Slim: Book 6

Heaven

I didn't wake up in the hospital like I had expected. Rather, I woke up in bed next to a sleeping, feverish Naru. My head didn't hurt anymore, but I was still covered in sweat, and I deduced from the fact that I was still wearing the pajamas I had put on that not much time had passed since I had fallen asleep in the car. I didn't recognize the bed we were in, though. It was smaller than Naru's and had a striped, utilitarian bed set. A large window on one wall had closed blinds over it. I tried to take a tentative sniff and thought I could catch the scent of incense beneath the stink of both mine and Naru's sick, sweaty bodies.

Cautious, I sat up, readying myself for the lightheadedness and nausea. It didn't come. Just as I started to think that maybe my sickness had gone away as well, a coughing fit came over me, jarring all of my various aches and pains.

Naru woke up with a start. He reached out for me, concern softening his features as no one but me would ever see, if he could help it.

I smiled and met his hand with my own.

"I'm okay," I breathed, and tears filled up my eyes. "We're okay now."

As the tears spilled out and down my cheeks, Naru raised his hand to my face and wiped them away with his thumb. He didn't ask why, seeming to just understand.

"Takigawa and Lin said the spirits left all a sudden. When you didn't wake up, I was...they told me you were alright, but I was..."

I put my hand over his on my face and turned to nuzzle it. "I know, love. I know. I'm sorry." I bit my lip, holding back a sob. I was so, so sorry. For not protecting myself right, for worrying him, for being a gateway to the utter destruction of his heart.

He made soft shushing sounds and sat up too so as to fold me into his arms. I gave a wobbly laugh through a sob.

"After all that crap you spout about not being good at comforting."

"I learn from the best." He kissed the side of my head. "But, since you seem so disturbed by my out of character actions: we stink."

That jerked another laugh from me, all burbly and ending with a cough, which got him coughing and laughing too. What a wonderful way to spend a honeymoon.

"Wanna take a shower?" I asked.

"With you? I'd rather not. It wouldn't be relaxing in the least."

"Oh come on, doesn't feeling like crap enough to keep your-"

"Nope. We're not going there."

"Seriously? I just had a super emotional experience and-"

"Fine, whatever, I'll take a shower with you." He pushed me away from him, looking half exasperated, half amused. "Got to make everything into a soap opera, don't you?"

Instead of barfing out the whole abandoning my dad and punching out a gross Silent Hill's monster with my bare fist episode, I just smiled and sniffed.

"Something like that."