[Haruka POV - ICU Room]
"Best birthday ever…"
And then…
His voice broke.
At first, I thought it was just exhaustion, his eyes closing again, his breath unsteady. But then I felt it. His hand tightened in mine. The sensation was slight, yet significant.
His chest trembled.
And then… a sound. Barely audible. Fragile. Like something shattering from deep inside.
He was crying.
"Levi?" I leaned in quickly, panic surging. "What's wrong? Are you in pain? Is it your chest? Should I call Chris? The nurse…"
His grip tightened weakly around my fingers.
"No… no, don't go." His voice cracked, breath shaky. "I… I'm fine. It's not that."
I froze. Then I heard it.
A quiet, broken whisper.
"I… I'm just glad that you're fine…"
His words hit me harder than any wound.
His body shook, just barely, restrained by weakness and bandages. His voice was frayed at the edges like a thread pulled too tight for too long finally snapping.
"I thought… I wouldn't get to see you again." He laughed softly, but it broke into a sob. "I thought Claude would… and you'd… Haruka, I thought I'd never hear your voice again."
I cupped his face gently, brushing away the tears with my thumb. "Hey, hey… I'm right here. You saved me, Levi. You kept your promise. And I'm not going anywhere."
He looked at me, truly looked, and his walls, his shields, everything he usually hid behind… they were all gone. Just Levi. Raw. Shattered. Real.
His lips trembled.
"I was so scared." He admitted it in a whisper, like a secret meant only for me. "Not of dying. I could handle that. But the thought of you… being hurt, being gone, because of me…"
I shook my head, leaning closer, forehead gently resting against his.
"Don't say that. Don't even think that. None of this was your fault. It's Claude's own problem. But you… you came for me. You bled for me. You shielded me. You lived for me."
A soft silence fell between us, filled only by the steady beep of the heart monitor and the faint hum of the machine.
He exhaled shakily. "I hated crying."
"I know, and you made me cry again also." I whispered, smiling through my own tears. "You look really bad doing it."
He let out a choked laugh, barely a puff of air. "You jerk."
"You love me."
"Unfortunately… yeah. A lot."
I pressed a kiss to his lips, letting my lips linger there.
"Then cry all you want." I whispered. "You're safe now. You don't have to hold it all in anymore. Not with me."
His breathing slowed.
His tears faded.
His hand stayed in mine.
And for the first time since this nightmare began… I saw peace in his eyes.
[Next Morning - ICU Room]
Soft sunlight filtered through the half-drawn curtains, casting gentle gold across the hospital room. The rhythmic beeping of the monitors had long since become a background melody, a quiet reassurance that Levi was still breathing, still here.
He was propped up slightly now, pale but awake. He looked better. Tired, but alive.
I had just helped him sip water when the door creaked open.
One by one, they entered. It was his family.
Lauren, brisk and elegant as always, her eyes rimmed in red.
Louis, composed but clearly anxious, Amelie holding his hand.
Kenny, older now, but still intimidating with that stone-cut glare.
And lastly… his grandfather. In a wheelchair, pushed by a nurse, still wearing his own hospital bracelet.
They all moved carefully, quietly, as if afraid their voices might break him.
"I know this is the VIP's room," Levi muttered dryly. "But did all of you really have to come at once?"
"Shut up," Lauren said, folding her arms but blinking fast. "You almost died, Levi."
"Well," Kenny drawled, pulling a chair over with one hand. "You made sure to cause a damn scene. Always been good at that."
No one laughed. But the tension eased.
Then, Levi's grandfather looked up, eyes soft, weathered and glassy. And then he turned his attention to me.
His voice was hoarse, but steady.
"Dr. Auclair…" He called. It's been a long time since someone called me that.
I straightened slightly, caught off guard.
"Thank you… for saving my grandson. This is the second time."
I nodded slowly, words caught in my throat. "Levi saved me first. And I… I couldn't let him go."
"You didn't," he said, the corners of his mouth lifting. "And I owe you more than I'll ever be able to repay."
I met his gaze, steady and warm. "I didn't do it for repayment. I did it because I love him." I said with confidence. I don't want to hide my feelings any longer.
A silence passed. But not a heavy one.
Lauren pulled out a small box of tissues from her bag and tossed it onto the side table.
"I swear, if anyone starts crying again, I'm walking out." She mumbled, sniffing discreetly.
Kenny grunted, clearly restraining a smirk.
Levi chuckled. A faint, broken sound, and he turned his gaze towards Louis and Amelie.
[Levi POV]
I looked at them, my little brother and his fiancée, standing side by side at the foot of my bed. There was something steadier about Louis now. More grounded. Maybe it was Amelie's presence. Maybe it was everything that had happened.
"So," I said, my voice still rough. "How's the engagement ceremony going?"
Louis glanced at Amelie, who gave his hand a slight squeeze before he answered.
"Well… Amelie and I are officially engaged," Louis said. "Thanks to her stepping in and saving it."
"She did all the talking, by the way," he added, with a small boyish grin.
I gave a faint nod. "Glad to hear that."
There was a brief pause before Amelie looked at me, brows furrowed, voice gentle but firm.
"You told us to handle everything by ourselves if something happened. You said not to worry about you. But… Levi, you nearly got yourself killed."
I met her gaze. For once, there's no sarcastic comeback in me.
"I know."
She stepped a little closer. "You don't have to carry everything alone. You have people, Levi. You have us. Him." She nodded towards Haruka. "And all of us."
I let the words settle in my chest like a warm weight.
Then silence.
It hung for a few moments.
Not heavy. Just…unfinished.
"So," I murmured, letting my eyes flick towards the others. "He didn't come."
Everyone knew who I meant. My father, of course.
Kenny sighed, long and low. His tone didn't change when he replied. Calm, but with just enough edge.
"No. He didn't."
I nodded slightly. I'm not surprised. Not at all.
Kenny leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees.
"He knows. We told him. I called. Your grandfather called. He just said, 'If the boy's strong enough to survive, he doesn't need me there.'"
A bitter smile tugged at my lips. Typical. That's just how my father is. He never cares. Haruka squeezed my hand gently.
"Well… I didn't expect him to come anyway." I said softly.
Kenny's voice grew rougher. "If you want a real father figure, Levi, he's sitting right there." He nodded towards grandfather. "The rest of us? We're staying, with or without him."
That silence came again. But this time, it didn't ache.
Louis stepped closer, his hand resting lightly on the rail of my bed.
"We're glad you're still here, Levi. Don't ever do that again."
"No promises." I muttered, smirking.
Amelie rolled her eyes. "You're impossible."
"True." I said, squeezing Haruka's hand beside me.
"But somehow, I'm still loved."
Haruka smiled quietly, fingers curling around mine.
Lauren sniffed again. Well, I didn't expect that, to be honest.
"No one deserves it more, asshole," she said. "But don't make us sit in another ICU like this again."
I chuckled faintly. "Deal."
[Levi POV - 30 minutes later]
The door closed behind them with a quiet click.
Finally, silence again.
Not the suffocating kind, just stillness. Like the air had finally exhaled.
Haruka sat back down beside me, his fingers never straying far from mine, even when the others were here. I turned my head to look at him properly this time.
It's just him. And me. Just us.
"You should rest," he said quietly, brushing a stray hair from my forehead.
I raised a brow. "You're one to talk. You haven't slept properly since yesterday."
He sighed, soft and tired, but didn't deny it. "I didn't want to leave you. Not when I didn't know if you'd…" He'd stop himself, eyes darting away.
"I'm not going anywhere. To be precise, I can't do that in this condition." I murmured. "And, you're stuck with me."
He gave a small, breathy laugh, but his eyes were wet again.
"You scared me." He whispered.
A beat passed.
Then I reached out. Slow, because everything still hurt and tugged gently at his sleeve. "Come here."
He leaned in immediately, and I guided his hand to rest over my chest, just beneath the bandages.
"Still beating." I said, voice low. "All because you didn't give up on me."
He stared at me like I'd handed him the moon.
"You really want to know what kept me holding on?" I asked.
He nodded.
"You." I said simply. "Even when everything went dark. Even when I thought I wouldn't make it to the ambulance… I kept hearing your voice in my head. Telling me to stay. Telling me not to leave."
His throat moved like he was swallowing something too big to name.
"I meant what I said last night," he whispered. "If you died on me, I wouldn't have forgiven you."
I smiled faintly. "Guess that's a good thing that I'm stubborn."
"You're infuriating."
"You love it."
He leaned down, pressing his forehead to mine. Our breaths brushing softly in the space between.
"I love you," he murmured. "All of you. Even the reckless, self-sacrificing parts."
I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the quiet wrap us like a blanket.
"You know," I said slowly. "I never thought I'd have this. Someone who'd fight this hard for me."
"You always had it," he said. "You just never let yourself believe it."
We stayed like that for a while. Forehead to forehead, breathing in sync.
No battles. No blood. No one is watching.
Just the two of us.
//SKIP//
[ICU Room - Later that night]
The soft hum of machines filled the quiet. The lights were dimmed, Haruka fast asleep beside the bed, his head resting on the edge of the mattress, his fingers still laced loosely with mine.
I didn't dare to move.
For once, the silence wasn't lonely. Just peaceful.
Suddenly, the door opened with a quiet click.
I turned my head slowly, expecting a nurse.
Instead, Chris walked in. Still in scrubs, shoulders stiff with fatigue. Beside him stood Hanabi.
She didn't say a word. Just stared.
Chris gave me a nod and pulled a chair up to the other side of the bed.
"You looked like shit," he said dryly.
"Feels about right." I muttered, giving him a weak smile.
He glanced at Haruka, then back at me, his eyes softer now. "You scared the hell out of all of us. But… thank you. You kept your promise."
I shrugged a little. "He's important to me."
Chris leaned back in the chair, "I know. And he's lucky to have someone who'd take a bullet for him."
Chris glanced at Haruka, still fast asleep, and then back at me.
"I just wanted to check in before I crashed. You're stable, but you need to keep resting. No more stunts. No playing hero unless you've got backups, understand?"
"Noted." I said. "Though next time, maybe someone should stop Haruka from doing emergency surgery after donating blood."
Chris groaned softly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Don't remind me."
We both shared a faint smile.
Then, silence settled between us for a moment. A heavy, unsaid respect. Then I looked past him… to Hanabi.
She hadn't moved. Just stood frozen near the foot of the bed.
Still not saying anything.
Her hands were clenched into fists, and her lips pressed tight. Something about her posture made my chest ache more than the wound ever could.
"Hanabi… " I started, but before I could finish…
She moved suddenly. Straight to the side of the bed.
And then…
She broke.
Tears burst down her cheeks like a dam shattered, and her voice cracked like glass.
"I'm sorry!" She cried out, voice thick. "Levi, I'm so sorry. I… I yelled at you. I accused you. I didn't trust you."
Her body trembled as she gripped the bedrail tightly, shoulders shaking. "I was so angry, and I didn't even try to listen to you first. And then when I found out what happened, when I heard you got shot…"
She choked on her words and dropped her head, sobbing openly now.
"I thought I would never get the chance to say it. I thought… you'd die thinking I hated you. But I don't. I never did."
I swallowed hard, feeling my throat tighten.
"I know." I said quietly.
She looked up, eyes wide and red. "You do?"
I gave the smallest nod. "You were scared. And angry. You were just trying to protect Haruka. I don't blame you for that."
"But I still said horrible things…"
"Maybe," I murmured. "But if we died every time someone said something stupid out of fear, none of us would've made it past childhood."
A broken laugh slipped from her lips, watery and uneven.
Then she reached forward, hesitantly at first, until her hand brushed mine.
"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for saving my brother."
I squeezed her fingers gently.
"You don't have to thank me," I said. "Your brother saved me first. In fact, two times already."
Chris cleared his throat softly, standing now. "Alright. That's enough crying in the ICU. The nurses will think we're throwing a soap opera here."
Hanabi wiped her eyes furiously, but a small smile tugged at her lips. "I'm still mad at you, you know. Just… a little less now."
"Good," I muttered, closing my eyes for a moment. "Wouldn't be Hanabi if you weren't."
Chris let out a soft chuckle, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Come on. Let's let him rest. And we wouldn't want Charles to wake up if we stayed any longer. He needs rest too."
Hanabi nodded, her hands were still gripping mine tightly.
"I don't want to lose anyone." She said, her voice small.
"You won't." I said. "I promise."
Hanabi nodded, squeezing my hand one last time before releasing it.
She stood up, and they both walked to the door. Hanabi glanced back at me, giving a faint smile before they both left the room.
The room returned to quiet.
And there, in that quiet moment, with the hum of monitors and Haruka's slow breathing beside me. I realised something I hadn't allowed myself to believe until now.
I wasn't alone anymore.
Not in any of this.
Not ever again.
TO BE CONTINUED!!!