*** Disclaimer: Digimon doesn't belong to me. It belongs to corporate bigwigs and stuff. Now, for another disclaimer, one that I wish I didn't have to place. This tale deals with mature themes that society still tends to deem unacceptable. This fic is what's known in the Digimon fanfic community as a "Joushiro," a tale that involves the pairing of Jyou and Koushiro. It's also known in the anime fanfic community as a Yaoi, which is a boy-boy romance. There is nothing sexually explicit in this tale. It is just two college-age boys in love. I intended this fiction to be cute, not racy. Thank you. o.o ***

When I rolled over in a half-awake state of dreaming, I realized I was cold. The blankets, normally kept so neatly tucked around my body, had been kicked off and tangled about my legs. I righted myself, rubbed my eyes, and sleepily proceeded to rearrange the covers, when I noticed Jyou wasn't home yet. It was supposed to be one of his late nights at the University, and on those nights I normally went to bed without him. I glanced over at the clock and squinted until it came into focus.

"2:26 a.m.?" I muttered to myself. "Jyou should have been home by now." A vague feeling of dread settled into the back of my mind, and I swung my legs over the edge of the bed to get up.

I quietly crept into the living room of the apartment Jyou and I shared, thinking he might be either awake or curled up on the couch. There seemed to be no sign of him inside the apartment -- no coat returned to its hook or shoes placed neatly beside the door. It looked as if he hadn't even come home from his classes.

Thinking he might still be doing work at one of the University's computer labs, my next stop was the laptop tucked away in a corner of the living room. Shrugging off fatigue, I immediately started typing in the commands to discover Jyou's last online time. The screen showed me he'd last been online yesterday afternoon, writing up a term paper that was due for tonight's class.

With a faint sigh, I pushed myself from the desk and settled in front of the television, turning it on. By now, I was too worried to return to sleep, my stomach knotted in concern over where Jyou might be. I flipped through the channels, the pictures on the screen only skimming the surface of my mind. Although not a worrier by nature, unlike Jyou, I couldn't come up with very many logical explanations as to why he might be out, without at least leaving me a message.

The ringing of the phone brought a halt to my concern, at least temporarily. I expected to hear Jyou's voice at the other end when I picked up the line, but instead it was a younger-sounding woman.

"Hello," the woman at the other end said. "I'm sorry to trouble you at so late. I'd like to speak with Koushiro Izumi."

"Yes, this is Koushiro," I replied.

"This is the Odaiba Hospital. You're listed in our records as an emergency contact for Jyou Kido."

I sat up straighter in my seat, feeling the blood rush from my face. "The hospital? Is Jyou okay?" I immediately demanded.

"Mr. Izumi, there's been an accident..."

As she spoke, a wave of memories came flooding back to me, memories from over ten years ago when we'd been together, we Digidestined. Even as Jyou's current condition was sinking in, I couldn't help but remember the battle that changed my life...

The battle had turned against us.

Yamato hit the tree like a rag-doll and crumpled to the ground, a faint red stain spreading down from where his head had slammed. Garurumon spewed a blast of lightning-blue energy from his mouth towards Yamato's attacker, but he was swatted away like a fly. As he hit the ground, he de-digivolved to Gabumon and lay as unmoving as his unconscious companion.

Taichi shouted for Jyou and Sora to get the younger children to safety while he took off in a heated run towards Yamato. MetalGreymon covered his back, attacking the dark entity head-on. Hopefully that would give Taichi enough time to reach his fallen friend. Unfortunately, two more of those creatures materialized in the clearing, cutting off Taichi's route.

"Tentomon! You have to digevolve!" I cried out to the little red bug-creature, and with a flash of glowing light he gained the mass necessary to become Kabuterimon. He flew off to attack, and I opened my laptop, praying I had enough time to identify the black creatures that were attacking us.

***Dhamphirmon: An ultimate-level virus Digimon with the power to drain the energy of any creature that comes into contact with it. Very dangerous, known to kill lesser evolved Digimon with one strike.***

I gasped, looking up. "Oh no, Kabuterimon! Don't let it touch you!" I cried out, even though I knew it was too late to warn my companion.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Jyou and Ikkakumon running to intercept the creature that had trapped Taichi. I knew that despite Jyou's whining and doomsaying, he could be the bravest of us all when put to the test, and this was one of those times.

"We've got to get out of here!" Sora shouted. She'd had Piyomon digevolve to Birdramon, and she had already boosted Takeru and Hikari onto the large Digimon's back. "Mimi! Come on! Koushiro, you've got to get Mimi!"

I looked up and saw Mimi in the middle of the field, frozen with fear and tears streaming down her face. One of the newly materialized Dhamphirmon was streaking right towards her, with a silvery lash of power streaming from its fingertips. I dashed towards Mimi and knocked her over just before the Dhamphirmon's lash cut her to ribbons. That spurred her into action, and she ran to Sora after she'd disengaged herself from me.

I saw a vague blast of crackling blue lightning surging towards Jyou, but I didn't know if it hit him. I had my own problems to face, for when I turned over, the Dhamphirmon was atop me. I felt a chill throughout my entire body as its craggy fingers circled my shoulders.

Someone cried out my name, but it simply washed over me as my energy drained away and I yielded to the welcoming blackness.

*******

I awoke to a warm hand shaking my shoulder in the darkness. It was cold, so cold, and the ground was hard. I wanted to curl up further, but the insistent shaking roused me from my dreamless sleep. I groaned, forcing myself to return to consciousness.

"Koushiro? Come on, Koushiro get up," whispered an insistent, fearful voice that I immediately placed as Jyou's.

My head throbbing and my whole body still reeling from the Dhamphirmon's attack, it took all my strength to sit up. Even as I spoke to Jyou, he remained out of focus in my vision. "What's going on?"

Jyou let out a relieved sigh. "Oh man, Koushiro, I thought for a while there you weren't going to wake up. How are you feeling?"

I squinted, trying to get Jyou to focus before me. His face was pale, except for the spreading bruise near his left temple. Apparently, he'd taken his lumps from the recent fighting as well. "I've felt better," I mumbled. "Where are our Digimon?"

Jyou shook his head, his bluish-black hair, already tangled, circling his head like a halo. "I don't know. They took Gomamon and Tentomon away."

I reached out my fingers towards Jyou's head, where he'd been bruised, and he flinched away from my touch. "You're hurt."

"I'll be alright," he replied defensively. A definitive blush had settled into his cheeks as he refused to meet my gaze.

"So where are the others?" Squinting, I tried to look around to get an idea of our surroundings. "For that matter, where are we?"

"As far as I can tell, we're in someone's dungeon," said Jyou. "You've been out for hours. The others got away, or so I hope. Ikkakumon and I tried to hold off the evil Digimon while Taichi got Yamato to safety, but we ended up getting captured instead."

I nodded and rubbed the back of my neck with a hand, feeling the knots of tension that had started to build up there. "And my laptop's gone, so there's probably no way we could even contact the others."

Jyou sighed, lines of worry already wrinkling his forehead. "And I'll bet it's up to us to find a way out of here."

I shrugged. "We can't always rely solely on our Digimon to get us out of danger, Jyou."

"I'm allergic to danger," Jyou mumbled as he circled his arms around his knees, curling himself into a tight ball and shivering slightly.

It wasn't until hours later when our captors, the Dhamphirmon, came to check up on us. They were large, black-veiled, with red eyes glowing beneath their cauls. Their very presence brought a chill to the room.

"Stand," the lead one of the three hissed.

Jyou and I exchanged scared glances, and we rose, although also assuming a defensive stance.

"You are here to work as slaves in the mines below," rasped the Dhamphirmon. "Any sign of resistance will result in the other being hurt, while you get to watch."

I frowned and uttered, "What gives you the right?"

"The right of conquest," snarled one of the other Dhamphirmon from the rear.

Our cell clanked open, and we were led down an endless flight of spiraling stairs to the quarry which resided in a maze of tunnels underneath the ground. Neither Jyou nor I attempted to fight back -- we were just humans, with no way of physically out-powering the Dhamphirmon.

We were given pickaxes and forced to join a line of Geckomon that were already hard at work. There was no light of hope in their eyes -- it seemed they'd been prisoner for quite some time. The emaciated Digimon barely took notice of us, instead utterly absorbed in prying some sort of red gem from the rocks.

"This is not good," Jyou whispered to me. "This is so not good."

I hated hospitals, that faint smell of cherries, antiseptic, and death lingering in the air. Jyou and I had been to the Odaiba Hospital twice already throughout our college lives -- once when Jyou's asthma had acted up badly, and once when I'd slipped with the knife while slicing meat for dinner. Both times I'd been unnerved and taken home shaking, not just because of our ailments, but also because it made me think of my parents. They'd been taken from me when I was a baby, killed in a car wreck. I couldn't help but imagine, even now, what their last moments in the hospital might have been like.

An accident had claimed my parents' lives, and now there was no way for me to know if another one would take Jyou's.

The trepidation rose higher and higher in my throat as the nurse led me to Jyou's room at the hospital. She opened the door, and even though I had tried to prepare myself for the sight, I was still shocked when I saw him lying so still and pale against the sterile sheets. A number of tubes and needles were littered throughout his body, and his face bore the scratches and bruises of the accident. His eyes were closed, his glasses nowhere to be found, and his face looked naked without them.

"Jyou," I whispered to the unconscious figure. "Oh, Jyou-chan."

He didn't move, and the only sounds I could hear were the beeping of his heart monitor and the drumming of my own heart. With every ounce of strength within me, I managed to force down the shakes as I gingerly picked up his hand in mine and gave it a soft squeeze. I'd hoped he might squeeze back, but he didn't.

"His condition is pretty serious," said a voice over my shoulder.

I turned to see Jyou's older brother Shen standing in the doorway, still wearing the uniform given to all hospital interns. I immediately dropped Jyou's hand. We'd kept our relations a secret from his family, respected members of the Odaiba community, so far. Swallowing quickly, I murmured, "How serious?"

Shen shook his head. If he'd noticed my closeness to Jyou, he didn't let on. He appeared too tired to notice much of anything, evident in the dark rings under his eyes. "He was in emergency surgery for three hours, lost too much blood for his own good. They give him a fifty-fifty chance of surviving."

Turning away so Shen couldn't see the tears brimming in my eyes, I muttered, "How did he get hurt in the first place? What happened?"

"Apparently, he'd been waiting for the bus home when a car crashed into the stop." Shen's eyes, dark like Jyou's, narrowed in anger. "The driver doesn't even have a scratch on him. The doctors said his blood alcohol level was through the roof."

I sighed, sparing Jyou one last glance before I roughly pushed myself to my feet and started towards the door. "I don't believe it. He can't die," I whispered.

Shen shrugged, his hands slouching into his pants' pockets. "The doctors are doing what they can. Where are you going, Koushiro?"

Shaking my head, I avoided Shen's gaze as I muttered, "I can't remain here." Already I could feel the shakes starting to set in, and I couldn't allow myself to reveal how vulnerable I felt over Jyou's condition. That would put us both at risk of discovery.

"I think you should stay, Koushiro," Shen said, his dark eyes finally meeting mine and holding me fast. "Jyou would want that."

With a nod, I knew that Shen understood. Whether or not he accepted it was another story entirely, one that I didn't want to know at this point in time. Despite the shakes just being in the hospital caused me, I returned to the chair at Jyou's side. I picked up his limp hand again and held it gently in mine. I didn't even notice when Shen retreated from the room to leave us both in peace.

For three days, Jyou and I toiled in the mines at the mercy of the Dhamphirmon. If we talked, we fell at the mercy of the guard's whip. If we didn't meet our quota, we were lashed. Any small "infraction" constituted a beating. By the end of the third day, both Jyou and I had weeping sores on our backs that had been re-opened so many times, now they simply refused to close.

When we'd finally been herded back to the cold floor of the dungeon that served as our bed, Jyou collapsed and curled up in a ball. "Koushiro, we're going to die here."

I winced as I sat down, every joint within me screaming in pain from the exertion. "That's not a completely valid hypothesis, Jyou," I muttered. "Unless we do something about this, then yes, we are going to die. This means we have to work fast if we want to get out of here."

Jyou sighed, shaking his head. "It's hopeless. What are we supposed to do? Why haven't the others come for us?"

I blinked and made my way to Jyou's side as fast as I could. "Don't talk like that, Jyou. That's what they want you to think, that it's hopeless. Now, it's obvious that the others aren't going to find us. Now, maybe it's a long-shot, but I think I've come up with a viable solution that may help us escape."

Jyou raised his head and looked at me with eyes that glistened behind his glasses. "What's your plan?"

I looked around, making sure there were no randomly patrolling Dhamphirmon, and I whispered in his ear, "I've noticed that during the changing of the guard, they are distracted. They talk to each other for at least a good minute. I suspect that if we can remain out of their line of sight, we may be able to take off down one of the tunnels."

Jyou nodded, brow knitting in concern. "What if we get caught? Or if we can't find our way back out?"

I shook my head. "We're going to have to burn that bridge when we come to it. For now, this may be our only chance. Like I said, we have to rely on each other. We won't have our Digimon with us this time."

I locked my gaze with Jyou, and again that unexplainable flush rose to his cheeks. His lips parted, as if he would speak, but he eventually snapped his head from me. "I'll try to prepare myself. Tomorrow?"

Nodding, I replied, "Tomorrow. It's all or nothing this time, Jyou."

"All or nothing," he whispered. "Get some sleep, Koushiro. It's going to be a big day tomorrow."

Shifting away a few feet from Jyou, I lounged out on the cold ground, pulling my shirt as tightly around me as I could. The cell was so frigid and damp, it was a wonder either of us managed to get any sleep. When I awoke the next morning, I realized that at some point during the night, Jyou had draped his sweater-vest over my shoulders.

By mid-morning, Jyou's condition had stabilized enough that he could be moved from the intensive care unit of the hospital, although he still hadn't woken up. Once I knew it was a decent hour, I'd given Taichi a call to let him know what had happened. He and Sora both arrived twenty minutes later. They were the two Digidestined I still kept in regular contact with, aside from Jyou.

Sora immediately left Taichi's side and ran to Jyou's, standing beside his bed and stroking his chin-length hair. Taichi walked over to me and gave me a light nudge on the shoulder. "How are you holding up, Koushiro?"

I shrugged from where I sat at the other side of Jyou's unmoving form, one leg bouncing impatiently. I'd been living off coffee all morning to keep me awake, and I was feeling strung out. Nonetheless, I replied, "I guess I'm coping adequately, all things considered."

"It doesn't sound like you're doing well at all," Sora remarked, looking from Jyou over to me. "Nor do you look it."

"I guess it's all relative," I murmured, eyes downcast.

"So how's he doing?" asked Taichi.

"Collapsed lung, massive internal bleeding. They had to remove half a pound of glass from his body and do reconstructive surgery on the torn ligaments in his shoulder." Sora gasped quietly as I rattled off the list of Jyou's injuries with cold precision. There was no sense in lying to them.

Taichi frowned slightly, but put a hand on my shoulder. "Has Jyou's family been by yet?"

I nodded. "Yes, they have. I went and got some coffee while they visited him. Mrs. Kido couldn't stop crying."

Sora pulled up a chair, joining me in a semi-circle. "You haven't told them yet, have you?"

I sighed. "You don't know how much I want to. But I can't, not right now. Not with Dr. Kido running for local government, and not while Jyou's still in school. If the word got out..." I trailed off.

"You're going to have to tell them sometime, man," said Taichi. "How much longer can you keep pretending?"

"As long as I have to," I snapped, annoyed. "For Jyou's sake. I can't just ruin his career for something as trivial as love."

Sora stood, the anger blazing in her eyes, and I immediately regretted what I'd said. Ten years ago, in the Digital World, she'd been our representative of Love, and the bearer of that crest. "I can't believe I'm hearing this from you, Koushiro. Love is certainly not a trivial matter. Look at how it's keeping you so far apart from Jyou when all you both want to do is get closer."

Taichi put a hand on Sora's arm. "Relax, Sora. He's had enough of a shock already." Looking at me, his brown eyes hard, he asked, "You didn't mean what you said, right?"

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Sora. It just kills me to see him like this, when I can't even hold his hand. Not when his family, or any of the doctors are around."

Sora nodded, smiling very faintly, reassuring despite all I'd been through and was continuing to go through. "It's okay, Koushiro. Things will work out somehow. Love always manages to find a way."

Taichi and Sora linked hands, proof of her theory. I was almost jealous because they were able to show their love. The general populace wouldn't necessarily look as kindly on myself and Jyou. Meanwhile, I simply turned to watch Jyou as he rasped breath in and out with a steady, slow rhythm, unable to touch the man I held most dear to me.

Jyou and I ran for our lives down the recesses of the tunnel. As we had turned to sneak off, one of the Geckomon, hoping to perhaps win favor and a work break, had alerted the guards to our escape. The two of us broke away and bolted down the darkened tunnels, with the two Dhamphirmon guards in hot pursuit.

"This is it," Jyou panted as we dashed down the winding tunnels. "We're done for."

"Not necessarily," I gasped, finding it hard to draw a breath. We'd been fed little, and both of us were extremely weak after the hard work. "We might be able to lose them. Down that cave."

"You had to go and pick the dark one didn't you?"

I nodded quickly as we ran towards the cavern, with the Dhamphirmon chilling the air further as they drew near. "They might not be able to find us in the dark."

"I might not be able to find you in the dark!"

Reaching out, I linked hands with Jyou. His clammy palm wrapped itself around mine, and he held on as tightly as he could. The two of us plunged into the darkness together and twisted down an array of tunnels while we could still glimpse a vague light.

Unfortunately, our flight was cut short when Jyou managed to trip over a rock. A tall kid even at twelve, he was still unaccustomed to his height, and clumsy. When he fell, I landed hard as well, letting out a soft cry as my ankle twisted painfully.

Jyou wrapped one arm around my chest and drew his other hand over my mouth to silence any further cries. The two of us huddled close in the darkness, squirming into a recess in the rocks just barely before the Dhamphirmon zoomed past us.

When the chill died down, Jyou released his death-grip from around my chest. "Koushiro, are you okay? This is my fault..."

"I don't know if I can move my ankle," I whispered through gritted teeth. The pain in my foot was excruciating.

Jyou untucked the ends of his grimy shirt from his shorts, and proceeded to tear at the bottom. "Okay, Koushiro. If it comes down to it, I'll carry you out of here. Hold still. I'll stabilize your ankle. My dad taught me this. He's a doctor."

Stabs of hot pain laced up my leg when Jyou removed my shoe, and it took all my will to keep from crying out. Jyou worked with a strong-willed determination, and I could see the latent bravery lighting his dark eyes again. It was about time it showed up.

"You sure you know what you're doing, Jyou?" I asked in a pained whisper.

He rolled his eyes lightly. "Of course I know what I'm doing. I have to know what I'm doing. I'm supposed to become a doctor myself, remember?"

The bindings around my ankle were awkward, perhaps because of the makeshift bandages, or perhaps due to a lack of skill on Jyou's part. Nonetheless, it kept my ankle somewhat immobilized. "You're supposed to? Do you want to?"

"No," replied Jyou. "But the way my father is, I don't have much of a choice. He won't pay for my schooling, otherwise."

I frowned as I peered through the darkness at Jyou, most of the light reflecting off the lenses of his large glasses. "What do you want to do?"

"This," Jyou whispered, and before I knew it, his lips were pressed against mine.

With the adrenaline already lacing through my veins, Jyou's kiss only heightened the excitement within me. At first, I was startled until I realized just how soft his lips were, and how gentle his touch was. I yielded to his arms, returning the kiss with a light parting of my own lips. It was a moment I hoped would last forever.

Finally, we broke the kiss breathlessly. Jyou's eyes were nervous as he met my gaze, afraid he'd done something wrong. I silenced that look with a gentle smile.

"Come on, Jyou. Let's get out of here," I whispered, holding my arm out to him.

"Let's not tell the others about this, Izzy," Jyou whispered back.

"Of course not."

Smiling faintly, Jyou linked his arm around my shoulder and brought me to my feet, supporting me as best as he could even in his weakened state. I could feel the potential strength in his shoulders, with his body against mine. It was a beautiful sensation, one I could easily find a home in for the rest of my days.

It hurt to walk, and the two of us took it slowly until we were able to reach daylight. There, we could see our friends were fighting the Dhamphirmon guards that had burst from the caverns searching for us. Somehow, Tentomon and Gomamon were with them, managing to escape themselves. Jyou and I looked at each other, grinning as the crests held close to our hearts began to glow, and our Digimon were able to harness the power of the light to defeat the evil.

As night fell on the little hospital room, I rested my elbows against my knees, head in my hands. Jyou still hadn't awakened, his condition absolutely unchanged. The doctors weren't sure if that was a good thing, but it did mean that at least he wasn't getting any worse. I yawned, needing sleep but knowing that it would be difficult to come by.

I must have dozed off at some point, though, because the sound of Dr. Kido's voice over my shoulder suddenly made me jump. "Koushiro? Why are you still here?"

"Huh?" I muttered, instantly hopping to my feet. "Oh, I guess I fell asleep, sir."

Dr. Kido regarded me with sad yet cool eyes. I knew how difficult he could be to Jyou. It was probably those cold eyes that had originally cowed Jyou into concentrating his studies on becoming a doctor in the first place. "Why don't you go home, son? I'll give you a call as soon as I hear something about Jyou's condition."

I nodded quickly. "Yes, sir. I think I'll do that. I've got schoolwork to catch up on, and all." I knew I was just making up excuses -- I'd never be able to concentrate on my schoolwork now.

Dr. Kido sank into a nearby chair, staring at Jyou tiredly. "You'd think I'd be able to help my son, as a doctor," he murmured in a soft voice.

I sighed a little and nodded. "If you don't mind me saying so, sir, not everyone can be helped."

Jyou's father gently picked up his son's hand, stroking the top of it. Jyou didn't flinch, or twitch a muscle. "All parents wish the best for their kids, Koushiro. Sometimes, I wish I could have done more for Jyou. School came so much easier to Shen, and I know I pushed Jyou hard. Perhaps a little too hard."

I swallowed despite my incredibly dry throat. "Even if you did push him too hard, he's still a good person. He's kind, sincere, reliable, and, most of all, he's forgiving. I know it made him angry when he was pushed too far, but he doesn't hold it against you."

Dr. Kido gave a slow, sad nod. "I've made some mistakes, Koushiro. Plenty of mistakes. I only hope I get the chance to tell Jyou how sorry I am."

With a final nod, I closed the distance to the door. However, once I reached the doorway, I planted my hands at its side and forced myself to stop. I had to say something more to Jyou's father, whether I liked it or not. He had to know, even if he wouldn't be able to understand.

"Dr. Kido?"

"Yes, Koushiro?"

I drew a deep breath before turning around. For a brief second, the words caught in my throat, but once I regained my composure, they flew out in a torrent. "Sir, I need to tell you something. About myself, about Jyou. He's the most wonderful person I've ever met, and I'd be absolutely lost without him. I ... love him."

Dr. Kido stared at me, unblinking for a moment. I couldn't tell if he'd accept it, or if he'd snap. Maybe he'd even hit me, or worse, hit Jyou. Finally, however, he slumped back in his chair and stared at his ailing son. "You know, somehow I had a feeling."

"Sir?"

"It's the way you both look at each other. And the way your bed looks like it hasn't been touched in weeks whenever our family comes by for a visit. You're not that neat a person, Koushiro." The faintest of smiles touched his lips.

"I hope you're not angry, Dr. Kido. And I hope this doesn't cause a problem for you or your family."

Dr. Kido was silent a moment, but then he shook his head. "Even if it does, Koushiro, it's about time I accepted my son for who he is."

I nodded, finally returning a small smile. "Thank you, sir. Will you please give me a call if anything changes with Jyou?"

"I have a better idea. Give me some time here with my son, alone. When I'm finished, you can stay the night with him."

"Oh. Yes... I'd like that, with your permission, of course."

Dr. Kido smiled, his cold eyes softening a little. He was still a hard man, but not an impossible one. "Of course."

*****

That night, I dozed off at Jyou's side, holding his hand in mine and resting my head awkwardly against the edge of his mattress. I managed to slip into a vague state of dreaming to the sound of the heart monitor's beep. In my dreams, I felt Jyou move, felt him run his fingers through my hair and whisper my name.

Yet when I shifted my position slightly, I felt Jyou's hand give mine a squeeze. With a faint gasp, I raised my head to meet the dark eyes of my lover, finally open, if half-lidded. "Jyou-chan?"

"Izzy," he whispered, a crack of a smile coming to his lips as he called me the affectionate nickname that only he was allowed to use.

I curled both my hands around his, and he held on weakly. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty bad," Jyou breathed, his words coming in a tired sigh.

"You'll get well again soon enough." I hoped I sounded reassuring.

"I heard what you said to my father, Izzy," whispered Jyou, closing his dark eyes.

I bit my lower lip, brow furrowing. "Are you angry with me, Jyou?" I asked, voicing my fears.

Jyou turned his head slightly, as much as he could come to shaking it with his strength. "I'm not, Izzy. Maybe you could have waited for a better time, but I'm not mad."

I let out a quiet laugh. "At least your father took it well. Better than I thought he would."

"My dad can be full of surprises sometimes," Jyou replied. He opened his eyes and locked gaze with me. However, a concerned expression caused his brow to wrinkle, and he raised a hand to my cheek. "Izzy, you're crying."

I touched my cheeks, realizing for the first time that I was in fact weeping, feeling the moisture there. It wasn't often that I cried. "I'm just glad you're awake, Jyou-chan."

"Come here," he whispered, and he weakly drew me to him. His arms wrapping about my shoulders, I nestled my head against his warm chest. There, I felt comforted, secure. Underneath the stench of antiseptic, I could still smell Jyou's essence of soap and amber oil.

I shut my eyes and slept, once again secure in my beloved's arms. It would be a long road to recovery, but we would make it. Of this I had firsthand knowledge.

Back.