The Storyteller (Oikawa Tooru x reader)

23. water under the bridge

Another editing session; Oikawa was sat on your bed, reading through the latest draft of your story, while you were absent mindedly chewing on some chocolate. The weather was cold outside, the wind rattling your bedroom window, and the heater in the corner, next to your laundry basket, was turned all the way up, warming your space to a pleasant temperature. 

The sleepy silence was interrupted when Oikawa spoke. "I'm going to Argentina,"

You choked, abruptly. "W-What? Why?!"

"I… got an offer to train to be on the national volleyball team there. I'll be staying in this place called San Juan, it's supposed to be really nice there." Oikawa responded, somewhat hesitantly. 

A huge grin spread across your head, and you side-eyed him playfully. "Didn't I tell you it wasn't the end of the road?" you joked, reaching out to give him a nudge.

"Ew!" he cried out, scrambling away. "Don't touch me with your chocolate covered hands! You're going to get my clothes dirty!"

Your intentions became evil, as you leaned forwards, "They're gonna get you…" you teased, shifting onto the bed, preparing to smudge his white collar shirt.

"Don't you dare!" Oikawa shrieked, before falling off your bed, with a screech.

You melodramatically face planted into the sheets below you, laughing loudly, pounding your fist onto your nearby pillow. "That was fucking hilarious!" you wheezed, as his head popped back into view.

"It wasn't for me!" he retorted, although his lips were curling into a smile.

"Are you even done, though?" you asked, gesturing to the pages scattered on your bed. "I have to hand this in on Friday, and it's literally Sunday."

"You have about 5 days," Oikawa responded, pulling himself upwards, so he could sit next to you.

"And within those 5 days, I won't have anyone to correct my work, will I?" you inquired, with a frustrated scowl, as you gathered up the papers, and started to put them in order.

"Calm down," Oikawa chuckled, placing his head atop of yours, before blinking in surprise. "Your hair is really soft!" he exclaimed, rubbing his cheek on it.

You stiffened, inhaling sharply at his close proximity, then quickly continued with your task. "Uh huh," you stuttered, trying to sound uninterested. 

"Hey, feel mine," he came down to your level, and offered his head to you, like a cat wanting to be petted. 

(God help you. Fuck, anyone help you. This was not ok for your system.)

With shaking hands, you tentatively brushed a finger over his brown curls, before inwardly screaming at how soft they were. "N-Nice texture," you stammered, this time allowing yourself to push your digits deeper into his locks, and rub a little. 

In response, Oikawa let out what almost sounded like a purr, as he sank down to rest his head on your shoulder; "That feels nice…" he slurred, closing his eyes.

You blinked, then kept on doing your previous actions, whilst staring at the story in your other hand for some type of distraction. 

(This was going to kill you. It would. You just knew it, felt it!)

"Your heart is beating pretty fast," he commented quietly, and you stiffened up.

"I-I'm not used to people being in my personal space," you spluttered, quickly pushing your glasses up your nose.

"Hmmm~..." he hummed, the vibrations travelling down your body, causing your muscles to tense.

"So… Argentina," you chuckled awkwardly, looking for a topic of conversation. "Sounds nice. They have some great music there, tangos are fantastic."

"Yeah, I feel kinda lucky," Oikawa confessed. "I don't think I deserve it."

"Shut the fuck up," you replied shortly. "I don't ever want to hear you say that. If you didn't deserve it, they wouldn't have offered you a place."

"You're not wrong," he mumbled, beginning to sound drowsy. "What about you? Where are you gonna go?"

You paused.

Could you tell him? Did you want to tell him?

Well, you didn't have much time left together. It wouldn't hurt to spill the beans about your mother.

"Scotland," you answered slowly, after a while. "Only for a bit though. Only so I can be with my mum until… she's not here anymore."

Oikawa shifted, clearly concerned, and you felt him frown against your skin. "What do you mean?"

You took a deep breath; "My mum… has cancer. She's had it since I was 15. That's why she's not in Japan. She's been living in Scotland for quite some time now. She hasn't got that long left, so… I'm going to go live with her until… you know. Then I'm… I don't know what I'll do after that. I'll probably go to uni in London or something."

It had been difficult to say. It had almost hurt you physically to say it out loud, since in your head, a small part of yourself refused to acknowledge a lot of what was happening. 

Oikawa let out a sigh, before wrapping his arms around your waist, which made you jolt slightly. "All of that bottled up," he murmured. "You can be a bit silly sometimes, (Y/n)-chan."

"Bold of you to assume I don't already know that," you stated as you raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, sure," he mumbled, "whatever helps you sleep at night."

"It does actually."

There was another pause, as you sat there, your body strained to stop itself from shaking, as he held you firmly in his grasp. "I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me that," Oikawa finally spoke. "And although I'll probably never meet her, I'm sure that your mother is an amazing woman."

You squeezed your eyes shut, and your head dropped, to try and hide the fact that you were fighting off tears. "She is," you whispered. "She's absolutely fantastic. And it's not fair that her life has to end so soon."

"I know," Oikawa cooed, moving upwards, so he could cradle you gently, his finger drawing patterns on your arms. "I'm really sorry."

You put a hand across your mouth to muffle your sobs, as you finally lost any type of restraint, and began to cry.

"I'm always here," Oikawa mumbled, "I'll always be here."

(You knew that wouldn't be true in the future, but it was true now, and you'd take that.)