ʏᴇʟʟᴏᴡ ∆ ᴄᴀᴇsᴀʀ ᴢᴇᴘᴘᴇʟɪ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ∆

∆ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ-ғᴏᴜʀ∆

“Y/n, take a break,” Emily said, placing a hand on my shoulder. I removed my gloves and tossed them in the trash along with the others. I raked a hand through my fallen hair with a shaky sigh. “You did well. Because of you, both of them are going to make it.” She smiled, her eyes filled with comfort.

“I need to check on them,” I replied softly.

“You just did,” She said, crossing her arms over her chest. “You should rest a little. You’ve been in surgery for almost ten hours and worked five hours before that. I know you’re exhausted, Y/n. I’ll call someone else in. Hang your coat up, and lay down somewhere.”

I ran a hand over my face and nodded, knowing that she had won. She was right, I was utterly exhausted. Between my nerves and inexperience in surgery, I was so afraid that I would make a mistake and be the cause of a death. A death to someone that was so close to me, no less. Thankfully, towards the end, one of the surgeons showed up and guided me through the ending process, and even complimented me.

Caesar was the worse of the two. He had a torn ligament in his left leg, three broken ribs, a punctured lung, his left arm was broken in two different places, his jaw was fractured, he had a severe concussion, and a twist of his spine. I also found that he had previous injuries to his spine and shoulders that were more or less renewed with his injuries.

Joseph had two cracked ribs, a ruptured appendix, a broken collarbone, a shattered leg, a broken nose, and also had a severe concussion. Unlike Caesar, he was unconscious when he arrived at the hospital, and was still out, along with Caesar. I’d never seen such injuries before. They were horrible.

“Oh, Y/n!” Suzie stood up as I slowly lowered my hand from tapping on the door softly.

“Auntie!” Holly said, slipping her mother’s hands and sauntered towards me. I crouched down in front of her, smiling softly at her. “Is daddy going to be okay?” She asked.

“Your dad’s going to be just fine,” I said, brushing her long hair from her shoulder. “He’s tough.”

“That’s right!” She exclaimed, pumping her fist into the air. “My daddy is the strongest man ever!” I laughed and rose back to my feet.

“How is he?” Suzie asked, in a quieter voice as I walked to him, carefully lifting his arm to check the pulse in his wrist.

“His pulse is normal, finally,” I sighed in relief. “It doesn’t seem like any signs of appendicitis are showing, so he should be okay. If he doesn’t wake up tonight, he will tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Y/n,” She said, wiping the corner of her eyes.

“Don’t thank me,” I said, shaking my head. “I’ll be back to check on him later.”

…

I don’t know how long I was out. I barely even remember making it to Caesar’s room. I vaguely remember pulling up a chair beside the bed, but after that...nothing. I only realized that I was even asleep when I woke up. The sound of rustling fabric pulled me from my sleep, making me slowly peel my eyes open.

I saw Caesar shifting awake, attempting to sit up. I shot up in my chair, almost falling from how fast I moved. “Wait, don’t move too much!” I said, my voice startling him. He looked up at me as I stood up and put my hand on the back of his neck.

“Y-y/n?” He rasped, blinking at me in confusion.

“You can’t just move around like that, idiot. You’ll hurt yourself even more,” I mumbled, carefully making him lay back. He obliged after a second or two. I situated him, propping him up with a few pillows and allowing him to drink some water before I sat beside him on the bed.

“You really suck at keeping promises, you know that?” I muttered quietly, taking his uninjured hand in mine.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” He said, swiping his thumb across the back of my hand. He took his hand from mine, replacing it on my cheek. I heard him gasp when he felt the warm tears sliding down my skin. “Y/n-”

“I was so scared,” I whispered, placing my hand on the back of his. “I didn’t even know what to do when I first saw you. I was too afraid to even move. I thought you might die, Caesar. Why the fuck would you scare me like that!? You told me everything would be fine, then you show up so bloody I could barely tell it was you! God, you’re such a fucking idiot! A reckless, careless, fucking idiot!”

Caesar looked at me guiltily, his eyebrows laced together. I sniffled and raised my head to look at him, a smile crawling on my face. “But, you’re my idiot and I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Merda, Y/n,” He breathed, closing his eyes in relief. “Don’t do that. I thought you were about to kill me.”

“It was tempting to,” I said, wiping my eyes. “But then, I wouldn’t be able to get bragging rights.”

“Huh?” He looked at me in pure confusion, making me laugh before leaning forward.

“Remember that bet we made? That if I saved you, then I would get bragging rights, but if you saved me, I would let you kiss me?” I asked, grinning at him.

“This doesn’t count,” He mumbled, cheeks turning red.

“It doesn’t?” I asked, tilting my head. “Then I guess you won’t get your kiss. After all, you did risk your life to save me, and everyone else. Hm, that sucks.”

“W-wait, I take it b-back-” I laughed, making Caesar huff. He placed his hand on my waist, his nimble fingers dancing along my skin where my shirt had lifted slightly.

“Stop pouting,” I giggled, watching him stick his bottom lip out.

“I’m injured, mi amore, are you just going to let me suffer?” He gasped out dramatically. “Oh, but a kiss from my queen would make everything so much better!”

“Your acting is horrid, Caesar,” I laughed. Our faces were so close now, our noses brushing together.

“Yeah, but it worked, didn’t it?” He grinned up at me. I cupped his face in my palm, feeling his warm face. “Hey,” He whispered.

“Hm?” I asked, feeling myself getting lost in his lime green eyes.

“I’m fine, you know. I’ll be okay. If you think you were going to get rid of me that easy, then you were wrong. I’m not leaving you anytime soon,” He said seriously, the playful tone in his voice lost now. “I mean it, Y/n. I’m not leaving you alone ever again.”

“Then you better stick to those words, Zeppeli,” I murmured, placing my forehead against his. “I can’t handle you breaking another promise.”

“I won’t,” He whispered. “You have my word.”

“Better seal them then,” I replied. He grinned and tilted his face slightly, rising just enough to press his lips against mine. I felt my face turn red, my eyes fluttering close. Caesar gripped my waist tighter, and I felt him chuckle into the kiss. He pulled back a second later, grinning at me widely.

“W-what?” I asked, feeling myself growing insecure. Why was he looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong?

"You're so cute, do you know that?" He said, raising an eyebrow. I felt my entire face flush a shade of crimson.

"H-huh?" Caesar laughed. He tapped my hip.

"I can feel your heartbeat, Y/n. Why are you so nervous?" He teased, still grinning at me.

"Sh-shut up!" I yelled, covering my face. Even I could feel the heat coming from it.

"Nope. Come here," He said, pulling me down.

"W-wait, Caesar, your injuries-!"

"Are fine," He said, ignoring my protests as he pulled me down to his side. "Just don't move around too much."

"You're an idiot," I huffed, resting my head on the pillow beside him.

"Mm. Yeah, but I'm your idiot."