What He Really Needed - IwaOi

Chapter 3 "It Looked Like Oikawa Felt It Too"

The plane ride was torturous. Oikawa had so many emotions bottled up inside of him. He was still a long way from even accepting the fact that he couldn't play volleyball anymore, nonetheless coming to terms with it; terrified to tell his parents about not being able to play, and for some reason, he had another pit in his stomach too. He knew what the pit was, but he couldn't understand why. Why am I so afraid to face Iwa? I mean, I know he's harsh sometimes, but when it comes to serious stuff like this, he knows how to tone it down. So... why? Oikawa thought about it more. Actually, I've been weird when thinking about Iwa lately. I wonder why that is.

That thought kept crossing Oikawa's mind as the plane got closer and closer to Japan, until finally, he had arrived. Once he got off the plane, he texted Iwa, "hey, I'm here." It was short and sweet, very unlike Oikawa. After the plane ride, he was exhausted. His anxious and depressing thoughts kept him up the entire ride, so he was practically falling asleep standing up; not to mention the jet-lag. While he was walking through the airport, he was thinking about random things. Like, the 2am thoughts you have while lying in bed, unable to fall asleep; except Oikawa was walking through an airport, in broad daylight. One of the thoughts he had was 'woah, it's been a year since I've seen Iwa in person.' And with that, he paused. Is that why I'm so nervous? No, I should be excited, not nervous. So... what is it that's bothering me? Oikawa shook his head. He was annoyed with himself. Why can't I just figure it out and deal with it already? He was a bit ancy and impatient. He always puts a lot of pressure on himself to be strong, and now that he was tired, that pressure he usually puts on himself has tripled. He taps his fingers anxiously on his thigh, just trying to get the bottled up feelings out any way he can. He felt his phone beep. Looking down at it and turning it over to face him, he watched his phone light up with his lock screen being a picture of him and Iwaizumi back in high school. He could feel butterflies in his stomach, like normal. Wait... why was this normal again? This is my best friend, is it normal to get butterflies when I see a picture of us? ... Probably not. ... So, then, why am I feeling this? He took a deep breath, erasing the thoughts from his mind. I'll think about it later. He was too exhausted to overwork himself right now, especially over something so unimportant. He looked back down to his phone. The message was from 'Iwa-Chan', the exact person Oikawa needed it to be from, but for some reason, he was lacking the energy to even open the message. Finally, after a long hesitation, with Oikawa still walking, he opened the message. "Hey, meet me by the gift shop near the exit on the right. You're probably tired, so I didn't bring Makki and Matsun with me, but they're definitely seeing you tomorrow if not today. They've been talking non-stop about it," Oikawa smiled. Maki and Matsun were some of his very good friends, Oikawa probably naming them his best friends if it weren't for the extra special bond between him and Iwaizumi. Speaking of bond, Iwa completely read Oikawa's mind. I mean, it's not usually that hard to assume someone's going to be tired after a flight, but there was this confidence in Iwa's typing manner that sent something off in Oikawa's head. Stupid mind reader. That thought made Oikawa smile a bit more, but it slowly faded. He has been having trouble keeping a smile lately. Oikawa continued reading, "I'm not sure if you booked a hotel or not, but if you didn't you're welcome to stay at my place until you go back to Argentina." Oikawa paused. The message was finished, but... shit. He had completely forgotten about a hotel. 'Thank you Iwa-chan, thank you Iwa-chan,' he kept repeating in his head. What would I do without you?

Oikawa knew this airport pretty well, as it was the only airport he had ever gone to, from Argentina to Japan and vice-versa, so he knew exactly what Iwa was talking about when he said 'the gift shop near the exit on the right.' It wasn't a very good description on Iwaizumi's part, but Oikawa knew well enough where Iwaizumi was talking about, as it had been their default meeting place whenever Oikawa came home from Argentina since he moved there. Damn. Oikawa faltered his speed-walking a bit, before quickly picking it back up again. It's been 3 years since Oikawa moved to Argentina. Oikawa shivered a bit at that thought. He regrets it. He regrets moving to Argentina. Maybe then, if he stayed, he could have still been able to play. He feels tears well up in his eyes as he quickly wipes them away. Not in public. Oikawa hated crying in public. He didn't know why, there was just something so humiliating about it for him. He picked up his pace, walking faster than before, B-lining straight to the gift shop.

Iwaizumi's POV

Iwaizumi had told Oikawa to meet him at the gift shop almost ten minutes ago, which was about half the time it took for Oikawa to actually get there, so he was surprised when he already saw Oikawa, speed walking towards him, head down. He looks terrible. Oikawa's face was pointed to the ground, so Iwaizumi could barely see it, but as Oikawa got closer his aura wasn't the bright, bubbly, sassy aura Iwaizumi had known Oikawa to have, instead it was replaced with a somber one. Fuck. Iwaizumi felt his stomach drop. I hate seeing him like this. Oikawa got closer and closer, stopping about 2ft in front of Iwaizumi. "You ready?" Oikawa said, looking up slightly with a weak smile. Iwaizumi just nodded, but instead of just starting to walk, he reached out his hand. Oikawa stared at it for a second, before giving Iwaizumi his hand, intertwining their fingers. Iwaizumi immediately felt a warm feeling flow through his body, and when he glanced at Oikawa's face before starting to walk, it looked like Oikawa felt it too.