Chapter 10- Recovery:

Kato:

As I laid in the hospital room, still in recovery even after two weeks, many thoughts ran through my mind. Looking to my left, I saw Luke sitting in a chair beside my hospital bed. Luke really cared for me- after all that happened, that much was painfully obvious and it made my heart swell with joy since I cared about him too- so very much so.

Looking to my right, I saw Alex still in her hospital bed since we were hospital roomies... Well we were. She was actually getting out of the hospital today so while she laid in the bed, she wasn't under the covers and she was fully dressed unlike me who had to wear the thin, crappy hospital gown.

It was still hard to believe that Alex cared that much. I knew she came across as too arrogant or cold- heck, I thought she was arrogant when I first met her... But the thing was, it wasn't that she didn't care, she cared too much. She truly was like a sister to me- as was Moriko and Ava. We were all one big family- screwed up, but still functional.

Well, Luke was more than a brother to me just as Danny was more than a brother to Alex. Hehe, they're also our boyfriends and one day they might even be our lovers...

I looked over to Luke, who choked on air as he turned red. Danny looked mildly uncomfortable and Alex looked at me amused. Moriko, the only other person left in the room, laughed.

"You said that out loud," Alex informed.

"How much?"

"From 'Luke's more than a brother' to 'they might even be our lovers.'"

I gave her a cheeky smile before I innocently sipped on my strawberry slushie to avoid continuing the conversation.

"I'm just glad you're okay," Alex continued, "I... I'm sorry that Ringmaster put you in the Box and that your wounds were left open while you were in there..."

"Don't be," I said with a sad smile, "It's not your fault. I'm sorry that the Facility decided to vivisect you after you went into The Box."

"Don't be," Alex repeated, "It's not your fault."

We both smiled cheekily at each before Luke grabbed my hand and I gave him a kiss.

"Well, I think we'd better leave the love birds," Moriko said teasingly, "Alex, Danny, you coming?"

Alex and Danny nodded and followed her out, leaving me alone with Luke- who was still blushing.

"I was worried about you," Luke finally said as I looked at him curiously, "You know that right? I was so worried that you... I thought you were going to die..."

"I'm still alive," I pointed out, "but... It's sweet you care."

I went to kiss his cheek, but he dodged me. I frowned as he sighed,

"No, you don't get it... I thought you were going to die, especially since by the time I got you to SHIELD, you lost two liters of blood, another half liter and you would have..."

He clenched his fists,

"You would have died Kato."

"It wouldn't have been the first time," I muttered darkly.

"Don't say that," Luke snapped, "Don't you dare say that... I just... It was scary. It still is because I don't want to loose you, Kato."

"I don't want to loose you either," I finally replied after a few moments of silence.

We stared at each other for a second before we embraced. He hugged me tightly,

"It was so hard to hear your screams through the com link and hear you begging for help... I don't ever want to hear that again..."

"I hope you won't have to," I replied as I kissed him softly.

It didn't take that long before our kiss progressed- starting with just a simple kiss and it ended with our tongues wrapping around each other and his hands roaming my body.

I wasn't sure how long we made out like that- groping included. Before we finally peeled away from each other, breathless, and I realized that I wasn't scared of touching anymore- not with Luke.

"I'm ready to go all the way with you," I whisper.

He looked at him with slightly glazed over eyes,

"When you're out of the hospital," he finally said firmly.

His voice isn't the only thing that's firm... Hot damn...

Alex:

"I really hope she remembers the com links are still on," I muttered as I headed out with Danny.

Axel had been waiting by the door, talking to Moriko. When we stepped out, he said goodbye and joined us. He wrangled his arm around me, pulling me into a choke hold and rubbed the top of my head with his knuckles. I glanced at Iron Fist who gave us an amused expression.

Without saying anything, I flipped him over and put him in the same hold. He slammed me into the wall, making me lose my grip, and he was free again.

"You fart sniffing fetus muncher," I snapped. He laughed.

"You've been hanging out with Gear too much. Anyway, I'm gonna go catch up with Moriko. See ya."

I watched as he ran to catch up with Moriko.

"He so has the hots for her," I told Danny.

He nodded, amused.

"Well," I said, glancing down at my invisible watch, not bothering to actually turn it visible, "Wanna head up top? It's almost sunrise."

He nodded again, and we started moving towards the elevator. I couldn't help but feel happy, truly happy. It was a nice feeling that you got in your chest, and I never wanted it to go away.

"~I can see clearly now, the rain is gone~" I sang, as we finally reached our destination.

He smiled at me, coming closer to wrap his arms around me. We stayed silent like that for a good five minutes, just rocking back and forth to the beat of the wind.

"I thought you were gonna die," he suddenly said, letting go of me. I looked at him concerned.

"It takes a lot more than that to kill me and you know it. Besides, I'm more worried about Kato."

"You worry too much."

I shook my head.

"I care just the right amount. If I don't then they might die because of me. Just like the kids."

Iron Fist looked at me a little sternly.

"You did not cause them to die. Ringleader did. Also, you could have died. You never think you will because you were trained not to, but it could happen."

I walked over yo the edge and hung my legs over the side.

"If I'm doing something worth dying for then the only regret I would have is not being able help more people. You know how people say that the meaning of life is forty-two?"

He nodded, obviously confused on where I'm coming from.

"Four in Japanese means shi, and two means ni. Shinigammi means God of death, shini means death. Therefore the meaning of life is death itself. We're all going to die one day, and I've lived my life to the fullest. The only people who would miss me are you, the team, and the Avengers. But we've all accepted that we might die one day. We don't like it, but we've accepted it. Especially in this line of work."

He nodded, sitting down beside me.

"Well, we don't need to think about death now. We can just enjoy the moment."

Before he could go any further I smashed my lips onto his.

"Yeah," I said, pulling away for just a second, "Let's enjoy the moment."

Axel:

I smiled to myself as Alex walked away with Danny. I was happy that she finally found someone she card about more than family. Speaking of which...

"Hey, Moriko, how's it going?"

She turned back around with a giant grin on her face.

"Hey, Axel. What's up?"

I started to heat a little bit. She had been the first girl I had ever liked like that, and I had no idea how to ask her out. She looked at me with a worried look.

"Is everything alright?"

I nodded hastily.

"Y-yeah, yeah. I was just wondering..."

Her face turned to confusion.

"What is it?"

"Do you...Do you wanna go out for a coffee...Or something?"

A smile tugged at her lips as she linked her arm in mine.

"I would love to."