Five Reasons Why [iwaoi]

2

Oikawa smoothed out the first picture in his album. It was old, evidenced by the wrinkles and fold lines that covered the image. It had clearly been used a lot, brought out to show many.

“This is from the first day we met.” Oikawa smiled as he looked up, showing the picture.

There was a young Oikawa, grinning at the camera. He was making a peace sign – typical – as Iwaizumi was rubbing the back of his neck next to him. They looked so much different as kids. Iwaizumi looked more relaxed, the smile easy on his thin lips. Oikawa had his am around Iwaizumi who was leaning into the touch subconsciously. Oikawa’s brown hair was ruffled all around his head and Iwaizumi had his typical dark locks.

Oikawa had to hold back a sob as the memories came rushing back at him. He didn’t share them, just allowing the picture to speak for himself.

---

On the playground, nobody messed with Iwaizumi Hajime.

Everyone knew it. He was the kid who didn’t care how big you were. He didn’t care how many friends you had with you. He would fight you, and even if he lost he was sure to leave you with a black eye or take one of your friends down with him. He was notorious for being the only kid who had ever broken the nose of that bully in the fifth grade, a full three years ahead of him.

He was always scruffy – constantly with a bandage on his knee, forehead or elbows. His skin deeply tanned from many hours spent playing in the sun, callouses on his fingers from tightly gripping his bug net. Dirt smeared across the front of his shirt from falling or rolling around in the dirt. Mud on his shoes, a mischievous grin on his face. He wasn’t afraid to roll around in the dirt and loved adding new bugs to his collection.

When his family decided to pick up and move to another town, apparently they forgot to send this memo to the neighbourhood kids.

They moved in during the summer. Iwaizumi didn’t know anybody in this new town and without school to guide him towards other kids his age, his parents had no other option but to send him out during the day to meet other kids.

“Hajime,” his mother had told him, “Make sure you play nice, okay?”

His mother loved him, he knew that. She and his father provided a good life for him. They worked hard, but didn’t lose family time. It was just the three of them, which Iwaizumi was okay with.

“I always do.” Iwaizumi grumbled, kicking at the dirt in their front lawn.

He didn’t always play nice.

He didn’t like agreeing to play other kids stupid games. They never wanted to go and catch bugs with him even when he tried to humour them and played with them on the playground first. Why did he always have to be the nice one? He had played that game before and wasn’t a fan.

Before his mother could lecture him any more he was gone, dashing down the sidewalk in front of his house. He wasn’t thinking, not even registering where he was going as he ran.

He was mad that his parents had decided to move him here. He didn’t want to move – he had friends back at his old school. He knew his way around. He knew all the best spots to catch beetles during the summertime. He could walk to the lake by himself, he could run across the street to visit his neighbours who had a dog.

He liked it, it was familiar, and his parents had all taken it away.

With reason, of course – his father had been promoted – but that wasn’t something his eight-year old brain could process and comprehend. All he felt was betrayed, angry.

Now he had to go and make new friends? This was not something that he was good at. He had a few friends back where they used to live. His neighbour, a year younger than him, who would sometimes go out to catch bugs with him. He was pretty quiet but he and Iwaizumi had more so been friends by proximity. Not that they clicked.