JUST SMILE THROUGH THE PAIN AND SUFFER WITH ME:
Sleeping didn't come as easy as it used to. Bokuto knew this, and now Akaashi did, too.
"Apathy kun"
"You are beautiful"
"Because life is unfair."
Bokuto no longer smelled like a hospital.
Bokuto smelled like... Home.
"Ask... M-me w... Why I like... Cloud Atlas so much."
"S... So you... Know in the m-movie when... Th... Characters die in one life...?" He kept his weary yellow eyes on Akaashi, waiting for him to nod. Once he did, Bokuto continued. "W-well... I... Like it when... Th-they find each other again... In another life."
"It m-makes me... Feel like I'll h-have another life... One beyond this one... One that's better... Wh.. Where I can actually wake up to you... and be with y... you..." A smile played on his pale, thin lips. "One where we... Can... Live n...normal lives instead of... Living... This one."
Once Akaashi had left the hospital, he never looked back.
"Pale. Sick. Dead."
"I refuse to go. My last memory of Bokuto will not be of him sharply dressed, pale, stiff, and stuffed in a casket, surrounded by a countless amount of people who did not care for him at all until the day they heard about his death. My last memory of Koutaro is already with me, and it will die along with me."
'Sleep well, Akaashi!'
"I'm trying..."
Bokuto leaned in and touched his forehead to Akaashi's. He was only a blurred shape now, but Akaashi knew he was still there. Bokuto spoke, his voice peaceful. Healthy. Whole.
"I found you."
A trembling, tender laugh escaped Akaashi. He smiled.
"You found me."
