Thirteen Stitches

Emotional

"You're kidding, right?" I say frantically as I yank my free hands fingers through my hair.

Shinohara looks away slowly and sighs. "I'm so sorry.. He insisted.."

Why?

"Why would you let him do that?!" I shriek, not caring that the loud noise startled him.

"Nitori-chan," he says worriedly, but I don't hear him.

All the noises fade away until I can only hear the rushed thumps of my heart, his heart, and the beeping of the monitors.

A nurse rushes into the room, but everything seems to have slowed down.

He said he loved me.

No one has ever loved me.

But he said he did.

And now he's dead.

"Is she awake yet?" A bubbly voice asks loudly as the door swings open, breaking through my barrier of silence. "What happened?! Why is everyone freaking out?!"

"Juuzou?" I say softly, obviously not heard.

I slowly lift my head up to see his worried eyes scanning into my own.

"Juuzou?!" I call out.

He rushes towards me, shoving nurses and investigators out of his way.

"Nitori.." He says happily as he presses his forehead against my own, his tears mingling with my own.

"I thought you died!" I sob as I tangle my fingers in his hair.

(Why the heck is this so cringy. I'm so sorry that I'm subjecting you to this)

"Why would I be dead?" He laughs as he wipes away my tears.

There's an awkward cough in the room and everyone turns towards the cause.

"I might've seen something similar to this situation on the Internet.. And I might've thought it'd be fun to try.." Shinohara says awkwardly as he averts his gaze.

Juuzou slightly narrows his eyes before standing up straight. He closes his eyes as a grin slowly slights up his face.

"Everyone!" He says loudly as he spreads his arms out wide. "Nitori and I have important matters to discuss."

He exchanges a knowing look with Shinohara before the man nods his head in consent and ushers everyone out.

'Everyone' looks at each other before uneasily leaving the room.

"We'll be back in a little bit.." The final doctor says before closing the door.

"Well," Juuzou says happily as he interlocks his fingers and stretches them above his head. "Now that they're gone, we can get down to the real business."

"And what's that?" I ask nervously, hoping that the topic will be the one I want to talk about.

"You said you loved me!" He smiles cheekily.

"O-oh! Yeah, I did.." I blush as I scratch my cheek.

He chuckles and fondly rests a hand on the cheek.

"Nitori.." He says softly.

"Hm?" I mumble distractedly, too focused on the warmth his palm sends racing through my body.

"Can I have a kiss?" He says firmly.

I look up and see his glimmering red eyes.

"Yes." I reply.

His eyelids droop till they're half-lidded and he leans down towards me, his wintery tresses falling forward.

As he presses his slightly-chapped lips against my own, the heart monitor beats a little faster.

Juuzou smirks in the kiss and moves in sync with my own lips.

We continue the soft moment until my lungs burn for air.

"That was nice.." I whisper softly as I press my fingers to my lips, as if I could keep his warmth forever.

"Yeah.." Juuzou mumbles as he looks away bashfully. When he looks back at me, he utters the same request.

"Can I have a kiss?"

"Yes."