Work Text:
Flashes of the video play on repeat in your mind. Your hand grips the doorknob, body unmoving—frozen still as you know there’s no amount of mental preparation you can do to face him. Gathering as much courage as you can muster, you force yourself to enter.
He lies in the hospital bed with his eyes closed. His torso is wrapped in white bandages. His fluffy blond locks have been trimmed considerably. He wears some sort of guard over his mouth. The air smells heavily of antiseptic, and the atmosphere of the room combined with the crushing weight of reality makes your stomach turn. You’re about to bolt out of the room when he opens his eyes. They lock onto yours and your freeze. A small croak can be heard coming from his throat, but you can’t make out any intelligible words.
“Huh?” you ask.
He tilts his head slightly to one side, golden eyes creating a path towards a small bedside table. His phone lays idly on the surface and it clicks that he wants you to hand it to him. He reaches a weak hand out and types slowly before the automated voice reads his words out loud, “How quickly can you get me out of here?”
“Are you joking? You nearly died and you’re already trying to go back to work?” Hot tears flood your vision, and you blink fast to clear them. Heat rises to your cheeks, and you try to calm yourself while he types his response.
“I’ll be okay as long as Jeanist-san can pull a few strings for me.”
“You killed someone.”
He looks away. The air blowing from the vent sends chills through your body. Hawks’s heart monitor beeps steadily, filling the void of silence between you.
“Do I even know you—” your voice breaks as you choke down the urge to fully cry.
“I’m sorry. We have to talk about this later.”
“Was everything just an illusion?”
“My love for you isn’t.” He types something, then erases it and types again. “I promise I’ll make this right.”
Curiosity for what wasn’t said rises between you, but you decide not to press it. Maybe it’s better not to know. Hawks’s piercing eyes are no longer shiny and bright, his charming smile gone from his face and hidden away. The man lying in this hospital bed is unrecognizable in more ways than you could ever imagine.
It’s darkness.
.
.
.
It’s madness.