{ESCAPISM} Bokuto x Fem!Reader

21 | Mocha

When the following weekend rolls around, you attend Bokuto's grandfather's funeral with the rest of your friends and family.

Since the night that Grandpa died, Bokuto hasn't been his typical self. He hasn't gone to the diner. He hasn't left his house. He hasn't laughed once.

As you stand beside Phoebe and Kuroo at the funeral, all you can think of is poor Bokuto. After that night, neither of you dared talk about what happened. You didn't want to cause a fuss. His grandpa just died. The last of his blood.

"You okay?" Phoebe asks as she nudges you in the arm.

"Yeah, why?"

"Al just finished. You're up," Kuroo whispers in your ear while you notice half the crowd staring you down. Bokuto included.

"Right," you nod. As you stand and walk toward Grandpa's open casket, you swallow hard. You had written a eulogy for him, but how could you ever summarize everything he's done for you in a few sentences?

"Grandpa Bokuto," you begin as you lean too close to the mic, causing a great deal of feedback to follow.

Nervous, you look over at Bokuto who covers his ears with his hands.

"Um, sorry," you whisper as you lean back from the mic. "I never knew either of my grandparents. They had both passed before I was born," you continue. "Throughout my childhood, my homelife was often filled with so much screaming and yelling. But Grandpa," you then smile, thinking about the past, "he was always there for me. He'd come over to my house and find some excuse to get me to leave. He'd offer me free food at the diner. Or a night bowling with Bo."

You look down at the shitty essay you had written for the day. Writing something down seems so meaningless. So not what Grandpa deserved after everything he had done for you.

"He never judged me. Or my parents. He was so kind. Being with him was like a safety net. And god, I didn't notice it then, but he worked his butt off to shield me from so much. He was the role model I always wanted. So he may not have been blood, but he was the best grandpa I could ever ask for."

Only when you finish do you realize the teardrops littering your written eulogy. You take a moment to yourself as you slowly start to come back to reality, wiping your tears and taking a deep breath.

With a glance in Bokuto's direction, you walk back to your spot between your two friends.

"That was beautiful, Y/N," Phoebe whispers as she pulls you into a side hug. "I'm proud of you for doing that."

"Thanks, Pheebs," you nod softly as you stare down at the ground. "It felt good to say."

After the funeral, your mother hosts a so-called generous reception party at the restaurant across the street.

The day feels so surreal. You sit at a table, drink in hand, and stare blankly ahead. He's really dead. It's finally hitting you.

"Hey, you alright?" someone asks as they pull out the chair beside yours.

Quietly, you look up at them and see Kuroo taking the seat on your left. "I'm fine," you lie.

"You sure?" he asks, reaching his hand to your wet cheek. "Want me to give you a ride home?"

"I don't want to go back to my house," you shake your head. "I was going to go back with Bo."

"With Bo?" he replies, eyebrows furrowing together for a quick moment before relaxing once again. "But he already left. A long time ago. Like most of the others."

It's then that you look around and realize the restaurant is close to empty.

"How long have I been sitting here?" you ask him.

"Long enough," he grins softly.

"Can you take me back to school?" you then ask.

"Yeah," he nods. "That'd give me the chance to talk to you about something, too."

"Okay," you agree as you let out a sigh. You quickly down the rest of your drink and stand up.

Together, you and Kuroo walk out of the restaurant.

"What did you want to talk about?" you ask quietly as you walk across the parking lot.

"Uh, well," he chuckles awkwardly as he stops talking.

"What? Did something happen?" you ask curiously.

"No, nothing happened," he shakes his head. "But I was just wondering... well I wanted to ask if maybe you'd be my girlfriend. Officially."

Your whole body freezes at his question. Did he seriously just ask you to be his girlfriend after you just gave a whole speech about losing a man you viewed as your grandfather?

"What?" you ask as your brain shuts down for a moment at his stupidity.

"Will you be my-"

"No, I fucking heard what you said, Kuroo. You've gotta be shitting me. You could literally not have found a worse time to ask me that," you shake your head as you walk around to the passenger side of his car. You don't even want to look at him right now.

"Y/N, I'm sorry," he begins before you cut him off.

"Unlock the car."

"I didn't think-"

"No, you fucking didn't," you scoff. "Unlock the goddamn car."

Finally, he does as you ask. You quickly step in and buckle yourself up. Immediately after, you cross your arms and stare out the side window, straight up ignoring him.

"I'm really sorry Y/N," he sighs as he starts up the car. However, Kuroo doesn't get another word out of you. That is, not until he parks the car back at school.

"I can't do this with you anymore, Kuroo," you say, still gazing out the window into the darkness.

"Can't? Or don't want to?"

Kuroo is your friend. You've known him for a long time. You could do him the decency of looking him in the eyes since you're not even giving him a real fucking reason for ending things. At least, that's what you try to tell yourself as you unbuckle your seatbelt and open the car door.

"Maybe both," you answer just before shutting it behind you. "Goodnight, Kuroo."

You don't wait for an answer from him before walking off to your dorm.

"Motherfucker," you grumble to yourself.  You weren't expecting it to be this damn cold.