Chapter 24: Day 8

Sunday morning when Bokuto woke, he was pleased to feel a warm presence beside him. Looking over, he remembered that Akaashi had slept in his bed again, and the thought made him smile. Akaashi was so beautiful when he slept, and Bo realized he had missed waking up to this sight. It made him… happy.

Everything about Akaashi made him happy, made him feel WORTHY. That was the word, Bo decided. He replayed, yet again, the words Akaashi had said to him on the bridge. "You deserve love." He thought that maybe he was starting to believe it. Yesterday, the voice of self-doubt and self-loathing had been mercifully quiet, hardly rearing its head at all. He hoped that pattern would continue today.

He felt like he was just about over this episode, thanks to Akaashi's help and support. He began to contemplate a future with his boyfriend in it. He tried to imagine the scenarios Akaashi had described, where they rode out the bad weeks. If he tried really hard, he could actually see it.

The idea made him take a deep breath in and close his eyes. His heart swelled with love and he wondered what he had done to deserve this angel who came into his life and completed it. When he opened his eyes again, they were slightly wet, and he heard a quiet voice ask, "Are you okay?"

He turned to look into Akaashi's beautiful blue eyes. "Yes. I think I am," Bo said with a smile. "Thanks to you."

Akaashi lifted one side of his mouth in a half-smile. "You did it yourself, Kotaro. I just helped you believe you could."

Bokuto leaned over to place a kiss on Akaashi's lips. "Yes, you did. Thank you for that. For believing in me." He said the last part with feeling, hoping to convey the magnitude of his gratitude when he knew words were not enough. He looked long and hard into his boyfriend's eyes and thought he understood.

They shared a smile and another kiss, but then Bo was getting out of bed. "Unfortunately, I have to go to training." He ran a hand over his now itchy stubble. "Think I could have a razor now."

Akaashi smiled, "Yes. I'll get you one." He got up and found the razor he had hidden in his bag.

As he handed it over, he asked with concern, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good. But you can watch me if you want," Bokuto replied with a mischievous wink.

"Don't mind if I do," said Akaashi playfully. He was thinking how nice it was to have "his" Bokuto back. While Bokuto shaved, Akaashi sat on the side of the tub, admiring the muscles in his boyfriend's back. It had been a long time, too long, since they'd been physically intimate. How long had it been anyway? Akaashi tried to remember. Today was day 8, so the weekend before that. Two weeks. Shit. No wonder he was feeling frisky. They hadn't gone two weeks without sex in the whole time they'd known each other. Hopefully they could fix that soon, Akaashi thought.

When Bo finished shaving he turned to Akaashi to ask how he looked. "Handsome as ever," replied the ravenhead, taking the razor from his boyfriend. "I'll leave you alone to shower."

Bokuto turned, "You could shower with me."

Akaashi turned, already halfway out of the door. "You have a match tonight! I thought you needed to keep your legs fresh."

"Can't blame a guy for trying," Bo grinned.

"Just shower and I'll make you some breakfast," Akaashi replied.

That evening, Akaashi sat with Kageyama and the other spectators waiting for the match to begin. Akaashi was a little fidgety. He was worried about Bokuto playing after more than a week's absence. He was hoping Bo would have a good game, but he was nervous for his boyfriend.

When the players were announced, Akaashi was absolutely floored at the reception Bokuto received. The crowd was roaring as Bo walked onto the floor, causing the announcers to observe that the fans must have missed their ace. A feeling of intense pride rose in Akaashi's chest at the sight.

It was still a mystery to him how his lover, who was so obviously talented, so kind and considerate, and so generally amazing could think that he was not worthy of love. It made him feel sad and even a little angry and he vowed to remind his boyfriend every day of how special he was and how much he meant to him.

Bokuto ended up having a pretty good game. He was animated and lively, though not quite to his highest level of energy, and played decently enough. MSBY ended up winning, which made Akaashi feel even more hopeful that they could put this episode behind them. He knew there would be a next time, yes. But they made it through this, and they could do it again. He was determined to make that true.

They arrived back at the apartment and shucked off their shoes. As predicted, Bokuto's mood was pretty positive. They sat on the sofa, cuddled up to each other, Bo's arm around Akaashi's shoulder. They were enjoying the feeling of being close again after such a long absence. They had been streaming a movie but Bokuto was not paying much attention. He was thinking about how warm Akaashi felt next to him and how long it had been since they had touched each other.

"Kaashi?" Bo said cautiously.

"Yes, Bokuto-san?"

There was a pause as the ace tried to choose his words. He wasn't quite sure how to say everything in his heart. He wanted to say so many things about how much he loved and appreciated his boyfriend, how he was so glad he found him, how his world would not be the same without him, but he wasn't good with words like Akaashi was, so he simply said:

"I think I'm back."

Akaashi's head snapped up to examine his boyfriend's face. A slow smile spread over his face and he inched up until their faces were close.

"Welcome home," he said gently.

The warm words were followed by a firm kiss that soon had them walking hand in hand to the bedroom. That night, they made love slowly and gently, taking the time to reacquaint themselves with each other's bodies. It was all soft touches, quiet words and hushed sighs. It was two people, showing each other just how much they loved each other, enjoying each moment to the fullest, acting like they had forever together. Time seemed to be standing still and neither seemed aware of anything except the other's caresses and reactions. When they were both fully satisfied, they held each other tightly and entangled in one another's arms, they slept.