Spring Leaves

Chapter 13

Bokuto looked at his phone apprehensively, waiting for the time to change. It felt like forever but once it finally hit 12am, he smiled; it was finally September 20, his birthday.

Almost immediately his sisters burst into his room and greeted him, "Happy birthday, Koutarou!!!"

"Aw thank you!!!" Bokuto exclaimed gratefully. His sisters made it a yearly tradition to see which one of them could greet him first which always made him laugh.

"We'll give you your presents when you wake up," his eldest sister said.

Bokuto pouted, "Why can't I have them now?"

"Because you still have school today and you need to sleep," his other sister replied.

"Hmph! Fine then!" Bokuto huffed, laying down on his side, turned away from his sisters who shared a laugh.

Just then, Bokuto saw the three notifications on his phone, all being text messages. He sat up and opened the first one from Kuroo.

Kuroo: BOKUTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HAPPY DAY OF BIRTH TO THE BEST OWL WITH FROSTED TIPS EVER!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE SEVENTEEN NOW YOU'RE GETTING SO OLD LOL. ANYWAYS THANK YOU FOR BEING THE GREATEST PERSON EVER AND BEING MY BEST FRIEND/BRO/CRUSH. FR THO YOU'RE THE BEST AND I HOPE YOU HAVE AN AMAZING BIRTHDAY <3

"You're only, like, two months younger than me! I'm not that old!"

He was smiling as he said that though, clearly not taking Kuroo's little jab seriously. He then moved onto the next message which was from Akaashi.

Akaashi: Happy birthday, Bokuto-san. As loud as you can be, you're an inspiration to the team, somebody who we all respect, and somebody we can depend on (sometimes). You're also very kind and a hard worker which is something I admire about you. I'm honestly glad we've met and I feel honored to be on the same team as you. Don't let any of this get to your head though -Akaashi

Bokuto snorted at the last sentence but he appreciated the very personal birthday greeting from Akaashi.

He opened the third and final message which came from Kenma, surprisingly. They were still acquaintances, in his opinion, so he didn't know why Kenma texted him. Either way, he began reading it.

Kenma: Happy birthday Bokuto :) ik we're not really that close but thanks for reaching out to me and bringing me out for ice cream. I'm really glad I just went along with it tbh. Sorry for being so pessimistic all the time btw and sorry if I ever made you feel bad. P.S. maybe we can hang out more at your house because May is the sweetest cat ever and you must protect her at all costs or else. I hope you have a wonderful birthday :)

A little threatening, but kind nonetheless. He wished he could get to know Kenma better too so the idea of hanging out more was something he was looking forward to.

Seeing those messages along with the greetings from his sister some minutes earlier made him tear up. Bokuto knew, from those greetings alone, that this was going to be the best birthday he'd ever had.

---

Humming his favorite song, Bokuto arrived in front of Fukurodani where Akaashi was waiting for him just outside the gate.

"Good morning, Akaashi!"

"Hello, and happy birthday," Akaashi greeted back.

'What should I say now? Should I ask how his day was...? God, Keiji, you're stupid. That would be a terrible conversation starter since it's still the start of the day. How about—'

"Uh, Akaashi? You still there?"

Akaashi jumped, "Huh? Sorry, spaced out. What did you say?"

"I said thank you for the birthday greeting. It was super nice and I really appreciate it."