"I want that one!" Akina said excitedly, her eyes wide while she smiled and pointed at the counter, which was filled with different ice cream flavors.

"Cookies and cream?" Akaashi asked.

Next to him, his little sister was jumping up and down eagerly like the child she was. "Yeah!" Her brown pigtails were bouncing around on her head as she hopped.

"One cookies and cream cone, please," Akaashi told the employee behind the counter.

The employee, a boy with spiky brown hair, nodded and started preparing the ice cream. Akaashi turned to look at his little sister, who was grinning as she watched the worker with awe.

"Can I have sprinkles too? Pleeease?"

Akaashi picked up Akina and put her on his side. "Tell the nice employee yourself."

While she repeated her request, she stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. Akaashi just rolled his eyes at the nine-year-old's attempt at being "too adorable to refuse," or so she called it.

Once the ice cream was ready, Akina grabbed it and ran outside of the building, leaving Akaashi alone as he paid. He did so quickly and then followed the path his sister had taken (out the door and around the corner). She was sitting on a bench, eating her ice cream happily while talking to a familiar teen.

"Akina! You can't just run off like that."

"Mm, you didn't stop me," she said, sticking out her tongue in childish mockery. "Look who I found!" she added. "He looks like the guy who came to the house yesterday. Didn't you, like, talk about him after you came home—"

Akaashi shushed her. "Hi, Bokuto."

"Akaashi!" Bokuto said. "I found your sister."

"Hi!" Akina said. "Wait, Bokuto, how did you know we'd be here?"

"I didn't." Bokuto rubbed the back of his neck instinctively. "I was looking, uh, for your brother."

Akaashi laughed under his breath and sat down next to Akina. Her feet didn't reach the sidewalk, so she was swinging her legs out under the bench. Akaashi was sure that if Bokuto's legs weren't so long, he would be doing the exact same thing.

"Why did you need to talk to my brother? Are you going to ask him out or something?" She gasped at the idea. "Akaashi! If he asks you out, you have to say yes! He's super cool!"

Both Akaashi and Bokuto's faces grew warm at the suggestion.

"N-no," Akaashi answered, "he's not going to ask me out."

Bokuto stumbled over his words for a few seconds, but when he actually spoke, he sounded slightly disappointed—just enough for Akaashi to notice (but not enough for him to stress about it). "Yeah. I just wanted to see if your brother wanted to go to the firework festival tonight," he said, "a-as friends. Since you guys are visiting this small town, I thought it would be cool if you saw some of the attractions."

"That sounds like a date!" Akina shouted, eyes wide with excitement.

"It's not."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so," Akaashi retorted before turning to Bokuto. "Sure, I'd love to go to the festival."

"Great!" Bokuto said, his lips curving into a bright smile. "I'll pick you up at seven. We can walk there."

"I'll see you then."

~~~

Akaashi was ready to go by 6:30.

Well, he thought he was. Every few minutes he would put on a new outfit, feel good about it for a second, and then change again. He wanted to look perfect for the festival, and even though he kept reminding himself it was just a casual hang out, he was stressed. So stressed that when Akina came into his room, she grimaced at the sight of him.

"Need help getting ready for your date?" she asked.

Akaashi was sitting on the bed, head in his hands and folded clothes laying around him. (He still wanted to be neat even though he was stressed out of his mind.) "It's not a date."

She ignored him as she walked further into the room. "You're not usually one to stress about your outfits," Akina said, pulling open the drawer, "and you never unpack. What's going on with you?"

"Nothing."

She gasped excitedly. "It's because of Bokuto! You must really, really like him! I knew it!"

"No, I don't."

Akina started pulling out shirts and a few pairs of pants, holding them up in front of her and trying to see which ones looked better together. "Are you sure? You seemed really happy to see him earlier."

"No, I . . . I can't. I can't like him."

"What? Why not?"

"Because we're going to leave in a week and a half," Akaashi said as his sister handed him a shirt.

"Oh, yeah," Akina sighed. "Just, like, kidnap him and take him with us."

"Akina, that's illegal."

"Not if you don't get caught!"

"We're not kidnapping Bokuto."

"You're no fun. Here, try this." She tossed a pair of jeans at Akaashi and he caught them easily.

Akina walked out of the room and closed the door, giving Akaashi the privacy to change. In his hands, he had a plain white shirt and grey jeans. He put them on quickly and looked at himself in the mirror—he didn't necessarily like how simple it was, but it was getting close to seven and he was done stressing.

He opened the door to see his little sister letting Bokuto into the house. She turned at the sound of Akaashi walking towards her and immediately ran for him, pushing him back into his bedroom and leaving Bokuto alone in the foyer.

"You can't go out like that!" Akina cried, digging through the drawers again.

"But this is what you told me to wear—"

"Put this on over it. I'm gonna go talk to your boyfriend."

"He's not my—"

The door was slammed in his face and he was left standing there with something in his hand. It was a grey and black plaid shirt, and he put it on over his white one quickly. Akaashi started to button it up, but Akina yelled at him to hurry up and he rushed out of the room before he could finish, phone in hand.

"I want him home by midnight," Akina said, wagging a finger at Bokuto's chest. (Her short arms couldn't reach his face.) "Don't do anything too reckless. Have fun!"

"Akina, stop acting like Mom," Akaashi grumbled. "You're nine."

"Byeee!" She shoved the two out the front door and closed it behind them.

Bokuto laughed quietly as he walked off of the porch. "Your sister seems nice."

"She's just like that until she wants something."

"She said she wants me to come with you guys when you go back to Tokyo."

"Oh, I'm really sorry about her. She doesn't understand that you have your own life here."

"It's okay!" Bokuto said, dropping his hands so they were next to Akaashi's. Their fingers brushed gently and Akaashi felt a strong desire to hold Bokuto's hand. He moved his fingers slightly so he could take Bokuto's, but then thought twice and folded his arms over his chest. A second later he adjusted his hands once again, this time so he could mess with his fingers.

As they walked, the sun was slowly diving beneath the horizon, painting the sky brilliant shades of pink and blue. There wasn't a single cloud in sight, leaving the sky clear.

"After I graduate, I think I'm going to move out of this small town," Bokuto said quietly.

"Really?" Akaashi said, a bit too hopeful with his tone.

"Yeah. And go to college. Probably somewhere with a good volleyball team."

"Well, good luck. I hope you get in, wherever you decide to go."

"Thank you, Akaashi." Bokuto turned to smile softly at him. "Oh, hey, we're here."

The two had reached a small clearing where a group of other people were gathering, waiting anxiously for the show to start. Rows of small food booths were set up at the back of the clearing, lines already forming to get snacks.

"I'm going to go get something," Bokuto said. "Do you want anything?"

"I'm okay."

"Okay, I'll be right back. Don't go too far so I can find you when I come back," he added with a laugh.

Bokuto walked off, leaving Akaashi alone in the large crowd. He stood casually and watched all kinds of people swarm around him, suddenly delving into his own mind so he didn't have to worry about the crowd.

A part of him wished that this was in fact a date—he wouldn't mind, considering it was with Bokuto. But the other part of him, the part that was rational, reminded him why it couldn't be.

Just like Akaashi had told his sister, he would be leaving in just over a week. He couldn't do that to Bokuto—or to himself.

A sudden flash of light and loud boom made Akaashi jump, both out of his thoughts and off the ground. When he looked up, he realized it was only the firework show, which had just started.

Another firework shot up into the sky, exploding into bright colors and creating a loud, explosive boom. As the light faded, the scent of smoke started to fill the air, making Akaashi cough for a quick moment.

He stared up at the sky, taking in everything: the vivid bursts of color, the popping sounds, and the smoky haze around himself and the other viewers.

Akaashi jumped when Bokuto appeared next to him, holding two cones of shaved ice. "I felt bad not getting you something," he explained, handing one of the cones to him.

"Oh, thank you."

Bokuto was standing dangerously close to Akaashi—their arms were pushed up against each other, and Akaashi found himself torn between wanting to be closer to stepping away.

Oh, curse his rational thoughts.

Suddenly, Bokuto snaked his arm around Akaashi's waist, pulling him even closer. Now Alaashi's arm was against Bokuto's chest, and he was scared by how much he enjoyed the physical contact. He almost found himself leaning his head on Bokuto's shoulder, but a loud firework went off above them, and he let his rationality control him once again.

"They're very loud," Akaashi said, stating the obvious.

"It's part of the experience," Bokuto answered. "Even though the noise is a lot and the smell isn't the best, it's fun. In a way, I think that can be said about a lot of things."

"You're being metaphorical. Stop."

Bokuto shrugged. "I just want to impress you, pretty boy."

Akaashi felt his face heat up at the comment. "Why do you always call me that?"

"Because you're pretty."

The shorter boy started to protest, but Bokuto stopped him.

"Really, Akaashi. I just—ugh, I don't even know how to put it into words. The word 'pretty' doesn't even do you justice," he said sheepishly. "Ah, okay, this is going to sound really cheesy, but that will help further my point." Bokuto took a deep breath. "You know how it feels when you're, like, walking on the beach at sunset? And the sun is at the perfect place, so it changes the sky but doesn't get in your eyes? And then you just look around you, and everything is so . . . nice that you just have to take a moment to appreciate it?" He looked into Akaashi's eyes, a smile tugging on his lips. "That's what it feels like to look at you. So, you're pretty. Accept it."

Akaashi was left speechless, barely able to muster a "thank you," let alone anything else. So instead, he simply smiled up at Bokuto, who was now staring up at the firework-clad sky. (Later, Akaashi was able to jokingly shove Bokuto's arm and complain about how cheesy his explanation was, but Bokuto could tell Akaashi secretly loved it.)

After that, Akaashi's smile stayed on his face the whole night.