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Koutarou was excited .
He usually was, but today was a special kind of excitement, because today, he'd finally get to see some shooting stars!!! Man, he was so excited. And Oikawa had promised extra spiking practice this weekend for doing this, so he got two things he wanted!
Humming under his breath, he fiddled around to get the camera properly attached to the tripod and pointed at the right stars-- at least, he thought those were the right ones. Eh. He could just fix the camera later if he was wrong. Oikawa probably wouldn't mind.
“Right! That's great, isn’t it Oikawa? Man, I really am the best!” Koutarou cheered, as a star shot across the sky, front and center on the camera's screen. “Aw yeah, I knew I'd gotten the right stars in the frame!”
Ditching the camera to spread himself out on the grass, Koutarou ooh-ed and ahh-ed as the beautiful lights appeared one after the other, trailing down towards the ground before fading out.
“This is AMAZINGGG!!!” He yelled, pumping a fist in the air. It really was. It was like it was raining stars, the shower coming faster and faster, glowing brighter with each passing second, and wow, Koutarou was so glad he'd agreed to this!
And then suddenly something was hurtling straight at him-- no way, a real meteor? WAIT A METEOR HE SHOULD--
With a grunt, Koutarou found himself knocked to the ground by… well, it didn't feel like some fancy spacerock. It felt too soft for that. And not as heavy. It felt more like--
If the impact hadn't forced the air from his lungs already, the man that Koutarou found himself staring at would have. He was beautiful: tousled curls that fell lightly against his forehead, calm eyes like blue steel, a delicate nose and pointed chin, soft lips set in a natural pout.
And he had, clearly, just fallen out of the sky, which meant he was probably magic or something.
Hold up.
“HOLY SHIT! YOU JUST FELL! FROM THE SKY! ARE YOU OKAY???”
The man winced at his sudden screech, leaning back to avoid Koutarou's frantic hand-waving. “Please,” came his soft voice. “There's no need to yell. I’m fine, thank you. Are you all right? I fell into you, after all.”
Koutarou couldn't help but blush as the words brought their position to his attention: him, on his back against the grass, with this miracle leaning over him, hands resting with just a hint of pressure against his chest as he held himself up. It was more than a little suggestive. “Yeah! I mean, uh,” dropping his voice to his best approximation of a whisper, he said, “Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. I'm great. Uh…”
“Oh. My apologies.” The man, taking his stuttering as a sign of discomfort, pushed himself to his feet. He offered a hand to Koutarou.
Koutarou stared at it for a moment, then took it, hauling himself up. “Thanks! So uh, what's your name? I mean, you're gorgeous but I can't exactly call you that, can I?” He grinned.
The corner of the man’s mouth twitched ever so slightly. “Really?” When Koutarou's smile only grew, he sighed. “Akaashi Keiji. And you?”
“Hey hey hey! That’s a real pretty name! I’m Bokuto Koutarou! Nice to meet’cha!” Koutarou held out a hand, which, after a beat’s hesitance, Akaashi clasped in his own.
“Likewise.”
Silence ensued. Koutarou was doing his best not to stare, but really, Akaashi was so pretty . He looked like… like a model. Or a painting. Or a model for a painting. All artsy and elegant and… and… what was the word? Posed? No, it sounded like posed, it was kinda like posed, but it was something else.
Poised! That was it! Akaashi was poised. Polite. Classic.
Koutarou thought there was an English song called that. Some catchy pop song about beautiful people. If Koutarou knew the lyrics, he might have sung it in his head-- for Akaashi, of course.
“Is… is something the matter, Bokuto-san? You keep looking at me.”
Koutarou started from his reverie, eyes widening and hands flailing in the space between them. “Oh no! No, I'm not, um… Well it's just! I think you're really… beautiful…”
“You mentioned that, yes,” Akaashi replied, amusement dancing in his eyes. There was a little pink across his cheeks though. It was… really cute.
“So, um-- where did you come from? Other than! The sky! Because like, I saw you fall and you kinda fell right on me so I totally know that bit, but I mean-- you know what I mean,” Koutarou said, so quickly his words nearly merged.
Akaashi, for his part, didn't seem put off by this. If anything, he looked… almost endeared? That was strange. Koutarou knew most people thought he was annoying, actually, maybe Akaashi was just being polite-- Koutarou had been all the things people didn't like about him: loud and cheesy and filter-less, and maybe--
“Bokuto-san, is something the matter?”
“Huh?”
At this, Akaashi's brow furrowed, and oh no he was annoyed, Koutarou had ruined his chances with one of the most amazing works of art he’d ever seen-- “You're drooping. Are you all right?”
Wait. What? “I am?” he asked numbly. Well, okay, he knew he was. He was always really obvious, but… Akaashi was concerned? Not weirded out? Not annoyed that he had to deal with it?
“Yes. Is something wrong?” Akaashi’s expression and voice were gentle. Not irritated at all. But still. Maybe he was just good at hiding it?
“You aren't…” Koutarou shifted from foot to foot. “Bothered or anything? People tell me I talk too much, too fast. And I say the same things over and over, so…”
He jumped a bit when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. “Perhaps in the future it will bother me a little.” Koutarou felt himself sag a little. Then Akaashi went on, “But not now. And it certainly wouldn't be enough to put me off of your company entirely. It's a minor thing.” The starboy (was that what he was?) tilted his head to one side and graced Koutarou with the barest sliver of a smile-- it seemed like a lot for Akaashi, who looked more the type to internalize his emotions instead of expressing them openly like Koutarou. “I haven't known you long, Bokuto-san, but you strike me as a good man. You're very honest and genuine. And very kind, I think.”
Koutarou sucked in a breath. Did he mean it?
As if he could read the doubt on Koutarou's face (and he probably could), Akaashi continued, “The first thing you did when we fell was ask about me. Even though you had taken the brunt of the impact. I think that's proof enough.”
Usually, Koutarou would have preened at the praise. He was like that, he knew. Prone to boasting and celebrating over every compliment. But the fact that Akaashi, a very pretty literal star who Koutarou had just met was saying it with so much certainty made this different somehow. “What if that was, you know, just a fluke?”
A shrug. “Then I'll be disappointed. But I doubt it. It was too instinctual to be a fluke.”
“Oh.” That made sense.
Koutarou felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and found a text from Suga. Akaashi wasn't the only one? Tapping out an agreement to wait and adding as many emojis as he could, Koutarou pocketed his phone again once the message had sent.
“So, ‘Kaashi, tell me more about how all that--” Koutarou made a wide gesture with his arm, as if indicating the spot once occupied by the constellation, “--star stuff happened!”
“It’s a long story, and far from interesting, I’m afraid,” Akaashi told him.
“Nonsense! It's gotta be interesting! It's not everyday someone comes tumbling out of the sky!!!” Koutarou declared. “Come on, we gotta wait for Suga anyway-- oh! Right, I gotta ask. Do you mind coming with me and my friend?” The spiker tilted his head almost owlishly, blinking at Akaashi curiously. He really should have asked before replying. He didn't want to force anything on anyone.
Wait. Maybe he should explain. “He said he, Yaku and Kenma-- other friends of ours-- all met someone like you too! So he’s taking us all to Oikawa-- he’s the one who had us come out here to film--”
THE CAMERA! Koutarou couldn't believe he’d forgotten. Hopefully it was okay…
He sighed in relief when, after whipping around to look for it, he found the camera still steady on its tripod. He’d better shut it off already… there. Better. Oikawa would have killed him, probably, if the camera had been broken, and Koutarou just didn't have enough money to replace it.
Akaashi was watching him impassively. He didn't look bothered by the sudden drop of the conversation. He simply prompted, “You were saying, Bokuto-san?”
What? Oh! Right! About Oikawa! “Well, he sent us to film these meteor showers, right, so Suga thinks he should be the one to help us figure out what's going on? I guess?” Koutarou scratched at his head in confusion. “I don't think he knows if Oikawa knew you would be coming down with all the stars and stuff, because Oikawa isn't answering Suga’s texts…”
Koutarou smiled. “If you come, I think we're going to try and help you guys! You know, unless you already do have places to stay and know your way around and all that.”
Akaashi hummed in understanding. Absentmindedly, he started to pick at his fingers and his nails-- Koutarou assumed it was a thinking habit or something. “No, I don't,” he finally said.
Koutarou didn't get what he meant right away, but when he did… “Then you should come! If you want. It's just an invitation!”
Akaashi finally met his gaze again. “Very well. If I may, that is.”
/////
Conversation with: Suga!!!!!
He’s coming!!! :))))))
His name is Akaashi!
He’s really pretty!
Great! I just have to get Yaku
and Kenma. And their… uh…
What do we call them?
I’ll ask!!!
Akaashi says they're human just
like us. So probably just what
you’d call us?
…
Well, I’d call us ‘troublemakers’.
You probably didn't mean that,
though.
Be there in 20.
:)))))))))))))))))))