Shadow Of Betrayal / YokRay

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"Where is he?" Nick charged at Ray like a tornado. He grabbed him by the collar and pushed the Yolo gang leader against the wall. "Where the fuck is he?"

"Room 208, but you can't go to him." Stammered Ray, relieved when Nick let go of him.

"Can you guys please not argue?" Boston tried to placate the two. "Most importantly, Ray didn't tell Yok to go to a fight drunk, wo can we talk it out later?" Nick rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"You're right," he muttered, then turned to the Yolo gang leader. "I'm sorry...I'm just insanely scared for him."

"So am I." Admitted Ray. They fell into a silence that hung over them like a heavy veil. All of them were worried about their friend.

"For Yok?" A nurse looked around the waiting room.

"Yes here." The four waiting stood up and looked at the nurse expectantly.

"He's stable and awake, you can go see him now. But please, not all at once." She looked at the four and gestured for them to follow her. "Here you go, but as I said please not all at once." With a smile on her lips, she turned away and left the four men.

"Who would like to go first?" Boston asked, exchanging a quick glance with Ray and Nick.

"I think it would be better if Nick went in first, maybe he can briefly explain what happened and then ask Yok if he even wants to see me." Ray would've liked nothing more than to rush straight into the room to Yok, hugging and kissing him, apologizing. But he knew that probably wasn't a good idea right now.

Nick nodded and opened the door to the room where Yok was lying.

"I have to go to the bathroom for a minute." Ray excused himself from the group. He nodded to Boston and Zero and headed off, but not in the direction of the restrooms. He went to another area of the hospital and carefully opened the door to one of the rooms.

"Oh nice of you to drop by again, Ray. How were you doing in the meantime?" Yok's mother signed to Ray.

"Hey Mama Yok...I come with not so good news." Ray signed back and took a chair to place it next to Yok's mother's bed. "Yok is here in the hospital. I thought you should know." The woman's eyes got big and Ray could read the shock on her face.

"What happened to my boy Ray? Did he have an accident or did that horrible Great do something to him?" Ray couldn't follow exactly what the lady was signing and gestured to her to wait a moment. He stood up and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen.

"Yok was involved in a fight. It looks like he was pretty drunk. But don't worry he's fine so far, he just woke up from anesthesia and Nick is with him." Ray wrote down the words and held the paper up to the Woman. Mrs. Yok reached for Ray's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Thank you for coming by and telling me about my boy." She smiled at the young man. "And thank you for coming to see me so often in the last few weeks. Thank you for trusting me Ray. You're a good boy." She paused briefly looking at Ray, to make sure he understood what she had signed. The smile on the man's face told Mama Yok that Ray got what she wanted to tell him.

"I've told you that many times before. And I know you love my boy very much. Take this chance to talk to him. And knowing my Yok, he will forgive you, but not without you proving to him how serious you are about him." Tears glistened in her eyes as she signed this to Ray, who put all his learned knowledge to test and tried understanding what Yok's mother wanted to tell him.

"Thank you Mama Yok...thank you for always giving me a sympathetic ear without judging me. I don't know what I would have done without talking to you." Ray got a little emotional at the thought that this woman had done so much for him, even though he had hurt her son so incredibly.

"I was happy to do that. I saw the way Yok looks at you, there is no doubt that he really likes you a lot." She stroked Ray's cheek. "Now go, Yok needs you."

"I'll keep you updated. I'll stop by Yok, every other day.... even if he doesn't want to see me. And when I visit him, I will also pay you a visit." Ray gently squeezed Mrs. Yok's hand once more before getting up and heading back to his friends.

"There you are again." Greeted Boston Ray as he came back to the waiting ones.

"Has Nick said anything yet?"

"No, he hasn't come out of the room yet." Zero stood, leaning against the wall next to the door of Yok's room.

"So it's wait and see?" Boston nodded. All three wanted to know how Yok was doing, but currently only Nick could provide them with the answer. It felt like another eternity with the three of them pacing up and down the hallway, each trying to calm their nerves.

"He's fine." With these words, Nick opened the door.

"Really? Did he make it through everything okay?" Ray immediately turned to the other and relief at this news could be seen on his face.

"So far, yes. He has a headache and is still tired from the anesthesia, but all in all he seems to be doing quite well." Nick bit his lips, not sure how to phrase the next part of his report. "His face...well his nose is broken, he has bruises on his hip and ribs. And a pretty black eye, he looks bad. But as I said, considering the circumstances, he's doing well."

"It's bad, isn't it?" Boston asked cautiously. Nick nodded, there was no point in pretending to his friends, of course they all knew that Yok's injuries were not life threatening. Still, they also knew that he was probably in incredible pain and would have to suffer from the effects of his injuries for quite some time.

"Can I see him?" Ray's heart was beating up to his throat, he actually didn't want to hear Nick's answer because if Yok didn't want to see him it would hurt.

"Even though I don't approve, yes you can go to him but if you hurt him...I swear to god I will break all your bones."

Ray swallowed hard as he carefully opened the door to Yok's room. When his gaze fell on the bed in the room, he was startled. Yok's nose was swollen and blue, his right eye was also swollen, his forehead was clamped. The blanket was at the level of his hips, revealing Yok's exposed bruised chest. The ROL gang leader really looked like he had been involved in a serious accident. Slowly, Ray walked towards the Yok's bed, head down, creeping as if he was on his way to a court hearing and he was the defendant. Yok, careful not to hurt himself, turned towards Ray.

"Hey..." He mumbled weakly. "Heard you got me out of there." Ray just nodded dumbly, standing rooted to the spot just a few steps away from Yok's bed, not knowing how to act. "Feel free to come closer...I won't rip your head off." The Tiger tried a smile, but immediately hissed in pain.

"You're not going to behead me?" Ray asked incredulously as he pulled up a chair and sat down next to Yok at the bedside.

"Would you rather prefer I did?" You could literally hear the smirk in his voice. Ray was relieved that this encounter had not started with an argument, or recriminations.

"To be honest, I would prefer to keep my head on."

"Knew you would." Yok smiled as best as his pain would allow. "I know you're here to apologize, or give me an explanation why you haven't contacted me in almost two months. But I don't want to know about that today...I just want you to be here, with me." He put his hand on the bed beside him and turned his head a little more toward Ray.

"I'm happy to do that...if that's what you wish."

"Otherwise I wouldn't have said it...idiot...and now can you please hold my hand? The pain is really hard to bear...and I'd like to get some sleep...thought it might help if I knew someone was with me." Murmured the Tiger. Ray nodded and carefully took Yok's hand, a feeling like an electric shock went through his whole body as soon as the Tiger's fingers intertwined with his.

Ray sat like this next to Yok for the rest of the day, watching the other as he slept, his chest moving calmly up and down. Only now and then did the other man wake up to get a drink or ask for new painkillers. And even though Ray enjoyed being near the other again, he also knew that a conversation between them was inevitable and that was already giving him a stomach ache.