Chapter 36: New Eyes
"I am very disappointed of you."
Ema flinched and ducked her head at her father´s bold statement. She put her hands on her lap.
"Papa?" she said, voice soft and hesitant.
"I am very disappointed of you," Rintarou repeated. He leaned back against his chair and shook his head. "You have always been a mature and level-headed girl. You have never been like others your age. I thought you knew better than this."
"I am very sorry for what I have done."
"Being sorry is not enough, Ema. Louis is lying on a hospital bed right now because of a small feeling you developed for a man who was already taken." Rintarou looked offended. "I am not against you falling in love. You´re bound to have a boyfriend sooner or later. I do have a problem with you meddling in other´s people business."
"But I…"
"No, young lady. You are going to listen to me right now. First of all, you should have told me what was going on from the very beginning. I may not be around much, but you do know I am just a phone call away whenever you need me. Or am I lying?"
"… No, papa."
"That´s right. I´m not. You will always be my top priority in life. I love Miwa, I love traveling, but you´re the first, Ema. You should have told me about what you felt towards Kazuhiko-kun. I would have done my best to help you." He sighed. "I would have told you to be mature and to think about Louis instead of yourself. Kazuhiko-kun is Louis´s boyfriend."
"I know."
"It doesn´t look like it."
"But I did know! From the start I knew Kazuhiko-san was in a relationship with Louis."
"Then why did you give him a second glance?"
Ema shook her head. "You wouldn't understand, papa. No one would understand." And no one would, because no one else was being chased around by a group of men she desperately wanted to have as a family. No one else was dealing with romantic incestuous feelings. Less of all would Rintarou understand how much she wished she could just meet a man non-related to the family who could be nice to her and make all the others back up. She wanted the Asahinas to be her brothers. She couldn't make them understand that. She had thought liking and even falling in love with a man outside the family would make them understand once and for all. She´d been wrong. So very wrong. Fuuto almost killing Louis both in mind and body was the proof of it.
"Ema? Why?" Rintarou insisted.
She straightened in her seat, frowned. "I… I couldn't help it. Kazuhiko-san is handsome, and he´s different from all the others.
He blinked at those words, then frowned. "Those are not valid reasons. Those are selfish reasons. You´ve never been selfish before."
She sunk her teeth into her bottom lip.
Rintarou sighed again. Her silence had made things worse for her. First, she´d kept quiet about this whole situation since it had started. Up until today, he´d been clueless as to his daughter´s situation involving Louis, Kazuhiko and the other brothers. She´d let things pile up.
When he arrived at the Sunrise Residence later with Miwa, he´d tried to talk to her. He´d tried to get her to talk. She hadn't said a word, which ended in all the brothers telling him instead. Since she hadn't even spoken to defend herself, Rintarou figured what the Asahina brothers said was the one and true version of the story.
Rintarou was really disappointed. He did think he´d raised her to be much more mature than this. He did have more faith in her. He did believe in her.
After this, he wasn't sure about what to think of his daughter. He felt guilty because he knew if he were a stay-at-home father nothing like this would have happened. He felt guilty and responsible. He also had to obligation to call her out for her actions and scold her for not thinking about the consequences her actions and words would cause. Mind you, he did blame Asahinas and their impure, incestuous intentions as well.
Still, correcting them was Miwa´s job. His was to deal with Ema. She was his daughter. She was his responsibility. He needed to reel her back in, and if Miwa didn't do anything about those boys of hers, he´d have to step in and deal with them too. He didn't want to interfere just yet, though. He wanted to give his wife a chance, and fulfill his obligations as a father while doing it. Even if he wasn't around much, he felt he…
"What right do you have to talk to me like this?"
He was pulled back from his thoughts at that tearful statement. "Huh?" he asked.
Ema met his eyes. For the first time, she looked angry.
"You can´t talk to me like this, papa," she said, and her voice wavered on the last word. "Calling you is not the same as having you here. You don't know what happens in this house because neither you nor Miwa-san are ever around. Before you met her, you were away half the time. You used to come to my school festivals, you spent my birthdays and the holidays with me. You weren't the best father, but you tried."
She fisted her hands. "After you two met and got married, you left me. You sent me here and this is the second time in almost two years that I´ve seen you, counting the wedding. You left me to deal with a house full of boys, when before you kept me alone and to fend for myself. You haven't called even once. Miwa-san hasn't either. It means you two were busy and didn't want to be disturbed. You say you were a phone call away all this time. It isn't the truth. You say I´m your top priority… that´s a lie."
She clenched her hands so hard they hurt. "I may have been before, but not anymore. You care only about your life and your wife, not me. You care about your happiness alone."
Rintarou gaped at her. "So now you´re saying all of this is my fault?"
"No! It´s not what I´m saying at all. What I mean is you don't have the right to tell me to behave and be responsible when you've never set an example. I… I love you. I am thankful to you for taking me in after my real parents died. Yet you have no right to tell me to stop being selfish when you are more selfish than I."
She stood up, her eyes brimming with tears. "I know I have a lot of amends to make. I am aware I have to fix things. Louis-san doesn't deserve this. Masaomi-san and Kazuhiko-san don't either. I have to… take responsibility for what I´ve done." She swallowed hard. "But don't think I´ve come to this conclusion because of your acting like a father at long last. Louis-san is who made me realize what I have to do. Not you… papa. It´s never been you."
Crying for the umpteenth time in as many hours, Ema left the room.
Rintarou remained seated, dumbfounded at what his daughter had said. He did try to get up, follow her and say something back, but his mind was blank. He couldn't find any words to contradict her statements.
It took her a couple of minutes he couldn't think what to say because there was nothing to say.
Ema was right. What right did he have to call her out or her selfishness when he was so much worse? He´d never been able to give up the world for her. He´d pushed her farther away when Miwa came into the picture. He said she´d always been his top priority.
He´d always lied to her, and even to himself.
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Miwa returned to the Sunrise Residence soon after her conversation with Masaomi was over. Rintarou had driven with Ema and her three boys back to the apartments as soon as Kazuhiko walked out of Louis´s room. Hikaru had been the one who suggested they all went back home since they would be useless if they stayed at the hospital. Miwa had told Rintarou to go along. She wanted to stay until Masaomi came out. At her request, the others had taken the family minivan –which Hikaru had driven to the hospital– and had left Ukyo´s car behind so she could use it.
The drive to the apartments seemed to take much longer than she remembered. She felt like many hours had passed by the time she parked outside the building. It wasn't until she stood in front of the huge bare tree on the front yard that she realized it had been hours since she´d come to the Sunrise Residence. Scratch hours. It had been years.
Whether her little talk with Masaomi had made her look at this place with new eyes or whether he´d only opened the ones she had before, she felt like a stranger as she walked into the building. Pushing the button to call the elevator felt odd. Stepping out into the fifth floor was like stepping into some sort of mine field.
Had it always been like this and she´d just started to notice?
The Asahina family minus Fuuto, Masaomi, Louis and Ema were all sitting on the sofas. Wataru had shoved the coffee table to one side and had placed himself in its place. He was surrounded by toys, empty boxes, bows and colorful paper. However, he wasn't playing with anything. His eyes were focused on the TV, as were all the others. They all had a Christmas-themed mug on their hands. Hot chocolate, she guessed.
The image they made was endearing. At her first glance Miwa could tell how close they were, how much feeling surrounded her sons. They were a family. She was not part of it. Even if she had been sitting there with them, she knew she wouldn't fit.
She gave a sad smile, sighed and stepped out of the elevator.
"Hello, boys. I´m home," she called.
There was no call of 'welcome back, mom!'. There wasn't any welcoming smiles for her. Not one of her sons got up to hug her and walk her in.
All eyes flickered to her, though, and gentle but indifferent smiles covered the Asahinas´ faces like mushrooms after the rain. There were some waves, some calls of 'hey, mom', 'merry Christmas, mom' and 'oh, you´re back'.
With each passing second, Miwa realized how what Louis had done with Masaomi applied to the other brothers as well.
Louis didn't have a mother. He did have a father: Masaomi. No one else. What did this imply? It implied Masaomi had raised him, had treated him like a son instead of a brother. It meant the doctor had taken a responsibility that wasn't his. Masaomi was his… their father.
She was sure if Masaomi had come into the living room right behind her, all her boys would get up and greet him with enthusiasm, a thousand questions, a steaming cup of chocolate and the best spot for him on the biggest couch.
The knowledge alone hurt.
"What are you guys watching?" she asked, forcing a genuine smile onto her face. She ambled to the couches.
Wataru glanced up at her with his mouth tainted brown. "Old movies," he said.
"… Old movies?"
"Yes. Natsu-nii downloaded them for us to watch. He said it might help us pass time until we can all go down to the hospital to visit Louie-tan."
There was a thunderous silence. The tension rode up two or three notches. Miwa shifted on her feet.
"Louis…" she began.
"Don't!" Hikaru cut off, raising a hand to stop her. "Don't talk about that. I´ve already told them what happened at the hospital." His green eyes met hers, trying to send a message.
Iori said, "We told the others how Louis-nii-san woke up but didn't feel well enough to see us. How he was very sad and weak and how Masaomi-nii-san asked us to leave and come back tomorrow so he could rest a little more. Right, Subaru-nii-san?" Iori glanced at Subaru, who nodded, trying to look like he truly believed what Iori had said.
It took her a few minutes to get it, but when she realized the sugar-coated lies Hikaru had told the men that hadn't gone to the hospital, she nodded. "Of course. I´m sure Louis will be glad to see you when he´s feeling stronger," she said.
Hikaru exhaled.
Miwa glanced around. "Where is… Rintarou?" she ventured.
"Rintarou-san took onee-chan to your studio for a talk," Wataru informed.
"We´re done talking," the man in question said, coming from one of the hallways. He walked towards Miwa with a sad expression on his face.
"How did it go?" she asked, even though she had no idea what the two of them talked about.
"We´ve had better days," he grumbled, then crooked a finger at her. "You and I need to talk too, Miwa."
She blinked at him. "You and I?"
"Yes. Right now, if possible."
Another blink. "Oh. Um. Yes, of course. Just let me go check on Fuuto to see if he…"
"Fuuto isn't here," Azusa informed them, which made the couple realize their conversation was being overheard by over eight pairs of eyes.
"What do you mean Fuuto isn't here?" she asked. "Is he still at the hospital? Masaomi didn't mention it to me."
The brothers exchanged glances. Ukyo was the one who said, "Fuuto was discharged last night. When Kaname, Natsume and I got down to the hospital, Masaomi-nii-san told to take Fuuto and come home since Louis was in surgery." The blonde´s lips thinned. His hands fisted in his lap.
"We tried to bring him home," Kaname went on. His voice didn't carry his usual amused or flirty undertone. "But he… well, he told us to get the heck out of his room and to leave him alone. He said he didn't need us, a bunch of traitors who chose an adopted… an adopted…" He closed his eyes, shook his head.
"'Go take care of your gay bastard and leave me alone. I don't need you traitors and your misplaced loyalty'. Those were his exact words," Natsume finished. He didn't look at anybody while saying it. Nonetheless, all the Asahinas tensed up.
Miwa was appalled. "And where is he right now?" she managed to say.
"He phoned his agent from the hospital. He´ll stay in a hotel until New Year. Afterwards, he´s going out of the country," Natsume went on.
Miwa paled. She pulled out her phone as she headed for her studio, leaving everyone –including Rintarou– behind.
Fuuto´s phone gave three slow, dreadful rings before he picked up with a bored, "Yeah, mom."
"Fuuto, where on Earth are you?"
"In a hotel."
"But it´s Christmas!"
"So?"
The teenager´s short reply made her pause. It was Christmas morning. So what?
"You should be here. With your brothers."
Fuuto was silent for a couple of seconds. "Are you here in Japan?"
"Yes. Rintarou and I arrived earlier today."
"Huh. Isn´t that a first. You in Japan. Is it a Christmas miracle or something?"
She froze. "Fuuto…"
He sighed as if Miwa was being an ignorant child. "Look, mom, I almost got one of your boys killed. Nobody wants be at the Sunrise Residence and I don't want to be around those traitors. I have an agent, I have money. I can take care of myself."
"But I want to see you!" she cried.
"You´ve had years to see me. You´ve never wanted to see me or any other child of yours before," he retorted, voice dry. "So don't start now."
"Fuuto, you´re hurt."
"A cast on the leg isn't a big deal. I´ve had to deal with worse stuff without you or the others. I can take care of myself, like I said before. I have no need for you or the others. I don't want your pity either, so…"
"Would you please stop being selfish for a second? I´m worried about you and…"
Fuuto laughed. It was unpleasant to hear it.
"Look who´s talking." Another laugh. "Don't you come to lecture to me about selfishness, I-See-My-Sons-Once-A-Decade-sama. Please. You live only for yourself, have treated us like adopted dogs all our lives. However, you should be proud of me."
Her mouth dropped to the ground. "What do you mean I should be proud of you?"
"I´ve learned everything from you. I´m just like you. Aren´t mothers usually proud when their sons take after them? So here I am, mom, your perfect little boy." After that, Fuuto snorted and hung up on her.
Miwa almost dropped her phone.
Your perfect little boy.
"Good grief. Fuuto," she whispered, horrified.
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Masaomi had to cover one of the ER doctor shifts for six hours and some change. As soon as he´d tried to walk back to his own private corner in the hospital, a nurse had stopped him and had almost begged him to come down to the first floor to help with the patients. The doctor who´d been supposed to be in the ER during the day shift had called in sick. Apparently, his family had had the traditional fried chicken dinner. It ended with all the doctor´s family suffering nausea, stomachaches and worse.
Masaomi had been tempted to take a rain check and go back up. However, when he saw a small boy younger than Wataru coming into the hospital sobbing and with his leg bent at a strange angle, he decided to stay.
It was past five o´clock by the time Masaomi was relieved by the head nurse of his self-imposed work.
He yawned as he walked past the pediatric ward. This was the place where kids with severe problems were; they couldn't leave the hospital because it would affect their health up to the point they could die, not even on holidays. While parents –if they cared– did come and visit their children during those special days and the whole staff did their best to make this ward the coziest, happiest one, Masaomi always felt guilty when stopping by. It wasn't like he wanted to take the kids home with him. Heaven knew he had his hands busy enough with his twelve 'sons' to care for any other…
… What was Kazuhiko doing running around in minuscule circles in one of the youngest kid´s room?
Masaomi stopped walking. "Kazuhiko-kun," he called. He sounded offended.
The brunette came to an abrupt halt. The kid who´d been either running away from him or chasing him crashed against his leg. He fell to the floor, blinked up at Kazuhiko and then erupted a fit of laughter.
Masaomi watched as the brunette picked up the small boy and walked to him, looking much like an abashed child himself.
"Masaomi-san," he said, ducking his head.
The doctor glanced at the laughing boy, then raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here? It´s almost six o´clock on the afternoon."
"Really? I had no idea."
"How long have you been in the pediatric ward riling up the kids and playing with them as if you were also a child?"
"… Is it that obvious?"
Masaomi motioned to the picture in front of him. "Kind of, yes."
Kazuhiko and the boy exchanged glances. The brunette put the child down and scratched the back of his head. "I think I dropped by around one o´clock. I saw a little girl crying and asked the nurses if I was allowed to get close to her. We ended up coloring some pictures from her favorite book, and after that I went around the ward to talk to the kids."
Masaomi gave a thoughtful hum. "And the nurses didn't kick you out at one point or another?"
"I think they were actually relieved they had someone to babysit the children," the brunette replied.
Another hum. "So you haven't gone home since Louis last woke up?"
His face clouded over. "No. I… I thought Louis would wake up again and I wanted to be here when he did."
Masaomi clicked his tongue, then shook his head. "I didn't tell you, did I?"
Kazuhiko stilled. "Tell me what?"
"Louis will not wake up until tomorrow. Since he´s such a deep sleeper my guess is he´s not going to rise until maybe early afternoon."
Caramel eyes stared. "You said he was going to wake up around noon today. He woke up on the morning."
Masaomi almost flinched. "A miscalculation on my part. It won´t happen again." He sighed. "You should go home, Kazuhiko-kun. Go get some food, a shower and some decent sleep. You didn't sleep any more than what I slept yesterday. Louis won´t want you around if you´re half-dead and tired to the bone. You know how much he values sleep."
The younger man opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again.
"I could say the same to you. Louis will not take well the fact you haven't slept more than three hours in the past couple of days," he put in quietly.
Masaomi gave a nod. "So he won´t, but I´ll be going home right now. I don't have a shift in forty-eight wonderful hours. I´m going back to the apartments, collapse on top of my bed and rest for as long as I can. You should do the same."
"But if Louis wakes up…"
"You´ll be the first one to know and the first one to see him."
Kazuhiko looked unsure.
Masaomi rolled his eyes with genuine amusement. He dug into the pockets of his coat and pulled out a pen and his prescriptions block.
As soon as the brunette figured what the doctor was about to do, his eyes flew open.
"Okay, okay, I get it. I´ll go home," he said, throwing his hands up into the air.
Masaomi smiled and put his stuff back inside his pockets. "Get moving, kid," he ordered.
Kazuhiko sighed. "I´ll be the first one to know when he wakes up, right?"
"And the first one to see him," Masaomi promised.
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Kazuhiko was, in fact, the first person to see Louis. He wasn't the first one to know he´d woken up, though.
What happened was this:
Kazuhiko did as he was told. He went home, took a shower, had a fast lunch-dinner and then threw himself atop his bed. He fell asleep around eight thirty that night. He didn't stir until the next morning. Even then, he only woke up because his cell phone rang. Because Ryoko was the one calling him, his survival instincts told him not to turn down the call.
Once Ryoko had finished checking up on him and what he knew about Louis she hung up. Kazuhiko tried going back to sleep. However, his short conversation with his sister had thrown him into the worried, almost paranoid, state he´d been in the day before.
He couldn't go back to sleep. Instead, he took a shower, had breakfast and then milled around the apartment. Louis´s bags were here. They´d been at his place since the redhead had been back from Hokuto. Kazuhiko decided to prepare an overnight bag for Louis and accommodate the rest of the clothes and personal items in his closet. He also did a quick cleanup around the place… so when Louis got discharged from the hospital he would have a clean and cozy place to come back to.
Because Louis was coming here when he got out of the hospital… wasn't he?
He had no time to panic about that particular issue. His cell phone rang again. Masaomi´s number flashed on the screen.
"Masaomi-san," he said.
"Good morning, Kazuhiko-nii-san."
The brunette tilted his head to the side. "Iori-kun?"
"Yes. I´m calling on Masaomi-nii-san´s behalf."
Iori paused. Kazuhiko paused.
"… Did something happen to him?" the brunette asked after hearing the younger man´s breath coming through the speaker.
"No," Iori replied, then added, "Well, not what you might think. He did not have an accident on the way home or anything. Masaomi-nii-san arrived yesterday night and he has been sleeping ever since."
"Then what is this call about?"
"It is about Louis-nii-san." The brunette´s breath hitched. Iori pretended he didn't notice. "The hospital called Masaomi-nii-san a short while ago. They called to say the patient is awake for good this time. Masaomi-nii-san was supposed to go down but he was so tired he fell asleep in the middle of the phone call."
"Of course. He hasn't slept in days."
"Yes. I picked up his phone and the nurse told me why she´d called. Masaomi-nii-san woke up for a minute asked me to call you and go in his place to see Louis-nii-san. Can you go?"
What a stupid question.
"I´ll be there as soon as I can!" Kazuhiko almost hollered before hanging up. He ran around the apartment to fetch his coat and the bag he´d prepared.
He was on his way to the hospital three minutes after Iori called.
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What woke Louis up that morning was the sound of someone moving either a chair or a leg around. The screech wasn't very loud. Nonetheless, it was enough to pull him away from his deep and dreamless sleep.
He opened his eyes to the same ceiling as before. He took the time to feel his body this time. The IV was still stuck to one of his hands. There was a dull ache on his chest, and his left leg felt like it had been tightened much like a spring. He tried moving it to see if it loosened. The first stirring sent a sharp wave of pain through his whole body.
Got it. He didn't have to move his leg.
"Good afternoon, Asahina-san."
He turned his head. A nurse stood next to his bed, a gentle smile on her face. Was she the one from the last time? He wasn't very sure.
"Afternoon?" he murmured.
"Yes. It is past two thirty."
"What date… is it?"
"December 26th."
Louis frowned. December 26th? The last date he remembered was the 24th: Christmas Eve.
He closed his eyes, swallowed hard. With that single thought, he could also recall what had happened that day.
He shuddered at the memory of Fuuto and that drunk man fighting. He´d been scared back then, scared of what could happen to the teenager if he kept acting like a small Chihuahua, barking and jumping without a real reason.
Louis also remembered how the adrenaline had suddenly rushed through his body when he saw the man pull out the gun. For a split second he´d been incredulous. There was no way the man could have a freaking gun on Christmas Eve. Of course, he quickly had to forget about his sceptiscism because he saw the man point the weapon at the brunette.
At the moment, Louis hadn't cared what Fuuto had said or done in the past hour. Hell, he didn't even care what he´d said a minute ago. Fuuto was his brother. Louis did love him as such. He´d always tried his best to support the young star. He´d flown countless time across the country just to keep Fuuto´s tantrums to a minimum. When Fuuto complained he tried to soothe. When Fuuto seemed to need it he tried to give advice. Louis had treated Fuuto as his brother for his seventeen years of life. The fact he´d stabbed him in the back an hour ago hadn't seemed important.
So Louis had acted. He´d shoved the youngster out of the way. He had hoped to avoid the bullets the drunkard would surely shoot. He had thought he´d gotten them both safe.
In the end, he hadn't. He had ended up in the hospital. Fuuto…
"How is Fuuto-kun doing?" he asked.
The nurse blinked at him. "Fuuto?"
"Mm-hmm. He…" Louis stopped talking, decided to change his question. "Masaomi-nii-san?" he tried.
Her expression cleared. "Oh, I know who he is. He went home last night to get some sleep. However, he told me to call him as soon as you woke. I´ll go call now. He should be here within half an hour."
Louis gave an uncomfortable nod from where he was lying down. "Can I have some water before you leave?" he asked.
The nurse moved to get him a paper cup with a bendy straw. When Louis had swallowed what she considered enough she took the cup away and left it on the tall plastic table they served the food on.
"Any pain?" she wondered.
"No." Which for the most part wasn't a lie.
"And how are you… up here?" She tapped her forehead.
Louis gave a faint smile. "I don't want to burst into tears or have a panic attack. I´d rather not think about it," he confessed.
She lowered her hand. "Oh, I see. Well, I´ll be back soon with Asahina-sensei." She gave a shallow bow and left the room.
The redhead went back to staring at the ceiling. He didn't want to go back to sleep. He didn't want to think about the… situation either. The truth was he didn't want to think.
Leaving his mind blank was easier than he thought.
Soon enough, his mind had cleared. His mind was filled only with the white ceiling, the whirr of the conditioned air in his room and the ticktack of a clock. He found it relaxing.
He began counting along with the clock. He lost count various times due to the fact he felt sleepy every now and then. By the time the door opened again, he was yawning.
"Asahina-san, your husband is here."
"Hmm?"
"Your husband. He´s here."
Husband…?
"He brought you a bag of clean clothes in case you want to change out of the hospital gown. I think he´s been holding onto your phone and other personal items so he probably has them with him right now."
"Did you…?"
"I did call Asahina-sensei, but apparently he isn't feeling very well, so your husband came to take his place instead."
His husband?!
He didn't have a…
Louis turned his head towards the door. His eyes flew wide when he spotted Kazuhiko next to the nurse, his face tomato red.
"Oh," he said, then his lips curved. "Right. My husband. Hello there, Kaz."
"Hi, honey." An abashed look.
The redhead let out a breathless chuckle. "Can you leave us alone?" he asked the nurse.
She glanced between them, looked amused, nodded. "Yes, sir. Press the button in case you need anything."
"I will. Thank you."
Kazuhiko stepped into the room. The nurse closed the door. Louis tried to sit up. His arms shook as soon as he planted both palms on the bed.
"Well, never mind." He glanced at the brunette, who was frozen just inside the door. His eyes were cautious, his posture hesitant.
"Why are you standing over there looking so scared? I´m not dying, and whatever happened to me isn't contagious," he said.
Kazuhiko´s expression fell. He crossed the room in two huge strides, let the bag he was holding fall to the floor and hovered over Louis.
"Don't put words in my mouth, and don't joke ever again about death… less of all yours, do you hear me? It´s cruel," he muttered.
Louis stared at his boyfriend´s face a few inches away from his. He fought the urge to roll his eyes. "I won´t," he said.
"Good." Then Kazuhiko tipped his face up and kissed him.
The redhead´s breath ran out in a whoosh when their lips met. His heart beat faster, and the monitors made the agitation audible to them both. The brunette didn't seem to mind, focusing on kissing him thoroughly instead, their tongues touching for a short but precious moment.
"It´s uncalled for, but I love you," Kazuhiko said, tone soft.
Louis raised his free hand and cupped his partner´s cheek. "Love you too… husband."
Kazuhiko´s blush came back immediately. Louis rubbed his thumb over the latter´s skin.
"Did you force my signature while I was unconscious?" he asked. "You didn't have to do that. It´s not like I would marry you since we haven´t been dating long but it wasn't necessary to…"
"No! Hell no! I would never force you into anything. Not a yandere type of guy, remember?" Kazuhiko nuzzled into the pale hand. "It´s just… when I tried to find out what had happened to you the nurse didn't want to tell me because I wasn't family. Ryoko came up behind me, gave me her ring and after I slipped it on I called myself your husband. No one´s told me to go away ever since."
"Have you slept?"
"Yeah." When Louis gave him a look Kazuhiko grinned. "I went home yesterday and slept late today. I´m well rested."
"And you´re sure you´re not lying to me?"
"I´m not. Honest."
Louis hummed. He lowered his hand and sighed. "Can you help me up?" he asked.
"Um, I don't think you´re allowed to get out of bed."
"… Aren´t I?" He sighed. "Then please help me sit up."
"Yes." Kazuhiko kissed his cheek, helped Louis scuttle further on the bed. He leaned over the redhead –one knee on top of the mattress– then let the redhead cling onto his neck; put his own around the slender waist and back with great care. When he was sure Louis had a firm grip on him he exhaled.
"Do not force yourself. I´ll pull you up. You lean against me even if you feel like you can hold your own weight," he commanded. He waited until Louis nodded before pulling backwards.
The redhead´s body tensed, making him falter. However, when Louis whispered, "I can take it," he closed his eyes and kept on moving.
Louis was sweating and panting by the time he´d risen to a sitting position. He collapsed against the brunette´s body and held on for dear life.
Kazuhiko hooked both arms around his waist. He glanced down, worried. "Are you sure you don't want to keep lying down?"
"No." Mauve eyes narrowed to sleepy slits. "But if you don't want me to use you as a lifeline it´s fine."
The brunette grunted. "I told you to stop putting words in my mouth."
Louis smiled… then frowned. "Kaz?" he murmured.
"Yeah?"
"Were Miwa-san and Ema here at some point?"
He knew the answer by the way Kazuhiko tensed.
He sighed, rubbed his free hand over his eyes. "I kicked them out, didn't I?"
More silence.
Louis groaned. "I didn't want to do that, but it felt like there were many people here. I… I didn't want to see any of them." At the moment, he really hadn't wanted anyone around him. He wanted to have Masaomi next to him, and Kazuhiko too. No one else had mattered, and seeing those two women had made him feel almost claustrophobic.
Wait a second.
"Did I call Masaomi-nii-san Dad out loud?" he whispered.
The brunette raised his eyebrows at the question, the nodded. "You did. Do you remember anything else about the first time you woke up?"
"I remember everything, from the moment I walked out of the Sunrise Residence to the moment you asked me whether you should stay or go outside to keep all the persons away from me." The redhead shut his eyes tight and scooted even closer to the brunette. His hands squeezed Kazuhiko´s coat until they shook. Good grief. Was he about to cry… again?
"Is Fuuto-kun okay?" His voice came out hoarse and tight. Like he was in fact trying not to cry.
Unsure how to help, the brunette just kept hugging his boyfriend. "Fuuto´s alive," he muttered. "He wasn't hit by any bullet, if that´s what you want to know. He does have a cast around his leg and he´ll have some bruises in his face but he´ll live."
Louis caught the bitterness on the last part. After mulling it over in his head he said, "Did you hurt him?"
Kazuhiko pouted. "Not as much as I would´ve wanted to," he muttered.
"Huh?"
"Nothing."
The redhead sighed, reached out to clasp his boyfriend´s hand with his own, the one which didn't have the IV. He wasn't a big fan of physical contact per se. They both knew it. Kazuhiko was the one who started any type of affectionate gesture most of the time.
Today, though, Louis felt like he needed to touch and have someone close to him, a real flesh and blood person. If he didn't, his mind could focus on his own body and inform him what damage his body had received.
He didn't feel strong enough to face his current situation just yet.
"Louis?" Kazuhiko wondered.
"You´ll stay, right?" was all the redhead replied.
"What?"
"You´ll stay. With me. Until Masaomi-nii-san arrives."
The brunette was silent for a couple of heartbeats, then he said, "Yeah, I will. I´ll be right here until your brother comes."
"And after?"
"That, too."
Louis nodded. "It´s all I needed to hear," he murmured.
To be continued…
Hello there! So… this chapter came out long too, and it was kind of mixed around and overall lame… *sigh* To tell you the truth, the part I liked about this one was Fuuto´s phone call and this last part with the boys all cuddly and sweet was fun to write as well.
Still, I do hope you found this whole chapter bearable and hopefully Louis will be out of the hospital by next week. Fuuto has to come back at one point or another, and Miwa, Rintarou and Ema have lots of amends to make. We´ll see how everything goes with them. ;)
Thanks for reading!
P.D. Please excuse the many repetitive words, phrases, spelling and grammar mistakes you found in this chapter. I´ll re upload it when I have more free time hahaha.