"No, that's not true," the familiar voice cut through the haze of Tamaki Amajiki's mind, just for a moment. "He'll pull out of this, just give him time, you'll see."
Then the darkness took him again.
His hand was squeezed. "You're okay. Just rest. I'll be back soon, you wait here."
"We got him. He's off the streets now. I'm here with you now, till the moment you open your eyes."
…
"Has he responded to anything yet?" it was Fat Gum's voice this time.
"No, he flutters his eyes a bit from time to time, but that has been all we could get out of him. Mister Fat Gum, I think we should start to think about calling his agent to draft a statement. It's looking like he may be here a while."
"No, we'll give him more-"
The heaviness of sleep gave him silence once again.
"I know that you're probably sending yourself down a hundred different worst case scenarios right now, but you can't be doing that. Recovery is the only option now. You have to wake up Tamaki, you have to!" his voice sounded unsteady, causing Tamaki to stir, ever so slightly, before sleep took him once more.
His eyes opened, just for a moment. Long enough to see Lemillion there, in full uniform, hands waving around while he said something to a man with a white lab coat on. What was he saying? Why couldn't he hear it? The fog overtook him.
Tamakis heart pounded in his chest, feeling his arms pulled apart at the seams once again. Why couldn't he scream out or run from it? The panic lasted only moments before his mind shut itself down once again.
…...
His hand was being squeezed again. "Tamaki Amajiki it's time. You've rested, and you can still rest once you've woken up, I promise. But you need to open your eyes. The world needs it's Suneater back… I need you back."
Tamaki tried opening his eyes but his body wouldn't respond to his commands.
Get up.
Get up!
GET UP!
His eyes finally slammed open, the world still dark, save for the green glow coming from the monitors hooked to him with so many needles, wires, and sensors. But nobody was next to his bed, squeezing his hand… they were just laying cold at his sides. Had he hallucinated it all?
"Tamaki." There it was, the voice washed over him making the world warm again. Always the Sun, even in a darkened room. But the spark of life that usually dripped from every word that left that mouth was absent, something was wrong.
He willed his body to sit up, ignoring the screaming of his muscles and bones. It took his eyes a moment to focus on the figure that was just a couple feet from the bed, slouched over in the cheap recliner that was dwarfed by the large frame that had taken it over. He watched as his friends head whipped to the side in his sleep, saying his name again. A nightmare.
He forced his body further, scooting to the edge of the bed, pulling tape and needles from his arm. The monitors began chirping angrily.
"Mirio?" Tamaki's mouth formed the name, but no noise came out.
His feet finally touched the cool ground. "Mirio!" The room began to spin as he willed his feet to hold the rest of him up, and failing.
Luckily gravity answers to the sun, and his Sun just so happened to be faster, even when just snapping from a nightmare.
"Tamaki?" the hero leapt up, catching him before he could fall.
"Tamaki!" Mirios arms wrapped around his friends small frame easily, lifting him slightly from the ground before crushing their lips together.
That's when the screaming of his body won it's fight with Tamaki's will and the fog washed back over him.
"He seems more responsive now, for sure, and his vitals seemed to pick up before the connection was broken. What did you say happened?" the vaguely familiar voice rang through Tamaki's head like a gong.
Mirios throat cleared and Tamaki opened his eyes. "He just got up suddenly, I think it might have been a little too fast or something. He fell right back over."
"Well, I think we could expect some real progress in the next few days. Why don't you head home and we'll call you if-Oh! Youre awake!" it was his doctor speaking, looking at Tamaki while he tried to adjust his eyes to the harsh lights of the room. "It's good to have you back. Do you know your name?"
He blinked at the man before processing the question.
"Amajiki…. Tamaki," his voice came out a rasp.
"Exactly! You stay right there in bed. I need to go grab a few nurses and your charts, then I'll be back."
The man had barely walked out the door when Mirio's throat cleared again. Tamaki looked over to see him half turned away, a redness in his cheeks he had never seen there before. It looked like a Mirio from another dimension. The guy that usually had perfectly chiseled features and a broad smile now had puffy eyes from lack of sleep or crying (or both), a red flush to his cheeks, and his golden hair hung down into his eyes just slightly. Who was this person?
"I'm SO sorry…" Mirio choked out. He turned his body to Tamaki but didn't dare look at him yet. "I just…I was just so worried and I saw you standing there and I just couldn't stop myself and then you feinted. I know I should have said something…. said anything. I'm just…yeah. Sorry."
"If you want me to go, I'll understand." He closed his eyes and looking like he was bracing for an impact.
Tamaki blinked. "…What?"
Mirio looked up, confusion crossing his features, and just stared at him for a moment. "I- I kissed you? And then you like… passed out."
Tamaki's blood rushed to his cheeks. "Yo- You mean… that happened?"
Mirio let out a little chuckle. "Yeah," he brought a hand up and scratched the back of his head. "I really am sorry Amajiki. I should have waited until you were out of here to have a conversation or something. I'm not sure. I was just so relieved to see you standing there, it just happened."
"A conversation...?" Tamaki's head was beginning to spin again and his voice was barely a squeak.
"Yeah," Mirio's foreign blushing face came back, this time right in front of Tamaki's face. "I know my timing isn't ideal, but I like you Tamaki. Not in the best friend, classmate kind of way. In the I've been thinking about kissing you like that for a while kind of way."
Tamaki was silent.
"I mean, not exactly like that," Mirio let out a nervous chuckle. "But you get what I mean…right?"
"You like me?" Tamaki's face was so hot he thought it might pop.
"I do. If you don't like me the same way, I understand. I sprung this on you and that really isn't fair, especially after everything you've been through." His voice began to quiver again and he gently took Tamaki's slender hand into his own. "I am just so damn relieved you're back."
The doctor came back into the room and Tamaki dropped his hand to his lap, trying to look at the man despite his world warping around him.
"Mister Tamaki Amajiki, could you verify your date of birth for me please?" the doctor launched into questions and treatments, robbing the friends of the rest of their conversation.
…..
The next few days were hazy for Tamaki. Nejire, Kirishima, Fat Gum, and a few others stopped by. Mirio with them of course, but they were never left in the room alone together and he never seemed to make direct eye contact. Finally, the time came for Tamaki to be discharged under the condition that he goes to checkups every other day and took a break from his normal day to day activities.
He went into the restroom of his hospital room to change from his horridly cold gown into his sweater and jeans. When he came out, he found all of his things neatly folded and stacked on the bed, Mirio standing behind the bed, waiting.
Tamaki's cheeks immediately turned red at his best friends smile and he turned to hide his face.
"Is it okay that I'm here?" Mirio asked.
Tamaki's tightening throat wouldn't allow for words to come out.
"It's okay, I can go. You know where to find me," he turned to walk out of the door.
Before he could take a step, Tamaki closed the distance, grabbing the other boys' hand but keeping his face to the floor. "Don't."
.….
Tamaki's apartment was cold and dark when he stepped through the door for the first time in apparently over two weeks. He had been out cold for twelve days and stayed for a few extra to be monitored. There was a reason top of the line insurance was a requirement for prohero work.
He had spent two nights back at Nejire's house until the ache in his bones began to fade, but now he was home. His cat, who had been fed by his kind neighbor Deedra, shifted in the window sill.
"Hello Poucchi," he knelt down, rubbing his fingers together and the cat jumped over to him, purring.
The cat followed him as he walked through the small apartment, making sure there wasn't anything he needed to put back in order after his absence. Once Poucchi's box was cleaned and a grocery list made he plopped himself down onto his bed, sighing.
Mirio was supposed to stop by so they could talk things over, but since he had patrolling to do across town, there was no telling when that would be. Probably pretty late. So Tamaki allowed his eyes to close while his cat settled to sleep on his chest.
There was a low thumping coming from outside. A rhythmic hum just loud enough to break Tamaki from his sleep. He rubbed his eyes and turned over in the bed, waiting for whatever it was to stop.
It didn't.
Groaning he rolled out of bed and to the window, a knot twisting in his stomach as soon as he opened the curtain. Standing there in the last of the sunlight, was Mirio, boombox in hand and the biggest smile Tamaki had ever seen on his face.
He felt his entire face and ears turn bright red before he ducked back behind the protection of the curtains, breath catching in his throat. What the hell.
Suddenly, big blue eyes phased through the wall, right next to Tamaki's face. A chuckle escaped Mirio's mouth. "Hey, I had a whole speech!"
Tamaki felt his face redden even further.
"Isn't this how someone is supposed to properly confess their feelings?" he chuckled to himself again. "Can I come in?"
He nodded at the boy, watching as his large frame phased through the wall and into his bedroom. The blonde pulled out a small remote and hit a button, stopping the music that was coming from the boombox outside.
The two sat there, leaning against the bedroom wall for a moment, waiting for Tamakis face to return to a normal shade.
A booming laugh erupted from Mirio, making the smaller boy jump. "This is weird, isn't it?"
"Y-yeah, a little."
Mirio took a deep breath and smiled, steadying himself. "Yeah, but we might as well just be out with it, right?"
Tamaki nodded.
"So, I meant it when I said I was sorry about pouncing on you at the hospital, that was wrong. I came here to try and do it right, but… I've never seriously done this before, so I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do or say, ya know?"
Tamaki closed his eyes and focused on breathing, angling himself towards Mirio so he knew he was still listening.
"I've had romantic feelings for you for a long time Amajiki. Right after graduation I think I knew, but once we both got more caught up in heroing we started to see less of each other and I felt a little…lost, I guess. Then, I finally see you for the first time in almost two months and you were in constant danger!"
"So were you," Tamaki finally found the smallest piece of his voice. "It's the job."
"Yeah, but you always threw yourself into the fire. You were SO careful back at UA so seeing you jump right into it, throwing caution to the wind, it scared the hell out of me. You were taking bigger and bigger risks all the time and when I showed up to that robbery, when you got shot, everything just sort of clicked. You were bloody and injured and you still took the guy in and kept everyone safe, without any back up until it was already over. You were so sure of ability to do your job, something that you never used to have faith in. It was a development I wasn't there for, because I was off trying to get better too, and it made my heart hurt. I wanted to be there to see every achievement you reached!" he paused for breath, looking at Tamaki.
"Mirio…. That's been over a year ago."
"Yeah, that's why I started getting us three together every week again, so I'd have a smoother transition into being close again. Once we started seeing more of each other again I started to feel better." His booming laugh made Tamaki jump. "But I never knew how I was supposed to tell you! Hey bud, wanna get a pizza and be my boyfriend? Not exactly the smoothest way to transition!"
Tamaki's breath left his lungs at the word 'boyfriend.' He felt a warm hand on his chin, angling his face up to meet Mirio's eyes.
"But it is true Tamaki, I have feelings for you." He paused, no doubt watching the redness return to his friends face. "You have been my best friend for nearly my entire life, and I would really like to try and take this next step with you. I, please, just need you to either tell me to lay off or that maybe you feel the same way."
"I do..." Tamaki kept his eyes on Poucchi, desperately trying to avoid the blue pools of Mirios.
"You do? You…have feelings for me too?" Tamaki could hear the smile on his friend's lips. "Like… romantic ones? Or you're my best friend and I don't want to make things awkward so I'll say it too, kind of thing? Because this isn't something I want you to do if you're, ya know, heart isn't in it."
"Mirio, I have been telling you how I feel, calling you the Sun in my sky for the better part of a decade…. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but most guys don't say that to people they just want to be friends with,"
His smile widened listening to his friend's words. "So, it's okay that I like you?"
Tamaki was sure that if his face had gotten any redder it would burst. "Do you have to say such embarrassing things?"
Mirio got up on his knees, putting his arms on either side of Tamaki. "So… I'd like to try that kiss again if you promise not to feint on me this time."
His hand turned Tamaki's face towards his own, sending a wave of heat through Tamakis body. Mirio pressed his lips to Tamaki's, kissing him gently.
…...
A bit of an edit here to Chapter 1, I couldn't come up with a draft I loved for this chapter but then 2 and 3 just poured out. Stick with us here and let me know what you think!