*I apologize if you can't read the chapter title, in case you can't it says "Bounce Back".*

𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓻𝓭 𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷 𝓟𝓞𝓥:

The four of them were just sitting there, holding onto each other, not moving, not saying anything. 

"We should go see the performances, I wanna see Cruz's..." Sniffled Kenma, already trying to get up. Akaashi grabbed onto his arm and held him back, giving him a worried look. 

"Hey, wait. Are you sure you want to go upstairs this quickly?" It hadn't been long since Kenma's breakdown, and the idea of him going back up there made Akaashi a little anxious, because like, what could happen to him? What if the guy was back up there trying to make a mess again?

Bokuto sighed a little and removed Akaashi's grip on Kenma, massaging his knuckles as he put down his hand. 

"Do you feel ready to go up, you can take as much time as you need." Stated Bokuto, his tone more confident than the wavering one Akaashi had used. 

"I mean...I guess. I just kinda freaked out a little, but it's reality. I'm ready to go back, but...can you stay with me?" Kenma's eyes fell to the floor and he scratched his arm awkwardly, shifting from side to side. 

Kuroo didn't say anything, he just got up and offered his hand to Kenma. They'd been through this before, they could do it again.

Kenma sniffled and took his hand, nodding a little when their palms met, it was comforting. He had known Kuroo for so long, he had become some kind of safe space to him, he made him feel safe, and that's what he needed right now. 

Akaashi and Bokuto nodded at each other and got to their feet, Bokuto helping Akaashi up like the gentleman he was. 

They surrounded Kenma, like some sort of protective barrier with its only goal being to protect him. 

When they got upstairs, there was practically no one in the halls, and some faint music could be heard far away. 

As they walked down the halls, working their way to the auditorium, Kenma's breathing got a little heavy, and his hands were sweating like crazy, but there was no way in hell that he was letting the pressure get to him again, he needed to get over himself, he needed to learn how to be stronger, and this was one step towards that, one step towards a big goal. 

They reached the big doors that lead to the auditorium, some classical music blaring behind it. They all stopped, wanting to know if Kenma was ready to go inside. 

He didn't say anything, just stepped forward and pushed them open, holding it so Kuroo, Bokuto, and Akaashi could walk through. 

It was cold inside, and dark, the lights dimmed so all the focus could go to the stage. Some random dance team was performing their choreography, and they were very good, they had gymnastics included into their dance and everything.

Most of the people here were family, friends or others to the teammates of every team, but occasionally Kenma spotted and important-looking person or two. Seeing them, wearing their fancy suits and VIP badges made him reminisce to the days he dreamt of being recognized by one of them, hoping to get some sort of scholarship through dance. 

That dream died young. 

He breathed in the air, the familiar smell of mixed fancy perfumes, the AC and the usual smell of people was a smell he had almost forgotten, but never fully. 

The team performing finished their choreo with an impressive aerial done by two of the teammates, and then a final bow, the crescendo of the instruments coming to an end. The clapping, the flowers thrown. Damn, he remembered that. 

The bright smiles of the teammates, smiling at each other yet not breaking their bows, their angst now left behind now that the choreo had been presented and finalized. 

They got up from their bows, some with their makeup running a little because of the sweat, but their smiles bright and wide. 

In a perfectly straight line, the dancers exited the stage, waving and throwing kisses, a guy even caught a bouquet and offered it to the girl behind him. 

The lights dimmed as they left, a couple of seconds went by when a booming voice rang out throughout the auditorium. 

"And now, Cruz Romano, performing an individual choreography!" Kenma breathed out in relief, he wouldn't hear the end of it if he'd missed Cruz's performance. 

(AN: If you want to listen to the music its at the very top of the chapter)

The lights went on around the stage, and suddenly there was Cruz, wearing a funny looking outfit consisting of a small puffy, black skirt, and a vest that had black and white stripes. 

The way she moved just showed how much she had progressed, she no longer missed the beat of the songs, just like how she used to do when she was younger, there was also that hint of playfulness she always included into her choreos. 

She had also gotten a lot more flexible, Kenma used to mock her a lot whenever she'd try to do a split or raise her foot over her head, but now she could very well do all that and much more. 

She had the audience hooked, her movements were sporadic and on point with the music, the lights and audio were in perfect sync with her. 

For a moment, Cruz made eye contact with Kenma, and the way her eyes brightened almost made Kenma start crying, she'd done it, she had surpassed him by miles and was now on her way to become even better. 

'You did it.' Mouthed Kenma, holding a thumbs up. 

Cruz danced, she danced like she had never danced before, she moved around the stage, smoothly going through her choreo despite some slip-ups that occurred now and then.

She looked at the audience, her facial expressions cocky and confident, matching the vibe of the song.

She was happy, happy to see that her cousin was there to see her. Happy that she felt supported, but most of all happy to see that Kenma was at least on his feet. 

She couldn't screw this up, but she had confidence in herself. She had poured her blood, sweat and tears into this choreo, she had spent countless hours on it, she could do this. She had to do this. 

Her body was getting tired, but the adrenaline kept her going. All eyes were on her, she couldn't screw up now, she was almost done. God, after this she was never going to hear this song again, she'd grown sick of it. 

And with the final move, she stood on her final pose, panting but trying to play it off.

Pretend you're not tired, pretend you're not tired. You've got this.

She smiled, wide, tired, but happy. 

It was over, all those months of work had finally paid off. 

The ovation, the exhilaration, she loved it.  

What came after was a complete blur, she got off stage, and was immediately hugged by her coach, who kept yelling in an odd mix of English and Italian. She was complimented from left to right, she was slightly overwhelmed but she kept her cool. 

And there he stood, smiling wide with his arms open, Kenma. 

She ran over and hugged him, knocking into him so hard he almost fell back, but caught his footing before they both fell. He looked like he'd been crying, but Cruz wasn't going to ask why. 

He had helped her get here, she was extremely grateful and she knew she'd always have his support. He had told her that several times already.

"Let's go home and celebrate!"

And with that they all drove back to the house, Cruz still not believing how good that had gone. 

Kenma felt exhausted. He wanted to sleep, but he would be able to do that once Cruz had gone back to her hotel, which was just a few minutes away. 

"Whew, I'm exhausted." Said Cruz as she plopped down on Kenma's floor, eating chips and fanning herself. 

"Tell me about it, that was too energetic, even for you."

"I knowwww. Gosh I should've toned it down." 

Kuroo, Bokuto and Akaashi were just awkwardly sitting on the bed, the three of them taking up most of it so they just sat there staring at Cruz, who looked ready to hibernate. 

A knock on the door resonated inside the room and Kaito poked his head around it. 

"Hey guys, brought you some more food and drinks. You mist be exhausted, Cruz."

"It's worth it."

Kaito smiled, a smile that showed he understood, for a second his eyes shifted to Kenma, and they saddened just the smallest bit, as if he were remembering something. He sighed, nodded and closed the door, giving Cruz one final smile before closing it. 

They watched movies, Cruz never leaving the floor and going through four bags of chips, almost falling asleep twice. By the time she almost fell asleep for the third, she got up and said her goodbyes, promising to meet again and actually hanging out. 

And then silence. 

Akaashi wanted to talk to Kenma, all of them did, but he just had silently dozed off and was in a state of almost falling asleep, no one wanted to disturb him. So they just placed him on the bed, Akaashi this time sleeping next to him, and they left him there. 

Bokuto was brushing his teeth when he got a phone call, the buzzing of his phone going off and momentarily spooking him. 

"Aiko?" He asked right after spitting, for a moment his blood froze, was the baby coming? But no, it was too soon, way too soon. 

"Hey Kou...Guess who I ran into at the store."

"Uh...no clue."

"Hung!"

Bokuto paused for a second, letting the information process.

"He's back from Vietnam? I thought he was moving there permanently." 

"His parents are still there, but he moved here on his own, he's actually sitting right next to me right now, want to talk to him?"

"Hell yeah." The excitement of talking to a friend he hadn't talked with in years got to him.

Hung used to be their neighbor, he lived right next door. He was just a few months older than Aiko and was always included in their family activities, they practically grew up together. Hung moved away in his Junior year of school back to their hometown in Vietnam, it had broken Aiko.

Those two had dated from middle school all the way to high school, and only broke up because of him moving. The amount of times that he had found Aiko just crying in her room seemed endless. 

They had been the usual adorable couple, who seemed too good to be true, they had their fights and everything but they never walked away from each other. It made Bokuto jealous to see his sister be in such a devoted relationship, but he was always happy for them. 

"Heyyy, Kou. It's been a while, how've you been?" His excited tone chirmed on the other side. Hung was always happy, he was always laughing and telling jokes, his smiled seemed to never detach itself from his face, it was one of the things Aiko loved so much about him. 

"Hey, Hung. Yeah it's been a while, god I've missed you. How're your parents?"

"They're fine. Left them back in Vietnam, it was just never the place for me, so I came back."

"We should see each other one of these days."

"I agree 100%, Aiko actually invited me to stay the night, so I'm gonna stay here until tomorrow, we could go for some coffee if you want to."

"Man I would, but right now I'm at my boyfriend's parent's at the beach."

"Boyfriend? Huh, I actually never saw that coming."

"Yes you did! Don't lie, we even made a bet on it." Exclaimed Aiko.

"Yeah you're right, which reminds me, you owe me some money now." Bokuto could hear the smile on Hung's face, it soothed him a little knowing Aiko wouldn't spend the night alone. 

"Well, Kou, talk to you later, man. And I should meet this boyfriend of yours, see if he's up to my standards, you deserve the world little man, well...I guess you're not so little anymore."

"I'll introduce you. We have to see each other soon."

And with that the call ended, leaving Bokuto with a goofy smile and excited to see his old friend. 

⚫ ⚫ ⚫

Hey guys, omfg it's been a while. I know I don't have to justify my absence but I feel like I should, and perhaps like this we can get to know each other a little more!

I am struggling right now with an active ED, which if you've ever struggled with one or are struggling right now then know, it gets better, easier, you can do this. 

I've been buried with work, exams, and my overall mental health, which is why I haven't been as active as I'd wish.

I went through a break up, which actually didn't stick for long since both me and my partner decided to get back together. 

I've struggled with some usage of, let's just say illicit substances *Not like heavy ones but ones I def shouldn't be taking* 

I relapsed with my SH, and other stuff. And I almost had to come out to my mom as trans because of an accident with her finding my bandages (I got a binder now though, so I call that a personal win) 

If you are struggling with any of these things or any other and you would like to talk about it, you can message me anytime you want, I am here for anyone who wants/needs help.

You guys are not alone, I love every single one of you and you are perfect as you are, stay safe, be healthy and try not to forget to take care of yourselves. 

~Tobi <3