Pick Up the Pieces [sakuatsu]

Chapter 13: Surrender

Atsumu woke up a while later. He slowly opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. He was on the sofa, draped across Omi's lap. Omi was on his phone. Oh, right. Panic attack, meds and nap. He remembered and took stock of his state. His chest still felt tight but otherwise he felt a little better.

Omi noticed he was awake. "Hey," he said softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay," answered Atsumu. "Still a little groggy."

"Are you hungry? You never ate breakfast."

Atsumu consulted his stomach. "Maybe I could eat a little."

Omi made some eggs since that was what they were going to have for breakfast before the incident. It was almost noon by this time, so they decided to call it brunch. They sat down at the small table to eat and Omi wolfed down the eggs. He had been starving the whole time Atsumu slept on his lap. Atsumu took a few bites but then Omi noticed he was shoving his food around on his plate without eating hardly any of it.

"Aren't you hungry?" he asked.

Atsumu looked startled, as if he hadn't known he'd not been eating. "Oh. No, I guess not."

Kiyoomi studied his face for a moment. Atsumu had a crease between his eyes as if thinking about something unpleasant, but besides that, appeared to be okay.

"You should try to eat more. You've hardly eaten anything." He sounded like a mom now, he realized with some amusement. Atsumu took a few more bites and stopped again. Omi decided not to push it now but vowed to encourage him to eat in another couple of hours.

By midafternoon, it was clear that Atsumu's anxiety was increasing again. He checked his phone every few minutes for a text from his brother, but none had come and he began thinking horrible thoughts again. Kiyoomi tried to convince him to go workout since they had missed yesterday, but Atsumu couldn't bear the thought of leaving the safety of his apartment. He just shook his head adamantly.

Kiyoomi tried to get him to talk about what he was worried about. Atsumu told him all about the Tasmanian devils and the Acqua Alta and Omi listened. Much to his credit, he didn't tell Atsumu those concerns were crazy. Instead, he tried to reassure him gently that those things were not serious threats. He even went so far as to research some things on the internet and show some articles to Atsumu. It worked a little bit, but before long, Atsumu was restless and uneasy again. So he tried another approach.

"Come here," he said as he sat on the sofa. Atsumu gave him a suspicious look, but complied. When Atsumu sat down, Omi put one long around him and pulled him close. "Let's just sit here for a while, okay? Do you want to listen to some music?"

Atsumu nodded and they decided on what to listen to. They sat there like that for a while, not talking, just hearing the music and feeling each other's warmth. Atsumu's heart rate went down, but the pressure was still in his chest. He hated that feeling.

He got a text from his brother that helped ease his worry a little. Then Sakusa showed him a recent picture from social media of Bokuto and Akaashi enjoying the honeymoon and not being drowned in Acqua Alta, so that concern was also lifted. Kiyoomi figured Atsumu's anxiety would lessen now that he knew his brother and friends were safe, but that unfortunately didn't happen.

Atsumu was shaky and restless all afternoon and into the evening. Kiyoomi again urged him to go for a walk, but Atsumu declined. They got some food delivered and again, Omi ate while Atsumu pushed his food around on his plate. He ate several bites at Omi's urging.

After dinner, the anxiety was still there and Omi was running out of ideas, so he tried distraction.

"Want to watch a movie? Or some volleyball videos?"