Being on the same team and be a brother as Bokuto Koutarou was always a little embarrassing. It came with territory — the volume, the dramatics, the sudden mood dips. But lately, it had become something else entirely.

Because now you were dating Akaashi Keiji.

And Bokuto hadn’t taken the news badly. No, that would’ve been too simple. Instead, he’d taken it personally — not with jealousy, not even with real possessiveness. Just a loud, unfiltered need to insert himself into every moment between you and Akaashi. Group lunches. Shared walks. Even a near-miss during your first official kiss behind the gym, when Bokuto had flung open the door looking for “his favorite two people.”

Akaashi hadn’t said anything at the time. He rarely did. But his jaw had tensed just enough for you to notice.

Tonight, though, you’d gotten away. Finally. You found refuge in the quiet back room of the school store. The lights were soft. The air still. Someone had left the radio humming faintly in another hallway. You closed the door, and it felt like shutting the world out.

Akaashi leaned back against the sink, arms crossed loosely, watching you.

He didn’t speak at first.

Then, voice low: “Bokuto-san is very annoying when it comes to you.”

You smiled, a little sheepish, hands fiddling with the hem of your uniform. You knew he didn’t mean it cruelly. Akaashi rarely said things without reason.

“He just… doesn’t want to lose me, I think,” you offered.

Akaashi’s gaze didn’t waver.

He nodded once. “I get it. He cares a lot.”

There was a pause — not of awkwardness, but of quiet honesty.

Then:

“But maybe he needs to learn to give you space.”

His tone softened further.

“It’s still annoying, though.”