A/N: Disclaimer: They are not mine. Don't sue.
Requires knowledge of Tokyo Babylon, though it takes place during X/1999.
Enjoy!
Kamui sat in a chair next to Subaru's bed, leaning forward so he could hold one of the other man's hands in both of his. The onmyouji's face was pale but calm in sleep. Bandages covered his right eye and both his arms, and there were more hidden beneath the blanket that covered him.
Kamui's head snapped up. There was a man in a dark suit, trench coat, and sunglasses standing on the other side of the bed. Surprised, he dropped Subaru's hand and shot to his feet. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, just here to visit my Subaru-kun." Kamui frowned. His Subaru-kun?
The man stepped forward. Reaching out with one slender-fingered hand, he brushed Subaru's hair away from the bandage over his eye. A slight smirk touched his lips.
"What do you want?" Kamui demanded.
The man raised his head. One hand came up, and Kamui tensed, ready to defend himself and Subaru. But the man just tugged off his sunglasses and fixed Kamui with a mismatched stare. Kamui gasped and froze.
The smirk was gone. The man's face was expressionless. "Tell Subaru-kun that he would have won our little bet if he'd been a little quicker," he said seriously.
Kamui frowned again. "What do you—" was all he got out before the man vanished in a cloud of sakura petals. Mouth agape, Kamui looked around hurriedly. No one. Confused, he sat back down and picked Subaru's hand up again with a sigh.
Subaru stirred slightly, causing Kamui to lean forward in anticipation. Sure enough, a moment later the one green eye slowly opened. The young man blinked, then slowly turned his head towards the boy next to him.
"How are you feeling?" Kamui asked.
"I'm alright." He smiled slightly. "You've been sitting here the whole time, haven't you?"
"Aa. You've done the same for me." A pause. "I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize. This is what I had wished for."
Startled, Kamui hesitated for a moment. "I see…"
They sat for a few minutes in silence. Kamui wondered if he should tell Subaru about the man from earlier. He didn't want to worry the older man, but he was curious as to what the visitor had meant. And, he admitted to himself, afraid of the man.
"What's wrong?" Subaru asked.
Kamui started. "Oh! Um, nothing!"
"Kamui…"
"Well, this man came by, while you were out. I don't know how he got in, or even how he got out. He just sort of…vanished."
"Vanished?"
"Aa. He was just standing there, then there were sakura petals everywhere, and he disappeared."
Subaru froze, his hand tightening on Kamui's. A couple of minutes ticked slowly by. "I see," he finally said. "Did he say why he came?"
"He said he was just here to visit you." Kamui hesitated. "He said to tell you…to tell you that you'd have won the bet if you'd been a little faster," he blurted out.
Subaru went rigid, his eyes widening. His hand closed even tighter, making Kamui hide a wince. A quick glance at Subaru showed him that the older man hadn't even noticed.
The Sumeragi continued to stare forward at nothing.
"Subaru?" No answer. Worried, Kamui reached out to touch the young man's shoulder. "Subaru?"
"I would have won…" Subaru whispered. "But that means…that means…"
To Kamui's alarm, he saw a tear trickle down Subaru's cheek. Another followed it, and another. Soon the young man was sobbing uncontrollably. Concerned, Kamui moved so he was sitting on the bed next to him and carefully pulled him into an embrace. Subaru turned his face so it was buried in the boy's shoulder, soon soaking the shirt with tears. Kamui ran his fingers through the young man's hair, murmuring words meant to comfort that went unheard. When Sorata poked his head into the room, the savior of humanity could only give him a helpless look, a single tear trickling down from a lavender eye.