Akaashi woke with a start that same night, his strangled shouts having pulled him from his sleep. He'd flinched hard and sat up quickly, closing his hand over his mouth to subdue the almost hysteric sounds that came from him. His breathing was heavy, his heart rate quicker than usual; Akaashi could feel his heart pounding in his throat, making it difficult to swallow.

"Sh- sh-it..."

That had been the fifth time that month where Akaashi had to tear himself out of another nightmare. They made him feel nauseous to a point where he had to sit up in bed and swallow deep, slow breaths in order to cool himself down, and he did just that, reaching his hands up to rub at his eyes before taking a tense look around his room.

Exhaling heavily, Akaashi turned to look at the desk near his bed. His phone was there. Hesitating for only a second, he reached his hand out and took the device into his hands. When the screen lit up, a text message from Bokuto waited there for him.

'Sleep well, Akaashi.' It had been sent two hours ago.

Akaashi swiped and unlocked his phone with trembling hands.

From: Akaashi (Sent at 2:47am)

[Are you there?]

Bokuto:

[Yeah! Akaashi? I thought you fell asleep.]

Akaashi had to wait almost a minute for Bokuto's response. It was the longest minute he'd ever been forced to sit through.

Akaashi:

[I woke up. Nightmares.]

Bokuto:

[Nightmare? You had a nightmare? Was it bad?]

Akaashi:

[Well, it managed to wake me up.]

Bokuto:

[The quiet kind of wake up?]

Akaashi:

[No, more like the clichéd kind, where you sit up in bed in a cold sweat.]

Bokuto:

[Are you calming down? Are you feeling better?]

Akaashi stared at the text message and let out a shaking sigh. Judging by his still trembling hands, he knew he wasn't.

Akaashi:

[Yeah. I'm just a little shaken.]

Bokuto:

[I don't believe you on that 'Yeah' part.]

Akaashi:

[I'm fine.]

Bokuto:

[Alright, well... We'll just see about that.]

Furrowing his brow, Akaashi stared at his phone screen and lay his head down sideways. It wasn't like Bokuto to question what he said in such a straightforward fashion.

Akaashi:

[There's nothing to see...]

He pressed send and watched the phone carefully, waiting for the small ellipses to appear on the lower left side of the screen. But instead, he was greeted with nothing. He didn't get a response, nor did he see any signs of responding.

Akaashi frowned and left his phone screen alone to dim and blacken. He held it in his shaking hands and closed his eyes in an attempt to try and find sleep again. It was difficult, however, as each time he tried to drift off to sleep, that unnerving fear of having the same dream would jerk him back awake. Akaashi groaned softly and covered his face.

BZZT

Akaashi's phone vibrated against his forehead. He flinched and pulled his hand away to stare at the screen.

Bokuto:

[Look outside! (＠'∀｀)ノ]

"What?" Akaashi kicked his legs out of bed and strode to his window. "Impossible-" He pulled apart the blinds and looked down.

Out in the dead of night stood Bokuto, with the burgundy knit scarf around his neck, a jacket, jeans, and slippers. He looked up and grinned, and waved wildly in Akaashi's direction.

Akaashi's eyes widened. "No, no, no, no-" He pulled away from the windowsill and ran out of his room, straight downstairs and to the front door. He threw it open and faced Bokuto, who was jogging to him with a smile and a shiver in each step.

"May I come in?"

"No! No, we're-"

"Why not?"

"We're going back to the hospital right now. I'm taking you back." Akaashi reached his arms out and pushed Bokuto away.

"What? No!" Bokuto refused to budge. He pushed Akaashi back this time. "I just came from there."

"Exactly, because you belong there!" Akaashi felt that his words were a bit bitter, but he had no other way of telling Bokuto the truth. "You're sick, you need medical attention."

"So I can't sleep." Bokuto swatted Akaashi's hands away. "What's the big deal?"

"It's more than that!" He exerted more force into his arms, getting Bokuto to take a step back. "You've had two panic attacks this week already, and your hallucinations are getting worse. My home is not a place for you to be right now."

"I get panic attacks when you're not around," Bokuto answered simple-mindedly. "And my hallucinations aren't all that bad."

Akaashi clenched his jaw behind a mildly irritated face. "Stop trying to act like this isn't such a big deal... You may not think it is, but I..." He paused and reached his arms out to get in another shove. "Let's just go."

"I don't want to." Bokuto grabbed Akaashi's hands with his own.

"Bokuto, stop."

"I don't want to go back!"

"How did you even sneak out?"

"By sneaking out! They don't pay much attention to me anyways!"

Akaashi yanked his hands away and stared at Bokuto. As much as it infuriated him, he knew that Bokuto wasn't going to go anywhere unless he let him into his home first. He swallowed thickly.

"Get inside." Akaashi stepped to the side.

Bokuto's eyes did the familiar light up thing as he bounded into Akaashi's home. He removed his slippers and waited at the entrance for his friend to enter. Akaashi stepped in and shut the door behind him.

"You chose the perfect night." Akaashi said bitterly as he hobbled up the stairs. "My parents aren't home."

"It's not like I would've made any noise," Bokuto all but shouted, following after him.

Akaashi sighed. "I'll get you back to the hospital by seven in the morning."

"Fine by me! Imagine the looks on their faces when they see me coming in from the outside. Imagine their faces when they notice I'm not even in my room." Bokuto was elated.

Akaashi entered his room and shut the door behind Bokuto. "I'm going straight to sleep."

"But I thought you had that nightmare." Bokuto stood at the side of Akaashi's bed.

"I did..." He paused for a moment. "... Is that why you came here? Because of the nightmare?"

Bokuto stared at Akaashi. "Because you said you were okay, and I knew you weren't."

Akaashi was at a loss for words. He returned Bokuto's gaze, then looked down quickly afterwards. A hand tugged at his shirt weakly. "I see." He reached a hand out to turn on the lamp that sat on his nightstand.

Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, Bokuto rubbed the back of his neck. "What was the dream about?"

Akaashi sat in bed and wrapped a sheet around himself. He tossed the navy blue one to Bokuto, remembering how fond he was of it the last time he'd come over. He watched as Bokuto gathered it up in his arms and threw it around himself. He then stared at Akaashi, waiting for his response.

He sighed. "I was drowning." His hands picked at the small lint rolls that stuck to his sheet. "Drowning in something black, sort of like tar. I was fighting and trying to get out, but... I had no power over it whatsoever. I was so weak, and it'd gotten to the point where I could barely breath. My face was the only thing sticking out." Akaashi cocked his head back to demonstrate this, with his finger tapping his chin.

"I was struggling. But in the end, I couldn't move. I was shouting, but no sound came out. No one could hear me. No one was around." Akaashi shrugged. "The liquid started flooding into my mouth and nose, and it wasn't until I was suffocating that I forced myself awake."

Akaashi didn't say another word afterwards. He only bundled himself up in the sheets that surrounded him. He turned his head to look out the window, eyeing the moon timidly.

Shifting in his seat, Bokuto pulled himself closer to Akaashi, one hand grasping the blanket that had been given to him.

Akaashi remained in place with the thought in mind that Bokuto would respect his personal space and sit a foot or two away from him, but to his apparent surprise, Bokuto leaned his head on Akaashi's shoulder and slipped an arm around him.

Akaashi squirmed in discomfort. "What are you doing?"

"Comforting?" Bokuto replied, lifting his head. "Isn't that what humans do?"

Akaashi watched him carefully. "Don't talk like you're not one..."

Bokuto chortled quietly and placed his head back on Akaashi's shoulder. They didn't speak for a moment, and the room was filled with the hushed sounds of the outside.

"Hey."

"What?"

"Let's watch Cloud Atlas."

"No." Akaashi shook his head.

Bokuto grumbled to himself. "Why not? Don't you have it in your laptop?"

"I do, but I don't want to watch it. It's a long movie, and I've watched it about seven times already."

"Well if you've watched it seven times then why not watch it an eighth time?"

"Because it's three in the morning and I want to fit some sleep into my schedule. By the time that movie ends, it'll be six. Then I'll have to walk you to the hospital before the doctors find out you're missing and lose their minds."

A laugh escaped Bokuto, the sound curling his lips into a smile. "What if they've already found out?"

"Then that would be a problem."

"And then they'd turn my room upside down in an attempt to find me."

"That'd be a tough mess to clean up."

Turning his head, Bokuto looked at Akaashi. "Everything you say is so straightforward. Why is that?"

"I... Don't know." Akaashi inhaled slowly. "It's just how I am. Sometimes I think I'm funny. But people never laugh at my jokes."

Bokuto snorted. "When have you ever tried to make a joke?"

"When I said that it would be a tough mess for them to clean up..." Akaashi sounded genuinely confused. "Didn't that come off as remotely funny?"

Bokuto couldn't help but guffaw, his head tilting back. "That was your idea of a joke?"

"You're too loud, be quiet." Akaashi shoved his visitor lightly. Despite this, it only seemed to make Bokuto laugh even harder. Akaashi pursed his lips in frustration, but this look quickly vanished as a small laugh fell from his lips.

"Well, you're laughing now..." He tried to hide his smile. "So I guess I am pretty good at being funny."

Bokuto glanced at him. "Yeah, but for all the wrong reasons." His laughter died down along with Akaashi's. "You know... I don't think I've ever heard you laugh, or seen you smile for that matter."

Shrugging one shoulder, Akaashi grabbed his phone. "Well now you have."

Bokuto looked over at the phone screen. "What are you doing?"

"Setting an alarm for six AM." Akaashi set his phone down and leaned back slowly, resting the back of his head against his pillow. Bokuto followed, his arm still around him.

This is strange. He stared up at the ceiling and sighed. Why do I let him do this?

Akaashi's head slumped to the side, in Bokuto's direction.

"I hope you don't mind me sleeping." He whispered the words.

"Of course I don't. I showed up to your house unannounced at three in the morning. You've got all the right to sleep..."

"I just hope it isn't rude-"

"It isn't." Bokuto's arm unconsciously squeezed Akaashi closer to his side.

"Alright..." He closed his eyes. "Good night." Akaashi pulled his arms in close, wrapping the sheets around himself.

"See you in three hours." Bokuto whispered.

Complete and utter silence befell them afterwards. Akaashi had kept his eyes closed for quite a while, trying to fall into a deep sleep, but found that he couldn't, or at least, not as quickly as he thought he could. He kept his breathing controlled and steady for about forty minutes; he looked sound asleep, but was actually drifting between the real world and the dream realm.

There was silence, and then there was a sound. A subtle, gentle sound. The sound of someone cautiously moving their arm when they didn't wish to wake someone.

Akaashi remained in his faux sleeping position, feeling that it would take much more of an effort for him to open his eyes and check around than to stay dormant. And so he continued to try and grasp sleep, expecting nothing from the noise.

It was because of this that he was so surprised when he felt a gentle sensation against his forehead. It took all of his power not to flinch when he'd felt the unfamiliar touch.

They were fingers. Hesitant fingers that ghosted over Akaashi's forehead in order to push a loose strand of hair away.

Keeping his eyes closed, Akaashi took in the feeling of this. He could sense the heavy amount of reluctance in each movement that Bokuto's hand carried out.

Bokuto was afraid to wake Akaashi. So much so that his hands trembled slightly whenever he'd push Akaashi's bangs away.

Slowly but gradually, Akaashi's heart rate picked up. His hands twitched once, and he moved closer, leaning into Bokuto's touch. This backfired, however, as the other's hand quickly withdrew. Akaashi relaxed then, keeping the sleeping act alive.

Bokuto did not move a muscle after having seen Akaashi stir. The last thing he wanted to do was wake him up, so they lay in silence for minutes on end. Akaashi figured that Bokuto would keep to himself for the rest of the night, so he put his focus back to trying to sleep. He held the same position and felt himself dozing off...

"I'm sorry." The words were barely a whisper, and they came without warning. It almost sounded as if Bokuto were talking to himself.

Akaashi remained still and silent.

"... I never meant to drag you into my life..."

Bokuto inhaled all that he could. Akaashi felt his chest rise. He could practically hear the frown in his voice.

"I know that I'm unbearable. I know that I'm a lost cause. I know that you know that, too... And yet you still stick by me."

He paused for a moment, then spoke up again. His voice was a soft tremor.

"So... Thank you."

Bokuto had nothing more to say after that. He lay his cheek on the top of Akaashi's head and kept still, daring not to wake him.

But Akaashi now couldn't find it in himself to sleep. Bokuto's words haunted him, and they repeated themselves over and over in his mind.

He swallowed once, hoping to get rid of the lump in his throat.