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The scalding waves of summer heat crashed into Bokuto, making his black t-shirt sticky with sweat. A soft breeze tousled his hair as his tennis shoes padded against the sidewalk, leading towards the red signs that read ‘Now Open.’ Bokuto was practically vibrating with excitement as he skipped down the path, ignoring his friend's’ protests.
“Bo, seriously?” Kuroo groaned, running his fingers through his unruly head of hair. Bokuto grinned, turning around to face his friend.
“Sorry,” Bokuto apologized, “I’m just so pumped, Man!” Kuroo shook his head and smiled as he watched his friend sprint closer to their destination. Today was the day Bokuto had been eagerly waiting for, the day that Kuroo was happy had finally arrived so he wouldn’t have to listen to Bokuto complain anymore. The day the zoo’s owl exhibit finally opened to the public.
Bokuto darted through the entrance of the zoo, almost forgetting about Kuroo, who was struggling to keep up with his quick pace. Following the map he grabbed at the front of the zoo, Bokuto pulled Kuroo throughout the entirety of the park, until finally, they arrived at their destination.
The owl exhibit was a spacious building, which allowed rays of sunlight to illuminate the entirety of the interior with a thriving glow, with several glass windows located on the roof. Various species of vegetation grew, making the pair feel as if they were traveling through a forest. There was a transparent wire gate separating the animals from the tourists, to Bokuto’s immense disappointment. But they didn’t search for long before they finally stumbled across an owl.
It’s eyes were a striking, moonlight yellow, with inky black irises. There were light brown feathers mixed in with white ones, and it held an intense air of dominance around it. Bokuto’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he studied the owl, grasping onto the gate that separated him from this beautiful creature. Kuroo watched as Bokuto began to catch sight of more owls, and pretended to listen as Bokuto gave facts about each species he saw.
“Oh, that’s a Great Horned Owl!” Bokuto exclaimed, pointing out a speckled owl with two feathers protruded out the side of it’s head.
“Uh huh,” Kuroo commented, as his eyes wandered away from Bokuto and around the exhibit. After aimlessly glancing for about a minute, something finally caught his eye. He smirked, elbowing Bokuto’s side gently to get his attention. Bokuto looked slightly annoyed at being interrupted, but he gave Kuroo his attention.
“Bo, isn’t that guy over there, like, really cute?” Kuroo said, gesturing with his head to the right of where they were standing. Bokuto rolled his eyes, refocusing his eyes on the owls around him.
“C’mon, bro,” Kuroo said, pulling Bokuto’s attention to himself once again.
“But right now I want to look at the owls, not cute guys-,” Bokuto started, but when he let his gaze drift away from the owls, he immediately caught sight of the most gorgeous man he had ever seen. Bokuto choked on his words as he took in the beauty of this person, causing Kuroo to snicker loudly.
“Oh, now you’re interested,” Kuroo joked, waving his hand in front of Bokuto’s awestruck eyes, trying to get his attention. Bokuto didn’t even flinch, and he let his jaw go slack as he continued to stare.
He had elegant, jet black curls that lay perfectly atop his head, and Bokuto imagined they would be soft as a baby owl’s feather. His eyes were a captivating blue-green color, and Bokuto could look into them for his whole life and not regret a single second of it. Everything about the man’s appearance appeared so fragile, like a divine, porcelain vase. But at the same time, Bokuto knew this man could take on the whole word by himself and win, no doubt. Bokuto raised his hands to his face, in an attempt to tear his eyes away from the man’s figure. Finally, Bokuto turned and faced Kuroo, who was holding an uncapped black sharpie mere inches away from Bokuto’s face.
“Damn, so close,” Kuroo chuckled as Bokuto squawked, snatching the marker from him, capping it, and then stuffing it inside his front pocket. Bokuto turned to look at the man again, and he noticed he was wearing a beige jacket and dark green cargo pants, signifying that he worked in the exhibit. ‘He literally could not be more perfect,’ Bokuto thought to himself. Bokuto’s heart nearly melted out of his chest as he witnessed an owl flying towards the man, resting it’s talons on his outstretched arm. The man smiled at the bird, gently petting it’s feathered head. Bokuto nearly lost his balance as the man pressed a kiss on the tip owl’s beak, gesturing his arm outwards for the owl to take flight.
“I wish I were that owl right now,” Bokuto said slowly, causing Kuroo to bark out a laugh and grasp onto Bokuto’s forearm, tugging him in the man’s direction.
“You’re going and talking to him,” Kuroo demanded, and Bokuto immediately dug his heels into the ground in an attempt to stop himself from being dragged to his doom.
“Dude, he’s working!” Bokuto whispered sharply, causing Kuroo to let go of his forearm.
“Oh right,” Kuroo said, and Bokuto threw up a fist in victory.
“We’re still listening to his presentation that’s about to start,” Kuroo grinned, and Bokuto let his arm fall slack against his side. Bokuto followed Kuroo in defeat, eventually joining the crowd of people waiting for the presentation to begin. A couple minutes after they arrived, the man reemerged from the back of the exhibit, a snowy owl perched happily on his forearm.
The man’s voice was as sweet as red velvet, but confident and powerful as well. Bokuto’s curious eyes wandered to the man’s nametag, which was bright red with a little owl in the corner.
‘Akaashi Keiji,’ Bokuto mused to himself.
‘Even his name is attractive.’
“Dude, when are you going to actually talk to him ,” Kuroo asked with a smirk, causing Bokuto to scrunch up his nose and shake his head. It was a Monday, which meant that the pair had to actually go to work. The two of them are specialists at an emergency veterinary office, Kuroo working with cats and Bokuto working with birds. Today had been a slow day so far, so soon after they reclined slightly in their office chairs, Kuroo began to tease Bokuto about the man he practically stalked every other day. The zoo was only about a minutes’ walk away from their work, so Bokuto made a habit to visit the owl exhibit as many times a week as possible.
“I’m not worthy to speak with such a person,” Bokuto explained, sighing dreamily. Kuroo rolled his eyes at his friend, flicking his nose. Bokuto flinched, frowning dramatically.
“You are totally worthy,” Kuroo said, rolling his eyes. “Anyone would be lucky to go out with you, bro.” Bokuto’s eyes widened at his statement, and he then threw himself into the others’ arms with a sparkling grin.
“Thanks, Kuroo!” He yelled happily, “I’ll talk to him tomorrow!”
“No problem,” Kuroo said, winking and ruffling Bokuto’s hair. Bokuto frowned and was about to return the favor, when the jingling of the front door opening caught both of their attention.
Bokuto’s blood turned to ice when his eyes met with desperate, blue-green ones.
“Please, you have to help my owl,” Akaashi begged, cradling a small snowy owl close to his chest. The owl had a deep cut in one of its wings, the crimson staining the pale white and gray of its feathers. Bokuto immediately pushed off his office chair, running to Akaashi’s aid.
“She’s just five weeks old, please, you have to help her,” Akaashi said, his voice shaky and full of despair. Bokuto carefully took the small owl from Akaashi’s arms, clutching her gently to his chest, similar to the way Akaashi had been.
“Hey there,” Bokuto cooed, softly running his index finger over the soft feathers of her head. Bokuto gestured for the anxious man in front of him to follow him, leading him toward one of the rooms the veterinary office used for stitching up wounds.
“How did this happen?” Bokuto asked as he carefully began to numb the owl’s wing, so she wouldn’t be able to feel it when Bokuto would begin to stitch her wing closed.
“Well, I work at the new owl exhibit a couple minutes down the street,” Akaashi began, eyes never straying from his owl.
‘Oh, i’m well aware,’ Bokuto thought to himself, remaining silent so the man across from him could continue his explanation.
“And there was a stray nail sticking out in one of the owl habitats,” Akaashi continued, his voice heavy with emotion. “She flew right into it. I’ve never seen one of my owls in so much pain,” Akaashi said, his tone turning slightly bitter.
“There is still no clinic in the exhibit,” Akaashi said angrily, “I insisted that we wait until we could build a clinic before opening to the public, but my boss told me that everything would be just fine .” Bokuto frowned sympathetically as Akaashi ran his fingers through his dark curls.
“It’s a miracle I could find this place before she lost too much blood,” Akaashi said softly, giving Bokuto a small smile. Bokuto’s heart caught in his throat as he returned Akaash’s smile, finishing the last couple stitches.
“Alright, she probably won’t be able to fly for a couple weeks or so, but after that her wing’ll be good as new!” Bokuto said happily, clipping off the excess string. Akaashi sighed in relief, and to Bokuto’s astonishment, threw his arms around his neck in a tight, quick hug. Akaashi’s body was so warm and soft pressed against his chest Bokuto nearly scooped him into his arms and whisked him off to somewhere he could hug him for as long as he wanted. Too quickly for Bokuto’s liking, Akaashi pulled away with a shy smile on his face.
“Are you ok?” Bokuto asked softly, trying his hardest not to trip over his words. Akaashi smiled and nodded, then walked over to his owl and began to gently pet the owl’s small head. The owl gave a small hoot, which made the both of them smile.
“What’s her name?” Bokuto asked, moving to stand next to Akaashi.
“Squeaky,” Akaashi replied with a weak laugh, causing Bokuto to chuckle quietly.
“When she was just a couple days old, she would try to hoot,” Akaashi began, fondness laced in his voice. “And it was the smallest, cutest little noise I have ever heard. So I decided to name her Squeaky.” Bokuto smiled widely, then pulled out a couple forms for Akaashi to sign.
“Just sign these real quick and you’re good to go!” Bokuto said, handing Akaashi a pen. Akaashi hurriedly signed the papers and passed them back to Bokuto, who was not surprised that his signature was flawless. Akaashi scooped the sleeping owl back into his arms, and followed Bokuto back to the main room. Akaashi thanked him and started walking towards the exit, but suddenly, he froze.
“Could you possibly come by the owl exhibit in a couple days?” Akaashi asked, his cheeks brushed with a dusty pink. “Just to check if she’s healing correctly,” Akaashi added slowly, fidgeting slightly. Bokuto beamed as he nodded, causing the man opposite him to give him a small grin. Akaashi took out a sheet of paper and a pen and began writing.
“Here’s the address, it’s just a couple minutes down the street-” Akaashi began to say, but he was interrupted by a man who was still reclining behind the desk, whom Bokuto had forgotten all about.
“Oh, trust me,” Kuroo began, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. “He knows exactly where it is.” Bokuto turned around and glared as his friend, who just shrugged and returned his attention to his game. Akaashi raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as he watched Bokuto’s face flush with red.
“Thank you again, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said with a small smile, turning and walking out of the office. Bokuto waved as the door fell closed, and then plopped himself on one of the couches located in the waiting area. He hummed happily as he stared up at the ceiling, and he let the laughter of his friend drift into the background. As Bokuto was thinking to himself, he realized something.
He had never told Akaashi his name.
Bokuto nervously chewed on his bottom lip as he stepped into the vacant exhibit. The noise of his shoes hitting the pavement echoed off the walls as he made his way to where Akaashi was standing. Akaashi was finishing refilling the owl’s feeders when he turned and saw Bokuto slowly walking towards him.
“Hello, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi greeted kindly, abandoning the feeder to turn and face him. Bokuto started to jog, waving at Akaashi as he came closer. When Bokuto was close enough, Akaashi lead him towards the back of the exhibit, where Bokuto assumed Squeaky was located.
“How is she doing?” Bokuto asked, eyes searching for the small owl.
“She’s doing great, thanks to you,” Akaashi said, smiling so his eyes squinted a little. Bokuto’s heart did little flips in his chest as he struggled to form a coherent sentence in his head.
“Uh, it was nothing,” Bokuto chuckled sheepishly, hating how that’s all he could come up with. Akaashi shook his head and giggled, and finally Bokuto’s eyes landed on the small owl he had met a couple days ago. When she noticed them, she flapped her wings in an attempt to fly. She made a frustrated sound, causing Akaashi to giggle fondly.
“She’s been doing that quite a lot,” Akaashi commented, extending his arm for the small owl to climb on. So she did just that, her talons resting on Akaashi’s forearm. Bokuto rested his hands on his knees so he could get a better view of her wing. He tenderly held it in his hand as he examined the cut, which seemed to be healing perfectly.
“Looks like her cut has already gotten much better!” Bokuto said happily, rising back to a standing position. Akaashi sighed in relief, his stunning eyes twinkling like happy little stars. Akaashi carefully let his owl back on her tree branch, then wrapped his arms around Bokuto’s neck in a big hug. Bokuto gingerly returned the gesture, resting his chin on the other man’s head. A thousand thoughts rushed through his head at once, but he shoved every single one away. The only thing Bokuto wanted to focus on at the moment was the warmth of the man pressed against him and the way Akaashi’s extremely soft hair tickled his neck. Akaashi pulled away, a smile ghosting over his lips.
“We-well,” Bokuto stuttered, “You guys just need to come back to the office in about a week to get her stitches removed, but other than that you guys are good to go!” Bokuto tried to calm the fierce blush that had spread to his face, eyes studying his tennis shoes.
“Alright,” Akaashi said, turning to lead Bokuto to the exit.
“But, maybe we could meet up before then?” Bokuto asked shyly, “Maybe for coffee?” Akaashi smiled at him, raising a dark eyebrow jokingly. Bokuto felt like burrowing into the ground, or maybe climbing onto that tree with Squeaky, as he anxiously awaited his answer. But before he could do either of those things, Akaashi turned his body and began walking towards the exit again. Bokuto’s shoulders slumped as he followed him, but he immediately straightened up when Akaashi looked at him over his shoulder with a small smile on his face.
“Coffee sounds great, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said, turning away from Bokuto again. Bokuto threw his fist up towards the sky in triumph as he let Akaashi lead him towards the exit.
“But I do have to ask you to refrain from taking pictures of me next time you come to one of my presentations,” Akaashi said, sporting a jesting grin. Bokuto’s face was warmer than the summer sun beating down on him as he chuckled in an embarrassed manner, running his fingers through his hair.
“Also, I think the words ‘perfect’ and ‘gorgeous’ are exaggerations, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi continued, and Bokuto almost passed out then and there. Akaashi laughed loudly at the state he had reduced Bokuto into, apologizing halfheartedly.
As soon as Bokuto calmed down, the pair settled on a day to meet up for coffee. Ten minutes later, Bokuto was walking back to work, smiling joyously to despite himself.
‘ If I never accomplish anything in life,’ Bokuto thought as the cool wind pushed his hair out of his face. ‘At least I can say I got the cutest guy on the planet to go on a date with me.’