Archive of Our Own

Anonymous said:
hey! sorry if this seems out of the blue... just dropping by to say hello! and to introduce myse

chikachikara said:
that was anonymous wasnt it

chikachikara said:
hey... again! sorry if this seems out of the blue... just dropping by to say hello! haha i just wanted to introduce myself since i saw you followed back this morning. which is really great by the way. i'm super thankful and also wondering if this means you like film? which would be cool! but also it'd be fine if you didn't. i've found a lot of people follow me because they think my url's funny but i can't figure out what to change it to so i just kind of kept it. anyway... thanks for following b

chikachikara said:
i'm so sorry i didn't even realize tumblr cut ask messages off. and also i didn't realize i talked that much about nothing. anyway... thanks for following back. i'm chikara!

chikachikara said:
oh, and you’re japanese! that’s lucky for me too haha

chikachikara said:
in the off chance that you are looking for the "block" button, you can find it when you hover over the many instances of my icon in your inbox. sorry... again.

Akaashi Keiji becomes famous on a blogging website called Tumblr in a little less than a month. It is extraordinary how it happens, and likely by a stroke of luck that it does. He doesn't really remember the exact details as to why he made an account in the first place--just that Bokuto insisted after Konoha beat him at a popularity contest on Twitter.

His blog is nothing striking. It's filled with abstract black-and-white pictures of Bokuto's knee and other unidentifiable appendages, blurry more often than not because Bokuto is probably the worst model in the entire world and beyond; there's also a handful of ambiguously short text posts that Akaashi is pretty sure a handful of people have mistaken for poetry. His most famous post with over nine-hundred-thousand notes, after all, is a concise 'I will boil you down, but not before the mustard seeds sprout' describing his favorite food.

This odd popularity bestowed upon him is definitely something new but it's been quite some time since his follower count spiked and people started filling his inbox asking for more poetry and information about himself that he's casually avoided divulging, unintentionally creating some aura of mystery around himself. He's used to most of it, so it comes as no surprises to him when he wakes up to over forty new inbox messages after neglecting his blog for a grand total of two days.

Most of them are generic, anonymous messages complimenting his blog, or complimenting his most recent blurry photo of Bokuto's elbow. At the very top, however, are four messages from a username he remembers following the night before.

"Oh," he says mildly, pursing his lips around the tips of his chopsticks while staring at his phone.

Konoha and Bokuto stop arguing over something insignificant for one and a half seconds to look his way.

"Oh?" Bokuto repeats before promptly catapulting himself across Akaashi's desk to peer at the phone for himself. "Oho!"

Konoha peeks over Bokuto's shoulder. "Ooh, nice! You've got yourself a little online buddy, huh?"

"I don't know them," Akaashi replies, vaguely unaffected by his phone being snatched away and more concerned with picking up a carefully measured tiny heap of rice.

"Are you going to reply to them?" Konoha asks.

"You have to, Akaashi!" Bokuto cuts in before Akaashi has the chance to think about it. "They sent you so many messages! You can't let them beat you!"

Konoha shakes his head. "Yeah, Akaashi. Send him fifty messages so he knows who's the top dog here. That's how you make friends."

Wordlessly, Akaashi retrieves his phone from Bokuto's grasp to tap out a simple greeting message to chikachikara. He isn't really sure what to say or how to express the mild amusement he did manage to get from Chikara's bombard of long-winded messages. He sends it and sets his phone on the desk next to his lunch.

"What'd you say?"

"Yeah, what'd you say?"

"I sent them my name."

"And?"

"I said my name."

Konoha and Bokuto both look personally offended by Akaashi's lack of transparency in this situation. Akaashi, however, is more concerned with the fact that they only have fifteen minutes left of lunch and he's yet to have a single second of freedom away from his troublesome teammates.

"Let us help you out," Konoha offers, taking the phone from its designated spot without waiting for permission and unlocking it with ease (not that Akaashi's ever surprised anymore).

The next five minutes entail Konoha and Bokuto having a very serious discussion with one another and both taking turns sending what Akaashi can only assume are terribly embarrassing messages to someone he really wouldn't mind being friends with. He sighs.

"Please stop playing with my phone," Akaashi says plainly, saving the device once more and sending Chikara another message just to be safe. "And please eat your lunches or I will let your mothers know."

keiijii said:
i'm keiji. it's nice to meet you. i don’t know much but i do like movies.

keiijii said:
OHOHOHO CHIKARA!

keiijii said:
;)

keiijii said:
sorry, the last two weren't me. do you have any recommendations?

Ennoshita Chikara is the furthest thing from an ostentatious guy. He’s pretty partial to his privacy and even when people around him are audibly talking about something he knows and appreciates and would likely enjoy talking about, he tends to keep to himself for reasons even he can’t explain at this point. These reasons among others are precisely why he finds so much joy in running his humble film blog, chikachikara. He’d change the URL for it and maybe change the theme too, but he’s rather uncreative outside of his scripts, if he has to say so himself, and he’s prone to playing his laziness off as fear of change (or maybe vice versa).

He does a lot for this blog. He posts a lot of movie screencaps and reviews plenty of films. He talks about camera brands and script writing and even goes so far as to guide the lost and confused denizens through frequently unappreciated movies he’s passionate about.

Despite his efforts, he doesn’t expect much. He has a couple thousand followers after a year or two of pouring his heart and soul into talking incessantly about film but it still throws him off when big names like Tumblr user keiijii, a frequently reoccurring URL on every low-key art blog’s dashboard, follow him back.

Perhaps even more so when they respond to Ennoshita’s less than elegant barrage of messages he can’t even shamelessly keep count of.

He’s peeking at his phone screen in the middle of volleyball practice, eyes creasing ever so slightly as his expression fixes itself into a faint smile, amusement drawn from the sequence of messages.

“Keiji,” he says to himself, letting the name linger on his tongue for a bit. It almost sounds familiar but he doesn’t have much time to dwell on it before he hears the familiar squeaking of sneakers on the gym floor resume.

“Ennoshita!” Tanaka calls out. “What are you doing during precious practice time?! We need a blocker!”

He’s paying attention. Vaguely. For the most part he’s concentrating on something else, tapping out a quick message and tossing his phone into his bag before his friends have the chance to ask him what he’s doing. His friends don’t know about this blog and he’s not really bent on telling them. He wouldn’t mind if they found out but Ennoshita has no intention whatsoever on wasting energy trying to explain to Nishinoya why he still watches films that are black-and-white.

“Chikara!” Nishinoya shouts out from the complete opposite end of the gymnasium.

Ennoshita sighs before lifting his hand in acknowledgement. “Coming!”

Even fifteen minutes later, Ennoshita can’t help but wonder where he’s heard the name Keiji before. This time, his thoughts are cut short by Hinata’s barely coherent babbling about what Ennoshita thinks might be the words owl, straight, and spike.

He smiles faintly when Kageyama bickers with him about owls and other things Ennoshita won’t bother trying to wrap his mind around.

chikachikara said:
you should watch ‘la notte.’ it’s very thought-provoking cinematography-wise.

keiijii said:
thank you. i’ll be sure to check it out but i don’t know if i’ll get any of the deeper meanings…

chikachikara said:
oh, well we can talk about that when you watch it. or during. i’ll be here!

keiijii said:
you must really like film.

chikachikara said:
haha yeah you could say that. also, i think i forgot to say in my frenzy but i’m a big fan of your blog. i like your photos, they make me laugh for some reason… but in a good way

keiijii said:
thank you. a lot of them aren’t supposed to be serious. i’m not sure why people think they are…

keiijii said:
sorry, i don’t really use inbox that much. do you have a line or a skype? if you don’t mind.

chikachikara said:
sure thing. i’m chikara6 on both

chikachikara said:
oh… and thanks for replying haha

“Hey Akaashi,” Konoha says casually while they’re stretching by the benches.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t mean to be a bother but I think your boyfriend’s texting you,” he says, a wicked smile on his lips as he gestures with a jerk of his head to Akaashi’s gym bag, still sitting idly at the end of the bench.

Akaashi stares at Konoha, empty-eyed and mostly exasperated. He’s about to respond, maybe by emphasizing the fact that he’s perfectly fine with never telling Konoha anything ever again if it means he can salvage the sanctity of a faceless friendship. Before he has the chance to, however, his phone vibrates angrily from the inside of his bag, rattling the bench.

“Thank you,” Akaashi says, a natural sarcasm thick in his tone as he rises from his seat on the ground to retrieve his bag.

Chikara (4:12 PM): hey, so i think you should check ouhghofdsofgllg8*
Chikara (4:15 PM): WHO ARE YOU
Chikara (4:15 PM): WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM OUR SPIKER?!?!?!
Chikara (4:16 PM): IF UR LOOKGIN FOR A GOD DMNA FIHGT IMFHEbrocsa
Chikara (4:18 PM): I’m so sorry
Chikara (4:18 PM): is there any way to permanently delete messages here??

He blinks, fingers poised to tap out an apologetic no.

Chikara (4:20 PM): LSITNE “KEIJI”
Chikara (4:20 PM): WHAT DO UW ANT FORM HIM??????
Chikara (4:21 PM): YOU CANT TEXT CHIKARA ANYMROE UNTIL YOU SHOW ME AND RYUU YOUR PASSION!!!
Chikara (4:21 PM): sorry again!

“Why do you look so afraid of your phone?” Konoha calls out, snapping Akaashi out of his momentary shock. He looks unimpressed, expression bored as he stares at Akaashi expectantly. “Well, what did he say?”

“Uh,” Akaashi says intelligibly. “I’m not really sure.”

He’s been talking to Chikara for a few weeks, almost a month and a half now. Their conversations aren’t always fluid or extensive—sometimes they die out after a couple of messages because of classes and other constricting things like Chikara’s ridiculously nonexistent sleep schedule and Akaashi’s more-than-strict one.

There’s an odd sense of comfort to be derived from his conversations with Chikara in spite of how thoughtless and spontaneous they are, and Akaashi thinks it’s probably because Chikara doesn’t badger him about anything and doesn’t seem to expect anything beyond a conversation at face-value.

“Did he text you in English?” Konoha asks, stretching his arms above his head.

“No,” Akaashi says, “I think it’s Japanese.”

“Well, great.”

When Akaashi looks over the messages again, he is hit with an odd sense of déjà vu. In mere moments, he realizes there’s no other explanation for these odd messages—Chikara probably has friends like Konoha and Bokuto too.

Keiji (4:24 PM): it’s fine…
Keiji (4:24 PM): your friends?

“You should stow your phone away before Bokuto’s owl ears start tingling and he tries to talk to Chikara again.” Perhaps fondly, Konoha looks at Bokuto in the distance and then back at Akaashi with the same smile. “Protect Chikara from our captain.”

Chikara (4:25 PM): yeah… (otl)
Chikara (4:26 PM): don’t mind them though. they’re just being dramatic about nothing
Chikara (4:26 PM): anyway i was going to tell you to check out breathless
Keiji (4:27 PM): another movie?
Chikara (4:27 PM): haha yeah… it’s good though. you can compare it to la notte!

“AKAAAAASHI,” Bokuto yells from a distance.

“He rises,” Konoha says quietly.

Keiji (4:28 PM): i still haven’t watched the other one…
Keiji (4:28 PM): i have to get back to work, sorry

He stows his phone away in the depths of his gym bag and zips it up despite the vibration that follows. With much futility, Akaashi tears himself away from the bench to address a more-than-excited Bokuto bouncing on his heels with a volleyball in his hands.

He’s pretty sure he hears Konoha utter a small prayer for him from the sidelines because the sparkle in Bokuto’s eyes only means this practice is most certainly not going to be one of the shorter ones.

“Toss, toss!” Bokuto says eagerly.

Akaashi sighs softly, pursing his lips before nodding. “Yes, Bokuto-san,” he says, accepting the volleyball that Bokuto’s outstretched to him.

Belatedly, he remembers one of Chikara’s friends referring to him as our spiker and he wonders if Chikara is somewhere in an equally humid gym asking for a setter’s toss.

“Akaashi!” Bokuto whines impatiently.

“Ah,” he says, staring at the volleyball in his hands, “right. Sorry. I’ll toss now.”

(Chikara (4:33 PM): no worries… me too
Chikara (4:33 PM): we can watch them together if you want though)

“WE’RE SORRY!”

Ennoshita sighs, loosening the grip he has on the backs of Tanaka and Nishinoya’s jerseys. “You guys are so obnoxious,” he says with a shake of his head, massaging his temples with his hands.

Tanaka looks comically taken aback by the statement, as though he had never once considered himself to be such a thing.

“We’re looking out for you, Chikara!” Nishinoya says (or mostly shouts) earnestly, jumping actively out of what Ennoshita thinks Nishinoya might call and impassioned love for one’s friends.

“I don’t need you to,” Ennoshita says, though there’s hardly any malicious intent in his tone as he looks at Tanaka and Nishinoya, expression plain. “Especially not when I’m the one babysitting you two most of the time.”

Still, he’s a little fond of his friends for being more than eager to “contribute” to his personal social life. An exasperated sigh slips past his lips as he tightens his grip on the strap of his schoolbag and walks ahead without them.

They’re quick to catch up, slinging their arms around his shoulders from opposite sides with matching grins that Ennoshita thinks should be pictured next to the definition of impish. Narita and Kinoshita are still inside of the convenience store, most likely indecisive about which flavor of milk they want to buy.

Tanaka and Nishinoya are too broke to treat themselves to pork buns and Ennoshita thinks it’s quite unfortunate that he has to suffer at their expense.

“I’m not telling you,” he says succinctly, before Tanaka even has the chance to talk.

“Heeeeey, don’t be so secretive,” Tanaka says, positively leering with the supposed scary face that he’s so famed for. “We just want to know who it is! Does your precious Keiji-kun go to Karasuno? Is it… Tsukishima?!”

“That’s Kei, no, and don’t call him that.”

“They grow so quickly, Ryuu…” Nishinoya says tearfully, gripping the front of his own t-shirt tightly. “To think this is what Chikara’s done while we’ve foolishly squandered our youth… Our youth!”

He’s about to say something, maybe comment on the fact that Nishinoya and Tanaka have foolishly squandered a lot of things (namely their grades) more important than their supposed youth, when his phone vibrates. Ah, Ennoshita thinks to himself, what candid timing.

Keiji (6:44 PM): sure. when?
Keiji (6:44 PM): it’s a date!
Keiji (6:45 PM): sorry ignore the last one
Keiji (6:46 PM): don’t ignore me chikara-kun!!!!
Keiji (6:47 PM): ignore that one too

“It’s a date,” Tanaka and Nishinoya say in unison, looking at each other with literal sparkles in their eyes. It takes less than two seconds for them to spring into an unintelligible dialogue about Ennoshita flying the coop and dates and why they’re single.

“What’s going on?” Narita asks when he returns from the convenience store, sipping idly on a carton of coffee milk.

Kinoshita slurps his strawberry milk loudly. “Oh, sorry.”

“Hey you, Hisashi!” Nishinoya points a finger in Kinoshita’s direction menacingly. “Men like Chikara do not slurp their milk like that and that’s why he has a date and we don’t!”

Tanaka sobs. “He’s right, he’s right. We don’t have any dates.”

“Ah, curse you, Chikara! You beat me to the punch again and this time it’s in the game of love,” Nishinoya all but chokes out through what might be actual, literal tears.

“What are they going on about?” Narita asks good-naturedly, blinking away his confusion.

“Don’t worry about it,” Ennoshita says with a half-hearted shrug, tapping away at the screen of his phone without humoring Tanaka and Nishinoya with empty attention.

“Ah,” Kinoshita says sagely, glancing over Ennoshita’s shoulder at his phone with a knowing nod. “The guy?”

“Yeah,” Ennoshita says with a shrug. He hasn’t really made much effort trying to hide or conceal the fact that he’s definitely on his phone more often these days and he isn’t surprised that Kinoshita remembers casual comments Ennoshita made about Keiji in passing. “Keiji.”

“Where’d you meet him anyway?” Narita inquires. “You’ve been talking for a couple of weeks now, right? Does he go to Karasuno?”

“I’m not sure,” Ennoshita replies with a sheepish smile. “I don’t actually know much about him.”

“Ah,” Kinoshita says again, “did you meet him online? Through Starcraft?”

“Not everyone plays Starcraft like you do,” Narita says with a grin.

“Hey, shut up. Starcraft’s a great game and I’m offended that you’re attacking me because you think League of Legends is better.” Kinoshita hardly looks insulted as he speaks though, tone teasing as he glances back at Ennoshita. “So?”

“Some blogging website, unfortunately,” Ennoshita says with a laugh. “I can’t play Starcraft.”

“Oh, well, that’s nice. You kind of know what he likes and what he’s like based on his blog and stuff, right? That’s cool.” Kinoshita beams. “Maybe I should make a blog about Starcraft.”

“I’ll make one about League and send you anonymous messages—people do that, right, Ennoshita?”

Ennoshita sighs. “Yeah. I wish you guys a merry happily ever after with your warring blogs.” He’s barely paying attention at this point, gaze directed to the screen of his phone as he types out messages to send to Keiji.

It might be because he’s surrounded by his friends and they’ve been nothing short of encouraging in their roundabout and less than cool (and collected) ways, but he feels a little brighter, a little braver as he carries the conversation forward.

Chikara (6:49 PM): we could do tonight if you want. maybe around 10?
Keiji (6:55 PM): ah okay. that works with me. i’ll skype you then.
Chikara (6:56 PM): great. then it’s a date :D

“Oi, Ennoshita! Don’t smile to yourself, you bastard!” Tanaka complains loudly, huffing. His expression almost instantly shifts into one of sorrow. “Or I’ll be jealous…”

Nishinoya pats Tanaka on the shoulder with vigor. “It’s okay, Ryuu! Our time will come!”

“Bless whoever has to deal with you two,” Kinoshita says thoughtfully.

Ennoshita laughs.

Keiji (6:59 PM): …
Keiji (7:00 PM): yeah. it’s a date

“IT’S A DATE,” Bokuto says louder than he really needs to. “KONOHA, IT’S A DATE!”

“It’s a date,” Konoha repeats.

“Please stop,” Akaashi says with a sigh, wondering when he might be reborn into a lifetime that doesn’t include friends who are more actively participating in conversations on his phone than he is.

Bokuto catapults himself into Akaashi’s side and clings to him, a heavy weight making it more than difficult to walk.

“It’s a date,” Bokuto says, starry-eyed. “But don’t toss for him, Akaashi! You’re Fukurodani’s setter, not… Chikara’s!”

“Yeah, Akaashi,” Konoha says with a characteristic smirk on his face, “don’t you dare play volleyball on your date. I know you’re dying to.”

“Yes,” Akaashi says, not even bothering to try and explain that this isn’t really a date and all they’re going to do is watch a movie in sync together. “I’m dying,” he echoes, jabbing Bokuto’s side for emphasis.

He’s working particularly hard to keep his expression especially neutral around his bothersome (read: way too excited) friends, but there is a tiny part (and maybe it isn’t as tiny as he’s making it out to be) of Akaashi that is kind of excited for… this date. Sure, they’re just going to be watching a movie and messaging each other about it but it feels very real beyond their limited LINE conversations.

“Excited?” Konoha asks with a grin.

Akaashi smiles faintly. “Yeah, I guess.”

[6/5/2015 9:23:30 PM] keiji: hey
[6/5/2015 9:23:58 PM] chikara: hey!
[6/5/2015 9:24:15 PM] chikara: how was your day?
[6/5/2015 9:25:08 PM] keiji: it was okay. how was yours?
[6/5/2015 9:25:53 PM] chikara: mine was okay too…
[6/5/2015 9:27:11 PM] chikara: so it doesn’t really matter which movie we watch out of the two but i guess we can go with la notte just because that’s the first one i recommended haha it’s one of my favorites so i hope you don’t mind me talking about it
[6/5/2015 9:27:44 PM] keiji: i don’t
[6/5/2015 9:28:32 PM] keiji: do you want to watch both tonight? since you never sleep and all
[6/5/2015 9:29:10 PM] chikara: did you make a joke just now?
[6/5/2015 9:29:50 PM] chikara: amazing… we’ve really come far, huh?
[6/5/2015 9:30:15 PM] keiji: …….
[6/5/2015 9:31:03 PM] keiji: you’re ridiculous

He feels a little sleepy if he’s totally honest, still warm from his shower and changed into comfortable house-wear. Akaashi stifles a yawn, gazing at the screen of his laptop with a small smile playing at his lips. It’s not often that it happens but every now and then Akaashi does catch himself wondering what Chikara is like outside of illuminated cellphone and computer screens.

A part of him wants to know what Chikara’s voice sounds like—if he can say these silly things out loud without his tone giving away the lilt that Akaashi likes imagining when math class is particularly dreary. Another part of him wants to know what Chikara looks like, whether he has defined black bags beneath his eyes to reflect his crazy sleep cycle.

He doesn’t know much about Chikara in all honesty. He knows he lives in Japan, in the Miyagi prefecture, and he knows he’s a film buff who plays sports too but isn’t the greatest at them. These mere, basic, rudimentary facts are all Akaashi tangibly knows about Chikara and it's understandable, as a result, that he feels some part anxious about talking to him beyond typed words. Akaashi can admit he doesn't know much about Chikara in terms of raw facts but there is a sincere sliver of his irrational mind that wants to think he does.

Still, it kind of feels surreal (or maybe it feels natural) chatting with him through all sorts of mediums and maybe tricking himself into believing that Akaashi knows Chikara better than he thinks (better than he does) and vice versa.

[6/5/2015 9:33:14 PM] chikara: ah no good? didn’t even chuckle?
[6/5/2015 9:33:49 PM] keiji: better luck next time
[6/5/2015 9:34:31 PM] keiji: by the way, do you play volleyball?
[6/5/2015 9:34:57 PM] chikara: yeah
[6/5/2015 9:35:08 PM] chikara: how did you know?
[6/5/2015 9:35:31 PM] keiji: your friend
[6/5/2015 9:35:51 PM] keiji: i play too
[6/5/2015 9:36:14 PM] chikara: i imagine you’re very good
[6/5/2015 9:36:40 PM] chikara: actually if this were a movie maybe we’d meet on the court
[6/5/2015 9:37:11 PM] chikara: though i suppose i’d have to be a regular to do that
[6/5/2015 9:37:30 PM] chikara: cinematic opportunity… wasted. what a pity
[6/5/2015 9:38:02 PM] keiji: “I’ll wait for you at Nationals.”
[6/5/2015 9:38:12 PM] keiji: i should say something like that?
[6/5/2015 9:38:30 PM] chikara: …
[6/5/2015 9:38:48 PM] chikara: “I’ll work my hardest to meet you, Keiji-kun.”
[6/5/2015 9:39:12 PM] keiji: “You’re already more than enough.”
[6/5/2015 9:39:40 PM] chikara: are you a rom-com kind of person deep down?
[6/5/2015 9:40:03 PM] keiji: … shut up
[6/5/2015 9:40:11 PM] chikara: (:D)

Akaashi migrates to his bed, flopping over onto his stomach and setting his laptop atop his pillow. He’s a little more awake now that they’re talking and he can’t help but notice how much quicker the boundaries seem to be dropping.

Chikara is easy to talk to despite the fact that they hardly know each other outside of the little bubble Akaashi compiles their weeks of faceless friendship into. He’s friendly and laid-back, a breath of fresh air from the rambunctious people Akaashi (fondly) has to deal with on a daily basis in person. He’s smart too, always talking about complicated film concepts and terms on his blog—posts that Akaashi “likes” not because he understands but because he figures he might as well pretend to.

Their conversations cover a broad range of topics from the Criterion Collection to the best way to prepare nanohana no karashiae, but for some odd reason, Akaashi finds himself enjoying a lot, if not all, of them.

He isn’t really sure what to make of it, finding personal joy and enjoyment out of conversations that might be mundane from a third person’s perspective. He’s too self-aware to deny that he does like Chikara, maybe more than as a friend, deep down; he’s too realistic to expect anything to happen—after all, they’re faceless to each other and there’s no telling how different Chikara is in real life.

He sighs, wondering how much joy Konoha might reap from the knowledge that Akaashi has a crush on someone he barely knows.

[6/5/2015 9:52:13 PM] chikara: kind of bad timing but i think the streaming site i usually use is down… we can just play the movie at the same time on our separate computers. or would that be too weird?
[6/5/2015 9:52:48 PM] keiji: i don’t mind
[6/5/2015 9:53:22 PM] chikara: that’s a relief, i almost thought i ruined our date…
[6/5/2015 9:54:03 PM] chikara: do you want to voice call?
[6/5/2015 9:54:50 PM] keiji: your aura of mystery will be ruined
[6/5/2015 9:55:17 PM] chikara: mystery? who, me?
[6/5/2015 9:55:59 PM] chikara: haha it’s a sacrifice i’d take if you want. i figured it’d be easier watching that way
[6/5/2015 9:56:38 PM] keiji: okay let’s do it then

For some reason, his heart is beating a little quicker now and though he doesn’t know what to anticipate, there’s a lingering nervousness that makes Akaashi wonder what kind of clarity he might be able to shed on who Chikara is as a person based on just his voice.

He reaches for his earphones from his backpack and plugs them in, steeling himself when Skype starts ringing and the option to accept or reject the call pops up on the screen.

[6/5/2015 9:58:07 PM] chikara: ……….
[6/5/2015 9:58:34 PM] chikara: i can’t believe you rejected my call
[6/5/2015 9:59:03 PM] keiji: i didn’t mean to!
[6/5/2015 9:59:44 PM] chikara: i’m mostly kidding but your exclamation point really redeemed you

This time, he accepts the call without fail and is greeted by a peal of laughter that he knows for a fact belongs to Chikara.

“Hello?” Chikara says, and another small burst of laughter follows—this time, nervous. “Don’t tell me you picked up the call just to hear me talk by myself, Keiji.”

It’s odd hearing his name uttered by a voice he can’t recognize. There’s a small lilt to Chikara’s tone though, like he’s smiling while he speaks, and it wraps his words with a warmth that Akaashi thinks he might already be fond of.

“I didn’t,” Akaashi says slowly, carefully, a wider smile on his lips as he looks at the keys of his laptop. “Hi.”

He’s grinning more than he usually does out of his own self-induced embarrassment. It feels weird, a little awkward trying to figure out how to speak aloud to someone he’s been typing to for the past month and a half now.

Keiji is not as monotone as he makes himself out to be. Though he speaks in a relatively level tone, he’s hardly flat, hardly dry, hardly bland—and Ennoshita almost voices his relief when he manages to catch Keiji laughing quietly, faintly, just once.

“It’s Italian?” Keiji inquires, voice fuzzy through Ennoshita’s broken earphones.

La Notte is finally running for both of them after multiple failed attempts at getting the movie to play in sync. He’s really fond of this one and it’s a good, raw film that leaves him thinking for days no matter how many times he rewatches it.

“Yeah,” he says in response, attention narrowly focused on the film. He has tunnel vision when it comes to movies and he hates to miss a single detail. He’s probably not the best company to have when it’s supposed to be a movie date but there’s very little that can be helped when it comes to Ennoshita Chikara and his favorite films.

The film in itself doesn’t have a crazy, unique plot. It’s a simple drama, a sort of study on the breakdown of relationships and the idea of infidelity. It’s the development, the build-up of the storyline that’s really significant—something to be applauded. There’s so much detail put into the tiny little nuances of the relationships between the pivotal characters. The growth, the separation, the distance is all so easy to see, so simple to piece together one-by-one but at the same time still incredibly riveting.

“Okay, see that?” he says softly. “Di Venanzo uses a lot of purposeful shots of Lidia in complete disconnection with her surroundings. It’s kind of a cinematographer’s way of adding more insight into the character. That way we can see that she really is lost—in a way that can’t be helped despite how familiar the world should be to her, you know?”

“Oh, I actually do kind of see it,” Keiji says in response, sounding less annoyed and more intrigued which comes across as surprising to Ennoshita, who is already plenty used to keeping film comments to himself.

“Yeah, the director, Antonioni, does a lot with… well, I guess, disconnection? He’s really good at building stories with abrupt scenes. It makes the end result a little more realistic and raw.”

For quite a while, Ennoshita talks incessantly about random things regarding the film that he realizes belatedly have nothing to do with Keiji. Keiji is remarkably polite though, never once shushing Ennoshita and frequently asking questions Ennoshita is more than happy to answer.

The ending is one Ennoshita is particularly fond of. It’s kind of not the coolest thing in the world to admit it, but his chest does kind of squeeze when the main characters, Giovanni and Lidia, try to come to terms with the deterioration of their love. It’s heartbreaking, really, watching Lidia read an old love letter to prove a point—to watch Giovanni ask who wrote it only to discover he did, years ago.

By the time the ending credits roll around, Ennoshita lets out a sigh he hadn’t realized he was holding. He relaxes, gaze still glued to the screen as the credits roll through. It’s a tiny act of respect, he supposes; he doesn’t like tearing his attention away until the film is completely finished.

“What’d you think?”

Keiji hums. “It was interesting,” he says. “The ending was a realistic conclusion—it didn’t wrap everything up nicely, but I don’t think it was supposed to.”

“Yeah,” Ennoshita agrees, hugging his legs to his chest. “Realistic. It kind of made me tear up the first time because the ending was so… realistic, in that sad, unresolved sort of way.”

“So you’re pretty sappy.”

“Hey, you can be a cool Tokyo man and still cry for the right characters,” Ennoshita protests, though the smile, ever omnipresent on his lips, disarms his argument in its entirety. “Don’t even act like you didn’t feel for Lidia. What are you, emotionless?”

Keiji clears his throat.

Ennoshita shakes his head. “You’re a monster.”

“Isn’t this the part where you go off about the cinematography?”

“I’m perfectly capable of holding a conversation without comparing this to Fellini’s neorealist Italian works.”

“Right.”

Ennoshita laughs. “You’re humoring me.”

“Yeah, I am,” Keiji replies, highly unapologetic.

“Please humor me more and at least tell me you liked it.”

“I liked it,” Keiji says smoothly, “honestly speaking.”

“Thank god,” Ennoshita says faintly. “My friends would never forgive me if they found out I ruined my first date with you by subjecting you to a bad movie. Not that it was bad. It’s one of my favorites.”

It’s a little past midnight now and had it been any other Friday night, Ennoshita is almost positive he would probably be working on an aimless screenplay. In retrospect, he’s kind of glad he’s here instead, watching a movie with someone he genuinely does like spending time with.

“You live another day then, Chikara,” Keiji says.

“Ah, I’d like to thank Antonioni’s spirit for guiding me and for Keiji-san and his good movie taste.”

It’s a terribly cheesy notion but when Keiji laughs once more, Ennoshita can’t help but find himself hoping that it’s a sound he gets to keep hearing from here on out.

[12:44:08 AM] keiji: sorry one of my friends called me out of nowhere
[12:45:12 AM] chikara: no worries. is everything good?
[12:45:44 AM] keiji: yeah they just wanted to know how talking to you was
[12:46:15 AM] chikara: what did you say…
[12:46:59 AM] keiji: “imagine taking a class on film”
[12:47:25 AM] chikara: great, i’m never going to live this down
[12:47:47 AM] keiji: ^^
[12:49:01 AM] keiji: are you going to sleep at 8am again?
[12:49:23 AM] chikara: yes
[12:49:56 AM] chikara: are you going to bed now?
[12:50:33 AM] keiji: …
[12:50:46 AM] keiji: go to sleep…
[12:51:17 AM] keiji: i’m going to bed. good night
[12:51:48 AM] chikara: good night :)
[12:52:14 AM] chikara: we can watch something else tomorrow/today

The distance between Miyagi and Tokyo is not as great as Akaashi’s conscience makes it out to be. On a train, it might take about two and a half hours—maybe three if there’s any reason for stalling. If he is thinking reasonably, he could wake up early on a Saturday morning and ride a train to Miyagi. Sure, there isn’t a lot of reason for him to go to Miyagi but hypothetically speaking, if he wanted to, say, meet someone who lived in Miyagi, he definitively could.

But he shouldn’t.

Akaashi stares at the ceiling of the Fukurodani gymnasium contemplatively and heaves a sigh.

“Why so glum?” Konoha asks in greeting as he seats himself beside Akaashi on the bench.

“Konoha-san,” Akaashi begins, still staring at the ceiling, “do you have any relatives in Sendai that I could visit in your place?’

“What?”

“It’s nothing,” Akaashi says blankly. “I hope your family’s well.”

“…What?”

Akaashi sighs.

“Oh,” Konoha says suddenly, staring up at the ceiling with Akaashi like he might find answers there, “is this about your boyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Akaashi replies on autopilot.

“You kids are so technical these days,” Konoha says, as though he is not a mere one year older than Akaashi. “He’s basically your boyfriend. You guys watch movies together every other week and message each other on LINE in between.”

“As friends,” Akaashi corrects.

“As friends,” Konoha mocks.

“DON’T BE MEAN TO OUR SETTER!” Bokuto shouts from behind them, squeezing himself between Konoha and Akaashi to shoot a warning glance at Konoha that looks anything but predatory. “Anyway, Akaashi’s shy!”

“I’m not shy—”

“Listen, Akaashi. You should just go for it. Ask him to marry you while you’re at it.”

“I can ask for you!” Bokuto offers unhelpfully.

Akaashi sighs. “I appreciate your terrible advice but I feel—”

“Okay, so maybe we can take it slower. Have you met him in person yet?” Konoha hums. “Of course you haven’t. You don’t know what he looks like either, huh? What are you worried about, Akaashi?”

Akaashi… sighs. “You’re smothering me,” he says very pointedly.

Konoha smiles pleasantly. “Sure, it’s kind of an interesting situation but you like him and I’m pretty sure he likes you too, so what better time to ask him to hang out in person than now?” He pauses. “Not now—we’re in practice. But now, as in… Maybe within the upcoming week.”

“It’s complicated,” Akaashi says, even though he’s pretty sure he isn’t. He drops his gaze from the ceiling, staring out at the gym in front of him blankly, watching volleyballs roll by like tumbleweeds.

“Yeah, bullshit,” Konoha says quickly. “Akaashi, give me your hands.”

Akaashi stares at him, looking mildly confused before relenting and letting Konoha take hold of his hands tightly and firmly. “Konoha-san—”

“Look at me, Akaashi,” Konoha says sternly. “Are you looking? Yes, okay, you’re looking. Alright, now Bokuto, grab the phone and go!”

It is with much delay that Akaashi realizes he’s been set up. He tries to turn around, maybe to see what’s happening, but Konoha pulls him back by the arm and grins wickedly. This is terrible, Akaashi thinks to himself. Bokuto knows his password, he realizes a beat later. He’s going to regret everything he’s ever done leading up to this exact moment and the way Konoha is looking at him innocently, guilelessly, only makes certain that there will be no survivors left behind in this battle.

“Konoha-san,” Akaashi says as calmly as he can manage.

“Yes, my sweet kouhai?”

“I take back my well-wishes for your relatives in Sendai.”

“I don’t have any relatives in Sendai, Akaashi,” Konoha says with a half-hearted frown. “I do have a friend near there though. In fact, I’m trying to set you up with him as we speak.”

“I hate you,” Akaashi says as sincerely as possible.

“Yes,” Konoha says with a satisfied grin, “I love you too and cannot wait for you to thank me.” Suddenly, Konoha drops Akaashi from his firm grip and looks thoughtful, pensive. Like a wave of introspection washes over him, Konoha’s expression fades into pensive to, all at once, disgusted and concerned.

“What,” says Akaashi.

“I just realized Bokuto probably should not have been left in charge of messaging Chikara.”

“Konoha-san,” Akaashi says as calmly as he can manage.

“Yeah?”

This isn’t a big issue. Chikara is used to Akaashi’s terrible friends being terrible by sending terrible messages. There’ll be no trouble explaining to him that whatever’s about to happen is just another joke that doesn’t need to be given any time or attention.

There is a part of Akaashi that wonders—if he’s extra slow to retrieving his phone, would he open it to a response from Chikara? Maybe a yes? Maybe a no? The chances are fifty-fifty at this point and Akaashi finds himself feeling extra spiteful for even contemplating them.

Konoha looks worried. Akaashi can’t even begin to fathom what sort of absurd message Bokuto has chosen to send.

“I truly hate you.”

“Yeah,” Konoha says with a frown, “I hate me too.”

Bokuto’s owl-like laughter echoes from the locker room. Konoha murmurs a silent prayer to his favorite Love Live idol.

Akaashi sighs.

He rarely acts on impulse. Ennoshita is not the spontaneous type. It makes for a lot of assumptions about his character—he often comes across as boring, too safe, too plain and for the most part, he doesn’t go out of his way to try and argue the opposite.

He very rarely goes through with the plans in his mind and while he’s surprising himself by looking at the train schedules for this weekend in the first place, he’s even more taken aback when he gets a LINE notification that disrupts his steady train of thought and reels him back into reality.

It’s from Keiji, like some higher deity is trying to ruin Ennoshita’s life by compelling him to buy those dumb train tickets to Tokyo without second-guessing himself. He swallows the lump in his throat and stifles a disgruntled noise before exiting the browser window with the train tickets to address the recent LINE message.

Keiji (4:05 PM): HEY!!!!!!!!!!! HEY HEY HYE!COHIKARA! HEY!!!!!!! WHAT’S UP! U KNO WHAT’S UP>?? u & me!!! TTHSi wekened!! Saturday! COEM 2 TOKYO OR I’LL GO 2 MIYAGI!! I HEAR THERE”S A LTOT OF FARMLAND!
Keiji (4:05 PM): (heart) (heart) (heart) (heart) (heart) (heart)
Keiji (4:06 PM): Miss u AND LOVE U!
Keiji (4:06 PM): hye I heard u PLAY VOLELYBALL TOO! DON’T STLEAL ME FROM MY TEAM OKAY!;
Keiji (4:07 PM): (heart) (heart) (heart) (heart) (heart)

“Is this Keiji?” Kinoshita asks from beside him, looking vaguely impressed and mildly terrified. “He’s very…”

“Bright,” Narita interjects. “He’s very lively.”

“Is this Japanese?” Kinoshita stage-whispers.

Ennoshita blinks at the message. He can tell this very clearly isn’t a message composed by Keiji but he’s also not sure what type of creature might have composed it otherwise. The species behind the texts seems to be of a similar strand to Tanaka and Nishinoya and with that thought in mind, Ennoshita cannot help the shudder that runs through his body. Whenever Keiji’s friends do hijack his phone and send messages to Ennoshita on his behalf, Keiji is quick to do damage control. It’s been a whole two minutes now and there’s been no follow-up.

“Huh,” Ennoshita says, dazed. “Do you think Tanaka and Nishinoya are playing a prank on me?”

As though summoned, Tanaka and Nishinoya make their presence known from behind him and loom over their shoulders, reading the messages for himself.

“My god…” Nishinoya says distantly, looking away with an expression far too sober, too serious to be familiar on his face.

“Ennoshita,” Tanaka says solemnly, hand firm on Ennoshita’s shoulder as he, too, looks into the distance at something Ennoshita is pretty sure doesn’t actually exist. “This Keiji…”

“We approve,” Nishinoya says. “He truly conveyed his passion and we approve of him.”

Kinoshita balks and Narita smiles halfheartedly.

“Yeah,” Ennoshita says slowly, “great.”

Tanaka plucks the phone from Ennoshita’s hands effortlessly and works at typing away what is likely to be a terrible response.

Chikara (4:15 PM): Yes.
Chikara (4:16 PM): Just………….yes.

“Say Chikara will fly to him if that’s what it takes,” Nishinoya says encouragingly.

“Don’t,” Ennoshita says weakly.

“This is funny,” Kinoshita says, unsupportive as always as he sips at his water bottle. “This is very funny.”

Chikara (4:18 PM): I will fly to you if i have to…………….
Chikara (4:18 PM): my prince
Chikara (4:21 PM): hey sorry that wasn’t me and i’m pretty sure that wasn’t you either. but if you do want to meet up, i wouldn’t mind coming to tokyo this saturday. how’s 11 in the morning?

“So cool,” Nishinoya says in approval.

“We have so much to learn,” Tanaka sobs.

“This is hilarious,” Kinoshita adds.

Akaashi stares at his phone screen. Konoha stares at Akaashi’s phone screen. Jointly, they look up and stare at Bokuto, disbelief rampant in their expressions, potentially mixed with what might be begrudging acknowledgement.

Bokuto crosses his arms and puffs out his chest as proudly as possible.

“I can’t believe it,” Konoha says, mostly to himself. “Bokuto, of all people, scored you… a date. I’m kind of impressed? Kind of…”

“Bokuto-san,” Akaashi says slowly, looking from his captain’s face to the unanswered LINE messages from Chikara.

“Yes, Akaashi, you may kiss my feet,” Bokuto says with a chortle.

“Bokuto-san,” Akaashi says quietly, “I will personally make your spiking difficult if you use these heart emoticons in excess under my name ever again.”

Bokuto sulks.

“…But thank you.”

Keiji (4:28 PM): yes, *i* would like to meet up. i’ll meet you at shinjuku station
Keiji (4:36 PM): i’m excited to see you

10:48 AM

The weather is relatively kind. It’s still humid, sticky, and there are wisps of gray lingering in the sky but comparatively speaking to yesterday and the day before, when the rains were particularly cruel, Akaashi cannot help but be an optimist.

He can feel his heartbeat thump steadily but rapidly against his chest. It’s like he’s reliving those seconds he spent leading up to hearing Chikara’s voice for the first time all over again. He sighs, tries to steel himself, steady his breathing. His hands find purchase in the pockets of his pants and Akaashi presses himself against the wall by the ticketing counter.

Chikara (8:16 AM): ah… i don’t know what’d be helpful but i’m wearing a blue shirt… i have black hair?
Chikara (8:17 AM): call out my name right at 11 and i’ll wave
Keiji (8:18 AM): absolutely not. send a picture?
Chikara (8:24 AM): (Image Attached)
Keiji (8:24 AM): it’s too blurry…
Chikara (8:25 AM): IM LATE

10:56 AM

Shinjuku Station is almost always busy, filled with people going to and from the city actively and fervently. He doesn’t leave Tokyo much himself and the station, despite being within biking and walking distance from his home, is hardly a place he frequents.

Chikara (10:57 AM): i’m here… so many people… central west ticket gate, right?
Keiji (10:57 AM): there are a lot of people today especially for some reason. but yes, i’m waiting.

11:03 AM

“AKAASHI!” Bokuto of all people shouts from presumably nowhere. “Isn’t that a Karasuno member?!”

“Bokuto-san?” Akaashi stares, eyes narrowed as Bokuto emerges from behind him wearing sunglasses, a facemask, and a beanie to cover his hair. “Were you spying on me?”

“No,” Bokuto says quickly, looking incredibly guilty. “I’m not here.”

“Right.”

“But just so you know… If I were… I would tell you that I’m pretty sure that’s a Karasuno member… If I were here… we could talk about that.” Bokuto clears his throat and readjusts his sunglasses. “Anyway, since I’m not, I’m just going to… call Konoha!”

“Bokuto-san,” Akaashi says sternly.

“Yes,” Bokuto replies weakly.

“Please leave.”

“Yes,” Bokuto concedes weakly, looking like a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar.

Right as Bokuto turns to leave, a voice calls out to the both of them, hesitant and nearly drowned out in the sea of voices talking inside of the station.

“Excuse me?” The Karasuno member that Bokuto had been gesturing to approaches them, expression placid and remarkably calm despite the faint strain in his voice. “Sorry but… Bokuto-san and Akaashi-kun from Fukurodani…?”

“Yes!” Bokuto says almost immediately, whipping his shades off and much too elated to have been recognized to even mope the poor quality of his disguise. “What did you recognize me from? The Training Camp where I guided your baby crows to the edge of the nest? Maybe Volleyball Monthly?”

“Ah,” Ennoshita says with a sheepish smile. “Your jacket says Fukurodani on the back and then I recognized Akaashi-kun next to you so I only assumed.”

“I’m sorry about Bokuto-san,” Akaashi says with an exasperated shake of his head. “It’s nice to meet you…?”

“Ennoshita. You can just call me Ennoshita. I think we’re the same year—second, right?”

“Ah, yeah. You can call me Akaashi then. What brings you to Tokyo, Ennoshita?”

Bokuto, at this point, has discarded of his disguise in full, likely due to the heat. His hair horns wilt as he watches Ennoshita and Akaashi talk back and forth, exchanging introductory remarks.

“Oh, I’m meeting up with someone,” Ennoshita says, a sleepy smile on his face. “Are you and Bokuto-san waiting for someone as well?”

“Bokuto-san is actually on his way home,” Akaashi says. “Right, Bokuto-san?”

Bokuto parts his lips to speak but, wisely taking note of the way Akaashi is staring at him, promptly closes his mouth to nod his head sadly. “I’ll see you two… Tell your shortie that I’m looking forward to seeing him improve even more!”

Ennoshita nods. “Yes, have a nice day.”

It takes little time for Bokuto to disappear into the crowd again, crawling his way to the exit and waving goodbye from there, once more, for good measure. Ennoshita humors him with a wave while Akaashi purses his lips, wondering how to properly get back at Konoha for putting Bokuto up to the task.

“So you’re waiting for someone?” Akaashi clarifies.

“Yeah, a friend of mine. Are you as well?” Ennoshita glances about the premises of the station, toying with the button on the sleeve of his blue shirt. “This station’s very busy, huh?”

“Me too,” Akaashi replies, glancing at his phone and checking the LINE message to no avail. “It’s usually busy but since it’s the weekend, I guess more people are going out.”

“Sorry, I’m just going to message him really quickly,” Ennoshita says.

“That’s fine.”

Chikara (11:17 AM): where are you?
Keiji (11:17 AM): where are you?
Keiji (11:17 AM): ….
Chikara (11:18 AM): ……
Keiji (11:19 AM): there are a lot of people with blue shirts and black hair today
Keiji (11:19 AM): take a picture of yourself
Chikara (11:20 AM): i can’t…
Keiji (11:20 AM): ?
Keiji (11:21 AM): chikara…

11:24 AM

Ennoshita glances up from his phone and looks at Akaashi, lips parts as though he’s about to say something. He visibly swallows the lump in his throat before facing forward again.

“What nice weather,” he says stiffly.

Akaashi almost laughs but catches himself, glancing up from his phone. “Yes, I love humidity.”

“Are you humoring me, Akaashi-kun?” Ennoshita asks, traces of dismay evident in his tone as he smiles weakly.

“I am,” Akaashi replies without missing a beat.

“Would you humor me further then?”

“How so?”

Ennoshita clears his throat and holds his phone up. “Would you mind taking a picture with me?”

“A picture?” Akaashi repeats, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly, eyes glued to Ennoshita’s phone. “Why all of a sudden?”

“Oh, uh, commemorative purposes,” Ennoshita says offhandedly. “Sorry—kind of an outlandish request but I’d really appreciate the… memories.”

“Memories.”

“Yeah.” Ennoshita laughs nervously. “I love memories, you know?”

Akaashi looks contemplative for a few passing moments before he nods, slowly, unsure of himself. “Yeah,” he says despite his confusion, “why not?”

A wave of relief washes over Ennoshita’s face as he quickly opens his phone camera and outstretches his arm, standing a natural distance away from Akaashi while lifting his phone.

“Thank you,” Ennoshita says, “and smile!”

He doesn’t ask to see the picture and promptly after taking it, they return to standing side-by-side in near silence. Akaashi would talk more in any other situation, maybe, but he’s starting to wonder what’s taking Chikara so long and it’s hard to want to focus on other near-strangers when the one he’s supposed to be meeting with might be lost in a sea of people wearing blue.

Akaashi’s phone vibrates.

Chikara (11:31 AM): (Image Attached)

11:32 AM

It’s a picture. More specifically, it’s a picture of Ennoshita and Akaashi. Sent from Chikara’s phone. To him, Akaashi Keiji. Inside of the Shinjuku Station, and—oh god.

“Ennoshita,” Akaashi says levelly, locking his phone screen and stowing it in his pocket, “what’s your full name, again?”

“My full name?” Ennoshita repeats, glancing up at Akaashi unsuspectingly. “Ennoshita Chikara.”

All of the obvious clues hit him at once. Ennoshita’s wearing a pale blue shirt and he’s holding a phone with a cracked plastic case—something Akaashi distinctly remembers Chikara complaining about during a late night Skype call. He’s coming from Miyagi, Miyagi, waiting for someone in Tokyo, Shinjuku Station of all places. And most importantly, this is his explanation for why something about Ennoshita’s voice had been bothering him since they first started talking.

It’s Chikara’s voice. Akaashi almost laughs. Ennoshita is Chikara.

“Chikara,” Akaashi says, trying in vain to suppress a smile. “I’m Akaashi Keiji.”

“Oh,” Ennoshita says with a nod, “my friend’s na—”

The hustle and bustle of Shinjuku Station almost seems silent as Ennoshita stares at Akaashi, heavily-lidded eyes widening into circles as realization dawns upon him too and—

“Oh,” Ennoshita says again, this time with an unrecognizable hint of something in his tone, “oh my god. I asked to take a picture with you to send to you.”

Akaashi, ever the believer of chivalry, allows Ennoshita time to recover.

“Chikachikara,” Akaashi says aloud, looking at Ennoshita with an amused glint in his eye.

Ennoshita laughs weakly. “I’ve got to change that username before people start saying it out loud.” He pauses, quiet and defeated as he looks Akaashi in the eye with an unabashed smile that Akaashi thinks is his new favorite thing about him. “So, Keiji. We finally meet.”

Akaashi nods, a hint of a smile on his lips as well. “What would I say if this were a movie?”

“You’d say, ‘I don’t know if I could have waited any longer to meet you, Chikara.’”

“I’m not saying that,” Akaashi says decisively, “but I am glad you’re here.”

konoha (2:12 PM): How is it???? Who is it??? Send pics
konoha (2:12 PM): God I’m so proud I’m like watching my son seize the world
konoha (2:13 PM): Carpe Chikara
konoha (2:14 PM): haha man I’m good

RYUUUU!!! (2:34 PM): ENNOSHITA
YUUUUU!!! (2:34 PM): CHIKARA!!!!!!!
YUUUUU!!! (2:35 PM): TELL US HOW IT FEELS TO BE IN LOVE!!!!
RYUUUU!!! (2:36 PM): YOU LUCKY BASTARD

The date, by normal standards, is nothing extraordinary. A lot of it is spent wandering around in the streets before giving up on spending time in the heat and retiring to Akaashi’s house to watch movies together. It’s nothing extravagant, definitely not something planned down to the very last detail.

Still, it’s—nice. Maybe it’s the company, or maybe it’s the atmosphere, the vibe that the company brings, but Akaashi finds himself smiling more times than he usually does in the span of a couple of hours, all while listening to Ennoshita talk passionately about films Akaashi can barely pay attention to the subtitles for.

“Culture affects film so much. Like Fellini, since he was a neorealist in Italy—he did all of these shots in empty piazzas capturing poverty and the class divide and… What? Did I say something weird?”

They’re sitting on the floor of Akaashi’s bedroom, backs pressed against Akaashi’s bed. The laptop’s sitting on the ground by their legs and though the volume’s on maximum, Akaashi can’t be bothered trying to concentrate on it.

“No,” he says honestly, glancing at the laptop and then at Ennoshita’s face. “Can I kiss you?”

Ennoshita looks dazed as the omnipresent smile on his face ebbs away ever so slightly before growing again. “Yeah,” he says softly, his hand finding Akaashi’s on the ground to tangle their fingers together messily. “In fact, I insist.”

It has taken days, weeks, months to get to this single point and Akaashi does not waste a single second in leaning forward to kiss Ennoshita on the lips. He doesn’t wait for the electricity to course through his veins—he doesn’t wait for the butterflies to fly rapidly against his ribcage; he doesn’t wait for any of that, doesn’t feel the need to because when Ennoshita smiles against his lips, Akaashi is keen on believing this is as good as it could possibly get.

Keiji (4:12 PM): good.
konoha (4:13 PM): God bless this otherwise forsaken planet

Chikara (4:12 PM): good.
RYUUUU!!! (4:12 PM): ENNOSHITAAAAAAAA
YUUUUU!!! (4:13 PM): CHIKARAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

“So I guess we have to go back to long-distance?” Ennoshita says wryly at the train station, hands jammed into his pockets as he looks up at Akaashi.

“Yeah,” Akaashi says with a nod. “Back to watching movies in sync on Skype.”

“Hey, it worked,” Ennoshita says defensively, shrugging his shoulders in response to the jab. “Maybe the streaming website will work now.”

“Hopefully.”

Ennoshita smiles before letting out a satisfied sigh, kicking at the ground idly. “I wrote this whole letter I was going to give to you once I got here telling you that I liked you and other embarrassing stuff like that,” he says, words punctuated with his nervous laughter. “I’m not giving it to you anymore though. Maybe if you visit Miyagi someday, though I don’t think the letter’s all that important...”

Akaashi hums contemplatively. “I don’t think so either,” he says, gaze flickering from one end to the station to the other before he leans down to kiss Ennoshita quickly. “Not anymore, at least.”

Ennoshita decides to upload a picture of himself and Akaashi onto his personal Instagram account after he arrives at Kotodaikoen Station. It’s not the best picture in the world (Ennoshita’s evidently a terrible photographer despite his love for film) and it’s only really exciting because the only other picture on his account is one of his most recent film camera. Still, with a nice filter on it, the picture comes out okay.

They’re holding their hands up to form two halves of a heart. Ennoshita is smiling and Akaashi’s flush is accentuated by the filter, his embarrassment emphasized.

(Image)
♥ 38 likes
chikara6 keiji and chikara @akaashikeiji

kinocraft7 oh wow!! Congratulations!!
narita_legend :D
1GRANDKING1 An admittedly refreshing photo! @sugasuga maybe we should take one too
sugasuga ennoshita! this is so cute! I’m so happy for you!
sugasuga @1GRANDKING1 don’t make this picture about us……….
BROKUTOKOU YES!!!!!!!!!!! HEY HEY! HEY!!!!!!!!! CHIKARA!
kuroo_tetsurou wtf
yamagucccci Congratulations Ennoshita-san!
HINATACE10 WHOOOOHHH WAHHHHHHWOOOW WOOW
tanaka_the_dragon_5 ENNOSHITA YOU BASTARD
konohahahaha Hey @akaashikeiji, you’re welcome!
akaashikeiji @konohahahaha who are you?
chikara6 thank you everyone!

The fuzzy outline of Akaashi’s face on Ennoshita’s computer screen is the closest thing he gets to face-to-face encounters now that he’s back in Miyagi and Akaashi’s back in Tokyo. Still, little changes. They spend their time talking to one another on every possible medium and though there lingers that faint desire to see Akaashi for himself, in the flesh and blood—

“What are you thinking about?” Akaashi asks, his expression faded into something Ennoshita recognizes as amused, curious.

Though there lingers that faint desire to see Akaashi for himself, in the flesh and blood, having him in the simplest, most refined respect is just as good.

“Nothing,” Ennoshita says with a smile. “I love you.”

“All of a sudden…”

“Ah, Akaashi Keiji is so cold. You won’t even say it back—”

“I love you too.”

Ennoshita laughs and he thinks it’s nice how little it takes for Akaashi to make him feel warm.