you can fly even higher

bright side (ennoshita)

Ennoshita Chikara

Ennoshita's footsteps are light and rushed through the hallway. He is looking for your room with worry all over his body. He is more worried about what you can say to yourself than what you can do.

He stops suddenly, his snickers squeaking on the floor for a moment when he arrives at the room the nurse told him. The door is closed, and he tries to calm down a little bit before knocking. You don't answer as excepted. You never take bad news in a good way.

Slowly, he opens the door until he can see your stretcher and you inside. He finds you in hospital clothes, sitting on your stretcher, looking at your right knee with what he is sure are tears on your face. The sight makes his heart hurt and he understands that he is late because you're already being hard on yourself.

He enters the room slowly and closes the door once he is inside. You don't notice him and that makes him realize that maybe your head is inducing more pain than the knee you hurtled.

He approaches in silence, with his left hand behind his back. Is not until he is standing beside you on the stretcher that you realize that he is there. You look at him, tears going down your face, eyes red and heart destroyed.

He swallows before using his free hand to push you to him in a side hug. Once your head touches his chest, you start sobbing and he starts rubbing your arm. Neither of you says something for a while, you simply stay there, crying and sobbing, while he holds you like he always does when you're having a bad time.

You are the first one to break the embrace. He observes you while you try to dry your tears and once you finish, he decides that is the best moment to reveal his gift.

"I brought you this", he says, suddenly. Your eyes go wide and he almost grins with how much your face changes once you see your favorite flowers in front of you.

You take them in your hands slowly with a smile adorning your face even if your eyes are still a little teary.

"Thanks, Enno-chan", you say, using that nickname you have always use for him.

He simply responds with a kiss on your head.

You put the flowers on the table beside the stretcher and Ennoshita returns to the topic in hand that made you cry in the first place.

"You were thinking pessimistic again", is not a question and that is something you know. You try to avoid his eyes.

"I wasn't thinking pessimistic. I was just thinking that I can't play for a while because my knee is worse than the doctors thought it was", you explain, fidgeting with your fingers.

"How much is a while?"

"A couple of months".

"Time flies".

"Not if I don't do what I like. Playing football is what I love and with this knee like this, I barely walk", you look at your hands, which are now in your lap. He knows you want to cry again.

"Oi", he calls, and through your blurry sight, you can see his hand taking yours. "Look at the bright side, you can be one of my patients", you look at him confused and he smiles. "You will need physical therapy before going back to the field. Isn't lucky that you know a very handsome physical therapist?"

You almost want to laugh, you almost want to hit yourself for forgetting that Ennoshita here, the man you have known since high school and that has been with you for the last three years of your life is a physical therapist.

"I'm such an idiot", you say, leaning your head on his chest again.

"Normally I will agree, but I'll let it pass for today", he says, surrounding you with his free arm.

You smell him for a second or two before hugging him back again. Suddenly you feel lucky for having him with you.

"Thanks for being here, Enno-chan", you mumble.

"I'm glad I'm here. You're always sinking in cups of water when everything is not that bad. You'll get better and before you know it, you'll be back in the field making goals again".

And you hug him tighter and he hugs you more.

And you tell yourself that as long as he is there with you; you'll be okay for the rest of your days.