Thin Walls ~ SakuAtsu Short Story

5. Shower

Things had definitely changed. When Atsumu got home he heard Sakusa's playing stop and the other male would come over to Atsumu's place to help with dinner or play music. He didn't eat much but it still felt good to help out with something. 

He marveled at Atsumu and the portions he ate, forgetting the last time he had ate so much food. Probably years. 

Atsumu had grown worried with that since he thought maybe Sakusa had developed an eating disorder but Sakusa sat down with him and informed him on the process his body was going through. His body didn't need to focus on hunger but rather on keeping his lungs working. It was the only way human bodies knew how to keep alive so that was what was happening. 

Atsumu had just nodded and went back to playing piano, playing Nuvole Bianche like it had been engraved into his mind. 

Sakusa now slept over almost every night, curling up next to the blond and holding his arm. His back was pressed to the wall with pillows in the way too to make sure he was still going to be able to sleep. 

His eight months were nearly six now. 

He'd somehow been okay with the cold and Atsumu covered him up with as much as possible so he could go out and sit on a towel and play with the snow until his hands shook and he had to go take a bath. Or his lame attempt of taking a bath since he had his cannula and tank of oxygen. 

Such as now, standing in his bathroom. Atsumu was playing one of his songs and it would be weird to go ask him for help. 

Sakusa made his way into the shower and stood there, worried. He tried to pick up the tank of oxygen he'd been given before dropping it and gasping. 

"This is stupid. This is so God damned stupid." He took off the cannula and took a small breath. Okay that wasn't too bad, just a little weird. Sakusa tried to wash himself quickly so that his lungs wouldn't go too long without his tank. The warm water was making the air fogged a little and the humidity didn't agree with his already weak lungs and he felt faint. "Shit... six months. You won't have to deal with this in six months."

Sakusa got out quickly and coughed. Blood spattered on his forearm and he put his arm back into the water. He dressed himself and put on a coat before putting in the cannula. 

He smiled to himself at the feeling of oxygen going into his lungs. 

He grabbed a towel and his medication before going to Atsumu's apartment where the blond was playing Moonlight Sonata. Sakusa sat on the bed and pulled out a bottle of water from Atsumu's nightstand. He started on the medication, still having a bit of trouble swallowing them. 

Atsumu turned and screamed, not expecting him to be there. "OMI! OH MY GOD!" 

Sakusa stared blankly at him. "What?"

"You almost gave me a damned heart attack!"

Sakusa blinked. "Um..."

Atsumu realized his mistake. "You scared me. I didn't mean to say something like that."

"It's fine." Sakusa held out his towel. "Can you dry my hair? The hair dryer makes it difficult for me to breath and it bends the tube."

Atsumu nodded. He got on his bed and started to dry his hair, covering his eyes a bit. Sakusa held his forearms, eyes closed. "You okay Omi?"

"Mhmm. I'm a little out of breath, that's it." 

Atsumu smiled. "You can open your eyes now silly."

Sakusa opened his eyes. He stared at Atsumu, who was staring at him. Atsumu had such pretty eyes... 

"U-um..."

"Don't kiss me."

"Noted." Atsumu pulled away and set the towel down. 

"I would love to kiss you but if you kiss me, me dying is going to be a lot harder on both of us. I don't want to risk it."

"That's alright..." Atsumu smiled. "Mindreader."

Sakusa held his own hands and furrowed his brows. Life wasn't fair. He wanted to kiss Atsumu but everything would hurt. 

"Omi, I'm not mad at you. I understand." Atsumu hugged him and eased him onto his chest. His fingers worked their way through his dark curls, worried as his breathing slowed before realizing he was sleeping. 

Sakusa falling asleep was always terrifying for the both of them since his breathing was less evident. 

"Night night Omi." Atsumu set him down and returned to his piano where he played Novule Bianche until he was too tired to even move his fingers against the keys. 

The meaning of the song itself was "simply, white clouds" which fit nicely for Sakusa. This song reminded Atsumu of the other male's calmness and acceptance of other things that he really didn't want to think about. 

Atsumu climbed into bed and covered up alongside the bed's new resident. He felt heavy as he rubbed Sakusa's cheek and fell into a deep slumber. Maybe this would make him forget the evident problem in the room.