bokuto's word of the day: scrupulous
one day, bokuto is struck by a realization: he’s not very bright.
“you’re emotionally intelligent,” keiji tells him during their nightly video call. bokuto lifts his head off his desk, lips curved in a pout, to blink at his boyfriend. “'i've never met anyone with such a high degree of emotional awareness. that’s even more important than academic intelligence.”
“but keiji,” bokuto whines, “i want to use big words like you!”
“well, how about this? i’ll introduce you to a new word each week, and you can try to incorporate it in your daily speech. the more often you use it, the easier it’ll become part of your lexicon.”
“okay!” he has no idea what that means, but if keiji says it, then it should be good, right?
the msby training center is cleaned three times a week by a janitorial company, so the athletes and staff keep the common areas clean as a courtesy. the other day, someone spilled some kind of lotion on the locker room floor, but no one wanted to claim responsibility - until bokuto comes in and sees sakusa scrubbing it with vicious vigor.
"thanks for being so scrupulous, sakkun!" bokuto calls out as he puts his bag down on the bench. sakusa raises his head, annoyed expression turning confused.
today's practice focuses on new tactics in preparation for their next match. atsumu works with the spikers, running through patterns and signals. "bokkun." he approaches him, brows crinkled together. "are yer legs okay?"
"yeah, they should be, why?"
"yer vertical height is lower than yesterday. ya should get 'em checked out or ya might get hurt."
as it turns out, there's some muscle tightness. the trainer helps him stretch, and when he returns to the court, he pats atsumu on the shoulder. "thanks, tsum-tsum! you're really scrupulous!"
"just doin' my job...wait, that's not a bad thing, right?" atsumu calls after him. "bokkun?"
later in the shared house, adriah and inunaki cook a mexican dish with flavorful rice, beans, ground beef, and tortilla chips. hinata offers to do the dishes, and bokuto helps since there are a lot. he's arranging them on the drying rack while hinata puts a kettle on the stove. he asks over his shoulder.
"sure! i'll grab cups." bokuto opens the cupboard, gaping at the meticulously arranged glasses, plates, and bowls in front of him. "it's only ever this clean whenever you do the dishes!"
"thanks! it's a habit from living alone since it's easier to find stuff if you know where it is."
bokuto nods, grabbing cups to place on the counter. "it's very scrupulous of you. i'll let the others know about the tea!" he leaves a bewildered hinata behind.
scrupulous is an easier word to use than he thought. by the end of the week, he's used it with everyone – meian is scrupulous for knowing the exact amount of grams of sports mix bokuto usually needs; inunaki is scrupulous for recalling details from his last interview to mention in his newest interview; and adriah is scrupulous for remembering the difference between counting flat objects and round objects.
sakusa approaches him the night before their match. "bokuto, you need your boyfriend to explain what scrupulous is."
bokuto glances at him with a frown. "he did, though."
"you can't call everyone scrupulous. that's not how it works."
"but it's an adjective! you can use them for everything!"
sakusa mutters under his breath, something similar to i'm not the literature major in this house. "okay. are you tall?"
bokuto looks up with a frown. "no?"
"okay. then, what'll you say about me? am i tall?"
"but we're both tall," sakusa presses. "you wouldn't call me giant because i'm taller, right?"
"no. what i mean is that yes, some words mean the same thing, but you use them in very different contexts. inunaki remembering the interview means he has a good memory. adriah knowing the different counting schemes means he's learning. they are not scrupulous."
bokuto stares for several long moments before saying, "they could be, right?" sakusa raises an eyebrow, and he continues, "maybe they weren't scrupulous then, but they could be scrupulous later. it's still a word that applies to them!"
sakusa stares back for several long moments. then, he turns his heel. "i'm going to bed."
his footsteps retreat into the hallway, and bokuto returns to his phone. he isn't wrong to think like this, right? it's an adjective, and if someone is acting scrupulous, it's only fair to use it.
the next day, the athletes gather for the match. bokuto watches sakusa go through his stretches, a very thorough routine to ensure his limbs are in working order. sakusa glares at him when his eyes continue to linger, and bokuto asks, "it's not wrong to call you scrupulous now, right?"
"what does it even mean?" atsumu exclaims.
"a person who is very diligent, thorough, and attentive to details," sakusa deadpans. "and no, bokuto, i'm not scrupulous. stop trying to force yourself."
"but i can see why you can be scrupulous," hinata points out. "you're very diligent with your stretches."
"not just that, but with cleaning too," bokuto adds. "and the way you eat!"
"don't forget skincare," atsumu adds. "omi's got a twelve-step routine, an' that's not countin' his hair."
sakusa stares at them before ultimately falling flat on his back. "i surrender. call me whatever you want."
"scrupulous!" hinata offers.
the entire gym falls silent. all eyes turn to him, watching his cheeks grow impossibly red. inunaki snickers. “want to repeat that for the class, atsumu?"
"n-no!" atsumu tries to flee but crashes into the side table. he squeaks as towels fall to the floor, crouching to pick them up. "sorry!"
bokuto hears a loud sigh behind him. sakusa walks toward the mess, kneeling beside atsumu. “you’re an idiot.”
hinata nudges him, gestures him to lean closer. “look,” he whispers, pointing inconspicuously at their teammates. even from a distance, sakusa’s blush is visible.
inspiration: the first day of reference class, our instructor used this word as an example for a dictionary reference and it stuck with me ever since
