For Granted
It had seemed like the plainest most uneventful day. Takao was chatting his ear off as they walked to the train station from basketball practice, having decided on forgoing the rickshaw that day. The brunette was noisy, but somehow, Midorima could not help but think this was peaceful.
That feeling did not change when they reached the crowded station, but all of the voices echoing in the plaza made Midorima drowsy with the need to escape other people and to just go home and sleep. He remembered that he started to get cranky and, like usual, Takao immediately picked up on it.
"Aw, Shin-chan. Putting on your tsundere act again?" Takao looked at the clock. "I know what will make your day better. Be right back."
It had been at that moment when Midorima suddenly felt uneasy.
"Takao," he called, reaching his taped hand out to the brunette. Takao smiled and turned around, walking backwards to his destination.
"Be right back! We still have a few more minutes anyway." He turned back around and walked away a little faster. The brunette disappeared into the crowd and Midorima was beginning to feel sick to his stomach. He began counting the seconds until Takao came back.
When four minutes had passed, Takao's bright orange uniform appeared in the crowd. For a split second, Midorima felt relief when the smaller boy smiled at him, but then a shiver went down his spine when someone bumped into him. The loudest noises he had ever heard in his whole life reverberated in his brain. All the while, he kept his eyes locked with Takao's as his smile morphed into a grimace of pain. Immediate understanding struck the green-haired boy, but his legs wouldn't move until he was shoved down to the ground. When Takao fell to the ground, Midorima heard a quiet, sickening crack.
"On your knees, hands above your head if you want to live!" said the raspy voice of an older man. As he barked out commands for the citizens to empty their pockets, Midorima dazedly obeyed, not moving towards Takao who quietly writhed in pain on the ground.
It was only when Takao gurgled out, "Shin-chan," blood drying slowly as low as his chin and through his shirt that Midorima's long legs began to move. Though he ached to get help for Takao, his legs somehow propelled him to the attacker three meters away. He shot at Midorima but missed, and Midorima tackled him and kicked his gun away. He vaguely registered some struggling noises behind him, then footsteps, then a lot of pressure in his head. The last thing he could really feel was the scraping of teeth on his hand that had previously held the attacker's neck. It hurt so badly that he passed out.
He recalled briefly opening his eyes and looking in Takao's direction. In the boy's hand was a cold can of red bean soup.
"...told the story of the heroic boy, a young basketball player whose name shall not be disclosed, who undertook an attacker at Nishimoto station, giving an opening to a nearby cop who was waiting for the right moment to act. Unfortunately, despite all their efforts, two people were killed and one young man was injured in..."
Midorima turned off the television and put his head in his hands. It hurt too much to look at the screen and try to understand. He was under the impression that he was concussed but only mildly. The pain was almost entirely just from a massive migraine. He had been given antibiotics just in case the headaches persisted.
It had been three days since the incident had happened, and his story was still all over the news. Apparently, it was fascinating to the reporters that such a young man was able to save the lives of hundreds of people.
Indirectly, Midorima clarified to himself. He scrubbed his sore eyes and looked up at the sleeping form lying on the bed in front of him. Visiting hours were nearly over, and he would have to go home then. He didn't want to walk - he was too tired, too dizzy. He thought about asking if he could stay the night as a patient since he really wasn't feeling too good, but figured that his parents would get mad for using up their insurance 'needlessly.'
His heart began to ache before he even looked at Takao's face. Since it had happened, he had been asleep and unresponsive. Midorima was not entirely sure why. He had been informed by Takao's parents that he had a mild skull fracture that should only take pain medications and time to heal. He had a received shot to the chest that had damaged a small area of his respiratory tract, but the doctors had carefully spent time in surgery trying to treat it.
"Sir, visiting hours are finished. The doors are about to lock."
The voice of the sweet young nurse treating Takao's every whim sounded in the room. It had a frequency that irritated his migraine even more. Pain shot into the base of his neck.
"I can give you one more minute."
Midorima put his head back down into his hands. After a moment to gather his composure, he stood, not sparing a glance at the injured man before him, and turned away. "I don't need it," he said.
As he walked home, he regretted that he hadn't stolen one last glimpse at the slumbering boy for the night.
The sun was rising and it would be his first day back to school that day. He hadn't slept at all, but his eyes ached with fatigue. Nishimoto station was opening back up that day, too. It would be strange to take that train again. His alarm sounded and he immediately snoozed it, trying to stir his head as little as possible.
He closed his eyes for a moment. He thought he heard someone say "Shiiiin-chan!"
His eyes snapped open and he looked around. His sister stood, fully clothed for school.
"It's 7:30. Aren't you going to school?"
Midorima closed his eyes. "I had planned to."
"Did you sleep much?"
"..."
"I'll tell mom you're not feeling good. Takao's parents are coming over to pick you up at four, so don't forget."
"Pick me up?"
"For Takao's funeral service."
Midorima's eyes snapped open again. His younger sister laughed, slinging her backpack tighter around her shoulders.
"I lost you there for a second. Are you going to be okay?"
The young man scowled when he realized that he had fallen asleep for a few seconds.
"Anyway, be ready by four. I'll see you after school maybe, I don't know. Bye, loser."
His sister, so sweet with such sour words, pulled his window curtain closed and shut the door behind her to block out any light.
"Mom! Shintarou is..." he heard her call before he abruptly fell to sleep.
Midorima woke to the sound of a woman crying. He looked around in the darkness and made out the figure of his mother. "You're awake," she stated, more for herself. "You wouldn't wake up."
It was perplexing. He was sure it wasn't his concussion. They had said that he was allowed to rest a lot if he needed to.
His throat was dry, but he croaked out, "Okaa... I just want to sleep. For a long time."
His heart ached as he said it but he felt the truth in it. His mother caressed his face and lay a warm cloth on his head. "I know, but your friend needs you to be there for him."
Midorima wanted to snap at her. He wanted to tell her that Takao wasn't awake, that he didn't need anything from him, but he obeyed her, finding the will to wake his creaking body from his bed. When she left the room, he dressed. He brushed his teeth, shivering in the cold of the bathroom.
When he emerged from his bedroom, it was 3:30 P.M.
He went to get something to eat from the kitchen. His mother sat with Takao's parents, sharing a cup of tea together.
He didn't know why, but the sight made him so angry, and so sad. It had felt like they were all getting together to remember Takao, like the boy was already gone. Would he be gone? Would he be gone soon?
Before he could stop his lips from moving, he blurted, "Is Takao going to die?"
Both mothers looked down in sadness, but Takao's father looked him in the eye and asked, "Are we talking about the same Takao? That kid's too tough to die just yet."
All at once, feelings of happiness and relief made him want to fall to his knees and cry, but he only nodded, grabbed a piece of bread to try to stomach, and sat down in the living room. He waited an hour before they decided to go visit his friend.
Those happy feelings had since left him and he stood hopeless behind the two parents, the mother of which held Takao's hand. Takao breathed steadily as shown by the monitor beeping nearby, but he looked very pale and tired. He was shirtless since the nurse was coming back with a supply of gauze to change his bandages. The ones he wore now were stained a gross brown color.
"I would have thought you were going to go back to school today, Shintarou," Takao's mother said.
Midorima shrugged, walking around to the other side of Takao's bed and sat on the windowsill. "I couldn't wake up."
"That's what your mother was telling me. Are you sure you're going to be okay?"
The boy crossed his arms and looked down. "Yeah. I was just tired."
He was sure that both of them realized that he was still very tired.
Not a flicker of an eyelid, Takao never stirred during that visit. Midorima went to sleep that night by pure fatigue and unwillingness.
The green haired man had since gone back to school. It was quiet. He didn't know many people here since he only paid attention to his team mates. Oha Asa had said that Cancers had good luck today if they brought a stuffed fox with them everywhere. He did so, disregarding the stares from his classmates when he placed the toy in his lap.
"Why's that kid carrying toys around all the time?" someone whispered. It was the first time he had paid any attention to someone saying things like that. Usually, Takao was there to speak over them, or stand up for him if he felt the need.
"I don't know, he's just a weird-o."
"Someone said that he does it because he thinks it gives him good luck."
It does, he argued in his head. Somehow, he doubted himself, though. He had been doing that often.
When the bell rang to signal the end of the day, he gathered his things and walked his usual route... to the hospital.
Before he had even realized it, a month had passed. He had needed to testify in court about the Nishimoto shooting a few times. It had been exhausting.
Takao showed some responsiveness, and even woke once near the end of the month, but never stayed awake for more than a minute. It gave Midorima hope, and he continued visiting his counterpart in his room.
His family's cheap insurance was nearly maxed out, and the Midorima family had taken to supporting the boy's treatment. The two families spent a lot of time together, and on Sundays, they all visited Takao's room together.
Today, though, he would be alone. All of the parents were at work and his younger sister never went anywhere else but with her friends on a week day. It was Wednesday.
Midorima had never been one for skipping anything important, but today, he decided that skipping basketball practice might be okay.
When he got there, he checked in and walked to Takao's room. He took in the sight of dozens of toys and statues scattered about the room. They were his lucky items from the past month. He had started leaving him there. He didn't know why. Maybe he thought that Takao would have fun breaking all of them again when he woke up. He almost wished for it.
A few days later, Midorima lay abed, eyes wide and staring and the textured ceiling. It had been a quiet few hours since he had gone to bed. It had to have been four in the morning when his little sister's footsteps, light and quick with joy, sounded outside his bedroom door.
She rapped noisily on the wood and shouted, "Takao is awake!"
Midorima bolted upright in his bed. "That's not funny!"
"It's funny! He's awake!" she argued back. He heard the sound of nylon rubbing against nylon. Jackets were being put on. He slipped out of bed and put on some blue jeans. His feet were bare, and they were going to sweat in his shoes, but he didn't mind. He stepped out of his room and put on his jacket immediately. His family was already in the car when he came outside.
An hour had passed since they were allowed into the hospital. Takao's parents were the only ones allowed in his room right now, but he wished they would hurry their asses up. Even his sister fidgeted excitedly beside him.
At last, the door to Takao's room opened and the two parents emerged. With some gray hairs he had not noticed had appeared in the past month, they smiled with relief. "You can go see him, if you want to," Takao's mother said, looking pointedly at Midorima.
When he stood, his family didn't stand to go with him. He looked back a little uncertainly, but walked through the entrance of Takao's room and closed the door behind him anyway.
He looked around him, and all he could see was the stuffing and glass of all of his god damned lucky items scattered about the room. At the center of it all, lying peacefully in his bed, Takao smiled at him. "Good morning, Shin-chan!"
Midorima absolutely wailed with relief. He had tried so hard to tell himself he would keep his composure. His fingers had shook with excitement to see his friend awake but he told himself that it was going to be a normal encounter. He was completely wrong.
Before he knew it, hot tears were streaming from his eyes and he willed them to stop, feeling more and more ashamed of his display. Takao's bright eyes looked on sympathetically, and his arms opened towards Midorima who wasted no time in finding a seat on the comforter and burying his face in the brunette's shoulder.
"I'm so sorry," Midorima apologized. Soft fingers massaged his scalp. He heard Takao huff with amusement and immediately started to explain himself. "I knew something bad was going to happen, I just felt it."
Takao chuckled, "It's okay. Did you get to drink your red bean soup?"
It only made the spectacled boy sob harder into Takao's shoulder. He thought he could hear Takao's heart fluttering with the effort to choke back cries, too.
"I'm in love you, Shin-chan."
The following was the widest smile he had ever given in his life, buried in the crook between Takao's shoulder and neck. "I love you, too."
It was a long time before he let the brunette go.
A/N: I like it but I don't, but these bitches are cute af so it's okay.
-Amaya