always...

chapter 103 - daisuga

suga fell asleep in the chair next to daichi's bed, his hand still lightly grasped around the captain's while oikawa and iwaizumi stayed seated outside the room and waited with suga until daichi woke up.

four hours had already passed and yet he still hadn't come to.

daichi's mother stayed outside the room as well, a few chairs down from oikawa and iwaizumi. she never stopped tapping her leg, almost impatient rather than anxious for her son's health.

oikawa had fallen asleep on iwaizumi's shoulder while the ace kept himself busy playing games on his phone.

doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel roamed the halls, not paying much attention to them or daichi's mother since they were clearly low priority.

suga's head rested on daichi's arm, his breathing finally steady and rhythmic in his sleep. he appeared at peace for the first time in ages, yet somehow you could tell in his expression that his mind was swirling with endless thoughts.

daichi's arm twitched under suga's head, causing the setter to stir slightly. suga readjusted himself, still fast asleep and unaware of daichi's sudden movement.

the captain's eyes rolled under his lids before they finally fluttered open.

daichi blinked a few times, as if in a daze, before noticing suga asleep on top of him.

"k-kōshi...?" daichi croaked, his voice raspy and strained.

suga mumbled something in his sleep before slowly lifting his head up and rubbing his eyes.

"kōsh-sorry...suga, wha-what happened?" daichi brought his head to his forehead, feeling the gauze wrapped around it.

"d-daichi?? YOU'RE AWAKE!! y-you're okay!" suga threw himself across the captain, startling him with his sudden burst of energy.

daichi hesitantly wrapped his arms around the setter, unsure of why suga was acting this way. tears streamed steadily down suga's cheeks, soaking daichi's hospital gown.

"what were you thinking?? why did you...drink again? i-i...i was so worried about you..." suga trailed off.

daichi looked down at his hand and his facial expression changed as if his brain had rewired.

"your bracelet! where's the bracelet?? i-it was in my hand and i-"

"this?" suga held up the thin silver band in his palm.

"...yes. i wanted to give it back to you..." daichi began to recall.

"why? i told you not to until you were ready," suga commented quietly.

"i thought i was...but not in the way that you wanted though. i wanted it to be a parting gift..." the captain broke eye contact.

"daichi...talk to me. what happened? you were doing so well."

daichi went on to explain the argument he had had with his mother to which suga nodded along, squeezing daichi's hand every so often.

"i see...i understand that recovery is hard, but please remember that you're not alone. it's something i know i need to work on as well, but it's true for us both. you're not alone anymore," suga brought his hand to daichi's cheek, caressing his jaw with the underside of his thumb.

daichi nuzzled into suga's palm, his touch full of warmth against daichi's cool skin. he reached up to his face and placed his hand on top of suga's, eager to feel as much contact as possible.

"...i'm sorry. i'm sorry that i keep hurting you. i want to keep trying to get better, i really do...suga, please don't give up on me just yet. i don't know what i'd do if you-"

suga pressed his lips against daichi's, delicate and soft. daichi closed his eyes and relaxed into the sudden gesture as he began to remember the feeling of suga's lips on his own.

his posture slumped slightly as an overwhelming sense of familiarity and comfort washed over him, turning the clock back to their better days.

suga pulled away first and dropped his hand from daichi's cheek.

"...you worry too much," suga answered in a whisper.

daichi blinked a few times, as if to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"w-what was that for?" he stammered.

"to tell you that i love you," suga smiled.

"does this mean that...?"

"i want to give us a second chance. i don't care if we're both unstable right now, i just know that i love you. i want to be there with you every step of the way and i want you to be by my side as well as i try to do the same," suga replied, a certain confidence in his tone.

"are you serious? you're not messing with me right? sugawara, i swear if this is some sick joke, i-"

"it's not a joke daichi," suga held out the bracelet in his hand once more, "but for now, you hold onto this. you're not ready yet."

"what do you mean? i thought that-"

"just-just hold onto it for me, okay?"

"...okay."

daichi took the bracelet from suga as iwaizumi and oikawa walked into the room, daichi's mom following close behind.

"jesus, we've been waiting for like 10 minutes. you guys could've resolved that a lot faster y'know," oikawa rolled his eyes.

"shut up. you're the one who didn't tell iwaizumi you were in love him for 3 years," suga stuck his tongue out.

"3 years?" iwaizumi raised his eyebrows at oikawa in disbelief.

"...yes," oikawa muttered under his breath.

daichi and suga chuckled at the other two before daichi's mom cleared her throat loudly.

"yes?" daichi asked.

"are you...okay?" his mother questioned.

"...for now at least."

"the doctors said that you hit your head pretty hard because you were drunk. they had to pump your stomach and give you some medicine, but you also have a concussion so you can't play volleyball for a few weeks. otherwise, you should be fine and we can go home soo-"

"excuse me," suga interrupted, "don't you have anything else to say to him? you're the reason why this happened."

daichi's mom looked down at the floor, "...i'm sorry."

"for?" daichi scoffed.

"yelling at you...blaming you...all of it," she admitted with defeat.

"okay. thank you...but, i'm going to live with dad for the time being. it's not good for my mental health to be in such a toxic environment. i learned that from therapy and i think you should try it too," daichi suggested with a smirk.

his mother nodded shortly and left the room to talk to the doctors. iwaizumi and oikawa soon followed to leave him and suga alone for a little while longer.

"so you're really not messing with me? you want to give us another chance?" daichi rambled, the worry still clear in his voice.

"i'm not messing with you, i promise. i love you daichi," suga reached down and laced his fingers through daichi's hand, brushing his thumb over his knuckles.

"...and you can call me kōshi again."