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Waking up, the very best word Haruka could use to describe his current state would be heavy. Exhaustion clung to his bones and every breath he took felt wrong, an uncomfortable numbness humming through most of his body. Even the thought of opening his eyes felt impossible, so he sat, taking in the silence around him and trying and failing to ignore whatever obtrusive item had been stuck up his nose that he simply did not have the energy to remove.
After what could have been minutes or hours of rest, his senses began to clear up somewhat. The exhaustion remained, but the odd numbness gave way to slight discomfort, more focal around his chest. It felt as though he was in a vice, every breath feeling tight.
He let out a quiet groan, reaching with a clumsy hand toward his own chest to figure out what was wrong. Distantly, as if it were through water, he heard a woman’s voice, chiding in tone before his hand was grabbed.
The hand that took his own felt delicate, but calloused in a way that Minori’s wasn’t. It guided his hand away from his initial point of interest, instead bringing it back down to rest at his side, giving it a small squeeze.
Almost on instinct he squeezed back, before remembering that this hand very much did not belong to his wife, grumbling as he pulled back. Had he been relying on any sense other than just his touch, he would have heard the quiet, fond huff from above.
“You’re not my wife.” He rasped, venomously. Or at least as intimidatingly as one can after waking from general anesthesia, confused and disoriented.
“Nope!”
Finally he cracked his eyes open, trying and failing to blink away the fog before turning to get a good look at this audacious homewrecker, trying to make a move on him while his poor wife was none the wiser. Even after several good blinks, his vision was still horribly fuzzy, only being able to distinguish the person as a dark blob that stuck out amongst the sterile whites and soft tans of whatever room he found himself in. Still, he squinted and tried to lean forward, but the tightness in his chest worsened significantly at the motion and he groaned in pain, leaning back back into bed.
“Hnnngh. M’nori’s more beautiful. She’s my wife.” He informed his visitor with all the gravitas of a funeral director, bringing up his hand, the one that this lady had already grabbed once, to show her his wedding band.
The wedding band that was very much not on his finger.
Oh.
“Hey wait nonono don’t freak out! You had to take it off for surgery. Minori’s holding onto it for you.”
Thank goodness. Minori could never truly stay mad at him for anything, the angel, but he felt nauseous at even the thought of losing his wedding band. He let out a quiet sigh of relief, relaxed again now that his ring’s whereabouts were known.
“She’s down in the cafeteria right now,” the woman continued. “Of course you’d start to wake up the moment she left… Don’t worry though, I sent Kohane down to get her since she left her phone up here to charge. They could be back any minute.”
She spoke a bit too fast and animated, but he was able to pick out the important parts. Minori was going to be here soon!
And Kohane? Sent down? So she had been in his room at some point, with this person no less. Which could really only mean one thing. It should have been obvious, who else could easily bother him in such a way?
“…An?”
“There we go sleepyhead! You had me worried there for a bit. I’ve never seen you so out of it.” She took his hand again as she talked, playing with his fingers. Were it not for the slight tremble of her hand, he would have thought nothing of the motion, just another one of An’s fidgets. He gave her restless hand a light squeeze.
“I’m okay, jus’ tired. Everything went well?”
An simply nodded at that, leaning forward and brushing his hair out of his face with the most sickening look of love imagineable. Had he felt up to it, he would have made fun of her for being such a sap, but every word took monumental effort. An was even kind enough to adjust his oxygen tubing, which had begun to fall out of his nose when he started waking up.
“S’ that have to stay in?” He grumbled. If ordered by staff he would of course follow every direction down to the letter, but he had the right to at least be a little annoyed.
“Yep!” An confirms, popping the P to really irritate him further. “The nurse said once you wake up they’ll see if you still need it. Of course that would be what bothers you, not your IV or anything. Noooo, the tiny itty-bitty tube in my nose that does nothing but help me breathe.”
Upon mention of an IV, he took a curious look down at his arms to see where he had been poked and what he was being given.
“Oh do not even start! You didn't even know any of that was there until I said something!”
He could feel a small smirk pull at his lips as she continued to carry on, but a knock at the door caught both of their attention. It popped open a crack, before a timid voice reached through.
“How are we doing in here?” Kohane called in quietly.
He wanted to call out, to let her know that he was doing okay, but even the quiet whispers he shared with An at the bedside left him winded, which was why he had resigned himself to listen to her talk about anything and nothing at all. He glanced to the door and then back at An, who had picked up on his quiet distress and was already taking care of it.
“All good Kohane, we’re awake now, just taking everything in.”
At the confirmation, Kohane, followed closely behind by Minori, stepped into the room. He must have made a noise upon seeing his wonderful, fantastic, beautiful wife, because all three other parties laughed. Kohane had the courtesy to at least try to cover up her giggles, but An’s loud chortle more than made up for it. He shot her a glare which only made her laugh louder.
“An, he’s supposed to be relaxing… you’re stressing him out I think.” Kohane scolded, but from the occasional giggle that would slip out and the look of amusement in her eyes, he assumed that An would live to see another day.
“He’ll be fine! He’s a trooper. Plus I’m his favorite person anyways. Isn’t that right Haruka?” She asked, a smug grin on her face.
She didn’t even receive a verbal response, just a simple middle finger.
Ouch.
“Yeah yeah, love you too asshole. On that note, we’re gonna go check out the cafeteria, I’m starved.” And with that, An grabbed Kohane’s hand, pulling her out of the room, and leaving Haruka alone with Minori.
An could be a real pain, but she was the best friend one could really ask for.
He pulled his eyes from the door and back to Minori, who was looking at him with such fondness in her eyes that it took away whatever breath he had left. She slowly approached his bed, taking An’s chair and sitting down right next to him. Gently, with one hand she cupped his cheek, slowly stoking his cheekbone with her thumb. He closed his eyes and leaned into the contact with a sigh, earning a giggle in turn.
“How are you feeling, handsome?”
He hummed, really thinking over his answer for the first time.
“M’ okay, just tired. And I missed you. An’s a horrible replacement. Too loud. Plus she’s mean to me.” He pouted. Minori just giggled again with her perfect little laugh.
“I know, I’m sorry! I should have known. But I’m here now!” She exclaims, maybe a bit too loudly, before leaning forward and giving him an enthusiastically clumsy forehead kiss. He let out a huff of amusement, the closest he could get to a laugh in his current state. “Why don’t we take a nap then? You look exhausted.”
To prove her point, she moved her hands upwards, finally taking off that damn oxygen, and running her thumbs under his eyes. At the feather soft ministrations, his eyes fluttered shut and his breathing began to deepen. Eventually the motions began to slow and she took her hands away from his face entirely, pulling a whine from his throat at the brief lack of touch. As if anticipating that, Minori’s hand instead took his own, gently rubbing his knuckles with the pad of her thumb.
He was fighting a terrible internal battle, torn between spending more time with Minori, or getting the rest that his body was screaming at him to take.
“Don’t wanna sleep. You just got here.”
Another angelic giggle.
She squeezed his hand before bringing it to her lips. “And I’ll still be here when you wake back up. When have you ever been able to get rid of me, silly?”
“When have I ever wanted to?” And with that half asleep mumble, his eyes fully drifted shut, having full confidence that the next time they opened, he would again be met by the sight of the love of his life.