bokuto and akaashi are a thing because of course they are! how could they not be? it's not official because of the whole societal homophobia thing, but bokuto's handling it.
he's always had his head in the clouds, or at least that's what everyone thinks. everyone knows him as this volleyball idiot who loves the game more than life itself. everyone knows him for his moods, and they laugh when he snaps back to task focus because that's our bokuto koutarou!
he's the bokuto koutarou that doesn't know how to do his taxes, despite being an adult; he's the bokuto koutarou that relies on the support of his family, friends, and teammates; he's the bokuto koutarou that's always been oddly obsessed with his high school setter. but that's just how it is! that's how it's always been. there's really nothing more to it.
except out of the public eye, akaashi keiji isn't just his best friend. he's something more--maybe he always has been. but the people don't see that because that's not something they'd expect from someone like bokuto.
to the public, bokuto is a character. he's the boke, the funny man. he's there to keep the energy up and the spirit of volleyball alive. it's hard for them to wrap their heads around the fact that bokuto koutaro has grown up and is more than just volleyball-for-brains and big smiles. they would never suspect bokuto to be someone who loves another man.
and it's devastating. bokuto is someone who loves with his entire being, he's passionate and strong, and it's almost like torture to have to hide the love he has for akaashi. meian gets to go home to his wife, adriah sleeps over at his girlfriend's apartment more often than not, barnes just moved in with his fiancee. it's not fair. to love someone more than anything and not be able to go home to them, to see them regularly? but how can they when they're half the country apart?
but maybe it's a blessing in disguise that he's in osaka and akaashi's in tokyo. because when he tells the press that he's off the market and loves his partner very much, there's very little to track. the press can't tap into their nightly phone calls, they can't come to any conclusions when akaashi only comes to visit every once in a while. and what is there to report on when bokuto goes back home to tokyo? the media can't tell the difference between him visiting his family, catching up with old friends, and reuniting with his lover.
even though bokuto knows the importance of balancing his relationship with akaashi and maintaining his public image, it almost feels like a sacrifice every time he does an interview and they ask him about his love life.
it's tiring to keep putting up this facade, to keep acting like everything he's ever worked for could crumble and fall if even a whisper got out about him being gay. and it's frustrating because what is so bad about loving someone? why do other athletes get away with assault and cheating, but he can't even tell a single person about what he and akaashi did for christmas?
bokuto loves akaashi more than anything, but he's also given his entire life to volleyball. the only way to have both is to continue to live this double life, no matter how much it pains him to have to hide who he is and who he loves. but as long as they both know that they're committed to their relationship (in whatever form it can take), it must be worth it to endure all of the hardship and societal pressure.