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The hospital waiting room is cold and uncomfortable. It wasn’t so uncomfortable the first hour, but now Joe has been here for four hours and it’s really goddamn uncomfortable—
A doctor enters the room, the one he’d spoken to earlier. There’s not a trace of worry on her face, and Joe lets out the breath he’d been holding for four hours.
“Sakurayashiki-san will wake up shortly. We anesthetized him before working on his leg,” the doctor explains, at which Joe almost laughs. A man of Kaoru’s physique could easily take a little operation without an anesthetic. She continues, “It only numbed the leg, but he went unconscious during surgery. His right fibula was fractured and his right wrist was broken, and there were several surface injuries that needed treatment as well. He should spend the night here while we monitor his vitals. The recovery will take weeks of close maintenance, and the beginning will be the hardest; are you or someone else able to look after him for the next few days?”
Joe wracks his brain to think of anyone else who could look after Cherry these next few days, and comes up with nothing. “I can do it.” He might not want me to . “I’ll talk to him about it.”
“Good, his medications are very important.” That’s what Kaoru has Carla for, but Joe would trust himself over a machine any day when it comes to having a good bedside manner. “Since the anesthetic will wear off soon, he’s currently under a strong pain medication.”
Now this, Joe has to see. “I’m not family, but if he’s waking up, can I see him?”
The doctor looks down at her notes, “You are Nanjo Kojiro, correct?” Joe nods. “Then you may see him. You’re his emergency contact.”
Seeing Kaoru in a state of anything less than polished perfection would be a rare treat. Now, pink hair splayed out over the hospital pillow, drooling, bandages covering half his face, appearing like a ghost under the artificial lights—Joe never wants to see him like this again. He takes Kaoru’s hand (the unbroken one), waiting for any sign of life besides the steady beeping of the vitals monitor.
This stubborn fool. Insisted on a beef with Adam when he’s seen the countless other skaters carried off the track in gurneys… And now he’ll insist on taking care of himself during recovery. There’s no way Kaoru can get around properly like this, let alone bathe and dress himself. And his hand… the hand that wrote countless masterful works of calligraphy, now rendered useless inside the cast.
Fingers twitch under Joe’s touch.
“Kaoru,” he whispers, “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.”
Amber eyes flutter open. “Huh?”
Oh, right. The medication.
“You’re at the hospital,” Joe fills him in, “Had a nasty fall.” He doesn’t need to mention Adam right now.
“Where’s Carla?” Of course that stupid robot is the first thing on his mind.
“Carla is safe with Miya. Don’t worry, she’s not broken.”
Kaoru makes a noise, contemplative and pleased, and asks in a slurred voice, “Where’s Kojiro?”
Joe smiles, brings his hand up to smooth out Kaoru’s hair, “I’m right here.”
“Oh, good. I missed you.”
Jesus . It’s the opioids talking, but it still goes to Joe’s head. “Did you now?”
“Mhm,” is all Kaoru says, and then, “Can’t feel my body.”
“You’ll get the feeling back soon,” his fingers keep carding through Kaoru’s hair, “You’re gonna sleep well tonight, that’s for sure.”
When he looks at Joe, his eyes are soft. “‘M sleeping here?”
“Just for tonight. And then you’re coming to my place for a few days. That okay?”
Maybe it’s cruel to ask while Kaoru’s not in his right mind, but he doesn’t even put up a fight. “Okay.”
Easy. To think, it only took a trip to the hospital and some heavy sedative for Kaoru to agree with him!
For a moment he thinks Kaoru has actually fallen asleep again, but that moment is short-lived.
“Baby.”
Joe blinks. “Am I supposed to be Baby?”
“Mhm.”
“Shit, how many drugs did they give you?”
Kaoru’s good hand comes up to silence Joe. “Shh!” And he ragdolls all at once, head lolling to the side to glance up at Joe. “Will you cook for me?”
“Of course. You’re sick—I’ll cook whatever you want.” The usual teasing tone is gone from Joe’s voice.
Kaoru sighs, “You’re so good to me,” and proceeds to fall asleep.
How could he be anything but good to Kaoru?
His hand is still stroking a rhythm over Kaoru’s hair when two figures clamor through the door, undoubtedly waking the entire hospital wing. “We’re here! How’s Cherry?”
Miya and Shadow look like they just ran a marathon to get here, but the flowers in Shadow’s arms remain unscathed.
“He’s alive. How the hell did you two get in?”
The kid shrugs, “I told the front desk my dads were back here and I don’t think they wanted to mess with Shadow.”
Dads . Huh.
“Carla’s in the car. We brought flowers,” Shadow sets them unceremoniously on the only table in the room, “I broke into my shop for this.”
With all the new noise, Kaoru stirs under Joe’s touch. “Kojiro?”
“I’m right here. You have some visitors, very loud visitors.”
He makes a content noise, then asks, “Can we order wine here?”
“Sadly, you can’t order wine in a hospital.” Despite the circumstances, Joe will remember this fondly. He gets to stroke that soft pink hair with no repercussions, and Kaoru is just too cute like this.
“But I like drinking with you.” Is he pouting?
“We can drink when you feel a little better.”
At the sight of skating legend Cherry Blossom completely out of his mind, Miya and Shadow try (unsuccessfully) not to crack up. Shadow wheezes, “No way, is he high?”
“They gave him the good stuff for his leg,” Joe explains, not concealing his own amusement, “He’s sweet when he’s loopy.”
“Kojiro,” Kaoru whines, “I’m not loopy!”
It’s the most Joe has ever seen Miya laugh.
There’s a knock on the door, and before Miya and Shadow can hide behind various furniture, the doctor enters. “Nanjo-san, it’s almost—” she stops upon noticing the unwelcome guests, “More visitors?”
“Mutual acquaintances,” Joes says, at the same time Miya says, “I’m their kid.”
The doctor sighs. “It's near midnight, I’m afraid visiting hours are already over. But the three of you can come back tomorrow at nine.”
“Alright,” Joe rises out of the small chair with some effort, “Doctor’s orders, you two.”
Miya and Shadow say their goodbyes to a half-conscious Miya, but Joe lingers by the bed.
“You’re leaving?” Kaoru mumbles.
“I’ll be back tomorrow to break you out of here,” he spares a wink, “Now get some rest.”
“Okay,” Kaoru looks younger in that moment, more vulnerable. Like he’s seventeen again. “Goodnight, love you.”
All the air gets sucked out of the room. There’s a visceral reaction to that in Joe’s heart, in his mind, and he doesn’t have time to process it before Miya breaks the silence: “Holy shit.”
“Hey, you’re too young to swear!” Joe tries and fails to snap at him because holy shit .
“And you’re too old to have relationship problems.”
It’s time for Joe to go home.
More often than not, Joe shows up late. “I own an Italian restaurant, the Italian way of life has rubbed off on me.” That’s his excuse, and he can charm his way out of any bad reputation except to anyone except Kaoru.
So the next morning, Joe shows up to the hospital at 9 A.M. on the dot, Carla slung under one arm.
Kaoru is already sitting up in bed, probably hating the hospital breakfast because he’s picky like that. “Joe. Why are you here?”
“What, I can’t visit an old friend in the hospital?” At Kaoru’s icy look, Joe cuts the act. “Fine, looks like you don’t remember. I was the one who dragged your ass here last night, and now I’m here to check you out and take you back to my place for a few days.”
“Your—why would I ever need your help to recover? Carla’s more than enough!”
A textbook response. Joe shrugs, “I asked you last night and you said it was okay.”
“No way in hell would I say that.”
“You did when you were hopped-up on opioids.” Kaoru’s face falls for a fraction of a second. Joe continues before Kaoru can beat him to it, “Miya and Shadow stopped by, too. We all agreed it was funny.”
Sharp eyes close behind glasses as Kaoru accepts his situation. “If I have to go with you, at least make me a meal. The hospital food was sub-par.”
“I already promised I’d cook for you, Baby .” He tosses in a wink for good measure.
Kaoru physically recoils. “What is wrong with you, never call me that again.”
Joe just laughs.
And he takes Kaoru home, and cooks for him, and they drink together a few days later like he promised. And if Kaoru ever wants to call him Baby and say, “Goodnight, love you,” again, Joe can wait for that.
The years have made Joe good at waiting.