"(y/n)! There's a pretty boy from class 6 looking for you!"
A small smile escaped your lips as you spotted the raven-haired boy with blue eyes by the doorway: your boyfriend, Akaashi Keiji. Ever since you two started dating a month ago, it'd become a daily routine: he'd come to pick you up from your classroom and you'd accompany him to volleyball practice to watch for a bit. While you two hadn't exactly gotten to the stage of physical intimacy yet, holding hands and being in each other's comfortable company was enough, for you at least.
Even though it was autumn and the air felt colder than usual, whenever Akaashi grasped your hand with his warm ones or lent you his scarf, you couldn't help but feel your heart skip a beat and your face flush up, banishing the cold in an instant.
Today, you weren't exactly in the greatest of moods. You had just gotten your math test back, and let's just say . . . it wasn't exactly ideal. With midterms coming up soon, your math grade was at a high risk of taking a turn for the worse. It didn't help that you were in a college-prep class so of course the material was especially harder.
It was safe to say that math was probably your worst subject. During lectures, there were a concerning number of times when the concepts left your head spinning, and you just wanted to scream at the teacher, are you even speaking Japanese?!
Which brings you to the miserable state you are in now. You tried not to let your face give away your inner distress as you greeted Akaashi and walked with him to volleyball practice.
On the other hand, the setter noticed your unusual quietness. You were always the one to initiate the conversation, and now there was a heavy silence. He thought about asking you if everything was fine but decided otherwise, you would tell him once you were comfortable.
Once the two of you reached the front of the gym, you let go of Akaashi's hand.
"Akaashi... I don't think I can join you today, I'm going to the library for a bit. Text me when you're done, okay?" You turned and left without hearing his reply, leaving Akaashi alone with his thoughts.
He was taken aback at first because you had always accompanied him to practice and stayed to watch while you did homework.
Maybe I did something to upset her? That might explain why she looked down. Is it because I still call her by her last name? Is it because I don't give her public displays of affection? Or maybe--
"Agaashiii~" The captain of the volleyball team, Bokuto, walked up and swung an arm around him. " 'Sup bro!"
Upon receiving no response from his vice-captain, Bokuto leaned closer to inspect Akaashi. "You good there? Your face is pale. Don't tell me, are you sick?!" He let out a dramatic gasp.
Akaashi grimly turned to his captain. "Bokuto-san . . . I didn't think there would be a day where it'd come down to this but . . . I need your advice."
"UWOAHH!!" Bokuto's hair immediately spiked up as if electrocuted. "AGAAASHI NEEDS MY ADVICE?!"
Akaashi deadpanned at him.
"Ahem, I mean—What words of wisdom does thou seek from me, O dear kouhai?"
Akaashi rolled his eyes but continued, trying to give as little detail as possible, knowing that Bokuto would probably try to get himself involved somehow. "So uh . . . what do you think it means when someone who hangs out with you all the time suddenly grows distant?"
"Is this about (y/n)?" Bokuto asked cheerfully without missing a beat.
Akaashi visibly flinched. "Y-Yes."
"Well, what happened?"
Akaashi fidgeted with his fingers. "(y/n) was uncharacteristically quiet today and went straight to the library instead of watching our practices as usual."
Bokuto tilted his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. " ...That's it?"
"What do you mean 'That's it,' this isn't normal at all. There must be some hidden meaning," Akaashi insisted indignantly.
Bokuto rested his hands on his hips and sighed as if he were dealing with a child throwing a tantrum. "Listen, Agaashi—"
"Akaashi"
"—Akaashi, lemme ask you something: did you do anything to possibly make (y/n) upset?"
Akaashi frowned. "No, not that I can think of anything."
"Then there's nothing to worry about! (y/n) probably just has a major exam to study for, midterms are coming up after all. You overthink things too much bro, take it easy." He reassuringly slapped Akaashi's back.
As much sense as Bokuto made(surprisingly), Akaashi couldn't help but still feel worry knot deep down.
"But what if—"
"No what-ifs!" Bokuto shook his head forcefully. "If you're still worried, then just ask! Communication is key in relationships; you should know that by now considering you've been dating for a month!"
For once, Akaashi couldn't argue back against Bokuto. Of course, how could he forget the easiest solution to his worries? Once again, he was reminded that although his upperclassman wasn't exactly the brightest, he certainly still possessed some semblance of common sense.
"But Bokuto-san, you don't actually have any dating experience, do you?"
"SHUT UP, AGAAASHIII!!"
✧ ✦ ✧
Akaashi Keiji: Practice just ended, I'll meet you at the library
After three hours of nonstop studying, seeing your boyfriend's text was like a refreshing wave of water. You quickly packed up your bag and rushed out to meet him.
As the two of you walked towards the metro station, you suddenly stopped and turned to Akaashi. You breathed in nervously since you had never done this before.
"Akaashi . . . can I hug you?"
Without saying anything, Akaashi simply wrapped his arms around you, enveloping you in a warm hug. Even though he'd just got off from practice, there wasn't the unpleasant smell of sweat still lingering. In response, you wrapped your hands around his back and buried your face into his chest. Suddenly, the feelings of stress you'd been feeling all day melted away, like warm sunshine thawing snow. The two of you stayed in the hug for a good moment, embracing each other's warmth.
Maybe it was the way he'd noticed your distress and simply hugged you instead. Maybe it was the way he gently held you like you were something precious, that made you feel like you were falling for him all over again.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He eventually murmured, gently patting your head.
"...I failed the recent math test, and now I'm scared I will also fail the math midterms." You stayed buried in his chest, afraid he'd make fun of you.
As one of the smartest students of your year, Akaashi probably found the reason you've been worrying all day absurd. Heck, you were even willing to bet that he probably doesn't know what a failing grade is.
A small chuckle escaped him, but not for the reason you thought. "You should've told me earlier, that I can help you study."
It felt like a heavy burden was lifted off your chest. You raised your head at him, surprised. "R-Really? You'd do that for me?"
"Of course." He smiled down warmly. "If you're free, you can come over to my house and I'll help you."
You have never felt luckier to have Akaashi as your boyfriend. With him by your side, you felt like everything was going to be fine.
✧ ✦ ✧
"When you solve for the limit of this expression, for example, you can apply L'Hopital's Rule because the numerator and denominator both evaluate to infinity."
You and Akaashi have been studying math for an hour at his house now. While you already felt like your head was going to burst, Akaashi continued to diligently tutor you as if this was second nature to him. You couldn't help but find him so attractive whenever he was so focused on the task at hand, whether it was volleyball or his studies.
As shallow as it sounds, his attractive features were what caught your eye in the first place. Even now, the way his dark blue eyes drifted over the paper, the way his lanky, calloused fingers fidgeted, the way his black hair was messy yet charming(seriously, how?)—
He was a beautiful piece of artwork, and you were deeply mesmerized.
". . . so now you take the derivative of the top and bottom—" Akaashi broke off, noticing your staring at him. His eyelashes flickered ever so slightly as he blinked in surprise. "Is something wrong?"
Yeah, you're so pretty it's distracting—wait what?
Caught off guard, you hastily averted your eyes. A hot wave of embarrassment washed over you. Several scenarios were running through your mind: you could play it off and say you were just dozing off, you could say that there was a bug on Akaashi's face and that's why you were staring. Or, perhaps, a better alternative would be to apologize for being distracted and divert the subject away to something else.
Taking all of these ideas into consideration, you said, "You look hot."
Well, you weren't lying.
The room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Oh... right now seemed like a good time for the ground to swallow you.
Akaashi dropped his pencil in surprise. Flustered by your words, he cleared his throat and looked away. It was a well-known fact that he was a very intelligent and perceptive person, but even he couldn't have anticipated this outcome.
"(y/n)-san, focus on the task at hand. I don't want you to fail your midterms," he eventually forced out, but despite sounding calm and composed, you noticed Akaashi's ears were dusted pink.
You pouted, not letting the chance escape. "I can't help but be distracted when we're sitting this close to each other. It's unfair that I'm the only one who feels like my heart's going to burst while you're so calm and collected."
A silence followed with Akaashi looking dumbfounded. He opened and closed his mouth several times as if he were searching for the right words to respond with.
Eventually, you heard him murmur, "Who said you were the only way feeling that way?"
"What do you—"
You were abruptly broken off when Akaashi leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against yours while cupping your cheek with his warm hand. You were so taken aback that all you could do was freeze on the spot like a deer caught in headlights.
Oh, how his long eyelashes fluttered ever so slightly before catching your lips with his soft ones. A dainty pink hue made its way onto his cheeks, adorning his slender, pale face.
What the heck...he just became even more attractive, if possible.
Akaashi leaned away, his face flushed bright crimson. "I meant to ask if I could kiss you first...I've been holding myself back this whole time."
Your heart fluttered at his words. You smiled, marveling at how cute Akaashi looked when he was flustered. In response, you leaned forward and reciprocated the kiss.
Akaashi never finished explaining the math problem, but oh well. That didn't matter at the moment anymore—there was a more important task to focus on for now.