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Ennoshita slowly stirs in an unfamiliar white room full of sunflowers. He wasn’t ready to be pulled from his dream, a dream full of kind eyes, soft praise whispered against his mouth and strong arms that held him close. He lifts his head a fraction of an inch, trying to figure out where he is because everything is so foggy and he hears a sharp intake of breath over his shoulder. He’s too fuzzy to even realize that someone else was in the room with him this whole time.
“Oh god, you’re moving so slow. Like a sloth.” Ennoshita looks over his shoulder. Finally facing his visitor and his breath hitches as his vision is filled with wide brown eyes and a softer than should be allowed smile. He opens his mouth to speak but nothing comes out.
“Don’t--Ennoshita, you don’t have to speak. You need your rest.” This handsome man attempts to look stern, in a way that seems like he means well. Ennoshita still has zero idea who this man is, but he trusts him, in a way that he would probably trust anyone who knew his name right now. Because, to be honest, he has a lot of questions. Like: why am I in the hospital?, and who were all these flowers from?, and wow, this man’s eyes are really, really warm and nice to look at.
“Who…” Ennoshita whispers out, throat unbearably dry and coarse. He attempts to clear it but it doesn’t do anything other than make him aware of just how sore his throat is.
“Water! Right! The nurse said you’d definitely need to drink a lot of water to soothe your throat and lots of rest to recuperate.” This man has his index finger raised and eyes closed as he recites the nurse’s instructions. He moves unfathomably quick to a small side table where a glass of water and straw were posed and ready.
“Here, are you thirsty?” Ennoshita nods. As he sips slowly through the straw, the stranger continues to talk at a ridiculous pace especially for Ennoshita’s foggy and cloudy mind.
“I’ve also--you know, for later-- got a whole line up of cold, soothing snacks for you: strawberry popsicles, pudding, even otter pops, because I know you like the blue ones the best, and I found a place that sells a whole PACKAGE OF JUST BLUE ONES!” By now he’s so animated, Ennoshita can’t help but smile.
“Who are you?” The words barely come out above a whisper and he feels it in his throat. The unrelenting warmth emanating from the left side of his bed (Ennoshita had to admit, he had been growing very accustom to in the last 3 minutes) is immediately extinguished.
His face contorted in concern, “Chikara you…. you don’t.. You really don’t know who I am?” The end of the sentence is mumbled as he fiddles with his hands. Suddenly unable to make eye contact.
Ennoshita realizes immediately that he has somehow managed to mess up and his mind is screaming at him that this handsome stranger just used his first name. It can’t be good for his heart with the way it’s dancing against his chest and loud pings of the heart monitor rings in his earths. Ennoshita misses what he felt a moment ago and tries not to think about the fact that in the three minutes they had been talking, he had unconsciously drifted towards this boy’s warmth; now they were close enough to touch and he wants to reach out and he wants to touch. To offer some sort of comfort, for what he’s not sure but he wants that smile back on that handsome face.
Voice still weak from his surgery, Ennoshita mumbles, “did you do all of this? The flowers? They are beautiful...” He reaches a hand out and places it gently on top of the other man's hands. A small attempt at comfort.
Ennoshita doesn’t know what’s going on but that smile is once again directed at him, shit-- he’s giggling, it's like a balm to Ennoshita’s confused and groggy mind. He can’t help but bend towards the light just like the sunflowers filling this room.
“Ennoshita, are you sure you don’t recognize me? Like, you’re sure?
Ennoshita shrugs, “I think I would remember meeting someone like you.”
“Oh my god. Oh god, holy shit, you’re serious.” He exclaims still mid- laugh, “Sorry, I’ve gotta FaceTime Noya right now. He had warned me, he told me you might be really groggy because after Kinoshita’s surgery he was super out of it but he also said it was really unlikely--” The phone rings and a voice picks up on the other end.
“Tanakaaaaaaa,” The disembodied voice, whose name is apparently Noya, from the phone finally gives him the answer to the question he hadn’t been brave enough to ask, Tanaka, that’s his name. Ennoshita files this away for later. “Oh shit-- are you still at the hospital?”
“Shhhh,, Noya! Damn, Ennoshita is resting.” Tanaka smiles over at him, sheepish and sooo handsome it makes Ennoshita’s chest warm and tight. “Noya, he looks really cute and sleepy and also, he might possibly have temporary amnesia and doesn’t know who I am.” The last part of the sentence his voice pitches high and slightly panic sounding.
“WHAT?” The phone exclaims.
“But it’s fine,” Tanaka huffs out a nervous laugh and looks away from the screen and back at Ennoshita “He’ll remember me right? He’ll remember Noya? He’ll remember everything? ….right?” He fidgets with his hands again.Cute. Did Tanaka just call him cute?
“Tanaka-San?” Ennoshita reaches out and grasps Tanaka’s forearm.
He gasps and drops his phone on the bed. “Oh my god you’re moving so slow,”
Noya’s muffled voice continues asking “Hello? What’s going on?”
“You’re very….cute too...” Ennoshita phrases carefully. He isn’t sure that was exactly as eloquent as he wanted it to be, but his brain isn’t completely functioning as of late. “I have… a question. So, we… Are we …..are we friends?”
“Friends? I like to think of us as a little more than friends,” Tanaka nervously glances down at where Ennoshita’s left hand was still holding onto his left arm before wiggling his left hand fingers in front of Ennoshita’s face and there, distinctly placed on his 4th finger was a simple gold band.Ennoshita’s eyes goes wide, his vision has been fuzzy this whole time but now, sparkling and in-focus right in front of his face, was a ring.. a wedding ring.
“We’re married.” Ennoshita wasn’t sure he could fathom that, the warmth of a newly formed star burning steadily like an evenly stoked fire in his palm.You... wanted to marry….me?”
“Yeah!” Tanaka exclaimes “It was awesome! Best day of my life!” Ennoshita tries to smile at that, but his face still feels kind of numb, so he’s unsure how much of his intent is physically displayed.
Ennoshita feels dizzy and light headed, this time less from the drugs and more from Tanaka smiling so fondly and adoringly at him. He grapples with his words, trying to figure how he could not remember having this kind of warmth in his life? How could he not remember the kind of magnetic pull he’s feeling right now? His breath hitches slightly when Tanaka maneuvers him to the far side of the bed and crawls in next to him. A warm hand rests softly on his neck and strong fingers gently stroke along his chin and cheek.
The warmth of Tanaka so close and the gentleness of his touch lulls Ennoshita into a sense of peace and his worries quiet. He leans forward so he’s resting his forehead against Tanaka’s. A soft huff falling from Tanaka as his hand moves from Ennoshita’s cheek to the back of his head scratching softly. /I want to kiss him/ flashes so abruptly through Ennoshita’s mind that it jolts him. Is that allowed? They are married.. but that possibility feels too good to be true.
“So, I have one more question… you’re telling me, we, us, us two... “ His voice trails off, Ennoshita slowly edges his face on the pillow giving him some space to breathe but they are still nose to nose. Suddenly he feels overwhelmingly embarrassed about what he was thinking and what he was asking with Tanaka’s lips just inches from his own.He covers his face in his hands and rushes to his questioning, “so, we….. we’ve kissed? You’ve kissed me?”
Tanaka breathes out a laugh warm and settling, “Hell yeah, like…..a lot of times. At least a thousand times.” He pauses, seeming to think about his next words carefully, “You were my first kiss actually.”
“I was?” Ennoshita replies, his voice much more full of wonder than he intended. He is so high. He watches Tanaka smile widely at that, their faces a breath apart. Tanaka is now the one that covers his face. The tips of his ears visibly pink.
“You can’t look at me like that. It’s bad for my heart.”
Ennoshita relaxes, something settles in his chest, a feeling he could only describe as safety, as home. He feels sleep settling in behind his eyes again overwhelming, “Sunflowers are my favorite, for the record.”
“I know that,” Tanaka replies, mere inches away. Ennoshita can feel his breath on his temple. His eyes are heavy and closed, feeling the warmth from the body beside him and watching the star bursts move across his eyelids as he waits for sleep to finally take him back.
“Also,” Ennoshita mumbles, “blue otter pops aren’t my favorite, I like red best.”
“I TOLD YOU!” Noya’s voice yells muffled through the phone that was still connected but lying abandoned on the bed.
“Shhhh! No one asked you and Ennoshita is trying to rest!” Tanaka scrambles to grab the phone. “Damn Noya, learn to read the room,” Tanaka mumbles through a smile before placing a soft kiss on Ennoshita's forehead. “Gotta go, bro. Got a husband who is delirious and extra affectionate to take care of.” He hangs up the phone, eyes never leaving Ennoshita’s face.
Ennoshita can feel himself flush all the way up to the tip of his ears. His eyes locking onto the soft curve of Tanaka’s mouth. His smile is radiant and warm and he wants to taste it.
“Maybe a kiss will help me remember.” Mumbles Ennoshita as he tilts his head up. Tanaka’s big warm hands gently cup his face pulling him close until his chapped lips meet soft ones in a slow gentle kiss, a simple glide of lips. He melts into it, tilting his head to get a better angle to press closer, to feel more. It’s a simple thing just a press of lips but it steals his breath and he melts into it. Warmth blooming in his chest and spreading out to the very tips of his fingers and toes. He's not prepared for this feeling of utter content and happiness, it's almost bittersweet. He closes his eyes savouring the moment for what it is. Tanaka smiles into the kiss, pulling back just a breath away. Eyes searching Ennoshita’s face before returning to his mouth kissing him like someone parched stepping into a thunderstorm - with craving tempered by an edge of reverence, like he can’t believe his luck.
A soft laugh escapes from Tanaka’s mouth and the kiss is broken as he places soft kisses on Ennoshita’s cheeks, forehead and nose soft laughter spilling over Ennoshita’s skin and singing through his veins. When Tanaka’s laughter dies down, he can see the twinkle in his eye. He leans down, brushing a dark strand of hair out of his face and cupping his cheek yet again.
“We should have you get surgery more often or maybe they can write a prescription? You’re never this openly affectionate with me.” Laughs Tanaka before placing one last kiss to the pout on Ennoshita’s lips and moving back to his seat, “You should get some sleep, love. I’ll be here when you wake up being your knight in shining armor as always.”
Ennoshita can’t keep the fond look off his face even as he rolls his eyes. His eyes are tired and heavy so he closes them, slipping easily back into comfortable sleep. His dreams once again filled with much more familiar kind eyes, strong arms that he knows what they feel like wrapped around him and a smile that he knows the taste of.