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He pressed the ‘Send’ button at the bottom of the email and a loading bar slowly filled up. He sighed in relief as a prompt popped up, telling him his report was successfully sent. Not that he was worried about sending it late. In fact, he was days early from the due date but Iwaizumi was always a man that preferred getting things done quick so he doesn’t have to worry about them later.
He leaned against his chair and closed his eyes, cherishing the cool air of the AC and the soft cushion of his chair. He lost a few hours of sleep the night before finishing up the report but it was all worth it.
He was about a few minutes in his afternoon snooze when his phone suddenly rang. His right eye peeked at the caller ID displayed on his phone screen. Takeda KARASUNO. His curiosity was captured. Not only this was an extremely rare occasion but what would a volleyball coach call him for?
He promptly answered his phone.
“Hello, this is Iwaizumi.”
“Ah, Iwaizumi-san . I’m Takeda. Karasuno’s volleyball coach. I’m informing you that Tobio passed out during training. He-”
Iwaizumi sprinted out from his chair before Takeda could finish and grabbed his jacket before leaving his office. He quickly informed his personal assistant of his destination and dashed to his car outside the office building.
His son passed out during training.
Iwaizumi reached Karasuno in record time and made his way to the nurses office. He slid open the door to see surprised faces of the whole volleyball team and two men who he assumed were the coaches.
“I’m Iwaizumi. How is my son doing?” He said while panting.
“Tobio is currently resting. The nurse mentioned that he had a fever. We were practicing serves when he suddenly passed out. I did see him sweating more than usual and asked if he was okay. He said he was fine. I should have been more aware of it and I apologize for my negligence.” The small man wearing glasses, Takeda, bowed.
“Please accept our apology. As team captain, I should be more aware of my teammates well being. I am very sorry.” The boy also bowed. The other team members bowed following after saying their apologies.
“It’s alright. Knowing my son, he would never miss a chance to play on the court. He’s stubborn that way.” Iwaizumi jokes. Everyone chuckled at it, agreeing to it.
“Thank you, Takeda-san for informing me and for also looking after Tobio. The whole team as well. I’m sure he will be very grateful to have such a caring team.”
“Ah, it's no problem. Every team member is like family and we will continue to look out for each other. We will leave you and Tobio be, Iwaizumi-san. And I have spoken to the nurse to allow Tobio to rest at home for 2 days.”
“Thank you very much. That is very thoughtful of you. I will take over from here.” Iwaizumi bowed to Takeda.
As everyone said their goodbyes and left the room, Iwaizumi took the empty seat near the bed Tobio was resting on. He had a small scratch on his cheek maybe due to the impact from passing out. Other than that, he looked fine. Iwaizumi placed the back of his hand on his son’s forehead and confirmed his fever.
He let out a sigh he didn’t know he was holding. The parent was glad that he was resting now but he couldn’t help feeling guilty as to not see the symptoms of the fever. Tobio looked fine this morning; eating his breakfast well while they chatted about their plans for the day.
The raven haired man ran his hands down his face and and rested his elbows on his knees. He needed to inform his assistant that he will be taking two days off to take care of Tobio. Before he made the call, he looked over at his son again to see him peacefully sleeping. Iwaizumi smiled fondly and left to make a call.
As he slid open the door, he saw a boy with silver hair sitting on a bench outside. The said boy quickly sat up as he saw the adult.
“Hello, Iwaizumi-san. I’m Sugawara, vice captain of the volleyball team.”
“Hello, Sugawara-kun. What are you doing here? You’re not skipping practice are you?”
“Oh no, sir. I wanted to check up on Tobio. I knew that he didn’t look too peachy during practice and I tried to tell him to rest. But like you said, he’s stubborn that way. I can’t help feeling responsible for not being more assertive to him. I’m very sorry.” Sugawara bowed again.
Tobio has really good friends, Iwaizumi thought.
“It’s alright, Sugawara. Knowing that you and the team have been taking care of him is good enough for me. There’s no need to apologize. I’ll tell him you came by when he wakes up.”
“Th-thank you, Iwaizumi-san. And it’s nice to finally meet you. Tobio talks about you all the time. He said you were the ace for Seijoh’s team during your school days! I see where he gets his strength from.” Sugawara laughed and Iwaizumi can’t help but feel flattered. Tobio actually talking about him to his friends made him slightly blush.
“I’m happy to hear that. It’s nice to meet you too, Sugawara-kun. I’ll take care of things from here. You have a team to manage I assume.”
“Ah, yes. Everyone calls me Suga, sir. Much easier and simpler. I’ll be on my way now. Thank you for your hard work!” Suga bowed one last time before rushing off to practice.
Iwaizumi couldn’t help but smile to himself. Seeing how his son’s friends and teammates care about him makes his heart swell with pride. He’s happy that Tobio finally gets to have the friends he deserved. Iwaizumi also can’t wait to tease Tobio that he talked about him to his friends.
Then Iwaizumi remembered, ah yes need to make a call.
Tobio opened his eyes slowly. He saw the white railing surrounding above him covered with a white sheet. He could feel the soft pillow under his head and the warmth of the blanket on him. Wasn’t I at practice? He turned to see his dad slumped into a chair, snoring lightly as his head leaned on the wall behind him.
Tou-san? Why is he here?
Tobio tried to get up but felt his head started to spin. He let out a groan that seemed to wake his dad up from his slumber.
“Tobio? You’re awake. How are you feeling?” Iwaizumi immediately went to his son’s side of the bed.
“I feel dizzy. What happened? Why are you here, Tou-san?” His head felt heavy. He was about to fall when his dad slowly guided his head back to the pillow. Tobio closed his eyes for a moment to let the dizziness subside. He opened them again to see his dad’s worried face.
“Tou-san what happened?”
Iwaizumi let out a sigh. He reached out to pat Tobio’s head. “Takeda-san called me and said you passed out while training. And you told him you were fine when you were not. I know you love volleyball but you shouldn’t sacrifice your health for it.” Iwaizumi stroked Tobio’s hair while he spoke. The raven haired boy leaning to the touch.
“I- I didn’t want to miss anything in practice.” He said in a small voice, embarrassed of what he did.
The parent chuckled at that. Of course he would. Knowing his son too well, he couldn’t be mad at him.
Tobio loved volleyball ever since he was a kid. They would watch matches together on TV and sometimes Iwaizumi would take him to the stadium to watch it live. He liked seeing players hit the ball over the net and even thought they had superpowers because of how hard they spiked. When he was 5 on Halloween, Tobio insisted to dress up as Vabo-chan. He even started playing in his second year of elementary school when they lived in Tokyo briefly. The boy basically live and breathe volleyball.
“You won’t miss anything. Even if you did, your teammates would tell you and practice with you, right?”
Tobio contemplated on his dad’s words. Realizing he was right, he sunk further into the blanket. Iwaizumi smiled knowing Tobio understood what he said.
“What do you want to eat tonight?” Iwaizumi asked casually. Tobio perked up from his sulking and was visibly thinking.
“Curry.” Of course it’s curry. It’s his favourite.
“We don’t have pork but is beef okay?”
The boy nodded. Iwaizumi could see Tobio when he was 10 years old asking him to watch volleyball with him. Some things just never change and he’s not complaining.
“With egg on top?”
Tobio’s eyes sparkled when his dad mentioned it. He loves it when the curry has an egg on top!
Iwaizumi smiled and hummed. “I’ll make some miso soup for you too. You need something warm in your system. Does that sound okay?”
Tobio nodded quickly.
They spent the night having warm food and warm miso soup. Even though Tobio had a fever, it didn’t slow his appetite down. He finished his beef curry in an instant. His miso soup also gone in seconds. Iwaizumi is amazed how much he eats and is still growing. Setting aside his frustration for almost hitting the 180cm mark in height. His son hit the mark easily.
After dinner both dad and son resided in the living room. Tobio was wrapped in a blanket in a make-shfit bed on the sofa while Iwaizumi sat in a love seat next to it. They decided to watch Monsters Inc which was Tobio’s favourite movie ever since he was a kid. He still has his Sully plush that Iwaizumi gave him for his 10th birthday in his room. Though is missing an arm and an eye, Tobio still kept it on his shelf.
Halfway into the movie Iwaizumi checked on Tobio to find him asleep. He stopped the movie and slowly nudged Tobio awake. They headed upstairs to properly put Tobio to bed. As Iwaizumi tucked his son to bed he ruffled his hair like he was a kid again. Tobio never pushed away so he assumed he likes it. He kissed his head and whispered goodnight. Iwaizumi was about to leave the room when Tobio softly spoke up.
“I’m sorry for worrying you, Tou-san.”
“Don’t worry about it, Tobio. It’s a parents job to worry. Not that I’m encouraging you to keep doing it but maybe not so often. Spare me and my old heart.”
He could hear a soft snort coming from the teen.
“Goodnight, Tobio.”
“Goodnight, Tou-san.”