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What an amazing experience to live with a roommate. You get to know each other, live with their habits - good and bad included- , sometimes you give them a favor that they'll return in the future. In the end it's like living with a friend more than a roommate, because after two years of common life together, roommates usually become more than a mere acquaintance. In Akaashi Keiji's case at least.
He could say he was pretty lucky, he heard some terrible stories about bad cohabitations. When he first moved in his new place, he was stressed about the guy he'll live with during his study years. He found the place thanks to a friend who knew his future roommate and well, decided to give a try. Oikawa Tooru ? He had already heard of that name. The guy in question was a pretty famous utaite, Akaashi wasn't found of this kind of music but he listened to some by curiosity. And it would be a lie to say that Oikawa was a bad singer.
He contacted him and they settled a first meeting to see if a cohabitation was conceivable. It was a success. As a result he started packing his things and left his parents’ cocoon pretty quickly.
They got along easily despite the aura his roommate had, opposite of his own, he thought. Oikawa was always attracting attention to him, always singing something, speaking loudly, laughing loudly, living loudly. And of course his mermaid like voice didn't help for discretion. Yet it didn't bother his roommate. And Akaashi got used to it. Maybe he needed something like this in his calm and well-ordered life.
The first week of his moving was hectic. Stuffs to buy, university, global paperworks... He was efficient and did all in no time. His roommate was amazed and wondered where he got all that motivation. Later Akaashi discovered the procrastination side of Oikawa ; but as far as he was doing his chores, it didn't annoyed him.
Living with an utaite wasn't really bad. He had been scared that he wouldn't be able to sleep or that the place would be noisy, but it wasn't. Oikawa always made sure to do his videos when Akaashi was attending his classes, wasn't there or when he didn't have a choice to record ; he always made sure it was alright with him and he would gladly listen to him before everyone else.
Oikawa once confessed to him that he had a bad cohabitation with his previous roommate. At first it was going nicely and all, but later on he realised that the person was taking pictures of him or even recorded him without his permission to release part of his privacy on internet.
“What an asshole... Did you sue him?"
"Wh.. Oh my god Keiji did you just swear ?!”
Oikawa giggled as he mimicked some kind of shock pose he often did when he had to act dramatically. To which, Akaashi always responded with a frown.
“I didn’t, but I had a good reason to end the caution and look for a new roommate. Of course I also talked about it online so people could be aware of what happened. Damn it created so much drama! Some people were like ‘But you’re an utaite it’s not surprising that you’ll have stuff like that happening to you etc’ which the fans responded with more or less calm. It was like a small war about who was right about my privacy? I don’t own them that. Sure i’m glad to have my fans, but they don’t need to know every part of my life. ”
“Is that why you were bombarding me with questions during our first meeting?"
"Yeah sorry about that, I had to know if you were taking the same pattern as him."
"I guess I passed the test then. “
Akaashi smirked before taking another sip of his freshly made hot cocoa . He noticed the gentle smile Oikawa was trying to hide.
“But it must have been … really uncomfortable when you discovered what he was doing behind your back."
" You can say that... I guess he was looking for the fame you know, like ‘I'm the roommate of a famous utaite and we're so BFF’... A friend of mine, who is an artist always has to be cautious about choosing his friends. People who seek for attention and get close to you just for the fame... I felt used. But now it's in the past, and I'm glad I found you to be honest. Living alone isn't my cup of tea. I get bored easily. And you're the last person in the world who'll try to use me. Right?" He implied with his puppy looking eyes.
"Who know, maybe I have already collected a tons of pictures of your daily life. Like when you're singing in the bathroom, or when you're cooking. Even when you're drunk.”
Akaashi raised an eyebrow and tried to seem serious but after two years living with Oikawa, the guy knew that he wasn't and they both started laughing a bit.
That's how his life was and it satisfied him. Classes were what he expected, and thanks to the famous utaite living with him they often went outside, with a few friends. Akaashi wasn't a big party boy but he enjoyed spending some time with other people. He made a few friends at College and that was enough for him.
Quality over quantity when it came to social link that was his motto.
One day his life took a turning point when, for the first time in a while, he had to get to know a new person, a stranger. Akaashi wasn't the type of person who initiate the conversation unless he was really feeling at ease. Also he had rarely dated, he wasn't interested and didn't feel the need to be romantically involved with someone as long as he had his friends. It was enough for him. What happened then?
He went to an errand for Oikawa and met probably the hottest seller in his life.
Oikawa Tooru wasn't only a good singer, he was also handsome like a charming prince, though his behaviour wasn't like it. He had a certain need for his well-being, as simple as it sounded ; he enjoy feeling good. Hence his stupid long daily skin care routine, which Akaashi didn't understand. It takes him more than thirty minutes to get out of the bathroom, shower time not included. Oikawa had tried to corrupt his roommate with it but no success. Sometimes they did “mask party” together though. And Oikawa frequently insisted to do Akaashi’s manicure because of his tendency to bite his nails ; habit that disappeared in one year because he felt bad for ruining the effort Oikawa put on his fingers.
“It's an art to be as handsome as me you know. And you can probably be more handsome if you were putting some effort on your skin Keiji. ” Was what he heard each time he complained about how much time the so-called piece of art was taking in the bathroom.
In the end, it was decided that Oikawa doesn't lock the door so Akaashi wasn't late because of him. Surprisingly, they didn't even feel embarrassed to see each other half naked in the bathroom. Nonetheless it didn't prevent them to comment about their bodies like two high schoolers.
Back to the errand.
Akaashi was saved by his roommate when he forgot his USB key at home, and Oikawa had to bring it to him at university during a cold winter day, where it was snowing and windy ; two things he never forgot to remind with a dramatic pose of course.
As a consequence, today was the day he had to repay him. After his morning classes he received a message, more like a request to be honest. An urgent request.
→ Keiiiji ! ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚I'm out of my special soap that makes my skin smooth like a peach skin ( And hydrated it too bc it's important you know.. ) And I have a Niconico meeting after lunch like around 2pm and I can't go outside like that. ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д`ﾟ)ﾟ｡ Plz Plz can you go buy it on your way home? It's in the store in front of the bakery next to the Coffee shop in the street perpendicular to the florist shop!
He usually went straight back home when he was done with morning classes. He wasn't a morning person at all. Regardless of his dying brain after 3 hours in front of a computer, he sent a mere “Yes no problem.” and received a reply right after full of weird emoji Oikawa had mastered.
And here he was, in front of a small shop where a nice fragrance was slowly filling the street. To his taste it was a bit too much. Still he had to go inside and find the famous soap. The shop was small and crowded, it was the first time he actually went in, most of the time he waited for Oikawa outside.
The tired student felt completely lost, if only his brain was helping him to be focused ; but it seemed it was in hiatus until he had reached his apartment. He sighed slowly and decided to move according to the wall and the gap of space that appeared between the people. Thing that he wasn't really accommodate to even if he was living in a big city since a few years : the people. Not that he was anti-social. But he enjoyed some private space. And here in that small shop he didn't have any.
'I guess I'll deserve a hot cocoa as a thanks.' He planned in his head. Even though he was complaining silently it wasn't that bad. He had seen worse like when he had to take the subway, and it was so full he couldn’t even move an inch and was being squeezed between his roommate and the door. He had never been so glad that Oikawa had a nice smell it had helped him to focus on something else than the others that were surrounding them.
Oikawa deserved it, as long as he wasn't whimpering he was ready to endure that ordeal.
He started his mission and ignored the group of girls who were not only noisy but also nudging him without taking the time to apologize. The shop was selling different kind of natural beauty products : soaps, shampoos, bathbombs ; it was the first time he saw one because he sadly only had a shower in his appartment. But if he remembered correctly Hinata had showed him one video about it, saying it was so cool and he would love to find one with small stars in it. How was it possible? Akaashi didn't know.
He took one absent-mindedly and stared at it. It wasn't smelling bad, but the rainbow color on it didn't inspire him much confidence. Doesn't it leave mark on the skin? Probably not...
All things considered, he was satisfied with his shower. He knew that Oikawa would be the kind of person to use a bath bomb every time he took a bath. His time in the bathroom was long enough for Akaashi, he couldn't help frowning at the idea of his roommate taking an extra long bath in a weird rainbow water filled with sparkles.
"May I help you ?" Asked a seller that popped up next to Akaashi, making him dropping the bath bomb. Apparently the seller had some ninja reflexes and caught it before it fell on the floor. "Sorry I didn't want to surprise you Sir !" The selled apologized with a jittery smile as he replaced the bathbomb on the display stand.
If Akaashi's brain was already slowed down because of his previous classes, it became worst now that he was aware of the rather nice seller he had in front of him. A small "Wow" escaped his lips as he grabbed his bag's strap and started playing with it unconsciously. He was a bit taller than him, athletic silhouette, a bunch of pins were on his shirt and almost all of them were owl related. Was it his favorite bird?
"Hm? Pardon?"
"Ah, no I mean. Yes. You can help me." Akaashi veered, he was starting to feel hot. It was probably due to the people around him. That's what he tried to convince himself at least.
"I'm looking for a soap for my roommate" He started but suddenly stopped as the reality hit him. Oikawa didn't give him more indications about that damn soap. He didn't have the name of it. And he was in a shop that was selling more soaps that he had ever seen in his life. It was like going to a chocolate shop and asking for chocolate right? He felt dumb.
"He told me it's supposed to ‘make your skin smooth like a peach skin’?" Akaashi precised quizzically. As if it could help him. Besides that sounded stupid when he recalled what he just said. He wanted to disappear, and was already planning to use the next gap between people to get out of the shop but the mesmerizing laugh of the seller stopped him.
He was laughing because of him? Anyone would feel annoyed with that, probably thinking that they were making fun of them... But Akaashi was just stuck here, listening to the other's laugh. He didn’t detect nastiness within that laugh. It sounded more like a pure innocent one. He saw one of the other seller quickly moving close to them and bumping her colleague. She was smaller than Akaashi and her working clothes were like the shop, original and vivid.
"Bokuto don't make so much noises! And don't make fun of the customer! I'm sorry Sir." She apologized, panicked.
"What? No I wasn't making fun of him Yachi! I swear! Sir I'm sorry if I seemed rude to you!"
The situation became more embarrassing as people got interest and started watching from afar what was happening. Akaashi quickly waved and tried to stay composed with his usual deadpan face.
"No it's alright don't worry. He wasn't rude. " He assured. "I was just asking for his help." He added, trying to show that the nice seller named Bokuto was just doing his job.
"Oh... Good then. Keep going Bokuto but don't burst into laughing out of the blue like that!" The pretty girl scolded before disappearing in the crowd.
'Back to the starting point' Akaashi thought. He stayed silent and looked at the seller. Bokuto was it? It sounded nice. His hair were unusual but it also fit the guy. White-greyish and black streaks put back in a spiky hairstyle, looking like two aigrettes.
"I'm sorry, I really wasn't making fun of you Sir." He finally whispered, looking kinda down ; which triggered something in Akaashi’s mind. He started being concerned. "I just found the expression you used cute.."
"Isn't it? My roommate has a rather original way of describing things" Akaashi smiled, he rubbed his fingers together and took a look at the soap stand. "Well, can you help me finding that famous soap ? I’m sure you’re as capable as your co-worker" He requested with the gentler voice he had. He wasn't as good as Oikawa when it came to using different tone, maybe he would ask him some advices later. Apparently it was effective given than Bokuto quickly regain his previous energy and started smiling again.
"Of course I will, it's my duty!" He beamed. "Well follow me the soaps are this way" The seller requested before being engulfed by the people nearby. They both appeared in front of the display stand full of many different soaps with differents shapes and smells. Akaashi could finally focused on something else than the handsome seller. A relieved sigh left his lips while he tried to feel less tense.
"Do you have any more informations about the soap?"
"Actually... He told me it was also moisturizing the skin ?"
"Hmmm maybe this one.. or this one ?" Bokuto displayed three soaps in front of Akaashi and started explaining the composition of each one and their effects on the skin. All of them were of course made of naturals components which was something Oikawa like. He always used cruelty-free stuff. Akaashi began to use them too after his friend explained to him how terrible the tests on animals were. He listened to Bokuto but the more he focused on his voice the more he felt flustered. “Well you know what? The best way to know is to test.” Was the line that made him woke up from his reverie.
“What?”
“Well, customers can test soap before buying them! So they'll know if that's what they want or not.” The seller replied with an assertive voice. And without knowing how, Akaashi was next to a pretty sink and Bokuto was already making the water flow. “Can you roll up your sleeve?” He inquired.
'I'm done.' The student compelled himself to do what he was asked to, how could he refuse? He was always bad at turning down requests. Strangely the others customers were doing their stuffs, leaving them alone to Akaashi's despair. If only someone could ask the pretty seller his help… Not like he wanted him to leave, but he really didn't know what to do. And it was an awkward situation for him.
“So this one is really good, since it moisturizes and cleans the skin gently, it deals with the dead skin cells and all.” Bokuto began with his explanation as he also rolled up his shirt's sleeves, showing his forearm and some tattoos that were unnoticeable back then ; owl again, and flowers. It didn't seem to bother him since he kept going and talking about the soap, but Akaashi was lost the moment when Bokuto took his hand and started rubbing the soap on it. It had an exfoliant side that startled him at first. Bokuto probably noticed his surprise and giggled discretely. “That's how the dead skin are removed, but since it's a gentle exfoliant you can use it every day and it won't hurt your skin.” He remarked.
Akaashi nodded and pondered about how nicely his hand was being taking care of. The other's hands were strong and well-shaped, he almost swooned when Bokuto started massaging his right hand “So the exfoliant would be more effective” he justified. He was always weak to hand massage and the seller was particularly good at it.
After a few minutes where Bokuto was busy with massaging his hand’s joints while talking about which kind he personally recommended and used daily, he finally rinsed Akaashi's hand with the same gentleness. Thus, it took him a few minutes to regain his mind that had been, like the dead skin, removed. When he touched his now clean hand he couldn't hide his amazement.
“Holy… Wow! That's smooth indeed” He marvelled, touching a hand that reminded him Oikawa's one.
“I know right? Let's try the othe-”
“No. I take this one.” Akaashi knew that another hand massage would probably kill him definitely. He couldn't take that risk. “This one is perfect, thank you Bokuto.”
The seller stopped unrolling his sleeves and stared at Akaashi with a curious look in his eyes.
“How do you know my name?” He smiled.
“Ah. Your co-worker from earlier. Sorry If that was rude...”
“No, not at all !” He exclaimed. “I... wait.”
Akaashi stayed quiet and watched the seller cleaning his hands and covering his forearms again. Then he swiveled, faced Akaashi and offered his hand to him with his stupidly handsome smile. He looked like a child somehow.
“I'm Bokuto Kôtarô. Ask for me next time and I'll gladly help you finding soap with only a few informations.” He declared happily. “That was fun!”
“Sounds nice.” Akaashi retorted as he shook their hands.
Whilst his soap was being carefully wrapped by Bokuto, Akaashi's mind was working for the first time since he entered the shop. He wanted to say something more, chatting a bit longer with the nice seller but what could he say? He wasn't in his area of expertise. They moved to the checkout and he started parsing the bag Bokuto had given to him. He noticed two small rectangles also wrapped that weren't supposed to be there.
“Bokuto, what is that?”
“Free samples! Since you didn't try the other one you can try them at home peacefully!” He chirped as he gave the student his receipt.
“You're damn adorable, you know that?” Was what Akaashi thought… At least he thought he said it in his mind and not out loud.
Bokuto's co-worker next to him started smirking as he noticed how the embarrassment was showing on his friend's face. And it was true, that a gentle pinkish tone was settling on the pretty face in front of Akaashi. He was taken in the spur of the moment and added “And your tattoos are really nice.” before taking his bag and walking as fast as he could outside. When he had reached the florist shop he swore he heard a long whine coming from behind him.
“BRO I FORGOT TO ASK HIS NAME!” Was what Akaashi understood. No need to precise that he also recognised the voice.
How much time did he spent in that small shop? He looked at his phone and only a small hour had elapsed, though for Akaashi it was like an eternity. He enjoyed the coldness of the wind against his hot face and put his earphones on so he could lose his mind in some bossa nova jazz rhythm. In spite of that, he couldn't help smiling as he remembered the embarrassed Bokuto he had left behind him. Each time he touched his hand he was awe by the smoothness he had gained.
When he opened the door he was welcomed by a loud “Akaashi my savior !” from an Oikawa in pajama. He gave him the famous soap and was finally able to relax in their sofa. He didn't know if it was the right soap but judging from the noises coming from the bathroom, he had been right. From time to time he unconsciously caressed his hand as something started beating faster and louder.
“Ok I'm ready! Wish me luck and I'll come back in the afternoon I guess.”
“Tooru.”
“Hm? What is it? Hurry I'll be late!” Oikawa whined as he was putting his shoes on.
“Next time you're going to that shop count me in.” Akaashi sing songed.
“Ooh why? Did something happen?”
“Hurry, you’ll be late”
“Not fair Keiji! I want the long detailed version once I’ll be back !” Oikawa shouted before closing the door. Leaving Akaashi lost in thought in his reverie.