Chapter Text
It was a just couple of weeks after graduation, and countless things were different. The routines that were once followed without fail had lost their cause. There were no practices, no games, no familiarity of the gym and team that helped grow Oikawa into who he had become.
Not being in a school volleyball club anymore felt like the end of an era. The past three years at Seijoh had flown by, stopping for nothing and no one.
And now Oikawa was ready to leave his high school losses behind him so that he could move into the next phase of his life. But before he did that, he needed a win.
And not just any win.
He wanted Iwaizumi’s heart. He wanted his love; the kind that came with the promise of a shared future, despite any distance that might come between them. A love that meant going separate ways for a while to follow their dreams would always lead back around to being together again—no matter what.
He wanted to take on the challenge of a long distance relationship involving the person he was in love with before he left the country. It felt like it was now or never.
And he was pretty sure that he already had the heart of his best friend. He would almost be willing to bet that he’d had it for a long time—years, even.
But Iwaizumi was being stubborn as hell; he wouldn’t confess to him. It made Oikawa wonder if he should just be the one to confess. All things considered, that would be the easiest way.
The easiest way?
When had Oikawa Tooru ever settled for easy?
Never.
So no way, he wouldn’t be the one to confess—it had to be Iwaizumi. And that meant only one thing: he was going to make Iwaizumi confess. But he needed help to pull it off, and there were two very specific people he had in mind who were perfect for the job.
That’s precisely why he had walked to Makki’s house at six o’clock on a Friday morning.
Once he reached the front door, he pulled out his phone and dialed Makki’s number—because texting wouldn’t be annoying enough to wake him up, and it was too early to be ringing the doorbell. Makki’s mother was probably awake, and his sisters might be up already as well. But his father was definitely still sleeping. And hell hath no fury like a member of the Hanamaki family when pulled from sleep against their will. That included Makki, of course. He was sure to be grumpy about the wake up call. But no reward came without risk.
As to be expected, the first phone call went to voicemail.
And so did the second one.
Regardless, Oikawa hung up and tried again. He wasn’t going to stop calling until Makki answered. When it came to battles of persistence, Oikawa always emerged victorious.
After several more attempts, the line finally connected to the sound of someone groaning out of frustration.
But it wasn’t Makki.
It was Mattsun, which wasn’t a surprise at all—those two were practically glued together. And it seemed like Mattsun had taken on the Hanamaki family’s lack of appreciation for being woken unexpectedly.
After what had been an impressively long and irritated groan, he finally communicated with words.
“What do you want?”
Oikawa smiled. “Good morning, Mattsun! I was trying to reach Makki, but you’ll do just fine.”
“Always nice to be the backup option,” Mattsun deadpanned. “Why are you calling so early? You know we’re heavy sleepers around here.”
After chuckling at the way Mattsun made it seem like he was an actual member of the Hanamaki household, Oikawa responded casually. “If no one answered, I would’ve climbed up to the window and let myself in. I know the lock doesn’t work.”
“You get creepier every time I talk to you,” Mattsun responded. “But I love you for it.”
Oikawa nodded cheerfully as he replied. “Well, I am very lovable.”
“Seriously though, what do you want? I’d like to go back to sleep,” Mattsun grumbled, followed by a yawn.
“There’s no time for sleep, Mattsun! I need you and Makki to help me with something important. Come down and unlock the door, or I really will climb up to the window and let myself in.”
Another yawn came across before Mattsun replied. “You’re welcome to climb through the window, then. Good luck.”
The line cut out after that, and Oikawa glared at his phone for a moment.
But he wasn’t deterred at all.
He flipped his hair and stomped right over to the outside wall of the house, just below Makki’s window, which was on the second floor.
Then he started to assess how he was going to climb it. There were no trees close enough to be helpful, but he thought he might be able to reach the edge of the roof below the window if he got a running start and jumped for it.
Nodding to himself with unfounded confidence, he walked to the edge of the yard, and then ran towards the house.
He jumped when he reached the wall and barely got high enough to grab the gutter, which didn’t feel like it could hold his weight for very long. He huffed as he tried to pull himself up, but it was harder than he expected.
He let out a long, frustrated sigh as he dangled from the edge of the roof. If only he had gotten a better grip, then he could have done it with ease. At least, that’s what he told himself.
The sudden sound of Mattsun’s laughter made Oikawa turn his head.
There on the porch of the house stood Mattsun, who was holding his phone up, heartlessly taking a picture of Oikawa’s predicament.
“Geez, I didn’t think you’d really do it. That’s hilarious. Should I send this to Iwaizumi?”
Oikawa dropped down from the roof with a thud and brushed his hands off on his pants, then gave Mattsun a serious look, matching his tone. “Don’t send it to him! This is a secret visit, he can’t know about it!”
Mattsun raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. “Is that right? Well, now I’m curious. So I guess you can come inside through the door. That is, unless you want me to boost you up so you can reach the window.”
Oikawa rolled his eyes, then followed Mattsun into the house.
He waved at Makki’s mother—who was the only early riser in the Hanamaki family—as they passed by the living room. She gave a friendly nod in response. Oikawa was familiar with (and well liked) by both of Makki’s parents.
In fact, he was well liked by the parents of all of his friends, which was obviously because of his natural charm, and not at all because he was a total schmoozer.
Once Oikawa was inside Makki’s bedroom, he jumped on the bed and landed right on top of Makki, which was fully intentional.
“Wakey-wakey, Makki! I need your big brain!”
Makki angrily shoved a pillow at Oikawa, pushing him off the bed with it. He was full of that Hanamaki Family Fury that hell hath none of. “Don’t come into my bedroom at this ungodly hour and try to butter me up with flattery.”
“I’m serious, bitch. I came for that Makki-style big brain energy. But how dare you push me off the bed like that? I was your captain until just a few weeks ago. I deserve some respect,” Oikawa said as he got up off the floor, crossing his arms with a dramatic huff. “And you act like we didn’t wake up even earlier than this for literal years back when we were still in school.”
“Exactly. I did my time, and now I deserve to sleep in,” Makki grumbled, pulling his blanket up over his head, which hid him entirely.
Mattsun chuckled and sat on the bed beside his grouchy boyfriend. Then he started rubbing Makki’s back in an attempt to peacefully wake him. “Oikawa’s got something super secret to tell us about, apparently.”
That information seemed to interest Makki enough to rouse him. He peeked one eye out from under the blanket, staring at Mattsun rather than Oikawa.
“How secret are we talking?”
“He didn’t want Iwaizumi to know he’s here,” Mattsun replied, glancing at Oikawa with a playful grin and an eyebrow wiggle.
“Interesting,” Makki said as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. Then he looked at Oikawa expectantly. “Well, tell me your secret, and don’t leave anything out. No detail’s too small.”
Oikawa squeezed onto the bed with Makki and Mattsun. Or rather, he squeezed right between them, which almost pushed Mattsun off the bed.
“I want Iwa-chan to confess to me, but I’m not sure how to make him do it.”
Makki instantly looked more alert, and a devious smile crossed his lips. “I’ve been waiting so long for this day! Issei, darling, please fetch me the notebook.”
As requested, Mattsun got up and went over to Makki’s desk. He started digging through one of the drawers, grinning more mischievously than Oikawa had seen in quite a while, which made him immediately suspicious of his friends’ intentions.
“What notebook?” Oikawa asked as he narrowed his eyes. “And why am I getting a bad feeling?”
“That’s not a bad feeling,” Makki said. “It’s just excitement. Learn the difference.”
At that point, Mattsun pulled out a green notebook and handed it to Makki, who started flipping through it with an even more mischievous grin than Mattsun was still wearing.
“This is his ‘IwaOi’ notebook,” Mattsun said matter-of-factly, sitting back down on the edge of the bed.
Oikawa let out a hum, giving a hesitant smile as he looked at the notebook in Makki’s hands. “Wow... I’m kind of delighted right now, but also a little disturbed. What is this thing, exactly?”
“What it is, my dear friend, is a book that’s gonna solve your problem. I happen to have lovingly made this over the last three years. It’s all my different guesses about how, and when, you and Iwaizumi would end up together,” Makki said proudly. “And there’s three whole pages of ‘ways Oikawa would force Iwaizumi to confess to him.’ ”
Oikawa’s mouth was hanging open as he processed what he had just been told. It was a whole ten seconds before he responded.
“Makki... I can’t believe you did this for me... I’ve never been more proud of how someone chose to use their free time. So, lay some of these ideas on me!”
Makki cleared his throat, beginning to speak in a way that was similar to how a professor might lecture a college class. “Hypothesis one: Oikawa spends the whole day around Iwaizumi without a shirt on.”
“He’s seen me without a shirt countless times. If he was gonna fall for that, he already would have,” Oikawa said with an air of impatience. “Next idea.”
It was Mattsun who read the next one, and his voice was similar to someone telling a ghost story. “Oikawa pretends he got confessed to and asks Iwaizumi if he should accept.”
“I literally tried that last month,” Oikawa grumbled, crossing his arms. “Don’t you have anything more creative in your dumb little book?”
Makki took the notebook back from Mattsun, holding it against his chest. “Don’t you dare disrespect the notebook. Believe in it, and believe in me.”
“Fine.” Oikawa rolled his eyes. “What’s the next one?”
“This one says you’d write ‘I love you’ on a piece of paper, trick Iwaizumi into reading it out loud, then thank him for his confession,” Mattsun said in an amused tone, having read from the notebook over Makki’s shoulder. “That does sound like you.”
“No it doesn’t,” Oikawa argued, scooting back to lean against the headboard of the bed. Then he let out a long and disappointed sigh. “Really, Makki. I have no faith at all in this silly notebook of yours. I honestly expected more from you. Where’s your intelligence when I need it?”
Makki slammed the notebook closed and gave Oikawa a sharp look. “If you’re just gonna sass me first thing in the morning, I’m not gonna help you at all.”
Ignoring that threat, Oikawa grabbed the notebook out of Makki’s hands.
Then he started casually flipping through it.
“Don’t be so dramatic, Makki. I’d still like to look at the rest of them. Maybe your blood sugar’s low, so go eat something while I wade through your brain waste.”
With a loud huff, Makki laid back down, pulling the blankets over his head again. “Issei, will you get me some coffee?”
“I’d like mine black,” Oikawa said without looking up. He had found the right section of the notebook, and he started reading it.
Mattsun took a deep breath. “Anything for the two lovely guys that make my life so interesting.”
“If you’re offering, I’d love some breakfast,” Oikawa remarked as he skimmed over a few pages of the notebook.
“Me too, please,” came Makki’s voice from under the covers.
Mattsun stood up and walked towards the bedroom door. “This isn’t even my house, but sure, I’ll make food. Even though I’m a guest.”
“Y’know, my mom said you’re like her second son. She also said she loves having you around,” Makki said as he peeked his head out from under the blanket. “Almost as much as I love you.”
Oikawa glanced at Mattsun and grinned. “Yeah, we all love you. I want extra bacon.”
Mattsun rolled his eyes and left the room, softly closing the door behind himself.
Meanwhile, Makki pinched Oikawa’s arm. “You’d better act more grateful, or I’m not letting you use any of my ideas.”
“I don’t see copyright symbols anywhere,” Oikawa muttered, ignoring the sting of the pinch so that he could focus on reading the page in front of him. “Besides, I think I just found a winner.”
“Do tell,” Makki demanded as he hurried to sit up again.
Oikawa pointed to the tenth idea on the second page. “This one.”
“Ah, I see you’re a man of culture,” Makki said with a smirk. “And I do believe we can make that happen as soon as this evening. That is, if you’re ready for it?”
“I was born ready.” Oikawa had a very determined look in his eyes. “Iwa-chan’s totally gonna confess after this—I know it!”