words | akaashi keiji

worries.

"It's not time to worry yet."
Harper Lee

Akaashi was worried.

Granted, he was a worrier in general, so it wasn't too unusual.

But, that didn't mean he wasn't worried all the same. It had been almost two weeks since he heard from Mei, but he was too scared to contact her.

He had contacted her after she was supposed to return from her vacation, but she never responded or followed through, so he grew scared to contact her again.

While he didn't want to admit it, he was scared that he had lost her. Lost her when he had just gotten her back.

What else was he supposed to think when she was whisked away on a weekend getaway with Hyodo? And then she stopped responding after?

For all he knew, she could have decided she didn't like him at all. He sure hoped that wasn't the case.

So, when Bokuto invited him to go drinking with the team, Akaashi decided why not. He figured he could use the distraction, and it had been a while since he last saw Bokuto as well.

This brought him to a bar that he recognized from a few of the other team outings. It wasn't too different from the bar he would drink at with Mei and Sho, but for some reason he wished he was at that one instead.

"Akaashi!" Bokuto greeted him excitedly, running to meet him and lift him into a tight hug. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too."

"I saved the seat next to me. Please sit with me," Bokuto basically begged, and Akaashi smiled to himself before nodding his approval.

When he arrived at the reserved table, Akaashi's feet stopped moving on their own, making him stand at the end of the table awkwardly.

"Hey!" Kuroo greeted, waving with a smile that Akaashi would have focused on if not for the man beside him.

He should have known Hyodo would be there. It made complete sense for him to be, and Akaashi knew that Hyodo always went drinking with the team. But for some reason, he hadn't considered the possibility of seeing him.

It was strange, seeing Hyodo in a situation where Mei was not also with them.

Realizing that he had been standing silently for far too long, Akaashi finally blinked back into focus, offering a wave to everyone at the table.

"Ah, hello, Kuroo."

"Took you long enough! Get over here," Kuroo scoffed before using his thumb to point at an open seat.

"Kuroo, what are you doing? I said I was sitting next to Akaashi." Bokuto spoke up from Akaashi's side, making him turn his head to look at him.

"I can sit between you two," Akaashi offered quickly, preparing to sit before he could embarrass himself further.

"Well, that won't work." Kuroo frowned, and the table groaned before looking at him. "What? I wanted to be next to Bokuto too."

"Just fucking sit somewhere, I swear–" Atsumu began passionately, cutting himself off when he heard Hinata give him a shh. "Are you shushing me?"

"Yes. What are you gonna do about it?"

Akaashi lifted his brows at the various conversations, until finally he took a seat next to Bokuto, who had Kuroo on his other side.

With his luck, he ended up with Hyodo to his right.

For their first round, the men were simply sharing a pitcher, so Akaashi grabbed hold of his glass before bringing it to his lips and downing a quarter.