deciphered

slow-kyo drifting III

You two continued to drive on the expressway for a bit with Oikawa giving you some pointers on how to handle a manual transmission again. Though after a few minutes of being in the car, you already had a steady momentum going on once you started upshifting the gears. You were casually speeding through intersections and cruising through bridges and traffic, surprising Oikawa on your natural ability to pick back up the skill so quickly.

He reclined back in his seat, watching the sunset drop in the horizon of the Tokyo skyline. It was bright orange shining through the open window of the car, overcasting a golden shadow on the city and the Tokyo Bay. There was a clear road on the bridge you were driving on, so you pressed down on the clutch with your left foot and shifted into fourth gear, accelerating the gas pedal with your right foot to speed up.

"How's the handling of the car?" He turned his head and faced your direction, the orange sunset of the horizon gleaming behind him as the shadow casted in the front of his body.

"It's great," you kept your foot steady on the accelerator, maintaining a safe 80km/h on your speedometer. "Driving this car is a breeze."

"Good, because you're gonna race for me in the next car meet." Oikawa turned his head, darkly chuckling to himself as he ran his fingers through his bangs.

"Now, why would I do that?" you scoffed, shaking your head as the corners of your mouth curled up.

"Because you love me."

"Oh? Now, who said I actually love you?" You teased, furrowing your eyebrows as you chuckled to yourself. Off Shuto expressway five, you descended down a ramp and onto a street connecting through the north of Shinjuku in the same direction to the Seijoh Tune Shop.

A little smirk on his lips formed as he shot his eyes left, tapping his fingers on your thigh as he leaned back in his seat again. "I don't know, you said that right as you were screaming my na—"

"Shut the fuck up and get your hand off my thigh, I'm driving." You snapped, playfully pushing your left hand on his chest and laughing straight at his flirty banter.

Although Oikawa always had that cocky yet cool, calm and collected demeanor, he was always playful and bashful—another facet of his personality uncovered. The complexity of his character intrigued you further the more you began to know the true Tooru Oikawa.

"Oooh, feisty." He muttered, leaving a small pat on your thigh before fully retracting his hand back, crossing his arms over his chest. "You've been hanging out with Leia and Hajime too much. You're picking up their attitude."

"Well, Hajime is my cousin and Leia's my best friend," you smiled, knowing without the both of them in your life, you would have never met Oikawa.

Leia told you that she never really had a best friend growing up due to being kept in isolation 24/7 by her father, Mr. Sakanoshita. He never let her have any friends in fear she would be used as a target for ransom, mentioning that she was in a position of vulnerability because of her father's reputation. Even after she joined the Nekoma Crew, she had trouble making girl friends because most women only befriended her to get close to Kuroo.

That's why when she met you, Leia finally believed she found a true friend—the first person that didn't judge her for her past or her yakuza affiliation, but rather her character. You felt the same; after your university classes started to get rigorous, your innermost circle of friends began to drop lower by the number. Having someone to call your best friend again made you appreciate the little things in life a little more; realizing you can't take precious moments like those for granted.

With Iwaizumi, you were always close with him—no surprise. Back then, you used to pick up on his behavior and little phrases because you admired him a lot. Sometimes people called you two twins, not because of your appearances but because of how similar in personality you two were. It almost felt like your relationship with him was inseparable, that was until the argument between his mom and your dad made it unfortunately impossible.