Calling

by mew-tsubaki

Oneshot, slash. Bokuto and Akaashi go for a walk at the onsen. *set during "Hobby" but can be read on its own*

Calling

A Haikyuu! oneshot

by mew-tsubaki

Note: The Haikyuu! characters belong to Furudate Haruichi-sensei, not to me. I couldn't not write that walk between former and current captain [boyfriends]. ;w; Read, review, and enjoy! *Note: This takes place during "Hobby" but can be read independently of that story (I just suggest you read it if you want another good Fukurodani fic :3); this also contains some dialogue from "Hobby."

- ^-^3

Bokuto stretches as soon as he's put on his yukata—a borrowed item from the inn, a dark, yellow–green cloak with an even deeper blue sash that matches the one Akaashi's wearing, matches all the guys' yukatas since the gang's back together for a hot minute to celebrate Washio's birthday this weekend—and hums to himself, though the melody's barely contained. Bokuto brims with excitement, for many excellent reasons.

Washio's nineteenth birthday has brought all of them, even Onaga and Suzumeda, together at this awesome onsen.

Bokuto's gone pro! (Even if he's only one of several new kids, and a second-stringer at that.)

And…

Bokuto turns his head to grin at the raven-haired beauty beside him, a grin which is returned demurely, so softly it's less a grin and more a smile.

And he's finally gotten to see Akaashi, after what's been an unbearable hiatus.

"Something on my face?" Akaashi asks the longer Bokuto stares, and the setter (and Fukurodani's current captain, Bokuto reminds himself proudly) pats his flawless face with equally flawless fingers, searching for something amiss with his complexion. A tiny wrinkle forms between his eyebrows as he finds nothing wrong but doesn't give up.

"Your face is perfect," Bokuto tells him matter-of-factly as he pulls Akaashi's hands away. His pulse speeds up with Akaashi's hands in his and Akaashi's eyes back on him (where they belong), but Bokuto takes a breath to calm down. Akaashi's hands and expressions and demeanor will always make Bokuto's pulse quicken, much as the setter's brilliant tosses forever will. Everything about Akaashi makes Bokuto excited. So he's got to calm down, otherwise he might start buzzing with happiness, and he could very well vibrate right out of here if he can't contain that happiness.

Akaashi raises his right eyebrow slightly, not bothered by their linked hands. Maybe he hasn't even realized Bokuto's still got a hold of him. "Bokuto-san?"

"AH! Right." Bokuto drops his hands but is saved from awkward silence when they hear the echoes of Sarukui and Komi still horsing around in the baths. He laughs at that and glances back at the doorway to outside over his shoulder. "I wonder if Wasshi and Onaga will be able to dodge them all night or give up and come inside?"

"Maybe they'll outlast them," Akaashi comments. He gathers his toiletries from the little cubby in the changing room. "Washio-san seems determined to spend his birthday the way he wants to, though I'd surmise he and Onaga-kun didn't think this would be a…family affair." The left corner of his mouth quirks up in a tiny smirk at his description of their group affair. That sly look gets Bokuto's heart sprinting again.

"Well," Bokuto begins, distracting himself and calming down once more, "after Konoha explained it, I guess that makes sense. Wanting to get away, a weekend for two…" He glances over his shoulder one more time before he and Akaashi leave the changing room. He's a tad envious of his quiet friend, but he's glad Washio finds Onaga's presence comforting. Bokuto has no idea how he missed it—have Washio and Onaga even been together long?—but he's still happy for them, nevertheless.

Akaashi nods when they're in the corridor heading back to the three rooms Sarukui booked for the night. "Onaga-kun's earned it, too. He was reliable last year, but he's more than stepped up this year."

From beside him, Bokuto catches Akaashi's profile and the easy smile that shows Akaashi's relief—well, that and the subtle slouch of his shoulders as he exhales. Bokuto gets it, though. Akaashi's accustomed to familiarity, and the need for a familiar face at his side on the court mostly fueled his decision to make Onaga his vice-captain at the last possible second, but it was the right decision, based on everything Bokuto's heard through the grapevine (and, oh, how sweet it was to hear Itachiyama lost to Fukurodani at the Interhigh).

Akaashi opens the sliding door to the first of the three rooms only to find it empty…not quite. "No one's here, but our bags are," he states, pointing to their things lumped together in one pile towards the middle of the room.

Bokuto follows behind on the tatami mats and eyes the backpacks, duffel, and messenger bag. One of the backpacks is a deep blue with a cluster of fall leaves keychains, and the messenger bag is one of the libero designs offered at last year's Spring High. "I guess someone decided the room assignments? Looks as if we're rooming with Saru and Komiyan."

The door joining this room with the next is open, and the other one joining the next and the one beyond it is cracked open enough to wedge a foot in. Through the entryways, Konoha waves. "Hope you don't mind!" he calls.

"Are you kidding? After Komiyan complained about my snoring, I'm placing my futon right beside his," Bokuto decides, and Konoha laughs with him. Behind Konoha, the girls laugh, too. Bokuto's reluctant to spend a minute without Akaashi—honestly, it's been waaay too long with them apart—but he knows the other boy will catch up, so Bokuto joins the others.

"We decided—" Shirofuku starts beside Konoha on the floor.

Konoha snorts. "You mean you decided."

The redhead takes the Pocky box she'd been hiding down the front of her purple yukata and sticks a Pocky in his mouth to shut him up. She holds the box out to Bokuto politely when his stomach grumbles since dinner's a while off. "We decided," she repeats, "to put you two and Sarukui and Komi in there, and Washio and Onaga are next door—"

"Girls in here," Konoha interrupts in a falsetto, twirling a finger in his blond hair and batting his eyes. Bokuto laughs, but Konoha gets another Pocky shoved in his face, and he's too busy coughing to joke again.

"This idiot's with them," Shirofuku finishes. Her brown eyes dart behind Bokuto as she continues, "We were about to play Old Maid in here, if you want to join."

As if prompted, Suzumeda finishes shuffling the cards from her spot by the wall and holds up the deck. "Or any game, if you like."

"Even a punishment game~"

"Senpai, no punishment games," the freckled girl huffs.

"Ehh? No fair, Kaori-chan…"

But Bokuto sensed Akaashi the moment he walked into the room, and he has other plans, ones much better than a challenging card game with Shirofuku (who either has the best luck of all of them or cheats—he's never been certain which). "No, we're good."

Akaashi, now beside him, raises his eyebrows and blinks at him. "We are?"

"Akaashi and I were going for a walk," Bokuto adlibs, his idea taking shape. He strokes his chin, thinking. "Yeah, we're going for a walk! We'll be back by dinner," he assures the others, and he grabs Akaashi's hand and pulls him out of the room before the setter can even think to go back and drop off the towel around his shoulders meant to finish drying his hair.

They traipse the hallways of the inn, Bokuto tugging Akaashi along. In the lobby, they change from slippers to sandals at Bokuto's insistence, and then he leads the way again. Outside, on the front lawn, Akaashi doesn't pull his hand from Bokuto's grip, but he does give the larger hand a squeeze. "Are you certain you want to walk around outside? My hair's mostly dry, but yours…"

Bokuto fingers a few strands that hang in front of his eyes. They're damp, sure, but he doesn't think it'll be an issue. "I'll be fine."

"Bokuto-san…"

The next thing the chipper owl finds, he's laughing because Akaashi's thrown his own towel over his head, rubbing his multi-hued locks vigorously to get them drier. It's not super surprising, because Akaashi's done this a couple times before, during training camps and such, because it's his way of showing he cares. "You'll catch a cold," he scolds.

"When have you ever known me to catch a cold?" Bokuto quips. He grabs Akaashi's wrists, pushing Akaashi's hands and the towel down behind his head so he can see the other teen better. "They say only idiots catch colds, but I'm safe because I'm a genius." He grins, not even pausing to make sure he got the saying right.

Akaashi snorts, but it's closer to a soft, one-off chuckle. "That, you are," he agrees.

Since summer pretty much called it quits before this weekend, it's still warm outside, but the sun set about an hour ago, and the Moon's well on its way up in the sky. Here, with them standing so close, Akaashi's hands behind his neck, Bokuto's train of thought threatens to derail. The moonlight even gives Akaashi's cool gray eyes a blue–green tint. The artificial blue–green of Akaashi's eyes. The blue and green of their yukata. The blue-and-green uniform Bokuto wears for his new team.

Maybe Bokuto has a new favorite color. Er, colors.

He snaps out of it when he cycles back to the thought of his pro uniform, and he removes Akaashi's hands from his neck (you'd think his neck would cool without Akaashi's warmth on it, but, good gods, it's so far the opposite) to hold them at his sides. Then he drops one and turns so they can do what Bokuto said and walk around the property.

"Are you enjoying playing professionally?" Akaashi prompts after a moment of silence.

Bokuto nods. "It's spectacular. The pacing is insane, but I can keep up. The vibe is like—like—tournament-season, but all the time." He grins and licks his lips, picking a meandering route through grass and sand-mixed dirt; he at least has the good sense to stick to the immediate property and not aim them for the rocky bits close to the onsen, slightly behind the place.

"That sounds like fun." Akaashi's smile is genuine and reaches his eyes when Bokuto looks back.

Sick of looking behind him, Bokuto pulls Akaashi forward so they walk properly, side by side. "It is fun. Though I miss our chemistry."

Akaashi hums in response. "Yes…same. I find our current lineup to be…a work in progress."

Bokuto frowns and bends his head down, scanning Akaashi's face. "Is it bad? I thought you guys were kicking butt."

The setter puts a hand on Bokuto's chest, nudging him to walk facing forward. "We've pulled off some amazing feats. Onaga-kun is excellent. Chibi Kamui—"

"'Chibi Kamui'?" He's never known Akaashi to use nicknames.

"Kamui's younger brother. He started this year, as a libero, and he's much better than Komi-san's replacement, Tsubasa. A more receptive learner, as well."

"Oh, yeah! Kamui—that guy's a riot. Is Ogasawara blocking again? Man, that guy makes Wasshi look openly warm and welcoming. How are they?"

The sour expression—pursed lips and scrunched up nose—Akaashi can't hide says it all.

Bokuto laughs. "Well, not everyone's going to be perfect. Teams take time to form. Even Saru didn't start playing volleyball until high school, but the chemistry was there by third year."

Akaashi shrugs, as if saying "I hope it gets better even if it doesn't get there." "I don't believe I'll be attending the same university as them next year, though, so we'll see what chances the future holds, yes?" he muses aloud. He slides his eyes over to his companion.

Bokuto stumbles over a small rock on the path, but Akaashi's hand in his helps to steady him. "University, yeah… Right…"

"Have you encountered other familiar faces yet, in the pro league?"

"Mmm, there are a few from when I was only a first year, those who were just starting out while I was still growing." He pouts. "But most from my year went ahead to university. Goura and Ogano said they'll play while in school but have no professional plans. Kuroo's at university, but he hasn't looked into the club yet; he's getting adjusted to his classes and stuff first. Even Ushijima's continuing with school and playing at the university level first." He pulls a face, not even voicing how his fellow owl alum are a mix of university students, those trying to get in, and few playing. Bokuto knows Komi would love to go pro, too, but his parents are making him attend university first, and the libero's waitlisted; Sarukui's like Kuroo and hasn't looked into his school's club yet; and Washio's done playing, though Bokuto doesn't know why. Konoha gives him a mild spark of hope, but the sassy guy's busy cramming for the next round of entrance exams, because, to play at the university level, you first have to be in a university.

"It'd be interesting, to meet the others again, on a pro stage," Akaashi says. His voice seems so loud, but then Bokuto realizes how quiet he'd gone, and he's thankful Akaashi can read him so well.

"I know, right?" He pauses, thinking of how they caught up a little already on the train ride here to Kamakura this morning. "You'll study photography at school, right?"

"I haven't considered it seriously. It's a hobby—"

"But that slideshow on the train! Akaashi, that's your passion. You gotta!"

"I do?"

Bokuto nods his head vigorously; his hair doesn't whip him in his face now that it's pretty much dry. "You took all those amazing club photos last year. And you snuck some amazing pics at last summer's joint training camp," Bokuto adds, thinking in particular of a favorite that captured Bokuto and Kuroo looking quite captain-ly as they advised a more receptive Tsukishima, "and…oh, man, the sunrise pics you've taken this year?"

Even in moonlight, Bokuto can tell how Akaashi reddens. First at his ears and then the tip of his nose. He squeezes Bokuto's hand again.

"That's what you love most about being captain, isn't it? The first to arrive and the last to leave. Nothing escapes your artistic eye."

"…being captain's a big responsibility," Akaashi corrects. As an afterthought, he adds, "Though I have more control over how our team works, too."

"Aka-ashiiiii…! It's fine to admit it! People love being captain for a variety of reasons! I, for one, got pumped by all the time I spent on the court," Bokuto states with a laugh.

"You did get a lot of screen time," the setter teases.

"Because I needed it! Because you guys needed me! My spike is first-class!"

Akaashi shrugs, rolling the motion into a nod. "It was hard not to toss to you."

"Though there were times when you didn't."

"For the health of the team, I couldn't set to you every time, Bokuto-san. And you demanded I ignore you some of those times." He quirks his right eyebrow for the second time that night.

"I knooow…"

"Do you think you'll still be a second-stringer next year?"

The abrupt question throws him for a moment. But Bokuto twists his mouth around. "If I'm lucky, my second season will be my true debut. I…" His words trail off when he glances at Akaashi, and it's hard to pull his eyes away when he reads the excitement there. Akaashi isn't a closed book to him, but Bokuto usually only guesses correctly half the time what things run through Akaashi's head. Except right now.

Right now, there's a question in Akaashi's eyes, something along the lines of "Do you think we'll play on the same team again someday not far from now?"

Bokuto manages to blink, breaking the trance, and he can't believe Akaashi shows such hope on his normally collected face. It makes Bokuto's pulse speed for the umpteenth time that night, because he wonders if maybe, just maybe—

Akaashi twines their fingers together, and he cuts off Bokuto's path. They've made it more than half around the entire inn, mostly walking the perimeter, and now they stand amidst a small cluster of trees and beachy shrubs behind the building. The noises of the inn sound so far off. They might as well be truly alone.

Maybe it's not just the chemistry of the team, maybe it's not just a love of volleyball, maybe it's more than a friendship forged in club and carried on past Fukurodani, maybe it is Akaashi being unable to ignore him for too long, maybe—

Akaashi darts his eyes to where their hands are joined, and he looks back up at Bokuto. His gaze is calm, piercing. Waiting. Expectant.

Bokuto takes a breath, only a little bit to calm his nerves, and leans forward. He hopes his hair doesn't tickle Akaashi. Gods, that would be the end of him, wouldn't it? Akaashi finally indulges Bokuto in a kiss, and—

He stops abruptly.

Oh. Right.

"Bokuto-san?" Akaashi whispers.

Bokuto smiles at him and hopes Akaashi doesn't catch everything from his expression. In fact, he obscures some of the setter's view by resting his forehead on Akaashi's. Akaashi's too busy scanning his eyes, wondering what went wrong, to fix the mood, and Bokuto closes his eyes and hugs him loosely.

What's the point, after all, of drawing Akaashi officially into his life like this when volleyball is his calling, not Akaashi's? Bokuto wants Akaashi to indulge him in games with tosses and all that—

—but he thinks better and doesn't kiss Akaashi, because he doesn't want Akaashi to indulge him in love, too. Not if Akaashi is only caught up in his whims.

With his mind and heart quieted, Bokuto fixes a bigger smile on his face and straightens up. He steps ahead of Akaashi and pulls him along once more. "Time to head back," he announces.

They return in silence. Akaashi walks a step behind him the whole way.

- ^-^3

Bokuto's missed Akaashi so much these past few months, but he thinks he can accept their separation a bit better now, after last night. At least, that's what he promises himself when he wakes the next morning because of Komi's motorcycle-engine snoring.

Akaashi slept fine, judging by the lack of bags under his eyes Bokuto notes at breakfast. And his mood is neutral, the usual Akaashi setting, when their group packs up and checks out.

The group of friends idles at the beach near the inn, and Bokuto, Shirofuku, and Komi horse around in the tides that caress the sand, because overnight the temperature dropped, and it seems a little extreme even to Bokuto to put on his bathing suit now and go for a swim.

Bokuto is able to dodge his friends' attacks when Shirofuku and Komi team up against him and create giant waves that threaten to soak him. "Guys, c'mon!" he whines. "I've got work tomorrow…!"

"You'll dry off on the walk to the train station," Komi informs him flatly. He grins the next second and jumps, but Bokuto scrambles out of the water before he slips into the ocean.

Shirofuku grumbles as Bokuto runs away. "Great. Guess that's all the fun to be had, huh?"

Their feet dry by the time they reach the edge of the beach, and then Bokuto puts his sneakers back on, Shirofuku and Komi, their sandals. It's not a short walk along paved roads and on the sidewalk to the train station, after all.

The trek back… Even the train ride… Bokuto has the feeling of déjà vu, because the journeys are a lot like those from yesterday morning. He isn't expecting Akaashi to be so…completely fine with him after last night—or maybe it's just Bokuto? Maybe Bokuto's the one reading a different version of last night. Since Akaashi doesn't seem bothered, Bokuto relaxes and enjoys another slideshow, this time of the photos Akaashi snuck throughout the day yesterday. There aren't any from after the baths, but Bokuto's fine with that because he hates how his hair looks when it's down.

Back in Tokyo, it's time to part with everyone. Suzumeda heads home first with a quick wave to the rest, and Akaashi fidgets.

A tiny part of Bokuto still hopes Akaashi might wait for him.

Looking between Akaashi and the rest, Bokuto's hit with a longing he didn't know he had for his friends before. "We should do stuff like this more often," Fukurodani's former captain whines.

"Seconded," Konoha agrees. He leans against Washio's back when the birthday boy tries to escape without notice.

Shirofuku shakes her head at the scene. "You'll just see him later this week," the redhead says. She reaches up and pinches Konoha's cheek.

Washio's small eyes widen—it's the closest Bokuto's ever seen him to panicking. "You…," he starts, "…you're sending him to my campus? Again?"

"I've got more than a full load, and his cram classes are in the evening," she replies. "This way he gets out and gets some fresh air."

"Wasshi…!" Konoha yowls. He clings to the gruff guy, which looks like fun.

"Wasshi…!" Bokuto echoes, and he joins the pile by jumping on Konoha.

Sarukui and Komi find it hilarious, laughing and jumping, too, squishing Bokuto. Their stack of alumni almost makes Washio tip over, but Onaga's sturdy and there to keep his boyfriend upright.

Shirofuku runs a disgruntled hand through her hair and shoes Sarukui and Komi off, the other two laughing the whole time as they head home. Then she jerks her chin at Akaashi. The setter nods and pulls Bokuto off next while Shirofuku hauls Konoha off. "See you, Washio, Onaga," she says with a wave, and she and Konoha trail after Sarukui and Komi. They wave to Bokuto and Akaashi, too.

Akaashi nods by way of parting to the couple and to the others, and he has to tug Bokuto away before Bokuto feels like moping some more. Akaashi opens his mouth to comment, thinks better, and closes his mouth. If he'd been wondering why Bokuto hasn't seen his closest friends in so long, it's the same reason that's kept him and Bokuto apart, too: Bokuto's schedule frankly just doesn't allow for it.

They take the same train which they've taken for years now home, although Bokuto knows Akaashi's going home and he's going back to the station to head for the team dorm. It's kind of pointless, if Bokuto stops to think about it.

"I know you need to get back," Akaashi says as they set foot on the platform and begin climbing the stairs outside. It's early evening now, and the reds and violets of the sunset don't work with Akaashi's palette the way moonlight does.

But Bokuto shakes those thoughts from his head. "No, no, I wanna walk you back, Akaashi," he insists. "Such good friends see their friends home."

Akaashi doesn't smile, and there's a tightness to his jaw that informs Bokuto he's not amused. The setter waits for Bokuto at the top step, and his eyebrows rise somewhat, but without his half-lidded eyes widening.

Bokuto cocks his head to one side. "What? Akaashi?"

He turns and begins walking, but, the moment Bokuto takes one step beside him, Akaashi grabs his nearer hand, holding it. Bokuto's brain, left behind at the station, doesn't catch up until they're half a block away, and by then there's no point shaking Akaashi off because a) Akaashi's strong and b) he threaded their fingers together to get a better grip.

There's no backing out this time.

They're quiet all the way to Akaashi's road, but it's a different silent stroll compared to last night. And, yeah, it mostly has to do with the way Akaashi deliberately holds his hand. Akaashi heaves a sigh once his house is in view.

At that, Bokuto finds his voice again. "Akaashi?" Crap. His tone is soft and…squeaky? Bokuto Koutarou, squeaky?! He's never squeaky!

Akaashi faces him, still serious, but the fiery passion Bokuto's seen blazing in his eyes nearly since they first met is there. That determination that only grew stronger as time passed with them on the court, Bokuto getting lost in him (maybe Akaashi getting a little lost in Bokuto, too?), is there. "Regardless," the setter starts, "of where I am and you are after next spring, Bokuto-san, this"—he squeezes Bokuto's fingers and lifts their hands, either ignoring or unaware of the sunset-red tinge of his cheeks as he kisses the back of Bokuto's hand—"won't change."

Bokuto nods dumbly, and his racing heartbeat informs him that, hey, his face is on fire, too. He nods again, because he can't quite get out the words to express how he feels the same way, but he knows Akaashi reads him so well, well enough to understand and then some. And there's no "maybe" about it.

- ^-^3

-w- Cute! Been a while since I wrote them (last time was "Eye of the Beholder" in…HOLY CRAP 2015—it's been too long orz), but there's a lot of fun in the "Pastime" universe that kind of…got out of hand? (This universe began with "Pastime," and then "Talent" and later "Hobby" came, *lol*.) I do think that, while Bokuto's train of thought must make for one wild ride (for instance, Bo's wrong—the saying goes that idiots don't catch colds), even he worries about forcing someone he loves into the same life as him, esp when writing him with a fellow player (esp Akaashi). He wants Akaashi just to be Akaashi. And, goodness, Akaashi knows Bokuto is his already, he just wanted to make sure Bokuto understood it was reciprocated. I mean, their conversation had some hidden meanings, whether they were aware of it or not (talk of chemistry?). XD Still, this was a challenge to end; I originally intended to stop the fic at the end of their walk, but Akaashi disliked that and clearly gave me inspiration for the scene set during the next day. In addition, I had a hard time figuring out where to end the last paragraph, even? URGH. Anywho! This also puts to bed Onaga's wondering in "Hobby" if Akaboku were even dating… :P I've been writing so much for my team, tho, so many owls… But I don't think there's anything such as too many owls. ;) Btw, two cute songs that helped inspire the fic/are good Akaboku songs: "Wanna Love You" by Paul Kim and "Reborn" by Jay Park & Double K & Boi B (also both incredibly catchy).

Thanks for reading, and please review! Check out my other [HQ!] fics, too, if you liked this! Got a Fukurodani thirst (or need content for the other owls)? Then come peruse my stories!

-mew-tsubaki c: