Recharge

Hello all! This was just an idea that popped into my head the other day, I hope you enjoy!

Bokuto was dead on his feet. Between classes, practice, and his job, he didn't have any energy left. Exams were coming up so his professors were piling on work for them to do. They didn't have any matches coming up, but that didn't mean Coach was going easy on them. His job wasn't exactly difficult, but it was tiring and ate up his free time. Thankfully, it was finally Friday. Coach had decided to cancel their Saturday practice, saying something about a school meeting and a doctor's appointment. Bokuto never worked on the weekend, always leaving them open for matches so he was free there. The only thing standing in his way was an essay he had to write for his Language class, but the rest of his work had already been finished. Akaashi had made sure of that.

A lazy smile made its way to Bokuto's lips as the thought of Akaashi crossed his mind. It had been difficult to balance his college life without Akaashi by his side, but they stayed connected and with Bokuto's hard work, he stayed on top of all his work to pass better than anyone had expected. With the new experience and major life change, Bokuto had matured to the point of rarely struggling with mood swings and his playing style became more consistent. With Akaashi reunited with him at the University, he had only improved more and even cemented himself as one of Japan's best college players.

Bokuto couldn't be happier with where his life was right now. It was amazing! He was living every athletes dream! He played for an outstanding team, wasn't falling behind in his classes, and even had a job to make some money. As an added bonus, his tuition was almost completely covered by scholarships. The money he did make got to go straight into his pocket. It was a dream life. There was only one downside. He was tired. Bokuto was so tired. Every second of his free time was spent studying or practicing. He always gave 110% in every aspect of his life, and it had finally started to take its toll on him. He couldn't keep this up anymore.

He didn't know how he felt. His body didn't feel like it could continue, and yet he got up every day and moved forward. It had all come crashing down on him as he parked and started the trek up the stairs and into his shared apartment. His body felt hollow as he jammed the key into the door and fumbled around until it shifted forward to allow him inside.

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Akaashi flitted around the apartment, trying to pick up the disaster the kitchen had become due to the recently busy schedule he found his life to be. Since he didn't play volleyball anymore, Akaashi had an earlier shift than Bokuto did, allowing him to come home earlier than the other man. He liked it this way. He adored his time with Bokuto, but it was nice to have a quiet moment to himself during the day. It worked perfectly for Akaashi to recharge after a long day of classes and dealing with people at his job.

Bokuto was much better at moderating his excitement levels for those around him, but he was still a lot to handle. Akaashi found himself struggling to keep up with the man at times, but he would never give up time with him. Bokuto had such an amazing view of the world and their surroundings that kept Akaashi marveling. He giggled to himself thinking of Bokuto's awestruck eyes whenever he encountered something new. The running joke in their old high school was that Bokuto was an owl, but Akaashi had always seen him as a hyper-active golden retriever puppy. He had an adorable, innocent curiosity about him that made even mundane things seem so interesting the longer you thought about it.

Everyone talked about how much Akaashi had helped Bokuto. He didn't see it that way. Sure he gave Bokuto a nudge in the right direction when needed, but the man had done this on his own. What no one talked about, was how much Bokuto had helped him. Thanks to Bokuto, Akaashi looked at the world in a different light, one he didn't think was possible. He laughed, he smiled, he lived life to the fullest extent, and it was all thanks to Bokuto. The man who was always smiling and laughing and would stop at nothing until he got genuine reactions out of the other person as well.