Watching Perry jump in the line of fire sent chills of horrifying pain through Harry's body. At first he wondered if it was because he saw a man he'd come to care for get shot… Or maybe it was because that bullet made a clean pass and hit him in the chest directly afterward. He couldn't believe he was tasting the blood of the other man when he tried to breathe life back into those lungs. There were so many things he regretted now. So many things he would have done differently in just the time that he'd known Perry…
Even if he'd managed his heroic rescue and singlehandedly taken down all the bad guys, he was slipping away. Perry was dead… And now he was dying too… As Harmony's voice faded out, he felt his body go numb and he succumbed to the peaceful sleep that was over taking him. Into the blissful arms of a sweet and sad dream…
Thrumming… Like drums in his ears… He could hear the steady beat of another's heart. Harry let his eyes slip open. The world around him was a lucid beauty… Vibrant in color and light airy… He felt warmth beneath him. The steady rise and fall of someone breathing. He slowly sat up and looked down to see Perry. He looked peaceful as he slept, his body clad in simple white pajamas, identical to the ones Harry wore as well. In fact, everything was white. The sheets, the blanket, the pillows, the walls… A soft breeze blew in from an open patio door, blowing the sheer curtains hanging on either side of the doorway in its wake. The room was bathed in natural sunlight. A warm and earthy orange glow. Harry swallowed, but it didn't feel awkward and uncomfortable. In fact, he hardly felt it at all… He looked around once more before looking down at Perry again. He reached down, tentatively, and unbuttoned the first few buttons on Perry's sleep shirt, looking for signs of that bullet wound… But all that was there was perfectly unmarred skin. Harry then noticed how soft Perry's skin was. His fingers lightly ghosted over the soft skin as he inspected the man in this bed beside him.
He gave a little sigh and laid back down, letting his head rest on Perry's chest again.
"Hold on Harry! Hold on!" Beep. Beep. Beep.
Harry jolted as his senses were filled with phantom noises. His reality flickered for a moment and he saw above him, Harmony… Florecent lighting… Someone squeezing a pouch attached to a mask over his face. His chest heaved as his lungs were filled with air. And then he was back again.
Perry was rousing.
"Harry… Hm…" Perry rolled onto his side and pulled Harry into his arms. "Just sleep…"
"Stay with me Harry! Stay with me!" Beep……….. "CLEAR!"
Harry held onto Perry tightly as he felt a surge of painful energy shoot through him. Head to toe his body was tingling and on fire.
"Aaaugh!" he groaned and arched his back, but Perry held him tight.
"Shh… It's okay. Just sleep… Just sleep Harry…"
Harry felt his eyes fluttering closed.
"CLEAR!"
And suddenly, he was at peace…. He rested against Perry once more…
SMACK.
Harry sat upright with nervous eyes as he fell out of his bed. He looked around quickly and sighed in relief.
"It was just a dream… it was all just a dream…" he said softly to himself, rubbing his forehead. "Fuck… Seeing Richard get shot must have done more to me than I thought…"
Harry rose weakly, noting that his chest hurt, his legs ached, and his head was swimming. He looked around his dark and dingy apartment. A single room made up his living room and bedroom, and off to his left was his kitchen and dining room, and then through the only hall in the whole efficiency, was his tiny bathroom. The carpet smelled of mildew and the ceiling leaked, but damn it, this was home… All thoughts of his crazy dream adventure to LA left his mind. As real as it had seemed, he knew better… It had all been a dream.
Fuck Destiny right?
Right. Fuck Destiny.
Harry scratched idly at his chest as he walked to the fridge, pulling out a beer for himself, cracking it open and taking a drink. He looked over at the clock and sighed. It was four in the morning. Four AM never bode well for Harry. Bad things happened to him if he left his apartment at this hour…
Harry closed his eyes tight, his head was swimming, his whole body felt dizzy. He knew fresh air would help his condition. It always did… But this was a dangerous time to wander around New York City… It was a debate that took all of six minutes for Harry to win with himself. He worked up a little courage, grabbed his gun, and got dressed. It was time for a walk. He got into the elevator at his apartment building and pressed the LL button, deciding to go out through the parking garage. He owed his landlord money and didn't want o risk running into the crazy old bat any time soon. The guy carried around a double barrel shotgun after all.
The expanse of the garage seemed infinitely longer than usual as he walked it. He stepped off the elevator and headed for the exit. However, the closer he seemed to get, the farther away the exit became. He could have sworn that this was the way out, but now, in the dim orange lights, he was lost.
"Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck." He hissed under his breath. He slowly turned around, wanting to head back, deciding going out the front was better than getting lost. He stopped in his tracks however, when he saw a figure at the end of the row of cars, standing just in front of the elevator. Tall, built, black suit, blonde hair, and the faint scent of cologne began to fill Harry's senses. A familiar cologne…
"Perry…" Harry whispered under his breath. But Perry had been a dream. Not real. Harry began jogging towards the elevator as the figure turned and pressed the button. The door's dinged open and the figure stepped aboard. Harry found himself only feet away and immediately recognizing the figure. There in the elevator was Perry, smiling at him.
"PERRY! PERRY WAIT!" Harry called out, not reaching the elevator before the doors slid closed. Harry frantically clicked the button, having to chase after the other man. When the opposite elevator opened he stepped aboard. He clicked the 1 button and then the "Door Close" button several times before the elevator began to ascend. However it didn't stop on one. It kept going up. Harry looked around quickly, pushing the 1 over and over but the elevator kept taking him up and up, all the way to the fourteenth floor. The elevator stopped and Harry sighed heavily, pressing the 1 again. The elevator creaked uneasily and Harry felt his heart rise into his throat. Something was terribly wrong…
He swallowed uneasily and backed against the wall of the elevator. Plummeting. He felt the elevator begin to fall. Falling fast. In seconds Harry saw the world whir by him and his life flash before his eyes. SMASH. And then… Nothingness… Beep… Beep… Beep… …
Harry winced a little as he pushed himself up off the ground. He dusted himself off and took in his surroundings. He was at a beach… But what was this constant beeping noise he kept hearing… Beep. Beep. Beep.
Harry looked around and saw nothing but waves lapping onto the shore. He was alone… Harry could feel himself panicking. What was going on with him. One moment he could have sworn he was falling to his death and now… Here he was on a beach…
The soft sound of footsteps swishing in the water caught Harry's attention. He turned around wildly, his eyes falling on the owner of those footsteps. In a pair of tan shorts and a t-shirt, his eyes covered with designer sunglasses, walking up the beach in the small waves, was Perry. He was smiling… Smiling like Harry had never seen him smile.
" I thought I might find you here." Perry said with a warm laugh. Harry frowned and stepped back a little from Perry as Perry approached him.
"What's going on with me Perry… Where am I…?" Harry asked hoarsely. Perry stopped in front of him and took off his sunglasses.
"That's not important right now… It's time for you to come back to me Harry… Okay…? I need you to come back.. Come back to me… Can you wake up now…?" Perry asked quietly in a tone that was just uncharacteristic of the other man. Harry shook his head, shaking with fear.
"I don't understand Perry. What the fuck do you mean man?" he asked weakly. Perry closed the space between them and placed a small and lingering kiss on Harry's lips.
"Wake up Harry… Please…" Perry said softly. Harry winced as the beeping got louder.
"Perry… I… Perry what the fuck man…?"
Perry shook his head.
"No… No it's Harmony… Perry's not here… Please wake up Harry…"
Perry and the beach began to fade away from Harry's line of sight and things began to get dark.
"Perry! PERRY! FUCK DON'T LEAVE ME!" Harry called out.
Harry could feel gentle caresses… A pillow under his head…
The beeping… It was steady…
He opened his eyes slowly and waited for his vision to clear. He broke into a small smile as he saw her there above him. Harmony gave a sigh of relief and smiled back. Harry could tell now, that this was real. He was going to be okay… When Perry rolled in in a wheel chair, Harry felt relief and joy wash over him.
Thank God…
Harry thought to himself… It was finally over…
The nightmare was finally over…
Harry knew that everyone had to leave behind things they didn't want to. That was life… He found himself at the counter of an Airport once more. It was time to go. He'd bade Harmony good bye…
And found himself unable to work up the courage to say goodbye to Perry. He just couldn't do it… After the dreams he'd had while unconscious in the hospital… He just wasn't sure how he felt about the other man anymore. There was some unspoken pull that Harry felt towards the other man and he had to run from it. He had to go home…
Home…
To Be Continued…