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Chapter Text

They had been playing volleyball together for two years. Coincidentally that was also how long it had taken Akaashi to fall in love with Bokuto. Or more specifically, how long it had taken Akaashi to realize he had fallen in love with Bokuto. Akaashi couldn’t believe his luck. Not only had he fallen in love with Bokuto, whose first and only love would probably only ever be volleyball, but he had realized it much too late. In a month, Bokuto would graduate and Akaashi would still be here. He chuckled at the absurdity of it all. 

“What’s so funny, Akaashi?” 

Akaashi opened his mouth to lie to Bokuto but before he could say anything, Bokuto was talking again. “You know what was really funny? The look on Washio’s face when I hit that line shot today. Did you see it, Akaashi?” 

This time, Akaashi didn’t bother to try answering. It had become something of a routine for Akaashi and Bokuto. They often walked home together after practice, especially since more often than not, they were the last two people in the gym. They spent most of their walks home with Akaashi listening to Bokuto talk about all the ‘cool’ things he had done during practice. Which, of course, Akaashi had seen all of them. Even when he wasn’t looking directly at Bokuto, because he was focused on other parts of the court, he was still looking at Bokuto. Akaashi was surprised that anyone could ever stop looking at Bokuto when he was on a volleyball court. To him, Bokuto was the sun of the court and everyone else was revolving around him. 

“Plus, my cross shot was looking super sharp today. Even Komi was having a hard time digging it. I’m glad, I’m not the only third year who is still coming to practice even though the season is over. Although, I do come more than everyone else. I probably shouldn’t come so much. Right, Akaashi?  I definitely need to study more. If only I was as good at school as I am at volleyball. Speaking of being good at volleyball, do you want to hang out with Kuroo and Kenma this weekend? Oh, but Kuroo is probably studying and Kenma probably has some new game he wants to play. Maybe we could go over to Kuroo’s place and study. And then we could take a break and play volleyball.”

Akaashi fought to keep the smile off his face. It was always like this. Bokuto asked Akaashi a lot of questions without giving him time to answer them. Of course, the answer was usually yes. Of course, sometimes Akaashi was left in the dark about things that he had “agreed” to do. So it would sometimes come as a surprise when Bokuto texted him on a Saturday morning to remind him that they had plans with Kuroo or that Akaashi had agreed to help him practice spiking or honestly any number of crazy ideas. Akaashi had quickly learned to keep his Saturday’s open for Bokuto. 

Usually, Akaashi only heard about half of the things Bokuto said on their walks home, preferring instead to listen to the excited hitch that always seemed to be present in everything he said. Akaashi wasn’t even sure that Bokuto was sure what he was talking about half the time. Akaashi promised himself he was going to listen more, starting now.

“Man, I can’t believe graduation is only a month away. It feels weird. Although, I guess not that much is going to change. Except, I’ll get to play volleyball even more than I do now. Practice for the U-19 team is going to start right after graduation. That’s really exciting. Although I’ll miss your sets, Akaashi. Gah!” 

Akaashi was startled by the weird noise Bokuto had made and he turned his head to get a better look at Bokuto’s face. His face was determined but at the same time he looked like he was ready to burst out of his skin. 

“I wish we could practice some more now! I really want to work on my wipes. Hoshiumi was really good at wipes. Oh speaking of really good, Atsumu is good at spike servers and jump floaters. Do you think I should learn how to do a jump floater? Then I would really be the best. I wonder if Ushijima is working on a jump floater. If he does that, then he might be the best. I can’t let him beat me.”

Akaashi just shook his head. He would never stop being amazed at Bokuto’s endless supply of energy or his constant need for more. Akaashi could feel his disappointment increasing as his surroundings became more and more familiar to him. They had almost reached his house, and the point where the two of them would go their separate ways. Akaashi wanted Bokuto to keep rambling. He wanted to ask him to keep talking about all the volleyball skills he wanted to improve. He wanted to hear Bokuto talk about the U-19 team and brag about how good his spikes were looking. He wanted to hear Bokuto brag about how he had helped Hinata get better at fighting in the air. Akaashi just wanted to hear Bokuto talk more about anything. 

He would never admit that though, so instead he said, “Ah, looks like I’m home. See ya, Bokuto.”

“Bye, Akaashi! I’m going to text Kuroo right now to see if he wants to study on Saturday. I’ll tell him to invite Kenma too. Although Kenma will probably just play video games the whole time. Not that, that matters, because if Kenma is there we’ll have another setter for when we take a study break. Maybe we should invite two more people cause then we might be able to play a three-on-three. Anyway, bye, Akaashi! I’ll text you and stop by in the morning!” 

Akaashi shook his head in astonishment. “I thought you said you were going to stop coming to practice so much?” 

“Ehh,” Bokuto’s face contorted with confusion. “When did I say that? Oh yeah, but if we’re going to play a three-on-three with Kuroo then I have to be on top of my game. I can’t let that smug bastard beat me. I’ll start coming less next week.”

Akaashi would believe that when he saw it. With one final wave to Bokuto, Akaashi unlocked the door to his house and walked in. “I’m home.” When there was no reply, Akaashi let out a breath and banged his head against the door. 

“What am I going to do when this is all over?” 

Chapter Text

Practice the next day was progressing as normal, until Akaashi noticed a potential problem about halfway through. Bokuto was up to serve, and he looked a little more serious than usual. Akaashi let out an exasperated sigh that Washio heard from next to him. It wasn’t hard for Washio to guess the reason for the sigh. Afterall, Akaashi knew Bokuto better than anyone else on the team. Perhaps even better than Bokuto knew himself. At least when it came to Bokuto’s many weaknesses.

“Uh-oh. What’s wrong with Bokuto now, Akaashi?” Washio was never prepared for Bokuto’s mood slumps, despite the fact that they had been playing together for three years. No matter how hard Washio tried to find a pattern to Bokuto’s mood swings. To him, it felt like there was no rhyme or reason. 

“Nothing is wrong, yet. But we’re in dangerous territory. Check out the expression on Bokuto’s face. He’s a lot more serious than usual. Plus I’ve been counting. Bokuto has no service aces today, and he’s missed two jump serves already. It’s number 32: if Bokuto can’t hit his service spikes, he can’t hit any spikes. That one usually starts to rear its ugly head at around 3 serve misses.”

Washio just shook his head and shrugged. Bokuto’s mood swings had become a normal thing for the team. Of course, it sucked that their ace was often out of commission but it had also caused the team to grow. They knew there were times when their ace wasn’t going to be contributing, so they all had to be the best they could be. At this point Washio didn’t even think about it that much. If Bokuto got into a slump, so what? Akaashi always did something about it anyway. 

Washi watched out of the corner of his eye as Bokuto threw his serve toss just a little too high and hit the ball just a little too hard. Before Komi had even finished yelling, “out,” Bookuto was on the floor with his hair in his hands. “Ahh! How could I miss another one!?” 

The rest of the team tried to keep Bokuto in good spirits, “Don’t mind! Don’t mind! You’ll get the next one.” Bokuto quickly picked himself up off the floor, as Sarukui set himself up to serve from the other side. 

Three points later and Bokuto had missed two straight shots and been stuffed by Onaga on a cross shot. Ahh, Akaashi thought to himself, he’s not going to like being stuffed by a first year. I think it’s about that time. 

“AKASHI! Don’t toss to me anymore!” Bokuto yelled as he buried his head in his hands.

“Got it. I’ll make sure to toss to someone else.” Akaashi had never complained about Bokuto’s mood swings, and he had never gotten angry or upset with Bokuto due to his lack of consistency. Despite all that, Akaashi hated Bokuto’s slumps more than anyone else on the team. It was just for a bit of a different reason. It was probably terrible of him to think, but Akaashi didn’t hate Bokuto’s slumps because it meant their offensive power was a lot lower than normal. He didn’t hate it because it greatly decreased their chances of winning. He didn’t hate it for any of the reasons that the rest of the team hated it. His hatred had grown over the years. Each day, more and more his hatred grew. Akaashi hated it because it meant he had less chances to see the look of exhilaration on Bokuto’s face after a perfect spike. It meant he had less chances to know he had helped cause that exhilaration. 

When had that become his reason for hating Bokuto’s slumps? When had his priorities shifted so greatly and why hadn’t he noticed sooner?

Akaashi’s hatred for Bokuto’s emo mode was at an all time high. 29 more days. That was all. He only had 29 more chances to set a perfect ball to Bokuto and watch as his face lit up. 29 more chances to hear, “Akaashi! Your tosses are the best,” from the only person he cared to hear it from. Their time left playing together… their time left being together was limited. 

The rest of the team waited for Akaashi to talk some sense into Bokuto. Of course, they tried half-heartedly to cheer him up but it had never worked before so they knew it wouldn’t work now. Akaashi was the only one who had ever successfully helped Bokuto out of slump, through words or actions. The match continued on for quite some time. Akaashi sent sets to the other wing spikers and largely ignored Bokuto’s presence on the court. The rest of the team began to get antsy, sure Akaashi had ignored Bokuto before but it had never been for this long. 

Akaashi’s team was at match point, 24-22. Bokuto had been out of commission since the score had been 4-7 in the other teams favor. Everyone could tell that Bokuto was getting restless. He had never been good at containing his emotions. The entire Fukurodani team was sure the next set had to be going up for their ace wing spiker. Of course, Konoha would jump too, but he didn’t think he was fooling anyone. The ball was received, Akaashi moved directly under it to set. Bokuto made a move toward the net. A quick touch from Akaashi and just as the ball was lifted back into the air you could hear Akaashi’s emotionless, “Konoha!” 

The blockers were a little too late. They had shifted to the left in anticipation of the ball going to Bokuto. That was a lucky break for Konoha, he had been sure the ball was going to Bokuto and had almost missed the spike, but the ball slammed into the ground inside the other team’s court and suddenly their friendly team practice match was over. No one was celebrating. The team all looked at each other in confusion. Akaashi had ignored Bokuto? That had never happened before.

Konoha remembered a conversation he’d had with Akaashi just a few weeks ago. 

“Akaashi, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you ignored Bokuto sometimes, you know? That said though there are times where if we don’t cater to his ego that things do get bad.”

“I can only draw out a minute fraction of Bokuto’s true power anyway. Besides, when Bokuto is in top form, no one is more interesting to watch.”

Konoha had thought, well that’s that. I guess there’s nothing that would make Akaashi ignore Bokuto. Obviously, Konoha was wrong because here they were. Bokuto and Akaashi had the best relationship of anyone on the team, and a number of them had guessed that there was something more going on that Bokuto and Akaashi just wasn’t telling them about. It was in the way that Akaashi seemed to give Bokuto anything he needed. It was in the way that Bokuto valued Akaashi’s opinion more than any other opinion. 

The team watched as Bokuto stared at Akaashi with that dejected look that had been on his face for the majority of their practice match. They were surprised to see Akaashi staring back, with an anger in his eyes that they had never seen before. 

Chapter Text

The next day was strange for, well, everyone. Akaashi and Bokuto were always together. Most of the school had grown used to seeing the unusual pair in each others’ company. It had been odd at first, to most people it seemed that the only thing they had in common was volleyball. Bokuto was loud, outspoken, and prone to mood swings. Akaashi wasn’t quite soft spoken but that was because he didn’t need to be loud to get his point across. When Akaashi had something to say he said it but more often than not he kept quiet and most people had no idea what he was thinking most of the time. They were even in different years. Despite all of that, the pair had grown quite close and during the school day, the only time they seemed to be apart was during class.

The pair tended to stand out, mostly because of Bokuto’s spiky hair and loud voice. That morning, though, no one noticed as Akaashi slipped until the school building for the first time in a year, alone. They did, however, notice Bokuto make his entrance. 

“Good morning, Bokuto!” 

Bokuto didn’t respond in his normal cheery tone. He just gave a quick nod of his head in the direction the voice had come from. He received a few more greetings before he felt someone gave him a quick tap on the shoulder. Bokuto turned around to see one of his female classmates, Sato Amaya. 

“Good morning, Bokuto-san! Why is your hair all droopy like that?” She wasn’t the only one to notice that his hair wasn’t up to its normal spikiness. The others just hadn’t bothered to ask since most of them assumed that Bokuto was in some type of strange mood. Sato continued her questioning before Bokuto could answer. “Where’s Akaashi-kun this morning? Perhaps he’s sick? That would explain the hair.” 

“I don’t think he’s sick but I don't know where he is. What does Akaashi have to do with my hair? And why should I know where he is? We’re not attached at the hip, you know?” With that Bokuto walked away. The rest of the hallway stood in an almost stunned silence. That was...odd. 

The rest of the day continued in a similar fashion, people would notice that Bokuto was alone and ask about Akaashi or they would notice that Akaashi was alone and ask about Bokuto. Both of them gave very nonchalant answers and then walked away. 

The only ones who knew what was going on were the rest of the volleyball players. Of course, they didn’t fully understand what had happened either. It wasn’t like Bokuto and Akaashi to fight. Everyone agreed that they were complete opposites in most ways but somehow it had always worked out for them. Of course, neither of them was prone to anger. Akaashi was always calm and collected while Bokuto seemed to have two types of emotions: excitement and dejection. No one was even sure if anger was in Bokuto’s emotional vocabulary. 

Eventually one of the first year girls worked up the nerve to ask Onaga about it. “Onaga-san.” 

Onaga turned around from the conversation he was having with the other first-year volleyball player, Anahori. It was one of the girls from his class, Furuya, that had called out to him. She was with two other girls that Onaga had seen around but he didn’t know their names. She was fidgeting a lot and he could tell she was nervous. “Yes? Furuya-san?” 

“Well, we,” she gestured to her friends on either side of her, “were just wondering if you knew what was wrong with Akaashi-senpai and Boluto-senpai? They seem a bit off today.” 

Onaga wondered what he should say. He glanced behind him at Anahori, who shrugged at him. He turned back to Furuya, “Ah, it’s nothing really. They just got into a little argument about volleyball. I’m sure everything will be back to normal by Monday.”  

“ah, that’s good to hear. Thanks, Onaga-san. I’ll see you later.” With that the three girls walked away and Onaga turned back to Anahori. 

“Do you really think they’re going to be back to normal by Monday?” Anahori asked, truly curious about what Onaga’s answer might be. 

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen Akaashi-senapi get angry like that. But I mean those two are really good friends and Bokuto is the type of person who makes you like him. I’m sure this will all blow over. Or I hope so because I can’t imagine Bokuto-senpai not coming to practice even though he’s retired. I don’t want practice to be weird, I think it could mess with the atmosphere of the team a lot. To be honest, I don’t really understand what is going on between the two of them. I think yesterday we only saw a small part of it. I mean Akaashi-senpai didn’t say a whole lot, and he didn’t let Bokuto-senpai respond at all. Do you have any idea what’s really going on there?” The both of them think back to the scene from the day before.

The entire team was watching on in anticipation as Akaashi approached Bokuto. No one really knew what was happening or why Akaashi was angry. They didn’t even know that Akaashi could be angry with Bokuto. Akaashi stopped just short of Bokuto and tilted his head up slightly so he could look him in the eye. “I thought you were really cool. ‘Up till now, I've been ‘an ace that is coddled by the rest of the team’, but in a few days we're all going to say goodbye to each other and go our separate ways, so it's about time I became just, ‘an ace.’’ That’s what you said.  Was that just all talk? If you can’t do it yourself, then you don’t deserve to call yourself an ace and you’ve wasted my last two years.” 

Onaga shook his head, “On second thought, this isn’t going to go away on it’s own. Akaashi-senpai told him he wasn’t worthy of being called an ace. You know how much being the ace means to Bokuto-senpai. He even has that stupid ace t-shirt that he bought at nationals last year.”

Anahori nods in agreement, “And since we’ve never seen Akaashi get mad before, who knows how long that could last.” They both continued to contemplate the current issue at hand and wondered what practice would be like with Akaashi and Bokuto at odds with each other.

It turns out they didn’t have to be worried at all, because for the first time ever, Bokuto didn’t come to volleyball practice.