Apologies in advance for typos/errors. I wrote this one pretty quick.
"SARUHIKO!"
The rough and yet somehow desperate voice ripped down the hall and into his range of hearing. He couldn't be far away. That was the second time today he'd heard his first name shouted from afar like that, a sentiment that didn't often occur, as none of his coworkers would consider calling him that. They knew all too well of the death glare that would most certainly ensue. And yet somehow, that glare fell on blind eyes in the past when set on this particular individual who so casually chose to throw his first name about.
"SARUHIKO!"
"Is that for you?" The nurse currently tending to him asked, a puzzled expression on her face.
"It would seem that way," he muttered in response, too tired to conjure up a twisted response to the obviousness lingering in the air.
"He is disrupting the entire floor. I'm going to have to ask him to leave." The nurse said, poking her head around the door.
"He'll disrupt more then the floor if you try to force him to leave," Fushimi replied distantly, not looking up at her.
She gave no indication that she'd heard him, but turned the corner and began to speak loudly.
"EXCUSE ME SIR! You can't be shouting on this floor. You are disrupting a number of sick and tired patience. Please remove yourself from the premise."
"Tell me where Fushimi Saruhiko is!" He demanded. "I will find him with or without your help!"
They were right outside Fushimi's door now, and he'd heard enough. "Be quiet, idiot," straining his voice enough for Yata to hear.
"Saruhiko!" Yata exclaimed, rushing around the corner.
"I'll keep him quiet," Fushimi said as the nurse opened her mouth to object.
She said nothing, simply turning on her heel and exiting the room.
"If you start crying I'm going to throw you out," Fushimi said as Yata's eyes began to leak tears, though Fushimi wasn't sure if they were tears of joy or tears of sadness. Regardless, he didn't have the energy to deal with it at the moment.
"Look at you, you're a mess," Fushimi said as Yata approached him. His once very direct beeline to Fushimi had become much more hesitant, and now he looked almost afraid to get close to him.
"The whole place collapsed. I had no idea if you had made it out or not, and all I could think about was what an idiot I was to leave you there," Yata was frantic.
"Sit down," Fushimi said, gesturing to the chair beside his bed.
"I found the blue king and all he said was that you'd be taken to the hospital."
"And you didn't think to maybe check yourself in as well?" Fushimi asked, eyeing they blood caked on Yata's eyebrow as well as the cuts and bruises littering his body.
"I'm fine," he insisted. "What about you?'
Fushimi was laying in a propped up hospital bed clad in a gown matching the color of the bed sheets. The wound on his leg had been cleaned and bandaged, and the limb now lay atop several pillows, bent at the knee. He had bandages covering his left arm as well as several small cuts on his head and neck. He had a blood pressure cuff wrapped around his right bicep and several wires attached to his chest and back, not to mention the annoying monitor clipped to his left index finger obstructing his entire hand. He had grown bored watching the monitors on the screen above him, and chose now to simply ignore them.
"I'm alright," Fushimi said, hearing the strain in his own voice. "Cuts and bruises." He did his best to convince Yata that his words were in fact true.
"What about your leg? You lost a lot of blood."
"I'm not sure. They stopped the bleeding but I'm waiting on a doctor for more tests apparently. Stop worrying!" Fushimi said sternly, noting the expression on Yata's face.
"Gah!" Yata shook his head roughly. "It's been a long fucking day, alright?"
"Tell me about it," Fushimi said, relaxing back into his bed. "So the Slates were successfully destroyed then?"
"As far as I know," Yata said. "We did what the Silver king asked and his sword definitely fell."
"But you ran off before you were debriefed?"
"I was a bit preoccupied," Yata said quietly, pulling his knees up to his chest. He looked like he was going to cry again.
Fushimi let out a heavy sigh. He was about to open his mouth to ask what his problem was when the nurse walked stormed back in.
She looked as though she was about to scold one or both of them, when her eyes fell on Yata, curled up in the chair, looking like nothing more than a scared, injured child compared to the obnoxious man who had held up the floor only minutes ago. Yata did not look up at her.
The nurse looked from Yata to Fushimi, who shrugged, then to Fushimi's monitor.
A second nurse turned the corner, this one male. She had obviously called for reinforcements. "Everything alright here?" He asked.
"His blood pressure is finally down," she said, pressing a button that elicited a long beep as Fushimi's blood pressure cuff inflated. "So is his heart rate."
Fushimi knew what she was insinuating, and he felt his cheeks heat up slightly, wondering if his face could even draw colour with the lack of blood in his body.
"So the noisy one stays?" The man asked.
"He's fine," Fushimi said. "Aside from the fact that he probably needs medical attention himself."
The nurses looked at each other, then the female tilted his head in the direction of Yata.
"Alright, I'll get him a chart," the nurse said, and the both ducked out of the room.
"I don't need medical attention," Yata insisted quietly, but his quick change in demeanor suggested otherwise, and Fushimi half wondered if he needed to be treated for shock.
"Just let them look at that cut," Fushimi said. Yata's eyes did not leave the floor. "Then we can talk more," he said quietly. This caught Yata's attention. Fushimi flashed him a quick reassuring glance as the nurse reentered the room with a clipboard. It felt strange and unusual to be civil to Yata… but there was something comforting about having him there. Obviously his monitor was proof of that.
The nurse poked and prodded at Yata, checking him for injuries and asking him about a million questions, testing his balance, his vision, then bringing in a cart to test his heart rate, blood pressure and breathing.
Once she'd decided that he was in alright shape, she cleaned the cuts on his forehead and knee and bandaged them.
"The doctor should be back in a bit with your test results," the nurse finally said to Fushimi. "Press the button if you need anything."
"Happy?" Yata asked him, forcing all the glare he could possibly muster, which wasn't much, into his expression. He looked exhausted.
"Yep," Fushimi said. "So was everyone ok? Anna and Kusanagi and those guys?"
"Yeah everyone made it out. What about you? How did you get out?"
Fushimi considered telling him that he almost hadn't made it, but seeing the mental state of his old comrade, he decided against it. "The Captain had an escape route set up for me once I'd shaken off all the Greens. He also sent you in after me, didn't he?"
"Why do you think that?" Yata asked, already picking at the bandages on his knee.
"It's not like you were smart enough to figure it out on your own," Fushimi pushed.
"No, for your information he did not send me in there. He came and asked me – " Yata paused.
"What?"
"He told me that you had joined JUNGLE on his orders. He asked me if I thought that you would betray him and really join JUNGLE to save your own ass."
Fushimi clicked his tongue amusedly. "So what did you say?"
"I didn't really say anything," Yata said, his gaze once again narrowing on the floor. "I'd only just found out what you'd done. I'd only just realized that you weren't actually a traitor. And that you never were."
"So you decided on your own to come after me?" Fushimi asked.
"Obviously, idiot," Yata spat. "You may have been worth more points than me, but you can't take those guys on alone!"
Fushimi knew there was no point in starting an argument, and he really didn't have the energy to do so. Furthermore, he knew Yata was right. He knew too well that had Yata not shown up, he'd have been killed.
"I can't believe you took that mission," Yata said, lowering his voice. "You knew how strong those guys were."
"You don't turn down a mission," Fushimi said.
"No, YOU don't turn down a mission. And your King knows it. He took advantage of you!" Yata protested. "Are you ok with that?"
"What if I am?"
"Don't you value your life?" Yata said, his voice growing frantic.
"Some things are bigger than…" Me? You? Us? Anyone? Fushimi wasn't sure.
"Neither Anna or Mikoto would ever ask me to do something like what you did," Yata said.
"I'm not going to argue with you. I did what I deemed to be right. We're a part of different clans, we're not going to share every ideal," Fushimi said, trying to keep his tone low.
"I just don't understand… how could you put your clansman's life at risk like that?"
"Well it was worth the risk in the end. We accomplished what we set out to do. And for the record… it would appear that the Captain had plenty of safeguards in place," Fushimi muttered, coming to this realization as he said it. Munakata had given Yata the information necessary for him to act, and he'd also paid Douhan to come in after him as well. He really must have trusted Fushimi to keep his word, though by the time he'd stormed out of SCEPTER 4, even he'd began to wonder how true his own words for the Captain were.
"Hey, Saruhiko," Yata said, his tone becoming very timid as he looked up from his lap, red faced. "About what you just said… how we're not going to share every ideal… that doesn't matter, right? I'm tired of not knowing you…"
He looked like he wanted to say more, but he seemed to have chosen his words carefully, and left it at that.
Fushimi stared at the Red clansman. The person that his world had once revolved around. Who was he kidding? His world still revolved around Yata. He didn't spend time with him anymore, but not a day passed in which he didn't think about him. His actions, his tactics, his decisions, they all revolved around Yata somehow. And yet Yata had hurt him so badly. He had been the first person that he'd really let get close to him, and just like that, Yata had chosen someone else. True, Mikoto was dead, but there was no reason it couldn't happen again if he let himself get close to Yata again.
"Saruhiko."
Fushimi looked up at the sound of his name.
"You have to tell me things. Make me understand." Yata said.
Fushimi felt uncomfortable; it was as if Yata was reading his mind.
"There's so much I don't understand. And I don't know if you refuse to say it, or if I'm just too stupid to see it. But I think if we both want to make it work…" Yata's voice trailed off as he stared hopefully at Fushimi, waiting for him to say something.
For years he had isolated himself. It was so much easier not having to rely on anyone, not having to trust that someone was going to keep their word. Was it worth it? He'd spent such a long time building up his walls, and now he was comfortably seated within them, each a carefully constructed masterpiece fueled by lies, betray and deceit. But with each wall, he blocked out the chance that any of those misfortunes might befall him again. And yet here was Yata, threatening to tear it all down. It sounded daunting, the prospect of rebuilding all that he had worked for.
And yet he saw the way others interacted. He'd watched his staff at SCEPTER 4 bond and enjoy themselves amongst one another. A small part of him had wanted a taste of it, but a much large part of him did not. He had tasted it before, and just when he'd opened his arms to it, it recoiled and exploded in his face, ruining him and teaching him that no matter how attractive it might look, it wasn't worth it. It was so much easier to be alone.
So why couldn't he say no? Why couldn't he simply turn down the auburn haired boy sitting in the chair next to him? He had rejected so many others so easily.
He knew it was because he had known this life. He'd known it, relished it, and lost it. He knew it couldn't be the same as it was before. You can't replay history. He wasn't foolish enough to believe that he could. But somehow, there was still a glimpse of light. An echo of a whisper telling him that maybe a new script could be drafted, a new story written. He certainly had all of the required knowledge and tools.
He looked up, and found Yata trembling in front of him. "I want my best friend back," he said, barely able to speak as he was so close to tears. "Please."
Fushimi looked into his eyes and felt a tightness across his chest, like his heart was breaking. He knew it wasn't the case, because his heart hadn't been whole in the first place. But either way, he knew what he wanted.
A simple nod, and a half smile was all that was necessary to reduce Yata to a sobbing mess, his tears flowing freely onto Fushimi's sheets as he bawled into the Blue's side.
"Come on," Fushimi said quietly, hearing the wavering in his own voice, "remember what I said about the crying."
"Shut up! Twice today I thought I was going to lose you! And all because you had to risk your fucking life for the mission. Dammit Saruhiko! Don't do that anymore!"
"Mm," Fushimi mumbled.
"There's so much more I want to say," Yata sniffled, regaining his composure, "but I don't think now is the time."
"You're probably right." Fushimi replied, feeling like he couldn't handle anymore emotional drama.
"Just promise me I'll get the chance."
"Assuming I don't stroke out and die here, there will be as many chances as you want," Fushimi said.
"Don't say that," Yata scolded noncommittally, rubbing his eyes.
"My bad."
"Saru, will you come back to the apartment with me?"
"What?" Fushimi said, not entirely sure if he'd heard that correctly.
"I mean… you don't have to come permanently… if you don't want, but maybe just… while you're recovering? You're going to need help, right? And we'll have lots of time to talk."
"Oh," Fushimi said automatically. He pondered the thought. He'd walked by the apartment more times than he could count in the previous years, so many times wishing he could just enter through those doors. But never once did he stop to knock. Maybe it was the painkillers, and perhaps he would come to regret this later, but the answer was obvious to him. "I don't see why not."
And once again, it was enough to reduce Yata to a teary fit.
Fushimi simply heaved a loud sigh, and Yata cleaned up pretty quickly.
"Do you know how long you'll be here? I should clean up the place."
"And maybe check in with your clan? Get some sleep? Get a shower?"
"Right, those things," Yata said, seeming far more upbeat.
"Emphasis on the sleep. I'm not dealing with you crying all over me all weekend," Fushimi pointed out.
As though on cue, a doctor rounded the corner with a small bin full of supplies.
"Fushimi Saruhiko? I'm Dr. Green."
Yata and Fushimi locked eyes in disbelief. Neither of them could handle any more Green for the time being.
"Sorry, and this is…?" The doctor gestured to Yata.
"I'm – "
"He's leaving," Fushimi cut him off. "I'll call you later."
"Right, see you," Yata said, jumping to his feet and heading for the door.
"Friend of yours?" Dr. Green asked, piling the contents from the bin on top of Fushimi's monitor.
"You could say that…" Fushimi replied quietly.
"Alright, well we're hoping to get you out of here later today assuming no complications, but we need to run some images on that leg. I have an IV here for you, so we'll set that up and then I'll be back in about twenty minutes to take you for the tests."
Fushimi watched uninterestedly as Dr. Green located a vein in which to insert the IV, and then hardly felt it when the thick catheter was forced into the chosen vein.
Normally Fushimi hated needles, but he found that today he was too exhausted to care. Somewhere between nearly bleeding to death, his king nearly dying, all the drama with the Slates and then with Yata, his mind had become too exhausted to be bothered with much else.
The doctor set the needle, taped it in place, then left the room.
Sighing, Fushimi leaned back against the bed and willed his body to relax. With some difficulty because of all the wires, he pulled his glasses off and tossed them in his lap. Exhausted, he rubbed his tired the back of his right hand.
It wasn't until he pulled his hand away that he noticed the teardrops.
Perhaps everything was catching up to him.
This was intended to be a one-shot... but then I had a vision of others coming to visit, and of Yata and Fushimi back at the old apartment. Anyway, let me know what you think/if you would like to see more.
Thank you for reading 3
