Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Verge of Something Wonderful ❯ Breathe In, Breathe Out ( Chapter 4 )

Ryo had gotten Dee out of his shirt and into a pair of his sweatpants with a minimum amount of fussing and swearing on both their parts. Dee was turning even more interesting shades of blue, the bruises darkening where he had made contact with the table and then the floor. He hurt too much to even crack a joke about Ryo pulling his pants off of him by his ankles while he leaned on him for support. Ryo's head was in all the right places for all sorts of filthy comments but Dee found himself hissing in pain, honestly needing Ryo's strong shoulders to keep him up right while Ryo freed first one leg and then another. After the ordeal of having the jeans peeled off him he had to patiently wait while Ryo treated his sweatpants like a pair socks bunching them up so that Dee could stick one foot in and then the other through the openings. He couldn't even enjoy the sensation of Ryo's hands on him as pulled the sweats up his thighs and hips, settling the elastic waistband at his waist because it just hurt to damn much.

 

Dee's upper lip and forehead had tiny beads of perspiration on them by the time Ryo was done, his face pale beneath his perpetual tan. His lower back had began to throb considerably, his injuries hurting much worse as time went on then right after the initial impact. He could see his shirt, discarded over the back of a chair, and the multiple flecks of blood all over it where his back was bleeding. He was more than happy to let Ryo take charge of him and help him down onto the couch. He gratefully accepted the offered pills and glass of water Ryo had fetched for him. After he had thrown them back Ryo eased him down to lay flat on his stomach, a throw pillow under his head. Ryo murmured to him to just lay still and he'd be right back with a wash cloth and get him cleaned up. Dee just let his eyes slip closed and wondered if maybe he should let Ryo find him a doctor. It was quickly becoming apparent that adrenaline had kept him from noticing just how bad he was hurt. Now that the moment had passed pain began to set in in earnest. The skin of his back felt like it was peppered with fire and while right after falling he had been moving fine, if painfully, stiffness was now setting in wrapping around his lower back and radiating down his legs.

 

He could hear Ryo on the phone in the kitchen no doubt with Tank by what he could make out of the one sided conversation, asking if she had this, could she pick up that. The conversation became muffled under the sound of running water so Dee concentrated on that sound instead, trying to distract himself from the pain. It seemed to take forever before he heard the water shut off and could hear Ryo's footsteps returning to his side. Ryo sat down on the couch by his legs sitting carefully on the edge. Dee tried to turn his head to look at him but realized his mistake as soon as his back muscles shifted. Dee gave it up with a groan and dropped his head back on the pillow.

 

“Just let me take care of you, okay?” Ryo asked quietly. Dee could hear him ringing out a wash cloth and gave an audible sigh of relief as Ryo began cleaning his back with the warm cloth. His hands were gentle and kind carefully sweeping against the irritated skin. It was the sort of thing Dee knew him and Ryo would always be there to do for the each other. No matter how confused Ryo seemed to be about his feelings or whether he was attracted to Dee or not, Dee knew in his heart that Ryo would always take care of him and he would always do the same for him. It was one of the reasons why he kept holding on waiting for Ryo to catch up to him and realize that they loved each other. He relaxed under Ryo's hands and care. He could feel himself starting to drift to sleep but still grunted a little when the ministrations stopped and he felt Ryo stand up. Soon after he felt something cool and heavy laid across the lower portion of his back and then Ryo's lips pressed to the side of his temple. All he could think of as he slid even further into sleep was what a damn shame it was that he couldn't take better advantage of the situation, here Ryo was kissing him and he wasn't up to doing anything about it. He tried to say something but it came out as a yawn, Ryo leaned closer when he tried again, and managed to mumble out a tired “I love you.” He couldn't be sure but his brain wanted to believe that he heard Ryo whisper back that he loved him too and he was more than certain that he felt Ryo's long fingers carding through his hair right before he nodded off completely.

 

Ryo watched him for a moment, watched him sleeping, listening to the deepness of his breathing, Dee pulling air in and expelling it slowly. He felt a little guilty about giving Dee the generic ibuprofen pills he had found. He knew they were knock off's of Advil PM but the only other thing Ellen had was a prescription pain killer and some aspirin. He was one of the few people who knew that Dee didn't tolerate aspirin well and he wasn't about to give him someone else's narcotic medication. He mollified himself with the thought that as long as Dee was asleep he wouldn't be in any pain and he wouldn't be itching to move around when he needed to be laying down while the compress did its work. Ellen had told him where to find the compresses, her medication being for her own back she kept a few of them around, some in the freezer and a few more in the cupboard below the microwave. Ryo had looked at them last night and not known what they were but she had explained over the phone that they were homemade cloth bags of deer corn and that they could both be frozen or put in the microwave to warm them up. He had to admit when he pulled one of the frozen ones out that it felt like a really heavy bag of frozen peas, something he and Dee had both used in the past to put on the various minor injuries their job gave them, something he took as a good sign of their ability to work. He had one from the cupboard on the counter ready to throw in the microwave and switch out for the cold one in twenty minutes. With nothing to do but watch over Dee for the time being Ryo took the opportunity to pull out the crossword puzzle he had been working on while on the plane and set about trying to finish it.

 

Time went by peacefully for a still sleeping Dee. He would murmur and shift in his sleep when Ryo would check on him but otherwise he slumbered on through the late afternoon and well into the evening hours. He missed Tank returning and leaving again after Ryo helped her bring in her shopping bags and putting things away. She had a young woman with her who bore enough of a resemblance to her that Ryo wasn't surprised when she introduced as her daughter. Ellen had stayed just long enough to make sure Dee was okay and that Ryo didn't need anything else before disappearing back into the night, going with her daughter to visit for the next few days while they were investigating.

 

Ryo filled the time after she left looking over the house himself, climbing into the attic and back out again after seeing it was just as Dee said. He had to admit he was more than just a bit perplexed on what could have made all the noise last night. Each room turned up nothing more interesting than the amount of dust that can collect underneath and behind seldom moved furniture. The windows proved to have swollen over time and either would not open at all or he could only crack them open an inch or so and not without considerable effort and quite a bit of noise. The doors while not exactly plumb were not so out of whack that they would be able to voluntarily swing open or closed by themselves. It was really quite aggravating. He certainly didn't want to have to call his Chief and report that two of New York's finest couldn't find out what was making a little noise in an isolated house in the middle of nowhere. After awhile he found himself drifting about aimlessly and decided to call it a night reasoning that by the morning Dee would either be feeling better or admit that he needed to go see a doctor.

 

He went about the house checking all the locks and doors one last time and turning off any lights that were still on. He left the table lamp beside Dee on so if he woke up it would not be to total darkness, covering him with a clean sheet from the linen closet. Assured that Dee was as comfortable as he could make him he went into the master bedroom, Ellen having assured him that it was all right for them to use it while she was away, and readied himself for bed. Sleep eluded him for quite a while as he sat up in bed working his crossword puzzle, listening to the different sounds coming from the house and from outside. It was so different from home and while not on edge he just couldn't seem to get comfortable and doze off. He eventually decided to put away the puzzle and turn off the light plunging the room into darkness. It seemed like time was moving ever slower ticking away quietly while he just laid there staring off into space. It crossed his mind to wake Dee knowing that he would be ecstatic to lay in bed with him again but he talked himself out of it. It would be dishonest to lead Dee on like that, giving him hope that something would happen between the two of them, but he couldn't shake the thought of how much more comfortable he would feel if he had Dee's warm body next to his own. Ryo sighed and punched up his pillow and closed his eyes. It was well past midnight before he finally fell into a restless sleep.

 

In the living room Dee slept on, heavy and deep, unused to medication with an antihistamine in it. He didn't start to come to until evening passed into night and night started to push into early morning. He woke with a groggy head and the confusion of sleeping somewhere unfamiliar. His eyes fluttered open trying to take in the dimly lit room, trying to remember where he was and what had woken him. His eyes had begun to droop closed heading back into sleep when he felt someone's breathe, cold as ice, on the side of his face and neck. Dee's eyes flew open at the strange and unwelcome sensation. He lay there completely frozen, fear hard and cold itself in his heart and the pit of his stomach. He could feel a hand moving up his leg and to his side, the cold breath returned stirring the dark strands of bangs and chilling his forehead. His heart went from feeling seized up to beating hard and erratic. He tried to sit up but the hand was now splayed out in the center of his back and pushing down hard. His limbs refused to move and panic set in as the pressure bore down on him. He struggled to call out, to scream, to do anything at all, but he was held in a terrible thrall of stillness, his body refusing to answer to his commands. Another hand joined the first sliding up his left shoulder and gliding across his neck to his chin, thin bony fingers bit in cruelly and twisted his face up the bones in his neck popping at the force. Dee could see nothing but the living room, his eyes telling him not to believe what his body was feeling, his ears hearing nothing but the pounding of his own blood. He had not been this terrified since he was a little boy at the orphanage clinging to Mother in fright after having seen a man in the middle of his room at night. Mother had managed to calm him and convince him it was just his eyes playing tricks on him, just reflection and shadow.

 

Dee did the only thing he could think of, he slammed his eyes shut and wished it away, pulling up bits of remembered prayers and making up a few of his own. He kept trying to call out to Ryo his lip numbly moving over and over again with hardly any sound coming out at all. He would never know if Ryo heard him in his sleep or if his partner woke up instinctively knowing that something was dreadfully wrong.

 

“Dee, you okay?” Ryo asked from the door way of the bedroom. His voice tired but alert. Dee could have cried he was so relieved. The coldness against his skin faded to nothing, the pressure on his back disappearing with it, as Ryo came to him, bending over Dee and his own warm hand ghosting over where the other hand had been.

 

“Your skin is so cold. Actually this whole area is pretty chilly.” Ryo frowned wondering if the air conditioner vent was blowing directly on Dee. He gently pulled Dee up into a sitting position and kneeled in front of him. Dee's eyes were staring back at him wild and afraid. “Do you want to talk about it? Did you have a nightmare Dee?” Maybe he shouldn't have given Dee those pills after all, maybe he was having a bad reaction to them.

 

Dee's mouth opened and closed a few times before anything came out and when he did finally get his brain and his mouth on the same page his voice came out timid and hoarse.

 

“Something was in here with me, I couldn't move and it was touching me, holding me down on the couch. I could feel it breathing on me.” He looked at Ryo his eyes practically pleading with Ryo to believe him. Ryo, of course, believed no such thing, but he did believe Dee thought it had happened. He pulled Dee into a hug being careful of his back. No doubt Dee had had a particularly vivid nightmare and had experienced sleep paralysis. Ryo had read about that in a magazine and how terrifying it could be to the person experiencing it.

 

Getting up from his knees he pulled Dee up with him and led him by his hand into the bedroom. Dee would have to sleep with him for the rest of the night, that's all there was too it, obviously things were getting to Dee and his mind was playing tricks on him. After Dee had settled into the bed Ryo brought him some water from the bathroom in one of those tiny little Dixie cups and made sure he drank it. He climbed into bed beside him and carefully snuggled up against Dee's back trying to judge if it was hurting him or not. Dee just burrowed into the hold apparently ignoring any pain in favor of Ryo spooning him. Ryo was nearly back asleep when Dee started talking.

 

“It happened Ryo. I didn't make it up.” Dee said softly. Ryo knew Dee thought it happened and that was all that mattered to him. He wasn't going to make an argument over it if he didn't have to.

 

“I know you didn't make it up. You're not the sort to do something like that. It's probably my fault anyways, the pills I gave you earlier had something in them to help you sleep, you might have had a reaction of some sort. Try to go back to sleep Dee, we can talk more about in the morning.” He told him quietly, not willing to fully agree with him but hoping it would come close enough to appease Dee. Dee snorted, showing just what he thought of that, but didn't say anything else, choosing instead to pull Ryo's arm more tightly around him. Ryo smiled to himself and drifted back to sleep.