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 Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 1:25 pm
Akio Yoshida had never been to the hospital for anything but a PR excursion.
Years before, he'd show up with his bandmates and they would autograph various pieces of memorabilia and gift them to the sick children and teenagers who fawned over their music. A few t-shirts here, a few body pillows there - it had been a publicity stunt that the newspapers and magazines had gobbled up, just as their manager had intended.
Arriving at Destiny City General's Emergency Room had been a frightening experience. The instacare that Hydra had dropped him off at (not that she'd known that Seal's Eye was some lanky, foreign goof under all his suave exterior) hadn't been able to help him and therefore insisted he be sent to the ER for a blood transfusion on top of the plentiful number of stitches his side and arm would require.
Alone and surrounded by all sorts of medical equipment he was unfamiliar with, the grown man found himself nervous as he lay out on the not-so-accommodating stretcher assigned to him. On the other side of the curtain of his room, some elderly man bemoaned of stomach pain.
Fumbling in his pocket, he withdrew his cell phone and glanced at the screen.
Calling his mother wouldn't do any good. Sure, it was... what, noon around her time but what good was worrying his family when they were hours upon hours away?
The next face to pop up in his head was the one he immediately called. There was regret shortly after hitting the Dial button next to the blushing girl with teal hair's face but he shrugged it aside.
Sure, he didn't want to worry her too but at the same time... she was all that he had in this part of the world and he needed someone now more than ever - at least, in his mind, he did. He knew he was probably being a big baby about it but hell, he was allowed to want comfort in a time like the present.
Licking his dry mouth, nervous eyes cast a glance around the sterile, bland looking room as the dial tone began to ring.
Please pick up, beautiful.
Please.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2018 11:51 am
Rory had returned home after she'd left Seal's Eye at the instacare, her nerves a little fried and blood caked beneath her fingernails and around her nail beds. She ached, but it was mostly her heart that ached because she didn't know how her dream prince was faring.
If he ended up dying because she hadn't stayed with him....
Rory shook her head, forcing the thoughts away because she couldn't handle the idea of potentially losing her dearest friend. Not like that anyway. Then, because she needed a distraction, she made her way into her apartment's small bathroom.
Carefully her braid was undone, her phone set upon the counter, and her clothing shed so that she could step into the shower and wash off the grime (and more importantly Seal's blood).
Fortunately for Akio, she'd finished her shower just as her phone began to ring and had to hastily wrap herself and her hair up in a towel before she answered.
"Hello?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2018 12:03 pm
"Hello?"
The sound of her voice was a comfort in itself, bringing a calming, almost soothing feeling to the anxiety growing within him. He was being attended to by strangers when all he wanted was the one person he actually trusted.
Akio felt bad for burdening her, already suspecting the severity of her reaction before even explaining his circumstances. He felt guilty...but not enough to not burden her with this worry.
"Hey, beautiful." His voice wavered a bit as he tried to remain calm. Taking a few deep breaths, his tired head leaned back against the cheap, uncomfortable pillow the hospital provided. "I hate to call so late but I'm in kind of a mess. Do you... do you think there's any way you could..."
His voice trailed off as he sucked in another breath, wincing from the pain still throbbing in his side. He should let her get to sleep. He should bother her in the morning.
What was he doing?
"Baby, I-I'm not doing so hot right now."
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 10:10 am
Rory was picking her clothing up from the floor, depositing most things in the various hampers they'd managed to fit to make it easier to sort laundry, when she noticed that his voice wavered. Her brow furrowed and she adjusted her grip on her phone when she straightened herself.
"Akio---" She was cut off when he managed to get himself going and she felt her heart drop. "What's wrong, what---"
"Baby, I-I'm not doing so hot right now."
She nearly dropped her phone as panic started to flutter in her chest and she was quiet for far longer than she should have been. "Where are you? A-Akio, what happened? I-- I have to get dressed but tell me where you are and I'll be there."
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Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 6:13 pm
His eyes closed and he tried to push away the growing guilt that weighed on his chest. He could hear the panic in her voice as her questions came pouring out, muffling the sound of his roommate's moaning and some nurse prattling on about how she couldn't give him anything else at the moment.
Akio's own nurse had told him he'd be required to have a series of vaccinations for rabies prevention, as he was attacked by an animal. Shots appealed to him about as much as staying in the emergency room did - stitches, shots, everything sounded bad and the only hand he had to hold was his own to get through it.
Still, for all of his self-pitying, he knew it wasn't fair to place such a crisis in her sweet, helpful hands. She didn't even have a car - asking her to make her way down to the hospital was selfish above anything else.
"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have bothered you," he mumbled, wincing as he shifted on the cot. "It's probably not that big of a deal, I'm just..."
Sigh.
"I'm in the ER," He took another deep breath, then followed up quickly, "It's not life threatening, I swear. I'm just nervous, I....I need you here, if it's not too much to ask."
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2018 10:35 am
"Hush," she said immediately after he tried to apologize. "Don't be a dummy," she mumbled, already stumbling over her clothing and into her room so that she could get dressed. Her outfit was haphazardly picked, leggings with one of the bigger, thin sweaters she'd stolen from either Akio or Axton at one point. Her hair was hastily braided, something messy and wet down her back and boots were slipped on.
Her bag was grabbed when she adjusted her hold on her phone.
"Which one?" The city was too big for her to know exactly where he was without more information. "Baby," she said more forcefully, knowing that the use of the word would help him understand how serious she was, "tell me where you are and I'll figure out how to get there, okay?"
Sure she'd have to call a Lyft, but it was a small price to pay to make sure her boyfriend was okay. Besides, he would've already been enroute if their roles were swapped.
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 1:41 pm
There was some noise on the other end of the line and what sounded like muffled discussions between Akio and some female - presumably a nurse. Words like shot and rabies cut in and out of what sounded like nervous, almost shaky acknowledgement from the usually chill young man.
When Akio returned to the receiver, he took a deep breath to try to shake off his nerves before explaining, "Destiny General. They've got me in room... uhh..."
He glanced up, trying to read the numbers scribbled out on the dry erase board to his left, right above the name of his nurse for the next however long he was going to be forced to stay in such a dreadful place, "Forty-three. I'm sorry. I'll pay for the ride or however you get here, I just..."
Another sigh as the phone was clenched between fingers.
"I'm sorry."
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Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2018 8:56 am
She was already halfway down her stairs, tugging her jacket on just in case, as she waited for more information. Her heart was fluttering in her chest and Rory had to put him on speaker so that she could pull up the Lyft app.
Hastily putting in the address she called for the ride and snatched her keys off the counter before she hurried to the door. It was only then that she paused, to yell something at her cats. "I have to go out, but I'll be back. Behave!"
Once she was out the door her boyfriend had her full attention. "Shush, don't be sorry Akio," she reassured him. "The app says it's going to take me fifteen minutes." She worried on her bottom lip, pressing the phone against her ear.
"Don't worry about it, okay? I love you. I want to be there for you." She knew that if things were reversed he would have been halfway to her already. "I'll stay on the phone as long as they let me okay?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 12:10 pm
"I love you too."
The words were hushed, phone gripped tightly as he pressed it against his ear. The pain was a constant throb but it wasn't the worst pain he'd ever felt. At the same time, though, combined with the anxiety and unfamiliarity of the hospital room, it was a recipe for troubling times in Akio Yoshida's world.
He opened his mouth to repeat his offer to pay for her ride when an irritating beep had him suddenly jerking the phone away from his face. Upon glancing at the screen, it was flashing LOW BATTERY and the young man cursed himself for not charging up the phone before he'd left to start his day.
Could anything possibly get any worse?
No -- he didn't want to ask that question and jinx himself even further.
"My phone's dying, baby. I don't know how long we've got."
His voice sounded tired, like he was resigning himself to his fate of being miserable. Still, he refused to hang up the dying phone, desperate to hear his sweet girlfriend's voice for as long as he could manage. "You're too good to me, y'know."
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 2:19 pm
Her ride arrived in three minutes, luckily having been close enough to pick up almost immediately. She could hear the panic in his voice and she felt her heart constrict at the thought of her poor boyfriend hurt and alone and scared in a hospital.
They'd never bothered her, not since her mama passed, but she could only imagine what it was like for someone who was effectively alone like Akio was when they weren't together. His family was in another country.
"Okay, well it shouldn't be long baby. I'm in the car now, I'll be there soon," she promised him, only covering the receiver when she spoke to the driver to confirm her destination.
"I'm not, you woulda done this for me if I'd called you. You're my boyfriend, of course I'm going to come be with you, dummy." The word was used affectionately, as it often was.
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Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 9:45 am
There was a forced out laugh at the dummy comment, Akio attempting to relax despite the uncomfortable nature of the situation. He could hear the rustling and shuffling in the background, what sounded like a car door shutting and an unknown voice talking quietly in the distance.
She was in the car. She'd be there soon.
"I've got the best girlfriend ev--"
The phone beeped again in his ear, Akio looking down to stare at a black screen.
s**t.
His hand fell down to his side, the useless phone falling out of his palm and sliding down onto the stretcher's crappy excuse for a bedsheet. He wanted to do nothing more than to curl up into a ball and try to sleep away the exhaustion and the anxiety but the discomfort and strange surroundings kept sleep far, far away from him.
Hurry, beautiful.
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Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:52 am
She heard the beeping of the phone call ending and could only assume that it meant that Akio's phone had died. Naturally, Rory was worried about her distressed boyfriend now that he didn't have the ability to talk to her while he was clearly upset, but she could see the hospital in her line of vision and she had to remind herself that she'd be with him shortly.
Once she was dropped off she thanked her driver, tipped him via app, and skipped the overall review for later.
Her phone was tucked into her jacket pocket and she hurried into the building, immediately going to the front desk and asking where the room Akio had told her was. There'd been some push back, about how visiting hours were over except for family and she panicked, because as far as she knew she was the closest thing he had to family in the states.
Luckily, the lady took pity on her and let her through and she didn't waste time making it over to his room.
"Akio?" She asked softly, pushing the door open and peeking in.
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 9:20 pm
Akio was exhausted by the time the door started to slowly creak open.
The nurse had come in and given him the dreaded shot, which had hurt far more than he'd ever recall any shot hurting before. The sutures that had taken the emergency room doctor what felt like hours to apply (which hadn't in actuality, it simply felt as if time had dragged on) were losing their tingling numbness, the ache and pain quickly returning.
Clenching his jaw, he was prepared to take up the nurse on the pain medication if she'd come back to try to offer it again when brown eyes spotted a very familiar braid paired with a very familiar set of wide, panicked eyes that were busy searching among the hospital paraphernalia around him.
"Hey, beautiful."
His voice barely croaked out the words but he offered her a crooked grin in a form of apology as a warm rush of relief filled him at the sight of his small girlfriend clinging to the door as she pushed it open.
"Have I told you how much I love you, today?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2018 10:54 am
When her eyes met his she felt both relief and panic swelling. "Dummy," she huffed, slipping into the room and immediately bee-lining it towards him.
"What are you doing getting attacked by an animal?" Rory asked, reaching tentatively for one of his hands before she shuffled closer and leaned over the hospital bed to press a gentle kiss against his cheek.
"I love you too, dummy," she told him, reaching with her other hand to brush some of his hair back. "You feeling okay?" Rory was fretting, it was impossible to not fret but she felt better seeing him.
He was alive, he was breathing, and he only looked slightly worse for wear.
Small hands squeezed his larger one and she said, in a very quiet voice, "I'm really glad you're okay. That you're safe."
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2018 11:47 pm
As her hand gently swept his hair, Akio took the opportunity to relax his head against the soft, smooth palm of her hand as it passed. Eyes closed as he took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of his sweet princess and savoring her sheer presence. Having Aurora there in the room with him made everything seem so much brighter, so much more hopeful and far, far less intimidating.
After he took his time settling against her hand, he drew it towards his mouth and pressed a dry, chapped kiss against her knuckles.
"Guess they realized how sweet I was and wanted to give me a try?"
The joke lacked his usual enthusiasm, the loss of adrenaline rush catching up to him and making him feel especially tired. Her hand squeezed against his and the crooked smile grew a little bit wider as his head returned to the shoddy pillow, pressing into it wearily.
"I'm glad you're here. Thank you. I.... I can't thank you enough, beautiful."
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