Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The Boy on Page One ❯ Finding what shelf you fit on ( Chapter 3 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

"How is he?" Yakusoku asked.

Gev entered their apartment with haste; he was glad he turned his head when closing the door after himself, otherwise Yakusoku would have seen his pissed-off expression and wondered why. It wasn't for any bad reason, so it's not as if it actually mattered. But one does grow tired of being picked on for being a Russian but hating the cold. His mother loves the cold, Victoria loves the cold. But he could use a few more people screwing up the ozone layer so that he'll never have to experience winter ever again. After that, then people can worry about climate change.

Shrugging off his down jacket, he says with exasperation lining his usual emo tone. "He is doing fine; and you would know that, if you'd just come with me when I go."

Taking his coat to the living room closet, he stuffs a hanger inside, but when he put the garment on the bar the weight of the coat tugged it free down to the floor. He doesn't care. Closing the door, Gev took a seat on the couch beside his husband.

"I would but, I can't. I'd feel uncomfortable," he reciprocated the kiss leaned his way.

Gev snickered at the reply. Was he serious?

"It's not funny, Gev. I basically put the guy out of commission, and it could have been permanently. I wouldn't wanna see me if I were him."

"Yyyyeah, it's all in your head. I'm going back this weekend, and you're coming with me - - and Ludwig, too."

"Fine," he huffed. "But you'll see. He's gonna take one look at me, and tell me to beat it."

"You'll see you're wrong," checking the clock he sees that it's a little past 3 p.m. Ludwig isn't off work until 5 o'clock. "So, what were you doing just now?"

"Nothing interesting," he points to the television where today's DVR recording of Let's Make a Deal is playing. "just catching up on TV,"

...

Yakusoku's breaths are a warm wisp brushing into Gev's shoulder; when the Russian stopped blinding him with pleasure by slowing the bucking of his hips, he kissed the flesh beneath his panting mouth then moved the kiss to his husband's lips. Gev moaned from the depth of detail at which Yakusoku's tongue is deftly examining the inside of his mouth. He gripped a handful of blond hair when Land's legs dropped from around his waist, and with his feet planted on the mattress he bounced up and down on his lap, causing ripples of titillation to lap around throughout his body. The fantastic shockwaves of his release collided with the continued pleasurable buoying of the lap dance bobbing over his length.

Yakusoku grunted when Gev gripped his buttocks, squeezing each cheek as he leaned forward to topple him backwards onto the bed, where his body then became a fleshy uneven bars for the gymnast of his husband's thrusting, rolling, and applause popping hips.

Their bodies spent, the pair caught their breath while staring up at the ceiling.

"Perfect," Yakusoku chuckled out. "Now I just wanna lay here naked until Ludo comes home."

"And then?" Turning his head bunched his hair into a mess, more than he typically styles - - or rather - - he allows sleep, the wind, and life to style it. At least it's clean.

"Stamina reborn." He smiled. Yakusoku ran a hand through his blond locks, as if through voodoo he could smooth Gev's mess out. "But I can't. It'll make me lazy; and I've got dinner duty tonight."

"Ooh, what is it?"

"I haven't decided but probably something with chicken… how 'bout chicken cheesesteak and onion rings?"

"Mm, hearing rings makes horny, I get images of cock-rings," fingering caressing circles around the base of Yakusoku's length; he's also leaving kisses on his shoulder and neck.

Yakusoku closed his eyes remembering how last Christmas they used said item in their love making, in a game of strange Red Light/Green Light where the vibration would stop and go as the twinkling holiday lights would swap colors slowly then pick up the pace as the last individual color has displayed, then they'd all flash together. More than sometimes it was nice having a lover steeped in kinky sexual desire.

"It's too cold for street food, make something else."

"Fine. How 'bout Progresso instead of onion rings?"

"That's more like it," kissing his husband's cheek, he sits up. "I meant what I'd said, you're coming with me this weekend to see Hakuo."

"Alright." He still feels apprehensive. But Gev has been there. Hakuo must have told him that it was okay. Gev wouldn't set him up for a stoning.

The sexaholic Russian trudged off to the closet where he slid items of clothing over in search of something. He tugged on a thick sweater but left his legs bare in exchange to wear only boxers. Yakusoku sighed in heavy thought. What if he is mad? He's almost positive a Land is the last person that Hakuo Krenn wants to see.

# #

Hakuo opened his eyes after yet another failed attempt of sleeping longer than 2 and a half hours. This can't be good towards his recovery. People on the outside need him. He can't stay cooped up in this place for too much longer. His dual-colored gaze, one eye slightly lacking in visual clarity judging by the fuzz and lack of sharpness in which he sees things around him, scanned the room out of boredom. He hoped that his vision returns to normal; he wants to continue with his plot to become a detective, and he can't do that if he can't pass the many requirements involved just to enroll. He already was given his uniform, but… dammit it all, a fucking coma! He'll have to be tested all over again, they're not just gonna allow him to pick up where he began. One has to be in perfect health. No disabilities, no long-term ailments. He doesn't know what problems this all has brought on - - well, he's been made aware of one…

"I hate you." Stated the little ghost child, who he tried to help out yesterday.

"I know." Came a bland reply.

"Why would you even say something like that?" The boy pestered. "Do you know that would mean that you can see ghost? Do you know how dumb that sounds? Ghost aren't real."

Hakuo shrugged. Whatever, right? If the kid wants to continue blindly living in the thought of 'Today's the day' for him to go home, let him. It's no real bother. His real problem is that the boy isn't the only one. He's seen others. What kind of newage Hell is this? And he's in a cesspool of death, what with being a hospital and all. Hopefully, like the length of time he needs to recover, this is all temporary.

He can see the sky out of the window. Only the sky. How dull. Why can't they build hospitals by water views? That serene could heal anyone right up. He can just faintly make out movement hidden in the thick grey. Is that snow?

Quinn Land walked through the halls of the scrubbed and polished hospital; everything is staggeringly clean. She looked down, mock surprised that she can't see through the floor. Which one, which one? She wondered as her gaze stole glances through the open doors of the patient's rooms. She gasped both inward and outward when coming across the patient whom she sought after. He's staring out of the window. She can only sort of see his profile; his hair has been dyed white, most likely by that witch mother of his in an attempt to disguise him, but it's for sure Yakusoku.

When he turned his head, he then looked down at his lap before his eyes turned towards the open door. He blinked when locking eyes with her's, then the most amazing thing happened… he smiled at her. It was a handsome, a sincere smile. She knew it! He does care! He probably just couldn't talk over the phone because she was there. Entering the room, Quinn Land reached for him but he withdrew.

"What? What's the matter?" She asked; her hands remained in suspended animation of intent to touch him.

"I was wondering if I could have a banana yogurt drink? But looking at you more closely, I can see that you're not a nurse." He remarked. "Who are you? Did you get lost? This place is huge; do you know the entrance is actually on the side of the building for pedestrians, and only emergencies are through the front door? So weird."

Quinn's joy deflated her right down onto the vacant chair at his bedside. "You're joking, right? Yakusoku, it's me. Your mother."

Hakuo gave a snort of a scoff in return to that declaration. "I have but one mother, and she's not you."

"I'm your other mother," she wanted to say "true mother" but she decided it was best to not. She, if nothing else in her state of denial, knows how worked up the teen could become when correcting her of such matters.

"I don't have any 'other mother'," flicking his fingers at her as if brushing her away, he says. "Please, just go."

"But I came all the way here to see you," she almost cried. "To make sure that you're alright."

"Wait a second, you called me Yakusoku." He's just now putting it together.

It would seem seeing the deceased and blurred vision isn't the only thing to hinder him after the coma. He's now forgetting things. Like faces. He knew her over the phone, but seeing her… she may as well be a newborn baby. Unknown by anyone, never before seen. A fresh new existence to all who know nothing about her, as any stranger would be.

"This is unbelievable," he said to himself. Reaching for the call button he presses it to alert a nurse.

"Then you'll let me stay? I can visit with you? Just for a little while?" pleads a desperate woman. "I won't call you Yakusoku. It slips out, but, I promise I won't, if you let me stay."

Hakuo chuckled as he spoke. "Don't be ridiculous," Seeing an actual nurse enter his room, he offered her the polite smile he'd accidently given to Quinn Land and said. "Remember what we talked about before?" He then points to his unwanted guest. "And can I please have a banana yogurt drink? Or any flavor is fine, if you're out of that." The children's ward wolfed down the banana flavor every time it's in stock. "Thank you so much."

"Sure. Ma'am, right this way, please." Said the helpful nurse. Her smile was all sugar and honey, as she helped the older woman from the chair.

"Ya-" She stopped herself, and applied the correction. "Hakuo, please, just let me visit with you."

Hakuo sat in his bed, pinky finger twisting around in his ear to dislodge non-existent earwax. A silent show that he was done listening to her.

#

The neighborhood of Walden st. slowly began the removal of the holidays from their homes: no more flickering lights strung along the rooftop and stoop railings, no more sun reflecting gift-wrapped doors, no longer is the area peppered with homes that have startling motion sensative items that play Christmas jingles when they're passed by pedestrians or children playing in the yard. No more anything.

Even the snow was waving the world in to wrap it up with winter, although the cold clumps of white still litter the ground it isn't in any spectacular way. Just an impression that it had been there and was once glorious. One home seemed to have the jump on everyone, their house had not a stitch of holiday left on it or even in it. No cookies had been baked, no cinnamon to smell from pine cone decorations, no bits of garland clinging to socked feet to be anywhere in the home but where it should be. There weren't even any presents. Just as the year before. Who could be happy? Why be as usual, when things have become unusual?

Zane Hyde caught himself in another fit of depression this morning.

It's been roughly two years since that day.

A strange car parked outside of their home; a blond guy and a brunet climbed out all panicked and wide-eyed as they hurried up the walk and knocked on the front door. And then came the news. He thought this sort of thing happened from cops coming to the house, they'd be all dressed in uniform, their hat brims splashing rain about - the weather is always bad in situations like that - they'd look sad. No, they'd actually be sad, because it never gets easy telling a family bad news like that of a death. Instead, they got two strangers, asking him if his mother or father were at home, on a bright sunshine evening.

He sassed them, he had to, he was in a pissy mood because of having fought with his brother before he took off the day before. Then they showed him Will's wallet with his identification. And that's when he knew something was wrong. He called his mother, and he tried damned hard to keep the panic from his voice. ...The tears from his eyes… Then they sprung the bad news on them. He and his family gathered in the car, it had to be a lie right? And even if it was true, that Will collapsed, it was just exhaustion right? The weather was brutal back then, if sweat was alive it would demand showers for its removal of the scorching hot human body. Will could have just collapsed. But, no. The doctor confirmed it.

Will, his dear twin brother, whom he grew up with, whom he shared everything with… whom he loves. Was dead. Not brain dead. Dead, dead. And it was all his fault. Had he not run him off; had he not fought with him. God, he punched a guy who'd been in a coma in the face! Poor Will hadn't even been awake for a full year, but he was belting him in the face like he was fucking Iron Man trying to pacify the rampaging Hulk! What was wrong with him? Will ran away from home. They'd searched for him, for a full day but didn't find him. Where had he been? How long was he dead? Had they driven right past his collapsed body, so blinded by anger over his disappearance, that they didn't even notice him?

Zane began crying again. Snot ran from his nose sooner than tears ran from his eyes, and he wiped them together with the back of his hand and forearm. The thought was too much. His brother in pain. His brother climbing into that stranger's car, he couldn't even see the person's face, and he was just gone. Was he on his way home before he was found? Was he killed, and it was made to look like an accident? If only that could be the case. But he knows it isn't. He's been too… too much like a concerned parent to Will and not enough of an understanding brother. And now… Now he's no longer a brother, struck as an only child. No longer a matched set... Just an individual. Alone.

'I shouldn't have hit him. He was acting so weird that week..'

And he can remember it as if it all just happened yesterday...

2016, July.

"Assuming I believe any of this lunacy, what makes you so sure I won't tell on you? Or even that I'll believe whatever lie it is you've got cooked up? For all I know, you just wanna run away to be with that pervert frycook and the weird-eyed Asian."

Yakusoku shrugged his hand. "You can believe whatever you want, but that doesn't mean you're right and I'm lying."

"Okay then… let's hear it."

"My name is Yakusoku Land, I'm eighteen years old. I killed myself last year. And when I awoke it turns out that I was not in Heaven or Hell… but inside of your brother, Will."

Zane blinked, silent, waiting. But when no more came, he just barked laughter. He held his stomach and waved his hand to fan away the nonsense. Will can't be serious! He can't! All this weirdness and built up tension and his brother says something like that! He's so full of shit and lies but that nonsense is the best he's got to explain it away? He'd sooner believe the whore story of his brother being a sex toy for young adults who are weirdly into jailbait than that bullshit.

"Uh huh, right!" He was finally able to stop laughing long enough to respond.

"You want proof?"

"Oh God, he swears he's got proof," Zane says to the man upstairs, who must be laughing as well over the idea of body displacement and missing souls. What was that but the worst plot of a movie he's ever heard? 'It Follows' was more believable, and that movie sucked!

"It's the truth."

"Well then you really are gonna have to prove it, Yappy-Soapy Land, because I'm not buying it."

"I can prove to you what I'm saying is the truth in any number of ways, but the biggest smoking gun is this," He paused seeing Zane take a silent gulp over what would come out. "If I was in a coma last year, how do I know about the fire that happened at that theater?"

Phew. It's nothing. Relieved, Zane replied easily. "Internet. You looked it up."

"Why would I look up old information; and how would I even know what it was I was looking for, if I wasn't in on it?"

"Well… You might have…. I don't know what you're into."

"Okay. How 'bout the fact that I know a lot about a family I, as Will, have never met?"

"What family?"

"My real family, the Lands," Taking out his cell phone, he opened the contacts list. "See. I can call them up and rattle off enough personal content to make them piss themselves with worry. Stuff that can't be looked up."

"Still doesn't prove anything."

"It proves plenty, and you know it."

"No. It doesn't. I remember that name from the news; didn't it turn out that he just had amnesia? Didn't he recover his memories and go home?" He spat out, it's his own brand of proof that his brother is full of shit.

It was a huge story, his mom and Arthur wouldn't stop talking about it for weeks. Anytime he went through the living room they had the news on, speculating about it. It was like that beauty pageant girl's mysterious death, only this kid was alive.

"You know what, Zane, it doesn't matter whether or not you believe me." Getting up from his bed, he holds open the bedroom door. "I know who I am. And after today, none of this will ever matter."

"What if I said I'll tell mom?"

"So tell her. I don't care." Seeing that Zane hasn't taken the hint to get out, he walks behind him and pressed his hand between his shoulder blades to push him out. "You have a nice life; don't call me and I surely won't keep a mental note of your name." Closing the door, he says. "Bye-bye."

And then there was that other time. At the park, when he'd impersonated his brother to that perverted frycook.

Could… Could it all have actually been true? Was this some sort of weird supernatural shit? The kind you'd see in a fictional show, but instead of being a lie, it's on one of those shows that supposedly shows the truth with UFOs over Walmarts, or ghost opening every cabinet in your kitchen just to fuck with you. Ghouls skulking from the woods to snatch an unsuspecting animal off the road or by a waterside. All of it… real?

2 years ago, 2016. Zane was at the park impersonating his brother.

"So, did you contact Ai? You never sent me the email of what you wanted me to ask him." Gev touched a knot in the wood of the table and swirled his finger around its rings.

"I?" Confused about what the chef was talking about, he shook his head. He couldn't dive too deep otherwise he'd give himself away. This whole situation was so weird. What on Earth do this guy and his brother talk about? "No. I'm still thinking about it."

"Oh. It's not as if there's a rush or anything," Gev looked Will in the eye. He's working on things like that. "I'm sure Reeve's only experimenting but hasn't actually done anything, he's a fucking old guy. Older guys know better when it comes to things like that."

'Reeve? Who the hell is Reeve?' Wondered Zane.

That was too much. It's not like getting out of something or asking a girl if she likes him in Will's disguise. That was next-level weirdness. It left him asking, yet again, what the hell this guy and his brother are talking about?

"They sure do." Unsure of what to say, Zane was sure that comment covered all bases.

Cocking a pierces brow, Gev wondered. "You're awfully lax about the whole thing now, what's changed?"

"Nothing, nothing's changed!" He barked louder than he wanted to, dropping his pitch he than said. "I'm just thinking about it all, it's a lot to absorb… fucking Reeve."

Zane present yanked his hair to steady it from spinning off his neck like a spinning top gone rogue. 'There's just no way!'

But he already felt himself getting up. Getting his laptop. And getting to the bottom of this. He remembered the names, there must be something in a search engine about them. Any little thing at all, namely an address. Maybe it was time to go undercover and investigate these people.

Back at present day, at Williamsport.

"Where are you taking me?" Quinn asked as the nurse continued to escort her to the front door of the hospital.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but Mr. Krenn said not to allow you in to see him," replied the nurse with as much authority as she could muster, when speaking to a woman much older than herself.

"He can't make that call," Quinn insists. "He's been in a coma, he's disoriented. He might even have some brain damage. I'm sure he needs me, if you'd just let me stay and speak to him."

"He said that he doesn't want you around him."

"What?"

"Again, I'm sorry. You'll have to speak to his family if you'd like to spend anytime with him."

Quinn was out the door and back on the street.

Hakuo is at the nurses station, he's just getting off the phone. It took a bit of time to get out of bed and into a wheelchair, but not nearly as long as it used to. He had a very important phone call to make, and time wasn't completely on his side with the way the nurse was moving Quinn Land along.

"Thank you. I feel a lot safer now." He hung up the phone after the call.

He just informed the police of Quinn Land coming to see him. He called them yesterday after dinner; he didn't think she'd leave their encounter at some brief and fruitless phone call. So he called the police and informed them of the situation. There wasn't a law enforcer in Pennsylvania or Hartford who doesn't know about what happened to him, so he could thankfully skip all of that. However, the police don't know about Quinn's growing obsession with him. So he had to let them know that she was reaching a worrisome degree, the kind that only Marissa Ashford could match.

The officer was very empathetic and could understand his concerns; she'd told him that if the woman was to call again that he was to give her a call, and she'd take care of it. And so he has, because as predicted Quinn Land did one better, she showed up.

Any minute now they should be arriving. God, he wished he could be down there to see it…

Two officers, one female and the other male, cross the parking lot towards the hospital's entrance. They approach the woman who's getting escorted from the building by a nurse, who seemed to be forcibly trying to make her leave. Yup. She's a live one. She's blustering and shoving away the polite nurse, who's only trying to make things easy on her.

"Please, have a good day."

"You can't do this to me!" Quinn called after her. "I'll get a lawyer!"

"Excuse me, ma'am," the female officer touched the flustered woman's shoulder. "are you Quinn Land?"

"Yes." Seeing their uniforms, her eyes widen with fear. "Oh my god, what happened?" Her hand came up to her mouth as if she's trying to keep the presumptions of horror at bay. "Is it my son? Is Ai missing?" His threat wasn't taken lightly, which is why she had to sneak here. Did he find out? "Or has Fanny had an accident?"

"I'm afraid we don't know. Ma'am, you're being charged with harassment by Hakuo Krenn." She snaps up Quinn's wrist and swiftly throws cuffs around the disgruntled woman's wrist.

"Wha..what? You cant do this to me! I have my rights."

"And so does that young man whom you've continually harassed to this point." Says the male officer; he seemed to want to be kind to Mrs. Land. It's a pretty awkward situation, being charged a nuisance by your former son.

"No, you can't do this to me!" She's staggering along towards a police cruiser.

...

Reeve picked up the ringing phone in his office, wondering who would call him? What was so urgent? The phone doesn't usually see much action outside of his making calls. It was a stretch that it was an actual person and not telemarketers, but one never knows.

"Hello?"

His wife was sobbing uncontrollably, he couldn't understand a word of what she was saying. But, something must have happened because by all account she should still be in the air on her way to see her mother in Sweden.

"Quinn," he busted out the calm tones that he used on the kids whenever their young lives were coming to an end, but they needed actual understanding rather than patronizing. "Honey, I can't understand what you're saying. Are you ok? What…? You've been arrested?" What did she do, complain about airline food? Get ripped-off at duty free, and took it out on the overpriced items? "Who? Quinn, you have to calm down…"

This time he can understand her; he nearly left an imprint of his grip on the phone receiver, he'd heard her so well. And after calling his son's cell phone asking that he come home and babysit his sister and relieve the babysitter for the day, he stormed from his office at the dealership and headed straight for Williamsport.

That cup of straw was slowly, but surely, getting whittled down to his last.

Back at Susquehanna Health Hospital.

The patient is channel surfing. He hates television at the hospital; it isn't that there's nothing on to watch, but that he doesn't know the channels so he really has to hunt for what he wants to see. And every other flip of shows is the news. A man was shot, a place was burned, still at large, he was caught, car accidents aplenty - - people should learn how to pay attention when driving. Is it so hard? Nothing short of a sudden medical problem afflicting you behind the wheel, or your car just decides 'fuck it, my brakes don't work' no one should lack the ability to stay safe.

He frowned seeing on the next station they're talking about an amber alert. It's a little girl, last seen with her mother in a red pick up.

'I hope they find you,' he thinks sincerely. Even family can put you in danger.

He watched for a moment a segment of story time on a repeat of that old show Reading Rainbow. His kindergarten teacher never failed to put the show on for her class. He really liked it. He remembers once thinking that if Lavar Burton would let him, he'd take over at his job. That dream died fast because that's when he started to like the superhero universe; and the Joker became his world. He'd be a criminal, and that was that.

He smiled at his lunacy. Young people really are desensitized by what they see, and how much and how little they understand it.

'If my life was a book,' he thinks to himself. 'I'd probably suffer a lot. That'd be my hook, the sufferer; and right about now Quinn Land would be the starter of my current chapter.'

And he truly can see it. Mrs. Land would be swearing her arrest was all a misunderstanding, then she'd swear on her life towards making Hakuo see that. She basically would be Marissa Ashford's reincarnation. Only difference is once she abducts him, and in his tragic-life genre book she will, the sexual aspect will be left out because Quinn wants him as her son. That, as the amber alert seen on the news, can also prove to be just as horrific.

She'd dress him as the child she lost, the age when he was still able to be called her's; and she'd create a sick world of homeschooling and recess. Snack time and packed lunches, all the while keeping him tethered indoors. Good thing he wasn't lost from her as a baby. He's seen television, sometimes those types force breast feeds.

He cringed out of his thoughts.

Yeah. He was right to call the police and to have the woman arrested, because she truly was becoming a proper reincarnation. Impossible to get away from, thoroughly obsessed. Quinn Land has been sincerely harassing him and his family since his leaving. Legally, emotionally; it was wearing on him - - and he wasn't even reading the letters! But throwing them away, simply knowing of their existence… it was tiresome.

Physically she would grab at him, always calling him her lost son as if it would mean anything. He should have just told that twit the truth of it all; that it is not amnesia and he - - in fact - has never had the unfortunate scenario of ever being a Land child.

Yeah. She'd really go to town with the truth. He was seriously debating her existence. She would call his mother unfit. Ha! Unfit looks her in the face every time she finds a reflection. She's got two other kids at home, but she can't take care of them because she's always got her head up his ass. But no matter how many times he shits on her grand plans of reunion, she won't take the hint.

So, there it is. Jail. Because he won't allow her to become Marissa 2.0, not in his new story. No. He's gonna fill this novel with accomplishment! Friendship! And love.

'Love…' he smiled dreamily. 'I'd like to give it a try.'

And this weekend, when Gev comes to see him, he's gonna try all over the place.

That had been the plan, at least.

The whole family came together to visit him. They must have been spending time together at home, because Shuhei usual sees him alone, since he lives in his own place at a pace set to his own time. His brother is very much a man. He can't wait to become the same. His own place; doing things his own way; nobody to tell him no. Well, he's not some brat bound by "No's" that are just dying to get out to give examples as to why he had so many restrictions, naah, that's weak. He'll likely live a quiet and simple life; which will worry the neighbors because for some weird reason humans don't like quiet, unless they have issued a want of it. Go figure.

They told him about this and that going on in their lives, and made plans of what they want to do with him when he gets out. But the biggest thing of all was they brought gifts. They would have brought them sooner but, with the way his body wasn't under control, they figured it would only depress him. Good call, because it would have. Nobody wants a pile of goodies staring them in the face with a 'Do Not Touch' sign making it a museum display.

"Celie, quick question," he says once he's opened his sister's second belated Christmas gift. "you do know that I'm a guy, right?"

"Duh. And dolls aren't gender bias, society is."

"I agree, but, one is enough," he turns the ball jointed doll around in his hand. "Unless… Where's Mr. J?"

"Still in your room."

"Thank you, I thought you morphed him into someone else." He looked physically relieved, his tense posture slumped. "I was about to lose my job."

"What?"

"Nothing," he waved off the saying that isn't actually a saying that's common amongst man. "So, why Sherlock?" The doll, unlike the previous gift that came to him butt-naked and waiting to take whatever image he daned for it, this one is dressed as Sherlock Holmes, his appearance resembles Benedict Cumberbatch - - as best as the thing could, anyway.

"You need a better role model; and you're going to be a cop, you hope to make detective. How would it look if you owned a criminal decoration?"

About as well as a guy can look who owns dolls of his favorite characters. Although, she did rightly call it what he considers it when he's not having an off-his-rocker moment: a decoration. Guys like himself live swaddled in action figures, he only owns one - - two now. There's no harm in keeping the gift. And she's right, he can't do the work of Mr. Holmes while keeping a criminal mind.

Shuhei got him some running sneakers and a bike for working out. Even if he hadn't been in a coma he was sure those were the gifts his brother would have given him regardless. He's such a bodybuilder. Not the kind one would usually think, but rather someone who works tirelessly to maintain a good body.

Then he had late birthday presents, and finally, sweet fucking internal freedom, he ate his first real sweet. A delicious, light strawberry shortcake but with blueberries and kiwi as the fruit selection. He's not the biggest strawberry fan, fruit-wise. He loves to drink it, but not eat it as its natural form. Suddenly the coma, Quinn Land, the infantile movement, it all just seemed like some distant bad memory because of the calming beauty that is sugar.

"Loser." Snipped the little boy, arms crossed, and lips plump with a pout.

'Brat.'

When his family was gone, he lowered his bed and began resting. The nurse, Camden, told him that Gev called and was roughly 20 minutes away. He wants to be well rested, if not, he'd start stuttering verbally or trembling physically. That's not a good look when one wants to get well and prove that they are. He supposed, in many ways, he's still a child missed but he's playing grown up.

His power nap was a brief seven minutes. He climbed out of bed and like a marionette he walked to the bathroom to relieve himself. He glanced in the mirror and smiled. No bags, no man-made guyliner, and he's got some darker grey notes to his hair. He might get back to black naturally instead of by dye. Good.

"One foot in front of the other, Krenn," he had a mild panic when his feet, no, his whole body lifted up from the floor. But feeling an arm securely against his back and under his knees he calmed down.

"Jesus, would you fucking eat more. I've had backpacks heavier than you," Gev declared, as he carried him over to the bed. "When are you going back to solids?" He tucked Hakuo's blanket about his legs like he was swaddling a baby.

"I've been on them since Wednesday," he kicked the confinement loose. He smiled at Gev, although on the outside he looks unmoved beyond ghostly tugged lip corners while inside, he's really letting the guy have it with his glee.

"Ask for seconds." Commanded his visitor.

Hakuo thought to himself that if his life was a book.. a romance novel, he and Gev would be that awkward couple that's clueless about it. They'd steal glances when the other isn't looking, they'd do little things for the other when it wasn't asked of them; but they may have an inkling the task, item, or favor would really be liked or appreciated. That seemed like a good place to start into the unknown; however…

"Hi, Hakuo," Ludwig greets as he enters the room.

"Hi." Hakuo replied.

"…Hey," then came Yakusoku, although he sounded less enthusiastic.

It would seem his romance novel would be the kind where he and Gev are constantly getting interrupted. They'd be alone one minute then suddenly involved in some house party scheme the next, or they'd be alone then a fire alarm would go off preventing a crucial first kiss…

And then there's bugger number three… the natural disasters.

Hakuo smiled politely at the newly arrived pair. He hates romance novels.

X x X

Commentary: thank you for reading, and Lookingglass thank you for the alerting so you can jump on it. It all means a ton to me. Seriously, authors need readers, even the eye-slitting, cheek-sucking, you think I stink kind lol. I'm gonna find me a publisher hopefully sooner than later. Have a great weekend, watch ghost adventures on travel channel and that's all.