Don't Leave Me (Behind) || [BokuAka] || ✔️

22

Akaashi sat at his desk, work open in front of him, though long forgotten. His mind was elsewhere, too preoccupied to continue his editing to get a sufficient amount done. He had fixed a few things, minor mistakes or areas of improvement here and there, but his heart was racing and his anxiety was at an all time high.

Bokuto still hasn't responded to his messages from nearly 5 hours ago, hasnt even read them, and while Akaashi by no means expected him to say hes, even though he hoped the other would say yes, he still expected a response. Especially after last night.

He wasn't sure how much Bokuto had to drink, his memories were still fuzzy after all, but he definitely remembered the older having at least a glass of wine, possibly two, and while he was most likely alright to drive, there was still that tiny, nagging part of his brain telling him otherwise.

He was scared something happened to the other boy on his way home. He hadn't seen Bokuto's car in the driveway when he went to pick up breakfast with Yukie earlier, so he definitely drove back, and after more than 5 hours of absolute radio silence, he was getting worried. The ravenette's green eyes flicked back down to his open phone screen, seeing no new messages from him.

5 hours ago

'Hey Bo, Yukie wants to know if you're free to play again today?'
'I'll even organise dinner again, if you'd like.'
'Just let me know :)'
'Don't feel pressured to say yes for Yukie's sake, by the way'

4 hours ago

'Hey Bokuto, its been a few hours, just let me know you're ok, please.'
'I'm starting to get worried, please respond.'

30 minutes ago

'I'm really worried now, i'm going to stop by your house to check on you. I'm just really concerned.'

Just now

'Please contact me, i just want to know you're ok.'
'Are you avoiding me? Are you hurt?'
'Please respond.'

Akaashi sighed, tears brimming his eyes as he flopped his head back against his work chair. He was getting really concerned. Bokuto was such an outgoing boy, it was rare for him to not respond to messages, even rarer to not even read them at all.

Akaashi was conflicted. On the one hand, he doesn't remember what happened last night; for all he knew, he ran his mouth about something. That wouldn't surprise him. While his feelings for the older were no secret, he wasn't ready to be completely vocal about them yet. What if the alcohol had been the push he had not necessarily needed.

What if he confessed, and Bokuto did not return those feelings? Or he thought Akaashi was playing games with him?

On the other hand, he just really needs to know Bokuto is ok. He needed to calm his anxiety, even just a little, and confirmation of the older's condition would do just that. He could, like he said in his messages, go to Bokuto's house and demand to see him, but if the first option was true, Bokuto wouldn't really appreciate the younger showing up after crossing the boundaries.

But what if something happened?

And that thought ultimately won out. He still wasn't sure about showing up unannounced at the other's doorstep, especially with a young girl who wasn't aware of the situation in tow, but he could always call. That's what phones are for, right?

He clicked on the small call button on the top of the screen, raising the device to his ear and listening as the call didn't even go through, the familiar robotic voice answering in Bokuto's place.

"This number is out of service at this current time. Please check the number you have dialled is correct, or try again later." Akaashi sighed, hanging up and trying again, getting the same answering machine response again and again.

Either something happened, or he turned his phone off. And he was hoping and praying to whatever god was out there that it was the second option.

The ravenette felt his heartbeat pick up, breathing becoming shallower as the seconds passed and he tried to stave off a panic attack. He resisted the urge to pace, knowing that was just going to heighten his already panicked state, and he thought through his other options.

The only other thing he could think of is ringing Kenma or Kuroo-san, but that was risky; there was a high chance they had changed their numbers in the years since he's contacted either of them...

But it was worth the chance if it meant calming his racing mind.

Akaashi started throwing open every drawer in his desk, searching desperately, frantically for his old phone. He had bought a new one and changed his number after he married Osamu, wanting to 'leave his old life behind', but for some reason that he was now incredibly thankful for, something compelled him to keep the old device.

Within 3 minutes he had found the old phone, slightly dusty from its years in storage, and Akaashi quickly threw it on charge, watching as the minutes ticked by and the device's percentage increased bit by bit.

Eventually the thing hit 10 percent, enough to find the blonde boy's contact, and he searched through the list of names he had forgotten about, coming across the familiar name and tapping it into his current phone, double checking it once before pressing the call button.

It rang twice before the familiar click of the line being answered was heard, and Akaashi's heart spiked again.

"Hello?" The voice was velvety and soft, just like Akaashi remembered.

"Kozume-san?"

"Keiji? What's wrong? You sound like you've been panicking."

"Oh, well yes, but that's not important. Is Bokuto-san ok? He hasn't answered any of my calls or messages, and I was starting to get really concerned. We were drinking last night, and I just wanted to make sure he was ok. I'm so glad you answered, I was so close to just going over to your house to see for myself what was going on. Oh, yeah, is he ok? Please tell me he's o-"

"Keiji, he's ok. His phone is just off. I'll get you to call him back when he turns it back on. He's having a bit of a break from everything at the moment." The younger replied, and Akaashi immediately felt his mind stop buzzing.

"Oh, I'm so glad he's ok. Why is his phone off? Did something happen?" There was a silence for a second, then a little background noise.

"Ah, yeah, he's ok. It's not really my place to say. I'm sure he'll tell you when he calls you back." There was more yelling in the background. "Look, I'd love to catch up, but I'm gonna have to call you back. Bye Keiji."

"Oh, yeah that's ok, I'll tal-'' The line beeped to notify the end of the call, and Keiji sighed. "I'll talk to you later." He sighed and fell back into his work chair. While he wasn't as anxious anymore, he suddenly felt exhausted, and the chances of work, especially anything of quality, getting done was minimal.

At least he knew Bokuto was ok... He thinks. That phone call was really vague.

*****

That text conversation was extremely hard to format because my app kept glitching, so sorry if it looks a bit weird, it's the best I could do.
To be honest, I wasn't sure if we'd made our word ideal this chapter, but we did, so I'm pretty happy with that. I quite like this chapter I think

Thanks :)