𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖛𝖎𝖇𝖊 𝖎𝖘 𝖕𝖗𝖊𝖙𝖙𝖞

Treebros-soulmate au part 3

This is the last part of the soulmates au requested by WhiteWolf12666
This one is much happier, and honestly Connor through this entire chapter is me.
- - -

For the next few days, Evan spent twenty-four hours a day at the hospital with Connor. He kept him company, bringing his laptop to watch movies (Connor was a big fan of Marvel) and talking to him while he waited to be discharged. Whenever his family visited, the tension was so thick Evan could've cut it with a knife. Larry was very sparse with his conversation, often only saying "get well soon." Zoe, when she did visit, was silent, rarely saying more than a greeting. Cynthia was more expressive, the only one of the three who tried to hold a conversation. She would ask him how he was feeling and ask what she could get for him.

Connor only asked for one thing: his sketchbook. When Cynthia brought it the next day, he thumbed to the next blank page and didn't stop drawing for a long time. Evan tried to subtly look over at his book but he always rotated it so Evan couldn't see. "No peeking, Hansen." He sometimes talked to Evan while he drew, but most of the time they sat in a comfortable silence while Evan read.

Jared surprisingly visited fairly often. He always brought junk food and a gift, like a book for Evan or a new pencil for Connor. He brought Connor a charcoal pencil the second day, and for the rest of his stay the nurses were griping about the black smudges everywhere. They were on his hospital gown, the sheets, his face and hands, and even the IV drip, somehow. After Evan complained about getting the dark stains on the pages of his book, Connor lunged out of the hospital bed to smear more charcoal, this time on Evan's face. Despite Evan's begrudging expression, he was secretly insanely happy that Connor even had the strength to nearly jump out of bed. (He had almost taken the heart monitor with him, too.) Another day, Jared brought a bottle of black nail polish ironically. Evan and Connor tried to paint each other's nails; Connor's entire fingertips were blackened, while Evan's nails were neatly and expertly painted. Connor yelled at Jared to bring acetone next time, to which Jared said to be more careful, dipshit. Evan felt vaguely guilty, but it was hard to be sad when Connor was frantically waving his hands in the air to dry the polish so he could scratch off the excess.

After the first day, Connor refused to eat the McDonald's that Jared brought, as the salt and grease pained his still-sensitive stomach. He gladly accepted chocolate milkshakes, however, and would greedily chug as many as he could get his hands off. "You have no fucking idea how gross hospital food is," he would whine before taking another long sip.

A week after the attempt, Evan was dozing off in the uncomfortable hospital chair he had spent the past three days straight in (he was careful to avoid resting his head on Connor's stomach again.) The main nurse entered and gently removed Connor's IV. "Am I finally getting out of this hellhole?" Connor said bluntly. Evan's eyes fluttered open at this and he wiped the drool from his shoulder.

"Yes, today is your discharge date. You've been fairly stable so the doctor cleared you. Keep your arms bandaged until they are fully healed, be careful what you eat, and avoid strenuous physical activities..." the nurse droned on, helping Connor stand.

Evan rushed over to where Connor shakily stood and provided support. "Y-You're finally getting out, Connor!" he exclaimed, smiling up at him as he slung his arm around Evan's shoulders.

"About goddamn time," Connor mumbled, gratefully clinging to Evan.

---

Monday morning. Connor and Evan's first day back from the hospital. The dawn's fog had yet to lift, shrouding the entire school in mist and giving the aura of a cemetery. Connor's hands were shoved in the pocket of his hoodie and Evan was fidgeting with the hem of his shirt as they walked down the hall to their table, students' heads turning to watch.