Chapter Text
Peach's body felt unbelievably heavy, like it had been buried under a thick, invisible layer of weight. He tried to shift, tried to so much as lift a finger, but all his efforts were barely translated into actual movement.
Weird -he thought vaguely.
Yet at first, the fog of half-consciousness wasn't questioned. It was easily assumable that it was just Thee falling asleep on top of him again.
It wasn't unheard of. The man had a habit of tangling himself into his space at night, no matter where they'd initially started. And especially after last night, with the blur of sore exhaustion and warmth, waking up like this wouldn't have exactly been strange. In fact, it would've been expected, made sense, been normal, except-
This wasn't his room.
The realisation that came with it was slow, painfully so- like his brain was dragging itself through a pool for every thought. And it was only when Peach finally forced his eyes open, instantly reverting to a squint at the harsh clinical light that flooded in that he first understood something was wrong.
There was no usual dim glow of a lamp, not even the chandelier in their room could've achieved such a sharp and cold lighting- if it was there.
In place was a ceiling, too white, too sterile, too barren of any of the usual soft tints of the elevated interior.
And then there was the sound- a steady rhythmic beeping.
Peach's ears gradually adjusted to the noise that threaded through the haze in a way that became impossible to ignore. He didn't need to see it to know what it was, but it seemed to complete the final puzzle piece in his mind of where he was.
A hospital? what was he doing in a hospital?
Panic didn't come- not yet. Everything was still too slow for that.
In its place was a confusion that settled heavily in his chest as Peach tried but failed to come up with a reason for his sudden visit, after all last time he had checked, he was completely healthy?
The weird setting that was now explainable as being a hospital naturally extended to his bed as well, for what was beneath him was far too stiff- not nearly wide enough to accommodate two people.But most of all, it was the absence beside him that felt louder than any of the changes to his surroundings.
In place, the person who was meant to be next to him was... lower?
Peach's gaze finally shifted down, slow and unfocused, before it landed on the figure that was slumped in a chair pulled beside his bed. His head rested near his lap, arms folded awkwardly as if sleep had come unwarranted.
Thee must have been by his side, but why in such an uncomfortable position he couldn't quite yet make out.
Peach had gotten used to his partners eccentrics by now, where procuring a room, house even villa out of thin air that befitted a king was too easy. So seeing the mafia in such a state felt out of place, odd in a way that just wouldn’t allow how brain rest- the comfort of knowing what was happening.
However, Peach's thoughts were cut short only moments later, as the weight resting by his lap seemed to take notice of the sudden movement.
The figure lifted their head abruptly, almost jolted in panic.
For a fleeting moment, there was no immediate reaction. Just a pair of eyes- wide, searching and almost frantic- scanning Peach's face as if trying to confirm something. To prove, make sure that what they were seeing was real not just a cruel trick of the mind.
And then a hug.
Sudden, tight and desperate, arms came to wrap themselves around Peach with such force that his already fragile body forgot to protest. A weak breath was knocked from his lungs as he remained pinned against the bed, arms clinging around him with all the fear of disappearance, like Peach was temporary, like he could vanish if not kept near enough.
"You-", the voice was shaky, barely above a whisper- yet thick with an emotion that mixed relief, disbelief and something dangerously close to grief, "You took long enough"
Peach froze.
He'd never heard his P'Kian sound so helpless, so small.
Even if he wasn't in the best shape for God knows why, it was completely wrong. Thee was always composed, always in control and grounded despite how he usually acted. But seeing him like this, it felt like stepping into a world that was out of alignment with his own.
Peach tried to respond, but his throat was painfully dry and when he parted his lips no real sound came out, just a faint rasp of air.
Nothing made sense.
Not where he was, not Thee's reaction, and certainly not-
Peach's eyes narrowed slightly as he took in the man in front of him properly. Thee looked... younger?
Not drastically so, not at first glance at least. But the longer Peach stared, the more foreign those features he'd stared at for an uncountably long time became. Softer features, less sharp, hair longer, eyes without that steely edge, it was a version that didn't match Peach's memory no matter how tired he was. Like who he saw was another person entirely.
But the thoughts were wiped from his mind by the increasingly tight embrace that was going from grounding to uncomfortable for his still too fragile body.
At the faint groan that was able to make it his way out of his throat, the arms around him disappeared instantly.
"I'm sorry- did I hurt you?"
The words tumbled out in a rush, that replaced every emotion with concern and unadulterated care, "I was just surprised- um do you want me to call the nurse? Of course you do, that was stupid, wait- I'll go and-"
What followed was a blur of frantic movement paired with the chair scarping loudly against the floor. Footsteps practically stumbled towards the door, before a quick reassuring smile turned around again, checking, still making sure Peach was still there.
And Peach would've laughed- if he had the strength to, but instead he just lay there, watching, a faintly tired smile tugging at his lips at how ridiculous he looked.
But before long, he sank into the bed once again, exhaustion pulling him under again.
-
The next stretch of time blurred together. Nurses came and went, checking his vitals, adjusting the IV drip beside him, asking questions that were becoming less and less hard to answer.
Peach let it happen, he didn't have the energy to vocally question it yet.
Eventually, the room settled again and the calm and silence returned- though this time in a way that demanded for the quiet to be broken.
Thee sat beside him once again, quietly, just staring with no particular aim. Until a hand tried to reach out, hesitating for a second before solidifying it's resolve.
Warm, larger fingers wrapped gently around Peach's, applying a light pressure that was so contrastingly afraid to hurt him now. And beneath that touch, a hesitance- not because of that fear, but something else like it wasn't sure it was allowed to be there.
"I missed you"
The words were soft, thought through like they were a culmination of thousands of thoughts all in one.
"You know that night...", a beat passed, grip tightening slightly, "I don't remember what I did when you didn't wake up. I thought-"
He stopped, but Peach didn't need for the sentence to be completed.
It was like a confession, the meaning settled heavily in the space between them.
Peach blinked slowly at the concluding realisation.
A coma.
That must have been it.
Most likely a short one, but clearly long enough to have stirred such fear, enough to still scare someone like Thee. Enough to explain the hospital, the machines, the exhaustion weighing down his body.
That made sense, it fit.
They 'why' , still a question left unanswered.
Peach exhaled faintly, tension in his chest easing by the slightest. Well he definitely needed to start taking better care of himself whatever it was, seeing Thee so visibly shaken, eyes fighting unshed tears, it made Peach's heart ache even more. He couldn't imagine what waiting must have felt like.
Waiting, not knowing, losing hope...
Gently, with the little strength he could muster, Peach squeezed the hand back,
"I'm right here"
The words came out slow and rough, but they were more than enough.
The change in Thee's expression was immediate- relief softening his features from the weariness of days if not weeks, loosening the tight posture he had been moulded into.
And something in Peach broke a little at that, yearned to turn back, until-
"Phuwin..."
Everything in Peach stilled.
The name landed wrong, too wrong to be a slip of the tongue, a mistake that could be blamed on his readjusting ears. And his expression, it shifted instantly, too sudden to hide the confusion cutting through the fragile calm that had finally settled.
And Thee- no, whoever this was, seemed to notice immediately
"Phuwin?", he repeated this time as a question rather than a statement. Worry crept back into his face just as quickly as it had vanished, "Phuwin, what's wrong? Why are you-"
"Thee?" Peach interrupted, his voice now firmer, "Who's Phuwin?"
The silence was heavy, far too much. And the question- too honest, too real to be a funny joke.
And for a split second, Thee just stared- processed the question until his mind flew to a conclusion,
"Oh God", the words came out breathless, "Oh- oh the doctor said this might happen- amnesia, I didn't think it could actually- wait, I'll call them back, its okay, we'll fix this, we can-"
He stood up so fast the chair almost toppled over, but 'Thee' didn't make it far before a hand caught his arm.
"Don't go"
He froze, slowly turning back- eyes flicking down to where Peach's hands held onto his.
"Stay."
There was something grounding in those words, not panic- not the fear that was meant to result from Peach's heavy realisation- just a certain calm.
And Thee, he swallowed, hard.
His mind raced with confusion, urging him to turn around go and get the doctor again, but in the end he sat back down. He wasn't sure why he did, what was in those words that made him so sure that they could be true, but he chose to believe them regardless for his own sake.
"You, haven't forgotten?", he asked carefully.
The word that was meant to come after the question was left unsaid, the :'you haven't forgotten me' he so dearly wanted to ask. Those words would be too personal, too revealing of the worry that was eating at his mind, betraying any of their past left unspoken.
Peach shook his head gently, "No."
Relief threatened to flood back into 'Thee's' face, calm his brain and make everything in his mind settle again- if not for the words that followed right after-
"But I'm not Phuwin"
"..."
"I'm Peach"