blue lights || bokuaka

hinata

It's been four days.

Akaashi didn't look forward to this Tuesday, normally excited to see Kuroo and walk home together after their shifts.

He had black clouds above him since the weekend, a constant worry raining over him, soaking into his shoulders, while hot lightning struck dread into his skin.

He was scared of the reason why Bokuto had not come into work recently.

Kuroo had told him to keep a positive attitude, that Sakusa was fixing him, but Akaashi thinks that if he just listened a bit harder, that maybe he wouldn't need fixing.

Akaashi cannot help but feel slightly responsible for not pushing for Bokuto to stay inside, to wait until the streets were a little dryer.

He sighs, pulling himself off of the maplewood of the counter, his eyes stinging from lack of sleep as they flare, hoping nobody would come in and buy something from him today.

He could barely focus on anything save for Bokuto, trying to think of a way to see him somehow, or call him or something .

The regret of not getting his phone number sits cumbersome in his gut, spreading a sick feeling through his body like a hot coal. His head is full, thoughts trying to connect with each other, though nothing made sense and his worrying consumed everything.

Even then, Bokuto wasn't responding to Kuroo, so it would be for nothing anyway.

Akaashi sighs through his nose, trying to get his head together.

The only person that could give him details on Bokuto would be Atsumu, but Akaashi has never been to his house before, so that was a dead end. He did not know Aran or Sakusa. Yaku didn't like MSBY, so he might not be following up on their racers, and he didn't have Kenma's number, either.

Yaku might be his best bet in this instance, anyway. Anything would help ease his conscience at this point.

Akaashi sighs again, before getting up from his stool, his feet feeling like they weighed a ton inside of his shoes. Seeing Kuroo on the way to talk to Yaku might help him feel better, too.

Bokuto was fine. He had to be.

Akaashi pushes open the door, immediately swallowed by the swelter. The sun was extra hot today, and the air was humid, covering his skin in an extra layer of summer that he hated.

Akaashi felt sticky and wanted to get inside as quickly as possible.

It felt like years before he was able to get into the bookstore, an earthy smell immediately wading into his nose and spilling over his shoulders once he came in.

"Akaashi, hey."

Akaashi's eyes cut to a tall blonde boy behind the customer service desk, pressing up his glasses from where they fell over his nose. His hand was splayed over the middle of a novel on the desk, keeping the page open so he didn't lose it.

"Hi, Tsukishima. Is Yaku around?" He asks, and Tsukishima nods, before idly pointing to the checkout registers.

"Over there. He's helping someone right now, though."

Akaashi shakes his head. "It's fine, I'll wait. Thanks."

Tsukishima doesn't smile back at Akaashi, only nods politely, before going back to reading the book on the podium. Akaashi is too preoccupied to think about it, and he's thankful he's able to reach Yaku as soon as he is done with the person he was helping so he could have something else to distract him with.

Kuroo comes out of the staff room holding a box of books as if on cue, perfectly new. Akaashi assumes that was what made the bookstore smell like...well, books.