Capture - Volume 1 Chapter 35 Between You And Me

His head snapped the second the doors opened. The surgeon walking out wore an inscrutable expression.

There was a pounding in Keigo’s chest. His pulse raced even as his blood frosted.

He wouldn’t know that he was breathing but for a shudder which rose in his throat.

He stood up and waited the longest thirty seconds of his life.

“The surgery was successful. He will be fine.”

Keigo exhaled slowly. Otherwise he might have collapsed.

“Thank you,” he managed in a voice that didn’t sound like his own. A numbness which felt like defense against a breakdown.

The surgeon smiled slightly. “I’m only doing my job. Thank him for pulling through.”

Keigo smiled back, brittle.

“We’ll put him in the intensive care unit for a day or two. You should get some rest. We’ll talk later.”

There was an awkward but firm clap on his shoulder. A nod between the two of them before the surgeon left.

Keigo stalked to the nearest washroom and locked himself in a cubicle.

He wept.

The outpour of relief he couldn’t fathom.

Thank god, any divine being, whatever good forces of nature that saw Kaoru surviving this.

Most of all, he was so damned grateful to Kaoru for not giving up.

He swore inwardly that he would never take what they had together for granted. He would love Kaoru so much that Nothing would ever dare to take him away.

Those damn letters. Keigo relished the thought of tossing them into a fire.

It took him a few minutes to gather himself. He steadied his breath and dialed a number.

“How is he?” Takumi’s usually easygoing voice demanded.

“He’s fine. It’s fine,” Keigo reported. “I’m fine.”

“Oh. Good. Oh my god, I was scared,” Takumi blurted.

Keigo didn’t know why but he started to laugh. Takumi was stunned for a moment before joining in as well.

It was entirely inappropriate. But he didn’t care. He was wrapped in an elation which was strangely euphoric.

“I better take a shower and get changed,” Keigo said after calming down. “I don’t want Kaoru to see a mess when he wakes up. In the stupid sweater you bought.”

“My fashion taste is impeccable. You are just boring,” Takumi retorted in good humor. Keigo chuckled again.

Somehow their banter signified all the good things that were to come.

Keigo wished his friend goodbye and exited the cubicle.

The washroom was still empty. He washed his hands and splashed water on his face.

Then he looked at himself in the mirror.

Bloodshot eyes. Dark circles underneath. A shadow of a stubble.

He looked terrible.

Keigo had never felt so alive.

xxxxxxx

Kaoru had been dreaming for a while. Intermittent episodes punctuated by darkness. They vacillated between awful and happy.

Oddly he could hear a quiet hum from a machine. He was mildly aware that there were tubes everywhere. There was someone in the room with him.

It was someone he couldn’t abandon. He constantly reminded himself in this limbo.

Wake up. He needed to wake up.

A heaviness in his lids. An uncomfortable sensation in his nose and chest.

His mind still in a fog.

He willed himself to open his eyes.

And he had to smile.

“Hi,” a deep voice greeted him.

“Hi,” Kaoru croaked. Joy and happiness bubbling within him.

Keigo looked tired and it tugged at Kaoru’s heart. There was however a calmness and warmth in his smile.

Kaoru’s eyes pricked with tears. It was going to be alright.

He hadn’t left. He was here. They were here.

He was so thankful. He was so, so grateful.

Keigo must have pressed the button for attention. The doctor and a couple of nurses rushed into the room. He stepped aside as they examined Kaoru.

Kaoru obeyed their instructions, drank a little water and answered a couple of simple questions. His haziness lifting slightly.

“Good,” his doctor announced in a pleased tone. He turned to Keigo. “His condition is stable. We’ll adjust some of the medication but no concern.”

“Thanks.”

They exchanged a few more words but Kaoru couldn’t focus on the content. He yawned.

“I’ll leave you to rest,” the doctor told him warmly before leaving the room.

His mind was clearer but sleep was still trying to claim him. Kaoru fought to stay awake.

“Keigo…” he wanted to say more. He had so many things he wanted to tell Keigo.

“Shh…” Keigo soothed his hair with a gentle hand. “Take it easy. Sleep if you want to.”

“Butwhat about you?” Kaoru whispered.

His lover flashed a signature smirk. “I’m just going to sit here and command my empire over emails and subpar caffeine. The coffee here is terrible.”

Kaoru couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle.

Keigo bent down and kissed his forehead. “Sweet dreams, my dear.”

Kaoru nodded and his patched-up heart fluttered.

His feelings he couldn’t string them into words. There wasn’t any quite adequate to convey what he felt.

When he closed his eyes, he dreamt of beautiful things he wouldn’t remember.

It didn’t matter.

He would wake up and tell Keigo again how much he loved him.

How so very much he loved him.

Every moment and every day between them.

Kaoru would never let go.