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Chapter Twenty
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"Roxas, don't you wanna go home and get some rest…?" Axel gave him a concerned look as he watched the kid yawn again.
"N…no… I'm good…" he mumbled sleepily, curling up in the armchair next to Axel's bed.
The actor huffed and poked Roxas, "C'mon… I haven't even had the surgery yet… don't you wanna sleep in your own bed?"
"I'm afraid to go home…" he admitted, "I kind of told Van to fuck off when he wouldn't let me come see you…"
Axel felt his heart jump a little at that. Had Roxas really chosen him over Van? He still couldn't believe it. "You're going to have to face him eventually, Rox…"
"Not tonight… I'm too tired tonight…" he squirmed around on the chair in an attempt to get comfortable.
"Roxas… c'mere. You're never going to be able to sleep there," Axel told him, scooting over in his bed and patting the empty space next to him.
The blond looked over at him curiously, "N…no, Axe, I couldn't…"
"C'mon… there's more than enough room, and you need to get some decent sleep."
Reluctantly, Roxas crawled into the bed next to his best friend. It was certainly more comfortable than the chair, but he also couldn't get his heart to stop racing. Damn, Axel was warm… he practically radiated heat. "Th…thanks…"
"Now go to sleep…" Axel told him, using the remote on the side of his bed to turn out the lights. He usually hated hospitals, but with Roxas here, he was finding it much more tolerable. Yeah, he was terrified… but at least he had his friend.
…
"Axel…? Axel Marshall?" the tall blue-haired nurse that has just entered the room had to look at his chart again to confirm his suspicions. "Holy shit…"
"You've got to be kidding me… Saix? Is that you?!"
Roxas stared back and forth between the two overly-excited men, trying his best to catch on, "Axe, you know this guy?"
"Ohh, you have no idea, Roxy… Saix here was my best friend growing up! Dude, I haven't seen you since we were 13 years old!" he exclaimed, motioning the nurse over to the side of his bed for a hug.
"How've you been, man?! I mean… disregarding the AVM that popped up in your brain and everything…" Saix gladly hugged him, setting the chart down and sitting on the edge of the bed so that Roxas couldn't even see Axel anymore.
Roxas furrowed his brow a little, a small pang of jealousy running through him, "I'm Roxas, by the way…" he mumbled, but the two ignored him.
"I've been great! I mean… lonely as fuck without you to make trouble with, but life's been pretty good!"
Saix laughed, "Oh shit, you remember how much Mrs. Gervis next door hated us? That old bitch was in here a couple weeks ago for—get this—cosmetic surgery."
"Well who the fuck is she trying to impress? Her cranky ass husband?"
The blond huffed a little and crossed his arms over his chest. Obviously he wasn't going to be included in their conversation, nor was he going to be filled in on any details.
"So you're a nurse here now?" Axel was grinning from ear to ear.
"Nah, I'm actually a surgical intern. Gonna put these hands to use on something other than pranking people!"
Axel chuckled, "Aww, shit… you've gotta be in on my surgery, then. Are you gonna be there? That'd be sweet!"
"Even better… I'll be assisting!"
"Oh hell yeah! …You'd better not fuck up my brain, though!"
Roxas felt uneasy about some intern going anywhere near Axel's brain… "Aren't interns supposed to, like… watch the surgeries?"
"Yeah, but this one is so simple that my resident is letting me help out a little. Don't worry, I won't be doing any of the big stuff," Saix finally acknowledged the blond. "Wait a minute… Axel, you old dog. Is this your boyfriend?"
"I'm his friend," Roxas narrowed his eyes on the blunette, "We work together at the studio."
Saix turned back to Axel, "Studio? Don't tell me you finally became a famous actor!"
"Well… sort of? I kind of… star in 'adult movies'…"
"Whoaaa…. you're a pornstar?!" the intern shouted a bit too loudly.
Axel whacked him on the arm, "Shut the fuck up, you asshole! Yeah, I'm a pornstar… and I'm kind of offended that you haven't seen any of my films!"
"Well excuse me for not recognizing 'your Highness,' but I don't watch porn!"
"Right, like I buy that… what're you into? Hentai?"
Saix just chuckled, "You're still sharp as ever, eh?"
"Eh… not sharp enough to realize that my brain was fucked up, apparently… Do these things really just show up out of the blue like this?"
He shrugged, "Some people can go their entire lives with one and not even experience a headache. But then sometimes they get too big and cause all sorts of problems, like your seizure."
"So… am I like… what's the word…? Epileptic? Am I epileptic now?"
"Nooo…" Saix reassured him, "Once we get in there and remove it, you shouldn't experience any other symptoms."
"I just don't get it… I felt fine up until the last few days. Shouldn't I have felt sick or something my whole life?"
Saix shook his head, "Nope… That's the thing about AVMs… they're sneaky motherfuckers."
"So I assume you came in here for a reason, right? Like, do you need to examine me or something?"
He hopped up off the bed and grabbed the chart, "Yepp! We just want to make sure everything is going to be fine in surgery tomorrow."
Roxas tuned out as Saix went through his examination, curling up in his chair and staring out the window. Maybe it was time for him to go see Vanitas… Axel had Saix to keep him company for now. He could probably slip out for a couple hours and come back.
…
"Van…? Are you home…?"
"I shouldn't be, and you know it," Vanitas stepped out of the kitchen, sending Roxas a glare.
Roxas sighed, sitting down on the couch, "I'm sorry that I snapped at you yesterday… I could have handled that a lot better."
"I just don't get it, Roxas. He nearly killed you. Why would you want to be with him?"
"He's my best friend, Van… and it was an accident. You nearly killed me last time you were off your meds, and I still love you. Are you trying to tell me that this was any different?"
Vanitas sat down across from him, "Are you… in love with him?"
"What? No!" he exclaimed, maybe a little too loudly. "Van… I love you, and you alone. He's my friend, and he's got nobody else to help him through this. Imagine if you suddenly had some sort of freak injury that required surgery, but when you woke up nobody was there. He needs me…"
The elder sighed in relief, "I… I should have tried harder to understand… You're right, Rox. I guess I just freaked out when I saw that you were hurt and immediately blamed him."
"So… we're good? 'Cause I've been kind of terrified to come home…"
"Of course we're good, Rox… and don't ever be scared to come home! You know that sometimes I just need to talk things out. I'm the king of overreacting, but it's your job to put me in my place, okay?"
Roxas smiled a little and moved to give him a kiss, "I think I can handle that. But I am going back to the hospital tonight… His surgery is tomorrow."
"Well… can't you just go in early tomorrow then? I've been missing sleeping next to you…" Van gave him his famous puppydog eyes.
"I… I guess so… Lemme call Axel, okay?"
He nodded, "I'm gonna go hop in the shower really quick."
Roxas pulled out his phone and dialed the number to Axel's hospital room.
"Hello? This is totally Axel speaking."
The blond's face fell, "Give the phone to Axel, Saix…"
"You're no fun… here Axe, it's the grumpy kid."
"What's up, Roxas?" Axel's voice finally came over the reciever.
He sighed softly, "Do you… uhm… do you need me to come back tonight? Or can I come in tomorrow morning?"
"Ooh, gonna spend the night with Vani, huh? See, I told you he'd be fine!"
"So…?"
Axel chuckled, "I'll be all right, Rox. Saix is on call tonight anyways so he's just gonna hang out with me and catch up."
"Oh… okay…" he mumbled, feeling that pang of jealousy again.
"See you tomorrow, bud. Have extra fun for me tonight, got it?"
Roxas swallowed hard, "Got it… Bye…"
He felt sick to his stomach, and he couldn't figure out why. He definitely didn't like the way that Axel and Saix were bonding again, but he couldn't justify why he'd be jealous. Axel was still his best friend… he knew that. Hell, he should be happy that Axel found another friend. The guy needed them. So what was his problem?
…
A/N: Don't hate me! I had to bring Saix in. I just couldn't resist. Little Roxy is just super duper jealous, huh? :3
So I think a lot of you are a bit confused as to why I just suddenly threw Axel into a seizure… The point of it was that it was a totally random medical emergency thing. Shit like that can literally come out of nowhere. And the ultimate goal was to bring in Saix and get Roxas all jelly too. I promise there's a method to my madness!
I have no idea how long this fic is going to be. I guess I'll just keep writing until my brain gives up. I'm sitting in a random Subway right now waiting for my Yorkie to get groomed, and I don't have WiFi, so… onto Chapter 21 I go! They'll probably be posted at the same time.
Keep leaving your fabulous reviews! I love them!
Simply Rexene