in another life. (Bokuaka)

chapter 29

"Hey, Akaashi?"

"Hm?"

"When do you think it will snow?"

"I don't know... Snow falls at random."

"Yeah, but... Do... You think it will snow soon? Or maybe January?"

"I hope so. That would be nice. Tokyo needs a little more snow now and then."

"Yeah... Yeah. When it falls, I want to go out and stand in it."

Akaashi sat cross legged in the seat adjacent to Bokuto's bed. He looked up at the sickly one when he'd said those words, trying to meet his gaze, but ultimately finding no yellow eyes to look into. Bokuto had his head turned away.

He was staring outside at the white clouds that shrouded the skies, mesmerized by just how colorless it made everything seem. It was one of those "White days", as Bokuto liked to call them, so he paid much more attention to the world beyond the glass than he did to his own confined life in the hospital. Bokuto breathed in deeply, the sound filling the small space around them. The bedsheets crumpled beneath his hands.

"Are you sure you should be going out in the cold like that?"

"I think I can handle it."

Akaashi didn't want to bring up the fact that Bokuto probably would no longer possess the ability to walk by the time any snow did get a chance to fall, so he kept his mouth shut. He rubbed his hands together weakly and tilted his head to the side.

"I guess you can... Just as long as you're feeling better."

Bokuto scoffed. It was a quiet sound.

"I am. Stop asking already. That was six days ago."

"I know, but it was bad."

"It passed." Bokuto turned his head, the pillow crumpling under his neck. He looked at Akaashi with heavy lidded eyes. He was extremely pale, and somehow thinner than before, but he kept that same smile on his face. "I'm fine now."

Akaashi couldn't help but smile back at him. He leaned his chin against the palm of his hand and chortled.

"Or at least as fine as you can get."

Bokuto stared at Akaashi sharply. His lips quivered before he could form his words.

"Sh...ut up." A stronger laugh broke out from him, rattling his body as he lay down in bed. "I look... Like shit, I know."

Akaashi found himself laughing along with him. His quiet chuckle was louder than Bokuto's wholehearted laugh.

"You don't. You don't look like shit." He tried to hide his grin with his hand, but it was still visible from the gaps between his fingers.

Bokuto reached a hand out, aimlessly trying to swat Akaashi's own hand away. He tried to aim for it at the very least, but found it difficult to. Still, he continued.