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Bokuto was in the clubroom with Konoha and Sarukui when he heard the news. Komi flew through the door, yelling, “Guess what, guess what, guess what, guess what!”
“No,” Konoha and Sarukui said at the same time.
“Screw you guys. This is big news!” He spread his hands dramatically. “Akaashi has a girlfriend!”
Bokuto snorted. “No, he doesn’t.”
“Uh, yeah, he does. I just saw him getting confessed to behind the gym, and he totally said yes!”
“Wait, seriously?” Konoha said. “By who?”
“A first year. I don’t know her name, but she was pretty cute. Wears glasses.”
“Was it Takahashi Mitsuko?” Sarukui asked. “Murata Yuko?”
“I said I don’t know. Why do you know so many first-year girls?”
Sarukui snickered. “Research.”
“You’re disgusting,” Konoha said.
“Look, Komi-yan, you must be wrong,” Bokuto said. “Even if Akaashi got confessed to, there’s no way he’d say yes. He’d say” — Bokuto put on a serious voice — “‘I appreciate your feelings, but I’m too busy with volleyball club and being a huge nerd. Please accept my apologies.’”
“Your impression of me is terrible.” Akaashi walked in, setting his bag on the bench. “And I did say yes, actually.”
“What!?”
“Nice, dude,” Konoha said, ignoring Bokuto. “What’s her name?”
“Kazane. Sakai Kazane.”
“Oh, she is cute!” Sarukui said. Konoha punched him in the shoulder.
“But Akaashi,” Bokuto said, “what about— what about all the stuff I said?”
He shrugged. “Kazane is a serious student, too, and she’s a member of the tennis club. We talked about it, and neither of us wants our relationship to get in the way of our other pursuits.”
“But how do you know it won’t? I mean, do you even know her?”
“Not well,” Akaashi said. “But that’s typical of the beginning of a relationship, right?”
“Right,” Bokuto agreed, but the news had made him grumpy. “Damnit, Akaashi, you’re not supposed to get a girlfriend before me!”
“That’s rude of you, Bokuto,” Konoha said, “expecting Akaashi to die alone.”
“Nuh-uh! I’m gonna get a girlfriend really soon!” There was a girl in his class, Nishimura Sakura, who he asked out every month. She always told him to try again next month, but he could tell she was coming around to him.
“Great, then I’m sure you won’t mind me getting a headstart,” Akaashi said.
“I guess.” Bokuto realized, late as usual, that he was being kind of mean. “I’m happy for you,” he said. “As long as she treats you well!”
“If she doesn’t, you’ll be the first to know.”
Bokuto huffed. “It just doesn't seem fair that you got a girlfriend in second year when none of us have had one yet!”
“Uh, excuse me,” Komi said. “I had a girlfriend in middle school.”
“Sure you did,” Konoha said.
“We all definitely believe that,” Sarukui added.
“You guys are dicks,” Komi said.
The team didn’t meet Kazane until a week later, when she stopped by after practice to pick Akaashi up for their second date.
(The first one was a few days earlier. Bokuto had hounded Akaashi for details.
“It was fine,” Akaashi said. The others were heading home; he and Bokuto were staying late for extra practice.
“Only fine? Wow, you must be really bad at it, Akaashi.”
He glared at Bokuto. “It was good. We went to a cafe.” He paused. “It was a little awkward at first, because we were both nervous, but once we started talking, we had a nice time.”
“Did you kiss?” Bokuto asked.
“Not yet.”
“Is it ‘cause you’re worried you’re gonna be bad at it?”
“Do you want to practice by yourself tonight?” Akaashi said. “Because I can leave—”
“No, no, sorry.”)
Kazane appeared in the doorway as they were tearing down the net. Akaashi went to meet her, the rest of them pretending they weren’t staring with varying degrees of success. Bokuto was the most obvious, not bothering to hide that he was sizing her up. He was dying to know what kind of person could melt Akaashi’s icy heart.
As it turned out, it was a short, pretty girl with shoulder-length brown hair and glasses. Her uniform was neat and unwrinkled like Akaashi’s. Despite Bokuto’s jealousy that Akaashi had beaten him to getting a girlfriend, they were cute together. She twirled her hair and laughed at his jokes, which Bokuto had read in one of his sisters’ magazines were good signs.
Akaashi brought her over to meet the team. She had gone to middle school with Onaga, but everyone else was new to her. Bokuto, who was folding the net, was last in line.
He grinned, waiting for his introduction. How would Akaashi describe him? Team captain? Ace? His best friend in the whole world?
“This is Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said. “Bokuto-san, this is Kazane.”
Bokuto-san? That was it? “It’s really nice to meet you,” Kazane said.
“Oh, um, you too.” Bokuto couldn’t shake her hand because of the net, and even if he could have, he was worried he might hurt her. She was tiny up close. He opted for a friendly smile.
“I feel like I know you a little already,” she continued. “Keiji talks about you all the time.”
“Not all the time,” Akaashi muttered.
“Oho?” It pleased Bokuto to think of Akaashi telling stories about him. “I hope he says nice things!”
Kazane giggled. “Mostly.”
“Wait, what?” Bokuto’s stomach dropped. “Mostly?” Was Akaashi saying mean things about him behind his back?
“Hey, no,” Akaashi said. “She was kidding. They’ve all been good things.”
“I promise they were!” Kazane sputtered. “I’m so sorry, I was only joking!”
Bokuto flushed. Of course it was a joke; how dumb was he? “Right, I knew that. Of course Akaashi would only say good things about me, ‘cause I’m the best! I’m the best, right, Akaashi?” Bokuto tended to babble when he was embarrassed.
“Yes, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said. But did he mean it? Bokuto wasn’t sure. “Would it be okay if we go now? I’ll do extra cleanup tomorrow.”
“Oh, sure.” Bokuto forced a smile. “Have fun on your date.”
They walked to the door. “It was nice meeting you!” Kazane said again.
“Yeah.” When they were gone, Bokuto let the net fall to the ground.
“Don’t think you’re getting out of cleanup because you made an ass of yourself,” Konoha told him.
Bokuto spent the rest of the night kicking himself and wondering how to act extra-cool the next time he saw Kazane. But he didn’t see her much after that. Akaashi was right; their relationship didn’t affect their regular lives, and that included Akaashi’s friendship with Bokuto.
Everything was fine, until it wasn’t.
The lunch bell rang and Bokuto got his stuff together to go meet Akaashi. They always met outside Akaashi’s classroom, since it was closer to the cafeteria, so Bokuto was surprised to find him waiting right outside the door.
“Hey, hey, hey Akaashi!” Bokuto greeted him. “Couldn’t wait to see me, huh?”
“No,” Akaashi said. Bokuto’s face fell. “I came to ask you something.”
“What?”
“Kazane asked if we could have a lunch date today,” he said quickly. He was messing with his fingers, which meant he was nervous. “She wants to have a picnic since the weather is nice, but we usually eat together, so I wanted to ask you if it was okay. Is it okay?”
“Oh. Um, yeah, I guess.”
“Are you sure? Because I’ll say no, if that’s what you want. I don’t want you to have to eat alone.”
“It’s not like I don’t have other friends,” Bokuto grumbled. He resented that Akaashi thought he’d be alone without him. “Go, have fun.”
“Thank you, Bokuto-san. I’ll be here to eat with you tomorrow, okay?”
“Sure, whatever.” Bokuto couldn’t meet his eye.
“See you at practice.” Bokuto watched him go, then headed downstairs to buy lunch.
It was true Bokuto had other friends, but the thing was, he always ate with Akaashi. He tried to remember, standing in the cafeteria line, who he had eaten with in first year. Sometimes he went to Komi and Saru’s class, and there was a group of guys from the basketball team in his own class that he’d hung out with. He hadn’t talked to them in a while, though.
An idea occurred to him: Nishimura Sakura! He could ask her out again, and they could have a lunch date of their own! Excited, he carried his sandwich back to his classroom, taking the stairs two at a time.
“Sakura-chan!” Damnit, he’d said it too loud, and now everyone was staring. “Wanna go out with me?”
She didn’t look up. “It’s only been three weeks since the last time you asked, Bokuto-kun.”
“No!!! The last time I asked was on March twenty-third, and now it’s April twenty-first! Which isn’t a whole month,” Bokuto realized. “But it’s a long time!”
“I guess.”
“So?”
“Sorry, Bokuto-kun, no. I’m kinda into Eiji-kun from Class 2.” She gave him a smile. “Maybe next month, okay?”
“Yeah,” Bokuto said. “Okay.”
He wasn’t sure what to do now. People were still staring, so he abandoned the classroom and wandered down the hall.
He couldn’t go to Saru and Komi’s class — they’d make fun of him for getting ditched by Akaashi. Washio wasn’t in his classroom when Bokuto checked, Kaori and Yukie were doing girl stuff with their girl friends, and Konoha was surrounded by so many people that Bokuto was afraid to approach him.
He ended up going to the stairwell where he and Akaashi normally ate. It wouldn’t be that weird if he ate there alone, right?
Except he wasn’t alone. From outside the door, he could see Akaashi and Kazane in their usual spot. This time, it was Akaashi laughing at her jokes.
None of this, Bokuto thought, was fair. Not Akaashi having a girlfriend, not Nishimura Sakura rejecting him, and definitely not Kazane getting to eat with his friend in his spot while he was out here alone. He wanted to go in, tell her to leave, and keep Akaashi all for himself.
Instead, he threw his sandwich in the garbage and spent the rest of lunch practicing serves in the gym.
They had a practice match against Nekoma the next week. Akaashi kept his word and ate with Bokuto every day, but Kazane haunted their time together. Would Akaashi rather be with her? Did he talk about Bokuto to her? If they were both drowning, and Akaashi could only save one of them, who would he pick?!
Such were the things that kept Bokuto up at night.
She came to the match, giving Akaashi a hug and telling him to ganbate before sitting in the stands with one of her friends. Bokuto got told “please don’t fuck this match up” and “we’re gonna crush you, dude!” by Konoha and Kuroo respectively. He was already pouting when the game started.
He managed to play pretty well despite his mood. Yaku was out sick and Shibayama wasn’t up to his level, so there were more holes in Nekoma’s defense than usual. Bokuto landed a few sweet cross-shots that pumped him up, especially after seeing Kuroo curse himself for failing to block them.
They led the first set 23-20. Kenma served into the net, making the score 24-20, set point for Fukurodani. It was Akaashi’s serve.
He didn’t do jump serves, but he had good aim. He sent the ball right into the gap between Shibayama and Yamamoto. They both dove for it, but it hit the court in front of them as they crashed into each other. The whistle blew. Akaashi had gotten a service ace, and they had won the set.
Bokuto spun around, ready to celebrate. Akaashi never got service aces, and getting one against Nekoma was extra-impressive. Bokuto would have to get two service aces this game to keep up appearances.
But Akaashi wasn’t looking at Bokuto. He wasn’t looking at the team at all, despite their cheers. He was facing the stands, giving a thumbs-up to Kazane, who jumped up and down, a huge grin on her face. It was only for a moment, before Akaashi saw Bokuto’s face and realized what he’d done, but it was enough.
The rest of the team jumped on Akaashi. He brushed them off quickly, trying to get to Bokuto.
“That was a pretty cool serve, huh?”
“You only got it because Yaku’s sick,” Bokuto said. “He would have picked it up easily.”
Akaashi frowned. “Bokuto-san…”
“Let’s get ready for the next set.”
The next set was so bad Kuroo had Coach Nekomata call a timeout so he could ask Bokuto if he was ill. He told Kuroo he was fine and they lost 25-16. Coach Yamiji benched Bokuto for the third and put in a first year wing spiker whose name Bokuto kept forgetting. They actually did better without him, losing to Nekoma by only three points. Bokuto left the gym as soon as the whistle blew.
Unfortunately, they had a group dinner planned after the game. The restaurant had reserved them one long table; Bokuto waited to see where Akaashi sat down, then dragged Kuroo to the other end of it.
“Is there a reason you’re avoiding Akaashi?” Stupid Kuroo, always noticing everything.
“No. I mean, I’m not avoiding him.”
“Okay.”
Kenma sat down across from them. “Was that girl at the game Akaashi’s girlfriend?”
Stupid Everyone-From-Nekoma. “I guess,” Bokuto said.
He ordered a meal at random and tasted none of it. Kuroo and the others chattered around him and he said nothing, even when Kuroo made an effort to get him talking.
He knew he was acting like a child. That’s what people never understood about him: he always knew when he was being annoying. He just couldn’t help it. It was rare that he was able to feel better on his own, and the rest of the team had given up trying years ago. It was Akaashi who cheered him up, and now that Bokuto didn’t have him, he was going to be miserable forever, because Akaashi didn’t care about him anymore, he only cared about—
“Bokuto-san,” a familiar voice said. Akaashi was crouched beside him.
“What do you want?” Bokuto mumbled.
“I came to apologize. I’m sorry I didn’t come right to you after my service ace.” When he put it like that, Bokuto sounded like a crazy person. “I wasn’t thinking, and I promise I won’t do it again.”
“Okay,” Bokuto said, because that was what you were supposed to say when someone apologized. But it didn’t un-hurt his feelings. He didn’t want Akaashi to have to think about who to go to when something great happened to him. He wanted him to want to come to him.
“Would you like to come sit with me?” Akaashi asked. “Komi’s meal has ghost peppers in it and we’re taking bets on whether or not he can finish it.”
“I think I’m just gonna go home instead.”
“Dude,” Kuroo, who was apparently eavesdropping, said. “You didn’t finish your dinner.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Do you want me to walk with you?” Akaashi asked. “I don’t mind—”
“No, you stay. I just want to be alone.” Bokuto didn’t think he’d ever said that before in his life. He picked up his bag and headed for the door.
“He really got that upset because your girlfriend cheered for you?” he heard Kuroo say to Akaashi.
“I don’t think that’s why he’s upset,” Kenma said.
Bokuto spent a long night staring at the ceiling, not his first since Akaashi and Kazane started dating a month ago.
He and Akaashi made up the next day— or, rather, Bokuto pretended like nothing happened and Akaashi went along with it. Bokuto was still upset, but not talking to Akaashi would have been worse.
On the surface, their friendship was the same as always, but cracks had begun to form. Kazane wanted to eat with Akaashi twice a week; Bokuto found out Washio went running at lunch and asked to join him. Kazane wanted to go out after practice; Bokuto took the train home alone.
“Bokuto-san,” Nishimura Sakura said in class one day, “it’s been a month. You can ask me out now.”
“You’re just gonna say no, aren’t you?” he asked.
“I don’t know!” He twirled her hair. “You have to ask!”
“What’s the point?”
She made a face that said Bokuto had hurt her feelings.
Little things drove Bokuto mad, like the way Kazane called Akaashi Keiji. Bokuto had never heard anyone but Akaashi’s parents call him that. It wasn’t like he wanted to call him Keiji, or Keiji-kun, same as he didn’t want Akaashi to call him Koutarou-san, but how come Kazane got to and he didn’t?
What bothered him most was how much it bothered him. Yeah, he was jealous Akaashi had someone and he didn’t, especially because he was a year younger, but it had been weeks, and the feeling wasn’t going away. Worse, it was making him push Akaashi away. Why couldn’t Bokuto be happy for him?
He got his answer one night after practice. Akaashi had stayed late with him, though he did so less often now. They had just started cleaning when Kazane poked her head in the door.
“You can go,” Bokuto told Akaashi. “I’ll clean up.” It wasn’t like he had anything better to do.
Akaashi shook his head. “No, I’ll help you.” He had been nicer, gentler to Bokuto since the Nekoma match. It was weird; Bokuto missed the version of Akaashi who teased him. They barely spoke while they finished cleaning and got changed.
“You coming?” Akaashi was waiting for him by the door.
“You go ahead,” Bokuto told him.
“Alright. Goodnight, Bokuto-san.” Bokuto waited until he was gone, then locked the clubroom.
Akaashi wasn’t gone. He and Kazane were on the steps of the gym, the lamp above their heads illuminating them while Bokuto stood in the dark. He watched as Kazane, a step higher than Akaashi, lifted her hands and wrapped them around Akaashi’s neck. She said something Bokuto couldn’t hear, then she kissed him, gently, at first, then deeper. Akaashi pulled her closer, an arm wrapping around her waist.
Bokuto stopped watching. He walked, then ran, to the train station and beyond until he was home. He hoped the pounding of his feet on the pavement would drown out his thoughts. It didn’t, and by the time he got home, ignoring his parents’ calls of “what’s wrong?” and locking himself in his room, they were louder than ever.
He was jealous, but not of Akaashi. It was Kazane he envied, because he wanted Akaashi to be with him.
Things got pretty shitty after that.
Bokuto, terrified Akaashi would find out he liked him, avoided Akaashi as much as he could. It was tough, when they were on the same team, and when Akaashi didn’t know what he’d done to earn Bokuto’s cold mood. He tried even harder to be kind to him, which just made Bokuto feel worse. He had known, before, that Akaashi was a good friend, like he’d known he was smart and cool and a good setter. But he’d taken those things for granted, and now they were on his mind all the time, reminding him what he couldn’t have.
There were other things, too, that he hadn’t noticed before. The gentle slope of Akaashi’s shoulders. The way his hair curled behind his ears. That he never showed his teeth when he smiled. That his lips looked fuller when he wasn’t frowning or biting them.
“Yo, pay attention,” Konoha said. Coach Yamiji was talking about their upcoming game, and Bokuto hadn’t heard a word.
Komi was having a party in two weeks. His parents were going away for the weekend, and his sister had agreed to buy him beer if he paid her interest. Thanks to his middle-school friendship with the girls’ volleyball team libero, there would be actual girls besides Kaori and Yukie there, which he and Saru were hyped about.
“Still doesn’t mean either of you idiots are going to find girlfriends,” Konoha said.
“They’re volleyball players!” Komi argued. “If they won’t date us, who will?”
“A very good question,” Washio said.
“May I invite Kazane?” Akaashi asked.
“No,” Bokuto said.
He didn’t mean to say it. He didn’t mean to say anything, but the idea of being at a party, drunk and unsupervised, with Akaashi and his girlfriend sounded like Bokuto’s worst nightmare.
“What? Why can’t he?” Sarukui asked.
Bokuto shrugged. “It’s Komi’s party. It’s rude to invite people to other people’s houses.”
“I don’t give a shit,” Komi said. “Why are you being weird?”
“Because I don’t think she should come!” Bokuto’s voice rose in panic. “It’s a party for volleyball players, and she’s not one. Plus, we don’t know her very well, and… I dunno,” he finished lamely.
“Inviting people to events is how you get to know them,” Washio said.
Bokuto’s brain screamed at him to shut up, but he couldn’t. “Well, maybe I don’t want to know her, okay!?”
He had avoided Akaashi’s eyes through the entire exchange. When he met them, the look on Akaashi’s face made Bokuto hate himself.
“That was very hurtful, Bokuto-san,” he said quietly. Bokuto said nothing. “I’m going home. Komi, I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be attending your party.” He walked to the door, wiping his face as he went.
Konoha grabbed Bokuto by the arm and spun him around. “The fuck is wrong with you? Go after him!”
“No,” Bokuto said sullenly.
“You’re such an asshole sometimes,” Konoha said, before chasing after Akaashi.
“Dude,” Sarukui said.
“Seriously,” Komi added. Even Onaga was disappointed in him. They packed up around him, none of them looking in his direction.
Only Washio remained at his side. “You should be honest with him,” he said.
“No.”
Washio sighed. “Fine.” He walked away, leaving Bokuto alone.
Bokuto had never been good with words. Akaashi had made him better with them, like he’d made him a better spiker and a better student and a better person. He also made him better at being brave, something Bokuto would now have to do on his own.
Two weeks passed with them not speaking. Bokuto was in agony the entire time. The only time Akaashi acknowledged him was during practice, at which Bokuto was consistently terrible. The Spring Interhigh was in a month, and if Bokuto didn’t do something soon, they wouldn’t make it past the prelims.
He just didn’t know what to say. What could he say, after what he’d done to Akaashi? Feelings aside, he’d let his jealousy ruin their friendship, the most important thing in his life.
“Give him the apology he deserves,” Washio, who Bokuto now spent all his lunch breaks with, told him, “and hope he forgives you.”
The night of Komi’s party, Bokuto left home and headed to Akaashi’s house instead. His mother opened the door.
“Koutarou-kun! I haven’t seen you here in a while.” Her smile was warmer than her son’s. “Keiji’s upstairs. Maybe you can cheer him up. He’s seemed so down for the past few weeks.”
“I’ll try my best,” Bokuto said.
Akaashi’s bedroom door was open. He sat on the bed, textbook open but ignored on his lap. “Hey,” Bokuto said.
If Akaashi was surprised to see him, he didn’t show it. “Hi.”
“Um. What are you doing?”
“Nothing. Why are you here, Bokuto-san?”
“Can I—?” Bokuto gestured to the bed. Akaashi shrugged, but he moved over to make room for him. Bokuto slid the door shut and sat down beside him.
He wasn’t sure where to begin, but Akaashi spoke for him. “Why aren’t you at Komi’s?”
“I didn’t want to go.” No, that wasn’t it. “I didn’t want to go without you.”
“That… doesn’t make a lot of sense, considering what you said before.”
“I know. That’s why I came.” He took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry, Akaashi, for everything. I’m sorry for telling you not to bring Kazane to the party, and for being such a jerk to you lately. And I’m really sorry for what I said about your service ace. You could get one against Nekoma any day.”
“That’s probably not true,” Akaashi said, “but it still sucked to hear.”
“I know. I hate myself for hurting you. I fucked up so bad.”
“Why did you do it?”
Now for the bravery.
“Because I like you, Akaashi. I want to be with you, and I didn’t realize it until it was too late. And I… I went crazy with how much I wanted you. But I screwed up, because now you don’t want to be my friend anymore, and even if you don’t want me back, I can’t lose you as a friend, I can’t.”
Akaashi stared down at his hands. “I never didn’t want to be your friend. I just didn’t understand why you were acting the way you were.”
“I didn’t understand it either,” Bokuto said. “Not until...” He trailed off, afraid to say it.
“Until?” Akaashi looked at him. God, he was beautiful.
“Until I saw you kiss her,” Bokuto whispered, “and I realized I wanted to be the one you were kissing.”
“Oh,” Akaashi said softly.
“Yeah.” Bokuto clenched his hands around the comforter. He felt like he should keep saying sorry, but he had to let Akaashi respond.
He didn’t say anything for a long time, just stared at Bokuto, frowning.
When he did speak, it was to say, “I forgive you.”
“You— you do?”
“Yes, Bokuto-san. I’m still angry, but I appreciate your apology. We can— we can be friends again.”
Relief flooded through Bokuto. “Thank you, Akaashi, thank you! I promise, I’m gonna be a way better friend from now on. And I’m gonna apologize to Kazane, too, because I haven’t treated her very well. I want to— I want to get to know her.”
Akaashi laughed once, a short bark. “Well, you’ll have to do that without me.” Bokuto frowned. “We broke up.”
“You did? When? Why?”
“About a week and a half ago.” How had Bokuto not known? “She broke up with me, but the feeling was mutual. She’s nice and smart, and we were very similar, but… there wasn’t much of a spark, and she felt the same way. We said we’d still be friends, though I don’t know if that will happen.”
“Oh,” Bokuto said. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t feel any joy at the news; he felt nothing but sympathy for Akaashi. “Are you okay?”
“It was a little upsetting to have my first relationship end so quickly, but I think it’s better this way. So I’m okay.”
“Good,” Bokuto said. “I just want you to be happy.”
“Thank you.” He leaned back against the wall, chin tipping up. “It was nice, though, having someone to spend time with. Someone to care for. I guess I’ll have to find someone else now.”
Bokuto put a hand on his knee. “You’ll definitely find someone. I know you will. Anyone would be crazy not to want you. You’re— you’re awesome, Akaashi. And when you do find someone, I’m gonna be there to support you, no matter—”
“Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said. “Shut up.”
He grabbed him by the shirt collar, yanked him close and kissed him.
Bokuto was too stunned to kiss back, or even close his eyes. By the time he got his wits back, Akaashi was pulling away. He pressed his shaking hand to his lips. “Akaashi?”
“I had my suspicions about why you were acting so strange after the Nekoma match.” Akaashi leaned back again, fiddling with his fingers. “But I wasn’t sure. You’re not cruel, so I knew you wouldn’t hurt my feelings on purpose. There had to be some other reason. I thought there was a chance it was because you had feelings for me, but I didn’t really believe it until now.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about it, though, and when Kazane suggested we break up, I was relieved. I realized there was someone else I wanted to be with.”
“Me?”
Akaashi smiled. “Yes, you.” He reached out and took Bokuto’s hand. “You can be so frustrating sometimes, Bokuto-san—”
“I know,” Bokuto said. “I’m really sorry—”
“I’m not.” Akaashi leaned in, until their faces were inches apart. “You frustrate me, but you also amaze me.” He was so close Bokuto could feel his breath against his lips. “Go out with me, Bokuto-san.”
Bokuto made a noise like “hhnngghh,” which he hoped conveyed that there was nothing in the world he’d rather do, and Akaashi kissed him again.
This time, he was ready. It was his first kiss (or his second, if the other one counted), and he had no idea what he was doing. He just knew he wanted Akaashi as close to him as possible. He pulled him in until Akaashi was straddling him and wrapped his arms around him tight. He let Akaashi take the lead with the kiss, and when he guided Bokuto to open his lips so he could slide his tongue inside, Bokuto’s brain stopped working.
He felt it, in the hitch of Akaashi’s breath when his hands grabbed his waist, in the warmth in his own gut when Akaashi’s mouth moved down his neck. Everywhere they touched, sparks flew like leaves in a hurricane.
“I missed you, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi whispered.
Tears pricked Bokuto’s eyes. “I missed you, too.”
Akaashi’s parents, who had no knowledge of the monumental changes going on in their son’s room, were happy to let Bokuto stay the night. The two of them spent it curled together on Akaashi’s bed, kissing until Akaashi fell asleep. Bokuto, who was used to sleepless nights, stayed up, watching Akaashi breathe in and out, tracing the sharp lines of his face with his fingers. He couldn’t believe this was real, that Akaashi wanted him back. That he was allowed to touch.
They wouldn’t tell the team right away, they decided in the morning. They’d let them get used to them being friends again before dropping the bomb. Maybe wait until after the Interhigh, so as not to throw off their game.
That was the plan, until Komi got in the same train car as them Monday morning and caught them holding hands. There was no stopping him when he got off and raced to the gym, yelling “Guess what!” at the top of his lungs.
They’d all heard the story by the time Bokuto and Akaashi arrived. Most of them muttered some version of congratulations or finally. Washio nodded once at Bokuto.
“Aren’t you guys surprised?” Bokuto asked.
“Not even a little bit,” Onaga said.
“Yo, are we even gonna talk about the fact that I got to second base with a girl at Komi’s?” Sarukui said.
“What first year did you prey on?” Konoha asked.
Saru grinned. “None. She was an older woman. Twenty, to be exact.”
Komi’s face fell. “If you’re saying you made out with my sister, I’m gonna fucking kill you.”
“Not ‘made out,’ Komi-yan. Dontcha know your bases?” Sarukui’s pantomimed demonstration of second base was cut off by Komi tackling him to the ground.
Konoha stepped over them. “Bokuto, you better not fuck this up. For Akaashi’s sake, and the team’s.”
Bokuto took Akaashi’s hand. “I won’t. I promise.”
“Good.” Konoha turned to Akaashi. “I’m disappointed in you. I thought you had better taste.”
Bokuto whined, but Akaashi cut him off. “Sounds like someone’s jealous. Are you upset that Bokuto-san got a boyfriend before you?”
“AKAASHI!” Bokuto yelled, doubling over laughing. It felt so good, even better than kissing, to have Akaashi on his side again. “Sorry, Konoha, we’re both taken. Hope you can find someone else!” He tugged on Akaashi’s hand, dragging him towards the gym.
“I fucking hate you people,” Konoha said.