AMATEURS [Tenya Iida x OC]

Chapter 15 - The One with Too Many French People

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Sun warmed Peri's cheek. Before she dared open her eyes, her heart thudded in her rib cage, pain pulsing under her skin. Had she passed out on the lawn? Had she not been found? Had she not been saved?

Blinking slowly, Peri took in her surroundings... which were decidedly safe. Wires and tubes connected her to machines of all sizes and shapes. Muted colors decorated the walls, sliding curtain, bed sheets, and linoleum flooring. The faint smell of bleach permeated the air. Tenya was asleep on her legs, using his arms as a pillow.

Peri raised a tethered hand to rest on Tenya's elbow, unable to reach his tousled hair or relaxed brow, and smiled softly despite the pain. She was safe. He was safe. That's all that mattered. She was dreaming, but for the moment, she was happy.

Tenya stirred, murmuring into his arm about art history, and peeked one eye open. Peri was smiling at him softly, her hair golden in the morning sunlight slicing in through the window. He couldn't hold back the smile that tore across his face. "Hi," he whispered, moving to take her hand in his. Without his glasses, she looked like a painting, all soft and rounded out.

"Hi," she whispered back. "This is a really nice dream." She ran her thumb over Tenya's fingers, admiring how lifelike her imagination had made everything.

Tenya sat up straighter and leaned in toward Peri. "What do you mean?" Her candor scared him, despite his sluggish brain.

"They told me you died," Peri gasped, eyes tearing. "They said you were killed when they kidnapped me... so I think that this is my brain's way of letting me see you one last time." She took his cheeks in her hands, and laughed through the tears. "You feel so real."

He turned just so and pressed his lips to her palm. "I am real, Peri," he said, never taking his eyes from hers, "The villains lied to you. You kept me safe. I got out alive."

Peri didn't know what to believe. Her heart pounded so fiercely in her ears that it was hard to think straight... but Tenya was so close, his eyes so dark and serious, his face in her sphere of visual clarity so much so that she was distracted by his eyelashes, his smooth skin, his pretty lips.

Tenya glanced away for a moment, just to check the clock. Nearly noon, he worried about Mr. Aizawa or Recovery Girl coming back and finding Peri in this state. "Stay here, I'll be right back," he whispered, pressing his lips to Peri's forehead, "I'll go get proof that this is real." He snatched his glasses from the bedside table and forced them on, snapping the room into crisp focus.

"Wait! Tenya!" Peri cried, tears chasing each other down her cheeks. She was terrified that if he left, she'd never see him again, in a dream or otherwise.

He jogged from the room, leaving Peri alone. Her heart felt like it was cracking in half. Machines to her left beeped erratically, and only heightened Peri's fear and heartbreak. She couldn't find any air to breathe, lungs burning and throat scathing. Maybe this was a nightmare, after all.

Recovery Girl and Tenya sped into the room. "What's happening?" Tenya said, trying to keep a calm demeanor.

Flitting around Peri, Recovery Girl held up a hand to him, telling him to wait. "Peri, how are you feeling today?" She smiled, checking the machines and tubes that connected to Peri's limbs and chest.

"I can't breathe," Peri gasped, "Nightmare."

Tenya gripped the end of her hospital bed and looked on in horror. He felt useless, again. She clawed at her throat, grasped at her tubes, tears flowing, and he didn't know how to help. He turned away, throat choked with guilt, and furiously rubbed his eyes, trying to rid himself of the tears that accumulated.