I Won't Give Up | Iwaoi

All My Love

"Woah. What happened to you?"

Iwa winced as Kyotani, or as Oikawa liked to call him, Mad dog, pointed at the captain's leg.

"Ah, Mad dog! Good to see you too!" Oikawa grinned at the second year, who just returned to the team after lots of begging, and shrugged. "Don't worry about my leg. What we should be worried about it introducing you to the first years!"

"No seriously, I want to know. Did you do something stupid or what?"

Shit. This was not going to go well. When Kyotani had previously been on the team, no one liked him because he was a massive jerk. It's nice to see that hasn't changed.

Iwa shot a stern look at the second year and sighed. "What happened doesn't matter. And no, it's not anything that he did. Now show your captain some respect and go meet the first years."

"Fine."

Hanamaki and Matsukawa walked over to Iwa, both wearing frowns.

"I see he's still a brat," Maki muttered.

Matsukawa nodded in agreement. "I don't understand why he doesn't show any respect to Oikawa, but he does to the rest of us third years."

Shrugging, Iwa glanced at the boy. "Probably because Oikawa is too soft in his opinion."

"Huh?"

"Just think about it. Oikawa is always putting other people before himself, and he's nice to the team. He probably thinks that Oikawa doesn't push people enough."

"That's absurd." Hanamaki raised a brow. "Oikawa pushes us more than anyone else I've met. And he pushes himself even further. He's just... Gentle about it."

"Exactly. And our boy Kyotani thinks that you have to earn respect by being loud and rough. The opposite of Oikawa."

Matsukawa laughed. "You just described yourself, Iwa."

"But he does seem to like Iwa best, so it makes sense."

"Both of you shut up."

~

Letting out a sigh, Oikawa ran a hand through his hair. For the fourth time that week, Kyotani was on the verge of fighting with his teammates.

"Mad dog. We talked about this yesterday."

And, for the fourth time, Oikawa was ignored.

"Alright. The rest of you, keep practicing. Kyotani, we are going to talk." The captain grabbed his arms and dragged him to the outside of the gym.

Kyotani glared at him. "What's your problem?"

"My problem is you. I want you on this team, I really do. And believe it or not, so do the others. You are incredibly skilled in volleyball. So why do you find it so hard to work with us? Is it because you think you're better than the rest of us? Or, could it be the opposite? Because if that's the case, then I'm right there with you."

"It's not that."

"Then what is it? Talk to me."

"Does it hurt when you play?"

Well, that wasn't what he meant. But still, Kyotani was talking, so...

"... My leg? Yeah, it does. That's why I don't push myself, and why I'm only on the court for a couple minutes at a time. I'm allowed to play, but if I strain myself I might get hurt again. And since I'd like to play professionally, I'm trying to avoid that."

"You must really like volleyball if you play even when it hurts."

"I do. It's important to me." Oikawa studied the second year. It's true that he'd never exactly been kind or sociable, even when he was a first year, but there was definitely something off about him today.

"Kyotani. What's this about? Because I don't care if you don't respect me, or if you think I'm annoying or whatever. Something is clearly bothering you, so out with it."

"Can we... Go somewhere more private? I don't want anyone else to know."

"Alright. Let's go to the club room."

~

"You are amazing."

"Awe, Iwa... You're not being sarcastic, are you?"

Iwa rolled his eyes, trying and failing to hide a laugh. "No, I'm being genuine. Thirty minutes ago Kyotani looked like he wanted to kill everyone and now he almost looks happy."

Smiling softly, Oikawa layed his head on Iowa's shoulder. "Yeah well, I knew something was wrong. He just needed someone to talk to. I can relate to that."

"Do you think you can't talk to me?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it. Sometimes you just need to talk to someone that you're not close with. Maybe because you don't want to burden the people you care about, or maybe because you're too embarrassed to talk to them. And that's what Mad dog needed. So I listened."

With a small sigh, Iwa stroked Oikawa's hand. "Will he be okay?"

"Oh yeah. He's already a lot better. Don't expect him to be super nice, though. I may have helped make a bad day better, but he is still a grumpy, grumpy boy."

"It's comments like that that make me want to throw a ball at your head."

"Too bad your sympathy over my aching leg led you to sit on this bench, where there are no balls to be thrown."

"You're lucky I love your annoying ass."

Oh, how Oikawa always loved hearing that. Especially on days like today.

"I love you too."