Friday came in the blink of an eye.
The sun was out, beaming down on everyone as students and faculty spent lunch outside. They decided to repeat the incentive of the year prior: barbecue. Despite the blazing heat, everyone was in great spirits as they grilled veggies and meat.
Y/N laughed at whatever Kenma had said, leaning into his side and looking out on the field. The two were under the comfortable shade of the walkways of the campus, choosing not to torture themselves with the heat. Y/N didn't really mind being out there, but she knew Kenma wouldn't want to do much out there besides grab food.
Y/N continued to listen to Kenma speak, reacting when appropriate. A hum of acknowledgment here, a giggle there. He had just started to talk about another cat he and Kuroo might adopt when he suddenly stopped talking. Y/N waited a couple of seconds before looking up, catching Kenma's eyes and the concerned look on his face. She opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it.
"You guys really haven't spoken since Tuesday?"
A frown immediately found its way to Y/N's face. She scanned the people in front of them, eyes landing on her best friend. "Nope," she sighed, propping her head up on her hand, elbow digging into her knee. The anger she witnessed that night was gone the next day. Since then, he just looked.. sad. Guilty. The team acted like nothing had happened, while Y/N did everything she could to avoid speaking to him directly. "Does that make me petty? I mean, he was kind of a dick. I get him being mad and moody, but did I even do anything to make him so mad at me?"
Kenma thought for a while, hand on Y/N's shoulder to let her know he was still there. "No, not petty. Petty would be if you didn't know each other well, and you were holding it against him. But he's your best friend, and he was very much a dick."
Y/N turned to look back at him, a knowing look on her face. "And the second 'but'?"
"You haven't really given him the chance to apologize." Kenma breathed a laugh, thinking back on the last few days. "It must have been quite a feat ignoring the captain of your team." A shrug and pained laughter was the only response he received. Kenma leaned back in towards his friend and rested his cheek on her shoulder. "Talk to him tonight. You'll be miserable all weekend if you don't."
Kenma smiled to himself when he eventually felt Y/N nod, her cheek rested atop his head.
Akaashi sighed against Y/N's mouth, fingers digging into her hips, effectively pinning her against the wall. He felt dizzy, breath completely taken away. He could feel every point of contact between himself and his girlfriend, hyperaware of the warmth and pressure. He wasn't sure how long they had been kissing, but somehow, he regained his train of thought and had half the mind to pull away.
He hummed as Y/N continued to place kisses along his jaw, tugging gently at his hair at the same time. He let her do as she pleased, breathing deeply in attempt compose himself. Once his mind wasn't foggy, he brought his hands up to cup Y/N's face, placing one last long, sweet kiss to her lips.
"Baby, you can't use me as a distraction." His tone left little for argument.
"Like hell I can't," Y/N retorted. Yet, she obliged, backing off and leaning her head against the wall, eyes closed. "Sorry."
Akaashi shook his head despite not being looked at, taking a step back and grabbing her hands in his. He let the silence settle, opting to give her the space to recollect herself. He looked around the empty classroom, breath getting caught in his throat when he saw Ennoshita pass the window as he walked down the hallway.
"Go talk to him." Y/N opened one eye, looking at her boyfriend through her lashes. She watched as Keiji pointed out into the hall. "He's here. Go talk to him. And I'm not taking no for an answer," he said, a little too eager. The students had been sent to collect their things to load onto the bus. There was very little time before they all went home. And Y/N wouldn't even be leaving with Karasuno.
Y/N barely processed what was going on when she stumbled into the hallway, a few yards behind Chikara and their second years. Chikara turned around at the noise and immediately stopped in his tracks. He excused himself from the other boys and walked towards the couple.
If not for her boyfriend's hands on her shoulder, Y/N was sure she would have turned around. Walked out right of the building. She would have found Kenma, or Nishinoya and Tanaka. She would have gone up to someone and acted like there was no conversation to be had.
It's then that she realized that was the same thing she was doing with her parents. It was easier to be mad, to act like things were fine despite the tension of unresolved emotions. She'd much rather feel the discomfort of anger and annoyance than have a conversation. Avoidance was easier than the thought of confrontation and risk the chance if rejection. Though not the most reasonable conclusion, that's what this all felt like. Rejection. Rejecting the idea of trusting her, of being considerate of her.
She was silent as her best friend spoke to her boyfriend, voices muffled to her ears. She didn't react as Keiji placed a kiss on her forehead, nor when she's pulled back into the classroom.
Ennoshita's eyes were teary as he apologized, composure mostly intact. He stopped a few times to clear his throat, trying his best not to turn the situation into one where he's the one being apologized to.
He continued on with a detailed explanation of the conversation he'd had with his ex. Y/N silently listened, wiping away the seemingly continuous stream of tears. With every word, the heat of her anger cooled, and the ache soothes. Despite knowing that he was entitled to his feelings, no matter what way she explained it to herself, her mind refused to not be mad at him.
"I know I fucked up by speaking to you the way I did," Ennoshita said finally, standing up straight from against the desk he was leaned up on. "It was stupid, and I know there's no excuse."
Y/N sighed and looked down at her shoes. "It's not like you cussed me out, dingus." She breathed out a bitter laugh. "You're right. You were mean, and it fucking sucked to be on the other end of your negative feelings." She swallowed the lump in her throat, so badly wanting to call her parents in that moment. "But I was in the wrong too. I didn't want to have this conversation and avoided you at every turn. And that's not fair to you. Or me. I was causing us both more pain than necessary."
Chikara nodded, reaching over to rub her shoulder. "You forget how well I know you. I figured this would happen. I just should have never put you in that position."
Y/N allowed him to hug her, hugging her best friend back. After a brief few minutes of catching up, Y/N excused herself to call her parents. Maybe now wasn't the best time, but it felt like the conversation couldn't wait.
Y/N didn't say much on the bus ride back to Fukurodani Academy. She politely said goodbye to the players she was familiar with and hugged the managers goodbye. But as soon as her back was turned, her entire face fell. The weight of the conversation she had with her parents was heavy despite going well. Though she wanted to believe she was grown, that only she could determine what was in her best interest, she realized she still had tons of growing up to do.
She felt guilty from the way she began to doubt her relationship. What were they doing trying to act like adults? They were both barely beginning to really live. They weren't even truly independent, still living with their parents and off of their income. They attended school and had many years of schooling still ahead of them. Was all of this in her best interest? Was Akaashi in her best interest? Was she his?
Y/N was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't realize Akaashi had been calling her name until the smooth rumbling of the car stopped.
The two had been together for nearly a year. They spent so much time together, it would be absolutely absurd if Akaashi hadn't noticed the change her demeanor since after he had left her to have her conversation with Ennoshita. It'd be even crazier if he hadn't noticed the tears that fell since they pulled out of the school parking lot.
Akaashi didn't want to pry, allowing her to have her moment with her friend to herself. But this was different. Ennoshita looked a million times better when he walked out of the building, but with no Y/N in tow.
"Keiji? Where-" Y/N stopped at the sound of her voice. She sounded so hoarse. She was very aware of how wet her cheeks were, lifting the collar of her shirt to wipe her face. "I hadn't even noticed we were getting near the house," she whispered, coughing slightly to clear her throat.
Keiji could only offer her a soft smile. "Well, we're here. C'mon, lets get you in bed." He insisted on grabbing all their bags they brought back from camp, carefully walking up the driveway and putting everything down as gently as possible in the entranceway. Luckily it would be just the two of them for the time being, so there was no worry about it disturbing anyone.
"Hungry?" Y/N shook her head as she disappeared into the kitchen. Akaashi tilted his head before following behind her. He smiled when he saw Y/N smile at the sight of Light, his cat. He reached into the fridge, grabbing a large water bottle and a bottled smoothie. "Are you sure, babe?" He closed the fridge once he heard the soft 'I'm sure', going towards the dining table and setting both drinks down. He hid his knowing smirk when his girlfriend immediately grabbed the smoothie.
Y/N took a few sips, the sugars from the blended fruits soothing the on edge feeling she'd felt stuck with for the past hour or so. She gave one last chin scratch to Light before standing straight up. The week weighed heavy on her it felt like she just needed to scrub and scrape it all off.
"Kei, I'm gonna go shower." She takes in a steadying breath before continuing on. "I think I'd like to sleep in the guest room."
Keiji just stared at her, a weird feeling stirring in his chest. It took a lot not to immediately ask why and get over the shock. This didn't have to mean anything negative. It didn't have to be personal. Space was healthy.
Before he could spin himself into a spiral, Akaashi responded. "Alright, baby. Whatever you want." Though, he couldn't really help himself. "Is everything alright? Did I-"
"No! Not at all," Y/N said quickly, walking over to him. She kneeled in front of him, grabbing his face and pulling him down for a kiss. "No, love. You didn't do anything. I just..." Keiji gently stroked her cheekbone with his thumb, breathing out a quiet sigh of relief. "I feel very overwhelmed. I spoke with Chikara and my parents, and while everything went well, I think ignoring things for so long gave me so many more things to process at once."
Keiji nodded and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I'm sorry. You owe me no explanation." He pulled away and gave her a warm smile. "But thank you for telling me. I can get everything ready for you in there while you shower."
Y/N stood and held a hand out for him, hugging him tightly. "Leave me one of your hoodies?" She smiled hearing his laugh. "Maybe we can watch our show before bed?"
Y/N could only shake her head as her boyfriend ran away into the hallway of the bedrooms.
"Hurry up and get in that shower!"
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hihi (proofread but not really sorry lol)
i was actually worried no one would read last chapter but reads have slowly been going uppp. i should have expected it after being so inactive and like it makes sense but im a worrywart. but tbh i like writing enough that i think id be okay if no one read? IDK but i appreciate those who do read <3
LMAO okay anyways yeah so new chapter yayayayyyy. how's everyone? 2024 is upon us... mine has been a bit all over the place
no recs for the week bc my interests are also all over the place. stream ATEEZ
vote and comment any feedback/predictions/random thoughts <3
dont forget to check out my other works :)xx