Ribs - bokuaka

Chapter 8

I woke up to the sound of heavy breathing. Before anything else, I look at the clock. It's currently 3 AM. For a minute, I am pissed that my one night of sleep in a bed in the foreseeable future was interrupted. Then I realize that it's Bokuto who's breathing heavy.

Quickly, I sit up and get out of bed. Looking over to the other side of the room, I see that Bokuto is still asleep. I walk over there and tap his shoulder. "Bokuto?" I whisper, not sure if I should actually wake him up or not.

He shudders when I poke him, so I decide I should wake him up. He seems to be having a really, really, bad dream.

"Hey, Bo. Wake up." I reach back out and shake him a little. I give it a few seconds before reaching out again, but he jolts awake before I can shake him. He almost instinctively flinches away from my hand. I quickly pull it away, not wanting to scare him any more. "Hey, I think you were having a nightmare."

It takes him nearly a full minute to realize that it's me, and not whoever or whatever he thought I was. When he does, he breathes out a shaky sigh of relief. He still looks incredibly tense, and I can see that his hands are shaking even in the dark. "H-hey, Akaashi."

"Bo, what's wrong?" I ask, cautiously going to sit across from him on the bed. I am careful not to get close, to prevent him from getting uncomfortable. The last thing I want is for him to not feel safe with me.

"U-uh... um... just a bad dream," he looks so small when he says that. I've never seen Bokuto like this. Not once ever.

"That seemed like more than just a bad dream, Bo. Do you want to talk about it?" He is already shaking his head before I even finish my sentence.

"No, no. It's alright. I'm fine, see?" He cracks a big smile, trying to show me that he's fine. I know that it's bullshit.

It takes me a minute, but I come up with something that I think might help him. "Bo, can I touch you?"

"W-what?"

"Can I? It isn't bad, I promise." I don't think he knows that I can, but I see the tears streaming down his face. I have no clue what to say, so doing something is all I really can manage.

"I, um... sure?" He looks incredibly confused. I don't blame him, I don't think I have ever asked him something like that before. He just seems so... scared.

Slowly, I move closer to him and pull him into a tight hug. He pretty much loses it when I hug him. No longer bothering to hide his tears from me anymore, he sobs into my shoulder. It's heartbreaking to see him this way.

"Shh. It's okay," I whisper, trying my best to sound comforting. This type of thing is not my forte, but I can tell he needs me right now and I want to be there for him.

He's mumbling something to me, but I can't quite make out what it is. When I realize he's apologizing over and over, I pull him away so that I can look at his face.

"Bokuto, listen to me-"

"Akaashi, I-"

"No, listen. You have no reason to be sorry. Bo, it's okay." He just starts crying again, so I pull him back into my chest.

We stay like that for a long time, Bokuto crying into my shoulder and me trying to convince him that he's okay. Eventually, he falls asleep.

I don't want to risk waking him up, tonight has already been stressful for him. Between this and me hounding him with questions that he wouldn't answer earlier, he needs the rest. So I stay there with him. It doesn't take long for me to fall asleep too.