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He appeared in the E.R at dusk, having neither fed nor changed his clothing. He must have looked ghostly under the fluorescent lights, but he didn’t care. The important thing was to get to his precious, fragile mortal lover.
“Daniel” he exclaimed. He was relieved to see him both alive and awake but the transparent facial mask which covered his mouth and nose, and other tubes, monitors and other assorted twentieth century medical marvels meant that the diagnosis could not have been good. It had near broken his heart to leave the hospital at dawn, not knowing what he would return to find.
“Armand” he still sounded happy to see him, even now.
“What have they said?”
“You were right. A couple of broken ribs… and one of them has punctured my lung”
The sorrow and guilt was thick upon Armand’s cherubic face. “Are you going to…’
He couldn’t even bear to say it. What if this was the moment that he had to make the choice; to let his boy die or to give him eternal life? Even now he wasn’t sure which would be worse.
“I’m going to be okay” Daniel patted the bed beside him. His breath was laboured, but his voice was patient, understanding. “I know that it was an accident. You were just pleased to see me after all this time…and it’s alright”
“Thank god” he whispered, the words sounding like a genuine prayer rather than a simple expression, even though he knew that it wasn’t. How could it possibly be alright when it was so easy to forget himself, and an unchecked embrace could land his Daniel in the hospital? If he were stronger, less selfish he would kiss this fragile, beautiful young man on the forehead and leave him forever, but gazing down at him he felt only weakness and need. “I love you, Daniel. Don’t ever leave me again”