The next week passed at a marvellously slow rate.
Akaashi continuously moved from place to place, hoping to find some way to both pass the time and distract himself from the boy he had grown so close to.
So far, it hadn't worked very well.
He went to a museum with his sister and saw Bokuto walking across the street. He tried swimming at the beach, but was reminded of the night he had spent with Bokuto. Even his room wasn't safe, considering Bokuto was the one who had helped him to get comfortable in the unfamiliar house.
Akaashi hadn't realized how much time he spent with Bokuto until the most exciting thing he did one day was watch an entire season of Akina's favorite show with her. He had stopped helping out at the store Bokuto worked at, and now his days were empty.
It was lonely without Bokuto around so much.
He had grown so used to having him around all the time that he couldn't remember what it was like before they had met.
He hated to admit it, but he really missed Bokuto. It physically hurt him—as in, he could literally feel his heart clench when he thought about never seeing him again.
He missed him to badly that, on his last full day at the beach, he found himself crying.
Akaashi was standing in his room, staring down at his open drawer and the folded clothes inside it. His empty bag was unzipped and sitting on top of the dresser, ready for him to put his belongings back into it. Only, Akaashi didn't want to.
He had always hated packing. It didn't matter when, or where, or how long he was staying somewhere. He just hated packing his bags.
Right now, though, Akaashi had never, ever despised it more.
He didn't want to leave. He didn't want to leave this small town, he didn't want to leave the beach, and most of all, he didn't want to leave Bokuto.
The entire past week, he had been lying to himself, trying to convince himself that he had done the right thing by pushing Bokuto away. Leaving would hurt less if they didn't see each other again, right?
Again and again, he repeated that to himself like a mantra. But still, he found himself dabbing at his eyes rapidly, trying to wipe away his tears as they rolled down his face.
He had always hated this part of his trips.
Eventually, he sat down on the floor, clutching his knees to his chest as he cried quietly. He felt oddly strange crying, as if he were imposing on his own personality by showing his emotions.
He just didn't want to leave.
"Hey, Keiji, do you want to take a walk on the beach? Whoa, wait, what's wrong? Keiji?"
Akina walked into Akaashi's room without knocking and saw him on the floor. She kneeled next to him, placing a small hand on her brother's knee.
He picked up his head and wiped away his tears, nodding slowly. "A walk sounds great."
~~~
Akina danced around, kicking sand up in the air and twirling without a care in the world. A few feet behind her, Akaashi was walking calmly, fidgeting with his fingers just like he always did. Since they left the rental house, neither Akaashi nor his sister had brought up that he had been crying, though he knew Akina was curious about it (despite not acting like it).
The sun was dropping in the sky, bringing on the last sunset Akaashi would see there at the beach. A few grey clouds hung in the blue sky, floating aimlessly with the wind. By the horizon, the sky was turning shades of pink and purple as the sun slowly made its descent, and in front of it, the blue ocean was moving just as rhythmically as always, with shallow waves riding up and down the shoreline without doing anything more than just dragging bits of sand back into the water. The sound of the waves was calming to Akaashi, and he took a deep breath, trying to enjoy it all before his inevitable leave tomorrow.
The peaceful sound of the ocean was interrupted by Akina, who had stopped her animated walk to go to Akaashi's side and tug on the hem of his shirt, saying, "Keijiiii. What's going on?"
"Nothing," he mumbled. He wanted to get back to enjoying the sunset.
"That's not true!" Akina stomped one of her small, bare feet in the sand. "Something's wrong."
Akaashi chose to ignore her whines, even as she tugged so hard on his shirt he was worried it might rip.
"Is it Bokuto?"
This caught Akaashi's attention, and he turned to look down at Akina. He made brief eye contact with her, but her bright, sky-blue eyes were piercing into his ocean-colored ones which such intensity he had to look away, fearing that she would see too much of his soul if he let her stare for too long.
"Why haven't you seen him this week, Keiji?"
"I, um, thought it was better if we didn't hang out."
"What?" Akina cried, outraged. She sounded personally offended, almost as if Akaashi had said that about her, rather than Bokuto. "That's wrong! You two obviously like each other." She went quiet for a moment as her eyes grew wide, realization dawning on her. "Do you . . . do you love him?"
"N-no," Akaashi said quickly. "A month isn't long enough to fall in love with someone, Akina."
"Hmph." She tapped her foot in the sand impatiently. "What if you had more than a month? Do you think you could love him then?"
Akaashi kneeled down so their eyes were level. " . . . Maybe."
Akina gasped excitedly. She seemed extremely happy about her brother's vague answer, though he wasn't sure why. Suddenly, she grabbed his hand, pulling him back to his feet.
"Go find him! Go talk to him! Tell him you're sorry and that you like him! Gooo!"
"Akina, I can't just—"
The young girl grinned and let go of his hand, running back the way they came. "Go get your man!"
"Akina!"
Akaashi's yell fell on deaf ears, as Akina was already halfway across the short distance they had walked. She was going back to the beach house, leaving Akaashi alone in the sand.
He sighed, wishing Bokuto was there to stop him from fidgeting with his hands so much.
Suddenly, he was walking, his feet moving him forward without his permission. He wanted to stop, to turn around and go back to the house without seeing Bokuto, but another part of him needed him to keep moving forward.
So he did.
He knew exactly where to go.
Akaashi could feel his mixed emotions building up in his body—his heart swelling with joy, his stomach reeling with anxiety, his mind crawling with a strange mixture of both pain and love—all for Bokuto.
He needed to see him. Akaashi was so scared, so sad, so bittersweet about it, yet that didn't diminish the need at all. In the short time Bokuto had been in Akaashi's life, he had practically turned it upside down, changing so many things about it—all for the better.
Bokuto taught him that what mattered was the bond and memories you shared with people, even if they leave.
Akaashi couldn't have been more grateful to have met him. And then, with the brutal strength of a bullet train, Akaashi remembered that he had told Bokuto they shouldn't talk. He was the reason he hadn't seen Bokuto in almost a week, and that hurt. He felt so much guilt build up and root inside his stomach he almost had to stop running to be sick.
He hadn't even noticed that he'd started running.
Oh, how he needed to see him.
He kept moving forward.
As soon as he reached the cliff, he started sprinting, reaching the top as fast as he possibly could.
The sun was going down quickly, making the sky beautiful—but Akaashi, well, he didn't even notice. As soon as he saw the familiar head of white and black hair, he made a break for him, throwing his arms around the boy as soon as he reached him. (Luckily, he had been standing in the middle of the cliff rather than at the edge.)
There, back in Bokuto's arms, Akaashi felt himself unravel. All of his worries, his sadness, his bittersweet longing—every negative feeling dispersed, and he melted into Bokuto's touch.
"Akaashi?" Bokuto said, a pleasantly surprised glint in his tone. He returned the embrace without a moment's hesitation. "I thought you said—"
"I know." Akaashi's voice was muffled against Bokuto's shoulder. "I know. I'm sorry."
Bokuto pulled away from the hug to put their foreheads together. "It's okay, Akaashi."
Akaashi looked down to avoid meeting Bokuto's brilliant golden eyes. "God, I'm so sorry. I was being selfish and impulsive."
"You were trying to protect yourself. It's okay."
"No, it isn't, I—"
Bokuto put his hand on Akaashi's chin, gently making him look up. "It's really okay. I would never want you to get hurt."
"Thank you, Bokuto."
He placed a soft kiss on Akaashi's forehead. "God, I'm so glad to see you again," he whispered. "Can I . . . ask why? Why you came back? Aren't you scared you'll get hurt?"
Akaashi smiled softly, placing his hands on Bokuto's shoulders. Tears were collecting in his eyes, ready to spill out at any second. He wasn't quite sure if they were happy tears or sad ones, but he didn't care. He was there with Bokuto, and that was all that mattered.
"You're worth getting hurt for." Akaashi was quiet, his voice shaking slightly but still steady as he spoke. There was no doubt about it, he believed in his words with every fiber of his being. "Oh, God, Bokuto, you're so, so worth it. I would do anything to be with you, I don't care how much longer, but . . . I just want to be with you."
Bokuto brought his hands up to softly cup Akaashi's face, touching him so gently it felt like he was worried any contact might harm him.
"Me too," Bokuto said quietly. "Me too."
Akaashi smiled, a smile so bright and genuine and so uniquely him that Bokuto couldn't help but grin back, and then they were both beaming, just looking at each other and smiling because they were there, and they were together, and when they were together, they didn't have to think about the fact that Akaashi was leaving in less than sixteen hours.
And then a crazy idea popped into Akaashi's head, and his hand left Bokuto's shoulder to grab the collar of his shirt. Akaashi pulled Bokuto to him, and then he closed the small space between them by kissing him.
Akaashi had wanted this so very much. He'd wanted it since that night when they went swimming, when Bokuto had tried to kiss him—no, before that. He had wanted this since he met Bokuto, with his two-toned hair and captivating personality. And now, Akaashi finally had it.
Oh, how he loved it.
He was enjoying every second of this; the way Bokuto was kissing back just as eagerly as him, the blended colors of the sunset in the background, the soft breeze blowing around them, the way his hands had somehow made their way into Bokuto's hair. It was wonderful.
It pained him to pull away to breathe, but the soft whimper that escaped Bokuto made him giddy.
"You're amazing, you know that?" Bokuto said, his voice oh-so slightly hoarse.
"So are you."
Bokuto kissed him again. Akaashi smiled—it was just as wonderful as the first. As was the next, and the one after that, and every one that came after.
Akaashi loved this so much. He loved kissing Bokuto, and he never wanted this moment to end.
But, like all good things, it did.
And who was to blame?
Akaashi himself.
He had stopped Bokuto from kissing him by, once again, placing a hand in front of his mouth. Bokuto whined, and Akaashi looked away. He hadn't wanted to stop Bokuto, but he was scared. He was scared that if he didn't stop it, he would never stop wanting more, that he would never be satisfied with the way things were when he left, that he would never stop loving Bokuto and his kisses.
That may have been what he wanted.
The sun was far below the horizon by then. Bokuto walked over to the edge of the cliff and sat down, offering his hand to Akaashi so he could join him. He took it and carefully made his way over to the edge, taking a seat cautiously. His legs dangled over the cliff, making him nervous, so Akaashi scooted closer to Bokuto, holding onto his hand tighter.
Akaashi leaned his head on Bokuto's shoulder as they overlooked the ocean. "I don't want to leave," he whispered, voice breaking.
Bokuto kissed the top of Akaashi's head softly. "I don't want you to leave."
The words settled over them like a blanket, acting as a harsh reality check.
For a while, neither of them said anything. They just sat together and absorbed every bit of the moment—possibly the last they would be sharing with each other. Above them, the stars twinkled, looking down happily.
"Hey, Akaashi?" Bokuto said quietly.
"Yes?"
"Do you think we'll be able to see each other again once I graduate?"
"What do you mean?"
"After I graduate high school, do you think we can be close again? Maybe, I don't know, bring back whatever it is we have now?"
"I think I would like that a lot, Bokuto."
"Me too."
~~~
The next morning, Akaashi woke up in his room. After his eyes adjusted to the light, he stood up and instantly started putting his clothes from his drawer into his bag—he didn't even bother getting dressed in actual clothes. Nobody was going to stop him from wearing pajamas on the trip home.
This time, he didn't break down crying when he packed. Sure, he was bit sad as he relived the memory of Bokuto throwing his clothes into the single drawer, but it wasn't a crushing kind of sadness anymore. It was a fond memory now, one that Akaashi could actually smile about.
Maybe unpacking hadn't been such a bad thing after all.