Chapter Text
Oikawa was defective.
In a world where the mystic - from krakens to pixies - were common it was just as common to be ordinary. But not like Oikawa was.
Born to two extremely powerful mages on the magic council, Oikawa should have excelled in magic, should have radiated it. Instead he couldn’t even use the simplest of spells.
When Oikawa was young, no one thought anything of it. Children often didn’t exhibit any signs of magic until they were older, unless they were of Belluic descent - descended from mystical creatures. Like Iwaizumi.
~~~
Oikawa had known Iwaizumi since they were kids. Iwaizumi and Oikawa’s families were neighbors and so the two boys often found themselves stuck with each other.
Oikawa first met Iwaizumi when he was out in the garden collecting magical plants and herbs for his mom and dad. “You’re never too young to start learning Tooru, Satsuki. You’ll need to be able to identify these immediately one day.” His mom would always say when he or his older sister would start complaining.
He had been searching for wolf’s bane when he heard a loud yell from the other side of the fence that surrounded the backyard of his family’s home. Despite their high status, Oikawa’s parents insisted on living in one of the more rural parts of the capitol city, stating that it would be better for Oikawa to be raised away from most of the commotion that came with having celebrity parents, as well as stating that they didn’t think the inner parts of the capitol were safe to raise a child in.
Oikawa paused mid-step and peered at the fence curiously, watching as a toy soldier came flying over.
“Daiki!” A voice shouted from the other side of the fence followed by a loud laugh - one that definitely couldn’t have come from the original voice; it was too deep.
Oikawa set down the basket he was holding, careful to make sure none of the plants inside moved around. Some of them wouldn’t react well when next to each other and had to be separated by other plants. He walked over to the fence and crouched down to look at the toy soldier that had flown over the fence. The paint was chipped and the plastic looked chewed at in some places, Oikawa wrinkled his nose a little as he noticed that.
Oikawa picked up the toy soldier carefully, knowing that if it was one of his toys he wouldn’t want anyone to damage it, and then started making his way to the gate at the side of the house, intending to go over and return it to his neighbors.
He was met with a boy his age when he opened the gate. A boy with wings. They were big and scaly. Black didn’t seem like the correct color to describe them; they were like an inky night sky.
“What are you doing with that?” The boy’s voice snapped Oikawa’s attention away from the boy’s wings and to his face. The boy glowered down at the hand Oikawa clutched the toy soldier in.
“Oh, is this yours?” Oikawa asked, holding the toy out.
The boy nodded sharply and snatched the toy, examining it carefully to check for damage. Then he glared at Oikawa and snapped, “Don’t touch my stuff.”
Oikawa blinked in shock. “I was just trying to return it. You don’t need to be mean.” He told the boy with a pout and a glower of his own, though Oikawa had more baby fat than the other so he didn’t think it came off nearly as intimidating.
“Yeah, well you shouldn’t touch stuff that doesn’t belong to you!” The other boy retorted.
“Well it ended up on my side of the fence, maybe you should take better care of your stuff!”
The boy growled and suddenly lashed out at Oikawa, leaving scratches on his arm from sharp nails Oikawa hadn’t noticed earlier. Oikawa stumbled back with a small cry of pain and clutched at his arm. Looking down, he noticed blood.
The boy’s eyes widened, seemingly surprised by himself. “Shit! - shit, I’m not supposed to say that. Hey I’m -”
Oikawa cut the boy off by slamming the gate door closed and screaming, “Go away!”
~~~
Later that night, when Oikawa’s wound had been patched up by his mom and they were having dinner there was a knock on the door.
“I’ll get it,” Satsuki said and stood up to go answer it. A minute later she returned. “It’s the neighbors. They said they wanted to talk to you, papa and Tooru, mama.”
Oikawa’s mom stood up and headed for the door, Oikawa’s dad was in the inner part of the capitol for work that night. Oikawa followed after her slowly, thinking back to his encounter with the boy earlier that day.
When Oikawa reached the front door his mom was already talking to the neighbors, and the boy was positioned in between the other two adults.
“Again, we’re so sorry about Hajime. He’s still learning to control his instincts.” The boy’s father apologized.
Oikawa’s mom waved a hand dismissively. “It’s alright, it’s nothing serious. A day with some healing cream on it and it’ll be all healed up.”
“Mom?’Oikawa asked, not quite sure why he was here and wanting to be as far away from the boy as soon as possible.
The neighbors looked down at the boy and the boy’s mom prompted, “Hajime, don’t you have something to say to Tooru?”
The boy looked down at his feet before saying. “‘M sorry about scratching you earlier… but you really shouldn’t touch other people’s stuff.”
Oikawa gaped, that was probably the worst apology he’d ever heard in his young life.
“Hajime,” The boy’s dad warned, deep purple wings flaring a little behind him and the boy shrinked in on himself a little and mumbled something under his breath.
Oikawa sighed, he already knew that that was the best he was going to get from the other boy and his parents had always taught him to be forgiving and kind to people. “It’s fine.” He spoke up, he paused for a minute before declaring, “but you have to help me in the garden tomorrow to make up for it!”
The boy looked up in shock. “What? That’s not fair!”
His parents stopped him with a hand on his shoulder each. “That’s alright with us. Hajime, you don’t have anything to do tomorrow anyway.”
The boy clearly wanted to argue more but relented with a scowl and crossed arms.
Oikawa grinned. “Alright then. See you tomorrow Hajime!”
He bounded back to the dining room to finish his dinner giggling at the indigent “Don’t call me that!” The other boy shouted after him.
He didn’t know that a statement made from a childish want to not do as much work would lead to the creation of a bond that would define him for the rest of his life.
~~~
Oikawa was already at work in the garden when he heard a knock at the gate. He dusted off his hands of the dirt clinging to them and opened the gate to see the boy standing there, hands dug deep into the pockets of his shorts.
“Hey Hajime!” Oikawa greeted cheerfully.
He scowled. “Don’t call me that. Call me Iwaizumi.”
Oikawa thought for a moment. “Iwa-chan it is then!”
“It’s Iwaizumi!” Iwaizumi shouted at his back as Oikawa turned back to the garden. Iwaizumi followed grudgingly.
“So, my mom wants us to do some weeding and also to collect the plants on this list.” Oikawa pointed to a piece of paper he’d put on a small table on the back porch.
Oikawa turned to look at Iwaizumi, his gaze flicking to the boy’s wings. “Are you a demon?” He blurted.
Iwaizumi spluttered. “Wha- No! I’m a dragon!”
Oikawa nodded. “Okay, in that case you don’t need to worry about any plants, I think. Some of these plants are dangerous to demons and other more dark magic based creatures so I wanted to make sure.”
Iwaizumi blinked at the boy’s thought. “Oh, well… thanks for checking, I guess. But don’t just ask people if they’re a demon!” He threw a punch at Oikawa’s arm and the other boy laughed.
“Sorry Iwa-chan!”
“Don’t call me that.”
“I think you owe it to me.” Oikawa lifted the arm that his mother had re-bandaged that morning and put healing cream on.
Iwaizumi groaned. “Fine, but I don’t owe you anything else after this!”
Oikawa nodded. “Fair enough. Let’s get started,”
The two began to garden and spent most of the morning completing the tasks Oikawa’s mom had given and argued about stupid things.
“So you’re a mage right?” Iwaizumi asked at one point.
Oikawa perked up. “Yeah! Well, not yet, I guess. Mom and dad say I’m gonna get my magic when I get older! I’m gonna be the most powerful mage there is, just you wait Iwa-chan! When I’m head of the magic council you’ll be able to say you knew someone super cool.”
Iwaizumi snorted. “Yeah right. I don’t think I’d wanna say I knew you.”
“Why not?” Oikawa squawked.
“You’re a drama queen.”
“Mean Iwa-chan!”
Eventually Oikawa’s mother called them in for lunch and the boys ate before going back to work. Once they were done the two sat on the edge of the porch.
“This was kind of fun, right Iwa-chan?”
Iwaizumi wrinkled his nose. “I guess. The plants smell strong though.”
“What do you mean?” Oikawa tilted his head curiously.
“Dragon’s have a strong sense of smell. These plants are really strong… so are you, you smell just like ‘em.”
“Did you just call me smelly? Mean Iwa-chan!”
Iwaizumi scoffed. “Yeah well, next time we hang out lets go somewhere other than your garden.”
Oikawa blinked at the boy. “Next time?”
Iwaizumi tensed, seeming to realize what he said and he shuffled nervously. “Y-yeah. I mean, if you wanna hang out again… um… Trashykawa!”
“Ah? Even your nicknames are insulting Iwa-chan!” Oikawa complained.
“Shut up!” Iwaizumi snapped and looked away.
Oikawa snickered. “Sure, we can hang out again Iwa-chan. I might just need a big brute like you around until I get my magic. I’m delicate you know.” He raised his injured arm again, as if to prove his point.
Iwaizumi glared at him. “You’re on your own, Trashykawa.”
“Hajime! It’s dinner!” A voice called from over the fence.
Iwaizumi jumped down from the porch and waved at Tooru as he left. “See you tomorrow.”
Oikawa smiled. “Bye Iwa-chan!”
~~~
The two boys continued to hang out, often times they would work in Oikawa’s parents’ garden or explore the woods on the outskirts of the neighborhood. They rarely ever went into other of their houses as both Satsuki and Daiki - Iwaizumi’s older brother - liked to annoy them when they did.
Soon enough they were closer than any of their parents could have expected, though their dynamic never shifted.
Things started to change when school started.
~~~
Oikawa learned he was defective when he was 10.
Every other mage child had started performing basic magic except for him, and many had even advanced in their spell capabilities quickly.
His family remained hopeful, and his teachers tried to encourage him; Overall Oikawa wasn’t too worried about it at first. Even when Iwaizumi started acting out of his usually and stuck closer to Oikawa then before, glaring at people who looked at Oikawa weirdly.
Then he overheard the conversation.
His teacher had sent him to get supplies from the basement and his route led him past a conference room.
“I’m worried,” Oikawa immoderately recognized his mom’s voice and paused, wondering why she was here. He wasn’t supposed to be picked up. “He hasn’t started showing any signs?”
“I’m afraid not.” That was Mr. Kirkland, Oikawa’s spell teacher (the class was mandatory for children of mages, whether they’d presented with magic or not.)
“He could just be a late bloomer. I was,” Oikawa’s mom pointed out hopefully.
Mr. Kirkland sighed. “I’m afraid not, even you had presented magic at this age Mrs. Oikawa. I think it’s time you accepted it and told the boy. He doesn’t have magic. He’s defective.”
Oikawa stumbles back, letting out a small squeak as his back hit the wall behind him.
He felt like the world was tilting around him and he couldn’t breathe. He turned tail and ran before he could hear anything else.
Forgetting about the basement and his class, Oikawa wandered the school, making his way to the back corner of the library where he finally broke.
He curled up in a tight ball on the floor and started to cry. They had to be wrong. They had to be! He… he could do magic. He would do magic!
Except… most mages showed signs of magic by the age of 6, at latest 8. None of his teachers ever said anything, but Oikawa saw them looking at him with pity sometimes.
His family tried to encourage him, but Oikawa had seen the energy dwindle recently, had seen them slowly back off the topic of magic around him. And… and Iwaizumi acted like he was guarding him, protecting him from something.
It seemed everyone knew the truth before he did.
Oikawa Tooru was defective.
The thought made Oikawa sob harder, trying to gulp deep breaths of air in. He didn’t know how long he stayed there before a pair of footsteps approached and familiar wings wrapped around him in an attempt to comfort.
Oikawa allowed himself to be dragged toward his best friend’s chest, where he gripped Iwaizumi’s shirt, allowing the other to run his back and use his wings to shield them from the world.
It wasn’t a position they often found themselves in. It had only happened once or twice before. Once, it had been Iwaizumi who’d needed the comfort of knowing Oikawa was there after sneaking over because of a nightmare. Oikawa never did get the full story on it later.
Iwaizumi said nothing as Oikawa sobbed and sniffles, getting snot and tears on his shirt.
Eventually Oikawa calmed down enough to speak.
“What happened?” Iwaizumi asked. “You never came back to class.”
“I… Iwa— Iwa-chan… I…” Oikawa struggled to explain, to articulate what had upset him.
“Tooru,” Iwaizumi spoke firmly but softly. “I can’t help if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”
“Iwa-Chan I’m… I’m defective! I’m broken!” Oikawa choked out, breaking into more sobs.
Iwaizumi’s grip tightened and he wondered what had happened. How had Oikawa found out? He’d known for a while now, or at least suspected Oikawa couldn’t do magic but he couldn’t bring himself to be the one to crush the light in his best friend’s eyes. Though, nor did he want others to do it.
It hurt to see Oikawa cry like he was and the primal, draconic instincts in Iwaizumi wanted to tear the person who told Oikawa limb from limb.
“Hey,” he said, trying to get Oikawa’s attention. “Hey, Tooru. Tooru.”
The other boy looked at him and Iwaizumi spoke his next words confidently.
“You’re not broken, or defective or whatever other crap you heard. You don’t need magic to be awesome.”
Oikawa sniffled. “But...Iwa-chan…”
“No. No ‘but’s. You’re just fine without magic, and you're still my best friend. Besides, you’re smart. I bet you could learn everything in this place if you wanted to. That would come in handle when you get on the council.”
Iwaizumi ignored the part of himself that told him he shouldn’t give Oikawa hope about the council when in all it’s history only mystical beings had held a seat.
Oikawa sniffled and peered our of Iwaizumi’s protective wing cacoon to the millions of books on the shelves surrounding them. “Yeah,” he muttered, “I bet they are pretty helpful.”
There was still sorrow in his voice, but he wasn’t going to break down and Iwaizumi allowed himself to relax a bit at being able to do that much.
The two sat together in companionable silence for a while more.
“Iwa-Chan admitted I’m awesome~!” Oikawa finally broke it in a sing-song voice still a little hoarse from his crying.
Iwaizumi flushed, “I did not! And come on, we’ve probably missed half of the school day! You’ll never make the council if you skip!”
~~~
They fell into a new routine after that. During school they would attend classes and eat lunch in the library where Oikawa would pour over books on all kinds of myths and magic creatures, Belluic and non-Belluic.
On the weekends they would do what they usually did, hangout in the Oikawa garden or explore. Though Iwaizumi did find himself having to drag Oikawa out of the town library often, the time getting increasingly later as they grew older.
And if Iwaizumi ever noticed the various spell books that would find their way into Oikawa’s reading, he never said anything.