Unstitched Wounds

Chapter 6; Monster

-I am not your tragedy-

"Hoseok-ah."

Hoseok blinks awake at the soft voice of Nari. He groans and stretches, wincing at the soreness of his neck and sighs at the sensation of her nails running through his hair. He smiles lazily, reaching for her and laying his head onto her lap. He can feel the swell of her belly against his head. "Nari-yah."

Chuckling, Nari leans down to press a kiss to his forehead. "Good evening, sleepy head."

"Good evening," he whispers back, then cranes his head so that he can kiss her belly. "And good evening to you, sweetheart. Daddy missed you."

"Not half as much as we missed you." Nari runs her hand over her belly and leans back in the hospital bed that made up Hoseok's makeshift bed for the day. "Firecracker here was displeased by your absence."

Sheepish, Hoseok forces himself to sit up and kiss Nari properly. She leans into it, lips quirked into a smile, and he sighs at the delicious taste of her shampoo. She's warm and smells fresh from her shower. He admires her dress, a lovely blue thing that billows out around her belly, and falls to her ankles. "You look lovely."

"Thank you." She ruffles his greasy hair. "And you, my dear husband, look like roadkill. And smell worse."

"Oh, sorry." He hastily untangles from her and grimaces. "I'll go take a quick shower in the resident rooms."

"I'll wait here. You have some explaining to do." Nari looks at him pointedly.

"Of course. I'll be back."

After showering and dressing in some fresh clothes that he keeps stored in his locker, Hoseok returns to the main lobby and peeks into the room that he slept the day away in. Nari was singing a lullaby under her breath as she remade the bed with fresh sheets, delicate hands fluffing the pillows. "You know, I can see you lurking."

Hoseok's cheeks bloom red and he shuffles into the room. "Sorry. I'm here- showered and presentable again."

"Excellent." Nari steps back and admires her work, deeming it fresh and ready for the next guest. She finally takes his hand and leads him back to the lobby where they settle in the office chairs. "So? What's going on? You can't leave me in suspense."

Nervously, Hoseok tugs at the collar of his shirt. "Baby, I'm going tell you something and you have to promise that it won't leave this room. This stays between me, you, and the Problem Wolves."

Genuine concern blooms over Nari's face, plush lips pressed together. She nods once. "You have my word. What is it?"

So, Hoseok tells her everything. From start to finish. She listens with rapt attention, expressions morphing from shocked to worried and finally landing on disbelief by the time he finishes.

After a few minutes of silence stretching between them, Nari finally whispers, "Are you telling me there is an injured Nosferatu in our supply room right now?"

"Out of everything in the long winded story I just told you, that's what you're focusing on?"

Smacking Hoseok's arm, hand protectively splayed over her belly, Nari scoffs. "Yes, that is exactly what I am focusing on."

"Okay! Okay!" Hoseok ducks out of another of her smacks and rubs the offended spot on his arm. "What's the fire?"

"The fire is he is injured and you're not treating him!" Nari stands, wobbling momentarily, but quickly regains balance. She stalks off to one of the many medical kits spread over the room and Hoseok scrambles to follow her.