Chapter Text
Tobio’s little boot prints dotted the snow surrounding the parking lot like rabbit tracks. His focus on creating the world’s most lopsided snowman was too intense to hear Iwa-chan telling him it was time to go back inside on the, what, fourth or fifth attempt. Tooru sat back on the few steps that led up to the building’s entrance, pulling the neck of his coat up to hide his little grin. Iwa-chan was cute. Maybe Tobio was also cute, in that stubborn little kid way. Maybe.
That morning, Tobio had gotten up bright and early to play rooster and announce that he wanted to go out in the snow before everyone had to leave and be adults. Iwa-chan had agreed after making a pot of coffee, and, well, Tooru didn’t have anything better to do for the next forty minutes other than squint at the wall, so there they were. Out in the snow. At, like, six-thirty in the morning. Awesome.
No, really! Tooru, horrid as it might seem, had discovered he’s a morning person. It was the coffee that Iwa-chan crafted each morning with love and care every day that made things bearable, and perhaps seeing the sun rise every now and then was nice, too.
“I think it could use a hat,” Tooru called out to Tobio, who’s small gloved fingers were tapping away at his own chin.
“No,” Iwa-chan chided, stopping Tobio from pulling off his snowcap. “We need to go inside and get you ready for the sitter.”
As you can imagine, Tobio was distraught. “But! My snowman! Daaaaaaaddyyyyy—”
Iwa-chan shook his head, finally braving the inch-and-a-half of snow in his sneakers to join Tobio and pick him up. “Maybe if you’re good she’ll bring you and Shouyou out to play.”
Tobio pouted, lip jut and head bowed so Iwa-chan couldn’t see his face as he was brought toward the steps. Tooru rose to get the door for them, and when Iwa-chan passed by, Tobio peeked over his shoulder to give Tooru the biggest, bluest pair of puppy eyes he’d ever seen. Naturally, Tooru turned his head.
It was quiet inside just as it had been out in the snow. The world had yet to wake, and everything was so soft and peaceful that Tooru might think it a pleasant dream if not for the fact that Tobio was there and Iwa-chan wasn’t shirtless.
Any-hoo, up the elevator and down the hall, Iwa-chan set Tobio down inside of their apartment and had him go get whatever he wanted to bring over to the Hinatas’. Tooru watched Tobio pout until he got halfway to his room before Tooru moved to the kitchen.
“Do you want another cup?” He asked, rinsing his mug from earlier. “If not, I’m taking it. There’s not a whole lot left…”
“I’m alright.” Said Iwa-chan.
Tooru nodded, pouring the remainder of the pot into his mug and inhaling the steam and the smell. In the back office of the library, there was a mini fridge and an old coffee pot on top that was quite loved by the librarians. Suga and Akaashi couldn’t make coffee quite like Iwa-chan, though.
Shortly after Tooru’s third sip, Tobio returned to the living room with a pack of markers in his hands. Tooru stepped back into the room with his mug to his lips, maneuvering around Tobio to get his glasses off of the end-table as Iwa-chan knelt down to fix his son’s jacket.
“You ready to go? Is that all you’re taking?”
Tobio looked up to meet Iwa-chan’s eyes, grip on the marker pack tightening. “I’m gonna make a masser-piece.” He said, deadly serious for someone so tiny. “It’ll blow your socks off.”
“My socks? I need those, bud.” Iwa-chan smiled, so much so that his little dimples joined the party. “I can’t wait to see what you draw. C’mon, let’s go.”
Tobio waited for Iwa-chan to get back to his feet before wrapping his fingers around his father’s thumb, and behind them Tooru turned off the light on the way out. He didn’t go with them to the neighbor’s door, standing off to the side to watch Iwa-chan and Mrs. Hinata exchange pleasantries before Tobio was passed off.
In the elevator, Iwa-chan yawned into his hand. “That kid…”
“He’s a little snot,” said Tooru.
“Hey.” Iwa-chan looked almost surprised by the response. Like it’s the worst thing Tooru could have said.
Tooru tipped up his nose, coffee cup secured in both hands as the fingers of his left drummed against the warm ceramic. “Whaaat, I’m just saying—he’s your kid. A chip off the ol’ block. You’re a big snot.”
“Huh… oh, speaking of. You might want to wipe your nose.”
The elevator doors opened, Tooru stepping out first and shaking his head with his nose still upturned. “I’m not five, you can’t trick me so easily.”
“Akaashi’s gonna point it out and it’ll ruin your day, but okay, don’t say I didn’t warn ya.”
Outside, the clouds had begun to disperse. Gentle rays of sun made their way to the snowy ground through breaks in the grey sky. If it got any warmer, Tobio’s snowblob would melt by the time Tooru got home. He’d be heartbroken. But he’d get over it in three minutes anyway, so why Tooru frowned to himself when he thought about it, he wasn’t sure.
Tooru got in the car quickly, holding out his coffee cup to Iwa-chan to hold while he got buckled in and situated. When he reached out to take his mug back, his hand was thwacked, and he turned to see Iwa-chan taking a biiiiiig sip.
“Sorry, I guess I did want some…” Iwa-chan mused. He started to hand Tooru the mug back, and as Tooru reached for it, Iwa-chan swiped it back for another gulp.
“Gimmie!” Iwa-chan, ever the gentleman, handed Tooru back the mug with a smile. Tooru huffed, only a little amused. Just a little. “You really are a big snot.”
“Maybe, but I’m not the only one in the car.”
Tooru stuck his tongue out, totally done with this conversation. He scowled out the windshield for emphasis, and only when Iwa-chan started to back out did Tooru nonchalantly take a quick look at himself in the visor mirror for any… well, you know.
“Hehe, gotcha.”
“Whatever! Shut up.”
“He-he-he.”
Tooru’s bottom lip started to quiver in a mock pout. “I just want to enjoy my coffee in peace, Iwa-chan.”
“Mhmm. Go ahead. Oh, did I ever tell you I wanted to be a barista?”
Despite Iwa-chan’s current occupation with expertly handling food and having to be awake at six in the morning to do so, Tooru never put much thought into what he might be good at. Though, to be fair, he did make an excellent cup of coffee.
“No,” he answered, settling back in the passenger seat. Following, some words fell from his mouth that he didn’t expect to. “You don’t really tell me things about yourself.”
Iwa-chan hadn’t been expecting it either. He almost seemed surprised by the response, his brow briefly ticking down and eyes blinking out the windshield, as if taken aback. His face softened shortly after, and maybe if Tooru hadn’t been watching him so curiously he wouldn’t have noticed the change at all.
“You don’t ask.” Iwa-chan said after a beat.
The car was silent then, Iwa-chan slowing to a stop at the red-light and Tooru’s eyes falling to the radio for something to look at. He brought the mug up to drink and sipped what was left in his mug very slowly. Iwa-chan didn’t leave him much to work with.
He was right. Tooru didn’t ask Iwa-chan any questions. Not about his life, his hobbies, his dreams. Nothing deep. Actually, he didn’t ask him the raunchy stuff that he always thought up in the shower, either. Iwa-chan, have you always wanted to be a chef? And Iwa-chan, do you think I’d look better on my knees or on my back? Are two completely unrelated statements, and nothing like either have ever come out of Tooru’s mouth.
Huh.
The car started moving again.
“Well to be fair, you don’t ask me either.” Tooru hummed, breaking the silence and nodding to himself to confirm that, yeah, it was true. “I mean, I don’t expect you to want to know. I’m pretty nasty.”
Iwa-chan’s head lulled towards his window, and from the corner of Tooru’s eye he saw what looked to be Iwa-chan biting down on his lip. That could mean a number of things, but Tooru didn’t mention it. Maybe it was a bad thing…
“Sorry—”
“No, you’re right. You live with me and Tobio, but we barely know anything about each other. Like, if I’d known you had bad eyes, I would’ve helped you get glasses way sooner.”
This time, Tooru’s brows were the ones knitting. “Iwa-chan…?”
“I’m just saying… I don’t know, man. We should hang out more.” Iwa-chan’s car bounced as he drove over the pothole, but this time it didn’t seem to bother him.
Tooru’s eyes widened slightly. “We’re already together almost all the time—not that I’m against it! I just—”
“No, I mean hang out and go do something.” Iwa-chan cut him off, glancing over at Tooru before looking back to the road. “I feel like… Tobio makes you nervous right?”
“Well I—”
“No, I mean, it’s fine. He likes you and you’re good with him. But I know he makes you feel anxious. Maybe we could do something without him so you could relax.”
Was Tooru dreaming? Iwa-chan, Father of the Year Iwa-chan, suggesting they go out without the kid? No, no. He didn’t say go out. But, fuck, Tooru’s brain ran wild and his fingertips buzzed against the warm ceramic of his mug.
“We don’t have to talk about our life goals and deepest fears or whatever. I just think you would feel better if we got out once in a while. Tobio could stay with Hinata-san and her kids, I’m sure she wouldn’t care.”
A smile started to tug at the corners of Tooru’s mouth, a flood of warmth washing through his inside following. Iwa-chan wants to spend time with him… this had to be a dream. Tooru bit down hard on his cheek just to make sure.
Very real. Ow.
“When you put it like that, I don’t think I can say no.”
“You can always say no,” Iwa-chan said quickly. There was a double meaning there that Tooru chose to ignore. “It would be nice though. I haven’t… done much lately. I need to give Tobio some space, too.”
Iwa-chan pulled the car up beside a curb, and Tooru huffed. They got to the library too fast. Over to the side of the building, Tooru saw Akaashi’s car parked with a bit of snow on the hood and no one inside. He felt himself deflate and sink into the seat as a long, low whine crawled its way out of his throat.
“Oh, wah-wah. Go inside already.”
Tooru whipped his head toward Iwa-chan, fake offense all over his expression. “Damn! You were being so nice literally twenty seconds ago. What happened?”
Iwa-chan grinned, turning his face away from Tooru. “Would you just go? if I’m late for work I’ll kick your ass.”
“But our plaaaaaanssss, Iwa-cha—”
“Go! We’ll have more time to talk later. Get out of my car.”
Tooru made a face, but he obliged with the click of his seatbelt. He clambered his way out the passenger side, setting his empty coffee mug in his seat before placing his hand on the door.
“I’m holding you this, you know. If you cancel on me, I’ll cry.”
“We don’t even have anything planned yet. Shut the door, you’re letting out the hot air. I gotta go!”
“Jeez! Okay, dad!” Tooru swiftly slammed the door shut and took three backwards steps onto the sidewalk, sticking his tongue out at the other before shoving his hands in his pockets and hurrying toward the door. He would like to believe that Iwa-chan laughed while driving off.
The warmth just from opening the front doors of the library was enough to melt away the chill as Tooru stepped inside. It was quiet—it was always quiet—as he made his way towards the desk where he expected to find Akaashi waiting for him and found an astounding lack of resting-bitch-face. Curious, but not enough to go looking for him, Tooru moved behind the desk and decided that he’d sit in Akaashi’s rolling chair this time around. First come first serve or something like that.
Tooru shrugged out of his jacket, letting it lay over the back of the chair, and he raised his arms high over his head to stretch. His thoughts were nothing but Iwa-chan’s voice, telling him they should hang out. They should go out. They should do something, just them, no Tobio to distract them from them. And, in a sense, while it was entirely void of romance and anything Tooru would hope for, Iwa-chan wanting to get to know him a little better just made him feel all giddy inside.
The butterflies in his stomach could be misconstrued as anxiety, and perhaps a part of him was nervous to hang out with Iwa-chan one on one, what with all the unspoken feelings—of which were clearly one-sided, not that Tooru needed the reminder—that could ruin the relationship they’d built up in the few weeks.
Maybe they could have fun. Or—and more likely—Tooru would mess everything up and Iwa-chan would decide to keep his distance again. And even worse, kick Tooru out into the cold where he will have no choice but to revert to his old ways.
No, Iwa-chan wouldn’t go that far. At least, Tooru would like to believe so. And he did believe so, really. Iwa-chan is kind, and Tooru followed the rules he’d set very carefully. But that didn’t stop the cruel, unforgiving mindset from tugging at Tooru’s heart every now and then.
Would it be better to cancel? Plans weren’t set in stone yet, or even set at all, but what would his excuse even be? Sorry, Iwa-chan, I’ve decided I’m too sad to hang out today? Well, that would just raise questions. Why are you sad, Oikawa? Damn his fatherly nature and good intentions. It would be so much easier if Iwa-chan was just like all those other men Tooru stayed the night with—
“Move.”
That voice. An untuned violin, notes sour enough to tear through Tooru’s horrible thoughts…
“Mornin’, Akaashi,” Tooru greeted.
“Yes, good morning. Move.” Repeated Akaashi, who was only now stepping around the counter, single-handedly wheeling a small cart of books along with him.
Tooru whined, “but your chair is so comfyyyyy!” and wiggled around in the chair, causing it to creak here and there.
Akaashi completely ignored Tooru’s antics, setting his coffee and phone down on the desk. “I know, that’s why it’s mine. Move, please.”
“Aw, okay. Since you said please.” With a smile, Tooru hopped out of the chair and gestured to it as if it were some incredible spectacle that Akaashi must look at. “I got it warm for you.”
“Great. Thank you.”
The two switched sides, Tooru flopping ever so gracefully into the other rolly chair. He watched Akaashi situate himself, take a sip from his coffee thermos, check his phone, look over something on the computer. Honestly Tooru watched Akaashi work for what must’ve been ten or fifteen minutes in pure silence before he found his voice.
“Can I ask you something?”
Akaashi continued scrolling through something on the computer, presumable a list of check-outs, and didn’t spare Tooru a glance, “No.”
“Cool—when was the last time you and Iwa-chan got to hang out? What’d you guys do?”
There was a pause in Akaashi’s scrolling, just barely. “Why?”
“Curiosity? I dunno.”
Tooru saw the smallest twitch of Akaashi’s brow, watching his face so intently for any sign of… well, anything. He paused again, but only to take a few of the books from the cart onto his lap and type something into the computer.
But Tooru could wait. And so he did, with his eyes glued to Akaashi’s profile until finally Akaashi got tired of it.
“I don’t remember. June, maybe.”
“June? Six months ago?”
Akaashi just shrugged, however he did spare a glance in Tooru’s direction after a beat. “He works a lot. You know that.”
“Yeah, but aren’t you his best friend? Aren’t best friends supposed to get together all the time and do dumb shit?”
“We… are. Iwaizumi has a full-time job and Tobio to manage. I can’t just barge in and take up his time.”
Tooru could tell just how badly Akaashi wanted to finish that sentence with like SOME people, but he was polite enough to keep it to himself. Tooru appreciated the effort Akaashi went through not to tear him apart every day because he knew first hand how annoying he was, how much more simple and easy Iwa-chan’s life would be if Tooru weren’t sleeping on his couch, eating his food, and interacting with his kid.
…But that’s not important right now.
“Soooo, what’d you guys do in June?” Tooru asked.
“We brought him a cake for his birthday and watched an old Godzilla movie.”
“His birthday? What day is it?”
“June tenth… I’m surprised you don’t know.”
Tooru frowned. “Yeah, well. I don’t know a lot of things about him.”
Akaashi seemed to think about that for a moment, slowing in his book checking routine with a tightly knit brow. “I see.”
And that was all he said. He went back to his work, and Tooru finally turned in his chair to face the counter, feeling strange.
June 10th.
He’d remember that.
Three days ago, Tooru had been completely and utterly punk’d. He’d had the dumbest look on his face, watching Akaashi fake propose to his already husband-to-be, and an even more dumbfounded expression when Iwa-chan had to explain what happened. Now, sitting in Akaashi’s car, Tooru had begun taking notice of all the little things lying around that didn’t seem to belong to Akaashi—the protein bar wrappers crumpled up in the slot under the door, the little yellow paper owl dangling from the rear view mirror, the hula-girl on the dashboard.
“How long have you and Bokkun been together?” Tooru asked, leaning forward to tap the hula-girl and have her sway.
“Bok… A while,” Akaashi answered.
Tooru kept his eyes on the plastic toy on the dash as the other started the car, settling back into his seat at the sound of Akaashi’s seatbelt clicking. “I wanna make a guess.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Highschool sweethearts?”
Tooru caught Akaashi starting to scowl in his peripheral, but his face softened quickly. “Yes. Buckle your seatbelt.”
Tooru did as he was told. “You don’t seem like the type.”
“Well, what do you know?”
“Okay. Fair.” Tooru waited a beat, letting Akaashi focus on backing out of his spot and turning the corner before his head lulled towards Akaashi, batting his lashes and gracing him with the most pleasant of smiles. “Did you propose or did he?”
“Nosy, aren’t you.”
“Must’ve been him.”
Akaashi huffed, exhaling sharply through his nose. “Yes. It was him.”
“That’s cute!”
With no response of any kind, Tooru half turned in his seat, bringing his leg up into the seat so he could twist better and face Akaashi. He stared at him for a long bout, watching his eyes dart over the road, his quick blinking, his wound-up posture. Akaashi often seemed on edge when Tooru saw him, and he wondered from time to time if it was his doing. Yeah, he wasn’t Akaashi’s favorite person to be around, but he hoped that at the very least that his presence didn’t make Akaashi want to steer his car into a building.
That would be dramatic, wouldn’t it?
Things between them had improved significantly since the two of them first met, at least in Tooru’s opinion. Akaashi would hold conversations with him, and on occasion he would playfully roll his eyes at a joke instead of bowing it off all together. Nothing spectacular, but there was something to be said about the development. Again… at least in Tooru’s opinion.
And that made him think. Akaashi was Iwa-chan’s best friend. Tooru wanted to be on his good side.
Which gave him an idea.
“So… June, huh…?”
The words got Akaashi to glance over at him. “What?”
“Oh, I was just thinking about what you said earlier. About Iwa-chan’s birthday.” Tooru explained. “It sucks that you guys haven’t gotten to hang out recently. Actually, it’s funny, Iwa-chan and I were talking before he dropped me off this morning about doing something fun sometime. We should all plan to do something together!”
“What?” Clearly, that was not the response Akaashi was prepared to hear. He quickly looked in Tooru’s direction, and just as fast returned his view to the road. “That’s… really?”
Tooru felt those giddy butterflies starting to flutter again. “Yeah! I know it’s sudden—we don’t have anything planned yet so like, don’t panic. But it’d be fun, right? The four of us?” He paused long enough to let Akaashi think, but not with enough of a break for him to get a word in before Tooru continued. “I think it would be good for him.”
“Mm… Did you have something in mind?” Akaashi asked, leaving one hand on the wheel, and brought the other up to scratch behind his ear.
“Oh, uh, nothing yet. We were more just… talking about it. Maybe we could go eat somewhere?” It was a mild suggestion, nothing fancy. The last time Tooru had hung out with someone innocuously was all the way back when he was a first year in high school. So, honestly, he didn’t have many ideas. “…I’m sure Iwa-chan would like to have a meal cooked for him for a change.”
Akaashi looked thoughtful for a moment, setting his other hand back onto the wheel. “I agree.”
If not for the sake of appearing as casual as possible, Tooru’s eyes might have bugged out of his head. But of course Akaashi would agree with him. This was Iwa-chan they were talking about.
“Yeah?”
“Yes. I’ll talk to Bokuto-san about it tonight.”
“Really?”
Without looking at him, Akaashi made a face. “I don’t see why you’re so surprised. I like doing things with my friends.” He said, ever so nonchalantly.
Tooru waited for a but, but it never came. That could just be because Akaashi didn’t care to elaborate, so Tooru took it with a grain of salt and a smile that he kept to himself.
“Then I’ll talk to Iwa-chan tonight, too. He mentioned leaving Tobio-chan with the sitter next door, so we might be able to do this sooner than later!” Tooru was positively beaming.
The car slowed, light ahead of them turning red. Tooru took that time to sit normally in the passenger seat, twisting back around and leaning to rest his head against the window. It was cool against his skin and hair, and the start of snow flurries dotting the greyness of the outside caught his eye.
“It’s snowing again.” He murmured offhandedly, thinking aloud.
“The forecast calls for light snowfall for most of the week. Temperature won’t raise, either.”
Tooru hummed, peering out at the snow on the sidewalk, all marked up and ruined by boot-prints. His voice was somewhat distant as he spoke. “That’s good then. Maybe Tobio-chan will have time to finish his snowman before it melts.”
Akaashi didn’t respond, and the light turned green.
What a weird thing to be hung-up on. No—not hung-up… but he’d been thinking about it, just a little. Tobio, that morning. When they’d had to go inside before he could put the finishing touches on his snowman. Before Iwa-chan let him rip his own hat off to use as an accessory. When Tobio had bestowed those big blue puppy eyes onto Tooru, as if he’d expected him to do something with them. As if to say tell daddy to let me finish, like Tooru had any control over what Iwa-chan did and didn’t let Tobio do.
Tobio gave him those eyes a lot. Most of the time, those eyes showed up when he wanted Tooru to pick him up and hold him, or early in the mornings when he wanted help getting ready for the day but Iwa-chan was still asleep. Tobio was a sweet boy, but Tooru would not indulge him. He couldn’t allow himself that sort of thing, not with Tobio. And he’d told himself that time and time again, and up until three days ago he’d managed to spend as little time alone with Tobio as he possibly could.
Three days ago, Iwa-chan was asleep on the couch when Tooru got home. Seeing Tobio sitting on the floor alone tugged at a heartstring Tooru assumed was cut years prior, and found himself seated beside the boy, watching him draw and eventually drawing with him. In Tooru’s mind, it had been a moment of weakness that he need not fall back into, despite how happy it made Tobio. No matter how nice it may have been, Tooru could not allow himself another slip up. He couldn’t risk that.
It wasn’t long before they were pulling into the apartment parking lot. To both Tooru and Akaashi’s surprise, Iwa-chan was just now getting out of his car and heading inside. Akaashi pulled up a bit closer before Tooru reached across him to honk the horn and laughed with a snort at the sight of Iwa-chan jumping from the sudden sound.
Iwa-chan turned to face them, obviously pissed at first only to realize just who had honked at him, and his face relaxed as he made his way over to them. As he approached, Tooru rolled down his window and leaned outside of it, waving with his entire arm. All the while, Akaashi stayed seated with both hands on the wheel, and Tooru could almost feel the exhaustion wafting off of him at that point.
“You’re off early!” Tooru greeted with a big grin, letting his arm fall against the outside of the car. The door was ice cold against his hand. “It’s early right?”
“Ehh… I got off on time.” Said Iwa-chan. He lifted his own hand in a wave to Akaashi and came to a stop beside the passenger-side window. “Hey, Akaashi. How was today?”
“Slow and quiet.” He answered.
“Just the way you like it.” Iwa-chan quipped.
“Not in front of the child,”
“Me?” Tooru’s brows raised in high offence, his voice matching pitch. “Are you kidding—”
“Iwaizumi-san. Oikawa mentioned something about the four of us going out to eat sometime soon.” Akaashi came to life then, cutting Tooru off from saying something incriminating. “Or doing something in general.”
Iwa-chan’s eyes flickered from Akaashi to Tooru, a mix of surprise and uncertainty pulling at his expression. “Uhh, yeah, we talked about it earlier today, but we didn’t plan anything serious yet. You… guys interested in tagging along?”
“If you’d have us.” Akaashi’s hands slid down the curve of the steering wheel into his lap. “We miss you.”
That made Iwa-chan smile something kind of sideways. “Yeah, of course. We’ll have to figure something out.”
Tooru grinned. Everything was working out great. Sure, one of these days he’d want alone time with Iwa-chan, but for now he could at least make sure everyone liked him first.
Iwa-chan and Akaashi talked a bit more, though Tooru’s mind was elsewhere until Iwa-chan opened his door for him. Tooru hopped out of the car and he and Iwa-chan bid Akaashi their goodbyes, shutting his passenger door and turning to head inside the complex. Their walk to the main doors was quiet, Tooru humming and steaming up his glasses from his breath fog with Iwa-chan beside him, hands in pockets.
Inside, the two of them kicked the snow off their shoes on the doormat and made their way to the elevator. Once stopped with their floor selected, Iwa-chan didn’t say anything until the automatic doors shut behind them.
“When did you and Akaashi become buds?”
“Hm?” Tooru blinked at him. “What do you mean?”
Iwa-chan shrugged, his attention on the doors. “I didn’t think you’d want him and Bo to come along with us.”
“Do you… not want them to?”
So it was a date!?
“I’m not saying that. I’d love if they did—it’s been forever since I saw them for more than two minutes. I just wasn’t expecting you to want them to.”
Never mind!
“I would like for Akaashi to not hate me,” Tooru admitted. Iwa-chan opened his mouth in protest, but Tooru had more to say. “Plus, I know you guys don’t see much of each other anymore. You just said so yourself. It’s no skin off my nose if him and his mans are around.”
Tooru was more or less just talking for the sake of being heard at this point, though there was truth to his words. Becoming friends with Akaashi, sooner than later, would make it much easier for Tooru to work his way into Iwa-chan’s heart.
Iwa-chan’s heart…
Yeah. That’s what he was working his way into.
“Fair enough.” Iwa-chan finally said as the elevators came to a stop. “But Akaashi doesn’t hate you. He likes everyone. He’s just bad at it.”
Iwa-chan was the first to step out of the elevator as the doors opened, and Tooru squinted at the back of his head.
“Are you copying Tobio now?”
The only response was a grin.
Iwa-chan and Akaashi handled planning their get-together over text that night and the next, and one exciting phone-call where Tooru got to hear Bokuto shouting his ideas on the other end. His choice was the winner overall, setting everything deep into stone.
Additionally, Iwa-chan went ahead and asked the neighbor if Tobio could stay the night Saturday when the night out was set to happen. Tobio was excited, too. A sleepover at the Hinata’s—why, that may just be best news he’d heard all week. He told Iwa-chan and Tooru over dinner Thursday evening that he was going to bring all of his crayons over so that he and Shouyou could stay up all night drawing.
Friday night, Tooru waited patiently on the couch for Iwa-chan to return from putting Tobio to bed. They’d been watching a movie together when suddenly Dad Things had to happen, such as bathing and dressing and bedtime story telling. So, approximately four-hundred years later, Iwa-chan came out of Tobio’s room, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Cute.
“That kid,” he said, flopping onto the couch beside Tooru, shoulders slumped. “He’s got too much energy.”
“He’s just excited about his sleepover,” replied Tooru, reaching for the remote to resume their movie.
“Yeah… I’ve actually been thinking about that.”
Tooru’s thumb hovered over the play button, leaning back against the couch and looking to the man next to him. “What about it?”
Iwa-chan, ever handsome in his bath-water stained sweatshirt and messy hair, sounded troubled even before opening his mouth. “Well. It’s just… I’ve never left Tobio anywhere. For the past five years he’s been just a room away.”
“…Yeah?”
He kept his eyes trained on the wall, away from Tooru. “What if something happens while we’re gone? What if he needs me?”
Tooru frowned but didn’t get the chance to say anything.
“He’s still so young. Maybe he’s not ready to stay at someone else’s place. My mom hasn’t even watched him overnight.” Iwa-chan gestures towards the coffee table with both hands for emphasis. “Sure, that could just be me being a nervous parent, but he’s my kid. I have to be there for him. I never want him to feel alone, y’know? I don’t want him to think I’ve… left him… or something.”
There was some other underlying hesitance Iwa-chan was avoiding saying out loud. Tooru wouldn’t pry, mainly because he had a faint idea of what it was and folded his arms loosely over his chest, lips slightly pursed.
“I think maybe, I dunno… now isn’t a good time.” Iwa-chan sighed, finally turning his gaze towards Tooru. “I’ll let Akaashi know in a bit… I’m sorry.”
It’s over, just like that? For a long beat, Tooru sat there watching Iwa-chan’s face. Not for any particular reason other than to stare at him, because he’s hot, but also maybe looking for some other explanation as if it’ll be written across his cheek or forehead.
Iwa-chan sighed. “Are you mad?”
“Me? No,” Tooru answered quickly, shaking his head once. “I mean, I’m a little let down, but I’m not mad.”
“It’s not like I don’t want to spend time with you guys, it’s just—”
“No, I get it,” cutting him off, Tooru shrugged and looked off to the movie on Iwa-chan’s TV, frozen in time. “You gotta be a good dad to your son… but I think you’re being a little paranoid.”
Beside him, Tooru felt the couch shift as Iwa-chan adjusted. “How’s that?”
“I’m not a parent so I don’t have any experience or room to talk, but I think… you’re giving yourself stuff to be worried about.”
Part of Tooru felt bad—he was in no place to tell Iwa-chan what he should or shouldn’t think as the parent of a young child. The other part of him knew that it might be necessary for Iwa-chan to hear what he had to say.
“Eventually you have to give him some independence. If he get’s a little spooked sleeping next door, he’ll be alright. He’s tough. And he knows you’ll be there to hug him in the morning. Again, I don’t have any room to talk, but that’s what I think…”
Tooru felt Iwa-chan’s eyes digging a hole into his temple, so he decided to turn back to him and half-smiles. “Did I say too much?”
“No… I worry too much.”
“You do! But there’s nothing wrong with that. You know how hard girlies fawn over guys with big hearts?”
“I’m ignoring that comment.” Iwa-chan said, trying to hide a grin by covering his mouth behind steepled fingers. “…You really think he’ll be alright?”
“He’s yours.” Tooru answered, one firm nod to confirm his feeling. “I’m positive.”
Iwa-chan’s lips pressed into a hard, thin line for half a breath as he tipped his head back into the couch, dropping his hands onto his lap. “Okay. Okay, I’m okay. You’re right. He’ll be fine. He’ll have fun.”
Tooru beamed. Was he allowed to be proud of himself? “So will you. How long’s it been since you got to do something with your friends on your terms?”
“I know, I know… it’ll be nice. I just needed to freak out for a minute I guess.”
“I freak out all the time, it’s fine.” Tooru gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “I’m glad you got it out of your system; I was really going to cry if you canceled on me.”
Iwa-chan snorted, shrugging Tooru’s hand off of him and rolling his eyes. “Thank god we avoided that.”
Finally, finally, they resumed their movie. Tooru honestly couldn’t remember what happened in the first thirty minutes before they’d paused, and his mind drifted elsewhere during the beginnings of a car chase. Action movies weren’t really his forte, but Iwa-chan picked it out with enthusiasm when they’d been looking over their options so he couldn’t say no.
Tooru thought about Saturday night. It would be fun, right? For him, it had been longer than a mere six months since the last time he’d gone out with a friend. For him, Saturday night would be a shock to his system, not unlike the first time he had a drink or kissed a man. Something different, something new, something special. He was sure of that. And he would not mess it up.
There’s no way he could. Fingers crossed.