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“Bo, put the damn phone down,” Kuroo barked. “He ghosted you, don’t you get it?”
Bokuto looked up from the device, his eyebrows raised, a small frown on his face. “You don’t know that. He could just be busy, you know?”
“Why are you still holding out hope for this Yuji guy? You were supposed to spend time together last night and he canceled. And then when you messaged him today, he gave you one-word answers until he stopped altogether. Just leave it, don’t you have like, four other people you’re talking to?”
“Yeah, but look how cute he is!” Bokuto held up the phone to Kuroo’s face, waving it frantically. Kuroo pushed Bokuto’s hand down.
“Yes, yes, I know. He’s gorgeous,” Kuroo replied.
“And also-”
“His eyes twinkle like blue sapphires, I know. You told me. Several times. But that doesn’t change the fact that he ghosted you. The dude just dropped you, move on.”
“Fine,” Bokuto pouted.
“So how is the roommate search going?”
“Awful. I went onto the social media pages like you told me, but everyone is content with their roommates. I guess I’m just going to end up with some random. Hopefully, they’re not some weirdo who collects hair or something.”
“Why did your last roommate leave in the first place?” Kuroo asked.
“He withdrew, said that college wasn’t for him and he was going to become a fisherman or something like that. Weird little guy.”
“Well, maybe you’ll just end up with a single. Sometimes that happens, right?”
“Probably not with my luck.”
“Oh well. Let’s head to practice before we’re late again.”
After practice, Bokuto returned to his room and began to work on his homework. He checked through his emails and noticed one from the housing office.
Bokuto Koutarou,
This message is to inform you that you will be receiving a new roommate.
New assignment - Akaashi Keiji, [email protected]
They are scheduled to move into room 316 as of 3:00 pm, on May 25. Please ensure one bed and one set of furniture has been kept vacant and the room is clean to allow for your new roommate adequate space to move in their personal belongings.
If you have any questions or would like to purchase the other half of your space at the single room rate, please contact the housing office by the end of business on May 22.
Best,
Housing
Bokuto read through the email a few times. He had until the end of the week - technically Thursday - to clean his room. He had pushed the beds together when Nishinoya left, and put some of his stuff in the other closet, meaning he had to rearrange the room back to its original layout before the new roommate arrived.
He checked his Instagram and Twitter, searching for the name Akaashi Keiji, but was not able to find anything. He figured the account was set to private. He thought about emailing him to introduce himself but decided against it.
Bo:
New roommate on Thursday :(
Kuroo:
Guess you’re not getting a free single, that sucks
Bo:
No social media
Kuroo:
A hermit?
Bo:
I hope he doesn’t collect hair
Kuroo:
Snip snip
3:00 pm on Thursday rolled around and Bokuto and Kuroo waited in the room for the new roommate to arrive. After about two hours of playing Mario Kart and Smash Bros, they decided to head to the dining hall to get some food.
“Maybe he changed his mind?” Kuroo suggested.
“Maybe. But I think the email said he can start moving in at 3:00 pm, maybe he’ll just wait until later.”
“Who knows? Maybe he’s there now. Going through your stuff, finding hair samples.”
“Shut up.”
Bokuto walked back to his room alone, Kuroo said he had some homework to finish before a game they had that weekend. When he stepped off the elevator and walked down the hall, he noticed his door open and a few suitcases outside. Bokuto walked into the room and saw a small woman placing clothes in the dresser he finished emptying just a few hours earlier.
“Um, hello?” She turned to look at him.
“Oh, hello. You must be my son’s new roommate. He just went to the restroom quickly, but he should be back soon. What’s your name?” she asked.
“Bokuto Koutarou, nice to meet you, Akaashi-san.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Bokuto-kun. Ah, here’s my son now. Keiji, I was just introducing myself to your roommate.” Bokuto turned around and felt his face drop as he saw the person enter the room. The dark wavy hair, the glasses, the beautiful blue eyes… This was the guy that ghosted Bokuto. But he was slightly confused. The guy he had been talking to had a different name. Did someone use his pictures? Or perhaps he used a fake name.
Judging by the look on this guy’s face, he knew something was up. He looked as if he recognized Bokuto as well and quickly shook his head at Bokuto, a silent plea for him to be quiet. Bokuto walked up to him and held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Bokuto Koutarou. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Bokuto-san.” Akaashi’s eyes were pulled to his mother near the dresser.
“Mother, I can put away my clothes, please.”
“I was just trying to be helpful.”
“I know. Thank you. I’ll finish up. Why don’t you head out for the night? You still have to drive back and it’s getting kind of dark.”
“Fine, fine. I get it. You don’t want your mom here to embarrass you. I know when I’m not wanted anymore. But, I will see you for Sunday brunch?”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Good. It was nice to meet you, Bokuto-san. Please take care of my boy,” she said on her way out.” Akaashi stood in the room, his eyes cast down on the floor. Bokuto stared at him, waiting to see if he would say something.
When he didn’t Bokuto chimed in. “Yuji?”
“That’s not my real name.”
“Yeah, I got that much. Is there a reason you gave me a fake name?”
“I don’t use my real name on dating apps, is that so crazy? You didn’t give me your name either,” Akaashi retorted.
“Yes, I did. I told you my name was Bo, that’s what’s on my profile and it’s what my friends call me. Sorry I didn’t give you my entire life story. Why did you stand me up?”
“Why does it matter?”
“What do you mean? Because I was waiting all day for you to message me and then you just ghosted me. That’s pretty rude if you ask me.”
“Well, I didn’t.”
“You’re kind of an asshole, huh? You have a lot of manners when your mom is around, but when she leaves, you treat men like shit. What would she say if she knew you stood up to such a handsome guy like me? Maybe I should ask her,” Bokuto joked, taking a step toward the door.
“No!” Akaashi yelled, standing in front of Bokuto. “You can’t.”
“It was just a joke Aka-”
“It’s not funny, Bokuto-san.” His eyes were wide, sad, and beautiful. He looked a little scared as he faced Bokuto head-on. And then Bokuto put it together.
“You’re not out to your parents yet, are you?”
“It’s just me and my mom… but no. She doesn’t know I’m gay.” He looked so sad, and part of Bokuto felt bad for him.
“I won’t tell her, I promise.”
“Thank you, Bokuto-san”
“I still think you’re an asshole for ghosting me, though.”
“Fair enough.” Akaashi finished unpacking his bags in silence as Bokuto pretended to read for his class. He glanced through the conversations he and ‘Yuji’ had just days before. The two of them had talked about their majors, their hobbies, their favorite movies, and the restaurants they liked to eat at often. He wondered if any of it was true or if everything Akaashi had said was just as fake as ‘Yuji’ himself.
He glanced over to Akaashi every so often as he finished unpacking and set up his desk. It was lined with books, titles that Bokuto had never heard of before: American books, Greek books, and others that he guessed were geared toward Akaashi’s major since he had mentioned he was a Literature student. Once he finished with his last bag, Akaashi sat at his desk and began typing on his laptop, his fingers flying along the keys.
Bo:
Do you remember that guy that ghosted me?
Kuroo:
Not this shit again, drop it.
Bo:
I don’t think I can do that. He’s now living with me.
Kuroo:
...Excuse me? What?
Bo:
He’s my new roommate. He gave me a fake name before.
Kuroo:
That’s fucking hilarious. Now I have to meet him.
Bo:
He’s really cute in person.
Kuroo:
He ghosted you. Fuck that guy.
Bo:
What am I supposed to do? Just not look at him ever?
Kuroo:
Make him regret ghosting you.
Bo:
How?
Kuroo:
Idk man, walk around naked or something. Show him what he missed out on. You’re a top athlete at a Division 1 school, he missed out.
Bo:
I’m not going to walk around naked.
Kuroo:
Whatever, I’m going to bed.
Bokuto stood from his desk and grabbed his towel. He began to disrobe, something he had done a million times, but now he was painfully aware that Akaashi was in the room. He turned to face the wall as he removed his clothes and wrapped the towel around his waist. He grabbed his shower caddy and walked out of the room, Akaashi not turning once to look at him.
Why did I have to move into his room? Out of all the people at this university, it had to be him, Akaashi thought to himself as Bokuto left the room. He put his head in his hands, shutting the laptop in front of him. His eyes hurt from focusing so hard on the screen, realizing that Bokuto was behind him getting undressed. He couldn’t help but sneak a peek as he left the room, taking in the muscles of his back and shoulders as he walked out the door.
Shit.
When Bokuto returned, his hair still damp from the shower, water dripping down his chest ( it’s just as toned as his back ), and a slight path of hair leading from his belly button down into his towel, Akaashi thought he could feel his nose begin to bleed. He stared intently into his book as he sat on his bed, so hard, the words began to jumble together. Was he doing this on purpose? There was no way someone could be so attractive and not understand the effect they had on someone.
“Do you care if I turn the lights out?” Bokuto asked, startling Akaashi at the sudden sound of his voice. The two had not spoken in a few hours and Akaashi had almost forgotten that Bokuto could speak. “I have an early practice tomorrow so I’m going to head to bed.”
“Um, sure,” Akaashi responded, looking at the wall next to Bokuto to avoid staring at his chest. He wore nothing but a pair of boxers that hung on his hips a little too well. “Do you care if I leave my desk light on so I can keep reading? I tend to stay up kind of late.”
“That’s fine.” Bokuto moved to the light switch and turned them down, Akaashi’s eyes followed, taking in the contours of his back once again, noticing the dimples right above the hem of his boxers above his butt. He took a breath and looked back at his book, trying to forget that he had a hot roommate that he had almost gone on a date with until he couldn’t anymore. Bokuto climbed into bed and faced the wall, trying to ignore the glow from Akaashi’s desk light. He slowly drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Bokuto woke up and startled himself as he turned over to see Akaashi in the bed on the opposite side of the room. He had almost forgotten about getting a new roommate, the one who ghosted him. The one who slept with his mouth open in a really adorable way, his glasses still on his face, the covers halfway down his body showing his exposed belly as his shirt rode up a little in his sleep.
Bokuto moved to the dresser and tried to get dressed as quietly as possible. He pushed the dresser drawer shut a little too loudly, earning a groan from Akaashi. “What time is it?” he asked.
“Six in the morning,” Bokuto whispered.
“It’s too early. Shut up.”
“Sorry, I have practice at 7:30, I need to get dressed and eat beforehand.”
“Do it quieter, then,” Akaashi said before rolling over to face the wall, pulling the covers over his head.
“Sorry,” Bokuto muttered sarcastically. “Maybe don’t stay up until three in the morning to read,” he whispered under his breath. He looked up, but it appeared that Akaashi had not heard him based on the stillness from the figure under the covers. Bokuto finished preparing his bag and then left for practice.
In the afternoon, Bokuto and Kuroo headed to the room. Kuroo insisted that he meet Akaashi in person to see if he was as cute as Bokuto claimed he was. When they entered the room, it was empty, just Akaashi’s messy bed with a few books tossed on top.
“Where is he?” Kuroo asked.
“I don’t know, I’m not his keeper,” Bokuto responded, putting his bag on his bed. “But his side already looks like a mess and he’s only been here for a few hours.”
“Oh boy, are you going to bug him about the cleaning?” Kuroo set his bag on the floor next to Bokuto’s bed.
“I just don’t want to look at that mess every day. How does a grown man not make his bed and stay organized? It’s an eyesore.”
“Then I suggest you keep your eyes on your side of the room, Bokuto-san.” Bokuto and Kuroo turned to the door to see Akaashi holding his shower caddy, a towel wrapped around his waist. He walked into the room, set down his caddy by his bed, and began to pull out some clothing from his closet.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize you were standing there,” Bokuto said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Why are you sorry? Because you spoke the truth? I would rather you tell me if something bothers you, Bokuto-san. That doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to completely change my behavior to accommodate you. This is our room now, so we’re going to have to compromise on some things.” Akaashi walked to his bed, placing some clothes on top of the messy covers.
“Hi, I’m Kuroo Tetsuroo. A pleasure to meet you,” Kuroo said, laughing a little through his introduction.
“Hello, Kuroo-san. The RA dropped off a roommate agreement for the both of us to fill out together, we can do that later if you have some time.”
“Sure, yeah. Did you have class today?”
“I have a class at 2:00 pm. I try to have very few classes on Fridays and I don’t have any morning classes throughout the week.”
“Oh, that must be nice.”
“Bo and I are about to head to lunch if you want to join us,” Kuroo stated. Bokuto shot him a look, just to see Kuroo smirking at him.
“Sure, but if you could give me some space to get dressed, that would be appreciated.”
Bokuto and Kuroo stepped out of the room and into the hallway. “Why did you invite him to lunch? He obviously hates me,” Bokuto said once into the hallway.
“He doesn’t hate you. He probably doesn’t like you very much, but I don’t think he feels emotions strong enough to hate you. He is pretty cute.”
“So what?”
“You were gushing over this dude not too long ago, now you can’t stand him?”
“That was before I had to live with him. I don’t care if he’s cute and that he wears his glasses to bed which is pretty adorable… he’s annoying.”
“...Right.”
Akaashi walked out of the room and quietly locked the door. “Sorry, I’m ready now.”
They walked to the dining hall in relative silence with just Bokuto and Kuroo discussing their upcoming game and some highlights from their morning practice. They grabbed their food and sat down at their table. Akaashi continued to sit quietly while working his way through his lunch. Kuroo shot Bokuto a quick look before clearing his throat.
“So, Akaashi, what’s your major?”
“Literature.”
“Cool, cool… Why did you ghost Bokuto and give him a fake name on Tinder?”
“Dude, what the fuck?” Bokuto reacted, smacking Kuroo.
“What? We both want to know. Why don’t we clear the air? Come on, Akaashi, let’s hear it. There must be a great reason to stand up an attractive athlete like Bokuto. I know he’s not the brightest bulb, but he’s a pretty decent guy.”
“Thanks for the endorsement, asshole. You don’t have to answer that, Akaashi.”
“Oh yes, he does.”
“Dude, shut up.”
“Something came up,” Akaashi said quietly. “I’m sorry I stood you up, Bokuto-san.” Bokuto and Kuroo turned to look at Akaashi. He kept his head down, pushing his food around on his plate before standing from the table. “I have to get going. We can do the roommate agreement later.” He walked off, leaving Bokuto and Kuroo at the table.
“Nice going, dude. Why’d you have to bug him?”
“Come on, you want to know why he ghosted you, too. And what kind of an answer was that? Something came up? He couldn’t have sent you a message? I need to stand up for my bro, bro.”
“Shut up.”
Bokuto waited up that night for Akaashi to get back to the room. When 9:00 pm rolled around, he felt his eyes begin to close until the door opened. Akaashi walked in with his backpack on and laptop in hand. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you up, Bokuto-san.”
“It’s fine. Can we do this agreement before I fall asleep?”
“It’s only nine, don’t you go out or do anything fun on the weekends?”
“Not really. I usually have an early morning practice most days, so I’m pretty tired by eight or even seven some nights. I guess I’m kind of like a grandpa.”
“You mentioned you played volleyball, right?”
“Yup. I love it!”
“Hm. Well, why don’t we work on this agreement so you can go to sleep then?” They went through each box, realizing how different the others’ lifestyle was. Items like cleanliness, sleep schedules, and study habits were all opposite of one another. They tried to come up with compromises for each. Akaashi agreed to make his bed as best as he could remember.
“The next section is guests and… um… intimate partners,” Bokuto said.
“I don’t care if you have anyone over. Just let me know beforehand so I can make arrangements to stay home or something.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Was that the last one?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, I’m going to head out in a bit. I’ll try to be quiet when I get back.”
“Oh, okay… Hey, Akaashi?”
“Yeah?” Akaashi responded, lifting his shirt over his head.
Bokuto looked over at him, forgetting his question for a moment as he took in the lines of Akaashi’s slim body. “Um… you don’t have to tell me right now, but I would like to know why you just stopped messaging me. I thought we had a pretty good connection… and then you just stopped talking to me. Did I do something to upset you or say something wrong?”
Akaashi paused for a moment. He looked at Bokuto, his eyes a little sad, “No, you didn’t do anything. I meant it when I said something came up. But I don’t want to talk about it right now.” He grabbed a button-up shirt from his closet and began to dress.
Bokuto nodded. “Okay, thanks. I just hoped I didn’t do anything to upset you. And um… if you want to… maybe we could go out sometime… like on a date?”
“No, I don’t think that would be a good idea now that we’re roommates. I’ll be back later tonight, I’ll try not to wake you up.”
Akaashi left the room without looking back. He felt bad that he hadn’t told Bokuto the entire reason he ghosted him, but he didn’t want to get into it that night. He wanted to go out with his friends and get drunk and forget about some of his problems; one of his main problems being that his extremely hot Tinder match was now his extremely hot roommate that he wanted nothing more than to make out with.
Bokuto decided to take a quick shower before heading to bed. Although Akaashi told him he hadn’t done anything wrong, it felt like he wasn’t being told the entire truth and there was something more that caused him to hesitate. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to continue living with someone so cute, especially when he slept less than ten feet away.
Crash. Bokuto woke up to the sound of breaking glass and a large thump. He switched on the lamp next to his desk and saw Akaashi sitting on the floor, his shirt half-open, a button or two missing, no glasses, and his eyes looking glassy and not focusing. Bokuto looked at the clock and read the time: 4:37 am.
“Dude, what the fuck? Are you just getting back?”
“Oh hi, Bokuto-san. How are you?”
“I’d be a lot better if you didn’t wake me up. Go to bed, dude.”
“You… go ta… bed.” Akaashi slurred.
“Shit, how much did you drink? Do you even know where you are right now?” Bokuto climbed out of his bed to help Akaashi stand.
“Yer arms… are really strong,” Akaashi laughed. He leaned his head on Bokuto’s chest, falling forward a little bit. Bokuto caught him and helped him to his bed where Akaashi began to strip his clothes off, tossing his shirt to the floor before struggling with his jeans.
“Do you… need help?” Bokuto asked, regretting the moment the question left his mouth.
Akaashi looked at him and smiled. “Do you want to see me naked, Bo-san?”
“No, I want you to go to bed so I can go to bed. You’re being loud and obnoxious. The sooner you finish taking those off getting under the covers, the sooner I can get back to sleep.”
Akaashi sat up on the bed, slowly moving his pants down in an attempt to look seductive, but failing miserably in his current state. “Bokuto, you can just tell me if you find me attractive. I think you’re sexy.”
Bokuto looked away, growing a bit irritated. “Akaashi, go to bed.”
“Come on, you like me. You still want to date me even though I stood you up. You must be lonely or something to want to go out with little old me,” he said, kicking his jeans off and hitting Bokuto with them.
Bokuto threw them back at Akaashi. “You know what? I don’t care if you’re drunk. You can go fuck yourself.”
“No, fuck me yourself, you… coward.”
“That didn’t even make any sense. Go to bed before I knock you out and force you to go to bed.”
“No,” Akaashi said, standing on the bed and sticking his tongue out at Bokuto.
“Sit down before you hurt yourself.”
“Make me.”
“I’m not touching a drunk man who’s half-naked. Sit down, Akaashi.”
“No,” Akaashi said again.
“Fine, I’m going to bed. Don’t break your neck, idiot.” Bokuto stalked off and climbed into his bed. Akaashi watched him turn toward the wall and pull the covers over himself. He felt his vision get a little fuzzier as he climbed down from his bed.
The next morning Akaashi woke up cursing the sounds of the birds outside his dorm room window, his head pounding. Although the blinds were drawn, he felt like the lights were still far too bright and he pulled the covers over his head. He snuggled into the sheets, trying to escape into the fabric of the bedding until he realized he was on the opposite side of the room.
He sprung up, his head protesting the sudden movement. He took in the state of the room: his clothes were on the floor, his bed looked like a mess and it was missing sheets, and he was almost naked, just in his underwear, in Bokuto’s bed. He couldn’t remember much from the previous night. He vaguely recalled coming home and talking with Bokuto and even walking up to Bokuto’s bed, but that was it. His chest felt heavy as he worried about what the two of them might have done while he was intoxicated.
The door opened and Bokuto walked through, dressed in some sweat pants and a cut-up t-shirt. He carried a small plastic bag in his hand and let out a deep sigh as he made eye contact with Akaashi. “You’re awake.”
“Yeah…”
“How are you feeling?” Bokuto asked.
“Like shit.”
“Good. You were an asshole last night. Here,” he said, tossing the bag onto the bed. “I grabbed you some food from the convenience store and some ibuprofen. I figured you would have a pretty bad hangover today.”
“Thanks,” Akaashi said, opening the bag and taking out the bottle of orange juice and some medicine. He took a few pills with the juice and then looked at Bokuto. “Did we… um… you know…?”
“Have sex? No, you were really drunk and I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“How did I end up in your bed?”
“You threw up on your sheets and then climbed into bed with me. I tried to wiggle away from you to sleep on the floor, but you’re really strong when you’re drunk. I threw your sheets in the wash, they should be ready for the dryer in about twenty minutes.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry for the way I behaved last night, Bokuto-san. I must have been a lot to handle.”
“You were. You were kind of mean to me. It was like you were making fun of me for being interested in you and asking you out, and then taunting me. What was up with that?” Bokuto sat on the end of the bed with Akaashi, enough distance between the two of them.
“I’m sorry. I think I drank way too much and I must have taken some of my frustrations out on you.”
“What frustrations, Akaashi? It feels like you’re hiding something from me.” Akaashi hesitated. “Why did you stand me up, Akaashi?” Bokuto asked.
Akaashi looked up at him. Bokuto could see his eyes clearly without his glasses, beautiful and sad. “To be honest, I was excited about meeting you. I even told my last roommate about it. When he found out I was going out with a guy, he kind of freaked out and started calling me names. He’s a friend from high school - was a friend - and he said he was going to tell my mom and that he didn’t want to live with a fag like me. I begged him not to tell my mom and the only way he agreed was if I found a different room. I spent the rest of the day trying to talk with housing and explain to them what was happening, but it was hard… So something came up, and I couldn’t go out with you.
I was going to message you once I was in a new room, tell you what happened, but um… well, here we are.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you. That’s shitty. I could beat that guy up if you want.”
“No,” Akaashi laughed. “You couldn’t do that, you’d probably get kicked off the team.”
“Eh, maybe just suspended.” Bokuto paused. “Do you normally get drunk like that every weekend?”
“No, I don’t drink, actually. I was just really frustrated. Sorry.”
“Yeah, I get how all of that could be a lot to deal with. Having to deal with an asshole roommate and then moving when it’s not your fault, that sucks.”
“...And then moving into a room with a guy you like who just happens to be really hot… and cute… and sweet.” Bokuto looked over at Akaashi, his face was red as he looked down at his bottle of orange juice. Bokuto moved a little closer until he could almost touch Akaashi.
“You’re really cute too, especially when you sleep with your glasses on.”
Akaashi looked up and smiled. They looked at each other for a moment, silence in the air, just the sounds of their breathing and the birds outside. Bokuto moved forward just a bit more, testing the moment, making sure he wasn’t misreading the situation. Akaashi looked at him for another moment, placing his hand on the side of Bokuto’s face before pulling him in closer, laying on the bed and allowing Bokuto to hold himself above Akaashi.
Akaashi noted that Bokuto’s lips were warm, soft, and gentle. He lied the way they were a little larger than his, as Bokuto took the lead on the kiss, adding a little force to part Akaashi’s mouth as he slowly began to explore the space with his tongue. Their tongues brushed each other for a brief moment before Bokuto pulled away a little too quickly and sat up.
“Nope, sorry. You need to brush your teeth. It tastes like vomit, orange juice, and stale morning breath.”
Akaashi laughed. “Thank you for the honesty, Bokuto-san. My apologies. I can mitigate the situation and we can try again.” He climbed off the bed and found a pair of sweatpants and shirt to pull on. Bokuto sat with a smile on his face, watching Akaashi dress. “By the way, have you seen my glasses?”