Bonds Unchanged
It's a bright, sunny day in ACDC town. Children are out playing and the birds outside chirp merrily. A van rides up to a bright blue house roofed with orange and a doctor runs out of the driver's side, closing the door with a loud chunk. A ramp slides down from the back door on the van's right. The doctor hurriedly opens the door and his passenger descends slowly down the ramp on his wheelchair. The boy refuses his driver's offer of help and carefully wheels himself inside the house where his mother and his twin, wearing his ever-present blue bandanna, await him. The doctor shares a few words with the boys' mother and departs in his van.
The younger brother eagerly wheels his counterpart to the couch despite the latter's protests. Their mother stands aside, worried yet glad to have her sons reunited. The energetic brother speaks casually, trying to hide the excitement of being with his brother.
"Hey, Hub, how're you doing?"
"Fine," his twin replies. "I'm glad to be out of the hospital at last."
Although normally the easygoing of the two, the younger gives his brother a warning. "Well, don't overdo it, you're still recovering from that last surgery"
"Haha," Hub laughs it off, waving away his twin's concern. "I'll be fine, you worry too much," The older twin assures. He then teases his brother, "By the way, how's school? Not skipping out again to spend time with little old me here are you?"
"I told you, it really is a holiday today!" The boy insists, not for the first time. "The teachers are, you know, reorganizing, or something."
Hub laughs at the flushed tone in his brother's excuse, "Okay, I'll let it go today, since this is my first time of the hospital in a while, but you better be doing your homework, Lan!"
"Aw, can't you stop bugging me about homework for once," Lan whines, "and just let me enjoy spending some quality bonding time with my brother?"
"Don't think you can sweet talk me out of doing your homework! Even if you do, there's still to go through before you can get away with doing it," Hub warns.
"Aaaaaw, Hub, please stop with the nagging! I'll do my homework eventually, this just isn't the time."
"Haha, I got it."
"I'll leave you two alone while I cook dinner, is that okay?" Their mother, relieved that her two boys are getting along well, lets them talk to each other in peace.
"Yup."
"Sure."
"I'll be in the other room, just call if you need anything," she adds.
"All right."
"Thanks, Mom."
She leaves the room with one more glance at her sons before closing the door, with a ka-chak.
The older twin, feeling slightly less burdened by his mother's worried gaze asks his brother, "So, Lan, how's the netbattling?"
"It's all right." Lan replies, then adds, wistfully, "It's too bad that you don't have a netnavi of your own."
"Yeah. I wish I wasn't so sick all the time." Hub says, unable to hide the longing in his voice. "You know, I had a wierd thought ear-" His voice breaks off then and he starts coughing furiously.
Worried, Lan jumps to his feet, calling his brother's name. "Hub? Hub!"
His only response is bout of hoarse coughs. Lan starts to panic, calling his mother from the living room.
"Mom! Mom! It's happening again!"
"Oh no! I'll call the hospital! Lan, keep talking to him!" She sounds just as frenzied, if not more than Lan. He starts to talk to his brother, trying to calm himself down as well.
"Hub? Hub, It'll be all right. Take deep breaths. The doctors will be here soon. Just breathe deeply all right?"
hack wheeze cough
Lan looks at the miniature heart monitor on his brother's wheelchair and instantly feels worse. "Your heart rate's never been this irregular before." Indeed, Hub's heart rate is fluctuating wildly. One moment, it's as fast as if he's running a marathon, then it instantly slows to a snail's pace, then quickens, and then, without warning, it deadlines.
"Oh no! It's stopped!" Lan feels considerably frantic. "Hub, can you hear me? Hub!"
His brother stays still in his wheelchair, no longer coughing. His chest lies still.
"Oh no," Lan's voice is only a whisper. "I have to start the defibrillator. I hope it'll work..." Although Hub has had attacks like these before, Lan has never known for his brother's heart to have actually stopped. Holding his breath in sympathy for his brother, he attaches the electrodes to Hub's chest and activates the defibrillator. There is no response as their mother bursts into the room.
"Lan, the doctor's on his way, is he all right?" She sounds breathless with agitation as she reaches Hub's side.
"I just started the defibrillator but nothing's happening! What do I do?" Lan, also as breathless, starts to feel the fear rise rapidly in his throat.
"Did you check his heartbeat?"
Lan looks at the heart monitor and sees a small rise in the line. Wanting further proof, he presses his head against his brother's chest and detects a weak pulse.
"...It's really quiet but there's a heartbeat! It worked!"
"Oh, thank goodness!" his mom sobs. "But we shouldn't relax until the doctor arrives."
Hub starts to stir slightly, feeling weak. "...Mom?...Lan?"
"Hub? Hub! Hub, are you all right?" They lean towards the boy seeking reassurance.
"Yeah...I think so..." his voice is barely there, it's so quiet. "It's kind of hard to talk though..."
"Oh thank goodness! Just rest and don't talk too much, okay? The doctor's on his way, so I'll fix you both something to eat while you wait. Lan, don't bother your brother too much, all right?" Their mother, now relieved that everything is all right, tries to calm down, spending her energy on everyday tasks.
"Thanks, Mom." Lan turns to his brother as their mom leaves, this time leaving the door wide open.
"...Lan," Hub turns his head slightly to look at his brother.
"Don't talk too much all right? That really scared me when your heart stopped! I don't want that to happen again." Still feeling the fearful emotions from before, his words come out in a rush.
"...Lan...about what I was saying before..." It's obvious that every sentence takes effort. Lan feels he should ask his older twin to conserve his energy but still hangs on what he says.
"What were you saying?"
"...I was thinking about if I didn't have HBD..."
"Yeah?"
"I wondered...if you didn't have me to worry about all the time...If you would have more time to do what you wanted...like netbattling..."
"Don't say that," Lan says, "If I didn't have you around, then I wouldn't be...needed, I guess. If you didn't have HBD, then you would be the one doing all the netbattling around here. You sure have the right skills for it, haha..." He tries to make a joke out of it, forcing a small laugh.
"Nah...If I didn't need you...somebody else would...You're the kind of person...who would be able to help...no matter what," Hub insists.
Lan feels his face grow warm from the praise his brother gives him. "Aw, don't say that. I'm not that important. Or that generous! I even have a hard time helping myself, you know!"
"Haha...don't I know it...But still...In another universe...I'm sure...that you would be important...and needed..." Hub says.
"Well in that place, I hope that I still have room for netbattling!"
"Haha...I'm sure we both do...Who knows...maybe in that world...you actually finish your homework on time!"
Lan gives a loud groan. "And it comes back to the homework in the end, huh?"
"Well...if you actually finished it on time..." Hub says meaningfully.
"Hah! Well in any universe, you'll definitely be the same nagging brother that I know now!"
"Haha...That's...for sure!"
Author's Note: I'm sure that many experienced fanfiction browsers out there are tired of hearing this but this is my first fanfiction story. It's set in the gameverse because I've been playing the games recently and I noticed that while there are fanfiction stories of Hub being alive and human, there aren't any that indicate that he's alive, human, and sick. Because really, if he was able to survive HBD as a baby, he would be sharing Mamoru's fate, wouldn't he? Well, you must be sick of hearing this too, but please review and be sure to add constructive criticism in such as grammar errors, spelling mistakes, etc. Thanks.