† † †
" You look like the cat that ate the canary , Schul ." Yohji looked up at Schuldich , perched at the end of the redhead's desk with a casual recline . " Get laid ?"
Schuldich mocked gasped and shoved the blonde off . " Dear Lord ! The man knows how to read !"
Yohji laughed . " Not yet huh ? But you're getting there ."
Schuldich shook his head in disgust and tossed the camera carelessly on the table , but laid a brown envelope carefully on the glass-top desk .
Yohji had prided himself for being stylish and the office was the epitome stylish . It was nothing but . Every detail had been meticulously taken care of , which was why their very own office floor was constantly featured in different magazines .
" What's that ?" Yohji eyed the envelope above his dark sunglasses .
" Prints ."
" I gathered as much . What I mean is , what are those prints of ?" He said sardonically , snatching the envelope from the table and pulling the 8x12 prints from inside .
" Whoa , man ." He whistled appreciatively . " Who is this young specimen ?" He examined each picture carefully , seemingly fascinated with the subject .
Schuldich had made the prints from the coffeeshop black and white , making Ken's melancholy expression even more dramatic , the shades and the lighting had made the subject more intriguing and mysterious – if such a thing was possible . " His name's Ken ." He said , refusing to give even slight information such as his family name .
" Didn't I tell you to take a break yesterday ?" He glanced again at the large prints . "... Not that I'm complaining !" Yohji added hastily as he nodded appreciatively at the photographs .
The truth was , Schuldich had spent all night developing those and he had made two sets , the other one he had posted in his apartment . He was bleary-eyed , having taken just a little more than two hours of sleep , but he was feeling better than he had in weeks .
In his opinion , the five prints he had taken of Ken Hidaka are the best he had ever done in his career .
He was finally learning to appreciate photography – for the first time in his life .
† † †
Ken woke up , shivering terribly . He wasn't feeling good today .
He glanced at the heater , the only one in the apartment , which Aya had installed a week before and saw through glazed eyes that it was turned on to high .
He guessed that Aya had already left for the flowershop and that breakfast was already set on the table . He staggered out of bed , feeling light-headed .
Not today .
He couldn't be sick today !
He coughed and turned off the heater to save electricity and padded barefoot into the bathroom . " Brrrrr ..." He shuddered and splashed cold water on his face .
The water heater was broken and they didn't have enough money to have it fixed . Aya was too busy with his jobs to handle it and Ken would have fixed it himself if only he knew how .
Blearily , he stumbled back to his room to change . He had to go grocery shopping today . He had to cook Aya lunch .
He had to ...
He fell on his bed , unconscious .
† † †
Schuldich whistled as he studied the pictures he had taken of Ken yesterday .
For some strange reason , he couldn't keep his mind off the brunette .
He laughed at the memory of Ken's deep red blush when he saw Schuldich naked in the bathroom and ran his fingers tenderly on the glossy surface of the photographs .
Suddenly , he felt a cold breeze sweep past him for a split second and he turned to look if anyone had gone by from behind him but there was no one in his office .
† † †
When Ken woke up , he realized that he was half-dressed and a glance at the clock hanging above his door told him that it was eleven-thirty .
Half an hour before Aya's lunchbreak !
He tried to swallow back a fit of coughing and tugged his pants on , he was about to slip into his damp sneakers when he remembered that Schuldich had given him a pair of leather boots the day before .
He gave a sickly smile and pulled on his coat . His shaking hands barely had enough strength to pull his cap low over his blue-tinged face .
Coughing , he grabbed the chipped keys and slammed the door behind him .
† † †
Schuldich had decided to take an early lunch , hoping to pass through the park and see if Ken was kicking his soccer ball there , but thought the better of it . He was probably at home , having lunch right now .
Schuldich strolled along the sidewalk , oblivious of the few passersby that streamed past him , he was lost in thought – a habit that had grown on him since he had met a certain someone the day before .
He wondered how Ken was doing . He had seemed a little bit glum when had left the café yesterday morning and it was all Schuldich's fault !
He scowled at his brusqueness . Damn .
That was exactly the reason why everybody else hated him .
† † †
Ken stumbled through the sidewalk , his vision spinning . He had to buy groceries before Aya got home ... he had'ta ... hehad'ta ... he ...
He lurched and collapsed heavily against one of the passersby and immediately lost consciousness as he hit the cold blanket of snow that had collected just outside the grocery .
† † †
Schuldich stopped when he heard a shout just a few feet away from him and looked up ahead just in time to see a kid , obscured in a thick faded winter jacket , equally worn down denim pants , a thick woolen cap and boots .
He couldn't see the kid's face because he fell face first on the snow , right in front of a woman who looked like she had just emerged from a fashion show .
Curious , Schuldich approached cautiously , not as much because of the woman's pleads for help as to satisfy his inquisitiveness .
He pitied the kid , maybe he hadn't eaten for days - he certainly dressed like it – and was probably so hungry that he collapsed .
Several other passersby had started to gather and a man who had come from the grocery had taken the unconscious boy by the shoulders and turned him carefully over .
Schuldich's heart jumped up into his mouth .
The limp body belonged to Ken .
His Ken .
Viciously , he fought his way through the crowd and kneeled beside the grocer as the man tried to pat Ken's face in the hopes of him regaining consciousness . No such luck .
Schuldich's keen eyes noticed a trickle of blood trailing down Ken's chin , a drop had already stained the snow . He was flushed , sweat trickled down his forehead as if it was in the middle a sweltering summer instead of a below-zero winter .
" What's wrong with him ?!" He asked , aware of the panic in his voice .
" He's burning with a fever . Maybe we should bring him to the hospital . This could be really bad ." The grocer said . He hefted boy's weight on his thick arms as shouted inside the grocery for someone to call an ambulance .
Bile rose in Schuldich's throat . How could Ken be so sick ? Yesterday he was doing just fine and ... he stopped as he saw Ken move .
Ken groaned and feebly tried to raise his head .
His vision was spinning ... where is he ?
Oh no ! He had to cook Aya's meal . Eleven-thirty !
His eyes met the blue of the sky and then he saw the face of a beefy man looming over him . He knew that face .
It was the grocer – he always bought from him .
" S'yorr shop til opn ?" [1] he asked , his pupils rolling . He tasted blood in his mouth ; he knew he was slurring his words but he hoped the grocer would understand what he was saying . " I hev to buy som grosries ." [2] He tried to shift his weight but the man refused stubbornly to let him down .
" Don't worry , lad . The ambulance will be here soon ."
Ambulance ? He didn't need an ambulance ! He needed to get his groceries home before Aya comes from work ! Aya was going to be tired and hungry . It was the least he could do for him .
" No armblance . Need grosries ... I'll pray yooo . Mony ... I hev som mony ..." [3] He pushed away from the man's chest with the remainder of his strength and was set down gently on the ground .
Apparently , the grocer was surprised by his insistence .
His legs felt like jelly and his head was spinning and pounding at the same time . He could taste the coppery flavor of blood in his mouth – he wiped it with his sleeve , trying to ignore the leering , jeering , mocking masks of the people circling him , all going closer and closer like jackals .
Everyone was mocking him ! He needed to get inside ! He needed to escape !
His vision swam and the shop's door waved around like a toy top in front of him . He couldn't tell which one was real .
He took a step forward and plummeted – but he was caught by a pair of strong arms ... and Schuldich's face rippled into his vision . Despite the ringing in his ears , he heard the faraway voice – Schuldich's baritone " ... hospital ..."
*Schuldich ...*
" Please ... no h'spital ... no spital ..." [4] He muttered , before everything blanked again .
† † †
Aya had just received a call from the greengrocer's telling him that Ken had collapsed outside his shop and that someone had already taken Ken to the MagicBus hospital .
The grocer was a close friend of theirs from way back . Aya had thanked him and placed down the receiver . He had told his manager what had happened and she relented to let him go .
Aya might look like a prick and a total snob , but he was the best assistant manager around ; and she had heard snippets about him and his brother .
She sympathized with him , she knew she could not possibly relate to all the heartache they must be going through , but she liked Aya , despite his constant grouchiness .
She had called Aya back when he was about to rush outside to find a taxi , and lent him her car .
So , Aya plunged the car into the congested streets and cursed everyone for being such bastards . He briefly considered abandoning the car , but it was out of the question considering Ms. Manx's kindness .
The drive to the hospital seemed like an eternity , Aya's blood had almost dried up completely .
Without even taking time to lock the door of the Range Rover , he sprinted into the hospital , his face etched with worry .
† † †
[1] 'Is your shop still open ?'
[2] 'I have to buy some groceries .'
[3] 'No ambulance . Need groceries ... I'll pay you . Money ... I have money .'
[4] 'Please ... no hospital ... no hospital ...'
R_M : I'm so sorry for taking so long in updating . I've just been having very serious problems with uploading in FF.net for one reason or another . I still can't figure out what the hell is wrong and I'll be very much surprised if this chappie's posted in any case .
Kaen_chan : *patspats* It's ok ... it's ok ...
Brizey : Hiya ! Arigatou ! Will do !
Jenken : Yeah , I get lotsa stuff from there too ... although , I'm wondering why people are so uptight lately .
n : ^__^
Mariki : Didja get my e-mail ? didja ? ^__^ I can't wait !!! *rushes off to check her e-mail*