Saltishima: Thanks a ton, your review made me truly happy! You made me smile like crazy and I'm very glad to hear that it's appreciated seeing as I get pretty self-conscious when posting… Well, I wish you a lovely day/night hun!

.Midnight: Aww, thanks love! Yeah they really are great together, love writing about them and it makes me very happy that you enjoyed it! (Love your name btw!)

Sky Of Love: Many thank you's! Haha oh my, I must have made a mistake somewhere or there's been a misunderstanding because I'm a KuroKen shipper as well (and also Daisuga) XD Hopefully they'll show up with cameos later on!

Nymouria chapter: Thank you darling, your review truly made me happy! No, Akaashi isn't deaf. He's got very bad hearing that has been going and does go down with time, so he will eventually become deaf. He read Bokuto's lips though, and I hope that became slightly clearer with the last chapter! Anyhow, thanks again and many hugs!

Escana: Thanks so much dearest, it makes me so incredibly happy that you're enjoying it! I hope this part won't disappoint and I wish you a wonderful day!

"Hey Akaashi! What are you doing here?!"

If Bokuto had been anyone else, Akaashi would have most certainly picked up on how the shock on the other's face seemed very fake and exaggerated. But he didn't, simply because he was stuck in his surprise for the short instant.

"Bokuto-san," he greeted back, using his hands (that somehow seemed to burn) to dust of the fabric of his black palazzos with one smooth movement. It was to buy some time to gather himself up, but he didn't want to admit that. He immediately took notice that Bokuto was taller than him as he straightened. He looked to be a shorter person while sitting down as he had such (okay, no don't you dare start staring at them now Akaashi Keiji, that's not suiting) broad shoulders. Maybe it was because he had long legs… (Okay, no, no, no: dangerous territory. Just keep looking up.) "I work here actuallih."

"Aha, I understand," Bokuto answered him, and once more did the tone of beforehand-knowledge in his voice escape Akaashi. "I didn't pin you as the type to be a librarian, but I suppose you are pretty quiet and-" (here, Akaashi missed a spoken word as it was long. Bokuto spoke pretty slowly though in contrast to before, so it went okay so far) "-I suppose," Bokuto said jokingly with a grin and Akaashi had to cover the small smile creeping up on him behind his fingers. This man was most certainly the type with a contagious smile.

"Frankly me neyther," he answered honestly, ignoring how the words hit a little too close for comfort. No, that was not where he'd seen himself a few years back. "But life happenss." Why was he even confiding that again? He didn't know.

Bokuto didn't seem to mind at all, just happily continuing with his exclamations. "Yeah, I get what you mean! Like, I always wanted to be an astronaut or Indiana Jones or something when I was little. Then my plan was for years to become a volleyball star, and now I'm an (fudge, he missed another long word)- author, so!"

Akaashi nodded and started unconsciously playing with his fingers as he looked at the other with barely sealed curiosity. "Vollehball you say?" He hoped he'd translated the word right and wasn't confusing Bokuto. Meanwhile he was fighting hard to remember to pronounce properly. He'd left his hearing aid at home, simply because he knew he'd overused it in his previous conversation with Bokuto a few days ago. He'd had ringing in his ears for hours after that, and if he wanted to keep his current percents (which were very much needed to actually amplify the sounds when necessary) he'd have to avoid it for a while as to not overstress his eardrum. Maybe that was good though, because he didn't have the temptation (which he wasn't sure he could keep in check, he really liked Bokuto's voice). Neither did he have enough hearing to catch his own words and scream around to hear fully, he worked in a library after all. That didn't mean he had the heart to shysh Bokuto to the length of not hearing the undertones of his voice at all though. It was easy to forget his pronunciations when he was caught up in the interesting man, but he didn't want to start stuttering in front of him again. Not that it was anything wrong with someone stuttering, he just felt it hard to know that his ability to speak properly was slipping from his hands. He didn't like how people would always stare at him when he said something wrong or slurry either. Definitively not Bokuto, and why the definitively was there was an area Akaashi didn't enter.

"Yeah!" The taller said, jamming a thumb against his (broad, have we established that yet?) chest. "I was the ace, captain and wing spiker back in my high school team!"

"Impressive." It truly was. Akaashi felt for smiling even more as he found something they had in common. Well, used to anyway.

"How about you 'Kaashi? Have you ever played any sports?"

"I was seffer," Akaashi said, hoping that the word came out all right. He didn't know why but apparently T's were a little hard for him when he couldn't hear. He really should practise speaking more as he'd been awfully quiet since he no longer could hear himself. He could remember familiar tunes of his violin he'd played for hours upon hours much clearer than the sounds of speaking, simply because he'd heard and cared for the sounds so much more. As he'd taught himself he'd also thought more about it and consciously memorized everything carefully. He'd probably be able to play for longer than he'd be able to talk, the time of that edge unsure to him. Not that he'd ever been talkative at all, partly because he didn't use to have anyone to talk to. Now when he had Suga and Oikawa (…and Bokuto?) he did have people in his life to speak to, but not the ability to properly pronounce anymore. The hunting thought had hit him that maybe he should talk while he still could. This wasn't a place for practise though as Bokuto didn't know about his near deafness. He didn't want him getting all uncomfortable and backing away, thinking Akaashi couldn't listen, nor did he care to receive his pity or anything like that. He only wished he could hear what he said, controlling if it really was audible. As he watched the fascinated emotions display on Bokuto's face though, he knew he'd understood.

Confusion, understanding and happiness quickly took turns as the taller exclaimed: "Wait, setter as in- Wow you played volleyball?!"

"But only forh two yers," Akaashi nodded. He'd played all of his terms at the musical university, but ended it when he started travelling the world with his music. Volleyball was fun, but more off a side hobby that he couldn't have moving around. He still watched many games together with Oikawa and Suga though. From those words, Bokuto was fired up. He started telling all kinds of stories, about how Kuroo used to be the slyest blocker you could get a hold on, how it felt when he first got really hooked on volleyball into the detail, and much more. It was sometimes a little hard to keep up though as he continuously changed the names to 'the salty piece of salt' or 'my red-haired crow baby' (?), and such. It seemed Bokuto indeed had a pretty lively imagination, and there was no denying that he couldn't tell stories. Maybe his hearing missed a lot as if often did (especially during the part Bokuto would suddenly speak very quickly), but Akaashi was hooked from the moment he started. He only just remembered that he was working about halfway. So he stacked the books and Bokuto followed close behind at all times. Lucky for him because if he wouldn't, Akaashi would be too far to read lips and hear the slightest of undertones. He missed bits and pieces as he looked away stacking as well, but it went okay. Bokuto soon tried to help out by stacking too, but he ended up always getting the literature wrong. In the end he carried books and gave them one and one to Akaashi as he put them up, because he wouldn't stop asking if he could help. One time Bokuto had even picked him up when Akaashi couldn't reach a book left on top of the shelf, literally as if he weighed nothing at all. When he'd turned around to stare incredulously at the other, Bokuto had just let out a honest "What?". As if Akaashi wasn't supposed to react when he was without warning lifted up by muscular arms he'd pay to touch (wait… what?!). (WHAT.)

Eventually he gathered up his bearings enough to ask if Bokuto enjoyed reading. That off course got him to talk on again, giving Akaashi time to calm his (why, why racing, Kuroo and Daichi had both repeatedly and randomly picked him up before in some kind of strength contest so he should be used to it) heart.

"I don't read too much, I prefer writing! I don't know why, I just really like building up characters and getting to know and adjust them myself rather than having it out of my control, you know?" Frankly, no, Akaashi didn't know as he himself enjoyed reading because it gave him an escape from reality, knowing that there was nothing he could change anyway and that the happy ending eventually would come (except those books he'd read where it didn't, and those deserved to burn). Books were for him other people and other worlds to visit and not morph. He didn't utter any of that though because that was way too much of a sentence without his hearing aid. He was content just to read Bokuto's lips as he rambled on, learning what went on in his mind. Speaking of lip-reading, now the taller of the duo was speaking really quickly again. It had gone up and down a lot in quick turns, and when it was fast it was hard to hang with. Akaashi had practised really hard on reading them since his hearing had started to fade. It had been a good advantage to hear and read at the same time, but he still found it tough after barely two years of it.

"I (Missed. Probably? Basically?) just spew out what's on my mind! Nothing more, nothing less," Bokuto continued, cutely fired up with wide hand gestures to accompany." I don't like (missed word again, drat) up and planning books because it kind of takes all the fun out of it neither," Bokuto said, grinning. Then he suddenly slowed down his speaking again again. "I write only when I have inspiration, I don't think there's any (um… particular?) way of finding it."

Akaashi nodded, putting in a short comment and attentively trying to look at Bokuto's lips in between reading the authors letters of the forgotten books to stack them up.

And so it went on after that, they talked about pretty much the most random things (apparently, Bokuto didn't like Nutella, and Akaashi warned him that if he wanted to keep getting muffins, he should never tell Suga that). Akaashi didn't even notice that his own sentences were getting longer and more frequent, because unlike with so many others, he soon didn't feel so uncomfortable with talking in front of Bokuto. Whatever he said, Bokuto listened like crazy, always smiling or grinning afterwards. It was perhaps a little odd if Akaashi would have evaluated it, but he liked Bokuto's smile so he didn't stop his inputs.

Eventually though, a young teenager came and asked if they could keep it down a notch. Akaashi wasn't sure if he spoke loudly or not, (according to Suga and Oikawa he usually spoke too quietly when he didn't hear, probably because of how unconfident he felt talking without hearing it) but he promised that they would. She'd looked at him a little strangely, succeeding in making Akaashi's mind spin in whether Bokuto noticed his strange talking or not. It felt like he should, seeing as he knew his speech was far from perfect. Still, Bokuto very much felt like the kind of person that would say what was on his mind and he hadn't commented anything since the stuttering comment in their first meeting. He suppressed those thoughts in order to hear what Bokuto would say next, turning around to face him.

"Well, I probably should stop (okay, that must have been 'disturbing', right?) you when you're at work." (No, not already), Akaashi thought, surprised at his own disappointment. Bokuto started rubbing the back of his neck, (and Akaashi definitively didn't look away just to avoid staring at his bending biceps, nope) looking sheepish. Akaashi didn't really trust himself to speak as he couldn't know if the dissatisfaction would seep into his voice or not. Besides, he couldn't really figure out anything so say, so he simply nodded. "But it was nice meeting you again."

(Did that comment warm Akaashi more than it should have? Most certainly.) He barely registered the small smile that crossed his lips as he responded, "You too."

"Would you…" Bokuto started a bit hesitantly. (Why did Akaashi's heart jump again? Exactly what was this unfamiliar control this stranger had around his usually measured feelings?) "Would you like to meet up for coffee sometime, or something? You know, nothing much, we can always see each other sometime at Suga's- or maybe you want much, I can buy you a cake as well, or lunch if you like that- of course that is if you even want to, we don't have to at all, I just-"

Akaashi smile simply grew, happy and genuine, not bothering at all to hide it behind his hand this time. He didn't try to figure out why it hit him so heartfelt being asked that either. Bokuto stopped right away with his rambling, their eyes locking, and perhaps a small shade of red grew up the author's neck. "I'd like thaf," Akaashi answered, a piece of shyness but no hesitation at all in his voice.

A/N: Treasured lovesick owls…

I hope to see you soon love's!
/hugs MJ