“Morning!” Kael chimes back, his eyes bright and the guard blinks. “Your majesty?” his tone was questioning, Kael only continues to smile beckoning for the guard to follow him. “Today, I will try to drive!”
“Your majesty, but were you ever taught?” The guard asks worriedly, Kael nods. “Of course, of course I wasn’t.” he says and the guard hurries to stand in front of him. “I’ll drive you then.” Kael blinks and then laughs, handing the keys to the baffled guard. “Of course you will.” He squeezes the guards shoulder and winks before brushing past him. His mood was phenomenal this fine morning. And he truly felt that nothing could put a damper on it, not even his father’s funeral arrangements.
~*~
“Rock, paper scissors!” Francis and Samuel say in synch their hands thrusting out in front of them. Francis threw a rock while Samuel threw scissors. They were playing to see who would pay for desert. “Ahaha,” Francis sticks out his tongue childishly. “Suck that, Doc.” Samuel rolls his eyes, tugging at his hair and groaning. Once he regains himself, he looks between all of them posing a question. “Well, did you guys have anything sweet in mind?” Janus shrugs. “It doesn’t really bother me what you get.” He murmurs, his chin resting in his hand as he sat in the room thinking. “I’d like some first class ice cream.” Aiden pipes and everyone turns to look at him. “You’ve woken up?” Jenna tilts her head towards him and he nods. “Slept like a baby.” He coos, wiping at his eyes and sitting up. “If you’re buying Samuel, I’d take some ice cream.” He repeats. “With a doctors pay, you don’t want to ask for something more expensive?” Francis questions, his true intentions showing. Samuel shoots the young male a glare before rising to his feet. “Well let me know around four, I have to take a few calls.” He bows. “I’ll see you all around and Aiden,” his tone had turned serious. “Let me know if you’re suddenly not feeling well, got it.” Aiden nods, waving his hand up and down in an “I’m alright” fashion. Samuel says his goodbyes to Janus and the others, his eyes warming over when they landed on Jenna. “After this incident, I hope that I won’t be seeing anymore of you unless it’s for dinner and a date.” He grins as he says this stepping out into the hall with a final bow. Once the door clicks shut, Aiden says “He reminds me a bit of you, Janus.” Janus points to himself with a look of shock stretching his handsome features. “Me?”
“Yeah, I don’t know, maybe it’s the matured humor.” Aiden smirks and Janus scoffs. “Was that a jab at my age?”
“Not at all.” Aiden replies smoothly and gradually his smile falls away as his eyes drift towards the window. The atmosphere in the room changes and everyone looks to Aiden with worry. “What are you thinking about?” Jenna asks slowly. “Huh? Oh nothing, I just….” He trails off. “Thinking up some things to do once I get out of this bed.” He laughs nervously knowing full well that they knew he was lying. But no one dared to ask anything else out of fear and hope. “Welp,” Janus claps his hands together and in that moment the door clicks open again and Samuel walks inside, he smiles sheepishly. “I thought I’d hang around for a bit longer.” Without missing a beat Janus continues on to say “If you want to walk around, there’s no harm in getting you hooked up to a wheel chair and we can all go walk around out back.”
“Out back?” Francis questions. “Yes, there’s a walking ground for patients who are itching to move.” He smiles lopsidedly. “There’s a little garden, sitting area and open air.”
“Sounds nice…” Aiden hums, his thoughts briefly drifting back to the greenhouse. He wanted to go back there; check on the flowers and plants growing, wanting to make sure that all his and Kael’s hard work wasn’t going to waste. “Then, once you’ve showered, we can all head out.”
“A shower sounds nice too.” Aiden replies halfheartedly as he tugs his blankets off and swings his feet over the edge of the bed. But as he does this, he freezes in his movements as a coughing fit surges through his body and wracks at his chest. Janus is the first to spring up out of his seat and rush across the room. He sits on the edge of the bed beside him sliding an arm around his back. “Hey, Aiden, what’s wrong?” Janus asks trying to keep his voice calm. Aiden tried to reply, but his coughing overpowered his words. The sound that came out of him was hoarse and wheezy, like a whistle with no life. “Aiden,” Janus gently shakes him, a bit of worry seeping into his voice causing it to waver. He looks up locking gazes with Samuel. “Dr. Yung, make it stop.” He pleads, his eyes glistening and the longer he held Aiden and listened as he coughed, the more afraid he became. Samuel nods, striding calmly over to them and taking Aiden by his shoulders. “Let him go, please Janus.” He commands and Janus does as he says. Aiden was still coughing, but it wasn’t as strong as before and all though his face was glowing with sweat, the creases in his forehead begin to fade away and the tension in his body drains out of him and he relaxes. He clears his throat lifting his hand to gesture that he was alright. “I’m…” he pauses to catch his breath. “I’m fine.” He huffs, shrugging off Samuel’s hold on him and rising steadily to his feet as though that all hadn’t just transpired. He reaches the hospital room bathroom, but stops before turning the door knob. “I don’t mind you guys waiting for me to come out, but I like a little bit of privacy.” He says with a goofy grin, but no one moves, they all continue to stare at him, their expressions unreadable. Aiden sighs. “I had a coughing fit okay? I’m still healing, but I’m fine.” He assures them. “Now go.” He makes a shooing motion with his hand. Jenna is the first to rise up, she grips the handles on Francis’s wheelchair using them as a form of support as she quietly exits the room with him. Aiden took her silence for understanding and not distress. He then turns to Janus and also shoos him away. “Come on, I’ll be out in ten minutes. During that time you can go…flirt with Micah or something.” He jokes, but Janus doesn’t crack even the tiniest of smiles, instead he stands up, his eyebrows drawing together as he squinted at Aiden. “Aiden…” he starts softly. “What is it?” Janus’s lips open and close, but he couldn’t find the proper words. He raises his hand to gesture, but quickly closes his hand into a fist and shakes his head. “Never mind, I’ll go and bide my time elsewhere.” He murmurs and Aiden beams. “Why thank you.” He bows mockingly and Janus sneers with an almost smile—too worried to actually produce a full one. He salutes to Aiden before slipping out of the door, once it clicks shut, Aiden turns to Samuel, the only one left in the room. The smile on his face is completely wiped away and the glimmer has vanished from his eyes, all that could be seen was an expression of disbelief and panic. “What’s…” his voice comes out choked. “What’s wrong with me, Doc?” Samuel clutches his hands behind his back, his gaze resting sadly on Aiden. “The other day there was blood in my urine and sometimes I feel like vomiting,” Aiden grips his stomach and says with a fretful voice. “That isn’t right and I know it isn’t, so….” Aiden trails off, chewing on his bottom lip.
Samuel takes a step towards him and says in a quiet voice. “It hasn’t even been a week since the surgery was performed on you and from what you’re saying and what I’ve been taking notice of…” he pauses and the brief pause has Aiden’s entire body tensing. “It seems that an infection has formed around your stomach and is slowly eating away at your organs.”
“H-huh…” Aiden tilts his head to the side as though he hadn’t heard. “It can be life threatening if not treated, but I’ve been upping the dosage of antibiotics you’ve been tak—”
“So it’s…a simple infection, that’s all?” a glimmer of hope flickers in his eyes. “It’s not just a simple infection, Aiden, it’s what the doctors feared would happen to you.” Samuel runs a hand through his hair. “You see Aiden, when the bullet hit your stomach it caused a hole to form in your intestines and because of that hole, it agitated and inflamed the thin wall protecting your abdominal organs.” Aiden’s eyes widen as each word fell from the doctors lips. “It can be treated, yes, but it has to be treated quickly.” Aiden was completely silent, but he kept n
odding his head up and down and then he started to laugh. “An infection, huh…wonder how I’m going to—” he abruptly stops talking and his eyes bug out of there sockets, he grips the doorknob on the bathroom door and swings it open. He stumbles through the door and towards the toilet. He fumbles for a moment with the lid, until he finally throws it back and hunches forward, his chest heaving and then suddenly everything he had eaten comes bubbling up and out of his mouth. The sound of his insides sloshing into the toilet, made his stomach churn. He clutches the seat of the toilet for support as the bile stung his throat. His eyes water and Samuel rushes inside the bathroom to hold him up. Aiden hacks and it came out like a clogged sink. Glug, glug, glug—it petrified him. “You’re okay,” Samuel assures soothingly. “Everything’s going to be alright—you’re alright Aiden, you’re alright.” Aiden leans over the toilet huffing, his face glistening with sweat and his eyes full of fearful tears. He feared looking down into the toilet and discovering what was there, so instead he closes his eyes, wipes his mouth and stands up straight. Samuel was still caressing his back when he turned to face him. “I need to get a shower…” his chest heaves out and he finally looks into Samuel’s eyes. “…so can you please…leave.” Aiden swallows and Samuel nods slowly as he takes a step back. “Aiden, you’ll have to refrain from eating heavy meals, your stomach can’t handl—“
“I know, okay? I know.” His eyes were drooping and appeared almost translucent as he looked on. He steps forward and without saying another word to Samuel, he closes the door. It clicks shut and he holds tightly onto the doorknob before resting his forehead against the door. He takes in a deep breath, lets it out and then takes in another. And once again—as he leaned against the door and listened to his beating heart—he didn’t think of himself, but of his parents and of Kael and of how he would continue smiling for their sake and healing…yes, he wanted to heal—desired it like he desired to hold Kael—it was something inevitable and something miraculous. “I want to hold you…so that I can heal…” his voice was loud in the quiet and empty bathroom.
~*~
Kael shudders as he steps out of his car, the door having been opened by the bodyguard that had driven him. “It’s cold.” He chitters and the man nods with mild agreement. “It’s forecasted to snow sometime next week.”
“Ah, really…” Kael hums looking up to the skies, his eyes squinting as they came upon the sun. Before arriving at the hospital, he had stopped at a super market to buy ingredients he could easily put together in Aiden’s hospital room. His grocery bag contained prepackaged vegetables, microwaveable noodles and a few sweet treats. He had also bought candles and a pair of underclothes, he planned on staying the night. “Shall we go?” he gestures towards doors, offering to lead the bodyguard the rest of the way. “Ah, yes, yes.” And with a charming smile, Kael walks ahead of the man, his eyes twinkling. Kael figured that after they ate with everyone, the others would leave and it would just be him and Aiden and from there, he would set up the candles, curl next to him and listen to his breathing. That’s all he wanted to do. Listen.
Kael presses the elevator button and waits for the doors to ding open. As they’re waiting, he looks up and down the hall, his hands clutching the bag as he swung it side to side in tempo with his tapping feet. He was anxious in wanting to exclaim to Aiden that he had told the world. “Now everyone knows!” He wanted to say. Ding! The doors to the elevator slowly part and a flood of people come pouring out, Kael steps aside, paying no mind to the many faces, except one whom he faintly recognized. Ene, Jean—something like that. He briefly pondered why he would be here, but the thought was pushed aside as he hurried to get inside the elevator. The bodyguard kept the door open for him until he was fully inside and then he lets it go. “Which button should I press?” the guard asks Kael and Kael beams. “I got it.” He says happily, pressing the button that showed the number 5. He bounces on his toes as the elevator ascends. He begins to hum, his smile straining his cheeks. The bodyguard looks to him skeptically and then after a moment, he too begins to smile. And they’re both standing and smiling in the elevator and once it reaches Aiden’s floor, Kael takes off down the hall in the direction of his room. “Your majesty!” the guard calls and Kael snaps back to look at him. “Hush!” he brings a finger to his lips. “You could get my identity uncovered and thus Aiden’s.” The guard shrinks back and swallows. “S-sorry.” Kael smiles waving the guard over. “It’s alright, what’d you say your name was?”
“Hyde.”
“Well, Hyde, you’re about to meet a great man.” Kael says as though he were talking to a child. Hyde only laughs as he follows after his King. They reach Aiden’s room only to discover that the door was cracked open. He gently pushes it open and sitting in the room were Jenna, Janus and Francis. They were too engrossed in their conversation to notice Kael, so he clears his throat. “Hello,” their chatter stops immediately and silence falls around the room like dust. They all turn to look at Kael. He raises his free hand and waves. “Where’s my knight?” he asks teasingly and a look passes between the three, it causes Kael to grow worried. “What is it?” he looks towards Aiden’s empty bed, eyeing the crumpled sheets that showed the outline of his body. “Did he go out to get something…?” Janus shakes his head and points to the bathroom. “He’s taking a shower.” He explains. “But I think he’s meditating,” Francis adds. “He’s been in there for a while.”
“And the water stopped running about ten minutes ago.” Jenna adds. “We went out for a while, to grab some drinks from the vending machines, stretch our legs, you know.” She says risking a glance towards Janus who kept his gaze steady on Kael. The King stares intently at them trying his hardest to discern their fixed expressions. After a moment, Kael finally gives up and goes to sit on the edge of Aiden’s empty bed. “I hope you don’t mind me coming a bit early,” he begins to say. “I just couldn’t wait.”
“No, you’re fine.” Janus says. “It’s only 10:30AM, which gives us time to catch up and talk…” he continues and Kael smiles, but this time it came across strained. Janus noticed and probably understood that he was worried about Aiden. “I’m sure…if you knock on the door he’ll let you in.” Jenna says, but she sounded unsure herself. Kael shakes his head. “If he doesn’t want to be bothered, I won’t…” the door to the bathroom creaks open and they all go silent as they look in the direction of the bathroom. Aiden stood in the door, his ashen hair damp and stringy as it hung in front of his eyes. His face was clear and his eyes resembled his glowing skin—he seemed alright. Kael jumps up, but does not move towards him. Aiden—upon noticing Kael—smiles brightly. “Stale Kael,” he spoke softly, softer than usual. “Hey…” Kael hums, sounding confused and faraway. “I wanted to get clean before I saw you, I didn’t think you’d come so soon.” Aiden hurries to explain, as he steps towards Kael. His eyes rest on the bed where he spotted the grocery bag. “What’d you get?” he asks and Kael doesn’t reply instantly instead he closes the distance between them and hugs Aiden tightly. He didn’t know why—maybe there was no reason—no need for one. He just wanted to hold him, sensed—in some way—that Aiden needed to be held. Aiden goes limp in his arms, resting his head against the solid plane of Kael’s chest and then slowly he slides his hands up the youngers back. “You smell nice, like sweet roses.” Kael whispers gently against the side of his neck. Jenna’s cheeks were a bright pink and Hyde had looked away some time ago. Janus too—thinking that he was witnessing a moment too intimate for his eyes—also looked away. Francis on the other hand stared at them with his own personal longing to be held.
Aiden inhales Kael’s own scent and then lets it out of his parted lips. “You smell like everything good and gorgeous in life.” He murmurs and Kael chuckles, gently pushing Aiden away and looking into his eyes. “It’s done.” He announces and Aiden cocks his head to the side. “I came out to them.” Once he realizes what Kael was talking about, he reaches up to take his cheek in the palm of his hand. “You did…”
Kael closes his eyes, tilting his head so that his cheek was fully resting in Aiden’s palm. “You’ve made me do things I would never have thought of doing, things I wouldn’t have even envisioned.” Kael hums and Aiden chuckles. “No, I didn’t do that, I just gave you a little push.” He leans up to kiss Kael’s forehead. “That’s all.” Janus finally decides to clear his throat and Jenna giggles to herself as the two separate. “We love seeing you two in love, but we feel like third-wheelers.” She says with a bit of sass and sarcasm. Kael laughs shyly and he nods. Aiden on the other hand takes it as his chance to say something dirty. “If you three decide to stay the night, you may want to buy an eye mask and earplugs.”
“Gross.” Francis mumbles. “Watch it, Aiden.” Janus warns and Aiden laughs; Kael helps him back onto his bed. “Shall we go outback?” Francis suggests and Kael looks to him questioningly and Aiden groans. “Come on! I just got back in this bed!”
“You can actually use your legs, so use ‘em and lets go.” Francis snaps, wheeling himself to the door. “Damn you, Fran.” He curses, grumbling his way out of his bed, this time he didn’t let Kael help him. “Are you going out in that?” Kael asks gesturing to Aiden’s night gown. “We’re just going to the hospital garden out back, there’s probably tons of other patients in their night gowns and besides,” Aiden wiggles over to Kael, leaning close to him. “Didn’t you say this gown was very befitting of me?” Kael rolls his eyes with a sigh. “Whatever.”
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