Chapter Text
It was past noon on a clear summer day. The temperature was steadily climbing and the air was humid—it was not pleasant weather to be out in. Oikawa and his nephew had just arrived in the parking lot in front of a ranger station, which was the closest place to park with access to the trail they would be hiking.
Oikawa was wondering for the fifth time since waking up that morning, what exactly had made him agree to go on a hike up one of the steepest mountains in the area. He wiped a bead of sweat off his brow and frowned, unable to believe how sweaty he already was—they hadn’t even left the parking lot yet. He sighed as he knelt down and dug through his backback to get the sunscreen, feeling sure he had put some in there the night before when preparing for today’s trip.
The sunscreen was found underneath layers of snacks, water bottles, a map, and everything else he had packed. He was thankful that it hadn’t leaked from being under the rest of the contents of his pack.
Oikawa’s seven year old nephew, Takeru, was standing beside him. Takeru was the reason for this hike—it had been the boy’s idea.
He put a generous amount of sunscreen on both himself and his nephew. Once he felt he had sufficiently protected them from the hot sun with thick layers of the white lotion, he repacked everything into his backpack and then hoisted it up onto his shoulders.
“The sooner we go up, the sooner we can come back down. Let’s get to it, Take-chan!” Oikawa said in a sing-song voice, trying to force excitement into his words.
“Do you think we’ll make it to the top?” Takeru asked while bouncing on his heels.
Oikawa’s mind produced a horrifying image: he was covered in sweat and sitting on a rock directly under the sun while Takeru ran circles around him. The prospect of that did not please him. “We’ll see how we feel as we go,” he replied dryly.
It’s not that Oikawa didn’t like exercise. He made it to the gym very regularly, and he tried to play volleyball whenever he could. However, his knee injury from his high school volleyball days still bothered him. When the pain that worsened with strenuous use wasn’t from volleyball, or within an air conditioned gym building, it was hard to feel any enjoyment over the insistent ache of his knee.
Yet there he was, beginning a hike up a steep trail under the hot sun. He had a frequent tendency to give in to his nephew’s whims; climbing this mountain was the most recent example of that. Perhaps the blame could be placed on the guilt of having much less time to spend with his nephew, since he had moved away after getting a new job.
While Oikawa enjoyed the challenge of his career, it left him with much less time to spend with his relatives that now lived several hours away. Visiting them would require setting aside a whole day.
Oikawa’s sister would be picking Takeru up that evening—the boy had spent a three day weekend with his uncle. Oikawa had not been able to get out of a work deadline, and it had made him miss Takeru’s birthday party two weeks earlier. So he had planned a fun weekend together to make it up to his favorite, and only, nephew. He even let the boy pick most of the activities.
But he hadn’t expected hiking to be one of them.
The two of them went up the trail and walked along steadily for about forty-five minutes. Oikawa was moving along slowly while Takeru repeatedly zipped ahead and then raced back down the trail. After Takeru had a couple close shaves with almost bumping into other hikers, Oikawa insisted that the boy stick by his side as they looked for a good resting spot along the trail.
He glanced down at Takeru, mentally noting that his nephew’s head came up to about his waist. It didn’t seem so long ago that he was holding Takeru’s hands as the boy was learning to take his first steps. Where had the time gone?
They came to a wider part of the trail that flattened out into a small rest area, where there were some benches against the steep mountain wall. A wonderful view of the vast forest below could be seen from the guard rails that ran along the edge of the trail there. The guard rails were panels of black bars—extra tall ones ran along the entire ledge of the vista point. They prevented people from coming too close to the edge of the cliff that the vista point was located on.
Takeru was pressed against that railing while marveling at how high up they were.
“Come have a snack and some water, Take-chan,” Oikawa called from where he sat heavily on one of the benches.
His knee was already protesting painfully at being overused, so he decided that he would have to convince Takeru that they should head back down the mountain after their snack break.
But considering how Takeru’s legs were bouncing even after the boy came and sat beside him, Oikawa felt sure that there would be some argument about turning back. His nephew would probably insist on climbing higher up—to the top. He knew he might need to offer the boy an incentive, like the promise of ice cream on the way home. It was a bribe that he was more than willing to make.
Takeru hungrily wolfed down his refreshments. Oikawa had built up an appetite as well, and worked on eating some trail mix that he had made—it had white chocolate chips, cashews, cranberries, and almonds. He had also packed some unsweetened green tea for himself and some homemade lemonade for his nephew.
There had been very few hikers out so far. Oikawa had seen none aside from the two different couples that Takeru had almost ran into earlier. It’s not surprising that no one else wants to come up here this late in the day, he thought to himself. It was so terribly warm out, and he had worked up a good sweat.
He subtly sniffed at himself, and was relieved that he mostly just smelled like his body spray. He liked to always be prepared to make the best first impression possible—one could never know when they’d be meeting new people, after all.
Oikawa started to feel more energized once he’d finished his snack; his knee was in no less pain though. While he started to mentally prepare himself for convincing Takeru to head back down the mountain, a man in a park ranger uniform came walking down the path from further up.
Oikawa noticed the park ranger and looked over; he quickly took in the sight of the man’s tan skin, dark spikey hair, and serious expression. A little smirk crossed Oikawa’s lips as he studied the stranger. The park ranger was well built and muscular—everything about him seemed quite fitting for someone who probably spends a lot of time hiking around outdoors.
And best of all, the man was practically eye candy. The park ranger uniform reminded Oikawa of the outfit worn by Dwayne Johnson in the Jumanji remake. He let out a very quiet hum of appreciation while letting his eyes linger on the stranger.
Meanwhile, the park ranger looked at Oikawa. He seemed to notice that he was being checked out, since Oikawa wasn’t being subtle with his staring. His eyes briefly looked down at Oikawa’s knee, where there was a lightweight knee brace.
Suddenly, a loud sound stole the park ranger’s attention. He looked to where Takeru was yelling into the big blue sky while leaning against a guard rail. The boy had his arms spread up and out. Various animal noises and shouts were coming from Takeru, and the boy seemed quite pleased with the way the sounds carried across the valley below. The man smiled at the boy’s youthful enthusiasm.
The park ranger then connected the energetic boy to the hiker who was obviously in pain. “Are you and your son alright, sir? Seems like your knee may be giving you trouble,” he said while nodding towards Oikawa.
Oikawa snapped out of what had become embarrassingly obvious ogling. “My... son? Oh no, that’s my sister’s kid. I’ll have you know that I have no children, nor am I married, nor in a relationship,” he said on impulse, giving a flirty smile while he was at it.
The park ranger stared at Oikawa, looking almost amused. A faint grin was playing on his lips and his cheeks became slightly flushed; it wasn’t clear whether the blush was from Oikawa’s comment or from the heat of the air.
“My name’s Oikawa Tooru, and that’s my nephew Takeru,” Oikawa said with a charming tilt of his head. He hadn’t expected to meet such an attractive man while out hiking, and wished he wasn’t wearing such drab clothing—he was dressed in cargo shorts, a worn out shirt, and clunky hiking boots.
“I’m Iwaizumi Hajime, a park ranger here. Excuse my mistake about your nephew... he certainly looks like you,” Iwaizumi remarked as he glanced between Oikawa and Takeru.
Oikawa laughed lightheartedly. “Ah... well, it’s lucky for him that he takes after my looks. My sister married a very plain man—and all the best family features skipped over her and came straight to me. People can hardly tell that she and I are related. So, Iwa-chan, how do you like being a park ranger? I’m sure you see some interesting things.”
Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment on the nickname. “I’ve certainly seen some interesting people. Are you going to be able to walk with your knee like that?”
Oikawa thought there was a pointed way that Iwaizumi had just looked at him. He felt himself blush slightly, since he assumed that the man was attempting to flirt. “I’ll be fine—it’s just an old injury. But I do appreciate your concern! However... if you’re offering a piggyback ride down the mountain, I’d have a hard time refusing.”
Iwaizumi huffed a short laugh at that. “I doubt that I could carry you very far, Shittykawa.”
“Shittykawa? What kind of nickname is that?!” Oikawa asked with a pout.
“Well it’s not any worse than the nickname that you just gave me,” Iwaizumi teased. “I could radio in for some crutches, if you want. Our medic would probably bring them up here.”
Oikawa flipped his hair as much as he could with how his sweat was making it stick to his forehead. “My nickname for you is adorable! I don’t appreciate the one you picked for me. And I don’t need crutches.”
“You’re the stubborn type, aren’t you?” Iwaizumi asked with an amused grin.
Oikawa gave a smirk. “Maybe I am.”
There was a brief silence as Oikawa felt himself growing more curious about the handsome park ranger. He didn’t want the conversation to stop yet, and he’d like to get the man’s phone number by the end of it. “So, do you ever work out here at night, Iwa-chan? I bet the sky looks beautiful when it’s dark here.”
Iwaizumi grinned openly at that, and his eyes seemed to twinkle a bit. “The stars are pretty amazing from here. You’d never see anything like it in the city. Y’know, you can actually book a night tour through the ranger station. I host those once a week. It’s something that everyone should do at least once in their lifetime.”
A sudden scream drew both of their attention to where Takeru had just been playing. Only, the scene was drastically different than it had been a few moments earlier. One panel of guard railing lay bent over flat, and Takeru had been flipped over the ledge along with it. The boy was hanging onto one of the bars of the broken guard rail with white knuckles as his body dangled over the steep drop.
Intense fear and adrenaline hit both Oikawa and Iwaizumi; they snapped into action at the same time.
Oikawa jumped up and tried to run towards his nephew. But he felt something in his knee pop painfully as a result of the careless shift of his weight, so he grimaced in pain and fell down in the middle of the path.
Iwaizumi, who was closer to the ledge, reached Takeru in two long strides. He grabbed the boy’s wrist securely with one hand. His other reached to grab onto a guard rail that was still stable.
Takeru was screaming in panic. Even though Iwaizumi had a firm grasp on him, the boy’s eyes were locked down at the sheer drop below his feet.
Iwaizumi braced himself and pulled Takeru up in one go. He went flying onto his back, landing on the path right beside Oikawa from the momentum. He had caught Takeru on his chest.
Oikawa scrambled across the ground to close the short distance between them, and then pulled Takeru into his arms. The boy’s screams had turned into shaking sobs. Oikawa himself was on the verge of tears as he struggled to take in what had just happened.
“Well shit,” Iwaizumi gasped as he breathed in and out raggedly. “I’ve never seen anything like that happen before.”
“Take-chan,” Oikawa managed in a whisper. “You’re safe now. It’s okay.”
Takeru pressed his face into his Uncle’s chest as his sobs slowed down.
Oikawa took a few seconds to hold Takeru tightly. He brushed through his nephew’s hair with one of his hands and took several deep, calming breaths. Then he looked over at Iwaizumi and studied the man’s face—he felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude that was overlapping with the attraction he had already been feeling for the man.
A few quiet moments passed.
The adrenaline that was still pumping through Oikawa gave him a flash of impulsivity. “Y’know what... we were planning to get ice cream on our way home. I think it would be appropriate to have you join us, Iwa-chan. What with you being my nephew’s savior and all.”
Takeru, whose crying had dulled to an occasional whimper, perked up immediately at the mention of dessert. “Ice cream!?” The boy turned his head towards Iwaizumi. “And you’re coming too? It was so cool how you pulled me up—you’re just like superman! I’m Takeru, and I just turned seven!”
The boy looked between Oikawa and Iwaizumi with a happy grin. That life threatening ordeal seemed to be forgotten at the mention of getting ice cream; his smile was big and genuine despite the tear tracks on his face.
Iwaizumi cleared his throat. “Nice to meet you, Takeru. I’m Iwaizumi Hajime, and I’m a park ranger. It’s part of my job to make sure things are safe around here. I’d love to join you both for ice cream, but I need to get some of my friends up here to help me fix the broken guard rail. I’ll actually need to stay here until the others can come to help me.”
“You have a cool job,” Takeru said cheerfully. He didn’t seem that upset that Iwaizumi wouldn’t be coming along for the frozen treat.
However, Oikawa was feeling pretty disappointed about it, if he was honest with himself. But he wasn’t giving up on scoring the man’s phone number yet. And when it came down to it, his knee was going to make getting down the mountain a real problem. He frowned slightly at the thought of having to try to use crutches; he was in a pretty significant amount of pain.
Takeru suddenly decided he’d had enough cuddling, so he went to bounce up off of Oikawa’s lap.
“Fuck!” Oikawa hissed as he grabbed at his injured knee. Takeru had just accidentally knocked into it.
“That’s a bad word,” Takeru scolded playfully as he went to jump on and off the nearby benches.
Oikawa glanced down at his knee, then looked up at Iwaizumi. “You’re in luck, Iwa-chan... we wouldn’t mind waiting to go get ice cream until you’re done with work. I’m not going to be able to walk right away, so we’ll just keep you company while you wait for your coworkers. Then maybe I can take you up on that piggyback ride,” he said with a wink as he tried to ignore his pain.
Iwaizumi got up and stood behind Oikawa, then went to help the taller man up by the elbows. “I said I wasn’t piggybacking you down this mountain, Trashykawa. But let’s get you off the ground and over to that bench.”
“I don’t like that nickname either, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa complained, grimacing as he moved to stand. It was a painful few hops over to the bench. Once he was finally seated, he gingerly stretched out his leg. He knew this feeling well—his old injury was inflamed, and the recovery was going to be a huge inconvenience.
“You look like you’re in a lot of pain,” Iwaizumi commented in an almost soft voice.
Oikawa did his best to keep his tone smooth and flirty, though he knew the pain was making him seem more sarcastic than he meant to sound. “You certainly are sweet, Iwa-chan. First you’re Superman for Take-chan, and now you’re worried for my health.”
Iwaizumi let out a huff. “I’m not worried, Crappykawa. You’ll live.”
“Will I though? My chances of survival would go way up if you promise me a piggyback ride,” Oikawa said with a grin. “And I’m starting to think you’re really bad at nicknames.”
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. “I promise I’ll get you down this mountain, but not on my back. I’m going to call my coworkers for some help,” he said as he pulled a radio from his pocket and pressed the speaker button. “This is Iwaizumi... I’ve got a situation.”
A voice came through the radio almost immediately. “Roger that, Iwaizumi. This is Daichi. What’s the problem?”
“I’ve got a hiker with an injury. It’s not life threatening, but he can’t walk. He’s accompanied by a child. We had a guard rail fall over while the child was leaning against it. The child’s safe, and the hiker’s injury is unrelated to that. I need maintenance up here immediately to secure the broken guard rail. I also need a stretcher, and someone to come help me carry the hiker. We’re at the second lookout spot.”
Daichi’s calm voice came back through the radio. “Ushijima, can you get a stretcher up there? Tsukishima, please head up to the second lookout and get the railing secured as soon as you can.”
“This is Tsukishima. I’ll be there shortly to secure the railing.”
“This is Ushijima. I’m currently treating Nishinoya and Tanaka for mild injuries, as they were playing with bear cubs again. I’m unable to bring the stretcher at this time. But Kuroo is here and does not seem to be occupied, so I will send him with the stretcher.”
“Bokuto here! I’ll go with Kuroo! I’ve always wanted to have a hero moment! Is the injured hiker cute?”
“Oh ho ho ho, why do you care if the hiker’s cute? Isn’t there a certain black-haired guy you’ve been crushing on for years?”
“Don’t tell everyone about that, Kuroo!”
“They already know, dude. You’re way too easy to read,” Kuroo replied playfully.
Daichi’s stern voice cut in. “Kuroo, Bokuto, keep this line professional. You all know what you need to do. So get to it.”