Work Text:
“I think that’s the last one,” Akaashi said, sitting back on his heels as he tapes the box. He looked around him, a few other boxes pushed up against his wall. His room felt so empty now that everything was packed, the bed the only thing left. Bokuto and Kuroo would get that later.
He stood, his knees protesting. “Kaashi, we’ve got everything out here packed,” Kenma said. Akaashi turned to see him peeking his head in through the open door, eyes roaming the room. “It feels so weird to see it so empty.”
“You’re telling me,” Akaashi laughed, walking over to his bare bed and sitting back on it. “I’ve lived here for two years, and now it feels like I just moved in.”
Kenma walked over, sitting next to him. “Yeah, but now we get to start a new chapter,” he said voice soft. He leaned his head on Akaashi’s shoulder, and Akaashi took his hand.
“Took us almost a year to get everything together,” he said, voice just as soft.
Kenma laughed, shoving him a little. “You know you were the last one to be ready. We were all ready before you brought it up,” he teased.
Akaashi laughed, shaking his head. “In my defense, I was just worried about something going wrong.” He trailed off, biting his lip.
“Nothing could’ve gone wrong. We’re all just idiots in love,” Kenma said, squeezing his hand. “No matter what, we’ve always worked through everything. That’s how relationships work.” He hummed, leaning his head on Kenma’s. They sat like that for a minute before Kenma moved. “Come on, Kuroo is waiting with the moving truck.”
“I still can’t believe he rented a whole freaking truck for a few boxes,” Akaashi laughed, pulling Kenma off the bed with him.
“To be fair, Bokuto did have substantially more boxes than we’d first thought. Plus Kuroo just wanted an excuse to drive something bigger than his car,” Kenma said, taking one of the boxes from the stack. Akaashi took another, following him into the living room.
-.-.-
It really only took one trip to get everything Akaashi owned to their new apartment, excluding some of the furniture. Bokuto was stuck at practice and Kuroo didn’t want to try moving things on his own. “I am not breaking my back because our muscle isn’t here,” he said, placing the last of Akaashi’s things in the living room.
Their new apartment was at least twice as large as his had been, with two bedrooms and an office. They’d already gotten Kuroo and Kenma’s couch and bed into the apartment that morning, and Bokuto had resigned himself to losing his bed since there just wasn’t enough room for three beds. Not that he minded, when reminded that he’d get to sleep with Akaashi in his.
“I’d rather not have to take you to the emergency room, thank you,” Kenma said, curling up on the couch.
“I’d very much like to not end up in the emergency room,” Kuroo said, plopping down next to him.
Akaashi smiled at them -- at the domesticity of them, Kenma pulled into Kuroo’s side as though he was always meant to be there. He’d seen it plenty of times, but it felt different standing in an apartment they all shared.
It was then that it really hit him. He was in an apartment that was no longer only his, or Bokuto’s, or the Cats. It was theirs . All of them, under one roof. He smiled, needing to turn away before he felt tears prick at his eyes.
He walked to the kitchen, shaking his head as the tears threatened to fall. It felt so much more real now than it had when they’d signed the lease. It felt so much like they were finally able to start living a life together. It was like Kenma had said -- they were starting a new chapter, one where they were no longer apart.
A tear slid down his cheek, and he laughed to himself. A pair of arms wrapped around his waist, and he jumped. “You okay, Kaashi?” Kenma said, voice muffled by his shirt. He laughed again, turning to face him. Kenma looked up, worried. “Why are you crying?”
“Don’t worry, they’re happy tears,” Akaashi said, smiling down at him. “It just hit me that we finally get to live together.” His voice was quiet, and more tears fell. Kenma reached up, brushing away some of them.
“You talk like we’d never get to this point,” Kenma said, a smile tugging at his lips.
“Yeah, well, like you said, I was the one keeping us from getting here.”
Kenma rolled his eyes. “You had your reasons, and none of us were going to push you until you were ready, dummy.”
Akaashi laughed, leaning down and kissing him softly, well aware of the tears that were dripping onto his face. “You should’ve pushed me. We could’ve been here sooner,” he whispered.
“You would’ve pushed back, and you know it,” he whispered back, blinking as a tear hit his cheek. Kenma pushed him away, making him laugh more. “Now stop crying already. Kuroo got worried and sent me in here, and I’m sure he’s half ready to--”
“Kaashi, are you okay?” Kuroo said, lingering in the doorway. His eyes widened when he saw him crying, and he made his way over, already going into mom mode.
Akaashi smiled at him, wiping his face. “I’m okay, Kuroo, promise. Happy tears.”
Kuroo bit his lip before nodding. “You really shouldn’t cry, you know. A gorgeous face like that doesn’t deserve to be sad.”
“Ew, Kuroo, stop that,” Kenma said, pulling away from Akaashi to turn to look at him. “Anyway, now that we’re all here, we really should figure out dinner, since Bokuto should be getting home soon.”
Akaashi smiled while Kuroo and Kenma talked -- really bickered -- about what to have, feeling warmth settle in his chest.
-.-.-
“Kaashi, how many books do you have?” Kenma said, pushing another box towards the bookshelf.
“Look, you’re dating someone who works in a bookstore. How many books do you think I have?” Akaashi said, halfway through the first box.
“Too many, clearly.” Kenma sat next to him, passing him books to make the process go faster. “Any idea when Bokuto and Kuroo will be back? It’s already pretty late.”
Akaashi paused, thinking. “Well, I think the last thing they had to do was take my old couch to a thrift store. So not long.” He went back to filling the shelves, determined to have it filled by the time they got back.
Kenma hummed in acknowledgement, and the conversation trailed off, both lost in their thoughts and the music coming from Akaashi’s phone. By the time the second box was empty and the bookshelf was filled, he was starting to feel the exhaustion of moving all day. He looked over at Kenma, seeing him just as tired, if not more.
“They’re still not back,” Akaashi pointed out. “Do you wanna stay up and wait for them?”
“Honestly, I just want to sleep. Kuroo woke me up way too early this morning,” Kenma said with a yawn. He paused, pulling at his sleeve. “Can I sleep with you tonight?” he asked, voice quiet and cheeks flushed.
Akaashi smiled, nodding. “I’m sure Kuroo and Bokuto won’t have any issues with it. And if they do, it’s not like we don’t have all the time in the world.”
Kenma smiled at him, pulling him up and over to the bed. Akaashi chuckled, letting him pull him. He did make a quick detour to the desk to grab his phone, texting the other two that they were gonna head to bed, of which he got a thumbs up and smiley emoji from Bokuto and a cat and sleeping face emoji from Kuroo.
He put his phone on the nightstand, pulling Kenma to his chest as he curled up under the blanket. “Sleep well, Kenma,” he whispered into his hair.
Kenma hummed, leaning up to give him a quick kiss before pushing his face into his chest. “Night Kaashi, I love you.”
“I love you, too, Kenma,” he said with a smile. It wasn’t long before he fell asleep, chest warm with the thought of finally living with the people he loved.