Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Mad World ❯ Just Between You and Me ( Chapter 10 )

Mad World

Dee X Ryo, hints of Bikky X Carol

Disclaimer: SisterRaven doesn't own these characters, nor does she make any claim to them (as much as she may want to). And no, I don't think talking about myself in the third person is a sign of insanity. ^.~

Warnings: See Previous

*words* = Thoughts or Flashback, *~*~*~*~* = POV/Scene change

Again, much thanks to my beta readers. Review responses are below.

AN: The angst muse broke out of the closet and promised bloodshed for being locked up. Consider yourself warned.

Chapter 9: "Just Between You and Me"

Ryo was startled from sleep by the unfamiliar jangling of the alarm clock. He was momentarily disoriented by not seeing the white walls that had grown all too familiar. He relaxed, however, upon hearing Dee groan next to him.

"Ugh. Shit, that's obnoxious." Dee blinked bleary green eyes at his lover. He reached across Ryo's body to smack the top of the clock, hitting the snooze button and getting a few minutes reprieve. Dee grinned, realizing his position halfway across Ryo. He lowered his head for a good morning kiss. When they broke for air he said, "Sorry you had to wake up to that annoying thing, babe."

"S'okay. Don't mind." He snuggled deeper into Dee's arms. "Wish you didn't have to go to work, though."

"Well, I could call in…"

"No you can't. I know you, Dee, and I highly doubt that you have the time off available. You almost always take your time off as soon as you've earned it."

"You're no fun." Dee stretched like a cat and clambered out of bed. Turning off the alarm clock, he looked back down at Ryo still half covered by the sheet. I'm gonna take my shower and get ready. I'll try to keep it down. You go back to sleep."

Feeling relaxed in his own bed, Ryo decided to take this very sensible advice. "Mmm-kay. See you when you get home. Love you."

"Love you too. Sleep well." Dee padded over to the bathroom and began to get ready for his day.

Ryo lay relaxing, taking comfort in the small sounds Dee made as he got ready for work. By the time Dee was leaving the apartment, Ryo had managed to fall back asleep.

About an hour later, Ryo woke up again, still feeling somewhat lethargic. He realized that, however much he wanted to spend the day in bed, he needed to get up and get ready to go to the hospital for his therapy. So he shoved off the covers, sat up, then rose and traced many of the same steps that Dee had that morning. He then left the apartment and took the bus over to the hospital for his therapy that day.

Things went well, overall. Ryo was building back his physical strength, to the happiness of both himself and his physical therapist. The session with Dr. Schmidt was frustrating at times, but Ryo felt as if he were starting to make progress. Ryo went home feeling a bit worn both physically and mentally, but satisfied.

He took a short nap at home, and decided he felt up to doing something for Dee. So he went into the kitchen intending to cook dinner for that night. He looked through the cupboards and refrigerator for something he could make that wouldn't take too much out of him. Finding everything he needed, he made a simple meal of baked chicken, steamed broccoli, and instant rolls. He finished just as Dee got home. "Perfect timing as always, love."

"Ryo! You didn't have to do this. You should be taking it easy." Dee looked over at the sandy-hared man worriedly.

"Dee, I'm not going to sit around and do nothing all day; I'd go stir-crazy if I did. Now, c'mon, sit down and eat before it gets cold." Taking his own advice, Ryo sat down at the table and began dishing up his meal. Dee sighed in defeat. He knew this wasn't an argument he was going to win. So he decided to make the best of it, enjoying a simple meal lovingly prepared. He had to admit, he'd been living too long on carry-out and TV dinners, too tired most nights to bother cooking for himself. So, he sat down and made small talk over dinner, and afterwards he insisted on doing the dishes. When Ryo tried to protest, he forestalled it by saying "Let me do this. It's only fair, after all, seeing how you cooked and we both ate. So, I should clean up."

Once the dishes were cleared, Dee and Ryo made their way into the living room where Dee popped in a movie. As The Princess Bride started, he settled down and pulled his brown-eyed lover into his arms to enjoy a movie he considered a guilty pleasure.

As the final scene ended and the credits began, Ryo yawned loudly and stretched, ending with his arms loosely around Dee's neck. The dark-haired man chuckled. "Okay, I can take a hint. Let's go get some sleep." As Dee stretched and rose, walking through the apartment, turning off lights and making sure the door was locked, Ryo watched appreciatively. He was once again reminded of a cat: sleek, graceful, and moving with a self-assured power. He shook himself out of his reverie and went into the bedroom to get ready for bed, Dee following closely behind.

Dee finished changing clothes and saying his prayers and climbed into the large bed. Ryo was about to join him when he remembered that he'd wanted to grab a glass of water to keep by the bedside, in case he woke up in the middle of the night. "I'll be right there, Dee. Just need to run to the kitchen for a minute." With that, he padded into the kitchen barefooted, not bothering with the lights. He took down a glass by memory and filled it with water from the tap by the light filtering in through the living room window. Turning and walking towards the bedroom, however, he made a small miscalculation, stubbing his toe viciously on the door jamb. Water sloshed out of the glass making it slick, and, as he lost his balance, he also lost his grip. The glass shattered as it hit the hardwood floor, and Ryo followed its path, trying unsuccessfully to catch himself. His palm hit the floor to break his fall, but immediately slid through the water, landing Ryo hard on the floor. As he tried to draw back in the air that had been knocked from him by the fall, he felt a sharp stabbing in his side that made him whimper in pain.

*~*~*~*~*

Dee had heard the crash of breaking glass and struggled out of bed in a near-panic. Struggling to disentangle himself from the sheets, he made it to the door and slapped on the light, looking down to see Ryo lying there, surrounded by water and broken glass. Dee froze, the sight too reminiscent of the nightmares he'd had when Ryo had been in his accident. It was the pained noises Ryo was making that broke him from his trance and he raced over to pick up his lover, heedless of the shards cutting his own feet.

For his own part, Ryo tried to keep very still, for as soon as the lights came on, he found himself faced with an exceptionally vicious shard of glass that was standing straight up, directly in front of his eyes. He realized that if he'd fallen just a quarter of an inch forward, he wouldn't have been seeing anything anymore, it would have gone right through his eye. His breaths were short and shallow, because trying to breathe any deeper drove the glass he'd landed on deeper into his side. He couldn't stop the pained noises he made when Dee picked him up, and he realized that he was probably going to pass out from hyperventilating, but he couldn't get himself to stop either.

Running on adrenaline, Dee carried him to the couch, where he set him down to try to look at the damage. He forced himself to calm down, to treat Ryo like any other victim he might have found. He fell back on his police training, focusing on facts and keeping a leash on his emotions. He could have a breakdown later, after the job was done. He realized that Ryo was breathing much to fast, and that he wasn't going to last in that condition. He looked up and caught Ryo's eyes with his own. "Ryo, calm down. You've got to calm down and take deeper breaths. Listen to me. Focus on breathing. In. Out. Slower. You're going to be okay, it's just a cut, it will heal. But you have to calm down for me. Breathe. Slowly." He spoke quietly, keeping his tone relaxed, not letting the panic show through.

Listening to the voice of the man he trusted above all else, Ryo was able to get himself a bit more under control. He still couldn't breathe too deeply, but he wasn't panting like a dog anymore either. He hissed in pain as he took a particularly deep breath. "Shit. I think there's still glass in there, Dee. Fuck, this hurts."

Dee, seeing his partner gain a little more control, turned back to the task of examining his cuts. He shook his head. "We need to get you to the hospital, I think you're going to need stitches on one of these." With that, he tried to get to his feet. But he hadn't realized just how badly he'd cut them up. "Ow! Fuck!" Looking down, he saw a few cuts on the soles of his feet, but the looked superficial. Nothing dangerous, just painful. "Well, Hell. This is gonna suck." Gritting his teeth against the expected pain, he stood up. "Do you think you can walk? Because I can't carry you the whole way. If you can't, I'll call an ambulance, but I really think it will be quicker if we drive."

"I can walk. But my coat is going to be toast after this." Ryo tried to make a joke of things, so his lover could see he wasn't so badly off, but he still winced in pain as he pushed himself off the couch. He kept one arm wrapped around himself, clutching his wound, knowing that pressure, as much as it may hurt, would slow down the blood flow.

Grabbing jackets and shoes from by the door, the two made their way down to the car. Dee drove like mad to the hospital emergency room where they were taken to separate alcoves and cleaned up. Ryo received 5 stitches on his side and several bandages, as well as some painkillers. Dee hadn't needed stitches, just a few butterfly closures on the wounds on his feet, but he was warned to stay off his feet as much as possible for 24 hours. They were then released to go home.

Dee drove them back much more sedately, and Ryo kept quiet through the entire ride. He felt horribly guilty that Dee had been hurt, it was all his fault for being so clumsy! He wanted to cry, but didn't want to break down in front of Dee, knowing how much he hated seeing tears on Ryo's face. So he held it in and they went back up to the apartment. Ryo worked on cleaning up the glass, as well as the water and blood that had been left on the floor. He then went and joined Dee in bed, wrapping himself around the body of his lover as if afraid he would leave. "I'm sorry, Dee," he whispered, his face buried in the other's chest.

"Shhh, it's okay. It was an accident. It wasn't your fault. I'm just glad you're okay. Now, let's get some sleep, we've had a little too much excitement for one night."

Ryo nodded, but he couldn't shake the feelings of guilt and self-recrimination that echoed in his head and followed him into sleep.

*~*~*~*~*

AN: I warned you there would be blood. Um, as I mentioned, virtual cookies to all who guessed that the movie was The Princess Bride (and those who haven't seen it, I highly recommend it, one of my faves). Woo-Hoo, over 100 reviews! Thank you thank you thank you! Here's all of the review responses for the last 2 chappies:

Kitty in the Box: I'm glad you're enjoying this little emotional rollercoaster. Hope this one takes you for some highs and lows too. And Ryo thanks you for the welcome home. ^.^

Kyle-Brofloski3: Sap is good sometimes. But we're back to the angst now, as you see.

Devil666sc: I promise that I'm posting as fast as I can. I work full time so I don't have as much time to write as I'd like.

Ri Ame Toraookami: No, I don't blame Ryo for snapping at Dee. It happens when people get upset. And I'm glad you enjoyed the fluff.

ShadowPassinThru: Thank you for your kind words. It's good to know that I'm not being too unrealistic with how Ryo's reacting to all the trauma he's been through. And as good as the fluff is, angst is back in full force. ^.~

Ryoan: Thank you so much for your in-depth reviews. I'm glad to know that you are enjoying the story as it progresses.

the random queen: Thank you.

firgodes7: My muse is behaving herself, just badly. I know the chapters are a bit short, but I prefer to have short chapters once a week rather than longer chapters with who knows how long between.

RU-BOO: Ooooh! A Carol plushie! But now I need Bikky to keep her company… Hope you continue to enjoy.

Chris-Redfield26: Dee will definitely help Ryo out, even when Ryo loses it and blows up at him. No butt-kicking needed. ^.~ We should see more of Bikky and Carol in the next chapter or so.

SilverStarlight2: The angst muse broke out for this chapter, as you see. She's gotten quite good at picking locks lately.

jmccall93: Glad you liked the reference, it is one my favorite movies.

g iris: Glad you liked the chapter. This one ends on more of a down note, I'm afraid. But things will get better eventually.

Daylight Starr: Thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. Hope this lives up to expectations.

Youki no ko: Well, with mental problems, it's usually a matter of working around it, they don't often go away. So, Ryo's not out of the woods yet. But I think that cuddling will be good medicine for him. ^.^

irishKaoru: Yup, that's the movie. Thank you for your kind comments.

The Bard's Apprentice: My fluff and hentai muses thank you. (They made the cookies, by the way). And they got to have a little fun at the beginning of this chapter, until angst picked the lock on the closet door.

asdfghl: First, thank you for taking the time to review. I hope you are enjoying the story. Second, you asked a very legitimate question, which I would like to address. I don't believe that I ever stated Ryo speaks fluent Japanese. I don't know that he does, I've never asked. But, I can see where you got the impression. I truly didn't mean for it to come off that way. I believe that, having 1 Japanese parent, Ryo is likely to have picked up some words and phrases in Japanese. This would be especially true of terms of affection/endearment, such as "Ai shiteru" and "Watashi no tenshi," as he was likely to hear them as a child. Knowing the translation of those terms does not mean that the speaker knows anything more than that. Frankly, I doubt that Ryo is truly fluent in Japanese; because even if he was once well versed from speaking with that side of his family, he likely hasn't practiced in a long time, and what skill he may have had has likely atrophied. All in all, I apologize if I gave the impression that Ryo was fluent. It just seemed likely that, seeing as he doesn't use the Japanese as much as he uses English, this would be a skill that would suffer the most as a result of his injury. I hope this satisfies your curiosity. If you have further questions, please feel free to email me or leave them in a review, and if you leave your email address, I will send you a response directly.

Okay, back to the grindstone for me. You've already read, so review please! Ja ne!