My alarm clock goes off once again at noon. I groan and reach for it, then sigh and lay on my back, my sightless eyes open and gazing at the ceiling. I let the music play, wanting to drown myself in it. So rather than turning it off, I grab the remote for the stereo and turn it on, turning the alarm off. The stereo is set on the same station, you see, and it plays better than the dinky little clock.
Too late, I remember Aya's in the room with me. I turn the music way down and reach over for him, trying to touch him. I can't see if he's awake or not, which pisses me off royally. Of all the times I wish I wasn't blind, this has got to be the most important. I have to -see- him. I want to know how badly he's hurt, so I can repay it tenfold to the bastards that did it to him.
"Don't worry," he says softly. "I've been awake for awhile."
I relax and lay back down, happy that he's with me again. I feel his hand lightly brush over my cheek and forehead, and then stroke my hair. "Yokatta," I murmur. "You're safe."
"Aa," he replies, his voice warm. I can tell he's smiling. "Thanks to you and Nagi." His voice is a bit odd when he says the Schwarz boy's name.
"Nagi helped me," I say quietly. "He came and told me what happened. He wanted to save you guys." I can't help but grin. "He's got a crush on Omi." I get the feeling it goes farther than that, but I'll keep my mouth closed. Omi can tell us if he wants us to know.
I can almost see him raise an eyebrow in surprise. "-Oh?-" he asks.
"Yup," I sigh happily, cuddling to his side. "I'm not hurting you, am I?"
A soft chuckle. "No," he says. "You're fine. I like you there."
"Good, because I like being here," I reply sleepily. "You're warm."
He embraces me, but not as tightly as he usually does. I know he's hurt, and so I don't press the issue. "Suki da," he murmurs into my ear.
I blush. "Dai suki," I respond, tilting my face up and nuzzling his neck with my nose. "I worried about you, when you were on the mission. I had no idea how much time had gone by."
He sounds guilty. "I shouldn't have left you here alone," he murmurs.
"Yes, you should have," I say firmly. "I have to be able to live like I used to. As close as possible."
I feel his lips whisper across my forehead. "You're brave, Ken," he whispers, "And stronger than I ever could hope to be."
I flush with the praise. "Ran, it's just something I have to do," I murmur. "You're strong too. You're better with your emotions than I am."
"Iya," he corrects. "I'm better at hiding them, not at dealing with them."
Simply relaxing into his arms, I reply, "If you say so."
"I do," he says. He kisses my forehead again. "Are you hungry or thirsty?"
I smile. "Not particularly," I respond. "I'm happy the way I am."
Silence for a moment, and then, I just have to ask," he says, a bit mystified. "How did you manage by yourself?"
With a grin, I reply, "I had a little help from a friend."
"A friend?" he asks, and again, I can almost see him raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," I reply. "It was amazing. Amethyst is the one that helped me. She jumped into the cabinet and batted a plastic cup down for me so I could get water, and stuff I couldn't reach, like ramen. She batted it down and I managed to fix it."
He laughs incredulously. "You couldn't cook ramen when you could see!" he says, laughing so hard he can barely talk.
I laugh with him. "I can't cook it now, either!" I reply. "Momoe-san did."
He chokes on his laughter and I mourn the loss. "Oh," he says softly. "Ah.. gomen."
I snuggle close to him and nuzzle his neck again, inhaling his clean scent. His hair is slightly damp, he must have taken a shower. "Please don't," I murmur. "Don't feel guilty. You did what you had to do."
He trembles a little and holds me closer. "I know, but that doesn't make it hurt less," he replies in an anguished whisper. "Ken.."
I silenced him with a kiss. Even though blind, my aim is still amazingly accurate. Especially for something so important. He doesn't respond for a moment, but when he does, he's almost desperate. After the kiss ends, he sighs and moves so he's nestled against me, his head on my chest. "Arigatou," he murmurs.
Closing my eyes, I lift a hand and rest it on his head, stroking his soft red hair. "You're welcome," I reply.
We relax together for a little while. I can feel myself drifting back to sleep, and I really don't want to sleep more right now. A few more minutes, and Aya murmurs, "Ken?"
"Aa?" I ask.
I feel him shift around again, curling protectively around me. "Nothing.." he says softly, resting against me.
I smile then, reaching up. My fingertips dance over his cheek. "Mm?" I respond teasingly. "I know it's something, you."
A slight chuckle. "Well, I was talking to Manx while you were asleep," he says quietly. "She gave me the number of an eye doctor. There's a new kind of laser surgery out that might help you.. if you're interested."
Whatever he says next gets cut off. "YES!" I exclaim, clinging to him. "Yes! I'll do it! Just call that guy up QUICK!"
He laughs again, a delighted, joyful sound. Sometimes, I forget that he's only twenty years old. He always seems so much older. But he's changed so -much-! It's hard to believe. "Hai!" he responds, kissing my forehead. "I'll see if Youji will take you there. I want to go myself, but.." his voice trails off.
"Don't worry," I reassure him. "I'll be fine with Youji."
I sense him nod, his hands caress my face again. "I believe you," he replies. He stands up and reaches for my hand, taking it securely in his. I get up as well and we walk hand in hand to Youji's room, and to the phone, to make a call that will perhaps change my life back to the way it was before.
*******
One week later
*******
Ken gets out of the hospital today. The laser surgery they did took several days, and he was unconcious the whole time. Outside his room, I pace back and forth nervously. They didn't know if it was successful yet. It'd be shown in a few minutes, when they finished the test and brought him back.
I reach up and run a hand through my hair, glancing down the hallway. I gasp in surprise when I see him walking next to a doctor without any aid at all, dressed as usual. The only thing different about him is a pair of silver wire-rimmed glasses that perch on his nose. When he sees me, he blushes slightly and breaks into an ecastic smile.
He throws himself into my arms and plants kisses all over my face. "I can see you, Ran!" he cries. "I can see you!" He sags against me, hugging me tightly, then lets go a little bit to pull back. His eyes roam my face, search my eyes for something.
I just smile at him, unable to do anything else. My own eyes fill with tears then, something that hasn't happened in a very long time. Not even when the accident happened and I was alone in the dark did I cry. When he smiles at me again, full of loving wonder, the tears spill over.
He reaches up and brushes them away, then tilts his head back and kisses me. I realise numbly that we're doing all of this in the hallway in a hospital, but I can't find it in myself to care. When he pulls back, we're both crying, and we simply cling to eachother, holding on for dear life.
After we manage to calm down, Ken turns his radiant smile on the doctor. "I can't thank you enough," he says quietly.
The doctor just grins and winks at us. "Just doing my job," he replies. "Now go home, I'm sure you want to see it rather than this place."
He nods enthusiastically and turns to me, smiling. He takes my hand, not because he has to, but because he wants to. Together, we walk out of the hospital. Together now, as we always should have been.
Together, forever.