~Joe POV~
Three more days pass, though I don't realize because I lost all track of time after only a few days of being here.
At around 11am, someone knocks on the door. I continue to hold onto Cherry's hand.
"Come in," I say as I look up at the door.
Cherry's main doctor walks in, both worrying me and giving me a slimmer of hope at the same time.
"Good morning Kojiro," he says
"Good morning doctor," I reply.
"I'm going to get right to the point. Today is day ten, and if you recall, I said that after ten days, patients in a coma's chance of waking up is severely decreased after ten days. If he doesn't wake up in the next five days, then you'll have three options. One: You can bring him to live with you and you can watch over him as a full time caregiver and basically keep him comfortable for years before he dies. Two: It's the same option as one, except have someone else be a part-time caregiver for him so you can keep a job, and still take care of him. And option three: Send him to hospice. Have him stay there permanently and have someone else watch over him 24/7. You'd be able to visit him."
Attempting to hold myself together and not start crying, I just nod my head and hope the doctor will go away.
He does.
As soon as he's gone, I back up against the wall and slide down to the floor. I bring my knees up to my chest, place my arms on top, and begin crying into my arms. My sobs echo throughout the room. I feel so helpless. I'm supposed to just sit here for five days, wait to see if he wakes up, and if he doesn't I'll have to choose what's gonna happen to him for the rest of his life.
While still crying, I shakily pick up my phone, and dial Reki's number. He picks up within a few rings.
At first I don't say anything, and just continue to cry.
"Joe?" Reki says.
"Reki," I finally say while still sobbing.
"Joe, what's wrong?!" he asks.
"I- it's Cherry. H- he has five days."
"Are you at the hospital?"
"Yeah."
"Ok, hold on Joe."
I hang up, and place my head back down, but I don't cry very much anymore.
After a while, there's a knock on the door, followed by it bursting open. Reki stands in the doorway, Shadow, Langa, and Miya behind him.
"Joe!" Reki shouts. Him and Shadow rush towards me, and attempt to help me back on my feet.
They sit me down in my chair while Langa gets me some water. Reki rubs my back as I attempt to calm down.
When I finally do, Reki asks, "what happened Joe?"
"The doctor came and said that since today is day ten and the odds of him waking up are severely decreased. He has five more days here, and if he doesn't wake up, either I'll have to become his caretaker full-time, I'll have to hire a part-time caretaker, or I'll have to send him to hospice care for the rest of his life."
"Oh," Miya says.
"What are you gonna do, Joe?" Reki asks.
"I don't know. I do know that I'm definitely not sending him to hospice though," I reply.
I take Cherry's hand in mine and kiss it gently.
"All I know is that I love him, and I'm scared. I don't wanna lose him," I continue as a tear rolls down my cheek.
Everyone except Reki seems semi-shocked at my words. I knew they probably knew I was in love with him, but I don't think they were expecting me to say it.
"Joe, he's gonna wake up. He has to. He'll do it for you. You mean a lot to him too," Reki says as he places a hand onto my back.
"I hope so," I reply, and then kiss Cherry on the forehead gently. "Please wake up Kaoru, I need you," I whisper to him.
Many hours pass now. Nobody leaves, and we all end up falling asleep in different spots around the room.
A soft squeeze on my hand wakes me up. It's dark in the room, so I can't see too well.
My arms are sprawled across Cherry's bed, and my head lays across them. My hand is holding onto Cherry's.
I lift my head up to stare at Cherry. His eyes are still closed. I sigh. I was thinking that he had woken up, but was wrong. The doctors explained that him grabbing my hand like that, which he'd done a few times before, was just a reflex.
I lay my head back down again, but don't go back to sleep. Instead, I begin talking to him again.
"Kaoru, I wish you would just wake up. I really miss you. I know that's shocking coming from me but it's true. I miss your stubbornness, and neatness, and attitude, and the way your beautiful pink hair flies when you skate, and your beautiful eyes behind those glasses. I just want to skate with you again. It's hard without you."
"You... needy gorilla," a weak voice says to my right.
I quickly lift up my head and stare at Cherry's face. There's a very faint smile on his face, and I watch as his eyes slowly open.
"Kaoru!" I shout.
I jump up and wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug.
Behind me, Reki, who was asleep in Langa's lap, wakes up and stares. Underneath him, Langa wakes up too. Shadow, who's passed out in a chair across the room, stays asleep. Miya wakes up from laying on the ground.
Despite knowing the others are watching, I put both my hands on the sides of Cherry's face, and bring my lips to his.
Everyone goes completely silent as my head goes empty. I hold on for a few seconds, while Cherry sits motionless beneath me.
I pull away, and take a second to think about what I just did. I'm sure everyone's staring at me, and I immediately regret it.
"Kaoru, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. That was stu-" I start but am interrupted when Cherry leans up, grabs the front of my shirt, and crashes his lips against mine.
"You stupid gorilla, I'm in love with you too," Cherry says when he pulls away.
YOU ARE READING
I'll Protect You- MatchaBlossom
Fanfiction!!Episode 9 and a little bit of episode 7 spoilers!! Cherry and Joe have been close friends since they were kids. They've been to hell and back together, most of which was caused by Adam. Cherry skates against Adam in the tournament and gets injured...
