𝓑𝓸𝓻𝓷 𝓣𝓸 𝓓𝓲𝓮

Chapter Twenty-Seven

June 26, Four years Prior, 2:18am

His face was pale, almost like he had just seen a ghost before his very eyes. Akaashi promised himself he wouldn't let it get this bad again, he made the same promise to his parents, but mostly to Osamu. The four walls of his bathroom surrounding him felt as if they were caving in on him, restricting the airflow coming in through the window. His hands violently shook as he felt the cold tile beneath his body begin to feel distant. He had no idea when he called Osamu, or how fast he'd get there, but he just hoped he would in time.

Akaashi never wanted it to end this way, he never wanted to do this to himself, but the demons inhabiting his mind took over his logical thinking. Despite his logistics and perfectly explainable reasoning for everything, he was on the stupid side when it came to taking care of himself. He'd burn himself out faster than it took him to become as perfect as he was.

Blood streamed down his skin as he half-asses attempted to clean it up before it poured into the floor. Akaashi's breath was uneven as he rushed to conceal it when a knock at the door caught his attention, "Keiji, it's me, please open the door." Osamu stood on its opposing side, desperately letting his hand rest against the wooden door. Akaashi could hear the agony surface from his voice.

Once he weakly reached over to unlock the door, he slumped to the side as the lightheadedness from blood-loss started to get to him. Osamu was quick to swing the door open, his eyes darting down to Akaashi as he fell to his knees, "Keiji? Oh, my god.. ya need to go to the hospital.. now!" Osamu panicked, looking around for a towel to wrap his horribly cut legs in. He stood up, taking Akaashi in his arms as he rushed for the front door.

As Osamu ran through the warm streets with a firm grasp on Akaashi, he opened his eyes weakly to admire the stars, "'Samu?" His voice was raspy, as if he was barely hanging on- and he was.

"Please, keep holdin' on, Keiji.. I need you." Osamu mumbled through tears, his pace quickening as he held on tighter.

Akaashi continued, "If I go away, look for me in the stars." His voice cracked before his eyes fluttered shut, and he faded into silence.

Present

Akaashi stirred in his bed, quickly waking up with a gasp as he jolted up with a hand behind him to support his weight. He frantically looked around, taking in the surroundings before understanding he was safely at home, and no longer barely surviving in Osamu's arms. The dream, reflecting on true past events, replayed in his mind like it had only happened yesterday. That day, June 26th, was a dark day for the Akaashi's, and Osamu. That was the day his parents almost lost their son, and Osamu almost lost his best friend.

He calmed himself down to a comfortable state before lying back down, his eyes locked in with the blank ceiling above him. Akaashi held no emotion on his face, but the hot, salty tear that streaked down his face tore him apart at the seams. He desperately wanted to sleep without being interrupted by a horrific nightmare, or reflections on past memories. Frustrated, Akaashi stood up from his bed with a blanket wrapped around him. He walked towards the living room, where he spotted Bokuto sprawled out on the couch. Kenma held his fluffy position in Kuroo's lap as he sat on a separate chair reading a book.

He was silent as he climbed onto the couch with Bokuto, lying halfway on top of his warm body. Akaashi wrapped the blanket over them, and before he knew it, those salty tears continued to flow from his eyes. Several of them dropped onto Bokuto's precious skin, Akaashi's body shaking lightly as he continued to sob against his sleeping boyfriend. He hated crying- despised it, even, but he couldn't stop himself, even if he wanted to. Akaashi felt sick to his stomach after each tear, guilt climbing up his throat as he sniffled. With tears staining his cheeks, he eventually fell asleep when he melted into Bokuto's extraordinary warmth.