I sort of just realised that I never posted this here. A warning that way back when I wrote it I was sick and tired and this is basically the train wreck that resulted from that :'D I am sorry OTL
When he'd heard that Law'd forgotten, he thought he was prepared. He stood outside the hospital room, bracing himself for what was to come—for a Law that couldn't recall his face or name, who didn't share the same memories or even know about himself. It took a painfully long time for him to gather and compose himself enough to assure that he wouldn't choke up. He went over what to do and say—and what not to do, which was probably far more important—and finally he felt he'd prepared himself as best he could. With a slight waver to his gait, Sabo stepped inside.
Despite all that, he never expected to be met with such a bright smile on the surgeon's face.
Sabo was taken aback—and actually took a step back, caught off guard by the way his old companion turned and looked at him, at the happy expression and light in his eyes that always felt so absent before. And, for just a moment, he had to wonder if he stepped into the wrong room. Maybe Law had an… evil twin or something.
…Or would Law himself have been the evil one?
Well, Law wasn't really evil so much as he was broody…
Shaking his head to free his thoughts of the tangent they'd gone off on, the blond straightened his back and looked the man over. He took in the discoloured flesh along Law's temple, running down his neck and side—the soiled dressings that would soon need to be changed. It was hard to keep his stare from lingering, a mix of emotions swelling within his chest.
"…Sabo?"
The blond blinked, refocusing on the patient only to be met by a kind of hesitant curiosity—really not something that belonged on that face. "…Yes?"
Relief washed over Law's face and the earlier smile returned as he shifted nervously beneath his sheets—and this was just getting too strange. Whatever weird, messed up dream he was having needed to end before he started to actually believe it. "They… told me you would be coming. A blond man named 'Sabo'."
"Ahh…" So he really didn't remember, then. By 'they', Law probably meant his family. It appeared they'd left before the blond arrived. Swallowing, he stepped closer and seated himself on the chair at the other's bedside. "That's… correct. Did they mention anything else about me?"
Law had to think about that, humming as he tried to recall—a habit Sabo knew for a fact he didn't have before. "…That you follow me around a lot. Annoyingly so."
Sabo made a face similar to a displeased pout, huffing as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I do not follow you around, and I'm certainly not annoying. If anything, you follow me." Or maybe it was that they both followed each other… They always seemed to find one another, even when they weren't looking.
Law laughed, a slightly unfamiliar sound, far lighter than it usually was—not that he laughed very often, of course, and that smile stretched into a grin. "Well it is nice to finally meet my stalker. Though for a stalker, you certainly aren't doing your job well; I've been here three days and this is the first I've seen of you."
"I am not a stalker," he restated, frowning at the newly-talkative surgeon. "And I was… out of town when you had your accident, so today was the earliest I could come see you. I'm… sorry, Law."
The other shook his head, his smile softening. "It is fine. You're here now. And I wasn't exactly missing you." He tapped his temple to further push his point, wincing slightly, and that only had Sabo feeling worse, slouching in his seat. Law didn't seem to notice, though, leaning back against his pillow, staring unseeingly at the whitewashed wall at the end of his bed.
"Is… there anything you'd like? Are you hungry? Or—are you in pain? I could—"
"Could you tell me about myself?"
Sabo blinked, watching him curiously, trying to read the look in the eyes and discover just what, exactly, his love was thinking.
"I'm different from how I was. I know that. Could you… elaborate for me?"
After a long, drawn-out stillness, the blond pulled his mouth taut and offered the patient a curt nod. "I… can do that, if that's what you want."
The smile returned, minutely, and Law hummed. "I would like that, yes."
"Well…" How to start? "You're—happy. Cheerful. You don't do 'happy'. Or, well, you do, but just… don't show it like this. You're normally all grumpy, or serious. And even when you're in a good mood you don't often smile. And you've only insulted me once so far."
As he rambled on—for what had to have been at least an hour—he found himself scooting closer, telling Law whatever stories came to mind as he subconsciously held onto the other's hand.
And when Law returned the hold, the relief he felt couldn't be measured.
I apologise for the sappy cheese. In my defence, sick.
Adieu~
