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Chapter Summary: Feliciano, Francis, and Elizabeta visit Feliks and Toris in the hospital with a colorful surprise. But while Francis and Liza share their joy with another patient, Feliciano offers Feliks a quicker end to his suffering.


Ch. 43: Hats

"The strong, sharp-eyed captain was a sight to behold without his breeches. Long, lean legs and a finely shaped ass that had clearly been kissed by the afternoon sun. Jonah knew that as a lowly cabin boy, being caught staring would earn him more than a place in the brig. But he could not help it. Captain Ferrard, the most feared pirate in any sea, was by far the most handsome man he had ever laid eyes on."

The hospital room is quiet, except for the steady hum of machinery and Toris' voice. Feliks is too tired to read to himself today, and Toris is more than happy to read out loud for him. The only problem is that Feliks has been going through a romance kick - historical romance. Historical, erotic romance. Toris is tempted to roll his eyes. "He brought the tray into the room, pretending he did not notice the man's state..."

Feliks is cuddled against Toris with his eyes shut, letting Toris' voice take him far, far away. In his mind he isn't sick. They're on a boat, and their romance is back at the beginning. The thought of Tori in a captain's hat is pretty nice, too. He snuggles a little closer, letting the scent and warmth of Toris' skin take his imagination further.

"The captain groaned, his fine body turning over and catching the light from his small window, dark hair falling heavily into his eyes. 'Breakfast on the table,' he ordered gruffly, stretching a little to bring the feeling back to his bones. Jonah's eyes widened as the man exposed himself, his body all golden and covered in masculine hair, including the protruding rod between his legs."

Biting his lip to keep from giggling, Toris has to close his eyes and breathe out in order to compose himself. "The velvet staff was a long one, thinner than his own, and Jonah's throat went dry at the very sight of it. He'd imagined it many times, stroking his own cutlass. But seeing it at half-mast was enough to make him burn to remove his breeches."

The door eases open, unnoticed by the pair on the bed (or, presumably, the coma patient). Francis peaks into the room, shushing Feliciano and Elizabeta behind him. There's a curtain around the first bed, so he moves toward the second. He can hear the rise and fall of Toris' voice, reading...well then! "Bonjour, mes amis! Having a very good evening, I see?"

Feliciano rushes in behind him, carrying a large bag. "Oh, are we interrupting? We can come back later."

Toris jolts, blushing hotly at the sight of their guests. He shoves the book under a pillow and shakes Feliks gently. "Babe? Babe, it's Feliciano. And Elizabeta and Francis, from... How do you know them again?"

The dream falls apart as Feliks forces himself awake, landing rather harshly back in his own ailing body. At least the waking is nicer once his eyes adjust enough to see his friends. "Oh! Hey guys!" He squirms his way upward, careful of the lines attached to his body. They're so annoying; they make cuddling difficult. "They're from the Rainbow. You remember, don't you Tori? Francis used to come to the race track to find customers. Totally caught us screwing in the stables that one time."

Toris blushes even harder and ducks his head. "Oh right," he mumbles.

"Twice." Francis laughs. He's always appreciated Feliks' frank speech (at least about most things). He had a fine body, too. Now...it's such a shame, to see him so pale and skinny.

"Feliks!" Elizabeta slips between the boys, more bags in her hands. She smiles wide, despite the way her heart breaks at the sight of him. He's lost more weight, and there are deep, haunted circles under his eyes. There's an IV in his arm and thin tubes running under his nose and over his ears. That should have been covered by all his pretty blonde hair, but now there's only a pink bandana. She misses Feliks' company, and worries for him, and wishes she could help make things better. This whole thing makes her want to cry. She sets the bags aside so she can wrap him in a hug and kiss his cheek.

Feliks smiles and reaches up to return her hug. "Hi Liza! It's been ages. How're things?"

Liza pulls back, deftly flicking her hair over her shoulder. "Oh, you know. Things."

With a flourish, Francis offers a rose to Feliks. "You look good, darling."

"You're such a liar," Feliks replies, but he says it with a smile and takes the rose anyway.

"Was that The Captain's Boy I heard? Lovely choice," says Francis.

Raising his eyebrows, Toris pulls out the book again and stares at the cover. The Captain's Boy. "Wow. You're good."

Elizabeta's grin turns mischievous. She steals the book from Toris' fingers and opens it to the marked page. "Oh, you're about to get to the good part... Well, the first one, anyway."

Toris slides from bed and snatches the book away, laughing. "Jeez, Liza. Way to spoil it." He pulls it back into bed with him, eager to get back to Feliks' warmth, and looks around once he sits down. "So, what's all this then? Is this BFF time? Should I run before you can rope me into pedicures and a fashion critique?"

Feliciano claps his hands. "You see? I told you Toris would want a pedicure too!" The look of horror on Toris' face is priceless. His smile widens as he adds, "Actually, we have a surprise for you!"

Still laughing (at Toris' expense), Liza and drops to her knees and starts digging through the bags. "It's kind of an amazing surprise, if I do say so myself."

Toris watches curiously, and as soon as he catches a glimpse of what's in the bags he starts grinning. "Oh, guys..." He can't help it; he's beaming. These people are the best people he's ever known, bar none. "You didn't have to do all that."

Feliks is craning to see now, too, but Francis comes around the side of the bed and puts his hands over Feliks' eyes. "It is a surprise, Feliks! You are not supposed to see yet. Will you keep your eyes closed for me?"

There's a wide grin on Feliks' face. He loves surprises, and his friends always come up with good ones. He'll be happy if there really is a pedicure involved and nothing more. It would be nice to feel kind of pretty again. He laughs, tugging at Francis' fingers. "Okay, okay! I promise!"

Francis takes his hands away and Feliciano pulls out his personal favorite of the hats. Naturally, it is the one he bought himself: a bright pink fedora. Before Feliks can protest, Feliciano tugs off his bandana and he replaces it with the hat while Liza holds up a mirror. "Okey-dokey! Now look!"

For a moment Feliks is afraid. He doesn't want to see his own reflection, and he certainly doesn't want them to see him without his hair. He's almost angry that they would pull off the bandana without asking. He searches for Toris' hand. "I don't..."

That was probably not the best move on Feliciano's part. Toris squeezes his boyfriend's hand, trying to reassure him. They're all friends here. They're all good people. No one cares about his hair - or lack thereof. They're here to give him something nice, to help him forget it for a while. "You look so pretty, Feliks," he whispers, stroking his thumb over the back of his hand.

Liza's smile falters. Feliks doesn't look happy, and his eyes aren't even open yet. She steps back, holding up the mirror like a shield.

Feliks takes a breath. Sitting here with his eyes closed will never change anything, as much as he wishes it would. He opens his eyes, and gasps. "Oh my God..." He reaches up carefully, touching the pretty hat. It's even got feathers stuck into the band on one side: one red, one white. It looks way better then the bandana, even though it makes it clear that there's nothing left of his hair. Once it went to patches, he just let them cut it all off. This makes it look like he meant to be bald.

Relief washes through Toris at the sight of his smile. He really does look good with that hat - really cute. With the way Feliks is staring at his reflection, he can already tell that the hat is going to be his new pink wayfarers. He's never going to take it off.

Feliciano reaches out and tilts the fedora so it sits at an angle, the way he used to wear his own black fedora when they went dancing. He wishes they could go dancing again, now that they've each got a hat. "You like it?" he asks.

Feliks looks away from the mirror, because underneath the hat there are still sunken eyes and sallow skin. It's much nicer to look at the grinning Italian and smile back. "Yes! It's so cool, I love it!" He leans over the bed to hug Feli, then beckons for Francis and Elizabeta to come into hugging range too.

Francis kisses his forehead just under the hat. "You see? Beautiful!"

Toris reaches up and hugs Feliciano himself, whispering in his ear. "Thank you, so much." He means it. Despite everything that's going on right now, this is one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for them.

Feliciano kisses Toris' cheek, then reaches for the other bags. "There's more, too! We have lots and lots and lots of pretty hats, all for you! Everyone really misses you, and we wanted to do something to let you know." He starts pulling out hats and putting them on the bed. "This one is from Sesel, and this one is from Kiku, and this one is from Lovi, and..."

Liza pulls out a pink, glittery newsboy cap, garnished with little leather flowers. "This one's from me. I thought it was just too cute."

Francis pulls out a massive, 1800s style captain's hat, complete with lace, ribbons, pearls, and huge feathers. "And this is from moi! It will go well with your reading," he says with a wink.

As his lap is steadily filled with hats of all shapes and sizes, Feliks starts crying. He can't help it. It's been a while since he felt loved by so many people, and he hadn't realized how lonely he'd been feeling until now. He wipes away his tears, and before he knows it he is trying on each hat, laughing at some and oohing at others. He puts the captain's hat on Toris' head for a moment, forgetting that there's nothing covering his own. He leans in to kiss him. "Oh captain my captain!"

"Now, Jonah! Such looks could earn ye time in the brig!" Toris laughs, kissing him slow and easy. He holds him close and enjoys the way their chemistry still sizzles from the tips of his toes to the split ends of his hair.

Feliciano giggles at the couple and pulls out a green, hand-knit cap. "From Katyusha! She sends a lot of love and a really big hug. She delivered all the hats from the Braginskis, so Toris wouldn't see them." And so Feliciano wouldn't have to interact with Ivan. The last hat he takes out is fuzzy and warm, with little flaps that can be pulled down over the ears. "This one's from Ivan the-...Mr. Braginski." Feliciano wrinkles his knows as he says the name. Still, it was nice of him to offer a hat.

Toris stiffens and stares at the hat in Feliciano's hands. It's pink and fuzzy and it even has a little puff-ball on top. "Ivan gave that?!"

Francis senses the way the room suddenly goes cold. Something's not right about the way Toris said that name. He was sure Toris would find trouble working for Ivan from the beginning. On the other hand, there is trouble everywhere in this town and Feliks doesn't need to think about it right now. He puts on a smile and distracts him with a bit of gossip. "That reminds me! You remember the little Braginski boy with the glasses? Well, he is not so little anymore! Kiku and I took care of that."

"From what you have said, he was never little!" Liza laughs, nudging Francis with her elbow. "And according to Kiku, we could make money off that mouth."

Feliks laughs so hard at that his sides ache. He does remember Toris mentioning something about spending a very awkward night at the Rainbow, fending off advances and chatting with some old friends. "Oh God, you must be joking! Ivan would totally kill you. Seriously, can you imagine?"

"There would be blood everywhere," Feliciano replies. He tilts his head and stares Liza down. "If I ever found out you tried to make someone in my family a whore, I think I would make you suck off my gun and blow out the back of your head. Then I'd give you a smile! Smiles are pretty."

Years of dealing with unstable clients and employees help Elizabeta keep her expression calm. She blinks slowly. Never mess with Feli's future kid. Good to know. "Well, as long as you leave your gun behind you know you're always welcome at the Rainbow, and so is your family. As customers, of course." She smiles cheerily, trying to pretend the man did not just threaten her life. In all the years she's known him, Feliciano has never been quite right. It's easy to forget when he's putting on that sweet face and speaking with a voice coated in candy, until he starts making threats or spewing things that don't make sense. Still, he has never yet acted violently towards anyone at the Rainbow. She tries to salvage the conversation. "Ivan brought Eddie by, actually. Wanted to ensure his manhood, no strings attached."

"That is…really fucked up." Feliks chuckles, but it comes out broken. He doesn't like to think about the things he had to do to make sure his own brains didn't get blown out. He shivers and buries his face in Toris' shoulder. "Thank you for the hats. They're really nice."

Francis coughs awkwardly, then forces the smile back on his face. He's spent his entire life finding ways to block out the ugliness of the world, so it's easy enough to help hide it from others. "Of course, darling! We all love you. Now, we heard you were feeling a bit tired lately, but if you are not too exhausted now...how about a makeover?" He holds up their final bag, overflowing with everything from eye-shadow to nail polish.

"Ah, that's my cue." Toris laughs, leaning over to kiss his boyfriend's cheek. "Love you, babe. I'll come back around midnight. The nail polish should be dry by then, right?"

"I've told you, like, a zillion times. It doesn't take that long!" says Feliks. He turns to press a deeper kiss to Toris' lips. "Good luck with work, Tori. Love you too!"

Francis smirks. "Tell dear Eduard we said hello. Kiku and I miss him very much."

Toris laughs and shakes his head at the lecherous Francis. "I'm sure, but I am so not sticking my head into that one. See you folks later. Feli." He nods to him awkwardly, not really sure how to handle the fact that they're technically on opposite sides now. "Thanks again."

"No problem! Anything for Feliks. Anything," Feliciano says.

There's just enough menace in his smile to put Toris on edge for the rest of the night. He leaves fast after that, slightly perturbed by the whole exchange. At least his intentions are good. Mostly good. Kinda good. Good, at any rate.

XXX

Several hours later, the four of them are mostly made-up and Feliks is sitting back while Liza finishes little designs on his nails. He's almost asleep, exhausted by the afternoon's excitement, and not listening to the softened conversation around him. Somehow he's ended up staring at the little gap in the curtain around his neighbor's bed. He can kind of see the man - woman? - through it, hooked up to more tubes than he is. The face is still covered by bandages, and he's only ever seen doctors come to visit the other patient. It makes him sad. "Do you think it's true that talking to someone in a coma wakes them up?"

"Hmm?" Elizabeta blinks, looking up, then over at the shadow behind the curtain. "I dunno. Why? Have you been talking to chatterbox over there?"

Feliks shrugs. "Sometimes, when I can't sleep. I don't think it's fair that nobody else talks to him - or maybe it's a her. I don't know. I think they had a brain tumor removed or something. I'd be totally bummed if I didn't have you guys to come visit."

"You mean to say there could be a pretty damsel or gentleman in distress over there?" asks Francis. He peaks around the curtain, still waving his blue nails to dry them. He's a little disappointed to find that the face is half covered, with only the mouth and part of the nose visible. He moves past the curtain for a closer look. "Definitely a gentleman by birth," he declares. "Your friend has stubble."

"That is really sad," says Elizabeta. She takes off the captain's hat, which she started wearing after Toris left, twists the cap on the nail polish closed, and wanders over to peek at the other patient with Francis. "Think I should paint his nails? He could so use a manicure."

"That's a wonderful idea! Everyone is happy with their nails painted," Feliciano replies.

Francis swallows. He has a feeling that Feliciano's idea of painted nails isn't quite what the rest of them had in mind. Still, he cannot resist teasing, "Even Ludwig?"

"Of course!" Feliciano grins. Then he takes a moment to think about it, and his grin falls away. "Well, maybe not. Gil and I painted them black once while he was sleeping, and he wasn't very happy the next morning."

"You painted Ludwig's nails?" Feliks gasps. "You must be the only person in the world who could survive that."

The image makes Liza laugh out loud. She steals a bottle of fire-engine red polish and carries it over to the other patient's bed. "Okay, handsome. Let's glam you up- huh." She blinks, taking the patient's hand and examining his fingers. His hands are rough, but not overly so. "Nice hands. If you ever wake up, call me, m'kay?"

Francis grabs a bottle of pink and takes the patient's other hand. This one has an I.V. in it, but he'll be careful. They are nice hands. "We will see who he prefers!"

"Maybe he won't have to choose," Liza replies with a wink.

Feliciano takes the opportunity to scoot closer to Feliks on the bed; close enough that the other two won't overhear them talking. Poor Feliks looks exhausted, with his eyes half-lidded and distant. Feliciano presses a hand against his cheek and whispers, "Feliks?"

"Mm?" Feliks blinks, trying to keep himself awake. Soon enough one of the nurses will come in with his meds.

"I was thinking...I'd like to help you. I don't want to see you end up like your neighbor: not dead, but not really alive. That's no way to exist. I don't like seeing you so sick all the time, either." He leans in closer still, taking Toris' spot and cuddling up against him.

Feliks frowns, a little more awake now. He can't deny he's thought of the same thing, as much as it frightens him. He never wants to end up that way: a faceless, nameless ghost. Without Toris he might already be one. Maybe Feliciano means he'll keep coming to visit, even if things get worse. "That's so sweet, but you've already done tons to make me feel better. You'll see, I'll be out of here in...in no time." He swallows around the tightness in his throat.

"I could get you out faster. It would be easy, and it wouldn't hurt at all." Feliciano strokes Feliks' face, trying to calm the fear and sadness in his eyes. His voice is soft and gentle. "You would have time to say goodbye to Toris, and he could be with you for sure at the end. We all could, if you wanted. I could give you something to drink, and it would be just like going to sleep."

Feliks squirms away, sure that he must be hearing things. It's just the medicine distorting Feliciano's words. "No, I don't think I want to sleep. There are noises in the closet at night, and I hear them, I really do. I feel like something's going to come out and get me one day. When that happens - God, Feli, sometimes I get so scared. But I just power through it, you know? I think of Toris, and...and it's okay. It'll be okay."

Feliciano frowns, disappointed. But that's okay. Feliks is clearly tired, and he probably needs time to think about it. There's still time for him to change his mind. He kisses Feliks' cheek. "You take a siesta now, okay Feliks? We'll all stay here and make sure nothing comes to get you."

Francis watches the pair settle down together from across the room. He smiles. "I think our friends are going to take a nap."

"That sounds like a good plan," Liza replies. She puts one last coat of polish on the roommate's pinky, then blows on his nails as she admires her work. "Actually, I'm getting a bit hungry. We should take a walk to the frozen yogurt place down the street on our way back to the Rainbow. The evening shift will start soon."

Francis glances at Feliks' bed, then lowers his voice. "We can stay until Toris returns, can't we? There will be plenty of customers left at midnight. Now thinking of this poor soul," he gestures to the hand he's half-finished, "I don't like the idea of leaving Feliks alone."

"Me neither," Liza agrees as she looks over her shoulder at Feliks and Feli. She doesn't like the idea of leaving either of them alone. From what she hears, it's when Feliciano's alone that he's most dangerous. It is Ludwig that keeps him from burning the city to the ground like Nero. "Alright," she sighs, sliding to her feet. "I'll settle for ice cream from the food court. Wait here. Mint chocolate chip, right?"