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white-pearls · 2 years ago

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Dopamine 18 +

Sakuatsu + Bokuaka

Master list || Chapter 9 || Minors do NOT interact

Nobody is perfect everyone has their flaws. What happens when Atsumu who has one of the biggest rumors at school revolving around him and Sakusa who has a secret he can’t tell anyone. While Akaashi a boy who cares so much about his image but has someone trying to dig up a dirty secret about him falls in love with a boy who seems so far of reach.

TW: drugs, underage drinking, needles, blood, fighting, language, violence, rape?, mentions of being molested, mentions of abuse, ect.

Chapter 10

Walking back to the office took a bit longer than I should of. Due to him having to hide every time he saw or heard the football team. If they ever were to see him it would be game over. He needed a break from everything happening recently. Nothing seemed to be going his way. Maybe life was punishing him for being one of the finest men on earth. Whatever it was it didn't matter, he already had so much going through his head and would like to not get jumped anytime soon. He didn't think he could fight three guys five times his weight. It was also going to save him the embarrassment of losing. All he needed to focus on now is bringing his grades up since his reputation didn't seem like it was gonna go up anytime soon. Walking down the hall he realized he had made it to his destination. This hall was always empty due to it only having offices and meeting rooms for teachers. No student would dare to even skip in the part of the school unless they wanted to be caught. As he stepped forward and reached the handle he noticed it turning before he could grab it. Snatching his hand back he watched how the door opened with a tall male coming out. Black messy hair, broad shoulders, a mean glare looking down at him. It had to be Kuroo out of all people in this school. He looked straight at Atsumu as they stood there with a few seconds of silence looking at each other. He didn't know what was going through this guys mind, he always seemed to have a poker face. Kuroo had always seemed like a sketchy guy in Atsumu's eyes.

"Miya" someone said making them both turn into that direction. It was Sakusa standing behind waiting for him to come inside. "Can you hurry up and come in?" He said blankly as he walked back inside. "Erm y-a, on my way!" Atsumu said sliding past Kuroo who didn't let his eyes off of Atsumu until the door was completely shut.

He could feel how the goosebumps on his body started to fade as he sat down in his normal spot. What could of he been doing here? He didn't look injured or sick. Could he possibly be that guy from that afternoon that drugged Sakusa? He thought to himself as he began looking through the papers Akaashi had brought in. That couldn't be possible though Atsumu thought to himself. Kuroo wasnt likely do to something like that even if he did everything You could possibly name. Drinking, drugs, hookups, and many more magical things but it didn't seem right. Maybe it had to be someone else. Someone closer to Sakusa but at the same time would try to stay away from the victim. "Why so quite? Never took you as a person who would use your brain." Sakusa said sanitizing a bed next to Atsumu. Atsumu let out a heavy breath through his nose. "Anyways Sorry about that I didn't think you were going to be here while the footballs vice captain was here." Sakusa said as he typed on his computer.

"Why was he here?" Atsumu asks as he pulled his tattered chemistry book out of his bag. It looked like it been through hell and was hanging on its last string. Goes to prove how poorly funded the school was that they didn't have the money to replace textbooks.

"I was just informing him about who had to get drug tested before the next game. We are one of the top schools who are most likely to consume drugs and the county wants to make sure we are playing fair." Sakusa said as he started wiping everything down. His curly hair would bounce every time he would use pressure while wiping a certain spot. Atsumu didn't think he's ever seen such healthy looking hair in his life. His hair was sort of damaged due to the amount of times he had to dye his hair.

"Oh okay." Was all Atsumu could manage to say before starting his work. He read the sticky note that the teacher had left and groaned seeing all the chapters he had to read and the work he had to do. School truly wasn't for him. Laying comfortably on his stomach on the bed he spread his things around and began to work. He sighed heavily the second he took a look at the chemistry table. So much in one little page. What was even the point of learning this? Looking at the questioned his eyebrows kitted. Why was he looking at math equations? Isn't chemistry all about elements? Shouldn't it be asking what element you breath in? Maybe it wasn't so bad and he was overacting. Taking a good look at the first problem his head began to hurt.

2H^2(g) +O^2(g)

"What the fuck"

What was all of this supposed to mean? He wasn't a fucking chemist to figure out this bullshit. The school had the audacity to believe it's students could preform problems like these. Half of these kids don't even know their own cell number. Letting out sighs and puffs every time he attempted to solve the problem made the other boy want to walk out the door. "I hate this shit." He mumbled to himself as he looked up in frustration to meet Sakusas eyes. He looked at him worryingly probably feeling bad that he was so dumb. "You can't solve simple stuff like this?" He asked as he leaned in to take a look. "2H^2O(g)" Sakusa said quickly as he sat back in his chair.

Atsumu looked at him with his mouth open. "How?" He asked not being able to understand how he done it so fast. Then again he had to remember this guy was once in the top 10 students in the school back then. Of corse not anymore due to some undisclosed reason. "Um well they both have ^2 so you... wait why am I even telling you this? Do your work and stay quite." Sakusa snapped as he started going to his file cabinets.

"Wait no please help me, I'm failing badly and if I want to graduate, I need to pass all my classes this year." Atsumu said begging him so he wouldnt have to return to the shit school. "I don't get anything out of this so why should I? I already have to spend all day with you." He said bluntly.

"If you help me pass this semester I'll get out of yer hair quicker!" Atsumu said sitting up.

Sakusa stood there in silence trying to figure out if it was worth the hassle and apparently it was. "Fine" Sakusa crossed his arms, "but I'm only showing you two equations after that don't ask me anymore." Sakusa said as he grabbed his bag and pulled out a notebook full of papers. "I took chemistry last year and kept all my notes in one notebook because I like to keep all my subjects together." Sakusa said as he placed it In front of Atsumu.

It was a pretty thick but was really taken care of unlike Atsumu's. Stretching his hand to grab it he was smacked with a pen by Sakusa who glared at him. Rolling his eyes he rested his chin on his hands as he looked at the notebook. "Sakusa Kiyoomi" Atsumu reads out loud making him receive another smack this time on his head. "Do you hate everything I do or what?" Atsumu says.

"I don't but your starting to make me." Sakusa glares at him. It took Sakusa about twenty-five minutes to show Atsumu how it was done. Atsumu wasn't that big of idiot like other people thought. He was actually a fast learner if he really set his mind to it. That making him quickly finish up his Chem work. The rest was easy for him especially history. "I'm done Omi!" Atsumu said closing his reading book.

Sakusa looked at him with a face of disgust. "Don't ever call me that again." Sakusa said.

"We're going to spending a lot of time together. We might as well start giving nicknames and getting to know each other." Atsumu said standing up to stretch his arms in the air. Then he twisted his body groaning loudly as his back cracked. Sakusa gave him a look that seemed to say , can you be any louder? And yes he could be. Pushing his arms back he let out a moan loudly. "Fuck Omi that felt so good." Atsumu smirks.

"Your so childish, how about you go to sleep alright?" Sakusa Says as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ya always tell me to sleep! What am I a kid? let's just talk no? What's your favorite color?" Atsumu says as he lays back in bed.

"Your a real idiot Miya. No wonder you got into the shit your in now." Sakusa said

"Favorite color Omi." Atsumu decides to ignore Sakusas remarks.

At first he hesitated on answering not wanting to be part of Atsumus sad attempt to making conversation but he had no choice. He was right about then being stuck with each other for a while now. "Black" he replied.

"Because it's the color of Yer soul. Right? " Atsumu says in a mocking voice. Sakusa sighs heavily, "I'm going to call the football team here to take you away." He says. "Wait! I'm kidding Omi."he shakes his hands. It's been a while since Atsumu has met someone new. Actually he was surprised he'd never bumped into Sakusa in his four years of high school until now. Then again he wouldn't of met Akaashi if it weren't for him being forced to tutor Atsumu for extra credit.

"I think we will get along very well." Atsumu smirked.

"I hope we don't." Sakusa reply's back as he began opening boxes he received from the front office. Inside contained boxes of bandaids and rubbing alcohol.

Next day "Have you ever though of cleaning up after yourself?" Sakusa asks as he picks up a few candy wrappers from the floor. "Sorry they must of fell." Atsumu says quickly going to clean his mess. He had forgotten to eat breakfast this morning and ended up getting candy from the vending machines. Hoping it would fill his empty stomach. Though it didn't seem to have worked well. Lazily looking to the fridge he remembered that Sakusa always brought fruit. "Omi mind letting me have some of your fruit?" Atsumu asks heading to the fridge since he was going to eat it anyways regardless of the answer.

"Sure."

A faint nock could be heard making the boys look up to see a petite girl walk in. As Sakausa went to attend his new patient Atsumu sat down and started to eat. Picking out the fruit he deemed good enough to steal. He had many to choose from, watermelon, grapes, apples, strawberries, kiwis, and bananas. Strawberry's are Atsumu's current favorite fruit so that's what he picked out. The bright red sweet fruit was just so appealing to him. Looking up he watched how Sakusa attended the girl. He would ask her simple question like how she was feeling, if she had any symptoms, and if she's eaten. Now that he thought about it Sakusa never bothered asking him such questions, he was his patient too after all. Sakusa grabbed a thermometer from a near by drawer and proceeded to put a plastic cover over it. "Well I'm glad you don't feel bad but I'm going to still take your temperature just to make sure you don't have a fever." Sakusa said as he leaned in to place it in her mouth. Atsumu watched how she gave a small nod and began to blush like crazy. Now Atsumu had to admit she could see why she was blushing even if he wore a mask. Having a young nurse with curly hair, 6'2 feet tall, pale clear skin and a two moles on his face was pretty good looking. The only thing that ruins it is his attitude and face that could never crook a smile even if his life depended on it. Now that he was looking for imperfection he noticed how sick he looked. He had a very sickly pale skin. Maybe he's into bleaching skin?

"Hey Omi have ya seen my water bottle? Iv seen to have misplaced it." Atsumu says placing the container down and looked under the bed.

"Kinda busy Atsumu, don't you see I have a patient? Also can you go get something for us to eat?" Sakusa says annoyed as he places a pack of ice on her head because she supposedly had accidentally feel and hit her head on the floor. It's been a long morning for these boys, Atsumu would get his work done sooner than Sakusa hoped meaning the boy had nothing better to do than to bother him.

"Omi! I can't find it, it's not just a normal water bottle! It's my special one." Atsumu groans loudly clearly desperate to find his bottle. "Also this is yer fourth time asking me to go get something to eat today. It's not even lunch time yet! Cant ya wait a bit?"

"I'm going to kill this boy." Sakusa mumbled to himself as he helped his patient get up and leave the nurses office. The second he closed the door he turned around with his arms crossed. "If you don't find that flask right now I'm going to hurt you. Do you know how much trouble I'll get if anyone found that? Who even brings alcohol to school? Also did you just eat all my strawberries?" Sakusa asks as he looked inside his fruit.

"Iv been clean for days! I think I deserve a taste of it." Atsumu lets out a heavy sigh. "Also ya look like shit. Yer eyebags are worst than a certain someone I know." Continuing his search for it he decided he should look in Sakusas desk. Maybe he knew how to get him to help. Even if they just started being around each other he managed to know figure out his favorite place to eat."If you help me ill buy you bread from that corner shop you really love." Atsumu says hoping to win him over. Sakusa looked at him to make sure he was being honest.

"Well I guess I'll help, have you checked in my bag? You like to shove your stuff in there when administrators come by." Sakusa grabbed his bag from the closet and opened it to reveal the silver flask.

"Life saver!" Atsumu said as he attempts to grab it just to have Sakusa snatch his arm back refusing to give it. "Now what?" Atsumu complains. Sakusa would do this often with the things Atsumu brought. That being weed, nicotine, alcohol, and anything else harmful.

"Alcohol taste disgusting I don't know what you find so good about this." Sakusa opens the flask and takes a whiff of it. He made a sour face that clearly showed his disgust for it. "It's like apple juice to me, it even has the color of it." Atsumu smiled as he took it from the other boys hand. "Want some? " Atsumu asks tilting it water falling it into his mouth. Before he could finish it the flask Sakusa grabbed it. If Atsumu were to be honest he would say Sakusa is overreacting and being too protective.

"You do this stuff outside of school?" He asks concerned. He had an almost disappointed look on his face.

"Well yea I do but not as much as ya think." Atsumu says as he slouches in the chair. Maybe he was wrong about Sakusa needing help. He acted like if he was in a anti drug and alcohol program. The only time he had seen him on drugs was that one day. Maybe it was a one time thing. Averting his eyes to the other boy who glared at him it made him realize maybe he was the one overreacting. Everyone has done something in this school. It being drinking or taking drugs. Nobody was a saint in this school.

"When are you going to go buy bread?" Sakusa asks crossing his arms. It was a small habit of his when he wanted Atsumu to do something for him.

"It's eleven thirty Omi I'll go when it hits twelve." Atsumu said as he took out his phone to see if he had gotten any messages.

"Why are you so lazy? You never do anything but just cry about being bored and losing your shit." Sakusa said.

"Hey no need to be all aggressive, what are ya on yer period or sum?" Atsumu says jokingly but the other didn't take it that way.

"I'm so close to kicking you out Miya." He said pouring the rest of the liquid into the trash bin. "Go now, I'll even give you money." Sakusa said pulling his wallet out and handing him fifteen dollars." Atsumu raised a brow as he looked at his pale boney hand and how it shook. Most likely withdraw symptoms from what he took three days ago. He didn't say anything though and hasn't pried to get any information about the situation yet. He heard and seen how bad withdrawal symptoms were. He's seen Suna go through it various of times but of course craving get so bad to the point where you'll fight anyone for it. Maybe Sakusa needs a bit of space for now.

"No need for it, ima go buy ya that bread since I promised to buy it for ya." Atsumu said as he patted his pocket to make sure he had his wallet. Walking out he went through the schools back doors. This was the only place teachers wouldn't look for kids because lots of things happen in the back of the school. The amount of times the cops had to come because of activity back there was too much to count. When making it to a fence he looked for the cut up wire area. It was a small whole where students would crawl in to make it out of the school. Crouching down he slipped through it while making sure he didn't get his clothes caught on any loose wire. The trail from now on was a dirt road and woods. He should be exactly behind the bakery if he continued going straight.

He could remember the first time he had gotten Sakusa a baked good from there. His face light up just from seeing it. It was truly something amazing to watch. Who knew a boy like that could make such a face. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows being there though. There were times they argued and said silly remarks to each other. It reminded him of how he and Osamu would argue but with less physical fighting. Eventually he made it to the bakery and was hit with the sweet smell of bread. It was a small store that not many people knew about. It was practically a hidden gem in their small city. Grabbing some of Sakusas favorite for example the one that looked like a croissant with chocolate filling and others they had yet to try. Atsumu wast the biggest fan of baked goods. Yea they were sweet and warm when out of the oven but he wants crazy for it. Checking out be pulled out his wallet and ended up paying $14 in total.

On his way back he found a groups of dogs walking around making him stop to pet them. Atsumu loved animals and wouldn't miss the chance to pet such cute adorable doggos. It was a funny looking group that consisted of a golden retriever and two chihuahuas. One of the smaller pups had a full on black coat. "You remind me of my friend Sakusa." He said rubbing its ear. "But yer way nicer." Going back to the office he noticed something big and red Infront of the door. It looked like some sort of sign. Getting closer he read the big bold words that said closed. Closed? What a big joke right? Sakusa must of gotten mad that he took a bit long and is probably trying to pretend he wasn't there. Luckily he knew this was going to happen at some point. Some people could not stand him and he assumed Sakusa wasn't going to be an exception so he snatched his spare key he kept hidden under a pile of paperwork.

Inserting the key into the whole he quickly opened the door to a dark room. "Hello? Anyone in here?" Atsumu announces his presence as he walks in slowly with the bag clutched to his chest. Nobody answered so he proceeded to flick the light switch on and throw the bag onto the desk next to him. It didn't take him long to see a slouching body in the corner nodding. He was suddenly hit with A sense of déjà vu from not to long ago. Once again it was Sakusa laying on the ground, eyes closed and slowly breathing. Atsumu didn't know what to spay nor what to do. He couldn't just pretend like he didn't see him like this again. Grabbing Sakusa from the ground he threw his arm around himself and carried him onto the bed. His body collapsed quickly as he let go of him. He shouldn't be worried about this right now. First he had to make sure nobody would come in. Walking to the door he locked it and turned the lights off only leaving a lamp in the corner on. Walking back to the spot he was he found his sad attempt of trying to hide the needle and spoon. Grabbing them he disposed of them correctly and made his way back to the boy. He wasn't sure if he should be disappointed or concerned.His pale skin was flushed with a light pink tint, his eyes are half way closed. He watched as his face slowly formed a small smile as he curled up.

He's seen it so many times in the city they lived in. In Sunas home and the places he decides to do business in. From the conversation he had with Suna, he knew addiction wasn't something easy to over come. Even he hasn't overcame his own addictions. Two years ago he remembered sitting behind his door as he heard Suna banging on it. Begging to be let in so he could have some. His friend and him made a deal that he would keep his drugs as he went through withdraws but it didn't end well. It hurt Atsumu too much to hear him crying and begging for it. He gave in eventually and let him in. Even if the process was painful he will make sure to not make the same mistake with Sakusa.

He may not know him as much as Suna but he was willing to help out anyone who really needed it.

He sat next to the bed watching how Sakusa nodded. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there but it must of been a while since he started coming to his senses. Leaning over him he saw as he squeezed his eyes shut before slowly opening them.

"Good mornin my favorite hypocrite." Atsumu said as Sakusas faced shifted from a tired one to a shocked one.

#sakusa kiyoomi #sakuatsu #miya atsumu #akaashi keiji #bokuaka #haikyuu!!#haikyuu series

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just-your-local-astronaut · 3 years ago

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Out of this world hq fanfics, my favorites (part two)

Please check trigger warnings before reading any of these fics. <3

I’m also taking requests for recommendations. Just fill out the form in the pinned post on my page.

☆彡::･★彡･::･☆彡･:*:★☆彡::･★彡･::･☆彡･:*:★☆彡::･★彡･::･☆

Title: Something Like Us

Author: the_madame21

No Archive warnings

Rating: E

Ship: Iwaizumi/Oikawa (IwaOi)

Length: 10 chapters, 28,916

Status: Completed

Author’s summary: Friends since childhood, Oikawa and Iwaizumi now live together, both playing for the National Team. It's no secret that athletes who are bonded perform better. So if the two of them happen to bond...It'd be for the good of the team, right?

The words in the stars say: Shawtys, don’t yell at me for recommending another Omegaverse fic, it’s so good though, and I’m just goin down my list of favs and they were right under each other. Anyways, I love this fic. This story persistently describes the pinning on both sides perfectly. You can clearly see the turning point when Oikawa’s goal changes as the bond further affects his and Iwa’s lives, both positively and negatively. This is one of my favorite IwaOi Omegaverse fics. This story gives the understanding of being connected to the one you love, no matter how it came about, a completely different meaning.

I rate this fic 10 aliens out of 10, please read and if you do talk to me about the convenience store scene, it’s my favorite part :).

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10991091/chapters/24479244

☆彡::･★彡･::･☆彡･:*:★☆彡::･★彡･::･☆彡･:*:★☆彡::･★彡･::･☆

Title: Twitch

Author: CheekyBrunette

No Archive warnings

Rating: Not rated

Ship: Kageyama/Hinata (KageHina)

Length: 6 chapters, 72,501 words

Status: Completed

Author’s summary: "He was aware of the itch he’d feel before he shook his head or scrunched his nose. He recognized the impulse to move, but he didn’t realize how compulsive the behaviors had become. He had to shake his head. He had to scrunch his nose. He had to shrug his shoulders over, and over, and over.It wasn’t until he was nine-years-old that Shouyou realized he couldn’t control his movements like other kids could."

The words in the stars say: I really loved this AU. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about it at first but as I kept reading I enjoyed it more and more. In this fic Hinata having Tourette's made so much sense. I love how the author used actual habits Hinata has in the anime, explained them in the story, and how they work with Tourette’s. The difference between who Kageyama was in the beginning, compared to how he was at the end made me so happy. He clearly learned how he should be treating Hinata with or without feelings and Hinata’s Tourette’s. Such a sweet read for my Kagehina stans.

I rate this fic 10 aliens out of 10.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6103802/chapters/13991060

☆彡::･★彡･::･☆彡･:*:★☆彡::･★彡･::･☆彡･:*:★☆彡::･★彡･::･☆

Title: The Outside Edge

Author: Ray (RayWritesStuff)

No Archive warnings

Rating: M

Ship: Bokuto/Akaashi (BokuAka)

Length: 30 chapters, 201,662 words

Status: Incomplete. Hasn’t been updated since 2/15/21 (Imma cry)

Author’s summary: Akaashi Keiji is a competitive figure skater, and has been his whole life. Ever since he could remember, he's always been pushed by everyone around him to be great. To never fail. To satisfy his mother's desire of him going to the Winter Olympics.Everything was going fine for him, his routine at the rink with his friends running smoothly. Until one day, the University Hockey team was temporarily moved to his rink. Thanks to his meddling best friend, Akaashi is pushed into introducing himself to well-known hockey star Bokuto Koutarou. His attraction to the wild-eyed and kind-hearted man is almost instant.Akaashi soon finds himself falling all to fast for his liking. Before he could catch himself, he was pushed out of his comfort zone and into worlds beyond. As his new relationship with Bokuto blossoms, he learns that his worth is so much more than his performance, and to accept the haunting truths in his life he's been running from for so long.

The words in the stars say: I’m a sucker for figure skater x hockey player au’s and man, WHY ARE THEY ALWAYS INCOMPLETE. *SLAMMING ON DESK NOISES* I love them so much, lmk if yall find any others. This fic was just *kiss*. I loved it. It represented Akaashi so well and his mental state as a figure skater. I got the whole experience, I finished it and then went ice skating (unplanned, surprisingly). Bokuto is such a sweet heart and every time he forgave Akaashi while he was struggling, warmed my heart (unlike my fingers while I type this sheesh). I adored the IwaOi, DaiSuga, and KuroKen in the background.

10/10 completely. I love this fic so much even with it being abandoned. </3

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24690535/chapters/59671282

☆彡::･★彡･::･☆彡･:*:★☆彡::･★彡･::･☆彡･:*:★☆彡::･★彡･::･☆

Title: A Thousand Cuts

Author: lettersinpetals

Underage - Archive Warning

Rating: Teen and up

Ship: Sakusa/Atsumu (SakuAtsu)

Length: 3 chapters, 37,963 words

Status: Complete

Author’s summary: “I’m Atsumu! What’s your name?” The boy mumbled out an answer, and because his voice was muffled by his mask, all Atsumu heard was “...Omi.”“Omi?”“Kiyoomi,” the boy said in a much clearer voice. But Atsumu was already attached to the name. “Omi-Omi! Let’s go!” Shamelessly, he grabbed him by the hand and tugged him behind him. He felt responsible for him — the boy clearly needed all the protection and guidance he could get. Atsumu can be his hero.--The story started when the Sakusa family moved into their neighborhood in Amagasaki when they were nine. Atsumu would always remember that he saw Kiyoomi first.

The words in the stars say: Lettersinpetals has to be one of my absolute favorite hq fic writers. Their SakuAtsu fics are the ones I will ALWAYS rec. This story is a beautiful rollercoaster. I don’t even know how many times I cried (happy ending dw dw) while reading this. I love the childhood friends AU for SakuAtsu plus Osamu and Suna’s drama that pulls you into a heartbreaking story. Lettersinpetals blows me away every damn time I read a fic of theirs. PLEASE PLEASE, read this fic.

I rate this 10 out of 10 aliens.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27094666/chapters/66160312

☆彡::･★彡･::･☆彡･:*:★☆彡::･★彡･::･☆彡･:*:★☆彡::･★彡･::･☆

Title: Butterfly in the Subway

Author: bigspoonnoya @plotghosts

No Archive warnings

Rating: Teen and up

Ship: Daichi/Sugawara (DaiSuga)

Length: 14 chapters, 62,872 words

Status: Completed

Author’s summary: Sugawara Koushi has no idea he's already in love with the man he's supposed to hate

The words in the stars say: This fic. Oh my god. This fic made me want to have a penpal I write love letters to even when I have no idea who they are. I’m a sucker for poetry and letters, this story was a dessert for me. I adore Suga owning a bookstore. Also the background KageHina, AsaNoya, and TsukkiYama? YES. This fic lives in my head rent free in English class. The scene in the café with Suga and Daichi, I just- *dies*. Read this fic now. It’s amazing and I reread it all the time when I’m sad, such a heartfelt read. I can’t express how much I love this fic.

!!!!SPOILER!!!! “I hoped. I wanted it to be you.” *sobbing* !!!!SPOILER!!!!

I rate this fic 10 out of 10 aliens.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3576108/chapters/7880601

☆彡::･★彡･::･☆彡･:*:★☆彡::･★彡･::･☆彡･:*:★☆彡::･★彡･::･☆

╭﹒┄﹒⁀ჲ ˚ ̣ ˖ ┄┄┄┄┄┄┄﹒

﹕Thank you for reading!

﹕What did you think?

﹕Dms are always open. Come talk! ╰﹒┄﹒✦ ˚ ̟ ハ︿︿ ๑ ┄┄┄┄┄┄﹒

<3 -Cal

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rhetorical-ink · 4 years ago

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Haikyuu!! SPOILERS: Chapter 401, How We Connect the Dots.

**PENULTIMATE SPOILERS BELOW**

I just posted a video with my live reactions to the chapter, but here are my highlights, because FURUDATE YOU MADMAN GENIUS. This chapter connected so much together. So, let’s do:

My Top 10 Thoughts on Haikyuu!! Chapter 401:

10. Of course. In true Furudate fashion, he has Kageyama block the spike from Hinata, BUT, what Kageyama doesn’t realize is all the training on the beach Shoyo has done to prepare for such a moment. And that heel kick! *swoons* Also, someone reacting to Season 4, Episode 9 of the anime, where Hinata kicks the ball back to himself called this happening all those months ago...Furudate is next level at foreshadowing. Not that we didn’t already know that.

9. Hey, remember how in the VERY FIRST chapter of Haikyuu!! Shoyo did this crazy run across the court to score? Yeah, Furudate knows we remember. And he pulls this -- and Kageyama’s beautiful reaction, only for --

-- Only for it to all be a DECOY. Kageyama, you made this monster, you know. I love that Shoyo has come all this way from wanting to score all the points to accepting that the decoy DOES have a vital role to play, and in this instance, it’s allowing Bokuto to score the winning point for the MSBY Black Jackals. Just look at that smile! And of course, Tanaka and Asahi KNOW the power of Hinata as a Decoy...because they’ve been in Bokuto’s shoes before.

8. UGH, the aftermath of that moment is glorious, which will detail down below -- but I love Shoyo and Kageyama’s interaction, though. How they’re still keeping track of each other’s wins and losses, exhausting Miya, hilariously, and showing that they’re on equal footing now, after all these years. This chapter is just cementing the last several chapters’ worth of character development.

7. ARE YOU SHIPPERS READY FOR YOUR FOOD?!

Because these next few pages were healing my shipper heart. I mean, yes, the Kagehina fanbase is raving right now, but let’s talk about THESE ships below, starting with:

Tsukishima x Yamaguchi:

So, Tsukishima, of course, is not sappy about any of this and just points out how the season’s just getting started (ready the fanfics, y’all).

And of course, Yamaguchi wants to watch Tsuki play! Yachi says she’ll come too! I LOVE how just like he was with Akiteru, he doesn’t want them to come watch (even though we all know he’ll love it when they’re there). Now, some people have commented that Yamaguchi could be with Yachi, but y’all...Yachi is in Tokyo. Yamaguchi and Tsuki both live in Miyagi. I can’t wait for all the Sendai Frog/TsukiYama fanfics!

If you’re looking for an extra Kagehina crumble, just look at the end of this adorable exchange between Romero, smol adorable Rubens, and Shoyo (who perfectly crouches down to talk to him MY HEART I CAN’T), to see Kageyama notice that Shoyo can speak multiple languages...oh, honey! If only you know about Hinata and Pedro’s marathons of DBZ in Portugese and English! ^^

Also, Furudate WE SEE YOU. We see you being meta and implying that now Haikyuu!! is over, he’s moving on...Akaashi’s line about going forward hit me hard...it’s like he’s telling us, the fandom, that going on to start something new isn’t so bad. SO YOU SAY.

BOKUAKA NATION -- WE CANON NOW, RIGHT?!

I love that Akaashi gets to interview Bokuto (IS HE GOING TO BE THE STAR of the Volleyball manga Tenma Udai is writing?! He would be PERFECT for it!) and how happy Akaashi looks, even if he and Bokuto realize how differently they view the term “normal.”

ALSO, it’s implied above that Akaashi, Bokuto, and Tenma were going out for drinks...which now....we know that it’s just Bokuto and Akaashi, since Tenma was going home. Uhm, FAN FIC WRITERS ASSEMBLE!

I also love that Udai joins the club, along with Fukurodani’s coach and manager, of people who realize that Bokuto and Akaashi are weirdos but they are weirdos together, so it’s fine.

Keeping the “Ship Train” going, we get little bits of Shimizu x Yachi from the bathhouse before the Inarizaki Match, where Kiyoko finally acknowledges she is okay showing her legs...thanks to Yachi’s words. I also find Suga wanting to know “the tea” on the situation to be adorable.

AND FINALLY, YES, Y’ALL:

I was spoiled with Kuroo’s return, but seriously, Furudate, you saved him for the end here so INTENTIONALLY.

Because OF COURSE Kuroo would work for the JVA. As a promoter. CONNECTING people...with Volleyball...because that’s the Nekoma way.

And FURUDATE ARE YOU SUGGESTING TO US THAT KUROO AND KENMA ARE BUSINESS PARTNERS AND COLLABORATORS BECAUSE MY KUROKEN HEART IS SOARING --

-- and let it be known Atsumu Miya rightfully doesn’t trust Kuroo, and neither does Sakusa. A nice SakuAtsu crumb where we actually see Sakusa agree with Miya without sacrasm or question! Poor Shoyo is a salesman’s dream, though. I mean, Kuroo does look a little sketchy in some of those shots...BUT....

6. Kuroo’s speech about sports was SO fitting. Seriously, everything he says here is BASICALLY what makes Haikyuu!! such a great series. I DID laugh out loud at the line about “hardly anybody dies.”

*Flashbacks to “Dead Daichi” meme*

5. It’s taken us the ENTIRE series, but Kageyama finally talks to Kindaichi and Kunimi. This was so heartwarming, seeing Kageyama wanting to play WITH THEM. AS A TEAM. This made my heart expand three sizes. The character development on Kageyama, and Kindaichi, is through the roof.

I also LOVE Kunimi the most in these panels. Kunimi is a MOOD.

Y’ALL. I’VE WAITED 400 CHAPTERS FOR THIS PANEL OF THESE THREE HAPPY AND BECOMING FRIENDS AGAIN.

4. I love that Hoshiumi doesn’t see Hinata as a Rival, but as someone that is going to help him show the rest of the world the strength of someone who doesn’t have height. I also find it interesting that we see the Japanese Olympic Coach walking out just as Hoshiumi gives us that beautiful gaze. So...does Hoshiumi know he’s going to be on the Olympic team, with Hinata, maybe? Foreshadowing, perhaps?

3. Okay, okay, I held it together until this page.

It wasn’t Ushijima’s panel with Washijo that got me.

It wasn’t Saeko and Akane reuniting, though that was sweet.

It wasn’t the three “Pure Captains” reuniting, though it made my heart happy.

It honestly wasn’t the five first years together, either. They’re all so happy and having a laugh at Kageyama’s expense, and as beautiful as that panel is.

SUGAWARA IN LINE TO GET KAGEYAMA’S AUTOGRAPH.

That is what got me.

Him in line, so meekly, to get the autograph of his kouhai, the man Suga joked would have to tell about how much he learned from HIM when he was giving out interviews and autographs...I just...Sugawara made me cry. That is all.

2. Then there’s this last page. 2021.

"We overcame difficulties and stand here.”

Furudate really said “screw you” to Covid messing up the timeline.

Yes, seeing Kageyama and Hinata in their original jersey numbers was amazing, but I think we all saw that coming if these two happened to get on the Olympic team.

What I want to focus on are the two countries we see included in the bottom corner here. We see:

Brazil -- and some fluffy haired man carrying the flag for the team.

And we see the United States -- there’s several American Flags and stars and stripes on the shirts of the crowd, there.

SO, HEADCANON TIME:

* Oikawa was on the Argentinean League, so could he play for Brazil? It’s not likely, but not impossible....BUT, I don’t think that’s it.

I don’t think Oikawa is on Japan’s National Team for the Olympics.

If he is on the Olympic Team, I think he’ll be on America’s.

Why? Because, and this could be because I’m the biggest IwaOi shipper, but Iwaizumi was still in the United States with Ushijima’s father at the end of Chapter 395. And if he’s still there, there is no reason why Iwaizumi couldn’t be a physical trainer alongside Ushijima’s father for the U.S. Olympic team. And why wouldn’t Oikawa trek over to the States to be on the same team as Iwa-Chan’s working with? I’m probably wrong, BUT --

We also still need to see Seijoh’s banner, and as others have theorized, how fitting would it be to see Hinata, Kageyama, and (probably) Ushijima on the team facing Oikawa? I just....I’m betting money that Oikawa shows up in 402. I hope we at least see him on the Olympic Stage. OIKAWA DESERVES IT.

1. So, who are we missing that hasn’t been shown yet?

We still need to see the rest of Nekoma (Lev, Yaku, Yamamoto, Kai....could they be in the stands or on the Japan team? I guess we’ll find out!)

We haven’t seen Daishou and Mika -- I would love to see them watching or narrating in the audience during the Olympic game.

And finally, yes, we’ve seen Tendo in the Chapter 395 flashback, but we’ve never seen what he’s DOING. Furudate has shown us with every character what they’ve been doing since the timeskip....EXCEPT TENDO. I’m calling it that he’ll appear one more time next chapter, too.

So....guys....I’m staying off of Social Media from Wednesday to Sunday next week, to prep for the last chapter and not be spoiled. I’m going to do a live reaction for YouTube, and I’ll post it here. You can see the one I did for 401 now.

Furudate, this series has been immaculate. Time for one more round.

Let’s all cry together next week.

2K notes · View notes

splendidly-secret-sick-fics · 3 years ago

Note

That last fic was really sweet! Would you possibly be willing to do a continuation with BokuAka and KageHina perspectives? x

Why So Mean?

Pairing: sick Kageyama, caretaker Hinata

Word Count: 5,625

Warnings: vomiting, swearing, meanie kageyama :(

————————————————————

Hello hello! Long time no see :)

ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY I WILL DO THIS. You and another asked for this and I’m SO HYPE ABOUT IT. So thank you!! I’ll answer the other ask with the Akaashi part :)

My timeline w the Kuroo chapter (& most likely the Akaashi one once it’s fully written) do not line up with this one at all. Please just ignore that and pretend it all makes sense. Thank you much appreciated.

If you prefer reading on ao3, check it out here!

Kuroo Part

————————————————————

Kageyama was being a jerk today.

Well...a bigger jerk than normal anyway.

Things were fine up until about the middle of afternoon practice. In fact, Kageyama was almost unnervingly nice to Hinata until that afternoon.

When Hinata woke him up, he didn’t grumble or swear at him (he was almost pleasant!). He pecked the top of Hinata’s head in a cute sleepy haze on his way to the bathroom (PDA? Even with the risk of someone catching them?!). He even let Hinata pick off his plate at breakfast (without smacking his hand away or swearing!).

However, something must have set his boyfriend off. He was being cold, ignoring Hinata’s complaints and questions. He was almost completely silent while they were playing. It was freaking Hinata out.

During their practice matches, Kageyama was consistently flawless as usual, Hinata was really on his game, and the other spikers were in good form as well. His foul mood couldn’t be because they weren’t playing well.

It also couldn’t be because anyone picked a fight with him either. Kageyama got along with most of the players at these training camps. He even did serve practice with some players from Shinzen and Ubugawa last night when Hinata went to practice with Bokuto and Kuroo.

So when Hinata couldn’t figure it out himself, he marched up to Kageyama during a water break and demanded to know what was wrong.

“Hey! What’s up with you today?”

“Hah?” Kageyama asked sharply, glaring down at Hinata.

“You’ve been really quiet for the last two hours and you’re being a butthead right now!” Hinata snapped back. He wasn’t backing down when he knew he was right. He knew something was bothering Kageyama. He just had to find out what it was and then he could try and make things better for him.

Kageyama blinked at him for a few seconds before his face melted into a deeper-than-normal- scowl. It was more...confused than angry though. Hinata thought that he was about to relent and finally tell him what was wrong.

Instead he scoffed and walked away.

Hinata’s jaw dropped as he watched his boyfriend walk away. How dare he?

He clenched his fists and scoffed as well.

For the rest of their practice matches, Hinata and Kageyama avoided any non-volleyball related interactions. However, by the end of their last game, Kageyama looked so pitiful that Hinata couldn’t find it in himself to be angry anymore.

Instead, he sat beside Kageyama who plopped himself heavily onto the floor as soon as they finished their penalty lap. He was leaning against the wall, panting.

Hinata turned his head to observe him. He was sweaty and breathless as to be expected. Hinata was also trying to catch his breath and wipe away the sweat before it dripped in his eyes. What was unexpected was the pale tint to his skin, probably barely noticeable to other people. But Hinata, who spent an exorbitant amount of time studying Kageyama’s face, noticed.

His eyes scanned Kageyama’s face and saw the near imperceptible blush rising to his cheeks as well. Was it from the running? Or…

Hinata’s hand moved towards Kageyama’s forehead but before he could touch it, Kageyama’s hand slapped it away.

“Ow! What the heck? That hurt, Yama!” Hinata cradled his hand against his chest.

“What are you doing, dumbass?” Kageyama snapped. Hinata took a moment to be utterly flabbergasted at the malice laced in the reply. It felt unwarranted, given that Hinata was a) his boyfriend and b) just trying to help.

“I’m trying to figure out why you’re being such a freakin’ asshole today, Jerkyama,” he narrowed his eyes and glared up at Kageyama. The setter’s lip curled and he clicked his tongue.

“I don’t know why you’re so in my fucking face today, idiot,” Kageyama spit back so venomously that Hinata almost instinctively recoiled.

“Cause I know something is wrong and I don’t know why you’re hiding it from me!” Hinata yelled back. What the fuck was his problem?

Hinata could feel the eyes of his teammates on them now, probably wondering what was causing their dynamic duo to fight this time. Thankfully, they kept their distance. He knew they’d step in if they needed to, but he and Kageyama have gotten a lot better at resolving things themselves. (And that has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that they are secretly dating. Nope.)

“I don’t have to tell you everything. You’re not my mom,” Kageyama shrugged sharply. “Just back off okay? Fuck. You’re so clingy. Let me breathe,” he exhaled and turned his head away again.

The words cut through Hinata’s chest painfully. He gaped at Kageyama for a moment before standing up quickly and glaring down at Kageyama.

“Fine. What the fuck ever, Shitty-yama. I don’t know what crawled up your ass today, but I’m sorry for caring. Come find me when you’ve got your shit together and you’re ready to be my boyfriend again,” Hinata seethed and walked away.

If Kageyama was going to be such a jerk, he would go practice with Kuroo and them again until Kageyama decided to not be a dick.

“Hinata,” Suga called out to him. Hinata inhaled and slowly turned to face his upperclassmen.

“Yeah?” He asked as calmly and normally as possible.

“Is everything alright? Looked like things got pretty intense. You guys haven’t fought like that in a while,” Suga asked and put a hand on Hinata’s shoulder. He squeezed, eyes wide and a concerned frown on his face and Hinata’s anger melted. They hadn’t officially come out as a couple to the team or anything yet, but it’s not like the team didn’t know how close the two were recently. Even if they believed it was only as friends.

“Yeah,” he huffed, “I don’t know. Something’s bothering him, but he won’t tell me. I almost thought for a second that he might be sick, but if he has enough energy to be such a huge buttwad, then that’s probably not what it is.” Suga nodded in understanding.

“Want me to keep an eye on him?”

Hinata peered over Suga’s shoulder to where Kageyama was still sitting. Yachi was sitting facing him on her knees, clearly trying to get him to talk to her. If he was responding, Hinata couldn’t tell. Kageyama’s knees held his knees to his chest, his head resting loosely on his arms. He was about to say yes, absolutely, please, until he remembered that they were just friends in the eyes of the team and he therefore had no reason to be as concerned as he was.

“Uh pft, what?” he tried to cover, “if you want--I mean--I don’t care--it’s not like we’re dating or anything. If he wants to be an idiot, that’s his problem.” Suga raised his eyebrows at him.

“I’ll have him practice setter switches with me then,” Suga said with a soft smile.

“Okay. If you want to… it might help him...,” Hinata replied, grateful that Suga wasn’t questioning his weird reaction. Suga ruffled his hair before prancing over to the rest of the team to coerce them into more practice.

Hinata inhaled slowly and exhaled away his frustration. Then he turned and skipped over to where Kenma and Kuroo were chatting quietly.

“Kuroo-san!” Hinata called and ran up to them, “are we practicing again today?? I want you to show me that cool wha-BAM block again!!” He jumped up and attempted to imitate Kuroo’s cool kill block.

“Shoyo, Kuro was actually just saying that he was—“ Kenma started. Hinata thought that Kenma almost looked worried about something? Kuroo cut him off before Hinata could figure it out.

“On my way to look for you Chib-chan!”

Hinata grinned at him. He loved practicing with such amazing players. He learned so much and it was a sure way to take his mind off his grumpy boyfriend for a few hours. Hopefully, by the time they met up for dinner, Kageyama would be in a less crappy mood.

“Let’s go grab something to eat and then we’ll round up the others,” Kuroo told him and Hinata nodded and ran off. Now that he knew Kuroo was coming, he should convince Tsukishima to join.

***

Extra practice was absolutely not going the way Hinata thought it would. In fact, it only reminded him about how completely useless he was trying to help Kageyama earlier that day. He was still completely useless. Tsukishima already yelled at him and Lev to be quiet.

“You’ve got a fever,” Akaashi said and Hinata’s anxiety spiked. Maybe Kageyama was sick after all. He might’ve caught whatever Kuroo had. And Hinata was such an asshole to him. He would have to apologize after they took care of the current situation.

Hinata watched helplessly as his upperclassmen slowly broke down, trying without success to think of some way to help. Akaashi and Bokuto seemed to have it covered, but Hinata was tired of feeling useless.

When Lev mentioned Kenma, Hinata was more than happy to retrieve the setter. He knew exactly where he should be too.

“Kenma!” Hinata yelled breathlessly as he entered the Nekoma sleeping quarters. He scanned the room for the familiar brown-blonde hair, ignoring the curious eyes of the other Nekoma members in the room. Kenma was nowhere to be found. He locked eyes with Inuoka who blinked at him in shock.

“Hinata? Is everything okay?” He stood up and crossed the room.

“Uh,” Hinata quieted down a little, he wasn’t stupid enough to blurt out the situation. That might only cause panic. “Kuroo-san is sick and I came to get Kenma.” Inuoka’s eyes widened.

“It hit Kuroo-san? Already? Damn,” Inuoka sighed, putting a hand on his forehead.

“What are you talking about?” Hinata asked.

“A few players from Shinzen and Ubugawa got a stomach bug. They just told Nobuyuki-san. He went to go talk with the rest of the captains and vice-captains about what to do. He took Yaku-san and they figured they’d just tell Kuroo when he got back. I guess he knows…” Inuoka explained and Hinata’s stomach dropped to his feet. Kageyama practiced with a bunch of Shinzen and Ubugawa players last night, so he most definitely was sick. Shit.

He wanted to run to find his boyfriend, but he had a job to do right now. He trusted his team to take care of things until he could find Kenma.

“Where’s Kenma?” Hinata pressed.

“He’s in the shower,” Inuoka said and Hinata cursed.

“Okay. Thanks, Inuoka!” he called as he sprinted towards the bathrooms.

Kenma was very unhappy with Hinata when he burst into the bathroom shouting his name and throwing the curtain open. After he explained the situation with Kuroo though, Kenma sighed and said he’d be right out. Hinata waited impatiently outside the bathroom for Kenma to finish. When Kenma emerged from the bathroom with his hair tied back and dripping and his Snorlax slippers adorning his feet, Hinata quickly led him to Gym Three.

“Kuroo- san! I found Kenma!” Hinata yelled as soon as they got there. Kenma immediately went over and took Akaashi’s place beside Kuroo.

Hinata watched for a little while, but when Kuroo started gagging more he remembered that his own boyfriend might be in a similar situation.

“Uh, I’m gonna—I’m gonna go,” he stuttered and ran out of the gym to find Kageyama.

He had no idea where his boyfriend might be at this point. Was he even sick? Was he angry at Hinata? If he was sick, would he still be in the gym anyway? It wouldn’t be surprising at all if he blatantly lied about being sick in order to keep practicing.

“Hinata!” Kiyoko ran up to him, “there you are. We’ve been looking everywhere for you. I ran to Gym Three earlier, but as soon as I saw the situation and that you weren’t there, I just left. Please come with me,” she said quickly and turned back the direction she came from.

“Is everything okay?” he asked. Kiyoko looking for him so urgently couldn’t be anything good. She shook her head.

“Kageyama almost passed out while he and Sugawara were practicing, but he refuses to leave the gym.” Hinata’s chest squeezed. He was right. Kageyama was sick.

“What a freaking idiot,” he said, picking up his pace a little.

When he got to the gym, Kageyama was standing on the court, swaying on his feet. Yachi was hesitantly tossing balls up for him to set. Before each one, she tried to say something about how Kageyama should sit down, but Kageyama cut her off with a glare. Asahi, Yamaguchi, and Kinnoshita were all practicing half-heartedly, keeping an eye on their stubborn setter. Noya was the only one who looked angry. Hinata imagined that he tried to get Kageyama to leave and was quickly shut down.

“Where are Daichi and Suga?” Hinata asked Kiyoko. She shrugged.

“They were called away for some captain’s meeting.” Hinata nodded.

“Shinzen and Ubugawa players have a stomach bug. It’s probably about that.” Kiyoko’s eyes widened and she shot an anxious look in Kageyama’s direction. Hinata grimaced and steeled himself.

“Hey! Bakayama!” Hinata shouted and the ball Yachi tossed fell to the ground untouched. Kageyama turned to him and Hinata gasped.

He was paler than earlier, almost ashen, and positively dripping in sweat. Hinata’s feet carried him over to his idiotic boyfriend and he immediately cupped his flushed cheeks. His fever was immediately evident. Kageyama registered the movement a little too slowly (incredibly concerning) and grabbed Hinata's wrists and weakly tried to pull his hands off his face.

“Stop. You have a fever. You need to go to bed.” Hinata said, not leaving any room for an argument.

Of course, that didn’t stop Kageyama.

“I’m fine,” he said. The crack and complete lack of bite in his voice made the statement incredibly unconvincing. Hinata pursed his lips and dropped his hands.

“Fine. Let’s do some passing drills then,” he shrugged and walked over to Yachi to get a ball.

“Hinata, I don’t know if that’s the bes--” Yachi started.

“Get a bucket and some water ready.” Hinata cut her off with a whisper. Her mouth immediately dropped into a frown, her eyes wide, but she nodded and ran to the store room.

“Fine. You suck anyway,” Kageyama muttered. He moved into position.

They started passing and things were going smoothly for the first few minutes. As time passed, however, it was more than clear that Kageyama was unwell. There was an obvious sway to his stance, and he was panting even though they’d only been at it for a few minutes. Hinata was uncomfortable with putting his boyfriend through all this, but if the idiot wasn’t going to admit he was sick, there wasn’t anything else he could do.

Without realizing it, Hinata let out his frustration on the ball and spiked it down. Kageyama jumped to try and reach it when it bounced back up, but just barely touched it. When his feet slammed back onto the floor, his legs gave out and he fell to his hands and knees. Yachi and the remaining Karasuno players gasped and tried to run to his side, but Hinata beat them to it.

“Kageyama!” Hinata ran over to him. He swiped back his sweaty hair and cringed at the heat he felt.

“That was a shit move, boke,” Kageyama wheezed.

“I didn’t mean to spike it, really, I was just so frustrated because you’re being so unnecessarily stubborn about this. You’re clearly sick, idiot.” Hinata replied. He couldn’t keep the concern out of his voice. Kageyama seemed way worse off than Kuroo.

Kageyama thought about his words for a second before he looked at the floor and nodded. Hinata sighed in relief.

“Can I take you to bed?” Kageyama met his eyes. Hinata frowned. Kageyama’s eyes were fever-bright and glassy (Hinata secretly thought it made the blue of his eyes even more beautiful, but he kept that to himself. For now, at least).

“Please,” Kageyama croaked. His bottom lip trembled and if there weren’t other people around, he would’ve kissed Kageyama’s sweaty forehead.

Instead, he stood up, extending a hand down to Kageyama. The setter took his hand and Hinata helped him stand slowly and carefully. As soon as he was upright, Hinata pulled one of Kageyama’s arms around his shoulder and wrapped his own around his boyfriend’s waist. Kageyama leaned a little too heavily on Hinata.

Hinata bit his lip. If Kageyama did catch the same bug, he needed to get him somewhere away from people sooner rather than later. It was unlikely that Kageyama would be okay spewing his guts up in front of everyone.

“Here, I’ll help,” Yamaguchi said and Hinata shook his head before he could make his way over to them.

“It’s okay. I don’t want you to catch this,” Hinata said and sent Yamaguchi a grateful smile. Yamaguchi nodded and took the bucket and water from Yachi.

“I’ll follow you. I want to find Tsukki anyway.”

They made it about 3 feet out of the gym before Kageyama pushed himself away from Hinata and careened off to the side. He put a hand on the wall and doubled over with a painful sounding wretch.

“Crap,” Hinata muttered and grabbed the bucket from Yamaguchi. He walked over to Kageyama and put it down in front of him and put a hand on his hunched back. A second later, he heaved again unsuccessfully.

“Can I do anything?” Yamaguchi asked. Hinata glanced at Kageyama’s scrunched up face and watched his throat bobbed up and down as he swallowed. He turned back to Yamaguchi and shook his head, sending him another thankful smile.

“It’s okay. I got this,” Hinata said. Yamaguchi hesitated, but nodded and placed the water bottle on the ground before turning and walking away.

“Relax, Yama,” Hinata soothed.

“Go’way,” Kageyama replied. Hinata for the umpteenth time that day, took a second to compute his boyfriend’s response.

“As if, stupid. It’s fine. It’s not like you haven’t seen me puke.”

“That’s not,” he hiccuped, “that’s not it.” Kageyama said.

Hinata stared at him for a second and tried not to be hurt by thoughts that hadn’t yet been voiced.

“...you’d rather be alone?” he asked softly. Kageyama looked up at him, his eyes big and his mouth in a tight line, but an apologetic look on his face. He nodded. Hinata tucked his lips into his mouth and took his hand off his back.

“I’ll just be over there then,” he chuckled pathetically. If Kageyama didn’t want him around, it didn’t mean that he didn’t love him or trust him, Hinata tried to remind himself. It was just a preference. This was a new situation for them as a couple and Hinata had to remember that he was still learning things about his boyfriend.

“Hina—“ Kageyama tried, but was cut off by another gag. It was wet and gurgling.

“It’s okay, Yama! I know it’s not cause you don’t love me. It’s fine. Come get me when you’re ready,” Hinata assured and walked around the corner of the gym.

He sat down against the wall and took a breath. It was stupid for him to feel so hurt. The only reason he was this upset was because they fought earlier and never really made up.

Around the corner, Kageyama gagged harshly and Hinata winced. He resisted the urge to run around the corner and help.

For the next several minutes, Hinata sat by helplessly, uselessly, and listened to Kageyama wretch and gag and hiccup and gasp unproductively.

Finally, a harsh cough brought with it the sounds of vomit hitting plastic and Hinata felt some relief on behalf of his sickly boyfriend.

From there, it was almost like someone turned on the faucet. Hinata winced everytime Kageyama heaved. He was about to run to Kageyama, whether the setter wanted that or not.

“Sh-Shoyo,” he heard Kageyama whimper and with that Hinata’s resolve to sit by patiently broke and he got up and sprinted the short distance back to his boyfriend.

Kageyama was squatting with the bucket between his legs and his head in his hands, panting.

“Yama,” Hinata said at the same time that his heart broke. He knelt by Kageyama.

“Hey, I’m here. What do you need? Want me to rub your back? Want some water? I can tie back your hair or —“

“Sho, please,” Kageyama breathed. He looked at Hinata with the biggest, saddest, wettest eyes and the cutest, smallest, most adorably pitiful frown.

“Please jus’ shuddup ‘n hold m’hand,” he said and held out a hand. Hinata gladly took it and squeezed. Kageyama’s shoulders relaxed briefly before jumping back up by his ears when he heaved.

Hinata sat by quietly while Kageyama continued to throw up seemingly everything he’s ever eaten. He wanted to do more, but didn’t want to overstep any boundaries and make Kageyama uncomfortable. Just being able to offer even the most minute bit of comfort to Kageyama made him less anxious. He hoped Kageyama felt the same way.

Kageyama spit in the bucket and breathed heavily.

“Water?” He choked. Hinata nodded eagerly and handed him the water Yachi brought him. Kageyama used it to rinse his mouth out first and then fell onto his butt and took a few more sips, opting to sit cross-legged against the gym wall.

Hinata fiddled with his fingers, trying to figure out what to do with them now that he wasn’t holding Kageyama’s hand anymore. He decided to move the bucket away and await further instruction.

Kageyama looked...bad. And it made Hinata’s whole body twitch. He’d never seen Kageyama like this, weak and sweaty and vulnerable. On the one hand, he was glad that Kageyama trusted him. On the other, it hurt his chest to see the guy he loved in such a state.

A quiet sob broke him out of his thoughts and his head shot up to look at Kageyama.

“Yama?”

Kageyama shook his head and brought his arms up to cover his face. Hinata crawled over to him and waited for him to calm down.

“I’m sorry, Hinata,” he whimpered behind his arms. Hinata’s face softened.

“It’s alright.”

“No,” Kageyama said quickly, dropping his arms and meeting Hinata’s eyes. He was flushed, pale and sweaty, his hair matted and sticking up in all directions. Hinata smiled at him sympathetically.

“It’s not alright, Hinata. I-I was such an ass-asshole,” he wheezed between sobs. Hinata bit his lip.

“And you were on-only trying to h-help, and I was so mean!” He cried, his chest heaving. “You should break up with me.” Hinata furrowed his eyebrows and widened his eyes. How did he fall for such a freaking drama Queen?

He threw his head back and sighed, “Kageyama.”

“Don’t forgive me, Hinata! You’re not clingy! I’m sorry,” the setter continued to cry. His raspy breaths and choked sobs were quickly devolving. Hinata could see where this was going. He felt bad because Kageyama was probably way too out of it to realize that he was working himself up.

“Yama, please listen to me for a second you big idiot,” Hinata tried again. Kageyama continued to sob, hiccups sprinkling themselves in now.

Hinata needed to calm him down. Could he touch him now? He wasn’t sure. He didn’t want to make Kageyama more uncomfortable.

Kageyama made up Hinata’s mind for him when he lurched forward with a dry heave. He planted a hand on the ground in front of him but his whole arm was trembling. Hinata wrapped his arm around Kageyama’s heaving chest quickly to keep him upright.

“Tobio, calm down. Breathe,” Hinata soothed. Even he was surprised, but very proud, at how calmly he was handling everything. He’d brag to Kageyama about it when he was feeling better.

Kageyama shook his head quickly, eyes squeezed shut and dry heaved again.

“There’s nothing left, Yama,” Hinata tried to reason. He used his free hand to rub gently between Kageyama’s shoulder blades.

Kageyama grabbed Hinata’s arm around his chest and squeezed. His body continued to betray him and after a few more heave, he choked on a small stream of bile onto his legs.

Hinata cursed and pulled Kageyama up to a standing position. It only served to aggravate his stomach more and he belched up a larger wave. At least this time he didn’t get it on himself.

He kept an arm firmly across Kageyama’s chest and the setter leaned heavily into Hinata. It was concerning to say the least. His throat gurgled before more bile spilled from his mouth.

“Kageyama, hey. Breathe,” Hinata said more urgently.

“Hinata!” Suga called and Hinata’s head snapped towards his upperclassmen. Suga was jogging towards them with a few medical masks in hand.

“Shit, it hit him hard, huh?” He winced.

“Yeah,” Hinata replied with a grimace. Kageyama gasped. He squeezed his eyes shut and spit before moaning pitifully.

Hinata, getting past his own disgust, used the end of his own gosh dang shirt and wiped off Kageyama’s mouth. His boyfriend’s lip trembled when he made eye contact with him and Hinata’s mouth quirked up in sympathy.

“You’re okay,” he said. Kageyama turned and wrapped his arms around Hinata’s head and collapsed onto him in a heavy hug. On instinct, Hinata’s arms snaked around Kageyama’s waist.

Hinata managed to bring his face out of Kageyama’s chest and found Suga again. The older setter had an eyebrow raised and subtle smirk on his lips.

“Seems you guys made up,” he said, crossing his arms.

“Yeah,” Hinata blushed, “is there somewhere he can rest?” Suga chuckled.

“Yeah. Come on. They’ve set up a room for the fallen,” he joked. “Do you need help?”

“Uh,” he glanced at the giant buried in his neck and smiled softly.

“Nah. I got it. Just lead the way.” He said and maneuvered Kageyama onto his back.

“Try to keep your insides inside for a bit, okay, Bakageyama?” Hinata teased. Kageyama just groaned and nuzzled further into Hinata’s neck.

Suga covered his own face with a medical mask before handing one to Hinata. Then he led them to a classroom set up for the sickies. While they were walking, Kageyama whispered repeated and delirious apologies to Hinata.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Hinata insisted after a bit, “I was a jerk too. I’m sorry. I just wanted to help. It was stupid of me to think I could fix everything if you just told me what was wrong.”

“I should’ve just told you,” Kageyama replied quietly.

“Yeah probably,” Hinata shrugged as best he could, “but this is new for us. We’ll figure it out.”

“Still. I was so mean,” Kageyama mumbled into Hinata’s neck.

“I’m not mad,” Hinata reassured. He looked ahead at Suga who was very obviously trying not to listen.

“You should be.”

“You’re sick, Yama. It’s no surprise that you’re grumpier than usual. I’m just grateful you’re letting me help you now.”

“I don’t want anyone else to help me,” Kageyama admitted. Hinata’s chest warmed.

“It’s you and me, then.” He smiled. Kageyama nodded.

When they finally made it to the Designated Sick Room, Suga left the room to tell Daichi what was going on while Hinata took Kageyama to a corner futon away from the majority of the others.

“Alright, I’ll come check on you in a bit, okay?” He said once he was satisfied that Kageyama was sufficiently comfortable. Kageyama nodded and turned onto his side and shivered. Hinata frowned. He didn’t want to leave his boyfriend, but he didn’t want to stay in that nasty, germ-filled room longer than necessary.

He turned to leave, resisting the urge to give Kageyama a quick kiss. Right before he stepped out of the room, Suga stopped him with a hand in his face.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He asked, one hand still up to stop Hinata and the other on his cocked hip.

Hinata raised an eyebrow and said, “I’m going back to practice?”

“As if,” Suga scoffed before noticing Hinata’s confusion at the response.

“Hinata,” he sighed and turned away, “listen,” he met Hinata’s eyes, “we were trying to wait for you guys to be comfortable enough to tell us yourselves, but we all know you and Kageyama are dating.”

Hinata blinked up at him. Suga’s hidden meaning was not immediately apparent to him, but eventually he realized what his upperclassman was implying and he felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

“What— no— I mean we don’t— I don’t—“

“Cut the crap, Hinata,” Suga chuckled, a crooked smile and a raised eyebrow telling the middle blocker that there was no getting out of this one. He immediately deflated and dropped his head and shoulders with an exasperated sigh.

“How’d you guys find out?”

“For real?? It’s not like you guys were subtle at all!” Suga laughed fully this time. “You’ve been fighting less and you stare at each other all the time. Also, take it from me, the storage closets are not as private as you may think.”

Hinata flushed in embarrassment again. No way could he meet Suga’s eyes right now.

“Now. Get back in there. If Kageyama is sick, there’s no way you’re not at least carrying his germs.” Suga pushed Hinata gently back into the Sick Room, despite his many sputtering attempts at protesting.

Kageyama’s bleary eyes peeked up at Hinata in confusion when he unceremoniously plopped down beside his sick boyfriends. He huffed sharply and crossed his arms, pouting.

“What are you doing? You shouldn’t be in here. You’ll get sick,” he mumbled groggily. Hinata let out an exasperated sigh.

“Apparently,” he drawled out, “we aren’t as good at hiding as we thought so there’s ‘no way’ I’m not carrying your germs. Suga’s making me stay here.”

“Wha—“ Kageyama’s eyebrows squished together cutely while his foggy brain tried to interpret what Hinata said. As soon as he did, his already flushed cheeks deepened in color before he quickly buried his face in his pillow.

“Stupid, Shoyo,” came the muffled insult, “you’re too obnoxious.”

“Me?” Hinata gasped, a hand flying to his chest and his eyes widening. “You’re the one that insists we make out in the storage closet!” Kageyama turned his head and frowned up at Hinata.

“I’m sorry,” he croaked, “I just really like you. Please don’t yell at me. I don’t feel good.” Hinata’s heart constricted from the sheer adorableness behind Kageyama’s wide glassy eyes and tiny little pout.

“Gah,” he squeezed his eyes shut and grasped at his chest. “You’re so freaking cute, Yamayama. I’m sorry! You’re right! It’s my fault.” To show his remorse, Hinata flopped onto his boyfriend and snuggled into him.

“Ah! Shoyo, stop! We’re in public, dumbass,” Kageyama cried through giggles. Hinata laughed and peered up at Kageyama with a smile. He pecked his flushed cheek and sat up.

“Guess since everyone knows, you’re really stuck with me, Yama,” he sing-songed. Kageyama smiled up at him softly.

“Good. Now let me sleep.” He rolled over and Hinata settled himself against the wall beside his head.

“Sure. I’ll be here in case you need to puke again. Let me know if you feel bad and I can get you some medicine or some water. Or hey! If you feel up to munching on something, I can run to the vending machines and—“

“Shoyo?”

“Hmmm?”

“Please just shut up and hold my hand.” Kageyama snaked one hand out from under his blanket and Hinata took it in his own as a smile tugged at his cheeks.

#haikyuu sickfic #haikyuu!!#hq!!#kagehina #sick kageyama #caretaker hinata #kegayama tobio #hinata shoyo #my fics

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thefledglingdm · 2 years ago

Note

1 7 and 13 for the writer asks!

thank you so much for the ask!!! apologies for the delayed response!!

13. What is a subject matter that is incredibly difficult for you write about? What is easy?

oooh i have a really hard time writing action scenes. like, anything in same stars is a trial to write bc i just think, ok, the action happens, let's move on. because what's fun in one medium (a first-person shooter video game) can be really hard to translate into another (a longform fic about my OC, Miranda, who i am down to talk about at any and all hours). just... any long-form action scene.

this will probably not be a surprise, but it's easy (well, easier) for me to write dialogue (witty banter? sign me up!!!!) in most any form. i also love a good angst with a happy ending.

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

YES YES YES YES THANK YOU FOR THIS YES!!!!!! these will all be about my current wip that i am working on/publishing, i wish to be found. these bullet points below may have some mild spoilers, so the rest of this answer is below the cut!!!!

though this is an au of you've got mail, i changed most everything but the central premise because i don't actually like the second half of the movie that much anymore.

this essentially follows the lore history that i set up in the world will follow after, where yamaguchi and tsukishima don't meet until adulthood. tsukishima's backstory is the same as it is in that au, and yamaguchi's is changed to make it so he was born and raised in tokyo working for his mother's bookstore.

in the world will follow after, yamaguchi mentions off-handedly that he wants to tattoo his right arm with constellations as well. in i wish to be found, a slightly older yamaguchi has actually gotten all of the tattoos he details wanting in that fic.

originally, there was going to be more kagehina, but i chose to cut them in order to focus more on the tsukkiyama, kuroken, and bokuaka storylines.

if yamaguchi and tsukishima are elizabeth and darcy from pride and prejudice, kenma and kuroo are anne and wentworth from persuasion. these are parallels i want to delve into more in a kuroken-specific side story.

speaking of storylines, i got the name for yamaguchi's store and for the bookends company name from fantasynamegenerators. emily is a godsend. their story - that suga was a bookends competition winner that got together with his assigned editor - is mentioned in passing for backstory.

i briefly considered adding a daisuga getting-together subplot, but decided against it for the same reasons as reducing the amount of kagehina.

i look up and save the floor plans/zillow listings for every home location in my stories.

suga's character traits/info in my draft doc is literally just

in the final scene of chapter 1, tsukishima refers to his meeting about the next bookends location as "business as usual." in chapter 6, yamaguchi uses the same phrase during their fight.

the café fight was the first scene i wrote for this story.

tsukishima's message to yamaguchi, "find me when you're ready," is a direct homage to the title, "i wish to be found."

this is a slight spoiler for the chapter i haven't posted yet, but the fantasy world tsukishima creates for his bookends submission is the same homebrew world i created for a D&D campaign that fizzled out. the characters he uses are all NPCs i made for that campaign, too.

i mentioned this in some comment replies, but suga has 100% written, posted, and received commissions from volleyball players to write volleyball RPF. but he only writes about folks who have said they don't care about it. it is the worst-kept secret in the league. everyone thinks miya has read them all, but he swears he hasn't. sakusa has read them all. suna has performed multiple live readings at volleyball parties.

though not all songs i put on my writing playlists can make it into the fic, three that i'm actually bummed i probably won't be able to include are "bruises" by train ft. ashley monroe, "falling slowly" by glen hansard and marketa irglova, and "closer" by joey contreras and brian russel carey.

while this is an au of you've got mail and there are a ton of references to pride and prejudice, this story also ended up having a lot of parallels with the story/musical daddy long legs. both feature characters who fall in love over exchanged messages, with one person aware of who the other is and the other not. i highly recommend listening to it!! yamaguchi references the lyrics to one song, "i have torn you from my heart" ("yes, you've got your freedom, daddy / but you don't have me") when he muses on tsukki's absence in his life ("I have the store. But I don’t have you.") those same lyrics were originally the chapter title for chapter 6.

i also reference the song "the man i'll never be" when tsukishima realizes that yama and yamaguchi are the same person, thinking, "And yet. And yet. Kei could think of nothing more cruel or unkind than leaving Yamaguchi sitting there, alone, waiting for the version of himself Kei pretended to be."

the green sweater yamaguchi wears when he meets tsukishima at bookends is the same one he wears to meet tsukishima in the coffee shop in the world will follow after.

the bokuaka theme for this fic is "stranger" by riley roth.

the kuroken themes for this fic are "right where you left me" and "this love" by taylor swift

tsukkiyama have a theme, but that will be revealed in the epilogue!!!!

if you're still reading this i love you!!!!

#jj answers #i wish to be found #the world will follow after

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ranpoismyblorbo · 3 years ago

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I posted 3,101 times in 2021

150 posts created (5%)

2951 posts reblogged (95%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 19.7 posts.

I added 86 tags in 2021

#< - 39 posts

#prev tags - 6 posts

#<<< prev tags - 6 posts

#not my translation - 6 posts

#soukoku - 5 posts

#bungou stray dogs - 5 posts

#malec - 5 posts

#prev tags: - 5 posts

#jjk manga spoilers - 5 posts

#but like - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 127 characters

#n̵̨̺͈̩̠̜̻͆̿̊̚̚̚ͅȯ̴̧̡̦̻̥̼͔͕̰͍̟̣͎̺͔͍̮͒̔͗̓̆̄̿̇̈́̈́́̅͗̓̏́̚̕͜͝ṱ̵̩͉̲̫̳͉͉̜̹̖̮̙͓̦͇́͋̿͊̀͛̐͑̾͊͒͒̊́̊́͝ͅh̴̢̡̟͈̗̹̠͇̼̫̣̺͉̠̻̪̲̅͋͒̄̄̆̌͗̍̾̂̀̚͠͝ͅ

My Top Posts in 2021

IwaOi BokuAka and KuroKen are very canon.

22 notes • Posted 2021-11-02 21:44:01 GMT

✨YOU'LL NEVER TAKE US ALIVE✨

23 notes • Posted 2021-12-06 19:58:08 GMT

OK IM GOING OFFLINE NOW THIS IS TOO MUCH WTF-

@akuutaguava @panic-at-the-gender @boombboi @glittercrashhh @chuuy-a and uhhh no I think that's everyone so um yea I'll continue the rb chains in a while/tomorrow sjdjfjrndj I'm tired and have a horrible headache✌️✌️

29 notes • Posted 2021-12-06 11:43:37 GMT

SURVEY-ISH TIME!!!!

How many of y'all here are Sigma stans and willing to die for this man???

Say aye in reblog/comments

@boombboi @chuuy-a @akuutaguava @panic-at-the-gender @glittercrashhh @fyo-door this was more specifically targeted at y'all IM LEAVING NOW I SWEAR-

40 notes • Posted 2021-12-06 10:14:40 GMT

CHAPTER 97 BSD MANGA SPOILERS

Aight so I was talking with a friend about how the whole escape thing is gone play out and she said that most likely both Fyodor and Dazai will miraculously survive and I was just like "yes but WHAT IF THE COST IS SIGMA'S LIFE HUH-" and she literally asked wHaT aRe yOu suGgEStiNg" and so I started aggressively theorising and the "say aye" post was a trap cuz imma tag y'all in this now (btw im just copy pasting from whatsapp rn so yea)

We haven't seen too many major deaths yet (except ofc yk but like....not MANY ) And there is a full possibility someone else will also die and the impact of Sigma's death would be pretty big psychologically for the ADA specifically Atsushi me thinks (because he couldn't save him not once but twice😀)

And also if Dazai ends up using Sigma's life in some way it would cause a pretty huge rift I think between him and Atsushi and possibly the rest of the ADA like they will still listen to his plans because yeah but they will also be distant and that would most definitely affect Dazai more than he would show and I feel like if he lost his friends in the ADA because of any reason specially if it's his own doing then he would slowly but surely start regressing to a pre development aka Port Mafia Dazai-ish state and just yeah that would be bad

Plus if Fyodor PLANNED to have Sigma die at that particular time his plans would already be in disarray but the death wouldn't affect them as bad but if he assumed Nikolai would have survived and saved Sigma then he had a job for both of them and Sigma's loss will definitely make him need to reroute (although I fully believe he has like AT LEAST 15 contingency plans incase a team member dies but still) and if Dazai figures out which one it is, if it's the latter I fully believe he can and he will use Sigma to get out and sacrifice him in the process (I mean I love the guy but he's highkey evil when it comes down to high stakes stuff)

ALSO, his (Sigma's) ability is an important one for an organisation that makes all its plans and executes them on the basis of the information it gets because Fukuchi might be the head but we all know that Fyodor is the one actually making the plans yes?? And Fyodor is a literal genius but even he needs the information required before making any plans. So yeah if Fyodor DIDN'T plan for him to actually die and Dazai figures it out Sigma is highkey a dead man walking.

And just yeah while his active contribution to the plot right now isn't that much, him dying during the escape which leads to the other two surviving it would make his part much greater overall plus it would deal psychological damage to the characters (and possibly general working damage to Fyodor) plus it would be a bittersweet thing about him never having truly existed and stuff as well because I can definitely see Asagiri pulling that card on us just so we sob some more😀😭

Anyways so yea that's that it's just a theory though so👀👀

Anyways for the tags now: @glittercrashhh @boombboi @akuutaguava @panic-at-the-gender @fyo-door @chuuy-a @saintsprotecttheghoul @sword-dad-fukuzawa @yukiko-otaku @flower-of-darkness @galacticfairytheweeb @dusted-star @lillybet-the-overlord @ficharsimp @thebgcharacter

And ofc honourable mentions to the one who led to all of this with the initial convo: @fruitpunchsamurai16

59 notes • Posted 2021-12-06 16:47:57 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #its the fact that the Sigma theory thing is the LAST thing i posted and its still at number 1-

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symph95 · 4 years ago

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!Spoilers for Haikyuu manga!

Okay Bokuaka nation we all know this iconic post right?? (If not plz read)

So I was rereading the Mujiazaka match again for the millionth time and I saw this and immediately stopped.

This is right after Bokuto’s whole “give me your 120%” but you know, the pretty gay version of it (see post above for more details) and akaashi saying “I want to try it” got me thinking of how much this seems like a push for Akaashi to accept his feelings/their relationship. Let’s forget they’re playing volleyball for a second and think about a Akaashi’s narrative to this point. Most of the time, he’s not been expressive with his emotions and blunt to Bokuto, but when he talks about Bokuto to other people he’s all like this guy is the best thing in the world. Now we have Bokuto basically asking him to open up with how he’s phrasing his words (again look to the above post for further information) and Akaashi is met with a lot of backlash from his mind. He’s overthinking everything but at the end he’s thinks “But I want to do this” and does it. This kind of parallels, at least for me, what it’s like to come out and accept that you’re gay and you want to be with x person. He forgets about the worries of how it will work and just accepts he wants this. And after the match we get this scene too.

Here Akaashi is opening up to Bokuto about how he truly feels about how he plays. Before this he’s been pretty blunt to Bokuto about his performance but never outright worried about him, but we see him being completely open here AFTER their whole kind of confession thing. Again if we remove volleyball from this and focus purely on their relationship it’s this place where they’ve both shown their trust in each other and their relationship but now they’re solidifying their fears in it and how it’ll work out in an open honest way.

So to sum this whole thing up, pretty much Akaashi’s narrative really fits with him being gay and realizing his feelings for Bokuto and forgetting his anxieties and fears to open up to him and be with him.

#haikyuu!!#bokuaka #akaashi #akaashi keiji #haikyuu #bokuto #Bokuto Koutarou #idk what this is but I ship them #a lot #and akaashi acts gay 95% of the time and fits his narrative

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ashistrashhh · 4 years ago

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here are some fic recs!! including sakuatsu, bokuaka, kuroken and matsuhana bc i couldnt help myself

if you want, ask me about a certain ship and ill give you some recs!

-sakuatsu-

Marble and Sandstone by red_camellia

rating: G words: 12,937 chapters: 2/2

author summary: Miya Atsumu only cares about volleyball and nothing else. That is, until he develops a strange obsession with the marble statue of a young man that seems vaguely familiar in his university's arts department. One day that statue comes alive as the very real Sakusa Kiyoomi, and they are left with the mystery of why Sakusa Kiyoomi was turned into a statue and only came back to life when Atsumu touched him. Their new-found connection and the strange mystery turns Atsumu's life upside down, not least because of his growing feelings for Sakusa.

my notes: this was a rlly cute fic!!! 11/10 would read again!!

let it go (paint my body gold) by lunarism

rating: T words: 3,272 chapters: 1/1

author summary: It becomes a routine for them. Sometimes they go grocery shopping and make dinner together, other times they end up talking until Sakusa feels like his own shower and bed is calling him. Every single time Sakusa gets home, shrugs his coat off, balls it up, and proceeds to scream profusely into the fabric for a few minutes.

my notes: pining!!! sakusa!!! also casual painter!atsumu!!! and they paint together!!!

craft a miracle with these hands, lips, (silence) by chrysanthe (sonderesque)

rating: T words: 4,252 chapters: 1/1

author summary: ‘Someone is here to ruin your night,’ his door tells him. ‘You should let them in.’ “I’M HOMELESS OMI-OMI. HOMELESS,” yells the one here to ruin his night. “LET ME IN.”

(What does Kiyoomi sell his sanctuary for?)

my notes: hnnn rlly fuckin cute,, and domestic,,,,

Clipped To You by littleboat

rating: T words: 8,174 chapters: 1/1

author summary: It starts with Hinata Natsu, of all people.

Well, if Atsumu’s being honest with himself, it started way before that, but he’s not, so that’s besides the point. And thankfully, he’s just petty enough to blame all of his problems on a thirteen year old girl.

or Sakusa starts wearing hair clips and Atsumu is more than a little obsessed

my notes: minor kagehina, bokuaka // god these fics rlly make me simp for fictional characters even more than i should. but!! sakusa!!! in hairclips!!! and a pining atsumu!!!

learn how to lay me down in something other than danger, other than fury by rosevtea

words: 34,211 chapters: 1/1

author summary: All of the ways fellow college TA Miya Atsumu reinvents Kiyoomi's definition of normal.

my notes: god i loved this. it’s a fake dating au and like,, even though they’re “dating” sakusa keeps letting his guard down little by little around atsumu and it surprises everyone. komori and akaashi just know that they’re were genuinely pining for eachother

among probabilities and a thousand fates by aalphard

rating: T words: 15,675 chapters: 1/1

author summary: prompt fill for “in a world where the red string of fate exists, person a’s finger always twitches when person b, who can see the string, tugs on their string” | or sakusa thought he had a tic and atsumu liked to see his confused expression when it started to happen exclusively when he was around.

my notes: i! loved! it!! so basically atsumu and osamu have the rare gift of seeing the red string of fate, so they know its real but sakusa, like most other people dont believe it exists. so atsumu gives sakusa a (kinda) hard time. rlly cute!! i love soulmate aus!

-bokuaka-

love in the time of wifi by dalyeau

rating: G words: 4,177 chapters: 1/1

author summary: Akaashi is coming to terms with the fact that he might be romantically interested in his volleyball captain. Hence, doing what any sixteen year old with a problem should do. He asks about it online.

my notes: really cute fic about akaashi asking what he should do about his crush on a site similar to reddit. its kinda a “i didnt know it was you” kind of fic and it made me happy

steam by orphan_account

rating: E words: 8,474 chapters: 1/1

author summary:

bokuto: why is he so hot bokuto: why am i so gay kuroo: LMAO you mean your vice captain right bokuto: yeah

The coach blew the whistle for practice to begin, and Bokuto drummed his fingers against the bleachers, awaiting Kuroo’s reply. He was about to walk away, when his phone buzzed in his hand.kuroo: i got this bro bokuto: what bokuto: wtf does that mean

Bokuto started to panic.

my notes: explicit!!! but really wholesome. kuroo is honestly the best wingman. i also think this is my favourite bokuaka smutfic??

just to miss the sun by rosevtea

rating: T words: 15,126 chapters:1/1

author summary: Everything begins to implode when MSBY Jackals outside hitter Bokuto Koutarou crashes Akaashi's livestream.

my notes: akaashi is a booktuber and bokuto crashes one of his streams. fans begin to speculate. rlly fluffy and can u tell i like bokuaka

brain fish by iceblinks

rating: T words: 12,026 chapters: 6/6

author summary: Akaashi wakes up to a string of texts from an unknown number.

my notes: i love text fics and i love wrong number aus so u can tell how much i loved this. really fluffy and i come back to it time to time

-kuroken-

us three by honey_s

rating: T words: 5,137 chapters: 1/1

author summary: Kuroo’s gaze flits over to the utensil. His eyes bulge out of his skull. “Wh—is that a meat hammer? Put it back!” Akaashi’s head recoils back in confusion. “I don’t understand the problem here.” “Why on Earth have you got a fucking meat hammer? We aren’t going to kill somebody!” “Well,” Akaashi begins, clearly taken aback, “I apologise for assuming. I had heard Kenma-san had been hurt in school and after getting a message from both of you to meet late at night, I merely filled in the blanks and assumed we were going to beat someone up, for lack of a better term.” “Not literally! I meant metaphorically, or figuratively, or something!” “Idiomically?” “That isn’t a word, Bokuto-san.” ��Jesus Christ,” Kuroo groans, dropping his head into his hands. “We're going to jail."

my notes: bokuaka and kuroo are ready to beat someone up for kenma!! and we stan!!

Cherry Pits and Cat Tattoos by strawberryriver

rating: G words: 6,141 chapters: 1/1

author summary:

Kuroo has been in communication with his soulmate ever since they were kids. They've known each other for so long that he never really worried about when or how he would meet them. At least, not until he meets the roommate of Bokuto's soulmate.Soulmate AU in which things written on your skin show up on your soulmate. Companion piece/same AU as Serendipty

--------------------

Kuroo Tetsurou liked to write on his arms. Despite his mother's half-serious warnings about “ink poisoning” or staining his skin, he insisted on marking his arms and legs wherever he could. Not like his best-friend-since-always Bokuto Koutaro, who had to write on his arms or he’d forget to breathe, but artfully. He’d draw designs, animals, the occasional chemical compound. The whole idea behind soulmates fascinated him: how one person could mark their arm and someone potentially thousands of miles away, would have that same mark appear. The amount of articles, studies, and books he’d read about the topic, even at a young age, could put an undergrad researcher to shame.

my notes: again with the soulmate au bc i cannot help myself. but really cute!!! probably gonna read this again later!

Boom, Toasted by protostar (hearthope)

rated: T words: 6,782 chapters: 1/1

author summary:

FROM: yuuji any bets on who hes texting??

FROM: eita He's smiling at his phone. Kuroo, probably

FROM: kentarou Kuroo

TO: fake family Have any of you ever once considered not prying

FROM: eita You deserve it

FROM: yuuji how can we not when ur in love!!

Kenma gets a text from an unknown number. He'd be lying if he said the guy behind it wasn't kind of endearing.

my notes: again, i love wrong number texts. it focuses more on kenma’s friendship, but kenma’s pov with texting kuroo is more than him realizing feelings and stuff. really cute, ive read it multiple times.

Japan's most subscribed by NeverNothing

rating: T words: 3,631 chapters: 1/1

author summary: Kuroo Tetsurou @blacktetsurou changed his bio : volleyball player, co-owner of Bouncing Ball Corp. and so much more ;)

my notes: i! love! social media! fics!!! really cute and basically people wondering who the mysterious kuroo is to applepi.

MATSUHANA!!! the underrated gem

texting (with a capital S) by parenthetic

rating: M words: 2,119 chapters: 1/1

author summary: Hanamaki breaks his No Texting In Class rule, and it's all downhill from there.

my notes: honestly more funny than it suggests, but its matsuhana, they’re meme lords.

rated m for by orphan_account

rated: T words: 10,692 chapters: 1/1

author summary: He should have known that there was a Specific Reason™ why it was so absolutely vital that he and Matsukawa specifically meet for a reading of the script. He should have known that there had to be some evil catch beyond sitting in a tiny, cramped studio with his newly sworn enemy.

Hanamaki stares at the title of the script he’d so gracefully neglected the night before.

FORBIDDEN PARADISE

“Excuse me,” Hanamaki starts, raising a pen in the air while staring blankly at the packet in his free hand. “Just to clarify, you want me to record a boy's love CD with Matsukawa?”

my notes: a very good voice actor au. there is some misunderstanding on hanamaki’s part bc he didnt finish listening to matsukawa, and this is really cute and i love matsuhana.

In A Quiet Night, All Sounds Carry by levyovochka

rating: E words: 4,794 chapters: 1/1

authors summary: “Ah, ah, Too—!”

Hanamaki hates his university dorm.

“—ru, let me cum, please!”

Hold up. That’s a fucking understatement. Let him rephrase it: Hanamaki loathes his university dorm with passion. Detest the damned abomination, abhors it—

“—ru! Coming, coming—”

It has only been a month and Hanamaki already wants to die.

my notes: as u can guess minor iwaoi // rlly well written and bottom hanamaki rights and maybe my favourite matsuhana smutfic??? and hooh boy i simp for matsukawa

call me maybe by totooru

rating: T words: 33,689 chapters: 14/14

author summary: Hanamaki texts the wrong number when trying to extort tips out of Oikawa in order to defeat Iwaizumi in arm wrestling, and then continues to text the witty stranger who had answered.

my notes: minor iwaoi, daisuga, bokuaka // god i think this is my favourite matsuhana fic overall, maybe in general, but my god is it great. this is probably a common rec, but its understandable as to why it is. basically au where makki texts matsun (who goes to karasuno) instead of oikawa for tips to beat iwaizumi at an arm wrestling match. but they keep messaging. and holy shit i love their conversations. please read this, it is 256/10

there we go!! i might go a part two with more ships (kagehina, tsukkiyama and iwaoi) but this took up way to much time lol. i have an essay due in a couple hours. but hope u like these fics as much as i do!!

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sourestlemon · 4 years ago

Text

So. I made a bet with my friend that I could get through Omegaverse Haikyuu fanfiction because he says I can’t so if I read https://archiveofourown.org/works/13330632/chapters/30514041 that I’m going to get free icecream and twenty bucks.

But still, Bokuaka! Bokuaka is beautiful, I should rant about it more actually

This is me talking about this fic as I read, so it’ll be updated until I finish

Note, I’ve finished and it’s very very long. You’ve been warned

There’s my review and meta at the end of this as well as some critiques

Spoilers ahead.

“The Jewel of Seijou”

THE WHAT NOW

IWAOIIII

Bokuaka is so fucking cute dear god.

Oh. It’s sinful now

Ushijima better stop throwing shade at my boi’s

“"I can't believe you all think that you can go against the crown and live!" Ushishima says silencing them all. The alpha was slowly emitting his pheromones wanting to show them all his superiority. No one said a word against him. "Toru! I didn't know you'll be as lowly to use your family name to gather us here!" The alpha seethed to the omega that could have been his wife. Iwazumi hackles raised and bared his lips at the beginning of a growl. "And you!" Ushijima turned to Bokuto full on emitting his pheromones making the rest of the alpha's shoulder hackle cautiously and Oikawa to cling at Iwazumi. But Bokuto meet Ushijima calmly, unfazed by the bloodlust while Akaashi was frozen to his spot but didn't show any emotion.”

So what we get out of this paragraph is

1) Bitchy Ushi. I love Ushijima don’t get me wrong he’s precious but like. This fic Ushijima? Son of a bitch walking up in here like “Toru! How dare you be so lowly—“ and fucking trying to dominate everyone.

2) Protective Iwaizumi. Protect the precious Seijou Jewel. Do it, fight for him, protect him he’s scared.

3) Is Ushijima salty because Oikawa didn’t choose him? Oh god, he is isn’t he.

4) Akaashi’s go to emotion isn’t emotion.

5) Shits about to go down, Bokuto is gonna flip eventually, if Ushi threatens anyone—it’d probably be Oikawa or Akaashi seeing as they’re omega’s—I can see Bokuto and Iwaizumi just flipping their shit.

God I’m way to invested. Why did I read this

USHIJIMA IS A COWARDLY LITTLE BITCH IN THIS FIC, STAB HIM HINATA

D O I T

Awww Kageyama cares, Tsukki cares

OH MY GOD TENDOU!

More people came surrounding them. "What the hell," Akaashi recognized Iwazumi's voice.

Iwaizumi’s reaction is the only respectable reaction.

Wait this has major character death in the tags

Fuck

Everyone has decided that Oikawa and Akaashi must be defended but just once I want them to flip their shit and kill someone. Just once.

Bokuto, Lev and Iwaizumi all want to protect Oikawa but Iwaizumi doesn’t even fucking trust em.

Why does everyone act like Nishinoya not wanting to move on so quickly is a bad thing? It’s perfectly reasonable and I hate how everyone is like “What’s wrong with you, do you not like us?” And getting super standoffish or snappish simply because Nishinoya loves Asahi so much and doesn’t want to feel like they didn’t need him.

I really don’t like how Nishinoya/Tanaka/Ennoshita became a thing in this fic. It would be cute if it didn’t just happen because Nishinoya was desperate and if he wasn’t he wouldn’t have fucked Tanaka.

Oh dear god I don’t want Kenma to die.

Oh thank god it’s okay.

Fuck I forgot they had boobs

Did Bokuto almost name the Kuroken baby Oya but changed last minute?

BO ISN’T COMING BACK IS HE?????????

I’m feelin a little sniffly. I might fucking cry over an Omegaverse fic. Oh how the mighty have fallen

Oh my god the stars. I don’t think Bo is coming back y’all. I’m so nervous

The fuckin royals aren’t getting Keiji. No. Nuh-uh FUCK THAT SHIT

THAT’S BOKUTO’S MATE STAY AWAY FROM HIM

-cue mac worrying about oikawa because seijou is allied with fukurodani and an easy way to tear seijou away from the alliance is to kidnap oikawa and iwaizumi might split to keep him safe and ushi fucking knows this and possibly tendou also oiks is pretty as fuck-

BOKUTO IS OKAY!

Iwaizumi making Bokuto promise to save Oikawa if things went to shit makes me so worried but the same time his lil speech made my IwaOi heart so happy.

Suga bby...

BOKUTO JUST KILLED A FUCKING CHILD

Tendou, Ushijima I never thought I’d say this but I fucking hate them right now. They better not hurt the other best Boi’s.

Ushijima is salty as fuck confirmed.

"You truly are a piece of art," Ushijima said gently ...."But not as beautiful as him," the alpha muttered as he threw the omega to the floor.

So, this little snippet sent disgusting shivers down my spine for two reasons.

1) Ushijima just yeeted Akaashi, my son and

2) Any reader knows who the ‘he’ Ushi is talking about is, the only person in this book who is said to be as beautiful as Akaashi. You guessed it, the boi who rejected Ushi-fucking-jima, Jewel of Seijou himself Oikawa Tooru.

The thing that grosses me out the most about this paragraph just on its own is that Ushijima is either guessing about what Oikawa looks like, or he actually knows which overall just gives me the heebie jeebies because Oikawa definitely didn’t want that. What makes my skin crawl in this little snippet is what Ushijima would do when if he got his angry little hands on Oikawa—or Iwaizumi, but Iwa would probably be killed or used as a bargaining chip.

Hmmmmm, I’m pretty sure Ushi is in love with Tendou but the beauty statement still stands possibly???? Unless specified otherwise, because Akaashi and Oikawa are canonically considered the most beautiful people in the fic.

Also this entire chapter just makes me feel so gross, fuck Ushijima man. Fuck him.

My Ushijima loving heart hurts reading this fic.

I just want Akaashi and Oikawa to straight up kill someone. Please, anyone who I don’t care about

I FUCKING SEE THE MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH WARNING AND I DON’T LIKE IT

FUCK

NOT BOKUTO

WAIT IS HE ALIVE

I WANNA SEE MY LITTLE BOY

HERE HE COMES

I WANT TO SEE MY LITTLE BOY

"I came right on time," Bokuto forced out his voice cracking with emotion. "Now I can engulf you in my arms and brighten your days despite the absence of the sun. You will no longer have to endure the cold winters alone. I'll be with you, I be there for you and our child," The alpha vowed his hands itching in need.

"Are you going to leave us again?" Akaashi needed to know. The omega already knew that he wouldn't be able to survive being apart from the alpha. He knew that he wouldn't win the battle with the overwhelming loneliness.

"The seas could dry up, the mountains could turn to pebbles, the trees could die and the whole world could be on fire and I still won't leave your side."

That was all Akashi needed to hear as he leaped into his alphas arm and let go of all the pain he has held in

I’m not crying I swear

They walked together side by side and Akaashi finally faced them. They were both beaten, bloody, and torn butinstead of feeling satisfaction he felt remorse. They both looked at him with soft, wide eyes, and he realized that this was the moment they were waiting for. They wanted to see the child that they both desperately wanted and Akaashi decided to give them a parting gift.

Akaashi had won, he had won from the very beginning and he held his trophy who was a small babe with golden orbs, with mutant white and black hair. He hadn't lied to Tendou when he had said that the baby looked exactly like his father.

OH MY FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOD I’M SOBBING DON’T TOUCH ME

Meta and Review

So I just read A/B/O for the first time and I knew absolutely nothing about the entire trope that Mpreg existed and to stay the hell away from it. Please remember this in the meta and tell me if there way of dividing characters is ever specified or if it’s just decided by top-bottom dynamics.

Wow.

The story was pretty good outside of what I’m about to talk about. I liked the ships and most of the buildup, the worldbuilding seems solid, the war and UshiTens situation was really interesting to me and it made Ushi and Tendou a bit morally gray and could’ve talked about how people could do bad things for what they thought were the right reason and everything was clean cut.

Overall? Eh. Could’ve been done better

Not onto the rest

This doesn’t seem as toxic or inherently bad as most fics I’ve seen, I didn’t really like how Omega’s are always inherently feminine—the dresses, jewels, how they’re seen as inherently weaker and sometimes helpless, how they’re always referred to as “my lady”—and aren’t really given another choice because they might have the ability to reproduce in A/B/O but they aren’t women. It’s okay if a man is really feminine but for all of them to be? It rubbed my the wrong way.

I wish that the power structure was handled different in A/B/O in general. Omega’s seem to be treated like they’re helpless and I just...don’t like it? Omega’s might be submissive but that doesn’t make them physically weaker and if it did, I would’ve thought they would have picked up some other useful skills like diplomacy or strategy.

As usually, my example of how a character could’ve been handled better is Oikawa.

He’s my favorite character and I adored him but he just didn’t really deliver. It felt like he was being treated like a kid throughout this entire fic, it didn’t seem like he was doing anything during the war. Even if Omega’s don’t have a lot of physically prowess and abilities, what happened to Oikawa’s strategic and analytical nature? Why was it never mentioned in any of Bokuto’s POV sections because out all the leaders of the Allied Kingdoms, Oikawa is the best strategist—Kuroo is the exception, not the rule and I thought they should’ve been working together because smort boys—but he was simply hidden away.

Now I have no problems with all the protective IwaOi scenes when they’re in immediate danger—it makes perfect sense if Omega’s are physically weaker but have other usable talents that are taken seriously—and Oikawa simply can’t talk his way out of said problem.

I do however, have a problem with cowering Oikawa. That feels so OOC at the beginning of the first scene I cited, where is all of the quick wit and worthless pride from the show? Now, it makes sense for Oikawa to start getting scared and simply slip behind Iwaizumi once Ushijima tries to dominate everyone and all the Alphas start freaking out if Oikawa is at an actual, physical disadvantage—I feel like the alpha’s their have similar frames, or at least most of them do. Bokuto, Ushijima, Kuroo and Iwaizumi are jacked and beefy, everyone but Iwa is relatively tall too. Now, Oikawa’s tall too but he’s much thinner and leaner. I’d be scared too if everyone could break me like a twig if it came down to it—but no ??? Apparently at the first sign of any conflict he just gets scared??? He doesn’t know what’s going on in his own fucking kingdom ???

This is not Oikawa.

I didn’t like how they treated most of the Omega’s actually, it felt like they were just reverted to helpless damsels in distress. What happened to Kenma’s observation skills? Nishinoya’s everything?

More importantly, what decides Alpha’s and Omega’s? Is it up in the air like gender is? What are Beta’s then? It can’t just be who’s top and who’s bottom, that would mean the alpha-beta-omega- status wouldn’t be decided until you had a mate

From what I’ve seen in the fic, it goes by ship dynamics but what if the characters who had more strategic, cunning, observant traits and weren’t as buff and muscly would be Omega’s and had the brain power while characters who relied more on physical prowess would be Alpha’s and dominant in a purely physical way sometimes while characters who were an odd combination of the two would be Beta’s.

Going by my logic, instead of the top being the alpha and the bottom just being an omega without any personality it would be...

Bokuto- Alpha, like he was in the story. He’s definitely more physically inclined then Akaashi.

Akaashi: Omega, same as in the fic. Not to say he isn’t athletic but he relies more on his mind.

Iwaizumi- Alpha, like in the fic but from a purely physical standpoint and because he can rein Oikawa in when his friend starts going nuts.

Oikawa - Beta, he’s quite powerful but he’s also manipulative, strategic and his mind is scary as fuck.

Kuroo- Beta, he relies on his physical prowess and dorkily perfect brain a lot so he’s also a mixture of both.

Kenma- Omega, physically he’s a twig but his mind is what makes him the brain of Nekoma

Hinata- Alpha, he doesn’t use his brain a lot and has a lot of physical power

Kageyama - Beta, he’s pretty smart when it comes to volleyball and he’s also physically strong

Suga - Omega, he’s quite clever and his brain power out ways his physical prowess by a landslide

Daichi- Beta, he firms strategies and relies on his brain, plus his killer thighs

Tsukishima - Beta, he has his hue fur and athleticism but his brain power is also strong as fuck

Yamaguchi - Beta, he seems to be really people smart and eventually his serves are pretty good.

Can Betas get into a relationship with other Betas? I don’t know or care, we stan Alpha-Alpha, Beta-Beta and Omega-Omega ships here

I DON’T KNOW IF THIS IS HOW IT WORKS THO

do I have to read more

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nimbus-cloud · 5 years ago

Photo

He’ll call you back

A BokuAka collaboration inspired by Ch. 381 Story by @nimbus-cloud Art by @mezbee

More fic and more art under the Read More!

======

There were few things Bokuto loved more than a nice hot shower following a hard practice. His muscles tingled with a comfortable soreness that let him know he’d worked hard and that meant he’d sleep well by the time he got to bed. He took several deep breaths of the steamy mist—he loved his showers scalding hot—before finally wrapping a towel around his waist and stepping out of the bathroom only to hear the faint sound of Akaashi talking to someone on the phone behind his office door. He’d come home at some point during Bokuto’s long shower, and Bokuto perked up immediately. Akaashi was one of those few things Bokuto loved more than a nice hot shower, really, more than anything, and he especially appreciated the days when he could come home early and not stay at the office for insane hours.

He tip-toed over to the office door, pressed his ear to it, and listened.

Akaashi’s voice was faint and muffled, and moving between volumes—he was pacing around the room as he talked.

“It’s just a bit inconsistent from five chapters ago, when you wrote that the zombies rely on their vision mostly.”

Ah, he’s talking to Udai Tenma, Bokuto thought. They had to be talking about Zombie Knight Zom’Bish... unless there was another zombie series that Akaashi was in charge of editing and Bokuto didn’t know about it.

“It’s really just the one panel on page eight where... yes. Mmhmm. I see.”

Because the door was shut and latched, Bokuto had no chance of sneaking up on him, so he came up with another idea, and headed to the kitchen to make a pot of tea. If he were bringing sustenance for his hard-working boyfriend, it wouldn’t be quite so rude to barge in while he was in the middle of a phone call, right?

He just needed tea and, “Senbei... senbei... where do we keep the senbei?” Bokuto dug through about half the kitchen drawers before he found where the snacks were kept, and with an odd sort of smugness, he poured the crackers onto a plate, arranged them sort of neatly, and admired his handiwork. He wasn’t a fancy chef or anything—a plate of rice crackers didn’t exactly qualify as hors d'oeuvres—but he was a pretty decent boyfriend, he thought. Great husband material, if he could convince Akaashi to tie the knot eventually.

He plopped a teabag into a mug, poured the hot water in, then strutted back over to Akaashi’s office, gently turning the handle before checking the door with his hip to get it open. As expected, Akaashi turned to greet him with something of a stern glare, but Bokuto was quick with his apologetic pout and gesturing to his pre-prepared peace offerings. Anyway, Akaashi’s glaring wasn’t quite as effective when he was already dressed down into his favorite house robe, legs bare and alluring... and reminding Bokuto starkly that he himself had very little clothing on to try and shield any boners he might get.

Quietly, he placed the plate and mug down after clearing a little space on the desk—it was piled high with papers all over—before sneaking closer to Akaashi and placing his ear close to the phone. Akaashi moved the phone away and again, gave him a look that said, Shoo shoo! But Bokuto had heard the voice on the other end of the line and confirmed his suspicions.

“Hi Udai-saann!!” He even threw in a wave, not that Tenma could see.

Akaashi sighed heavily but after a few seconds said, “He says hello.”

After a few more seconds, Akaashi’s shoulders slumped in defeat and he added, “He also wants to know when your next game is.”

“Oh ho ho!! We’re mutual fans!! I’ll get you guys tickets, don’t even worry about it!”

Then he wrapped his arms around Akaashi’s waist and lifted him a little, half on impulse really...

“B-Bokuto! Put me down!” Akaashi sputtered and blushed—even if Tenma couldn’t see this nonsense, he was still listening on the other line. “T-Tenma-san, can I call you back later?”

“Yeah! He’ll call you back later!” Bokuto chimed in mischievously—Tenma got to hog more of Akaashi’s time some weeks than even Bokuto, and there were some days when that just wouldn’t do.

He planted a wet kiss on the back of Akaashi’s neck, which made him finally end the call and then and only then did he put him down on the ground.

“Bokuto,” Akaashi huffed when he could finally straighten up a little. “That was very rude, you know I have to take work calls sometimes at home.”

“S’your fault for wearing that,” Bokuto crossed his arms. “You only wear that when you want to seduce me. Or you want me to seduce you.”

Akaashi’s ears went beet red and he nervously pushed his glasses up his nose. “Y-yes, well... when I came home and heard you in the shower, I... But then Tenma-san called and I had to answer it; we have a deadline coming up and—”

From high school to the present day, truly the best way to shut Akaashi up and get him to loosen up was to just kiss him straight. He could feel Akaashi relax in his arms and lean into him, relying on him for support. Good.

When they parted, Bokuto smirked a little to see Akaashi’s glasses smudged from their kiss. He let his hands settle into the small of Akaashi’s back. “You know our next match is up in Sendai, right? The two of you really want to make the trip just to see me play? With your deadline and all that?”

“Not just for you,” Akaashi bit back. “We all know it’ll be Hinata’s first match since his return home.”

Bokuto’s staggering confidence deflated a little. “Aww, what? I thought Udai Tenma was my fan!”

“He is. But also a fan of Hinata. They have history, after all.” Akaashi poked at Bokuto’s bare chest and added, “Anyway, I’m still your biggest fan.”

That made him puff his chest out a little more.

“Promise?” he whispered, pressing their foreheads together and taking a firmer grip on Akaashi’s back. He pressed their hips together and felt his towel knot come a little undone between them.

“Promise,” Akaashi whispered back, bringing his hands up to cradle Bokuto’s face between them.

“I’m better than Sakusa, right?”

Akaashi gave a little snort, but nodded his head. There were days when Bokuto came home from practice displeased with himself for not out-performing absolutely everyone, but of course, he was still Akaashi’s star. Anyway, Sakusa might be a skilled player, but he didn’t exactly exude the charisma of an Ace.

With a grin and a triumphant wiggle, Bokuto resumed trailing kisses down Akaashi’s neck, gently pushing the robe off his shoulders to a soft, satisfied sigh—

Buzzz!!

They jumped at the sudden noise and Akaashi frowned. “Was that the doorbell?”

It was only then that Bokuto remembered, “Ah! Shit, I totally forgot I invited Hinata over for dinner! You uh... you don’t mind, right?”

Akaashi huffed as they quickly rushed from his office to their bedroom to make themselves decent. Bokuto definitely needed pants at least, and Akaashi was not about to let Hinata see him in his loungewear. As he hurriedly pulled on a pair of jeans, he stole one more deep kiss from Bokuto before growling, “You’re going to make this up to me later.”

Bokuto loved Akaashi always, but he especially loved getting Akaashi fired up. Even if he wasn’t his setter anymore, Akaashi could still work Bokuto whichever way he wanted.

#bokuaka #haikyuu #haikyuu fanfiction #collab

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white-pearls · 2 years ago

Text

Dopamine 18+

Sakuatsu + Bokuaka

Master list || Chapter 10 || Minors do NOT interact

Nobody is perfect everyone has their flaws. What happens when Atsumu who has one of the biggest rumors at school revolving around him and Sakusa who has a secret he can’t tell anyone. Akaashi a boy who cares so much about his image but has someone trying to dig up a dirty secret about him falls in love with a boy who seems so far of reach.

TW: drugs, underage drinking, needles, blood, fighting, language, violence, rape?, mentions of being molested, mentions of abuse, ect.

His eyes dart around the room as if he had never seen this place before. The same place where he comes to everyday to work. Atsumu grabs a cold water bottle from the fridge and presses it onto the other boys face who has yet to speak. Hoping to wake him up from the trance he was still in. His face scrunched as the cold bottle touched his flushed cheeks. Sitting up from where he rested he took the bottle from Atsumu's hands and uncapped it taking a long sip of water before closing it and throwing it on the side.

"Sorry must of fallen asleep" he said in a very tired voice. Rubbing his eyes he stood up and proceeded to walk it off.

Atsumu's eyes watched him struggle to walk a bit until lets out a heavy sigh as he grabbed Sakusas shoulder. The younger boys left eye twitched clearly irritated by the fact he was being touched. He's shown his dislike for human contact a few times by lashing out before. He had made it clear at this point that under no circumstances is he allowed to touch him. Not like the blonde would take that into consideration on how the other one felt right now. Clearly Sakusa was trying to pretend like nothing ever happened. He's probably positive that Atsumu has no clue about the situation. Seeing Sakusas perspective of him being a slow boy who party's all night. He's also probably heard how Atsumu only cares about himself than others. Which is partly true. It didn't matter now though, Atsumu had gotten what he wanted which was his attention. He slowly pointed at his own inner arm and taps on a spot that clearly has nothing on it. The boy raises a eyebrow looking at him confused but it didn't take long for him to get the massage and look down his own arm.

"Oh" was the only thing he could muster out.

Tracing his long skinny fingers out on a new bandage that was placed on his left arm. He slowly looked up with a do you know? Face. Which Atsumu quickly responded with yea Iv been known.

It was hard to read his face now, he seemed to have a mixture of hurt and anger. He seemed to search the floor for a answer before deciding what to say next, "Well thank you but I didn't need your help." Sakusas says pushing Atsumu's arm of his shoulder. Turning back around he started walking towards his desk. Sitting down he squirted some sanitizer into his hands and began to rub his hands aggressively.

"Yer clearly not okay Omi-Kun but that's fine we all have a little trouble in life. Sometimes our ego is too big for our own good and we refuse to get the help we need." Atsumu says trying to get closer. He knew he had to be careful not to set him off. People who take substances tend to me more agitated than normal. They tend to start fights and say things they don't mean.

"I don't need help from anyone okay? I'm doing fine on my own. If I really needed help I would of gotten it okay?" Sakusa opened a new tab on his computer and started putting dates next to peoples names. From what Atsumu could see it was the football teams names. Maybe he needed to be more upfront with him. Clearly he's been too nice which has been leading him no where.

"Sakusa don't be a hypocrite okay? I want to help you." Atsumu leans on his desk seeing how Sakusa ignored his presence. That wasn't enough to stop him though. He stayed in that position staring straight at him. Sakusa could most likely see him from the corner of his eyes which meant that he might eventually get tired of it and that he did.

"And how the hell are you going to help me? We're basically on the same boat Miya. We both do these things." Sakusa says still ignoring the blonde who was in his personal space. Standing back up Atsumu's waist touched the desk that he leaned on. Throwing his head back to look at the ceiling he opened his mouth.

"Theirs two big difference between me and you Omi. One is that I don't do hardcore stuff like ya and two is that I'm not being treated as some sort of dog." Atsumu's said the last part coming out a big harsh. He knew it was going to hurt the other boy but he didn't care,

Sakusa turned to look at him with a face of disgust. "What did you just say to me?" He asked clearly ready to pounce. "I said I don't get treated like a dog." He repeated louder.

"October 14 at 4:00 I see ya higher than Suna being assaulted in this exact office. From what I heard he controls ya and everything ya do. Now I'm not sure who exactly it was but what I can say is that relationship is not healthy. Sakusa just knowing ya these few days I came to a conclusion. Yer not the type of guy who would pick up something like that just to try it out. You were forced to do it and now yer hooked and can't seem to drop it." Atsumu said looking Sakusa in the eyes. "Let me help ya." Maybe his conclusions was wrong but if it was at least Sakusa could correct him. Sakusa searched the ground as if he looked for some sor of answer,

"It doesn't hurt to ask for help. I get it Yer a victi-"

Sakusa was quick to blow a punch at Atsumu's face nocking him to the ground. He sat there shocked not being able to fully register what happened until he Stood back up he rubbed his right cheek. It was something he wasn't really expecting from the younger male. He didn't seem like the aggressive type or a fighter. But there he stood with his fist still bawled up and with a look that screamed that he wanted more.

"You don't know what the hell your talking about. How about you just leave Miya. Actually I don't ever want to see your disgusting face ever again. Get your shit and leave" Sakusa yelled. His chest was rising and lowering quickly.

Atsumu had seem Sakusa angry before but this was a whole new level. "I'm not leavin Omi" Atsumu said with a smile a he couldn't help but make. "Can't you see yet a mess. You need my help Omi-kun. Admit it you need my help." Maybe he was coming off to harshly.

"You think it's that easy huh?" Sakusa chuckled.

"Glad we're on the same page her-" It didn't take long before Sakusa threw another punch right into his gut making the air leave his body. He stumbled back a bit before looking up to see Sakusa charging at him tackling them both onto the ground. Atsumu was surprised on the other boys strength but it was nothing like Osamu's. He had to Admit Sakusa was pretty strong but not enough to win a fight against Atsumu. They both struggled for a bit trying to overcome the other. Atsumu hands over Sakusas shoulders trying his best to push him off. He didn't want to fight him, he knew Sakusa wasn't in the right state of mind right now. Actually he never was to begin with. Sakusa adrenaline seemed to be running more than Atsumu's though. He managed to get his body fully on top of Atsumu's as he smashed his fist into his face. "I hate you!" He yelled "you don't know shit." "You don't know me!" He panted as he threw his fist far back before making contact with his face over and over again. Atsumu held a straight face grunting each time he revived the impact from the others fist. He could see Sakusa's face was full of anger, his forehead glistened with sweat, his beautiful curls bounced with any sudden move he made. But for some reason all Atsumu could do was lay there and take all the hits as he looked into the other boys eyes. He could feel how blood began to run down his face from his nose. It seemed like it was going on and on non stop until he suddenly stopped, panting heavily trying to catch his breath. He looked up to the ceiling as if he was trying to bring in happy thoughts to calm himself down.

"Did ya let it all out Omi?" Atsumu croaked weakly still looking at him. With those soft, warm brown eyes that looked into Sakusas dark ones. Instead of making him feel safe and secure it angered him more. Sakusas hands grabbed a fist full of Atsumu's shirt bringing him up to look at him closely. "Do you want to get beat to death? If not just shut up and leave before I do it." He said letting go of him dropping him onto the floor where he groaned due to the impact of his head hitting the hard floor. He expected Atsumu to leave and to never come back. To never see his face again and to hear rumors about how Sakusa beat a patient up. In fact Atsumu's would of definitely done that but he couldn't find it in his heart to leave this boy. He didn't know if he reminded him of his friend or if he honestly just really cared for him. He looked at Sakusa once more and shook his head slowly, not being able to speak from how much pain he was in. "Why? Why arnt you fighting me Miya?!" He said as he choked down a sob. He tried shaking Atsumu but didn't have the strength to do so. "Why arnt you fighting me! Iv been so fucking awful to you!" He yelled "I don't understand why your doing this! I don't understand why you going to this length!". Sakusa searched Atsumu's bloody face for answers, scanning every inch. "Why do you want to help me? You don't even know me like that Miya" he yelled as he began to cry. Tears falling from his face onto Atsumu's shirt. "I don't understand." He sobbed harder.

Atsumu sat up slowly using the rest of his strength to bring his arms around Sakusa and brought him into a tight hug. "Because I would hate to see my new friend die." His right arm slowly reached into the back of his soft curly hair as he felt as Sakusa rested his head onto Atsumu's shoulder, finally giving in. "I once had a friend that I was supposed to help with the same thing, but I failed. I failed him and now he's hooked to the point where theirs no getting him out. I would hate to see ya like that. Seeing how ya have such a big future ahead of ya." Atsumu smiled as his fingers played with his hair. Hair that was so soft and smooth. They sat there in silence, listening to how it just started to rain. It seemed to be quite soothing at a time like this. "You know your right Atsumu, your right... I'm sorry...I'm sorry I- I know I'm addicted to drugs. I know I am, and it's not something you can easily drop. You just kept saying to get help as it was that easy but it's not at all. I'm scared because Iv tried to stop before but I couldn't and that when I realized I was hooked on it. So Please- please help me." Sakusas shaking arms reached around Atsumu's neck as he hugged him tightly. "You have no idea how much pride I'm losing just to say this to you, but Help me." He mumbled into Atsumu's ear.

"Don't worry I got ya. Let it all out if you need to, I understand if it's stressful. Though it looks like your fine now." Atsumu rubbed circles onto the others back. Now that he though about it this was the most he's touched Sakusa. The boy would always snap at him but now here he was in his brace. He could feel how Sakusas settled into his shoulder to get comfortable as if he was planning to stay there a bit longer which he don't mind. "Hey Omi, ya tired? Get some rest in bed it'll be way more comfortable on there than in this position." Atsumu said still rubbing circles on his back. He didn't budge at all, it seemed like was already quite comfortable already. Though it could be the after math grime that dosage he toon not too long ago. He really didn't want to ruin the moment but the feeling of blood still going down his face wasn't pleasant. "Omi my nose is still bleedin I need to wash it before it gets on ya." Atsumu said seeing how Sakusa immediately got off of him to take a good look at what he had done.

"Right, sorry for you know." He looked off to the side.

"Ya I know now get to bed, I'll join ya after too. You have no idea how much energy our little tussle took from me." Atsumu said helping Sakusa up onto the bed.

Sakusa still had a long face from, probably guilt for what he had done. Atsumu couldn't blame him though. He knew drugs made you act certain ways you normally wouldn't. Walking towards the mini fridge that was placed in a corner he opened it to reach in and grab a drink. Water to hydrate himself since it seemed like he lost all the h2o with all the sweating he had been doing during there fight. Grabbing the door to close it he noticed a small bottle that was the size of his pinky. It seemed to contained a white powder inside of it. The blonde boy couldn't figure out if him finding it so easily was a good thing or plain out sad. It's been a while since he's seen something like this. Usually people who sell in the streets throw them into little bags. Making it easier to hide or throw down the toilet in case of emergencies. This seemed to be something high end or maybe expensive. Who would even want to bottle things like this up? The last time he'd seen something like this was in Sunas room. Standing up he pocketed it, not like his friend will be needing it anyways.

"Suna ya really need to stop doing these sorts of things. What profit are you making if your the one using them?" Atsumu glares at his friend who was next to him as he sat at the table nodding in and out. Letting out a loud sigh he pushed him out of frustration causing the the boy to fall to the ground.

" yer pathetic" Atsumu rolls his eyes.

People said that once you start high school you won't be able to recognize yourself anymore. The day he walked through those doors the first day he found out they were right.

The scared shy people that walked through thoes doors are now addicted to some sort of drug. Nobody is as nice as they used to be. They were all somehow using each other. No real bonds or friends could be formed. It was quiet rare to see it happen actually.

"Yo Akaashi can yo-" he stopped speaking seeing how his friend had yet to stand back from the slight push he gave him. Akaashi walked in and got onto the ground, he leaned over Suna and placed his ear close to his face and his fingers under the side of his jaw. He could here the slight sound of him breathing peacefully and how his heart heated slowly. He took a deep breath not realizing he was holding it for a while. "He's fine, not dead... at least not for now." Akaashi rolled his eyes as he sat next to Suna. This was a on going cycle with him. He would do hardcore stuff and they were stuck babysitting. Atsumu would join him time to time but just for hot boxes or drinking. Sometimes he would do other things but he never seemed to get addicted to anything.

"Save me some space in that bed since it's the only one you got that isn't full of your junk, ima use the restroom real quick." Atsumu said walking off to the restroom connected to the nurses office.

Closing the door slowly he turned the lights on and looked into the mirror, he could see his bloody bruised up face. His pretty face was ruined once again.this needed to stop happening to him. He couldn't afford to get into more fights unless he really wanted to destroy his looks. Turning the faucet on he splashed his face with water. The cold water making him feel more alive then usual.

What should he do about Sakusa now? Watch him and make sure he stops? Make him stop talking to that person who's harming him? Thought that might be hard since it seems like he has some sort of relationship with him. Maybe hook him onto something small like marijuana. He'd figure it out soon right now all that matters is getting him to tell him the truth. Applying some ointment he found on his face he walked out to see the pale boy already fast asleep. He just needed to close his eyes for a bit.

Getting comfortable he decided to let Sakusa have all the blanket out of the kindness of his heart. Also because he was afraid of what Sakusa might do to him if he actually hogged the blanket. Turning to his side he watched Sakusa sleep soundly. He once again had such a peaceful face. One that made him looked like he was such a innocent boy. His skin still shined and his lips were pursed. Something in him made his hand move without thought. He reached up to Sakusas face. He wanted to touch his warm skin again. He wanted to hug him so he could feel secure. Sakusa was just a guy he put a tough act but was such a softy. His had was just inches away from his face, from his pink lips, until the door creaked open slowly causing Atsumu to flinch. If anyone were to see them like this they would definitely get into trouble. Not only by the school but if the football team found out they would possibly do something to Sakusa too.

Shoving his hands back down he did the best possible option and pretended to be asleep not daring to move.

Did he not lock the door behind him? He couldn't of accidentally left it unlocked he made sure it wasn't. Could this person be a administrator? Or maybe someone with a key? He could hear how the steps came closer and closer until they stopped right behind him. He couldn't manage to take a peak due to his back facing the door but what he could do was to pretend to wake up. But he didn't want to be questioned about this also he contained drugs on his currently.

Atsumu kept his eyes closed shut listen carefully to everything going on. He could hear how the operan moved around and took a picture of them in bed. A low scoff could be heard before they decided to leave. By the sound of it he was having trouble walking, almost as if he was limping. As he closed the door Atsumu shot up from the bed.

They were going to spread that picture. Rumors would go around about who know what. People are going to not only look at him dirty but Sakusa. Why did he lay down with him in the first place? What was wrong with him?

Before his thoughts could spiral down into anything worst he heard a knock. He snapped his head towards that direction. Could they have possibly came back to pretend nothing happened?

Could this be the person he was looking for? The one who made Sakusa start using drugs? Atsumu watched as Sakusa shuffled around trying to get up. Quickly Atsumu pushed his head back down and walked to the door. Sakusa had a annoyed look from his actions but didn't say anything. Not like he could after what he had done to him. Opening the door slowly he peeked his head out just to see it was Bokuto. Now Atsumu knew he shouldn't just look him over because he didn't look like a potential suspect but this was Bokuto he was looking at. Some big soft guy who seemed to be too happy even for his own good. Though right now it didn't seem like it.

He looked all gloomy and his hair was down rather than up.

"Didn't you already come in here?" Atsumu asked,

"What? No and geeze what happened to you?" Bokutos eyebrows kitted with a worried look.

"Long story ya don't want to hear, now what's up big guy? Need something? Sakusa is currently taking a break so you might have to come lat-"

"Actually I was looking for you. I can't seem to find Akaashi and I'm afraid that I scared him off. Not that I didn't anything bad to him you know. He's just..."

"He's just Akaashi." Atsumu finished his sentence. He knew not to be worried about his friend because they had a talk about it not too long ago. Seeing that Akaashi still hasn't done anything he had to give him up. "I'm not so sure where he could be but Suna would absolutely know. Try looking in the library or boys bathroom though. Good luck trying to find him!" Atsumu said closing the door.

"W-wait!" He said shoving his hand in between the door and the frame.

"Do you know what I did wrong? He asked concerned.

"Ya did absolutely nothing wrong. He just a pussy hehe it comes to things he hasn’t done before. Find him and give him a big ol hug okay?" Atsumu smiled as he waved his off.

Turning back around he flashed Sakusa a smile. One that made the boy look away from his gaze.

He was still sitting on the bead eating the bread Atsumu had brought. Looking more tired than usual.

"Are you trying to finish our bread?"

AN: one of my personal favorite chapters ❤️

#sakuatsu #miya atsumu #sakusa kiyoomi #bokuaka #akaashi keiji #bokuto koutarou #haikyuu!!#haikyuu series #haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu au

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dinosaurtsukki · 4 years ago

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across the sea | a bokuaka fanfic (act. II)

inspired by the movie ‘portrait of a lady on fire’ by celine sciamma which is sad and lesbian

pairing: bokuto koutarou x akaashi keiji

word count: 21.8k words

contains: historical setting (actually the setting is vague bec if i tried to describe it more it would take 5 extra pages), heavy angst, slight fluff, greek mythology references, implied smut

summary: when Bokuto accepted a portrait commission for the young, engaged Akaashi Keiji, he never expected him to be so beautiful. he knows it's a mistake to be attached, a mistake for them to fall in love in a time when they know it's impossible for them to be together.

a/n: i’m a sad gay who loves sad lesbian movies and portait of a lady on fire is peak film. a lot of the things here are based on the film so i suggest you check out this beautiful movie, but i added a few tweaks here and there to make it my own.

chapters: act. I, act. II., act. III

The next day, Bokuto found Akaashi in the kitchen, of all places, kneading what appeared to be a bread dough next to a distressed looking Kageyama. Bokuto paused for a while, standing by the kitchen door with his arms crossed and a smile on his face, as he watched the young master, who was probably forbidden from working in the kitchen, and the house butler, who was probably worried there were repercussions for allowing Akaashi to do what he was doing.

“Akaashi-san, please allow me to take over from here,” Kageyama pressed.

“Nonsense,” Akaashi chuckled. “I never knew bread-making was this fun. And the dough texture isn’t even near what you described.” Just then, Kageyama had discovered Bokuto was already there.

“Bokuto-san! Please tell Akaashi-san that I can handle preparing breakfast myself!” he demanded. Akaashi lifted his head slightly to greet him.

“Good morning, Bokuto-san. I hope I’ll be able to make you a good enough breakfast with my limited cooking skills.”

“I’ll be making breakfast!”

Bokuto chuckled and approached the wooden table where they were walking. “Kageyama’s right you know. You shouldn’t be the only one making breakfast.”

“Right,” Kageyama nodded. A look of slight annoyance crossed Akaashi’s features. Up close, Bokuto see that a corner of his cheek and a bit of his brow was streaked with flour.

“In fact, I should be helping Akaashi out!” Bokuto grinned cheekily at an even more flustered Kageyama. “Come on Kageyama. Sit this one out just this once. We won’t burn down anything. Promise.”

“And as owner of the estate, I demand that I get to cook breakfast in my own kitchen,” Akaashi backed him up.

“Alright, I guess I’ll sweep every inch of the manor,” Kageyama huffed.

“Nope, not even that,” Akaashi shook his head. “Don’t you have some kind of hobby?”

“Well… I,” Kageyama cleared his throat and looked away with a slight flush in his cheeks. “I suppose I can work on my embroidery.”

“That’s the spirit,” Bokuto grinned. Akaashi had finished kneading the dough and was now shaping it into a bowl on a wooden board. “I’ll scrounge up something to fry,” he said, heading into the larder. A moment later, he came up with some unsliced bacon and a basket of eggs.

“That should go well with the bread,” Akaashi remarked as he slid the unbaked dough into the oven before dusting off his floury hands on his apron. Seeing him without his usual jacket and scarf with the sleeves on his shirt rolled up had a certain charm that stopped Bokuto from looking away as much as he should.

“Would you like to do the frying?” he asked, plucking a knife from where the kitchen utensils were to slice the bacon into thick strips.

“You’ll have to show me how first,” Akaashi said. After slicing the bacon, Bokuto ignited the stove and instructed Akaashi to place a pan over it. As it turns out, Akaashi was a quick learner, even with Bokuto as a mediocre cook and instructor, and in a short while, all the bacon had been fried perfectly and all he had left to do was to crack eggs one by one into the pan.

“You’re not that bad of a cook yourself, Akaashi,” Bokuto commented. The two of them were standing next to each other by the stove, barely inches apart.

“If I’d have known I should have told my mother earlier,” Akaashi smiled wryly. “I feel guilty for saying this but I’m glad she isn’t around. I wouldn’t be here cooking bacon and eggs if she was.”

“Well, not be an instigator but…” Bokuto shot a sidelong glance at him. “Would you want to… do some things you wouldn’t be able to do?” Akaashi raised his eyebrows at him.

“I’m surprised you didn’t think I was already planning to do such things.”

After the bread finished baking and the eggs finished frying, they lay their breakfast out on the kitchen table and brought out plates and forks for everyone. Kageyama, who seemed to have finished a good amount of his embroidery and was no longer distressed, thanked them for the breakfast. Bokuto couldn’t help but watch Akaashi eat with his hands: picking up bacon with his fingers and mopping up egg yolk with bread. His master told him that hands were the hardest things to sketch so Bokuto spent an entire year on hands until sketching them became second-nature to him.

After finishing breakfast, Akaashi met Bokuto again in the dining room to continue the portrait. This time, Bokuto decided to paint more slowly, taking the opportunity to perfect mixing his colors. He hadn’t foreseen needing to paint a second portrait so he noticed that he was running low on oil. ‘I could ask Kageyama to buy some for me from the town nearby,’ he thought, before glancing up at Akaashi. ‘Unless…’

“What are you thinking about Bokuto-san?” Akaashi spoke up, as if reading Bokuto’s thoughts.

“I, uh…” Bokuto stammered. Akaashi cocked his head.

“You had that look on your face again,” he said.

“What look?”

“The one where you’re deep in thought and you raise your left hand to your chin,” Akaasi smirked as Bokuto realized that he was in fact holding that pose. “I do have an excellent view of how you work from here and while I’m not adept at painting, a lot of your habits have been noted down in my mind.”

“Most subjects wouldn’t even pay any mind to the painter,” Bokuto raised his eyebrows.

“You’re not just a painter,” Akaashi said simply. “Back to my question, what are you thinking about?”

“Well, since I didn’t prepare for painting two portraits during my stay here, I seem to have run out of oil,” he sighed, rubbing the back of his hair, no doubt leaving streaks of paint there, not that he particularly cared. “I was thinking about asking Kageyama to pick some up for me at the town tomorrow, but I’m also curious about the town here.”

“So am I, I’ve never been,” Akaashi said. Bokuto felt a smile play on his lips.

“Your tone suggests that you know exactly what I’m planning.”

“Kageyama would forbid it.”

“As if that’s going to stop you, Akaashi.”

“You know me well,” Akaashi chuckled. It sounded like music to Bokuto’s ears. “Are you always this chatty with the people you paint?”

“I do try to get into some casual conversation to put the model at ease,” Bokuto said, dipping his paintbrush in a lighter color to highlight the edges around the portrait. “And I can’t imagine how boring it must be for them to have to sit completely still for hours.”

“Just out of curiosity,” Akaashi cleared his throat. “Have you ever had to paint nude models?”

Bokuto chuckled. “Almost everyone asks that. And yes, I did. My master sent me to classes on nude painting with live models in front of us. Though, it’s not as erotic as most people think. At one point, while painting a woman, I found myself sobbing because it had been more than an hour and I couldn’t get the shadows right and I had run out of paint.” Akaashi laughed again.

“That certainly clears up a lot of mystery,” he said. “Although, I can’t imagine you a sobbing mess.”

“Oh, I was very moody growing up,” Bokuto grinned. “I’d easily feel down when I couldn’t do something right. And that was often.”

“How did you readjust your mindset?”

“Well, I took a step back to look at how far I’ve come. Once I remembered that years ago, I couldn’t even sketch an apple but had reached a point when I can paint one in less than 10 minutes, I knew I could do so much more with practice. And now, I’m here.”

“Now, you’re here,” Akaashi smiled. And Bokuto knew there wasn’t any place he’d rather be.

That night, they convinced Kageyama to let them go to town the next day and that Bokuto would know doubt watch over him and that they wouldn’t let Mikoto-san know. Kageyama agreed, and the next day, after breakfast that was once again cooked by Akaashi and Bokuto, the three of them headed out to town. Something about the day and occasion made Bokuto bring out his nicest shirt which was powder blue in color, with pristine, white buttons. Akaashi looked more casual in his appearance than usual dressed in suspenders and a light, cotton shirt that he had left unbuttoned from his chin to the top part of his chest.

The town near the estate was quite different from the ones Bokuto visited in the city. For one, it was much cleaner, less-populated, and less noisy. Most of the houses and buildings were low, at most three floors in height, and the pathways around town were in cobblestone. The townspeople however, were busy and hard at work preparing for what seemed to be a summer festival. ‘It is the first of May,’ Bokuto remembered and paused during their walk to watch a group of men erect a tall, twelve-foot maypole that had colored ribbons tied around it. Bokuto took a mental image in his head of the scene, eager to recreate it.

“It’s a May Day Eve festival,” Akaashi said, standing beside Bokuto. “Right, Kageyama?”

“Yes sir,” he nodded.

“Have you ever been to one?”

“My hometown celebrates it,” he said, a faint smile crossing his face. “We have a similar way of celebrating as the people here, actually. There will be stands serving blackberry wine and cold drinks. Special stew and fried food made with fresh, summer vegetables. The flower sellers would be weaving flower crowns and selling them for people to wear. And at night, the dances will begin.”

“Is it true that the young girls dance around the maypole?” Akaashi asked.

“Yes. It is a sight to see,” Kageyama nodded.

“If that is so, maybe we should stick around to witness it,” he said. Bokuto raised an eyebrow and smiled at the suggestion.

“But—”

“Come on, Kageyama. Even you want to stick around,” Akaashi nudged him, smiling playfully. “My mother is a boat ride away. The worst thing that can happen is that I get the flu again.”

“We’ll return home before midnight,” Bokuto added. A conflicted look came upon Kageyama’s face.

“Eleven o’ clock,” he finally said.

“Deal!” Akaashi said quickly before turning to Bokuto. “Now, where to?”

The festival was still hours away from starting so after Bokuto purchased his oil, the three of them roamed around town, being dragged off to wherever Akaashi pleased. But neither Bokuto nor Kageyama minded much, seeing as how happy Akaashi was to finally get a glimpse of the outside world. They visited dress shops, groceries, a woodworker’s studio, and florist’s shops where people had already begun making flower crowns. They lingered in a shop selling fabrics and yarns where Kageyama had perused and bought different threads for his embroidery before passing by a bakery to buy bread for lunch.

By the time the sun was close to setting, the town had come to life as the May Day Eve festival began. The town was lit with lanterns everywhere and a bonfire in the town square. “Well, it has started. Anything you want to do first?” Bokuto asked Akaashi.

“Well, the blackberry wine seems interesting,” Akaashi said, looking at one of the stalls.

“Have you ever drunk alcohol before?” Bokuto asked.

“I have the occasional glass of wine when my mother lets me.”

“Just, make sure not to get too drunk,” Kageyama muttered. But Bokuto was feeling mischievous and he was curious as to how a tipsy Akaashi looked like.

“You heard him, Akaashi. Let’s drink to our heart’s content!” he cheered, slinging an arm around Akaashi’s shoulder as they made their way to the stall with Kageyama following behind them. Bokuto had never tried blackberry wine but it was much cheaper than usual wine and sold by the bottle. He bought all of them one each. The wine was sweet, much sweeter than grape wine, but packed more of a punch. Kageyama only finished half of his bottle before retiring to one of the benches to sit down and most likely take a nap, leaving Bokuto and Akaashi to roam around the different stalls by themselves. They passed the rest of Kageyama’s wine between them and Bokuto was highly conscious of the fact that their lips were touching the same bottle. Bokuto knew that at some point, he’d have to stop drinking if he wanted to make it home with Akaashi and Kageyama, but it was a summer night and summer nights were dangerous and recklessness hummed through the air and Akaashi’s smile was dangerous and his hands were warm, and both of them ended up visiting the blackberry wine stall a few times.

By their third bottle, Bokuto found himself standing to the side and watching Akaashi peruse the flower crowns being sold by a vendor. Both of them were sweating from the summer heat and Bokuto could see that Akaashi’s cheeks were especially flushed by the alcohol. “Bokuto-san, how does this look?” Akaashi asked, looking up at him with a daisy crown on his head. Bokuto chuckled, noting that Akaashi seemed to be a bold, impulsive kind of drunk.

“This suits you better,” he said, gently removing the daisy crown and placing one of golden chrysanthemums on Akaashi’s head. “The gold brings out the green in your eyes.”

“You sure seem to like looking at them,” Akaashi scoffed. Bokuto could tell he was teasing him. The blackberry wine made him bold too, and two could play at that game.

“I’m supposed to. I’m your painter, aren’t I?” he raised an eyebrow, nearing closer to Akaashi’s face. By the way his eyes darted, he was caught off-guard for a second, but quickly regained his footing. Just as he was about to respond, a loud call echoed throughout the square.

“The maypole dance is beginning now. If you would like to join, come up front,” a young man yelled. Almost immediately after, people began skipping over to the maypole to claim one of its long, colored ribbons, most of them being young girls. But there were a couple of men as well.

“You should join,” Bokuto blurted out, nudging Akaashi with his shoulder. “To make the most of your May Day Eve festival experience.”

“You think so? What if I get the dance wrong?” Akaashi asked.

“You won’t,” Bokuto grinned.

“Alright,” Akaashi agreed, stepping forward, and turning around to say “But your eyes better be only on me,” he said, fixing Bokuto once again with that piercing stare of his. ‘Dangerous, dangerous,’ the insides of Bokuto hummed but he could only nod and watch Akaashi walk over to the maypole to claim a ribbon. He held it in his hand, taking position with the rest of the dancers. When the music began, Akaashi keenly observed the dancers’ movements, moving slowly at first to copy them, before slowly gaining confidence to not have to look at the others around him. As he danced close to the maypole before spinning outwards, Akaashi caught Bokuto in his gaze once again for one second, before smirking and turning around. Again and again, their eyes would meet, almost as if Akaashi was making sure Bokuto was looking at only him. ‘No, he’s definitely doing that on purpose,’ he said to himself. But with the way Akaashi looked tonight, he shouldn’t have even been worried about Bokuto looking at other people in the first place. His movements were graceful and elegant, especially for someone who had just learned the dance a few minutes ago, and the light from the lanterns and bonfire nearby made his tanned skin appear to glow.

Finally, the dance ended and Akaashi rejoined Bokuto. He was flushed, breathless, and his clothes were in disarray, but he looked more alive than Bokuto had ever seen him. “How was I?” he asked.

“It was as if you were on fire,” Bokuto answered.

They rejoined Kageyama by one of the benches and headed home, occasionally laughing and jostling each other like the young men on the way to serenade a woman. Only, Bokuto had never in his life been interested in women. Not even the most beautiful models that he had encountered during his apprenticeship. Rather, he found himself more drawn to men: those in famous paintings recreating Greek myths and stories from the Bible. His first time had been with a male model he had been working with. It was no secret among painters that homosexual relationships do occur, but it was scandalous enough to be kept secret and away from prying eyes.

Except now, Bokuto could tell that something was different about his feelings for Akaashi, the same way he knew to destroy his first portrait of him and delay the wedding. As a painter, Bokuto was only ever concerned about whether his paintings captured every lifelike detail of the model. But as he progressed through the portrait, he found himself constantly wondering whether Akaashi would accept the final product as a reproduction of himself. Bokuto found himself hating Mikoto-san and Akaashi’s arranged suitor, wherever in the world she was. How could they expect Akaashi to be married to someone who only saw a portrait of him? Especially one created by someone who had actual feelings for Akaashi.

“Akaashi-san, please be careful,” Kageyama said, helping up his master who had tripped once again inside the house. The alcohol seemed to have taken full effect as Akaashi could barely stand and his eyelids kept drooping. Kageyama put an arm around him and attempted to help him to the stairs.

“I can do that,” Bokuto volunteered, quickly lifting Akaashi in his arms. He weighed very little, most likely because of how sickly he was, and he groaned a reply before leaning his head against Bokuto’s chest. “It’s alright, Kageyama. I’ll put him to bed.”

“Alright, you can definitely handle him,” Kageyama nodded. “Well, good night, Bokuto-san,” he bowed, before leaving for his own quarters.

“Mmm… tired…” Akaashi mumbled.

“I know, I know. I’m getting you to bed now,” Bokuto said gently before going up the stairs. He struggled a bit with getting the bedroom door open with one hand before finally making it inside. Gently, he lay Akaashi down on his bed and lit the oil lamp on his bedside table to prevent himself from bumping into anything. Akaashi was still wearing the flower crown and Bokuto plucked it from his head and lay it gently on the table when Akaashi stirred awake.

“Bokuto-san,” he blinked, sitting up.

“You’re in your room now,” Bokuto smiled, lifting the blankets to tuck Akaashi in. “I’m guessing this is the first time you’ve gotten drunk.”

“How could you tell?” Akaashi raised an eyebrow.

“I can’t believe you’re still like this even though you’re drunk,” Bokuto chuckled and shook his head.

“This was the best day I’ve ever had,” Akaashi sighed happily, looking up at Bokuto with sleepy eyes. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” And, without him thinking, Bokuto found himself bending closer to Akaashi and gently stroking the side of his face. To his surprise, Akaashi didn’t pull away, rather, he raised a hand to press Bokuto’s against his cheek. It felt as if there was something he should say at this point, and so he said “You were an amazing dancer.” His voice was surprisingly hoarse and deep, even in his own ears.

“And you kept your eyes on only me,” Akaashi whispered in return, he was sitting up on his elbows and their faces were even closer.

“How could I not? You were the most beautiful one there.”

Bokuto had always read that summer evenings were wonderful, magical, and passionate. A time when the impossible crosses into the realm of the possible But, they were also dangerous. As dangerous as the look in Akaashi’s eyes, as dangerous as the heat that radiated outside and inside Bokuto. Not only were summer evenings dangerous because of the air of recklessness and impulse, but because anything good that happened lasted dangerously short. ‘I’m going to regret this someday,’ Bokuto knew. He could tell Akaashi knew. But that still didn’t stop them from closing the distance between their lips, for Bokuto to instinctively wraps his arms around Akaashi to pull him closer, for Akaashi to, in turn, wrap his arms around Bokuto’s neck. It was a kiss as passionate and dangerous as a summer evening, but nowhere near as short. When they emerged, both of them were as breathless as the maypole dancers.

Bokuto sucked in a breath and stood up, swallowing hard. Akaashi was wide-eyed, seemingly snapped out of the drunken state he was in. “I…” Bokuto stammered. “Should I…?”

“I think, it’s time we said good night now, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi nodded, sounding back to his rational self. Bokuto couldn’t agree more, muttering a hasty ‘good night’ before leaving the room, the summer evening’s kiss still on his lips.

…

Both of them were quiet the next day, even during breakfast that Kageyama woke up, earlier than both of them because he wasn’t hungover, to make. Bokuto couldn’t help but glance up sat Akaashi as he nursed his cup of strong, black coffee, only to find the young man distractedly looking out the window. ‘He couldn’t have forgotten about last night, could he?’ Bokuto wondered. He wouldn’t help but feel disappointed if Akaashi had. It couldn’t just have been the wine doing the talking, or rather, kissing.

Finally, it came the time for them to work on the portrait. Akaashi came into the dining room dressed once again in the same expensive suit with his hair fixed and yet, Bokuto couldn’t help but remember the wild-eyed, breathless Akaashi from last night. Wordlessly, the Akaashi in front of him sat down, got into his pose, and waited for Bokuto to start. Only, he was only able to get a few strokes of paint in before putting his brush down and confronting Akaashi.

“Are we not going to talk about last night?”

Akaashi’s eyes widened a fraction at the sudden gesture. “I…” he began and trailed off.

“Was it just… the wine?” Bokuto asked, feeling the wave of disappointment begin to wash over. “Because if you think that’s the case—”

“I was scared that you’d think that,” Akaashi suddenly interrupted him. There was a conflicted look on his face. This time, Bokuto waited for his full response. “I may have been drunk but, kissing you, that was fully intentional. I think, I think I wanted to do it for some time.”

“Y-you have?”

“I was just unsure if you felt the same way,” he continued. “That night, when you told me about you being a painter, I wanted to see if you befriended me because you saw me as someone worth being with. And when you said that you did it just to get the job done, I was disappointed.”

“I’m sorry, I lied,” Bokuto sighed. “I was, I didn’t want to finish the painting at that point. I thought it would be better if you hated me and I moved on from this whole thing.”

“But you didn’t finish the painting,” Akaashi said, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. “Why?”

“Because it wasn’t you I painted. It was so different from the you I know and it didn’t feel right for me to turn that portrait in,” Bokuto answered, stepping forward. “Why did you finally choose to pose?” he asked, walking to Akaashi. Although, at that point, the answers were falling into place.

“Because I didn’t want you to leave. I wasn’t ready for you to leave,” Akaashi said, his smile growing until Bokuto stopped in front of him.

“I’m here now.”

“I know.”

“Can I kiss you again?”

“You know the answer to that.”

And Bokuto did. Bending down, he cupped Akaashi’s face in his hands and kissed him. Gentler this time, gentler than their summer evening kiss last night. He felt Akaashi’s hands on the sides of his waist, clutching at his shirt as if he was scared of him letting go. Bokuto gently circled his thumb on Akaashi’s cheek, as if to say ‘don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere,’ and the grip on his shirt relaxed. It didn’t matter that what they were doing was taboo or that Akaashi was engaged. In this estate, one that villagers didn’t visit and was bordered by the sea, no eyes were on them. They were in a world of their own.

“Where have you been all my life, Bokuto-san?” Akaashi murmured once they parted, their foreheads pressed against each other. “It’s strange. One of the reasons why I’ve never run away from this place despite the engagement and the constraining feeling is because it felt as if I would get a moment of liberty if I just waited. And it has come, in the form of you.”

“I don’t know about that. All I know is you’re the most beautiful and hardest thing I’ve ever had to paint,” Bokuto whispered.

“That beautiful?” Akaashi laughed, his breath tickling Bokuto’s nose.

“They say you’re more beautiful than your suitor.”

“Who’s they?”

“The ferryman of the boat I came here in,” Bokuto chuckled and stood up.

“Is it true?” Akaashi raised an eyebrow.

“You are a self-indulgent man, did you know that?”

“And you are the one who indulges me,” Akaashi grinned. “I don’t feel like posing for the portrait today,” he sighed. “Can’t we do something else.”

“We did something else yesterday,” Bokuto said. “But I think an extra day can’t hurt,” he smiled.

“Can we go to the beach again?” Akaashi brightened.

“Of course,” Bokuto chuckled.

This time, when they walked to the beach, they walked hand in hand, laughing and talking, stopping once or twice to kiss again. Years later, Bokuto would find himself unable to recall what it is they were talking about and instead, remembering only sights and sensations, which was more than enough for him. By the time they reached the beach, instead of Akaashi exploring the tide pools and wading in the water with Bokuto sketching in secret, they both sat down in the sand and spread their jackets out to lie on. Akaashi rest his head on Bokuto’s lap and handed him the volume of Greek Mythology book that he had snuck out.

“Read it to me again,” he said.

“Demanding, are we?” Bokuto raised an eyebrow but opened the book nonetheless.

“Of course,” Akaashi smiled and closed his eyes.

“Any particular story you have in mind?” he asked, thumbing through the pages.

“Look for what interests you,” Akaashi waved. Bokuto shrugged and went through the book until he came across a beautifully illustrated picture of a man staring at his reflection.

“The Myth of Narcissus,” he read aloud. “Am I saying the name right?”

“Yes,” Akaashi nodded. “Read on.”

And so Bokuto read aloud, feeling much more confident now than when he first read to Akaashi. Maybe its because he knew that the young man lying on his lap enjoyed the sound of his voice, something Bokuto never thought he’d bring. After a good half hour of reading, Bokuto himself felt tired and lay back in the sand. “Your turn,” he nudged Akaashi’s shoulder gently.

“Me?” he sat up, smiling sleepily at him before laying down on his chest with the top of his hair tickling Bokuto’s chin. It was a welcome, warm, weight on his chest and Bokuto circled an arm around Akaashi’s shoulder, pulling him close.

“Tell me a story.”

“Another Greek myth?” Akaashi asked. “Which one do you want to hear? I don’t even need to read aloud from this book.”

“Hmm well then. I’ve never really understood that epic poem. The one about Troy with Achilles and Hector,” Bokuto said. “I tried to read it once to study on Greek myths since they were so popular with painting commissions but it gave me a headache.”

“Ah, the Iliad,” Akaashi said. “Well, I’ve read about a million times. You’ve come to the right person.” Bokuto planted a kiss on his forehead. “There are many ways to start the story, but I like to take it back to when the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite appeared in front of a poor boy named Paris.” And so, Akaashi told the story of the Iliad. His voice was nice and calming, enough to make Bokuto’s eyelids grow heavy, but engaging enough to keep him awake. Akaashi colored the tale with his own inserts and opinions, sometimes going to into detail about a particular hero’s story. And then, they came across the part of the story when Achilles had heard of Patroclus’ death.

“According to the story, he mourned for days and days on end for his dead lover,” Akaashi told.

“Wait, his lover?” Bokuto jerked his head up in surprise. “No one told me that his lover was Patroclus.”

“Well, in most translated versions of the text they describe Patroclus as a companion and a close friend. In the original text however—”

“Wait, you know Greek?” Bokuto sat up, disturbing Akaashi from his resting place. Akaashi raised an eyebrow at him.

“I can speak quite a few languages, Bokuto-san. I didn’t just twiddle my thumbs right here.”

“I should have known then,” Bokuto chuckled. “Anyway, you were saying…”

“Right. In the original Greek text, or as much was restored of it anyway, Patroclus is described as Achilles’ lover. And in fact, homosexuality was quite normal in Greece. There was a special troop of soldiers who fought in pairs with their beloved. They say they were won of the best fighters out there, because they always fought for their beloved. Additionally, it was believed that unions of the same sex were the only true kind of romantic love since it is not based on procreation unlike that of a man and a woman. And let’s not forget Sappho’s poetry and the Island of Lesbos,” Akaashi enumerated.

“Wow. So, why have I never heard of it before?” Bokuto said.

“The usual. The Christianized, civilized societies frown upon the practice so they conceal it in the translations,” Akaashi shrugged. “But I’ve always liked Achilles and Patroclus.”

“It’s all the more tragic then,” Bokuto sighed.

“Yes, but upon Patroclus’ death, Achilles wished for his ashes, when he died, to be buried with Patroclus’. So that they’d meet in the Underworld even after he died,” Akaashi smiled wistfully.

“So, that was after Achilles got shot in the heel, right?”

“You’re skipping ahead,” Akaashi nudged him.

“Tell me the rest of the story then,” Bokuto nudged him back.

“It’s getting dark,” Akaashi shook his head. And true enough, Bokuto looked up to find that the sun was just about to set. He always loved watching for sunsets and yet, he didn’t notice it.

“Tomorrow then,” Bokuto pouted slightly and stood up, dusting the sand off his trousers before picking up his and Akaashi’s jackets.

“Unless… you would be content with reading by the fireside in my room.” Akaashi had said it almost nonchalantly but even in the dim light, Bokuto could catch the hopefulness in his gaze. And who was he to refuse?

“Alright. But let’s have dinner first. I think we’ve worried Kageyama to death staying outside this long.”

Although, it seemed that Kageyama wasn’t worried one bit as he was doing his embroidery by the small fireplace in the kitchen when they came in. Bokuto wondered if Kageyama was doubtful of how much time Akaashia and Bokuto had spent together that day that wasn’t related to the portrait. Either he wasn’t that perceptive or he just didn’t care. Akaashi and Bokuto finished dinner quickly and locked themselves in Akaashi’s room. Instead of going to bed, he stretched out on the carpet by the fireplace and patted the spot next to him. ‘Just like the beach,’ Bokuto thought with a smile and stretched out across the carpet with his head tucked on Akaashi’s lap. He closed his eyes and felt a hand gently run through his hair.

“Aren’t you going to continue the story?” Bokuto mumbled.

“I may have decided to preoccupy myself with,” Akaashi hummed and Bokuto felt fingers lightly skim over his cheeks and forehead and down his nose. “I wish I had your eye and skill to capture a subject through a painting.”

“How do you know I have skills with painting? The first portrait was a ruined one and you haven’t even looked at the one I’m painting now.”

“I just know,” he felt Akaashi shrug. “What goes on in your head when you paint me?”

“Well,” Bokuto opened his eyes to look up at him. “First, I sketch a basic outline on the canvas, just so I know where everything is in relation to each other. And then, I pencil in your features. You have really delicate features so I try to keep a light hand,” he said, raising his hand to brush against Akaashi’s cheek. “And I spend as much time as I want to on your hands.”

“And then?”

“Then I start mixing my colors. That was always my favorite part when it came to learning how to paint. It’s how my master trained me too. I would sit for hours scrutinizing something and mixing the right shade,” Bokuto chuckled at the memory. “I take my time too when I mix the color of your skin. Browns and yellows and a bit of red. And then I make different shades from that color with white or mixing in a bit more brown for shadows, and a bit more red for that healthy flush on your cheeks.”

“At least I look healthy in my portrait,” Akaashi said dryly.

“You look absolutely stunning in your portrait,” Bokuto laughed as Akaashi playfully swatted at him.

“Once I have your healthy complexion, I move on to other bits. Like mixing the perfect color and shades to match your green robe. The dark brown for your hair. And then I paint it all in, adding colors and blending in shades so that it looks as realistic as possible. And by far,” Bokuto ran the crook of his finger near Akaashi’s temple. “Your eyes are my favorite thing to paint. Actually, I could spend hours just looking at you and sketching you.”

“Haven’t you already?” Akaashi smiled.

“Eveything I’m doing now feels slightly different though. I guess it’s quite task having to paint someone you love.”

The word left Bokuto’s mouth before he even knew what he was saying. He could feel Akaashi tense slightly under him and he sat up quickly. “I—I didn’t mean, I mean I did but—I’m sorry, let’s pretend that never happened,” he stammered, seeing the shocked expression on Akaashi’s face.

“There’s no need for you to apologize,” he shook his head with a slight laugh. “Actually, I thought I was the crazy one for thinking that.”

“Wait, you mean…?”

“Would it be crazy for me to say that I think I’ve loved you ever since the day we first met?” Akaashi asked. “I know it sounds crazy, but I’ve always had the feeling that you were someone I’ve always known would come into my life.”

‘What a naïve thing to think,’ was what Bokuto knew he and Akaashi were thinking of. But Bokuto had also witnessed it happening. There were friends he knew back at the studio or met in bars who would talk about the ease they felt when falling in love. ‘I’ve been with many women before, but this one felt coming home after a long journey,’ one friend had told him.

“When you think about it, what were the chances of me being chosen to paint you, out of all other painters? What were the chances of me having to paint you, out of all other subjects? What were the chances of me arriving here safely out of all the accidents that occur at sea? What were the chances of the days we’ve spent here happening smoothly in perfect succession out of all other outcomes?” Bokuto said. He saw his questions answered in the look on Akaashi’s faces. “Maybe we were meant to meet each other.”

With that, Akaashi leaned in close to kiss him again, and again, and again. It was no longer that summer night kiss but one of longing and elation of having met and knowing that they were both on the same page. Bokuto could feel Akaashi’s hands cupping his face and sliding down his torso, thumbs hesitating near the buttons of his shirt until Bokuto permitted them to undo each one. Meanwhile, his kisses trailed down from Akaashi’s mouth to the side of his jaw, down to his neck, and in the center of his collarbone, just under his throat, lingering like a question mark. Akaashi adjusted his position, lying back onto the carpet, and slowly undid the buttons of his shirt, baring his chest.

“I’m yours… Koutarou,” Akaashi whispered, beckoning him closer. Bokuto ran a finger tip down from Akaashi’s throat and down to his sternum. For once, he couldn’t imagine sketching nor painting this scene because there was no way it would be complete without the warmth and heat in their stares and beneath their fingertips. Sometime after Bokuto leaned down to kiss Akaashi and before they fell asleep in each other’s arms with only a thin blanket pulled from the bed to cover them, the image of the ghostly figure of Akaashi that Bokuto saw a few nights ago flashed in his mind.

…

The next few days were spent like so: Akaashi would pose and Bokuto would work on the portrait for a few hours each day before they’d go to the beach, or walk through the fields, or stroll through the town. At night, after dinner, they’d retire to Akaashi’s room with the door locked and their clothes ending up on the floor on more than a few occasions. Bokuto had never been happier waking up feeling Akaashi buries his face in the crook of his neck or waking up in the same position they had fallen asleep in when morning came. He’d always wake up before Akaashi did and held him tightly in his arms, praying that the sun would rise a bit more slowly or that Kageyama would wake up a bit later each day.

And the portrait was almost finished. Bokuto could feel himself subconsciously painting less each day or tweaking things like changing the color or painting over a finger again. He remembered one of the stories that Akaashi told him about Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, who had been left in their home island when he went to fight in the Trojan war. She was courted by many suitors and in order to delay having to marry someone until her husband came back, she excused herself by weaving her bridal train and unraveling the works she made each night. In the end, it felt pointless because delaying the portrait wasn’t going to do anything. Akaashi’s mother would return in a few days and leaving the portrait unfinished would just leave Bokuto without a job and having to cross the sea to go back home.

Bokuto took a small brush with a bit of the dark brown color he used to draw in details and scanned the canvas for anything left that he could possibly fix only to find nothing else. He was done. Bokuto stepped back and put down his paintbrush and palette.

“Do you need to take a break, Bokuto-san?” Akaashi asked.

“It’s…finished,” Bokuto shook his head. The look of concern on Akaashi’s face dissolved into his usual stoic expression. “Would you, uh, like to have look?”

“Alright,” he nodded, standing up from his chair and walking over to look at the canvas. Bokuto knew that it was a lot better than the previous portrait that he made and destroyed. While looking at it, he couldn’t help but feel that everything about the portrait was truly his because only he could look at it and know that he captured more than Akaashi’s likeness, but everything he had come to know about the young man over the past weeks.

“Is that really how you see me?” Akaashi asked.

“Yes.”

“I look beautiful.”

“You do.”

“Do you think my fiancée would be pleased?” he asked. Bokuto felt a lead weight in his stomach.

“She should be. I could imagine this hanging over your mantle in the parlor.”

“I heard she lives in Kyushu, the place where my Mother is visiting now. It’s quite far from here,” Akaashi kept talking, his voice sounding dead in Bokuto’s ears.

“I’ve never been to Kyushu but my master has. He says its beautiful during the springtime with all the cherry blossoms in bloom. There are wonderful art museums to visit and there’s a local theater nearby that places traditional music ensembles,” Bokuto trailed off when he saw Akaashi looking out of the window where the sea was.

“I know you’re saying all these things to comfort me Bokuto-san, but to me it all just sounds like you’re trying to console me. Like how mothers would talk to their toddlers about giving them a treat to stop them from crying,” Akaashi said.

“What else am I supposed to say, Akaashi?” Bokuto sighed. “You know as well as I do that this can’t last. The hate and the scorn we’ll have to experience. I could lose my credibility. Your family would disown you.”

“Then let’s run away! Can’t we? We could just pack our things and leave on a boat and get out of here,” Akaashi exclaimed. Bokuto saw so much hope in his eyes and was loathe to crush it. The world that he wanted to live in existed in the pages of a book.

“They’re going to do everything to find us. Do you really want us to live our lives on the run? And what will we do when they do? I don’t know if your parents would still force you into an engagement but they’ll throw me in jail for kidnapping you,” Bokuto argued. He didn’t notice that his hands were balled into fists.

“Why does it sound like you’re just willing to let this pass?!” Akaashi suddenly raised his voice, shocking Bokuto. “After all this you’ll still find someone to love and warm your bed, maybe in secret but you’ll still have that chance. Once you hand over that portrait to my mother, there’s nothing more for me!”

Bokuto stepped back. In front of him was the Akaashi who had grown up in a lonely manor surrounded by books, who had seen himself in the love that Achilles and Patroclus shared but knew that it was frowned upon in the world outside, who had purposely delayed his inevitable engagement by putting off any painters who came. “I’m—”

“I need to be alone,” Akaashi cut him off, walking around and past him to leave the dining room. With nothing left to do, Bokuto sat back in his stool and stared at the painting of Akaashi as if it would give him answers. He received no answers, only the knowledge that this may be the best painting he had ever created.

…

Akaashi had locked himself in his room for the rest of the day, and the day after that, so it came as a surprise when Bokuto saw him in the kitchen with Kageyama. The two of them were seated at the table, sifting through grains of rice to find tiny insects, rice weevils, that hid themselves among the grains. Kageyama looked up to greet him first.

“Bokuto-san. Dinner won’t be ready until an hour from now. Do you need anything?” he asked.

“No, it’s alright,” Bokuto shook his head, eyes unable to help themselves from glancing at Akaashi whose head was bent over in his task, before sitting down at the table. “Actually, I’ll give you guys a hand.”

“It’s not an immediate task. Although, I find it quite relaxing to do so,” Kageyama explained.

“I could use some relaxing,” Bokuto nodded, looking down at the bed of rice grains that had been spread out on a large platter made from woven leaves. He spotted a weevil, as small as a rice grain but standing out due to its black color, and picked it out quickly before crushing it in between his fingernails. Akaashi still said nothing.

“The madam is coming back in two days,” Kageyama said. “She didn’t entrust me to check on the portrait but personally I do wonder about how it’s doing.”

“It’s already finished. I think she’ll be happy with it,” Bokuto answered.

“I’ll definitely miss this place,” Kageyama hummed to himself as he sifted absentmindedly through the grains with his fingers. They were long and elegant too, but not as fine or delicate as Akaashi’s was.

“Where will you once we leave?” Akaashi asked, looking sideways at Kageyama. “If ever you need a job, I’m sure I can lend a hand.”

“Thank you, Akaashi-san. Actually, my family comes from Kyushu. My grandfather and older sister run a small bakery and I was thinking of working there from now on until I get bored,” he said.

“That sounds wonderful,” Akaashi gave a small smile. “I’ll be nearby then.”

“I was also thinking of working at a library.”

“A library?”

“Yes,” Kageyama nodded. Bokuto smiled slightly to himself at how chatty Kageyama was being today. Maybe it was all that time they spent talking to him and trying to make breakfast in the kitchen. “My sister works as a governess and she made the effort to teach me how to read and write. Sometimes I…” he glanced at Akaashi and blushed slightly. “Forgive me but, sometimes I borrow a few books from the library to read at night.”

“You don’t need to be ashamed about that,” Akaashi chuckled. “That makes me happy, actually, knowing that I’m not alone reading all those books.”

“I also browsed through your favorite book once. The Greek mythology one…” he added shyly.

“What was your favorite story?”

“The one about Hercules because it sounds so amazing,” Kageyama smiled. “What about you, Akaashi-san?”

“I have a lot of favorites,” Akaashi smiled wryly, picking out a weevil and crushing it between his fingers. “But the one that resounds quite a bit with me now is the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.”

“I don’t think I’ve read that one.”

“It’s quite the tragic love story, actually,” Akaashi said. This time, when Bokuto looked up, he caught his eye and held his gaze for a few moments. “I could tell it to you if you like.” It was directed not only to Kageyama but to Bokuto as well, so he nodded his head almost imperceptibly.

“Once upon a time, there was a man named Orpheus. He wasn’t a man though, not really, because his father was Apollo, the god of the sun and music and medicine, and his mother was a Muse. Because of that, he was gifted with the art of music. He traveled with a lyre and his voice was so high and sweet that anyone who heard it couldn’t help but stop and look for where the sound was coming from.

“Now, Orpheus fell in love with a woman named Eurydice. But their love didn’t last long for Eurydice died from being bitten by a snake. Orpheus was distraught with the loss of his wife that he resolved to save her. So, he took his lyre, and plucking it with his fingers, he sang a song so beautiful that the ground underneath him opened and he could walk all the way down to the Underworld. He kept singing on the way down and his voice lulled Cerberus to sleep and kept the monsters guarding from attacking him, all the way until he came upon Hades, the God of the Dead and Ruler of the Underworld, and his wife Persephone. And Orpheus sang a song about them that was so beautiful, they both bowed their heads and let him pass to greet the ghost of his dead wife, Eurydice.”

“That sounds beautiful,” Kageyama said.

“But it doesn’t end there,” Akaashi shook his head. “Hades allowed Orpheus to travel to the surface with his wife and for her to come alive once they returned to Earth. But he gave one condition: Orpheus wasn’t allowed to turn around once during their walk on the way up because if he did, Eurydice would return to the Underworld.

“Orpheus agreed to these conditions and set off with Eurydice following behind him. As he neared the surface, his heart was overcome with fear that he was walking alone and longing to see his wife again. And in a single, tragic moment of weakness, he couldn’t help but to turn around to see his wife tumbling back into the darkness.”

Everything was silent for a moment, except for the shifting of fingers through the rice grains. And then, Kageyema spoke up: “That’s pretty foolish of Orpheus to do.”

“Maybe,” Akaashi chuckled. “But there are different versions to the tale. In some, they say that Hades tricked the both of them, not intending for Eurydice to be let go, and so designed an impossible task for them to fulfill. In another, Orpheus instead chooses the memory of Eurydice and so turns around to have one last look at her. And in another, Eurydice knew that the test was impossible in the first place and whispered ‘Turn around’ to see her lover one last time.”

“It’s a tragic story,” Kageyama said. Bokuto silently drew swirling patterns in the rice when Akaashi said,

“All the real ones are.”

…

This time, it was Akaashi who knocked on Bokuto’s bedroom door. It was nighttime, almost an hour until midnight, and they were both far from the shores of sleep. Bokuto wordlessly stepped aside and let Akaashi in. He scanned the surroundings of the room curiously before choosing to sit at the edge of the bed where Bokuto joined him. “I… wanted to apologize,” Akaashi spoke up. His head hung down and he played with his hands on his lap. “It was unfair of me to ask unreasonable things of you when both of us knew where this was eventually going to head. I knew it even before I kissed you. I just… wanted to hope, that’s all.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. I wanted to hope too,” Bokuto reached over and took Akaashi’s hands in his. “I knew a fellow painter, we both attended classes together, who was caught sleeping with one of our male models. Both of them were kicked out of their respective guilds and blacklisted from ever being able to take commissions or enter another guild. I saw him in the street once with slurs being hurled at him while he begged around for alms.”

“That’s terrible,” Akaashi shook his head. Even recounting that memory left an acidic feeling in Bokuto’s stomach. He felt Akaashi clutch his hand gently with both of his, as if he was cradling a bird, and press it to his chest. Akaashi hung his head down and from the shake of his shoulders and the dampness on Bokuto’s hand, he knew he was crying.

“I don’t see what’s so wrong with us being like this,” he sobbed, his words coming out in hiccupped breaths. “I’ve had to deal with knowing this all my life and the one time I’ve found someone to love, it’s all going to be taken away again.” Bokuto wrapped both of his arms around Akaashi and pulled him close. Akaashi clutched at his arms and buried his teary face on Bokuto’s shoulder.

“I just want you to know that I regret nothing from these last weeks. Nothing at all,” Bokuto felt his own voice breaking.

“I regret locking myself in my room for so long. Who knew that an entire day could be wasted so, so much?” Akaashi hiccupped. Bokuto pulled away and brushed the hair that stuck to Akaashi’s forehead, cupping his face in his hands.

“Let’s make the most of the time we have left then,” he said, leaning in to kiss him. Akaashi’s mouth was soft and warm and wanting as they both fell down into the bed. They rushed through nothing, taking their time memorizing as much as they could of each other’s bodies and as much as they tried to fight it off, sleep came eventually.

…

“You know, you’re probably the only person who’ll ever get to touch me like this,” Akaashi said, breaking the silence of the muggy, summer morning air. It was the day of Mikoto-san’s return and they hadn’t left the bed yet. Bokuto wasn’t sure if he had really slept that night, only that Akaashi was continuously stroking his hair and their breathing fell into the same pace.

“I’m probably the only one who knows how to touch you,” Bokuto rolled over to press his face against Akaashi’s bare chest.

“Yeah, that too,” Akaashi said sarcastically. “If only we could stop time and let things just pass like this.”

“If only, if only,” Bokuto sang, propping himself up by his elbows on the bed to look down at Akaashi. His hair messier than usual, mostly due to Bokuto’s wandering hands, and there were a few marks on his collar bone, also due to Bokuto. He liked seeing him like this and knew he would keep this image in his head to save for his future mornings.

“I could draw you like this,” he mumbled, dragging his fingertip lightly across Akaashi’s cheekbone.

“Then draw me like this,” he smiled.

“Alright. So, I have something to remember you by.” He got out of the bed and walked over to where he kept his sketchbook and drawing charcoals before coming back.

“How do you want me to pose?” Akaashi asked.

“Just like that,” Bokuto smiled up at him as he flipped to a fresh page and started sketching an outline. Akaashi held his position: head propped up with his hand with an elbow on the bed, the curves of his body just barely covered by the thin blanket. Bokuto made sure to capture everything, going in with a heavier hand to make Akaashi’s facial features as stark as possible. He prayed that termites or insects wouldn’t eat at his sketchbook, that the charcoal lines would never fade, that the paper would never tear. Finally, he finished and showed it to Akaashi.

“It’s beautiful,” he smiled, running his fingers on the paper around the sketch, careful not to smudge anything. “Make one for me too. Something to remember you by.”

Bokuto unhooked the small mirror that hung on the wall above where he kept a basin of water for washing his face. Akaashi took it from him and held it steady in front of his chest while Bokuto peered at his reflection in between sketching. He had opened his sketchbook to a fresh page when Akaashi stopped him.

“Wait, can you sketch it here?” he asked, handing over his book of Greek Mythology that had somehow made its way to Bokuto’s nightstand.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“I’m sure.”

Bokuto thumbed through the pages until he landed on one with a good amount of free space. He had been trained to create self-portraits and could do passable ones. This time, he took extra care in capturing the details of his features. It was the only thing Akaashi would have left of him, so Bokuto wanted to capture himself as accurately as possible. ‘Remember this, and everything that happened here,’ he whispered into his sketch. Finally, he passed the book back to Akaashi.

“Page 57. I’ll remember it,” he smiled, sitting up to kiss Bokuto on the lips. It was sweet and wonderful and made them both long for more, but they knew it was there last. “I’ll always love you. No matter what happens,” Akaashi whispered, taking Bokuto’s hand and pressing his lips against the knuckles. “My beautiful painter.”

After dressing up and going downstairs for breakfast, they passed the time playing chess in the library, barely speaking except for when Akaashi was teaching him how the game was played. Finally, they both heard a knock at the door, the sound of Mikoto and other people coming in, and knew that their time had come.

The rest of the events that happened were a blur for Bokuto. He nodded and smiled as Mikoto gushed over the portrait and praised his skill before sealing the canvas away in a wooden box, much like the one Bokuto traveled with. The sound of nails pounding into the wood to seal it shut made Bokuto think of coffins. Mikoto called Akaashi to his bedroom upstairs to present him with a gift. After making sure the portrait was safe and taken care of, he headed to Akaashi’s room to bid his goodbyes.

Before that though, he clearly remembered Kageyama approaching him to say goodbye. He had said something along the lines of ‘Thank you for coming here. Akaashi-san was happy these past weeks,’ to which he nodded and smiled, giving him a hug before saying his goodbye to him. Bokuto threw his things into his suitcase before finally going to Akaashi’s room.

What happened upstairs wasn’t a blur in his memory either. Bokuto remembered, knocking politely on the door, hearing Mikoto inviting him to come in, going inside to receive his payment from her. He was aware of Akaashi standing in the middle of the room but couldn’t raise his head to meet his eyes. ‘Aren’t you going to say goodbye to me?’ Akaashi had said out loud, calling to him. Bokuto could hear the slight crack in his voice. As much as he knew it would be more painful for him to do so, Bokuto walked forward, his eyes still downcast, to wrap his arms around the man he loved with all his heart. He closed his eyes to remember this last feeling of warmth before quickly disentangling himself and heading out the door.

His own footsteps thundered loudly in his ears, especially because of how little he could see in the dark interior of the manor. Bokuto almost slipped on the carpet but caught himself using the stairway railing. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he was suddenly aware of another set of footsteps but it was only when he opened the manor’s door that he heard Akaashi speak:

“Turn around.”

He didn’t even need to be told twice. Bokuto turned around to find Akaashi standing in the middle of the parlor, illuminated by the single shaft of light spilling into the slightly ajar doorway, wearing a new, navy blue suit that his mother bought. The suit he was going to wear for his wedding. Akaashi’s eyes betrayed the words ‘Keep this memory.’

Bokuto let out a single, choked sob before leaving the manor, shutting the door, and losing Akaashi to the darkness.

#across the sea #bokuaka #bokuto koutarou #akaashi keiji #bokuaka fanfic #haikyuu!!#haikyuu!! fanfic #portrait of a lady on fire!au #across the sea: act. II

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