Work Text:
Hey Omi, want me to come
over after practice?
Sorry, I have to study
Don't overwork yerself, yeah?
I won't, I promise
Kiyoomi put his phone down and focused on Akaashi. Yes, Akaashi. Akaashi who thinks that Kiyoomi and Atsumu are broken up. Akaashi who is Bokuto's best friend. Akaashi who now is Kiyoomi's boyfriend. That Akaashi.
How did they meet?
Officially it was four months ago at a MSBY party. Obviously Bokuto had invited Akaashi and Atsumu brought Kiyoomi with him. Kiyoomi didn’t want to go at first, he knew how the MSBY team would get when they were drunk. He simply didn’t want to deal with them. Akaashi just seemed to feel just the same about those parties. That is where they both bonded.
Unofficially it was a few years back during high-school. They only saw each other play at nationals. Akaashi didn’t catch Kiyoomi's eye back then, instead Atsumu did.
Kiyoomi didn’t know why he was doing this to Atsumu right now. He knew it was cheating, but it also just kind of happened very recently. Kiyoomi thought, distancing himself from Atsumu and then dumping him would make it easier for both of them.
While he was hanging out with Akaashi at his dorm, he needed to give back a textbook to a fellow student. But on his way back, he didn’t think he would encounter Atsumu. Atsumu in who's eyes he could see, that he was hurt.
He is gonna cry, Kiyoomi thought to himself.
When Atsumu took the box with his stuff in it and left, Kiyoomi couldn’t say a single word. He kind of wanted to stop him to talk to him, but he couldn’t do that in front of Akaashi. So he just let him go.
When he got back inside his room with Akaashi, he didn’t know how to feel. A lot of drama and crying was spared from him, but he also felt bad. It's not like he didn’t love Atsumu anymore; he still did. But he just loved Akaashi more. He doesn’t know why he rushed into the relationship with Akaashi, he could have waited a little longer.
Because then he wouldn’t have gotten a call later that night.
Miya Atsumu, star setter of the MSBY Black Jackals died in a tragic car accident last night
"What tragic news. Miya Atsumu died at the age of twenty in a car accident last night. Apparently he had missed a red light when a delivery van crashed into him. His car turned over and as of what the police had told us, there was Umeboshi spread all over. It-"
Kiyoomi turned off the TV.
Umeboshi?
Then he remembered the paper bag in Atsumu's hands. Kiyoomi teared up even more. He felt guilty. It happened right after he left Kiyoomi's dorm.
The police had handed Kiyoomi Atsumu's belongings that were in the car and on him still. When he unlocked Atsumu's phone, he froze. He gripped the phone and stared down on it as more tears made their way down his face.
It's okay
A message Atsumu never got to hit send on.
Even though he was hurt, he still didn’t wish Kiyoomi anything bad. He only wanted him to be happy. After all that's what you want for someone you love.
At Atsumu's funeral, nobody knew about what had happened that day. Nobody knew that Kiyoomi cheated on Atsumu with Akaashi. But when Bokuto kept glaring at Kiyoomi, Kiyoomi knew. Akaashi must have told Bokuto about them, since they are best friends.
"This is your fault, isn’t it?" Kiyoomi didn’t expect such a direct confrontation of Bokuto before the funeral procession. Bokuto always had been the loud and funny type of person, never in the whole world would Kiyoomi have expected Bokuto to talk to him like that. "Tsum-Tsum is dead because of you, right?"
"Bokuto, I…" Kiyoomi didn’t know what to say.
"You didn’t deserve him." Bokuto was tearing up. "Do they know?" He was pointing at all the people that showed up.
Kiyoomi looked down at his feet and lightly shook his head.
Bokuto scoffed. "Of course they don’t." He purposely bumped into Kiyoomi while walking away. Kiyoomi just stood there, silently crying by himself. He couldn’t even face Atsumu's parents or Osamu yet. They haven’t talked. Everyone was sad since they lost a loved one.
Kiyoomi couldn’t live with the guilt and told Akaashi about everything a week after the funeral. They broke up. Kiyoomi was all alone. Now he didn’t even have Atsumu's bright appearance to cheer him up. No strong arms to surround him. No one to share Umeboshi with.
The moment he was all alone, he realized, what exactly he lost. Who he lost.
No daily messages anymore. No one that sent him pictures or videos saying 'this reminded me of you'. No one to talk to when he felt down. No one would make sure he doesn’t overwork himself.
If only I stopped him before he left. I should have talked to him.
It is as if he lost the light in his life that kept him going. He didn’t notice until Atsumu was really gone. Not just broken up, but literally gone. Never to be seen again.
"I'm sorry, Atsumu. I really am. I regret treating you like that. I don’t know why I did it. But you deserved better. You really deserved better."
Atsumu's gravestone was surrounded by a lot of flowers, his MSBY jersey and many pictures. Seeing Atsumu so happy in all these pictures made Kiyoomi tear up.
He was always so happy; he died sad because of me.
"I hope you are in a better place now. You deserve to be happy wherever you are. Please be happy."
Months later Kiyoomi died. A car hit him while he was walking back home after visiting Atsumu's grave. It may have been karma for how he treated Atsumu, maybe he crossed the street carelessly on purpose. Maybe he wanted that car to hit him.
His funeral was attended by his old friends. Even though they didn't really want to go, they went for Atsumu. They knew he would have wanted that. Because Atsumu wouldn’t hold grudges against anyone.
Atsumu never waited for Kiyoomi in the afterlife.
Kiyoomi hadn’t eaten Umeboshi since Atsumu's accident.