always...

chapter 102 - daichi & suga

the ambulance had finally arrived and taken daichi away on a stretcher.

suga could barely remember everything that had happened leading up to the moment the paramedics slammed the ambulance doors shut and drove off, leaving suga, oikawa, and iwaizumi standing there watching with worry.

suga clutched the silver bracelet tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white as he squeezed it, a silent prayer that daichi would be okay.

he let out a heavy sigh, not noticing that he had been holding his breath the entire time the EMTs took to load daichi into the vehicle.

"kōshi..." oikawa brought his hand behind suga and began to rub circles into his back.

"i-i...what...he...what if-?" suga began to ramble.

"shhh...he'll be okay. let's head to the hospital to meet him there. his mom already left so we should go too," oikawa suggested.

suga nodded slowly, following oikawa and iwaizumi back to the car. he took his crutches and placed them in the backseat while oikawa held onto his shoulder to help keep the karasuno setter steady.

oikawa shut the door and got into the driver's seat, iwaizumi joining him in shotgun.

as they pulled out of the driveway, a few droplets of rain fell from the sky.

they slowly puddled on the windshield as gray clouds gathered overhead and oikawa quickly flicked on the windshield wipers.

suga leaned forward in his seat and buried his head in his hands. his left knee began bouncing up and down while suga started mumbling to himself under his breath.

the rain fell harder, the drops almost pounding on the car and nearly matching the rhythm of suga's incessantly shaking leg.

what if he doesn't wake up?

what if he's...?

no...i-i can't think like that...i can't.

suga gripped the bracelet in his hand even harder, red marks forming on the underside of his palm and contrasting with his pale skin.

please let him be okay.

suga tugged at his hair, pulling at his scalp the faster his knee bounced.

"kōshi...we're here," oikawa disrupted suga's thoughts.

the three of them got out of the car and headed to the emergency room. they made their way to the front desk, dripping water all over the floor from the cold rain outside.

"sawamura daichi. is he here? is he okay?" suga asked impatiently, leaning over the desk as he slipped from his crutches.

"he arrived about 10 minutes ago. they're taking care of him right now, so you will have to wait. i haven't been notified of his condition just yet," the woman stated flatly.

"agh!!" suga pushed himself off the counter and hobbled towards the waiting area. he sat down in one of the seats, his knee starting to bounce yet again.

he rubbed his thumb over the engraving of the bracelet over and over and over, a desperate gesture of hope and worry.

"kōshi," oikawa reached over and placed his hand on suga's knee, "deep breaths...you have to calm down. i'm sure he'll be fine. we just have to be patient for now."

"how can i be patient when he could be dying for all we know?!" suga shouted, catching the attention of several other people around them.

"suga, please-"

"what if i'm too late? he was doing so much better and i wanted to give him another chance, tōru. what if i don't get to do that? what if i decided too late?" suga battered oikawa with questions, his breathing uneven and shaky.

"shh...kōshi...you can't be thinking of all the 'what-if's' right now. take a deep breath and be patient while the doctors try and help him," oikawa answered calmly.

"b-but what if...what if i don't get to tell him that i still love him too?" suga murmured softly.

"don't tell me that. you save that for daichi when he wakes up...as skeptical as i am about him, if you really believe that he's worth a second chance, then i'll support you," oikawa responded.

the seijoh setter wrapped his arms around suga, holding him into his chest as he tried to coax him with reassurance.

oikawa caught iwaizumi's stare over suga's shoulder, tilting his head slightly as he tried to read his boyfriend's expression.

iwaizumi shook his head, almost shuddering, and looked away from the pair.

oikawa gestured for iwaizumi to come and sit down next to him to which the ace reluctantly complied.

oikawa took one hand off of suga and placed it palm up on iwaizumi's knee. iwaizumi sighed before lacing his fingers through oikawa's, squeezing gently and letting their intertwined hands rest in his lap.

the ace brushed his thumb over oikawa's and brought their hands up to his lips. he placed a light kiss on oikawa's knuckles, silently mouthing an 'i love you.'

oikawa smiled and mouthed it back before focusing his attention back to suga.

"sawamura daichi?" the front desk lady called out.

suga jumped up onto his leg, stumbling as he reached down for his crutches.

"here! we're here! is he okay??" suga immediately asked eagerly.

"he's stable for now, but he hasn't woken up yet. i can bring you to his room," she replied, gesturing towards a set of doors.

the three followed her through and down a long hallway. everything was so white and pristine, the dry air tinged with the scent of sanitizer.

"room 378. you can go in, if you'd like."

suga went in first and sat down on the chair closest to the hospital bed.

daichi was hooked up to all sorts of wires and machines, a tube coming out from the side of his torso, and his head wrapped with thick gauze.

his breathing was weak, but steady. the captain appeared to be at peace despite all the chaos and worry that surrounded him.

suga choked back a sob, not caring that tears were already dripping down his face and onto the thin sheets that covered daichi's body.

suga leaned over the captain, his head gently resting on his shoulder. the bracelet remained in his hand, never having left his iron grip since he picked it up from daichi's bedroom floor.

"dai...all that time ago, when i-i told you to give me that bracelet back when you were ready...i-i didn't mean...i didn't mean like this..."

suga picked up daichi's hand and wrapped it around his own.

"never like this."