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Though television romance hyped love up to be all fireworks and spontaneous proposals in front of a crowd, you never expected love to feel like this.
Being with Akaashi Keiji meant that your love came in the form of quiet nights in, books in hand as the two of you basked in the warmth of each other’s presence. He was a man of few faults, his attentiveness and attention to detail always being the thing that saved your neck multiple times.
It wasn’t until he introduced you to his long-time friend did you realize that the love you grew up hearing about existed. Being with Bokuto Koutarou couldn’t be farther than being with your boyfriend – he was loud, and at times obnoxious, his mood easily fluctuating between different spectrums throughout the day. Throughout it all, his heart always had been in the right place, and you saw that through their striking differences, your boyfriend and his best friend just worked.
It didn’t take long until the silver haired man was integrated into your routine with Keiji, your nights in no longer as quiet, the thrum of Bokuto’s energy a steady beat in your ears.
You didn’t notice how often the pro-athlete was over your shared apartment until he had to leave for an away game. It wasn’t that you didn’t enjoy being with Keiji anymore – in fact, you had grown even closer with him, now that you had a steady stream of anecdotes from his youth that never failed to fluster him.
The feeling was strange – akin to that when you step into your room, and something of obscure was taken away. You tried to shrug it off, turning on the television to try and fill the silence.
As you were flipping the channels however, you came upon one that was showing a reel of the Black Jackal’s highlights. “Keiji, look it’s Kou!”
The two of you watched with rapt attention at the reel, bursting out in laughter every so often when the camera pans to the silver-haired man’s pout when in emo mode. Long after the program ended did the two of spend the night talking – your conversations subconsciously going back to the absent third person.
It was Keiji that opened up about his attraction to his friend from long ago, and you listened attentively as he began to talk about their not-quite relationship in high school. He was afraid, of course, of how you would react to this, but was pleasantly surprised at your interruptions with sounds of wonder, as well as appreciative comments.
That night, on the comfort of your couch, the two of you talked it out – from appreciative glances to knowing stares, and suggestive touches from here and there. And the morning of Bokuto’s arrival, it took both of your combined mind power not to jump right to the chase then and there.
Bokuto took notice of your rigidity but said nothing about it, knowing that the two of you were masters of communication, so if there was something bugging you, you’d tell him, right?
It wasn’t until the three of you were at a quaint café that he saw the back and forth glances and the fidgeting hands did he realize that there was something big coming up, and that it wasn’t going to be good. Before he could even bring it up, his lips quivered, and tears threatened to spill.
You were thankful that you had reserved the balcony for just the three of you, so that you and Keiji could fret over the ace, whose sobs began to obstruct his speech.
“I-If y-you wanted m-me gone, y-you should’ve told me sooner!” he wailed. “I w-was probably annoying the two of you…” it broke your heart to see him like this, and one look towards Keiji did you see the same expression mirrored in his eyes.
“Kou,” you crooned, tilting up his head to meet his eyes. You pressed a kiss onto his forehead, pulling away slightly for the bespectacled man to do the same.
“We didn’t want you gone, Bokuto-san.” Keiji’s hand found their way into yours, weaving the other into the softness of the former’s hair.
“We wanted you to never leave.”
Golden eyes widened in disbelief and surprise, as you took your seats and began to open up your hearts to each other. Bokuto only sat in silence, before launching himself into your awaiting arms, pulling the two of you close.
It was then, on the balcony of your favorite café, did you come to the conclusion that love is, was, and always will be different. It could come in the form of a slow building romance between childhood friends, or in the spontaneity of a drunken wedding.
For you, it would be the warmth in your chest as you watched the sun set on the horizon, the two most important people in your life leaning their heads on your shoulders, limbs sprawled out and hearts intertwined.