Chapter Text
Rin sat with his head in his hands, he didn't want to face the room around him anymore with its pale blue walls that were, he was sure supposed to be calming but they just infuriated the male. Sighing he lifted himself up and rested a hand on the edge of the armchair, the woman across from him flinched and he felt rage surge inside of him.
“Rin, this is the best place for you while you figure things out” the woman hesitantly put a hand out towards her son but he shook her off turning his gaze to the younger female sitting with them. Her red eyes so like his own were watery but she was keeping her gaze steady, he knew it would be no use resisting and slumped back into the cushion.
“Fine, I’ll stay” both girls breathed out in relief and exchanged small smiles, all three stood up and Rin reluctantly hugged them goodbye watching them walk through the automatic doors he longed to walk through himself.
“Mr. Matsuoka shall I show you to your room?” a man with short brown hair and a small box gestured to a long corridor.
“Just call me Rin” the redhead said through gritted teeth, the man nodded smiling kindly as he led Rin down towards a door marked 312 on it in off white tape.
“As i'm sure you know you’ll be sharing a room with a roommate chosen based on compatibility, Nitori is a quiet one so you guys should get along okay” the man set down the box on a bed on the left side of the room, it was already made with simple black and white linen and there was a shelf on the wall with a small table below it. Rin lingered in the doorway not wanting to step into his new room yet; it made a change having somewhere to come back to each night since he spent more of them than he cared to admit in a blur usually waking up on a stranger’s floor.
“I’m sure you’d like to get settled in Rin but as you can see your roommate isn’t here right now; he's attending a group session at the moment one that we’d like you to sit in on. You don't have to participate today just watch, but from tomorrow onwards you will be expected to join in with all of the aspects of your programme” the man said firmly the words piercing through Rin’s skull as the reality of the situation began to sink in. He stayed silent and passively allowed himself to be led out of the room aware of the hand on his shoulder that five minutes ago he probably would’ve broken had it been placed on him. They stopped in front of another door with glass panels in it, through them Rin could see chairs arranged in a circle in the centre of the room. The man pushed the door open and led Rin over to a blue sofa to the right of the group next to a water cooler, some members of the group followed him with their eyes as he came in, others stayed stock still and the woman who was obviously leading the session gave him a smile as she continued talking.
“Alright Rin, i've got to go now but after this dinner will be served in the dining hall and then you have an hour of free time before lights out. If you need anything don’t hesitate to ask Kayo” he pointed to the woman leading the session and Rin nodded mutely, he’d only been here for an hour and he was already exhausted.
~
Makoto took hold of the young boy’s chubby arm and gently removed the blood pressure cuff, the boy was already sniffling and the olive haired boy smiled at him gently trying to reassure him. The boy’s mother was crouched next to him holding her son’s hand as Makoto readied the needle, careful to keep it out of sight while he prepared everything.
“I’m just going to take some blood is that alright?” he asked the youngster who looked frightened but nodded.
“I trust you Mako” Makoto smiled and exchanged a look with the mother who distracted her child with the pictures on the walls, while he gently stuck the needle into the crook of the boys arm after wiping it with disinfectant. He felt the boy tense slightly but as his wide eyes went to his arm the needle was already gone and Makoto was taping a cotton ball over the area smiling, he held out a sticker for the boy who grinned and hugged the nurse.
“Thanks Mr Tachibana” the boy’s mother smiled at him as the youngster bounded about happily now that all his tests were done, the green eyed boy shrugged off the praise, he was just glad the kid took it well he’d had some troublesome ones in the past. He chuckled to himself, he’d only been working here a few months yet the hospital was already like a second home to him, his regular patients all called him Mako as well which warmed his heart.
“I hope it comes back negative” he whispered to the woman as she waved goodbye to the nurse and nodded gratefully, Yuki had been in here four times already but they still couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. Makoto hoped it would turn out to just be making something out of nothing.
Exiting the room Makoto handed the boys bloods and other records to someone behind the desk before spotting a familiar head of black hair by the coffee machine.
“Going for lunch Haru?” the blue eyed boy looked up at Makoto and nodded, he had been browsing the types of coffee on offer despite the fact they all tasted like watered down soil but gave up and started towards the cafeteria. Makoto followed, he was used to the doctor’s cold attitude and knew that he cared for his patients more than he let on, he remembered how nervous he was in med school when he was revising diagnosis’s with the olive haired male.
“How’s Yuki?” the blue eyed boy asked his face betraying no emotion as he picked up a tray and browsed the selection of food.
“More tests, I hope it’s nothing serious”
“I'm sure he’ll be fine” Makoto appreciated the support from the other male, their jobs could only get tougher from here and neither one had experienced anything serious yet, but that just made them all the more anxious whenever they had a patient who displayed worrying symptoms. Haru put mackerel and rice onto his plate and Makoto chuckled at the doctor’s usual meal choosing a curry for himself, they spotted an empty table and sat down.
~
‘When was the last time I talked to anyone other than doctors?’ the blue haired male thought as he rested his forehead on his hands, lifting his head his eyes wandered over to the body next to him. The pale skin rivalled the white bed sheets and the faint blue lines running through like paint streaked on a canvas were only pulsing weakly, if steady beep of the monitor was anything to go by. ‘She looks dead already’ Rei thought as he brushed a strand of hair back from the woman’s face, a part of him expected her to open her eyes at any moment and jump up telling him that this was all just a bad dream or that he was on a comedy show. Then they could laugh about it and he could walk out of here and hopefully never have to return, the smell of disinfectant and artificial air freshener made him feel sick and he felt tears prick his eyes as his brain registered the cold sensation where his fingers had touched her skin. But he forced a smile and held his head up taking her limp hand in his trying not to think of how lifeless it felt between his palms.
“I’ll be back tomorrow” he managed to whisper gently laying her hand back and letting the door close behind him, clutching the strap of his bag he caught sight of himself in the reflection of a bulletin board advertising various health checks. His purple eyes were washed out and bags hung underneath them, his skin was greasy and his hair was a mess, he vaguely wondered when he’d last taken a shower as he felt his pocket vibrate.
One new message.
Mr. Ryugazaki,
I'm still waiting on your previous assignment and will be informing the board if you do not hand it in by Monday, I understand you are under some stress at the present time but please do not neglect your studies. Failure to hand in
work will result in your expulsion from the course.
Thank you
Sighing Rei ran a hand through his hair and turned towards the stairs to head home and start working, between visiting the hospital and his part time job his focus hadn’t been on his schoolwork, his dissertation would be coming up soon and he would graduate a few months after. His gaze lingered on the room he had just been in one more time before he pushed open the door and immediately stopped in his tracks. There was a blonde boy clinging to the banister who looked up when the blue haired boy opened the door, his pink eyes widened slightly and he slowly peeled himself off and sheepishly gestured for Rei to continue on his way. He was wearing what looked like a onesie fully zipped to the neck and he looked like he’d run off without his parents or something.
“What were you doing?” Rei knew he was wasting time but he just had to ask, I mean why would anyone be straddling a banister, in a hospital no less?
“Banister sliding” the blonde giggled and ran over his eyes sparkling.
“Wanna join me?” Rei shook his head and started walking down the stairs, a minute later a blur shot past him and he saw the boy jump off the banister landing just in front of him.
“That was fun! So are you here for tests?” Rei was taken aback by the boy’s carefree attitude and casualness of asking someone’s reason for being here.
“I was visiting someone” he said quietly and the boy nodded solemnly before grinning and waving.
“Well I’ll see you later glasses guy!” the blonde ran off before Rei could call him out on the horrible nickname but despite it he found himself chuckling at the name, catching himself he felt guilt wash over him. How could he laugh when she was upstairs not even able to open her eyes? His hands closed into fists until he felt a sharp pain from his fingernails digging into his palms, sighing and releasing his hands he exited the stairwell and headed for the exit.