Staying The Night

The door to Iwaizumi's childhood bedroom clicked shut, and the heavy, suffocating tension of the dining room was instantly replaced by a sharp, panicked whisper.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Iwaizumi hissed, turning on Oikawa the second they were isolated.

"You were the one who laid down the rules! *'No sharing a bed, Iwaizumi!'* Remember that?!"

"Keep your voice down!" Oikawa panicked, throwing his hands up and shoving Iwaizumi back slightly. "And stop talking about the plan, your parents are probably pressing their ears against the drywall right now!"

Oikawa slumped against the edge of the mattress, letting out a long, exhausted breath. The perfect, polished composure he had maintained all through dinner completely evaporated, leaving him looking thoroughly drained.

"Besides, what was I supposed to do? Your mom was dangling that trap right in front of my face. If I had hesitated or asked for a futon on the floor, she would have known we were faking it before the night even ended."

Iwaizumi scoffed, though he knew Oikawa was irritatingly correct. His mother hadn't been offering hospitality; she had been testing their boundaries.

"Whatever," Iwaizumi muttered, walking over to his closet. He yanked open the door and pulled out a heavy green futon mattress and a stack of spare blankets. "You take the bed. I'm sleeping on the floor."

Oikawa watched in silence as Iwaizumi aggressively unrolled the futon right next to the bedframe, smoothing out the blankets with rough, practiced movements.

"Iwa-chan," Oikawa started, using his nickname again, his voice dropping its usual teasing edge. "What if she comes in?"

Iwaizumi paused, kneeling on the floor. He looked up, his brow furrowing. "Why would she come in? The door is closed and stop using that lame ass nickname!"

"Because she's *suspicious*," Oikawa reasoned, leaning forward and gesturing between the bed and the floor.

"Think about it. She already thinks you brought me here as a prank or a rebellion. If she decides to play the 'doting mother' and brings up extra towels, or fresh water, or just wants to snoop, and she catches the 'happy couple' sleeping three feet apart on separate levels? We're dead. The whole lie collapses."

Iwaizumi stared at the makeshift bed on the floor, then up at Oikawa. The logic was airtight, but the reality of it made his stomach do a weird, uncomfortable flip. "I am not sleeping in the same bed as you, Oikawa."

"Oh, please, like I'm thrilled about the prospect of sharing sheets with a grumpy brute like you!" Oikawa huffed, crossing his arms and turning his nose up.

"But we have to be strategic. If she opens that door, we need to look believable."

Before Iwaizumi could argue further, a light, distinct *tap-tap-tap* echoed against the wooden bedroom door. Both of their hearts stopped.

"Hajime? Dear?" his mother's voice called out sweetly through the wood. "I brought up some hot barley tea for you and Oikawa-kun before bed." 

Panic erupted in Oikawa's eyes. He scrambled off the mattress, grabbed Iwaizumi by the collar of his shirt, and violently hauled him up from the floor. "Get in!" he whispered frantically.

"Get off me-!"

"Get in the bed, Iwa-chan!" Oikawa shoved Iwaizumi onto the mattress, diving in right after him.

In a chaotic blur of limbs and flying fabric, Oikawa kicked the floor blankets out of sight beneath the bed frame, grabbed the main comforter, and threw it over both of them just as the doorknob began to turn.

By the time the door swung open, the two of them were rigidly frozen under the sheets. Oikawa had instinctively thrown an arm over Iwaizumi's chest, pulling himself flush against Iwaizumi's side, while Iwaizumi lay completely paralyzed, staring at the ceiling like a statue.

His mother stepped into the room, holding a small tray with two steaming cups. Her eyes immediately darted to the bed, taking in the sight of the two of them tangled together.

"Oh," she murmured, her voice a mix of surprise and a faint hint of defeat. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's fine, Mom," Iwaizumi managed to choke out, his voice sounding entirely too strained to be normal. He forced his arm to move, resting it awkwardly over Oikawa's shoulder to sell the act. "Just leave it on the desk."

"Right. Well, sleep well, you two," she said, her sweet smile returning, though it looked a little less confident now. She set the tray down and quietly backed out, clicking the door shut behind her.

For a full thirty seconds, neither of them moved. The room was dead silent save for the sound of their own rapid breathing.

Finally, Iwaizumi let out a breath he felt like he'd been holding for a century. "She's gone," he whispered.

Oikawa didn't move away immediately. He stayed pressed against Iwaizumi's side, his heart hammering against his ribs.

Slowly, a smirk crawled back onto his face, the familiar, playful mask sliding right back into place. "See?" Oikawa murmured, looking up at Iwaizumi through his bangs with a cute, triumphant grin. "Told you she'd come in. You owe me one, boyfriend\~"

Iwaizumi just stared down at him, his arm still wrapped around Oikawa's shoulder, suddenly realizing that surviving the dinner was the easy part, surviving the night in this bed was going to be the real challenge.

"Now get off me before I throw you off," Iwaizumi grumbled, shoving weakly at Oikawa's shoulder.

Oikawa let out a delighted little giggle, thoroughly amused by how easily he could rile up his fake boyfriend, and finally dragged himself away.

.

.

.

The morning sun filtered through the blinds, casting sharp lines of light across the bedroom. Iwaizumi slowly blinked his eyes open, his mind foggy from sleep. He went to stretch, but his right arm felt completely pinned down by a heavy, warm weight.  He looked down, and his brain instantly short-circuited.

Oikawa was completely curled into his side, his face buried against Iwaizumi's chest, snoring softly. But the real horror was Iwaizumi's own left arm, which was wrapped tightly around Oikawa's waist, anchoring the brunette against him. They were full-on cuddling.

Panic and pure adrenaline spiked through Iwaizumi's veins. Without thinking, he violently shoved Oikawa away.

*Thud.*

"Ow! What the hell?!" Oikawa shrieked from the floor. He had rolled clean off the mattress, landing in a tangled heap of limbs and blankets. He scrambled up, rubbing his hip and glaring at Iwaizumi with pure betrayal. "Are you insane?! You almost broke my spine, you brute!"

"You were on top of me!" Iwaizumi snapped, throwing the sheets off his legs and sitting up, his face burning. "And why were you hugging me?!"

"I was asleep!" Oikawa yelled back, tossing his messy hair out of his eyes. "In case you didn't notice, it got freezing in here last night! It was purely survival-based insulation! Besides, your arm was literally glued to my waist, Iwa-chan, so don't act like you weren't an accomplice!"

"Don't call me that," Iwaizumi grumbled, rubbing his face with his hands to hide his embarrassment. "Just... get up. We need to get dressed and get out of here before my parents wake up."

They frantically got ready in a tense, hushed bicker, throwing on their clothes from the day before. Oikawa spent a frantic three minutes trying to tame his wild bedhead in the mirror while Iwaizumi practically paced by the door, clutching his car keys.

"Let's go," Iwaizumi whispered, cracking the door open.

They crept down the stairs, trying to make as little noise as possible, but the moment they reached the bottom step, the smell of sizzling bacon hit them.

"Oh, you're up!" Iwaizumi's mother called out from the kitchen, wiping her hands on an apron as she stepped into the hallway. His father was already sitting at the dining table, reading the morning paper. "Perfect timing. Sit down, I'm making a big breakfast for everyone."

Iwaizumi didn't even pause, marching straight toward the front door. "We can't stay, Mom. Oikawa has a huge study group this morning, and I have to drop him off on campus."

Oikawa blinked, completely caught off guard by the lie, but he quickly flashed a polite, apologetic smile. "Ah, yes! So sorry, Mrs. Iwaizumi! My grades are hanging by a thread, truly. Thank you so much for having me last night, though!"

His parents looked at each other, clearly disappointed but unable to argue with academic responsibility. "Well... alright. Drive safely, Hajime," his mother muttered, watching them with a lingering look of curiosity.

"Bye," Iwaizumi said bluntly, grabbing Oikawa's sleeve and pulling him out the door.

The cool morning air hit them, and Oikawa let out a massive, dramatic sigh of relief as they climbed back into the car. The twenty-minute drive back to Oikawa's apartment was surprisingly quiet, the adrenaline from their frantic escape slowly wearing off.

When Iwaizumi finally pulled up to the curb outside Oikawa's building, he put the car in park but kept the engine running.

Oikawa unbuckled his seatbelt, but hesitated, looking over at Iwaizumi. The playful, dramatic mask was gone, replaced by something a bit more genuine. "Well... we survived your parents."

Iwaizumi rested his wrists on the steering wheel, turning his head to look at him. A small, faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Yeah. We did. My mom actually looked defeated for once."

"See? I told you I'm a fantastic actor," Oikawa chirped, his confident aura instantly returning. He grabbed his bag from the floorboard. "Though I think we need to revise Rule Three. No cuddling."

"Agreed," Iwaizumi deadpanned, though there wasn't any real heat behind it this time. 

Oikawa opened the car door, stepping out onto the pavement. He leaned back in, resting his arms on the window frame, his eyes sparkling with a familiar, teasing light. "I guess this means we're officially the most popular couple at Seirin University on Monday. See you then, boyfriend\~"

Before Iwaizumi could object to the tone, Oikawa shut the door and walked toward his building with a triumphant pep in his step.

Iwaizumi watched him go in the rearview mirror, shaking his head with a quiet sigh. It was a complete disaster of a weekend, and his life was officially complicated, but as he put the car in drive, he realized he wasn't entirely dreading Monday anymore.

End of episode 5.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***