𝓑𝓸𝓻𝓷 𝓣𝓸 𝓓𝓲𝓮

Chapter Ten

Morning rolled around, Akaashi's hair still damp through his sleep from the shower he had last night. He was sitting on the couch with a water bottle, his book in his hands as he looked over at Kenma, who walked out of his room. Bokuto and Kuroo had already headed to their classes, and majority of Kenma's were online. With a soft smile, he sat beside Akaashi and leaned against his shoulder. His eyes grazed the words before closing it, Kenma's head nuzzling against his shoulder.

"Did you sleep well last night?" He asked, Kenma groaning tiredly.

"If you count two hours as good, then yeah," Akaashi swung an arm around Kenma's shoulder, setting his book aside as he pulled him closer, "Also, what fell last night? I heard a loud bang at like one in the morning." His face flushed pink, his eyes looking away.

"I think- uh, my notebooks fell off the desk when I was working." Akaashi stutter a bit.

"You think?" Kenma raised his head, linking their arms as Akaashi met his eyes, "Then what's with the scratches on your neck, those weren't there when you came home with Bokuto." His eyes quickly looked away to draw his attention away from the piercing eyes staring at him. He swallowed the collected saliva in his mouth, a small smile forming on Kenma's lips.

"I- don't know where they came from."  He picked his book up, looking down at it but not a single word processing through his flustered mind.

"I guess you didn't know I have really good hearing, too." Akaashi groaned, grabbing the pillow beside him and shoving it in Kenma's face. He muffled a laugh, pulling the pillow down over his lap as he wrapped his arms around it and rested his head against Akaashi's chest.

"Shut up, it's embarrassing. I thought you and Bokuto were asleep." He mumbled under his breath, the smile he bit back forming as the words left his lips.

"He was, but I was just laying in bed on my phone." He hummed, Kenma dropping the pillow and wrapping his arm around Akaashi's waist. His head leaned against the top of Kenma's before he had an idea.

"Do you want me to read to you again?" Kenma nodded, Akaashi's eyes scanning the words as each one left his mouth gracefully. Reading together brought the both a peace they didn't know they needed, whether it was at the lake with a cat, or in a living room with Kenma. Akaashi adored it either way, it brought them closer than ever despite their lack of shared words.

The sun was going down when Akaashi stepped off the train, his eyes lingering around to find a familiar face. His feet carried him in a hurry towards the two people standing by a pole.

"Oh, Keiji, how we've missed you!" His mother wrapped him in a hug, pulling him back to give him a small kiss on the forehead, "Have you gotten taller?" He mustered a small laugh, shaking his head.

"I don't think so, mother," A firm hand clashed against his back, turning to the man beside his mother, "Hello, father." His father wrapped his arm around Akaashi's shoulder, pulling him for a side hug before his mother grabbed his hand.

"We have a lot to catch up on." She squeezed his hand, smiling but it was laced with a mysterious emotion other than happiness. He wanted to dig for the feeling, growing worried as to what his mother was hiding, but it was brushed from his mind when he was pulled toward the parking lot.

Twenty minutes passed, Akaashi was staring out the window nearly the entire drive when he wasn't answering questions from his parents about school and his social circle. He hadn't necessarily talked to both of his parents since the school year started, but they didn't take it to heart. They were just as hard of workers as he was. Akaashi's eyes widened with excitement as the view of his childhood house came into view. He had been here over the summer, but he still missed it like it was years since he last laid eyes on it.