Song tip: ANGELS- Chase Atlantic
"I ain't been doing way too good lately, I'm losing signal in the hills I'm having difficulties. Calling on my angels, it's getting darker and I'm starting to get anxious."
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Kuroo wasn't allowed in the room.
He looked into the door's small window where doctors were surrounding his Tsukishima. He wanted to burst in there and tell them how much Tsukishima would've hated them prodding and poking him but he knew they were doing their best.
Akiteru, along with their mother and a man that Kuroo didn't recognise, had arrived at the hospital about an hour-and-a-half after the ambulance had arrived there.
The two didn't seem to be close to the man but the man seemed to be close to Tsukishima by the way his brows would crease ever so often and a little bead of sweat would trickle from his forehead. He would curse under his breath and pace around the waiting room. It made all three of them uncomfortable but they didn't stop him.
"Akiteru..."
"I know mom."
Kuroo watched as the woman turned to her eldest and slapped him clean across the face. He hadn't expected that. Tsukishima's mom was crying as glared at Akiteru who was holding his cheek.
"I told you too look after him! Why couldn't you just do that?! You're his big brother for God's sake!" It was quiet for a moment, no one moved or spoke.
"All you had to do was...just be there Akiteru."
Akiteru's gaze was set on the floor and his mom gave up, throwing her arms in the air before letting them fall limp as she muttered something about a 'dinosaur plushie', her heels clicking against the linoleum flooring as she walked away.
"Sorry Tetsurō. My mom's right, i should've been keeping an eye on him." Akiteru's voice was small and Kuroo could physically feel the battle he was having inside his mind. It was the same one he had as he waited in the same waiting room for someone who would never return.
"I told you Tadashi was no good."
Akiteru scrunched his face up and balled his fists. Him and Tadashi had always been closer than the rest of them, Tadashi was the first friend Akiteru ever made and Akiteru was the first person who ever stuck with Tadashi.
"He's..."
"Your friend? Well Tsukishima is your family and look which one of them is in a hospital bed right now."
"I get it Kuroo."
The mystery man spoke up now, his words small and shaking, his eyes never meeting anyone else's in the room.
"I'm sorry...Akiteru. I should've been there, not you. It's not on you."
"It's fine dad."
Kuroo left the conversation, his mind going back to how long the doctors were taking in that room. Be just wanted to see Tsukishima's soft smile, hear his voice and smoke a cigarette on the window seat at three am with him. Always with him.
"Kuroo..." Kuroo was bought back into the conversation and he cursed them, the silence had been kind of relaxing as he had tried to put his thoughts in order.
"What?" The man spat, his fists clenching. None of this should be happening.
"Do you love him...?"
He didn't want to say yes, if he said yes he would be admitting to Akiteru that he had moved on from Bokuto, the same man he promised he'd never move on from. The same man he smoked with at three am and took stargazing on top of the abandoned building. The same man he drove home and left with a kiss, the same man he couldn't warn about Tadashi. He didn't know back then.
But he had to say yes because, yes, he did love Tsukishima, he loved him enough to replace all of his and Bokuto's special moments with pictures of Tsukishima.
"Yes."
Akiteru didn't respond to Kuroo, he left him with a betrayed look as he went to go get something from a vending machine and Kuroo was left with the man that Tsukishima had hated. His father.
Tsukishima never talked about the man, just that one time when he was high and couldn't really control what he was saying. But he knew his dad hadn't been there, he knew from the way Akiteru always only ever talked about his mother.
"Tell Kei I'm sorry." The man started to walk away, and for Tsukishima's sake, Kuroo wouldn't let that happen again.
"You're leaving now? Listen, I don't know anything about you or your relevance in their life But you can't leave your son like this when you don't even know if he's going to live."
Kuroo hated to say it but it was the truth and he wasn't going to let this man walk away.
"Listen Kid, I'm glad Kei has someone special, someone to love him, but me being here won't give him any ease. His and my relationship crashed and burned a long time ago. I'm not wanted here. I just had to know he had people here for him. You're here, that's enough."
The man walked away and Kuroo couldn't stop him. He wanted to but he really didn't know anything and it would be weird if he begged the stranger to stay.
But now he was alone, Akiteru hadn't come back and neither had Tsukishima's mother, So now he was alone with the faint beeping of monitors and the chatter of passing doctors and nurses.
A certain doctor caught his eye.
"Iwaizumi?"
Iwaizumi halted at the mention of his name, he wasn't really off to anything important, in fact, his lunch break just started.
Iwaizumi turned to face Kuroo, he looked over the man he hadn't seen in atleast two years. His and Oikawa's break up really tore him away from that group.
"Kuroo? How are you?"
"Eh."
Iwaizumi realised a stupid question, they were standing in a hospital, ofcourse something was up.
"Uhm... anything i can help with?" It was awkward, the two didn't really know how to be around eachother without Oikawa there.
"Actually yeah, could you tell me how that patient's doing?" Kuroo pointed to a shut door and Iwaizumi could see doctors surrounding the patient, the air in there seemed tense and stressful.
"Sorry Kuroo... their not my patient and I can't give out information on other patients..."
"Oh... that's okay."
The two stood silently for a little while, they both cursed themselves for how distant they had become. Kuroo needed Iwaizumi when he had no one after Bokuto's death and he wasn't there.
"Listen Kuroo, I'm sorry, yeah?" Iwaizumi's words were soft and sympathetic and Kuroo hated it.
"It's okay Hajime."
"How's uh, how's Tōru?"
Kuroo could tell that Iwaizumi still held mass amounts of love for the man that left him behind. He felt sorry for Iwaizumi, he didn't deserve to be hanging onto someone who doesn't want him.
He couldn't lie to the man, however.
"He's happy Hajime, he's moved on. You should too." Kuroo placed a hand on Iwaizumi's shoulder, offering the man a soft smile who returned it desperately.
"Thanks Kuroo, atleast he's happy. That's all i really want."
Kuroo smiled and Iwaizumi sighed.
"So...this patient. Who are they?"
Kuroo faltered, his face scrunching slightly before he was finally able to compose himself.
"Someone...uh, very special." Kuroo let his hand fall from Iwaizumi's shoulder.
"I just i..."
"I know Kuroo."
"You don't think it's wrong?"
"Why would i?"
"Because...it is isn't it? I promised him Hajime, i promised him I'd never love anyone like i did him. But i do and it's wrong, isn't it?"
"No. Kuroo, it's not. It's perfectly human." Iwaizumi offered Kuroo a kind smile and muttered something about having to get back to work and staying in touch. Kuroo apologized for keeping his time and Iwaizumi assured him it was okay.
It was okay.
•••
Be ready y'all
The next chapter is the last one 👀