Chapter Text
From an early age, Oikawa Tooru was always like the sun. Impossibly bright and larger than life, he drew people in like moths to a flame. He always seemed to get what he wanted, and he liked it that way.
But even still, there are some that are blind to the sun.
If Oikawa was the sun, then Iwaizumi Hajime was the dark side of the moon. Quieter and harder to impress, he was the exception to Oikawa’s charms, and it only served to draw Oikawa to him. The two young boys became fast friends from the moment Oikawa moved into the house down the street. As the days passed by, they grew inseparable, and soon it was rare to see them apart.
Each day brought with it a new obstacle, but they always had each other to rely on. In their minds, it was them against the world, and the world had a big challenge to throw their way: school. But with a smile on his face and his best friend by his side, Oikawa knew it would be a breeze.
Predictably, the first term ended in the blink of an eye, and children rushed out in droves, shrieking in delight at the prospect of summer. Strolling home that day, Oikawa clasped his hands behind his back as he walked and hummed happily, with Iwaizumi trudging along by his side.
Turning to look at his friend, Oikawa smiled and asked: “Say, Iwa-chan, what’d you get me for my birthday?”
With a snort, Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue. “Not telling, dummyyyy.”
Oikawa crossed his arms, pouting and attempting to give his best pleading face and whined. “Aw come oooonnn Iwa-chan, why nooooot?”
Iwaizumi glared at him weakly and crossed his own arms in retaliation, huffing and turning his head away. “Because it’s a surprise, dummy! You’ll see it tomorrow, anyways.”
Satisfied for now, Oikawa let the subject drop and went back to humming, moving his arms down to swing them by his sides until they got back to his house.
Oikawa woke up on the day of his birthday with an excited shout, jumping out of bed and rushing down the hall and into the kitchen. His mom watched him enter with a fond smile and turned to him with open arms, ushering him into a hug.
“Happy Birthday, Tooru dear” she said with a warm smile, and Oikawa smiled back happily.
“Thanks mom!” He chirped, and she laughed fondly.
“Your present is over on the couch, you can open it after we eat.”
Sitting up excitedly, he exclaimed “And then Iwa-chan can come over, right?”
Chuckling, she nodded her assent and said “Of course, dear. Now go get your sister, it’s time to eat.”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than he was barrelling down the hall, knocking on his sister’s door and shouting for her to come eat breakfast. As she opened the door and walked past him to get to the kitchen, she ruffled his hair and he squawked indignantly.
“Happy Birthday, Squirt” she laughed, and he followed her into the kitchen, pouting.
“I”m not a Squirt!”
“Whatever you say, munchkin.”
“So mean!” he pouted, and refocused his attention to his food. Eagerly, he proceeded to stuff his mouth with his food, impatient to get through breakfast and to his present.
His mom looked on with a fond smile, gently chiding him “Slow down, Tooru, you’ll make yourself sick and then Hajime won’t be able to come over.”
Eyes bulging, he slowed his pace, and they got through the rest of their meal without incident.
Once the plates were cleared and the dishes were washed, Oikawa finally grabbed his mother’s hand and tugged her impatiently towards the living room, thrumming with excitement. His mind raced with endless possibilities, each more likely than the next. It was going to be a dog, a pony, a sword, or maybe even, dare he think it, a spaceship! He could barely handle the anticipation, and his mother smiled knowingly.
As they finally arrived at the couch, his mother sank into the old rocking chair next to the couch, and motioned at the large present sitting on the couch. With a huge grin and mounting excitement, Oikawa tore into the wrapping paper and gasped softly, turning to his mother with a watery grin.
“So? What do you think, Tooru?” she asked gently, and he launched himself at her, clinging desperately and crying into her shoulder. Chuckling, she gently patted his back and looked at the telescope they had gotten for him, waiting for him to respond.
Pulling away and looking up at her with teary eyes and snot running down his face, he blubbered at her “I love it mom, can I use it tonight?”
Gently rocking him back and forth, she cooed at him “Of course you can, sweetie. Now, why don’t you go wash up, and then we can call to see if Hajime is awake. I’m sure he’ll be eager to see you as well.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
With a clean face and a bright smile, Oikawa greeted his best friend at his front door shortly after opening his present.
“Good moooorning Iwa-chan~” he practically sang, smiling sweetly.
“Morning Oikawa. Happy Birthday” Iwaizumi grinned back at him, and Oikawa tugged him inside.
As Iwaizumi removed his shoes, Oikawa was talking up a storm, eager to bring his friend to the living room to admire his new present. Barely giving him the time to stand up straight, Oikawa tugged him along, bouncing on his heels when they got there.
“Look at that, Iwa-chan! Pretty cool, huh? Mom said we can use it tonight! And we can look at stars and maybe even see a real alien!” he exclaimed, and Iwaizumi looked on, impressed despite himself.
“Yeah, that is pretty cool. You’re not gonna see an alien though, because they’re not real.” he responded easily, and Oikawa crossed his arms.
“They are too, Iwa-chan! I’ll show you tonight, just you wait!”
Laughing, Iwaizumi shook his head. “If you say so, dummy. Come on, let’s go outside. Race ya.” With that, the two boys took off, laughing and shrieking into the long hours of the afternoon.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Late into the night, the two boys were wide awake, having just set up the telescope for their night of stargazing. After sitting through Oikawa’s mother’s warnings, the boys promised to be careful, and they were let loose for an hour.
Laughing, Oikawa rushed over to it and peered through the eyepiece, hoping to see some aliens and prove Iwaizumi wrong about them. Excitedly, he turned towards the other boy and shouted:
“Look, Iwa-chan!! A spaceship! See, I told you they were real, I was right!”
Grumbling to himself, Iwaizumi went over to the telescope and looked through it, quickly facing his best friend once more. “I don’t see a spaceship, dummy.”
Groaning dramatically, Oikawa looked through the eyepiece once more and quickly located the UFO in question, pointing excitedly at it. “Right there, Iwa-chan!! You can’t miss it! Well, you might, because you’re dumb, but it’s so obvious!”
Glaring at Oikawa, Iwaizumi looked through the telescope once more and backed away a second later, turning to his friend with a deadpan expression. “That’s an airplane, dummy. Not a spaceship.”
Faltering, Oikawa looked through the device once more and realized with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that Iwaizumi was right. Sighing, he stepped away from the telescope once more and sank to the ground, hugging his knees and hiding his face.
With a frown tugging at his lips, Iwaizumi sat down on the grass next to his friend and poked his arm. “Hey… Are you alright, Oikawa?”
Arms tightening, Oikawa stubbornly refused to look at his friend, and instead made a gross sniffling sound. Iwaizumi looked on with a twinge of sympathy.
Fidgeting nervously, Iwaizumi suddenly remembered his present for Oikawa. Standing up with a jolt, he exclaimed “I’ll be right back!” and ran into the house to retrieve it.
Cautiously lifting his head, Oikawa sniffled again and watched Iwaizumi run off in curiousity. He returned shortly, and awkwardly thrust a poorly wrapped present in Oikawa’s face.
“Here, I got you something.” he turned his face to the side as he spoke, intent on not making eye contact.
Brightening immediately, Oikawa happily tore into the wrapping paper, and stared at the present in awe. It was a garish bright blue shirt with a bulbous green alien head, with the words “You’re outta this world!” emblazoned upon it in purple.
Smiling, he tackled his friend into a hug and shrieked “I love it Iwa-chan! Thank youuuu!” and proceeded to tug it on over his shirt. Suddenly, he laid down on the grass, tugging Iwaizumi down as well.
“We can watch the stars from here, Iwa-chan!”
“Yeah…” Iwaizumi responded with a tiny smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
Now side-by-side on the grass, the two boys stared up at the stars in quiet awe. As the time passed by, with Oikawa pointing out constellations every so often and Iwaizumi commenting on their names, they both grew more and more drowsy.
A half an hour later, Oikawa’s mother came outside to find them both asleep, grasping onto each others’ hands and snoring lightly, dreaming of stars and planes and aliens.