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“Captain.”
The first time ‘Captain’ was called, it went right over Akaashi’s pretty little head. He was used to their captain being energetic, not being able to sit still, so maybe he was roaming off somewhere. Or maybe he was simply being a slightly airheaded, maybe dazed thinking of the greatness of the horned owl- the one he oh-so impressively shaped his hair after.
“Captain!”
A groan was heard from across the court, impatient first years acting up again- of course, but Bokuto should be aware of them. Pay attention to them like he did Hinata, their adopted baby crow son from the third gym. Also adding a dash of his passionate playfulness he had with Tsukishima, the oddly large middle blocker who suffered in the presence of both captain from Fukurodani and Nekoma. It would be a lie if Akaashi said he didn’t want to see him again, unlike Bokuto and Kuroo he was calm, and he heard Tsukishima was doing quite well with his team this year.
“Captain!-”
“For goodness’ sake, Bokut-” Akaashi turned around, seeing numerous of his teammates give him a shocked expression, slightly saddened, but also slightly shocked at the small outburst. Akaashi wasn’t that expressive, leaning towards the ‘calm, cool, and collected type.’ It was especially shocking for the newest first years, who’ve only known their new captain for, at most, two weeks.
The realization hit him in the face like a fucking bat. Although Bokuto had originally worn the #4 jersey to represent that he was the Ace, Akaashi was wearing the #1- the one usually worn by the captain. Would you like to know why he was wearing the #1 jersey? Because He, Akaashi Keiji, was the captain. Bokuto had long graduated, moved onto college (With a sports scholarship in volleyball, mind you) and is playing with even better people there . Also known as: Not with them.
Despite the the suddenness of it all, Akaashi managed to feel his cheeks flush in embarrassment. His teammates from last year, laughing slightly at how well he tried to hide it (Not meaning to actually hid it well) and the newest first years, tilting their head in awe of their pretty captain. They’ve heard stories of his beauty, none of them actually believed them to be true until now.
“Y-yes?” Akaashi said, his hands covering his eyes. Composure had been his strong suit all of last year, staying calm in stressful situations, only breaking in truly exciting moments; But maybe it was Bokuto who brought that out of him. The former captain had an odd way of pulling people into his pace, making people want to get up and do something.
Bokuto and Akaashi complimented each other in a way people couldn’t describe. Whether or not they calmed, excited, or reflected what the other needed was mushed together into one. They were all three for each other, and now, without the other, Akaashi was slightly lost.
“Um- captain, some guy is looking for you out front,” One of the first years said. And with a slight nod, they went back to practice with their other upperclassmen. A sigh escaped Akaashi’s lips.
Was he ready to be captain? Could he be there and support the team? He could understand Bokuto- he was like an open book with everyone- but everyone isn’t like Bokuto. He couldn’t read the first years, and when one of them was in a slump, Akaashi was the most panicked one. He’s so used to being the mother-like figure, knowing what everyone wanted and needed. Know he’s out of his element, getting new children each year is tiring.
He walked out of the gym, taking a turn to the left and seeing the soccer team practicing, too. Surely they weren’t the people who wanted to see him. Maybe it was the principal, wanting to discuss Akaashi’s request for new jersey's. The jerseys they had, they were dirty looking, worn out. Some of them even had holes. Originally, the volleyball club wasn’t going to them, the school having a well-known bias to the clubs with more members coming in. However, in the last few years, the Fukurodani volleyball club has been gaining momentum for coming extremely, extremely close to nationals last year.
Or maybe it was another girl. Akaashi was pretty, popular with both boys and girl alike. It wouldn’t be a surprise- but the first year had said ‘guy,’ right? Oh, then maybe it was a guy that came to confess. That wouldn’t be much a surprise either. Fukurodani was an open and accepting school, and Akaashi didn’t have much a preference when it came to dating-
“Hey heY HEY, AKAASHI!” He slightly cringed, feeling his ears ring at the sudden loud sound, but he could also feel his heart jump. Why? Because he knew who that was, and was never happier to see him, “Akaashi, how are you? How is everyone else? Are they doing well in practice? You should be watching them, why aren’t you watching them? Hey what are the new first years like???” Bombarded with high energy questions, it always felt tiring when he saw Bokuto everyday. Now, for some reason, it was refreshing. More than refreshing, exciting.
“Everything is going well, Bokuto-san,” He said. That was enough of an answer for Bokuto when it came to most of his questions. He immediately crossed his arms, arching his back backwards to give a hearty laugh.
“I knew everything would go well! It is in you hands after all!” A small moment of silence dragged on for a second. In less than half of that second, Akaashi knew what was going to happen next. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t just a little excited for what was about to come. Bokuto’s eyes got a suddenly got watery, his former smile turning into a large frown that, frankly, Akaashi couldn’t stand. He simply hated the thought of an unhappy Bokuto.
“Bokuto-san-”
“AKAASHI~” Bokuto had wailed, falling into Akaashi’s arms so naturally. Putting himself in the most comfortable position to complain, and probably cry. He acted like his home is Akaashi’s arms. Hell- it probably was, “Nobody is fun at the college team,” He pouted. For a second, Akaashi actually didn’t understand what Bokuto was saying.
“But you have Kuroo-san on your team, isn’t it fun with him?”
“Well… yeah. But all he does it talk about how much he wants Kenma or Tsukki around!” His frown got deeper and Akaashi internally cringed, not knowing how to fix the problem.
“Then why don’t you practice with us today?” He asked, but Bokuto simply stayed silent. The infamous ‘Bokuto Emo Mode.’
“No! It’s not the same…”
“I know you miss your team. But if you don’t play then you’re holding back you greatness.”
“I don’t care.” That was new, Bokuto was the type to say a lot of random things, but he never, ever said ‘I don’t care.’ Especially so blatantly. Especially when it came to something that had to do with volleyball.
“Bokuto-san…”
“I don’t care because my setter isn’t Akaashi! If it’s not Akaashi, it’s not the same!” He broke himself out of Akaashi’s arms. Pouting to himself on the paved ground. Akaashi felt a smile pull itself onto his lips, he couldn’t help but let a small chuckle out. It was times like this Akaashi loved to be in his position, despite dealing with someone so difficult. Because sometimes Bokuto could be so damn cute.
“How about I go with you sometime? Practice with the college team, if they let me. And if I can’t, we’ll go to the park and practice all you want there. Hm? Sound good?” It did sound good. It sounded very good in Bokuto’s opinion. Akaashi scooted closer to Bokuto’s fetal positioned form, leaning himself over to catch a glimpse of Bokuto’s eyes, searching for an answer.
“Really?! Akaashi, you’d do that for me!?”
“Anything for you.”
Bokuto bounced up, reverting back to his naturally happy state. Suddenly, he stopped bouncing. Pointing to Akaashi, who was still sitting on his knees, “Next year, you’ll be my setter again! And we will conquer the volleyball world!- or, you know- at least as much as we can- BUT WE WILL DO OUR BEST!” He shouted, reaching a hand out to help Akaashi up.
With a small, small smile, “Of course, Captain.”