Endless Rain

Aiji had hoped that when he woke up he would be in his own room and that the night before was only a bad dream. But even without opening his eyes he knew it was all real. He could hear the beeping of the various monitors hooked up Maya. Aiji could also feel a warm hand between his own. He hadn't let go of his friend the entire night.

"Maya?" Aiji whispered hoping his friend would wake up or at least respond. Maya just laid there unmoving. At least he's still alive.... Aiji thought to himself.

Aiji was reluctant to leave his friend but he knew he needed to go home to shower and change clothes. And, Hell, Aiji was starving! He hadn't eaten since before Maya left on his candy run. Aiji left his friend. He returned less than an hour later though in different clothes, wet hair, and his arms full of Maya's favorite candy for when the vocalist woke up. The moment he entered Maya's hospital room Aiji immediately pestered the nurses about any change in the vocalist's condition or if he had woken up yet. Maya was exactly the same as when Aiji left him. Aiji stayed with Maya at the hospital all day and he fell asleep that night the same way as the night before. He repeated this pattern for the days. Not once did Aiji give up on the hope that his friend might die even when the vocalist's condition didn't change.

***

Aiji pulled his shirt on. He had just taken a shower and his hair dripped everywhere. He hated to leave Maya at the hospital but he couldn't live there. He threw his towel on a nearby desk. Later when he went to pick up the towel he noticed that it had landed on Maya's notebook. Maya kept everything he needed in that notebook, important dates, lyrics, and his favorite quotes. Aiji hoped Maya wouldn't mind as he opened the notebook and plopped down on his couch. Aiji flipped through a number of random notes that Maya had written. Aiji scanned through all of the dates that were important to Maya, birthdays, tour dates, and one that caught Aiji's eye. The notebook said:

"12-7-06 When I first fell in love with Aiji."

Aiji sat in shock looking at the date. He reread it over to make sure he wasn't just seeing things. He wasn't. Maya is in love with me? Aiji wondered. The thought seemed impossible to Aiji but he couldn't deny what he saw on the paper. Aiji quickly turned the page not wanting to believe that his friend was in love with him. He eventually turned to a page filled with randomly drawn hearts and Aiji's name in them. Aiji continued to flip through the pages in shock at how much Maya seemed to care about him. And how much Maya was in love with him. Maya had recorded every time he hinted to Aiji about his feelings. Every time he had made Aiji smile or Aiji had made him smile. Maya was obsessed with Aiji.

Aiji had always seen Maya as selfish and self centered. But really the only selfish part about him was that he wanted Aiji's smile all for himself. And he wasn't self centered…He was Aiji-centered. Maya cared more about Aiji than he cared about himself. Aiji read through every song that Maya had written for him but had never used. Aiji was in such shock he couldn't even think straight. It still didn't completely register that Maya loved him. Aiji also couldn't believe how his heart skipped a beat at the thought. He had never felt feelings for the younger vocalist outside of friendship. He liked to think of himself and Maya like Sho and Kei from Moon Child. Except Aiji hoped they wouldn't die at the end.

Aiji decided to take the notebook to the hospital with him so he could read it while he waited for Maya to wake up. Aiji's want for Maya to wake up was even greater now. He really wanted to talk to his friend about his notebook. But when he returned to the hospital Maya was still unconscious. Aiji sat next to the blonde vocalist on opened the notebook, reading every word.

***

Three weeks after Maya was put in the hospital:

Aiji was reading the notebook again. He had pretty much memorized the entire thing but he loved reading everything Maya had written. It made him feel like there was more hope for the vocalist and like Maya was awake and telling Aiji all those wonderful things written in the notebook.

One of the doctors entered the room. Aiji immediately put down the notebook and watched the man check up on Maya. "There's still no change, Aiji. But I doubt you'll give up if you've managed to hold on to your hope for this long." The doctor commented. Aiji just shrugged it off. "Aiji… We need to talk about some papers Mr. Masahito signed." Aiji nodded and followed the doctor out of the room.

***

Aiji returned to the room sobbing. He couldn't believe Maya had done such a thing! Maya had signed papers saying that if anything ever happened to him and his condition hadn't improved in three weeks then they should pull the plug. Those three weeks had passed and Aiji couldn't do anything to help his friend. Aiji couldn't believe that after he had waited so long and hoped so much that everything would be gone in a matter of moments. Aiji sat in the corner of the hospital room, as far away from Maya as possible. He felt guilty for not being there with Maya as he died but he couldn't stand watching the life drain from his friend. The doctor pulled the air tubes out of Maya that were helping him breathe. Once he did this Maya should have died. He didn't. After several minutes the doctor saw that Maya's condition had indeed improved and the vocalist was now breathing on his own. The doctor quickly put the air tubes back but decreased the amount of oxygen flowing through them.

Aiji practically flew towards Maya sobbing in relief.

"Well, Aiji, you friend may actually live. He's definitely gotten better. Congrats, Aiji." The doctor said smiling slightly.

Aiji sobbed and ran towards the vocalist grabbing his hand. The guitarist laughed and smiled through his tears. "Wake up soon, Maya. Please? Please, Maya, come back for me." Aiji whispered at Maya's unresponsive form.