#livecement

Kuroo takes the hand, and regrets it instantly.  Bokuto's fingers are calloused but sticky, though Kuroo doesn't know if the reason is sweat or the popsicle.  He's not sure which he'd rather it be.

They take careful steps around the rest of Nekoma, Kuroo stifling laughter as Bokuto almost trips over one of Lev's legs.  Bokuto reaches the door first, and disappears in the two seconds it takes Kuroo to catch up.  When he does, Bokuto's at the end of the hall, running eagerly around the corner.

Kuroo curses under his breath, and takes off after him.  He follows, a right, a left, another left, out the door.  The outside air hits him like a wall.  He feels the back of his neck prickling with sweat, and tugs the shirt away from his torso, trying to catch his breath.  He squints into the dark, hearing nothing but the cicadas calling from the trees.  "Bo--?"

"Here!"

Kuroo whirls, and sees the outline of a body illuminated by the light of an old vending machine.  He jogs over, cursing.  "What's with the running?  It's the middle of the night, I'm hot, I'm sweaty--”

Bokuto frowns at the vending machine.  He's done with the popsicle at this point, simply chewing on the stick as he shakes the machine with both hands.  His lips and chin are stained blue, along with the rest of his fingers.  "I found this thing, and I gave it my last money, but it only gave me one popsicle instead of two, and--and I want what I paid for."  He gives the machine one more fruitless shake.  "But it's stuck. I needed more hands."

Kuroo's exhausted, and way too hot, but he laughs.  He steps up beside Bokuto, resting his chin on Bokuto's shoulder.  He taps curiously at one of the vending machine's buttons, to no avail, and sighs.  "You wear me out, kid."

Bokuto shrugs, bumping Kuroo's chin with the movement.  "I'll give you a lick if you help," he bargains.

Kuroo snorts, biting his tongue on the innuendo.  "So generous."  He steps aside anyways, bracing his hands on one side of the machine and gesturing for Bokuto to do the same.  After a bit of coordination, they find a decent position, and Kuroo counts a soft one, two, three before they begin rocking the thing.  

It takes them three rocks before the machine teeters a bit too precariously on one end, and Kuroo panics, pushing back with too much force.  It slams into the side of the building, creating a loud bang that echoes toward the trees and back.  Kuroo figures they may as well have woken the entire training camp.  It's dead silent for three seconds afterwards, before something drops within the machine with a tiny clunk.

Kuroo slaps a hand to his mouth to stifle his laugh, and Bokuto bursts into a fit of giggles.

"Oops," Bokuto says, and bends to collect the popsicle.  He unwraps it and takes a lick, eyes closing in pure enjoyment.

"Thanks," he says, lips turning from blue to purple.  "Your help was greatly appreciated."  He extends the popsicle in Kuroo's direction.  "Have some?  A token of my gratitude."

Kuroo dodges the popsicle, taking a step closer.  "Or I could have something else in exchange," he says, pushing Bokuto's arm out of the way and pressing a kiss to Bokuto's cheek.

Bokuto's brows crease in confusion before, "Oh."  He giggles, having more of his popsicle.  "Oh, bro--"  He laughs again.  "So suave, Kuroo.  Such a flirt, such a ladie's man."

"Shut up, just kiss me--" he all but whines, because Bokuto's grape-stained lips are looking more appealing each minute, and they might likely have two minutes before both of their coaches come running out of the building from the racket of the vending machine.

Bokuto humors him, lips an icy cold that complement the heat oh-so-perfectly.  "Happy?"

Bokuto Koutarou had done some crazy things in his life. He'd streaked through Shinzen’s Third Gym in nothing but his knee pads. He'd dyed his hair silver in order to look like a horned owl. He'd once attempted to eat enough meat to equal the weight of a cow (he failed and the subsequent hospital visit made sure he never tried again). But the craziest thing he'd ever done, in his opinion, was to fess up to a three year long crush on his best friend and former teammate, Akaashi Keiji.

The fact that Akaashi had said yes had nearly sent Bokuto to the hospital, because he swore his heart stopped the moment Akaashi blushed and said he felt the same way.

What followed was a series of dates when they could find the time. Between classes, practice, and studying there weren't many opportunities for the two of them to get together.

Their first date ended in near disaster when a sudden storm rained out their walk in the park. Akaashi spent the following week with a fever and sore throat. On their second date Bokuto got a mild case of food poisoning that took him out for three days. Both of them agreed to never discuss their third date again and made a pact to kill anyone who ever found out about it.

All of this led Bokuto think that perhaps he and Akaashi just needed to forgo all the usual ‘date’ plans and just do what they had always done—which was simply spend time together. Now they could just add other activities to the mix.

Bokuto checked himself in the mirror for a fifth time before ducking when he caught a glimpse of his roommate Kuroo tossing something at him; a balled up piece of paper bounced harmlessly off the wall.

“You're gonna break it if you keep staring like that,” he said with a smile.

“Speaking from personal experience there, Kuroo?”

“Ha! It only shattered ‘cause it knew no other reflection would ever compare to mine.”

“That or it broke trying to figure out what happened to your hair!”

“I thought we agreed neither of us had any right to comment on the other’s hair?”

Bokuto pursed his lips together and looked up at his own spiky locks. “Fair point. Speaking of outrageous hair, when's Kenma coming by?”

Kuroo checked his cell, “He was just getting on the train ten minutes ago, so probably within the next fifteen.”

“I'll be going then. I figure Akaashi won't mind if I'm early.”

“You gonna finally go for it?” Kuroo asked with a smirk.

Bokuto grinned and puffed up his chest. “Third time's the charm!”

“I thought this was your fourth?”

“Nope!” Bokuto replied, quickly heading towards the door.

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely,” he said with an air of finality and a wide-eyed stare. He gave a wave and was soon out the door. Kuroo thought to himself that he could have sworn Bokuto had mentioned a third date, but a sudden chill down his spine convinced him to let that train of thought go.

***

Akaashi Keiji was a cautious man. He applied careful thought to his decisions and was by no means a rash person. He was careful, analytical, and reasonable… except when it came to Bokuto Koutarou.

The wild haired man burst into his life when Akaashi was only fifteen, and within four years had cemented himself as a permanent presence. They'd gone from teammates to best friends in a matter of months. That friendship soon bloomed into much stronger feelings. Feelings that Akaashi tampered down and did his best to ignore for nearly two years.

Akaashi was careful, reasonable, and took his time when it came to making decisions. That was until the day Bokuto looked at him and spilled all the words Akaashi always imagined he would bring himself to finally say.

“Felt this way for a long time… wasn’t sure how to say it… I know we've never discussed our… sexualities… but I can't keep quiet and I'm afraid to lose you but I'm more afraid of you never knowing how I really feel.”

Akaashi had silenced Bokuto with a quick peck on the corner of his mouth and a blushing smile.

Unfortunately, that had been the one and only time their lips had even come close to touching. Between the catastrophes that had been their dates and Akaashi’s general shyness, they had not gone beyond hand holding and what once felt like a platonic kiss on the cheek. Akaashi told himself it was nothing to fuss about. He was sure there were plenty of couples who took their time, and a kiss was only a kiss. It wasn't like it was the foundation to having a relationship.

Akaashi was also aware that he was lying to himself, but no one else needed to know that. He was thankfully drawn out of those incessant thoughts by a knock on the door. He was pleasantly surprised to find the object of his musings on the other side of the door.

“Bokuto, you're early?”

“Hey hey Akaashi. Kenma was on his way and I figured I'd give him and Kuroo their alone time.” Bokuto strolled in and Akaashi took the chance to admire the view. Bokuto had the uncanny ability to make everything he wore look damn near sinful with the way the fabric stretched over his muscles.

“Where's your roommate?”

“Ah, he went home for the weekend. Something about a family birthday.”

“So,” Bokuto said with an expression that bordered on leering, “it's just you and me here.”

“Yes,” Akaashi replied carefully. He felt heat rising in his chest and was suddenly overcome with the urge to run, or fling himself at the man standing in front of him. Really either option was good.

“Akaashi,” Bokuto said softly, coming closer and taking his hand, “we keep trying to go out on these dates. And I keep building it up in my head how it should go.”

“We do seem to have bad luck in that area,” Akaashi replied, letting Bokuto entwine their fingers. He held back a gasp as Bokuto brought his other hand to his lips and pressed a kiss against his knuckles.

“Well, it's just you and me here. We could… order out, curl up on the couch… and…” They were inches apart and Bokuto brought his face next to Akaashi’s. He could feel warm breath ghost across his cheek as soft lips pressed below his ear. “Keiji.”

“Yes.”

“Kiss me,” he whispered his voice hoarse with need.

Akaashi Keiji used to think a good first kiss was one that occurred after a successful evening. There was the usual small talk, the I had a great time speeches and then finally a chaste meeting of lips that might be prompted to go further. He decided that that train of thought was utter bullshit and my god what was he thinking?

This was how a first kiss was meant to be. His mouth meeting Bokuto’s in a sudden frenzy. It was teeth grazing over lips with the occasional bite. It was Bokuto's tongue sliding into his mouth prompting him to moan. It was hands grasping at hair, heads tilting, and gasps of pleasure. His first kiss with Bokuto was every feeling he'd spent years building up for the man in one moment of absolute bliss.

Akaashi pulled back and smiled, pressing his forehead against Bokuto’s and laying his arms over the other man's shoulders. “That was…”

“Amazing, astounding, wonderful, transcendent?”

“Perfect,” he said with a breathy laugh. “Absolutely perfect.”

“I would very much like to continue doing that. Unless of course you still want to go on a real date?”

Akaashi smiled and kissed Bokuto softly. “I'm here, you're here, one phone call and we can have food sent here. Sounds like a date to me.”