The buried noose | SKK one-shots

dementia

Chuuya is sitting in a hospital bed. He can't quite remember how he got there or why he's there, but he knows he's supposed to be there. He closes his eyes for a moment, stiff cotton sheets cold against his skin. He opens his eyes again, and his best friend is sitting at his bedside, hazel eyes full of worry, smiling sadly at him. He doesn't understand why he looks so upset, so he tries his best to cheer him up, cracking jokes and asking him about his day. Then, he says something- an old inside joke from when they were kids. Chuuya asks him what it means, and his smile falters, before dropping completely. Chuuya lays back in bed, succumbing again to the white blankets surrounding him.

Chuuya doesn't remember falling asleep or waking up, but he blinks, and he's awake. Chuuya looks to the side and someone's sitting beside him- Who are they? Why are they there? He looks down at his hands and realizes he has a wedding ring on. Who was he married to again? Why do all the faces in his memory feel like static? 

He blinks again. He doesn't know where he is. He remembers that he's supposed to know what happened, but his head feels like it's full of fuzz. He sinks deeper into his pillow. 

 He opens his eyes again. 

 Who is he?

He gets up and makes his bed, but asks who made it.

He eats and drinks, but it's his first time.

He walks around his house, but hasn't he been there before? 

He dances with him to their song, but he can't remember the next move. 

He pets his dog on the back every day, but the feeling is always new. 

He sits in his room and thinks about his child, until he looks at a picture and sees 2 others he didn't know he had.

He hums his favourite tune, but will never know the name of it. 

He lays down for sleep, but what's the point? He just woke up after all.

"One of the hardest things you will ever have to do, my dear, is to grieve the loss of a person who is still alive."