𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘 𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙨 (𝖻𝗈𝗄𝗎𝖺𝗄𝖺)

Two | Talking Under Pink Skies

Akaashi clicked off his phone and stood up from his seat on the front porch. He had gone outside to enjoy the early afternoon peace at the beach since there usually weren't many people, but now it was nearly three o'clock, and the beach was starting to fill up more. The moment the amount of people surpassed fifteen, Akaashi decided he had had enough and texted Bokuto to tell him he was free. The boy had responded within a few minutes with a meeting point and Akaashi was quickly on his way.

As he walked across the beach, jittery butterflies bubbled in Akaashi's stomach, making him both nervous (even though he had no reason to be) and excited.

He approached the meeting point—the store Bokuto worked at—and a loud "Akaashiii!" tore through the air, the vowels stretched out dramatically. Bokuto ran up to Akaashi, a wide grin on his face.

"Hi."

Bokuto didn't waste any time for pleasantries. "So I was thinking we could go check out a few of the shops around town and end the day with ice cream. Does that sound good?"

"Sure," Akaashi said. "But I didn't bring any money. I can go get my wallet if you want."

"No, it's fine. I don't mind paying."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep! Especially for a cute boy like you," Bokuto added with a wink. "Alright, let's get on with our adventure! Follow me, Akaashi!"

With Bokuto a few steps ahead of Akaashi, the two set off to see the town. Akaashi found the silence between them somewhat awkward, but Bokuto didn't seem to mind one bit, which was comforting in its own way. Every now and then, Bokuto would stop walking, point out the buildings they were standing by, give some background on them, and maybe even run in to say hi to the employees—but they were always back on their way shortly.

Neither of the two bought anything, though Bokuto kept telling Akaashi he should get a souvenir, "or something." Akaashi had to keep reminding Bokuto he didn't bring his wallet, and then Bokuto would slouch his shoulders and frown, mumbling something about being upset he didn't bring enough money to buy something for Akaashi. Each time Bokuto fell into a mood like this, Akaashi would sigh and say, "You're already paying for the ice cream, you really don't need to buy me anything else." Bokuto only frowned harder at that, so Akaashi added, "If you really want to buy something for me, why don't you just get me something from your store?" and then, "You don't have to, though. I don't need anything. Souvenirs take up space."

At that, Bokuto perked up again and grinned, going back to dragging Akaashi along with reborn energy. Eventually, they were satisfied with how much of the town they had already seen, and Bokuto tugged Akaashi toward his favorite ice cream shop.

"Okay! Order whatever you want," Bokuto said with a grin. They had only just entered, and the single employee behind the counter was already moving, putting together a cone. "Wow, Konoha, you have my order memorized!"

"You come here all the time," the employee responded, his tone happy. "Who's your friend?"

"His name's Akaashi! He's visiting."

"Oh, cool!" The employee, Konoha, finished Bokuto's cone and handed it to him before sliding over to the side of the counter Akaashi was standing by. "What can I get for you, Akaashi?"

"I'll just have a vanilla cone, please."

"Just that? No sprinkles or anything?"

"No, thanks."

"Coming right up." He put the ice cream cone together quickly and handed it to Akaashi while Bokuto paid at the other end of the counter.

They sat down at a small, two-person table and started eating their cold treats. Bokuto kept the awkward silence at bay by telling story after story about some of his memories in the town, like how he found a giant octopus on the beach and the time he sprained his ankle from jumping out of a moving vehicle (he said it was a dare) when he was thirteen. To prove it, he moved his ankle around to show Akaashi how it had clicked ever since.