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Slowly, green eyes blinked open to see the familiar ceiling of his bedroom. Only moonlight filtered through his thin curtains, highlighting his furniture with a silver glow in the otherwise dark room. Turning to his side, Keiji reached out to check the time on his phone. The brightness that followed was expected but no less painful as his assaulted eyes were squeezed firmly shut. Daring to crack them open again, he saw the blurry figures of 03:49 displayed. Placing his phone back onto the surface of his bedside table, Keiji turned onto his back again and sighed quietly. He had lost count of the amount of times he had woken up that night. His sleep was shallow and filled with an excitement he hadn’t felt in years. Every beat of his heart felt strong and fast, causing a warmth to bloom in his chest and a smile to pull at his lips as the thought and reality surfaced again.
In just over 8 hours, Keiji was going to meet his crush for the first time in person.
How he met Bokuto was truly a strange encounter which still remained unresolved but ever since then, they had been talking non-stop. They felt at ease with each other, sharing their interests and daily life as if it were natural. Of course, before long, it was only the next step to meet each other, right? And who could blame Keiji for being a little excited.
Waking up again later in the morning but still with another 3 hours to go before seeing Bokuto, Keiji rolled out of bed and busied himself with a few odd jobs around the house. Cleaning, washing, tidying were only menial chores but he knew he wouldn’t be able to focus had he tried to study. He sighed through a smile. He really liked Bokuto. No-one, not even himself, could try to deny that fact.
Freshly out of the shower and with a towel over his head, Keiji checked the weather forecast on his phone before picking out the clothes he wanted to wear for the day. He had thrown out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, deciding to opt out of a jacket given the clear sky and beating sun outside, when a familiar voice called out.
“Akaashi?”
He felt his heart skip a beat. Taking a small breath to compose himself, he replied.
“I’m here, Bokuto-san.”
“Ah, that’s good!” The voice continued. “I’m just about to leave and catch my train. I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Yeah,” Keiji replied with a smile before remembering to remind the other. “Oh, and Bokuto-san, don’t forget our agreement.”
“2 hours, right?”
Keiji replied with an affirmative noise, his previous smile falling to one slightly sadder.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be there,” Bokuto promised, a firmness in his voice which made Keiji pray to all the Gods above to let them meet. “See you soon!” Bokuto called out, before Keiji heard his footsteps fade.
With a composing breath, Keiji finished getting dressed. Snatching up the items that he needed, the ravenhead was out the door before long, making his way to the bus stop. It was hot and humid, but Keiji had a feeling that it wasn’t only the weather that was making him sweat.
12:15
Keiji had been waiting for just over 20 minutes at the fountain park just outside Tokyo train station. Checking and double checking his location, he continued to wait.
12:38
The ringing of his phone continued against his ear as the device tried to connect to Bokuto’s. He wasn’t surprised when the line dropped because it wasn’t the first time he had tried to contact Bokuto. For some reason, their numbers could never connect.
13:09
With under an hour left, Keiji began to pace around the area, glancing at every passer-by to make sure that they weren’t Bokuto. He didn’t doubt that the other would show up. He kept on making up reasons, or perhaps they were excuses, for the other, explaining why he was late.
But in the back of his mind, he had a feeling something like this would have happened.
13:46
To say the least, Keiji was desperate. He really wanted to meet the older teen. If Bokuto appeared, then they would have nothing to worry about. If they could just meet, and disprove all the evidence which suggested that it was impossible…
Keiji watched as the final few seconds ticked from 56 to 57 to 58 to 59 before the clock on his phone reached 14:00. His heart felt like it had sunk to the pits of his stomach. His shoulders slumped in hopelessness and a disappointed sigh left his lips. Taking one last look around the park in hopes of finding a black and white, spiky haired young man, Keiji finally gave up.
His previous excitement felt like it was years ago. The bus journey back was long and painful. Keiji had to drag himself back up to his apartment. And without even making it a few steps past the threshold of the front door, Keiji dropped to his knees. His chest felt tight. His eyes stung with unshed tears. His hands clenched and unclenched by his sides before they went to cover his face. He curled in on himself and cursed under his breath.
He should have known better than to get his hopes up.
Once he had calmed down, Keiji pushed himself up and made his way to the place where he had heard Bokuto’s voice earlier that morning. In fact, it was there that they met. It was also there that they continued to meet.
The mirror.
After having discovered that this reflective surface wasn’t like any other, Keiji was no longer surprised to not see his own reflection. Instead, it was a window to another room. Bokuto’s room. He could see a litter of books and school equipment over his desk, a few clothes were scattered here and there, while his walls were decorated with volleyball related posters.
They had known each other for a few years thanks to this mirror, ever since they stepped in front of it at the same time. How and why it happened, they didn’t know and neither do they think those questions would ever be answered. But as they talked, feelings naturally developed and although they both have subtly hinted that they wanted to see each other in person and not through a mirror, they realised that they didn’t exactly live in the same place. Or more accurately, the same world.
Geographically, they both lived in Tokyo. In fact, they both attend the same highschool – Fukurodani. And they happen to be in the same club – volleyball. However, there was no such person called Bokuto Koutarou in Keiji’s club or school. Likewise in Bokuto’s. They didn’t believe it at first, but the more they talked, the more they shared, everything became too real, making their relationship all the more difficult to accept.
And with what happened today… Keiji could only believe that they truly didn’t live in the same world.
Five hours had passed since their supposed meeting time outside Tokyo train station and Bokuto still hadn’t returned to his room. Given the evidence that they might not be able to meet, they agreed to wait for two hours and no more. When those two hours were up, they would return home and meet in front of the mirror. So, now sat there and waiting, Keiji began to fidget nervously. His mind was running wild with unhelpful thoughts but before it spiralled into anything too dark and negative, he heard a distant clicking close of a door from the room beyond the mirror.
“Bokuto-san?” Keiji called out, leaning a little closer to the mirror as if trying to peek around it.
“Akaashi…”
It was definitely Bokuto, but it didn’t sound like him. The person Keiji had a crush on usually had a strong presence, loud in voice and bright in appearance. But the way his name was said sounded small and fragile, and instantly, Keiji was on high alert. Worry and anxiety coursed through his blood as he heard Bokuto approach the other side of the mirror.
Each step was tense and a little… wet? But before Keiji could question it, Bokuto appeared. His clothes were soaked through, clinging to his toned frame. His usually gelled up hair was down and dripping with water. Dropping to his knees, Bokuto covered his face with his hands and choked out a sob. “Akaashi, I…”
The sound was heartbreaking.
All Keiji wanted to do in that moment was reach out and pull Bokuto into his arms, to swipe his wet bangs aside and kiss away the raindrops on his face. But what his fingers touched was the cold hard surface of the mirror which separated them.
“Bokuto-san… I’m sorry,” Keiji apologised. He didn’t know what for. It wasn’t like he didn’t show up, because he did! He was there and waiting. But meeting was simply impossible. “I’m sorry.”
The older teen looked up at Keiji through wet strands of hair. Where Bokuto was, it had obviously rained, but where Keiji was… there wasn’t even a cloud in sight. It was yet another thing which told them that they were further apart than they believed. His golden eyes were swimming in tears and it wasn’t fair that the younger teen couldn’t wipe them away. From where Keiji had his palm pressed against the mirror surface, Bokuto went to place his hand there too. They expected the contact. They expected the warmth of the other’s palm. But it never came. Even though there was only a mere few centimetres separating them.
“You’re right here…” Bokuto commented through a bitter sweet smile. “You’re right here, yet I can’t…” More tears began to stream down his cheeks as he choked out. “I can’t even reach you!”
The desperation in his voice echoed in Keiji’s mind.
They quaked his being.
And the dam finally broke.
Pressing his forehead against the mirror, Keiji let his own tears fall.