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Koushi all but kicked open the door to his dorm room, bag already slipping off his shoulder as he crossed the room to his desk. His roomate, thankfully, wasn't there; Koushi hated videochatting while other people were in the room. He sat down at his desk, turned on his laptop, opened the messenger app, and waited. Daichi would be calling in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…
Daichi's face appeared in a bubble on Koushi's screen. Right on time. Koushi accepted the call.
"Hi Suga."
"Your timing is impeccable," Koushi said. "I literally just got back from class."
"I just left mine," Daichi told him.
The view switched, giving Koushi a view of a campus green filled with blossoming sakura trees. Koushi let out a low whistle as the camera switched back to Daichi.
"That's a nice campus you got there," Koushi said.
Daichi shrugged. "It's pretty nice, yeah. It's bigger than I expected it to be."
"Mine too," Koushi admitted. He grinned. "But I guess that's because we're a couple of country boys who moved to the Big City."
Daichi chuckled, "Ok Tanaka."
Koushi snickered. It was nice to talk to Daichi, especially since they were almost on opposite sides of the country for university. He missed seeing Daichi almost every single day. It was rough switching to videochatting once a week.
"So, how was the first week of classes?" Daichi asked, cutting into Koushi's mental stream.
"It was fine," Koushi said. "I only got lost a few times. My chemistry professor's kind of a jerk, but I'm sure I'll get used to it."
"See, my literature professor is the one I'm having a problem with," Daichi said. "He does not like opinions other than his own and it's super frustrating."
They talked for a few minutes, trading first week stories with each other. It made Koushi happy, knowing that Daichi was having a good time at his school.
"Made any friends?" Daichi asked.
Koushi shrugged, "There are some people in class who I've talked to more than once. How about you?"
"I mean, my roommate's nice…"
"So you haven't replaced me yet?" Koushi teased.
Daichi placed a hand on his chest and scoffed, "Sugawara Koushi, I could never in a million years replace you. You're my best friend-"
Koushi grinned, flashing Daichi a peace sign.
"-even if you are an absolute menace."
Koushi glared at the laptop screen.
"There's a punch to the stomach coming your way the next time I see you."
"Duly noted," Daichi laughed.
"It'll be a combination birthday-Christmas-New Year's present."
"If you remember."
"Oh, don't you worry, Sawamura. I'll remember."
Daichi and Koushi stared at each other for a moment before dissolving into a fit of laughter. Truth be told, it wasn't that funny. It was just nice that they could still banter with kilometers between them.
"I better get going, I need to eat," Daichi said after the laughter subsided. "Talk to you next week?"
Koushi nodded, sad that their conversation was already coming to an end.
"Yeah, for sure. Next Friday?"
"Next Friday," Daichi confirmed. "I miss you, Suga."
Koushi smiled. "I miss you too, Daichi. Have fun this week."
Koushi's screen went blank. He sat back in his chair with a sigh. He could last another seven days.
***
They kept to their schedule for the first few weeks. They made sure to talk every Friday for at least half an hour, but as the school year wore on, it became every other Friday, then once a month, then every other month. They saw each other for a few days when they went home for Christmas. They promised that they would talk more, and for a few weeks they did. Then they fell back into their same patterns of every other month. Soon, the first year ended and the second one began. Texts went unanswered. Calls became every few months.
It made Koushi sad, thinking about how close he and Daichi had been. But he knew that there was a chance this would happen. It made sense. They went to two separate schools on opposite sides of Japan. They had new friend groups, new interests, new fields of study. Koushi wanted nothing more than to stay in touch with Daichi, he did. Daichi was his best friend, had been for years. Hell, Koushi loved the guy. But sometimes friends drifted apart. It hurt, but it was the truth.
***
It was four weeks to the end of Koushi's second year when he next heard from Daichi. His attention had been torn between apartment hunting and studying when Daichi's face appeared on his laptop screen—an incoming call. Koushi almost declined the call, but stopped himself. He and Daichi hadn't spoken in months. It could be urgent. Koushi plugged his headphones into his laptop and accepted the call.
It took a minute for Daichi's camera to come online. It took every ounce of Koushi's self control to not wince; Daichi looked like hell. His hair had grown out, longer than Koushi had ever seen it before, kind of like Asahi's had been their first year. The bags under his eyes were deep and purple. He'd lost an unhealthy amount of weight. Koushi could feel his heart shatter.
"Daichi…" Koushi murmured.
"Koushi, I don't know if I can do this anymore," Daichi choked out, clearly on the verge of tears.
Koushi looked around the room. His roommate was on his bed, studying. The study rooms would probably be full too.
"Daichi? I'm here, but I'm going to move real quick. Don't go anywhere."
Koushi stood up, unplugging his laptop before leaving the room. To his surprise, there was no one in the study room down the hall. He slipped inside, setting his laptop on the nearest table. He sat down, adjusting the screen to get a better look at Daichi.
"What's going on, Daichi?" he asked.
"I just…" Daichi tried, then stopped. It took him a minute to start again as a few stray tears rolled down his cheeks. "God, I don't know where to begin."
"Start where ever you'd like," Koushi said. "I'm here for you."
"I'm just…" Daichi began, "…so lonely here. Like, I've made friends here, sure, but…"
Koushi waited for Daichi to continue.
Daichi sighed, "Koushi, they aren't you."
Koushi blinked; that wasn't what he was expecting.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"You were my vice captain, but more importantly, you were my best friend," Daichi said. "For three years, you were there every single day. Even before you and I were put in charge of the team, you were there for me. You had my back in so many ways, and I thought that I could make it without you. We fell out of touch with each other, and I thought that I needed to let you go, because you had your own life and you didn't need to be held back by high school memories, but I just… I can't do this without you. Everyone here is so nice, but they aren't you. I miss you so much."
Daichi had barely finished his sentence before Koushi said, "I'm buying you a ticket to come see me."
"What?"
Koushi wiped his eyes, aware that he had started crying too.
"I'm buying you a ticket for the earliest bullet train I can, you're coming to see me."
"Koushi, you don't-."
"Daichi," Koushi snapped, "I've missed you too. This is as much for me as it is for you."
Daichi fell silent. He inhaled once, then nodded. Koushi nodded back.
"See you in a few days."
***
Koushi felt a little silly; he didn't need to be skipping class to hold balloons and chocolates on a crowded train platform. He was doing it anyway. It was for Daichi, after all. He had been obsessively checking the train schedule all day to see when Daichi would be getting in, and doing his best to ignore the overwhelming fear that Daichi hadn't gotten on the train at all.
It wasn't Koushi's only fear, to be sure. There was the fear that Daichi had missed his connecting train, or that Daichi had misplaced his luggage and therefore wasn't going to continue his trip. But the wrost of all was how their reunion would go. It had been over a year since he had last seen Daichi. They hadn't seen each other over Christmas, Koushi hadn't gone home that year. Somme part of Koushi was worried that Daichi held a grudge about their miscommunication. Koushi was nervous, but he needed this. He needed to see Daichi again.
He juggled the balloons and the chocolate between his hands, reaching for his phone to send a quick text to Daichi. He told Daichi which part of the platform he'd be standing on, then shoved the phone in his pocket. It was better to not know if Daichi would be meeting him, in a twisted way.
Soon enough, the train pulled up to the platform. Koushi held his breath as the doors opened and the passengers began to file out. Koushi held the balloons tighter as commuters brushed past. He scanned the crowd for a familiar face, his stomach twisting into knots with each passing second.
Then their eyes locked, brown meeting brown. Daichi stepped fully onto the platform, pausing for a moment. Koushi grinned, holding his arms outstretched. Daichi broke into a sprint. He barreled across the platform into Koushi's arms. Koushi stepped back, barely keeping the pair upright as Daichi wrapped him into a crushing hug. Koushi returned it in kind, putting every bit of strength he could into hugging Daichi. They stood locked in their embrace for what felt like an eternity, and it could have been, Koushi wouldn't have minded. He could feel tears soaking into his shirt, but he didn't care. For the first time in years, he felt whole. He had Daichi again, and that was all he needed.