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Akaashi Keiji considered himself to be a person of routine. He liked the consistency of it. Routines are reliable and predictable, and to Akaashi, those elements were the key to reducing stress.
This morning was like any other morning: just the way Akaashi liked it. At six o’clock, he woke up for morning practice. He dragged himself out of bed and forced some breakfast into his stomach. Then he went back to his room and changed into his jersey and shorts, brushed his teeth and hair, washed his face, and grabbed his school and sports bags. Before he left the house, he made his bento with leftovers from last night’s dinner, tucking it neatly into his school bag.
Fukurodani Academy was approximately a thirteen minute walk from Akaashi’s house. This early in the morning, with the sun beginning to shine in between the buildings, the walk to school was pleasant. A light breeze drifted along, ruffling the budding leaves on the trees and swirling around the fallen leaves on the sidewalk. Puffy clouds drifted lazily through the pale blue sky. But for the occasionally pulse of a jogger padding along and the scrape of dried leaves against the pavement, it was quiet. It was peaceful. But this peace wouldn’t last much longer. In fact, it would likely to end right about -
“Hey hey hey! G’morning Akaashi!” a loud voice blared behind him.
Akaashi stopped and turned around. Bokuto jogged to catch up with him, throwing his arm around Akaashi’s shoulders once he reached him.
“Good morning Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said. If he hadn’t been prepared for this quiet, pleasant morning to be interrupted, he would have been disappointed. But he had been expecting this . It was part of his routine.
“You ready for practice?” Bokuto asked.
“Of course. I’m always prepared.”
Bokuto giggled. The sound echoed throughout the empty street, not hindering the tranquil atmosphere, but adding to it. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Just thought I’d ask anyway.”
“Are you prepared?” Akaashi asked.
Bokuto rolled his eyes. “Yes, mom.”
“Do you have your notebooks? You pencil case? You lunch?”
“Don’t worry, I have everything - ”
“How about your school uniform? Your blazer? And tie? Socks? The last time you forgot them you complained about blisters for a week.”
“Yeah, yeah, ye oh wait - crap - my shoes!” Bokuto dropped his bag and started sprinting in the other direction. “I’ll be right back…!” he called out behind him, feet pounding loudly against the concrete.
Akaashi glanced at his watch. They still had fifteen minutes to get to practice; plenty of time for Bokuto to retrieve his forgotten shoes. Akaashi had accounted for this, because this, too, was often part of the routine.
They made it to practice five minutes early, even when Bokuto remembered he had to go back for his kneepads as well.
Unlike most of his teammates, Bokuto Koutarou loved morning practice. Wide awake as soon as the sun peeked above the horizon, he was the epitome of a morning person. (Akaashi often wondered how this could be, since Bokuto was also a night person. He had yet to figure out how someone who got so little sleep had so much energy.) But the rest of his teammates...were not.
“C’mon guys, wake up! It’s nearly seven thirty! Go time!” Bokuto encouraged them as they finished their last lap of flying falls.
During games, Bokuto’s booming voice rose above everything else in the noisy gym and lifted their spirits up. In the early morning, though, not so much.
Akaashi sighed and began to push himself off the floor, when he saw Konoha glance at him with a pleading look in his eye. Akaashi nodded at him.
Akaashi stood and waved at Bokuto, who stood proudly with his hands on his hips at their makeshift finish line. “Bokuto-san? Perhaps a little quieter?”
“Oh! Sorry Akaashi!” Bokuto whispered loudly.
Soon (though not soon enough) practice was over, and everyone went to the locker room. Akaashi, always the first to finish changing, slung his belongings over his shoulder and headed for the bathroom.
He dropped his bag next to the middle sink, unzipped the front pouch, and pulled out a tube of mascara.
Akaashi started wearing mascara a couple months ago. A moment of self consciousness had led to a stealthy trip to the convenience store’s makeup aisle. He ended up buying powder and eyeliner too, but the powder was the wrong tone for him and he quickly became frustrated trying to apply the eyeliner. But the mascara was perfect. The slight lengthening of his lashes emphasized his eyes in just the way he needed to give him a boost of confidence. It was easy and discreet enough that no one even noticed he wore it. And now, it was part of his routine.
He was applying one last layer to his left eye when the door suddenly swung open.
“Hey hey hey Akaashi! Whoa, whatcha got there?”
This wasn’t part of the routine.
“I, um...mascara?” Akaashi said, more as a question than a statement.
He quickly shoved the wand back in the tube and screwed it back on tightly, blushing in embarrassment. It wasn’t a secret that he wore makeup, but as far as he knew, no one knew about it. He preferred to keep it that way, too. Only to avoid questions, he told himself.
But now, Akaashi didn’t know what to expect from Bokuto. Would he laugh at Akaashi for using makeup? Would he cringe at the fact that his best friend wore mascara? Surely this wouldn’t be enough to impact their friendship?
Bokuto rushed up to him, shoes smacking on the bathroom floor. “Ah man, that’s so cool! No wonder your eyes look so pretty all the time!”
“I - er…” His cheeks flushed even worse. No wonder your eyes look so pretty all the time. Did Bokuto even realize what he said? Akaashi doubted it.
Bokuto took the tube of mascara from Akaashi’s hands and held it in front of his face, his bright eyes shining with curiosity. “Hey - can I try?” he asked.
Akaashi let out a little sigh of relief. He couldn’t believe he’d been nervous about how Bokuto would react. This was Bokuto - cheerful and kind and supportive and too energetic for his own good. That’s why he made such a great captain - and such a great friend.
“It’s not good to share makeup,” Akaashi told him.
“...oh.” His eyes dropped. With the slightest bit of resistance, Bokuto handed the tube back to Akaashi.
Not good. Akaashi could tell he was heading into dejected mode. If Bokuto attended class in dejected mode, he’d completely tune out his teacher. If he tuned out his teacher, Akaashi would have to teach him what he’d missed. Akaashi was not up for another study session today.
But more importantly, he hated seeing Bokuto like that.
Akaashi turned on the sink and unscrewed the cap of the mascara. “...but it should be fine if I wash off the wand. Just this once, okay?”
Immediately, Bokuto brightened up. “Okay!” he said, smile plastered on his face.
Akaashi couldn’t help but smile a little, too.
He glanced at his watch. They still had enough time before their first class started, if they hurried. He told Bokuto to lean forward and look down.
Their faces were inches apart, so close that Akaashi could feel Bokuto’s breath across his cheeks, so close he could make out the pores on his skin. He has beautiful skin, Akaashi thought. Still a little sweaty from practice, but soft and smooth and slightly flushed. With his eyes downcast, Akaashi could see how long his lashes already were. He doesn’t even need mascara, Akaashi noted with a hint of jealously. For all he tried to hold still, Bokuto’s eyes kept shifting back and forth, and he kept grinding his teeth, wiggling his fingers.
He’d heard girls talk about the volleyball team’s ace before, about how sure, he was nice, but he was loud and obnoxious, and he looked weird. They admired his body but giggled at his ridiculous hair and strangely shaped face. Akaashi didn’t understand them at all. Bokuto was beautiful.
“Are you gonna do it?” Bokuto said quietly, almost whispering.
Akaashi snapped out of his trance. “Sorry. I’ve never done this on another person before.”
Bokuto peaked up through his eyelashes. “It’s okay. I trust you, ‘kaashi.”
If Akaashi’s heart melted a little just then, no one could blame him.
He brought the wand up to Bokuto’s right eye, and began applying it. He was careful not to get too close - he didn’t want to poke Bokuto’s eye out - but it wasn’t working very well. He could only coat the very tips of his lashes with black. Needing a bit of leverage, he placed his other hand on Bokuto’s forehead.
Bokuto sucked in a breath. Akaashi could feel him tense up, which caused Akaashi to feel unsure of himself.
He ran his fingers through Bokuto's hairline. It was a little damp with sweat, but otherwise soft, unlike the tips of his hair that were coated with gel. "Relax, Bokuto-san," he said. Bokuto let out the breath he was holding, his eyes fluttering.
"Better," Akaashi said, trying to ignore the thumping in his chest. He brushed through a few more times, then moved on to the other eye. Nearly there.
“Bokuto-san, look forward.” He did as Akaashi told, and Akaashi added a few last touches. Though his gaze was fixed on Bokuto’s lashes, he could tell Bokuto was looking at him. His face felt warm.
“There,” he finally said, stepping back to admire his work. “Finished.”
Bokuto’s golden eyes, which were normally already bright and shining, popped against the black accent. He blinked once. He looked even more like an owl than usual, long lashes framing his round eyes. Akaashi gulped. He hadn’t expected this.
“How does it look?” Bokuto asked excitedly. He whipped around and faced the mirror. He admired himself for a few moments, flashing a flirty smile and finger guns. “Wow! Akaashi, I look hot!”
Akaashi winced, because Bokuto was very, very right in that observation.
(Not that he would admit it.)
“You look even more like an owl than usual.”
Bokuto laughed. “ Hoot damn , you’re right! Ha! Get it? It’s like hot damn, but - ”
“I get it, Bokuto-san. 'Hoot' instead of 'hot'. Because owls hoot.”
“Exactly!”
Akaashi put his mascara away and picked up his bag, tearing Bokuto away from the mirror and ushering him out of the bathroom.
Normally Akaashi didn’t like deviating from his routine, but this was almost...nice. (Plus, the results it produced were unexpected, but very much welcome.) When it came to Bokuto, Akaashi realized he didn’t mind a little spontaneity. Despite Bokuto’s energy and mood swings, he always felt at ease in the ace’s presence. Akaashi never had to put up an act around Bokuto, because Bokuto never expected anything from him.
As they walked to class together, Akaashi glanced at Bokuto. He was busy poking at his eyes, completely oblivious to various stares he received.
Maybe a little spontaneity isn’t so bad after all.
Suddenly Bokuto let out a gasp. “Akaashi!” He grabbed Akaashi’s shoulder. “Have you ever worn eyeliner? I’ve always wanted to try eyeliner. Can we do that next? And after that, we need to try eyeshadow. You know, Yukie always talks about this one brand...”
I take that back. Introducing Bokuto to makeup...what have I done?