Fan Fiction ❯ Phoenix Rising ❯ 'Waking up' ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter: Chapter Nine `Waking Up'

Author: Hentai

Warnings: Same as always, intended yaoi/shounen-ai.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the characters of this story; they are all my original creations, as is Graffiti. All anime, games, and movie characters are owned by whoever owns them, as is anything other than what is mentioned above.

Notes: Long and not sure it makes any sense, but it is a means to an end, Okees? ^_^ Most likely **not** one of my best chaps… Once again, gomen if it sucks!

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Phoenix followed the doctor down the hall and to the elevator. After what seemed like and eternity, the elevator stopped on the fourth floor.

Entering a small private room, Phoenix gasped. Score was as pale as the sheets he lay on. An oxygen mask was over his mouth and an IV led to his bloodstream. A tube was in his nose, and a bag of tan colored sludge was being pumped in it. It was a feeding tube, he realized, with a lurch of his stomach. Phoenix's sight began to blur as the tears filled his eyes once more.

He hesitantly stepped forward and took Score's hand in his own. Score made a sound low in his throat and turned his head to look groggily at Phoenix, his eyes not focusing.

"Mai herutsu," he whispered. Phoenix tried to smile and squeezed his hand, nodding, though he knew Score did not see him.

"He has been talking in some foreign language when he wakes. Does he speak any english?" The nurse asked as she took Score's pulse.

"He's speaking Japanese, and yes, of course he speaks English!" Phoenix said a bit annoyed at the nurse's presence.

"Can you translate? He keeps saying `my heresu my canton'. She said, looking up at Phoenix for the first time since he had entered the room. "At least he says that more than anything else, we couldn't make out the rest."

Phoenix looked up at the nurse, not even trying to hide his annoyance any longer. "Mai herutsu, mai kontan," he corrected her. "It means `My heart, my soul.'"

She continued to look questionably at him.

"He was asking for me," Phoenix whispered, blushing slightly. He looked back to Score.

The woman grinned slyly at him for a moment then put back on her mask of professionalism. Inwardly, she giggled. < They **do** look cute together! > She thought.

"I will be Mr. Thorne's nurse, if either of you need anything, press the call light and ask for Rebecca." She indicated the location of the button and left, closing the door behind her.

Phoenix never took his eyes from Score's face. Silently, he cuddled into the bed beside Score, and wept against his chest.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rebecca, the nurse, came in to give her patient his medicine a few hours later. The sight she was greeted with tore at her heart.

Mr. Thorne's friend was wrapped in a tiny ball next to him, his head tucked next to the other mans throat. One hand was curled against his lips, the other lay under the hospital gown and on Mr. Thorne's chest.

She quietly left the room and returned with a blanket. She softly covered the young man with it and sighed. It was just **so** cute! She mused. She administered his medicine thru the IV, turned out the lights and quietly closed the door behind her with a `click'.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Score was on heavy painkillers, so when he did manage to regain consciousness, he spoke incoherently in Japanese. Still, everyone came to visit him and keep up on his progress. The only one who didn't come was Ryu. He had gone back to LA on business.

A day turned into a week. Phoenix never left Score's side. Everyone had begun to tease him about how ripe he was getting, trying to lighten his mood and at least crack a smile. Phoenix only looked at them with red, puffy eyes, lashes still wet with tears, and they all abruptly shut up. They didn't know what to say to him to make him feel better, so they gave the usual `he'll be okay's and `don't worry's.

That Saturday, after Glitz and Fox had left from their daily visit, Phoenix laid his head on Score's good shoulder, the tears falling freely again. He couldn't stop crying, no matter how he tried. He felt so helpless, sitting there watching Score sleep and then listening to him mumble in a language he didn't understand. He had actually thought of calling Ryu a few times to have him come and translate, but memories of the little party had quickly made the thoughts disappear. Phoenix had never cried so much in his life, not when Harold had beaten him, not even when Harold had died did Phoenix cry. All he wanted was for Score's eyes to open and focus on him in recognition. Just once!

There was a soft knock on the door and Dutch walked in.

"Hey Little Bro." He walked in and sat down in a chair next to the bed, setting the bag he had beside him on the floor.

Phoenix stopped crying, but it was his only response to his brothers' presence.

"I brought you some clean clothes. I also brought you a razor, your beginning to look like a monkey." Dutch giggled and ran his palm softly across Phoenix's cheek. "Go shower and get cleaned up, Sage. You can't take care of Score if you don't take care of yourself first. I'll stay here with him."

Phoenix nodded numbly and took the bag Dutch offered him. He walked slowly to the private bathroom and with one last quick peek at Score, closed the door.

Dutch sighed heavily as the bathroom door closed. He knew Phoenix had it bad for Score, they all knew, but that little bit of knowledge didn't make seeing him like this any easier.

Phoenix had stayed with Score constantly since he had been brought in from his own hospital room. He hadn't even changed from his blood stained clothes and they were all growing more worried by the day. The nurses hadn't argued after the first few attempts to reassure him and send him home. He had told them that he was paying the bill and would stay as long as he damn well pleased.

They had all been informed daily of Score's progress. The evening nurse, Rebecca, assured them that though his boughts of consciousness were few and he seemed to mumble incoherently, that he was going to be fine. The doctor just wanted him heavily sedated until he had healed more. The doctor said that he had a feeling that Score would be wanting to go home immediately, whether he was healed and ready to go or not. So to prevent him any further injury, Score was to be sedated around the clock until further notice.

Everyone had agreed with the doctor's assumptions.

Looking now at Score, Dutch wondered, not for the first time, what had happened. Score had never told them where he had been going, and there had been no time to ask when he had returned. Not that he had been in any condition to say much either way.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Phoenix undressed slowly and looked at himself in the mirror.

"Gods, I look like shit!" he said to his reflection.

He didn't recognize the person in the mirror. The hair was flat and lifeless; the eyes dull and empty, yet he knew the man in the mirror was himself. The dark circles under his eyes made them look sunken in somewhat, the eyelids were red and swollen; the only color in his eyes was from the bloodshot veins criss-crossing the whites. His skin was pale and his were lips dry and cracked.

Phoenix grimaced and turned away from his reflection. He stepped into the shower, noticing how his were beginning to poke through the skin. Dutch was right, he realized. If he kept on like this, then he would be no help to Score when they allowed him to wake up and go home.

Phoenix showered quickly, shaving as he did so. He didn't want to be away from Score too long. As he rubbed the soap across his skin, he was reminded of the many times that Score's hands and lips had run the same paths. The tears threatened to come again and he thrust his face into the showering droplets, squeezing his eyes shut tightly.

Phoenix's thoughts roamed back to when they had first met. Score had been fighting Kiwi, but he was nowhere near defeat then. His face had been flushed with excitement; his eyes had that wicked gleam Phoenix had grown to love. Then there was the fight at the restaurant later that night.

Score loved the thrill of a good fight. What had happened this time to make him get beaten so badly? There had obviously been more than one; Phoenix knew that Score could easily take two or three by himself. When he was well enough to talk, Phoenix knew the doctor would want to know the circumstances behind his injuries. Phoenix wanted to find out from Score first. There were so many unasked questions to be answered.

Phoenix shut off the water and stepped up to the mirror, wiping away the steam with the side of his fist. He looked more like himself now. Some of the color had returned to his cheeks and he was clean-shaven once again, giving him that `baby face' look as Glam called it.

Lifting his arms over his head, he inhaled deeply as he stretched.

"I smell much better too." He chuckled lightly and smiled at his reflection. Given the circumstances, it felt a bit awkward to smile and laugh, but it felt good too.

He dressed quickly and cleaned up the bathroom before emerging into the cool air of the hospital room.

Dutch was speaking quietly to Score. Lightly stroking his hand as he did.

"…And so we did that gig last weekend and then tonight we go to the gay bar **giggle**. Then next weekend, on Halloween, we do a midnight concert at Grafitti." Dutch noticed Phoenix standing outside the bathroom door watching him. He smiled broadly at his little brother and leaned over Score to place a light kiss on his forehead. "Phoenix is back now, smelling much better, I might add." Dutch said this last part in a whisper and giggled again, looking to Phoenix. "I'll come back tomorrow."

Phoenix smiled at his brother as Dutch took the bag of dirty clothes. "No one mentioned any new gigs to me," Phoenix said.

"Well, Little Bro, you were a little preoccupied." Dutch said with a soft smile. "We are playing at `Dick and Jane's' tonight. Pretty lame name, eh?"

Phoenix almost laughed. "'Dick and Jane's'? That is **the** biggest gay club in the state! Watch yourself from all sides, Micah!"

Dutch giggled and hugging his brother tightly said goodbye.

"Oh, Sage, by the way, David, I mean Cap, is going to stop by sometime tonight to check on you. He said he had finals all week or he would have been here sooner." Dutch waved goodbye over his shoulder and closed the door behind him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

At 6PM, as they had been doing for a week, the nurse brought Phoenix a tray of food. He accepted it but only picked at it. He finally made himself eat the French fries and pushed the tray away in disgust. Hospital food was terrible.

When the nurse returned to take the tray away, she told him the doctors' new orders. Score's sedatives were to only be given at night to help him sleep and only if he became combatative otherwise.

"Come tomorrow morning," she said with a soft smile. "He should be awake and feeling better."

Phoenix's heart lept into his throat at the news. They were going to take him out of his drug-induced coma! Phoenix could finally talk to him, hear his sexy voice, and look into the obsidian depths of his eyes once more.

Phoenix jumped out of his chair and hugged the startled nurse, but as he began to cry again, she set down the tray and cradled the young man in her arms.

"Thank you so very much!" Phoenix sobbed again against her shoulder. She only nodded and patted his back reassuringly.

"You need to rest now, Mr. Phoenix. When he wakes up tomorrow, you don't want him to see how broken up you are do you?" She smiled as he pulled away from her. "As always, just be careful of the tubes, ok?"

Phoenix nodded and wiped at the tears on his cheeks.

"I will be in a little later to take out the feeding tube. The doctor will be in first thing in the morning to try to find out what happened to cause his injuries. Until then, tell him how you really feel about him." She patted his shoulder and with a knowing smile, picked up the tray and left with a very stunned Phoenix left to stare at the door.

"How I really feel…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Cap finally showed up around 9PM to find Phoenix pacing back and forth across the length of the room.

"Hey man, what's up?" His smile had faded to a frown of worry. He set the package he had tucked under one arm onto the counter and caught Phoenix's arm as he started another circuit.

"They are taking him off the sedatives. He'll be waking up tomorrow."

"Hey man, that's great! I don't understand though, you seem upset." Cap stopped him again as Phoenix turned to begin his pacing once again. He noticed then that Phoenix was mouthing something under his breath, over and over again. "Come on man, you can tell me, what's up?"

Cap gasped in shock as Phoenix grabbed his cheeks in his hands and pulled him into a deep and passionate kiss. Phoenix took advantage of his open lips and delved his tongue into the younger mans mouth.

Cap knew instinctively that the kiss was not meant for him. The emotions he felt through the searing kiss of his lifelong friend were evidence of this. He groaned and found himself responding despite himself as Phoenix pulled back breathlessly. Phoenix leaned his forehead against Cap's and whispered against his lips.

"I love you Score."

Cap struggled to catch his breath. He had always thought himself to be straight, but he had responded to the kiss. Just as suddenly as he had instigated the kiss, Phoenix stepped back to gauge his friends reaction.

"What do you think? Do you think that will work?" He continued before Cap could reply. "I have never in my whole life said those words to anyone except Dutch. What if he rejects me, Cap? I couldn't take that! I **really** do love him!" Phoenix was almost frantic now. His voice was a loud, rough whisper and his hands clutched Cap's shoulders painfully.

Cap finally caught his breath, ignoring the blush that had crept into his face from Phoenix's kiss and shook the frantic boy, hard.

"Phoenix! Score will not reject you! I have not seen you two together, but I know him through you and Dutch and the others! Everyone agrees! He loves you!"

Phoenix stopped his grip on Cap's shoulders. He stared surprised into the face of his friend.

"Really?"

"Yes!" Cap winced as Phoenix's nails dug deeper into his shoulders. Then suddenly, he was being drawn into a bear hug. Cap chuckled and returned the hug, slapping his friend heartily on the back. "This is an all new side of you Phoenix! Score is good for you, and when we find out who did this to him, we will give them a lesson they will never forget."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Phoenix stretched slowly, letting the fingertips trail fire down his cheek and throat. He groaned low in his chest as his piercings were tugged on playfully.

Phoenix kissed the skin beneath his lips and kneaded the soft flesh of his lovers' thigh.

"Phoenix."

He scowled in his sleep, hearing his name on the edge of his subconscious.

"Mai herutsu, wake up."

He growled at the gravely voice and tipped his chin up, waiting for his lovers kiss. When it came, it was hot and soft, just a brief brushing of silk against silk. He moaned, begging for more.

"Phoenix," the gravely voice said softly, "mai herutsu, wake up."

Phoenix groaned again as the dream slipped away. His eyes opened drowsily, slowly blinking at the blinding sunlight.

"Good morning koi. You looked so peaceful." Score coughed and gagged at the dryness in his throat.

"Score?" Phoenix asked softly, not sure if he was still dreaming or not.

"Yes," Score smiled and coughed again. He looked around and seeing a rose colored plastic glass, tried to sit up to reach for it. He grimaced in pain, but was determined to get something to drink.

"No! Wait! I will get it for you. You need to stay still." Phoenix jumped out of the bed and brought Score the glass. Raising the head of the bed, Phoenix knelt beside him and held the cup to his lips for a drink. Score began to drink greedily at first, and then slowed to sipping at Phoenix's urging.

Score finally rested his head back on the pillow and sighed.

"Mai herutsu, you don't know how good it is to see you! How long has it been?" Score curled his fingers against Phoenix's cheek his thumb caressing the soft lips of his lover.

Phoenix turned his face into Score's palm and kissed it gently. "Too long. You have been heavily sedated for over a week."

Score tried to chuckle, only a dry rasping sound coming out. "Gouka! My throat is killing me!"

Phoenix smiled and cuddled into Score's arms. He sighed contently, trying not to cry again.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too, koi."

Phoenix frowned against Score's chest. "What happened Score? Where did you go and why?" He let the words spill from his lips quickly. It was almost time for the nurse to do her morning rounds. There wouldn't be much time for talk.

Score sighed. "It's all bad news, mai herutsu. I will tell you when I know that we are safe, until then, please be patient. I will make something up to tell the doctor. Trust me, please?" The last was almost a plea. Phoenix looked up in surprise at him and saw a mixture of pain, fear and hate in Score's dark eyes.

"All right Score. I will trust you." Grinning suddenly, he asked. "Why did you never tell me your real name? Hajiri Thorne. I think it's sexy!"

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