[Listen to: Window - The Album Leaf]
"Psst, hey. Satori... Saaaatoooriii... It's time. You must join us."
"Huh? who is talking..?"
The sleeping boy opened his eyes. He saw Ushijima sitting next to him. Another odd dream, again. A frail smirk took shape on his tired face. His appearance seemed weaker than before as he looked pale. The young adult wondered if the festival was near. Wakatoshi replied with a nod. They were already there, on a hill, waiting for the event to commence. The latter took Tendou's hand and confessed.
"Satori, you have a beautiful soul. I want to be with you forever."
He kissed the palm of his lover's hand and got up on his feet. Tendou followed his movements, but he felt dizzy. He stumbled a bit, landing in Ushijima's muscular arms. Tendou, however, started crying, not being capable of finding any words to describe his pain. His friend began sobbing as well. They were two lovers, shedding tears together.
"L-let's ha... Waka..toshi. Let's ha-ave fuunnn..."
"Shh... we will..."
"S-stay fore-ever with me..."
Ushijima couldn't bear to hear Tendou suffering, as he kissed him deeply. Shifting his fingers through his hair, letting tears roll down his face. Unexpected love. This was the best thing that ever happened to Satori.
Love. What is love? Love is complex. A mix of emotions, behaviors, and beliefs associated with intense feelings of affection, protectiveness, warmth, and respect for another individual. Something Tendou never experienced until he met Ushijima. They both pulled away from their kiss as they headed down the hill. The pair had an idea, a way to have a lot of fun and live their lives to the fullest. Once they made it to the festival, the couple sprinted towards the lanterns. The deep dark sky evoked an atmospheric ambiance as the stars were almost invisible due to the lights floating around in the air. Ushijima and Tendou ran from food stand to food stand, ordering various items such as ice cream, hot beverages, grilled fish on sticks, and dangos. They appeared to be enjoying their time together, laughing, playing tag, hugging, and making out with each other. This was Tendou's dream since forever. But something was bothering him... He knew what this feeling was. Like he already met Wakatoshi and the others years ago. That this happiness lived in him long before this week, ah, that feeling, some believed he could not obtain. For some people, happiness consisted of realizing a strange dream. Why can't we all be happy? Well, If you look for perfection, you'll never be content. Life is far from being perfect. You can't wish for the ideal situation as it will have ups and downs. And that is entirely normal. Tendou believed in hell on earth and was convinced heaven would be after death.
Resting on the grass, Ushijima had his eyes closed and hands behind his nape. Tendou looked at him.
"Why can't we all be happy, Wakatoshi~Kun?"
"The notion that a human being should be constantly happy is a uniquely destructive idea."
Ushijima believed that being sad and mad was part of a healthy balance of emotions.
"Thanks to you, though, I am happy. I feel free. I don't want to escape reality anymore."
"Just what did you mean by that anyway?"
A cold breeze flew through the air blowing on the lovers, causing the conversation to die. As the pair went towards the mini red bridge surrounded by cherry blossoms, Satori laid his head down Wakatoshi's shoulder. The latter mentioned he wanted to try the rollercoaster. It was located in front of the flowery river they were standing above. Satori ran towards the ride, pulling on his lover's hand. Once on the wagons, they fastened their seatbelts and raised their arms. Tendou was the most excited one.
"LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST, LET'S GOOOOOO!"
The ride started moving.
[Listen to: The night we met - Lord Huron](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtlgYxa6BMU)
Scenes of the couple started floating around in Tendou's memories. They were currently on a carrousel licking an ice cream cone they shared. Then they danced, cheering with cups of sake. Ushijima even picked Tendou up surprisingly and flipped himself until they fell on the grass. The grass that transitioned into the water, rolling them down the hill. They were surrounded by colors colliding with each other, waving in the air. As the music followed the colorful surrounding, Tendou went after the waves. It reminded him of when he took the LSD Semi gave him, but without the adverse side effects. Tendou found himself floating in the sky and softly landing on the ground next to a merry-go-round. He saw Ushijima, telling him to join him. He rushed to his lover, took one of the bars that weren't attached to a toy horse, and spun around it. His left hand was unconnected from the golden bar as he grabbed Ushijima's chin, caressing the latter's skin with his long fingers. All this seemed like a dream that didn't make sense. A dream that Tendou didn't want to leave.
Not too long after, the two lovers were under a little tent, savoring all sorts of different sushi. Tendou adored sushi. It was one of his favorite food.
"If I had one wish, it would be that I don't want to wake up from this dream. Everything is perfect for me. And I wouldn't replace my time by your side with anything else."
Ushijima smiled as he excused himself to go to the washroom. After the green-haired man left, Tendou took a mini sip of his chocolate milk. Looking down, happy, a bright figure illuminated the boy. As he looked up, he saw a shining woman, that soon made the scene white. Wakatoshi came back and could not find his lover anymore. Searching the area for him everywhere, he yelled his name but could not hear him. He began to panic. As tears started to roll down, he listened to his name from afar. Relieved and content to hear his lover's voice, he ran towards the words that echoed in his ears. As soon as he saw Satori, Wakatoshi stopped, shedding one last tear on his cheek.
"Ha..ah, Satori, don't do that again. You scared me."
[Listen to: Repeat until death - Novo Amor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbnjLHZfC9I)
Satori slowly turned around to look at Ushijima, as he wasn't facing him before. Smiling at the taller man, he started talking.
"This isn't real, right?"
"Huh?"
"You aren't real, and I'm just dreaming..."
"Satori I- No..."
"All that time, I thought I was finally happy. But really, my wish could only come true when I was dreaming..."
There was a moment of silence, and the redhead kept expressing his feelings.
"...This isn't just a dream... right..? I know you're by my side right now... I can hear you. I can hear Semi... I can hear the others too... But I can't s-speak. You think I can wake up, but... I don't think I can... Wakatoshi~kun..? I-I loved you... since the first day I met you... four years ago, in high school. And I fell in love all over again a couple of days ago... in a deep sleep that will never end..."
"No... Sa-tori... You said you wouldn't leave..."
"Thank you... for accepting me... Thank you, Wakatoshi Ushijima, for loving me. Thank you... for everything."
Flashbacks of the Shiratorizawa team playing together, having fun, and laughing together flashed. Goshiki giggled while Semi slapped Shirabu, who just hit Reon with a ball. Taichi and Hayato smirked while Tendou was in the background laughing so damn hard... Those were moments he always craved and never had until Ushijima invited him to his volleyball team.
Wakatoshi weakly walked towards Tendou, crying. Tendou slowly started drifting away, disappearing, turning into a bright transparent figure.
"No... please! we were going to live life to the fullest... we were going to be forever together!"
A flashback of Tendou falling down a bridge was seen. Ushijima's screaming voice echoed. The red-haired boy was underwater, unconscious, as red and blue lights began to flicker. That scene transitioned to a hospital bed, as the vitals monitor made a long, unpleasant noise. Ushijima, Hayato, Semi, Shirabu, Reon, Goshiki, and Taichi cried by the deceased adult's side. Goshiki hugged Ushijima, sobbing hard. Ushijima looked at Tendou's face, not being able to stop his tears from falling.
[Ushijima's POV]
Tendou Satori. You were a man who taught me how to smile. I could only curve my lips around you as you made the surroundings lively. Since that "accident," you fell into a coma. And since then, we all have been visiting you until the nurses told us you were not going to make it. From that day, I was the only one that came to see you. Wishing you were able to talk back to me. I heard that you were able to hear me from one of the workers. At least there was that... but I wished I could have seen your bright, red eyes open one last time...
[End of Ushijima's POV]
Wakatoshi stood by Tendou's grave near the ocean, placing flowers in the vase. As the wind blew, the tall fellow heard a whisper in his ear. It sounded like Tendou saying his name. Ushijima looked up towards the sea and saw a beautiful eagle. Smiling, he thought;
"I guess you escaped reality. You are free now, Tendou."
- Dreams can often lead us to the happiest moments we always wished we had. But we must stay strong as we can bring those dreams to reality. So, my child... live your life. It is full of surprises. Full of negativity, but full of positivity as well. This is what makes life beautiful; Pain, beauty, sadness, happiness, and memories. Happiness often starts in dreams... Wakatoshi's happiness flourished when he met Tendou in high school and when he met him in that dream, under the LED lights.-