Chapter 11
Fuji watched in stunned disbelief as Tezuka disappeared before his eyes. And then he broke into a run, cursing the thick snow that grabbed at his feet, slowing him down.
Blood rushed in his ears, louder than the pounding oh his heart. He shouldn't have been so brusque. He should have been nicer to him. Tezuka was a good guy. The last good man on the planet.
"Please be okay. Please."
He skidded to a brief halt at the now-opened crevice. Hunter crept cautiously to the edge, whining softly. A good twenty-five feet below he spotted Tezuka's yellow jacket. He lay still, so still. Dear God, what if he lost him? Without another thought, he started down, skidding, sliding and pleading.
"Be alive. Be alive. Please, Tezuka. Be alive."
Halfway down, he reconsidered the wisdom of his impetuous decision. He should have prepared better before starting the descent.
Too late. He lost his balance on the last ten feet and went down, twisting his ankle. With a cry of pain he landed on top of Tezuka's solid body.
His eyes wre closed but his chest rose and fell. Thank God. He was alive, but very still. Above, in the blinding white, the dog barked his worry. "Stay, Hunter, stay," he called automatically, too concerned with Tezuka to deal with the dog. The barking ceased by a low, constant whine.
Heart slamming against his rib cage, he ripped off his gloves, cupped Tezuka's face in his hand and pleaded, "Wake up. Please, wake up."
He couldn't lose him now, not now when he had just begun to believe in the impossible.
Tezuka stirred. A murmur, unintelligible, issued from barely moving lips.
Relief coursed through him. Tezuka was conscious.
Fuji leaned closer, stroking his face. "Are you hurt? Talk to me Tezuka. Tell me what you need."
"A kiss," he whispered, so close to Fuji's lips. "Prince Charming awakens with a kiss from Sleeping Beauty."
Fuji jerked upright. "Tezuka Kunimitsu! I thought you were dead." he bopped his(Tezuka) chest for good measure and felt horrible for doing so. He was beside himself with worry and Tezuka was joking. The man was impossible. Adorably impossible. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't hit you. You maybe hurt. Oh, you scared me to death."
Tezuka's eyes popped open, the corners crinkling with humor. "I couldn't resist."
"Are you really okay?" he asked, aware now of what he hadn't notice before-Tezuka's body, rock hard and wonderfully powerful beneath against him. He was terribly tempted to fling himself against him, to kiss him all over and revel in his strength.
As if he'd read Fuji's mind, Tezuka's arms wrapped around him. He pulled him close. His(Fuji) pulse skittered to a halt and then set up a jackhammer rhythm.
"You zipped down that slope as if you care," he murmured, lips dangerously grazing Fuji's ear.
Fuji swallowed a lump of nerves and fought for sanity. "Of course I care. I don't want to be stranded with a dead body in the mountains."
His expression serious, he asked "Is that the only reason?"
A battle raged inside Fuji's mind. When he slide down towards him, he'd crossed a border into Tezuka's territory. He'd come over to his side, and every internal sentry he'd set up to protect his hard-won peace was screaming for a halt. Should he tell the truth or guard the fortress?
As always, his fortress won. "I can't imagine what other reason there could be."
And if his voice quivered, he blamed the breathless sound on the tumble.
Tezuka's gaze raked Fuji's face a long searching minute, as if he didn't believe him. He cupped the side of Fuji's face, pushed off his stocking cup that had skewed to one side, letting his hair tumble loose. He swept Fuji's hair with one gloved hand.
"You're not a very good liar," he murmured.
Confused, enticed, comforted, Fuji don't know what to do anymore.
"I don't know what you're talking abou-" Before he could finish, Tezuka laid his finger over Fui's lips.
"Sshhh.. For once just shut up and let me look at you."
Fuji's heart slammed to a halt inside his chest. This madness had to stop now. They were at bottom of a cliff, for goodness' sake, and his ankle throbbed painfully. Why would Tezuka or any man, for that matter, would look at someone like him? The possibilities were terrifying. He pushed Tezuka's hands aside and sat up. moving away from those tempting hands, he snatched up his discarded hat.
"We need to get out of here." If his tone was harsh, he(Tezuka)as to blame, but oh, how he long to be back to his arms.
Tezuka was quiet for a minute, the beat of silence uncomfortable. He was certain Tezuka could hear his heart pounding.
High above, Hunter stood on the ridge barking, frantic to discover his master at the bottom of a snowy pit.
Tezuka pushed to a stand, brushing the snow from his clothes. "The slope is steep but I think we can manage without calling in reinforcement."
Fuji looked upward toward the ridge. A mass of snow had covered the cliff's edge but now that Tezuka fallen through, the way was clear. Steep, but clear. Normally, he'd be up on the narrow ridge in a hurry, but now he wondered if he could make the climb. His ankle screamed bloody murder.
Using his snow poles for balance, he pulled himself upright. No use worrying Tezuka. If he told him, he would do something macho and endearing and chop away another piece of his heart.
Gingerly, he put his foot down, refusing to wince. Pain shot like lightning up his leg. His whole body stiffened from the stunning assault. He swallowed back a groan.
Tezuka whipped around, brown gaze homing in to Fuji's face, and then sweeping downward. "What's wrong with your leg?"
So much for keeping his injury for himself. "I twisted my ankle. Nothing serious. Let's go."
He was down on one knee so fast Fuji had no time to react. "Let's see."
"No." Leaning heavily on the poles, he pulled his foot back. "Let's go."
The stubborn mule didn't budge. He grabbed Fuji's booted foot and held fast. Using his teeth to remove his gloves, he ran his fingers beneath his(Fuji) pant leg and down the back of his calf. None of that hurt. Tezuka's hand felt good, actually. But when Tezuka rotated his foor over so gently, he sucked in an inadvertent breath.
"You're injured." his tone was full of reproach, whether for him or himself, he(Fuji) couldn't tell. "You should have told me."
"I'll survive. But we have to get up that slope."
Before Fuji could attempt another step, Tezuka grabbed his radio and called the base, letting them know the situation. When he ordered a chopper, Fuji groaned in humiliation. In more than ten years of working in the mountain wilderness, he had never requested anyone's help.
"I don't need a chopper," he hissed in Tezuka's ear.
He(Tezuka) brushed him away as if he were a housefly. "Executive decision. I'm in command."
"Well, commander, I won't ride in it." he pushed off with the snow poles, started up the incline and with a grunt pain promptly fell on his behind.
"You will," hands under his arms Tezuka easily stood him upright and held him there. "But we'll have to get ourselves out of this ravine and up on that ridge. Can you manage if I help?"
He hopped on one foot, gingerly touching down with the screaming ankle.
"Of course, I can," he said, not at all confident in his ability to walk, but confident in Tezuka. He didn't want to be, but he was.
"I'll go up first and find a place to secure the rope. Then I'll come back for you. Okay?"
He nodded, feeling stupid and helpless. Over the years, he'd been hurt a few times, but he'd managed on his own. Now, as he watched Tezuka pull himself up the side of the mountain, he had to face the truth. He couldn't do this alone.
By now, his ever faithful dog had gone into a frenzy. Barking like mad, he paced back and forth on the ridge, eager to come down, but obedient to the last command. If he were to die here, Hunter would die too, before abandoning him. A sting of unwelcome tears burned his eyes. Could a man also be that loving?
Before go had time to finish stewing, Tezuka descended the slope again, this time with a rope in one hand. Using the rope for balance and leverage, Tezuka slid an arm around his waist and helped him walk and hop his way to the top. Once out of the crevice, Tezuka swept him into his arms.
"Put me down."
Tezuka growled, showing his teeth, and kept trudging through the snow. Fighting took too much effort and his ankle hurt too badly, so Fuji gave up the protest, looped his arms around Tezuka's neck and laid his head on his shoulder. Jus for a moment, he let himself enjoy Tezuka's protection and care. To someone who couldn't ever remember being protected, the sensation felt strange, but good. Really, really good.
That's when he decided he must be hypothermic and therefore delirious. He snuggled his cold nose against Tezuka's warm neck, feeling the powerful punch of his pulse. And just for a moment, while he was delirious and couldn't help himself, Fuji wondered what it would like to be loved by Tezuka Kunimitsu. He snuggled closer and pretended he was someone else, someone beautiful and lovable, someone who could love in return.
By the time the chopper arrived, he and Tezuka were safely waiting on the ridge and Fuji had regained his common sense. Pain and bone-chilling temperatures were a lethal combination. No wonder he'd been delirious.
~X-O-X~
Tezuka paced the waiting room of the hospital's emergency room. Fuji had been furious about the helicopter coming to his rescue and had insisted he did not need a doctor. He'd finally agreed to make the trip to the hospital in Tezuka's SUV after the search and rescue teams departed and he'd finished the rounds and reporters. All the while Fuji sat in his office unable to escape, so when they're on their way to the hospital, he'd frozen him(Tezuka) with silence.
Fuji just didn't understand. He was responsible for his injury and a Ranger never shirked a duty.
And if he admit the truth, he saw Fuji as far more than a duty. That fact bothered and he didn't know what to do about it, considering Fuji's overall attitude towards him, but there was something about Fuji. At first, he'd been intrigued and had thought his aura of mystery had been the attraction. Then Fuji's sensuality, the sexiness against all odds, had started to get to him. And that's where he wanted his feeling to stop. But they didn't.
Admittedly, he wanted to peel back the mysterious layers of Fuji Syusuke and kiss him until he was out of his system. But something more nagged him like a toothache.
When he'd come tumbling down the side of the cliff as if he cared, all kinds of crazy thoughts had ricocheted around Tezka's brain. Fuji's fall had scared him, too. He'd suffered a moment of insanity in which he'd wanted to crush Fuji to him, roll him over the snow and kiss him until he'd begged for more-or punched him in the nose.
He smiled at that thought.
When Fuji landed on his chest, teasing him had been too good to resist, and for a minute he's relaxed in his arms, relieved to find him alive and well. He(Fuji) felt something too, and it was more than relief. He was sure of it. He had no idea where this thing between them was going, but after today he was determined to find out.
And now, here he was ready to take Fuji back to that empty cabin where not one soul waited to care for him.
The room swooshed open, belching out the scent of antiseptic and the sight of Fuji in a wheelchair, his ankle in some type of brace. Tezuka's gut twisted. He didn't like seeing him hurt.
A nurse rolled the chair toward him, smiling. The nurse might look happy, but the patient did not.
"Fuji?" he said, going to him. He took his hand and even when he stiffened, he held tight. "What's the verdict?"
"Nothing broken. I'm fine. Take me home."
A typical Fuji answer which told him nothing. Tezuka resisted an eye roll, looking instead of the smiley nurse for answers.
"Badly torn ligaments," she said, handing him a sheet of instructions. "He needs to stay off that foot for at least three weeks. RICE. Rest, ice, compression and elevation. No weight bearing. Then we'll reevaluate."
Tezuka knew the drill. He also knew that Fuji would not be an obedient patient. Mr. Independent had dogs to train. And he lived alone without anyone to make certain he followed doctor's orders.
Which was exactly why he had come to a conclusion; a conclusion that would undoubtedly set off world war III between them. But Tezuka Kunimtsu knew how to fight-and win. He had made up his mind and no amount of sputtering or porcupine quills would deter him. Fuji needed his help and he was going to get that.
He was about to take on a new cabinmate.
Him.
~X-O-X~
"You are not staying here."
Fuji thought he would faint. And not from the pain of his ankle. Tezuka Kunimitsu had some harebrained idea about moving into his cabin while he recuperated from the sprained ankle.
"I owe you," Tezuka said, his stubborn jaw clenched tighter than the brace around Fuji's foot. "If you don't come to my rescue, this wouldn't have happened."
Fuji stared at him as though he'd grown horns and a tail. "I don't want you here."
"Tough."
The moment they'd arrived at his house, he'd deposited him in the fat easy chair in his living room, propped his foot on three pillows stacked on a small table and then made his insane announcement while his(Fuji) body flushed hot and cold and his brain threatened to explode.
"I'll call the police," he warned, knowing he'd do no such thing. Tezuka carried him when he couldn't walk. And he liked him. A lot. That's why he couldn't stay. He couldn't risk it.
He couldn't bear having him underfoot day and nigh, to see him and talk to him and know he could never, ever have him.
There it was-the truth. He wanted Tezuka for longer than a few days or weeks.
Tezuka want deterred by his threat. "I'll have you arrested for stealing my gun."
Fuji opened his mouth and clapped it shut again. Tezuka knew about the gun. He should have known he would figure out his subterfuge, but he was surprised he didn't ask what he'd done with the weapon.
"Admit it for once Fuji," his tone gentle. He crouched down beside his chair and took his hand. He wanted to pull away but couldn't. "You can't take care of the animals or even yourself without help. You need me."
God help him. he did need him. Another reason why he couldn't stay. Need begat dependence which begat pain.
"People will talk."
"They already do," he shrugged, a half smile forming crinkles around his mouth. "and you don't care anyway. So get use to me. I'm here and there is not a thing you can do about it."
Fuji didn't know how to fight him, he hated the helpless feeling.
Tears pushed at the back of his eyelids and burned his nose. He will not cry. He will never cry. He hated Tezuka for making him feel things.
No, he didn't. He couldn't hate Tezuka. That was the problem.
He squeezed his eyes shut against the emotion and turned his head away.
Tezuka didn't move for several minutes. He could feel Tezuka watching him. He could hear his steady breathing. His heart beat in his throat, anxious, but with another, more frightening emotion, too. When he thought his chest would burst, Tezuka stood and, with a quiet rustle of denim, moved away.
"I'm going into town to get some things from my house and to check in at the office again. Do you need anything before I leave?"
He shook his head and refused to look at him. If he ignore him long enough, he would go away.
The door gently snicked shut. An engine revved up. Fuji opened his eyes. The room looked empty, bereft even, without him(Tezuka).
"Oh, Chase," he whispered to the dog who had slumped in his side. "I think we're in big trouble."
~X-O-X~
there you go :)
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