note: For Ania. Hope this makes up for the tragedy! A bit of non-linear time skips to keep the format interesting. Happy New Years everyone!
Day 95
"This is it," Sawa says, unlocking the door to her apartment. "Sorry, it's a little messy."
Flicking on the lights reveals high ceilings with all sorts of photographs and paintings plastered over the walls. There's no uniform or consistent aesthetic, but there's something almost endearing about the chaos.
Otherwise, the apartment is relatively standard. A kitchenette in one corner. A small dining area, fitted with four mats. A living area, decked out with a wide-screen television, a couple of gaming consoles, and a black leather couch. Not the kind of apartment you'd expect from a family. Rather, it shapes up more like the apartment of someone living alone.
The bedroom is separated from the rest of the living area by a pair of sliding translucent glass doors. As Oikawa steps near the dining table, he catches Sawa's faint outline in the middle of undressing and redressing. Although he can't actually make out anything, a blush tinges his cheeks, and he quickly turns his attention away.
Sawa slides open the glass doors, wearing a much more casual ensemble. A pair of light blue pajama shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt that has Shiratorizawa written in bold red letters. It's an outfit that seems almost foreign to Oikawa, since he almost always sees her trim and proper during school hours.
"You live on your own?" He asks, taking a seat on one of the mats surrounding the short dining room table. "Where are your parents?"
Sawa saunters to the kitchen, putting on a kettle of water, "Well, my dad's an artist, so he travels a lot to promote his work. Parents got divorced when I was little, so my mom lives in Tokyo."
Reaching up, she grabs a canister of tea leaves.
Unsure of how to respond, Oikawa settles on a half-baked, "Sorry," for good measure.
Sawa shrugs, "It happened a long time ago, so it doesn't bother me."
He shifts his gaze to her bedroom, where the dividing doors are ajar only the slightest bit. Her bed is queen-sized, and it's fitted with blue and white sheets. There's some kind of floral arrangement sitting on the giant chest in front of the frame—it looks like ikebana, or some kind of derivative. All things considered, it seems like the kind of thing Sawa would be into.
"Are you lonely by yourself?" Oikawa asks; and when he realizes that the question might come off unlike him, he decides to tack on: "Need me to keep you company at night?"
The pot whistles and Sawa reaches out to turn off the stove. Although she's tempted to roll her eyes at the sheer cheesiness of his advances, she decides against it in the end, "I honestly can't tell whether you're trying to be genuine or not."
She fills two cups with a couple sprigs of dried green tea leaves, and pours out the boiling water.
Oikawa considers it—because, in the end—he's not used to being straightforward without tacking on some mindless flirtation. Maybe it's the caricature he's become, or maybe it's the bubbliness he has practiced down to an art form; either way, he has trouble actually being direct.
"And honestly," Sawa continues, taking a seat across from him, "I have more of a problem trying not to eat out every night. I miss home-cooked food."
Oikawa's smile slowly fades into a frown as he tries not to fathom the thought of Sawa eating by herself for dinner. There's something about the image that throws him off and leaves a bad taste in his mouth.
"What does jii-chan think about this?" He asks.
Arching a brow in confusion, Sawa shrugs, "Depends when he's lucid enough to remember."
Oikawa chews his lower lip and takes a deep sip of tea.
"Let's not talk about this stuff. It's depressing," she tells him, straining a smile. "What about you? What did you want to ask me before?"
Day 10
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Are you really sure?"
"Yes," Oikawa sighs, parking his bike into an empty rack. "I'm really sure."
Still, Sawa's persistent, "On a scale of one to ten, how sure would you say you are? Just ballpark."
"You're going to grow wrinkles if you worry too much," Oikawa tells her in a singsong tone.
The redhead tiptoes slightly to examine his face, using her hands to pin up his wispy brown bangs so she can properly gauge the space underneath his eyes, "Did you even sleep last night? Your eye bags are huge."
Oikawa swats her prying hands away, heading towards the school entrance. Sawa lowers back down on even footing and follows closely behind him, never quite letting the distance between them extend. He listens to the click of her boots against the cement floor as she races to catch up with his long strides.
"You should've rested this morning," Sawa chides, as Oikawa opens the door for her. She hesitates only briefly before stepping through. "You're pushing yourself too hard."
"You always worry your precious little heart over me," he replies, following behind her.
"You never take me seriously," she says, sighing softly before heading towards her locker.
Oikawa lets his gaze linger momentarily on the hem of her skirt as she vanishes into a different aisle. He walks to his own locker, humming a small tune as he tries to vanquish the minor feeling of guilt in his gut. The truth is, it's not that he doesn't want to take her seriously—rather, it's his refusal to depart from the flirtatious persona he's built up for himself.
He's not sure how people would respond otherwise.
"We have a scrim with your school today," Oikawa calls out loudly. "Shiratorizawa."
Although they're separated by an aisle, Oikawa can hear her shuffling around. The zip as she removes her knee high leather boots. The rustling of some papers. The light tch as her in-school slippers hit the ground. Even though he can't actually gauge a reaction, he surmises she must be feeling antsy.
"You keep talking like I still go there," she calls back, "when I don't."
He opens his own locker and takes out the spare pair of sneakers he has inside.
Footsteps round the corner and Sawa manifests again, holding a slice of prepackaged roll cake. She has her hands outstretched, holding the baked good as an offering. Oikawa's natural reaction is to regard it with suspicion.
When he takes too long to respond, Sawa stuffs it into his chest, "It's good bread, okay? Stop eating that nasty chocolate crap for breakfast. It won't do you any good if you're actually serious about becoming an athlete."
A pause as Oikawa attempts to digest the situation.
"It can't be that you actually…care about me, Sawa-chan," he grins toothily, glancing down at the roll bread in his hands.
"Don't push your luck," she snaps right back.
Quickly, he grabs his workout clothes and slams his locker door shut, holding the roll bread on top of the pile.
They walk together towards the gymnasium. Opening the transparent bag, Oikawa breaks off a small piece of bread and pops it into his mouth. Meanwhile, Sawa's sorting through the small stack of paper in her arms, holding her pencil in her mouth.
Oikawa can only surmise she's there for another early math team session.
"Why did you transfer from Shirtorizawa, Sawa-chan?" He asks noncommittally—because he's genuinely curious, but not actually confident enough to display it.
As he chews on the bread, he realizes it's pretty good. It's freshly baked, and it strikes the right balance between sweet and savory. Although it isn't necessarily the healthiest option, it's better than biting cavities on the chocolate treats he stashes in his locker.
"It's a long story," Sawa yawns, tucking her pencil behind her ear.
"We have time," Oikawa replies, motioning to the clock mounted on the wall. 6:20am. Another ten minutes before morning club activities actually start. "Was it because of a boy?"
"No, although I'm not surprised someone like you would automatically assume that," the redhead practically snorts at the idea. "It's because of family stuff."
They reach the main hallway of the school, devoid of any actual students or teachers. As they head towards the math wing, Oikawa notes, with a little bit of disdain, that he's ventured off his original path towards the gymnasium. It's something that seems strangely inappropriate, considering the fact that he has a girlfriend. But he manages to convince himself it means nothing.
"I see," he notes that this seems to be a rather touchy subject, so he decides it'd be in their best interest to skirt around the heaviness. "So…was there a boy in your last school?"
And lets the thought pass without letting his mind rest on it.
"Of course," Sawa answers. Surprisingly, the question doesn't throw her off. "We're in high school, so it's only natural."
Oikawa blinks, unable to predict her random candidness, "Really? What was he like?"
"The standard. Tall, dark, and handsome," she answers indifferently. "Not that smart, but straightforward and honest. You know—he had a good sense of…"
"—humor?" Oikawa offers.
"More like self-preservation," Sawa tells him.
Oikawa regards this with a silent hmm. Noting the look on her face, she might've still been in love with the guy. Or infatuated. He bets on the latter.
"Sawa-chan. It sounds like you might be in love with me," he coos. Another bit of mindless flirtation that seems appropriate, given the circumstance.
The redhead stares at him incredulously, "Your ego is incredible."
"Thank you~"
"That's not a compliment." Sawa lets her gaze linger on him only a bit longer before she decides to turn the conversation, "By the way, good luck on your retake today. I have faith in you, so pass with flying colors, okay?"
Another pause; Oikawa takes a second to digest her words, "You got it, Sawa-chan."
With that, she vanishes into one of the nearby classrooms, leaving Oikawa alone in the hallway. Still stunned by the random compliment (knowing that it's not something she gives out easily), a faint smile forms on his face. He turns back around and heads towards the gymnasium.
Day 95
"Can I stay over tonight?"
Sawa pauses—peers over at Oikawa from her cup of tea. Although her face doesn't read disgust or disinterest, he sees there's a bit of uncertainty in her pretty green eyes that's otherwise undeniable. She places the cup back onto the table and glances down at the tinged green liquid.
"I thought we agreed we're friends," she says vaguely, lifting her gaze.
Oikawa puts on his best smile, "Friends let friends stay over, right?"
Day 10
Oikawa stares out the window absentmindedly, tapping his pencil against the top of his desk. Suda-sensei peers over his newspaper occasionally to check on his student's progress. But for the most part, he seems undeterred, far more interested in what's going on outside. Not surprising, considering the retake is in the middle of his lunch period.
After handing in his test paper, Oikawa spares Suda-sensei a smile and tacks on a thanks for the sake of politeness. Then, he heads out.
He stifles a yawn as he peruses aimlessly through the hallways. Stretching his arms out wide, he manages to iron out the kinks in his neck.
As he nears his destination, he catches sight of Kaede, who's sitting at the front of her classroom, eating with two of her friends.
A few tables behind her is Sawa, who's surrounded by a moderate sized group of her peers. She's explaining something emphatically, constantly motioning with her hand gestures. It earns some laughter, and even a pat on the back, which makes her grimace. Still, she seems to be enjoying herself.
Oikawa realizes he's let his stare linger a bit too long and he turns his attention back to Kaede, who catches his gaze. A frown forms on her lips and she excuses herself from her friends and exits the classroom.
"Kaede-chan~" He greets her with a smile.
"Oikawa-kun," her greeting is stiff.
"Yo. How's lunch?" He asks her. "Sorry I couldn't make it in time. I just finished the retake and—"
A slight blush forms on her cheeks and she huffs slightly before interjecting, "You told me to wait outside for you yesterday."
Realization dawns on Oikawa's face as the memory comes back to him, "Ah, sorry. I stayed late—"
"—at volleyball practice," she finishes for him, her eyes glistening. "I know. I waited an hour for you before I realized. You could've texted me."
As fate would have it, the bell rings, signaling the end of their lunch period. Oikawa puts on a strained smile. He's unsure of exactly how to respond, so he strokes her cheek because he figure it's the kind of thing that'll make her feel better, "I'll make it up to you, okay? Just wait a bit longer for me, Kaede-chan."
Day 95
"Okay."
Oikawa blinks. Twice.
There's no blush or look of uncertainty on Sawa's face anymore—no signs of hesitation, no signs of reluctance. Instead, she stands up from the dining table and heads towards her bedroom, where she pulls out a spare towel from one of the higher shelves.
"Did you bring a toothbrush?" She asks.
He glances at the bag he packed earlier in the day and shakes his head, "You're not…upset, Sawa-chan?"
She brushes a lock of hair behind her ear, "Don't, okay? If you keep asking, I might just change my mind."
At this, Oikawa clamps his mouth shut.
It's his first time staying anywhere outside his own bedroom (aside from camp, of course). Although it isn't the kind of situation he'd expected to be in when sharing a room with a girl for the first time, he'd have to accept his fate—and the fact that things couldn't always live up to his expectations.
The truth is, he'd always been somewhat of a romantic.
From the corner of his eye, he catches sight of what seems to be some black lettering on Sawa's upper left shoulder. She's currently leaning over the table to grab her phone, which had been discarded on the ground. Had it not been for her loose long sleeve, he might've mistaken it for nothing at all.
"You have a tattoo, Sawa-chan?"
She pauses, stuffing her phone into the small pocket of her shorts, "Yeah, it's stupid."
"Let me see," he reaches forward.
Smacking his prying fingers away, Sawa—a bit unwillingly—pulls down the collar of her long-sleeve t-shirt to reveal a small portrait of an arrow, barely noticeable. It's no bigger than a finger.
"I thought I was being deep, since it meant something like looking toward the future," she laughs bitterly, rolling her eyes. "But it's just another stupid cliché. So don't judge me."
Unhooking her thumb from her collar, the shirt snaps back into place, blocking the tattoo from view. Sawa heads back into her bedroom and crouches down in front of her bed.
"I don't think it's stupid," Oikawa tells her, standing up. "I'm sure your parents gave you hell for it, though."
"Like I mentioned before, my dad's an artist, so he didn't really care," Sawa replies rather tartly, unable to hide the smile from her face. "Jii-chan beat the crap out of me though."
He follows her trail into the bedroom, where he finds her fiddling with the bottom drawers attached to her bed. She has her brows furrowed, and she's chewing anxiously on her lower lip, which means she's actually exerting some effort into what she's attempt to do.
When she finally manages to pry the drawer open, she fishes out an unopened toothbrush still in its plastic packaging.
Glancing up to meet his gaze, she tosses the toothbrush to him.
Oikawa catches it with ease, "I brought my own, but thanks. I can keep this one here when I stay over again."
Sawa perks up slightly when she hears the latter half of his reply, but attempts to disregard it.
Instead, a half smile forms on her lips as she stands up, kicking the lower drawer shut with her foot, "Well, there's not much to do here. We could watch some TV. Play some video games. I could make us dinner."
Oikawa takes a seat on the edge of her bed and beckons her over, "Come here, Sawa-chan~"
He puts the empty space next to him. As fate would have it, she considers it, only momentarily.
"I don't bite~"
Sawa laughs at the sheer absurdity of the situation, "You really do say the lamest things, you know."
Day 10
"I believe in all of you."
Standing at the opposite end of the volleyball net is Shiratorizawa, with Ushijima standing at the helm.
Oikawa gives Iwaizumi a reassuring slap against the shoulder—then, he gives Watari a curt nod of acknowledgment. They step onto the court, their sneakers squeaking in unison against the floorboards. Although it's just another practice scrim in the grand scheme of things, Oikawa sees this as another valuable experience to gain necessary insight against his most revered—his most feared enemy.
Ushijima stares sternly ahead, sparing a few words to his teammates.
More fans than usual are lined up in the stands. Oikawa glazes over them with relative apathy.
"Just like practice," says Irihata-sensei, putting on a smile for good measure.
"Remember to always reset back to position," Mizoguchi, the younger assistant coach, tacks on at the end. "Good luck!"
They lose in spectacular fashion, despite everything. They don't have the quick-wittedness of Nekoma, and they don't have the brute strength of Fukurodani. At the end of the day, Aobajosai is outmatched in nearly every role—a bunch of ragtag bandits fighting against the armored knights of Shiratorizawa.
"Good game," Ushijima reaches a hand out from underneath the net.
"You too," Oikawa seethes through gritted teeth, shaking his hand with reluctance.
The locker room is completely silent afterwards.
This time, Iwaizumi's the one who gives Oikawa a pat on the shoulder, "Oi, don't go feeling sorry for yourself."
Oikawa puts on a thousand-watt smile he has practiced down to near perfection, "Are you worried about me, Iwa-chan?"
It earns him a slap on the side of the head, which causes the rest of the locker room to erupt into laughter. It's the kind of strange antic that clears the air of the foul mood after a painful loss. And Oikawa accepts his role as the jester, albeit unwillingly, if it means he can cheer up his team.
When he steps outside, the sky's already black. A mild drizzle pours down from above, which prompts him to open his umbrella.
There's a small group of fans still waiting outside for him with an array of colorful posters and knick-knacks. Behind them group is a very familiar looking redhead with a piece of paper in her own hands.
Sawa.
She seems to catch his gaze, a smile lighting up her face. Quickly, she steps through the group of fans and dashes forward, the drizzle catching onto her damp red hair. She runs—runs straight past him.
Oikawa pauses mid-step and watches as she approaches the group of Shiratorizawa players who are waiting outside the entrance of the gymnasium.
She hands a piece of paper to Ushijima, which makes him blush slightly. A blush for God's sake Oikawa thinks bitterly to himself, knowing that it's probably the sketch she made of him the other day.
Without much resolve, Oikawa heads towards the group of fans and thanks them for waiting in the rain. He accepts their tokens of appreciation—some cookies, some hand-written letters, and some pictures they've taken of him.
Oikawa glances back over his shoulder to see a giant coach bus pull up in front of the entrance. Ushijima is the last one standing outside—he gives Sawa a light pat on the shoulder. She's smiling up at him, and he says a few words to her that makes her laugh out loud.
Ushiwaka with a sense of humor? Oikawa thinks to himself. What a joke.
When Sawa catches sight of Oikawa, her eyes light up. She darts back to Ushijima, bids him farewell with a slight bow, and runs towards Seijoh's volleyball team, hugging another folded up piece of paper in her arms.
"Ta-da!" She calls out loudly, unraveling the piece of paper in one swift motion to reveal Oikawa's calculus retake. "You passed!"
In the top right corner, there's a 97 written in bold red lettering. Not bad, all things considered. The truth is, when Oikawa actually applies himself, he's able to accomplish a lot more than he expects.
Next to him, Iwaizumi gives him a nudge in the side, "Nice job, shittykawa. You actually did it."
"Jeez, we had no clue you had it in you," Matsukawa states blandly, glancing at the paper. "Pretty high score too."
"This is rather unexpected," Watari murmurs softly.
"97?" Kindaichi exclaims. "What a score."
"Oi—did everyone think I was going to fail again?" Oikawa snaps irritatedly, wrinkling his nose in distaste.
"Yes," a uniform answer from nearly every single person the team.
Oikawa snatches the test paper from Sawa's hands, crumpling it up and stuffing it into his athletic bag.
"I knew you were going to pass," she interjects suddenly, completely unabashed. "So have faith in yourself, you idiot."
Iwaizumi stares at her incredulously, along with the rest of Seijoh's remaining volleyball team. There's a moment of tense silence, where everyone—including Oikawa—is just staring and trying to digest the fact that one—she actually believed Oikawa was going to pass and two—she actually believed that Oikawa was going to pass.
"Incredible," Iwaizumi is the first one to speak out. "You actually found someone who says things that rival your cheesiness."
Both Sawa and Oikawa, completely red-faced, glance at each other before turning away irritably. Although the latter is still in shock at the lack of faith from his team, he can't help but feel a bit of satisfaction, despite the incredibly embarrassing loss to Shiratorizawa.
Day 95
After changing into his pajamas—a pair of navy pinstripe pants and a light blue t-shirt—Oikawa heads back into the living room to see Sawa sprawled out on the couch, hair pinned up in a messy ponytail.
Putting on his glasses, he pulls out a book from his athletic bag and flips to the main page he doggy-eared. Then, he flops down on the bed and begins to read. Sawa glances quickly over from the television screen, where she's playing some random gruesome zombie game.
"What're you reading?" Sawa asks.
"A book for class," Oikawa's answer is terse; simple.
She snorts, "You actually read? I thought you were the type to look up guides online or something."
He wrinkles his nose in distaste, "Why do you always have the worst image of me?"
Sawa shifts her attention back to her video game, where she manages to pry off one particularly vicious zombie from her character. The screen is constantly flashing red, and from what Oikawa can surmise, that probably means she's going to die soon.
"You look different with your glasses," she states simply.
Oikawa shrugs, turning his attention back to his book.
There's some off-putting music from the game, some screams, and ultimately, the screen fades to red. Not that it matters to him. It's just that he remembers she's mentioned she's beaten this game and unlocked all its trophies. He just figured she'd be better versed at it.
Suddenly, she pauses, and stands up. Turning around, she heads towards the bed where Oikawa's lying down on his stomach.
"Sawa-chan?" He echoes, absolutely no resolve in his tone.
Putting one knee on the bed to leverage herself, she straddles him and puts her hands on his shoulders to steady herself. Their faces are so close, they might touch—he's so close to giving in.
Sawa's fingers inch up to his neck until she reaches the back of his head.
Then, she pulls him in, and kisses him.
The kiss is short and sweet, and she pulls back almost as quickly as she dives in. Oikawa stares at her with wide eyes, his cheeks completely flushed red.
"I know I shouldn't—"
But before she can finish her train of thought, Oikawa interrupts her with another kiss, pulling her closer. Her frame feels small against him, and there's something alarmingly fragile about how she feels against his touch. Like he could crush her if he's not careful enough.
Sawa tastes sweet, like a little bundle of spirit and determination he'd never actually removed his sight from. His hands wind up in her silky red hair, and his eyes flutter slightly when she pulls him closer. She shifts against him, her hands wandering to the lower half of his body, playing with the hem of his shirt.
They pause, pulling away, both of them red in the face from the excitement of venturing into new territory of their relationship. Oikawa knows this is wrong, but he can't actually admit to it feeling wrong.
"Friends do this, right?" Sawa asks quietly.
Oikawa opens his eyes.
A wad of dried spit is stuck to the side of his mouth, and his book is hanging precariously from the edge of his bed. Pushing himself up, he glances around the nearby vicinity, where he finds Sawa on the couch, playing the same zombie game.
"Oh, you're awake," she comments nonchalantly. "You twitch a lot in your sleep."
The kiss. Oikawa's lets his finger linger on his lower lip. What a cruel dream…
Sawa turns off the TV and walks over with her Nintendo 3DS, plopping down next to him in bed. Their shoulders touch.
She opens the gaming console and glances briefly at his face, "You also drool in your sleep."
He blanches, but Sawa uses her sleeve to wipe away the remaining drool still stuck to the side of his face. Then, she shifts her attention to her gaming console, where she's currently engaged in an online battle.
Slowly, he returns his attention back to his book, where he finds the paragraph he left off. The same paragraph he started with. A soft sigh escapes his parted lips.
They lie together in silence, but there's no tension there. It's strange—he thinks—how comfortable he feels.
Day 16
Monday morning.
Like clockwork, Sawa exits the back of the bus—this time, she has a black circle scarf wrapped around her neck, covering half of her face. Oikawa notices that she's holding another cup of coffee close to her chest.
She meets his gaze, and a smile forms on her lips as she waves her hand enthusiastically, "Sorry! Did you wait long?"
"Good morning to you too, Sawa-chan," Oikawa says casually, pushing his glasses up his nose bridge.
She cocks her head and glances at the empty rack behind his bike seat only briefly before taking a seat. Almost immediately, she jolts up, "Holy—that's cold!"
"You say that every time," he throws his head back and laughs.
As he continues forward on the path, Sawa tugs at the hem of his blazer to maintain her precarious balance, "We've been seeing a lot of each other recently, haven't we?"
"Maybe you should stop stalking me, Sawa-chan," Oikawa suggests.
The comment doesn't make her blush. Instead, she sighs, "You really shouldn't say that kind of stuff to other girls when you have Kaede-chan."
At this, he hesitates, and averts his gaze to the road ahead.
"Even if it is some kind of mindless flirtation," Sawa tacks on at the end.
He hits a rather rough bump, which causes Sawa to drop her coffee to the ground. An unceremonious event, but it's something she should've expected, given the circumstances. A soft sigh escapes her parted lips as she glances up at the boy who's biking her to school.
"If you really cared about Kaede-chan," Oikawa says, "then wouldn't you stop hitching a ride with me to school?"
It takes her a moment to properly digest his words. The fact that he'd acknowledged whatever was going on between them. Initially, she thought it was a mindless and mundane part of his character—all signs pointed to it being that way.
But.