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Cater made his way into Pyroxene General Hospital. He was currently dressed in tight black leather pants, a black flowing top with sheer sparkly sleeves that ballooned out only to cinch back at his wrists, and a red corset top, that ended just under his ribcage. He had on black heeled boots that disappeared under his pants. His hair was down, barely brushing his shoulders, and his face was done up in elaborate stage makeup.
He was supposed to be on his way to play a New Year's Eve gig with his band. They had set up and a run through before the guests would arrive. Now though he was in a panic as he headed into their emergency room entrance. The waiting room was packed, and there were several eyes on Cater as he strode quickly across the floor. The ginger, now 25 years old was fairly well known in his own right, if not just because of his own career, but because of his current boyfriend, Vil Schoenehit. The very man he was currently here to see. “Hello.” he reached the desk where a receptionist sat. “I’m here to see a patient.”
The woman looked up at him and it was clear that there wasn’t enjoy coffee in the world to cure the level of tired and overworked this woman was as her glasses sat slightly crocked on her face, and bits of her hair stuck out of her bun in fizzy strays. “Name of the patient?” she spoke with little emotion.
“Vil Schoenheit, he was brought in by ambulance about half an hour ago.” Cater replied as he gripped the edge of her desk, heart pounding in his chest. The nurse that had called him, hadn’t told him much of anything over the phone.
“Your name? And identification please.” the receptionist requested as she typed away at her computer.
The ginger took a moment fumbling with his wallet. Thankful that one of his bandmates had thrown it at him on his way out the door. “Cater Diamond,” he spoke hastily as he held it out to her. The woman took a moment to scan the barcode on the back before the sound of an overworked printer whirled to life. It felt like forever before she handed the sticker over to him.
“Please where that at all times,” she repeated the same line she’d probably already used a hundred times that day. On it was a picture of his face, with the word ‘GUEST’ written in big blocky letters. Underneath was Vil’s name and his current room number. “He’s in trauma unit 4. Head through the doors, and it will be the second hallway to your left.”
“Thank you.” Cater took a deep breath as a buzzer sounded and the doors leading back to the rest of the ER opened.
In truth the ginger hated hospitals. It was the last place he ever wanted to be and the fact he was here was a testament to how much he loved his boyfriend and was worried about him. The smell was enough to make him nauseous but he slipped his sunglasses down to block out the harsh fluorescent lights and covered his mouth and nose trying to suppress the scent of antiseptic focusing on finding Vil’s room.
Finally, he came to Trauma 4, he knocked a bit before walking in. “Vil.” he breathed out as he walked over to the side of the hospital bed. “What happened?” he asked looking between the blonde and the nurse he was currently talking with. He looked rough, he had a neck brace on, there was blood on his forehead, an IV in his left arm, and he was cradling his right. Though the rest of him was currently covered in a blanket. “Did you get into an accident?”
“Something like that,” Vil muttered looking slightly embarrassed.
“I was just going over the incident with Mr. Schoenheit myself. Do you mind if he stays? I can ask him to step out if you like.” The nurse asked the actor.
“No… he can stay.” the blonde sighed. “I’ll just start over.”
“You look terrible.” Cater brought a hand to the side of his face.
“I feel worse.” Vil groaned closing his eyes. “Though the pain meds are helping. I’m down to a 6 at least now.”
“Good.” the nurse turned to the computer station documenting what the other had said. “We’ve got some X-rays and a CAT scan ordered. But can continue with your story.”
“It’s so stupid.” the actor closed his eyes. “I decided to head to the park before Cater’s show. There I spotted a rather larger Frostborn Camellia Magica tree. They’re exceedingly rare and only bloom in perfect conditions during the winter. It’s rather sought after potionlogy ingredient.” Vil begin to explain and despite the situation, Cater had to smile. Being such a botanical nerd was not something many people associated with his boyfriend. But if it could be used as an ingredient in a potion, poison, cosmetic, or skincare Vil found it interesting. “I couldn’t simply let it go to waste. So I decided to harvest the blossoms myself.”
“That…seems a little reckless for you.” Cater raised an eyebrow at him.
“It didn’t seem that far off the ground.” the actor’s tone revealed how embarrassed he was as he protested. “Maybe 10 feet at most. Rook was always climbing in such odd places, and you weren’t much better. If I’d had a broom I’d have made use of it but I didn’t. So I simply decided to scale the tree myself. I would have been fine, but I didn’t realize that the branch I had chosen to bear my weight had begun to rot out. It snapped and I fell. That’s pretty much the story. I hurt my arm, hit my head, twisted my ankle, and broke my phone. A passerby called an ambulance for me.”
The ginger brought a hand to the side of his head. “I don’t even know what to say. I’m just glad it’s not worse. I was afraid you’d been in a car accident or something.”
“You can go back to your show.” Vil looked up at Cater. “I am sorry, I asked them to let you know what happened so you wouldn’t worry, not so that you’d rush all the way over here. I didn’t want to ruin your night. I know you have to hate being here”
“I have what I need. I’ll get the orders put in, just try and relax for now.” The nurse instructed before making a graceful exit.
Cater’s expression softened. “Vil…” he settled down into the chair next to his boyfriend’s bed. “I’ll admit sitting in the ER isn’t exactly my idea of a good time. But I’m not going to leave you alone. I already got someone to cover the gig for me. So don’t worry about that. I’m here for you.” that was something he’d learned through the course of their relationship. That Vil despite his outward confidence, had just as many self worth and self esteem issues as he did. He didn’t feeling like he’d failed those around him.
For a moment the ginger thought his boyfriend might argue but the other just relaxed slightly. “Thank you,” Vil spoke softly. “I hate that you’re here because of me, but grateful nonetheless, sitting alone in an ER room in pain by myself on New Year's Eve is no one’s idea of a good time I’m sure.”
“I love you.” Cater wanted to offer the other some kind of physical comfort but he wasn’t sure what wouldn’t just make things worse. “I’d never leave you alone when you need me. “
“My hero.” Vil mused as he shifted his eyes to look at the ginger. “I’ll find a way to make it up to you I promise.”
“Nothing to make up for.” the ginger shook his head. “Was kinda silly you got hurt falling out of a tree, but I know it was an accident. It’s fine.”
The actor looked like he was about to say more when another knock came at the door. “Vil Schoenheit?” A technician asked.
“Yes.” the blonde acknowledged.
“I’m Eli from radiology. I’m here to take you for your x-rays and CAT scan.” the man declared.
“I’ll call Rook and your Father while you’re gone and let them know what's going on.” Cater smiled at his boyfriend.
“Okay,” Vil nodded, looking slightly resigned. “Just don’t let Rook cancel his plans and rush over here.”
“I’ll try my best.” the ginger just shrugged as he let out a laugh.
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Cater had kicked his shoes off and slumped in his seat, it had been 3 hours now and thankfully Vil had passed out after another round of painkillers. The ER was crawling with people, Pyroxene General was busy on a good day, and New Year's Eve was just a special kind of hell for the ER staff and the people stuck here.
Vil’s father had sounded a bit frantic. He was a several hour flight away filming on location in the Land of Heroes. Cater had gotten the man to agree not to cancel any of his plans and book a flight back to Pyroxene until they’d gotten a better idea of how bad Vil’s injuries actually were. Eric was several hours behind them so it was only mid afternoon in his location. He’d told Cater he was glad Vil had someone like him to watch out for him and it had made the ginger feel at least a little warm and fuzzy.
Rook had been a different matter. He was in the Queendom of the Rose, another several hour flight away. Though he had easy access to mirror travel where he was and could have made the trip much quicker. His own significant other- Trey the only man who’d ever been able to get a handle on the free spirited hunter, had managed to convince him that Vil was in good hands with Cater and that they could visit him in the coming week once things had calmed down. No one really knew how Trey did it, but it wasn’t something they were willing to question.
Though deep down, Cater could admit to himself he wished someone else was there. He was doing his best to distract himself from where he was. The musician had texted his bandmates to let them know the situation, and they’d all wished Vil luck but now they were busy with the actual show.
While his outlook on friendship had drastically improved from the pessimistic attitude he’d held for most of his childhood, he didn’t have a huge circle of people he considered himself close to. Those that he did all had their own plans this evening. A sigh left his lips as he looked over a Vil. He knew the other would be upset about the slight swelling in his face. “I guess I could…” Cater muttered pulling out his phone, starting to make up a shopping list of things he knew Vil would need to help ‘get back to normal.’
Time seemed to stretch on forever when the door finally opened and the light flickered on as the doctor walked in. Vil let out a disgruntled groan about being woken up in such a manner. “Good evening.”
Cater glanced up at the the black and red digital clock that read 11:47. He’d been there nearly 6 hours now. He stood walking over to Vil’s bedside as the other stared up at the doctor. “I hope you have some good news for me,” he muttered trying to hide his displeasure. The medication was beginning to wear off and the ache in his arm was setting back in.
“Yes and no.” The doctor replied. “The good news is your CAT scan came back clean, and your head, neck, and spine are fine.” he pointed a finger in the air. “The bad news is, your arm is broken. Your radius specifically. Your ankle is inclusive, the swelling is too much for us to tell definitively if it’s truly broken or not.”
“Lovely.” Vil closed his eyes as he let out a groan. “Just I needed.” already his mind was running with how this would affect his schedule.
“We’ll get you set up with a sling and a temporary cast, for your arm and ankle and set you up with a bone and joint doctor in the next couple days. And a prescription for the pain and inflammation. But you’ll need to rest. Do you have assistance at home?” The doctor asked.
“I live with him,” Cater replied swiftly. “Just tell me what I need to help with and I will.”
“I’ll send one of the nurses in to take care of everything. But for the moment we can get that neck brace off.” the doctor moved to take the contraption off him. “I’ll get your discharge papers written up. Just no more climbing trees alright?” he teased.
“Never again, trust me,” Vil muttered still embarrassed at the events that had led him here.
“Well…” the ginger smiled. “It could be worse.”
“I’ve still gone and ruined our New Year's Eve.” the actor shook his head now that he could. “I am sorry.”
“We’re together right?” Cater glanced up at the clock before leaning over to kiss his boyfriend just as the clock struck midnight.
Vil couldn’t help but smile a bit. “I guess that’s true. And I got my kiss. Thank you again for staying.”
“Always.” the ginger replied, “Now let's get you out of here. I think we’re both sick of this hospital.”
It wasn’t the best New Years Eve the pair would ever share together, but it was certainly one they wouldn’t forget.