Fingers Crossed (Synacky)

Chapter One

“Hey, Zacky.”

Zacky was aware of the words, fuzzy and distant, but he disregarded them, choosing instead to roll over and grumble something incoherent.

“Zee… wake up.” Brian’s voice crooned, and he felt a calloused hand run gently through his hair, down along his cheek. Zacky cracked an eye open, letting his blurry eyes focus on his fiancé.

“What do you want, Bri?” his voice was groggy as he wiped sleep from his eyes. “What time is it?”

“Time for breakfast!” Brian grinned, kissing Zacky’s scruffy cheek. “I made you some eggs and stuff.”

Zacky’s eyes managed to focus on the tray in Brian’s hands. On a plate were two eggs, sunny side up, and a couple pieces of bacon forming a lopsided smiley face. Next to it was a glass of orange juice, and a small bouquet of those cheap colored daisies you get at the grocery store.

He grinned, sitting upright and looking up at Brian. “What’s this for? Did I do something good? Is today special?”

Brian chuckled, “Well, other than performing exceptionally well in bed last night,” he wiggled his eyebrows and Zacky blushed madly, “this is the ‘Best Fiancé Ever’ breakfast.” Brian kissed Zacky’s nose. “It’s not really because you did something good, it’s because everything you do is good. And today is a special day, because I can share it with you.” He batted his eyelashes at Zacky, who rolled his eyes.

“I will forgive your horrible stab at cheesy romance because this meal is excellent.” Zacky said before a mouthful of bacon. “Thank you so much, Bribri.”

“Also, your appointment is today.” Brian nudged Zacky gently. “Gonna need your strength when you go to get shots.”

 Zacky pouted, stabbing at his eggs. “Don’t remind me.” He huffed, “Are you sure you can’t come?”

“You’ll be fine, you don’t need me to be there for that, you’re a big boy. And besides, I’ve already pushed back this interview twice, I don’t want Schecter to drop Hellwin entirely… If you need to call me, go ahead. But I’ve got to talk amps and shit today.” Brian smiled apologetically. “I’ll make it up to you when we get back, how does that sound?”

Zacky sighed, “Okay… I just sorta wish we could’ve done these together.”

“Well, in two weeks we’ll be touring, and you’ll be happy you got them, right?” Brian asked, and Zacky nodded.

“It’s worth a few shots to be able to play to fans overseas.” He grinned. “I’m fucking stoked to get back to Malaysia.”

“That’s the spirit.” Brian kissed Zacky softly. “Now, eat your breakfast. As your pre making-it-up-to-Zacky surprise, we can shower together. Saves energy, anyway.”

“Sounds good to me!” Zacky agreed, downing the rest of his orange juice.

~*~

“Alright, Zacky, we’re just going to get your routine vaccines up to date, as well as Hepatitis A, typhoid, and malaria. These are mandatory for those Asian dates you’ve got planned, especially Thailand, okay?”

Zacky nodded, watching warily as his doctor prepared the first needle. “So um, how many is that all together?”

She looked at her clipboard a moment, then winced a little. “Five. But don’t worry. They shouldn’t hurt too badly.”

Dr. Wright swabbed his arm, and Zacky closed his eyes, preparing himself for the bite of the needle… that never came.

“Hey, what’s this?”

Zacky opened his eyes, tilting his head to look at his arm. There was a strange lump on his shoulder, something that had become a common site to him for the past few months.

“I don’t know, I think it’s just because I’m getting old.” He chuckled. “It’s not new.”

“How long have you had this?” she asked, frowning at him. “Have you told anyone?”

“No, because it’s embarrassing. It’s an age spot or something. I’ve probably had it for six months or so…”

“Has it gotten any larger since you first noticed it?” Dr. Wright pressed at the lump, and Zacky nodded.

“I mean, yeah, it’s been growing. Not too much though… why?”

“Um, here, let me just give you your shots. Then do you mind if I take a sample from this? I think you’ve developed a tumor, and it’s better safe than sorry to check out if it’s benign or malignant.”

“Mali-what? A tumor? What are you talking about?”

“Hold still.”

“Ow!” Zacky whimpered as he was stuck with the first needle.

“I really think you should have shown me this when you first started noticing it. I’m pretty sure it’s a tumor.”

“A tumor? Gross!” Zacky wrinkled up his face. “That’s not very flattering.”

“It’s probably benign, in which case, we’ll just remove it sometime next week and you’ll still be set for the tour, okay? But this sample I take will determine if it’s something you really need to be concerned about.”

Zacky frowned, looking across the room at a poster of a skeleton. “Why would I need to be concerned about it?” He felt icy fear start spreading somewhere deep within him.

“Well, there is a very slim chance that it could be cancerous…”

Cancer.

“I-I don’t have cancer.” Zacky said. “I’m sure of it. Wouldn’t I have known? Aren’t there some sorts of symptoms? Surely if I had any kind of cancer, I’d know by now, right?”

“Probably, yes. I said ‘a very slim chance,’ Zacky. You probably don’t have anything to worry about. I’m just going to take a sample to be safe-“

“You don’t need to do that. I’m cancer free. Why test me if we already know? We’ll just get rid of this lump, and then everything will work out fine. Right, Doc?” Zacky turned to look at Dr. Wright, hoping she couldn’t detect the panic in his eyes. “Right?”

She gave him a hesitant, weak smile. “Um, yeah. Right.”

But Zacky noticed he had six shots instead of five. And the last one was administered with an empty syringe that came away full.

On the way home, Zacky cried.