Oikawa is a sub who never fully understood what his second gender meant. There was no childhood friend that everybody seemed to have since he was homeschooled by his mom after his dad disappeared. There were no books he could find because of his social anxiety and the images and videos he saw online when he googled what exactly second genders were scared him to the point he wouldn't go outside for months on the off chance a Dom would recognize what he was.

Then his mom gets a promotion at work and they have to move. Away from the willow tree in their backyard where his favorite dog is buried. Away from the kitchen that held memories, where they baked and laughed when they both forgot there was something in the oven.

Away from the house that protected him and the little hidden room by his cabinet that he could sneak into when he felt a panic attack coming on.

It doesn't take longer than a week for them to get settled. His mom is a perfectionist and managed to have the entire house except his room organized to her tastes in five days flat. She never touched his things. She knew he needed time and didn't want to rush him.

Oikawa lived out of his clothes boxes for a few weeks after that. His boxes and bags rested across all of the walls and there was something comforting about it, having this wall that was barely up to his knees between himself and his new surroundings.

Days passed like that, with Oikawa curled up on his bed to read a book or leaning against his bed frame and fiddling with a pen as he studied, his laptop a gentle light dancing across his face as the video played.

Three months passed and Oikawa had gradually fallen into a routine. His mom came home late in the afternoon, around the time he was done studying. Afterwards they'd talk about whatever was on their minds, whether it be his mom complaining about her coworkers or Oikawa laughing as he recalled a sentence in one of his books.

Things were good now, almost as good as they were when they were at their old house.

So, of course, that's when his mom had to pull the rug from underneath him.

"You want me to do what?"

"It's just down the street, Tooru. I know you can do it. Here, this will be enough for you to buy a snack. You like the milk bread they have, right?"

Oikawa stared wide eyed at the money she held out to him. "But..."

With a fond sigh, his mom crouched and pressed her lips to his forehead. "I know, baby. I know you're scared. But there's so many things for you out there, Tooru. So many opportunities and amazing sights that I know you'll love. It's okay if you can't do it right now. I don't care if you come back inside after five minutes. But I want you to try, okay? Can you do that for me?"

Oikawa stayed silent. He knew she was right. He was already in his first year of junior high and while he seldom saw other kids, there were times when he spotted a few of them walking back home from school. It took a while for him to realize that the sharp twinges he felt whenever they laughed or bumped shoulders was loneliness that he was feeling.

It was easy to close his curtains, to pick up the next book in the series he was reading and put in his headphones to listen to his favorite songs. It was easy and worked to distract him, but it never stopped the lingering glances at the windows.

And if he noticed it, he was sure his mom had as well. Really, that's what convinced him as he took a deep breath and steeled himself over while he reached for the money.

"Okay. Five minutes?"

His mom grinned and raised her pinky. "Five minutes."

At first, he just stands there. There's not a lot of cars that pass and the birds sing their melodies as they always do. He focuses on the things he's familiar with, and soon two minutes go by.

He breathes out and shakes his arms, brings his mask to cover more of his face and lowers the sunglasses to shield his sensitive eyes.

He can do this.

Slowly, Oikawa tells himself. One foot in front of the other. Left, right. Left, right. He tells himself not to turn around, not to focus on the distance he's putting between himself and his house, but to concentrate on all of the small blocks on the sidewalk he's passed.

He mumbles to himself as he counts, and just reaches 41 when there's a shouted warning and a ball rolls in front of him.

Oikawa yelps as his feet get tangled with it. He waves his arms to try and balance himself, but it proves to be useless as he falls fast and hard.

There's a steady patter of footsteps as he groans and clenches his eyes shut, and soon there's loud huffs of breath coming from a few feet in front of him.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry, the ball hit my arm wrong when I was trying to receive it."

Oikawa freezes and doesn't lift his head as he nods. He tries to get up, to turn around and retrace all of the steps he took on the 41 cement blocks, but then a hand is on his shoulder and his sunglasses slip down his nose as he jerks away.

He squints in the harsh light and can just barely make out the silhouette of a boy, roughly his age by the looks of it.

"Sorry," the boy says after a moment of silence. "Are you alright? It looked like you fell pretty hard."

Oikawa opens his mouth. Closes it, then blushes when he realizes he's acting like an idiot.

"I'm okay." He says slowly.

The boy's eyebrows furrow and there's another puff of breath, this one having a tone of incredulous annoyance underneath. "If you're not okay then say it."

There's a twinge in him, something that pulls deep in his stomach and Oikawa's mouth is moving before his mind can keep up. "My elbow hurts a lot."

The boy's eyes widen to match his own, and before Oikawa can do or say anything else, the tall, towering frame of the stranger is on his knees in front of him, hands planted to the floor and head bowed even as his face is flushed a pretty red.

Oikawa gapes at him. Blinks. Blinks again. "What are you doing?" He finally asks.

There's a mumbled reply, but the strange boy clears his throat and repeats himself. "Dogeza. My parents said to do it when I did something really bad."

Not knowing what else to do in the peculiar situation he had found himself in, Oikawa let's a peel of laughter slip from his lips.

Out of all the books he's read, there was nothing even close to what his first encounter with another person had been. He laughs louder then, his eyes welling up with mirth and his hands moving to clutch his stomach when he sees that the boy is just watching him, bemused and in the same position.

"Stop it," Oikawa tells him through a wheeze. "You're making my stomach hurt."

By the time he manages to calm himself, the boy is sitting cross legged in front of him, and Oikawa didn't notice it before but now that he's not giggling and fighting for oxygen, he can hear the boy's own chuckles.

"What's your name?" He asks. "I'm Iwaizumi Hajime."

Oikawa sits up straighter and maybe he hesitates, but it's nowhere near as long as it would've been before. "I'm Oikawa Tooru. It's nice to meet you." He holds out his hand for him to shake, and smiles behind his mask when the boy gives him his hand without a second thought.

Iwaizumi opens his mouth to say something, but then frowns and gently pulls his arm so he tumbles forward. He lands on his knees in front of him and before he can voice his question, Iwaizumi pokes an inch above his elbow.

"You're bleeding."

Oikawa turned to see his elbow and winced when he saw the slow trickle of crimson. "I don't like blood."

"Stay still," Iwaizumi told him, then blanched when he realized how he worded it. "Please," he added.

Oikawa knew he had more than likely figured out he was a Sub, because why else would he correct himself? But unlike the sharp sense of dread he thought he would feel, the disgust and fear that would envelope him just like when he saw those videos, there was only a strange calmness.

He kind of felt light headed too, but he assumed that was from the fall. And from being outside after months indoors, but he didn't want to think about that for too long.

He didn't even notice that Iwaizumi had left until his shadow was in front of him. He crouched in front of him with his hand outstretched, raising an eyebrow when Oikawa didn't give him his arm.

With a small snort, Oikawa gave in and watched as he cleaned the area with a small alcoholic wipe and placed a band aid on.

He opened his mouth to thank him, but instead of that "Godzilla?" came out through his amused smirk.

Iwaizumi flushed and gave him a glare. "Shut up, there's nothing wrong with it." He made sure to keep his tone in check this time, he noticed.

Somebody called Iwaizumi from the distance and Oikawa tensed. One person was enough of an interaction to last him a month, and he didn't think he could handle having more than one stranger in front of him.

Did Iwaizumi count as a stranger? He seemed nice enough and they knew each other's names. So what did that make them, then? Acquaintances? Friends?

"Sorry, Oikawa. I have to get back to my friends, we're in the middle of a game."

Was it strange that Oikawa felt disappointed? It was, right?

"Okay. Thanks for the bandaid. And the dogeza, I guess."

Iwaizumi huffed a laugh and gave him a wry smile. "I'm glad someone enjoyed that. I'll see you around, Oikawa."

"Yeah." He waited until Iwaizumi turned around, shouting back to his friends that he was coming and giving him a wave as he ran towards them, before letting out a big sigh.

That was terrifying. He was put on the spot right away and even reacted to a command of someone he's never met before, but...

But he did it. Oikawa held a conversation with someone and didn't have a panic attack or freak out or anything.

He ran back home with a giddy smile and slammed the door behind him when he was inside. His mom was sitting at the table with a cup of tea in front of her and her breathing was off, as if she had rushed to sit down from looking out the window. Oikawa beamed at her and laughed when she returned it broadly.

"Tooru?"

She got up and turned the corner of the table, kneeling down in front of him. Her smile fell a little when she saw the bandaid, but it was still present nonetheless.

"What's this, baby? Did you get hurt?"

Oikawa nodded his head, then shook it when she was about to say something. "I did, but that's not important. Guess what?"

"What?"

"I made a friend! I think I did, anyway. He was playing with friends and a ball came and made me fall and-"

His mom listened to his story with a wide, sparking grin and glistening eyes. Oikawa chattered at her and even when they sat down for dinner he still laughed as he recalled the dogeza.

They both went to bed soon after, Oikawa with a small smile and hand laying on the bandaid while his mom swiped at the stubborn, happy tears under her eyes.