Marked (BokuAka)

33. Thunder

Bokuto's POV:

Akaashi's eyes stared into his own, and if Bokuto wasn't in love, he would've fallen in love all over again. "Akaashi," He whispered, staring at him. The other boy nodded, a smile on his lips. It was sweet, bitter, sugar-coated and lemony.

Why do you do these things to me? Why do I want to kiss you just to find out what your lips taste like? Why do I want to feel your hot breath and whisper under the moonlit skies, and why do I want to bring you to every place I love so I can see what you think? Bokuto knew why. He'd known for days. He was hopelessly, outrageously smitten with Akaashi.

"I love you." He mumbled, tears still slipping down his burning cheeks. "Akaashi, I–" But as the words slipped out of his mouth, softer than rose petals, he felt the thorns digging into his tongue.

The boy in front of him didn't move, still trapped in his thoughts. As much as Bokuto loved Akaashi's thought traps, his constant thinking, he really wished Akaashi had heard that one sentence.

He leaned further into Bokuto, the faint smile remaining on his lips. The sight was one to behold, something he didn't usually get to see.

Boiling through his happiness, however, was pure, incessant anger. Stomach twisting, the image of Akane's lifeless, bleeding body hung in his head, and the word she just kept... echoing. On repeat.

She.

She.

She.

Akane's mother didn't seem to care. Yes, that may be how she coped, but at least respect your child enough to listen to one of their last requests.

And Bokuto knew he was supposed to regret it. He was supposed to bow his head in shame at his outburst, at his lack of self-control. How many times had his mother told him to remember that? How many times has his father asked him to apologize?

But they were wrong. At least, in this scenario. Because that woman deserved to be yelled at because she disrespected her deceased child without remorse. And, honestly, Bokuto was proud. Yes, Akaashi's announcement of his pride was beautiful. It made his heart sing and his heart twist in a lovely, painful way. But Bokuto was also proud of his shouting. Bokuto, for once, was proud of his ability to yell out that he was mad.

"Akaash," He whispered into Akaashi's ear, the black hair tickling his upper lip. "I know that was kind of a bust, but we did learn something. Akane's father is on the police force, and working the case."

Akaashi leaned away, and Bokuto clenched his hands to stop them from pulling him closer again. "You're right! Washio mentioned something about that during my notes about his interview, but I didn't think it was important." He held Bokuto's sleeve in his fist, tugging at it. Bokuto turned to look at him, Akaashi's face currently like that of a puppy who just got a new toy. It was adorable. "Why don't we go over his interview notes again? If we do that, we might find some information regarding Akane's relationship with their parents."

He grinned at Akaashi, and pulled him close again, this time in a victory hug. Bokuto had expected him to pull away, but he remained there, a big smile plastered onto his face. Akaashi was biting his lip, seemingly an attempt to rein in his emotions, but it wasn't working. The anticipation shone off of his skin plain as day.

Raindrops snaked down his hair, dripping into his shirt. "You're just hugging me because you want to stay dry." Bokuto snickered, realizing the smaller boy's plot.

"No." Akaashi drew out the 'o' sound, squinting at Bokuto. "I'm not, see?" He pushed away, sitting with his arms crossed. Just as he did so, a crack of thunder roared, and the skies opened with rain. Within seconds, the rain soaked both of them. Akaashi sighed, rolling his eyes as he stared cursedly at the dark clouds. "Stupid sky. It plotted that."

"Yeah, fuck you, sky!" Bokuto shook his fist upwards, mock-glaring. Another clap of thunder echoed in response, and the two of them laughed.

"We should probably go inside."

Similar words to the ones Akaashi had said before on their run. And, again, Bokuto didn't want to comply. He wanted to grab Akaashi and spin him in a circle and dance underneath the falling rain. But as much as he wanted to say so, as much as he wanted to try again and say those three life-changing words, he couldn't.

Love made you do stupid things and made you stop doing things you really wanted.

Like kissing certain absurdly pretty boys whose eyes light up like the sky during a lightning storm.

Much like the sky right now.

"Oh no."

Branches of lightning jumped out of the canopy of clouds, and Bokuto smacked his lips before glancing at Akaashi. He was staring overhead, lips curled in a blissful smile.

This is going to be absolutely idiotic. He's probably going to say no. "Akaashi." He turned to look at Bokuto, head tilted questioningly. "May I have this dance?" He offered his hand towards Akaashi, silently begging.

He's going to say no. Akaashi opened his mouth, and Bokuto winced in fear. "Yes."

A/N: Yay, more cuteness! Even I'm starting to wonder where the angst went.