"SMILE!! IN THREE, TWO, AND ONE!"...

bokuto had asked — well, more like demanded — for akaashi to help lift the girl up, as they took a victory photo.

after all, bokuto and kuroo did have a bet on who would win, and unfortunately for kuroo, he now owed bokuto a barbecue dinner the next time they see each other.

"OI, YOU TOLD ME THAT CHIBI-CHAN WAS PLAYING AGAINST COLLEGE PLAYERS!!", kuroo yelled.

     "I just said what bokuto-san wanted me to say", akaashi defended.

     "and it's your fault for not believing in shōyō in the first place", kozume chimed in.

     "T-THAT'S CHEATING THOUGH!!", kuroo whined.

     "bLeHHhhH!!"

"YOU—"

"anyways, I gotta take shō for a piggyback ride. I promised him since his team won", bokuto grinned, kneeling down, as shiyumi happily waved to her friends.

"WE'LL BE BACK SOON!! SAVE US SOME WATERMELON!!", the carrot top yelled.

bokuto then zoomed past the other people that were weirdly staring at them.

shiyumi laughed, as the wind was practically slapping her face.

"BO, SLOW DOWN!! YOU'RE GONNA TRIP!!", shiyumi yelled.

"NO I WO—"

the boy fell, which meant that shiyumi had also tumbled over into the sand, feeling the minuscule granular substances slither in between her clothing and skin.

it was definitely not a splendid experience.

"aw, shō! you shouldn't have said that!!", bokuto whined, trying to comb as much sand off himself as possible.

     shiyumi stifled a giggle, as she stuck out her tongue — a habit she had unconsciously picked up from oikawa.

     "aw, it's not too bad", shiyumi comforted.

     "mm, I guess...so, is the ocean less scary for you now? I saw you and atsumu and later hoshiumi dip your feet in", bokuto stated.

     "you saw all that?!", shiyumi gasped.

     "OF COURSE! my eyes are everywhere!!", bokuto haughtily laughed.

     'or maybe your head just does a 180 like an owl's', shiyumi mentally joked.

     "mhm~ but to answer your question...I suppose it's okay. as long as I'm not too far out, it doesn't seem threatening", shiyumi answered, wrinkling her toes, as the majority of her weight was burdened on her two arms that propped up her upper body.

     "oh I feel ya! that's me, but with thunder and lightning; mostly thunder though", bokuto said.

     "you're scared of thunder?? really?! you seem like the type of person to be fearless", shiyumi honestly stated.

     "my mom told me that I used to hide under tables whenever I heard thunder", bokuto informed.

"do you still hide under tables?"

"yes", bokuto answered without hesitation, causing shiyumi to laugh.

     "hey! don't laugh! I told you this with confidence", bokuto pouted.

     "I just thought that it was cute; imagining little bo hiding under the table and his parents are searching everywhere for him", shiyumi giggled.

     "yeah yeah, whatever", bokuto huffed, still childishly crossing his arms.

"oh come on, bo~ ya know I was just joking!! and plus, anytime that there's thunder, just call me! I'll keep you distracted", shiyumi stated.

"promise you'll pick up?", bokuto quietly asked.

"PROMISE!", the orange-haired girl exclaimed, extending out her pinkie, as bokuto happily extended his and hooked it onto hers.

the two then stupidly grinned, as bokuto swung his arm from side to side.

"you know, kuroo and I have been theorizing something", bokuto suddenly said.

"oh yeah? what about?", shiyumi inquired.

"we know your secret", bokuto proudly smiled to himself.

"w-wait...what secret??", shiyumi choked out, starting to feel her palms get a little sweaty.

     "oh you know~ the fact that you..."

shiyumi felt like fukurōdani's captain was taking forever to finish his sentence.

'does he know?! how did him and kuroo-san find out?! if anything, it should've been my roommates, the hell?!'

bokuto then wriggled his brows, as his smirk grew even wider.

"you like boys, don't you?"

"eh?"

"awww, it's okay!! we all love and accept you no matter what! so what if you like boys?! there's some great boys — almost as great as me — out there!!", bokuto exclaimed.

"n-no, I—"

"shhhhhh!! no need to explain!! it's alright, it's alright!", bokuto hushed, as he engulfed shiyumi into a hug, ruffling her hair in the process.

"bo, I'm not gay!!", shiyumi denied with a laugh, as she couldn't help but smile around the preppy male.

"mhm~ sure you aren't. anyways, kuroo said to let you take your time to come out, so we'll keep it a secret for now", bokuto stated.

shiyumi sighed.

"thanks...I guess", she snorted.

"of course!! nothing about you could change the way we see or feel about you!"

that sentence had caused shiyumi to look up, meeting bokuto's round, golden eyes.

"you mean that?"

"OF COURSE!!"

"even...even if I...", the sentence slowly dispersed, as bokuto raised a brow before widely smiling.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU ARE OR WHO YOU ARE, BECAUSE WE WILL ALWAYS ACCEPT YOU!", bokuto declared.

     "you mean that?", shiyumi asked. "you won't view me differently no matter what?"

     "OBVIOUSLY!!", the loud captain promised, as shiyumi's face unconsciously fell into a bright smile of relief and gratefulness.

     "YOU'RE THE BEST, BO!!"

     "HEY HEY HEY!! what can I say? you've got the strongest ace supporting you, shō!!"

     "well then, shall we head back for some watermelon then, ace number one?", shiyumi laughed.

     "ah, yes!! I LOVE watermelon! anyways...RACE YOU!!", bokuto yelled, as he started booking it.

     "HEY, NO FAIR!! YOU GOT A HEAD START!!", shiyumi complained, as she chased after the fukurōdani captain.

     though without a doubt, the orange-haired girl had almost caught up to bokuto, if it weren't for the older player picking up his pace.

"I'm surprised that you can keep up with me!", bokuto exclaimed.

"really, why?", shiyumi huffed, watching bokuto turn his attention back to the front.

     "because back when I was in middle school, I'd always be the only one running! sometimes I'd even purposely run a bit slower, but my teammates seemed to always struggle to keep up", bokuto explained.

shiyumi held her tongue, as she had a vague idea of why bokuto would always run by himself, just based on his explanation alone.

'it's probably because they weren't on his level; his wavelength. tch. pathetic!'

"it's okay, bo! I'll run with you, not after, and not before. I'll run right beside you!", shiyumi proclaimed.

bokuto stopped in his tracks, as he stared straight at shiyumi, who took a moment to realize that bokuto had paused in their mini competition.

"for real?", bokuto asked.

"well duhhh!", shiyumi confidently answered.

"I want to become the ace for the msby black jackals!!", bokuto declared.

     shiyumi's breath hitched, bitting the inside of her cheeks, as she knew full well that the team was made up of talented men — a platform she will never belong or even step foot on.

     "you said you'll be beside me, right? oh, I can just see it already!! you and me: the outside hitters for the black jackals!!", bokuto excitedly chuckled.

     "y-you really think so? me? playing for the black jackals with you?"

     "well you're the one that said that you'll be able to catch up to me no matter how far or fast I run, aren't you?", bokuto asked.

     shiyumi couldn't help but crack a small smile, a bit of pity and guilt hidden beneath her sincere eyes.

     "yeah, I'll be right beside you, bo. and even if I do get behind, I'll catch up".

     bokuto then boisterously laughed, raising his arms up into the air.

     "HEY HEY HEYYY! WHAT A GREAT DAY!!!"

     "indeed, it is! now let's go, or else 'samu and the rest are gonna finish all the watermelon!!"

     "AH, RIGHT!!"