𝙃𝙊𝙒 𝙏𝙊 𝘽𝙀 𝘼 𝙎𝙀𝘾𝙍𝙀𝙏 𝘼𝘿𝙈𝙄𝙍𝙀𝙍 // 𝙖𝙠𝙖𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙞 𝙠.

2.

akaashi closed the journal and slid it under stack of books laying on the coffee table in the living room, as soon as he heard knocking to the doors. before getting up from the couch and opening the doors, he double-checked that his journal was no longer visible.

"akaashi, you haven't texted me back," bokuto said, walking into the apartment akaashi had been renting with kenma since they started university.

"i was studying, sorry," akaashi said, arranging pillows and blankets on the couch for bokuto to sit on. he didn't mind sitting on a half-layed-out blanket that his friend had most likely been sitting under moments before, but he knew akaashi needed to organize his belongings, and interrupting him wasn't a good idea.

akaashi wasn't lying, he was studying, but it took him an hour to learn what he needed for the upcoming exams, after which he reached for his journal and spent another three hours with a pen in his hand, allowing his mind to wander. his journal essentially contained everything that was going on in his head, which is why he kept it as a national security secret. he used to share his writing with bokuto, but lately he hasn't written anything light enough to share without explaining the meaning and consequences.

when he first started writing in high school, he was his own muse, though it felt silly to refer to himself in that way. he was writing about fitting in, how it felt to be in a team of surprisingly different people who somehow learned how to be together thanks to just one thing that connected them all, and how it felt to be an anchor for someone as wild as bokuto. that were topics that were simple to discuss with his best friend, he understood them and could identify with them, because poetry for akaashi was only valid if people could identify with it.

it all changed that night, when bokuto invited him to the bar to celebrate graduation.

akaashi felt a different need to write than for someone identify with and understand him on a deeper level. he began exploring topics such as admiration, devotion, and longing, with fear of not knowing, confusion caused by his own mind, and yearning for something he had never felt.

he stopped sharing his poetry with others. he hadn't felt embarrassed about his poetry since starting university, but it felt too vulnerable to show anyone what he wrote about his long-held admiration for a girl with who he was not even close.

they had mutual friends, so he knew a lot about her, they spent time together on occasion, so he was familiar with her quirks and habits, it wouldn't be strange if someone knew he had a crush on her, many people did.

but the things that he was writing... they were personal.

"nothing weird, you didn't see my messages," bokuto said as he got out akaashi's phone from between pillows. based on the warmth of the seat, akaashi had to sit where he was now. how did he manage to sit there with his phone poking into his back like that?

"sorry," he chuckled softly, taking his phone. "do you want to tell me or do i just read those messages?"

"i have some good news to share with you over drinks. i've already invited kuroo and kenma, so you have to go with us."

based on how excited bokuto was by the good news he had and how he kept it as the only 'good news' rather than blurting it out right away at first mention, it had to be something really important.

"yeah, of course," akaashi nodded. 

going out for drinks would be good for him, maybe it would help him clear his mind, which was overflowing with ideas that he was spilling on pages of his journal. in that tempo, he'd have to buy another journal, and he hated the feel of a brand new notebook, it wasn't bending the way he liked, and he was almost afraid to write anything because clean, cream pages made him feel like he'd destroy the journal by writing in it, as if that wasn't the point.

"i'm hungry," bokuto said, throwing his head back against the backrest. "do you wanna go out eat?"

"we can order something," akaashi suggested. he hadn't planned on leaving today, so he couldn't do so without first spending two hours cleaning himself up, because even though he was dressed cleanly, he felt musty from sitting all day at home under the blanket.

"that's better idea, i don't want to leave too."

bokuto was sweet, he obviously had no problem with leaving, but as soon as he realized he was offering something that akaashi obviously wouldn't like, he said something like that to reassure him that he doesn't mind simply following akaashi's preferred plan.

"what you're in the mood for?"

𐙚˙⋆.🧸•₊✧⋆˚✒️｡⋆ᡣ𐭩

next chapter is where the story fully begins, i'm so excited !!