With trembling hands, the no longer mysterious boyfriend took Kenma's phone into his grasp. He had to swallow a couple of times to get his voice working before he read the text aloud, his voice shaking. "'I texted Bokuto half the truth as well but figured you deserve an explanation too. I'm probably going home today, going to use a work emergency as an excuse. Told Bo I would turn my phone off but I know you would kill me so that's not happening. Just need to clear my head a bit without everyone badgering me. Might not actually go home, I don't know, I just need space to try and figure out what I did wrong, what I did to make Keiji not trust me and not want to be with me anymore. And that is impossible to do around everyone. Could you maybe try asking Keiji what went wrong? Actually, never mind. Uh, I'll keep you updated on if I stay or leave but either way I'll see you later.'"

Kenma snatched his phone back from Akaashi, scrolling for a second before bringing his glare away from his phone screen and back to Akaashi. "His phone is on but his location is off. I'm giving you til sunset to find him and fix this or I'm taking back my blessing and getting a restraining order on Kuro's behalf."

"A restraining order is a bit extreme, don't you think, Kenma?" Bokuto inserted himself between the angry blond and his best friend, not trusting Kenma to not throw a punch or two. Not that he would blame him if he did, Bokuto was annoyed with Akaashi himself, but he didn't think violence would help anyone at that moment.

"No." Kenma snapped. "It would be the only way for Kuro to get over him. That idiot would go running back into his arms in a heartbeat if he so much as looked at him. And I am not going to watch Kuro get his hopes up just to have his heart crushed again. So, Akaashi, since the break up is still fresh I am giving you this day. But if you don't fix it you're done."

Akaashi nodded numbly, running a hand through his curls. "Okay, okay, yeah. I'm going to head into town to look for him right now." He paused on his way to put on his shoes, shaking his head to clear the fog. "Wait, but we didn't break up?"

"Then why does Tetsu-chan think you have?" Oikawa got off the couch to grab his shoes as well, answering Akaashi's unvoiced question with a scoff. "I had a part to play in this little hiccup in your relationship so I'm going to help you fix it. Now, why does he think you guys broke up?"

Accepting the brunet's help, Akaashi continued on his way to put his shoes on, barely paying the others any mind when they did the same. "W-we had a fight during the laser tag game and I...I was cold to him before that. Didn't really explain myself or let him do the same...oh, shit." He lifted his head from tying his shoes to gaze at the others with tears in his panicked eyes. "I really fucked up, didn't I?"

"Probably, but we are going to fix this." Suga patted Akaashi on the back with a reassuring smile. "You can explain the whole thing while we look for Kuroo and we'll help you figure out how to then tell Kuroo, yeah?"

Akaashi nodded, allowing himself to be dragged to one of the two cars they were going to use, all of them cramming into what should've been spacious vehicles. Once everyone was seated, Akaashi tried calling Kuroo's phone, and the call immediately went to voicemail. Before he could panic even more than he already was, Iwaizumi took the phone from him, pulling out his own to call Hinata in the other car.

"To keep everyone updated."

Hinata answered on the first ring, informing Iwaizumi that he was on speaker, the brunet doing the same. The redhead asked where they should start searching first, Akaashi taking a moment to consider his options. He decided that it would be best to park downtown and scour the area on foot rather than waste time and gas driving aimlessly. Nobody objected to his plan, choosing to instead inquire more about the situation.

Biting his bottom lip, Akaashi took a couple seconds to collect his thoughts before explaining everything that led up to where they were. "Where should I start?"

"Let's focus on the beginning of the current predicament. They can grill you and Kuroo on the details of your relationship once you make up." Daichi suggested from the driver's seat.

"Right, of course." Akaashi inhaled and exhaled slowly, his hand going to his hoodie pocket. "I guess it started when I impulsively instigated the investigation - "

"Ha! I knew it!" Suga interrupted, high fiving Oikawa before apologizing for interrupting and gesturing for Akaashi to continue with his story.

"It was stupid of me. I guess I...I don't know, I wanted to trick him into being the first to admit to our relationship to the rest of the group." Akaashi let out a humorless chuckle. "That backfired."

"That reminds me...who knew about ya two before this trip?" Suna called through the speaker, shuffling in his seat to be heard better.

"Suga-chan and I helped Akaashi ask Tetsu-chan out. We coached him for months . He was so nervous, it was honestly kind of cute." Oikawa smiled fondly, lacing his fingers with Suga's.

"I had to listen to Kuro pine over Akaashi for forever. When the lovesick monologues stopped it wasn't hard to figure out what had happened." Bokuto voiced afterwards that he had the same experience as Kenma, just from the other half of the couple.

Daichi confessed that he had had the unfortunate experience of walking in on the couple when he entered Kuroo's dorm to return notes without knocking, the image of his ex in such a compromised position forever burned in his brain. This led to multiple scandalized and betrayed gasps from those that were part of the investigation, all of them having similar reactions as Hinata had when he found out. Daichi expertly shifted the conversation away from his supposed betrayal and back onto Akaashi, asking him to continue with his tale.

"I let my competitiveness cloud my judgment and I honestly thought it would be fine at first. But I guess I overestimated my ability to detach and compartmentalize and I also underestimated my possessiveness and jealousy." Akaashi sighed, going to check his phone again before remembering that Iwaizumi had taken it.

Osamu was piecing together the information Akaashi was giving them, coming to the conclusion that Akaashi was getting overly jealous and upset with Kuroo due to his own actions and that was why he had begun to act cold towards his boyfriend, his attitude being the catalyst for their fight in the laser tag arena. Akaashi confirmed as much when Osamu voiced his thoughts, citing that their fight is definitely what made Kuroo sleep on the couch which - combined with everything else happening between them - led to his foul mood and exhaustion, further putting off them discussing their problems.

They fell silent after that, those not in the know beforehand itching to ask questions but understanding that it was not the right time yet. It didn't take them long after that to reach the town, the cars barely in park before they all jumped out of the vehicles to regroup on the sidewalk. Iwaizumi finally returned Akaashi's phone to him and he immediately tried calling Kuroo once more. It went to voicemail again but this time it rang until it became a missed call, giving Akaashi a small spark of hope.

The distressed man checked his boyfriend's location on his own phone, his heart sinking back down when he noticed that the other had yet to turn it back on. He informed the others of this fact, letting them know that they would have to search for Kuroo the old fashioned way but to not stop occasionally trying his phone as well.

With their mission in mind the friends split up to search the town, asking all shop owners and workers if they had seen Kuroo, definitely earning some suspicion from some locals while others offered up honest answers. One of the workers in a small bakery told them that she had seen Kuroo about twenty minutes prior, having a conversation about his plans for the day. Kuroo had told the woman that he was renting a cabin with friends just outside the town but he was heading home soon, just stopping by the bakery for breakfast.

Kenma thanked the woman, exiting the shop while calling the others to have them regroup by the bakery. Once everyone was gathered a couple minutes later Kenma informed them what he and Hinata had heard, also adding in a couple bits of information that they had overlooked so far.

"We came here in four cars, right? All four cars were at the cabin when we left this morning. But you know what wasn't at the cabin? Most of Kuro's things." Kenma eyed the others, waiting to see if they were understanding what he was implying.

"So we are looking for a Kuroo with a wheelie suitcase?" Bokuto scratched the back of his head, brow furrowed in confusion.

Kenma sighed, turning to see if Akaashi had figured it out. Judging by the way he started to sprint back to the cars he had understood what the blond was getting at. The others all turned when they saw Kenma start following Akaashi, all of them asking what was going on.

It wasn't until they were all crammed back into the cars that the duo explained what was happening. "He had said he was heading home soon and was just stopping by for some breakfast, yet he didn't take any of the cars into town. So how is he getting home?" Akaashi turned to Daichi, speaking so the other car could hear him through the phone. "Sawamura-san, go to the nearest train station."

The brunet did not wait another moment, pulling out of his parking spot to ignore speed limits in order to reach the train station. While they were driving Oikawa was looking up the train schedule, urging Daichi to go faster when he noticed the next departing train heading in the direction of Kuroo's apartment would be leaving within ten minutes.

Once again they barely waited for the cars to be parked before they jumped out and ran into the building, heads swiveling around as they tried to locate their runaway friend. Atsumu was in the middle of asking Daichi to use his power as a cop to get them to stop the trains when the announcement that Kuroo's train was arriving in two minutes came through the speakers, thankfully listing the track it was arriving on as well.

Nobody hesitated to sprint in the direction of the tracks, the station luckily not as crowded as it could be. They all agreed to not mention how they hopped the turnstiles without questioning their actions, reaching the tracks before the train could. Within a second they found Kuroo standing near a pillar, suitcase next to him and his phone in his hand, typing away. Akaashi breathed a sigh of relief before approaching his boyfriend, ignoring Bokuto's excited giggling and the daggers Kenma was glaring into his back.

"I feel like we are in a badly written and incredibly cliche rom com right now." Suga mumbled, following everyone's lead in trailing after Akaashi while keeping a respectful distance.

Akaashi paused his approach when he was a couple yards away, steadying his breathing as he prepared himself for what was to come, good or bad. "Tetsurou."

Kuroo's head snapped up at the sound of his name in his boyfriend's voice, immediately finding Akaashi's eyes. "Keiji? What are you doing here?"

Tentatively taking another step closer, Akaashi ignored their friends behind him, focusing all his attention on Kuroo. "Hopefully stopping you from leaving." He cleared his throat, shuffling a bit closer. "I'm sorry for my behavior. Can we talk, please?"

A mix of emotions flashed across Kuroo's face as he studied his boyfriend, his gaze briefly falling on the gathering of their friends. His eyes widened slightly and he returned his attention to Akaashi. "What are they doing here? Do they...do they know?" A blush rose up on his cheeks when Akaashi nodded and he awkwardly shifted his weight between his feet, not meeting Akaashi's stare. "Still, do they need to be here for this?"

Before Akaashi could reply Oikawa spoke up. "We aren't going anywhere, Tetsu-chan. You both owe us for the morning we just had because of your lack of communication skills."

The others nodded in agreement, some more enthusiastically than others.

Kuroo grunted, forcing himself to ignore their presence and act as if it was only him and Akaashi on the train platform. "Are you still mad at me?"

Akaashi's face softened, daring to close the distance and reach for Kuroo's hands, hoping he wouldn't be rejected. When Kuroo let him take his hands in his grasp, Akaashi smiled sheepishly, a matching blush to his boyfriend's spreading across his face. "I was never mad at you, Tetsurou. I was mad at myself and the situation I put us in."

"What are you - "

Interrupting his boyfriend Akaashi let everything out, word vomit style. "You know the bet Sawamura-san created with the others before vacation? About who would reveal our relationship first? Well, I decided to take matters into my own hands, taking inspiration from you and the mind games you like to play with others on occasion. I revealed the fact that you were dating someone the first night we were here but I didn't tell anyone that it was me. And you know how our friends are like blood thirsty hyenas when it comes to gossip so they quickly took the bait, forming an investigative team to uncover your boyfriend's identity. All except for you, of course, and Oikawa-san, Bokuto-san, and Sugawara-san. Sawamura-san joined in the investigation after he had been cleared of suspicion - "

"Who were the other suspects?"

Akaashi blinked, thrown from his momentum for a second. "Sawamura-san, Bokuto-san, briefly Kenma - " Kuroo snorted. " - Sugawara-san, and Oikawa-san."

"Not you?" Upon Akaashi's tiny head shake, Kuroo cooed, squeezing his hands. "Keiji - "

" Anyway, I kept fueling their desire to figure out who was dating you, all the while making sure you didn't find out. I encouraged them to investigate all the suspects, hoping that you would let it slip that I'm your boyfriend, not any of the others. But I miscalculated my emotional response to seeing our friends flirt with you and not even being considered a potential suspect. I also, unfortunately, underestimated your dedication to keeping our relationship private, something that was a request of mine as well and something that I now regret asking of you. I let my insecurities get the better of me back then, thinking that everyone would see how much I don't deserve you if they knew we were dating so in order to prevent that I asked us to keep it hidden." Akaashi huffed out a laugh. "I've been so stupid and I haven't been fair to you. I had no right to lash out at you due to my own actions, especially when you had no idea what was going on and I refused to tell you. Tetsurou, I am so sorry for my behavior and all the rude and hurtful things I said to you. And I am incredibly sorry for ever making you think I wanted to break up, that I didn't trust or want you anymore. That couldn't be further from the truth."

Akaashi pulled his hands out of Kuroo's grip, the latter reaching out but stopping when Akaashi slipped his hands into his hoodie pocket. "Keiji - "

"This is not at all how I planned this to go but if I have learned anything from you it is that sometimes you have to change your plans when something feels right and Tetsurou, you feel right. " Akaashi inhaled deeply, removing his hands from his pockets as he sank down onto one knee. Kuroo's hands immediately covered his mouth, tears springing to his eyes as he realized what was happening. "Kuroo Tetsurou, I have never in my entire life met anyone as infuriating, kind, annoying, and irresistible as you. You are such a pain in the ass yet I wouldn't change a thing about you. I know I have messed up pretty badly lately but please, give me a chance to make things right with you. I love you so much that it scares me sometimes. You are an incredibly imperfect person and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Akaashi opened the ring box in his hand, his smile on the right side of nervous. "Tetsurou, will you marry me?"

It took a moment for Kuroo to reply, the man too busy trying to catch his breath between his crying and laughter. He finally managed to wipe his eyes, falling down onto his knees in front of Akaashi while reaching into his own pocket to pull out an identical ring, nodding his head when Akaashi looked from the ring to his face in awe. "Yes, Keiji, I will marry you."

Completely forgetting about their audience the couple slipped their rings onto the other's finger, still kneeling. They wiped each other's tears before pulling their fiancé in for a possessive kiss, only pulling apart when their friends started cheering for them. The newly engaged couple were blushing furiously when they helped each other to stand, bracing themselves for the hugs from their friends. They thanked them for the many congratulations they received, shyly showing off their rings.

Amidst the excitement Oikawa made a snide remark about how he was kind of hoping Kuroo would be the one to propose, just knowing that his friend's proposal speech would be full of stupid pick up lines and chemistry puns. When Kuroo squawked in offense Suga challenged him to prove them wrong.

Flustered, Kuroo huffed, turning towards his fiancé. "They don't appreciate my humor, Keiji."

Akaashi just shook his head fondly, kissing Kuroo's cheek. After a beat he chuckled, elbowing Kuroo softly to get his attention. "Are you made of uranium and iodine? Because all I can see is U and I together."

Kuroo's eyes sparkled and he let out his signature laugh, loud and proud. "You're made of oxygen and neon, right? Because you're definitely the ONe."

Kenma groaned. "You two are such losers."

"Yeah, losers who are going to get married. And to each other!" Kuroo stuck his tongue out at his best friend, once more showing off his ring.

Snickering at his fiancé's immaturity, Akaashi smirked at the blond. "Will you lift the restraining order or do I have to marry Tetsurou from twenty yards away?"

"Restraining order?!" Kuroo spun to their friends for an explanation when all Kenma did was glare at Akaashi.

"Yeah, Kenma went total mama bear mode, threatin' Akaashi when ya ran off." Osamu smiled, arm around Suna's waist.

Kenma turned his glare onto Osamu when Kuroo started blubbering about his best friend, draping himself over the shorter male. His eyes screamed of revenge against the traitorous twin but when he looked at his best friend he couldn't stop the fondness from showing on his face. When he finally managed to shove Kuroo off his body Kenma answered Akaashi. "I won't get the restraining order, you're off the hook for that. But now that you are committing yourself to Kuro for life just know that if you hurt him again they will never stop finding your body. Got it?"

Akaashi nodded, squeezing Kuroo's hand with a dopey look on his face when they made eye contact. "I'm holding you to that, Kenma, because I never want to hurt Tetsurou again, even though he is a pain in the ass."

Kuroo snorted, tugging Akaashi closer. "I'm just returning the favor, Keiji."

The friends burst out laughing when Daichi muttered about how he was getting flashbacks to the dorm room incident, deciding it was time to go back to the cabin, now knowing how they would be spending the final days of their trip.

After all, they had an engagement to celebrate and a wedding to start planning.

BONUS:

"So who won the bet between ya?"

"Well, everyone except myself and Kenma voted that it would be me that admitted our relationship so I would say seeing as Keiji 'fessed up first that we won."

"I was coerced into confessing when Kenma confronted me."

"Kenma wouldn't have confronted you if you hadn't tried to imitate me. Let this be a lesson, Keiji, that sometimes the student doesn't surpass the master. And that I always end up on top."

"Sure you do, Tetsurou, sure you do."

"Keiji!"

"Yes, love?"

"You're being mean."

"Am not. You're being childish."

"Remember, Akaashi, you are the one stupid enough to ask him to marry you."

"Kenma?!"

"I know. And I am so glad he said yes."