[23]

New Message!

From: Kuroo (Sent January 31st at 2:25 PM)

[Hey, are you there?]

Akaashi:

[Yes, I am.]

Kuroo:

[How are things?]

Akaashi:

[Things could be better. Things could be worse.]

Kuroo:

[May I ask how Bokuto is doing?]

Akaashi:

[He's... Hanging on.]

Kuroo:

[Can he still walk? Or talk?]

Akaashi:

[No, he can't. He lost the ability to walk a little more than a week ago. His ability to speak left him soon after.]

Kuroo:

[I see. You really are straightforward, aren't you?]

Akaashi:

[I don't know any other way to put it. Sorry.]

Akaashi looked up from his phone after sending the message and turned his head to notice that Bokuto was once again staring at him with acute interest.

His eyes read, "Who's that?"

Stuffing his phone in his pocket, Akaashi shrugged.

"Just... Kuroo." He said the name with a lack of interest to try and soften the blow, but Akaashi knew that no matter how he approached it, Bokuto would frown when he heard the name.

And he did.

Bokuto looked down at Akaashi's hand. His eyes gave away just how much he missed his friend. Feeling an amount of guilt build up within his chest, Akaashi pulled out his phone just as quickly as he'd hid it away.

"Would you like for him to send a photo?"

Bokuto looked back up and thought for a moment, then nodded.

Playing off of this, Akaashi texted for Kuroo to send an image of himself for Bokuto to see. It took quite some time for a message from Kuroo to arrive, but when it did, Akaashi realized that he'd sent a video instead of what was initially asked for.

Akaashi leaned over in his seat to move himself closer to Bokuto. With one elbow on the bed, he held his phone so that the both of them could see. Bokuto stared at the screen with interested eyes, wondering what the content would consist of. Akaashi pressed play, and a video of Kuroo started to play.

He sat at home in bed, with a snug fitting shirt on and his hair an absolute mess.

"What's up, guys? Ahhhh I know you didn't tell me to send a video, but, I'm not someone who follows rules." He pulled a mock cool expression, but this was cut short as someone else spoke up.

From the background of the video, a low voice could be heard.

"What? Did you just... Say that to yourself?"

"No- wow, no, I'm taking a video."

Kuroo panned the phone to his side, and a blurred Kenma came into focus on screen. He sat cross-legged, with a shirt on that was two sizes too big, and a hat that looked as if it had been placed on his head without his consent. His head was down and his fingers moved swiftly over the buttons on the gaming device that he held in his hands. At one point, he reached a hand up to grab the beanie off of his head, and he aimlessly chucked it to the ground with force.

"Say hi, Kenma."

"Wait, what? I didn't hear what you said..." Kenma looked up and was greeted with a front facing camera. He quickly got up from the bed and walked off. "Don't record me."

"At least say hi," Kuroo called.

"Hi." The disembodied voice came from off screen.

"And that's Kenma for you..." Kuroo groaned as he repositioned himself in bed, and then he smiled. "But putting him aside... I hope all is well. Um..." He scratched at his cheek, just below his eye. "I miss you guys. I miss you especially, Bokuto. Um... Hang in there, alright? Akaashi, don't give him a hard time, or you and I are going to fucking fight."

Bokuto smiled wide to those words. He would have laughed if he could.

A grin ghosted across Akaashi's lips as well, but it was quick to vanish.

"Well, I guess that's it for now. I would have Kenma say bye, too, but-" He turned his head to look around, "He left... the room...? Yeah, he left the room. So I'll just say bye for him! See you, Bokuto. Keep it cool. And remember, you're the best." He held his hand up in a "peace sign", and the video ended with him on screen.

Akaashi sighed. He thought the video had gone by too quickly, but it had actually lasted a little under thirty seconds.

"For a guy who's name is Kuroo, he sure is a colorful one." Akaashi sat up and placed his phone on the counter.

Bokuto nodded and looked up at Akaashi once again.

"You guys were best friends, huh...?"

Bokuto nodded once more. He struggled to raise a hand, and slowly he twirled his index finger in circles at the side of his head.

Akaashi snorted softly and leaned back in his seat.

"Is he crazy?"

The smile on Bokuto's lips grew just a little more, signifying that he'd answered yes to Akaashi's question.

It was moments like these that made Akaashi realize just how much of an innocent soul Bokuto really was. Every now and then, it would come to him that Bokuto was only twenty years old, and that fact would only weigh Akaashi down even more than it usually did. It hurt him to think that Bokuto had barely even experienced the joys of a young adult's life before that crippling disease had taken a hold of him. It was frustrating, it was infuriating, and it was overall saddening, but Akaashi could not show any of this. Not in front of Bokuto.

So instead of putting on a sour expression, Akaashi only kept a neutral one, like he always did. It was his best and only way to hide his pain