Archive of Our Own

It’s not easy to surprise Akaashi Keiji. It’s not impossible, but it’s not easy.

He doesn’t necessarily dislike surprises– he actually really enjoys them– but he has lethal observational skills that make almost any unforeseen event in his life laughably…foreseen. He can count on one hand the number of times he’s been genuinely surprised, but all of them were Bokuto’s doing.

So, when his boyfriend called him in the middle of the workday to tell him they’d been invited with some other volleyball alumni to help out with a Fukurodani-Nekoma-Karasuno training camp that weekend, he was certainly intrigued.

“It’s a little last minute, isn’t it? I mean, that’s the day after tomorrow.” He spun around in his desk chair, briefly letting himself take a break from the pages he’d just received from his newest mangaka (they were not the best). He found himself absolutely yearning for the days of Udai's late, but good pages.

“That’s what I said. Apparently Coach put off asking us because he felt badly taking up our time, but the kids on the team had been begging him to invite us and he didn’t think he could put them off any longer before at least asking. Washio and Onaga are coming, and I think the Karasuno coach is asking Kageyama and Shoyo to come by as well. I guess they’re back in the country? And Kuroo’s coming to do his JVA stuff. Some other people too I think, those are just the ones he mentioned on the phone.”

“Kuroo’s coming to promote volleyball to volleyball players?”

“I think he just wants to drag Kenma back onto a volleyball court.”

“Kenma’s coming? Wouldn’t expect him to be up for something like that.”

“Kuroo said his exact words were, ‘If I wanted to field autographs and selfies from teenage boys, I would just host an official fan event. No thank you.’”

Akasshi laughed, “So he’ll be there.”

“Oh, definitely. Coach said if any other Jackals are free that they’re free to tag along so I might try and rope Tsumu and Omi in.”

“Atsumu-san and Sakusa-san, hm? Interesting...”

“Hey no, I can hear you scheming. You promised you wouldn’t scheme when I told you about that.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah okay, sure,” he heard the fond scoff over the phone, “so what do you think?”

“I mean, it sounds like it could be fun. I’m not sure what use I’d be with you and other actual professionals around to help, especially if Kageyama-kun and Atsumu-san come to help the setters, but it would be nice to see Coach and everyone else and hang out in the gym again.” He smiled fondly, remembering the last time they were in the Fukurodani gym, after his high school graduation when he and Bokuto had finally (tearfully) gotten their shit together.

“Yeah, I think so too.” He could tell by the soft voice coming through the speaker that his boyfriend was thinking about the same thing.

But then, after that sweet moment, “And don’t you DARE let me hear you say you wouldn’t be useful again. Don’t sell yourself short.”

“Kou,” he laughed, “I’m not being self-deprecating. I’m just being practical. A team of teenage boys isn’t going to care what a manga editor has to say abo-”

“Sorry, I must not have heard you correctly. I know you’re not talking badly about the love of my life? My favorite setter to ever touch a volleyball? The very reason for my existence? I know you’re not bad-mouthing him.”

Keiji fought and lost to the grin quickly spreading over his face. “No, of course not, I’d never do something so rude.”

“That’s what I thought.”

He waited through a beat of comfortable silence on the other end, smiling softly to himself.

“But seriously, do you want to go? I figured since you’re already in Tokyo this week for work the timing would be pretty convenient. We could meet at campus when you get off Friday and maybe make a weekend of it? Get a hotel room, go somewhere nice for dinner Saturday?”

***

A couple years ago, Akaashi and Bokuto decided long distance was no longer going to be an option for them. The two-and-a-half-hour Shinkansen ride from Tokyo to Osaka wasn’t unbearable, and they’d been able to manage it while they were still in university and they could somewhat move their schedules around. But to their mutual dismay, once Akaashi had an established job and Bokuto was a starter on the MSBY Black Jackals, it just wasn’t feasible for either of them to make the trip as often as they’d expected it would be. For Akaashi’s first year out of university they were really only seeing each other about one weekend every couple of months.

At the end of one of these weekends, Akaashi broke down in tears as Bokuto was getting ready to leave for the train.

“This is too hard.” Akaashi was sitting on the edge of his bed, too upset to reach up and wipe the tears falling from his eyes.

A long and fraught pause, and then, “What do you mean?”

Akaashi fought to speak through sniffles. “One of us is leaving all the time. I just want to wake up and know you’ll be there. I don’t want to wake up and worry about having to catch a train back to an apartment that you’re not in.”

“I feel the same way, baby, but…what do you mean by ‘too hard.’ Do you…Keiji do you want to break up?” The last part came out in a near-whisper.

“What??” He croaked out, “Oh god Kou no, never. I would never want that. I can’t even think about that. I just,” he sighed as Bokuto sat down next to him and started wiping away his tears, “I feel like we need to figure something else out. Something that makes both of us happier and isn’t as hard on us.”

“Okay yeah, I would definitely love that. Do you have any ideas? I’d do anything for you that I could, but I don’t have a lot of power around my schedule, and I wouldn't want you to do anything that could hurt you at work.”

“No, I agree. But I’ve been thinking about an idea that would make my schedule a little more flexible. I need to bring it up with my boss, but I think he’ll approve it.”

And so, two months later, Akaashi had been approved to work remotely, provided he came into the Tokyo office three days a month for department meetings, editorial meetings, etc. He and Bokuto found an apartment with huge windows and a small balcony in Osaka, and once a month Akaashi would travel to Tokyo for a few days, see his coworkers, and then get to go back home Friday night to his boyfriend. They got to make dinner together almost every night, and wake up curled into each other almost every morning. Akaashi got used to Bokuto’s extensive morning routine, and Bokuto got used to Akaashi accidentally working until 1am and having to be dragged to bed. They killed several plants and decided on a favorite brand of fabric softener.

It was perfect.

***

“Sounds like you’ve already made some plans for us, if I didn’t know better.”

“And if I did? We haven’t been able to go on a real date in so long; I can’t even remember the last time we both had a whole weekend together. I think it would be really nice to make it a little special.” Bokuto paused and then added quietly, thoughtfully, “I really miss you, baby.”

God his heart was going to explode. He was the luckiest man alive. And Bokuto was right– they’d both been so busy lately. MSBY had a mid-season break for the next week and Akaashi himself was surprisingly free of deadlines at the moment. It was good timing.

“I miss you too, love. It’s a great idea. I’ll get off Friday around 6 so I can probably be at campus by 7. Do you think that’s too late?”

He heard a rush of air on the other side of the call, “Oh thank God, I already booked everything. 7 is perfect! Coach said they’ll be going until about 9 Friday and then he wants us to help with some things Saturday morning. It sounds like they’ll be doing practice matches Saturday afternoon and most of Sunday. He said we can dip out on Saturday afternoon, though.”

“Wait, you booked a hotel before asking me?”

“And made a dinner reservation.”

“What if I had said no?”

He can practically feel the shrug through the phone, “Then I would have canceled both reservations? I made sure both had free cancellation before I asked you, just in case.”

“My, how very precautious of you,” he smiled to himself.

“Thank you very much, it’s called “being prepared” and I learned it from my boyfriend.”

“He sounds like quite the man.”

“He is, I’m the luckiest.”

Akaashi chuckled. “Okay love, send me the details if you don’t mind. I need to get back to work but I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Sounds good, baby. I love you.”

“Love you too, Kou.”

“AHH! I almost forgot– take your allergy medicine!!”

Akaashi laughed and ended the call. It had become a running joke between the two of them recently that he always, without fail, forgot to take his allergy medicine in the morning and then suffered through an entire day of watery eyes and runny noses. Bokuto had started setting alarms to text or call Akaashi to remind him to take his medicine a few times throughout the day, and it was working about half the time.

He'd been particularly diligent about it the last few weeks, though. When Akaashi was packing to head to Tokyo for his current trip, Bokuto had pointedly put his bottle of pills on top of his duffle and walked away without a word.

He pulled the bottle of pills from his briefcase, smiling to himself as he swallowed one down.

The next morning, as he was slogging through the most recent pages received (late this time, and only marginally better), he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Akaashi laughed and ended the call. It had become a running joke between the two of them recently that he always, without fail, forgot to take his allergy medicine in the morning and then suffered through an entire day of watery eyes and runny noses. Bokuto had started setting alarms to text or call Akaashi to remind him to take his medicine a few times throughout the day, and it was working about half the time.

He'd been particularly diligent about it the last few weeks, though. When Akaashi was packing to head to Tokyo for his current trip, Bokuto had pointedly put his bottle of pills on top of his duffle and walked away without a word.

He pulled the bottle of pills from his briefcase, smiling to himself as he swallowed one down.

The next morning, as he was slogging through the most recent pages received (late this time, and only marginally better), he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Today at 9:52
Kenma
are you going to the thing this weekend

Assuming you mean the training camp? yeah

Kenma
why are we even being asked to go
we dont do volleyball shit anymore

I mean you dont have to go

Kenma
I really do
Kuro’s so excited about it

Cute

Simp

Kenma
shut the fuck up
but youll be there?

Yeah, swinging by after work

Probably like 7

hes going to try so hard to get you to set for him

Kenma
hes smarter than that

He laughed, took a screenshot to send to Bokuto, and then got back to work. A couple other old high school teammates and opponents texted to ask if he’d be there for the weekend (including Kageyama, who still called him Akaashi-san which he personally felt was unnecessary considering the number of times they’ve seen each other drunk off their asses as plus-ones to Jackals events), and by the time he shut off his computer to head out for the day, he found himself actually getting pretty excited.

When Friday rolled around, all goodwill had been forgotten and he was dangerously close to pulling his hair out. For some reason, everyone he worked with seemed to have forgotten either how to read, use context clues, abandon all rational human thought, or some dismal combination of all three. It was one of those days where everything in his department was going wrong, and all the fires were ending up on his desk, waiting for an extinguisher.

Feeling the frustration starting to get the better of him, he pulled out his phone to text Bokuto.

Today at 1:44

Literally having the worst day. I can’t wait to see you later 💛

Kou
NOOOOO what’s wrong???? Can I do anything?

No, just work shit. The usual. Working remotely has spoiled me lol

But thanks for offering 💛

Kou
If you’re sure, baby. You’re almost done! Just like 3 more hours and then you can leave!!
They’re so lucky to have you, they have no idea
If you ever left they’d have to hire like three people to do one Akaashi’s job

No, they don’t believe in fully-staffed departments

It’s actually in the employee handbook if I remember correctly

Should have been a red flag, in hindsight

Kou
HAHAHA hang in there, I’ll see you soon 💛

He took a deep breath, turned off his phone, and opened his inbox, determined to get everything done before he left for what would hopefully be a wonderful, relaxing weekend with the love of his life.

At 6 o’clock on the dot, Akaashi was out the door. He weaved in and out of cubicles on his way out, strategically avoiding any coworkers he knew would be asking him to do last-minute tasks that would hold him over late. Most days he would stay and help his colleagues, but today he was just so over it. Who actually worked on a Friday afternoon, honestly? His patience was worn thin, and instead of a 2 and-a-half hour train ride back home, he only had to take a 30 minute ride across the city to where his boyfriend and their friends were waiting. He was a man on a mission.

On the way to the train, he pulled out his phone and turned it on, checking his missed messages. He had to stop himself from laughing out loud in the middle of rush-hour foot traffic when he saw the messages in his most-used group chat.

today at 2:58
Kuroo’s OnlyFriends (9 new messages)

Kenma
didnt know Kuroo had plans today
[screenshot of a news headline: satellite images reveal what appear to be ‘phallic-shaped’ crop circles on farm in United Kingdom]

Kuroo
wtf

Kou
HAHAHAHAHAAHAHA

Kuroo
I am begging for one moment of peace in this group chat

Kenma
beg harder
wait no

Kuroo
OYA???

Kou
SDAKFJSADGHFASDK

Kenma
jfc nevermind

Today at 6:05

didn’t know Kuroo had such artistic talent

or that he was a sub

Kou
LMFAOOOOO

He couldn’t help the smile spreading over his features at his private messages from Bokuto.

Today at 5:46
Kou (2 new messages)
See you soon baby I love you!
TAKE YOUR ALLERGY MEDICINE

today at 6:06
god you’re so funny i love you so much

Love you too, getting on the train now 💛

All thoughts of a horrible work day starting to melt away, Akaashi pocketed his phone and hopped on the train to Fukurodani. It was oddly nostalgic, taking a route to a stop he hadn’t needed in almost 8 years. As he sat down, he felt an ease settle into his bones that he had nearly forgotten about. Taking the train to his old high school felt like putting on old shoes that had molded to the shape of your feet. It was a muscle memory he didn’t know he’d created. It ached a bit, he thought, that your body can realize you missed something even if your mind can’t.

He almost felt like if he leaned his head down to his right, Bokuto’s blazer-clad shoulder would be there waiting to support him. Glancing around the train, he saw some teenagers in high school uniforms. He silently wondered if any of them were thinking about their best friends, wondering if their feelings towards those friends are actually more than friends, and wondering if those friends feel the same about them. Leaning his head back against the window, Akaashi sent up a sincere prayer for any of them working through some confusing and maybe overwhelming feelings, and a quick promise that things would get better.

God knows it did for him.
The walk from the station to the Fukurodani campus was quick– only about 10 minutes. Akaashi shot Bokuto a quick text letting him know he was almost there, and received a nearly immediate response to meet in the gym.

The closer he got, the more excited he was to catch up with some old friends, help out his former coach, and just get to watch a lot of people who really love volleyball do what they do. Even though he didn’t play anymore, he genuinely still had so much love for the sport, and being around so many people who are so passionate about it was infectious.

The closer he got, the more sentimental he became as well. It was impossible to approach their old gym without remembering the last time he and Bokuto were there.

***

It had been Akaashi’s graduation ceremony, and the entire day had largely gone exactly as he’d expected.

His father had smiled in his quiet, yet proud way and his mother had cried and clapped and exclaimed enough for all three of them.

He was top of the class– surprising no one– and was headed to the University of Tokyo to probably major in Literature, but he wasn’t sure yet.

He had smiled in pictures with friends, teammates, and family, and he had thanked his teachers profusely.

All in all it was a perfectly pleasant day, but he couldn’t help feeling a little empty. Something was missing, and he had refused to let himself dwell on what that could possibly be. He knew exactly what, or more accurately, who, was missing, and the second he started to dwell, he knew he would start to sulk.

He and Bokuto had kept in near-constant contact throughout their first year of separation with Bokuto at university in Osaka and himself back in Tokyo. Honestly, Akaashi thought they may have actually talked more now that Bokuto was gone. When they were at the same school, they were nearly always together because of volleyball, so they didn’t really have to make an actual effort to talk or spend time together. It was easy to end up at one of their houses after school to plan practice schedules, work on homework, or just hang out. Once they were separated by several hundred kilometers, Akaashi quickly realized that their friendship could easily fall apart if they didn’t put in the effort to maintain it.

Luckily for them both, it didn’t really feel like effort at all.

They texted everyday about everything and nothing, but the first time Akaashi had called Bokuto out of the blue at the beginning of his third year, something undeniably shifted between them. As soon as he got home from his first practice as Fukurodani’s new captain, he ran straight to his room and launched himself face down in bed, not moving for a solid 30 minutes. Then, he picked up his phone.

“Akaashi? What’s up?” He felt a stinging behind his eyes at the realization he hadn’t heard Bokuto’s voice in weeks.

“Hi Bokuto-san, are you busy?”

“Um, no I’m just walking home from practice.” He sounded significantly lower energy than Akaashi expected. Was he not gelling well with his new team? Maybe he was just tired from balancing collegiate-level practices and class. Either way, getting the truth out of him wouldn’t be difficult.

“Oh, okay. How was it today?”

“It was fine. But um, Akaashi?” Something definitely wasn’t right.

“Yes, Bokuto-san?”

“I think, uh, I think I may need to establish a boundary with you.”

Wait, what?

“Is that right? Did I say that right?”

Before Bokuto had graduated, he had confessed some fears to Akaashi about being able to get along well with his roommate, who would be a complete stranger, and the two talked a long time about the importance of setting and respecting boundaries. The youngest of three kids in a boisterous and extroverted (albeit very caring and kind) family, Bokuto hadn’t been exposed to many of the same conversations around navigating interpersonal relationships as Akaashi. Although it was a little jarring to hear from his best friend, Akaashi couldn’t help but feel a little proud to hear his words from that conversation parroted back to him now.

“It kind of depends on what the issue is. Have I done something wrong?”

“No! No, nothing like that. Well, I guess maybe it’s more like a request? It’s just…it may not sound like a big deal but I really don’t know if I can keep talking to you if you keep calling me Bokuto-san. I would really really appreciate it if you could drop the honorific. You’re my best friend, and when you call me that it kind of feels like you still think of me as someone who ranks above you or something. I know you just do it because you’re super polite and you were raised to always be respectful and I love that about you but I just really wish you would drop it with me. Is that..do you think you could do that?”

Something in his chest warmed and broke at the same time hearing the words “best friend.” It also took everything in him not to laugh out of pure relief.

“That’s kind of the opposite of a boundary. That’s more like breaking down a boundary.”

“Well then I guess I need to break down a boundary with you. I don’t want it there. What do you think?”

“Of course I can do that if it’s really important to you, Bokuto-s– Bokuto.”

“Nice catch. And it is!”

“It’s going to take me sometime to get used to it.”

“I know! That’s totally okay. I just want it to feel like we’re equal. I feel weird about my best friend calling me Bokuto-san.”

“I can respect that.”

“But anyway, sorry! You called me, what’s up?” What was up, indeed? Akaashi didn’t even have a plan when he picked up his phone. He just needed to hear a very specific voice.

“Oh I just– I was wondering um– today was the first day of practice for the year.”

“HOW DID I FORGET??? Oh my gosh, Akaashi!!! Your first day as captain! How did it go?”

“It was all right.”

“Just all right??? Did something happen? Was someone not listening to you?”

“No Bokuto, everyone was very respectful. We accomplished a lot and the first years seem to have a lot of potential.”

“Then that sounds like it was really good!”

“Bokuto?” He squeezed his eyes shut and pretended that if he just ignored the tear leaking down his face, it would go away.

“Yeah?”

Oh god, he was really about to say this. He should not say this. Fuck it, he was going to say it.

“I think maybe– I think I don’t like volleyball as much when I’m not playing with you.”

“Oh, Akaashi..” The tenderness there nearly tore him apart. He put his phone on speaker and held it to his chest, rolling onto his side.

“And I’m a little worried about how I’m going to make it through the year and take us to Nationals if I’m not enjoying it.”

Bokuto stayed silent for an amount of time Akaashi had not previously thought possible.

“Is it bad that part of me is a little happy to hear you say that? Not the part about you not enjoying it because I want you to be having fun. But I gotta be honest Akaashi, it makes me really happy that you loved playing together that much. Because I did too. It’s been SO hard to adjust to having a new setter. It kind of sucks honestly. I still like volleyball obviously but I’d like it even more if you were here with me.”

“I know what you mean. I still like playing but it’s not the same.”

“Exactly! Man, we really had it good, huh?”

“We really did. I um..” He trailed off. He needed to be careful or he was going to completely give himself away here.

“Huh? What was that?”

“I miss you. A lot.” Fuck it.

A rushed exhale of breath on the other end and then– “Fuck, Akaashi, I really miss you too. You can call me any time, you know that, right?”

“And you can call me too, Bokuto. I um, I would really like it if you did.”

“Okay, great!!”

“Great.” He would have been embarrassed at how big his smile was if he weren’t so happy. “You want to tell me about practice?”

That conversation had opened the floodgates for them. Bokuto was already his closest friend, but he quickly became the most important person in Akaashi’s life, fullstop. Every piece of good news, every piece of bad news, anything that didn’t even qualify as news– Bokuto was the first to know. He went to see a couple of his games, and Bokuto was able to make it to the interhigh championship, but other than that, their friendship stayed strictly long-distance.

Akaashi was so in love with him it caused him physical pain. There were moments when he thought maybe, maybe Bokuto felt the same; a moment of intense eye contact on Facetime, a picture texted with the caption “made me think of you,” the way he always remembered if Akaashi had a test the next day (“I put your test days in my calendar when you tell me about them so I won’t forget to tell you good luck, obviously?”).

Deep down, Akaashi knew that it wasn’t in the cards for them. He saw firsthand how quickly Bokuto was growing both as an athlete and a person– he was absolutely thriving in university, learning to manage his time and his own emotions in a way he’d never been able to before, and multiple Division 1 teams had already reached out to him about joining after he graduated, or even before, in some cases.

Akaashi wasn’t special like that, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep up. He wouldn’t let himself hold someone like Bokuto back. He was the kind of person who came into someone’s life to help them, and then watch them thrive with someone else. He wasn’t the person you stayed with.

So yes, when he went through the motions of his graduation day, he was sad he couldn’t share it with the one person he really wanted to, even if he knew this was his sad reality.

When he had finally posed in what he hoped would be his last picture, Coach Yamiji pulled him aside.

“Akaashi-kun, I left something in the gym, do you think you could go grab it for me?”

“Of course, Coach. What is it?”

His coach chuckled. “I think you’ll know when you see it.” He patted Akaashi on the arm, and turned away.

Weird, Akaashi thought, and oddly cryptic. Whatever.

He figured maybe it was something commemorative for all the third years- some kind of departing gift before they all headed their separate ways to thank them for their hard work this year.

He nearly choked on air when he opened the gym doors to find Bokuto, waiting for him with a bouquet of what appeared to be camellias, his favorite flowers.

“B-Bokuto?! What the hell are you doing here??”

“Surprise! And congratulations!!” His best friend closed the distance between them in just a few strides and pulled him into a hug on just this side of painful. Akaashi tried to process what was currently happening as he was lifted several inches off the ground.

“This is a super important day in your life, I wanted to make sure you were celebrated properly!”

“I– are these for me?” He was going to die.

“Oh uh yeah, you like these, don’t you?”

“They’re my favori- how did you know I liked camellias?”

“You mentioned it once, I don’t know, I just remembered it.” Oh he was absolutely going to die.

“I did? I don’t remember ever talking about that with you.”

“Oh, it wasn’t to me but I heard you tell someone a couple years ago-”

“You- wait. You remembered a detail about me from a conversation I was having with someone else from a couple years ago?” Oh he was done. At least he was able to finish high school before he died.

“Yeah! Wait, is it not true anymore?” He could have written full sonnets about the genuine look of concern in Bokuto’s eyes.

“No it’s still true, these are my favorite flowers.”

“Oh phew, okay good.”

He had to regain some composure before he completely lost it. “Bokuto, this is so nice of you. Really, thank you for coming. It’s really good to see you.”

“I wouldn’t miss it! I was really worried about getting the time off from practice when you told me what date it was but it turns out we have a bye week this week so I didn’t even have to ask off.”

“You were going to ask off practice to come to my graduation?”

“Of course I would? Akaashi, do you think I don’t care about you?”

“No I know you do, I just, I guess I didn’t realize how important this was to you.”

“‘This,’” Bokuto made a vague hand gesture between the two of them, “is the most important thing to me.” And the way he specifically emphasized “this” had that dangerous part of Akaashi’s heart feeling hopeful again. When Akaashi said “this,” he had meant his graduation, but Bokuto clearly meant…something else.

“Well, thank you. ‘This’ is important to me too.”

Akaashi felt the air shift. Something was happening here. After a too-long pause, Bokuto broke the silence between them.

“So did you get..anything? From anyone else?”

“For graduation you mean? My dad gave me a new bag and my aunt sent-”

“No, no, I meant like um. Like those.” He pointed to the flowers now being cradled in Akaashi’s elbow. Oh, interesting.

“Flowers? No, no flowers.”

“Yeah, or I don’t know, buttons?” Oh my god. Was this happening?

“No one gave me their uniform button.”

“Letters?” Fuck, okay, yep he was reading this right. This was happening.

He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and looked the man he loved straight in the eye. “No one has tried to confess to me in any way today, Bokuto.”

It was then Bokuto’s turn to look off-kilter. He suddenly thought the floorboards in the gym were very interesting. “Find it kind of hard to believe that no one even tried. Captain of the volleyball team, top of the class. I know you’re popular.”

“I wouldn’t have cared if anyone did try.” And okay, where the fuck has this confidence been for 18 years.

“You wouldn’t? Why not?” He looked so hopeful, Akaashi wondered if he had just been an oblivious idiot this entire time.

“Bokuto,” one last jump, Akaashi told himself, as he reached forward and gently laid a hand on Bokuto’s cheek, “I think you know why.” He felt Bokuto shutter slightly as his hand rested on his cheek. If I’m dreaming I’m going to be so fucking angry when I wake up.

“Do I?” Bokuto’s voice was shaky.

“Use that university brain.” He stroked his thumb back and forth across Bokuto’s cheek. They were both whispering now.

“What if I’m wrong?”

“Keep guessing until you get it right. How long are you in town?”

“Just for the weekend. My mom’s been trying to get me to stay a couple more days but I have to be back for class Monday.” Just for the weekend. God, Akaashi was so caught up in the moment that he had forgotten he was just going to lose him again in two days.

He let out a watery chuckle (when did he start crying?), “Ha, such a scholar, who would have thought?”

“Gotta do my best to keep up with you, you know? Mr. Top of the Cla– ‘Kaashi..why are you crying?”

“Bokuto, I can’t- I don’t know if I can- I don’t want to watch you leave again without you knowing how I feel about you.”

”Keiji,” a dozen camellias hitting the floor, hands on both sides of his face. Thumbs wiping away his tears. Lips brushing his cheeks, his eyelids, his temple, his nose, and finally, finally, his lips.

“You don’t have to.”

(“Is it okay that I called you Keiji?”

“Yeah, of course. Do you want me to call you Koutarou?”

“Whatever you're comfortable with. Keiji, can I ask you something?

“Sure.”

“Will you be my boyfriend?”

“I thought that was already clear, but yes, absolutely.”

“Just wanted to make sure. Can I also tell you something I’ve wanted to tell you for a really long time?”

“Of course, Koutarou.”

“You’re so fucking hot.”

“Oh my god, what the fuc–”)

***

Now, walking to the campus from the train station, he knew something was wrong the second the gym came into view.

His immediate reaction was to panic, worrying that he had somehow misunderstood Bokuto’s information and that the camp was actually at Nekoma. There were no vans outside the gym. Karasuno at least would have had to all travel together, given the distance.

On top of that, all the lights were off. Everything was silent. He couldn’t hear any of the sounds he so innately associated with training camp; no sneakers squeaking on hardwood floors, no spikes hitting the court, no one calling for a ball. If he didn’t know better, he’d think the gym was completely empty. Was the gym completely empty?

Whipping out his phone, he scrolled frantically through all his messages with Bokuto and others the past couple of days, making sure he had his information right.

Finally convinced he was at the right place, on the right day, at the right time, he resorted to just calling his boyfriend.

The call went straight to voicemail.

“What the fuck,” he muttered to himself. He picked up his pace and made a bee-line for the gym door. Oh god, what if something had happened to Bokuto in the last ten minutes. Surely that wasn’t possible?

The handle gave way as he pushed down with way too much force, and burst through.

He paused, taking in the scene for approximately two seconds–

“Oh, fuck–”

and immediately burst into tears.

It’s not easy to surprise Akaashi Keiji, but that didn’t mean Bokuto wasn’t going to try.

And if part of that surprise required ordering twenty-four dozen of Akaashi’s favorite flowers (which Akaashi was allergic to), a semi-embarrassing conversation with their old coach to convince him to let them use the Fukurodani gym for an evening, and getting nearly every single person they knew to lie to the love of his life for a little bit? So be it.

He was going to propose tonight, and Akaashi would NOT see it coming.

Rationally, Bokuto knew that it would be okay if Akaashi found out. He knew Akaashi would say yes regardless, and in the end, that’s all that actually matters. But the thought of pulling off something really, truly,, special for Akaashi was too appealing for him to genuinely be okay with any “regardless” scenarios.

This was Akaashi Keiji, after all. He should have the most meaningful, sentimental, beautiful, personal proposal in the history of marriage. He should have everything. Bokuto would give him everything, anything.

And that was the thought that propelled him as he knocked on the door to the Kozume-Kuroo household Friday morning.

“If I never see a camellia again, it will be too soon.”

“Okay wow, damn. Good morning to you too, Kenma.”

Kenma turned towards the stairs and called out, “Koutarou’s her-”

A slam from upstairs, a thump, several more descending thumps, and then–

“OYA OYA???”

“HEY HEY HEYYYYY”

“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S TODAY”

“I KNOW I’M GONNA THROW UP BUT LIKE IN A GOOD WAY”

“Please stop shouti–”

“WE LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH”

“WE LOVE YOU BOTH TOO THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HEL–”

The sound of glass shattering on the floor broke the shouting spell, bringing Bokuto and Kuroo back down to Earth.

“Please stop shouting inside the house.”

“Oh my god, Kenma, you broke a plate.”

“We have so many plates, Kuro. I have two eardrums.”

Kuroo laughed as he went to get the broom and dustpan. “Maybe we should get you an airhorn. Definitely safer than broken glass.”

Bokuto ran an anxious hand through his hair and took in his surroundings for the first time since stepping inside. Everything he needed for the evening had been shipped and delivered to Kuroo and Kenma’s house, for the sake of keeping his plans a secret.

Currently, twenty-four dozen red camellias covered every surface area in the spacious kitchen, three large bins full of decorations sat in the living room, and a cardboard box waited on the couch. This box was what Bokuto had been anticipating the most, and he dashed over to take a look inside.

“They got here a couple days ago. I hope you don’t mind, we looked through them.” Kenma appeared behind his shoulder.

“No, it’s cool. Thanks so much for keeping them here for me.”

He opened the box and pulled out stacks and stacks of his and Akaashi’s photos together over the years, ordered to be printed as retro-style polaroid photos. Something about the way the modern photos of them had been edited to look fuzzier, older, made Bokuto’s heart clench. It made it look like the two of them had been together for an entire lifetime already. He started thinking about how decades from now, their current photos might look something like this, and then had to stop himself before he got too far down that train of thought.

He cleared his throat and blinked quickly a few times, “Okay, flowers, decorations, photos, I think that’s everything. We can pick up champagne on the way. I told Coach I’d be there around 5.”

“You have the ring, right?” Kuroo came back in, the kitchen safety hazard now contained.

“Oh yeah,” he patted his zipped jacket pocket, “keeping it right here.”

“Allllrighty then,” Kuroo clapped his hands together, “let’s go get you engaged!”

Everyone was only sort of lying to Akaashi. There really was a training camp scheduled for that weekend, and Coach Yamiji had invited several professional alumni to come and help out. It may actually start Saturday morning instead of Friday evening, but that’s for Akaashi to find out later.

Their former coach had actually called and invited Bokuto about it three weeks ago.

“And I know he’s not playing volleyball anymore, but please bring Akaashi-kun along, if he’s free. I miss having his analytical skills around, and I think he would connect well with our first year setter in particular. He reminds me of him a bit, actually.”

The mention of his boyfriend ignited a flame of inspiration Bokuto had been waiting for since he purchased a very particular piece of jewelry almost 8 months ago. He sat straight up on the couch as if he had been touched by the gods. This was it. He’d been waiting for the perfect idea, and this was it.

He took a quick survey of their apartment and remembered that Akaashi had just gone out for groceries.

“I’ll definitely tell him! He’ll be in Tokyo for work that week anyway, so I bet it’ll work out.” He paused for a moment, bit his lip, and debated on taking the chance. Coach always had a soft spot for Akaashi, so what the hell, he thought, let’s shoot the shot. “Actually, Coach, speaking of Akaashi, I have a really big favor to ask you. Again.”

And then he laid out his plan to propose to his boyfriend in the Fukurodani gym.

Gym access freshly acquired, he hung up and immediately got to work. He had gotten a list from Coach Yamiji of all alumni who would be invited, and looked through the list to see who could possibly have any contact with Akaashi, in person or electronically, in the next three weeks.

He made a group chat and immediately sent:

FukuroNekoKara Training Camp (8 members)

HEY HEY HEY! If you happen to talk to Keiji in the next three weeks, DONT tell him about the training camp

I’m going to propose to him Friday night in the gym

And im going to use the training camp as a way to get him there without being suspicious

So he needs to think it starts friday night

But i dont think i can lie to him for three weeks

so im going to wait and tell him about it like three days before

Washio
Bokuto oh my GOD??????

Shoyo
OH MY GOD ITS HAPPENING
Wait can we not tell *anyone*

I dont think i can keep this a secret

Onaga
Jesus Christ, finally
He’s gonna love it dude

Ku-bro
DUDE IM CRYHIGN
THATS SO CUTE
HES GOING TO DIE

Kenma renamed the group chat ‘Akaashi’s Friends Are All Lying to Him’

Shoyo
Aw, Kenma :(

Kageyama
Congratulations, Bokuto-san

Washio
CAn I plEASE tell Konoha
Also this sounds like a lot of logistics, you good bro?

THANK YOU GUYS i literally just thought of the idea while I was on the phone with Coach Yamiji

Shoyo you can tell people as long as you are sURE they won’t tell Keiji

So maybe not Tsumu

Wait actually I might invite Tsumu, Coach said I could

Washio you can tell Konoha

Also im good at logistics now, fuck you

Kenma, fuck you too

Ku-Bro renamed the group chat ‘FUCKurodani Training Camp’

LMAOOOO nice

And if you know of anyone else going who might talk to Keiji in the next few weeks, please add them

I really really reeealllly want this to be a surprise and he’s too fucking smart

Tsukki
if i say im not going to the training camp can i leave this group chat
Congrats, though

Bokuto snorted at Tsukishima’s usual sass, and moved onto step two.

Sooooooooo I need some help with the proposal

Ku-Bro
Been waiting for this text for years, lay it on me

Thus, Kenma and Kuroo’s house became Proposal Command Center for the next three weeks.

“Shotgun,” Kenma called as he lazily slid into the front seat. Bokuto climbed in the back, having to hold a bouquet of camellias in his lap to have a clear place to sit.

As they pulled out of the drive, Bokuto couldn’t help but notice some old familiar anxieties creeping up his bones. It was like someone taking an ice-cold towel and running it up his legs, wrapping it around his hands and feet. Soon he knew it would get to his chest, and then it would be hard to calm down. He’d developed some tried and true strategies to keep his emotions a bit more regulated over the years, thanks heavily in part to Akaashi and his own therapist, but some anxieties are hard to quiet with steady breathing and affirmations. The annoying part was he wasn’t even sure what he was feeling anxious about, he just recognized the signs that it was happening.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the leather seat of Kuroo’s car. This wasn’t the day for a Bad Day. His head needed to be clear, and steady. He needed to be a normal ace, a normal boyfriend. He smiled silently to himself as he thought about how Akaashi would chide him for using the term “normal,” and mentally corrected himself. I need to be balanced, today, he thought, balanced, not normal.

Breathing deep, he remembered the first step for anytime he starts to feel overwhelmed: identify what thoughts are causing the problem.

He’s worried Akaashi will say no? No, I'm not worried about that. If there’s one thing I’m not worried about in my life, it’s that Akaashi wants to marry me. That makes him smile.

He’s worried something will go wrong with the proposal? I’m a little worried about that. But having Kenma and Kuroo to help is huge; it’s taking a lot of the stress off. And we’re getting there a couple hours early in case anything goes wrong.

Getting engaged means getting married, and there’s no going back after that. Hmm, that doesn’t feel great to think about. Is that it? But I wouldn’t ever want to ‘go back,’ I’ve known I wanted to marry Keiji since third year. Is it just scary because it’s such a big step? Or am…oh it’s because Keiji wouldn’t be able to...oh.

Problem identified. He was worried Akaashi was making a mistake by agreeing to marry him. He was worried he wasn’t good enough for Akaashi. He furrowed his brow, confused about why this was coming up now. This was something that hadn’t been a problem since the first year of their relationship, when they were both still in university.

Sighing in frustration at himself, he tried to move onto the next step: focusing on what he knows, instead of what he feels.

What he knows:

I don’t even believe that I’m not good enough for Keiji. My brain is just being dumb.

Even if I did believe that, Keiji is the smartest person alive. He makes his own decisions about who he dates or marries.

Keiji doesn’t put up with bullshit. If he didn’t want to be with me, he wouldn’t be.

I make Keiji happy. I know that because Keiji tells me every single day, and Keiji is a shit liar.

He smiled, briefly thinking about last year when he correctly guessed his birthday present three weeks in advance and Akaashi had tried (and miserably failed) to misdirect him into believing he had bought him something else. Absolutely hopeless.

Feeling a bit better, he rubbed his hand over his chest to try and soothe the dull ache that had started to set in.

“You okay man? Little quiet back there” Kuroo said gently from the driver’s seat.

“Yeah, thanks. Just a little nervous I think. Brain is being stupid.”

“Anything you feel like you need to share with the class?” Kenma’s sarcasm was deadpan, but his eyes betrayed his genuine concern when he turned around to the backseat.

Bokuto exhaled heavily and ran a hand through his hair. Step three: talk about it with someone you trust.

“Do you guys ever worry that like…you’re not good enough for each other?”

Kuroo and Kenma exchanged a glance across the front console before Kuroo spoke up.

“Not…exactly. We had some tough conversations when I was still in school and Kenma’s streaming was starting to really take off,” Kenma reached out to brush their fingers together before Kuroo continued, “I was worried I was going to hold him back or that we weren’t going to have time for each other. But neither of us ever really worried that we just weren’t good enough for each other.”

Silence filled the car for a few moments.

“Are you thinking that about you? Little late to be worrying if you’re good enough for Akaashi, dude.” He chuckled in an attempt to seem lightheard, but his care for his best friend bled through.

“No, I don’t actually think that. Anymore, anyway. I used to think that all the time. It’s part of the reason it took so long for me and Keiji to finally get together. I know it isn’t true, but my brain is just kind of…falling back into some bad habits I guess. Telling me things I know aren’t true. Hard to ignore.”

“I’ve never told you,” Kenma shifted uncomfortably in his seat “but at the training camp mine and Akaashi’s third year, before you guys got together, he told me he was in love with you but that he had decided to never tell you because, and this is a direct quote, ‘He’s the best person I’ll ever know. Someone like him shouldn’t settle for being with someone like me. As long as I get to stay in his life somehow I think that would be enough.’”

Bokuto’s head shot up, “He said that?”

“Mm. You both think the other is the most incredible person to ever walk the earth, and so both of you think, or used to think I guess, you weren’t good enough for the other. It’s probably unhealthy and I really hope you both talked about it to each other and your therapists at some point but also, I mean, it’s…sweet…in a way. Just like, the level of pure admiration you both have for each other. I don’t think you ever need to worry about not being good enough for him. He can’t imagine anything better than you.”

A tangible beat of quiet. And then-

“KENMA why the actual FUCK did you not tell me that 8 years ago-”

“Kyannmaaaaaaaaa that was so sweet-”

Kenma shrunk down so far in the passenger seat to avoid Bokuto’s repeated whacks to his headrest, he was nearly on the floor. “He asked me not to say anything to anyone, will you two shut UP??”

Bokuto sat back in his seat and closed his eyes, anxieties successfully quelled.

“God, he’s unreal. I love him so much.”

“We know, it’s disgusting.”

“HEH?? You just said it was sweet.”

“No I didn’t.”

“He's blushing Bo, he thinks it’s soooooo sweet.”

“No I don’t.”

The Fukurodani gym looked exactly the way Bokuto remembered it. Kuroo and Kenma decided to wait in the car (“I’m not trying to get mobbed by a bunch of teenage boys who probably watched my stream last night, Kuroo”) while he went on ahead to greet and once again thank Coach Yamiji, as well as get the key so he could lock up later in the evening. He entered the gym quietly (probably the first time I’ve ever done that, he thought to himself) so as not to disturb the last few minutes of the team’s practice, and waited by the door.

Unfortunately, he forgot the inconvenient reality of him, a professional and nationally loved volleyball player, being in a gym full of teenage boys who love volleyball. He was in the room for about 15 seconds before he heard the shocked whisper screams coming from the court.

“Is that Bokuto Koutarou??”

“Coach, I thought you said you weren’t asking them to come to the training camp?”

“Is he here to practice with us??”

Coach Yamiji turned and greeted Bokuto with a warm smile.

“Bokuto-kun, great to see you! Welcome back to Fukurodani.”

“Thank you again so much for allowing me to be here today. I hope I’m not interrupting practice!” he bowed deeply, hoping he was adequately relaying his gratitude, but his former coach just laughed.

“Stand up and shake my hand. Stop being so formal, you’ve been to the Olympics for crying out loud. And as for practice, we’re just wrapping up. Sorry, I would have had these guys out of here already but our last set went a little long.”

Bokuto turned to the team of starry-eyed teenagers and smiled, bowing once again.

“Sorry for cutting your practice short! Nice to meet all of you.”

One boy stepped forward to the front of the group. “Are you here for the training camp? Is there something special going on tonight you had to be here early for?”

“Fukuda-kun, don’t be nosy. He is here for training camp, but it starts tomorrow. I’ve told you a million times.”

“Yeah but he’s here early so maybe there’s a surprise like last time whe-”

“He’s not here tonight for training camp, and if you keep asking questions I’ll make you run laps tomorrow while everyone else is playing. Understand?”

“Yes, coach. Sorry Bokuto-senshu.”

Bokuto just laughed and shrugged it off, “It’s no problem, I’m really excited about your training camp. It sounds like it’s gonna be a ton of fun! But yeah, that’s not why I’m here early. I don’t mind telling you guys why I’m here if you really want to know. It’s personal stuff though, probably not that exciting to you.”

“They worship the ground you walk on,” Yamiji chimed in while collecting practice jerseys from his players, “they’d listen to you read a grocery list.”

“Okay well in that case,” he pauses for a second, realizing he’s about to out himself to a bunch of teenage boys he just met. He’s definitely out in the public eye, and anyone who wanted to know about his relationship with Akaashi could easily find it, but Akaashi is super private on social media so he tries not to post or talk about him super frequently. It’s easily the hardest part of his job, because anytime there’s a mic or a camera in his face, all he wants to do is talk about Akaashi.

Also, just because he and all his friends were super open and accepting when they were in high school doesn’t mean these guys will be. And a huge percentage of the guys he played with in high school turned out to be queer too, so he knows he was really lucky. What if these kids are dicks? Not that it should bother him– he’s very confident in his sexuality and his relationship– but he would hate for the rest of the training camp to be awkward if they go into it hating him.

But then he thinks about what it would have meant to a 17 year old Koutarou, who had just realized he was in love with his setter, for a professional volleyball player to come into his gym, and tell him he was going to propose to the love of his life– another man.

“I’m actually here because I’m proposing to my boyfriend tonight. We met in this gym so I thought it would be special. He thinks the training camp starts tonight so he’ll be here in a couple hours.”

The boys exploded. Two of them immediately started jumping on two of the other boys' backs, and they all started cheering and screaming. In all the commotion, he noticed one boy in particular, standing in the back, who was smiling but watching him intently instead of flailing about like his teammates.

He couldn’t think about it long though, because he was immediately attacked with questions and commentary.

“That’s so cool, oh my god I’m going to die.”

“Does he play volleyball too?”

“Did you meet because you played on the same team?”

“They played together in high school, don’t you guys follow him on Instagram?”

“Coach, do you know Bokuto-senshu’s boyfriend?”

“I told you all to stop being nosy, dammit.”

Bokuto just beamed, happy to have a chance to gush about his other half.

“Yeah he was my setter in high school! The best setter I’ve ever had but don’t tell Tsumu if you ever meet him.”

They all gasped at the high praise, and then a couple started asking questions about Atsumu before he continued on.

“His name’s Akaashi and he doesn’t play anymore but he was really good in high school. He was a year younger than me and he would always stay late after practice to help me work on my cross shot.” Yamiji chuckled at this, and Bokuto turned toward him, “What?”

“It took me about three weeks after he joined to figure out he didn’t give a shit about your cross shot.”

“WHAT? How can you say that?? We spent hours everyday working on it. And he had loads of homework because he was in all the smart classes so he didn’t have time to waste.”

“Bokuto-kun, he just wanted to spend time with you.”

“Well yeah, and work on my cross shot.”

The boys all laughed and asked if they’d get to meet him this weekend.

“Yeah, hopefully when you meet him he’ll be my fiancé! I doubt I’ll be able to convince him to set since Kageyama will be her-”

Another teenage explosion, even louder this time. One of the boys looked close to tears. Yamiji rubbed his hand down his face.

“I hadn’t told them who all was coming, thanks for that.”

“Bokuto-senshu please tell us who else is coming to training camp!”

“Okay so it’s me, Kageyama, Hi–”

“You’ll find out in the morning. Now go home, go to sleep, and be here on time tomorrow. 8am!”

There was some grumbling and whining as the boys filed out, and Bokuto couldn’t help but chuckle, thinking about how excited he would have been in their shoes. As the last of the group passed by, Yamiji stopped a shorter boy lagging behind the rest.

“Hirano-kun, don’t worry about the key tonight. Bokuto will lock up after he’s done here. He knows where everything goes.”

Hirano bowed to both of them, handing the key to Yamiji and turning briefly to Bokuto before he left. Bokuto noticed he was the same boy who had been standing towards the back of the group earlier, a bit more reserved, but hanging on his every word while he spoke about Akaashi.

“Thank you for taking the time to be here this weekend, Bokuto-senshu. It’s very nice to meet you. Good luck with the proposal this evening.” He bowed deeply before leaving the gym.

So formal, he thought, reminds me of someone else in high school. “Well they seem like a fun bunch!”

Yamiji laughed, full and loud. “They’re nothing compared to you and Konoha-kun. But they’re a good group of boys. Hardworking, too. I think we’ve got a good chance at nationals this year.”

“The kid at the end, is he the captain? He had the key.”

“Vice-captain. Our captain had to leave early today. Hirano-kun is the one I mentioned to you on the phone. He’s such a great kid– he’s a second year but was already our starting setter last year. I think he and Akaashi-kun are alike in a lot of ways. Both very reserved, like to sit back and observe before they jump into anything. And well,” he scratched his chin, pausing before continuing on, “you pick up on stuff as a coach. I think…seeing you and Akaashi-kun together tomorrow might mean a lot to him.”

Bokuto understood, and his heart split in two only for those two halves to completely melt. He was suddenly very determined to make sure Hirano had the best training camp ever.

“I’m sure Akaashi will be excited to work with him this weekend.”

“I think so too. Well, I’ll leave you to it, then. Good look, Bokuto-kun. See you boys tomorrow.” With a heartfelt smile and one last wave, Bokuto found himself alone in the gym.

And then remembered his two best friends and 24 dozen flowers waiting in the car outside.

One hour, several trips back and forth to the car, and three attempts to evenly hang strings lights on a volleyball net later, the gym was transformed.

The bouquets of camellias formed a semi-circle that came to a point in the middle of the net, lined by an even larger semi-circle of candles. They’d strung fairy lights along the net, highlighting the dozens of polaroid photos of their relationship through the years clipped to the net using tiny clothespins. That was secretly Bokuto’s favorite part of the set up, and he had a hunch it would be Akaashi’s favorite too. He had also laid out a blanket with tons of pillows in the middle of the “flower semi-circle thing,” as Kuroo was calling it, with a bucket of ice and champagne and two glasses because he was pretty sure they’d want to be there a while afterwards, just the two of them.

The effect was beautiful. The candles and lights were working together to emit just the soft, dreamy glow he had been envisioning for the perfect moment.

He snapped a quick picture of the set-up before turning to Kenma, who was currently setting up a tripod and a camera off to the side of the romantic tableau.

“Okay go stand where you’re going to stand later for just a sec, I need to make sure this will actually be able to see you.”

Akaashi’s one request when it came to a proposal was that no one else be present. He wanted just himself and Bokuto to share this moment, and Bokuto completely, totally, definitely understood that. But he also absolutely, wholeheartedly wanted a visual memory of the moment the love of his life agreed to marry him. Hence, Kenma setting up the camera.

“Okay, yeah.” A quick shutter click. “I think that’s good, come look.”

Bokuto gave his approval, and listened to Kenma’s instructions.

“Before Akaashi gets here, start taking a video. That way once everything’s over you can just screenshot any parts of the video you want, and have those as pictures. Plus then you’ll have the whole video too, I guess.”

“It’s perfect, thanks for this, Kenma, really.”

Everything set up and ready, Kuroo and Kenma gave him one last hug, wished him luck, and he was suddenly alone.

Bokuto placed his hands on his hips, taking a deep breath and letting out a long exhale as he surveyed their hard work. Everything was perfect. He was a little nervous, but he was ready. He knew Akaashi would be there relatively soon, and as if he were dating a mind-reader, he got a text from Akaashi.

Keiji 🖤✨
Just got off the train, see you soon love

WOO!!! In the gym, see you soon baby!

He remembered the picture he’d taken of everything earlier, and sent it off to his group chat with the other Jackals. They’d been blowing his phone up all day asking for updates, even though he told them it wasn’t happening until tonight. He briefly noticed dozens of unread texts in his phone from people wishing him luck, and he decided he’d take a look at them later. He didn’t have time to get distracted at the moment.

Just as he was about to pocket his phone for the evening, he felt his phone buzz, and thinking it might be Akaashi, he quickly opened it.

It wasn’t Akaashi.

Jack-offs 🏐

[photo attached]

Everything’s ready!!!!! He’s on his way I’m so nervous but excited but asdfahsdfla

NERVOUS

Shoyo
AHHHH BOKUTO-SAN!!!
It looks so pretty, you guys did a great job!

Tsum Tsum
Awwwww Bokkun it’s so sweet! He’s gonna love it
Think he’ll say yes???

Omi-kun
Shut the fuck up Miya they’ve been together for like 40 years

Meian
It looks great, Bokuto! Good luck!

Tsum Tsum
Okay someone’s prickly
Jealous no one’s proposing to you, omi?

Bokuto laughed at the typical team banter and turned off his phone before pocketing it. He wasn’t going to take the chance of any distractions.

He turned around, taking one last look at the photos hung on the net, contemplating any last minute rearranging. They were displayed in chronological order of their relationship, starting with Keiji’s first year at Fukurodani, up until a photo of the two of them after a Jackals game last month. They had both changed so much in the more than 10 years they’d known each other, but the same loving smiles and adoring looks were a common thread through each picture.

Bokuto walked about halfway down the net to where he knew his favorite picture hung, front and center. It was a photo taken of the two of them at his oldest sister’s wedding, about four years after they started dating. Akaashi had been in his last year of college at the time, and Bokuto was just getting his footing on the Jackals. In the photo, Akaashi was leaning his head on Bokuto’s shoulder with Bokuto’s resting on the crown of his head, hand gently wrapped around Akaashi’s waist, both of them watching the bride and groom during their first dance. One of Bokuto’s cousins had taken the photo without either of them knowing until she sent it to Bokuto later. The photo itself was simple and sweet, but Bokuto always remembered the conversation they’d been having while it was taken.

“Kou do you want to get married someday?”

He did. He did so badly. He and Akaashi talked about their future together all the time– places they’d like to live one day, pets they wanted to adopt, trips they wanted to go on. They hadn’t talked explicitly about marriage, but they both understood they were in this for the long haul, together, however that may look. Bokuto just happened to hope that it would look like getting married and being able to call Akaashi his husband.

“Like, you mean to you? You and me?”

Akaashi lifted his head and looked his boyfriend in the eye. He could have melted entire buildings with the love shown there.

“Yes, to me. You and me.”

“YES yeah oh my gosh yes I do want that yep, yes.”

Akaashi squeezed his hand. “Okay good, me too. More than anything, actually.”

They were silent for a few minutes while Bokuto’s mind raced. As excited as he was with the recent development, he worried that Akaashi was hoping to get married soon. Bokuto wasn’t making much money yet with the Jackals, it usually took a couple seasons for sponsorships to start coming in. He didn’t have a lot of money to save up for a ring yet. Not to mention Akaashi was still in college and super focused on finding a job after he graduated and wouldn’t have much time to devote to wedding planning. And he knew Akaashi would want to devote lots of time to wedding planning.

“But um, Keiji, I mean as much as I want that, we probably shouldn’t for like, for a while. It probably wouldn’t be a good-”

“Oh my God, Kou of course not. Where the fuck would we live?”

“Oh thank God, I was starting to panic,” Bokuto exhaled in relief.

Akaashi chuckled, and Bokuto continued on, “But in a few years maybe? Maybe we can start talking about it a little more once we know where you're ending up after you graduate and we’re both feeling a little more settled?”

“Yeah love, I think that sounds great.” Akaashi planted a soft kiss on his cheek, and Bokuto beamed as he started thinking about forever.

The sound of quick footsteps and a door slamming open quickly brought him out of his reverie.

Bokuto turned to see a frazzled Akaashi, still adorable even in slightly rumpled work clothes, standing incredulously in the doorway. He looked out of breath. Did he run here, Bokuto briefly thought?

Akaashi looked at Bokuto. Bokuto looked at Akaashi. Neither said anything for a few seconds.

“Oh, fuck-”

Akaashi immediately started sobbing. Full-on bawling, like a faucet had burst. Bokuto hadn’t seen anything like it since they were in high school.

“You we-were right,” Akaashi wailed.

Bokuto was confused for just a second, but once he understood, he couldn’t help himself; he started cackling.

Six months ago

Akaashi and Bokuto were lying on the couch in their apartment, enjoying a rare lazy weekend afternoon together. Akaashi had his head resting in Bokuto’s lap, enjoying the feeling of his boyfriend idly playing with his fingers, tracing them up and down with his own.

Then suddenly, out of nowhere-

“Do you think you’ll cry when we get engaged?”
“To be honest, I haven’t really thought much about us getting engaged.”
“Wait, do you not want..? I thought we..I mean we had talked..I guess-” Bokuto felt himself deflating by the second. They’d talked about getting married so many times, how could he possibly have misread that?
Akaashi realized his mistake and sat straight up.“Oh no, no wait, God no, Kou look at me. Sorry love, that wasn’t worded well. I think about us being engaged and being married more than I’m not thinking about it. There’s literally nothing that would make me happier. I just meant I haven’t really thought much about the logistics of getting engaged, as in like, the proposal itself. Who’s doing the proposing, rings, all those details. I haven’t thought about that much, I tend to just skip a little further down the road in the process.”

“Really? It’s all good, though. Every part of it.”

“That’s..a great and adorable point. You’re absolutely right. Sorry if I scared you, just chose the wrong words.”

“No it’s okay, I see what you’re saying now.”

He was quiet for a moment, and then, “So if you haven’t thought about it, does that mean you don’t have a preference on who proposes?”

“The fact that you’re asking makes me feel like you do,” he teased. “And no, I don’t have a preference. As long as I end up as your fiancé I really don’t care what else happens.”

“Okay sick, I’m totally gonna come up with something that makes you cry.”

“Pfft I cry so easily. That’s not exactly a challenge.”

“You don’t cry that often, I don’t think? Like a couple sniffles or tears when you get stressed or overwhelmed but I think I’ve only seen you full-on ugly cry like once, after we lost at Nationals my third year.”

“Oh you’re going to make me ugly cry? That’s different, then. Wait actually I do have one condition- I want us to be the only two people there, nothing public, no one else around. Not even family or friends. Just us.”

Bokuto sighed dramatically, “Well nevermind then, let me just text Shoyo and cancel the choreographed team post-game flash mob.”

“Oh so those would be tears of anger, for sure.” He laughed and playfully nudged him in the ribs. “I’m sure whatever you come up with will be perfect, Kou. I can’t wait.”

He laid his head back down, smiling.

“But I’m not going to ugly cry.”

Immediately after rushing into the gym, Akaashi made several observations in the span of about two seconds:

Firstly, he’d definitely been lured to the gym under false pretenses- there was obviously no training camp.

Secondly, Bokuto was waiting for him in the middle of the court, right in front of a net that appeared to be covered in photos. He would bet those were likely photos of the two of them.

Thirdly, there were candles literally everywhere. It was beautiful, ethereal, even. He was momentarily worried about setting off the sprinklers.

Fourthly, there were dozens of bouquets of camellias, his favorite flowers. Which he was allergic to. Which was why his boyfriend had reminded him to take his allergy meds every morning for the last three weeks and oh god, he was absolutely done for.

Finally, and most importantly, he realized all of this meant Bokuto was about to propose to him in the room where they first met.

This final emotional gut-punch is too much to bear, and he bursts into tears, remembering a specific conversation regarding proposals from several months ago.

“You we-were right.” Oh my god, he had never cried this hard in his entire life. He couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t see very well but he heard laughter coming from somewhere in front of him. He was laughing. Akaashi was fighting for his life and his unbelievably kind, loving, supportive, thoughtful, beautiful partner until the end of his days had the audacity to laugh?

As his sobs slowly started giving way to hiccups, he felt Bokuto’s hands on his own, gently lifting them away from his face.

“Hi baby, how was work?”

“Oh fuck you,” he wiped his face and laughed at his boyfriend’s (oh my god fiancé in like 5 minutes probably) attempt at feigned nonchalance.

Bokuto chuckled, took his hand and led him towards the downright picturesque area he had set up for them. He stopped at the middle of the net and took Akaashi’s other hand as well, turning to face him.

“I guess it’s pretty obvious what I’m up to, huh?”

“I might have an idea,” he was still crying a bit but his breathing was much more under control, “it’s beautiful, love.”

“Mmm, thanks, Kuroo and Kenma helped a lot. They’ve been keeping all this at their house for a while.”

Akaashi rolled his eyes fondly, but he knew the remaining tears would dampen a bit of the desired snark “I can’t wait to hear who all has been keeping this a secret from me.”

Bokuto laughed softly and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Oh just about everyone we know, no big deal.”

Akaashi took a deep steadying breath, “I think I’m okay now, I might cry a little more but I can breathe at least. God, you really got me by surprise there.”

Bokuto mentally fist-pumped for his success, and then gave him a couple more minutes to catch his breath and calm down, rubbing his thumbs softly back and forth over the backs of his hands.

“Good?” Bokuto’s voice had dropped to just above a whisper.

“Yeah, good,” Akaashi whispered back.

“Good. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“I need to tell you a few things, and then I’m going to ask you something, okay?” He was still holding both of his hands.

“Okay,” Akaashi felt his eyes sting and voice starting to wobble again.

“I wanted to bring you here tonight because this is where we met. That was the third best day of my life so far. The second best day of my life so far was when I got to kiss you for the first time, and that was in here too. The absolute best day of my life so far is hopefully going to be today but we’ll get to that in just a second. I thought it would be cool if all of those things happened in the same room.”

“It’s beautiful Kou, that was really thoughtful.” A few tears slipped down his face.

“I thought you’d like it. Okay. Do you need a minute or are you good?”

“Just need a second.”

“Take your time.” Akaashi tilted his head up and took a couple deep breaths.

“Okay. Okay I think I’m good.” He was so, so happy.

“Okay,” Bokuto lifted his hand to his mouth, giving it a gentle kiss, just a brush of his lips really, before continuing.

“Keiji, for so long I was never really naturally good at anything except volleyball-” Akaashi opened his mouth to interrupt and disagree.

“No, no, wait, you’re very sweet, but just listen, I promise. I’ve never really been naturally good at anything other than volleyball. It’s the only thing that came easy to me for so long. In school I had to work SO hard to be able to sit still and learn in class. I was always too loud and too…much for most people so I had to work really hard to make friends and get a hold of myself when I got upset. I had to work so hard in college to be able to pass most of my classes. I had to work really hard to learn how to do so many stupid things that come easy to so many people like, I don’t know, cooking, or remembering when my dentist appointments are.

“But Keiji, loving you? Oh god, I’m pretty sure I was doing it before I even realized it. Nothing has ever come to me as easily as loving you. I do it without trying. Making you happy feels like breathing. Our life is so perfect, and I know there have been parts that weren’t easy, but even when those parts come up, figuring them out with you? That’s like blinking. It’s like grass being green and the sky being blue. There are so many times when I honestly can’t believe you exist, because I just can’t-” Bokuto now had a couple tears of his own falling slowly.

“I can’t wrap my mind around being able to love someone so much. You are so, so easy to love. It’s something I want to do forever, if you’ll let me.”

And then he dropped to one knee, pulled a small box out of his pocket, and opened it towards Akaashi.

“Akaashi Keiji, I think you’re a miracle. Can I please be your husband?”

At first, the only thought Akaashi had was that he really hoped Bokuto had written that down because holy hell.

He just stood there for a second. He couldn’t make his body move, his lips wouldn’t say the word. Was it possible to be paralyzed from happiness? His tear ducts were certainly still working, and then slowly, so slowly he started to worry he was going to make Bokuto anxious, he cajoled his muscles into a smile, a nod, and he was able to whisper out the one word he’d been dying to say since he ran into the gym–

“Ye-”

He didn’t even fully get his answer out before he was lifted in his fiancé’s arms, legs wrapped around his waist.

Ring box shut and dropped on the ground, strong hands under his legs, kisses on his cheeks, his forehead, his neck, his temple, his lips. His lips. His lips. His lips.

He rested their foreheads together and squeezed as tight as he could manage.

“I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Bokuto’s voice came out a bit wobbly.

“Oh my god, are you crying? That’s so embarrassing for you.”

His fiancé threw his head back and laughed, full and loud and perfect.

“Wait, you LIED to me!!”

They were laying on the pallet Bokuto had created earlier, lounging on way too many pillows, already almost through their first bottle of champagne– Bokuto had brought three. He was currently sitting back against a mountain of said pillows, with Akaashi in front of him, sitting between his legs and leaning back against his chest.

“Oh baby, I lied to you so much,” he laughed as he reached up to top Akaashi off.

“Like, about several different things!”

“Mmhmm.”

Akaashi thought about the texts he’d received over the last couple days. “You got other people to lie to me. Kenma and Kageyama-kun both texted me asking if I was coming this weekend.”

“Yep. Wait actually there really is a training camp this weekend, it just starts tomorrow. We can talk about that later though.”

“Oh my god.”

“Are you so proud of me?”

“Yes, I’m actually astonished. I’m..the fact that you didn’t give anything away is so impressive.”

“Great! I’m never doing it again, I hated every second of it.”

“Wait, so we were actually invited to a training camp?”

“Yeah three weeks ago. I asked Yamiji if I could come earlier to do this and he was all about it. I just waited to tell you because I knew even keeping something from you for two days was pushing it.”

“And you got all invested in my allergy medicine-”

“Because of the flowers, yeah.”

“Mmm, they’re beautiful. Thanks, love.” Akaashi nestled into his shoulder, lifted his left hand and inspected his ring, “and so’s this.”

Bokuto had custom ordered a yellow gold band with a single, small inlaid black diamond. It was elegant, classy, and so perfectly Akaashi.

“I know we were already planning to go help out with their training camp but if you’d rather dip and do our own thing, I’d totally understand. They really only asked us to come tomorrow morning anyway.”

“No! I think it would be fun, even though I was told under false pretenses,” he reached back to playfully flick Bokuto on the arm, “I’ve really been looking forward to it.”

“Okay, great! I think it’ll be fun. Maybe I’ll get you to set for me if I’m lucky.”

“Be honest, was all this,” he gestured to the entire set up, “just an elaborate ruse to get me to set to you.”

“Keiji!” He dramatically placed a hand on his chest, “I can’t believe you would accuse me of that. Absolutely not.” He laughed and leaned forward, pressing kiss after kiss to the spot between his fiancé’s neck and shoulder.

“Mmm, we’ll see. Don’t hold your breath.”

“It’s not a no! There’s hope!” Akaashi took another swig of his champagne and lovingly rolled his eyes.

They sat for a few minutes in comfortable silence, holding each other and relishing the chance to get familiar with the feeling of being engaged. Bokuto couldn’t wrap his mind around it. He imagined introducing people to Akaashi as his fiancé, Akaashi introducing him as his fiancé. It was nearly too good to be true, and he couldn’t stop the grin plastered to his face and he leaned forward to place another gentle kiss to the back of Akaashi’s head.

“So Spring or Fall wedding, what do you think?”

Bokuto barked out a laugh, “You held out from planning for almost thirty minutes, I’m impressed.”

Later that evening, they found themselves in the hotel room Bokuto had wisely booked, full of champagne and room service, and wrapped up equally in their fluffy hotel bathrobes and each other. Legs tangled together on the bed, they were getting around to combing through the video recorded on Kenma’s camera for anything they wanted to save or post.

Bokuto had been a little concerned about how they’d handle announcing their engagement, given Akaashi’s history of apprehension towards any kind of media attention, but he quickly found out he was worried over nothing.

“Honestly, I don’t give a shit about how many Instagram followers you have. I’m going to brag about being your fiancé and I’m going to do so loudly, and often.”

They’d gotten sidetracked from the video for a bit after that.

Once they actually started diving into the video they realized Bokuto had forgotten to stop recording after everything was over, so they actually had about two hours of footage to look through. Luckily the actual proposal was only about 3 minutes so it didn’t really take that long.

Akaashi carded his hand through his love’s hair and planted soft kisses to the crown of his head as they watched their engagement play out on the screen.

“You really had no idea?”

“Kou, I nearly had a panic attack.”

“You’re just so smart and you always see everything coming, I never thought I’d actually pull off a surpris–”

“Oh wait, there! Stop there. Oh Kou, I love that.”

“Oooohhhh, me too. What if we both post this one?”

“I think that’s perfect.”

Bokuto thought it would be fun if they kept their captions a secret from each other until they posted, and Akaashi agreed, so they sat on opposite sides of the bed, facing away from each other as they both typed. Once they were done, they both sent the drafts off to the Jackals PR team for approval, as was required by Bokuto’s contract, and went back to cuddling in bed.

“We probably won’t hear back from them until tomorrow since it’s pretty late.”

“Mm, I’m excited to see what you wrote.”

“You too.”

They laid together for a few more minutes, Akaashi nestled into Bokuto’s chest with one leg thrown across his waist. Bokuto’s hand was softly carding through his fiancés hair when he decided he actually didn’t want to wait any longer.

“I changed my mind.”

Akaashi stiffened, “Elaborate immediately.”

Laughter burst from Bokuto’s chest, “I just meant about keeping our captions secret! You were typing for a while and you seemed proud of it, I want to know what you said.”

He could feel the tension leave Akaashi’s body on top of him. “Baby,” he squeezed his slender frame and pressed rapid-fire kisses into the black curly hair he loved so much, “you didn’t think I’d changed my mind about proposing to you, did you?”

“No, no I know you actually wouldn’t. It’s just,” Akaashi sat up, “I’m so happy Kou, almost to the point that it feels a little too good to be true. You know when you’re having a great dream but then you realize it’s a dream so you start dreading waking up. I almost feel like that. Like I’m so happy I’m scared to believe it.”

Bokuto flicked him in the forehead and then soothed it with a kiss. “Well, believe it. I’ve wanted to marry you since I was 17 so I’m not joking around here. Now, what did you write, I wanna read it.”

“Wait, I want to see yours first.”

Bokuto heaved a dramatic, drawn out sigh, and then smiled so Akaashi would know he was kidding, and pulled up his draft.

“Here,” he held it out for Akaashi to take.

Akaashi read the caption and scrolled through the pictures he’d picked out. When he was done, he looked up, smiling softly, and leaned forward to press the gentlest of kisses to Bokuto’s lips.

“Likewise, love.”

“Okay, yours yours yours, your turn, hand it over.” He made grabby hands at Akaashi’s phone.

Obviously, he knew Akaashi was smart and talented. Akaashi majored in literature and creative writing, so he knew that anything Akaashi wrote would be poignant at least, life-changing at most.

But he wasn’t prepared for this. He read through his fiancé’s caption a few times, and looked up, completely breathless.

“Keiji…”

“Do you like it?” Akaashi sounded almost unsure, as if Bokuto would ever be anything but spellbound by words like that from the man he loved.

All Bokuto could think was that this man– this stunning, remarkable, spectacular man– had somehow, miraculously, agreed to be his, forever. And that even though forever was a long time he sure as hell wasn’t going to waste any time tonight.

He quickly turned off Akaashi’s phone and tossed both of their phones onto the nearby dresser. Returning to the bed, he hastily dropped his robe to the floor and crawled over Akaashi to whisper in his ear–

“I’ll show you exactly how much I liked it.”

Bokuto may have been a bit too enthusiastic in his efforts, because they overslept the next morning. Although, for once in his life, Akaashi really couldn’t find it in himself to care. Last night was without a doubt the best night of his life, and even though he was a bit, uh, sore, he couldn’t get the thought out of his head that today was his first full day engaged to Bokuto. His first full day as a fiancé. It was so sentimental he couldn’t help but roll his eyes at himself in the mirror as he brushed his teeth, but he smiled nonetheless. Bokuto caught it in the mirror.

“What’s up?”

“Nuffing,” he spat out his toothpaste and rinsed his mouth out, “was just thinking about how excited I am to show this off.” He held up his left hand and wiggled his fingers.

“And you rolled your eyes at that??” Bokuto pouted a little, but Akaashi just laughed and kissed him on the cheek.

“Yes, I love you so much I’m being embarrassing. Let’s go, we’re late.”

The journey from the train station to the gym took about half the time it took Akaashi the night before, because they were both practically running.

By the time they reached the gym they were officially 20 minutes late, but before Akaashi could reach the door handle to go inside, he felt Bokuto’s hand on his wrist. Bokuto didn’t give him any time to react– just wordlessly spun him around, pinned his back to the wall, and pulled him in for a kiss.

It started innocently enough, Bokuto’s hands on his waist and his lips moving slowly and gently against his own.

And then it suddenly became something else. It became hands sliding up backs under his t-shirts, hands in carefully gelled-up hair. It became a tongue teasing between two lips and being let in without hesitation. It became quiet whimpers and groans in the backs of throats that would get louder if they didn’t stop soon. It became hips pulled flush against each other and then–

It was done. Bokuto pulled back and rested his forehead against Akaashi’s, both men breathing heavily.

“Whoa,” Akaashi panted, “hi.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t planning on getting carried away.”

“It’s okay love, you okay?” They both took a few more deep breaths to get themselves under control.

“Hm? Oh, yeah for sure,” Bokuto stepped away to readjust and make sure his practice clothes were in order. “Just probably won’t be able to kiss you for the next few hours so I wanted to get one more good one in before we go inside.” Once he was sure he looked okay he turned and started towards the gym door.

How the hell did I land him, Akaashi thought, running a hand through his own hair. “Fuck me,” he muttered to himself.

At the door, Bokuto turned around. “Thought you were sore?” And then he winked, the bastard, and walked inside.

“Fuck me,” Akaashi whispered.

Chaos erupted the second they walked in. Onaga and Washio immediately ran over, enveloping their former teammates in a group hug. Shoyo was clambering over everyone asking Akaashi to show him the ring, sighing dramatically and looking pointedly at Kageyama. Atsumu– both Atsumu and Sakusa had been invited, but Sakusa had said “he’d rather die than spend any of his time off in a gym full of teenage boys–” wrapped Bokuto up in a dramatic hug and started loudly exclaiming how happy he was for his spiker. Kuroo immediately started teasing them about the reason for their tardiness, which they of course had no intention of revealing, much to Kuroo’s dismay.

(“I cleaned this entire gym up for you last night, the least you can do is let me tease you for fucking so much you overslept.”).

The training camp had quickly devolved into a tearful celebration amongst friends, and Akaashi felt more than a little guilty about interrupting the high-schoolers’ practice.

He bowed deeply to Coach Yamiji.

“We’re so sorry for interrupting, and also for being late.”

“Relax Akaashi-kun, it’s no problem at all. We’ve barely even gotten started. Stand up, stop being so formal. Seems like nothing’s changed there.” He reached out for a handshake, “It’s great to see you again. Congrats on the engagement.”

“I heard you played a bit of a part in it, thanks for letting us use the gym.”

“Ah, I’d probably do just about anything for you kids. No need to thank me.”

He then turned to the three teams of teenage boys, all of their eyes on Bokuto. Akaashi swore that a couple of them were about to cry from excitement.

“This is Bokuto Koutarou and Akaashi Keiji. Bokuto, as many of you know, is currently an Opposite Hitter for the MSBY Black Jackals with Miya, and formerly Hinata. Akaashi doesn’t play volleyball anymore, but he was a very talented setter when he played for me here at Fukurodani. He’s a great strategist. We’re very lucky, and extremely grateful,” he emphasized this word, prompting the boys to thank them, “they were able to stop by.”

All three teams bowed deeply and gave a collective, “Thank you very much!”

Bokuto was quickly caught up to speed on the day’s agenda and joined right in with running drills, demonstrations, and anything else Yamiji asked for. A few minutes and one long discussion about who did and didn’t want to work together later, Kuroo and Tuskishima were showing the middle blockers from all three teams how to watch their opponent’s run up to the net in order to determine the timing for their jumps. Bokuto was playing the role of spiker, Kageyama setter. Despite not playing at a professional level, Kuroo still knew what he was doing. Having played against Bokuto all three years of high school and being present for several Jackals games every season probably didn’t hurt either. It was a beautiful set, a beautiful spike, and an even more beautiful block. Kuroo cackled as Bokuto groaned dramatically. Tuskishima ignored them completely, pushing his glasses up and turning around to discuss the play with the players gathered around, and they were truly hanging on his every word.

Akaashi chuckled and made his way over to an empty chair on the sidelines, where Kenma was waiting, legs crossed, an elbow propped on his knee, chin in his hand. The two went to JVA games together pretty frequently, considering the close connections of their respective partners, and Kenma’s penchant for visually dissecting the strengths and weaknesses of every player on the court had yet to wane.

Akaashi sat down and bypassed a greeting. “This has to be pretty new for you, huh?”

“What, volleyball? Or did you mean seeing Kuroo trying desperately to look cool? Either way, obviously not.”

“Mm, no I meant the whole ‘being in a room full of teenage boys and none of them mobbing you for autographs’ of it all.”

Kenma let out an amused huff. “I think the coaches gave all the boys a pretty tough lecture about being respectful to celebrities before we all got here, volleyball or otherwise. A couple of them keep looking at me, though.”

Suddenly, Kenma’s demeanor shifted and he turned towards Akaashi. “You, though,” he said, chin still resting on his hand, a mischievous gleam in his eye, “Good night, last night?”

“Not my worst, got engaged to the love of my life.”

“Mm, gross. Judging by how uncomfortable you look in that chair I’m sure that’s not all you got.”

Akaashi pinched the bridge of his nose, “You’re as bad as Kuroo, you know that?”

“Extremely rude thing to say to your best friend.”

“Real friends are honest with each other.”

They snickered, enjoying the familiar banter while they watched their respective partners on the court. Bokuto was now tossing up balls for the Fukurodani spikers while Nemoka practiced receiving them. Kuroo was helping one of the Nekoma first years with this receiving form. One of the players on Fukurodani landed a particularly nasty spike, prompting Bokuto to start yelling in triumph, raising both hands for high fives. The high schooler turned to him, dumbstruck for a moment, and then beamed brighter than the sun while returning the requested high fives and joining in his cheering just as enthusiastically.

Akaashi couldn’t help the fondness settling deep into his chest. He really brings out the best in everyone he meets. Although truthfully, there was something about that one particular spiker on Fukurodani– likely the captain actually, if Akaashi’s observations were correct– that reminded him a little of Bokuto in high school. Maybe a little less unpredictable, but excitable and joyful to boot. It made his heart ache a bit, seeing Bokuto cheering alongside other people in this particular gym after all these years. He missed that feeling of invincibility– the singular feeling that he and Bokuto were the only people existing in a moment orchestrated just for them.

Nostalgia overwhelmed his senses.

“Do you ever miss it?”

“I miss playing with Kuroo,” Kenma shrugged, “but I don’t miss playing in general. My favorite part was always watching, figuring out strategy and what the other team's weaknesses were–”

“Yeah I remember, thanks–”

“–and I can pull up games on TV or whatever and do that whenever I want. So not really. Do you?”

“I miss setting to Koutarou. I don’t think I realized just how much until right now. I played intramural for a bit in college just to see if there was still any genuine love for it left and it just wasn’t the same. I still loved the sport, but I didn’t enjoy it enough without him to keep playing. With him I just…I don’t know, setting to him was something else.”

“I get that.”

“Are you just watching today?”

Kenma snorted, “Kuroo asked me to observe Karasuno and Fukurodani for him so that by the time they start the practice games in a bit, I’ll already have strategies ready for him to share with the team. Ridiculous.”

“Meaning you already have a mental catalogue of every single player’s strengths and weaknesses, their stamina levels, and so on.”

A slight blush dusted Kenma’s cheeks as he mumbled, “Shut up, there hasn’t been enough time for all that yet.”

They sat in silence for a few moments before Kenma turned towards him again.

“So can I see the ring? He never actually showed it to us.”

Akaashi launched his left hand into Kenma’s face, proudly displaying his now most-prized possession. He wouldn’t have expected to be the type of person who jumps at every chance to show off their ring when they get engaged, but he really couldn’t help himself. The ring is stunning, he’s beyond giddy, and he deserves this.

“Oh wow, this is really beautiful,” and then as if to himself, “I wonder where he got it.”

“I’m not sure, he custom ordered it from somewhere.”

“Did you know he had it?”

“No, not at all. He’s so shit at hiding anything from me, I just assumed he’d cave and tell me the second he bought a ring.”

“How’d he get your ring size?”

“He guessed,” Akaashi laughed, “he said he looked up what the average men’s ring size was and went a little smaller because my fingers are thin. It’s just a little big so I’ll get it resized, but it’s not falling off or anything.”

“Hmm, do you know how long it took to come in after he ordered it?”

Akaashi’s eyes narrowed, “You’re asking a lot of questions about ring shopping. Something to share?”

Kenma crossed his arms and sat back in his chair, pointedly looking back to the court, his eyes following Kuroo closely and avoiding Akaashi at all costs.

He mumbled something so quietly, Akaashi couldn’t make it out.

“Sorry, didn’t catch that.”

Kenma heaved a sigh, and then turned to him, “We’re going on a trip in a few months for our anniversary and I was thinking–”

“Oh my god.”

“–shut the fuck up, I was thinking about possibly proposing on the trip. I haven’t decided yet.”

“Kenma, oh my god.”

“Please stop-”

“I didn’t even know you were even considering proposing at all, how long have you been thinking about it? Have you guys been talking about getting married?”

“I mean we’ve been together literally since I was 15, so I guess I’ve been thinking about it for almost 11 years. And yeah, we talk about it a lot.” He smiled, and then quickly caught himself when he saw Akaashi grinning at him.

“That’s so cute, can’t wait to put that in my best man speech.”

“You’re not my best man.”

“Bullshit, I was going to ask you to be mine.”

“Oh absolutely not–”

“Um, excuse me, Akaashi-san?”

Both men looked up to see a very nervous looking player in a Fukurodani practice jersey standing in front of them. He had his hands held behind his back and he bowed deeply before continuing.

“I’m so sorry to interrupt. I was wondering if I could ask you for some pointers or help on some technique if you have a minute? Kageyama-senshu is working with Karasuno and Miya-senshu is working with Nekoma, but Bokuto-senshu said you’re a very skilled setter and that I should ask you. If you’re free, that is.”

“Oh well that’s…” Akaashi trailed off and looked over to the court only to find his fiancé looking back at him giving him two very emphatic thumbs-up.

“That’s very kind of him to say, but he’s a little biased.” He chuckled uncomfortably, “I’m happy to help out with any questions you have but I’m going to fall way short of anything Kageyama-san or Miya-san would be able to show you.”

“Bokuto-senshu said you’d say that, and he said that if you said that to tell you that you’re– I’m so sorry, I promise I’m quoting him here– full of shit.”

Kenma cackled. “Sounds like you don’t really have a choice, Keiji.”

Akaashi got up, and looked over at his fiancé who was watching him while silently, yet dramatically, cheering. He scoffed and rolled his eyes fondly and followed Hirano over to a corner of the gym near an unclaimed ball bin, away from the other drills currently happening.

“So, what can I help with?” He grabbed a spare volleyball and started spinning it in his hands. It had been a while since he actually held one, despite Bokuto’s job, and he couldn’t deny that it felt comforting.

“Um, well. I guess I would be interested in your opinion on the best way for setters to tape up their fingers but um. I actually had a reason for wanting to talk to you, specifically.”

That got Akaashi’s attention. “I’m listening…”

Hirano took a deep breath and bowed deeply. “I want to apologize in advance if this is extremely out of line, but I was wondering if you would be comfortable answering a question about yours and Bokuto-senshu’s relationship.”

“Oh, um…”

Well that was unexpected. Would he be comfortable with that? It’s definitely a little suspicious for a kid you don’t know to be asking you about your relationship with a semi-high profile professional athlete in the sport said kid plays. But, he seemed like a polite kid with a rational head on his shoulders so Akaashi doubted he had any kind of malicious motives. In fact, there’s probably a very specific reason he wants to ask whatever it is he wants to know.

“You don’t have to tell me what it is, but I assume there’s a reason you’d want to ask me about that? Other than just being curious.”

At that, Hirano looked even more nervous. Worrying his bottom lip between his teeth, he glanced quickly– so quickly Akaashi almost didn’t catch it– over Akaashi’s shoulder to where Bokuto was still working with that energetic spiker from before.

Realization struck when Akaashi followed his gaze.

Oh, I might know what’s going on here. He’d been through it himself, after all.

“He’s your captain, right?”

“Yes, that’s Kaneko-san.”

“Is he a third year?”

“Yes.”

“He seems very talented.”

“He is. Universities have been scouting him.”

“Do you like setting to him?”

“I do.”

“Are you friends?”

“Yes.”

“Are you close friends?”

“Yes.”

“Can I ask you a personal question, Hirano-kun?”

“...yes.”

“Do you like him?”

He almost felt bad when the boy went completely beet red.

“Would you like to practice outside, Hirano-kun? It’s getting a little cramped in here, I think.”

Outside, Akaashi tossed the ball up and towards Hirano without preamble.

“So what would you like to know, specifically?”

Silence stretched on as they tossed the ball back and forth. Eventually, Hirano worked up the courage to ask what he wanted to know.

“How did you– or I guess when did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That you…you know…”

“When did I know that I had feelings for Koutarou?”

“Yes.”

“Towards the end of my second year. I had a crush on him from the moment I saw him, though.”

“Hmm.” The poor boy looked so deeply embarrassed. Akaashi guessed the only way he was having this conversation was that his desperation to talk to someone who understood his situation outweighed his discomfort for asking a stranger such personal questions.

He tossed the ball back in a high arc.

“Is that all you wanted to know?”

“No, I mean, maybe. I don’t know.”

Akaashi caught the ball the next time it sailed over to him. “Come sit down. You have great form by the way.”

“Thanks.”

They sat on the steps leading up to the gym door. The double doors were open, so they could hear shoes squeaking and voices calling out from inside. Akaashi sighed, leaned back with his hands behind him, and decided to just dive in at the beginning.

“I chose to go to Fukurodani because I happened to see Koutarou play in a match when I was in my third year of middle school. He was already so strong, even then. He had this magnetism on the court, kind of like what he still has now but more unrefined, more eager to prove himself. You could feel it coming off him in waves, even from up in the stands. Volleyball was just something I did to stay active at that point, but when I saw him play I finally had a goal. I had to set to him.

“When I got to Fukurodani he was…not quite what I expected at first,” he chuckled before continuing, “but I was still drawn to him regardless. I was 15 and, sorry if this is weird, but I thought he was so hot. I was nervous around him at first, but that ended quickly. He was such a dork. He used to have a lot of issues regulating his emotions so he’d fall into these dramatic mood swings pretty frequently, even in the middle of matches. I didn’t know it until later, but it turns out those mood swings were the reason some of the other guys on the team didn’t love hanging out with him.

“My first day of practice, I introduced myself as a setter. They already had a third year setter as their starter, so I wasn’t expecting to stand out much. My plan was to keep my head down and work hard, and not worry about making myself known until my second year. Koutarou seemed…less inclined to let that happen. The second practice was over that first day, he ran over and introduced himself and asked if I wanted to stay after practice for a bit to help him work on his spikes.

“He didn’t know it, but thanks to him I was able to accomplish my goal on my very first day of high school. I agreed, and I’ll never forget how happy he was. He seemed so genuinely surprised that I actually wanted to stay later, and excited to work with me even though we had literally just met. It turns out he asked other guys on the team to stay after a lot, and no one ever wanted to.

“We practiced for about another hour, and he was just so positive. Everything was the most exciting thing. Every toss was going to become his best spike ever. It was infectious, and before I knew it, I was having fun. Volleyball had never been like that for me before. When we were done, we found out we both used the same train station to get home so we walked together and talked about school, the team, where I’d gone to middle school, his family, and a bunch more stuff. I knew both his sisters’ names and he knew how old my dog was before we reached the train station. He was the easiest friend I ever made.

“And then after that, we just kind of naturally became ‘Bokuto and Akaashi.’ We ate lunch together everyday, we hung out between classes even though we were in different parts of the building, we’d stay after practice for more practice and then spend the night at each other's houses on the weekends. Some of the third years teased me and said they’d help me get out of extra practice with him if I wanted to. He wasn’t even around to hear them and have his feelings hurt, but I felt so fiercely protective of him that it scared me a little. I think that’s when I knew I definitely liked him as more than just a friend.

“That was a hard thing to come to terms with. Not in a ‘coming to terms with my sexuality’ kind of way because I had definitely already done that. Which, sidenote- if that’s part of the issue here I’m more than happy to talk to you about that if you don’t- no? Okay, cool. Good for you, that’s great. Anyway, I had a hard time with it because he was the best friend I’d ever had, and I was so sure he didn’t think of me in a romantic way at all. I wasn’t great at making friends back then. I was way more reserved and so worried about pleasing my parents and making good grades and just making sure I was exactly who everyone needed me to be at all times. It was hard for me to open up and connect with kids my age. I wasn’t lonely, I just…got used to operating alone I guess. That…wow, that probably sounds super lame.”

“No, I get it.” Hirano was hugging his knees to his chest and looking straight at the ground.

“Ah, right. Okay. Um, so anyway. I didn’t want to lose him as a friend, and I was so sure that if I let my feelings get any bigger that I would mess things up somehow. So I just shoved them down everytime they came up. Which was, to be honest, multiple times a day. I was awful at repressing.

“Something changed between us after Nationals my second year. We made it to the finals and came in second, and the team played well as a whole but I had played one of the worst games of my life. I just couldn’t get the fact out of my head that it was the last game I was going to play with him. I couldn’t focus. I was sloppy and made so many mistakes, and what made it worse was that everyone was so nice about it. I think they knew how much pressure I was putting on myself.

“After the game, Koutarou hung back with me in the locker room so we could walk to the bus together and he told me that even though he was going to play in college, he was sure his new setter wouldn’t be anywhere as good as me. And I just started sobbing. Everything caught up with me in that moment– the fact we’d lost, the fact that it was our last game together, my feelings for him, the fact that he was leaving so soon– all of it.

“I think I scared him a little, to be honest. He’d never seen me get that emotional in any way, about anything. He pulled me off into a side hallway and we sat on the floor for a minute and he held my hand while I cried, which he had never done before, and that just made me cry more, which made him more worried. I remember he asked me why I was so upset and all I could get out was, ‘It’s your last game,’ and he was so confused because he knew I knew he was playing in college and trying to eventually go pro. He said, ‘No, ‘Kaashi it’s just my last high school game, it’s okay.’

“I couldn’t get the words out to explain to him what I meant, so I just kept quiet and we went to the bus. The team had left a seat open for us because we always sat together. I fell asleep almost immediately on the drive back, and I didn’t wake up until we were back at school and Koutarou was tapping me on the arm super lightly and telling me to get up. I’d fallen asleep with my head on his shoulder, and when I looked down I realized he’d put his jacket over me like a blanket.

“We were the last two people on the bus, and when I looked up at him, he was speaking to me so quietly and so gently. Koutarou had never been quiet about anything, ever, in his life, but he was looking at me like he had just made me out of glass. I told him he could have woken me up when I fell asleep on his shoulder and he looked so confused and just said, ‘but I wanted you to be comfortable.’

“And I just knew. That’s when I knew I was in love with him. On the bus, wearing his jacket, after crying my eyes out. He told me later after we got together that the bus ride was when he knew he was in love with me, too.”

Hirano was still staring straight ahead at the ground, but Akaashi could spot some extra wetness at his waterline.

“My third year was hard. I didn’t have fun playing volleyball without him, and it was really hard to power through the year. We got even closer that year though– we texted and facetimed and I went to visit him a few times and got to go to some of his games. I think we both knew at the time that something was happening, but we both wanted it so badly we were both scared to get our hopes up that we would actually get there.

“But we did. He surprised me at my graduation and asked me out. And here we are, 8 years later.”

Hirano was silent as he kept staring at the ground.

“So. Was any of that even remotely helpful?”

The boy turned to Akaashi, trying desperately not to cry.

“Do you wish you had told him how you felt before he graduated?”

Akaashi didn’t even have to think about it. “No, but only because if I changed anything I did things might not be how they are now. But I know what you mean. I went back and forth on it so many times back then. Ultimately I decided not to, but it’s definitely possible that if I had, we could have been together a whole year longer.”

“It’s also possible he could've said no and never spoken to you again.”

“Mm, I actually don’t think that would have happened with Koutarou. I was worried about that at the time, but our friendship was so strong we definitely would have gotten through it even if we didn’t feel the same about each other. Do you think that would happen with Kaneko-kun?”

Hirano started pulling at blades of grass. “I don’t know.”

“You said you two are close?”

“We hang out every weekend. I went on his family vacation last year. He’s my…he’s my best friend.”

“Well, I know this is a lot easier for me to say than it is for you to believe, but if you’re that close, I’d bet he cares about you too much to lose you as a friend even if he doesn’t feel the same way about you.”

“It would still hurt.”

“Yeah,” he shrugged, “it would. I think the question you need to answer for yourself is what’s worse: not telling him and never being able to move on because you don’t have closure of any kind, or telling him and facing the possibility of getting rejected, but at least knowing the outcome?”

Hirano was quiet, his brows furrowed in thought.

“You don’t need to have an answer right now, or tomorrow, or any time soon. It’s something only you can know, but that’s really what it comes down to.”

A quiet sniffle, and then an even quieter voice, “Thank you, Akaashi-san. I really appreciate you talking to me. It was really helpful to hear about you and Bokuto-senshu. I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time.”

Akaashi smiled, and started to get up to return to the gym. “Don’t mention it–”

“Hiranooooo, are you out here– oh, hey!”

A boy in a Fukurodani practice jersey burst through the door, zeroing in on Hirano’s red eyes immediately.

“Whoa wait, are you okay? What’s wrong?” He rushed over to Hirano’s side, crouching down and placing a hand on his arm.

“I’m fine, it’s nothing.” Hirano cleared his throat and stood.

“Okay, if you’re sure, well,” he recovered remarkably quickly and sped on, “they want us to go to lunch soon. Are you coming or do you want me to save you a seat? Coach said they have those puddings you like so I can grab one for you if you want. Also I don’t like them so you can have mine too. Oh wait, hi! I’m Kaneko Hoshi,” he stood and bowed deeply to Akaashi, realizing his mistake, “it’s nice to meet you! You’re Bokuto-senshu’s fiancé, right? Congrats on your engagement, he told me all about it! I hope you both have a lifetime of happiness.” He bowed deeply again, a slight blush on his cheeks when he straightened up.

Akaashi laughed a bit at the onslaught of words. “Thank you. Nice to meet you as well, Kaneko-kun. Hirano-kun and I were finishing up here anyway so I think he’s okay to go to lunch.”

Kaneko visibly sagged with relief, “Oh thank goodness, I was stressing about remembering the pudding. Let’s go!”

He grabbed Hirano’s wrist and pulled him through the doors back into the gym.

Yeah, Akaashi thought, I don’t think he’s got anything to worry about there.

He was still smiling to himself as he re-entered the gym, reminiscing fondly on being in Hirano’s exact situation– having feelings for his captain and best friend, and being absolutely clueless what to do about it.

Caught up in his own thoughts, he was startled when a strong pair of arms wrapped around his waist from behind.

“And what’s got you looking so happy?” Bokuto went to plant a wet, exaggerated kiss on his cheek but Akaashi turned his head just in time to catch him square on the mouth.

All the teams had gone to lunch, so it was just them and their alumni friends left in the gym.

“Oh just glad I could be somewhat useful today.”

“You and Hirano have a nice chat?”

“Mmm, he had some questions. I had some answers.”

“Were any of the questions volleyball related?”

“They were…volleyball adjacent.”

“Ha! That’s what I thought.”

“Well, aren’t you observant?”

“Hey, I’ve always been smart! People have always just been too distracted by your beauty to notice anything about me.”

“Oh now come on, if anyone’s-”

“Stop flirtin’ with each other or go somewhere else! I’m gonna throw up.” They both had to duck to dodge the volleyball Atsumu lodged at them from across the court.

“I’m so sorry Miya-san,” Akaashi’s grin turned borderline-feral, “and I’m also so sorry Sakusa-san wasn’t able to come this weekend. I was surprised when I heard he decided to stay back in Osaka.” He heard Hinata try and fail to disguise his laugh as a cough.

“Keiji, shut up he’s gonna get mad,” Bokuto hissed.

“I don’t know what yer implyin’,” Atsumu grumbled, his eyes narrowing.

“Hey nooowwww, we’re all friends here!” Kuroo came to the center of the court where everyone had congregated and slung an arm around Akaashi and Atsumu’s shoulders. “Are we eating too, or did you guys want to play a little now that we have the gym to ourselves?”

Hinata bounced (literally) over, “Ooooh yes please, we could do 3 on 3, or 4 on 4? Who’s still here?”

In a matter of minutes, a game of 3 on 3 was decided, and team negotiation was under way. Arbitrations got a bit…heated when Kageyama and Atsumu were deciding who would team up with Hinata (“I was his spiker most recently,” “I’m his boyfriend and I haven’t gotten to set to him since the Olympics,” “Yeah but you’ve had years longer to set to ‘im than I have”), so it was ultimately decided that the two setters would be on the same team, with Hinata playing across the net.

When all was said and done, Kageyama, Atsumu, and Kuroo stood on one side of the net, with Hinata, Bokuto, and Washio on the other.

“I don’t think this is fair, Bokkun’s played with both of his teammates and neither Tobio-kun or me have played with Kuroo.”

Bokuto also looked a little perturbed.

“Bokuto-san, what’s your problem with the teams?”

“Oh no, this is good. I was just um, kind of hoping Keiji would play.”

“Oh Kou, come on. I haven’t played since high school. You’d all kill me.”

“Maybe literally,” Kenma interjected from his spot on the sideline, now playing a game on his phone.

“Yeah? Maybe you could come play too, Kenma, and then we could play 4 on 4.”

“No.”

“Kyanmaaa, please?”

“No Kuroo.”

“Kenma-”

“Die mad.”

“Ugh fine, sorry Bo, I don’t think it’s gonna happen.”

“Actually,” Washio offered, “I don’t mind sitting out. It’d be fun to watch the two of you play together again. I can take videos and send them to the guys, they’d lose it.”

“Washio no really, you don’t-”

“REALLY? Oh Keiji I’m so excited, okay yes let’s do this!!”

Akaashi whipped his head to the side of the court. “Kenma, please.”

“No.”

“Kenma.”

“I mean it’s not like Kuroo plays anymore, either.”

“Hey!”

“UGH, fine. I’ll humiliate myself.”

“No, Akaashi-san it’ll be fine! You can just set, Bokuto-san and I can do all the receiving and spiking and blocking and it’ll be great!”

It was…not great.

Although to Hinata’s credit, it wasn’t terrible either. He still went for runs on a regular basis, so while it’s true his stamina was abysmal compared to professional athletes, he held his own with Kuroo. His form and technique hadn’t fallen quite as far by the wayside as he’d expected, either. Maybe it was the effect of being back on a court with Bokuto, but it all came back to him fairly easily. Hinata handled most of the receives, running back and forth towards the back of the court and making it his personal mission to receive every single one of Kageyama’s spikes and serves.

Nearly all of his receives soared miraculously to the exact spot Akaashi was waiting, making it easy for Akaashi to get perfectly acceptable tosses up to Bokuto. He wasn’t crafty like Kageyama or flexible like Atsumu, so his sets were very predictable, meaning they got blocked a lot of the time. That didn’t matter to Bokuto. Every time he hit a toss Akaashi sent him, he turned toward Akaashi like they’d just won match point at Nationals, even if he’d gotten blocked. He was giddy, there was no other word for it.

And honestly? So was Akaashi. Once he got over the initial terror of playing against professional athletes, he found himself sinking into the comforting warmth of playing a sport he loved with the man he loved. It didn’t matter if they won, just being on a court together, working together, was enough for both of them.

After their second set, Bokuto came up and placed both hands on his shoulders.

“Keiji,” he whispered conspiratorially, “I’m having so much fun.”

Akaashi whispered back, “Good, me too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, love.”

“Your tosses are the best.”

Bokuto gave him a quick peck on the cheek before they started the next set.

Seeing his fiancé, the person he loved and trusted and admired most on the planet, so carefree and joyful doing what he loved sparked something in Akaashi he hadn’t felt since high school. They were just having a fun game with their friends in their old high school gym, but even here, in a game with no stakes, no commentators, and no expectations, Bokuto was pushing himself to another level. He was positively shining. Akaashi decided, as he watched Bokuto wipe sweat from his forehead and laugh at a joke Hinata made, that he was going to put his all into this next set. He was going to put the best tosses possible up for his ace.

Atsumu served– nasty as always– and Hinata was able to pick it up with inhuman ease. The ball arced up high, a little further to the right of the court than Akaashi was comfortable with.

But he ran.

He didn’t have to look to know where Boktuo was– he felt him running up the left side, full of trust that Akaashi would put the ball where he needed it to be. And Akaashi would.

Jumping up, he felt the ball touch the pads of his fingertips, and then release. He watched as it shot across the court, right into Bokuto’s waiting palm, and struck down on the opposite side of the net, right between Kageyama and Kuroo.

It wasn’t anything special– it wasn’t a set point, or a match point, or even any kind of break. It was just a fun game in their high school gym, with some of their best friends.

But when Bokuto turned to look at Akaashi with his arms raised in celebration, he felt they’d won it all.

And when Bokuto ran over to him to lift him up by the waist and spin him around, he thought maybe they had.

Later that night, the following two posts appeared on Instagram:

@Bokuto_Beam posted a carousel of photos

[First image: Bokuto on one knee in front of Akaashi in the Fukurodani gym. The camera is perpendicular to the net, showing both of their side-profiles. One of Akaashi’s hands is covering his mouth, and the other is in both of Bokuto’s. The lighting is dim, but you can just make out a soft, rapturous smile on Bokuto’s face.

Second image: a blurry candid photo of Akaashi smiling and drinking champagne, his ring in the forefront

Third image: a photo of an old polaroid style photo of the two of them on a team bus. Akaashi is asleep on Bokuto’s shoulder, and Bokuto is looking down at him, brows furrowed and a small smile on his face. He’s clearly not aware the photo is being taken]

Image caption: i can’t believe i get to love you for the rest of my life

12,294 likes

@thesettermiya you guys are so cute its actually gross (congrats)
@tetsuroookurooo LOVE YOU BUDDY <3
@real_ninja_shoyo BOKUTO-SAN CONGRATUALTIONS
@shirayukie oh this is incredible oh my god, congrats you two!
@k_sakusa happy for you both, congrats
@konoha_akiaki I CANNOT BELIEVE A PICTURE I TOOK IN HIGH SCHOOL MADE IT INTO YOUR ENGAGEMENT INSTA POST

@akaashi_keijiiii posted a carousel of photos

Tagged Location: Fukurodani Academy

[First Image: Same as Bokuto’s picture.

Second Image: A photo of an old polaroid style photo of Akaashi and Bokuto in high school during Akaashi’s first year and Bokuto’s second, taken after practice one day in the Fukurodani gym. They both have an arm slung around each other, and are smiling at the camera.

Third Image: A photo of an old polaroid style photo showing a selfie of Akaashi and Bokuto in the Fukurodani gym after Akaashi’s graduation. Akaashi is hugging a bouquet of camellias and smiling, while Bokuto is hugging him from behind, placing a kiss on his cheek.]

Image caption: 11 years ago in this gym we met, you asked me to set for you, and i said yes. 8 years ago in this gym you asked me to be your boyfriend, and i said yes. yesterday in this gym you asked me to marry you, and i said yes. it will never be anything but yes and yes and yes again for you, kou.

2,397 likes

@thesettermiya okay damn its like he’s a writer or something??
@tetsuroookuroo oh im CRYING crying now
@kodzuken_official congrats <3
@konoha_akiaki im sorry i ever i tried to get you out of setting with him for extra practice oh god im in tears i love you both so much
@inunaki_libero oh get OUT that’s so fucking cute
@onigiri_miya congrats to ya both!
@official_kageyamatobio congratulations akaashi-san

They would wake up to thousands of likes and even more comments, and Bokuto would earnestly try to go through and like every single one wishing them congratulations before Akaashi took his phone away.

Tonight though, they existed only for each other. Entwined in bed and so, so in love, reveling in the comfort of being able to lean into the person you love most, and feel them leaning back.

Bokuto tightened his arms around the love of his life, his future husband, his world, and whispered as he nuzzled his head into Akaashi’s neck.

“Goodnight, baby. I love you.”

And the last thing he heard before he fell asleep– the last thing he wanted to hear before falling asleep every night for the rest of his life–

“I love you too, Kou.”