Work Text:
Akaashi was burnt out.
Not that there was anything unusual about that.
He’d always been the type to overwork himself. And living in a family where it was just expected that he would excel at everything he did… well that only spelled trouble for Akaashi’s mental health.
He had thought that getting out of his house and making his way to University would help, but he quickly realized that it didn’t.
When he trudged into the skating rink late one night to do his job, just a quick leveling of the ice, he was only slightly surprised to find the lights back on. He’d been told they had an athlete that was aiming for the Olympics and that he worked late into the night. He was warned he may even need to threaten to shut off the lights to get him to go home.
Not wanting to deal with that just yet, Akaashi walked towards the back to get the Zamboni ready.
Bokuto Kotarou was pretty famous among young ice skaters. He’d had a pretty notorious meltdown at one competition because during his warmup his skate had gotten caught in a grove left by another skater. He’d had a pretty bad fall and pulled a muscle in his leg. While he’d continued to compete, his knee had buckled during his routine and he’d lost his chance at gold. Still, he was considered one of the best skaters in the country.
Akaashi started up the Zamboni and drove it over to where it would enter the rink. Then, he just sat and watched Bokuto practice.
When he’d started the job a few weeks ago he’d been warned about Bokuto, but no one had told him just how mesmerizing he was to watch. Akaashi sat with his hands folded atop the steering wheel and watched Bokuto spin in circles, his music playing softly in the background. He cheered when he nailed a complicated looking spin, but Akaashi knew nothing of how skating worked or what those moves were called.
When the time hit too late in the night to justify letting Bokuto continue, Akaashi called out to him.
Bokuto turned to him and beamed, giving him a thumbs up as his way of saying that he’d clear out.
Probably after one or two more run throughs.
Akaashi didn’t mind.
They didn’t speak much, just in passing, but Akaashi always assumed that Bokuto didn’t have time for friends given how hard he was working on top of doing his studies. There were plenty of athletes like that in solo sports. It wasn’t like when you have a team and you are forced to converse with people.
It wasn’t until his second year at University that he saw a posting on a bulletin.
Bokuto Koutarou was looking for a roommate.
After watching Bokuto practice for almost a year, watching him fall and get back up more determined than ever. Watching him talk himself out of a slump before making his way back out onto the ice to do it all again.
Akaashi knew he was a star that shone a lot brighter than he did.
Even with his feelings of not being good enough, Akaashi texted the number.
He never could have expected the relationship that would bloom from that simple action.
The fights and the victories they would share.
The loss and the comfort.
Bokuto was a star.
But he also never made Akaashi feel like he was lesser or unimportant.
And when he went on to win Gold for Japan at the Olympics in Tokyo.
He thanked Akaashi loudly and proudly on live TV.
Then proceeded to ask him to marry him.
Also on live TV.