Work Text:
Fuck, he’s nervous.
That was the first thought Bokuto’s mind registers after popping his eyes open in the middle of the night. His brain quickly whirs into high-alert and he’s jolted from the last dream he had. He reached over, careful not to move jostle Akaashi who was curled up behind him, and slapped his fingers in the area near his phone, hoping one of them hit.
3:18 am.
Bokuto groaned softly. He was already up. His nerves itching his entire body to get up and do something—anything. He tried to close his eyes and go back to sleep. He slowed his breaths and counted the seconds each one took going in…and out…
That didn’t work. He had to get up.
Akaashi’s warm breath on the back of his neck bid him in unspoken words to stay longer in his warm embrace, but he couldn’t. He can’t. Bokuto lifted Akaashi’s arm that curved around his back and rested on his waist off of himself and gently settled it on the empty sheets below. Turning his head away from his partner as Akaashi’s hands grasped at the empty air, he hoisted himself from their joined twin mattresses.
He carefully tip-toed his way to the bedroom door and closed it gently. The twinge of guilt resting in his gut grew greater as he tread his way in the darkness until he reached their worn-out couch. Heaving a heavy sigh, he switched the dim living room lamp on and he settled into his corner of the couch covered in math equations and proofs and theories he poured over hours before. He knew the information. He knows it, but he couldn’t help feeling stupid and unprepared.
Bokuto’s supposed to be the senpai, the older one, the more composed one. Well, not that Akaashi ever minded. But this was different, he was going to show Akaashi how well he could do things on his own.
But now, here he was pacing around their apartment living trying to go the fuck to sleep. And no. Not like the kid’s book. He was trying to calm. Calm. Calm down and settle his nerves. Because exams aren’t that scary and anyways, he knows he’s doing well in math. He loves math.
His thoughts were interrupted when their bedroom door slowly creaked open.
Akaashi stood there in loose pajama bottoms wearing a shirt of Bokuto’s that was too big and hung off one of his shoulder. His hair was Bokuto's favorite I-just-woke-up mussed up curls and partially covered by the comforter he draped over himself and wrapped round his front.
“Kou-chan?” Bokuto’s heart skips a step and slows its thudding to a steady beat, Akaashi’s always had that strange, paradoxical effect on him. He must be really tired to let that nickname slip past his lips. “It’s late.”
“Oh, my bad. Did I get you up?” He totally did. Bokuto could feel the guilt come back twofold, twisting his already clenched gut.
“No, I got cold. What’s going on?”
“Oh, you know…the usual. You can go back to bed,” he turns his eyes back to the papers in his hand, running down the list of numbers he’s stared at a thousand times before, already memorized by heart.
“You’ve studied a lot already. You know the material. You need sleep.”
“I—I just wanna make sure.”
Akaashi stumbles over to him. Towering over Bokuto—in a rather comical way he has to admit—he repeats himself.
“You need sleep.”
At that point, Bokuto gives up and lets Akaashi bat the papers out of hand, click the lamp off, and took a step back, leaning forward very slowly. In a flash, Bokuto stuck out his arms and prepared for the clash of their bodies as Akaashi tumbled onto his chest, comforter and all.
“Sleep,” Akaashi said, muffled by Bokuto’s shirt.
“I’m not tired,” Bokuto said with a little huff and a pout on his face.
“I know.” Akaashi lifted his head up so he could look into Bokuto’s eyes. “Do you wanna talk ‘bout it?”
The ceiling became very interesting all of a sudden.
“Koutarou, if you really need someone to stay up with you, I will,” Akaashi said, sobering his sleepy vocal cords. “Just tell me what you need, okay?”
Although Akaashi said he was cold, his hands were warm and Bokuto felt his heat sink into him as Akaashi brought their hands together. He loved how Akaashi’s slightly larger hands curled around his and his fingers pressing loving prints into his knuckles. He felt Akaashi’s warm heat seeping through his skin, his heartbeat steadying and the control over his lungs returning to him.
“I was a little nervous about exams,” he started slowly, squeezing their joint hands. “But I think I’m okay now.” Akaashi hums, his low tone ringing pleasantly in Bokuto’s ear.
“I’m always here for you,” Akaashi said.
A small grin lifts Bokuto’s tired eyes and he presses a gentle kiss to the top of Akaashi’s head.
“I love you, too.”
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Omake/Extra:
“Kou, I’m going to bed.”
“But Keiji~ you said you’d stay up with me.”
“A movie marathon of Harry Potter doesn’t count.”
“But babe, it’s the weekend—
“I’m going to sleep, Koutarou.”
(Of course Akaashi loves his bae so he ends up on the couch with Bokuto, resting his head on Bokuto’s shoulder as he watches his movie on low volume, squealing in excitement in his lowest voice possible.
Akaashi drifts in and out of sleep, often offering a heartfelt, but incomprehensible murmur of words in response to Bokuto.
Both of them end up passed out with a blanket draped over their shoulders and popcorn bowl tipped over on the ground. The tv’s turned off only because Akaashi knew this would happen in the end. And he wouldn’t have it any other way~)