Alive ~BokuAka

When it happened [1]

When it happened he was at work, not suspecting anything bad, not knowing what was going on. Sometimes he thought of him, everyday he thought of him. He wondered how his friend felt past days and if he also missed him...

"Two weeks left 'till your holidays. The shop's gonna be closed for a while, probably three weeks, maybe even some more."
"Yeah boss, my coworkers already told me about that," he replied.
"Alright, your shift is over now, you're dismissed. Stay safe, Bokuto."
"I will. See you on Monday," and with that he went out the door while putting on his jacket.

His car wasn't parked far from here, so he didn't need to walk for a long time. Only four minutes, to be exact.

He hurried up and got in. The rain was pelting against the window. This night was colder than usual, other nights and past weeks it began to rain more often. Soon the autumn will end, and the winter will start, coldness, snow, long nights, darkness.

He looked up to the sky. Dark and heavy clouds pushed themselves in front of the stars and the moon, taking away every chance to see some light, making the sky seem sinister and the road seemed gloomy.

Suddenly Bokuto noticed his phone vibrating, an incoming call from... Konoha? Why would his previous teammate call him? Curiosity was taking over him as he answered the call.

"Konoha? Is everything alright?"

No, nothing was, but he didn't know anything yet. He was completely uninformed. How could he not be? In the city he lived, everything was alright, he was doing well to say the least. How could he know that the following sentences, this call, will change his life completely? They will tear him apart to build him up differently, just so he could shatter into a million small pieces all over again.

"So you haven't heard of it, yet."
"Heard of what?" He asked, already worrying.
"Akaashi..."

His heart was racing, it beat a hundred times faster than it normally did. He already knew something was wrong, he knew that there was something going on. That voice, this cracking, stuttering voice on the other side of the phone, the sudden call, and that single word his friend could say before he stopped again. It meant he had to think how to put this message in the right way, how to tell Bokuto without making him cry.

Akaashi had always been special to the former team captain. Their relationship was strong and they truly cared about each other. His setter was everything to the elder one and he really loved him. But no one could ever say which kind of love it was. Of course they noticed, how Bokuto was always craving vor Akaashi's closeness and sometimes he was even getting jealous when he had to see how his friend would talk to another teammate, however they couldn't say if he had feelings for the younger one in terms of friendship or in terms of romance.

"What is with him?" The curiosity had taken over him already, so he couldn't wait any longer. He needed to know, right now. He needed to hear that he was safe, not a thousand words could describe how much he wished for that. Nonetheless this wish couldn't be granted.

"At the moment he is in the hospital. A few hours ago he got in an accident, a car accident."

His heart stopped racing. He could swear it even stopped beating for a second. Pictures of him were rushing through his mind. Always the same pictures, making sure he couldn't think of anything else than that boy right now. The smile on the pictures was slowly fading away.

Akaashi didn't smile quite often. There were days, no, weeks he didn't smile at all. And exactly that made those little moment so special. He wished he had recorded them, but they were so unpredictable and short, he never achieved that goal. But he saved those memories in his mind, all the good moments with him, all the bad times they had gone through. He was sure he'd still remember ever single match they had won together.

„H-how is his state?" He sounded more than only worried. He sounded scared and broken. Bokuto was scared, scared of losing Akaashi, of having to say goodbye once again, but now the difference was that he would perhaps never get the chance to see him again. And he was broken because this weight on his heart and on his shoulders got heavier with every minute that passed. And soon he couldn't hold back anymore, he had no other choice than to let the tears stream down his face. Although this broke a burden, he didn't feel relieved, he didn't feel better at all.

"C-critical. The doctors don't know if he's gonna make it."

This was the answer he hoped he wouldn't get, yet there it was, destroying him, making his heart crack. It felt like something took away his breath, the oxygen in the air, his lungs didn't want to work anymore.

A small "thank you for telling me" left his dry lips, he swallowed hardly, before he went silent and ended the call.

His hands were clinging desperately on the steering wheel of his car, a shiver running down his back. He felt cold, coldness enveloped him from head to toe and he could feel the goosebumps on his arms. For the first time in his life he felt alone. Not that kind of alone, when nobody was around you, more that kind of alone when you missed someone so much it made your heart ache and you knew it was impossible for them to stay by your side, this weird, worse kind, called loneliness.

"Akaashi... please... Akaashi," he whispered over and over again, his forehead now also learning against the wheel, hands still squeezing it tightly. Tears were streaming down his face, felt like they were burning on his cheeks, creating a stingy feeling, making him sick, making him feel weak. He was staring at his feet, sobbing uncontrollably, until he noticed that the rain stopped.

A sudden warmth on his head made him look up again. He wiped his tears away, staring at the sky. The dark clouds disappeared, showing the wonderful, sparkling stars which had been hidden all the time. After a while also Bokuto's teary sight got clear again and he could see the lightly brighter blue on the horizon and the moon shining in front of him, lighting up the road, as if it was showing him the way.

"That's a sign, a sign from the universe," he thought. A small smile adorned his lips as he started the car.

Even though he was tired from working all day, he didn't drive home like he would do on normal days. He drove straight to the city, where Akaashi lived in. He wanted to be the first person the other one could see, when he'll open his eyes again. He knew that Akaashi had always been strong. He would make it. He could do this. And there was no need for Bokuto to worry. Akaashi would stay with him for so much longer, this couldn't be the end of him, it couldn't be the end of them.

The younger one wouldn't leave him, he would be alive.