It was blurry.
Everything was.
It was bright too.
It was hard to breathe.
And the piercing sound never faded.
Everything hurt. Everything ached.
"Mr. Kuroo?" A harsh voice asked.
"Mr. Kuroo, can you hear me?"
Again.
"I need you to let me know if you can hear me."
Sheets.
Bed sheets.
They were slightly rough to the touch.
"He's not responding completely."
Another voice.
Softer, this time.
And then gradually, everything grew clear.
A doctor.
A doctor with a face mask.
And a flashlight.
"Mr. Kuroo?" The mask moved as he spoke.
Kuroo.
Kuroo Tetsurō.
That's his name.
Kuroo.
The doctor tried to gently push Kuroo's chest back down when the man attempted to sit up.
"Bo—Bo..." he mumbled. "Where's Bo?" Kuroo looked around and winced from his aching neck and throbbing head.
"Bo?" He croaked. "Bo!"
"You need to relax," the doctor commanded, grabbing Kuroo's shoulders and pinning him down.
"You will over-exert yourself—"
"BO!" Kuroo shouted. He felt a sharp pain in his side that forced his to fall back on the bed.
"Mr. Kuroo you need to calm down—"
"Yeah—yeah," Kuroo cut in, taking a few deep breaths and glancing around.
So he was in a hospital.
"Mr. Kuroo do you feel any pain?" The doctor asked.
"Mm."
"Where?"
Kuroo rubbed his forehead and sighed.
"My ribs and my head... and my neck and..." he trailed off. "Everywhere."
He felt weak.
Looking at his arms he noticed how thin he had become.
How long was he there?
"'Scuse me, but uh... what day is it?" Kuroo asked.
"The thirteenth," a nurse replied.
Kuroo let out a soft sigh of relief.
"Of February," the Doctor said.
Kuroo stiffened.
"Sorry?" He asked.
"I've been here for... over a month?" He questioned weakly.
He felt physically exhausted.
"We have a few more questions to ask you, if you don't mind," the doctor explained as he pulled up a chair and produced a clipboard before sitting down. Kuroo stared but didn't refuse.
"What is the last thing you remember?" The doctor asked.
"The car... it was a... a Honda CRX... and there was a man behind the wheel," Kuroo murmured as he furrowed his brow.
"Impressive," the doctor said with a smile.
"Do you have any blood-relatives we can call to let them know you have returned?" He inquired.
Kuroo bit his tongue for a few seconds.
"There—" he faltered. "Isn't."
The doctor nodded with a sympathetic look, or perhaps it was pity.
"And as for Bokuto Kōtarō and Kōzume Kenma, shall I notify them of your recovery?"
Kuroo stared.
Kenma.
Oh shit.
Kuroo covered his mouth and stared down.
Forget traumatizing Kenma. He probably hated Kuroo now.
Another thought bothered him.
Akaashi never visited.
Kuroo had fucked up.
Big time.
"Yeah... tell them," Kuroo replied in a quiet voice.
"Are you up for visitors as well?" The doctor wondered.
Kuroo stared at himself.
He looked terrible.
How could he face them like this?
Then again, he desperately wanted to see his boyfriends.
"Yeah."
~
Kuroo wasn't sure at what point he feel asleep.
But as he snoozed he found himself dreaming.
Laughter. Loud and high-pitched. Goofy. Childish.
No...
It was a child.
Kuroo looked around. He was standing on grass. Just ahead he could see a children's playground.
A swing set and a slide, monkey bars and a fire pole, even the large speakers that allowed you to communicate with others from different spots of the park.
Kuroo felt a reafreshing breeze against his face as he stared. His hair rippled and his T-shirt billowed. Kuroo stepped forward and felt the sand beneath his feet.
Suddenly, he noticed someone was tugging on his pants. He looked down a saw...
A kid.
One who was crying.
Dark hair, brown eyes, and light skin.
A girl.
She was weeping as she spoke.
"'M lost... can you help me, Sir?"
Kuroo smiled warmly.
But before he could reply in kind—
"He said no. There's nothing else I can do."
Bo? Kuroo wondered internally.
At quite a slow speed, Kuroo opened his eyes and squinted, displeased since he was greeted by such a bright light.
He turned to his side slowly.
"Oh my god—Kuro!" Kuroo stared at the speaker and saw Kenma and Bokuto gazing at him through tears. They had wide smiles.
Kenma was grasping his hand and holding it to his forehead as he sobbed. Bokuto buried his face in his hands as he silently murmured thanks to the gods.
Kuroo blinked a few times as the two continued cry of joy.
However, instead of greeting them Kuroo simply replied with,
"I want a kid."
Bokuto and Kenma went silent and gawked.
Kenma scoffed.
"You want—you want—we aren't enough?" He concluded.
"No—that's not what I meant," Kuroo promised.
"A month," Kenma whispered.
"Kenma," Bokuto murmured.
"A month. You've been gone a month and that's that you have to say?" Kenma asked. Kuroo gulped.
"Kenma-" he started.
"You know that when you were in a coma," Kenma said in a soft yet terrifying voice, "I was ready to kill myself?"
Kuroo and Bokuto froze.
"What?" Bokuto asked with a cracking voice.
Kenma stood.
"If you had just looked—for just a second." Kenma's eyes bored into Kuroo's. Kuroo shrank under his boyfriend's harsh gaze.
"None of this would have happened." Kenma stood. "But clearly you don't care."
Kenma shoved his hands into the pockets of his read zip up sweater and revealed the black sweats he was wearing.
Kuroo's.
"Kenma, wait—"
"No!" Kenma shouted. "I'm done waiting!" He was crying. "Kuroo you fucked up everything for us!"
Kuroo looked away with guilt.
"When you're ready to apologize let us know! Until then forget about ever seeing me—not like you care," Kenma muttered the last part under his breath but Kuroo still heard.
His heart ached at those words.
"Kenma—!" Bokuto called out. He looked between his boyfriends with a nervous expression.
"Shit..." he groaned as he plopped back down.
Kuroo rested his head on the pillow and faced Bokuto.
"Bo," he said softly. Bokuto looked up. He moved closer. Kuroo cupped Bokuto's face between his hands, feeling Bokuto lean into his palm. He watched him close his eyes and sigh.
"You must have been so stressed," Kuroo murmured.
"I'm sorry for running away," Bokuto apologized. Kuroo smiled.
"I know."
"I love you," Bokuto professed.
"I know. I love you too," Kuroo replied while nuzzling Bokuto's nose.
"So you can take a break. You must have taken care of all of them."
Bokuto cocked his brow.
"How'd you know?" Bokuto wondered aloud.
"Kenma wouldn't be able to. And Akaashi was pretty down after you left. The only person who could have kept you all together would be you."
Bokuto blushed, though he was unsure if it was praise.
"But you look exhausted."
"You're one to talk," Bokuto retorted with a weak grin. Kuroo hummed happily.
"A bit of P.T. And I'll be stronger than you," he declared. Bokuto scoffed.
"Yeah right."
The two smiled.
"How's Keiji?" Kuroo asked. Bokuto's smiled faded.
"He's... okay."
Kuroo frowned.
"He's still upset, I'm sure—" Kuroo assumed, only to be cut off.
"Kuro, he's scared of me." Bokuto squeezed his hands together, his fingers trembling.
"So scared of me he won't even—I can't even..."
Kuroo wiped the small tears slipping past Bokuto's lashes.
"Kuro I—"
"Don't even," Kuroo said sternly. Bokuto shut up rather quickly.
"You fucked up. So did I. But everyone fucks up, alright?" Kuroo searched for Bokuto's eyes.
"Alright?" He repeated. Bokuto nodded reluctantly.
"We're going to fix things."
Bokuto met Kuroo's eyes and bit his lip.
"Okay."