One Last Time // Iwaoi.

twenty six

Iwaizumi made his way toward Oikawa's class, his footsteps light with anticipation. He had promised to walk the brunette back to his dorm after dinner, a routine that had become comforting between them. Things felt normal again, just like before-almost too normal, Iwaizumi thought. He allowed himself to believe that this calm, this sense of rightness, would last. That they had moved past the worst of it.

But deep down, in a place he didn't want to acknowledge, there was a nagging doubt-a painful reminder that nothing was ever that simple.

Iwaizumi stood just outside Oikawa's classroom, his eyes drawn to the sight of Oikawa laughing so freely, so brightly. The sound was infectious, but for Iwaizumi, it triggered something deeper. His mind drifted back to darker memories, moments he tried so hard to bury. His hands trembled, fingers twitching against the fabric of his jacket. He closed his eyes, taking a breath, whispering to himself that it was different now. Oikawa promised, he reminded himself. He would never hurt me like that again.

Inside, the conversation shifted, and Iwaizumi's heart clenched.

"Hey Kawa, random question-are you and that guy, Iwaizumi, dating? You two seem pretty close," one of Oikawa's friends asked casually. Iwaizumi stilled outside the door, ears straining, waiting for Oikawa's answer. It wasn't an unreasonable question; they were close, but the relationship was still a secret. Even so, they weren't exactly subtle. Iwaizumi had no reason to doubt what Oikawa would say. He trusted him, believed in the promise they had made to each other.

Yet, his heart pounded in his chest as he waited, hoping Oikawa would claim what they had, that he would confidently acknowledge Iwaizumi as his lover.

Oikawa hesitated, the easy laughter in his eyes dimming for a second. An awkward silence filled the space between the question and his answer, his unease palpable. With a nervous chuckle, he finally replied, and the words that followed crushed the small smile on Iwaizumi's face.

"I'm not into guys."

The statement, casual and dismissive, hit Iwaizumi like a punch to the gut. His breath caught in his throat, and the world around him blurred for a moment. It felt exactly the same as that fateful day, the day he had learned about the dare. The same hollow ache opened up in his chest, threatening to swallow him whole.

Oikawa laughed again, but it felt forced, strained, quickly diverting the conversation to something else. He avoided the subject, avoided Iwaizumi's name altogether, as if pretending nothing existed between them. As if they didn't exist.

Iwaizumi stood frozen in place, his feet rooted to the ground as Oikawa's laughter echoed faintly in his ears. The words kept repeating in his mind-"I'm not into guys." It felt like his heart had been pulled out and crushed in front of him, all over again. The same disbelief, the same betrayal, just like the time he'd found out about the dare.

He clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms as he tried to control the trembling in his hands. No, he told himself. This is different now. Oikawa wouldn't lie again. He promised.

But the doubt crept in, slowly suffocating his resolve. Every laugh Oikawa shared with his friends felt like a stab, every casual comment another reminder of the distance between the version of Oikawa in front of his friends and the one that was supposed to be his. The one that held him close in the quiet of their shared moments, the one that kissed him softly when no one was watching.

Why didn't Oikawa just say it? Why couldn't he acknowledge Iwaizumi, even in the smallest way? Iwaizumi's stomach churned, the weight of disappointment pressing heavily on his chest. He felt like an outsider, watching Oikawa act like they were nothing. His heart screamed for Oikawa to just be honest, but his voice was caught in his throat.