The day after, Bokuto decided to skip school.
He figured it wouldn't hurt his record too much, and he thinks the teachers might understand after his traumatic yesterday.
After falling out of his bed and stumbling all the way down the stairs, he managed to trip one last time at the bottom, when he mistakenly thought the last step was the floor.
He grumbled under his breath before entering his kitchen where a plate of food was waiting for him.
Mom? He questioned, moving closer to the plate.
There was a piece of paper by the food, and he picked it up to read it. To his disappointment, it was from the housekeeper.
He glanced at the heaping pile of bacon and eggs on the plate. If only he had an appetite.
He sighed and pulled out a stool to sit on. All he could think about was Akaashi and if the male was okay. Sure, they had only met a few weeks ago, but after yesterday's events, it seemed like he would never see Akaashi again.
Huffing another sigh, he went back upstairs to grab his phone.
There were several texts and missed calls from Kuroo, a few from Konoha and Yukie as well. Scrolling through them, he read about his best friend's shock upon hearing the news. He let out a sigh and was about to turn his phone off when the last text caught his attention.
Bo, I'm going to visit Akaashi. You wanna come?'
He bit his lip, deep in thought.
Would it be wrong for him to visit Akaashi? Especially when it was his fault that the dark-haired boy was in the hospital?
He tapped on his phone screen to check the time. It was a little past 11 o'clock, meaning visiting hours were open.
In a flash, he rushed to his closet, pulling out random clothes and putting them on. He slipped on a pair of tennis shoes and ran out the house. His usually spiky hair was left down today; he didn't have it in him to style it.
A chilly breeze made Bokuto shiver as he started jogging towards the hospital. It wasn't too far, and it allowed him to ponder about things. Somehow, running seemed to improve his ability to think, causing some brilliants thoughts and ideas to surface during his runs.
One time, he had the great idea of using glue instead of hair gel to spike up his hair. His reasoning? He would have spiky hair forever.
His mom stopped him before he could give it a try though.
Soon in the distance, he could see the top of the hospital building. He began feeling a bit queasy so he slowed to a stop. A sidewalk lead up to a path where two big glass doors stood. On the other side and up a few floors would be Akaashi.
He gulped. It was now or never.
Bokuto took off running before he could back out and barged into the lobby. Nurses looked up from what they were doing with alarmed stares, unsure of whether they would need to call the police or not.
He asked one of the nurses if there was a patient named Akaashi Keiji. She told him there was and gave him the room number.
It was on the third floor, and Bokuto had the options to either take the stairs or elevator. He decided on the stairs, so it would give him some time to calm down before meeting Akaashi.
When he reached the door, he hesitated. Could he handle seeing Akaashi like that?
He looked back at the exit. Right as he was about to back out, the door opened. A lady in her 30s looked at Bokuto. She had a strong resemblance to Akaashi.
"Hi! You must be one of Keiji's friends. How sweet of you to visit!" She said. Bokuto came to the realization that this was probably Akaashi's mom.
"Er-, um yes," he stuttered. "Is Akaashi doing okay?"
"He's fine! Why don't you go see for yourself? I have some errands to run, so I have to leave now. Watch over Keiji for me, will you?" The lady spoke fast and gave Bokuto little time to think of a reply. She took his hand and pulled him into the hospital room.
"Bye, Keiji! I'll be back in a few hours." Akaashi's mom shut the door, leaving the two alone.
Bokuto stared at the floor, unable to look at his friend. Was he hooked up to machines? Was he barely clinging on to life? Did his mom say all that to make him feel better?
"Bokuto-san."
He slowly looked up and met a pair of dark blue eyes. They were vibrant and alive; unlike the blank ones he saw the day before.
"Akaashi?" His voice came out in a whisper. A bandage was wrapped around the boy's head, and an IV was stuck in his arm. Other than a slight bruise on his cheek, Akaashi looked as pretty as ever.
Bokuto rushed forward to his bed and wrapped his arms around the pretty boy. He felt tears threaten to spill as he got a good look at his friend.
"'Kashi... I thought... you... DIED!" He wailed. Akaashi patted his shoulder.
"I don't think I would've died from falling down the stairs, Bokuto-san."
"But- but your eyes! There was so much blood-" Bokuto couldn't finish his words as a sob escaped his lips. His tears flowed continuously as they soaked into Akaashi's gown.
"I'm fine, really. It's okay." Akaashi said, pushing a strand of hair out of Bokuto's eyes. He offered him a small smile.
"Really?" Bokuto asked, sniffling.
"Really." Akaashi reassured.
~
After Bokuto managed to calm down, he stayed with the bedridden boy until visiting hours were over. Akaashi's mom texted Akaashi earlier about how she would be late, so Bokuto stayed to keep him company. As he got up to leave, Bokuto turned back to Akaashi.
"I'll be back tomorrow okay, 'Kashi?"
"I look forward to it, Bokuto-san."
He gave Akaashi a small smile and wave as he stepped out the room. Gently shutting the door behind him, he let out a sigh of relief.
Turns out, Akaashi only had a concussion. There was some blood loss, but it wasn't as serious as Bokuto remembered it to be. When he asked the doctor who was caring for Akaashi, the doctor replied that he might have been in a state of shock. Bokuto could have been so overwhelmed by the sudden events that his brain tricked him into thinking it was a life or death situation.
Good thing it wasn't. He thought. Although they only met recently, Bokuto already couldn't imagine his life without Akaashi. There was a special connection between the two, and he never wanted that to be ruined.
But since Akaashi had a concussion, there was no way he could set for Bokuto anymore. Chances were, the setter would be out for the rest of the season.
Bokuto sighed, running a hand through his wild hair. He stepped outside the hospital and breathed in the cool evening air. Something about hospitals just made Bokuto feel like he was slowly suffocating. It was bearable thanks to Akaashi, but if it was anyone else, Bokuto probably would've left hours ago.
He looked up at the orange sky. It was a peaceful night with a slight breeze; last time he checked the time, it was a little after five. He had spent the whole day with Akaashi.
They got to know each other pretty well during that time. Bokuto learned that Akaashi's parents were divorced, and Akaashi learned that Bokuto's parents were never home. There were quite a few things the two had in common. Bokuto was glad that he promised Akaashi he would visit again the next day. He had another excuse to skip school and got to spend another day with the pretty boy.
He started on his run home, smiling slightly as he thought about Akaashi.
A notification from his phone interrupted his thoughts. He slowed down to a walking pace before pulling his phone out from his pocket.
It was a text from Konoha, asking Bokuto to meet up. He frowned. Although they were friends, he and Konoha had never actually hung out anywhere outside of school or volleyball. Whatever he wanted, it must have been important to ask Bokuto to meet up.
Luckily, the place where Konoha wanted to meet wasn't too far. He would able to make it just in time.
He walked into the cafe, looking around for his friend. Bokuto found him sitting in the corner. There were already two empty cups of coffee, a third one in Konoha's hand.
"You seriously need to calm down with the caffeine." He said, flopping down on the booth.
"Nah, I'll be fine," Konoha said, setting down the mug, "besides, we have bigger fish to fry."
Bokuto stared at his friend. "There's no fish here though."
"It's a saying, Bokuto."
"Oh."
Konoha sighed, taking another sip of his coffee. Bokuto waited for his friend to say something, but he didn't. They ended up sitting in silence for a minute before Bokuto couldn't take it anymore.
"What, Konoha? What fish do we need to fry?" He asked, impatiently.
His friend set down the mug. "Oh ho ho, I'm glad you asked, Great Ace." The dirty blonde winked at him. Bokuto leaned away.
"You know how the dance is next week?"
Bokuto nodded his head. Earlier Akaashi mentioned about how he was on the dance committee. "Yeah."
"Well since you like Akaashi, I was thinking you could ask him to the dance." Konoha wiggled his eyebrows.
Bokuto paused, thinking over his friend's words.
"Well since you like Akaashi-"
"Konoha!" He looked around before turning back to his friend, who was still wiggling his eyebrows. "Keep your voice down!"
"Oh? So you do like Akaashi-kun." He said, slyly.
"What? No- I mean," Bokuto fumbled over his words, "he's really cute and awesome, but I'm not sure- I mean he's a great guy and-" He cut himself off, feeling his cheeks blush bright red. Talking about Akaashi left him tongue-tied.
"What I'm trying to say is, I don't think Akaashi likes me that way. Plus I have Kuroo-"
Konoha cut him off this time. "You're still clinging onto that guy? He looks like a rooster!"
"A hot rooster," Bokuto added. "Besides, I don't think Akaashi's gay." He rubbed his blushing cheeks. Why was Konoha even asking him about this? Just because there's a special connection between him and Akaashi doesn't mean that-
"Bokuto, have you met your soulmate yet?" Konoha suddenly asked.
"What?"
"Have you met your soulmate yet?" He repeated. Bokuto peered at his friend's face. It was dead serious and completely different from his usual jokester self.
"I mean, no? I don't really know that stuff." Bokuto awkwardly scratched his head. Soulmates? What's Konoha going on about?
"You've never even considered thinking about that?" Bokuto shook his head. "Seriously dude, you've never even thought about your soulmate?"
"It's too confusing plus if it's meant to be, it'll be, ya know? If we win nationals, then maybe I'll start thinking about it." Bokuto yawned, stretching out his muscles. The sky outside was darkening, and he really wanted to get home.
"Konoha, it's getting late. I should get going." He said, standing up.
"Wait, Bokuto," Konoha stood up. "Here." He handed Bokuto a small book. The cover read, "A Guide on Soulmates: Idiot Edition."
"Huh? Konoha-" He spun to face his friend, but Konoha was already halfway out the door. He could hear his friend's laugh before Konoha disappeared around a corner.
Bokuto pocketed the book and left the cafe. He continued his run, his mind suddenly thinking about soulmates.
~
When he got home, the first thing he did was collapse on the floor. His legs ached from running everywhere, and it was a while before he was able to pick himself up and shower.
Kind of like yesterday, he thought absentmindedly.
After his shower, he walked around his house in only a towel, trailing water droplets behind him.
He was beyond hungry and decided to order pizza. It would be about twenty minutes until it arrived, so he decided to flip through the soulmate book that Konoha gave him.
Bokuto was skimming through the text when a particular section caught his attention.
What if your soulmate dies?
— If you have already met your soulmate and they suddenly die, your colorful world will go black and white. However, it's been discovered that if your soulmate is slowly dying, then the colors around you will slowly fade. But if you have not your soulmate yet, then nothing will change in your monotone vision.
Bokuto froze, suddenly realizing the obvious. He set the book down and slowly made his way to the large mirror in his living room.
His two-tone hair was wet and flopped over his eyes. Small droplets of water flecked Bokuto's muscular body but that wasn't what he was looking at. He stared at his eyes.
Two golden eyes, so unlike the faded murky yellow from yesterday. He moved away from the mirror and looked around the rest of his house. The objects were back to their usual colorful tones, nothing like what he saw yesterday.
Has it been like this all day? How did I not notice?
He scrambled back to the book, suddenly eager to learn all about soulmates. Bokuto continued reading.
How do I know if I've met my soulmate?
— People are originally born with black and white vision. When you lock eyes with your soulmate, you will see color. But if you go for a long period without seeing them, you may notice your vision return to its original monotone sight.
Bokuto audibly gasped. He could see color! So that means he's met his soulmate! But who?
Rereading the page, he felt giddy like a teenage girl. Butterflies seemed to flutter in his stomach as he thought about it; a grin spreading on his face. Who knew that him, Mr.-Only-Thinks-About-Volleyball, has already met the one destined for him! He decided that he would text Konoha later and thank him.
Bokuto giggled. There was someone out there for him. Someone that he had already met. He squealed in excitement. Could this night get any better?
The doorbell rang with an answer to his question.
The horned owl settled down on the couch, a slice of pizza in one hand, the soulmate book in the other.
So, yes. The night could get better.
~
🙂