A sharp gasp. A dry cough.

Eyes open. Stinging. Vision blurry.

Head pounding.

"The fuck?"

Touya's own rasping voice could barely be heard over the crack of flames devouring timber.

Another cough. A shuffle of feet. Stumbling blindly. Hands reaching out. Burning.

It didn't take him long for the smoke to send him falling back into darkness.

"Shouldn't he back by now?" Callie muttered, her eyes glancing up at the clock on the wall.

Grillby had collected them from the medical school after the professors had given Sam the all clear. His father, Professor Gaster had been informed of the news and had rushed to visit his son. Sam had refused his pleas to go to the police. It had been Callie who calmed the looming argument. When Professor Gaster turned his stern stare towards her and asked who on earth she was, Sam had been the one to inform his father that she was his girlfriend. Professor Gaster's eyes had widened momentarily behind his spectacles.

"I see..." He'd muttered. And the news seemed to have given him enough time to quell his anger and frustration.

As Sam, Russ and Callie sat in one of the upstairs rooms of Grillby's bar, their wait for Touya's arrival was beginning to cause anxiety amongst them.

"Give it another hour..." Russ muttered, sipping his 4th cup of tea.

Sam and Callie exchanged a nervous glance. Although no one spoke the words, they all shared the feeling that something wasn't right.

The next time Touya opened his eyes, everything was brilliant white. He shut them against the intrusion then tried again...

Where was he?

He could no longer smell smoke, only fresh linens. He could breathe now, but it hurt.

As his vision finally adjusted to the bright lights and his eyes slipped into focus, Touya made out 3 faces staring back at him.

Not Sam, Russ and Callie however.

"Shoto..." He grumbled, his eyes falling on his younger sibling's neutral stare.

"Hello, Touya." He responded, his voice monotone.

Touya cursed under his voice. "I'm in hell, aren't I?"

"Actually, you're in the recovery ward at U.A hospital." Came his sister's voice. Her statement explained why everything was so damn white and so damn bright. He'd always hated hospitals.

Touya's eyes swung over to Fuyumi, who managed a weak smile. "Hey, big brother."

"Christ. What are you all doing here?" And why did his body hurt so much; he could barely move, barely even emote. The last thing he remembered was searing heat and before that, a blow to the head.

"The paramedics called us after they got you out of the fire..." Shoto informed him, his face devoid of any expression.

Dimitri, the bastard.

"How are you feeling?"

And Fuyumi suddenly looked tearful.

"Shit." Touya croaked. "Thanks for asking."

"Touya..." his sister began, leaning close. "What happened? What were you doing in that warehouse?"

Luckily, Touya was a good liar and particularly skilled at thinking on his feet, even after surviving a fire.

"I was checking the place out for a photography project. Abandoned buildings and all that."

He thought back to Sam, Russ and Callie. He hoped Kuro had kept to his word and brought them to the bar. Surely Dimitri and his entourage would have skipped town after what they'd done, or attempted to do so.

Shit.

This was a first. After all the drama he'd brought upon himself as a result of his many bad decisions, this was the first time anyone had tried to kill him.

Looking back, the girl wasn't even worth it. Then again, what girl was worth almost dying in a fire for?

Natsuo frowned at him. "Since when did you take an interest in photography?"

Urgh. This wasn't going to be the end of the interrogations was it? The police would most likely want to take a statement from him too...

"Since dad cut me off and my whole family stopped talking to me," he drawled. He finished with a smirk so as to not hurt Fuyumi's feelings. Still, she looked a little hurt regardless.

"Touya..." she uttered sadly.

And he had no choice but to accept the hug she gave him, after all, he couldn't lift his arms.

It turned out, he had suffered 2nd degree burns all over his arms and face. The elderly doctor spoke sympathetically as he informed him that it would take a good few weeks of treatment and careful monitoring for his skin to heal. And even then, he wouldn't look the same. As the doctor relayed all this information to him, Touya couldn't help but think about Sam and his nasty scar. Although his friend had eventually grown to accept the imperfection, at least he could cover it. But to have them cover your arms and face? Touya gritted his teeth and readied himself for the worst as he demanded the nurses to allow him to look in a mirror.

Yeah. It wasn't pretty.

"It may look rather shocking now, but eventually they will heal and there are after-treatments we can offer that will help improve the appearance." One of the nurses told him gently. She was kinda hot. Shame he looked like shit.

Well, he only had himself to blame. All he wanted to know now was whether his friends were okay.

It had been Kuro who visited first. After hearing the news, the bartender had insisted he be the first to visit and assess the situation; he didn't want Sam, Callie and Russ to witness anything distressing. Especially after what had already happened to Sam.

"They're staying with me and my brother at the bar. I have sources keeping an eye out for any movement from Dimitri, but we are almost certain he left town the moment he dropped the match." Kuro told him. He hadn't even flinched when his eyes had fallen on him. Perhaps the shady criminal had seen far worse...

And it seemed he obviously didn't find Touya's appearance all that shocking, because his three friends visited soon after; Kuro clearly believing the sight of their friend in a hospital bed wasn't going to send them into a state of anguish.

Although, the way Callie's pretty face scrunched into a sad sob made Touya's heart break a little.

"Oh, Touya!" She whimpered, her gentle hands taking his and holding them softly against her face.

"Hey, Callie. You still think I'm pretty, right?" He smiled, watching as a single tear rolled down her face.

She sniffed quietly and nodded her head. He was glad to see her manage a smile.

"Heh. Who looks like shit now?" Came Sam's low voice. Callie tutted and shot him a glare.

But Touya only chuckled.

"Screw you, Samuel."

Sam perched on the bed next to Callie, who was still holding Touya's bandaged hand. Casting his eyes across towards him, he noted the injuries left on his friend's face. The swelling had gone down, but the bruising and cuts remained. The burst blood vessel in his eye was a stark contrast against his fair features and cool colour palette. It had turned half his eye a startling crimson. When he grinned, Touya was immediately reminded that Sam also had a tooth missing.

"Damn, we're definitely going to have to fix that smile of yours." Touya smirked. "Maybe a gold tooth, hm?"

And he heard Russ snort a laugh from the back of the room. The younger sibling then informed him that Grillby and Kuro has found a private dentist to get Sam seen to ASAP. Apparently, Grillby had offered to pay for the procedure as well as wipe Sam's bar tab.

"Always knew he had a soft spot for you." Touya laughed.

"Jealous, much?" was his friend's retort. "Anyway, I declined the offer for him to pay for my tooth. Dad's gonna pay for it instead."

Well now...

"Professor Gaster?" Touya quipped. "No shit? I suppose he can't have his prodigy of a son walking around with a missing tooth as well as a huge scar on his chest."

It was then that Callie spoke up. "Oh, he isn't that bad. I don't know why you and Sam dislike him so much."

"Oh, you've met him?" Touya queried, "Sam introduced you did he?"

Sam returned the little smirk Touya threw him. They both shared the knowledge that Sam had never introduced any of his girlfriends to his father before. Mainly because the relationships had never lasted long nor meant that much to him. Having Callie meet professor Gaster was clearly a big step.

Damn, his boy was serious, huh?

Touya didn't blame him. Callie was a good girl. He'd probably risk dying in a fire for her. Maybe.

"Yeah, the tutors at the medical school got in touch with him as soon as Sam and I walked though the doors to get him checked out." Callie continued.

"How did he react when he saw him?"

"Honestly, he looked pretty upset."

A huff of a laugh.

"Wow, the old man has feelings."

*

Surprisingly, it had been Callie who had suggested it. Sam merely raised his eyes brows while Russ squinted unsurely.

"That's real nice of you, Callie. But I'm sure I'll manage just fine at my place," Touya had returned. The nurse was currently given him one last check over before letting him leave the hospital after two, long weeks of rehabilitation. He still had a while to go, but the doctors believed he was ready to go home and carry on his treatment there.

"Oh, don't be silly! It would only be for week! Until the last of your bandages are removed and your course of antibiotics is over."

After Touya had let them know that he was to be discharged from hospital, Callie had immediately suggested that he come and stay at Snowdin Apartments with her and the Gaster brothers. Out of everyone, she had fretted the most about his recovery. Though he looked a lot better, his skin healing well and the chance the scars being anywhere near as bad as Sam's unlikely, Callie still continued to fuss anytime she saw him.

"Besides! The nurses won't be around to help change your dressings and apply your ointments and such! You need someone around in case your fever comes back!"

Touya simply glanced from Sam to Russ as both brothers stood at either side of Callie. He remained silent and waited for one of them to speak; after all, they lived there too, therefore it wasn't simply Callie's decision to make.

Russ sighed into the silence. "She's right. I think we'd all feel better if we could keep an eye on you." He didn't look entirely convinced, but continued regardless. "It's not as if you take much care of yourself at the best of times."

And Touya frowned when Sam nodded. "True that."

The decision was made then and there. They left in two vehicles. Russ left for Touya's penthouse to pack up some things, while Callie drove Sam and Touya back to Snowdin Apartments. During the drive home, Callie laughed at how shady the two guys looked with their injuries.

"What a couple of ruffians," she giggled.

And Touya did admit that he and Sam looked pretty gnarly. As he glanced his own face in the rear view mirror, he thanked his lucky stars at how well his burns had healed. Though his skin wasn't as smooth and flawless as it had been before, at least he didn't look like Freddy Krueger. Rather, his skin and arms now had a slight discolouration and sheen to them. The doctor assured him the latter trait would fade eventually.

"You know..." Sam drawled from the front passenger's seat. "Now you're not so pretty, you're gonna have to make up for it by actually working on your personality." And he flashed Touya one of his lazy, trademark grins, albeit with a tooth still missing.

Touya flipped him off with a smirk.

Now that Callie and Sam were a couple and spent their nights in Callie's bed, it left Sam's room available.

"Which is convenient for you, Touya, since you're already pretty familiar with my room..." Sam droned, frowning at his friend as the memory of the threesome that took place in his room seemed to flash behind his eyes. "Just don't break my new lamp."

Touya chuckled as he took the duffle bag of belongings from Russ.

"There should be enough in there to last you a week or two." He smiled, before heading into the kitchen to make dinner.

And as Touya began to unpack some of his things as the house began to fill with the smell of home cooking and the sound of laughter, he never felt more at home.