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The day of reckoning comes for Bokuto Koutarou when his setter brings a confession letter he received after school to practice.
Akaashi has it clutched in his hand, the paper crinkling next to his water bottle, getting damp from the condensation. He looks a little lost.
It’s not that girls don’t like him. They very much do, whispering behind cupped hands and giggling about the tall, handsome, quiet boy that plays volleyball at their school. But the thing about Akaashi is he has such a…serious energy, that he comes off a little intimidating.
Akaashi was very surprised to hear this from his teammates one day, when the guys were bullshitting in the locker room, talking about girls and dating and -
“Akaashi-kun could totally have a girlfriend right now if he wasn’t so intimidating.”
So maybe it was because the girls were just too intimidated, but one of them was finally brave enough to approach him after school, nervously handing him a letter before bowing and scurrying off. He hadn’t even opened it yet.
The boys clock the letter immediately, surrounding him and asking a million questions. About the girl, what she said (not much) what he said (even less) and of course, was he going to accept?
“I don’t…I don’t really know her, so…”
“You could GET to know her, come on Akaashi-kun…”
In the midst of this chaos, Bokuto stands apart from it, watching from the sidelines. Pouting.
The coach breaks up the interrogation to get practice started, and Akaashi is relieved to forget about the letter. Girls make him nervous, he doesn’t really know many, isn’t comfortable with them. He doesn’t feel like he can tell the guys he’s planning on tossing the letter, because they don’t get it. He’s perfectly happy with his life how it is.
They start with passing drills and Akaashi immediately goes to pair up with Bokuto, as usual, but Bokuto has already paired up with Sarukui, who looks just as confused as Akaashi feels, offering a shrug. Akaashi frowns and ends up partnering with Washio, but he finds it hard to focus, his eyes drifting back to Bokuto. He’s acting pretty normal, but there is a tightness around his eyes that you might not notice if you didn’t know him.
Akaashi knew his spiker very well.
Somewhere in the middle of Akaashi’s volleyball journal was a list. On the top of the page was the title “Bokuto Koutarou’s Weaknesses. There were 37 items listed under the title. Akaashi suddenly remembered #29.
Bokuto could be a very jealous person.
Annoyance simmered beneath Akaashi’s skin. It’s not like he wanted the stupid letter. And anyway, Bokuto got confessed to now and again. He even went out a few times with those girls. They never lasted, but how was that Akaashi’s fault? If anything, he thought Bokuto would be the most excited out of all his teammates. Was he really that jealous of him?
Akaashi was a patient person. And he seemed to have an even deeper well of patience when it came to his spiker, but for some reason this was getting to him. Why should he be punished for something he didn’t even ask for? Bokuto could have the girl for all he cared.
Bokuto was his usual loud and cheery self throughout practice, but the ice wall against Akaashi remained up. When they paired off for some 3 on 3, Bokuto made sure to be on the opposite team as Akaashi, which never happened, and that finally caught the attention of the rest of the team.
“What’s this?” Saukui asked, taunting, “Don’t tell me our ace is actually jealous of Akaashi’s first ever confession. Don’t be such a sore loser, Captain!”
“Shut up, I don’t care about that!” Bokuto snapped back, though the look on his face said he very much did care. He finally looked at Akaashi, and their eyes met for the first time since practice started. Bokuto immediately looked at the ground, and if Akaashi didn’t know any better he would think his spiker was blushing a little bit.
After that, Bokuto stopped ignoring Akaashi. They played on the same side for the next game, and Bokuto called for every toss. By the end of practice, most of the annoyance had melted away for Akaashi.
Until Bokuto left the club room without him.
Akaashi had been changing. One second, Bokuto had been next to him, the next he was out the door.
Akaashi huffed and grabbed his bag before rushing out the door, intent to catch up.
Thankfully, Bokuto had not gotten very far, walking alone with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Akaashi jogged up to him.
“Bokuto-san!”
Bokuto turned, shoulders almost up to his ears, looking sheepish and caught. He waited for Akaashi to catch up before they started walking in silence.
“Bokuto-san…” Akaashi started after he couldn’t take the silence any longer, “Did I do something to upset you?”
“Ugh,” Bokuto groaned, wiping a hand over his face, “No, you…” He let out a heavy sigh, “I’m sorry for being an ass. It’s been a…weird day.”
“Is this…” Akaashi was almost afraid to ask, but curiosity got the better of him. “Is this because of the confession letter I got? Because I’m not interested in her. I was going to let her down gently tomorrow. If…if you like her, I can put in a good word - “
“No, no, no,” finally Bokuto was smiling, his face lit up, “I’m not - I don’t like that girl. I guess I was just…ahhhh, it’s so stupid, let’s just forget it, yeah?”
“So…you weren’t jealous of me for getting confessed too?”
“No! No, no. I’m…I’m happy you’re getting attention Akaashi, you deserve it.” Bokuto says, elbowing Akaashi in the side, but his eyes are glued to the pavement, his cheeks red.
They walk on in silence. Akaashi can practically hear the gears turning in Bokuto’s head, but he says nothing.
“I guess I’m just not used to you getting confessed too!” Bokuto blurts out after a few more minutes of silence. Akaashi nods, waiting for more, but Bokuto just chews on his lip, still not really looking at him.
“I would never let it distract me from our team, Bokuto-san.” Akaashi assures him.
Bokuto smiles and lays a heavy hand on Akaashi’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze, “I know you wouldn’t.”
Akaashi’s shoulder tingles after Bokuto removes his hand.
They’re stopping at their usual convenience store on the way home when Bokuto asks, “Is there anyone at our school that…you would accept a confession from?”
Akaashi stills. There is someone. One person he would accept a confession from. But since it’s impossible, Akaashi shrugs and says, “I don’t know.”
The bell jingles above the door as they exit the store.
“Awww, come on! There’s no one you like, Akaashi-kun?”
Akaashi takes a swig from his sports drink in lieu of an answer. They’ve never really talked about this stuff before. Well, Bokuto sometimes would, about the girls that confessed to him, but it was always one sided. He didn’t ask Akaashi and Akaashi didn’t offer, because then he would come dangerously close to telling Bokuto, and that would only lead to disaster.
“You’re a handsome guy, you should be going on lots of dates.” Bokuto says. Akaashi feels his face heat up.
“You think so, Bokuto-san?”
“Of course!” Bokuto says easily, slapping Akaashi on the back, “But if you’re not ready that’s okay too.”
“I…I think,” Akaashi swallows, “I would be willing to go out with someone, if it was the right person.”
Bokuto nods, thoughtful, “You’ll find that person, I’m sure.”
“Yes, maybe.”
Then Bokuto pulls out his headphones, sharing one with Akaashi, and they listen to a new album that Bokuto swears Akaashi will love for the rest of their walk home, arms brushing.
- 3 YEARS LATER -
“Keiji…Keiji…”
Akaashi hums around the cock in his throat, feeling strong fingers grip his hair.
Sweat was pouring down his back, little zings of pleasure still running through his body from his own orgasm. He twirls his tongue around the head before deep throating again, feeling his partner getting close.
Bokuto lets out a small cry before spilling down his throat.
Akaashi pulls off and is half crawling half being man handled up to kiss Bokuto. Long, deep kisses. Bokuto humming low in his throat, content. They finally break away, catching their breath, though Akaashi only has a few seconds of breathing room before Bokuto is wrapping him up in his arms.
They lay quietly as they catch their breath. Akaashi starts to feel himself drifting off to sleep when Bokuto speaks up.
“Hey, I keep meaning to ask you something.”
Akaashi nuzzles into Bokuto's neck.
“What’s that?”
“Remember in like my last year of high school when you got confessed to that one time?”
Akaashi frowns, thinking, until the memory resurfaces. He hadn’t thought about that in forever.
“Yeah, why?”
Bokuto chuckles, “I was totally jealous of that girl. I couldn’t figure out why I was so pissed.” Bokuto squeezes Akaashi. “I was so stupid.”
They’ve been together for 2 years, and still Bokuto makes Akaashi blush like a school girl when he says stuff like this.
“Oh,” is all he says, burying a smile in Bokuto’s neck.
“Anyway, what I wanted to ask was…when I asked you if you liked someone, and you kind of dodged the question…did you like me already?”
Akaashi picks up his head to look up at his fiancée, a small smile playing across his lips, “I can’t believe you remember all that. Yes, of course I did.”
Bokuto grins and showers Akaashi’s face with kisses.
“I knew it! You should have just told me! We could’ve saved like, a whole year of confusion.”
“Second year me would never have thought in a million years that you would like me back, Bokuto-san.”
“Don’t ‘Bokuto-san’ me you little,” Bokuto grumbles, rolling over to lay his full weight on Akaashi, who is busy laughing at his expense.
When Bokuto finally takes his full weight off Akaashi, though still hovering just a few inches above him, Akaashi looks into golden eyes, lifts a hand to push the hair out of Bokuto’s face.
“I think every thing happened just as it was supposed to, Koutarou. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Bokuto’s eyes are warm when he smiles down at Akaashi, leans down to kiss him again before whispering, “Me either.”