Work Text:
Tenma watches as Akaashi takes off his glasses and rubs at his eyes, a heavy sigh escaping him for what seems to be the tenth time this afternoon. It could possibly do with him just not getting enough sleep, Tenma and Akaashi both knew what an egregious sleep schedule he could keep sometimes, but honestly, it seems to be more than that this time around. A tired Akaashi was usually a quiet Akaashi, so the heavy sighs rule out that possibility.
“Akaashi-san, are you doing alright?” he finally ventures to ask, causing Akaashi to blink and look up at him, almost as if he’s been broken from a million thoughts. Yeah, it’s definitely not him being tired.
With yet another sigh, Akaashi settles his glasses back on the bridge of his nose and nods, closing his eyes. “Yes, my apologies. I’ve just had something on my mind, it’s nothing you have to worry about.”
“Oh ok. Are you sure though? You seem to be pretty down, maybe talking about it could help.”
With a slight smile, Akaashi raises an eyebrow. “This isn’t you trying to distract me from going over your rough draft with you, is it?” Akaashi teases.
Tenma’s eyes widen and he shakes his head frantically. Sure, he'd used it a few times but has it really been enough to deduce a pattern? “No, no that’s not what I’m trying to do, I promise!” He stops as Akaashi starts to laugh quietly, leaning back in his chair.
“I know, I’m just teasing you, Udai-sensei,” Akaashi smiles softly before looking down at the table, placing his hands on top of it. Tenma notices as he starts to fidget with his fingers, a frown on his face. “Do you remember the month I had to have one of my projects transferred?”
Tenma nods. He does remember, because that had been a new kind of stress he’d never seen from Akaashi before. Usually the stress came from various deadlines, but Akaashi hadn't seemed to be mentally there at all. It was concerning, to put it mildly. “Yeah, that was when you and your family had to take care of Bokuto-san, right? Because he wasn’t feeling well?”
“That’s correct. He came back from the season just as work got really busy for all three of us, and we hadn’t been able to spend time with him at all as soon as he had gotten home,” Akaashi explains, Tenma nodding as he continues. “He’s only just started taking medication to help him manage his ADHD and depression, so he needed to get them adjusted. He tried to convince himself that he didn’t need to though and kept things to himself for a month because he thought he’d stress us out even more than we already were.”
“What happened? How’d you find out?”
“He ended up coming to ask me about whether or not I’d want him to tell me if his depressive episodes were getting worse if I’m stressed and he broke down when I got concerned.”
“Oh wow…” Tenma mutters out, frowning at Akaashi. “Is he still having trouble with it? Is that why you’re feeling down?”
Surprisingly, Akaashi shakes his head, smiling just a tad. “Luckily he’s been doing much better, Kuroo and Kenma took an entire month off of work altogether and I took on less so that we could spend time with him, and he got in contact with his psychiatrist to up his medication. He felt more like himself by the time he and Kuroo headed back to Osaka a few months ago.”
“Oh, well that’s good,” Tenma says with a nod and Akaashi nods back.
“Yes, I’m just worried about the holidays this year is all,” Akaashi sighs, resting his cheek on one of his hands. “Because of when the season takes place, we’ve celebrated the holidays in June, when he’s back home. It works, we still enjoy it, but Christmas is Bokuto’s favorite and he always feels more down than usual during December. It’s the first Christmas after his breakdown, and I can’t help but fear the worst when it comes to how he might be feeling because of it…”
Watching as Akaashi purses his lips as he stares down at the table, Tenma takes all of it in. It does make sense that something like this has been bothering Akaashi, but obviously it isn’t ideal, even with the validity. He thinks on it some more as they get back to work, letting it sit in the back of his mind. After they wrap up for the day and Akaashi says goodbye before heading home, Tenma takes out his phone on his way to the car, typing out a message to two numbers he never thought he’d have to use.
Udai Tenma
Hello, this is Udai Tenma, I work with Akaashi-san. I wanted to ask if he’s seemed a bit down to you or has talked about anything like that lately
Kuroo Tetsurou
Hey, this is Kuroo. Yeah, a bit. Any reason in particular?
Udai Tenma
I asked him about it today and wanted to see if you two knew about it at all
Kuroo Tetsurou
Unfortunately
Kozume Kenma
He’s been worried about Bokuto
Kuroo Tetsurou
For good reason too, the holidays are especially hard for him being away from at least two of us
I’m the one who’s gone to Osaka with him this season but even with my company, I know he wants to be able to have all of us around
Udai Tenma
Is there anything we can do about it?
Kenma hears Akaashi heading upstairs after getting home from work and he pauses his game in order to greet his boyfriend, getting up to walk to the hallway.
A slight smile replaces the tiredness in Akaashi’s face as Kenma appears in the doorway of the gaming room. The former moves over to him and sinks willingly into the invitation of Kenma’s outstretched arms, Akaashi closing his eyes as he buries his nose into Kenma’s hair and inhales slowly. It’s quiet, and neither of them say anything. Neither of them have to, as they go about the silently understood routine they’ve always had, both instinctively knowing what to do for the rest of the evening before they get into bed early that night, Akaashi’s head resting on Kenma’s chest as the smaller of the two holds him close, letting Akaashi curl up into him.
The quiet is broken by Akaashi after the lights had been turned off several minutes ago. “I miss him,” he mutters into the darkness.
“Mhm,” Kenma only hums, letting Akaashi say everything he needs to. He smiles a little as Akaashi shifts and snuggles into him more.
“I miss him, I’m worried about him. I want him to be able to be happy right now with everything that’s happened lately, but I know this has always been such a hard time of year for him. I know Tetsurou can take care of him, I know he can take care of himself, but I just wish we could both be there too, Kenma.”
“I’m worried about him too, I think we all are,” Kenma says and Akaashi nods into his chest.
“What worries me the most is… What if he’s hiding things from us? What if he’s trying to seem ok since he’s been doing better?” The two of them know it wouldn’t be entirely unlikely, Bokuto’s usually the one out of all four of them to try and put on a brave face when it comes to just about anything. If he went an entire month without saying a single thing to any of them about how lonely he was feeling, what’s to say he wouldn’t be covering this up too? He hates feeling like a burden, and he fears it to some extent no matter how many times they reassure him he’s not and never has been. Even with the improvements he’s been making, that isn’t going to be something that ever fully goes away, and Akaashi frowns at the possibility. “I wish there was a way he could more easily trust us when it comes to this, I hate seeing him feel like he has to protect us from his emotions.”
“From what Tetsurou’s told me, he seems to be trying to keep himself open. He’s been asking for a lot of hugs, I think that’s a good sign even if he isn’t exactly saying why he’s feeling upset when he is. They’ve talked a bit about how he’s feeling.”
“It’s not me, is it? He isn’t specifically avoiding telling me these things?”
“No, he hasn’t told me much either. He’s probably more scared to tell me than you or Tetsurou if anything. He trusts you the most, I think it’s just a matter of him being in physical proximity to Tetsurou, it’s easier for him to remember someone’s supporting him if he’s actually around them and visibly sees they’re there. It’s something I’ve noticed whenever I’m the one going with him, he seeks out my support more often than when I don’t go and Tetsurou does instead.”
“I just wish I could be the one to spend the season with him for once, I wish I could be the one to make sure he’s ok,” Akaashi admits quietly, letting out a breath.
Kenma feels a few tears soak into his shirt and he shuffles to pull Akaashi closer, resting his cheek on Akaashi’s hair. They don’t say anything after that, falling asleep soon enough.
The door to Bokuto’s apartment in Osaka opens as he gets back from practice for the day, Kuroo sitting in the kitchen with his laptop as he hears Bokuto let out a loud grunt while stretching.
“Hey Kou!” he calls out, frowning a bit as he doesn’t get a verbal answer, only the sound of footsteps making their way towards him. Arms wrap around his waist, Bokuto’s face burying itself between his shoulder blades.
“Hard day,” Bokuto mumbles, nuzzling into him a little more before going still, letting his breaths even out for a moment.
“Yeah? You wanna talk about it?” Kuroo asks him gently, reaching a hand back to scratch gently through Bokuto’s hair. Bokuto melts just the slightest bit into the touch but it’s enough to make Kuroo smile. It seems like just a little TLC will be able to help for the most part, at least for now.
“Tsum-Tsum and Omi were talking about holiday stuff. They’re planning to go to Hyogo to spend it with Tsum-Tsum’s family since we don’t have official practice that day…” Bokuto explains, sighing into Kuroo’s shoulder before nuzzling his head into Kuroo’s cheek. Kuroo plants a kiss on his hair. “They can get there in an hour, ‘s not fair… I miss Keiji and Kenma, I want to be back home, Tetsu.”
“I know baby, I know..”
“At least I’m not alone though, I gotta look on the bright side of things right?” Bokuto’s voice comes out quiet.
Kuroo loosens Bokuto’s grip around him for just a second to turn and face him, cupping his cheeks gently. Placing a kiss on his forehead, he looks over Bokuto’s face for a moment. Bokuto looks up at him with a small, hesitant pout. How Kuroo would do anything to wipe away all the hurt Bokuto was dealing with right now. He can’t, but he tries the next best thing. “Looking on the bright side is good, we can’t forget that, but you’re allowed to feel upset about it anyways, Koutarou. Just because there’s still some good doesn’t mean your hurt is any less real.”
Bokuto lets out a small laugh, smiling sadly. “You guys always know the right things to say…” With a nod, Bokuto runs a hand through his hair as he takes a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling. “I’m working on believing it, I promise.”
“I know, I’m very proud of you and I know it’s not easy. You’re doing such a good job though, you always do,” Kuroo hums out and finally, a little bit of light comes back into Bokuto’s eyes, just a small break in the cloud cover, but for now, it’s enough. If certain plans work out, it’ll be more than enough to get Bokuto through it. Even then, Bokuto’s strong.
Bokuto’s clinging to Kuroo once again, face buried into Kuroo’s shoulder. “Gotta help my brain make the happy chemicals,” he murmurs with the voice that says he’s fighting back one of his absolutely giddy smiles, getting a loud laugh from Kuroo.
“I’m always down to help you make the happy chemicals, that’s what I’m here for,” Kuroo chuckles out, kissing Bokuto’s temple. “Let’s get even more going by getting some dinner ready so we can eat, yeah? That sound good?”
“Mhm!” Bokuto stops fighting the grin.
Keiji <3
How are you doing, love? I just wanted to check in with you, I hope you don’t mind
Koutarou
Keijiiiiiii!!!
I never mind, because I love you a whole heckin’ ton!!
Keiji <3
I love you too Koutarou, thank you for the reassurance
Koutarou
Always :D
Oh, your question! I’m feeling a little down tbh, but I’ll be ok! Just sad I won’t get to see you and Kenma..
Keiji <3
I know, I wish you could be here with us
Koutarou
Yeah, I’m glad I’m not all alone though, that’s good at least!
I’m still bummed obviously, but Tetsu’s been telling me how even though it’s good to look on the bright side of things, that doesn’t mean it invalidates my sadness. I’m trying my best to believe him, I know you guys would tell me that I can be sad!
And I’m trying to not keep things from you so I’m telling you about it because I know you’ve told me you want me to be open about how I’m feeling!
Well, you guys say that I don’t have to share everything because I’m not obligated to tell people things if I don’t want to but you know
Bleh, that was confusing, sorry
Keiji <3
No need to apologize, I understand what you’re saying
Koutarou
You always do :)
Keiji <3
:)
Thank you though, for being honest with me even though I know it’s hard at times. You’re doing a good job and I’m proud of you for trying to be mindful
Koutarou
Keijiiiiii, you can’t just put all of that sweet stuff into one message!
Keiji <3
Well, I can and I did, I apologize for nothing, my love <3
Koutarou
😂 You’re such a dork, I love you!!
Keiji <3
I love you too, very much
Koutarou
I have to go get ready for practice but you can text me whenever you want to! I know I can be forgetful and spacey about it, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to talk to you or anything! Just my brain being my brain!
Keiji <3
Understood, I will try to keep that in mind as something that I myself should work on
Koutarou
It’s ok if you have trouble with it though, just wanted to throw it out there so you know you don’t have to worry (Not too much anyways, I know you overthinking won’t magically go away just because I said that!)
Anyways, practice, getting out of the house, love you, bye!! 🤍🖤
Keiji <3
Bye Koutarou, work hard and look after yourself, I love you too ❤️
Udai Tenma
Any updates on the plan?
Kuroo Tetsurou
It’s probably going to take a bit of work but I think things will work out on my end. Any luck with yours?
Udai Tenma
I had to negotiate a bit but I managed to convince Akaashi’s boss! I’m all set!
Kozume Kenma
I really hope this works
Kuroo Tetsurou
Don’t worry kitten, we’ve got this!
Kozume Kenma
Not in front of Akaashi’s coworker, Kuroo
Kuroo Tetsurou
Lol my bad, sorry Kenma
“Hey babe, can we get out the Christmas stuff?” Bokuto asks, words muffled by the toothbrush in his mouth as he appears in the bathroom doorway.
Kuroo looks over to his reflection in the mirror, processing the question for a moment before he runs a hand through his hair, looking back at himself as he answers. “I won’t be able to do so today, I need to make headway on one of our projects so that I can get some feedback from my team. I take it you don’t want to decorate without me?”
“Nope, I like it much better when I get to do it with you,” Bokuto says with a smile, forgetting he’s still brushing his teeth as he presses a kiss to Kuroo’s cheek.
Kuroo doesn’t jump at the kiss, just letting out a chuckle as he nonchalantly continues the conversation, wiping his cheek with a washcloth. “I figured, what do you think about doing it over the weekend?” Bokuto nods enthusiastically, bouncing in place, quickly rinsing out his mouth to kiss all over Kuroo’s face. One of the best things about dating Bokuto Koutarou is that you never have to guess when something makes him happy, Kuroo thinks as he leans forward to press his lips to Bokuto’s, feeling the outside hitter’s absolutely electric joy even from just that small area of contact.
He’s making this promise Monday morning, about a week and a half away from Christmas. He knows he has no intention of actually getting to those boxes, but that isn’t to say he’ll be breaking his promise.
Kuroo Tetsurou
How sus do you think it’d be if I had him put a blindfold on?
Kozume Kenma
I can’t tell if you’re joking or not
Kuroo Tetsurou
Only like, partially-
I mean, it’s cliché as hell, don’t get me wrong, but people do it for a reason, you know?
Udai Tenma
Wait, does this mean you did it?
Kuroo Tetsurou
I did indeed!
Udai Tenma
Oh thank god, I didn’t know what I was gonna do if things had only worked out for one of us 😅
Kuroo Tetsurou
Luckily we no longer have to worry about that!
Now, about the blindfold 😗
Kozume Kenma
No
Kuroo Tetsurou
I’m just saying, it could work!
Kozume Kenma
Do you really think you could ask our extremely ADHD boyfriend to wear a blindfold for 6 hours?
Kuroo Tetsurou
…
Well shoot
Kozume Kenma
That’s what I thought
“Hey Tetsu-babe, do you know where my sweater is? The yellow one Keiji gave me?” Bokuto’s voice calls out from their bedroom.
Kuroo knows exactly where it is, he was the one who stashed it away after all.
“No idea, sorry Kou!”
Everything’s planned by Saturday morning, and Kuroo goes out in the morning during Bokuto’s run to put some bags in the trunk of their car, sending a text off to Kenma that things were all set. He doesn’t get a response but seeing as it’s 8 in the morning, he wasn’t expecting one.
As Bokuto gets back, Kuroo’s already standing right by the door, offering up a towel. With a slight look of surprise, Bokuto takes it, wiping down his face.
“What’s up?” Bokuto asks as he hands the towel back, sitting down to take off his shoes as he looks over his shoulder at Kuroo.
“You don’t have practice today, right?” Kuroo asks him, keeping his face fairly passive to avoid Bokuto getting too suspicious.
“Yeah, gym renovations, why?” Bokuto only asks back, raising a confused eyebrow at him. Ok, completely avoiding suspicion was unrealistic, Kuroo knows Bokuto feels like people play three-dimensional chess just to have a simple conversation when he doesn’t even know what a rook is (He didn’t even know Bokuto knew there was a piece with that name before Bokuto had made the analogy), so Bokuto isn’t exactly going to get his implications, specifics or not.
“I want to take you somewhere,” Kuroo tells him with a smile, Bokuto’s suddenly wide eyes and intrigued look giving him all the indication needed that this was definitely a good plan.
“Where are we going?” Bokuto grins, nodding in agreement to the idea even as he asks the question.
“It’s a surprise, it’ll take us a couple hours to get there but I promise you’ll love it,” Kuroo hums out, pressing a kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek. “You can go take a shower and we can leave as soon as you’re ready.”
That’s all it takes for Bokuto to give him a quick kiss before darting off to their bedroom, clearly more than a little excited. Kuroo just chuckles to himself, sitting down on the couch and pulling out his phone while he waits.
After the shower stops, Kuroo hears Bokuto looking through the drawers in their dresser for a minute before sighing loudly to himself. “Man, I’m losing everything, I can’t find one of my t-shirts!” Opening up another drawer, Bokuto groans. “And a pair of socks too!”
“We’ll find ‘em at some point, don’t worry Kou,” Kuroo tells him, getting a light huff in response, Bokuto luckily not sounding too put off by the articles of clothing’s disappearance. There isn’t any real reason to worry, at least to Kuroo because he knows where they are, but it would’ve sucked if it actually upset Bokuto. After a few minutes, Bokuto finds him in the living room and grins, jumping up and down a little. “Good to go?” Kuroo asks as he gets up.
“Mhm!”
“I do mean it when I said it’ll take a few hours and we’ll be there for a while, you got everything?”
“I think so,” Bokuto says slowly, eyebrows furrowing as he tries to think.
Kuroo saves him from stressing over it though, asking “Headphones?”
Bokuto points to them around his neck with a nod. “Yep!”
“Phone?”
“In my pocket!”
“Fidget cube?”
“Oh, good idea!” Bokuto runs off before coming back, holding it up in his hand. “Now I do!”
“Wallet?”
“In my other pocket!”
“Keys?”
“Also in my other pocket!”
Kuroo smiles and gives him a thumbs up. “And we’ve got charging chords in the car so we’re all set there. You ready?” he teases as he watches Bokuto bounce in place.
“Maybe a little bit,” Bokuto says, trying to hold most of the excitement at bay.
“Uh, maybe a lot a bit!” Kuroo exclaims with a smirk as he wraps an arm around Bokuto’s shoulder, starting to head out.
“Ok yeah, I’m a lot ready!!”
Laughing at the admission, Kuroo kisses Bokuto’s cheek. “Good!”
Kenma wakes up sometime around 11, groggy as he sits up, blinking at the wall for a second. A disgruntled noise comes from next to him, Akaashi very clearly sleeping in since he doesn’t have work today. It’s extremely tempting to just lie back down and go to sleep cuddled up to Akaashi, but picking his phone up from the nightstand, Kuroo’s already sent him a message from a few hours ago telling him that the plan is now in motion. So as cute as Akaashi is mumbling about how Kenma should stay because he’s warm and Akaashi is comfortable as the arm around his hip attempts to pull him closer, Kenma leans down and presses a kiss to Akaashi’s temple, shaking him gently.
“Nooooo,” Akaashi whines quietly, pouting as Kenma doesn’t let up.
“C’mon Keiji, there’s stuff I want to do.”
“Then you can let me keep sleeping, I don’t need to be awake for that,” Akaashi protests.
“I mean stuff with you,” Kenma responds, watching Akaashi.
He stops moving for a moment, pout momentarily replaced by his thinking face, before he sighs and relents. “Fine,” he barely gets out, yawning as he sits up and tries to wake up. Kenma scoots out of bed, stopping as Akaashi catches his arm. “Stay.”
“I’m going to make us coffee.”
“Then take me with you,” Akaashi demands stubbornly, eyes still closed as he stands, still holding on to Kenma’s wrist.
“Alright, let’s go then,” Kenma says as he moves to hold on to Akaashi’s hand, leading him down to the kitchen. Akaashi follows him as he makes the coffee.
Half an hour later, they’re both finally awake enough to have a conversation and Akaashi leans his cheek on a hand, looking over Kenma. “Any special reason you want to do something today?”
Kenma shrugs. “Not really, just since it’s your day off and all.”
“Mmm, fair enough,” Akaashi says with a nod, taking a sip of his coffee. “I don’t mind that, what would you like to do?”
The ability Bokuto has of being able to sleep through very long drives due to being on a professional team was an absolute blessing, as he had decided to take a nap an hour into the drive, and while Kuroo had been surprised that he slept the entire way through, he’s more than thankful for it as he drives into the parking structure. As soon as he turns off the ignition, Bokuto shifts and opens his eyes, blinking for a moment before bolting up and turning to look at him.
“Are we here?” he asks excitedly, though still clearly having no idea what Kuroo’s doing.
With a nod, Kuroo grins at him. “Yep, but in order to keep it a surprise, I want you to put this on.” He hands Bokuto a white piece of cloth.
“Like, over my eyes, right?”
“Yep, I promise it’s not going to be for long, just a few minutes.”
Bokuto nods and ties it over his eyes, adjusting it so that he can’t see anything, waving his hand in front of his face to check. “Done!”
Kuroo sends off a quick text to Kenma as Bokuto does so and he smiles as he opens the car door, moving over to lead Bokuto out. “Alright, just follow me, try to watch your voice.” He gets a wordless nod of acknowledgment, Bokuto still smiling, and that’s permission enough to grab a hold of Bokuto’s hand, locking the car on their way out.
Kenma’s attention is drawn to his phone as he gets Kuroo’s text, realizing that it’s time and also that he didn’t think of how to get Akaashi into the living room. Ultimately, he figures it doesn’t exactly matter how bullshit of an excuse it is, considering the suspicion won’t be there for very long afterwards so he gets up suddenly, surprising Akaashi a little.
“You okay, sweetheart?” Akaashi asks him and he nods, walking over to the doorway.
“I want to show you something,” is his answer, causing Akaashi to raise an eyebrow but nod all the same.
Getting up, Akaashi stretches for a moment before shaking out his hands, looking over at him. “Alright, lead the way.”
“We’re almost there, Kou,” Kuroo whispers as he quietly unlocks the door, gently pushing Bokuto to walk in before he closes the door behind them, locking it again.
As they reach the living room, Kenma is just in time to meet Kuroo’s eye and he gestures quickly to Bokuto as he stops in the doorway.
“So what is-“ Keiji trails off just as he stops behind Kenma, Kuroo tugging the blindfold off of Bokuto’s eyes, and Bokuto opens them just as Akaashi stops in the middle of his question, the two locking eyes.
It’s completely silent for a good 3 seconds and Kuroo and Kenma wait for the two of them to process it.
“Keiji!!!” Bokuto yells, bolting to him. Kenma casually steps out of the way, letting Bokuto hoist Akaashi up in a hug as the latter blinks rapidly, arms scrambling to wrap around Bokuto’s shoulders as he tries to comprehend the situation.
“Koutarou,” he finally says, quickly burying his face into Bokuto’s hair and hugging him back as tightly as he can. “Kou, love, you’re here, I-“ Akaashi stumbles through his words only to laugh as Bokuto pulls away from him to look him in the eye.
Nodding rapidly, Bokuto beams. “Yeah, I’m here!! I’m here and I’m hugging you and you’re in my arms and I’m so happy!!”
They go back and forth a bit, exclamations of surprise and glee being exchanged on the fact that they’re in the same place in the latter half of December, so Kenma makes his way over to Kuroo, smiling up at him for a moment before their eyes both go back to Bokuto and Akaashi, Kuroo’s arm wrapping around Kenma’s shoulder as they watch.
“But the season, you should be in Osaka still, shouldn’t you?” Akaashi finally asks after he takes a deep breath to collect himself. Not as if he isn’t grateful to see Bokuto, it’s just confusing is all.
“Didn’t have practice today, Tetsu told me he wanted to take me somewhere, I didn’t know this was happening either!” Bokuto explains with a laugh, shaking his head for a moment before he pulls Akaashi back in to hug him as tightly as possible.
Akaashi lets out a grunt at the action but he grins, wrapping his legs around Bokuto’s torso in sort of an attempt to return the hug with his entire body. Kind of. In a way. He couldn’t tell you, it didn’t exactly matter.
Bokuto eventually puts Akaashi down but not before smothering his face with kisses. Akaashi smiles and returns one of them. “You don’t have practice on Sunday, so I’m guessing you and Tetsurou are going to stay the night and head back tomorrow?”
“Actually,” Kuroo speaks up, the two looking over at him. “We’re here for the entire week.”
“A week-? Wait, but I don’t think I can just- I still have practice-!” Bokuto says but furrows his eyebrows in confusion as Kuroo shakes his head.
“I talked with your coach about letting you be here for a week, as long as you do your normal exercise routine and send him a few updates. Meian knows too, so you don’t have to worry about your team either.” Bokuto looks at him wide-eyed, rendered speechless.
“And Keiji, your boss is going to have less work for you this week too,” Kenma adds in.
Akaashi blinks, looking at Kenma. “Did you.. talk to my boss???”
With a snort, Kenma shakes his head. “No, I didn’t. Tenma did though.”
“Tenm-“ Akaashi mutters to himself before his eyes widen. “Udai-sensei talked my boss into giving me a break!?”
“He was actually the one responsible for this, he reached out to Kenma and I about how you seemed a bit down and asked if we could do anything for the two of you,” Kuroo tells him, chuckling at Akaashi’s dumbstruck expression.
“Holy shit-“
“Wait, ‘Kaashi,” Bokuto gasps out as he has Akaashi face him, clasping his hands. “‘Kaashi, this means we get to spend Christmas together,” he says firmly as if to convey the gravity of the situation to him. As Akaashi’s eyes light up in realization and he starts to smile, Bokuto jumps a bit and shakes Akaashi’s arms, making random noises of excitement as he scoops Akaashi up and twirls him around the room, the two in a giggle fit by the time they come to a stop.
“I take it you like our surprise?” Kuroo asks.
Bokuto’s head whips up instantly, shouting “Yes!!!” before running over to tackle him in a hug, kissing him enthusiastically. Kuroo’s only able to let out a partial laugh before he kisses back.
Akaashi walks over to Kenma and pulls him into a gentle hug. “This is a wonderful surprise, thank you,” he murmurs softly, Kenma smiling up at him. Akaashi follows Bokuto’s lead and gives Kenma a kiss.
“So you guys planned all of this?” Bokuto asks Kuroo.
“Yeah, I have suitcases in the trunk, all planned. I’ve been sneaking clothes into them for the past week.”
“That’s where my sweater went!! You thief!!”
Akaashi smiles as he watches Bokuto playfully punch Kuroo’s arm, before stepping away from the three to take out his phone.
Akaashi Keiji
I’m taking you to any restaurant you want and I’ll be paying for all of it
Udai Tenma
I take it you know about your surprise?
Akaashi Keiji
Thank you
Udai Tenma
You’ve always been such a good friend to me, I felt it was a good way to give a bit of that back :)
Akaashi Keiji
No but seriously, I’ll even take you out for dinner for an entire week if you want me to
This means so much to me, you don’t even know
Udai Tenma
Just once is fine, I wanted to do this for you!
Now go have fun with your boyfriends, you get to spend Christmas with Bokuto-san this year!
Akaashi Keiji
All thanks to you
I will buy you food
No buts
Ok, I’ll go
Thank you
With a smile, Akaashi pockets his phone and turns back to his boyfriends, seeing Bokuto still absolutely bursting with energy and unadulterated joy at the current situation as they’re talking. It’s a rather stark contrast to how Akaashi expected this to go, but it certainly isn’t an unwelcome one, far from it. Just getting this set up was likely one of the best Christmas gifts Kuroo and Kenma could’ve given Bokuto.
“Since Kenma and I haven’t decorated yet, I take it there were plans to do so when you both got here?” Akaashi brings up suddenly, causing his boyfriends to look over at him.
Bokuto lets out a gasp before turning to Kuroo. “That’s why you said we’d do it this weekend!!!”
“That’s why I said we’d do it this weekend,” Kuroo confirms with a smirk, ruffling a hand through Bokuto’s hair. “I think food should come first and then we can decorate, yeah?”
“Can I start getting the boxes while someone makes something?”
“Go ahead, I’ll let you know when I’m finished,” Akaashi tells Bokuto before heading to the kitchen, Bokuto whooping and running past him at his permission.
Kuroo wraps an arm around Akaashi’s shoulder as he walks by too, giving him a quick kiss which Akaashi leans into gratefully. As much as he loves his boyfriends just being in his life, there still isn’t anything quite like being with them in person. “I’m gonna help Kou,” Kuroo tells him and Akaashi gives him a nod, though stopping him momentarily.
“Thank you for doing this, I know it means so much to him, Tetsurou.”
With a raised eyebrow and smile, Kuroo pulls him into a hug, clasping his hands around Akaashi’s waist. “Hey now, we did this just as much for you. We’re always telling him he can be selfish when it comes to things that make him happy, same applies to you, right?”
“I mean..” Akaashi starts hesitantly.
Come onnnn,” Kuroo coos, making him squeak as he starts to poke at his sides, continuing as Akaashi starts to giggle and squirm. “Accept your boyfriends’ love, you know you want to!” He starts to full on tickle Akaashi, having the latter burst into laughter as he tries desperately to escape the attack.
“Tetsurou!” Akaashi exclaims, snorting and pushing at Kuroo’s chest. “Ok ok, I yield, I accept it!!”
Kuroo gives him one last smug look as he caves, stopping and kissing his forehead. “Good~” he hums before going to help with the boxes.
“You know, Kenma,” Akaashi throws a glance over his shoulder as the aforementioned follows him to the kitchen, “I would love to start checking to see which light strings are working, but I have to make food for everyone.”
Kenma’s eyes study him as he shrugs nonchalantly, though they both know Akaashi’s not actually trying to be subtle. Kenma waits for him to go on though, and Akaashi takes the bait for it all the same with a knowing smile.
“It would be unfortunate for Koutarou to have to wait even longer because I’m unable to get to it at the moment, don’t you think?”
It’s not strictly Akaashi’s job, it could really be taken care of by any of them.
“It doesn’t seem like an effective use of time,” Kenma mutters to which Akaashi shakes his head.
“Not at all. And we certainly can’t rush it, we need to stick to the proper routine.”
The routine in which Bokuto promises for each strand of working lights, the person checking gets a kiss (though really, that’s a complete lie, he gives kisses whether one is working or not, even adding a few extra for good measure).
“I don’t mind doing it, so we aren’t wasting time,” Kenma offers.
“I know it’s a lot to ask but if you’re offering..” Akaashi hums out thoughtfully.
It’s not a difficult task at all, they both know as they make eye contact, Akaashi smiling to himself as he sets about making food when Kenma walks to where Bokuto and Kuroo are. He tries to look like he’s not in a hurry, but they also know that it’s meaningless to really conceal it. Kenma may have been in on the plan to get Bokuto here, but it isn’t solely to Akaashi’s benefit to have him back home.
The rest of the boxes are retrieved and the last few strings of lights are checked after they eat, and finally, Bokuto sets down one more box with a grin.
“Done!” he exclaims, only to blink as his boyfriends all turn to him. “Why are we all looking at me?” he asks, tilting his head to the side with a confused look.
“You love decorating the most out of any of us, so we’re listening,” Kuroo tells him.
“Yes, we’re listening. What would you like us to do?” Akaashi adds.
It takes a moment before Bokuto gets it. “Ohhh! You want to put me in charge of it? Really?” he genuinely asks, just to make sure he’s getting this right. He’s pretty sure he is at least.
Kenma affirms his question with a nod. “We want you in charge, we’ll follow whatever direction you want to go.”
With a bubbly laugh, Bokuto looks between the three of them, giddy all over as they each look to him expectantly. And well, he can’t very well deny his boyfriends such a thing, now can he?
Clapping his hands together, he beams and turns on his heel to head to the living room. “Tree first, we work from there!!” he exclaims confidently, starting to shake his hands as Kuroo starts up their playlist. They follow after him as he lets out another whoop when the music plays.