Chapter Text
The walls were covered in pictures. Iwaizumi tried to limit himself to one picture per dive, but he never passed up an opportunity when he saw something beautiful.
Coral reefs, fish, even just sunlight passing through the water with nothing but an expanse of ocean behind it. Each image was a treasure to him because there was a time in his life when he believed he would never dive again.
But he did. He saw everything that the ocean had to show him, and each day he was excited to discover more.
Iwaizumi walked across the living room toward the front door. He had moved into a smaller beach house, one with just enough room for himself and a small guest room for Kindaichi. It was a house that held him like a hug without any empty space, one that allowed him to bring the best parts of the past with him and leave the rest where it belonged.
Iwaizumi paused by the little table that sat by the door before heading out. He picked up the stuffed animal lionfish that was waiting for him there and hugged it against his chest, the sweet smell of roses washing over him.
Three years later, and the memories of that summer were still vivid in his mind. The good and the bad, the love and the heartbreak.
If he could go back, would he change anything? Would he try to prevent himself from experiencing all that pain?
But to prevent the sadness would be to prevent the happiness that was there as well. To be sheltered from tragedy was to miss the life that surrounded it.
He would live through that summer the same way, over and over. Everything he experienced then was what allowed him to be living like this now.
There were many things to be grateful for, like the new diving school he opened with Kindaichi. Each day, he was ready to greet the kids and help them learn how to dive, no matter what challenges they faced or disabilities they had. He learned from experience that if a person was determined enough, they could do anything, especially if they weren’t doing it alone.
Almost every day after work, he went diving with Kindaichi. He saw breathtaking things that were cradled under the surface of the ocean and added them to his collection of pictures, his heart growing each time.
Despite the losses he had experienced, his heart was still beating.
He could still live.
He could still love.
Even after everything, he stepped outside and let the sunlight shine on his face.
I love you, Oikawa, he thought to himself, a gentle mantra before he went out into the world. I’m ready to see you in every beautiful thing.
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