"Are you... okay?" I asked, my voice edged with concern as the white and black haired man before me completely froze up at my words. "Bokuto-san?"
I gently nudged his shoulder, but he just continued to stare at me with a red, surprised face and wide, golden eyes.
Awkwardly, I glanced at Kenma for moral support. He was being continuously pushed by Bokuto's cat, his grinning face nuzzling the calico feline dominantly. I gave a grim smile and turned back to look at Bokuto.
I took a deep breath before trying my hardest to strike up a conversation. "Um, so, Bokuto-san, let's get to know each other more," I suggested, leaning forward to make sure my words could be heard. "Is 'Bokuto' your... surname?"
Bokuto was stiff in his movements but nodded ever so slightly. "..yeah."
"What's your first name?"
At this, Bokuto suddenly became much more energetic. "Kotaro!" he nearly shouted. "Oh- ahem, my first name is Kotaro. You know, you can call me Kotaro is you want!"
I bit my lip. It felt so wrong to start calling someone by their first name right after you met them, but I didn't want to refuse for some reason. Because I definitely wanted to call him that. "Kotaro-san? It doesn't roll off my tongue," I muttered to myself.
"Drop the honorific titles, Aghaashee! Just 'Kotaro!'"
I hesitated for a second. "...Ko... Kotaro."
...
"ahshluashduhlisdsufisfhuhu," Bokuto shouted, cupping his cheeks with his hands and slapping them lightly. "That's- oh my God, ahh! iahlahdushdhailhdshalszd Σ>―(〃°ω°〃)♡→(*¯ ³¯*)♡" He buried a flushed face in his hands. "ijahlhlshhsuiah ahh, holy fucking shit- you're so adorable, Akghaashieeee!!"
I was confused at first, tipping my head to the side. But eventually, his embarassed, blushing reaction made me smile. He was cute. I let out a small laugh, closing my eyes. "Thank you-"
I opened my eyes to find him staring at me eagerly. "...Kotaro. Thank you, Kotaro," I finished quietly.
Before I knew it, the taller male sprung towards me, wrapping my body in his embrace. "Ahh!! ♡＼(￣▽￣)／♡ (っ˘з(˘⌣˘ ) ♡" It surprised me. But I smiled anyway. He pulled away, placing his arms sturdily on my shoulders. "Okay, does that mean I can call you 'Keiji' ??"
Our faces were quite close apart, but I tried to ignore that. "Of course you can," I replied softly. "But..." I looked away, specifically at Kenma for more moral support. "...you don't have to."
"hfshlikhdsufhisfk I'm obviously going to!! Keiji~ Keiji~" Bokuto sang, shaking my shoulders. "Keiji~~~ how old are you??"
"That was..." I laughed a bit, looking back at Bokuto, "a sudden change of topic, but okay. I'm 24."
"WOwowowowoow I'm 25!!" Bokuto shook my shoulders more vigorously. "I'm older than you!! Does that give me topping privileges??"
"Age doesn't affect topping privileges," I scoffed, looking away once again, but this time, not only for even more additional moral support from Kenma, but also to hide the gradual blush growing warmer on my face.
***
"BO-CHAN" a brunet came to halt at where we sat, two glasses of water in his hands. "How is your date going?? Ooh, is this your boyfriend??" He set the two glasses on the table.
"Oikawa, this is Keiji Akaashi," Bokuto gestured at me. "See how pretty he is???"
"Yes! Oh my God, he's beautiful," Oikawa put his hands over his lips and stared at me with a beaming face. "Okay, so, hi~ I'm Tooru Oikawa- you know, I kind of work here so if you need anything, ask me!"
"Of course, Oikawa-san," I nodded politely, giving a smile. "Thank you very much."
"Ahh- your boyfriend's so polite! I wish I could relate ToT" Oikawa pretended to shed a tear. I would have told him that I actually his boyfriend yet, but I had the odd feeling it would ruin the entire mood. "Bo-chan!! You and Aka-chan should have a double date with me and my boyfriend!!"
"Yeah- wait, what the fuck- you have a boyfriend??" Bokuto's eyebrows furrowed as he stared up at the brown-haired employee.
"Yes, I do! I told you about him before! What are you, an idiot?"
"You never told me before, what are you talking about?!"
It was awkward having Bokuto and his friend argue in front of me, so I took a sip of the iced water Oikawa had put on the table. Cold droplets ran down the sides of the glass and wet my fingertips as I held the drink.
"I obviously did tell you, but you were too caught up in the idea of fucking Aka-chan to notice!! Some friend you are, Bo-chan! 凸( ' ﾛ ' )凸"
I sniffed, blinking. I pretended not to hear anything they were saying.
"But you never told me!"
"I told you on the phone call you took to reserve a spot!! Do you not remember?!"
"Well- Jesus, just tell us who it is."
"Hmph," Oikawa pouted, before fixing his hair in his reflection on the window. "His name's Iwaizumi."
I nearly spit out my drink but in the process of trying to stop myself from spitting it out, I choked instead. What the fuck? Iwaizumi had a boyfriend? Well, I knew that- but Oikawa was his boyfriend??? What the fuck was the world I lived in? It's the smallest fucking world I've ever seen, yet 95% of the Earth's ocean still hasn't been explored.
"Woah- are you okay, Keiji?" Bokuto put a hand on my back to stop me from dying, even though it didn't help in any way possible.
"imfinedontworryaboutme," I coughed, wiping my lip with my arm. "itsnotlikeiworkwithhimoranythingwhatdoyoumean"
"Ooh~ first name basis already?" Oikawa snickered in the background. "Oh! Bo-chan! You should show him your photos!!"
"Photos?" I asked quietly.
"Yeah! Bo-chan's a freelance nature photographer!!" Oikawa nodded eagerly. "His pictures are so pretty~ I just want to kiss them!" He put his fingers to his pursed lips and popped open his palms. "Mwah!!"
"Ew, no," Bokuto was already on his phone though, scrolling through the many images saved on his phone. "Oh, here's one you might like, Keiji!" He handed me his phone and I was greeted with the intense golden gaze of a white-horned owl. The owl's wings were spread open, snow dusting around it's fluffy body. It sat on a branch looming high above the white, blanketed ground. A steady yet weak stream of light sneaked into the corners of the image, leaving an iridescent shine on the owl's large, white and beautiful wings. It was a majestic photo.
"Do you like it?" Bokuto asked, looking up at me with similar, yellow irises, eager for my answer.
"I do. It's beautiful," I answer, still staring down at the photo.
"Exactly!" Oikawa squealed. "Does it make you want to kiss it too, Aka-chan?"
I paused for a second, trying to figure out what to say. "I suppose so," I muttered, finally handing over the phone to Bokuto, who simpered, embarrassed.
"Awww, you're too kind, babe~~"
"I know right!" Oikawa exclaimed. "He has so many other pictures like that! They're just so good, right?!"
I laughed a bit as Kenma nudged my leg with his nose beside me. I draped my fingers over his fur, rubbing at his head. "I guess," I nodded.
That was a lie. Why would I kiss it because it looked good?
I'd kiss it because it looked like Bokuto.
...
oh shit that's gay-
new chapter :)
ok, but like actually, whenever i find that somebody has commented or voted on one of these chapters, it makes me so happy i can't even explain itttttt
thank you so much for everybody reading and supporting this story! it means so much to me!
-lexi