“Just fucking choose.” Iwaizumi was trying to control his voice but it was getting harder every passing moment. Especially when his best friend was being extremely difficult.
Oikawa, in real Oikawa fashion, just rolled his eyes slowly before releasing a raspy breath, “Mean, Iwa-chan. This was your idea! You should be patient with me!”
“I’m actually regretting it now.” Iwaizumi huffed already thinking about scrapping the entire idea he saw in TV last night which he thought was pretty brilliant, completely forgetting that Oikawa could really be a diva.
“Hmn… how about cuddling with hundreds of kittens?” Oikawa mused pursing his dry lips. Iwaizumi glared at him, “Cats? Did Kuroo rub off on you that much?” Too late to see that lopsided grin on Oikawa’s face to know that he was just kidding.
Iwaizumi grunted, “I’m seriously going to choke you.” Oikawa, however, just gave a raspy laugh before he picked up his fork to continue eating his fruits. Iwaizumi wanted an answer, but didn’t want to stop Oikawa from eating especially when this was the first time he had seen him this lively… probably at the prospect of having his wish granted.
“How about a whole day of alien movies and pizza and popcorn?” He hums, taking a spoonful of plain yogurt from the plastic container beside his half-empty plate. He always heard about looking at a glass half-full instead of half-empty, but right now, half-empty seemed better because it meant Oikawa was distracted enough to eat something.
He snorted, “That is a lousy wish.”
Oikawa pouted, “Hey! It’s not! Spending a day watching alien movies would be amazing…”
“ Tooru. ” Iwaizumi’s voice was low and calm but it made Oikawa raise his eyes to look up at him. There were few occasions that Iwaizumi called him by his name, and when he does, it always made Oikawa’s flutter a bit.
“Be serious.” Iwaizumi continued, “You wouldn’t spend your wish to get that. Ask anything else. Not something we could do anytime, anyday.”
Oikawa blinked at him… but Iwaizumi watched as those brown eyes became somber and lost their enthusiastic spark. He watched those eyes look down at the tray of food on his lap, wheeled by the nurse that morning. He watched as the feeble hands holding the plastic utensil shake a little, before he regained control once again of himself and gave the saddest, most beautiful smile Iwaizumi had ever seen. Then he, in a small very innocent voice said, “I want to play volleyball with our old teammates… in our highschool court.”
There it was . Iwaizumi somehow knew that was what he really wanted. He didn’t know if he wanted Oikawa to tell him because he knew he wouldn’t be able to give it to him… even if he wanted to. Even if he called up their old teammates who already have lives of their own, but would surely drop everything and go back to Miyagi just to do this single thing for their old captain. They would do it, no doubt about it. And even if in the off chance that they wouldn’t, he would still do it.
But the doctors wouldn’t allow it. Not when Oikawa’s condition for the past few weeks was getting worse. Not when no amount of medicine could counter the cancer cells spreading on his lungs that every waking moment felt too quick like Oikawa’s short breaths… lost easily.
It was how it is now, anyway… and Iwaizumi as his best friend had lived through it with him… through the good days and bad days. This was one of the good days and Iwaizumi was thankful that he and Oikawa was having an almost normal, albeit annoying conversation with the latter actually eating.
He would take this anytime from those days when Oikawa was always in too much constant pain, when he described breathing as drowning in air… every gulp always coming short, every single oxygen felt like he was being stabbed in the chest repeatedly and Oikawa would hold it in. Whiny little baby that he is, Oikawa would refuse to rate the pain as a 10 , because he was sure something more painful would come and he was just preparing for that.
