Chapter Text
The loud screech of a whistle echoed off the walls of the small gym, grabbing the attention of the 7- and 8-year-olds hitting volleyballs back and forth to each other. They all ran over to the source of the noise, gathering around their coaches as excitement and anticipation shined on their faces. Well, most of their faces.
"Alright guys and gals, we're gonna split off into two teams and play a match for the rest of practice! Line up, and Hinata’s gonna count off by twos, okay? Ones will be on this side with me, twos will be on the other side with Hinata. Let’s get going!" Bokuto smiled happily as he was met with a chorus of "Yes sir!" and waited as Hinata divided them up. The only one who didn't look excited to play was Emiko, who was fiddling with her fingers as usual. Bokuto walked over quietly and lightly rested a hand on her shoulder while Hinata and his team raced to the other side of the court to get some practicing in before the game started.
"Emiko, aren't you excited to play?" He asked softly, tilting his head. She looked up at him silently, her light brown eyes boring into his gold ones. He waited patiently as she searched for the right words to say; for a 7-year-old, she really thought out her words before saying them, unlike most of the other players on the team. Finally, she glanced away and mumbled something, too quiet for Bokuto to hear over the sound of his fellow coach instructing his players excitedly through various warm ups.
"I'm sorry Emiko, would you mind speaking up a little?" He asked softly, earning a small sigh from the girl.
"Bokuto-san, I don't want to play... The others never let me play wing spiker because I'm a girl. They always make me set instead. I don't like setting, Bokuto-san..." Bokuto frowned. He didn't know this was an issue... It made him feel like a bad coach for not noticing her dissatisfaction sooner.
"I'll straighten them out, don't worry!" He stood up straight and puffed out his chest, like he always when he wanted to seem more authoritative. He walked over to Emiko's team, hands on his hips, and declared loud enough for everyone to hear that Emiko was to be a spiker, not a setter, and that his word was law. He turned to smile triumphantly with a thumbs-up directed toward a beet-red Emiko, who hurried over quietly, throwing a soft "thank you" his way as she got into position.
Walking off the court, Bokuto smiled to himself. He loved when his kids started developing preferences for where they wanted to be placed on the court, especially when they wanted to be wing spikers, like him. The game started and he watched quietly, mentally marking down who needed to work on what, unlike his co-coach, who was calling out plays and instructions left and right. He was beginning to realize that Emiko was actually really, really good at spiking, even if her aim was a little off, which was something he hadn’t noticed before due to her usually being her team’s setter. She was getting to pretty good heights when she jumped, and he could work with her on the power of her spikes as well as the aim, but overall, she really had a good base to start out with that could easily make her an amazing spiker, if not the ace of her team.
As the end of practice started getting closer and closer, Bokuto started getting antsy. He knew that Emiko's father, Akaashi, always arrived ten minutes before the end of practice to watch the last bit, and it was almost time. Akaashi was the most gorgeous man Bokuto had ever laid his eyes on. His dark, emerald green eyes, delicate features, and porcelain skin where enough to get Bokuto to almost fall into a trance whenever he looked at him, and needless to say, he had developed quite a large crush over the few months that Emiko had been on his team. He never had the courage to talk to him though, except for when Akaashi would ask how Emiko was progressing. He just seemed so intimidating, so untouchable, that Bokuto always lost his courage before he could even try.
Focusing intently on the game and trying not to let his nerves get to him, he didn’t even notice the absence of Hinata’s yelling until he was surprised with a whisper close to his ear.
“Bokuto, your crush has arrived.” His head snapped sideways toward Hinata, his eyes wide with shock. Firstly, Hinata had scared the shit out of him, whispering so close without him knowing he was there; secondly, since when did he know about Bokuto’s crush?? Hinata giggled a little and practically skipped away, something usual for any other 25-year-old to be doing, as Bokuto allowed himself to steal a glance toward the spot near the gym doors that he knew Akaashi was occupying. He always waited in the same spot, trying to remain unnoticed by his daughter and the other players, but there was no way for him to go unnoticed by Bokuto. He was actually surprised that he hadn’t noticed the gorgeous man enter until Hinata mentioned it; he usually had a pretty keen sense on whether or not Akaashi was in the same room as him.
He forced himself to turn his eyes back to his team, trying to concentrate on their movements again instead of Akaashi. By the time the game was over, however, he was struggling terribly with trying not to steal another glance at his crush. He stood when the final point was scored, making his team the winners, and waited on the sidelines as they all shook hands under the net. He and Hinata walked to the middle of the court to give some feedback and congratulate them on a well-played game before helping them clean up. Since they were still pretty little, he and Hinata took down and put away the net neatly, while the kids cleaned up stray volleyballs and mopped the floors, before rushing to their parents, who had started filing in shortly after the game ended. Bokuto found himself following Emiko with his eyes as she ran up to her father, who caught her in a tight hug, a warm smile gracing his perfect lips. Bokuto sighed softly, wishing he could be at the receiving end of that smile. Hinata chuckled from where he was standing on Bokuto’s right, a mischievous smile dancing on his lips.
“Why don’t you go talk to him, Bokuto? You could tell him about Emiko’s natural skill for spiking, you know, start a conversation that way.” Bokuto bit his lip, thinking it over, but before he could decide, he realized Akaashi and Emiko were already approaching him, and Hinata had suddenly disappeared from his side. Trying to hold back his giddiness at the prospect of his crush speaking to him, he tried to throw on a warm, easy smile as they stopped a few feet in front of him.
“Hey there, Emiko. You played really well today!” Bokuto’s praise caused a slight blush of embarrassment to grace the young girl’s cheeks as she held onto her father’s hand tighter and looked down at the gym floor. At this, Akaashi lightly squeezed her hand and smiled softly down at her.
“Emiko, don’t you have something to say to Bokuto-san?” He asked softly, and Bokuto could nearly feel his heart melting. His voice was just so angelic, Bokuto wanted to hear more and more of it. No wonder he was a teacher; his voice just made you want to listen. Upon hearing her father’s words, Emiko looked up quietly, her eyes slightly hidden behind her auburn bangs.
“Thank you for letting me play wing spiker, Bokuto-san. I really enjoyed it.” Bokuto’s nervous smile bloomed into a huge grin, which only made Emiko cast her gaze down again.
“Of course! You really have a talent for spiking, Emiko; I’m really glad you asked me to put you there in the first place!” He was practically beaming, knowing that he had helped the ever-stoic Emiko enjoy practice. Akaashi smiled up at him, his eyes warm. Bokuto felt his breath catch a bit; his eyes were so gorgeous, and he felt like he was in a trance.
“Really, thank you, Bokuto-san. I’ve never seen Emiko so happy before, and I know it was thanks to you letting her play the position she wanted.” Bokuto wasn’t quite sure how Akaashi could tell Emiko was happy, but even he could feel an upward shift in her usual attitude. When Emiko had first joined his volleyball team, she had been almost completely silent for the first few weeks, which made it difficult for her to fit in. Bokuto could understand, though; upon joining, Akaashi had informed him that he had recently adopted Emiko, and that she was still adjusting to her new life here with him. He had been hoping that by getting her to join a club, she would be able to make some new friends who shared her same interests, but being as shy as she was, especially since she was still adjusting, made it difficult for her to relate to any of her fellow teammates. But day by day, Bokuto had noticed her slight improvement on that front, and had really noticed it today with her request to be wing spiker. She was adjusting well, and he was glad he was able to help with that.
“Of course, Akaashi-san! It’s my job to make sure kids are able to play what positions they want to play, and find out what clicks for them! Emiko has a real knack for spiking; I don’t think the other kids are gonna make her play setter anymore.” He smiled wide, and felt his cheeks heat up when Akaashi smiled back at him, a bit wider than before.
“Well, we have to get going. Have a nice night, Bokuto-san. We’ll see you tomorrow.” As Akaashi and Emiko left, Bokuto took some deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He just had a full conversation with Akaashi! Akaashi had thanked him! Akaashi said that he would see him tomorrow! He smiled wide, practically glowing with excitement as he grabbed his bag. Hinata bounced over, a knowing smile gracing his mouth.
“Well, that was exciting. I don’t think you’ve ever talked to Akaashi-san for that long, except for when Emiko first joined. How’re you holding up?” He patted Bokuto on the back, none too gently, and Bokuto let out a loud, ringing laugh.
“I feel great! Did you see that smile he gave me? I felt like I was blessed by an angel! How could I not feel great after that?” Hinata laughed as they started walking out together. As Bokuto locked up, Hinata checked his phone, humming softly.
“Hey, Kageyama wants to know if you wanna join us for dinner tonight? He says Oikawa and Iwaizumi might come over too, so you’re more than welcome.” Bokuto looked up at him after sliding the gym keys back in his bag and smiled.
“Sure! I’ll just follow you back to your apartment, then!” He loved when Hinata invited him back for dinner; since he lived alone, it could get pretty lonely, and he was sure Hinata could easily pick up on that, since he asked Bokuto to come over almost every night. Plus, when Oikawa joined them, he always brought over the good brand of wine, which Bokuto was always grateful for after a long day of work and volleyball practice.
Arriving at Hinata’s apartment complex about ten minutes later, he followed his little co-coach up to his apartment and found himself thinking back to Akaashi’s angelic smile. He just couldn’t get that man out of his head, although he wasn’t really complaining. They walked inside and were immediately greeted by Kageyama ordering Hinata to go shower before their other two guests arrived. Chuckling, Hinata pulled off his shoes by the door before bouncing into the kitchen to place a sloppy kiss on his boyfriend’s cheek as a hello. Bokuto smiled and pulled off his shoes as well before walking in behind Hinata.
“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna kiss you, too.” He chuckled and Kageyama looked over at him, the ghost of a smile across his lips as Hinata walked out of the kitchen to go shower, as his boyfriend requested.
“Good, I don’t think my boyfriend would like that very much.” He chuckled softly and went back to cutting up vegetables for what Bokuto assumed to be the curry that was going to accompany the rice he could smell in the rice cooker. He leaned on the counter and looked around quietly; he was never really good at talking with Kageyama when Hinata wasn’t in the room, but he figured he’d try anyway.
“Thanks for inviting me over; I’m always a sucker for your cooking.” He chuckled softly and smiled when he saw Kageyama smile down at the food he was preparing.
“Thanks, Bokuto. You know you’re always welcome.” Bokuto felt his heart warm up at Kageyama’s words. For someone who always seemed so irritated, he sure was nice. He was about to voice his thanks for a second time when a knock at the door caused Kageyama to glance at him.
“Would you mind getting that? I’m sure it’s Oikawa and Iwaizumi.” Bokuto nodded and walked to the door. He opened it, revealing the two men he was expecting to see. Oikawa beamed as Bokuto backed up to let them inside and pulled off his shoes as he greeted him.
“Ya-hoo, Bokuto-chan. It’s nice to see you again.” His usual charming smile danced across his lips as he walked past Bokuto to put the wine he was holding in the kitchen. Bokuto smiled warmly in return before turning to Iwaizumi, who smiled softly and shook his hand.
“Hey, Bokuto. How’s work treating you?” Bokuto was currently working for a sports magazine, reporting on and interviewing up-and-coming sports stars. He beamed happily.
“It’s going great. How’s the bakery?” Iwaizumi and Oikawa ran a bakery together, aptly named The Grand King Bakery. Iwaizumi chuckled, walking into the kitchen with Bokuto to join his fiancé.
“It’s going great; we’re going to introduce a new cookie soon, right before the cherry blossoms start to bloom. It’s decorated to look like a cherry blossom and the icing is slightly cherry blossom scented, and is vanilla-flavored. The actual cookie is a cherry-flavored sugar cookie, and it’s pastel pink. It’s really good, I think it’ll sell well.” Bokuto beamed happily, and was going to reply that it sounded delicious when Oikawa spoke first.
“Of course it’ll sell well, Iwa-chan, it was your idea. Your ideas always work out.” He smiled wide, brimming with pride for his lover. Iwaizumi blushed bright red and looked down, embarrassed from the praise he received, but smiling all the same. Oikawa chuckled and kissed his cheek before going back to his conversation with Kageyama. Bokuto smiled warmly, ignoring the soft pangs of longing that he could feel in his heart from being the only single guy here. He wanted a relationship, sure, but he wasn’t gonna let that affect his happiness for his friends.
“I’m glad you guys are doing so great. You know, Kuroo was telling me that being right by your bakery has really helped out his tattoo shop, since you guys draw so much business. I mean, who doesn’t want to get a tattoo and then get a nice, warm pastry afterwards to ease their pain?” He chuckled, and Iwaizumi joined him with a chuckle of his own. The two talked casually about work-related stuff, and Hinata soon joined them all in the kitchen, fresh from his shower and already complaining about being hungry. They soon ate and enjoyed a glass of wine (or three), and Bokuto couldn’t help but feel grateful for his life.
However, he couldn’t shake the image of those gorgeous emerald eyes, not even after his third glass of wine. He knew that even though his life was pretty amazing, there was still a piece that he felt was missing, and that piece could possibly be filled by a raven-haired, porcelain-skinned beauty, who he felt himself falling for more and more every day.