Chapter Four: Waiting...

Matthew slowly pulled up his shirt, exposing a pale stomach, and Francis was watching intently, taking in every detail.

Taking his shirt off completely, Matthew threw it to the side and crawled closer. He looked into Francis' eyes and whispered,

"Wanker!"

...What?

Francis was thoroughly confused, but that melted away when Matthew pressed his lips to his. But before he even got the chance to kiss back, Matthew pulled away.

"Wake up! Frog!"

And the confusion was back. But it didn't last long, as Francis felt a sharp sting on his arm and Matthew slowly started to fade away.

The room and the bed swirled into nothingness as Francis opened his eyes, not too pleased to see Arthur's face above him instead of Matthew's.

"Took you long enough. Wake up, and get to work. It's almost nine o'clock," Arthur growled, and proceeded to walk out, slamming the door.

Francis glared at him until the door was closed, then slowly began to roll himself out of bed. Not even bothering to fix his hair, he dressed himself and stepped into the kitchen.

Arthur was on the phone, presumably with Kiku's doctor, and Kiku was asleep on the couch with a damp cloth over his forehead. His fever had gone up the night before, and Francis seriously doubted Arthur had gotten any sleep.

Francis took a croissant from the plate on the counter and walked downstairs to the shop as he ate. He flipped the sign on the door and turned on the neon light. Walking back to the counter, he finished his croissant and brushed off his hands.

Then began the waiting.

Francis started work at nine, whenever the store opened. He never saw why it needed to open so early, as no one ever really showed up until noon. Nonetheless, if he wanted a place to live he had to run the store until Matthew came at ten.

Waiting...

Francis leaned on his elbows against the counter and watched out the window, the sounds so quiet from upstairs he could hear the slow ticking of the clock in the kitchen.

Waiting...

It was almost 9:30 now. Francis plucked the small rose from the vase on the counter and counted the petals. They were beginning to wilt. He would have to buy another rose.

Waiting...

Where was Matthew? This was getting boring. Well, it had been boring, but that wasn't the point. Matthew took the boredom away. Oh, it was only 9:45.

Still waiting...

The bell above the door rung and Francis looked up. It was Kiku's doctor.

He was a short man with pale blonde hair. His eyes were almost purple, and they could easily be confused with hazel from far away. Francis didn't know him very well, but he appeared to have a constant cheerful attitude, and he sometimes even brought his small dog with him, apparently it was a form of relaxation. Admittedly, Kiku did seem calmer when she was there, he said she reminded him of a dog he had as a child.

With a smile, he closed the door and turned back around to face the room.

"Hello! Is Mr. Kirkland home?" he asked, walking towards the counter.

Francis smiled back and replied, "Oui, they are upstairs. I'll take you to them, if you like."

The doctor, Väinämöinen, he remembered, nodded. "Yes, please. Thank you very much!"

Nodding, Francis turned to walk upstairs, waving for the doctor to follow. Three steps up, the door at the top of the landing opened, and Arthur ran out. He looked panicked, and Francis backed against the wall as he tore down the stairs to the doctor.

Arthur grabbed Doctor Väinämöinen's arm and ran up the stairs, yelling, "Thank god you're here! He's having another seizure! He's cut his head on a broken glass!"

Francis watched as the doctor's face grew worried as well, and they both sped up the stairs. He was rather worried himself, but he heard the bell above the door ring again. Whipping around, Francis walked back into the shop.

A woman was browsing through the books, holding the hand of a small child. He watched them, wondering about what was going on upstairs. There were the sounds of people walking, and muffled conversations were barely audible, though their urgent tones of voice could be heard.

The cat walked in from the lounge and hopped onto the counter. Curling into a ball beside the register, he purred and swished his tail. Francis scratched behind his ear and listened to the sounds from upstairs.

The bell on the door rang again.

We're busy today, of course as soon as Kiku starts going into seizures...

Francis looked up, and smiled when he saw Matthew rush inside. Taking off his coat, Matthew began to apologize for being late and waved at the child with his mother.

Matthew walked to the counter and stood next to Francis. His cheeks had a light blush across them, and the light shone on his hair through the window near the counter. Again, Francis had that almost irresistible urge to reach out and touch him, to see if that light blonde hair was as soft as it looked.

Footsteps were heard from upstairs, thumping across the room quickly. Someone was running.

Francis remembered Kiku and his seizure, and became worried again. Matthew looked at the ceiling, a curious look on his face.

"What's going on up there?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Looking up as well, Francis heard a shout and some more thumping.

He patted Matthew on the shoulder, then turned his head to look at him.

"I'll go find out," Francis told him, then removed his hand slowly, walking towards the stairs cautiously.

A thud, then another shout.

Stepping onto the landing at the top of the steps, Francis slowly placed his hand on the doorknob. He was close enough to hear the conversation going on inside now.

"Kiku, love, I'm right here..." Arthur choked.

Francis slowly opened the door.

Matthew sat in the front of the ambulance next to Francis and the paramedic who was driving. Arthur sat in the back with the other paramedic, Dr. Väinämöinen, and Kiku. Matthew could hear the sporadic beeping of the machine monitoring Kiku's heartbeat, and a nervous, suspenseful silence hung in the air, as if it was daring someone to speak.

It took an hour to get to the nearest hospital, and Kiku was taken to the emergency room. Arthur and Dr. Väinämöinen were the only two permitted through, Matthew and Francis were told to stay back in the waiting room.

Sitting down, Matthew sighed and leaned back in his seat. Francis sat next to him and rested his elbows on his knees.

Again, there was a silence, and it hung over Matthew like a familiar burden. Francis laid his head in his hands and looked up at Matthew.

If you only glanced at him, he would appear to be calm. But as Francis took a closer look, he noticed the grip Matthew's hands had on the armrests of his chair and the worry in his eyes. It moved Francis, for Matthew to be so concerned about someone he'd only met the day before.

Matthew, meanwhile, had no clue why he was there, or how he had really gotten there in the first place.

He remembered walking into work, Francis checking on the situation up in the apartment, and suddenly Arthur, Francis, and the man he now knew as Dr. Väinämöinen, came running down to meet the ambulance that was suddenly at the door. Matthew had only had enough time to flip the sign on the door before someone had grabbed his arm and pulled him along.

Matthew and Francis sat uncomfortably for about an hour and a half, before Dr. Väinämöinen came in and told them with a smile, " can see you now!"

Francis stood up gracefully, and Matthew followed suit. They were lead down a long hallway to a curtained off section of the Emergency Ward, where Kiku and Arthur sat; Kiku laying on his back and staring at the ceiling, Arthur sitting on a chair next to him and holding his hand tightly. Kiku looked even more pale than Matthew had seen him the other day, and he shivered when they pulled back the curtain to walk inside.

There was a silence that followed, the only noise being that of Kiku's heart monitor and his labored breathing. Francis sat next to Arthur and looked at Matthew from the corner of his eye. No one moved, and no one spoke, which was unusual since Arthur and Francis were within ten feet of each other.

The heart monitor beat in time with the clock on the wall, and everything was still.

Waiting...

A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long, I had a bad block and I was procrastinating and... I promise I'll have the next chapter out sooner! Also, sorry for the sucky quality... :/