Oikawa first saw Akaashi when they were playing in a match against each other. The other setter caught Oikawa's eye because he was pretty, in the same way Oikawa was pretty but better. Soft hair that curled just right against his neck. Eyes that were the shade of grey that made every part of Oikawa shudder. Skin that was too pale to be tan but too tan to be pale and did odd things to Oikawa's head. There was a freckle behind his ear. A single freckle, and it was distracting Oikawa to no end.

What bugged Oikawa the most was that Akaashi didn't seem to realize he was gorgeous. He was so monotone, so disinterested, and it got on Oikawa's nerves. He flubbed his serve repeatedly because he was too busy staring at Akaashi's emotionless face and getting irrationally angry because there was someone prettier than him and they didn't understand how pretty they were.

Aoba Johsai lost that match, and Oikawa was nursing a bruise on his stomach for days after Iwaizumi head-butting him.

After that, Akaashi seemed to follow Oikawa everywhere. He'd show up at the mall or the grocery store or some random restaurant that Oikawa just happened to be at on a creepily regular basis. When he spotted Oikawa, Akaashi would raise a hand in a slight wave, give him a tiny smile, and walk away, leaving Oikawa open-mouthed and scrambling to regain some semblance of sane thought processes.

Eventually, Iwaizumi got sick of Oikawa's habit of staring and made him talk. When Oikawa had explained, Iwaizumi had sighed and shaken his head.

"Look, you idiot, if you really want to tell him how "pretty" he is, why don't you just ask him out? It's not like it's that hard for you. Dumbass."

Oikawa paused, grinned, and flung himself at Iwaizumi. "Thanks, Iwa-chan! I never thought of that."

Iwaizumi hit him on the head and pushed him away. "Then maybe you should think next time, dumbass!"

After their next match—Aoba Johsai lost again—Oikawa went straight up to Akaashi and asked him out in front of the entire Fukuroudani team. Akaashi stood there, shock dancing through those annoyingly pretty grey eyes, before he composed himself and nodded numbly. Oikawa couldn't tell if he wanted to kiss the other setter or slap him for being too pretty.

Two years later, they went to the same college and shared an apartment. To everyone's immense surprise, they were still together. They weren't exactly the most likely couple, but they were still going strong and, as far as anyone could tell, happy with each other.

They were happy. Oikawa had learned how to read Akaashi relatively quickly, and realized that the other setter actually showed quite a lot of emotion, but it was so muted that most people didn't even realize it was there. Oikawa had asked a couple times why Akaashi didn't un-lid his emotions when they were alone, at least, but the only response he got was sudden silence and an avoidance of eye contact. He quickly learned not to ask. As much as he would have liked to know, he was respectful of Akaashi's privacy and didn't force him to say anything he wasn't ready to share. Oikawa understood that there were some things that Akaashi preferred to keep seperate from his life with Oikawa, and that was fine. He wasn't going to be a pushy asshole and risk scaring Akaashi away. So even after calming Akaashi down from one of his panic attacks, or holding him after one of his night terrors, he didn't ask.

Another thing that Oikawa had learned about Akaashi was that he had surprisingly low self-esteem. He always saw the worst about himself and, to Oikawa's complete and utter horror, said that he hated his looks most of all. Oikawa spent a good hour after that conversation murmuring to Akaashi about how beautiful he was, until Akaashi was bright red from his collar bone to the tips of his ears. He had gotten a little more confident since then, and a little more openly expressive, but not by much. Oikawa liked to think that it was because of the constant compliments about anything and everything he showered Akaashi with.

On the other hand, Oikawa was getting tired of everyone else. Well, his fans, at least. Their attention had started to get annoying and tiring. Every time he spent time with a gaggle of girls, he couldn't help but think of the quiet moments cuddled by the fire on their couch that he had spent with Akaashi. Their comments about how amazing and good-looking he was didn't mean anything anymore. He knew that they didn't really think that; that they didn't really care. They thought that sort of thing about him because he was rich and famous, not because they liked him as a person.

It wore a person down, after a while. Oikawa started getting quieter than he usually was, and would space out a lot more than usual. He knew he was worrying Akaashi—he could see the little crinkles in the skin around his eyes that meant he was concerned—but he couldn't bring himself to fake it.

Apparently, though, Akaashi got sick of it. Oikawa was lying on the couch one night, exhausted from a long day of fan girls and lessons, when Akaashi sat down on Oikawa's legs and pulled at his arms until he sat up.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" The question was gentle, but rather emotionless, and Oikawa knew Akaashi didn't miss that. Akaashi didn't miss anything.

Instead of responding, Akaashi leaned forward and pressed a sweet, light kiss to Oikawa's forehead.

"You know you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen, right?"

The words were something Oikawa had heard a thousand times from a thousand different people, but it was different that time because it was Akaashi saying them. Akaashi stroked Oikawa's face lightly with his fingertips, eyes locked on Oikawa's as he continued talking.

"You are the most precious person in my life. You don't even have to try. You smile and you laugh and you hold me and you don't ask questions and you're just perfect. I know I haven't been completely honest with you, and I know there are secrets that you've been patient about not knowing, but I also know that you're only human. You're beautiful, and I love you with everything I've got. I love all of you, Tooru. Not just your looks or your laugh. All of you. And that includes your vulnerabilities and your worries. So you don't have to hide whatever's bothering you from me, okay? I want to help."

Akaashi's words were soft and sweet but they were also so obviously heartfelt and they brought so much emotion to his face that Oikawa couldn't help but tear up. He wrapped his arms around Akaashi's waist and pulled him close, returning the kiss to his forehead.

"Of course, love. Anything for you."

They talked for hours, that night, and there were enough tears to last a lifetime between them. But they both went to bed lighter than they had been, feeling as if their intertwined fingers were the only things keeping them anchored to reality and preventing them from floating off into a perfect world.

Of course, Oikawa thought as he dropped to sleep, any world with Keiji in it is perfect for me.