It started with boyish rivalry and mutual respect, in between Iwaizumi's scowl, "Don't pick on my Seeker, Shittykawa," and Nishinoya's challenging grin. "I bet I can catch the Snitch before your Seeker does!"
He could, Oikawa was enough of a fair player to give him that much.
"What if you can't though, Nishinoya-kun? What do I get then?"
"Hhm, I don't know. I'll treat you to Butterbeer or something!"
"Oho? You mean like a date?"
"Lik— whatever, date it is. Loser pays!"
Sometimes, it feels like so much time has passed, and yet so little has changed. At the end of the day, they've just grown. They both wear the colors of the National Quidditch team now, but deep down in their cores, there's still a trace of the Gryffindor Seeker and the Ravenclaw Chaser who were seen bickering and gravitating towards each other like stars at Honeydukes on that one cold day of December.
When the match is over and Nishinoya — carelessly — straight up jumps off his broom to launch himself at Oikawa, the latter takes in the smell of wind mixed with the Seeker's natural scent and endorphins that he has known for years now. It's the same scent that he started to perceive in his Amortentia at some point, along with coconut and freshly baked milk bread. Just like the cracking, boisterous feeling Nishinoya feels exploding in his soul and warming up his booming laugher is still evolving.
It gets stronger every time Oikawa catches him, one arm around his torso and a hand under his thigh, and lets him hug the hell out of him and poke his dimples in front of the jubilant stadium, among the flash of the enchanted fireworks.
"How was that, Tooru?"
Nishinoya is a radiating furnace of adrenaline and raw energy, and he can feel Oikawa's chest rising furiously to steady his racing pulse. His cinnamon eyes are wide and teary, but his voice — if a bit hoarse — is crystal clear even with all the noise surrounding them.
"Kind of incredible, Yuu-chan."
The answer is always the same, just like its meaning: you're impossible and you're mesmerizing and I'm proud of you.
Right there and then, Nishinoya feels it in his core and he just knows, that vibrant emotion has nothing to do with the buzzing Snitch secured in his gloved hand. And so he just embraces it — that uprising euphoria.
Oikawa though it would be easy, "As long as I can see you", he said. But it wasn't.
It is not easy to catch a glimpse of lightning in broad daylight, as infuriating as it is to admit it.
( ...that I originally posted on Twitter in the heat of the moment; sorry I’m not sorry at all. They’re quite a lot, so I’m gonna put them under the cut! As always, don’t like ship? Don’t read. )
They meet when Noya starts university and joins the volleyball team and wow, the sparkles in the first triage!
They kinda knew each other already because they played against each other in middle school and are both incredible players. The good-hearted competition is insane!
Oikawa tends to use the suffix -chan / nicknames even with people he doesn't know all that much. There are exceptions though; Noya is one of them (that's canon).
"OIKAWA-SAN!"
"...Nishinoya-kun, right?"
"Drop the -kun already!" he bluntly cuts him off. Then, in the blink of an eye, the libero's piercing glare shifts and melts into a look of awe and entusiasm. "Your serve was amazing just now! Next time, let me receive it again!"
That guy's impossible so okay, Noya-chan it is! They're teammates anyway and once they hit it off, it's actually endearing!
Started off by accident: it was raining, Oikawa ran into Noya (who didn't have an umbrella) right outside of a restaurant. Might as well dine, right?
Nishinoya hates small talk so awkwardness? Never met her!
Noya calls Oikawa 'Oika-san' at first. Switches to his given name after they start dating.
'Yuu-chan' is meant as a bit of a joke, but then it starts to hold more affection than what Oikawa would like to admit.
They don't use pet names all that often.
Usually, when Oikawa doesn't use any kind of honorific it means they're in the middle of something really intimate and important or that he wants Noya to seriously hear him out.
Noya speaks mainly through gestures and is a bit rough around the edges and not really into sappy stuff 'cause he gets flustered but I mean, he doesn't shy away from voicing his own feelings. He calls Oikawa 'babe' when they're being cocky during practice.
Like, they'd be on different sides of the net and then you hear him shout: "Bring it on babe!", and Oikawa, who's about to serve, will answer with a cocked up eyebrow and a sly, "Coming, hot-shot."
Yeah, hot-shot. 'Cause that's how his boy is: hawt.
• They bicker quite a bit (in childish way) and tend to rile each other up, especially on the court.
Given their positions, there's no rivalry between them (...in volleyball, mind ya). There's just a whole lot of admiration.
• Nishinoya's admiration will probably dislocate one of Oikawa's shoulders someday, but heh, love is tough.
And that's another thing: they have each other's back!
Noya's the hot-headed boyfriend who gets all protective, like, "Excuse you?! Got a problem? Come say it to my face, I dare you!"
He will fight anyone if he has to.
...doesn't gloat about it much though; Oikawa's ego is fine as it is.
He's supportive af (hella boisterous too) and always there cheering on Oikawa so fiercely, like, "BREAK A LEG, TOORU!" (pun unintended) or, "That serve was AWESOME!" or, "You're doing great!" [insert powerful slap on the backside]
Can you feel the love? 'Cause I can!
Oikawa, on the other hand, is pretty cheesy an shameless and yes we know your boyfriend he's amazing Shittykawa now shut up.
He knows Noya is admired by many people, and although he thinks he deserves it he also takes pride in being the one who gets the whole package deal.
He's elegantly smug about it, or so he likes to think. The truth is, he's not elegant at all.
They're neither opposites nor complementary, their personalities just mend so well though!
Noya is genuinely supportive and straightforward, Oikawa is reliable and attentive to a fault.
Oikawa gives Noya tips on how to toss better. He has his own way of doing it, but Noya almost never falls for it (also because tbh he often just doesn't get the irony lmao).
So ideally, that's how Watachi usually did it. But then again, compared to him you're quite small, Yuu-chan."
"Hah?! D'you want me to kick you in the shin, Gulliver?"
The height difference is nice, jokes aside. Oikawa says that Noya's attitude could easily be measured as 6'2 and it's true and he finds it adorable and here's another reason why they're pretty physical, ladies and gentlemen.
Leaning against each other on the train because there's so little space and it's convenient? Check!
Hugs from behind? Especially in the morning? Check!
Picking your smol boyfriend up just for the hell of it? Double check!
Please, don’t ever say anything about Nishinoya’s small stature in front of Oikawa; the boy will look at you straight in the eyes and smirk, “Aw, trust me, he’s not as small as you think he is. At all.”
h e h .
They often train together outside of official practices and stuff their mouths afterwards.
Their dates are never boring, even when they just stay in!
Aquarium, roller-skating (Noya teaching Oikawa how not to fall on his ass), mall, planetarium (Noya can't stay quiet though), taking the train to go visit some city for the most varied reasons... anything really.
If they're in the city, Oikawa's the one to guide them (he knows how to read maps). Otherwise it's Noya, who is used to outdoors and has got an incredible internal compass.
Study dates are a thing but they usually take place at the library because Noya is easily distracted and Oikawa finds it cute, sure, but also quite unsettling. Like, he eventually snaps, why doesn't he ever worry? Where are his priorities? Is he even human?
He is, by the way. While not being a genius in school, Noya is pretty self-disciplined and we know he's pretty hard on himself, too. It's just that he balances it all with his attitude.
Oikawa, on the other hand, wants to be as good as he can possibly be and more. He's dedicated, he's pushing forwards to make his talent bloom and that's something that Noya deeply admires about him, even though he thinks (and says) that Oikawa is already talented.
Dates at home include cuddling, movies and TV series, stuff popping out of the oven that looked tasty on the internet, pillow fights, playful wrestling (Noya's fault), shenanigans we're not supposed to know about, conversations of any sort and more cuddling.
They enjoy going out to eat together even if they don't share the exact same taste in food.
Oikawa always manages to snatch one of Nishinoya's egg rolls and get away with it and given that Noya's got a bigger appetite let's be honest: if this isn't love then Idk what is.
Oikawa is one of the few people who can stand talking, eating and watching Nishinoya waving his hands around between a mouthful of food and a sentence (all of this at the same time) without getting a headache.
If you ask him, it's actually cute. Noya's talkative and expressive and he's witty, more mature than it seems and he makes Oikawa feel at ease, comfortable and carefree. Really, look at them and wonder at the high level of dorkiness (I might be making up words now, sorry).
They're both pretty observant and accepting. Oikawa has an analytical and restless mind, there is nothing he doesn't take note of as well as there is not knowing what is going through his head.
Despite all of this, Oikawa knows he has people who he can rely on though, and he actually trusts Nishinoya. The boy's bold and loud and energetic to a fault, but when nobody is looking it's almost scary how piercing and quick those eyes of his are.
The only thing he doesn’t trust Nishinoya with, it’s movies. They have very different preferences. While Oikawa loves sci-fi and films like E.T., Interstellar, Star Wars etc., Nishinoya is into action movies and basically anything that has him screaming his lungs off. Everyone knew Oikawa was serious about them when he came out with, “I found the perfect combination between my excellent taste in movies and, well, yours!”
Ended up being Mars Attacks! lmao.
Sometimes, they watch rom-coms together. Oikawa kinda likes them, Nishinoya doesn’t get the drama but still gets invested in them.
They’re not into the same exact music genre, really, but they once sang Wannabe (Space Girls) in the car. Dorks.
They're a weird mixure of being nosy/pushing and staying out of each other's hair when needed. Especially Noya, who's more independent from this point of view.
But when it's due, there is no escaping his intensively caring side. Oikawa can fight him as much as he wants.
They're both cuddly ~ So very cuddly!
Noya's restlessness made them roll off the couch once and Oikawa is pretty demanding and pouty when he wants to be, but it's really the warmest feeling in the world.
Oikawa's usually the big spoon since Noya's little and as snuggly as a koala(?). And a lot easier to deal with, too!
Reason being his boyfriend's literal softness and sweet scent; cue Noya covering Oikawa in kisses.
They switch though. Like I said, cuddle bugs!
Oikawa has got a bit of a habit of nuzzling Noya's neck when he's the one being held and because of his floofy hair, it always ends up like this: (x).
They do argue from time to time due to their different perspectives, but it never lasts aaaall that much. They're both pretty stubborn though.
The key is communication. In this case, while Oikawa can have difficulties, Nishinoya doesn't, since he's so confrontantional.
This is to say that they're not perfect; they just care enough to be willing to compensate each other and meet in the middle.
Also, they're pretty passionate, if you get my gist!~ (...don't look at me like that, they ain't kids).
Also, hand holding. A whole lot.
Picture these two idiots talking all snuggled up while playing with each other's fingers. You're welcome.
For real though, hands are probably their primary source of PDA.
Oikawa randomly petting Noya's head, Noya poking Oikawa's dimples; you name it!
Next best thing: hugs.
It's flying hugs when it's Noya initiating because he will never stop jumping on people's back. He's a bit more considerate with Oikawa due to his knee.
Nishinoya hugs Oikawa every single morning for 21 seconds straight before jumping out wide awake and full of energy. The shot of oxytocin he gets works wonders far better than coffee.
Speaking of coffee, Oikawa is not a morning person. At all. He’s quite bitchy and needs a lot of time to get ready (and lookable, so he says).
Nishinoya makes coffee for him when he gets up first, but he’s not very good at it since he never drinks it and therefore has never had to make it. He’s improving though, and Oikawa appreciates the effort.
Them icing their own knees late at night; Noya doing his best to massage Oikawa's knee with the essential oils in the gentlest way possible; Oikawa peppering Noya's colored bruises with small kisses.
Oikawa feeling comfortable enough to watch Area 51 documentaries while studying, glasses on and hair mussed, and Nishinoya letting him even though it's his own room because he's smitten and he knows it.
They're both cheesy and will shoot a random pick up line at each other that will result in laugher, sassiness or both. Other than that, they're the opposite of sappy; they're just dorks.
"I asked Kuro-chan to teach me this one!" He's got it written on his hand. "Are you made of copper and tellurium?"
"Of what?"
"Because you're CuTe!"
"...Okay, the one he taught to me is: if I was an enzyme, I'd be DNA helicase so I could unzip your genes."
"Kinky, Yuu-chan.~"
When they're not together (they're one year apart in university after all), they sometimes send a quick text or picture to each other. Just 'cause, you know.
Noya: "Do you think I'm pretty?" Oikawa: "No, you're too short and bossy and your nose is all funny."
( Spoiler alert: Oikawa thinks Nishinoya's the prettiest and he will eventually giggle and tell him so, seeing his adorably outraged face. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talks! )
