Sorry for the wait! I was moving and had no internet!
The three of them rode the metro bus to the hospital. The air was cool and crisp and the scent of pumpkin spice filled the air. Halloween was right around the corner and that showed as kids were running around the town giggling and talking about how much candy they were going to get or what kind of costume they would wear. It almost made Dave jealous of their childhood innocence, but he wasn't thinking about that now. Right now, he was going to visit someone he loved in the hospital, even though he hadn't seen him for more than 100 days.
Rose was holding his left hand and Jade was holding his right; they were both dragging him along and into the building much to his worry. "Come on, Dave, don't be silly!" Jade said. "This will be good for the both of you, so just relax!"
"She's right," Rose said. "Don't worry too much about it."
They walked up to the hallway John's room was located in and stopped in front of his door. "Well, here we are," Jade said. "You ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," Dave replied.
Rose knocked on the door, "Hello, John?"
No answer.
Rose and Jade exchanged confused glances. Jade took her turn to knock and once again, Rose called, "John, are you there?" but there was still no answer.
By this time, Dave's heart was beating so fast he was sure it would pop out of his chest at any minute. Jade pushed the door open. It wasn't locked, so she flung it wide to reveal and empty room. There were no humans in the room at all. No movement. No bodies. Nothing.
"Where is he?" Dave almost whispered.
"I… don't know," Jade frowned. "I don't know where he is."
Rose turned quickly to a passing nurse. "Excuse me, do you know where the boy in this room went to?"
The nurse looked at her, frowning, "I'm sorry, he's gone now." She gave Dave a quick glance, then left.
"Gone?" his eyes widened. "What, like dead? He's dead? John's dead?" he pressed his hands to his head and squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"You don't know that," Jade panicked, raising her arms. "He might have left! He probably got better and left the hospital, right, Rose?" she looked to her friend for some help.
Rose nodded, "She's right, Dave. Don't panic over nothing. Gone could mean any number of things."
Dave cleared his throat and let out a shaky sigh, "Right… I know that… but…" This time seemed more different. Why was God doing this to him? He'd finally set out to visit John only to find that he wasn't even there anymore. What luck is that? Was the universe trying to tell him something? Were they not meant to be together?
"Come on, let's go home," Rose gave him a comforting smile. "I'll make you some soup and we can sit and watch a movie, okay? We'll get your mind off of it."
"That's not right!" Dave blurted out. "I don't want to forget! I don't want to get my mind off of it!" The realization was flooding into his head at that moment, and true panic started to set in. "Rose, Jade, I don't want to forget! I want to see him! I want to hold him! God damn it, I need to hear his voice again!" With that, he took one last glance at the two shocked girls and turned around, stomping out of the hospital. The other two didn't stop him. They knew he had to get it out of his system. They knew.
.0o0o0.
Dave was angry. He wondered if he was angrier at himself then he was at Jack Noir for killing his brother. He suspected the two were pretty well tied.
He shoved his hands in his pockets as he exited the building. He saw orange and yellow leaves flying all around him; children giggling, parents smiling and bringing back groceries that undoubtedly held giant bangs of candy and pop. He saw teenagers his own age with bags of toilet paper and rolled his eyes wondering if they had anything better to do than tipi someone's home.
He glanced down at his feet and watched leaves blow over his sneakers. They were pretty, but he was too angry to enjoy their beauty. If John was there, he would definitely be smiling. He would laugh and probably pick up one of the flowers and… Dave shook his head, trying to be free of the thought. How did it come to be like this? How did Dave come to like this guy so much?
Deep within his thoughts, he kept walking forward, not hearing the voice telling him to stop.
"Ouch!" someone stumbled to the ground in front of him.
Dave snapped out of his thoughts and gasped, "Ah, sorry. I wasn't paying att—"
The person cut him off, "Don't worry about it, Dave."
"How do you know my name?" he raised an eyebrow. The man in front of him was an older guy who looked to be in his late forties. He was wearing a white hat and holding an old fashioned pipe between his lips.
The man smiled, "Well, I was actually sent to look for you. I recognized you right away. If I was wrong it would have been a bit awkward though, so I'm glad it was you after all."
Dave took a step back, "Who sent you?"
"My son," he said. "Someone I believe you know very well. In any case," he handed Dave a slip of paper, "take this. Read it and do with it what you may." He gave the teenager a salute and turned back.
Dave stared at the slip of paper and, unfolding it, he read its contents.
Dear Dave,
I figure this is just about the only way we're ever going to get to meet again! I couldn't find you anywhere so I sent my dad on his way to work. I was pretty sure he'd be able to find you. He doesn't want me leaving the house much if I can help it! Well… meet me at this address, okay?
12 Prospit Avenue.
The sender didn't sign their name, but Dave had a fluttery feeling he knew who it was. He quickly memorized the address and shoved the paper in his pocket, booking it down the street. He knew where Prospit Avenue was. He knew exactly where he was going.
It wasn't far from where he was so it only took him moments to arrive running. He scanned the homes for their numbers, locating twelve and dashing up the front stairs. His heart was beating fast, his palms were sweating and he was breathing rather loud—nearly panting.
He rang the doorbell and waited. Waited. Waited. Waited. Waited. Waited.
It felt like nearly eight hours, but was probably only seconds when the boy answered the door. He was wrapped in a blanket, black hair disheveled and messy, glasses lopsided and still in his pajamas, which had little creatures with candy corn horns on them—festive for Halloween. He was caught in mid yawn, blushing from embarrassment. He lifted a hand to give Dave a little wave, but didn't get the chance. Dave nearly leaped forward, wrapping his arms around him tightly as little bubbly tears formed at his eyes. "John," he whispered, "it's you."
John returned the hug, letting the blanket drop to the ground below them. They stayed like that for a good few minutes before breaking apart. Dave gave John a once over, making sure he was really there and that he was okay. "I can't believe you're okay… I went to visit you but the nurse said you were gone."
"Yeah, I left a few mornings ago," he smiled. "Rose's transplant was a success. She cured me!" he let out a small laugh. "I really appreciate what she did."
"What?" Dave's eyes widened again. "That's what her surgery was for?" His breath was nearly knocked out of him.
"You didn't know?" he cocked his head to the side. "Was she keeping it a secret? I'm sorry I spoiled it, then…"
Dave shook his head, pulling John into another hug, "Don't be." He thought he would have to give Rose a really huge thank you when he got home. He smiled at the thought, rubbing away all loose tears and bent down to pick the blanket back up. He wrapped it around John, "I don't want you to get sick again."
"That wasn't your fault," John frowned.
"Yeah, well," he shrugged slightly. "I think I'm finally ready to move past it… I think."
"Good," John said, ushering him inside and shutting his front door. "I'm glad you got my note. Did my dad get it to you okay?"
"Yeah," Dave replied. "He did." He turned to face John again. He still looked pale and tired, but he was more alive. He didn't look like he was dying anymore and Dave was unbelievably happy to see that.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" John chuckled.
"Sorry, I'm just really happy to see you. I'm sorry I didn't visit."
"You did though. You may not have come inside, but you still visited me and I appreciated it," John said.
Dave nodded and John walked up to him, holding the blanket closely to his body. "All that stuff that happened the day we went out to the snow… not the bad things, I mean, the good things. We didn't get a chance to properly talk about it."
Dave remembered the kisses and felt a blush creep onto his cheeks. "Right, yeah, I guess we should then, huh?" He rubbed the back of his neck and turned around, worry returning.
"Well, I'm happy," John said. "That you felt that way about me made me really feel like there were butterflies flying around in my stomach."
"Not felt; feel. I still feel that way about you," Dave said. "Since I met you, even though this sounds cliché as hell, I haven't been able to get you out of my mind. I've felt love before with someone who is still close to me, so I know what I'm feeling is the truth. I know this may be awkward, but I really just want to be next to you."
John looked down at his fluffy bunny slippers, unsure of what to say to that, but figured this would suffice: "Dave, I'd like nothing more than to have you by my side."
Dave bent forward and kissed John's cheek. "Good because now that I know you want me around, I'll make sure to never miss a visit." He held John's hands and led him to the couch, where the both of them took a seat.
John leaned on Dave's shoulder and closed his eyes. "I love you," he mumbled groggily.
Dave wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "I love you too," he said, resting his head on top of John's. He couldn't believe how happy he was. The feeling that overtook him when he saw John again was out of this world. Out of this universe even! He looked to the ceiling and thought about what his brother would say at this point. He would probably be happy. He would flash him a thumbs up and a grin, holding his sword over his shoulder just like how he used to.
Dave smiled and glanced down at John, who had dozed off. Dave had probably wakened him from a nap, but he was pleased just sitting next to him while he rested. He could make tea or something. He was good at boiling water; it was a speciality.
Or, he could sleep. Sleeping next to John and cuddling sounded like a pretty nice idea.