Chapter Text
A familiar warmth brushed against her side. She felt it for only a moment, but the comfort was enough to last her a lifetime.
Of course, it practically had. She didn't know if she would die here. It was pretty likely. She had no air left.
Supposedly when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. So why...
Why could she only see in front of her?
For a brief moment, she saw herself swaying.
She saw her own reflection in the glass door.
She saw her brother, staring back at her.
Their eyes met.
Everything is going to be okay.
And she blacked out.
Ugh, antiseptic smell.
Mari wrinkled her nose a bit, put off by the smell. She had never really liked the smell of medicine or anything related to it. She could have picked that up from Hero. Being paired with him in his advanced chemistry classes made smells like this one all too familiar.
But...why in the world was she smelling antiseptic? She's supposed to be getting ready for her first recital, with her brother, Sunny. She struggled to open her eyes, the weight of exhaustion heavier than ever before.
Upon opening her eyes, Mari was nearly blinded by the blue glow of the room paired with the bright sunlight from outside. She remembered it raining only a few minutes ago. She reached up to cover her eyes to avoid a headache, but found her hands felt heavy, too. Something cold pressed against them. She looked down. Restraints of some sort? Why would she be restrained? Nothing made sense. Mari's head felt fuzzy.
One thing she knew is that something was on her leg and she wanted it off before it left a dent.
Mari shook her leg a bit, struggling to make out the shape that lay on top of it. The shape in question shot up with an expression that Mari could only guess was startled. But she recognized the familiar brown eyes.
"Hero," she wanted to say, but no sound came out. Her mouth felt dry the moment her lips parted. Hero was staring at her, a hand on her leg where his head lay moments before. He blinked a few times, seemingly startled. Anyone would be with a rude awakening like that.
"Mari?" His voice was hoarse, and there were dark bags under his eyes. Mari was concerned for him. What in the world happened to make him like this? "Mari..." He repeated, and began to tear up. Without warning, he hugged her, sobbing into her shoulder. Mari couldn't return the hug, no matter how much she wanted to. And she really, really wanted to.
"What's wrong, love?" She tried asking, but this time only a squeak came out. Hero pulled away from her at this, hands still resting on her shoulders. "God, Mari, you shouldn't be talking..." His eyes darted down to what Mari could only assume was her neck. He moved a hand to it, but she didn't feel it. "Just...just rest. Stay awake for me, okay?" Hero wiped the tears from his eyes and gave her a pained smile. "Please stay awake."
Mari felt herself tearing up, too, although she didn't understand why. She had never really been a crier, and couldn't remember any time she let herself be this vulnerable in front of Hero. This wasn't a very flattering image for him.
"Hero-" she coughed, still unable to let out more than a squeak. The cough was dry and incredibly painful. Hero's eyes widened and he cupped her face in his hands. "Shh, shh. Do you need something? Water?" Mari shook her head between coughs. "Uh...let me get you some paper! Just don't strain yourself, please. Don't...don't talk." Hero smiled at her again, standing up and walking over to another part of the room. From what she could tell, his walk was rushed, which was proven by him practically running the few feet back to the bed. He sat down next to her and held out a notepad and a pen with something written on the side. Mari desperately wanted to tell Hero that she couldn't grab them, but she had no way of communicating. She looked up at him. He stared back at her for a second, before being hit with a realization.
"Oh. Oh my God," he breathed, putting a hand to his head, "I can't believe I forgot that." Hero was...laughing? Or crying? She couldn't tell. He put the notepad and pen on the table in front of her and laid his head on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Mari..." He mumbled, sniffling. Okay, definitely crying. Mari wanted to rub his back and comfort him as she had for the past few years of their friendship. But she couldn't. She was useless like this.
After a few silent minutes of Mari not knowing what to do and Hero crying into her shoulder, he pulled away, never taking his eyes off her. She wondered why. After all, it's not like she was just going to disappear. Hero glanced at the spot where he had been laying. "Oh, M-Mari, I'm sorry," he took in a deep breath, smiling at her once his shoulders fell back down, "I got your gown wet. Let me call...let me call a nurse really quick. I'll just be right here," he reassured her. A...nurse? Why? She was fine, just a little dizzy.
She blinked and the nurse was next to her, speaking to Hero in low, hushed tones. The light outside was a bit less harsh and had more of an orange hue to it. Combined with the blue glow of the room, it wasn't so bad. Mari found herself able to focus easier. She listened in on the conversation between the two, picking up the fact that they hadn't noticed her.
"Listen, I understand you're worried for her. But her safety is priority right now. We don't know what she could do."
"God, you make it sound like she's some criminal or something! It's Mari, she couldn't hurt a fly. Take them off!"
"I'm sorry, I can't do that. Unless you're her legal guardian, and you believe it's safe, she'll have to stay like this. You're lucky I'm letting you back here at all." The nurse's voice fell to a whisper. "Kids aren't allowed to be back here."
"For the last time, I'm not a child! And her parents are out right now! Her dad is on the way, I can get him on the phone now. He'll make you take them off. Just-"
"Feel free to call me back when he gets here." Their eyes locked. "And keep an eye on her. You don't know what she might do." Hero seemed to be preparing a retort, but the door was shut on the two before he could. He sighed and put his head in his hands, resting his elbows on the table. Most of his sadness seemed to have turned to anger. Mari wanted to comfort him, but she couldn't. She couldn't even get his attention. There had to be some way to snap him out of it.
"I'm so tired of this shitty hospital. No one really cares about you, they're just- they're just following their stupid protocol. They don't even know what they're doing. I wish you could talk right now, I wish you could tell me everything will be okay. I hate it so much not knowing if you're going to recover, o-or even live, or-" A puff of air hit Hero's cheek. He blinked, confused, and looked up at Mari, who smiled warmly at him.
"Mari, was that- did you-" He stuttered, exasperated. Mari's smile grew and she nodded. Hero sighed and leaned against her. "Okay, I get it." Mari rested her head on his, enjoying the warmth. It made her feel hopeful. Like she could live through this.
Live...through what?
A knock on the door snapped the two out of their thoughts. Hero cleared his throat and sat up. "I'll get that, stay here." Mari nodded in agreement and Hero walked over to the door. A pair of familiar, piercing eyes met hers.
I don't want to die.
I don't want to die.
I don't want to die.
I don't-
"Mari?" Her father. Ah, but they...they looked different before. More like...
"Hi, sir," Hero greeted him, moving out of the way so he could reach Mari. He didn't want to move any further from her, but knew he had to. She was safe here, even if the hospital was annoyingly irresponsible.
Mari tried to wave, but she was restrained. She tried to speak, but found no voice. So she just smiled at her dad. That's all she was able to do.
He didn't smile back, instead walking over to her bed and putting his hand on the top of her head. He was looking at her neck, seemingly uncomfortable. He shifted his focus to her eyes, and seemed to notice his daughter for the first time.
"Hi, sweetie," he breathed, hugging her. She tucked her face into the crook of his shoulder, relieved to see him. Everything had been so confusing these past few...minutes? Hours?
He pulled away, giving her a confused look. "Do you not want to hug me?" He questioned. Mari felt bad for hurting her dad accidentally. She gestured to her hands with her head. When her father didn't respond to that, Hero piped in. "She still has the restraints on. The nurse said she needed your permission to get them off." The man rubbed his temple with his hand and sighed deeply.
"Okay. Let's get these off of you. Then we can talk."