Chapter Text
“Oikawa?” Oikawa Tooru stills in the waiting area of an upscale restaurant in Tokyo. He knows that voice. Hasn’t heard it in years, yet it still send shivers of irritation down his spine. He turns and comes face to face with his most hated high school adversary.
“Ushiwaka,” he responds flatly. Turning back around, he scours the waiting area for Iwaizumi, who he’s meeting for dinner.
“How have you been?” Ushijima Wakatoshi takes a step closer, intent on conversing with him.
“Fine,” Oikawa responds dismissively. He crosses his arms and continues to look anywhere but at Ushijima. He has spent the better part of a decade avoiding this man and has no desire to speak to him. His mood is bad enough already.
“Good. I’m glad to hear that. You’re looking well,” Ushijima continues as if a real conversation is going on, clearly not getting the hint that Oikawa is not interested.
“Oh, look, there’s Iwa-chan. See you later Ushiwaka,” Oikawa turns toward his best friend without a glance back at Ushijima, who is left staring after him.
When he reaches Iwaizumi, his friend nods back at Ushijima, “What was that about?”
“Fuck if I know,” Oikawa mutters back before smiling at the pretty hostess. She flushes and smiles back, “Table for 2?” She chirps and Oikawa grins, “Yes ma’am.” Iwaizumi frowns, “Kageyama’s not joining us?”
Oikawa smothers a sigh and maintains his pasted-on smile, “Not this evening Iwa-chan. Tobio has plans.” With that, he follows the hostess to their table and doesn’t look back at his best friend. Oikawa is hurting right now and knows Iwaizumi can see right through him. He’d rather not break down in tears walking through a restaurant, thank you very much.
The men are seated, their drink orders taken, and menus are handed out. Oikawa opens his menu while Iwaizumi puts his aside.
“So, what’s going on? Where’s Kageyama?” Iwaizumi leans forward so that he can keep his voice low. Oikawa doesn’t look up from his menu, “I told you. He has plans tonight.”
“With someone who isn’t you?” Iwaizumi raises an eyebrow and Oikawa looks over his menu at his best friend briefly before snapping his eyes back to the pictures of potential meal options. “Yes, Iwa-chan, Tobio knows people who are not me.”
Iwaizumi studies his friend before sighing and picking up a menu. Clearly Oikawa isn’t ready to share yet. He may as well pick out his meal, this is likely going to be a long evening. The waitress comes back with their drinks and takes their meal order. Iwaizumi keeps a steady eye on his friend. Oikawa is charming as always, polite to a fault. However, Iwaizumi knows this is Oikawa’s fake smile, knows something is going on under the surface; Oikawa isn’t himself tonight.
Once the waitress leaves the table, Iwaizumi tries again, “Ok, Tooru, what’s going on? I know that something is bothering you.”
Oikawa takes off his glasses and cleans them with the cloth napkin on the table. Pursing his lips, he considers how to answer. He knows that he can only hold out for so long, eventually he’s going to cave and spill everything to Iwaizumi. It’s just…he’d rather not. He’d rather not spend his evening crying over his fledgling relationship. Putting his glasses back on he looks over at Iwaizumi and sighs, “I don’t know what to tell you Iwa-chan.”
Iwaizumi furrows his brow and crosses his arms, “Well, first, tell me where Kageyama is tonight.”
Oikawa’s nostrils flare and he starts playing with his wine glass, holding it by the stem, swirling the wine around inside. “He’s out…with Chibi-chan.”
“Hinata’s in town already?” Iwaizumi couldn’t hide his surprise. Hinata Shoyou, Kageyama’s best friend, had moved to Brazil straight out of high school. When he came back to Japan some years later, he landed a spot on the MSBY Jackals and currently lives in Osaka. Which is not exactly close to Tokyo.
“Hmm,” is Oikawa’s reply.
“Ok, so, his best friend is in town and they’re…having dinner? Why didn’t they just join us then?” Iwaizumi frowns. Oikawa shrugs and Iwaizumi sighs. This is going to be harder than he thought. “Oikawa, what happened?”
“I asked him not to go out with Hinata. He said I was being ridiculous. I told him that I was not but-“
“You are. They're best friends. He doesn’t have a problem with you and I going out to dinner alone,” Iwaizumi interjects.
Oikawa snaps back at him, “You and I never dated, never had sex. I was never in love with you. It’s different.”
Iwaizumi supposes that’s true. Although, Kageyama and Hinata’s relationship ended many years ago. Several months into Hinata’s move to Brazil, the young men decided the distance was too much and ended things. Once Hinata had returned from Brazil, several years later, the men decided to rekindle their friendship, but nothing more. Kageyama was already involved with Oikawa and soon after Hinata had started dating Miya Atsumu.
Oikawa has always had a problem with the friendship, but he was able to keep his annoyance at bay because Hinata is a 3-hour train ride away and Kageyama wasn’t great about keeping up with communication. Typically, their conversations took place in the “Karasuno First Year Group Chat” (thank you Yamaguchi). Oikawa has a jealous streak; he has issues with the fact that between Kageyama’s first crush on him and the time they got together in college there had been another major love interest. He conveniently forgets the many relationships in his own past, including a serious one with a classmate in high school. Iwaizumi sighs and takes a drink of his own wine.
“Alright,” he concedes. “But still, you know that he loves you. There’s no question about that. And it’s not like you never see your exes.”
“That’s different,” Oikawa sulks. “It’s not,” Iwaizumi frowns. “Oikawa, do you not trust him?”
Oikawa looks up from his wine, “Of course I do,” he mutters. “Then what’s the problem?” Iwaizumi asks in exasperation.
Oikawa just shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s have a nice meal. Tell me about Daichi. What’s going on with you guys?”
Iwaizumi pauses for a moment before agreeing to change the subject. He feels badly for his friend; he knows that Oikawa is genuinely in love and is trying to maintain his relationship, but truthfully, he’s his own worst enemy.
…
Ushijima couldn’t believe it. When he agreed to meet with his mother and stepfather for dinner that evening, he had no idea that his life was about to drastically change. Then he walked into the restaurant and saw him. Oikawa Tooru. It had been years-he hadn’t seen the setter since high school. After that, he’d heard that Oikawa went to Argentina. Then…nothing. He left for Argentina and he hadn’t heard anything since. Ushijima himself had gone to Poland. No point in sticking around Japan when Oikawa wasn’t going to play there. He wouldn’t be so desperate as to follow the other man around the world. They would meet again if it were meant to be.
And it must be.
Because here he was.
Standing in front of Ushijima, hair shiny and bouncy, clothes perfectly fitted, wearing the glasses that made him look so intellectual. He had tried to strike up a conversation, but Oikawa had been understandably distracted, looking for his dining partner.
Ushijima was not surprised to see that he was meeting up with Iwaizumi. He tried to push down his jealousy. He could never understand what Oikawa found so fascinating about the other ace. As far as Ushijima knew, Iwaizumi was not playing volleyball any longer; he had heard Iwaizumi had quit after high school.
He kept his eye on Oikawa and when he saw where he and Iwaizumi were seated, he was able to convince the hostess to seat him at a nearby table, where he would be out of view, but within earshot. He tipped her generously for allowing him to choose his own table, while waiting for his mother who was characteristically running late.
He was able to hear most of their conversation. Enough to glean that Oikawa was likely involved in a romantic relationship with Kageyama Tobio. Interesting. He couldn’t imagine how that had come about.
Last he remembered Oikawa did not have positive feelings for the younger setter.
It gives Ushijima hope.
He too has a negative past with Oikawa. For whatever reason, Oikawa always seemed irritated with him, determined to beat him rather than to play with him. It was a shame.
His mother showed up shortly after that and they had their obligatory dinner. She was trying to convince Ushijima to come back home, abandon volleyball, join the family business. Ushijima has no interest in business. The idea of wearing a suit, going to an office, attending meetings bores him. He needs to be active; he wants to travel. He excels at volleyball and sees no reason to stop playing while he is in good physical form.
He is willing to reconsider locations.
He was in Japan right now because his agent had heard of an opportunity with a team in Tokyo. Perhaps it was the team Kageyama played for. Initially he hadn’t been interested but took the opportunity to visit his home country and see his family.
Now, things are getting interesting.
…
Later that evening, after a mostly pleasant meal, Oikawa makes his way back to the apartment he shares with his boyfriend. He has a headache, and really wishes that he had just stayed home and went to bed. He’d been hoping that a few glasses of wine and a good meal with his best friend would ease the tension he was feeling, but it hadn’t worked.
“Tobio?” he calls out as he walks through the door. He’s met with silence. He curses and checks his watch. It was 10 pm. Which isn’t terribly late, but he knows that Kageyama isn’t a particularly social person and that he and Hinata were supposed to meet at 7 pm for dinner. What’s taking so long? He kicks his shoes off and walks through the apartment, shedding most of his clothes once he reaches his bedroom and flops down on the bed in only his boxer briefs. Rolling over, he pushes his face into Kageyama’s pillow; he misses his boyfriend.
He sits up and pulls his phone out from the pocket of his pants he’d thrown on the floor. Frowning, he sees a missed text from Kageyama.
Tobio: Sorry, will be late. Hinata was late getting here
Oikawa sighs. He’s tempted to be petty and ignore the message, but technically he’s ignored it for over an hour already; he doesn’t know why he didn’t see the text earlier. He sighs again.
Tooru: Ok, thanks for letting me know.
As an afterthought he adds another message.
Tooru: Miss you <3
He lays his phone down on the bed and rubs his eyes. Why does everything have to be so difficult?
He hears the vibration of his phone from an incoming text.
Tobio: On my way home now. Miss you too.
Oikawa smiles tiredly. As least Kageyama is still talking to him. He’s still laying on the bed, almost naked save the briefs, when Kageyama walks through their bedroom door. Pausing in the doorway he’s watching Oikawa, looking for signs of what his boyfriend’s mood might be. Earlier in the evening he was petulant and aggressive. Kageyama knew Oikawa didn’t like it when he spent time alone with Hinata, no matter how often he told him there was nothing to worry about. He sighs and walks over to the bed. Slowly he lays down next to Oikawa and watches him breath in and out, wondering if he is still awake.
It takes a moment, but Oikawa slowly peaks at Kageyama from under his arm, which he had thrown over his eyes. Kageyama smiles softly, “Hi.” His voice is so soft it’s almost a whisper. “Hi,” Oikawa responds in kind.
“Missed you tonight,” Kageyama murmured, inching closer. Oikawa swallows and closes his eyes for a moment, “Missed you too,” he replies softly. Kageyama finally manages to wiggle closely enough to place a light kiss on Oikawa’s lips. Part of Oikawa wants to continue pouting and ignore the kiss, but the other part, the better part, just wants everything to be ok with his boyfriend. He presses his lips into Kageyama’s. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.
Kageyama raises his eyebrows slightly, well, this is new, and then places another gentle kiss on Oikawa’s lips. “It’s ok. I’m not mad,” he kisses Oikawa’s cheek, then his nose.
Oikawa holds back a small laugh, “You sure? Iwa-chan said I was an ass.”
Kageyama smirks, “Yeah, you were. I love you anyhow.”
“Brat!” Oikawa lets out a bigger laugh. “I love you too,” he pulls Kageyama into a hug and the men lay there for a few moments, enjoying each other’s company. Finally, Oikawa asks, “So…how is he?”
Kageyama rolls his eyes, “Hinata is fine. He and Atsumu are fine,” he adds. Oikawa clicks his tongue. “Good, good.”
“I told him that we are fine too,” Kageyama continues. “I talked about you a lot. He knows we’re together. He knows that it’s serious.” Kageyama is running his hand up and down Oikawa’s arm, marveling at his soft skin. He knows that Oikawa takes his beauty routine very seriously and it shows.
“Hmm, good.” He tightens his arms around Kageyama. “Tobio? We’re…ok, right? You and I?”
Kageyama sighs. He knows that Oikawa can get insecure at times, and it hurts. There’s no reason for it-he wishes that Oikawa could see himself the way Kageyama does. “Yeah, of course we are. One argument isn’t going to change that,” he tells the other man in a soft voice.
“It’s been more than one argument though…lately…it’s been a lot of them,” Oikawa presses on. Kageyama closes his eyes. Ok, so I guess we’re doing this, then. “Ok, yeah, more than usual. But that happens with any couple. You go through…phases? You’re just stressed right now, with school and all. It’ll get better.”
He can feel Oikawa’s heart start to beat slightly faster and he knows that he’s somehow managed to say the wrong thing, but he doesn’t know what it is. “What’s wrong?” he asks, “what did I say?” Oikawa laughs and Kageyama can hear the tears in his voice. “How do you do that Tobio-chan? Are you a mind reader or something?”
Kageyama rolls his eyes, “Yeah, I’m a mind reader. Come on, what is it?” He pulls away enough to look down at Oikawa’s face.
Oikawa tries to smile and fails, “It’s nothing,” he whispers trying to pull Kageyama back down to him, but Kageyama pulls back. “No, it’s something. Come on, Tooru, we need to talk about this. Ignoring it isn’t helping.”
Oikawa squeezes his eyes shut. Almost like a child. If I can’t see you, you can’t see me. “Tooru,” Kageyama says more forcefully.
Oikawa sighs. "You’re a professional athlete…you’re younger than me. I feel…I feel like a loser. Being supported by my boyfriend.”
Kageyama sighs and drops his head down, “You are NOT a loser, Tooru, come on! You’re about to graduate at the top of your class from medical school! How does that make you a loser?”
Oikawa grimaces, “Yeah, yeah, that’s great and all, but I should be supporting myself.”
Kageyama frowns, “And if we had never gotten together? How would you be supporting yourself? With your parents’ money?” Oikawa glares at the ceiling, but Kageyama continues, “You’re a student. You should be focused on your studies. I’m honored that I can support you right now. It-it makes me feel good to take care of you. I’m so proud of you, don’t you know that?”
Oikawa groans in frustration. Kageyama just didn’t get it. When he’d graduated from high school, the younger man had gone pro immediately and he’s been wildly successful-he’s made the Olympic team, he has multiple endorsements, legions of fans, a lucrative contract with the Adlers.
When Oikawa had graduated from high school he’d went pro in Argentina for exactly one year before injuring his knee to the point that he could never play competitively again. He’d come home to Japan, had the obligatory surgery, and then went on to college and medical school. He wasn’t even sure what type of medicine he wanted to practice. He was leaning toward pediatrics, but he also enjoyed the fast pace of the emergency room. He even toyed with being a surgeon for a minute.
“Tooru, look at me,” Kageyama gently turned Oikawa’s face so that he could look into the other man’s eyes. “I’m proud of you. In a month you’re going to be a doctor. A DOCTOR Tooru. That’s amazing! I am so proud of you,” he places another soft kiss on Oikawa’s lips. “My season is almost over…then I’ll be off and I can spend more time at home. It’ll be good. Let’s plan trip to celebrate? Wherever you want to go.”
Oikawa wants to believe Kageyama. Actually, he does believe the younger man. He believes that Kageyama is proud of him and does love him. But Kageyama would be proud of him no matter what he did. He knew he was stressed about passing the national exam and picking a specialty for his residency. At least he would be a working doctor. He needed to choose the specialty now so he could be placed. He’d already put it off too long.
“I’ll have to start my residency right away, I don’t think I’ll have time,” he mumbles, feeling badly again. Hinata will be off for the same 4 months as Tobio. What is he doing with me?
Kageyama studies him before laying back down on his chest. “Ok, well, whatever you want. Maybe we can have a party?”
Oikawa laughs, he knows Kageyama hates parties. “You must really love me, to suggest that,” he huffs.
Kageyama smiles, “Of course I do,” he murmurs. Oikawa sighs, “I’m sorry,” he whispers again.
Kageyama squeezes his boyfriend. “Don’t be sorry. We’re good. We’ll get through it.”
…
The meeting the next day goes quite well. The Adlers are very interested in the super ace and they’re willing to show him the money. Ushijima is intrigued. He asks about who his teammates would be and is further interested when he finds out that Kageyama Tobio is their setter.
Oikawa Tooru’s protégé. He supposes it’s almost like playing with the man himself. It’s as close as he’s likely going to get. Some discreet inquiries by his agent found out for him that Oikawa no longer played, a victim of his knee injury.
Ushijima is secretly crushed and when he gets back to his hotel that evening he sheds a few tears of this turn of events. They would never be partners on the court. That dream was over.
But.
Kageyama was an interesting alternative. He grew up with Oikawa, learned from him. At least in middle school. He could see the similarities in their playing styles. And if Kageyama was intimately involved with Oikawa, that was as close to the man as he was going to get.
The choice was easy, really.
He called his agent and told her that he was quite interested in the opportunity with the Adlers and would be pleased to join their organization the next season. He just had one request.
He wanted to keep the news under wraps as long as possible.
His agent wasn’t happy with that-they should be shouting it from the cover of magazines, social media, the news! Ushijima reasons that he wants to tell his family and close friends first; doesn’t want them to learn about it on the news. He also wants to tell his current coach and team himself. It would be disrespectful of the opportunity they had given him if he let them learn of the change via the media. She relents and tells him he has a week. He tells her that he can work within these parameters.
His first call is to his mother. He tells her that he will be returning to Japan in a couple months, after the volleyball season has ended and he is able to wrap up his affairs in Poland. She’s happy to have him returning to Japan, slightly less happy that it will be to Tokyo, and dismayed that he is continuing with volleyball. He takes this in stride.
His next call is to Tendou Satori, his best friend. Tendou congratulates Ushijima and promises to come home to visit soon-Tendou is currently living in Paris. The friends don’t get to see each other often enough and have to make a concerted effort.
Ushijima next notifies his father, via email. The two have corresponded that way for years, they’ve never really been close, although they get along well enough.
Satisfied that the important people in his life have been properly notified, he leans back on the bed in his hotel room and lets his mind wander. He will be playing with Kageyama…who is in a relationship with Oikawa. Perhaps if he can befriend Kageyama, he can find himself in a friendship with Oikawa as well. Ushijima thinks this is a good plan. He goes to the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. As he’s pulling the covers up over himself, he can’t help but think that the gods have given him one more chance to win over Oikawa.
…