The Boy Made of Stars and the One Who Counted Them

No More Secrets

The ride home was relaxing as Bokuto slept the entire way.

Him and Kuroo brought their own car in case Bokuto had any issues, but the rest of the teams had to take a bus back. Bokuto packed all of his things and said some quick farewells to the teams before jumping in the car and falling asleep.

Kuroo stared at his best friend as they stopped at a red light. He sighed, watching the way Bokuto's chest rose and fell with each breath. His mind flashed back to the moment Kenma's chest stopped rising and fresh tears stung his eyes.

"I can't let that happen." He whispered, reaching over and squeezing Bokuto's hand. Recently Kuroo had become more cautious of Bokuto. He wasn't going to let he know but, he felt as though Bokuto's new found strength and endurance wasn't something to be tested. It didn't feel sustainable. Kuroo bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to regain control of his emotions.

To tell the truth, Kuroo was so scared. He was always scared for Bokuto but, recently, Bokuto was the thing that scared him. He was so naive and carefree that he hadn't realized his death date was slowly coming to be. There was a reason why he had to take medication. There was a reason why he has a device that regulates his heart. There was a reason why he constantly saw doctors and specialists.

He was dying, yet, he acted as if he were invincible.

Kuroo knew everything there was to know about Bokuto's illness. He had researched what Bokuto had the day after Kenma left. He needed something to distract him from the hole in his heart, so he became obsessed. He was constantly trying to  figure out if there was a cure out there.

His whole world came tumbling down for the second time when he realized it was incurable. Because it was so rare, no doctors were actively working to figure out some viable alternative to just pills.

There was no way out.

The hardest path Bokuto will trod, he will not have to walk alone. Kuroo was going to face the toil and heartbreak with him, until the very end.

As the light turned green Kuroo wiped his eyes and turned back to the road, driving forward. He was calmly listening to music as a noise interrupted his thoughts. Bokuto shifted in his seat. Not wanting to wake him Kuroo found the source, Bokuto's phone. He was about to turn it off until he realized it was an unknown number.

Kuroo quickly pulled over and answered the phone.

"This is Tetsurou Kuroo speaking, Koutarou cannot come to the phone right now, who is this?" Kuroo spoke seriously into the phone.

"Oh, Kuroo? Hey! Is Bokuto there?" The low rumble of Akaashi's voice came through the phone. Kuroo's grip tightened around it.

"He's not around right now, I'll pass your message on." Kuroo stated bluntly.

"Cool, just tell him to call me whenever he can! Hinata gave me his number, hey Hinata wanna say hi?" There was a shuffling sound from the other side of the phone as Kuroo heard the shrill voice of Hinata come through.

"Hi Kuroo! Tell Bokuto I said hi too!" He giggled as did Kuroo.

"Of course shrimpy, I'll do that." Kuroo said as the shuffling sound indicated it had returned back to Akaashi. "What were you saying, Akaashi?" Kuroo asked, his tone turning ice cold once again.

"Yeah, I was just wondering if Bokuto and I could hang out later on this week, I'm not sure what his schedule is so just tell him to call me and we can discuss it later. Thanks Kuroo, see ya!" The long beep sounded as Akaashi hung up.

Kuroo shook his head and stared at Bokuto next to him.

"Bokuto....I don't know who he is or why you seem to be pulled to him but, please, please, do not forget who you are. Do not forget, because, at this rate, who knows how often I'll be around anymore." Kuroo hung his head, whispering into the quiet air that surrounded him as he talked to Bokuto's sleeping body.