Fading Blue Skies

5: Free

Chapter 5: Free

"Why do you look at the sky?"

It had been bothering Akashi to no end. He was curious about the reason why Kuroko gazed at the sky as though it were his home. Kuroko was a complete mystery to Akashi. It irritated the redhead that he knew little about the bluenette.

"Because I enjoy watching it. Why?" Kuroko gave Akashi a look of confusion, waiting for an answer.

"You gaze at it with a distant look, as though you were in another place –another world."
'You're like an angel.' Came a thought. He was so perfect and pure.

"Hmm... Maybe it's because I feel more connected to my parents." Kuroko closed his book and gazed at Akashi with a soft and gentle smile.

Akashi stared back in surprise. He expected a different answer, one that was filled with sorrow and nostalgia. Perhaps a memory that came with the blue hues of the sky. However, what he got was an answer spoken through well-hidden grief.

'You're like an angel that wishes.'

"How so?" Akashi sat upright and studied Kuroko's gentle movements.

"We can see one another." Kuroko gazed back up at the sky and sighed softly, the wind gently blowing his hair.

There it was again... He's so far away, but still right in front of Akashi.

"Do you think they're happy?" Akashi asked softly —too softly, it was strange to hear his voice sound so gentle, as though he were trying to gently approach Kuroko's feelings. It was alien to him, but Akashi found that he did not mind. Kuroko was a gentle person, it was only fitting for Akashi to be the same when around his presence.

"Yes. At the very least, they are free."

'You're like an angel that wishes to learn how to fly.'

It made Akashi wonder; 'did Kuroko want to learn to fly? he was like a lost angel, so perfect and innocent, so out of place in a world like this as he gazes at the sky as though he were homesick.

"Do you miss them?"

"Very much... That is why I watch the sky. I wish that one day I can be free.." Kuroko faced him again and that distant look in his eyes was still there, but this time there was sadness and what looked to be hope? 'But for what?'

'You're like an angel that wishes to learn how to fly to go back.'

"Do you think such a thing is possible?" Akashi gazed at the bluenette curiously. It was a look he did not give others. He was never one to show his emotions or how perplexed he is with someone's character (that is if he ever felt perplexed by someone. He usually has someone figured out), but Kuroko is different. Kuroko is a mystery that continues to bring up new questions, a mystery that Akashi continues to solve over and over again, but never comes to the same conclusion.

"Yes."

'You're like an angel that wishes to learn how to fly to go back to heaven.'

"Why?"

'How would such a thing be possible? Souls cannot exist once we die'

"Because we're freed from all our obligations and we don't have to suffer. We're simply free. I'm sure you would understand since you have a lot to do."

Akashi looked away and towards the sky. He stared at the clouds that were lazily rolling away as he thought of every little thing he did in his day to day life. It was almost neverending. "I never thought of it that way."

But now? It was almost as if all his responsibilities disappeared off the face of the earth. He would not be here next to Kuroko is he were to be buried under piles of neverending paperwork. Spending his days with Kuroko was slightly freeing in a sense. The passage of time did not exist in Kuroko's presence. Akashi found himself thinking that he would stay here forever if he could if only to feel slightly more free than he really is —to feel more human as he sits next to the angel.

"Kuroko?"

Kuroko hummed, turning his head to look at Akashi.

"I feel free enough sitting here with you and looking at the sky." Akashi looked him in the eye and his lips slightly move upward in what appeared to be a combination of a smirk and a sly smile.

"Was that a double meaning Akashi-kun?" Kuroko lifted a delicate eyebrow in question.

"Possibly," 

"How bold of you Akashi-kun."

Akashi chuckled at Kuroko's amused expression, feeling a rush of happiness and liberating amusement. It was foreign, like every other emotion he ever felt when he was with Kuroko. Akashi wouldn't mind feeling like this as often as possible. He gave a sigh and turned to look at the sky as Kuroko continued reading his book.

Kuroko was a mystery, but he as also a beautifully carved person, a painting on a canvas. To others, he would seem like an ordinary person, one that has not a single sin weighing on him. However, to Akashi, he was a pure angel with a dream. Kuroko is like an angel with a wish to learn how to fly just to go back to heaven.

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Hello!

i apologize for the wait! i am now in college and can get quite busy. i am also struggling a bit with finding the motivation to write, and other times i simply cannot figure out how i want this story to go.

however, i hope you've enjoyed this chapter! i will appreciate any feedback!