Oda giggled, being lifted. "Yay!" 

Akaashi set the boy on his lap. "Hey, buddy." 

"Daddy!" 

"That's me, lovebug." 

"Why are you so sad?" Oda poked at his face. 

"Well, I haven't been feeling too good. You know how Daddy's been going to the doctor?" 

"Mhmm!" 

Akaashi smiled sadly. "The doctors said I'm very sick, okay? It makes me really tired and I need to go to the doctor a ton." 

"Oh. That sucks!" 

"It does suck. You'll see Daddy sleeping a lot and my hair will probably fall out for a bit. It grows back but I'm not going to look like Daddy when that happens." 

Oda stared. "But Daddy is always Daddy." 

"You're so right." 

Oda watched Akaashi, worried. "Don't be sad. It's okay! I get sick sometimes!" 

Akaashi hugged him close. "Never change." 

Oda rubbed his face into Akaashi's chest. 

"Did you just run your snot on my shirt?" 

"Hehe." 

Akaashi laughed. He stood up with Oda, walking to his room. "Let's get you ready. Grandma is coming over today." 

"YAY!" Oda scrambled for the closet. He grabbed a shirt with trains on it. "Grandma likes my shirt." 

"It's a nice shirt." Akaashi sat on the floor of the little boy's room. He took a deep breath. Everything Felt off today. He had to tell Bokuto today and his mother was coming over. Ren had left right after Akaashi got out of bed that morning and hadn't left so much as a note either. 

He felt gross from his sleeping habits too so that only made it worse. 

"When is Grandma gonna be here?" 

"In a little bit." 

"No way! I gotta brush my teeth!" Oda bounced up and down for a moment. "Can you get my stool out?" 

"Of course." Akaashi helped him out, watching as he went about his day. When his mother came by he was sure to let Oda have his fun, resting his eyes on the couch. His stomach hurt and he needed to throw up but it was embarrassing. 

"Keiji? Do you need anything?" 

Akaashi looked up. "No, no it's okay." 

His mother hugged him, rubbing his back. "You look just about to puke." 

"Ah… Yes." 

She helped him up, getting him to the bathroom. Akaashi threw up, slumping into the wall. Staying awake was difficult even though chemo hadn't started yet. His mother helped him back to the couch and he laid down, falling asleep. 

It was hours of what seemed like feverish sleeping before he got up, eating. 

"So… How are you going to tell Bokuto?" 

Akaashi shrugged. 

His mother sighed. "He's your best friend. It's not something small." 

"I'm still trying to think this through. It's shocking." 

"I get it." She kissed his temple. "Would you like me to tell him?" 

"I can do it." Akaashi grabbed his plate. "Oda! Lunch!" 

Oda ran in and squealed. "PBJ!" 

"Oh my- please." Akaashi laughed. He fixed him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "Good?" 

"Ah!" Oda grinned. He ate, getting jelly on his cheeks. 

Akaashi rubbed his cheeks off and kissed his forehead. Oda slept soundly for his nap, leaving Akaashi to sit with his mother. He wanted to sleep away the day, exhausted. He wanted to sleep huddled against someone, warm and not feeling ill. 

"Maybe you should bring him here?" 

"Ren doesn't like him here. He's only supposed to be here to babysit." 

"Oh, he's so kind though. Why can't he come over?" 

Akaashi's immediate thought was because Bokuto kept Ren from hitting him. He sighed. "I'm not sure." 

His mother nodded. She got up. "I'll be back, okay?" 

"Mhmm." Akaashi laid himself out on the couch and got comfortable. 

****

Akaashi stared at his phone, anxious. He had texted Bokuto and asked to meet up later that day. He was typing. 

Bokuto: 
Sounds cool to me Keiji! I'll see you around 2 for lunch? 

Akaashi sighed. 

Keiji: 
Alright sounds good to me 

Bokuto: 
Cool ^-^

Akaashi set a timer for one and got off of the floor where he had been laying. He took a shower, noticing the faded and new bruises in the mirror. Losing hair and watching himself get sick was going to be difficult. 

He washed up, trying to soothe his joints with the warm water. When one came he asked his mother to drive him to the mall, bundling uptight. 

"Keiji!" 

Akaashi startled. "Kotarou." 

"Gosh, you're shaking. Come on." Bokuto led him inside. "You feeling better?" 

"Not necessarily." 

"Oh, damn." Bokuto pat his hair. "Got the results?" 

Akaashi wrung his hands. "Mhmm…"

"Cool! What happened? Also, who's watching Oda?" 

"My mother is. And I'd prefer to sit down first before talking about this." 

"No problem." Bokuto led him into a Starbucks. "Just hot chocolate as usual?" 

"Mhmm." 

Bokuto pulled out his wallet. He bought them drinks and stood by the little area with straws and spoons, poking Akaashi with a coffee stirrer. "Boop. Boop. Boop." 

Akaashi poked the stirrer with his finger. "How's packing going?" 

"Could be better, to be honest. I almost dropped my box of plates this morning." 

"Ah." 

Bokuto grabbed their drinks and grabbed seats for the two of them. "You gonna send me off?"

"I think so, yes." 

"You think so?" 

"Mhmm. It depends on what's happening with my health and if I have the energy. But I'll try." Akaashi blew on the drink he'd gotten. The warmth of the cup felt nice against his hands. Maybe he needed to buy hand warmers. 

"I hope you do feel better by then." Bokuto drank some of his tea, watching Akaashi. 

"Yeah..." 

Bokuto chuckled. "You're acting like this thing going on is something like cancer. It'll be okay." 

Akaashi's widened. "I..." 

Bokuto's heart dropped. "Keiji." 

Akaashi teared up. "The results came back a few days ago. I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia." 

Bokuto stared, in shock. "Do you... I'm..." He took a deep breath. "You have cancer." 

Akaashi nodded. He watched Bokuto stand and panicked, thinking he was leaving. 

"Come on. This isn't the right place to talk about it." Bokuto grabbed his hand, hurrying him to the parking lot. 

"Where are we going?" 

"My car." 

Akaashi got into the car with him, nervous.

"Okay so I'm going to be moving in a few days but I'm going to help out. If you need to catch a ride to anything I'm going to drive two hours to help you out. What's your treatment plan?" 

"Oh- um... I need chemo. And radiation... and bone marrow transplants." Akaashi fiddled. "It's a lot and I'm not going to look the same." 

Bokuto gently held his face in his hands. "Hey, hey, hey. It's okay." 

"I'm gonna be bald and tired and depressing to be around." 

"I'll help you out, trust me. Plus bald people are cool. You're gonna be a cool bald person." Bokuto smiled. 

Akaashi smiled, chest warming. His butterflies from high school suddenly happened and he sort of panicked. 

Bokuto would be an escape. Ren was awful. Bokuto had been so kind for so long though. Why did he even leave him? 

Bokuto hugged him. "I've got you." 

Akaashi relaxed into his grip. He always had. Why not now?