Sorry that this took 2 years... Also sorry I'm a shit person for that april fools joke... But look on the brightside! There's a short and (bitter)sweet conclusion :)

Drowning isn't like how they show it in the movies. There's no crying or thrashing, you can't do that when you're underwater and the cold is making your appendages numb and heavy as lead; drowning is more like having death itself infiltrate your lungs, take over your mind, filling you only to leave you empty after the panic.

Drowning is pure terror. You're blind, too afraid to open your eyes. Everything is dark, you can't have your life flash through your eyes when you're screaming under torrents-

Drowning is like having a fucking gun held to your head and being told not to take a breath or else.

You're head is pounding and your mind is screaming, every cell in your body is screaming for oxygen but you keep fighting it.

You're heart is beating faster and your lungs are fucking burning and you need to take a breath even.

So you do.

And you know you're already dead.

You take a breath and you feel the way that the freezing cold water floods your nostrils, cascades down your throat and thrusts into your lungs and your eyes are tearing and you're coughing-

And the problem with coughing

While you're doing it, you take more and more breaths and you're still fighting as hard as you fucking can

The pain never leaves until you lose consciousness

You never stop fighting

You never stop screaming and thrashing and breathing.

That's how Akihiko wakes.

He doesn't realise that he's laying flat on his back on the floor, his thrashing having thrown him off of the bed, slamming him into table legs and the side of the bed. He doesn't realise that he's screaming since he never heard himself do so under the water, he's not even aware that he's awake as his arms lash out at his surroundings. It's only as he hits something solid does he hear the flood of whispering break through his terrorised haze.

"Ground yourself, ground yourself and remember that you're okay right now," It soothes.

He forces himself to stop his arms from moving, instead screeching as he tries to calm himself. His breaths are thick, deep pants as he tips his head back, vision clearing enough to show him the ceiling.

"Usami-san? Just breathe, remember how they showed you?" Misaki says, gingerly pressing his palm to the mans' forehead. "I'm here now, aren't I? I'm here, we're here together,"

The shuddering breaths quick turn to sobs, terrified and weak. His lips are dry and chapped and yet he still manages to stutter out Misaki's name.

The brunette smiles in response, pulling his lover up onto the bed as he reaches out to hold onto him. He wipes his own tears away as he holds onto Usami, reassuring him that everything is fine, that they were at home, safe and in their bed. He pulls the trembling body closer to his own, gently brushing his hair from his forehead as he soothes him back to sleep in his arms.

It's already been two weeks since the incident and Akihiko's still fighting the fever he was left with, though glad he was pulled from the water before it could develop into something more serious.

He'd been taken home a week before to rest in his own bed, though quickly becoming weak and fragile after the night terrors the fever had brought with it. Misaki hopes the dreams are simply a result of the fever and the near-drowning experience that will fade when he become healthier. He wracks his mind at night when he's woken up by Usami's screaming or needs to change the cold pack on his forehead, what would have happened if emergency services had been any later or what will happen if he can't shake off this night terrors.

But right now, in this moment, Akihiko is sleeping in his arms, his breathing is level and his face is serene, snuggled into Misaki's chest, and as he drifts into sleep, he thinks to himself that things may just turn out alright for them.

Voila! This story is now complete :) (So you don't need to hate on me anymore ;_;)