"This is awkward..." I muttered, leaning back into the wheelchair. As was hospital policy, I had to leave the building in a wheelchair. Unfortunately, my parents had since left on a business trip. The nurse briefly requested Lilly help me out, however they quickly retracted that statement the second they saw her cloudy eyes. By process of elimination...

"Don't sweat it, Hisao." Akira chided, "It's partially our fault you're here, I'm happy to help."

"That's not true!" I replied. I've already had this conversation several times with the two blonde women, so I quickly turned the subject to her, "So Akira, are you staying too?"

The wheelchair slowed down for a moment. "I can't, as much as I want to. I haven't even broken it to my parents that Lilly isn't coming back. They'll be even more furious if both their kids stay." Akira sighed, "It's not just that, of course. I mean, shit, it's a big opportunity for me with the company, and I don't know if I'll find one like it again."

I frowned at what she said, but I couldn't exactly argue with it. Apparently sensing my mood shift, Akira patted my head. "Hey, I'll visit you two as often as I can. If I can do one thing better than my parents, it'll be that."

I turned in my seat to look up at her, "Akira, you and Lilly treat your parents entirely differently. Why?"

Akira frowned, closing her eyes as if to find the right words. After a moment, she opened them, "Hisao, Lilly chose well when she picked you and Hanako as her friends. But she's not always a good judge of character. Moving me and her to Scotland was more of a business strategy than a desire to reconnect with family. And since you threw a wrench in it, there'll be consequences."

Before I could comment on that ominous statement, Akira began to speed up to a fast jog. "WATCH OUT, THIS BOY'S COMING HOME!" She bellowed, hopping up onto the back of my chair as we rolled towards the exit of the hospital.

"DAMMIT, AKIRAAAA!" I shrieked, screaming as we rolled out of the god forsaken hospital. Unfortunately, my screams were only met with maniacal laughter as she slowed down to a halt as we reached the door.

Akira continued chuckling all the way out of the building, and I somehow doubted I would be hearing the end of things anytime soon. However, all I cared about was returning to Yamaku. As we slowed to a halt, I began to get to my feet, only to have Akira push me down.

"Not gonna happen, kiddo," The blonde commented, leading the wheelchair into the parking lot, "I gotta make sure we get you to my car before we get you out of this thing. After that, you can light it on fire, throw it out, whatever."

I grumbled back at her, but didn't bother contesting it. Sure enough, we quickly approached her rental, and I could already feel my mood brighten as I saw Lilly in the back seat. Once we got to the vehicle, I hopped up from the wheelchair and quickly got into the back seats, slamming the door behind me.

"Hisao?" Lilly asked, turning to face me.

I smirked, "Who? I just saw a car with a beautiful foreigner and decided to test my luck!"

Lilly tittered for a moment at my response, "Oh my, I don't think my boyfriend would approve..." After guiding a hand to my neck, I soon felt my partner's lips pressed against my own, only for it to break after a few moments.

Before I could lean in to steal another kiss, the driver's door opened, allowing Akira to climb in. "Hey Lilly, did you know your boyfriend's a Screamer?" She asked innocently. I immediately clutched my chest, making sure for a moment that my heart didn't actually stop. Seeing this gesture, Akira turned, "Oi, don't die on me now!"

I groaned, "Akira, can we just go?"

Rolling her eyes, she started up the car. As we began pulling out of the hospital parking lot, I cast a glance towards the building. With luck, I wouldn't be seeing one for a while.

The drive back was relatively uneventful. We made some plans to get together again before Akira left, and in general made idle chitchat throughout the ride. While we were all ecstatic that I was coming home, I couldn't help but feel depressed knowing that, soon enough, Akira would be leaving us. In the weeks I was stuck at the hospital, the two practically stood by my side the entire time. It was a sobering thought that Lilly and I would be losing a member of our family in a few days.

By the time we arrived at Yamaku, the sun was already beginning to dip below the horizon. As we got out, Akira rounded the car and swooped myself and Lilly into a tight bear hug.

"You two take care, ya hear?" She warmly told us, "Get some real food, wash up, and use protection." The last bit was delivered with an uncharacteristically dark glare fast into my direction.

"We will, Akira," Lilly responded, "Do let us know when you'll be coming back."

Akira nodded, "Will do, Lils." Breaking the hug, the older woman sighed, digging into her pocket. Pulling out her phone, she began walking back to the driver's side of the vehicle. "Wish me luck, I gotta call Mom and Dad..."

I could just barely notice Lilly tense at the last line, but she quickly recovered and gave a single wave, "Goodbye, Sister!" She called out, giving a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

As Akira's car drove away, I wrapped my arm around Lilly, "Come on, let's go back to my room." I whispered, turning her towards the school. Wordlessly, Lilly nodded, her face returning to her normal, serene look. As I began to step forward, I felt her slender fingers wrap around my arm, holding me in place.

"Ah, ah..." She chided, "Aren't we forgetting something?" Confused, I turned back towards the road, and locked my eyes on the wheelchair standing on the sidewalk beside us.

"Come on..." I groaned, "Not you too!"

"At least one of us has to keep an eye on your health, Hisao." Lilly replied, "Get in the chair." Before I could contest, she put on a light pout, crossing her arms. Seeing she wasn't going to budge on things, I sighed and sat down in the chair. As I began to roll forward, Lilly bumped her hands into me, guiding them to the handles of the chair. Sending my confusion, she smiled, "Just let me follow along."

I shrugged, and slowly began wheeling myself towards the gate, finding a comfortable pace for the two of us. It took a while to get used to, but with some coordination we managed to figure ourselves out. Even though I was never going to use the chair again, it was a sweet bonding.

"Hisao!" I stopped as I heard a familiar voice call from behind us, causing Lilly to bump into the back of my wheelchair. From the metallic clacking, I immediately recognized who was rushing towards us.

"Hey!" I called back, orienting myself in her direction. To my surprise, she was still in her PE uniform at this late hour, and evidently was coming back from a workout.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back today?" She asked, stooping down to give me a hug. I gasped slightly as she embraced me, but returned the hug after a moment.

"They didn't give me much notice..." I replied, "And I don't have your number..."

From Lilly's expression, she was trying to piece together the situation, before the realization dawned on her face, "Ah, Emi! What are you doing out this late?"

Emi scoffed, as if insulted by the question, "I was at the track, where else? I've gotta get my evening runs in if I'm going to be the best!" Looking down pointedly at me, her expression turned to a pout, "And YOU, mister, are going to be working out with me from now on!"

I raised my hands defensively, "Hey, I was going to start running anyways!" I argued, "Things were too close this time. I can't let that happen again." Even now, I was kicking myself for not keeping with the workout schedule the Nurse recommended for me. Had I exercised more, things would be so much different. Or, at least, I wouldn't have had two more heart attacks in the past few months.

Lilly gently pressed a hand against my shoulder, "Don't worry, Emi, I'll be making sure he sticks with his new schedule."

"Maybe, but I still have all of the exercise and diet plans that Nurse wrote out for him!" Emi replied, earning a confused look from the two of us.

I shook my head, pushing away the questions that were forming. "Anyways, Emi, I'll start running with you again. Trust me, I've had too many close calls not to." I explained, "For now, though, the doctors said that I need to rest and recover. I'll try to find you when I'm up and about."

That seemed to brighten up Emi's mood considerably, "Okay!" She said, "Just meet me at the track in the mornings, I'm usually out there at sunrise!" Apparently content with the conversation, she began running back towards the girls' dorms.

Shrugging the conversation off, I looked back at the road we were on. "Emi's a strange one," I mused, beginning to wheel forward.

"She is a bit... Excessive," Lilly admitted, grabbing onto the handlebars on my wheelchair, "But she does seem to care about you."

I nodded, humming in agreement. Since I wasn't sure where to take the conversation, we continued on in silence. Thankfully, we didn't run into any familiar faces, and we arrived at the dorms quickly enough. I quickly felt a huge level of comfort as we entered the building; I had come home, and Lilly was with me. It was almost surreal as we made our way through the common area and hallways, each turn only serving to increase my excitement as we approached our room. Eventually, we reached my hall, and I picked up my pace to reach my door.

"Who's there?!" The all-too-familiar voice shocked me back into reality, and I groaned as I heard the massive amount of locks being undone behind the door next to mine. Before I could move to unlock my own room, I found myself facing Kenji, looking at me with an analytical and accusatory expression.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my hall?" He demanded, leaning towards me, squinting in an attempt to discern my identity.

"It's me, Kenji..." I muttered. Of course, one of the first few people I'd run into would be him. Why wouldn't it be?

"I don't know a m-WAIT!" He halted, leaning in even closer, causing me to cringe at the smell, "Hisao? What's up, dude? Where've you been? And why'd you bring a chair out here?"

"I've been-" I began to explain where I've been, but quickly stopped myself. Lord knows if he found out about my hospital stay, it'd only drag him into another rant about feminism. "I was on vacation." I replied curtly, hoping he'd buy it.

Kenji raised his eyebrows, an intrigued expression on his face, "Oh really? Cool!" He exclaimed, straightening himself out. Without any more words, he returned to his room, slamming the door. As soon as I began hearing the series of locks sound off, I exhaled a sigh of relief. Wordlessly, I retrieved my key and unlocked my own door.

"After you," I told Lilly, taking her hand into my own and guiding her into my room.

"My my, what a gentleman..." Lilly replied, giggling softly. I smiled, following her in and shutting the door behind us. As soon as we were alone, I stood up, turned around, and kicked the wheelchair back towards the door, resulting in a resounding thump as it hit the wall. The action caused my blonde partner to break into another peal of laughter, and earned a relieved chuckle from myself.

"If nothing else, I hope I never have to sit in that damned thing again." I commented, stretching my legs.

"Yes, it would be a shame if my boyfriend became even shorter than he already is." She mused, sitting herself on my bed. I quirked an eyebrow at that comment, and apparently my confused silence only earned another giggle from Lilly. "Hisao, surely you've noticed that I'm the tall one in this relationship."

As I joined her on the bed, I planted a kiss on her forehead, "If you say so, Lilly..." Seeing her pout, I placed another kiss on her cheek, "There, better?"

Lilly gave a sultry smile, "I thought I was the only blind one here, Hisao. Surely you know what a girl wants, don't you?"

I grinned, "Well, the Nurse did say I need to exercise more..." My smile turning predatory, I leaned in once more, ready to give what we both wanted.

The next morning, I awoke more well-rested than I had felt in months. Turning to my side, Lilly's nude body was still curled up against mine. Wrapping my free arm around her, I rolled over and embraced my partner. Moments later, I felt her stir, adjusting herself slightly as she began to wake up.

"Good morning," I whispered, rubbing her shoulder. This earned a pleased hum from my partner, who opened up her misty blue eyes and turned her head up in my direction.

"Good morning, Hisao..." She murmured, raising an open hand to my face. Slowly, she began to run it against my features, an action I had grown to enjoy in the time we've been together. Smiling, she pulled back her hand, "My, we haven't done that in a while, have we..."

I smirked, resting my head on the pillow, "Hey, we tried, but there's only so much one can do when hooked up to machines." Unfortunately, sex was one of the many things we had lost out on during my hospital stay. While we weren't completely unable to perform "adult activities", there was a lot less passion in kissing and receiving a handjob under a set of sterile covers. Unfortunately, once we had been caught by a janitor, we had quickly decided to abstain from things until after I was discharged.

Unfortunately, Lilly soon broke away from our embrace, sitting herself up on the bed, "I don't know about you, but I worked myself quite an appetite after last night's endeavors."

I smiled, and sat up with her, "I'll cook breakfast for us. What do you-" Before I could finish my query, Lilly pressed a finger against my lips, hushing me. "Hisao, you stay in bed. As you brought me breakfast in bed last time, I believe it's my turn." She told me before turning towards the room, "Now, would you happen to remember where you threw my clothes?"

I reached down to the side of the bed, producing them from the floor beside it, "They're right here. I didn't want you to be stuck on you hands and knees feeling around for them." I told her, placing the wad of clothes on her lap.

"I know a lot of other men out there would love to see their partner on her hands and knees." She chided, causing my face to heat up in embarrassment as she began to dress herself. Fortunately, she didn't continue, and soon enough she was dressed up decently enough to go to the common area. Returning to the bed, she retrieved her cane and planted a kiss on my cheek, "I'll be back soon, dear." I blinked at the new name, but returned the kiss, "I'll be here." I replied, laying back down on the bed. Smiling, Lilly stood up and began to make her way to the door. As she exited the room, I found myself dozing off again.

Some time later, I awoke to the door opening again. I heard a soft shuffling as Lilly returned, and opening my eyes revealed her awkwardly carrying two plates in hand while her cane was tucked underneath her arm. I smiled at her concentrated expression, but didn't say anything to avoid startling her. Once she deposited the plates on the foot of my bed, she began feeling around for a safe spot to sit down. I closed my eyes as I saw her reaching her hand towards me, which she guided over towards my heart. I felt her trace the spot where my scar was for a few moments before resting her hand on my chest.

"Breakfast is ready, Hisao..." She cooed. Opening my eyes, I saw her face tilted down towards me, wearing a doting expression. I couldn't help but smile as I sat myself up, shuffling myself towards her. "I hope you don't mind something simple for now." She commented, passing over a plate of bacon and eggs. Once she took her own plate, I took the invitation to dig in.

"Don't downplay your cooking, it looks and smells amazing." I told her, taking my first bite of the eggs. Giving her hand a squeeze with my free hand, I recited the line she told me last time I made her breakfast: "'You'll make a good wife someday, Lilly.'"

Lilly blushed at the statement, "I do try," She replied bashfully before taking a bite out of her own food. After that small exchange, the two of us ate breakfast in silence. As I had expected, the meal was amazing, even being as simple as it was. If breakfast in bed with a beautiful Scottish girl was what I had to look forward to, these next few days aren't going to last long enough.

All in all, it was good to be home.