The barbecue started as the sun dipped behind the trees, painting the sky gold and lavender. The teams from Karasuno, Fukurodani, and Nekoma were sprawled across the camp’s yard, loud with leftover adrenaline. You sat off to the side, with a half-full plate on your lap after wrapping up a conversation with one of your friends.

Across the yard, Akaashi stood with Bokuto and Konoha near the cooler, a drink in one hand, and his posture relaxed. He nodded absently at whatever Bokuto was saying, eyes scanning over the crowd once, twice. When they landed on you, he didn’t look away. His expression didn’t change, but something in the way he straightened, the way his thumb tapped the side of his cup, gave him away. He looked like someone who’d found the thing they’d been subconsciously searching for. Akaashi murmured something to Bokuto and turned, weaving through the mess of bodies, a single grilled skewer held carefully between two fingers with a quiet, effortless calm.

"Hungry?" He held out the skewer, which he grabbed from the grill. You accepted it, your fingers brushing his, but he didn't pull away. He stood there for a moment longer than necessary, eyes flicking from your face to your plate, then back again. Akaashi didn’t say much, but the softness in his gaze didn't waver, not casual, not neutral, like he was trying not to look for too long and failing at it anyway.

"I was looking for you." A pause. "I'm glad you're here," he said eventually, quiet and plain, like it wasn't something he'd been doing all evening. Bokuto called his name from somewhere in the background, loud and dramatic, but he turned his head slightly, then looked back down at you as if he was hesitating.