Bundle of Branches

Chapter 9

"Okay, Romeo." Teddy squeezes Romeo's hand. "You ready?"

Romeo nods.

Paula takes hold of the breathing tube that's down Romeo's trachea. "I'm going to remove it on the count of three," she says. "Now, it's going to hurt a lot. Be prepared. One... two... three." On three, she pulls, and the tube comes fully out.

Tears come to Romeo's eyes, and he gasps in a breath. He's holding Teddy's hand so tightly that his arm is shaking. "H-holy s-shit." He stumbles over the words, his throat burning.

"It's gonna be okay, Romeo," says Teddy, giving Romeo an encouraging smile. "Just keep breathing, alright? I'm here. Do you want Paula to give you some more pain medicine?" He sits lightly on the edge of the cot, and with his free hand he strokes Romeo's hair.

Romeo closes his eyes. His throat is filled with flames of pain, but he tries his best to steady his breathing. "Yes, please," he whispers. "And... it's g-great to be able to b-breathe without a tube again."

Paula approaches, fiddling with a bottle, then handing him two pills and a plastic cup of water. He reaches up and takes them. His throat stings as he swallows, and he nods a thank you.

"Yeah, well, you're one step closer to going out on a date with me." Teddy's eyes are glassy with tears.

"D-don't forget," says Romeo. "Y-you said you'd t-talk about b-black and white m-movies with me." He smiles. "Can't back out n-now."

Teddy laughs quietly. "I wouldn't dream of it." He studies Romeo's face, his eyes roaming over the defined cheekbones and soft lips. "I'm sorry I didn't... tell you how I felt about you sooner."

Romeo weakly waves his hand. "'S okay. You were s-scared. So was I, and t-that's why I didn't tell you that I l-liked you." He takes a deep breath. "The important t-thing is that we b-both know now."

Slowly, Teddy lies down next to Romeo on the cot, on his side so he can look at him. He's so close that he can feel Romeo's body heat, and it's electric. "So... where do you want to go on our date?"

"Forest." Romeo smiles again. "We can take a w-walk. Trees are b-beautiful this time of year." He moves his head slightly so it's touching Teddy's shoulder.

"That sounds good to me." Teddy blinks back tears, feeling a lump in his throat, and he lays his free arm across Romeo's chest. "Hey, I won't let anything happen to you ever again."

Romeo lets out a soft laugh. "What do you m-mean? It wasn't-" He grunts, pain spiking through his abdomen. "-your fault that this h-happened."

"No, it is. I- I should have been there, on that job with you. I should have protected you. I'm supposed to be the one who protects people, but I wasn't there for you, and you paid the price." More tears prick at his eyes, and this time he lets them fall.

"Hey," says Romeo. "Hey. You stayed back b-because of Dante, I get that. You've known him for, like, s-six years longer than you've known me, and you needed to support him. Don't feel bad." The pain in his throat is beginning to subside; speaking is becoming a bit easier. "It wasn't your fault."

They're quiet for a few minutes, feeling each other's energy. Romeo breathes quietly, his chest rising and falling in even breaths, waiting for the pain to go away completely. Teddy lightly rubs the back of Romeo's hand with his thumb, almost absentmindedly, and then he speaks again.

"I remember when I first met you," he whispers. "You and your grandmother had just moved to this camp, and you were trying to make friends, but no one would talk to you. You looked so- so crestfallen, sitting by your tent that night. I wanted to go and sit with you, but I was worried you would think I was creepy."

"You were worried that I would think you were creepy?" Romeo grins. "I was the one sitting alone, probably m-messing with some half-finished mass of broken parts." He pauses, reaching out for the memory. "You know, I thought you were cute."

Teddy squeezes his hand. "You were pretty cute, too. You still are." His cheeks grow warm. "I also remember the first job we went out on together. I think I was about 16 or so, which would make you 15. For the whole job, I tried to find any excuse I could to stand next to you, hoping that our hands would brush together."

Romeo presses his head more into Teddy. "I remember that." His chest feels full with happiness, but he's also in disbelief - he's actually lying next to the man he loves, that he's loved for so long. It's unreal. "When it was over, I sat in my tent, reliving it, giddy that I'd gotten to spend so much time with you."

Teddy sighs. "It's nice to hear your voice again, Romeo." His voice breaks, and he's silent for a bit.

"Hey, I'm going to be okay," says Romeo, reading Teddy's mind. "I'm going to be fine. I'm... I'm going to get these bandages off and we can live happily ever after, like you said. We can go on jobs together all the time." A smile plays on his lips. "Soon you'll get tired of hearing my voice."

"Don't say that," Teddy says, and he's crying. He buries his face in Romeo's hair, choking out sobs.

"It was just a joke-" Romeo tries to say, but he's cut off.

"I'll never get tired of hearing your voice. I thought I'd never hear it again, but now I am, and... I don't want it to stop. I don't want- I don't want to lose you." Teddy takes a shuddering breath. "I'm realizing how much you mean to me, and I just can't..." His voice dissolves into tears.

Romeo lets him cry. "I'm sorry," he whispers. "Look, everything is going to end up alright. You're not going to lose me." He feels Teddy's hot tears on his head, and it almost makes him start to cry too. "I'm not going anywhere."

Teddy sniffs. "You promise?" His voice is shaky, wavering, scared.

"Yeah, Teddy. I promise." Romeo reaches out his arm and hugs Teddy closer to him. The pain in his throat and abdomen is nearly gone now - all that remains is a slight ache that comes and goes - and it's much easier to breathe. He feels his eyelids start to grow heavy; whether or not it's a result of the pain medicine, he doesn't know. But he lets them close, his breaths slowing, sleep pulling at him. "I'm tired. I think... I think I'm going to sleep."

"Alright, Romeo." Then Teddy grows quiet, listening to Romeo's breathing. He turns his head and rests his cheek upon Romeo's hair instead, his own eyelids fluttering closed. Slowly, Romeo's breaths even out, and as he falls asleep, so does Teddy.

Soon, they're curled up against each other, both fast asleep on Romeo's cot.