"𝗪𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀" - 𝗞𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻

"Page 21"

🛸Song recommendation:
To Build A Home - The Cinematic Orchestra

Kenma had been in a coma for three days now.

Kuroo couldn't stand to see him like that.
Everytime he entered that hospital room it got harder to breathe and his whole body started trembling.

The doctors had told him that there was still a chance, that Kenma could wake up any minute.

Then why didn't it feel like it?

Kuroo had been sitting next to Kenma's bed for a few hours again now, just watching over him - as if that would change anything.
As if his love could make him wake up.

And every time he convinced himself Kenma's eyelids had just moved or that his fingers curled slightly, he was confronted with the thought that maybe Kenma didn't even want to wake up.

Kuroo wasn't questioning Kenma's love for him. He knew if the other could, he would just wake up, beat cancer and make everything go back to normal.
But living like this? Not being able to do anything? Being tied to a bed?

And every time he was reminded of the time he came into this room a week ago, just to find Kenma whispering to himself.

"Please just let me die."

Kuroo had frozen in the doorway, but Kenma turned around smiling, pretending he hadn't just stared at the ceiling, begging to leave.

It was not like Kuroo blamed him.
He understood.
He understood too well.

His legs felt sore from all the sitting, so Kuroo gently kissed Kenma's forehead and stroked his cheek.
"I'll see you at home.", he whispered, like he did everytime leaving the room.

For a moment it gave him comfort, to pretend he could just bring Kenma home again.
Or maybe home was a completely different place.

Because he had been to Kenma's house a few days ago and it hadn't felt comfortable at all.
Kuroo had just wanted to pick up Mr. Neko for his boyfriend, but he ended up looking through Kenma's whole room.

There were their pictures on the wall and the tickets to Kuroo's past games.
The ring Kuroo gave him laid around there too and Kuroo had placed it on Kenma's finger again, where it belonged.

The memory felt so far away now though it had only been a couple of days.
Kenma had looked at him so lovingly and now all Kuroo wanted was for Kenma to do anything at all.

The thing that unleashed his emotions was the jar full of poems he found under Kenma's bed. His boyfriend had kept them all, every single one throughout multiple years.
Kuroo took a few hours to uncontrollably sob while he read them all.

Now, he took a last glance at Kenma before he closed the door.

He made his way down to step in front of the hospital, putting on his jacket on the way.
It was already spring but the weather was getting colder again.

Right there across the street stood their cherry tree.
If Kuroo squinted his eyes, he believed to make out the letters carved into the wood.

And with them, the thoughts came flooding in.
He had promised Kenma he wouldn't leave him alone.
He had promised to always come home to him.
So he would.

No matter where Kenma went, Kuroo would follow.
Maybe it was a dumb, hurtful decision.
Kuroo knew that for him it was the right one.

Kuroo could almost feel himself smiling for the first time since Kenma fell into the coma.
Someone would find the book and read their story.

Maybe it was dramatically written, but it was the raw truth.
It was just the story of two people falling in love until the universe ripped them apart again.
But not for long.

On the other hand, the doctors could be right.
Kenma could wake up again.

Kuroo knew the thought should excite him. And it did.
But he was on the verge of feeling nothing and it was hard to see the difference between emotions.

The cherry tree laid peacefully before him.
This was also a piece of them that would be here for a long time.

When Kuroo closed his eyes he could see images of Kenma and him flashing by, like their life together was being played in a cinema.
And he also saw the things they could have been in the future, their children and house, two cats and a garden.

Lastly, he saw Kenma in his hospital bed, just how he had looked like moments ago.
Sleeping calmly, Kuroo's hands holding his.
And he could feel how Kenma's skin felt under his lips, how his heart beat faster just by the thought of the younger one's lips and the way Kenma had stroked his hair, when Kuroo had been begging him to stay.

"I'll always come home to you, Kenma.", Kuroo spoke quietly, taking a deep breath to take in everything in the world.

When he opened his eyes again he slowly reached out with his hand and watched the little white crystals landing on it, like they were looking for comfort - or a home.

It was the middle of april and it had just started snowing.

-------------------------------------------------------

I am very sad to say that this story ends here.

I know you all probably hate me now (and I don't blame you) but I hope you still sort of enjoyed this story.

And yes, I know this kind of seems like an open end but if you've read the story really carefully, you might notice that it  isn't.
(A hint: read chapter 8 again.)

Thank you to everyone who is still reading this, I hope to see you in the future.

I love you, stay safe <3

- "We're written on these pages."