[3]

"I know you aren't going to ask, so I'll just let you know. From what I've heard, the doctors say that whatever I have is called... FFI?" Bokuto folded his arms. He held an air around him as if he were having a normal conversation about the weather. "Fatal Familial Insomnia? If I remember correctly." A cold shiver curled up Akaashi's spine. He'd never heard of that disease before. It worried him enough to get some words out of him. "I don't think I want to ask about the symptoms of this illness." "Well, even if you wanted to, I wouldn't have an answer for you." Another laugh. "All I can say is that sleeping doesn't come as easily as it used to." What normally would have pained someone to say, he delivered with ease, and with that same grin to boot. Akaashi couldn't help but almost smile back, his lips barely twitching. He stared in Bokuto's direction, at him this time. "Are you here every day?" "Of course! Been here for about... Four weeks now." He blinked sluggishly. "I see..." Akaashi nodded once. No words were exchanged for a moment, and soon, the short amount of silence had become awkward. "Well, I'll be going now." Shut him out, don't let him in. He's sick. "Ah-uh, one second-." Akaashi's jaw clenched. "I have to go, Bokuto." He started on his way. Please don't persist. "If you would please listen." His hands at his sides, Bokuto bowed. "Please, it will only take a second." Akaashi was straightforward, but he wasn't heartless. He huffed out a breath and turned around. "What is it? I really have to go." His eyes lighting up, Bokuto straightened his back and fished his hand into his pocket. He pulled out a phone, and to Akaashi's dread, he asked for his phone number. What was he to do? What was he to say? Akaashi literally found nothing special about Bokuto. Why had the sickly one taken a sudden liking to him? He wanted nothing more than to push him away, throw away the forms, and never set foot into that hospital again, but for some strange and irritating reason, Akaashi found it difficult to deny Bokuto. He was trying to, he truly was, but he just couldn't. "I... Don't... Usually text," Akaashi murmured. He looked down at Bokuto's phone. He couldn't look at his face. "I'm often busy. Keeping in contact with me wouldn't be a good idea." He watched Bokuto's fingers curl around the phone, and his hand slowly backed away. "But–" Akaashi shocked himself with that one word. He could still see Bokuto's hand, and it had frozen in place. "I guess I could find some time to talk every so often." He looked up, and his gaze found Bokuto's. Those yellow eyes were gleaming. He entered his number swiftly, and then handed the phone to Bokuto, the name section empty. "Thank you." His voice was full of excitement as he proceeded to enter the name for his new contact. Akaashi watched closely as Bokuto mouthed and typed the name, "A-p-a-t-h-y—k-u-n." Bokuto was close to saving the contact before Akaashi spoke up. "You don't have to put that." He sighed. "It's... Akaashi."

The sky burned a strong, orange glow as the sun set in the distance. Akaashi sat in bed, laptop in his lap, as his fingers scrolled and typed frantically. FFI. The page loaded. Akaashi went straight into the reading. (FFI) is a very rare autosomal dominant inherited prion disease of the brain... Akaashi's eyes scanned the screen. FFI has no known cure and involves progressively worsening insomnia, which leads to hallucinations, delirium, and confusional states like that of dementia... Thin lips pressed into an even thinner line. His fingers remained stiff for quite some time as his eyes read the introductory paragraph over and over again. "There is no known cure, huh...?" Akaashi continued to read on. "All the people who've contracted this disease eventually die within a year or less..." This part was read aloud. He rubbed his face quietly. "Of course they do." Akaashi leaned his head on his hand, chin resting in his palm. "I wonder if Bokuto knows about all of this." He must have looked it up at some point, right? It was the only normal thing to do, considering how he was the one who was suffering from said disease. "Insomnia." He thought back to the bags around Bokuto's eyes. 'All I can say is that sleeping doesn't come as easily as it used to.' Akaashi exhaled quickly through his nose, making a sound that was almost like a laugh. He read up on the symptoms and blinked gently, a hand over his lips. After several minutes, Akaashi closed his laptop and lay back on his bed. He stared at the ceiling. "Some friend I've made." There wasn't much else to say. New Text Message! From: Bokuto (Sent July 29th at 11:56 PM) [Hey! I hope this isn't a bad time!] Akaashi lifted his head from his pillow and reached a hand out to grab his phone. The bright light caused him to squint as he read the message. Quietly, he contemplated on whether he wanted to respond or not. He blinked weakly and slid his fingers down the sides of his phone, a sign of weariness that he could not disobey. Akaashi watched as the screen went to black, and it was then that he placed the phone back on his nightstand, choosing to ignore the message. He couldn't sleep for about an hour after the text, but ultimately slipped off to sleep. Akaashi never received another message in the remaining hour that he was awake.