Work Text:
Rare was the day that Akaashi got to work more than ten minutes early, given that his shift was usually the opening shift at a coffee shop. Rare, that is, until one day about three months ago. A day that found someone waiting outside the shop that Akaashi was coming to open. Said someone had spiked up dual toned hair, nearly reminiscent of an owl.
“Sorry I’m late. I’ll be right with you.” Akaashi said, partly to announce his presence and partly so that he could get to the door that was currently being blocked. The person jumped back quickly, and whipped around to look at Akaashi, wide, almost golden eyes only enhancing the resemblance to an owl.
“Sorry! My bad.”
“It’s fine.” Akaashi assured as he stepped forward and unlocked the door, entering and allowing owl-hair to follow him into the shop. “Now, what can I get you?” Akaashi asked a few minutes later, having turned everything on and slipped his apron on.
“Oh! Right, right.” Owl-hair said, quickly digging a list out of a coat pocket and rattling off its contents, an interesting mix of food and drinks, the amount sounding like it was enough for a small army.
“Name?” Akaashi asked mechanically after punching it all in.
“Bokuto Koutarou”
“Alright. I’ll get everything ready as quickly as possible.” Akaashi said as he turned around.
“Ok! Hey, that button on your apron,” Bokuto started, rambling energetically about the show it was from since he also liked it, and Akaashi couldn’t find it in himself to really be upset with Bokuto’s enthusiasm, even if it was still really early, especially because it kept Akaashi from having to talk. It also allowed Akaashi to learn quite a few things about someone he never expected to see again. Things like the fact that he was getting food and caffeine for his coworkers/friends at the bookstore he worked at (They were setting up for a signing, which was why they were there so early), the fact that the hair and eyes (Contacts?) were intentional in looking like an owl, the fact that he loved animals (Hence the previous point), the fact that he also loved volleyball, the fact that he actually knew quite a few of the same shows as Akaashi, the fact that he was twenty two (Only a year older than Akaashi), and the fact that he had a short attention span. Though that last one was a bit of an inference on Akaashi’s part, given how fast Bokuto skipped from subject to subject, especially since it had only taken Akaashi about twenty minutes to put the whole order together and Bokuto had managed to cover as much ground as he did.
“Here’s your order.” Akaashi said as he set the drink trays and paper bags on the counter.
Bokuto somehow managed to precariously stack everything in his arms before heading towards the door. “Thank you so much Akaashi!” he called as the door closed and Akaashi winced at the butchered pronunciation of his name. There was a light laugh behind him as Suga came out of the back room.
“Quite a character, that one, huh?” He said as he clocked in.
“And you’ve been here how long?” Akaashi asked, wondering if Suga had been here this whole time, or just came in through the back door.
“Eh, long enough.” Before Akaashi could reply, Hinata was bursting through the door.
“Akaashi, Suga, did you see that guy's hair? It was all like whoosh!” He said excitedly, animatedly miming his sound effects as he made them. Attention turned to getting things ready for the rest of the day and Akaashi allowed himself to forget Bokuto. He had been very interesting, granted, and had an infectious brightness and a chaotic life, if the scattered bits he’d told Akaashi about were any indication, but it had surely been a one off, and Akaashi would never see him again, that's how it went.
Except apparently it wasn’t. Bokuto ended up in the shop again the next day, same energy, a slightly different order, and even more stories and bits and pieces about his life. And then the day after that as well. Every day that week, he was waiting outside when Akaashi opened. So, Akaashi decided to open the store early the next week. Just so Bokuto wouldn’t have to wait outside. It was simply the polite thing to do. (Even if Akaashi knew the bookstore Bokuto worked at didn’t open until a few hours after the cafe)
The first day Akaashi opened a bit early, Bokuto wasn’t there when he opened, but showed up at his regular time, eyes going almost comically wide when he noticed the lights in the store were already on and the door was unlocked. Akaashi actually had to suppress a smile as Bokuto entered the shop.
“Hey hey hey Akaashi! You’re here early today!” He remarked as he dug the list out of his pocket.
“A bit.” Akaashi said with a shrug. “What’ll it be this morning?” Bokuto quickly rattled off the list, though it seemed a bit shorter than normal today. “Hmm, is one of your coworkers out today?” Akaashi asked absently as he started making the drinks. Bokuto seemed to somehow perk up and deflate at the same time.
“Wow, you noticed! Yeah, Yachi is going to be gone all this week, she’s visiting her family.” He said with a bit of a pout. Ah, the small, nervous, blonde girl who had basically become the whole staff's little sister, given that she was only sixteen, right around Hinata’s age. Akaashi hummed in acknowledgement as Bokuto’s energy rose and he started off on a new story, one that was a little hard to follow given all the names flying around, but, as near as Akaashi could tell, it was about a time Bokuto and some of his friends had found a stray dog (This being the eighth story about an animal, domesticated or otherwise. Not that Akaashi was keeping track.).
“Alright, here you go.” Akaashi said a few minutes later, handing Bokuto everything and watching him stack it up in his arms like usual before he sent Akaashi that blindingly bright grin and headed out shouting something about seeing Akaashi tomorrow.
The next morning when Akaashi got there, even though it was early, Bokuto was already waiting.
And then, Bokuto started coming in during lunch. It was an afternoon sometime in the third week of Bokuto showing up, and he had just as much energy in the afternoons, apparently, Akaashi thought, listening as best he could to Bokuto’s energetic talking, Akaashi was pretty sure this was a story about a time he got attacked by a swan, make his food, and not kick Kenma, whose legs were stretched across the floor from under the counter, apparently a new favorite spot.
“Thanks again Akaashi! You’re the best!” Bokuto said as Akaashi handed him his order.
“Of course, Bokuto-san.” Akaashi replied. “And it probably had babies nearby that you didn’t see. Well, that or a pact with the devil to keep.” Akaashi deadpanned. Bokuto’s eyes widened along with his grin as he laughed and headed out.
“Wow, I think he might be keeping us open at this rate.” Suga mused as Bokuto left, still managing to mispronounce Akaashi’s name badly enough for Akaashi to drop his head into the counter with a dull thunk.
“He is.” Ennoshita confirmed from the back.
“Hmm, I wonder why?” Suga started innocently, staring at Akaashi, who refused to look up, despite feeling Suga’s gaze.
“If you think I have anything to do with this, don’t.” He said flatly. Suga laughed.
“C’mon, he’s always talking to you-”
“He’s always talking.” Akaashi corrected as he straightened up.
“And you’re never complaining.” Suga countered. Akaashi sighed.
“Because I’m at work.”
“You complain at work.” Kenma said flatly from under the counter.
“Ken, you know you’re not supposed to be behind the counter.”
“Well now you’re just changing the subject.” Suga scoffed. “Since when do we care where Kenma sits? I found him in the walk-in freezer one day.” Akaashi blinked in surprise and glanced down at him.
“It was hot.” Kenma said with a shrug.
“Besides,” Hinata interjected. “He’s super cool! I mean,” Hinata went into a detailed rant about all the cool things about Bokuto, which gave Akaashi a chance to slip into the back.
“Avoiding those two?” Ennoshita asked, glancing up from stocking. Akaashi nodded and joined him, but was unable to get what the others had said out of his mind. Akaashi shook his head to focus. Bokuto just happened to be a really talkative person and Akaashi was the only one around to talk to, that's all it was.
Bokuto’s afternoon visits soon became routine, usually around noon, right before Akaashi’s shift ended, he would come in and order food, usually for several people, all the while talking animatedly. He quickly grew fond of Hinata and made sure to talk to him if he was there that day, adding extra energy, though Akaashi wasn’t really sure how it was possible, to the anecdotes he told and whatever else was on his mind. He also invented his own game, called ‘Kenspotting’ where he would see how quickly he could locate Kenma, since he was usually lounging around in the shop. (His best time was sixteen seconds, ‘Right there, under the table!’ and his slowest was four minutes and twelve seconds, ‘hey, under the counter’s cheating!’). His time today was a decent one, fifty six seconds before he spotted Kenma, laying down across one of the booths in the back of the dining area. Bokuto scribbled it down, because he apparently kept a tally of his scores, as Akaashi called out his order. He grabbed it, but hesitated.
“Hey, Akaashi…” He started, energy shifting down from earlier when he was excitedly talking with Akaashi about the most recent episode of a show they both watched, which immediately got Akaashi’s attention.
“Yes Bokuto-san?”
“Uh, ah, nevermind, forget it, it’s fine.” Bokuto said as he shook his head. “Thanks!” Akaashi was a little curious, and maybe a little concerned.
“Wait.” Bokuto turned around, hesitating. “Fifty six seconds is a very good time.” Bokuto smiled a little, some of his energy returning.
“It is, isn’t it? I’ll see you later, Akaashi!”
One aspect of Bokuto everyone in the cafe was still puzzling out was his moods. Akaashi, more than anyone else since he dealt with him most frequently. This was especially evident one morning when Bokuto showed up about ten minutes late, trudging to the door, his hair down for the first time.
“Hello Bokuto-san.” Akaashi greeted as he pushed the door open. Bokuto mumbled something that sounded like ‘hey,’Kaashi’ as he pulled the list out and handed it to Akaashi. Well, that was a first. Akaashi wasn’t very surprised to see how messy Bokuto’s handwriting was, though still legible, thankfully, and was, after a few moments of thought, even less surprised that the list had been written with nothing other than a glitter gel pen. Akaashi silently punched the order in and went about making it. He only lasted about ten seconds before the fact that it was nearly silent, and Bokuto was in the room had to be addressed. “Is everything alright, Bokuto-san?” He asked. There was a brief pause.
“I, well...It’s just…” He sighed with a dramatic pout. “I miss our old receipt paper,” he said. Akaashi blinked a few times. That was why he was late? Why his hair was down and he wasn’t wanting to talk? Receipt paper? “They changed it without telling me,” he continued, sounding legitimately heartbroken. “And now we have to use all of the new stuff before we can get more of the good kind.”
“All the more reason to increase sales, then, right?” Akaashi asked, unsure of if that was the right thing to say. The mood swings had happened a few times before, and Akaashi was starting to get a hang of what seemed to cheer Bokuto up, though he still tried to tread carefully in the interest of not making things worse.
“I guess.” Bokuto said with a small sigh. “You could always come down if you ever needed anything!” Bokuto offered, and it held some of his normal energy.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Akaashi said, not quite sure what to make of the invitation. “You could also adjust your system so it prints receipts that are slightly longer than they need to be.” Akaashi suggested, back still to Bokuto. Bokuto actually laughed at that.
“That's a great idea!” He said, and Akaashi could hear his smile. “Thanks for giving me advice this early, I know you don’t like mornings.” He added.
“You do?” Akaashi asked, unable to remember every conversation, but fairly certain his disdain for morning had never come up.
“Well, yeah.” Bokuto said. “You work slower in the mornings. And you talk less. Well, not talk, but respond, right?” Bokuto asked. And, thinking back, Akaashi supposed it was much easier to process Bokuto’s stories later in the day, and maybe he did communicate more, whether it was words or a nonverbal medium.
“Yes. That’s right.” He said, a bit impressed by Bokuto’s observations. Bokuto was too, it seemed, as he perked up at that.
“Oh, that reminds me of a friend of mine, he hates mornings too-” With Bokuto now off on a story about how difficult it was to wake Komi up before nine AM, it was easier for Akaashi to go about getting the order ready, and file the knowledge that Bokuto cheered up when was right about something away for future use. (And maybe the invitation to go down to the bookstore too)
And so Bokuto became a constant. He was in every morning, usually waiting on Akaashi to open, and then again most afternoons for around the past three months. And if a few more... insinuations , about his motive were made, Akaashi simply ignored them. Sure, they had talked enough and knew enough about each other to probably be considered friends by most standards, but always while Akaashi was at work, and only on Bokuto's lunch break. No, Akaashi didn’t plan on Bokuto being anything more than an acquaintance. A very consistent, friendly, sweet, entertaining, and energetic acquaintance, but an acquaintance nonetheless.
That’s what Akaashi had thought, at least. But here he was, actually feeling a knot of worry in his stomach that he knew would only be alleviated by that ridiculous hair and those strange eyes, even though Akaashi hated to admit it. His eyes flicked to the clock again. Nearly nine. Akaashi normally opened right around five. He was pulled back to the present by a light bump from Ennoshita.
“You can look for him later. Right now, we have a line.” He said, not unkindly, but seriously. Akaashi nodded and refocused, trying to push Bokuto from his thoughts. The morning rush didn’t really die down until about ten thirty, at which point Akaashi’s previous worries were able to worm their way back into his head. He really hadn’t noticed just how used to Bokuto he was, or how much his absence would affect Akaashi.
“Why don’t you swing down by his store and see if he’s in?” Suga suggested. “You’ve earned a break by now, and he even said you could go down there whenever you wanted.” He argued before Akaashi had a chance to refute him. “Plus, your worry is gonna make everyone else start worrying.” He said with a grin. A grin Akaashi chose to ignore as he slipped his apron off and headed down towards the bookstore.
Akaashi pushed open the door to the shop and was slightly awed. He’d seen this store before, but hadn’t been able to make time to actually go in, which, he quickly realised, was a crime. It was big enough to not feel cramped, while also being small enough to feel homey. The shelves that nearly reached the ceiling were filled with books, and some holding things like toys or games. There were scattered step stools around and several chairs wherever they would fit, giving the whole place a very comfortable organized chaos feel. Akaashi shook his head and started towards the counter, which he could just see the edge of. When it came into full view, Akaashi recognised the person behind it, despite his lack of a nametag. It was, undoubtedly, Kuroo Tetsurou. Bokuto’s description of him as ‘like, a really tall jaguar that was turned human and has no idea how hair works, his hair probably doesn’t even know how hair works.’ was startlingly accurate. He looked up at Akaashi, his face settling into a pleasantly blank definitely-reserved-for-customer-service expression.
“How can I help you?” He asked. Akaashi suddenly felt just how foolish this was. He had never even talked to Bokuto outside of the cafe, and now he was coming to his job looking for him, which, when phrased like that, sounded seriously creepy, even if Bokuto had said he could come down anytime he felt like it. Kuroo spoke again before the silence got too long.
“Looking for anything in particular?” Now the expression had a hint of something mischievous in it. “Or, maybe, someone?” Now it was definitely more of a smirk than a smile. Clearly Kuroo knew, or at least had some idea of what was going on, so Akaashi decided to act like this was totally normal.
“If you’re asking like that, it sounds like you already know the answer.”
“Well, maybe I do.”
“If you already know, I see no point in delaying things, Kuroo.” Akaashi responded. Kuroo’s eyes positively sparkled upon being referred to by his name.
“You are a quick one, aren’t you?” He muttered. “Oh Bo, I think someone’s here for you!” He called towards the back before turning back to Akaashi. He smiled sweetly. “Be careful with my friend. His heart is bigger than his head and softer than a fucking Beanie Boo.” Before Akaashi had a chance to respond, he heard footsteps.
“Huh? Who would-Akaashi?” asked an uncharacteristically quiet Bokuto. One that looked substantially different than Akaashi was used to, his hair down, deep brown eyes staring at Akaashi through a pair of glasses.
“Bo here was running a little late this morning, weren't ya?” Kuroo asked, a hint of amusement making its way into his voice.
“Yeah, I was. Akaashi? Why are you here?” He asked as he ran his hand through his hair, seeming baffled. And Akaashi was suddenly very certain he had made a huge mistake.
“I…” He started, wondering how bad the truth would sound. “I was just, a little worried when you didn’t show up this morning.” he admitted, bracing for Bokuto’s reaction.
“Really?!” Bokuto asked, suddenly his volume back to where it normally was. Akaashi nodded uncertainly as Bokuto approached, before Bokuto’s face fell. He quickly turned to Kuroo. “You, Out.” He said, poking Kuroo in the ribs.
“Alright, alright, I’ll watch from the sci-fi section instead of behind the counter, sheesh.” He said as he slipped out from behind the counter and headed off into the shop.
“You were worried about me?” Bokuto asked as he turned to Akaashi, tilting his head as he looked at him, regaining a little of his usual owlish appearance. Akaashi nodded. “Why?” Bokuto blurted out. Akaashi blinked. That was a wonderful question.
“Because you were so consistent.” He started. “You were always there at the same time, and when you weren’t, after so many weeks...I was just afraid something might’ve happened to you.”
“My phone died and my alarm didn’t go off.” He explained. “Didn’t even have time to put my contacts in, so I’m stuck with these all day.” Bokuto complained as he tapped the side of his glasses. “I...don’t know if I will be coming around for much longer, though.” He said sadly, and Akaashi felt a small surge of alarm at the prospect.
“I see. It’s your decision.” He said carefully. “Is there a reason?” Bokuto shifted nervously.
“You’re awesome Akaashi, and I love hanging out with you! But, I don’t know if I like guys. Or anyone, I might be aromantic?” He said uncertainly. Akaashi blinked a few times. What did that have to do with--oh. And suddenly, Kuroo’s words from earlier made a lot more sense.
“Why would that mean you can’t come to the cafe?” Akaashi asked evenly. Bokuto looked at him, head tilting again.
“Don’t you...like me?” He asked. “Or did me, Kuroo, and our corkboard majorly jump to the wrong conclusion?” He said as he blushed faintly, and there was an undercurrent of hopeful embarrassment to it.
“Bokuto-san, I do like you.” Akaashi said honestly, and Bokuto’s shoulders slumped. “But not just as a potential partner.” Bokuto blinked a few times. “I came down here because I was worried about you, as, as my friend, if you’ll let me call you that,” Bokuto nodded vigorously, but stayed silent. “I wouldn’t mind if we never dated. I just want to be around you, if you’re comfortable with it. You’re friendly, passionate, amusing, and a million other things I don’t even know yet, but can’t wait to learn.” Akaashi said, feeling his face begin to flush at his own honesty and directness, two things he tended to downplay when it came to his emotions, but hoped would help convey his sincerity.
“You mean that?” Bokuto asked, eyes wide. Akaashi nodded, knowing full well, this morning as evidence, that he truly enjoyed Bokuto’s company. And Bokuto beamed. “Of course I’m ok with that! Sounds amazing, Akaashi!” He said genuinely, sounding relieved and happy and excited and a million other things and it was so Bokuto it nearly made Akaashi flush even more.
“Can I stop pretending to hide now?” Kuroo shouted, presumably, from the sci fi section.
“No!” Bokuto and Akaashi yelled back in unison. Bokuto laughed brightly before holding out his fist. It took a moment to compute, but once it did, Akaashi bumped his fist against Bokuto’s, and he grinned even wider.
“I’ll see you for lunch, Akaashi!”
“That sounds good, Bokuto-san.”
(Akaashi headed towards the door, and saw Kuroo coming back towards the counter. Akaashi stopped in front of Kuroo, who raised an eyebrow, but remained silent.
“So,” Akaashi started. "I'm seeing that cork board.” He said flatly, but felt the edges of his mouth curling up into a smile as Kuroo responded.
“Way ahead of you.” Kuroo said with a grin. )