Chapter 33: Evanescent
"Welcome back, sir," his chauffeur, Okubo, greeted him.
"Good to be back."
Keigo got into the car and asked slyly when Okubo was in the driver's seat, "How many people tried to bribe you while I was away?"
Okubo didn't even bat an eyelid. "Two."
"Only?" Keigo mused. "We are underperforming."
"There might have been one more but I didn't stop the car to speak to him."
Keigo chuckled and remarked, "Perhaps you should accept one someday. We need to think of the most outrageous stories to feed them."
"I think I'd like a raise for that, sir," Okubo returned. "My job does not include pranks."
"Of course. Always negotiable," Keigo laughed and he could see Okubo cracked a smile in the rearview mirror.
He was in a good mood. His schedule at work was looking clear in the next couple of days. The weather forecast was encouraging.
Keigo wondered if Kaoru would be up for an impromptu trip to the springs during the weekend.
He glanced at his watch. The flight had landed just before noon, after delays due to bad weather and being stuck in a holding stack.
He could go home for a bit and then pick Kaoru up from work.
Retrieving his phone from his pocket, Keigo dialed the familiar number.
"Keigo."
Something was amiss. He knew from Kaoru's tiny voice over the phone.
"What's wrong?" he demanded.
"I'm in the hospital," Kaoru began hesitantly.
A awful sensation creeped into Keigo's blood. He forced himself to stay calm. "I'll come over now."
"Could you?" Kaoru whispered. "I'll message you the ward. I'll e-explain everything when you're here."
Keigo wanted to know everything NOW. But he held his impatience in check.
There was a murmur in the background and Kaoru telling someone that he would be right there.
"I need to go," Kaoru told him. "S-see you soon."
"Very soon," Keigo promised.
They hung up and he heard himself telling Okubo where to go. The older man nodded and might have done an illegal U-turn at a junction.
Keigo sank back into his seat heavily. Scenarios flashed in his mind. He tried to remain hopeful that it could just be a minor thing.
If not for the tremor in Kaoru's voice. An underlying note of fear.
Keigo couldn't fool himself.
xxxxxxxx
The steps he took to reach Kaoru's ward was a blur. Keigo ran, pressed the floor of the elevator too hard, asked the nurses manning the reception brashly for directions.
When he stood outside the door to the ward, he took a deep breath to steady himself.
Entering, he could see the other patients in their beds. A few curious glances were thrown at him.
Kaoru's bed was the furthest to the right. When he approached, he saw someone speaking to Kaoru.
"We can have you transferred to a private room if you prefer."
"Do that," Keigo ordered.
The nurse turned around and gaped in surprise.
Kaoru stared at him. A sheen glossing his eyes.
"Can we have a moment?" Keigo told the nurse. "And I want the transfer done immediately."
"Ah, yes," she sputtered and departed hastily.
He hurried to Kaoru's side and hugged him.
"What happened?" he asked urgently.
"I'm sorry, Keigo!"
He didn't understand why Kaoru had to apologise. Kaoru tried to explain the situation amidst choked tears. All Keigo could catch were medical terms he didn't understand.
And one stark fact which stood out.
There was a terrible complication. Kaoru needed surgery. As early as the following day.
The next day.
He couldn't comprehend.
"It'll be fine. You'll be fine," he tried to soothe his lover, kissed his forehead. Why was Kaoru's skin so cold?
Those large eyes looked up at him with gratitude which Keigo was not sure he deserved.
"Thank you for being here."
"Idiot. Where else would I be?" Keigo murmured, not allowing Kaoru to see the dread threatening to consume him.
xxxxxxx
He was so used to being in control during a crisis. In fact, he enjoyed it sometimes at work. It provided an adrenaline rush and a temporary surge of excitement.
At work, it was simply another competitor, one more fraudulent employee, an additional unforeseen circumstance.
There wasn't any of the helplessness he felt now.
So Keigo coped in the only way he knew how.
He ensured that Kaoru got transferred to the finest room in the hospital. The head of department gave him a personal pledge that this patient would receive nothing but the best they had to offer.
He was assured that it was extremely lucky that they had caught it early, when there was still a reasonable chance of correcting the defect. Any later and Kaoru would risk a sudden failure and the inevitable.
Keigo demanded a guarantee of success.
The grim expression on the surgeon's face said it all. His brilliant reputation preceded him. He was also honest.
"This room doesn't look like a hospital," Kaoru said lightly as he laid in bed, glancing at the surroundings.
"Well, it gives us some privacy," Keigo commented and sat down on the bed beside him.
Somehow, with Kaoru lying in a hospital bed and wearing a hospital gown, he seemed smaller.
"You should go home and get some rest," Kaoru sounded worried, which was ludicrous to Keigo given that Kaoru was the one facing a fucking medical disaster.
"I'll stay here tonight. There's a spare bed anyway," he insisted. "And Takumi brought me a spare change of clothes."
In a sorry attempt to make Kaoru smile, he added, "Actually, he just went into the nearest designer store and bought me new ones. They are hideous. I'm going to have a word with him."
Kaoru managed a chuckle.
The truth was that Keigo was afraid to leave. It felt as if he did, he would never see Kaoru again. The surgery was tomorrow and there was no guarantee that Kaoru would make it through.
"That's nice of him though," Kaoru murmured. "What colours are they?"
Keigo had to smile at that. How very like Kaoru to speak of colours.
He walked over to the sofa in the room and pulled out the sweater from the bag.
Kaoru blinked and burst into giggles.
"You're right. It's awful," he admitted.
"I may just about manage to make this look good," Keigo remarked wryly and put the monstrosity away.
He took Kaoru's hand into his when he went back to his lover's side.
"What time is it?" Kaoru asked, stifling a yawn.
"Eleven," Keigo replied. "You should sleep. You have a big day tomorrow."
Kaoru smiled, and it was sweet.
Then suddenly, a whisper, timid but clear, "I love you."
Keigo tightened his hold on Kaoru's hand. He knew exactly why Kaoru chose to and had the courage to say it now.
Kaoru wasn't sure if he would have another opportunity.
Weekly Power Status
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