll compromise himself. Not in front of three of his teammates (if you counted Suga), not in front of the four alien hedgehogs, even though they probably couldn't understand a word that was happening, and definitely not in front of his crush.
"If you don't want to tell, then you don't have to. But I'm really curious now," Iwaizumi offered.
Nuh-uh. No way was this happening.
"At this time, I was roommates with a friend, Kuroo," he began.
Oikawa and Hanamaki cheered loudly. They high-fived and smiled at him so widely, so happy and adorable, that Matsukawa didn't have the heart to be mad at them. This time, just this time, he would let it slide. He always did, anyway, but that was something he could ignore for now.
"When he joined our prank war," he continued, "there just had to come his turn to be pranked. I was temporarily running out of ideas, so I thought I should do something classic, y'know. So I bought a few packages of plastic cups and waited until Kuroo left our room. Then, I started to set them in rows on the floor, filling every single cup with water. The whole floor was occupied. I only left some free space by the door, so it was possible to open it. When I finished, I left the room and planned to wait till Kuroo comes back…"
"And then I arrived!" Oikawa declared in proudly.
Matsukawa smiled softly and kissed him on the forehead. "And then Tooru arrived," he confirmed. He continued in a grim tone, "He was there to warn me about the unannounced room inspection."
Yahaba winced sympathetically.
"I had, like, ten minutes at most to get rid of all the cups. And it probably wouldn't be that bad, but I had blocked my way to the bathroom, after all. So Tooru and I poured some of the cups into this one plant in the corridor, but after about ten cups, the water started to spill over. I poured three more cups in the end, but we still didn't have a way to the bathroom."
"And this was the moment I noticed Commander Washijou at the end of the corridor," Oikawa chimed in again. "In the ranking of people with good sense of humour, you can place him after the coffeemaker and the flight simulator."
Suga lifted his eyebrows in amusement. "I'm guessing they're not peop-"
"You guess correctly."
Matsukawa sighed, when he saw the expectant look on Hanamaki's face. Right, it was about that time when he would reveal the absolute disaster of this tale.
"And then we asked Hiro for help. Let me tell you, it was a total mistake."
"Oh puh-lease… We made it, didn't we?"
"You babbled everything to Kuroo and asked him to keep Washijou busy."
"And then he kept him busy, and I helped you two. What's your problem?"
"My problem is that in the act of revenge for me trying to pull a prank on him, he told Washijou that I was having the worst diarrhea he had ever seen! And that I should be left alone because no one deserved to see this! And," Matsukawa continues, speaking faster and faster, "coincidentally, Terushima had been filling balloons with goo, but when he heard about the inspection, he flushed everything in the toilet and it clogged the pipes up on the whole floor!" He splays out on the floor dramatically, throwing one arm over his face. "Washijou never looked at me the same after this."
"So that's how it really was?" Yahaba's voice showed so much understanding, like he had just discovered all the secrets of the universe, or why there are fifty-seven words to describe an apple core in German.
"Yup," Oikawa affirmed. "And meanwhile, we were really just drinking our way to the bathroom. Everyone was fine, no one was caught, and we all lived happily ever after."
"Except for my pride."
"You took your revenge on Kuroo after that, though," Hanamaki consoled.
Matsukawa made an offended face and ostentatiously looked away from Hanamaki. Mainly to mess with him, because he wasn't really angry at him.
"Honey?"
Maybe just a little bit annoyed.
"Babe? Don't be mad at me!"
Matsukawa still didn't look at him, but just by the tone of Hanamaki's voice he could tell that his boyfriend's lips were curved downward in a sad bow. Even pretending to be angry was hard now.
"My dear, rarest Pepe?"
Matsukawa finally kindly looked at Hanamaki. His boyfriend didn't have as convincing puppy eyes as him, but it didn't mean they worked any less effectively. Matsukawa felt the corners of his lips fighting their way up and he had to try really hard to keep even the most basic neutral expression on his face. Acting angry was impossible now. And then Hanamaki started really playing his role and started making distressed puppy whines.
Oikawa laughed and Matsukawa couldn't stop himself from smiling anymore. His grin was so wide, that his cheeks hurt after only a few short moments.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Iwaizumi was still watching their antics. He smiled too, but more delicately and with… Matsukawa didn't want to fool himself and give himself a false hope, but was it possibly… fondness that he was seeing there?
Suga cleared his throat with an amused but knowing smile.
"Prince Hajime and I have to check something in the Castle, so we ought to be going now. It looks like you all have some free time." Suga got up, pushed back the chair, then noticed that Iwaizumi hadn't made a move. "Right, Prince Hajime?" he added with a mischievous smile.
"Yes!" Iwaizumi startled, snapped out of his trance, blushing slightly. "Yeah, sure. Of course."
It was his turn to awkwardly clear his throat now, and he got up from his chair quickly.
"See you later!"
And with this farewell, he and Suga left the dining hall.
Oikawa was glad that Hanamaki and Matsukawa stayed with him longer in the training hall to help him. He was aware that they did it to watch over him as well in order to make sure that he wouldn't overwork himself. He didn't love that part about it, because really, he had to be better in hand-to-hand combat in order to be a good leader! But he still appreciated Hanamaki's and Matsukawa's concern and mental support nonetheless.
It was nice, even if he didn't believe their assurance that he was good enough, being a pilot of the black lion, a fearless leader, and a wonderful human. As much as he trusted them, their words were just hollow compliments. Besides, even if he indeed, by some crazy standard, was really "good," it wasn't enough. He craved perfection. It was something his parents had always expected of him, and for about a month now, probably the whole universe was, too.
His parents… What were they doing now?
"Tooru, we should wrap up for today."
Oikawa knew that although Hanamaki used the plural form, he really just meant him. On top of that, he'd already said it today, exactly one training droid ago. This bot was supposed to be the last one, and Hanamaki and Matsukawa had both already reluctantly agreed to it, so there was no way Oikawa could beg for one more fight.
Breathing heavily after all his exertion, Oikawa glanced at his boyfriends. Hanamaki looked exhausted, he always had the worst stamina. He was bent over, hands on his knees, cheeks flushed. Matsukawa, on the other hand, sat against the wall with a lazy smile directed at Oikawa, still fond as ever, even if he didn't love Oikawa's tendency to overtrain.
Oikawa relaxed a bit at this sight. Even if his surroundings demanded perfection from him, then at least those two loved him the way he was, despite all his flaws and imperfections. He was really glad for it: even if during every fight with Galra he was worried sick that something would happen to them, he had them by his side, that he wasn't alone in this madness, and he had part of home with him.
It was no surprise that Oikawa missed Earth. In his opinion, it was kind of stupid, because it wasn't like it was the first time that he was in space. Still, he missed the stars that he could normally see from the window in his childhood bedroom back home in Miyagi, or the cherry trees that bloomed every March and April, or the trips to the sea to observe those little glowing squids that swam all the way from the Pacific to Toyama bay. Heck, he even missed traffic in Tokyo!
It wasn't that he didn't like space - after all, he had dreamed since he was little that one day, he'd visit unexplored planets, discover new galaxies, and make contact with alien civilisations (because aliens were there, somewhere, they had to, the universe is too big for Earth to be the only planet with life on it!). And his dreams were coming true right now, and Oikawa was really excited and proud, and amazed with all his new experiences… but there still was a void in his heart.
"Tooru, are you alright?" Hanamaki's voice pulled him back to earth.
He immediately forced a charming smile onto his face. "Of course!" He knew, though, that it wouldn't fool his boyfriends.
"Are you sure? You spaced out for a moment…"
"It's cute how you worry for me like that, but you don't have to. I'm fine, really." To confirm his words, he smiled wider and flashed them a peace sign.
Matsukawa stared at him skeptically for a moment, but neither of them pushed, knowing that Oikawa wanted - hah - space. And Oikawa was grateful for that.
They gathered their things and exited the training hall, planning to head back to their rooms and take a quick shower before dinner. Matsukawa and Hanamaki talked about something and joked, but Oikawa didn't really listen. He couldn't focus.
They entered the next corridor, this one having one wall made out of windows. You could see everything outside: the infinite space studded with tiny shining spots of stars, that here and there were forming clouds, showing the nearest galaxies; lone rocks gliding through the void without any purpose; planets maybe not millions of light years away, but surely at least a few million kilometers away, looking small and insignificant from the Castle's windows, like Mars or Venus from Earth on the night sky.
But here where they were now, trapped in a relatively small spaceship stuck in the cold, scary desolation, there was no way to find any of those planets. The whole Milky Way was probably millions of parsecs away.
Oikawa didn't even notice that he had stopped in his tracks, approached the window, and was touching the cool surface of the glass with his hand, nor that he had sighed with resignation and sadness. He only registered the fact that his watery eyes couldn't hold any more tears and that some of them had rolled down his cheek when Matsukawa pulled him into a strong, firm embrace and kissed the top of his head, his hands warm against his hips. Hanamaki joined them, intertwining his fingers with Oikawa's, wiping his tears away with his other hand and then rubbing his back comfortingly, trying to remind him that at least they were all in this together.
Oikawa didn't fully cry, but he gladly snuggled into Matsukawa's arms and squeezed Hanamaki's hand. After a few minutes he calmed down enough to quietly sigh an explanation, knowing that his boyfriends were aware of what had ruined his humour, anyway:
"The sky looks completely different here."
Could one speak about the sky at all, if they weren't on any planet at this moment? Probably not.
"The constellations look nothing like the ones from Earth," he rectified. He meant both the Altean sky and the open space here.
Matsukawa pulled him closer.
"I'm sure they're beautiful. The Earth's constellations, I mean," came a voice suddenly. They looked over right away and saw Iwaizumi. He stood in the corridor uncertainly, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything."
Oikawa pulled away from Matsukawa's embrace and shook his head. He smiled even, feeling a little bit better.
"You didn't. Oh my, is it possible you're following us, Iwa-chan?"
The almost unnoticeable worry and uncertainty were quickly replaced by irritation, but also something akin to relief. Oikawa smiled wider and Hanamaki and Matsukawa relaxed as well.
"Don't be stupid, Oikawa. Though I know it might be difficult for you."
"How a prince can be so mean? You don't have a heart!"
Iwaizumi only rolled his eyes, but there was a smile growing on his lips.
"So you'd like to see them again? The Earth's constellations?"
Oikawa sighed. "But it isn't possible, is it?"
"Not in person, not right now, at least, but there's always the map on the bridge," Iwaizumi said. The fact he didn't deny it hurt Oikawa a little, but it shouldn't. After all, he knew that they had more important matters at hand, like a war with an evil empire, among other things. Still, the perspective of watching familiar stars, even on a map, immediately caught his attention. Before he even had time to react, Hanamaki was already pushing him in Iwaizumi's direction delicately, grinning wide.
"C'mon, Tooru, c'mon!"
Oikawa didn't resist, letting Hanamaki and Matsukawa lead him toward the bridge.
The moment they entered the room, Iwaizumi turned the map on. Right away, the room was filled with holographic stars and planets, entire galaxies captioned by Altean writing. The sight took Oikawa's breath away, exactly like the first time that he had seen this example of alien technology. It was truly breathtaking.
Iwaizumi tapped some buttons on the console to enter coordinates and the holo-stars moved. The dots were flashing so fast that it was almost impossible to follow their movements, but the lights stopped after a few seconds.
Oikawa didn't have time to be scared by how far away they were from the Milky Way, because the sight of familiar constellations caught his eye. For a moment, he was speechless from happiness. Sure, they weren't the real stars that he knew, or glowing in a real sky, but the familiar glimmer of the lights were identical.
"Is this it?" Iwaizumi asked, when he didn't get any reaction.
"Yeah," Hanamaki responded.
Oikawa still couldn't find any words, but he was sure that his smile was as bright as the North Star.
For a moment, they all stood in silence. Then Matsukawa sat down on one of the seats and pulled Hanamaki onto his lap. Iwaizumi stayed at the console, staring with curiosity at the unknown sky that Oikawa admired so much.
"Tell me about them", Iwaizumi asked finally.
Oikawa looked at him, positively surprised at first, and then smiled at him wide. He had immediately found the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, and then more complex constellations, like Cancer and Hydra, and he slowly mapped them out for the prince. Iwaizumi then showed him how to select specific stars on the map, so that explaining which star belonged to which constellation would be easier.
Oikawa quickly picked up the controls, and began an unofficial tour of the stars. Starting with the constellation of Cancer, he pointed out Beta Cancri, also known as Altarf; Delta Cancri, or Asellus Australis; Iota Cancri; Alpha Cancri, or Acubens; and Zeta Cancri, also named Tegmine. Iwaizumi complemented the show by reading out loud the Altean names for each star. Next, Oikawa focused on the Canis Minor and explained which star is a Procyon and which one was Gomeisa, then did the same with the constellations of Hydra, Corvus, Crater, Leo and Virgo.
He had so much fun showing Iwaizumi and his boyfriends the constellations, trying to not mess up the names of the stars when some of them were faded in his memories and sassing Hanamaki and Matsukawa back when they started teasing him about his 'nerdiness' or 'bad' memory, that he almost missed Iwaizumi's gentle smile.
Almost. His heart skipped a beat.
Then, they switched, and it was Iwaizumi's turn to tell them about Altean constellations. This time, all three of them listened fully focused, because it was clear that the prince was doing it with a passion equal to Oikawa's, if not more. It didn't stop Hanamaki and Matsukawa from throwing jokes here and there, but they did it less than before. After all, they had heard about the Earth's sky quite often from Oikawa, but it was the first time that any of them had gotten the chance to know the Altean sky.
Sadly, Iwaizumi only managed to show them the constellations of Weblum, Klanmüirl, and Xznly Squiwl before Suga called them for dinner and they had to get going. Iwaizumi turned the map off and for a moment no one moved, saying goodbye to the atmosphere of closeness in silence. Perhaps they were also trying to hold onto the passing moments and live in them for a few seconds longer.
"Wait, where's our stuff?" Matsukawa asked just before exiting.
Oikawa and Hanamaki exchanged confused glances, because indeed, where was it? They had taken it from the training hall with them, so if it wasn't here, on the bridge, then it had to be-
"Next to the window!"
Matsukawa and Hanamaki ran out of the room and raced down the halls. For a few more seconds, one could hear their laughs and outraged yells when one dared to shove the other in the corridors, or insults that neither of them really meant.
Oikawa and Iwaizumi were left alone. They exited the bridge side by side. Just by the doors, Oikawa stopped and smiled once again.
"Thank you."
Iwaizumi smiled back and they went to the dinner together.
After the meal Iwaizumi went back to his room. He was so tired, he immediately plummeted face-first onto his bed. He didn't even get the chance to move or change his position to a more comfortable one before the hedgehogs surrounded him.
You won't believe what did Yahaba and Kyoutani did when you were checking the particle barrier with Suga, one of them said through their telepathic bond.
And what they did later, when you were busy flirting with Oikawa, Matsukawa, and Hanamaki! another giggled.
At the second comment, Iwaizumi blushed and was grateful for his exhaustion. It was only because of it that he had the excuse of being too tired to change his position and could still lie on the bed with his face hidden in a pillow.
"You shouldn't peek on anyone."
Well, maybe it's them who shouldn't make out where we're resting?
Exactly! It's our place! We were there first!
"On the bridge, too?" he asks, irritated.
Well, maybe you're right this time. But you didn't even deny it; you were flirting with them!
Indeed, he hadn't. Because he couldn't. He wasn't sure when, but their trio had charmed him somewhere along the way and found their way to his heart, and before Iwaizumi knew it, before he even had a chance to try to prevent it from happening, it was already too late. He couldn't not look with this strange warm feeling inside him at this excited shine in Hanamaki's eyes, when he challenged him to the duel in arm-wrestling, at Matsukawa's lazy smiles that made him even more handsome, at Oikawa's passion, when he was explaining the Earth's constellations, sometimes filling in with snippets from Greek mythology… Whoever the Greeks were.
"What am I supposed to do with it? The three of them are just… I don't know. Handsome. Funny. Cute. Charming," he moaned.
Some weird noise came from outside his room, but Iwaizumi didn't feel like checking it. Suga said he had one more minor defect to fix, so it was probably the cause of the sound. The hedgehogs didn't really pay attention to it either, so perhaps his mind was making up noises to distract him from reality.
Instead, the hedgehogs started to laugh in their huffing way.
You're in deep quiznak now!
Oh yeah. He was.
He really was.
During the breakfast it turned out that Suga, while fixing the 'minor defect' the previous day, had accidentally damaged the Castle's translator. Now neither Iwaizumi nor Suga could understand the paladins - and vice-versa. Admittedly they always could use gestures, but it could be dangerous during the sudden attack of Galra. The Alteans wouldn't know, for example, if the paladins were preparing a trap or if they really needed the help from the Castle.
Because of this, right after the meal, Suga and Iwaizumi, with the companionship of Yahaba, who was pretty good with alien technology (although he did everything entirely by intuition alone), busied themselves with repairs. And, using the fact, that they were essentially alone, given that the green paladin couldn't understand a word they were saying, the prince took the opportunity to summarize his conversation with the hedgehogs to Suga.
"Wait," Suga interrupted him, breaking away from his work for a moment. He gave Iwaizumi his full attention and it could've be alarming given that Yahaba was right next to them, but the green paladin didn't seem to be paying them any mind. "What exactly did"- he cut himself off, aware that even without translator their companion would pick up the names -"our dear red and green paladins do together?"
Iwaizumi hit him on the back of his head.
"That's not what's most important now!"
"Hey, calm down, I was joking. You were more fun before you fell in love with them."
Iwaizumi hit Suga again, this time a little bit stronger.
"Okay, okay! Keep calm! Geez…"
"You won't say anything else to me? Something that might be even the slightest bit helpful?"
"Like what, for example?"
"I don't know. You're the advisor. Think about something."
Suga sent him an annoyed look.
"I'm sorry. I can only tell you that in this case you're fucked."
"Okay, it's all good now!" Yahaba chimed in suddenly.
Both Iwaizumi and Suga startled a little. How long had it been since he could understand them?
"I secured it a bit more, so it shouldn't go off again."
Was it possible he hadn't hear anything from their conversation? Iwaizumi internally sighed with relief.
"And if we're talking about your crush on Oikawa-san, Matsukawa-san and Hanamaki-san…"
Oh no.
"Don't look at me like that, you're pretty easy to read. I didn't even have to listen to your conversation, I could feel the vibes from a galaxy away. Anyway, I noticed this, but don't count on them noticing it too. You have no idea how long it took them to confess to each other! How long I had to bear their pining!" He pins Iwaizumi with a stare. "I'm begging you, I don't want to go through that again."
Having said that, Yahaba stood and headed for the exit. Iwaizumi and Suga exchanged a glance, then did the same without another word.
"I'm only telling you what I heard," they could hear Matsukawa whine, even from where they were at behind the dining hall's doors.
"And what have you heard?" Suga flung the doors open, butting into the conversation shamelessly with his strange, misleading innocence.
Iwaizumi felt his heart stop for a moment, and then he blushed, too. It looked like he should have checked the noises outside his door yesterday.
"Uh, it was like… some scratching. In the walls," Matsukawa answered quickly.
Too quickly.
"Maybe it was the hedgehogs in the vents? Prince Hajime, you should watch over them better," Suga scolded him half-heartedly.
The advisor had noticed the blush on Iwaizumi's cheeks and couldn't hold back a sly smile that conveyed exactly two words: You're fucked.
And damn, Iwaizumi thought to himself. He truly was fucked.