Fidget

Bokuto raced towards Akaashi as soon as he saw him inside the gym. Akaashi put down his water bottle and prepared himself.

'Hey, hey, hey! Akaashi!' Bokuto boomed and he quickly wrapped Akaashi in a huge bear hug; lifting him off the ground even.

'Bo-ku-to!' Akaashi groaned. He squirmed inside of Bokuto's arms. 'We've talked about this. You have to ask permission before randomly hugging someone!'

'Ah! You're right! We have – I remember now. I'm so sorry!' Bokuto rambled loudly as he put Akaashi down.

Akaashi's expression softened. 'It's okay, I don't mind. You give good hugs but you just need to remember that, okay? Not everyone appreciates your random hugs.' Akaashi said.

'I need to ask permission first. I need to ask permission first. I need to ask permission first.' Bokuto chanted underneath his breath.

Akaashi hates scolding Bokuto but it was necessary. 'So, how were your classes today and...' Akaashi paused. 'How were your classes?' Sometimes, he forgets that Bokuto has trouble dealing with multiple questions at once but the same question a few times gets through to him.

'I'm so myself proud!' Bokuto jumbled up his words.

'Deep breath.' Akaashi murmured.

'Right, right, right! I'm so proud of myself.' Bokuto said with a big grin. 'I only had trouble in maths today. I was able to keep task in all my other subjects maths except.'

'That's great, did the stim toys help?' Akaashi asked.

'Yup, yup, yup! they're perfect. They're not too big that they distract my friends with their noise and they're just big enough to help me get rid of some of my, uh, compulsions – yes, that's it, that's the word – compulsions. But I still had problems in math.'

Akaashi nodded. 'What areas in maths didn't you understand?'

'Everything I wrote didn't make sense. Everything looks jumbled on my page. I can't read it!' Bokuto said, becoming increasingly frustrated. He curled his hands into fists and rage creased his face.

'I know my mother isn't a high school teacher but she is used to dealing with high energy students, would you like to come over this evening and study with me?'

'Absolutely! Yep! Yep! Yep!' Bokuto said.

He grabbed Akaashi again and hugged him. Akaashi squeaked but accepted that Bokuto was hugging him. 'Bokuto,' he murmured gently, 'remember, permission.'

'Oh! Ah! Right!' Bokuto said and he gently put Akaashi down. He started another bout of his mantra; of course, he only said it three times as three was a good number for him.

'It's okay; we'll get it one day.' Akaashi said. 'And final question: did you take your medication on time?'

Bokuto paused; face blank.

'Did you remember to take your medication on time?' Akaashi repeated.

'Oh! Yes, I just had to remember because the whiteboard marker was squeaking at the time and that really hurt my ears and distracted me. But I did remember. I did remember. I did remember.' Bokuto replied.

Akaashi's heart swelled. Bokuto's major issue lately was that he had trouble with remembering to take his ADHD medication without being prompted but he'd remembered today and that was fantastic. Akaashi hoped this would become a regular thing for him now.

'I'm so glad for you.' Akaashi replied.

'Thank you, thank you, thank you!' Bokuto shouted.

'Sh! Indoor voice, remember?' Akaashi fussed.

'Hey! Hey! Hey! Can I have a hug, Akaashi?' Bokuto asked with puppy eyes and a huge grin.

'How can I say "no" to that face?' Akaashi replied.

'Sorry?' Bokuto replied.

'Oh! I forgot; rhetoric questions are things we are still working on, darn, I'm sorry Bokuto.' Akaashi replied.

'It's okay, we all forget things. Can I have a hug, Akaashi?' Bokuto asked.

'Absolutely.' Akaashi replied.

Akaashi was swept up by Bokuto's arms once more, he squealed a little when Bokuto was a little too tight but he didn't mind. He was happy. Bokuto remembered to ask this time. Little by little, he was managing his ADHD better and soon he was going to be independent. That was the goal so he could manage without anyone in university.

At the beginning of the year, when Bokuto was crowned captain, he had announced he was unworthy of it. His reason was because over the break, he had been diagnosed with ADHD as well as autism. It wasn't too uncommon to be diagnosed that late into adolescence but Bokuto had been struggling with it.

It was amazing how things can change because every day, Bokuto got a little bit better with his schedules and managing his compulsions. Watching Bokuto flourish made Akaashi happy with a touch of pride too. They both knew. although neither voiced it, that there was an element of too much reliance between them but for now, that should be okay as Bokuto's self actualisation was always improving and sweet independence was within close reach.

[AN: I hope that I portrayed ADHD and autism sensitively; if there are inaccuracies or insensitivities, I'm happy to make alterations.]