Somewhere in the back of his sleep-addled mind, Eiri heard the phone ringing. He raised bleary eyes to check the time then fought back a groan. Who the hell was calling him at six in the morning? Didn't whoever it was know the schedule that he kept?
For a moment, Eiri considered not answering the phone. He was tired, he hadn't gotten much done on his latest novel, and, to top things off, Shuichi wasn't home yet. The vocalist had left for a three-day video shoot in Kyoto, and was due back sometime later that day. He sighed as the ringing continued. There were only two people he could think of that would be calling him at this ungodly hour, one of them being Shuichi. Depending on his lover's mood, Eiri would never hear the end of it if he didn't answer the phone.
Heaving another sigh, Eiri grudgingly threw the covers off him then stumbled into the living room. The cordless phone lay next to his cigarettes and lighter on the coffee table. Stifling a yawn, he picked it up and clicked the "talk" key, not even bothering to check the caller I.D.
"What is it?" he growled, reaching for his cigarettes and lighter. Shuichi would undoubtedly forgive him for his grumpiness. The younger man often did.
"Eiri . . ."
"Seguchi?" Eiri fought back a groan. It figured that Tohma would be the other person to be bothering him at this time. "What do you want?"
"I just received a phone call from K-san. There's been an accident. He and Bad Luck have been rushed to the hospital," his brother-in-law stated, his tone calm and collected. Eiri felt himself grow cold. Shuichi? In a car accident?
"What . . . how . . .?" His mind couldn't even form a coherent thought.
"I'm not sure about the details, Eiri," Tohma replied. "K-san didn't sound like himself when he spoke with me. I just know that they're at Nakahara right now."
"I'm on my way."
With that, Eiri hung up. He had to get to the hospital and quickly.
---
"Almost done."
Shuichi winced a little as the doctor finished stitching him up. The sight of the needle coming at him unnerved the vocalist more than it pained him, since the paramedics had given him something for pain on the way to the hospital. How he'd ended up there, though, he couldn't say. The last thing he recalled had been falling asleep on the way home from Kyoto. Bad Luck had finished the video shoot ahead of schedule. None of them had wanted to stay at the site any longer than necessary, so K had volunteered to take them back to Tokyo. The next thing Shuichi knew he was being lifted into an ambulance, his head throbbing with an undescribable pain.
"There we go," the doctor proclaimed, smiling gently. "You're all set. You're one lucky young man, you know that?"
"I guess," Shuichi murmured, taking the opportunity to glance around. He had to see if everyone else was there and if they were all right. Shuichi hoped to the gods above that they were. The thought of losing anyone in his life scared him.
However, before his imagination could run rampant, Shuichi saw Suguru two beds to the right of him. The keyboardist had a minor gash on his arm and that had been stitched and wrapped. Otherwise, he appeared to be fine, though somewhat irritated, and ready to walk out the door. That left K and Hiro, and Shuichi already knew that Bad Luck's manager had to be fine. He'd heard the American cursing at the hospital staff the entire time the doctor had been stitching the vocalist's forehead.
'Which leaves Hiro . . .'
The emergency room door opened as he turned his head around, admitting the last person who'd been in the van. Hiro. Shuichi winced when he saw his friend. The guitarist's arm had been wrapped in ace bandages and was now nestled in a sling. His best friend's face also had some nice bruises forming, but otherwise was okay. A sigh of relief escaped him.
'All's well that ends well, they say.'
Shuichi was about to lean back on the bed – the doctor had excused himself to get something or another – when he heard a familiar voice on the other side of the ER doors.
"Where the fuck is he?"
"Sir, please calm down . . ."
"I'll calm down the moment you tell me where the fuck Shuichi is!"
Cautiously, Shuichi climbed from the bed and made his way to the doors. He briefly entertained the idea that it was his imagination, that it wasn't his lover. After all, he hadn't called Eiri to say he'd been in an accident. The thought of calling the novelist hadn't even crossed his mind. There wasn't any way for Eiri to know, was there?
"Eiri, please calm down. There's no sense in getting upset."
Tohma. Of course he would be the one to call Eiri, though how he had found out, Shuichi could only guess. Then again, he didn't care. His lover had come for him and that spoke more to Shuichi than what a million words could. Carefully, he pushed the ER doors open . . .
---
"You got lucky, you know that?"
"That's what the doctor said," Shuichi murmured quietly. Eiri cast a quick glance at his young lover then turned his attention back to the road. He knew that the vocalist had been given painkillers and that they would affect how Shuichi behaved and reacted. He just hadn't expected Shuichi to be so subdued.
"Did he say why?"
"No."
"You were wearing your seatbelt," Eiri supplied succinctly. "It saved your life. That and you were sitting properly in your seat."
"Sitting properly in the seat?"
Eiri felt more than he saw Shuichi gazing at him. He nodded.
"Yes. Sitting properly in the seat."
"I don't . . ."
"A seatbelt can only do so much, Shuichi. It isn't always effective in a car accident. People have to do their parts, too."
"Oh. That makes sense."
The vocalist fell silent at that, slumping a little in the seat. Eiri had given the younger man a lot to think about, of that he was sure. Whether Shuichi actually remembered it would be something else entirely.
"Hey, Eiri . . ."
"Yeah?"
"Did they tell you how it happened? The accident, I mean."
"You don't remember?" Eiri inquired.
"No. I fell asleep."
Eiri hesitated. The police officer at the hospital had told him exactly what had happened, that the guy in the Toyota had been driving all night long and fallen asleep behind the wheel. He'd wanted to rip the other driver to shreds for his carelessness in the situation but had refrained. The other man had to live with what had happened and what the results could have been. He didn't need Eiri making things worse for him. Then Eiri mentally shook his head. It didn't matter if he told Shuichi or not. The vocalist would find out one way or another. Bad Luck being in a car wreck would be front page news.
"The guy who hit the van . . He fell asleep behind the wheel," he explained, keeping his tone neutral.
"He fell asleep?"
"Yeah."
"If he was tired, why didn't he pull over or something?" Shuichi inquired, his voice possessing a little more energy.
'That's a good question,' Eiri thought. 'A very good question..'
"I don't know, Shuichi. I don't know."