#(i save individual files bc they corrupt so often/easy)

[incorrectskyrimquotes]

I always double check the golden claw. you know, just in case it's changed in the last 13 years.

[tobiologist]

it’s lonely on jupiter, final chapter

“It isn’t often that someone comes along and surprises Iwaizumi. He’s not easily caught off guard, not at all. Or at least that’s what he likes to think. So, when Oikawa Tooru shows up, a living, breathing oxymoron strutting about on two solid legs, he must admit that he’s a little impressed.”

or: oikawa’s always loved aliens but never thought he’d actually fall in love with one

CHAPTER SUMMARY:  In which the Supervisor has secrets and Iwaizumi makes an offer.

~a week later, aboard the BC Ambition~

The tablet is cool to the touch underneath the Supervisor’s fingers. Metallic and smooth, he brushes his fingers anxiously along the edges, lingering on the rounded corners. Four faces stare back, almost accusingly, from the screen. Two human and two all too familiar.

Harec, that’s the name he adopted for himself. His original name, the one provided at birth, was far too terran for his liking. Anything terran in origin made his skin crawl. The list presented thousands, millions, of names to choose from, and Harec was immediately drawn to the Vulominian section, a culture known for simple yet noble names.

But some people would never know his true name.

>> READ THE REST ON AO3 <<

He’s known for a while now. Longer than he would like to admit. The information is top secret for a reason. If any of the files leaked to the civilian population, riots may break out, chaos, anarchy. Supervisors and other officials are warned from day one about the consequences of leaking anything from the ship’s personal records.  

Harec certainly wasn’t supposed to have glimpsed the files, let alone share the information with anyone. Not that it would be the first government secret he had uncovered over the course of his professional life.

To him, though, it felt like the most important piece of information he’d ever stumbled across.

There are numerous reasons why their people aren’t permitted to know the identity of their parents. Primarily, the familial ties are believed to interfere with work, with the exploration of the universe and expansion of their society. It was decided long before Harec’s birth that the concept of the “family” would die.

Regardless of the process, the true identities of each individual’s biological parents are held in the ship’s records. Only Medics are permitted to access these records, considering their duty to maximize the lifespans of citizens- specifically those with important roles, such as Researchers.

And Harec… he really hadn’t meant to see it.

He’d brought a criminal down to the medical bay for cognitive reformation. Every available Medic was preoccupied at the moment and could care less about Harec’s presence. One of the many screens was used for surveying a patient’s medical records. And it had captured Harec’s attention.

The files were unlocked, open, free to wandering eyes. Names filled the screen, bold black letters practically demanding his focus. Harec couldn’t look away. The damage was already done.

Iwaizumi Hajime was, biologically, his child.

It took every ounce of self-control to drag his eyes away from the screen. Staring didn’t change anything, and neither did averting his gaze, when he finally managed to do so. Harec probably had other children, but Iwaizumi was the only he knew of. And that made a considerable difference.

He’d never been tempted to break the law up until then. The very embodiment of an upstanding Supervisor, Harec was far too influential to let the news affect him. It didn’t stop the slew of ideas, though, that flooded his mind. Of families he’d met on other planets, images from Earth, and each hurt more than the last. If things were different…

Harec quickly shook these thoughts and acted as he should: like nothing had changed. Iwaizumi Hajime would be alright on his own. He had a normal Mentor, and, as he grew older, big aspirations and the sort of drive that would surely shape him into an upstanding citizen.

Then, everything went wrong.

Daichi Sawamura was more corrupt than anyone could have ever imagined. And he dragged poor Iwaizumi down with him

Once Harec heard of Daichi’s past shortcomings and the controversy surrounding his relationship with Ikejiri Hayato, he made a decision. He and Daichi would never get along. However, Harec wouldn’t allow emotions to cloud his better judgment and worked to convince everyone his distaste for Daichi stemmed from past mishaps rather than his own jealousy and rage.

Harec also made another decision. It wasn’t easy, but it would save Iwaizumi a great deal of trouble in the long run. Harec had always preferred an… aesthetically pleasing form. He enjoyed looking in the mirror, peering into round, bright eyes, fingers smoothing over soft skin and a sharp jawline akin to that of a terran “movie star.”

Iwaizumi would never care about Harec.

Harec would always despise Daichi for having Iwaizumi so close and choosing to ruin him. And, with the way Iwaizumi watched Daichi with starry-eyed admiration, it was impossible to imagine him liking anyone who wronged his beloved Mentor.

The realization sunk like a lead weight to the bottom of Harec’s gut. From that day forward, he chose a different form specifically for interactions with Daichi and Iwaizumi. The Nameerans were not known for their beauty. Many species found them to be unsightly, including Harec. With scaly skin, clinging to nearly visible bone, and thin pupils, grotesque rows of fangs, they were notorious for intimidating other species throughout the universe. Which was exactly what Harec wanted.

Iwaizumi grew to hate him nearly as much as Harec hated Daichi.

And then, just like that, Iwaizumi’s life was at stake. For the sake of a human, of all things. Harec wouldn’t have it. Iwaizumi may have made poor decisions, but he was Harec’s child. Emotions that had long lied dormant inside his chest came bursting to the surface.

Harec wouldn’t let Iwaizumi die.

“Harec Erusha,” a voice recites, from the opposite end of the room. The sharp tone drags Harec from his musings. “Supervisor #1222. Tasked with the reprimanding of Iwaizumi Hajime and Mentor, Daichi Sawamura.”

“Present. And, yes, the details provided are correct,” Harec mumbles. Golden strands of hair brush his forehead, and Harec flinches. It’s been ages; he isn’t used to this form anymore.

“It seems as if their chips have been disconnected from the mainframe.” A faint scratching sound fills the room as the Supervisor slides into the seat across from Harec. “We no longer have access to their location, health... “

“The chips were disengaged,” Harec answers bluntly.

His fellow Supervisor smirks. The tips of her pointed ears twitch ever so slightly, nearly translucent blue eyes focusing on Harec. “Disengaged?”

“I believe you know what I mean.” The words burn, almost as much as the thought of never seeing Iwaizumi again. Harec moves his hands from the tablet to his lap, fingers clenching into the spotless fabric of his pants.

“You dispatched of them completely. Yes?”

Harec swallows down the sudden lump in his throat. He can do this. For Iwaizumi, he will do this.

“Of course.”

“Good,” the Supervisor replies. They adjust the tablet on their side of the table, scrolling through what can only be Iwaizumi and Daichi’s mission logs. “Based on their crimes, both would have been hung once returned to the ship.”

Iwaizumi, presented before a crowd of professionals, crimes rattled off as the gathered officials proved their “point.” Iwaizumi, lying cold and unresponsive on a white, floating stretcher following the hanging. The mental picture makes Harec flinch.

“Most certainly,” Harec reaffirms. “Crimes of that severity need to be punished. And-” Harec nearly chokes on the rest of his statement- “handled publically.”

The Supervisor nods, lime green wisps of hair falling in front of her eyes. Purples flicker around her irises. “I am glad you understand, Harec. An official of your standing knows how to handle these cases- I trust that.”

“And I am honored you do.”

Distaste colors his words, as much as he tries to hide it, but the Supervisor simply grins.

“You will be rewarded greatly for your work, Harec Erusha.”

--

 “Unbelievable,” Kuroo grumbles, glaring at the globs of chocolate on his jeans.

Iwaizumi huffs out a little laugh and watches, amused, as Kenma quietly grabs a napkin and wipes the mess away. Bokuto, at his other side, is laughing so hard that tears are streaming down his face. Akaashi rolls his eyes and grudgingly offers Kuroo his stick, mostly charred marshmallow still clinging to the tip.

It’s been about two weeks since the Supervisor offered his ultimatum and, for some strange reason, let them live.

Once Iwaizumi recovered from his injuries, he returned to volleyball practice- even if Oikawa was the only one who considered Iwaizumi “injured.” It was difficult, to say the least, with the season swiftly approaching. Takeda refused to cut any corners; he was there to win. Even if that meant working Iwaizumi to the bone. He and Oikawa were at the gym most nights, practicing extra, to account for the time Iwaizumi lost while away.

Fun times, really.

Having Oikawa there with him along the way, however, made the situation a lot more tolerable. For every minute of training, for every hour of laboring through new homework assignments, there was another spent at Oikawa’s side. Whether it be curled up in in bed watching a movie or eating questionable food at the cafeteria, Iwaizumi was more than happy to carry on as long as he had Oikawa.

In the midst of Iwaizumi’s readjustment, Daichi helped Sugawara through his recovery. He thankfully hadn’t had to stay in the hospital for long. Once he was released, Sugawara returned to his apartment. Daichi begged to visit more often to keep an eye on him, to make sure he didn’t push himself too hard.

For the most part, Sugawara followed the doctor’s orders. Iwaizumi overheard several phone conversations between the two, though, and could tell Daichi was driving Sugawara up a wall.  Typical Daichi. He used to be the same way about Iwaizumi whenever he got sick or injured himself in a sparring match.

Of course, Daichi insists he’ll give Sugawara space after the first couple weeks he’s home; Iwaizumi isn’t so sure it’ll turn out that way.

Earlier today, Kuroo had called Iwaizumi and asked if he and Oikawa wanted to join the team for a campfire. Roasting marshmallows was apparently a favorite of… well, basically everyone. The team hadn’t had much free time lately, what with trying to reacquaint Iwaizumi with volleyball.

Plus, Iwaizumi worries about Kuroo. Alien kidnappings certainly aren’t common occurrences. It isn’t every day that a human gets taken by another galactic species. And no, the handful of legitimate “probing” cases don’t count. Worse still, the Supervisor had actually struck Kuroo. The cuts even warranted a few stitches, once Kuroo finally visited the doctor at Oikawa’s demand.

“Really, I’m fine,” Kuroo urged. “You’ve asked me, like, a million times already. Sure, it was rough, but it could’ve been worse, you know? Besides, people dig scars. If I’m lucky enough to have any.”

Well, he was right about that much. Not the scars part, of course. Iwaizumi rolled his eyes when Kuroo made that comment.

Iwaizumi hadn’t pushed the matter any further after that. He agreed to grab Oikawa and meet the rest of the team at the park later that evening. But then the call got a bit... weird.

“Also,” Kuroo cut in, moments before ending the call, “You should bring your… well, whatever he is to you. The other-” he lowered his voice- “alien dude that was with you? The normal one. What was his name?”

Iwaizumi balked. “Daichi…?”

“Yeah! Yeah, I’m sure he’s been having a rough time lately with all that crazy bullshit that went down. He can come, too. If he wants.”

It was a strange request, but Kuroo probably had a good point. Daichi had been constantly on edge and needed something to help return at least some semblance of normalcy to his life. To Iwaizumi’s relief, Daichi agreed to come along, with Sugawara in tow. Initially, he was just as confused as Iwaizumi had been when Kuroo offered. But once he mentioned “s’mores” and “campfires,” Daichi’s curiosity got the better of him.

And that’s how they found themselves here, sitting under the stars, gathered around the flickering flames of a campfire.

“Iwa-chan,” Oikawa singsongs. “Do you want another marshmallow?” He scoots closer on their blanket, the same navy blue one from their nights of “UFO hunting.” Decked out in an oversized NASA sweatshirt and jeans, eyes framed by dark-rimmed glasses, Oikawa looks… dammit, why does he have to be so cute? Iwaizumi curses his flushed cheeks.

“I- um…”

“Quick, before Mori-chan finishes off the rest of the bag.” Oikawa takes the stick from Iwaizumi’s hands and spears a sizable marshmallow on the opposite end. Yaku flashes a dangerous smirk at Iwaizumi through the haze of smoke. “That’s the face of evil. Kind of demonic. Look, he’s over there plotting!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Yaku scoffs. He lifts the stick to his mouth and slides two marshmallows off, cramming them between a couple graham crackers and- wow, that’s a lot of chocolate. “I’m just over here trying to enjoy myself.”

“Leave some for the rest of us,” Bokuto butts in, pointing an accusing finger in Yaku’s direction. “And don’t waste the chocolate like that, holy shit. You really are hiding a black hole in that stomach of yours.”

“Yaku-san knows what he’s doing.” Lev crams a graham cracker in his mouth, chewing around his words. “Just let him be.”

“Yeah, I mean, he has the right idea,” Hinata chimes in. He draws his stick away from the flames, squinting at the now black, charred globs at the tip.

“Idiot.” Kageyama reaches over and carefully removes both globs. He motions for Hinata to come closer, popping one in Hinata’s mouth before eating the other. Wide grins split their faces as they savor the sugary flavor.

“Speak for yourself.” Kuroo gestures at Kageyama and Hinata, happily chewing away. “You two don’t even make s’mores! You just burn the marshmallows to crisps and inhale them like a couple of heathens!”

“Heathens? Alright, old man,” Bokuto guffaws and, surprisingly enough, Akaashi lowers his head, body shuddering with quiet laughter.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know what he means,” Kenma mumbles. It’s the first time Iwaizumi has seen Kenma really smile. And, of course, it’s when he’s roasting his dork of a boyfriend.

“Why are you all like this?” Kuroo’s lips purse into a pout, and he jams his stick into the ground at his feet. “I’m a cool dude. I don’t deserve this kind of treatment.”

The rest of the team joins in the argument- if it can even be called that. Takeda scoffs loudly and shakes his head. But there’s an unmistakable fondness in his gaze. Daichi and Sugawara can’t help but laugh along with him, and the sight gives Iwaizumi the strongest urge to sidle over and hug them both. Stop that.

“They seem happy,” Oikawa whispers, as if he just read Iwaizumi’s mind.

“Yeah…” Iwaizumi feels a smile play at the corners of his mouth. “Yeah, they really do. I haven’t seen Daichi make faces like that in a while.”

“I’m sure he’s happy when he’s with you, too, Iwa-chan.”

Iwaizumi nods. “True, but that’s… that’s different. Sugawara is different.”

“Like you?”

Iwaizumi startles, caught off guard by the sudden weight against his side. Oikawa curls closer, as if he belongs there, as if he were made to fit in exactly that spot. Together with Iwaizumi.

“What do you mean?” Iwaizumi asks, a little confused.

“I mean,” Oikawa sighs, “that Daichi sees Sugawara like I see you.”

“Like you see-” Iwaizumi tenses, words caught in his throat. Oh.

“For an alien genius, you sure can be dense sometimes, Iwa-chan.”

Oikawa wriggles closer, if at all possible, and Iwaizumi instinctively secures an arm around his middle, holding him in place. It’s not like he’s going anywhere, Iwaizumi notes, a bit deliriously. It’s still hard to wrap his head around the fact Oikawa is there, very much alive, and safe. For the foreseeable future, at least.

“He loves him,” Oikawa continues, resting his head on Iwaizumi’s shoulder. “All you have to do is watch for a couple minutes and it becomes pretty clear how he feels. How both of them feel, really.”

“It’s nice to see.”

“Mhm.”

Silence falls over the two. As they watch, Sugawara leans over to whisper in Daichi’s ear. A faint red dusts his cheeks, and Iwaizumi barely stifles a laugh as Daichi awkwardly stammers around a response Iwaizumi can’t hear from this distance. The two calmly climb to their feet, a movement that goes unnoticed by the rest of the group, and shuffle off together, out of sight. Ah, Daichi…

For a second, Iwaizumi closes his eyes, savoring the tranquility of their current situation. There’s no imminent danger or worry of being separated. There are no Supervisors waiting on the sidelines, eager to ruin the relationship Oikawa and Iwaizumi have started to build together. There are no chances of his teammates- his friends, if they can be considered that now- getting hurt.

“You know,” Oikawa mumbles, tone gone soft, “I was worried about you, too.”

“Me? I was fine. I knew what I was getting myself into when I went against the officials. Bunch of jackasses...”

“No, no, that’s not what I mean. I wasn’t worried that they would kill you or anything. Iwa-chan is tough and very very-” he punctuates the second “very” with a light jab to Iwaizumi’s thigh- “smart. I was worried… they would take you. Would keep you on that ship and I’d- I’d never be able to see you again.”

Iwaizumi’s heart clenches at the mere mention of being permanently separated from Oikawa. “I never would’ve-”

“I know that now, but, back then, when I didn’t know what had happened to you-” Oikawa takes a stuttering breath. “I wasn’t so sure. We didn’t even exchange proper goodbyes.”

“Well, you never have to worry like that again. I’m staying here with you,” Iwaizumi persists, And, panicking, tacks on a rushed “dumbass” at the end. Smooth, real smooth.

“You better,” Oikawa teases. “Or I’ll have to run to the arms of another subpar Iwa-chan wannabe.”

“Another alien?”

“Of course.” A breeze trickles through, and Oikawa nuzzles against Iwaizumi’s jacket. “Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m practically an alien magnet.”

Iwaizumi wishes he could dispute that fact. No one would pass up the opportunity to study a star trapped in a human being’s body. Iwaizumi knows from firsthand experience. Then, a thought strikes him.

“All jokes aside, would you like to meet other aliens?”

“Is that a rhetorical question?”

“Well, here’s the thing,” Iwaizumi says, unable to keep the excitement from creeping into his voice. “Daichi has a ship stationed on Ganymede. Technically, it’s mine, too, because most Mentor-Researcher pairs- anyway, whatever, the details don’t matter. Transportation chambers are more popular so it’s pretty easy to slip under the radar, undetected, if we travel by ship.”

“Ganymede… that’s one of Jupiter’s moons.” Oikawa narrows his eyes. “How do you plan to get us there?”

“The transportation chamber center there is deserted most of the time. Those assholes don’t care much about Earth. They hardly monitor teleportation traffic in this solar system, especially since every center has to stay hidden.”

“Iwa-chan…”

“Yeah, I know it’s a lot to process but- think about it. Just the four of us. Daichi, Sugawara, you, me,” Iwaizumi insists, “You would love it. There are so many places I want to take you. You wouldn’t believe some of the shit that’s out there. The ice volcanoes on Slyke, the walking trees on Peclade, the-”

Suddenly, there are fingers buried in Iwaizumi’s hair, impatient, and a set of warm lips pressing insistently against his own. Oikawa kisses Iwaizumi like he wants to swallow him whole, like he can’t believe he’s found someone capable of showing him the universe he’s always wanted to see. Which, really, is answer enough.

Even before meeting OIkawa, Iwaizumi had enjoyed exploring the universe. It went with the Researcher job description. But there had always been something… missing. Most missions didn’t include Daichi. And, considering Iwaizumi couldn’t seem to make friends, it was just him hitching rides on passing transport ships or travelling through teleportation chambers.

Adventures that should have felt extraordinary felt dry, stale… lonely.

He glances around the fire at every person he’s met since setting foot on Earth. Smiles illuminate their faces, dancing flames painting the group in brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows. The heat of the fire permeates Iwaizumi’s jacket in the most pleasant way, a comfortable warmth, and the tastes of chocolate and marshmallow linger on his tongue. Oikawa settles against Iwaizumi’s chest, rambling about the sort of aliens they may encounter on their journey, about the planets and stars they’ll hopefully see from the inside of the ship.

It’s everything.

Regardless of what he’s been through, Iwaizumi has no regrets. He isn’t lonely anymore.