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“So you’ve never seen any of the movies?”
Bokuto tapped his chin with his pencil, scrunching his nose as he thought about it. Papers were strewn across the café table he and Akaashi shared, Bokuto trying to organize lab data while Akaashi stuck to the edge of the table, finishing up an essay on his laptop.
“I’ve seen one or two when I was younger,” Bokuto finally said, waving his pencil in the air. “I forget which ones. I remember that scene where Anakin jumped out of that hoverboard car in that big city. Or was that Luke?”
Akaashi looked up from his screen, smiling slightly as he tapped his index finger idly on his laptop. “What?”
“Ah, I don’t remember,” Bokuto said, waving his hand airily. “The point is, I’m going back to the roots. I have to watch all of the movies in order before I can see the new one.”
“Do you think you can concentrate that long?”
“Hey!” Bokuto grinned, big and wide, his smile reaching all the way up to his eyes as he threw a crumpled up piece of notebook paper in Akaashi’s direction. “I can if it’s important!”
Akaashi laughed, gesturing at the papers scattered across their table. “So your lab isn’t important?”
“I’m working on it,” Bokuto said, immediately bending down to put pencil to paper. He scratched out a few numbers, all but indecipherable to Akaashi, before he looked up for a moment, grinning when he caught Akaashi looking.
Akaashi smiled back, dropping his eyes back down to his laptop screen. He and Bokuto had gone out on a few dates before this; to the park, a pizza shop, one long all-nighter in the ecology lab. It felt…nice. They worked together. He’d met Bokuto while working on his graduate degree, where they’d accidentally booked the same lab room one late night. Now they sat at one of the small cafes outside campus, equidistant from his and Bokuto’s apartment, sharing a table as they worked.
“Have you started watching any of them yet?”
“Nope.” Bokuto kept his eyes on his paper,” his pencil moving sloppily across the page. “Not yet.”
Akaashi ran his fingernail along the edge of his laptop, watching Bokuto’s hand move down the page. “Would you want to come over some time to watch the first one?”
Bokuto looked up, a grin plastered on his face as he caught Akaashi’s eye. “Really?” he said. “I can come over this weekend!”
Akaashi couldn’t help the smile working at the corner of his lips, as if Bokuto’s happiness were reflecting back on him. His wide eyes watched him earnestly, Bokuto looking excited by the proposition.
“Yes,” Akaashi said, biting his lip against his smile as his eyes dropped back to his laptop. “I’d like that.”
When he looked up, Bokuto gave him another grin, opening his mouth to say something else before he was interrupted by a sneeze, blowing snot across his papers as a woman behind them jumped at the sudden nose.
“Sorry,” Bokuto said, sniffing as he wiped at his papers halfheartedly with his sweatshirt sleeve.
Akaashi fished a tissue out of his bag, passing it across the table.
“Gesundheit,” he said, his face flat as he watched Bokuto dab at the booger stain.
***
“Akaashi…!”
Akaashi looked up from his laptop at the knocking on his door, padding across his apartment in socked feet to open the door.
“Bokuto,” Akaashi said, his smile faltering as he caught site of a wilted Bokuto, his eyes watery and his nose bright red as he ran the back of his hand across it.
“Akaashi,” Bokuto said, still offering him a wide grin even as he sniffled. “How are you?”
Akaashi opened the door farther, watching Bokuto without expression as he passed through the doorway and into the front room.
“Your place looks nice,” Bokuto said without waiting for a response, kicking his shoes off as he looked around Akaashi’s apartment, taking in the small dining table and kitchen, which opened up into a neatly arranged living room. “Much better than mine by the other side of campus.”
“Bokuto,” Akaashi said, trailing after him as he moved to drape his coat over one of the dining room chairs. “You didn’t have to come if you were sick.”
“I’m not sick,” Bokuto insisted, smiling even as he wiped at his nose again. “It’s allergies. I took some Benadryl before I drove over. Besides!” Bokuto felt around in his coat pockets, producing a DVD and another grin. “I brought the movie!”
“Allergies in the middle of winter,” Akaashi said, only raising his eyebrows slightly. Bokuto just grinned again, Akaashi not helping the smile that tugged on his lips, coming closer to place a hand over Bokuto’s.
“Hey,” Bokuto said, relaxing into the touch.
“Hi,” Akaashi said, closing his eyes for a moment as he let Bokuto pull him into a one armed hug, feeling the cold that still clung to him from outside. Bokuto sneezed over his head and he made a face, pulling the DVD from his hand before heading quickly for his living room.
He settled onto the couch, popping open the movie case as he heard Bokuto move around the kitchen, his feet padding across the tiled floor.
“You didn’t make any snacks…”
Akaashi looked up from his laptop, Bokuto watching him wistfully from the kitchen, practically pouting as he draped himself over the kitchen bar.
Akaashi slipped the movie into his CD drive, concentrating on connecting his TV to his laptop. “There’s a bowl of candy on the counter by the sink,” he said, not looking up as Bokuto let out an excited woop, bounding over to Akaashi with bowl in hand.
“You’re amazing,” Bokuto said, plopping down onto the couch beside him, Akaashi just managing to safely push his laptop onto the coffee table as he bounced slightly on the cushions. Bokuto offered him the bowl first, Akaashi taking a handful of candy bars at random, Bokuto gasping as he caught sight of what he’d bought.
“You got my favorite candy!” Bokuto said, throwing an arm around him excitedly, pulling him against his side. “How did you remember?”
Akaashi tried to worm himself out of Bokuto’s grip, pushing himself off Bokuto’s side as he laughed. “It’s not hard to forget. You always eat them.”
Bokuto hummed, Akaashi feeling the vibration in his chest before he sneezed again, Akaashi pushing himself up, scooting farther away on the couch.
“If you’re sick you stay on that side of the couch,” he said, leaning over to hit play on the movie as Bokuto pouted.
“I’m not sick,” Bokuto said again, giving Akaashi a dejected look as he spread out on the sofa, trying to take up as much room as possible. “I have allergies.”
“If you have allergies you stay on that side of the couch too,” Akaashi said, taking Bokuto’s socked feet and slipping them onto his lap.
“How am I supposed to ask questions about the movie if you’re so far away?” Bokuto said, adjusting his legs over Akaashi’s lap. “This is supposed to be my education to get ready for the new movie.”
“I can hear you just fine from here, Bokuto.”
“Do you promise?”
“I promise, Bokuto.”
Bokuto sniffed, giving Akaashi a watery smile before collapsing back onto the cushions, wriggling around until he lay with his head resting against the arm of the couch, his feet draped over Akaashi on the opposite end.
They were quiet for a few moments, both watching the opening scenes. Bokuto sniffed again from his side of the couch, coughing into his fist before glancing sheepishly at Akaashi.
“So how many Star Wars movies are there, exactly?”
Akaashi leaned his head onto the back of the couch, sighing as the music began to fade.
***
“Bokuto.”
Akaashi muted the movie as the credits began to roll, nudging Bokuto’s feet on his lap. He let out a soft snore, boogers catching in his nose before his breathing evened out again.
“Bokuto?”
Akaashi shook his feet a little harder, Bokuto shifting on the couch slightly. He’d fallen asleep with only a quarter of the movie left to go, his questions tapering off into sleepy mumbles, Akaashi not having the heart to wake him.
“Bokuto, the movie is over,” he said softly, leaning over to shake his shoulder gently. Bokuto shifted again, coughing as he brought a hand up to rub at his eyes.
“’s over already?” he said blearily, his voice rasping as he looked up at Akaashi. He coughed again, Akaashi wincing at the sound.
“Bokuto, I think whatever you took for your allergies made you tired,” Akaashi said.
Bokuto let his eyes drift closed again, letting his cheek rest against the cushions. “I don’t think I have allergies,” he said sleepily.
Akaashi bit his lip, trying not to laugh as Bokuto coughed pathetically.
“Sorry,” Bokuto said, his shoulder feeling hot even through his t-shirt as Akaashi leaned over him. “I’ll go home now.”
Bokuto started to sit up but Akaashi pushed his shoulder back down, rolling his eyes as he slipped Bokuto’s feet off his lap.
“You should stay here for the night,” Akaashi said, standing up from the couch. “You probably shouldn’t be driving.”
Bokuto rolled over onto his back, stretching his arms and legs out as he grinned up at Akaashi. “I should stay?” His voice was still raspy from sleep, his edges softer as he looked up at Akaashi, his hair smooshed up at an odd angle against the cushions.
“Yes,” Akaashi said simply, walking around the couch, disappearing into his bedroom as Bokuto watched him go. He dug around in his closet, pulling out a few blankets, pausing for a moment before going to his bed, taking one of his pillows with him.
When he walked back into the living room, Bokuto was still on the couch, his eyes closed as he rested a hand on his stomach. His breath whistled through his nose with every inhale, the sound amplified in the quiet of Akaashi’s apartment. Akaashi watched him for a moment, listening to his soft breathing, before putting the blankets on the edge of the couch, padding to the kitchen to fill a glass with water.
He walked quietly back to the couch, Bokuto shifting onto his side as he set the glass down on the coffee table in front of him.
“Thank you,” Bokuto said sleepily, Akaashi looking over to find his eyes cracked open, watching him.
“Of course,” Akaashi said softly, pulling the extra pillow down from the edge of the couch, gesturing for Bokuto to move for a moment. “Here,” he said, slipping it under his head. Bokuto hugged it to his face, flipping over to lay on his stomach.
“Smells like you,” he said, his voice muffled in the pillow. Akaashi just looked at him for a second, feeling his cheeks heat up before he glanced away, picking up the blankets he’d carried over.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Akaashi just said, unfolding the blanket and laying it over Bokuto. “Feel better.”
He shut his television off, its soft glow disappearing from the room, Bokuto now only a dark lump on the couch.
“Goodnight,” Bokuto said, sniffling into the pillow.
Akaashi only thought about washing his pillowcase fleetingly before he headed for his bedroom, barely managing to suppress a sneeze of his own.
***
Akaashi shifted in bed the next morning, listening to the sounds of his cupboard doors opening and closing with his eyes shut tight, trying to will away the headache pulsing behind his eyes. He sat up after a moment, his nose almost immediately dripping, and grabbed his blanket, draping it over his shoulders before heading for the kitchen.
Down the hallway, he could hear quiet humming, feet padding across the tile floor and the sound of a chair scraping back.
“Bokuto,” Akaashi said as he rounded the corner. “Morning.”
Bokuto looked up from his seat at the kitchen bar, giving him a grin as his feet dangled off the stool. He had a cup of water in front of him, half-full next to the phone he’d been scrolling through. “Good morning!”
Akaashi secured his blanket more tightly around his shoulders, giving him a smile before heading into the kitchen, pulling a box of decongestants from the cupboard. He took them back to the bar, sitting himself next to Bokuto as he watched him with wide eyes.
“Did I get you sick?” Bokuto bit his lip, looking down worriedly at him. “I’m so sorry, I’m horrible for coming over,” he said, throwing his arms dejectedly over the countertop. “And you even let me stay overnight infecting your house air with my sick germs.”
Akaashi fished out two decongestants, letting out a snort that was dangerously close to launching boogers. “My house air is fine.”
Bokuto peeked up at him from the counter, raising his head slightly. “But you’re sick now.”
Akaashi picked up Bokuto’s glass, swallowing the pills with water before sliding the box over to Bokuto. “It’s only a cold. You probably gave it to me at the café.”
Bokuto perked up, sitting taller in his chair as he picked up the box of decongestants. “Will these make me tired again?”
“Probably,” Akaashi said from over the rim of the water glass.
“I was so gone last night,” Bokuto said, cracking another grin as he reached for the glass. “I don’t even remember the end of the movie.”
“That’s because you fell asleep, Bokuto.”
“Oh yeah.”
Bokuto kicked his feet against the bar, turning to look at Akaashi with a smile.
“What?”
Bokuto rested his elbows on the counter, still just smiling at him. “It’s nice seeing you first thing in the morning.”
Akaashi scrunched his nose, letting his hand rest on Bokuto’s knee. “I like waking up and knowing you’re here.”
Bokuto wrapped an arm around Akaashi’s waist, pulling him closer so his stool scraped across the tile floor. “And I don’t have to worry about my sick germs infecting you anymore,” he said, leaning closer so his nose bumped Akaashi’s cheek.
“Because they already did,” Akaashi said, smiling as Bokuto pushed his face into his neck.
“We’ll make one big supergerm,” Bokuto said, Akaashi taking a sharp breath as Bokuto slipped his hand up the side of his pajama shirt.
“Gross.”
“Oops.” Bokuto pulled away quickly, reaching for a tissue, Akaashi feeling something wet on his neck.
“What did you—?”
Akaashi moved to wipe at the spot and Bokuto grabbed his hand, swiping at his neck with the tissue instead.
“Did you drool on me?”
“Whatever I did,” Bokuto said, sniffling. “We can forget about it. As long as we—”
Bokuto sneezed, a trail of bright green snot dripping from his nose.
Akaashi turned in his seat to look at Bokuto, his expression flat, Bokuto’s arm still around his waist. “Did you wipe your nose on my neck?”
“I didn’t actively wipe my nose on your neck! It was an accident!”
Akaashi let his forehead fall against Bokuto’s chest, sighing as he felt his sinus headache throb behind his eyes. “I’m going to take a shower,” Akaashi said, his words muffled against the soft fabric of Bokuto’s t-shirt. “You can help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”
“I can still stay even after I got snot on you?”
Akaashi wrapped his arms around Bokuto’s waist, closing his eyes for a moment. “I’ll allow it,” he said, letting go and standing up to leave.
“You don’t have other plans today?”
Akaashi wiped at his nose with the back of his hand, Bokuto watching him with wide eyes. “No,” he said, a smile at the corner of his lips. “We may as well be sick together.”
Bokuto beamed at him, his smile still reaching his eyes even as he gave another sniffle.
***
Akaashi lay curled up on his bed, scrolling through his phone as he listened to the shower run faintly through his bedroom door. It was warm under his comforter, Akaashi smiling as Bokuto occasionally hummed a few notes in the shower, the sound unfamiliar but pleasant in his usually quiet apartment.
He closed his eyes for a moment, his limbs heavy after the medicine and the shower steam worked its way through his system, his head feeling better but his body feeling so tired. After a while he heard the shower turn off, the silence suddenly ringing in his ears, and he shifted, stretching out in his bed.
A knock sounded faintly at his door and he sat up, Bokuto poking his head inside after a moment, smiling as his eyes found Akaashi.
“Hey,” he said, pushing the door open a little wider. Water still dripped off his hair, his bangs hanging over his forehead, making him look softer than usual. “Do you have a shirt I could borrow?”
Akaashi waved him in, pushing himself off the bed to rummage around in his dresser, pulling out an old college sweatshirt. When he turned around, he found Bokuto had wandered over to his bedside table, looking at the photographs Akaashi had set up neatly.
“Are you feeling better?”
Bokuto started as Akaashi came up behind him, resting his chin on his shoulder as he placed a hand softly on Bokuto’s bare waist.
“Much better,” Bokuto said, turning around too fast, bumping his head against Akaashi’s. “What about you?”
“Tired,” Akaashi said, letting the sweatshirt slip from his hands as Bokuto took it from him, tugging it on.
“It smells like you,” Bokuto said, pulling at the hem, holding it out to inspect the logo. He looked up at Akaashi, smiling as he fell forward, burying his head against Bokuto’s shoulder.
“You said that last night,” Akaashi said, his voice muffled in the soft fabric of the sweatshirt.
“Really?” Bokuto put his arms around Akaashi’s waist, squeezing him tight. “I don’t remember.”
“Not surprising,” Akaashi said, inching backwards until the backs of his knees hit the bed. Bokuto just hugged him closer, refusing to let him go.
“Did you like the movie last night?”
Akaashi sighed, smiling against Bokuto’s shoulder. “I’ve seen it before. Did you like it?”
“I loved it. Akaashi, why hasn’t anyone ever told me to watch these movies before?”
Akaashi picked his head up, looking up at Bokuto, feeling his arms wrapped strongly against his back. “It’s definitely a crime,” he said.
“Right? How many people have I known in one lifetime that’ve let me down? What other movies am I missing out on?”
“I guess you’ll never know,” Akaashi said.
Bokuto sighed heavily, closing his eyes dramatically. “That’s the worst part about my life. You never know what movies you’re missing out on until it’s too late.”
Akaashi laughed, pressing a quick kiss to Bokuto’s lips as his eyes were still closed in mourning. “That sounds terrible.”
Bokuto’s eyes flew open and he grinned, tackling Akaashi backwards onto the bed. “That was our third kiss,” he said, still clinging to Akaashi even as they landed awkwardly on the bed. He sat up suddenly, scrambling off Akaashi as he looked down at him, his pout almost comical in the dim of Akaashi’s bedroom.
“What?” Akaashi said.
“But you kissed me all three times!”
Akaashi lay on the bed, his fingers drumming against his comforter. “I did.”
“You should let me have a chance,” Bokuto said, his pout getting more indignant.
Akaashi shrugged. “Okay.”
“But I can’t do it when you’re looking at me!”
Akaashi stared up at Bokuto for a moment, his face blank, before he closed his eyes, feeling his body melt into the soft mattress. “Okay,” he said again.
He felt the mattress lift as Bokuto got up from the bed, Akaashi sighing as the sudden silence of the apartment enveloped him. He could feel Bokuto still in the room with him, but he kept his eyes closed, still tired from the medicine he took earlier. He’d be content to fall asleep right then.
The mattress dipped again and Bokuto brushed the hair from Akaashi’s forehead, exhaling before pressing his lips tentatively to Akaashi’s, pulling away slightly before giving him a firmer peck on the lips.
“How did that feel?”
Akaashi kept his eyes closed, feeling blissfully close to napping. “Like we both have stuffy noses.”
“Akaashi!” Bokuto pouted. “At least open your eyes before putting me down!”
“You’ll get snot on me again.”
“Akaaaashi!”
Akaashi opened his eyes, smiling slightly as he caught Bokuto hovering above him anxiously. He sat up, wrapping his arms loosely around Bokuto’s neck, trying to pull them both down. Bokuto resisted for a moment, still pouting, before he relented, both of them falling onto the mattress.
“You take all the good moments to kiss me first,” Bokuto said.
Akaashi closed his eyes. “I planned it that way,” he deadpanned.
“Akaashi.”
“Mm.”
Bokuto pulled Akaashi closer to him on the bed, pressing his lips against his neck, his collarbone, the drying strands of his hair tickling Akaashi until he laughed softly.
“You’re a very good kisser,” Akaashi said, when Bokuto finally pressed his lips against his.
“I already know that,” Bokuto said. “I just wanted to do it first.”
Akaashi rolled his eyes, turning around so his back was to Bokuto’s chest. Bokuto draped an arm over his waist, his breath warm against Akaashi’s neck.
“Please don’t get snot on me again,” Akaashi said, and Bokuto laughed, Akaashi feeling his chest expand.
They were quiet for a few moments, nothing but the sound of the two of them breathing in Akaashi’s small bedroom. Akaashi closed his eyes again, slightly amazed when Bokuto started to snore almost immediately, snuffling against his ear before steadying into a soft sound.
***
Akaashi woke suddenly, disconcerted as the mattress dipped next to him, somebody rustling the blankets. He’d just been dreaming, of something he couldn’t quite remember, but it felt like it was on the tip of his tongue. He turned over, sniffling as he rubbed his watery eyes, his sleepy brain trying to piece together where he was.
“Sorry,” Bokuto whispered next to him, his warm body sliding in next to his. “I didn’t mean to wake you up. I had to pee.”
Akaashi pushed himself up on one elbow, blinking blearily in the dim light. “Bokuto?”
“Sorry. You can go back to sleep.”
Akaashi squinted his eyes, still trying to remember what he’d been dreaming. “What are you doing here?”
Bokuto laughed, shifting on the bed. “You invited me here.”
Akaashi stared down at his pillow, a few moments passing. “I was having a dream.”
“Were you?”
Akaashi lay back down, his eyes falling shut. He could hear Bokuto humoring him, but he was too tired to tell him. “It was about—Bokuto.”
“Oh, man.” Bokuto snorted. “You are so out of it.”
“I’m not.” Akaashi felt his body start to drift off, his limbs feeling heavy. “’m dreaming.”
Akaashi felt arms encircle him, pulling him closer, and he sighed, tucking his body against the warmth.
“Do you still think you’re dreaming?”
“Mm.”
Warm lips pressed against Akaashi’s temple and Akaashi blindly pushed at Bokuto’s face, his tired limbs barely moving. “Got snot,” Akaashi mumbled, tucking his head under Bokuto’s chin.
Bokuto’s body shook with laughter, Akaashi barely registering it before he was asleep again.