On the whole, Bokuto had never thought about the future that much. He said it would happen, but he wasn't there yet, so he didn't bother worrying. In turn, Akaashi never worried about the future when he was with Bokuto- just whenever he wasn't. His parents were strict, but kind as long as his grades were good. They still eyed Bokuto with distaste sometimes, but his class placement was actually rather high, so they tolerated him as long as it didn't surpass Akaashi's.

Akaashi had always seen the leader Bokuto would be. His mood radiated from himself to everyone that surrounded him like sunlight and he could convince even the most stringent of people to relax when he tried. He kind of envied that, but mostly, he adored Bokuto for it instead. Admired the ability to be so free with how he felt.

So it wasn't exactly a surprise when Bokuto got a confession in the first year of Junior High. She had bleached hair, dimples, and a bright smile. She offered him a small bag of white chocolate. It was no surprise when Bokuto accepted her request.

It lasted oh, maybe four days. (Akaashi had trouble counting them because each hour had felt distorted when Bokuto said he "couldn't hang out today because I've got a date, sorry Akaashi!" when now that they were in different schools he didn't get to see Bokuto every day, losing even more of their small moment together.) Bokuto's mood thickened the very air with a sourness after the breakup. He sought out Akaashi, making a point to wait outside his school's gate, scuffing a foot and yanking at the loose thread on his blazer.

"Bokuto?" Akaashi questioned as he approached him. The rest of his classmates avoided Bokuto, eyeing him warily.

"Akaashi!" Bokuto immediately brightened, waving a hand high in the air despite Akaashi being a meter in front of him. "Wanna walk home together?"

"But your girlfriend...?" Akaashi asked, immediately wincing when the mood soured again.

"Aya isn't my girlfriend anymore." Bokuto's face was that curious blank slate that only happened when he was really trying to ignore something hurtful. Akaashi nodded slowly.

"Do you want ice cream?"

"Yeah! Ma gave me my allowance yesterday, so I still have some left! But it's your treat next time~"

"Yes, yes, of course it is."

When Akaashi and Bokuto parted ways, he felt contentment settle deep in his belly. Bokuto was single again, as he should be. Akaashi just didn't know why.

When Akaashi entered middleschool, he never got a confession. His limbs were like rails, his elbows and knees a little too big, he was a bit of a late bloomer... He didn't really shoot up until the last few weeks of Junior High, rather suddenly. And then there were exams to worry about, so no one ever asked.

Bokuto on the other hand had over a dozen confessions, most of which he accepted. Akaashi hated waiting for them to end. (Bokuto didn't tell him why he broke up with any of the girls.)

They started to play volleyball together, and both started to thrive. Akaashi more quietly than Bokuto, but thrive all the same. Akaashi never regretted it, and excused it to his parents as something to put under clubs for college, showing his ability to commit and participate. The moment his grades slipped, though... It was hard to convince them to let him stay on the team. But he did, and his grades didn't slip again. Even when he had to wait another year to play with Bokuto.

And then he entered high school and met Kuroo, Bokuto's new friend. Quietly he worried at how much more lively Bokuto seemed with a guy his own age, who seemed so much cooler than Akaashi would ever be.

The first confession he ever got was after his first match as Fukurodani's setter, selected especially because he worked well with Bokuto and their current ace.

"You just seemed so cool," The girl murmured, tucking a long strand of black hair behind her ear as she glanced at him under her lashes. "And gorgeous, even in all that chaos." She offered him a small box that he never opened.

"I'm sorry," He demurred back, a small smile on his lips, "But I cannot accept. There is someone else who I've been waiting on for a rather long time..."

She left with tears in her eyes and a tight smile on her face. She understood, and did not force her gift upon him. Bokuto would later ask where he'd been, and he would smile secretly and refuse to tell.

His second confession happened after the training camp with Karasuno and Nekoma from his second year, and it was from an older boy who was part of the library club. His name was Kamui, and they'd talked about the more interesting part of whatever they were learning in class.

"I cannot accept," he once again said, eyeing the young man sadly. "For I love someone else. I'm sorry..."

"I know," He murmured, smile trembling and a keychain with a small owl on it in his outstretched palm, "But should he refuse... Would you reconsider?"

"...Perhaps," Akaashi croaked, throat tightening at the thought. At the moment he did not wonder how obvious he must have been, for another student to realize his love. "If he ever found out. B-but for now,"

"I know," The man repeated again, this time seizing Akaashi's hand gently and pressing the keychain into his palm. "Please keep this, anyway. Good luck, Akaashi."

Bokuto noticed the new keychain- of course he did.

"I didn't know you liked keychains, Akaashi!" He crowed, already pawing the gift with delight. "When'd you get it?"

"It was given to me," He sighed, shooing Bokuto away from his bag. "And I couldn't refuse. Come on, we have to go home."

No one knew Bokuto better than Akaashi did. But Akaashi had never seen Bokuto jealous over him before, and it was a quieter, possessive thing, unlike so much of his personality. It was rather funny in hindsight. The rest of the team just seemed to know what was wrong (or rather had dealt with it before) and left it to Akaashi to fix it, when he hadn't the damnedest clue of what was wrong for the first time in a decade.

"Not that I don't enjoy your presence," Akaashi drawled with his eyes glued to his Jap-To-Eng dictionary, "But I thought you hated the library, Bokuto-san."

"Akaaaashiiii, I told you to just call me Bokuto, or Koutarou!" Bokuto bemoaned from under the table, popping his head up with 'owl eyes' to plead.

"You aren't answering my question," Akaashi sighed, flipping the page and glancing at Bokuto between reading each definition. Bokuto was stubbornly quiet. "Bokuto..."

"You said it!" Bokuto hooted, only to be glared at by the librarian. The librarian's current assistant was the same boy who had confessed to Akaashi, and he only gave Akaashi an amused look. Akaashi scrunched his nose, pretending to ignore him.

"Don't get me kicked out today, Bokuto-san." And Bokuto wilted, he could just feel it.

"I won't get you kicked out..." Bokuto huffed quietly, sinking under the table again. "I just thought you might be doing something besides studying in here. I mean, you're always here unless we're practicing! It's obscene!"

"Do you even know what obscene means?" Akaashi asked, gently nudging Bokuto with his foot. "And I hate to disappoint, but no. What else would I do in here?"

"You might bring a date here, because you're a nerd~" Bokuto crooned, something about the way he said it putting Akaashi on edge.

"I would not," Akaashi ground out, focusing on his notes again. "And you'd know if I was dating somebody."

"But not if you were confessed to?"

"I didn't say that." Pushing his chair out, he got a solid kick into Bokuto's belly to leave him winded before standing up and gathering his things. "You aren't going to let me study here, so I'm leaving. Goodbye, Tenbu Sensei, Kamui-san." And he was out the door, heart thumping unsteadily in his chest.

Making it to the bathroom in a daze, he dumped his bag by the sink and shut himself in a stall to think. Pressing his face to his knees, he teetered on the porcelain toilet while trying to breathe quietly.

What was wrong with Bokuto? He was off at practice, he was following Akaashi around to places he usually refused to step foot in, he was plying him with sweets... Had Bokuto done something bad recently? Was he trying to make up for some perceived slight Akaashi didn't even remember? Why was he so interested in being called without an honorific, on knowing about Akaashi's non-existent romantic life... He'd better not be trying to set Akaashi up before he left for college. That would just...

Did he want Akaashi to share when he was confessed to? Bokuto had always shared when someone confessed to him, whether he accepted them or not. Had he been expecting Akaashi to share that? It hadn't really occurred to him, you know, because he didn't like when Bokuto told him that he'd been confessed to.

"Akaashi?" Oh god, he hadn't even heard Bokuto come in. "Akaashi, I see your bag, where are you?"

"Bokuto, I am trying to go to the bathroom," He groaned into his knees, tightening his grip as he pleads internally for Bokuto to just go away. It was quiet, for a minute, before he heard his own phone hoot at him. Digging in his pocket, he squinted at the New Message alert and unlocked his phone.

(Koutarou: Why are you upset? Don't be Upset!1
Koutarou: I can tell you are because I can't see your feet!
Koutarou: Is it my fault? I'm sorry Keiji don't be mad plss)

He could feel his mouth try to smile as he read the messages. Oh, Bokuto...

(You: It's okay Bokuto I'll be fine in a minute.)

(Koutarou: But you're mad at me! It's not ok tell me why
Koutarou: If you stop being mad I'll make you nanohana no karashiae!)

(You: But you can't cook? Anyway, why do you think I'm mad at you?)

(Koutarou: Because I was loud! Or I haven't been good in practice lately! Or I dunno!)

(You: I'm not mad at you. I'm just... working some stuff out.
You: Like why you've been following me everywhere. Or why you're so interested in my non-existent romantic life.)

(Koutarou: So you are mad at me!
Koutarou: I'm following you around because you got a gift and I don't know who it's from! Which is weird!
Koutarou: And you're so pretty somebody must've asked you out but you haven't said anything)

Pretty? Akaashi flushed, seeing his arms redden. Damn his full body blush, damn Bokuto for making him do so!

(You: I'm not that popular, Bokuto. I've only gotten two confessions anyway, and I rejected both. Why would you want to know?)

(Koutarou: Because you're Keiji, that's why!
Koutarou: And the gift?)

(You: From the second confession. They insisted it was for good luck and I couldn't refuse.)

(Koutarou: Good luck with what?)

(You: They didn't say.)

Setting his feet down on the floor, Akaashi took a slow breath. Okay. He wasn't red anymore, at least. Unlocking the stall, he almost stood up only to gain a lapful of Bokuto.

"B-Bokuto?"

"You shouldn't need their good luck when you're got mine," Bokuto grumbled childishly, leaning back to look Akaashi in the eyes. "I'll buy you a different keychain. A bigger one!"

"I thought you were making me nanohana no karashiae?"

"Well... You said I can't cook, so! This is better!" Bokuto scrutinized him for a moment before tucking himself close again. "It'll be the best keychain ever, and you're gonna put it on your bag instead."

"Yes, Bokuto." Leaning his head to the side, he silently winced at the hair spikes that poked his cheek. "Why are you doing that though? It's not like you're competing with them or anything."

"But I am!" Bokuto exclaimed, and Akaashi didn't so much as flinch at the volume. "Because I like Akaashi more!"

"You like me more than someone who wants to date me?"

"Duh, because I love Akaashi, obviously, and we're going to be married." Oh. My. God. Akaashi's body was beet red in seconds, and he felt Bokuto giggle against his neck.

"W-when did I agree to that?"

"When I was in kindergarten and I proposed? I offered you a tootsie pop instead of a ring? Don't you remember?"

"Bokuto I was four at the time, I don't remember all that much."

"But you said yes and made me a flower crown! That fell apart in seconds, and it was made of dandelions, but still!" All this worry, and for nothing? Bokuto had been in love with him since that long ago? Wait. Wait a second...

"Then why did you date other people?"

"Uuh."

"Kou-ta-rou..."

"Because I didn't know how to refuse her! And then I thought, maybe about kissing practice, and then..."

"Okay, enough." Shoving Bokuto gently back so he could see his face, he gave him a long, hard look. "If you mean it... Then confess."

"Keiji, of course I like you! I love you!"

"A proper confession, or nothing."

"Keiji... Uhm. I've never done this before, because you know, but." Bokuto dug around in his pockets, and pulled out a rumpled looking lollipop before offering it to Akaashi. "You've been with me every day of my life and all that, you're prettier than anyone else I've ever met, and I've loved you since forever, would you please go out with me?" Akaashi's eyes softened, and then he laughed. Bokuto stared at him, slightly offended, but mostly savoring how beautiful Akaashi looked when he was happy.

"Alright." Plucking the lollipop out of Bokuto's hands, his free hand curled around the back of Bokuto's neck and he softly pressed his first kiss against Bokuto's mouth. He pulled away slightly, resting their foreheads together as he gathered his thoughts. "You stupid owl, you should have asked ages ago. I was worried over nothing."

"But I did ask you ages ago!"

"Hush."