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The first thirty seconds after the accident, nobody moved.
Bokuto stared, open-mouthed, at the shattered television screen in front of him. Then, he looked down at his hand, which no longer held his Wii remote.
Kuroo froze mid dance-move with an equally dumbfounded look plastered on his face. The screen flickered pitifully, music still playing in the background as it slowly went black.
“Well,” the raven breathed when the initial shock wore off, “I guess Crazy went a little too... crazy.”
The corners of Bokuto’s mouth twitched into a grimace. “Akaashi’s gonna kill me.”
Kuroo’s mouth popped opened and closed a few times as he searched for a response. “Yep,” he said, “We’re dead.”
“WE ARE SO DEAD!” Bokuto whirled around and grabbed Kuroo by the shoulders. “DEAD, I TELL YOU, DEAD!”
“Okay, okay, chill out!” Kuroo yanked Bokuto off him by the wrists, head spinning from the violent shaking he just endured. “There is a very simple solution to this,” he said when the room stopped spinning. “We walked in on it like this.”
“Oh yeah, they’ll totally believe that! We came home and there just happened to be a Wii remote lodged in the TV!” Bokuto gestured at the TV before smacking his hands against his cheeks. “Why did you let me play Just Dance, Tetsu!?”
Kuroo scoffed, “Me ?” He threw his hands above his head, “Why didn’t you have the safety strap on?”
Bokuto crossed his arms over his chest, “I’m a grown man! I don’t need a safety strap.”
“Oh, yeah? Tell that to the TV!”
“This is bad,” Bokuto peeked at the fractured glass and winced. “This is really bad.”
Kuroo took a deep breath, swiping his phone from the couch. “Hold on, don’t write your will just yet. What time did they say they were getting home?”
“Kenma said before they left it would only be a couple hours, but Akaashi texted me and said there was a delay with the train like thirty minutes ago.”
“They’ve barely been gone an hour. Kou, get some pants on.”
“What? Why?” Bokuto looked down at his owl-print boxers. “Do you not like them?”
Kuroo sighed. He put a hand on Bokuto’s shoulder, “You know I love them. But the dryer’s been done for twenty minutes and you can’t go out in your underwear.”
“Isn’t that stupid?” Bokuto frowned, “Having to put together outfits is too much work. Wait a minute,” Bokuto cocked his head, “Where are we going?”
“Where do you think we’re going? We have to find a new TV, or a way to hide this one, if we ever want to see the light of day again.”
“But won’t they notice something’s off if there’s a brand new one all of a sudden?”
Kuroo was already jogging around the living room, tearing through the pile of freshly folded laundry on the couch (their fate was sealed already, so why not make Akaashi go a little more insane?) for something to wear. With it being a chore day, the two athletes had opted to just play Wii games in their underwear until all of the laundry was done.
“You make a good point,” Kuroo said once his head popped out from an old Nekomahoodie. “We’ll have to find a store that sells the exact model.”
From behind him, Kuroo heard Bokuto make a noise somewhere between a choke and a cry.
“What’s going on?” Kuroo whirled around to see his best friend staring at his phone.
“Dude,” Bokuto ran a hand over his messy hair. “Akaashi just texted me back. We have to leave now .”
Without further delay, the two threw a blanket over the broken TV, picked up some random clothes, grabbed Kuroo’s car keys and flew out the door.
—-
Kuroo whipped through the parking lot with as much precision if he could. With how jumpy they both were right now, it was a miracle either of them could still drive.
“Alright, here’s the game plan,” Kuroo unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to lean toward Bokuto over the center console. “We walk in. We find the TVs. We find our TV. We buy said TV. We replace them, clear the crime scene. We act like nothing happened.”
Bokuto’s brows pinched together, “Okay, but where are we gonna put the broken one?”
“We can throw it in one of our rooms.”
“They’re gonna see it if we do that.”
“Destroy it?”
Bokuto shook his head, “Too much work, not enough time.”
“Agreed. How about we shove it in the garage?”
The other man smiled, “That’ll work for now!”
They knocked their foreheads together and scrambled out of the car. Kuroo was getting ready to sprint into the electronics store when he heard a sound behind him. “Kou?” He turned around, eyeing his friend, “What’s wrong?”
“Pants,” he wheezed, pointing down toward his legs. “These are not my pants.”
Kuroo followed his fingers downward to find the other man’s jeans. They were barely buttoned up, and the way the material was squeezing his hips and thighs looked painful enough to make Kuroo cringe. Bokuto pulled his tee shirt down over his groin.
“Dude, why do you have skinny jeans that skinny?”
“They’re not mine! They’re Akaashi’s! I must’ve grabbed them by mistake when we were rushing out the door!”
“Can you walk?”
Bokuto sucked in a breath and took a few steps. He gave his friend a labored thumbs-up. “I’ll live,” he said.
The two walked, though for Bokuto it was more of a waddle, into the electronics store.
The store was pretty empty upon entering, any sound in the space coming from the hum of devices on display. A gaming system with pulsing lights sang to the pair, but there was no time to mess around. For once, Bokuto didn’t let much distract them.
Kuroo split off from Bokuto to go search one aisle of TVs while he went to another. Bokuto had looked at every single one on his half of the store four times before finally admitting defeat. He wrenched his phone out of the pockets of Akaashi’s jeans to call Kuroo when someone called out to him.
“Can I help you find anything today, sir?”
Bokuto quickly shoved his phone back into the pocket, ignoring the squeeze of the fabric as he turned around to answer the employee.
“Uh, hi.”
“Hello,” the worker said, looking him up and down with a concerned look on his face. “Are you finding everything alright?”
“No. Wait, yes!” Bokuto took the baffled man by the arms. “Your store is perfect. Amazing. The best store ever.”
“Thank you,sir. Could you please let me go now?”
“Sorry,” Bokuto released the employee’s arms. He gave his uniform a quick smoothing over. “Uh. I’m looking for a TV.”
“Well, what do you have in mind?”
“I need to replace my current one.”
“Alright then,” the employee tapped his chin, “If you’re looking to upgrade then I can definitely help you out“
“I need the exact TV I have right now. Just new. And not broken.”
“I... can help you with that as well.” The employee was definitely very confused now. “What model do you have?”
Bokuto jumped to answer, though his mind drew a blank. It was the one piece of information he needed, and he didn’t have it. Did Kuroo check what kind it was before they left? He knew he sure as hell didn’t.
“I’ll... get back to you on that one.”
Bokuto caught the employee wishing him a good day before he took off from the aisle.
Just as he was turning the corner, he found Kuroo heading his way, but both of them were moving way too fast to stop. They smacked into each other at full force.
Kuroo managed to keep Bokuto from running into a phone case display by grabbing the front of his shirt. “Bro, what model do we have again?” He asked when they were steady. “I forgot to check.”
“I was just coming to ask you that, Tetsu!”
“Don’t panic,” Kuroo said, moving to calm his worked up friend, “There is a solution. All we have to do is call one of them and ask. If we’re super chill about it, they probably won’t suspect a thing. Probably. Yeah.”
Kuroo patted Bokuto’s shoulder. “Okay, I’ll call him.”
Bokuto took out his phone. Akaashi’s number was at the top of his favorites, so it didn’t take long to find. He looked to Kuroo, finger just above the dial button. “Dude, do I really have to be the one to do it?”
“Yeah? Last time I checked you’re the one the launched the remote into the screen.”
“It wasn’t my fault! You know I go hard during Rasputin!”
“And that my friend,” Kuroo smirked, “Is exactly why it’s your fault. Just be cool, he won’t suspect anything’s up.”
“Be cool,” Bokuto repeated. He hit call and brought the phone up to his ear.
Akaashi answered immediately. “What did you break?”
Bokuto grunted, eyes going wide. Kuroo winced. He offered two thumbs-up and mouthed , “Be cool.”
“Heeeeeey Akaashi,” Bokuto said slowly. “The only thing breaking is...” he looked desperately to Kuroo. The raven flung his hands in their air, declaring that he was just equally at a loss for words. “...my heart! The only thing breaking here, at home, I’m at home, is my heart, because you’re not home yet!” He laughed, “I just called because I missed you.”
“Oh,” Akaashi’s voice softened. “That’s very sweet of you. I can ask Kenma if we can wrap up early then? I was actually wondering if you two wanted to get dinner at—“
“DON’T COME HOME!”
“I’m sorry, why?”
Kuroo’s face fell into his hand, and he exhaled sharply through his nose.
“Don’t come home... because... we’ll just meet you two there for dinner! That way you won’t have to go back and forth.”
“Nice save,” whispered Kuroo.
“I suppose that would be more convenient,” Akaashi said. “Do you guys want to eat early?”
“You guys went to the museum downtown for the video games exhibit, right?” The thing you bought him tickets for on his birthday?”
“That would be correct. Though I’m not sure how long it’ll take to see everything Kenma wants to see. It’s pretty crowded.”
“Why’s the rush?” Bokuto replied, trying to control his hastily changing volume. “You guys are hanging out tonight. Don’t let us make you feel obligated to leave early. Just call us when you’re hungry and we’ll meet you guys anywhere you like.”
A pause. Then, “Kenma wants to know if Kuroo is sure he’ll make it a few more hours without eating.”
“We’ll find snacks,” Bokuto said, as instructed by an offended Kuroo.
“Okay. Do you want to go to that yakuniku place tomorrow? I took tomorrow off so we could spend time together.”
“Akaaaaashi,” Bokuto felt his heart clench. “You took tomorrow off for me?”
“I did. With how crazy my schedule’s been, we’ve barely seen each other. I miss you.”
“I miss you too! Do you wanna go to the park? You haven’t practiced with me in months!”
Akaashi laughed, “I’m not your setter anymore, Bokuto.”
“But you’re still my favorite setter!”
“I don’t see why not, then.”
“YAAAAAAY! I love you Kaashi.”
Kuroo stared flatly at his best friend. He flicked him on the temple to get his attention, then tapped on his watch.
“Oh!” Bokuto piped up again, “I do have a question before I let you go though. Very tiny question. Unimportant.”
“So you did break something?”
Bokuto gasped, “I did not. Does having a question automatically mean I broke something?”
“Would you like to see amount of times it has? I have a list.”
“Nothing is broken,” Kuroo could see Bokuto physically struggling as he spoke. This man could not lie to the love of his life and was barely keeping it together.
“Okay, I trust you. So what do you need?”
“Okay, so. Kuroo wanted to know if you remembered the kind of TV we have because...” he narrowed his eyes at the raven, doing his best to decipher his charades. “Because he... needs to buy a... rope? No, a cord! He needs to buy a... raptor cable—No, a...dapter? Yes! He needs to buy an adapter cable for... a speaker... so he can hook it up to it. So do you know the model number?”
“He needs to know the model of our TV to buy an HDMI cable.”
Bokuto nodded slowly, “That... would be correct.”
“Kuroo needs an HDMI cable to hook a speaker up... to our smart TV.”
“Er, yes?”
“Give me the damn phone!” Kuroo pried it out of his hands before putting it to his ear. “Akaashi, hey. Bird brain over here is having comprehension troubles, so here’s what’s up.”
Bokuto put a hand to his heart. “The betrayal.”
“Kenma told me weeks ago he wanted to add onto our sound system in the living room so he can review the games he tests more thoroughly,” Kuroo explained, ignoring Bokuto. “We already have the sound system installed in the walls so we went out to pick a sound bar. Could you have Kenma text me what our model is so I can figure out what’s most compatible with it?”
“Of course, one second,” Akaashi replied. A minute later he spoke again. “Okay, he just sent it.”
“Sweet!” Kuroo grinned proudly. “Enjoy the exhibit. Text us dinner suggestions if you think of any. See you later.” He hung up the phone and handed it back to Bokuto.
“Why didn’t you just call in the first place?!”
Kuroo sneered, “Your punishment for breaking the TV.”
“I hate you, Tetsu.”
“Yeah, yeah, I love you too. Anyways, this store doesn’t have the model. We’ve got two more places to check and not a lot of time so let’s move.” He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder toward the exit. “Oh, and tie your shoe really quick.”
“Thanks bro,” Bokuto pocketed the phone and bent over to grab his laces. Before he got all the way down, something in his jeans popped, and the sound of ripping fabric filled the air.
Kuroo’s eyebrows soared into his hairline. Bokuto froze with his hands over his shoes.
“T-tetsu?”
Kuroo covered his mouth with a hand, and that was all Bokuto needed for an answer.
“How bad is it?” Bokuto awkwardly turned around, still bent over, to face away from his friend.
Kuroo kept his cool for all of three seconds. He exploded, laughing so hard that he doubled over to clutch his stomach.
“Tetsurou! How bad is it?!”
“Holy shit, man!” He howled, “Your whole ass is out!”
Bokuto’s face burned red. He snapped upward and clapped both his hands over his butt. “Shut up!” He hissed. “Give me your hoodie. I need something to cover it.”
After the other man recovered, he obliged and pulled the hoodie off. Bokuto snatched it up and tied the sleeves around his waist so the rest of it covered him.
“Ohhhh my god, you look so stu...pid...” Kuroo looked down at the shirt he had put on underneath the hoodie, and his sentence fell short.
It was a tee shirt that Kuroo had bought Kenma almost two years ago as a gag gift. He’d bought it in his size instead of Kenma’s too, so they could at least wear it to bed.
In bright pink letters, the shirt read “Practice Safe Sets,” and below it was a volleyball.
No other words were spoken the entire trip to the next store.
—-
Kuroo let out a deep sigh, running his hands over his hair. Bokuto looked ready to burst into tears at any second.
“Could you check one more time?” Kuroo asked the employee, giving her an apologetic look. This was the third store they’d stopped at, and their last hope for finding their exact TV.
The employee sighed, obviously annoyed with the two. She was still very polite and helpful despite their desperate attitudes, and at least they weren’t blaming her for anything. She tapped on the screen one last time. “I’m sorry sirs, but we don’t have this model in stock at the moment. You could order it and have it delivered here, if you’d like?”
Bokuto perked up, coming out of his gloomy slouch a little bit. “We can do that?”
“Of course,” she smiled.
“Okay, we’ll do that then,” Kuroo confirmed. He fingered through his wallet until he found the card he was looking for. Him and Bokuto were gonna owe his big sister big time, he thought, as he gave her the card. “How long will it take?”
“With regular shipping, it will arrive in five to six business days. Though if you choose expedited, it can get here tomorrow.”
“Yes! We want that,” Bokuto blurted out, barely giving the woman time to finish her sentence. The woman just nodded slowly, giving Kuroo the card back along with the receipt. They thanked her a million times before leaving the store.
“So,” Bokuto sighed when they were pulling out of the parking lot, “We got it. But we still have to figure out how to hide it until tomorrow. And then we have to figure out how to get them out of the house so we can install it.”
“I have a plan.” Kuroo set them en route for the house. “Daichi doesn’t work on Saturdays, and there’s also no school. Suga can make something up about wanting to hang out tomorrow. You, Daichi and I can get the new TV and dispose of the other one.”
“But that would be a lot to ask of them, coming all this way,” Bokuto worried at his bottom lip.
“We’ll buy them drinks after?”
“Sugawara-san is a teacher!”
“So? That’s all the more reason for him to get shit-faced.” Kuroo steered the car into their driveway.
When the car was parked the pair hustled into the house. Not only were they jittery from today’s events, they were also starving. The minute Bokuto got to the kitchen he went straight for the fridge.
“Dude,” Bokuto said in between mouthfuls of onigiri, “How are we gonna keep them out of the living room?”
“Kou, those are Akaashi’s.”
Bokuto choked on his bite and gaped down at the one and a half rice balls left in his hands. How many were there when he started? Four or five? He ingloriously re-wrapped what was left of the food and tucked it back into the fridge.
“If we keep them out late enough tonight, they’ll wanna go straight to bed and might not notice. Tomorrow we’ll just have Sugawara get them up so disgracefully early that they’ll be too tired to notice.”
“I’m kinda tired myself man,” Bokuto sighed, resting his forehead against the refrigerator door. “You think we have time for a nap or something?”
Kuroo peered at his watch. “I’ll just turn my ringer up so when Kenma texts me we’ll wake up. Otherwise I think we’re safe.” He grinned at his best friend.
The two of them inhaled whatever else they could find (that wasn’t someone else’s leftovers) in the kitchen before cleaning up their mess. As they walked through the house they made sure to close all shutters and shut off all nights, hiding any evidence in darkness.
They made themselves comfortable on the living room floor, flopping down next to each other amongst the laundry they knocked down earlier. When they were settled Bokuto rolled over on top of his best friend to grab the remote.
Kuroo didn’t say anything, just watched the other athlete try to turn on the TV in front of them.
Bokuto shoved the remote in his face before any commentary could be shared.
“I feel bad about this whole ordeal Tetsu,” Bokuto frowned, throwing his legs over Kuroo’s. “We lied to Kenma and Akaashi.”
“I don’t feel like an angel either Kou, but it was either replace it or stress them out with having them do it themselves. And we were the ones who did it in the first place.”
“But what if they’re mad?” Bokuto put his face in his hands. “I keep picturing Akaashi, and every time I do it he has the face he makes when I do something bad!”
“Well, you did do something bad, so that’s probably why.”
Bokuto pouted at his best friend, eyes glazing over until Kuroo threw an arm around him.
“Hey, Kou. We can’t deny that we’re idiots, but we were proactive idiots and cleaned up our mess. I’m sure tomorrow when everything’s back to normal, they’ll laugh at the whole situation.”
“What situation are we laughing about?”
Bokuto shot upright, back stiff as a board at that familiar voice. A moment later the living room light came on. Kenma walked back over to stand at Akaashi’s side, right in front of the blanket-covered TV.
Akaashi put a hand on his hip. His stormy eyes took in the sight of all of the clothes he’d folded earlier cast about. “So sorry to interrupt your little slumber party. I can see you two put away the laundry like I asked.”
“Akaashi! You’re home!” Bokuto sprang to his feet, grabbing Akaashi’s hands and pulling him away from the TV. But Akaashi’s heels were rooted, and he was not moving.
Kenma pulled out his phone. He aimed it at the two athletes and snapped a picture before saying, “You two look really stupid right now.”
“Thanks babe,” Kuroo blew him a kiss. “So uh, you guys are home early. How was the exhibit?”
“It was...” Akaashi’s eyes scanned Kuroo, the letters on his tee shirt, and Bokuto’s awkward shifting from foot to foot in his jeans. “...interesting. Is something wrong, Bokuto?”
“Nope!” Bokuto quickly said, dodging Akaashi’s hand when he reached for the hoodie around his waist. “Everything’s great.”
“Your pants are ripped,” called Kenma from the floor as he picked through for his own clothes.
Akaashi snagged Bokuto by the wrists before he could escape. He turned his boyfriend around until his back was facing him, and ripped the hoodie off his waist. Owl boxers and all, Bokuto’s ass stuck out of the torn fabric in all its glory.
“What the hell were you two doing walking around like this? And why are you wearing my pants?”
“We wanted to go out really quick and didn’t look at what we grabbed,” Kuroo shrugged.
Akaashi turned Bokuto around again. Bokuto smiled too widely, not holding Akaashi’s gaze for long and leaning to block his view every time he got close to the TV. He was guilty, and Akaashi was getting suspicious.
Eventually, Akaashi sighed and released Bokuto. “Well, I can hear about it tomorrow. Right now I have a pounding headache and I just want to lie down.”
“You have a headache?” Now it was Bokuto’s turn to take hold of the other. He pulled him into his chest, one of his hands coming to massage the back of the Akaashi’s head. Akaashi nuzzled into his neck, tired but relieved to finally be with Bokuto for the night.
Over Akaashi’s shoulder, Bokuto smiled at Kuroo. The raven pumped a fist into the air. Kenma just rolled his eyes at the pair. He bent down to kiss Kuroo before heading upstairs to their shared bedroom. The older man was quick to follow.
“It’s not too too bad yet,” Akaashi mumbled. He seemed to forget about busting the guys for now, but Bokuto didn’t care about that anymore. He cared about taking care of his partner. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can do dinner anymore.”
“That’s okay!” Bokuto whispered for the sake of Akaashi’s head. “How about we just call it a night and head to bed?”
“Hmm,” Akaashi hummed against Bokuto’s neck. He loved the feeling of his hand running up and down his back, relieving the tension in his muscles. “Okay.”
While Akaashi got ready for bed, Bokuto went downstairs to grab him water and some medicine for his headache. He also managed to get Akaashi to eat, and thankfully Akaashi was too beat to ask why there was only one onigiri left.
“I’m sorry for ripping your pants,” Bokuto said, pulling his tee shirt off and discarding the jeans for a pair of sweats.
Akaashi scooped up Bokuto’s tee and replaced his sweater with it. He kicked off his pants until he was left in just his boxers. “It’s okay Bokuto.” When Bokuto kneeled on front of him on the bed, Akaashi cradled his head in his hands. “I’m just relieved to be home. I’ve been missing you.”
“It’s been a while since we’ve just taken a day to relax together. I’ve missed you too.” Bokuto leaned his back against the headboard so Akaashi could relax against him. The brunette curled up next to his legs, head resting on his thigh. He pressed a kiss to the muscles and smiled softly, “I can see why they ripped.”
“Oh hush,” Bokuto snorted. His hand brushed away the soft curls near Akaashi’s temple before he leaned over and planted a kiss there. “You want a back rub?”
Akaashi peeped up at Bokuto. “If you don’t mind?”
“You know I don’t.” Was Bokuto’s reply. He got up from his spot while Akaashi rolled onto his stomach. He took a moment to admire the outline of Akaashi’s body through his shirt; the curve of his hips, the toned lines of his legs. Bokuto loved every aspect of Akaashi, and the body that housed his beautiful soul was one he would always adore.
He got to work on his tired boyfriend. Bokuto started at the back of his head, massaging the muscle down to the base of his neck, and then his shoulders. He used his knuckles to gently press into any knots he found on his back. Once he got to the small of Akaashi’s back, he pressed a kiss to his spine before starting to move back up. Akaashi’s satisfied sighs and shivers let him know he was not disappointing.
“Mmh, don’t stop,” Akaashi mumbled into his pillow. Before Bokuto could respond, Akaashi pulled his shirt over his head and threw it to the floor.
Bokuto felt his cheeks grow hot. “What are you doing?”
“I like feeling your hands,” Akaashi’s lips curved into a calm smile as he looked at Bokuto over his shoulder. “They’re warm.”
Normally Bokuto would’ve gotten very turned on at that. But he knew better, and right now Akaashi’s comfort was his top priority. So, Bokuto got back to work. While he rubbed Akaashi, he marveled at the smoothness of his skin. Every so often he peppered kisses down the contours of his body.
Akaashi shared the details about his day with Kenma during his massage, though Bokuto could tell how tired he was by the amount of times he got off-topic. Whenever the brunette was exhausted, he would yawn his way through the most random of tangents. It was the most adorable thing Bokuto had ever seen.
After twenty minutes, Bokuto heard gentle snores escape Akaashi’s parted lips. He carefully readjusted his boyfriend’s body so he wouldn’t wake up in pain the next morning. When they were settled Bokuto pulled the sleeping man into his arms and kissed his hair. The tranquil evenness of Akaashi’s breathing lulled him off to sleep.
—-
The next morning, Bokuto woke up to the smell of food coming from downstairs.
Oh, no .
He launched himself out of bed, which was void of Akaashi. Not bothering with a shirt he ran down the steps in his sweatpants.
Bokuto found Akaashi in the kitchen, apron on and a spatula in hand. His hair was a jungle of curls atop his head, and sleepy eyes blinked behind glasses. The brunette was once again in Bokuto’s shirt and a pair of old volleyball shorts.
It would’ve been a cuteness overload if Bokuto wasn’t fearing for his life right now.
Akaashi padded across the kitchen on socked feet, depositing fresh pancakes on a tray as he hummed along to the music playing from the small speaker on the counter. “Good morning.”
“Morning,” Bokuto smiled, walking into the kitchen and dropping his chin onto Akaashi’s shoulder. “Need any help?”
“I’m almost done, but thank you.” Akaashi’s hands walked up Bokuto’s neck into his hair as he kissed him sweetly on the mouth. “Can you turn on the TV? I wanna watch something while we eat.”
Bokuto paused mid-kiss, eyes fluttering open. “Uh, sh-shouldn’t we wait for Tetsu and Kenma to eat?” He asked. “They’ll be hungry too.”
“Oh, they’re fine,” Akaashi pulled away from Bokuto and went to the stove to shut it off. He took two plates and started putting bacon on both of them. “Kenma already ate and went back to bed. I fed Kuroo before he left to get the new TV.”
“Ohhh, yeah! I forgot,” Bokuto laughed. He thanked Akaashi and took the plate he offered him.
Only after Bokuto had sat down at the counter and started eating did he process what Akaashi said.
The fork holding his next bite froze midair, pancake falling back down onto the plate. Bokuto pursed his lips, not entirely sure if it was safe to meet Akaashi’s gaze.
“I’m impressed honestly,” Akaashi rested a hip against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t think you’ve ever successfully lied to me before.”
The fork fell from Bokuto’s hands. God, did it feel bad to get busted. Guilt blossomed in his stomach. He wasn’t proud of hiding this from Akaashi at all.
“I went to turn on the TV this morning, but when I used the remote nothing happened.” Akaashi’s gaze burned holes through Bokuto. “When I asked Kuroo why there was a sheet over it he kept dodging the question.”
Bokuto fidgeted in his seat.
“You know I knew something was up last night. Naturally, I went and looked at it myself, because when someone breaks something by accident they shouldn’t hide it, correct?”
Akaashi came to stand next to his boyfriend. “Y-yes sir,” Bokuto said shyly.
The brunette laughed. Sometimes, Bokuto really did remind him of a mischievous puppy caught doing something bad. “Not only did I almost step in glass,” Akaashi began. He removed something white from the pocket of his apron. “I also found this Wii remote literally protruding from the TV. Care to explain it got there?”
“I’m sorry!” Bokuto blurted out. He grabbed Akaashi’s hands, staring up at him with big, glassy eyes. “Tetsu and I were playing Just Dance because we were bored! I forgot to put the safety strap on and we were dancing and WHOOSH! It flew out of my hand and hit the screen!” Bokuto’s arms wrapped around Akaashi’s waist and pulled him in like a vice. “We didn’t tell you guys because we knew you’d be mad and we tried to fix it beh while you were gone. Please forgive us!”
Akaashi was squeezed so tight he felt his eyes might pop out of his head. “B-bokuto, can’t breathe.”
“Sorry! Sorry, again,” Bokuto released the other man. He stared up at him timidly, shifting in his seat. “I’m sorry for breaking the TV and for going behind your back. It was a stupid decision.”
Akaashi sighed, reaching out to stroke the athlete’s bed head. “You know we wouldn’t have been that mad if you had just told us.”
“But you’re so scary when you’re mad!” Bokuto whined. He took a pouty bite from his pancakes.
Akaashi laughed and grabbed his own plate, taking a small bite. “Hmm, and you’re a bad liar.”
“I’m sorrrryyyyyyyy.”
“Oh you will be,” Akaashi said coolly, “You and Kuroo will both be sorry when you’re doing all the chores this month.”
Bokuto shrugged, “I can’t even argue with that. We deserve it.” He looked up at Akaashi then, eyes big, “A-are you... still really mad?”
Akaashi laughed softly, setting down his fork. He came to Bokuto’s side, grabbing his empty plate to serve him seconds. “I couldn’t stay mad at you for long even if I tried.”
The volleyball player let out a soft whine.
“It’s okay,” Akaashi set the plate back down to pull Bokuto’s head into his chest, ruffling his hair affectionately. “I’m not upset anymore.”
A tiny smile pulled at Bokuto’s mouth. He propped his chin against Akaashi’s chest and looped his arms around him. “You sure?”
“I’m sure,” Akaashi kissed his nose. “Though I might need some more back rubs to keep me convinced.”
“I’ll do that for you!” Bokuto rubbed his face against Akaashi’s chest, uncaring of the apron with flour on it. “I’ll always do that for you no matter what. Anything you want I’ll do for you. I love you.”
Akaashi swiped away some flour from Bokuto’s cheek before planting a kiss there. “I love you too, Bokuto. Though... there is one other thing you could do for me, now that I’m thinking about it.”
Bokuto grinned up at him, “Just say the word and I’ll do it!”
Later that day, Bokuto and Kuroo performed the Rasputin dance until their legs gave out. Akaashi and Kenma clinked their glasses of wine together, phones in hand, recording the entire time.
Who said payback couldn’t be fun?