Ruki was half alseep on the side of Reita's hospital bed. His mind kept going back to that night two weeks ago when the blonde bassist had been hit. One minute he was waiting for a train, wishing he had a cigarette, then everybody around him started screaming. He had turned to see what was happening and then he was screaming too. Reita was hit by some asshole going twice the speed limit right in front of his eyes. Ruki had been at his friends side almost as soon as he had landed in the road. He had thought there was no way anybody could have lived through that but Reita had. He had stayed with the blonde as he was rushed to the hospital and only let go of his hand when they wheeled him in for surgery. Then he had called the others in the band and broken the news to them. They had sat huddled together in the waiting area for hours hoping for news on Reita's condition. There had been endless tears and obscinaties aimed at the driver. Finally, after six long hours, the doctor had given them the first glimmer of hope. Both of Reita's legs were broken and he had a serious head injury. They were able to stop the internal bleeding though and he was stable for the moment. They had kept the bassist in intensive care for most of the first week, waiting for the swelling in his head to go down. He had both legs in casts but he was upgraded to stable condition and given a private room. Now they were just waiting for him to wake up. Ruki's head snapped up when he heard a soft groan and felt a slight shift in the bed.
"Reita," he breathed and went to stand by his friends side. It took a minute but his friend finally met his gaze and blinked sleepily at him. His mouth moved but all that came out was a rough whisper of sound. Ruki took the ever present cup of water from the nearby tray and helped him drink. Then he roused the others from sleep and called for a nurse. The nurse made the others wait in the hall while she checked Reita's vitals and called his doctor with an update. She left the room a few minutes later telling the band members that they would be allowed back in until the doctor arrived. They hurried back in and surrounded the bad in a show of unity.
Reita looked up into the faces of his closest friends and smiled. He knew that everyone thought he was lucky to be alive and he didn't have the heart to tell that otherwise right now. The nurse had told him about the accident and everything about that night had come back to him. It figured that he would survive something like that after his plan with the train hadn't worked. The next hour passed quickly as the group talked about everything they would do after Reita recovered. When the doctor arrived they were sent to the hall again but this time they were able to relax and even smile a little. Reita was awake and talking and that was a good sign of how his recovery would go. There had been some doubt as to what to expect due to the severity of the head injury. It was good that they had apparently worried for nothing. After the doctor left they were allowed back in to see their friend, but warned that visitors hours would be enforced now that the patient was awake. They were given thirty minutes before the chimes signaled all visitors to leave their loved ones. Everyone hugged Reita goodbye and promised to return the following day, telling him again they were glad he was awake. A short while later the nurse returned to check on him again and distribute medication. As much as he disliked the idea of taking any kind of drugs, Reita's head was throbbing along to his heartbeat. The rest of his body wasn't feeling much better. He closed his eyes and wondered how long it was going to take before he got out of the hospital. There was no way he could end his life with this many doctors around.
It was another two weeks before he was finally let out of the hospital. Kai had come to pick him up and the others were waiting at his apartment to welcome him home. They stopped on the way to pick up the prescriptions the doctor had sent him home with. He didn't think he would need the painkillers any longer but got them just in case. The others were antibiotics and antisomething or other that he didn't care about but would take regardless. His friends had decided that they would take turns staying and helping Reita until he was back on his feet, literally speaking. The casts would be on for another couple of weeks and then he would need physical therapy to rebuild the muscles. More pain and degradation, just what his life needed. At least he wouldn't be stuck in the damn wheelchair for long. Kai pulled up at the front of the building and Uruha was waiting to help him inside. Getting out of the car proved to be more of a challenge than getting in had been. At the hospital there was nurses who were used to this kind of crap giving directions. After a few failed attempts he was out of the car and into the wheelchair. He was grateful that he lived in a building with an elevator that actually worked. Once they got upstairs and into his apartment Reita realized that his friends had cleaned for him. His usually messy place was cleaner that it had been in a long time. He could actually see the carpet for a change and there were no piles of clothes to be seen. The dishes in the kitchen had been washed and actually put in the cupboards. He would leave them in the drying rack until he used them again most of the time.
Then the smell of real food came from the kitchen, making his stomach rumble loudly and everyone laughed. Kai had read somewhere that chicken soup was supposed to be good for healing. He had found a recipe online and made it just for the occasion. Reita decided it wasn't too bad if you ignored the many vegetables in it. It could have used more meat as well but he wasn't going to complain after all the trouble his friend had gone to making it.
Shortly after the meal was finished Reita had started yawning and Kai had shooed the others out for the night. He would be staying tonight and Uruha would be there in the morning to relieve him. Kai helped him get into his bedroom and onto the bed. Reita decided to sleep in the loose clothes he had worn home rather than change. He was honestly to tired to even bother tonight.
The next few days weren't as bad as Reita had expected them to be. His friends were always around him making sure he didn't over do anything and generally fussing over him. If he was moody or quiet they assumed it was the pain medication that he wasn't taking. It was almost too easy to continue fooling them that he was alright. It wasn't until the first night that Ruki stayed with him that he felt the urge to hide in his room. Unfortunately Ruki was in a talkative mood and followed him. He backed the wheelchair out of the room and headed to the bathroom, saying he was going to wash up. Again Ruki followed him. "I can handle this on my own, Ruki." he told the vocalist. "Really? 'Cause you forgot to bring clothes in with you."
"Fuck," replied and began backing out of the much smaller room.
"I'll get them," Ruki said with a laugh.
"Thanks," Reita said and began filling the sink with hot water. He couldn't wait until next week when he could actually shower again. "Here we are," Ruki said, setting the clean garments on the counter. "What do you need me to do?"
"I've got it, thanks."
"You sure? How do you plan on getting in and out of your clothes?"
"The same way I have been the last few days. I'm not completely useless, you know."
"I never said you were, baka. Just trying to be helpful. I'll be right outside the door if you need me. Or in case you fall on your stubborn ass."
Reita let out a sigh of relief when the vocalist shut the door behind himself. His mind had almost gone crazy when the shorter man had said 'if you need me.' Well Reita certainly wanted him but he knew to keep that to himself. He washed his upper body and donned the fresh shirt before struggling out of his sweatpants. He hadn't even been bothering with underwear since he got home. It was less work when he changed and less laundry to do later. He finished cleaning himself and fought his way into the pants that Ruki had grabbed for him. He threw the dirty clothes into the growing pile under his sink. Vaguely he wondered how many pairs of sweats he owned. Brushing his teeth and hair, he finished in the bathroom for the night. Opening the door he started pushing his way out.
"Aren't you going to wash your hair?" Ruki asked when he saw Reita.
"Kind of hard to do when I can't get into the shower or even bend over the sink."
"So you haven't washed it at all since you got home?" he reached out and lightly ran his fingers through the bassists hair. "Let's see what we can find to fix that. No offense but your hair is seriously nasty."
"Oh, now why would that be offensive?" Reita asked with a snort.
He heard Ruki in the other room looking through cupboards and opening and closing doors. A few minutes he returned with bucket Reita had forgotten he owned and a look of triumph on his angelic face. Don't think like that, Reita inwardly told himself. Ruki pulled a pot out of the bucket and placed it by the sink. He placed the bucket on Reita's lap and grabbed shampoo and conditioner from the shower. He ran the water in the sink, adjusting it until he was satisfied, then filled the pot. He told Reita to lean over then bucket and doused his head with the water in from the pot. He grabbed the shampoo and poured a generous amount directly onto the bassists head. Mindful of the newly healed areas on the back of Reita's head, he began rubbing away the grime. He rinsed and repeated just to be sure his friends hair was thoroughly clean. He chuckled when he heard the blonde groaning under ministrations. When he had washed out the last of the conditioner he grabbed a fresh towel and wrapped it around Reita's hair to absorb the water. Meanwhile he dumped the bucket into the shower and returned the pot to the kitchen. He heard the blowdryer start up followed by Reita cursing.
"What's the matter, Rei?" he asked as he came back into the tiny bathroom.
"What the fuck happened to my hair?" he growled showing Ruki the back of his head. "You didn't know? They had to shave it before they could do surgery to relieve the swelling. You're lucky I told them not to cut the rest of it off."
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
"It's already starting to grow back out. Pretty soon you won't even be able to tell." Ruki said trying to placate the others growing temper.
"Fuck. Just fuck," Reita snarled as he pushed his way out of the bathroom and into the bedroom once more.
